#honestly I would legitimately love to be with someone who makes me feel like I don’t have to be in charge and responsible all of the time

[oglegoggle]

My body aches so fucking bad, my dudes.

[gatorbites-imagines]

In that case… Could I please request Killer Croc/Waylon Jones with a supringly really attractive boyfriend (like a male version Jessica Rabbit level hot, like it dosen’t even make sense for someone to be that hot) who no one understand how Waylon pulled. Waylon’s boyfriend is very sultry and alluring.

And Waylon roughly breeds his boyfriend doggy style 😇.

Thank u :)

Waylon Jones x Male reader

Headcanons

Guten Abend squad, how is everyone doing? Classes are still running at a max level, and I’m starting to think this is just how it goes. So, time to chillax with some Waylon.

Not as smutty as I would have wanted, but this honestly just built a life of its own and started running.

We see in the comics, or at least in one run, that Waylon does have game and knows how to pull somebody very attractive, so its not too surprising so could pull you. That’s what you think at least, since he’s a great guy, to you.

I imagine you two met after he left the circus, maybe you guys even left together. With Waylon being the circus’s “freakshow” and you only being there as eye candy to sell tickets. With you both being reduced to nothing but your looks, you two find solidarity with each other, and fall in love.

No one ever really took your love seriously back then, just thinking you were using Waylon for protection, since someone as pretty as you couldn’t be safe anywhere.

Insert the “seriously, what do you see in that guy?” “he makes me laugh” scene.

If we go with the verse where Waylon was in Halys circus, then the only ones that seemed to have some version of acceptance of your love was the Grayson’s. it was one of the reasons you two left the circus, having a strong feeling of what had truly happened to them and who caused it.

After leaving the circus, you couldn’t live in the sewers like Waylon. This meant you got an apartment, in the beginning in crime alley since it was cheapest.

You may have been so beautiful it would drive people mad, but you also had a head on your shoulders. So, in the end you set up a legitimate business, maybe you even become something akin to a designer. Mainly because your lover is so big, there’s no other way to get him clothes.

And maybe during your time in crime alley, you stumble upon a scrawny kid who, though he may act tough, still has a light in him. And maybe that kid ends up being batman’s second robin, who remembers how kind you were to him and everyone around you, so he doesn’t go as hard against Waylon.

The past you have with the Grayson’s also means that Dick takes it easier on Waylon, and they even settle down and talk at times. You’ll regularly find the two former robins hanging around your art studio, even years later when they aren’t robin anymore.

Your lover goes to Arkham, a lot. But you never hate him or even argue with him. You’ll just pull up to Arkham in your most beautiful outfit during visitors’ hours and hold Waylon’s hand as you two act like a new married couple, even if it’s been twenty at this point.

And it may have been twenty years, but you just seem to have become more handsome with age, aging like fine expensive wine. You don’t become shrewd or corrupted by the world around you, instead you stay kind and patient. You’re still in Gotham though, so you’ll turn violent if you have too.

No one really believes that Waylon purrs, until you show up and he becomes as meek as a kitten, ready to roll in your manicured hand.

Its no secret that you, one of the most famous designers around, and Killer Croc, are together. But its just such a normal part of everyday life now, that no one really questions it. your works never been dirty, you help those around you, and lift up poor and struggling artists whenever you can. So, what if your husband is tearing up the road trying to bite Batman to bits.

Theres a viral video in Gotham of you stepping out during one of Waylon’s rampages, and just scolding him, wagging a finger in his face and still looking so unbelievably gorgeous as you do so.

And yes, of course your design trademark is crocodile scales, or anything along those lines. You’ll never use real crocodile skin, but you do use the print or shape.

After all this time, people don’t fear Waylon as much as they probably should, all thanks to you. Its kinda hard to fear a guy when you know his boyfriend is unofficially titled the most beautiful man in Gotham, who’s also as giving and kind as the Waynes, whilst being more involved in the nitty gritty, since you still live in Crime Alley.

Someone has threatened Waylon with telling on him to you at least once too, which doesn’t stop him, but it does cause him to freeze and get an “oh shit” expression, long enough for people to run to safety.

Being one of the most skilled fashionistas around also means you have met the Waynes on multiple occasions.

The shared past with Dick and the circus, and Jason, though you don’t remember him as vividly, means you get called on more than most.

As you measure them out and start making designs, conversations flow, and Damian most likely ends up bluntly just asking you why in the world you decided to pair up with Killer Croc of all people.

You correct him in your answer, referring to your husband as Waylon, and then you just start waxing the poetics. Of your shared past, of the deep unshakable love you both share, and how under all his struggles, Waylon truly is an amazing man.

You’ve never confirmed that Dick was Robin, even though it was very obvious. Its not your place to judge how he, or his family, deal with their trauma or whatever they have going on. Your lover swims through the sewers, you can’t really say anything.

A few passing comments are made though, obviously. You tell the Waynes to “take it easy next time they see Waylon, wont you?” with one of your heart shaking winks before you saunter out, ready to start putting together your latest design.

Its kind of an accepted, not really a secret, secret. Its never put into words, and they know that you know, and you know that they know you know. Nothing ends up happening with it though, outside of you making some jokes and judging their hero outfits.

With age you’ve become less sultry and alluring, at least in the way the public can point out as obviously as before. You have simply mastered your field, and know just how to play people around you if you need too.

Though, you didn’t really learn to master it for the public. It’s mainly just for Waylon, so you like to see how his nostrils flare, and when he starts chuffing in the back of his throat when you saunter around in nothing but a silk robe.

The bats know that the first place Waylon goes when he gets out of Arkham is to you. But…they also all know to wait at least a day or two before they come for him. To allow you to spend some time together, but also because most of them have caught of glimpse of you… reunions…

Bruce wont admit it, but he’s at least impressed with you being able to take two of them at the same time, even after all these years. He might note down your many skills somewhere… just in case.

Reunions with Waylon are typically a hot and steamy affair. Or well, as hot and steamy as a guy whose as cold as a reptile can get. There are days where either of you may not be up for it, and then its just cuddles and having some nice domestic time together before he’s taken back to Arkham again.

But when it does get hot, then you are very happy you own the entire building. Waylon can get quite loud, but never as loud as he still makes you even after all these years.

Sure, you’ve learned to handle it more after all this time, but it still makes you squeal when Waylon fits both his shafts inside you at the same time, lifting and moving you around like a doll.

Where Waylon may be rough and violent in every other part of his life, Waylon is slower and much more careful in the bedroom. He doesn’t want to lose his senses and hurt you on accident. You have some very faded bite and claw scars on your body, back from when you first got together, and Waylon likes to remind himself of that.

Sometimes you do want him to be rougher about it, so you pull all the skills you’ve gained over the years. And Waylon is but a man, even with the scales and all, so he can’t resist you for very long. It always ends up with you writhing, face in the pillow that’s stained with your tears and drool or pleasure, as Waylon growls and snarls behind you, his big, clawed hands moving you back and forth with ease.

He always feels a bit guilty about it afterwards, especially seeing how much you leak all over the sheets. Expect to find yourself being pampered and loved on for the next couple of days. Even the bats seem to leave you to it, most likely having heard your cries. You get a feeling the people in the next building heard them too. But you honestly don’t care anymore.

You may have Waylon, and many others, wrapped around your finger, but so does Waylon with you. And neither of you really seem to mind anymore.

[deezneezz]

Leona & ADD

I got a few ppl (on twitter) wanting me to elaborate on Leona and ADD, so I figured I will share my thoughts here as well, please be nice it's just a personal hc. You don't have to agree at all!! Since it contains some personal experiences I ask of people to please be kind about it!

Anyway, Leona and ADD.

I think a lot of people usually agree on Floyd and Kalim having ADHD, but Leona actually shows a lot of lesser talked about traits of ADHD. Namely Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), sensitivity to clothing/textures (he doesn't like restrictive clothes).

He also has the more commonly talked about traits of course, executive dysfunction being a big one. And his depression definitely exacerbates these traits, when i was undiagnosed and depressed i used to sleep my entire days away. I wasn't getting anything done anyway.

Not to mention not sleeping properly, so I was desperate to find moments to sleep during the day. I've slept on floors, on toilets, in an abandoned corner in uni instead of going to class. I was just *so* tired all the time I didn't want to sit in class, I wanted to sleep.

I was lucky I passed classes without studying, cause i would've never gotten through uni otherwise. I still took longer than necessary. The moment my support system (Ruggie, anyone?) graduated and left I had no one taking care of my basic needs, and I certainly didn't.

I had a dorm mate who cooked for me, made sure I had even an ounce of self-care, and also looked at my room and said "hmm, Deniz, maybe it's time to clean up a little" and then I very reluctantly admitted that it may have gotten a little out of hand.

She would just sit in my room sometimes chilling around while I cleaned cuz that was one of the few ways I cleaned at all (this is a real thing for ADHD, called body doubling. It works). Ruggie arriving at NRC and Leona suddenly performing tons better in school is no coincidence.

Coming back to RSD.. I mean I don't really have to explain it do I.. book 2, Lilia's scathing remarks, the shame of disappointing his dorm, etc. I know a lot of ppl call book 2 an 'overreaction' but like, this is genuinely what it feels like internally when RSD triggers

book 6 too, Jamil's over-protectiveness is clearly (to the audience) smth that's mostly Jamil's own habits and trauma doing. But to Leona it's a rejection/insult to his ability to take care of himself, his skill, etc. This was genuinely smth that set me off too.

"How dare you try to explain to me smth I already know, do you think I'm stupid?" "You're not like me." The unwillingness to admit that someone may be relatable in any way because making any comparison to yourself makes you vulnerable to what you haven't achieved for yourself.

"I would ace these classes too if I wasted my time and life studying as much as they did, but I actually love myself." <- guy who was jealous and did not know he was coping and didn't study cause of executive dysfunction and concentration issues.

Leona clearly knows a lot about the things he genuinely cares about, Ancient spell language, chess, magishift, so its kind of funny to see him so low effort in classes. Though honestly i know the game also says that "Leona already knows all this stuff" so.. who knows really...

Now I'm more chill but I used to legitimately go off the handle a little cuz RSD doesn't really care about whether the shit u feel is proportional to the offence it physically hurts in your chest and you just wanna burn down the world at that exact time and... IS THAT NOT LEONA...

TLDR: give Leona therapy and meds, lol.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

I've given it some thought--

Now, if you've read any of my posts and you've read 430, you know there are a lot of ways it falls short of what I wanted. On the other hand, I can respect an open ending, one where we are allowed and encouraged to dream. All things considered, I'm not satisfied or disappointed, but a secret third thing... bear with me.

For a lot of storylines, I can fill in the blanks how I want.

I'm heartbroken over Himiko's fate, but there's no denying that the lack of camera footage leaves open the possibility of her simply disappearing. Perhaps she is waiting in hiding for the world to change, just like Lady Nagant.

Dr. Yoshida is described as someone who can cure the incurable. That may be referring to Katsuki, but the doctor himself said it's a complete mystery how he survived, all Katsuki's own doing. Maybe he cured someone else in those 8 years... someone like Touya?

Honestly I got nothing on Tenko but who knows. Who knows! Something something OFA connection. Izuku having vestige visions. Idk.

As for the manner in which society is changing, I'm drawn to Shouji's speech: "I'm dedicating the honor to those who joined the uprising eight years ago. All I've done is stand atop the resolve that they demonstrated to the world, nothing more." That at least tells me his earlier judgment of the other heteromorphs "setting them back" was a narrow point of view Shouji was supposed to grow out of, rather than a way of Horikoshi trying to criticize revolutionaries. In general, just because a character says something doesn't mean we're supposed to take it as gospel. That's lit crit 101, people.

Then there's Izuku. Once again I am feeling this pretty close to home. I keep coming back to the fact that the class is 24/25 now and I'm 25, man. On top of that, anyone else who was 14/15 ten years ago when the manga started gets to feel like we've all grown up together. I wanted catharsis for Izuku's trauma so badly. I wanted words. But I can't deny that the way Izuku is shown attempting to make the best of things and be content with a humbler life resonates with me, as painful as it is, as much as I know deep down he's kidding himself. It doesn't surprise me that he kept his walls up all this time and continued to shun his "selfishness."

I almost feel like there's an all-encompassing narrative theme being expressed here, in the fact that Izuku was trying to push past his pain and focus on the next generation, but surprise, his story's not over yet. I think the implied message there is that more can be done in the here and now, and maybe other stories that seem to be over, aren't.

With these things in mind, I can take the ending in stride, even if this is all the more we get from Horikoshi. However. There's one thing that is jolting me out of my peace every time I start to get comfortable here. It's actually related to the storyline that got the most closure.

I've seen a lot of fellow bkdk enjoyers calling their conclusion the best part of the ending, and I agree with that. They got a truly full circle moment, and a way of communicating to the reader that they're together, they have their forever, in a way that is personal to them. It's not "canon" in the way a kiss or a confession is, but I've said it before--this makes sense for them. And Horikoshi also did something legitimately interesting and groundbreaking by not making Ochako confess, not showing her future being tied to the main character as a love interest.

No, the thing that's bugging me is a seemingly small detail: why does Izuku and Katsuki holding hands at the end, of all things, have to be implied? Lots of things about 430 make sense in the context of the interview Horikoshi recently gave where he expressed being content with what he has drawn, and what he has left to the imagination. But not this. You can't convince me he didn't want to draw this. It's a motherfucking story about hands. This is the one thing I was 110% certain would happen. It's been teased for forever. Katsuki clearly wanted it so bad. So many other characters got to hold Izuku's hand in-frame. What the hell. Why.

Idk. I will be thinking about it for the foreseeable future.

[chiisana-sukima]

hi so what qualities do you think dean admires about sam and vice versa would like to know your thoughts

Love your meta btw as a new spn fan

Hi Nonny, tysm for the ask!

I haven't thought a ton about this question prior to now, so I'm interested in other people's opinions too if they want to add them on reblog. But it seems to me that the 'what does Dean admire about Sam' half of the question is pretty easily answered, because Dean isn't shy with his praise of Sam in canon.

He's also not shy with his criticism, of course, and I think this is because some of the things he admires most about Sam are the same things that are dangerous to him personally. My favorite recap is in the finale:

And there's this from 15.11:

Dean says similar things in other episodes, going way back to 1.11, which the finale speech is practically a word for word recap of:

I think Dean legitimately believes all this; that Sam is better than him in practically every way-- smarter, more compassionate, more optimistic, possessed of a better moral compass (usually), more skilled in a variety of ways, etc. And especially that Sam is healthier than him; more of a complete, autonomous human being who would be fully able to live a "normal" life if circumstances were right, whereas he, Dean, would not be. By "you're stronger than me" (which he also tells Sam before he goes to Hell in s3) he means "capable of independence".

I have decidedly ambivalent feelings about the "Dean is Sam's Parent" reading of spn, but I do think this is a very parental type of admiration; both because of the 'I'm proud' piece and because 'I raised you to be able to outlive me' is maybe a parent's primary responsibility second only to unconditional love. And I think it's realistic and sympathetic that Dean admires these traits in Sam while simultaneously fighting tooth and nail to undermine Sam ever actually becoming fully independent as long as Dean's alive (and until the finale, even afterwards). "You're better than me; don't leave me" is honestly extremely relatable.

R.e. the 'what does Sam admire in Dean' part of the question, I think that's more complicated to explain, and I'm especially interested in what other fans think about this part. I think obviously if someone asked Sam what he admires in Dean, he'd be able to run off a list of traits. And he does sometimes mention traits he finds admirable in Dean, like in 8.14 where he says "You're not a grunt, Dean. You're a genius" and says Dean is a better hunter than either himself or their father.

But for the core of what I think Sam feels about Dean that's in the same, idk, synonym group ig, as 'admiration', I don't think 'admires' really covers it very well. It's almost more like worships. He thinks, quite simply, that Dean is good. And since he thinks that he, Sam, is fundamentally not good, he sees Dean as the final arbiter of, well, everything. Sam thinks Sam could never go on a quest like Galahad, but although it's never specifically mentioned, I think its pretty clear he believes Dean could.

I think Sam feels about Dean the way I think deeply religious people--not the kind that mouth platitudes but the kind that have really struggled with and thought long and hard about their faith--feel about God. He knows Dean makes mistakes, he knows Dean is deeply fucked up in many ways, he yells at and argues with Dean and goes behind Dean's back and lies to him and etc, all because he does truly understand that Dean's decisions are, on a practical level, sometimes honestly pretty messed up. But he also has an unshakable faith that where he, Sam, might make bad choices because he's bad, Dean will struggle but ultimately always eventually choose correctly, even if one of the steps along the way is chopping Sam's head off with Death's scythe. Because Dean is good. Sam fans (myself included) will look back on the panic room and think "wow Dean sure was living up to the family-is-hell premise on that one", but Sam will look back on it and think "he saved me".

[ghostxrose]

𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 | 𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒈𝒐 𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒌𝒊 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

Summary ~ Katsuki is tired of everything to do with soulmates and mushy love crap. The love stories that he's subjected to listen to are all the same; disgustingly sappy. Each one solidifies that he doesn't want, or have time for, love and a soulmate.. then he comes across you.

Tags/Warnings ~ Fem!Reader, character death, angst, sad ending, soulmate au, hurt no comfort, let me know if I should add any other tags..

Note ~ Hi, Lovelies! Sooo, this is me getting back into writing with just a teeny tiny bit of angst, lol.. It is short and not nearly as angsty as stuff I've written before, but I hope you enjoy it all the same! I love and appreciate you all, Lovelies!! <3 <3

Katsuki could feel his perpetual scowl deepen the further he scrolled through his social media feed. Every other post is a “found my soulmate” post, and he legitimately wonders just how he could be seeing posts like that every day with his friend list being so short. He also wonders why every post seems to say the same gushy crap every time. Honestly, he doesn’t even know why he bothers scrolling through any of his social media when it’s all the same crap. Every. Single. Day.

“Time stood still..”

Katsuki has heard or read those three words his whole life whenever people described meeting their soulmates. His parents, his relatives, and even some of his friends who have met their soulmates already. And it’s always the same sappy story that gets told leading up to that same stupid line.

“Time stood still..”

And he’s never believed it for a second because how stupidly cliche is it for “time to stop” when looking at someone? Even if that someone is supposedly who you’re meant to be with because some “higher power” said so.

“Time stood still..”

It’s all crap in Katsuki’s mind, straight-up bullshit. He doesn’t want or need a soulmate, and he doesn’t believe anything would happen if he ever met them. Time wouldn’t stop. No one would be running into each other’s arms. None of that gushy, lovey-dovey, movie crap would happen. It’s all completely unrealistic stuff that people add to their stories to make them sound better, and Katsuki doesn’t want any part of it.

Right as he’s hitting the point of wondering why there’s no “disgusted” button between every like and dislike button out there, a villain attack alert fills his phone screen. With the crackling of his comms coming to life officially marking the end of his lunch break, he slips his phone into his pocket. As he blasts off to the location of the villain attack, all thoughts of soulmates and sappy crap are replaced with the slightly feral excitement of an impending fight.

Getting to the scene, all of Katsuki’s excitement dissipates as he takes in the wreckage that has already been made. The operator he has been receiving details from had said that the villain’s Quirk is dangerous and destructive. Looking around at the crumbling buildings and cracked pavement, Katsuki feels the description was a gross understatement.

For only a moment longer, Katsuki watches the few rescue heroes that have already arrived on the scene work before he steels himself and takes off toward the latest location of the rampaging villain. When he does catch up to the villain, he’s secretly relieved to find other heroes have arrived as well. Deku, Kirishima, and a few other heavy hitters whose Quirks would work well against the villain’s Quirk. Wasting no time, Katsuki is patched through to the frequency that Deku and the other heroes are using, and he joins the battle.

The fight is grueling and goes on for hours before the villain is finally taken down and apprehended. It doesn’t feel like a win to Katsuki, though, not with the carnage left in the wake of the fight. There’s rubble everywhere from downed buildings, chunks of pavement are missing from the ruined streets, and then there are the casualties.. There aren’t as many as there could have been, but they are still civilian lives lost. Katsuki forces himself to stay in hero mode as he helps with rescue efforts. He can focus on the pain of his injuries and his self-deprecating thoughts later.

He continues moving through a half-collapsed apartment building, calling out and asking if anybody needs help. He manages to help a few injured civilians out of the building, making sure to get them to the teams of medical personnel right away. Luckily, it seemed that most of the people who had lived in that apartment building managed to evacuate before the villain came ripping through it.

In the midst of helping an elderly woman to an ambulance, Katsuki notices a few medics surrounding somebody and performing CPR on the person. Kirishima is standing off to the side of them with a grim and guilty look on his face. Katsuki quickly makes sure the elderly lady is in the care of a medic before making his way over to his friend. Now, Katsuki is absolutely not the face of comfort, but in growing up he tries to be there for his friends when they need it, damn it.

“Red,” Katsuki rasps out, his tone a touch gentler than it normally is as he walks up to his friend.

“She.. she was barely breathing when I found her, but I.. I thought that if I was fast enough, they could help her..” Kirishima explains helplessly, his voice thick with emotion, as he continues staring at the scene in front of him.

It’s then that Katsuki looks over at the medics and the woman they are trying to save. Unfortunately, he chooses to look over right as they declare the time of death and they all step back from the woman. Getting a clear look at her, Katsuki’s breath catches in his chest, and a pain like he’s never felt before spreads through his chest.

He had believed it was all bullshit. He had believed that everyone just spewed that crap to make their stories more sappy and gushy. He’s never even wanted a soulmate. Never believed he could love some stranger even if they were meant for him. Time doesn’t stop for anyone or anything, so why carry the belief that it would even feel like that while looking at some random? It was all crap in Katsuki’s mind..

Until now.

Staring at your limp and lifeless body, a peaceful look on your face underneath the blood and dust, Katsuki is in complete disbelief. It.. it was all supposed to be bullshit. He didn’t even know it was truly possible to feel anything like this..

“Baku- Dynamight? Are you okay? Did you know her?” Kirishima’s voice sets everything back into motion, and it’s fucking painful.

Gritting his teeth as tears well up in his eyes without his permission, Katsuki’s voice rasps quietly, “I think.. she was my soulmate.”

Anything else Kirishima says is lost to Katsuki as he feels his knees give out, his chest feeling like a hole was blown through it. The pain of loss consumes him, choking him with a lump of emotions he never thought he’d feel. Thoughts of what it would have been like to get to know you, what your voice sounded like, how you would have helped him learn how to love someone.. they all race through his head, crossing the painful finish line of it all being ripped away from him before he’s even had the opportunity to give the whole soulmate thing a chance.

His whole goddamn life, Katsuki had never believed a word anybody said about love and soulmates. Then he saw you and in the worst way possible..

Time stood still.

Divider Credit ~ @deadbranch

[fbfh]

Good morning, I loved your stories about Leo x reader (especially where she is the daughter of Poseidon) you helped me with a story that made me angry about Leo and reader (and calypso about homewrecker, I don't think Leo is like that especially because of his dad )a question how I read if someone tries to flirt with their beloved mermaid (reader daughter of poseidon) :3

babes I am literally sobbing!!!! /pos honestly calypso would be a homewrecker if anyone wanted her. which no one does lol. and you are completely fucking correct our beloved Leo would NEVER. Esperanza raised him WAY better than that. if someone tried to homewreck him he would legitimately laugh in their face.

aaaaaaah leo x daughter of poseidon/mermaid!reader is a personal fave of mine <3 the vibe is sinkin in by cody simpson. one thing you and Percy both inhereted from your dad is extreme levels of both sass and loyalty. Leo knows this. Annabeth knows this. everyone knows this. apparenlty everyone except some douchebag frat bro playing beer pong with his buddies when you came back from swimming. (thankfully you were gifted something from your dad that lets you keep your land legs and only switch to h2o just add water mode when you want to. it's a gorgeous pair of anklets decorated with pearls, sea glass, starfish, and sand dollars.) once you get close enough to the shore, you say the word to switch to your land legs (terr) and feel your tail, your glimmering opalescent scales dissolve into sea foam. once you break the surface and walk up the beach to Leo, you hand him all the shells and cool rocks you found. you're always giving him little trinkets like that but it makes his heart jump every time. Leo tucks them carefully into his tool belt, and kisses you on the cheek before walking away to get you something cold to drink.

frat bro sees you in you, glittering and glowing wiht the ocean behind you, and he's just... drawn in. you have a very siren like aura, so you're pretty used to this. he uses all of his weak attempts to rizz you up, but you remain painfully unimpressed the whole time. when Leo gets back, he just laughs.

"I gotta hand it to you, man," he says to the frat bro as he hands you your favorite drink, "you got good taste."

the guy is very confused, but you're both just biting back a laugh. Leo knows why this guy is even still hanging around you, it's because you were waiting for him to get back so you can watch Leo do what he does best - roast the living shit out of guys who keep trying to flirt with you in the most hilarious and creative ways possible. it's always delightful, and once he really gets going you can't help but jump in with some classic child of poseidon sass. roasting people truly is your and leo's love language.

[prodigal-sunlight]

What do u have against ai? :(

How much time do you have?

1. Generative AI is trained on the works of artists and writers without consent or compensation. It’s literally stealing from actual people. And no, it isn’t “learning like a real person” because it isn’t a real person. It’s a program that is incapable of creating anything new of its one. All generative AI is built on theft by corporations from small independent creators.

2. It uses considerably more power than most other current technology. Like, arguably it is worse for the environment than NFTs. The amount of water it wastes is absurd, the uptick in energy usage is absurd.

3. Corporations are salivating at the chance to cut creative people out of products. They don’t want to pay people for their work because they don’t respect art and artists. As long as we live under a capitalist system, people need to be able to own what they create and be able to provide for themself with their own skills.

4. The misinformation and disinformation generative AI can cause and has ALREADY caused is insane. People have had their faces and voices stolen without consent or compensation. People can generate believable deepfakes of politicians and social figures that will degrade the truth and potentially even damage our already messed up political climate. How would you feel if someone posted a realistic video of you praising a product you never bought? Or vouching for a politician you hate? Or saying you think all gay people should die?

5. This one is just personal, but I don’t care what a machine “makes.” Creativity is special to me because it lets you see the world through someone else’s eyes. Art of all kinds—writing, art, music, roleplay—is a kind of communication. I want to communicate with people, not an inanimate object mimicking what a person would be like. The joy of art comes from creation. Reducing it to only consumption is a disservice to all humankind.

Certain scientific fields have genuine uses for other kinds of AI, and I respect that. But Generative AI is built on theft and disrespect; at best its used for shallow art that someone didn’t care enough about to make themself, at worst its used for scams, disinformation, and stripping away even more of people’s rights.

I legitimately believe there is no current ethical uses for Generative AI. Will there be one day? Its possible, but I honestly find that unlikely. For now, though, if you are pro Generative AI, please unfollow me.

I may not be the most talented artist/writer out there, but I have enough self-respect that I don’t want people who see me as replaceable by machines engaging with my creative works. I put a lot of time, passion, and love into my work. Someone who sees that as equal in worth to something an algorithm spat out in five seconds is not welcome here.

[heart-shaped-noose]

Ok so you know the possible future that Meph saw? The one where Rin becomes a Demon King in two years time? That along with Mephisto always emphasizing that Rin “will/must choose a side” or whatever makes it sound like he literally does need to choose a side. Because how could Rin become a Demon King if he’s only a nephilim right now? He must have had to make a conscious choice to work towards that demonic power somehow, especially if he were to be considered a legitimate demon.

So this ties into my little theory.

Honestly I think about this moment a lot. Because “father” ? It’s an interesting choice of words, both coming from Abel and being used in reference to Mephisto. Abel is only shown in a few chapters but the whole time he’s consistently cold, distant, quick to violence and doesn’t seem so close or emotionally open with anyone. So why would he, someone who wanted to kill off Rin and Yukio for being demon spawn, call a Demon King of all people “father?”

I feel this could be because he’s literally the child of Mephisto and someone he was close enough to. Someone who he liked enough to involve their child in his life while also using to boost his own status. Because let’s face it, Mephisto is so status oriented. If he liked someone enough, he’d find a way to keep them around, and then use them and any resulting nephilim to boost his social status or credibility among the order. And what better way to establish more credibility and social status than to mentor your child, the one you had with someone you were close to, to be a literal superhuman for the order? The strongest one at that, being as powerful and established as the Paladin. The Paladin being your child would probably have some perks or shed a positive light on you.

If Abel being the child of Meph is the case, then Meph either kept Abel’s demonic heart sealed, or Abel chose to become a human. Which would be interesting since he would have chosen to be human but still acted cold and emotionally removed from others like a demon.

It also makes me wonder what kind of lady he had around? She doesn’t seem to still be in the picture by this time. Outside of old age, maybe she died in childbirth or soon after. It’s a theory I like since it brings in a sentimentality to Meph where he holds on to and cares for Abel as a remembrance of someone he loved in his own little demon way. And also since it mirrors Satan and Yuri. Plus, he’s not incredibly emotional while his possible son is crying out for his help during his last moments. I’m sure he’s had a lot of nephilim over the years but it’s still cold.

Anyway. Abel really is a mystery.

[imtryingbuck]

The Library

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC!Theo

Summary: Bucky has to marry a woman who surprises him more and more as their story goes along.

Word Count: 1,355

Warnings: nothing much other than cheating being mentioned

Masterlist   Series Masterlist

Over the next few days Bucky notices that Theo always stands off to the side, always standing with her head down and hands in front of her, he also notices that she flinches whenever he accidentally touches her or when someone raises their voice.

He and his men and women are in his office finishing up business. Now that Bucky's in charge he wants to run the business a lot better than how his father and his grandfather before him ran it, he wants to run more of a legitimate businesses. Ensuring the women who dances in his strip clubs are more protected and feel safe whilst they're at work, not like his father who didn't care about the customers getting forceful.

Bucky had even gone as far as telling the women that they weren't allowed to have sex with any of the customers on property grounds, he expected some of them to kick off but instead they all breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him as they left.

When George found out about his plans he told him he was being ridiculous and that the women were there to meet the men's needs. Bucky had never been like his father, he didn't see women as objects, he never cheated on the few girlfriends he did have, never once laid a hand on a woman. And because he wasn't like his father he kept doing what he was doing, protecting his workers and making sure they never did anything they didn't want to do.

George also called him a pushover, that wasn't the case. Bucky gained more and more respect from his workers, the women even brought more women to him from other clubs. The staff in the nightclubs all respected him more than they did George.

"Buck you need to talk to Theo, Martha said that she's creeping some of the staff out" Steve told him.

"I'll try, it's so hard when her heads always down and how is she creeping them out?"

"Because she's standing in the corner of the hallway Bucky" Natasha explains before Steve can.

"Plus you've got to try harder man" Steve now says.

"I know alright I do it's just-I don't know"

"Does Dot know that you're married?" Sam asks, practically spitting the name out.

Bucky and Dot were high school sweethearts, that was until he walked in on her naked and on top of a naked Brock Rumlow. It destroyed him, he really did love her.

And for her to sleep with the guy who she knew was his rival struck deep.

Dot became useless to Brock after Bucky broke things off, he didn't see or hear from her until seven months later when she showed up pregnant claiming it was his.

George was smart for once and told Bucky to have a paternity test done on the baby which he did, and he got his heart broken for the second time by the same woman when the test came back stating that he was not the father.

There is a reason for Sam to bring her up and saying her name in disgust was because Bucky fell back into the trap that was Dot. He would sleep with her, when the friends - more like family - found out they were pissed. He reassured them that he wasn't going back to dating her and what was between them was purely just sex, nothing more nothing less. Dot then grew bored of him and moved on to a married man, so Bucky met this nice woman and dated her for nearly a year, he was happy. That was until the wife of the man who Dot was sleeping with had found out, divorcing him and he know no longer wanted Dot. Dot came running back to Bucky who like a fool broke up with his girlfriend and started sleeping with the brunette again.

"Yeah she rang me all giddy saying she was my mistress, before I told her that I wasn't going to be seeing her anymore" Bucky told them all.

Despite not knowing Theo or have been yet to speak to her, they don't wish her to get hurt even if it's by their friend/boss.

"Good. How she take it?"

"She screamed and cried. Honestly it was painful to listen to."

"Let's get off the Dot train and talk about Theo" Nat grumbles.

"I’ll talk to her Bucky" Wanda speaks before anyone else can.

"Would you?"

"Of course" she smiles.

Wanda left the office and sure enough she sees Theo standing there in the corner. "Hi Theo" noticing your head dip lower than back up as if she was greeting her "can I show you the library? Follow me"

Going down the corridor and taking a right she leads Theo to the library, the high ceiling room was warm and cosy with large windows letting in natural light.

Shelves lined either side of the room with books from all periods and genres filling them. Indoor plants dotted around the place, some hanging and some standing tall and some small. In the middle of the room sat a mustard coloured couch with both back cushions being different colours one green the other purple, there was a multi-coloured knitted blanket folded neatly on top. A marbled square coffee table was placed in between the couch and two beanbags. On either side of the couch stood two large Kentia palm plants.

"This room was empty till I begged Bucky for me to have it, if you ever need to go somewhere and get away from us all you're more than welcome to come in here, nobody comes in unless it's me or it's important." Wanda says when she notices Theo's eyes widen and looking around.

"What kind of books do you like? I bet I'll have it, everyone always buys me books for my birthday so if I do you can borrow it" she smiles softly but when Theo's head shakes her smile fades. "You can speak Theo it's okay" she tries.

Clearing her throat "I-I can't"

"Of course you can they're mine so of course you can borrow them"

"I-I can't read" Wanda's heart cracks not only at her confession but at the sadness of her voice.

"O-oh. That's okay though I can teach you" Theo's eyes dart from Wanda to a painting that hangs up on the wall, hoping she would get the hint. Luckily she does. "Do you like painting?"

"I've never tried."

"Steve's an excellent drawer, me not so much" Wanda says "maybe if I get some paints and brushes you and I can learn together? Would that be okay?"

"I-I don't want to cause any problems"

"You wouldn't Theo. There wouldn't be any problems, this is my room and I can do whatever I want to do in here" Smiling once again, her smile widens when Theo nods. "I'll get all the supplies we'll need tomorrow. Hey pass me your hand I want to show you something"

Timidly Theo puts her hand into Wanda's as the redhead leads her over to the couch. "If you lift this up, like so, here are all my snacks. I have to hide them from everyone otherwise I won't ever get any" Her thoughts are thrown off course when she hears a laughter fall from Theo's lips, whose eyes are comically wide and staring straight at her.

"I'm so sorry" Theo stutters out.

"No no don't apologise, please don't ever apologise to me Theo”

"O-okay" Theo offers a small smile.

Bucky lightly knocks on the door to Wanda's library, when he doesn't receive a response he pushes the door slowly open and his heart does a double take.

Curled up on the couch are Theo and Wanda, a book lays open on the floor.

The peaceful look on Theo's face takes him slightly back, this is the first time he's ever seen her face clearly. Taking the knitted blanket he unfolds it and places it gently over the sleeping women.

His stands at the doorway just a little bit longer committing Theo's beautiful face to memory.

<Previous   Next>

Tags: @sapphirebarnes @bellabarnes1378 @unaxv @skulliecadaver-blog

[kaija-rayne-author]

Did Solas actually kill Felassan?

It's interesting to me that, as objectively bad as DAV is, Felassan was noticeably not in Solas's regrets.

Spoilers for all dragon age materials, games, comics, and books included.

Obligatory 'I'm not an asshole' disclaimer. Feel free to jump to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I was on media blackout while I played DAV. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Note. None of my writing on DA, but especially DAV, is edited. This is just my off the cuff writing. I don't have the time, energy, or heart to edit them properly.

So did Solas kill Felassan? If you asked probably 99% of the fandom, they'd look at you funny and say 'of course'. You can call me deluded, it's fine. I legitimately don't care. I know that most people in this Fandom love to think Solas killed Felassan. (I have my theories on why, too, but that's another post.)

But ya know what? Solas would barely even be questioned if it were a modern setting. And unless the trial were rigged, he'd never be convicted of it. Yet the Fandom just loves to crucify the character.

I mean, there's plenty of other things he's definitely done that you can hate on if you want. He's never been all that shy in admitting he's a bloody handed rebellion leader. I think if he'd actually killed his friend, it would've been one of his biggest regrets. It's not like the elf has very many FFS. And I think he would've sadly admitted it too, if anyone had asked.

So why don't I think Solas killed Felassan?

There. Is. No. Proof.

So, look. I have a background in bioanthropology and forensic chemistry. Crime scene work. I honestly think the whole thing about Solas and Felassan is a Weekes twist.

1. It doesn't make sense that Solas killed someone who was spoken of as his friend. Not someone who served him.

2. Would Solas be capable of it? Yes. He's an antihero character. As such, he's capable of killing even a romanced Lavellan if she gets in his way. That's what an antihero does, they (usually, when written with any sort of competency) have a Goal TM. The only thing that can be allowed to matter to a true anti-hero character, before the goal is complete, is The Goal. I just don't think Solas actually did it.

3. I didn't want to believe Solas had killed Felassan. (Feel free to let me know, politely, if there was incontrovertible evidence in Veilguard, cause no way in hell am I playing it again unless someone pays me. A lot. It won't really matter to me, because DAV doesn't exist and is not Canon as far as I'm concerned because of the bad writing and disrespect of the Lore.) But you can tell me if he actually admits it or is shown doing the deed somewhere. So I went searching and analyzed everything. I can't find a lick of substantial proof that Solas definitely killed Felassan.

4. But it also tickled all those old crime stuff senses I spent so long training to do. My kids think I'm hilarious to watch true crime with, because I scoff at everything authorities missed re:evidence, a lot of the time. I have a gift for it, and misogyny drove me out of STEM.

Anywaaaayyyy.

Weekes has said several times that they love to write the kind of twist that 'was right in front of you the whole time'.

I don't honestly think Solas killed Felassan. And I have actual reasons why. Other than, I didn't want my blorbo to have done that. It just doesn't make sense. I don't generally have a problem with anti-hero characters being murderous fucks in pursuit of their goal, because literarily, that's kinda part of their purpose as an archetype.

Do feel free to look all this up for yourself, I have annoted notes on it all, but the big bad happened in Masked Empire. Felassan is an interesting character, I enjoyed reading the book (3x).

Motive: Felassan didn't get the key to the Eluvians to give to whoever he served.

Actions: Felassan knew he'd be killed for disobedience. He catches a rabbit, roasts it, gives himself a last meal, considers staying awake to avoid his employer, and decides an ancient Elvhen needs more courage than a 'stripling human'.

He tosses herbs on the fire, lays down, and dreams.

He wakes in the Fade in the same wintery forest he went to sleep in. He feels his dangerous employer nearby and starts talking.

He tells employer that he didn't get the key, which is a fib, because he chose to not take the key from a young elf he mentored.

He senses his employer knows that's a lie.

He tells employer he feels the modern elves deserve a chance.

He compares Briala, his mentee, a decidedly 'defines self as woman/female elf', to employer.

Employer crunches through leaves behind him.

'He never felt the blow that killed him'.

It never, anywhere, says 'Solas killed him'.

1. Felassan's body wouldn't be dead, it would be tranquil and still asleep in the cold forest he went to sleep in. That's what happens when a spirit is killed or separated from their body in the fade. This is deeply established Lore (as is the fact that tranquility is cureable.) Solas, even on a technicality, couldn't have killed Felassan cause he's tranquil, not dead.

2. Felassan compared a decidedly female elf to his employer. Solas isn't straight for any reason but misplaced 'avoid evil bisexual trope'. He was originally written as bi, but he's definitely more on the masc side of things, gender and sex wise. (You could make a case for him to be non-binary too, that would make a lot of sense, but that's a headcanon, not proof.)

3. Wolves move silently through bracken, like dried leaves. And all throughout DAI, Solas is shown as pretty graceful and easy moving. It's not hard to walk relatively quietly, if you're abled, through dry leaves. You'd kinda have to not care to crunch through them. Or want someone to hear you coming, which is a very un-Solas like power move. "He comes in humble guises".

4. Felassan wears Mythal’s Valleslin.

So, quick side jaunt on the Vallaslin. They aren't just pretty decorations. They're not make-up. They're called 'blood writing' and heavily implied as a method of control over the branded Elvhen by the Evanuris in the Lore.

So. By wearing Mythal’s Valleslin, he's sworn to her, and likely serves her.

Mythal is also a dreamer. (Or even lives in the fade like a lot of other Evanuris did.) It's implied in the Lore, that almost all ancient Elvhen were somniari, and definitely all of the Evanuris. She's still in Flemyth at the time of the murder. Flemyth hasn't ever been very pleasant and, y'know, not murderous. If you've played through all three games, the ones that actually were good, written decently, and that mostly followed the Lore? You'd know Flemyth isn't an awesome person. Mythal is even bloody worse.

Whatever you think of Solas as a character, he doesn't outright lie except for once in DAI. During WEWH. (Obscure, obfuscate, deflect, mislead, yes! Outright lie, based on the dictionary and philosophical definition of a lie, no.) And I don't believe in the 'lie by omission' nonsense. Why everyone thinks they have the right to know every little thing about someone else immediately is beyond me.

All circumstantial evidence points toward Mythal and away from Solas. (Except people love to hate Solas, so of course, everything a decidedly not awesome ancient, uber powerful mage with a god complex does is his fault. Makes perfect sense because he's eeeeevvvvviiiillll. Ripest of Sarcasm and glares at Epler, Creative Director of DAV. )

Solas has also been shown to be someone who listens to his few friends. He listens to Inky, Varric, and Bull a few times in DAI. So it's also odd that Felassan's employer wouldn't even consider listening. That Felassan knew he'd die rather than be listened to. Felassan is Solas's friend, ergo, he'd have been likely to at least listen.

Solas is also shown as someone honourable 'I have distracted you from your duty, it won't happen again'. 'I wouldn't lay with her under false pretenses'. When you're honourable, you kill an enemy face to face, not a stab in the back. Mythal? Yeah, she missed the honourable boat by oceans.

Oh! But what about Cole's line in Tresspasser?

To be completely frank, so many of Cole's comments are 19th/20th/21st century TV, game, movie, and book references, I don't know why anyone gives his commentary any weight at all.

So, Cole's line is, "His friend had to die. Because he thought they were people. A slow arrow breaks in a sad wolf's jaws"

You could take it on face value, sure. But, you'll pardon me if I think it's silly for anything Cole says to be considered fact on face value alone.

So let's break it down, assuming (possibly incorrectly) that this comment has anything to do with Solas.

His friend had to die. Sure, I guess? But this doesn't tell us who killed him. Simply that Solas knows Felassan is dead. And again, Felassan is referred to as Solas's 'friend'. Not servitor. Not employee. Friend.

Because he thought they were people. Unless I'm mistaken, the 'real people' line is another one of Cole's, just from DAI, not Tresspasser, so we're making an even weaker case by stacking a comment of Cole's upon another comment of Cole's. Talk about confusing. Also, Real people was a tv show. Real People (TV Series 1979-1983)

It could also easily be social commentary on the dehumanization of people in... so many ways and cultures historically and even up to today.

A slow arrow is definitely a literary reference.

"THE SLOW ARROW OF BEAUTY. The noblest kind of beauty is that which does not transport us suddenly, which does not make stormy and intoxicating impressions such a kind easily arouses disgust but that which slowly filters into our minds."

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Fate's Arrow, when expected, travels slow."

Dante Alighieri

So if it’s a Dante reference, Weekes is alluding to Fate. If Nietzsche, Beauty.

Based on the fact that so many of Cole's comments are references, I'm going forward assuming 'slow arrow' to be a reference.

Beauty/Fate breaks in a sad wolf's jaws.

The veil is considered beautiful, and Solas is intent on destroying it (because in the Lore, it's actually destroying Thedas, sucking the life and magic out of it. Which would matter, John Epler, a lot! *bombastic side eye*)

It could also be a reference to Lavellan in a romanced Lavellan playthrough. Solas destroyed or rejected the beauty of love. Or even fated love, by leaving her behind.

Sad wolf is also a literary reference. Likely to one of these poems. (Given our degrees, Weekes and I probably had to take very similar classes. I originally went to uni to be an English teacher.)

"The Wolf" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Lo! the calm moon comes forth!—The sad wolf howls!

He seeks his fellow in the hungry night.

With fiery eye—how red his mouth is!—howl

The lonely wolf, for, lo!—he is not there.

So if we want to go with Tennyson, the reference could imply that Solas tried to help Felassan... which, yeah. Mythal is also a twat of epic proportions. That wouldn't have worked.

This quote feels relevant to me. "The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it’s the wolf inside who will tear you apart."

Jennifer Donnelly

Sad wolf could then be a reference to Solas's feelings. If Felassan was his friend, he'd be pretty torn apart by his death, no matter how it happened. Yet, it's still not among his regrets in DAV. Even though an entire story in Tevinter Nights is focused on his regrets surrounding his time in the Inquisition. (IIRC Felassan isn't mentioned there, either.)

From a literary perspective, this one also feels relevant.

The wolf changes his coat, but not his disposition.

Traditional proverb

Solas is many things, but he's always Solas. Why would he do something so out of character as kill a close friend? (I'll even tell you a motive for why *Solas* might’ve killed Felassan. It's well established in Solas's character that he abhors betrayal. I suppose you could technically call Felassan's support of Briala a betrayal.) Still doesn't make sense to me. Because it actually is out of character for Solas to hurt what few friends he actually has. But, enh, you could call it motive. Do NOT get me started on the ham-handed writing and the fate of Varric Tethras in DAV. Epler has already said they only had him in the game so Solas could kill him and it would make the player hate Solas more. Didn’t matter to Epler whether it was in character or not. And it's not. Solas saves Varric in the comics. Numerous times.

1. That failed. Ugh. What a shit end for Varric. An author killed by bad writing.

2. Fucking bad writing ruined DAV.

I've rambled enough. I guess my point is that I'd love it if more people would think about things they saddle heavily neurodivergently coded characters with. It's not harmless.

The very first demographic blamed for a violent crime are neurodivergent people. Usually, the first is Autistic people. (We're almost hardwired to not hurt people. We tend to be the white knight tilting at windmills type. It takes a lot to push one of us to violence.) It can be done, but to automatically assume it's an autist is ableist and harmful.

The second group blamed are the mentally ill.

Statistics don't support that either. Neurodivergent people are guilty of 3% of violent crime. All the rest of the 97% is on all you neurotypicals.

Blah, blah, recovering from pulmonary embolism, partner recovering from broken back, money is tight if you've anything to spare. www.kaijarayne.com

[lemonhemlock]

I want to discuss why Criston having sex with Alicent is different.

Sex with Rhaenyra was about her sexual pleasure. It was about scratching that itch, which Criston is not for. He has a different view of sex. The act with Alicent has passion behind it. It's about two lost souls uniting and finding comfort in each other. So no he's not a hypocrite for not wanting to have sex with Rhaenyra. There's a deep emotional bond of devotion between the two.

He's allowed to feel used by Rhaenyra but be all Take Me to Church with Alicent and her WAP.

I won't touch on other points of why they aren't hypocrites for doing the devil's tango, as there are a variety of posts that articulate that but I have yet to see someone bring this up.(if they have good for them, great minds and all). Targaryen dick riders have a fucked up way of discussing SA and consent. That's all I'm saying that. (disclaimer this is not aimed at those who enjoy the Targs for being a fucked up dynasty and find them fascinating but those who think they are gods cause there's a difference.).

Welcome back, coffee queen! ☕Hope you're enjoying the new season 🫶

Love this take and your lexical choices crack me up!! I think that, at one point, Criston was a bit of a playboy, as he does explain with his own mouth that he's had dalliances in the past, but most of my thoughts on that I've put into this post here (so as to not repeat myself). Also this addition here. But, I agree that, fundamentally, Criston has had years to develop his feelings for Alicent, whereas, during his affair with Rhaenyra, he was a young man in awe of a pretty fairy tale princess. So it would make sense why his connection to Alicent would be deeper and more meaningful by now.

Also! People are allowed to "break up" and then get with someone else!

Haters forget that he can be legitimately upset at Rhaenyra not just because she unknowingly placed his life in danger, but also because she was so callous about it. She was proposing that they have occasional hook-ups, whereas he was ready to be very serious about her. So there was this disproportionate emotional involvement in their affair where Criston was risking a whole lot for someone who didn't really care for him, while Rhaenyra wanted casual sex and risked a slap on the wrist for it.

In any case, they quarreled and parted ways. Honestly, the reason doesn't even matter as much - who hasn't broken up with a bf/gf at some point over some dumbass reason, left and never looked back?* Are they supposed to hold a candle over that past relationship forever (regardless of how "legitimate" the grievances were)? The Dance of the Dragons didn't happen because of anything Criston did to Rhaenyra in revenge, she made a lot of bad political decisions herself to compound on the succession crisis engineered by her father. He is allowed to cross over to Alicent and "support" her side if he wants to; it's not the reason Rhaenyra got into trouble.

Not to mention that, after his mental breakdown and freaking suicide attempt, he's had years to contemplate the question of what being a knight and breaking one's vows means and what he boundaries he would be comfortable crossing. The Criston who's that's that me espresso with Alicent isn't the same Criston who slept with Rhaenyra and had a crisis of faith in the aftermath. He knows what he's getting into and he actively chooses to do so, isn't just put randomly in a situation from which he can't extricate himself.

*EDIT: Not that Criston's reason was dumbass, but even if it were, he's not beholden to being sexually available to Rhaenyra forever just because they fucked one time. (I feel like you have to include disclaimers for every gosh darned thing on this website). And the fact that Rhaenyra stans don't understand the concept of consent and how much it colours one's experience is just.... 🤦‍♀️

[thetaekookcloset]

Checking In ~! (And Signing Off)

Hello, everyone!

I logged in for a few minutes today just to check in on some other blogs, and I knew some people would probably see that I've been online so I wanted to say a quick hello and thank you to everyone who's been looking for me, thinking of me, and sending in sweet comments saying that you've missed the blog -- thanks so much for thinking of me!

I thought I'd give you a few rapid-fire answers to some questions I've seen since logging on and that have been floating around, starting with why I've been gone. The honest answer is that I never intended to run this blog forever, which is why I worked so hard to make sure it was well-organized, so that it could remain as a resource even after I moved on from it. I've had a lot going on in my life for the past couple of years, including buying a house with my partner and making a new best friend (you know who you are lol love youuuu), not to mention keeping up with all the members' solo projects! For the most part, I felt that I said what I had to say, and so I've been putting my fandom energy into other areas.

That said, there have of course been developments since I've been gone, so let me address some of them briefly.

Several people seemed to want to know how I feel about Taennie these days. I feel the same as I did before. I would be pretty damn surprised if anything legitimate were to ever come out about Tae and Jennie being involved. Everything that links them together is flimsy and circumstantial at best, whereas Jennie's links to G-Dragon have remained consistent and compelling, and regardless of Taehyung's relationship with Jungkook, I feel pretty confident that he is, shall we say, not especially interested in women in that way.

As for the developments in Jikook's relationship, and more specifically in the common Jikooker narratives lately, I feel the same as I always have. I think Jungkook and Jimin are clearly good friends who are very comfortable with each other. I'm glad they have each other close by for their military service as forced conscription must be hard on anyone and those two in particular seemed less than enthusiastic about the experience. I do not, however, believe that it would be safe for them to enlist together to potentially stay in close quarters if they were in a romantic relationship, nor do I think they would be put together by the company for content like a whole duo show, complete with photobook and merchandise, if they were in a relationship.

Taekook, on the other hand, proved again and again throughout 2023 that they were seeing each other often, keeping up with one another's lives and work, and remaining as close as they always have been, as there is and always has been ample evidence to prove. A few of my favorite moments: Tae saying that Jungkook would sing him "To Find You" from Sing Street, a song about being destined to find someone despite not believing in fate, and pulling up Jungkook's cover to listen to, while Jungkook was away; Jungkook mentioning Tae unprompted, like sharing his memory of going snowboarding with Tae and his friends when asked to talk about why he chose "Ditto" for his Spotify interview and mentioning that he loves the song "Golden Hour" during a live; Tae playing "For Us" and doing a little boxing move when JK happened to be in California; Jungkook asking Taehyung "Where have you been?" when he showed up late to Inkigayo -- I could go on honestly, probably forever, so I'll make myself stop here.

That's part of the thing with this blog. I could go on and on, and I have so much that I love and want to do and say, so many other directions I want to spread that energy, so I don't plan to stick around. But I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has missed me; I genuinely didn't anticipate that, and it means a lot. I hope you're all doing well, and finding spaces for yourselves in this wild fandom we share.

TL;DR -- I'm sure the question anyone would most want me to answer is just this: Do I still believe in Taekook?

Yeah, I do. More than ever before really. I think their relationship speaks for itself, more than I ever could, for anyone willing to listen.

Borahae!

[cocogum]

Nora is being indirectly mistreated by her own family.

(And why my Noramalia obsession is slowly increasing-)

I don’t know why this happened the way it did but episodes 7 and 8 FED ME SOME GOOD NORAMALIA MOMENTS ✨✨

Also, let me just say how episode 7 ended up being the FIRST EVER recorded conversation between Amalia and Nora and it was WONDERFUL 💕💕

My girl is always the one complaining first but for once, it’s Nora who beat her to it 😭😭

I never thought I’d see the day when someone else would say their complaints out loud and it would be AMALIA OF ALL PEOPLE to try to look at the positives of the situation!

No matter how many times I keep analyzing how these two behave around each other throughout these two episodes, my heart keeps fluttering cuz I see NO FLAWS WHATSOEVER IT’S PERFECT ‼️‼️💖💖💖

Just look at how Amalia keeps being the one supporting Nora and snapping her awake from her panic attacks!

You’d usually think the ones who’d help her often with her problems would be Yugo, Qilby, and even Adamaï, her actual BROTHERS, or even her own mother but NO!!! It’s AMALIA!!!

Amalia saw how Nora looked super out of it during the battle and decided to go to her and snap her from her trance AND EVEN HELD HER SHOULDER OMG ARE U FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!?

But you’re gonna tell me: “chillax dummy, she only did that cuz it was the right thing to do. Yugo was busy supporting Adamaï and Qilby’s just being a dick.”

Oh yeah?

Well I reject ur premise.

Amalia is such a good girlfriend that she KEEPS BEING BY NORA’S SIDE EVEN AFTER SHE CALMED DOWN.

Ankama could’ve made Joris support her instead since he was free but nope! It HAD to be Amalia 💕💕

Just look at how my girl keeps holding her from behind and making sure she’s alright.

Keep in mind that Amalia has no idea what’s going on with Nora. This is the second legitimate time she sees Nora like this (since Nora also had one of those moments back in the Sadida kingdom) and Amalia does not know if her frozen state usually happens when she sees something that triggers her or if this is just something that Nora gets from time to time.

Whatever Amalia may be thinking about this, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the only one in the group who realized her peculiar case and did something to help her.

Not only is this character development for Amalia, but it also shows how she caught Nora’s odd behavior much more quickly than the others. And it only took two times for her to see it to do anything about it.

LOOK SHE’S STILL HOLDING NORA ‼️‼️‼️

Are you seeing this shit⁉️⁉️⁉️

How the hell am I the only one addressing Amalia’s care for Nora???

And Nora just lets her!

Even after her little panic attack ended, she still lets Amalia touch her back for support!

This is honestly such a cute detail and I love how the small noramalia moments are treated like this 💖

When you really think about it, the relationship could work, especially for Nora’s part.

Nora’s family is especially messy and chaotic. Her mother is too traumatized by the necromes to do anything about her situation or even ask her how she’s feeling. She didn’t even have an alone talk with Nora to properly talk about how she was feeling. I bet that even when Nora had managed to save the Eliatrope goddess and got to be alone for some time, not even once did the Eliatrope goddess ask her anything cuz Nora was too busy consolidating her mother while internally freaking out for her brother.

Yugo and Qilby are just fighting with each other while Adamaï stays on the sidelines and doesn’t try to get closer to his mother, preferring to put some distance between him and her.

So who’s left to talk about her troubles or to let out her frustrations and misery?

Amalia.

The only person who attempted to help and noticed she had something off.

The only person who, despite not being family or even a divinity, attempted to do anything about her case.

The only person who stayed next to her and placed her hand behind her back even when she stopped freaking out.

Amalia would be a good person Nora could choose to go to for her problems.

It’s clear to see Nora had no room to breathe or place herself first at any moment that we got to see her. Her mother and her brothers are taking too much space and they don’t seem to realize how much she’s got to lose despite the evidence plastered right in front of their faces. Even when Nora explains to them how she managed to find their mother and how Efrim had to sacrifice himself in the process, she gets absolutely no words of consolidation from her brothers or her mother.

Instead, she just gets looks of sympathy from Yugo and Adamaï but it’s clear that they don’t seem to be sad about Nora being stuck in her dofus but rather because she lost her brother. For a primordial eliatrope to understand that their dofus won’t hatch because their sibling got infected means that they’re aware they can predict their time of “death”, ending their continuous cycle and rebirth that was supposed to last for eternity. Since the eliatrope council cannot die and constantly come back to life, this could technically be considered their actual death.

Upon knowing that Nora knows this however, the Eliatrope goddess simply says :

What kind of answer is that?!

Her mother is basically implying that there’s no hope for Nora but at the same time is saying that she loves her??

She does realize that her words feel empty now that she told her she couldn’t let that happen again right?? She’s basically indirectly saying that Nora is a lost cause.

It's clear to see that Nora has much more to lose than her other family members.

She’s the only one who lost her brother for good and will likely not get reborn in her next life with him because she’ll be stuck in her dofus forever. To be able to get reborn over and over again but not be able to anymore because your brother froze the cycle is a fate worse than death. She’s the only one who’s hiding her sadness and pain to give space for her mother because she thinks her problems are way less important than what’s currently going on. She’s the only one having panic attacks and thinks she’s seeing her brother everywhere. She’s the only suspect who is likely the reason why the portal to the necrome world is even there and is very likely the sick eliatrope.

So to have Amalia do this small and kind gesture for Nora made my heart warm up at the fact that she IS worried for her and is still holding her up after she had her little struggle.

Their relationship doesn’t even need to be romantic. Just as long as I get to see Amalia be by Nora’s side for anything, I’d be happy.

Cuz to be real with you, I’m starting to get annoyed that her family doesn’t seem to understand the level of severity of Nora’s case.

If Amalia noticed Nora was having a panic attack, then she could notice her struggles hidden inside her if Nora confided in her. (this also means her family should be able to clearly see it but since they’re not doing anything about it, they shouldn’t be an option for Nora to go to).

And that’s what I would like to see.

A moment like this where Nora can properly rely on someone who isn’t her family.

But for a romantic relationship, I can definitely see it too lol

Amalia’s usually the one speaking her thoughts so shamelessly but Nora might as well take her place and be a boss ass bitch while Amalia’s the more caring side and supports Nora and hears her troubles.

That can be a good dynamic to see. We only saw a glimpse of it when Nora was complaining about the rulers of the world. So it’d be nice to see these two talking to each other again like this.

[abrthephantomq]

Soooo....

Turnabout Storyteller.

I had already vaguely known about Uendo having DID due to me not necessarily avoiding spoilers when reading fanfic, but...

I have so many thoughts on this as someone who HAS the disorder they're representing here.

Like, one, I definitely appreciated the way they revealed it -- during a Mood Matrix session. Having multiple sets of feelings and having them switch on and off like that is def a thing. I've/we've experienced that before.

But also -- before that, when Uendo was switching between his "characters" and everyone thought he was just putting on a performance? Yeah, see. They did that really well considering that like -- yes, the way alters hold the body/the face can be really different. They certainly felt like different people, which was really cool to see. I liked the different poses they had because as I played I was like, "Huh... is he the character with DID...? He is, right?"

The thing is, I'm like 80% certain that Uendo is the murderer, and THAT annoys me -- but I'm not done playing through the case, yet. I just started the second half of the trial, so.... I'll comment as I go.

But if I'm right and Uendo IS the murderer, I'm gonna have to roll my eyes because soooo many pieces of media use my disorder to show HEY SOMEONE WITH THIS COULD BE A KILLER AND NOT KNOWWWWW and I hate that. Because like.... no.

OH THANK GOD. Like 3 seconds into the send half of the trial and it's NOT Uendo. Yay. Yayyyyy. I'm actually really glad they did that subversion of the person-with-DID-is-the-killer trope. Thank fucking GOD.

SIMON GRABBING ATHENA when she starts to doubt she can prove Bucky's innocence is just -- fuck. Okay. Yeah, I see why the fandom loves that particular moment. (I love Simon so much omfg).

I am honestly loving this case and I actually really like the way they've presented Uendo -- it's simplified a bit for the sake of the audience, but at the same time, switching DO be like that. And you can certainly be co-conscious and share memory.

Like.... that's legitimately how our System works -- there's usually 2-3 of us up front at any given time, with someone generally more forward, while the other(s) listens / watches. Sometimes others push to the front. And there are 4 of us who more or less have access to the continual life happenings even if we don't always recollect specific details (or what we were feeling) later.

Also Owen being a LITTLE makes so much damn sense? Fuck, idk man, I love it. I kinda adore them.

I really really really got weary when Uendo's diagnosis was revealed because, y'know, the whole oh God pls tell me you're not the murderer even if it was kinda looking like you were.

That fucking balloon girl did it, didn't she? Jesus fucking Christ. I love that, but I also hate that. Also it's so unfair they made this chick so goddamned pretty.

Also man can I also say just how like.... they legitimately refer to Owen as a child, and Kisegawa with Ms., and -- that's actually a nice little piece of the writing here. Like... is it absolutely perfect? No. It's not. But let me tell you -- as someone with this disorder? Writing it and showing it for an audience is hard.

That whole, "everyone is unique" thing applies here -- every System is different. They all develop ways of functioning in order to blend in and protect themselves. Uendo may not have the denial bit that comes with this disorder (do you know how many times I find myself asking if I'm sure I'm not faking this thing? do you??? because like, it's a "rare" disorder, right? and was my trauma REALLY bad enough for me to have alters???? etc) -- but considering the confident way he, Patches, and Kisegawa speak about their experience with the disorder, I would imagine they've been in therapy for it for a while, now.

But also -- the three of them not being aware of Owen? Or denying his existence, at least? Well, they were either protecting him because he's so young, or they legitimately did not know since apparently he may only come forward when the body is drunk.

idk I love that Uendo et al was not the killer. Like so much. Thank FUCK.

Also that was a really fun case even if it was like, not entirely relevant to the overall story happening here in SOJ. I definitely enjoyed it.

[grahamcarmen]

I feel like one the most underrated aspects of the entire train thing is that Carmen doesn't give a shit that gray could have killed someone during their time away, when it is literally the reason she left VILE and is just like " join my side, be with meee", then in the opera episode she's like "gray would never hurt me by his own free will, he had to do it for VILE, he gets a pass", she wouldn't say this for anyone else, she's hypocritical and I love her for it, she's not wrong.

Also player must have been thinking through the entire date thing and thinking Carmen needs to get better standards for dating.

Ok you say that and all I can think is shadowsan after he's given her the " we are on the same side, always have been", band aided her wounded pride over the dollar, and got her out of a sticky situation again in the s2 opening, and obviously has carmens excitement that he could be on the same side, she gives such a hard

>:( hmpf!! If you're gonna steal go back to VILE !!!!!!

And chief who did kill her father is someone carmen does go. " Well her on my side wouldn't be so bad" but she still controls all the terms on how they're gonna reunite or work together every time and just refuses to after the initial revelation

She makes them explain themselves and only softens when she finds their answers finally sound

....

...gray hasn't done anything to say hes on her side yet on the train. Hes still an enemy and he gets a pass back if he accepts AND LIKE YOU SAID HE HAS SPENT THE TIME NOT WITH HER DOING SOME VILE* THINGS. And she legitimately still said. My side.

[It's really crappy that you think that's ok but come here. And literally all water under the bridge]

Like mindblowing is carmen lays down her strict moral code and revealing that Gray is her wiggle room exception for affection

He may have tried to kill her but she's literally rolling her eyes and telling player

" you don't have all the facts" " on direct orders from VILE 😗" anfndmmdmdk and it just so AGDJDKNDNFJFJ????

She knows is always one reason I'm sooooooo about them. She doesn't not know

She just really wants him back, or him with a good future, or VILE to keep their grubby mitts off him

She will leave him but it actually takes a little more than the initial betrayal for her to accept that she has to move on for now (FOR NOW ...👀)

Player was literally getting all exasperated when carmen lets gray come back into the conversation

CRACKLE AGAIN?

You're playing with a live wire! svdjjdkdkkdkd amazing

And prioritizing HIS SAFETY

wat why- player flabbergasted (and its so delightful to watch)

Literally he's listening to his best friend make as many excuses as she can to say 1 coffee ☆ with gray 🙏he hasn't harmed a fly in 24 hours

And like the actual date he really might have been like :)....Carmen this isn't normal actually but you seem relieved that he's safe so ig

Sbdnkdkdkdkd PLAYER IS YOUNGER THAN HER AND LISTENING TO THIS!!!

AND THE HIMALAYAS HE'S SAYING BACK TO ENEMIES AND SHE'S like?

What about love and change and hope and peace huh ✌️😃

😮‍💨...fine...we're enemies again put em up

LIKE HELLO? no she is not doing the

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 for just anyone who wasn't gray after all that drama

+ on what you said...the train thing that implies she forgiving him for a lot of unsaid crimes is there too

[AND SHES STILL SAD HES NOT THERE WITH HER AFTER THE DRAMATIC BLOWOUT]

And she's also not wrong shdnkdkdkdk

Hes squishy and buried deep is the fact that he did not like doing that. Very pointedly his only regret. And would honestly make a great addition to people who love her- i mean help her team red...and love her!!!

He just needs to step up

(She wants to believe in you crackleboy ☆)

...and he does ♡

It truly is a sight to behold carmen lalala-ing her way over to claim Gray like it's nothing... like sincerely ☆