#because you make a bastardization of the original message

[toastybugguy]

It’s interesting to me how a lot of people immediately started thinking about this in terms of fandom discourse, because I really was just thinking about art in the contemporary era (drawings, paintings, movies, tv, music, poetry, dance etc etc).

Then I remembered that this post is about misinterpretations so actually that is HILARIOUS

Curious how most people feel about this.

[tapwater-made-everyone-gay]

!!!SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T LISTENED TO THE VENGEANCE SAGA OF EPIC THE MUSICAL!!!

I find it really interesting that people are so upset about the Poseidon loss, using “it’s weird that a mortal beat a god” when the whole thing with gods in Greek mythology is that they’re parallels to humans. That’s why they have emotions, human anatomy, feel pain, and bleed (even if it is ichor that comes out). There are multiple cases of gods being beaten by humans, primarily demigods, but still humans—MORTALS. What makes them so powerful is their domain. Take that away? They’re practically powerless.

Poseidon is shown to be arrogant, claiming that the only reason he’s still hunting Odysseus (DESPITE killing his men, teaching his lesson, and even likely knowing about the brutal siren deaths) is because “the top dog can’t be seen letting his prey go. How else can I send the message that I’m a big dog? It’ll ruin my reputation!” He’s a cocky bastard, playing with his prey, telling Odysseus to get in the water because it’s more entertaining to him than just getting his revenge and killing him then and there. He talks like he’s never felt pain in his life and doesn’t think he ever will because “the top dog is untouchable”.

But he forgets that he needs his domain, needs his range to keep himself from losing. When Odysseus pulls the same trick with the wind bag (which he should’ve seen coming), he isn’t ready, because he’s never had to fight that fight. Odysseus has, and he has the anger to push himself farther. The god gets downed (which has happened many times with many gods as discussed earlier), and he still acts cocky. Odysseus opened the bag. He can’t leave. But that knowledge—knowledge that he’s stuck here and will eventually die anyway—allows Odysseus to make his decision. He can hurt Poseidon for as long as he’s capable of, make him suffer just as much because, hey, he’s going to die anyway, right?

Now, Poseidon has an out. He can get rid of the storm before Odysseus even lays a hand on him, let him go home, and flood Ithaca like planned. But he doesn’t, because he’s so in his own head that he doesn’t realize the position he’s in. And then Odysseus makes the first stab, and then the other. It hurts, even more because, like I said, Poseidon has probably never felt this pain before. And Odysseus doesn’t plan on stopping, not until Poseidon calls off the storm. He’ll go until his arms stop working, and if Poseidon hadn’t given in, he probably would’ve.

Poseidon can’t stop him either because the wounds are made before the others can heal. Does this punishment seem familiar? It should, because it’s the exact same one given to Prometheus by Zeus. Truthfully, it’s a punishment made for a god.

I should probably stop here because this has gone on way too long, but I do understand why some people might think it’s weird. We’re raised to believe that any god is untouchable, that they’re all-powerful and incapable of harm, especially at human hands. But that’s not Greek mythology. Gods aren’t capable of death, but they are capable of suffering, and a lot of them do. Just because the one suffering this time is one of the “big three” doesn’t mean it’s unrealistic.

Epic’s message isn’t the same as the original, and it never has been. It’s about what you’re willing to sacrifice, how far you’re willing to go for your own gain, and what the repercussions are when you do. Poseidon really kick started that message hard, and I think it’s poetic that it ends with him facing the outcome of that message himself.

Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves, but it’s not the same being on the receiving end, is it?

[anonimusunnoaniswriting]

Sukuna "asshole to the world, sweetheart to his girl" Ryomen

🎀minors and ageless blogs will be blocked 🎀

Pairing: Yakuza!Sukuna Ryomen x Reader

Genre: Smut, dark hero.

Word Count: 1450

Warnings: first off, fucking sukuna himself is a warning on his own so let's just start there. Possessive Sukuna, dark sukuna, yakuza sukuna, shitty boss, mean fucking asshole boss, violence, against boss, dacryphillia, p in v sex, rough sex, semi-public sex, read at your own discretion.

Summary: Sukunas heard you cry because of your boss one too many times. He takes matters into his own hands

A/N: This absolutely SPECTACULAR ART is by @innaillus and you can find the original here.

I want to thank her, not only for allowing me to use this as a banner but also for making such amazing art and sharing it with us. ♥️

This is a purely self indulgent fic. If you don't like it, please don't read it. I had a shitty week and needed a place to cool off.

Sukuna Ryomen glared down at your boss. He’d come in to pick you up and heard the creature screaming at you for something he already knew wasn’t your fault. You’d told him about the trouble you were having with your co-workers who slacked off and your shitty fucker of a boss who for some reason didn’t tell them off, but instead unloaded his anger on you. This would be the last time this pathetic vermin made you cry, he vowed.

He pushed open the door to your small office and stalked in. You stood in the corner trying to make yourself as small as possible, silent tears streaming down your face as your boss kept berating you – not even noticing his presence. One of the other workers tried to step in his way but he shoved them aside like they were nothing more than window curtains. He placed himself in between you and the balding middle aged man who dared to call himself your boss. “Hey nimrod, she doesn’t work for you anymore. Don’t fucking yell at her.”

The man cowered. Sukuna was taller than him and his crossed arms made his thick muscles ripple under his skin.

“Ryo…” you whispered

“Wh-who let th-this man in here? Sir, th-this is an office space. You n-need to leave.” your boss sneered at your saviour.

Sukuna merely smirked at you and pulled you into his side placing his lips on the top of your head in a chaste kiss. “Yeah, don't worry, I’ll be going pretty soon. Breathing the same air as you is making me feel nauseated. Can't believe the patience my baby girl had with your shit-ass, fucker” his first met the man's stomach with a sickening squelching crunch, and your now ex-boss, crumpled onto the floor in a heap.

“I'm gon-gonna call the cops on you asshole’ he croaked out.

Sukuna just laughed. “Have at it, ya great ballsack.”

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

When Sukuna came to pick you up from work that day he had planned the night down to a T. He’d wanted to take you to a new movie that you'd been itching to see but hadn't had the time. He would follow that with a fancy sushi dinner at the city's best restaurant and then take you to the outskirts where there was a nice little viewpoint he had discovered where he planned on showing you the stars – in more than one way…

But when you didn't come out at your specified time, nor answer the cute message he’d sent you – Where you at, kitty-kat? – Sukuna decided to investigate and came across your asshole of a boss yelling at you. He’d had enough. You’d been coming home and complaining about him and even once returned in tears. It took everything he had to not rip the bastard’s throat out. But he was done with you being abused. You deserved better. Which is exactly what he told you now as you lay with him on the hood of his car.

The plans had been altered slightly, you would be watching the movie with him the next day. He’d skipped the fancy sushi and instead opted for your favourite comfort food – Chinese cuisine. Slurping down saucy noodles, and munching on crispy gyoza always made you feel better he knew and he found himself smiling at your joy. He’d then driven you to his secret viewpoint. You sat there on the hood of his car with him beside you. In the distance, the pretty lights of Tokyo lit up the horizon and reflected off your lover's red eyes. Above you, the stars twinkled in their own magic…

Something about you had him wrapped around your finger. One of the most feared yakuza, putty in your hands. Of course, no one knew the connection. It was all kept hushed for your convenience.

“Kitty-kat?” Sukuna called to you and you looked up at your man. “You know— you know I’m rich enough to support both of us easily right?”

You hummed. “Yes, but I don’t wanna be some dainty housewife, sitting and waiting for my husband to come home and serve him dinner Ryo! I have a whole ass degree that a lot of money was spent on, I’d like to use it babe!”

“Husband?”

“What?”

“You said, husband. Not boyfriend. Or SO. Or partner. You said husband.”

“Yeah… I said husband…”

“You wanna marry me?”

“I mean, yeah, eventually right?”

Sukuna crashed his lips into yours in a heated kiss; all teeth and tongue. He pulled your body close, pressing against you. “I want you so bad right now, future wife. I want you so fucking badly.” He half growled in your ear.

“You have me Ryo. I’m right here.” you replied. You tugged at Sukunas pants and he unbuckled his belt. Sukuna grinded against your thigh while kissing you. His hands tugged at the buttons on your blouse, undoing them as he went. You could feel the bulge growing in his jeans. He kissed down from your lips, to your jaw, to your neck down to the valley of your breasts.

“I wanna fuck you.” He looked at you with a lidded gaze “May I? I won’t be able to stop if we go further than this kitty-kat.”

You lifted your leg to rub against his clothed cock. “I’d leave you right now if you didn’t, Sukuna Ryomen. So fuck me already.” Sukuna flashed you a fanged smile and dipped his head pulling down your bra and freeing your breasts. He bit and licked and sucked, actions that were sure to leave marks on you. Further south his fingers pushed aside your panties and found entrance. He slowly worked his way into you, rubbing gentle circles in your skin. You allowed yourself to let go and dirty moans slipped out from your lips. Your fingers tangled in his pink hair – so soft, so smooth.

Once he had you dripping, he lay back down and ordered, “Sit on my face, and suck my cock while you’re at it.”

You followed, undoing his zipper and pulling his boxers and jeans off his semi-hard cock. You tentatively licked his head as you positioned your pussy right about his face. Sukuna pushed your skirt up and ripped your panties with a practised ease, pulling your hips down to his face. He loved having you like that. Every time he flicked his tongue against your clit your pussy would visibly tighten. You’d drool down the length of his cock hypnotised. Tongue flat against it as you struggled to maintain composure. It wouldn’t take long for him to make you cum all over his face for the first time. Legs quivering and hips shaking he brought you down again, laying you on the hood for him.

He lined up his cock – now rock hard from your mouth – with your entrance and sank into you. Slowly pushing his bulbous head, followed by his girthy length. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Sukuna thrust up into you. Your lips were hot and burning. You felt a wave of emotion come through and tears welled up in your eyes.

“Fuck Ryo— feels s’good!”

Sukuna snarled and increased his pace. His eyes glinted dangerously. “Feels good, huh kitty-kat! Gonna make you mine. No man’s gonna dare fuck with you again.” His movements were rough and jagged but drew out the pleasure in your core. The tightly wound knot in your abdomen built up with each movement, each drawn out pull, each hard thrust. You arched your back desperate to have him more, more, more!

Your second climax hit just as Sukuna grabbed a fistful of your hair. Your cunt spasmed, clasping around him and you cried out his name in a debauched prayer.

Sukuna looked more composed than he felt. His cock throbbed inside you, attuned to the flutters of your pussy. Just because you’d come didn’t mean he would stop. He chased his own release inside of you pulling your hair back, devouring your lips. His cock bullied you to the point of overstimulation. Tears ran down your cheeks again but this time they were those of pleasure.

He came, towering over you, eyes squeezed shut, head buried in the crook of your neck. His giant frame collapsed onto you and he carefully rolled off to the side so he wouldn't crush you.

“So, about that husband thing…”

You turned to look at him, blushing. “Ryo…”

He held up a ring; the ring his father left him. Gold work, carved into a dragon that held a shiny black pearl in its claws.

“I’ll get you a prettier one later, I promise but for now…” he took a deep breath. “Marry me, kitty-kat?”

A/N: please note this was a very hurried creation and edit, if you do find any errors or typos feel free to point them out KINDLY. Thank you for reading.

As always likes and reblogs are much appreciated and comments will earn you kissies!

[hihello-pinky]

varsity crush

atsumu miya x afab reader

some fluff, i guess

i originally wanted to write a full fic based on pixie labrador’s song (hence, the title) but somehow i ended up with this drabble. ALSO i know it’s a sapphic song but damn, the first time i listened to it and heard the lyrics about volleyball, haikyuu was my first thought

miya atsumu who has been your classmate since sixth grade; who you always only thought of as osamu’s loudmouth brother who once lent you his jacket when it was cold and you forgot to bring yours.

atsumu who was your partner for cleaning duty at seventh grade; who would almost always miss the task because he made it a habit to rush to the gym after last period.

atsumu who made your heart skip a beat when he passed you a note asking you to the eighth grade dance; who raises an eyebrow at your questioning look and says the note is from osamu.

atsumu who was your seatmate during ninth grade; who would distract you during class with the sound of his pen scraping against his notebook as he sketched volleyball plays.

atsumu who surprises you when he enters the classroom on the first day of tenth grade with his blonde hair; who you couldn’t stop looking at because his lightened hair made him more handsome.

atsumu who, one night, dropped by your grandpa’s convenience store looking for an onigiri; who told you as he reached the counter that he had a fight with osamu and he wanted to give it as a peace offering.

atsumu, who somehow made it a habit to drop by the convenience store after practice to buy energy drinks; who always buy one of those candies displayed at the counter and conveniently “forgets” them, sending you a quick message to just keep it.

atsumu who approached you after class one thursday afternoon in eleventh grade; who shared he needed help in his studies in order to stay in the volleyball club and asked you to tutor him.

atsumu who began sharing a table with you at lunch under the pretense of having more time to discuss about lessons but always made it a point to just talk about random stuff; who in time recruited his brother and suna to your lunch table.

atsumu who lovingly accepts gifts from his fans at your lunch table; who smiles so sweetly at the girls as it makes you inwardly frown, confusing yourself.

atsumu who, at the first month of twelfth grade, excitedly tells you he made captain as he walked you home; who grinned at you as he showed you his jersey and jacket with his last name.

atsumu who became much busier due to volleyball but would always somehow find time in his calendar to stay with you either in a coffee shop or library as you studied for college entrance exams; who would force you to take a break as he snatches the pen from your hand (my old captain, kita, would scold you!)

atsumu who gets surprised once you tell him you’re going with them to the nationals; who teases you for volunteering to cover for the school newspaper; who is actually secretly happy that you’re coming.

atsumu who gives you his jacket before their first game “in case you get cold”; who makes the girls beside you at the bleachers squeal when he smiles at your direction once he sees you wearing his jacket and cheering for him.

atsumu who lets you see his tears for the first time as you comfort him when inarizaki places second; who listens to your gentle voice as you sincerely tell him that you believe there are lots of greater opportunities for him in the future once he goes pro.

atsumu who passes you a note before class with prom? written in his messy handwriting; atsumu who receives a note from you saying is this from osamu again?; atsumu who bites back a smile as he passes back the note, so the bastard told you?; atsumu who doesn’t notice his ears reddening until suna points it out but he doesn’t care at all as he reads your note: yes, and yes i’ll go to prom with you.

atsumu who surprises you at prom because as athletic as he is, he sucks at slow dancing; atsumu who makes you blush as he tightens his hand around your waist as soon as you two finally find the rhythm; atsumu who leans to you closely and whispers in your ear how beautiful you are; atsumu who plants a soft kiss at the top of your head after you tell him to shut up and accidentally step on his shoes.

atsumu who runs to hug you at graduation, wrapping his strong arms around your smaller figure and lifting you in the air; who attends your class’ afterparty with you where you end up playing truth or dare.

atsumu who chokes on his drink as your bottle ends up on him and you ask him on when he plans to ask you out; who, after composing himself, gives you a cheesy smile and asks you to be his girlfriend; who blushes so hard, making osamu and suna laugh, when you say yes and kiss him on the cheek.

miya atsumu who you never thought would capture your heart; atsumu who somehow also fell for you; atsumu who you would be cheering on for the rest of your life.

it doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing his jacket or not; he already gave you his last name, anyway.

[lottiies]

THE ART OF SHARING A COWBOY HAT

⇢ arthur morgan x gn!reader + leon kennedy (rdr2 au) x gn!reader

cw: fluff, lighthearted smut, drinking + implications of throwing up, confessions, mentions of children but it’s still gn friendly, prone to typos

note: um i originally wrote this with only arthur in mind but lowkey think it could apply to leon as well, i thought this was a super cute idea !! these are just rambles and written for fun, so excuse any typos eee (⩾﹏⩽)

i. A GENTLEMANLY ACT

you’ve lost count of how many hats you’ve lost over the years — it wasn’t your fault! just a small bicker with a tiny group of o’driscolls usually resulted in your hat being knocked off while you rode your horse and shot at them.

was buying a new one even worth it? with dutch on everyone’s ass about contributing money, not really. as if the bastard actually helped out.

plus…you’d grown to rely on a certain man who always shared his hat with you as if it were co-owned.

amidst a camp out in the open with the sun pouring in through the leaves of the tall trees that surrounded, your eyes were often squinting. everytime you sat in the shade, it moved over within a couple minutes and left you back in the sun. how frustrating.

“you’ll burn to the crisp by letting the sun beam on ya like that.”

before you could look up to face the familiar voice, the bottom of a hat blocked your view and was placed on you. okay, that felt real nice.

or maybe that one time you stumbled out of the saloon, clutching your stomach with your cheeks all puffed, awaiting the harsh liquor that was begging to be thrown out of your system.

it was night time, the dusty dirt paths were still lively with people walking past. but you needed fresh air, so it would have to do.

being the secret softie that he was, he followed you when he noticed that you had practically limped your way out. geez, he’d been in your position too many times — throwing his guts up with his mind swirling.

“lightweight.” he teased, laughing a bit, placing a hand on your back and rubbing it to comfort you.

“oh gimme a break.” you slurred back, already hunched over. “and stay away…’m bout to burst.”

you weren’t kidding.

he placed his hat on you, keeping your face hidden from any passerby’s. because what kind of man would he be if he just let everyone see your pained face? a foolish one, that’s what.

everyone knew he was sweet on you, it was painfully obvious.

ii. SILENT CONFESSION

the air felt still as the two of you stood beside each other, each leaning against the balcony of a hotel. you guys were close, a little too much to be considered just friends.

his elbow was touching yours, and his gaze didn’t stray from you even once. you captivated his entire attention, more so than the clear stars glimmering in the moonlit sky hanging above.

he couldn’t hide his feelings for you, he couldn’t afford to with how unpredictable life was. he didn’t think much of himself, but he’d be damned if he let some other fella swoop in and woo you.

you didn’t need to be helped. there was no sun in your eyes, or rain pouring onto your face, nor was there any need to hide your face.

his eyes strayed to your lips once before looking back into your eyes, trying to read you. the fondness you held gave him some courage.

he took his hat off, his tousled hair now on display, maybe you could run your fingers through it later.

no words were spoken.

he placed his hat on your head, hoping that would convey his message: he wanted to be yours, and for you to be his.

iii. EASING ALL DISTRESSES

having a lover who’s constantly away isn’t for the weak. it has you feeling like a character out of a book who’s described as melancholic, solemnly gazing out into the distance, awaiting the person who sets your soul ablaze and gives you that fuzzy feeling in your stomach.

him.

but he always spends time with you before he leaves, duh.

after he preps his horse for another long journey away, he makes his way over to your worried form. whether you act nonchalant or downright show how concerned you are, it doesn’t matter, he treats you the same, not wanting you to sulk.

“c’mon love, don’t give me that look. i always come back relatively unscathed, don’t i? you’ve got nothing to worry yer pretty little head about.”

you purse your lips. yeah, he was strong and mighty, but you couldn’t get rid of all the thoughts in your head. “yeah, but being worried ain’t a crime.”

with an amused smile, he takes the adornment perched on his head off and puts it atop your own, adjusting it so it fits more properly. “there ya go.”

he always thought you looked awfully beautiful wearing something of his, his hat had always been dear to him, having scratches and flaws here and there from the encounters he faced. it looked perfect on you, and it felt accomplishing, like if the hat itself was some sort of wedding ring.

he cups the side of your face, using his pinky to lift your jaw while his thumb caresses your cheek. “hold onto this for me, okay? keep it on yer head all the time.”

the act alone had you smiling, returning the adoring gaze he looked at you with. he leaned in closer, pressing his lips against yours for a sweet and temporary goodbye.

iv. TANGLED UNDER THE SHEETS

the chilliness of the harsh winter weather seeped through the wood of the cabin. there were plans to get moving somewhere warmer, but it would be a rough journey. maybe you should be resting instead, but you weren’t.

labored breaths and grunts emanated from the room, accompanied by occasional fits of laughter and whispered words. the two of you were going at it like rabbits on your cot, making the room heat up — no chance you were shivering even with the way it was pouring outside.

his hips were snuggled between yours, his cock slowly pumping into you inch by inch. he was going slowly, trying to make the most of the time you guys had here at this cabin.

“i’m getting a cramp, hold on.” you whine the complaint out, needing to get in a different position.

he laughed, peeling himself off you and laying on his back, his chest heaving heavily.

“what are ya laughing at? you try having your legs up in the air for that long.” you huff as you moved over to straddle him.

“i think i’ll pass on that.”

he always thought you looked amazing on top of him, his eyes sparkling with utmost devotion. naked, vulnerable, so willing to show him every part of you. he loved it.

“ya gonna ride me? i think you’re missing something.” without missing a beat, he reached up for his hat, taking it off and sitting up to place it on you. his free hand snaked down to your ass, giving it a couple pats. “that’s better, now you’re ready.”

you grinned, pressing your hands against his chest to push him back down towards the surface of the cot.

he held onto the back of one of your hands, his other one reaching to hold his cock, letting you sink down onto him. he couldn’t take his eyes off your face though, watching as it contorted into one of pure ecstasy.

v. FAMILY HEIRLOOM

he’s a romantic at heart, he liked the idea of having a hat just for the two of you. he has plenty of others though, that can be passed onto any children you two have or take in as a part of your family — ones they could grow into.

that longing came into fruition. his arm was wrapped around your waist, pulling you close. your eyes were trained on your two children, just a couple years apart, running around aimlessly because the hats their pops put on them were so big it covered their eyes.

“careful…” you mumbled under your breath, not wanting them to fall on any branches or injure themselves. not like they heard you, obviously, but your lover did.

“they’re tough as nails already, jus’ like us..” he reassured you, but it was met by a skeptical glance from you, rightfully so.

“i know, i know…they’re so tiny though, i don’t wanna see even a small scrape on them.”

“worrywart.”

[darklinaforever]

So ! I need to say that !

Hades & Persephone's relationship is canonically a loving and quite healthy relationship in the context of Greek mythology which represents a form of balance for the world through the cycle of the seasons. Persephone is not a victim of Hades either... Anyone who has studied Greek mythology can actually explain it to you.

That's a bad vision of the original myth due to a too modern interpretation. It's not the modern era that romanticizes this basic relationship. This was already the case in Greek times...

It even seems to me that Hades and Persephone were often represented on the vases given to newlyweds (pretty crazy, since Hera was literally the goddess of marriage) because they were always described as having a loving, supportive and harmonious marriage.

And if you're looking for a real culprit in the union of Hades & Persephone, there's literally Zeus, who authorized the marriage between the two after Hades came to ask him. Hades didn't kidnap Persephone as soon as he saw her. He first asked to his father, Zeus, for her hand in marriage, as in the Greek traditions of the time.

In some versions of the myth, it even seems to me that Aphrodite is the one who provoked Hades' love for Persephone by sending Eros to plant an arrow in her after being upset by a refusal. But for now, I'm not sure of Aphrodite's real involvement.

But regardless, in the original myth, the one blamed is actually very clearly Zeus. He is the one, once again, having authorized the kidnapping of Persephone, which in Greek traditions translates into an engagement, and who has caused the whole messy situation with poor Demeter.

As for the grenade episode, it doesn't seem to me that we can know the original version. So the whole "Hades forced Persephone to eat the pomegranate" thing is also bullshit.

There doesn't even seem to me to be any indication of Persephone having been mistreated in any way by Hades in the myth. It's again bullshit.

I'm making this post because I've had yet another person explain to me that Persephone is a victim of Hades and that our modern age romanticizes the relationship between the two.

"Yes. Like Persephone gets bastardised. Persephone was Hades's assault victim. People try to "modernize" her by making her want Hades (all while making Demeter to be in the wrong). Mina was Dracula's assault victim. People try to "modernize" her by making her cheat on Jonathan for Dracula."

Except no. Persephone is not a victim of Hades in the context of Greek myth. That's a stinking modern vision. Kind of ironic, when you argue that it's the modern view that stands in for the real version of Persephone being a victim of Hades when... well no. It's the modern era that makes Persephone a victim of abuse at the hands of Hades, (this all reminds me of how people make Rhaenyra a victim of grooming in her relationship with Daemon) while that is not the case in the context of the original myth. As I explained above, this interpretation is modern bullshit. And it is very important to transcribe the myths in their ancient context to understand their various messages, otherwise you will miss the point.

But I won't elaborate further because @cthonisprincess has already explained it very well. I invite you to go and see these reblogs below which detail the whole affair of Hades and Persephone in much more detail :

I even recommend this video :

My god, I can't believe that in 2024, people are still at the stage of demonizing Hades, even though he is one of the rare decents gods, and still claiming that Persephone is an assault victim of Hades... This is a shameful distortion of the original myth and a real bastardization of the goddess Persephone.

Also... we're literally talking about a myth. The goal of a myth is to be reinvented according to the times. So what does it matter that there are adaptations of the myth that differ from the said myth, or rather from the biased vision that some have of making Persephone a poor victim of the evil Hades ?!

@aleksanderscult

[miyamiwu]

What names mean to Kaiser + How roses represent curses

Thank you @gachagon @hooudie212 and @blrpr for responding to my meta prompt. Your insights helped shaped mine. And now that my classes for the week are over, I felt free to ruminate on this topic while washing the dishes earlier. I’ll now share to you guys the conclusion that I came up with.

But before I start, let me just acknowledge how @gachagon made some great points about what Kaiser’s and Ness’ names could mean and how it ties together to their roles as King and Pawn.

However, all your arguments involving name meanings hinges on the premise that Kaiser knows what everybody’s names even mean in the first place… And surely he can’t be that aware? Still, it’s an interesting take on what the author’s intent was in choosing their names.

But whatever Kaneshiro truly intended is hard to guess. So in this meta, I’m gonna focus solely on Kaiser and how his mind may have worked.

Without further ado, let’s go—

Although it’s unusual in German culture, the original members of Bastard München address each other by surname:

We could just brush this off as the author’s way of appealing to the local Japanese audience, considering how some foreign players in other teams also call each other by surname (e.g. Lorenzo saying “Snuffy” instead of “Marc”). (Though, there are some who do address each other by given name, like Agi saying “Chris” instead of “Prince”, which is more true to reality.)

However, this meta isn’t about those other foreign players, nor is it about Bastard München as a whole.

After chapter 260, I find it impossible to brush off the significance of names to Kaiser, especially when his backstory literally begins with an introduction of his name:

The boy’s name is Michael Kaiser.

The chapter didn’t start with “Michael Kaiser’s childhood was something no child should want or ever endure.” It started with “The boy’s name is,” in one box all to itself, distinguishing it from the rest of the text on the page.

The emphasis of the Name on the very first page tells us straight away that names are an integral aspect of Kaiser’s character.

However, despite this established importance of the Name, throughout the rest of the backstory, Kaiser is mostly referred to as “the boy.”

The one other time Kaiser’s name is brought up is this panel:

With an alcoholic, gambling addict father beating the crap out of him every chance he got, the young Michael Kaiser grew up.

But notice how the Name is included in the sentence. The first part talks about the abuse, or the cause, and the second part with the Name talks about the result.

I don’t know how accurate this would be since I’m merely referring to a fan translation, but the way this sentence is worded, plus the sense of detachment evoked in calling Kaiser as “the boy,” is sending out the message:

Point #1: Michael Kaiser is not the boy who was abused. It was the boy who was abused who became Michael Kaiser.

This point also ties in well with the last words of the chapter:

At that moment, something in the boy snapped. No, not snapped… Born would be more accurate. That something is…identity!

He was a Boy first before he was Michael Kaiser.

With this, the Name now holds even more weight.

Further along chapter 260, context on “Michael” is given:

Paired with the first page of the chapter, this specific panel hammers home the notion that the Name is important.

Let me bring attention to this part:

‘Michael,’ the name that the mother gave the boy shortly before she left

and then this:

was never uttered by the father. Not even once.

Seeing that Kaiser had no friends, peers, or other adults around him growing up, it can be assumed that only the Mother had ever called him Michael.

But she left. She left after giving the name.

And the Father refusing to call him “Michael” precisely because it was given by the woman who left would also constantly remind Kaiser of this fact.

This makes two things clear in Kaiser’s mind:

The Mother who called him by his given name abandoned him.

The Father who refused to call him by it never left.

Point #2: To call someone by their given name is to abandon them.

Kaiser calling Isagi by given name is therefore his way of “abandoning” him—or, in other words, eliminating him. Yoichi is someone he must eliminate if he wants to live a successful life, like how the Mother who gave him the name eliminated him from her life to become a popular actress.

Kaiser not going by “Michael” also makes sense with how he wants to become a strong person who doesn’t give up easily (re: his conversation with Ness in c243). Why would he go by something that reminds him of abandonment when he’s trying to keep going?

As for why he goes by his father’s surname instead of just giving himself a new name entirely… it’s a lot more complicated...

From the same page as the previous panel, we have this:

Yet, the father treasured a rose the mother had once given him. The boy didn’t understand why the father kept something from someone who ruined the father’s life.

The Father kept a rose from the Mother who left.

In the same way, Kaiser goes by the surname of the man who had made his childhood a living hell.

Both are keeping something from someone who ruined their lives.

To understand why Kaiser goes by surname, I think we must first understand why the Father kept the rose.

As @aiulbones pointed out in the replies of this post, the unwilted rose in the glass is a Beauty and the Beast reference.

There are lots of variations on the fairytale, but from what I remember of the versions I’ve read as a child, there was no one rose in a glass. Instead, there was a rose bush or rose garden. The rose in the glass—or simply, the Enchanted Rose—is actually the trademark symbol of the Disney 1991 adaptation.

In the Disney movie, the Prince was cursed to be a Beast and must find true love before the last petal of the Rose fell. To protect the Rose and possibly slow down the fall of its petals, it was encased in a glass dome.

When Belle betrayed the order to stay away from the West Wing, she came across the Enchanted Rose, inciting the Beast’s fury:

Most people think the Rose represents Love, but it’s not. If it did, then it’d make no sense for it to make the relationship between Belle and the Beast worse.

In contrast, at the end of the movie, right after Belle says “I love you” to the Beast, the last petal of the Rose falling is shown, and shortly after, the curse is broken:

(skip to 01:13 in the video)

In short, the Rose is a representation of the Beast’s curse. It does not represent love. It does, however, also represent a search for love. And only when that love is found would the curse break.

The Father keeping the Rose represents his inability to let go and move on from the woman who left him. He hates her, but he’s also still obsessed with her. This obsession has become his curse. And like how the Beast was unable to form a deep connection with Belle while he was being overprotective of the Rose, the Father is unable to love Kaiser as his son because he is still obsessed over the Mother.

Now, let’s go back to Kaiser.

I agree with @gachagon’s idea here:

I see Kaiser using his last name as opposed to his first name as a thematic symbol of him rising above the circumstances he was born in. His surname may be shared by a man who cared nothing for him, but he can make it greater than that man ever was and have it be a title befitting just him.

Also love @pinkinsect’s thoughts:

his father never actually called him michael so i wonder if that name feels foreign to him? if kaiser is a reclamation of some sort

Kaiser going by his surname is a way for him to rise above the Father who abused him. This is nice and all, but remember, Kaiser also has a Rose—the blue rose tattoo.

Roses represent curses.

(order of images is top, then left to right. Click on the image to read.)

According to Kaiser, the blue rose symbolizes the achievement of the impossible. A symbol of defiance. But what is he defying?

I was originally a mentally weak person. I constantly gave up when I faced things I believed to be impossible.

Kaiser is defying the idea of being weak, of being helpless, of being trash—an idea instilled in him by his Father.

His curse is his childhood trauma. And the fact that the Rose is blue—representing the impossible—and even tattooed on his skin tells us that this curse is not easy to break.

Point #3: Kaiser may have thought he was reclaiming the surname, but in reality it was just a manifestation of his obsession.

The same way the Father’s obsession over the Mother is manifested in his refusal to call Kaiser by name.

Gathering all the points we have so far:

Point #1: Michael Kaiser is not the boy who was abused. It was the boy who was abused who became Michael Kaiser.

Point #2: To call someone by their given name is to abandon them.

Point #3: Kaiser may have thought he was reclaiming the surname, but in reality it was just a manifestation of his obsession.

Conclusion

Kaiser’s goal is to become impossible to define, but the irony is that his entire name—Michael Kaiser—defines a prison.

Yet, it also concisely sums up his entire life.

And to even live as just the Michael Kaiser was something he had to fight tooth and nail for:

After losing to Yoichi, Kaiser has become even more obsessed over defying the idea that he is trash.

He thinks that the only way to stop being trash is to defeat Yoichi. But this view of winning as the sole affirmation of worth is unhealthy and needs to be stopped.

Kaiser needs to realize that… he never was trash.

He doesn’t have to keep defying anything because there is nothing to defy.

Besides, he has already defeated the “impossible.”

He is no longer the Michael who was abandoned, nor is he the Boy who was abused. But until he realizes that he is not the trash Kaiser like his father, he will never be able to break the curse.

But how does one break the curse, exactly?

Roses represent curses.

But Roses… also represent a search for love.

And Kaiser is already…

...very much loved.

He just needs to realize it.

[acaptainbyanyothername]

It is so important the Weepe and Saskia episode came directly after the Jonas and Phineas episode, because it really drove home how similar these dynamics are and where they fundamentally diverge.

First of all, Saskia and Jonas got their origins in very similar ways. According to Third Person’s Midst Messages series, beta Phineas (then called “Puck”) was originally a much more self-assured knight-in-shining-armor type, and Weepe was a showbiz guy that actually performed on stage and could command a crowd. Later, when fleshing out the story and characters further, Third Person essentially shaved those parts off of them to make the characters of Jonas Spahr and Saskia del Norma.

On a meta level then— of COURSE Phineas and Weepe are so obsessed with Jonas and Saskia! They are literally looking at their better half, the part of them that was stripped away to increase their flaws. Out of meta and in the context of the story, Phineas and Weepe both put Jonas and Saskia on pedestals. They then deal with these pedestals in interesting and horrific ways.

The pedestals exist because Jonas and Saskia saved them in some regard—Jonas by pulling Phineas out of the Delta, and Saskia through her kindness to Weepe when he came to Midst. This results in Phineas and Weepe primarily seeing Jonas and Saskia as the symbols they represent: heroic Prime Consector and the kind, too pure for this world pillar of the community respectively. These pedestals superimpose a fundamental power imbalance in the dynamics: Phineas feeling inadequate compared to Jonas’ Valor and charm, and Weepe thinking his awfulness will eventually twist Saskia away from him, Then, all of the problems with these relationships come to a tumultuous head when the moon fell on Midst, and it’s interesting to note that both Weepe and Phineas both partially did the terrible things they did to save face for themselves to their counterpart: Weepe specifically wanted to not be there or mentioned during the Cabaret bust, and Phineas went so violent over Sherman in an act of desperation partially to prove to Spahr he was worth something. Both of these attempts end up failing and fracturing their relationships, and Weepe abandons and Phineas is abandoned. These relationships then do not see each other until close to the end of season 3.

One of the major themes of Midst is change and metamorphosis, both on a physical and a mental level. All of the four characters go through a high level of change during their time apart, but Saskia and Weepe’s change is purely physical, while Phineas and Jonas’ is purely mental (save some beard shenanigans). Weepe’s entire body transforms into the clear skeleton man we know and love, and Saskia literally gains another body from the tearror. However, even after these drastic physical alterations, they remain fundamentally the same person. Saskia is still kind and community-focused, and Weepe is still the same diabolical bastard. Conversely, Jonas and Phineas had their worldviews so rocked (Jonas a little slower than Phineas, but Phineas got to smoke a moth about it) they individually decided to renounce the cult and value system that provided structure to their lives. They both interact with others and the world around them differently because of the mental changes they have undergone (seen in Phineas attempting to take greater responsibility for his actions and make choices for himself instead of just following orders, and Jonas learning to take agency and grow a backbone).

This is why Jonas and Phineas manage to reconcile and Saskia and Weepe don’t. For as different as their reunion scenes are, there’s a striking commonality: Saskia and Phineas both express the sentiment “I’m angry at you and I don’t know if I can forgive you” and Weepe and Jonas both respond with “Good, you should be.” It’s why they say those things that matters though. Jonas and Phineas have internally changed since their last meeting. Saskia and Weepe have not. Jonas has reached a point where he’s no longer asking anything of Phineas or placing undue pressure on him, and so he accepts Phineas’ negative emotions and imperfections for the first time in their relationship. Weepe just accepts no forgiveness because he thinks he deserves it, because he’s the same terrible person he’s always been and internal change is impossible. Or so he thinks, at least. Phineas changed and Jonas changed to match him. Saskia and Weepe were incompatible with their polar opposite values, and stayed that way permanently. To tie it back to the idea of pedestals, Jonas happily stepped off the pedestal he was on and Phineas let him—they’re both at zero. Weepe couldn’t take Saskia off her pedestal or view himself as anything less than lower than her, to the detrimental point of denying himself the chance to grow from his mistakes.

These relationships could have easily ended up very differently. In an alternate version of Midst, Jonas and Phineas could have decided to kill each other and Saskia and Weepe could have survived and attempted to try again with each other. It end up happening the way it did because Phineas and Weepe had very different facilitators of their respective metamorphosis. Phineas was guided by the Mothers Merciful to come to a new self-understanding. Weepe had Imelda fucking Goldfinch. Change doesn’t happen in an isolated chamber, it’s influenced by the people around us. Phineas was guided into change. Weepe was tortured into it. If Phineas was not treated with the kindness he was, or Weepe was treated with a little more, there’s a chance the story could have unraveled very differently.

In conclusion (this post ran away from me a bit haha) the codependent relationships of Phineas and Jonas, and Weepe and Saskia heavily parallel each other but reach different conclusions in the key places they diverge, i.e. the internal versus external change the characters went through and the type of support they received. These relationships are mirrors of each other—I think Saskia and Weepe represent the worst possible road it could have went down and Jonas and Phineas represent the best, and the key was a successful metamorphosis and accepting the other as a person as they are, off a pedestal.

They all love each other to a frankly obsessive degree. Sometimes love isn’t enough though. Sometimes it’s just circumstance and a willingness to change that ends up being the determining factor.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

The disrespect toward indigenous peoples is what popped put at me today in one of your posts. I wonder how long the English have been looking down on the Welsh. We're the Saxons like that or is it the Normans who really thought they were better than everyone else. Cause it seems like it goes back a long way.

Oh, both, just in different ways. The Normals were imperialist, the Saxons were more theft and landgrab.

Something that makes me want to start hurling knives is the INCREDIBLY COMMON English myth that the Anglo-Saxons were a sweet innocent indigenous British people who were conquered and bullied by those mean nasty Normans (and Vikings), and because the Normans came over via France, that means everything was actually THEIR fault, and the true English i.e. the Anglo-Saxons, were victims too :(

When I say it's incredibly common, by the way, I really mean it. Enormous numbers of modern day English people believe this. I've seen BBC programs about the Viking invasions that claimed without a trace of irony that the Vikings would take slaves from "the native Anglo-Saxons". I've literally had English people comment this shit on posts of mine about Celtophobia and Welsh history. Like I'm there describing how the last Prince of Wales was locked in a wooden cage in Bristol Castle at the age of eight and lived out the remainder of his life there until his fifties so the Welsh would know their place, and some snivelling English cunt will straight up write a message going "Teehee really it was the Normans not the English though and they conquered the poor Anglo-Saxons too, poor England uwu"

Anyway in the dying days of the Roman empire in Britain one of the leading reasons for Rome abandoning Britannia was the constant waves of Anglo-Saxon invaders. There were so many the east coast of Britain became known as the Saxon Shore. There were so many the Romans built a line of forts that were and are literally called Saxon Shore Forts. There were so many that an official, historically documented, paid governmental position in Roman Britain was the Count of the Saxon Shore, i.e. the guy responsible for keeping the bastards out.

Rome had banned native military, of course, so when they then withdrew and took the armies with them, the people left had no defences against the incoming waves of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. England fell pretty quickly, Angles in the north, Saxons in the south, Jutes primarily in the east, I believe. What stopped their westward expansion was the Brythonic Celtic nations living in modern day Wales. And this is the origin of the Welsh dragon - those separate kingdoms needed a banner that united them, and represented Not Saxon. An anti-Saxon force. They chose a red dragon.

This is also the origin of King Arthur. An anti-Saxon king of the Brythons, who would repel these Germanic invaders. (It was several centuries later that England realised they should probably steal the term 'British', because otherwise they were marking themselves as 'not native'.)

Anyway the saving grace of the Anglo-Saxons in the end was actually that they were whiny little bitches who gave up trying to fight in Wales with its difficult mountains and fought each other instead. The whole sorry tale of the Heptarchy is the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fighting like cats in a bag, while Saxon king Offa built a dyke along the Welsh border and went "WELL YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OVER HERE" and every Welsh king went "...we literally didn't want to conquer you anyway, you spectacularly sad and stupid man"

Oh, and of course, there's the name 'Wales'. Given to us specifically by the Anglo-Saxons. And translated by centuries of English scholars, mostly very smugly, as 'foreigners'. A fun bit of early propaganda, look - foreigners in our own country that they tried and failed to steal.

All of which is a circuitous way of saying - yeah, it goes way back.

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

How HOTD films Team Green vs How HOTD films Team Black

Aemond & Aegon being interrogated vs Jace & Luke having their parentage publicly discussed

First off, the moment where Viserys interrogates his sons on the rumours is in many ways a fantastically shot and tense scene. As an ensemble scene, the camera primarily focuses on Viserys, Rhaenyra, Alicent, Aemond and Aegon as we watch the emotions and suspense play out. We feel Aemond and Aegon's hurt and complicated relationship with their father, we wait with Rhaenyra and Alicent to see what the boys will say, how Viserys will react, just how will this interrogation unfold.

What we do not get is any attention on the kids whose parentage is under discussion.

This is what we briefly get of Jace just before the interrogation begins. We get a quick shot of him shouting on Baela's behalf, a quick shot of him telling his mother they were called bastards, and we see him by his mother's side as she goes into action. But he's rarely at the centre of attention, and what attention the camera does give him is only brief. There aren't many frames of Jace - the camera just doesn't focus or linger on him.

Compare this to the multiple close up shots and clear prolonged focus on how Aemond and Aegon feel while their father is shouting at them. There are multiple frames giving them plenty of attention (I could only fit a handful of them on this post), letting those micro-expressions sink in for the viewer. But no focus on how Jace feels watching the rumours being spoken out loud, in front of everyone. No focus on how he feels watching his grandfather, waiting to see what he will say and do.

Will the King protect his grandson? Is Jace about to be officially labelled a bastard and have his life destroyed? How anxious is Jace watching this exchange? How upset is he when his uncle, who he used to follow around like a shadow, says for the room to hear 'just look at them'? And Luke? Does he know what's going on?

Now I am not an expert on cinematography or directing or editing etc. But I don't think it takes an expert to notice when the camera sends such a clear message to the viewer. Alicent's children are main characters whose emotions you are invited to be invested in, while Rhaenyra's children are not given equal weight. Alicent's children join her as main characters, Rhaenyra's children do not.

Even Otto and Daemon get to react where Jace and Luke do not

When Viserys threatens to cut out the tongue of anyone who mentions the rumours again, we keep the focus on Aemond and Aegon. We get to know intimately how they are feeling during this scene. But how are Rhaenyra's kids feeling? Is Jace relieved? Is Luke still confused? If the goal of making the Greens sympathetic was so the audience would feel their hearts torn two ways, then the camera is failing miserably, because it is only directing us one way.

Aemond's reaction to Alicent demanding Luke's eye vs Jace & Luke's reaction

Am I against Aemond having a close up here? No. The moment is about his mother seeking retribution for his eye after all, the close up makes sense. But it is one of many he (and Aegon) have in this scene, and again the camera is very uninterested in how Jace and Luke feel. Aemond got to respond when Rhaenyra suggested (bluffed) that he be 'questioned sharply'.

It isn't a close up, but he doesn't exactly lack for close ups. And he is still in the centre of the screen. The camera waits on the back of the chair to see him turn around and glare at his sister.

Are we going to cut to little Luke's face when a grown woman wants to cut his eye out? Or Jace when his little brother is threatened? Apparently the original draft had Luke yell "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry" when Alicent demanded his eye, and then try to hide behind his mother in fear. So at one point it seems there was some attention to how Luke feels, some effort to invite the audience to feel it too. But in the end we get the Aemond close up followed by a distant group shot of Team Black reacting, inviting the viewer to feel very little.

When Alicent attacks with the knife we do at least get a brief cut to Luke screaming. And I like the little detail of Luke holding Rhaenyra's arm afterwards, if you can spot it. Jace also appears to be present behind him, hello Jace. How do you feel about your mother being hurt? Have you realised now the danger you are in? Is now the moment you decide you have to be very grown up for your mother? It looks like it is for Aemond.

Again, I am not against Aemond receiving attention in this scene. He did just lose an eye. But this is an ensemble scene, about a family getting irrevocably split, about the next generation inheriting the conflicts of the previous generation. The rest of the ensemble are given attention - Viserys, Rhaenyra, Alicent, Daemon, Otto, Criston, Corlys - but when it comes to the next generation of characters there is a clear disparity. Would the viewer be invested in Rhaenyra and Alicent's conflict and relationship at all if the camera only ever focused on Alicent?

The camera should be inviting us to care about the conflict between the next generation - not just one side of the next generation. We get a bit more focus on Luke in the following episode and the final episode - primarily because he is about to die and the writers at least understand that we should probably care about him first.

But Jace should have been set up from episode 6 as a main character - a character who gets equal screen time and the same emotional weight as his uncles. We should have followed him dealing with his parentage, with the scrutiny and rumours, with Criston bullying him, with the burden of being both the perfect heir and the knowledge that he needs to help his mother and protect his little brothers. The camera should be inviting us to care about how he will feel when he loses Luke.

We only get rare crumbs where the camera is interested in Rhaenyra's children. While proving my point I trawled through frame upon frame of Aemond's face in this scene to find the rare shot where Jace is in the centre (at the very beginning of the scene, before the drama starts to really play out), where he isn't at the side or in the background, where the camera lingers just a little bit. I wanted more of this.

For a further illustrative example, see how differently the relationship between two sets of brothers are filmed.

Also what are Baela and Rhaena up to? The previous episode introduces us to the idea that Daemon ignores Rhaena. A scene of Daemon hugging his grieving daughters was deleted, and replaced with a scene of an emotionally distance Daemon walking away from his grieving daughters. Ok then, if you're going to introduce that idea, maybe actually do it justice? We have close ups of Daemon lurking and watching the argument at the sides - how about a shot of Baela and Rhaena looking for their dad? How about a shot of Rhaena, needing comfort, looking crestfallen that her father isn't showing any concern, that he's more interested in watching the argument than looking for his daughters? I mean if I have to watch Aegon the rapist and his daddy issues...

If Daemon is supposed to be ignoring his daughters... well there is a way to communicate via the camera that characters are being ignored without the camera actually ignoring them. The show does it with Alicent and Viserys all the time. I mean, here's how we are introduced to the girls seeking comfort from their grandparents. Distantly, beginning with a shot of Corlys and Rhaenys coming down the stairs from behind, and relegated straight to the background where they will remain for the rest of the scene.

Why add Baela and Rhaena to the fight if you're not going to do justice to their presence? Especially considering how much the dynamics of the fight have changed in addition to their presence. Initially it was an older bully hitting a toddler and then beating up little kids who came to their baby brother's rescue. Now it's kids closer in age, punching out their grievances, and it's 4 against one. This tilts the sympathy towards Aemond - who already has all the damn close ups anyway. To compensate, you have to invest in the emotions on all sides. Especially Rhaena - she just lost the last link she had to her mother, and what she probably figured was her chance to get her father's attention. So give her a damn close up. And Jace - if you are going to have him pull out a knife instead of a wooden toy sword like in the book then you better earn that moment by inviting us to feel just how much the word 'bastard' hurts him.

[mieromaestro]

finally found pt.1

Summary: Y/n and Marshall have a fight. This time it is a serious conflict. He's almost disappointed in the relationship again, but this time it's different. He knows you're special and can't just lose you. Y/n is a celebrity too.

warning: 18+

“I can't believe it. I've trusted you for so many months and I stumbled into betrayal again!”

“You need to hear me. I didn't cheat on you yesterday or ever. It's just that…”

“…I found you making out with him in his car?”

“Marshall! That bastard got me drunk. He wanted me to sleep with him, he wanted to take advantage of me, Marshall!”

“And you're happy about that?”

You slapped him on the cheek.

“How can you say that?!” You cried out in frustration as you looked at his face. “I was insanely scared, I was afraid, but I couldn't do anything!!! I couldn't move because of the crap he gave me.”

Marshall laughed, very bitterly.

“You're really good at manipulating me. You know, I thought you were different, not like all the other whores who betrayed me and hurt me. But it turns out you're not. You're even worse. You got under my skin…”

“I didn't betray you, Marshall.” Your voice trembled, tears dripping to the floor, but you continued to speak insistently. You reached for his head but he roughly intercepted your hand.

“Don't do this to me.” You said, looking into his eyes. There was always so much pain and loneliness in them. It wasn't in the last few months when you were able to build a relationship. He was different. He was so much happier. You were glad that you were the reason why. But now everything was falling apart before your eyes.

“You'd better go.” He said in a cold tone.

You looked up into his eyes in disbelief. Was he really that angry? You couldn't move because of the chilling cold that enveloped you. With trembling hands you began to gather your things. Everything was like a fog. 

Now you just couldn't contain your resentment that HE didn't believe you. Tears came flooding out of your eyes again. Grabbing your suitcase, you walked silently out of the house with one last glance at Marshall.

The incident that had happened to you had been televised and broadcast 24/7. It was the high-profile event of the week. Of course, the pop diva was caught in a car with another guy. All the media wondered if there was a breakup with Eminem and how he survived the "betrayal." Every time you threw a pillow or the first object you could find at the screen at the mention of your name.

Marshall didn't call or write. You went crazy with uncertainty, leaving numerous calls and messages until you realized it was useless to do so.

But you had to endure the embarrassment even worse. Reporters found out about the harassment. To the old footage that didn't really say anything was added a video that a fan who recognized you shot. 

In the video, you could clearly see that you were almost unconscious, and the bastard was kissing you. It was painful for you to look at the recorded video, as if you'd been humiliated and shamed all over again. Tears formed in your eyes, which you wiped away. 

Suddenly you heard the doorbell ring. Not knowing who could come at such a late hour, you went to the door, by which there was still an unpacked suitcase. When you opened the door, you were stunned. The one standing in front of you was Marshall.

“You forgot this at my place.” He was holding a sweatsuit. But not just any sweatsuit, of which you had many, but the one he had given you. It was too big for you because it was his original sweatsuit. You still stood there in silence, not knowing what to say. 

“Thank you.” You reached out and took the sweatsuit, pulling it, but Marshall wouldn't give it back. You looked shyly into his face.

“He won't bother you again.” He said. You looked at him perplexed, and suddenly you saw a blood stain on his eyebrow. You were horrified to imagine what Marshall's words meant. A fight. You didn't even want to ask how he'd found him. With his connections and capabilities, it wasn't hard.

“You shouldn't have, I…” Suddenly you felt his hand sharply lifting your face by the chin.

“Look at me. Did he do anything to you?”

You couldn't fight the rush of feeling that came over you. He was there again, you could feel his touch. But an unpleasant realization stung your heart. He came, but only after the news broke.

“So you believed those weasel reporters, but not me?”

“What?” He frowned.

“You only came here after those videos went viral in the media.”

He suddenly looked in the direction of the TV where the sound was still coming from. There was another story on Y/n.

“I didn't know about that.”

You frowned. “Then why did you come here, Marshall?”

“I'm sorry I didn't believe you right away. Jealousy blinds me.”

“What made you change?”

He came very close, and stared intently into your eyes. That look had been familiar to you for a long time, and you could feel your breath catching. 

“I knew it was crazy to leave you. I knew I would kill myself with it. But I can't take it anymore.” His eyes filled with anger. “It's like I can't control myself. Every time I see assholes stretching their arms toward you, I forget that you belong to me.”

You looked up and put your hand on his neck, gently pulling him closer. Marshall let you pull him to you.

“Nothing could ever happen between me and anyone else.” You smiled. “You know how long I've been trying to win you over. You think I'm just going to back out?”

His hands dropped to your waist and began slowly stroking your skin through the fabric.

“Picked up a lost dog and turned him into an obedient puppy?”

The corners of your lips spread apart and the sincerest smile appeared on your face. He adored your smile because it always reflected your true feelings, your happiness when you were with him. Marshall took your chin in his hands, and you closed your eyes, still smiling.

“I don't know how you do it, but you made me come back to you again.”

At first it seemed like your relationship was only for a moment. Guys like Marshall don't usually pay attention to girls like you, you thought. He was too distant and inaccessible. At times his behavior remained so. But you knew the real him, you saw a side of him that was hidden from others.

You reached forward and kissed him. He moved his hand around your neck and pulled you closer. The other hand that was still resting on your waist moved lower, and you exhaled in a kiss. You were both insatiable, you two haven't had enough of each other. 

You buried your fingers in his hair and felt Marshall lead you toward the inside of the apartment. He began to run his hands over your shoulders, back, waist and hips and you heard his labored breathing.

“I fuckin’ love your body”. He said hoarsely.

You pressed your lips to his neck and left a little hickey there. You knew it was his erogenous zone. Marshall growled, and his movements became more sloppy. He took off your blouse and unhooked your bra, slowly running his palm from your neck to your cleavage and your breasts. 

You tried to keep up with him and pulled off your favorite leather jacket of his, running your palms over his broad shoulders. You didn't notice how you reached the bed and Marshall pushed you onto the soft surface and threw off his shirt. You reached up and pulled him to you. Your lips met again.

Marshall deliberately seized the initiative and pressed you against the bed. It was turning him on, you knew it. He pulled away from your lips and grabbed your jams holding them in one position for a moment and hovering over you. You ran your hand over his chest and taut belly, your hand lingered on his belt and you pulled him toward you. He grabbed your hips and lifted them up. You felt how hard he was and you let out a moan. 

“Honey, I want you to do something for me.”

When you looked at him, you willingly leaned forward and unbuckled his belt. Suddenly Marshall intercepted you and switched places. Now he was on the bed and you were hovering over him.

To be continued

[dalekofchaos]

The bastardization of Life Is Strange

I thought things couldn't get worse than the D9 Predatory business practices, toxic work environment, rampant misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and protecting a fucking Nazi Expose.(this apparently wasn't the red line for some folks and still insisted on buying the game anyway)

Well, it's not worse than that, but now?

The entire game has been leaked.

You can't make this up.

They made Life Is Strange, a Indie developer's passion project into MCU Lite.

Safi is a shapeshifter and the final choice in Double Exposure is "will you join forces with Safi" and Max joins the dark side or some stupid shit like that. Or refuse like the Max Caulfield I know would actually fucking do. Who wrote this fucking shit???

“i'm going to find other people like us, max, people with powers. i spent my whole life thinking i was the only one, knowing i could never tell anyone because they would look at me like THAT. but now there's you. you... and me... time traveler and a shapeshifter”

literally why is there even an option to side with her in the first place, she's clearly out of her mind, if there ever was a "morally bad and morally good decision" like d9 wants to assign to the endings of lis1, THIS WOULD BE THAT what a crock of shit.

How did Life is Strange go from melancholic, artsy slice of life to fucking Avengers? HOW!?

at the end max gets a nightmare just like in LIS 1

Texts are assumed to be apart of the nightmare

Silver lining. One final Chloe message after alienating the core fanbase and D9 think scraps will make up for it?

In hindsight.....they warned us what they were planning.

Dude took the "Elsa join the X-Men" meme a little too serious and literal.

But wait, it gets worse.

....I FUCKING APOLOGIZE. I once dreamed of all the protagonists coming together. But not like this. NOT FUCKING LIKE THIS!

BUT WAIT. IT GETS FUCKING WORSE!!!

Life Is Strange going from one studios passion project to the fucking Avengers is the biggest fall of grace I've ever seen.

There was a charm, chemistry and likability of the original game.

It was never about a character having superpowers. It was about finding oneself in the world, friendship, love, tragedy and making the hard choice. LIS 2 is about brotherhood, family and learning to make the best possible choice to give your brother the best life. TC is about trauma, family, finding a better life, corruption. It was never about the powers. That was a background noise and a small part of the overall story.

You know, the worst part of all this is that Hannah Telle sold her principals and credibility for DE.

Thinking about things better and from certain comments I've read about her, such as the nervous breakdown, it leads me to believe that Hannah is a hypocrite just because she's nervous.

Think about it: early 2016 she says she likes Grahamfield. But in 2018 for Farewell she says she likes Pricefield and her favorite ending is Bae because she knows Max couldn't live without Chloe (and Farewell made her come to that conclusion) and now saying she couldn't think of anyone else doing Max... dude... better say you need the money, and you didn't want to deal with the angry fandom and that's why you changed ships.

It bothers me (or rather I see it as hypocritical) that they say "nobody bothers Hannah, poor thing" poor thing? But she accept all that! She's accepting not even saying "Chloe" in interviews anymore. Poor thing, why? I mean, they can attack the other AVs but not Hannah? What the hell privileges does she get when NO ONE DESERVES to be harassed. Damn, even Max's Japanese AV is afraid of being harassed when she goes to play DE!

At least Ashly Burch has some principals. She knows her worth and when the direction of the story is shit. She stands up for her fellow VA and the only reason BTS was remotely successful is because she was a story consultant and Farewell because she stood up gor her fellow SAG VAs.

Ashly even said that she prefers Bay and sees Chloe more with Rachel. And there she is, living with her principles. It makes me think that if Hannah accepted the whole DE disaster, it's because she agrees that Max is like that and she liked everything and that to me is worse, that Hannah sees the complete bastardization of Max Caulfield and Life Is Strange as a whole and went "yes, this is the complete direction I can see for Max and I completely accept this superficial soulless garbage, why no I am not a complete and utter hypocritical sellout".

I take back what I said about the Pricefield breakup being realistic because it was done out of malice to hurt Ashly Burch for standing up for herself and having an ounce of self-respect and principals and alienate Chloe's fans. Fuck SE and fuck D9.

Anyways I stick with my headcanons.

Post-Bay. Max and Warren are successful Photojournalist and Science Professor, married and living their best lives while keeping in touch with their friends from Arcadia and visiting Chloe's grave on her birthday and the anniversary of her death.

Post-Bae. Time shenanigans happen which results in Max saving Rachel and because of saving Rachel she saves Chloe and Arcadia Bay. Max, Chloe and Rachel ride off in the rainbow and get their happy ending. Max is a successful Photojournalist, Chloe is a mechanic and owns her own Tattoo Parlor and Rachel fulfills her dream as an actress and model. They often visit Arcadia to visit old friends, run into Alex and Steph, even join their band for a few gigs and are just living their best lives.

[nenekobasu]

I’ve been reading some of your analysis posts for a while, and one thing you keep emphasizing is how Isagi is a key in Blue Lock, while Kaiser is Blue and a Lock. And another is how Isagi is a gun in a team of swords

I agree a lot on what you’ve said about Kaiser (neo egoist, new hero), but I’d like to talk about Isagi.

Is it so bad that he is a key in Blue Lock and a gun in Bastard München?

For a while now, I’ve thought of Isagi being too much of a goody two-shoes. He listens to everything Ego says without question, and he always look as if he has some kind of mindblowing eureka moment when he does. I think it would be nice if he challenges Ego on some stuff and gain his own unique football philosophy, similar to how Kaiser challenges Noa to instead play like how he likes.

Maybe that’s the point of Isagi being a key and a gun.

Although I admit it’s too early for Isagi to deviate from Ego’s ideals, as he himself can’t seem to visualize past it yet, this build-up is just in time.

hi, thanks for the question. if i'm understanding the ask correctly, the sum of your argument seems to be "the point of isagi's nel arc development is that isagi demonstrates he can challenge egojin in the realm of thinking/ideals/etc, by creating something original to him" (if this is wrong i'm sorry and please disregard the rest of this answer)

starting off, i can't refute this in a satisfying way. the reason is because the argument seems motivated by a dissatisfaction with blue lock's pre-ubers match presentation of isagi and egojin. my belief about egojin is that he's the author-insert who acts as the fullest representation of blue lock's ideology, and as such occupies a position of thematic correctness within blue lock; isagi following egojin, then, is him fulfilling his purpose as the protagonist of blue lock, embracing his story's ideology and becoming its embodiment. this is a basic aspect of blue lock that i accept as 'correct', regardless of how i feel about it being so; from this standpoint, any instance of isagi deviating from his purpose will be unacceptable to me.

with that in mind, i think "isagi becoming a key and a gun" was where the nature of the story being told was transformed. before, in manshine (when isagi followed egojin and was 'correct'), isagi fulfilled his ideal form as a god-devil under great pressure, and bonded with yukki the sword— at that point, the story being told was that "isagi, under lock, becomes the heart of a sword." for the story to transform into one where "isagi, freed by a key, becomes a gun" was only possible when isagi betrayed who he was in the previous story.

since i accept the previous "lock and sword" story as what is 'correct' within blue lock, i feel the need to condemn this current story. but i understand that, for anyone dissatisfied with the previous story or with what blue lock advances as the 'correct' option, any change would be refreshing and/or a cause for hope. i can't argue with the frustrations of someone who (from my standpoint) rejects one of blue lock's core elements, as i, too, have only accepted this element not out of agreement but out of convenience.

overall i regret this response, as i realize i've basically just told you "yes it's bad because blue lock said it's bad which means it's bad." this exposes only my acceptance of egojin's correctness, and with it my acceptance of blue lock's message. it's important for me as a reader that blue lock remains contained within itself, so i can't reject the frustrations of anyone who dislikes it. that being said, i'll try to make another argument for why i condemn isagi's "gun and key" development.

to make something clear, isagi himself isn't the key— hiori is. and, isagi didn't organically become a gun on his own— hiori made him into one. instead of egojin feeding isagi ideas for how to become number 1, hiori was the one giving birth to isagi as their number 1 striker. isagi doesn't meaningfully challenge egojin, because all isagi did was replace egojin with hiori. 

so while the current isagi opposes egojin's teachings, he only developed to do so by latching onto a more convenient version of egojin who was capable of giving him immediate glory. the cause of isagi's opposition towards egojin was not a desire for rebellion, but forgetfulness. if anything, his "gun and key" development reveals how dependent he is on other people to give him direction and form his own ideas… as such, i'm incapable of seeing any silver lining to isagi's development

(as a final note, i understand the intent behind the isagi-egojin to kaiser-noa comparison, but while i do absolutely think creating his own ideal to challenge noa is core to kaiser's development i also think that this doesn't cut into noa's position as a 'correct' figure within blue lock, and that kaiser challenging noa leads to him 'following' noa in a true sense— for instance, kaiser's early test run of his ideal in ubers match leads to his ch.220 goal, which is eerily similar to noa's barcha goal. kaiser breaking from noa ultimately leads to him becoming more noa-like) (also i don't think of egojin as someone with an "ideal" in the same way as the master strikers but i haven't thought about it enough)

in any case i've done my best to communicate my beliefs about blue lock, but i understand if this answer fails to satisfy your objections. there were other approaches towards answering this that relied on an examination of the "key" and "gun" symbolism, but it would have looped around to being about the same central issue of whether the 'correctness' blue lock presents should be accepted by the reader. to take one final swing, though, i want to add that isagi is the chosen protagonist of blue lock, bound by blue lock's confines… from the beginning, true escape for him was a fated impossibility. i want isagi's current ideal of "freedom" to be thought of in this context of a deeper incontrovertible oppression, where isagi yoichi is only the protagonist because he exists in the prison called blue lock (manga). no amount of partnering with a key or shooting his enemies dead will change that isagi is trapped, but the only reason he doesn't realize this fact is because he's incapable of seeing what lies beyond his own, tragically limited perspective

[kataraavatara]

“uhm actually the amethyst empress parallel isn’t a thing because rhaenyra was a bad person and bad politician and the dance was actually about how bad she was and about all Targaryens are evil and-”

come ON. The narrative parallel isn’t about the nitty gritty details and never has been, and there’s no reason the Dance can’t impart more than one message.

The Amethyst Empress gets like, two sentences. There is no personality, no actions attributed to her other than succeeding her father and being overthrown. Maybe she had bastards too, maybe she was mean, maybe she was cruel, likely she didn’t exist. We just don’t know. It’s a very sparse story. But just…look:

Elder sister (Rhaenyra/Amethyst Empress) usurped by younger brother (Aegon II/Bloodstone Emperor), bringing on catastrophic magical consequences (Death of the dragons & Targaryen decline/ First Long Night).

If this wasn’t an intentional decision on George’s part meant to draw comparisons, why not an Amethyst Emperor? All the previous rulers had been male, making the Amethyst Empress an outlier that draws the reader’s attention.

So…what’s the point if not to be a Rhaenyra parallel? As in like, please tell me. I haven’t a clue.

and a fun one: I’ve also seen (don’t remember the originator) the theory that Amethyst = Rhaenyra, because Amethysts are purple, which is red + blue…Targaryen Red + Arryn Blue…Rhaenyra. Bloodstone = Aegon II because Bloodstones are typically red and…you guessed it…green…

(also brown but pls don’t ruin my fun rock theories :((( )

[trikis-turntables]

Out of morbid curiosity i went to look at the new story in Dislyte with Sachiko and holy shit. Which fucken hack wrote this? I'm not spoiler tagging this cause really, it's not worth the effort.

I kind of???????Man.

It felt like someone read the original story and wrote a petty rewrite that blatantly shows their biases for and against certain characters.

Like the biggest issue was defo the Gaius plot twist he got actually done dirty?? Idk i feel like its a problem with the isekai/transmigration genre as a whole but you don't innovate by subverting subversions. You just end up going back to stereotypes. OG!Gaius was a subversion of the whole "Stoic Highly Decorated Man in Position of Power that doesn't look like he belongs" and then he proves time and time again that he's approachable and loves and cares for people so deeply that he'd maintain an image of himself (his display of medals--that garners negative comments about his character being prideful, mind you) just on the rare occasion that it could provide some comfort to the people he's helping. He lives eVERYDAY, trying to live up to Hannah's memory. This is a man that misses burnt peach pie because his wife made it for him. In the new storyline..he's just a transcendent obsessed, power hungry bastard. None of the character nuance.

And then Abigail and Alexa. I hate that they're not allowed to just be morally grey characters. New update makes them "acceptably" morally grey which IMO just flattens their characters. "Yes, a female character can be morally grey if they are your allies." Like fuck right off lmao. What's that??? The central intrigue of Abigail's personality is her ruthlessness contrasted with her softness for the few (few) people she actually cares about. It's literally her song. Roses in the snow.

And ugh. I hate the new "human"-ist moral of the Unknown Story. The fun part of the original Dislyte story was that people *dont know* what to think about Esper powers. Like Miracles are Dangerous, that's been established. Miramons are unknown beings that tend to cause mayhem and destruction. But on the espers' side? We run the gamut of characters seeing their powers as a source of good-- that because they gained powers they can better help and protect others (Tang Xuan, Li Ling, Ahmed, Bardon etc); to characters that hate their transformation because it turned them into monsters or changed their appearance in such a way to cause them great discomfort and body dysphoria (Nu Xi, Brewster, Heng Yue) and so many more that are ambivalent or have other things to worry about. And the central interest of their humanity *was* that contrast of perspectives. Shadow Decree was interesting as a unit because their mission statement was "Esper Acceptance" and that can mean both "we should understand how espers works so we should research it" to "live and let live" to "Esper Supremacy". Like remember when the story used to show the dichotomy of the glitz and glam of the Esper Union against the backdrop that many common folk and non powerful espers discriminated against Espers? That's the subversion. To flatten the message to "we must save the humans!!" and "esperification unilaterally corrupts and makes people go power hungry" is a 12 year old's idea of writing and nuance because it /ignores/ that people can have different perspectives over the same thing.

And haaaah. Like if anything that dislyte is good at, its in making characters that at least a few people will care about even if theyre mentioned shortly. That's just how strong the personalities are in this game. But it's kind of telling that I've seen no fanart or writing of Sachiko at all. Berenice, for how much I did not vibe with her or care about her in the story is beloved by even more people than I can count. (Also just petty sidenote: when a 'soft' female character gets 'corrupted' by power, and also the trope of female character having to be "saved" by ...getting mcfucken murdered by the masc main character)

But I think it's just sad that they cared so little for the new story that they couldn't even come up with a name for the Miracle. Unknown Miracle? You didn't even want to know your own story, man.

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

No Longer You

Next

Author's note: Alpharius 'Chief' 'Zarius' debut!

Summary: Zarius muses on the nature of things, and how Black Templars are Selfish Pricks.

Warnings: jealousy, spying, let me know if I need to add anything.

Tagged: @barn-anon, @bleedingichorhearts, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @egrets-not-regrets, @kit-williams

Tagged: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k

He's swimming in one of the oceans on Ancient Terra, arriving here had not been apart of his original goal or mission he'd been assigned by his Captain, and finding ways to link up with the local Alpha legion outpost, Loyalist faction, and not Chaos or Renegade had taken some... careful maneuvering. He's not in his teal and silver ringed octopus true form. But that of an Ultramarine. As an Alpha Legionare he's been trained in a myriad of things, also, as a 'Scout' in the guise of another legion he'd been picked to be an Apothecary, he'd been flattered and honored, because being entrusted with the duties of an Apothecary, and one in training are heavy and many, learning how to heal (and subsequently) more ways to take a person apart, both Astartes and base line human had been handy.

Astartes have to have some level of trust with Apothecaries, he's heard many a confession, and seen all manner of things in his time as an 'Apothecary' it's one of the ways he's been able to help the Alpha Legion hide among the other shoals and pods, when certain Paranoid cousins suspected one of his brothers to be Not One of Them, but A Two-faced Shape-shifting shit head, he'd be called in to test the gene-seed contained within the suspect individual. Depending on his mission, and what the actual truth of the matter was, truth, lies, and what is real and actually are in fact, more fluid.

The Alpha Legion is woven through the fabric of the Imperium, and through every chapter within the Space Marine Legions, to monitor and guide things, an unseen hand guiding and shaping events to the will and whim of their eldest brothers. He's never actually outed a True Brother- but if a certain person needed to be... removed well then, an Apothecary does his best, but you can't save everyone.

He's in the form of an Ultramarine. Most tend to have some level of trust, well perhaps not for Chaos or Renegade, or at least acknowledgement that the 13th legion are Bastards, but are Competent Bastards. He makes sure that he's far enough away from the Ultramarine shoal and sends an encoded message to his local handler, they haven't met in person, yet, after all, the Space Marines that they are hiding as haven't met, and it would be odd as a Chaos and Loyalist, even with The Alliance, seen to be so... cordial without more battle brothers nearby. Especially since Alpharius is in the guise (and the training) of an Apothecary.

Honestly, why do other chapters fuss over their Apothecary brothers so much? As an Alpha legionary, he's taught how to patch himself up, and if things go side ways, and very bad, how to take out their own gene-seed and find a way to safeguard and send a signal to the nearest Alpha Legionary to have it picked up and their body burned. He's been hearing some Concerning things about some of the hard liner shoals, a War Band (although the Black Templars are trying to have it changed to a Crusade) are nearby and are causing no end of Headaches.

It's terribly entertaining, but he has to warn his handler, who's both in a Chaos form, and much to his distaste, also Chaos Aligned. He hopes that his fellow Alpha Legionary is not actually a Chaos Marine, but is truly loyal, but had been ordered to Fall. It's... he sucks in his teeth as he keeps that Ultramarine Expression on his face, he's heard that two of his pod brothers have Fallen, due to orders. It's... hard hearing that. He hopes they regain their equilibrium soon and are better able to serve the plans and plots of the Alpha Legion Captains. Being on Ancient Terra could give them some unprecedented ability to get certain things really rooted.

They are able to keep certain... unsavory things from spreading wildly. Monitoring Ancient Terra's "internet" for certain trigger phrases that had things carefully monitored and wiped. Various organizations and cults that have sprung up in predictable response to the Space Marines and much to their dismay, the very few and rare Custodes arrival are being monitored and ... handled by other brothers. He only knows that much, no one brother knows everything, after all, if you are caught, other space marines try to squeeze as much information out of them as possible.

He knows, if the shoal he swims with ever find out that his colors are untrue that they will turn on him. He's had to deal with the aftermath of brothers being Found Out, back in the 40th millennium and also now. It's very are for it to happen now, there are much fewer of them, and of all the legions. They will turn on him, and their fury and rage will be swift, brutal and cruel, at least they are a Loyalist Shoal, the Renegades and the Chaos Shoals would do far, far worse to him if they find out his scales are teal and silver. Then again, it depends very much on which Loyalist shoal finds out, if they ever do.

He's heard rumblings about Primaris marines from some of the furthest in time brothers and cousins, and he's ever so curious about them. Having heard that a few of them have made a splash in their local communities, he's terribly curious and wants to meet one of them if at all possible. Also, its a part of the standing orders from their Captains, they need to try and find and assess the threat levels of the Primaris Marines to be able to interact and manipulate them accordingly. A challenge is something to be Overcome. He's also heard of Bonds, and how no Alpha Legion has never been able to have a True bond, what their cousins speak of, and that sends a pang of longing, jealousy and hurt stabbing through his hearts.

He's heard of Alpha Legion pods swarming a single individual and protecting that one human, keeping them preciously safe and theirs, but those false bonds work, only so long as their True Bonded doesn't show up and take the human away from the Alpha Legion pods, and they do take them away, every single time, the human choose the Other over them. Such is their burden, such is what he will bear it, and endure they must. As much as he longs for a bond, it also comforts him, the bonds are clearly Warp Fuckery, and the fact that it happens and the way the bonds have different intensities is endlessly fascinating. Also he's having a private laugh at the fact that the stubborn- idiot sons of Dorn, the Black Templars attempt to break the bonds (selfish, bastards, at least they can bond, ungrateful to abandon such a precious things) unless they get hit with an Intense or Strong bond, which means they suffer for it, harshly, and it will kill them, or nearly so, and their brothers drag them back and throw them at the human in angry despair.

So stubborn, and stupid, and selfish and- he takes a deep breath, holds it, and lets it go, so he's been near those annoying Black Templars too much. As an Apothecary, they demand his time, because the idiots get themselves into scraps with the Chaos Shoals, regardless of the difference in strength and numbers, and the fact that there are some treaties in place between some of the larger shoals. Such troublesome cousins, it would be a... shame is the Black Templars heard that some of the local Loyalist pods have a treaty with some of the local Chaos Pods.

For the shouty, charging, stab happy sons of Dorn would Rage and try to stab Everybody. which would ensure that they are chased out of the area, and are further socially isolated and given less in resources from the rest of the loyalists in this area. Which would serve them right, and that would mean that the poor stubborn idiot that he's got the misfortune to attend to in his guise as an Apothecary will be taken by his brothers. The 'poor thing' is suffering from breaking, or at least trying to break his bond.

Something within 'Zarael' reels back and hisses at how ungrateful the Stubborn Idiot is being. He won't breathe a word that he should be grateful to have such an opportunity, and it would fall on deaf ears for the Templars- and have certain other ears prick up in curiosity. Besides, if the idiot is able to break the ‘weak’ bond an Alpha Legionary will slide into place and soothe the poor rejected human and tend to them, and see if they can try to bind the human to himself, and potentially his pod of brothers. Another thing he's curious about is if any of the Primaris Marines are little brothers in disguise. Hearing what he has about the Primaris Marines having chimeric gene-seed, and from what some of the farthest in the future 41st millennium brothers have said, Primaris Marines are blends of Loyalist and Traitor Gene-seed. So it's very likely they have Little Brothers who have a gene-seed that would get them caught out.