#i chose the one with no parallels and no canon hints

[fluffykitteninabox]

The best poly ship:

[matan4il]

Buddie 617 meta

I’m gonna be honest here, this was one of the funniest 911 eps to me. I loved how this ep showed us both Buck and Eddie completely sucking at dating. It was very obvious in Buck’s case, what with each attempt to have quality time with Natalia being ruined by one of his past decisions, but then when he called out Eddie for also sucking at it, Buck wasn’t wrong. Eddie’s attempts seem half-hearted at best. First off, if he really wanted to date, then Tia Pepa’s help and dating apps are actually not that awful as options. Magic might happen there as well. The right person could even stand out more against a sea of not so great choices, turning the dreary experience into a colorful, magical one. But even when Eddie tries on his own, his attempts are LAME. Seriously, there are pastime activities that offer way more potential to start a conversation, and maybe a romance, than the ones Eddie chose. Not only that, these are not his actual hobbies, where he knows he’ll find someone who likes the same thing he does (the way he shares so much with one tall firefighter that we’re all thinking of right now. Eddie’s also being dumb about wanting it to “just happen” as if that’s not exactly what he got with buck. Also, just a friendly reminder that Buddie have been dating for almost 5 years, and they are GREAT at it when it’s with each other).

On top of that, we for real got a guy checking Eddie out (hi, hello, should I start a collection of him checking and being checked out by guys?) as well as him witnessing a woman he was looking at being embraced by another one. Why the hints at being surrounded by queer people? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m here for it no matter what. ;D Now, I’ve talked before about the ongoing theme of Buddie’s dating life being intertwined in terms of when they start dating someone, or of why they break up, but now in addition to them dating at the same time, we also see them simultaneously sucking at it? Yeah, that takes the connectedness of their dating life up a notch. ~~

Which brings me to one line that grabbed my attention in this ep. THE line that offers the explicit resolution for the most important romantic plot here is the one from Gina, the insurance lady, to Chimney, about not regretting the attempt. Yes, even when the result is bad. That’s what Madney will embrace. One of the biggest obstacles to Buck and Eddie, besides their obliviousness, is the fear of ruining the good thing they have by attempting to take it to the next level. But here we have Chimney being reminded by Gina that it’s worth it, to try. Because the good thing you can have, if it works out? Is worth it. And you never have to live with the “what if” of it all. Now look at Buck and Eddie being once more adorable morons together on the job! Imagine the moment when they stop running around and let themselves try taking it to the next level, because they realize no matter what the result will be, they would never regret the attempt. ~~

Speaking of Buddie paralleling one of the canon couples on the show who were acting lovey dovey in this ep, the way Bobby described what made him and Athena happen reminded me of Buddie connecting. In both cases, there’s an intense and upsetting call, after which one of our first responders turns to find support (Buddie promising to have each other’s back) and comfort (Eddie wants to go grab something to eat together) in the other one. ~~

I did not miss Taylor Kelly, and true to form, she was back because she’s advancing her career by exploiting her personal connection to Buck and the exposure to the 118 it provided her. I’m pretty sure this basically buries any option of any showrunner ever trying to re-set these two as a romance, since it echoed and reinforced Buck’s decision to break up with her. It WAS funny to see her and Lucy cockblock Buck (I do think Lucy’s tone with which she spoke of their past also closes the door on anyone ever trying to set her and Buck up as a serious couple), but what I found to be funniest is that Buck tells Natalia he was trying to figure out the perfect place for their date, and then he took her to the bar where he kissed Lucy. A bar reminiscent of the one where he hooked up with Taylor. Possibly a spot where he hooked with other women during his Buck 1.0 stage based on how it’s THE hang out place for the 118 and we know Buck had no issues hooking up anywhere back then. Natalia, hon. This is not a good sign for your r/s with him. ~~

Speaking of which, there’s an ex who didn’t come back in this ep, but her spirit loomed large over Buck and Natalia IMO, and that is Ali. The reason why she and Buck broke up after 218 is because at the end of the day, she couldn’t accept the choices he had made in his professional life (hoping he would move on from firefighting). In the same way, Natalia revealed in this ep that she can’t accept Buck’s choices in his personal life. A small reminder the only partner we’ve ever witnessed truly seeing and accepting Buck, in every aspect of his life, has been Eddie. ~~

Another funny thing about this (911 is a comedy, y’all) is how Natalia flees the second she comes across Kameron. I mean, this is in addition to the hilarity of the death doula’s first name connecting her to birth and to all things natal, yet she flees the second that she sees a pregnant lady. Because if this is Natalia’s reaction when it comes to a bio kid that Buck explicitly said he is not going to raise, what would she do once she realizes he co-parents a fully grown kid? (and a very sassy one, too. LBR, Natalia doesn’t stand a chance in a show down with either Diaz boy) ~~

Much like Natalia doesn’t seem like the right fit for Buck based on this ep (or based on 616), neither does Marisol. Can I point out the fact that Eddie’s disapproval in the last ep of Buck dating Natalia applies here, too? They both met these women on calls. Second, Eddie wanted it to happen naturally, which is why it’s so lame he tried through all sorts of activities that he’s not ACTUALLY into and wouldn’t continue doing past the initial stage of meeting someone else. And that holds true for Marisol as well. We saw that her brother and her are very into DYI, which I guess was meant to lay the groundwork for Eddie running into her in a DYI shop. But the thing is, Eddie himself isn’t into this! Sure, he can do it, because as a single dad he’s had to, but it’s not something we’ve ever seen him being passionate about. He’s only at this store because of Christopher’s project. And then once more, just like he steps away from Pepa’s help, dating apps and chooses the wost places for a chance romantic connection, he walks away from Marisol even when the whole scene plays out as if she’s the climax of his search throughout this whole ep. This might all hint that despite initial appearances, just like the people he came across while golfing and hiking wouldn’t be the right fit, Marisol wouldn’t be either. Even more importantly, just like Ana at first appeared like she would be perfect for Eddie in 312, starting out in a “it just happened” sort of way and with supposedly being fated because she happened to guess correctly that Eddie stands for Edmundo, this thing with Marisol might look in the moment like it’s exactly what he was looking for, but it will fizzle out as well.

~~ (my weekly meta posts) (my Buddie gifs) (all of my content)

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~~ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the incredible @whosoldherout​​, there are no words to describe how much I love your gifs and appreciate you!

~~ Thank you to anyone supporting these meta posts. I could never express enough how grateful I am and that they continue to exist thanks to you!

[jade0716]

Manon and Dorian are Mates: A Thesis

Now that we have more info on mates from CC, and with the speculation that the novel after the next acotar is a TOG one, I wanted to make a master post with all the evidence that I compiled that Manon and Dorian are mates. I even added dissenting opinions for the potential ones that could have other explanations because why not be thorough and impartial. AND I highlighted the ones in red that I felt like are absolutely evidence of mateness.

Here's hoping Sarah was dropping hints for a manorian spin off!!

TOG: 

I. Pg. 8 “On his black doublet, an emblazoned gold rendering a wyvern occupied the entirety of the chest. His red cloak fell gracefully around him and his throne”. 

the Adarlan colors being red (and gold) and the symbol being a Wyvern. This may be coincidence since in the beginning SJM was planning a Celeana/Dorian end game but I think SJM chose to make the Crochan capes red to parallel the first time we see Dorian in TOG . Manon then bonding with Abraxos who is a wyvern is the icing on the cake.).

Also keep in mind the Adarlan colors are crimson and gold. The Crochan color is red (crimsons is a shade of red) and manon is canonically known for her gold eyes. She radiates Adarlan’s colors.

Bonus: Dorian’s favorite color is white re Kaltain in TOG and she has white hair and alabaster skin. Not really mate evidence but definitely soulmate evidence.

Dissenting Opinion: The red cape was just a coincidence and red feels like the obvious color for witches given it is the color of blood. And the King of Adarlan/Erawan chose to breed wyverns because it was the symbol of house Havilliard.

QoS:

I. I know that the Valg eyes are why Manon was able to scare the Valg prince away in Dorian and pull him out of the possession. What interests me is:

Pg. 420, Roland was only able to regain control for a second after speaking to Manon before the demon took back over. I’m not going to quote this cause it’s the whole scene but go reread if you want. Dorian is able to beat the demon down and essentially say screw off while talking to Manon. Is it possible Dorian was able to regain control for a longer period of time because of a bond with Manon?

Pg. 463 “step away, get away. The demon prince inside him yanked so hard he took a step. But not away. Toward the white-haired witch”. Are we sure it’s the demon that was yanking him?? Especially since he was yanked towards her instead of away from her even though the demon wanted him away???

her name continued to ring in his head even after the demon took back over:

Pg. 469 “the words soon faded, swallowed up by screaming and blood and the demon’s cold fingers running over his mind. But those eyes lingered- and that name. Manon. Manon”

Pg. 518 “he could not remember a time when the demon had not been there inside of him. And yet- Manon.”

Is this a classic SJM easter egg similar to how we thought the bargain between Rhys and Feyre was the reason for the pull between them? Could she be trying to mislead the reader?

Dissenting Opinion: Manon's valg eyes and his want to be killed is why he remembers her name. He regained control longer because Dorian is stronger willed than Rolland.

II. Pg. 463, Dorian seeing Manon for the first time: “He’d never seen anyone so beautiful”. 

Sarah uses the “most beautiful person ever seen” repeatedly for her mated couples when they first meet. This could be writing style but it seems like a pattern in how she writes her mates meeting. I read ACOTAR and CC before TOG and when I read this line I was like yep they are mates seen this before.

Pg. 188 ACOTAR “standing before me was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen” - Feyre when seeing Rhysand for the first time 

Pg. 536 ACOMAF “you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I thought it from the first moment I saw you on Calanmai” Rhys about seeing Feyre the first time

In ACOWAR Lucien about Elain “she was the most beautiful female he had ever seen”.

Pg. 346 HOSAB “Ruhn found himself staring at the most beautiful female he’d ever seen” Ruhn seeing Lidia the first time.

Dissenting Opinion: Manon is canonically one of the most beautiful females in the world, especially because she is a witch designed to attract men.

III. pg. 492 “She stepped closer to the prince’s horse. ‘Dorian’… Sapphire eyes snapped to hers”..he remembered his name when she said it without looking into her Valg eyes. interesting.

IV. pg. 511 “Manon couldn’t tell why that thread kept yanking, why it felt so urgent, but she pushed them hard, all the way to Rifthold”. A thread is pulling her urgently towards Rifthold to save Dorian. Using the terms thread and Manon not knowing why it feels so important is so incredibly mate for shadowing.

Pg. 184 ACOTAR “go, a voice said, tugging at me. Go see.”

Pg. 412 ACOTAR “I was pulled from sleep by something tugging at my middle, a thread deep inside”. A THREAD.

Dissenting Opinion: Sarah does multiple times in TOG reference a tug pulling her main heroines to do things so this could just be the gods/fates pulling the thread.

V. pg. 640 “Dorian didn’t know what awoke him”. Some force awakens Dorian, he then goes out to his balcony and sees Manon outside.

Similar to Feyre being pulled to Rhys, Pg. 412 ACOTAR “I was pulled from sleep by something tugging at my middle, a thread deep inside"

Pg. 640 Manon says “she didn’t know why she’d bothered to go; why she’d been curious”. Manon Blackbeak, maneating witch, for no apparent reason, decides to go check up on a human man. Need I see more?

And again, her name echoes in his head (pg. 641) “through the darkness of his memories, through the pain and despair and terror he tried to forget, a name echoed in his head”. 

EOS:

I. Manon saving Dorian from the yellow legs (duh). She says her “instincts took over her” when she saw someone “taking her kill” ... then proceeds to rescue said kill. 

Pg. 44: “I have no doubt the Yellowlegs will try to claim his head. Stop any one of them who dares take it.”

Pg. 84: “And when Manon had spied that Yellowlegs sentinel perched inside the tower, readying to claim this kill for herself... a century of training and instinct had barreled into Manon. All it had taken was one swipe of Wind-Cleaver as Abraxos flew by, and Iskra's sentinel was dead.” WHAT INSTINCT? THE INSTINCT TO CLAIM YOUR KILL? Cause you actually rescued him afterwards not killed him sweetheart.

Clearly it wasn’t to claim the kill for herself. So what was it? Instinct? Helping the witches? She didn’t know of Dorian’s magic at this time, so how would saving Dorian help the witches? Seems like the instinct was from something else.

Pg. 85: “Some ancient, predatory part of her awoke at the half smile. It sat up, cocking its ears toward him”. Ancient and predatory? Mates.

II. The one million times Dorian protects her even though she starts off on Erawan’s side and he has no reason to be so protective:

Pg. 87: “Manon crashed to her knees. The king was instantly at her side, studying her for a heartbeat before he roared down the stairs, “NO!”” 

Pg. 369: ““No.” The word ripped from Dorian’s lips before he could think. But then it came out, over and over, as the wyvern and rider sailed closer to the ship. The witch was unconscious, her body leaning to the side because she was not awake, because that was blue blood all over her. Don’t shoot; don’t shoot— Dorian was roaring the order as he hurtled for where Fenrys had drawn his longbow, a black-tipped arrow aimed at the witch’s exposed neck. His words were swallowed by the shouting of the sailors and their captain. Dorian’s magic swelled as he unsheathed Damaris— “. This lowkey makes me chuckle like what is he gonna do with Damaris against a bunch of fae warriors lol.

Pg. 395: “Dorian didn’t feel like mentioning that he’d been the one who’d jumped into the water. He’d just … acted, as Manon had acted when she’d saved him in his tower. He owed her nothing less”.

Pg. 438: “Ice danced at Dorian’s fingertips as he slid beside Manon, still chained by the bed” when the bloodhound shows up on the ship.

Pg. 574: "That hunger shifted into something icy and vicious: 'You once asked me where I stand on the line between killing to protect and killing for pleasure'. His fingers grazed the seam of the scar across her abdomen. 'I'll stand on the other side of the line when I find your grandmother". Earlier in EOS Manon asks him why he didn’t make the bloodhound suffer, that there is a line even when it comes to their enemies. Apparently not when someone harms Manon.

III. Dorian’s magic reacting every time she is in danger or threatened:

Pg. 369: “His magic felt it before he did. A sense of awareness, of warning and awakening” when she comes in injured on Abraxos.

Pg. 369: “His words were swallowed by the shouting of the sailors and their captain. Dorian’s magic swelled as he unsheathed Damaris—“

Pg. 396: “Manon’s voice was flat and cold as death. “Tell Aelin Galathynius not to bother using me for negotiations. The Blackbeak Matron will not acknowledge me, either as heir or witch, and all you will get out of it is revealing your precise location.” His magic flickered. “What happened after Rifthold?”

Pg. 438: “Ice danced at Dorian’s fingertips as he slid beside Manon, still chained by the bed” when the bloodhound shows up on the ship.

Pg. 441: “Manon froze entirely. And didn’t particularly care as the Bloodhound lunged for her throat, teeth bared. It was not flame or wind that snapped the Bloodhound’s neck. But invisible hands. The crunch echoed through the room, and Manon whirled on Dorian Havilliard. His sapphire eyes were utterly merciless.”.

Pg. 457 ““If you were me,” Aelin murmured in a tone that had Dorian’s magic rising, ice cooling his fingertips. Aedion’s hand slid to his sword. “If you were me.” His magic flickering when Aelin RAISES HER VOICE at Manon (like come on this is mates shit).

Pg. 498-499: “ "As far as I recall,” Dorian went on with a sly grin, “you two—” The attack happened so fast that Aelin didn’t sense or see it until it was over. One moment, Manon was seated at the edge of the fire, the marshes a dark sprawl behind her. The next, scales and flashing white teeth were snapping for her, erupting from the brush on the bank. And then—stillness and silence as the enormous marsh beast froze in place. Halted by invisible hands—strong ones.” The fact that Dorian was mid sentence, not paying attention, and doesn’t even move a finger to protect her.

Even Aelin comments on it, Pg. 499: “But Dorian’s magic held the beast still, frozen with no ice to be seen. The same power as the one he’d wielded against the Bloodhound. Aelin surveyed him for any tether, any gleaming thread of power, and found none. He hadn’t even lifted a hand to direct it. Interesting.” IT IS INTERESTING AELIN. I also find it interesting that Aelin says the same power he wielded against the bloodhound, which was also to protect Manon. Granted I know Aelin is observing him bc his raw magic is so different from other forms of magic, but I still think it’s interesting that Sarah had Aelin comment on how he didn’t even react or move and his magic protected her.

Dorian about his magic sensing Rowan and Aelin’s bond, pg. 131, “His magic had felt the bond between Aelin and Rowan—the bond that went deeper than blood, than their magic, and he’d assumed it was just that they were mates, and hadn’t announced it to anyone.” Obviously later we find out it was because Aelin and Rowan were mates. So his magic canonically can sense a mating bond.

Also Rowan on Pg. 357 “I wanted to chuck you off a cliff, yet I bit you before I knew what I was doing. I think my body knew, my magic knew." His magic knew when he tasted her they were mates. Similar to how Dorian's magic has been acting? Like it knows something he doesn't?

VI. Pg. 575 “Manon thought the king tasted like the sea, like a winter morning, something so foreign and yet familiar it at last dragged that moan from deep in her.” The so foreign yet so familiar is so mate coded. Especially bc...

in HOF the Wastes are described as having winter mountains and near the western sea

Pg. 71: “To take our host to reclaim the Wastes from the mortal pigs who now dwell there." A fierce, wild thrill pierced Manon's chest, sharp as a knife. Following the Matron's gaze, Manon looked to the horizon, where the mountains were still blanketed with winter.”

Pg. 68: “Manon herself had never set foot in the former Witch Kingdom, had never seen the ruins or the flat, green expanse that stretched to the western sea.”

So it makes sense that the Wastes would smell of winter morning and the sea. They also call the wastes the “Frozen Wastes”, further implying a wintery sent.

VII. Pg. 577 “ Wondered what he’d say if she told him she’d wanted to sink her teeth into his neck and find out what he tasted like”.

Rowan on Pg. 357 “I wanted to chuck you off a cliff, yet I bit you before I knew what I was doing. I think my body knew, my magic knew. And you tasted …” Rowan loosed a jagged breath. “So good…” 

Manon in HOF Pg. 33: “The common, watery taste of the man, laced with violence and fear, coated her tongue, and she spat onto the wooden floorboards.”

Manon in QoS Pg. 463 “I’ve been with plenty of men. You’re all the same. Taste the same”. 

Manon has not shown to be particularly interested or intrigued by the blood of men aside from just to hunt and feed until Dorian. We also have Rowan describing how good Aelin tasted when he bit her and how he thinks "his magic knew". Is her attraction to Dorian’s blood because of this similar mating bond logic?

Dissenting Opinion: She just wants to taste Dorian's blood because she's attracted to him and so his blood is more enticing to her. She does say that the blood of the men at the Ferrian Gap distracts her in HOF, so obviously she sometimes does crave man blood.

KOA:

I. Again, we see Dorian’s magic reacting to her in a way instinctually

Cyrene attacks, pg. 78 “As Manon whirled, Dorian’s magic surged, already lashing at the unforeseen foe”

Pg. 130: “Despite who walked ahead of them, behind them, Manon smiled slightly. He surprised her further by saying,"I've been tunneling into my power since they appeared. One wrong move from them, and I'll blast them into nothing." This is so touch her and you die vibes I love it. This isn’t his magic acting instinctively I just wanted to include as another instance of him being protective of her using his magic.

Pg. 227: “ “I care.” His temper rose to meet hers. And he decided to hell with it—decided to let go of that leash he’d put on himself. Let go of that restraint. “I care about more than I should. I even care about you.” 

Same scene: Pg. 228: “Dorian smiled slightly, and fell asleep once more, letting his magic warm them both. When they awoke, something sharp in his chest had dulled—just a fraction…Where that edge had dulled in his chest, his magic now flowed freer. As if it, too, had been freed from those inner restraints he’d loosened slightly last night. What he’d opened up, revealed to her. A sort of freedom, that letting go."

This is right after he says he’s been trying with Vesta for days to get his eyes to change color and it hasn’t worked but one time with Manon and she warms his heart enough to let his magic go free.

Pg. 143, Dorian goes to Cyrene to learn how she shifts…

“Is that what you do to summon the change: first think of what you want to become?” “With limits. I need a clear image within my mind, or else it will not work at all.”

Followed by Pg. 286 when Dorian is trying to shift… “Who do you wish to be? “Someone worthy of my friends,” he said into the quiet night. “A king worthy of his kingdom.” For a heartbeat, snow-white hair and golden eyes flashed into his mind. “Happy,” he whispered, and wrapped a hand around Damaris’s hilt. Let go of that lingering scrap of terror. The ancient sword warmed in his hand, a friendly and swift heat. It flowed up through his fingers, his wrist. To that place within him where all those truths had dwelled, where it became warmth edged with sharpest pain. And then the world grew… He made to touch his face, but found he had no hands. Only soot-black wings. Only an ebony beak that allowed no words past it. A raven.” In this scene Dorian thinks of Manon, which makes him think of happiness and very similar to the scene where she made his magic flow before, his magic begins to flow through him and he shifts, for the second time due to Manon warming his heart, into not just a bird, but a black beaked bird. I repeat, BLACKBEAK bird. It’s safe to assume this is because he pictured Manon, and as the spider said you have to have the picture in your head when you will the shift for it to happen. The image he had in his mind was Manon. This one I honestly think is crazy and such strong evidence of mateism , especially bc it happened TWICE in this book.

Manon fighting the Matrons, pg. 474 “Dorian’s magic writhed, seeking a way out, to stop this.”

When Maeve glamours as Manon to seduce Erawan, Pg. 639: “icy rage, pure and undiluted tore through Dorian as Manon stood before the Valg king.. Dorian focused upon his breathing, on the stones beneath him, anything to keep his magic from erupting at the desire on Erawan’s face” (also important bc when she glamoured as Aelin his magic didn’t do this!!!)

II. Pg. 225 ““Which do you like the best?”… “I like the ice best,” Dorian admitted at last, realizing he’d let the silence drip on. “It was the first element that came out of me—I don’t know why.” I know why!!

HOF pg. 230 “If Manon was ice and Asterin was fire, then Sorrel was rock.”

QOS pg. 68 “Asterin had always been that way—and that wildness was exactly why Manon had chosen her as her Second a century ago. The flame to Sorrel’s stone … and to Manon’s ice.”

III. Dorian refers to Manon as his equal, pg. 536 “she would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, his mirror in so many ways”.

SJM is very consistent about mates being equals and being mirrors of each.

Quote from Tampon in ACOTAR: “High Fae mostly marry,' he said, his golden skin flushing a bit. 'But if they’re blessed, they’ll find their mate—their equal, their match in every way.” This is almost verbatim what Dorian said about Manon. Also want to note that ACOTAR (2015) ,where the idea that mates are equals really starting being engrained in the reader, came out 3 years prior to KOA (2018). Sarah was writing the ACOTAR trilogy concurrent with the later half of TOG. So for her to have Dorian use those words to describe Manon, she had to have known what she was doing. When KOA was released there were already three acotar books out that beat this idea into our head so i can’t believe this is a coincidence. I think Sarah would notice how that phrasing sounds exactly like how she describes mates considering how important the bond is in her books.

Feyre to the Suriel: “How can I possibly be his mate?' Mates were equals- matched, at least in some ways. '

Rowan about discovering Aelin is his mate pg. 678 EOS "His equal. His friend. His lover. His Wife. His mate."

Dissenting Opinion: This is just SJM's writing style, and I’ve also noticed SJM reusing some phrases for her couples across the series *ehem* nessian and sartaq/nesryn “I wish we had time”

IV. Also in this scene Dorian talks about wanting to “claim her” as his wife/queen... Pg. 538 “the temptation that his every instinct roared to claim. Not the body, but what she had offered…” This could just be SJM writing style (fair argument), but nevertheless "his every instinct to claim" is VERY matey especially with the instinct part and because "the claiming" is a thing. Some examples:

HOF Pg. 158: “the bite so strong and claiming that she was too stunned to move”

EOS Pg. 352: “You are mine,” Rowan breathed, and she felt the claiming in her bones, her soul.

EOS Pg. 422: “A claiming, mighty and true, that she understood he so desperately needed.”

Dissenting Opinion: This is just SJM's writing style. Just because the word claim is used doesn't mean they are mates.

V. Manon screaming his name when he almost dies pg. 133 "Manon bellowed his name, and Crochan arrows fired... Manon screamed his name again, but he couldn't move... Then there were iron-tipped hands gripping his shoulders, and gold eyes glaring into his own".

This reminds me of in HOF when Manon shoots Rowan with an arrow and Aelin screams his name

Pg. 477 QoS... "Aelin's scream echoed down the Ravine" when Rowan is shot.

Pg. 655 EOS Aelin admits to Maeve she knew Rowan was her mate, "The moment the arrow when through his shoulder. Months ago"

This is also parallelled by Dorian screaming for Manon when she is in danger in EOS:

Pg. 87: “Manon crashed to her knees. The king was instantly at her side, studying her for a heartbeat before he roared down the stairs, “NO!”” 

Pg. 369: ““No.” The word ripped from Dorian’s lips before he could think. But then it came out, over and over, as the wyvern and rider sailed closer to the ship. The witch was unconscious, her body leaning to the side because she was not awake, because that was blue blood all over her. Don’t shoot; don’t shoot— Dorian was roaring the order as he hurtled for where Fenrys had drawn his longbow, a black-tipped arrow aimed at the witch’s exposed neck."

Dissenting Opinion: Aelin tells Rowan she saved Manon because Asterin screamed her name the same way she screamed Rowan. So technically by this logic Asterin and Manon could be platonic mates. And maybe Manon just screams Dorian's name because she cares about him not anything to do with being mates. (Counter Argument- but then why did Dorian scream her name in EOS so aggressively when he didn’t even know her then??)

Edit:

Also want to comment on Manon being the scariest individual in the world, and yet repeatedly both Dorian and Manon comment about how he is not afraid of her. Across the SJM universes this is seen as a huge mating bond sign (“Aelin terrifies everyone, but not him [rowan]” ; Feyre not being afraid of Rhys).

ALSO want to mention that Manon had “never allowed another male atop her” during sex before Dorian. To me this is incredibly telling bc it indicates that Manon sees Dorian as an equal by allowing him to dominate her. Yes, Manon is attracted to his domineering manor, but you’re telling me never in 116 years she’s done anything but ridden a male, and Dorian walks in and she’s like yea tie me up and get on top of me… I mean I would to but you see my point. Additionally, them being incredibly attracted to each other could be a mate indicator as mates are obviously aggressively attracted to each other bc of the “animalisticness” of the mating bond.

Lastly, you’ll see above that there are lots of times where their “instincts” cause them to act or are pushing at them to act in relation to each other. Instinct is mate coded af, especially when they’ve had that instinct since they first met. It wasn’t something that grew over time they always had it.

Debunking arguments against them being mates:

I. Mates are only fae.

Manon is part fae, so she could have a mate.

E.g. Bryce is half fae half human also and mated with Hunt (who confirmed in HOFAS is the product of two angels and not fae); Lorcan is a demi fae and can have a mate (believed to be Elide who is human but unconfirmed); Aelin is demi fae prior to forging the lock and is mated with Rowan.

I also cannot find anywhere there is a rule that you must have XYZ amount of fae blood to have a fae-like mate, just have to have some fae blood. But we don't really know what percentage of Manon is fae vs Valg. Given she is half Ironteeth and half Crochan, she likely falls around that 50% fae line which is just as much fae blood as Lorcan, Bryce, Aelin, etc.

II. The Crochans believe in Mates

It’s not confirmed whether the Crochans do or don't have the traditional fae mating bonds, however we learned in CC2 it was proved that you can have a “true” mating bond as long as one person has fae blood, E.g. Bryce (half fae/human) and Hunt (Angel).

pg. 139 EOS the Crochans "... had adopted the Fae habit of selecting mates- if not a true mating bond, then in spirit".

pg. 139, EOS Manon's grandmother says about her father "But he did not love her- not with your mother as his true mate, the song of his soul". This sounds to me like her parents were believed to be a true fae mating bond not just "in spirit".

Pg. 316 HOSAB "Angels have mates. Not as.. soul-magicky as Fae, but we call life partners mates in lieu of husbands or wives". Sounds like the Angels have a mating bond "in spirit" similar to the Crochans. Except that Hunt then truly "fae mated" Bryce, and he doesn't have any fae blood.

When then find out Hunt and Bryce are "true mates"; Pg.492 HOSAB "It means that he's going ballistic in the way that only mates can when the other is threatened. It's what happened then and happened now. You're true mates- the way Fae are mates, in your bodies and souls".

III. Fae can have non fae mates.

We see Bryce/Hunt in CC that are different species and have a traditional fae mating bond.

Rhys/Feyre and Nesta/Cassian feel a pull to each other when Feyre and Nesta are human, which then clicks into place as a true mating bond.

There is also Elide/Lorcan and Gavin/Elena in TOG that are “mates” (unconfirmed since the humans never became fae). Fae queens Mab and Mora also give up immortality for their human "mates".

So it is canon that you can have inter species mates or human mates, it just may never "click" into place if they are human.

via Hunt and Bryce, we do know the bond can completely click (souls and scents merging, etc.) between "magical" species once it is accepted, but we do not have this evidence with fae and human bonds.

I also don’t believe Dorian is entirely human. But that is completely my speculation

Pg. 933 KOA " 'I am human.' It warmed in his hand... 'I am human," he repeated, to the stars now visible above the city. The sword didn't answer again. As if it knew he no longer needed it." Yes he is human but he can be other things too. Similar to Aelin's quote about being a human in a fae body below. They identify and choose their human moral side, but that does not mean there are parts of them that are not human.

Aelin KOA Pg. 723: "I am human, deep down, Faerie Queen nonsense aside. I had human parents, and their parents were human, mostly, and even with Mab's line running true... I'm a human who can turn into Fae. A human who wears a Fae body".

On par with the theme of "Be grateful for your human heart" (Rhys, ACOTAR)

Also curious as to whether he does or does not have valg blood from his father. Because he could also have fae blood (distantly) from Elena/Brannon/Mala (Valg + Fae= Witch?)

IV. The mating bond would have clicked when they fucked… I think we all know this ain’t true anymore (cough cough Nesta and Cassian). You can have sex but if you do not accept the bond it will not click.

Rowan also says on pg 396 HOF "Sometimes, mates can be together intimately before the actual bond snaps into place"

V. Wyrd/Urd/the Mother/Fate (aka Sarah) gets to decide whose mates and who isn't

The only thing Sarah has been clear about is that she can basically make anyone mates that she wants as long as one person has fae blood. And even then, there is very much a "fate like force" aka Wyrd/Urd/The Mother that is working to pull the strings of fate and make people mates.

Hellas speaks to Lorcan and Hellas's consort, the goddess Annieth, speaks to Elide. Lorcan and Elide are never confirmed mates as Elide remains human and yet there are still signs she is his mate even as a human.

Rhys's mind has able to find Feyre's when she was still human years before they met. Yes he has demati abilities but finding Feyre's mind is because they were fated to be mates.

Adias says about Hunt and Bryce mating bond HOFAS, Pg. 551 "I think that was left to higher powers. Whatever they might be".

There is no special "biological formula" proven necessary for a mating bond. To the best of our knowledge so far, the only thing we can be sure of is it happens when fate demands (and when one person has at least some fae blood). Therefore it logically makes sense why the Mother/Wyrd/Urd would manipulate fate to ensure that Dorian and Manon were mates because they needed Manon to get into the witch mirror and raise the witch forces. They needed Manon to unite with Brannon's heir to defeat Erawan and destroy the keys, whether that be Aelin or Dorian. A mating bond would ensure that.

Also Wyrd/Urd means fate/personal destiny in nors mythology —> https://www.mimisbrunnr.info/ksd-web-of-wyrd and https://norse-mythology.org/concepts/destiny-wyrd-urd/ (read these if you want to theorize about acotar)

In conclusion, I think they could be mates but it won't fully snap into place (they won't fully merge souls, scents, etc.) unless Dorian is somehow Made. The only evidence of interspecies true confirmed fae mating bonds is Bryce and Hunt, and while they were able to fully "click" without Hunt being fae, it is very unclear why this is other than "high powers". We do know though that human Elide was very likely Lorcan's true mate, but we were never told of any clicking between them on that fae physiological level. So it is safe to assume that for a mating bond between a human and fae it will not "click" into place unless that human is turned fae.

HOWEVER, I do think it is possible because of Dorian's raw magic, he could be a rare exception to this rule similar to Hunt. So maybe it just has not clicked because Manon and Dorian have not accepted it. Which would also make sense given the nature of their relationship through most of the series, them denying their feelings to each due to their emotional unavailability.

Dissenting Opinion: But we also don't know how the angels were created by the Asteri, so maybe Hunt is "made" and not actually an exception.

Anyway, there's my evidence. There was some more evidence that I had and then removed because even though I think it is proof of a deeper connection I didn't think it was mate related (e.g. Abraxos taking Manon to Dorian when she says take me somewhere safe, I came to the conclusion that that showed Abraxos's awareness in protecting Manon).

Here are the links to some other tumblr posts on them being mates. I did look at these when putting this together so full credit to those individuals :)

[fairykery]

If not canon, then why flashy?

Eyesex and a smile?

The guy that hates physical contact is smiling as kohaku hugged him? Not only that but he also looked into her eyes tenderly? LIKE? The other girl going "it wasn't that type of hug" was just referring to the fact that they aren't gf and bf because technically THEY AREN'T and the one girl still assumed that they were. So when they got touch- feely and the girl covered her eyes thinking they were a couple(thanks to the kiss situation) the other girl calmed her down saying they weren't really a couple sharing a hug; but two people that care about each other hugging. While Senku did not return the hug because he is never/and has never been forward about that type of situation, Kohaku is the first he's smiles at, lets hug, and has had people wonder the state of their relationship when being hugged by. She is also the only girl he is close with, that has been hinted at having feelings for him.

The KISS

Sorry, No I get it. It was too soon for this to be a romantic moment. I get it. It was for the sake of comic relief. But if you pay attention. The context of the scene didn't necessarily have to be written romantically, NOT EVEN for the sake of the plot. Cause them kissing had nothing to do with the situation; BUT the mangaka STILL specifically chose to go THAT route with the scene. He, HIMSELF, chose to use a romantic excuse(even if a comical one) as a plot device to move the story forward. And on top of that made them kiss(even if they were both uncomfortable by it still at this point in the manga). With that, making Kohaku the girl he's closest to who he has had the most physical contact with and even shared a kiss with(even if it was just a chin kiss and they both were practically uncomfortable for being forced to do.). No but seriously, the mangaka using SenHaku as a plot device to move the story forward WHEN it is NOT needed should provide some insight of what he thinks of the pairing. Which is that: "it is fun to write about" and "he likes to write about it".

NO TIME?

I like how he reponds with something that implies. "Maybe i'll blush later....not rn we gotta find a way out of here". Can we also take a moment to realize the mangaka/writter interrupted this moment before Senku could respond to the: "and the way i see it that is so very-" from kohaku? Subtle behavior on his part. Is there something on Senku's mind he doesn't want fans to know for the sake of avoiding ship wars? I wouldn't be surprised if this was what was stopping him from making the ship more explicit. Cause shippers get kind of crazy with the wars and MOST mangakas KNOW this and dont want that to affect the sales.

BRIDE STYLE?

He specifically chose one of the most romantic tropes to draw them In? Sorry no. This has nothing to do with their dynamic; but he still drew them like this? In THIS pose? Mangaka definitely shipped them.

Nah; but like never have i ever seen him so touchy feeling with anyone?

idk idk they remain sus. Especially with all of his guy friends hoping him to experince romantic love.

SenHaku also kinda parallel His adoptive dad and his lover(maybe not in the sense of dynamic; but in color aesthetic and how they are portrayed in the covers)

[also look at them being bride style like the senhaku cover lol]

I don't know why people say this ship is impossible because Senku says he isn't interested in romance. Like he also hinted at the fact that he has sex drive, just not a crazy active one where he would attack a female for, especially one stronger than him.

And if you ACTUALLY pay attention every time that topic of romance comes up is not that he COMPLETELY dismisses it. It is more because he does not prioritize it or care to look for it, especially considering that he is so goal-driven. At the same time, it is already revealed that not everything he says(especially when it comes to relationships/bonds)does he mean. He only, like i said, likes to remain goal-oriented and doesn't want anything to distract him.

He also acted pretty detached towards his own father and rejected his overly affections of love. So much so, that Byakuya tried to adapt to his own love language of science. But at the end of the day,it is not that Senku is 100% against those concepts(of romanticized bonds) it is just that he finds them to be waste of time. But despite that, he is still human. He still feels despite how much he doesn't allow himself to do so:

And Riri herself pointed how Senku only acts tough and detached when it comes to relationships/bonds(when talking about his care for the village) but a part of him does care. This is because she is the only one whose seen him cry at his father grave, despite how detached he acted about his father dying at the beginning. But again, he remembered that he had a goal, and wiped his tears; because for him "there's no time for that". It's all about prioritizing his goals, especially when about science.

And there's ALOT of emphasis on THAT.

Even so, so many characters in shounen have ended up marrying/having feelings despite saying/or there being no indicator that they are interested in romance. It is a common trope of it. So even if it were because Senku is not into romance it wouldn't sink the ship. I mean look at Sasuke(another goal-oritented character) said that romance had no place in his revolution; but at the end of the day married sakura and even gave her a ring to ward off insects

[note: is important to note that sasuke was not rejecting sakura here. More like trying to convince kakashi that romance had no place in his revolution. Because he was goal oriented, like Senku(that and the fact that he was still struggling with his darkness). In fact Sakura said that she wanted things to go back to the way they used to be and he assumed that was romance, without anyone saying anything of that sort. And Sakura had already left it clear that she wanted team 7 back; but then sasuke mentioned romance lol]

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Something else worth mentioning is the fact that Senku hates clingy overly-romantic girls or the girls that fall in love too fast with him, as we've seen him cringe or act annoyed with those type of acts. But still, he was able to manage to say something about a type, despite his dismissive behavior. Even tho it was just to brush the conversation off, the fact that he answered his type of girl with "someone that could bring him materials" and then calls Kohaku a lioness, and him as a scientist knows that usually a lioness is one to provide their mates with food from hunting. I don't know. It seemed like a sweet nickname to give her. Especially when in his time period, that type of nickname is considered flirtatious. What is more, is that he initially brought Taiju back because of his usefulness in strength(and the fact he knew he could trust him) & Senku himself noticed the exact same quality in Kohaku.

So someone that could fit his description of his type would definitely be kohaku and seeing that she is the girl who he is the closest, and HAS brought him materials before so i dont see why not. I mean he was already pretty impressed with her first meeting her. Even after having worked with her, he was still impressed by her strength, and doesn't stop talking about it:

There's also people who always dismiss Kohaku's feelings. I mean i think it's already pretty clear

His physical aspect she seems pleased with

And well he already fits the EXACT description of her EXACT type. So it is 100% safe to say that she has feelings for him. It may not be explicitly stated but it was just the right amount of sublte. Similar to Mikasa Ackerman/Touka Kirishima, whose feelings were never explicitly stated; but were always quite obvious. That was the type of subtlety the mangaka was aiming at. And i think there's a reason for that.

Because Senku hates fast paced relationships/love at first sight/mushy girls. Building Kohaku's feelings in a slowburn manner makes Kohaku stand out from all the other girls that have feelings for him/have flirted with him/felt attracted to him. Because, as i said, he doesn't like that kind of stuff. And since he is still sciency I don't think he would ever fall for a romantic type of girl; but rather a useful one that can serve as his partner. The way I see them happening would be by Kohaku being accepting of his anti-romantic nature, and Senku seeing her as worthy Mate that he could reproduce with so that the sciene can live on and keep developing. While he did teach Chrome alot, Chrome also says he wants Senku to live. I think he also meant it in a metaphorical way. Chrome, next to his other male friends kept pushing for or looking for an indicator of him feeling attraction for a girl/or at least want him to understand romantic love so that he doesn't keep downplaying the feelings that they have towards their crushes. Even Gen seemed pretty excited at the thought of him kissing a girl lol. So it's safe to say that the mangaka writing this was him rooting for the same thing for Senku; but not in the way that we exepect.

Again, if he ever did develop a relationsip with kohaku to another level. I dont think he would confess/or admit his physical attraction to her, if he did feel any. I think he would find himself content that he has found a useful girl, that can bring him materials, and doesn't ask much of him(in a romantic light). This would push Senku to allow Kohaku as his partner. I don't think Kohaku would mind it either as long as she knows Senku is willing to reciprocate in terms of just the right amount of romantic gestures/or sexual entanglement(when senku finds the time for her)

Because as he has stated he does not NOT have a sex drive(just not active) nor is he COMPLETELY against chivalry (which is rooted in romance).

So i think if he did develop feelings for Kohaku he will not do much to figure out the why and would instead only try to rationalize it by saying Kohaku is the perfect partner. He would agree to a wedding for the sake of his friends and act like he was peer pressured to doing it, and would probably ONLY compliment Kohaku's looks by saying something like "You know, according to the symmetrical proportions of your face, you'd be considered to be living up to the beauty standards of my time" and Kohaku would be fine with that thanks to the reassurance of her sister about how "he is not the type of guy to be completely against the tradition of bonds/feelings. He just doesn't prioritize them". So kohaku would be fine with that. Especially because she herself has been swayed by his way of living.

As long as she knows that Senku considers her his mate, partner, and important person, I think she'd be okay with that. Especially since Senku is logical enough to understand that he needs to put effort into the relationship with his mate. So he'd do soft gestures for her that will keep her happy in order to maintain their relationship, even if she doesn't ask for it. And that will be enough because by the end of the day that's what most relationships are, Senku just doesn't feel the need to romanticize them, unless it's for the sake of following through with a logical situation. And well him maintaining his relationship with Kohaku would be logical as it would avoid conflict and prevent him from seeking a mate elsewhere. We all know Senku doesn't like to bother with those things. He just goes with the flow of whatever is convenient.

I also think that even though he doesn't like physical contact he'd probably do soft things like touch her hand in reassurance,(he's held her hand), smile at her(as he has done so before), look tenderly at her with pride(has looked and felt proud of her) and lean on her when he is tired(they have leaned on each other metaphorically). Those would be indicators.of him caring for her, but he won't ever stop to think about them, even if his heart rate actually does start to raise he will only rationalize it with talks about "dopamine/serotonin" and Kohaku being his chosen partner; but overall, he'd be most ecstatic about having a partner by his side, and the fact that he cares for such partner. Kohaku won't ask for more and will come to understand that she has what any other girl has(when it comes to romantic relationships), and she SIMPLY has a partner that tends to rationalize everything and dislikes romance; but is willing to do it for the sake of logic.

[mycadences]

Notice that Lucien gave Elain credit for the pivotal role she played in killing the King of Hybern:

Elain fell into step beside me, peering at Lucien. He noticed it. “I heard you made the killing blow,” he said.

Elain studied the trees ahead. “Nesta did. I just stabbed him.”

Notice also that Azriel did not:

“We defeated Hybern,” Azriel confirmed. A glance toward Truth-Teller at his side. Then at Nesta. “Nesta beheaded the King of Hybern herself.”

Nesta severed the King of Hybern's head with Truth-teller. Azriel was looking at the knife not because it reminded him of Elain, but because it was literally the weapon used to behead said king. If I were SJM and I wanted to hint at an Elriel endgame without it being blatantly obvious, I would have rewritten the scene like this:

“We defeated Hybern,” Azriel confirmed. A glance toward Truth-Teller at his side. Then at Nesta. “Nesta and her sister beheaded the King of Hybern." [This is NOT WHAT WE GOT. THIS IS NOT CANON BTW. Just including this line because you never know what people will run away with lol.]

There. A simple addition like that would have made a huge difference while still keeping the love triangles vague. Instead, SJM was careful not to bring up Elain anywhere except one time (and Gwyn was also mentioned alongside her, and might I add, first although I admit it's probably not an important point lol) in HOFAS and Azriel's bonus chapter. One might argue the same for Gwyn's lack of appearance in HOFAS but I have written a post tying both Gwyn and Gwydion together (and Gwyn's name did appear several times... in Gwydion). I mean, technically.

And in the same bonus chapter, SJM chose to include a song called "Stone Mother", literally the most Gwynriel-coded name ever. This post by @gwyns-shadowsinger is a lovely summary of all the parallels between the song title, description and Gwyn.

Finally, since I started this post with Elucien, I'll also end it with them. In ACOSF, during Nesta and Elain's argument, Nesta made it a point to bring up their father and how Elain possibly felt guilty over not being able to save him.

Elain stiffened, but refused to balk from whatever she beheld in Nesta’s gaze. “You think I’m to blame for his death?” Challenge filled each word. Challenge—from Elain, of all people. “No one but the King of Hybern is to blame for that.” The quaver in her voice belied her firm words.

Azriel hasn't met Papa Archeron. He has zero involvement in this. You know who has, though? Who spent the most time with Papa Archeron in the last few weeks of his life?

Lucien.

He called Papa Archeron "ever the negotiator", suggesting a degree of familiarity. I think he will be the key to Elain's unresolved guilt (and whatever else may be lying beneath the surface) toward her father, perhaps by truly letting it sink in for her how much her father loved her and her sisters by sharing parts of their journey, and that he never would have blamed her for his death.

[vashtijoy]

I was wondering if it is possible that the surname "Akechi" is actually a pseudonym/alias . . . like, his celebrity name, and not the surname of his mother. I don't think the game ever hints at it but it came to me because Dietman and the Silent Requester uses the alias concept and my brain kinda automatically assumes everything in that mission has some kind of parallel to Akechi himself, and because it would make sense to use a different name (that he chose for himself) from his mother for his Detective Prince image, honestly. Do you think that's possible?

This is a fun one, but for myself, I think it probably isn't that likely. Ditto the idea that Akechi is mukoseki (essentially, unregistered at birth, which would have put him at a very significant disadvantage).

Akechi obviously has a life beside what we see. He's registered in high school and is participating in university entrance, all of which he might struggle to access if he was unregistered; he's presumably registered as "Akechi Goro" and not a second name unknown to us. He's remarkably high-achieving, which tells us that he hasn't just been parachuted into a (probably private, as he makes a big deal of earning his school fees) high school post-Shido; he was likely in a good middle school before that, through his own efforts. He tells us he obsessed about his grades so someone would want him. School will have been a big deal for him—up to a point.

He must have been registered with a doctor at some point, and so on. He will have taken standardised tests in elementary and middle school, and those tests will have needed a name, and have gone on file. By the point of canon, he's taken the national mock exams. By the time he's in high school, people do not know that he's an orphan, that he was an unwanted child, that he never had a father—he's successfully hidden it all. Which is a story in itself, if you ask me; a story which might suggest a successful change of identity—or simply that he got into private school, perhaps on a scholarship, and never told anyone his history. Yusuke mentions that his Kosei scholarship entitles him to a free place in a dorm; I like to think that Akechi, in middle school, may have benefited from something like this.

He also works in multiple fields—he must get paid by someone, even if Shido isn't paying him a yen. So he must have a bank account; he must pay tax on that income—two things Shido might certainly be able to help him with, if he saw fit. But even if Shido gave him the apartment he lives in and a credit card for his day-to-day expenses, there's still a lot going on, that that alias would have to take into account.

Shido is capable of a lot, but Akechi can't ask Shido for help establishing his anti-Shido alias; that would ruin the plot. He could, perhaps, strongarm people's shadows into doing things for him, changing things, forgetting him; we know he interrogates them. We never see him do any of that, but you could easily hypothesise it, and I wouldn't put it past him at all.

But in the days before the Metaverse, Akechi already has a lot of paperwork pointing to him; he's not a ghost, he hasn't fallen between the cracks; he's a boy with a life and a history. He's not somebody who can just start going by a different name—not without it raising questions, and drawing attention. Not without people looking up years later, when he's on TV, and saying "hey, that's <name>".

but mom

It seems to me that Akechi is just going by the same name he's had all along, perhaps because some part of him wants Shido to know who he is, perhaps because it's his mother's name, it's his name, and he doesn't want to cast it aside. But then why doesn't Shido recognise his name, like he recognises his face?

It's often said that Shido just doesn't remember people, but in fact he remembers Joker's name—he remarks on it when he sees the death certificate, though he doesn't know where he's heard it. He is doing the same thing Joker is, when he knows Shido's face, his voice, but can't place them.

My suspicion is that Shido just never knew Akechi's mother's name, and that Akechi knows that was the case, and why it would be the case. I think she was a sex worker all along, and that Shido was one of her clients; that, perhaps with the charm and cleverness her son would later show, she wormed her way into his good graces, as much of a mixed blessing as that would have been.

Akechi does not really say, for instance, that his mother and Shido "had a relationship"; he uses the word aijin, which is much more like a mistress, or plaything. Some boys at Shujin talk about how Shiho is going to be Kamoshida's next aijin after Ann. Shadow Okumura suggests to Cognitive Sugimura that he make Haru his aijin—"just take her as your lover". A couple of women on Harmony Alley laugh about becoming the aijins of politicians so they can be spoiled rotten. And Akechi says that his mother and Shido had an aijin kankei—an aijin relationship; she was his mistress, and when she became pregnant, she was dropped like a hot potato.

Akechi's mother might well have used a name that wasn't her own, for her work. She might well have gone only by a given name. That seems more likely to me than Akechi setting one up for himself.

is it a stagename?

One thing makes it very clear that "Akechi Goro" is not a stagename, even if it is an alias: Akechi is not famous at the start of canon, and so he has no need for a stagename. We watch the Detective Prince develop in realtime. And Sae, who's clearly known him awhile, knows him as Akechi; he hasn't adopted a different name for the screen.

could you do it anyway :|a

Absolutely. Go wild. You don't even have to think about this shit if you don't want to. That said, if I was writing this, I would probably face tweeny Goro with at least a few of these issues.

[chattercap]

Kanau Postmortem!

​Hello everyone, it’s Chattercap!

Thank you to everyone who played Kanau! I’m really grateful that you gave it a chance 😭 since it is quite different from Karamu in terms of content and tone! Note that I’ll be spoiling Kanau in my thoughts/reflections below, so be careful if you haven’t played it! 

(Spoilers below!)

When I first conceived "Karamu," it was just going to be a short, one and done mystery for Otome Jam—a simple story centered around a couple interesting twists. However, when I was done with it, I found myself still interested in the story of Raku and Nelli, and I wasn't quite satisfied with where I left it. I kept thinking about why exactly they did the things they did, and what kinds of experiences would lead to such twisted adults.

The story in Kanau is actually one that I describe in Karamu, hinted at in vague descriptions. In Karamu, Nelli briefly reminisces about her childhood - finding solace in the fact that one day her father left and never returned. Raku also recounts an instance where Nelli showed kindness to a spider missing three legs. Nelli doesn't remember the incident, thinking that it happened in the last couple years, but in reality it happened QUITE a long time ago - 11 years, in fact.

Kanau is (for better or worse) Raku's "coming of age" story, haha! Both literally (as he undergoes his family's "ritual of adulthood") and metaphorically. Throughout the story, Raku struggles between his own identity and the "Kumode" identity. At the end, he finds a compromise, and this compromise is both a triumph and a tragedy - he makes his own decision, but it’s a decision that brings him right back into the arms of his abusers. I hope that after playing Kanau, it’s a bit easier to see how Raku and Nelli evolved into the adults they become in Karamu - and why they chose to do the things that they did.

The title, "Kanau," refers to the word 叶う in Japanese. It means "to come true/to be fulfilled" - as in "a wish or prayer coming true/being fulfilled." It's a reference to Raku and Nelli's parallel wishes/prayers - to be free from the abusive households that they're trapped in. Ultimately, Raku is unable to fulfill his own wish—to break free from his abuse. However, he still finds comfort in being able to fulfill Nelli's wish, the prayer that she thought that no one could hear (now...whether he went about that in the CORRECT way is, uh, up to interpretation). 

(For anyone that wants more details on the spidey lore - in the Karamu universe, there are no males other than Raku in the main line of the Kumode family! The females seduce human males and eat them after the deed is done. This is based both on jorogumo lore - where the spider demons seduce and then eat their human victims - as well as regular ol' spider lore! In some spider species, the female consumes the male after procreating. This is actually the origin of the name "black widow spider," although a lot of species of black widows don't actually practice sexual cannibalism.)

Regarding the topic of child abuse, I hope that I tackled it with sensitivity. I knew going into it that this was going to be a sensitive subject, moreso because the main overarching theme of the trilogy is trust and healing from trauma. Above all else I really wanted to avoid using child abuse for “shock value.” Hence why a lot of Nelli’s abuse takes place completely off screen, and you only see the effects it has on her. This is also why the few instances of abuse that do happen on screen are portrayed in silhouette (with the only really graphic image being an abuser’s comeuppance). 

There’s one more installment planned in this series! Hanasu (the third and final entry) will take place a few months after the events of Karamu (canonically, after the events of Ending D)! I think that Kanau is actually a decent standalone story, and, when viewed through this lens, the ending is happy; Raku and Nelli are free from their abusers, immersed in a world full of “color.” However, that ending is a sweet lie. It’s the ending that Raku wants to believe—that he “saved” this girl. But, of course, if you’ve played Karamu, you know that isn’t really true. After all, healthy people don’t do the things that Nelli does. Regardless of what Raku wants to believe, killing her father didn't "fix" Nelli. He freed her from the shackles of her abuser, but not the shackles of her abuse. The ghosts of her experiences haunt her into adulthood, tainting her view of her world, her relationships, and herself. And, of course, Raku is still under his family’s thumb, and he has lingering issues of his own. You can expect to see the resolution to these threads in Hanasu! (Will that resolution be sweet or bitter, I wonder?) 

I was originally planning to jump straight into Hanasu after developing Kanau, but after some consideration, I decided to let it cook a little more. I’d like to take my time with this project, both in terms of script and art—it is the last time I’ll be seeing these characters, after all, and I’d like to give them the resolution that they deserve. I’m currently tackling my biggest project (a fantasy/mystery story—with one love interest that’s pretty similar to Raku *wink wink nudge nudge*), and while I planned to develop the titles concurrently, I don’t want to divide my time and attention. I currently plan to finish the script for Hanasu this month, and I’ll start working on it in earnest later this summer. 

If you’re interested in seeing updates about Hanasu (and my other projects), I post most of my major announcements on here and Twitter. I also post frequently on my Patreon��with sketches, writing snippets, sneak peeks, high resolution art, and weekly devlogs.​

Chattercap

[acourtofthought]

It genuinely made me laugh out loud! “Shadows disappearing is confirmed good by HOFAS!” I was confused at first thinking when tf did that happen.. and then had a chuckle when I realized they were talking about Ruhn.

I typically stay out of the subreddit, and have their tags blocked on here, but I was curious to see what theories or hints they gathered from HOFAS. Seems like the bulk of it is:

- ruhnlidia “parallel” confirms mate language for e/riel from the bonus (or something like that, I’ve forgotten which precise passage they warped).

- stone mother song is about elain (vast stretch, seems punitive to focus on the song and not everything else that happened in that scene). And is so fucking interesting because that’s a bonus chapter and they’re still claiming BC aren’t canon/down voting when you point out they are. Can’t seem to make up their minds !

- today show article & interview about fans expecting the story to be Az & Elain, and SJM saying there’s a lot to explore in a rejected bond. The first is whatever imo, and the second they seem convinced is about them but I’m more convinced it’ll be Eris & Mor. Admittedly, Helion & LoA is another possibility more likely than e/riel, but their story breaks my heart already and I desperately want them to have HEA

Are there any other arguments you’ve seen/heard of? I’m curious what you think of these three as well!

🧼💖

The Stone Mother argument being about E/riel is just bonkers to me. First off, we have no idea if the song itself is actually based off Native American legend or whether SJM just liked the name. But to take a Paiute legend and claim it about a white women's love story is very cringe to me. I agree with you, I think the rejected bond is going to be Eris and Mor and the effects of an unaccepted bond will be Helion and the LoA. I could see them eventually getting together but for the last however many centuries, they do seem to be an example of a "rejected" bond. And you're right, they have selected very specific lines from the interviews and articles while ignoring the rest. First SJM said she only asks herself those same questions when writing. Is there choice? Is it destiny? What if it's wrong? But she's already written that into the series, where the characters wonder how it happens, is there choice, etc. And every time, the characters have said that it doesn't matter because at the end of the day they still chose one another. Bryce confirms that it didn't matter where her bond with Hunt came from or who it was determined by because it's what she wanted. Nesta struggled with the mating bond because it meant giving up her humanity but in the end she decided she wanted Cassian as her mate. They take that to mean SJM is proving to the reader that she's definitely going to write a rejected bond for two main characters when all she's saying is she makes sure to have the characters ask themselves the important questions so in the end they know without a doubt it's what they wanted and not just something decided by fate. But they ignore SJM saying that characters end up with who they need to be with for the most growth. How her MMC cheer on the FMC and encourage her. These things clearly go against the E/riel narrative but they conveniently leave those quotes out of their arguments. The one big argument I heard going around during the release was how the Cauldron was corrupted therefore Elucien's bond is. So basically.....an event that happened 15,000 years ago and in all that time the ONLY corrupted bond to come out of it was Elucien's? That's quite convenient, don't you think? There is also zero proof that the Cauldron or the Daglan were responsible for mating bonds. So yeah, I imagine all these theories will end up in the graveyard of E/riel theories along with Bread and Roses meaning that E/riel are living together and pregnant in CC3.

[decepti-thots]

springer for the ask meme?

one aspect about them i love: Springer is a character who is basically in the wrong story and, on some level, knows this. Or rather, he wants to believe that; he wants to believe that the problem is that he's in a story that doesn't allow for him to be the kind of uncomplicatedly good hero he feels like he ought to be, and so maybe it's OK if he's not. He's someone who has been complicit in a lot of terrible things because he told himself step-by-step that because they were the Good Guys, because he was the good influence, it couldn't possibly have actually been terrible that they did those things. And he keeps trying to make decisions that will correct this, that will actually set things right, and it never quite seems to work because it takes him so long to understand that the issue is that the Wreckers exist at all, and he can't have the fight without the violence underpinning it. Huh. Writing that out just made me draw a new parallel between him and Prowl, actually. Wild.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: Springer is a guy who has done really bad things, and enabled worse things. Impactor went too far after a loooong build up, one which Springer canonically managed to justify to himself for a very long time and was only able to try and fix when it was already too late. Not to mention that he turned a blind eye to the complicity of all the other Wreckers even in the aftermath. His own sense of innate goodness is what allowed that! And the Wreckers saga is, from his perspective, kind of this long trek to finding out what you can actually do about that.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: this is kind of coming at it sideways, but it includes him, so. I don't think Kup was a great influence in some ways! I think he loved Springer a lot and that this was immensely important. I also think that Springer was constructed in wartime and immediately handed over to a military guy with the explicit intent that he be shaped for said war, the main difference between him and an actual MTO mostly being that at least Springer didn't just wake up on the battlefield. Some of what Springer was as a Wrecker- willing to give himself over to violence and romanticize it as necessary and heroic, defining himself by a institution that inflicts it- probably arose from that before Impactor ever entered the picture, from what Kup taught him. I think it can be harder to acknowledge things like that when they come from the people who genuinely loved you, rather than people who outright mistreat you.

one character i love seeing them interact with: VERITY. I love their relationship so much. I think it's so important that the relationship that ultimately allows him to actually find a way to move beyond everything is a) the first relationship he really chose in a sense and b) the first relationship he forges away from the context of war. Verity, for all her accomplishments (RIP Overlord) is not a soldier. I love what we see of them in Requiem, where they've clearly been talking through a lot of his shit while they're living in that barn. They're dealing with things! She can tell him to talk about his weird robot Dad feelings! I love them.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: I don't know if it's that I'd say I want more of him and Tarantulas interacting. But gosh did I want more of Springer talking... about him. We get these little hints of how Springer has handled the revelation of who he is, we know he and Verity discussed it. But. It's so hard to get a handle on exactly how Springer feels about it. I guess that's kind of the point. But I still wanted it, haha. Alternatively, Roadbuster. If you've read Zero Point, you know we see a little of what Roadbuster caring for Springer looked like, and I would have loved to see a little more direct interaction in Sins before he... uh. Explodes.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: Springer did not really get along with Ultra Magnus a lot of the time, though there wasn't any actual antagonism per se. The problem was that Springer always looked like a real moral beacon of the Wreckers until Magnus showed up, at which point the artifice became uncomfortably clear, because Magnus always remembered a dozen moral concerns that Springer was good at sliding past without acknowledging. It was just enough to remind him of all the qualms he managed to avoid thinking about too hard most of the time.

[macravishedbymactavish]

Ghosts Characters (Rorke)

Warning: Major campaign spoilers, read at your own discretion

| Blog HQ | Keegan | Logan | Merrick |

Gabriel Rorke 

Misunderstood. Traumatized. Conditioned. Brainwashed. Revenge.

One of the major points I overlooked when I first got into this fandom is Rorke was tortured by the Federation. He wasn't always the antagonist we know.

In fact, the character we spend the campaign hunting, running from and fighting isn't even Rorke. That's the Federation in the shell of a man.

Rorke was captured following Caracas, then tortured mentally, physically, emotionally and conditioned to think in the way the Federation wanted him to. They trained him to hate the people he once considered family.

His capture actually parallels Logan's to a degree

"I'm so close I need to end this while I can" - both Rorke and Hesh were blinded by their emotions in the moment

Ultimately could not be saved by their brother (I still hear Hesh screaming for Logan in the back of my head). But Elias chose to let go to save the rest of the team. Leaving Rorke to be captured.

If you want to get a better idea of Rorke pre-federation agenda and torture the Legends Never Die mission is the place to be.

I love the mission, and the perspective and history it brings to the OG Ghosts relationships

How you want to write Rorke depends on if you're doing campaign canon or AU

Campaign canon = he's a bloodthirsty asshole.

The Federation is calling the shots for him, and twisted his mind and need for revenge against the Ghosts (including the Walker brothers). They're ruthless and won't stop until this is done.

If you're looking to write AU, the sky is the limit. But my take on it is:

If we can forgive Logan in our post-capture AU's, why not forgive Rorke in the campaign universe? I'm not saying what he did was okay (it wasn't), but we can't forgive one but not the other when they went through the same thing

Rorke went through the same torture they hinted that Logan would be going through

So he knows first hand what this kid is going to be feeling every step of the way....except he's [Logan's] MUCH younger

I actually think it would be a cool AU if something snapped Rorke out of his brainwashing (like all the Logan fics) and the fallout from him realizing what he's done.

Maybe one day I'll write that, who knows

[charlotterhea]

Last part of my Summer Fic Reading Challenge journey and ngl, it's extremely satisfying seeing the whole card ticked off. XD

19. Parallel universe

At first, I wasn't even sure what was meant by 'parallel universe', wondering whether not every AU story is technically a parallel universe. XD But then I searched for the tag and stumbled upon "The Unforeseen Possibility of Universes" by MsRosemaryPrince and finally, it clicked. We're talking about 'parallel universes' in the physical sense... 😏 Yes, sometimes I'm a bit slow. Didn't stop me from enjoying the story, though! The thought of Hermione and Severus finding each other in every universe just makes my shipper's heart sing, so I devoured this one and might keep my eyes open to find more stories with this tag. ^^

11. Mythical creature AU

Although creatures are a huge topic in HP, I've only read a few fics centering around creatures so far. I'm not that drawn to that topic personally, I guess. But digging through the archive for this prompt made me stumble upon "just a mannequin with nothing left to hold" by eatgodbemoss and I have to admit, if they are all like that I should probably read more creature fics... 😆 I thoroughly enjoyed Severus being possessed by an incubus and I enjoyed even more how our favourite idiots beat around the bush. Go read it if you're in the mood. ^^

24. Canon compliant

Guys, I hit the jackpot with this one! So, canon compliant is hard to do with Hermione and Severus but I still gave it a shot. You never know, right? And not only did I find a cute story about an encounter with them at the end of year one, but it also is about CHESS! 😍 You cannot imagine how much I love stories about chess! I don't even play chess! I don't know a single chess rule! I can't even envision the moves! And yet I have the time of my life reading them. 😂 Anyway, the story is "Pawn to Eighth Square" by scratchyquill and it's a quick but adorable read. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Go read it!

12. Space AU

For this prompt, I chose a longer story to read, "Sagittaria" by multilingualism. It had everything I love, Snamione, bits and pieces from the book woven into the plot to discover, moments to grin about, and a twist at the end I didn't see coming despite the hints that have been there! I'm hooked for part 2 of the series!

Free Space

Honestly, I don't know if I'm supposed to read a story for this one as well but since I had a one-shot I wanted to read anyway I chose to use it for this. So, "Call me Severus" by kidansong. What a cute story is this? It just ticks all my boxes. Virgin!Severus and explicit consent? Hell, yes! I really love the softness of this story and the fact that it still manages to be hot as fuck. I mean, how could it not? Explicit consent is hot as fuck... 😆

This story really was the perfect one to complete this challenge and I'm really happy I made it despite being doubtful a couple of weeks ago. I had so much fun reading all those wonderful stories and am very grateful both for the authors that they've written them and for the mods of the challenge to offer bingo cards. I had a great summer full of reading and chatting with a writer or two in the comments. 💚

[whitetrashjj]

do you believe jiara was 100% fan service, or do you think jonas had sorta planned it already from the very beginning? like i know we had some jiara moments even in season one ("did you tell jj?" "i know that door's locked") but it feels like most of them were improvised and came purely from rudy/madison's chemistry irl during that era. also, if it was the plan all along, why would they make kie have sex with pope? and kiss john b? what was the reasonnnn

First. We gotta adjust our perception of ‘fan service’. It’s something that show runners should do. Adjust your plan to what the audience is seeing for what they want too see and be prepared for the story to change as it unfolds. When you don’t you get things like the himym finale. Where they didn’t waver from their original plan from 10 years ago, despite the story taking its own natural road and the fans responding more to a ship. And you end up with with a disaster of an ending where everyone is left disappointed. Now, fan service for sure can be done wrong when it’s rushed or pandering or doesn’t make sense. But as a whole it’s not a bad thing to listen to your audience.

Now as for the whole ‘jiara wasn’t planned’ thing. The creators have said that and I believe them. However, I think that is widely misinterpreted to mean there was no hint to jiara in s1 and people completely made it up. It’s obvious to anyone with a scrap of media literacy that it was there. Explicitly. They were very clearly playing into this idea of all the boys having a thing for her and giving a ‘who’s she going to end up with’ sort of thing. Which I don’t like. But clearly at the end of s1 they chose pope - I don’t get why they didn’t wait until s2 for this but whatever. Which means. Jiara wasn’t planned. As in Kie was going to end up with Pope and they weren’t going to take the jiara crush further than that.

But obviously they shifted in s2 after the fan reaction. But they had already committed to pokie so they needed to play out and to the most part I really liked what they did. And all the while they subtly laid the ground work for jiara. With parallels of how much better Kie works with jj than pope. For how they get along. And how their wants from life align. This is fan service done well. I was actually blown away by how well jiara was done in s2. It was subtle but a clear nod that they just had to tidy up the whole they got into and they’ll be right with us. They had to change their plan but they didn’t rush it, they are taking their time.

Would I have loved it if we didn’t have to play out pokie? Of course. Could we have done with out the jb and Kie blip? For sure. But as one of the s3 articles said. They aren’t repeating history, they are finally doing it right. Because those other momentary flings (JB wasn’t even that) showed again and again why that’s doesn’t work. Why something was missing. And that even more set up and pay off for when jiara finally get together.

At the end of the day. No, jiara being endgame wasn’t planned and never intended to be seriously explored. But, that doesn’t mean it was purely platonic in s1. Because saying that completely ignores canon entirely.

[matan4il]

Please indulge me. As a huge Taylor Swift fan who is also in mourning over her relationship status but also adores Invisible String (I'm complicated sue me), I really hope somehow when Buddie goes Canon somehow some string come together.

Like with Pepe and her obvious disdain for the gringa ex who ditched Eddie. Then setting him up with her bunco besties niece. Like please can we have Buck just blurt out Spanish and be the perfect white boy magic that shows that string was always pulling them together. Even if Buck didn't learn it Peru you can not make me believe that our dear Buck would not stay up late every night learning to be the perfect nephew in a Spanish family because he wants them all to know Eddie is taken care of. You know?? Isn't thar we all do for love, try to come into the other families culture. I don't know I just need to see it.

Does that make sense?? Even just out side of the small hints we have gotten there have been so many. Eddie finishing the military, Buck willingly leaving the seals training. Cowboy Buck, Texas Eddie. Bucks sentimental jeep, Eddie's gotta prove himself truck. Ugh they are Ying and yang your honor!

lol It's okay, Nonnie, we all are complicated. XD And I would absolutely love a return to the theme of the string of fate that connects Buddifer. Just think about how even just one different choice Buck or Eddie would have made could have meant that they would have never met... They are fated!

Oh, when I wrote The D-Word, I wanted to give presence to this idea exactly, that Buck would be so respectful of Eddie's heritage and so full of love for it because it's connected to the man he loves and their son, so he would immerse himself in it. Buck does everything with his whole heart, he would go SO hard on making sure his Diaz boys' culture is properly celebrated! And yes, the fact that white boy Buck could have backpacked through Europe or Canada, but instead chose to go to Latin America, where he did pick up some Spanish, as we witness in s1? Once again: they ARE fated.

YES to all of that! IT DOES ALL MAKE SENSE. Their stories do parallel even though at first glance they shouldn't. That's on top of the way their romantic journeys have been paralleled, something I touched upon more than once, for example in my 407 meta.

Thank you so much for yelling together with me. ;) Have a great day! As always, my ask tag. xoxox

[clairefable]

if you could put steven or lorelei in any one tangible place in a Pokemon game (ex: Meteor Falls, Ice Cave, Exeggutor Island, etc), what place would you chose and why? of course they could be together in a place you pick too, but I'd also be curious of a location where you think meeting them alone would be interesting, like showing us a side of them that fits your ship really well

Oooooh it's gotta be Icefall Cave and/or Shoal Cave since both locations have so many parallels (full of ice types, close to their respective homes, accessible late games... (it's just as well Steven doesn't appear in Shoal Cave in any of the Hoenn games or I'd swear GF were just messing with me at that point) Steven is canonically a traveller so it's not TOO much of a reach to imagine he might turn up on the Sevii Islands somewhere (if they ever come back... I beg of you daddy gamefreak) since he's appeared, or at least hinted at in other regions... (He turns up in Vermillion City in HGSS! The ferry terminal is right there... plz...) Maybe Lorelei might show up at the Lilycove Dept Store shopping for dolls? (Maybe an event to give the player those rare Regi dolls that you needed the e-reader stuff for... who knows?) If I had to pick a location for them to be together it'd be the Marine Tunnel for no other reason other than I really like it and I think it'd be romantic uwu

[lulupen2023]

Doctor Who/Muse crossover 1/3

Okay, on ao3 so far it was an epic fail :(, let's try here: Setting: Towards the end of Season 3 for 'Doctor Who', Absolution Era for Muse Pairing: BellDom, Matt/Gaia and a small hint of Doctor/Master and at the very beginning even a thinner hint of Ten/Rose (just because unfortunately it’s canon, not because I like it, of course!) Disclaimer: the Tenth Doctor, the TARDIS and everything around them is property of the BBC and the various authors, Muse and those around them belong only to themselves, the madness is mine and I'm proud of it, even if I don't profit from it XD

Summary:

The Doctor is a little down in the dumps and his TARDIS knows how to help him… even if it's necessary to cross parallel universes! Four clueless Earthmen can’t even begin to imagine what awaits them! This work participates to the 'Crossover' challenge of the group @Non solo Sherlock - FB multifandom events group

Chapter I: The Meeting  

It finally happened.

Martha left him, she chose of her own free will to get away from him, not to follow him anymore in his adventures through time and space.

And the Doctor doesn't even have to question himself too much to find the answers, he knows he hasn't always treated her in the best way: no one likes to feel compared to someone else, another girl, to be precise, no one likes living in the her shadow, no one likes to feel like some sort of replacement.

The Doctor knows that Martha has made the right decision, he can't help but admire her for this, the fact is that now he finds himself in the condition he hates most: loneliness.

The Doctor needs to move, to have fun, to meet new people, but above all he needs something that has always helped to cheer him up: good music.

He gets back in his TARDIS, going to the console.

“I'll leave it to you, my dear, as long as you take me to a good concert… whichever planet you prefer.” Time to say it and the TARDIS emits her characteristic sound, setting off, without missing an opportunity to torment who is on board a little with her jolts.

Once the landing is complete, turbulent otherwise it wouldn’t be the TARDIS, the Doctor rushes out, opening the doors of what appears to everyone outside as a vintage blue police telephone box.

“Oohh, Italy, thank you,Sexy,  I've been wanting to go back for a while.” smiles the Doctor, locking the cabin to which he has just spoken.

Fortunately no one is paying attention to him, so no one can call him weird.

The Doctor, who has already understood that he is in Pordenone, a city in Northern Italy - because when you are almost a thousand years old like him you now know every place on Earth by heart -take the opportunity to take a ride on the suggestive bridge, the cathedrals, the museums and to savor the typical local cuisine.

In his wanderings, a hanging poster informs him not only of the historical period, but also of the choice of his spaceship:

31 Oct 2003

Sports Hall Muse

“Uhmm yeah, I've already heard something from them and I don't mind at all. Quite the contrary, I'll take advantage of that to deepen my knowledge about it. Anyway, I already know it will be fun." the Doctor comments to himself.

He doesn't have a ticket to enter, it's true, but when you're lucky enough to have a psychic card where people can read inside everything you want them to believe, the problem doesn't even exist.

And while he waits for the first supporters to appear on stage, the lead band enjoys a little relaxation in the dressing room.

"Have you seen? The club is filling up,” Chris comments satisfied, “I think I'm going to keep Tom at bay, before he charms too many girls!”

"Uh-uh, look what a lucky coincidence, we have the dressing room all to ourselves," chuckles Dom, climbing on Matt's lap, who is sitting on the sofa, but the brunet rejects him at the first attempt to kiss him.  

“Dommeh, no. You know I love the pre-show sappiness, but… Not here,” Matt mutters, a little flustered.

"Why? Are you afraid that your beautiful Italian girlfriend might enter at any moment?" Snorts the blond.

"Yes, she told me that she took half a day off on purpose and that she would join me..." the other tries to justify himself, scratching the back of his neck. "Matthew, do you know that you can't carry on two relationships, one in the open with her and one, for much longer, hidden with me?" Dominic looks at him seriously.  

Matthew is immediately close to him, stroking his face reverently, before hugging him.

“Dominic, you can't even begin to imagine how I wish things were different, that we didn't have to hide. I love you and you know I would never give up on you, but I also love Gaia, I feel between two fires, even if you are the one who burns the most."

Dominic nods, before pushing him away, albeit in a kind way.

“I know, Bells, we've had this speech several times. Having something halfway is better than not having it at all,” He winks at her lover. “Besides, who knows, maybe one day I'll find myself in the same situation as you and will love a girl other than you. Isn't it that Gaia has a friend?” He makes him laugh, even to ease the tension a bit. “Come on, you idiot! I just can't picture you living in Italy." Matt teases him. “But I could, near where Gaia lives there is such a wonderful lake…”

 "To me, you can even move to live with her, but at least you should be honest first, you owe her, don't you think so?" "You are right. I'll talk to her, although, as smart as she is, I suspect she's already figuring something out… so next time I'll think twice before falling in love with a brilliant future psychologist!”

"Come on, let's go out and join the others, so if your brilliant future psychologist arrives she won't see anything inappropriate." Dom offers and Matt accepts.

When Gaia arrives she finds all four of them in the dressing room, while the supporters are about to finish the last song.

“Sorry I'm late, love, but you have no idea how much traffic there was on the street!” the beautiful Italian girl runs towards him, kissing him. “Hi, Chris, hi Tom, how nice to see you again!” She smiles at the bassist and at the photographer, without separating from Matt.

“Dom.” “Gaia.” It is difficult to establish which of the two used the more glacial tone, worthy of a Cold War.

Matthew prefers not to think about when he will have to face the consequences of his choices and focuses more on the concert they have to start.

------------------------------------------------- 

After the two encores, greeting the warm and involved audience with a superlative 'Stockholm Syndrome', the Muse entertain themselves on stage for a few photos and to give away picks or drumsticks, before heading towards the dressing room.

On the way, however, in addition to a group of screaming girls waving their CDs or some of their posters, they find a man slightly older than them, with large lively eyes and messy hair.

“Hey, I like your style!” Matthew approves, gesturing at his blue pinstripe suit.

“And I liked you, your every song, what they talk about!” congratulates the bizarre individual, with overwhelming enthusiasm. “I am looking for new Companions for my travels and you are definitely the ideal candidates.” “Are you a tour operator?” Chris looks at him puzzled.

“Whoever you are, you have a charisma that I would follow you anywhere!” Dom flirts a bit, flattering him.

On any occasion, Matthew would be extra jealous , but he's too intrigued by that stranger and what he said.

“Companions.. Travels… it almost feels like we’re dealing with 'Doctor Who'” chuckles Matt. "What?! Do you… you… do you know who I am?” the Doctor's eyes widen.

"Wait a minute.. Are you the Doctor?” enthuses Matt. "But you don't look like The Eighth, not even the Seventh..." “I am the Tenth Doctor. You can call me Ten.” "What? Will they continue with the series up to the Tenth?” Matt gets excited about it. “What?! Is there a series about me?” Ten gets excited about it. “Yeah, and the theme song is so cool, I could do something similar in a song,” the frontman reveals to him, as Ten is already lost in his thoughts.

- So the TARDIS sent me on such an extra-dimensional journey that I landed in some kind of parallel universe where my deeds are narrated in a TV series? A TV series that for the year we are in has stopped at the Eighth Doctor? Does that mean that one day someone will  play my role?- 

"Matt I don't know what you and he are babbling about, but there are other fans waiting, let's get moving!" Chris tugs at his shirt, about to carry him towards the group dominated by the girls.

"Don't move from there, I'll be back later!" Matt recommends himself with Ten, before following his friend.

Within ten minutes they get rid of the fans who came to greet them and Matt finds Ten exactly where he left him.

“You have it in your pocket… don’t you?” asks the frontman, excited.

There’s no need to clarify what, Ten understands it quickly and draws the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. “Oooohh, it's even cooler than the Eighth Doctor's!” rejoyces Matt.

"Come on, Matt, it's just a toy." Chris tries to rationalize.

Time to say it and Ten points the sonic screwdriver, now illuminated by its classic blue light, straight to the cell phone that the bassist is holding, which shortly after receives a text message.

“ ‘'And who are you calling ‘toy’?’ ” he reads, dumbstruck.

"I still don't understand what's going on, but with that tool in your hand you're even cooler!" winks Dom in the direction of Ten.

But Matthew just doesn't have time for any jealousies.

“Well, it happens that we are about to go through space and time aboard the coolest spaceship that has ever existed!” he anticipates to the other members, with an ecstatic big smile. “Ten, can you give me a moment? There is someone else that we absolutely have to take with us!” he adds, disappearing like a rocket before Ten has the time to nod.  

"Honey, where are you going in such a hurry?" Gaia crosses him on the threshold of the dressing room.

In response, Matthew pulls her towards him, giving her an impetuous kiss.

“Wow, I need to pay a visit to you more often after a concert!” She smiles, satisfied.

“Gaia, my darling, I love you so much and will miss you, I can't tell you where and how, but I might as well be gone for months…” he informs her. "But actually I think we'll meet again in five minutes." He rectifies, running away because he didn't find who he was looking for.

- No, maybe it's better to leave him alone after the concerts… he's even more nutcase than usual! - ponders Gaia, perplexed.

"Here we are, now there’s not anyone missing!" returns to the other Matts, dragging a bothered Tom with him.

“Bells, damn you, such a pretty girl was going to give me her number…” "Come on, if things go well, maybe soon you'll be able to flirt with a beautiful Venusian or Saturnian or who knows what else!" Matt counters, as Ten leads the way to his TARDIS which he has parked outside the arena.

“For a moment I thought you wanted to take Gaia with you,” Dom whispers to his partner as they walk off.

“Gaia is important to me, but, Dommeh, it is only our love that deserves to spill over into the Universe.” Matt murmurs, taking his hand.

“Well, that's a nice vintage phone booth, can I go back to the girls now?” Tom mutters.

Ten exchanges a knowing look with Matt, opening the doors to the TARDIS.

"But what?" Chris wonders puzzled, before Matt pushes him inside, doing the same thing with Tom.

Dom just needs to see Matt enter to reach him, he would follow him anywhere.

The enthusiasts: 'But it's bigger on the inside!' ritual begins, with Dom, Tom and Chris continuing to go in and out, while Matt admires every corner of the console.

“I take it they show that in the TV series as well.” comments Ten, amused.

“Yes, but it can’t even remotely be compared to actually being in here!”  

"But now I'm curious, then you'll have to show me some episodes."

"Sure, Ten, I have some DVDs in the tour bus, when we get back you'll be my guest." the pianist nods. “But… you said before that our songs convinced you that we could be your Companions, but… it doesn't seem to me that any of those in the playlist were about space or anything like that….”

“I meant the ones you will write … already starting from the next album, I know it!” chuckles Ten mischievously.

"Oh." is all the singer-songwriter manages to answer, while the other three decide to return once and for all.

"So we're on a spaceship..." Tom summarizes, looking around.

“That's right. I am a Time Lord and this is the TARDIS, acronym for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space'… don't you want to take full advantage of it?” offers the Doctor. “Who wants a nice trip?”  

"In the space?" Tom asks, excited at the thought.

“Not only that, Tom, even over time. The TARDIS can travel to the past, present and future of any planet or dimension… Did I say it right, Ten?”  

“Couldn't have said it better, Matthew!” the Doctor makes him gloat.

“Ah, right… and before you ask, we can be absent with the Doctor even for days and days and we won't miss a single date of the tour, because it's like time stops here, so no one will notice our absence.”  

“The perfect crime.” approves Tom.

"That's right, I still haven't figured out if I like the fact that I have a Companion who is already so knowledgeable about everything or it takes away the fun of explaining it to me," Ten caresses his chin. "Naahh, it's fun after all!" he giggles.

"Come on, Ten, show us what the TARDIS is capable of, how about we go spy on the Zetas and maybe foil some of their evil plans?" Matt prods him impatiently.

"I don't think they exist..." the Doctor mutters.

"What?!" the frontman gets alarmed.

"I mean... I don't think there are effective systems to remain hidden from their eyes, it’s best not to risk getting too close to them." the Time Lord corrects himself instantly, reassuring him.  

“You're right, it’s best not to deal with them. Then, you choose." “I don't think I have to think much about it. You are musically brilliant, perhaps it is appropriate for you to meet another type of genius.”

The TARDIS makes her distinctive sound and the fans outside will probably get the impression that an unusual phone box is about to vanish, but it is due to how much they drank after, during and perhaps even before the concert.

“I advise you to hold on tight!” Ten warns them.

In response, Matt and Dom hug each other tightly.  

"Um, I meant hold on to something firm..." Ten looks at them perplexed, waiting for them to grab some bar or column like Tom and Chris did. "Although now I think I understood  a little more about you." He smiles at the pair of secret lovers, now much less embarrassed.

The TARDIS does her duty and arrives at its destination amid jolts and somewhat daring landings.

“This is one of my favorite parts,” the Doctor trots towards the doors, opening them, “After you.”

It is hard to imagine who is more amazed between his new Companions and the individual who sees a phone booth materialize in his office in Bern, from which many people come out, many more than how would be scientifically allowed.

Not to mention that the individual in question is Albert Einstein.

“You weren't kidding when you said you were taking us to a genius!” Matt whispers to Ten

“I never joke… except when I joke!” replies the Doctor in the same way.

“Oh Mein Gott! Maybe I'm working too much and now I'm hallucinating." the scientist mutters, puzzled.  

“Why can we understand this?” Tom whispers to the Doctor.

“Uh, well, that's another little thing my dear TARDIS can do, the same way he'll understand you.” Ten informs his Companions, save for Matt who already knows this well.

“Uh, no, I can explain, Professor Einstein.” intervenes Ten.

“Uh? Do you know me?”

“I'm a professor too, Professor Smith,” the Doctor invents, at the moment. “These are my pupils and what you have witnessed is a means of transport that is still very, very experimental!”

"You seem a bit old to me, young men, to still be students!"

Matt has to control himself not to burst out laughing, Chris and Tom are too excited to say anything, Dom instantly adds Einstein to his personal blacklist.

- There's no way this bloody geezer didn't mistake me for a twenty-year-old boy!-  

“They are out-of-course students… but that's not the point. Can't we just watch you do your calculations? I'm sure you were working on something big..." Ten spurs him on.

Subtly proud of having such an interested audience, Einstein does not hesitate and returns to the blackboard.

“Indeed, Gentlemen, what I have just witnessed reinforces my belief: Energy is mass, related to the speed of light.”  

And while he says it, he launches into calculations and equations which then lead him to write as a final result one of the most famous formulas that have ever existed:

E = mc 2

The ensuing collective applause is as spontaneous as it is inevitable and the scientist gloats happily.

“Not bad at all, genius, but I prefer the principles of Thermodynamics. Maybe one day I'll write something about it,” Matthew leaves him stunned, before saying goodbye and returning to the blue cabin.

"I didn't tell you anything... but know that he will!" anticipates Ten to the remaining Companions, before everyone greets Einstein, who remains baffled to watch the phone book vanish under his eyes, as it appeared.

“So… You do this every day, don’t you?” Chris questions Ten, all thrilled.

“For almost a thousand years? Yes .. it's a lifestyle that doesn't get you bored so easily, am i right?” chuckles Ten, putting himself at the console. “So, does anyone want to propose the next trip?”  

TBC

Notes:

More travels and more craziness to come, do you already have any idea? the bit about Matt saying he could do something along the theme song of 'Doctor Who' is just thanks to Claudia Pfeifer who made me notice how 'Uprising' seems to contain this and Nicci Cimino who confirmed it, thanks a lot, ladies <3 Hope you’ll like this umpteenth story i didn’t expect to write, lol

[captaindarksword]

it doesnt really matter if it was planned from the start or not

it doesnt change the fact that it wasnt until the v6 finale with adams line that rthey actually hinted at the ship.  after giving blacksun so much teasing mutual attraction, development and romantic tropes  during which the b/ake and y/ng ship didnt get anything that actually teased it as romantic

at that point  even if they did plan for it to be canon at the start the best writing move would be to change the plan

 serious if it was planned at the start why give blacksun so much teasing mutual attraction and development why have them fullfill so many romantic tropes from start to finish etc

while blake and yang didnt really get anything till the v6 finale with adams line 

everything in v1-v3 was platonic you have to wear shipping goggles to see anything more

burning the candle scene was just yang helping blake ( yang being the one to help blake instead of sun isnt evidence for b/ake and yang ship

yang is blakes friend and partner on the team it makes sense that they would interact people complained about blake and ruby not interacting that much for a reason.  its funny that they will make this argument when 

sun was there for blake alot more then yang in rwby v1-5 its irrelevant that technically yang in v1-3 spent more time with blake offscreen when we get a lot of onscreen moments with blake and sun   that are romantic

)

while also serving as a way to see her backstory.

there wasnt anything romantic coded or flirty about it 

yang winking at blake doesnt make it romantic

 also there wasnt any special reaction to yang winking at blake  by either blake or music reacting to it

and friends can dance with each other

n dance afterwards blake chose to head to sun at burning the candle

 and accept the invitation that sun gave out she didnt need to do that

at the dance blake and yang dance gave them a bit of a distance between blake and yang dance

then they broke off so blacksun dance can begin neither of them having issues with it 

also the blacksun dance was in the same panel as arkos and renora dance, I have to bring it up because I often see people try t ogo well  blake and yang are partners pyrrha got with her partner etc

blake comparing yang to adam wasnt really evidence for the ship

the situation was that it looked like yang assaulted mercury which triggered her due to adam.  adam used to be different but changed  which is why she brought up adamn and it served as a means to allow us to learn more about adam.

adam being her ex is incidental

after yang lost her arm blake just up and left her with no warning not even a note

of course yang who has abandonment issues would be triggered/effected by that she didnt sound like a spurned lover 

weiss had no choice in leaving, and ruby gave yang a notice.

(the well argument that it has parallels to what happened to tai and raven is a bad argument since besides the fact that tai and raven never got back together and were in a relationship at the time. unlike blake and yang.

you shouldnt rely on parallels for a ship because you could end up seeing evidence where there is none.  You notice some similarities between what happened but ignore the differences or context of those scenes

like imagine two character hugging  and that hug getting special portrayal and a music swell etc

then turn two characters hugging without the special context and claim you have to  view it the same way

blake held weiss’s hand in the  jacques confrontation like she held yangs hand for example.  ( if it werent for adams line in v6 finale I would say there was nothing inherently romantic in blake and yangs moments together

Basically lots of people could make the argument that there are parallels without their ship coming true.

They looked more into the similarities then they were supposed to 

I have seen multiple times where people thought a ship would happen where there argument relies on parallels  they try to make.

blacksun had gotten years of teasing mutual attraction and development  from v1-5 they fullfilled countless romantic trpes while the other ship didnt get anything

at that point even if its true they planned it at the start they should have changed the plan.   They should have looked back and seen how they didnt really give anything to the other blake ship  and how much they gave to blacksun that they changed the original plan because if you have a plan at the start as you write the story you might end up having to revise the original plan/endgame due to what you ended up writing in the meantime

. Though RT is far from the only writers to fall into this problem: swerving right instead of left, only to try and claim that the characters still arrived at the destination to the left. I haven’t watched it for myself, but we’ve all heard about the disastrous How I Met Your Mother finale. From what I understand, the writers had an ending in mind, stuck to it… but in doing so ignored all the growth that occurred across the series, events and ideas they could have never foreseen when they first came up with that ending. It was an ending that no longer fit the story. If your theory holds true, anon, then RT is running into the same problem. They’ve got ideas for stuff far in the future - Yang will save Ruby from an attack in Volume 8 - but never bother to revise that material based on what they’ve written in between then and now.

I dont really care about the genders involved ( and there is no doubt the people who demand we accept or be okay with b/b would have a change of tune if sun or yangs genders were swapped.

or heck imagine if blacksun did become canon ( lets say the v6 ffinale moment remained but  the v7 onwards teasing didnt happen and blacksun had become canon)

they would get pissed and no the fact b/b was a same sex ship is irrelevant  lgbt rep is not a shield  from criticism or platform to why a ship should become  canon just because its rep

saying this isnt in anyway homophobic

its a story people are allowed to care more about if there was proper good writiing rather then a canon mc same sex ship.

so even if bb was planned from the start and arryn liked it   they should have seen the stuff they gave blacksun and went with it 

"Killing the baby" is a notion that refers to the fact that an author should be able to scrap and discard notions that they really likes or plot-points that they believe are cool in favor to having a cohesive and balanced narrative. Or, in other words: never fall in love with an idea so much that your story has to adapt around that idea instead of the idea around the story.

like "its all the misogyny when it comes down to it. Same reason a lot of the fans will see f/f relationships as “forced” because there was a boy in the picture for a bit" ( a reference to rwby fandom obviously talking about bb and sun

first of all 5 volumes of buildup isnt a bit

it doesnt matter that in v1-3 yang likely spent months with blake since its all offscreen blacksun had gotten the on screen focus and actual romantic hints which anyone could see

imagine if the genders were flipped and a female character who happens to be a side character got years of buildup with a female main character ( and the focus was on their relationship

but after years of buildup when she gets put on a bus with a promise of coming back  the female main character is then paired with  a male main character who was her  team partner who she justgot reunited with. and pushed heavily to him.

would they accept the argument that the guy and girl spent lots of time together offscreen as part of the team before the girl got separated from him.

no they would point out all the onscreen buildup for the f/f ship while the m/f ship didnt get anything romantic.

if you would react that way to the hypothetical gender flip above you should apply that belief to when it means the ship that becomes canon is a same sex ship.

it doesnt matter if its lgbt representation  that doesnt make it exempt from criticism or mean it deserves to automatically become canon just due to popularity

if its badly written  it shouldnt happen

it doesnt matter that it would mean that there is no same sex ship in team rwby.

it doesnt matter if it was planned from the start or not in the end  they gave blacksun years of buildup not bb  which got nothing, so blacksun should have happened.

(it doesnt matter that sun isnt a main character you dont need to be a main character to get with a mc )

Also yang and blake being both connected to adam with people suspecting that adam will fight them both is not evidence for bb.

I am going to be honest its annoying how if there is a ship war between a same sex ship and a het ship and the het ship becomes canon the people who ship the same sex ship get to attack it all they want but

if the same sex ship becomes canon those same people will claim its exempt from being criticized or saying its forced just because there are more shows where het ships become canon but there arent that many examples of shows with same sex ships.

sorry but that is irrelevant  and its funny how many times they will try to claim that if you criticize bb or attack bb ship and say its forced its just due to the genders involved as if no one who is part of the lgbt community would ship the het ship over the same sex ship.

they will go there are tons of shows which have het ships as if the reason why people shipped blacksun over bb must be  due to the genders involved. I recall hearing about freezerburn shippers attacked by bb shippers if its just about rep then they should be fine with freezerburn  instead of bb.

The attack is frankly insulting and projection since they shipped their ships due to genders involved bb being a same sex ship and repeatedly trying to cite bb being a f/f ship in arguments and trying to attack the character of atheir opponents or try to pull bs guilt trips.

I recall one person  complaining about them teasing a het ship instead of a same sex ship that they wanted and citing the genders involved and complaining about them teasing het ships instead of the same sex ships they felt would be believable.

it makes the claims that anti bb shippers are calling bb forced based on genders involved projection.

shipping isnt advocacy being a lgbt advocate etc doesnt mean that you have to ship the same sex ship

popularity doesnt = actual evidence see zutara

I have seen people try to argue that team jnpr getting with their partners means the same needs to happen to team rwby when no it doesnt

the whole argument that it would be heteronormative  because team jnpr is a m/f team and rwby is all female team is a dumb argument

the fact that jnpr got hinted to each other doesnt mean the same has to happen to team rwby

just like it would be if vice versa.

( ren and nora having some similarities to blake and yang doesnt mean renora happening means hat blake and yang had to get together

renora moments isnt evidence for bb.

I have seen bb shippers piggyback off of renora  multiple times for example

1. with the v6 where blake made  her protecting eachother scene ( blake held yangs hand because it was shaking it was too comfort her), and arguing that since that renora getting a similar scene where nora went we protect eachother and then ren and nora held each others hands means that bb has to get together or its romantic moment for bb.

That moment for renora wasn't in anyway romantic either even in context  renora being a ship that was flagrant from the start doesnt mean that if one ship gets a moment similar to their scene its automatically romantic.

2. or the plane scene argument where they ignore the differences in how the characters acted and made the argument that there being similar shots in some places that means that if you saw renora scene as romantic you have to see the blake and yang moment on the plane as romantic. That isnt the case renora was a private scene and did the lay head on shoulders thing  with the song about noras love playing   it being completely focused on them , while it was more of a team rwby scene where yang comforted blake and so did ruby.

ren and blake having similarities 

and nora and yang having similarities doesnt mean renora happening means b/b has to happen

heck it could be said ren and nora are foils to blake and yang which would add to an anti b/b argument

knightofbalance-13 . tumblr . com/post/159356555745/httpsinternetcowardtumblrcompost159345009048

You’re right, they are great foils. Both consist of an inexperienced leader, a stotic agile fighter, a brute force user and a famous person.

However, Ruby is in experienced due to her age, she got into beacon through very suspect but legal means , is a special kind of warrior and constantly goes through the story internalizing her pain for the most part and indirectly inspires people where as Jaune is inexperienced because he hasn’t trained to be a huntsman, got into beacon by mundane but illegal means, is a normal character, goes through the show vocalizing his pain and directly tries to inspire people.

While Blake is not actually stotic, her problems are self inflicted due to her inability to control her emotions but allows her to be more flexible, comes from a whole and wealthy family, fights for a very broad cause and looks the stealthy part, Ren is an actual stotic, avoids problems because of his silence but is incapable of being flexible with them, comes from a dead family, fights for very personal reasons and should stick out like a sore thumb.

While Yang’s brute force is treated as animalistic and as a weakness, she has a lot of personal baggage that drags her down, is very involved with her family, knows the stotic of her team for only a year and has a somewhat happy past with a tragic present, Nora’s brute force is treated as a true strength, does not let her personal baggage hold her down, does not mention a family and probably does not have one, knew the stoic of her team for about a decade and has a tragic past with a somewhat happy present.

Unlike Weiss who prides in her fame and wants to preserve it, is outwardly selfish and self centered but grows more selfless as time goes on, treats peole vastly different based on who they are, a terrible family and a platonic relationship with her leader, Pyrrha hates her fame and it isolates her from everyone, is outwardly very selfless and humble but comes to desire things for herself latter on, treats everyone equally, has a good family and has romantic feelings for her leader.