#but yeah Lyra actually has a lot of people who love her

[lyrasilvertongve]

I see a lot of people lamenting that Lyra has no one to come home to in her world, while Will at least has Mary and his mother.

While this may be how Lyra feels at first, it is absolutely untrue.

She has Alice Parslow, who basically raised her and loves her very much.

She has the Maester, who’s always been kind to her.

She has friends amongst the townie kids and Jordan College’s staff.

She has a bunch of Jordan scholars who are very attached to her, something she didn’t understand as a child but is still very much true.

Most of all, she has Oxford itself. She is back in the only place where she ever experienced stability and safety, and that is far from nothing.

(the secret commonwealth slight spoilers) In that book, young adult Lyra has made many new friends and even lovers (even though she is not over Will).

Lyra is not alone.

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

my ranking of the tig/tgg ships. this is my opinion (i think that gigi will end up with slate but since we literally dont know anything about them, i’m not including them obviously). this will probably change as the rest of the tgg series is released (although the first spot wont ever change). i love every single ship on this list. just cause one is at the bottom of my ranking doesnt mean i dont like it.

1. avery and jameson: i think this is quite obvious if you know me. they're my favorite ship in the entire world. their dynamic, banter, development, tension, chemistry etc is just out of this world. none of the ships in the tig universe will ever compare to these two. no words will ever be able to properly describe how much i love them.

2. hannah and toby: i think about what these two could've been a trillion times a day. we don't even know that much about them yet they still manage to be on of my favorite ships of all time. i'm so excited for their novella (even though i know its going to destroy me). they're the epitome of right person wrong time (aka one of my least and most favorite tropes). toby's letters to hannah have made me cry more times than i'd like to admit and everything about them is just pure perfection.

3. libby and nash: again, we don't know much about them but they're literally so adorable and complement each other so well. i wasn't very sure about them at first because i felt like libby was just another one of nash's projects and not an actual love interest, but i now absolutely love them. i love how libby went from sort of not liking him to falling in love with him (she never said she didn't like him but whenever he was around in tig, she would tell him to shut up and stuff) while nash just immediately fell for her. i'm so excited to read more about them in games untold. im sure the fluff is gonna be tooth-rotting (im hoping they're story is gonna help me recover after reading tobannah's novella)

4. savannah and rohan: i honestly really love their dynamic and banter. the tension between the two of them was unmatched and i'm really excited to see where this is gonna go. rohan is so down bad for her its crazy (this dude would not stop thinking about her). rivals who cant keep their hands to themselves, vow to destroy each other, and then become lovers? fuck yeah.

5. max and xander: the only reason they're not higher is because we don't know a lot about them. that doesn't mean i do not absolutely adore them though. i think max and xander are perfect for one another. i feel like they're each other's confidants and only allow themselves to be vulnerable around the other. they're also super unproblematic which i love (no angst (that we know of), just fluff). i think they make each other happy and that's the most important thing.

6. lyra and grayson: i feel like this is the most controversial part of this post. most people really love them but, personally, they're not my thing. i do like them and find them cute, but i just feel like jlb has written better romance. this is obviously subject to change because the rest of the series isn't out yet. they complement each other really well and all, but i just think that they're sort of plain (i don't mind plain when the couple isn't the main focus (like maxander and libbynash), but lyrason is one of the main ships so i just expected more). i also think they're rushed. i know that there will be complications in the next two books and that they're not officially together, but i feel like they shouldn't have kissed at the end of book 1 and stuff (i wanted to add that there's a difference between rohannah's kiss and lyrason's kiss. lyrason already have feelings for one another (their kiss was romantic and fluffy). rohannah on the other hand kissed each other simply because they're physically attracted to one another, they don't have feelings for each other yet. ig you could say lyrason's kiss felt more like an ending (if that makes sense??? idk how to describe it). i want to reiterate that this is my opinion and i do like them, i just think there's better.

6. rebecca and thea: i really like their story, their angst, and the two of them together, but my hatred for thea keeps me from loving them. thea is one of the worst characters in tig (excluding the villains) and i feel like rebecca deserves better. although, like i said, i do like the two of them together, i don't think they're endgame. i think thea is a little unhealthy for rebecca (i mean, thea knew that rebecca struggled with her self worth and shit and still chose emily over her relationship with rebecca the night emily died). idk i feel like thea's priorities aren't straight, and she needs to get therapy and realize that some of her behavior isn't right before committing to a relationship with rebecca (i also think rebecca isn't in the right state of mind to be in a relationship. she needs to find a way to overcome her self-esteem issues before entering a serious relationship with thea. i feel like if she doesn't, their relationship would just become toxic and unhealthy because rebecca wouldn't stand up for herself when needed). i have a lot more to say, but i'm probably just gonna make another post about it.

honorable mention: emily x trash. i think they have a lot of chemistry and they should probably be first but im not ranking them cause emilys dead and the trash deserves better.

its like midnight for me as im writing this so i apologize if some of this doesn't make sense. again, this is my opinion, and you are obviously entitled to your own.

[crushedsweets]

Who are the people that Toby likes the most?

Natalie, Jack, and Ben!

Toby has known Natalie for about 5 years, and Jack for 4, and Ben for 3. ok now im gonna do long ass headcanons for their relationships bc im just soooooooo silly . .

toby and natalie knew eachother when they were at the height of like.. using murder as a relief/power trip. it was a really sick and fucked up thing to bond over, and it wasnt something either of them took lightly or as a joke. but it was something they did talk about, moreso 'let me tell you about my night' and they'd kinda just allude to the murder part of it. eventually, natalie stopped killing as much (and stuck strictly to freak weirdo men at bars/clubs who try taking advantage of ppl). toby doesn't have the luxury to stop bc he only did it when the situation/order calls for it.

they usually just lounge around together. watch trash reality tv, natalie was ashamed of her art for a while but toby loves getting her to show him her stuff. toby taught her how to axe throw and cut down trees. he helped fix up the barn she stays in so it's actually livable. he even got brian to help with shit like insulation cuz theres no heat/ac in it. sometimes he does her hair if shes having an awful night. she never had someone to brush her hair growing up, having no mother/sister/girl friends, and finds it to be insanely fucking relaxing. lulls her to sleep so quick. it reminds toby of lyra and he cried one time after she fell asleep from it. she never found out about it.

toby was the first proxy to be nice to jack. not that tim and brian were horrible to jack (only after he was . . 'tamed' i guess). but toby was the first one to like, bring him things, talk to him, actually attempt bonding. if tobys feeling lonely and natalies not in the mood to entertain, jack was almost always welcoming. ok maybe not welcoming in the like :) hiiii toby. way. but in the. 'ok yea whatever come in i guess' way.

jack used to cook a lot before he was sacrificed. now he doesnt have the same taste buds, and while he can eat human food, its all pretty bland to him. best he can enjoy is insanely spicy stuff, and thats more sensation rather than flavor. BUT TOBY. that fucking dude can EAT. he's brought like a fat steak and veggies and rice and random shit to jacks and asked him to make him dinner. and oddly enough jack was willing to do it. toby continued to do that stuff. jack didnt know about tobys CIPA for a while and was baffled when this white boy from rural colorado could actually handle the spice anytime jack made south asian food LOL.. ("how much spice do you want" "i dont care make it as spicy as you like" "toby are you sure of this" "yeah i can take it").

of the 3, toby is the least close to ben. mostly bc ben is best fucking friends w jeff and toby doesnt like jeff very much(who does?). plus toby figured ben was like a kid and wasnt exactly crazy about being besties with a 12 yr old. But then ben played some video games with him. ben doesnt really Act like an. ipad fortnite tiktok middle shcool type of kid so toby was like Oh he's cool i guess.!

they dont have much in common at all tbh, didnt have similar childhoods and toby didnt play many video games growing up. BUT toby finds so much joy in just having a fucking boyish childish fun stupid relationship where he could play video games and talk shit and eat like crap with yk. they have a very brotherly friendship and it's kinda weird for toby being on the big sibling side of something, but he's fond of it. they get into petty arguments about stupid shit, and went a while without talking bc toby punched jeff and jeff was bitching like 'uumm dont hang out with that prick' and ben was like lmfao ok. toby didnt even realize ben wasnt talking to him tho. . ("hey sorry i was avoiding u jeff was bitching" "u were avoiding me ?????")

[bearimba]

Lyra (HGSS) Character Headcanons

HGSS character headcanons that no one asked for? Hell yeah let's go!

Starting off strong with Lyra:

Lyra is the "main" protag mostly because she's who I played as a kid. She's the one who collects the badges, fights with Silver, becomes Champion, confronts the legendaries, etc etc.

She ends up choosing Totodile at the beginning of the game (my beloved). Her final team ends up as Feraligatr, Togekiss, Ampharos, Umbreon, and Skarmory (who's her sixth pokemon? no idea :] but I'm open to suggestions)

She and Ethan are childhood friends, and Kris is kind of like a cool older friend/sibling figure to them both (I aged her up a little just to account for the fact she's not in HGSS but don't worry, she goes on her own cool journey too ;) I'd hate to leave her out) (Lyra actually started wearing her hair in pigtails because Kris did and she thought it was just. the coolest.)

Meanwhile her thoughts on Silver are basically "oh I lowkey hate you" → "you're not that bad actually just a little messed up in the head" → "if you die I'm going down with you whether you like it or not"

I like to think she's around 15-16 years old by the time she goes on her journey?? old enough to be a mostly independent person but young enough to find herself in wacky scenarios and get away with it. It is a bit older than the average age kids will start their journey though.

After her dad left (because most of the pokemon protags have daddy issues for some reason???), her mom had no idea what to do with her. She ended up keeping Lyra isolated in the house for the longest time, but she eventually realized it was easier to let her kid wander around wherever instead of actually keeping track of her. Lyra hates having to stay cooped up inside for too long as a result.

She's not exactly the most outgoing person (at least not at the beginning of the game), but she is very friendly and a little overeager sometimes---she tends to leave a very strong impression on the people she meets. She can also be very talkative/loud, especially when she gets excited. She tries to keep it to a minimum but sometimes she can't help herself (infodumping king, we love her for it).

Her optimism is absolutely relentless. No matter how many times she's knocked down, she'll get up again and wipe the blood from her face with a smile even if she's lowkey dying inside.

On a similar note, she's extremely stubborn as well. Once she has her mind set on something, she'll keep throwing herself at it until she succeeds or dies from blunt force trauma.

She's the kind of person who considers it a personal failure if she can't bring all the groceries from the car inside in one go (or she would if. if she had a car.))

She can be a bit of a pushover, but in the sense that she'll put up with way more bull than she really needs to. Not because she's too afraid to stand up for herself or anything, she just has a hard time recognizing when enough is enough sometimes.

She absolutely adores pokemon, and she probably would've become a researcher under Elm if she hadn't gone on her pokemon journey. She trailed around after him a lot as a kid, so he'd usually give her some kind of busywork to keep her occupied while he did actually important stuff. Eventually he'd let her run errands for him and even ask for her assistance in small projects (he probably would've let her help out more if she weren't a very rowdy/clumsy kid in the middle of a lab filled with sensitive equipment).

Combine her love of pokemon with an impulsive nature, general lack of fear, and absolutely no self-preservation, and you get someone who has casually approached actively dangerous pokemon just to check them out and say hi on multiple occasions (this is exactly what happened at the Lake of Rage. She just happened to see the red Gyrados and sprinted at it full speed, meanwhile Lance is there in the background like "oh hey there's a child wait what is the child doing---" before chasing after her).

Growing up in a small rural town away from any gyms, she didn't get to meet many trainers until she started her journey. As a result, she doesn't understand the concept of actually training her team until she befriends Silver. She's just like "training? oh you mean when I run around and play with my pokemon and give them treats?" and Silver responds with "how the hell have you made it this far."

That's not to say she's bad at battling! Quite far from it actually, considering the fact she literally beats the E4/Lance, some of the strongest trainers in Johto and Kanto. It helps that she takes the time to really talk to and understand her team, so their communication skills (both spoken and nonverbal) in battle are almost unmatched. Paired with quick reactions and adaptability, she's a trainer who can still give more experienced opponents a challenge.

Once she becomes Champion she spreads herself all over the place. She can't stand to stay still for too long, so once she's done with one project she'll leap right into the next one. This would be fine if she could actually tell when she's starting to overwork herself, so her friends often have to drag her away from her work if she's burning out too bad.

One of her many projects includes the restoration of the Brass Tower. The idea had originally been an offhand comment from Morty, but she ended up hopping fully on board and it became a joint effort. Once reconstruction is complete, she opens the first floors of both towers to the public---it took a lot to convince the sages of the Tin Tower to allow people in but Morty has a lot of influence as both a gym leader and avid preserver of local culture---and it serves as a way for Johtonians to learn about and connect to their history.

As Champion, her reputation is basically "will crush your entire pokemon team with a smile on her face." She's nowhere near cruel or harsh---if anything, she's actively supportive of her challengers---but she also refuses to go easy on anyone.

She'll keep her team in their balls while traveling or in busy areas, but she loves to let them out at every possible opportunity.

She grew up in a lake town (I imagine the river on Route 45 opens up into a small lake east of New Bark Town before continuing down Route 27 to the ocean), so she knows how to swim and loves the water.

On the other hand, she despises flying. She can fly on her pokemon in an emergency, she'll just have her eyes squeezed shut and hold on for dear life the entire time. It's one of the very few things she's genuinely afraid of even if she'd never admit it.

She also hates cold weather, being naturally cold-blooded herself. It wasn't too bad in New Bark Town since the weather there is fairly pleasant, but once she travelled north it became more of a problem. She very rarely complains out loud, but when she does, it's usually about the cold.

She loves warm savory foods, especially anything with rice. Curry is one of her favorites (if she ever visits Galar she'd have the time of her life).

She's a chronic sleeptalker (dude can't even shut up in her sleep <3 )

Her knee gets a little messed up from all the dangerous fun stuff she gets herself into---turns out constantly hurting the same joint isn't very good for you! She gets a knee brace sometime in her twenties but forgets to wear it until her knee starts to Hurt or her friends nag her about it.

[vox-fantasma]

hi hi! happy new yr .. for the book ask 3, 4, 10, 12 !!

happy new year king! thank you for the ask :)

3. top 5 books of the year

gonna be honest and say that i don’t know when any of the books i read come out, i just read them whenever. so im just gonna take ‘of the year’ and just assume it means ‘read this year’

- severance by ling ma. it’s that post that correctly said zombies should have more resemblance to the people they used to be, but taken as a premise. local woman works her corporate soul-sucking job all through the apocalypse. what do you do when the whole world turns into remnants of themselves and your life stays the exactly the same? what does that say about you? great fucking stuff, 10/10, read it in a day and spent the week in a daze.

- the golden compass by philip pullman. this was a re-read but it’s so good i had to put in on here. it’s pretty rare that the first book in a series ends up being the best one (not to say that the second and third are bad by any means), but this dude is just so good at writing willful little feral twelve year old girls who just want to eat hot chip and lie. lyra silvertongue my beloved.

- lincoln in the bardo by george saunders. not gonna say anything much about this one because the best way to read it is to go what the fuck is going on??? every three sentences. made me care a bit more about life.

- portrait with keys by ivan vladislavić. this one is a bit of a niche pull, but it’s a series of loosely connected vignettes of an author and his life in johannesburg. it’s so technically perfect and lyrically beautiful that sometimes i read a little snippet and i have to put the book down and say wow that is so technically perfect and lyrically beautiful. this guy loves his city so much.

- and soon i heard a roaring wind by bill streever. nonfiction about the history of wind and weather forecasting. sounds boring, you say? well what if i said it’s really well-researched and gracefully presented. and also intercut with his experience of buying a half-a-century old sailboat to go out to deep sea with only his wife and a few weeks of sailing school for company. to learn about wind. he’s nuts, he’s good at writing, and i love this book.

4. did you discover any new authors you love this year?

george saunders has a couple of short stories online that i really like, and while i knew vaguely of him i hadn’t read anything of his until lincoln in the bardo. will definitely be checking more of his stuff out

10. favourite new release of the year?

well in 2023 i read the brothers karamazov which is written by this great guy fydor dostoyevsky, who is totally slay and remains eternally relevant to modern society.

yeah i checked through my storygraph and i didn’t read any books released on the same year. sorry

12. any books that disappointed you?

i don't usually start reading books with a lot of expectation, so none of them really disappointed me that much. i will say that i read middlegame by seanan mcguire on a 17-hour flight, and while it the writing was pretty good, i didn't think it really led to anywhere? there wasn't so much a climax, just a constant teasing of something that never actually got explained or resolved in the end. i know its a series, but like. at least give me something. i liked the little chapter inserts of the fake fantasy book the best, and the rest was just m- the rest was just mi- middl- *gunshot*

[aboutdragons]

Hiya, I love your fic! I find it so amazing and I can't tell you the amount of times I've laughed out loud because of it. I find it really interesting that instead of Daelyra being close to Rhea and hating Daemon you took the opposite route. I don't think I've seen anyone do that. Your story has now made me want to write a hotd oc story of my own (though admittedly its still in the planning stages).

In responds to the ask game that you have up -

What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

What do you like best about this fic?

What scene did you first put down?

Ahaha thank you! I'm really happy it makes you laugh, I do my best to put a lot of levity in the things I write because, really, life is lived best when you find joy in the little things. And yes, I'm aware it's common for Daemon to not even know he has a kid with Rhea, but I felt it would make for a much more interesting dynamic if he was the parent taking care of her. Gives him more depth and an interesting dichotomy between a genuinely good father but still an overall shit person.

Ahh I love inspiring people, and if you have a story to tell by all means go tell it! As for planning; from personal experience, you absolutely must know how things start, how things end, and what important things happen in the middle. The in-between stuff is easy enough to fill in, and who knows - maybe interesting plot points will sneak up on you on their own. They have the tendency to do that.

Answers for the questions under the cut because I ramble:

What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Loaded question, because there are multiple parts to the fic. Lyra and Daemon's relationship was inspired by the multitude of father-daughter manhwa I read (very specifically, 'Male Lead's Adopted Daughter'). Also in general GRRM's work; mostly it's lacks, because I'm a fantasy hoe, and his stuff has fantasy as a sidenote most of the time. I wanted more.

Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Not necessarily, unless my friend throwing ideas at me to see what sticks counts.

Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Kinda yeah but also no; there IS a Modern AU version of ttad in the workshop but it is, chronologically, the sequel to the current story. So on one hand it is an AU, on another it's a direct continuation so no clue if it counts.

What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

Either podcasts or lofi. I don't listen to get myself in the mood but to fill in the silence, so I don't really have recommendations except in one specific case where Lyra claimed the Cannibal and I was listening to How To Tran Your Dragon theme while writing it.

What do you like best about this fic?

I think Lyra, actually. She's one of my favorite OCs that I made, even though she's quite formulaic. I guess her face claim being Rhea Ripley helps in that lmao.

The plot is close second though, I just love me a good sandbox to throw some dragons, ancient lost cities, and civilizations-spanning mystery.

What scene did you first put down?

I genuinely do not remember. I have a whole doc file for unrelated snippets for future reference and I don't know which one came first, but I'm reasonably sure it was Lyra returning to KL circa 128 and interacting with Aemond. Kinda started braining the story ass-backwards lmao.

[ryttu3k]

Thoughts on His Dark Materials s3.03 and 3.04, The Intention Craft and Lyra And Her Death! Spoilers for the rest of The Amber Spyglass.

BITCH I CRIED. A LOT. I mean I 100% knew I was going to, but holy shit pain. Every time Pan sort of reached towards the boat, at one point nearly wobbling off the dock... Lyra screaming... the conversation they had beforehand, both clearly scared out of their minds... ow ;_;

Related: World of the Dead looked oppressive as hell. The yellow-tinted light was super eerie, the mechanical way everyone acted, the fact that there's bureaucracy even after you die. Lyra's Death wasn't as I expected (wasn't he male, originally?) but still very cool. Dissonant serenity, I think the phrase is.

Mrs Coulter was goddamn incredible in these two episodes. She's still ridiculously charismatic even when literally on trial, she's playing the Magisterium, they're playing her right back, and honestly her genuine terror at the end of episode 4 was just... kind of horrifying to see. God it's going to be interesting as hell to watch the rest of her arc!

Enjoyed the reforging scene, Will focusing on what's important and just... going to Lyra. Oh sweetheart ;_; It does take away from Iorek's actual... skill, though, and how intricate the scene is in the book. He's not just A Big Bear In Armour, he's an expert metalworker! There's a fun note in the subreddit, at least, about how the CGI team heard 'polar bear performing advanced metallurgy' and just noped out, which. Honestly valid. I'm not sure how you would make that scene look good, haha.

And Lyra and Iorek's reunion was adorable, and I love how Pan just instantly switched back to Arctic fox form. Gotta match the big friend! Do kind of wish we had heard more on why the bears were moving, alas. The ramifications of Asriel's actions and all.

Speaking of which: Asriel you scary mofo. tfw Mrs Coulter appears to have more morals (and parental instincts).

A cute moment - after Lyra and Will's argument, Lyra apologises (at Pan's prompting). Will sort of... brushes it off. Lyra instantly says, "Fine, then I'm not sorry." Will's lips twitch in a smile just for a moment.

We finally saw a Mulefa!! No diamond-shaped physiology, but I can understand why they didn't want to go with that. Very interested to see how they handle the budding communication with Mary, the wheelpods, all of that.

There's some interesting commentary going around about Lyra's selfishness in her decision to go to the Land of the Dead - that she's risking everyone, her own soul included, in wanting to go just to... say sorry? To not accept Roger's death and move on? (Some people are saying it seems a lot more callous coming from a sixteen-year-old instead of a twelve-year-old too, which, okay, valid.) And I don't... really see that as an issue. Lyra is flawed! She can be downright unlikeable sometimes! She's combative, rude, and stubborn, and yeah, she is selfish!

This is a good thing, in terms of writing. Characters are allowed to have flaws. Lyra is a flawed character, who wants to absolve her own guilt in her involvement in Roger's death. She's not acting because of a prophecy that she'll end Death, she does that more or less by accident, and she does that by acting in accordance to her whims. I feel it's very much in line with how the prophecy is phrased, first by Serafina then later by Dr Lanselius:

"There is a curious prophecy about this child: she is destined to bring about the end of destiny. But she must do so without knowing what she is doing, as if it were her nature and not her destiny to do it."

Later:

"The witches have talked about this child for centuries past. Because they live so close to the place where the veil between the worlds is thin, they hear immortal whispers from time to time, in the voices of those beings who pass between the worlds. And they have spoken of a child such as this, who has a great destiny that can only be fulfilled elsewhere - not in this world, but far beyond. Without this child, we shall all die. So the witches say. But she must fulfil this destiny in ignorance of what she is doing, because only in her ignorance can we be saved."

Emphasis mine. She can't know she's meant to do all these higher-level prophesised destiny shit or it'll fail. Lyra can't be tempted by Mary knowing that she's being tempted. She can't go to the Land of the Dead with the intention of ending destiny, she has to go on her own, because of her own intentions, or the prophecy doesn't work.

So, yeah. Lyra is selfish. But she has to be - if she knew what she was meant to be doing on a worldswide scale, it wouldn't work in the first place. She has to be a little girl who wants to say goodbye and to apologise to the boy she thinks she killed, acting on her own desires, or the whole story falls apart. She can’t fulfill a destiny to end destiny on purpose.

Anyway. Flawed protagonists, man <3

[lyranova]

Hiya Lyra~! I'm kicking down the door to your inbox to send you some love. Saw the thing about filling your inbox so I'm gonna do it, with love~! 💖

I wanna let you know that you have a fun writing style and I love the way you're always building other up when you talk to them (me included, heh). I love chatting with you and I love seeing the things you come up with. Your taste in music is good too (btw, thanks for recommending those kpop groups to me a while back. Still not gonna outdo jpop in my mind but my horizons have widened).

Also also, I've loved reading Children of the Future~! And I still kinda am reading it. Time to read the epilogue has been eluding me...

We don't get a lot of time with all the families but you do a good job of giving each group strong moments here and here. It's enough to satisfy but still leaves room for more, you know?

FINALLY! I'm going to make you choose between two things... Mwah ha ha ha!

If you were forced to write Neva having to lose either Yuno (romantic partner) or William (family-esque bond), who would you choose? (Maybe she has memory loss that's erased one of the men from her mind or she has to make a choice between who to save and the one she doesn't rescue doesn't make it.)

I know this is a lot to throw at you. Sorry for that. But I wanted to do so many things and decided against bombing your inbox with multiple asks. Heh, my bad.

AGWJJWJWWJHW ERIKA 🥺😭🙈💕💕!!

(Sorry I’m just now getting to this even though this was sent a while ago, I was catching up on writing the past few days and wanted to sit down and answer this when I was done 😅!)

Aaahhh thank you so much 🥺🤧💕! I’m so glad you think my writing style is fun 🥺 and I really enjoy talking to you as well and ofc I’m going to build everyone up, you all deserve it so much because you’re all just that amazing 😁! Agwjkwkwhwhwjw this is the first time anyone has told me I had good taste in music 😳, I’m not even kidding I’ve had more people tell me my taste is terrible than good so this compliment just aaaaahhhh thank you 😭💕💕!! (Ofc and if you ever need any more recommendations I’ll be more than happy to share some with you 😁, hehe Jpop is good too I’ll listen to them sometimes but it’s mainly anime or video game openings 😂!)

Aaaahhh thank you I’m so glad you enjoyed reading COTF 🥺😭! I always woke up to your reblogs and comments on them and they’d just make my day 😁! Yeah I totally understand that, and I had fully intended to give each family more moments, but the plot got away from me a bit 😅. Luckily I plan on fixing that 👀🥰!

Ooo this is interesting 👀🤔!

In a way it would depend on how she loses them. If it were due to her losing her memory, then I would have to go with Yuno because Angst (I may use this idea someday hehe 👀) 😭! If it were her having to choose someone to save…I think she’d let William die 😔.

Funny enough if William had died in Spade it would have worked in my favor with “Fractured” and with the angst, and I actually had a lot of ideas if that did happen, but because he didn’t I had to alter it a bit 😂!

Ahwjjw no worries I don’t mind that there’s a lot and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to answer 🥺! But thank you for asking 🥰!

[crystalelemental]

Apparently Reddit is doing some Pasio Awards thing, where they have people nominate the best options in particular categories.  It’s neat, though definitely lacking any like...consistency.  “Best” is ill-defined, seeming to cover literally any criteria, so you have people arguing based on performance, interest in the duo, or even just the character’s outfit.  Which feels a bit wonky.

Anyway I’m gonna share my stance on it all because I love talking.

Best Masterfair In any realistic, combat-focused answer, it’s SST Red.  He can literally solo the entire game.  This is not an exaggeration.  Every LG stage can be soloed by him at 3/5.  There is no other unit that comes close to his level of power.

But that’s lame, and units that can do everything without issue are no fun.  So I have a hard time saying that he’s actually “The best” in any other sense.  “You’re gonna say SS Kris, aren’t you?”  Not if I’m being entirely objective.  Like, yeah, if I’m being the way I am, I absolutely think she’s the best, but that’s for later.  In this category, I’d say SS Lyra.  100% flinch is neat, but not functionally distinct from sleep.  What puts her apart, however, is that this being a natural passive makes it so you can queue the next move before your opponent can change their action.  This means SS Lyra is the perfect disruption machine, because she pulls this off but doesn’t throw off your turn order.  Even more significant is that she does all of this with no gauge cost if Grassy Terrain is active.

I think this it’s the fact that Lyra is, at once, a powerhouse sync nuker and unbelievable lockdown utility that can shut down a majority of the game, that sets her apart.  She’s a unit who can benefit literally any team composition.  This is something I feel SST Red doesn’t do.  He’s a solo machine, but he’s not really that helpful to anyone outside of Electric Terrain.  Paralysis is one-time use, and the defense drops are nice but take longer to set up than a Leer bot or Lucian would.  As a result, SST Red feels very specific, and very...almost reliant on 3/5?  Like he can do a lot 1/5 too, but he’s no longer solo master, and then weakens substantially.  And Master Fairs, in my mind, are differentiated from PokeFairs by their 1/5 sufficiency.  Their best tools are available at 1/5, most often.  SST Red’s are very much not.  So I’m giving this one to Lyra, whose 1/5 utility is unbelievable even at base.

Best PokeFair My vote’s on SS Cyrus.  Similar reasons to SS Lyra, in that his utility alone is incredible, while being backed by great sync damage.  But I think this also counts in terms of like...the cool factor.  I love Gen 4, and that includes Explorers of Sky.  So the combination of Cyrus from the main series and Darkrai from the mystery dungeons games was a really, really cool idea.  I adore this combination.  Nothing has beaten it all year.  Not for lack of trying, but you know.

Best Seasonal I am contractually obligated to say Winter Jasmine.  And legitimately, I can't think of anything that comes close.  She's an ideal unit; perfect design, perfect partner, fantastic role with broad application.   Absolutely nothing compares.

Best Special Costume It's Rosa.  Look, there are only five of them, and the teatime alts are good but come on.  SC Rosa's ridiculous.  Top performer for Grass-type DPS and Sync damage, and packs special defense debuffs per attack to the tune of -2 per hit, also hits special attack -2 per hit, but also can use the special attack debuff as part of her AoE -2 evasion debuff.  She's a perfected Cresselia counter.  Then you add in that her trainer move carries an effective Dire Hit All effect for team support even when she's not the primary focus, and then also packs Potion with a potential Friend Mend to remove status...Rosa does a metric ton in a single unit.  A top performer in a heavily contested typing, with tremendous utility besides.  10/10, best SC.

Best Spotlight If anyone tries to tell you it’s not Lucian, it’s because they’re in the pocket of Big Gacha and are trying to sell you more microtransactions.  "But what about Courtney?  Ground Zone is so good!"  For a single type.  A type that she supports decently but not well without Ingo present, because of her tremendous gauge issues that are wildly compounded alongside SS Giovanni and Maxie.  Comparatively, Lucian is a blanket support with nigh-universally beneficial traits.  Special defense drops are tremendous, and attack drops are great for any team's survival.  But then you pack in speed buffs as well.  And now it's like wow, that guy's pretty good, but it must be tough to decide on what to use when.  What's that?  Oh, he does all of that in a single move, that's only a one-bar spam?  Oh okay, very normal, thanks Lucian.  This is a guy who enables Pecking Order, Smarty-Pants, and Inertia sync nukers, all at the same time.  He enables every special attacker.  He counterpicks purely offensive stages like Cobalion and Tapu Bulu.  And that’s before you realize this is all 1/5.  You don’t need anything beyond the one copy.  But if you get him 3/5?  Now he’s one of the top sync nukers in a wildly competitive typing.  And this dude is in the general pool.  You can pull for him with free scout tickets.  This is a PokeFair they accidentally demoted.  Lucian rules.

Best Masters Day Expansion This seems to be specific to general pool 5* expansions, so I'll do common grids separate.  In which case...it's Kris.  I think there's a good case for Cynthia, who got a tremendous overhaul on her sync, but Kris was downright lifechanging.  +150% sync, +50% move, fixes all accuracy issues, gets a massive +40 attack bonus, and can even self-buff crit.  Base Kris is nuts now, and I'm living for it.

Best 5/5 Expansion Lysandre.  Everyone's saying it, and they're right.  Lysandre was a fantastic pick for Gauntlet, thanks to his constant recovery effects.   Dude's legitimately great. His main problem was always low sync damage and lack of multipliers on an already weakened 4-bar move.  Lysandre's grid expansion handles everything, providing tremendous buffs to both types of damage, as well as Downside Up, which is just hysterical.   Including all of this in one set that also allows him to keep Healthy Buffer 5?  Lysandre has become an absolute menace.  Nothing short of CS offense parameter syncs can stop him.

Best Outfit There are so many good ones, but I think I'm gonna say Champion Serena.  Bit of recency bias, but it's so good it made me pull for Greninja.  I, known Greninja Hater, pulled for a Greninja, because Serena's outfit was so good.  I can't think of anything that outdoes that.

Best Sync Pair "Okay, now it has to be SST Red."  And it would be, but same rules apply to "Best Master Fair."  In that I do not value what he does that much.  I recognize he solos the game.  I also feel like bypassing all need to teambuild or strategize is a problem, not a benefit.

So we're setting that aside, in which case, my selection is obvious to anyone who's been here for like a week: it's SS Kris.  I'm going to differentiate "Best Pair" from "Best Master Fair" by stating that the master fair category will look at their total range of effectiveness and their relative success within that role.  In which, Lyra is uncontested.  She helps so much, and does something only she can do.  But Best Sync Pair, I think, is going to be more about how significant an impact they had, and how unique their particular niche is.  Flinch chaining and sleep chaining are not new.  Yes, Lyra is by far the most successful.  But we're looking for range of success.

SS Kris does.  Uniquely, SS Kris does.  Ingo and SS Morty are the other two with similar success, alongside the new Champion Calem.  But it is SS Kris who actively salvaged multiple targets.  Clair, NY!Lance, Winona; units that desperately needed the Rain, but also needed massive offensive support, and held types that were outside of the natural Rain multiplier for Water.  There are a lot of these.  And like all of Johtrio, Kris functions perfectly at 1/5 thanks to natural MP Burst.  All she needs is first sync, and she's able to get three uses of Rain Dance, and even guaranteed caps special attack/crit.

I will acknowledge Kris' flaws.  She does take longer to boost those needed offenses, and needs to utilize rain early for stacks of special moves up next.  I am aware.  But the range of impact that Kris had was far beyond anything any other sync pair has provided me.  She is unreal, being perfect for Rain, the literal savior of multiple units, and often an ideal pick for specially offensive units broadly due to her unique combination of moves up and offensive parameter buffing.  Kris is just perfect.  Unless you're physical, in which case, take it up with Ingo or Calem.

Best Common Grid (my own addition) I am putting this in contrast to "most effective common," which is still Roxanne.  Girl really just needed MPR and Endure, and by god she got it.  But her grid also sucks and is costly and poorly laid out, so no.  We need another.

And I'm saying it's Cheryl.  Cheryl's kinda fallen off here, but I do still love and respect her.  Cheryl's grid got amazing tools, including the coveted natural Vigilance.  She was able to cap special attack, and buff speed while doing it.  MPR on a Potion that buffs defenses made her tremendous in Gauntlet.  Really, if it weren't for her pitifully low physical defense, Cheryl would be unreal.  But every common suffers some kind of horrific flaw, and that's Cheryl's.  Truth be told though, she can handle a surprising number of physical hits in Gauntlet, just not CS with offensive parameters being as they are.

[darkfrost-star]

Oh, I feel you so hard on that. Like just look at her, Leaf has NOTHING. She is the most useless female character and least loved and when we FINALLY get Green whose an awesome canonization for her people argue *squints* "they have a different number of eyelashes and personalities are different" <---- actual repeatedly pushed argument. I hope they put Kris in a hypothetical Let's Go Johto timeline (which may even be based off Crystal like LGPE was for Yellow) so I can make the "but noooo, look at the eyelashes, the clothes, the personality" argument right back at them. God forbid characters be redesigned or be given a "pre-make" bc that's what Lgpe IS it's the old designs! Leaf never had her own, she was just female Red! Green is the most canon she has ever been let me have this I've waited years. She's so clearly a blend of FRLG and the beta design for the Gen 1 female with the black dress. Sometimes I wonder how much even this argument matters if nobody cares about Green either. Curse of being female in a trio where people care about Reguri yaoi more. Her only content is fetishized ship art with Elaine and Leaf is just bubbly, grass loving ditz, or wingwomen. There was a time where Lyra was hated in 2014 but people adore her now, she has tons of appearances and relationships with other characters, even Kris gets more love. (She deserves it tho yay, but the point stands.) That Evolution ep was SUCH a win I tell you. She's quirky, she's silly, she's adventurous, she's a risk-taker and has insane shounen protagonist vibes, she's quick on her feet and improvises, she's brave and determined, she's kind, she loves the world, she has her own insecurities, in the japanese version Trace calls her BIG SIS. She's got cool Pokemon, not just cutesy ones, she's a badass in battle, she's got good sportsmenship and didn't just run off, she returned the favor of getting saved from Zubats. She is SO MUCH MORE than what we get in fan content. Her tumblr tag and ao3 is always dead. It makes me sad.

Tbh yeah, the whole eyelashes thing is probably the dumbest argument for them being different characters, like nevermind how that’s purely a cosmetic thing and people change the look of their eyelashes all the time via mascara and such, and besides that it’s just such a trivial and insignificant difference. You’re seriously telling me that just because Green has one extra eyelash than Leaf, that proves that she’s not her? Give me a break. Remake! Red and Classic! Red literally has completely different hair colors, yet I don’t see anyone arguing that they’re completely different people because of that! To be fair tho, I’ve only ever seen that Leaf fanboy troll guy (you know who I am talking about) use this argument, so I don’t think most people actually use it as a serious counterpoint, at least not from what I have seen. Besides, that doesn’t erase the fact that there’s still a crapton of overlapping design elements between LGPE Green and FRLG Leaf people!

I also never really got the “different personalities” counterpoint either. PMEX Leaf actually has a lot of the same personality traits that LGPE Green has especially if you compare her with her Evolutions counterpart. She has a lot of the same qualities that you described Evolutions Green having, such as being kind, smart, adventurous, brave and determined, being quirky (she likes to smell her mons for crying out loud!), and loves the world! Not to mention, she has similar possessive behavior with her Eevee as LGPE Green has with mewtwo, and is shown to have the same mindset of blurring the lines between humans and mons when she played along with Valerie’s desire in becoming a pokemon! And yeah, it is really disheartening that vast majority of the fanbase uses Leaf as shipping fodder and nothing more, whether it be shipping her LGPE self with Elaine (even though I actually kinda like that ship) or making her the “wingwoman” to Namelessshipping. It just comes off feeling very wrong, especially since female characters are infamously known for being used for romantic subplots and nothing more. It’s 2024 people should really be making more fan content of Leaf that portrays her as being as active and badass as her Evolutions self. 

Also yeah, if we ever get a let’s go Johto, Kris is definitely going to show up I think. The let’s go series is obviously based on the classicverse after all, so it only makes sense that Kris will appear and not Lyra. Not to mention it would give justice for her as she doesn’t have enough game representation either. I hope they make her some kind of knowledgeable senpai/mentor figure to the player, as PMEX has now established that she’s actually like her Pokespe counterpart. I don’t have much to say about Lyra but I’m definitely glad that she’s not as hated and bashed on as she was in the early 2010s fandom. It’s about time that we gave that girl a chance too!

[yvesoclore]

extra notes on the bad au:

what happens to bug?

in the canon post order 66 stuff, bug wants to split up, because they believe that having three jedi together will only bring them trouble. (which.. they’re not wrong about.) you can see that a bit in this comic

it’s amera and tomilan both saying “no, we need to stay together” that convinces bug to stay. once amera leaves bug can’t justify their own presence putting tomilan in danger, and leaves as well.

what happens to lyra?

GREAT QUESTION! i don’t know the answer. or rather, i do, but id rather not think about it.

i am a terrible writer because i’m awful at putting my carachters in pain. when i think of the bad au, honestly, my mind skips over lyra. she’s not mentioned in anything i’ve written for it.

in actuality, if i was properly writing this and i was FORCED to acknowledge lyra’s existence… i can think of a few outcomes.

she’d probably be hanging out with tomilan. (now that i think about it. this blog IS stream of consciousness oopsies) tomilan would be unwilling to leave her for a whole variety of reasons. (this isn’t what i have written, because as i stated.. i’m terrible at thinking about this stuff.)

however this Is a bad au… so yeah lyra’s dead. actions have consequences and all that jazz.

there are a few things to note about this-

the driving forces of this au is amera’s guilt (over her andromache’s death, her suvivor’s guilt, her guilt of ever putting tomilan in danger) and her selfishness (she’s tends to focus on absolving herself of Possible guilt) and these both result in her running away from her problems, and of course Literally running away here.

because of her reasoning for leaving (not putting others in danger) she would Not bring Lyra with her in this au. i Love making alternate au versions, but i try to draw the line at things being “out of carachter” or just lacking solid in universe motivation.

(lyra, in canon and in lots of aus (most notably the modern au and the marvel au) is one of the few things that amera is ACTIVELY selfless about. lyra is her daughter, and amera would do anything for her without hesitation. what changes in the Bad au is a) amera leaves almos immediately post order 66, and hasn’t formed that connection with her yet, and more importantly b) amera also leaves tomilan. tomilan, while amera still struggles with selfishness, is another person that makes amera self-sacrificing (not quite selfless, yet.) amera leaves tomilan, and this is the bigger issue at this point, and thus has no issue leaving lyra.)

this leaves us with tomilan and lyra. (as bug is gone)

the timeline of this has amera leaving while tomilan is at her mothers’ house.

the bad au is about amera leaning into her bad habits, of running away and being selfish.

and while leaving tomilan with no one, when amera knows she has major abandonment issues, and not saying goodbye, probably wasn’t the Best move.. it was justifiable! tomilan, by all rights, iS safer in a post order 66 galaxy without a jedi girlfriend! it could be very easily considered a selfless move!!!

so now tomilan, who has been a passive carachter in being left by amera and bug, has a choice! leave lyra with her mothers for a life of the stability she was always craving, or take lyra with her as she continues to move around and fight the empire.

so of course tomilan, Abandonment Issues Central, takes the kid with her! tomilan was left behind by Everyone in her life, including the people she now has the option of leaving a child with. of course she’s not going to leave that kid too!!

was this the Wrong choice? no! tomilan was giving a child unconditional love, and someone who would stick by them no matter what! something she never had! what it wAs, however, was tomilan leaning into Her Own bad habits, which are handling everything by herself and refusing help.

so yeah. lyra dies in this au. it’s very important to me that NO ONE blames tomilan for this? this isn’t a question of tomilans competence aT ALL and i want to make that clear. tomilan was a passive carachter until she was forced into a position, and lyra wouldn’t survive with toms moms either. this is more of a “prim always dies in the hunger games, because that’s the whole point”. lyra dies because it’s war, because there’s nothing anyone can do. because a few decisions back people started leaning into their bad habits. the gang is stronger together than apart, and by sticking together they found their one (1) happy ending.

[jaeminscoffee]

Daddy Issues | S. Jn

Pairing | Seo Johnny x Fem!Reader

Genre | Smut, fluff

Wc;type | oneshot: 3.93k [not proof read]

Warning(s) | Pwp, dilf!johnny, y/n's a pillow princess, daddy kink, overstimulation, teasing, edging, dacryphilia, slight voyeurism, degradation kink, heavy use of the words 'doll, princess, slut, pretty, angel', typical lyra smut, i made haechan johnny's son (i was about to write changbin as johnny's son but decided against it) age gap, unprotected sex ( the Reader's on pills. Remember this is a fiction, don't play the wrong card irl) filth.

a/n- i found this request buried in my asks and was tempted to write it. Sure, the warning looks intimidating, but i know you wanna read it, y'all whores (ily) shoutout to @bakugou-is-my-bae @cvntzennie and @jenopollo for helping me decide what to post first! @suhpersonic

Minors try not to interact! <3

Age is just a number, so surely, there's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of, right? 

There's no reason for you to not fall for the friendly neighborhood bachelor, well not so bachelor bachelor, since he does go around asking people who knows of his marriage to pretend it never took place. 

Johnny's hot, super hot. Has the build of a supermodel. Has the face that one can only imagine belongs to a greek god, as you'd jokingly tell him how he seemed to be god's favorite and how you loathe Aphrodite for showing favoritism (which would always end up with you getting a very sultry, teasing look from the lad) 

Johnny has the type of personality that women can only wish the entirety of the male species would possess. He's an absolute sweetheart, life of the party, definitely the center of attention wherever he goes. And oh god, does he have an immaculate fashion sense. 

But Johnny's also the father of Donghyuck. Your best friend. 

More than being ashamed about the fact that you actually fell in love with a man who has a child of your age, it was the fact that you had to fall for Donghyuck's father of all people. 

Donghyuck is a sweetheart, definitely got his personality from his father but he's also got that glare that could creep the Lord's of the darkness from his father. He's got so much from his father that the resemblance is uncanny. 

You'd not want to get onto hyuck's bad side since you've gotten first hand experience at stopping him from almost committing homicide to someone who spoke shit about his friends, more specifically, you. 

But Hyuck's not in town. So a little fun with Mr. Suh wouldn't hurt anyone, correct? After all, you're still only a human with desires and the want to take risks. 

You'd always not so subtly drop hints at Johnny and he'd always give you that look that would have slick collecting itself between your thighs. A warning look. 

A look that said, "cross the line and you'll get it" 

But that's the thing, you want to get it and will do anything to get it.

"Y/n." 

You'd ask yourself less than a million times if you want to do this or not.

Sure, you weren't this hesitant when you decided to sext your best friend's father knowingly when he was in business mode to irk him up but that's one thing. 

And having to confront the same father who left a message smaller than a sentence that completely disregarded all the obscene text and images to show that he's not the slightest bothered or suprised by your behavior for that matter was another thing.

"Tomorrow at mine." 

It's almost as though he deals with hormonal teenagers one as such as yourself on a daily basis and that thought kind of backfired at you considering the whole 'Let's piss Johnny off so that he'd finally give me what i want' agenda. 

Ironic, huh? 

"Mr. Suh." you start hesitantly, unsure of what to call him, scared of what his reaction would be after your inappropriate shenanigans last night. 

Your stiff demeanor broke down a little with just a hint of shiver passing down your spine as you watch his features contort into a subtle but cocky smirk, "So now you're being all formal,"

"Well, what else would you like me to address you as?" you inquire, feigning oblivion to his tone and what he's implying at. "You tell me, doll. You seemed to have a lot of names to call me last night," he takes a step forward, prompting you to walk a step backwards, further into the corridors of his apartment and away from the actual location. 

"I do not know what you're talking about.. " you let your voice shrivel towards the end, eyes wandering around the complex, finding interest in every small detail as you avoid Johnny's teasing gaze. 

"You don't?" Johnny takes another step forward, latching his hands onto your forearms to prevent you from stepping further away, "You must have had a heavy sleep to forget all that you did last night," his voice drops dangerously low as he begins to walk backwards and back into the safety of his apartment, all the while keeping his gaze fixated on you.

"That won't do, would it? How about we take a walk down the memory lane? And see if that rings any bell?" He brushes your hair away from its static position on your shoulder, allowing him to appreciate all those fine details of your shoulders and neck that are exposed from your selection of clothing, an off shoulder. 

"How about we don't...?" You ask with skepticism, jolting slightly when you hear the door shut behind you and at the new intrusion of personal space by the lad.

"Why are you acting all shy now, Y/n? Weren't you the one so eager to get into her best friend's fathers pants? Just be the whore you are, darling. Your facade's fooling no one." okay you definitely didn't see that coming. 

Johnny's expressions morph into that of mischief as he watches your eyes grow wide and mouth fall ajar, "Am i not correct? Are you not a whore?" he asks with an eyebrow quirked up in a questioning manner.

You don't reply, almost as though the question was meant to linger in the open and that it was a rhetorical one. What you didn't expect, however, was for Johnny's hands to find pursuit around your neck, not necessarily applying pressure, but there as a warning. 

"Answer me." 

"I'm not.." you answer with a feeble voice, internally cringing at how squeaky you sound which only added to Johnny's amusement. 

"Really? Because I don't think good girls go around drooling at a divorced man, her friend's father for that matter and definitely do not send lewd images and voice out their fantasies to a guy twice their age, still want to pretend you're innocent? Or you admit it and we cut down the chase?"

"Yes, I am." you breathe out when his fingers tighten around your neck, a triumphant smile making its way onto his lips. Yet, Johnny felt the need to keep pushing,

"you're what?" 

"I am what you said I am," you speak, trying to avoid looking at the scrutinizing look on his face which seemed futile as he had his arms wrapped around your neck, keeping your head in place. 

"I want to hear you say it, doll. I need to hear you say it." At this point Johnny's intent was to get you into a flustered puddle in his hold and it sure as hell was going in that direction, seeing how you can't even hold his gaze for more than a few seconds in a shot. 

"I am.. I am a who-"

The sound of a phone ringing loud cut you off midway through your sentence, to which you were absolutely relieved. Johnny only seemed to grow annoyed the more he heard the phone ring. With a loud huff, he lets you go, not before giving you a stern look, "Go to my room." he instructed, making his way to the study. 

You let out a breath you've been holding in unknowingly the moment he steps away from you. You watch his figure retreat from you with awe, only now realizing how messy you felt between your legs and how your knees keep buckling. 

"Oh Hyuck!" you hear Johnny exclaim into the phone the minute you step forward to follow his command. 

Your best friend is on call with the guy you're about to fuck. 

Your blood runs cold as you shakily make your way into the apartment and towards the bedroom, shrugging off your sling bag, hanging it behind the door as you place your phone on the bedside table to wipe your hands dry from all the sweat that had accumulated at the palm of your hands. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, about to eat to my dinner actually" you hear the moment to make yourself comfortable at the edge of the bed, looking over to the door where Johnny stood with his arms across his chest, the other holding up the phone as he leans his weight onto one shoulder, leaning into the doorframe.

You take the time to really appreciate his appearance. He adorned nothing more than a simple grey sweat and tight black tee but he seemed ready to walk down a runway at any given moment now. His long hair, slightly disheveled looking almost intentionally messed up, compliments his features. And oh his features. 

The everlasting smirk stayed still on his lips, moving as he exchanged words with his son.

You only come back to your senses when Johnny snapped his free hand in front of you, gaining your attention. He points at his own shirt, then points at you, mouthing 'off' while he listens to Donghyuck speak about whatever he's speaking. 

"Really? Jeno said that? Tell him I'm more than willing to welcome him as my gym partner, the lad seems strong" Johnny makes a quick move to remove the gadget from his ear, before holding it in front of him after placing the call on speaker mode 

Your eyes widen the moment you hear the disturbance in the background and Donghyuck's voice resonate through the room. "no?? Why would you want to work out with him? He'll only make you feel old, you know?" 

"Says the one who still can't beat me at arm wrestling. If anything, i think Jeno would make the perfect gym buddy for me," Johnny raises an eyebrow at your defiance, cocking his head towards the side, staring down at you with a predatory look, "Hyuck, you know, Y/n-" you scramble to take your shirt off at the mention of your name on the call, "-stopped by earlier" he lets out a silent laugh of disbelief.

"Oh? Oh yeah! I'd told her I'd give her book back before I left but I forgot, did you perhaps give it back to her?" Donghyuck questions. 

"I figured you must've forgotten so, yeah i did." Johnny replies, pushing himself off of the doorframe, now walking towards you. 

"Man, I miss her! I might facetime her after I end the call with you," Johnny sets down the phone beside you on the bed, leaning down, placing both his hands on either side of your lap, finding comfort at the crook of your neck,

"I remember her mentioning something about her cousin coming over? Maybe wait for an hour or so before calling her" his lips graze against your neck each time he spoke, you let out a tiny whimper at the so longed feeling, only to earn yourself a small bite at the earlobe, immediately accompanied by a hand over your mouth, "you need to be quiet, doll. Or my son would find out how much of a slut his best friend is," he whispers in your ear. 

"Yeah? Did she mention which one?" 

"No, not really, she kinda just stormed out after getting what she wanted" Johnny creates a trail of kisses all the way from your neck to your shoulders, down the collarbone while one of his hand worked to unhook your bra, "Yeah, she's weird like that," you hear Donghyuck let out a chuckle as you whine into Johnny's palm, your figure slightly trembling from the fear of getting caught all the while being excited about the risky situation he's put the two of you in. 

"Anyways, I'll call you tomorrow? The boys are coming over now so I got to go! Night, dad!" Donghyuck speaks up again, "Night, Hyuck." 

You hear the beep indicating the call has ended. Johnny let's his hand drop from your mouth and makes its way towards your hair, brushing through the strands before pulling at it with a firm grip, "I had my son on call and here you are making all these sweet noises, you wanted to get busted, doll?" 

"It's not my fault! You-"

"ah-ah! Don't talk back, angel. You're already in deep trouble, don't want to add onto that now, do we?" He makes a swift move to have you lying on your back, your torso completely exposed to him while he remains clothed. 

"But Johnny-" you whine, jolting when you feel his hands caressing the soft flesh of your inner thighs, "How do you think Hyuck would feel about this?" his hands travel further north, cupping your heat from underneath your skirt. "fuck, you're drenched"

"Now tell me, pretty girl, what are you supposed to be calling me, now?" 

"Johnny-, tha-that was a joke! I don't have daddy kin-" you try clenching your thighs close from the sudden attention your core was receiving. Johnny wholeheartedly lets out a laugh at your attempt to hide your true feelings, making a quick act of disregarding your soaked panties somewhere behind him.

"Darling, the more you deny it, the longer we keep going at it-" his thumbs at your clit, applying pressure but making no move to quench your needs. You let out a sigh of bliss at the feeling, your back arching off of the sheets at the sensation.

In any other situation, you'd be embarrassed at how sensitive you'd gotten just from all the dirty talking and looks Johnny passed you. But that's the catch, he's Johnny, the only one who can get you this sensitive while doing the bare minimum. 

"Say it, Y/n." 

"No, Johnny! It's-it's embarrassing.." you plead with your eyes, grinding your hips against his fingers, earning a satisfied, dirty look from the lad. 

"Very well.. I'll just draw it out of you"

Without warning, Johnny with little to no resistance, slides two slender digits into your wetness, setting a pace fast enough to draw loud chains of cries from your mouth.

"You hear that, doll? You hear how fucking wet you are? Hm?" he growls animalistically, the thumb that remained on your clit now moving in circles with a motive to get you undone in seconds. 

"Johnn-..!" you whine out, feeling your orgasm growing so close that you could almost taste it, "Still going at that, angel?" he questions, not really expecting an answer as he soaks up the pleasured look on your face. "Johnny- I'm close.. -" you fail to notice the mischievous grin growing on his face as he speeds up the movement of his fingers. 

"Of course you are, doll" He feels you clench around his fingers, back coming off of the mattress as you ready yourself for your release, waiting until the last minute to draw his finger out.

"Why would you-? Johnn-I was so close!" you cry out as you sense your core clench around nothing, whining about the incomplete orgasm. "Why would I give you what you want when you wouldn't comply, baby? That's not how this works." He shrugs, licking his fingers clean of your essence, moving up from the bed to remove the shirt that seemed to be suffocating now.

"Johnny, please!" you whine louder, rubbing your thighs together to create some sort of friction, all unsatisfactory as it did not meet the same intensity as that of his fingers. 

"Please what, doll?" He smirks, knowing the ball is in his court and that you'd had to give in any moment now. Johnny leans down once again, drawing lazy circles at your clit, using his other hand to hold himself up above and close to you, his minty breath which had a hint of coffee fanning your face as you whimper, finally feeling your high building itself up again. "Spit it out, princess, you know you want to." he speaks in a soft voice.

"Please..please" you beg for nothing in particular, getting all worked up again, "The begging's lovely, doll. But you're starting to anger me here, will you say it? Or should I leave you hanging again?" 

You mutter prayers under your breath, hoping he wouldn't actually leave you hanging again, "Fine-" he moves again to remove his fingers from you to deprive you of pleasure all over again when you finally latch onto his wrist, keeping his hands in place blurting out, "Daddy! I'm so-sorry.. There, daddy, please make me come" you give in, the name, the feeling and look of pure victory on his face as he grins like a cheshire cat only intensifies the heat growing at a rapid pace at the pit of your stomach. 

"Final fucking ly, princess. Daddy will make you feel good" He reinserts his fingers in, drilling it with desperation to see you come undone as he draws rapid circles on your now sensitive clit with the other hand, watching you squirm under him.

"Joh-Daddy i'm coming..!" you cry out weakly as you feel your orgasm hit you with much force, easily driving you into over sensitivity. Johnny's patient in helping you ride out your orgasm, not stopping until you let out a throaty sob and plead him to stop to allow yourself some room to breathe. 

Johnny, however, makes no move to stop, only speeding up his fingers, his gaze fixed on where his fingers disappeared inside of you while his other hand held you down with a vise grip, "Give me one more, doll. I know you've got one more in you. " he pants, the feeling of his girth in confinement only throwing himself to sensory deprivation as he feels himself twitch inside his sweats painfully. 

You shake your head, tears now flowing elegantly down your cheek, your lips puckered into a slight pout, your eyebrows drawn together as you let yourself melt into the pleasure Johnny was providing you with. "Daddy.." 

You whine, feeling your second high reaching you ridiculously quick as you see Johnny's face contort in concentration, 

"I need to get you nice and wet for me, princess, you're doing so well. Give daddy another one" you coaxes you with his sultry tone, words and actions, inevitably having you come undone under him for the second time that night. 

You let out a choked moan, finally having enough as you curl upon yourself the minute Johnny removes his fingers from you, full fledged crying at the overbearing feeling of sensitivity. 

Johnny groans at the sight, leaning down to press a soft peck on your sweaty forehead before getting off of the bed to remove his pants alongside his boxer at a slow speed, granting you some time to recover.

"Condom?" he asks, readying himself to reach into the drawing when he notices you shake your head a no as a reply, "I'm on pills.." you mutter weakly. 

You hear him curse out at the thought of doing you raw, flexing his muscles before climbing on top of you again. He takes his time to gently turn you back onto your back, pressing his tender lips against your irritated one for the first time that night, his hand ever so slightly moving to play with your clit once again, making you jerk, "Daddy!" 

"Sorry, doll. Daddy just needs to make sure that princess is ready to take his cock" 

Your whining intensifies at his words, wiggling your hips to move closer to his own, "But I am ready! Look, daddy! I'm so wet and ready for you!" you whimper, earning a chuckle from the lad. 

Just like all the other times that night, he aligns his cock at your entrance without a warning, the tip ever so slightly pushing through your walls, "Alright, big girl. Show daddy how much of a slut you can be for him."

Suddenly, Johnny detaches himself from you, moving further away as he leans by the edge of the door, smirking at you whining at the loss of contact, "Patience, angel" 

He grabs hold of your hips, manhandling your body into all fours as he enters you completely with no trouble once he's got you where he wants you to be.  

Something about having to take Johnny from behind was so sexy that you could almost immediately feel your orgasm grow, "Fuck baby, keep clenching around me like that and i won't last long," he grunts, moving in you with a steady pace, 

"I never expected my son to befriend such filthy sluts like you, Y/n. Look at the mess you're making on my sheets" He grabs a fistful of your ass in a tight squeeze, the sudden shift in his demeanor only serving as a whiplash as you feel yourself growing closer and closer to the sweet orgasm. 

"Jesus, doll, you're so fucking tight i can barely move" Johnny growls, talking to keep himself from coming too fast. 

"Daddy.. I'm close. M-I'm so so close" you cry as your arms give out and you fall face first onto the mattress, the new stretch in your back only encouraging his cock to hit you deeper, finding the sweet cushion that serves as extra pleasure for you. 

"Me too, princess, me too.. '' You hear him let out a whine, his thrusts growing sloppier as he does you slower but deeper. 

He reaches around your body to find pursuit at your clit for the nth time that night, rubbing rapid, messy circles to go with his deep thrusts, "Daddy!" you reach your high with a high pitched cry of his name. 

Johnny comes not too long after you as he couldn't resist the constant tight clenching of your walls around his cock. He thrust slowly to ride out his high as you twitch helplessly, face scrunched up in too much pleasure. 

You feel your body being manoeuvred onto your side as he whispers sweet nothings which pass right through your ears as you feel him softened inside you, the feeling ridiculously soothing for your used up walls, 

"You did amazing, darling." he kisses your temple, not making any move to remove himself from within you, which you silently thanked him for. 

You both lay in silence as you turned your body towards him, earning a hiss and a playful smack from him as it added pressure onto his sensitive member. You wrap your arms around his torso, about to nuzzle into his chest and just drift away to dreamland when you hear the familiar ring of your phone from the table beside the bed. 

You feel Johnny's body shift to reach out to get your phone, looking at the caller ID before handing it to you with a smirk that you knew meant that he was up to no good. "Oh! It's hyuck" you exclaim in shock, quickly accepting the call and placing it near your ear, moving to get away from him. 

But Johnny seemed to have other ideas, as he latched an arm around your torso to keep you from moving, "Hey-" you begin, immediately feeling Johnny experimentally thrust into you again, making you whine, "Y/n! I miss you~-oh hey, are you okay?" you hear Donghyuck's voice from the other side, 

You look at Johnny with a pleading and warning gaze to which you earn yourself a toothy grin from the lad, 

"Of co-course! Just a little.. peachy,'' You turn around to place a hand on his chest to halt his movement, "You don't sound just peachy.. I've heard you like this before!" you hear Donghyuck make those noises he makes when he's thinking as Johnny keeps thrusting lazily the more you look at him, you see him open his mouth to speak, "Oh fuck! You're getting laid, aren't you???" 

"Tell Hyuck daddy says hi"

[allthesapphicstars]

I'm still reeling from everything in that episode but let's talk about Marisa and the patriarchy

This episode was sooo good.

But this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm on mobile so I can't put it under a cut. Sorry.

It should come as no surprise but we love and support Marisa Coulter in this house. (and yes I am very well aware that she is an awful person and mother but we can still love her, it's called the duality of the gays)

And god did this episode really hit home in so many ways about how women are treated in relation to men. As well as building even more into Marisa's own trauma that was hinted at in her interrogation of Lee.

Like yeah, even if our world isn't as outwardly patriarchal as Lyra and Marisa's it still kinda is.

Marisa is seen by the magisterium as a conniving and manipulative woman (which to be fair is kinda accurate but is still heavily gender coded). She's a tool that can be used to get what they want from people. But they also don't treat her as someone to take seriously. Because she's a woman. She's incredibly intelligent (which we already knew but this episode really drove home) and if she was a man she would have been held in the same esteem as Asriel or the Scholars at Jordan college but she's not allowed to have that option because she's a woman. And it's also interesting that in the books when Lyra first meets Mrs Coulter she compares her to Hannah Relf, the only female scholar that she knows, and notes how glamorous and beautiful Mrs Coulter is in comparison. Hannah, in being seen as dowdy, can be almost ignored by the magisterium as being a peculiarity among women and be allowed to be a scholar (although she's still treated with suspicion and seen as being potentially dangerous because she's a woman) whereas because Marisa is beautiful she's not allowed to exist outside of the roles the Magisterium gives women.

And it goes further. Because Marisa is beautiful and glamorous every single man she interacts with has a sense of entitlement that she should be subordinate to him and accept his attraction towards her. Just look at the way that Macphail and Boreal both constantly leer at her in every interaction. They're both attracted to her and just assume that any flirting they attempt would be reciprocated.

And her relationship with Asriel. Like the whole thing. She thought she had someone who saw her as an equal when they fell in love and maybe she did. He definitely recognised her intelligence. But when the whole affair became public and Asriel was the one to kill Mr Coulter he still got to decide what happened to Lyra (like he did from her birth). And yeah he got banished for a bit but it really didn't seem to have a long lasting effect on his reputation. He was still able to get funding for all of his research. Whereas Marisa was ostracised (as Ma Costa briefly mentions) and most likely had to claw her way back up into society through her ability to manipulate and control the men around her through her sexuality (which I'm not going to think about too much cause it'll make me sad) and she's still seen as the woman who had an affair and a child out of wedlock. A child that she's still most likely would not be allowed to raise as her own without consequences. She's not given even a fraction of the respect that men in her position would be.

Add all of this to what we know about her childhood being an abusive one. (there's also hints in the book that Mr Coulter was probably abusive as well) and it makes her desperation and self hatred (taken out on the golden monkey, her literal soul) make sense.

So taking all of this into consideration, imagine how coming into our world and meeting Mary would make her feel. I've said before about how proud Marisa is that Lyra can't be caged by the Magisterium and I think her seeing her break all these roles and restrictions by traveling through worlds is so powerful to her. But Lyra is special.

Mary is by all appearances a normal woman. But she has everything Marisa doesn't. She has the ability to be recognised for her intelligence, to share her work under her own name. To conduct her own research without having to bow down and bend it to the will of those in power. She can do all of this under her own name, Marisa has to wear the badge of Coulter as a shield or allow a man to put his name on her work.

I also think a key moment that drove this difference, this freedom that Marisa so craves but can't have, between her and Mary wasnt when Mary asked her if she'd published anything but how they introduced themselves. In the last episode Marisa makes a point to correct the waiter that she's MRS not MISS because in their world being a married woman is a marker of respect, but when she meets Mary and assumes she's also a MRS but instead is corrected that Mary is a DR, she realises how little control she actually has.

She went into our world thinking she was manipulating Boreal by letting him think she would reciprocate his advances and that gave her control and power, but then finds out she could have power and control without subjecting herself to the whims of men.

And there's just something so heartbreaking about that. That all she wants is control. And she can't have that because of the magisterium. But Lyra, her daughter who she does love even if she doesn't know how to do so in the way a mother should, could have that control and freedom but only if she completely lets her go. And Marisa can't bring herself to let go of the child that's physical tangible proof that for a brief moment she existed outside of the control of the men around her.

There's something really tragic about Marisa Coulter and thinking about her hurts. When I first read these books as a child I sympathised with her without fully understanding why. But now as an adult I can see so many parallels in Marisa's life and the way women in general get treated. I can understand her actions and motivations (even though I don't agree with all of them) and it hurts.

I just want Marisa to be happy without having to subject herself to the control of men. And yet that feels like too much to ask.

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

His Dark Materials - Season 2 Episode 7 *FINALE* (Thoughts and Rambles)

We have a LOT to unpack here oh my god oh my god

When I say I was screaming and yelling during the episode, I mean I was LITERALLY screaming and yelling

This post is mostly screeching and capital letters, you’ve been warned

“So cold” “life or death meant nothing” - well shit. Accurate description of a Spectre attack damn

I didn’t know what those creepy noises were at first and I was sat here absolutely TERRIFIED because it was creepy as fuck. Then I realized it was cliff ghasts because they said something that I recognized from the book and I was like “oh shit”

Pan and Will talking is the sweetest omg

The fact that Pan told him that Lyra thinks he’s as brave as King Iorek Byrnison :’)

“She’s the best friend I’ve ever had” “You’re her best friend too” - STOP, MY HEART

Lyra was awake and heard the whole conversation :3

“I’m no longer an aeronaut” :( “I’m an insect” - LMAO

Hester and Lee’s banter remains my favourite thing and now it’s bittersweet tbh...

“You could never be an insect, Lee” “Okay, hare” - bless them

Marisa finding where Lyra was staying and then finding Lyra’s coat?? And crying with it pressed to her face?? :’(

In case I haven’t mentioned it already, I am incredibly gay for the witches/their aesthetic/costume. Absolutely beautiful queens, all of them

Oh hi, it’s Mary and the two kids!

The fact that Mary helped them find their adults :’)

Also, “We like you miss” - BLESS

I’m kind of confused as to whether the blue flower petals are important or if it’s just her smelling them? IDK

“I’m close to my father, it’s time I found him” - OOF OKAY UMM ARE YOU SURE

“I let my best friend down” - Noooo Lyra, no you didn’t! :( Your dad is a terrible parent and killed him, that’s not your fault!

“Maybe this is how I let you down” - Well done, Asriel and Marisa, you’ve fucked up a perfectly fine child is what you’ve done

Will telling Lyra that she hasn’t let him down :3

That witch turning up because she was trying to warn Marisa about the spectres, only for Marisa to torture and kill her... oof

FUCKING MONKEY I CAN’T DECIDE HOW I FEEL ABOUT HIM

“She’s MY daughter” - Okay, damn, lady...

“EVE. She’s the mother of all” - OH FUCK YOU TOLD HER. OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK

THE SPECTRE ATE HER DÆMON OMG NO THIS IS HORRIFYING WTAF

Seriously, the way the witch went so grey and lifeless and just fell to her knees and down... Urgh, my stomach is turning

Just when I thought I hated the monkey again, he starts whimpering because he’s afraid of the Spectres :(

“Stop whimpering” - DAMN MARISA YOU ARE A STONE COLD BITCH HUH

Pan being the damn voice of reason and telling Lyra they should stay with the witches like yes, Lyra, listen to him for once!!!

Okay but why are the Magisterium soldiers lowkey dressed like German soldiers from one of the World Wars???

I’m not really surprised that BBC left out the detail of Ruta and Asriel fucking when she found him to be honest XD

So the witches think that the Æsahættr is a person but it’s actually the KNIFE. AND THEY DON’T REALIZE. RUTA YOU DON’T NEED TO GO ANYWHERE, IT’S LITERALLY RIGHT THERE

“...That’s not my dæmon.” “Run.” - OH SHIT OKAY MY WHOLE BODY JUST TENSED UP

So umm Lee got shot and FUCK NO FUCK NO I’M NOT READY FOR THIS EMOTIONALLY THANKS

I LITERALLY DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN OKAY

“You’re either with me or against me” Umm he’s your dæmon?!?!

THE WAY SHE SCREAMED AT HIM OH MY GOD SHE’S FUCKING TERRIFYING HOLY CRAP

“What are you frightened of?” - oh, I don’t know, Marisa, maybe because YOU FUCKING SCREECHED AT HIM. MAYBE HE’S FRIGHTENED OF YOU

Also I love the detail of Marisa getting onto her hands and knees, sort of crouching and mirroring the monkey’s body language. I just love the parallel

The way the monkey flinched from her when she went to touch him omg :( No dæmon should be THIS afraid of their person (or at all?!?!)

Honestly, I find this series’ portrayal of Marisa fascinating tbh

“We have to do whatever it takes to keep her safe” - Umm, like maybe drugging her and hiding her in a cave for months? 🤔

Also in case I didn’t say this before, the fact she has complete control of the Spectres is fucking scary and always has been from the very first time I read the books

Okay so Lee is fully aware that he’s going to die if he stays behind but he does it because he knows that it’s the best chance of making sure that Lyra ends up under the knife’s protection (because Jopari will find her). All Lee wants is for Lyra to be safe and that hurts my heart so much, he loves this child so much :’(

“I love that little girl like a daughter” - LEE STOP MY HEART IS ALREADY BREAKING AS IT IS

NO NO NO NO I AM NOT AND NEVER WILL BE READY

Oh hey Red PAN-da (sorry I know I keep repeating that joke but honestly LOOK AT HIM)

“Once I change, you’ll stop changing” - OH SHIT. So we’re having THAT conversation then

“What do you think you’ll be?” “A flea I hope” - LMFAO I LOVE IT

“Is it Will that’s changing you?” “I think” - FORESHADOWING FOR AMBER SPYGLASS ANYONE?!

All the meanwhile, while Lee is dying and shit is going down, Ms Mary Malone is just chilling in a cave on a mountain by a waterfall, just reading

I literally struggled to watch Lee’s final scenes. I literally didn’t want to watch it because I cried reading it in the book, and I knew I’d be the same here

The fact that Lee HATES taking away people’s lives but he says “it’s theirs or Lyra’s”... I love him. He loves her so much.

“Think about anything, think about bacon!” - LMFAO I LOVE YOU HESTER YOU ABSOLUTE GEM

THE BULLET CLIPPED HIS SCALP AND I HAD A HEART ATTACK 

“This is my fault, isn’t it?” - NO HESTER NO DON’T YOU DARE BLAME YOURSELF DARLIN’, YOU ARE THE BEST AND WE LOVE YOU AND LEE LOVES YOU

I do this everytime I read the book and I did here even though I know what happens, but I was praying mentally that maybe Serafina would reach Lee in time... just maybe...

I’m really sitting here crying over Hester and Lee on a Sunday night, love that for me

Hester limping :(

“Don’t you go before I do” - FUCK YOU BBC AND PHILIP I’M SOBBING MY EYES OUT

“Oh how far we flew” - STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW I SWEAR-

I literally yelled and cried out “NOOO” when Hester faded away and Lee died. I am so upset even though I KNEW it was coming. I am literally not okay.

Oh god no Will, now is not the time to be walking away from Lyra and that witch 

Also why is that witch asleep on guard?? Come on, love, do better, it’s not like these are the two most important children in all the universes.... 

To be fair to Marisa, I’d feel pretty invincible if I were climbing up a mountain while the Spectres were guarding me/on my side

WILL AND JOHN FINALLY MET AHHHH

“I was told I’d find my father here”  - YEAH AND THAT’S HIM WILL ASDFGHJKL;

I’m low-key disappointed that there’s no brawl between Will and Jopari here. Like they instantly recognize each other and... hmm. I know there has to be changes but still.

“Your mother, Will, where is she?” - Awww. John really didn’t stop loving her :’)

“My son... is the Knife Bearer” - oooooohhhhhhh

“You have a dæmon” - that’s right, Will. Don’t worry, you’ll get one next season

The way I audible went “oh shIT” when Mrs Coulter found Lyra fast asleep. Like I said, I knew what was going to happen but STILL

I’m not really surprised that those Spectres killed the witch who was supposed to be guarding Lyra and Will tbh like that’s what happens when only ONE witch guards two teenagers and that witch falls asleep

The way that Lyra panicked when she woke up and saw her mother stroking her cheek omg 

Off topic but I’ve only just realized that Jopari has a fucking man-bun LMFAO OKAY

The fact that Jopari tried to get back to Will and Elaine but couldn’t will always hurt me

“And you chose these people over your family?” - I MEAN-

“I’ve thought about you every day.” - Awww

So John tells Will that he has to go to Asriel and bring him the knife, and he tells him all about the war that’s coming and I have LITERAL chills because I’m so ready

“And then we go home?” “... And then we go home.” - RIP MY HEART OUT, IT WOULD HURT LESS

“I’m not strong enough” - yes you are, Will! I promise you, you are! And Jopari says, “Both of us were brought here” - exactly! You were brought there for a reason by fate or whatever you want to call it!

“Your duty was to be my father” - WILL REALLY CAME FOR HIS DAD LIKE THAT I GUESS

“Look what you’ve become without me” - Oh my god, just when I thought I wasn’t going to cry again

JOPARI HUGGING WILL, SEEING THE SOLDIER AIMING, AND THEN PUTTING HIMSELF BETWEEN THEM SO HE TOOK THE BULLET INSTEAD OF WILL ASDFGHJKL;

So in the book, Jopari is killed by a scorned witch who had once asked him to be her lover, but he had turned her down (because of Elaine and Will obviously), and she kills Jopari in front of Will and then he kills her (I think?). But here it’s just a soldier leftover from the Lee vs Magisterium fight, so... yeah. Kind of a little peeved about the change personally but whatever I guess.

“The night is full of angels, they will guide you now” - AHHHHH

Also, might just be me, but maybe that line would have been slightly more impactful if the scene had taken place at night

This show really said “fuck healthy parental figures” I guess

Except Will’s mum, she’s the best and if anything were to happen to her we’d all riot

SAYAN KÖTÖR FADING AWAY NOOOO I HATE SEEING DÆMONS DIE

Okay, last little gripe, but I just wanted to say that in the book, Will doesn’t realize it’s his dad until literally the last second before his dad dies - like they both realize and then BAM, Jopari is killed. And while I do love the father-son reunion, I am kind of annoyed by the change because it was such a huge punch in the gut in the book that Will searches for so long for his dad, only to lose him the second he finds him.

Serafina finding Lee’s body and kissing his forehead was yet another punch in the gut, thanks Pullman/BBC/BadWolf

The fact that Will had to bury his dad :(

Also, WILL WEARING JOPARI’S JACKET OH MY GOD MY HEART

Oof that shot of his amputated fingers...

So the narration, when it started I thought it was Jopari at first, like from one of his letters... but then as it continued, I went “hang on”, and then I said outloud “wait, is that ASRIEL?!”

DID MARISA REALLY PUT LYRA IN A FUCKING TRUNK?!? BITCH ARE YOU OKAY?!?

Will putting his hood up like his dad did just hits differently

Okay so um ASRIEL HI I WASN’T EXPECTING TO SEE YOU THIS SEASON OH MY GOD THE SCREAM I LET OUT

HIS MONOLOGUE BY THE WAY IS FUCKING ART AND A MASTERPIECE BUT I WAS TOO BUSY CRYING OVER JAMES MCAVOY TO WRITE THE WHOLE MONOLOGUE DOWN

Oh, hi Stelmaria!

It always makes me scream that this man is not only Lord Asriel now but he’s also fucking Mr Tumnus and MOTHERFUCKING BILL DENBROUGH LIKE HOW IS THIS MAN INVOLVED IN SO MANY OF MY FANDOMS?!?

ANGELS ANGELS OH MY FUCKING GOD-

“We stand with you, Asriel Belacqua” - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“Let us prepare for war” - FUUUUUUUUCK

(I was deadly serious when I said this was just me screaming and crying by the way)

I’m still reeling over the fact that Marisa put her daughter in a fucking trunk. Like I get you can’t exactly carry a drugged child about in the open but Jesus Christ, love, really?!?

Also Ruth Wilson / Marisa Coulter in a headscarf? *chef kiss*

The way that the screen went to black as she put the lid on the trunk down - SHIT OH SHIT GOOSEBUMPS

THE CREDIT SONG IS SO BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IT HAS FUCKING ANGELS NOW I’M-

I WASN’T EXPECTING THE POST CREDITS SCENE OH MY GOD

ROGER?! ROGER! IT’S ROGER I’M NOT OKAY-

BBC YOU CANNOT JUST DROP THAT ON US LIKE THAT FUCK-

“What is this place?” - I’M SCREAMING SO LOUD I CAN’T HOLD IT IN

For anyone unaware, the reason I’m screaming so loud over the post-credits scene is because in TAS, while Lyra is drugged and in a groggy sleep, she has these visions of Roger talking to her from the Land of the Dead, which then later leads to her and Will actually GOING to the Land of the Dead and... well, the rest is even HUGER spoilers but YEAH I’M NOT OKAY.

Honestly, I’m just so happy and emotional because I’ve been waiting over a decade for a decent adaptation of not only NL but for TSK and TAS too, and we’re 2/3 there now. Just one more book/series to go... I wish we could have it now. I really hope that filming for the final one starts ASAP because if we have to wait two years just to see the conclusion to this series, I might cry.

This series is so amazing, and this season especially has been so incredible to watch. It’s been the highlight of my week for seven weeks, and I have no idea what I’ll do with my Sundays now that it’s over. I’ve asked for the DVD for S2 for my birthday already (since it comes out 29th December and my birthday is 13th January... just saying), and words can’t describe how much I do love this series. I know it sounds hollow since I say it about so many things I’m into, but this was such a huge part of my childhood and it’s one of my favourite fantasy series of all time. It’s truly one of the most incredible pieces of literature and now it’s making for incredible television... I love it so much.

[the-fangirl-diaries]

21 Thoughts I Had While Watching Maleficent: MOE

1. Okay, someone's attacking the Moors, what else is new? And Maleficent is trying to stop them. Why can't people just leave her alone? I thought we were past all this.

2. Aww, Pinto is so cute, I would squish her but she has quills. But they can retract, right?

3. Finally! The wedding we've been waiting YEARS for (besides Maleficent and Diaval's hehe!)

4. Don't be ashamed of your horns, they're beautiful!

5. Really? You had NO IDEA that the Fey are adverse to iron? Your tone tells me otherwise.

6. This dinner scene reminds me of the one in Shrek. Wow, they got it down to the cradle!

7. HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT MALEFICENT IS NOT AURORA'S REAL MOTHER!! She did a much better job than the pixies.

8. At least King John is trying to be civil.

9. WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY GIRL? I WILL DESTROY YOU!!

10. Hold the phone. There's more of them?! Oh yeah, it was in the trailer. Wait, why is that one holding an iron bullet? That's hardcore. Hmm, they're both good looking!

11. I mean, look at those muscles and those eyes and that deep voice and- WADE! I FOUND FRANCIS!

(Popcorn break! Lyra, can you share? 🍿)

12. It's like an entire ecosystem!! Tundra, Forest, Desert and Jungle! THEY'RE ALL SO PRETTY!! AHHH! LOOK AT THE LITTLE FEY!! I WANNA HUG THEM!! I WANNA LIVE HERE!

13. One wants war, one wants peace, flip a coin, let's see who wins. *shrug*

14. So it turns out Queenie here's got a henchman who is a scientist and part fey whose wings were shorn. Man, I don't know you, but you shouldn't be working for her. PINTO!!! I WON'T LET ANYONE HARM YOU, SWEETIE!

15. I think Conall is giving Maleficent love eyes. Does she love him back? I mean, why shouldn't she. He's kind, compassionate, sweet and handsome and- DEAD?! WHAT!? *insert Michael Scott screaming meme.*

16. Great, now you made Borra mad. You've done it now, Queenie. "You've killed my best friend, prepare to die."

17. Maleficent didn't curse the king! I KNOW THAT!!! And the wedding is a trap? I should have seen that coming.

18. Hmm, Gerta has more passion in her piano (organ) playing than me. Oh, there's pink smoke that turns everyone into plants. This just got a whole lot darker.

19. COME ON DIAVAL! FIGHT THEM OFF! BECOME A DRAGON OR SOMETHING! A BEAR!!! EVEN BETTER!

19. Hang on FLITTLE! NOT YOU, TOO!!!

20. MALEFICENT!? WHAT! NO! SHE CAN'T DIE! I CAN'T SURVIVE IF ANYONE ELSE - Wait, she's a Phoenix? YAS QUEEN!!! SLAY!!

21. You wounded my man! *approaches you slowly* Prepare to die.

22. Wait, you could have given everyone a day to recover before you guys got married. I mean, we just had a war.

23. The King is well again, just in time to celebrate. And my fey man is getting revenge on Ingrith. *smiles gleefully*

24. Wait, she's a MALE GOAT!? *laughs*

25. No sweetie, Mama won't ever give you away.

26. I look at those eyes. I need me some Borra x reader stories, stat!

27. Wow, I actually enjoyed this. Time to read and try to recover from all I've witnessed.

[vidalinav]

Nessian Headcanon #12: Family Edition

Since I keep seeing baby headcanons I wanted to make a list of my own :D which I’ve briefly touched on in other posts but...

Cassian and Nesta have a boatload of children (5 at the end of it all I think). The others start joking that they’re building their own army. But what really happens is that they end up taking in many children over the years because they travel often with the work they do and they see so many conditions and there’s wars and all sorts of circumstances. It’s inevitable that kids don’t have homes but they have a giant house and unending resources and the House is like a big nanny itself so they think it’s fate. 

Nesta is actually the one who brings most of the children home. The first one is a 9 year old girl, who is the angriest kid alive. Has something to do with the plot of a story I’m writing, but Nesta is basically entrusted with this kid. She’s the grand niece of someone she ends up knowing and she’s pretty magically powerful so her family would have ate her alive, so she’s asked to keep her safe and whatnot. Her name is Magda but she goes by Maggie. She does not like Cassian whatsoever in the beginning, and she is horribly rude to Nesta. But Nesta does not care at all, she’s like okay get it out, say worse. Like she’s so chill, because she knows how it feels to be that angry. Maggie and Nesta end up being really close to the point where Maggie does not like being away from Nesta and gets very protective of her even to other members of the IC. She’ll fight first and ask questions later. Cassian and her form a bond actually not by fighting at all, but because Maggie does so many experiments that end up going awry. She’s a fae and has got magic up the wazoo and she’s a book nerd, and she’s kind of a trouble maker, and Cassian thrives. He loves her because she’s like a smaller more diabolical version of Nesta. The House is amused by their antics usually. 

Nesta ends up getting pregnant for their second child and this kid is the only one they actually have on their own. Her name is Lyra, and Maggie thinks that it’s hilarious that Cassian lives in a house with all girls. Maggie is about 12 when they have her, and Maggie at first does not take kindly to Lyra, because she starts feeling like they have their own family and she’s just the kid who eventually is going to have to go back to her other family (because that’s a plot too that I won’t go into to) but they try so much to include her, because Maggie is their child. No question. Nesta ends up telling Cassian that she’s pregnant by giving him an enchanted painting, which is the work of all three Archeron sisters. Elain for seeing what the child would look like, Feyre for painting, and Nesta for enchanting it so that if they have more children the picture will get bigger and there will be room for Feyre to paint the others. So one big family portrait. In that picture, Maggie is tucked in between the two with the baby/toddler. Dark hair, big blue eyes... maybe hazel. Maybe one of each (I’m really not sure). The best parts of both Nesta and Cassian though. She’s so gorgeous. Prettiest little girl. But yeah going back to Maggie, they ask her during this picture time (probably solstice present time) if Maggie wants to be an Archeron. (Another headcanon for another time, but Cassian marries Nesta too and becomes an Acheron). So, does she want to do this? Absolutely, and at this point she already start calling them mom and dad and just referring to them as such, so that’s their kiddos. 

Third and fourth are siblings. They’re from the continent. Maggie is 14, Lyra is close to 2. The siblings are brought by Nesta who is doing some thing that I cannot say because I have not made it up yet, but she finds them at the scene of a Massacre in hiding. The oldest is close to 6, the other is probably 1-ish. The oldest will not let them take the baby from her. The baby is a boy. They don’t speak the common tongue, which is any issue, but they hire a tutor to both talk to the little girl and then also to teach them ALL (everyone in their household) the language that the two siblings speak as well as teach them how to speak the common Prythrian language. So everyone ends up learning. The little girl is taken under the wing of Maggie, who is the perfect older sister/camp counselor as she likes to refer to herself after there’s more kids. They don’t know her name for the LONGEST time, because she won’t speak at all, but she ends up loving Cassian because he makes her laugh and he brings her a thousand stuffed bears because at one point she won’t stop crying and he brings them home and makes funny voices with them, and carries her on his shoulders, and she has the sweetest giggle. But eventually they end up naming her Ursella which she ends up going by Ella when she gets older, because her nickname with Cassian is little bear. They do ask her later when she talks if she remembers her old name and her birthday since they don’t know, but she doesn’t say that she does, which may be a lie, but Ella happily goes by Ella, and they give her a choice to choose one random day in the year to be her birthday, but she chooses to celebrate her birthday on the day they brought her in. She calls it her re-birthday.

The baby boy they name Nico. It’s actually a common Illyrian name and Cassian knows that the little boy is technically not Illyrian but it is his first son, and he really wants to give him that piece of him. Cassian does ask him when he’s about 10 if he’d prefer a name that’s based on his own culture, because they make sure that’s very integrated in their home life, because of course Cassian loves his culture and Nesta has that anthropological eye, so she knows and learns so much and they just love their children so much that they want all of them, every piece that they come with. But Nico likes his name, and he’s his dads through and through. But he LOVES Nesta. He’s a momma’s boy for sure, which I guess just makes him similar to Cassian. He does not like learning though, so Nesta usually has to teach him herself instead of having tutors, and she spends extra time with him going through his lessons. Lyra and him grow up together closer to age, so they pick on each other A LOT, but ultimately they grow up to have that relationship like I can pick on you but no one else can. They’re super close. If you want one, you find the other. They both will be together somewhere making a mess of things. Ella is the one who usually is like would you please be loud somewhere else. She ends up getting into music--playing instruments and so she generally prefers quietness to study and practice. Violin is her forte. 

The next boy comes about 4 yrs later. Maggie is 18, Lyra is 6, Nico is 5/6 ish. Ella is 10. The boy is about 12. He’s Illyrian and Cassian finds him this time and takes him to Nesta first, but Nesta is like why are you asking lol this is our new son. He’s a “bastard” unfortunately. I hate that word. But he has learned to fight, Cassian found him in the fighting pits in an Illyrian camp a couple hours away from Windhaven, and the situation was so much like his except this kid was never given a home like he was. So, he spent a good couple of weeks trying to get on his good side enough for him to trust him and to want to go someplace safer and warm. He hates Cassian a lot at first... while at the same time being like you’re the hero I’ve heard about. So admiration but also a touch of resentment and anger at the world. Cassian doesn’t know what to do with that, because still to the day he does not handle emotion like Nesta does. He understands it but he doesn’t know what to say, what to do, his go to is always training, but training is not what this child needs. So again, this is Nesta’s forte. Interestingly enough, she’s very gentle with kids. She’s empathetic, soft, but not condescending. She gives everyone the same respect so it helps a lot when he sees that and he’s never had a mom before who tucks him in or makes sure he’s feeling well. His name is Julian. I forgot that part and it turns out he’s HATES fighting. But he really likes plants. So he ends up spending a lot of time with Elain when she visits. He’s fascinated by them and ends up having his own garden. But because Nesta is magical in this headcanon (because she’s more witchy in my fics) he learns A LOT about poisons. Not because Nesta teaches him, but because he finds her books and reads them and starts growing them. This becomes a problem, because when Julian doesn’t like his tutors or teachers, he starts trying to poison them. Like not killing them, but he knows which will give stomach aches, which will give rashes. Nesta is both proud and reprimanding. 

I do feel like they might have more, but I don’t know for now I feel this is good for their set family. Five in total for their first gaggle of children lol. But all of them are asked if they want to be an Archeron. All of them say yes. All of them have each other’s back even if they have screaming matches on the daily. The house is mostly chaotic at all times but the House loves having people in it and laughing and being filled to the brim with stuffed animals and train sets and plants and music and family members coming in and out since Nyx visits often because he’s an only child for a very long time with Feyre taking more of a position in court rulings and Rhysand just being generally busy because you know High Lord/High Lady stuff. I don’t see Feyre being a stay at home mom but I also don’t see Rhys being a stay at home dad, but they’re also rulers so I peg them for both being working parents, which they feel guilty about A LOT at first, and it’s something that they struggle with in the confines of their own identities and their relationship, because they love Nyx and they know they’re parents but that’s not all they are, and without having the gender role of one parent staying home it’s very difficult for them to both rule, but Rhys does not want to stop being a high lord and Feyre is bored too often and she wants to rule and she knows she can, and she has that title for a reason and wants to utilize it. So it’s a hard time, with lots of arguments, but Nyx ends up mostly going with Cassian for a good amount of the day when he’s older and they have more kids in the house, and Nyx doesn’t really know that Feyre and Rhys had this problem, because he’d just prefer to be around the other kids and it ends up working really well. 

Cassian ends up being more of the stay at home parent. I don’t know why but I feel he just gives me that vibe where forget the courtier business, if there’s no war and if the armies are generally taken care of which he does, he wants to stay home and raise his kids, which is very surprising since he’s the one who doesn’t ever take vacations. He wants to be there for every moment no matter how awkward or loud. That’s his family and he’s waited so long for them, and it’s not even about him not having that family early on, it’s because he genuinely would rather be with his kids. He’s the one who as soon as they got the siblings was like I’m going to have to take a step back, because he saw his kids every day but he just didn’t want to be away for long periods of time, and at that point he’d already taken several steps back on working, so it became more of a done deal then. He still is the general, but he gives more responsibility to Devlon and to other people he’s trained over the years to step up. So generally, Cassian will work a couple of days a week for a couple of hours or just go quickly in the evenings, go over reports if the kids are in class with their teachers, and more during certain times of the year, but he’s generally more of a family man. 

Nesta in my fic/headcanon ends up being a queen as well as a leader of the witches and the founder/leader of the Valkyrie and she owns a shipping company and she’s the cauldron’s guardian which don’t ask me to explain, it’s in this fic I’ve barely written. But she’s a “I can bake the cake and eat it too” type of person to me, and because of her magic it is easy for her to do it all because it’s like a full time job. She goes home after a certain hour and she’s back with her kiddos, and most of her jobs have other people who have a handle on things as well. So she’s not an island, but she loves having the purpose and the drive, because as much as she did like being in the library and being in Velaris and having that day to day slice of life, she likes and yearns for adventure. She’s a go-getter and is not necessarily ambitious for power, but she’s got the whole world to discover and she can have anything she’s willing to work for. She wants to be and see it all. Cassian is endlessly proud of her and is like that’s my mate, my wife. My mate. My wife. And they both end up getting what they want without having to sacrifice their own ideals. Their marriage is a collaboration and it ends up working phenomenally for the two of them and their children. 

But ultimately it’s really the House that makes it possible. Because who cooks food and cleans and supplies every need and wish and whatnot? The House. Who baby proofs? The House. The House is like I’ve always wanted a big family and boy does it get a big family.