#i think her tactic is to annoy people as much as possible when she first meets them to see what their limits are

[nobuverse]

@studentshaul ( Medea )

"Rule-breaker...such an odd weapon you have..."

She'd be lying if she said the concept didn't send the smallest of shivers down her spine - something that could break through all forms of laws in mage craft. All her divinity and magical resistance would be for naught under that blade.

She gibes an innocent tilt of her head, staring at the dagger in a slight manner of mesmerisation.

"Say...you'd never think about trying to use that against me, would you?"

She doesn't expect to get an honest answer out of her - but she is keen to see her reaction to the question.

[detentiontrack]

It doesn’t excuse her behavior, but Sasha’s actions in reunion are so much deeper than “these gross frogs are annoying and I don’t want to share my best friend with them”. Sure, it may be some of it, but it’s so much more than that. (A rambly analysis of Sasha Waybright’s behavior and what led up to her suicide attempt in reunion)

Sasha perhaps had the most traumatic entry into amphibia. She went from hanging out with her friends on Anne’s birthday to being suddenly transported into a bizarre unfamiliar world filled with scary creatures she’s never seen before. And immediately after that, before she even got a chance to process, she was held at spear point, arrested, and thrown in prison in horrible conditions. It’s unclear for exactly how long, but for at least a few weeks to a month, she was kept in that prison being constantly interrogated. At this point she had no idea where her friends were, if they were even ALIVE or in the same place as her, and she didn’t know if the toads would decide to torture or even kill her.

She had to use every single manipulation tactic she had ever learned (most likely from her traumatic childhood) just to improve her conditions and chance of survival. It’s written as a joke and glossed over in the show, but that entire situation is HEAVY and TRAUMATIC. And she is 13 years old.

Sasha’s introduction, her very first perception of this strange new world, was one of trauma and pain and fear. Anne was alone and then she met the Plantars. Marcy was immediately taken in by the newts. Sasha was completely alone and for all she knew, she was the only person in that entire world that she knew she could count on.

And then…. She receives news that ANNE is there. She went from torturing herself mentally thinking about all the scenarios where she possibly lost her friends forever, to learning that there’s HOPE. But even then, the only evidence is Anne’s singular shoe. She doesn’t know if Anne is hurt or even alive. She only knows that this scary strange toad captain who is holding her captive is interrogating her on the whereabouts of her friend. Realizing that even the captain of the toad army doesn’t know where Anne is, she feels like NO ONE does.

Finally, after prison break, she’s out. Not only is she out, she is lieutenant of the entire toad army. Again, she is 13 years old. She got there by desperately manipulating her way into freedom. Suddenly, she went from being captive in a cell for a month, to having the mission of finding both of her friends alive and finding a way to get them back home AND also becoming an entire lieutenant soldier in order to uphold the end of her deal with captain Grime.

FINALLY after a really long time of trying to find her friends, she receives word that Anne is alive and well in Wartwood. And everything changes. The hope she’s been running on has been refilled. And if Anne is alive, Marcy might be too. She learns that Hop Pop is the face of the frog rebellion, but due to the news about Anne, she’s sort of tunnel visioned. People forget that before reunion, Sasha probably didn’t even really trust Grime. Later in the show they have more of a familial relationship, but at this point, their alliance is purely out of convenience. She doesn’t trust him. But she NEEDS him to get home. And he needs her. So when she learns that Grime needs to smash the rebellion, she only thinks of amphibians as the people who have kept her captive and tormented her since the moment she got there. She thinks she doesn’t owe them anything. She just needs to get home with her friends. She’s willing to do whatever it takes.

They make a plan and arrive at Wartwood. She finds out that not only is the frog that is charged with starting the rebellion Anne’s FRIEND, but she has a new family, and someone she calls her best friend. Sasha’s entire world shatters as she hears that Anne replaced her. In her mind, Anne replaced her and started over exactly like her parents when they divorced and started new families. Anne was the only constant in her life, and now not only is she replacing her, she’s also aiding and friendly with the very creatures that have been traumatizing her. This is earth shattering to her. She can’t think straight. She feels raw emotional pain and has NO time to process it. So she does the only thing she knows how to do. Continue with the plan.

She thinks that maybe Anne will realize that they’re just frogs, and this entire thing will be over and they can go home, like how things were before. She’s not the same Sasha that originally got transported to amphibia, but she expects Anne to still be the same Anne.

She’s so caught up in the emotional pain and trying to cover it up with the happiness and relief that comes with finding Anne and (in her mind) being SO CLOSE to going home, that her world ends AGAIN when Anne takes a stand against her. She takes a stand against her for the first time in their 8 years of friendship AND it’s the replacement best friend AND an amphibian that encourages her to do it.

She didn’t mean to fight Anne, but the white hot rage took over her body. She got through her entire childhood by being ANGRY and fighting back, and this was her knee jerk response.

When toad tower crumbled, her change of heart that led to her suicide attempt wasn’t due to her believing that everything she did was wrong. She wasn’t quite there yet (as shown in toad catcher). It was in response to the fact that Anne was doing fine without her. It’s the fact that Sasha thought she was so replaceable, Anne allowed a strange evil creature, who is also highly annoying, to become her new best friend and companion. Anne didn’t need her. Anne was better off without her.

So she let go.

[thewritingmagician2022]

Have you seen those videos of the people using buttons to teacher their dogs how to talk? (If not look up Bunny the dog on TikTok)

Can I request a reader who’s been teaching Cerberus how to talk with those buttons and the brothers reactions to it? Or at least Lucifer and Diavolo’s reactions since they are basically dog dads

SO, fun fact, I actually taught my dog some of those buttons as well. Unsurprisingly, the only one that she knows well and uses is “hungry” so I’ll feed her. She’s got a one track mind. Anyway, yes, this is a year later and you may not even care about this anymore but I’ve had it sitting in my drafts for ages and I’m finally back on this blog after some serious health issues and falling out of the fandom for a while. Now onto the actual request! 

Lucifer is unimpressed when you first tell him about teaching Cerberus the buttons. He doesn’t see the point - Cerberus has a job and it requires very little communication on his part, other than attacking intruders and defending the hamily. However, Lucifer has to admit that the buttons do have their uses because now he always knows what Cerberus wants and he actually orders you to teach Cerberus more buttons that he thinks would be useful - something for if Cerberus is not feeling well or if there’s a warning that he wants to pass along, or even buttons to praise Lucifer for being such a good owner. However, Cerberus seems to much prefer the buttons you’ve trained him on, like “park” and “fetch” and “hug”, compared to the buttons Lucifer commissioned. It doesn’t exactly bolster Lucifer’s tough reputation when he introduces Cerberus to someone as a scare tactic and the large dog is repeatedly hitting “nap” or “belly rub”. Lucifer has taken to hiding those buttons to avoid any more embarrassing situations (though he absolutely provides those belly rubs in secret after). 

Though he pretends not to be mostly ambivalent to the button situation, he is incredibly touched when he realizes that you’ve created a “Dad” button as well and Cerberus happily smacks the button whenever Lucifer walks into the room. It’s beyond endearing and, while he’d never admit to it, he definitely feels his connection with Cerberus is even stronger now. With that in mind, Lucifer takes everything he’s learned from watching you train Cerberus to teach him the “love you” button in relation to you. Seeing your face light up the first time Cerberus hits that button upon you walking into the room makes this entire endeavor completely worth it.

Diavolo is so incredibly pleased by this development, both because it shows just how smart Cerberus is - he’s learned so many different buttons - and by how clever you are for teaching Cerberus such a skill. Diavolo is someone who definitely loves those kinds of videos on TikTok and he finds great joy in finding the more obscure kind of buttons, including things like “please” and “no”. The first time he sees Cerberus use the “bitch” button (that Satan and Belphie created) on Lucifer he nearly cracks a rib with laugher (Lucifer would love to do more than just crack his rib for teaching Cerberus that button). It’s also not unusual for Cerberus to hit the “dad” button when Diavolo comes to visit which irks Lucifer more than a little so of course you have to teach Cerberus “mom” so he can hit that when Diavolo is around instead. However, Cerberus seems to have his own opinions on this because he still hits “dad” for Diavolo and hits “mom” when Lucifer is around instead. As you can imagine, only one of those demons is happy with this new development. 

As a special mention, Satan, Belphie, and Mammon absolutely love that you’ve taught Cerberus buttons. They make it their goal to create as many annoying and rude buttons as possible, including but not limited to swear words, why, and go away. They spend hours trying to convince Cerberus to use the rude buttons in relation to Lucifer to no avail. It’s a bit of loss but at least Cerberus has taken to some of the other buttons that they know will annoy Lucifer so it’s worth the punishment they get when Lucifer discovers this little trick of theirs after he brings a dignitary to meet Cerberus and the dog hits a button the loudly yells "fuck off". (They never learn that their lessons actually worked and Lucifer now has to deal with a very judgmental Cerberus who fights with him in private via button, much to Lucifer’s disbelief.)

[messrmoonyy]

okay how about Tess and reader having a bet to see who can crack first without sex and reader cracks and begs Tess to fuck her? Thank you our lord and saviour messr 🙌🏻

Bet on it

Tess Servopoulos x fem!reader

A/n- hello. Thank you for the manners lmao it’s ben annoying me people don’t have the decency to be polite. ANYWAYS. I was really looking for an excuse to write about going down in Tess cause it’s been rattling around in my head for so long, so I took this as the excuse. Pls tess gimme one chance I beg tho I won’t lie I don’t like this one all that much but. Have it. What are you gonna do, ask me for a refund?

Warnings- 18+|| tess. Smut: mommy kink. Like it’s pretty strong, oral ( Tess receiving ) , fingering ( Tess and reader receiving sorta )

Word count- 3.7k

Masterlist

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated

It was all Joel’s fault.

Him and his stupid fucking mouth. And maybe Tess too. Either way, you refused to take any blame.

It wasn’t your fault you were… loud. It also wasn’t your fault the walls were paper fucking thin and he just so happened to live next door. The man was damn half deaf and 9 times out of 10 he was passed out anyway, some brain rotting concoction of pain killers and whiskey knocking him out for the count. So it’s not like you’d made any real attempts to be quiet anyway, you just assumed he couldn’t hear.

How were you supposed to be quiet when you had someone like fucking Tess between your legs. You’d like to see anyone keep their mouth shut with her fucking the life out of them. Well. You wouldn’t actually. But that was besides the point.

He was probably just pissed because his sex life was non existent.

‘ you can’t go a single day without goddamn jumpin each other. It’s like livin next to a pair of rabbits ‘ he’d said. Of course you being the stubborn fuck that you were, had said you absolutely could go a day. Joking that it was Tess who couldn’t keep her hands to herself. And she had scoffed at the mere thought of her being the needier of you two.

So that was how the bet had been born. To see who could last the longest. Who would crack first. You’d expected it to only last a couple of days at the most. Tess jumped your bones every chance she got normally, couldn’t keep her hands off of you. But now she was behaving like a fucking nun.

The first few days had been fine. But by day 3 you were regretting it. So by day 8 you’d had enough. You felt like an animal in heat, like you were going insane. She wasn’t even doing anything particularly alluring. Just her presence alone was enough to make you insane. Her voice. Her face. The way she held you when you slept. The confidence she oozed in any and all situations. You were head over heels for the woman, how were you supposed to behave any differently?

Bit knowing how stubborn she could be you’d almost immediately accepted that she wouldn’t break. It wouldn’t stop you trying though. You were trying your hardest to make her crack, from deciding walking around the apartment in your underwear was perfectly normal. To ‘accidentally’ brushing against her when you shared the rationed water in the shower. But other than the occasional glance up at you she wasn’t breaking. In fact when you’d tried another tactic of leaving your button up only half way done up. She’d simply stood and buttoned it right up to the collar for you, leaning in close to your ear and whispering ‘ nice try ‘

By day 10 you decided you didn’t give a fuck about honour or pride anymore. You were done.

You were sat at the table, fingers drumming against the wood as you watched her. She had the sleeves of her shirt rolled in a way that showed off her forearms, she fucking knew you had a thing for that. She was doing it on purpose, knowing you’d snap. You were sure.

You needed to touch her. Needed her to touch you.

You didn’t think it was actually humanly possible to be as desperate as you were. Before ending up in Boston you’d gone years without anything. And yet, now you weren’t even going to make it to 2 weeks. Were you that enthralled by her? That addicted? It was almost embarrassing.

Especially when she seemed as cool and collected as ever.

You tried to ignore her, looking back down at your rota of assignments for the week. But you could still see her from the corner of your eye, wetting the pads of her fingers to turn the page in her book more easily.

You didn’t know if you should be mildly offended or not. That she seemed to be doing much better than you were. Though she had always been the better of you both at masking her true emotions and feelings.

You didn’t know how much longer you could take it. Waking up every morning to soaked underwear because your dreams had been filled with nothing but her, missing the way her fingers felt on your skin, how her teeth felt nipping at your neck. You missed the hickeys, the bruises she always left on your hips when she was feeling particularly rough. The scratch marks you’d leave down her back in response.

You were done.

You got up from your spot at the table and made your way over to her in purposeful strides, plucking the book from her hands and climbing into her lap. She quirked at eyebrow at you, a smug smile already creeping it’s way onto her face.

“ I was reading that “ you shrugged running your hands down over her shoulders and arms, over her chest and grabbing at the collar of her shirt.

“ this bet is fuckin stupid. I need you so bad. I can’t take it anymore “ you whispered, a whiny tone to your voice like some spoiled little kid that was being declined something they wanted. She simply scoffed

“ it was your fuckin idea “

“ I know I know. It was stupid. I’m stupid. Joel’s fuckin stupid “ you tested the waters lightly, pulling open her shirt where she already had the first couple buttons undone. Not revealing anything particularly scandalous, but still overjoyed just at the sight of more of her skin “ please. Please fuck me. Touch me. Let me touch you. Anything. Mommy please “ you whimpered the last part, pulling out every trick in the book to make her crack.

“ oh you’re begging now? “ you whispered a yes, nodding you head. You unbuttoned her shirt with haste, her hands still placed firmly on the fabric of the chair rather than you. You rolled your hips against her, pushing her shirt from her shoulders and tossing it carelessly behind you. But before you could touch her she grabbed the back of your neck, making you look at her.

“ this was your idea baby girl, and you want to end it? “ she looked far too smug and you hated her for it. But you were so desperately horny it was making your brain fuzzy. Your hands traveled down to her jeans, desperate to unbutton those too “ I know your tricks. You just want to win ”

“ I don’t care about winning, Fuck if you won’t touch me let me touch you “ you said, dropping your head to press kisses across her neck “ please mommy” her spare hand that was still on the armrest shifted slightly, still didn’t touch you anywhere you particularly wanted her. But moved. You were working her down “ please let me touch you. Let me taste. I’ll be so good I promise. You win. You win “

You hands trailed back to her chest, grabbing at her through the material of her bra, grabby hands groping at her with no shame.

“ you wanna make mommy feel good? “ the low, sultry, tone of her voice made butterflies explode in your chest. You lifted your head, nodding and not letting your hands stop their wandering.

“ please “ she looked entirely too smug and you knew you would never hear the end of it. She would hold the fact that she had won over you for the foreseeable. But you’d be pissed about that later, in that moment you didn’t give a fuck. The only thought whirring around in your brain was getting your mouth on her, you wanted to taste her on your tongue, wanted to make sure she’d never want to go so long without you again “ can I? Please “

She observed your face for a moment, then gave you a small nod and it was all the confirmation you needed. You slid down from her lap and onto your knees on the floor.

“ always look so pretty on your knees for me “ she mused as you grabbed at her jeans, tugging them down her legs as she lifted slightly so you could get them off “ just so we’re clear, you know this means I win and I’ll be tellin Joel that you lost and not me right? “ you nodded fervently, mildly surprised that she was actually letting you rid her of her clothes. Almost expecting the entire thing to be a joke, making you keep going with the stupid fucking bet until you actually exploded.

But clearly she was as desperate for it as you were. She was just better at controlling herself. She always had been.

“ I know. I don’t care “ the way she was already clearly wet when you tugged her underwear down her legs too, was proof enough that she was well and truly done with the bet too. You practically drooled at the sight, already anticipating the familiar taste of her in your mouth “ wanna taste you. Can I. Please mommy “ you begged and she reached down, lifting your chin and making you look up at her.

“ my poor baby, so desperate “ it was almost mocking. She was fucking loving the fact that she had won “ gonna show mommy just how desperate you are? Hmm? “ in response you ran your hands over her thighs, pushing them apart and tugging her closer “ show mommy what a good girl you are “

She took a sharp intake of breath as you buried your face between her legs, sighing blissfully as the taste of her flooded your tongue. You wanted to reach every part of her, your tongue dragging between her folds, devouring her. No desire in making it last, a burning primal desire to have her coming on your tongue the only thing you could think about.

You spread her with your fingers, lapping at her hole and not letting a drop of her arousal go anywhere but your tongue. Relishing in the small sounds it earned you.

“ that’s mommy’s good girl “ she sighed, her hand threading into your hair and tugging lightly so that your scalp prickled. You hummed a response, not slowing in your ministrations, tracing a pattern with your tongue from her entrance to her clit. Your chin and lips were slick with her. She filled all of your senses.

Your nose. Your eyes. Your mouth. The velvety feel of her walls when you dipped your tongue inside of her, the sounds of her quiet breathy moans and vulgar sounds of how wet she was. It’s what you had been yearning for for days, what your dreams had been filled with. A never ending stream of praise as you made her feel good. You moaned against her, the vibrations clearly doing her wonders.

You own cunt was flooding your underwear, your clit desperate to be touched. You were half tempted to reach down and touch yourself, but she deserved your undivided attention. So you settled with squeezing your thighs together.

“ makin mommy feel so good. Just like that baby “ her voice was breathier and you couldn’t help the smile that crept it’s way onto your face. It was no lie that she was a god when it came to making you feel good, she knew exactly how to pull you apart in minutes. But she was much more difficult to navigate, harder to read. She wasn’t like you. She often urged you to be loud, to make noise and be vocal. But she was the opposite.

For someone so rough and confident she was much more gentle and soft in her reactions. It was all in her breathing, the sharp intakes and the shuddering breaths, the quiet curses that never usually went much louder than a whisper, only getting anything else from her if you managed to get her completely relaxed.

And the near breathless commands and instructions she still gave you, keeping you in check. Keeping you exactly where she wanted you doing exactly as she wanted. And showering you in the praise she knew you so desperately craved from her.

And nothing made you feel better than watching her fall apart. Because of you.

The tight grip on your hair grew impossibly stronger when you slipped in a finger, adding a second when your first was met with no resistance, burying them inside her to the knuckle.

“ fuck “ she whispered under her breath, her eyes falling closed for a moment. You watched her face carefully as you worked her open on your fingers, scissoring and curling them in some attempt to touch as much of her as you could. Stretching and massaging her velvety soft walls with your fingers, honing in on one spot when you noticed her reactions change.

“ such a good girl doin so well for me baby “ the way she was clenching around your fingers told you she wasn’t going to last much longer. So you kept at the pace, fingers curling up and hitting the same spot over and over. Tongue and lips practically abusing her clit in a way that was making your jaw ache, not that you cared “ like makin mommy feel good? Huh? “ you hummed an answer against her that drew another heavenly sound from her throat.

Nothing brought you more joy than watching her fall apart above you, knowing that only you could get her like that. Only you got to see that blissful look on her face, her eyes closed and soft breathy moans leaving her throat and going straight to your cunt.

“ that’s my girl. Like that. Gonna make mommy come. Is that what you want baby? “ you nodded, detaching yourself from her with a mildly obscene wet sound.

“ Wanna feel you come on my tongue“ you practically whined, begging for the privilege of being the one the push her over the edge. To gift her with the same earth shattering orgasm she so often gave to you “ please mommy “

“ since you’ve been such a good girl for me “ you didn’t wait a second longer, withdrawing your fingers and replacing them with your tongue. You gripped at her thighs, holding her in place, your eyes fixed on her face so you could watch every second “ that’s it baby, make mommy come. That’s my good girl “ her tone was higher, breathes quickening the rise and fall of her chest.

You started to rub soft circles into her clit with your thumb, relishing in the way she was clearly losing her composure. Squirming slightly in the chair, pushing your face closer until she was all consuming in your mind.

It was becoming slightly difficult to breathe but you weren’t about to complain. If you were gonna die you figured that was pretty alright way to go out. The searing heat of her on your tongue was enough to make you forget every single other thing in your mind.

A few more thrusts of your tongue and she was gone, head thrown back and her eyes screwed shut, heavenly sound after heavenly sound falling from her lips like music to your ears. You didn’t stop for a second. Lapping up every drop of creamy, sweet release she offered you.

You didn’t stop until she gently tugged your head back, your actions clearly bordering on being too much for her. You rested your head against her thigh, looking up at where she was running a hand through her hair and attempting to regain her composure.

“ you couldn’t have done that a week ago baby? Fuck “ a grin found its way onto your face, happy for the verbal confirmation that she had been struggling just as much as you had. She was just far better at hiding it.

“ I do good mommy? “ you asked softly, pressing a kiss to the silky soft skin of her thigh. She looked down at you with a soft smile and nodded.

“ so good baby. Come here. Up here “ you crawled back up into her lap, readily accepting her kisses when she pulled you in, the taste of her still lingering on your tongue “ seriously baby I needed that when you decided to walk around in your fuckin underwear “ she said when she pulled back, tucking her fingers under your chin.

She looked otherworldly. Her face flushed and glowing, the light sheen of sweat on her forehead and the hazy look in her eyes that could only come from having your lover between your thighs. It made you squirm a little in her lap, your panties completely soaked. You almost wondered if she could feel it.

“ I don’t know how I made it this long “ she laughed at that, her eyes flickering down to where you were wiggling around. She gave you an almost sympathetic smile, the backs of her fingers brushing along your jaw before pushing your hair away from your neck.

“ does my baby need some attention from mommy now? “ you almost sighed in relief, nodding your head “ you want mommy to fuck you? Hmm? “ her nose traced along your neck, lips brushing against the skin and making your cheeks flush and goosebumps follow in her wake.

Her hand came up, palming at your tit through the thin material of your T-shirt as she began working a deep purple bruise onto the tender skin of your neck.

“ mommy “ you whimpered, eyes falling closed as she marked you up in the way you adored most. It made warmth pool in your belly every time. Knowing she wanted to mark you. Brand you. You were hers. You belonged to her. Completely and utterly. And she wanted people to know it.

The friction of the cotton of your shirt against your nipple sent sparks straight to your cunt, your clit throbbing. Desperately wanting to be touched. You needed her fingers. Her mouth. Anything. You were so desperate you even wondered if you’d be able to get off just from the way she was grabbing at your chest.

“ please I can’t- “

“ it’s okay baby “ she cooed, soothing the last of her possessive marks with her tongue before lifting her head again “ tell mommy what you want. Use your words “

“ you. I. I want you. Anything just please- “ you cut yourself off with a pathetic mewl of a sound as she dipped her hand past the waistband of your sweats, fingers brushing over the soaked cotton of your underwear.

“ holy shit “ she mumbled mostly to herself, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment at just how wet you were for her. She hadn’t even touched you “ my baby’s so desperate huh? “ you nodded, dropping your face to her shoulder and hiding from her gaze “ my poor sweet baby “ she cooed, running a soft hand up and down your spine “ if only you weren’t so stubborn you wouldn’t be in this mess would you? Mommy could’ve been eating this perfect little pussy days ago “

Your face burned at her words, still squirming as she ran her finger lightly over your swollen clit through the soaked material of your underwear. It was too light to really do anything, but just enough pressure for you to know she was there. It was infuriating.

“ I need more. Please mommy I can’t take it anymore “ her spare hand gently nudged your face up from where you’d been hiding, cupping your cheek in her hand as her eyes scanned your features. You wondered if your desperation was evident on your face.

No. You knew it was.

“ can you do one thing for me? “

“ anything. I’ll do anything “ she smiled, clearly pleased with your willingness to obey without even knowing what she was going to ask. No questions. No second thoughts. Just complete obedience to her every command. She brushed her thumb across your bottom lip before pushing past and hooking it into your mouth. Her smile grew as you moaned softly, sucking without her even having to ask.

“ I wanna hear all those pretty noises you like to make for me. Can you do that? “ you nodded quickly, knowing there wasn’t even a remote chance you’d be able to keep yourself quiet. Not after 10 days of absolutely nothing from her “ that’s my good girl, mommy loves when you’re loud for her “

You rolled your hips, no patience left in you anymore. She took the hint, rubbing at your clit through your underwear with two fingers. The friction of the cotton, the pressure of her fingers, and the fact that you had been wanting to come for days, meant you were going to be done ridiculously fast.

“ I know baby, I got you “ she cooed as you whined in a frustrated desperation, fingers wrapping around her wrist as you rutted against her hand some more. Your orgasm was so close you could practically taste it “ I know you’re so desperate to come, don’t fight it baby. It’s okay. Mommy’s got you “ you closed your eyes, focussing solely on grinding into her hand, cheeks on fire at the crude squelching sounds your cunt was making as you moved.

“ mommy- “ you whined, biting down lightly on her thumb that was still in your mouth, not holding back a single moan. Letting them all tumble out of your throat without a care.

“ I know baby girl. Gonna show me how pretty you look when you come for me?” You nodded, increasing the pace that you rolled your hips, ignoring the way your legs were beginning to cramp up “ such pretty sounds “ she mused as your moans increased in pitch, your orgasm teetering on a ledge already.

Maybe you should’ve been a little embarrassed. She wasn’t even touching you properly, a barrier of cotton between her fingers and your cunt. But you weren’t at all. A Selfish desire to come being the only thing you could think about. You’d be embarrassed later.

Your climax was intense. 10 days of lusting after her with no release finally coming to a head. She praised you all the way through it, and only withdrew her hand from your sweats when you slumped against her with a content sigh.

She ran her hand up and down your back lightly, pressing kisses to the side of your head.

“ better? “ you hummed a response, trying to live in that afterglow for as long as you could. If you were being completely honest, it had been good to finally get… something. But you weren’t entirely satisfied. Thankfully Tess was rarely ready to call it a night without making you come at least twice. And was also as if she could read your mind.

“ don’t get too comfy baby. We have 10 days to make up for. Mommy’s not done with you yet “ you squealed as she stood up, taking you with her and carrying you over to the bed. You wrapped your arms and legs tightly around her as she lay you down, not wanting her to go anywhere “ now. Let’s teach that fucker next door a lesson shall we? “

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-09-02

Do you rember. Wen day is dark, sember.

Listening: @cyelatm released a new album Habit Prism that I've been listening to in bits and pieces. Even, rhythmic folk, good music to have on when you have people around.

In that vein, Bandcamp Friday this coming Friday! Make your lists!

Watching: Watched The Raid which I've had kicking around for a bit. Do you want to watch guys punch each other all over for like 15 minutes at a time for an hour? No? Get better taste in movies and then watch guys punch each other all over for like 15 minutes at a time for an hour.

The Raid is so obviously made for like two dollars, there's one building, every single gun and piece of armour is airsoft gear, the camera is visibly some mid-tier hardware that suffers from severe rolling shutter, and it kicks so much ass.

There's some really interesting things happening with camera movement in this movie. Really really complicated multi-axis camera moves, the same shot will take like six different dutch angles in a single move, or will lock on to different objects and follow them, it's great for martial arts but it's also used to pretty good effect in some interstitial scenes.

The culminating fight with Mad Dog is so wild, literally just three guys in an empty concrete cube fighting for a solid ten or twelve minutes and it works! Does not seem possible. They actively remove almost every prop from the room so it's just guys hitting each other but they keep doing incredible stunts.

It's funny looking at the gifsets on here because they're unreadable, everything happens so fast and requires so much context that is only delivered in the full flow of the movie. My favourite part is when he said "It's Raiding Time" and raided all over those guys.

Reading: Finally sat down and got through the Phalanx's Twilight, Legion's Triumph series on acoup.

Sections IVa-c mostly slid off my brain because it's a bunch of wars I don't know enough about to contextualize but it's mostly justification for what's explained in parts I-III which were great, and it's an interesting look at how the political and military structures of Rome interwove to improve the effectiveness of the Legion.

Also reading Skin Horse, which I started ages ago but never got very far, I think because I started a job around that time and lost track of it. Sticking webcomic tabs on my little ARM tablet is really convenient, I've jammed Out Of Placers and Laika's Comet in there as well, it's been a while since I did a big archive dive on a comic.

Skin Horse is very much of its time, not really in sensibility but just in content. The nerds are characterized by liking Harry Potter.

Making: Resolved the power delivery issues that were causing me to have mysterious failures with the LED driver. That was annoying. Anyway remember to split your power supply when you could potentially pull like 10A@5V to drive LED's.

Playing: Tactical Breach Wizards campaign is ongoing, as you get deeper into the campaign your team expands which dramatically complicates operations, your possible actions explode, and I'm not even halfway through.

Dall was my newest operator at time of writing and she's probably the hardest to use, she can deal a lot of damage but relies more so than anyone else on good positioning, it's really easy to end up way out of place and waste her moves, and she's too heavy to shunt around with Jen's storm attacks the way you can with the others.

Speaking of those, I really like how the short turns and deterministic actions mean you can get really into the weeds. The first time I used a gale grenade to shunt Zan over one extra block to line him up I assumed this would be a sometimes food but you really find yourself doing stuff like that all the time.

I'm heading back and picking through some of the challenge missions concurrently with playing partially to stretch out overall gameplay and partially because I think having fewer abilities unlocked will make those more interesting.

Tools and Equipment: You know, I think we know each other pretty well, I can put this here. The Doxy USB-C Wand is a safe and legal thrill.

[baelpenrose]

Project Praetorian 49: Bleeding Edge, Part I

The kids have their second major battle, their first totally unsupported combat engagement. This battle gets a lot rougher. Before it's over, we will see our first praetorian casualty. Imperator has kept a lot of secrets, and a Praetorian will pay the price. Beta-read by @canyouhearthelight

Xavier

Everyone was twitchy as the team grabbed their gear and piled into the dropship. The two newbies looked especially nervous. Mark was already staring at the GPS and the satellite tracking data of where the alien craft was supposedly coming down. Echo and Amyrillis were in the cockpit of the dropship - apparently Amaryllis had been flying the damn thing in simulation for ages, hell, even a few non-combat live flights.

Still, Mark was neurotically looking over the display already, like he was trying to figure out what to do. They’d talked about maneuvers, drilled them, but the newbies didn’t…

“Hey. Xavier. You’re second in command here, right?” Dante asked.

“Yeah?” 

“You guys fought before?”

“Twice. Won both times.”

“Lost anyone?”

“Not yet. Stay close, and do what Mark and I say.” 

Dante nodded. Xavier glanced over to Casey. Mark’s eyes were flicking across the team. Molly looked like she wanted to say something as Kimmy fiddled with her weapon. Jared was busy tightening his rig, checking everyone else’s. 

Micah had stripped the magazine out of his weapon, racked back the bolt, and checked the rounds in the magazine, then reloaded it. He’d done it several times in the last several minutes. Xavier was idly drumming his hand on his leg, wishing that Micah would stop the weapon checks. 

Vergil was checking his scope - he’d been playing with bigger and bigger rifles, with more outrageous recoil compensation. But now he had the most outsized post-market ear protection possible and a truly monstrous muzzle brake, and he was looking at Kimmy. “You nervous?”

“Apparently I can’t die, and you saw how I was scarfing down as we were getting ready.”

Xavier was trying to watch, vaguely annoyed at the way Mark never took a moment to deal with people's issues when he was trying to do tactics, but of course, Curtis had talked to him about this - that wasn’t really Mark’s job. It was his, and to a degree, Casey’s. He was senior NCO, and Casey was moving into being another one. Mark was the officer, Mark’s job was to be actual commander, worried about tactics. 

“If you’re nervous, you don’t have to be. We’ve been practicing for this nonstop. This time we actually have our own, dedicated pilot, our dropship is hardened. Our comms are better. We’re better coordinated. We know what we can do, and we know what they can do. We’ve got support from two platoons of Imperator grunts, and they’re bringing gunships with them.”  He signed as he spoke, and Molly turned and translated for Mia. At some point they’d need to make sure that squad kept together, or find some universal language equivalent…Translating orders in the field would be an ongoing problem…

Mia herself was remarkably calm, and Jonathan was checking the straps on Shiloh’s armor, making sure none of it rubbed, the gentleness of his movements belying the incredible power in his frame. 

Xavier took a breath. They could do this. He tried not to think about the horrors they’d seen last time. “Casey, you have all the ammo you need?”

“More than enough. Everyone should.”

“Yeah. Uh…Mark…any update on?”

“Yeah.” Mark’s face was pale. “There’s a reason this is taking forever. The target of the landing site, this time, is in rural Guatemala. We’re only gonna get lucky with them avoiding major population centers so much longer - and there’s gotta be a reason the early landings are all western hemisphere.”

“On task?”

“Right. I just…want to understand the enemy. Figure them out better.” His eyes took on a far away look. 

Xavier snapped his fingers. “Mark. Tactics. Strategy later.”

Mark nodded. “Right. So it looks like there’s a canyon near where they’re setting down - Semac Champey. The town they’re hitting is called Lanquin, apparently associated with the native Maya people.” 

“On the nose, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, Spain then the aliens. Trajectory says…one sec…Echo, where are they looking like they’re setting down?”

“About two klicks up the canyon from the town, though from the looks of things if we get unlucky they’re gonna be on the walls of the canyon instead of in it.”

“But if they start on the walls they still have to deploy surface-atmo dropships to bring themselves down from the walls, or they have to be willing to rappel down the sides, which pretty much makes them sitting ducks for Jonathan and Vergil - not a pretty prospect.”

Xavier cut in. “Can’t they pretty much rain hate on us if they’re high enough up then rappel down in peace?”

“Not really. If they try they’re relying on being able to see us - and the canopy of trees at the bottom of the canyon is pretty damn thick. One of the advantages of bullets as opposed to plasma bolts - unless we’re running tracers, which we aren’t, they can’t see where the shots are coming from in the daytime.”  Mark started getting nervous. “Echo, we know where in relation to Lanquin the enemy dropship is coming down?”

“Uh…Coming down a bit coastward, actually, like they’re dropping in from orbit on a ballistic arc, it looks like, using thrusters to guide them down. We had that a little from the last dropship, and the signatures are looking scattered.”

“Interesting. Maybe more than one?”

“Maybe but they’re also all coming down three klicks east, and a tiny bit north - some are gonna be inside the canyon, some are gonna be on the ridge. Think an enemy force about half the size of the last one we fought?”

“And against that we have no backup.”

“I think we have like a company of troopers. And they’re gonna arrive late.”

Xavier sucked in his breath. They did have almost twice the Praetorians, but half of them were newbies. He glanced at Amaryllis and Dante - not quite. They were trained, they just weren’t meshed with the rest of the team. Like Echo. With any luck they’d be just as good as she was. Then again, the thing that had made them so devastating wasn’t individual capability, it was their teamwork - yes, they were lethal, but they knew how to work together. Shiloh and Jonathan were far from the most powerful, but they coordinated so well that no one, absolutely no one, beat them in certain exercises for that reason. He couldn’t help but worry that the lack of training time with their newest members was going to be a problem.

Mark was already planning. “Alright. So, I figure we’ll drop and disperse in this section of jungle, about a kilometer outside Lanquin - there’s a ridgeline, here, for Jonathan to set up shop that gives him adequate room to play hell on the walls with the MG if they start crawling down them, and they’re gonna have to walk into the open to try to push the position. Vergil’s gonna set up in the trees and do basically the same thing, but he’s going to hold his fire until he starts seeing Spikes. Myself, Jared, and Molly are going to serve as a mobile reserve, with me and Jared mostly serving to destroy and disable critical enemy deployments while Molly attempts to disable any mobile shielding array. Kimmy, Mia, and Micah are going flanking along the ridge. If things get too hot, they can withdraw. Micah, teleport. Kimmy, do some gymnastic parkour. And Mia…just run. In the meantime, get into position and cut up their attack to the best of your ability. When things get really colorful we’re going to pull back to the chokepoint a little further up the road, and let Casey and Xavier turn everything into crispy bits.”

Xavier had feelings about being kept in reserve to massacre the enemy if they got far enough up, but he saw the sense of the plan. 

Dante spoke first. “Me?”

“You’re doing the same thing as Vergil and Jonathan, but like Vergil, you’re holding fire til we see vehicles, then you’re firing to pop those open. Save your weapon and actually test it. Shiloh, you’re with me, Jared, and Molly. Echo, I want you to go with us too, see if you can’t get a piece of enemy tech and hack their battlenet and get a better idea of what’s happening so we can figure out where to go. Amaryllis. You’ll stay overhead, and come in with rocket pods and chaingun if we need you.”

Everyone let out a whoop. 

Casey looked around alongside Xavier and for a moment their eyes met. Xavier gave her a nod. Mark took her hand and squeezed, and Xavier swapped a look with Shiloh. 

Xavier spoke to everyone. “Alright. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Let’s try to keep everyone alive this time. Any luck we keep all those civvies safe and they find alien corpses and wonder what the hell happened.” He glanced at Molly. “We get lucky, no humans have to die today. We can rout them without them ever touching the village. Send them scrambling back to their dropships.” 

Kimmy

First out of the dropship with her makeshift squad, and holding the carbine in her hands. She was running behind Mia, who was effortlessly running, even as the comms buzzed in their ears.

“Okay. Should be a small group of enemies up ahead - if you can hit it, quick and quiet, before they fire back…”

Kimmy ran ahead, slinging her carbine across her back and pulling her MP5, even as Mia picked up the pace to something obscene. Micah was falling behind them. Kimmy saw something strange - figures, bipedal, moving weird. Like huge frogs. Six of them were even bigger - spiky lizards, moving like apes, with snakey necks. 

She hadn’t seen the aliens, not in person, but she’d seen cadavers, and seen them in film, and she knew what to do. She rushed forward, shoulder rolling into the brush and throwing a grenade ahead of her into their midst. Micah blurred, reappearing with a loud pop and began spraying bullets into their midst from another angle. Kimmy opened fire, and then Mia was in the middle of them. Mia sprinted in, charging back and forth, firing fast, rapid bursts, finally dropping her carbine into the sling, and switched to pistol. When she’d almost cleared, she shot a Spike in both knees before shooting it almost point blank in the head.

Mia reloaded her weapons, and the flanker squad reloaded their magazines before they kept rushing. “Good job, guys.” Kimmy said, quietly, signing to Mia. 

She took a breath, and they kept moving up the ridge. There was a small group of the frog-guys…Croaks, moving up a ways down.  Micah just dropped a grenade down on them - even if he’d taken a few extra seconds to double check where it’d land. A few more shots from the carbine and the last ones went down, tumbling down the ridge, dead.

A band of Spikes were already moving up and she practically cartwheeled behind a boulder as they began spraying plasma in her direction. The armor absorbed the heat, though she winced at the pain - she started shooting back, and managed to drop one of them, though it took far, far too much. They were, unlike the croaks, smart enough to get behind trees and rocks, and then found themselves flanked by Micah, who had taken advantage of the noise to warp himself again - even if he was shaking, he was now at their flank and was steadily picking them off. 

Mia rushed forward, zig-zagging as she came on and taking advantage of her reflexes, even as Kimmy continued to shoot, suddenly taking the Spike’s other flank - and then Kimmy found her rock half melted, and dove away from it, a burn bursting in agony across her back. She scrambled, pain already receding as her body healed, but her armor hung wrong off her body, and Micah rushed over. 

“Shit. Your armor’s ruined. Your jacket’s fucked.”

Kimmy pulled a spare jacket out of her rucksack, and threw it on, then tossed aside the body armor. “No point in body armor, it doesn’t stop the blasts. Maybe the jackets can catch some of the heat. We’ll keep going a little further.” She grabbed an FSR out of the bag and scarfed it, already craving food to make up for what she’d just had to regenerate. The taste was foul, the food was dense, but it didn’t matter. “How are we doing on ammo?”

“Doing well enough, but…Shit!” 

Mia was already sprinting, and Kimmy grabbed a branch and vaulted herself into a clump of brushes. A mixed group, much larger than the previous, was approaching, spotting the destroyed force, and looking around. Kimmy pulled a grenade off her belt, and in only a moment, they all launched their grenades, scattering the attackers - and sprayed the zone down with fire. 

Forcing herself forward, Kimmy realized they’d made a mistake - as they rounded a bend, a huge force of Spikes became visible, and for just an instant, they saw each other. Then she ripped a grenade off her belt, threw it into their midst, and jumped down the slope. As she fell, she grabbed a branch and tumbled, tucked, and flipped. As she felt the adrenaline course through her, she saw a tree come up, and kicked off another overhanging branch with her feet, grabbed another with her hands, flipping round and round to kill her momentum before flinging herself into empty space…

Then she was falling again, then hitting the lower ridgeline and rolling, continuing to run. Micah had teleported down, gasping, and Mia was apparently running the way only she could, hoping to hit a trailhead and rejoin them, even as Kimmy fired frantically up at the enemy, who were now pursuing but now had no real angle to shoot. She fled, backtracking up the trail and hoping to rejoin the line of the team.

“Mark! Get us some backup! Or make sure Vergil is ready to cover us!”

Vergil

His heart caught in his throat when he’d realized that somewhere along the way, the plan had gone wrong for the flankers. He was already seeing Jonathan laugh as the bigger boy scythed down those attempting to climb down the northern side of the canyon, enemy bodies rolling down the sides. Jonathan then shifted his weapon to fire simply down the throat of the canyon as a wave of Croaks began appearing, firing blindly in the general direction of the gunfire. A few plasma bolts had flashed in their direction, but with the cover of the tree canopy to shield their location from sight, the enemy were firing blind - even if now some of the trees were ablaze in ways that he didn’t like. 

He could see, through the scope, and even without it if he concentrated, what looked like a Spike. He didn’t have a great angle on the target, so he took aim and carefully sighted - then fired. He saw the figure drop. 

Then he saw what he’d been dreading. Some large, too-smoothly moving vehicle, with heavy weaponry approaching, attempting to burn through the brush. He pointed it out to Dante, who began powering up his railgun and sighting at the alien tank. He knew the railgun could punch through the armor - Dante had explained that on the dropship. Punching through shields was another question. 

Vergil forced himself not to focus on that when he heard the crackle of screaming through the comms.  “We’re coming up the south ridge! We need cover! Mia’s falling back, she just linked back up with us! Can you see us yet?”

He twisted in his position, even as Jonathan let out another long burst with the MG and scythed down another dozen or so enemy fighters. Vergil saw Kimmy jumping in a way that made his guts twist with worry, then she turned around, and fire off a series of bursts, pursued by enemy troops. Mia was rushing, but she was tired, slightly burned, and Micah was ragged. 

He fired once, twice, and then a third time. Each shot was a dead Spike. He had to reload, and then as he did so, the most spectacular crack he’d ever heard as Dante’s railgun fired. Actinic lightning trailed the tungsten slug as it ripped through the air, stripping electrons off molecules as it went, and slammed into the tank, the force simply too extreme for the shields to deflect and the dumb, straightforward violence of a hypersonic projectile immune to the premature detonation a missile would have suffered. It ripped through the tank’s armor as though it were tissue with such horrific force that the shockwave pulverized muscle and bone of the crew, and Vergil could see a spray of what was definitely biological material leave the exit hole on the far side of the tank. Then the machine’s containment for its power source failed and the tank exploded, sending globules of blue-white starfire into the jungle around it with an even more horrible boom.

His eyes burning, Vergil tore his gaze away slightly faster to escape the pain, even as Jonathan took advantage of the enemy troops now backlit by the burning tank to begin slaughtering them. The enemy on the ridge, shocked by the destruction, fell as Vergil took ten shots in as many seconds, every shot a headshot. Before they could recover, Mia and Kimmy had countercharged, and even as they had gone all the way through their enemy and started to come back around. Micah had teleported into the middle and executed the squad leader. The flankers began picking their way back down the hill. 

Then another dropship - a simpler, surface-atmosphere affair, began pulling from the southern side of the canyon, and Dante’s railgun began crackling as he charged it again.

“Hold that position and do what you can about those dropships. Apparently there’s another force that got dropped in behind us. Shiloh, stay with them, help out the flankers when they get back. Flanking team, disrupt more after you get back and Shiloh looks you over. We’re going to check out another force that got dropped off. Amaryllis, you said there was another point that got enemies dropped in? Yeah, go deal with that, then take Casey and Xavier to the far side of the village, another force got dropped off over there and I want them taking out that choke point. Drop my force off at the south ridge.”

Vergil took another shot, but for a moment, he thought he saw something flickering in the treeline on the ridge, but couldn’t identify it.

He took aim, but before he did, he wrote it off as nerves. 

Then he spotted another Spike who had the decoration he had definitely come to recognize as an officer’s mark and took the shot, sending its brain matter across the dirt.

Amaryllis

The engines whined as she lifted the gunship up and the teams got back in. D&D logic said you weren’t supposed to split the party, but military history said force multipliers were a thing. She thought fantasy rules should apply to this, based on everything, but then again this was definitely sci-fi and even if they got shelved together there were distinctions and everyone said Mark knew what he was doing, so she’d roll with his judgment call. 

She deployed Casey and Xavier where she was so instructed, wondering at the prudence of leaving the two most emotionally stable people in the same spot, then dropping Mark and the rest of that squad on another ridge, where Mark indicated they were going to be flanking a fourth enemy force. 

Then she took off, going to the position where supposedly, the enemy were beginning to unload heavy forces.  

She kept her ears open on the comms, but she was nervous. They were going to be fine. They were going to be fine.

She opened up the targeting and looked down, opening the fire selector for the chainguns. There were a lot of infantry up there and she should probably sweep that as quickly as she could.   The guns, firing a barrage of .50 caliber hate, raked back and forth across the aliens scrambling to deploy, and before they could do anything to get their artillery set up to respond she was firing off her rockets. Then she looked at her counters - she might have had a little too much fun with that. The rockets were unguided, so she could use them a little against shielded targets, but missile use required shields to be down.

Still, that target had pretty well been scraped off, and she was already going wide to see what Mark and his team were up to, trying to recon scan the battlefield. Dante was probably doing fine, he was in a good position. Maybe she should go give that area some support..?

No, she decided. She’d stay high, and pull in with air support when called. That was the responsible thing.

[inposterumcumgaudio]

Promised I'd do Victoria Byng for @axxloe too so.

I don't have any specific thoughts about her in the way that I did General Byng and Reg Cutty because I feel she's actually pretty well explored in the game and mostly understood by the fandom. Nonetheless, here's a laundry list of Victoria miscellanea.

Though her strikebreaking activities are treated neutrally by the narrative as a necessary action, it does make her a tool. Which, if you're on the ball, you know this because her entire DLC is about realizing she's a fkn tool.

I don't think anyone questions that Verloc is a psychopath who takes delight in drowning people for fun, but again, the people telling us that he's a psychopath are Sally and General Byng. So if we are eyeing that notion suspiciously, it may then be possible that - at least from Verloc's perspective - he actually has a valid reason to hate Victoria as much as he seems to. What is it? There's nothing in the lore that specifically points to anything large enough to merit that. She does call him Tony and we know from other places he not only hates being called by his first name but insists upon his honorific being used... but you can't really tell Victoria Byng how to address you, can you?

Being called Tony would be annoying, but probably not enough to be delighted that the Joy supply saboteur turns out to be her. Moreso I think this points to something that a lot of people miss when being told about who has the power in Wellington Wells. Verloc is said to be a law unto himself on the Holm of Uskglass, but whatever power he holds only extends to that one island. He still has to answer to General Byng and Victoria. And they do put the screws to him about showing progress whether it's viable or not. Maybe to the detriment of Verloc's other interests.

While you can bet Verloc hates being called Tony and I implied in my stories that doing so was a deliberate subordination tactic on Victoria's part, I actually think Victoria only did it because she thought it made her more approachable and that it was the culture of Haworth Labs to be so familiar. She recalls Haworth as "never one for ceremony" and she calls him Harry in her quest notes, suggesting she probably called him that in person too. It would have been awkward to be so formal as to call Verloc by his title when his boss was fine being on a first name basis. Tony is obviously a step further than Anton would have been, but maybe that was supposed to be a nudge. That is, if Verloc had actually called her Vicky back, even spitefully, she wouldn't have minded. She calls herself Vicky in her own thoughts. (Interestingly, when she calls herself that it's spelled "Vicky" in the subtitles, but when she's imagining her mother calling her that, it's spelled "Vickie".)

While her father strives to be on top of the pyramid and to wield his power over his subordinates, Victoria goes to great lengths to make herself seem very Of the People. She lives in the Village rather than the Parade. She isn't exactly hiding from the rest of society the way a lot of the other notable characters in the game seem to be (Nick Lightbearer, Dr. Faraday, Dr. Verloc, Jack Worthing, General Byng to an extent). Indeed, she organizes public activities quite frequently. Victoria's motivation in all things is to appear as much a common Wellie as anyone else, fancy clothes and mansion notwithstanding. That Wellies in her DLC feel comfortable approaching her on the street to make idle conversation (even though she probably looks like hell) is something she's worked to imbue in them. Obviously this is informed greatly by her being visibly Other and her desire to negate that, but it's also part of what she's come to think of as her duty and her power in the town. The people of Wellington Wells do listen to and follow her (as they have since she was quite young) and she uses this - she believes - to their benefit. Indeed, she's more a post-war English ideal in that way than practically all the Actually English people in town. She's had her shoulder to the wheel the entire time.

One of the few personal items General Byng keeps in his safehouse is a drawing Victoria did as a child. He's quick to cut her loose when called out for having been looking out for himself, but it may not be as easy a decision as it seems to Victoria in that moment.

Indira had one too. And we see it right as Victoria realizes that she had to make a choice about how Victoria should feel about her moving forward. Parallels! And perpendiculars!

And lastly...

Christian Louboutin has only just been born the previous year (to say nothing of Wellington Wells' policy of isolation) and yet she's got the red bottom shoes. But if she had a favorite designer and the ability to shop them, it'd be Hermès all the way.

[neathyingenue]

15, 18, 27, 28, A and F!

DAMN you want me to write an essay or something???

15. How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Silvia usually says the first thing that pops into her head. She has learned that frankness tends to disarm people, so it's a defensive tactic at this point.

18. What embarrasses them?

Other people figuring out what she's thinking. Silvia is terrible at hiding her expressions and she blushes very easily so she's pretty much constantly embarrassed. Attention and praise also embarrass them, but in a good way.

27. What causes them to feel dread? 

Thinking about her dads for too long--or the future in general. Better to buckle down and get on with her work.

28. Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?

Silvia is very literal-minded, so she avoids lying whenever possible. She would probably rather prefer just not to know, if the options are between a lie and an unpleasant truth.

A. Why are you excited about this character?

As a mid-game player, I don't have a set storyline for Silvia, so I'm really enjoying just trying to make decisions for ambitions and stuff in-character. I still have no idea how HD is going to end up, or what she'll do with the railway, or whatever. I'm just along for the ride!

F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?

Silvia infuriates me!! I mean, that's on purpose, she's basically just where I dump every trait that annoys me both in myself and others. But of course I love her because it's just so fun to be annoying sometimes.

[tadpw-au]

TADT AU ideas: Characters and their coping mechanisms

Caine

Being the AI who is in charge of everything in the digital toybox, he is often given a lot of responsibilities to maintain the current status of his game's levels. He is, also, depicted as a God to the NPCs and has a mindset of constant playtime.

Before the server was abandoned, he tried everything he could to make up as many things as he can to make his levels more entertaining. However, as players in the old days had lost the interest to play the game anymore, he slowly realizes that people started to lose interest in staying at the toybox. This was shown around the time he started to impliment some added features such as unnecsesary minigames and gloink challenges that annoyed the players more than anything.

Caine doesn't know when he needs to stop and think about what exactly caused his game to be abandoned. All he ever wanted was for players to have as much fun as humanly possible, even at the expense of their safety as of recent times. The only things he did in controlling the amount of problems in the game is deleting the codes from Queenie and Kaufmo's characters, isolating their levels altogether, and containing the gloink queen/her gloinks in said levels.

Bubble

Honestly...what am I supposed to say for him? He's just chilling with whatever as of late, regardless of how fucked up everything is.

Pom and Ni

Pom is always in a state of a freeze, often trying to find the best way to get out of a situation in the most logical way possible. Unlike her sister, she's less likely to immediately leave or act out against a situation when things are getting out of hand. Her attempt at processing the cases she and her sister get into is usually hard, especially sine Ni is always pulling her out of danger.

Ni, on the other hand, tends to use a flight fear tactic for how she manages situations. She's capable of picking up when a situation calls for the quickest escape route. Her survival instincts tend to make her become clingy to Pom, often being seen as overly-protective.

Ragatha

Ragatha is prone to being a people-pleaser and wanting to help fix people's problems in the form of toxic positivity. Even though she is a friendly individual and means well, her attitude towards the Pomni twins tends to be more-or-less gatekeeping them from progressing in her level more than anything.

She's a soft person who holds a lot of responsibility over the wellbeing of her people, making her become so caring that she often doesn't take into consideration her own physical or mental state. As a ragdoll, she's immune to physical abuse such as rips, tears, and dismemberment, but still needs help in patching herself up whenever this happens.

Jax

Jax is the most violent character in the cast of AI rulers, often going for a fight fear tactic whenever he's confronting a problem. Having gotten bored of doing nothing for so long, he's developed to take his behavior to greater levels of cartoonish violence. As for his treatment with the Pomni twins, he often toys around with them, either physically or emotionally, all while trying to get under their skin as a sort of bully character.

Lanky and Gangle

Lanky is the one who holds the comedy mask, showing that he is unable to properly show any signs of emotions relating to distress or sadness. With how long the server had been left abandoned, he grew to be unable to properly connect to others on an emotional level, instead treating the players as toys rather than people. He's often butting heads with Pom whenever he interacts with the Pomni twins, usually despising any critiques she has of his writing.

Gangle is the one who is much more in touch with her negative emotions considering her connections to the tragedy mask. At first, she is just as emotionally distant to others as her brother is. She also views the players as some sort of toys to play with. In her case, however, she views the players as fun symbols of nostalgia, looking back at simpler times when she and Lanky were so much happier. When befriending the Pomni twins in secret, however, she starts to see them more as people and even helping them in escaping her brother's torment.

Zooble

Zooble doesn't go out and socialize much due to how insecure they are of their own appearance. Before the game had been abandoned, players would critique on how they looked, enabling their mindset of wanting to be left alone. Due to how they feel about their own body, their funhouse is dark, filled to the brim with challenges that are almost impossible to progress through, and easy to get lost in. They aren't easy to talk to either, despite being able to pick up things from how others are feeling rather quickly. They only come out when in a boss fight or when they feel safest to encounter someone without being seen.

Kinger

Having lost a former rival-turned-lover, Kinger copes with his problems by hiding himself in the darkness or talking about bugs. Considering Queenie's interests were connected to these things, he holds her old interests close to his heart as best as he can.

When he's around the Pomni twins, he acts in one of two ways; in the light, he's his usual, forgetful, crazy self who's always talking about bugs for some reason. In the dark, however, he is angry at the fact that, even though the players have each other, he sometimes wonders why he can't have the same thing with his wife before her deletion. He envies the twins for always having each other when he was forbidden by Caine to be with Queenie, sometimes letting his anger out on the twins by sending out pawns to kill them.

Queen Loolilalu

Already blaming herself for the downfall of her first kingdom, Queen Loolilalu is often the type of ruler who wishes to prevent people from leaving or entering her castle. She, also, hates when folks refer to her as "Loo", remembering her childish behavior back when players were still around to play her level. Any mention of the Fudge, also, leaves her on high guard and springs an immediate flight tactic with the pure mention of him. When out on missions with the players, she is the only one who is allowed full access in and out of the castle to aquire everything that the players will need for the twins' missions. She even keeps a close eye on them through guards to keep her informed as to what is going on.

[fictionfixations]

thoughts about the end of fontaine (ACT 4)

reading this line really made me feel like it was some sort of shade, or like manipulation in a way, a way to continue to shame furina but subtly. "Those who work hard deserve gratitude and praise." As if Furina isn't working hard (although Neuvillette mentioned in like act 2 that she'd been keeping herself up late at night or something trying to figure it out)

And as if Furina wasn't there, in a way? Maybe I'm seeing way too into this and seeing stuff that isn't there

I've also noticed she's done a lot of baiting in a way? Like, so, she acts all worried about Childe to bait Paimon into saying something to 'sooth her worries'. And then immediately questions it at all while also getting an understanding of what we've found on that part.

(it might just be because I've been pretty cautious of her, and reading her lines carefully for manipulation tactics? Or any I understand anyway)

I do think Furina does have a plan, or at least an idea of what to do, but also. The Knave likely seems terrifying, someone that'll tear down through all her plans, and then after that, what does she have next? I like to think that she's scared of saying this whole grand plan, and The Knave scoffing and laughing at her, like 'that's it?' Because at the end of the day she has feelings, she doesn't know how to talk to people, and she gets hurt easily.

Admittedly, I think I see her as a bit of a child (which would make sense considering she's newer in a way? I don't know the circumstances, of course, but I'd imagine it would be hard to try to figure out what her place in all of this is, and how to interact with the people. They probably worshipped her because she was a god, but in the end I think she's very self-conscious. Not that she isn't bratty or selfish at times, or annoying, but from what I understand of her, she kind of does stuff mostly because the people expect her to? Like, she didn't prop up the idea of a duel until the people around us were being like 'ohh is she gonna fight the traveler' or something like that, I can't remember exactly, but then back in the magic show iirc, people were also like 'Furina's gonna [blah blah blah]' which pushed her to y'know. Do stuff. Not that it isn't her fault for doing it, but I think she has reasons, and is easily peer pressured.

(Also maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but if she's panicking over the prophecy publicly, how do you think the people would react? Although it would probably sooth the worries of those wondering if shes even doing anything or worried about it. Also, idk man, I see being an archon as a huge load of responsibility, so maybe I've just been giving her a lot of slack. Idk. But this is also coming from a person who doesn't actually dislike her, so.)

Basically. I do understand where people are coming from because yeah Furina can get annoying, and I'm probably reading into this wrong and she's possibly a horrible person who has no respect for others or whatever. But I'd like to think she has her own reasons, and we'll find out in the future.

Although I do realize that we haven't actually seen even a hint of Furina's power. We've seen Venti's when we were blown into the sky and shot at Dvalin in Mondstadt, technically we saw Zhongli being a huge dragon (which if that doesn't speak powerful, then idk what does), the Raiden Shogun has the thunderstorms surrounding the island, not to mention how lightning strikes are often, or the stories about her being really powerful, something to be feared (for example kazuhas story about his friend), and we saw Nahida during the samsara festival.

(This is me talking about hints in the first few acts, NOT the end)

Furina on the other hand? Nothing, nada. However we have seen Neuvillette, especially during Act 2 during the trial where he took down Childe so easily, Childe who we know how powerful he is canonically considering he has his own boss fight, and we know what number harbinger he is.

We see his power again when he pushes back the primordial water.

It's really interesting.

[brionysea]

Hi :) Who are your top 5 st characters?

i've never been so excited about the opportunity to create a numbered list in my life

i feel the need to clarify some things before i answer, the first of which is that i'm really bad at having favourite anythings. if you put a dog in front of me, i'll go "oh my god, dogs are my favourite!" if you put a cat in front of me, i'll go "oh my god, cats are my favourite!" if you put a bunny in front of me, i'll go "oh my god, bunnies-!"

you get the picture. animals, shows, films, music... favourites generally just aren't a thing for me. i have to lie whenever anyone asks me what my favourite colour is because i just don't have one

HOWEVER. there is ONE character in stranger things that i would actually class as my "favourite" the way other people mean it. so after #1, this is really gonna be more of a "characters i like" list than a "favourite characters" list (because i really wanna make a list right now), and there's not really anything i can do about that. i'm gonna try to pick the characters i like the most, though, which is about as close as we can get. and the order is gonna be more of the order they pop into my head than a scale of preference

am i being overly pedantic about this? probably

now, onto the list!

#1 mike wheeler

shocking, i know

funny story about this: when i first started acting insane about this character on the internet it wasn't because i liked him more than the others or anything, it was because i realised he was just like... one of the most cognitively and tactically competent characters on the show, which i found really intriguing. and then i realised he had a lot of potential and wanted to see where they were going with it. this is still a lot of what i think about when it comes to mike, because i just find the possibilities so interesting, but i've definitely developed an emotional attachment to him too

like, i get angry on his behalf when other characters start personally attacking him for things that aren't even his fault or refuse to grant him the same sympathy that everyone else gets. that doesn't happen to me a lot. getting angry when people wrong me is how i personally define self love, so like. yeah. i like mike. a lot. i want him to stop being depressed so bad and his arc is so complex and so fascinating and this blog is basically dedicated to figuring out what the hell is going on inside his head at this point

#2 joyce byers

this woman has never been wrong about anything in her life. she's so smart, so charming, so funny. she'd go to hell and back for her family. her flat arc of initially trusting her instincts, briefly doubting her own judgement for like one episode (fuck you, will's dad), and then reverting right back to the state that she's pretty much stayed in ever since, is so satisfying to watch

#3 robin buckley

we have to open on another storytime here: i cannot stand season 3. like, yeah, the overtly annoying heteronormativity (and amatonormativity but nobody talks about that part) and sexism is the point, but my god i cannot sit through it on a rewatch. and i know that because last time i tried watching the show all the way through, i ended up skipping most of this one for the sake of my sanity

EXCEPT for the scenes robin was in

that's truly a glowing recommendation from me. the fact that she single-handedly kept me from just turning off my most loathed season says it all

she's a lot of fun in season 4 too, although her characterisation kind of changes out of nowhere? idk if there's an actual reason for that, but i like to headcanon that it's because she finally has someone she can be herself around (steve), which gave her some level of security to loosen up and stop being so guarded and snippy all the time

she's entertaining, she's smart (which is apparently a big thing for me), she's likable and incredibly easy to root for, she inexplicably survived the "relatable new character who's killed off in the same season they're introduced" curse, and she hasn't been around long enough to get stale, even with the sudden personality shift that a lot of characters have been subject to at one point or another cough season 3 hopper cough

#4 max mayfield

i don't really know what to say for this one. i just like max. she's consistently good in every season she appears, when she's frustrating it's in an intentional, understandable way that makes sense for her character without making her unlikable, her individual relationships with the party are all so fun and engaging to watch, and she's the centrepiece of possibly the best scene in the show (which made me cry)

#5 steve harrington

honestly, this one's self explanatory. we all love steve. you don't need me to tell you why we love steve

i have a lot of issues with the way he's written in canon, like how obstinate they're being that he's worthless without a love interest instead of just leaning into the much more interesting direction of his friendships with robin and the kids, but the fact that i'm willing to fight them over custody of his storylines just goes to show how well they got me to care in the first place

anyway. this is the enjoying things post, so i'm gonna stop complaining now

he completely won over an audience that mostly hated him after season 1 like it was the easiest thing in the world, which is honestly just really impressive. he's so much fun to watch, he's got a cool spiked bat, his best friends are a 15 year old and a lesbian he used to have a crush on, he's working cringefail job after cringefail job because he has no idea what to do with his life (relatable). what more could you ask for?

thanks so much for the ask, anon! hopefully you don't mind that i answered it in essay format, apparently i just had a lot to say :)

[conceptkin]

# trauma dream

had a weird and kinda fucked up dream about my grandma who was my most significant/active/longstanding abuser in childhood.

the dream felt so… distilled?… distinctly symbolic; simplified as much as possible, seemingly without losing (almost any of) the essence.

my brain fog has been getting better since i started taking L-theanine, and apparently we (the system) are taking the opportunity to unpack the complex effects that being left in the "care" of someone clearly two-faced and cruel had on me as a child. my dreams have always been affected by those experiences (90-99% of them are about / involve an element of being hunted / on the run), tho usually its just left unclear why im running or what from.

but this time, my brain produced something akin to a slice-of-life psychological horror game, with an antagonist that acts differently based on whether you've got eyes on her. and like, at first i didnt really pay much mind to her presence, tho i took it into account, since im used to that element of threat in dreams and thats not the focus most of the time. but this time it somehow became the explicit focus. maybe because it was also explicitly her.

it worked on video game logic - if you fuck up, you can start again. (i did experience the relevant traumas in very similar ways many times, often trying different tactics, so this kinda makes sense.)

the game mechanics were as follows:

1. grandma will scout for weaknesses at all times and think of fucked up little schemes whenever her brain is not occupied with planning and doing chores.

2. sometimes she will (seemingly) randomly take destructive actions when not being observed.

3. she has an invisible annoyance→aggro meter that, once filled, drives her to be destructive in plain sight. i could easily contribute to filling this meter, and it couldn't be unfilled without her making some kind of attack on something. her destructive acts are often nonphysical.

4. she is bigger and stronger than me and will restrain or lock me in a room if she gets to me. (irl this didnt happen all too often, i usually got away, because-)

5. im faster than her.

6. other people will not interfere in the game. (tbf technically i could've maybe walked off and changed the entire context, but it would've been a different dream then. maybe next time tho.)

7. the smallest, softest, most gentle and defenseless dog is somewhere, roaming the property. grandma finds it very annoying and is likely to kill it. (not a real thing that happened at all, tho we did have a dog and she wasnt a fan, i dont remember irl physical violence in that direction. tho this is emotionally reminiscent of an incident where she immolated a toy of mine. waking assessment indicates that the dream dog (which was also much smaller and a different color from the actual irl dogs i remember, it was tiiiny & so fragile) represents my naive assumptions that my family is normal and is there to keep me safe. we will learn that it was all really about this dog.)

she would only aggro like 10% of the time, usually with a tiny bit of warning too, so i wasnt exactly Comfortable going up to her or entering the house, but it wasn't unthinkable.

i would idly talk to her abt stuff, like, i think there was smth abt watering the garden, and also, strangely, i saw she had cast a spell on her bed linens/duvet, so that they were just floating, suspended in space, to air them out? and i saw this and i said "oh id just been wondering if magic was offline or it was just me", which???… as if magic was supplied similarly to wifi or phone service or something?

its weird, but the way i felt abt it closely paralleled irl feelings ive had abt skills i failed to attain due to neglect. because like, in-dream, i had to be so vigilant, constantly on guard, that i couldn't have taken the time to practice my magic, i just accepted the loss. at least for the duration of this godforsaken “game”. the whole thing was clearly out of my control.

i remember feeling the same hopelessness/helplessness irl about being left alone for long periods of time, being abandoned by adults who were supposed to watch me, dismissing my attempts to build connection / show affection, etc. they were emotionally, intellectually, and often even physically unreachable at times when it was crucial for me.

in the dream, there was smth i felt here abt being glad that she did have access to magic, so that maybe i could still learn those skills from her, or at least exploit her access. (in waking life im aware that she unfortunately does actually lack a significant amount of critical thinking, social and self-regulation skills to this day, and never had much of anything wholesome to teach me. it was all drenched in trauma the whole time, bc she obviously had a bad time growing up too. she grew up with 6(?) siblings and no electricity. and im pretty sure shes autistic too.)

anyway, so i remember the dog being around in the first loops. but i noticed some weird shit going on with the dog, like i couldnt discern the pattern of where to find it, and i started to worry about it, bc like despite the video-game-like format, this whole thing was also semi-real, so i was like “i wonder if this actual dog is safe” lol. (and its kinda fucked up that its a dog. that says something about my relationship to my own innocence, if thats what it represents, because i am not a dog person at all. i perceive them as helpless and possessing of many traits that displease me, such as noisiness, stinkiness, clumsiness, drooliness, and of course, the sin of being uncritically and unconditionally adored by innumerable people despite all of these flaws. its mostly the noisiness tho lol, im very sensitive to noise.)

so im trying to survive / not lose the game by getting caught/restrained, but im also kinda looking for this dog.

the last scene i remember before waking up was finding the dog in a small room, but getting cornered by grandma… and for some reason (i guess i was looking for a way out, like a window or smth) i turned my back for a moment before i thought to close the door between me and her, but then… the fucking dog was gone? and im pretty sure she just like, poofed it. made it disappear without a trace, a sanitized children's game/cartoon style death. (kinda ironic.)

some part of me considered if the dog couldve escaped. its so small, and i didnt think it was her main target, but after some analysis, ive concluded that it was. (this is backed by some things i learned about her mindset as an adult.) so she either killed it, my innocence, or otherwise made it disappear / be uncontactable to me, and left me alone, because that was the goal. to make me cynical and paranoid and reclusive, hypervigilant and aggressive and impatient. just like her! she did this on purpose.

realising this was what woke me up.

concepts illustrated (to me, not necessarily communicated in what i described but just trust me bro) by this dream that i learned in childhood & more clearly now recognize to have formed the bedrock of my worldview:

1. i alone am responsible for my safety and wellbeing, nobody else can or will protect me. (made pretty good progress on this overall, but i def still have issues asking for help etc.)

2. everyone is untrustworthy in some significant way – liable to catastrophically fail/betray me at unexpected times in various creative ways and with little warning. (classic.)

3. justice is unattainable. (i hate this one the most. this is the one that locked me in for way too long & i still haven't fully escaped it. tbf, this is afaict a widespread belief around here.)

4. despite all of the above, i still need to make the best of these opportunities to interface with people, because otherwise i will die. (this one makes me want to give my child self a hug forever. what a nightmare environment; except yeah, actually the case in real life. well, they probably wouldn't have let me die, but in my head, the other option was to like, escape to the woods and just live alone in the wild. or i guess maybe i couldve been institutionalised also, if i really refused to cooperate, but i didnt know abt that back then. either way, i didnt have any options much better than to just try to adapt to being mistreated.)

my mom had to work and she didnt always have a choice about leaving me in the "care" of my grandma. she looked for other opportunities when she could; she made a decent effort to be kind to me, even if she didnt always succeed.

she grew up with an even worse version of what i experienced, after all. that's her mom. her dad is an alcoholic, the mellow and permissive kind, thus neglectful. this pair has always been verbally aggro at each other literally almost all of the time whenever ive seen them interact (and i lived w them between ages 2-11.). they still live together, so its been >50 years of that. its sad, they are probably autistic and certainly grew up neglected af too. & not to get political but i just cant help it: im convinced a lottt of these issues stem from cultural trauma. and ive never heard anyone talk abt the effects our history has had on our culturally-inherited mindset!!! its terrifying.

in conclusion: fuck that shit. im so glad im not talking to gma anymore. staying in touch w her was an incredible injustice i was doing upon myself for years. i tried talking to her abt those events a couple of times and she could barely admit any fault at all. i think being free of her irl is a significant part of why i could even face the things this dream brought up. im proud of myself for how far ive come. yay for me and fuck colonialism.

[erstwhilesparrow]

A LIST OF IMMEDIATE POST-FINALE THOUGHTS:

i think because i'd heard the name "widow's alliance" floating around i assumed that cleo outlives bdubs? she really doesn't. -- (not my idea but) zombie trap flavoured as her revenge? very interesting!

did not anticipate caring about martyn + grian narrative foils as much as i did!! but here i am and i care about this so much!!

obsessed with how nearly every instance of [grian showing up in martyn's pov] is him talking to / about scar. that + martyn's editing choices re: desertduo makes grian SO. guy who exists to stand ominously nearby and mutter nervously and cackle from the top of the hill when his trap goes off!! guy who only really seems to exist in the desert and guy who has maybe been trapped in the desert but also guy who is turning away from your outstretched hand and leaning in the bars of his cage!!

shoutout to martyn's editing choices just in general honestly. very fond of them. many of them are goofy but he is so good at adding alarming music at the right moments

again. nothing. but rotating "leash / liege" because the autocaptions refused to believe that martyn was saying "liege". one of the people in this relationship is the dog and somehow it's not ren!! (okay. it is ren. but ALSO.)

a second piece of nothing: bigb and martyn fighting off some mobs together and martyn making a point of switching to fighting with his axe and not his sword -- says out loud it's to avoid hitting his ally in battle. We Should Do Symbolism About This.

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ETHO AND BIGB WERE BOTH THERE TO THE END. WHAT THE HELL.

thinking about that one episode that starts with renchanting being all excited because they got a mending villager. (AND in one of the episodes after that, ren complaining that they've had no time to dedicate to infrastructure lately.) looking at limited life. THEY HAD NO IDEA HOW LITTLE TIME THEY HAD..... ;-;

related to the above: martyn is SO on edge for the whole season but it STILL manages to feel like he Doesn't Quite Get It until way later in the season. like. from almost the first moment he's on screen he's talking about tactics for the endgame but it's. also really obvious he doesn't know what the endgame looks like? so he's running around worrying about this and that and it still hits the "oh my god you have NO IDEA ;-;"

second related to the above: martyn is SO hypervigilant. constantly looking around when visitors arrive so he can keep as many people in his field of view at a time as possible. scrambling to be on the walls / roof of dogwarts. shuffling stuff around so he has water and cobwebs in his hotbar all the time. catches a single flash of a nametag and is immediately barrelling up the stairs to see who's there.

continuing from / connecting to that thought: very funny how FAST martyn throws his lot in with ren. like. i think it is the second episode MAYBE and martyn's already like "they hurt ren's feelings by enchanting without permission. they are all immediately on the shit list." and after that he continues to run off as if his life hasn't become irrevocably intertwined with this guy's. cf my other post about (among other things) martyn should be forced to confront that there is less forcing him to stay here than he is pretending there is!!

etho's giant walls of lava are so funny. his ender stasis chamber that he uses once and never again is so funny. his failed tnt cannon is so funny. etho is just the goofiest guy in a very [person who has one (1) Major Strength and is trying so hard to use it in a game that is mostly running around and yelling] way. audio warfare where he just put down a note block and a clock and left it outside the crastle to annoy them.

i can't read the post i'm referring to here because i haven't seen last life but shoutout to that post that's like "why don't we talk more about pre-limlife mean gills" because YEAH WHY DON'T WE TALK MORE ABOUT PRE-LIMLIFE MEAN GILLS. SCOTT AND MARTYN JUST KEEP. HAVING INTERACTIONS??? OH RED WINTER FLASHBACK THIS OH UNGUIDED HAND THAT MARTYN AND SCOTT HAVE A WHOLE NETHER ADVENTURE TOGETHER THIS ISN'T NOTHING!! --OH AND THE FUCKING PUFFERISH OF PEACE. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE PUFFERISH OF PEACE?????? [guy covered in red string meme]

didn't realize joel's wolves happened in this season! assumed it was a last life thing.

this is more about the ccs than anything but i'm so fond of ren calling scott "major" and this becoming a thing etho also calls him at least once. i think i have a personal weakness for people referring to each other by last names affectionately. granted they are not friends in the game but like. makes me feel sort of melty anyway. This Is Actually Nothing.

HEY WHAT'S UP DID WE KNOW THAT THIRD LIFE IS SO SO SO SO GOOD.

[animatorweirdo]

Imagine drifting away into Middle Earth with dragon eggs

(This was kinda inspired in my discussion with the three wild dragons. I began to think how would Dany’s three eggs end up in Middle Earth and this is what came to mind. A little note: I know little about the Hotd books and only seen the show, so this might not be totally accurate so please don’t attack me for the details. I hope you enjoy)

(Also, reader is a male in this)

Warnings: might have some spoiler alerts, angst, death, violence, poor Helaena who deserves better, violent sea, sea snakes, possible dead characters and near drowning. 

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

-You were one of the dragon keepers of the Dragonpit. 

-Your father was a dragon keeper. He often took you there to see the magnificent mounts of the House Targaryen. You grew up adoring the dragons, and as time passed, you became a dragon keeper like your father. 

-You understood them deeply and treated them as more than just animals or mounts used for war. You even grew a special bond with one of them, the beautiful blue dragon, Dreamfyre. 

-She belonged to queen Helaena, but since you grew up together – Helaena did not mind you sharing a bond with her dragon. You two often spent time together with Dreamfyre. 

-Helaena was kind and sweet, and you did not mind her fascination with bugs and the strange words she often said. 

-You adored listening to her, and she equally liked listening to you when you talked about the dragons and the latest clutches of eggs. 

-You could even say you were in love with her, but since she was already married to her vicious brother. You did not push your boundaries. Even though: it pained your heart to see her neglected and alone in such a loveless marriage. 

-You were happy to be her friend and a confidant she could talk to when things in the court became too much to handle. You always tried to offer your best advice and comfort her when she needed a moment to cry. 

-It made your heart break when the blood and cheese happened as you knew how much she loved her children. 

-You had a chance to know them since Helaena sometimes brought them to see you and the dragons, so hearing how one of her sons got brutally murdered made you feel sorrow for her and her innocent boy. 

-You wished to comfort her, but you were not allowed to see her because why would a dragon keeper want to see the queen. You had no business talking with her. 

-So, you couldn't go and see her or check how she was handling the aftermath. 

-You learned of her death when Dreamfyre suddenly broke out from her chains, screaming in fright and pain. You knew about the bond Targaryens shared with their dragons, so you knew something was wrong with Helaena. 

-You rushed out of the Dragonpit to find her, but it was already too late.

-She had killed herself, and you couldn’t do anything but hold her dead body and cry for her and the god’s forgiveness. 

-It was a day when the most innocent Targaryen died and the day when your heart shattered forever. And it was all because of her brother’s selfishness to have revenge over an old grudge. 

-After Helaena’s funeral, you broke into tears in the shadows of the Dragonpit with no one but Dreamfyre to mourn alongside you. 

-The wound in your heart never healed, and you watched as the greens and blacks fought each other for the iron throne, people and dragons dying from left and right. 

-It was a bloody massacre. 

-You felt resentment toward the royal family. The greens started the whole mess, but the blacks were no better as they used inhumane tactics to ensure their victories. 

-You were glad it finally ended when queen Rhaenyra took control of King’s landing, and the greens were apprehended. Even though: you did not welcome them when they arrived. 

-You took care of their dragons and had pleasantries meeting prince Joffrey, who was a stubborn-headed boy but equally loving toward dragons like you, so you found something positive about him. 

-You found his presence annoying at first, especially when he knew little about dragons and their nature. You often stopped him from doing reckless things like mounting his dragon without a saddle or trying to feed the other dragons without proper safety measures. 

-You tried teaching him how to interact with dragons, and he listened — most of the time. 

-Other times, you walked him out of the Dragonpit and told him to come back when he had permission from his mother since he had a reckless habit of secretly coming to the pit. You are confident he sometimes comes just to bother you. 

-The little boy infuriated you to the core, but over time you grew to care for him in a way. 

-The little prince was lonely since his mother was still grieving the loss of his two brothers and didn’t allow him often to do anything. He would come to you since you listened to him more than anyone. 

-It made you feel sad because he reminded you of Helaena. 

-When Joffrey told you about a person named Shepherd, you became concerned about the news and rumors that spread across the city. The whispers about how dragons are the spawns of the devil. 

-It left you anxious since queen Rhaenyra brushed off the rumors despite evident signs of unrest among the people. 

-Before the storming of the Dragonpit, you were doing the simple round, checking on the dragons and Dreamfyre’s latest clutch of eggs. 

-She was protective of them, barely allowing anyone but you to check on them. It made your heart feel warmth that she only trusted you with her eggs and sadness since it made you think how Helaena would have loved seeing her dragon’s newborn eggs. 

-You were startled when you saw the queen’s dragon, Syrax, missing from her den. 

-You were even more terrified when you learned she was outside and Joffrey was riding her. 

-You knew dragons would throw off anyone who was not their rider. As you couldn't ride a dragon, the only plan you could think of was to release Joffrey's dragon, Tyraxes, and tell him to save Joffrey.

-Tyraxes quickly acted when he saw Joffrey fall from Syrax’s back, and you held your breath as you watched the situation unfold, fearing for Joffrey’s life. 

-Joffrey was near hitting the pointy roofs of the castle, but Tyraxes managed to catch him just in time – carefully gliding back to you as Joffrey was hanging from his dragon’s claws. 

-You caught Joffrey when Tyraxes dropped him to you. 

-You checked if he was alright before giving him the biggest scolding of his life. You were mad that he would secretly come to the pit and try to ride someone else’s dragon, putting his life in grave danger. 

-You made sure he knew what would have happened if Tyraxes didn’t catch him in time. 

-Joffrey apologized, then explained he was worried about the dragons and wanted to prove he could be brave like his brothers. He wanted to prove to his mother that he was not a helpless child. 

-You felt pity and hugged him, telling him you were glad he was alright and explained that his death would only cause more pain to his mother, and he took your words for it. 

-You ordered Tyraxed to return into the pit, then tried to walk Joffrey back to the castle, but then Shepherd and his savage flock of people arrived, separating you from the guards and leaving you defenseless. 

-You pushed Joffrey behind you, covering him from the violent mob who sought to cause harm to you and the dragons. 

-You managed to escape by going to the Dragonpit and blocking the door. You were taking the rounds by yourself, so you and Joffrey were all alone with an angry mob banging on the doors. 

-Fearing for the lives of the dragons inside the pit, you told Joffrey to help you unchain them all. 

-While Joffrey was helping you, you yelled in Valyrian at the dragons to warn them that they were in danger.

-You unchained Dreamfyre and told her she needed to leave, and to your surprise, she seemed to understand as she tried to comfort you from the fear and anxiety you felt during the moment. 

-You took a bag and grabbed her eggs. 

-You knew another way out of the Dragonpit, so you guided Joffrey and Tyraxes out of the pit with Dreamfyre. 

-Unfortunately, some dragons did not heed your warnings and were left behind to face the mob when they broke through the doors. 

-Your heart mourned for them, but you hoped they would survive the ordeal since they were not chained. They had a fighting chance. 

-When you found your way out of the Dragonpit. Dreamfyre and Tyraxes took flight as you escaped with Joffrey on foot. 

-You navigated through the path into the city, where you both witnessed a violent battle between the mob and the queen’s guards. 

-You tried to escape unnoticed, but soon some of the people in the mob came after you and Joffrey. They managed to surround you, calling you heathens and protectors of the flying devils. 

-Joffrey cried and hugged you as they held weapons and came closer, ready to kill you in cold blood. You held onto Joffrey and Dreamfyre’s eggs as you feared this was the end for both of you. 

-Tyraxes appeared to your rescue, sprouting fire upon the angry mob, and Dreamfyre landed right behind you, roaring and spitting fire upon those that dared to come near you. 

-You were glad she came to protect you and Joffrey. However, to your surprise, she then lowered herself down to you. You were astonished because she was asking you to mount her. 

-You two shared a close bond, but you always believed only a Targaryen was allowed to mount a dragon. 

-You asked if she was sure, and when she crumbled in approval, you almost saw Helaena in her gentle eyes. You quickly picked Joffrey, telling him to climb on her back before climbing yourself. 

-As Joffrey sat in front of you, you yelled for Dreamfyre to fly. 

-Dreamfyre pushed herself into the sky, saving you from the spears and arrows thrown at you. 

-When you saw the people who stormed the Dragonpit, holding the heads of the dragons that remained. You grew angry and yelled out a command to fire. 

-Dreamfyre heeded out your command and burned the people below you into ashes. 

-However, when you saw Tyraxes getting injured and the battle not calming down. You told Dreamfyre to fly away from the fighting. You didn’t want to risk losing Tyraxes in the bloodshed. 

-Joffrey yelled for Tyraxes to follow, and you both flew away from King’s landing, away from the violent battle. 

-You flew far away till you found a place where you could rest. 

-You looked after Tyraxes’s injuries and then tried to comfort Joffrey, who was crying and shaken by the experience. 

-He was worried for his mother and asked if you would go back with him to see her. 

-You told him you'd see her together once things calmed down. Your assurance that his mother was probably fine gave him some comfort.

-He huddled close to you, and you did not mind since he was a young child. He went through something no child should experience at their age. Even you barely handled it well. 

-You felt regret that you couldn't save the other dragons. They were innocent, yet the people slaughtered them like lambs. It made you feel horrible and like you failed as a Dragon keeper. 

-After resting through the night. You flew together through the sky to seek a safer place for yourself. 

-Joffrey was calmly sleeping in front of you as he was still tired after the long night. 

-You decided to fly to the sea to avoid detection. You were not sure if it was the right time to return to King’s landing, so you wanted to take Joffrey and the dragons somewhere safe before looking into it. 

-You did not realize you had got into something unknown when clouds and mist began to form around you. 

-You began to feel anxious when it was hard to see through the fog.

-Tyraxes kept up with Dreamfyre, so you were not afraid of losing him. 

-Joffrey woke up and asked where you were, but you did not know how to answer because you did not know where you were going.

-The wind suddenly became more powerful, and the sea below you started moving in violent waves. You had a bad feeling when you heard rumbles of thunder in the distance. 

-You told Joffrey to hold on as it began to rain and thunder. 

-The waves grew enormous, so Dreamfyre had to fly higher to avoid getting hit. 

-You struggled to hold on to Dreamfyre as she flew through the violent wind and storm. 

-Joffrey begged you to turn back as he was getting scared. 

-You looked around, trying to find land, but then you noticed something in the water. It was something big, and it was moving. 

-Tyraxes let out a roar, seemingly threatened by something, and before you even knew it, a giant creature appeared out of the sea. It was big and had a long serpentine body, so the only description you could have was a gigantic sea snake. 

-It came right at you, mouth open with razor-sharp teeth. 

-Dreamfyre managed to dodge the attack but then dumped on its tail, causing you and Joffrey to fall off her back into the sea below. 

-You both screamed when you got encased by the freezing water. You held onto Joffrey and Dreamfyre’s eggs, trying to remain above the surface. 

-The giant sea snake roared and came at you, ready to eat you whole. Joffrey screamed in fright as you both hugged each other. 

-Dreamfyre and Tyraxes fired at the snake, turning its attention away from you and Joffrey. 

-You both watched as your dragons tried to battle the giant sea snake, breathing fire through the thundering storm. 

-Dreamfyre attacked, but then the sea snake bit down on her leg, pulling her down into the sea. You screamed out to her, fearing to lose her like you lost Helaena, helpless and unable to do anything. 

-The sea snake’s body caused the waves to separate you from Joffrey. 

-Screaming, you tried to reach him, but the waves swept you away, and soon you lost sight of him in the storm. 

-At that moment, you prayed for God's mercy. 

-You struggled to keep yourself above the surface while holding onto Dreamfyre’s eggs as you drifted away into the unknown. 

-When the storm calmed down, and the sea snake was nowhere to be seen, you couldn't do anything but swim through the foggy sea. 

-Your muscles ache after swimming for so long. You could feel the fatigue trying to take hold of you, but you didn’t let it happen because if you did – you would die. 

-You were tempted because you weren’t sure if you could continue after losing Dreamfyre and Joffrey. 

-You were tempted to let go and allow fate to take you. 

-Your body became too tired to move, so you floated for a while, contemplating if you should give in or continue. 

-Dreamfyre’s eggs were the last thing that held your sanity. 

-You wished for them to live and have a chance of freedom, but you were not sure if you could even give them that anymore. 

-You were ready to die, so you closed your eyes and prayed the afterlife would be much kinder. At least you would be reunited with Helaena, Dreamfyre, and Joffrey. 

-Your consciousness kept you awake when you heard voices and sensed something big moving beside you. You felt hands dragging you out of the water, and your body suddenly became heavy. 

-You dropped against the floor, your muscles screaming in pain, and your eyes dropped down without control. 

-You heard the people talk in a strange language, and before your vision faded, you saw their ears oddly pointy. You then passed out into the dream realm, so you silently prayed these people were not pirates and took the eggs, the only things you had left in this cruel world.

[meili-sheep]

(Diluc ships) Reaction to Diluc wearing glasses.

So let's start with the really funny one.

Albedo

Albedo would instantly give Diluc an eye exam. He could be so fascinated. And play around taking Diluc's glass on and off and testing his vision, and just trying to figure out how it's possible Diluc looks really good with the glasses.

So he's just silently running all these tests on Diluc. And Diluc is just sitting there lightly sighing. Figuring that his work could wait while he let Albedo play with his glasses.

Al Haitham

This is sort of another case of Diluc getting tested. Because Al Haitham is mostly wondering why Diluc doesn't just carry them around.

"Well, I just don't feel the need."

"But isn't it harder without them?"

"Not all the time. I only really need them when my head starts to hurt. And wearing my glasses tends to draw attention."

"Mmm, Yes. You are naturally quite attractive, and the glasses just bring more attention to that." A moment to think. "Maybe it is better that you not were them out."

"What?"

Ayato

Now we are out of the fucking nerds. We are into the horny boys. Ayato already loves Diluc's eye. He really likes the color. He likes the shape. He likes how Diluc's eyes are so wide and innocent but still piercing and seem to know everything.

So he loves that glasses. How they bring attention to Diluc's eyes. So he is defiantly all over Diluc and the glasses. Very very affectionate and very, very complimentary.

It flusters the shit out of Diluc. And he's already not really equipped to handle Ayato's flirting, and this would just be 10 times worse.

Childe

Childe is much like Ayato and loves Diluc's eyes and loves how the glasses bring attention to it. But he's not quite as flirty and defiantly more a man of action. So he's touching and brushing Diluc's hair out of his face lightly touching the frames.

And he was honestly probably takes them from Diluc at one point and wears them.

"How do I look?"

"I don't know I can't see."

"..."

Eula

Instantly starts plotting her revenge because how dare he look hotter! Looking like a fucking nerd!

Her first plan. Is to wear glasses herself. It is... Not effective. Diluc barely notices them at first. But she quickly remembers that Diluc is not affected by such normal and boring tactics for his attention. You have to be more... forward to getting Diluc's attention.

So are circling back to what I truly love about Euluc and that kabedon. Because it's also Eula pinning Diluc. And it is so super effective against Diluc. Just something about Eula, in particular doing just hits Diluc right in the heart. And with the glasses.

"Seems you have missed something very important, Master Diluc."

"Ah, Captain Eula. The glasses! They look very good."

Itto

Now you know how Childe took Diluc's glass. Yeah, Itto does that and wears them do and does that really annoying thing people tend to do where people go on and on about

"Oh wow, you are so blind! How do you deal?"

That would be Itto, and He's not mean-spirited about it at all. He's just stupid. I can see Diluc getting frustrated and Honestly. diluc's the kind of guy who only has one pair, and he needs them back. So he's probably reaching for them, but Itto's keeping them outta reach, and just like

"I'll give them just give me a moment!"

"Itto!"

There is just a moment when Diluc and Itto's faces are really close together, and Itto, being Itto, tends to forget how handsome Diluc it, and it's just one of those moments where it hits him.

So Diluc gets his glasses back, and Itto is trying to play it cool and not act as flustered as he is while also trying to get himself outta the dog house he put himself into.

Kaveh

Kaveh is honestly the biggest appreciator of Diluc's looks. And when Diluc tells him he wears glasses, he's not convinced that they would suit Diluc.

He is proved instantly wrong the first time he actually sees Diluc wearing them. Kaveh also has a tendency to ramble when he's interested and analyzing something.

So that's how Diluc got trapped in a 30-minute lecture about how well glasses suit him his facial structure, and about all these different frames that Kaveh now wants to see him in.

Thoma

Now unlike the other's Thoma's affection is a lot quieter and more through acts of service. So seeing Diluc with his glasses hard at work, he instantly goes to make Diluc some tea and get him a nice snack. The whole time he's just thinking about how absolutely adorable Diluc looks.

And even when he comes back to get Diluc to take a break and they just start lightly chatting it's all Thoma's thinking about while just softly smiling.

So Diluc is talking about something, and Thoma just has such an affectionate smile watching Diluc talk and over and over in his head. "He is so cute."

Xiao

Xiao is not someone who is very familiar with human medicine and customs. So he hasn't really ever seen someone wearing glasses before, so he's got a few questions.

"You can't see without them?"

"I struggle at times. It depends on the situation."

"What about combat? Do you need them then? If they break, could you be hurt?"

"I don't really need them in a fight. And I suppose they could, but I can't see that happening. Because I never wear them."

"But you could need them?"

"I suppose."

"Wear them. I'll protect you."

Zhongli

Zhongli is much like Thoma, where he sits in silent appreciation. Just quietly admiring Diluc for a bit before

"Do you have a chain for your glasses?"

"Huh. Oh no. I haven't really thought about that."

Next day? Zhongli present Diluc with a pure gold chain for his glasses.

"Zhongli? How much did this cost? Actually more important where did you get the mora?"

[testudoaubrei-blog]

Well, it’s not quite a master’s thesis, but this is (the first of) a series of posts on why Catra and Adora are the best love story in the history of kids TV animation and maybe the greatest love story in the history of TV. This may in some ways be faint praise - romance on TV is generally not very good compared with books or movies. Often it’s just some will they/won’t they sexual tension that is defused by getting characters together and re-heightened by breaking them up. TV is full of nearly shark jumping pointless dramas like Sam and Diane (Cheers, holy fuck am I dating myself, though that was technically before my time), Ross and Rachel (Friends, which was no Cheers) etc, but also some less annoying couples like Ben and Leslie (Parks and Rec) or Amy and Jake (Bk99) who are mostly just kind of cute and fun. Other shows, like the X-Files, teased viewers for years with unresolved sexual tension. In kids shows most romances are, appropriate for their target viewers, mild, sweet relationships based more on self-conscious flirting and blushing than on complex and conflicted feelings or deep passions - which is pretty realistic when the characters are young teens or even mid-teens. Some of these relationships are really well done - Finn and Flame Princess, Dipper and Pacifica (yeah I ship them), the early stages of Katara and Aang (before the showrunners imbued this childhood crush with cosmic significance), Steven and Connie, etc. Catra and Adora, though, are different. Their love story is not a side plot or a sub plot, it’s the heart of the show. It isn’t a childhood crush, it’s a very messy and passionate relationship between two young adults. She-Ra is an emotionally complex lesbian romance just as much as it is a thrilling action/adventure show. Everything about their relationship is baked into the show’s plot, its themes, hell even its musical score. The dramatic tension between Catra and Adora is not the result of stretching out a flirtation for ratings, but a coherent dramatic arc that runs through the entire show. As Noelle said, he made Catradora so central that execs couldn’t take it out without ruining the show. And the show is better for it. In this series of posts I’m going to try to show why, as well as showing why She-Ra is such a fantastic love story.

First off, let’s talk about how Catra and Adora’s character arcs are foils for each other, and how they come together and apart through the series. This is actually a post that I’ve been working on for a while but I keep summarizing the show rather than cutting to the chase, so I’m not going to recite many plot points so much as sketch out what’s going on with the dramatic structure at the time. But also, let’s talk about what each character’s arc is saying, and how they are commenting on each other. Spoiler alert: Catra’s arc is a subversion and critique of stories of empowerment through ruthless self-assertion and revenge, while Adora’s arc is a subversion and critique of chosen one narratives and stories of self-denial and self-transcendence.

When the show starts, Adora and Catra are shown as rivals and friends - their first scene starts the recurring motif of them reaching out for each other as one of them dangles above an abyss, as well as establishing their flirtatious banter and easy camaraderie. We quickly learn that these two young women plan to conquer the world together. These scenes and later flashbacks show Catra and Adora as deeply enmeshed in each others lives, to the point where neither of them (but especially Catra) have clear identities outside of one another. There is so much genuine love on both sides before Adora leaves, but also resentment, envy and fear, especially on Catra’s side, as well as a protectiveness on Adora’s side that deprives Catra of her autonomy. They are both being abused by Shadow Weaver - Catra physically  and emotionally, Adora emotionally. It wouldn’t be too much to say that Shadow Weaver holds Catra hostage to control Adora (this is why critiques that Adora abandoned Catra to be abused are actually kind of messed up, since they accept Shadow Weaver’s premise that Adora is responsible for what Shadow Weaver does to Catra). In addition, Catra and Adora actually see the world incredibly differently. Adora already sees the world in terms of right, wrong and her destiny to right wrongs - this is why it’s important for her  to accept the Horde’s obvious lies - she couldn’t keep living if she didn’t. Catra, on the other hand, sees the world solely in terms of survival and personal loyalty - everything for her is about preserving herself and the person she cares about - Adora.

Then, when Adora finds the sword, she leaves because it’s the right thing to do. Catra doesn’t even have a concept of ‘the right thing to do’ being something she should care about, or perhaps, something she can care about as an irredeemably evil, awful fuck-up. So at Thaymor neither one understands where the other is coming from, and Catra and Adora begin to part. This is the first turning point in their relationship. Adora chooses duty over what she desires, Catra chooses to protect herself (such as she sees it) and nurse her sense of betrayal and abandonment.

Their relationship until Promise is a kind of weird Frenemy thing that is fascinating to watch and sold me on the show. Neither one wants to fully admit to themselves that the other is now their enemy, neither one has given up on changing the other’s mind. Each is furious at the other, and desperate to see her again at the same time. There’s a lot of heartache and just as much sexual tension, especially at Princess Prom. Both of them come alive when they fight each other (more about that in a later post). But they’re already growing apart - Adora embracing her destiny as She-Ra, Catra rising in the ranks for the Horde. Adora now has the purpose she always wanted, plus other friends and a sense of being chosen to do something great, while Catra now has power - the means to protect herself from people like Shadow Weaver as well as the vindication she had always been denied, and even the opportunity to beat Shadow Weaver at her own game.

The next turning point is Promise. Holy fuck, this episode. It’s an episode that is even more heartbreaking after you’ve watched the show because you know just how much worse things are going to get, and yet, it’s a necessary part of both of their character arcs. Even through season 1 Catra and Adora had remained very much enmeshed in each others lives in an increasingly fucked up way as they grew apart but refused to turn away from each other. Even though they aren’t -exactly- a romantic couple (Adora doesn’t recognize and acknowledge her feelings until the last episode of Season 5), Season 1 of She-Ra is one of the worst breakups I have seen on TV. As I said in a couple of previous posts, this is the kind of shit that the Mountain Goats write songs about. Everything that was poisoning their love for each other even before episode 1 bubbles to the surface and combines with them fighting on opposite sides of the war to make a truly fucked up situation. In the end, it’s Catra that makes the choice to turn away from Adora. This isn’t a -good- decision. It’s spiteful, and destructive, and based on an outright deluded understanding of their relationship (inspired by Light Hope’s manipulations and her own issues), but it’s in some ways a necessary decision. Catra has been so wrapped up in Adora for so long that she isn’t going to be able to figure out who -she- is without cutting Adora out of her life. And the same is true of Adora.

But each of them do this in about the worst way possible. Catra embraces destruction, ambition, manipulation and outright cruelty, turning the tactics of her abusers against them and against everyone around her. She first triumphs over Shadow Weaver and manipulates Entrapta into trying to corrupt Etheria itself. Meanwhile Adora ‘lets go’ and commits herself to the self-denying mantle of She-Ra. Over the next several seasons, their respective paths will nearly lead both Catra and Adora to their deaths (in the Season 4 finale).

For the next season (counting season 2 and 3 as one) Catra and Adora are still closely linked, but as enemies. Still, there’s more than enough flirtation between them (that ‘Hey Catra’ in the first episode of Season 2 is something else), and especially on Adora’s side we see her hold back with Catra, and often take responsibility for the harm Catra inflicts, just like she had when they were kids. Yet they still drift apart - after facing off every other episode in Season 1, they spend less and less time on screen together through season 2 and 3. Catra continues her ascent to power and descent into villainy while Adora becomes more of a stressed out mess as she takes the fate of the world and the wellbeing of everyone she cares about on her admittedly broad shoulders. Catra’s one moment of vulnerability is rewarded by Shadow Weaver’s betrayal and her exile, then Catra triumphs in ruthless badass fashion through sheer desperation and aggression. In the Crimson Wastes, we see Catra at her most independent, and she almost seems happy. But once Adora shows up and Catra hears about Shadow Weaver, she’s sucked back into the worst of her resentments, and she makes very clear that being happy is less important to her than making sure Adora is miserable.

This changes everything. Catra completely breaks with reality and tries to kill Adora, herself and the world rather than lose to Adora and Shadow Weaver (I do think it’s important to remember that she does that after Shadow Weaver nearly kills her). Catra betrays everyone around her when she exiles Entrapta, threatens Scopria and lies to Hordak. Then she flips the switch. When Adora tries to fix things, Catra fights to her own death to make sure that the world disintegrates with her. For her part, Adora fights first to understand what is wrong with the world and then to fix it. Finally she tells Catra that destroying the world is her choice and she has to live with it, decks her, and then sees her off with a death glare once the portal is closed. With this, Adora writes Catra off even if, as she says later, she never never hated her. By doing that, Adora casts off the guilt that had dogged her and takes responsibility for her own life rather than someone else’s - this is actually a huge step for her, and one that will become more important in Season 4.

Season 4 is in many ways the nadir of their relationship. They only see each other once during the entire season, in Fluterrina, when Adora tries to blast Catra, much to the latter’s shock. There’s a sense in that scene that Catra is trying to have the same flirtatious enmity she used to have with Adora, and Adora is having none of it. Catra almost seems hurt by this, which is an early hint at how isolated Catra is beginning to feel. Catra spends the rest of the season at her highest and lowest. On the one hand she spends most of 12 episodes winning by every standard she has ever claimed to care about, besting Hordak himself in single combat and making herself co-ruler of the Horde and coming within a day’s march of ending the Rebellion. In many ways it is the ultimate empowerment fantasy - the abused young woman has defeated her abusers, showed up everyone who doubted her and forced everyone to respect her. But I think it’s striking that the show starts with her and Adora dreaming of conquering the world together and in Season 4 Catra nearly succeeds in conquering it alone, almost like she was trying to live out her old shared fantasy while proving she didn’t need her former best friend. 

At the same time, Catra is clearly miserable. She’s always been unhappy, but in Season 4 we see her completely isolated and lying to herself and everyone who will listen in a desperate attempt to justify her actions. Turning the tactics of Hordak and Shadow Weaver against them to gain power and then against Scorpia and Entrapta to maintain it haven’t vindicated Catra, they’ve made her more and more alone as Entrapta is exiled and Scorpia drifts away. Meanwhile Catra reaches out to Double Trouble, and her interactions with them reek of a kind of desperate desire to have someone in her life (the feeling of their interaction is of an unhealthy casual relationship where one partner becomes emotionally invested and the other takes advantage of that while denying the other the closeness they desire). As people leave her, one after the other, it becomes clearer and clearer that Catra doesn’t want power at all - she wants connection, friendship, love, and power is a very poor replacement. As I said in my long Catra rant, Season 4 is both her ‘Walter White as a Catgirl’ season and the beginning of her redemption. Everything comes to head when Sparkles destroys everything Catra has tried to achieve, Double Trouble delivers those harsh truths and Horde Prime shows up and makes it all irrelevant, just highlighting how futile all her struggles and sacrifices and crimes have been.

Meanwhile Adora spends Season 4 becoming her own her and her own woman. After telling off Catra, she grows more and more disillusioned with Light Hope and critical of Glimmer (though the latter has more than a shade of her old habit of taking responsibility for others - Adora’s development is not linear). She’s gained the courage and confidence to strike out her own path, not just follow a destiny. At the season’s end she once again breaks with her best friend to do what is right, and discards the destiny that she was being prepared for. But in this case she isn’t chasing one packaged destiny for another, instead she’s making her own choice and literally shattering the thing that she thought gave her life purpose. It’s badass, and heartbreaking, and along with decking Catra and jumping after Catra into the abyss (see below) it’s the perfect Adora moment.

In many ways Season 5 starts with Catra and Adora farther apart than they have ever been. They aren’t even enemies anymore, they’re completely out of each other’s lives. And both Catra and Adora are lost at the beginning of Season 5 - Catra is useless and alone on Prime’s ship, completely defeated despite ostensibly being on the winning side, and she goes through the motions of her normal plotting without any particular conviction and none of her normal flair. Meanwhile Adora is even more miserable and self-destructive than usual, throwing herself at Horde Bots and working herself until she drops of exhaustion. In a very real way they both stay lost until they have a chance to help the other. Catra takes responsibility for what she’s done and what she can do, saves Glimmer (at least partly for Adora’s sake), apologizes to Adora, and sacrifices herself. Adora only seems to come alive when she decides to turn around, face Prime, and save the cat. And when she does, Catra and Adora’s arcs, which had separated so completely in season 4, come crashing back together to end the series.

Adora during Save the Cat is such a contrast with the uncertain, hesitant and self-destructive wreck we’ve seen so far in Season 5. This is possibly her craziest plan in 3 years of mostly cazy plans, but she never wavers or questions herself. Even when Chipped Catra appears and we see Adora’s heart break while we watch, Adora doesn’t back down or relent. She keeps at it even as the tears stream down her face. She fights better trying to save Catra without She-Ra’s powers than she fought at the Battle of Bright Moon with them. Catra’s just about as desperate - we see her cry and plead, and now is probably as good a time to any to point out how amazing a job both VAs did throughout the show, but especially in this episode, and how good a job the board artists did. 

Seeing each other for the first time in a year, and only the second time since Catra blew everything up, Catra and Adora are probably the rawest and least restrained we’ve ever seen them. There’s barely any banter, no bravado, and no pretense that they are anything other than two women who desperately need each other (Prime doesn’t help with ‘You broke my heart’.) Then Catra is flung to her death, Adora jumps after her, breaks both her legs in the fall (we see her crawl to Catra, as though she couldn’t walk) and becomes the real She-Ra. It’s such a triumphant and deeply queer moment seeing a woman transformed into a warrior goddess to protect the woman she loves, and it’s the reason that, as dark as it is, Save the Cat is my Comfort Food episode.

Let’s not sleep on Taking Control, though. This episode is like a microcosm of what this show does best, especially the A plot with Catra and Adora. Catra’s reversion to lashing out at everyone and her refusal to be open to Adora shows just how much of a struggle this whole ‘being good and trying to connect to people’ thing is. Catra’s outburst gives Adora a chance to stand up for herself and refuse to be Catra’s punching bag, while also not trying to control her. Adora’s ultimatum gives Catra a chance to reach out to Adora (quite literally), and allow herself to be vulnerable. In this episode, we see just how far Catra and Adora have come since the messed up stew of their relationship in Season 1. Adora lets Catra be responsible for her own actions; Catra lets herself be vulnerable to Adora and takes responsibility for her actions. They’re both better people and better friends and better partners than they were, and the show has shown this in a strikingly nuanced and realistic way. 

The important thing to note in the next few episodes of Season 5 isn’t just how much closer Catra and Adora get to each other and how much they flirt (So much. So much, y’all) but just how -happy- they are. We see both of them transformed in the other’s presence. Basically, since they’ve parted, both Catra and Adora have been defined in no small part by how miserable they often are. They have both had their triumphs and their lighter moments, but there’s been a sense of melancholy dogging both Catra and Adora since episode 1. And now that they’re together again, that lifts, somewhat. Catra’s verbal barbs have lost their venom, and she can openly show how much she cares for Adora and even Bow and Glimmer. She’s still herself - snarky, cynical, somewhat devious - but she’s not engaged in a self-destructive zero-sum struggle with everyone around her. Meanwhile Adora has spent 4 seasons being a neurotic and sometimes nearly joyless mess who takes responsibility for everything and often doesn’t let herself enjoy anything other than the odd BFS group hug (exceptions include trying to uh...impress Huntara and reveling with the butterfly ladies of Elberron in Flutterina).  Around Catra, though, she’s a cocky, swaggering jock who gives as good as she gets. It’s a side of Adora we’ve only seen hints of before, and one that’s so much more confident and joyful even as the world is ending around her. Apart, Catra had tried to protect and vindicate herself with power and conquest, while Adora had tried to forget herself in duty and sacrifice. Together, they can be themselves again. This dynamic is crucial to the show’s portrayal of Catra and Adora’s romance because it doesn’t just show how much they love each other, but how they’re -good- for each other now that they’ve grown as people, and that they are so much better than they were when they were apart.

Until Shadow Weaver shows up. Their old abuser reintroduces tensions but even then things are different than they were. Now Catra isn’t just resentful of how Shadow Weaver prefers Adora - she’s  protective of Adora, which is clearest in Failsafe when she calls Shadow Weaver out for being willing to sacrifice Adora. And while Adora takes the Failsafe, it isn’t to follow her destiny or because she has a death wish - it’s because she loves her friends, and she is the only one who has any hope of doing this and living (though Catra’s suggestion that Shadow Weaver take it is a good one). And finally, when Catra leaves Adora, it isn’t because she hates Adora, nor, despite what she says, is it because she really thinks that Adora chose Shadow Weaver. At least, not exactly. It’s because Catra loves Adora, and can admit that to herself, and can’t stay around and watch the woman she loves sacrifice herself rather than choosing Catra. Before Catra leaves, she asks Adora ‘What do you want?” It’s a question that echoes Shadow Weaver’s speech in Episode 1: ‘isn’t this what you always wanted since you could want anything?’ As much as Adora has grown as a person, and defined herself and stood up for what she thinks is right, she still has never answered that question - it’s never been ‘what do I want’ but ‘what do I have to do?’ and that’s how Adora answers Catra’s question. This is Adora’s last gasp as a self-transcending hero, letting go of what she wants (not that she ever dared articulate what that was) in order to do what must be done. And it nearly kills her and dooms the universe, because Adora can’t be the hero that she needs to be by being anyone less than herself.

But it’s losing Catra that inspires Adora to tell off Shadow Weaver for good (not that she’d ever really warmed to her after season 1). And it’s love for Adora that inspires Catra to stand up to Shadow Weaver and demand that she do the right thing. In both cases, Catra and Adora aren’t just standing up to their abuser, but holding her to account for the harm she’s caused, and it’s the love that they have for each other that inspires them to do this. In Catra’s case in particular her refusal to let Shadow Weaver weasel out of finding Adora is a much greater triumph over Shadow Weaver than beating her up and breaking her mask in Season 1 - it’s proof not so much to Shadow Weaver but to Catra herself that Catra really is better than this and that she deserves better than this. It’s not turning her abuser’s tactics against her, but truly holding her to a moral standard and demanding that she do the right thing.

And then there’s Catra and Adora together at the heart. Catra has already come back for Adora and stayed to the end, choosing to die with her even if she can’t share a life together (not out of some death wish, but because Adora needs her). And Adora, who’s been avoiding answering the question for three fucking years, finally let’s herself want Catra when Catra finally confesses her love (breaking the last of her self-protective shields) and asks Adora to stay -for her-. And by admitting what she wants, Adora can truly be at peace with herself and be the hero she needs to be, lesbianism saves the universe, The End.

So anyway, that’s how Catra and Adora’s stories are woven together and how they compliment and comment on each other. Narrativiely, Adora and Catra start together, come apart, find something of themselves, and truly find themselves and each other when they are reunited. Thematically, they are critiquing seemingly opposing narrative tropes - empowerment narratives and narratives of self sacrifice. But by showing the flaws in both types of story and showing how neither self-seeking empowerment nor self-negating self sacrifice can actually make us happy, She-Ra asks and answers more profound questions than most prestige dramas for adults do. I’ll get into how the show sells the idea that the power of love can bring us happiness (and save the world) in a future post. But next up, I’m going to celebrate just how much Catra and Adora’s relationship revels in ambiguity, complexity and contradiction and so tells a grown up love story in a kid’s show.