#but yes he's shown repeatedly as believing in people

[ifishouldvanish]

Y'all, I can't stop thinking about Olrox's relationship with vampirism.

Despite being a vampire, despite occupying a more antagonistic role compared to the other protagonists, he is shown to quite ostensibly 'have a soul'.

He recognizes the inner conflict Mizrak is contending with regarding working with Bàthory to harvest corpses to turn into night creatures. He recognizes that night creature Edouard has a 'human soul' and wonders what he did to deserve such a fate. He appreciates Edouard's singing, rather than being annoyed by it. He refuses to bow to Bàthory until he absolutely has no choice, and questions hers and Drolta's treatment of the other vampire at the vendee (Asking "what did he do?" when they're holding him down and branding him). He tells Tera that it's good she's still following her heart. Tells Mizrak that he is driven by longing, desire, and love and not hatred and disgust.

We spend season two with all of these moments where the characters ask themselves, "Do vampires/night creatures have souls?" "To what extent are they capable of love and empathy?" and we see Olrox repeatedly act as the living proof that despite his inclination toward self-preservation... yes!! Yes they do!! And yes they are!!! The first thing we learn about him is that Julia Belmont took someone away from him who he loved very much!!!

So I keep coming back to his conversation with Tera, and I like that his line is, "welcome to immortality" instead of, "welcome to vampirism" or something akin to that. Because it presents their 'condition' as an arguably value-neutral one. They're not suddenly soulless monsters, they're still themselves, or at least capable of remaining themselves so long as they 'follow their heart'. The true struggle of the vampire is not one of a loss of the self—of being cursed to live as this soulless thing that only craves blood—but how to hold onto one's self over an eternity.

It's a struggle Olrox has embodied throughout both seasons: How do you honor yourself and the people you love when faced with injustice and impossible odds? Where does one draw the line between cowardice and survival? How many times can you compromise parts of yourself before you no longer recognize the person you've become? To what extent can this process be considered 'survival' at all?

We're used to seeing vampirism framed as a moral tradeoff: you can be young and powerful forever, but it will cost your soul/humanity. Or you can be young and powerful forever, but who really wants to live forever? If Olrox believed vampirism robbed you of your soul, it's doubtful he'd have turned his lover—but clearly he doesn't believe that. And evidently, given his proclivity towards self-preservation, Olrox does want to 'live forever'. 250+ years into his life as a vampire, he still loves, and still wants to live.

Which leaves the blood, and the fact that the very concept of a soul as we're used to seeing it in relation to vampirism is rooted in Christianity. But what weight do these kinds of spiritual arguments have for someone who doesn't share this conception of the soul, or the afterlife, or the universe as a whole?

What weight does "you'll lose your soul" have to a person coming from a population whose genocide was justified under the papal "Doctrine of Discovery", which basically said, "it's okay and even encouraged to steal from, brutalize, and enslave the people you encounter on newly discovered lands, so long as they aren't Christians/refuse to convert."

What weight does "but you'll have to feed on the blood of the living" have to a person coming from a culture where everything on earth is seen as part of the flesh and blood of the gods, and where the spilling of blood is seen as repaying a debt to those gods for giving humanity life and sustenance?

What weight does "you'll have to kill people to survive" have to a person coming from a world where capturing people in ritualized combat for the purpose of sacrificing them was considered a noble calling? An act that helps perpetuate the existence of humanity?

What weight do these arguments have coming from people who are stealing, beating, enslaving, and killing you in the name of their own God? People who don't think you have a soul anyway, or at the very least, think that the only way to save your soul is to completely surrender your beliefs, your culture, and your identity first?

You take away these arguments and you're left with the cost of immortality itself: how to hold onto your sense of self over an eternity, how to keep following your heart, how to not lose yourself.

But even this struggle is already how Olrox's people would have understood ethics and spirituality. A soul is not 'damned' or 'saved'. Rather the three components of the soul are constantly in flux, and man's great spiritual struggle lies in teotl—achieving, maintaining, and continuously restoring the balance of these components over the course of their life.

In this context, vampirism can instead present a chance to outlive the very people who are destroying your world by spilling their blood instead your own. In the face of imminent genocide, it offers survival—without having to compromise much of who you are and how you understand the world. It represents refusing to give up the fight against an enemy that wants to eradicate you, wants to destroy any and all traces of your humanity, wants to make you bow to it and surrender the very core of who you are.

How might this perspective help Olrox to justify turning the people he loves into vampires? Seeing his lover be subject to much of the same genocide, cultural or otherwise, that he experienced himself? To give someone he loved the promise of living to hopefully one day see a better future for his people? Seeing Mizrak be suffocated by the confines of his loyalty to the Catholic church—the very entity that effectively signed off on the genocide of Olrox's people—and wanting to show him, "no, I still have a soul, and so will you"? That there's "nothing to fear" in being turned into a monstrous thing? That the people who are doing this to you, who are causing your suffering, already see you as a monster anyway?

[craziertogether]

mike fell for will first.

it’s a bold statement to make but i stand by it.

i firmly believe that mike fell for will first and realized it was wrong first. as bylers we talk a lot about how mike had mountains of queer coding and was “gayer” than will in previous seasons. which i think this is why the GA tends to think that will liking mike is fanservice or doomed to fail because they only saw the confession in the van scene. (apart from lacking media literacy) i genuinely think mike had always seen will as special to him, genuinely as like the light of his life, and while society/his family conditioned him to internalize his feelings, his own lack of self worth pushed him to hide his true self (but will later push him towards will). i think the biggest indicator to mike that his feelings could never be expressed was when his own father stated “see what happens mike?” yes it could’ve been seen as a half assed ignorant comment or a warning to mike but i think mike actually interpreted it as, “will being queer was the reason for his demise”. not only the demise of death but mixed with the downfall of how society viewed will as an individual. mike was already apart of the outcasts and not well liked, but mixing that with how no one even really mourned will, now that really scared mike.

so how does this all play into my claim? mike was in love with will when he died. part of him died that day with will. that was a good reason of why he didn’t hesitate to jump off the edge (yes for dustin but there’s more to it than that). thus, when a nearly impossible possibility that will was alive came to be, mike jumped at the chance. yes, because he loved will. but more so he had found his self worth back. it’s why we see his drive to repair his “relationships” dustin, lucas, and el, all of them now working together for the sole purpose of finding will (and yes keeping el safe). it’s why i believe he is no longer hesitant to show his full devotion to will at the end of season one, by being the first to run to will when he wakes up and why he chooses will repeatedly during season 2. he loved will all along, he loved that will gave him strength and self worth again. (something i might add he never felt with el, he ALWAYS felt weak and inferior and with el it only magnified that when we see how she has powers and could save people something he doesn’t think he can do.) as social pressures kept rising, it all pushed him to fall back onto heteronormativity. and yet, even in his peak “straight bro” era. his love for will outweighs that, he chooses will through the storm that is season three and why he biked miles through the storm after the rain fight (bane of my existence btw). i don’t think it’s because he started to recognize his feelings for will in season 3 which prompted his obsession with el, i believe he always did know about them, from the start. and it’s why he continues to go back to will even when he does everything in his power to keep up his facade, he still knows that it’s will that he will always choose. so by season 4, when mike’s back to his bs and forcing his attraction to el. we see it completely fail, over and over he incriminates himself and finds himself going back to will. again you ask why? because will has shown him what he has always needed, someone who sees his worth and is willing to stay with him even when he doesn’t see his purpose anymore. will empowers mike, not because will is weak and needs a savior because they just fit together and do that for each other. it’s the same reason will finds his own strength to confess (though with a cover) to mike. will finds his voice through mike, mike finds his strength and purpose through will. everything they need (emotionally), they find just that in the other.

[mariacallous]

Democrats and liberal pundits are already trying to figure out how the Trump campaign not only bested Kamala Harris in the “Blue Wall” states of the Midwest and the Rust Belt, but gained on her even in areas that should have been safe for a Democrat. Almost everywhere, Donald Trump expanded his coalition, and this time, unlike in 2016, he didn’t have to thread the needle of the Electoral College to win: He can claim the legitimacy of winning the popular vote.

Trump’s opponents are now muttering about the choice of Tim Walz, the influence of the Russians, the role of the right-wing media, and whether President Joe Biden should not have stepped aside in favor of Harris. Even the old saw about “economic anxiety” is making a comeback.

These explanations all have some merit, but mostly, they miss the point. Yes, some voters still stubbornly believe that presidents magically control the price of basic goods. Others have genuine concerns about immigration and gave in to Trump’s booming call of fascism and nativism. And some of them were just never going to vote for a woman, much less a Black woman.

But in the end, a majority of American voters chose Trump because they wanted what he was selling: a nonstop reality show of rage and resentment. Some Democrats, still gripped by the lure of wonkery, continue to scratch their heads over which policy proposals might have unlocked more votes, but that was always a mug’s game. Trump voters never cared about policies, and he rarely gave them any. (Choosing to be eaten by a shark rather than electrocuted might be a personal preference, but it’s not a policy.) His rallies involved long rants about the way he’s been treated, like a giant therapy session or a huge family gathering around a bellowing, impaired grandpa.

Back in 2021, I wrote a book about the rise of “illiberal populism,” the self-destructive tendency in some nations that leads people to participate in democratic institutions such as voting while being hostile to democracy itself, casting ballots primarily to punish other people and to curtail everyone’s rights—even their own. These movements are sometimes led by fantastically wealthy faux populists who hoodwink gullible voters by promising to solve a litany of problems that always seem to involve money, immigrants, and minorities. The appeals from these charlatans resonate most not among the very poor, but among a bored, relatively well-off middle class, usually those who are deeply uncomfortable with racial and demographic changes in their own countries.

And so it came to pass: Last night, a gaggle of millionaires and billionaires grinned and applauded for Trump. They were part of an alliance with the very people another Trump term would hurt—the young, minorities, and working families among them.

Trump, as he has shown repeatedly over the years, couldn’t care less about any of these groups. He ran for office to seize control of the apparatus of government and to evade judicial accountability for his previous actions as president. Once he is safe, he will embark on the other project he seems to truly care about: the destruction of the rule of law and any other impediments to enlarging his power.

Americans who wish to stop Trump in this assault on the American constitutional order, then, should get it out of their heads that this election could have been won if only a better candidate had made a better pitch to a few thousand people in Pennsylvania. Biden, too old and tired to mount a proper campaign, likely would have lost worse than Harris; more to the point, there was nothing even a more invigorated Biden or a less, you know, female alternative could have offered. Racial grievances, dissatisfaction with life’s travails (including substance addiction and lack of education), and resentment toward the villainous elites in faraway cities cannot be placated by housing policy or interest-rate cuts.

No candidate can reason about facts and policies with voters who have no real interest in such things. They like the promises of social revenge that flow from Trump, the tough-guy rhetoric, the simplistic “I will fix it” solutions. And he’s interesting to them, because he supports and encourages their conspiracist beliefs. (I knew Harris was in trouble when I was in Pennsylvania last week for an event and a fairly well-off business owner, who was an ardent Trump supporter, told me that Michelle Obama had conspired with the Canadians to change the state’s vote tally in 2020. And that wasn’t even the weirdest part of the conversation.)

As Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark, put it in a social-media post last night: The election went the way it did “because America wanted Trump. That’s it. People reaching to construct [policy] alibis for the public because they don’t want to grapple with this are whistling past the graveyard.” Last worries that we might now be in a transition to authoritarianism of the kind Russia went through in the 1990s, but I visited Russia often in those days, and much of the Russian democratic implosion was driven by genuinely brutal economic conditions and the rapid collapse of basic public services. Americans have done this to themselves during a time of peace, prosperity, and astonishingly high living standards. An affluent society that thinks it is living in a hellscape is ripe for gulling by dictators who are willing to play along with such delusions.

The bright spot in all this is that Trump and his coterie must now govern. The last time around, Trump was surrounded by a small group of moderately competent people, and these adults basically put baby bumpers and pool noodles on all the sharp edges of government. This time, Trump will rule with greater power but fewer excuses, and he—and his voters—will have to own the messes and outrages he is already planning to create.

Those voters expect that Trump will hurt others and not them. They will likely be unpleasantly surprised, much as they were in Trump’s first term. (He was, after all, voted out of office for a reason.) For the moment, some number of them have memory-holed that experience and are pretending that his vicious attacks on other Americans are just so much hot air.

Trump, unfortunately, means most of what he says. In this election, he has triggered the unfocused ire and unfounded grievances of millions of voters. Soon we will learn whether he can still trigger their decency—if there is any to be found.

[porterdavis]

A great long read from Tom Nichols of The Atlantic:

“Democrats and liberal pundits are already trying to figure out how the Trump campaign not only bested Kamala Harris in the “Blue Wall” states of the Midwest and the Rust Belt, but gained on her even in areas that should have been safe for a Democrat. Almost everywhere, Donald Trump expanded his coalition, and this time, unlike in 2016, he didn’t have to thread the needle of the Electoral College to win: He can claim the legitimacy of winning the popular vote.

Trump’s opponents are now muttering about the choice of Tim Walz, the influence of the Russians, the role of the right-wing media, and whether President Joe Biden should not have stepped aside in favor of Harris. Even the old saw about “economic anxiety” is making a comeback.

These explanations all have some merit, but mostly, they miss the point. Yes, some voters still stubbornly believe that presidents magically control the price of basic goods. Others have genuine concerns about immigration and gave in to Trump’s booming call of fascism and nativism. And some of them were just never going to vote for a woman, much less a Black woman.

But in the end, a majority of American voters chose Trump because they wanted what he was selling: a nonstop reality show of rage and resentment. Some Democrats, still gripped by the lure of wonkery, continue to scratch their heads over which policy proposals might have unlocked more votes, but that was always a mug’s game. Trump voters never cared about policies, and he rarely gave them any. (Choosing to be eaten by a shark rather than electrocuted might be a personal preference, but it’s not a policy.) His rallies involved long rants about the way he’s been treated, like a giant therapy session or a huge family gathering around a bellowing, impaired grandpa.

Back in 2021, I wrote a book about the rise of “illiberal populism,” the self-destructive tendency in some nations that leads people to participate in democratic institutions such as voting while being hostile to democracy itself, casting ballots primarily to punish other people and to curtail everyone’s rights—even their own. These movements are sometimes led by fantastically wealthy faux populists who hoodwink gullible voters by promising to solve a litany of problems that always seem to involve money, immigrants, and minorities. The appeals from these charlatans resonate most not among the very poor, but among a bored, relatively well-off middle class, usually those who are deeply uncomfortable with racial and demographic changes in their own countries.

And so it came to pass: Last night, a gaggle of millionaires and billionaires grinned and applauded for Trump. They were part of an alliance with the very people another Trump term would hurt—the young, minorities, and working families among them.

Trump, as he has shown repeatedly over the years, couldn’t care less about any of these groups. He ran for office to seize control of the apparatus of government and to evade judicial accountability for his previous actions as president. Once he is safe, he will embark on the other project he seems to truly care about: the destruction of the rule of law and any other impediments to enlarging his power.

Americans who wish to stop Trump in this assault on the American constitutional order, then, should get it out of their heads that this election could have been won if only a better candidate had made a better pitch to a few thousand people in Pennsylvania. Biden, too old and tired to mount a proper campaign, likely would have lost worse than Harris; more to the point, there was nothing even a more invigorated Biden or a less, you know, female alternative could have offered. Racial grievances, dissatisfaction with life’s travails (including substance addiction and lack of education), and resentment toward the villainous elites in faraway cities cannot be placated by housing policy or interest-rate cuts.

No candidate can reason about facts and policies with voters who have no real interest in such things. They like the promises of social revenge that flow from Trump, the tough-guy rhetoric, the simplistic “I will fix it” solutions. And he’s interesting to them, because he supports and encourages their conspiracist beliefs. (I knew Harris was in trouble when I was in Pennsylvania last week for an event and a fairly well-off business owner, who was an ardent Trump supporter, told me that Michelle Obama had conspired with the Canadians to change the state’s vote tally in 2020. And that wasn’t even the weirdest part of the conversation.)

As Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark, put it in a social-media post last night: The election went the way it did “because America wanted Trump. That’s it. People reaching to construct [policy] alibis for the public because they don’t want to grapple with this are whistling past the graveyard.” Last worries that we might now be in a transition to authoritarianism of the kind Russia went through in the 1990s, but I visited Russia often in those days, and much of the Russian democratic implosion was driven by genuinely brutal economic conditions and the rapid collapse of basic public services. Americans have done this to themselves during a time of peace, prosperity, and astonishingly high living standards. An affluent society that thinks it is living in a hellscape is ripe for gulling by dictators who are willing to play along with such delusions.

The bright spot in all this is that Trump and his coterie must now govern. The last time around, Trump was surrounded by a small group of moderately competent people, and these adults basically put baby bumpers and pool noodles on all the sharp edges of government. This time, Trump will rule with greater power but fewer excuses, and he—and his voters—will have to own the messes and outrages he is already planning to create.

Those voters expect that Trump will hurt others and not them. They will likely be unpleasantly surprised, much as they were in Trump’s first term. (He was, after all, voted out of office for a reason.) For the moment, some number of them have memory-holed that experience and are pretending that his vicious attacks on other Americans are just so much hot air.

Trump, unfortunately, means most of what he says. In this election, he has triggered the unfocused ire and unfounded grievances of millions of voters. Soon we will learn whether he can still trigger their decency—if there is any to be found.

[namtanlovesfilm]

burnout syndrome: everything we know & my guesses

since burnout syndrome seems to be in its very early stages of development, here is what we know & certain of my plot point guesses:

while the show is written by jittirain (who wrote theory of love), it does not come from one of her novels. it will therefore be an original script made for this series.

offgun must have had some details about doing this show for about 6 months, since off has worked out very intensely almost every day since then (since p'nuchie required it for this role), and it also coincides with gun saying that off would have a six pack next year. I believe offgun had a knowledge that their next show would be more mature & sexual, which is when p'nuchie got brought in, and I believe dew arrived later as the third one in the love triangle, around the same time jittirain signed on.

p'nuchie working with offgun again is surprising considering her previous treatment by gmmtv (cutting her budget repeatedly & not promoting not me at all despite p'nuchie being a big deal director), however it is not THAT surprising since not me was by far her most popular & mainstream project, and she has always had a soft spot for gun with whom she has worked repeatedly. she also seems quite close to off.

now, for the plot: we do not know any character's name or much about them at all, which is why this project really seems to still be in its infancy. I would not expect an early 2025 release... I think this will be an end of the year release à la not me & cooking crush.

gun seems to play a poor character compared to white in not me, while off plays a rich character compared to sean in not me... it's a role reversal! gun's character seems to be the struggling artist type, and an openly queer character. he's basically yok from not me (yes I'm keeping the not me comparisons bc there's a LOT!) he's down to do any odd job for money which is how he meets off's character. he seems quite daring & confident, while also a bit introverted & in his own world.

off's character definitely has todd vibes for me (and not just bc that pool kiss scene reminded me of the first toddblack confrontation lol). he seems to be a businessman but is very shady. he is described as a "bad boy" by emi's character, and he hires gun to be his "stand-in"... but he's still in the same room, dictating everything to him?? he says he doesn't like people, but what does it mean exactly? does he have a phobia of people? then in this case, why is he going outside so easily? all of these questions will be answered once the script will be fully written imo. I think that, just like not me, the mock trailer & final show will be very different but evoke the same vibe & characters. in any case, off's character is highly intriguing, he's clearly a red flag & kind of a weirdo, and I can't wait to know more!

next we have dew's character, who is a fortune teller? probably not as a job but as a hobby? (side note, I find it funny that so many gmmtv 2025 featured fortune tellers & psychics lol.) although I feel like choosing dew for the role bc they seem to make him want to seem a soft nerd against off's character who's possessive & rough is kind of a miscast bc since dew is SO tall he just doesn't give off these kinds of vibes imo, I'm quite interested in this love triangle. both dew & gun seem to like each other, and gun's tears when dew leaves are giving SERIOUS "in love" vibes. HOWEVER, gun's character definitely has a strong attraction for off & uses him as his artistic muse... the last quote of the trailer is "if one day he has a heart... I can love him, right?" indicating that off's character has shown gun that he has no heart but gun falls for him anyways... I JUST WANNA KNOW THE BACK STORY FOR THESE CHARACTERS SO BAD BC I KNOW IT'S GONNA HIT SO HARD!!! but to get back to dew, I really wanna know where he fits into this story, because...

this is almost guaranteed to be an offgun endgame. I say almost bc there's always the possibility of it being a poly endgame but let's be for real, I don't see dewoff having any chemistry lol (though they can surprise me, I didn't think dew would have romantic chemistry with gun either!) but the fact that offgun have been a stable ship for 9 years, that they came out on stage from a different platform than dew, the positioning in the poster... and also everything in the trailer indicates that they are endgame. I'm curious to see what happens to dew then though lol, we shall see.

I'm very curious about emi's role. she obviously played gun's sister in the trainee, and now she plays his best friend so she's now the only actor who has been featured in 2 offgun shows with sing, especially back to back lol! seeing how there's only 5 characters shown for now & she was in the main actors list alongside offgundew... I think she'll have a big role, but I have no idea what it can be. in any case, I stan!

lastly for the characters, we have thor, who I'm also really intrigued by. we know he works in burnout bar but WHAT is burnout bar? why do they match random people by numbers? does everyone who comes there needs to be burned out? as a background place for the show, this bar is interesting & reminds me of the one in the jungle (which also featured off!) I wonder if we'll see off in that bar, even though it's been established as dewgun's place in the mock trailer, it's too central to the story to keep its main character out of it for the whole show. I'm hoping thor has a bigger role than just the bartender lol.

in conclusion, a lot of things are very vague about this show, which is a bit frustrating bc I WANNA KNOW MORE, but also really nice bc it means that, compared to certain other shows from gmmtv 2025, we won't be spoiled most of the story by the trailer :) also I'm betting that they will add one or two other cast members, but they haven't written the show yet so all of the characters aren't fleshed out yet. anyways, I can't wait! 💚💚💚

EDIT: turns out I have more to say lol

so I was looking at the poster closely while editing my thumbnail for my gmmtv 2025 reaction video, and I noticed something:

the whole poster is in red tones: the background, the title, the lighting in their hair... and their clothes... EXCEPT for dew's shirt.

although this is just a mock poster & once again, the show will likely evolve once the script is written, the visual story telling of this poster is extremely interesting!

dew's shirt is light blue compared to the rest of the poster which is overwhelmingly red. blue represents calm and peace, which seems in line with the little we have seen from dew's character so far.

gun's shirt is pink. in terms of value, him & dew both have lighter colored shirts, but in different families. dew's blue is a cold color while gun's pink is a warm color.

now onto off, who has a dark red shirt. in terms of value, his is completely different from both dew and gun's, which also fits the little of his character we've seen. he is called a "bad boy" and "chaos" in this trailer after all, which fits the darker red color well. however, in terms of color family, off & gun are more in line bc they're both wearing a shade of red which is a warm color. since this show will clearly hinge on their sexual desire for one another, this makes sense. and since the poster unity is in the red, which IS the color of passion, sex, and violence, it is clear that offgun are the main pairing of this show, with off's hand on gun's head while dew is only passively touching gun by being close to him.

although red is the color of violence, I don't think there will be much physical violence in this show, as the trailer didn't hint for it at all. although I wouldn't be surprised we get a scene of off & dew sparring to stay in line with the classic bl love triangle tropes. though since dew is much taller than off, I wonder how they'd make it look like a fair fight lmao.

anyways, back to the poster. by having gun & dew's clothes in the same value which is light, as well as dew snuggling to gun's heart, we can infere that gun will first like dew. after all, we meet dew before off in the trailer, and it seems to be the same for gun's character. dew is the "good guy" in this show, the one that "makes sense", where things are "easy." however, his clothes ARE in a different color family as gun's. blue is calm, but it's also cold. which is why dew seems to be able to walk away from his job with off, and more importantly, gun, in the trailer.

but for off, whose clothes are darker than gun, showing his "bad" side, he is at least in the same color family as gun's. we see in the trailer that gun has a lot of sexual desire for off, which is clear with the drawing he does of him where off's genitals are OUT and he's touching himself:

side note - I'm gonna need the full nude scene to include the moment off touches himself while gun dies in a sea of desire bc I genuinely think this will be the peak of queer cinema. yok in not me said nude drawing isn't sexual? make it. please p'nuchie, make it sexual in burnout syndrome 🙏

second side note - damn they made off's waist so snatched in that drawing, I love it 😏

ANYWAYS to conclude: we have offgun showing so much more visual cohesion in this poster, which really makes me think this will not be a full love triangle (in a poly way) but a show where the logical suitor (dew) gets overtaken by the chaotic, messy one (off.) now, how are they going to make it make sense and make us root for the bad boy? idk & I CANNOT wait!

although I do think that having dew (light blue) and off (dark red) have some sort of gay scene together WOULD make sense, and it would even more make sense that they wouldn't work bc they're literal opposites in everything, creating even more stakes in the love triangle.

that's it, I've ruled out that I don't want a poly ship or any trio scene, I want offdew having hooked up in the past & it haunting them LMAO

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Lily Potter is not Mediocre

I wrote this initially as a response to a reblog on this post, but I wanted to give Lily a post of her own that isn't tied in with my rambling about shipping Voldemort. So here it is:

We don't know a lot about Lily, but what we do know implies she is very magically talented and has a bit of a cruel streak to her. She isn't as perfect as some portray her, nor as awful as I've seen some claim her to be. but oh boy do I disagree about her being mediocre.

Let's talk about the magical power first, becouse I feel a lot of people underestimate Lily's magical talent.

“Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good lord, it’s clear you’ve inherited your mother’s talent. She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are — one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!”

(HBP)

I know some people like to claim Lily was only good at potions because of Snape, but I don't think that's the case. I'm sure he helped her out at first, but they stopped being friends at 5th year and she continued to seemingly have good grades at Potions since Slughorn really loves her.

As a child, Lily has incredible control over her accidental magic and accomplishes difficult magic naturally and intuitively:

But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.

(DH)

Lily had picked up a fallen flower from the bush behind which Snape lurked. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster.

(DH)

This is way more advanced than magic usually shown by kids, especially because of how controlled it is. The only other character we see on level with Lily's control at such a young age (and who mastered unaided flight on their own) is Voldemort.

Harry also shows insanely powerful accidental magic (including Apparation) and let's just say, I don't think Harry's magical talent came from James.

Lily was both Prefect and head girl (like Tom) again showing she had a great academic track record and was likely a top student in many of her classes. We know she was good at Potions, but she was likely very adapt at Charms as well:

You have your mother’s eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work

(PS)

Now, I talked in the past on here about how Harry is insanely magically powerful, specifically when it came to intuitive magic that just reacted to his emotions/desires or him being able to feel magic (this is that post). If we take Dumbledore at his word on how Lily cast her sacrificial love on Harry (which I tend to do) her sacrificial magic was insanely intuitive magic like we see Harry repeatedly do throughout the books.

I think the reason no one else ever did is because of the specific circumstances and Lily's specific words, yes, but I also think, that like her son, she had a knack for her magic responding intuitively to her desires no spell needed. This is a mark of a very powerful wizard/witch and not something a mediocre wizard would be likely to accomplish.

We see Harry cast this same sacrificial love in DH. And he, too, doesn't really cast anything, it's intuitive, his magic is powerful and incredibly reactive to his emotions — and I believe Lily was the same.

JKR has mentioned Voldemort tried to convince James and Lily to become Death Eaters, more than once ("Thrice defied him"). He wouldn't have given them more than one chance if either of them was mediocre. I also don't think he would've tried to get Lily to step aside so he wouldn't have to kill her as many times as he did if he thought she was average at best.

As for her personality, you're right, she isn't exactly Harry, but they do share some very important traits, and as I said, I think she and Tom would clash less than Harry and Tom (as in Lily doesn't get angry the way Harry does, so their reactions would be different).

Lily acted charming and prideful:

She turned, nose in the air, and marched off towards her sister.

(DH)

“Hmpf. Yes, well. You shouldn’t have favorites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. Your mother,” Slughorn added, in answer to Harry’s questioning look. “Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl.I used to tell her she ought to have been in my House. Very cheeky answers I used to get back too.”

(HBP)

Slughorn talks about Lily's personality more than any other character, and what he says does paint her as similar to Harry.

She was talented and bright. Slughorn, who thought Tom Riddle, considers Lily Potter one of the brightest students he ever thought. She was in no way mediocre.

She was charming and had a firey personality to her. She was enthusiastic and charismatic and was easily likable.

I especially like what Slughorn says about Lily being good for Slytherin. Like Harry, she was likely considered by the hat for both Slytherin and Gryffindor due to her cleverness and bravery being both part of her.

And these cheeky answers Slghorn refers to, are like Harry's. Harry is the cheeky student Slughorn is referring to in the same breath as Lily's. Harry got his sass from Lily, not from James. Harry's tendency to back-talk Dark Lords came from his mom.

She's more scared when she's younger, crying more, but she clearly grows up to be fiercer, as Slughorn mentions and as we see in some of the memories:

“Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you — ” “Letme? Letme?” Lily’s bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once.

(DH)

As for the cruel streak I mentioned:

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, “Let him down!”

(OotP)

Lily, even as Snape's best friend, can't help but find the bullying funny for just a moment. It means her sense of humor can be on the crueler side at times. The fact that it's implied, even during SWM that Lily didn't really hate James, just disliked his behavior is quite telling. Like, I don't think he needed to change much for her to go out with him. Sirius even says he mostly just stopped hexing people in the halls. I think he wasn't as arrogant, but he was probably still very egocentric. And Lily liked that (contrary to Harry who'd find it more annoying).

Additionally, when Lily wants to, she knows to hit where it hurts (the Slytherin streak Slughorn talks about?):

“That’s where you’re going,” said Petunia with relish. “A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy ... weirdos, that’s what you two are. It’s good you’re being separated from normal people. It’s for our safety.” Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce.“You didn’t think it was such a freak’s school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you.” Petunia turned scarlet.

(DH)

She knows Petunia and she knows what would hurt/embarrass her the most and she goes for the throat. Even if later she tries to smooth things over with her.

I also wanted to note her wand. Ollivanders said she had a Willow wand, and willow wands have some interesting facts about them:

Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

(From Pottermore)

(Ron has a Willow wand too, btw, like the second wand he gets that is really his)

This implies Lily was insecure, and you kinda see it in her behavior as a child. Her deference to Petunia and how many questions she asks Snape:

“Normally,” said Snape. “But you’re Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents.” “Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?”

(DH)

She is scared, walking up to the sorting hat:

He watched his mother walk forward on trembling legs and sit down upon the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat onto her head, and barely a second after it had touched the dark red hair, the hat cried, “ Gryffindor”

(DH)

But the hat placed her in Gryffindor becouse of the bravery was there. The insecurity isn't warranted (according to the wand's description). She had the fire and fierceness there all along. she may thought herself average but it was never true.

The description of the wand also suggests Lily would've been quite good with advanced non-verbal magic, which fits everything I mentioned about her magic being very intuitive like Harry's in the first section here.

So Lily is in no way mediocre and Harry is his mother's son.

[his-lune]

☾ Magnetic Pull | Todoroki Shouto ☽

A/N: Idk if I like this but here it is 😭 if you'd like a second part to this, please let me know 🩷 requests are open, but please check out the requirements before requesting. Happy reading!

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Fem Reader

Word Count: 870

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Nothing that I can think of.

Shouto’s eyebrows were furrowed, looking deep in thought as he stared at his desk. The noises around him were blocked out as he thought about only one thing: you. He was so lost in his mind, that he didn’t even notice Izuku repeatedly calling his name. 

“-roki! Todoroki!” Izuku’s voice paired with his hand waving finally broke Shouto out of his thoughts. The half-red half-white haired male trailed his gaze to where you were standing with Momo and Mina.

“I can’t keep myself away from her, and I always have her on my mind,” Shouto mumbled to Izuku as he continued to stare at the way you laughed with the other girls. “I think she has some kind of magnetic force that pulls me into her. Do you think it’s part of her quirk?”

Izuku could feel himself sweating at Shouto’s words. “Magnetic force? It can’t be part of her quirk, I’ve known her since we were children. She’s never shown this part if it is part of her quirk. Then again, I guess it could make sense? But, no because…” Izuku trailed off into his mumbled rambling, face scrunching as he debated whether or not you had a secret ability of your quirk. Wondering why you never told him, if that were the case. 

“Todoroki,” Iida said, curt voice cutting off Izuku’s rambling, “I believe that’s called attraction, and I think you’re in love with her.” He nodded after he finished talking and walked back to his desk to prepare for the next class. 

Shouto tilted his head as he finally tore his eyes off of your form, turning to talk to Izuku. “Attraction…? Midoriya-san, do you think I’m in love with Y/n?” His deadpan stare caused Izuku to stare at him with a slight guilty expression. 

“Well, Todoroki…” Izuku started, nervously glancing at you before continuing, “Yes…?” Noticing the confused expression on the half-and-half boy’s face, he quickly waved his hands. “It’s just, you’re always wanting to be near her. Even when we’re just walking to Ground Beta. Plus, you’re always staring at her with a soft look, wanting to be her sparring partner, sitting next to her at lunch, buying her lunch…” 

Izuku trailed off once more at the panicked look on his friend’s face. Before the green-haired boy could say anything else, he’s interrupted by your presence.

“Hey, guys! What are you two being so secretive about?” Your tone was teasing, a grin on your face. The sight of you caused Shouto’s cheeks to redden, the feeling making his eyes widen with shock. Using his quirk, he quickly cooled down his burning cheeks before you could notice. 

Izuku nervously grinned at you, voice rising with nerves, “Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Just talking about the new All Might figurine!” Your childhood best friend pulled out his phone and shoved the screen in your face. “Have you seen it? It looks so cool! Haha…” His sentence trailed off as you stared at him with a raised eyebrow with crossed arms. You knew he was lying. 

“L/n, do you have a part of your quirk that pulls people’s attention to you?” Shouto tilted his head as he asked you out right. He ignored Izuku’s frantic hand movements that signaled him to shut up. 

You looked between the two before humming and uncrossing your arms. “What do you mean by that, Todoroki?” You asked him as you took a seat at the desk next to his. Having your attention locked on him, and only him, caused his heart to race a little. He always wants your attention solely on him. Maybe Iida was correct… 

“Well,” Shouto started to say, thinking there was nothing wrong with being honest, “Every time I think of you, or even see you, my stomach feels all tingly. My hands also sweat, which is weird since my right side is always cool.” His eyebrows furrowed as he thought of how strange the feelings you made him feel were. “Oh, and I always find myself thinking about you.” 

The sincerity in his words, and the way he gazed at you with tender eyes caused your face to burn. “O-oh. Um, no. Attraction isn’t part of my quirk.” You cleared your throat as you fiddled with your fingers, not knowing what to say. You’ve had a crush on the dual-quirk user ever since the two of you went against each other in the Sport’s Festival. 

“Hm, interesting,” Shouto mumbled to himself, gaze set on his desk as he tried to think of another reason why he would feel that way. Izuku just watched with disbelief at the guts the Todoroki boy had for just blurting his feelings to you.

Aizawa stood up in his bright, yellow sleeping bag. His voice was groggy as he spoke, “Alright, class. Get back to your seats. The lesson is about to begin.”

“Talk to you later, Todoroki,” You shyly smiled at him, giving a small wave as you made your way back to your assigned seat. The smile on your face caused his heart to race and that tingly feeling to erupt in his stomach once more. During the whole lesson, the two of you couldn’t stop thinking of the other.

©his-lune 2024 ;; don’t plagiarize, translate, or post my work on other platforms.

[lotsnlotsofsoup]

Just got the letter from Mary in chapter 6 omg 😭

It kind of got me thinking though, it makes sense why Mary decided to finally withdrawl from their relationship.

Although she says that she believes Arthur will never leave the life of crime, I first debated with myself about whether this was true.

Arthur no longer trusts Dutch at this point of the story, and since he's going to die, these were the two catalysts that triggered him to decide to change. I wonder, would Arthur still choose to change if he wasn't sick? What about Dutch? Would he still choose to leave the life of crime if Dutch was actually a good leader? After all these years, he's stuck with him, and he had all that time to choose to change, like Mary said.

At the same time, Dutch has been motivating him to work as hard as he can to support the gang so that they could be free and escape the life of crime (Which with how things are going down, it's clear that Dutch has really been manipulating him)

Is he staying because they're his family? The only real family he's ever known? In that split moment after watching the show with Mary, he knew what his heart wanted. He was willing to give all that up just to be with her, but he couldn't after all the problems that arose from the bank robbery.

Imo, I really liked Mary's letter. She's definitely a flawed person and is in no way perfect, but I completely understand why she gave him the ring back and chose to let go. Honestly proud of her for finally trying to let go of something that has been hurting her for years. I'm not saying that their relationship failed because of Arthur, they both conflicted with each other, but being able to let go of a relationship, not just by verbally ending it but also emotionally letting go is such a strong thing that many people struggle with doing. Yes, it hurt Arthur, but you should never be in a relationship with someone if one person or both people are hurting.

Also, she has zero context of Arthur's situation, and in her perspective, Arthur broke their promise and "the giant won." This event was the final straw for her after Arthur had broken her heart repeatedly all those years ago.

Even if Mary and Arthur did get together, would they be happy? Arthur has lived his whole life thinking he's not enough for her and Mary has shown to continue criticizing Arthur, not just for being a part of the gang but for other things. "You could have cleaned yourself up a bit" implies that she may be embarrassed by how he presents himself. Feel free to debate about this since I'm not completely sure but I felt like this comment came from Mary's values of status. Since she grew up in an educated family and education = higher status and power, it could be that her own shame of having her father see her with a lower-class man would continue to impact their relationship even after. How would they plan to make a living anyway? Mary doesn't seem to well off even after her husband died and considering the events of the game, Arthur canonically doesn't have a lot of money so it's possible that Arthur would resort back to crime again since that's the only thing he really knows, which of course would cause conflict with Mary. (Let's just ignore the couple of thousand dollars the player earns lmao)

I wish I could say that they could be happy together, and maybe in another universe, but even if Arthur didn't contract TB, it feels as though their relationship was doomed no matter what.

Feel free to share your thoughts of course!

[thegaylink]

Biden and Harris shot themselves on the foot but sure the 500k people who voted Stein are to blame

Many things to work on here.

1. Stein is not the only 3rd party candidate.

All together, this amounts to 2,097,242 votes

2 million votes that were wasted on candidates that everybody knew wouldn't win. When we say every vote counts, this is why. They ADD UP. These numbers can change the course of an election, and they were tossed aside.

2. I never said 3rd party voters are the only ones at fault. If you chose not to vote, you are as much to blame as Trump supporters. Non-voters also make up an enormous number of people. Those kinds of numbers can change the course of an election, and they were discarded by people who chose to remain ignorant, uneducated, and uninvolved.

3. I assume you are the same person who sent me an anon message that says "genocide is bad" and YES. That's exactly what I said. Trump has been very clear about his plans for Gaza. He will not help them. He will continue to fund the IDF and support Isreal. He will help Putin invade even more European countries, and in doing so, he will fund the murders of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. I understand that Kamala Harris has contributed to the horrid deaths in Gaza, but the chances of getting a ceasefire/stopping support of Isreal were much better under her than Trump. If you seriously believe that voting 3rd party is going to help the people of Gaza, you are just as ignorant and uneducated as those who support the genocide.

4. Even with the genocides going on, the president's biggest loyalty should still be to the people of THIS country. They should be fighting for the rights, liberties, and happiness of the American people. Out of every candidate on the ballot, Harris has shown that she is loyal to America. She had worked in all 3 branches of the government, she has worked her way up and worked hard to get to where she is. She understands the struggles the average American faces. Trump is loyal to his own pocket, and that's it. He makes decisions not based on good values, but on how much money he's set to make. He is greedy in his professional and personal life. He takes from people over and over again, whether it's by taking their money, their trust, or their bodies. He grew up rich and stayed that way by running back to the comfort of his father so he can take more from him. He ran his business into the ground repeatedly, he ran his marriage into the ground, and he ran this country into the ground. He has no sense of loyalty. Not to his family, not to this country, and not to our people. He is loyal to himself and his wallet, and that's it. To see all of this evidence, these testaments to their character, these reflections of their values and morals, and still decide to use your vote for a candidate that you know will not be able to win even one state, even one county, shows where your loyalties lie. It is a testament to your character and a testament to your values. If you vote 3rd party, you do not value the people of this country. You want to be able to say you voted, to let people think that you used your power and your voice, while allowing your voice to be silenced. You want the praise from voting, but refuse to help. When you vote 3rd party, you prove your loyalties lie only to yourself, not to your community, and not to others. You are thinking only of your conscience, despite the fact that your poor choices will lead to thousands of deaths. You do it so you feel better when you lose, instead of fighting to win. Nobody will never agree with everything a candidate believes in, but elections are not for you to elect someone just like you, they are to elect someone who will lead the country with its people in mind, with loyalties to their people. If you vote 3rd party, you have failed at your role in this election.

[theheirofthesharingan]

What do you think about mikoto and fugaku as parents to Itachi & Sasuke? Fugaku gets a bad rep as a parent, but what about mikoto?

Wow, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

Yeah, Fugaku gets a bad rep as a father and it's rightly so. Mikoto is seen as a loving mother, and while some part of that love is valid, and I like her for being a good mom to Sasuke, my admiration for her was dented upon the realization that she was a neglectful mother towards Itachi. And as much of a hot take as it might seem, both Fugaku and Mikoto were better parents to Sasuke than they were ever to Itachi.

So, I have mixed feelings about them both. And when I include Fugaku with Mikoto as a 'better parent' to Sasuke, please know the bar is in absolute hell.

I like the fact that Mikoto was at least invested in Sasuke's life.

She was present in his life, albeit for a short while, and involved in it. She provided him, offered him the love he deserved and needed as a baby. She saw Sasuke was suffering and struggling to get his father's attention, and provided her moral support to him. There's not a single instance, however, she was present there for Itachi. Itachi, too, would have needed his mother's support sometime, that too when he was being sucked into the politics, but we don't see him getting any of that. One could argue it was because Sasuke never witnessed.. Yeah, but how was it after learning the truth not a single memory clicked in his mind that would give away Itachi's sufferings in front of his mom? It's probably because it never happened.

Fugaku was outright neglectful towards Sasuke. Not just that he repeatedly compared Sasuke with Itachi, refusing to see him as his own person and saw him as only a shadow of the 'perfect' Itachi. If Sasuke wasn't as good as Itachi in all the things, he wasn't worth paying attention to, right?

The reason Sasuke was Sasuke and Itachi was Itachi was because of Mikoto. I strongly feel that children need a powerful feminine presence in their lives, which comes from their mothers or sisters. Sasuke was gentle and remained so after everything he went through. I believe it was because in his formative years Mikoto had been there for him.

There's a lot more to explore on Fugaku and Itachi than his parents with Sasuke. When I say Fugaku was a better father to Sasuke, what I mean is that despite being neglectful, he didn't drag Sasuke in the political mess that Itachi was. Sasuke was kept in complete darkness (probably like other kids of the clan) but Itachi wasn't shown this much kindness.

Fugaku and Itachi's conversations are mostly one sided with Mikoto being a silent spectator.

This conversation in particular pains me the most in regards to Itachi. It's like he's only allowed to say yes and no, and any other disagreement with his father on the subject will not be taken positively. He seems unhappy and is suffering and his feelings as a child are not taken into account at all. I say no one treated him like a human. But his own parents never even saw him a child.

Itachi had been acting strange ever since joined Anbu and Fugaku wonders what's wrong with him.

Shisui was spying on Itachi. Did he agree to go out spy on his BFF because some random Uchiha said this to him? Or was he ordered to do so by the chief of the police force? Fugaku, most likely, consented to Shisui spying on Itachi.

Some people say this is an instance of Itachi being evil. LMAO. imagine your best friend committed suicide in front of you and some people come to your house to accuse you of his murder along with many other things? Right. He must behave very angelic.

My man's worried what's wrong with his son who's being subjected to some burden he's dealing with all alone. And neither him not his wife want to reach out to him like normal parents should.

Eventually, when Sasuke asks whats wrong with Itachi and why he doesn't pay much attention to him, Fugaku has an even-I-don't-know response.

In the anime Fugaku says 'Your brother had a hard time dropping his guard'. All of it is an indicator of how terribly Itachi was treated. It wasn't just neglect but also an additional burden of the clan and the village. And all of this is being said about a child that isn't even thirteen yet.

Honestly, I give a lot of benefit of doubt to all the characters in Naruto, Fugaku and Mikoto included. And this opinion on Sasuke and Itachi's parents is because how much Itachi is hated when, it's obvious how every single grown up, especially his parents, in his life failed him. He wasn't treated as a child.

Although, I don't like to hate on their parents either. Fugaku and Mikoto were nothing but kind to Itachi in the end. He'd have cherished those last moments forever until his last breath. Sasuke spoke openly to his father the day he lost him. He'd have hoped he'd continue to be like this with his family but that was the only time in his life he received genuine acknowledgement from his dad.

No, Fugaku and Mikoto were worse parents to Itachi than they were to Sasuke. I like Mikoto because she loved sasuke and showed him genuine love. But i can't like her more because Itachi needed support from his family, which he never got.

Yet they both lost so much and loss of their parents was the worst thing that happened to them both.

[prudentseer]

May I just say you write some of the best period style fics. This is the original anon btw. Everything about your au is so. I don't even have words actually its so immersive and believable. Coincidentally I was also thinking of an arranged marriage au when I wrote the ask! I have read through the whole thing repeatedly all evening.

I imagine Etho is a recluse, and Joel has to attend the balls and social events alone. So Joel faces many rumours about his marriage , especially considering their wedding was still not too long ago. Until Etho awkwardly asks to accompany Joel one evening. When some people notice Etho and Joel aren't dancing, they talk. Etho hears this and decides to ask joel to dance. As it turns out they're both awful dancers, but they have fun despite it, even if Joel is bewildered about Etho's behaviour lol

Please don't take this as any pressure to write! I'm simply glad to have someone else who loves period aus.

Great minds think alike ;)

In all seriousness I could not have gotten this far without prompting so really I have everyone who's shown so much love for these writing scraps thanks; especially you for coming up with the original idea! I'd say you were my muse but it's more like you are God and I'm just sending my offerings (/j).

This one is a lot more rough around the edges but I really wanted to get back into writing after being sick for a while so here it is! This is the third installment of this "series" but it happens prior to either of them (it's also 1.5k words this time, I'm sorry). Thanks for stopping by!

Joel's family name could be traced back to the start of the empire.

A rich history, beautiful natural landmarks and a sanctuary to those fleeing from war. He had everything he could possibly need and things were well.

Then the gold mines dried up.

Certain dyes–their largest export–fell out of fashion and the biggest drought in recorded history swept through his estate. All of a sudden, his family was close to being destitute.

So he had to get married.

It didn't matter that Joel studied hard to be knowledgeable in anything from politics to arithmetic to language. It didn't matter that Joel was offered a position in the royal guard at age fourteen for his strength and mechanical ability. It didn't matter that Etho hated him from the second he saw him.

Whatever future Joel had was second to his family name. He had a legacy to defend, a reputation to keep and like everything else he had to learn to be okay with it.

So he did what any good husband would do. He listened to the rules of the house and kept his mouth (for the most part) shut. He handled small projects and paperwork, never needing to be asked. He never inquired for anything outside necessities, and accepted gifts handed to him with a smile. He worked in the confines of their deal, no matter how skewed they seemed at times.

A knock at his door draws him out of his thoughts. He jolts upright, scrambling for a pen to look busy.

"Come in!" He shouts, head down as almost catlike quiet footsteps tread into the room. He doesn't need to look up to know who just walked in. "I dropped off the documents detailing the expansion on your desk ea–"

"You're going to the ball tonight right? The one the King's hosting?"

Joel's eyes narrow at the almost nervous tone of Etho's voice. He dips his pen into the inkwell before responding.

"Yes, half past seven, I told you this at dinner."

"I remember." He replied, a small sigh escaping his lips. "What's the dress code?"

Joel's head snaps outwards so fast something might've popped in his neck. Etho looks…well he always looks slightly anxious when he speaks–hunched over on himself ever so slightly to make himself look smaller–but it's the shakiest Joel thinks he's ever seen him.

"Excuse me?!"

"Dress code?" He repeats, staring at the ends of his sleeves. "I'm wondering if my pale blue broach would be allowed–"

"You're coming with me?"

He's still not looking at Joel, choosing instead to wring his hands. "Yes. Can I?"

Etho didn't do social events unless he had to. His estate being so close to the mountains practically trained him and his entire family to be more…independent. Besides, Etho never seemed enthusiastic enough to go so Joel never asked. Sure, it led to ignoring the whispers and the pitiful stares he got just by showing up, giving a tight lipped smile and a half baked excuse whenever someone had the courage to ask why he was attending the ball alone but it worked for the most part.

So what was going on?

"Is there someone you want to meet there?" Joel asks, going through a list of attendees in his head.

"No?" Etho replied, head tilted like Joel was the one who said something absurd.

"I–but you–" Joel stops himself. "There's no dress code but why–"

"I'll see you later then."

And like that Etho's scrambling out the door like there's a fire in the room and Joel can only sit there and hope that the day he'll finally understand Etho will come soon.

------

It's a bad idea.

Everything about tonight was a bad idea. Etho can't recall the last time he went to any social event of this caliber let alone with a partner. He...pitied Joel, or at least something close to that emotion because he had felt good when he had initially asked to attend with him but now it felt much more real.

It still didn't feel real as he dressed himself that evening, fumbling with the neckline of his tie. It still didn't feel real the entire carriage ride over, staring out the window as Joel gave him the same puzzled expression every time they made eye contact. But it does feel real as he stands right in front of the ballroom doors, heavy mahogany muffling the soft orchestra music and distant chatter.

Joel wordlessly turns Etho to face him. Before Etho can ask why, Joel's fingers find the broach Etho pinned on himself earlier, adjusting it so it's straight. There's an almost stoic look on his face, concentrated like this ball is only a means to an end, a goal to reach rather than a fun event. Etho sees himself in Joel's eyes and that brings a surprising amount of comfort to him.

"Ready?" He asks when he finishes, holding out his arm for Etho to take.

He latches on without hesitation. "Yes."

The lights nearly blind him, music swelling and chatter all extremely overwhelming. He digs his fingers into Joel who thankfully doesn't react, every other muscle in his body seized up as he forces one foot in front of the other. People stop. People stare. A lot of people stare, pulling at the sleeves of others and whispering; hands blocking mouths and judgement clear in their eyes.

"I'm going to speak with some friends, will you be okay alone for a bit?"

No. Don't leave me alone.

"Is there somewhere I can get something to drink?" He asks instead, already feeling his throat dry up.

Joel smiles, a weak thing. "Refreshment table is on the far left, help yourself."

The eyes on him make him tense the entire way there, barely breathing and looking through everyone as he makes his way to the refreshments table. Bite sized foods, fancy plates and champagne. He has no appetite but he takes a flute of champagne, clenching onto the glass and bringing it to his lips with a shaky hand as he tries to force himself to relax.

He watches Joel who looks almost natural in this scene. Flowing around into different groups like an intricate dance, laughter and smiles following him wherever he went. People call out to him and vye for his attention, they greet him kindly and pull him into conversations. Open and warm while Etho remains comfortably invisible in the shadows.

"He came with his husband today."

Etho's ears perk up at the nearby conversation two ladies in loud dresses are having nearby, colourful fans covering their faces.

"I'm surprised the husband is real, honestly." The second woman laughs hautly, back still turned to Etho. "Did you see them split the moment they walked in? Not a single dance together."

"If it took seven months to convince my husband to come out to a ball with me after marriage, I would be embarrassed to be seen with him too."

Etho places the flute back on the table behind him. "Excuse me ladies."

They both have the decency to appear embarrassed as Etho makes his way to Joel who's chatting to a man with orange hair. Both of their eyes go wide when they notice him.

"Etho?"

"Can we dance?" He turns to the other man who fortunately doesn't seem too bothered. "Sorry, did you want to dance with him fi–"

"No! You two go ahead!"

He realized later in hindsight that he should've asked for a name or displayed any sort of good manners to the mystery man but instead Etho simply held out his hand for Joel before walking them both to the dance floor.

Joel fills the silence as the move.

"Something wrong?" Joel whispers, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

"People were talking." He mumbles back.

"People always talk, you don't have–"

"You'll have to take the lead." Etho interrupts as they reach the center of the dance floor, grabbing Joel's waist with his free hand. "I don't know how to dance."

Joel chuckles. "I don't either."

"How? You come to so many of these?"

"I fake it." Joel shrugs, stepping forward and almost onto Etho's foot. "Usually the other person is good enough to lead."

They sway back and forth awkwardly for a few seconds, narrowly avoiding bumping into each other several times. It's painful, embarrassing and he can't imagine it's pretty to look at either with how many eyes he feels on him.

"We're off beat aren't we?" He murmurs, eyes down at their feet and face flush under his mask.

"Not even close."

"Should we stop?"

"Nah." Joel replies, Etho looking up to see him biting back a smile. "Let's give everyone something more interesting to talk about."

Without warning, Joel spins him almost violently, barely catching him from falling with two hands before dragging him back up and flush against his body.

"Joel!"

He should be furious but when he opens his mouth to argue the only thing that bubbles up is laughter. Joel laughs too, so bright and loud and uncontrollable they both look like mad men. Stomping around on the dance floor and almost backing into people; Etho's lightheaded from how much he laughs.

"Spin me next!" Joel exclaims breathlessly, stumbling forward and almost falling into Etho.

"Hold on!"

Joel was right, they'll be the talk of the party.

But Etho can't bring himself to care.

[zuzuelectricbugaloo]

https://www.tumblr.com/franxdragonflyer/651102006179692544/oh-heres-a-fun-one-that-i-dont-think-has-been?source=share.

https://www.tumblr.com/yugogeer012/745656419540418560/how-do-you-genuinely-feel-about-epicsans-ships?source=share

I’m assuming here you want me to react to the links? In general if I’m given a link I’ll do that!

Okay, so, for the first ask, yes, I’m aware these are the Epictale characters’ canon sexualities, and that Yugo said Epic would be straight. I understand that since the creator said this it would be the canon for the material he’s created.

However, Epic to me, is very LGBTQIA-coded. He enjoys drag. He likes crossdressing. He constantly makes gay jokes and has been drawn (even if they were deleted/retconned) to flirt with and have romantic moments with male-identifying characters. I’m not saying Epic CANT like women, I’m only saying I think his sexuality would be more fluid, and that he’d be more interested in relationships where he’d have a deep personal connection to his partner prior.

Epic in Yugo canon also sexually harassed several people, including Cross, and it was played off as jokes before Yugo deleted pretty much everything with Epic in it. But that was out of a hatred for Epic and no apology was made. Nor, importantly, a declaration that it was no longer canon.

I firmly believe you shouldn’t harass a creator if you dislike their works or certain aspects of it. But you can respectfully dislike or disagree with something. I see those canon things about Epic and respectfully disagree. I understand that they are what Yugo says to or shown to be canon for him and his work, I don’t deny that.

So, I simply respectfully disagree, that Epic could love cringe humor and be flirty without harassment. (Yugo’s comedy back then brushed off SH as a joke, not just with Epic committing it but other characters as well). I know that’s what the creator says, but the way Epic was coded and intended to be is different to me than what Yugo ended up going with.

On that note, I also disagree that Epic is straight and find him very LGBTQIA-coded. He enjoys drag and referred to himself as feminine when in drag, with the name ‘Epica’, and that he’s a ‘beautiful woman’. Or when he privately crossdresses, like the time his brother opened his bedroom door and saw Epic in a nekommi outfit.

I think Epic’s tendency to do drag as a joke and also privately crossdresses (dressing feminine without the performative nature that he would in drag) is coded for Epic being in the closet and not yet come out, that Epic enjoys dressing feminine now and then but doesn’t and only to mock it out of self-denial. Given his age, he’s likely a baby gay and hasn’t even come out to Epictale Gaster or even his own brother yet, let alone himself, especially if Yugo says they’re straight as well.

(Which respectfully I also think canon Papyrus is bi or pan but, well, do what you like)

There was also a comic where Epic was watching anime with friends about the show Ranma, and was shown to be blushing and very sexually interested in the titular character as a female having a dick.

Things can be declared canon or written by creators one way but end up coded in another. For example, in the show Arcane, the creator Linke said that Jayce and Viktor are not written as canon and that they have a “brotherly” relationship. Yet when watching the show there is clearly romantic undertones and subtext between the two.

So you can respectfully disagree with something in canon and still have fun with it.

The second link with Yugo disliking Epic ships, yes, I know that as well, because Yugo has stated repeatedly how much he hates Epic and killed him off in the Epictale comics because of that. He wants nothing more to do with Epic fandom interactions and that includes ships.

So, what do you do with a creator who hates a character they’ve created but you adore? I believe you can respectfully disagree and have fun and adore that character, simply leave the creator out of it per their wishes.

I personally think Epic ships can be so much fun and cute, like Epic and Ink, Epic and Ccino, or even Epic and Cross variants like Crossfell. Pretty much anyone, I find Epic to be versatile like that.

[4rk4n4]

Silco has PTSD. This isn’t an excuse for his actions, it’s just a fact. He acts irrationally as a result of fear and paranoia stemming from what happened to him, which informs what he says to Jinx. It drives me crazy when people claim that he had this master plan to groom Jinx into the perfect weapon for Zaun, as if he was the most manipulative mastermind in the show when we’re repeatedly shown that he’s disorganized and unfocused and unstable and uncertain of what he actually wants.

Villains are allowed to be complex people. Yes, he has power and a semblance of control over The Undercity. However, he is also deeply unwell and attempting to raise a “daughter” who is also deeply unwell. He believed that Vi was just like Vander, and whatever he told Jinx about her he believed to be true. Obviously in the main universe he was not “good” for Jinx and obviously he does terrible things, but the reasoning some people (especially self-proclaimed “antis”) give are just wildly incorrect and demonstrate a lack of understanding.

[ajaxdore]

Another ramble about Merlin

I think something so special about Merlin is that it does defy a natural stereotype we would have about the characters.

When Merlin is first told about his destiny, he doesn't deny his importance. Merlin kinda just accepts that because he has magic, he is important. He just didn't like the idea of having to protect Arthur. Merlin from the start has this confidence in him that we wouldn't expect from someone that looks like him.

Arthur's taunts and insults aren't really ever shown to affect Merlin that much. Merlin takes it and spits it right back out! And throughout the series, Merlin never really has his doubts about being able to protect Arthur. Sure he grows more paranoid as about a million people want the King dead but he's more worried about being able to hide it from Arthur rather than not being able to actually do it. Merlin is so sure that he'll die first, that he will die either protecting Arthur or having finished his duty. And then there's Arthur.

Arthur is introduced as someone so cocky and confident. And he is! But Arthur has never been confident about being a King. All of his self-assurance relies on that maybe, maybe, sometime in the future he'll be ready to assume the throne. Much of the show is Merlin doing his best to rid Arthur's mind of years of self-doubt.

Arthur's death is devastating because yes, the viewers weren't expecting it but neither was Merlin!

Even though Merlin was told repeatedly that death was Arthur's fate, I really don't think the idea of Merlin failing at his destiny ever occurred to him. He was so sure he'd be able to protect Arthur until the end because he's Merlin--Emrys, born of magic, magic itself--While we see Arthur accepting it at the end. We see Arthur's even last shreds of self-doubt, fully believing that most of his accomplishments wouldn't have happened without Merlin.

I think the two of them made significant developments as the show progressed. Merlin was confident but it was amazing watching him grow into such a terrifying force of nature. And Arthur gaining his footing in being a king, learning to trust others. Ah, I miss Merlin so much. I wish we got to see more of Merlin post-magic reveal. I wish we would've seen him being able to perform magic at his peak, with Arthur's trust and support. More BAMF Merlin please!

To see this show under better writing, oh what a world it would be.

[singingcicadas]

I find it super ironic that Cyclonus has this highly romanticized, propagandic view of the Decepticons, because like:

This is him 🔽

And this is also him 🔽

Dude you yourself was a member of the ruling elite of the old order. Even if what you said about the Decepticons were all true, you're a big part of why people needed to be emancipated in the first place.

He was part of Nova Prime's inner cadre during a time when bigotry and oppression was even more predominant. Nova. who's literally the founder of functionism, which flourished and peaked under the so-called Golden Age of his rule. And Galvatron's... Galvatron, I don't even want to talk about him everyone knows what he's like. But Cyclonus was somehow fine with being yes-man to both?

The way he spoke about the Decepticons, it sounded as if he's this super dedicated sjw filled with righteous passion about stuff like liberation and revolution and emancipation and 'the people', when in truth it's shown that he'd never cared about any of those things before that point.

Nova Prime's ideology was literally this:

And Cyclonus didn't have a problem with it during his entire life before the Ark, compared to more decent people like Dai Atlas and Omega Supreme who eventually clashed with their group and got kicked off the Ark b/c they couldn't stand Nova and co.'s lack of a bottom line and misuse of the word freedom.

As a matter of fact Cyclonus still believed in Nova Prime after he became Nemesis - not that he was much of a better person as Nova. Where's his sense of justice against corruption? Nova got turned into a literal demon, surely it's hard to get more corrupted than that. But his only complaint wasn't about what Nova/Nemesis was trying to do, it's about the process being too much of a damn ordeal.

He's super excited over the anticipation of murder and has no scruples whatsoever about killing non-combatants. The same thing happened again at Kimia.

He finally grew enough of a conscience to break off from Galvatron in the end but notice his wording. It's not 'you forced me to hurt people', it's 'you forced me to hurt Cybertron'. He even said Cybertron twice for emphasis.

It's not mind control, he just thinks like that. The guy's obsessed with Cybertron - with what Cybertron once was. The Cybertron he lived in. Nova Prime's Cybertron. The Golden Age. He's shown to repeatedly lament over it in his internal monologues.

It's all about the loss of his 'perfect world.' The infrastructure. the scenery. the Tetrahexian real estate lmao. How about let's feel some sadness for the billions of Cybertronians who once lived on it? When did he ever spare a thought for all the people who died?

The Decepticons worked so hard to destroy this. It's a gilded carcass rotting from the inside. It eats people alive. The rot was already there in his own time. He was complacent in putting it there. But he only had eyes for the beauty and nolstalgia.

In the first panel he lauded the Decepticons for wanting radical change. Well he himself seemed to be dead set against change judging by the way he kept wanting things to go back the way they were 8 million years ago.

Back in the Golden Age he would not have looked twice at a bot like Tailgate. He was part of the people who didn't give a shit about the disappearance of one waste disposal bot. He still wouldn't have given a shit if circumstances hadn't forced them together over and over again.

Looks to me he's enarmored with the grandness of the concepts of liberation and revolution and emancipation for 'the people' in the Decepticons' (theoretical) ideology. The concepts of fighting against corruption and bringing down the old order. Just like how he bought into the concepts of Nova's 'spreading freedom to the galaxy' and the glittering prosperity of the 'Golden Age.' Does he know that the Decepticon ideology is a twisted lie built on terror and massacres and genocide and despotism? Does he know that Nova's idea of spreading freedom and enlightenment is galactical conquest and his beloved Golden Age is built upon a foundation of misery and suffering and systematic subjugation? Of course he knows he's not stupid. He's nose-deep in it, it's virtually impossible not to. But he's able to willfully ignore those ugly truths as well as his role in them by only engaging in shallow romanticism through rose-coloured lens and refusing to delve deeper.

It's either that or imperalist mindset and the endorsement of violence and casual murder resonates hard.

[altocat]

FFVII EC: THE FIRST SOLDIER CHAPTER 8

Here we are at what looks to maybe be the final chapter of the story! Or maybe not. We'll find out at the end, I guess. Either way, it's certainly been a wild ride.

TEN YEARS LATER TIMESKIP OH SHIT

Adult Seph and Glenn face off just like in the opening. But this time Refu jumps in to stop the fight. Turns out, they didn't hate each other after all. Glenn is clearly no longer with Shinra (or is he? It's still kind of unclear. Maybe he's a rogue?) but Sephiroth and he really aren't enemies despite this, despite not having seen each other in a long time.

Glenn has intel and alerts Sephiroth to the fact that Shinra is going to do a big airstrike on the defected soldiers, hitting the Shinra base in the process. He's letting Sephiroth know in advance because despite loyalty, Sephiroth still cares about his men. I'm still a little fuzzy on if this means if he's asking Sephiroth to protect SOLDIER forces or the defected group. I presume the former, since Glenn says he can't be the one to do it.

Also he apologizes for kicking Sephiroth's necklace. Aww.

Sephiroth has changed over the years. You can tell. He reflects nostalgically on his time with Glenn, reflecting that he's become a much more compassionate person. And this attitude reflects in him wanting to save his men.

This is actually really cool CC-esque stuff with Sephiroth's portrayal. Adult Seph is playable here btw. Sephiroth is shown to be very caring towards the safety of his fellow soldiers. He keeps telling himself that he can save everyone. He believes that you can defeat hate with compassion.

He's also repeatedly recognized as "the hero", even as he makes his way towards all the action. But Sephiroth muses that he can become a hero for REAL if he actually does heroic things. He has to keep pushing himself.

He reaches the soldiers getting swarmed by monsters on Mt. Tamblin. Sephiroth is clearly tired--maybe from worrying about Genesis? And then he fights a really huge behemoth.

Sunrise. Seph has defeated all the monsters. Everyone gushes over him for protecting everyone, flashing cameras in his face and everything while he sighs at being called a hero. Glenn watches him warmly from a distance.

As Sephiroth is walking through the crowd he has Jenova-esque flashes, where he flashes back to the scene with Rosen from before.

We all guessed it--Rosen begged Sephiroth to mercy kill him so he can be with his people in the afterlife. Miniroth had pled with Rosen to give life a chance, to find his place in the world. But Rosen tells Sephiroth to do it or else everyone is going to die. He asks Sephiroth whose life is important to him--it's Glenn. And we see Sephiroth reluctantly make his choice. So it was a misunderstanding this entire time.

A lonely adult Sephiroth stands in the Edge of Creation, staring pensively ahead at the cosmos.

So. Is the story over, you ask? Well...yes.

.......................but not completely. Because a very interesting teaser shows up at the end. One I think is going to blow your minds.

FIRST SOLDIER PART 2