#he would still want to buy things for her instead probably play the role of some rough tough alpha male

[comfortless]

would König ever agree to be a sugar baby? 🤔 most people write him as the rich one in the relationship so I'm curious if the dynamic can be reversed

you’re calling to my weakness of König being taken care of for once here…!! cue König being the absolute worst sugar baby that has ever existed (lovebombing!). implied age gap (König is maybe 24-26 here, reader is anything above), porn mention, masturbation, slightly suggestive but mostly fluff. minors do not interact.

Begrudgingly, a younger König probably would.

He isn’t sure how these relationships even work. There’s plenty of money in his bank accounts, he’s got a decent enough apartment, a car, (some) clothes that aren’t riddled with holes or tears... Hell, there isn’t even really anything that he wants. His curiosity only begins to spike the second his thumb stops its scrolling, lands on a picture of her, and his world comes to a grinding halt.

The woman in the photo is the most gorgeous, sweet creature he has ever lain eyes upon. Just the image of her smiling softly at the camera, her hands placed in her lap whilst she’s seated on a couch is enough to send his heart hammering. She doesn’t look the part of some vapid, cruel thing he had anticipated on a site like this. No, the woman only looks gentle, her eyes are even a little sad… She's all alone, her bed is cold, and König is already hard at the thought of how this could go if he had just a little luck in his corner.

He makes the decision to message her without thinking. It’s late, she probably wouldn’t even see it until morning, and he doubts a woman this cute would want to bother with him anyway.

A polite, articulate: hey do you wanna fuck

Followed by: you don’t even have to pay me XD

He settles for pulling up some porn video with the faces just out of frame, jacks off to the hypothetical of it being she and him one day and falls asleep with his phone on his chest and come stains in his boxers.

There’s nothing about him that’s deserving of this woman’s time nor her response, but he wakes to the chiming of his phone and a sweet message from her anyway. One in which she asks him if he would like to meet for drinks so that they can talk, she clarifies that she will pay, and even tells him that she thinks he’s handsome.

Handsome. Something only his oma had called him when she patted him on the cheek as a boy.

His response is insistent, demanding almost, when he suggests that she come to him, meet immediately that same day. Who cares if it’s only afternoon by the time she arrives, he could go for a beer and a sweet, tight pussy at any hour, doesn’t hold himself back from telling her this either while he grins at his phone like he’s possessed - all teeth and wild eyes.

There’s a part of him that believes this woman will be scared off, stand him up entirely and block his account, but to his surprise, she does actually show up. She’s there before even he arrives, seated in a booth at the back of the bar with his order and her own placed neatly on the table in front of her.

His chest feels too tight when he places himself across from her, all cockiness diminished in light of something he hasn’t felt since he was two feet shorter and more than a decade younger.

He’s fucking petrified.

His to-be-sugar-mommy eases him with her softspoken voice, going over the less than rigid terms of their agreement and praising his looks as well as his ability to handle his alcohol.

She isn’t asking for sex, just someone to care for. She tells him that he’s beautiful, while he feels like a smear on the pavement in comparison to her. And fuck. He isn’t handling his alcohol well at all, he’s just nervous and needs to keep his hands and his mouth busy, because all he wants to do is bend this adorable woman who compares his ugly face to that of an archangel’s over this table and fuck her like a stallion, spit such filth into her hair that no amount of repentance could ever make her feel clean again.

He can’t. He can’t when she suggests in that same cooing voice that she take him shopping for boots that are less scuffed, offers her hand to him as though it’s natural for a lady so ethereal to tether herself to a beast. Her hand is so dainty and cold, whereas he feels like a boiler on the cusp of bursting the second their fingers slot between one another.

His head is a mess of thoughts, memories of being dragged by the collar to attend services with his oma where he never prayed. Shit, maybe he should start, because surely he has someone or something to thank for this, for her.

Their first date becomes the strangest ordeal of his life as she seats him on a bench and helps him to try on boots as though he were only a boy who didn’t yet know how to tie his laces. She even kneels before him and ties them up herself before placing his foot back on the store’s floor; doesn’t even comment on the obvious hole in his sock or the awkward, longing way that he’s staring at her, only presses her chin to his knee and smiles up at him with so much affection he thinks he might actually pass out for a moment. She buys the ones he likes, three pairs of them, and doesn’t even bat an eye at the price.

That’s when he decides it’s all too much: he tells her that he can buy his own stuff, that he doesn’t need her to do it or tie his shoelaces or anything because he’s a man, after all. He should be showering her in flowers and soft dresses, paying for her nails and hair dye.

His lady only laughs and asks if he wants to come home with her, he doesn’t have to stay, just sit with her for a bit. So… he follows her home like a sulking shadow, hovering just behind her lost entirely in his head. He had barked at her like a rabid dog and she still brings him back to her place, strokes her thumb against the back of his hand, offers him little smiles of assurance when he goes completely silent.

He wants to hate it, wants to tell her something dirty and toss a stack of cash her way when she opens her door for him. Instead, he finds his head in her lap while she pets his face, running the tips of her fingers over every scar.

Her compliments are the most ridiculous, beautiful things that he’s ever heard, ranging from outright calling him her angel to telling him that he’s charming, that the scars are pretty… He loves every second spent with her like this, with each soft brush of her fingers as they pet the top of his head down to his neck, the way she hums some pleasing song to him when she massages at his shoulder.

He’s never been pampered or coddled like this before, and it feels good. The boner threatening to tear its way out of his pants isn’t something he’s proud of this time; he only wants this sweet little fairy to feel as comfortable as she’s making him.

Maybe he could do that if she let him pull up her skirt and make love to her: he could be gentle if he tried, play with her hair and her clit while he slowly spears her open until she’s pliant and panting, take it slow until she comes around his cock and her pussy calls him to utterly defile it as well as the rest of her. There wouldn’t be a part of her left untouched.

When she asks to be held instead, he swears he’s getting all of that and then some: she puts herself right in his lap, her chest to his and her legs parted just enough to straddle his hips. Her head tips forward against his shoulder as his fingers dance across her back, squeezing at her hips before smoothing back up her sides. She’s so soft… the most pleasing thing he’s ever touched, smoother than gunmetal and the flat of a blade. The way she smells is even sweeter, like spiced tea and blooming flowers.

She doesn’t even slap him when he bucks upward against her pussy, grinds the throbbing bulge in his pants against the place that she’s warmest. No, she only kisses his cheek and tells him what a wonderful day she’s having, what a gentleman he is even if he knows that part is certainly a lie.

Her breasts are soft in his hands when he finds the courage to squish them, against his cheek when she guides his head down to her. She pets his hair, tells him how she’s always wanted to hold a man like this… that she’s been waiting for someone exactly like him for longer than she even knows.

She even laughs when she asks, “You think that I’m pathetic, don’t you?”

All thoughts of just getting a good fuck out of this woman die someplace beneath his skull. Who would ever even think to call someone so lovely and kind pathetic? He couldn’t imagine it, couldn’t imagine ever doing anything more than protecting her fragile little heart and letting her stroke at him like an overgrown kitten, not anymore.

“Nein… no…”

He swears he could almost see tears in her eyes when she shoots him a glance then. Appreciative, contented tears that he prays she won’t shed. He’s a man, he’s not going to cry, but… fuck, he might if she did right now. Everything feels so doughy and warm, cotton candy and summer rain when his grip around her tightens to pull her in even closer.

She wipes away those unshed tears as she nuzzles against his cheek, slowly rubs her nose there and leaves a trail of kisses up to his temple. His mind is devoid of anything but outright infatuation, some impromptu dedication. He would tell her right now he loved her and know wholeheartedly that he meant it, but love isn’t in the agreement.

His lady only just wants to give herself away for nothing in return, not for a dick to make her cry or his own money layering her pockets; she just wants to pretend he’s her own personal angel, bury him in all the love and gifts she’s never been able to give to anyone else.

He watches her when she falls asleep curled up in his arms, takes in the way she smiles even in dreaming when her soft breaths break up the quiet. He presses his mouth to hers until her eyelids flutter and her breath catches in her little throat. She wakes to the kiss and only reciprocates it with the same softness she’s displayed with every prior action.

Her lips part to take him in, and she doesn’t even moan when he laps into her mouth with a grunt. There’s no lust in this for her: only the most senseless adoration, all love and tenderness, the things he’s yet to properly learn.

She tastes like vanilla and honey, her tongue yields beneath his own… and finally he pulls himself away, staring into her eyes like he might find a treasure there, as if he wasn’t already convinced that every part of her wasn’t something divine and holy.

“Do you have any others?,” he asks, devoid of any trepidation.

There’s not a care in the world of how she might view him. He’s convinced, certain that whatever he’s feeling has to be mutual. There are butterflies fluttering like the gentlest tornado in the pits of his stomach, and just by the wounded look she gives him then he just knows she must feel them too.

“Only you.”

“Gut… gut.”

There’s another kiss, one that is initiated by the both of them and steals all breath from his lungs. It’s not her harboring tears this time, but him who feels the dull sting, separates from her and turns his head away to rub at his face. He knows that he’s the pathetic one now, burdened down with the thought that he’s head over heels for a woman for just treating him as if he deserves anything at all.

Damn her for the way she readily reaches for him to pull him back in, to kiss at the outer corner of his eye and tell him in such a quiet way that she knows… In just a day she’s noticed him more than anyone, given more than anyone.

When he guides her back towards his mouth with a firm hand at the nape of her neck, could he really be faulted for whispering a confession? “Ich bin in dich verliebt,” spoken nearly inaudibly before he shuts her up with his lips over hers.

There’s no need for an answer, he knows the agreement had nothing to do with love. She wouldn’t accept his money in turn, but maybe a heart would suffice. He promises he’ll send her letters each time he’s deployed between mashing his mouth against her own, swears he will come running back to her when those greedy kisses slip down to her jaw. This sweet dove only laughs and squirms in his lap, tells him she would love to see him any time before he shushes her again.

Shouldn’t sweet things like this know not to feed a stray?

[sleepymccoy]

Still thinking about a Star trek TOS Firefly au. So I'm gonna have fun writing it out.

I love the dynamic between Mal, Zoe, and Wash, so that's certainly becoming the triumvirate. Mal > Jim, Zoe > Spock, Wash > Bones. However Wash's job doesn't make sense for Bones so he's going to change to doctor.

Jim was on Tarsus 4 and suffered the same as in canon, famine leads to who lives lottery and he wasn't chosen but survived anyway. I think that makes perfect sense in the Firefly universe too, but I think unlike in trek Kodos is celebrated by the federation in Firefly for making tough choices and leading in a strong way. So he's not on the run, he's a constant background side threat who's still in power. The face of the federation in this version, but not the head of it. You feel me

After Tarsus, Jim and Bones met and became mates. I think Bones moved to a big fancy planet for his wife and child after a bit. In the meant time, we have Spock!

This got massive, have a readmore

Spock is the result of eugenic experiments (there's no aliens in Firefly 😢) like the serenity thing that the og story is about (but generational eugenics not brain poking)(because I want there to be many others, just also in hiding and with their own political factions and opinions) but his resulted in Vulcan-like stuff. I think he's still got the pointy ears and has excessively strong emotions that he's learnt to hide completely cos he was raised in a medical facility by cold scientists instead of parents and love. There's schools of thought about them, some want to integrate, some want them exterminated, some want them to form their own society. The federation stance is these eugenic things don't exist and if you see one kill it because it officially doesn't exist. So Spock is forced into hiding and hasn't really had a chance to form his broader opinion, cos it's academic anyway. They're all hiding now.

So, Spock's escaped (more on that later) and in hiding. He meets Jim and they click, probably meeting in some silly battle. I reckon Spock has ways to get away from the feds that Jim wants to learn, so Jim pushes for them to team up. They spend some time together either on someone else's ship or on a smaller ship just them two.

After a while that comes to an end and they put together a crew and buy a ship together. They hire Sulu and Chekhov who are a criminal team who need to get off this rock very fast please. Chekhov can fly wonderfully and has enough engineering knowledge that they're like hey we maybe don't need someone in the engine room!

Sulu is a jack of all trades. It takes a few months for them to realise how useful he is, he always has a skill they need and always knows someone who'll play as a contact. Absolutely invaluable.

Eventually the engine breaks beyond Chekhov's skill to fix and they've all heard of Scotty. Everyone knows about Scotty. I think this would make a good episode one.

They work Sulu's contacts and find Scotty who is, lo and behold, having a drink with his mate disgraced Doctor McCoy. Spock, immediate dislike, this guy is a doctor. Jim, holy shit! Bones! Why the fuck aren't you emailing me back!?

Turns out Bones has gotten divorced and threw a bit of a fit in a hospital and can't work on a core planet anymore. He agrees to join the crew and Scotty has some issue that forms most of the episode plot and joins too cos hey, crims gotta keep moving

The ep ends with meeting Uhura, who manages a lot of the residual resistance movement's comms. She's the most political of the bunch, but Jim is absolutely in agreement and so chuffed to meet her even tho he's never been too war-y before. Scotty and Sulu already know her. She takes a kind of Inara role on the ship, but she's not companioning, she's boosted the comms in the shuttle and is continuing this work. It's great for her cos she gets to move around and be hard to catch, and it's great for the ship cos it gives them access to loads of underground people who aren't the hated federation

I also think she helped Spock break out back in the day. I'm not sure if she was part of it and they've met, or if she helped run things so she knows Spock but he doesn't know her. She's gonna be their reason for getting accidentally involved in larger things in the story and why they get more altruistic with their jobs. Spock also pulls them into some of the eugenic stuff

I reckon episode two needs some Spock eugenic stuff to happen so that Bones can solidify himself as on team Spock in action even if he has a go at Spock. Cos everyone else follows Jim's orders and Jim is team Spock, so I think Bones needs a chance to prove it. To great danger to himself ofc.

Repeat characters (like in Firefly they have Badger and Saffron who rock up as major non crew characters) are Chapel and Rand. I think Chapel is still on a core planet as a nurse. I would have her join the crew in season two, to look for her missing husband. But in season one she can be an insider informant for the hospital heist episode, which they do mainly for the medical equipment cos Bones has like nothing to treat people with. And maybe Spock has some additional medical needs that Bones needs to learn (Spock hates this)

Rand is like a bit of Saffron energy but less totally untrustworthy. I think she works them for her benefit but in a way where when they meet again they're like hey Janice you're not allowed on the ship but it's great to see you! Like, maybe she hijacks them to get her somewhere or stows away super inconveniently. Or maybe she just steals from them old school style and has a very all's fair in love and war vibe about it. She just doesn't hold any resentment, so it's hard to resent her

If I were to cast this show I'd cast Bones and Jim and women because I think it needs more women, might as well put them in positions of power, and honestly I think Spock's character with the emotional repression and all would change being cast as a woman whereas the others wouldn't. Spock's character in this is gonna be playing into stereotypes and expectation to stay in hiding, and those change as a woman

I've definitely got less tension on board than Firefly. There's no Jayne equivalent making life hard for everyone, but you could write an arc in for Chekhov like that if you wanted to. He could go from disliking the danger Spock and Uhura bring to absolutely admiring them over like two seasons. Could be interesting, but it's not got much to do with trek really

There's no shipboard romance here either. There could be something cool in the Scotty/Uhura that happened later in trek canon. Maybe they've got romantic history, so when she joins the ship there's tension and they just fall into bed together pretty quickly. But I'd only put that in if it added something else to the story, which it might! I'm not actually writing, I'm brainstorming

And similar to what the did in Firefly I think Spock/Bones makes the most sense. Cos we don't need proof that Spock and Jim understand each other, they're captain and first officer. They have each other's back absolutely. And similarly with Jim and Bones, they'd have old loyalty and friendship to draw on. And I think they also just obviously get along. But Spock and Bones could do with some plot prodding along, so I'd do something like the Simon/Kaylee romance where there's tension and clear desire but they're bad at making it happen. There's too much in the way. But it adds reason for Bones to have Spock's back (cos we're coming at at the start of their friendship, not years into their five years mission) and you can occasionally see Spock relaxing the emotional wall with someone other than Jim as he develops more serious a crush

I want to see! The Niska episode where Jim and Spock get nicked and tortured, and Bones goes in to trade for them back. He can only afford one but true to the Empath ep he just trades himself and volunteers for the torture.

I also want to see a Jaynestown style ep where Scotty or Sulu are the hero. I think probably Scotty. He'd be easy to write as selfish in a he only cares about tech kinda way and then to find that he accidentally did this would be funny. He also likes to keep a low profile generally so it's extra hilarious

Hospital heist ep, with Chapel cameo. I don't think anyone's handing Spock over to the feds, but maybe they get caught and Chekhov tries to trade Spock for their freedom? Not in a pre planned malicious, but more that he just doesn't prioritise Spock's safety over everyone else's. He sees it as a last ditch leverage effort, for the greater good. Could be good drama

Saffron style ep with Rand but she steals from them. I do think that's hilarious, showing them be the mark. And I'd let her win, leave them stranded without whatever thing it is she fleeced and having to find a new magical tech engine bit. But hey she left some booze as an apology and made out with Jim so it's not too bad

I really like Firefly

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi pt. 14

It’s gratifying to see that even the VN itself is starting to see my side of things and imply that maybe Satoshi didn’t actually kill his aunt. Of course I’m also willing to buy completely that he totally did that, and I’m a silly man for thinking that, but you know… Nyeh. Suddenly I'm struck with a question/theory that makes no sense whatsoever, but it's an interesting thought for me to consider. Hell with it, I wonder if Hanyuu knows something about the disappearance of Satoshi? I have absolutely no basis for that idea, and honestly I think Ryukishi07 himself probably forgot about him at this point, but still.

Interesting choice of phrase there, “terminal.” Also it sure is a wild coincidence that Rena just so happened to pick that name seemingly out of thin air. Keiichi is such a dork it’s funny sometimes man, “Hey, that’s bioterrorism!” Just absolute gold star writing.

Keiichi recommends that Rena just bring this information to Ooishi, because all of this sounds a lot bigger than two teenagers. Rena has her doubts because despite everyone being fairly confident in the belief that Satoshi probably killed his aunt they instead just pinned it on a random drug addict. Also since the Sonozakis apparently have more power than god you can’t trust the police because they’re being controlled by them, and more than likely have some Oyashiro fanatics amongst their number. Keiichi asks how they can hope to win against such impossible odds.

I don’t know if I mentioned it earlier, but during the scene where Rena talks to Takano, the color on her dialogue changed from pink, to a more light red color. After the discussion with Takano it went from a light red to a darker, but still light red. It’s a very subtle change, kind of an on the nose one, but I like this little gimmick. I love it when media starts using the unique properties of their medium this way. It reminds me a lot of in chapter one: Onikakushi when it played the sound of something being hit it would have the options in the lower portion of the screen move around groggily like it got hit. I wish the modded version kept that, but it’s only in the unmodded version of the VN.

Rena tells Keiichi that because of this information that they have to keep this info from both Mion and Rika, since they’re the heads of two of the three families, they’re probably in on it. Rena then theorizes that if they really are religious fanatics, they’ll probably strike on an important holiday, something like Watanagashi maybe? She also thinks they for some reason have until Watanagashi 1984 to deal with this issue, Rena then has to wrap up the phone call, and the two part ways. Keiichi reflects on how diabolical this plan is, because if they just attacked Rena she could go to the police, but they haven’t so she’s forced to more or less sit on her hands and wait. I’ve mentioned it before, but I do like how this chapter is basically just a reverse Onikakushi, with Rena in the paranoia role.

And so good ol’ Looselips Keiichi decides to confront Mion directly and ask her if she’s involved in a deadly conspiracy.

I like how cocky and sure of himself Keiichi was at the start of the accusation, but as time went on he very quickly came to realize how little of what Rena told him actually makes sense. He really is just easily swayed by a pretty face, Rena did it, and now if you wanted to look at it in a very uncharitable light Mion’s doing it. Again I so very badly want to make fun of him for his buffoonery, but I also got horribly duped and misled so… glass houses I guess. Also I like how Mion just instantly knows that this is entirely something Takano caused.

Given what I know about Takano I wonder why she went to such lengths to do this sort of thing. Was it just for funsies? Love of a good goof? Some sort of built-in defense in case someone tried to place the blame onto her for trying to ascend to godhood using a somewhat known pre-existing curse? Just so she could be accused of that and have people go “oh that wacky Takano and her occultic shenanigans?”

Part of me wants to play it off and act like it was around this part I realized I had fallen for it. But it wasn’t, during most of the rest of the chapter in the back of my mind the explanation that it’s parasites just stuck around. You’d think that with a character like Mion just point blank explaining why the idea that the villagers were trying to be isolationist weirdos doesn’t work would beat itself into my skull, but you'd be wrong.

[sankatsuka]

Tenma Siblings Discussion - How Saki Feels About Tsukasa, A Seflessness that Makes You Feel Undeserving

"But I'm not getting better at all... I'm ALWAYS troubling them, big brother, mom and everyone else...!"

Warnings:

Discusses JP dialogue from Smile of Dreamer, Hinamatsuri, Dazzling Lights, NSNF

HC territory as usual

HFD Tsukasa delusioner

I'm sorry but I was personally uncomfortable with what happened in Hinamatsuri, so this discussion helps justify Saki's behaviour. You may not like it if you thought Saki was entirely justified, sorry again!

In NSNF JP, I found the choice of wording interesting: first thinking about Tsukasa, then their mother, then delegating their father within the "and others".

From how she mentions him first, she seems to instinctively recognize Tsukasa as being the one most affected that she has to miss out. Moreso than their parents who are the ones logistically impacted, which probably shows their parents did a good job of not making her feel like a burden. This small detail and mention of Tsukasa in NSNF, as well as using the same flashback period as Dazzling Lights, implies Saki has always known how much Tsukasa focuses on her and how her wellbeing strongly affects him.

In NSNF, she's shown to be able to generally recall events, but not the strong emotions she experienced in them. So of course she can easily say 'Tsukasa has always cared for her', but it doesn't mean it is properly nailed in. She seemed to show a lack of awareness of this in Hinamatsuri, with how she never thought her forced smile would affect him to such an extent and how she only mentions Tsukasa's loneliness in passing. She also acts rather strangely in Hinamatsuri - she quickly snaps at her brother despite being very well aware of how he will always act in favour of her happiness. We see in unit story that Saki would never get angry at a loved one even if they hurt her (Honami), yet she doesn't think twice before getting angry at Tsukasa.

This is what leads me to HC that perhaps, her feelings towards the part she plays in Tsukasa's happiness are suppressed too. Because she can't just be "okay" to be happy on her own, she also would never be "okay" enough to not make her brother sad. It makes her happy to feel so valued, but with how she is, there's nothing she can do for him in return, not even just be happy and fine. Perhaps this is why she feels urged to have to smile even when she feels like crying from happiness, so she can give something back to her brother. Or even, maybe she cries because she can't do anything for him in return, yet he gives her so much and makes her feel so loved when she feels worthless. There's inevitably that feeling she doesn't deserve him, that perhaps she may even feel like he's going to leave her someday because she can't give anything to him.

You'd think that after being cared for so much, Saki would want to repay it twice as much now that she's able to. But she doesn't, and instead has him doing favours for her (buying her things). It's just easier and feels better to go about your day as if everything's always been normal that way instead of face all the pain from the past and try to make up for it. Plus, feelings in the past don't change that easily - just like how her self-hatred still stays strong enough for her to compose the powerful song in NSNF, her helplessness towards her brother won't just disappear. It instead manifests in turning a blind eye to it and simply continuing the way her past self has: just being carefree and happy and keeping up with trends, just like how she deals with her own self-hatred.

If Saki stops playing the role of the smiling sister, and instead goes all-out to do more for her brother, to return all the love he's shown her - it means having to face that helplessness and how she feels undeserving of Tsukasa's presence in her life. Not only will it make Saki feel less of a sister, it will further ruin their siblinghood when it was built upon such a one-sided foundation. She knows a normal brother isn't supposed to be this way (Smile of Dreamer side story), that everything Tsukasa has done till today truly makes Tsukasa the 'best brother in the world'. But the 'best' is all it will amount to, because thinking anymore beyond that will destroy their bond.

Before it was with the tattered Hina dolls, and now we see Tsukasa going the extra mile again to buy Saki the new Hina dolls. I don't want to think she's naive: it's obvious from first glance Tsukasa spent money to buy all those dolls for her, and she knows from all these years of growing up with him that her brother is always well-intentioned: he will always act for her happiness, Saki knows. But now she has more she has to return for him.

So Saki could have uncharacteristically lost her temper because Tsukasa's actions had exacerbated her suppressed feelings of helplessness towards him. She doesn't want to lose him if he keeps doing more than she can possibly return to him. Saki isn't the type to lose control over her emotions to the point of saying such hurtful things to someone she cares and loves - NSNF demonstrates this that she will keep things inside if she thinks it will hurt other people, even if it's painful. Such a habit doesn't easily die off. That's why this HC suggests that Tsukasa's actions may have triggered her somehow. In the first place, Tsukasa was throwing away something that Saki cherished as a way of appreciating his strong love for her - Tsukasa was belittling her own efforts to return everything he's done for her. If she already doesn't feel anything is enough, it's bound to be triggering.

Her suppressed helplessness and self-hatred does seem to lead her to act irrationally against her own will. She wants her loved ones to be happy, but she also has her own needs of companionship that she can't meet because of the way she was born. There's that contradiction that forces her to keep smiling and make jokes but also want to control others. She rags on herself for being born different, begs people not to leave her no matter what and expresses a desire for everyone to just disappear so she can finally have everything she wants: a world where she isn't left alone (/because no one is there) and everyone (/no one) is happy.

It may have been a budget issue, but the writers also made the choice not to have Tsukasa appear in NSNF Episode 7, despite how he's the one who gave Saki the belief that 'tomorrow will be fun', which is exactly what served as Saki's light in NSNF. And it's strong enough of a feeling that in Hinamatsuri's side story, Saki feels comforted seeing the light from his door at night, which reminds her she won't be alone in the hospital at this time of the year again, and that she can sleep soundly and safely think tomorrow will indeed be fun and not another day of being isolated. Yet he doesn't appear in NSNF to serve as one of the lights in her darkness.

Personally, it seems right to me that he doesn't appear in NSNF. It just feels out of place and ingenuine. I guess it's because I don't feel like any of Tsukasa's bonds feel real because of how he's lacking his own self so much. Saki's own feelings towards him, as I describe here, explain why it doesn't feel real: being too selfless and self-sacrificial makes it difficult for someone to love you back: instead, you become someone they feel they don't deserve. I honestly find it... sad, when it was something he worked so hard for as a child. It makes sense why Tsukasa believes he always makes Saki sad, when it can be possibly true with how he cares far too much about her that it troubles her.

[allycat75]

Do you have to keep taking these crappy roles because your pants keep catching fire, Boston Dumb Fuck?

Is that what happened to the red belt?

I really didn't want to perpetuate this pointless discussion regarding the recent (or not) picture, but your peeps seem to think it is important so let me play along for a second. And besides, insomnia sucks almost as much as those who drafted, signed and continue to enforce this morally bankrupt contract. I don't give a fuck if this done all the time. At one point in history, lynchings were public events, gays were blacklisted and arrested without cause and no female could get an apartment or credit card without her husband or a male relative's signature. Things change, you rebrobates!

If it is true that the video wasn't altered or strategically recorded, then that means you have spent the last three weeks since the end of filming doing nothing but work out (including not cheating for your birthday). One could say it didn't have to be that intense because it has been fairly easy for you in the past. But that was 10 years ago and you were super sickly looking during The Materialists, meaning you had further to go. I am sure you have had this supervised by professionals (and there is no need to check your kidney, liver or gallbladder function because I'm sure your trusted team hired the finest trainers and nutritionist who would never cut corners). But your priorities are such that instead of going home and spending quality time with family, including your beloved Dodger, or to further another lie, reflecting with the little racist Nazi wifey, you decided to bulk up Captain America- style (which is Sam Wilson now), and for what? The future failure "Sacrifice" doesn't start filming until September.

And not only did you probably not see your loved (or kinda loved) ones, you seemingly decided not to take steps to improve the emptiness inside you that was probably the root cause of your living ghost look over the past few months. This superficial focus aligns you much more with that talentless fat-shamer you "married" (you may want to keep her, you seem to have more in common than meets the eye). It's all about looks and fuck your soul that drowned when instead of making all ships rise, you sunk to the lowest common denominator. And of course, physical health is key to emotional wellbeing, but the amount of work put into those muscles was meant for thirst traps and not spiritual nourishment, based on the reaction elicited from some blogs to your "new' picture.

The fact that this was clearly manipulated and planned proves your soul continues to be ignored. It means that you and your team spent weeks planning ways to continue to fool your fans and make them look crazy and stupid, specifically, the fans who are truly concerned about your health and safety. I can almost picture the whiteboard now with this strategy all laid out, all the way down to the endgame, using this poor schmuck and his livery service to play your patsy. Hopefully he fairs better than the fired Portuguese teacher who was unknowingly roped in to this by supporting a charity, simply buying a video message from you.

I could be completely wrong and nothing nefarious actually took place. But the sad thing is you and your team have lied, manipulated and gaslighted your fans continously for almost three years, so nothing you say or do can be trusted now. Not a great qualification for a dog food or Audi spokesperson or for a succeasful actor, but it seems your team is only offering you shitty CAA roles, so sincerity isn't required.

This new machination doesn't make you look healthy. It makes you look like a sad, pathetic asshole. Much better! As with everything in your life for the last few years, there is no explanation that makes you look good, so you may as well tell the truth. That is the only work out that can build back your soul, if that is still important to you.

But keep playing with fire, BDF. I think you and your team are the only ones who don't realize you are already toast.

PS- since I'm exhausted from this needless discussion, let me pre-announce some of my reactions to your next possible lame-ass contribution to this unethical farce with some statements below:

"Wow, a picture of Dodger. That's not manipulative."

"That ring finger is looking red, swollen and purulent, probably from moisture build up with it being too large and made of some dubious metal type substance. Shoving your hands deep in your pockets probably didn't help, being dark like a mushroom farm. Hope it doesn't scar and prevents you from placing a real ring there one day."

"You're going to another Comic Con. Boy, you are really leaning into that White Privlege and giving your buddy Anthony Mackie no chance for success"

"Please have Matt Gaetz debate Jasmine Crockett for a two minute segment about child labor laws on ASP. It isn't like at least one of them is trying to save the heart and soul of America, while the other one just wants to see if it helps him get laid. It's what the young people want."

"You do know other dog food brands are Nazi-lover free, right?"

"Have you left no sense of decency" (in case McCarthyism comes up)

[minevn]

Who all are more then likely to accept a marriage proposal by a ring pop instead of an actual ring? ^^

I lowkey feel like all of them would

Minato: I feel like Minato is more traditional(excluding things like gender roles and all that shit) So he might prefer an actual ring, but also its you and if you really wanted a ring pop instead of an actual ring, then it still counts for him.

Haruto: Would chuckle at you silly antics. Would buy you guys actual rings for the ceremony, BUT instantly puts the actual ring in a box somewhere and wears the ring pop daily. The ring pop will always be your guys ring.

Jun: Laughs and accepts. He'll accept any kind of proposal from you honestly. She might suggest bedazzling your ring pops to give them more personality, maybe eventually making resin ring pops in case the candy goes bad or it ends up chipping or breaking.

Hoshi: Denies at first honestly, but the more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea. Normal rings are so boring, I think he'd like an exciting ring for you two, even if it's candy. He'll approach you and ask for the ring pop before sliding it on your ring finger, allowing you to do the same.

Habiki: He doesn't care either way. He hasn't really thought about wedding or rings. Doesn't really process the fact that you proposed to him until later that night and he sits up and stares at his ring with shock. He'll smile gently and plop back down, unable to stop himself from smiling wider.

Kage: Probably passes out. Doesn't process the fact it's a ring pop, process the fact that YOU proposed to HIM???? He's so happy. Is confused when he wakes up and sees a ring pop on his finger instead of an actual ring, thinks the proposal was all just a dream and he'll ask you about it, just to pass out again when he realizes you DID propose to him.

Kei: Chuckles, kissing the ring pop and getting some flavor on his lips before kissing you. If the ring pop ring is what you want, then it is what you shall have. Though he'll recommend making fake ones so they don't break or go bad.

Yani: Is so SO happy, doesn't care that it's a ring pop, she's just overjoyed that you proposed to her! Thinks the ring pop is PERFECT. Her ring pop breaks easily though whether it be from her rolling around in her sleep a lot and beating someone up for breathing in your direction. She'll run to you while crying, explaining the broken ring pop and how she still loves you so the broken ring pop means nothing.

Aki: Laughs, this reminds her of something she did to you when you were younger and playing house. Happily accepts the ring and looks at it fondly before kissing it. If it ever breaks, she makes sure to buy ring pops in the exact same color.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Some Game HC's I have about Riddler:

BTAS Riddler loves playing DnD both as a player (always a caster) and as the DM. He is a game developer in the 90's so you bet your ass he was the fliperama kid. Everyday he went to the local game station (and later started exploring and looking for different ones all across Gotham) with only one coin. He played once against a player in a winning streak beting coins and he always won and would accept bets from challengers. He was abble to play all day with only one coin because he never lost a bet.

Gotham Riddler is another DnD nerd and a gamer. But I think he had more money growing up than BTAS Riddler and actually played games in a gameboy. He got a summer job so he could buy more games than Mario and Pokemon. Also I'm sorry but Gotham Riddler never played DnD, that man was born to be a DM and is likely the one DM that didn't became one because it's harder to find a DM than a party so you DM once and now that's your fate.

Arkham Riddler plays Magic The Gathering. He also plays DnD and he is the insufurable player that goes out of the way to create the most OP characthers completly full of combos and makes everything boring for everyone else because he slays too hard. He is insuferable playing Magic as well but at least he is being insuferable against his adversaries. He lost his original deck after being arrested the first time and somehow it ended on young Barbara Gordon's hands. The small time period were pre teen Barbara was the biggest Magic nerd and forced a confused Jim to play was probably the worst thing Riddler ever did to comissioner Gordon and that includes killing his co-workers and friends. Later Barbara went to play it with Jason and Tim (who she isn't dating cause ew), Bernard joined at some point.

The last DnD player is Unburied Riddler who is the opposite to Arkham: he always plays as a bard and he is the biggest follower of the rule of cool/the wonders of RP ever. He knows the rule book upside down but he never really followed the rules, he just sweet talks the DM and the tabble into letting him role for his insane plans to the point that after he basically forced Barbara and Bruce to play with him (Barbara asked Montoya to DM) no one on the tabble even knew what bardic inspiration actually did until Alfred heard them playing and as a closeted DnD nerd got incrisingly distressed by Eddie's "gameplay style". Since then Montoya joined the tabble as a paladim and Alfred is the DM. Instead of analysing what to pick to upgrade his characther Eddie spends all the time trying to find ways to sweet talk Alfred (the hardest DM to bullshit ever) into letting him do his thing. Right now his best trick is to make Bruce either join or get excited for the result because Alfred has a soft spot for his son Master Bruce.

Zero Year Riddler for all his cool persona is a nerd and not only he colects all different editions of War (yes the boardgame, the ancient Greece one is his favorite) but he plays competitive Pokemon (both online and the card game). While he is a good Pokemon player he did lose to an incredible good 12yo and he cried a whole day before trying to extract revenge. Unfortunaly for Ed the kid was from Metropolis and there was a change, small as it was, that Superman could get involved and Eddie isn't really one to get his ass beat by Superman.

Still on the card games BTAA Riddler plays Yu-Gi-Oh. He somehow understands the rules and is good on it. Miss Tuesday used to make fun of him for it until Autum acidentaly introduced her to Bakugan. If you play Bakugan you can't make fun of other people's card game choices. BTAA Riddler also plays Pokemon Go, he started because he thought it was hip and cool (he isn't even that old, he is like 30 but he just wants to be cool with the teens that badly already) and kept going because he really likes to take random pictures of pokemon on normal day things, he also loves shinny hunting. He does it on the actual game as well. He never actually played the whole Pokemon story, he just shinny hunts a lot and stops playing after he catched enough cool shinnies. He has some of the first one to capture the shinng videos and a shinny hunting secret twitter.

[Not a Riddler one but BTAS Joker also plays Yu-Gi-Oh because one has to be mad to understand all the different invocation rules (I say that as a former Yu-Gi-Oh nerd). Harley also plays Yu-Gi-Oh on BTAS but she downplays her talents to let Joker win when she is actually insanely good at it.]

[chainsawctopus]

Do you have Asa or any part 2 character's headcanons?

I loooooove the part 2 gang, and I've posted a bunch of hcs for them on Twitter a month ago! I'll copy and paste it all here

Warning, it's mostly Yoshida because my god I'm insane about him and I apologize

-Octopi are intelligent creatures so Yoshida's contract with the octopus devil is for him to get good grades because it doesnt want to work with a dumb human

-Yoshida ONLY drinks iced coffee, he can tolerate room temp but never hot

-Yoshida really likes cold food in general

-As a kid, Asa knew running while holding scissors is bad so she never did it because she knew she'd trip with them, but in grade school she probably tripped and got hurt anyway from a nearby classmate holding scissors

-Yoshida likes lemon lime sodas because I like lemon lime sodas no other reason it's just true

-Nayuta is a selective mute, but she and Denji click so well that he immediately knows if she needs anything even if she doesnt say or sign anything

-As reckless as he is sometimes, Denji is still very good at taking care of Nayuta, he learned a lot from Aki and from taking care of all the dogs. THIS I'm quite sure is basically canon, even just from the small glimpse of them together in ch97

-If CSM took place in modern times, Yoru is SHIT at video games and Asa is average (hi, not part of the original twt thread, I just remembered that csm doesn't take place THAT long ago and that Denji and Power literally bought a video game console with... Aki's money... So yeah the modern times part was a little dumb of me, but it still applies to some of the hcs ahead)

-Denji spams buttons in fighting games and Yoshida has combos memorized, but somehow he still loses to Denji sometimes

-Yuko is better than all of them and is probably a speedrunning champion

-If all four (five w yoru) of them played games together, Denji and Asa would be at each other's throats while Yoshida and Yuko silently keep playing and win in the end

-Yoru:"I WANT TO KEEP PLAYING!"

Asa:"YORU IT'S BEEN HOURS, IT'S MY TURN TO PLAY ALREADY"

-Remember the doom & acnh thing back then? Yeah Yoru is the one buying acnh and Yuko is the one buying doom

-Yoshida is a rhythm gamer and has spent hundreds of hours on his favs, BUT HE REFUSES TO TRY OSU.

-Denji unironically likes cbat

-Yuko would secretly be one of those popular vocaloid producers that make songs with really dark themes

-Asa listens to her songs a lot without knowing it's Yuko

-Oopsie I just made a fanfic prompt by accident lol feel free to steal the idea

That's the original thread! Here's a couple more hcs I have though, mostly just lgbtq hcs:

-Yuko is nonbinary (in the same way she can't understand people, she can't understand gender roles and all that dumb shit cishets push)

-Related to that last part, Yuko is autistic! It was genuinely my first thought when I read the "I don't understand people" line in 105, I love her so dearly (also I'm also a nonbinary autistic so I'm projecting a little)

-Yoshida is gay and grey aromantic (grayromantic?? Forgot the term) (Also projecting except I'm bi instead of gay, u can tell I love projecting onto my scrimblos)

-Yukoasa are bi4les! Asa is bi but is sapphic leaning after the interaction that is ch104 JSJSKFJDJ she really thought man, men aren't worth it and just visited yuko

-Asa is transfem!! Idk I just saw the flashbacks she had and how she had short hair at one point and I was like hmm and my transfem moots agreed (That post blew up a little actually and some people genuinely thought I was weird or that I was stereotyping cause of the short hair, so I don't talk about this hc that often. I genuinely would've headcanoned her as transfem before I even saw the short hair though, I love hitting csm characters with the transification beam.)

-Speaking of, Yoshida is transmasc! He's a reincarnation of Togata from Fire Punch that was able to successfully transition (socially at least), and he binds! This is one of my fav hcs cause god I love Togata and Yoshida's eerieness in part 1 is really EXTREMELY similar to Togata, and they both have really similar features like black eyes and hair, the fringe between their eyes, the mole under their lip, AND THE WAY THEY SMILE??? I genuinely no joke think Yoshida was meant to be a nod to Togata back when Fujimoto drew him in part 1

-Back to the videogames thing, Asa would be 1st in Mario Kart then fuck up last minute right before she reaches the finish line, and she ends up in last place. My girl trips at the worst time even in video games 💀

Okaaaay brain empty now, hope you enjoyed all these hcs!!

[dragonlapis]

I've been thinking about this lately...About if Oriko had a more prominent role in arc 1 and then later onto arc 2...first we gotta focus on arc 1 to make things easier...then we can do arc 2

Instead of the usual Iroha's team ...It could be Kanagi who she meets first and through her she meets the apartment trio...So it would be a team of Iroha, Kanagi, Seika, Leila, and Mito. Shirgue and Hagumu could replace Momoko's gang or we could use the Azalea trio for that...But I would like for Shirgue and Hagumu to be more prominent in this even if they are not teammates...so I'm tied on that-

Shirgue and Hagumu and the Azalea trio both have a lot of potential in this...

As for Oriko...She could have seen the magius in a vision and sent Kirika to go investigate over there while gaining some insight from Kyubey ..Discovering that he doesn't know anything about Kamihama other it being unusual and he can't access for some reason...This would peek her interests some more and decided to go over there to investigate...Once she sets foot in there, she immediately recognized something is very off here and gets another vision...Of Eve ...Eve being somewhere in the city and tells Kirika about it...In return Kirika tells her the usual amount of witches which lines up to the lack of witches in her place. A part of me wants to say the two decided to stay there and ditch school since Oriko decided this is much more important than that and Kirika just does whatever she wants really-

So they'll probably live in an abandoned building or find some place to live...Another part of me wants it where she lives in the same apartment complex where the apartment trio and Iroha is gonna live. Just to have the funny realization they all live in the same area without realizing it.

There's honestly two ways I can see how Oriko playing a role in this ...She and Kirika joins Iroha's team or at very least helps them since she recognizes the danger what the magius could do. Or joins them once she comes up with a plan on how working together with them will benefit them or buys into the idea of magius...I mean looking into the future would be very useful for either party really...or secret third option...She does things on her own as a neutral party.

If you want to have Yuma have a role in this...she could realized something off about Oriko and follows her into Kamihama City...I can see her joining Iroha's team tbh...Another thing could happen is her following Kyoko too...many possibilities...many thoughts

Also if you want it to be completely different...you can switch Iroha with Kuroe...also the promise blood and the rest will still be the same member wise

[bonesandthebees]

Anyway, I’ve talked a lot about Tommy without talking about Him, so let’s do that.

I was expecting Tubbo to be part of his group, but having him be there as just Tomys friend is so funny. It’s also adorable. (And it probably says a thing or two about how stubborn Tomys is, since he probably refused to go without him). Their dynamic very much gives “Your majesty, this is my emotional support best friend”.

Having Jack as a guard is giving me Stars flashbacks. Probably as intended. It’s funny that he is now Tomys guard instead of Wilbur’s. I was not expecting Puffy, but I probably should have. She’s there to make sure Tomys behaves, but she still has a lot of work to do about the etiquette. She also gives me the vibes of someone who deserves a raise.

Side note: did Niki or Quackity come with extra entourage? Like Niki was a baby, but Quackity was similar in age. Or is this unusual? (Also, I love the throne and crown, I’m sure that doesn’t have any ominous relation to certain tags on this fic)

Anyway, Tomys first impression reflects very badly on Sam. As we learn in chapter 3, everyone figures out why Tomys is there. And he’s clearly a bad first choice as a heir. (As in, if Sam were to die right now, Tomys would do terribly compared to Niki or Quackity).

He comes off as just a kid, which he is, but that’s not something you can be in this situation. None of the other kids got to have a normal childhood. On top of that Tomys is kinda a little brat, for a noble child at least, and not in the way those kids are normally brats.

But Sam seems rather fond of him. He’s very patient with him and all his blunders. I think he’s a kind king, but *looks at chapter 3* he’s not the brightest. It becomes very clear, very quickly that Sam did not think this true at all.

Like part of his decision process is wanting to decide something for himself because he’s self aware enough to know Phil is pulling the strings, but not smart enough to actually do it himself. So he brings Tomys and is all secretive, but then he didn’t talk it through with anyone and missed so many implications because he’s just living in his own world. But then he doubles down which is incredibly childish, but he wanted to make a desicion for himself and refuses to acknowledge that it’s backfireing (which is a very worrisome quality to have in a King).

Though I think some of it might just also be actually indecisiveness and wanting to buy himself more time to chose because he clearly doesn’t know who to pick based on how he asked Schlatt. He’s just digging himself a bigger hole and I’m scared he’ll double down further and will pick Tomys in the future just because Phil doesn’t want him to (can you tell I do not like Sam? Very good writing job on that, btw).

(2/?)

-🎄

no literally I was trying to figure out a position for tubbo that wasn't 'personal servant' just bc I didn't feel like doing that for this fic, and when I couldn't come up with anything I was like "...it's clingyduo tubbo would come just as his emotional support bestie" and then I thought back to how in historical movies you always hear about nobles having their ladies in waiting/companions/friends showing up with them everywhere like an entourage and I was like huh that would work

lol yeah after stars I'm a bit of a sucker for writing jack manifold as a guard again. he's just so good in that type of role, although I'd say he's going to have a smaller role here than he had in stars (though who knows I also didn't think stars!jack would play a very big role and look how that turned out). and of course tommy needed an adult chaperone so I thought of puffy. she's so tired of this shit.

yes, niki and quackity both came with entourages of their own although I'm not going to mention them bc I can't think of characters they'd be and I don't like throwing ocs into my fics for more than just a few lines here and there. except since niki was brought to the palace so young she essentially came just with her nanny and some guards, and when she was eventually given ladies in waiting they were provided by the palace not by summerdam. quackity was a little older so he showed up with a tutor, guards, and probably a private servant. still working out details on backstory stuff you know how it goes

yeahhh the thing is tommy's immaturity is pretty prevalent right off the bat, and while he's not overly bratty by noble kid standards, by potential future heir to the kingdom standards he's terrible. and it says something about sam's ideas towards leadership that he only just met the kid and has a bit of a soft spot towards him, because he doesn't know tommy. not at all. but he thinks he does.

i'm glad you don't like sam. he's meant to be a very messy character in rose. someone who so clearly wants to be good at this game he's playing but is just so blatantly not which causes problems for everyone else around him

[deadendtracks]

How do you think Lizzie's marriage to Tommy came about?

Like personally I believe there were many factors and not one like Ruby ofc, she was good- person wise, sexually compatible, someone had written he was afraid to be alone(which I feel might be true since Charles also saw him during his breakdown in s4 and stuff). Though I don't feel it was for political purposes.

But I would love to know what you feel...also I've been following what you write for some time, and I like reading what you put up.

Thank you, that's very kind.

It seems like the generally accepted take is that he married her purely to be more politically acceptable for running for office. I wouldn't rule out that being some part of the decision; but given what Moseley says in s6 about magazine covers or whatever, my guess is it wasn't a particularly politically expedient move given Lizzie's past, which wouldn't have been hard for anyone to dig up. If Tommy had wanted to marry someone solely to be more politically acceptable, he'd have married May. It would have been the smarter move. Having a bastard daughter on the side whom he supported would have been downright upper class of him.

On the other hand, maybe he shrewdly thought marrying Lizzie would go well with his working-class constituency, over May. Even given that idea I'm not sure, still, about her past being a net positive in an election, given the way Polly and Arthur laughed about it in s1.

There's the other point that it's pretty clear his first election at least was probably fixed in his favor. If it was, why would he feel the need to marry Lizzie for political purposes?

We also don't know when Tommy and Lizzie married and if they were even married at the end of s4 when he won his election, so it's hard to point to that scene at the end of 4.06 as proof, though I've never looked at it closely enough to see if they're both wearing wedding rings, etc.

So if politics wasn't the biggest drive, what then?

One interesting aspect of s4 is that he doesn't suggest they marry when he finds out Lizzie is pregnant -- he doesn't "do right by her" in that way, though he promises to buy her a house and implies he'll take care of her and the child. I don't necessarily think he makes this choice because of Lizzie's reputation/past, but maybe that could be part of it. If it was, why then marry her when he gets into politics? It's a bit contradictory.

Instead I think it's possible he was aware at least on some level that he couldn't give her what she wanted from him -- couldn't be in love with her. And this was probably his way of trying to be fair to her the way he tried to be fair to May in s2. He tries to maintain this distance, where he's not making promises he can't keep.

But then he does end up marrying her. I think to me this makes the most sense if he and Lizzie *aren't* married at the end of s4, when he's elected. If he starts spending time with her to be able to see Ruby. I do think Ruby would be a big part of it -- Tommy loves his children very deeply, despite his difficulties as a parent. So one possibility is that he starts spending time with Lizzie to see the baby, and things go from there.

Which does lead into one of the points you brought up: it's definitely possible he was afraid to be alone -- this is a more likely motivation than wanting someone to be a mother to Charlie, because he had plenty of maids for that, and Lizzie was not playing that role in s3-4. When she says she got Charlie Christmas presents in s4, I think that was meant to be read as the actions of an executive secretary-type role -- powerful men usually have someone who takes care of things like that for them.

But Lizzie had already seen him emotionally vulnerable at that point -- 'it was you who kept my heart from breaking' -- even if it wasn't in the form of him being open about it with her, which I doubt. And I do think he trusts Lizzie quite a lot.

He is a very lonely character, and a character who finds it hard to trust, and a character who does need people even if he comes across as if he doesn't. Combine that with the fact that he does deeply love his children and you can see how he might have eventually decided he wanted to marry Lizzie even if he felt he could never love her the way he did Grace. Especially if you consider that the end of s4 was probably less than 2 years after Grace had died -- that's not much time to get over a traumatic loss like that. But maybe being around his child with Lizzie made him realize he might be able to make a marriage work.

Canon doesn't give us anything definitive and I think you could write a range of believable explanations of how they ended up married. I'd never wholly rule out politics as being part of it; but at the same time, I'm not all that convinced.

[calif0rnia-lovers]

Back again with questions. Only it’s about Mayans…as I said before I never returned after the s3 finale. I have bolded the questions because it somehow turned into a rant post as well.

1. Was Manny Montana being brought to Mayans worth it? OR was his addition a tactic to garner more attention back to the show?

With him being freed up from Good Girls, I keep thinking they brought Manny in because they know he can play someone who can fit into an outlaw role (ie Rio), but can also a lovable soft side (ie Johnny T). Ya’ll know I follow Manny from fan base to fan base, and love to see my guy booked & busy. But I’d hate to pick Mayans back up to find they’ve shoveled in a temporary character to avoid developing the old. My guess is he’s from the charter that showed up at the end of S3. So his character is probably just to fill in for S4 to distract us from the poor writing of S3. Probably won’t make it pass a season, kinda like how they used the prospect character for a bit and tossed him away in S3.

2. Do they ever focus on Miguel being Felipe’s child???

That storyline alone could have saved Mayans. I think Elgin could learn from “less is more.” I liked SOA and definitely noticed its faults BUT….You know our boy Kurt would have cut out all the extra “mini-shocking” storylines like Angel being a hoe (and disrespecting his momma’s memory by giving her ring to Nails), Coco’s trip to Meth Mountain (when he could have just been a father to Letty and adopt Mini), Ez and Gabby (Sutter would’ve had Ez pining for Em with them sharing some long lost love stares across town like Jax and Tara in S1), and Bishop’s dead son (I’m sorry but they could have used that screen time to develop Bish into a bad ass Prez. That “bad ass Prez” was implied when I just wanted to see Bishop fuck shit up). Used ALL that wasted screen time to develop Miguel into the central character opposite of Ez. How would this simple tactic develop a far more interesting plot than what we were served in S3? Miguel be the father of Adelita’s baby. Fuel source #1 to the fire in the ultimate brother show down. Angel has a reason to hate Miguel. Fuel source #2 to the ultimate brother show down? Miguel fathering another woman’s child…easy plug to push Emily back into Ez’s arms. Which would have given enough ammo to push the original premise of this being a battle between brothers….Fuel source #3 Miguel wouldn’t have chickened out of killing Emily. He would have had Miguel drown her. Not saying this because I don’t like her character. Just saying that Sutter knew one thing “less is more.” It takes a simple act to tip a characters motives and the plot. Prime example: Opie being killed lit a fire under Jax’s ass and started pushing him toward’s the main goal of Jax dying. If they had taken that route they could have easily killed two birds with one stone. Miguel would have finally “crossed the line” separating him from his father. They made big deal saying he wanted to be different from his dad, but in the next scene show he was a lot like the man he was running from. With Emily being dead Ez would have a motivation in the Miguel and Ez tension they pushed the entire first season, only to randomly leave it at the end of S1. My guess is instead, Elgin has Gabby killed because she was Ez’s love interest when I stopped the show. But if he did I as a viewer wouldn’t buy that as enough for Ez to tip like Jax did. He knew Gabby for what…a year??

3. Lastly, did Hank get away from Nails?

Male show runners love an age gap. I’m still salty they didn’t just give Miguel someone his age instead of someone as young as Emily. Danny Pino deserved better. I don’t know why they gave Hank that weak storyline of falling for a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. They should have given him an old lady his age. If you want to know what I miss about SOA…all the old heads had old ladies their age. Some Gemma’s and Luann’s would have sprinkled in our weekly spice of drama. You caught a glimpse of it with the shitstorms Dita was able to stir when she was alive. We needed some legit old ladies to save this plot man

4. Am I the only one who feels we were pitched an entirely different show than what we got?

I hate when shows deviate from the original plan. I came to Mayans the second I saw they added Danny Pino. Seeing him play detectives half his career let me know he was going to serve as Galindo (and he did all of season 1). Can’t believe this Danny Pino opportunity was wasted like that. I came for the deadly Galindo Cartel and poor writing served a half baked drug king pin and a MC that can’t get shit done because they spend all their time focusing on personal shit instead of securing the bag. For an MC that strives solely on the Galindo transactions, I didn’t see a brick of coke more than twice the entire three seasons I watched. Elgin tried to turn the Mayans plot into something poetic. Sir. People don’t watch shows like SOA for half baked poetry. We want you to stick to the outlaw shit. That other stuff?

[consumeronionbulletin]

Start-up (2020)

I really enjoyed the first couple arcs in the show, but there was a real drop in interest by the end of it. I'm sure the pandemic was part of the problem, but the biggest problem was the same thing that plagues so many of these workplace rom-coms — The dreaded LOVE TRIANGLE!

The premise actually worked for the most part. The writers kept me guessing enough at the beginning that I couldn't decide what was going to happen with the relationships. I especially liked the underdog story at the beginning. But they kept the resolution to the stupid love triangle going to 6 episodes too long. And I just stopped caring about most of the story. Especially for the last three episodes. The only thing that kept me going really was the performances.

The Performances

Bae Suzy (as Seo Dal-mi) did a pretty good job as the main romantic interest and really the main character. The writing at the end (which may have been a casualty of the pandemic) really let her down in the last 6-8 episodes. What I think the writers were trying for in her arc was having her go from under-confident to over-confident and then finding a balance at the end.

They kind of painted themselves in a corner as they wanted her to do something dumb enough to have consequences, but not so dumb that she washed up and ruined the company. But there aren't very many real life cases of that to choose from so you got something that could have been easily avoided if she had talked to anyone in the industry for 5 minutes. It was dumb and felt contrived, and it took the character to a less interesting place in the last few episodes.

Nam Joo-hyuk (as Nam Do-san), did a good but fairly forgettable job. The writers could have done alot more to make his character interesting, but his real problem was that he was playing opposite Kim Seon-ho—who would go on to play a better version of the same character in Hometown Cha x3—and so he ended up looking like a boring kid until maybe the very end of the show.

Kim Seon-ho (as Kim Sang-ho) was one of the standout players here. He had the most interesting backstory, and the grumpy cynic with a heart of gold character was by far the most interesting of the cast. He also had great banter and chemistry with everyone which was just fun to watch.

Kim Hae-sook (as the grandmother, Choi Won-deok) was also fun to watch. Every scene with her and Kim Seon-ho was pretty good. Even when they were just sitting and talking and eating street food.

Kang Han-na (as Won In-jae / Seo In-jae) was probably the most underused main character. Kang Han-na did a good job with what she was given, but her role was mostly just to provide motivation for the other characters. The writers could have given her story more attention and had a much more interesting show. For various reason, they didn't.

Stephanie Lee (as Jung Sa-ha) did a pretty good job with what she was given. I didn't buy the romance arc the writers did with her character, but it was cute enough that I sort of liked it anyways. Once the writers gave the guy she was dating an actual personality, anyway. Overall, it was a decent role, but much less interesting role than in Yong-pal.

TL; DR:

There's a severe dropoff in quality in the last 8 episodes. This could be due to the pandemic, but in any case there was alot of wheel spinning and I nearly lost interest.

They had a decent love triangle which only worked because the third corner was played by Kim Seon-ho. If you were in the know, you could figure out who the writers were going to end it with (the ages, the marketing posters, etc. made that pretty clear), but Seon-ho did such a good job with a cool character, that you still kind of wanted Sang-ho and Seo Dal-mi to ride off into the sunset. But there's always Hometown Cha x3 instead.

[ficretus]

Knightfall and Pyrrha paradox

Funny thing to me is that Cinder killing Pyrrha makes Knightfall both possible and almost completely impossible. Now I am not saying this from the perspective of "damn, Pyrrha is competition, gonna have to kill her" or "only way to fall in love with someone is to murder someone close to them", more from a perspective of it being the only reason said characters are interacting and will interact.

Jaune would have no reason to interact with Cinder if it didn't happen, or at least, have an interaction that feels personal. Look at Volume 8 and Jaune coming face to face with Salem. Even though she is technically also responsible for everything he went through he gets no interaction beyond helping to fight her.

From Cinder's perspective, Jaune is completely irrelevant. He is neither Ruby nor does he hold Maiden powers. However, due to him getting in her way she is forced to interact with him. Most notably, it might get more personal from her side because Jaune prevented her from getting Winter Maiden power.

Is it possible to get to the similar scenarios without killing Pyrrha? It might be possible, but it's also heavily contrived. Let me run through two scenarios, one in which Pyrrha lives (Ruby intervenes before Cinder can kill Pyrrha) and one in which someone else kills Pyrrha.

PYRRHA LIVES:

For the sake of the argument, Arkos doesn't happen and Jaune only sees Pyrrha as a friend. Now, following the Fall of Beacon, team JNPR and Ruby go to Haven to foil Cinder's next plan. Instead of Jaune being one of the driving forces behind it, he plays more of a passive role. He is worried about Pyrrha because last time she went without him she ended up almost dying. So his primary goal is no longer getting to Cinder, it's being there for Pyrrha and making sure she doesn't do something reckless. Jaune also isn't as hard on himself as he is in canon timeline due to Pyrrha still being alive. Thing that pushed him to his feeling of perceived lack of worth is his survival complex about him living (but seemingly not contributing to anything) while Pyrrha ended up dying. Pyrrha on the other hand is probably against Jaune being there, wanting him to be someplace safe.

They go through various trial and tribulations and eventually get to the Haven (probably easier trip considering they had Pyrrha). They probably still get ambushed by Salem's faction, but matchups would play differently. There is no conceivable reason for Jaune to challenge Cinder on his own. Only reason he did so in canon timeline is the fact she was the one that killed Pyrrha and he considered himself to be worthless, so might as well die trying to buy some time against her. This doesn't happen in this theoretical timeline since Pyrrha would likely be matched against Cinder as her rival. At most I can see Jaune insisting on helping Pyrrha since he is worried she might lose to Cinder again. Even if this does happen, it's completely impersonal rivalry. Jaune dislikes Cinder but he fights her because he is primarily worried about Pyrrha. It never gets to the point he is openly challenging her and her beliefs.

Ironic thing is, if Cinder ever pulls out a spear and tries to kill someone, it's not gonna be Weiss, it's gonna be Jaune. While in canon timeline, for whatever reason, Cinder never attempts to seriously injure or kill Jaune, in this timeline she'd go after him since he is Pyrrha's kryptonite. Assuming Jaune survives this due to Semblance awakening, nothing really changes. Pyrrha remains Cinder's primary rival while Jaune takes more of a Weiss role of being person Cinder hurts to hurt the others. This might lead to some interaction between them down the line, but it lacks the edge their canon timeline counterparts have.

SOMEONE ELSE KILLS PYRRHA:

*spins Salem's factions wheel* and.... it's Emerald. Let's say Emerald at some point hides herself with her Semblance and assassinates Pyrrha. Timeline mostly remains the same as in canon timeline. RNJR embark to stop Cinder's plan at Haven, however, Cinder is no longer Jaune's primary goal, he wants to fight Emerald. So when they meet at Haven, he doesn't challenge Cinder, he goes after Emerald while Ruby has to fight Cinder.

This is probably the worst case scenario. This changes Cinder/Jaune rivalry to something completely impersonal and more akin to rivalry between Jaune and Salem in canon timeline. Yeah, he has to stop her from destroying the world, but that's about it. She is a boss to the person he personally wants to fight.

This not only cuts their rivalry to something completely impersonal, it also removes most of potential interactions between them. Assuming their characterization remains the same, they would still remain literary foils, but that alone is not enough. Take Neo and Jaune for example, they are also foils but the fact is they never interact. Even when lot of Silent Knight shippers speculated they'll have lot of interactions in Ever After it never happened. Because at the end of the day, Neo is character that was introduced as Yang's rival and at that point of the story played a role of avenger coming to kill Ruby. Her interactions in Ever After were always gonna be primarily with Ruby. Knightfall prospects in that theoretical timeline would probably be similar. Yeah, they could interact, but why would they.

____________________________________________________________

What are your thoughts? Is Cinder killing Pyrrha all part of Knightfall Golden Path or is it always gonna remain just another crack ship? Feel free to comment.

[moonsmultimusings]

“Nothing I do will ever be good enough, will it?” -[from @hikikomari]

random dialogue sentence starters - Accepting ☾

For as positive as Mari could seem, she was still human. Hero knew that much. She was a wonderful human, sure -- a role model, a beacon of positivity -- but she was still a human. A person who had her flaws, her insecurities, her doubts. One of the greatest he'd seen in her was her perfectionism. She was always so hard on herself when she wasn't watching over the others with him. In some ways, it was difficult to understand how someone as talented as she was could ever doubt herself. If she could see what he knew he saw in her, she'd realize she had no reason for these doubts.

But she never seemed to, did she? He put forth every effort to help her out, but she struggled nonetheless. It didn't feel like a personal failing, per se. He didn't want to think that he may have been letting her down somehow. Rather, it was a sign that he ought to change strategies. She was well worth the effort. Seeing her smile genuinely, the way her eyes would crinkle when she grinned at Sunny, the laugh she'd let out at Kel's overconfidence during their games of cards up in the treehouse, the gentle assistance she would offer Basil with his plants, the encouraging positivity she could always manage to muster up for Aubrey… He wanted to keep seeing these. To find some way to give her the sort of freedom she'd need to continue expressing these things. All of the traits he loved about her, an endless list of admirations he could shower her with if she wouldn't find some way to turn it around and fluster him instead.

He'd heard it for himself, how often she'd been playing recently. When he was outside or when the window in his and Kel's room was down, he could hear it. Especially at night, much too late. He'd considered hopping the fence once or twice to try and send her to bed to make sure she was rested for class, but he hadn't mustered up the courage to do it just yet. She was worried about this recital. Sunny must have been, too, considering how often he was practicing as well. With the two of them working together, he had no doubts that it would be amazing.

“Mari…” The tone he addressed her with was quiet. Gentle. His brows knit down in concern. She'd pointed out before that it wasn't unlike the sort of face Kel would make. “I know prep school hasn't been easy for you… And I'm sure you must be nervous about your recital, too.” He wished he was better with his words sometimes. Especially in her case. “But we'll all be there to support you. Mom's planning to buy Kel a whole new outfit to go in!” His attempt at lightening the mood seemed to fall a little flat. It wasn't exactly untrue, though… His brother had spilled Orange Joe all over his last formal outfit.

He should probably just stick to the topic at hand. “You're more than good enough for us. You're amazing.” He offered her a warm smile, and one he hoped could be half as reassuring as ones she'd given him in the past. “I'm sure you and Sunny are going to play beautifully up there together.” And when she was done? He'd be standing in the audience with a bouquet of roses to hand her. He'd already been sizing them up at Fit-It. “And if you need help preparing anything else in the meantime, just let me know! I'll be over right away.” He'd never minded dropping everything for her sake before. Now was no different.

[queermania]

Hi I have read Play Crack The Sky and yes I am buying what you're selling here. How would you cast it? Obviously Cas as Derek and Dean as Stiles but does that make Sam Lydia? And who is Allison?

heck yes someone who knows what i'm talking about lol

okay yeah cas would be derek (closeted/even a little unaware, from a big family, feeling suffocated by how he thinks he should honor his family and his father's memory, etc).

dean would be stiles (dead mom. openly bisexual slut. cool persona but actually just so painfully nerdy underneath the bravado and charm).

sorry but sam doesn't get to be in the band. he can be jackson (getting back to his tech crew roots ayyy lol) (him and dean are still obviously gonna be brothers though).

charlie would be scott, probably (dean's best friend. mostly easy-going but willing to call him on his shit).

i am torn on who would be lydia. i want to say it's rowena but i just cannot picture her out of the gowns and in a rock band lmao. maybe it's jo. she can twirl drumsticks instead of knives.

eileen is allison. i don't know how that would work with the whole family business thing though. maybe this is how i finally work mildred into some spn fic. but eileen does fill the role of allison—someone who isn't there from the start but slots right in like she's always been part of their little found family.

victor can be danny. honestly a lot of people could be danny but i like victor so that's who i'm choosing.

hannah or even kelly would be paige. i'm leaning toward kelly for personality reasons.

donna would be erica. jody would be boyd. annddddd i don't know who would be isaac. meg, maybe? i have to think about it.

and then other crew members could include: garth, aaron, ash, pamela, gordon, etc.

unfortunately i have come to the conclusion that crowley and rowena don't really fit in this au which is devastating because i love them.