#cause i like having friends and it’s worth the effort. that goes for in person friends and online friends.

[carsickcrow]

also yayyyy i talked to my best online friend today. i missed him a lot i need to get better at texting people.

[simpforsolas]

So my biggest problem with Solas x Mythal isn’t that I’m “jealous” of their relationship or anything like that. In fact, I really like the concept of her being a toxic and abusive relationship he has to let go of to be able to move forward and find true happiness with the inquisitor.

My problem is that it cheapens Solas’s motivations and seems to make his only reasoning for tearing down the veil be loyalty to Mythal. It also, to me, downplays the significance of the inquisitor’s influence on him. This was disappointing because in Inquisition, we were introduced to Solas as this very wise, idealistic, and thoughtful person who cared deeply for his causes. Justice for Mythal was one of his motivations, but I never interpreted it as his main motivation. I thought his main motivation was always to make a better world and fix his mistakes.

I truly believe that he’s not wrong about some things. The veil IS a wound inflicted on this world. It was made by him; it’s not the world’s natural state. It’s falling apart and broken. It creates a class divide between mages and non-mages, and by separating spirits from the physical realm, it makes them more susceptible to corruption into demons and makes people scared of them. There are tons of instances through DAO - DAI where weak spots in the veil lead to mass demon possessions and death. It made a world where elves die instead of live forever, and where they either live in slums or as shadows of their former glory in the woods. But DATV didn’t address ANY of this. It painted Solas to be this lovesick pup whose motivation was purely emotion-based, and it didn’t help that this game didn’t go into Thedas’s socio-political climate so a new player wouldn’t understand that the world of Thedas is seriously messed up, and that Solas’s plan would resolve a lot of the issues in need of fixing.

The problem is, and always has been, the cost. Solas restoring the natural order of the world would cost thousands of lives, and destroy the current world and all the good it has to offer. In order to abandon this plan, Solas needed to not only be released from Mythal’s service, but to let go of the world of the past. He needed to acknowledge that the world he loved is gone, that a new world that he also loves has taken its place, and that it deserves a chance to live. It’s sort of implied that he goes through this shift in belief in Trespasser, but it’s not enough at the time, and that’s okay.

Anyway, with all this in mind, this is how I’m choosing to interpret Solas’s entire redemption arc. Solas did have his reasons to tear down the veil that he passionately believed in, but through his interactions with the inquisitor and rook, the only reason that truly remained was that he didn't want to fail Mythal. They changed his perspective on the world, and showed him that it’s a world worth preserving, even if it’s different. He didn’t want to do what he had to do, and by the end of DAI and/or Veilguard, the only thing keeping him tied to his course was duty to Mythal. So she has to free him to allow him to move on.

However. If Mythal had released him from his service at the beginning of inquisition, because Solas hadn’t gained any affection for the new world, it wouldn’t have mattered. He would’ve been like "cool i'm doing this anyway because I want to.” Changing his course required two things: having his heart changed by the inquisitor, and Mythal allowing him to move on. Unfortunately I feel like the game is a little sloppy with this and makes it feel like freedom from Mythal is all that matters, but my dear friends, she is not. It was a team effort all around, and Solas’s redemption would not have been possible without our beloved inquisitor. 💜

[rosesnbooks]

Astrology observations #2

-people who lack an element in their chart really do surround themselves with a lot of people in said element. for example, my friend lacks earth and has at least 4 friends who are earth sun signs

-some capricorns really can't get along with leos, but they are attracted to sag and aries placements. they can't help it

-mars in the 1st house get sexualised a lot, to the point it gets too much for some people..especially women. these people are also very ambitious. even when going through tough times, they never lose sight from their goals

-mercury in aquarius have a unique humor. the same goes for mercury in the 11th.

-virgo mercury pay attention to details, esp when they like you..the things they remember and gifts they give you, shows how thoughtful they are

- fire signs/houses..please tell me that you've been told at least once that you talk too loud. i have aries mercury and my friend mercury in the 9th and we both had a revelation that we talk too loud lmao

-well-developed capricorns are such sweethearts. they are reasonable and grounded, but they are also so funny and charming. they may appear as if they have everything under control at all times, but they're just like the rest of us

-water signs have the craziest dreams i swear😭some can sound like scenes from a movie, fantasy and/or horror

-moon in the 5th house/leo think about themselves a lot and take things personally. they think everything is about them. on the other hand, they have the biggest hearts and they want to make everyone they love happy. can you blame them tho for wanting to feel like a main character

-when you want to ease your mind, talk to someone who has a sagittarius mercury and they will cheer you up

-having an empty 7th house might mean that you don't have much, if any, relationship experience. you probably give good relationship advice though

-aquarius/11th house placements have their own strong moral code. they can usually hide their feelings well, but if they realise someone is being intolerant towards others and mean, they'll get really emotional. they want the world to be a better place, and get frustrated when they see how many people don't care

-capricorn placements may have really complex relationship with their parents. they often expect too much from their kids, and since they prove that they can endure almost everything, the parents don't loosen their grip. they need to know their worth and forget about the expectations!

-mercury retrograde can really cause communication issues for people. it is difficult for these people to express how they feel and stand up to others. but, it does get better with time!

-aries and taurus placements combo in a man can be very dark imo, they are often players. they also have huge ego problems. i dislike emphasizing only the darker parts of people, so i have to admit that these placements, if well-developed, can be very loyal and passionate especially with people they love. they are also incredibly hard-working and focused, it's really admirable.

-be careful when dealing with men that have virgo and libra placements in their chart. some may be romantic and attentive, while others can nitpick your every flaw and can have ridiculously high standards. they can cheat and lie easily as well

-sagittarius venus love adventure, having a partner who doesn't know how to have fun and explore things is a big turn off to them. they can make compromises for their more serious partners, but if they can't reciprocate the same effort, it's not going to work

-cancer risings seem very approachable and kind. their eyes are usually big and curious, almost childlike

-this has been said many times, but venus in the 1st individuals truly are beautiful. there is also something different and captivating in their beauty, they stand out wherever they go

-saturn in the 3rd house/gemini may indicate that a person faced speech/writing difficulties when they were young, or they continue to struggle with it

-pisces moons tend to forget things and their memory can betray them at times. as a pisces moon, i think that's because we are in our heads too much and we remember how we felt about things, not the words and actions. we also struggle with being present 100% of the time, so we perhaps didn't listen to you in the first place (i'm sorry)

take this with a grain of salt, since i only read about astrology in my free time!💜

[holybibly]

two words. CEO Yeosang.

imagine this: you’re a secretary/personal assistant to a cold CEO who’s beauty is ethereal. you have these thoughts of all the things he would do to you.

one day while in the break room you and your friend were talking about mindless things when the topic of your boss came up. the immediate thought of him made you instantly flush with all the fantasy’s.

little did you know that your boss overheard you guys talking and decided to tease you from then on.

“come here bunny ride my thigh while i work. i see how you look at me there’s no hiding how you feel bunny”

god this man has complete control over my brain.

question; if you call us your bunnies then what do we call you? i would like to say as someone who is a submissive through and through whenever you call us bunnies my brain goes like this: (*^◯^*)

For all bunnies! Unholy Hours is always open, you can send requests at any time.

You're not the only one asking this, do you have any idea what you want to call me, my darlings? You can tell me and then we'll do a poll and pick something.

Hmm, what should I do with this naughty bunny, a? Should I punish you or maybe praise you, tell me baby.

"Mr. Kang, oh God, Oh please." You squealed with a roll of your eyes in pleasure. You were supposed to be quieter, but how the hell could you be when Yeosang was being so ruthless in his efforts to drive you crazy?

Your thighs trembled uncontrollably as his hand viciously slapped your pussy; the wet, squelching sound was too loud in the spacious office of Kang Yeosang, the CEO of Blue Bird Incorporated. My God, how did you end up in a position like this in the first place? You didn't even have time to analyse the situation before you were under the caress of his long fingers.

Your hand was tangled in his soft, long hair, pulling at the strands with a light tug. With little thought of the need for silence, you moaned louder than before.

"The whole office must be listening to you by now, you little bitch. I thought I told you to keep your voice down, Miss Moon. What are your colleagues going to think when they find out that you are not only my secretary but my fuck toy as well? Will they respect you?" To be honest, you didn't really care about the fucking respect, especially when Yeosang's tongue started to circle around your clit, drawing different patterns. Is it worth it to remember this man's talent now to turn his tongue 180 degrees?

As your legs try to close around his head to hold him in place, you inadvertently grind your cunt against his angelically handsome face. In fact, you thought Yeosang's place was there, his face just begging to be smothered in pussy. Your toes curl in pleasure as you come with a loud scream, tears rolling down your cheeks and smearing your perfect make-up when he doesn't stop his merciless assault on your sensitive clit.

"Mr. Kang, Yeosang Fuck, this is too much."

He moaned into your pussy as you tugged and pulled at his hair, the plush walls of your cunt clenching around his fingers as you tried to keep them inside of you. He inserted a third finger inside you and began to move it at a steady, hard pace, your head jerking back. Your hips are pressed hard against his face, earning you a sharp slap on the cunt that makes you let out a loud whimper.

Yeosang grips your hips tightly to stop you from moving. But it does little as your legs lock around his neck.

"Yeosang, please stop. This is too much." Your back arched as he bit down on the inside of your thighs and looked at you with his eyes half-closed. How can everyone in the office have the impression that he's an adorable puppy when he fucks like this?

"Too much? Do I need to remind you, Miss Moon, that you have been an attention-seeking slut?" Your cunt clenched around his fingers at the titillating insult, and he grinned as he continued to slap you. Yeosang just chuckled as he made you squirt profusely, your juices spilling all over his perfectly ironed shirt, causing it to cling up next to his body. He watched as your body writhed in pleasure, orgasming violently, instinctively moving your hips to match his movements, and fucking yourself on his fingers.

"I didn't know you liked being insulted, Miss Moon. Do you always come when someone calls you a 'slut' hmm? Shameful." His grip on your hips tightened as he began to suck on your swollen clit again. You held on to his glass desk as you lay on top of his many documents and folders. His fingers poked and prodded your sweet spot. Your juices stained the multi-million-dollar contracts beneath you when you saw stars from pleasure.

Drool runs down the back of your neck and ruins your shirt, as everything is too sensitive from your orgasm, and each time his fingers penetrate you, you shudder and whimper. You spread your thighs wide in a desperate attempt to escape the endless assault on your clit. But your hips are firmly gripped and held in place by Yeosang's strong hands.

His tongue laps up your juices as if they were his last meal and licks your swollen pussy.

"Come on. I think you can cum again; you're going to need to try harder to keep up with what I think of you." His seductive chocolate eyes looked up at you, and all you could think about was his fingers going inside you, making you wish it was his thick cock. Oh, and Yeosang is good at it, too. Last time, you had to swap your usual stiletto heels for something more comfortable, and you couldn't walk normally for several days.

"Oh! Yeosang." Your back arched up from the table, and your toes curled up. Pleasure washed over you like a blanket as you pulled hard on his hair, eliciting a deep, low moan from him.

Every time you hear Yeosang moan, you think that if he weren't the CEO of the company you work for, he could be making a lot of money from Pornhub.

"I'm cummin' Yeosang!" You screamed his name as your legs closed around his head, and you came again. You fell back onto the table and caught your breath as he finally released your hips and stuck out his tongue to show you the mess you had made. The prettiest boys are always the dirtiest. You realised after the first time that Yeosang had literally fucked you to the last inch of your life.

"Miss Moon, there are still 40 minutes until lunch break. I think you have enough time for two or three more orgasms.

[streets-in-paradise]

The Real Deal - Matt Murdock x Witch!Reader

Warnings: I haven't wrote for Daredevil in a long while, so forgive me if i have mistaken details of the show.

Summary: You want to help your lawyers in their most challenging case, but the controversial nature of your skills leaves it up to question.

Tags: @chezagnes

Matt and Foggy meet you as one of their early clients and, in their perspective, you were a simple fortune teller unfortunately caught in a legal issue. Your case was so absurd that it represented easy work for them. Even in the strange times they were living in, it still made no sense. A matter of police profiling through the mass hysteria in the post Loki New York making you suspicious for carrying symbols of norse witchcraft. Runic readings weren't the only service you offered and your practices weren't culturally límited to what then started to be considered an asgardian danger. However, society was still adapting to the discovering and the clueless officers couldn't tell the difference between an asgardian sorceress and the neighborhood's witch. Your lawyers realized of that, and the instant fondness of you that at least half of the firm developed closed the deal for you to get out of trouble.

Unlike most of their clientele, you were managing to pay them in cash. Slow, but consistent payments that also worked as a way to stay in touch. Despite they were highly skeptical of your activity, they did appreciate their owned share of its product. Catholic belief wasn't an obstacle for Matt's flirting and his friend would never miss the chance to tease him for that when you were arround. That precise combination of factors made you be always welcome, but with each visit you noticed they were struggling deeper than just financtially.

They got in serious trouble attempting to legally save the neighborhood from gentrification taking down the lead of the dirty business surrounding it. Even their secretary was involved in the investigation, huge deal that made you feel quite concerned for all of them.

You were relatively new in the city, but that didn't mean you weren't inclined to help. The chain reaction would screw everyone over, except for the top rich.

You weren't an asgardian terrorist, but neither the easy to underestimate facade associated with your business. To some of your clients, the ones coming for meaningless issues or unethical things, you would ocassionally sell advice disguised of bullshit.However, you were a real witch performing unmistakeable results for causes that justified it.

Overhearing the plotting of your favorite lawyers, you found one that was worth all your efforts.

" Let me help you out with Fisk." You interrupted them instead of awaiting for Karen to take your payment. " … A full name, birth date and a personal object is all I need, for a start. "

Foggy couldn't believe what you had just proposed, taking it as absolute nonsense.

" Not in the mood for jokes, Princess Opal. We have a serious situation here, but we will call you to join the search if someone goes missing. "

You didn't let the demeaning comment bring you down, it was exactly what you expected of him.

" Believe it or not, I am a worker of justice just like you." You corrected him ríght away. " When your system fails, some people come to me hoping to rush the action of karma. Others want me to give them the hope in justice that their practicers can't provide. Do you have any idea of how many clients i get that are currently in legal battles, but don't trust the courts to give them what they need for the sake of it? How much work with justice i get demmanded? It's insane! Regardless of what you believe about it, you can't deny it says something. "

Matt was very silent, untill the tease got him snarky.

" We are working to make things better, I hope you will not resent us for winning that hope back. "

You smiled, already struggling to resist his charm. Despite he obviously couldn't see it, you could swear he noticed the effect he had in you.

" On the contrary, I admire you. I know of the kind of hard time you get when trying to do the ríght thing." You admitted, not realizing you were already toying with the tips of your hair. " When an obsessive weirdo comes asking me to magically force someone to love them, or to curse a coworker they envy, I sell them teraphy disguised with self satisfying witchy-sounding talk. Placebos, so they will get someting to come back for and not search for an unethical bastard that could either scam them worse or do the damage they want for the proper price. When worried parents bring a sick child, I do the real healing ritual for free and make up my costs doing readings or charging an asshole tax on the crazy ones. That's who I am, my concience makes me loose money, and i believe we are on the same page when it comes to business models. "

The comparison was strange, but it showed perfect understandment of their situation found in the weirdest of places.

" I was not aware there were ethics in witchcraft. "

" For you only, I'm willing to ignore my code. " You snarked back in a flirtatious tone. " Let me hex Fisk, show him something that would make him regret to mess with the neighborhood. "

Foggy was cautious of your slightly sinister expression at the end and started to think you trully believed in the power on your threat.

" Sounds like a mobster message, clearly not our style. "

" How would that work?" Karen interrupted him. " It won't kill anyone, ríght?"

Her friend stared at her in disbelief.

" You can't be serious. "

" Foggy, gods have fallen from the sky ... I say we let her give it a try. "

" Those were aliens, not gods. " Matt corrected. " I don't believe in curses, it comes with being a catholic. "

He did make you chuckle with that one.

" Well, hipocricy also comes with catholicism. "

" She got you … can't beat the allegations! " Foggy teased him ríght away. " Your fault for making us jump in defense of the beautifull savage for you to play missionary with. "

You both were left in evidence on a matter of seconds.

" Thanks, Foggy! It's the first lovely thing about me you have to say today."

He didn't intend to sound harsh, but he couldn't possibly understand you.

" Try to see things from my perspective: i feel like i'm being mocked. "

" If it eases your concience, the methods are mostly a facade. I'm the real deal, it runs in the blood. " You confessed, wondering if you would regret it later. " Mom thinks i got it from my father. I don't know, I never meet him and at this point i don't think I want to. Don't waste time asking me about that."

" Can you cast the honesty curse from ' Liar, Liar'? That would be really helpfull. " Foggy mocked you once more. " We seek to expose Fisk, get him in jail. Even if we could believe you, I don't see how your offer can be any usefull. "

At least you could say you got him Interested. Weirded, maybe, but attentive.

" I can curse his business. Mysterious incidents will keep happening and he will loose money. Of course, I believe the Devil is doing his part on that, but why not giving him some help? Fisk will be easier for you to legally take down if he has too many things to attend at once. A vigilante and the curse of a real witch should be enough to do the dirty work for you. One problem, he may attempt to solve, but who is going to warn him about me? Even if they would … Do you think he would believe it?"

The next objection came from Matt, but that didn't surprise you as it should.

" Well, for a start we don't work with vigilantes."

" Too late, i think he is working with you." You snarked back. " Sounds like a good plan to me. After all, your church believes witches are the devil's consorts, ríght?"

In that simple comment he obtained all the proof he needed to believe in your gifts, realization that stayed between him and you.

[halogenwarrior]

All of the Animorphs main characters’ stories are very influenced by the dissonance between how they are perceived by the others from their perspectives, and the resulting roles they are fit into vs. their actual complexity, and I think it’s worth talking about Rachel from that perspective for a bit. The read the others tend to have on her character is that she’s ambitious; this incredibly confident, driven person who is dissatisfied with a normal life and just waiting for something better, which the war gives her. Cassie explicitly narrates as much in Megamorphs #4, while Jake says in #22 that she’s found her purpose in the war and he doesn’t know what she would do with a normal life anymore. Though I can’t remember the exact passages, I think the others think similar things of her. But when you actually look into Rachel’s character, you find that what they are misinterpreting as ambition/dissatisfaction with normal life/a desire to change the world and be a hero is actually two separate traits that, when put together in the same person, look a lot like that but aren’t.

First is that she fundamentally is a compassionate, morally dutiful person who feels she has an obligation to sacrifice and avoid the easy route to be good to other people. She doesn’t seek out situations where she will be responsible for many people’s well-being, but once she is there she goes all-in on it. When you compare situations in the book where one of the main characters has made an effort to be kind and do the right thing on a personal level rather than a “well if we save everyone on Earth from being enslaved that helps people by definition” level, she’s really only behind Cassie on this – feeling guilty about letting down Melissa as a friend and then risking her life on a mission to go out of the way to comfort her about her parents in #2, or in #1 when she says she cares about Tobias when he thinks nobody cares about him, even though they barely know each other. 

In comparison, the most Jake has is a vague idea that his goal in life should be to live an average life and “not be a jerk” without any real self-examination of how to do that, Marco is often rude on an interpersonal level and doesn’t seem to care much about being a good friend or giving kindness to someone who needs it, Tobias is more of a loner who is very morally passionate about the greater cause but doesn’t extend it to really being there for other people (this isn’t because he is inherently cruel so much as, when we first are introduced to him, he is barely getting by in life and doesn’t have the energy to try to be a kind, beneficent person on top of that, it’s only the revelation of a greater cause that gives him the motivation to care about something), and Ax, the only one who was in an official military, initially largely outsources his sense of duty to that system and its ethics and doesn’t make much of an effort to be a good person outside of that. 

I get the sense that Cassie and Rachel mutually recognize this quality in each other, and this is the reason for their friendship despite the narrative emphasizing how different they are and how weird it is that they are friends. As mentioned above, Cassie does interpret her as ambitious and “waiting for something else in life”, but she still sees that ambition as being prompted by a kindness and unshakeable desire to do good, as someone who doesn’t fall into the “mean popular kid stereotype” despite her looks and confidence. Meanwhile Rachel, when we see her thoughts about Cassie, similarly appreciates Cassie’s interpersonal kindness and steely resolve to enact it. Each recognizes, despite their many differences, the moral and aspirational idea they aim for in life in each other. Rachel’s manifestation of this trait looks different than Cassie’s. 

The second quality is that Rachel loves, in the moment, the rush of being confident and powerful. It’s something she gets in shopping for clothing and being able to pick out the right deals like a successful predator, and it’s also something she gets in war, in the heat of battle and crushing the enemy. It’s not about adulation (#3 notes with her gymnastics performances that she hates performing in front of a crowd), just the personal feeling of power. The others aren’t wrong that she enjoys battle in a terrifying way they do not, but it’s ultimately driven by a feeling in the moment, not an inborn sense that life is purposeless that leads to seeking out war in the long term. 

These two qualities combine to form a dynamic, a vicious cycle, with the rest of the group. When Rachel encounters something in life she believes is her duty to be a good person and help others, even though she doesn’t seek out such situations to feel special, she throws herself into it wholeheartedly (like as soon as she realizes she’s in a war now, in #4 I believe she changes all the inspirational quotations in her room to things like the Art of War). Combined with her general confidence, this leads to her throwing herself into danger bravely, which the others admire her for, and come to really need her in the role to give them the inspiration to risk their lives and untold horrors, which makes her play even harder into it to fulfill their need (even if she feels it is just a persona, as in #7 with her being “not brave, just blind”). This gets to the point where they, particularly Jake whose job it is to lead, use the others for their roles, and encourage them to keep those necessary roles, will outright discourage her from being anything else or showing any nuance or vulnerability (wee see this in #7 and #27). But the more she throws herself into danger and plays up her fearlessness and love of the fight, the more it triggers her love for the thrill and feeling of power of it which she recognizes is making her into her worst, cruelest version of herself. And the tragedy of it is that normally if she was recognizing she was a bad person in some way, she would stop everything to rectify that (like in #2 when she realizes she hasn’t been there for Melissa and immediately pivots to go as far as to risk torture and death to be there for her). But it’s precisely her commitment to goodness and duty that means she can’t this time, even if she knows the path is turning her into a monster, her friends and humanity as a whole still need her like this.  She is the type of character whose greatest strength is her downfall. This is particularly symbolized with her relationship with Tobias, who due to being a hawk is entirely enveloped in the Animorph life and can’t live “normally”. Every time Rachel goes out of her way to be there for him, she’s separating herself from the life she would want and reinforcing her worst impulses, and sometimes her narration expresses frustration with this, but she can’t turn away because he still needs her. 

And the others, even as they (particularly Jake) are parties to cajoling her into her role… as mentioned before, they don’t quite pick up on this. They mistake the long-term duty to do what’s right even if she absolutely doesn’t want it combined with the short-term thrill once she puts herself into a violent situation as one trait, a pride and ambition to be something greater than her normal life for the sake of glory. And while that combination of traits can look very similar (i.e her identification with hubristic classical heroes in #37), it’s fundamentally not the same, she expresses many times that she wants a normal life in the long term even if she enjoys fighting in the moment. She’s not constantly thinking about changing the world for the better unless the situation forces her into it (look at how she cares so little about politics that she doesn’t even know who her state’s governor is in #51, despite Marco expecting that she absolutely does and will chew him out for not knowing!) In fact, the whole point of #32 is that these are two separate traits, and when they aren’t put together she isn’t capable of the driven nature she normally exhibits, This misunderstanding leads to the others thinking she fully and uncomplicatedly wants all of this. 

It also leads to them underrating her compassion, often acting surprised or disbelieving when she shows it even when it’s not actually all that uncommon. For example, her statement that she cares for Tobias in #1 being followed by Jake’s narration saying that this is unusual for her. There’s also one quote about this I particularly like in #25, near the end when the Venber are killed. Marco’s narration goes  ‘ “Rest in peace”, someone said. It turned out to be Rachel ‘. It’s just one little line, but I find it fascinating how, even though the narrator Marco is attributing the rest of the dialogue completely normally, the idea that Rachel is capable of this solemn compassion is so against the image he has of her in her mind that he isn’t initially able to realize who said this, and that is really telling to Rachel’s dynamic with the rest of the group and how they view her.

Cassie and Rachel’s types of compassion are not the same, and that’s part of why the latter’s isn’t recognizes. Cassie is not just kind but diplomatic and able to keep calm in interpersonal situations, emphatic about the things she cares for most but willing to humble herself to get others on the same page. Rachel, on the other hand, comes from a place of confidence, willing to care but not to bend for others, and also a lot of anger deriving from that duty and compassion – towards those who harm others, like the Yeerks, for example, like in #38 when, realizing the Andalites aren’t coming and there’s no hope, she wants to at least take as many Yeerks down with her as she can and avenge humanity. Cassie, meanwhile, doesn’t let this passion for morality and justice lead her to revenge and instead goes in the opposite direction, seeing no point in killing if there can’t be a direct benefit of saving someone from it. And Rachel can just be plain angry and grumpy for reasons that aren’t about noble compassion, like when she is physically hurt (like #11 when she goes on a rant about the rainforest due to almost being eaten alive by ants). And most ironically, her anger and bitterness grows precisely when she is put in a trap where she can’t be a good person no matter what she chooses, where leaving makes her be uncaring and not doing her duty but staying will gradually turn her into a monster. This can be seen in #27 where her frustration at having to turn down T.T, both for himself and the normal life and escape from her darkest impulses he represents, because she owes it to Tobias, leads to her snapping at him and rejecting him in an especially cruel way, even though internally she feels compassion for him and doesn’t believe what she says. 

And that’s really the core of Rachel’s nightmares and breakdown in #48, and the rage and defiance she feels at Jake in her dreams. It’s not just the surface level of paranoia that her friends see her as a villain and hate her and anger at being controlled when she runs wild. It’s rage at being used as a soldier to fulfill a role, being outright criticized and belittled when she is anything else, and doing so willingly because it’s the right thing to do, only for them to turn around and hate her for the very thing they wanted from her and see her as the ”bad guy of the group” for whom they can separate out all of their criticism of the dirty and immoral parts of war while never questioning their own role in it. It’s a rage she can’t let herself express in waking life because she knows her duty is to follow Jake, but she can definitely have subliminally in a way that shows up in her dreams. And it’s also a fear that whatever her excuses, whatever her intentions, it doesn’t matter because she really is a monster, she really is morally worse than the others, and it’s just pathetic to insist otherwise.

This particularly hurts her with regards to her relationship to Cassie. The thrust of their arc is that, as I said earlier, they start out despite their differences, recognizing the same kindness and unflinching moral conviction in each other as in themselves, but that same conviction leads them on entirely opposite paths. In #19 Rachel expresses frustration with Cassie quitting the team because it shows her worst fear is becoming like Rachel herself – how can Cassie care so much more about feeling for her own sake like she’s a good person than actually doing good in the world, when Rachel would very much want to do the same but is making a huge sacrifice not to, and then look at Rachel like there never was a similarity between them, Cassie was always the only good person and Rachel is revolting? In #48 she keeps telling herself it’s just paranoia, just a dream, just reading too much into it and her friends don’t really hate her, but then in #52 Cassie snapping at her, in Rachel’s mind, shows her worst fears to be true. And I think it’s one of the underrated tragic moments of the series how, when we see Rachel’s perspective facing her death at the beginning of #54, she believes only Tobias will object to Jake sacrificing her because he cares about Rachel. Cassie, she believes, will only be upset because of the emotional impact it will have on Jake having to make such a hard decision. We as readers know this isn’t true; in #53 Cassie’s reaction to finding out what is happening is to be furious at Jake and upset purely about Rachel, and when we see her point of view in #54 she is very much grieving for her. But since Rachel’s last interaction with Cassie was her telling her she’s a horrible person and confirming her fears, that’s what she believes, and Cassie never had a chance to tell her otherwise. Never knowing that the best friend she ever had still cared, had never truly written her off as a lost cause.

[cheeserobin]

Suren Darga deserved better 2.0

clarification: this post is resubmitted because I had already touched this same topic in Spanish, everything is original.

WARNING: English is not my first language, I am sorry for any spelling mistakes that may appear below.

Any DC fan or Damian fan knows the joke about DC forgetting their friends, which is sadly funny. Luckily that's what we ( the fandom ) are here for, to not let characters with potential be forgotten thanks to evil editors.

Now what happened to Suren Darga?. I'm not kidding when I say that the kid seems to have been left in a giant void for everyone after his last appearance, because his wiki the only thing it says about him is this:

"Suren Darga is the son of Den Darga and the prince of the Lu'un Darga."

And I'm not exaggerating

And they also put him as “Supervillain”, ok.

Suren was forgotten and I have a feeling that wasn't the idea mainly, not only because he has a whole interesting past that should have been seen but also his team, trio or whatever he may have had with Maya and Damian looked so…real. They were going to be even if it was allies and great friends.

Plus after his end of the world disaster, showing his very fucked up daddy issues and receiving possibly the most painful punch in the face of his life.

He was to have a long, but sincere arc of redemption.

And let's not forget that Suren at the time helped Damian's development as much as Damian helped Suren's development. He and Maya changed for the better thanks to the fifth Robin in that same comic.

Maya was going to follow her father's path of blood, having Damian as her first victim as revenge. Luckily for both of them, Damian proved that he changed and that she could do it too, preventing her from getting her hands dirty like her father and becoming his older sister.

And I think Suren goes one step further. Maya herself says: “Man, you guys have so much in common”.

Suren was going to do the end of the world to give honor to his family, but also for the infinite and pure love of a child that he had for his father, but Robin knowing that feeling of hunger for affection and family understanding stopped him making him see that there are simply shitty parents who do more harm than good. That he knew what that was like and that he should let go of that toxic environment before he became something worse. They were so alike that Robin just couldn't leave him alone.

In short, I apply the “AMIGA DATE CUENTA” (FRIEND BE AWARE).

And I think for Damian's development it felt good for him to help these characters who were in a dark place like he once was to realize that he really became a better person who wanted to help others unconditionally. that that R of redemption in his chest was for something and worth his effort.

But this does not end happily for Suren. We never knew if he really moved away from the shadow of his family and to forge his own story or if he is still in contact with his only friends until now and if we go further, is he still alive? The worst part of this is that the writers/publishers would have no excuse to leave him behind saying “He's not an interesting character” since his origin story, coming back from the dead which could have caused him another trauma and conflict and his VERY GENIUS connection with magic do make him interesting, VERY interesting.

But DC doesn't agree with that, so the last we have of this kid is this panel of him smiling going on a new adventure, an adventure we never saw come to light.

“It NEVER ends” how funny.

[allthatmay]

how u charactirize the relationship between garp & ace? i personally think theyre quite complicated cause they love each other to the end of the world but also ace needs the touch of someone who is gentle enough to not break the fragile inside of his shell, which is something garp is just NOT dealing with. its a vicious circle where ace believes its his own fault for being so difficult while garp feels frustrated as he watches his grandson dig deeper into the hole.

this has been a bit of a ramble ... my apologies.

No, please, I love rambles! Rambling together is literally one of my top communication methods!

Right, so, I love Garp. He's such a shithead, but that's exactly what he's supposed to be. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, he's the reformist who can't stomach admitting that the entire system is flawed. Up close, he's a 'tough love, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, this is the way the world works' kind of guy, but he has to be like that precisely because he's a reformist. If he weren't like that—if he ever elected to wake up and smell the government-sanctioned genocide—his entire world would collapse, and he would have to face all the monumental, misguided fuck-ups he's made. If he's not a good man who has always tried his best for the sake of justice (however cruel that justice may be), then he's just a coward whose inaction (and sometimes direct action) has actively hurt his own family, and he can't face that.

Garp's relationships with Luffy and Ace reflect his thinking so clearly, but especially with Ace. Ace is a symbol of everything that goes against the system Garp is upholding, but he's also a victim of that system; it's more convenient for Garp to sequester him away and tell himself everything will be fine than it is to admit that Ace needs more. In my eyes, Garp absolutely loves Ace—in fact, I think his handling of Ace is so poor because of how much he loves him; Garp and Roger were friends, and Ace is his legacy.

Like you say, it's absolutely a viscous cycle between them. Garp, having all these complicated feelings, tries to prepare Ace for the people who will undoubtedly have similar feelings. Ace, a young boy who already feels like he doesn't fit in the world (no thanks to his unconventional upbringing), spirals every time Garp refuses to step up for him. I think a part of Garp hopes he can scare Ace into joining the Marines but, of course, he does the exact opposite.

As for Ace, he definitely loves Garp, and that's why I think Garp really did a number on him. Of course, Ace has Dadan, but she isn't a great parental figure. (Don't get me wrong, I love her and I know she loves Ace, but she's more like that cool, older babysitter that doesn't give it a shit what the kids do, as long as they're not dead.) Garp is the one who's supposed to be looking after Ace, and Ace knows that. He sees the lack of effort and care, and the way Garp can't really look at him. I bet Garp's infrequent comings and goings were harder for Ace to bear than simply being left alone.

This isn't even acknowledging that Garp's treatment of Ace isn't just neglectful, but absolutely callous. Telling a young boy that "only time will tell if he deserves to live" isn't just fatalistic, it's fatal. Ace takes this message to mean, "No actions I can take will have a bearing on the worth of my life," so he's robbed of his hope, of his desire to live; he thinks everything is pre-determined by the people around him, even his identity.

(Yet Ace goes about his life with utter patience and kindness anyway because he knows what it's like to go without them and he's desperate for love. God fucking damn it, Garp. You broke the boy.)

Anyway, I could go on, but I've said enough. Geez, now I'm the one apologising for rambling so much! Sorry! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PS. I know I said in another ask that my favourite characters were Ace, Luffy, Shanks, Mihawk, and Robin, but... I think Garp is up there, actually. Then again, so are Jinbe and Law and Kuma, so, really, I'm just full of shit.

[copyquat]

Having lightcannon feelings so may i present you with:

Random SG Lightcannon Headcanons From Someone Who Has Never Read Official SG Material (aka, me ranting about how these two exist rent free in my head)

-they go to a private school. this is only really important because i really like the idea of jinx calculating exactly how much effort she needs to put in to stay in the same school as lux while doing as little as possible

-jinx is still the smartest person in class though and it kinda bugs lux that she puts so much effort in to her schooling while jinx puts the absolute minimum knowing she could easily have as good if not better grades

-on to more actual relationship stuff lux is a lot less uptight with jinx than you’d expect at least before becoming saviors of the planet. jinx is the only person she knows and trusts she doesn’t have to be the perfect child around and having spent so long around jinx she’s developed a bit of a gremlin side

-she has absolutely asked jinx for help sneaking out to watch a movie or go to a concert and has on a lot more than one occasion been a willing accomplice in jinx’s mayhem

-she has also occasionally been the one to instigate the chaos i.e. she sometimes goes up to jinx like “these assholes deserve it how do we get back at them?”

-auntie jinx is so proud

-their relationship starts to deteriorate a bit when they become star guardians, jinx only joined because lux did and they’re joined at the hip (they promised to stay together “till the end of the world” when they were kids) but lux feels the need to be responsible because of they whole protecting the world thing

-jinx has for the longest time only ever cared about staying with lux but lux having daily training and getting on her case for not taking being a star guardian super seriously is starting to bug her

-lux on the other hand is stressed trying to be the perfect child and the perfect leader and started bottling her feelings up, at times lashing out at jinx cause she’s unfortunately an easy target (she always regrets it immediately if not soon after doing so) and is also maybe having a bit of gay panic when jinx disappears for the first time and she realizes she might like her best friend a bit more than she “should”

-this is not at all made better when ezreal becomes a star guardian and classic jinx jealousy starts to boil up

-on ez i like the idea that while he is interested in lux he eventually realizes “omg these bitches gay” and starts to wingman for them :P

-lux doesn’t realize jinx definitely has feelings for her as well until she has an argument with poppy about how jinx doesn’t care about saving the world. lux insists she does but poppy goes off “no she doesn’t! she cares about you! she joined because YOU did, she keeps coming back cause YOUR STILL HERE, and every time she looks at you she’s got these big stupid lovesick puppy eyes! im sick off watching you two dance around each other just fucking kiss already!”

-lux is flabbergasted at the idea jinx might (definitely) feels the same way but also feels guilty about being the reason jinx put herself in such a dangerous role to begin with

-jinx on the other hand naturally has self worth issues and doesn’t feel she’s good enough for lux and is absolutely terrified of lux not wanting to be her friend anymore

-sometimes after she runs away she has a meltdown terrified that this was the last straw and when she goes back lux will have had enough of her

-but lux can’t ever get enough of jinx though of course. they’re best friends after all and they promised they’d be together forever, till the end of the world…

-some other minor things when lux can get mimi into not a wand form she joins shiro and kuro’s mischief making and is unnaturally fine with whatever the balls of chaos do (i wonder who this is supposed to represent :P)

-i like the idea of vi having purple hair in the sg universe since most characters have different hair colors and i think itd be funny for sg vi and jinx to have swapped their canon hair color hues and also it still fits with her name

-i also like the idea of before vi eventually shows back up into jinx’s life cait is kinda a big sister for jinx

-she’s a local cop and once helped jinx with a panic attack when she was younger and now has a soft spot for her despite her many many trouble making misadventures

-when jinx was moving in with her team she had to carry all her stuff on foot cause she doesn’t have a car and cait saw her and offered to help

-jinx ended up being the first one fully moved in and absolutely rubbed it in poppy’s face :P

[bisexualpluto]

sometimes you come across a song that reminds you of a particular character, and I kept finding myself being reminded of baxter! so here's my curated playlist of songs that remind me of jamie & baxter. it's kind of vaguely chronological, going from that first summer, to breaking jamie's heart, to the pain and the healing, the reunion, and the reconciliation. it's not all 100% accurate, sometimes it's just vibes, and mostly based on my personal player choices and feelings, but i tried to make it a LITTLE relatable to others haha. and it sort of goes back and forth between each other's perspectives.

also i'm so sorry that it's like half taylor swift if you're not a fan, but the songs just fit!!!

if you want to just go into it and feel things out yourself, please do! but below is each song and a short explanation for why I chose it. enjoy 💕

1. Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift - Jamie

It's cool, that's what I tell him / No rules in breakable heaven / But ooh, oh / It's a cruel summer with you.

And I snuck in through the garden gate / Every night that summer just to seal my fate / And I scream, for whatever it's worth / "I love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?" / He looks up, grinning like a devil.

baxter ward, your "suitor for a season". i think of this song as the beginning of the summer, when you meet and there's an instant attraction, and you know instantly you're in too deep.

2. Beach House by Carly Rae Jepsen - Baxter

I've got a beach house in Malibu / And I'm probably gonna hurt your feelings

baxter's had other relationships before, and it never gets that deep. this song is mostly just here for the vibes lol

3. Style (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift - Jamie

I should just tell you to leave 'cause I / Know exactly where it leads, but I / Watch us go 'round and 'round each time.

you knew what you were getting yourself into.

4. Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift - Jamie

And his voice is a familiar sound / Nothing lasts forever / But this is getting good now / He's so tall, and handsome as hell / He's so bad, but he does it so well / And when we've had out very last kiss / My last request is...

you have the time of your life with him, but you know it's going to end. you just hope he remembers it as fondly as you do.

5. The Only Heartbreaker by Mitski - Baxter

So I'll be the loser in this game / I'll be the bad guy in the play / I'll be the water main that's burst in flames / You'll be by the window, only watching / I'll be the only heartbreaker

and he knows he's getting in too deep, too. he wants to feel but he doesn't want to connect. he wants to connect, but he doesn't want to feel. he knows it has to end when it ends, and he's okay with it being his fault.

6. Leave Before You Love Me by Marshmello ft. the Jonas Brothers - Baxter

I'm so good at knowing / Of when to leave the party behind / Don't care if they notice / I'll just catch a ride / I'd rather be lonely / Than wrapped around your body too tight / Yeah, I'm the type to get naked / Won't give my heart up for breaking / 'Cause I'm too gone to be staying, staying

this one makes me think about miranda's birthday party, putting so much effort into a group of friends that he doesn't feel a part of and doesn't feel like he's allowed to be. the party is a microcosm of his entire existence in your life: a suitor for a season, a planner for a party. nothing more, nothing less.

7. august by Taylor Swift - Jamie

Salt air, and the rust on your door / I never needed anything more

Will you call when you're back at school? / I remember thinking I had you

Do you remember / Remember when you pulled up and said "Get it the car"? / And I'd cancel my plans just in case you called / Back when I was living for the hope of it all

truly just this whole song. the summer ends and baxter leaves, swearing you'll never hear from him again. and you know now just as surely as you did when he walked out of that cab onto your street, that you won't ever be the same again.

8. Hits Different by Taylor Swift - Baxter

Moving on was always easy for me to do / It hits different, it hits different cause it's you.

Freedom felt like summer then, on the coast / Now the sun burns my heart, and the sand hurts my feelings

Dreams of your hair, and your stare, and sense of belief / In the good in the world, you once believed in me / And I felt you, and I held you for a while / Bet I could still melt your world / Argumentative, antithetical dream girl

he's always been able to pick up and leave a relationship when it gets too close to real. he won't admit it to himself or anyone else, but this time it's different.

9. One That Got Away by MUNA - Jamie

I'm the one who opened up, ready for a connection / I'm the one brave enough to say how I was feeling

I'm the one who's crying over you in a bath on the weekend / But I'm the one who isn't scared to dive into love on the deep end

Now I'm the one that got away

so in the aftermath, you feel your first real heartbreak as deeply as it gets. you feel sad, and frustrated, and disappointed. you wanted to open up, you thought you'd had something deep and intense and real with him. the songs in this section are all in jamie's point of view, because baxter is gone.

10. Strawberries and Cigarettes by Troye Sivan - Jamie

Long nights, daydreams / Sugar and smoke rings, I've been a fool / But strawberries and cigarettes always taste like you

you think you've moved on, but something always brings you back to those memories. vibes vibes vibes

11. Lost the Breakup by Maisie Peters - Jamie

I know I am obsessed, and / Right now I might be a mess / But one day, you're gonna wake up / And oh shit, you lost the breakup

sometimes you just gotta be petty about your breakups! you still have all your friends and family, and what does he have? some hair dye and a driftwood statue? and, you know. maybe you do fantasize a little bit sometimes about running into him and showing him how much better off you are without him!

12. Vertigo by Griff - Jamie

You're scared of love / Well aren't we all?

but over time, you heal, and you understand now. you understand that he was lonely and afraid of being vulnerable. it still makes you sad, but you won't let it ruin your life.

13. Closer by the Chainsmokers ft. Halsey - Jamie

Four years, no call / And now I'm looking pretty in a hotel bar

and then five years have passed, and you walk into a restaurant to meet the wedding planner.

14. Pink Light by MUNA - Jamie

So I'm living inside my mind / I keep retracing that storyline / Thinking if I start again / I can change the way it ends

you've been given a second chance. he's weird and cagey but he's here and he remembers. and slowly, slowly, you drift back to each other.

15. Seventeen by Sharon van Etten - Baxter

I used to be seventeen / Now you're just like me / Down beneath the ashes and the stone / Sure of what I've lived and I've known / I see you so uncomfortably alone / I wish I could show you how much you've grown

this song is baxter talking to his younger self. it's been five years for him too, and during that time he's started to change. or, at least, he's come to a place where he's willing to start.

16. The Archer by Taylor Swift - Baxter

Easy they come, easy they go / I jump from the train, I ride off alone / I never grew up, it's getting so old / Help me hold onto you

I've been the archer, I've been the prey / Who could ever leave me, darling? / But who could stay?

You could stay.

he's been given a second chance. he never believed before that people could really want to stay in his life, but here he is. and here you are.

17. Secret Heart by Feist - Jamie

Secret heart, what are you made of? / What are you afraid of? / Could it be three simple words / Or the fear of being overheard?

and just like always, you understand. simply put, he knew you would.

18. Nobody Gets Me by SZA - Baxter

Only like myself when I'm with you / Nobody gets me, you do

he knows what he lost, and he asks for you to give him another chance.

you do.

19. Walking in the Wind by One Direction - Jamie

You will find me / In places that we've never been / For reasons we don't understand / Walking in the wind

fate brings you both back together.

20. betty by Taylor Swift - Baxter

I don't know anything / But I know I miss you

at the top of a skyscraper, overlooking the city, he asks for your forgiveness, and you ask him to dance. this one is also mostly vibes rather than a one-to-one comparison of their relationship, but it's about a boy who knows he messed up and is asking for a second chance. that's as fitting as anything else.

21. This Love (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift - Jamie

This love is good, this love is bad / This love is alive, back from the dead / These hands had to let it go free / And this love came back to me

self explanatory.

22. The Heart is a Muscle by Gang of Youths - Baxter

There will be no years of silence / In the shadow of regret / I won't let a soul betray me / Though my soul got used to it / I will look at love as more than just an instrument of pain / And will give myself completely, to the moving and the strange

The heart is a muscle / I want to make it strong

he wants to change and grow. and he wants to do it with you by his side.

23. Surrender My Heart by Carly Rae Jepsen - Baxter

But the benefits of all the broken hearts / That I broke before they could break me / Is a little bit of life regrets / I won't bring that mess to you when you're with me / And I want to be brave enough to show you my not-so-perfect family / And I want to be brave enough for everything

24. invisible string by Taylor Swift - Jamie

All along there was some invisible string / Tying you to me

when you were thirteen, you danced with a stranger at a soiree. when you were eighteen, that stranger walked out of a cab onto your street. and now, at twenty-three, he's not a stranger anymore.

25. Lover by Taylor Swift - Jamie

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? / With every guitar string scar on my hand / I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover / My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue / All's well that ends well to end up with you

i feel like baxter would cry hearing jamie say "at every table, I'll save you a seat". also the bridge has a very wedding-vow kind of vibe, perfect for our wedding planner boyfriend. feels like a fitting end to me!

i hope you enjoy this, it's been a labor of love but also just a natural progression of my obsession with him. i genuinely think baxter has one of the best romance character arcs i've come across, and i hope you love him as much as i do 💕💕💕

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Everybody loves Makoto/ Kokichi's crush (saiou endgame)

Clown_Chaoticz: Everyone once in while I wanna put Ouma in the "had a passing crush on makoto" pile, in like a hopes peak scenario It lasted like 3 days and he was very weird about it. He looks back on it in shame Just cause I think it's really funny

Sini: Makoto seems so boring but is so sweet, cute, and has his interesting moments, making the fact that he’s also so normal fascinating

Clown: He's also just so incredibly empathic. He really does try his best to understand the people around him Makoto pats his back a little too nicely and kokichi starts avoiding him like the plague

Sini: That’s literally how Mukuro falls for him He was the only one who smiled at her and wanted to understand her. Who saw past her So yeah, makes sense the same would apply to Kokichi

Clown: Makoto really do be everyone's first crush/j

Ves: makoto gives him one of his eight jackets on a cold night (shuuichi vc) i'll never be good enough for ouma-kun….i just don't have enough jackets…! cute boy….physical contact….genuine attempts at understanding…..

Clown: He can throw him into the wildest situations and Makoto never holds anything against him, he's used to weirdness Unfortunately Makoto sees him as like, one of those neighborhood kids he gets along with

Ves: NOOO HE WOULD hits him with the Brotherly Hair Ruffle and kokichi has violent flashbacks to his crush on rantarou why does this always happen to him

Sini: Wait……..looks at Makoto and Shuichi……He has a type Kokichi when protag energy Man, he and Shuichi are both losers. Falling for people who are nice to them lol

Clown: Shuichi would probably also have a passing crush on Makoto thinking about it ashsbsks

Ves: SNDJBHFG EXACTLY….(1) ounce of compassion and they're FALLING he spends time around him bc of kyouko and is like Oh………..he's so nice……………

Beez: makoto gets every single person in hpa to fall in love with him speedrun any%

Clown: Okay, gotta saiouify this. Shuichi and his genius detective skills catches wind of Ouma chucking himself out windows anytime Makoto so much as steps into the same room and gets roped into the wildest confession scheme Makotos luck fucks them over so much it's almost impossible, then shuichi starts to catch feelings when Ouma explains why he felt anything in the first place. Shenanigans

Sini: Even Junko loves him Especially Junko, actually

Me: real, for Junko he's basically her irl blorbo, she wants to put him in situations

Clown: Okay, so thinking about how Makoto somehow rizzed his way into having half his class fall in love with him. Kokichi ends up on that list. Makoto in his empathic nature is just, easy to get along with, and more so, even with the more unpleasant people in his class, he considers all of them friends and makes an effort to keep this. Not because he lets himself get walked over, but because he thinks everyone he talks to has a part to them worth knowing. He extends this same thing to Ouma, which leads to the budding of ✨️ a crush ✨️. And Ouma does what he does best and explodes. He's a little weirdo about it, peeking at him from around corners and scrambling away on all fours/j when Makoto approaches him. Maybe during one of his escapades ouma climbs out of a window, scaring shuichi who's out there for whatever reason. Shuichi puts 2 and 2 together and Ouma threatens to end his life in the aftermath. Shuichi, also knowing Makoto, decides to encourage Ouma to confess. Which obviously leads to Ouma roping him into helping him, "Thats a great idea my little helper!" "What." Boom shenanigans. With the bonus of Shuichi getting to see the evasive completely human part of Kokichi. All it takes is Ouma offhandly explaining how Makoto makes him feel like he's worth knowing, and he's smiling genuinely. Then shuichi goes "Uh. Oh."

Sini: YES! I LOVE THIS SM! I can’t help but think Kokichi bumps into Mukuro when he’s spying on Makoto, cause she’s doing the same lol

Hina: Is Shuichi now stuck being his wingman

Clown: Shuichi is being forced to sit on his bedroom floor as he presents plan after plan yes

Beez: shuichi wingmanning for kokichi while having a fat crush on him is always so fucking funny

Sini: He has thoughts about sabotage but could never go through with that. He’s not the greatest jealous type

Hina: Wait What happens if he does confess to Makoto Please say he’s talked to Makoto more than like. Once.

Ves: makoto lets him down gently i imagine or mb just. gets with someone else before kokichi can make his move

Clown: Makotos luck nerfs any planning and he walks off obliviously with shuichi and ouma collapsed on the floor in the background

Sini: Bro gets with Kyoko or Byukuya or both and Kokichi and Mukuro cope together lmao

Beez: i mean if its both kyoko and byakuya whos to say he wont just . add kokichi and mukuro to his harem too

Sini: Mukuro maybe. But Kokichi no chance

Hina: Okay but Beez that just gives me the image of Makoto saying yes to everyone He can’t turn someone down

Me: combine them, it's 37th attempt, finally everything goes according to plan, Makoto says he just started seeing someone yesterday

Hina: No Makoto says yes Me: shut up Hina: WDYM I WAS GONNA MAKE IT BETTWR ITLL BE FUNNY I SWEAR Me: no, go to hell, Shuichi is comforting Kokichi now [this is playful. but, reader, ahead of you are two paths]

Hina: Makoto dates everyone. While secretly trying to match make them with other people. He can’t say no but… he can convince them to break up with him for a better partner

Me: that would be fucked up for him to do tho like, as a person

Hina: We are ignoring the fucked up nature This is for comedy purposes

Me: I can't, it's ooc and messing with everyone's feelings, it's gonna hurt people more than rejection

Hina: (Nah but you seriously don’t have to go with it, I just think it’s funny) Alright fine Makoto can reject him I still want him to play matchmaker though

Me: also, with it already being a polycule, his partners getting with other people would not get Makoto out of the mess he made I mean, I guess some of them wouldn't be okay with poly, like, Byakuya probably draws the line at sharing with Kyoko, he won't compromise with 10 peasants

Hina: It was more him trying to get them to understand that the traits they like about him are things they can find in other people and that a puppy crush on him isn’t going to be the fantasy relationship they’re imagining

Clown: There's also the option of Makoto and shuichi friendship. Where Makoto encourages him to confess and shuichi is wracked with guilt lmao "I'll cheer you on!" Shuichi:[grimacing emoji]

Me: man, I just wanted Shuichi to hold a crying Kokichi, pet his back in soothing motions while holding back his own feelings because it's the wrong moment to bring up why Kokichi is wrong in his dramatic woes about love

Hina: I mean that can happen But does Kokichi know Makoto like. At all?

Ves: theyre casual friends not SUPER close but they know each other!! i don't think kokichi gets crushes on strangers

Me: okay, tbh, I imagined it more as a "Makoto saw him seeming upset once and tried to cheer him up" kind of thing but that came from the fact that when it started you said he had the crush for whole 3 days so I imagined that this scenario was just snowballing from that, keeping it alive because Shuichi encouraged him to pursue it, so he got to notice more things and most likely talked to Makoto more times in the process

Sini: Shuichi unintentionally made it worse for both of them

Hina: Does he actually even like Makoto then?

Me: yeah, he ends up liking him more instead of getting over & it's Shuichi's fault, (or you could say he just has rejection sensitive dysphoria and that's why he gets so crushed) or maybe he's overdoing the dramatics so Shuichi comforts him because he's in too deep he was dragging Shuichi along to all those over the top plans for none of them to work out, he has to seem appropriately upset for the level of effort, even if it was just a little crush, he deserves a hug anyway, lets himself have it he has a back list of things to cry about, great opportunity to catch up

Clown: YESS At some point comes the question. Were his feelings even that serious?? Or did he just get fixated on the planning part? Either way it doesn't feel good to have it all in shambles.

Ves: makoto just can't stop being viewed as a symbol instead of a person huh he's just kokichi's idea of Boy Who Is Nice To Me

[Kai brought up issues with Kokichi crying over a 3-day crush] Me: I mean, after all those plans it was way more than three days, and it is likely he would be exaggerating, not even just in the last option I gave, I just agree that he does play up his negative feelings to distance himself from them

[cheeriecherrymain]

Springtime On The Moor [Chapter 3]

Pairing: Viktor x fem!Reader Chapter Rating: T Story Tags: Regency AU|Slow Burn|Arranged Marriage (affectionate)|Strangers to Friends to Lovers|Angst/Comfort Proofread: No lol Taglist: @trfanglophile @fairy-writes @feeiry Chapter Summary: You and Viktor finally have an actual conversation with each other, revealing family secrets and deciding what to do about your future together.

You watch as the maid exits the room quickly, straightening her apron as she goes. Part of you feels bad for demanding she control her temper in the way you did - you could have spoken less harshly, you think, and tried to reason with her.

Instead of insinuating that she owed you respect because you’re her employer.

Your father had always taught you to be kind to the working class, growing up. Explained to you that no one person was inherently worth more than another, and that everyone was just trying to make their way through life and do the best they could.

Maybe she was just having a bad day, you think, slouching back into your chair, worry beginning to creep up in the back of your mind.

What would Viktor think of you, after such a show?

Would he think you a temperamental woman? Too fiery and loud to make a good wife? Would he think you were overbearing, or classist? Or would he-

“Why did you redirect her anger like that?” Viktor asks. His voice is thankfully quiet, and you can’t detect any kind of malice or ill intent. He just sounds curious.

You peek up at him from behind your lashes, and push yourself to sit up straighter.

“I’m your wife,” you explain softly. “Matters of the home fall onto my shoulders. That includes…asking the staff to be kinder.”

You watch as his features pinch together ever so slightly, drawing into the faintest frown you’ve ever seen. The corners of his lips quirked downwards, pressed into a straight line.

“I wasn’t aware our duties varied based on gender,” he admits. “I thought marriage was meant to be a partnership?”

You’re well and truly shocked by his assumption.

Nothing in his posture says he’s being facetious or dishonest, so…what kind of rock has your husband been living under, to not understand the most basic of social systems? Even those who didn’t participate in the kinds of interpersonal games that you did, were still aware of how unions worked.

Understood what kinds of roles everyone was meant to play.

There were, of course, some special exceptions. Your father, for example: a widower of many years, now. He hadn’t grown up knowing all the work it took to run a home. Your mother had shared everything with him, all her decisions and the goings on of the day - he had been forced to play the role of both parents to you and your siblings.

But that was a very special circumstance.

Your husband, on the other hand, just seemed…oblivious.

“Viktor,” you begin, somewhat hesitantly, unsure of how to proceed without offending him in some manner. “Did your parents never teach you about any of this? About what to expect from a marriage?”

You try your best to stay as outwardly kind as you can, knowing that one small slip in tone or posture could push him away from you, and cause him to clam up. He already seemed so reserved and unwilling to socialize, and you don’t want to undo whatever progress you may have made.

But despite your best efforts, you still watch as discomfort makes its way into his expression. The slight tense of his shoulders, and the way in which he so casually avoids eye contact.

“I just want to know where I should start explaining, that’s all,” you tell him, honestly. “You’re not going to face any judgment from me, not for this, and least of all for not knowing something in general.”

You’re still, as his gaze travels over you. Looking for any sign of deceit, anything that might hint to him that you’re trying to set him up for…for something unpleasant.

A joke, you wonder, or maybe just to ridicule him in general?

You would never.

But he doesn’t know that.

Finally, he relaxes in the slightest, mirroring your form to slouch back in his seat.

“You’re aware that I’m adopted, yes?” he asks, and when you give a brief nod of confirmation, he continues. “I am the youngest of six, and I don’t share blood with any of my siblings. When my parents were no longer able to have children of their own, they plucked me out of an orphanage in an attempt to raise one last baby.”

You can feel the surprise stretch across your face, loud and prominent. Had he really been taken in so young? With how your father had spoken of him, and described him as a boy, you’d assumed that he’d been brought home around nine or ten.

But as an infant?

Where did he learn his mannerisms, then?

“We -meaning my siblings and myself- had all assumed that I wouldn’t end up with any kind of claim to the family fortune,” he explains, chewing on the edge of his thumb nail. “Even from a young age, they would not pass up a chance to remind me of my place - I was the outsider, and I had no business trying to continue our parents’ legacy.”

You lean forward, resting your elbows on the table. 

“But you share a surname, don’t you?” you wonder.

Viktor nods to your question.

“We do,” he confirms. “But that hardly matters. Not when the purity of the bloodline is in question.”

Your heart sinks slightly, knowing he must have felt incredibly lonely growing up. Having a family, and being loved by his parents, but otherwise ostracized by the people his own age. Never being allowed to expect the same treatment as his siblings, as if his background made him somehow less.

You watch as he reaches for a bottle of wine that’s been set out on the table, reading the label for a brief moment before uncorking it with a soft pop.

He fills his glass a little more than you would consider polite, but then, you couldn’t really fault him for it, could you? Especially not when he gestures towards your own goblet at the last minute, as if he’s just remembered that you might like some, too.

He’s trying.

You slide the glass towards him, and wave him off when you’ve got a sufficient amount of red nectar - a little more than you’d usually indulge in, but with dinner on the way and a heavy conversation in your midst, you feel as though you’re entitled to it.

“At least,” he finally resumes, swirling the wine around in his cup, “that was what I had thought.”

He takes a sip, and reclines back in his chair again.

“We were of the mind that my brothers would take over the business when my parents either passed or retired, and my sisters would run the estate once they were married,” he goes on. “We assumed that I would be permitted to stay in the manor as long as I pleased, as part of the inheritance conditions. All of us were happy with that outcome. The business has never been in any of my interests.”

He takes another mouthful of drink, his expression pulling into one of frustration.

“Imagine my surprise, upon finding out that my parents willed everything to me.”

He doesn’t sound angry about the situation he’d been given - not really. Fed up, perhaps, and like he had never expected his life could go the way it has.

It makes you sad, the more you think about it. Imagining your husband as a little boy, tormented by the people who he was meant to call family, never allowed to believe that he could be more than their words, or achieve anything. Not even allowed to dream.

And now, forced to marry someone he didn’t know - someone he probably had no desire to know.

“I’m…sure your brothers and sisters were not so pleased?” you suggest, earning dry laugh from your husband.

“That’s one way to phrase it,” he scoffs. “They were outraged. Even when I told them that I had no idea I was in the will - told them that I would be happy to hand over everything they’d been previously promised! All I wanted was a place I could continue working.”

You finally take a sip of the wine in your hand, listening intently to the sweet aftertaste of cherry.

“But there was no reasoning with them,” he laments, his tone growing somber. “They were scorned, and they blamed me. I knew that if I gave them anything, they…would have taken everything. I would have lost years of work - my home, any semblance of a future. Even now, they still…”

Your eyes remain trained on him, following as he stoops forward to lean his elbows on the table, pressing the tips of his fingers into his temples to rub slow circles. 

A very well-practiced motion, you realize.

“My siblings have done everything in their power to drive my life into ruin. I have never been one to care for my social reputation, but…the rumours. Their threats, scaring away most of the staff employed by the estate.”

He finally looks over to you, his eyes wide with a forlorn sense of sadness.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the garden. There’s no one in town who is willing to risk their social life to care for it, so it’s fallen to ruin. I would do it myself, but…” He gestures down towards his leg - out of your line of sight, but you know that he’s pointing towards the shiny metal brace that you’ve never seen him out of.

Of course he’d love the place he’d grown up. Of course he’d want to take care of it. You’re furious with yourself for ever thinking he might have just been a careless man, unconcerned with what other people thought of him.

In truth, he cares quite a bit.

And how frustrating it must be, you think, to see something so beloved falling to ruin around you, unable to do anything to stop it. To have people actively working against you, counting and praying on your downfall.

You quietly drum your fingers on the table.

You can feel Viktor’s eyes on you, questioning and curious - and you can tell that he knows you’re thinking. 

“Has your business been impacted by any of this?” you ask.

Suddenly enough that he hesitates a moment before replying.

“The family business has taken a loss-”

“No, no,” you interrupt with a wave, taking another sip of wine. “I mean your business. The deal you have with Mr. Talis. HexTech, if I’m correct?”

His jaw slackens when you reveal that you know about that. And in truth, it had required quite a bit of digging around and asking questions: you’d been far too curious about the mysterious man who’d appeared out of the darkness to ask for your hand.

He was difficult to find a trace of, you know, always careful to cover up his tracks and make sure no one saw his face or knew his name.

You would have thought him shady, were the HexTech company not so well-known.

“…not thus far, I don’t think,” Viktor finally replies.” My participation in our projects is not typically brought up when speaking to sponsors - Jayce does all the networking, and we do the rest together.”

You drum your fingers on the table some more.

“Your siblings will try, then,” you tell him, bluntly.

Worry falls over him when he figures out what you’re implying: that the people he once called family were ruthless in their endeavors, and would stop at nothing to see him brought to his knees. That they would be willing to ruin anyone’s lives to do it.

Even when they discovered his association and partnership with Mr.Talis, they would simply seek to tear him down, too.

“They have been successful in bringing you to ruin thus far,” you tell him, “No one wants to work for you, save the select few you have employed - but nowhere near enough people to keep up with the work that a house demands. Your estate is in shambles, and your name is so tarnished that the people I considered close friends didn’t show up to our wedding.”

He peers over at you, guilty.

“I’m sorry,” he begins, and you cut him off with a wave.

“Don’t be,” you sigh, taking another sip of your drink. “I will admit that I was upset about it yesterday, but…knowing that very little of your reputation has been your choice has calmed me down a bit.”

You smile at him, sweet yet mischievous.

“I’ve a proposition for you, husband. Something that will benefit both of us.”

Viktor raises a brow, intrigued, and gestures for you to continue.

Your smirk widens.

“I suggest revenge.”

His face falls a fraction, but before he can say anything, you speak over him.

“I’m not suggesting bodily harm. I’m not suggesting any kind of like-minded retaliation, either,” you promise, easing some of his tension. “ I’m well versed in social politics. Quite frankly, I find it entertaining and invigorating - and I enjoy getting to dress up on special occasions. It wouldn’t take a lot of prodding among my typical circle to get your name bouncing around.”

You take the last mouthful of your wine, and set the goblet down on the table.

“ A couple of kind words here and there. Everyone knows that you…lack social prowess, so any word of mine would be considered an absolute truth. I’m your wife, after all - and I’m meant to know you in ways that are far more intimate than your siblings ever would.”

You don’t miss the way he fidgets in his seat at your choice of words, nor the way pink begins to blossom across the tops of his cheeks. His awkwardness is honestly quite charming, in your opinion, if not slightly frustrating.

Frustrating, because how easily does he manage to catch your interest.

“All I’d have to do would be to let slip a few things that directly contradict the rumours spreading around, to the right people,” you finish, proudly knitting your fingers together to set them in your lap.

Unsurprisingly, though, Viktor seems unconvinced.

“Do you really think that all the damage done is so easy to fix?” he wonders, almost incredulous. “Talk to a couple of your friends and let them gossip?”

“No,” you admit. “I don’t. But we don’t need to convince anyone, Viktor. We just need to make them doubt. Doubt your siblings, doubt what they’ve heard. Once people start questioning, they’ll be willing to look a little closer, and be a little closer.”

Finally, finally, he seems to understand what you’re saying.

“What would make someone angrier than thriving, despite their attempts to assure otherwise?” you ask, of no one in particular.

Your husband smiles then, and not just a small quirk of the lip. A genuine smile, laden fully with the same sort of mischief that you have. A giddy, almost playful edge to it, and…something you can’t quite decipher. A sense of longing, perhaps - hope?

“You’ve thought this out very thoroughly,” he says, “and yet you’ve only been here a day.”

“Well, it’s not just your life anymore, now is it?” you tell him, matter-of-factly. “It’s our life. Our name, our home, our reputation. And neither of us deserve to be treated so poorly.”

There’s more you want to say to him - more conversation to be had about how to improve your lives and where to start, how to fix the garden. Your entire plan, really, as unfinished as it is.

Were it not for the servants’ door flinging open, startling the two of you away from each other.

The kitchen staff begin pouring in with dishes of food, setting them out around the table so you might choose what you’d like to eat - much of it which you’d never seen before, spices you’d never smelled, colours you’d never eaten.

Viktor promises you later that you’ll speak on the matter tomorrow, after you’ve both had some time to rest - claiming he still had some work he’d yet to finish that evening, and that he didn’t want to be late on its completion.

You’ve half a mind to ask him to stay with you: to ask him to spend the night with you, as a husband was meant to - even if it just meant sleeping together in the same bed. But with his beliefs and general awkwardness…you know even suggesting something like that would make him retreat back into his shell.

You’ll just have to work on refining your plans for the manor, and hope they would be enough to impress him.

[catras-breakup-song]

once upon a time a person said they were confused (or something?? i cant remember) why people hated shadow weaver but loved catra when they weren't really different. i want to know your thoughts on it because like, why is it that way?

i do somewhat agree with that logic, partially.

down to the core of who catra is (or in other words, was supposed to be in a better alternate universe) authentically, it's not true. however, inadvertently she did end up becoming shadow weaver and that was ultimately her goal all along in order to survive. i've most frequently seen this be attributed to her work in season four where it's most prominent in both design & actions, but truly it actually starts once she initially gets the promotion to force captain and finds motivation to put more effort into contributing to the horde. after all, shadow weaver says this in 2x03: "being me isn’t quite what you imagined, is it?"

so on the surface, that person you're talking about is absolutely correct. the problem i have on a deeper level is that catra and shadow weaver do not have the same intentions or environmental influences. the latter wants power for the sake of greed and legacy when she doesn't need it; the former wants power to be worth something and prove that discarding her life would be a mistake (again, survival mechanism). the latter abuses & manipulates subordinates she has complete control over for the satisfaction of causing conflict & anguish for her own entertainment; the former abuses equal peers whom she at one point considered friends because 1) she doesn't understand how to build & keep healthy relationships due to how she was intentionally raised & isolated (guess by whom?!) + 2) she's lashing out of repressed feelings of hurt, anger, betrayal, fear, & anxiety. these don't make it right by any means, but from a humanizing perspective, they're very reasonable responses to perceived injustice and rational preventative measures against the cause of those emotions to happen again.

although it's not directly related to your question, there is something very interesting i'd like to mention... when catra goes on a tirade in 4x13 about how she doesn't need anyone to achieve her goals, she lists these people: adora, scorpia, entrapta, hordak

who isn't included despite also leaving catra behind? shadow weaver. neither is double trouble even though that part hadn't happened with them yet, but it was about to, so sshhh. why? well, because that goal had already been achieved in this scene from 4x01, among everything else throughout the season, which was to seize control and keep competitors down by force (sound familiar?):

i genuinely believe catra & shadow weaver's relationship is one of the most compelling in the entire series and i'm always intrigued every time someone explores it!

[justablah56]

ee hee @iersei I finished writing another Glenn gender post :3

todays glennder post is specifically abt transfem Glenn , so buckle the fuck up <333 SO I've mentioned before that my person hc is that Glenn was transfem from when she was abouutttt 15-16 ish until Morgan's death p much . She was always sort of gnc before that , being a teen boy who's kinda emo/punk/alt with an absent father will do that to ya . I think for a while he didn't really think it was anything and it was totally normal and not a gender thing when he liked his hair long or his nails painted or a bit of makeup on here and there, he was just a rebellious teen who wanted to look cool . but then I think he started identifying as a demi boy at first, like yeah I'm not cis , but I'm still a guy , right ? (wrong) through their teenage years it slowly morphs into just they/them , not minding he/him , it just wasn't what they used most often . then he meets Morgan . Morgan , known lesbian . at first glenns like yeah wowie were such good friends , plus even if I liked her I'm a guy , a manly man , id have no chance , even if she is so so hot .. but they're like . besties for a few years , and at one point Morgan brings up the idea of crossdressing when they're probably in their early 20s. she mentions she thinks it'd be fun to try a sort of drag-king vibe , and glenns like haha yeah I could be your matching drag queen and Morgan's like 👁️👁️ so they go out to find outfits . Glenn finds some fun black leather dress or smthin like that and puts it on and comes out absolutely grinning . she doesn't think this is a performance , it feels too real . meanwhile Morgan is sitting there's like holy shit that is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen . both of them are seeing *Glenn* for the first time and she's beautifully herself . after that Morgan and Glenn go to a lot of dress/skirt shops . I think Glenn does really like the sort of drag vibe to her femininity though . she just loves the exaggerated makeup and the eccentric outfits and the ridiculously tall heels , and Morgan just thinks she's hot as hell <3 after a bit Glenn goes on estrogen bcs she can and life is good for a while between Glenn and Morgan . I think they do drag together super often , Glenn for the most part just glams herself up , bcs we love a transfem drag queen <3 and Morgan prefers to do more masc drag , and they like to correlate their outfits to match whenever they do it and it's just v sweet <3 I think though , (and I believe I've mentioned this in previous glennder rambles) that as Nick comes along and Glenn is given more responsibility he kinda starts regressing back in his gender journey . Glenn gets kinda ... burnt out . to the point that putting effort into his gender presentation isn't worth it anymore . when they first have Nick she starts using she/they . her and Morgan stop doing drag as often . as Nick grew up it morphed into just they/them , and Glenn didn't want to try to come up with a parent word for themself so they were still "dad". when Morgan died Glenn stopped presenting female completely . to him , he didn't have the time anymore to be worried about that kind of thing , and it was easier to just ... be a guy again . it also had to do with the fact that any of his feminity just reminded him of Morgan bcs he had been with her the whole time , so he couldn't dress up like he used to because every time he tried to dress up he would be turning around expecting to see Morgan's smiling face with her own outfit on , ready to tell her how pretty she looked all dolled up . and then she wasn't there . and that hurt . and as Glenn does , if it causes any kind of negative emotional reaction at all it's better to just shove it into a closet and pretend it doesn't exist , and that's what he does with his silly goofy transed gender . he does still stay on estrogen though , I think . bcs it's the one thing that he's just gotten used to and it would be more difficult to suddenly stop than it is to just keep doing it . he tells himself it's because he doesn't like change . and that's part of it , but y'know . she's still there .

anyways this got kinda longer than I thought it would but I'm so insane about transfem Glenn literally thinking about her constantly , she's my babygirl , my malewife , my girlhusband , my silly rabbit , I love her sm <3

[meximango]

Day 7 - Morsel - Cahsi + Luvon - G 

Summary: Cahsi tries Luvon's cooking.

Cahsi stared at the bowl in front of her and tried not to recoil. It’s not that it didn’t look delicious, but she could feel her eyes watering and her eyebrow hairs threatening to singe off just getting a slight whiff of the curry in front of her. “Hey, Vonnie?” “Yes?” “You’re still a pacifist, right?” “Well, there have been some extenuating circumsta–” “Short version, please: go.”

Her friend sighed with only the tiniest bit of annoyances. “Yes, essentially a pacifist.” “Right. So… why are you trying to kill me.” “I most assuredly am not! I believe you are being dramatic.” “You caught me, I am a big fan of drama. But seriously! This smells like a spoonful would melt my esophagus and let me breathe fire, all before even entering my belly.” “Of course. I understand that the spice level may not be palatable to someone unused to such food. I will not force you to eat any, but I did spend a long time preparing this meal for us…” Luvon trailed off and directed his gaze in her general direction, blinking his eyelashes slowly. 

Ahh, the puppy dog eyes- cuter than a carbuncle! A cheap but effective trick! She’s seen them melt Nero and Cid’s resolve more than once, and she was about to fall victim herself in a few moments if she didn’t look away–nah. Too late. The double hit combo aimed at her pride was just too much. She was going to eat this curry at the end of the day, whether she wanted to or not (and being a highly curious person as well, she was doomed from the start to want to). “This is not my first time around a hot curry, dear Lulu. I fondly remember sharing some with Zero in Thavnair. She had an uncanny tolerance for this sort of thing, despite barely having developed taste buds at that point. I bet she would have loved testing this.” “Alas, we shan’t be visiting her for quite some time, I imagine, but I will be sure to make some for her when next our paths cross. In the meantime, maybe you can take a small nibble, so as to have something to describe to her when you see her again? Actually, my recipe is a derivative of that one! After you shared that story with me, I spoke to the chefs at that restaurant and collaborated to kick up the heat even more. As you know, I cultivate my own peppers. The batch used for this meal is sure to impress.” 

He was so happy with his efforts. There’s no way she could turn him down, lest his little heart break. “One bite. Just a morsel.” Luvon clapped excitedly. “That is all I ask! Oh, and for your opinion. I do hope you like it. And if anything goes awry…” What. Awry. Awry how? What was her reaching for? Luvon waved his cane in front of her. “There is no doubt in my mind that a bowl of curry stands no chance at taking down the vaunted Warrior of Light, but just in case–a bit of conjury as backup is never a bad idea. An unnecessary precaution, surely,” he teased, before turning serious for a split second, “Unless there are any allergies you forgot to mention.” Cahsi laughed at that. “Nah. None to speak of. But yes, I feel incredibly well taken care of with your healing magic on backup.Thanks for the meal!” That was all the preamble she gave before dipping the naan in the curry and taking a bite. My pride remains intact. Worth it to prove I could handle it Cahsi thought, as she most certainly did not “handle it”. She started coughing immediately, eyes overflowing with tears in mere moments. It was a good thing this event took place in the otherwise empty kitchen at Luvon’s place and not anywhere public, because the scene she would have caused would have ended up in local papers. She slammed a hand down onto the table so hard, it cracked.  She saw Luvon jump back with the bowl of curry (it wouldn’t do to have that weaponized food spill all over her lap, after all, it’d probably dissolve her legs off). He looked the slightest bit sheepish and like he was considering actually applying a healing spell to her, even though her health was fine. Sure, she felt like her tongue was going to fall off, but she wasn’t actually in any danger. Probably.

In the end, the taste grew on her. Sort of. “Taste” being a strong word, though not as strong as the spiciness. She was sort of beginning to understand the appeal now, when Luvon would go into detail about wanting to try hotter and hotter foods. She could only manage half the bowl, with the help of plenty of naan. But overall, it was an excruciating yet somewhat pleasant experience, and one she (regretfully) admitted she’d be amenable to repeating. Luvon was a decent culinarian!

It made her friend happy, she got free food, and they could catalog recipes to try with Zero one day. A win-win in the end.

“Let’s do this again sometime.”

“I would love to! In the meantime, I have a cross-species in mind that could really change the game next time…”

[radnewworld]

So, here’s the thing... Your RPG has a character fantasy that it’s trying to play out, right? There’s a flavor that’s going to be baked into the mechanics to try to make it easy for a player to express and be immersed in their character within that fantasy. There is a LOT to discuss on the subject, but I want to zero in on one aspect that can really make or break the fantasy for your players: success and failure.

Whether it’s tests of combat, social, exploration skills, or something else entirely, most RPG systems will determine success or failure by a die roll. It can be a d20, 2d6, 2d20, 1d100, or some truly wild systems with fists full of specialized dice, but we can boil them all down to mathematical probability. Ignoring modifiers and target numbers, if a person needs to roll a 11 or higher on a D20, they have a 50% chance of succeeding. Duh, right? But really think about what that means... In that scenario, the character’s odds of success or failure are even. Do the thing twice, probably fail once and succeed once. A coin toss. It’s just a matter of pure luck at that point. Certainly not something you’d plan on or expect to work!

Contrast that with having to roll a 3 or higher on a d20: 90% chance of success. Solid odds that you’d feel pretty confident with, right? Sure, 10% isn’t that unlikely, but you’d bet on succeeding. You might even expect that to work. You could form a plan around a 90% chance of success. A failure would be a bit of a shock and maybe cause a significant disruption.

Now imagine you only succeed if that d20 shows a natural 20. 5% chance. It ain’t happening, friend. You’re rolling and only divine intervention will save you. Even before the die finishes clattering, you’re expecting and maybe even preparing for the consequences of failure. Should you succeed though... Whole table goes wild. Cheers, backslapping, and probably the formation of a story that you’ll all remind each other of for decades to come.

So what, right? Maybe you’ve never considered the math behind the die rolls, but this is pretty basic stuff! Stay with me for a bit longer as we circle back to the fantasy... Imagine you’re playing a game about spies and you’ve showed up to the table with an expert lock picker. Your character is recognized as an expert in the field, with years of training, experience, and education under their belt. The game starts, and your GM describes a fastfood joint’s general manager’s door in your path as locked by a fairly standard, hardware store quality lock. You get ready to roll to pick the lock, die cool in your hand. The GM gives you the target number... And after doing some basic math in your head, you realize that, even with all of your character’s expertise and tools, your odds of success are 50%. How’s your fantasy feelin’ about then? Do you feel like your lock picking expert is in control of their fate? Or are they at the mercy of the fickle whims of capricious luck? Do you believe in this world where an expert has a coin toss’s odds of defeating this bargain bin lock? I’ll bet not. It’s as ridiculous and jarring as the odds of a 72 year old librarian with aesthma successfully putting a Hell Angel’s biker into an arm-bar hold 90% of the time.

Take a look at the range of difficulties in your game, then compare that with what a typical player character is capable of. What are the odds of their success for a normal or difficult task? Will your experts generally be kicking around that 80-90% chance of success? Or something closer to 50/50? Is there a substantial difference between your experts and untrained characters? This might seem boring, and probably will need the help of a website for dice odds for non-d20 systems, but it is worth the effort I promise you! With this knowledge, you can better craft your game session or system to present the fantasy you want the players to experience.

Here’s a quick and dirty guide:

If players can reasonably reach the 80-90% chance of success for most common tasks, you’re looking at an expert fantasy. Players want to see their character blow through mundane challenges like Superman through a wooden door when their character’s specialization comes into play. This isn’t to say ALL challenges should be simple; far from it! Players crave challenge, particularly for their character’s specialty, so be sure to include situations that will push their character to the limit. If our lockpicking expert is called upon to open up a bank vault in 10 seconds or less, while their allies battle enemy spies the next room over, and the whole mission is on the line, it is perfectly reasonable for the task to be 50/50 odds (or worse!) for the expert and flatly impossible for untrained rubes to attempt. That’s where the expert fantasy shines: difficult tasks with high stakes that only the specialist can possibly succeed.

If most checks for your players are going to be in the range of 40-60%, and doubly so if the difference between an expert and a normal character is minimal, you are in for slapstick or a lot of hot-or-cold rolling. If a magic item requires an Arcana check with a target number of 15 (a hard challenge as the game states), a 1st level genius wizard with training in arcane lore for a total of a +6 bonus to the check and an intelligent fighter with no Arcana training has a +2, that means the wizard needs to roll a 7 or higher and the fighter needs a 13. The wizard has a 70% chance of success while the fighter kicks a 40% chance. The difference between a lifetime of magical study with a genius intellect and some smarter-than-average newbie is 30%. There are, almost certainly, going to be situations where specialist characters will fail a fairly mundane task while their much, much less expert allies will pass.

Short note, I think a lot of 5e’s math problems can be fixed by doubling Proficiency bonuses, increasing harder DCs by 5, and reworking Expertise into something that ignores Disadvantage or grants Advantage more often. I’ll show my work if folks are interested later.

Lastly, if your characters expect failure more than 70% of the time... Whoooo boy, you are doing something weird! Either the game is based on failing-forward mechanics, something where only the truly lucky or exception survive, or dealing with failure is the whole point. Children With Wands is the only game I’ve seen that makes this fun, but I’ve met some truly special individuals who play early editions of Warhammer Roleplaying specifically to gleefully mulch their way through character after character. I don’t judge.

Hopefully this gave you something to think on if you’ve gotten this far. Whatever your fantasy preference, I wish you happy gaming!