#he put them both in that situation. he has to suffer the consequences of them both playing the game better than him dfgjkdf

[trickstercaptain]

thinking about how the dynamic jack has with james in dmc is almost identical to the dynamic he has with elizabeth. they are both foils who ultimately outplay him at the end despite him unintentionally ( or not ) putting them in that situation in the first place ( piracy 🌈 )

[nostalgicmiscellaneous]

This fandom created a myth about Lady Whistledown. Sometimes i wonder if i watched the same show. Let me make myself clear: While Penelope has to tell Colin the truth, because she loves him and he deserves it, LW helped the Bridgertons a lot actually. It saved them to have Daphne married to a creep ( and see how Violet wanted people to talk to reach LW and spread), saved Colin from a loveless marriage with children that he didn't know anything about it and saved Eloise. Yes, it saved Eloise. Eloise created and kept pushing the situation in her reckless pursuit. Eloise also didn't think about the consequences of her action towards the people working for LW, didn't listen to Penelope, didn't think about the risk she was putting people at. And while i understand her anger in not knowing, had she been a better friend, many other things would be different, because she truly never paid attention to what Penelope feels or want, she molded Pen to be whom she wanted and be her audience. And then, she left Pen with the choice of losing all she built and suffer consequences or pick the less harmful option: to make Eloise's scandal about politics, not romantic and save them both, plus Theo. The real ruin for Eloise would've been her being caught with Theo, something that was bound to happen as she was not careful at all. Why should Pen sacrifice all for Eloise? Would any of you sacrifice all ( job, family and possibly your liberty) for a friend who caused the bloody situation? I'm no hypocrite, i know i wouldnt. Not to mention Eloise bravado, to Pen she would say she wants to challenge society and doesn't care about what they think...but folded the moment she received a frown from the Ton. Shall we see who are LW victims, people that suffered real consequences? Lord Beerbrock. That's it. Marina is married, despite her lies and deceit. Colin? Nothing as well, in fact, happier than ever. Eloise? A few weeks of ostracism and she's back without a problem, without a romantic entanglement to ruin her. One that she clearly didn't really thought was deep enough to face society. The Bridgertons have more to thank LW than to hate her. And Violet and Anthony, i bet your asses, do think so, and see it. And The Queen? Are you watching the show? Have you seen Charlotte's personality? That woman loves the whole game with LW. And She loves to take it all, to receive the laurels of that society. As long as she can make it look like the won, and she can, easily, by revealing or be involved in revealing who is LW. See the whole KatexEdwina, how she handled the Ton there.

Anyway, just wanted to say something because some people have dreamed a LW that doesn't exist at all. Created on their own minds a boogeyman that wasn't simply reporting the truth with witty opinions but fabricating stories and lies to ruin lives, and that's simply not true. Never happened. There was never a lie created there. Only the truth, even about herself, as Pen was often damaged by her column.

[bandtrees]

the thing about curly is that it feels like a copout to describe him as "too nice" but i think that really is the situation with him. i feel when talking about him as a leader there's a lot of talk about the anya and jimmy stuff but i feel not a lot about the parts that show his passiveness causing problems before then.

most notably, that he let daisuke aboard a ship not made for five people, and that he told the others about the layoffs before he was meant to. both very well-intentioned, interpersonally Nice things to do, that were welcome as a friend who cares about the crew, but less so as an authority figure who's supposed to have a spine about those sorts of things.

he's not really thinking about the repercussions for revealing this information, or the impact it'll have on his crew's mental states in the months they have left for their last haul, because in his eyes - and this is something he tells both anya and jimmy - they'll Get Through It Together. curly is someone who reassures the people around him a lot in his dialogue. he cares a lot about people but does, in fact, care too much, and when it comes down to it, he can't do much except care.

an important thing to note with the anya situation (specifically in contrast to the "curly only cared about jimmy" take i see around) is that curly does reassure her, and i think did genuinely believe what he was saying when he told her everything was going to be okay and that they'd figure it out together. it's just that he also told those things to jimmy, and when you're a person as passive as curly, if you don't put your foot down people are going to weasel in and use that as an opening.

curly was a good friend, but not a good leader. there's only so much that reassurances without tangible action can do for someone in the state anya was in. he likely let daisuke board because he felt for and liked him, disregarding the fact it was literally unsafe for him to do so because of the pod situation. he told the crew they were getting laid off because it felt right for him to do so, he acted as a "friend" and not as a "leader".

and this is really cool contrast to jimmy, imo, who has no sense of compassion and is quick to take impulsive, ruthless decisions he expects praise for by sole virtue of being hard. jimmy would rather mouthwash someone's open wounds and force another to commit cannibalism than mercy-kill them - because someone dying under his care means he failed, and he can't have that, and so he will drag out their suffering for as long as humanly possible. he can't actually face the consequences of his actions.

both of them have this mantra of "i can fix it" without actually fixing much of anything - however i think curly differs in that he's a compassionate person who doesn't mind being on the same level as his crew (for better or worse), meanwhile jimmy can never shake the title of "captain" and the inflated sense of importance it gives him and that he projects onto curly. curly cares but doesn't act, jimmy acts but doesn't care.

BUT - i think a really interesting thing here too is how they act in the immediate danger of the crash. jimmy hides with his hands on his head, catatonic, while curly rushes in to try and salvage the ship even when it'll endanger him. jimmy is unable to face the gravity of what he did, while curly - even if he's not a good captain socially - is willing to put himself in danger to fix it. it gives the impression that while curly can't raise a hand against other people, he's willing to go down with his ship and put others before himself.

and putting others before himself is his entire relationship with jimmy, no? curly's dialogue with his crewmates is very reassuring, with a generous "we'll fix it together" attitude (see his patience with daisuke in the foam scene, and how he offers to do jimmy's psych eval when anya doesn't want to (compared to how jimmy would likely handle those situations, as we see when he yells at anya when asked to do tasks for her)) - BUT i would argue it's even moreso apparent with jimmy.

curly's povs, in my mind, offer the views on characters we don't see from jimmy's perspective, as jimmy cherrypicks scenes to paint anya as incompetent, daisuke as stupid and spoiled, swansea as mean and unstable - with curly, we see anya is gossipy and likes to joke around, daisuke is willing to fix problems by himself even if he struggles, et cetera. and with curly, we see, in how he talks to and about jimmy, he's very... concerned for him? and walks on eggshells around him.

^^^ after jimmy has pivoted a conversation curly was having about his life to be about his insecurities, and curly takes the bait and reassures him.

in general, he seems wary of jimmy as someone who will blow up if not reassured.

and he talks to, and about him, like he's taken on this quasi-therapist "responsible" role for him. he has this very... mental health-centered way of talking to jimmy - we'll fix it together, one day at a time, hey i believe in you, etc. which gives me the impression of, and this happens very often, a very trusting and overly-empathetic guy who's been roped into a relationship with someone whose safety and actions have been made his responsibility.

(i obviously don't mean this to woobify curly, or to diminish the game's commentary on rape culture, but rather to express that there's more to curly's behavior around jimmy than "shitty men cover for eachother".)

and i think one of the ultimate tragedies of curly's character is that, in the end, what jimmy projects on him -

-was true. this is how curly thought, before he was forced to come to terms, via experiencing jimmy's abuse of him, witnessing anya's suicide and the others' bodies, that jimmy was a monster who was never going to care about curly the way curly cared about him.

but, because jimmy views curly, now disabled, as a complete blank slate because he physically cannot speak for himself, jimmy continues to project upon him the dynamic that did exist between them - no matter the horrors he puts curly through, because if curly let him get away with it then, he'd let him get away with it now, right?

and when curly didn't put his foot down when it mattered, he now no longer can - and so jimmy's words, as long as he's as unable to speak for himself as he was back then, will be in his mouth forever.

:(

[contentloadingandstuff]

"Tell us what we want to know, or he gets it." - Genshin Girls x Male!Reader

A/N: Trying a new format today - let me know if you would like to see more. Also, Reader is always the same species as the character in the pairing, ex.: Miko and a Kitsune Reader. Another thing, characters distinguished with color are those that would definetely act as described. Just thought I'd clear this up since many authors leave their readers guessing. Anyway, enjoy! CW: Angst, light whump. Mentions of torture without graphic descriptions, reader death.

She has been captured, and the enemy demands information. Before long, however, she sees you - opposite her and in the same chains...

Cracks Immediately

To be honest, they would have broken even without seeing you in danger. Though there are exceptions, most people - just like them - could not hold out under torture. It’s not a reason to be ashamed - especially if it results in not a hair falling from your head. The situation was distressing enough on its own, but with you she falls into a desperate panic. Whatever needs to be said to keep you safe, she’ll say - even if it will have consequences. As soon as she can, she will hug you tightly, never wanting to let go again. You’re her world, and her heart would fall to pieces if anything happened to you.

“Wait! I’ll tell you everything, j-just don’t hurt him!”

Characters: Furina, Noelle, Xiangling, Collei, Nilou, Sucrose, Fischl, Ganyu, Yoimiya, Kirara, Barbara, Xinyan, Yanfei, Yun Jin, Collei, Layla.

It's A Dealbreaker

Gritting their teeth and powering through torture, or at least trying to - that's what they did before you were introduced into the equation. They have secrets and ideas that they will protect with their life, but not yours. Never yours. They could never forgive themselves if they were the reason you suffered. But all of this, it's your fault. If you weren't so lovely, kind and caring, she would keep her lips sealed. Regardless, you're one weakness she doesn't mind. 

“Ugh… Fine. I’ll talk, but keep your filthy hands off him.”

Characters: Emilie, Rosaria, Chiori, Beidou, Hu Tao, Ayaka, Shinobu, Mualani, Faruzan, Charlotte, Yae Miko.

They Can't Take It...

She is strong. She will endure whatever they throw at her. Even when they threaten you. She will look in your eyes and see mutual resolve. You can do it, both of you, she thinks. Except not. Even if you stay strong, she won't. She'll crumble. Screams, blood, tears, agony inflicted on you thanks to her. What has she done? You don't deserve it, you don't deserve anything else but love and comfort, not being made to suffer. She'll put a halt to it, she'll run to you and take your broken body in her arms. She'll tell you that it's okay, it's okay, I'm here. They won't hurt you any more. 

“Stop! Stop, please! I’ll talk! Don’t you see he’s had enough?! Please…”

Characters: Amber, Lisa, Keqing, Shenhe, Kokomi, Ei, Kujou Sara, Candace, Lynette, Navia, Chevreuse, Chasca, Xilonen.

Standing Her Ground

This one knows what and who she's protecting. If what she knows falls into the wrong hands, hundreds could die. Surely you understand…? It's not right for you to be tangled into all of this. She's sorry, she really is, but she can't say anything. That doesn't mean she won't break down at the sight, that her very soul isn't pierced by every scream leaving your lips. Long after it's over, she won't be able to look you in the eyes with anything but shame. She did the right thing - she saved lives. But how can she feel any satisfaction when it’s you who paid the price? No matter if you forgive her or see no offense in her choice, your blood has been smeared across her mind and your pain will haunt her dreams until her last day. But whatever it may take, she will not let it happen again. Ever.

"I'm sorry, my love... I'm so sorry..."

Characters: Lumine, Jean, Mona, Eula, Yelan, Xianyun, Dehya, Clorinde, Mauvika.

Until Death Does Us Apart

Only when the last breath leaves your body does she shed tears. She kept her resolve strong. For you. Seeing her suffer would worsen your agony, filling your last moments with absolute despair. But she held out, allowing the sight of her features to guide you to your deserved rest. She will not ask for forgiveness, for there is nothing to forgive for - she did the right thing, kept to the word you’ve sworn. As a rose’s petals, her lips were sealed - and so were yours. You protected your people, your children, your nation. Although she does not have the power to bring back what they’ve taken, she will make sure the vengeance goes down in history. When the bodies of your killers turn cold, she will exile the weak and raze every yard of their home, pouring salt on the scorched earth so nothing may grow there again. Only then, when justice has been served, will she allow herself to mourn. Regardless of whether she comes back or crumbles in the mind, she will do so knowing that she did what she could for you.  

Raiden Shogun: “A stalwart companion, to the last. You will pay his weight with blood, I will see to that.” Arlecchino: “You have left many orphaned today, Y/N. We will mourn your departure dearly. Rest well - know that o-our children are safe, my husband…” Ningguang: “You didn’t deserve this… Not in any world or by any design of the stars… Forgive me for loving you, Y/N. You would live no if not for me... I will make sure your sacrifice does not go in vain… I p-promise, Y/N.”

Thanks for reading.

[goldflowerfield]

thinking about how both chara and flowey fixate on different aspects of their deaths. to flowey, he died because he was unable to kill. he was put in a kill-or-be-killed situation and was unable to bring himself to do what's necessary, and now that dictates his entire outlook on life. the very first person you meet in the game is flowey, who uses you to reinforce this exact mindset of his. to put anyone in the same pain he was once in as a way to rationalise what happened as just the way the world works rather than it being the cruel tragedy it was. that the very idea of being trusting and merciful was in itself idiotic. he chooses to repeat what he went through, over and over, but this time as the one teaching others the same "kill or be killed" mentality instead, with the same cruelty and brutality he was subject to throughout.

to chara, they died because they surrendered their soul—and so, their control. they trusted asriel as a partner in their plan, thus giving him control, and so they both had to suffer the consequences as a result. they died because they weren't in control. so, when meeting you at the end of the game, they're sure to take as much control as they can get. they're the one telling you to give up your soul this time, they're the one administering the consequences of your actions this time, and if you try to act against their choice—they're the one in control this time, and they'll be sure to let you know exactly how little control you hold. you're the one who has to sit back and watch as the person who seemingly functioned as your partner in crime rips away your happy ending, because this time, you're the one who surrendered your soul to them.

[brekkie-e]

I need more people talking about how the ideal thematic party is Wyll, Karlach, and Astarion. All three bound in the shackles of servitude in some capacity, all three in some stage of being sold to hell.

Karlach and Astarion being two sides of the same coin. Years of servitude, physical and emotional torment, and rage under their belt. Nothing but the burning desire for revenge and the desperate ache to live flowing through their veins. They're both drunk on freedom and life. They get the other person, despite responding to their new found freedom in completely opposite ways. You can see it in their banter though. They get it. There is not a lot of judgement between them. If Karlach needs to laugh hysterically because she's here on the material plane, walking in the sun, and just can't believe it? Astarion can't even bring himself to judge.

But Wyll? Wyll is careening towards joining them in their suffering. He's got one foot in the door. He already knows a little of the pain that comes with being on the end of a leash, but he has only just begun to fully feel the consequences he is destined to face. The thing about Wyll though is he's desperate to save everyone but himself. He's quick to back Karlach and Astarion in their fights against their tormentors. But when it comes down to it he's fairly passive in his quest to free himself of Mizzora. Atleast in my experience, it fell to Tav to capitalize on oppurtunities to out think her. It fell to Tav to push him to TRY. That's not a critique on Wyll, but when you put that thematically next to Karlach and Astarion who are near feral in their desperation for freedom- it is really interesting. And it's easy to imagine the two of them becoming determined to ensure he doesn't fall victim to the same fates they did. He's trying to save them, while they're trying to save him.

Or, countering my own point, imagine how frustrating that would be for Karlach and Astarion. Knowing that this great guy, this larger than life hero who always has a silly pun and a dashing smile on hand- doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of his situation. He’s still smiling. He’s still soldiering on as though nothing is wrong. He’s not taking the initiative to escape it, and he’s not coming up with any possible solution. He’s content to keep spending his time helping people and putting them before his own needs. Now, Wyll isn’t necessarily as fine as he seems. He’s by no means ignorant of or unafraid of the fate that awaits him. But he puts on a good front, with that big old Charisma modifier of his. And I imagine that could easily drive Astarion and Karlach mad.

That’s without going in to the fact that Astarion has an infernal pact carved on his back, and will be sold to hell as well if he doesn’t find a solution. And he hits the ground running the moment he finds out. He is not about to let that happen, and goes to great lengths to find out how to fix the situation. So there is a contrast with Astarion and Wyll not only in their reaction to their own tormenter’s, but with their goal of evading hell.

Because of how each of these guys’ situation is so closely related to their own, I think many moments would arise of stepping on each other’s toes while processing their trauma. Karlach and Astarion know better than most what Wyll is going to go through if he doesn’t take this seriously, and he makes PUNS? If they could go back to the day before their lives changed forever, they would do everything possible to make sure it never happened. They didn’t get a warning. He has his written on paper. In glowing ink. There could be so many incredible arguments between these three because personality wise- more often than not it would be Karlach and Wyll agreeing. Which would make the moments Karlach ends up siding with Astarion because Wyll made light of something at the wrong time all the more poignant. Karlach and Astarion agreeing on something and being a united front trying to drag Wyll to action would be such a powerful scene.

It becomes even more fun when you consider their personalities. Wyll and Karlach being the indisputably kindest characters of the group, but being so narratively tied to the one who is morally bankrupt. When someone is altruistically good and helps people for no reason Astarion usually gets frustrated with the fact they don’t understand how cruel the world is. He doesn’t do that with Karlach. He can’t do that with Karlach. Because she’s him. She’s the part of him who rages and screams and let’s every swear word fly and embraces how much hurt she is carrying and how entirely unfair it is. He sees that in her and I think some part of him is validated by it. So when she is unbearably kind and refuses to believe that there’s no good left in the world, who is he to tell her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She has just as much baggage to back her up as he does. He just walks off and let’s her have it in most of the banter I’ve heard. The flip side, he validates her own need for vengeance and doesn’t let her feel like a bad person for enjoying taking her anger out. She deserves it after everything that’s been taken from her.

Wyll is a similar situation. He is a constant example of the goodness of humanity. A reminder that it is more important to remain true to oneself even at the expense of power or comfort. He stays true to himself, and is forced to abandon his home. He stays true to himself, and is forced to endure a form that is foreign to him. He stays true to himself, and forsakes the safety of the material plane. In the process, he sacrifices the powers of his pact. He willingly gives up the position of Grand Duke so that he can be the tool for good that he thinks the world needs. Of course, a million points can also be made about all that he’s willing to sacrifice if you go the route of maintaining his pact- but I’m working off of what I personally saw play out, which was destroy the pact but save the Grand Duke.

Wyll’s personality playing off Astarion’s selfishness is so interesting. The first things Astarion reaches for in every situation are power and comfort. Silk sheets, a good wine, unholy ascension- whatever the whim of the day is. Being forced into the company of someone who constantly reminds him there is a vastly different approach to life would both be frustrating and eye opening. Especially when that example is backed up by Karlach whom Astarion can’t help but respect and find oddly comforting. Vice versa, as Wyll is an example of selflessness to Astarion, he is an example of selfishness to Wyll. Where Wyll and Karlach drag Astarion kicking and screaming towards recovery, he might have his own soft moments of begging Wyll to put himself first. Just once. Being selfish about your needs does not make you a bad person. A dynamic made even better by Karlach being the background example that being unapologetic about your needs is okay. All of these little elements play off each other so well.

Now how do these guys come through for Karlach? Stability. Which is a word I NEVER thought to use in reference to Astarion before. But I’m serious. Day one of freedom for him? Where is his mind? Completely focused on how to make sure it lasts. How does he secure the situation. How does he make himself safe permanently? He is a self proclaimed ideas man, not much of a planner. And yet, he IS coming up with ideas. He is thinking ahead about the future, and planning to take every chance he can to secure his freedom. Karlach is living in the moment, taking each day as a blessing and not letting fears of the future hold her back. And she deserves that. But it’s good for her to have someone pulling her back to earth and reminding her to do more than live in the moment when it comes to the big things. I’m serious, if they all three put their heads together and worked as a team not only would they be able to accomplish anything- the found family potential is absolutely limitless.

So- long story short. I personally find them to be the most satisfying and interesting party dynamic you can play with. It’s rewarding on a lot of levels, and also has some of the best friendship dialogues in the game. Which I’ve noticed there just isn’t a lot of friend-centric commentary or scenes in the base game, but this party does seem to get more than other’s I’ve worked with. I think that’s a larger issue than just which party build you run with, but I do enjoy that you can get a satisfying found family feel with this crew. Of course, romancing them as eachother also works pretty well too- the dynamics are just as good for that. Personally, I enjoy romancing Astarion and then keeping Karlach and Wyll as besties, but there’s a lot of ways you can run with it.

[egoitsharu]

We can talk about Cheng and Lu's beautiful friendship

The friendship between Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi is one of the deepest I've seen in an anime. Throughout the series, it's shown that their bond goes far beyond just being coworkers; they're like two pieces that complement each other perfectly 💕✨ .

1. Complementary personalities: Lu Guang is methodical, rational, and always puts rules and logic first. He's the anchor that keeps everything under control.Cheng Xiaoshi, on the other hand, is impulsive, emotional, and often follows his gut more than his head.Although they might clash, these traits make each compensate for the other's weaknesses. Guang balances Xiaoshi when he gets carried away, and Xiaoshi brings emotion and humanity to Guang.

2. Unwavering trust: Despite their differences, their trust in each other is absolute. Lu Guang fully trusts Xiaoshi to navigate complex situations within the photos, and Xiaoshi knows that Guang is always there to guide and protect him from the outside. Even when things get complicated, they always come back to support each other.

3. Mutual sacrifice and care: Moments like when Xiaoshi takes care of Guang in his recovery, or when Guang makes difficult decisions to protect him, are proof that they prioritize each other over anything. Even if they don't express it directly, their actions shout how much they mean to each other.

4. Understanding each other without words: There is an incredible synchronicity between them. In the field, they know what the other needs without needing to speak too much. It's as if their friendship is a silent language that only they understand.

5. Shared pain: Both have faced hard times together, from failures in their missions to dealing with the consequences of their powers. This shared suffering has not separated them, but has brought them even closer together.

Their friendship is the backbone of Link Click. Beyond the missions and mysteries, the story is a reflection of how the bonds between two people can overcome any difficulty 💕✨.

[elene78-blog]

I think that after the jerejean and the andreil, my favorite ship would be the jeaneil.

Okay, just think about this idea.

Nathaniel was thrown into the Nest shortly after Jean, because Nathan finds Mary and kills her. Jean is still number 3 and Nathaniel is number 4. Nathaniel is a mad dog that Riko cannot tame, and Jean, although he has been relatively docile after the first 5 months there completely alone, regains some of his initial fierceness because Nathaniel infected him with yours.

They both suffer the "domestication" of those 5. Nathaniel stops being so haughty because he knows that Jean will suffer the consequences, but Jean, not being alone and being able to talk to someone in the same situation, someone as fierce as his companion, does not lose hope or rebellion. The two lower their heads in front of Riko, but they are not finished. They are a firm pillar for each other.

Jean doesn't try to commit suicide because he has a partner. The two of them are together in this torture.

When the Ravens overtake Neil on the court after Jean's growth spurt, Jean attacks them with violent tackles and hurts them so much that they don't try again. When Grayson becomes “infatuated” with Jean after being "domesticated," Nathaniel puts rat poison in his food, causing a severe ulcer and burns to her digestive tract. The Ravens are much more careful about what they say and do, because they know that Nathaniel is unpredictable and unhinged.

Everything is going "fine", but then Kevin starts giving Jean postcards, magnets, starts distracting the other Ravens so they can take a break from the beatings they receive, and he asks Jean to teach him French.

Jean accepts because she really likes Kevin. Nathaniel doesn't see anything strange at first because Kevin is the player he admires the most, but when he sees Jean smiling looking at his postcards, Nathaniel feels bad.

He can't give Jean postcards because he's locked up there, just like him. And those magnets... why do they want magnets for anyway? They are stupid.

He doesn't understand why Jean looks at Kevin so much, nor at some girls on the team that way. Is it because of sex? They "tamed" him and it was horrible and humiliating, why would he care after that?

But Jean keeps getting postcards while Nathaniel gives her the ones he gets because Kevin is an idiot and he doesn't want his damn gifts out of pity.

Jean and Nathaniel fight more and more. Nathaniel warns Jean about Kevin. Warn him that he is too close to Riko and that Riko won't like Jean looking at Kevin so much. He tells him that Kevin is with Thea. He tells him that Kevin is not going to get him out of there to show him the places on his damn postcards.

Jean tells Nathaniel that he wants them both to go with Kevin when they graduate. Nathaniel yells for Jean to go with him, because he doesn't plan to go with them.

Nathaniel and Jean stop talking to each other.

And then, it happens.

Riko breaks Kevin's hand. Kevin speaks in French in front of Riko with Jean, he asks Jean to distract him and Kevin leaves.

Riko and Tetsuji believe that Jean is complicit in Kevin's escape.

Riko lunges at Jean like a madman and Nathaniel gets between the two, but Riko no longer has a partner to calm him down and it's pure anger.

Nathaniel is sent to solitary confinement for three months because Riko knows that he is the influence bothering Jean's taming. Nathaniel almost lost his mind in there thinking about what they were doing to his partner while he was gone. He becomes unhinged, crazy. He hasn't been a day without Jean around in years and he's starting to lose his mind. Having no one talk to you for three months in a dark room does not help your mental stability.

Jean is all broken bones, deep cuts, and panicking over the water when Nathaniel comes out. His rebellion has faded and Nathaniel doesn't know if he will get it back.

Nathaniel can't do anything against Riko and Tetsuji, because if he tries, they will attack his partner. He doesn't want anyone to get close to his partner after this. But Nathaniel needs someone to hate.

Nathaniel swears he will kill Kevin Day for what he has done.

(English is not my native language, sorry).

[vickyvicarious]

Oh yes, the feeling that you have to rely to the creeper who you loathe so much that you have come to hate even the rooms he resides in, that he's not the scariest thing in your life, that you have to run to his arms for safety. Horror! Dracula claiming him was the high point of the entry (than the almost-bite)

Honestly, yeah. The dynamics between Dracula and Jonathan are so scary, to the point that all the supernatural events are the cherry on top rather than the main course, as far as the horror of this section goes.

Dracula does so much manipulation here, holds so many different kinds of power over Jonathan, and multiple levels of each too. He's got physical power - both in the sense of the castle being a prison, and in the sense of his incredible strength. He's got social power - as a noble, and as a client/boss. He's got monetary power over Jonathan too, able to potentially make or ruin his career. He has so much control over Jonathan's ability to express himself - he's the only company available to him, he's forcing him to keep up a pretense of friendship, he's limiting and controlling his communication with others. Jonathan has no escape: he can't go out of the castle because he's locked in, he can't go many places inside the castle because he's locked out of them, and now he can't leave the rooms Dracula wants him in because otherwise the vampire ladies will get him, and within those rooms there is nowhere safe from Dracula himself. Jonathan has seemingly no action he can take: if he sneaks around behind Dracula's back, a greater threat awaits. If he acts openly, Dracula's own threat may become realized. If he doesn't act at all, he's doomed. If he acts at all, he's doomed. If he trusts Dracula, he's doomed. If he doesn't trust Dracula, he's doomed.

Of course, the supernatural elements are the mechanics by which Dracula increases the stakes, the threats underlying the charming veneer. Specifically, the introduction of the vampire women is what puts Jonathan in this seemingly inescapable box, and one with potential threats to something even greater than his life.

But Dracula's playing this Bluebeard role and could have done so with some more mundane threat as well, without changing too terribly much about his own actions. Where he's scariest (at least to me) is in these interactions with Jonathan, in these manipulative webs and traps he lays out in his words, in the way he pushes so many boundaries until they're forced to collapse or warp under the pressure. Jonathan's privacy keeps getting worn away. Dracula's speech and touch get more familiar and more possessive. He started out the first night blaming Jonathan for the things he did himself ('oh, why did you make your conversation so interesting we had to stay up all night?') and escalates until now he's making Jonathan be the one to act, and to suffer the consequences: whether in forcing him to lie to his loved ones, or in dangling the bait of sleeping outside his room and then only barely saving him when he does. And Jonathan has no real choice but to act. To fail to do so, in one way or another, would mean giving up all hope at escape or likely even survival. But because he has to act, he winds up feeling complicit. He ends up in situations where Dracula thanks him, forgives him, saves him. It keeps putting them on seemingly the same side, with Jonathan in a lesser/reliant role. And that's all a huge lie, at its core. But in a very real way, it's true too, to an extent. More and more, he's getting layers of resistance scraped away, and having to seek safety from Dracula now is so, so horrifying. In many ways all he truly has left is his will to live, his internal determination to resist - and now he's been given powerful incentive not to trust in that latter part too much. It's absolutely brutal.

He's walking a wire that just keeps getting thinner and thinner. All he can possibly do is try to keep this balancing act going, and hope for something to change that will give him more options down the line.

[achaotichuman]

ACOTAR Rant

If you like Elain, don't read.

ACTUALLY, CAN WE START TALKING ABOUT HOW ELAIN HAS ALL THE FUCKING CHOICE, WHY ARE WE MAKING OUT LIKE SHES SOME HELPLESS LAMB??

I'm not gonna sit here and repeat the same tired lines of "I know she was traumatised from the Cauldron blah blah blah" You all know that, you know I know she's traumatised, I talk about this shit like every other day.

Lets talk mating bonds (again)

Elain and Lucien are equal in that they are entirely tied together. In fact, it hurts Lucien *more*. If anything, Elain has the most power in this situation compared to Lucien, she has the most autonomy, she is at risk of having the ghost of mating bond past™ haunt her if she rejects it. Lucien is at risk of actually losing his entire fucking mind.

And you people want to call that fair?????? People genuinely think that Elain is some victim of Lucien in this????

Everyone is so fucking obsessed with 'Elain having choice' ELAIN HAS ALL THE CHOICE, LUCIEN IS ENTIRELY AT HER MERCY

Let's compare Elain and Nesta's situations (AGAIN)

They both suffered the exact same terrifyingly, horrible physical, sexual, emotional and mental torture that the Cauldron inflicted on them. Morphing them against their will.

Now, Nesta immediately went to protect Elain. Her trauma response was to prioritise Elain (probably had to do with that being her ingrained instinct from their years in poverty, but that's another analysis for another day)

What was also Nesta's response? To bring up her walls and shut everyone out. She wanted to handle this on her own. She wanted space and time.

Elain softened. After months of being catatonic, she began a routine and made the best of her situation. Most importantly, her healing did not threaten anyone's egos, so the IC gave her the time, space and place to heal that she needed. They provided that for her.

Not to mention, Lucien is a person that the IC collectively hates, so combined with the fact that Elain is a walking housewife stereotype who doesn't threaten anyone's egos, and that her mate is someone her 'found family' doesn't like. She gets all the protection in the world.

Compare that to Nesta, who does threaten the IC's egos, and does bend their social rules, and doesn't bow down to them, they don't give her space, time or a place to heal. They threaten her, and lock her up. And combine that with the fact that her mate is Cassian, a member of the IC, they disrespect her wishes, and her bodily autonomy.

AND SO MANY PEOPLE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT ELAIN'S CHOICE. OH MY LORD, "ELAIN DESERVES CHOICE" SHE HAS ALL THE CHOICE

She has so much power over Lucien, who is quite literally in exile from every home he has ever known, handling more work than most people could ever deal with. Dealing with indescribable trauma of his own, and on top of it, he is receiving no help for it. Sure, he has the band of exiles, wanna guess what? THEYRE HUMANS, HE IS A FAERY, THEY CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH FOR HIM

Elain has ignored Lucien, and actively pursued relationships with others (Azriel), she shits all over Nesta, slut shames and guilt trips her.

But she's the soft one™ so no one is allowed to give her a single consequence to her actions.

I see so many posts of people praising Elain because she's #notawarriorgirly and she's #feminine and she #doesn'twannacarryasword

I hate to break it to you, but SJM hasn't written the feminine rep you've been craving.

Elain is actively putting Lucien in pain, for no reason at all. She is actively hateful towards Nesta who has only ever helped her. She victimises herself if she doesn't get her way.

It's not Elain's story that should be about choice, because she has ALL OF THE FUCKING CHOICE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. FEYRE HAS LESS CHOICE THAN HER

If you think for even two fucking seconds about this, it's pretty damn obvious that Lucien is the one who doesn't have choice in the mating bond. What if he had a romantic relationship with someone? Now, he *has* to give it up, because his 'choices' are:

1- Reject the bond and lose his mind and go mad

2- Don't accept or reject and spend the rest of his life pinning after a woman against his will.

3- Accept the bond and be chained to someone he doesn't want against his will

And on top of the creepy mating bond, this is a man who was being sexually abused by both Ianthe and Feyre! What a combo!

If I see one more 'Elain Deserves Choice' post, I am actually gonna implode I fear...

[itsbenedict]

How would you make mario a villain?

Huh! Tricky one. I mean, there's tons of Newgrounds parodies about how fucked up it is that Mario goes around crushing turts all day, and there's the obvious "silent scary henchman of the image-conscious dictator" angle. Tricky to cast him as the villain rather than the muscle, though...

There's only one thing that notably motivates Mario, and that's Princess Peach. Extreme devotion, there. For him to have agency, she needs to be removed from the picture- and I think that neatly answers the motive thing, too. Peach hasn't been kidnapped, this time- there's something more permanent. But what? "She's been killed and he's out for revenge" is a little 3edgy5me, and also if Mario sets out to get revenge I think he just gets it. His antagonists have rarely put up the kind of fight that would require him to concoct a villainous scheme.

Who's the protagonist, if not Mario? What is Mario doing that requires someone else to go on an adventure opposing him? How do we make this something that Nintendo would actually consider releasing?

...Okay, what's Mario's usual M.O.? How do we make that villainous? He... goes to dangerous places, nimbly circumvents all obstacles in his way, and claims powerful, usually star-shaped magical objects, in order to rescue the princess. This time... he isn't really concerning himself with who the rightful owners of said magical objects are.

It's a Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego situation. There's been a rash of heists committed by a strange masked phantom thief, and the protagonist's job is to find out how the relics were stolen and where the culprit hid them, and get them back before their clients suffer dire consequences as a result of missing-magic-item-itis. You investigate crime scenes, pick up the phantom thief's trail, chase him down, and bop him one but good to recover the relic and save the day.

This is complicated somewhat because this phantom thief is in league with Bowser, who keeps causing trouble in ways that the phantom thief takes advantage of to get past security. The Koopa Troop often assists the phantom thief in his getaways. Why are they working together???

Flash back. Mario standard plot- Bowser has kidnapped the princess. This time, he's done it using some magic item or invention doohickey whose provenance he doesn't quite understand, which has turned Princess Peach to stone. True to form, Mario goes through several another castles and thrashes Bowser and breaks his evil doohickey, and... uh. This fails to rescue the princess. She is still a statue.

Bowser doesn't know why she's still a statue, and both of them panic. How do they fix this?! They need to try something- find some new magic thing that'll bring her back! They've heard of the Sacred Star of Healing in one of the neighboring Kingdoms (which exist in infinite supply in the Mario universe to be adventured through precisely once and then forgotten about forever), and agree to work together to steal it and use it to restore Peach.

It doesn't work. They ditch it somewhere. They follow up on another rumor- the Golden Coin Spirit in the Treasure Kingdom or whatever, and that's a bust too. And after a couple of these, the international community is forced to call in an expert to catch this thief and bring him to justice.

So who's our protagonist? Who in the Mario universe is a famous detective who specializes in guarding star-shaped magical relics from would-be burglars? WHAT IMPROBABLY LARGE-BRAINED PENGUIN COULD POSSIBLY THWART THIS MASTER CRIMINAL?!?

[maybcnksgf]

sick ; jj maybank x routledge!reader 𐙚

☆

summary: jj takes the fall for pope's arrest and has to suffer the consequences.

warnings: mentions of arrest, abusive parent, violence.

check out my masterlist & send in any requests <3

"it wasn't him!" jj's voice sliced through the tension, silencing everyone around, the cops included. "it was me."

you furrowed your eyebrows as you turned you head towards kie, both of you sporting similar looks of confusion.

"jj-" you started, stepping closer to him from behind. he put a hand up to you, effectively telling you to be quiet as he shot you a quick apologetic look before turning his attention back to the cops.

"he tried to talk me out of it," he continued, walking closer to the handcuffed pope, and thus further away from you. "but i was mad because him and y/n had just been beaten up."

you brought your hand up to your ribs, the bruise from rafe's golf club throbbing suddenly at the reminder of the incident.

"i mean, we're used to it, but i just couldn't let them get away with it this time, shoupe. not when it involved y/n too." he continued facing away from you, but you could just about see the subtle twitch of his left eye as he thought about what the kooks did to you both. "i was so sick of those assholes from figure eight that i lost my shit."

"jj, please-"

"no, y/n," he silenced you, hardly even looking in your direction but giving you another apologetic look anyway. he didn't want you trying to change his mind; he had to do this. for pope. for you.

jj returned his eyes back to pope and gave him a small smile. "i can't let you take the blame for something i did. you've got too much to lose."

you felt kie grab your hand, speaking quietly in your ear as she kept her attention on the situation happening in front of you. "y/n, what's happening?"

"he's going to get arrested," you mumble, more so to yourself than her as you squeezed her hand tightly. "he can't go to jail, kie."

"jj, what are you doing?!" pope asked desperately, taking a step towards him.

"i'm telling the truth. for once in my damn life i'm gonna tell the truth."

"jj, please think about what you're saying-" you whispered as you stepped towards him again, placing your hand on his shoulder only to be interrupted again.

"i took his old man's boat too."

"what the hell-"

"jj, come on-"

"just shut up pope! all of you, shut up," he spoke out, trying his hardest to ignore the sound of your heavy breathing. he turned towards shoupe again and nodded his head slowly. "he's a good kid. you know where i'm from."

you felt yourself start to tear up a little, the gravity of the situation hitting you. jj was going to be arrested. kie wrapped an arm around you and pulled you back a little as you felt a noise rise from your throat, something between a choke and a soft sob.

jj flinched slightly at the sound and screwed his eyes shut for a moment to regather himself. he was hurting you.

"yeah," shoupe agreed with a sigh.

"this was all me."

you shook your head in disbelief and tightly gripped onto kie's shoulder.

"that's the whole truth?" shoupe asked after a moment of silence, raising his eyebrow towards pope who let out a heavy sigh.

"whole truth, swear to god," jj answered for him, reaching his arm behind him to grab your hand and squeeze it tightly.

"i know what you think, damn it, i'm asking pope," shoupe argued, not taking his eyes off the boy in handcuffs.

pope stayed silent for a moment, torn between answers as he gave jj a pleading look. the other boy kept his eyes on him, giving him a gentle smile that matched the reassuring squeeze of your hand.

he let his eyes fall to the ground as he nodded his head slowly. "yeah, that about covers it."

you shook your head a little harder, bottom lip trembling as jj dropped your hand and presented his wrists to shoupe, letting him handcuff him and get him into the car.

you felt your whole body shake as you lurched forward, fighting against pope as he wrapped his arms around your waist to hold you back. "no! jj, please!"

jj bit down hard on his bottom lip to ignore your cries, refusing to make eye contact to try and make things easier. you cried and shouted the whole time shoupe drove away, desperately trying to fight off pope's grip. "pope, let go of me! jj! shoupe, you bastard!"

you let yourself crumble in pope's arms as your outburst stopped, and he tightened his grip around you comfortingly as you broke down into sobs.

-

it was the day of the midsummers party, and it had been a few days since you last saw jj. you still hadn't heard from him; was he still in jail? had he been released?

you played with the necklace that he saved up for months to get for you as you stood towards the edge of the party in one of kiara's most beautiful dresses. her family had invited you to join them tonight and kie spent ages getting you ready. she knew you needed a distraction and, as much as she hated the idea of a kook party, you both needed a drink.

you'd only been at the party for about twenty minutes before you heard a familiar voice behind you, snapping you out of your trance.

"you look beautiful."

you turned around immediately, shoving your drink down on the nearest table as you threw yourself at your boyfriend, wrapping your arms tightly around him as you buried your face into his neck. "oh my god."

"woah there y/n/n, pda in front of the kooks?" he joked, laughing dry as he wrapped his arms around your waist. he tried to play it cool, but he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at your embrace, squeezing his eyes shut.

jj felt your body shaking in his hold and any sort of joking manner left him immediately. "hey, y/n i'm okay, it's okay-"

"no it's not okay, jj!" you pulled back from the hug and shook your head quickly, gripping onto his biceps desperately. "not a single thing about this is okay. i'm so sick of this shit."

he let out a soft sigh, dropping his head and nodding as he listened to you. "i know. i know it's not."

you took a moment to breathe as you looked over his bruised features, and you took his face in both hands as dread filled your stomach. "what the hell happened to you? did shoupe do this?"

jj shook his head quickly, leaning into your touch for a moment before bringing his hands up to your wrists and gently pulling your grip away from his face, interlocking his fingers with yours. "no, no it wasn't shoupe. it was... it was my dad, but it's okay. it's only a few scrapes-"

"this is so much more than a few scrapes, jj," you cut him off, feeling that familiar sting of tears in your eyes.

he was quiet for a moment as he offered you a small smile and a shrug, his voice soft when he spoke up again. "it's nothing that hasn't happened before."

you sighed deeply, closing your eyes as you rested your forehead against his. "you don't deserve any of this shit."

"none of us do, y/n/n," jj spoke quietly, wrapping his arms back around you again. "but we'll be okay. we always are."

you hesitated at his words, warning bells going off in your head at the not-so-distant danger that the gold was bringing, but you nodded your head anyway.

"yeah. yeah, we are," you took a deep breath, trying to convince yourself as you agreed with him. "we'll be okay."

"mandatory meeting. round up the pogues?"

"you got it, maybank."

-

a/n feel free to check my pinned and send me some requests!

[daenerystargarycn]

there’s genuinely no point in taking certain fans of That character seriously because they’ll be the first to purposefully misunderstand the story in order to uplift their own useless fav + any other female character with the slightest bit of autonomy is reduced to a girlboss caricature.

it’s basically the ‘masculine’ vs ‘feminine’ women trope and how all of these women suffer from the same system but some have fought their way towards having basic bodily sovereignty and others have assailed themselves within their circumstances, “you desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison,” and either perpetuate the abuse they deal with OR sit back and take it like a ‘good’ woman, hence the lack of culpability the stans of said character allow her to be responsible for. the mentality at play here is ‘she is a victim but she cannot possibly ALSO be a victimizer’ but both *can* be true at the same time.

rhaenyra is fighting to be the first ruling queen of westeros, a position that has been set in place before (aerea/rhaenys), but never come to fruition. her heirship has been contested since day one simply on account of her womanhood, not her political prowess or the dubious parentage of her first three sons. this is a fact, and the consequences surrounding her ascension have facilitated a civil war all in the name of the status quo. one side is attempting to honor the wishes of a deceased king, the other wants power, and uses the patriarchal standards already in place to further that goal. this leads to the death of rhaenyra, all but two of her biological children (to her only one survived), her former good mother, her husband, and the assured extinction of dragons.

rhaenyra is looked down upon by a certain portion of this fandom because the concept of protofeminism doesn’t exist to them. the idea that a woman being allowed to take a position of power during the medieval ages might lead to greater precedents involving women’s rights, which is exactly on par with westeros relying on the precedence of male preference primogeniture and the ruling made by the great council of 101ac. rhaenyra, obviously, didn’t make significant changes to women’s positions in westeros because she only ruled for a six month period in king’s landing and was beset by betrayal and treachery consistently during this period.

she was involved in a war that annihilated almost her entire family for the baby step progress of ‘daughters can inherit over sons,’ there was no time to help others when she was losing allies left and right to this very war. cases like the rosby and stokeworth situation are used to back up this take, dispite it being agreed upon rhaenyra verbatim chose to pass over them for fear of losing even more allies AND to protect the girls from being sold to violent misogynistic rapists as war prizes, not just because she believed herself to be the exception to the rule (corlys, in fact, is the one to state this). we also have no definitive proof showwise, either, that she truly believes in the system of men come before women -always- when the only thing said in regard to this is a throwaway line of jacaerys and baela’s sons inheriting the iron throne followed by her stating lucerys and rhaena’s children will inherit the driftwood throne, which is most likely a poor writing choice behind the scenes rather than any concrete proof to the latter.

brave baela, named after her grandsire baelon ‘the brave’ TARGARYEN, daughter of daemon TARGARYEN and laena velaryon, who had TARGARYEN ancestry, granddaughter of rhaenys TARGARYEN ‘the queen who never was,’ rider of the dragon moondancer, identifies completely with her targaryen ancestry and it is an integral part to understanding her character. she is of blood and fire, not salt and sea, and believes driftmark should pass accordingly to someone who corlys would value much more than her, the little girl he’s constantly overlooked on account of her gender.

baela is fighting to put rhaenyra on the throne and in turn jace and herself as the future king/queen. it’s not just for herself or for her stepmother, but for those who have now fallen as well. “i grieve my grandmother who loved me, but i carry her on with me. i will see rhaenyra ascend the iron throne, as rhaenys wished. as rhaenys HERSELF should have.” this cause is bigger than baela, bigger than rhaenyra herself, and baela knows this. yet somehow she’s ‘boring’ and ‘cringe’ in her dialogue or ‘nothing but a cheerleader,’ because she does not carry hatred in her heart for her kin over things they themselves cannot control.

what they have in common is their will, their wants, their ambitions; something that can’t be said for the other character because the writers want her to be a lead but don’t know what to do with her. she’s been relegated to nothing more than her hypocrisy, her self righteousness, her victimhood. she sleeps with a man whilst not married, she takes abortive teas against her religion, she abandons her children in their need for comfort, she’s spat on by the men around her and her own sons when seeking to place herself back into a familiar position of power. this isn’t the first time she’s experienced misogyny, but it is the first time she’s feeling the full ramifications of ridiculing and conspiring against the female claimant redirected at her, on account of the same reasons she took advantage of to propagate herself and her eldest son.

in the grand scheme of things rhaenyra and baela wouldn’t even typically be considered ‘masculine’ women, they’re just outspoken, assertive, and proactive; prone to not taking every bad thing that happens to them without at least some type of their own get back, and it doesn’t revolve around abusing other women to uplift themselves and the men they surround themselves with. which isn’t to say that the ‘feminine’ women’s strifes don’t matter, but to certain stans if they aren’t sitting back and being a pretty passive victim their struggles as a woman don’t count, for whatever reason.

[heartofthedragons]

Rotten Deal Pt. 1

Modern!Aegon x Fem!Reader

Summary: When your ex boyfriend cheats on you and spreads a vicious rumor about you, you want to make him suffer. So you make a deal with the man you can’t stand: Aegon, the most infamous fuckboy at KLU.

Chapter Summary: Aegon comes to you asking for help and you use it as the perfect opportunity to deal with the disaster of your breakup.

Warning(s): Cursing, mentions of sex, sexual innuendos, cheating mentions

Word Count: 1614 words

When you walked in on your (ex) boyfriend Jason Lannister cheating on you with Cassie Baratheon last night, you didn’t think things could get worse. What could be worse than seeing your boyfriend balls deep in another girl? Well, you find out that things can get much much worse.

As soon as you enter the campus cafeteria and approach your friends, you know something is wrong. The four girls are all huddled together over the table in a heated discussion, and when they take notice of your form near them the air becomes thick with discomfort.

“Hey,” you say plopping down beside Helaena. The silence is palpable as all the girls give you a pitying and worried glance. You can feel your heart drop and your anxiety spike at their reaction, “What’s wrong?”

You see Sara bite her lip for a moment before she speaks, “Jason and Cas are official on socials.” You frown, “Seriously? Already? It hasn’t even been a full day.”

Baela sighs for a moment before picking up where Sara left off. “That’s not all though,” she says, “Jason got called out for everything, and, to put it simply, he started telling everyone that he dumped you because you’re a shitty lay.”

Your jaw drops, “I’m sorry. What?”

“Seven hells Bael, way to put it gently,” Rhaena says sternly. But Baela simply shrugs off her comment. “When Jason and Cas started posting each other everyone asked him what the hell happened,” Rhaena says, “He started getting defensive and not so subtly implied that the reason he broke up with you and cheated on you is because you didn’t…satisfy him.”

“Oh gods,” you exclaim as you drop your head into your arms. You feel like you could die of embarrassment. Helaena rubs your back gently attempting to soothe you as best as she can, “It’s ok Y/N. It’s really not that bad. You’re just too close to the situation.” Every the sweetheart Helaena is trying desperately to salvage your feelings and soften the blows of the news you’ve heard. But this time she’s desperately wrong. Your heart has been shattered, your trust broken, and now your reputation has been completely tarnished.

You lift your head and give Helaena a weak smile in return before facing the other three girls again, “How many people know?”

“Well, Jace and Creagan both know,” Sara says.

“And all of Cas’s friends, plus their boyfriends,” Baela adds on.

“Great so…everyone I know, you guys know, and Jason knows thinks I’m bad at sex. Wonderful,” you stand up and grab your belongings quickly, “I’m going to go to the library a bit before classes. I need a moment to myself.” All four girls nod at you and shoot you apologetic smiles as you turn away quickly. You need to get away from everyone now because you can’t bare to face everyone. They’re all pitying you or judging you and you hate it.

‘Seven Hells, things really can’t get worse’ you think.

Aegon is having a pretty shitty day as well. When he took Valyrian History he thought it would be a breeze. That’s his culture after all. And when he heard that attendance wasn’t mandatory for the class on the first day, he did not return. As far as he was concerned this was a fluff class that he could easily pass by winging it, giving him the time to have fun and focus on…better things.

And now, the consequences are biting him in the ass. He’s still in shock as he stares at the 45% on the top of his essay. It turns out that this class and professor were not easy at all, and Aegon’s passive approach has led to him essentially flunking the class.

“C’mon prof, there’s gotta be something I can do to fix this,” he says pleadingly. The professor looks up at him completely unimpressed as she continues to clean up her work space, “I’ve already told you Mr. Targaryen, there’s no way to change your grade. Your best chance is to improve your performance on any future assignments and exams.”

Aegon groans in frustration. At this point he’s months behind in material and has no idea where to begin. “Might I suggest,” the professor says, “seeking extra help from one of your peers?”

Aegon sighs before nodding his head in defeat. “Yeah, sure. Ok,” he says before shuffling out the door. He doesn’t know anyone in this class due to the whole not attending lectures thing. So, he shoots his sister a quick text asking if she knows anyone in Valyrian History, and her reply comes a few moments later, ‘I’m pretty sure Y/N takes that class. Why?’

Aegon deflates. Of course you’re the only one that can help him. ‘Any idea where I can find her? I need to ask for her help with something,’ he texts back.

‘She should be in the library, but I’d leave her alone right now. She’s not in a great mood.’

Aegon reads the text but shrugs it off. As far as he’s concerned, you’re almost never happy around him anyway so not much will change.

He makes his way to the huge library on campus, and as soon as he enters he scans for your form. He sees you tucked away in a corner reading a book.

The frown on your face is evident even from afar, but even then, he can’t help but think about how pretty you are. It really is a shame that you’re such a stick in the mud and seem to dislike him so much, he’s always thought you were smoking hot and he’d have a good time with you. If only you’d drop your icy walls when he’s around, he bets you’d be extra fun.

He makes his way to you and casually drops into the chair beside you. He throws his arm around the back of your seat before leaning in. “Hey, hot stuff,” he says with his signature smirk, and you audibly groan.

“Go away, Aegon.”

His smirk doesn’t falter even for a second before he continues, “Wow, five seconds. That must be a new record for you, love.”

You shut your book in annoyance before turning to him, you look pissed. More than usual. “What do you want?” You say dully.

“I need you to tutor me in Valyrian history.”

“No.”

“Why not?” He asks, clearly upset with your quick and blunt response.

“Because I’m dealing with a lot right now, and I really don’t want to deal with your shit too.”

Aegon frowns and furrows his brow. He really needs your help if he wants even the slightest chance at passing this course. “Please Y/N. I really need your help. I’ll do anything. Name your price.”

You’re silent for a moment. You’ve got so much going on now. What could possibly make spending time teaching Aegon remotely worthwhile? And then the idea pops into your mind. A terrible idea that can lead to no good. But it feels so perfect.

“Anything?” You ask. There’s a hint of mischief in your eyes now, and Aegon falters in his decision for a moment before doubling down, “Yeah. Anything.”

“Ok. I’ll help you,” Aegon smiles in relief for a moment, “But it’s gonna cost you.”

“How much money are we talking?” He asks.

“I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

You bite your lip. There’s no good way to say this so you just come right out with it. “In exchange for me helping you pass, I want you to pretend we’re sleeping together.”

Aegon is shocked. You’ve always been a bit of a prude around him so hearing you talk so forwardly is beyond weird though not unwelcome, “Why do you want me to pretend we’re fucking? Aren’t you dating Lannister?”

You drop your gaze away from his. “We broke up,” you say matter-of-factly, “I caught him cheating on me yesterday with Cas Baratheon.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. And to make matters worse. He decided to go around and say that we broke up because I’m bad at sex.”

Aegon has no idea what to say to that, and he’s not sure anything he could say would even help, so he chooses to move on from the topic.

“So you want to pretend we’re dating to get back at your ex for cheating and lying about you?”

“No. Not date. Just pretend we’re having sex.”

Aegon looks at you quizzically, “What’s the difference?” You can’t help but scoff at the question. Of course notorious fuckboy, Aegon Targaryen can’t tell the difference between fucking and dating.

“I don’t want to fake date you because you can’t keep it in your pants,” you say dryly, “You’ll end up sleeping with some other girl, and then I’ll look like the idiot who got cheated on twice in a row. If we’re just sleeping together then I don’t look like a fool.”

Aegon nods, “Ok…so you want me to pretend we’re fucking to make Jason jealous?”

“Basically. I also want you to tell people it’s good”

“Why?”

“Because if the infamous, handsome fuckboy, Aegon Targaryen says that sex with me is good, then nobody will believe what Jason said is true.”

A wolfish grin takes over Aegon’s face, “You think I’m handsome?” You groan and lightly hit him with your elbow. “Shut up. Do we have a deal?” You ask outstretching your hand.

“We have a deal,” he says, but then he leans over to whisper in your ear, “I’ll see you tomorrow, fuck buddy.” He gets up to leave throwing you a wink before making his way out of the library.

What have you gotten yourself into?

Part 2

Tag List: @mysingularitybts

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I saw a post that said “Azula crying at the end of the finale is sad but the show makes it clear she’s only feeling sorry for herself. It’s not just meant to be a tragic moment.” Any thoughts? I honestly don’t agree with this.

1 - Azula literally has an hallucination of her mom (aka herself) calling her out for being the reason her friendship with Mai and Ty Lee fell apart, so clearly part of her feels at least somewhat sorry for having hurt them, for the things she did, not just the ones that were done to her. Her defeat is what pushes her to complete despair because she's seeing that she sacrificed so many important things for a crown that did not fill the void left in her life by said sacrifices AND that she didn't even get to keep.

2 - Even if she HAD been feeling sorry for herself and no one else, so what? Feeling sad that you're all alone and fearing you'll always be alone IS a tragic situation to be in, regardless of how you got there and how much of it was your own doing. Playing a key role in your own misery, with next to no self-awareness about it, is tragic (just take a look at greek myths) - that's why we felt bad for Zuko even when he was a full on villain with zero regrets about how he was treating everybody else.

3 - "It's not just a tragic moment" again, neither are the moments in which Zuko was feeling down pre-redemption. Hell, plenty of his moments before the culmination of his arc were meant to be both tragic AND make the audience get mad at him for how he was acting. There's no need to downplay the tragic side of Azula's breakdown just because it was the logical consequence of her actions (snd of the bad situation she was put in by Ozai). That's why the music during the Last Agni Kai is so sad and why Zuko isn't gloating when Azula is defeated - he did the right thing by taking Azula down, but it doesn't FEEL right because how could it ever be satisfying to cause yet more pain to someone that is clearly suffering?

How come when Azula is the one in pain, suddenly there needs to be discourse about how much of her miserable life truly "counts" as a tragedy, in a moment that was designed to be downright heartbreaking? The overwhelming majority of her scenes are all about how much of a bad person she is and how she doesn't seem to want to change, there's no need to beat people over the head with it during one of the few moments in which the show is reminding us that this is not all there is to her as a character, despite being one of it's core aspects.

It'd be like constantly going "BUT HE'S EVIL, DON'T FEEL THAT BAD FOR HIM!" when Zuko is being disfigured by his father - not only would it be unnecessary, it'd be in poor taste AND destroy the entire scene by focusing on something that isn't revelant for that moment. Vulnerability (emotional and in general) is not exclusive to heroes, or even to villains that are clearly being set up for a redemption, it is a thing EVERYONE experiences.

WHY is this fandom alergic to nuance?

[savethegrishaverse]

Something I think isn't talked about enough is the representation of what gambling really is vs. what it feels like. Ding ding ding it's a character essay.

We see gambling in movies like James Bond, Last Holiday, Limitless, and even in heist movies like Oceans 8. I'm sure there are a million other examples that could be listed here. Also I've never actually seen Oceans 8 so if there isn't actually gambling in it lol that's awkward.

But I think it's just as important when we see what gambling addiction is, and how addiction affects everything around you. On paper, I can say I know what gambling addiction means, but it's hard to truly understand the gravity of what living with a gambling addiction is like. That's why seeing it represented (ideally represented well) in stories helps bridge that gap.

Watching characters like Gi-hun from Squid Games and Jesper Fahey from Six of Crows, we see characters who actively have gambling addictions and how it caused their suffering.

Every decision they make, both the good and more importantly the bad, you can follow and understand when given the context of their addiction. They're both very earnest and kindhearted people who are quick to make decisions (impulsive, one could say) and that need to gamble when the stakes are high causes actual consequences in the story. It makes the reader/watcher upset because we know why they did it, and we know they didn't intend to hurt the people around them or themselves, but they did anyway and they can't take it back now. We understand their motivations, their fears, their wants and desires, and as the audience we can relate to them on a more personal level because everyone has times where they can't help themselves. But, we as the audience can also come to understand why gambling addictions ruin lives. We can see where Gi-hun's or Jesper's addictions directly cause their grief or their pain, and when they put forth effort to change and understand those addictions we can feel pride in them.

This (taps my screen for emphasis) this is why it's important to have characters in media that struggle.

As cringe as it sounds, because I watched Squid Games and because I read Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom I can honestly admit that I am kinder. I am more likely to stop and listen and think about the people around me and why they ended up how they did. I am more cautious, but I also make a harder effort to leave everywhere I go even just slightly better than I found it. Now this isn't to say everyone all the time is always going through life with the best of intentions. The worst characters you can think of are just as inspired by real life as the best characters. Some people don't want to get better, and they don't care about the consequences of their actions.

But seeing a queer, emotionally lost, well-intentioned POC farm boy with a quick mouth and a habit of getting in trouble struggle with an addiction that he is learning to cope with makes me feel more seen in return. Hearing Jesper's struggles and hearing how desperate he was to do good and despite that sometimes he still did something bad anyway in turn makes him more compelling. Seeing Gi-hun actively work to do good when faced with the worst circumstances makes me feel good and I feel in a bizarre way seen when I am doing the same small good. And it feels real. It makes addiction feel more grounded, in a way, and gives it a more tangible shape in my head. And that shape in turn helps me empathize with people I wouldn't ordinarily understand. It makes me feel more accountable of my own actions, and it makes me feel less lonely to know I have characters like Jesper and Gi-hun to relate to. Granted, I don't struggle with a gambling addiction, but I do struggle with anxiety and OCD. I am plagued with impulses I can't help and I have to fight hard to control them so I can live my life. I can sometimes have the best of intentions and still end up in a giant (metaphorical) dumpster fire of a situation anyway completely because of the decisions I made in the process.

Addiction has a million faces. Mental health problems can rear up in anyone's shadow. You never can fully know what weighs on a person or why they act the way they do. And because of that, characters who struggle in that same way will always be important because they both teach us that intangible shape we may not yet know and simultaiously provide stories for suffering people to hold onto when they need it.

TLDR Netflix CEOs stop letting all your decisions be motivated by capitalism/greed. You are entirely missing the point of the stories you are telling. Stop cancling shows when they have genuinely good characters and good ideas, and stop overworking a production just because it is successful. Slow the fuck down already and make genuinely thought out decisions.

Also if you haven't seen Squid Games yet it's a great (but devestating) watch. If you (somehow) haven't read Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom yet it is unironically one of the greatest duologies I've ever read.