#i thought i was going crazy when i read that post

[heliosunny]

Hi! I wasn’t sure if you’ve played the older genshin events/have an interest in him, but if you do could I request something for yan! Albedo? His long awaited return has been causing me crazy brainrot lol I’d love to hear your thoughts on him

Rest assured, I've been one of the players since the game's release and only stopped playing after Fontaine. It was a magical game back then, but I lost interest later on and dropped it. Hope u enjoy reading this!

Contractual Affection

Yandere!Albedo x Reader

Albedo sat in the dim glow of multiple screens, his sharp eyes scanning the profiles in front of him. His fingers tapped idly against his desk.

"This one."

The assistant beside him marked the chosen candidate.

You had heard the rumors.

The Kreideprinz Corporation paid exceptionally well—better than any other company in Teyvat. But there was a catch: employees never lasted long. Some said the work was grueling. Others whispered about the CEO’s particular standards.

Then, the real surprise came.

"You’ve also been selected as his partner in marriage."

Wait—what? You're here for work though.

Before you could protest, you were ushered into his office.

"I’ve been waiting for you." 

You checked the email notification on your phone again and again.

"Congratulations! You’ve been selected as the personal assistant to Chief Albedo Kreideprinz. Additionally, you are hereby formally engaged to him under a provisional contract."

You blinked. Then read it again.

…What? How did you miss the second line?

Sure, the job posting had mentioned "unconventional benefits" but this was not what you’d signed up for. You were thrilled to get the job, maybe that's why you didn't even bother to finish reading the mail.

Albedo’s office was pristine, much like the man himself. He didn’t even glance up when you stormed in, waving your phone like a white flag of confusion.

"There’s been a mistake!" you insisted. "I applied for a job, not an—an arranged marriage!"

Finally, he set down his pen. His gaze was glacial, but there was something beneath it—amusement? Annoyance?

"No mistake," he said. "It’s a temporary arrangement. My family has been… insistent."

Alice—his adoptive mother, a whirlwind of chaos, and Klee, his little sister (bless her explosive heart), had apparently decided that Albedo’s "workaholic iciness" was a cry for help. They’d misread his quiet dedication as loneliness.

"They believe I lack 'human warmth,'" he deadpanned. "This was their solution."

You crossed your arms. "So I’m your..."

"For appearances only. The salary, of course, will reflect the additional role."

…Well. That was a staggering number. And, not that it mattered, but Albedo was unfairly handsome.

"Fine," you sighed. "But no weird demands. We keep it professional."

"Naturally."

Breaking News! The announcement hit the tabloids: "Kreideprinz CEO ENGAGED to Mystery Partner!"

Speculations ran wild. But your identity remained sealed under airtight confidentiality—for your safety, the contract stated.

…Which meant you now had to dodge paparazzi, side-eye strangers in cafes, and resist the urge to throat-punch anyone who whispered, "I heard they’re a gold-digger."

The pressure was on.

Surprisingly… Albedo was chill about it.

He treated you with the same detached politeness as before, just with added "my dear" in front of the board members.

"This isn’t working," you admitted one evening, slumping into his office couch. "People think you hired an actor. Look at this."

You shoved your phone at him. A gossip forum’s top thread: "Albedo’s ‘partner’ = paid PR stunt??"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! If this fails, your family will just set you up again. And I’d like to keep my lucrative job." You hesitated. "We should… go on dates. Public ones."

Albedo finally looked up from his notes.

"Very well. Dinner at La Lumière tomorrow."

You should’ve known the universe would punish you for trying to help.

The photo splashed across every gossip site by dawn: "Albedo’s Future spouse Caught in Scandalous Rendezvous!" The caption screamed betrayal, but the reality was pathetic. You’d just been asking an old friend for café recommendations while Albedo took a phone call.

You’d explained. He’d nodded calmly. "I trust you."

…Which somehow made it worse.

Now, holed up in his pristine townhouse (a temporary safety measure, he insisted), you stared at the latest headline: "Heartbroken Kreideprinz: Is the Engagement Doomed?"

You groaned into a couch cushion. "I’m going to strangle the press with their own camera straps."

knock knock knock.

Albedo hadn’t mentioned visitors. The paparazzi wouldn’t dare approach his private residence… right?

Cautiously, you peered through the door’s stained glass and saw a tiny figure in a red hat, bouncing on their toes.

You cracked the door open. "…Hello?"

"Hi!!" The girl beamed, clutching a backpack that rattled suspiciously. "I’m Klee! Big brother Albedo said I could visit, but.." She leaned in, whispering loudly, "he forgot, so you gotta let me in before the monsters find me!"

…What.

Five minutes in, you learned three things:

Klee was Albedo’s sister (and a walking explosion hazard).

She adored her brother (and was thrilled he "finally got a friend!").

She had the energy of a thousand suns (and zero respect for "boring adult rules").

By the time Albedo’s immaculate living room resembled a rainbow bomb site, crayon murals on the walls, Dodoco plushies staging a coup on the sofa, and something sticky on the ceiling, you were ready to collapse.

Klee, however, was just getting started.

"Watch this!!" She brandished a handful of glitter. "Sparkly Boom—"

"NO—" You lunged.

The door clicked open.

Albedo stood in the doorway, gaze sweeping over the chaos, the overturned furniture, the glue-streaked floor, Klee dangling from the chandelier (how?!) before landing on you.

"…I was gone for two hours."

Klee waved. "We bonded! Your friend's fun, Big brother Albedo!"

"Did you now?"

You thrust Klee toward Albedo like a live grenade.

"Here. Please."

He took her without comment, though his eyebrow twitched at the glitter smeared across his sleeve while you scrambled to salvage his ruined home.

"Leave it," he said, catching your wrist as you tried to scrub crayon off the wallpaper. "I’ve already called a cleaning service."

"You—what? Then why didn’t you—"

"You seemed… invested."

Was that amusement in his voice?

With the house uninhabitable and no food in sight (RIP, the exploded kitchen experiment Klee swore was a "snack"), the three of you fled to a quiet corner of Mondstadt’s tavern.

Peace, at last.

"Big brother Albedo," Klee chirped around a mouthful of sticky honey roast, "do you like your friend?"

You choked on your water.

"Of course."

"But like-like? Like how Mom likes Dad before he went poof?"

"Klee—"

"Because if you like-like them, you gotta hold hands! And kiss! And—"

"We are engaged." Albedo interjected smoothly. "That means I care for them deeply, and we’ll be together… indefinitely."

Klee squinted. "That’s boring. Prove it."

"It’s inappropriate to do such things in front of children."

"Liar." She puffed her cheeks. "Mom kisses people all the time in front of me!"

With terrifying calm, he turned to you.

"Apologies."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

Your face burned. Klee giggled. Albedo sipped his wine like nothing happened.

"Happy?" he asked Klee.

"Mmm… barely pass." She grinned at you.

You buried your face in your hands. "I hate both of you."

-----

The moment you stepped out of the shop, you knew something was wrong.

A man you’d never seen before suddenly blocked your path, grinning like a wolf who’d spotted easy prey. "Hey there, sweetheart. Fancy meeting you here."

You sidestepped, but he grabbed your wrist. "Come on, don’t be like that. Let’s chat—"

Camera flashes erupted.

Shit. You’d been set up.

The paparazzi lurked just out of reach, snapping photos of the "scandalous encounter" they’d orchestrated. Your pulse spiked—this would be everywhere by sundown.

"Remove your hand."

You didn’t even have to turn to know Albedo was there.

The man scoffed. "Or what? You gonna fight me over your little—"

Albedo’s fingers dug into the man’s shoulder, forcing him back with terrifying ease. "I won’t repeat myself."

The cameras went wild.

You expected him to drag you away. Instead, Albedo cupped your face, his thumb brushing your cheek where the stranger had nearly grazed you. "Are you hurt?"

You shook your head.

Then, in full view of the paparazzi, he pulled you close, one arm locking around your waist as he pressed a kiss to your temple.

"Let’s go home," he murmured, loud enough for the cameras to catch.

The crowd erupted.

Once the authorities dispersed the paparazzi, Albedo didn’t let go. His grip on your hand was just shy of painful, his strides too fast as he led you through backstreets.

"Albedo—"

"Quiet."

Only when you were safely inside his car did he finally look at you.

"It won’t happen again."

--Days before the actual selection--

The stack of personnel files sat neatly on Albedo’s desk, each one meticulously reviewed and annotated in his precise, angular script. He had no patience for incompetence, no interest in those who might disrupt the careful order of his work. And yet, when he reached your file, his pen hovered.

He didn’t believe in fate. But something about you, the way your credentials aligned so perfectly with his needs, made him pause.

A practical choice. He circled your name in red ink.

But just to be sure, he'll look up for more information.

At the time, it was nothing more than that.

He hadn’t expected you to be good with Klee.

Most people weren’t. Either they coddled her like glass or scolded her recklessness without understanding the sharp mind behind it.

You handed her bandages when she skinned her knees, humming distractedly as she chattered about her latest "experiment." You packed her lunches with the same precision you applied to his reports, slipping in a handwritten note now and then ("No sparkling bombs today, okay?").

And when Albedo worked through the night, he’d find a fresh pot of coffee at his elbow, a blanket draped over the back of his chair.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

-------

The sky had been clear when you left headquarters. Albedo remembered this distinctly because he had noted the weather in his daily log—72% humidity, minimal cloud coverage, optimal conditions for outdoor testing.

And yet, by mid-afternoon, the clouds rolled in like spilled ink.

He was reviewing soil samples when the first raindrops hit the windows. A flicker of movement caught his eye—you, darting across the courtyard below, arms raised uselessly over your head as the downpour soaked through your clothes in seconds.

A logical man would have returned to his work.

Albedo found himself at the door with his coat in hand before he'd fully processed the decision.

You nearly collided with him when you burst inside.

"Oh—!" You skidded to a halt, blinking water from your lashes. "I didn't think anyone was—"

"Take this." He thrust the coat at you.

"But you'll—"

"I dislike repeating myself."

"...Thank you."

He watched, inexplicably fascinated, as you shrugged it on. The sleeves swallowed your hands whole.

"You look ridiculous." 

You laughed, shaking rainwater from your hair. "Well, it's not like I had much choice. Unless you wanted me tracking mud through your—"

"The third floor lavatory has a hand dryer." He turned on his heel. "Try not to electrocute yourself."

You returned the coat folded neatly on his desk, still faintly damp at the cuffs.

Albedo picked it up. The scent hit him like a poorly calibrated reaction. His grip tightened.

Across the room, Klee bounced on her toes. "Big brother, are you listening? I said—"

"Later, Klee."

The coat went into his desk drawer.

---

A late night in the lab, the winter chill seeping through the windows. You rubbed your arms absently, fingers numb from sorting through stacks of his research notes.

A shadow fell over you, then the weight of his coat across your shoulders.

You startled. "I’m not—"

"You’re shivering." His fingers lingered at your collarbone, adjusting the lapel. "It’s inefficient."

The fabric was still warm from his body.

You didn’t have time to protest before he was back at his desk, scribbling equations like nothing happened.

Then there was this other time.

"You’ll freeze."

The winter wind howled through the streets as Albedo looped his scarf around your neck.

"I have my own—"

"Not thick enough." He tugged the wool tighter, his breath fogging in the air between you. 

When the paparazzi snapped photos of you wrapped in his colors, he didn’t correct the headlines.

"Kreideprinz’s Future Spouse Spotted in His Clothes!"

"Stay close."

Albedo’s hand settled at the small of your back as you navigated the ballroom. This was something you didn't expect to do. Dancing and all at a party.

"We agreed—no unnecessary contact in public."

"Mm." His thumb stroked your spine. "But that reporter from Fontaine has been staring. Credibility demands consistency."

Then his lips were at your ear, his teeth grazing the lobe.

You gasped.

"Paparazzi expect them at events like this." he murmured, pulling back to admire the mark blooming on your neck. 

Your face burned. "That’s..."

"Shall I add another?"

The office knew.

How could they not? Their boss is definitely not good at hiding his true intention.

But the worst part?

You were starting to like it.

The way his gloves caught in your hair when he "fixed" your hood. The weight of his coat. The thrill when he glared down people who dared to flirt.

----

It was just another ordinary day.

You were delivering a stack of reports to Albedo’s office when a loud crash from the hallway startled you. The papers in your hands slipped, scattering across the floor. With a sigh, you knelt to gather them, only to freeze when you realized what you were looking at.

A list of names.

His original selection of candidates.

Each one was meticulously annotated—appearance, qualifications, personality traits. All of them were stunning. All of them were brilliant.

You couldn’t help but laugh.

"Wow, look at these people. Gorgeous, talented.. Why am I even here? I should’ve quit ages ago." you joked, shuffling the papers back together.

You looked up.

Albedo stood in the doorway.

"You’re not leaving, are you?"

"I—It was a joke." you stammered, quickly standing.

He stepped forward, his fingers curling around your waist. "Humor is subjective. That wasn’t funny."

"I wasn’t serious."

Just as he leaned in, his lips parting to say something far from professional.

"OH MY, IS THIS A WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT?!"

There she was—Alice, Albedo’s adoptive mother, back from her latest trip.

Her eyes darted between the two of you, Albedo’s hand still gripping your waist, your face burning crimson, and she grinned.

"Awwww! My little chalk prince finally found love!" she cooed, clapping her hands. "And you! You’re adorable! Oh, we have to start planning—"

Before you could even process, she had whipped out a detailed baby-naming guide from god knows where and was flipping through it excitedly.

"Hmm, if it’s a girl, ‘Lumine’ has a nice ring!"

You were mortified. Albedo, however, looked completely unbothered.

"Mother," he said calmly, "this is Y/N L/N."

"I KNOW! I SAW THE HEADLINES!" Alice squealed, grabbing your hands. "You’re staying for dinner. We’re celebrating! Klee! KLEE, GET IN HERE!!!"

The "celebration" lasted three full days—three days of Alice’s increasingly unhinged wedding plans, Klee’s sugar-fueled energy, and Albedo watching it all with the quiet amusement of a man who had already accepted his fate.

By the time you finally returned home (Alice having vanished mid-party with a "Be back in a year or five! Love you!"), you were exhausted.

Klee, somehow still buzzing with energy, had insisted on a "sleepover!"—which meant she now lay sprawled between you and Albedo in the bed, her tiny limbs taking up an unreasonable amount of space.

"Hey," Klee piped up, rolling onto her side to squint at you. "Hypothetically… if Big brother Albedo turned into a dragon and kidnapped you, would you be mad?"

"What?"

"Like, a big dragon. With scales and fire and stuff. And he carried you away to his super-secret dragon castle and said you could never leave." She grinned. "Would you stay?"

You shot a glance at Albedo, who was watching you with far too much interest.

"Well," you mused, playing along, "if he was nice about it… and maybe let me redecorate the dragon castle… I guess it wouldn’t be so bad."

Klee giggled. "He’d definitely be nice! He’d give you all the books you want and never let anyone else take you!"

Albedo’s fingers twitched against the sheets.

You yawned, your eyelids growing heavy. "Mmm… then sure. I’d stay."

Klee opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could, you were already asleep.

Albedo waited until Klee’s breathing evened out—until she, too, finally succumbed to sleep, curled up like a little firework ready to explode at dawn.

Carefully, he shifted her to the side, tucking the blankets around her before turning his attention to you.

His fingers brushed a stray lock of hair from your face.

He had made the right choice.

Not just in selecting you, though that had been flawless in its own way, but in keeping you. In letting you carve a space into his life, his routines.

You stirred slightly in your sleep, murmuring something unintelligible.

The peace lasted exactly two hours.

The bedroom door burst open with enough force to rattle the walls.

"GOOD MORNING, FUTURE GRANDBABY FACTORY—"

Albedo’s arm shot out, catching Alice by the collar before she could leap onto the bed. Klee snorted in her sleep, rolling over like a tiny, bomb-happy burrito. You jolted upright, hair sticking in every direction.

"Mother," Albedo hissed through gritted teeth, "they’re sleeping."

Alice pouted. "But I have blueprints for a nursery! And a list of explosion-proof baby names!"

Without breaking eye contact, Albedo reached for his desk intercom. "Security."

As they hauled Alice away, her voice echoed down the hall:

"FINE! BUT I’M MAILING YOU THE CRIB ANYWAY—"

The door slammed.

You stared at Albedo.

Then, slowly, he pulled the blankets over your head.

"Five more minutes" he muttered.

----

You woke in a cold sweat, gasping.

"Albedo—Albedo—"

He was already awake, "Hm?"

"I just dreamt you were a dragon," you panted, "and you...you swallowed me whole—"

Albedo laughed. Not a polite chuckle, but a deep, unhinged sound that vibrated through his chest.

"That’s not funny!" you hissed, swatting his arm.

"It’s hilarious," he corrected, wiping his eye. "And biologically implausible. Unless," he added thoughtfully, "I shrunk you first."

You gaped at him.

He kissed your forehead. "Go back to sleep."

You did not.

[violetasteracademic]

Hi there :)

I'm dropping it because I'm curious for your thoughts on the theories that are flying around about SJM signing a book with that wolf quote. (You can see it here.)

When I first read it, I immediately thought it referred to Nesta. If I'm not mistaken, she even describes herself as a wolf in ACOSF. So, I'm confused why people are trying to turn this into an Elain thing...

I want an Elain confirmation as much as the next person (and Elriel!), but this seems like such a reach to try and tie that to Elain.

I'm sorry for being such a debby-downer, but you always explain things super well, so I thought maybe you'd have something to share!

Anon.... It's been a long time. But I will answer this call and come out of the woodworks to clown. I did not come up with any of this, and it was my friend @yourstarsmyscars who lured me into the clown car last night and explained it to me (and she sent me a post by @blaircmorgan who is a witch and prophesized the significance of Chapter 21). Beyond that, I still pretty much stay off Tumblr have no idea who else to credit for any of the ideas because I am processing an insane amount of information all day every day right now, but yes, I can explain this in excruciating detail, and I am also adding my own thoughts that have developed as well.

Happy Elriel Month to all who celebrate, and happy clowning to all who are partaking!

Now, 21.

And no, it isn't a stretch.

Allow me to say that before Sarah's autographed photo and quote came up, my friends and I had been clowning all morning about a May 21st announcement. The reason for this is that the giant Bloomsbury ACOTAR book displays (which have been around for a while) are open to chapter 21 of ACOTAR. This is a significant ACOTAR chapter. It's the chapter that Feyre finally meets Rhys, and his first ever, There you are. I've been looking for you. It's Rhys. It's Calanmai. It's all the things.

Buuuuut there is also the big Bloomsbury investor meeting on May 22nd. We clowned about this before and got burned, but BB basically said come back May 22nd for a detailed outlook and trade update:

So for many of us, the May 21st clown car was already full steam ahead. Chapter 21 of ACOTAR on display. The day before the big Bloomsbury meetings where Sarah is featured heavily as she carries the non academic sector of that company on her back (hope you get massage girlie pop) AND, more clown from my friend @yourstarsmyscars who is a librarian with secret powers, the Winter 2026 catalogue for Bloomsbury has started to get updated. The 2026 winter catalogue is in alignment with all of Sarah's recent previous releases which have been between January and March. The winter catalogue runs from January to April, and Archer, the new BB imprint which Sarah and her team have moved to, confirmed they will launch with their first book (crazy for it to be anything other than the next ACOTAR, since the Archeron sisters built the Archer imprint) in 2026.

So, the May 21st clown was strong. Winter 2026 catalogue is going live. BB has until May 22 to say anything about the next ACOTAR if it is going to happen within the next fiscal year.

Now. The quote.

This sets off our new trajectory. I understand you are recalling Nesta referring to herself as a wolf, but this is Feyre's quote from the Weaver's Cottage (currently on the voting bracket today.) So, no. This is not Nesta. But I love my girl, and the Archeron sisters are all wolves inside. Let's not forget the fanged beast inside Elain Archeron 😏 however, this is chapter 21 of ACOMAF:

Note the emphasized was as well. Feyre says she's a wolf a few times, but only in chapter 21 does the was get an italic, or an underline on the display.

So now we are cooking.

We have representation of ACOTAR chapter 21.

We have representation of ACOMAF chapter 21.

Another item of note is that the ACOMAF chapter 21 quote was shared on a Wednesday. May 21st is a Wednesday. SJM typically announces her new books on a Wednesday (yes this checks out, I thoroughly investigated. There are a few off hand Thursdays, and also special editions or paperbacks do not fit this pattern. New books only.) So, if there is going to be a new Chapter 21 quote from ACOWAR, ACOFAS, and then finally ACOSF every Wednesday until May 21st...

What is chapter 21 of A Court of Silver Flames?

Baby, it's Elain Archeron City.

Elain shall I tend to my little garden forever Archeron.

Elain, the fanged beast growing claws after all Archeron (and Azriel's shadows preparing to smite anyone who calls her boring)

Elain I went into the Cauldron too Archeron

Elain the only one who guessed Archeron

Elain FIND ME WHEN YOU WISH TO BEGIN Archeron.

Chapter 21 of ACOSF is extremely short, and it is the most pivotal Elain chapter in all of ACOSF.

So if BB actually decided to be cool and fun and clever, this means that if we are going to follow a pattern and see a quote from Chapter 21 of each of Sarah's books while celebrating the 10 year anniversary and leading to May 21st, when it comes time to pull a chapter from ACOSF on announcement day... It will land on Elain (and Azriel, but mostly Elain.)

I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the pinned comment on the post. Please be kind, I respect this clown and I think any one of us would (and are) doing the same.

This is referring to chapter 56 of ACOSF, where Gwyn shows Nesta and Emerie that they have been written into the history books in this beautiful passage:

My take on this is that it is completely understandable and fair for this to be used for clowning, so just be nice and let everyone do their thing for now. However, while yes the literal words 21 are in this passage (which is all part of this huge marketing ploy) this is a passage from chapter 56 of ACOSF, not a literal chapter 21 passage from any previous books, and chapter 21 has consistently been a pivotal chapter in Sarah's books. As previously mentioned, the chapter Feyre meets Rhys /There you are, Feyre repainting her memories and assuring no one would ever hurt her or her sisters again and healing her trauma, Cassian and Nesta's OG fumbled solstice gift, and Feyre revealing her pregnancy and Elain standing up for herself. Chapter 56 is referring to a story that has already been told, whereas Elain's chapter 21 passage refers to her journey to come, the future, and her time to begin. Again, I do not begrudge any Nesta or Valkyrie stans (I am one myself, just also happen to be an Elriel and Elain stan) for clowning, but chapter 56 tells the story that was written. Elain's story has yet to be told, and Elain is the focus of actual chapter 21 in ACOSF.

Okay so, is any of this legit? Honestly, I think so.

This part is based purely on speculation, but it is my opinion this is a social media campaign. No, I do not believe sandysbookcorner knows what the book is about or has insider info. Yes, I do believe BB contacted him-and will likely contact other small creators and booktokers-every Wednesday leading up to the reveal to snap a picture of the new quotes, but only time will tell.

But the reason I think this is pretty legitimate is because Sarah's entire crew rolled up to this post where sandysbookcorner said something is coming, and it's not just another Starfall ball. Acotar six will break and remake us.

SJM's lifelong best friend Jenn TITTERED in the comments (I'm not going to post pictures of her account proving their friendship because she's a teacher with a private life, but her account is public) and SARAH J. MAAS'S HUSBAND liked the post.

I mean, for Sarah's crew to roll up on a semi small bookstagram account claiming he has tea from the Suriel and that ACOTAR six will make and break us all, and that something is coming... That's pretty legit to me. I've never seen her people pull up like this on small accounts claiming an announcement is coming.

So again, this is all surrounding 21. May 21st. If we are going to see new chapter 21 representation until May 21st (and it makes total sense to me that the Valkyrie passage is pinned to further draw attention to 21, which seems to be the point of the marketing) we will land on Elain on May 21st.

Find me when you wish to begin.

[risrambles]

I’ve seen Thunderbolts*! Here’s my full, SPOILER review!

STOP READING THIS IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS FOR MARVEL STUDIOS’ THUNDERBOLTS*

LIKE NOW.

OKAY.

Buckle up, i’ve got a lot of thoughts and a lot of word space.

Well, that was a pretty great movie! If you’ve seen my non spoiler review you’ll know I gave it an 8/10, and rightfully so. The first hour, hour and a half of the movie eats the rest of the movie up and if the ending had been as good as the first acts I would give it a 10/10. it kind of felt underwhelming and almost like it was a “power of friendship” moment—though none of these people are really friends, so maybe that’s the point.

First of all—Yelena and Bob. God, they were amazing, I loved the dynamic between them and it was really interesting to see the whole void thing come into play with how they felt about life. It was great.

The first scene when Taskmaster, Yelena, Walker, and Ghost all meet—that was amazing. my jaw DROPPED when Taskmaster got shot in the head, I wasn’t expecting her to get taken out so soon or by one of the Thunderbolts. I mean, we all knew she was a goner but I really wanted to see a little more of her. I liked her suit a lot!

Obviously, I have to talk about Bucky. I have two small complaints—one, I wish we saw a little more of him. Considering he was listed second in the credits I think he was a little underused and slightly nerfed but honestly not by much. to go off that, I WANTED TO SEE HIM IN THE VOID! the only thing we got was a nod to the fact that while he was in his void searching for yelena and bob (“i have a great past, so I’m fine” that whole thing) he obviously saw something to do with the winter soldier. call me crazy but i saw blue lights in the room behind him that he crashed through from and it gave very much cacw winter soldier flashback vibes. and i WANTED TO SEE THAT! i wished we could have seen more than yelena, bob, valentina, and walkers voids.

Oh, valentina. she was so horribly great, i was so ready for the thunderbolts to rock her shit but then she turned it around and called them the new avengers. oh i hate her so much they did so good. her assistant was kinda slay too but eh!

NOW ONTO MY COMPLAINT AS A SAMBUCKY ENTHUSIAST—WHY TF DID WE ONLY GET A MENTION OF SAM? AND IN THE POST CREDITS? Honestly, i find it crazier that sam and bucky talked off screen and they didn’t even show us. and that APPARENTLY the conversation didn’t go over well, and now sam is suing them… guys we might actually be in the sambucky divorce era im gonna crash out. can they just kiss hug it out and get over it. and considering how close they got in tfatws and we saw them talking the cabnw i just really liked their dynamic and how happy they seemed as friends and now that’s just gone (but it is funny that sam is suing bucky and co). although, it will make for an interesting dynamic come doomsday, which makes me nervous considering that bucky’s time in the mcu is coming ever so closer to an end… (someone start recommending me bucky fics NYOW)

honestly, i kind of don’t like the whole new avengers thing. i kind of wanted them to stay as the thunderbolts, as dumb as it might be. I don’t like valentina though and I really wanted them to kick her ass. it was a funny credits sequence tho, with the “new avengers? nope!” love that they’re still universally hated i guess.

BUT OH MY GOD I WAS GONNA GO FERAL FOR BUCKY IN THE POST CREDITS. GOOD LORD HE LOOKED FINE. OH EM GEE, HIS HAIR? OH THE WAVES. SOMEONE TAUGHT OUR BOY ABOUT CONDITIONER AGAIN AND HE LOOKED INCREDIBLE. PLEASE LET HIM HAVE THAT HAIR IN DOOMSDAY AND PLEASE DONT LET HIM DIE.

okay, i’ve gotten past how much i love bucky and must move on to the Other Things that happened.

now, about the INSANE DROP IN THE CREDITS? the second i saw the “fantastic four: first steps theme” in the music credits i was like oh it’s so over. AND THE SHIP? oh dude their world is so cooked, doomsday is gonna be fire AND ARE WE GONNA SEE THE THUNDERBOLTS (new avengers) AT THE END OF FFFS? ARE WE GONNA SEE THE AVENGERS AND THE NEW AVENGERS WITH THE FANTASTIC FOUR? see, that’s why thunderbolts* was a good movie! it’s got me actually planning to see Fantastic Four: First Steps because i NEED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!! i’m hooked!!!

Walkers one liners were great and even though i hate him i kinda feel for him. Yelena and Bob and Red Guardian were stand-outs; I LOVE BOB! and red guardians entrance was incredible as well, along with the car chase scene up to bucky rocking everyone’s shit.

Like i said, the first half of the movie was a 10/10; the last maybe 45 minutes was more of a 7/10. i did love the thunderbolts getting applause in the street which valentina definitely liked once she got the idea to market them as the new avengers. also the fact that they operate out of the old avengers tower? the fact that yelena and bucky are lowkey leading? the outfits that kinda ate down? i kinda vibe with it, but like i said i would hav really liked it if they weren’t considered the new avengers. maybe it would have been better if sam had shown up in the end to rally them for his cause as the avengers or if they just stayed the thunderbolts and did missions more akin to what steve and nat did in the beginning of catws. obviously not with them unknowingly working for hydra, but them as undercover ops would be cool.

idk! i just got out of the movie like an hour ago and i can’t remember it all right now bc it was so much good content.

tldr: the characters were great, the movie was solid/great, the post credits were worth it/insane and the story was good. if i missed anything that anyone wants me to cover (as if im some prime news source lmao, i am not, im just a mcu blogger who has been waiting for years for this movie) then lmk!

I HAVE TAGGED THIS POST AS SPOILERS AND INCLUDED A CUT!!! IF YOU SEE THIS AND DONT WANT TO, I TAGGED IT AND MADE SURE TO PUT A WARNING AND A CUT!!! IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS FILTER OUT THE TAG!!!

[i-ship]

An apology.

Hey everyone,

I want to take a moment to address something important to me. Recently, I took part in sharing private information regarding Sam and Caitriona’s whereabouts. While the intention (of all involved) was never to cause any harm, I now recognize that sharing that kind of information crosses a line when it comes to respecting their privacy.

We’ve all seen situations - like the recent Rowan incident and other batshit crazy fan behavior (*ahem* Caittony) - that remind us why it’s so important for Sam and Caitriona to have the security they need.

Moving forward this blog will be focused solely on fanfics and reblogs of cute moments. If Sam and Caitriona ever decide to share personal parts of their lives publicly, I’ll be here to celebrate that with everyone, but until then, I will do my best to fully respect their privacy.

Thank you to those who shared their thoughts with me and helped me see things more clearly, and to the gorgeous woman who I shared this information with, I know it was posted with only good intentions, and I truly appreciate her support and kindness. This is just a moment for me personally to reflect and adjust how I handle things going forward.

Thank you for reading, and a good weekend to you all ❤️

[tawked]

For sure! I should've been mindful to mention that I haven't read anything contemporary with David. I am really behind with comics overall.

I'm not coming at you but I wanna use your post as an opportunity to elaborate and clarify, 'cause I wrote the first one while a little high at 3AM and feel now that it's badly written lol.

The point I wanted to make is much less about David being written with empathy or characterized positively, as a victim of his disabiliy or anything like that.

What I'm getting at is, it's cool that whoever was working on costume for the FX series thought to make sure the patient uniform had no shoelaces.

The FX series rejects the whole padded cell straight jacket aesthetic of the earlier comics and constructs a new aesthetic that communicates the specific tone of David's disability and confinement in innovative and strictly character-first ways. It's not a padded cell straight jacket, rather it's a more discrete combination of a hundred little things, like being made to wear a uniform with only minimal differentiation from others, or the artificial forest backgrounds in the group therapy room that combines the familiar disability visual language of therapy with a visual symbol of artificiality to contrast the fakeness of the environment with the reality of David's conversation with Rogue. I mean with Sydney lol.

Sidenote, on a point about signalling to disabled people that this is an in-house thing: Sydney Barrett -> Syd Barrett, singer of Pink Floyd, who was pretty famous for having some kinda schizophrenia or adjacent business goin on. Syd Barrett had actually himself been confined to psychiatric treatment before and this influenced a lot of Pink Floyd's music. Schizophrenics of a certain generation tend to claim him and his music has symbolic significance within the online community. Cute stuff.

So like, FX Legion avoids using shallow aesthetic (padded room straight jacket) to communicate that David is crazy, and more engaging to show how his environment is constructed, responds to, and compels certain self-definitions of disability.

They actually made a promo that engages directly with this visual language. Padded room, straight jacket, hearing voices, a scared whisper of "is this real?" These are all the signifiers an artist would use to communicate mental illness to an able-bodied audience and I think it's telling that while promotional material did this, the show itself was always very tongue-in-cheek when approaching anything of this territory, usually deconstructing it.

I want to shoutout my Joker Profile Pic homie from the promo video's comment section here,

Notice he super does not know what's going on from the promos, which used this visual language intentionally to be misleading.

FX Legion is instead a massive deconstruction of the kind of narrative that its promotions advertised, communicated through new aesthetics that combine in-community disability symbols across numerous decades. Conversely, narrative the promotions advertised were, well, more or less the exact narrative the early comics (at least the ones I read) choose to tell, communicated with the same kinda dodgy "sanitarium" Exorcist III aesthetics the able-bodied world was already familiar with.

Anyway my point is David is cool, I like the character a lot, the Legion FX series is one of the best shows ever made in dealing with psychosocial disability becaue it engages in the kind of environment-as-character worldbuilding I'm on about, and i think that a lot of disabled comic characters fall really flat because writers and artists don't really know how to engage with these aesthetics and symbols beyond the strictly literal. This is at its most blunt when Wolverine shoves Charles down some stairs but the mansion is never shown as having any device that would enable Charles to be on the second floor in the first place lol.

I promise I will shut up about disabilities in comics, but I wanna make one last point.

There's a kind of writing where disability, or more often the abuse of someone with a disability, is employed for shock value and South Parkian offensiveness. This isn't really the kind of thing that's going to offend most disabled readers of comics. I think to be a reader of comics you kind of have to be fairly desensitized to violence or the abuse of characters. I mean, shit, Spider-Man's life is basically endless misery and he's considered a bright, optimistic, positive character with bright, optimistic, positive stories most of the time.

Rather, I think what seems to stick in the craw of most disabled readers I know, and especially myself, is when disabled aesthetics are used superficially to invoke disability but the disabled person's actual life as a disabled person isn't really considered beyond that. It's sad that Xavier or Barbara Gordon can't walk, but let's not consider what that means for their actual lives.

So there's this disconnect in the community sometimes, like...

Able-bodied reader (Lawful Good): omg! how evil! how cruel! to do that to a disabled person! this is really crossing the line! this is really beating balls!

Able-bodied reader (Chaotic Evil): lol. haha. lol. yeah charles xavier CAN'T climb stairs. funny observation, mark millar I assume

Disabled reader: how the fuck did he get up to the second floor? seriously there's no elevator or chairlift or anything

I think you can really see a difference in the two approaches in Legion.

The Legion of the comics is played as scary because he's disabled, the aesthetics of mental illness and disability are invoked purely for horror, and we're made to fear what he can inflict on others. There's no consideration of his environment beyond the superficial use of a psychiatric ward uniform and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure hair (a signifier of severe mental illness if ever there was one). He is raised in abusive psychiatric confinement but remains at that level even when removed from it, he does not react to his environment so much as he is produced by it in a near permanent sense.

Meanwhile, David of the Legion FX series (one of the best artistic communications of SCZ I have ever seen) focuses exhaustively on David's environment. On the conditions he has been made to live in and the effect they have such as the often futile and punitive nature of psychiatric confinement, and the people who have affected him in a general sense and particularly in relation to his disability.

Legion FX uses an intentionally anarchronistic combination of disabled aesthetics specifically to avoid the use of disabled imagery for any familiar purpose, be it horror or sympathy, to shift the audience's focus to his environment at basically all times.

David is abused in both narratives, that's sort of the point of Legion as a character - what happens if you abuse someone with Xavier-level powers - but in the former he's often treated as a kind of horror movie monster while in the latter he's treated as a human being first and foremost. The former never lets you doubt that he's mentally ill and being cuhraaazy and mad at Charles is his primary motivator. I want to mention that comic book Legion has a 1990s idea of what we today call dissociative identity disorder, not schizophrenia, but it hardly fucking matters because he's just written as weird, a real weirdo, he doesn't fit in and he doesn't want to fit in, have you ever seen him not raving psychotically? Okay, that's weird.

Meanwhile, the latter version plays with this idea that he might be misunderstanding his psychic powers as schizophrenia and pulls off an incredible plotline where some essential oils self-help guru lady convinces him to desist with his meds and this ends badly for everybody lol. Even once David is unambiguously confirmed to be psychic and schizophrenic at the same time (not a spoiler in comic book world), the narrative makes absolutely clear that his actions are a consequence of treatment and environment, not some inherent fiendishness. We even see a dimension-hopping episode where David's life plays out a range of ways based on key moments changing and while he's schizophrenic in every timeline, the outcome is different each time.

The former seeks to shock and offend as a horror movie would, the latter seeks to empathize and humanize.

The former reads (to me, anyway) as kind of offensive not because it's just an evil crazy person stereotype (if I were offended by this I'd just never consume any American media), but because his character feels impossible within his environment and context. He's just crazy and scary because he's crazy.

The latter is directly a result of his environment at all times and the world is built around his existence, both to accommodate and to create barriers, with the effects of those accommodations and barriers being central to the narrative.

All this is to say,

why doesn't the Xavior mansion have a stupid chairlift on the stairs Wolverine throws Xavier down

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

still thinking about that one post that claimed that adora was abusing catra by a. telling shadow weaver that catra will be there soon when catra was late and b. putting in a good word for catra and protecting her from shadow weaver.

they also said that adora’s apology to catra (after catra called her a people pleaser and got mad at her for no reason) was half-assed and that she was mimicking shadow weaver’s abuse tactics and trying to belittle catra.

idk how someone can miss the point SO HARD like?? are they trying to read too much into it on purpose so that they wouldn’t have to acknowledge that catra is the abusive one? what’s going on?? how are you THIS stupid—

[psychomusic]

induced to me by my contemporary art exam AND a rewatch of rebels after years that. got me into sabezra unexpectedly AND i updated krita and there were many new brushes i wanted to try

refs (IF U CAN PLS HELP ME FIND THE ORIGINAL COSPLAYERS i can't find anything EDIT: found them!! they're starwars_irl on insta and @rebelartistwren / lionesscosplay on insta. thank you guys <3) and ✨colored version✨ under the cut

i can't find themmmmm I've been looking for 2 days but all i found were uncredited reposts

anyway they look amazing

i really wanted to try greyscaling but I'm not sure it looks good. idk. + while i was making it i was listening to i love you by fontaines d.c. (GREAT SONG FROM A GREAT UNDERRATED BAND) and. the grey fit into that mood much better

also two versions without the sketch lines. where ezra looks happier even if they're uglier

[trans-yllz]

genuinely I think the whole core reveal sequence is one of if not my absolute favorite moments in the show. the punches just never stop coming. lan wangji who has a million reasons to hate jiang cheng asking wei wuxian if he's going to tell him about everything that's going on "because you're brothers". jiang cheng who can never be tender, who uses violence as an excuse to touch, who wants wei wuxian to fight back. wei wuxian who is the reason we, as the audience, refer to his brother as "jiang cheng", whose last words before he died were "jiang cheng", shouting "jiang wanyin!" when he's angry

and then wei wuxian passes out and we get such a phenomenal insight into everyone still living that loves him the most

wen ning jumping in to take the hits from zidian. wen ning who wei wuxian never commands to do anything but he still always comes. wen ning, who Should be scared of jiang cheng because Everyone is scared of jiang cheng because jiang cheng hates him because jiang cheng just whipped him to the ground because he knows first hand that jiang cheng spills blood first and asks questions never, stands the fuck back up and does one of the bravest things he could possibly do. wen ning who stands in the sandu shengshou's home that he is not allowed to enter and tells him that he's wrong. that he's a coward. that his insecurities have been right all this time and wei wuxian really is better than him. wen ning who brakes his promise to the one person in the world he has the most loyalty and affection for, because he's Angry and he's Tired and he's watched wei wuxian suffer insurmountably for jiang cheng who only ever tries to hurt him

and GOD lan wangji. lan wangji who understands what wen ning is saying before jiang cheng even begins to get it. who is holding wei wuxian in his arms as he remembers every time he, out of the utmost love, berated and questioned and scolded him for using demonic cultivation. lan wangji who didn't get it for twenty some odd years but in one horrifying moment he finally understands why wei wuxian gave up his sword, his talent his renown his skill. lan wangji who has a million and one reasons to hate jiang cheng

and jiang cheng. JIANG CHENG. oh god jiang cheng. I'll never stop thinking about jiang cheng with suibian in his hand. jiang cheng who is terrified his whole life that he is not good enough, who is obsessed with being extraordinary, who lives in his brother's shadow. but whose deepest wish, always, was for his family to stay together. and he's holding suibian open in his hands after wen ning has told him a story he knows is true but can't believe, and he pieces together why it all fell apart, why he's alone, and the loss hits him, the guilt, and suddenly it is all his fault, and suddenly none of it was ever worth it at all. jiang cheng who can never be tender. jiang cheng who is obsessed with being extraordinary. jiang cheng who still loves his brother more than anything. jiang cheng who shoved the grief down for 16 years and now it has finally grown too big for him. jiang cheng who runs around lotus pier demanding people open suibian. jiang cheng who does not succeed

and then they're in that DAMN boat

[dailyjevil]

hello!! hope you're having a good day :D

since you're doing the pride flag challenge, I hope you don't mind me requesting the lithromantic/sexual flag!

left is lithsexual and the right is lithromantic, idm which one you pick :]

(it means to feel romantic and/or sexual attraction to someone but doesn't want the feeling reciprocated or stops once it is :>)

Day 297 of posting Jevil every day

[0809sysblings]

Childhood Antecedents of Multiple Personality - Richard P. Kluft

Q.10 Have you ever gotten angry at other people? I don't think I've gotten angry before. Isn't it kind of disgraceful to get angry?

[hotchipsauce]

psst pspspsps u should totally talk about grebbymints more ... i am enabling u......

AAAAAA bro….. my dude…. the thing is i always feel crazy talking about them together bc i think like they’ve only publicly interacted like 3 times? LOL (i have watched and documented every interview minty and grebby has appeared in for the leafs/marlies. it’s so bad. me being sick has actually helped me not be as weird about it since i had less screen time in general)

but even then me and @tufzy just constructed this whole separate reality in our heads for months about how like they prob got closer after getting called up and minty is the only familiar guy for grebby there due to being on the marlies together + no russian player on the leafs to fall back on for help so grebby is just sticking to minty’s side the whole time, and minty even tho he’s a lil popular with the leaf boys he still is looking out for his linemate. even when they get sent down they’re still drawn to each other out of habit. but i’m always like second guessing like wow this is pure delusion like maybe they don’t even fuck with each other like that it’s just coworker friendliness this rpf shit is truly a disease fr fr 🙏

and then the videos started dropping. they’re goofing off and pushing each other around during sewer ball. and then i see a single frame of minty next to grebs during the one rare tiktok that he shows up in. and the delusion starts anew

[saturnniidae]

"I should've seen the signs" I feel like Stoick was basically reliving the way he lost Valka.

To him, after a lifetime of wanting nothing but to kill a dragon, Hiccup's suddenly and inexplicably changed his mind. To him, Hiccup saying he can't kill them is just like when Valka refused to and tried convincing others as well, then as a result was 'killed' by one herself.

To him, way Hiccup tossed his weapon and shield to the side then approached Hookfang while speaking about how dragons aren't what people think they are probably bares an uncomfortable resemblance to the way Valka put down her weapon and stared a dragon in the eyes and as a result was taken.

To him, attempting to do anything but preemptively defend yourself against a dragon will only end in tragedy, so he has to do anything he can to stop Hiccup before it's too late.

(And just like with Valka, he unintentionally escalated the situation by trying to protect Hiccup but only agitated the dragon, causing it to panic and react, inadvertently putting someone he loves in danger. again)

Stoick of course, wasn't acting rationally, but it makes sense when you think about how traumatizing Valka's 'death' must've been for him (and how much Hiccup reminss him of her); he watched her get taken, presumably killed, and couldn't do anything about it.

[misspickman]

Kicks a rock how come no one in this fandom actually likes narancia as a character

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

i switched back from androgel to testosterone injections after 2 years and im having a male puberty crisis over gabriel and this blog isnt helping. thank you (genuine)

oh you are in special type of hell, good luck soldier 🫡

stay strong and try to stay sane

[tonyglowheart]

"Does Shen Qiao even like Yan Wushi?"

I feel like it may be relatively easy for people to pick out "what does Yan Wushi like about Shen Qiao / what does YWS get out of yanshen." but I think a criticism/line of thought I see around is people struggling with "well what does Shen Qiao get out of all of this?" and like, "does SQ even like YWS, what with how YWS annoys him and gets him angry all the time."

But I think that actually is the crux of their relationship, lol. Because if you think about it, to everyone else, Shen Qiao is this lofty ideal, this untouchable immortal/仙, maybe even this obstacle or goal to conquer or shoot down.

Who else treats him casually and teases him and pokes at him to get emotional reactions out of him because they like that about him?

If he wants to seek people who treat him with respect and reverence, he just has to step out into the city square - hell, he just has to travel out and random people he meets are likely to treat him with that sort of dazzled awe or reverence too (we literally see this happen several times in the course of the novel).

So yeah, I think joking not joking, YWS makes him angry and feel Emotions and he likes that, YWS is enrichment for him, YWS pushes his buttons and his boundaries but reframing that it's pushing him out of his comfort zone and like hardening him off to the elements and realities of the world like a gardener with plants out of the greenhouse. But also, YWS treats him like a person, like a man, and not like Shen-daozun, Shen-daozhang, Shen-zhangjiao. To Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao is Shen Qiao. (and he loves to tease the shit out of him hehe (￣▽￣) )

CONVERSELY! This also gives Shen Qiao a space to *be* Shen Qiao. With Yan Wushi, he does not have to be Shen-daozun, Shen-daozhang, Shen-zhangjiao. He does not have to always be magnanimous and generous and a bastion of righteousness. These are in his nature, yet, but it's not ALL of his nature - he is, after all, still a man, a human, with human emotions -- including the full breadth of human emotions. Yes Yan Wushi annoys him and he shows it, but it's specifically BECAUSE of that that they are closer than him and anyone else in the world. He can "be himself" around Yan Wushi, he can get worked up and be petty and be snippy, and it's fine and won't cause catastrophes or undesired splashdown sociopolitical effects.

But also, he (lets himself?) get worked up by Yan Wushi - they HAVE that level of intimate understanding with each other where they can be like this and not have feelings hurt in any irreparable way. This isn't something that SQ does (lets himself do?) with just anyone, which we see throughout the novel reflected in his internal narration and comportment. So really, the fact that he DOES get annoyed with YWS shows that they are on a different, more "real" level with each other than SQ is with anyone else.

And like, they didn't get there in a day, sure, but imo we definitely see through the novel how they get there, so imo, the yanshen relationship is incredibly justified.

(I also say this bc I think literally every "I've connected the two dots" moments I've had in my reread, I would metaphorically flip the page only to be met with that connection I'd made spelled out on the page by MXS lmao. Like... yeah okay MXS *shakes your hand* you know your stuff. oh and also because I do think there may be some level of skepticism about yanshen esp from SQ's side floating around lol, but like... MXS did the legwork! yes chapter 45 happened, yes YWS never "apologizes" with words, but that doesn't mean that they don't share a deep mutual understanding of themselves and each other by the end, nor that they haven't moved past the events of literally 83 chapters ago, 96 if you count the extras -- a whole literal two-thirds of the novel ago. Like, I know we piss on the poor here and many educational systems around the world are in shambles these days, but work on developing reading comprehension skills, pls :') )

(lmao rip this post got long AGAIN. well, hopefully at least some people are reading all of this lol.)

[silkpages]

sometimes in life you've just got to curl up in your bed at two in the morning and read the toxic wattpad werewolf fated mates romance that you've been thinking about since you were thirteen - and that's okay.