#btw she has not given him a clear answer

[neurotonic]

mayhaps 👔 for charlie? (or john if it’s easier to do him)

👔 clothing - charlie

I'd like to think that he's actually a pretty neat person when it comes to clothing...The first time he got the job at Zoraxis, he underestimated how enthusiastic he could be with handling fire-emitting equipment. He was fine, but his clothes were badly damaged. Since then he's worn proper PPE plus his welding mask, but he's been (patiently and carefully) asking Fabricator if she could fireproof his fancier clothes...science project for fabby? yes??? He quickly understood that Zoraxis values ✨pizzazz✨ in their villainy. He wants to look good while burning things down, damnit!

👔 additional for john because I want to teehee

I think if he survived, he'll find himself a GREAT loss of his usual clothes after the Peacemaker fall. He'll only have time to pack loose, homey clothes from one of his places before he goes into hiding and such. If he crashes with anyone who's willing to take him in, there might be a time where he ends up borrowing clothes from them. He feels it's rather.. below him ("band t-shirts? pft. really?") but he learns to appreciate it. Well, that and it's easier to blend in the faceless crowd without all his fancy outfits.

[simpxxstan]

hi i would like to req cheol x fem!reader with the song you are in love by taylor swift. thank you!

congrats on 500 followers btw 🫶🏼

this is part of my 550 followers celebration event (closed now)!

thank you for this request, really hoping you like it! i'm not a swiftie so i was unsure of how to interpret the song prompt. hope i did it justice! posting very very late, thank you for being patient for so long <3 happy bday month to cheollie!!! i love him so much and this couple too. i think i might write a few more drabbles for them later lol

genre: coworkers to lovers, friends to lovers, fluff

word count: 3.3k words

warnings: reader is fwb with an oc (not seungcheol).

"you are in love!" your best friend says. "yeah, i know." you sigh, "that's why i've been ranting for so-" "no, silly! not with jay. you're in love with seungcheol!" you had laughed off her words, wondering if she'd become tipsy way too fast into your girls' night.

but when you're lying in your bed later that night, the thought lingers in your mind- the alcohol clearing up and making you progressively more sober as the cold air from the open window hits you, while your friend snores soundly next to you.

"think about it." "i am thinking ab-" "no, you've never really thought about this before. think about it clearly." you'd laughed heartily at her faux-wisdom, which always appeared after finishing two cans of beer.

but she's right. you have actually never thought about this. you've been so obsessed with getting jay to like you that you've never really given a second thought about seungcheol... and what he really means to you now.

"i'd expect more from a stats major and a data analyst, honestly. aren't you supposed to be logical and rigorous-" you slap her arm while doubling over with laughter, knowing full well that she's imitating the words of an infamous professor in your college. "i am being logical. we're just coworkers."

were you?

now that you think about it, certainly not. you're more than coworkers. more like friends. more like best friends. in fact, he's the closest friend you've made since your days in college. just coworkers don't buy each other their favourite drinks when the other has a bad day. just coworkers don't hang out for hours after work nearly every other day. just coworkers don't invite each other to parties with their separate friend groups. just coworkers don't have inside jokes that prevent you from forming friends with anyone else in the office.

your mind travels back to last thursday, when seungcheol had saved your ass for the nineteenth time this year when you'd arrived late by preventing the boss from noticing.

and the thursday before that, when seungcheol had dropped you home after he'd found out that jay had made you cry during an argument in the break room just before work got over.

and the thursday before that, when you'd gone with seungcheol to taste the menu at three different banquets because he was busy planning the wedding of his best friend, joshua, and needed an unbiased taster.

did just coworkers know everything about each other? including his dentist appointment's dates, the last time you went grocery shopping, the last time he went to watch a movie, the vitamin supplements you eat after breakfast, and so much more.

you smile in the darkness. no, you and seungcheol could never be just coworkers. you're best friends, nothing less of that.

but love?

ah, no. you'll bet your life on this one. you've been in love before. and what you feel for seungcheol is nothing like it.

_

your heart hammers in your chest as you ring the doorbell again, the weight of the melting cake heavy in your hand. you distinctly remember jay telling you that he'd be home tonight, then why wasn't he responding to his calls nor opening his door?

you're answered about twenty minutes later. you're sitting on the stairs in front of his flat when you hear him walking up the stairs... and there's someone else's voice too. a female voice.

"y/n?"

words get caught in your throat when you see mina, the new intern fresh out of a college, walking right beside him, arm looped in his, a hickey prominent on her neck, freshly bruised.

"why are you here?" she asks you, and you wince.

"i wanted to surprise you... for your birthday! sorry, i- i didn't know you had plans."

jay smiles as he looks at mina next to him, and pulls her closer. "no, mina actually surprised me too. and we went out dancing. sorry, have you been waiting for long? you should've call-"

"i did."

jay pulls out his phone and checks it. "oh shucks. you've been calling for the last twenty minutes," he takes a step forward and leans in to kiss your cheek, lightly. "you can join us for dinner? i'm sure mina won't mind." mina definitely minds, because she looks like she's going to shoot you down in a matter of seconds.

"nah, i'll just leave. happy birthday though. i can see you had a good one." would you be petty if you didn't give him the cake?

"sorry for making you wait for so long, y/n-ah."

one year and four months.

"no worries, man. enjoy your night. bye mina!" and you smile, like the stupid people-pleaser you are. at least you brought the cake with you.

_

"what's up?" seungcheol opens the door and you smell the heavenly aroma of fried noodles from his kitchen greet you.

"thank you for opening the door."

seungcheol raises an eyebrow at you. "why would i not open the door? you're literally-"

"yeah no, that's cause jay didn't. he went out with mina, it turns out." you stuff the cake into his fridge and stand next to him where he's cooking in a wok.

"mina? intern mina?"

"yeah. they made out too... so i'm guessing it wasn't friendly."

seungcheol scoffs. "mina joined, like, last week."

"two weeks."

"he switched you up for her although he's been with you for a year and a half."

"she's twenty-two, cheol. i'm pushing thirty. i'm not sexy anymore." you bite your lip as you look at the word puzzle in the newspaper on the coffee table. seungcheol doesn't reply immediately, so your heart sinks a little further. even if he doesn't subjectively find you sexy, he could just say it to console you. well, but it's a stretch to even expect that from-

"you're the sexiest woman i've ever met." seungcheol says, his voice softer, as he plops down next to you, holding two bowls filled with the fried noodles. he begins to eat wordlessly, legs propped up on the coffee table, almost inhaling the food. if you move your leg a little, your bodies would touch.

you don't reply. you can't reply. you start eating the food too, relishing the flavours in silence.

"want some more? there's more egg bits towards the bottom, i know you-"

"it doesn't matter if you think i'm the sexiest woman. clearly he doesn't."

"is jay the only person whose opinion matters?"

"are you really asking me that?"

"what i am asking you is that you've wasted one year and a half pining over a man who doesn't care for anything more than sex, and you still hope he's worth your time?"

your breath stutters. seungcheol's staring at you, and you feel shameful and self-conscious suddenly. all the fire and rage from your earlier comments dissipate and you sigh.

"you think i don't have a chance at all?"

"jay is an asshole, y/n. i think that you shouldn't care about him at all. but that's just what i think. my opinion doesn't ma-"

"shut the fuck up," you extend a hand to grab his wrist and make him look at you again.

seungcheol does look at you again but doesn't say anything.

"my best friend says i like you."

seungcheol's fork clatters in his bowl and you both turn to look at each other.

you have no idea why you say that. sure, it's been on your mind all day, all evening, and suddenly you feel like you're on your toes around him through the day. even when you two sat together at work, you'd become oddly conscious of his presence in your periphery, which has never occurred to you before.

"do you?"

and you have no idea why he says it either. in all the million possible options of things he could've said right now, you'd never imagined him asking this to you right on your face.

so you have nothing to say, except a very shaky, a very feeble, "i don't know."

_

the next day, two things happen.

first, seungcheol isn't talking to you. well, he is talking. but not properly. talking like could you press the elevator button or do you want some grapes or did you read the mail.

second, jay's talking to you a lot. he follows you into the break room and apologises again for standing you up on his birthday night.

"it's okay really. i hope you had a wonderful time with mina." you don't make eye contact, not really interested in listening to his whining, instead more focused on making the espresso you know that seungcheol craves during the afternoon.

"i... just wanted to clarify. there's nothing between us, you know. nothing going on." "you don't have to clarify that to me-" "i know. but still. wanted to know if it's all good between us." you push your tongue into your cheek to stop a curse from coming out. finally you pick up the two mugs of coffee and face him. "yes jay, all's good." jay smiles widely. "so are we on for the annual company dinner for this weekend?"

shit. you'd forgotten about that.

"umm-"

"but we go every year!" and jay throws you those puppy eyes that bring out the wrinkles next to his eyes that were the first reason you'd fallen for him.

it, surprisingly, doesn't make you feel weak in the knees.

"i'll confirm by tonight, okay? gotta go."

you head straight to seungcheol's desk and put down the cup of coffee on his desk, making him look up from his desktop.

"do you have a plus one for the company dinner?"

his eyes widen, and he responds after a moment's pause. "no. but-"

"will you come with me?"

"what?"

"will you be my plus one?"

"but you're going with jay?"

"who told you that?"

"you did, genius. that's all you could talk about on monday."

you cringe internally. you don't even know why you do that- talking so much about jay, thinking so much about jay, just... caring so much for him. is it a parasocial thing? like people crush on their celebrities and make imaginary daydreams about taking care of their crushes? because jay certainly hasn't recicprocated even a tenth of your affection.

or maybe it's because of the sex. it is natural for friends with benefits to end up liking each other. well, in your case, liking the other without the other liking you. perhaps it's the physical intimacy. perhaps it's the consolation that you may be pushing thirty but you're still attractive enough to be on the market. perhaps it's the attention he gives you during your hookups. and perhaps it's the lack of attention from anyon-

wait.

you don't have a lack of attention. you have friends.

so it's not the attention bit.

is it specifically male attention?

but seungcheol is male. and he gives you a lot of attention, but only as a friend. you may be the sexiest woman he's ever met but he would never hook up with you. he's way out of your league.

"i don't want to go with jay." you finally respond back, clicking your tongue.

"huh? isn't that like your dream?"

"seungcheol. don't push it."

"i'm the one pushing it? i tell you not to like him, and you're mad at me. i tell you to like him, and you're still mad at me. what am i supposed to say, y/n?" and he pouts. fucking pouts at you like a little boy who's not allowed to eat sweets, and your heart breaks into a million pieces. you know he's not even trying to fake his cuteness (like jay does sometimes) and yet there's something so adorable about him right now that makes you want to-

fuck.

"just answer me, cheol. please. yes or no?"

"when have i ever said no to you?"

your mouth twists as you nod. he hasn't. ever said no to you.

"i'll tell jay i'll be going with you then."

you turn around to walk away, but seungcheol pulls you back, grabbing your wrist and pulling you up close to his chest so that you have to tilt your head up to talk to him. "what?"

"is this some let's make jay jealous mission?"

"what?!" your eyes go wide and you scoff.

"of course NOT. what do you think i am? i'm not that desperate."

seungcheol sighs.

"whatever you say, darling."

_

seungcheol looks as good as ever when he comes around to pick you up and drive you to the company dinner that weekend.

"red suits you," he says, taking in the dress you've brought out from your mother's closet specially for this event. this dress is made to impress. it's the dress your mom wore at the party where she met your dad for the first time, and you've heard from dad countless times how enchanting she looked in the dress. you're hoping you'll do the dress half the justice, but clearly you haven't inherited your mother's body proportions, so it doesn't look as good as it did on her. and yet, the plunging sweetheart neckline allows you to wear pretty accessories that you hardly get to wear to work. it is really a dress to impress. somehow, something inside you wants to impress.... someone. and for some reason, you don't think it's jay.

the car ride is silent. it's extremely uncomfortable because you don't remember the last time you spent ten minutes in the same space as seungcheol without talking to him. you knew you shouldn't have raised the my friend thinks i like you shit. but you've raised it and now you can't go back. his question still lingers in your mind, and it feels like a challenge.

do you like him?

when you look at him in the moonlight, his jawline is shaved clean and his hair is slicked off his forehead. it's not like you've never realised before this how handsome seungcheol is. in fact, it was the one of the first things you'd noticed about him. he's got an aura about him that's so attractive from the outside. but as you grew closer to him, the attraction somewhat wore off into a casual comfort... where you can exist in the same space with him without double taking at his beautiful smile or wondering why his dimples are so cute.

but that's not to say that his appeal is lost on you.

under the moonlight, he looks godly.

''i heard jay's going with mina." he finally tells you when he parks into the parking lot.

"good for them." he looks at you and cocks an eyebrow, and you shrug.

you're about to open the door and step out, but he quickly grabs your hand across the car, and pulls you inside.

"umm. y/n, i don't know what you're doing. but i- whatever i said that day- look, i don't like jay because i think he's rude to you? but apart from that i'm sure he's a great guy and you should like him if you want to. and i have no right to say anything about it-"

"what?" you're so confused by his little monologue.

"sorry i'm saying this poorly. what i mean is, please don't let what i said that night make you avoid jay or anything."

"this isn't about that."

"it's not?" he tilts his head in query.

"no. this isn't about how i feel about jay."

"it's not?" he asks you again, his face more confused. you're tempted to smile at the cute confusion on his features, but you know it'll make him mad for spoiling this serious moment.

"this is about how i feel about you."

_

seungcheol does not utter any more words to you after that. there's still a very prominent confusion on his face, but he masks it well with his natural charm.

but you're not confused at all for once. everything seems to become clear to you with 100% HD clarity. for some reason, it all makes sense now. why your best friend thinks you're in love with seungcheol.

because you've never been in love before.

you've always fallen for the toxic type of person, like jay. relationships that are more about hookups and drunken fights than emotional bonds and care. and your past experience has made you feel that love is nothing smooth. it's always been a rocky path for you. push and pull, where you're both pushed around and pulled to meet to other's conveniences.

but being with seungcheol is so... different.

there's no loneliness. no push and pull, no compromise. only laughter and memories. he makes you smile you more than any of your love interests have made you smile. he makes you laugh ever so often. he takes care of you when you're sick. he cooks for you whenever he comes over because you can't cook to save your life. he wrote you a birthday card. he bought matching t-shirts from a thrift store because you both happened to like the design. right now, when you see the way he's talking to another colleague, his pretty lips articulating every word clearly, your heart warms with fondness. a stray hair sticks out, and you fix it back. he doesn't notice. or he pretends not to. when jay comes around within your periphery, he pulls you closer, and you can't help but smile again. something about everything he does is so endearing.

it's not a eureka moment.

and yet, it feels good to feel love for real for the first time of your life. you can die tonight happily, knowing you're capable of real love. because you know you do love seungcheol. for all his pouty tantrums and all his whining complaints, you love him the most in the world right now, and you simply cannot imagine choosing a life without him.

"do you want to dance?"

seungcheol's been deliberately avoiding eye contact, but now he looks at you like a deer caught in the headlights.

"no."

you giggle at the sudden reply. "why?" his frown deepens, and you tug at his lips with your fingers. "you don't look good when you frown." "it doesn't matter." "it does." "no one's looking at me." "no one's looking at me either." "shut up. jay's boring holes into your dress with the way he's ogling you." seungcheol's face flares up, and you're mildly amused. "and what about the boy i want to ogle?" "huh?" "you. you're so handsome, cheol." his eyes unfocus from jay and back at you, his eyes wide and lips slightly parted.

"what are you doing, y/n? why are you playing with my heart?"

"i'm not, though? i'm just telling you how i feel."

"and how's that?"

"i feel like dancing with you under the moonlight. i feel like going on a long drive with you. i feel like hugging you on the warmth of your couch until we fall asleep. i've never done these things, seungcheol, will you come with me?"

"never danced? fuck, you're not being treated right."

and he shows you. he takes you to the centre of the hall area, where the roof's glass so that it's slightly isolated from the result of the expanse, and the moonlight's shining in like a spotlight. there are only a few people dancing there, mostly couples. but seungcheol and you dance at the very centre, lost in each other's eyes, forgetting that this is a public place. it doesn't matter. nothing does. except him.

you are in love, your best friend's voice floats into your mind. and you smile as you look into seungcheol's eyes, realising she was right all along.

so you tell him.

"i love you, cheol."

seungcheol stutters in his step for a second. but it doesn't matter. your pace was anyway too slow. he pulls you closer against his chest, and cups your cheek with one hand. "what's that?"

"i told you this night's about you. and i've realised it now. i am in love."

and when seungcheol kisses you later that night, you're downright thankful you've finally realised your feelings. because how did you ever think you'd survive without his cherry kisses?

[dootznbootz]

Odysseus was afraid the entire year on Aeaea in the Odyssey.

Content warnings: Rape, Sexual Coercion, Sexual assault, Sex Work, power dynamics, this will also be long as fuck as I talk too much. This is NOT a "Circe the Goddess Hate Post". I call her out but that's it. I tried to keep this neutral but still making a point (Let me know if I gotta put more)

Lots of lovely folks on here have written great essays on what Calypso did to Odysseus as it's soooo blatantly obvious there. It literally states how he cried every day and how he flinched from Calypso, very straightforward on how he was explicitly raped.

But I've noticed that a lot of people are always iffy about Circe's situation (understandably so, it's not so in your face.) She's usually always mentioned in the "Odysseus never cheated! He was raped!" posts but then the evidence is only ever given against Calypso, and then mentioning how you can't say no or disobey the orders of an immortal and how it was in exchange for freeing his men.

WHICH IS ALL CORRECT!!! But!!!

There ARE immortal/mortal couples who genuinely love each other. Dionysus and Ariadne, and Eros and Psyche are examples. Apollo and Hyacinthus. Psyche indeed becomes immortal eventually and in some versions, both Hyacinthus and Ariadne do too. But even while mortal themselves, their immortal lovers still remained respectful and loving towards them and definitely doted on them. There are definitely power dynamics at play here but there's some nuance.

Odysseus and Circe's relationship, however, is very different. We all know he slept with her at the very least once. And that was in exchange for his men being returned to humans. That was the only time it was explicitly stated. With Calypso, it tells you every night he was enchanted and slept beside her. It was the narrator speaking but Odysseus is the narrator now and it's his story. If you think he lied, this probably won't change your mind anyway.

But even if it was a one-time thing, (which isn't the only interpretation and I will have points that talk about others) then why did he stay a year? What was he doing?

I'm doing a deep dive into the year he spent on Aeaea based on evidence in Book 10 and then the beginning of Book 12. Step by step, and honestly I'm writing this for Tumblr, not as a thesis so I will be a bit more casual but still using sources. To me, it's very obvious that he was uncomfortable throughout the text simply based on the language that is used. But it's very subtle and not an outright statement of "He's been crying every day."

BTW, just so we're clear, this is not a "Circe is the root of all evil, etc." type of post.

This isn't meant to villainize her. She's an immortal being and in mythology that changes things. Everybody is morally gray. I genuinely think if we were to ask her feelings on it, she'd probably be like "Oh, yeah! Turned his men into pigs! Strange little man he was." I don't think she gave a flying fuck.

I just simply get pissed tf off when people think Odysseus was fine. It honestly disturbs me how often I'll go on other websites YouTube and see everyone call him a whore and a womanizer. It's sexism at its finest because 1.) "MaN AlwAyS wAnTs sEx" and 2.) women can't rape/coerce. THIS IS SIMPLY TO LOOK INTO HIS FEELINGS ABOUT IT.

This is also only for Homer's Odyssey, using different translations. If you want to discuss this, (I'd be happy to! Just be nice!) DON'T BRING UP ANY OTHER WORKS.

With all that out of the way, come yell with me 🤗

I've read multiple translations, as I know there's going to be bias depending on who's translating. And having done so, each one has basically the same situations described the same so that's nice for consistency. Also, there are some parts in the story that are vague and that we'll never have answers to.

Odysseus first simply sees the smoke from her chimney and then sends his men in, after drawing lots Eurylochus leads half of the men to check out the house. I mentioned here vaguely how the 2 immortals he sleeps with are both introduced while singing and weaving, which could be seen as an enchantment (which to me is most likely. They both possess magic and are goddesses). So I'm just gonna move past that. Just take a peek and come back or just know that enchantment was likely.

Next, I'll see people often joke on Tumblr about how

"Odysseus says that Polites is his best friend yet only mentions him once!"

I think Odysseus mentions his best friend, the one to jubilantly go in first, to show WHY he would go through with this. How much these comrades mean to him. That's his best friend, and there are approximately 20 others who are now pigs as well. Could you knowingly leave one of your best friends to live a life like that knowing you could've done something?

[...]Circe—and deep inside they heard her singing, lifting her spellbinding voice as she glided back and forth at her great immortal loom, her enchanting web a shimmering glory only goddesses can weave. Polites, captain of armies, took command, the closest, most devoted man I had: ‘Friends, there’s someone inside, plying a great loom, and how she sings��enthralling! The whole house is echoing to her song. Goddess or woman—let’s call out to her now!’ So he urged and the men called out and hailed her. She opened her gleaming doors at once and stepped forth, inviting them all in, and in they went, all innocence.

(Fagles, Book 10)

In the Odyssey, it's never mentioned why she turns people into animals. I think they were turned into pigs because, throughout the Iliad and Odyssey, Odysseus is often associated with boars. His men are associated with him, therefore: 🐖 Piggy. From what we know, the lads were just eating her food. With how much Xenia and hospitality are a large part of the story, they probably thought they were safe. They were GUESTS. This is especially welcome after the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians. And it literally says "All innocence". They were simply naive.

Then Eurylochus runs back, so terrified that he couldn't speak at first. He then begs Odysseus to just leave the men behind. Odysseus has shown that he does TRY to save his men when it is truly not reckless to do so.

But I shot back, ‘Eurylochus, stay right here, eating, drinking, safe by the black ship. I must be off. Necessity drives me on.’

(Fagles, Book 10)

Then the famous warning from Hermes. I've seen folks bring this up when talking about this. YES, he is literally commanded by Hermes to not refuse her if he wants his men back in basically every translation. It sounds like Circe was warned as well. When? We don't know, but it sounds like Hermes didn't pick "sides" here.

Strange that he was still like, "Sleep with each other" to both, because he could've been like, "Circe, there's this guy named Odysseus. When he comes to this island, change his men back." But who knows, maybe it was Circe's idea from the beginning and Hermes went along with it. Just food for thought.

Now here’s your plan of action, step by step. The moment Circe strikes with her long thin wand, you draw your sharp sword sheathed at your hip and rush her fast as if to run her through! She’ll cower in fear and coax you to her bed— but don’t refuse the goddess’ bed, not then, not if she’s to release your friends and treat you well yourself. But have her swear the binding oath of the blessed gods she’ll never plot some new intrigue to harm you, once you lie there naked— never unman you, strip away your courage!’

(Fagles, Book 10)

But that doesn't explain why he was there for a year afterward! Nor if he himself was okay with it, which is what I'm trying to delve into as he wasn't.

Also the knife thing? She's still immortal. It was meant to startle her. Her dad is Helios. Odysseus would've been toast, literally.

Also note this exchange wasn't a "Yippee! Hermes says I'm going to get laid!".

...just approaching the halls of Circe, my heart a heaving storm at every step, paused at her doors, the nymph with lovely braids— I stood and shouted to her there. She heard my voice, she opened the gleaming doors at once and stepped forth, inviting me in, and in I went, all anguish now …

(Fagles, Book 10)

Another translation by Ian Johnston, (they all say the same thing essentially but trying to make a point.)

I continued on to Circe’s home. As I moved on, my heart was turning over many gloomy thoughts. After I had walked up to the gateway                                                of fair-haired Circe’s house, I just stood there and gave a shout. The goddess heard my voice.                      She came out at once, opened her bright doors, and invited me inside. I entered, heart full of misgivings.

HE👏WAS👏SCARED! The tone is solemn and suspenseful. He was just told that without Hermes' help with the root, he wouldn't be able to survive and bring back his men. Circe was dangerous.

He made her swear not to harm him.

Straightaway she began to swear the oath that I required—never, she’d never do me harm—and when she’d finished, then, at last, I mounted Circe’s gorgeous bed …

(Fagles, Book 10)

Please note that she NEVER promised that to his men. His comrades did NOT have moli in their systems. He had no way of truly ensuring their safety in any way from Circe.

He then refuses to eat or speak, literally "lost in grim forebodings". If he "just got laid", then why isn't he happy? Not many men can say that a goddess CHOSE to have sex with them. He did it to get his men turned back. It was an exchange. I don't think Circe is "Evil" so maybe it slipped her mind. Or yes, she could've thought, "Hey, I got what I wanted. He's handsome enough. Homer never shuts up about how hot this guy is He hasn't brought up the pigs yet. I'll just let this play out. Maybe HE forgot. I don't have to do anything." We don't know. But Odysseus probably felt like he got deceived.

"Hey, I did my part of the deal. I slept with you. Now do yours."

She pressed me to eat. I had no taste for food. I just sat there, mind wandering, far away … lost in grim forebodings. As soon as Circe saw me, huddled, not touching my food, immersed in sorrow, she sidled near with a coaxing, winged word: ‘Odysseus, why just sit there, struck dumb, eating your heart out, not touching food or drink? Suspect me of still more treachery? Nothing to fear. Haven’t I just sworn my solemn, binding oath?’

So she asked, but I protested, ‘Circe— how could any man in his right mind endure the taste of food and drink before he’d freed his comrades-in-arms and looked them in the eyes? If you, you really want me to eat and drink, set them free, all my beloved comrades— let me feast my eyes.’ So I demanded.

(Fagles, Book 10)

He doesn't trust her despite what she had told him that he should when they sleep together. He has figured out that while she will not hurt him, his men were not a part of that oath, the men he was trying to protect in the first place.

She is then moved by how they rejoice when they see one another again. While turning people into animals for funsies isn't cool and coercion is fucked up, I think she comes to see this group as not quite friends but I think she did find them entertaining in a way.

This is very strange but I've seen some folks say that since Odysseus was pissed at Eurylochus for still not believing him about Circe is proof that "Oh he was trying to defend her!". Which??? Uh, Eurylochus was literally questioning his leadership as a whole. Calling him reckless and shit. He is captain and he's the King, he can't let that shit slide. The text literally says "Mutinous". Also if I had to sleep with someone I did not want to especially if it was to save my friends and I got called names afterward I'd get fucking pissed too.

Only Eurylochus tried to hold my shipmates back, his mutinous outburst aimed at one and all: ‘Poor fools, where are we running now? Why are we tempting fate?— why stumble blindly down to Circe’s halls? She’ll turn us all into pigs or wolves or lions made to guard that palace of hers—by force, I tell you— just as the Cyclops trapped our comrades in his lair with hotheaded Odysseus right beside them all— thanks to this man’s rashness they died too!

They stay a year. Again it's never stated that Odysseus slept with her that whole time. You could interpret that. (Honestly, I feel Circe would get bored with him? She's a goddess, she's got more important matters than mortal men. And she definitely doesn't love him.)

His men DO have to bring it up that "Odysseus has forgotten his native land." Maybe they thought they could sneak out without her knowing??? I am fucking REACHING but hold on as Telemachus did because he knew Nestor would well, be Nestor and try to coax him with "Have a meal with us! Let me tell you about how badass I used to be in my youth." But to sneak away from a goddess? Without her permission? That won't end too well. Aeolus in the beginning kicked out Odysseus when he tried to ask for another bag of wind. If she didn't want him around, she could literally boot him out. While she didn't force him to stay like Calypso did, she didn't "release" him either.

We don't know if they've been asking for a long time. Odysseus does say to Circe that they have been begging him nonstop, but he could also be saying that to try and convince her. He's good at persuasion. I think while he knew he could rely on her for food, shelter, and good advice, he still didn't feel...SAFE with her. I think he was possibly avoiding her personally.

I think HOW he asks her to leave is important to know as well.

...but I went up to that luxurious bed of Circe’s, hugged her by the knees and the goddess heard my winging supplication: ‘Circe, now make good a promise you gave me once— it’s time to help me home. My heart longs to be home, my comrades’ hearts as well. They wear me down, pleading with me whenever you’re away.’

(Fagles, Book 10)

Throughout all of Homer's works, the characters grasp another's knees when they are desperate and are literally at the other person's mercy. Priam did when begging Achilles for Hector's body back. The man who literally killed his son and was defiling his body by dragging it around. Leodes grabs Odysseus' knees to beg for his life before Ody kills him. If he saw her as a friend, and not a captor, WHY DID HE FEEL THE NEED TO BEG IN ORDER TO LEAVE?! No one, who is in a healthy relationship, has to BEG for permission to leave. Or to "Break up", if you interpret them as still sleeping together.

And even Circe acknowledges that he is there against his will!

‘Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, old campaigner, stay on no more in my house against your will.

(Fagles, Book 10)

[...]Odysseus, man of many resources, scion of Zeus, son of Laertes, don’t stay here a moment longer against your will

(A.S. Kline, Book 10)

This is probably another reach that you can ignore but the whole "they wear me down", could be trying to appease her. "Look, you're REALLY cool, it's actually my crew that wants to leave hahahah please don't kill them"

I mentioned before how Telemachus snuck away from Nestor but that was simply out of necessity because he needed to go home now. Not rest for the night. NOW. Nestor is just everyone's grandpa. Menelaus kind of talked more but Telemachus is very straight up in "Please I have to go now" and Menelaus immediately got things ready for him. He never has to beg and clasp his knees. Telemachus was never afraid. Menelaus is a fun uncle and Helen is your cool auntie.

Back to Circe! She tells him instructions for the underworld, they were in her bedroom. But that might've been the only way to speak with her. As even Penelope is usually away from the suitors when they are in her halls, Circe may have done the same. The text never states she played hostess physically. If she was hosting in the halls during the day, why did Odysseus wait until night to talk to her? He could've just asked her while she was on her throne in front of everyone. (He did so with the Phaeacians)

Or maybe he went alone because she only swore an oath to not harm him and so he didn't want his men near if she decided she didn't want to let them go. I could be missing something here so feel free to say something. Idk if this was a pride thing on how "I don't want others to see me beg".

She has info he needs in order to go home as well. She tells him to go to the Underworld.

She gave him new fine clothes and put on pretty clothes herself but that doesn't mean they had sex. Nausicaa gave him nice clothes as well but he never slept with her.

Then he leaves. Immediately. Not even doing a headcount as he didn't realize one of his men had died. (That was negligence on his part but he wanted out) He booked it, to the UNDERWORLD BY THE WAY. Circe even had to sneak the animals he needed for the sacrifice. Odysseus even basically said "She's a goddess. She can do things mortals can't" at the end of the book. And it almost feels...Numb? Solemn? Neutral? Gives a "It is what it is" vibe.

But Circe got to the dark hull before us, tethered a ram and black ewe close by— slipping past unseen. Who can glimpse a god who wants to be invisible gliding here and there?

(Fagles, Book 10)

She’d slipped past us with ease, for who can see a god move back and forth, if she has no desire to be observed?

(Johnston, Book 10)

She's a goddess. She has magic. She can do whatever the fuck she wants.

NOW ON TO BOOK 12!!! That was long! GET A SNACK AND WATER! LUCKILY THIS'LL BE SHORTER!

In Book 11, Odysseus swears, upon all his loved ones in Ithaca, to Elpenor that he'd give him a proper burial as he's been "unwept, unburied". So in Book 12, he sails back to Aeaea to fulfill his promise.

But you know what's funny to me?

He didn't tell Circe he was there.

He didn't even go to greet Circe himself. He sent his men to go get Elpenor's body.

The biggest clue that he didn't love/trust her is that if she was his "Affair partner" then why not go see her for "one last night together"?

SHE came out herself and pulled him aside to know what happened and then gave more advice.

I dispatched some men to Circe’s halls to bring the dead Elpenor’s body. [...]

Nor did our coming back from Death escape Circe— she hurried toward us, decked in rich regalia, handmaids following close with trays of bread and meats galore and glinting ruddy wine. [...]

But Circe, taking me by the hand, drew me away from all my shipmates there and sat me down and lying beside me probed me for details

(Fagles, Book 12)

In every translation, it talks about how he sits, and she lounges/lies down. That's not sex 🙃 In some translations, it even says he tried to be with his shipmates but she pulled him away!

So we lay down and slept beside our ship’s stern cables. But Circe took me by the hand and led me away, some distance from the crew. She made me sit, while she stretched out beside me on the ground. 

(Johnston, Book 12)

Then, she gives advice about the sirens, Charybdis, Scylla, and her father's Cattle. He tries to ask if he could save all his men. She scolds him for even thinking he could try. He again books it out of there.

I think we all know it wasn't "love". But I think a lot of people think Odysseus was willing and happy with whatever this was. "Friends with Benefits", if you will. I guess you could see it that way but I will say that makes me feel itchy with the whole power dynamic and fear. I don't think folks who have that arrangement have to beg on their knees to ask if they can leave though.

I mean the entirety of Book 10 gives me the vibes of "Laughing uncomfortably because you don't want to upset the other person". To just grin and bear it.

A lot of this was just putting the text here and picking it apart step by step. What you do with this is up to you. It's rambling while banging pots and pans together.

Maybe you see him as drugged the entire year and still sleeping together, as the moli "wore off". Even then, just because her magic can't affect him, there are plenty of natural concoctions that can be created that can affect mortals.

Maybe you see the entire year as sex work in exchange for shelter and food.

Maybe he was just alongside his men the whole time under her roof and was avoiding her after the exchange. After he got asked by his men to finally leave, he would start to walk up to that room only to freeze and turn around, thinking "One more day won't hurt. Should wait until I know she's in a sympathetic mood".

I beg of you, however, PLEASE understand that there was fear and coercion throughout his entirety on Aeaea. He wasn't staying to get laid. While there is so much going on and too many things that are left vague to really know exactly what happened, it is consistent that he was scared/numb. Lots of people go through with things they don't really want to do just to appease others. There are plenty of situations of sexual trauma where one person goes through something and the other has no idea the other person isn't okay. ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE CAN HARM THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT AT ANY MOMENT!

Sexual trauma is a very complicated thing and while he was scared, he definitely wasn't as traumatized by her as he was by Calypso. Calypso was a torturous hell while Circe was a year of walking on eggshells, as he did still receive help from her and she even apparently taught him a special knot. Not comparable but I still think Circe should be acknowledged. As even Odysseus acknowledges Circe when talking about how Calypso held him captive, as @leynaeithnea and @akaittou have reminded me. Leynaeithnea's addition:

A. S Kline translation of the Odyssey, book 9 Calypso, the lovely goddess, kept me there in her echoing caves, because she wished me for her husband, and in the same way Circe, the Aeaean witch, detained me in her palace, longing to make me hers: but they failed to move my heart. she held him back from leaving - one way or another - he did not want to, she LITERALLY compares Circe with Calypso, - yes he uses a stronger word for Calypso (here "kept" vs "detained") than for Circe, but it is still not willingly that he stayed.

He would not have brought up Circe alongside Calypso if her affections had "wanted". It's wild because I read the Odyssey and kept thinking "Y'all are calling the sex slave a cheater? The guy who slept with a goddess to get his men back? The ultimate simp apparently doesn't love his wife??"

Things I'm adding that shouldn't affect the argument as it is not in the Odyssey but I want to mention as it's a "fun fact": Odysseus' dad was an Argonaut. Laertes probably met Circe as well, (or knew of her) with the whole purifying thing and maybe Odysseus heard his dad tell stories of her. Later myths also have Circe with the habit of turning her crushes (or their lovers) into something with Scylla and Picus.

In conclusion, Yeah, he was afraid of her. At least to an extent. And don't pull the whole "Ancient men didn't get raped". Male victims exist and deserve compassion for what was done to them and women are capable of sexual abuse. If you think otherwise, you are not a true feminist and Fuck you. I said in the beginning this'll be casual and I don't wanna write a fancy ending. You can still think Circe is neat but you have to know that this was fucked up.

If you think a lot of this is bullshit or wanna give more context or wish to yell with me but still know he wasn't alright on Aeaea, cool. If you want to point out mistakes or something I should keep in mind with interpretations then feel free to say so but give text evidence. If you try and bring up the Telegony and/or Madeline Miller's Circe, fuck clean off. This is Homer. If you call Odysseus a whore and not the malewife he canonically is I'll start biting. 😤

[theprinceandthewitch]

See... part of me actually wants to know what Dana's thought process was with Luz's and Hunter's relationship.

Like... why did she decide to make Luz's type of boy "angsty warrior princes" even though Luz's type of boy could have been literally anything else?

Why was Luz's relationship with a prince highlighted as important since WBW? Even going to far as to make Luz write a romantic scene between her and a prince in Sense and Insensitivity. Hunter would not make his debut until season two, but they felt the need to bring him up in SAI.

Why wasn't there more of an effort to make sure Willow was there for all of Hunter's important moments?

Why did they keep hammering in the Lunter = Caleb/Evelyn parallels, even when Luz was dating Amity? If you want to argue Luz had to be there for all of Hunter's moments because she's the protagonist, it doesn't explain why they wrote these parallels. Especially the ones that came up in Hollow Mind and Thanks to Them.

Why is Luz honest with Hunter in Thanks to Them when she has never been honest with how she feels with any other character -- not even her girlfriend? What makes Hunter different from anyone else? She could have just kept how she actually feels to herself and it would have changed nothing. It's not like Hunter wouldn't have given his speech to Luz if she didn't tell him how she feels... cuz she literally tells everyone how she feels after Hunter comes back to life. This decision is strange and unbelievably haunting... because Thanks to Them brought up the Caleb/Evelyn lore in an episode where Luz's relationship with Hunter was the focus... oh okay... i guess this is nbd then. Like I'm just supposed to not make a big deal abt Luz being honest without having the truth forced out of her... okay. I guess i also shouldn't make a big deal about the other choice to have Hunter know Luz's secret in Hollow Mind.

You really just did that for reasons that are toooootally not shippy, huh? Mhm, okay! Sure, I believe you! [this is sarcasm, btw]

Why did WAD make Willow stand in front of Flapjack's grave with Hunter, even though the only other character with significant ties to Flapjack is Luz? WAD even made it clear Luz feels guilty about Flapjacks death... but she still isn't shown to pay respects to Flapjack post timeskip... WAD is gaslighting me into thinking Willow has significant thematic ties with Flapjack... as if she has a deeper relationship with that bird than Luz did. And just to make it even worse, they give EVERYONE Flapjack tattoos even though no other characters besides Luz and Hunter are tied to Flapjack. Especially Amity... like girlies first and last conversation with Hunter was when he made her feel bad about her relationship with Luz in Eclipse Lake... but the show is gaslighting me into thinking Amity and Hunter are friends or something. TOH LOVES tricking me into thinking certain character relationships exist...

I'm not going to ask why Hunter is unconcerned with Luz not coming through the portal right away in FTF because I already know the answer. This episode exists almost exclusively to make sure Hunter's arc ends with him holding pinkies with Willow. FTF is really funny for pulling this little stunt at the beginning because it's completely out of character for Hunter LMAO. Not sure why they've made such a big deal about Luz's and Hunter's relationship, just to pretend like it doesn't exist in FTF; only to then bring it up in WAD by having Hunter and Amity guide Luz out of the illusion... nightmare thing. They just cant stop bringing up Luz's relationship with Hunter even when both of them are dating someone else, it's so crazy.

[byunpum]

Ghost girl | part 3

Pairing: Neteyam x Albino na'vi!fem x Sully family

Warning: All the characters are aged up 20’s, bad relationships, teyam is a shy babygurl, soft & crush moments.

Note:Sorry for the late update, I've had a lot of work to do and I'm finally on vacation. I will try to catch up. But thank you so much for all the love you have given to this series. BTW… I'll keep answering requests. I have a lot of them in my inbox, so please be patient.

AVATAR MASTERLIST | Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4,Part 5(final)

3 weeks had passed since the Sully family took you into their home. Your injury had healed, and little by little you had started to help more in the family home. Because the camp was a rather uncomfortable and small place. Neytiri convinced you to live completely in the family hut, in a way she felt responsible for you. After all she was the one who had found you in the jungle. She also felt that you needed her, so she promised herself to take care of you. Jake didn't mind this, he thought it was adorable… to see neytiri so worried about a girl totally different from them. But he supported his mate's decision, you were a girl who had lost her entire clan. They should help you and make you feel like part of the new clan. Or so they were trying.

The Omaticaya had never interacted with the Na'vi of the cold mountains. They had heard stories, and only a few had seen a few. Your clan was known to be very polite, a bit of a hermit and not very sociable. They were not aggressive, but they did not like to mix with other clans. Besides the physical and social differences. Your clan was different in their way of living. In the last few weeks you could see how everyone did their chores, how the clan lived together. Of course, all this from the door of the hut. You were still a little afraid to go out, you had walked around the hut. But no more than that. You were curious, how you were going to help them. You had to learn to do something. You hadn't noticed, but Kiri had already come closer to you. Sitting down next to you. "Hey…what are you looking at? Are you looking at tarsem?" kiri teased a little. This comment caught the attention of neteyam, who was getting his things ready to go fishing. "Oh no" you laugh nervously, yes you had noticed this guy's presence, but that wasn't what you were looking at.

Neteyam clears his throat, coming over to where you two were sitting. "What are you two talking about?" the boy asks, playing dumb. "mmm nothing…about Y/N. She's spying tarsem, that's bad" kiri continues teasing. "Stop!!!" you push her a little. As your eyes meet neteyam's, he had a forced smile on his face. The last few weeks, ever since you had arrived at the hut. Neteyam has been silently close to you and your baby. Watching you from afar, or sitting closer to you at meal times. Helping you take care of him, or just holding him while you did other things. Making sure everything was okay, of course…all with a low profile. Everyone thought neteyam was being nice and wanted you to feel at home. So did the other members of the family, but you… you knew this was not the case. Neteyam was forgetting that your gift as a seer allowed you to feel and see things that others did not. You didn't know exactly what that feeling was that neteyam radiated when he was around you. But you knew it wasn't something normal…it was something very intense.

"Tarsem is a guy…quite interesting" neteyam speaks with a hint of annoyance in his tone of voice. Playing with your baby, which was in your lap. Kiri laughs again, nudging his brother on the shoulder. "He's interesting…and he's very cute" kiri looks at you, watching you roll your eyes back. "I'm not looking at him…I'm looking at that" you point to the group of women who were separating some fruit. Others were making baskets. "Ahh they're just picking fruit" speaks neteyam.

"They didn't do that in my clan…in the cold there are no fruit trees" you say, while still looking at the group of women. Kiri and neteyam stand silently looking at each other. "No fruit? So what did you eat?" asks Kiri. "Meat…and some berries and herbs" you smile awkwardly. You watch the look on kiri's face turn to one of sadness. "It must be very sad," says Kiri. You laugh and settle closer to neteyam. "It's no big deal… my clan was located in the area where there are many storms. So these foods are perfect for survival" you try to explain to them, but you could still see the anguish in their eyes. If it could be a bit depressing, you could occasionally enjoy some fruits that survived in the cold snow. But you were used to it. "But… I'm glad to be here, I've eaten a lot of fruits and I love them" you smile shyly. Noticing how neteyam was literally glued to your side. Your arm was bumping against his. After a short silence, neteyam had an idea.

"Why don't you come with me to get some fruits?" asks neteyam, placing his hand on your thigh. You bristle under his touch, he doesn't know what he's doing to you. Of course, he couldn't feel what you could, it was all too intense. "I'd like to…but" you lower your gaze, watching as your baby played with one of your braids. Braids that Neytiri had made for you the night before. Kiri steps up, and takes the baby in her arms. "I'll take care of him…it will be good for you to go for a walk" says Kiri. You think about it for a moment, but agree. Herwì had just turned 2 months old, so he was a little easier to take care the baby. You stare at Kiri for a moment, you swear you can hear a voice saying "he'll be fine". You panic a little, they turn your head. "Everything okay?" kiri asks, you try to laugh. "Yeah, yeah….esta fine, if anything happens you look me for me" you agree. Watching as neteyam gets up from the floor, going to get some baskets.

"So what are we waiting for….let's go" neteyam says, placing his hand on your back guiding you. You give a last to kiri and then walk out of the hut. The further you walked, the more surprised you became. Not only by the differences between the na'vi. But by the amount of humans walking normally, it made you a little nervous. You knew that everyone got along well, and that these humans were not dangerous, even your instinct told you that you shouldn't be afraid. But still… you felt fear. "How about we go to my ikran, what do you think?" neteyam asks you, trying to distract you. "Really?" you sound excited, ever since you had seen the ikran you wanted to ride them. A couple more minutes and you are ahead of the ikran. You grab the creature's head. Neteyam is silent, watching his ikran go calm under your touch.

"You are precious" you whisper, closing your eyes. Neteyam's ikran becomes even quieter, just as you touch it. You could feel its heartbeat, you look up, staring into the animal's eyes. "You haven't named it, why?" you look at neteyam, who had already walked beside you. "Ahh I don't know… I didn't think he wanted a name" says neteyam laughing a little. Holding up the baskets. "Well yes…you should" you speak. "I should" there is a small pause between the two of you. "Ok…all set" neteyam climbs into his ikran, inviting you. You take his hand, and he helps you get comfortable. "Hold me tight" neteyam says, as you wrap your arms around his waist. Holding you tightly, so that the ikran begins to fly.

The view was so beautiful. The mountains, the wildlife. The clouds that adorned the tops of the trees. Neteyam was silent, noticing how you were relaxing. Just as you were gaining altitude, in the distance you could see what had once been your home, Neteyam's eyes opened wide. You could see the large area that had been burned. As smoke billowed from the burned trees and floated up to the heights. Neteyam can feel your grip getting tighter. He moves one of his hands, to touch yours. Which was now on his chest, giving it a squeeze. "That was my home" you speak, laying your head on his back. Neteyam holds your hand tighter. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry" neteyam feels you settle more on his back hugging him, he knew you were looking for some comfort. Neteyam has never seen first-hand what the brutal loss of his clan was like. Neytiri and Jake only talked superficially about it. Sure, he had seen destruction. But the destruction of this magnitude never. And that you had experienced it firsthand, it broke his heart. He felt bad…knowing that his mother had to suffer as much as you did. Or worse.

Neteyam diverts his ikran a bit, to take another route, and so get away from the area. After flying for a while, you both land on a branch. You cautiously climb down from the beast, while Neteyam begins to place several baskets on his shoulder. "I told you that I'm not very good at climbing?" you say, looking down at the ground. "No? Why?" neteyam comes to your side, looking at your worried face. "Well… I didn't have the need to climb trees. I was just…walking" you feel yourself getting a little dizzy, seeing the height of the tree to the ground. Neteyam holds you by the arm. "Oh I understand…mmm climb on my back" says neteyam, bending down to be more below your height. You move closer, hugging his neck. Feeling neteyam's hands wrap around your thighs, pulling you up onto his back in one swift movement. "Hold on tight," neteyam says.

"You're not going to let go…are you?" neteyam can feel how nervous you are, you're shaking a little. And your tail was thumping his hands. "No…but if you want me to release you to the ground" neteyam jokes with you loosening his grip a little. You scream and hug him tighter. "Just kidding… calm down" neteyam starts to climb down the tree carefully, it wasn't very tall. So you reached the ground quickly. Carefully releasing you on the ground, making sure you were okay.

"Well…that wasn't so bad" you speak, adjusting several pieces of your top. You were still getting used to how revealing these clothes felt. Neteyam comes over, and adjusts a piece. Carefully, checking to make sure it was in the right place. You stand still, noticing how carefully he touched you and cared for you. So different…so kind. Making your heart clench. "If we follow this path…there are some trees that have the best fruits" neteyam speaks, he was so close to you. You could see all his expressions, and how his little ears moved as he tried to find his way through the jungle. Taking your hand, to start walking. You don't complain, you let him guide you. After walking for a while, about 6 minutes. You get to where the trees were. They were all full of yellow and red fruits.

"It's harvest time…I know you're going to love them," says neteyam, watching you walk away. To get closer and investigate the fruits further. They were so strange to you, Neytiri was bringing another type of fruit to eat..this one was bigger and brighter. "These days are supposed to start picking this fruit…look" neteyam plucks a fruit from the tree, and offers it to you. He gestures with his mouth for you to bite into the fruit. You laugh a little, it looked funny. You take it, and take a bite. Enjoying the new texture, taste and smell you were experiencing. Your ears perk up, and your tail starts wagging fast. "You like it, don't you? It tastes wonderful" neteyam asks, munching on a fruit. "This…is delicious" you speak with your mouth full. Neteyam laughs, he thought it was adorable to see you discovering something new for the first time. You both sit on the ground, laying your back on a log. Eating more fruit, while Neteyam told you all about the fruit. He told you that this was not the only fruit there was, that there were hundreds of them and how they should be harvested and cared from them. You listened to him very attentively, surprised that there was such a variety of fruit.

After a while, the two of you started talking about anything and everything. Until the subject of your baby came up. Neteyam was curious. Since you didn't talk about your mate, usually couples talked about their mates. Even if they had died, they still remembered their memory. You had barely mentioned it once. Now you were sitting, eating another piece of fruit. Neteyam cleared his throat and spoke. "Y/N…I have a question?" you could tell the nervousness in his tone of voice. You respond with a "Hmm?" but continue eating your fruit. "I wanted to ask you something about …. the father of your baby" speaks neteyam. He notices how you have stopped eating, and you put the fruit in your lap. You look up, to see neteyam. "I've noticed that you hardly talk about him, and…" you interrupt neteyam.

"seyey was one of the strongest hunters in the whole clan, at such a young age he had a lot of experience. He had earned the respect of the entire clan. Including my father…the clan chief" you pause. So you were the clan chief's daughter, now it all made sense. "I guess…he wanted you to be with him," says neteyam. You nod your head in agreement. "He thought seyey was the perfect mate. Our clan thinks about preserving our lineage, it must be pure. So as soon as we came of age, we united before eywa" you spoke with your eyes on the ground. Neteyam didn't want to say anything, he could see how uncomfortable this topic made you. "The only thing that came out enjoyable, was my son herwì… we were unhappy together". "I'm sorry for everything…" neteyam put his hand on your back. "My father only wanted the clan lineage to stay intact…no matter what I really wanted. He wasn't a bad father, but he didn't listen to me" you speak.

"And what did you want to do?" asks Neteyam, trying to cheer you up a bit. You blush a little, a little embarrassed. "I wanted to be a slinth rider" you speak, neteyam is a little shocked. The slinth were dangerous creatures. "Those creatures are not from the jungle?… they are also very dangerous" neteyam notices how you laugh. "Yes…but the ones found in the cold mountains are another type of slinth…they are just like me" you laugh, taking a bite of fruit. "You can still be a rider…if that's what you want" speaks neteyam. You let out a sigh. "Well…what's done is done. There's nothing I can do about it. Besides…I think I know why I'm here" you tap neteyam on the shoulder.

"Really? And what's that reason?" neteyam moves closer to you. Wiggling playfully. "mmm I can't tell you" you change your face, laughing a little. "Come on…tell me!" speaks neteyam in a soft but at the same time playful tone. The atmosphere had become more peaceful, you both started to laugh. You knew what the reason was, you had a feeling that the reason why he had come to this clan. It was because of neteyam…because of the dream you had of him. Now you just had to find out what was the reason for your encounter with him. You two were so wrapped up in your own world that you didn't hear someone approaching. Neteyam was the first to notice the noises, there wasn't supposed to be anyone in the harvest area yet. Rising to stand in front of you, you carefully stand up.

Neteyam pulls out his knife, ready to strike at anything. But he immediately relaxed when he heard his brother's voice. What the hell is lo'ak doing here, Neteyam thinks. "Don't worry…it's lo'ak" neteyam lowers his weapon, watching as the voice continues to get closer. Out of the bushes comes lo'ak who was talking carelessly next to spider. You let out a low cry, and move quickly behind neteyam. Hugging his arm. "What's that 'thing' doing here?" you sound scared, you had seen the humans. But from far away. You had never seen one so close. "This 'thing' is spider…it's good" lo'ak says trying to calm you down. "Yeah…I don't bite" says spider, laughing a little. Everyone knew what you had been through, so this was a very normal reaction. "I see you" spider gestures with his hands, and you copy his greeting. Looking at neteyam, but not taking off from him. "I promise I won't hurt you…I'm good" spider felt somewhat responsible, even though he hadn't done anything to you.

Lo'ak had talked about you, the last few days. And he was fascinated to meet you. An albino na'vi and from the cold mountains. That sounded wonderful. "You've met norm?…you'd blow his head off" spider jokes a little. But your face turns to horror again. "no…I don't want to blow anyone up" you yell a little, whining. The three boys laugh out loud. "Babe..no. He says norm would be impressed with you. He just said a human quote" neteyam explains to you. "I'm sorry" spider apologizes. He doesn't want to scare you. "And you were doing here?" neteyam asks. Lo'ak points to the fruit in his hand. "Same as you guys…but without the romantic atmosphere" lo'ak scoffs. Neteyam laughs uncomfortably. "Why don't we go back to camp?" neteyam looks at you, and can see that she was still frightened by spider's presence. "Yes…I want to go back" you squeeze neteyam's arm tighter. You two begin your walk back to neteyam's ikran. Hearing the giggles of the boys. "Ignore them…yes?" neteyam takes your hand. You take another look and follow neteyam. "She's…she's very impressive" says spider. "I know…I've never seen anyone like that" says lo'ak.

Near the cold mountains…

"Sir…we've looked everywhere and nothing" says one of the warriors. The man clears his throat, holding back tears from his eyes. He could not look weak in front of his warriors. "Make a scan in the southern area, closer to the village" says the man. The warriors quickly look at each other with concern. "But sir… the humans may be nearby and" the man slaps the ground. "I gave an order!!!" the man shouts, all the young warriors get up and leave the cave.

"Father…I don't think we're going to find her" says a younger boy. The man strokes the back of his neck, letting a tear come out of his eye. This situation was killing him, he had to find her. "tekxe…we have to find your sister. I have a feeling she's still alive" says your father. Eywa always protects his chosen ones.

Teyam babygurls: symptoms-of-moonlight , tru-blubelle, mashiromochi, ducks118, @butterfly-ibuki, @innercreationflower, @ok-boke, @lovelyygirl8, @sandaltoesocks, @he110hon, @inlovewithpandora, @sussybaka10, @mommyneytiri, @daughterofjakesully, @symptoms-of-moonlight @ilostmyaccounf

If there is any problem with the tags, let me know and I will try to fix it as quickly as possible. tag list is open, just let me know *3*//

[rottenfyre]

sorry if this is random or you’re having to repeat yourself but

from what i’ve seen/read of yours, you seem to lean team green and i’m just wondering if that’s right?

again don’t want to start like an argument or some stupid fucking discourse over a FICTIONAL world but i just find it really interesting hearing other people’s opinions.

so basically i was just wondering if you do back the greens, is it because you believe that aegon should be king because he’s a man, or based on the books i’m guessing, would be a better monarch bc of characteristics etc…

coz don’t get me wrong i love show alicent and show aegon is easy to sympathise with but when i read fire&blood and watched hotd i thought that no one was really team green because rhaenyra was chosen by the king to be queen, and then was usurped because of her gender, not her ability to rule or anything.

just feel like i need to clarify again, i seriously don’t rlly care that much if you are team green and for whatever reason, i just love having discussions like this!

so i would love to hear your thoughts and opinions! love you’re writing btw!!

Alright so if you didn’t know, I run another blog solely dedicated to Tom Glynn-Carney. I’m into Tom, not Team Green. My fanfics are written because I find him beautiful and talented, and that includes the characters he’s portrayed. I’ve always been clear that I’m his fan, not necessarily a part of the HotD fandom or a staunch supporter of the Green faction. But overall I write for every character in Asoiaf world, because I'm a fan of books. Hopefully, that clears up why my fanfics have the tone and focus that they do.

Now, to answer your question: do I think Aegon should be king simply because he’s a man? Absolutely not. Likewise, I wouldn’t support Rhaenyra just because she’s a woman. Both these views—gender alone being the deciding factor—are reductive and ignore the complexities of the Dance of the Dragons.

The book makes it clear that the Greens didn’t challenge Rhaenyra’s claim purely because she was a woman. Aegon’s gender was used as a convenient argument, but the underlying reasons went much deeper. If Alicent had only daughters, I firmly believe the Greens would have found another way to challenge Rhaenyra. The succession conflict was less about misogyny in isolation and more about political, familial, and personal grievances.

What I find puzzling is how some people can sympathize with Aegon in the show but not in the book. Aegon’s characterization in the book, while flawed, is far more nuanced and less morally damning than his portrayal in the show.

Aegon is not a rapist. Yes, he is guilty of inappropriate behavior like groping maids, but there’s a significant difference between unwanted touching (which is still wrong) and outright sexual assault. The show’s portrayal exaggerates his flaws to a point where it distorts his character entirely.

Aegon loves his family. He isn’t a bully to Aemond and shows care for his siblings. His relationship with them is much less contentious than what the show depicts.

Alicent is not an evil figure akin to the "evil queen" trope. She’s more akin to Catelyn—a protective mother who is fiercely loyal to her children and acts out of a sense of duty and love. Her treatment of Rhaenyra, while harsh, is understandable given the political and personal feelings she endured.

And most team green fans that I saw are book readers while show watchers mostly support team black.

Rhaenyra, in both the book and show, demonstrates poor leadership qualities. However, there are key differences between the two portrayals.

In the books, Rhaenyra at least has the courage to pursue her ambitions. She’s unapologetic about her desires and choices, even if they’re flawed. However, her tenure as queen was disastrous. She neglected her responsibilities as heir and, once crowned, failed to rule effectively. Her leadership destabilized the realm further and led to significant losses, including the destruction of dragons.

In the show, Rhaenyra is portrayed as hesitant and indecisive. She’s framed as a "chosen one" by the gods, universally loved and morally righteous, which feels unearned. Despite having more dragons and greater initial support, she fails to secure her claim effectively. Alicent practically hands Aegon over to her.

Meanwhile, Aegon in the show has absolutely nothing. Unlike his book counterpart, he doesn’t have his family’s loyalty, his dragon (Sunfyre is dead), or even his crown. He has no army, no support, and yet he still going to kill Rhaenyra and take the throne back. Why would I root for Rhaenyra in this scenario?

In the book on the other hand, Aegon proves himself during the Dance. Initially reluctant to rule, he grows into the role and accepts his responsibilities. In the books, Aegon wanted to remarry for duty, seeking a legitimate heir rather than marrying for lust. Defeats Rhaenyra, retakes the throne, and restores order to a realm she left in chaos. Punishes those who harmed dragons, showing a sense of justice and loyalty to his family’s legacy. And so much more.

If Aegon was sitting on the throne during Rhaenyra's time on the throne, I believe he would have prevented much of the harm done to the dragons and the realm. His leadership during the latter stages of the Dance demonstrates his growth and potential as a king. And unlike Rhaenyra, he actually listen to people who are wise and smart.

That said, the one character who truly deserved the throne was Daeron. He’s portrayed as intelligent, dutiful, and competent—everything one could want in a ruler. If Viserys had named Daeron as his heir, the Dance likely wouldn’t have happened, and the Targaryen dynasty could have avoided its catastrophic decline.

Some argue that Jacaerys should have been king when I say Daeron deserve the throne, but that argument doesn’t hold up. It’s equivalent to claiming that Joffrey or Tommen were legitimate kings, which they weren’t because they were bastards. Similarly, Jace and Luke’s status as bastards makes their claims to the throne invalid, regardless of personal feelings toward them.

Daeron, by comparison, outshines Jace in every way—leadership, legitimacy, and potential. Had he been given the opportunity, Daeron could have brought peace and prosperity to the realm.

Ultimately, my perspective is shaped by the source material. Aegon, despite his flaws, demonstrates growth and proves himself as a capable ruler during the Dance. Rhaenyra, on the other hand, fails to rise to the challenges of leadership and leaves the realm worse off. While Aegon was a better king than Rhaenyra, Daeron remains the most deserving of the throne due to his competence and character.

Yet again, I'm a fan of Tom and Asoiaf not house of the dragon. And thank you very much for being respectful and I'm happy that you enjoy my works.

[crowcaws]

Btw this is what I mean when I say if you only watch anime, if you just wait for anime adaptations instead of giving Manga a chance, if you see Manga as just the beta version of something that would be better animated, you're absolutely missing out on some of the best art this planet has to offer.

(This post turned long as all hell so examples under the cut)

vs

(Yashahime)

The limitations of black and white make for some absolutely incredible artistic choices. Despite the lack of colour, the dramatised use of light and shadow is much more pronounced.

The colour versions are beautiful in their own way, but there's just something about black and white that evokes drama that a full colour piece of the same scene often takes for granted.

There is also a lot more care put into detail in individual panels, because you can stop to examine them. In an anime, details (like the legs on this centipede for instance) are often forsaken, understandably, because of time constraint. You're not going to over-detail something you only see for a few frames.

I'm going to use FMA as an example because people love to argue about which anime is better and my answer, for fifteen years, has been: The Manga.

Both scenes gorgeous, but in the manga version the artistic choice to make his eyes the brightest part of the page, even to the point of not shading his irises, draws the viewer's attention to Edwards eyes and his intense emotion, whereas the anime version kind of draws your eye to his hand and the motion of pointing. As yellow is the first colour the human eye tends to notice, I think the fact he's rendered in colour also serves to distract the eye from the most important part -- the determination and emotions in Ed's eye.

Same manga, different scene:

In the manga, a huge part of Lust's character design, and many of the sins in turn, is that they are an inky black blot on the page. They stand out as the darkest part of any given panel they're in. As such, I think their design when rendered in full colour feels markedly less inhuman when next to the rest of the cast.

In the anime, you get the Lust vs Roy scene as below. Good posing and composition, and by all means a great scene overall. This is two people in an arena who have just duked it out, and the dust is clearing:

The manga version looks like this:

There is no obligation to render a background and the scene is all the more intense for it: All it comes down to is these two characters, and the moment that one of them is about to die. The entire universe, for this panel, it just Lust and Roy. She emerges from the smoke like a tumour, like a parasite reaching for a host. She is not simply standing in front of him, she is emerging from obscurity, her strike sudden but his resolve unwavering. You can see from the way the smoke lingers around him that Roy stood stock still, as the smoke on her side whorls with the ferocity of her movement. He waited for her to pounce, knowing he'd kill her now or die trying. Even the sound effect is used as part of the visual experience.

Another FMA example:

This is a beautiful scene where Edward's arm is the focus, showing the way it, and the regret and heartache and loneliness and guilt that it represents, overshadow his life and his actions. Very nice, I like the way it's the shiniest part of the shot, if not necessarily the coldest.

But here's a very similar scene in the manga:

(All Fullmetal Alchemist and its adaptations)

I think again that the lack of obligation to render a background when it would not enhance the scene does so much heavy lifting here. The way his shirt is completely dark and the background is completely bright means that the grey that is Ed slices through the panel. You don't see his eyes, much like the anime example, but the way he's half in shadow and the way he stands in the void makes him feel so, so much more lonely here.

(I'm certain there's a more equivalent moment in the FMA manga but I couldn't find it for a whim post so here we are)

(Kagurabachi)

This one doesn't have an anime yet but the way this artist renders shadow dripping from a blade to form an inky black goldfish makes it difficult to imagine how you could render this in anime format and maintain the same feeling, or even improve on it. The lack of background makes the contrast bold, but anime often can't really leave the background perfectly black without making the scene confused.

Anyway this isn't to say anime can't look fucking awesome because it very often does. But if you're not reading the manga, well, you don't HAVE to. But you're missing out majorly and I'm sick of it being treated as this preliminary, inferior art form that needs a studio to pick it up and "improve" it to make it worthwhile.

[taringill]

Is Casey and Andrea planning to have kids in the future???? Does Andrea even know that Casey is from an alternative future or about his family, the Hamato family???? Also, has Casey ever been in a relationship with a boy before since he's bisexual? Love your art on rottmnt btw

Hi. Thank you, I am very pleased that you like my work on rottmnt🫶

Wow, I didn't expect questions about this couple. Well, since you've asked the questions, I'll answer them.

Yes, they are planning to. Spoiler: they will have a son named Cody Jones (who understood the reference, well done🤝).

Casey told Andrea that he was from an alternate future after a time when they were already dating. Imagine the look on her face as she listened to all this. Naturally, Andrea is aware of the Hamato family. Why was she not particularly surprised that these were mutants? I'm explaining. At the end of the film, we are clearly given to understand that people (New Yorkers at least) have become a little aware of the existence of turtles. And according to the plot, they are teenagers (minors), like Casey Jr. It is clear that he is still a child (he is about ±15 years old, Idk). Casey is the same age as the past/present turtles. And he met Andrea when they were both 21 years old. Accordingly, ± 6 years have passed since the end of the film (that's about it, this is my headcanon). At this point, all people are already aware of turtles, mutants and yokai. They begin to communicate, make friends, and so on. But this is my vision.

The fact that Casey Jr. is bisexual is my headcanon!

All the characters drawn here are the same age as Casey. I drew them at the age they were when they met Casey. Andrea is also bisexual. Before Casey, she had a relationship with a girl when they were both 16. The relationship lasted about a year.

Casey didn't have relationships with guys (I mean romantic ones). But he had a crush named Max. Violetta initiated the breakup because she no longer loved Casey as a boyfriend. They broke up when they were both 16 years old. Casey was having a hard time breaking up because he loved Violetta. Even at the moment of separation. The guy's brain exploded. Imagine, he lived all his childhood in the apocalypse, when he had to survive every day, he lost all his loved ones and he did not want to part with the girl who gave him a feeling of euphoria. After all, she is not only his first friend in the new time, but also his first girlfriend (was). It was his first relationship in a new (for him) and peaceful time. But they remained friends, everything is fine with them.

As for Max, he and Casey study together and play on the same team (hockey). They became friends almost immediately after meeting. But over time, Casey realized that he had fallen in love with his friend. He liked Max very much, but they had nothing. And it could never be, because Max is heterosexual. That's how it happens... Casey, of course, was very upset. But he and Max remained friends. Of course, at first Casey was a little jealous of Max's girlfriend, who by that time had appeared at Max's🙃 But everything ended well. They didn't quarrel and Casey didn't interfere with the lovers in any way.

Eventually, 2 years later, he met Andrea (both were 21 years old at the time of their acquaintance), whom he started dating and with whom he would marry in the future, and they would have a son:3 With Violetta, he would not have been able to have at least one child, since she is a childfree (and also, she is aromantic). He found out about this after parting with her.

Andrea is a more family girl. But she does not want to be a mother with many children, because she herself comes from a large family. She had enough to sit with her younger twin brothers (they are 12 years old) and younger sister (4 years old). So she immediately told Casey: "Let's stop at one child and that's enough for us"😁

Thanks for the unexpected questions. I was glad to answer these questions for you:)

UPDATE!

Please read the above before update!

In short, the ages of the characters. I thought Casey Jr. was 15 years old in the movie, but it's officially known that he's about 20. Well, I gave him 20 years old.

In fact, everything that I described above remains unchanged, except for the ages of the characters, since Violetta, Max and Andrea are the same age as Casey Jr. Casey and Violetta met after the events of the movie, at the age of 20 and dated for less than a year. The reasons for the breakup are in this post. When Casey Jr. was 21 (closer to 22), he began to have romantic feelings for his friend Max, but they remained friends. You know why if you read above. And it was only at 24 that Casey met his future wife. If I draw Casey and Andrea, then they are at least 24 years old. The age difference between Andrea and her siblings does not change. So the younger twin brothers are not 12, but 15. So the younger sister is not 4, but 7. If I wrote that 6 years have passed from the moment when Casey started living in the past/present to the moment when he met Andrea. It's been 4 years now. That's all.

[co-mixed]

Magneto was...

X-Men ‘97 has already become sort of a cultural phenomenon. I think it’s fair to say even outside of our cozy comics bubble. But the show has given so much to so many. Not for a single second it shies away from what the X-men are truly about and its social commentary avoids ambiguity. 

But the thought that’s been bugging me for years now is of course “Magneto was right” or rather, the question of whether he indeed was. 

Bear with me, because I’m completely throwing away all plans or structure for this text, it’s not a clever article, it’s just my interpreting process in which I’m dissecting my thoughts on the concept. 

The phrase itself has been reimagined in the show. Val Cooper says this phrase about the fear and hate that humans will never stop experiencing and expressing toward mutants. It’s about them never changing their ways to accommodate others, it’s about human nature. And while we clearly see that it’s not entirely true and some are actively working to change that, at its core, it remains a true and sad reflection of what we see from the most powerful elites that control public opinion and ultimately, the world. 

It’s funny to me that Val, the same person who got in bed with Bastion and Sinister, was the one to spell it out. Both she and Trask state that they never expected a genocidal catastrophe of Genoshan level and frankly, I find it unbelievable. You knew you were dealing with a fanatical maniac. You knew that this is a possibility and you certainly had the same goal. You wanted to do it with clean hands and you didn’t want to see the result. You wanted mutants to be killed in alleys one by one. It’s all the same thing. 

And this actually conveniently brings me to Remender’s X-Force and Dark Beast’s homeworld where the war had been won by mutants and humans were the ones hunted and killed. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, humans made a call to replay the three most famous words uttered by Wanda.

Meanwhile, the most prominent example of how this phrase has been interpreted before is  Quentin Quire. In his young and radicalized view, Magneto was right about both the ends and the means. All he saw was violence and he chose to respond in kind (but not in kindness.) 

The show stepped away from the storyline that played out in the comics (and I absolutely love that btw). But Magneto in that story was not sympathetic. The things we know about him by now are not all flattering, especially the way he turns on his own if they stand in his way and ask him to rethink and reevaluate his position. 

Magneto is often portrayed as a dictator, like most villains. And like most well-written villains, he has a cause that he believes in fanatically which, let’s be honest, after him receiving a backstory, made all the more sense and drove compassion. But he will always go too far. 

But let’s again go back to X-Men ‘97. What happened when Magneto turned off… everything. Everything from life support - off, nuclear plants - off, trains, planes, and ships, all have to travel blindly if at all. Chaos, obviously. But while that brings in casualties, was that his intention? Because simultaneously, he saved thousands if not more of mutants. They were hunted by prime sentinels right that moment and remember, not all mutants are X-men or even have an active fighting power. So while he took away something humans needed desperately, but he saved every mutant in mortal danger. So should he have done that? 

I don’t know how to answer that. If I hadn’t thought about that before (and I’m ashamed to admit that) now, after Ep.9 it’s clear that the Earth can’t handle the blackout, so Magneto simply decided to pick up mutants he likes and sod off on his newly (and I’m pretty sure poorly) built asteroid into his Utopia. All while everyone else is left to rot. 

Not that heroic, huh?

And then there is Charles. Magneto’s way is impossible to review without Charles’s on the other scale pan. And damn, nothing shakes up Charles’s idealism like time and age. We do actually live in an era where his view has become outdated. I recently called Charles a pick-me mutant, I stand by that statement. He wants to be liked and there are so many things he overlooks and ignores. His goal is to have mutants serve for approval. This isn’t equality and this isn’t being proud of who you are. He can live knowing that some of them live in sewers, he accepts that as their choice. Again, I say that a lot, but Charles was very well depicted in X-Men The Dark Phoenix. Regardless of what you think about the movie, they showed Charles in all his glory, risking the lives of his students who hang on his every word, to score some points with humans. 

My only regret is that writers never take it far enough and make it final. Yeah, no I know he died and came back, who hasn’t (what’s up, Jean?) But let’s be real, Charles could easily fully retire and stop attempting to bring his vision to life. It doesn’t work. 

When we look at the comics, the hybrid version Magneto+Charles didn’t exactly work either. And that’s in part due to Moira’s betrayal, some writers’ magic, and the fundamentally incorrect political approach. I already wrote sheets and sheets about that. But it would’ve failed either way because we can’t have nice things i.e. a successful mutant nation won’t go well with bigots. And given clever public opinion manipulation, almost anyone can become a bigot. It won’t be allowed to exist, because they would still be expected to step back and play nice and limit themselves to avoid upsetting anyone. 

Now that I mentioned Moira, I remember the “race traitor” thrown by Magneto at Charles. Honestly, both are guilty of that. Charles for the reasons I stated above and Magneto, for continuously representing mutants as a danger to everyone. 

That’s a lot of words and thoughts that I had to dig through to finally ask the question, was Magneto right? And if he was, what was he right about? Right is really an idealistic concept in and of its own. So I’d say his actions in that moment were justifiable. As much as I want to stand with heroes and condemn him, in a post-Genosha world, I can’t. He asked them to “not make him let them down”  and that’s exactly what they did. Exactly, because some of them knew what they were getting into, I also mentioned that above. 

Is his view of humans right? Yes, without a question. It's awful but it's true. They'd do it again and again. And they will hide their eyes and claim they didn't know.

I will gladly talk about the whole season after the season ends but right now I’m honestly just happy to come to some personal conclusion. I’m not sure I can take this opinion and apply it to the real world because that would require a whole other conversation with myself.

[sevcasejay1chicago]

If your requests are still open I would like to request the reader and her three boys (Kelly, Casey, and Jay). Where the reader has to deal with one of her boys being hurt on the job (you choose who) and the other two have to comfort her while she tells them her fear of loosing them due to their dangerous jobs and they tell her that no matter what they will fight to come home to her. Maybe some cuddles at the end as well!

Thank you! Love your writing btw! 💖

Come back to you- Kelly Severide, Jay Halstead, Matt Casey

Warnings: probably wrong medical terminology, basically having a panic attack, CPR mentioned, a curse word or two

———————

To say you were exhausted was an understatement. After working a 18 hour shift in the ER, you were more than happy to come home and collapse right into bed. Given that Kelly and Matt were at the station, Jay was left to make sure you took care of yourself. You were meant to be home hours ago, but someone called out sick, so you offered to cover half of their shift. Luckily, Jay had the day off, so he was able to pick you up when Maggie found you asleep in the doctors lounge. Jay had only had you home for a few hours when he got the phone call. You were cradled into his chest, sound asleep, when Matt called.

“Matt?” Jay whispered, trying not to wake you up. He knew this couldn’t be good. Matt and Kelly never called while on shift. A text here and there to check in was common, but they always gave a warning before calling.

“Jay. K-Kelly. Umm, I, We need you and Y/n to m-meet us at M-med.” Matt stuttered, fear gripping him as he watched Brett work on Kelly.

“Okay. Alright. Take a breath.” Jay said, partly to Matt and partly to remind himself. “How bad?” Jay dared to ask.

“Not good Jay.” Matt replied, right as monitors started to go off in the background. “Fuck. Kelly. Don’t you leave me.” Matt yelled, placing the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

Jay shook you, not bothering with a slow wake up call given the situation on the other end of the phone. ”Wha?” You moaned, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you looked up at Jay. You could see the fear in his eyes and knew that something was wrong. “Which one?”

“Kel.” Was all Jay replied before you snatched the phone and let Jay out from underneath your body.

“Matt?” You asked, not even bothering to check the caller ID. You could hear him breathing heavily, the sound of the heart monitor beeping loudly through the phone and Brett yelling at Violet to step on it.

“Baby. I, we need you and Jay to meet us at med. Okay?” Matt panted, continuing CPR on your lover.

“Are, are you doing CPR right now Matt?” You asked, looking at Jay, who was grabbing clothes for you as you asked the question.

“Yes.” Was all the answer Matt gave before you heard Brett yell clear as tears streamed down your face.

You choked off a sob as Jay met your eyes. You shook your head and handed him the phone, no longer able to listen to Matt fight to save Kelly’s life. You shakily got dressed and listened to Jay tell Matt you would both meet him at Med. Jay dropped the phone onto the dresser before coming to pull you into his arms. You were a mess. You knew what was happening on the other end of that line. Your worse nightmare was coming true.

“Shhhhh. It’s alright. He’s gonna be okay.” Jay soothed, swaying back and forth with you in his arms. “They only had to shock him once. He had to jump from a third story window when a house started collapsing. So far, he may just have a collapsed lung, but Brett doesn’t think he has any other injuries, okay? They are at med. We gotta go.” Jay soothed, taking your face into his hands. He gently wiped the tears from your face with his thumbs. His words calmed you a bit, but you both knew Brett was only able to see things on the outside.

You allowed Jay to pull you out of the house and into the truck. You numbly watched the city fly by as Jay used his lights and sirens to get you both to med, both of you needing to get to Matt and Kelly as soon as possible. You were stuck in your head. You knew this would happen one day. You’ve patched your boys up time and time again. They have been lucky enough to only get scrapes, minor burns, grazed bullet wounds, or bruises thus far. You were always terrified of this day coming, and now it could be here. You could lose Kelly.

Jay had barely stopped the truck before you were jumping out and sprinting through the doors of the er. Inside, you were met with the entire firehouse, Matt sitting in a chair with Brett on one side and Cruz on the other, his face in his hands. Everyone looked up as you ran in, tears streaming down your face as you stood frozen in the entrance with Jay skidding to a stop behind you. When you met Matt’s eyes, you collapsed right where you were standing. If it hadn’t had been for Jay’s quick reflexes, you would be on the floor.

Matt hurried to your side, taking you from Jay and holding you in his arms. He smelled of smoke and charred flesh, making you wonder who had gotten burned. When you sobbed out the question, Matt was quick to reassure you that it wasn’t Kelly, but someone else Matt had pulled from the house right before it collapsed.

Matt and Jay let Will usher them into the doctors lounge once he saw you in Matt’s arms. He quietly shut the door behind him as he went back to check on Kelly for you when you basically plead to go see him yourself.

“I-I KNEW this day would come.” You sobbed, standing and pacing the floor in front of Matt and Jay. “I al-always thought one of you would come th-through those doors while I was working. Any time those doors o-open I m-make sure it’s not one of y-you.” You shake your head and look up to the ceiling. “I can’t l-lose him. I can’t. God, I can’t breathe.” You said, clutching your chest and sitting yourself on the floor.

Jay and Matt rushed to your side. Jay pulled you into his lap as Matt wrapped himself around the two of you. “Hey hey hey. Shhhhh.” Jay whispered, kissing your head. “Breathe with me. I’ve gotcha. We’ve gotcha.” Jay soothed.

Matt rubbed your back and wiped at his own tears. “It’s gonna be okay. He’s gonna be okay. Shh. Breathe.” Matt whsipered, making his voice not waver as Jay gave him the most heartfelt look he could muster. Jay wanted to comfort Matt too, but the broken women in his arms was his main priority at the moment as he pushed his own feelings to the side.

Jay and Matt had just gotten you to calm down when Will walked back in. Will cleared his throat before he spoke. “He’s awake. He’s got some bruising and his pulse was weak when he was brought in, but some fluids and pain meds has him bouncing back. He’s asking for you.” Will says, stepping aside as you jump out of Jay and Matt’s grip and run through the door, hearing Will chuckle as he shouts the room number behind you.

You come to a halt at the entrance of Trauma 1. Kelly is hooked up to the monitors. Bruises litter his face and arms, his wrapped ribs are peaking out from under his blanket. You let out a shaky sob as Kelly smirks at you through the pain.

“Hey princess.” He rasps, holding an arm up. “Come’re.” He whispered, hating to see you cry.

You rush over, carefully climbing into the bed with him and laying your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I-I thought. I really thought I l-lost you Kel.” You whispered, careful of all the tubes, wires, and his injuries, but getting as close as you can to him. You are shaking in his grasp, not even noticing Jay and Matt standing in the doorway as you soak in the presence of the man you thought you would never see alive again.

“Hey now. None of that.” Kelly shushes, rubbing your side as he looks to the other two men in his doorway. “I’ll always come back to you. No matter what, I will find a way.” Kelly promises, not just to you, but to your other lovers at his door.

“We all will.” Matt agrees, locking eyes with Kelly.

“No matter what.” Jay replies, taking Matt by the hand and dragging him to the bed with him. You giggle as the boys both carefully climb into the bed with you and Kelly. You barely fit with the man in the hospital bed, but the need to be close outweighed the obstacles that was the small hospital bed.

[annahiril]

I am the previous anon and I agree with everything you said!

I have been creating OC's in various fandoms the last two years and I have noticed that the people who hate OC's are either people who generally find OC's and any type of shipping cringe or like you said people who ship two canon characters together and they tend to view OC's as obstacles.

Also i completely agree with your opinion about Haladriel.The actor who portrays Sauron has also made it clear that Sauron doesn't have romantic feelings about her and even Adam's actor confirmed that Adar was seduced and in a way loved Sauron too not only Galadriel XD.As for Galadriel given the fact that she has a husband and in the future a child i think that she may have been enamored by Halbrand but she always has her actual husband in her heart.

Anyways have a great day/night☺️ and thanks a lot for your input 🖤✨

I'm glad to see you back ! 😁

Same. I have been posting fandoms OC since 2014 (on Instagram), and 90% of the time people get mad because OC are ship with their favorite characters or are an obstacle to their favorite pairings...

I can understand that some people are more jealous than others, but it is not a reason to spread such kind of hate. And I hope you never had any problems of this kind with your OC BTW.

I'm glad to see you share the same opinion as me on haladriel/saurondriel. Yes, Charlie made it clear that they aren't in love (at least, that's what I understand from his interviews).

I even find the relationship between Sauron/Annatar and Celebrimbor more captivating than the one with Galadriel. The time they shared on screen was intense! And yes, Adar is also sharing a connection with Sauron as Galadriel does. Which make Sauron and Galadriel's dynamic not so unique in my point of view...

I haven't talked much about Celeborn, but let's recall that he is Galadriel's husband. And maybe he will come back (well I hope so, since they have Celebrian together...). I would be so happy to see him in the series! 🤍

But as I said in my previous answer, I'm not against haladriel/saurondriel shippers. They are welcome here and everybody is free to have their own interpretation of this duo 😊

But in my case, I don't see any romantic connection at all, sorry...

Thank you again for your ask ✨️

It was a real pleasure to exchange with you again 🥰

I wish you a wonderful day/night ✨️

[princessofmerchants]

Hey ! first of all: I recently discovered you blog & totally fell in love with it🥺, especially after my "Nessian Hangover".

I know this might be a bit off-topic from your usual content, but there's something about Cassian's relationship with Mor that really irks me...and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

His actions, like pulling away from Nesta's hand in ACOWAR, left me feeling frustrated and sympathetic towards Nesta. And then there's that whole thing in Wings and Embers where he's all secretive about Nesta with Mor and doesn't wanna tell her about Nesta, which gave off major mixed signals?? I mean, describing Mor as something between a lover and a friend, while also being like family? That was so confusing, how can she be all three to him? it just felt so ... inappropriate and I felt so bad for Nesta bc obviously she deserves someone who has only eyes for her.

But then in SF he says all romantic feelings turned into familial bonds after the incident so what was that about then in WaE and pulling his hand away in ACOWAR?

Also in WaE it sounded like he primarily slept with Mor out of jealouy but in SF it does seem like he did had romantic feelings towards her ? :/ ...

And when he thought in SF about how hauntingly beautiful Mor is and how it takes his breath away and that she is lovely and perfect .... it just drove me mad tbh because this sounded very romantic coded to me which made me feel so bad for Nesta.

it has been all so confusing and inconsistent to me and also just frustrating how he talked so poetic about a woman he slept with (or did he also call Nesta also hauntingly beautiful or lovely or perfect and I'm not remembering it?), or how he didn't wanted to show Mor that he has feelings for Nesta?? :/ - so I just wondered what you thought about all of that, in hopes to calm me down or clarify bc it really almost ruined him for me (maybe I was misinterpreting stuff?).

hope that's not a weird question bc of how spesific it is haha

BTW I love your love for Nesta bc same🖤.

I love this ask, Anon, and how detailed and specific it is. It is a question after my own heart! My response is long so it's after the break.

Thank you for saying you love my love for Nesta - that means the world to me. What I especially like about your ask is, it is about canon Nesta, who is the Nesta I most treasure, and by extension about canon Nessian. I sometimes feel like a lone voice in the drafty moors of Tumblr with my deep and abiding love for canon Nessian, so the fact that this ask lets me talk about them in canon makes me happy!

I have given this a lot of thought since receiving your question, and I'm not sure how satisfying parts of my answer will be, so my apologies in advance for the fact that I am not actually going to offer an explanation for how and why all the details you listed can co-exist in a single, utterly comprehensive whole for the Cassian-Mor relationship when Cass is unquestioningly Nesta's by the end of ACOSF.

Instead, here's why the lack of things utterly lining up for these three doesn't bother me in the long run, and only slightly bothered me during the pre-ACOSF / post-ACOFAS era.

It is clear to me as a reader that SJM pivoted in a significant way between ACOMAF and ACOWAR when it comes to Mor.

I came across a post recently that explains exactly my thoughts on this. The post focuses on the current ship war but the evidence in it describes how during ACOMAF it was clear Moriel (Mor and Azriel) was likely to be endgame, but then SJM shifted Mor's arc to where she was more attracted to women, which meant needing to retcon a lot (and unfortunately a lot of Mor's charm and nuance was collateral damage that I am still hoping SJM repairs).

I think Cassian in ACOMAF needs to be read in the context of a planned future love triangle of sorts between Azriel-Mor-Cassian, into which I do think SJM planned to throw Nesta as a big bomb that beautifully blows up Cass's corner of the triangle. But the parts in "Wings and Embers" where Cass says to the reader he is worried about what Mor will think about his fixation on this human woman, I think were meant to preserve some kind of angsty triangle for the next book, which SJM (thankfully) jettisoned. I hate love triangles so I honestly would not have been a fan if that had been where SJM landed.

Now, in ACOWAR and ACOFAS, I think the Mor stuff with Cassian gets a bit more confusing, so I agree with you there. Cassian doesn't know for sure Nesta is his mate until she screams for him during the Battle of Hybern at the end of ACOWAR, so the stuff before that - e.g., him removing his hand from hers - I read in a few ways. I think being buffer to Mor with Azriel all those years messed with his head a lot, and in a way, Mor finally coming to terms with her sexuality is a really solid catalyst for her beginning to distance herself from the triangle dynamic she was a part of for 500 years, which I think was more healthy for everyone involved.

But remember, Nesta is still proud and surly in ACOWAR, not in any inherently bad way but in a way that probably didn't signal to Cassian she was particularly interested in him, even as he was drawn to her like a magnet and couldn't keep away because part of him loves her claws so much. Cass rightly protects his own heart when he has the foresight to do so in ACOWAR and ACOFAS. I always knew they would work their shit out eventually, but during the messy process of doing so I don't begrudge him a little distance when Nesta, in her trauma response to what was happening to her and around her, sometimes lashed out at the strongest individual in her vicinity who she knew could take it like a boulder weathers the storm - that person was always Cassian for her.

When I first read ACOSF, I absolutely assumed going in that Mor was going to be catty about Nessian finally starting to get together. When she wasn't, it was jarring to me. But once I finished my first reading of ACOSF, I came to a striking conclusion about Mor, ACOSF, and SJM:

The story SJM needed to tell in ACOSF would not have been aided or forwarded by Mor intervening in the Nessian dynamic in a catty way, or being a foil to anything about Nesta in that story's arc.

In other words, SJM could have written a version of Nesta and Cassian's book that included Mor challenging Nesta's right to be with Cassian, but that was unequivocally NOT the book SJM wanted or needed to write (hopefully my double negative landed correctly here, lol).

So, SJM pivoted, and sent Mor to Vallahan, so SJM could write the story she needed to write. As a writerly choice, I adore everything about it - Nesta didn't need to be fighting with another woman over rights to her mate, she needed women friendships that were pure and gloriously blank slates upon which and with whom to write and tell her and their collective story - so SJM introduced Emerie and Gwyn. SJM even brought in Mor later to teach Nesta the waltzes, and their brief exchange in which Nesta called her Morrigan and Mor invited her to call her Mor, and Nesta accepted the invitation to do so, is another breathtakingly vulnerable moment for Nesta that fills my heart right up. To this end, the promise that Mor will begin to train with the Valkyries in the next book has me so excited.

Now, there are two lines in ACOSF I still want to comment on (then I'll reign in this very long post, lol). First, I agree that Cassian's observation in his pov of how breathtakingly beautiful Mor is at the cafe toward the start of the book can come off romantic coded, though for him at this point I don't think it is. But whether it is or not, we need to remember he and Nesta still have a whole book's worth of stuff to work through with their romantic relationship.

I suspect SJM included that moment in part to set up some stakes for the Nessian arc - that, although Cassian hasn't had sex since he met Nesta, he is still a man who is drawn to admiring a beautiful woman inside and out. If Nesta had already won his exclusive attention in this regard before any of their arc began in that book, what would be the point of the book? (By the end, I do think Cassian only has eyes for Nesta, and it is absolutely because they claim each other - I don't think in the long run he would have been able to settle for less, and nor should he have.)

And, since Nessian aren't in a relationship at that point in the cafe at the beginning of the book, I'm not mad at him for admiring Mor's beauty per say. I think if Nesta invited it then, he would admire hers a lot more, and with a much more deep seated attraction. ACOSF is about them both letting their inner barriers down to allow the other to love them, so that kind of attraction still needs to be earned between them at that point in their story. His observation about Mor's beauty is in a different category entirely from where Cassian eventually lands with Nesta, so there is nothing threatening about it for me.

The other line that feels weird to me most times I read it, is when Mor baldly tells Nesta early in ACOSF that she would have sent Nesta to live in the Court of Nightmares. The only explanation I have for this moment and exchange is that for SJM it was more in service of Nesta's arc, and less about making sense coming from Mor. What I mean here is, at that moment Nesta feels wretched and all things terrible about herself, and it's a feature of that kind of disordered thinking that others around you either seem to echo what you're thinking about yourself, or sometimes do echo it in reality, if through a trauma response you've hurt those around you (*she says from personal experience*), or if through their own trauma response those around you respond in kind (as I think may have been happening with Mor in this scene).

Do I love that Mor says something so cruel to Nesta in that moment early in Nesta's healing journey? No, I do not. Do I see why it helps to heavily charge these early scenes for Nesta as she truly hits rock bottom regarding her feelings about herself? Yes, I do.

Which leads me to how I'll conclude this. I hope SJM intentionally develops Mor's story so she isn't just a device in the story arcs of others. For better or worse, some kind of reckoning between her and Az needs to happen, likely in the next book, for either to truly move on. But I hope Mor gets the attention a character like her deserves in future books.

I am A-OK with her mostly-absence from ACOSF because I don't think she would have been a productive part of Nesta's healing arc, and at the end of the day that is the heart and soul of ACOSF for me - Nesta healing.

The reason ACOSF-Nessian has my whole heart is because, it's so clear to me the ways Cassian supports Nesta's healing and is the catalyst for a lot of her growth into a person who loves herself and sees herself as worthy and deserving of love and happiness.

If he was a bit of a hot mess in the period between first meeting Nesta and getting to finally be with her as accepted mates, I don't begrudge him that.

[literaila]

You're probably one of the best authors I've seen that writes Gojo correctly and the only one who makes me laugh. Seriously though the way you write Gojo is so funny I cannot stop laughing at his jokes and the thing is what he does or says is actually something he'll do in the canon verse.

And of course I'm not only talking about his humor and charisma I also want to mention the deeper parts of the character, the way he actually feels and the reason why he is this way and all. Usually in fanfics I see this Gojo who knows what to say and what to do when it comes to comforting reader, and I feel that canon one would be clueless when it comes to feelings. Of course he notices when you're down or when you're acting weird because of his six eyes but how should he react? How should he comfort you? What should he say? I feel he'd think about it too much that at the end he won't take any action and waits until you solved whatever is in your mind. But then he'll try to talk to you when he sees nothing has changed and communication might be the answer? I don't think he'll tell you sweet things and try to sooth you with "it's gonna be okay" because he knows as a sorcerer who has went through a lot that it's not true and the least he wants to do is lie to you. So he'll listen if you want to tell him what's the matter and won't say a word unless he knows you're wrong, but as long as you open up something is something.

It's the opposite when it comes to his feelings. He might be childish and always with a smile on his face but he won't open up when it comes to his feelings. Due to this people just see his exterior but they don't know what he's going through inside his mind. Reader might not talk about her problems but there's a time where she just has to open up with someone because she can't keep her troubles to herself for too long since keeping them in her case doesn't help her.

For Satoru it's impossible to make him talk about his troubles because he'd rather keep them for himself. I feel Satoru is really complicated when it comes to comfort because first you don't know what's troubling him and second is nothing will make him feel any better. His thoughts are clear and he appreciates your soothing words but it won't make him change his mind and will tell you he's fine instead.

Even just thinking about it makes my head ache lol

Your words have no effect so maybe company does? If he doesn't want to open up it's okay because humans have different ways to cope and solve our problems but atleast you'll stay with him for as long as you can because you want him to know that whatever he's going through, you staying by his side means he's not alone. And no words are necessary to express the message because you holding his hand is enough and he appreciates it more than words.

And I think you express this pretty well and besides the funny and wholesome moments, these moments are also necessary and the fact they are so well written makes the characters more realistic and in some way we can relate to them. I just love how you wrote Satoru and reader so kudos ❤ (THIS WAS WAY TOO LONG I'M SORRY 😭)

satoru is the stupidest character ever and that’s why i like him!! no, he’s not gonna share his thoughts or pretend like he’s okay at any given moment. yes, he will act like a brat when he’s upset but pretend like it’s perfectly normal. and… he’s so real for that, actually. me too, gojo, me too.

it would be so terrible to deal with him and still so worthwhile.

(it actually wasn’t long enough just btw)

[crinkled-emotions]

Day 18: "Holy shit."

We're slowly working our way back! Do we think I can get back up to date in the next... 48 hours? Lmao.

Ship: none! Daggers being Daggers.

Warnings: Mentions of illness (but nothing graphic)

Do I need to start putting gifs here again? That was kinda a vibe.

-

“Holy shit.”

The minute Maverick walked into the ready room and took in his team, he almost turned around and walked back out. They were strewn around the room in various stages of unwell, from Phoenix cradling the tissue box to Bob with his glasses off napping on the couch, then to Hangman lying on the top of the couch taking deep breath and across to Payback who was grasping on to the bottle of Gatorade in his hands like it was his lifeline. Fanboy and Coyote were nowhere to be seen but when Maverick opened his mouth to ask Hangman was stumbling off the couch into the nearby bathroom. The door slammed closed and Maverick grimaced.

“Why are you all here again?”

“Because it’s work,” Phoenix said, voice hoarse. She gently nudged Bob’s shoulder to wake him up but he flipped over to face the back of the couch. Maverick gaped at his team.

“Okay- okay. Everyone, please, go... home? Where is your self preservation- and where is Rooster?”

“Here, Mav.”

Rooster appeared in the doorway, pausing when he took in the rest of the team.

“Damn; what happened to you guys?.”

“Coyote’s with Bagman and Fanboy stayed home,” Phoenix supplied. She carefully lifted Bob’s legs to sit on the couch properly, leaving them on her lap. He glanced up to see if she was okay but she shook her head to reassure him. Coyote appeared from the bathroom and cleared his throat.

“Hey, Cap, uh... what’s new?”

Maverick sighed.

“Please don’t tell me you’re all hungover- except for you, Phoenix, and you, Bob.”

Bob didn’t respond, still half asleep, and Phoenix waved at her Captain. His head turned toward the bathroom door.

“What is wrong with Hangman?”

“You don’t want to know,” Coyote winced. Maverick looked between his team then gestured toward the door.

“Okay, well, let’s... get him home... Bradley what are you doing?”

Rooster was standing by Bob and Phoenix, a finger on either side of Phoenix’s nose.

“It helps with sinus congestion,” he supplied. That was all Maverick needed.

“Everyone go home... now.”

-

Hangman: how are we doing?

Phoenix: better than your bathroom

Phoenix: but that’s not hard

Hangman: glad to see you’re feeling better

Coyote: don’t act like you’re doing so hot Bagman

Payback: my stomach has officially been turned inside out

Fanboy: congratulations now mine wants to

Phoenix: oh btw Bob’s in the er

Phoenix: don’t tell Mav

Coyote: what??

Hangman: brb gonna go eject

Fanboy: what happened?

Rooster: I’m here

Rooster: what’s this about Bob in the er??

Rooster: why is bagman ejecting?

Phoenix: shut up my head hurts

Rooster: tash

Rooster: which er?

Phoenix: base

Rooster: okay I’ll go see him tonight

Rooster: does anyone need anything?

Coyote: I need to ask a favour

Rooster: that’s what I’m here for

Rooster: wait no that sounds wrong

Coyote: can you go check on Seresin?

Coyote: I got the stomach flu too

Rooster: gross

Rooster: I’ll make sure he’s only slightly dying

Rooster: Mav just said he can go see bagman so I’ll go to baby on board

Phoenix: tissues

Rooster: and get you tissues

Payback: gatorade

Fanboy: x2

Rooster: be there in a sec

-

Knocking on the door, Maverick tried to brace himself for how gross it was going to be for the next half an hour. He’d been with Bradley through almost every stomach flu, cough, cold and random kid-illness during his childhood and into his teen years but it never got easier to deal with mostly because he was absolutely miserable the entire time.

When he didn’t get a response to the door knock Maverick called out, glancing in the window.

“Seresin?”

No answer. He wasn’t entirely surprised.

“Jake, I’m coming in.”

He reached into his pocket for the key Rooster had quietly given him without an explanation. Honestly, Maverick kind of felt like he didn’t need one; the Daggers had exchanged house keys when they first became a permanent squadron.

“Jake?”

Stepping into the apartment Maverick waited to hear any signs of life- if anything, he could hear what sounded to him like football reruns and he rolled his eyes in amusement.

“Where are you?” He muttered more to himself than calling out for Hangman. He glanced first at the couch and then sighed, heading toward the bedroom. Sure enough, he was passed out on his stomach under the blankets... sound asleep. He looked... better. Not great, but better. Maverick crossed the room, gently nudging his shoulder.

“Hey, kid, how you feeling? Is sleeping on your stomach a good idea?”

Hangman stirred, brows furrowing as he slowly moved. Maverick pulled the sheets back over his shoulders, keeping a hand on his back.

“Wha?”

Maverick snorted, kneeling by the bed. He stifled the wince when his knees popped and Hangman smirked, turning his head to raise an eyebrow at him.

“I feel better than your knees, apparently.��

“Javy was worried about you and by the looks of it, he may have been on to something. Where’s your water?”

“My bottle’s in the kitchen.”

“Wait here.”

Maverick got up, ruffling his hair. He heard the groan in response.

“I really don’t think I’m goin’ anywhere, Mav.”

With water in his system and toast ready for when he could stomach it, Hangman was looking a little less green and a little more cocky so Maverick made a polite (but swift) exit.

-

“Hey, Bobby. How are you feeling?”

Bob looked a little better too. Sitting up, glasses on and IV in his arm, he was slowly eating the cup of jelly in front of him. He glanced up and sent Rooster a soft smile.

“Roos. My head isn’t throbbing right now so I’m taking that as a win.”

“What happened, man?”

“I had a migraine but then the migraine meds didn’t work and I figured I should probably go to the hospital. I couldn’t open my eyes at all by the time I got here and my stomach was so unsettled but I managed to get a couple hours of sleep and the meds are working now.”

“That’s good. I was worried when Phoenix finally told us.”

“Ugh, I made her promise she wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well, I kinda wish she’d mentioned it when you went in. Me or Mav would have come and sat with you in the waiting room.”

“I’m okay; what happened with Hangman?”

Rooster shifted the seat to be beside Bob’s bed, offering the book he’d swiped (purchased. Legally.) from the gift shop on his way over.

“He’s fine, Mav said he was bitchy so he must be feeling better. You look tired, man, should you be sleeping?”

Bob hummed, running a hand through his hair.

“Probably. Uh, the doc said I can probably go home tonight. Could you-“

“-text me when they release you and I’ll take you home.”

Bob smiled.

“You’re nice when you’re not having a dick measuring contest with Hangman.”

Rooster snorted, rolling his eyes as he stood.

“Don’t need to measure it when I know it’s bigger.”

Rooster winked as he headed out the door, making Bob groan as he buried his head in his pillow.

-

Maverick’s next stop was to Payback, taking Gatorade and soup he’d bought from the local deli that looked like it was the closest thing to homemade that could come out of the Daggers. None of them were particularly amazing cooks and it was a joke amongst them that they were never going to host a Christmas Day where they cooked it. Unlike Hangman who had been curled up in bed pitying himself, Payback was on his couch dozing with a trash can beside him and reruns of M*A*S*H playing on his TV. He let Maverick in and took the offerings gratefully but before Maverick could start a conversation he went back to his previous position and went back to sleep. Maverick couldn’t blame him; between checking on him, Hangman and Fanboy then talking to Rooster about Bob and Phoenix he knew whatever this bug was that had gone through everyone except his godson and Coyote was one for the books. Fanboy didn’t answer the phone but Maverick got a message from him saying he was on the mend; he was alternating between sleeping and playing Among Us with Payback, Phoenix and Coyote. Maverick had already told everyone that had been sick they were to take an extra day off but Rooster and Coyote were going to be helping him with training another team.

The pair moaned and groaned about it all day but by the end of it they had a collection of baby pilots following them around like lost sheep and they’d both been asked to coffee a handful of times- it wasn’t even on a date, they just wanted to talk about flying. Maverick hadn’t stopped laughing at the helpless look on both of their faces as they hid in the locker rooms. They’d begged for mercy but Maverick had just sent them to their next lectures and laughed all the way to his own.

-

[imatekuani]

I love how many of us agree that this face says she has decided something. And given what Jaune said, well, the sacrifice thing does come to mind.

But funnily enough what bothers me is that the whole episode served to paint both Alyx and the cat as unreliable narrators by Jaune. They both missed giving out information and had the girls following a path that wasn't clear in its destination.

But I haven't seen anyone point out that Jaune himself is also doing the same. Jaune is ALSO an unreliable narrator.

Was the cat saying the truth about being manipulated? Is he a manipulator? Maybe he's just part of the same ever after system as the rest of the beings there. Whatever the answer, as far as we know NODBODY in the ever after actually knows what went down on the tree.

Ruby asks what happened to Lewis (Louis, Luis or whatever writing they're going for...) and Jaune says "I think Alyx traded him to the tree"

He especulates. But to me it seems that just like the cat, he doesn't know.

Did he ascend and stayed in the ever after as something different? Was he omitted on purpose or did Alyx sacrifice his memories of him? Was he killed by her sister? Was he the one that made it back and wrote about his sister? Was one of them the one who ascended into the Jabberwalker? That's my personal fave btw.

Too many options. And until we know how THAT went down, we won't be sure what could happen to Ruby with whatever she seems to have decided about herself and the tree and ascension.

[dabihawksluvr]

Aizawa Is A Bad Teacher

[ NOTE: The questions I screenshot are from another account, I just couldn't find a way to get them all into one post without it being messy. So this is just me answering each one, to give my own perspective. ]

I think it's because Shinsou is a LOT like him, but yeah it's still very shitty for him to do. He should've been the class 1B teacher instead.

This is why I never really liked Aizawa, he reminds me of my abusers way too much and I didn't like how strict/careless he truly is.

I hope that, if he did ever have a kid, it would be the biggest wakeup call of his life. And we do see him treat Eri fairly, but that could be because of her quirk and how she's literally only 4/5 years old. Kinda can't treat a kid the same way he treats his students without being seen as a villain.

From what I've seen, that was supposed to be the case. But Shouta feels like a lesser version of Batman, at least the latter actually cared about his Robins (depends on the canon but majority of Batmans do). With Aizawa, we do not need that same care unless it's with Shinsou.

I think it was even canon that Aizawa just hates All Might for being 'too forgiving' on his enemies. But I've also never seen him favor Endeavor either, I think he just hates people in general.

All Might is a decent teacher, at least he considers everyone's thoughts/feelings and dynamics with one another. Aizawa has not once done that, unless it deals with the troublemakers (Bakugou and Izuku) or that one time when Ochako blamed herself for that one time (though I bet it was just his own trauma and being like 'hey I understand this so let me go fix a mistake I made with myself years ago' kind of thing). The ONLY good point Aizawa has is when he says 'live for the students' to All Might when it was clear the old man had given up on living. But that is ONE point, out of so many others where Aizawa fucked up.

YES. Aizawa is a liar, if he believes these are all a 'logical ruse' then he is really fucked up in the head. I am glad that he made some (very minimal) progress when it was found out that Oboro was Kurogiri, I think the guy just has a ton of trauma he needs to work through and that was the first step. I do think how he is now is better than before, at least now he seems to actually care about his students and he realizes he fucked up badly. Just wish it was before he got his leg and eye taken away, essentially making his quirk trash.

Ugh, having Aizawa as a teacher would be the worst. I did get along with teachers that were like All Might and the rest, but Aizawa would be my 13th reason for finally dropping out. Especially if it was young/teen me? Yeah, he'd be on for 2nd degree murder with my suicidal ass.

THIS. I understand they are training to be heroes, and in this specific circumstance it worked. But ONLY because they were all going to war, which btw Aizawa didn't even stop from happening at all (he did have a heel-face turn during the 1st war which was nice to see as we saw him start to care for his students but it was ONLY thanks to Deku saying losing him would be the worst thing ever). Maybe it's because he held himself to that same standard, so he thinks all future heroes should be the same...but he is damn lucky none of them became a villain, though that was because Deku brought them all together simply by being himself. Aizawa was NOT needed, aside from his quirk he was essentially useless as a person. An maybe he knew that, it wasn't until Deku that he saw some value in living on (which is why he cut off his leg - normally he wouldn't have done that).

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tl;dr - Aizawa is a bad teacher. He is too strict with his teachings, makes assumptions that he rarely ever changes, outright LIES to his own students, puts his students in danger all the time, and cares more about a student from 1B (Shinsou) more than teaching his own class. But, we have to keep in mind that the man was traumatized by losing his friend Oboro (and then Midnight...and now possibly Mic) so he probably feels like his life isn't even worth it. And it wasn't him that wanted to be a teacher, it was actually Oboro. So he only took the job to fulfill his (dead) friend's dream, and it makes it clear why Aizawa is such a bad teacher. He didn't even want this, but feels obligated to regardless of what he truly wants. And yes, he did finally realize he cares for his students...but only when he finally lost the ability to use his quirk, meaning he has to rely on others now instead of just himself.