#i think once with a different character before her?

[baddybaddyadardaddy]

Okay, I'm going to make a wild prediction about Adar and Galadriel in Episode 8, so strap in.

An overarching the/major motif of the Rings of Power from the very first episode has been, obviously, the interplay between darkness/light.

"To find the light, we must first touch the darkness." / "Before light, darkness must flee, etc."

Adar and Galadriel together are a manifestation of that duality between light and dark and accordingly, I think there's a compelling case for them to team up against Sauron at the end of Season 2.

Here's my attempt at this argument:

PARALLELS BETWEEN ADAR AND GALADRIEL

The show has established a few strong visual parallels between the two of them.

Mourning ritual. Galadriel mourning for Finrod in S1Ep1 is echoed by Adar's mourning of the Uruks in S2Ep7. They even mirror the single tear.

What's more, Galadriel bears WITNESS to Adar's funeral ritual, enforcing the connection of this moment.

Seed planting. Frankly, my jaw hit the floor when S2Ep2 had Galadriel planting seeds in the memorial garden in Lindon, because the shots/framing were almost IDENTICAL to the seed planting Adar does at the beginning of S1Ep6. The sentiments of both instances are the same "life over death," though the words do differ.

Flip sides of the same coin/mirror to one another. The show has also presented us with many instances where they function as mirrors to one another. If not signficant, why do?

Barn scene. The barn scene in S1Ep6 is a PRIME example, when Adar literally calls Galadriel out for the hypocrisy of her hatred of the orcs.

The dinner scene. Adar once again holds up a mirror to Galadriel, pushing back against her notion that "you yielded to him. I resisted." Then they have the shared acknowledgement that without Sauron, the world seems a "dull grey" (GREY, interestingly, a halfway point between dark and light). Adar's face in response to her admission will live rent-free in my mind forever-- it's like he's been SEEN for the first time in his life.

So while Galadriel sees herself as a warrior of light, and views Adar as a creature of darkness, the show does a pretty superb job of showing that both of these characters have light and dark within them in equal measure.

They were both tempted by Sauron and succumbed.

So there is a clear, thematic link between these two from that standpoint.

ADAR'S JOURNEY TOWARD THE LIGHT

Next, I think it is clear Adar on a path toward light/redemption as an elf, and it tracks in a VERY LITERAL SENSE.

First time we see Adar, he is bathed in an angelic light. As he performs the funeral ritual for Magrot, light streams into the Uruk tent.

The shot at the end of S2 Ep1, when the camera lingers on Adar as Gil-Galad's call to the Eldalie commences. Adar feels the undeniable call to his elven past. That camera shot was NOT A COINCIDENCE, and I'm FOREVER FERAL ABOUT IT.

Cavalry charge at the siege of Eregion. Adar is OBVIOUSLY backlit:

There is a dividing line between light and shadow an Adar is RIGHT on the border of it.

When he steps up to take possession of Nenya, the sky behind him is split between a darker side and a lighter side. (You can argue that it's a CREEPY light, but it's still light. There is almost no all-black coloring on him in that second frame when he actually has the ring. For a character that's been head to toe in black the entire series, this is Significant.)

So where does that leave us for the big Sauron smackdown?

My first wild prediction: In an INSANE reversal, Galadriel will be the one to bring Morgoth's dark crown to the confrontation, while Adar will wield Nenya, a symbol of light.

It's not inconceivable that Gal could have smuggled it out of Adar's camp somehow under her oversized Uruk cloak. And Adar, OBVIOUSLY now possesses Nenya at the end of S2Ep7.

I think the fight between Galadriel and Sauron is ACTUALLY a three-person fight; we just haven't seen Adar in the promos because

1. Obvious plot spoilers and

2. HE WILL BE FIGHTING IN A FAIR FORM BECAUSE NENYA WILL HEAL HIS CORRUPTION.

My second wild prediction: This three-person fight is telegraphed in The Last Temptation. There's a new motif (not musical, so unclear if this is the correct term??) that starts around 1:07. It sounds like an aggressive children's choir. Interspersed, we get some of Gal's themes and Sauron-flavored music. I think this new bit could be either a combined theme for Gal/Adar fighting side by side, OR a new motif for a changed/elven Adar. It's aggressive, which to me tracks with Adar's fighting style that we saw through S2Ep7, and it builds and gets more voices added to it as the song progresses. At one point, it blends perfectly with Gal's theme.

Third wild prediction that I hope I'm wrong about: Adar will likely get fatally stabbed during this fight. I could see him giving Galadriel the ring at a crucial moment, in as a redemptive act, which would forfeit any protection it might have offered him, and I think he'll receive a fatal blow from Sauron, but not before we get a much clearer picture of EXACTLY who Adar is. IF they do it this way, it will be a deeply satisying end to Adar's story arc, IMHO.

Last thoroughly unhinged thing I will leave you with:

Nolwa Mahtar translation (from S1), according to Bear's blog:

Finish the war, the darkness, end this suffering

Impossible to pursue, deep in shadow, follow light

Finish the war, the darkness, end this suffering

Bright warrior against darkness.

Obviously this theme plays a HUGE role in S2. I believe the lyrics are different; we don't know what they say yet.

But I have contended all along that this piece has always applied in some way to BOTH Adar and Galadriel.

Galadriel is the bright warrior standing against Sauron's darkness, yes, that image is obvious.

But Adar, a figure who lived deep in shadow, follows light, ultimately finishing his own war and ending his own suffering.

[antiquarianfics]

Taken pt. 11

If Bucky Barnes could time travel, he would go back to that morning. He would hold you a little tighter in his arms, and he would kiss you a little deeper. He would pull your daughter in between the two of you, letting her giggle as loudly as she wants whilst her parents kiss her cheeks and tickle her belly. If Bucky Barnes could time travel, he would have told you not to go to the park—to go anywhere else. But Bucky Barnes can’t time travel, and his wife and daughter are gone.

a/n: this is a direct result of the power of commenting/reblogging an author's work. someone said they were sad they didn't think i was going to finish this, and i realized i hadn't finished it, and i have some time for once, so i decided to be skibidi sigma. (gen alpha brainrot is starting to come out unironically. i work with middle schoolers. sorry.)

warnings: swearing, blackmail, mention of murder, themes of conspiracy, canon typical violence.

note: I do not own the character Bucky Barnes or any other Marvel affiliated characters. Any and all characters are a work of fiction and any likeness to real persons is wholly unintentional.

You do not have permission to copy, translate, or repost my work; however, feel free to like, comment, and reblog.

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previous part | series masterlist | next part

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When the judge tells you, “Mrs. Y/N L/N-Barnes, you’re a free woman,” you let out a sob and feel yourself yanked into a firm chest that you’d recognize anywhere: Bucky.

“You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re coming home.”

—

You would think that months working for the enemy, followed by months locked up in a cell, followed by a month of trial, that finally ended in your freedom and return to your family would bring you peace.

It doesn't.

Sure, finally sleeping in your own bed again and cuddling up next to your husband was amazing, hugging your daughter again was amazing, having privacy again was amazing... but freedom and its perks don't erase trauma. You get to lie in your own bed again and cuddle up next to your husband, but you can't sleep lest the nightmares come. You get to hug your daughter again, but you're always looking over your shoulder, worried someone will snatch her away from you again. You get to have privacy, but you never trust that you're truly alone.

After everything that has happened, you realize, you will never be able to go back to how things were. You're a different person than you were before you and Becca were taken. You're a murderer now, not a hero. When you look at your hands, all you see is blood, and when you look in the mirror, all you see is a shell of the woman you once were.

—

The first week back home as a free woman is spent making amends, as per the recommendation of your court-mandated therapist.

"Steve, I am so sorry for trying to kill you. I... I don't even know what to say. If it weren't for Bec, I wouldn't've, but-" You say, throat dry, palms sweaty as you wipe them on your pants.

"Hey, it's okay. I understand. I forgive you. If anyone is going to understand turning on a friend to protect someone they care about, it's me." Steve gives you a comforting smile, his tone so earnest. "Just ask Tony and Bucky."

You crack a smile.

After Steve, came Fury and Coulson, the late presidents' family, the families of the many politicians you killed... the list felt unending as you worked your way through it.

It takes months to track down the loved ones of all the people you hurt while with HYDRA, and by the time you're finished with it, you're more exhausted than when you were literally locked up and starved while in HYDRA's custody.

With a huff and a frown, you flop onto the couch. You fall over the arm of the couch and land on your back. Bucky laughs a little as he watches your dramatic display, walking over and leaning over you, resting his arms on the back of the couch.

"Tired?" He asks.

"Yeah. This making amends stuff is exhausting. Don't know how you do it." You flop an arm over your eyes.

"Slowly but surely," he says. "And it helps that I have a super hot and supportive wife to encourage me when it feels like too much." He reaches over the couch and pokes your stomach. You giggle and squirm.

"I don't know that the 'hot' part helps the amends," you say pointedly.

"Maybe, but it doesn't hurt."

You smirk but say nothing. Bucky watches for a moment.

"Well?" He asks finally.

"Well what?"

"Are you going to say it back?"

"Say what back?"

"You know."

"I don't know."

"That having a super hot and supportive husband makes making amends easier," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. You lift your arm off your face to look at him; he's wearing a shit-eating grin.

"I guess it does help a little," you concede.

He jumps up, throwing his arms in the air in victory. It's a little out of character for him, but it makes you laugh. He's been going out of his way to make you laugh, even when it includes him doing things that feel unnatural to him. Bucky Barnes wants his wife back, yes, but he is also aware that after everything that you went through, you won't be the same. Things won't go back to normal: there will just be a new normal. In the meantime, he just wants you to laugh a little while you figure out what your new normal is.

—

At some point, you fall asleep on the couch. Bucky leaves you there, afraid to move you lest you wake up. Ever since your captivity with Frost and HYDRA, you've been having nightmares that Bucky worries rival his. Any nightmare-free sleep you get is rare and needed.

Bucky had lain a blanket over you before putting Becca to bed and heading to bed himself, and even though he'd deny it, he was exhausted, too. So when your nightmares start, he doesn't wake up.

The nightmare starts out slow, and you toss and turn in your sleep, pitiful whimpers leaving your lips. Though, it doesn't take long for the nightmares to progress. Soon, you've tossed the blanket onto the floor and your whimpers have turned into screams. Bucky doesn't hear, but Becca does.

The 4 year old walks through the apartment, leaving her room quietly in search of her screaming mother. She's scared; she's never heard you scream like this. While locked up, she heard you scream in anger—she still remembers how you screamed and pulled the chains out of the wall—but she has never heard you scream in fear. Until now. Her mommy has always been the bravest person she knows, and that's even braver than her daddy—he said so himself.

Clutching her stuffed rabbit in one hand, she slowly walks into the living room where she can see you flailing and screaming on the couch.

"Mommy?" Becca calls out softly, nervously. When you don't answer, she tries again, moving closer still. "Mommy, wake up."

Again, you don't answer. You're still deeply asleep. Becca walks up to the couch and stands right beside you. Tentatively, she places the hand not holding her rabbit against your shoulder and shakes.

"Mommy, wake up."

When you still don't wake up, she shakes your shoulder a little harder and speaks up a little louder.

"Mommy, wake up! Mommy, it's just a dream. Just a bad dream. Wake up!" She gives a good push to your shoulder with the last 'wake up' and you sit up quickly, swinging your arms in a punch. You hit Becca, and she stumbles back, loses her balance, and falls, hitting her head against the coffee table.

You start to fully come to. You're looking around the room frantically, breathing heavily, and, slowly, you realize you're in a familiar place. Slowly, you recognize your living room. Slowly, you realize your daughter is bleeding on the floor.

You do a double take. Becca is sat against the coffee table, her bunny abandoned at her side. She's holding her head, but blood is still dripping out from the sides of her small hand, and she's bawling.

"M-m-mommy, I'm s-s-sorry!" She cries.

"Becca! Oh, no, no, no!" You quickly stumble off the couch, sitting on your knees as you hover your hands next to Becca's head, trying to assess the damage.

"I'm so sorry, baby. Mama's so sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to."

The commotion is loud enough that it wakes Bucky up and he slides into the room, panic staining his face.

"Y/N, what's going on? Are you okay? Is Becca okay?" He says worriedly, rushing over to you and kneeling beside you.

Noticing that you're not actually touching Becca or trying to help, he pushes you out of the way, pulling Becca's hand away from her forehead. He grimaces as he gently swipes his thumb across the cut, wiping the blood away. He lets out a relieved breath.

"It's not that bad. It's okay. You're okay, sweetheart," he tells Becca, kissing her forehead.

Bucky turns to see that you've backed yourself into the corner of the room, as far away from him and Becca as you could possibly get. You're holding your head in your hands, crying, and muttering "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to," over and over.

"Doll, she's okay. It's just a small cut. You didn't do anything wrong," Bucky reassures you, scooping Becca in his arms as he speaks. He was piecing together that you'd hurt her in a post-nightmare haze (he was familiar with them).

You just shake your head frantically.

—

Bucky gets Becca cleaned up and put back to bed. When he returns to the living room, you're still huddled in the corner, but you've stopped crying. Instead, you're staring blankly at the wall. He walks over.

"Doll? Hey." He gently tilts your chin towards him. "Bec's okay. She's not mad—a little rattled—but mostly worried about her mama. You didn't do anything wrong. You know that, right?"

You shake your head and he sighs.

"She's asking for you."

You finally make eye contact.

"No. I don't want to see her; I can't see her. You have to keep Becca away from me, Bucky." Each word that leaves your mouth is deadly serious. Bucky's mouth is slightly agape as he takes in your words.

"Sweetheart, she's okay. You can see her," he tries.

"No, I can't. I'm a danger to her, Bucky. I hurt my baby." Your voice cracks, and the pain in your voice breaks Bucky's heart.

"Promise me you will keep her away from me," you beg.

He nods reluctantly. "Okay."

You nod and turn your gaze back to the wall. It's silent for a few minutes.

You stand abruptly and Bucky quickly mirrors the action.

"What is it?" Bucky asks.

"I'm going to kill Frost," you say at the same time.

A beat. Bucky stares at you.

"I'm going to hunt that son of a bitch down, and I am going to make him pay for everything he has done to this family." You make direct eye contact with your husband. "Everything."

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@just-henny @jasminocano @browneyedgirl22-blog @barnesboo1967 @matchat3a @unkasworld @qwertyb2577 @raajali3 @yoruse @iilsenewman @alysianc @fairytalegirlofurdreams @marvelxlevram @casa-boiardi @buckybraneslover111 @hhiggs @smolracoon25 @questionableratatouille00 @heytheredemonsitsyourgirl @thearieunhinged @sebastianstansource @middaystarlight @talesofadragon @killerwendigo @ozwriterchick @kandis-mom @scatteredstardustt @babysbreathbabes @ordinarylokix @lilstarfish88 @ordelixx @shizukestar @filmsbyblair

[meanbossart]

tempted to draw du drow with my big drow tav (romanced lae'zel), but i know that du drow doesnt like other drow and also doesnt like lae'zel.

SO instead i want to draw du drow with my big dragonborn tav (who romanced astarion) with two different astarions, the one that du romanced and the one that my tav romanced...

but i dont know what du thinks of dragonborns, would you care to enlighten me so that i can make things accurate?

i have a commission to catch up on, so i wont be doing personal art like this idea for awhile yet, but id like to know for when i can. :)

I don't think DU drow knows anything about dragonborn, similarly to how all he knows about githyanki is that they're a very militarized race, and both the knowledge as well as the curiosity ends there.

He's very susceptible to societal bias - and as far as I know dragonborn kinda... Get away with relatively low scrutiny? They seem to be more victim of irritating curiosity than straight up prejudice. I guess DU drow would be the same way and harbor a lot of questions that would slink out once he's had enough to drink ("Can you make love to a woman without ravaging her insides", among other bangers)

(And before anyone asks, no - he wouldn't want to find out firsthand. Don't get me wrong, he thinks Dragonborn are beautiful creatures, emphasis on creature.)

But honestly, forget all that because life is short and these people are fake. Draw whatever makes you happy and stretch "canon" as much as you wish to make it work. I adore every since piece of art I see of DU drow (and especially of him interacting with people's characters) and I assure you accuracy is the last thing on my mind. Just have fun with it!!!!

[maltesejjong]

Network Love

-ot13 x afab! o.c (original character) TEASER

დ synopsis : kang soojin has always been given the short end of the stick, but has somehow always pushed through. then, one night, hee luck changes and she soon finds herself living with the members of kpop superstars, seventeen. it doesn’t take long for things to heat up between them all, though…

დ warnings: smut MDNI, slight mentions of prostitution (for the set up of the series, maybe two different scenes but nothing explicit, just the conversation), pregnancy, choking kink, creampie, threesome(s), pain kink, use of pet names, alcohol, drugs (weed) (I think I don’t fully remember), friends to lovers, slow burn, some not so slow burn, p in v, plenty more warnings but each chapter will have chapter specific warnings

დ THIS IS AN OT13 X OC AND THERE WILL BE MXM/SHIPS CONTAINED IN THIS WORK. IF YOU ARE NOT OKAY OR COMFORTABLE WITH THIS, YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO READ. THANK YOU დ

Excerpt context: night before the members leave for a tour, and soojin is going to come along to fulfill her “manager” duties. little does she know, hee actions have consequences….

დ

დ

დ

“Angel? Can I come in?”

“Seokminnie! Sure.”

He wanders over to my bed and climbs in. I’m laying on Jun’s chest, my legs are pulled over Shua’s, and Jeonghan’s resting his head on my thigh.DK snuggles in next to Joshua and rests his chin on his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“I am making sure our flight time hasn’t changed,” I say. “I don’t know about these three.”

“Reading,” Jun says lazily.

“Sleeping,” Jeonghan mumbles.

Jisoo glances down. “Sleeping people don’t talk.”

“This one does,” his hyung retorts.

Shua’s free hand wanders down to stroke my hair. “Nervous?” he asks.

“First tour,” Seokmin adds.

“A little,” I admit. “I keep worrying that something’s gonna go wrong.”

DK leans over to kiss my head. “It’ss be fine. I promise.”

“Jagiya?” S.Coups pokes his head into the room. I point to the halo of white blonde hair. He grins and comes to sit on the edge of the bed. “There you are. What’s going on?”

“Soojin-ah’s nervous,” Eomma says.

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” I say.

He shrugs and sits up. “I will be soon. I don’t want the kids up too late since we have a flight in the morning.” Jeonghan swings his legs over the edge of my bed and starts to walk out. Hepauses at the door. “Coups?”

Cheol sighs and stands. “He’s right. We’ve got and early morning ahead of us. Soojin, I don’t want more than two people in here tonight.” He walks off to follow his soulmate.

We’re all silent for a moment, then Min goes “Well! I’m off to bed!” He kisses Shua’s cheek. “G’night.” Hugs Jun. “Night.” Kisses my forehead. “Sleep well, jagi.”

I sit up once the door closes. “I’m gonna go change. I think I might have some of y’alls clothes in my closet,” I say, walking towards it. “Let me check.” I open the closet door to see one of Shua’s shirts already hanging there. “Sunshine, I have your gray shirt in here. I might have a pair of sweats, unless you want to stay in your shorts. Junnie, I’ll–”

The closet door shuts with a snap. I glance up to find a pair of hands caging me in from behind.

“Jun. What the hell.”

He leans in and whispers in my ear. “Thought we’d forget, did you?”

“What?”

“That little stunt you pulled earlier. Sending us that picture, knowing damn well we were in a meeting. “Sending the two of us that picture, knowing damn well where we were. I think someone here needs to be taught a lesson,” Jun says. “What do you think, Shua?”

Joshua grins lazily. “I think I agree with you.”

I feel my stomach jump. “Joshua. Jun. We have a flight—“

“In the morning,” Jun finishes, angling his head so his nose is brushing mine. “It’s not morning, is it, Princess?”

[willbyersabyss]

What's your level of confidence in a Byler endgame and what evidence can you use to lead towards it?

I have 100% confidence in byler endgame.

Sorry this is longer than I expected, so evidence under here:

Like I said in this other post, the storytelling simply wouldn't make sense if byler was unreciprocated. There would be no reason to give Will feelings for Mike in the first place. If this were an unrequited love story, it would've concluded at the end of s3... maybe s4. They would've given Will a different love interest in California, which they alluded to at the beginning of s4 before settling for Mike again. They know how easy it would be to give him someone new. But they didn't. And they won't.

What's the point of giving Will an unrequited love arc? There is none. It gives Will something for Vecna to chew on? He already has plenty of trauma for that. They didn't know what to do with Will in s4? Sure, but why not explore how everyone is distancing themselves from Will? We could've had him feeling like an outsider because of his queerness and trauma once more, but the distance from Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike exacerbates it. He could just be afraid of losing his best friend because he's gay, not because of his feelings. The rain fight would factor into that. But no. That's not how it's written. He's in love with Mike.

"I'm not going to fall in love." And he did. It's not a crush, it's love. Will said himself that he'll always need Mike. That's not something he's going to get over on a random Tuesday. If this were unrequited, Will would have to move on. But he already admitted he can't. There is no satisfaction in rejection for his arc. It would do nothing but make him feel more ostracized and unaccepted. There's no lesson. It just confirms what he already believes: he won't find love because he's gay. He needs to be proven wrong.

There would be no reason for Mike to struggle with his relationship with El for two whole seasons, with Will being the only one he opens up to about it. Why can't they fix it on their own? Why does he need constant outside reassurance to understand his feelings for her?

Mike has a lot of insecurities and Will is the only one who helps him feel better about it. El makes it worse. El's struggles are also made worse because of Mike. They don't understand each other enough to help because they never try to understand. The one time they did, it ended in more misunderstanding. Then Will's confession "solved" this through... lies. Those weren't El's feelings. Why would someone else's feelings fix Mike and El's problems?

Even El's arc is fulfilled through their break up. Her story was never about romantic love. From the beginning, she's been longing for familial love. People think it would be unfair to El for them to break up, but romance was never needed for her arc in the way it is for Will. And Mike keeps trying to put El into a superhero box even though it goes AGAINST her entire self-identity arc. Mlvn's relationship does nothing for either character but set them back.

Byler endgame is the most fulfilling conclusion for Will, Mike, AND El.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i'm so happy you brought back up the topic of rick's shitty writing of anyone even remotely non white / "white passing"

with that being said, do you think the shitty script he gave to annabeth in the show has to do with him just being deeply uninterested in adapting his story to include characters of color? bc it seems like once rick encounters a character that cannot be easily erased all ethnic or racial identity of to fit them into an usamerican specifically white ass narrative, he gets lost.

i just keep thinking how the only thing that "changed" about annabeth as presented in the show was her race but her plot relevance and her characterization got downgraded severely. meanwhile percy, whiter than before (wheres the mediterranean god look......................................), got half her functions. like i just look at rick in context and i wonder if he just gives so little fuck about characters of color he cant even write a decent character arc for an adaptation of a very established persona

thoughts? thank u!

I wouldn't be surprised if it's Rick (and the writer's room, since it actually seems Rick isn't all that heavily involved if much at all with the script itself based on some interviews) just has internal biases that he refuses to reflect on. It would be a consistent trend with the uptick in offensive writing in the books themselves (see: the troglodytes in general, all the Jewish kids in CHB being in Hermes cabin, etc etc). Rick seems to want to engage with these topics but refuses to actually assess how he's approaching it and his own biases while also overemphasizing his engagement with the topics. It's a kind of big talk/words vs actions type thing to me.

[this got a wee bit long so throwing it under a cut]

I was having a couple of conversations about this topic recently - one being group reading/discussion of WottG and how, allegedly, the slightly different characterizations in that book are inspired by the actors in the show. Annabeth is repeatedly and frequently described as motherly and maternal in the book, plus some other misc characterizations that make you tilt your head and go "Wait, what about Leah made you want to write Annabeth this way?" and concerns about it leaning into stereotypes. (It's also strange, because in the show Sally is MUCH more aggressive and less maternal, and this is painted like it's supposed to be a girlboss thing cause her being too soft and motherly was too weak or something? But now book Annabeth is now being described as all soft and maternal??? What. What is happening.)

Another conversation that i had with my therapist (cause we talk about pjo a lot lol) and later repeated and discussed more with other folks on discord more specifically regarding the show was a lot of discussion about the casting. Particularly casting choices and how the writing either is refusing to take casting into consideration to respectfully approach how things would be changed to avoid problems or are actively changing the script for characters in a way that is potentially if not downright offensive. Clarisse is the number one example i bring up because a lot of people say that the reason a plus sized actress wasn't cast for her was to avoid the "fat bully" trope. The thing is, there is ALSO a POC bully trope that is just as bad if not worse, so if they were actually taking offensive tropes into consideration one would expect them to avoid that too (especially since Percy was cast as a pasty white boy - which just makes it all look worse)? (Also other plus-sized characters like Dionysus and Gabe were also cast as skinny, same with Tyson. So it just seems like they don't want to cast plus-sized actors either.)

But also they're rewriting stuff that actively puts the casting decisions into worse tropes. Like hey, why is Percy (a white guy) the one who knows the "real" versions of all these myths and is expositioning them to Annabeth (a black girl), who in the books is supposed to know more than him? Why does he know better than her for some reason and have to guide her? Why is Percy teaching Annabeth about pop culture and how to be a kid? Not to mention stuff like the show constantly encouraging the viewer to doubt or distrust characters like Grover and Clarisse and Annabeth as red herrings as to who the traitor is. Plus there's no adjustments to stuff from the books like Annabeth initially being somewhat aggressive/antagonistic towards Percy, or Clarisse's aggression and bullying towards Percy to try and circumvent those being bad tropes in the contexts of the casting.

And there's an ongoing trend of characters who are antagonistic towards Percy in the books being divided into two groups: those who continue to be antagonistic towards Percy in the show, or those who are tweaked to suddenly become kinda silly-goofy and significantly less threatening. Gabe, Dionysus, Ares, and Hades are all examples of characters that should be antagonistic towards Percy but are softened SIGNIFICANTLY and played for laughs in the show. Echidna is played as a twist antagonist because she initially because she approaches the kids as very sweet and helpful. And they're all cast as white! Meanwhile other characters like Clarisse, Luke, Zeus, etc, are still antagonistic towards Percy (plus also like Annabeth initially and again, Grover being painted as a major red herring). Plus some new additions like Hermes, Mr. Lin Manuel Miranda himself, being wholly introduced into the plot when he's not supposed to appear until book 2, and all he does is sabotage the quest. Like, it's weird! That's a weird writing decision!!!! I get wanting to get that sweet sweet LMM cameo money, but, why is Hermes an antagonist here???????? he's not even supposed to be here yet!.

We also have stuff like Poseidon (who, like many of the god/major kid pairings so far seems to have been cast to match each other appearance-wise) saving the day for Percy and being this weirdly good dad, versus the books where we get the iconic "I am sorry you were born" line and Percy and Poseidon's tension is part of their arcs. Notably, Poseidon does this by ceding to Zeus, who is actively about to start a war. While Gabe is rewritten to be a total loser, Sally is MUCH more aggressive and her yelling and screaming at young Percy is supposed to be sympathetic for some reason? If Gabe were acting like Sally does in the show, he would actually be significantly more like his book counterpart! The show is making active decisions to paint these characters the way they do!

Admittedly, part of it may just be they got overzealous with their casting (not inherently a bad thing! diverse casting is good!) and then proceeded to not consider how that casting affects the way the characters are perceived. It also doesn't bode well for certain guesses we can make going further into the show - Thalia is very at odds with Percy initially. She's a very aggressive character. They fight a lot! Also Annabeth's description already implies that they're tweaking Thalia's character to be more "tough love" versus the books where she's significantly more of a bleeding heart when she first meets Annabeth. Like, I'm very happy about Thalia's casting, her actress seems amazing, but also I'm VERY concerned with how they're going to approach her character to make sure it doesn't end up wildly offensive. Athena is similar - we can guess based on casting decisions so far that they're going to try and cast Athena as similar in appearance to Annabeth/Leah. The show has already painted Athena has antagonistic and uncaring towards her daughter. If projected trends continue, these things are not gonna be great.

And the show does seem to rarely want to engage with these topics - like the scene with the cop in the train. You can tell what they wanted to address by having Annabeth be the one to confront him. The thing is they were too cowardly to actually have that conversation! They paint the kids as being unreasonable and getting unnecessarily upset when they aren't directly being accused of destroying a room, therein painting the cop as the one in the right in that situation. The implication seems to be a little bit they were going for "Oh, this is Annabeth's hubris getting them into trouble" but. that's such a bad way to do it! That's like the worst way you could have done it! (This is also a trend in books from HoO onwards, more or less - Rick tries to engage with certain topics, often using characters of specific demographics, and then proceeds to do a really bad job of it.)

There are also some aspects that are just like - in the books, Luke being a middle-class blond-haired blue-eyed pretty white boy is relevant! Because the fact that he has privilege from that particularly in how he's perceived is part of how he came to where he is and why he acts the way he does. Percy not having those same privileges, and having aspects like constantly inherently being labeled as a trouble-maker just based on his atypical (neurodivergent) behavior and coming from a lower socioeconomical background play heavily into his character!!! Percy being both a poor and disabled kid (and implied potentially POC) plays DIRECTLY into why he feels so strongly about standing up for other disenfranchised kids (in SoM, explicitly including other disabled kids and kids of color). It directly relates to his experiences and standing up for kids who are like him because he didn't have that, versus Luke whose perceptions and goals are very self-oriented. Now, in the show, we've essentially swapped Percy and Luke's appearances, and that paints a very different narrative. And that's important to acknowledge!

[juniperskye]

Let’s start over: Finally, Together

Sneak peek: READ Let’s Start Over FIRST - This is mainly to tie up some loose ends – it will be separated by separate bolded titles to differentiate each part. In this there will be Aaron’s official meeting of Nora, Jack getting to meet Nora for the first time and then the conversation between Hestia and Reader to discuss the new development between Hotch and her. 2 small bonus scenes at the end as well!

Aaron Hotchner x (Fem) Reader

Angst/Fluff

Word count: 2797

REQUESTS ARE OPEN - not edited - please be kind. Requests are open and feedback is welcome if it's constructive!

Warnings: My blog is 18+, minors DNI, age gap (reader is in their 20’s and Hotch is in his 40’s), explicit language, mention of pregnancy, mention of marriage, mention of Jack, OC’s Nora, Hestia, Selene, Leila, let me know if I missed any!

I do not consent to having my work translated or reposted to any other site. That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

Introducing Nora to her father:

After Nora’s fever broke, the doctor suggested she stay for the remainder of the night, just to be sure she was finally rid of it.

She slept soundly through the night, thanks to the sedative they had given her, which had given Aaron and you plenty of time to discuss things. You talked about how you’d introduce the kids and how you should move forward. You had apologized to Aaron once again and he was quick to say it was in the past, and that it wouldn’t do either of you any good to harp on things that happened back then.

“Did you uh, did you want me to go before she wakes up?” Aaron asked.

“You don’t have to. You could stay and meet her, if you’d like?” You suggested.

“I’d really like that.”

Nora slept until nearly ten am, which wasn’t too surprising given the trauma her body had endured in the last 24 hours. When she woke up, Aaron had been grabbing snacks and coffee, which had allowed you the time to tell Nora that her dad was here and ready to meet her.

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?” You asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I feel sleepy.” Nora mumbled, pressing closer to you.

“Are you too sleepy to meet someone new?” You posed.

“Who?”

“Your dad. He’s here baby. I um, he works at the FBI with me, do you remember?”

Nora nodded in response.

“Well, when I heard you were sick, I came straight here. He came to make sure you were okay, and he wants to meet you. Would you be okay with that?”

“Okay.”

You looked up to meet Aaron’s gaze, just outside the room. You offered him a small nod and he took it as a sign to enter. Aaron was filled with nerves and apprehension. You had eased his mind by letting him know that you had told Nora about him, but what if he didn’t live up to the stories you’d told her? What if she didn’t take well to him?

“Nora, this is your dad. Aaron, this is Nora.”

“Hi Nora, it is so good to finally meet you.” He offered a hand for her to take…

What she did next surprised him, she took his hand with no hesitation and gave a gentle tug, to pull him closer.

“Hi daddy. You look different from the pictures mommy showed me.”

“How so?” He smiled.

She reached her little hand to his face, “you look sleepy, and kinda sad.”

A chuckle escaped both you and Aaron, of course you had both been exhausted given the fact that neither of you had slept in approximately a week.

“Well hon, I am pretty tired. We were very worried about you, but I most definitely am not sad. I am so happy that you’re okay, and that I get to meet you.” Aaron gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Wiping a tear from your eye, you suggested “Why don’t we get the discharge papers and then go get some real breakfast? Aaron, do you think you have time?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Aaron replied, leaning in close to you “Jack is in school so…”

You smiled at him and nodded. Nora knew a little bit about Jack, but he had been so young when you saw him last, that surely he wasn’t the same as he was then.

Aaron told you that he was going to get the discharge paperwork, and you started to gather your things, helping Nora change back into her own clothes. When he returned, he let you know that you were all set to leave. He helped Nora down from the hospital bed and as the three of you moved to exit, Nora took a hand from each of you, walking between you. It warmed you heart that Nora had taken to Aaron so quickly.

“Alright kiddo, do you want pancakes or waffles?” Aaron asked.

“Pancakes! With chocolate chips!” Nora cheered.

“Alright bug, do you want eggs and bacon too? Or maybe some fruit?” You offered.

“Strawberries please.”

When the waitress came over you placed your order. And while you waited for your food to come, Nora told Aaron all about how she had started kindergarten, and how she was the youngest in her class. She told him about all the things she’s learned so far and who her friends are (mind you she’s only been there for about a week). Aaron took it all in stride, taking mental notes of her favorite subjects and her friends names. In all her chatter he realized that she and Jack were actually enrolled in the same school.

Before Aaron could comment on it, the waitress was back with your food. Aaron was quick to begin cutting up Nora’s pancakes for her and you couldn’t stop from swooning over how great he was. Aaron caught your expression and smiled, he felt happy, and couldn’t wait for Jack to meet Nora.

After breakfast, Aaron drove the two of you back to your place and you had tentatively scheduled a meeting date for Jack and Nora. You had discussed that it would be better to each tell the kids about the other so they would be more prepared going into their official meeting.

When he pulled up to your place, he helped Nora out of her car seat and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She bounded her way up to the front door to meet your mom who had come out once she heard the car pull up. Aaron had made his way over to you, setting your bags down before leaning in. You misread the situation and had leaned in to embrace but given his movement, you’d met in the middle in an awkward accidental kiss.

The both of you pulled back quickly, cheeks reddening from the embarrassment. But before you could overthink it, Aaron pulled you into him and kissed you for real. You allowed yourself to melt into him and return it, meeting his passion. Pulling away despite everything in your bodies telling you not to, Aaron pressed his forehead to your own.

“Saturday?”

“Saturday.”

Jack and Nora Meeting for the first time:

Saturday came quickly, and thankfully you hadn’t been called away on a case. Aaron had suggested having the kids meet somewhere neutral, so you made your way to the park for a picnic.

You were laying a banket out when Nora went running over to Aaron. He scooped her up into his arms and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.  Jack had recognized you, despite being so little when he knew you, you could see the sense of familiarity take over his features.

“Hey sweetheart.” Aaron greeted you, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Hey Jack, come say hi.”

Jack offered a shy wave, which you returned. You brought yourself to his level and smiled at him.

“Hey Jack, do you – do you remember me?” You tilted your head.

Jack nodded his head. “I remember, you used to stay with my dad a lot.” Jack smiled and reached out to hug you.

You returned his hug and choked back the tears. You had missed him so much and seeing him now, so grown-up, had only made you realize all the time you missed.

“Well, Jack, Nora, the reason we brought you here was so that the two of you could meet each other officially.”

“Mommy, I already know Jack!” Nora laughed at you.

“What? How do you…”

“I met Nora at school on Thursday, she needed help reaching the monkey bars, so I helped her.” Jack explained.

“When Ms. Taylor called our class in, Jack realized we had the same last name!” Nora said, pulling the snacks out from your cooler bag.

Aaron and you shared a look of disbelief, he let out a breathy chuckle. You had both been so nervous of this meeting, hoping that the kids took well to one another and yet here they are, having already met, sharing a bag of Cheez-its.

“Tell me what happened bug, when you met Jack.” You requested.

“Well, Melody was doing the monkey bars, and I wanted a turn, but I couldn’t reach. I had jumped and tried, but my arms are too little. Jack came over and helped me.”

“I asked if she needed help, and I lifted her up to the bars. After that, we went and played tag in the field.” Jack explained.

“So then how did you realize you were related?” Aaron posed.

“Ms. Taylor called my name, and I didn’t hear it, ‘cause then she called my full name. Jack told me he had the same name.” Nora was telling the story like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I realized that he must be brother Jack, like you told me momma!”

“We talked more during lunch and Nora told me her dad worked for the FBI, and so we figured it must be dad, since our name is the same.” Jack finished.

The rest of your afternoon was spent eating the lunch you’d packed and watching the kids play. Jack was showing Nora how to play soccer and, Aaron and you were enjoying the nice weather. They played for hours, their laughter was like music to your ears, it brought a warmth to your heart that they were getting along so well.

Aaron was also warmed by the sight, but it brought thoughts to his mind that had him feeling a little scared. He couldn’t help but allow his mind to wander to thoughts of your little family here at the park, only in his mind, there was a ring on your finger and a baby on the way.

Hestia moves in:

“Aannnd that’s the last of it!” Hestia said setting down the last box.

“Thank God! You guys have way more stuff than I thought.” You laughed.

It had been three weeks since Aaron met Nora. In those three weeks, you and Aaron had begun a secret relationship. Well…not really a secret, but you wanted to make sure it was going to work before telling the kids. You had agreed that if things went well, you’d tell the kids before their birthday…which was a week away.

You knew you had to tell Hestia. You had filled her in on the fact that Aaron knew about and had officially met Nora, and that you’d introduced the kids. Hell, you’d even told her about the kiss when he dropped you guys off after breakfast. You just hadn’t told her that the two of you were officially seeing each other.

“I uh, I need to talk to you about something.” You began.

“Jesus, is it serious? Are you pregnant?” Hes replied.

“No, I’m not pregnant!” You huffed. “It’s about Aaron and me. You uh, you know how I told you about the kiss…the day he brought us home from the hospital?”

“Yeah…?” “Well, we’ve sort of been seeing each other since then.” You said in a hushed tone.

“OH MY GOD!!!”

“Shhh! Nora doesn’t know! Neither of the kids do. We wanted to make sure it was going to work out before we told them.”

“Girl are you kidding, I am so happy for you! Well, as long as he doesn’t hurt you again.” Hestia narrowed her eyes at you.

“He’s not the same man he was back then. He has really grown and he’s making a lot of effort in communicating with me.” You justified.

“Well good!” Hes smiled and nudged you.

You were relieved that she was happy for you. Hestia had come into your life when you were a shell of a human. Barely getting by pregnant and alone in a new city. She had pulled you out of that darkness and reminded you of how to love yourself.

“So…how’s he in bed?” Hes wiggled her eyebrows at you.

“Oh my god Hes!” You laughed.

“He’s amazing…the best I’ve ever had.” You gushed.

That night you ordered pizza fore the four of you while you worked to get some of Hestia and Selene’s things unpacked. She made sure not to bring up Aaron in front of the girls to avoid Nora finding out about the two of you.

As you all wound down for bed, Hestia couldn’t help but post a question to you.

“So, if you and him get serious…do you think you’d move in with him?”

“Oh, um I don’t know, probably. That or we’d look for a house to make sure we had space for the kids.” You informed. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I was just thinking that if you guys were kinda serious that maybe, Selene and I could just stay here.” Hestia suggested.

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. Hestia had always been super bold, always saying what’s on her mind with no hesitation.

“If we decide to move in together, you guys are more than welcome to take this place Hes. Also, you’re welcome to stay here longer if you’d like!” You laughed.

Bonus Scene #1: 6 months after the kids birthday party.

“Hestia will be okay with the kids right?” Aaron questioned.

“Yes Aar, she will be fine. Worst case scenario, Selene is also there and she’s very responsible.” You reassured him.

“Okay good.”

“Are you alright? You seem nervous honey.” You asked.

“I’m okay.” He replied.

Aaron parked the car and made his way around to open your door. He led you into the restaurant with a gentle hand on the small of your back. The hostess led you to your table and you couldn’t help the thoughts creeping in, a nice dinner that Aaron asked you too randomly. You had moved in together about two months ago, and he’d been acting nervously ever since.

Was he breaking up with you…or was he proposing?

Dinner went on normally, you ate and talked about the kids and how your respective weeks had gone. Things only turned odd when the waiter returned and offered dessert. Normally, your response was no, but this time, Aaron said yes and ordered a slice of cheesecake for you to share.

“We never get dessert…”

“Tonight is a special night.” Aaron explained.

With that, Aaron reached over and grabbed your hand. He looked at you with an endearing expression. Your thoughts were flooding in, and you knew you had to speak before he did.

“Sweetheart,…”

“Aaron Wait!”

He paused and looked at you, gesturing for you to continue.

“I think I know what you are going to ask me, and I want so badly for you to ask me, but there is something I need to tell you first.”

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

“Aaron I’m pregnant. I am about nine weeks along; I saw the doctor on Tuesday.” You reached into your purse and pulled out the sonogram.

Aaron sat speechless as you slid the image across the table to him. Tears sprang to his eyes and his gaze returned to your own. A small smile graced his lips, and he reached for your hand once again.

“Sweetheart, you continue to make me the happiest man on this earth. This is truly the greatest gift. I am a better man when I am with you, and you always push me to strive for greatness and I would be so honored if you were my wife.”

“Yes Aaron! I will marry you!”

Bonus Scene #2: Spencer and Leila

Spencer and Leila were working on the geographical profile at the local precinct and Spencer was on edge. He had always felt like this when he was working with Leila in close proximity.

She had come in all bright and smiley and Spencer was down bad. Leila brought him baked goods and coffee, she respected his boundaries about not liking physical touch, and she had loved listening to him. She made an effort to ask him about different things because she really enjoyed his passion in speaking about things.

What he didn’t know was that she felt the same way. She continuously caught herself staring at his mouth and his hands and tried her best to hold it together while working with him.

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

In looking at the map Leila realized that the dumpsites and abduction sites formed a specific shape. As she moved to point to map, her hand collided with Spencer’s.

“Oh my gosh, Spence I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay!” Spencer reassured her. “You don’t have to apologize. I uh, I actually don’t mind.”

“You don’t?”

“Not when it’s you.” Spencer offered her a smile.

Leila blushed, bright red.

“Spencer, would you uh, would you want to go on a date with me?”

“I would love to!”

[frostiwars]

let's pretend i live on the west coast and it's still DAY 5: AU!!

do you think we're gay in every universe?

in which i turn insane and draw 5 different drawings for one prompt. and as a result, the rendering is a lot rougher, but oh well! i hope the designs are fun enough!!

GORE WARNING!!!!! and design ramblings under the cut

Role Swap: i referenced hanyuu from higurashi for king metata because, while dedede has no idea about how to properly dress in traditional voidborn-based royalty attire (because his parents never taught him), metata wears EVEN MORE traditional garb, fancified, and a tiara rather than a crown cap. instead of hiding his wings in his cape, he hides them in his silk scarf. i didn’t even have to change his hime cut. he’s still cocky and arrogant but less traumatized so he’s less serious and more haughty. also his bow tying his hakama is shaped like an M haha. meanwhile, knight dede is far more armored, aiming for bulk over dps, and of course his armor has his classic triangular patterning all over the place. instead of the jaw scar, his eyes are clawed over. i wonder how that happened...

Species Swap: voidborn dedede is shorty mcshort short, even shorter than regular meta. he’s so short he doesn’t even wear hakama cuz he’d just trip over them, so he sticks with just a kimono and obi (once again adding to the androgyny common in most voidborn designs). his geta are less bulky as well. it’s not seen fully because his wings are out but his cloak goes all the way to his ankles instead of his knees. additionally, his wings have a blue gradient that matches the new color of his robe. his hammer is more embellished, like if galaxia was a giant mallet instead of a sword. and to keep with the ‘circular’ feeling for the hair common to my puffball gijinkas, i gave him kinda croissanty hair. meanwhile, avian meta has eschewed much of his armor for the sake of piercing and aerodynamics. he’s much lighter and his sleeves flow out to make room for the wings he can spawn on his arms. and of course his hair is slicked back and feathery like Coo and Vul. even his mask has a few more spikes to imitate bird talons.

dedede is a negatively-to-neutrally charged voidborn. i talked with my sibling @clutzicone-dts and they suggested denial as a birth emotion. i also like @moonmacabre01's idea of using regret. very fitting for a redeemable character

Gender Swap: normal dedede wears his garb in a feminine fashion, wearing the kimono over the hakama, so fem dedede does it in reverse, tucking the kimono inside the hakama. different sandals again, and wearing just the crown while eschewing the cap, mostly so i can have her long flowing braids more visible. at least she has a top knot to resemble the pom pom tho. meta meanwhile is largely unchanged physically (duh, voidborns don't have physical sex) with outfit adjustments. she keeps some design aspects from her younger days to distinguish her from normal meta while still seeming in character. tassels on the shoulder pads, and a hood on the cape instead of the frill. plus her lower body armor is longer and more decorated to give the illusion of a skirt without actually being one and i gave her low double buns to keep the round hair shape without just leaving it as a bowl cut

Mirror Versions: i have a whole ass complicated headcanon for the mirror dimension. i think it would be best described that, in this gijinkaverse, the mirror dimension is less an alternate universe and more an alternate timeline that went wrong at a very specific point. it's led to shadow dedede being much more... in tune, let's say, with the dark matter blade within his heart. and dameta isn't very pleased about that. after all, the two never got the chance to reconcile over Meta Knight's Revenge before things went to shit in that world. so they have a very complicated, somewhat tragic relationship. but i can talk about that more another time. let's just say that all of this is why i made certain slight changes to the two's designs. but i also gave dameta striped legs because stripes are for evil people

Bad Ending:

:)

no spoilers. feel free to theorize about it. i'm sure there are plenty of clues to let you figure it out on your own.

[magpie-come-east]

Morgott for the character ask meme!

favorite thing about them

What drew me to him in the first place is how much I related to his character. When I was a religious teen I hated myself so much. I hated my appearance. I hated being a woman. I was in a constant loop of thinking of myself as this terrible waste of space that couldn't get anything right. Just damned to fuck up my entire life and then die and go to hell. Morgott isn't quite so pathetic as I was at 16-17 lol, but I saw a lot of my struggles in him. He believes he is born cursed, that no matter what he does he will be rejected by the Erdtree- an aspect of his religion and God- when he dies. He is misguided at best and vile at worst, but I completely understand why he is the way his is.

Also,

He's gorgeous

least favorite thing about them

The giant scabby looking red bump on his head is kinda gross : (

He doesn't return Mohg's calls enough : (

I wish he had more voice lines : (

I mean, maybe this is a cop-out, but there's pretty much nothing I dislike about Morgott. I love his lore, his fights, his stunning good looks (sans red bump). He's a remarkably fascinating character that has tragic and heroic aspects to him while also being a flawed and a worthy antagonist.

favorite line

"Have it writ upon thy meager grave: Felled by King Morgott, Last of all Kings." (A stone-cold reveal? Sexy voice acting? He hates the player so much it makes him look stupid hot?)

Shout out to "Whose hand graspeth thy leash, I wonder?" It's a cut line but it's Ummph

brOTP

Morgott and Mohg. The literal brothers of all time.

The importance and closeness of twin relationships is prevalent throughout the game. You cannot tell me Morgott and Mohg weren't once so, so close. They are amazing foils, too! Both of them exemplifying the extremes they were driven to by their upbringing. Neither have experienced good and healthy love, thus they search for it in unfortunate places. Both of them grew believing they were monsters, and both behave differently in consequence- with Morgott clinging to servitude and humility and suppression and with Mohg embracing everything being a monster entails. I love it.

I think they still care for one another a lot. Their ideologies just strain their bond.

OTP

Morgott x Tarnished or Morgott x Oleg

Please read Oleg's ash description if you haven't. That man was murdering for Morgott for the love of the game.

nOTP

Morgott x Mohg (romantic)

They're just better as brothers.

random headcanon

I have... many headcanons.

Morgott hates Rykard because he envies Carian siblings for being welcomed into Marika's lineage while he was rejected as her 'firstborn' (shhhh Messmer shhhh). Rykard also figured out he was Omen before the war and offered Morgott amnesty and allyship. Morgott was so offended he resented Rykard forever for it.

Morgott hired Oleg to help him secure his throne in the early days of his power. After all, he was an unheard-of Demigod that showed up out of nowhere to make himself King. He probably faced a lot of pushback. Oleg was there to kill the dissenters! (And kiss Morgott)

Morgott used the mimic veil to appear human to Leyndell. His cover story for his sudden appearance was that he was exiled with Godfrey to the Badlands as a young child. When Godwyn died Queen Marika called him back to the Lands Between, having earned his Grace. Thus, he took the moniker Grace-Given. (Ironically, this would make King Morgott semi-Tarnished in his own story).

Morgott was friends with Godrick before he took to grafting. Godrick was weak in body despite being a member of the Golden Lineage, and Morgott felt some kinship with Godrick's struggles with self-image and his lackluster presence as a scion of Marika.

unpopular opinion

I find it a little disappointing that in most fics where he is a central, vital character he ends up as the mere consort to the Tarnished Elden Lord. I know SOTE told us irrevocably that Godhood is not good at all for mortal vessels. But I kinda wish Morgott was allowed to be Elden Lord or a God more often. I find it cathartic when a person so spurned by the church and God of their faith is made into something holy and powerful.

Also, I think Morgott was the eldest child of the Golden Lineage, and that Godwyn never really knew him.

Morgott is definitely not a virgin.

song I associate with them

Take me to War by The Crane Wives! Dreams Wash Away by Joe Wong!

Forsaken by Savant!

Monster and Arms Unfolding by Dodie!

Torture by Les Friction!

Cirice by Ghost!

Favorite Picture

My commissioned piece for my fic Gilded Apotheosis. The art is by bora-in-tamriel

@barrowlands567

@bad-as-me (since you asked this too!)

[aroanthy]

i love how fraught and complicated discourse around various utena characters ‘dying’ is when anthy is literally stabbed to death eternally by a million swords imbued with human hatred. and then utena gets stabbed to death by them also. like. ‘death’ is incredibly interesting in rgu because most of the time it’s this ambiguous figurative thing that has interesting implications re: ohtori as a closed-off world one can escape. we are all trapped in our coffins. mamiya is the only named character with a grave. nemuro memorial hall functions as one all the same. ruka is implied to have died in the hospital— was he dead all along? who was the boy we saw for these two episodes? is this dead boy the same boy, or is this just another coincidence from the shadow girls, cutting like a knife? it’s heavily implied that akio and anthy murder kanae by poisoning her, adding to the previous implication that they were poisoning mr ohtori too, but there are no perceptible consequences of this. kanae’s absence is not felt. she’s fed an apple slice. what happens to the bodies? we know what happened to the 100 boys, but what about everyone else? and so on and so forth. ‘death’ is a tricky thing in utena, i think it’s constantly functioning on figurative and literal levels in very different ways for very different purposes. dios died. dios was dying. dios didn’t die. he grew up. etc etc

[batbeato]

Phenomenon not unique to Umineko but starkly showcased because of it: the difficulty with separating discomfort of a character from analysis, and from judgement of others.

There are so many characters in Umineko that make people uncomfortable - Rosa is one of the first that comes to mind, but Kinzo does as well. They are such well-written, human characters - and also terrible abusers. They are uncomfortable to watch, they are uncomfortable to analyze, because it feels uncomfortable to remember and acknowledge that, yes, the abusers are human too even though they are terrible.

And there are people who will love characters like Rosa because of how well-written she is, just as there are people who will dislike or even hate her because she is uncomfortable, she is abusive. Some people will then go on, as they hate Rosa, to also hate people who enjoy her character, equating their enjoyment of her character to condoning or ignoring her actions.

I've also seen the opposite, wherein people who love a character will be upset that there are people who heavily dislike or hate a character who, while well-written, is abusive and uncomfortable. They may even equate this dislike to a lack of understanding of Umineko (a common way people are attacked for their opinions, and one I'm trying to move away from using).

People should respect that people may enjoy a character they do not, and that does not always reflect on their views regarding real-life treatment of others. They should also respect that people may not enjoy a character they do, and that does not reflect on their understanding of the text. Again, not a problem unique to Umineko fans, but I've noticed it amongst us.

[silusvesuius]

n*loth not being able to bag anyone over the (human term) age of 25-30 at most is the only logical and real conclusion to me because it can be just explained away as him wanting to prove and control everything and anyone (Cus he's a man!) but being stuck in that demographic because his unbearable and vile personality is a force that nobody can look past once they've outgrown the possible fear and idolization period of anyone but also n*loth in particular.

[moeblob]

Deacon loves two things: Ymber and digging himself a grave.

Fulj hates one thing: Deacon.

[razzledazzletrassh]

no major fic updates just yet guys TAKE MY WOY OC I MADE LIKE. April of last year IM PLUGGING SOME INFO ABOUT THIS GUY IN THE TAGS.

I may also redesign her soon or something. Make her more bug-like with some stuff. I can cook guys let me cook !!!

[cuteniaarts]

2 hour rough drawing of Ehuang, my precious Green Opal child who I don’t draw nearly enough <3

[dkettchen]

I have officially finished my adventure time (partially-re-)watch, so now I shall finally commence catching up on the like 80+ eps of one piece I'm behind as my new (old) idle show 👌