#i wouldn't say im fully over it and i dont think i ever will be but im coming to terms with it or whatever

[phantastragoria]

Not sure if it's okay to send you this ask but I actually feel the same way you do about the end of vol 3 and I've been feeling pretty alone about it. I haven't said much because I don't want to seem like I'm being mean about the movie. I think my issue is the team hasn't spent years and years together. Most of them were snapped for 5 years. When they came back Gamora was dead and then Peter was clearly left suffering and dealing with the trauma for a while. I can live with the idea of "we've all grown to need time apart and want to do our own things" but I don't think the build up and execution was there. Not just for those on the team but also 2014 Gamora who was literally just coming back to the story and finally getting to see who these people were and what her life was once about. Then it's over and it doesn't feel like enough of a resolution. I also don't love how Gamora was treated which is a whole other topic but I disliked how it seems like there hasn't been any issue with her death for anyone but Peter. There doesn't even seem to be any memories of her lingering with the team. I have so many thoughts around this that I'll be thinking about it for a while but man, she was murdered by her abuser and most of her family are victims of abuse and I dont think the aftermath has been handled very well at all. Mostly I think there needed to be another movie In between Endgame and vol 3 to hash out what happened in Infinity War/Endgame and to progress some of the characters more and build up to the more Rocket focused ending where they all part ways. Or vol 3 needed to not be quite as focused on Rocket. Not saying he shouldn't have the most focus, just scale it back a little because other things desperately needed attention.

Oh it's absolutely fine to send an ask about this!!! I'm always up for a discussion, and honestly, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only person not completely happy with the ending, solidarity my friend.

I want to preface this all with I DON'T hate the film, and I thought it was way better on a 2nd viewing, but I really don't think it's a crime to criticize it because nothing is perfect (Vol. 1 + 2 aren't either) But Vol. 3 really has some deeply ingrained issues that should've been dealt with, or at the very least acknowledged, because as it is they really stand out, especially on a second viewing or if you've marathoned all the films together, and they literally drag the film down.

Gunn said on Twitter in response to something that he wanted Vol. 3 to be able to stand on its own without the viewer needing to have seen the other films (and by extension IW+EG) but that is so unhinged when it's literally titled as the third in the series at this point lol. Like it's extremely weird to have let IW+EG affect the Guardians as much as they did and then not even try and deal with the aftermath of it all in the last film featuring (almost) everyone together... ???

He's made it clear Rocket is his favorite and that he only came back to do Vol. 3 because he wanted to finish his story, I don't doubt that's true even if I think having a single character be more important than the others is the wrong choice and leaves the whole story as a trilogy a bit lopsided. But even so, if that's the case then it's crazy to not even have Rocket's thoughts on all of these things that've happened in the last decade as if it wouldn't be traumatic to lose your loved ones for years, and how hard it would be to readjust to life after it all. I kind of can't see him letting everyone leave so easily at the very end, especially after he almost died, so I'm just left feeling confused at the choice at best and vaguely unsatisfied at worst.

Maybe Gunn didn't have as much control over their appearances in IW+EG as he says he did. Maybe they really did completely derail the road to Vol. 3 and he just won't admit it, but the film as it is doesn't help in any way by pretending nothing there happened at all. I don't see any logical reason for the audience to just go along with "For some reason Gamora left, she might've died but also maybe not, who knows. Peter is sad and the rest of the team want to move onto something else. " and then the only hint at that last part is... Mantis telling Peter to go see his grandpa, so that leads to everyone else having a change in goals too, huh. I know it's not meant to be forever, and we're to assume everyone keeps in contact with each other, but the ending really makes it feel like no, we'll never all be together again, so bah.

And concerning Gamora, I agree with what you've said. I could write an entire book with my issues of her overall treatment in the narrative and the implications of her character from the comics getting adapted like this, but I'll spare you the speech and just say the TLDR is everything starting from IW onwards concerning her (the specific framing around her murder and then time travel bringing in 2014-Gamora, and the complete lack of acknowledgement about either version of her from the rest of the team) never should've happened. It's all such a mind-boggling choice, I can't get over how much of an afterthought Gunn made her at the very last minute.

It's funny you mention the need for another film to deal with the emotional fallout of everything post-Vol. 2, because absolutely, but they kind of had the chance??? I realize the Holiday Special isn't film length and is meant to be the calm before the storm of everything that's to come, but in a post-Vol. 3 world I can't stop thinking about how it was SUCH a missed opportunity to not have that be the sobering moment for the characters to talk about everything that happened in the years everyone was snapped. It could've even been the perfect time to plant the metaphorical plot seeds of everyone wanting to go and do their own things after what happened because they just can't make life feel the exact same as it was before, and understanding things can never be the same after something like that.

Even the last lines of the song used in the Holiday Special feels more appropriate for the Guardians as a family struggling to keep it all together (and trying to deal with the sudden loss of Gamora) than it relates to Peter and Yondu, in my opinion.

I would have preferred a more out-there story in general, something to give everyone equal stakes in the plot, but I do think Vol. 3 could have stayed overall the same if any of this was addressed or even mentioned in one or two lines of dialogue somewhere. Because as it is, it really feels like we missed something important between it all, but we didn't from what we we've been shown. I don't think it would have killed Gunn to include a quick moment where someone just says to Peter "I miss her too and I get everything's been way harder lately, but you can't let it grind your life to a complete halt like this." or something!! ANYTHING!!!

And if we absolutely had to stick with the time displaced Gamora plot... When she was snooping around on the Bowie by herself i dont get why she didn't get to see some old photos or something of the team during happier times (including 2018-Gamora specifically) and realizing that they really are going so far to save Rocket because they genuinely love him, and once upon a time they loved her too. 2014-Gamora getting to see the life she very nearly COULD have had within mere hours in her own timeline (without the threat of Thanos ever taking that away, mind you) but having to come to terms with the life she's made with the Ravagers in the present day. That would've been a more appropriate arc for her, I think, then her presence in the story wouldn't have had to only center around what Peter lost and nothing else and we'd at least get the idea that the others still had her on their minds even if they outwardly "moved on."

But also? Another missed opportunity to not have a moment when 2014-Gamora is in a battle with the other Ravager leaders mirroring the hallway scene with the Guardians that could have been when Peter (and the audience) "get" who she's currently more comfortable with in a basic sense, but... you know... it is what it is or whatever.

[icaruspendragon]

im sorry to ask but i dont know what else to do—how did you do it how did you dig yourself out because it feels like i am choking on dirt and people keep shoveling it onto me and i miss her so much and i dont know how to make this feeling stop. she was my best friend. ive never lived in a world without her before. how did you do it. how are you doing it

grief is so hard and so heavy when we first meet it. it feels like all our arms will ever hold for the rest of forever. and it is, in a sense. once we pick it up, we never really set it down. not fully.

and I don't think it gets lighter, I think we somehow, impossibly, get stronger.

there's lots of metaphors for grief. that's one of them. another one I like to use is that it feels like you're in the grave with them. like lazarus. like yourself. waiting for someone to raise you from the dead. to raise you both.

I've learned a lot about crawling out of the grave. more than I would have ever wanted to learn. like how emptiness is actually quite heavy. or how to pretend like you feel half-alive. but I think the most important thing I've learned is that somedays, we inexplicably end up back in it. and that sucks.

because we just spent months clawing our way through the bugs and the earth. because our soldier-hands have finally breached the surface. because the sun is finally caressing our hell-fresh faces. because for the first time in months we feel like we can finally breath. and then, suddenly, we're right back in the terrible thick of it.

those days make it feel like I'm sisyphus and grave dirt is my rock. or like I'm prometheus and the darkness is my eagle.

but then it's tuesday.

which is to say my brother died on my 25th birthday, a monday. and that day is now a memory that's fuzzy around the edges. single snapshots I know are connected, but I couldn't tell you how. I remember my mother standing in my bedroom and tears and family and phone calls and cleaning my living room because I didn't know what to do with my hands. I remember going to my grandmothers and my phone vibrating off the table and leaving to go get coffee because I couldn't sit still. I remember joking, trying to joke. trying to do whatever I could to make sense of that impossible day. I remember checking my phone and reading and rereading the messages, a mixed bag of congratulations for surviving another year and condolences that my brother didn't, I remember not knowing how to respond to any of them. so I didn't. I remember being surrounded by so many people doing nothing but extending love and kindness to me and never feeling more alone. the world was ending and I was alone. I thought that day would go on forever.

but it didn't.

it ended, as all things do. monday was over and my first day as an only child was done.

and suddenly it was tuesday. and everything was different but also exactly the same.

it was tuesday and my brother was dead. I was so heavy when I woke up that first tuesday. so heavy and confused. I thought the world had ended. it surely felt like it had. but it hadn't. because the world couldn't have ended on monday.

not if it was tuesday.

it was tuesday and my brother was dead but the world wasn't ending. monday should have been our demise, but it wasn't. and it hasn't. and it won't. because just as sure as we have mondays, we'll always have tuesdays.

that's something I've taken a strange comfort in, knowing that we'll always have tuesdays.

the feeling never stops. but I think that's okay. because you're only feeling that way because there was love first. and as much as what I felt on that first tuesday hurts, as much as it suffocates, as much as it consumes, I'd take the hurt and the suffocation and the consumption because the love I felt first will always, always be worth it.

tuesdays will always be worth it.

like yeah, if I loved less, it wouldn't hurt this bad. but I don't want to live in a world where I have to love less. where I was loved less.

I'll take the pain. I'll take the grave days. I'll take the rock. I'll take the eagle. I'll take apocalyptic, earthshaking mondays. I'll take every last wretched bit because goddamn what a miracle it is to love so bad it hurts this big.

I hold that love, his love for me and my love for him, a love that's now become our love in the cage of my ribs while I'm in the cage of the grave. and I dig.

it's monday and I dig.

I dig.

and then tuesday comes.

[luv3rx]

" Patience "

─ LEE TAEYONG X F!READER ♡

─ Taeyong fucks you after getting distracted by you while working on his mini album˚◞♡

─ 1.7k words

─ Smut, dom!Tae, Sub!reader, artist bf!Tae, praises, pet names(Baby and princess), choking, slight rough sex, slight breeding kink?, Unprotected sex.

─ A/n: IM DEFINITELY HAVING THS ALBUM ON REPEAT. ITS LITERALLY SO FIRE. Plus the concept photos literally have me on my knees for this man. Maybe This is just a little drabble. I was writing this at 3-4 am so I was tired asf. this is my first ever smut so please tell me if I did well or better. I enjoy feedback.

Taeyong 🔛🔝

Taeyong was really hyped about his new album. that's all he would talk about. He would constantly show the lyrics he worked on or would let you listen to the beats.

He would take you with him to every concept photoshoot and let you take some pictures of your own. He enjoys when you show support of his passion and excitement. He always tells your support makes him want to work harder and push himself as far as he can.

Of course he does try and make time for you in between. He wouldn't want to ever leave you out. You were the only thing keeping him moving and giving him motivation.

You were his antidote to keep him pushing and you were all the feedback he needed. No one else's opinion mattered except yours. If you liked it he would continue and if you find like it he would instantly scrap it.

He would constantly insist in using your voice for ad-libs but you would always deny and say you wouldn't want to hear your voice in a song when you already hear it enough. He was very upset about it but did didn't want to push you so he just decided to pay someone else to do itm

︶︶︶︶︶︶

“Babyyy! How much longer are you gonna work?! Im bored..” You complained sitting in the lounge chair behind Taeyong in his studio as he was working on another one of his songs for his album.

He was instinctively focused. He hadn't looked away from his computer screen yet. He could hear you whining behind him from one ear being uncovered by the headphones he wore on his head.

“Im almost finished. Just maybe a few more things I have to do. Be patient for me, baby.” He pleaded because your whining was making him want to just quit was doing and go to you but this album was something he had been striving for awhile now. He needed to get it finished, now or never.

“But it feels like we've been in here for hours and I need you..!” you whine even louder stretching yourself out on the lounge chair. You layed your head on the arm of the chair and groaned as he ignored you.

You sit up and watch him glare at you through the glass of the studio mic room. You glare right back him and roll your eyes. You would have been on your phone but he told you to leave it home so you could watch him work and motivate him but that backfired. You sigh heavily and decide to leave. You picked up your shoulder bag and heading towards studio door but the call of your name from Taeyong cause you to turn back around.

“Baby don't leave yet.. I need you.. I can't focus without you..” he implied as he finally removes his focus from the computer and towards you. He fully removed the headphones on his head. He put on his best begging face. He deep down did need you to focus but he also wanted you to just be near him.

“Well your more focused on that stupid computer. i think you need it more than me.. but I guess I'll stay.” You pout and sigh as you walk back over to the lounge chair but Taeyong calls out to you again.

“Dont say that ever and No, don't sit there. C'mere and sit on my lap, since you need me so bad.” He backs his up his chair and pats his lap for to come sit. He was in desperate need to be close to you right now. He was more desperate to be finished and be able to be with you too but he didn't wanna rush. This was an important project for him.

You hesitantly sat on his lap and he instantly wrapped his arms around your waist and held you for a bit. He took in the scent of your perfume and groaned.

“You always smell so good baby. Your making me crave you more.” He whined burying his face in the crook of your neck. His hands held on to your waist as he continued to take in your perfumes scent. He would be lying straight through his teeth if he'd say that this wasn't slightly turning him on.

He was finally able to push away his dirty thoughts and instantly got back to work. You on the other hand was needy for him to touch you and fuck so you decide to tease his a bit. You would slightly just rub yourself against him, to hopefully distract him.

You were slightly shifting on his lap and eyed even his slight movements. Taeyong was clearly unaware of what was going on your head but when you began to rub against he felt his breathe hitch in his throat. His hands stopped moving along his computer. His whole body pretty much came to a halt.

He tried to hold back any lewd sounds that was tempted to slip out. His breathes were shallow as he tried to keep himself focus and ignore any sexual frustration that was getting pent up right now.

“Y/n. Stop and sit still for me. Your driving me crazy right now..” He hissed. Both of his hands instantly went to hold your hips, his nails digging harshly into your hips. He head was hidden in the crook of your neck. You could feel his warm breath against your neck.

“But, Tae.. I need you baby.. really bad..” You whined. Rocking down against him again. His nails dug deeper into your hips as he breathes became more shallow. That's when you felt it. His hardened dick was poking against your covered cunt. He smirked at your sudden mood change when you felt him against you.

“Why so quiet now, baby? You were very vocal about how you wanted me so bad. I'll give you just what you want.” He started kissing your neck and grinding against you. He was mesmerized by the moans and whimpers that left you. It only made him want you more. He was quick to slide his hands up your skirt and rub your inner thigh, he wanted to tease you and make you beg for it.

His hand went higher up your inner thigh just close enough to your cunt. He looked up at you with his lustful gaze. He needed you badly and this was making his just as needy as you. 'Fuck it.' he thought to himself before pushing your panties to the sides and sliding 2 fingers between your folds, collecting your slick. He hummed and sucked your slick in his fingers, groaning.

“I would let you sit on my face but fuckk I'm absolutely do needy to feel that pussy around my cock.” He backs up his chair and makes you stand as he slides down his shorts. His dick immediately springs out from him not wearing boxers. He hissed from the feeling of his dick finally being free from it's containment. He stroked his dick a few times before motioning for you to cmere. He made you hover just above his dick and looked up at you with a big dough eyes.

“Tae please just fuck me..!” You whined slightly sinking down on his dick. You didn't really have to tell him twice. He instantly slammed himself into you. He didn't even give you enough time to adjust as he was instantly fucking in n out of you. He had wrapped his arms around your waist and had his face buried between your chest.

You bounced against him trying to match his utterly fast thrust but failed miserably as he was fucking you like an wolf in heat. He was drowning in your moans, Turning him on more. He was completely ignoring your pleas for him to slow down. He was to lost in his own thoughts and he wasn't gonna stop until your leaking with his cum.

“T-Tae, I'm gonna cum! Don't stop..” You begged. He instantly stopped and pulled out of you. You whined at the feeling of your orgasm being denied and the feeling of being empty.

“What are you-” “Just changing positions, princess.”. He replied after cutting you off. He picked you up and brought you over to the lounge chair and layed you out on your bag with you legs spread. He instantly slipped back into you and started pounding into you once again. He wrapped his hand around you neck while the other held your thigh. He couldn't help but lean down and kiss you harshly. Your lips plump and soft against his.

He pulled away from the kiss and lightly squeezed tighter around your throat. He watched as his dick slipped in n out of your cunt. He smirked when he watched your eyes in the back of your head, clearly fucked out from the way he was destroying your cunt right now. His dick was hitting your cervix repeatedly from this angle.

“C-cum.. I'm gonna cum..!” was all you were able to muster out before you released along his dick. You were completely out of it. Taeyong smirked to himself, proud that he was able to fuck you out of your mind like this. His pace didn't seize just yet. He slipped out of you and quickly slipped himself back in.

You were an total wreck under him from the overstimulation. his pace slightly seized as he felt himself about to cum. He pumped in n out of you a few more times before he felt himself release his seed inside you. He let himself sit inside for a little bit before pulling out quickly and pulling your panties back over to cover your cunt. Even tho it was an amazing sight to watch is seed drip out of you but he wanted your cunt to savor it.

He fixed himself back up and sit on the couch next to you. He knew you were completely out of it and had fallen asleep so he pulled you back into his lap and held you. He wrapped his coat over your shoulders and held you close.

He had completely forgotten about the song he was working on. He was to deep in thought and to focused on you. He didn't want to wake you so he decided to head home later in the morning.

He just sat there and held you. He kissed your cheek before dozing off along with you..

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱

[angeamant]

my disappearance ♡

hiii this is cynthia most commonly known as gentlehue/jgracie/irlangelics <3 i wasnt gonna make a post like this for reasons i'll go thru under the cut but after having three of you reach out to me on pinterest i thought it'd be unfair to leave everyone in the dark 💗 tagging @luvusrry @findmeonvenus / @daystarpoet and @bloodwrittenletters thank u for checking up on me lovelies xx

okay so the main reason i deactivated yesterday was because i realised being on here was negatively impacting my productivity LOL as you all probably know (because i never shut up about it) im in my second to last year of high school and everything i do now and next year is what has the largest impact on what uni i get into which then has a pretty big impact on where i end up in the future basically LMAO 😭 my life is so busy these days between doing the whole ib itself which im still getting used to since the british system is so structured and tells you exactly what to do in comparison to ib where a lot of it is you doing your own thing & prepping for uni by researching diff courses and the lnat which is an exam i'll have to sit in order to apply to study law & also getting back into all my extracurricular/picking up new ones which is another thing i have to get used to since im SUCH an academically oriented person & a BUNCHHH of other things i wont be getting into rn 😭 and so i cannot afford to be lounging around in any way whatsoever right now!! this is the socmed app i spend the most time on and i tend to tell myself its ok cause im not replying to notifs im just scrolling which is so silly LOL but i need to eliminate that from my life soooo i left

a mini second reason why i left is smth thats gonna be rly hard for me to explain here & im pretty sure probs has smth to do w my ocd (another thing i dont rly like to talk ab that much so idk how many of u know this) but i have this thing where if something negatively impacts me or like if i have a negative association w it it becomes "imperfect" and i acc cannot have it around me like it physically disgusts me and i cant function or think or anything 😭 and thats what was happening w my tumblr account because of how it caused me soooo much procrastination and so little work done 😣 soz if this doesnt make any sense or if its weird but its smth ive had for years now and am slowly working on 😭 my perfectionism is so horrible too and tumblr makes it worse cause im always overthinking what my feed looks like 😫 like i cant have too many talking posts or too many asks or too many reblogs and im always doing them in a way that balances it out in my head and i spiral so bad over it 🙁

ANOTHER reason (wow lots of reasons) is cause ive begun to enjoy my real life so so much these days and dont want to be distracted by being online 😭 i love my friend group i love sixth form i love having a crush i love it all! a lot of my friends r graduating this year as well and so i probs wont be seeing them as often afterwards cause obvs theyre not all applying to unis in our city let alone our country !!! i dont wanna take this year for granted at ALL cause i'll so regret it if i do :(

the second thing im addressing is why i left w out saying anything LOL basically i knew if i posted smth and said my goodbyes i wouldn't commit to it at all 😭 and i need to seriously be disciplined w myself these days if i wanna be rich and traveling the world in 10 years 🫡

i dont know if i'll ever come back but im so so happy i got to know u all whether u knew me from jgracie or discovered me later on after i abandoned her im so glad i got to call u my lovely friends :) i carry a piece of you all wherever i go ♡ you know you'll always know me! i wont deactivate this account but i wont be active on it either unless i decide to fully come back, but if u send me an ask within this week i'll answer it xx

for those of you who are worried about my fics on jgracie, i made a backup account back in the summer and everything ive ever written is reblogged over there :) @cynarchives

[kaisworlds]

taking deep breaths because Tumblr deleted my draft while working on this twice now im going to try and write it in one go so this is unedited

Top dom male reader as always

names in red mean they stop acting like a brat and lose them selves in the pleasure

names in blue means they stop being shy and let out their moans

new: names in orange means they are all up in your ear no shame at all

PT. 2 of who fits the standard

pt1:

Eustass "Captain" Kid

cw: hair pulling.

do I even need to explain why his name is in red

this man's pride and ego is taller than mount Everest i swear it would take some convincing to even let him bottom and he wouldn't let you know he actually wants it

when he eventually agrees he is stripped down laying on his stomach before you order him to get on all fours he clicks his tongue mumbling something under his breath turning around

as you look at his ass you see he already prepped himself when asked about it he stammers out "i want you to get over with it" looking forward hoping you dont notice his flushed cheeks

before all of this he would constantly say things like "you think that small thing can pleasure me you must be out of your fucking mind" you were in fact not small

when pushing into him you notice his thigh muscles tense up so you rub his lower back unknown to you kid is loosing his damn mind no one ever touches him as gently as you do (that won't last for long we all know kid likes it rough come on now)

as you bottom out kid rests his head on the pillow holding in his moans as best as he can "y-you're terrible at this i can do it better" knowing he can't.

as you set a steady pace one fast enough to keep him hard but not fast so he cums wanting him to be more vocal "come on captain let me hear you~"

kid refuses to give you the satisfaction looking back scowling at you "you dont deserve-"

he is cut off by a strong hard gripping a hand full of hair yanking him up so his back is flushed against your chest he lets out a loud groan biting his lip to quiet himself down while you speed up.

"now that wasn't so hard was it?" keeping a harsh grip on his hair tugging the roots he leans his head back onto your shoulder groans and pants slipping out of his mouth

he is very red by the end of the session

"Red-Haired" Shanks

cw: biting, scratching.

he is very open to trying anything you bring up.

asking him to bottom gained an easy yes from the curious man and he knows he can trust you

prepping him was quiet easy he tensed up a little on entry but rubbing and kissing his inner thighs while stroking his dick every once in a while helped

eventually he was ready for you, staying in missionary since it was the easiest position and you wanted to search his face for any discomfort during it.

after fully pushing your self in shanks smirked looking up at you "that's all? I thought you had more in you?"

you furrowed your brow starting with slow thrusts as shanks pretended to be boerd with it you gradually increased to a more brutal pace

he lost his composure really quickly wrapping his arms around your neck pulling your head closer biting on your shoulder his back arching off the bed as your cock brushes over his prostate

he gets really loud really fast his toes curling feeling no shame leaving scratches on your back.

Sabo

cw: frotting, overstim, aftercare

my baby he is very vanilla and a heavy virgin

you were his first everything and very patient with him when he wasn't ready to go all the way

it was around 1 am and you guys were having a make out session on the couch sabo pulls back his lips slightly red from the rough kissing, "i want you" he mumbles out before realising what he said his eyes widen and his face goes red along with your eyebrow raising "are you sure sabo?" he locks eyes with you feeling calmer immediately, he nods.

moving to the bedroom wanting him to feel comfortable you light some scented candles (idk if those exist in one piece but idc) with his favourite flavour

he sits down on the bed staring as you approach him, you sit down placing him on your lap kissing him gently lifting his shirt off over his head your hands roaming his chest.

you guys are now left in your underwear he tugs on your waistband as you are kissing his neck so you lift it down, your dick springing up to slap your stomach.

looking at him you speak "can I touch you..." he quickly nods desperate for your touch he takes out his cock which is flushed at the tip pre cum dribbling out he avoids eye contact embarrassed with how hard he is "you're so beautiful you know?" he hears you mumble his blush growing

you wrap your hand around both of your dicks adding lube jerking your dicks off against each other sabo bucks his hips into your hand biting on his tongue to keep his moans in bet when your thumb circles his tip he lets out a quiet moan and almost a small sob as he cums as you stop not wanting to over stimulate him he wraps his hand around yours jerking faster the grip tightening he leans his head against your shoulder moaning your name

when you and him finish up he is pretty just asleep on top of you so you pick him up taking him to the bathroom cleaning him and your self up before cuddling in bed

koala knew what happened as soon as she saw you two

I feel like this was shit but Tumblr deleted my drafts so idek man

hope you enjoyed

[menelaiad]

fucks me up how menelaus is the one who escapes the curse and agamemnon is there to witness it.

like everyone in the house of atreus (atreus down, because this is when the curse gets like ... re...cursed) is defined by an act of violence to a family member/loved one that is caused by or committed by them (i say this because thyestes is a grey area. he rapes his daughter which leads to her suicide so that's .... that's enough tbh. he sucks for that)

except menelaus.

and i mean an event that is well documented. that is recorded and that defines their life. examples: atreus killing his nephews and feeding them to his brother, agamemnon killing his daughter, aegisthus killing his uncle and then his cousin and orestes killing his mother. these are DEFINING moments in these characters stories. their stories are incomplete without them.

i added this point cause people will say: menelaus started the war (which he did in a way. i dont dispute that) but that's not his moment. menelaus is often lost in the narrative of the trojan war. that's not HIS moment if you will. (besides the iliad is about achilles, menelaus' moment wouldn't be in that).

menelaus' moment comes AFTER troy. when he's encouraged to kill helen. THIS will be his defining moment of violence that secures his place in this family and drags him down with them.

and he doesn't do it.

and i don't think he ever intended to. menelaus is so DISTANCED from the curse by this choice/decision that he doesn't. even. die. he never actually dies. never mind has a nice life, lives to a ripe old age, dies calmly in his bed etc. etc. he just doesn't die - now that just ain't the cursed house of atreus way.

now. here's where aga comes in. i think aga knew iphigenia was his 'moment'. like he knew once he'd done that. he was no better than his father and uncle etc. (i think it's why he goes downhill over the course of the war and we get a lot in the iliad about him refusing to go home empty handed. he didn't kill his daughter and throw himself on the sacrificial altar of this curse for NOTHING and also why he goes to death so easily in the tragedies yknow? he just walks into the jaws of death. knowing its coming. fully accepting it. and. honestly? believing he deserves it) BUT the possibility that he sees menelaus throw his moment away and refuse it.

i cannot imagine the peace that must bring agamemnon. to have protected this brother through shit after shit. through exile. atreus. thyestes. aegithus. a war. and then to see him separate himself from it all. aga sees that menelaus is no longer bound by all this. menelaus is going to be safe. and perhaps that's another reason he goes to death so easily. he has nothing left. he cannot rebuilt what he had with clytemnestra. as far as he's concerned orestes is dead and so is iphigenia. (elektra is locked up at this point im sure? im sure cly and aeg keep her prinsoner so he probably doesnt even know where she is) and menelaus is safe. there's nothing really left for aga at this point.

and aga and menelaus part on bad terms? they part on bad terms and never see each other again and their lives take such different paths? the story of these two brothers is something that is so personal to me.

[ranmaruliker]

everytime i see some woman in her early twenties post a tiktok with that aging filter with some caption saying something along the lines of "oh i look so fucking ugly this filter makes me upset, i cant belive this is what im gonna look like, im gonna do everything in my power to make sure i dont grow up to be this fucking disgusting and gross" i get so angry and so so fucking upset. this whole trend right now of anti aging is just so fucking heartbreaking as a girl. so many women have been conditioned to think that ageing is the worst thing a girl can do and they need to buy all these lotions and use a special straw and . fucking never smile or laugh or squint or sleep in a comfortable position because hey, did you know that sleeping on your side can make your face go ever so slightly lopsided over time, and you wouldn't want that to make you ugly, would you?

and i genuinely feel so sad for these woman who are genuinely depressed at the idea that they might one day, shock and horror, AGE? because people have taught them that the only value they have is being pretty and young and flawless and beautiful because thats the only thing that matters as a woman and being old and wrinky isnt pretty, didnt you know? but at the same time it is so fucking rage inducing to see people fully succumb to this mindset and post openly about how much they hate the idea of being old and ugly and posting the things that theyre doing to desperately try and avoid this unavoidable fate because we are actively seeing another generation of young girls, preteens, get groomed into believing this mindset that is so unhealthy nd so so harmful.

do u know how fucking sad it is to see videos of 14 year old girls post their 15 step skincare routine featuring products that are so chemically harsh that theyve been following since they were 12.

this is what its like being a little girl nowadays. that is so fucking depressing

[ursawood]

elden ring dlc final boss spoilers

feel like im going fucking nuts because i like... dont really mind the final boss' lore? the fight is completely busted mechanically and i really did not want to fight radahn ever again, but i really dont get most of the complaints about the story itself.

im honestly surprised at how many people earnestly think they shouldve brought godwyn back as lord consort instead which. im gonna be real. i think thats really fucking stupid LOL. the base game tells you over and over that he is the deadest guy who has ever died. he has a whole questline and ending. his story is over. ive seen a lot of people say that radahn being revived somehow retcons or ignores the stuff in the base game about miquella attempting to revive godwyn, but in my eyes castle sol tells the complete story on its own. miquella didnt want to bring godwyn back to life, he wanted him to die a true death. if anything, he probably would have opted to use godwyn's body instead of mohg's if he hadnt given up.

the argument that radahn wouldn't have made the vow in the first place falls flat to me too. he adores godfrey, why wouldn't he want to become a powerful lord when miquella ascends to godhood? he went back on the vow, but we know miquella influences people's wills so it doesn't seem contradictory that he ends up as lord consort anyway imo

there's stuff linking miquella and radahn in the base game, even if we aren't told explicitly that they were close. sellia, where radahn grew up, is full of miquella's lillies. ordina, a town ostensibly built by miquella for his followers, has architecture identical to sellia. its not super explicit, and you wouldn't be able to come to the conclusion that radahn is fated to be miquella's consort from that, but people have accepted that melina is a daughter of marika based on even less. (or that shes the GEQ or whatever the fuck lol) and, yknow, the whole issue of malenia's crusade against radahn that was never fully explained until now

yeah miquella's plan undermines radahn's honorable death, but i think thats intentional. miquella is selfish. he's a child, he doesnt understand how his actions impact others, and he thinks the potential good outweighs whatever harm he causes. its fucked up by design.

my biggest issue with it is just how hard it sidelines malenia. the crusade wasn't her choice, she marched to caelid solely to deliver a threat on miquella's behalf, gravely injured herself in the process, and now she can't do anything except wait for him to get back. her lack of agency kind of fucking sucks.

anyway. it really annoys me when people act like godwyn was the intended final boss all along and fromsoft just rewrote everything 2 days before launch "to subvert expectations/for fan service". plenty of shit in the dlc feels rushed but this genuinely does feel like they were setting up for radahn the entire time, at least to me. it certainly was never gonna be godwyn lol

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Luis ramble time

TW//homophobia??

I think my favorite thing about Luis has to be the idea that his religious trauma led him to become homophobic but not in the sense of how it normally is. I think he internalized it as he grew up in a Catholic setting and became more interested in other people. This is why I believe he probably wouldn't have kissed Leon,,he will flirt and make flirty gestures but I don't really believe he'd full on go for it. I think it's more believable that he would've felt guilty because we all know one thing Luis still holds dear is his religion.

To me Luis is bisexual and when he met Leon it made him remember those odd feeling but he was to afraid to express them both from fear of loosing Leon and the feeling of being sinful. (this comes from someone who connects to Luis in these regards,,dw I came to terms with myself awhile ago!) And just like everything else in his life he ran away from it and ultimately..

He never let himself feel those emotions nor tell Leon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FERAL I WENT OVER THIS I STARTED GOING DOWN SUCH A LONG RABBIT HOLE OUUUUGHHH

BUT YOURE SO RIGHT YOU HAVE A BIT BEAUTIFUL BRAIN IT HURTS SM,,,,,,,, I think you’re absolutely right but I wanted to add my own headcannons too cuz I think it could be a very very interesting discussion!!!!!! I’ve put my thoughts under the cut so it doesn’t clog up peoples dashboards!!!!

I couldn’t agree more I think it’d be pretty safe ro say Luis has a FAIR BIT of internalised homophobia from his religious upbringing (now I wanna clarify that I don’t have any religious trauma like, at all, I wasn’t brought up relifious but I have TONS of friends who’ve gone through it so I’ve done my best to understand it best I can!!!!) and where my headcannon sliiiiiiiightly differs from yours is that I think Luis probably would have come to terms with his own queerness by the time he’s working with Umbrella

Obviously he’s already very flamboyant and VERRRRYYY flirty w both men and women and he’s clearly confident in himself- but what a lot of people seem to forget that the lovely @blveherb and @possessionisamyth have gone into detail about is that Luis is an immigrant, and if you look at literally any piece of history from before like,,,, roughly around the 80’s queer and immigrant history were REALLY intertwined, like, the two communities would often be at the same places or facing the same struggles at the same time etc and obviously white historians haven’t done us any favours with preserving this history (and ALSO also i am WHITE AS ALL HELL so im obviously not in a position to be speaking on topics that i dont fully understand/havent affected me which is why i ask that if anyone is more knowledgable on the topic please do elaborate on it!!!!!!!)((also it’s obviously very very important not to try and take away focus from or erase poc history when talking about queer history!!!!!!!!!!!!!))

So I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to say that Luis, after leaving Valdelobos and ending up wherever he did, would have also discovered the queer community as a whole just by virtue of being apart of a minority (again, this isn’t something that’s ever even remotely effected me so please if I’ve made any mistakes or if anyone wants to point anything out do so!!!!) also I just imagine that, in general, Luis would’ve been grateful for any kind of community to fall back on after he left his own- how old he was when he left is unknown obviously but I can’t imagine being barely even an adult discovering the big wide world for the first time after spending your entire life in a tiny rural catholic village would’ve been easy which is why communities like that are so important (also you could absolutely go into how Umbrella would’ve fed that need for a community even further in a young naive Luis but that’s getting ahead of the subject)

Also somewhat on and off topic but M A A N Y historians have pointed out that Don Quixote is a pretty queer fricken book. That’s an entirely different discussion in and of itself but the whole book itself, the relationship between Alonso and Sancho, the history itself surrounding the book etc can leave a lot of queer interpretations to be read (and @highball66 has pointed out that while not specifically a term used for gay men, in some areas ‘Sancho’ has been used to refer to ‘the other guy in the relationship’, ie the man the husband is sleeping with etc) ((AND also it’s just,, kinda hard to analyse super old books through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community as we understand it roday- Kaz Rowe on YouTube has some good videos on the topic I can’t reccomend enough!!!!))

And so I personally like to imagine that by the time he returns BACK to Valdelobos, he’s probably come to terms with it- but like most traumas, returning to the place where it all started and manifested probably would’ve brought up those same feelings of internalised homophobia like you’ve said; which is why he’s so afraid to confess to Leon. Even if he KNOWS he’s come to terms with his identity n such, that doesn’t mean that returning to the place where it all started doesn’t bring back up those old feelings (also him returning home in the manor that he does just makes my theory/headcannon that he’s Trans go WILD but I’m saving that for ANOTHER DAY)

‘He holds Religion very Close to him’ GOD YOURE SO RIGHT ABT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like even if he doesn’t still believe in god or anything his upbringing still effects him!!!!!!!!!!!!! He still always does the sign of the cross whenever he sees a dead body and obviously that classic catholic guilt and need to repent follows his every actions alongside just, y’know, the average amount of guilt people would feel in his situation BCNEHENDJDND so can you imagine how much WORSE he’d feeling going BACK to Valdelobos and meeting LEON and having all those feelings and fears come up again???????????? OUGH WHY MAKE ME THINK ABT THIS OP /lh

AND and, like you mentioned, Luis always has this reoccurring theme of thinking he has more time than he actually has and that he can run away from anything. It’s honestly so so so very tragic; and just the idea of that cycle repeating AGAIN in something SO PERSONAL (ie, his love for Leon) is just,,,,,,,,,, o u g h it’s so heartbreaking man why would you say that I am strangling you /jjjjjjjj

Luis always thinks he has more time to fix his mistakes, to be a better person- and even when he starts to realise he doesn’t, he still holds out hope. He thinks, ‘tomorrow I’ll tell Leon’, but he never gets that opportunity.

And finally this one is purely self indulgent but I’ve always pictured Luis as being the kind of person to just be happy labelling himself as ‘queer’ cuz it’s quick and convinient but BISEXUAL LUIS SL TRUE

(Also obligatory ‘these are just headcannons/theories/analysis nobody is saying these are CANNON this is just an observation’ message!!!!!!!)

[cttrajan1206]

hi!! im here to ask about your ocs!!

first of all i would like to say PLEASE read the shadows house manga if you werent planning on it already...! youll get so much more that wasnt offered in the anime since it cuts off at season 2 , its just so good.. SO GOOD ok. ok

about astral and anjem!

i know you said you dont have all the details worked out so its ok if you dont have an answer to any of this atm!

could you talk a bit more about their dynamic/relationship, if you have anything else you wanna say?

what are their goals in the house? are they pursuing roles within relief team, starbearers, etc? are they wanting to get invited?

how good is astral at controlling his soot power? do you think its likely any of his experimenting on anjem could go wrong + how would he react, would he be able to fix it?

love ur ocs :}

WAAA HELLO?? i never original post ever so i was really surprised and excited when you reblogged it saying you'd read it later - AND NOW IN MY INBOX TOO? WAAAA.... >O<

But waa ok ok so! Funny enough, @tsukiomoon was over at my house and convinced me to read Shadow House (having watched the anime) while we were at a bookstore. I'd already glanced at it a few times over the years so I was. Very easy to convince tbh djdhfjf So I actually began with reading the first two volumes!! Then after that, I was thoroughly hooked so we proceeded to binge the entirety of it together in two days. That said, I'd love to read the manga. I'm debating on it because the official translation -> scanlation currency exchange is not in my favour ToT but I think I like it enough to bear through it, the anime missed a few scenes from even just the first two volumes after all.

Onto the ocs!!

Dynamic/relationship: This is a fun one. I've mentioned they both very much love each other already, I think at first they're both very superficial about it and build up versions of each other in their head (Astral even moreso having known longer). It gets deeper as time goes on but Astral isn't obssessed with Anjem just as a person, but also for his quality of being human. Anjem is similar likewise but there's a mighty power imbalance there.

Astral is actually also a special shade! He remembers before morphing. He's probably the worst one to do so though because he doesn't really care about the Shadow House - not when it gives him license to not only have Anjem to himself, but also such close access to humans. To him, the memories just give him a clearer understanding if the Faces' limits. He gets very annoyed with seeing others treat their living dolls badly and will pick fights about it or ask Anjem to give them recompensary gifts to them.

Anjem I'm less clear on... He's bad at cleaning but Astral doesn't mind particularly (and also doesnt produce enough soot for it to be a problem). The rigid structure of his life gives him comfort in its reliability but he does often long for some of the luxuries Shades get. Like nice clothes and better food. He doesn't like coffee though haha. I don't think either of them ever realise the brainwashing thing bc Anjem's too picky and never fully swallows the coffee anyway, sometimes vomiting it out. He still gets the effects partially though

Goals: I think Astral does want to escape the House eventually - he doesn't care too much for getting everyone else out, he just wants to find more and more humans and learn everything he can about them. Anjem I haven't decided too much yet. He knows Astral's goal and wants to be there with him to see it too, to travel the world, but I think he'd be scared of taking that step.

I think he wants to see his siblings again, one last time

Roles: Oop... Astral's power is very good for healing wounds so technically the relief team would be good for him but I personally wouldn't put him in a room with so many humans in it XD He keeps his power very downlow but regardless, I think he'd have made his way into the relief team. He's their bigger advocate on training to treat dolls better.

Anjem wanted to be in the research team instead but, as a Face, he has to tag along and look pretty

Power: At first Astral was pretty bad at controlling his power. He doesn't have blood himself after all, it was very unknown territory. In fact, the only way he Did grow better at it was When his experiments on Anjem failed. They could be very dangerous failures too, in case his soot clogged a vein or he clotted uo the wrong part or forced it to produce too much blood. In his panic to fix it, he tended to reflexively reverse whatever he'd done and so far, though there have been catastrophes, Anjem hasn't died. There was a time when Astral stopped his heart but that's whatever, he's immensely better at controlling them now. He doesn't frequent the training room (especially since his powers require blood), but instead has perfected his powers through practice in his room. He does also keep a few vials of blood he requests from the relief team that uses to practice with at times.

He prefers it best when it's with Anjem though :)

There was once, when the brainwashing had worn off more, where Astral fucked up. In attempting to heal a wound on Anjem's wrist, he accidentally sped up the production of the blood and it poured everywhere, spilling out faster than healthy. Anjem, wide eyed and afraid that this time, he was going to die, scrambled away from him screaming. He tried to run away but the pain was blinding him so much he could barely concentrate. Nothing Astral said could convinve him to calm down, and the last thing he saw before passing out was Astral roughly grabbing at his arm.

Astral was able to stop the blood, working with this as an experiment to control his area of effect, and sealed the wound. He bandaged it up and treated it with care, pressing a careful kiss of regret on the bandage and on Anjem's hand, the black mark staining his skin.

Anjem woke later in his box. He was afraid and angry and upset. He didn't talk to Astral for a full week, only interacting with him as a Face. Astral was heartbroken by this and apologised many times. They made up finally, after Astral stopped him from cleaning and held his hands, about to apologise again, when suddenly Anjem lifted the shade's hands and pressed a kiss to each.

"I'm tired of this. I miss speaking with you. I forgive you, so stop apologising every time I enter a room."

That mended things but going forward, Astral started getting external vials until he was better at his control.

Tidbits!

Astral likes his name but also wants to be separate from it. In private, he asks Anjem to call him "Aster" as a similar compromise. Anjem means "star" in arabic - he named his Face to match the name he preferred :)

Anjem is mostly good at reading Astral's emotions but they have a system of handsignals and body language to indicate the faces they want to make.

I've been thinking on them and their age awhile. I hadn't noticed when I made them that adults get finer clothes than the chikdren but I refuse ti change my design, I'm attached </3 I think they're similar to Barbara and Maryrose - old but still in the children's wing by virtue of not being given an invitation

This is partly due to Anjem's scar but mostly due to Astral's refusal to be useful outside of the bare minimum (this is not a noble thing, he's lowkey just lazy)

Oh my god I wrote a lot sdjbhf

Yeah!! That's them! That's my boys. I'm thinking of making a couple more too - I want to explore the idea of someone using their Face to hide disguise their real emotions

Thank you so much for asking 😭 it means the world to me and got me to think about them more

As an extra, have a doodle of Anjem's second sight of Astral:

[mrstsung]

Hot take but i don't think mk12/mk1 will survive long enough to ever get "polished" to live up to it predecessors.

Wb is in the process of selling several branches of its gaming companies.

The dissatisfaction with mk12/mk1 is apparent. For various reasons but still dissatisfaction none the less.

People really think mk11 did worse is clearly gaslighting themselves into validating their poor purchases before the game could fully cook. Mk12/mk1 is clearly rushed. Even if you're not into fighting games,you can clearly see that.

Their pr and press doesn't really deliver and actually tell us anything. Practically hot air at this point. Disingenuous af. And empty promises.

Mk11 is by no means perfect. It had serious issues coming out and theb game devs struggled . But it had also a bigger budget,more time,and support. None the less.

Mk11 also had award winning actors and voice actors/actresses. That also helped their sales.

The story wasn't the best. Plotholes from hell. But it was fun and easy to follow. I would have to say that even non gamers would have fun. Because there's actually stuff to do. And you didn't have to wait for little pay off.

People complain about the grinding in mk11 but what are y'all playing for then?

Dont you want stuff to do in the game? Grinding how? The difficulty or the fact you gotta actually play a damn game and not "press x to win" ? Either way thisbis mortal kombat not some chill game like minecraft or animal crossing where you can turn off your brain and chill. Mortal kombat is a fighting game,fighting games have action,action is DOING SOMETHING! I can't believe i have to explain this but here we are.

Mk12/mk1 isn't doing good because it's a good game. No. It's barely scrapping by because nostalgia bait and clickbait. And by the time you realize that. Nrs already has your money and you get a box of air. Nothing but aesthetics,cosmetics,nothing useful. Peopel said the gameplay got better. But for what point? So we can play half baked versions of the characters that clearly nobody else actually bothered to research? New world ment new characters. And this feels more like taking what is and was and should be mk worlds. And wiping their ass with it and said "now fork over 100 bucks timmy"

Not even joking at this point.

Look mk11 for all its troubles in the beginning,it is nothing compared to the shitshow we have now.

The next game should do better than the last not the other eay around. But this keeps happening. A lot People wouldn't say the pervious games were better,if the new game was actually competent enough to stand on itself. It's going into its first year and people are already bored.

Why should mk12/mk1 be praised for mediocrity?

Honey nrs is giving you the bare minimum with this game. And people still wanna praise it.

Pffft.

What does it truly offer as a game that it's predecessors did not? Gimmicks and that shit doesn't count. What does it offer thats ACTUALLY DIFFERENT? Nothing.

Taking the same characters,same story,same crap,and changing genders,roles,and the integral parts of the lore. Doesn't make it a good game. Especially when it doesn't come from a place of genuine respect or care. They want you to buy shit. It's all about sale sale sale. Because they are not just money bankrupt but creatively so too.

I wouldn't mind mk12/mk1 if they actually had all and i mean ALL COMPLETELY NEW CHARACTERS. and fire god liu was put in an exposition role and not a playable character on the roster. Like raiden was long ago at some points. That would have been actually fitting. (My personal opinion but i like liu falling to the darkside so much and it's such a waste)

Again.

Mk11 had faults but at least im not bored to death.

[spitblaze]

hi! I would be VERY interested in hearing the symbolism in therion’s pokemon team!

So the FIRST member of Therion's team is Hisuian Zoroark. This is non-negotiable for me if you dont give him one of these im blocking you on sight (lying)

So there is of course the obvious symbolism of HZoroark's lore, which is that a unovan zorua/zoroark died while consumed by anger or hatred, for humans, for pokemon, or both. This is very much something that Therion went through BUT in my mind his relationship with Ember (her name) goes deeper. He's known this Zorua since he was a child, probably found it alone and scared in the forest. Might've been each other's only friends. Either way, he and Ember are practically inseparable. They travel together, thieve together, eat together, whatever. They're still inseparable during Therion's time with Darius, as much as Darius tries to keep Therion's social circle to him alone. When the betrayal happens, she's there for it too. She tries to defend Therion, uses her illusions and tries to hurt Darius, but she's no match for his Arbok and is sent falling after her human.

Therion probably wouldn't have survived that fall if it wasn't for Ember.

She wasn't as lucky as he was, dying on impact. But it didn't last long. Therion didn't even regain consciousness before she had reincarnated into Hisuian Zoroark, filled with hatred towards humans, who only ever hurt her and her best friend. She probably took care of Therion while he recovered, used her illusions to keep the scavengers at bay and brought him water, berries, help, if she could find it. She accompanies him all over Orsterra, and even though she's very wary of the other travelers at first, she listens to Therion, who says they're okay and won't hurt them. By the end (but sooner than Therion) she's warmed up to them enough that she'd start making pleasant illusions for them (she is like her human in that she puts up a tough exterior but is a big softie with a 'giving gifts' love language).

Until the end of Therion's story, she's the only pokemon he ever has that he has ever given a proper name (he will name a Meowth Linde later). He believes - and was likely taught by Darius - that giving them names will get you attached to them, make you think of them as more than tools. Make you rely on them. And you can't let yourself do that, think that anything in the life of a thief is more than temporary. Not that it's worked - he says he doesn't care about his pokemon, but he's a dedicated trainer who cares deeply about all of them.

And the one who illustrates this best is Crobat, the second-oldest member of his party.

The thing about Crobat is that it's a high-friendship evolution pokemon. They can be found in the wild in theory, but in practice, that trainer will probably have put it a lot of time and care for it to evolve into this. A lot of time and care and affection for a pokemon like Zubat, which is a common annoyance. How many jokes in the world where we DONT have pokemon flying around exist about how annoying zubat are? He caught this pokemon that's considered a pest- maybe on accident, maybe out of desperation for more firepower, maybe fully on purpose - and raised it with the care and attention that let it become Crobat. i dont want to say the same thing three times so ill just leave it at that. I think Therion has a habit of befriending pokemon that he sees some of himself in.

Third member of the party is Mimikyu!

Am I perhaps already personally biased towards ghost types? yes. Do I think Therion would be mostly ghost and dark types regardless? also yes.

The thing with Mimikyu is like...god I could probably just copy the bulbapedia entry for its biology word for word and you'd get why I added it. This is a pokemon that only ever wears a mask. You do not see it outside of its facade. If you try to see it under the mask, it will lash out to stop you. It takes great care to maintain its facade, spend time and energy and effort, as if its very life depended on nobody being able to know it. It's hard to keep up the facade. It's so, so hard, and it's even harder to do it right. So it cries, on the inside. But to show the world that you might be weak is tantamount to suicide, so it stays strong outside.

anyway. I like the mental image of Therion patching up Mimikyu's mask for it. Lets it borrow his scarf while he sews it back up. Taking the time and attention to detail for his little friend, who he insists he does not care about. Darius probably mocked Therion for catching such a pathetic-looking pokemon. and then he found out Mimikyu knew wood hammer and Darius shut his stupid mouth about it forever.

Runerigus is Therion's fourth pokemon.

I know that Unovan Yamask is maybe slightly more relevant to Therion thematically (death mask ghost who longs for a time before), but it's very hard to overlook the evolutionary conditions for Runerigus- Traveling to a certain spot in a desert/canyon area after taking at least 49 HP worth of damage. I'd still argue that there's thematic relevance with Galarian Yamask being a vengeful spirit. Maybe. Therion isn't so much looking for revenge as he is looking to rebuild his life. Still, I think it's all relevant enough to warrant a spot in his party.

Number five is Ceruledge!

Ceruledge is a pokemon that's more representative of Therion in terms of combat and mechanics than it is narratively (i mean. all ghost types are thematically relevant to him but you get it).

I'm just gonna quote bulbapedia here:

"Ceruledge is merciless and will do anything to win a battle. It prefers to do close-quarters combat, with a mix of sneak and surprise attacks. By using its quick speed to locate a foe's blind spots, it will then move closer before slashing them with its large swords. Any cuts from Ceruledge's swords will cause wounds that leak life energy, which the swords then absorb."

Idk man. Sounds like Therion to me

Aaaaand last up is Honchkrow!

Like. The initial thought here really was just 'haha funny crime bird' but like. what are the two thief animals. cats and crows. and what is therion if not either or both of those. i dont have any deeper thoughts on honchkrow lol

That! Is all I have for now i might redo some other ones like olberics but right now therions the one i have Mega Brainworms about so. thank u for asking ilu :)

[quirkle2]

Tac's mom?!?!!!?

TAC'S MOM ....i don't have a name for her just yet but she is so nice and so cool

as a little kid, before he rly caught onto the fact that it was Weird, tac would occasionally mention his death date in vague ways. it was natural to him, and until he got older, he didn't rly realize that this wasn't common knowledge. when he mentioned the end of the world in such a serious manner, it would make people look at him oddly, or they would never take him seriously. over time, from context, he got the memo; death date talk = tension and weird looks

he stopped mentioning it altogether somewhere around middle school, but his mom never forgot about it. when he was Rly young, it wasn't much to be concerned about—kids say some weird stuff, even if his obsession with The End seemed a little dark. but then he kept saying it. and with the way he talked about it, he seemed fully and utterly convinced of the end of time.

he was still mentioning it in passing when he got into middle school, and that kinda talk is a little more alarming coming from a 10 year old than it is coming from a 4 four old, somehow. 4 year olds will say anything, and when he was 4, he didn't really grasp the Weight of the Knowledge yet

his mom thinks this is . concerning, to say the least. having ur kid mention something like this in such a convinced, serious tone, SO consistently for years,,, it's unsettling. things like, "i dont need good grades mom im not even gonna live long enough to finish college," and, "you're never gonna get to pay off this house... that's kinda depressing."

she remembers the date he's mentioned a few times. october 18th. she doesn't know where he got this info, that he'd die some day in october. where did that even come from? and she wouldn't put so much stock into it if it weren't for his behavior Never changing

he was already kind of uncaring about consequences even at a pretty young age—he didn't apply himself in school, even though she Knew he was a smart kid. he got into a lot of fights and made the wrong people mad at the wrong times, and the only time he ever seemed to care was when it made his mom upset. she's rly the only thing stopping him from doing more drastic things that would get him into more trouble, even when he's older and he knows better

even when he stops mentioning the death date, he never changes that behavior, and it scares her. he never Starts caring; if anything, he cares less and less about his future the older he gets. he seems so convinced...

his downward spirals start showing themselves around middle school as well, and at some point she starts seeking professional help for him.bc this is not normal. outwardly, it looks a Lot like depression (and it is<3) and it takes some convincing, but tac finally agrees to be put on pills, if only to make his mom feel better abt it. they help a little. key word here being A Little. she tries to get him therapy too, but he's stubborn about it

she's very supportive of him, and mostly just worried out of her mind. she doesn't Get It and every time she tries to ask, tac either shuts her down or shuts down himself. maybe she doesn't need to Get It to help him tho. maybe she just has to be there for him

tac loves his mother dearly tho dude he loves and respects her so much. his least favorite thing in the world is stressing or worrying her, so he tries his best to appear like everything's fine, for her sake. he doesn't want her limited time on this planet to be spent pacing the living room about it all. he wants her to just live her life without worrying abt him

[tadpolesonalgae]

i've seen a lot of people saying they'd want cbmthy reader to end up in spring but i don't see it. reader only seems to have a bad relationship with az (and even that is not a harmful relationship per se, as much of an asshole as he's being i think he would protect her like he protects the rest of the ic and the night court) so going to spring makes no sense since 1. tamlin hurt her sister and 2. said sister damn near destroyed his court (actually kind of hate that she did that that way too but) and reader ending up there but still being on good terms with the night court just doesn't really make sense to me. also tamlin acts like a republican, he gave me the ick beyond repair, i know some people want a redemption (and i accept that) but id rather not have to read about him.

my personal feelings aside i think if reader really doesn't end up with azriel (which i think wouldn't make sense because then all the hurt would be for nothing) the best bets for her to move would be autumn with eris but only if eris is already high lord because subjecting her to beron would suck, the day court since helion is the closest to the night court and they trust him also she would love the libraries or she could replace lucien with vassa and jurian (or join him if he doesnt end up with elain or in the day court), the winter court maybe but only for the fact that it's tje other court that seems closer to the night court mostly because of vivianne. or my favorite which is just staying home lol her family is in the night court so even if her and az dont end up together she deserves to be able to stay there with her family as much as him. azriel loved mor for 500 years and knew she didnt love him back but they both still managed to act civil and be friends. even if az hurt reader more i hope it wouldn't be to the point of them not being able to be civil so they could just stay, and they live forever so she'd get over her feelings eventually and find someone new. moving a character away when something bad or a breakup happen is something i always disliked so maybe that's why im giving it so much thought but it really always feels off because what do u mean you can't both keep your family/friends? if nothing truly bad happens why does one character always have to leave? idk

before i finish i just wanna say im not trying to be mean or speak over anyone that has said they'd like her to be in spring. i just wanted to add my opinion but i know over writing like this we cant really convey much emotion so i dont want to sound mean or anything

First of all, I didn’t think you were being mean at all, but thank you for adding that clarification anyway :)

Secondly, to be fair, for me it’s not so much as where she goes rather that she simply needs some time elsewhere. Nothing permanent, but a shift in scene because she’s caught in stale waters and if nothing changes she won’t ever learn to step forward and progress. Also, while the idea of her going to the Spring Court is—I think—very fun, and would be like throwing a spanner in the works, I feel there are only really two places she could go that would make sense to the story, and neither of those are the Spring Court (as interesting as it could be)

Also, I am fully down for a Tam redemption arc 😭🤌

I don’t want to say who she’ll end up with because I think part of the fun is contained within not knowing? She might get with Bas for a bit but then move to the Autumn Court, might become happy by herself and content on her own, might get with Az only for a mating bond to pop up between her and Eris. Who knows? 👀

(I enjoy messing with you)

It might be fun for her and Helion to get in touch, even if it’s just her requesting a scroll or book from one of his libraries, but no promises about that 😭

And thank you for sending this in, it really helps guide me with future parts—helping me know what to emphasise or what I should try to expand upon if it’s been skated over in a previous chapter :) 🧡💛

[dreadisdelight]

PLEASE DONT READ IT YOURE SENSITIVE TO LGBTQIA+ TOPICS!!!!!!!!:

sometimes i just sit there and wonder what i identify as.

i grew up in an area where i didn't have much representation of anything, "gay" was an insult and colours were dedicated to specific chromosomes. if you grazed football as a girl, you were seen as a tomboy alongside if you even looked at claires you were just odd. i think some messed up part of me still believes that, despite every fibre in my being disagreeing with it. there wasn't much representation of being homosexual in a form or another, mainly just jacqueline wilson books i peered into with such curiosity and utmost wonder.

it sort of struck me that i was different when i was much younger too. hell, sleepovers with girls scared me since they smelled so "sweet" or they were much prettier than me. we all watched films with the odd kissing scene and wanted to peer into the mirror, maybe attempt at looking into it without shame. it didn't stick, yet it didn't wipe off. i kissed a girl on her cheek in my bedroom when i was about nine, fags the most ive ever done, and i don't count it fully either. i kissed a girl on her hand too but still, that doesn't count in my books. nobody ever had the "it's okay to be gay" talk with me but they never had the "being gay is a sin" either. it just sat uncomfortably in the room. all the pins and homemade flags were just pretty colours opposed to something with significance in this world. ive tossed the majority of the relics besides a pin i bought when i had a sense of freedom for the first time but that's about it at most. we still haven't talked about it, and we don't intend on it either.

i remember my mom watching a tv programme with me, her eyes flickering towards me whilst saying "i don't get why people come out. i get where she was coming from, as if it was natural, but she was also the figure who never brought up these sort of conversations. the woman who made me feel a sense of crushing burden when i felt a sense of anger. i just shrugged it off, and never gave my views on the matter. i think if i had the confidence, i would have said something along the lines of "it's because we live in a society where showing who you really are needs courage".

i think i did tell her i was pansexual when i was younger too, this was during a mist of things where id say random bullshit to them as a joke, hoping they'd want to linger nearby. i haven't said a word yet.

gender was another thing that puzzled me, which still does. i never really thought much about it, i just thought you were female, male, or non-binary. that's it. no more options, just three buttons and you could click one. i used to lie awake, my mind thinking about issues for me to go 'holy shit am i trans??' which obviously still happens; why would i be writing this out otherwise? i dipped into being demigirl to nonbinary to immediately agender and i sort of sat there, sticking a label on it like they have to me with other diagnoses. i go from wanting big tits and being the epitome of feminine beauty to wanting to have top surgery and going by a new name. i know gender is a spectrum, but some part of me knows everyone around me wouldn't accept me, thinking im more mentally ill than i am.

i don't know why i decided to type this out either. maybe to give myself clarity instead of chastising myself for what's happened in my world.

ive only ever dated afabs. one cis. one somewhere between demigirl and nonbinary and the other transmasc. i know i hurt them one way or another, and so did they. i speak to one of them a few times now and again but for the other two, i apologised to one of recent and it's stuck to my mind. the other i fucked up so bad it hurts to look into a mirror. i think amabs scare me and i don't know why. i attach myself to older guys in films and loosely to other people, remarrying shane in stardew over and over again. one minute i have a preference and then it drastically changes.

my friend once said that people who are lgbtqia+ must have some evolutionary default in them, which i believe heavily. i have autism and probably some other stuff undiagnosed (my autism is clinically diagnosed yall) so that checks out. i saw a survey a while back that most people who are lgbtqia+ are diagnosed professionally or self with something along the lines of adhd, autism, and other mental disorders. but that's all we are. disordered motions, grasping onto conclusion.

maybe one day i will find somebody and it will make perfect sense. maybe i won't find anybody. for now, i know that i can only try, and when i try i collapse in tears wondering why nobody likes me.

[missingn000]

HI THIS IS HORRENDOUSLY LATE AND I'M SO SORRY

i'm afraid this meta is shorter than the others, but i wanted to focus on geto's breakdown because there's so much to dig into. without further ado, let's get started!

Where’s the line between I want to destroy the world for him versus simply I want to destroy the world? What does it matter? Yuuta doesn’t even want me to destroy the world.

…you could almost say geto's love language is destruction, but he's surrounded by people who don't want that kind of love. luckily for him, though, toji's nigh-indestructible. i think there are three stages that geto has to work through, w/ varying levels of violence:

grief/revenge for killing riko, for setting him on that dark path to begin with

nonshaman discrimination; especially because toji's a "monkey" in the worst sense

geto's own deep denial over the regret he feels towards killing his parents

we're done with 1. regarding 2 & 3 though: how could he possibly accept a nonshaman, a "monkey," as a parental figure? sparing his friends' children is one thing, but this? how could he ever justify the sheer hypocrisy? besides, wouldn't it mean he killed his parents for nothing, even though they, unlike the okkotsus and zen'ins, loved him, and did him no wrong?

geto desperately craves comfort, but accepting it means destroying the mask he so carefully constructed for himself, a mask he donned so frequently it's almost completely melded with his skin. ripping it off isn't just difficult, it's agonising.

consider the hedgehog's dilemma, but with an added element: armour. in order to share body heat, the hedgehog must let someone get close - but what if it doesn't want to? the armour geto built for himself is spiked on the inside and chafes with every step, but he's so accustomed to the pain it's almost preferable to just keep it on. it's comforting in its predictability - there's a sense of security in knowing the pain is self-inflicted, because it means geto has control over the situation, which is so very important to him

...but accepting toji as his father figure means relinquishing control, which is deeply unnerving. it means acknowledging that hey, maybe his ideals aren't perfect. it means that hey, maybe he shouldn't have sacrificed his parents after all -

- and how could he live with himself, knowing that?

After all, the number one way to be cursed is to be on the receiving end of someone’s final words. Isn’t that why Getou asked them in the first place? He deserves it.

there's a lot of responsibility that comes with knowing what someone's last words are, but geto seems eager to shoulder it, almost like he's pre-emptively punishing himself for wanting to kill the okkotsus. at the same time, he's also filled with murderous rage towards them for the way they treated yuuta, creating an ambivalence that perfectly mirrors the contradictions warring within him :D

"I'm beyond saving." "You're beyond saving because you want to be."

well. considering the situation he's in, i can't blame him. wanting to be saved means acknowledging he was wrong, but that's not quite right, either, because gods never err, and geto should be no exception.

that aside, i'm almost fully certain he refuses help because he believes himself undeserving of it. he sees himself as a monster, and monsters don't get second chances. neither do fallen gods, for that matter

..........or do they? COUGH.

okay. ending it here. typing this ask gutted me. hope u enjoyed reading it

DONT APOLOGIZE IM THE ONE RESPONDING TO SHIT LIKE A MONTH LATE

anyway. i totally feel you, there was so much to unpack in getou's breakdown in itself, let alone the rest of the chapter. so without further ado. some semblance of a reply

well i already went insane over "you could almost say geto's love language is destruction, but he's surrounded by people who don't want that kind of love" in our chat but i'm gonna say it here again that this fucks me up SO bad because it puts everything i've tried to portray with his jarring overlap of love and violence.

you could almost look at the way the rest of the ff protects their loved ones as responses to external events and stimuli. they protect their friends and family from emotional and physical pain by fighting threats and healing past damage.

but getou's protection is him making the first strike. shoot first, ask questions later. his idea of protecting his loved ones is offense, contrasting with defense for everyone else.

which is exactly the situation he finds himself in with yuuta's parents, though he at first twists it in his mind as an act of defense -- a second strike against what they did to yuuta. following this logic, he might even try to convince himself that killing all "monkeys" is a defensive thing, since the crime of being a non-sorcerer was more than enough to merit that kind of punishment.

...or is it?

your point of "sparing his friends' children is one thing, but this? how could he ever justify the sheer hypocrisy? besides, wouldn't it mean he killed his parents for nothing, even though they, unlike the okkotsus and zen'ins, loved him, and did him no wrong?" is actually destroying me. because you're right. it's such hypocrisy, but then again, a lot about getou is.

and now he's in a situation where the only person he could possibly call a parent again is also a non-sorcerer. not only that, but the non-sorcerer who destroyed his life, shot riko, almost killed gojo, and sent him on his downward spiral! how is he supposed to reconcile this within himself? i hate to say it, but toji is way, way worse than the okkotsus. accepting toji's parental love is the ultimate hypocritical act.

but as you said: getou desperately craves comfort. and now here toji is, caring for getou the way getou's father once did and telling him he is loved. how could getou possibly reject this?

i think it's important to note that if he so chose, he could've. he's done so much mental gymnastics to justify himself before -- it's not like he couldn't add this to the list.

this brings back the distinction of can't and won't. because while can't is a restriction, won't is a choice.

getou won't reject love. not this time.

god i love him