#but at least now i've got my thoughts out more coherently

[quintsjacket]

AGH hi. so much rambling under the cut

I've gotta set up some critical theory here in order to make any sort of sense about what i mean, so. It's time for a brief literature review. Yay. Hopefully it's not too dense.

Queerness has been associated with excess - being "too much" - since the early days of queer theory, back when the field was first taking off during the 1990s. I find that articles working with queer theory can tend towards being abstract, which makes many terms in the field particularly elusive or hard to define. There are a lot of different ways to interpret queer excess in particular, as well. However, there's a few interpretations of the term that I've read and which I like. I think one of them is especially relevant here.

John Nguyet Erni's article "Eternal Excesses: Toward a Queer Mode of Articulation in Social Theory" (1996) establishes two working definitions of queer excess: firstly, that a) critical queerness was destabilizing previous work in the humanities which had failed to fully take into account how (queer) sexuality impacts society, and, more critically here, that b) queerness indicates excess because it lies outside of cisheterosexuality.*

Basically, with point b), you can't challenge someone for being "abnormal" if you don't have a working idea of what is normal. If heterosexuality is treated as the default - and most people are thus assumed to be straight - then homosexuality becomes an outlier. It is positioned as the "other" sexuality by queerphobia. As long as cisheteronormative societies exist, anyway.

If queerness is thus relegated to the role of the "other" in society, then it must find ways to exist outside of mainstream culture. You can see this survival in alternative spaces such as leather bars, the drag scene, online apps intended for queer and trans people only, and so on. Within Jaws in particular, the Orca is another space where male intimacy is allowed to proliferate, whether it is platonic, romantic, or even sexual in nature. The three men remain entirely isolated on the boat throughout the second half of the film, secluded in a cabin where nobody can see them and there are no social laws to be enforced regarding what is acceptable to do to/with another man. Whilst Quint and Hooper are pretty drunk during the scar scene, the violation of acceptable platonic physical conduct between two men is reaaally apparent when they start openly touching/feeling each other's bodies, to the point of becoming basically entangled in one another. It is highly unlikely they could get away with these actions in a more public space, with or without the guise of alcohol - even if they themselves insisted that it was strictly platonic.

One might recall, however, that Quint and Hooper's embrace is cut off specifically when Hooper mentions a woman's name, reasserting his supposed heterosexual identity. To broach queerness directly would indeed destabilize the lives of all three men on the Orca. Brody is married to a woman with whom he has children. Quint, meanwhile, has had at least three failed marriages, is marked by his more conservative sense of masculinity, and is generally emotionally repressed. Hooper seems to have the least to lose here, but considering his repeated mentions of the heterosexual relationships he's had, his respectable, stable career, and even his possible marriage (see the ring on his left hand), one can see where an open embrace of queerness also would throw a wrench into his life. Brody could not damage his relationship with Ellen or his children by embracing queerness, Quint is too repressed to manage accepting a queer sexuality, while Hooper would risk his career, ego, and his (again, possible) marriage. Brody would also risk his career, come to think of it. An openly queer chief of police? In MY quaint little island community? I don't think so.

(This is also all without pointing to the fact that these characters live in suburban America in the 1970s. Amity reads, to me, as a pretty conservative town. They're hostile enough towards Brody just because he's a New Yorker/an outsider; the islanders are certainly not going to be championing gay rights anytime soon.)

While I recognize that the line kinda needs to be removed from its immediate context in the film in order for this reading to work, I suggest that "you're gonna need a bigger boat" represents both the literal need for a bigger boat to deal with the shark, and the metaphorical need for a larger space - with lessened social constrictions - in order to address the overwhelming "threat" of queerness within the ship. There isn't enough space in the Orca's tiny cabin for Quint and Hooper to fully embrace; they're stuck awkwardly behind its table in the center.** Nor is there enough space in the men's lives for this physical affection to ever exist outside of the confines of the boat. So long as queerness is positioned as an excessive, "other" sexuality by an insistence upon cisheterosexuality as the default, the trio's affections cannot ever be brought back on land into their island community. There is no space for any of this back home. Their queer intimacy remains bound to the sea, so long as the conservative social fabric that makes up Amity prohibits it. Instead, Brody, Quint, and Hooper need something more. A more accepting society, a more open society - a metaphorical "bigger boat," so to speak.

The biggest counterargument to all of this is that I'm reading too deep in things because the bigger boat line was improvised, which is what a friend of my friend pointed out while we were discussing this reading in August. It wasn't included in any of the original screenplays nor invented by Spielberg, but was made up on the spot instead by Roy Scheider. However, Barthes's original essay on the death of the author states that any given modern text is, by default, a series of ideas from other works all thrown together. It's never just the sole invention of one guy with one specific idea for what their work means. It's kind of up to the audience to find their own meaning in it all, actually. If that meaning turns out to be a queer reading of a throw-away line from a movie with no explicitly queer characters in it, so be it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm having fun with it anyway -- ** IMO, you can also argue for queer excess as the fact that queer identity is basically infinite. Sexuality and gender are fluid, and our individual feelings toward both are never wholly identical to one anothers'; queerness is excessive because there are countless ways to describe one's own sexuality/gender. Infinite diversity/infinite combinations and such. You might also say queer excess manifests as flamboyance, or through the way drag performances satirize binary gender roles. There really are a LOT of different ways to interpret the term.

**It's possible there are sleeping quarters somewhere under the Orca's cabin with more space than the awkward table bench situation, but this is making a bold assumption - though one would assume that the trio goes to sleep at some point, and must have somewhere on the boat to lie down on. At any rate, beds on the Orca are never shown nor suggested in the film, and thus irrelevant to this argument.

i'd like to write a proper little article about the line "you're gonna need a bigger boat" as a queer allegory someday. when i rewatched jaws last august with a friend she made a rather brilliant observation about it, something along the lines of queerness threatening to overwhelming the orca's tiny, cramped quarters and the heteronormative lives of the men within it. it's too much for the world they each live in. he phrased the argument much better than i think i ever could. aough. someday.

[littleoddwriter]

I haven't really seen anyobody talk about this here-

Caracalla lost everybody close to him (father figure and twin brother) on the same day, both technically by his own doing, but doesn't even remember half of that anyway, and is now desperate to keep at least one person around, still. he might not even remember his own screaming voice demanding her crucifixion due to her betrayal. and if he does, he clearly wants to take it back and keep her alive and around him. in terms of human companions, she's all he has left. except for Macrinus, of course, but he's still new and another father figure, unable to fill that gaping hole Caracalla's real mother has presumably left and Lucilla is going to leave if she dies. but since Macrinus has the emperor wrapped around his little finger already, just a few words from him convinced Caracalla that this was, in fact, necessary and the only way; thus, sealing Lucilla's fate.

it's devastating to me...

[777heavengirl]

lines divined

remus lupin x reader one-shot ! warnings: not rlly pinning but like ig? mention of having kids, fluff i think, i don't think there's any pronouns but lmk if there r word count: 1,820 masterlist a/n: shoutout to the anon that asked me abt my remus wips sorry this is so late and shoutout to my beta reader for putting up w me and this goddamned fic

Remus's fingers traced the lines of the palm of your hand, muttering to himself as he tried to read the lines into coherence. Divination wasn't his best subject, it was based on loose interpretations and it honestly just made his head hurt and his eyes ache like they might pop out of his head as he stared deeply into tea leaves or the palm of your hand. You were quite the opposite, somehow just knowing, divination came easy to you.

"Remus-"

"Hush, I reckon I've got it now-" you stifled a giggle as he referenced the book, his brows furrowing in frustration. "You will live a long life-"

"Yes"

"You will have one chil- no two children" He huffed in frustration as his eyes flickered back and forth between your hand and the book, and you pulled your hand back.

"It's one-" His eyes lifted to lock with yours, his aggravated stare letting you know he wasn't ready to give up but you didn't pay any mind. "Here- give me yours-" You opened your hand towards him and he huffed "Remus give me your hand please" he rolled his eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips but he placed his hand on top of yours regardless. The lines were clear to you, you knew where to look, what they meant. It was like second nature. 

"You'll live a long life, Remus," his breath caught at his throat, your finger traced the line on his hand softly. "But these breaks along it," your voice lowered as you spoke, he knew what those meant, it was possibly the only thing about palm reading he knew. You took a deep shaky breath, "The breaks in your life line indicate serious illnesses or accidents-" You looked at his face now, a flinty stare hardening his features. "It doesn't have to mean-" that you were meant to be bitten from the start, you bit your tongue "It could just be a change in life too... you know these things aren't precise"

He stayed quiet, but you could see the sadness swimming in his eyes. "Well- see now, this one," you tried smiling, hoping it would shift the mood. You could always read him so well. Not just his palms, but his thoughts. It was a connection the two of you shared, knowing looks and silent conversations. Even from opposite sides of the classrooms. "This is your heart line, see how its long?" he nodded, his lower lip caught between his teeth "It means you will have a long harmonious love-"

Remus scoffed, but there wasn't any malice behind it. You tried to repress your giggles as you continued to trace the lines in his hand, line after line, mound after mound. From Venus to Mars to Jupiter, your finger moved along the lines and curves of his palm, dipping and rising with the bumps and ridges. You told him all you could tell, the best things at least, because you knew the moon was getting fuller and he got more exhausted and the mere thought of the transformation haunted him. So you did your best, told him of the personality traits that shined through, and ignored the fact that yes, his palm screamed at you that he was always destined to live a life haunted by another self.

"So, to summarize, I was destined to be ill from the womb-" you pushed his arm with a teasing noo, shaking your head furiously as the both of you laughed, “I have great vitality, but will only have one child,"

"Yes to those" You were awfully conscious of the fact that even though you had finished reading his palm, his hand remained on top of yours, warm. You fought the press a kiss on the middle of it, the thought brief but no less tempting.

"And I will find little success in solitude-" His lips maintained a smirk as he spoke, so many people thought he didn't fit in with the Marauders, ever quiet ever innocent. But you knew better, the smirks, the teasing, Remus was a marauder through and through. You knew he was the one to come up with most of the logistics of the pranks anyway. 

"Don't forget the long harmonious love-"

"Ah yes, quite important that one-"

"Indeed I reckon it is," you could feel the heat of a blush start crawling its way up as Remus flipped his hand, the two of you now palm to palm. "Possibly the most important one on the list-" You could tell just from his look, the words floating around that head of his. 

"Oh? you think?" As much as he maintained his lazy smile, enjoying the touch of your hand against his and the way you tried, and failed, to not look flustered, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't feeling much of the same. He wanted to scream at the mere fact that you were divination partners, not even mentioning the delicate touch of your fingers over his palm. He doesn't know what possessed him, but facing his palm with yours made his breath rush out of his lungs.

"no, I know it is," you fought, and lost, to suppress the smile tugging at your lips, his thumb caressing the skin of your hand. 

It was an unspoken thing really. Whatever you had with Remus. You stuck by his side and he by yours, Sirius and James often said you guys were quite scary together, speaking in looks and blinks. Like morse code. He understood you, down to the core, and you understood him. He'd just take a look at you and you'd know the exact words in his mind. 

It was often something silly, the glint in his eyes when James said something idiotic, a small smirk pulling at his lips "what an ass". Or the look he gave you from across the room when Slughorn nitpicked at the contents of your cauldron, "he cant be serious..."

So you knew, when he looked up at you from his palm, the two of you grinning like idiots at each other, exactly what he was thinking. That the light behind his eyes meant he hoped, no he knew, that it was meant to be you. Your smile grew wider.

"Come on losers, time to go-" James stood in front of your table now, class had ended with you being none the wiser. Remus gave you a look, just as Sirius approached as well. "What are the two of you smiling about?"

Remus's grin now matched your own.

He didn't have to say it, you just knew what he meant-

"Idiots"

-

Your relationship, if that's what you'd call it, with Remus was frustrating to everyone but the two of you. You'd do everything together, your friends joked that if they saw Remus they knew you wouldn't be far behind. Somehow you always ended up as partners in class, whether by your choice or not, and if you weren't in the same class, he'd walk you all the way to the door, a small smile gracing his features every time he did. Safe to say your friends were going insane, 

"What do you mean you haven't done anything?" Mary looked like she was about to pull her hair out, fingers threaded around the dark curls. 

"I don't know what you want from me Mary" you were amused at her reaction, the corner of your lips twitching their way into a smile. "We are not even together-"

"But you love each other, it is obvious to everyone you're disgustingly in love!" Mary threw herself on the foot of your bed, a giggle bouncing from your lips at your best friend's frustration.

"I do love him yea," Mary groaned, rubbing her eyes with the pads of her fingers. "And not to be self-centered but I feel like he loves me too"

"Then what's the issue? You don't even hold hands"

"There's no issue Mary-" she groaned again, a small you're impossible slipping past her lips. "Remus and I are just..." you thought about it briefly, you didn't have a physical relationship quite the opposite. But you still felt together. You did everything together, walking to class, doing homework in the common room or in the library, your weekends by the Black Lake, reading under the shade of the trees. You were seldom without the other, often in silence merely basking in the other's presence. It made your chest feel warm and a smile break into your face. "We're just us..."

And that was the truth. You thought about it even after the conversation flowed into something else, even as you made your way down to dinner and, naturally, sat next to Remus. You could tell he loved you, you could tell he was happy. There wasn't a doubt in your mind. Whether it was by his gaze, the light that shone through his hazel eyes, or by the lines in his hands that seemed to match yours but still hesitated to assume. It's difficult to read your own palm after all. But you knew, from the cloudy crystal ball two weeks ago, one that Remus could not see anything through the fog of it. But you could. Clear as day. 

Remus and his light brown hair, the rays of the sun caught in it, an easy smile on his lips, a small child pressed against his chest, his arms hugging the baby close. James and Sirius talked lively with him, hazy in your vision but you were sure it was them. You didn't know what they were talking about, but it wasn't much different from the way they spoke now, full of life, animated and bursting with excitement. And he looked at you, through the haze of the orb, the mist you could see his eyes. Older but happier, a knowing smile.

I love you.

"What's wrong love?" his words were low, but came through even as his friends spoke loudly around you, "you haven't said a word since you sat down-"

His lips had a soft smile, concern swimming in his eyes and for the millionth time in your life, you felt like kissing him. But you didn't. It would come at its own pace. But you returned a smile, an honest one that reached your eyes.

"I'm brilliant Rem," your hand slid over his under the table, clutching it with purpose, with meaning. With care. "Delighted actually" He squeezes your hand now, cheeks warm and red. His hold on yours isn't a hesitant one like the one you shared in divination, it is not the ghost of his palm against yours. No, this one is sure, like you were holding the whole universe between the palms of your hands, between your interwoven fingers. He can't help but smile brightly at you now.

Yes, you were sure he did love you. Much like you loved him.

[doctorcurdlejr]

Niko!! what'd you think of I saw the tv glow. I finally saw it last night and noticed you posting about it so I wanted to know your thoughts :)

Levi!!! I was JUST wondering what you were thinking about the movie after I saw you posting about it as well... we are so media discussion pilled in this way, it's awesome. ANYWAYS I've had so many thoughts since I first saw it and I've been trying to turn them into something coherent for a little bit now.

Ummm okay I have written 1k+ words about this movie, the suburbs, and escapism via teen TV.... clearly I was dying for somebody to ask this I guess so thank you for indulging me <3

First and foremost, I absolutely loved it! I've seen it twice now and the first time I watched it I got to see Jane Schoenbrun talk about the film right after. I already really liked it from that first watch alone. I found it so deeply relatable to my experiences - both in terms of growing up gay and trans, but where I am now in my 20s trying to navigate adulthood. Hearing what Schoenbrun had to say really cemented my feelings and thoughts about the film.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a big influence on the movie (it's why Amber Benson makes a cameo as Johnny Link's mom). Even though I don't have the same emotional link to Buffy since I never watched it, I recognize it as the same type of warmth I experienced growing up with Riverdale. When Owen says he feels like his insides have been scooped out but that he's too afraid to look and have that wrongness everybody knows is there be confirmed, Maddy simply responds "Maybe you're like Isabel. Afraid of what's inside you." Tears forming but not falling, breathing shallowly, I grabbed the paper and pen the theater keeps at the seats for people to order food with and wrote that line down - the slip of paper is still somewhere in my car. Writing it now almost feels lame in its simplicity, but it felt like my insides were being flayed open.

During the director discussion, Schoenbrun talked a little bit about this idea of how truly fucking bizarre it is to grow up in the suburbs. Like, when we think about the pinnacle of normality in American culture, it's the image of middle-class cis-hetero-white suburbia. At the same time, despite this cultural dream of normality, everybody is hyper-aware that the suburbs are one of the least normal things ever. So, the ACTUAL cultural understanding of it is that it's where we go to, like, passively kill ourselves (*George Costanza voice* WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY YOU KNOW!). This idea isn't new, I mean there are so many films and shows about navigating that specific bizarre dissonance from Rebel Without a Cause to Heathers to Twin Peaks. Probably half the pre-teen to teen TV I watched obsessively growing up, stuff like Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Making Fiends, Truth or Scare, and eventually Riverdale, were never shy about being weird and morbid and saying "yes, the suburbs are exactly as bizarre and lethal in the ways you can already feel in your bones at 13." I Saw the TV Glow does a really good job of keying not only into that mental dissonance but more specifically into how those of us who have felt so intrinsically weird and different and wrong fell back on these shows like they were capable of doing the emotional version of a rescue breath maneuver after being drowned.

In high school, if there were two things about me that any person who even vaguely knew me could list off it was that I watched Riverdale, and I was a lesbian - and I was mocked more for the Riverdale. At that age, I was, without a doubt, the most miserable I have ever felt in my life. I rarely left the house because my family lived in a development that made me want to scratch my skin off when I walked out our front door. Owen didn't leave the house for days, afraid Maddy could somehow force him out. I sobbed constantly and frequently to depressing indie rock on the floor of my closet while hoping my family would just once read the (honest to god) KEEP OUT poster plastered on my door since I didn't have a lock on it. Owen didn't leave his room for days, afraid of what Maddy recognized in him. I didn't go on dates and kept my chest binder shoved to the bottom of my bookbag while wearing dresses that could've come from a how-to-be the perfect 50s housewife manual. Owen didn't leave his bed for days, afraid of Maddy touching his neck and Isabel's dress. I also watched Riverdale with the kind of zeal you see in a Pentecostal who has found God and started speaking in tongues to let you know it. I own a button that says, "Don't Make Me Go Dark Betty On You," I cherish it in a way that is only achieved by knowing exactly how corny and trite it is and then moving straight past that because well actually, and most people wouldn't get this, she's holding back something deeply dark and wild and- and disgusting. something painful yet intrinsically her. but i get it, obviously. or maybe not obviously! hopefully not obviously, but- basically, I'm just saying I get it: the experience of reflection and recognition through the other and all that.

Whatever, the point is that this movie is one big glaring trans allegory about how it sucks dog shit to live in the suburbs, and even at our most repressed we find these little snow globes of actualization in the glow of a tv screen that isn't afraid to show you the world you see. I've seen some people say that, like, in this context accepting or coming into your transness is this monumental death of self, which I get, but I feel there lacks a nuance in that because either way Owen is dying. Unlike Maddy who buries herself alive only to come out renewed, Owen doesn't kill himself upon facing the reality that the world is constructed to keep him miserable and the only way out is to take back what it is that the world wants to keep scooped out of him. Instead he just passively lets it drag him to a much more permanent death. This lack of suicide sucks in the kind of way that forces you to sit in your car on the midnight drive home and think to yourself am I letting myself suffocate because at some point knowing the misery became less scary than admitting I've been capable of doing something about it the whole time?

Clearly, I’ve been enchanted by the film’s narrative and meta-textual language. If you're familiar with it, you can see how Schoenbrun built this movie like a long-form dream episode of a canceled teen show filmed in Vancouver. Lynchian? Yeah, sure. Riverdalesque? THIS we cannot possibly deny. Schoenbrun said they included Amber Benson as an act of healing the inner rage experienced at Tara’s death in Buffy. This is a Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ending Riverdale with a bisexual polycule after his gay Archie play got ceased-and-desisted type move. There’s probably more I could say about the soundtrack and the visuals, but I’ve hit over 1k words on this, so I’ll leave it at I enjoyed this movie a lot. :)

Maddy is an out lesbian who left town to escape the misery and found it strapped to her ankles. She slinks out, an animal pressed against the gymnasium floor, and says "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." Owen looks into the camera and narrates. He cuts himself open with a box cutter, fully acknowledges what's there, and the movie ends with his suffocating apology parade for the unremarkable inconvenience of his excruciating suffering. You can be gay and trans, you can know it and you can stop repressing it, but you're not going to stop suffocating until you can find a way to destroy the part of you that truly deeply does want to die, reaching for the comforting euthanasia of normalcy. Stop visiting the dream of the life you want and make it into your reality with the same kind of unrepentant conviction seen in some underfunded but wildly ambitious teen television series. In other words: you must try to survive the ego death of being weird. A weirdo, who doesn't fit in and doesn't want to fit in!

[marveladdictjones]

Bedtime Tales

pairing: Wonka!Willy Wonka x literary nerd!gn!reader warnings/tags: Wonka spoilers!, just a lighthearted story, reader being a huge nerd totally not inspired by myself no... summary: reader finds out that not only has Willy never learned how to read, he was also never read to as a child, so they make a deal a/n: I'm lowkey obsessed with the new Wonka film, I can't even learn for major tests without seeing connections wc: 942

"What do you mean you can't read?" You asked in astonishment as you stare at the chocolatier in front of you.

"I just can't..." Willy said rather matter-of-factly, shrugging his shoulders as he took in the shocked expression on your face. "I never needed to, so I never learned it."

"Would've come in handy at zoo," Noodle muttered under her breath, "We nearly got eaten by a tiger."

"Keyword: nearly," Willy emphasised, "I've nearly been eaten by a lot of things, and they only got as much as a nibble."

"Okay, yeah, that's... that's not really comforting," You replied, shaking your head as if to process the thought, "So, you don't how to read... but at least you've been read to when you were a child, right? Right...?"

But Willy only shook his head, making your eyes widen more. "You've never been... right, okay, uhm... right, yes..." You're stumbling over your words, trying to form a coherent sentence and failing miserably. "Right, well... I'm sorry, but how has someone with so much imagination never been read to? Where do your ideas come from if not from stories?"

"I don't know, they just... form in my mind?" Willy answered, not sure how to respond to your questions. "I think you're making this a bigger deal than it has to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. the Chocolatier," You reply sarcastically as you look him dead in the eye, "I didn't realise that you were capable of such great things. Why would you even need to read? You already traveled around the world, so there's no need for you to immerge yourself into another."

"Are you sure she's still talking about my non-ability to read?" Willy asked Noodle, still confused but also slightly intrigued by your apparent affinity for reading.

"Hey, you pissed off the literature nerd, not me," Noodle simply answered before going back to her chores.

"Okay, you're exaggerating, I'm not pissed off," You clarify as you shake your head, "I'm just... baffled by the fact that you've never bothered with anything related to reading."

Truth be told, they could've gone around in circles like that forever if it hadn't been for Mrs. Scrubbit checking everyone's attendance and sending them to their separate rooms.

You leaned against the door and sighed, tired from yet another exhausting day at the bleachers. You sat down on your bed and let your head rest in your hands. Having been at the laundromat and bleachers for a few years now and still having several years ahead of you, you had given up on dwelling over your miserable predicament.

So instead, you got out a book from your suitcase, one of your very few possessions. Seeing as the lightbulb above your head kept on flickering and wouldn't provide much light, you moved over to the window, where the moon casted a dim glow over the pages.

After a while, you heard a soft psst coming from the window of the room across from yours. You looked up, only for your eyes to catch the gaze of the brilliant, illiterate young man.

"So, I had a talk with Noodle, and she offered to learn me how to read," Willy said, "She said it would be necessary if this whole chocolate selling operation works through."

"Well, that's a nice offer," You reply, "And I agree with her. You won't always be able to depend on others to do the reading for you."

"Now that you mention it, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing," He comments, "I mean, you seemed to be a advocate for being read to, right?"

You can't help but lightly chuckle. "There's a massive difference between having someone read for you and someone read to you, Mr. Wonka," You say, "One creates a depency, the other provides an escape."

"Well, if that's the case, let's hope that prisoners aren't being read to," Willy joked, lightly grinning when he saw a faint smile creep up your lips. "See, who needs to read when a clever choice of words can make even the most stubborn of people crack a smile?"

"Who are you calling stubborn, Mr 'My near-death experience doesn't mean I should learn how to read'?" You ask rethorically as you raise and eyebrow at him, "Besides, it's often a clever choice of words that makes reading so worthwhile."

"Well, I suppose you'll have to prove that to me in order for me to believe it," He argued, secretly hoping you'd concede.

"Oh, is that how it has to be?" In your mind, you were somewhat thrilled to indulge and with that, be able to share something you were passionate about. But what's the fun in simply saying okay? "Well, I suppose if you asked kindly enough I would think about it..."

"Alright, alright..." Willy said as he stifled a smirk while rolling his eyes. "Would you, please, read to me so I may realise at last what I've been missing out on?"

"Because you asked so politely and totally weren't forced to do so, I will indulge you, Mr. Wonka," You say, fighting back a smile of your own.

And so, you start to read, occasionally looking up only to find fim listening attentively. Right before the story reaches its climax, you shut the book.

Being surprised by the sudden halt, Willy snaps out of his hazy state of drifting off into the story and looks confused.

"Hey, why did you stop?" He asks in astonishment, "How am I supposed to know how the story ends?"

"I guess we'll find out another time," You say, a slight smirk forming on your lips. "Good night, Willy."

© This work belongs to @marveladdictjones, please do not copy this work to any other site or claim it as your own. Reblogs are allowed and appreciated!

[pennylime]

been on that world trigger brainrot fr (also a theory below the art) (long post)

I have a whole au living in my brain abt if yuma lives lmao. Maybe I'll sketch or talk abt it if anyone's interested.

Also, a theory I've been keeping to myself for years bcuz it's probably wrong:

Amo is the black trigger assassin. HEAR ME OUT !! I can't be the only one who's thought abt this at least a bit, right????

1. We haven't seen Amo's black trigger yet.

For triggers being so prominent, why haven't we seen Amo's? During Afto's invasion, we could have seen Amo's trigger, but we only got to see the aftermath. We also have no idea how he came into possession of it. We know it's VERY strong and VERY destructive. Kind of like an assassin we've heard of, yes? The assassin tore Yuma apart in a second, but it was only in like, small blasts? for lack of a better term. So the two are different in that aspect, but it's also been years since then, so Amo could have the room to improve.

2. Yuma hasn't met Amo yet.

Yuma has met like, almost everyone? Or has heard or seen them in passing? We've seen most of the squads, and were seeing more in the away missions test right now, and how they fight, their motives, and their skill level. Like, Yuma knows Amo exists, I'm pretty sure Amo knows Yuma exists, and yet they haven't met. Somehow. Seems kinda sus to me.

3. Kind of stupid, but Amo's hair and the assassin's is a little similar lmao.

Self explanatory. They do look different, but there's a three year difference, so yea.

4. We know next to nothing abt Amo.

We know his age, what he looks like, that he's anti-social, and doesn't really know how to reign in his power or that he really cares to. BUT we have no idea who is parents are, or WHERE he came from, or even when he joined border (that I can remember). He could be a neighbor, but he very may well be not.

5. We don't know what the assassin looks like.

We could chalk it to Yuma's memory, having the flashback being from his perspective and only seeing the assassin for a split second, but it also leaves a TON of possibilities of who they can be.

All of these put together COULD be deliberate. There has to be a reason!!! Like, waiting for a big reveal. Amo's mysterious nature really puts him up to be anything. But it really could just be that they haven't met yet because of simple reasons, and Amo is just some normal kid with a black trigger.

Like, this theory popped into my head one day as a what if, and since then, I've been running with it lmao. A lot of it is speculation. But I know that it can fall apart pretty easily, so I won't be surprised if it turns out I'm completely wrong.

But I also won't be surprised if I turn out to be right 😎

I hope I explained it at least somewhat coherently 😭

[mothman-can-write]

heya! i also saw your tag about aro maria and ace natasha. i'm very fascinated about that. what's some of your takes on that dynamic? i've personally leaned towards ace/aspec, but it's always interesting to me when someone who identifies along there but more into sex or adverse to romance. just shows how diverse that spectrum is!

This is such a fun question and I'm going to preface it by saying these HCs are purely based on vibes and my own projection as someone on the aroace spec. I like to play around with their sexualities a lot bc it makes for interesting dynamics, but I'll stick to my thoughts about them being aspec for now haha. I can't promise this will be coherent and make sense but I'll try my best!

This got pretty long, so I'll put the rest of this essay under the cut:

A lot of my opinions of marvel characters are influenced by the comics, especially for Maria since we were given so little of her in the MCU. She has an interesting vibe to her that just... sort of screams being entirely uninterested in anything romantic. She's a very private person anyway, but never expresses interest in wanting romance, but she still wants so desperately to keep those she cares about safe. It's not that she doesn't care, because she does, a WHOLE lot. She just cares about everyone in a very platonic, dutiful way. And yet, somehow, she gives off the biggest lesbian vibes in the world. Therefore, aromantic lesbian. It also somehow just makes sense to me that casual physical relationships would be easier for her to keep as a crucial member of an international secret organisation. Outside of her own team who is she going to date? She goes to a nice bar and she drinks a scotch and she waits for the nearest femme to take her home only to disappear in the middle of the night. Satisfy some urges, and prove to herself that she isn't an evil monster to the naked eye, two birds one stone. There's no real evidence to her having any sexual relationships (that i can think of anyway) but the vibes just sort of work to me, or at least that she would have them. Sometimes i think she's too much of a loser to ever actually go home with anyone. So, in that respect, I can also see her as being aroace too. She just generally has more important things to worry about and isn't necessarily interested in things she deems so personal and unimportant.

I wish I could beam the vibes in my head directly to you because I'm doing a terrible job of explaining them with words, but generally Maria comes off as a very cold character who actually cares very deeply about those around her and that can hit home for a lot of aspec misconceptions and stereotypes. As far as I know, she's never been in a relationship either, which for marvel comics is practically an olympic feat. In one comic she says Natasha is the person she trusts most in the world because shes lonely too, and that shes the only person that scares her. what is that if not lesbianism aspec solidarity

As for Natasha, well we all know what her past is like, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that she might have some trauma around it. But honestly I just like to think she would always be asexual bc it's fun. She's really the character I have less evidence for, but I'm a sucker for the trope of a character who is sexualised by everyone around her actually being a big softy who would rather cuddle. That woman could count on her hands how many times she's been hugged in her life, I think she'd truly get the most out of a relationship where she is shown innocent affection. She's been treated as a physical asset her entire life and I think she deserves to be wined and dined outside of that. Maybe its just me trying to break her free and projecting at the same time but let that woman be the little spoon.

IDK man, she just gives me vibes. She's a cutie. She's a hopeless romantic thrown into a world of people that think she's hot. She's been forced to live up to a role that feels like an act, and is only able to play it so well because none of it has felt real from the start. Sexuality has always been a game, and she's so good at playing because she's always been outside of it. The second someone shows her genuine romance she doesn't know what to do with herself. She likes to give people flowers.

In terms of dynamics together, I don't actually tend to mix them together in this way, I usually pick one or the other because the fic is focussed on them having a functional relationship. I do, however, think Maria would be very accomodating of Natasha if they were in a relationship with this specific dynamic, because as characters they have a very similar need of wanting to be loved for who they are as a person. And to Maria any sexual drive is always going to be second to a real human connection for the first time in her life.

Honestly, the dynamic should be great for angst but I can't find a way to make it work because theyre very similar characters to me. Even if Natasha needs someone to love her whole heartedly for herself, someone to love her innocently outside of her body, Maria is still going to give that to her. It might not be romantically, but she is desperate for human connection anyway. The worst I can think of is that Maria becomes frustrated with the fact that Natasha wants more from her, whilst not being able to tell her the full extent of her own attraction, so theyre both stuck at a bit of a stalemate. Suffering in silence through their friendship because they both want something the other isnt able to give and both of them are too soft hearted to ever force it

I think that's about all that I've got in the tank right now, so I hope that answered some of the curiosities you had! Let me know if you have any more specific questions, because i'm always happy to talk about them :)

[cardinal-crossing]

More Polar Express doodles! I've left some notes under the cut if you would like to read, it's mostly notes about the story of the Polar Express and how these two fit in, but nothing extensive. (Probably for the best, I don't think it would be coherent if I went any further.)

ALSO POLAR EXPRESS SPOILERS BELOW!!

All right, I have some thoughts about this movie. I enjoyed watching it for the first time and got so excited that I watched the film again. While watching, I immediately picked out characters to put the subway twins as because I am so normal, and here is a little explanation. To start, in my head, all the characters that run the train are spirits or ghosts, much like how the Hobo is portrayed. While the other characters are not as prominent, there are a few hints here and there that point to such. For example, in the Glaciar Glutch scene, the conductor doesn't wrap the safety belt around himself; he only wraps it around the two kids. That at least points to the fact that he may be a spirit, as he doesn't have as much care for his person. Furthermore, he is on a magic train and has been doing it for years; he's a spirit. I'm sorry, but he is. So I chose Ingo as the conductor because, in the movie, the conductor rarely smiles; he also cares a lot about the kids, as shown by his body language. Also, in my mind, the conductor was very hard to read, but that may also be caused by the fact that the expressions were very realistic in this movie (I suspect motion capture), and I have a hard time reading facial expressions. Now, Emmet is the funnier one. I chose Emmet as the Hobo because of my personal headcanon that Emmet has the crazy uncle energy rather than the more fatherly energy. The Hobo within the movie also smiles a lot, almost constantly, and is just generally chaotic. Instead of outwardly telling the kids what to do and what not to do, he instead scares the crap out of them to teach them a lesson and further their adventure throughout the movie. He also only chooses to help in the most dire of times and in the most ridiculous way possible; think of skiing on the top of the train and tapping the emergency brake on the caboose. He makes a pun instead of just telling the main character that there is a brake, and then he poofs back out of existence. Also, the conductor clearly knows that the Hobo exists, as he alludes to it in the movie when the main character asks what the man who saved the conductor looked like. The conductor only responded, "Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." That has been my ramble, and I apologize if none of this made sense; I've been up since four this morning running off of straight caffeine, and I've been all over the place.

[happyhauntt]

keep my hand in yours — nikolai lantsov

series masterlist | writing masterlist | askbox

─── summary: nikolai sees anya all dressed up for the first time since they were children. he doesn't handle it well.

─── pairing: nikolai lantsov & anya kamenev (original character.)

─── warnings: fluff fluff fluff, references to other oneshots in this series but can be read as standalone, fluff, pre-established relationship, i've made anyalai suffer enough and i needed to throw them a bone with a fluffy adorable oneshot so here we are. title from 'everywhere everything' by noah kahan (aka anyalai anthem tbh)

─── word count: 2.4k.

     As a child, they teach you that staring at the sun for too long will make you go blind. Nikolai always was a reckless child, and Anya has certainly been the centre of his universe for so long now, he can hardly remember a time when she wasn't.

     Nikolai knows he is in love with Anya Kamenev. He knows it like he knows blood is red, like he knows the feeling of a rifle in his hands and the salty sea wind on his face. He knows it like he knows his heart must still be beating, because if it had stopped, he would be dead.

     And yet now, as she emerges from the dressing room, he fears that everything he'd been so sure of is false. Blood is green and the sky is pink and his heart must have stopped beating entirely, at least for a moment, this moment. He wonders if this is heaven. He wonders if this is a dream, if he died on the battlefield. He wonders how he ever got this lucky.

     "You're staring, Nik." Anya's voice is flat, eerily calm, even as she smooths her hands down the front of her dress, nervously seeking nonexistent creases. Her shoulders are squared, chin held high as she meets his eyes. She's already wearing her confidence like armour. A soldier preparing for battle. This night will be spent fending off thinly-veiled barbs and passive-aggressive insults from Ravka's elite. Everyone who thinks she isn't good enough to be queen. Everyone who thinks this is a mistake.

     Anya's knee gives an indignant twinge. She already knows that the heels she picked out will be giving her grief this evening, but she'd insisted on them. She didn't want to be seen as weak. Anya has been smiling through the pain for years now, and an evening spent dancing and mingling in heels won't make her old injury any worse.

     She hopes.

     It takes him a moment to find his words. “How can I possibly look away?” He manages a raspy, strangled murmur as his eyes trail over her figure. Any further capacity for speech fails him completely. How can he possibly form a coherent thought when she looks like that? Watching him with narrowed eyes, and that defiant tilt of her chin, and the way the neckline of her dress is high and modest, allowing him the tiniest glimpse of her collarbone.

     His mouth goes dry. He feels like a parched man, condemned to wander the desert for eternity, only to stumble upon a lush green oasis. He is utterly ruined by her, and Saints, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

     Anya huffs, casting her eyes to the ceiling before she trudges over to the floor-length mirror, surveying her own reflection with a critical eye. She's always been pretty, that was never the issue: peaches-and-cream complexion, rosy cheeks and wavy blonde hair, she was lauded for her looks even as a little girl. That one will be a beauty, they’d whisper to her mother, who’d respond with a demure smile to mask the frightened glint in her eye.

     There are scars, now, littered over her skin. Little white slashes over her collarbone, her arms, almost silvery in the candlelight. The dress Genya chose for her is emerald green satin with the hem trailing on the floor. The Lantsov emerald rests on her ring finger, while diamonds glisten at her throat and a small kokoshnik tiara rests in her hair.

     She still feels pretty. That was never the problem. But her eyes are weathered now, older and wiser and yet, somehow, altogether more foolish for agreeing to this. She still looks like a soldier. She still feels like— well. She doesn't know anymore. Maybe that's the point.

     Nikolai wrests himself from his stupor and joins her at the mirror. He stands behind her, rests his hands on either side of her waist. He's taller than her, even with the heels on, and he leans down so his mouth hovers near her ear.

     "It turns out that I'm marrying a Saint after all." His breath is warm and so are his hands. She can feel the heat of them through her bodice.

     Anya clicks her tongue, feigning irritation. When her gaze meets his in the mirror, his lips tug into a playful grin.

     "You are an insufferable flirt," she says, but she leans back against him all the same, allowing herself to sink into his embrace for a few moments.

     Nikolai's grip on her waist tightens. He drops featherlight kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "And yet you agreed to marry this insufferable flirt."

     "This is only the engagement party," she reminds him. "There's still time to change my mind."

     "And would you?"

     He thinks of that a lot. The idea of losing her sends a bolt of fear through him. He'd sooner face a thousand bloodthirsty pirates with nothing but his bare hands. He'd meet the Darkling in the Fold and spend the rest of his days living as that winged monster again, and it would scare him less than losing her.

     It took a long time for her to agree to marry him. He's been proposing, in some form or another, since they were seventeen years old. When she kissed him for the first time in a medik's tent, when he left for his apprenticeship and promised he'd come back for her, when they'd lain together in his cabin aboard the Volkvolny for the hundredth time and he'd known there would never be peace in his soul if she wasn't his.

     But she hadn't been his. Not really.

     He would risk it all for the country that abandoned her, and for a long time, that had been a crack between the two of them that could not be repaired. Like the Shadow Fold splitting his ravaged country in two, they had been at odds, stuck on separate sides of a great divide. He would always be a prince. He would always love Ravka.

     She would always love him, but Ravka had lost her loyalty when she rotted in that cell.

     Things are different now. He is the King, the Fold is gone, and there is hope, finally, for some real change in their country. Anya might have been betrayed by Ravka, but she loved him. She loved him. And under Nikolai's rule, things would change. Things would heal.

     Anya could heal, too.

     When she finally agreed to marry him, he'd wept. He’d held his breath for days and waited for the penny to drop, for another inexplicable thing to keep them apart. One of them was always leaving. And to rule over a country she'd once despised, where the nobility hated her...

     He wouldn't blame her for running. He just wishes he'd be able to run with her.

     His gaze is wide open, searching. Her own features soften as she looks at him, and she shakes her head slowly.

     "No," she says. "I wouldn't."

     He tilts her chin up and kisses her like he’s drowning, like she is the first breath of air he's ever had. His grip on her waist tightens as she sways a little, and a golden warmth slips through her strong enough to make her knees feel weak.

     When she pulls herself away from him, he tries to follow her. A frustrated groan sounds low in his throat.

     "Careful," Anya says with a teasing smile. "If you ruin my hair, Genya really might kill you."

     She turns back to the mirror, inspecting her appearance once more before reaching up to straighten her kokoshnik. Nikolai holds her tightly from behind, both arms tangled around her middle, chest flush against her back. His chin rests lightly on her shoulder.

     A tremor ripples through her and he knows, without knowing, that her knee is bothering her. He shifts himself to take more of her weight, just for a moment, and her grateful sigh is like a balm on every wound he’s ever had.

     His moss-and-honey eyes lock with hers in the mirror once again. An adoring smile tugs at his mouth. "You wouldn't protect me?"

     Anya laughs. "I sat for hours as she tortured me until I looked perfect. I'd help her."

     "My vicious girl." He says it like a prayer. A moment of silence passes before a crease forms between his brows. "Do you remember that last birthday of yours, before we enlisted?"

     Anya hums distractedly, fiddling with her sleeves. "My sixteenth, yes. My parents threw a massive ball and invited— well, more people than I've ever met in my life. They were hoping to secure a match for me, I think. Or at least start sniffing out potential suitors. Why?"

     "I think I fell in love with you that night."

     Anya raises an eyebrow at him. "No, you didn't."

     Nikolai presses a kiss to her shoulder, just above one of those tiny silver scars. They'd barely known each other, then; childhood acquaintances turned into almost-strangers. Her parents had kept her sequestered to their estate as she grew older, to hide that she was Grisha. By her sixteenth birthday, he'd seen her perhaps three times in as many years, and whatever friendship they'd been able to muster up as youngsters had died.

     But he remembers that night. Almost like it was yesterday, the memory of it dances through his mind with startling clarity. "You entered the ballroom, and you must have been nervous but you couldn't tell. You held yourself with all the grace and dignity of a queen, even then."

     "A decade of governesses bullying manners into me might've had something to do with that," Anya grumbles.

     "Hush," Nikolai says with a huff of laughter. "I don't think I'd ever seen anyone so beautiful. All that time growing up at court, all those noble ladies in their pretty dresses and furs, but I'd never felt this way before. It was like watching a sunrise for the first time."

     Anya sniffs. "Nikolai." Her voice is a stern, if slightly wobbly, warning. "If you make me cry before we even make it out of this room, I will make sure Tamar tells her most embarrassing story about you as a toast."

     "And it would be completely worth it, Nastya." His smile grows ever wider. "And then I had to watch you have the first dance with Vasily. I'd never been so jealous in my life."

     His older brother might have been a swine, but Nikolai cannot help the odd fondness he has for Vasily's memory. Had he lived, Nikolai isn't sure whether that affection would still exist, but there is little point in despising a ghost. There's not much more damage they can do.

     Even so, the memory of his lecherous hand lingering a little too low on Anya's hip makes him feel like a viper has curled up in his belly.

     Anya gives up on fiddling with her appearance and sighs, leaning her head back to rest against Nikolai's chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat is a comfort. "My parents insisted. He was the Crown Prince, I could hardly refuse!" Anya shudders a little as she recalls his touch, the way he'd leaned in close and whispered compliments in her ear that had left her feeling slimy.

     "It was torture. Pure torture." With a gentle push, he spins her in his arms until they're nose-to-nose. Anya's hands curl around his neck. Her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I didn't know, then, what it meant. I was so alarmed by those feelings. I didn't understand what you would mean to me. But I fell in love with you that night. I'm sure of it now. One look at you and I was doomed forever."

     "Oh, how charming!" Even as she teases him, Anya's heart does somersaults in her chest. "You did dance with me that night, you know. You stepped on the hem of my dress."

     "I was so worried you could hear my heartbeat."

     "You couldn't tell. You were your usual charming self, all suave and unbearable, flirting with all the girls." Anya smiles, all soft at the edges.

     "What can I say? I was a foolish boy," he says.

     Anya laughs. "Was?"

     Nikolai growls low in his throat and picks her up by the waist, spinning her in a slow circle. "Alright, alright," he murmurs. "But I like to think I learned my lesson in the end."

     She runs her finger along his jawline and says softly, "And I learned mine."

     They might have stayed there forever, bodies pressed tight together, his gaze so intent and earnest that the world around Anya falls away. The warmth of him swallows her whole, and she thinks she wouldn't mind a forever just like this. Just the two of them, and a quiet room, and his heartbeat thudding beneath her palm.

     An insistent knock on the door drags them back to reality, followed by Zoya's sharp-tongued demand that they hurry up, or they're going to be late.

     Nikolai doesn't look away from Anya as he settles her gently back on the ground. His hands still linger at her waist. A slow, lazy smile pulls at his lips. "I suppose it's rude to be late to your own engagement party. Should I be concerned that your speech will flatter me terribly? Is it filled with praise and adoration about my dashing good looks and genius?"

     Anya almost snorts, pulling herself out of his grip. "I'd say it's filled with my exasperation at your recklessness, your daring, your inability to keep your hands to yourself—"

     "—and my dashing good looks." He reaches for her again but she dodges his outstretched hand. "Can't a man kiss his future wife?"

     "That man won't make it to his wedding day if he keeps testing Zoya's patience." She shoots him a warning glance, though the effectiveness of it is ruined by the brightness of her smile. Once, not so long ago, he feared he'd never seen her shine like this again. "I promise to include your handsomeness in my vows if you get a move on."

     With a chuckle, he joins her at the door, their fingers threading together. She kisses the corner of his mouth as a reward, and then the pair of them stumble out of their room and into the rest of their lives.

[justjesse116]

Can I pester you for your thoughts on Dabi and Hawks' respective canon endings (if you haven't posted em somewhere already and I've just missed it)

Oh yeah, I did say I'd touch on that and sure never did huh. I got so fed up that I just ignored the ending and didn't feel like acknowledging it with a post anymore.

But I do have an answer for you. It's gonna be a long one, buckle up buttercup.

As for Dabi's 'end'.

Ah yes, fantastic message Horikoshi, if you're not a perfect victim and don't shrink away and make yourself small and hide away from your abuse/abuser - if you get mad and lash out then you should just fucking die. Your ABUSER gets a second chance, but you can just go fuck yourself.

(For a better understanding on how I feel about Dabi's story as a whole I got, what, 2 sentences in and had to pause because I'm sick as hell right now and a little fucked up on cold medicine, and I got so mad my hands started shaking and my heart tried to do it's best impression of a wildebeest stampede in my chest. (Emotional regulation who?))

Dabi is my ride or die, because I came from a home where my sperm donor terrorized me my whole life for the crime of being alive and having the gall to take after my mother. I have an unfortunately personal understanding of how he feels, at least in part, and his end in the story is what bothers me most, and will continue to do so.

Did he go about it the best way? No, I'm not a fan of the murder (arson I couldn't give 2 fucks about, destroy that government property babey) but I can't blame him for turning out the way he did. He went through literal hell and came out the other side torn apart physically and mentally. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't fantasize about killing my sperm donor for all the ways he fucked me up every once in a while, so I can't blame him for that either. I think it's a natural reaction to want to eliminate a perceived threat, especially one as traumatizing as one of the people who are supposed to be guaranteed to love you turning on you the way Endeavor did.

But anyway, I'm rambling at this point so in a nutshell; FUCK Horikoshi and his wishy washy writing and bitchass cop out. The end to Dabi's story is insulting at best and harmful at worst. It's very obvious that he was over My Hero, since he bulldozed over anything that would resemble a satisfying ending in regards to multiple parts of the story, but his handling of Dabi as a character is the most egregious in my opinion. I have well and truly had enough of this man (derogatory).

So now I shall move on to the man, the myth, the legend, the love of my life - you get it. Hawks. And if I'm being honest I'm not very keen on his ending either.

First of all, what ever happened to giving heroes more time to kill?

Ahem. Excuse me, getting a little heated.

Fucking give me that man, he needs to be sat down in a plush fucking armchair, with a mug of actual coffee, not that canned shit, bundled in the softest blanket money can buy, just relaxing and reading or watching a show. LET THAT MAN REST. HIS ASS HAS NO BUSINESS BEING THE PRESIDENT OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABOLISHED AT THE END. THAT'S WHAT IT FELT LIKE HORIKOSHI WAS HINTING TOWARDS THE WHOLE TIME. GET RID OF THE HERO SYSTEM. BUT NOOOOO.

To be a little more coherent (hopefully) about it. It's not to say I don't think he could do it, I just think it was one fuck of a leap. That was some Olympic level stretching, at least in my opinion. I just think that man deserves to rest. He belongs in a quiet little house in the countryside and he has a part time job at like, a local farm or something and in his spare time he volunteers all over town and preferably Dabi is there as well 🙄. Give him peace and quiet, let him rest.

I honestly don't know what would have satisfied me canon wise for his ending, but HPSC president just ain't it. Again, I feel like it was Horikoshi catching the cooties for his own work; he just wanted to be done with it so he slapped together what he thought was the most likely of scenarios and just left it at that. In a word; disappointing.

I see a lot of people saying he should have died, because out of everyone of the heroes his death would have made the most sense and had the most meaning or whatever, and I can agree with that, but I'm still glad he's not dead. It absolutely is fucked up how disproportionate the deaths were when it comes to heroes vs villains, no one can deny that. But dammit I need a win, I need a fave who ain't dead.

I think that about wraps up my thoughts without me writing a god damn dissertation. Thanks for the ask, it was a nice distraction.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

Hi!! I absolutely love your analysis on Veilguard, and I also love Sten, so how do you think he would fit in the game? What would his presence change? Like you said, it could give us a sympathetic point of view on the Qun (and maybe some Taash and Sten interactions?)

HELLO its been a while since you sent this but please know I've been thinking about it near constantly and have finally pulled my thoughts together into something coherent. I have a couple of 'options'; one involves the game basically maintaining the same quality but being a tad better rounded for the qunari, the other is if they actually took Sten and all he represents seriously.

Option one: Faction Leader

Look so here is the thing. There is no reason why the game, as is, could not incorporate a 'Qun' faction. It would actually be really fun; I've wanted to play as a member of the Qun since DA2 and I know so many of us have Qun headcanons for our Adaar or their parents. Unlike the other backgrounds that seem to be more suited to particular races, the Qun is literally a state/religion/philosophy and thus any race could be a member (we know for certain plenty of elves defect to the qun and I'm sure humans and dwarfs do as well). (I do think this faction would need to seriously consider whether or not it allows for a 'mage' class, because it would be a lot of work to explain why a Saraabas is allowed to just be walking about. They could pose it as their mage came into their powers late and when they were found out immediately left with Varric, but thats the only way I could see it not being a potential pressure point)

Sten thus slots into the game here as a faction leader; he is the Arishock. We see a different side to the Qun; those antam who did not leave it behind. We get to hang out with some Ben'Hassrath as well. In my ideally world the other faction leader in this scenrio would be Tallis, who has regained her place within the Qun (but I'm biased because I'm in love with Tallis). But you could also have Gatt because I think he's quite an interesting character, would call Neve out on being Tevinter, wouldn't let you easily look away from slavery AND I feel his bitterness, anger...its so fun, I wish we'd gotten more of him, I want him back.

The thing is....this game wants to treat the qun better, I think. But in doing so they ignore parts of the qun that genuinely were interesting culturally (Saarabas - god that one da2 quest kills me every time) and also...we don't MEET anyone who is really representaitve of the qun. Taash is there, but her questline of 'I can accept non-binary but I draw the line at multicultural' is...questionable to say the least, and from the stats it seems most people push her towards Rivan anyway. Shathann is from the qun and still holds it as important, but she feels more of a plot device to tell Taash's story than anything else. We've got the Qunari on the beach who tells the weather, but again, its not the Qun as a whole.

And to replace the 'evil' Qun we just get the 'evil' Antam. Who are now equipped with growling and turning into horrible beasts so. That's uh. something.

So actually having a qun faction, maybe letting us see Par Vollon, letting us interact with people there who actually live under the qun, letting us see Sten...it would be really interesting. And further, Sten being involved in this game makes perfect sense. Who is the Qunari going to send when it realises that they have a double blight on their hands? Probably the guy who actually fought in the fifth blight and helped finish it. You can also easily retcon any Sten death by saying he somehow got out of the cage and made his way on his own - its not perfect but it'll do considering the same is done with Isabela for DA2.

And Sten links us to DAO. In da2 we had Anders, Lothering, Flemeth, Merrill, Isabella...a lot linked us back to Fereden and DAO. In Dai we had Varric and Cassandra back from DA2 (as well as Hawke) and we had Leliana and Morrigan and potentially Loghain/Alistair back from DAO. Morrigan IS in DATV as a kinda link back to dao but she's not really around in that capacity here. Sten could talk about Ferelden, the blight, all of that stuff.

AND are the qun really just...standing by and letting the antam do whatever? they haven't sent ANYONE after them? Haven't tried to stop them in any way? There's no Antam who didn't defect? I don't know man, I really dislike the way the Antam are portrayed in this game. It really just feels it was done the way it is so the writers could pull a 'well we aren't saying ALL qunari are like this, just these ones'.

So just. Give us a qun faction. Let me play it out. I'm sure they'd handle it about as well as any other faction, but it would at least I think allow them to explore the Qun better than the Lords of Fortune do.

I also think this would mean Taash has a qun presense that isn't demonised and isn't their mother, which would really help them. They could go talk to the shadow dragons AND they could go talk to Sten. Bonus points if Sten assumes their a man to start with because they fight. BONUS BONUS points if we can get more on the qunari and gender.

The Better Option: Butcher, the Dragon King, The Qunari, and The Blight

OKAY SO the Butcher. I want Sten to be the Butchers like, narrative foil.

Because here me out, the Butcher should be SO MUCH MORE INVOLVED IN DATV. Other than Ghilian'han and Isseya (and maaaaybe Illario) he's the interesting villian this game gives us and he's just GONE SO QUICKLY. He's the opposite of the Arishock; he came to this city and instead of dispising it he FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. How fun!

Meanwhile, the Dragon King SUCKS. I wrote a whole post on that which you can find here but basically bleh, he's poorly written and poorly thought out. So lets just get rid of the Dragon King, and have the Butcher be our main Qunari/antam antagonist. Then lets have Sten here as someone who ALSO fell in love with a different place (Ferelden) but went home anyway, who went back to duty, who worries in the privacy of his own mind, about what it would mean if Ferelden fell to the Qun.

But also....as the Butcher is becoming less and less a follower of the Qun while believing hes doing right by the anatam...have sten ACTUALLY follow the Qun. I want to know more about Kosslon the prohet I really thought this game would give us that and it never did. I want to know about the Qun from someone who yeah has been travelling but who never really left it like Bull does.

I think this would also allow the crows to breathe a bit more because we could get some questioning around if the crows really ARE a good option for Treviso. Is the qun? Are both bad? Maybe both are bad? Annnnddddd now I'm thinking about how nicely this could dove-tail into a Zev cameo with Sten bringing him in.

I think Sten would also be really important for the blight as detailed above, but equally...I think having Sten react to the blight being basically the fault of a bunch of powerful mages? Thats an important perspective here! God, DAI goes out of its way to be like 'can mages be trusted' and even makes the alternative future of a pro mage character become anti-mage (leliana from the alternaitve future my beloved). But in DATV there is absolutely NOBODY who says mages are fucking things up - not even Varric who canonically is absolutely sick of mages and templars.

So Sten can do that for us because Qunari don't trust magic. And Sten can also play of Davrin for blight stuff (I think Davrin would have so many questions).

And like most legacy characters, if taken seriously...Sten offers us a chance to get rid of all this sanitisation because Sten is a complex character who has complex opinions on mages, who literally killed a whole family, who loves his homeland and the qun but has a soft spot for ferelden. Sten who will encourage you to get rid of all the mages in the mage tower, and who will see a lot of your do-goodery as a waste of time against the larger goal, but who also likes order and will defer to you as the leader.

Anyway thank you for the ask! Sorry for the long response. I love Sten though and think he should have been here.

[fantomette22]

GIRL HELP, now we are both in the club of people whose caring for Miquella reached its FULL form because of the DLC hfgfjgdbh I think what I've lacked this whole time was a coherent idea on what his imperfections and flaws were! Because "well you see Bewitching Branch is kinda fucked up concept" didn't give me enough. And I feel like I've struck gold with the whole thing of him not being able to accept Radahn's character development and nature as a warrior. It is soooooo wrong and reminded me of one of the ways to look at Gehrman.

It took me a few weeks but finally me 🤝 you at having the time of our fandom lives with Miquella now

I KNOW RIGHT?!?!?! Yeah it's quite crazy. We took our sweet time but here we are! 🤝

I mean maybe I wasn't way too much invest in elden ring because of the huge bloodborne brain rot taking all my time too 😂 But also Elden Ring is really a lot to digest! You and I really like details and to care about every lil guys! In Bloodborne even if there's lot of characters it stays limited while in Elden Ring it's just SO enormous O_O there's too much and yeah I didn't got that savage brain rot yet while just playing the game a year ago+

And I knew dlc was coming so I guess I didn't get too much invested either? Or at least it was inconsciently.

So yes during and after the dlc and after digesting everything I somehow really learn like Miquella! We know way more now and idk but it's even more interesting now!

Before dlc I saw him like : poor lil guy tried smt to become a god (pls don't it's gonna be bad) screw up really big time & he's dead now 😔 you tried your best... he was too good for this world rip

But now it's more develop! there's actually a following to that! he didn't just fail big time! for now😰

I said a few weeks ago I was gonna wait to finish the dlc and then speak about Miquella and what I think of everything. Well maybe I will do a separate post later but I think it's finally time.

So let's dive in (warning spoilers shadow of the Erdtree DLC)

I know it's a bit of mess between people thinking "I was right he's the ultimate evil!!! He's like Griffith!" (what 💀)"and people being very mad at other or distraught by it bc now this get shown into their face while they were just happy with Miquella being a kind lil guy, to good or pure for this world... I want to believe many people are actually very middle ground on this but hm yeah smt it's not good and quite extreme.

But if that can help (at least I will try here ) with everything we got I might have an interpretation that I hope, could help out a few people. I can't say I'm right, I'm probably far from it but I appreciate what I deduced and put together a lot! (in my head but still) It made me really like and invest more in Miquella character now! And it make me at peace with what the dlc brought to the table. I can accept that more well now. That made everything have more sense and made Miquella really have a bittersweet/tragic path & ending. And I am ok with that and I think others could be as well.

I like Miquella I think he was mostly good, the kindest between this darker lands. But he needed to changed, to grow to succeed in his goals right? Because he got stuck. But by growing up, discarding parts of himself to be a "better version" of himself that would succeed & become a god is what eventually doomed him in the end :

Miquella discarding part of himself tragedy.

This is just so sad and tragic. But it might be oblivious. He wasn't "strong enough" in his current position/eternal childhood etc So he probably thought that make the sacrifice to become a god would succeed in the end. A necessary sacrifice...that he would be stronger able to finally obtain his goals... But by doing that he loose everything that made him himself... without realising it... he abandoned everything. And the more he abandoned, the more he didn't realised he was loosing himself what he cared about... and how it was a mistake. (I suppose that Marika might have gone through the same thing now...)

Trina realised it at some point. That it was wrong,t hat it wouldn't work anyway perhaps. Is it really worth it? Is it really gonna work? Probably not... But it's too late to go back now. She knew Miquella before everything would probably not approve of what he became... of the dangerosity of what he could be...

That just... sorry it's just so tragic I don't know how to express it sadden me so much...

Bewitching people :

We already knew that he somehow "bewitch people" but it wasn't very explained in base game and really up to interpretations. Now we know more. And it sparks a lot of things...

I completely agree that you know, half mind control people and changed people thoughts and individuality, personality etc hm it's bad. it's no good to control masses. BUT but, I can kinda understand why Miquella did it! And I'm gonna try to explain that now.

Ok, imagine you're Miquella. You're trying to get people to join your cause. Of course like for exemple the crab hunter or farmer have other things to do than join your cause so sure you let them be. But then imagine you talk with smn and then they just hate you and is going to say shit to everyone about you and then they're gonna try kick your ass. Wouldn't it be better, even if that's bad on paper, to bewitching them? make allies your enemies?

You can't reason with some people at time even if you try everything, sadly. You can either go away or fight or ask a competent authority to stop them. But if you had a way for them to magically stop wanting to harm you and become more friendly / on your side wouldn't you use it?

Like it's bad but I can understand why Miq did it. But of course forcing people who were neutral bc you think "you're better" is hm... not great too... but it's not clear how much it happened and what went though he's mind. He probably thought it was a good thing. But no but can we blame him for trying to have better world?

And it's still not clear how his mind age but I do think he still have lot of quality/default of what any child mind have. He probably didn't see the wrong of everyone becoming allies and use kindness not violence to it. A child mind (mostly) is innocence, optimistic etc I do think he lost a lot by discarding parts but it has it's backsides. An adult would be more incline to find solution and act accordingly to treat but loose a lot of "childhood good sides" as well. it's quite complicated but nothing is perfect in this. You wanna agin smt you loose another you can't have everything and life's not black & white.

Also about Mogh. Yes he's not fuck up like that! But I understand why Miq bewitching him. Hm Mohg, maybe would have just kill Miquella to get his amazing blood for whatever purpose with the formless mother anyway. So of course Miquella did that to try to gain a potential ally that in other case is very dangerous for him. But still I think Miquella had to improvise after Mogh took him and then when the cocoon didn't work. Yeah I still think Mogh has a LOT of issues. He's not a saint and I don't think it went well with Miquella's plan to have been taken by him.

Radahn thoughts:

I mean I'm still a bit like : wu wut what but why??!!?!? confusion

But it's a bit better now XD I swear if the devs originally had another idea I'm gonna be mad! But it can maybe made a bit of sense. I don't really have much thoughts bc I'm still confuse about it but I think understand the point.

Radahn, when younger, was probably all the noble qualities that had Godfrey.

And Miq was probably like : When Godfrey was Elden Lord it was the golden age everything was great! Nothing was wrong! The lands between had stability. Radahn have the potentiel to be like Godfrey!

Also Radahn : Let's conquer and make war like lord Godrey!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean yeah everything was great between stability and war 😅 so jkefjf help like I can understand ou need smn to fight of ennemies just in case but Miquella that's not gonna work. Like at some point there's pb. Like who you consider anomy.. should you reprimand everyone?? Like Marika and her cycle of violence?! dzbkdsfbhkbhkld

Also I wonder if the great runes didn't made many demigods "change" as well. It gave them more power and maybe it screw their mind too. (And when Miquella great runes break the bewitching spells stop so..... before he got the runes maybe he never used that. And maybe that's why Radahn changed so much too) Power really does change people hm?

So anyway sorry idk if I succeed to organise everything coherently XD I tried. So yes I think Miquella is nuanced but was mostly good because of many conditions and he tried to fix everything but loses everything in the end... by discarding who he really was... a necessary sacrifice, that would ultimately fail...

I got very emotional after beating the final boss and going one last time to Trina. I really cried a lot. Because it's freaking sad. All the sacrifices in vain... they deserved so much but the world was cruel.

And even if we did nothing. What change? Nothing. He never came back in the lands between if we finish the main game. Did you abandoned everything Miquella? Did it not work out? Or like should we blame the poor devs. Idk it's very confusing now. The lands between still a mess, the lands of shadow too. He never came back...

The only ray of hope is us, the tarnished to try to make a better world for everyone. The one they couldn't make themselves...

(Ok so hope make sense 😅 and maybe it will put everything in a new light for people and give them a hand! I got way more invested and happy! Even if that's sad. I started to imaging little story and headcanons about his childhood I would never have before... it's confusing but if I am right the devs succeed! good job)

[valentine-writes]

Hello hello! Been downright dying over how much I love your AtSV work!! So I thought I would feed into it >:) If you're feeling up to it, whats been brewing in your mind about The Spot x reader? Take it platonic or romantic, either has so much potential for fun in my opinion and I guess I'm just interested in what ideas you might have?? Not a lot to work off of from what I'm asking but I hope you're able to have fun with it anyways ^^; Whether youre able to get to this request or not, thanks for reading! Love what you do :)

collision.

「 tws + notes: possibly ooc, unedited, he's kind of pathetic little meow meowified im sorry, first bit inspired by @//submurged-into-clouds !! <3 」

↳ ft. the spot

「 gn!reader, can be platonic or romantic <3 」

author's note: first, AUWJHEJSBS thank u so much!!!! im glad u like what i've written so far– and i am SUPER excited to write for the spot becuz im gon b real,,, there was a momentary lapse of insanity where i was scouring for any content of him at all. SO TY 4 UR REQ!!!! ( /)u(\ ) i hope this is ok!!! i got carried away and stuff so,, i hope this is at the Very Least coherent! leaned for platonic stuff with romantic undertones that intensify throughout so,, read it how u like ^_^

▸ we're going to start this by establishing that bro has literally No Friends anymore. you met him after the collider incident and by some miracle, some sort of mercy from a higher power in the multiverse– you ended up becoming friends with him

really, meeting him was an accident. wasn't supposed to be anything more– just him messing around with his new abilities and slipping into a random universe with no idea where he was.

and there was you.

just you. out, alone at night. just taking a walk– disrupted by someone falling out of a weird portal from the sky.

this is the day your paths crossed, the day your fates intertwined, the moment that your world collided into his.

to put more literally: the day he crashed into you very unceremoniously.

im now re-reading the title and remembering his backstory and giggling at my unintentional joke. he is not catching a break. even from me.

▸ after recovering from a random stranger from another universe tumbling into your own, you began to talk.

now– you don't remember how the conversation started, but you were glad to listen. the way which he rambled to you, words tumbling out of his mouth like they'd been on his mind for a while– you felt like he needed someone to hear him.

he's surprised. you're not bothered. not frightened. not even weirded out. but you're not indifferent. you nod along, you comment on things here and there– but you listen. you actually listen to him.

eventually, when he leaves, you're sat there for a moment. just frozen– processing whether that had really happened or not. you see the indent his body left in the grass where the two of you sat. it's evidence enough for you.

a few weeks pass and you're certain that you were just fated to meet once and never again. you were fine with this.

▸ until he randomly popped up in your living room one day.

yes, he had been actively trying to find your universe again– and as casually as he can be, is now peeking from out the portal he created, head leaning in to get a better look at you.

you're not sure how you can tell considering he has no face,,, but he's definitely smiling.

he waves to you, awkwardly, (noticing that you're just staring at him while not saying a word), "thought i would say hi, so– ...hi."

you blink at him tiredly. "dude, it's 6:30 in the morning–"

he's treating this like it's normal for people to just show up in your house. he missed you– and it's very evident.

▸ no matter what type of relationship you're in with him: you GOTTA set boundaries. being one of the only people who cares to hang around him anymore means that you're gonna be seeing a lot of him.

while he certainly hasn't completely lost grasp on the concept of privacy, it's definitely been altered by the fact he's got powers that allow him to pop up wherever he wants. he's just a teeny bit invasive.

"hello!" he'll greet, randomly poking his head through a portal he made to your bedroom.

on instinct, you throw the closest thing to you. he's just glad you reached for the pillow and not the alarm clock also at your arms reach on the bedside table.

definitely a good idea to remind him that if he wants to hang out, he should probably message you, and if he wants to show up at your house for whatever reason, he should give you a heads up.

he has nearly walked in on you changing. and has apologized a million times every time it's brought up. it fr keeps him up at night.

▸ everyone in his life leaving him def messed him up a bit. he can deny it all he wants, but he's terribly anxious that you're gonna grow tired of him and leave.

constantly like "oh my god what if they leave for someone who has a face" and itz like,,, boy,,,, stfu itz 3am

he needs reassurance, even if he never explicitly says. but you're kind to him. patient. you're pretty much an angel in his eyes.

which is why he feels comfortable texting u in the dead of night like:

(im gonna b real i dont even know why i have this image)

▸ he's dismissed by most people around him– but you've given him your time. you've shown him that you care. he's doing everything he can to be certain you'll still care for him.

the random waves of "oh no but what if they hate me" hit him HARD. especially if he hasn't seen you in a while, if you take longer to respond to his messages, if you haven't been answering his calls– bro will jump to a conclusion

"hypothesis: they dont love me anymore :("

☝️🤓 SORRY HAKJWOENDOEND he would NOT say that. im just clowning on him itz a part of my luv 4 him </3

needs to be needed. wants to be wanted.

eventually you have a long talk about this. he's got a bit of an ego after realizing how much power he truly possessed– but you gently encourage him to let it down. a simple heart to heart. and while you're certain these things aren't going to dissipate with a single conversation, you've let him know he doesn't have to deal with it alone.

▸ physical contact is a need for him. bro's touch starved. he likes linking his pinky with yours or just intertwining your fingers together. if you ever let him rest his head on your shoulder or hugged him he'd actually have to fight tears. he hasn't been given affection in a while :(

▸ he doesn't really feel like he has to hide anything around you. he really doesn't have much of a filter when you're talking to him which makes for some amusing conversation. he finds your laughter the sweetest sound in the world– he likes making you laugh :] it makes him feel like he's accomplished something

▸ the alterations to his body have caused some weird little changes that most people don't notice. one of them most noticeably to you– he'd cold. not frigid or like icy, but a lot colder than normal people tend to be.

you first notice this when you're hanging out in your bedroom. you're sitting on your bed, while he paces back and forth, rambling about another failed villainous act

(you haven't questioned his whole obsession with villainy considering that he seems pretty harmless with what he's been attempting– no matter how much he tries)

"and then– ohh, and tHEN THEY JUST—" you notice how he's gesturing frantically, exasperated, annoyed– and out of instinct to provide some sort of comfort (or at least calm him down) your hand grasps his wrist

there's a moment of silence.

his voice dwindles into a more soft, subdued tone, watching as your fingers wrap around his wrist. "wh– if you wanted me to stop talking, you could've just... just said or...."

his mind is going blank, trailing off at your touch. he doesn't remember the last time someone has held his hand or even brushed up against him without freaking out.

"you're cold." you comment, now taking his hand between both of yours, as if you were trying to heat him back up. you don't meet his eyes, simply staring at his hand.

"oh– yeah, yeah, it's just– a thing with now. came with the holes–"

the sensation of your hands gently squeezing his shuts him up. you raise his hand to your lips and gently blow hot air onto it.

your brow furrows, nose scrunching up. "you're still cold..." you mutter, more to yourself than to him. quietly, your gaze returns to his face.

"does that bother you?" you ask him, after a beat of silence.

he shakes his head. your hands let go of his– but he quietly reaches back to hold it again.

"hold on a second. why don't you try again?" he suggests. you laugh softly, knowing it's obviously just an excuse. still, you humor him.

[rabioa]

New Year Aspirations

Nasir x Reader - Fluff - Gender Neutral

Its new years eve and you're spending it at the annual New Years Banquet hosted by Kalim. Nasir, your boyfriend, is spending it with you when the topic of aspirations come up. Your darling boyfriend doesn't seem to think he needs aspirations, but maybe, just maybe, he'll try for once. Just for you.

TW: Nothing

Its 2am I just finished helping my parents host an exhausting new years party and I wrote this in between the gaps of time I got between preparation and serving. It may have typos, I didnt beta read it and probably wont lol. Idek if this is coherent??? Anyways happy new years let's kick 2025's ass

The Scarabia dorm was festive and loud with everyone gathered for one big new years celebration. You sat neatly next to Nasir, snuggled into his side as his arm was around you.

When Nasir was doomed to help Kalim throw another banquet, Nasir decided to incite you so he wouldn't be so miserable. Sometimes other students would glance at you two, the odd pairing. Hell, anyone with Nasir would probably look like an odd pairing. He just had that tragically single egotism. 

“What are your new year aspirations?” You asked Nasir, watching with pleased eyes as everyone danced and was merry. You danced with Nasir earlier, although quickly tired out when Kalim stole you from your boyfriend to dance energetically with you. 

Nasir looked at you as if you were stupid, which was something he did often. “I've existed for centuries, I've seen nations rise and fall, I've learned artisan techniques that are now dead to time, I can and have learned many instruments with ease, I've created and destroyed all the same. I don't think there's much for me to improve. I think I'll leave the aspirations to you humans,” he floated obnoxiously, although you both knew it was more for dramatic effect than anything. 

You laughed and he made a face of mock offense. “Yeah, but it's important to have goals to work towards, otherwise you'll just exist without living. It could be something small, or something big. You're telling me you don't have something you wanna get better at?” You reasoned, checking the time. Ten minutes till midnight. “We should go up to a balcony to see all the fireworks,” you suggested, already standing up. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Not going to watch it with all the others?” He questioned, getting up to follow you.

“Why should I when I got my favorite person right here? Anyways I wanna get a better view this time. Last time Deuce and Jamil blocked the fireworks with their tall asses,” you explained, cringing at the thought of being stuck in the crowd of people all looking up, and you got stuck behind the two tall individuals. What a pity. At least Deuce was super apologetic about it.

Nasir knowingly smirked, grabbing your hand. “I think I know a good spot,” he declared before taking you on a flurry of turns, twists, and stairs. There was a lock on a pair of double doors which he unlocked with a dash of magic. The doors opened up to a balcony on one of the tall towers of the Scarabia dorms. In fact, it was the tallest spire that was often locked for safety concerns (mainly because Kalim nearly fell off the balcony a month ago).

Nasir looked up at the sky. Surely there was only a minute or two left? 

“I believe I have decided on one aspiration to hold,” he declared, the wind gently blowing around you two. His wispy hair danced, the air of mysticism always around him.

“What is it?” You pried.

“I fear I cannot tell you, little mortal, or else you'll think I'm growing soft,” he teased, bringing up your entwined hands up to press a gentle kiss against your hand. 

Now your curiosity was truly piqued. “Oh please, I already knew you're growing soft. I have that talent,” you quipped back, taking a gentle step forward, invading his personal space. 

He didn't step back, if anything he leaned forward. “I aspire to be a better lover to you. To be more like the lover you deserve. To learn more ways to treasure you like the precious little thing you are,” he declared.

You can't help but stupidly grin. “That sounds like a good plan,” you hummed.

Fireworks exploded around you, turning your serene little world into one of color, light, and new things to come. With a cheeky smile, you gave him a sweet kiss, and he kissed back. Your hands unravel from his, only to hug his neck. His hands find your hips. 

It seems like great things are ahead for the new year

[deepdreamnights]

Vidu 2.0 - First Reactions

I am in the Vidu Artist's program, so I've had a chance to play with version 2.0 before the official launch on the 15th. What I'm working with is a pre-launch build, and has improved day-to-day, so this may not reflect the final release.

I haven't yet had a chance to give it the full paces-run-through it deserves, but here's some early samples, and early thoughts. (Converted to GIF because you can only upload one video per post.)

The short version is that everything has been incrementally improved: Better coherence, better prompt responsiveness, better motion, and way, way better speed. Without doing exact time-tests it's say it's at least 25% the time to generate a video of the same dimensions.

While there's still some of the "smudge-blurring" that you got with 1-1.5, it happens less frequently, and is more mitigated with an image/animation that match.

Motion varies gen-by-gen, but impressive results seem to be the norm.

While his sticks are somewhat flexible at full framerate, the cat drummer's cymbal hit struck me as particularly nice.

Control and Coherence

While the roar may not seem particularly impressive, roars, howls, and other emotional outbursts didn't work well in previous versions. Aunt Acid's fumes and drips are are particularly fun, and while it still has problems with her tail, PteroDarla's crest and wings are actually working the way they should (after a number of attempts).

For a long time, I've wanted the last shot of the TMax opener to be Max starting with a zoom-in on the eye going out to a roar and pose. While this isn't quite where I want it, 2.0 is the first time I've gotten him to go through the whole sequence. Which is promising.

Weird Stuff Works

What remains impressive about Vidu is how well it handles concepts and characters that are off-the-beaten-path. Hailuo just released a character consistency feature that only works with humans, but here...

Here's my friend Cole's OC, the Waffler (Intergalactic Bounty-Hunter.) He's one unbalanced breakfast. He's also rather resistant gen AI replication because he's an SD space man with a waffle for head, a very specific waffle for a head turned at a 45 degree angle. Vidu 1.0 wasn't able to work with him, almost always giving him a mouth or rotating his waffle, if not completely glitching out. 2.0 is much better to handle it.

The numerous dino-anthros above are all in the "Tricky for AI" box. If I was into doing what could be gened easily, however, I'd just be pumping out an endless parade of pillowy waifus.

In my defense, I classify SexBomb as more of a 'strifu'. This particular one was an attempt to see if a toony image prompt could be rendered live-action with text prompting. Long story short it can't, but it can produce some interesting effects like the faux-posterized background.

I've had AI gen close to her costume before, but it never adds the fuse or does the boob-window right, and here we are.

One of my old bits of Transformers fanart of the Pretender Monster Icepick served as the character model for the one on the right.

Fantastical Creatures in general are a lot easier to execute in this version as well.

And... Action!

Motion is a lot more natural this time around.

Weapons fire (though sometimes a bit literal) tends to come out of the barrel semi-consistently now, characters can fight the waves without melting themselves and...

A giant rubber monster can eat your protagonist (if you're lucky.)

Quirks and Flaws

Nothing is perfect, and all AI you see is curated. So lets talk areas to be improved.

A lot of stuff presently generates with multilingual gibberish captions sometimes, which I expect is an early model bug. Versions 2-3 of Midjourney would have similar artifacts, and that sort of thing isn't hard to correct for.

There are still issues with blurring/smudging, especially with things like tail-tips, hands, and any motion the robot doesn't quite get.

Sometimes stuff shapechanges or appears that ought not to, like the knight's floppy second blade.

Or speed gets off requiring being fixed in post.

And stuff just goes dumb sometimes, which one should expect (and in my estimation, desire) from any generative system, artificial or analogue. Should the water go on the fire rather than the firemen? Yes. Do I regret this gen? No.

One quirk of the system is how it resolves incongruous multi-prompts. I've been accustomed to Midjourney, which, when generating an image must blend everything requested. You can put two completely different backgrounds in as image prompts and it will blend them into something new and wacky.

Vidu resolves problems like having two background images at once by taking advantage of the 4th dimension. Confuse the robot too much and it will just cut/fade from one idea to the next.

And then there's stuff that just happens, like, a shot being perfect except a painted (and thus ought to be static) background object animating beautifully (going retro is a path wrought with irony) and the robot deciding it'd rather do CG-style than 2d.

And while it doesn't show up great in the gif of Max at the construction site there, 2.0 is more vulnerable to interpreting bad transparency-clipping as part of the character design, so be careful if you're using transparent PNGs.

Also, if you slap a character and a background together without elaborating on the setting with the text prompt, it will often slap the background back there as a static backdrop and produce a very "greenscreen-y" effect.

Rather than laden this post down with more animated GIFs, I'll be setting up a batch of them as posts for the upcoming days. At least, that's the plan.

[twsted-kinks]

Broooo your smuts 🥵🥵 and you do watersports?? Can you do something about the twst cast taking it in their mouth? Whether reader is riding/fucking their face or character is holding them down and forcing it, but humiliation + piss PLEASEEE. The riddle gangbang when he got stuck on the knot is so hot that i wanted to send something abt it but its rare to see watersports in twst lol

Also can i be 💦 anon?

Sjsjsns I have an anon now? Yes definitely you can be 💦 anon. And thank you for enjoying my writing! I'm not gonna write all characters at once cause that's a lot, so I'll write for the dorm leaders for now. Will probably write more characters later but gonna start with them for now. Also this got a but more out of hand and kinda become more of what its like being in a relationship with them and piss kink activities snsndndn. There's still some humiliation there but these became more generalized.

TWST Dorm Leaders and MC/Reader's Piss Scenarios/Headcanons

Content Warning: some guys have dicks some guys have cunts, piss, piss drinking (both on purpose and accidental), golden showers, piss marking, piss being used as tea, humiliation and praise, dom/sub dynamics, unhealthy jealousy, dubcon scenarios (mostly just being annoyed), whatever the fancy word is for finding crying hot

(Note: MC/Reader and each character (seperate at least this time) have a pre-established relationship)

Riddle

At first, Riddle wants nothing to do with piss. The first time he accidentally pisses himself while you two are intimate, everything stops immediately, and he's crying, apologizing, everything. Even when you tell him you like piss, when he feels like he's about to pee himself, Riddle safewords and goes to the bathroom. He seems really embarrassed and, at this point, your sex life is mostly vanilla with him, so you don't push the subject really. But now you have to find a different way to get your piss fix, so you decide to pursue some solo fantasies, one of them just so happens to include drinking piss from a teacup.

So, one day you're chilling in your bedroom at the Ramshackle dorm, pouring your own piss from a teapot into a little cup, when you're pulled away for a moment because Grim got his claws stuck in a couch cushion. Just as you're pulling Grim's claws out, trying to not hurt him or ruin the couch, Riddle decides to stop in for a visit. Not even thinking, you tell Riddle to just wait in your room until you get Grim free. Once you finally do, you get back to your room to find your boyfriend has poured himself his own cup and sipping with a delighted smile. You pause in the doorway as he finishes the cup and asks you "I don't think I've ever had this type of tea before? It's a strange taste, but also an enjoyable one. I quite like it." You take a deep breath, step into your room, and close the door behind you. "Riddle," you say in a calm voice, "I love you, so I won't lie to you. That isn't tea. That's my... urine."

After a beat of silence, Riddle screams, face red, cup dropped, and collars you with his spell on instinct. Riddle is panicking. He just told his partner, the person he loves dearly, that he likes the taste of their piss. He's in such a state if panic that he doesn't even think to question why your piss would be in a teapot in the first place. It takes a moment to calm him down and get him to a point he can have a coherent thought. You apologize to him and explain your piss kink, hoping that he won't dump you for this. His face is still red and his hands are shaking, but he talks with you. Riddle is still hesitant, but the fact that he loves you and apparently likes the taste if your pee has him come to the conclusion that he wants to try this fetish out with you.

After trying some stuff out, Riddle finds that he ABSOLUTELY has a piss kink too and gets very subby with anything piss related. You controlling his bladder, watching him piss, pressing on his bladder, you holding his little dick as he pees for you. All of it riles him up and has him melting for you. Though, his favorite piss related activities have to do with drinking your piss. It's almost like he'd addicted. From him giving you head and pissing on his face, you riding/fucking his face and forcing your piss down his throat. It's so good. It's also now a regular thing for your dates to include one of you pissing into a teapot and making eyes at each other while you sip on your cups.

Leona

Leona is not shy about his piss kink. Every time he fucks you, he has to either pee on your or inside you. It's also a regular occurrence for him to piss on you or make you open you mouth and drink his piss at random times. What's really happening is either he can smell his sent is fading off of you or he smells someone else's scent on you. Everyone needs to know that you're his. The other beastmen can smell it plain as day and know to treat you both with respect and fear because of Leona's claim on you. But, non-beastmen have a hard time picking up on it.

You're hanging out with your buddies during lunch when someone gets a bit too close to you. At points this person would even wrap an arm around you. You pull his arm off you the first time, but, when he does it again, you chew the guy out and you and your buddies kick him out of the table. Still, there was enough of him getting to close to you where Ruggie decided to snap a picture and send it to Leona.

Now, Leona's been having a shit day already, so, when he sees a picture of you and someone else's hand on your shoulder, he is livid. It's not long before he is storming into the cafeteria, pulling you away, and dragging you to a secluded area of the garden. You try to ask him what's wrong, but he just growls for you to get on your knees. You've had enough of his shit though. Anytime he's in a mood, he thinks he can just wip his dick out and have you take care of him. Well, now you're pissed. You've been having a shit day too.

"No!" You growl back. "I'm tired of always being the urinal.. You get on YOUR knees for once!"

Leona is taken aback. His cheeks turn a light shade of red, and he turns his back to you. "Tsk, if you're not into it-"

"That's not what I said, and you know it!" You yank on his tail, making him hiss. "Now, if you want to pee on me, get on your knees and let me pee on you first."

Leona hesitates. You grab a fistful of Leona's hair and tug both his tail and hair at the same time. This time you earn a mewl from the beastman. "Yes or no, Leona."

"F-fine." Leona mutters.

Now, Leona is on his knees in front of you as you undress yourself, freeing yourself to reveal your lower body. You grab his hair and yank it, making him look up at you. You take a breath in, relaxing, and your stream starts. It starts weak but quickly gets to full force as you drench his face. You aim your stream downward, soaking his uniform. He groans, and you can see his cock start to get hard through his pants. You focus your stream on his cock and watch as he begins stroking himself through the wet fabric.

And that's how you learn how to get Leona into a subspace. Turns out Leona is a little piss slut who becomes the perfect fuck toy when you give him a golden shower. He'll deny it with a blush and fight you whenever you want to dom, but simply sitting next to Leona and complaining you need to take a piss will get him on his knees between your legs. You also discovered you can get Leona to cum untouched by simply pissing on his face and calling him things like "a desperate little kitten" and "my pretty urinal slut."

Azul

Azul crying during sex is a common occurrence. The first time he squirted ink had Azul sobbing, but you were able to convince him you actually found it very sexy by licking up what ink you could. Azul finally gets that it turns you on, but still it embarrass him to no end. He still cries just about every time you have sex with him. You were concerned at first, but you can't help but find his tears cute and even sexy. Azul is a needy sub, crying as he begs for you to fill his cunt with your cock/strap, and will whine for you to make him cum again and again until he can't physically take it anymore. He needs you to fuck him and ruin his cunt, slap it, stretch it wide open, just abuse it.

Though, one day you stuff Azul a bit too much. You double stuff him, fucking his cunt with a two dildo strap/a dildo and your cock. Azul cums HARD and becomes an absolute mess. He squirts ink all over your torso along with covering you in piss. He's out of it af first, but, as soon as he realizes what happened, he's freaking out and sobbing. You have to stop everything you're doing and go into comfort mode. It takes a while but he finally calms down. Again, he's hesitant when you say you find it sexy, but you eventually convince him. The two of you don't really bring it up again for a while until Azul asks you about why you like it one day. He admits to looking up some watersports stuff and wants to try some stuff with you. What he really wants though, is for you to control his bladder.

One day, you're bringing him big glass of water to his office while Jade and Floyd are there, and Azul tries to play everything off as normal with a very obvious blush on his face. Jade and Floyd can at least tell you're there for fun and not work, so they leave you and their boss alone.

Kalim

Not really humiliated once he figures out he has a piss kink. Just loves drinking your pee, begs for it with puppy dog eyes. Him figuring it out is an adventure though. You were fucking his cunt hard with your strap/cock. He was just so out of it and he thought he was just gonna squirt, but he just ended up pissing all over you. Post nut clarity had him apologizing with a deep blush, but you telling him you're into it has him relieved and surprisingly very excited. He ends up drinking a lot of water before having sex with you and pissing all over you when you fuck him. When your bring up you pissing on him, Kalim is ALL for it.

The first time you pissed on him, he got unbelievably turned on, jerking off his clit while your stream soaks his hair and chest. When you tell him to open his mouth, he eagerly opens it. You don't even have to tell him to drink, as soon as your piss touches his tongue, he's drinking it down. Turns out, he loves the taste of your piss. It actually becomes almost an addiction for him. He gives you a pleading look daily and will pull you into whatever semi-private place he can get to so you can piss down his throat. And please, PLEASE, runs your fingers through his hair and call him a good boy as he drinks your piss. He'll be happy to eat your cunt out/suck you cock too! Especially if him getting you off rewards him with your piss.

Does Jamil learn about Kalim's kink? Yes, yes he does. Who else would do Kalim's laundry? He doesn't say anything, but you do notice the look he gives you sometimes. Its actually kinda funny. Kalim will give you puppy dog eyes, and Jamil will glare at the two of you.

Vil

Vil is mostly a dom and is definitely the type to have a discussion about kinks before actually doing anything together. At first, he wants nothing to do with piss, he finds it kinda gross but won't tell you that when he finds out it's a major kink for you. It's a soft no for him (at first) when it comes to subbing. As a dom, he can't see himself getting off to it, but he's willing to do some watersports for your sake. It starts out rather tame with him giving you golden showers and gracing you with allowing you to drink his piss.

One day though, something clicks. You mentioned trying out some bladder control, which he agrees to, so he comes up with a little scenario. By the time he lets you pee, he has you crouched with your legs spread on a table/bed with him holding a champagne glass up to your urethra. He commands you to piss until the glass is filled a bit and then commands you to stop. He holds the glass to your lips and makes you drink. He repeats this a couple of times and gets curious. You love drinking piss. There has to be something to it. Why doesn't he have a taste. He takes a sip, and it all goes down hill from there.

He still usually doms you, but, when he subs, oh boy. He tries to act all put together, but once he's fully in subspace he's begging for your piss. Call him a dirty slut as you piss all over him and make him lick up your piss from the ground. Make him hold his piss until he can't hold it anymore and point his cock to his face as he pisses all over himself. You're cleaning the mess though once the session is over, but you also get to enjoy a nice bath with Vil as well.

Idia

Idia is shy when it comes to anything dealing with romance let alone sex, so there's no way he's telling you he has a piss kink. Luckily, with you often just spending time in his room while he is busy gaming means you've been through a good amount of his manga collection where he's done a pretty bad job of hiding his hentai.

One day, you get the opportunity to introduce watersports to your sexlife with Idia. Idia is so focused on his gaming because of an online event, he just tells you to come into his room without him scrambling to last minute clean whenever you visit. You enter and are ready to just chill on Idia's bed when you notice a bottle sitting on the floor by Idia's desk, a bottle with a suspiciously yellow liquid. You go over to his desk and pick the bottle up. Confused, Idia looks over and freezes as you examine the bottle. Before Idia can freak out, you unscrew the cap and start drinking. Idia watches and you take gulp after gulp and finish the bottle with a sigh. You comment that "he should drink more water" but, instead of responding, Idia just faints.

This event does open the door for talking more about sex with Idia though, but whenever you do Idia is getting hard by just talking about it. Once watersports is introduced into your sexlife, it goes from 0 to 100 almost immediately. Idia is absolutely ravenous. Idia already loves it when you sit on his face and now, with the element of you pissing in his face and in his mouth, he's cumming untouched as you drench him. Mix your degrading words with some praise and he's absolutely in subspace. Use him as your urinal PLEASE! Just mention the need to go to the bathroom, and he's fully in subspace and is on his knees.

He also loves pissing on you and you controlling his bladder, but his favorite thing is when you hold his dick as he pisses. Now whenever he has a serious gaming session, he has empty bottles ready. He just gives you a signal, and you pull his cock out of his pants and hold it along with the bottle for him to piss in. Does he always get hard whenever this happens? Yes, but you gladly jerk/suck him off as well.

Malleus

Malleus already has a big thing for marking you with bites and hickies and you marking him back is a serious turn on. One day though, you greet Malleus and his usual smile turns into a frown as he leans in and sniffs you. You know fae have a better sense of smell than humans some on par of most beastmen. Apparently, Malleus smells your friends' scents more than his own and is upset by it. Without thinking, you joke about him claiming you with his piss, and Malleus looks at you with a light bulb going turning on in his head. He's never thought about doing that before, but now he really wants to.

So, now Malleus regularly marks you with his piss. It can be during sex or just casually when you two are hanging out. There will be times you two are walking together outside of the Ramshackle dorm and Malleus starts sucking and nibbling on your neck. You immediately know what that means and your nightly outdoor makeout session starts. You hand easily slips into Malleus's pants and rub your fingers along Malleus's slit. Malleus moans into your mouth as you slip your fingers inside and run your fingers along the tips of his still sheathed cocks. It doesn't take long for his cocks and balls to slip out of his slit and into your hands. You're undoing each others bottoms and Malleus's cocks rut against your stomach. That's when Malleus starts to piss all over your torso as you two continue to makeout. Malleus whines when you pull away, but laying against some rubble and opening you legs to reveal your cock/cunt has him eagerly and his knees for you and begging you to mark him too. You grab his horns and pull his face to your cock/cunt and begin pissing on him. He moans as you drench his hair and face. He eagerly opens his mouth and lets you piss fill his mouth and drip down his chin.

All the beastmen and fae can smell Malleus's scent on you. Even if you wash yourself after, Malleus's scent is strong and they avoid you in fear of Malleus getting jealous. Your scent on Malleus isn't as strong, so he asks you to mark him whenever he smells your scent fading or after he bathes. Yeah, he can't go out in public being soaked in your urine, but some quick magic dries him off and makes him presentable while leaving the scent of your piss marking on him.