#but in all seriousness i think they're having issues coming to terms with the fact that i am indeed 25 and am going out and doing things

[arrow-guy]

My parents, joking about my boyfriend being over while they're gone: "haha, you have till (insert time) to get him outta there."

My parents immediately after finding out that he was, in fact, over while they were gone:

[litnerdwrites]

About the dancing chapter...

I agree 100% with this comment by the amazing @deathbealady (no seriously, I didn't even realise how similar this situation was to Mor's) and I wanted to use it as a jumping off point to talk about Eris Vansera. To be clear though, I like fanon Eris and am currently undecided about canon Eris, for reasons I'll explain later.

For now, we can start with the IC asking Nesta to try and seduce Eris. I refuse to believe they weren't given this idea by Elain, either because she volunteered Nesta outright, or because she put the idea of using Nesta's artistic passions that, at this point, they know were effectively weaponised by her mother, to seduce an older male with the idea of marriage.

Either way, the fact that the IC knew what Nesta's mother had done, and decided to take advantage of it without ever asking what she thought of it, or what she might like, despite it being the same thing done to Mor when she was Nesta's age, if not younger. It's made especially worse given that Nesta likely feels unable say 'no' to the IC, because if she does, she'd likely be threatened with Elain being made to do it.

If that isn't bad enough, and I wouldn't be sure if it could get worse if I wasn't about to tell you why, then we can take a look at the age gap between Eris and Nesta. I've heard people argue that it's fine, since they're both consenting adults, but I think that the term 'adults' needs to be redefined. Humans are considered adults at the age of 18 or so, but only have a fully developed frontal love at 25. Meanwhile, fae are considered adults by the age of about 50 to 80 (with the latter being the age that a High Lord can be named such, but some people say it's 50). This has some pretty serious implications.

Starting with the fact that if females in Illyria and the CON are married off/wings clipped when they have their first period, which seems to be from around the same time human women have theirs, to 18 if they try to prevent it through medication, then they aren't adults themselves. They aren't even half way there in the (I don't want to say mild, best case, better or anything like that case because it's all messed up) cases where the woman is 18 or so. It also implies that a fae female's frontal lobe isn't developed until she's over fifty, since we don't have evidence to suggest the contrary.

Just because Nesta was almost 25 when she became fae doesn't make it alright either. Given that her aging must have slowed astronomically when she was turned, it's fair to assume it would have a huge impact on maturity and brain development. Which means the Archeron sister's in general might have serious gaps in the way their brains develop, especially Feyre, since she was resurrected and her body changed. It might even be slightly different for Nesta and Elain since they were killed, pulled apart and put back together in the cauldron.

Since it was the cauldron, there's a chance that their brains were also changed to be like fae, but either way, both possibilities and scenarios come back to the same answer: The Archeron Sisters are still mentally children, and will likely remain so for several decades longer, perhaps even longer than regular fae due to the unprecedented and irregular nature of their existence.

This brings me back to the subject of Nesta and Eris. He is a grown adult many centuries older than Nesta, with frontal lobe development and centuries of experience. Nesta is barely even half way to being an adult, while he is over 500. Moreover, the IC believe that Eris is a monster.

Now, I'm well aware that there's likely more to the issues between Eris and Mor than what we've seen. Between Eris's own words regarding 'circumstances' that he wouldn't explain, to the narrative going out of his way to show us good parts of him. Such as the way he moved to protect his mother at the HL meeting, and how he let his own father torture him but still protected the IC's secrets and took the unnecessary verbal abuse from Cassian. There's even the fact that Eris simply lets others believe him to be the villain, and let's Mor control the narrative for her own comfort, as opposed to spilling whatever happened, even if it would, somehow, absolve him.

Now, to be perfectly clear, there is little Eris could say that would absolve him, truly, of what happened. I acknowledge that he's a victim of his father, however that doesn't mean he can't also be Morrigan's abuser. And yes, even if he didn't touch her, neglect is abuse. Leaving her there for dead, regardless of the reasons, is a messed up thing to do. The categories of victim and abuser are not mutually exclusive.

The narrative wants us, as readers, to question Eri's actions and begin to wonder what happened between him and Lucien and Mor. It wants us to open up to the idea that Eris may not be as bad as he's made out to be, and that there's something more sinister happening, since it puts some level of suspicion on Lucien, Mor and Beron. However, just because that's the story we're being fed as readers, doesn't mean that the characters have the same perspective, or are living the same story, necessarily.

If you think about it, they have no reason to believe that Eris isn't a psycho who abuses woman and would slaughter his brothers to get to the crown. His comment about circumstances does read like an abuser trying to justify his actions with little effort, while giving no real reason, not that one would make up for what the IC believes he did. It's not a good enough reason to absolve him or make him seem like a good person.

He still hunted Feyre down, even though he had no reason to once she and Lucien made it to the Winter Court, and it, logically, would've caused more trouble for Beron if they were caught. Especially since a whole fire fight took place, and it would be easy for Kallias to connect that with autumn citizens, since he didn't know about Feyre's magic. If anything, hunting them at that point would've caused more problems and they'd be better off just telling Beron that Feyre and Lucien were there. A high lady, if Beron acknowledges the title or not, trespassing in foreign lands with a banished son would be enough to raise a fuss about.

He, also, has people who've known him for centuries, from Mor to Lucien (though the latter probably has more accurate info given his connections in various courts, and the fact it's unlikely Mor shared many words with him over 5 centuries) and the fact he's essentially blackmailing the Nc. This is more so an issue of his having certain pieces of information being a cause for the IC to fear what he may do with it, or what might be found out by their enemies if they use torture or a daemati.

I'm not saying, by any means, that I hate him. I think he's actually written better than Rhysand at this point, since unlike Rhysie playing hero, Eris knows he's a terrible person and low key owns it. Whether or not that's subject to change is dependant of SJM's writing in the future. There's a chance she may actually turn him into Rhys 2.0 by pretended he was a good guy all along.

However, regardless of his reasons, he has done so many atrocious things that the IC have no reason to think he's a descent person. Mor clearly hasn't said anything about what happened and, as much as I don't like her, she has no on page motive to antagonise Eris otherwise. That might change later, especially if she's the traitor, but as of now, her behaviour seems understandable, somewhat, based on the version of events that she gives.

Yet, despite all of this, the IC still think that essentially whoring Nesta out to Eris because it suits their goals. Regardless of the risks to Nesta's safety, regardless of how Nesta feels about the matter and and simply going off of Feyre's guesses about how Nesta feels without ever feeling the need to confirm if any of them are accurate to Nesta.

Let me summarise: Rhysand and Feyre, Nesta's own sister, thought it was a good idea to use Nesta's artistic passions to seduce a man that is literally 20 times Nesta's age, letting said man ask for Nesta's hand, and letting Nesta consider accepting despite the IC believing he is a woman torturing psycho that would throw her to the wolves at the first chance if it helped him in the end.

Let's not forget that while Eris may be bit of a grey area for us at the moment, the IC knows that Eris also lives with abusers, like Beron, who'd have no issue using physical violence against Nesta. So even if they thought Eris wasn't a monster for some reason, they'd still be putting Nesta in danger. Especially if Beron is working with the Death God, who wants the trove and is using Bryallin to find it.

Oh, and this was all after Cassian came to the conclusion that Nesta was suicidal, and was sexually assaulted in a vision, if I remember right, while on a life threatening mission in a place the rest of the IC, even Amren, is scared of.

Regardless of what Rhysand says, he allows abusers near enough to his family, or the ones he doesn't care as much about, I suppose, and is seemingly willing to let them marry said abusers if it gets him his goal. Rhysand who was abused. Rhysand who's mother was forced into child marriage.

Rhysand who seems to ignore the fact that the Archeron sisters are children. Children can't consent, if it wasn't clear enough to him already. Also, consent must be informed, and last I checked, Nesta wasn't informed about Eris beyond him being a snake. She isn't given a heads up about how abusive he's believed to be, how he may have to kill/watch you die if his dad decides so, or how he's likely to leave you bleeding out in the woods if you're injured. This is literally what the IC believe he is like and they didn't tell her.

Consent needs to be voluntary. I think it's been well established that Nesta likely doesn't feel like she can make real decisions because of consequences she may face.

He's also completely willing to send a suicidal (you can't argue that he doesn't know since Cassian reports everything to Rhysand, and kind of Feyre, apparently, from her Valkyries to her progress in 'healing'/being brainwashed so there's no reason he wouldn't report that too) into life threatening situations, put them in a place where they could jump to their deaths at any moment, with magic that could provide literally anything but alcohol, and filled with weapons.

To conclude, Eris is a grey area in ACOTAR that, at this point, reads as what Rhysand kind of should've been if SJM didn't make him a good guy for no reason. Meanwhile, this 'good guy' is endangering his sister in law through abuse, emotional blackmail and brainwashing, while putting her in proximity with a known abuser. Might I remind you that she's a minor? With possible developmental gaps. And he's doing it all because her being in danger makes his life easier, and the cousin that the dude abused is going along with this without any issue.

[cator99]

The conversation went like this: general pleasantries followed by her being like I'm so relieved you reached out to me because I really just want to have a more positive relationship with all of you guys and I know how annoying it is when a landlord isn't able to deal with things in a timely manner I get it I'm a renter too... i get the sense that, just as i had over-prepared for the conversation, she had over-prepared to apologize for the fact that the basement bathroom has a recurring leak issues that get patched up and then continue to cause issues meanwhile she's literally going through a divorce and has to keep postponing because she wants to be there when the repair dudes come to make sure they're doing their job properly but she has a big trial coming up and had to put it off by another week, it's really no big deal tbh... I assured her that she's been doing a fantastic job at staying on top of things and communicating with us oh my fucking god okay new girl is banging that fugly creepy white boy she keeps bringing over so god damn loud l cant wait for her to gtfo anyways yeah so we basically just spent 10 minutes getting on the same page like we good we good she just wants to make sure that everyone is chill in the house and we had a really good talk about what we all want from this but TLDR once we got down to business it went like this:

Me: Pins Girl is the problem

Her: omg slay I fucking hate her please go on

Me: yaaaas she fucking sucks here's some tea sis....

Her: ok work so I'm not crazy for being like maddd uncomfortable around her like one time this thing happened...

Me: omg lol no seriously she's vile here's another wild example related to your anecdote....

Her: no way bestie she did that to me too. Just 0 to 100 in an instant I didnt even know what to do just being accused of every -ism under the sun

Me: yeah no that's just kind of how things go with her you cant get so much as an innocent Hello in without her immediately labeling it a hostile attack

Her: yas okay good riddance so what's the deal with this new girl she's her friend should I be concerned

Me: oh girl.......... so, no not really she's a sweetheart and also– thank god– fully employed. Absolutelyyy messy as hell tho so that's one of my biggest concerns. I think it would be best if you didn't add her to the lease no shade but she's really not a great fit since we're all older and chill and clean af

Her: ...and the rest of the concerns? Oh my god do you think [PG] will try to move back in if we decline her friend???

Me: no wayy she wants OUT out she's already got a new place lined up and her shit in boxes at the door waiting to be hauled off forever

Her: omg like. Far? Like is she moving far? Please tell me she's moving sooo far

Me: yes lmao dont even worry I dont know the exacts but it's nowhere even near here

Her: okay slayyyyy thank you for being dope as hell it's such a relief that this crazy person is gone so we can all just chilllll

Me: okay so about that

Her: ohhh no

Me: yes so you already know what we're dealing with. You know how she deemed me unworthy of being on speaking terms with her? I didn't mind that at all and really just kept tf to myself. Then suddenly she moves in this friend of hers and I just assumed this was done with some sort of approval from you, because that would be the normal thing to do.

Her: okay that's kind of wack, do you guys not like get a vote on these sorts of things

Me: I stayed out of it plus like I'm really not gonna start questioning her and risk putting myself in the line of fire and everyone is pretty much in that position as well

Her: omg no fr...

Me: so like I just kept to myself and my work without thinking about it... then I find out she was living here totally off the record when PG sent that email requesting that she be added to the lease. That's when the conversation opened up. And listen this new girl is super young super naive didnt realize that she was even doing anything wrong and then suddenly everyone's totally freaking out and realizing that this goes against the lease agreement and that if you find out, our ability to live here is jeopardized. She got us into hot water and then just... left us to deal with the consequences.

Her: she's still legally bound by the lease until it changes so if anything goes wrong she wont be escaping accountability no matter how many -isms she throws at me. I want this to work for all of us and we got this trust thang between us and I wouldn't evict you guys omg evictions are seriously sooo annoying and *most* of you have been great tenants especially (names everyone except for the unemployed ftm) they're all super chill and mature and we've had great conversations so yeah I'm just glad she's gone

Me: incredible yaas I love honesty. She has been actively impeding our ability to have a productive working relationship with you and each other it's so crazy

Her: literallyyyy😁🥂🔥yipeee

Me: yippee yaaaaay yay 😇☝️💯

Her: okay so my game plan is to interview the new girl irl like no zoom bs I really wanna read her vibes and decide if this is worth it... I'll give her a chance but if that doesn't work out... I mean... tee hee..... the yearly house inspection is coming up...

Me: ok that's so dope. She's gonna be moving upstairs once PG vacates so its gonna be pretty hard to hide the fact someone's right there even just doing a quick walk-through

Her: yeah so if things don't go well and I decide against putting her on the lease and they still don't admit to having her there then at least I can talk to them about it when the inspection happens and be chill about it and pretend like I totally had no idea. We can work something out as long as everything is good you know what I mean... okay if you need anything at all dont even hesitate to give me a call

Me: absolutely and if I have any updates I'll let you know ASAP, lmk if you need anything srsly I dont want to cause you any more stress like from what i understand you've had a stressful enough year

Her: yes good lord i have, thank you for being considerate..... seriously it's been hellish and this conversation has been such a relief

etc etc obviously the conversation was longer and more thorough but you get the gist. She's awesome. We hung up and I skipped my way to the grocery store

[rahuratna]

🛑 The free pass for Rants and Musings has reached you 🛑

If there is anything you’d like to rant or talk about, but no one’s ever asked you about it, consider this the ask you need to yap about it as much as you want! Have fun ✨

Hmm, musings. I want to expand a little on why Nanami's character speaks to me on such a personal level.

It all comes down to this idea: You are not your job.

This is a concept I've struggled with for a long time. I've always wondered why it was so damnably difficult for me to maintain a work-life balance. I am not the kind of person who can detach from work when I come home. I will think of my day, of the things I could have done better. I will fixate on small issues and blow them out of proportion in my mind, issues that nobody else has even taken that seriously.

A lot of this has to do with the need for perfection. The need for acknowledgement. The need to know that what I've done is both academically and morally right.

And this is why I feel such tenderness for characters like Nanami, and they way they're portrayed in media. I want to write the undercurrents of their lives, the little comforts they have, the stimulus that brings out their true passion, the traits that make them so human to us as readers/viewers.

Nanami severely undervalued himself, especially in a personal capacity. He states that due to the nature of his work as a salaryman, nobody will miss him if he disappears. This single statement made him a very compelling character for me.

How many of us feel this way? How many of us actually define ourselves by what we can do for others? By our relationships? By our jobs?

The fact that Nanami was never able to manifest a domain expansion speaks volumes to me. The expansion of the innate domain seems to be an ultimate expression of self identity; the stronger the sorcerer's sense of self-awareness and acceptance, the more 'refined' the domain. Mahito's manifestation of a domain expansion for the first time is evidence enough of this.

Nanami does not, through various things he's mentioned and done, have this strong sense of self, or self preservation for that matter. He measures the value of his life in terms of how much he can help others. He defines himself within the confines of his work as a salaryman, then as a sorcerer.

I like writing him as a character because I've learned, through hard experience, why it is so important to value yourself as a human being, above all else. How the thing you may perceive to be selfish is actually a healthy relationship with your own identity.

If all works of fiction can be interconnected through the people who enjoy and appreciate them, then I'd like to write little fictional accounts that breathe some extra dimensionality into these characters we know and love. I'd like to send a little whisper into the void, in my own way, letting anyone who feels the same know that it's fine to be kind to yourself. It's fine to be soft with yourself.

You are not your job. You are not defined by your value to others. You are a thinking, feeling human being and your existence does not need to be justified or measured by some arbitrary scale invented by someone else. To live is to be free. 

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck coming to terms with his sexuality.

I can't help but compare it to what happened with Darryl in Crazy Ex Girlfriend. After his divorce he threw a party cause he was lonely and missing his daughter (they have a good relationship, I think she was at camp or her mom's I can't remember) where he invited some new friends over. He spent the whole party talking to White Josh who kissed his cheek at the end of the night, after he stayed to help him clean up. Cue his Bi awakening

He asked White Josh out on a date where they wouldn't run into anyone they know and his reaction was basically "Listen I'm happy for you coming to terms with who you are and figuring yourself out but I'm not going back in the closet" he was respectful about it and didn't make Darryl feel like shit just cause he was still closeted.

Compare this to Toad who made Buck feel bad for needing time and ditched him. If he hadn't acted like a dick at the restaurant and taken Buck home and left the night saying "Listen I get that this is new for you but I don't want to hide who I'm dating. I'm out of the closet and I'd like to keep it that way" and left it at that he wouldn't have been in the wrong. But he was purposefully written that way.

White Josh and Darryl went on to date and I didn't watch s4 so I don't know if they were endgame but I loved their relationship cause even though White Josh's feelings were hurt by Darryl not wanting to be out he didn't attack Darryl for it. Unlike Temu who abandoned Buck.

Thank you @chaoticcoffeequeen for the ask.

Since I'm not familiar with the TV show "Crazy Ex Girlfriend" that you mentioned at the start of your ask, I'm not able to provide any insight on it.

However, I am familiar with 9-1-1 and I have several issues with T*mmy Kinard dating Buck and it started with the fact that HE KNEW Buck wasn't trying to get his attention. It was obvious by his response he knew when he asked, "My attention?" Seriously, he could have owned up to it then and offered to be a friend to Buck instead of another love interest. Why would anyone want to be in a whatever they're doing while actively knowing they want to be with another person? It doesn't make any sense to try and build something when the other person is in love with someone else. Even though everyone perceives and interprets media differently, it should have been clear to anyone watching that 9-1-1 was being VERY LOUD AND INTENTIONAL in having Eddie Diaz (the love of Buck's life) be at the center of everything in 7x4 along with Buck constantly referencing Eddie and Chris and how he felt like he was being replaced in their lives by T*mmy along with how he felt left out since Eddie had moved on.

From the start of the episode, T*mmy was completely dismissive, rude and most of all he was an asshat towards Buck. He seemed to be annoyed by him and it continued throughout the second half of the season. IMO, since T*MMY COULDN'T GET EDDIE, he decided to see where things with Buck could go which made Buck be the consolation prize! Buck's hardly ever been anyone's first choice unless they wanted to have sex with him or use him to get what they wanted, i.e. Margaret and Phillip wanted Daniel not Buck so they had him created so he could save their other son while completely ignoring him. And I don't believe that season 6 smoke screen the show threw up for the audience to give the Buckley parents an undeserved redemption. Then there was Chase MacKey who used Buck so he could sue the city and get a payout. Connor's no different since all he wanted was Buck's sperm and when he got it and they had the baby, they dipped.

Buck's not celibate (at least he hasn't said he is in CANON) so it would have been different if they established that's all they would be to each other so Buck wouldn't be clinging to someone who doesn't want him which is no different than the things he's done for the past 7 years. Everyone who knows Buck, fully understands he wants to be in love and he's wanted it ever since he clung to Abby even though she saw him as nothing but a boytoy.

Another thing that irks my soul about T*mmy is the fact that he's always talking about how jealous he is of Buck because he acts like he's still in 5th grade and is jealous that Buck got to go to recess and he didn't. T*mmy's a grown man who should be settled and secure in who he is and what he has to offer someone but he acts immature and the words that come out of his mouth contradict his persona. For example, the comment he made about Buck's loft being so nice when he first walked in. I mean let's be real for a minute because T*mmy spends his money on BS and it's evident he does when he walked in and was looking around like he was at the Getty Museum or the Griffith Observatory. He even said he was working at the wrong location which is ridiculous since he used to work at the 118 and he got a job promotion. This guy operates helicopters for a living now and he had been on the job at least a couple of years before Chimney started since he wasn't a probie in 2x11 or 2x9. In 6x1, Hen told Bobby she had been on the job for 12 years and she arrived after Chimney so T*mmy's been with the LAFD for at least 15 years which makes him older than some people want to believe but I digress.

My point is he makes more money than all of them but he dresses like he shops at bargain basement and discount stores and his clothes look kind of tacky. I've always considered him to be the Wal-Mart version of someone but definitely not Eddie Diaz because Eddie is Cartier and Giorgio Armani to T*mmy's Dollar Tree/Dollar General. Eddie's quality to T*mmy's cheap ass. Buck's a good dresser, he always has been (well until he started wearing those too little clothes in season 6) but I think that had more to do with the way he was trying to force himself into a family or families that weren't his (related posts linked here and here). Anyway, T*mmy makes enough money to afford anything he wants but he spends it on BS like car lifts, bars, fight tickets and other nonsense and since he doesn't have any kids, there's no excuse for him to be jealous over Buck's ability to live in a nice loft and him buying expensive clothes.

Before he kissed Buck, T*mmy literally courted Eddie but Eddie was completely oblivious to it. But when he started doing whatever the "F" he's doing with Buck, he hasn't taken him on one helicopter ride or anything. All they've done, other than that failed date and the coffee whatever, is stay inside of Buck's loft just like Buck did with Ali, Taylor and Natalia. The only time he took Taylor on a date was before they started officially dating when he was trying to get help for Sue in 4x11 and he took Natalia to a bar when Lucy popped up out of nowhere but the other times, they were entombed inside of his loft.

Eddie and Buck have had two official dates, one in 6x13 when they went to play poker and the second one when they partied like it was 1999 in 7x6 when they were dressed up like Crockett and Tubbs from Miami Vice (related post linked here).

T*mmy knew Buck wasn't interested in him, therefore, IMO, he should have admitted that instead of going along with it especially after he sat there and listened to Buck wax poetic about Eddie for several minutes. Also, I believe all Eddie talked about was Buck while they were in the helicopter and in Las Vegas.

Honestly, T*mmy is no different from Buck's other love interests because all he wants from him is one thing, his "Firehose" and that's it. He doesn't listen to Buck and he kind of acts like he's annoyed by him the same way Abby, Taylor and Natalia did.

I'm so tired of the show giving Buck these lackluster love interests who don't care about him and for those who want to say T*mmy does care about Buck... I'm here to say you're wrong because he doesn't. If T*mmy's actions are loveable then I'd hate to see what he's like when he's being a jerk because if he really cared, he would listen to Buck and stop talking about how jealous he is of him and he'd try to develop an emotional connection but he's so dry and unfunny, he's not capable of it.

This got way longer than I intended and I suppose I'm still pissed at how season 7 was handled for Buck and Eddie. Eddie's "Vertigo" storyline ended up being a dumpster fire and Buck being bothered and bewildered ended with the BTs caring more about Buck kissing a man than they do about the epic love story the show has been telling for the last six years between Buck and Eddie.

Thanks again for the ask.

I ONLY SHIP BUDDIE!

DO NOT REBLOG THIS IF YOU HAVE AN OPPOSING OPINION ABOUT BUCKT*MMY AND/OR T*MMY KINARD. I DON'T LIKE BT BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP AND I DON'T LIKE TK BECAUSE HE'S A RACIST AND A BIGOT.

THE ASK WAS SENT TO ME AND I RESPONDED TO IT THE WAY I WANTED TO. SO... IF YOU LIKE BT OR TK, CREATE YOUR OWN POST ON YOUR OWN BLOG OR ELSE GET BLOCKED LIKE THE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS I'VE BLOCKED SINCE 7X4 AIRED.

[ckret2]

What is the equivalent of the phrase "Oh my God" that Bill uses? Is he mentioning some god figure from his home dimension or is he using “Oh my me” or “Oh my Axolotl”?

He doesn't use anything.

Have you ever heard an atheist say "oh my big bang" instead of "oh my god"? In common usage, the word "god" in "oh my god" is merely part of a stock phrase and not a declaration of belief. In fact, changing "god" to another term would instantly make it more religious, since if you just say "oh my god" it's like "well maybe they believe in a god or maybe they're just using the phrase," but if you say "oh my [something else]" it's like "they DEFINITELY believe in [something else] so passionately that they changed the phrase just to emphasize how much they believe in it."

If Bill ever used the phrase, he would use it like a foreign word pronounced omaigohd that's just an exclamation that communicates a specific emotional meaning to English-speakers (anger, shock, excitement)—and he's not going to get all cutesy while speaking a foreign language to draw attention to something irrelevant. This exclamation isn't an avenue to announce his religious beliefs.

There ARE issues he feels passionately enough about that he'd break away from common English. Unless he's in "pretending to be human" mode, at any place where a human would naturally refer to themself as "a person," "a woman/man," "female/male," "she/he," Bill will refer to himself as "a shape," "a triangle," "triangular," "it," even in contexts where that sounds weird to the humans. His gender is triangle and that matters to him. Religion does not.

At any rate, there's no [something else] he could fill into the phrase. He knows for a fact that there are figures powerful enough to alter reality—he is one. He suspects on good evidence that there are even more powerful figures that can conjure an entire universe from nothing—he is not one. He considers "power" and "divinity" to be separate things, he doesn't think powerful figures are divine, and he doesn't think the divine is real. He thinks "god" is an artificial social label, like "king," that only exists when enough people concur that it's real and stops existing when enough people stop respecting it. He thinks "god" is what the weak call the powerful when they've been fooled into thinking the powerful deserve worship. He thinks he's one of the powerful that fools the weak. He doesn't think he's a god—except when he's lying to himself very well—but he loves how it feels when other people call him a god, so he encourages it. He doesn't consider anybody god, he doesn't obey or respect any authority, and generally the more powerful a being is, the more he dislikes them on principle. One trillion years ago, the beliefs he was raised with were the sort a white American boomer experiencing a religious crisis would insist are "spiritual but not religious." He briefly thought gods might be real in his youth, but never worshiped any.

But all that aside—his vocabulary simply doesn't include the phrase "oh my god." He doesn't want to imply he even might worship something—he's too proud and that pride is too fragile. If he has to make an exclamation, it'll be something entirely different—"Oh boy." "Oh, come on!" "You're kidding me." "Seriously?" "Whoa!" "Wow!" "No way," maybe hysterical laughter—whatever's fitting in a given situation. Several times in the fic I've had to go find a different phrase where if he was another character I could've just put "omigosh".

[charlottesbookclub]

hiii ! 😘 💐 🥂 for hux? if that’s too many you can just pick one no worries !!! i love love love your work <33

send me a headcanon request 🥰

hello my dear! ☺️ no worries at all – that's definitely not too many! in fact I'm very excited to do them! ☺️💕 and thank you so so so much for your super sweet words! 🥰🥰 I genuinely am so touched that you enjoy my work that much! 🥹🥹🥰🥰 I hope you enjoy these headcanons as well! ☺️💖

putting them below the cut because they got long (whoops!), but under the "read more" are:

what would they look for in an s/o?

would they give their s/o gifts? if so, what kind?

what are dates with them like?

for Armitage Hux!

General Armitage Hux

😘 – what would they look for in an s/o?

I think Hux would look for two conflicting things in an s/o: ambition/drive and the ability to relax and not take things too seriously. on one hand, I think he does really need someone who can match his energy. his whole life is about working in dogged pursuit of his goals, and I think he would find it hard to relate to someone who didn't share that sense of drive, at least to some extent. I don't think they would have to be in the same field as him (in fact, it's probably better if they're not so that no competition emerges), but I do think that Hux would look for someone who takes their goals seriously and has a lot of passion for their work

on the other hand, I think he also needs someone to temper that impulse in him. everyone around him expects something of him, and his work is constantly under scrutiny. it would be nice for him to have someone who he didn't have to perform around, someone who would encourage him to take a breath and just be for a moment. so I guess what he really needs is someone with perspective; someone who can appreciate and empathize with his ambition, but also remind him that there's more to life than constant work

💐 – would they give their s/o gifts? if so, what kind?

again, I think Hux would be of two minds in this regard. on the one hand, he grew up in the imperial remnant where supplies were hard to come by, and I think that instilled in him a sense of austerity and distaste for clutter and wastefulness. in that sense, he certainly wouldn't be giving "useless" gifts, like things that would just sit and collect dust. even for sentimental things, I think it would be hard for him to overcome that idea that everything needs to have a functional purpose. he might make a couple of exceptions for really meaningful things though

on the other hand..... whooooo boy does this man have self-esteem issues! he finds it so hard to believe that anyone would be with him just to be with him. he projects this ultra-confident facade, but inside he is so insecure. one way for him to make up for that would be by giving his s/o things that he thinks might make it "worth it" for them to be with him. they're still mostly functional (often expensive) things, but he does put care and thought into selecting them. as the relationship progressed and his s/o was able to convince him that they weren't with him as some sort of transactional exchange, I could see him getting more comfortable giving more sentimental, meaningful gifts. even once he got past that insecurity, expressing his feelings verbally is still hard for him, so giving gifts is a nice way for him to show his affection without having to be too vulnerable

🥂 – what are dates with them like?

first, they are few and far between 😅 at least if we're talking in terms of "formal dates." Hux is a busy man and he just doesn't have a lot of time for things like dates, even if he would like to. however, "informal" dates, like having a quick meal together in the privacy of his quarters or just working together in a private space, are much more frequent. Hux definitely feels guilty about not having more time to spend with his s/o, so when he makes the time for a formal date, he goes all out

they usually happen planetside, since first order ships don't exactly scream "romance" lmao. Hux will book an expensive restaurant and reserve a speciality table (usually on a balcony or by a window looking out over the planet). afterwards, he'll have gotten tickets to some kind of fancy entertainment (whatever that particular planet specializes in, usually something adjacent to opera or theatre or ballet). then the night will end in a suite at the nicest hotel the planet has to offer, and both Hux and his s/o can enjoy a night away from the pressures of the first order

if his s/o is the kind of person who prefers "quirky" dates (like whatever the star wars equivalent of going to a farmer's market or playing mini golf is), he might be able to get on board with it, just because his s/o enjoys it. however, those kinds of more free-form, sometimes silly outings are much more foreign to him, and he's a lot more comfortable in more "formal" dates. however, no matter what he does with his s/o, he always tries to make it a time to show them how much he love and appreciates them 💖

[rin-tezuka]

i would personally say that the erasure of language for a-spec and nonbinary people is a real problem. granted that's not an excuse for brainrotting transmisogyny, but unlike """"transandrophobia""" aphobia and exorsexism are in fact real, you know? i don't know if I'm being very clear and I don't want to be a jerk in anyone's inbox just because i disagree with an offhand comment, but I was left thinking this basically. for every aromantic TME theyfab or whatever there's a TMA nonbinary aromantic transfem equivalent, and they have less institutionally vested interest in appearing the "most oppressed" to declare themselves ontologically privilegeless the way TME people often use other positionalities as a cudgel against transfems. but for that person, the erasure of aromanticism as a real possibility for humans to be that's equally healthy and important and not a mental illness to be fixed is a real problem. the fact that aromanticism is something to be mocked and dismissed both in and out of "queer" spaces is a real problem. That allo people who are queer some other way still benefit from the social legitimacy of getting into relationships and get to mock and dismiss aphobia as a problem while they fight to receive more social and legal capital for being in relationships is a real problem. binary people putting all gender oppression in binary terms (correctly) without accounting for the fact that you get shit on harder for being nonbinary because there is no framework for your gender so much as existing and that binary people have trouble even conceptualizing of enben as people who are in front of them and not abstract stragglers is a real issue even if TMEs use it to cry and wail and piss their pants over being called TME. you're nonbinary (referencing your bio), so maybe saying that is pointless, but I see even other nonbinary people forgetting exorsexism is a real axis of gender oppression and not an accidental attachment to oppositional sexism sometimes. and this isn't a thought exercise to guilt trip a stranger with to me, this is a real person, someone I know personally. and maybe someone making "just call me a slur" jokes at a-spec terms isn't quite a "real problem" compared to that, but it doesn't reflect well on your supposed "community"'s ability to take the power they wield over you and the capacity to hurt you with it seriously if they're rolling their eyes at you for merely having words to say it with, does it? I guess the point of this is just that I wish people would articulate their grievances with the "everyone welcome except transfems" culture without shitting on aspec people. Oppression based on aromanticism or asexuality is a real thing I experience and a lot of my friends experience, mockery of any aspec words and experiences whatsoever both from straight people and queer people is a thing that happens a lot, and it doesn't become funny to point and laugh at the sentiment that it's rude and gross and aphobic of some people to equate our words to slurs or assimilationist nonsense just because that person who said it is also a transmisogynistic bigot.

sorry for writing an essay. It's just something I'd like to stop seeing from the people whose posts i like, since I have to see it everywhere else in my life anyway. I really want to say that I'm not trying to crucify you or judge you by a statement on the internet or anything! It's Only A Blog and all that. I guess this is just to say that I personally dislike the conflation of discussions of aphobia and exorsexism as "fake problems" like "transandrophobia" for TME people to cover their asses when they are very much real things. that's it. have a nice day! :3

I mean don't get me wrong i don't really disagree. I kinda just think concerns about stuff like making jokes about QPPs (a term i haven't heard for like 8 years) is hollow coming from somebody who hates trans women, yknow?

[leftclown]

i think by and large people need to come to terms with the fact that pretty much everybody is mentally ill and just because some people don't know how/refuse to explore that doesn't make them un-allowed to relate or use language relating to mental illness actually. i don't really know what yall expected when mentally ill folks started working to destigmatize mental illness, obviously people are going to start using language related to mental health to describe their experiences.

like if priv-addled Jessica can recognize that her crush is effecting her mood wildly from day to day, and she clings to certain interactions to further an inner narrative and then behaves around that inner narrative, guess what she's a little 🌟delulu🌟 and saying so might help ground her in reality.

or people claiming you can't say you suffered narc abuse. narcissism is not on it's own a mental illness. narcissism had a place in the lexicon long before it was used in the DSM. someone needs to meet the criteria to qualify for NPD, but NPD =/= narcissism. narcissism is a combination of self-centeredness, contempt for others, vanity, and rage/emotional outbursts. being abused by someone who's like that can leave unique emotional wounds on someone, so yeah, it's an apt way to describe abuse by a narcissistic person.

traumadumping is another term i see given shit but as i relate to it it's the only way to describe being a service worker and having a stranger come up to you and bleed all over you because you're a captive audience. or being a child and having your parent come home and vent to you every single day. if you're seriously preaching that people should have patience in these developmental & physically taxing moments, thats ridiculous. it was never meant to describe what goes on in a friendship or relationship between a person who can't stop complaining and a person who can't stop helping; that is more aptly a boundary issue.

so like idk. have some compassion for other people. try to stop seeing the whole world as victim/aggressor or maybe one day you're going to wind up just as un-self-aware, acting like those are Your words and only You can use them. goddamn. i dont always have to cross reference someones experience with my own to validate them & understand they're expressing pain.

[chirpsythismorning]

Idk what’s worse, the fact that there are milkvans out there that believe El commissioned Will’s painting, or that a majority of milkvans believe she didn’t, but still think everything Will said to Mike in the van scene applies to how El feels about Mike as well. And honestly, how could they not? Mike looked very happy and emotional hearing Will's words in the van... no shit they're hoping that's how El feels.

But El never called Mike the heart. El never said she needed Mike and always will. Those words coming from Will's feelings for Mike, then being used to inspire Mike to give his monologue to El, was disingenuous bc it was never El’s feelings being responded to in the first place.

‘It only works if it comes from you’

That’s the whole problem. It didn’t work bc it was coming from Will, not El.

IF everything Will said applied to El, why not have it come from her?

No, but seriously??

Is s5 just going to open up to El apologizing to Mike for ignoring him after the monologue, followed by her just repeating everything Will said with her own twist and Mike being like cool!! That works for me!

The problem with making the narrative choice to instead focus on Will's feelings at the forefront, only to follow it up with El's identical feelings, does nothing but make the whole thing fall flat.

Instead of seeing this main couple voice their love for each other themselves, I gotta have her brother do it for her?? And only then after he does it, can I see her do it in like a 2.0 version of sorts????

So many milkvans are willing to acknowledge that Mike and El’s dynamic throughout the series is riddled frivolous conflict more than anything, with little to no time dedicated to showing the development that actually matters. They say they wish the show spent more time with them actually face to face acknowledging how they both feel verbally without the constant cloud of some other third party interfering, causing them to have issues. They say that this time though, they think the Duffers will magically pull through for them and go from what they believe is shitty writing to ‘good’ writing, based in terms of how they'll handle Mike and El's relationship in s5...

But that's not realistic on any front, milkvan, byler or otherwise.

And that's a big part of the problem, bc they know the pacing has not been great for them, and they NEED the show to just give them Mike and El so they can be happy, but that's not how you build up suspense for a love story. And dragging out Mike and El any more, would just be a repeat of every other season before. They reached their peak and so they can only down from here. That's kind of the whole point.

One thing to note is that the Duffers always create conflict for the incompatible couple early in a season, so that the audience doesn’t feel too uncomfortable with the idea of considering the other option that’s at the forefront for the rest of the season.

This will ESPECIALLY be the case for byler, bc Will already has home wrecker allegations as it is. And it's also a highly controversial queer ship, and so people are going to be making claims left and right that it’s wrong bc of xyz.

They just wont be able to have byler scenes loaded with romantic tension all season long, more than any other season, and with the story making it more obvious they want us to root for them, while also having Mike and El still be together. And it's simply bc the reality is the Duffers have a record of doing the complete opposite of that.

This is also endgame territory, so there is a serious pressure on the writers part to get their audience to be closer to rooting for byler than denying it even being possible. Meaning they NEED the audience to be watching their first kiss and, for better or worse, be thinking, FINALLY just get it over with already!

Also what's El's supposed to be up to while this is happening? Are we assuming she's just stringing along waiting for Mike to get his shit together? Like Jesus!

El has every right to say her piece and get that shit over with, by episode 1 or 2 at the latest. She could be a focused on Max and her family and friends, which if you'll note also includes Mike and Will, but instead this time without the pressure of her having to hope that something will turn around and suddenly Mike will decide he finally loves her... She doesn't deserve that.

Byler is clearly the route they are taking. If that is the plan, it's time to make this separation so that the audience is finally confronted with viewing Mike and El without the constant rose tinted love at first sight goggles, and instead give them a chance to be their authentic selves.

And I think El, being a character that could barely speak in s1, that her not getting her own voice in this situation is fucking serious. El not being able to say those words to Mike herself, like there's a reason for that. And so when she finally does get to say how she feels, there isn't going to be any room for subtext or misunderstanding, not on the audiences part nor Mike's. El has always been pretty clear about what she wants and I think that will apply in s5 now more than ever.

[androgynouspenguinexpert]

What are your thoughts on Adam? I just found your page and love the way you think, so I'm very curious /lh

ok first im printing this ask and wallpapering my house with it

adam is an interesting one. i think he's something of a prototype for quinn (see sadism and not taking anything seriously) but they're still very distinct characters who serve different purposes. adam is a foil to vincent - he represents all that vincent could have turned into if william hadn't kept an eye on him. the key difference is that adam doesn't have the intelligence that makes quinn such a threatening villain; he's clever, sure, but he's not smart.

which is not to say he's an idiot, he isn't, but adam is incredibly short-sighted. he doesn't really think in the long term, because he doesn't need to preserve anything except himself. sam (by way of vincent) points out that by the time lovely was found, adam was definitely running low on healing magic, and they likely would've died if adam hadn't been caught. i struggle to believe that adam had even considered anything that would keep lovely alive (like. y'know. food) other than just saturating them with healing and hoping for the best.

adam is also very narcissistic - which is most of what makes him fun to watch, as well as his eventual bloody end - and i think it stops him from making intelligent decisions. quinn (again) is a fantastic counter to darlin (and by extension, sam; arguably david as well) because he knows exactly what he's up against. quinn's head is impressively far up his own ass, but that arrogance is earned. he knows that darlin won't be able to track him down, that sam won't kill him on principle, that he can't be significantly harmed when interrogated because he has access to important information. adam doesn't have that. adam - quite literally - is a nobody, who was swept into house solaire because he was There. he killed his maker, sure, but that was probably an opportunistic betrayal rather than a calculated move. he doesn't have anything to hold over anyone's head (pin this thought for later!). not to mention adam either not realising or ignoring the fact that kidnapping and torturing someone of great importance to the prince of the local vampire clan, who have an established reputation for killing their enemies (thanks porter), is a very bad idea.

i think adam is especially interesting in the imperium - his feral nature in the prime timeline is because of his lack of power. he has nothing to his name, so he has to be brutal so people respect (citation needed) and fear him. however, his link to vincent (however short-lived) grants him a tiny amount of influence by proxy. adam is able to manipulate vincent incredibly effectively by twisting the abandonment issues knife, but can also hide behind him if a bigger threat arises. you can see this in the tiny snippet of imperium!adam we get in the way he's playing with his food (ha) instead of seeking security first, because he already has it in vincent.

adam, at his core, is an animal. he's a personification of pure primal instinct that doesn't - can't - consider the long term, and won't even entertain the idea of relying on someone else for any reason. that would be weakness, and a weak animal is just prey for a strong one.

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[samodivas]

this [redacted] organization I follow unironically referred to as age-based discrimination as "ейджизъм" and I've been thinking about how cringe-inducing that is for days.

what the fuck is eydzizam? why did you have to literally transcribe a foreign compound word that makes zero sense when you could have simply said "discrimination based on age" and provided an insightful explanation for the issue you're addressing? how do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you can't even utilize language to make your point?

"oh but its terminology" it isn't! it truly isn't. right up there with "ейбълизъм" for "ableism" it's lazy, anglocentric and pathetically unaware of its own bias.

"but people who care about these things understand English so they know what it means" then why are you preaching to the choir? why are teenagers and 20 - 30 something year olds who have the means to master a foreign language the only audience that matters? what about people who don't know "terminology" or who are too old and out of the loop, or simply don't speak the language you're borrowing from?

I don't think wanting to have this information accessible in your own language, in terms you can fully comprehend, is somehow backwards or limiting. If this is what the entire "progressive" scene is like in this country, is it at all surprising that so many people (whether they're conservative, moderate or completely politically inactive) genuinely believe that these ideas are "planted by foreign agents" from the West?

And the fact that I get called "nationalist" for wanting the bare minimum effort to be put into adapting these topics for a localized audience is insane. If you can't make discussions on "ageism" or "ableism" accessible to a local person who doesn't speak English, it's not their problem for being "willfully ignorant" as most people coming from a place of privilege are. it's your problem for dismissing a huge segment of the population before they can even learn what the fuck you're preaching.

[transcendslives]

(This is an older post I drafted, the creator mentioned in it posted their videos probably a month or so ago)

The unfortunate truth is that we live in a world of social media that begs for people to seek clout and attention. Don't get me wrong, the desire for attention is natural. It's not a bad thing to want people to pay attention to you. However this causes issues when one lies and slanders in order to achieve it.

If any of us are on shifttok we've definitely by now been made aware to at least some degree of another user claiming to be a 2020 shifter who lied about the entire thing (and they aren't the first over the years to cause this sort of controversy and will not be the last). I only partially recognize this current accuser, I do believe they probably had some really successful content back then because I'm sure I've seen them before. They just came out and said they lied about the entire thing, and they tacked some other things onto their own confession: They accused other shifters of lying and claimed a lot of BS things about shifting and shifters in general.

Now I won't go point by point because while I have watched all their videos on the matter, I just don't care enough to go back through them and rebut every point. Their arguments are disorganized and seem to be largely vengeful, I don't really take them seriously. Either way these aren't new thoughts, I don't care to debate with someone who's already made their mind up. But I do want to talk about this subject itself.

A lot of us follow other shifters and find inspiration in them. That's normal and so motivating, I know I have a few who I love and trust and their content just motivates me so much. But! I caution us against resting our shifting journeys upon these people, or any people for that matter.

Unfortunately the shifting community, especially on tiktok, is niche and very small in terms of who will put their face and names to it. When you have a community like that, it's very enticing. You can be one of the brave souls to put their identity onto their shifting in the public eye. You'll gain a lot of followers and praise, and you'll sacrifice the fact that your family and friends and coworkers will forever know that you think you can transport yourself to Hogwarts. It's not easy to be a creator in the shifting world, but it does get you attention. And some people just want attention.

Not only because of this, but also because of the nature of the internet and social media in general, I just caution you to make sure you're putting others' shifting journeys in the proper context. As brutal as it is, you cannot ever truly know if someone is lying. You can follow someone and believe them, and have them one day come out and say they were lying. You can see someone and become convinced that they're lying about their shifting, when they've actually been shifting this whole time. You just cannot know. It's not possible to prove if someone has shifted before.

For myself, I try to be level headed and logical about the people I follow. I definitely follow people who I think are lying, and people who I feel firmly are not. I follow both groups because I cannot possibly know the actual truth. I cannot prove or disprove either way. The only thing I know, is that we are in community with one another, and if this person is sharing motivational posts or things of value, that's what matters to me.

And if they're lying? Well they can still actually shift for real, and I want that for them. I've seen many accounts from people who have disbelieved in shifting and then all the sudden found themselves able to shift. Even those who are currently lying are not unable to actually shift. They still can! Anyone can!

When you're on shifting social media, I just caution you to be wary of the way you're viewing your favourite creators. Don't pedestal them, don't let yourself form parasocial bonds with them. Recognize them for who they are - shifters you don't know who are motivating you. These are people in your shifting club. And there is no verification process to join, only trust.

[punmster]

Sorry if this ends up overwhelming you and if it does, feel free to ignore them. I’m just bored and curious. 👉👈😅

Which character do you think had the most potential in the Harry Potter series and do you plan on implementing any of your ideas into them?

If DSMSG Draco was locked in a room with Umbridge, Lockhart, and Voldemort and had a gun with two bullets, who would he choose to shoot?(totally not stolen from The Office)

I think you may or may have not mentioned this earlier and feel free to ignore this question if it’s a spoiler, but when does Harry begin having feelings for Draco/act on them?

no worries, i wanted a distraction from my work anyway lol

In terms of potential, I'm not quite sure. My first thought was Draco (Duh) mostly because I wish so badly that they kept the scene in the final movie where he threw his wand to Harry. That alone would probably do so much for his character, and I am very likely going to do something with it in the fic. Plus the whole really weird hug with Voldy thing, kinda seems like Voldy is trying to have a relationship with him that parallels Harry and Dumbledore's. Anyway, Draco's SO uncomfortable all the time in 7th, it makes me very excited to get to it :) I also think Narcissa is pretty interesting since she kinda parallels Lily, and the fact she lied to the Dark Lord TO HIS FACE and protected Harry...I know I make Narcissa out to be just a very overbearing mother (and bad cook) but I hope to make Draco see the other sides to her later on, when he gets his head out of his ass. For now, she's sort of just comic relief, but there are some things set up in the very first years that will come back in the later years.

(also i REALLY need to add neville in some more--thematically he's super important, but he just doesn't get that much screen time yet. I'll have to think more about how to integrate him, but definitely he will appear more in 3rd w/ other characters. Other characters I plan to include are Cedric, Luna, maybe Cho? Marietta, probably, for the whole traitor thing in the 5th book, and ofc Pansy and Zabini, though those two are the flattest in the books so I'm gonna have to make up a lot of stuff lol. gotta add in sirius obvs [he's actually my favorite, which was why he was not-malfoy's fave in the old version], and remus [also we gotta discuss the werewolf in the room, with the whole snape prank thing...])

Draco would probably blackmail Lockhart into taking the gun and shooting Umbridge twice. He isn't stupid enough to try to kill Voldemort with a gun (are the horcruxes around in this hypothetical?also Voldy lived in like. WWII? Although he's ignorant of love magic stuff, he is probably deeply aware of the dangers of Muggle weapons, which maybe relates to his desire to conquer them) but Draco would love Umbridge dead, and he'd want more blackmail on Lockhart lol. The man's main fear is losing his reputation so that's probably a better punishment than death. If it's sixth year Draco he might just shoot himself though

I have mentioned that Draco doesn't want to date as a minor or date minors even if physically the same age due to the weird age gap/time question thing (a really big issue in isekai/transmigration imo, and the bit of this fic that makes me want to just make it platonic--seriously. I read one where this grown man DATED A SEVEN YEAR OLD B/C HE WAS IN A CHILD'S BODY??) but Harry will obviously not be thinking about that since for all he knows, they're both normal kids. You can probably safely assume he starts thinking of romance at the same time as in the books, though obviously his friendship w/ Draco and the whole "it's the nineties and I think I'm gay?!" thing would make him not as proactive about it for a while

[skyloftian-nutcase]

What are your views on the Hyrule Royal Family? I’ve seen fans say that the system does more harm to Hyrule and wish for it to be dismantled. They go as far to say that Ganondorf & the Yiga are justified with their actions. Another reason is that real life monarchies have historically caused many atrocities, therefore the Hyrule royal family cannot be a force for good.

Personally, I don’t really care because it’s fictional and cannot harm you. I am not pro monarchist by any means but it’s fictional??? Hyrule doesn’t have to rule through conquest. While the Hyrule royals have committed bad acts, it probably isn’t as high nor common as the British Monarchy, who has colonizes a vast majority of the world. Another thing. Replacing a government won’t change the fact that Hyrule is still cursed. Shits going to go down no matter who’s running things. I’ve seen too many fans with this mindset getting rid of the monarchy will automatically fix everything.

Do you think the Hyrule Monarchy is the true problem and should it be abolished?

Ganondorf and the Yiga are not at all justified in their actions. Ganondorf burned Hyrule (and wrecked the Twilight Realm) and abandoned his own people when he got the Triforce of Power. The Yiga are trying to bring about destruction of the country, including their own kin via the Sheikah. Nothing justifies that.

Was their anger or their desires just/fair? Perhaps. The Yiga are holding on to a resentment from millennia ago, which does them no good, but the original reason for the anger, when it actually happened, is understandable. Ganondorf wanting to live somewhere better than the harshness of the desert, wanting a better life for himself, is a totally fair motivation. Deciding to take it to the nth degree by not only moving somewhere better but claiming that land and wanting to rule it, and doing so at the expense of everyone in it and the people he came from, however, is not.

Anyway, on to the actual main question lol, I don't mind the royal family. I enjoy the idea of people who are born into a certain duty and taking it seriously, people who wish to protect those under their care, and I love exploring all the emotional/political implications that come with it. Did the royal family make mistakes? Heck yes. All you have to do is look at the Yiga, at how Rhoam was so desperately trying to push Zelda, at what the Seikah of Ocarina of Time did in their shady past, at the ruins of Arbiter's Grounds in Twilight Princess, at the actions that got Zelda put into an eternal slumber in The Adventure of Link. Clearly they're not perfect. But they're people. No matter what system of government ruled Hyrule, it would be run by people, which means there could just as easily be despots in any other form. Some systems of government lend to a more fair system due to checks and balances, but that doesn't change the fact that power corrupts and bad people can get in place and do terrible things.

So yeah. I enjoy seeing the monarchy. It's fun to explore. I don't think it's the problem, in terms of the whole Ganon thing, that's a curse from a demon king, from a god of chaos and evil. A freaking monarchy ain't gonna change that LOL. If anything, it makes it easier to combat it - at least one Triforce wielder is in a position of power to protect Hyrule and has the education to recognize there being an issue and whatnot. Ganondorf's uprising from the Gerudo isn't necessarily the royal family continuing the curse by creating a villain - Demise just found someone to utilize. If not Ganondorf, it would be someone else.

That's my two cents, at least, at 4 in the morning, so hopefully it made sense.

[loveisunison]

speaking of, which pokemon/team would u assign to Leo? :3c I'll be honest, one of my first thoughts was something like oricorio bc it does represent the variety of different music genres/cultural dances which leo might find fascinating, but i think u'd know him much better :D

- @signs-of-blossoming

OMG HELLO HI I WAS SLEEPING BUT I HAVE COME WITH AN ASWER. I'm very excited for this you have awoken the beast.. I'm actually gonna try to keep these as short and concise as possible, but I can't promise much lolll also I apologize for any possible spelling mistakes, I have reading issues 😭 ANYWAY

I've. Thought about this plenty of times but I've never actually come up with a team I'm fully satisfied with </3 nevertheless that won't stop me from sharing some thoughts !!

So first of all because I seriously need to get this out of my system. I need to introduce you to the idea of Victini. Everyone needs to understands this but Leo definitely has a Victini !!!!! From the color palette to the cheerful personality. The fact that Victini tends to do double peace signs just like Leo's "uchuu" and how it being the victory pokémon actually ties into Leo's story.

His story is (in extremely simplified terms) very dependant on victories; from his downfall directly correlated to his victory during the events of Checkmate to his entire !! arc very much being an entire win on a more personal level. Sometimes for better sometimes for worse; but he's always been followed by these victories, and it is said that trainers with Victini always win !!

As well as (although this is a bit of a personal take, but still somewhat based on canon traits) the fact that fire types just really suit Leo in general. And this allows for a nice opposites dynamic with Sena like the one they have in canon, since I picture Sena as a (mainly) water/ice type trainer.

ALSO VICTINI ACTUALLY HAS ITS OWN DAY ON MAY 5TH WHICH IS GUESS WHAT ??? LEO'S BIRTHDAY. YUP (I will never not be insane about this one)

All that being said, I just really vibe with the idea of Leo having a mythical pokémon because they're. Just like him !!! They're these rare and incredibly special creatures that have such fantastic powers, what else is more fitting for a genius like Leo ??

OKAY MOOVING ON. Oh man you're really in it for this one

Speaking of mythicals? Meloetta !! Next pokémon he'd have is Meloetta :3 I think most of it is quite self explanatory. The melody pokemon ??? Yup that's a Leo mon if I've ever seen one. The pokedex entry reads "the melodies sung by Meloetta have the power to make Pokémon that hear them happy or sad" and well ~ I think Leo would most definitely use that to his advantage to make as many people as possible happy.

I also do think Meloetta's sweet personality pairs up well with him since he really just wants to make everyone feel good <3

Now. Next I'd like to tackle your suggestion because you're right !! And I definitely agree. Although Oricorio is more inspired by dancing, I picture one of them would be interested in Leo's music, perhaps wanting to dance to it and would probably end up being dragged into his party.. but its not complaining! It has music to dance to all day after all.

I think Leo would be the kind of trainer to go out of his way to get the nectar needed just so his Oricorio can change forms. Although I think the pompom form is the most fitting for him (and it matches his cheerleader card), he would never willingly try to keep any of his mons confined to one form, in fact he will encourage changing it as much as the little guy wants !!! He's incredibly happy that his Oricorio loves music as much as him and that it wants to express itself through it.

Now onto the next one !! He definitely has a Litleo (heh litleo) because well. First of all he's already lion coded and it's a fire type !! Also Litleo are said to abandon their pride once they evolve to create their own, which kinda makes me reminisce about his story again. Abandoning everything to evolve and become a greater version of himself who can now build his own family (knights) :3

It also fits well aesthetically, which isn't something that particularly bothers me since I prefer these to have a deeper meaning, but it's always a nice touch.

I think his Litleo would be male, although he doesn't care whatsoever because he loves the little thing regardless lol but I imagine it would evolve into a Pyroar around this time in canon, probably during Knights' climax.

Annnnd last one off the top of my head is Fletchling !! I actually have a lot of thought put into his Fletchling's evolution because I think it would be one of if not his first pokémon.

Now the main reasons I'd pair them up are 1. Fletchling being based on a robin. Again related to his story since he's referred to as one (and other kinds of birds) multiple times and associated with bird related metaphors and 2. it being a fire type because like I said, I think fire types fit Leo really well. Plus, I also think a flying type is a must have for someone as free spirited as him.

I picture he would catch Fletchling pretty early on and it would forcefully (too fast from too much battling) evolve into a Fletchinder during the events of the war, causing it to start disobeying him and acting up. Leo would then regain control of it after coming back in his 3rd year (after his shutdown). Annnnd it would later on evolve into a Talonflame around the same time as his Litleo :3

OKAY. That was crazy but it's what I can think of rn !!! Congratulations if you made it this far lmao that was a wild ride, but the team currently stands as:

Victini - Meloetta (aria forme) - Oricorio (all forms) - Pyroar (male) - Talonflame