#i have never known what i'm doing and that's not about to change

[bluebvrry]

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ROMANTIC HOMICIDE⋆

Synopsis -> your heart was aching for affection from your girlfriend but what were you expecting from dating an idol? Now you’re sick of waiting patiently and think it’s time to end it

Parings -> idol!sophia x non-idol!reader

Genre -> angst, lovers to exes

Warnings -> toxic relationship, yelling, breaking up, crying, 3.04k WC, lmk if I missed anything that wasn’t mentioned

A/N -> the song says it all, mood cause I’m trying to move on from my crush 🙂↕️

You'd always known that dating Sophia, the charismatic leader of the global K-pop group Katseye, would come with its challenges. But you'd never expected it to be this hard.

At first, everything was perfect. Sophia was attentive, affectionate, and made you feel like you were the only person in the world. You'd spend hours exploring the city together, holding hands, and laughing until your sides hurt.

But then Katseye's popularity skyrocketed, and Sophia's schedule became increasingly hectic. She'd be gone for weeks at a time, performing in different countries, attending music shows, and endorsing various brands. You'd be left alone, waiting for her to come back, feeling like a ghost hovering on the periphery of her life.

Despite the distance and the stress, you held on, convinced that your love was strong enough to withstand the pressures of Sophia's career. But as the months went by, you started to feel like you were losing yourself in the process.

You were just an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life, while Sophia was a superstar, shining bright in the spotlight. You couldn't help but wonder: were you just a secret, a hidden part of Sophia's life that she kept from the rest of the world?

As you looked around your small apartment, filled with memories of your time together, you couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. That something was about to change.

You stood outside Sophia's dorm, hesitating for a moment before deciding to go in. You hadn't notified her that you were coming, but you didn't think it would be a big deal. After all, you were her girlfriend, and you'd visited her dorm countless times before.

As you entered the dorm, you were greeted by Sophia's stern expression. She was sitting on her bed, her eyes fixed intently on you.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice low and even.

You were taken aback by her tone. "I just wanted to see you," you replied, trying to sound casual.

Sophia's expression turned incredulous. "You just wanted to see me?" she repeated. "Do you have any idea how reckless that is? Someone could have taken a picture of you entering my dorm, and then what? Dating speculations would be all over the media, and my career would be ruined."

You felt a pang of hurt at her words. You knew that Sophia's career as an idol was important, but it hurt to think that she was more concerned about her public image than about you.

"I'm sorry," you said, trying to keep your tone neutral. "I didn't think about that."

Sophia sighed, rubbing her temples. "You never think about that," she said. "You never think about how your actions could affect me, or my career, or my fans."

You felt a surge of defensiveness, but you bit it back. You knew that Sophia was stressed, and that she was just trying to protect herself.

"I'm sorry," you repeated. "I'll be more careful in the future."

Sophia looked at you, her eyes searching. For a moment, you thought you saw a flicker of something else in her expression, something that looked almost like regret.

But then her mask slipped back into place, and she nodded curtly. "Good," she said. "Just be more careful, okay?"

You nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over you. You knew that Sophia was still stressed, but at least she wasn't yelling at you anymore.

"I'll go now," you said, turning to leave.

Sophia nodded, her eyes already back on her phone. "Yeah, go."

You left the dorm, feeling a sense of sadness wash over you. You knew that Sophia was busy, and that her career was important, but it hurt to feel like you were just an afterthought to her.

As you walked away from the dorm, you couldn't help but wonder if things would ever go back to the way they were before. When Sophia had time for you, when she laughed with you, when she loved you.

You sighed, shaking your head. You knew that those days were behind you now.

Meanwhile, back in Sophia's dorm, Lara walked in, a look of concern etched on her face.

"Hey, Soph, what's going on?" she asked, nodding towards the door. "I saw your girlfriend leaving, and she looked really upset."

Sophia rolled her eyes, not even bothering to look up. "She just dropped by unannounced," she said. "I had to yell at her."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "You had to yell at her?" she repeated. "Soph, that's not like you. What's going on?"

Sophia sighed, rubbing her temples again. "I don't know, Lara," she said. "I just feel so trapped sometimes. I have to be perfect all the time, I have to smile and wave and pretend like everything is okay, even when it's not."

Lara nodded sympathetically. "I get it," she said. "But maybe you should try talking to your girlfriend about how you're feeling. Maybe she can help you work through some of this stuff."

Sophia snorted. "You think she can handle it?" she asked. "She's just a normal girl, Lara. She doesn't understand what it's like to be in my shoes."

Lara frowned. "That's not fair, Soph," she said. "Your girlfriend loves you, and she's trying to support you. Maybe you should try meeting her halfway."

Sophia raised an eyebrow, her expression incredulous. "You think I should be grateful for her recklessness?" she asked. "She could have ruined my career, Lara."

Lara sighed, shaking her head. "You're not thinking about the bigger picture, Soph," she said. "You're so focused on your career that you're forgetting about the people who care about you."

Sophia's expression turned cold, her eyes flashing with anger. "I don't need a lecture from you, Lara," she said. "I know what I'm doing."

Lara held up her hands, a gesture of surrender. "Fine, Soph," she said. "But just remember, you can't keep pushing people away and expecting them to come back. Eventually.

As you collapsed onto the couch, you felt a wave of exhaustion wash over you. The confrontation with Sophia had left you drained, both emotionally and mentally. You reached for your headphones and plugged them in, desperate to drown out the thoughts swirling in your head.

You opened Spotify, and the first song to pop up was "Romantic Homicide" by d4vd. You raised an eyebrow, surprised by the coincidence. But as you started listening to the song, you realized that the lyrics seemed to describe your current relationship with Sophia perfectly.

The song's themes of toxic love, obsession, and desperation resonated deeply with you. You felt like you were trapped in a never-ending cycle of pain and heartache, and you couldn't escape.

As you listened to the song on repeat, you started to feel a sense of validation. You weren't crazy for feeling the way you did. You weren't overreacting. Your feelings were real, and they were justified.

But as the song continued to play, you started to feel a sense of hopelessness creeping in. You realized that you couldn't keep going on like this. You couldn't keep trying to make the relationship work, only to be constantly disappointed and hurt.

You started to think about all the what-ifs. What if you stopped trying? What if you focused on yourself and moved on? What if you took control of your own happiness, instead of relying on Sophia to make you happy?

As you thought about these questions, you started to feel a sense of clarity wash over you. You realized that you had been living in a state of limbo for far too long. You had been stuck in a relationship that was no longer serving you, and it was time to move on.

You thought about all the times Sophia had hurt you, all the times she had ignored you or dismissed your feelings. You thought about the way she had spoken to you earlier, the way she had made you feel like you were the problem.

And then you thought about the way you felt when you were with Sophia. You thought about the way she made you feel like you were walking on eggshells, never knowing when she would blow up at you or ignore you.

You realized that you deserved better. You deserved to be in a relationship where you felt seen and heard, where you felt loved and valued. You deserved to be with someone who made you feel good about yourself, not someone who constantly tore you down.

As you came to this realization, you felt a sense of weight lift off your shoulders. You felt like you could finally breathe again, like you had been holding your breath for far too long.

You took a deep breath, feeling a sense of determination wash over you. You were done trying to make the relationship work. You were done being the one to try and fix things. You were done being the one to apologize and make excuses.

You were going to focus on yourself, on your own happiness and well-being. You were going to take control of your own life, and you were going to move on.

The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying. But as you sat there on the couch, listening to "Romantic Homicide" on repeat, you knew that it was the right decision. You knew that it was time to let go of the past and move on to a brighter future.

As the day went on, Sophia couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. She was used to receiving good morning texts from you, followed by a string of messages throughout the day. But today, there was nothing. No texts, no calls, no messages.

At first, Sophia thought that you were probably just still mad at her for what she had said the day before. She had been harsh, she knew that. But she had been stressed, and she hadn't meant to hurt your feelings.

As the hours ticked by, Sophia started to feel a growing sense of unease. She tried to brush it off, telling herself that you were probably just busy, or that you were still sulking. But deep down, she knew that something was wrong.

Sophia found herself checking her phone obsessively, waiting for a message or a call from you. But there was nothing. Just silence.

She tried to focus on her work, but her mind kept wandering back to you. What were you doing? Were you okay? Why weren't you responding to her?

As the day drew to a close, Sophia realized that she had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had forgotten to eat lunch. She ordered some food and sat down at her desk, staring blankly at her phone.

Where were you? Why weren't you talking to her?

Sophia's mind was a jumble of questions and worries. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew that she didn't like it.

As she waited for some sign from you, Sophia couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very wrong.

You were taken aback by the sudden knock on your door. You hadn't expected Sophia to show up at your place, especially not after the way things had been between you two lately.

You got up from the couch, hesitating for a moment before making your way to the door. You peered through the peephole, and your heart skipped a beat when you saw Sophia standing on the other side.

She looked frantic, her eyes wide with worry and her face pale. You could see the desperation in her eyes, and for a moment, you felt a pang of guilt.

You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for what was to come. You opened the door, and Sophia burst in, her words tumbling out in a rush.

"What's going on, y/n?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Why did you send me that message? We can't just break up like that. We need to talk about this."

You stood your ground, trying to remain calm despite the turmoil that was brewing inside you. "I think we've talked enough, Sophia," you said, your voice firm but quiet. "I've been thinking a lot about us, and I realize that I deserve better. I deserve someone who prioritizes me, who makes time for me, who loves me for who I am."

Sophia's face fell, her eyes welling up with tears. "You deserve better?" she repeated, her voice cracking. "What are you talking about? I love you, y/n. I've always loved you."

You felt a pang of sadness at her words, but you knew that you couldn't let your emotions get the better of you. You took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and focused.

"I know you think you love me, Sophia," you said, your voice soft but firm. "But love isn't just about words. It's about actions. And your actions have shown me time and time again that I'm not your priority."

Sophia's face crumpled, and she started to sob. You felt a pang of guilt, but you knew that you couldn't back down now. You had to see this through, no matter how hard it was.

As Sophia sobbed, you felt a pang of compassion and empathy. You knew that this wasn't easy for her, and that she was hurting. You took a step forward, and wrapped your arms around her, holding her close.

"Sophia, I'm sorry," you whispered, your voice soft and gentle. "I know this isn't easy for you. But I have to be honest with you. Our relationship has been struggling for a long time. We've grown apart, and we want different things. I deserve better, and so do you."

Sophia pulled back, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She looked up at you, her expression searching.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice shaking. "We've had our ups and downs, but I thought we were happy. I thought we were in love."

You took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

"We were happy, Sophia," you said. "We were in love. But that was a long time ago. Lately, it's felt like we're just going through the motions. We're not communicating, we're not connecting. We're just existing in this relationship, and it's not fair to either of us."

Sophia looked at you, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I didn't prioritize our relationship."

You smiled sadly, feeling a pang of nostalgia.

"It's not just your fault, Sophia," you said. "We both played a part in this. But I think it's time for us to move on. You deserve someone who can give you the love and attention you need. Someone who can prioritize you and make you happy."

Sophia nodded, her eyes welling up with tears again.

"I'll always love you," she whispered.

You smiled, feeling a sense of closure.

"I'll always love you too, Sophia," you said. "But it's time for us to say goodbye."

As Sophia walked away from your apartment, she felt a sense of emptiness wash over her. She had never felt so alone, so lost. She thought about the things you had said, about how she had neglected you and prioritized her idol life instead.

Her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Lara the other day. Lara had told her that she was being too harsh, that she needed to communicate with you and work through their problems together. But Sophia had dismissed her concerns, telling herself that she knew what was best for their relationship.

Now, as she walked alone on the darkening streets, Sophia realized that she had been blind to the truth. She had been so focused on her career, on being the perfect idol, that she had forgotten what it meant to be in a relationship. She had forgotten how to love, how to care for someone else's feelings.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she thought about all the times she had hurt you. All the times she had ignored your messages, or dismissed your feelings. All the times she had put her career first, and you second.

Sophia felt a wave of regret wash over her. She wished she could turn back time, wished she could go back to the days when their love was new and strong. But it was too late now. You had made it clear that you were done, that you deserved better.

As she walked, Sophia's tears began to fall. She felt like she was losing herself, like she was drowning in a sea of regret. She thought about all the what-ifs, all the things she could have done differently.

Why had she been so blind? Why had she let her career consume her? Why had she hurt you so badly?

Sophia's sobs grew louder, echoing through the empty streets. She felt like she was shattering into a million pieces, like her heart was breaking into tiny fragments.

She didn't know how to put herself back together again. She didn't know how to heal the wounds she had inflicted on you, or on herself. All she knew was that she had lost the love of her life, and she didn't know how to get it back.

[dinogoofymutated]

Okay, since requests are open, I wanted to ask for something, especially after seeing that you are comfortable with most male characters.

I present:

Scott Summers x fem!reader who's just a little too rebelious and annoying for his taste but he still can't help but love her? Like, enemies to lovers kind of style?

If you want to do a oneshot or headcanons is up to you, I'm just starving for Scott content.

Don't know, if you wanna do is, especially since he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought "hey, give it a try, maybe she wants to try someting different" so here I go

Anyway, love your work, you#re amazing <3

Cyclops/GN!Reader I've had this prompt saved in my drafts for SO LONG. Basically since the moment it came in!! I was so happy you sent this in bc i had been thinking about writing for Scott, but then I couldn't think of a good enough way to carry this out so I waited on it for a good bit until I had it down to a science!! Hope you enjoy!! Man, I started writing this and then realised I had to make a banner for him too 😭 I did this to myself tho Most of the characters I write for are written as combinations from different x-men media, but I'm still figuring out how I want to characterise Scott since he's a new character for me. Just wanted to put this out there in case I change how I write for him in future fics. (also, let me know how you feel about him in this one! Tell me if yall think I should tweak his attitude a bit :) ) Edit from the future: I started this draft so long ago and damn did it turn out long. TWs: Idk at the moment, will add if I think of any! Reader has a specific power that is kinda vague at first. I've written them out at the very bottom BUT if u read u will spoil the surprise of the fic so fair warning

Scott does not like you. At least, not anymore.

You've known each other for a long time, both coming to Xavier's school within weeks of each other. You used to be friends- or at least friendly. But as you both grew and learned more about yourselves and your powers, a gap began to form, and then continued to grow once both of you became members of the x-men.

It's not like he didn't notice your tendency for rebellious behavior before, but on the field? the two of you clashed more than ever. He's doing his best out here, and the last thing he needs as a leader is both you and Logan going out of your way to put yourselves in dangerous situations because you think you know better.

And the moment you get back to the mansion? You clash all over again- and over the dumbest things. You practically avoid him all of the time, refuse to spar with him unless you're forced, will scoot away from him if he has to sit next to you on game nights. It's like the very thought of brushing against him is enough to get under your skin.

The moment the blackbird lands, you should have known what to expect. But you're in such a good mood, with the mission having gone well despite all odds. Sure, you didn't exactly follow Cyclops' foolproof plan, but when did you ever?

Scott is standing at the end of the ramp when the doors open, watching with a rather sour look on his face as you laugh with Jubilee, the others trailing shortly behind. He crosses his arms, and you barely stop short of him, acting like you had never seen him in the first place as you sigh, nodding at the others to go ahead before finally turning to him and crossing your own arms.

"Go ahead. Say your piece." You say. It only stokes the irritation in him, and he scowls.

"You can't go one, single mission and actually listen to what I say, can you?" He snaps. You roll your eyes, knowing that if he had it his way, you'd never have gone on the mission at all. Still, you stand defiantly, unwilling to back down.

"Look, you weren't even there, you can't expect me to-"

"It would be different if I was there, but I wasn't." Scott interrupts you, and the aggravation it lights in you is practically all-consuming. You can't hold back your scowl. "You were the only senior member of the team on that plane, do you understand how detrimental it could have been if you had gotten hurt, or worse?!" Oh, what a load of horseshit. It's alway the boy scout schtick with him- I'm the leader, do what I say, If I was there none of this would have happened- what an asshole! Hell, in the second half you might have actually thought he was concerned for you and the team, but you knew better.

"Don't act like you actually give a damn, Summers." You snap. "Everyone is fine, no one got hurt, I don't see your problem." You're done with this. You're tired, sweaty, exhausted, and the last thing you want to be doing right now is talking with him. You knock shoulders with him as you brush past, but he reaches out and grabs you by the arm. You feel a mix of strong emotions- anger, concern, frustration- and thoughts swim in your head, before snatching your arm away from him like you'd been burned. He pauses for a second as you whip around and look at him, a rage in your eyes. He still looks at you with that stupid, stubborn look on his face.

"I get that you think I'm just some stuck-up asshole, but there's a reason I get angry when you do something reckless." His voice has lost the smallest a bit of fire. You scoff at him immediately, before turning away to storm out.

"Eat shit."

So no. things weren't exactly cool between you two.

It's not like you weren't friends at some point though, back when you were kids. You didn't know what happened to cause this rift, but he only really thought of you as some reckless idiot as of late, and you didn't care to learn anything else about what was going on in his brain.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean you could avoid him forever. Not when the both of you are on a team.

You only realise how much pain you're in when the blackbird's autopilot clicks on. Your suit was scuffed and worn in some areas, starting to burn at the edges of your sleeves as the protective coating started to wear away. You noticed it in the midst of battle, trying to focus on manipulating debri to a colder temperature rather than a hot one, but sometimes you can't afford to be picky in fights. Your suit may have been temperature resistant, but you were temperature invulnerable. Besides, heat did the most damage anyway.

You frown a bit at the sight of your burnt sleeves. Normally, you'd be worried that Hank would be mad at having to make a new suit again, but if anything you were sure he'd be grateful for the challenge of improving it. Scott was really the only one who would scold you for it, always coming back to the same arguments of being too reckless, ect, ect... and speaking of Scott, he was being awfully quiet right now.

The cockpit is empty exempt for the two of you, being the only two assigned to the mission. Scott is sat in the pilot's chair, and you can't really see much of him besides the top of his head. He's silent, and it makes you worried.

When you stand and walk. over to him, his face looks pained. You're sure his eyes are closed under his signature visor, his head leaning back limply in the chair, hair tussled. You furrow your eyebrows. You knew he'd be tired, but he's not usually this burned out.

"Scott? You alright?" You ask. he only hums in response. It's then when you realise what's wrong.

"Migraine?" You ask, and he hums in the affirmative. You wince at the thought. You knew he got migraines often, especially when using his mutation more than usual, and having migraines yourself, you knew he was hurting. You take a look at where the emergency aid box usually is, knowing it had painkillers, but the space is empty, and you sigh to yourself when you remember you used it on a local- Scott agreeing with you for once when you wanted to leave it with them for any more emergencies. You look back at Scott, and think for a moment more.

Scott jumps when you place a cold hand on his forehead, having settled your weight on the back of the chair behind him. It sparks a feeling of surprise.

"What are you doing?" Scott asks, and instead of his usual accusatory tone, he just sounds tired.

"Don't be a baby." You respond, chilling both hands and combing through his hair gently. Scott is confused as all hell. Why were you doing this? You go out of your way to avoid him at any cost, and then... this? What even was this?

But... he'd be lying if it didn't feel nice. Scott begins to relax underneath you as you continue to comb through his scalp, pressing gentle touches to his forehead as you do so. It's... it feels good.

"My mom used to do this when I was little." You say softly, after a long moment of silence. "Whenever I had a migraine, she'd run her hands under cold water for a long time, lay my head in her lap, and run her hands through my hair. The cold usually helped." Scott's shoulder's are sagging now, and he sighs every once in a while. Although he doesn't say anything, you don't need to ask. There's a question beginning to brim, but you answer it before he can even speak- saving him the effort of talking in the midst of his pain.

"...And it just felt nice to feel her play with my hair, I guess. 'figured it might help you, too."

You try not to dwell on whatever thoughts begin to swirl after that.

It's hard to tell when things shift after that. Even harder for Scott to understand why.

Eventually you go from avoiding him at any given chance, stiff and petty with your actions, to casual. Not quite friendly, but almost.

"And... Right hand red!" Jubilee calls from the couch, having entirely too much fun for someone who isn't even playing this game. Everyone who's already lost has dispersed, either playing a different game or having good conversation. The game of twister had started with four? Maybe five of you? But at the moment, it was just down to you and Scott. -The two of you being way too competitive to let the other win. At the moment, both of you were in a bit of a strange position, with Scott managing to crawl over you at some point. Aside from that, the game had been going on for uncomfortably long- long enough for the pizza to get here.

The doorbell rings and it's pretty instantaneous when people start to flock to the kitchen for the feast, Jubilee included. There's a flicker of panic in both of you as she quickly leaves.

"Hey!-"

"Jubilee! Wait!"

"You'll be fine, you big babies!" She calls out, giggling in her pursuit of the cheesy goodness. That just leaves you and Scott on the matt, pressed together in some places and a but uncomfortable, but awkwardly? Still competeting.

"God, that pizza smells good." Scott groans from above you, the smell of food becoming more and more tempting. You think about it, for a half a second maybe, but that competitive little devil on your shoulder gets to you before your stomach can.

"You know what? why don't you go ahead and grab a piece!" You say, causing Scott to cock an eyebrow at you.

"What, and let you win? Not a chance." He huffs. You shrug best you can, it was worth a shot! Neither of you were going to budge any time soon, determined not to let the other win. But the longer you stayed pressed together...

It's not like you hadn't noticed how handsome Scott was. Hell, who wouldn't? Even Logan isn't immune to his good looks, but obviously you weren't going to be... wierd, about it. You're just playing a game, right? But the sight of him above you, slightly flushed, shifting every once in a while while keeping his balance? It was... tempting.

It doesn't take long for other thoughts to begin swimming around, worming their way into your mind. The two of you in various states of undress... gasping, gripping onto one another... marks on his neck, your lips swollen and stained by the lipstick your wearing tonight.

Each and every thought leaves you more flustered than before, slipping on the plastic mat and accidentally knocking into one of Scott's weight bearing arms and sending the two of you colliding into the floor. You hear Scott let out a noise of pain and you're not down there for long before you shove him off of you, face burning as you grumble about his win. You stalk off without much fanfare, leaving Scott a bit befuddled.

"What was that all about?"

But regardless of how aggravated you made eachother sometimes, everyone has their breaking point...

You're surprised when Scott kisses you in the hall some weeks later, less than a second after a heated spat started to take a bit of a turn, but to be honest? You were into it.

His lips are soft, if a little chapped, heated kisses full of force and urgency before they soften just a little. You kiss him back in a similar manner his hands falling to your waist as you grab him by the collar and pull him even closer. You're quick to start moving the two of you backwards fumbling for a closet door you could have sworn was right... there.

As soon as the door swings open, you pull him inside, pushing him against the wall once it closes again and cupping the back of his neck as you pull him into another kiss. An unfamiliar feeling of warmth shoots through you as you do, and you almost giggle as his thoughts start to flood with more and more tempting situations for the two of you to be in.

After each and every dirty thought he has, you start to wonder if he even remembered your touch telepathy after having known you for so long- but hell, even if he didn't, you weren't complaining.

If u made it this far, I wanna give u details about the Reader's powers some more!! Specifically, the powers are temperature manipulation/temperature invulnerability/touch telepathy! They get a bit complicated bc reader can't light shit on fire or make ice out of the air, but they can melt shit and freeze existing water though! As long as reader touches it in some way! Due to this they're invulnerable to heat/cold for obvious reasons. Touch telepathy was added bc i love mutations with unnecessary layers (Emma frost) and... u really think I was gonna let scott get away without banging another telepath? wrONG

[elizabethrobertajones]

"Ah, Jane, a word with thee," Urianger called, stopping her attempt to sidle past unnoticed.

"W-what do you want?" she asked, as always somewhere on the nervous-to-panicked scale when presented with the sinister false prophet.

"Now that my deception hath been unveiled, there is much I must ask thee about the holes you claim twisteth like knots in the thread of your memory, for I have learned answers to questions you know not to ask."

"Um. S-sure." She glanced back and forth between Thancred, who was impassive but seemingly unconcerned with swooping in and rescuing her from this particular fate, and Papalymo, who smiled encouragingly and gave her a little nod. She was left with no one to save her from being lead to a quiet table in the corner of the Rising Stones.

She balled her fists on her knees to stop her shaking hands from betraying her, and studied the flame of the candle between them; the familiar whisper of fire brought some comfort even if Y'shtola and Krile had tactfully withdrawn for their privacy at a nod from Urianger, and left Jane utterly abandoned of friendly faces.

He didn't say anything, but stared, inscrutable, until she couldn't take it any more. "What?!" she demanded.

"Perhaps it would be best if you were to once more regale me with thy tale of thy flight from Ishgard, and the last things you remember of that night."

Her eyes widened even more than their normal darting state. "Umm, why? The Warriors of Darkness weren't there, were they? Were they?"

"Nay, I believe they arrived but recently. It... it is Elidibus's comments that have left me pondering."

She stared at him. Behind his goggles, he presumably stared back.

"And?!" Jane finally demanded.

"'Twould seem he had more than passing knowledge of thy situation, and called thee not Warrior of Light, but 'The Runaway' more than once. Indeed, I was not sure you were one and the same until thy path did cross with mine own schemes."

"I... I guess I did run away from Ishgard. Why would he care about that?"

"And that is why I bid thee recount thy tale once more."

She sighed, and sunk deeper into the chair, eyes once more darting to the warm candle flame. So much had happened since that night; so much of her perspective on the world had been changed, by force, by others and by scenarios she never could have dreamed of while selling potions from her parents' stall in the Jewelled Crozier.

Were the words she'd use now be the same as how she had first told it in shaky terms to Minfilia, lured by Thancred's assurance that she knew everything. That she could give all the answers to why Jane's dreams manifested the visions they did. And Minfilia had known almost nothing, told her only of the Echo but not of her own history, and left her to fend for herself. Left them all, now. And Urianger, mysterious and cryptic at the best of times, had pulled all those strings... And seemed at last to be someone who maybe did know more than they let on.

She swallowed.

"They were buying poisons from us. The heretics. I - I didn't know that. I just sold the ingredients. B-but they showed up when my parents weren't there. Left me in charge. A-and they made me feel like I was friends with them all. I thought some of them was highborns from the way they dressed, and some of them was knights from the way they walked, but they were fashionable, and charming, and... and I was just enjoying their attention. And they'd hang around for a bell chinwagging and scaring off boring customers, and when Temple Knights came by they'd buy something off the stall right quick and melt away laughing. I wanted nothing more than to go with them, but I - I didn't want to disappoint my parents."

"I'm sorry, Jane," Urianger said, startling her out of her reverie. He seemed to mean it, his hand falling back to his side like he had reached for her and thought better of it before she had looked up.

She shook her head. "What's done is done. They're at the bottom of Witchdrop and I'm here. I got Aymeric to look to see what happened to them, you know. And he couldn't even look at me. I know it was bad." She shrugged. "They got framed for poisoning the old Lord Commander and the Inquisition moves fast. There's a leatherworker in our old stall, now. I went and looked but I was too scared to see if the first coins were still under the loose cobble under the stall. If I got seen sneaking back at midnight to the scene of the crime, I don't know if even Aymeric would have seen fit to listen and pardon me."

"First coins?"

"You know, when you start a business and the first thing someone buys, you put the coins somewhere safe, for luck." She sniffed, and rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes. "Don't know why I'd want them anyway, come to think of it."

He nodded. "An ill omen to carry with thee, indeed."

She glanced up and gave him a strangled kind of smile, before returning to examination of the candle. "So that night. When the Lord Commander died. I think they knew they framed us; they wanted to ruin my family. I'm sure of it. They came right to me as I was folding up the stall, and told me to come with them, and I didn't even see how scared they were, I was so chuffed to be invited anywhere. I just followed them right down into the Brume."

"And then?" Urianger prompted.

She started, glancing around once more. "I don't know if telling you this is going to make me in even more trouble, but there's more than one way out of Ishgard. A couple of paths to the Highlands and all right sketchy tunnels. Smugglers and such use them, as well as the heretics. But you know when you get down there, nothing's safe anyway. Vilekin everywhere, caves full of bats. And all frozen over and infested with elementals since the Calamity to boot.

"I didn't know where we were going, thought they had a hideout or something when they opened a hatch under a barrel at the back of a house. But it was a tunnel and they were pushing me along it. And I realised how freaked out they were. The highborn one, the mage, he was really shoving my shoulder to make me walk even when my boots were slipping on the ice that was all over the ground. And then I think I heard the Temple Knights, and they made us run. I weren't the only one who slipped, I stopped to help one of them up, and we got behind the rest of the group.

"And then there was a dead end where the rock had collapsed, and they were all shouting, and making us go back, and then the Temple Knights were right behind us, so we got to some real steep stairs, over the Abyss. Even afore you got to it you could hear the winds sucking you towards it. And the highborn mage stopped, right there at the top of the stairs, and said, I'll hold them off. And - and his face. He... I didn't know what it was then, I was so scared. I'd never seen it before, you know. It was the Ascian glyph, and he was doing a summoning. I was trying not to slip on the stairs but I looked back because I felt the dark magick and I knew he was doing something really bad, and I was right where it was so slippy, and I looked at him and made eye contact and I know he was summoning a voidsent, but - that's the last thing I remember. I think I slipped; I think one of them must have carried me.

"It was three days later in Fallgourd Float when I next knew anything. An Ul'dahn merchant found me on the side of the road, unconscious; he thought the Dullahans had got me but I'd been lying there a while and they hadn't hurt me, so I don't think they cared to be quite honest. Anyway, he took me to the inn, and when I woke up I was so scared that we were anywhere near Coerthas when he offered to take me home I paid him all I had to take me to Thanalan instead. A-and that's where I was when Thancred found me and I ended up meeting swivin' Ascians everywhere."

"Did you recognise the Ascian who was amongst this heretic group?"

She shook her head. "One of those low level ones with the boring glyphs. I never saw one of that gang when we met all those heretics when we were investigating Iceheart, or since I went back to Ishgard. I was too scared to ask Ysayle if she knew them. Or. Or I didn't want to know. In case she said she didn't. But the more we learn the less I think she would've."

Urianger nodded thoughtfully. "I suspect they knew not who you were either, but sensed your latent Echo or some other sense of your destiny, and attempted to protect you for later use. I know not what other schemes Elidibus has, for I was allowed only to know the scantest details beyond that which I was charged for mine own deceptions. But between his manipulation of the Warriors of Darkness, and that which Unukalhai unfolded of his history as Elidibus's apprentice, I suspect he may have many other agents as yet unknown to us; many that he cultivateth for purposes as yet unknown even to himself, for their schemes speak both of long planning and sudden, spontaneous meddling. Perhaps thy presence in this long-planned poisoning scheme to throw Ishgard into disarray led to a desire to cultivate thee as well; in losing you they drove you to the bosom of the Scions instead, and thus does Elidibus muse on your presence, nay, even ask if I am aware of thy heresy in Ishgard."

"Aymeric did drop the charges and issue a full apology to my family," she said, pouting.

Urianger laughed softly. "And we are glad to have thee amongst us as a free agent, and many of thy fears allayed."

"But you still don't know what happened to me. Those three days between Ishgard and Fallgourd Float?"

He shook his head. "I wonder if the summoning did more to unsettle thee than thou thinkest; that you did not slip, but some other dark force came upon thee, given the affinity of thy magicks to the umbral and destructive, and the comfort with which you commune with voidsent. But as you had never chanced to see one until that day, there is no way to know if this is an innate ability, or one that has come upon thee as a result of thy travails."

She scrunched her nose, and looked away. "Well then. I guess I still know nothing. Wish I could just ask Elidibus if he did something to me, you know? I don't want to be cultivated."

"Mayhap a time will come when you may ask him for the answers you seek. If it reassureth you even a small measure, it seemed to me that he was both unsettled and somewhat scared of thee."

"Good." She pushed herself up out of the chair, and stretched. "Well, thank you, Urianger. I need to go... elsewhere now. But. Thank you."

He smiled at her, and for the first time he didn't completely terrify her down to the core. Unfortunately, his words had done that instead, and she felt nigh on close to crawling out of her own skin to remove herself from his presence regardless of it were his fault or his words.

Maybe it was time to return to Ishgard for a spell and enjoy her new freedom.

[caesariawritesstuff]

So I have to ask- do you have any headcanons about how Edward would be as a dad? Or what do you think he'd want, like a son or daughter?

Your previous headcanon thing was great and got me thinking!

Edward Nigma as a Dad - Headcanons

Summary: Edward as a dad headcanon's.

Content Warning: Mentions of neglect and past abuse.

Word Count: 760

A/N: As usual, I'm so sorry this took me so long to get to! But I love thinking of the rogues as parents, haha.

Edward wouldn’t have a preference for gender. He doesn’t have time to worry about such things, all he cares about is the baby is born safely and healthy – and that it will eventually reach the same intelligence level as him.

Dad Edward is definitely a stricter one. He demands obedience and doesn’t approve of any backtalking or attitude. He believes he should be treated with the utmost respect.

Edward wouldn’t have a preference for gender. He doesn’t have time to worry about such things, all he cares about is the baby is born safely and healthy – and that it will eventually reach the same intelligence level as him.

Dad Edward is definitely a stricter one. He demands obedience and doesn’t approve of any backtalking or attitude. He believes he should be treated with the utmost respect.

Edward wouldn’t have a preference for gender. He doesn’t have time to worry about such things, all he cares about is the baby is born safely and healthy – and that it will eventually reach the same intelligence level as him.

Dad Edward is definitely a stricter one. He demands obedience and doesn’t approve of any backtalking or attitude. He believes he should be treated with the utmost respect.

Edward wouldn’t have a preference for gender. He doesn’t have time to worry about such things, all he cares about is the baby is born safely and healthy – and that it will eventually reach the same intelligence level as him.

Dad Edward is definitely a stricter one. He demands obedience and doesn’t approve of any backtalking or attitude. He believes he should be treated with the utmost respect.

He’ll shower his kids with age appropriate toys, but push them to try something harder than their age level. He really wants his child to be just as, if not more, intelligent than him. He values intelligence above all else.

Edward will fall in love immediately with his child. He didn’t think it would happen, but as soon as he lays eyes on his newborn, he won’t be able to stop himself. He’s never known what it’s like to see something so tiny and innocent, and will want to protect his child with every fiber of his being. It’s definitely a first for him.

Edward is, of course, still a narcissist, which means he does struggle to share attention with his child. He often gets jealous if he feels too much attention is being paid to the baby for extended periods of times.

However, he’s also quite an attentive father, and he finds himself treating the baby almost like a puzzle to solve. Is it gassy? Is it hungry? Colicky? Does it need to be fed or changed? He approaches fatherhood as the biggest riddle of all, and consistently finds himself questioning the behavior of the tiny human he helped spawn.

However, Edward isn’t a traditional father. He has a hard time doing “normal” things, like playing dolls, dress up, tossing a football, or letting himself be silly and uninhibited. Speaking in baby talk or lowering himself to a less-than intelligent sort of speak is something he finds far beneath him, and he hates stooping to that “level”. He prefers to speak to his child at an above-average level, and has a hard time letting himself go.

When he does play with his child, he prefers memorization games, shape games, or anything that can help nurture their intelligence. He’s been known to build his own toys for his child, anything he can make that he deems “appropriate”. Ergo, not distracting with silly noises or flashing lights or too many bright colors.

Edward is not without his faults. He can be neglectful at times, deeming his own work more important than the needs of his child. He’ll never let them sit in their own filth or go hungry, but on an emotional level, he’s been known not to pay as much attention to the child as he should at times.

However, Edward’s own terrible childhood is the one thing he clings to, using it as a way to remind him he needs to be a better father. Repeating his father’s mistakes is one of his biggest fears with his child, and he’s terrified of following in his own footsteps. It’s this realization that often pulls Edward back from the brink when he starts to get to be too much, whether it be too impatient or grouchy with his child.

If reformed, he does need serious therapy to keep himself and his mental state in check. He will attend therapy on a consistent basis to work on his own issues that he has with his father, and developing helpful coping skills to make sure he doesn’t repeat the same mistakes.

He definitely does enjoy watching his child grow up. Getting to witness them as they experience something new within the world, like trying a new food or learning a new word or skill or reaching a milestone, is fascinating to him. He finds himself often curious about how the mind of his child works, and he wants to foster their intelligence as much as he possibly can.

If the mom is in the picture, he often ends up hiding his affection for his child from her. He views it as weak, and won’t show himself being vulnerable in front of anyone else with his child, especially not in front of his partner – but that doesn’t mean his partner doesn’t catch him from time to time, showing affection and gazing at his child with wonder in his own eyes that he could create something so tiny and innocent.

However, despite his narcissism, he does care for his child – seeing them as an extension of himself – and is determined to protect them no matter the cost.

[damian-al-ghul-wayne]

Out of character.

Hello. This is Damian's mun, and I'm making this post to shed light on my name because of certain allegations that have been surrounding me with 'sending' death threats.

I would like to start this off and say that I do not condone or agree with anything that has been said to any of the people who have gotten asks such as that. After a discord server incident in November, I blocked a handful of people and deleted the app from my phone. I needed away and didn't want to see any of these people's posts due to things that had been said to me in private conversations. During this time shortly afterward, I was in the hospital because I tried to take my own life. Everything was too much for me, and I couldn't handle it. And that's how it's been for the past few months.

I want to apologize to the people who have been getting these anons because it absolutely is not what should be happening. I have a feeling that it may be people that I have associated myself with or that have spoken to me before about the situation awhile back. I didn't know any of this was said, and if it was said on my behalf, then I am extremely sorry. I haven't had much contact with anyone from that old dc rp server or anyone who was involved. I've kept the people who I didn't want to interact with blocked and off of my tumblr feed for my own mental well-being.

And now, it is apparently happening again, and I am getting blamed for these types of threats.

For the past few weeks, I have kept tumblr deleted off of my phone and have mainly been using the website if I needed to post / wanted to post on my Damian blog. Otherwise, I am never on Tumblr. I know people dislike me, and I know that will never change, but I would at least appreciate my name not being blamed for something that I wasn't involved in. I was only informed of this situation because I had been messaged and sent a link to a conversation that was happening surrounding it.

For the past few months, I have not been in a stable or correct mindset. I made this Damian blog as a way to distract myself from my own health. This blog was made on August 3rd, 2024, the day after I had turned eighteen. I started my first semester of college on the 19th. Everything this blog has stand for was just a way for me to distract myself from my own life and escape reality. If I had known that these things would happen and worsen my own health, I would never have made this blog. I'm not asking for sympathy or pity. All I ask is that threats and messages such as "kill yourself" or "i hope you get raped" aren't sent to ANYONE. It's not a fun thing. I've experienced it multiple times myself with this blog, and I've seen others experience it now, too.

Overall, I would like to apologize to @/totally-not-peter-parker, @/thebetterrobin, and @/anyone else who had received these kinds of messages, especially after the whole discord incident. None of what was said to either of you deserved, and I hope that it never happens again.

I'm not sure what to do anymore, but I think that's mostly what covers what I wanted to say. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I am truly sorry once more that this is even happening in the first place.

[thequeenofthewinter]

What would they have wanted me to be?

Never lonely.

The tragically poetic irony of this line to lock into Emmrich's romance is perhaps lost on him. I'm not sure he ever really thought further into the implications of what lichdom well and truly means in this aspect. Does Rook? Is that why they chose this line because it's heartbreaking. This morning I was thinking about what this line might imply in relation to our favorite gentleman necromancer's ultimate ambitions.

Never lonely.

Putting aside the whole decision to revive Manfred or have Emmrich become a lich (because how could any of them have known it would come down to this), this is what he has been pursuing, his ultimate goal for years--carefully calculated, researched with complete footnotes, every "i" dotted with every "t" crossed. But what does this mean for him and his eternal soul? In lichdom he might shed his skin, but at the heart of him, his soul--the thing which makes Emmrich who he is--is still intact. The decision is shortsighted, and in his immense fear of death, there was no way for him to see past to the real horror which would emerge. How could he have foreseen it?

Vorgoth, the other liches, and a constant influx of new Watchers, students, all flow by him fleetingly despite the fact that they are always there. He is never alone at least physically. Information and mysteries, curiosities and research unravel before him. Isn't this what he wanted? How could he ever tire of this? And he doesn't.

While he has changed in form to shed his mortal ties, he is still the man he always was underneath: sensitive and of grand emotion who feels deeply. For so long he had yearned for somebody to love and for them to love him unconditionally in return.

It is not the same without Rook by his side for how can one truly connect themselves to lives which burn out like matchsticks? How could he let them when all that he is is glittering gold and polished bone, hollow and cold? How can he share what he feels with the seemingly unmovable faces of his colleagues in lichdom? They do not understand him. They think him idealistic and naïve.

"This is what you gave up, young Volkarin. In another century, you won't have these worries at all."

Another century alone? How--

How can he bear it? How can any of them?

The only way for Rook to fulfill this commitment would be to join him in undeath, and that is only if they are a fellow Watcher and if they hold the same ambitions as he.

[greenerteacups]

Can you pretty please share why You Would Have to Lose Your Mind would be your song for Draco? It’s one of my favourites ever and I have it on repeat these days—admittedly, I think of falling in love to it

Thank you SO MUCH for the free license to be pretentious and over-analyze song lyrics about my blorbo! Here's my case (and here's the song, which is beautiful and destructive, please listen). I'm gonna go through this line by line.

That dream you dream of falling out of the blue, child Like a stone, think I've been dreaming with you

We open on imagery of powerlessness, specifically the powerlessness of freefall — a "stone out of the blue" tells us the subject is hurtling, fully out of control, towards a swift-approaching painful end. So already the subject being addressed is someone not in control of his fate, and who is on a very steep downward trajectory. But it's also a "dream of falling," so it's not actual danger (yet) — if anything, it's a fear of that kind of powerlessness, and the anxiety of what happens to you if you give in to the fall. In my mind, Draco's first core character conflict is a contest of security vs. risk — the desire to give in and change vs. the ingrained fear of what happens if he yields to the fall. A "dream of falling," if you will.

We were never forced to love You would have to lose your mind

I think this captures the idea pretty well in two lines: love is a choice, and you have to succumb voluntarily to the fall. That doesn't mean you have total agency over it, and you can't always help the way you feel, but you can help what you do about it. And "you would have to lose your mind" describes both the feeling of falling in love and the danger that Draco's realistically contemplating if that happens. You want to betray everything you've ever known? You'll have to lose your mind.

When Icarus was falling Burning and blinded He was born and buried along with his pride

The imagery of falling gets reused here in a new context: Icarus falls only because he flies, and because he had the hubris (courage) to take the risk of approaching the sun. Because Icarus is at heart a proud man, and in a sense, his pride condemns him to always seek the things he wants, no matter the cost. He's taken the place of the stone from the first verse, but now he's "burning and blinded," which both describe the feeling of love pretty well; "burning," as passion, and "blinded," for the sort of myopic hyper-concentrating force of love on the object of desire. I fucking love an Icarus metaphor.

Woke up in the bed last night Her features were golden And the walls, they were crowded with symbols of lust

No comment! Leaving this here for consideration. Moving on:

And then, an emperor returning Dragging his sword from the guerre Cutting the snow on the ground We were never forced to love You would have to lose your mind

Which underscores, for me, the looming threat in Draco's life. An emperor returning from the war, cutting the "snow on the ground." Snow presents a chilly counterpoint to the fire imagery in the previous verse: it's the cold of death, of decay, of winter, when the sun vanishes. "We were never forced to love / You would have to lose your mind" appears again in refrain, but juxtaposed with this emperor/death metaphor, it becomes a new statement of vulnerability. It re-emphasizes the extent to which love is a choice, and frankly, it's kind of an insane irrational choice, because it subjects you to the threat of harm and fear for the beloved. And yet: you still dream of falling.

Anyway, that's why I think it fits.

[daughterofheartshaven]

This is a rant about the 2023 Doctor Who specials. I was typing up another post about why I do like a bunch of other Who stories then got distracted so decided to make this.

I normally really try to be positive about Doctor Who. Everyone's tastes are valid, and if you like the 2023 specials I am genuinely glad that you do! I don't think these specials are objectively bad or the Death of The Show or anything like that, I just personally Do Not Like Them and have decided I want to rant about why. If you want some insight into how I think about these stories (or also don't like them and want to see someone else talk about why they didn't work for her) I hope you enjoy! But if you don't wanna read something like that, skip this and I promise I'll be nicer next post.

So I should probably start by saying that I am a Known Thirteen Defender and consider The Power of the Doctor to be my favorite episode the show has done, so it's fair to say that these three specials were probably never gonna be my favorites following that.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the Tenth Doctor on tv. He's been redeemed in my eyes by Big Finish and Titan Comics, but his tv run didn't do it for me. This means, much as I think David Tennant is a cool person (from what I know about him anyway), his return wasn't something I was exited about. I was exited to see Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor, so my reaction to the reveal that nope! David Tennant again! was basically anger that Gatwa was getting benched (and, yes, I know that the whole reason they did this was that Gatwa was busy and couldn't have done these specials. Still doesn't change my emotional reaction to that twist).

And finally, I cannot express in words how much I was not interested in Donna Noble returning. Don't get me wrong, I think Donna is a fantastically written character. But the reason she is so fascinating is because she is deeply relatable. She is a character who the audience is expertly designed to relate to and someone they would like. Meanwhile I, and I cannot stress this enough, am nothing like Donna Noble. I think I would like the character a lot more if I felt like she contrasted with the other Tenth Doctor companions, but she's the third modern-day earth human in a row, and I'm not interested in that archetype. So the result is I just kind of think of Donna as "that time they did Tegan again" and that's that.

All of this is to say that I doubt I would have totally loved the specials even if they'd been great. I wasn't interested in the core concepts. But even beyond that, they dropped the ball in my eyes.

So, the Star Beast.

I actually really like this episode for most of its runtime. Its an adaptation of a comic story from the 70s, and it does a great job balancing being faithful to its source material and actually being a good 2020s tv episode. I'm maybe not the hugest fan of the trial scene - the comic has a much more action-oriented way it handles the reveal - but overall, I really think this episode does a good job. I also love Shirley, and she was basically replacing Osgood. I love Osgood. Selling me on a character who was Osgood's replacement was gonna be hard, and they actually did it. Shirley is great. Rose is also great, too - like, she's not that deep or interesting, but like. I cannot emphasize enough how seeing a trans woman of color matters. And she's written well enough for the most part.

Of course then it falls apart at the end. The Doctor has to return Donna's memories and then it turns out she isn't going to die after all! Because she gave some of this energy to her daughter! And she can just give up the rest!

Okay, I am against any sort of "Donna's memories return" plotline, because Donna losing her memories is the emotional core that underruns all of her time with the Tenth Doctor and his time after her. Like, in my opinion, that one fact - that Donna loses everything she grew into while traveling with the Doctor - is the emotional underpinning of the back half of the Tenth Doctor era, so removing that makes that whole arc seem a lot cheaper and shallower in retrospect. I was expecting the midwipe thing to be undone, but I was expecting it to be an arc over all three episodes.

And all of that would apply if they had pulled this off well, but as you can probably tell, I do not think they did that. The "Rose got some of the Metacrisis" twist is decently pulled off, but the "we can let the regeneration energy go" thing... after how much grief the Tenth Doctor went through over this stuff, the concept that this would just not occur to him because he was a man (??) makes no sense to me. If there was a viable solution, he would have found it. And saying that women just intuitively get this better is super confusing and off-putting. And, for the record, I am in fact a woman.

I don't really have much to say about Wild Blue Yonder. It's basically a great example of a Meh episode for me. I don't care for it, but that's mostly because a lot of it feels like "the Doctor and Donna, back as normal for a new adventure!" and like I said above this isn't gonna be all that interesting if I don't like Donna. The actual barebones plot - the episode's structures and twists - is pretty good, but I haven't gotten a chance to like the new Doctor yet and I'm not into the companion.

And then the Giggle comes around and it has the Doctor commit mitosis out of nowhere and robs Ncuti Gatwa of having a proper post-regeneration story and doesn't even utilize the guest characters and makes Donna and Mel seem Special To The Doctor instead of the companions who I actually like who were just on the show and like I'm sorry but why did we have to leave Yaz and Ace and Tegan in the dust like that and (takes a deep breath).

Okay, let's go through all of that, but more slowly.

Much like The Star Beast, my problems with The Giggle are mostly about how it finishes. I have less good things to say about the build-up, but there's nothing all that bad. My only gripe is that for having Kate and Shirley and Mel, none of those characters feel like they had to be there - none of them do much except explain the plot to the Doctor. They don't really help resolve it. Compare The Power of the Doctor, which utilized all of its guest stars incredibly well - each of them was crucial to the narrative and the story as presented would not work without any of those characters doing the things they had done. (I guess you could argue Graham as an exception, but I feel like his setting up of the support group at the very end was more than enough to justify his presence in the narrative). This leaves Kate, Shirley, and Mel feeling underused.

And then we get to the bigeneration scene. Okay, first of all, the concept came out of nowhere. I've seen people defend it by pointing out all of the other things in the show that came out of nowhere, but, like. They had the basic lore of how regeneration worked locked down back in the 70s. Messing with that now doesn't feel like adding something new to the mythos, it feels like messing with a preexisting thing for... reasons?

And like that's the thing about the bigeneration. I just don't understand why, narratively, this makes a better story. Like I don't like the Timeless Child stuff either, but I can see how Chris Chibnall was going for new narrative opportunities. I don't see how we can return to Fourteen after this story and make an interesting narrative out of it without trampling on the point this story is trying to make: that the Doctor deserves to retire for a bit.

(Which is deeply funny if you stop to remember the amount of times the Doctor has been stuck in one time and place for some reason, but I don't need to get into that one).

I'm bothered by bigeneration mostly because of the fact that they robbed Ncuti Gatwa of a post-regeneration story. Having the Doctor recover from a regeneration and work out who they are is something I really really value and skipping over that with Gatwa is a disservice to him and his Doctor, in my mind.

The catch game also feels weird because Doctor Who is all about winning by being smart and brave and kind. Being good at catch isn't really smart or good or kind, so it being the solution feels like a cop out.

And finally, the show having the Doctor go and live with Donna stung for me, because, how many times can I say it, I don't care about Donna. However, we just left Yaz (my favorite NuWho companion), Ace (my one of my favorite classic series companions), and Tegan (who I don't love quite as much as Ace but also love very much), so the show going out of the way to claim the Doctor changed his face because he needed to find Donna to "come home" specifically feels like a slap in the face for all three of them.

I think that last bit is the reason I stay salty about the Giggle even over a year later. I acknowledge that Donna is a great companion, and I don't think I have to like her for her to be great. But to put her above three of my favorite companions like that stings.

And what really kills it for me is that I can see such a great story in this trillogy.

Like, imagine the Star Beast going as seen, except Donna actually dies when we expect her to. She saved London. She saved her daughter. But she died to do it. The Doctor, dealing badly with his grief, tries to flee in his Tardis, but Rose manages to follow him on board, demanding answers as to why her mom is now dead.

This leads straight into Wild Blue Yonder. The Doctor wants to get Rose home but they're both grieving Donna and she doesn't trust him one jot and blames him for her mother's death. The Not-Things try to play into this - driving a wedge between Rose and the Doctor, but the two manage to work together to work out what's going on and escape with their lives. In the process, they both heal a little. The Doctor accepts that Donna made her choice, and Rose accepts that the Doctor didn't kill her mother.

And then when they return to Earth in the Giggle, they are able to work together to stop the Toymaker. At the end, the Doctor is shot and actually regenerates as normal, but he's able to use his regeneration as a distraction, giving Rose the room to defeat the Toymaker. She is then able to help him get through his post-regenerative process and they leave on good terms. Rose is still grieving her mother, but she can understand why Donna chose to travel with the Doctor and she makes sure he knows he is still welcome in their house.

Like, come on. It's the same plots, basically, but it actually has an emotional arc that lasts longer than one episode, is in line with prior emotional arcs, and uses the heavily advertised trans woman of color that we all got exited for instead of benching her after the first story and gives her a good deal of depth.

(Yes I know if RTD had killed Donna off and replaced her with a trans woman of color there would have been so much bigoted backlash but I still think it would have been a better story).

Okay, I'm done now. If you have any counterarguments to this or want to add on to any of this, I do want to hear it! One thing I love about Doctor Who is that different people love it for different reasons and love different things. If you're a fan of The Giggle and read this anyway, then massive respect for making your way through all of this and I'd love to see you talk about why you loved it so much!

[hirazuki]

Me, episode 1: Oh, a relatable protag! And a relatable female protag, at that. Sweet! That never happens.

Me, a few episodes in: Wait, the protag really is going to be my character? The one I identify with the most? Seriously? It's not going to be a strange, at least somewhat sinister, seemingly hostile male side character? It's gonna be a female character and the protagonist? That's insane, that literally never happens... what's the catch??

Me, more than halfway through the season: ... huh, I guess Maomao really is it. Okay, then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Me to myself, after episodes 22/23:

[bonefall]

And not all DC fans are mad! I was happy when Leafpool beat Starfire, and I was pleased with Bumble winning too. (Epilepsy dad here, who is a comics fan, and has 4 kids who love reading the warrior cat books and have the Minifig warriors become superheroes In the Gotham city I hot as a kid) im digressing here: What keeps the warrior cats fandom strong is how you all form up around the cats that were mistreated by the writers, how you bring them into your homes and hearts and make better features for them. My Amuma always used to say if enough people believed in something, then maybe their will can change the world.

Always good to see you around!

This vitriol has been super disappointing, y'know? I feel like I have to keep stressing that DC fans are valid, their frustrations with the comics are well-founded, and Bumble's opponents should also be acknowledged as victims of misogyny

And then we don't get that grace back! Doesn't matter that Warriors is a best-selling kids' series with REALLY harmful messages in it read by millions across the globe. Bumble's "just a cat" and we're "reading too much into it." As if that's not the same shit that gets said about misogyny in media broadly; "They're not real, comics are just for fun, you're reading too much into it"

Now people are like "Oh it was a mistake for WARRIOR CATS to be in this poll" because they're mad our "just a cat" is winning. Like it's not a tournament and that's the whole point. We've got people trying to say that Bumble can't even have misogyny happen to her because the human writers superficially made her a cat, as if she's not a fantasy character like every other fantasy character she's been up against.

But, ugh. I won't let it stop me, y'know? StarClan gives its hardest battles to its strongest warriors ✨✨I will never shut up about the "justa cats," this fandom rocks exactly because of the fact we're so passionate about these issues and how to address and fix them, Bumblesweep FOREVER!

[aromanticannibal]

izuku who doesn't remember or know kacchan is trans will always be so fucking funny to me. he just sees kacchan in pants/skirt (depending on transmasc/transfemcchan) in UA and he's like mm. anyways

[st4rstudent]

i feel somewhat responsible for this, even if i’m not the one saying these things. I’m genuinely so sorry.

No need to apologize! It's not one singular person doing it and truth be told I don't think it's a large majority that thinks that (albeit the ones that do are quite vocal). I didn't mean to upset anyone or anything when complaining about it, I was just letting off some steam.

Having a yap session under the cut sorry I feel like rambling under your ask anon.

Admittedly, I do think there are reasonings for people thinking this way. A lot of the focus with Clash has been on the cogs, especially after the 1.3 update. Which I can't say I blame them! Managers were something new and exciting and (from what I can tell) really separated them from the other servers. I don't blame them for wanting to put focus on that because that was their thing. Alongside other things, but majorly when you hear Clash the managers are mentioned in someway shape or form. But as we all know, toons ended up taking the short stick from this. This isn't helped by the gameplay itself, being mainly a fetch-quest deal so you often only talk to npcs once or twice unless if they're repeated ones and the taskline wasn't entirely accessible on the wiki for a while (shoutout to the wiki maintainers. The taskline script is a savior). Which I'm quite excited to see if they deal with this issue with the rewrite. I imagine they will, but anyways. Social media posts would often contain more managers than toons, which I also believe they're starting to fix. And ontop of this, I believe most of the team in the early era of the sever is gone, so there's been some stuff lost in the change. So yeah, dialogue/writing has been kind of rocky. AGAIN- I am completely aware of the rewrite going on and I am not judging them harshly based off of their current state. I'm very appreciative of the fact that they took the time to listen and are focusing on trying to fix it up. And then there's also fandom mischaracterization- especially of the cogs. Forgive me for mentioning mischaracterization because normally I wouldn't really care (I've mischaracterized characters before..especially in my younger years. I think it's just a process of learning an having fun and I hate to limit anyone because of it). With that being said, there's a lot of baby-fying and coddling of the managers. Especially with those who have more 'sympathetic' stories (Misty, Chip, Winston specifically). Don't get me wrong, I like these characters and I can appreciate the story they're trying to tell, but I feel like so many people will hear their dialogue and then misplace their anger. People get mad at Bessie for trying to protect HER lighthouse or at the Elders for trying to keep YOTT safe (lets not forget Winston was there to brainwash toons). Yes, yes technically there would've been better ways to do it but consider this: The toons are scared. Their homes, stores, lives are being taken over by a big corporation that has more resources that they do. They don't have the privilege of waiting, seeing, and gathering. And then people forget that the company has such a huge role in both toons and cogs lives. If you're mad over the mistreatment of Misty or the fact that Winston is still in the dungeon, your anger should be directed at the company who doesn't care. I may be completely wrong in saying this, but I feel like the stories with almost all of the managers is a reflection of the company. The toons are only trying to protect themself and their environments and yet this seems to go forgotten when people start bashing them. And of course, I'd consider myself a toon guy so me saying all this and complaining may come off as "I HATE the cogs and everyone who posts only about them!" and for clarification that's not true. You all know how much I like that little brain thing. The cogs are interesting, their designs are fun, I don't blame people for liking them because I do too. I just wish that the thought process behind so many of these discussions wasn't so cog focused because I believe that this anger at the toons for, RIGHTFULLY, defending themselves helps push this mischaracterization of them as a whole. That they're mean, boring, unlikeable while the opposite is true. Yes there are some, what I'd consider, "filler" dialogue from the shopkeepers. This is just because of the gameplay. But there are some funny and cute moments with them if people would just listen and read.

Which also brings me into another point: people skip the dialogue. I've caught myself doing this before (on my first account. I have 4 accounts total, so I reread the dialogue on like 3 of them). But people will complain about lack of toon personalities while doing this. It's like reading through a comic book, only looking at the drawings, and then complaining because there "isn't a storyline". Luckily, there's been efforts to keep track of the dialogue on the wiki but I doubt a lot of people are going through and reading the entire script. It just feels very disingenuous to criticize the dialogue when you haven't even read it. Likewise, people don't seem to read the blogposts either. This is both from a dialogue aspect and from an update aspect (people continuously asking about hammerspace/mix-and-match under unrelated posts).

[tiddiesoutwhenthetisout]

not me curling my laptop charger wire the way you curl band equipment cords HAHAHA god i miss it

[zemnarihah]

my best friend has been very distant w me lately and i asked today if she wanted to hang out and she said she probably couldn't bc it's her brothers birthday but she would let me know if she could and i have her location and i just looked and she's at her boyfriends house rn....

[icewindandboringhorror]

Current temperature inside of my room right now in the middle of the night whilst about to go to sleep... villain origin story...

[navree]

there's a lot of reasons why that titans show wanting to do batfam specific arcs, especially death in the family/under the red hood, flopped so hard each time, but one of the biggest is that they basically brought jason back after, like, a fucking month and it basically negates the entire thing