#i would be quaking in my boots if one of those 3 agreed to be on my panek

[mueritos]

i have to find someone from outside my university to be on my examination panel for my project (basically like a dissertation defense) but the urge to email kate bornstein, gayle rubin, and alison bechdel on the rare chance they agree to be on my panel is sooo strong but also sooo daunting

[lokislittlesigyn]

Luck of the Dice - Loki x Reader [Oneshot]

Part 1 of Sigyn’s Angst-to-Fluff Drabbles

Inspired by Cozy’s Fluff-to-Angst Fun and Games!

Pairing: Platonic!Loki / gender neutral reader

Warnings: None. Except maybe some pillow fighting? Nobody gets hurt.

Author’s Note: This is probably very silly and underwhelming, but I hope it’s still enjoyable. Wanted to try writing something not-specifically-romantic. Romance is great! But you know what? Friendship is great too. <3

@lucywrites02:

A prompt for you 💔

"I lost everything and you're laughing!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It really shouldn’t have gone this far. 

Then again, when you and the god of mischief were left alone in the Avengers Compound for a weekend, what could anyone expect? After all, you and Loki were close friends. Or, as close as anyone could be with the god of mischief. He had a calm and collected demeanor, usually keeping to himself. Far from the alien god-king hellbent on destruction you’d been led to expect.

No, Loki was different. And, with most people, distant. He rarely (if ever) showed his more sensitive side to anyone - except, perhaps, for you.

So, on this weekend when most of the team was out on small missions, and Tony had gone with Pepper for a press conference on the other side of the country, you and Loki were left to your own devices. You’d spent the day alone for the most part, but eventually your friend found you, and though he didn’t say it, you could tell he was lonely. 

You decided a proper hangout session was in order. 

Eventually the ordered-in pizza was long since eaten, and a ridiculous romantic comedy you’d turned on just to hear Loki’s groans of frustration with the plot, long since watched. The two of you chatted for hours, until you suggested playing a game. Loki seemed intrigued, and agreed to play along - but not before declaring he would absolutely win. You responded with a playful scoff and “I’d like to see you try.”

Now you both sat on the floor in the main common area of the compound. Distant drones of the television, the volume of which was reduced to a whisper, sounded in the background. You sat cross-legged in your favorite pajamas, a blanket around your shoulders. Loki, clad in long, soft sweatpants and a dark green shirt you gifted him at last year’s holiday party, was settled across from you. He sipped tea from a mug - which Thor had given him at that same party. He never seemed to use it when Thor was around, but you knew it was his favorite. He was sentimental. You liked that about him.

You’d already explained the game’s rules, going through the ins and outs and technicalities, and giving him the chance to ask any questions. Although he hadn’t attended many Avengers “teamwork building” game nights, he must’ve been listening, because he caught on to the game exceptionally fast.

It all went downhill from there, however.

Okay, maybe introducing the god of mischief to Monopoly wasn’t your best idea -

But it wasn’t your worst idea either, and you’d stand by that.

Besides, most of the games at the compound were strictly for groups, and the others, far too risky. You were not about to open the Pandora’s box that was playing Uno with the god of mischief. 

The two of you played had already racked up properties and utilities. But the moment Loki’s top hat playing piece hit St. James’ Place, your heart sank. He’d completed another set.

“I believe that’s mine.” Loki motioned to the property card and smiled, handing over the appropriate play-money. 

You traded it for the card, grumbling slightly under your breath.

“What was that, my friend?” Loki snapped the card next to his three and a half complete property sets, along with his railroads… This just wasn’t fair.

“Nothing…” You huffed. But you still had a chance. You had Boardwalk and Park Place.

He had no idea what was coming.

“...Just thinking of how you’re going down.” You smiled.

Loki scoffed. “Oh, I’m quaking in my boots.”

The game continued. You built a few hotels, and felt much better about your prospects… Until Loki got hotels too. 

It’s fine! If he lands on those, you glanced at your completed red and pink property sets, along with your prized deep blues, He’s toast. I just need to make it past the orange…

You looked at the board. Gulped. 

Your poor little dog piece stood at the precipice of certain doom. Currently situated on the Electric Company, your own property, you had to roll just the right number to dodge Loki’s looming hotels. He really was ruthless.

“Any day now.” Loki smirked, pulling you from your thoughts.

“I was just thinking.” You shook the dice in your hands.

“Thinking?”

“Yeah. I do that sometimes.”

“Surprising.”

You glared at him, then rolled the dice, moving your piece to - New York Avenue.

Oh, no.

Loki held out an expectant hand. You grumbled, handing him a stack of money from your hand. You were dreadfully low on cash - maybe investing in all that property wasn’t the best strategy… But how else were you supposed to win? You had to win. If the team found Loki had beat you at any game, they’d never let you live it down. 

Loki rolled next, of course dodging your properties perfectly. Your next turn landed you on another one of Loki’s properties, and you forked over the necessary money with a grimace.

Loki merely chuckled, his fingers shuffling through the stack of paper to make sure everything was in order before filing them onto the plump stacks of fake bills before him. Then he rolled - dodging your properties again. You groaned out loud.

“Something wrong?” He smiled.

“No way you’re rolling so well.”

With a shrug, Loki sat back, watching you roll. “Luck of the dice, I suppose.”

“Some luck!” You rolled.

Pennsylvania Avenue.

Your fate was sealed.

Loki had bought the green properties first - of course he had - setting them up handsomely with full upgrades. You looked at the god across from you, and recognized in an instant how intensely frustrating his smug looks could be. His shoulders shook, his knuckles placed in front of his mouth.

Wait...

“You’re laughing?!” You exclaimed.

Loki chuckled, only half trying to hide it as he raised his hands in mock surprise. “Me? I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” he scoffed, but it was choppy with laughter.

“You are! You’re laughing!” Your face heated up. “I lost everything and you’re laughing!” You grabbed a nearby pillow, swinging it at him. He blocked it with his arm, shooting you a devilish grin.

“Oh, come on. What did you expect? I never lose!”

“Oh? Really? You never lose?”

“Never.” Loki smirked. You glared daggers at him, never relenting with your squishy weapon, though each blow was deflected by his arm “Woah- Hey. You’re awfully violent,” Loki chuckled, “Need to sit down?”

“Shut up!”

“Perhaps a rematch?”

“Not in this lifetime!” You laughed, chucking the pillow at him and returning to your previous spot. He grabbed it, snorting with indignance.

“Attacking me will get you nowhere, you know.” Loki held the pillow aloft, flashing you a smirk. “But then again, the first stage of grief is denial, eventually leading to acceptance-”

The next pillow you tossed hit Loki square in the face. Even he laughed, though not before tossing it back at you and hitting you in the chest - you chuckled, holding it to yourself.

“Now that I’ve demolished you in that silly game, why don’t we settle down?” Loki stretched, wiping his loose black curls back from his face. “It’s late.”

You checked the time - woah, when did it get that late? “Ah, yeah, you’re right. And you get cranky when you don’t sleep, so.” You stood, stifling a yawn.

“I beg your pardon?” Loki was standing across from you, his brow furrowed.

“What? You’re always grumpy after a bad night’s sleep. You are.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snorted through his nose, though you noticed a twinge of humor in his expression. “You’re the one who’s grouchy in the mornings. Absolutely unbearable.”

“Oh, hush.”

Loki chuckled, settling onto the opposite couch.��

As you snuggled onto the couch underneath your blanket, you swore to yourself you’d never play against the god of mischief again. Then again, seeing him laugh and smile so genuinely almost balanced out the annoyance of losing… Maybe you could be partners in the next team game. You had a good chance of convincing him to join, after all. He seemed to trust you.

You looked over at him. Yes, Loki must’ve trusted you, because he was already asleep on the other couch with a serene expression. He looked so calm, so… Happy. You smiled to yourself.

Maybe losing was worth it after all.

[theclockworkmonk]

Out of the Mouths of Babes — Chapter 4

Read on AO3

Read on FFNet

Chapter 1 on Tumblr

Chapter 2 on Tumblr

Chapter 3 on Tumblr

Written for Hinny Ficfest 2021

Prompt: “Uncle Ron said something about Harry knocking Ginny up, but I don’t know what he means,” Teddy said.

*******

Ginny had disappeared, dragged through the kitchen door, before Harry could come up with an excuse to keep her by his side. He sighed and took a long gulp from his glass of firewhiskey, welcoming the burning sensation down his throat. Whatever his family was so wound up about, Harry knew he wasn't in danger here, so he hoped the drink would dull his overactive auror instincts so he could enjoy the evening.

"So...how's the shop?" asked Harry, choosing to focus on George, "any accidental new body parts I can't see?"

"Harry, I'll have you know that we ascribe to only the highest of safety standards at Weasley Wizard Wheezes," said George with his nose in the air, "We strictly adhere to a dual-fault system to make sure a trained wizard is on-site to intervene in case of emergency."

"By that he means that he doesn't try any weird shit on himself without me there to rush him to St. Mungo's," said Ron with his mouth full, wincing as his mother smacked him in the back of the head with a wooden spoon for his language.

Harry's eyes narrowed at his best friend. "So you two are already partners now? Really wasting no time on bailing on me, aren't you?"

"Don't be a prat!" grumbled Ron. "No, like I said, it was just a thought that I had. You know, the kind of thought you would hope you could share with your best mate without him jumping down your throat?"

"Well I think it's a marvelous idea," Mrs. Weasley announced loudly from her place at the stove."

George's eyebrows shot up. "Who are you and what have you done with my mother? You're glad that another one of your sons is considering wasting his life at this silly business, instead of a respectable job at the Ministry?"

"Well, if said Ministry job involves chasing after Death Eaters every day," huffed Mrs. Weasley, "Then I suppose my nerves will take any alternative."

She sent a stern look towards Harry and pointed a threatening spoon at him, making him jump back. "You could do well to learn from Ron in that regard, Harry."

Ron was grinning ear to ear, bouncing in his seat from being the favorite child of the moment.

"There's nothing wrong with Ron doing the responsible thing." she lowered her voice to a grumble so Harry barely heard, "at least someone is."

Harry surveyed the tense atmosphere in the room again.

"Okay, what's got everyone in such a mood?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"No one's in a mood!" said Mrs. Weasley quickly.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley spoke up for the first time, and his voice too was less assuring than Harry usually found it. "I'm having trouble with a fascinating new muggle device I've discovered, would you mind giving me a hand out in the shed?"

"Oh. Sure," said Harry easily. Mr. Weasley got up from the table and led Harry outside. They entered the man's infamous tool shed, and Harry noticed new mechanical and electronic devices in various states of disassembly. Mr. Weasley gestured to his work table, where a VCR sat.

"I've heard that muggles use this to see recorded images, like a pensieve, but I've put in those black blocks, and nothing happens."

"Oh, well," said Harry, trying not to laugh, "You need to attach it to a television. It can't just work on its—"

He was interrupted by the door opening again, and Harry was surprised to see Mrs. Weasley entering the shed which he always knew her to avoid, wanting nothing to do with her husband's "nonsense" tinkering.

"Molly, what are you doing here?" Mr. Weasley asked crossly, "We agreed we wouldn't. The boys—"

"I told them I was getting apples from the orchard," his wife said dismissively. She crossed the shed and looked beseechingly at a very surprised Harry.

"Harry, dear, you know how we think of you as a part of this family. We've been wanting to say….we hope that you don't think that has changed because of you and Ginny's relationship. We know young men have trepidation about 'the girlfriend's parents,' but you're not just our daughter's boyfriend to us, you're one of our own."

Harry was as touched as he was confused. "Th-Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," he said softly. "I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"And one reason we had no objection to you and Ginny dating," Mr. Weasley continued, "is that we trust you to always do right by Ginny. To always do what's best for her."

Harry looked back and forth between them, their expressions pointed and expecting.

"Well — ehem — I'll remember that. I promise to never do anything to hurt her." He meant it.

There was another moment of silence before Mrs. Weasley spoke up again.

"Sooooo…." she prompted. "We just want you to be aware that….should you decide to propose…you wouldn't have to worry—"

"What!?" Harry's heart leapt into his throat and he knew his face had turned scarlet. "Oh, no no," he said, putting his hands up. "I'm glad to have your blessing, but we're not ready to think about that yet."

Harry rubbed his neck nervously. It was only a half-lie. In truth, Harry was ready to think about that. He thought about proposing to Ginny damn near every day, in fact. But he was fairly certain that Ginny was still years away from being ready. She was fiercely proud of her independence and she was still dealing with the papers referring to her as "Harry Potter's girlfriend" before "star Harpies Chaser," even without marriage.

Mr. Weasley sighed in what seemed like disappointment and Mrs. Weasley's mouth thinned and her expression turned sour.

"Well...the roast should be done, we should all head back inside."

The Weasleys led the way out of the shed and Harry cautiously followed them. When they arrived back in the kitchen, Harry saw Bill shoot his father a stern, questioning look, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Mr. Weasley shake his head grimly, and Bill and Charlie gave Harry a glare that would make Mad-Eye Moody quake in his boots.

Harry froze and all the breath left his body. It suddenly all made sense. He was the thing that the Weasleys were so on edge about. Ginny's parents inquiring about him marrying her.

They had somehow found out that he and Ginny were living together.

Harry suddenly felt like a sheep in a cage with several wolves.

"Hey mum," said Charlie, "while you were outside, Aunt Muriel floo-called and said that the gnomes are in her attic again. Apparently she's upset at the way dad tried to take care of it last time."

"Is she sure it's actually the gnomes, or is it the doxies nesting in her hair?" Mr. Weasley grumbled as his wife shooed him into their sitting room and through their fireplace. Harry's heart was thudding in his chest as the few Weasleys he could count on to not murder him due to this secret getting out abandoned him with the curse breaker, dragon tamer, master prankster, and Ministry power-broker.

Several murderous eyes turned towards Harry.

"Look...er…" Harry stammered. "I really thought that, after everything, we had all moved past the whole 'overprotective big brothers' routine."

"Yeah, we thought we had too," said Charlie darkly, "but mum and dad's diplomatic approach clearly didn't work, so the gloves are off. I guess we never figured that the savior of the bloody wizarding world would do this to our sister."

George snorted, still finding this whole thing quite amusing. "Sorry, do this to her? Harry's the real victim here. Ginny's a nightmare already, can you imagine what living with her will be like now?"

"What the hell are you lot talking about?" Ron cut in, looking around the room in confusion.

"I think your brothers have become aware of me and Ginny's...status change," said Harry.

"Oh, that is just so typical!" huffed Hermione, crossing her arms and adopting her lecturing pose. "Ginny is perfectly capable of handling her own life and she doesn't need a bunch of chest-beating men to defend an outdated notion of her 'honour!' I still can't believe how sexist magical society can be sometimes."

"Yes, Hermione, our world is sexist, whether we like it or not" said Bill, not backing down. "You can pontificate all you want about how it's not right, or a double standard, but once the public finds out about this — and sooner or later, they will," he shot another glare at Harry, as if he wrote to the papers about it himself, "then it will change how people see her. And since she's a Quidditch star, the way people see her matters."

"Yup, can see the headlines now," George sighed dramatically, "the ambitious social climber Ginevra Weasley, raised in a pauper's home, so she used her feminine wiles to land herself this sweet gig."

"Look, ultimately, it's none of our business — no, I'm serious!" Ron finished in response to his brothers' looks of betrayal. "Look, Bill, Charlie, you two were only around when Ginny was a little girl. You didn't go to school with her. You never saw first-hand what happens when you try to meddle in her life to defend her virtue, trust me." He shivered a bit, as he remembered the traumatic memory.

"I don't even understand why we have to meddle," said Percy, "I just don't understand your logic, Harry. There's no question you would be willing to throw yourself into mortal danger all over again to protect Ginny. What you're hesitating to do is comparatively easy."

"His reasons don't matter, he should have thought of that earlier," said Charlie, pointing a threatening finger at Harry. "I don't care if this makes me a hypocrite, but you're going to do the right thing and—"

Ginny suddenly burst into the room, causing every word to fall silent. Harry knew that Ginny always hated it when people were obviously talking about her, but as he started towards her, he was surprised when he saw that her eyes were watery with tears. Ignoring all of the eyes on her, she ran straight towards Hermione, throwing her arms around her friend.

"Erm, is something wrong?" asked Hermione. She threw a questioning look to Fleur as she followed Ginny into the kitchen, but the young mother looked just as confused as anyone as she took Victoire back from Bill.

Instead of answering Hermione's question, Ginny withdrew from the hug and smacked Ron upside the head.

"Ah! What the shit!" Ron cried, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ronald, language!" scolded Mrs. Weasley, re-entering the kitchen along with her husband, making the room quite crowded.

"That's your main concern?" asked Ron, "Not the unwarranted physical assault?"

"It's not unwarranted, it's for being a stupid, forgetful git!" barked Ginny

She walked up to Harry and took his glass of firewhiskey, still mostly intact.

"I need this more than you," she informed him, and began to raise the glass to her lips.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!"

Mrs. Weasley's ear-piercing shriek caused everyone in the room to wince, and Ginny momentarily jumped behind Harry for protection. "Merlin's balls, WHAT!?"

"Molly…" Mr. Weasley cautioned.

"DO NOT 'MOLLY' ME, ARTHUR!" his wife shouted back. She had a crazed look in her eye and she was pulling at her hair. She rounded on Harry and Ginny.

"We have tried to be respectful, but you two are clearly not ready for this kind of responsibility! I am so disappointed in you both for not taking this more seriously! You haven't even given a thought to how this will affect your careers!"

"Our careers?" asked Harry, confused. "How would that possibly—"

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. He had gotten it completely wrong about what the Weasleys were talking about. The talk about responsibility, their careers, affects to Ginny's public image.

Somehow, the family had gotten word about the "honour" bestowed upon Harry by the Wizengamot, and all the implications that had for his and Ginny's future together. He supposed it wasn't too surprising that Arthur or Percy had heard about it through their Ministry connections.

He looked sideways at Ginny, and from one look he knew that she had come to the same realization. Both their faces split into wide grins as relief flooded through them that all of this drama was over something so silly. Apparently, the family somehow had the absurd idea that Harry would keep the title and actually take the status, power, and responsibilities being offered to him.

Harry and Ginny cracked up into delirious laughter, leaning on each other for support, which did nothing to help the livid look on Mrs. Weasley's face.

"Oh Merlin's beard, is that what has you all concerned? Don't worry about that," laughed Harry, waving one hand dismissively and wrapping the other around Ginny's shoulder.

"I mean, come on, we're obviously not keeping it!"

There was a moment of silence, then the entire kitchen exploded.

[hotchley]

Gotcha love prompt 14, the one about blushing, please!

This... this is so bad, I'm so sorry, but it's done! And I'm going with it because... yeah </3 Also, it's romantic I hope that's okay! Set... I don't even know, some point after s15 I guess? I've not proofread (as always.) Just under 1.5k!

14: "stop it." "but you're so cute when you blush."

No Warnings Apply

read on ao3!

It was no secret to anyone that Penelope Garcia was more outgoing than her partner- because boyfriend sounded so immature- Aaron Hotchner.

They were perfect for each other in that way. Aaron only stopped Penelope when he was afraid of her endangering herself or burning herself out, and Penelope knew how to encourage Aaron to dream without changing him.

But in almost every way imaginable, they are the complete opposites of each other. From their clothing to their reading habits to their handwriting to, well even the way they said thank you to other drivers, they have nothing in common. Which is why they've managed to last so long. Regardless. That's not the point.

The one thing Penelope Garcia and Aaron Hotchner have in common is that they don't hide. Not from each other. And not in the privacy of the home they have built together, after so many events almost took it from them permanently. It is the one thing they have always, and will always, agree on. Enough secrets have to be kept from the victims of loved ones, from their friends, and whilst they're on the job.

They have never allowed their home to be touched by those secrets. Or the darkness of their jobs. Not whilst the sun shines and the windows are open, allowing the light to stream in. When Jack is in his room, sleeping or doing whatever it is teenagers do, they will talk, but not before then. Because whilst they are both too… anything to be ordinary, they can cling to that piece of normalcy, and only face the horrors when they know they can be human.

But they always do it together. Their home is one of noise and love. It is bright and comforting. It is a real home, filled with laughter and smiles. Bad films and terrible jokes and bright lights. Traces of who they are can be found everywhere. Not a single room fits into a single aesthetic, but the people that love them most understand that the whole house is a combination of who they are. Much like Jack, who is also just like his first mother, in the best way possible.

All of this means that when Penelope comes home from a long day of filing, to find the house quiet, she feels a small amount of fear. Jack is at his theatre club, but it still doesn't explain the silence. Aaron should be in the garden, listening to an audiobook. Or testing out his latest recipe and dancing to music that only he enjoys. Maybe in the living room, grading and watching a soap opera he swears he only puts on in the background.

But he's not. And Penelope knows he's been going to all of his appointments, that he's completely healthy for someone of his age, but it doesn't stop her having to take a moment to breathe. Nothing bad has happened.

"Sweetness? I'm home!" She calls out.

There's an extremely loud crash from the upstairs bathroom, and as quickly as she can, she kicks her shoes off and runs up the stairs. There's more noise coming from the bathroom, but she has no idea what it could possibly be to do with.

"Aaron? Are you okay?" She asks, trying to open the door.

It's locked.

"You're not allowed to come in!" He shouts, but his voice is suspiciously high-pitched.

"Okay. I won't. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are. That's also nowhere near what I asked, so can you answer my actual question?" She teases.

Aaron sighs. "No."

"Aaron, why not?"

She hears the door unlock. For a moment, she almost opens it, but then she remembers what Aaron said to her, and she waits.

"You're not allowed to laugh," he says.

She's a little hurt that he thinks she would laugh at his misfortune, but she also knows that the brain isn't a completely rational thing. Also, she did laugh a little when he and Derek were fitting the shelves in the spare room and he dropped one on his foot, but it was his fault for looking so cute whilst in pain.

"Baby, I would never do that to you. Just come out so I know you're not injured," she says.

Aaron sighs, again, and it sounds so exaggerated that she almost jokes that he was wasted in the FBI, and should've in fact pursued his childhood dream of going to Julliard and becoming an actor. But she refrains because he doesn't actually know she knows.

He walks out of the bathroom with his head down, and suddenly, everything he had previously said to her makes sense. It makes so much sense. Of course he was hiding in the bathroom. Of course he didn't want her to see. Of course he made her promise to not laugh. And she tries to keep that promise. Really, she does. But it's simply impossible.

Because her partner's hair is green. There is no other way to put it. A whole section of it is green. Bright green. Not even something that could blend in with his hair either. No. It's just green, and she has no idea how it happened, but she can't quite fight the smile that threatens to spread across her face. And when he tries to glare at her, she can't keep it in and she bursts out laughing.

His cheeks immediately flush, and he folds his arms across his chest. "Penny, you promised!"

She's bent over now, clutching her stomach. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just really funny to me. How did this even happen?"

"Well you know how Jack is doing a show? He didn't want to touch the hair chalk until I tested it on myself, and he was going to be late, so I did, but then he used your hairspray to see what it looks like properly, and now it won't come out."

Penelope tries. She really, well and truly, tries. But she can't keep in her laughter, because it's the dumbest thing she's heard in a while, but it is also such an Aaron and Jack were left alone with something new event to happen that she's not even surprised.

The colour in Aaron's cheeks seems to get even brighter, and Penelope can't help but smile at how pretty he looks when he's flustered like that.

"Well I think you look lovely," she says.

He pouts. "You're just teasing."

She is, but only half. She really does think he's the cutest man to ever walk the planet, and she really thinks green could suit him. But that's probably got more to do with the fact that he's blushing like crazy, and she loves his blush more than anything in the world.

"I'm not teasing! I think you look splendid. Absolutely wonderful. A proper Prince Charming. Completely adorable and so cute. The most handsome man I have ever seen. I could write so many sonnets about how you look, Shakespeare would be quaking in his boots," she says. She's only mildly exaggerating.

Aaron's cheeks have gone so red that Penelope is a tiny bit concerned that she's broken him. "Stop it," he pleads, but he's smiling so he knows that she hasn't gone too far.

"But you're so cute when you blush!" She tells him.

He grins. "I love you."

She kisses his hair, right where the green patch is. "I love you too."

They sit like that for a few minutes. Just enjoying each other's company as Hotch rests his forehead on Penelope's shoulder, allowing her to stroke his hair like he's a cat. Although he doesn't purr, the sigh he lets out is a lot more content than those he let out whilst in the bathroom.

"Penny?" He says after a few minutes.

"Yes my darling?"

"Do I actually look pretty with green hair?"

"Lovely thing, you'll always look pretty to me. But if you want to get it out, I know how to do it quickly and efficiently. Would you like me-"

"Oh absolutely," he says, not even letting her finish her sentence before he's grabbing her hand and dragging her into the bathroom.

Although she washes it all out in one go, and doesn't stop till there are no more traces of it, she does take one photo to remember. And it's as she's washing his hair over the edge of the bathtub that she thinks about how there are an infinite number of ways to say I love you, and somehow, her and Aaron never seem to struggle with new ones.

[ssa25]

Scorched - Dancing with the Devil - Sasuhina Month 2020 - Day 3

Rating: Rating T

Warning: Morally grey Sasuke; Not a romantic story

“If you dance with the devil, then you haven’t got a clue, for you think you’ll change the devil, but the devil changes you.” ― J.M. Smith, If You Dance with the Devil...

Her tired grey eyes disinterestedly drifted over the faint cracks in the wall, over and over again. She had turned her body away from her deskmate, who until a few minutes back, was trying to make small talk with her. Small talk that she didn't have the patience to indulge in today. 

She looked at the occupied benches ahead of her, and found mostly everyone chatting, wiling away their time until Prof. Hatake deemed fit to grace them with his presence. He was notorious for being late to classes while not tolerating tardiness in his pupils. The clock on the wall showed that it was already 15 minutes past 11.

"Hey… um... Are you hurt??", she heard Ren, her deskmate speak to her.

She glanced down her hand to find the long sleeves of her black top had rolled up a little to show her pale wrists. In all its undecorated splendour, except for the harsh red chafing marks on them. She chose not to answer the guy and pulled the sleeves down to her palms to hide the proof of the night before.

She had seen this guy only a few times before. He was supposedly new (because he naively sat beside her), and probably smart (judging by his attendance in an advanced lit class).

“I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to be nosy…”, he said apologetically. He paused for a few seconds before he began again, “I’ve noticed that you always sit by yourself, so I thought of accompa-“

The doors slid open with a loud band against the frame, interrupting the new guy. The whole classroom got quieter too. Those were enough clues for her to know that it was not the Professor. In spite of her racing heart, her eyes looked up to find Uchiha Sasuke staring at her with a less than pleased expression. Her hands grew clammy as she turned her head away from him quickly.

Everyone stared at Sasuke as he climbed up the steps towards her. He was the only person in the whole university that could make the highest authorities quake in their boots. Sole heir to a massive multinational empire, no one could tell him what to do. His story was tragic, his family buried six feet under. Some sympathized with him, others were wary of him. He attended classes whenever he liked, he also walked out of them on a whim. No one could stop or reprimand him. Especially when the Uchiha made the biggest donation to the University every year. His circle of friends included the most dangerous, most loyal and fearless youngsters that roamed the streets of Tokyo.

He stopped right in front of her deskmate. “You’re new here.”, he stated instead of questioning.

The new guy gave a nervous laugh and nodded. His eyes trailed over his inked arm. “I am. I just transferred here a few weeks back! Name’s Ren.”

Sasuke tilted his head and said calmly, “Get the f*ck out of my seat Ren.”

“Y-your seat? But I have never seen you in this class before today?!”, Ren replied with as much guts as he could muster.

Sasuke did not bother replying but fixed him with a glare that made the guy break into a sweat.

Ren turned to Hinata, but she pretended to be unaffected by the exchange that the whole room witnessed.

Afraid to meddle any further with him, Ren quickly picked his books and moved away. Sasuke slid into the seat and sat close to Hinata. He glowered at the onlookers, making them turn away from the couple.

“I thought I asked you to stay put in my room…”, he commented gravely. “Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

Hinata gritted her teeth but refused to look his way. When she spoke, her voice was low but firm, “And I told you yesterday that I did not want to do this anymore.. That I don’t wish to be your girlfriend anymore… But you didn’t listen to me either.”

Sasuke did not even respond to her complaint, but simply pulled her forearm and bared her wrists to see the damage. He tutted disapprovingly, “You struggled too much.”

Hinata was not even surprised to see him blatantly ignore the fact that he was the one who tied her up to his bedpost after their argument. 

He never abused her physically, but the emotional turmoil she went through in the last three months of being his girlfriend was getting to her. He was excessively controlling and possessive, and gave her very little leeway to make her own life decisions. He was dark, dangerous and brooding with the most complex temperament.

Few days back, when she overheard Suigetsu talking to Karin about Sasuke picking out a ring to propose, she grew pale with worry. It was too soon and she was not ready for any commitments, not when she had been having serious doubts about their relationship.

She gathered courage to break up with him, before the situation grew out of control. But he had dismissed her idea, and instead informed her that he planned to marry her, soon after their graduation which was in a few months. She tried to plead him to see reason. But he was firm in his decision and he restrained her when she tried to get away from him.

“Ah, I must inform you… I have fired your dear old Mrs. Sato.”, his voice broke her from her reverie.

Hinata was shocked by his admission. The kind widow was Sasuke’s housekeeper and her saviour that morning. She had taken a huge risk and helped Hinata out of her bindings while Sasuke was taking a shower. Hinata felt guilty because she pleaded with the woman to help her when she came into the room unannounced.

“Why? She did nothing wrong!!”, Hinata said with tears in her eyes. The poor woman probably had nowhere to go.

“Because I detest it when my own people betray my trust…”, he said with zero emotion. “Besides, don’t act like you didn’t know the consequences of your action… You knew it would make me angry, but you still did it… You still wanted her to free you, despite knowing that she would be collateral damage… Hinata, you are more similar to me than you think…”

Hinata was quiet and unable to deny his accusation. She did know that Sasuke would be enraged at Mrs. Sato, but she had never expected him to dismiss her completely.

“I’m the one who should face the consequences, not her.”, she said regretfully.

“People have to be held accountable for their actions… That is what I believe in.”

“Then push me away too… Why do you insist on keeping me?”, she asked him bitterly.

“You are the only exception to the rule, my dear. I plan to keep you by my side, until one of us is on our last breath.”

His words, that sounded like a promise, sent a chill down her spine. She feared not for her life, but for her sanity.

Calling their relationship toxic would be an understatement. And she was fast losing hope of ever getting even a shred of normalcy back in her life.

Prof. Hatake entered leisurely into the classroom right then, and commanded attention from the students.

“Ah, who do we have here?”, the professor looked in their direction and smiled from behind his mask.

Sasuke appeared unperturbed by the mocking glint in the professor’s eyes. That man was his legal guardian until he turned 18, but he was quick to sever relations with him once he became an adult.

“I never knew Uchiha Sasuke had changed his major from Economics to English Lit!!”, Kakashi commented on a lighter note, but his words had an edge that no one missed.

“Mind your own business Kakashi.”, Sasuke sneered at him. 

The students gasped at his incivility, but Kakashi only laughed, as if he was used to insolency from the resident bad boy. Hinata bowed her head to be inconspicuous.

As Professor Hatake started his lesson, Hinata despaired for her bleak future. But she could not blame anyone but herself.

What had she been thinking, she wondered. Why had she ever agreed to go out with him? Why did she let his constant persuasion in the past, bend her will to stay away from him? Had she been so weak to his charms that she had outrightly ignored the alarming rumours about him?

Was it some form of misguided sympathy for him? Or was it some foolish notion in her mind that she could change him? She had been naive and clueless. Because in the end, it was she who had changed.

Hinata swallowed uneasily. She had to get away from Tokyo, because the whole city was his playground. She absolutely had to run away from the devil in disguise. For now, she was only scorched, but she had to save herself from being completely incinerated. 

x

a/n: Was that too much? I really wanted to write something like this, but I feel like I didn’t do it justice. 

[megwritesfanfiction]

Hi! I’m a cluts and just realized I forgot the pairing T^T but #60!! and Kacchako. I just got really excited. Forgive me!!

A/N: Of course forgive no worries there!

AGED UP FANTASY AU“I’m not his girlfriend.”

A slow cruel smirk curled across Bakugo’s lips as he followed her between the trees, “Oh really?”

“Really.” Uraraka’s fists clenched at her sides as she stomped, grass crunching beneath her boots. “And why are you following me?”

“You’re not the only one who needs water, cheeks.”

“Uraraka.”

“Cheeks.”

It was a good thing she’d left her staff back at camp or she would have hit him with it. “Why are you such an asshole?”

“Well, well,” Bakugo chuckled from a few steps behind her. “I gotta give it to that, nerd, you’re a tough one.” He stepped next to her. “Not many people would speak to me that way.”

“First of all,” Uraraka stopped, turning to face him. She swallowed the urge to knock that cocky look off his face. “I don’t know why you have to insult him like that. Deku has done nothing to you, in fact, he told me you two grew up in the same village. You used to be his friend.”

“Let’s get one thing straight-” His lips quickly turned down into a sneer of disapproval. “I was never friends that weakling-”

“That’s not what he said!” she shouted, brows furrowed as she stood unshaken in front of him. Her eyes bore into his.  

“I’m sure he says a lot of shit, but cheeks,” Bakugo took a step closer into her space. “You need to realize there are three fucking sides to every story, including this one. There’s his side-”

The fierceness of his gaze made her stomach quake and her chest constrict.

“My side,” he listed, holding up a second finger, “And the fucking truth. So, maybe, just fucking maybe, you’re on the wrong side. Ya ever think of that cheeks?”

“I’m on my side,” Uraraka told him standing up a little straighter. “I’m here for me.” She hadn’t forgotten why she’d agreed to travel with Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki.

Bakugo sneered laughing bitterly, “Right. You’re telling me if Deku doesn’t water those big sad green puppy dog eyes, you won’t drop everything for him?”

“Just because I care for my friends, like an actual human being, doesn’t mean I’m weak!” she snapped, moving toe to toe with him. “I almost kicked your butt earlier-”

“You used some flashy ass trick that I countered with one blast and left you face down in the dirt,” Bakugo recalled, mockingly tilting his head as he narrowed his eyes in thought.

“I almost had you.”

He couldn’t deny it. “Maybe.”

He also wouldn’t admit it.

Bakugo leaned down, bringing their noses inches apart, “Maybe you would have won if you weren’t so concerned about what those extras thought about you.” His glare relaxed as he studied her face. “You’re so worried about what that nerd thinks and trying to be like him when you don’t know him.”

Her chest heaved as the tangled mess of nerves bubbling at the base of her stomach transformed into something darker. Uraraka allowed her eyes to drift closed for a moment as the breeze whistled by them in the fading daylight. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m saying you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” he warned. “This shit isn’t a joke and that nerd isn’t worth you dying because of some power he isn’t worthy of.”

She frowned, “What power?”

“Ask your boyfriend.”

She was going to hit him.

“But I meant what I said,” Bakugo started, tucking a hand underneath her chin and tilting their eyes to meet. “That fucking nerd isn’t worth dying for.”

“And you are?” she snorted breathlessly as she laughed.

He stared at her intently, his snarky bravado gone, leaving his face vulnerable and serious, “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” she jerked away from his grasp. “I’m not some weak damsel.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“You said-”

“I said you don’t know what’s coming,” Bakugo reminded her. “And I’m telling you that nerd hasn’t told you the truth, and-” He placed his hand underneath her chin again, forcing her to look at him as he pulled her closer to him. “I wouldn’t drag you into my world of shit because I think you need protecting. I wouldn’t do that to you because you’re more than just a fucking sidekick.”

She allowed herself to relax into his touch for a moment. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to seduce me.” It was certainly working. “You seem to be saying all the right things, Bakugo.”

“Good thing you know better.” His hand dropped from her chin as he stepped away from her, continuing his path toward the stream.

[pftones3482]

Gifted, Part 3

More key smashing for the aliens, yay!

Haven’t decided if I’m doing Shiro or not yet, we shall see. 

Lance   Keith   Hunk   Pidge

Under a cut for length, and so you can actually reblog. 

"Guys, I can't hold this that much longer," Hunk growled. Sweat beaded on his forehead and slid down his face, the front of his helmet steaming up. His shoulders were pressed firmly to the wall, which was threatening to collapse at any moment and crush the hundreds of tiny aliens evacuating at his feet.  

Tiny as in the size of a mouse. Hunk had thought the Arusians were small and cute, and then Pidge had brought back those weird poofy aliens from her trash nebula, but the Alsudifno's were an entirely different story. They looked in every way like humans, except they had pointed ears with tiny tufts of hair on the top, they didn't have pupils, and they were the size of a pet hamster. The fact that they had even managed to pick up their distress signal was a feat in and of itself.  

Long story short, their planet was collapsing, similar to the Balmera. The Alsudifno's lived on a planet rich in both liquid and solid fuel, and the Galra had torn it apart in their ravaging. Because of their size, the inhabitants of the planet had gone unconquered. But unlike the Balmera, Alsudifno could not replenish itself. The lack of core and oil in it's system caused the planet to crumble, and because of this, the paladins hadn't been able to bring their lions to the surface.  

"Hunk, you need to hold for just a little longer!" Shiro shouted. He was opposite Hunk on the far side of the wall, a pinprick in the distance. Between them was a device that Pidge had brought down that resembled a car-jack, and that was what was sustaining the center. The wall was too heavy for the other three paladins to hold.  

They in turn were shuttling the Alsudifno's back and forth to the castle on the tiny pod they had flown down. Pidge was staying planet side to keep an eye on readings, and Keith was piloting while Lance loaded them on board.  

There were thousands of the aliens, and the pod could only hold so many at a time, so it was slow going. If the wall they were clinging to collapsed, they'd be crushed under what, to them, felt like literal tons of rock and earth.  

From what Hunk could tell, the wall acted like a massive apartment building. According to the king, Risnad, it held forty stories, with nearly 7000 apartments per floor.  Hunk had done the math. That was almost 300,000 civilians.  

He cursed and shifted his feet in the dirt, watching where he stepped carefully. Luckily, the Alsudifno's were making a wide berth around both him and Shiro to avoid that exact problem.  

The wall quaked ever so slightly under his shoulder and Hunk grunted, spreading his arms wider. "It's not gonna hold longer! How many are left?"  

One of the Alsudifno's scrambled up his suit and perched on his shoulder to answer. "Nearly a thousand still here in the building! Your blue paladin can't shove more than 2,000 of us in at a time. There are more waiting. The apartments are almost clear, we have soldiers checking each floor. Once the last has reported, we don't have to worry about the building structure any longer."

The ground shook under them and Hunk swallowed, shutting his eyes. "It's not the apartment I'm worried about."  

Pidge came running over, picking her way as fast as possible around the Alsudifno's, and lifted her visor. She was sweating badly, and Hunk had to admit that the planet was growing warmer. Only Keith would be totally unaffected by the heat. "The internal structure of the planet isn't going to last longer than another ten minutes," she said, her eyes anxious. "There's still almost four thousand of them left."  

Hunk let out a frustrated groan. "Can't Lance like...get Blue and freeze the planet together? Or you in Green and the vine thingys?"  

Pidge wrinkled her nose. "We could try, but then we'd be making it harder on Keith. Lance has a system to get everyone in safely and quickly. Shiro's side of the building is almost empty, so he's going to let go soon and help us."  

"Wait, so I have to-?"

"I'm sorry, Hunk."  

He gritted his teeth and glanced at the ground. His arms strained at the wall and his legs felt like jelly. "There's gotta be something faster we can do."  

Pidge shook her head. "We could get Allura down here in another pod, but it might cause the outer layer to crumble even faster. Us being on the planet isn't helping."

Lance shouted for her and she ran off, the Alsudifno's clearing the way for her as quickly as possible.  

The Alsudifno still on his shoulder gave a weary sigh, her head bowing. Hunk glanced at her, eyebrows crinkling. "We do not want to risk you paladins dying," she said, her voice low. "Our people still on the planet have agreed that, should the ground become unstable for you five, you must leave with those you have managed to save. At the least, our race will continue."

Hunk scowled. "No way. We're not leaving people to die. You- what's your name?"  

"Iadinas, sir."  

"No sir. Iadinas, go tell your commander that everyone is getting out. We're not leaving anyone behind if I can help it."  

Iadinas tilted her head and crossed her arms over her uniform. It was a simple black suit, what looked like a t-shirt and combat boots, but it was clear and easy to tell who a soldier was and was not, because the civilians wore much more colorful clothing. Her teal colored irises were startlingly fierce. "Sir, you can't prevent the collapse of this planet. We are not risking you for-"

"Just go tell your commander, all right?"

She sighed but saluted and then slid down his suit, sprinting into the crumbling apartment.  Hunk clenched his jaw and shut his eyes, reaching out to the yellow lion with his mind. "Come on, girl. I need you right now."

She responded, gentle and anxious in his mind, but there was nothing she could do from where she hovered above him. Her claws would do nothing but destroy the ground under them, and Pidge's vines wouldn't hold this for much longer. Not to mention, excess vines and ice everywhere might make the escape route more treacherous.  

Hunk was irritated. He was frustrated. The Galra couldn't leave anything be, couldn't let anything go untouched. Of course he knew that not all the Galra did that, but the empire was a leech, and it was killing innocent lives.  

The ground shifted under his feet again and Lance yelped somewhere off to his left. Hunk whirled, keeping his hands firmly spread on the wall, to look at his friend in time to see Shiro yank him back by the collar of his suit from where the ground had literally fallen from under his feet.  

Lance twisted back. "HUNK! Are they out?"  

Iadinas appeared on his shoulder as if Lance had cued her there. "Yes sir. I will watch until they are out of the collapse zone, and then you can let go and get to your lion."  

"Then go!"  

"I'm watching from here, sir. I can see better from high up. The commander and the rest of my unit is running the tail."  

Hunk's arms strained under the effort of the wall, which seemed to be pulled further by gravity every tick he stood there. He counted approximately three more minutes went by before Iadinas spoke again. "Good. Move, now."  

Hunk leapt back from the wall, letting it crumble to the ground. The jack in the center collapsed as well, and the planet quaked around him. "Shit," he muttered. "Let's go."  

Iadinas clung to his suit collar as Hunk ran, ushering the still scattering civilians along ahead of him.  

The ground shuddered again, and Hunk caught sight of the horrified looks of his friends before the ground under him and almost four dozen Alsudifno's fell through the center of the earth.  

Lance's shout echoed through Hunk's ears. "NO!"  

He didn't think. Yellow snarled in his mind and Hunk threw his arms out, expecting to brace them on the crumbling inner layer of the planet. Instead, the earth around them flung outwards and down, gathering under them into a solid platform that caught Hunk with an almost cushion like effect.  

For a moment, there was dead silence. It was broken by Lance's shouting from above them, and then Pidge's and Shiro's. Hunk forced himself to ignore them for a moment and he glanced down at the Alsudifno's that had gathered around his feet. "Is everyone all right?"  

There was a small chorus of yes's from the ground around Hunk and then Iadinas piped up at his ear. "How are you stopping us, Sir?"  

"Stop with the Sir already," Hunk groaned before glancing around. "And I really don't know. I'm kind of doing this on instinct." On a whim, he lowered his hands slowly, and the ground they stood on rumbled lower into the hole. "Okay, so down is down and up is up. Glad at least that hasn't changed."  

On the outside, Hunk seemed calm. On the inside, he was a mixture of elated and terrified. He lifted his arms again slightly, concentrating on the dirt around them, and slowly they moved upwards again. The ground wasn't floating, it was more like crawling, which was a creepy thing to watch happen. He ignored it and shut his eyes, letting his shoulders relax and Yellow's scared demeanor wash over his mind.  

What do I do?  

She rumbled, pride in her throat, and Hunk frowned, swinging one of his arms to the front and flipping the hand over so that it rested palm up. A mass of dirt slid to the edge of the lump they hovered on and climbed over top of itself until it formed a ramp to the top, small enough for the Alsudifno's to climb up. "Out, now."  

The soldiers on the ground ushered the civilians ahead, two at a time, and Hunk forced himself to focus only on the feeling of the dirt under his feet and around him. As long as he didn't look down, as long as he couldn’t see the gaping hole under them, he could pretend that he was standing on solid ground.  

"Sir," Iadinas said, her voice soft. Hunk jolted, not having realized she was still there. "The soldiers have gotten everyone out."

"Okay. You go."  

"No sir."  

Hunk huffed and opened his eyes, licking his lips and eyeing the fifteen feet of dirt above him. Around him, the planet groaned and rocked, and Hunk could tell that he was basically the only reason this part hadn't fully collapsed yet. "I don't know how to get myself out, Ia. You need to go."  

"Your friends cannot be here to support you, so I will stay. Just do what you are doing already – move up the wall."  

His friend's shouts had quieted, most likely because they were helping the civilians, but Hunk knew they were worried. He could almost feel it. He knew they were worried because if he was in their situation, he'd be worried too. He shut his eyes once more and curled his fingers in a bit. The walls of dirt around him rumbled in displeasure but complied, curling down instead of him pushing himself up.  

"Good, Sir. The dirt is at eye level now."  

Hunk pried open his eyes and slumped in relief, sliding his hands down and flattening his palms in front of him so that the ground was solid. One step at a time, he crossed the rickety platform he had created until he was directly next to the wall, which was indeed at eye level.  

"Sir, you're sweating."  

Hunk swallowed. His mouth was ridiculously dry, and he could feel the drops of sweat curling down his face. "I know," he rasped. "This is way harder than I thought."  

"Hunk!"  

That was Shiro, close by, and Hunk breathed. "One sec!" he croaked.  

"The civilians are loaded, Keith is taking the last of them. It's just you and me here, buddy!"  

Hunk nodded and pushed his hands up until he was at chest level with the ground. He crawled his way out, grunting in exhaustion, and flopped down on the still unstable dirt. A hand settled on his shoulder and he peered up at Shiro, who was watching him in a proud kind of concerned way. "You okay to move? Pidge estimates less than three minutes before the total collapse of the planets, and we need the lions."  

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go."  

~~

Hunk found the rest of the Alsudifno's crowding the med bay, each of them getting checked out individually by their own doctors. Iadinas, clinging to his shoulder, pointed. "My sister and father are there," she said.  

Hunk climbed around and over the tiny aliens until he reached one of the exam tables, overflowing with the Alsudifno's. A young Alsudifno, smaller than the others surrounding her and with ears too big for her head, squealed. "Iadinas!" 

She hopped down from Hunk's shoulder and embraced the tiny girl, swinging her in delight. Her ears twitched as her father swung in from behind, and she glanced up at Hunk with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Hunk."  

His lips curled upwards and he gave her a salute before crossing the floor once more and exiting the med bay.  

He found Lance and Keith sitting in the kitchen, each holding a mug of something hot. Lance was staring at it with a wrinkled nose and Keith was just glaring at the liquid like it had personally offended him. Pidge was passed out in a chair on the far end of the table, her glasses lopsided on her nose and her computer open in front of her.  

They glanced up when he walked in and Hunk hesitated, fingers twitching at his sides. Lance's easy grin relaxed him, and Keith had a proud glint in his eyes.  

"Like...like Avatar, right?"  

Lance snorted and took a swig of his drink, gagging on it the second it hit his lips. Keith just grinned. "Sure seems to be turning out that way, huh?"  

[gotgifsandmusings]

Quick asks roundup

I’m going out of town this afternoon for labor dabor, and probably won’t be around much during the weekend. Thought I’d answer a few asks below--just a grab bag, with a vague focus on S7. Should be able to do a video one of these next week, and Julia and I are eyeing a UBS podcast episode pretty soon too.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: Have you read David Benioff's book City of Thieves? I'm curious how it compares to GoT.

I haven’t, no. I’m not sure if that’s something I want to subject myself to (it has been mostly positively received from what I know, though not across the board) when there’s so much I’ve been putting off reading as it is.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: Is cerseï pregananant in the boox?

She’s actually gregnant.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: Just read your criticism about Fair Game and wholeheartedly agree. You touched on the core of why your (and Julia's and Caroline's and Jess' and Turtle's) GoT analysis are so great: they understand the intersection of narrative flaws and social issues. Sure, some people may complain that they don't want "SJW" stuff, except, y'know, you don't stop being a feminist when you write a review. As you say, media is not produced in a cultural vacuum. Sadly, I admit I feel reluctant to...... Actively criticize GoT with people around me because the ones who dislike it also dislike ASOIAF and fantasy/sci-fi ("The show is bad because GRRM is a bad writer who isn't really character-driven, but it's not surprising since genre stuff is awful"). That sucks :(

Yes, exactly! This is in reference to this piece by myself and Julia, btw. That’s really depressing about that perception of genre fic, especially given what Martin does being so unique. I’ve never particularly understood that attitude; I want to read about cool places and stuff happening as much as I want to read about weighty character journeys, and why scoff at any that pull off both? Though Julia has a piece on that too. 

But absolutely, as we said, it’s asinine to ignore the ways culture shapes media and vice versa, and often the reason the writing is so poor is because it’s so sensationalist or reliant on shitty tropes and stereotypes. “Just enjoy it (or critique) without focusing on social issues” is the ultimate sign of privilege, and it drives me crazy because it’s tossed out as an appeal to “objectivity.” IF YOU’RE IGNORING PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCES YOU’RE ALREADY NOT BEING OBJECTIVE.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: I'm curious why you guys interpret Cersei's internalized misogyny as nothing to do with gender dysphoria. All because Cersei doesn't break down during her period doesn't mean you must read her as cisgendered. She treats femininity like her least-favorite subject in school, not like part of herself. You're welcome to read her story as about women internalizing misogyny, but her thoughts feel familiarly trans, and outright denying that reading closer-to-earths her

This is really interesting, and my assumption would definitely a result of my own distance with that experience. Are there any metas on it? I haven’t really considered this before (I’ve seen the case argued for Brienne), and I’m not very convinced Martin had much intentionality here, but that’s a reading of her character I’d definitely like to learn/think more about.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: How can Euron "Crow's Eye, Terror of Pentos" Greyjoy come across as such a wimpy villain that I'm missing Ramsay? Hell, effing Joffrey could have torn that cuddly pooh bear a new one.

But...he’s the storm. You weren’t quaking in your boots when his fleet armada magically descended on Yara’s?

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: I haven't seen anyone else comment on this, but did you notice Cheryl says "You expect me to command our troops to fight beside foreign scum?" almost immediately before telling Jaime she's bringing the foreign Golden Company from Essos to fight beside their troops? Do you think the writers ever make it to second drafts or do they just knock out the first on the back of a Hooters napkin over Natty Ices and fist bumps and say, nah, we're good bro?

A showpologist would tell you it’s clearly demonstrating what a horrible hypocrite she is and actually rather cutting commentary.

It’s really, really hard for me to imagine a world where Operation Capture a Wight received a look-over. A whole lot of what they do feels thoroughly unedited.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: Hey, I really appreciate all your GoT analysis. 1) Is Cheryl's assistant actually Ezri Dax? 2) Did you see Linda's episode review where she called D&D "smug idiots?" 3) Is it possible to enjoy GoT as schlock? I can't and don't, but It is certainly bad enough and dumb enough. Thanks!

Thank you :)

1) According to wikipedia, Ezri Dax’s actor is currently starring in “Corrupt aka Trust No One” and “Where’s my Baby”, but I’m glad you made me look her up, because the resemblance there is quite uncanny. The maid is played by Sara Dylan, and has actually been a consistent, recurring character since Season 2. Apparently her name is “Bernadette” because why not.

2) Was it her newest review? I do listen to those in the background of work when I’m doing spreadsheet kind of stuff, so I may not have caught that exact phrase, but I did hear the part where she basically said “just don’t even bother writing a plot. Only write battles because everything else is terrible.”

3) I mean, the people enjoying GoT are watching schlock, so it must be possible. I happen to think the ardent defenders/honeypotters aren’t the majority, and most people turn it on to watch dragons for 60 minutes, then talk about how cool the dragons looked the next day at work. It’s just that GoT comes with a stamp of “SMART ADULT SHOW” for reasons that will never cease to amaze me. So yeah, totally, but for me, I have a hard time enjoying something when the more you think about it, the worse it gets.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: I would bet my right hand that someone in the GoT writers' room probably rewatched season 1 which is why there's so many callbacks to it like Arya's "that's not you", Dany's infertility, Bran's "I told you not to trust me", etc etc. Like it just seems so obvious that they realized they ran out of content and decided to just revisit past seasons to make themselves seem smart and like they planned ahead so much.

Oh 100%. Season 1 was this year’s Lord of the Rings, which they had obviously binged before last year. I love it because then all the critics are like, “ohh my god it’s so well-planned and deep.” But no. It’s essentially grinning into the camera going “remember when?”, completely on par with Gendry’s boat joke.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: The writers gave up 3 seasons ago, but it feels like no one was really trying this year. The cast looked bored. The wigs were trash: Dany's fire-proof wig is also boatsex-proof and freezing wind-proof. The costumes were either too anachronistic for a so-called prestiege Medievalesque Drama or straight up uninspired: Cersei's modern office wear, Dany and LF are shopping at the same department store, Lyanna S dressed up for a college roman-themed party. I guess the special effects were ok.

I’m very, very hesitant to call out costuming because I know Michele Clapton is like, making up these immaculate honeypots and ordering the finest fabrics from Lithuania to pull everything together. But...yeah, as a viewer everything was kind of clearly ridiculous (Euron’s jacket), and EVERYTHING WAS BLACK with the exception of Deadpan’s coat, that was, I’m sorry, objectively hideous. The reason people fawned over it was because it was actually contrasting the blah they had been seeing all season.

As for the cast, I mean...I think these guys are decent actors who get into their roles when they can. But who could get into anything happening at this point? Stuff happens, don’t question it. The directing was probably fine (I don’t know enough about that stuff), but when the script is fundamentally lazy and uninspired, it’s going to bleed into everything.

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: (Regarding episode 7) So the only leak that didn't come true was "Cersei's" bed of blood prediction and I'm wondering if she'll miscarry next season because morally evil incest women like Cheryl don't deserve babies while morally good (with the help of our friendzoned Saint T🙏) incest women like Deadpan get to conquer infertility and birth a Targ with the help of Jonny Cardboard's magic seed. That would be one boring Aegon 2(3?) infant. Thoughts?

Honestly, I can’t make heads or tails of why she was even pregnant. Larry didn’t need that to stay on her side at all, and the only thing I can think was that it added an extra TWIST for us. Haha, viewer! You thought she might have actually wanted to fight the threat because of her unborn kid and how many times we’ve told you her only redeeming quality is her motherhood, but now she’s EVHUL and even idealized motherhood can’t save her!

I guess it’s...kind of trope busting?

I kind of agree though, I don’t see them letting a BAD woman give birth and mother. At the same time, I don’t see how enough time can even pass where this would be a relevant plot-point to anything. So...I just, I don’t get it. I’ve gotta figure out how to structure my sexism & s7 analysis, and going back and revisiting Cheryl is probably going to be one of the most confused parts of it. I see many paths for how this unfolds, and none of them are really too promising.

Alrighty, gotta cut it here for today. Everyone have a safe labor day weekend (I guess there’s no heightened risk for non-Americans, but a safe weekend all the same), and I’ll talk to you guys later!