#but i really do think there are several factors in her favor

[shoesallinaline]

I say this in the spirit of cautious optimism but y'all. She's going to win.

[somerandomdudelmao]

Ok, so, some marble sky thoughts? Character analysis? Whatever this is! 

I think the only reason that both Oscar and Ward are still alive is because Oscar was left to his own devices with the marmors. 

There are several contributing factors to this thought, but I think it boils down to two main factors: friendliness (towards the marmors), and morality.

First point: as far as i can tell, Oscar genuinely cares about Ecliptica to some extent. My example is when he clubbed that teegardian–the look on his face, and how fast he reacted, suggest that he reacted on gut instinct because Ecliptica was in danger, not that he had a cunning plan to make himself look better. As well as the fact that he genuinely seems to enjoy being around her, and voluntarily spends time with her–I think that this has convinced (some) of the marmors that Oscar is trustworthy, or at the very least not a threat.

On the other hand, Ward has shown that so far at least, he does not like or trust any of the marmors. Now I certainly can’t blame him for that, but it doesn’t do much towards gaining him any favor in the marmor’s eyes (or, sensor things).

My next point is that Ward seems to have a very strong moral code, and acts according to that code regardless of consequences, which restricts him in a way that Oscar doesn’t seem to be restricted. With the teegardian situation, I think Ward would either have straight up refused to be a hunting dog, or tried to help the teegardians, resulting in getting himself killed. 

On the other hand, Oscar, by playing along with the marmors and siding against the teegardians, managed to get into good enough graces with Ecliptica to be able to help Ward (and Holly). Now, I don't think Oscar lacks a moral code, or is trying to be evil or anything–I think he is doing everything he can to protect the people he cares about, and to stay alive. So far, he’s been pretty darn effective too. I also can’t blame him for prioritizing his life, and the life of his friend, over those of complete strangers, especially in such a morally gray area of how intelligent of a species is it ok to eat, and how to define intelligence at all. 

Oscar seems to be doing whatever he feels he needs to in order to keep himself and the people he cares about alive, regardless of “right” and “wrong”. 

Ward also seems to want to keep them both alive, but in contrast he is very attached to his idea of morality, defending what he believes to be right, and fighting against what he believes is wrong.

Because of this, I think Ward and Oscar would have (and probably will in the future) come into conflict because of their different ways of doing things, potentially really messing up each other’s various plans and ideas, in ways that are not conducive towards staying alive and/or friends. 

Also, unrelated theory, Ward is absolutely about to polymorph into an alien cyborg bc of whatever it was that Sculptor did to him

OH THIS

THIS IS SOME REALLY INTERESTING THOUGHTS RIGHT HERE >:D

[bluesgrxce]

Yandere Link x Reader x Yandere Mipha Headcanons

Virgin Link x Reader x Zelda love triangle - Obvious ship is obvious, has been done a thousand times before, we all know the dynamic

Chad Link x Reader x Mipha love triangle - Rarely if ever explored, has more room for interpretation, involves THE superior ship of all time

I think we all know which one is better. (/j because I love the Link and Zelda triangle too)

Pretty much every yandere LOZ writer that I've seen has agreed that BOTW Link and Zelda would not be able to work together. At least not when they first met each other. And I totally agree. They're forced to spend time together nearly 24/7 by King Rhoam, which means they're also forced to share you, and that'll create tension. But Link and Mipha? They would definitely have an alliance. 

Their alliance is based on two factors. One: They share the same goal of wanting to give you the best life possible. Zelda uses you more as a coping mechanism, and even though Link does that too, he's especially focused on making sure that you're safe. Mipha desires the same, as well as making you happy. 

Two: Although Mipha is obsessed with you and priortizes your needs over Link's, she still admires him as a person. She knows how useful he can be. Link respects her as well. Not quite as much, but just enough to accept her into your life and let her help give you everything you want. 

In result, these two work together scarily well, even better than Link ever would with Zelda. They never had past resentment towards each other, and unlike Zelda who can be strongly adamant, Mipha would let Link take the lead and make big decisions.

That... isn't always a good thing. Link is willing to do anything to protect you, even if it includes doing things that would make you hate him. Mipha is aware of this, but she thinks Link is more capable of ensuring your safety than she is, so she'll likely remain silent. But that also means that they have less disagreements, making their alliance even more powerful. 

If you allow them to, they'll spoil you rotten. Mipha uses her royalty riches to purchase anything your heart desires, and Zora's Dormain is basically your playground. You've got just as much power there as she does in some ways. Because of that, this is the place where they'll keep you. 

Link is also putting in work. He'll use his skills as an adventurer to do multiple things in your name, like bringing back rare items from his travels or cooking your favorite foods. If you ever begin a sentence with "I want" then expect Mipha to drop everything just to hear you out. She'll tell Link about it and he'll run off at the speed of light to get whatever it is that you requested. 

Outside of that, the time you spend together as a group is generally quiet. They're both introverted and they would rather watch you do your own thing instead of talking all the time. Just being in your presence is enough to give them peace of mind.

Fortunately, neither are the type of yandere to keep you locked up. Not with actual chains. (Unless they believe you're in severe danger, but something insane like the calamity would have to be going on for that to happen) Link still loves to explore and he would love it even more if he could take you along on the journey. Mipha wouldn't object to that as long as you liked the idea! However, they both know that Hyrule is littered with monsters, so they're not about to let you leave without one or both of them by your side. 

If you ever argue with one, the other will try to convince you to make up with them. You'd think they'd want to turn you against them so they can steal your love, and trust me-- it's crossed both of their minds before. But this alliance has worked really well in their favor and they don't want it to fall apart so easily. 

That's not to say their alliance is perfect. Jealousy still exists in both of them, even if it hasn't been acted upon yet. And like I mentioned earlier, Link is usually the one who makes the big decisions on how to handle you, meaning that their alliance has a power imbalance. 

Plus, Link is stuck guarding Zelda most of the time. Mipha is more than fine with taking care of you by herself, but Link hates the idea of being away for too long. He'll try to convince Zelda to spend more time at Zora's Dormain to avoid getting in trouble with King Rhoam, but he's willing to sneak off if he must. 

If you're accepting, then your future is already laid out for you. It would be extremely difficult for Link to abandon his position as Zelda's knight just so he can become a normal citizen again, even after the calamity is over with. So the easiest way to get around that would be to transfer him to the Zora army instead. Except there might be issues allowing a Hylian inside their guard which is currently composed entirely of Zora... Until Mipha takes the crown and makes some changes. 

Either way, you're going to marry Mipha and be introduced into the Zora monarchy. Congratulations, you're royalty now! You're going to marry Link as well, but not officially, since some people would see it as scandalous to be in a relationship with your knight at the same time as your wife. But neither Link nor Mipha care. They know what your true feelings are and that's all that matters to them. 

But what if you don't accept them? Because as much as they spoil you, they still restrain you. You can't go anywhere alone. You can't do anything that would risk your safety, whether it's monster hunting or just going down a long set of stairs. And they're always second guessing you, especially Mipha. "Are you sure you're alright? I saw you frown for a second. Yes, it was only for a second, but you do know how I worry..."

So even if you like being with them intially, it'll get old after a while. Mipha will notice your discomfort first. She'll adjust those restrictions ever-so-slightly to make you think things have changed, when they really haven't. If you must leave Zora's Dormain without her or Link, then let a guard accompany you. If you must continue associating with that friend of yours, then tell her and Link everything about your relationship. Tell them everything about all of your relationships. They'll find who's good and who's bad for you. (Don't be surprised if they think everyone is bad.)

Link, though... Once he hears about this, he immediately shuts it down. He doesn't trust anybody to protect you but himself. And he's seething at Mipha for being so irresponsible. She's supposed to look after you, not risk letting you escape. 

Just the way that he glares at her is a silent form of gaslighting. She truly isn't fit to take care of you on her own, is she? She's too soft. She needs Link. If it weren't for him, you would have already left her.  

And now that Link has doubts about her ability to keep an eye on you, he'll enforce the rules himself. Now you can't even walk around Zora's Dormain without him by your side- when he's gone, you just stay put with Mipha. Not allowed to do anything until he returns. If you resist, he'll only make your life harder.

But you aren't totally screwed. There is one way to make their alliance fall apart: make them doubt each other. Link already doesn't trust Mipha enough anymore, so you need to manipulate Mipha into turning against Link. Usually that's impossible, but now that her confidence is low, you can appeal to her sympathetic side. Make her feel guilty for letting Link do whatever he wants to you. In this state, it won't take long before she cracks. 

Your best bet would be to trick her into thinking you want to run away together from Link. Actually taking her with you isn't an option. The Zora will go into a frenzy when their beloved princess disappears and if they find you, they'll likely blame you for convincing her to run away. 

Mipha wouldn't want to leave at first. She'd be too anxious about the consequences, knowing that she would have to abandon her father and brother. Knowing that Link would stop at nothing to take you back. She's just so obsessed with you though and she couldn't fathom the idea of you seriously tricking her. Besides, you only want to leave so you can be happy together, right?

She thought so. She really, truly believed so. But you went missing the moment she turned away to pack her stuff. Then... There was no other choice but to tell Link the truth. Because it's Mipha and she's simply not the type to lie, even if it might hurt her.

In this case, though? It isn't even a "might." Link had gotten used to being assured of your safety (or used to being in control of you) that it freaks him out once he hears you're gone. His immediate thought was to go find you, but his second is that how could he have ever trusted someone like her to protect you? He leaps to anger. He draws his sword. 

I can't say for certain what happens next. He knows how much trouble he'll get in for harming her, but in that moment, it wouldn't cross his mind. She probably wouldn't fight back much since she respects him so highly and feels awful for allowing you to take advantage of her. 

...If Mipha dies, the Zora will never forgive you. They'll be more pissed at Link obviously, but they'll blame you for indirectly causing this to happen. The whole LOZ fandom would never forgive you because we all love Mipha. I would never forgive you because I am the ultra #1 Mipha enjoyer. You might be able to live a content life if you can ignore the hatred and hide away, but just know that Link won't be the only one tracking you down. You'll be on the run for the rest of your life.

[ggswaywardgifrepository]

The things Khaos Reigns has done to my life LMFAO.

I truly have such mixed feelings about Bi-Han and Sektor as a ship. Like, one minute I'll see a really insightful pro-SekHan post and be like, "Yeah, I agree."

But then I'll see something more critical (where I naturally fall when it comes to the ship) and be like, "Yeah, no, THIS instead."

I guess that means it's a compelling ship, even if it's got issues. And don't get me wrong, I think it does.

I think both characters can end up in several places, and not necessarily together.

They could both be redeemed, realign with good.

They could both stay unapologetically evil.

One could choose redemption, while the other doesn't.

But this can all branch off even further.

Sektor could "betray" Bi-Han in favor of Liu Kang if she finally believes that's the only way to keep him safe. Or Bi-Han could choose his own redemption in line with this, and for Sektor, who has stood by his side through EVERYTHING he's done, could be the one who feels betrayed.

I also think differing perspectives on the Cyber Lin Kuei could come between them. I already think they see it differently. I've said it before: I think that Bi-Han saw them as pawns, like the Dragon Army who sparked the idea in him. And I think Sektor sees it as a means to enhance the capabilities, the lethality, of the Lin Kuei's most elite warriors (including herself). That Bi-Han wasn't right up there with Sektor and Cyrax getting his wannabe Iron Man on tells me they don't have the same end goal when it comes to this.

And we haven't even gotten to the Cyber Lin Kuei actually being cyborgs yet (although some intros allude to it being on Sektor's mind).

I think this could be a factor in their downfall as a couple, and worry, if that's the case, it'll be used as an excuse to redeem Bi-Han but throw Sektor under the bus. She'll be treated as this evil mastermind who manipulated his every move, which a: is a shitty thing to do to her, but also, to Bi-Han. It would make her too one-dimensional and him too easily taken advantage of for someone of his skill, intelligence, and standing. The main game already did this when they had him so easily swayed by Shang Tsung.

I also finally understand why the idea of Bi-Han/Sareena initially appealed to me more than Bi-Han/Sektor: it's a ship that offers hope for redemption. Everything we're being fed about SekHan (which might be intentionally misleading like the KR trailers all were T_T) seems to be doubling-down on them as Aftermath Shao/Sindel 2.0.

Ultimately, I think my biggest worry is that both Sektor and Bi-Han will stay evil but rather than be respected as the ongoing threat two people of their caliber should be (esp if they ally with others against Liu Kang along the way) they'll be reduced to fodder for whoever NRS decides gets to be the hero down the line.

[bumblingbabooshka]

I really wish Tuvok & Harry's relationship had been explored more. (The moments they have together are funny, they're both people who have more personality than others might think) Even if the writers would have rather choked on their own tongues than have two non-white characters on screen developing a relationship that didn't have to do with a white character - I can accommodate that to some extent. Their relationships to Janeway are interesting to think about! Harry is a Gold Standard Ensign who Janeway is shown to favor a lot. She outright states that she cares about him more deeply than she does the rest of the crew and views him almost symbolically as a ray of light and hope. A shining example of a bright-eyed (ever obedient) Starfleet officer who can do no wrong.

Thinking about this compared to her reaction to Tuvok going against her orders in 'Prime Factors'. She is again extremely surprised and uniquely hurt by this betrayal. She's upset with B'Elanna as well but then dismisses her and talks to Tuvok alone.

Again, she positions Tuvok as different from the rest of the crew and almost as a symbolic presence or a tool more than a person. That isn't to say I think she doesn't think of Harry or Tuvok as people but more about how having a working relationship as well as a personal one within the system they're in is difficult and blurs some strange lines. To Janeway, Harry & Tuvok are her friends and people she cares about/cares for but their obedience and usefulness to her is part of what makes them so valuable. She needs them to listen to her orders and put their own personal feelings aside if she's going to command as captain which is more difficult to do the closer you feel to somebody. (As captain you might feel less inclined to put them in danger or more inclined to give leeway. As an officer you might feel more inclined to speak up, be insubordinate, or less likely to challenge the captain when it is expected you do so.) I imagine that for Tuvok it's easier to deal with these boundaries and hard lines which might be difficult to walk for others. He's Vulcan for one, for another he's been in Starfleet and known Janeway for several decades and lastly, he just has a personality which seems to do well with rules and hard lines. He also seems to have a unique devotion to Janeway herself which we can see in episodes like 'Prime Factors' and 'Equinox' which goes further than the typical obligation to a captain. Also, in certain episodes you can see that Tuvok is used to being listened to by Janeway in a way that puts him above other crewmen. When Chakotay chooses not to listen to him in 'Twisted' he goes so far as to argue with him about it. It's interesting to compare Harry's Not Listening to Orders here to him doing something similar in 'Resolutions'. In 'Resolutions' it's against Tuvok and for the captain - though he's going against her explicit orders. For these reasons, his near mutiny is not treated as flagrant insubordination and instead more heartwarming by both the narrative and, most notably, Janeway herself. She doesn't have a harsh word to say against Tuvok or Harry in the end. I like that Harry's a passionate person. I like that he has trouble sitting still and accepting things if he thinks there's another less devastating road to take. I would say that besides Janeway herself he's the one most dogged about his attempts to get everyone home and he, like her, means everyone. Perhaps even more idealistically than she herself.

It can be argued that they're following two different philosophies, both centered on the captain. Tuvok is following Janeway's order that they not contact the Vidiians while Harry is following her determination to do everything possible to get every member of their crew back home. To Tuvok, Harry is grossly insubordinate and disobeying Janeway's order and to Harry, Tuvok's cruel obstinance goes against her spirit. Going back to their relationship, I think it would be interesting to explore how they both deal with feeling so close and so special to someone that they will always (as long as they're working together) be at a distance from. In some ways, their dynamic with Janeway will never be truly equal. How do you deal with a relationship that's stated by the captain herself to be special and which you view as important, different, but still necessitates you pushing your own individuality aside whenever it goes against her? In addition to all this it's notable that both Harry & Tuvok have the strongest connection to Family Back Home. Even Janeway doesn't bring up Mark as a driving force as often as Harry does his parents or the expansive concept of the crews' families back home. It's an interesting similarity between them, they're both so firmly tethered to the alpha quadrant. They're the ones who have people waiting eagerly for them - in the end even Janeway doesn't have Mark anymore but Harry's parents and Tuvok's family will always be waiting for them to return. Also, I just think that Harry and Tuvok have the potential to be so funny together and so unintentionally destructive. They could get away with so much shit that no one else could in a million years and they don't even have troublemaking intentions. So yeah, I wish their relationship had been explored more. Harry is who I perceive to be Tuvok's first friend on Voyager. Tom declares himself a friend of Tuvok's but there's no indication Tuvok reciprocates that, He and Neelix are more frenemies, He and Kes are more mentor-mentee, He and Janeway were friends before all this and with the others he's mostly shown to have a somewhat to outright tense professional dynamic. Harry's the first and only person I can remember at this moment who he seems to have a non-adversarial and fully reciprocal friendship with, though it's not focused on. Harry is the first person who's able to slip past Tuvok's barriers and form a friendship with him (-points to a sign labeled 'Janeway parallels, Harry for captain'-). They both have people in the alpha quadrant they miss terribly and who're missing them. They both doubtlessly feel that drive to return to them (unique on Voyager, to have people rather than just the general familiarity of home to return to). They both have special relationship with Janeway and they both have more to them than being obedient and good. They're funny, they have bite and pride and hidden passions. They've both had trouble with love. Scene where Harry and Tuvok are working on something late at night. There's a radio present, conspicuously, but it's off. Harry begins to complain about how he's missing sleep and subtly making digs about how he hasn't been promoted despite how much he does and Tuvok reprimands him. Harry is apologetic. Silence. Tuvok brings up however the captain's decision making can be difficult to parse at times... and then makes a subtle dig about how Chakotay as the first officer instead of him is an interesting choice. Harry grins and makes a comment about how Chakotay would have let him play music while they worked. Tuvok makes an exasperated face like 'this again?' and says it's exactly that sort of thing which makes Chakotay- and then Chakotay comes in and Harry has to struggle not to laugh as Tuvok Vulcanspeaks his way perfectly through not answering his 'What were you talking about?' question.

[starryredpandawrites]

The newest bendy bites be absolutely peak I’m all the more for it (I would love to rant forever about this but sadly sleep is needed for a brain to function so this will do)

First of - first Aid

The transition between food in the cycle and how it works for healing… (besides Henry… is not like this for some reason, he literally just has a passive constant healing effect in Batim it’s never acknowledged nor questioned even then Dark revival speaificly set up, idk if it will be the same in The Cage, admittedly kinda doubt it but it would be just an extra layer of fucked if Joey designed Henry to heal form his injuries at a rapid enough pace where he can get hurt, heal back up, and get hurt again without “dying”) gigantic rant aside. It’s unclear if the Ink demon can even get hurt physically enough for the sake of needing food to survive - or simply based of the fact he’s a gigantic ink monster that’s also a living breathing being that gets hungry and needs to eat a lot just to keep himself vigilant and perhaps not as “mindless” (cus like… he can’t starve to death, surely and sadly the Keepers would have found that out quickly) like say Batim pre “evolving”

It’s sadly not a topic that’s explored even then getting consumed is perma death in the cycle by itself (Inky, the widow king, Shipohoy Wilson & Steve respectively I belive to be the only ones we know can achieve this in DR)

My gibberish aside- Inky & Bendy would know that getting hurt in the cycle you’d need like a nice snack of a whole meal just to recover. Audery having fallen and scrapped up her knee on her way home from work and bleeding isn’t gonna magically fix itself in the real world. And that may very well take a good few attempts to really stick, yet even the cartoon logic and probably flexibility of Audrey’s body that few take advantage of will probably cause her to get less hurt but like… Shipohoy still snapped her legs at the top femur - bones are infact still in there. So Audrey would either have to teach him how wounds work, maybe some anatomy and what is really bad for a body to actually break or damaged and what is truely severe and what needs prioritizing (like how to hurt people who hurt his sister and make it hurt truely last)

Still, it could be something he’d mock her for probably in being clumsy and getting hurt, but I can also see him being worried about her for it. Not knowing what to do and feeling frustrated or helpless at food nor working anymore, so having to think and do other methods to ensure that she is safe and out of harms way. Could progress into learning more of the inner workings of animals to or simply Audery also returning the favors figuring out how to help Bendy in either of his form if he ever gets messed up. Just stuff like that

Thank you!!! I love rants but I'm glad you've chosen to prioritize sleep, haha. Also, these are good good thoughts, thank you for sharing 🥰

There would certainly be a tall learning curve for Bendy regarding injuries in the real world.

I imagine the Keepers would have done everything possible to kill Bendy and obviously it just doesn't work, including starvation. He doesn't need to eat, but he enjoys it a lot. It's his first and favorite hobby lol

He can get injured/stabbed/crushed but he heals really, really quickly. Like Henry, he would have a passive healing factor but much higher/faster. He doesn't have a lot of experience getting injured except for the Keepers.

I'm thinking he'll either have the same healing factor as in the ink world or it will be somewhat slowed. Leaning toward the latter because the idea of Audrey having to teach him first aid is cute. Imagine he trips and scrapes his knee and freaks out that he's still bleeding even tho it's been more than 2 seconds. He thinks he's dying and Audrey has to explain that injuries don't get magically healed here. She bandages his booboo and gives it a lil' kiss. Then, the next day it's her turn to be baffled because the injury is completely gone and she has to revise her statement about magical healing.

Imagine he actually believes her kiss healed him and she's just like, actually, I may have been wrong about you not being able to heal here, oops

Audrey is definitely more resilient than the average person but not invincible, like you said. She might able to bend her finger back pretty far but she still has bones that can break.

If Audrey ever got hurt he would totally do the thing where your sibling falls and your first reaction is to laugh your head off until you realize they're still on the ground and the worry hits. Then he would try to fix it by bringing her a snack. Audrey has to explain multiple times that injuries take time to heal in the outside world and he is very mad about it. Eventually, he would get used to it but secretly starts keeping a list of reasons the ink world is superior to the real world. He never shares it because it's a much shorter list than he expected.

Quick tangent, I don't think he's so naive that he wouldn't know what death is, but I do think he might forget how it works. Imagine he kills something, a bird or a deer and Audrey finds its half-eaten remains. She would scold him for being wasteful and he'd be like, If I eat all of it then it won't come back. Audrey has to remind him several times that death is permanent here and that deer isn't coming back no matter what.

Queue anxiety about Audrey permadying and she also has to remind him that the cycle is wayyyy more dangerous and that her chances of dying there (and possibly getting consumed) are way higher than in the real world.

Fun thoughts, thank you for the ask 🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍

[the-shifting-long]

You've mentioned your dislike for HEA in several posts but I'm having a hard time pinpointing the exact source of your dislike. I've gotten the impression that you feel it's overrated (and thematically counterintuitive?) for favoring a more traditional form of intimacy in a game that built itself on depictions of non-traditional forms of intimacy. But some of your comments also gave me the impression that you mostly take issue with the dance ending being framed as romantic at all (both thematically and mechanically), as you believe it communicates something harmful about the type of relationship Princess and TLQ have by that point and in the leadup to it. I'm not sure I'm connecting all the same dots as you have and I'd like to understand your critique better.

I'll leave this as the last thing I say about it (negatively, anyways) for now, barring maybe a joke that's in the queue? Kind of tired of talking about it and there's only so much to say, lol.

My dislike of the dance is purely petty and I admit it. It feels very similar to the Thorn kiss, the Thorn kiss was already a HUGE moment in the main game, and learning it's labeled as a +2 satisfy variable in the code the same way the Thorn kiss is was like...bleghhhhh. As a scene, it's gorgeous, I'm not gonna pretend it isn't just to be a contrarian <- StP reference

I also don't think the player does enough to really earn it, in comparison to Thorn where you have to slowly get her to trust you enough to give the knife to you, and you can STILL stab her afterwards. We'll compare it to other +2 variables at the end, just for shits and giggles.

My dislike of HEA is...a lot more complicated. I'm sorry if the dots aren't quite connecting with the way I'm explaining it. I'll try and keep it concise, I know I've rambled quite a bit about it.

There's two Big Decisions the writers/narrative makes that combine into the dreaded Implication that I have vaguely referred to. These are: -Princess was badly hurt by us in previous chapters. Chapter 1 Princess hates killing us (her ending poem: "do i miss your heart because I can't stand to see it go?") Chapter 2 princess thought she was being rescued, then...suddenly wasn't. And, at the slightest hint of rejection, you brutally kill yourself in front of her. It doesn't matter that this was Smitten, because the Princess is unaware of the voices-she only sees US. And her response to that is to be incredibly welcoming to us and project all of her anxieties onto the shadow desperately trying to "make her happy" -The Smitten split. He kills us, then separates from our body, then does everything in his power to keep the Princess happy, including forcing us to sit down at the table and enjoy what he made for her. The game frames him as a literal shadow behind her, complete with a slasher-smile or grabbing at her, and some of his voice deliveries on the way to Damsel 3 are very...ominous in read and less Smitten-esque. I have beef with the execution of this-he felt very out of character in Damsel-leading-to-HEA, based on his Thorn characterization-but don't think it's bad as a concept.

Neither of these are bad artistic decision on their own, or in a vacuum. But what happens when you combine them is you get a narrative where you're...essentially rescuing a woman from the abuse you ended up putting her through, and she doesn't acknowledge you as the source of all of her pain.

It's compounded by factor after factor in HEA. You as the player are not allowed to toss around hypotheticals re: who's actually to blame for her suffering, or for this hell-dinner. You as the player are railroaded through the dinner into bonding with her-I tried to roleplay as the very asshole I'd need to be to see this route in the first place, and was still able to leave on good terms with her.

Not only is she not allowed to have any negative feelings towards the man who put her in this awful situation, just "We never really knew each other, did we?" when the princess is normally spiteful, petty, and grudge-holding, you as the player do not have much agency yourself, and unlike in Tower, Moment of Clarity, the Greys, or other routes where you've been railroaded into options by others, there is no real reason you're not allowed to say awful shit to this princess the way you are with Witch or Spectre or, hell, let's keep comparing this chapter to Thorn, the other traditional fairy-tale romance chapter.

I understand the dinner scene is a metaphor for slowly earning her trust again, making her realize you actually give a shit about her choices this time, that you aren't going to hurt one or both of you this time, but it doesn't work for me. Again, I was trying to be a dick and still managed to reassure her of these facts. It's a conversation, words without actions to back them. In Thorn, you're slowly, patiently waiting for her, then tenderly cut the vines once she gives you the means to do so. In HEA...you just...talk her through it. I guess. I understand the function of the dinner scene, that it's supposed to the be the part where you experience CONSEQUENCES for your ACTIONS and REDEEM YOURSELF to be able to leave with her...but for all the reasons above, it doesn't work for me.

The alternative being the burning of torches doesn't convince me I had choice or agency. It still requires a level of bonding with her. It still requires talking her through it.

It all combines into a narrative arc that echoes SO MUCH real-world domestic abuse, or at least domestic unhappiness, and you as the player get off scot-free and get to leave with your beloved in spite of all the pain you inflicted on her. The dance is not mandatory-you have to be a certain level of empathetic and open to her to get to dance with her-but it ends up as the icing on the bad-implications cake-and hopefully by this point it's clear what those implications are.

In case it's not, I'll rephrase it: Leaving with HEA, as the game currently presents it, felt like I was rescuing the princess from myself. Like I got to abuse her and she still loves me and it doesn't matter, because it wasn't actually me. My choices didn't matter.

It feels, in so many aspects, like a worse version of Thorn instead of a heartbreaking narrative about being trapped in a dying relationship like it's supposed to be. I wish she expressed any level of dislike for the player, because that would've sold the domestic-relationship-gone-wrong angle. I wish we were allowed to play with if the Smitten was a separate being from us or not, because that would've added so many fun layers to his actions that are left completely unexplored. And those two things would've killed the unfortunate implication that you can just...use and abuse her, but everything can still be okay between the two of you. This could've been the amicable divorce chapter. I would've loved an amicable divorce chapter. but the dance carries more weight than choosing to separate from someone you KNOW you've hurt, and who you have not meaningfully proven you won't hurt again.

anyways let's compare "dancing with the woman you've traumatized" to the other +2 variables because i do feel like being petty about that still

-Throwing the Wraith into the void is the only +2 deny variable in the main game, and the only one I'm aware of. You REALLY have to piss off the Princess to get Wraith in the first place, by killing Nightmare who's already kind of done with your shit or by throwing away your chance at redemption with Spectre, who is clearly Unkillable yet you're still trying to...and THEN you throw her into an eternal void, not even succeeding at slaying her, just to be petty. The "Why do you hate me?" line she gives after that hits so hard and perfectly explains why it's a +2 deny in comparison to other princess-slaying or princess-disappointment endings.

-Leaving with the Networked Wild is a +2 free variable, and again, the only one I'm aware of. It's such a unique ending, one where you're RIGHT at the cusp of leaving the construct itself, of course it deserves to stand out.

Which goes back to me being extremely petty re: the dance, the fact that the player has to be so unbelievably awful to the princess to see it and not do much to make up for their awfulness, and the fact that instead of the Kiss being unique, it's now All traditional romance scenes that give a +2, in a game where the devs repeatedly insist that everything is romantic/intimate/important. It's something so buried in the code it shouldn't matter, but it encapsulates so many of my issues re: Happily Ever After and it undermining previous messages re: player choices having consequences, all forms of intimacy being important, etc.

[oceanlix]

Nobody Here Can Stop Us

Pairing: Soobin x female reader

Genre: Smut

Word count: 2491

Warnings: Prince AU (that makes no sense really lol), masturbation (male), begging, handjob, blowjob, switch Soobin, switch reader, Soobin comes on her face, fingering, praise, nipple play, teasing, riding, hint of a bulge kink, exhibitionism, slight degradation, slight possessiveness, unprotected sex

It’s not that Soobin is stupid, far from it actually. But the Queen had insisted as soon as he was old enough that the King appoint their second eldest child with an advisor to help him navigate the political world. The King heavily favored the crown prince, Yeonjun, and the Queen did not want her son to fall out of favor for the son of a concubine. And lucky for you, you’d been chosen for the job.

You’d been by Soobin’s side since he was thirteen, teaching him the rules and etiquette of the court. Not much older than him, the two of you essentially grew up together, of course a little faster than either of you would have liked. But at least you were in it together.

Currently, Soobin sits in his office, eyebrows drawn together as he studies a map of some mountains in the southern region. His younger brother, Beomgyu, had discovered some desirable mineral resources there and suggested an expedition to investigate the viability of mining them for the kingdom. Soobin was the deciding factor, being in charge of the reserve soldiers.

You sit on the window perch, twirling your quill absentmindedly. How long does one need to study a map, anyway? You glance towards the desk with a slight frown, boredom creeping up with each passing second.

“Have you made your decision yet?” you huff, standing up and walking over to the prince’s desk. Soobin lifts his head, the frown lines on his face smoothing out as he grins at you. You ignore the little jump in your heartbeat, waiting for his response.

“I’m not sure. The minerals might be worthwhile, but the mountain path likely hasn’t been cleared for several years and it might be dangerous to travel on. I don’t want any of the reserve soldiers to get injured unnecessarily, after all.”

You smile, proud of your prince for thinking so thoroughly through the options. He’s come a long way from when you first joined him, back when he was just a naive prince from a rich and noble family. Now he thought of all his subjects equally, worried about them like they were his own flesh and blood. He made for a good leader.

You lean against the desk beside him, reaching out to smooth down a stray hair on his head. Soobin turns his chair towards you and tugs at your hand, making you step closer until you’re right between his spread legs.

“What do you think, my dear advisor?” he whispers, resting his hands on your hips. You pretend to think about it as he pulls you into his lap, the hard press of his cock against your ass almost distracting you.

“I think you should approve the expedition,” you tell him, one hand trailing down his chest. His shirt is unbuttoned a bit due to the summer air, so he shivers at your touch. “But only allow half of the reserve soldiers to go. That way, if there are any injuries, it won’t totally wipe out the entire army.”

Soobin nuzzles his head against your stomach, sighing deeply. “I knew you’d have a solution,” he says, looking up at you like you hung the moon yourself. “My pretty and sweet advisor always knows the right answer.”

You giggle at his words as he starts to undo his trousers, pushing them down to his ankles. It’s filthy that he’s bare from the waist down inside his office, where just about anyone could walk in and see you two. But it doesn’t stop the arousal from swirling deep in your belly, especially when he wraps a hand around his cock and starts tugging it.

“Do you want some help with that?” you purr, eyes fixed on the precum dribbling from his pink tip. Soobin seems a little distracted, biting his lip as he groans out loud.

“Please,” he begs quietly, and you’re on your knees before him in a second. You push his hand away and wrap your own around him, ignoring his needy whine in favor of licking his cockhead. You take him deeper into your mouth, your hand stroking the part that doesn’t fit. Your jaw is already spread so wide you know it will ache tomorrow, but it’s a small price to pay when you get to see the prince like this.

“More,” he urges, reaching down to grab your hair. You glare up at him until he releases you, pulling off of his dick with a frown.

“Did you forget I’m in charge now?” you ask, squeezing the base of his shaft a little too roughly. He whimpers, head shaking back and forth quickly. “That’s what I thought.”

You take him back into your mouth again, all the way down your throat this time. You swallow around the prince, your hand cupping and squeezing his balls as he moans endlessly. His thighs start to tremble and you know that he’s close, so you hum around him to help him finish.

“I’m-“ he huffs with effort, hand reaching out for you but stopping himself just in time. “Gonna cum!”

You grin, pulling back off him. You jerk him fast and hard over your open mouth, and after a few seconds, hot white fluid splashes against your tongue. It also lands on your cheeks and chin, some even getting on your tunic. At least that’s white, you think to yourself.

Soobin looks down at you, fucked out expression making your panties even wetter than they already are. You stand up, licking the cum off your face and grinning.

“Come here,” he rasps, your eyebrows raising. “Please.”

You obey him for once, allowing him to untie your trousers and push them to the floor. You step out of them easily and he grabs your ass in his hands, bringing you closer. He nuzzles his face against your clothed pussy, sighing contentedly as he breathes in the scent of your arousal. You watch him carefully to see what he’ll do, not used to letting him have control like this.

“Can you sit in my lap?” the prince asks you, head tilting up to meet your eyes. He looks so innocent while asking for such a dirty thing; it makes your head spin. You nod carefully, and Soobin wastes no time removing your soaked underwear for you.

Taking your hand in his, he guides you onto his lap. The feeling of his bare cock against your folds is new; the two of you have fooled around before, but this is the first time you’ve gone this far together. He feels warm.

“I’ve waited so long for this,” he tells you, moving some hair away from your forehead. The humidity is getting to you now, the fabric of your tunic sticking to your skin.

“Really?” You cock your head to the side, adjusting yourself in the prince’s lap. His groan leaves you giggling, until he reaches beneath your tunic and swipes his long fingers through your wetness. “Oh.”

Soobin snickers at your change in demeanor. “Yeah, oh. Your pussy’s been waiting too, it seems.”

You want to put him back in his place, but it’s hard to take control when he’s stroking you so good. His fingertips are slightly rough from his years of archery, but they feel nice touching you like this. You don’t want him to stop.

“Are you going to be a good girl for me?” he whispers, sliding his other hand up your tunic until he’s got a nipple between his fingertips. You don’t know where he learned female anatomy from, because it certainly wasn’t you, and now you’re at the mercy of whatever skills he’s picked up.

“Yes,” you agree, arching into his touch. The prince grins wickedly, another expression you aren’t used to seeing on him. You like it, though.

Soobin pulls his fingers away from your pussy, ignoring your whines. He cups a hand around the back of your neck and brings you down for a kiss, tongue pressing past your lips almost immediately. You moan into his mouth as he pinches your nipple, rolling your hips against his lap.

“Sit on it for me,” he whispers as he pulls away. You choke a bit on his words, but you waste no time in positioning yourself above his cock. He rubs the head through your wet folds, then over your clit, teasing you by dipping the tip inside before pulling back.

Getting impatient, you grab his shaft yourself and sink down onto him. The moan he lets out is guttural, and you almost worry for a second that the guards posted outside of his office have heard you.

“My advisor looks so pretty sitting on my cock,” the prince coos as he looks up at you. His hands tug at the edge of your tunic, pushing it up until he can see where he’s buried inside your cunt. “You’re so full of me, you know?”

You do know. Soobin’s cock stretches you out, more than your own fingers ever have. It’s to be expected, but it still leaves you in awe. You touch your stomach gently, feeling where his cockhead is. It makes you shudder in anticipation.

“Ride it,” he commands you, grabbing your hips. You don’t know when the dynamic changed between you, but once again you find yourself obeying his orders. You lift your hips up, leaving just the head inside you before sinking back down, a loud moan escaping your lips.

“Fuck,” you whisper, unable to resist grinding your clit against his pelvis. Soobin laughs at your desperation, but doesn’t stop you. It’s so hot to see you need him in this way, so against your normal calm and collected persona. It turns him on even more.

“You’re doing great,” he tells you, watching as you lift yourself up again. “Taking me so well.” You sink down faster this time, crying out when his cockhead hits your cervix a little too roughly.

“Oh my god,” you moan, laying your sweaty forehead against his shoulder. You ride him shallowly for a few seconds, your walls fluttering around his cock. You’re so lost in pleasure that you miss the knock on his office door, your face contorting in shock when the crown prince strolls into the room.

Soobin, to his credit, quickly spins the chair so you’re facing away from Yeonjun. Your cheeks flush as you try to scramble off his lap, but the second prince grips your hips tightly, keeping his cock buried in your cunt. Yeonjun chuckles from across the room, leaning against a bookshelf as he meets your eyes over his brother’s shoulder.

“Ah, I didn’t think you were such a slut, brother,” he teases, though you understand the words are actually meant for you. You’ve never really interacted much with the crown prince, seeing as you were Soobin’s advisor, so you’re embarrassed to find yourself dripping just from his words. Soobin notices too, smirking to himself as he feels your juices oozing around his cock.

“Maybe you should wait for a response after you knock, rather than just barging in here,” Soobin scolds him. He’s moving you slowly in his lap, but there’s no way Yeonjun doesn’t know what’s going on. He’s staring right at you; he sees every roll of your eyes as his brother fucks up into you.

It’s wrong - it’s so filthy - but it still doesn’t stop you from moaning, your eyes falling shut from the pleasure of being fucked open and watched.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” Yeonjun groans, snaking a hand into his trousers. You wish you could see him stroking his cock, but you already have two of the three princes in the room offering you different kinds of pleasure. You shouldn’t get too greedy.

“You like that he’s watching us?” Soobin whispers into your ear. You can only nod, your arms loosely hanging around his neck. He’s doing all of the work now, you having slumped in his lap to watch Yeonjun. “You should give him a better show than that, baby.”

He’s not wrong, you decide, bracing yourself on his thighs. You start riding Soobin once more, but you keep your eyes locked on the crown prince, mouth watering as you notice the wet spot forming on the front of his trousers.

“Yeonjun,” you purr, too turned on to worry about the implications of dropping his title. He pushes off the bookcase and comes closer, stopping at the other side of the desk.

“Turn the chair around,” he rasps, and surprisingly, Soobin listens to him. Your tunic is still pushed up over your hips, exposing your ass to the crown prince. He sighs deeply, drinking in the view before him.

“Like what you see?” you tease, glancing over your shoulder. It’s obvious he does, judging by the hiss he lets out as he jerks his cock faster.

Soobin grabs your head and brings you in for a kiss, thrusting up into you roughly. He’s getting tired of being forgotten when he’s the one with his cock buried inside you right now. His older brother gets everything, but you’re his advisor, and right now, his cocksleeve. He won’t lose you to Yeonjun as well.

“Shit,” you hiss, clenching your pussy around the second prince’s cock. “Gonna cum if you keep that up, Soob.”

Yeonjun barks out a laugh at the pet name, but the two of you are actively ignoring him now. It’s hard to pay attention when Soobin is licking into your mouth, his fingers sliding between you to pinch your clit.

“Go ahead and cum around me,” he tells you with a smirk. “Show Yeonjun who you belong to.”

You collapse against his chest as your orgasm hits, your body trembling. It shocks you that it only took two sentences to bring you over the edge, even more so that Soobin could deliver them so well. Your pulsating walls drag the second prince over the edge as well, spilling his hot load inside of your pussy.

By the time you come down, you remember Yeonjun is in the room as well. You glance over your shoulder only to bite back a laugh; the crown prince, next in line to the throne, has come in his pants.

The older prince glowers at you. You might have found it threatening before, but now he’s just a young man that’s gotten off to you…well, getting off. Soobin hooks his chin over your shoulder and grins lopsidedly at his brother; he’s finally won against him, and it feels better than any political victory ever could.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” he grumbles, untucking his tunic to try and cover his embarrassment. When the door clicks shut behind him, Soobin plants a wet kiss on your cheek.

“My beautiful, perfect, sexy advisor,” he coos, peppering kisses all over your face. You try to squirm away, but his arms are like steel around your waist. “You’re not going anywhere yet, baby.”

[spiderculechronicals]

Do yourself a favor and allow yourself to handwave aside scenes are important to move on but you don't know how to write out as a scene. It breaks up the endless dialogue! And then you can jump back in when you know what they're saying (and I guess if it needs a rewrite later you have notes on what goes there too)

Anyway. My Wade is a sweetie. Him and Peter 3 have been together so long that they really have that taking on each other's traits thing down, to the ultimate good because Wade is 80% less murdery and 50% less insecure, but of course Peter 3 is 50% more chaotic and filthy mouthed and 20% more Fuck The Man.

Scene is set at Peter 1's Aunt May's place on the day of their first meeting.

____

While Peter 1 and 2 were napping, Peter 3 and Wade chatted with May, talking about their universe and Wade’s experience of the last year and a half and their tentative plans for the future that are clearly still developing. They ended up talking the most about the May from their universe, what she was like, how much they were both going to miss her. Wade also ended up recalling a little more detail about his experience with the TVA and their assurance that pruned timelines ceased existing in a completely painless way that the inhabitants didn’t have time to register. Cold Comfort. Wade also mentioned that he hadn’t gotten around to telling May that Peter was missing, so she probably blipped in the middle of planning his birthday party and not worried sick fearing the worst. Peter 3 dissociated for a full minute at that revelation, but when he came around to a hug on both sides and a cold washcloth to the face he said that was a relief at least. He assured Wade that he wasn’t just saying that, that it was always the plan to protect her in the face of this kind of thing, and the time frame of a couple days was well within the pre-agreed limits. May sighed, sadly wishing there was a picture or something to remember his May by.

Wade blinked and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone with its glittery unicorn phone case and subtly inappropriate anime charms, and flipped into the photo gallery. “Uh… so… turns out technology in this universe is pretty compatible. Barely had to jailbreak the sucker, just… whacked in a new SIM card. Here ya go, Petey. Hah… good thing I left it charging that night they blew me up, right?” He handed the phone to Peter 3, who took it carefully, tearing up at the sight of several pictures and even video taken from their regular get togethers. “Careful swiping through to quickly, our, uh… yanno… special pics are also on there. Helped out a lot!”

Peter 3 sniffled and gripped him tightly enough that something cracked. “Can I like, double propose to you, is that a thing?”

“Oof! Careful sweetums I think you scared her a bit, let go slowly the arm might be a little wonk…”

“… Fuckshit!... sorry sorry sorry…!”

“No worries! This is nothing, healing factor’s gonna clear that up in less time than it takes to toast a pop tart. Did you know you’re not supposed to put them in the toaster? Screams thing we put on there so we don’t get sued but we know you’re gonna do it anyway to me, who the hell doesn’t put pop tarts in the toaster?” Wade chirped lightheartedly. “Like Q-tips. Shut up and let me have my ear-gasm.”

“Oh! … you know you really shouldn’t put q-tips in your ears…” May said.

“Ahh… yeah probably that’s also being taken care of by the healing factor now that you mention it… Don’t listen to Deadpool, kids! Listen to Spiderman. Always been my motto.”

Peter 3 laughed through his distress.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Idk if you care/already knew but the infinity comic focusing on the newer captain America (I think love unlimited, may have been voices) had a small Tommy (and David) cameo. It was kind of cute and funny but also a little weird. I have so many questions about their relationship that I would love to have answers for (what I wouldn’t give for an arc of that very comic explaining how they got together!)

It's Love Unlimited. The current run is focused on Aaron Fischer, a character who was created for United States of Captain America in 2021. As far as I can tell, this is his first significant storyline since his debut. I'm not really familiar with the character, but I'm enjoying the series so far-- the art's really nice, and Trujillo seems to have found his stride with the vertical format. His Hulkling & Wiccan comics were a huge disappointment, so this is a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, yeah, Tommy and David were in the first episode. They appear in a crowd of LGBT superheroes who turn out of the opening of... some kind of community center? It's not clear. Anyways, Aaron decides to try his luck with some of the guys, and Tommy seems like he's ready to flirt back until David... scolds him like a misbehaving dog.

It's a weird moment, for several reasons. Tommy, as a character, is so often reduced to being hyperactive, goofy, destructive, and horny-- like a flanderized Bart Allen with a bad-boy streak. He barely has any appearances outside of bit-part cameos, so this is like the only treatment he ever receives, and I'm a little tired of it, especially when it comes to his dynamic with David.

I just don't think this sort of non-committal situationship works in comics book. Maybe if they had recurring roles in an ongoing series, they could tease out a slow-burn romance, or even negotiate the particularities of an open relationship. That's not what's happening here, though. There's no momentum, and Tommy only ever shows up the be the butt of the joke. I don't want to get into X-Factor, but I think we can agree that Williams did not do either of these characters any favors, and it was a really poor foundation for their canon relationship.

You want to know what really bothered me in this issue, though? America's conversation with Aaron was super out of character. Why is she being dismissive of a homeless gay kid who chooses to "reclaim" Captain America imagery when that was, like, her whole deal for years-- not to mention the way that she shuts him down because he doesn't have powers. America, your best friend is Hawkeye!!!!

[mai-marybel]

Sometimes I hate that they make Orestes out to be a misogynist or an Agamemnon 2.0 since (bad man, good woman) when in the plays he is hesitant to kill his own mother while Electra supports him

For me Clytemnestra cursed Orestes But she didn't curse Electra just to torture her in another way, "to see how your brother that you hadn't seen in years loses his sanity because of YOU" also taking into account that Electra planned all that and not Orestes

I also laugh when they portray Elektra as the repentant one, but the texts portray her as the most resentful, "Oh mother, you who betrayed your own blood."

and also like the fans of Clytemnestra she only cares about Iphigenia when she is a victim but not when she shows preference for her brother in Iphigenia by Thauris (where she, upon confusing Orestes with a stranger and knowing what her mother has done, cries more for her deceased brother than for her mother, and when she finds out that her brother is alive she does not hesitate to hug him but Orestes stops her because he is AFRAID of what the Furies can do to them)

and then Iphigenia dares to clean him up. But he doesn't want to involve her because he doesn't want to lose another woman again...

and as an adult Iphigenia decides to follow him on her own to get back home and there are hints that she has forgiven her father (she calls Orestes "as dear as my father") and it also gave me the head canon that Clytemnestra was a narcissistic mother since Iphigenia doesn't seem to care about her or even mention her.

Orestes is honestly anything BUT misogynistic, him preferring his father over his mother read less as misogyny and more that he didn't even get to meet him, he was a BABY when he sailed to troy, and was denied the opportunity to even get to know him by his mother, a mother we can assume wasn't really all there bc of her severe trauma and anger. So yeah, obviously the little boy is gonna idolize his hero father and resent his absent mother.

I don't remember Clytemnestra cursing Orestes, but from the Euripides' "Orestes" is obvious that, even if she wasn't punished by the furies like her brother, Electra does view herself as a murderer. I forever love the parallel of Electra literally guiding Orestes' blade, while Clytemnestra metaphorically guided Aegisthus' blade (tho I do love the versions of her being the direct killer) Euripides basically goes out his way to compare Electra and Clytemnestra and I LIVE for that

Electra does show repent for her actions, but it's for a very different reasons from Orestes, while Orestes is remorseful for the actual act of killing their mother, Electra is more focused on how her actions caused her brother's demise, she does not feel repent over the action, but over the (obvious) consequences (I mean, girl you killed your mother, what tf did your ass expect?)

I very much agree with you, Iphigenia is like, one of my top 3 mortal gals, and obviously her sacrifice is vital to her story, but I hate that it's the only thing ppl talk about, she wasn't just a victim, she was a daughter, a sister, a priestess, an inmortal, these people constantly ignore everything else about her in favor of her just being a victim, also they constantly erase how at the end, she literally accepts being sacrificed, Iphigenia love for her family is a key factor to her personality to a point she literally decides to be killed to help her father, but gods forbid a woman makes a decision they don't like, bc let's fucking ignore her self sacrifice for the sake of making her a helpless little girl who Agamemnon brutally killed without remorse (let's also ignore how he literally cried and had to hide his face)

(I can't believe these people made me defend Agamemnon, I hate his ass)

While I get your headcanon (like, yeah valid) her interactions with Orestes and Iphigenia in "Iphigenia in Aulis" makes me think the contrary, she really loved her children above anything, but after losing Iphigenia, I feel like she fully checked out of motherhood, leaving her alive children to be raised by the servants while she cheated on their father. I think Iphigenia easiness to forgive her father has to do with the fact she was the one being hurt, if Agamemnon had done that to her brother or sisters, I feel like she would definitely have a hard time even looking at him, her preferring her brother over her mother makes complete sense given her character, she asked her mother to protect her brother, she did the contrary, not only that, she abused her sister and tried killing her, exiled two of her siblings. Iphigenia is the oldest child, and she will always choose her siblings over her mother (one time I saw someone call Iphigenia a "traitor" for not preferring her mother which was????)

[13x02]

Picking your brain about Jack stuff (1 of 2)!

Thoughts on the little girl in the Occultum re:Jack regaining his soul? I've been so fascinated by her. First, she reminds me a little bit of young Kelly when Jack first visits Kelly in Heaven.

(Kelly in Byzantium)

But overall, she's something that niggles me and I can't quite pin down. She chirpily tells Jack, "Oh, you must not be human. Humans cannot enter here," and then she asks, "Are you an angel?" She seems so excited!

Since the Occultum houses the Garden, the obvious answer could be something symbolic of Eve as the snake that appears is symbolic of Lucifer. But her words to Jack seem to imply she's not human, so she's not a perfect fit for a human Eve.

(My immediate thought was of an entity called Chokmah/Hokmah, who sometimes gets reimagined as an ancient mother-goddess but more appropriately translates to a personification of wisdom, or Lady Wisdom. Peter Penchansky even argues for Hokmah as God's daughter who played in the garden as Yahweh created the world.)

(The Girl from Destiny's Child, hidden away in the safest place in the world)

On the other hand, she also looks a bit like the primordial Leviathan!Eve in manner of her dress, so perhaps she is meant to be another Eve. A different symbolic Eve, as well as a callback to Kelly.

(Primordial Eve and the sacrifice she inhabited)

///

She also could be something of an off-key parallel to the growing Amara and Lillith?

(Amara & Lillith in her original incarnation)

///

But I'm not sure. Do you favor any of these? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Here's the script in which she appears. :-)

i truly love the interpretation of that little girl being chokmah, especially with the whole thing being that questioning is what kicked humanity out of the garden.

i have a lot of thoughts about angels and humans, especially with all of what lucifer says throughout show. even the simple lines between lucifer and michael in swan song get to me in some way. the angels, as we see, are programmed to follow a set of orders that god (chuck) had given out a long time ago. several angels throughout the series break free of these orders and gain the idea of free will.

i think if this little girl truly is representing chokmah, her looking like a younger eve was also intentional. eve ate the apple. lucifer let the snake in. gadreel trusted lucifer. etc etc.

maybe in a way she decided to appear in that form to jack because angels and humans intermingling? not really seen. nephilim are always killed and while every angel says it's for their power, i do think there's another factor.

it's the fact that nephilim being human and angel means they cannot be programmed to fully follow the command of heaven. they can't become a weapon of god so he tossed them all aside. the angels are meant to follow orders and whenever an angel does rebel it.. goes so poorly for them

lucifer is stuck in the cage for. ages. anna has a Lot going on and ends up killed for what she does. castiel is never actually happy and the minute he is happy he dies. michael loses the One human who changed his outlook on everything.

i gotta answer your second ask still but my whole point maybe she's happy seeing an angel in jack because maybe jack is the one angel she knows who Could rebel and still be happy after (we're ignoring the finale).

[hungergameshyperfixation]

Maysilee Cosplay continued: Wigs.

This is arguably one of the more important cosplay choices IMO just given the cosplay.

I have been eyeing blonde wigs for a longgggg time. Before I considered the Maysilee cosplay. But that doesn’t really make this any easier.

There are several important factors I am considering for what wig I’d like to get.* I’m posting this with the intent to document my own process and also maybe help anyone else who wants to cosplay Maysilee!

I’m kind of a novice cosplayer tbh, I only started “cosplaying” outside of Halloween around…2021? Maybe some lowkey stuff before that. SO take everything I say with a grain of salt por favor.

Maysilee’s book description is very minimal, and the most widespread visual representation we have of her is MainstayPro’s “HUNGER GAMES: THE SECOND QUARTER QUELL.” As tempted as I am to mimic Maysilee’s depiction in that short film (I really liked the addition of the braid tbh, and the bangs are lowkey ingrained in my psyche), I kinda wanted to try something different….?

So I’m putting this part out there in case anyone wants to add on to this and make certain canon/canon-adjacent arguments as to what Maysilee could look like, I guess. I was debating about hair length and hairstyle, really. I’ll show some images but I already kinda know that I’ll go with natural blonde hair wigs, to kind of mimic Peeta’s hair and Prim’s; I will say though, for some reason “natural blonde wigs” always look so yellow to me LMAO. Idk why.

Anyway, onto THE SEVERAL IMPORTANT FACTORS I am considering with the wig purchase(s)

Firstly, the basics:

•The style and how I could see it fitting to Maysilee.

•The length.

•The color.

Then:

•The price lmao (all the ones shown are in my budget for this project).

•When I can get them (as you can see, some of them are not available. I committed the sin of wig shopping in OCTOBER).

•IF I CAN REUSE THIS WIG FOR ANOTHER COSPLAY OR CHARACTER. This is arguably one of the most important! That’s what makes it difficult.

Onto the wigs I have on my radar. I purposely kept the prices and names shown on the screenshots so that other people can reference and find them! They are all on Epic Cosplay’s website.

Another thing to note that was mentioned above is that I am very tempted to get a strawberry blonde wig, but I feel as though a “natural blonde” wig would be better fitting for Maysilee, considering the merchants’ hair colors we see in the film.

Okay so. I am tempted to do a breakdown of each one and my reasonings…Maybe I’ll do that as a reblog.

Some of these might not seem like Maysilee at all BUT keep in mind: longer wigs = more hair to play with. I could add braids and style each wig in a variety of ways. Also, see my bullet points listed above (especially the last point, italicized and boldened LMAO).

So I leave this post as a reference but also as a jumping off point if anyone wants to put their two cents in. Recommendations appreciated although I am already formulating other parts of the cosplay as well. I most likely will get ones that are currently available /not put on back order. Also I’m really hoping to maybe read more about what people think Maysilee looks like, beyond the depiction by MainstayPro.

This was a long one, cheers!

[autisticempathydaemon]

For the RedactedAudio match-ups!

I pondered over whether I should send my own request (I'm sure you have plenty of these already and I didn't want to add more to the workload- for a lack of a better word) but I love the love and care you give for previous entries and it just seems so fun to play along! Please take all the time you need, there's no rush at all ><

Lizzy McAlpine's "Doomsday" has been playing nonstop for the past month, but I've always been obsessed with Will Wood's "Well, Better Than the Alternative"! My fav part of the lyrics: "Baby could you play along with me? / Baby would that be alright with you? / And when we find out what's wrong with me / Could you tell me how I'm right for you?" This is the kind of song suitable for both lighthearted jamming and brooding self-reflection while staring at the ceiling at ungodly hours, yknow?

For the Enneagram type, I just did the test recently and I got type 4? I found the descriptor "Inward Exlorer" extremely suiting! Also, in case it helps, my MBTI is INFJ^^

I had several childhood friends, the one I talked to the most was a faceless boy my age with glasses and messy hair who's crazy about the concept of martyrdom. I'm trying to write him into my story these days!

I happen to adore my name for the meaning behind it. My initials are literally A.R.T., and, fun fact, I'm currently the only person with my last name in my region, haha. But yknow, names carry weight to them, and I find the weight of mine a bit cumbersome at times, so that might be a cause for change somewhere far in the future. Maybe changing it to Ara, or Nadine? Because the meanings are so pretty ^^

My current fav audio vid is the "finally hearing from your your long distance lover again"! What can I say? Anton is my beloved and he gives off so much comfort and I root (haha get it) for his happiness!

Speaking of platonic attraction, it's gotta be Hux and Damien. As a college student myself, how wonderful it would be to have them with me to go through endless study sessions and just to hang out? If I get to write fate beforehand, I'd have them and Camelopardalis be my childhood friends. Imagine that!

I don't exactly have a gas station drink combo(?) but I always order carrot-orange juice if I see it on the menu. My siblings look at me weird whenever I do, but it's really good!

Uh, what else is there... I've been told I'm the older sister type, or the mom friend? I grow tomatoes and bird eye chillies alongside roses of various colors on my family's front yard, and one of my life ambitions is to own a house with big enough land to grow fruit trees- I solemnly swore to my mom and her mom that I'd plant lemon and orange trees if I could make that happen, because they love the smell of citrus. I write; mostly short stories, and I've published a number of anthologies, but I'm working on finishing the first draft for my first novel.

Oh goodness this is becoming so long already. Thank you for taking your time to read this! I'm looking forward for your verdict, haha ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Ooh, this was an incredibly easy one to assign! There’s a lot of little and big factors that went into my decision, but the kicker is that a big, lovely family home wouldn’t be complete without a David Shaw to help take care of it.

Type Fours and INFJ’s are so lovely and creative, generally very attuned to their inner sphere of thoughts and emotions. I think that pairs well with David, who went through the character development of needing that openness to draw him out into the open, honest, affectionate man he is today. Your being the mom friend also pairs well since he’s the dad friend, and the two of you could lend each other support in case you neglect your needs in favor of others.

Speaking of “mom and dad”, I love to think of the huge, beautiful house and garden the two of you would cultivate! It’d be so homey and comfortable, the perfect place for pack parties, the sort of space where every member knows they’re welcome. Not to mention, those fruit trees would be the envy of Dahlia; you and David would make sure of it. Those would be the most bountiful trees and most beautiful garden you could ever imagine.

Song:

Oh, let's get rich and buy our parents/ Homes in the South of France/ Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters/ And teach them how to dance/ Let's get rich and build our house on a mountain/ Making everybody look like ants/ From way up there, you and I, you and I

I love the vibes of this song for you guys! Even if it’s not what I think his music taste would be (dad rock), it’s sweet, it’s fun, it’s cozy. It’s perfect summer day, laying in the grass and dandelions and roses music. It’s a duet that he would never think of not chiming in along with you.

Runner-Ups:

Lasko could also strike me as an INFJ, so I think the two of you would make this lovely, introverted pair. Plus, a writer and a professor- that’s objectively cute. Milo is also a good runner up, because frankly, that boy strikes me as a momma’s boy, so he would adore the way you talk about your mom and grandma. You also have that shared dream of owning a nice house and home, so there’s that too.

note: I like the cut of your jib- roses and tomatoes AND Birds Eye chilis? The best kind? You’ve got taste /gen

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[wixhing0nastar]

About the Yang Xiao Long Abuse post.

Something occurred to me; Qrow may have also contributed to the abuse.

Back in Volume 3, when Yang was framed by Emerald?

Qrow accused her of either lying or being crazy.

Yang sought one of her family figures for validation, and Qrow called her crazy.

Then Qrow told her that Raven didn't care for her.

Would what Qrow did be considered abusive as well?

There's a lot in Volume 4 I dislike, which is why its my least favorite volume, and the Patch Scenes were among them.

But I feel that the way Qrow treated Yang was also a factor in Yang's mental/emotional state.

Also, regarding Yang's prosthetic. It appears Tai had planned to "call in some favors, pull a few strings" in order to get Yang her new arm, which shows that while Tai is emotionally insensitive to a degree, he is still caring about others and willing to help.

Ruby did say that Taiyang does love them both and is overprotective.

But a person can be loving and yet at the same time emotionally harmful to a degree.

Its strange, given the character we see of Qrow and Tai in RWBY Chibi, both being loving family members.

How would you, if you could make suggestions to the writing team, made ideas on how to improve things in V4?

Beyond just Yang, it feels there was too much in need of a revision here or there.

So to start with the question about Qrow, those instances wouldn’t count as abuse. For something to be abuse there has to be a pattern of this stuff happening, so the single comment about the Vytal Festival isn’t abuse, just a really messed up thing to say to her.

As for the comment about Raven, while it’s a little too blunt, it’s not something she shouldn’t hear. Especially since Qrow gave her the information to find her and knows Yang’ll be meeting her in the near future and he wants to prepare her for that.

Like as much as she was saying she was just looking for answers, you know deep down she’d been hoping for years if she found her, Raven would care enough about her to take care of her and Ruby.

That being said, in V6 when Yang and Ruby find him passed out drunk, their reaction does indicate he was doing this regularly at some point in their lives and they know how to handle it… and taking care of a passed out drunk adult isn’t the job of a kid(s) and is also a form of parentification. So likely he contributed in some regard when Yang was younger.

However, Qrow acknowledges that he has an issue and does try (successfully!) to work on himself to be a better uncle/mentor both to Yang and Ruby but also their friends as well, which is important to acknowledge.

And yes, I never meant to imply Tai doesn’t love them both. He clearly does, it’s just that love alone isn’t enough when you’ve got a couple of very young grieving children at home, and then a traumatized teenager with fairly severe PTSD. (And tbh I wouldn’t ever put much weight into the characterization in RWBY “cake butler” Chibi, lol).

As for V4, I think that the biggest issue the volume had overall was that they were trying to follow too many different storylines in too many different locations. Like they had to balance:

RNJR + Qrow’s trip across Mistral

Weiss escaping from her father

Blake and the Faunus Civil War

Yang and her PTSD/Recovery

Introducing Oscar and all the world stuff that comes with the reincarnation story

Introducing Salem and Team WTCH

I’d suggest combining at least a couple of these earlier on to give themselves more breathing room. Tbh Yang’s entire recovery arc barely happened (it was like three, 5ish minute scenes across the whole volume, which was also almost every scene she had) and Weiss’s arc was also fairly short and a bit underwhelming for how much it was built up, so I’d try to fold them into other storylines.

Honestly, I’d specifically suggest combining Yang and Oscar’s stories (they both are dealing with huge, unexpected changes in their lives they don’t know how to navigate) and Blake and Weiss’s (Weiss could go through a very similar emotional journey as she did in canon but from the opposite side by witnessing how Ghira and Kali treat her and Blake compared to her father), with Yang and Oscar catching up to RNJR at some point in the later part of the volume.

If they specifically wanted to write Tai as a good parent now (while also not retconning anything from V1-V3), one of the first things he’d need to do is admit that he was in the wrong in the past (like Qrow did in V7) and was not there for her. And then make it clear he is now and then ask after and follow her lead in terms of what she needs to heal instead of assuming he knows best.

[shivunin]

Hiya! From the ship asks, 3, 12, 28 for Maria & Fenris? :>

Hey there! <3 Thank you so much for asking!

(Ship Asks)

3. What was their first impression of each other?

Maria: Lingering irritation at Fenris over being dragged into an ambush she had no part of, sliding into "Why do I think it's hot that he ripped that guy's heart out? Does this say something about me?" and landing on "he seems nice enough, but he's essentially covered in 'Danger: Keep Out' signs" (obviously, by virtue of this, perfect friend material).

(I think for her there was some level of like, "Does this man eat? Does he need someone to bring him food? He looks cold, hungry, and/or tired. I shouldn't say anything. It'll scare him off.")

Fenris: Mage -> Apparently honorable mage -> Honorable mage who did me a favor and didn't ask for anything in return (suspicious)

12. Do they have a difficult time when separated from each other, or are they fairly independent?

The short answer: Both? I think they're both pretty prideful, so they both have a hard time admitting that they have a hard time apart, but they do miss each other dreadfully. Both Fenris and Maria have a really, really hard time believing that something good isn't going to just vanish if they turn their backs. I think that's the driving factor in how they feel about being apart, tbh.

Between when they get together in Act 3 and the end of the game, Fenris specifically struggles with not being there when she will be fighting because she only leaves him behind when she's traveling with Anders. Obviously, he really doesn't trust Anders (and by then he specifically doesn't trust Anders with Maria's safety). Otherwise, they don't spend every waking moment together, so it's only a problem if it's been several days since they've seen each other.

The two of them are pretty much continuously together between the events of 2 and when Fenris leaves for Tevinter (save, like, normal absences like trips to the market etc.) so when he leaves they both have a really hard time apart. I think it can be difficult to realize that you've grown used to falling asleep and waking up together, or just having someone to talk to, until you don't have that anymore. Maria can't stand to be alone in general, and I think that's part of the reason she winds up running off to help the Wardens/Inquisition.

28. Who’s the better chef? Do they cook for the other?

I think they're probably both not great at cooking, but Maria has more experience. She spends a lot of time talking about when she learns how to bake/cook/make a particular dish, but then doesn't really put in the time to figure it out. It isn't until after her part in Inquisition that she actually takes the time to learn anything more complex than a hearty stew.

I like to think they learn together once they're both home again. Probably plenty of silliness and failed culinary experiments in there for them before they figure it out (and Orana graciously teaching one or both of them the basics when they go back to Kirkwall).