#i'm stoked to see this dynamic in action!!

[tidaltow]

@howthesleeplesswander || cont.

So, here’s the thing.

It wasn’t so much that Kazuma was a strict, no excuses kind of instructor—which, yeah, sure, he definitely was, and no one at camp would ever argue that, but… The reason anyone ever felt any amount of disheartened under his keen eye usually had a little something to do with not wanting to disappoint the supremely cool, incredibly skilled and awesome katana guy who showed up whenever he wanted and disappeared like some crazy demigod vigilante. (Who also was considerably attractive, Percy supposed… if the reactions of some half-blood kids and even the dryads were anything to go by.)

Part of Percy knew Kazuma didn’t expect him to excel at this immediately. Then another part of him argued he should, that this technique should be well in hand by now (literally) if he hoped to have any chance against what was coming. Part of him figured he was annoyed at the prospect of letting Kazuma down—letting everyone down. Then another part of him shot back that there was more to this. It wasn’t just about—

He nearly jumped when Kazuma rejoined his side. In the prior few seconds, he’d fallen into somewhat of a trance, one that had him glaring off at the dining pavilion with thoughts of the winter before, of a particular young demigod responsible for the large crack across the floor. Because Percy had failed him (and still continued to).

A murmured “thanks,” and he took the water, downed a few gulps while Kazuma gave him his usual encouragement. He pinched his brows. “Yeah, I know. I mean… You’re right, I just—” He should’ve laughed. Maybe even said something like, What isn’t bothering me? But the energy wasn’t there today, and with some reluctance, Percy met the eyes boring into him. He weighed his options: what he should and shouldn’t talk about, what he could and couldn't trust Kazuma to know. Whatever ended up winning, a loud and practically surrendering sigh came first.

“We can… talk for a minute, if that’s okay. Can we—?” Percy capped Riptide, stowed the sword-turned-pen back in his pocket at the same time as he pivoted toward the nearest bench. He paused only to glance back. “Only if you don’t have someone else, uh… lined up to train anytime soon? I don’t want to interrupt…”

[always-just-red]

hello hi! ik the fandom mostly favors interactions between LIs & MCs/Readers but i was wondering if you have your own ideas between the LADS boys like friendship headcanons between them? how their dynamic works and which would be the best bros with each other or strongest siblings rivalry vibes between them (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

hopefully this is alright to request! 🙏🏻

Hi!! That's totally alright, I've seen so many good takes on this already and I love a good character analysis, so would love to weigh in! I waited to answer this since I was actually working on this fic when you sent it, and that's got all the guys interacting, so check it out if you're interested! 🥰

Disclaimer: These are all my personal headcanons! I'm not the authority on the boys and their characterisations, nor do I claim to be, so pls be respectful if you disagree with anything!

Ok so!

I can see Rafayel and Sylus getting on well once they're more familiar with each-other (though maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part).

I think Sy would honestly force Raf to confront a lot of his own insecurities? After all, Sy seems a lot more comfortable in who he is-- he's got that self-assuredness and charm that we all know Raf has to put more conscious effort into portraying. Whilst we don't know the extent of his past, Sylus has clearly made peace with the fact that he has to do bad things sometimes, whereas Rafayel still seems to have a lot of inner conflict around his actions, morality and identity.

I imagine Raf resenting Sy a little at first and so acting out a bit, trying to one-up him etc, and Sy being Sy, I think he'd probably rise to the challenge (he could be the bigger man, but like, where's the fun in that??)

Sylus is smart, so I think he'd probably realise pretty quickly that Rafayel is masking. They've both been through a lot, and once they see that in each-other there'd be a mutual respect I hope. Plus they probably have common enemies?? So if they can both get over the instinct to lone-wolf it, that's one kick-ass team ready to go (and I will be SEATED, ready to enjoy the view!!!)

If the guys are all out together, Zayne's probably gonna take it upon himself to be mediator, care-taker etc, especially as I think he'd be the one to read between the lines and notice if any of the others are struggling (e.g. if Rafayel's getting worn out in a social setting).

At first, it would be because they're MCs friends! He knows she cares about them, so he's gonna be looking out for them all. But he needs a break! So once they're all more familiar, I can see the others trying to coax him into relaxing and letting his guard down a bit, and he'll appreciate that! (But he will keep one eye on the ball because, like, imagine Raf coming up to you and saying 'I've got this, you can totally trust me' like you would have a med-team on standby, y'know?)

I think Sylus and Zayne would naturally have a bit of rivalry in terms of authority, but it would be light-hearted. There's an ongoing debate around who MC left in charge (Zayne) but there's only one person who's actually convinced by that debate (Sylus). He's gonna assume leadership position anyway, and Zayne lets him get away with it to a specific extent, unless it crosses a line, and then it quickly becomes clear who the real leader is.

Xavier!! I can see Xavier being the 'quiet one' of the group who secretly has a lot more sway than any of them realise. The others are super comfortable around him, especially Zayne when he actually wants to relax, or Rafayel when his social battery is dead. But! Xavier's no push-over, and that quickly becomes apparent in any conflict.

I actually think Sylus would enjoy stoking Xavier's darker side (if Xavier gets involved in an argument you best believe Sylus has the popcorn ready) and that the two would make pretty good sparring partners. They'd have fun with the whole Hunter's Association vs Onychinus thing, similar to the MC/Sylus dynamic.

But at the end of the day?

There's a reason we love the boys-- they're all good guys, and whatever conflicts there are, they're gonna figure it out for MC's sake. They've all been through so much, and they're all selfless in their love for MC, so that's always gonna be something they can relate to and appreciate in each-other.

And I think they could all benefit from more genuine friends?

So yeah! That's my take! I know I love angst but I'm choosing to be an optimist, mostly because I love the found-family trope and I wanna see the boys getting up to sitcom-type shenanigans! 😭😭😭

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends: Sand is becoming Ray's addiction

Something that leapt out to me from Episode 2 is that Sand is becoming Ray's new addiction, and the motif of fire/smoke is used to mirror the dynamic of their relationship.

Sand is the fuel to Ray's fire

When Sand lights Ray's cigarette in Episode 1, that was the official kindling of their relationship. They settle their differences and start afresh on a more amicable note. Sand agrees without protest because it's a genuine gesture of making peace. The act of igniting also parallels this being the first encounter where Ray appraises Sand through the lens of attraction. He eyeballs him as he leaves, as if seeing him in a new light.

In Episode 2, Sand once again lights Ray's cigarette. He is what fires Ray up, and will continue to fuel him. This is in reference to the sexual undertones in their relationship but also the care-taking dynamic which is developing between the two. When Ray feels down or lonely, Sand immediately extends his friendship or tries to cheer him up. He will be a light in the darkness that keeps Ray going.

Ray's nature is closely reflected in his addiction to alcohol. He needs a crutch; something to provide him with solace and reassurance. But due to the way he is, he has a tendency to become unhealthily attached to that very something.

Sand is very happy to be a source of support for Ray, but I don't think he's fully absorbed the extent of Ray's admission, "If you're my friend, you have to look after me in every way." Ray doesn't require his basic needs met as his circumstances do that already. So what Ray is referring to here is everything else: attention, love and care. Whereas Sand has offered his company within the confines of friendship, but nothing more. Sand doesn't seem to know about Ray's crush on Mew, which would give him an indicator that Ray has precedence of falling for his friends. Regardless, their respective stances on what constitutes a friendship are at odds with one another. 'I want you to give everything' (despite us just being friends) VS 'I'm not offering you everything' (in spite of us being friends).

Ray struggles to maintain boundaries without getting emotionally involved (because anyone who genuinely cares about him is seen as a form of love). Sand is trying to uphold boundaries whilst his actions say otherwise (his care for Ray derives from his impulse to be considerate, but that's not exclusive and it doesn't mean he intends it to come across as love).

When he's flirting with Ray, he stokes the fire, he quips back like-for-like because he doesn't want to be outdone or out-manoeuvred. But telling an addict "you're gonna keep wanting me" is playing precisely into Ray's weakness. Sand will eventually be both the object and enabler of Ray's addiction to him. And we know this because Sand already finds it very hard to say no to Ray, which means he won't be able to adhere strictly to the boundaries he set. He's going to contradict himself, and therefore seem like he's giving Ray mixed messages.

Fanning the Flames

Ray has a fiery personality, and his eagerness and passion are contagious. We see this in their love scene. Sand repeatedly hesitates. But Ray has a particular talent for riling and stirring him up through his continual flirting, and Ray knows it too. This fearless, upfront and confrontational quality in Ray is what Sand is massively attracted and drawn to, (which he gladly exploits to get Sand to give in), but is also the source of the fire that could potentially destroy them both.

I mentioned in a response recently that Ray has a 'fuck it' mentality, and Sand has a 'fuck that' mentality. Ray tends to throw caution to the wind and acts first, thinks second. 'Why not? What have I got to lose?' (Funny how the name of the bar is YOLO huh?) Whereas Sand is more rational, his 'fuck that' mentality means he tends to take a step back and observe, to call out behaviour that he doesn't agree with or he doesn't believe is 'right'. But what happens what that person is himself? What if he's not sticking to his own rules? What then?

"Yes, it's possible. But you need to be careful. Don't feel more than that. It's like playing with fire." Sand looks visibly troubled after he says this, as if he's recalling something specific in his mind. This line can be read in reference to either character. The most obvious being Ray as the source of fire. Which would mean Sand is saying this in response to previous bad experiences he's had and doesn't want to risk repeating. Alternatively, the more unlikely but intriguing option would be Sand as the source of fire. If so, this is a warning. He's aware that someone being entangled with him may end in disaster or self-destruction. Perhaps a sign that Sand can be irrational or unpredictable when in love, a stark juxtaposition to his usual, overly-rational persona.

Foreshadowing: Going up in smoke

Though Ray's attachment to Sand may not occur to him immediately (as Ray is stunted in the emotional maturity department), it will hit him hard when it does. The thing about an addiction is once you've realised you're hooked, it's far too late. It creeps up on you slowly. And that's why it's dangerous. Part of addiction is denial. Denial that you have a problem. Denial that you are drawn to the crutch you've come to rely on. You convince yourself that you can easily quit, that you can easily operate without it. And because of that, Ray is going to hurt Sand first. And when he does, Sand may choose to back off and put some distance in between them as an ultimatum.

If things do lead in that direction and Ray becomes aware of his reliance on Sand, suddenly having that torn away from him is going to cause a huge emotional upheaval. Like an addiction to anything, without it he won't be able to cope. He'll spiral. Withdrawal at it's worst.

There is the common saying that when something 'goes up in smoke', it's when all efforts have come to nothing. We could see both Ray and Sand's attempts to maintain just a 'friendship' backfire in their faces. And judging by how quickly things are moving in this show, this is going to happen sooner than we think.

[jo-harrington]

Corroded Coffin Fest Halloween - Pride

Summary: Jeff goes head to head with his Dungeon Master.

Word Count: 1313

Rating: T

Warnings/Themes: Friendship, humor, angst, typical DnD shenanigans, Dungeon Master and Player dynamics (Eddie is a ruthless DM, but his players are little assholes and he isn't a tyrant).

Check Out the Main Post for @corrodedcoffinfest here! Thank you to @thisapplepielife for organizing another wonderful event for us! I already told them in a DM, this is not only giving me a chance to tickle the old keyboard but read everyone else's work when reading gets to be a challenge between work and writing bigger series. I've set time aside for this. I'm ready! THANK YOU AGAIN.

Also thank you Reddit for giving me some fuel for this because I hate writing combat sequences. The gameplay probably isn't accurate but I don't care. If you see something you know is wrong, no you didn't.

Tagging @the-unforgivenn @1lostsoul0fishbowl upon request.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

Friday, October 25th 1985

There wasn't much in life that was as daunting as staring across a table at Eddie Munson while he was DM'ing.

That's not to say that their sessions weren't fun. On the contrary, it was probably the most fun they had in their lives.

But when all of the players fell into one of Eddie's little traps, there was a certain sparkle in his eye that would make their hearts plummet directly into their asses.

Tonight, Jeff was determined not to let it get to him.

It was hard to see any progress in Dungeons and Dragons sometimes, especially when campaigns ran for weeks on end. Not only did you need to advance the plot, but you had to have character growth, not to mention leveling up. Plus, with Eddie's elaborate plots, there were endless clues and red herrings in the gameplay that would make or break future sessions.

Oh, and combat; you never knew if a wrong move would kill you.

That's what they were faced with right now. A dungeon full of adversaries, and a big bad slime monster. Half of their party was down, the rest with barely any hit points left, and morale was low.

So of course Eddie, crouched on his throne, smirked and laughed at each pathetic move they made.

"Back to the top of the cycle," he announced and pointed at Jeff. "You're up."

Jeff stood from his seat and squared his shoulders.

He knew he was a good player, had a great character, and a few tricks up his sleeve. Plus, he had been playing long enough to know how to get a leg up when he needed one.

They could turn this around; they had to.

"Alright," he began and stared at the board with calculating eyes.

He started narrating his series of moves; he crossed a distance to face the slime monster himself, attacked, then used his bonus action to cast Mage Hand and distract the monster by stoking a fire nearby.

The dice gods smiled down at him. All of his friends cheered as every move he made succeeded. Suddenly, they were motivated enough to rally, and Eddie grumbled as they cleared the field of enemies.

Soon, the slime monster was the only one that was left.

And it was Jeff's turn once again.

He smiled unabashedly as he calculated his move; he'd been picking up on some of Eddie's clues all night, and if he was right about one hunch, he could try something a little risky for a big payout.

Was this what Eddie felt like all the time?

"Don't get cocky, kid," Dustin quoted the legendary Han Solo and patted Jeff's shoulder in encouragement.

Jeff then announced his plan, something too simple for his sorcerer, but he knew would work.

"I'm going to try and suplex Slime Boy into that fire over there."

"What?" Everyone shouted, Eddie included.

"Why are you gonna use melee when you're a magic user."

"I've never seen something so stupid in my life."

"I just told you not to get cocky. It was nice knowing you guys."

"You sure you wanna do that Windforger?" Eddie questioned over the chaos.

"Yeah," Jeff nodded. "I'm sure."

"You know what," Eddie shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll entertain this. I need an athletics roll. I'll even give you advantage for the...courage.

"But!" he shouted over the din of his friends voices. "I need you to tell me how you envision this is gonna play out first, should you succeed."

Jeff didn't hesitate.

"You've been leading us all along," he began. "Slimey is afraid of fire. He'd pretty much melt in it."

"Then cast fireball!" Mike shouted.

"I just used mage hand for a distraction," Jeff ignored him. "So there's a fire over here. If I can just...grapple him into the fire, he's done for."

His explanation only caused everyone to shout louder, but he got his dice ready, regardless of the protest. He knew he needed something pretty high, but with Eddie giving him advantage and his luck at rolling all night, surely this would pay off.

And he'd be a hero.

"Well wouldn't you know," Eddie's brow jumped in amusement. "Someone was paying attention. Go ahead and roll. What do you need...uh...15 to succeed sound fair? He is slime, after all."

Everyone leaned in to watch with bated breath as Jeff threw his dice onto the table. Time seemed to slow as they rolled and clattered.

"Come on," he muttered and envisioned his roll.

A 15 exactly. A 17 to be safe! Maybe even a Nat 20?

"Come on."

Yeah he would get a Nat 20.

"Come on."

The dice slowed down and then came to a halt.

And then the world came rushing back.

Eddie grimaced theatrically, tsking at his friend all the while, and the others wailed at the sight of two Natural 1's.

"It was a risky move," Eddie offered sympathetically, then his face morphed into a feral grin. "But not one that paid off."

Jeff stood there, frozen, as Eddie narrated the clumsy failure of a grapple and his character falling headfirst into the fire.

Mercifully, it was a night where Jeff's mom decided she'd pick him up from Hellfire.

"Good," he thought as he grabbed his backpack and scurried out of the drama classroom. "Then I don't have to endure Eddie's gloating on the drive home."

He deserved it, though, didn't he? He'd made an absolute fool of himself, could have gotten everyone killed, all because he thought he was a better player than he was.

Once outside, he leaned against the building and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the sight of his mom's car. The guys patted his shoulder as they filed out and headed towards Eddie's van, each offering words of comfort that fell on deaf ears.

Eddie was the last one out, and he stopped silently at Jeff's side. He took a moment to light a cigarette, then once the younger boy seemed enough at ease with his presence, he spoke.

"You let your pride get the best of you."

"I know," Jeff grumbled.

"You're not a newbie, Jeffy," Eddie shook his head. "I would've expected a move like that from Wheeler or something."

Jeff stayed silent.

"Come on, you're not gonna laugh as I take cheap shots at Mike?" Eddie scoffed. "Man, you're really taking this harder than I thought."

"It's because I don't screw up like this," Jeff threw his hands out, as if presenting his failure to the world. "I'm the best player in that room. I pay attention, I take notes, I overanalyze about every single word that comes out of your mouth because I know you're out to fuck us all over."

"I do do that," Eddie nodded in agreement. "Don't I?"

"I should've known better," Jeff continued, hanging his head in defeat.

"No, hey," Eddie stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't say that. It was a risky move and damn, if it had worked, it would've been epic."

"But it didn't."

"That's the whole point of playing though." Eddie shrugged. "You try, you fail. You die. In this case, you're revived and live to see another day. You try again."

"I'm never doing anything as stupid as that ever again though," Jeff huffed.

"Yeah you will," Eddie clenched a fist and punched his chin softly. "And next time, you'll succeed."

Jeff looked up at him nervously, "You think so?"

"Of course I do," Eddie shrugged. "You are one of the best players in Hellfire."

He patted Jeff on the shoulder and then turned to head towards the van. He paused for a second though, and turned to call back to Jeff as he walked backwards.

"I wouldn't have even allowed the freshman to do a dumb move like that!"

[raphaelesbian]

Hi!! I love the PTS series and I just have some thoughts on the Shredder/Splinter/Raph dynamic that I wanted to discuss cuz I don't have many people to talk to about this topic :'D.

I find it interesting the idea the Shredder could see himself in Raphael due to his anger. What I find just as interesting is the idea that Raphael's anger is actually similar to Splinter and he sees himself in him (I am unable to cite anything right now but it's a theory/analysis out there. Kinda like in Lone Rat and Cubs when he whamos that Kraang bot). What i find REALLY cool is how these two ideas could coexist wherein Shredder thinks that he is looking at a reflection of himself in Raphael, but later finds out that what he sees is not himself but his brother, Splinter.

When they were young, do you think that Saki found comfort in his brother's anger? Do you think seeing his brother get angry too justified his own rage? Or did he butt heads with Splinter, and that anger stoked a burning fury between two?

When he looks at Raphael and finally recognize Splinter in him, will he feel rage towards the brother that 'betrayed' him? Or would he find comfort in the reminder of his childhood with his dear brother? They grew up together after all. He must've loved some part of him. He might miss some part of Splinter, no matter how little.

Idk if I'm sounding coherent though haha cuz I get nervous sending asks so I'm kinda just pushing through this and hoping it doesn't sound weird.

Great fic BTW it has been occupying my brain for a few weeks 👍👍

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ aaaaaaa thank you so much!!! no you're super coherent dw, thank you for the ask!!!

I 10000% agree!! I honestly can't recall if the concept has come up in any of my fics yet (maybe briefly, during Shredder and Splinter's fight in PTS?), but I am a STRONG believer that Raph and Splinter are super similar. Lone Rat and Cubs is a fantastic example, but even as far back as Turtle Temper that connection is made.

Not just that Splinter was a guy who struggled with his anger, and that he sees Raph as having the same problem, but also just how DANGEROUS Splinter sees his anger as having been. I've seen people hate on Splinter for Turtle Temper, and I kinda get it because yeah, his advice, though not bad, wasn't given in the best way. But I think the context of "Splinter sees his younger self in his son, and is terrified that he'll make the same mistakes" is important.

Plus, AGH the PHRASING. He LET Saki anger him, he MADE his words into weapons. The way he blames himself for his brother's actions.... gnawing on the drywall.

When they were young, do you think that Saki found comfort in his brother's anger? Do you think seeing his brother get angry too justified his own rage? Or did he butt heads with Splinter, and that anger stoked a burning fury between two?

Aaaaaaaaaaaa that is an EXCELLENT question!! Their relationship is really fun, specifically because we do get SO little about it other than after everything has fallen apart. So we get a lot of room to play with it!

Personally, I lean towards the first. I headcanon Yoshi as (slightly) older (I imagine that a big part of Yuuta choosing to spare Saki and take him in was because he had a similarly-aged child at home), and I also like to see them as being pretty close. Probably competitive, I'm sure they butted heads from time to time, but I prefer the interpretation that learning the truth about Saki's heritage caused a sudden shift in their relationship, rather than them being at odds the whole time. So yeah, I can totally see Saki taking some form of comfort in Yoshi losing his temper (as long as it's aimed at other people c: )

ALSO, perhaps this is a bit of the trigun brainrot in me fhdsaghakdg but. I kind of like the idea of like, not just Yoshi being angry, but Yoshi being the angry one. As in, Saki DIDN'T have much of a temper growing up. Like, the small bits we do see of their past, Yoshi is cocky and making jokes while Saki is cool and serious. And that's AFTER their family has degraded almost to its breaking point. So I can imagine Saki as being the calmer, more level-headed one as a child. Definitely still with a temper, for sure, but Yoshi was the hot-head in my mind. Then, he learns the truth, his life starts falling apart (/he starts ruining his own life. Saki, come ON, man), and who does he start emulating, whether he recognizes it or not? His brother. Just sayinggggg.... 👉 👈

Sorry this is getting SO long fhdsaghkdg. You've activated my trap card (u asked about the doomed siblings)

When he looks at Raphael and finally recognize Splinter in him, will he feel rage towards the brother that 'betrayed' him? Or would he find comfort in the reminder of his childhood with his dear brother? They grew up together after all. He must've loved some part of him. He might miss some part of Splinter, no matter how little.

I absolutely believe that they loved each other, and that they miss each other. Like I'm actually a little bit deranged over just how hard struggle with the fact they are BROTHERS. The INTENSITY of their hatred for each other as a mask... the only way they can cover up the grief is with anger and loathing... (Sorry to plug my own fics but if you haven't read blood of the covenant or brother (noun) yet, this whole concept was a lot of the inspiration lmao)

And!! OH my god, you're such a genius. Shredder obsessing so hard over identifying with Raph, only for it to click that Raph isn't him, Raph is YOSHI.... Shaking you. You're so fucking right. Like, Shredder doesn't realize it at all but so much of what drew him to Raph, what made him DESPERATE to get Raph to stay with him, is his similarity to Yoshi. he wanted his brother back, he wanted to prove to himself that it wasn't his fault, WHY DO THEY ALL KEEP LEAVING HIM—

omfgggggggg. yeah definitely tucking that concept away, don't mind me over here....

ANYWAYS!!!! Forgive the word vomit lmao but thank you SO MUCH for the ask I just spent 35 minutes typing this up instead of working FHKAGHKSADGLK. I am ALWAYS hyped to discuss these things.

Also I'm so happy you liked PTS gfhkadsglk thank you!! <3 <3

[formulaorange]

2024 Winter Anime

It's here! It's finally here!!! Solo Leveling comes out this season! There's definitely a few others to keep an eye out for but this is the star of the winter season:

Solo Leveling One of my most anticipated series. I'm caught up on the english light novels (8 volumes) and I'm honestly so invested in this story. In a way it gives the same impact as One Punch Man but if the story progressed a little faster toward fame and growth in his power. Easily the best of the season. Noteworthy On Going Shows: Frieren - Episodes 17-28 One of the most mesmerizing and well paced fantasies I've seen. Also one of my 10/10s of all time. Worth looking into if you remotely like fantasy. Shangri La Frontier - Episodes 14-25 Another fantasy game series that honestly just looks like it's a fun game. Explores a lot of game mechanics within this full-dive VR type game that almost puts SAO to shame. Fun action, fantasy and fun for game lovers. Apothecary Diaries - Episodes 13-24 My current favourite drama/romance/medical mystery series. The characters are simple but the show highlights the different dynamics and almost feels like an enemies to lovers plot. New Seasons:

Blue Exorcist - Season 3 This is one of the og shows I watched growing up. It's a mythology school themed show that I loved. It's been 13 years since season 1 aired and I'm stoked to see it come back. It's being done by a different studio since A-1 is busy with solo leveling, so I'm not sure if it'll hit the same but I'll still check it out at least for the nostalgia.

Mashle - Season 2 The funniest anime I've seen in a while. Man muscle brains his way through magic school and the whole show is a meme of harry potter and other magic series. Truly entertaining. Can't wait for this season

Delicious In Dungeon This is a series I've wanted to pick up the manga for for a while. It's about dealing with food and hunger when these adventurers are deep in a dungeon and learn to start cooking and eating what they can find down there. Funny concept but honestly looks like a lot of fun.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer I read this manga and light novel so long ago. (Literal years - link to my manga thoughts and summary). I'm looking forward to the adaptation. I think nowadays this kind of story doesn't catch nearly as much attention as it did a few years ago. An adventurer dies in a dungeon and is reborn as an undead who can evolve as he kills other monsters and he deals with trying to fit in with the human realm again and evolving. I'm still looking forward to it after keeping an ear our for so long!

Mr. Villain's Day Off I recently heard about this series and thought it was such a cute concept. Us with all our villain complexes with enjoy this one. Will likely be a background show for me as there won't be a huge plot, regardless, still fun to watch. Burn the Witch - #0.8 - 30 min Special I think this won't be as exciting now that Bleach has come back and we aren't as depraved of Tite Kubo's work but I really enjoyed the original short series. Hoping for more of this world in the future. Sequels: Classroom of the Elite - Season 3 Tsukimichi - Season 2 (Link to review of season 1) The Dangers in My Heart - Season 2 More Continuations: Undead Unluck Ragna Crimson After going through 20+ shows every season, many with sub-par animations and the same fantasy twists, I've become real picky about which series are even worth trying to watch these days. Here are the ones that deserve at least 2 episodes in order: A Sign of Affection - Gets a special spot since it's incredibly rare to see disability representation in anime and it looks like it's done quite well- A romance between a guy and a deaf girl. Looks super sweet Bucchigiri?! - I honestly can't say this looks appealing to me personally but I've hear the name before and well it's MAPPA. (Give em a break) 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess - looks well animated and just a fun watch Metallic Rouge - The sci-fi series for this season. I'm not sure I have it in me to watch something heavy like this this season but it looks decent. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic The Witch and the Beast - Here for manga readers - lowkey looks like the manga will be much better and this might be a skip for me. Hokkaido Gyaru's are super Adorable (Ecchi) ALSO - Big reminder: Haikyu!! and Demon Slayer have their movies coming out this season as well (both theatrical releases so keep an eye out!!!) Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training - Feb 2nd 2024 Haikyu!! - The Dumpster Battle - Feb 16th 2024

[bengiyo]

La Pluie Ep 6 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Tai and Patts began their boyfriend era. We watched them navigate the beginning of what feels like the rest of their lives, as they began establishing communication protocols. Lomfon reminded us that skepticism exists in this world, and that the understanding of soulmates is cultural. Tai took Patts to meet his dad, and of course Patts made a good impression despite being surprised. I'm convinced Tai's dad is gay. Patts went back to Tai's place, and accidentally saw Tai's naked body.

He's reading Nora Roberts in bed!!! I'm gonna lose it!!!!!

THIS IS EVERYTHING! WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT PATTS! HE HAS BEEN INTO TAI THIS WHOLE TIME AND WANTS TO DO IT RIGHT!

I just love how seriously this show is treating sex. So often these shows tease us and don't do anything. I love how this show is approaching desire.

I just really love the way they talk to each other. I love that Patts doesn't know everything going on with Tai, but knows that Tai needs to confront his feelings about his parents, and nudges him gently. He lowers and softens himself in a way I don't think conforms to the normal dynamics yaoi calls for, but I'm here for it.

Loving the work meetings being good in shows lately. They decided on a course of action and left the meeting with action items. Patts is good at his job, and also he's going to take them to that mountain in Chiangmai.

I love this cast party. Pingpong is everything.

I like that this lap sleeping is consensual. I like how so much that happens in this show is from someone asking for something and another person giving it. I love seeing characters own the consequences of their own choices rather than just reacting to the latest contrivance.

I like that Lomfon called Tai for Tien. That is the reasonable thing to do. I don't mind him using it as an opportunity to get Tai's number and schedule a dinner date with him.

Suar and Title are playing out the brother thing so well.

Yes! We contrived a valid reason for Tien and Lomfon to go on the trip.

Two weeks later.

I really like how all of these threads were set up early to converge on this trip. Also glad Bow is here, because Tai cannot be trusted to get himself laid.

So glad Thai dramas have embraced that they're in Thailand. They have beautiful natural settings and beautiful people.

Love Bow and this girl beefing on sight. Enemies to Lovers GL plot??

Patts wasn't expecting to have to fight a love rival on this trip, but he will!

I'm absolutely stoked for next week! Everyone is together, and Tien is going to murder Lomfon on this mountain!

This was such an amazing episode. So many threads wove together seamlessly, and @lurkingshan and I were absolutely correct about Patts! I will be insufferable for weeks!!

[definitelynotaminion]

After four solid years of working on this series, here we are! Finally at the finish line! All that's left is Day 31: wildcard, so I'm super stoked and wanting to include my friends in this since they've supported me along this cracky, cracky journey...

I had to write sporadically since even I, prince of porn, must be in a certain headspace to write smut in general, much less kinky, filthy smut.

I started this series on October 02, 2020. On Ao3, the "Kinktober is 20/20" series, where I've been grouping these fics, is 82,269 words. I created a new pseud for this series, so that readers could differentiate my more serious works from the shameless hentai. I tested myself, wrote to the fullest extent of the kink, tested the boundaries of what's hot and what's not, and decided to be utterly shameless. Some pieces I love. Some, I can't believe I wrote, let alone published.

It's been a great, wonderful time.

From what was meant to be a series of unrelated one-shots exploring depravity, a number of actual series emerged.

A crumb or more - Where I joke that someone holding Sasuke down and fucking some sense to him might have prevented him from leaving the village, and then write Time travel!Sakura to do just that-- only it turns out surprisingly wholesome, with ot3 team seven time skip as a sequel. Astonishingly one of my favorite verses

King of the World (if I wanna be)- A series where Izuku gets a sex quirk. Stunningly, this is not a unique phenomenon for kinktober. I wrote more than one universe where Deku gets a DIFFERENT sex quirk. Amazing. In this series, he has a subtle mind control/hypnosis quirk that's like a "notice-me-not" spell, projecting an aura of "nothing to see/be concerned about" that lets him get into all sorts of mischief. It also serves to explain why Kacchan is Like That™-- literal years of being exposed to an uncontrolled "don't worry about it" quirk that prevents him from worrying about the consequences of his actions. It has six fics and is 23,447 words.

Love on top (baby it's you)- A two-part series where Sasuke is actually trans and not just Magically Given a Pussy for my own enjoyment (and yours).

Puppy Plays- Probably one of the most depraved series to come out of this experiment. MIND THE TAGS if you go here. When I wrote the first fic, I had to be cajoled for days to actually post it. When I wrote the sequel the day before yesterday, I posted it without any editing so I could hurry up and do my college homework, utterly unashamed. It's puppy play and it's noncon, Bakudeku (Dark Izuku).

And most recently, Konoha "Omega Verse" (Team Hole), which is not actually alpha/beta/omegaverse. It's just a free use/sex AU where one member of each team is designated as free use/fuck whenever and explores the social reality and worldbuilding of such a dynamic. Naturally, I chose Sasuke. For spice, the team omega uses a jutsu to give them a vagina, and any non-vagina-owners on the team use the reverse to get a dick. This keeps things nice and simple for the "use a member of your team like a flesh light for stress relief" agenda.

Describing these is wild. It's kinktober, though. Kinktober's gonna kink!

Aside from the series that developed, there are a number of one shots that were actually good. My personal favorite is probably the Shikamaru fic where everything actually is safe, sane and consensual-- all the way through a gangbang where he gets to be a pillow princess.

Honorable mentions: the Sakura/Hinata fic where Hinata is jealous of ot3 team seven and Sakura shows her a good time; my first foray into actual omegaverse, with Kiribaku (cute); these two hot wing (dabi/hawks) fics that actually have really nice writing and icarus vibes; an actually wholesome bakudeku fic where they're pro heroes and pass OFA back and forth with bloody kisses after a fight; and some post-canon wholesome team seven ot3 where they'd rather make out then go to a dinner party.

-

Now: the wildcard space. I've considered continuing one of the favorite series. I've considered finding a different kinktober prompt-list and finding one that wasn't represented in my original list. I've considered making a poll of entirely friend/tumblr submissions of ideas.

I want it to be fun! But also a big finale to wrap up this series I've spent four years of my life on. I feel like it has to be so kinky, so ridiculous, and so much fun that it neatly showcases what kinktober's all about-- or at least, what it has been all about, for me.

In light of that, and me still decided, feel free to send in ideas-- ship ideas, opinions, random thoughts, kinks you'd like to see, a kink I already used that you'd like to see more of--- the sky's the limit. I just want to do this with the input of the people who have read and enjoyed the series, and the input of my friends who have supported me along the way. And thrown things at me. And squealed. And blushed. You know who you are.

[jadelotusflower]

Stargate rewatch: 1x11 Bloodlines

According to Teal’c, Chulak is one of the few worlds with an abundance of Goa’uld larvae. Was this embellishment by Teal’c because he wanted to go back, or perhaps Amaunet is a Goa’uld queen who spawned larvae pre-show and he knew that?

Both Teal’c and Hammond want to talk to Jack alone to say things they can’t in front of the others.

Kind of a small house for a First Prime.

Bra’tac! The always wonderful Tony Amendola. MVP of the recurring guest cast.

Jack: “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it” Bra’tac: “No, the bridge is too well guarded.” Hee!

No shade to the later actress, but Salli Richardson is the superior Drey’auc.

Her anger is completely justified, because she and Rya’c are paying the price for Teal’c’s actions, noble though they were.

Oof, Teal’c treats his wife…not great.

We don’t know what would have happened if Rya’c hadn’t been sick and not needed a Goa’uld to heal him. Later it’s implied Jaffa physiology requires the implantation at puberty which makes sense - there’s evolutionary differences between humans and Jaffa and the Goa’uld want to keep them dependent - but Teal’c can’t be sure at this stage.

I know it’s for plot reasons, but Sam really should have grabbed a couple of larvae, since the purpose was to study them.

“Just that every single one of these infant Goa’ulds will one day take a human life” - this week on Things are Personal for Daniel.

“If we kill them when they’re as vulnerable as they are right now we’d be no better than the Goa’uld.” Eh, not really buying Sam’s reasoning here. Scientific experiment on larvae possibly resulting in death = ok, but shooting them outright = not ok? Worth noting that Sam will not continue to hold this view, as she explodes a pregnant Goa’uld queen in later seasons.

But it makes sense for Sam to make this argument at this point in her character arc - they do seem to have settled into the dynamic of Sam=logic and Daniel=emotion.

The way Daniel massacres the Goa’uld larvae is kind of chilling though. Sometimes I think fandom tends to see early seasons Daniel as a precious uwu baby but he does have a ruthless streak, from urging the capture of Apophis in The Nox to shooting the tank here. He (understandably) has a visceral hatred of the Goa’uld that when stoked cannot be tempered.

The whiplash from this to Daniel post-slaughter, munching on a power bar and wondering if the larvae needs to be fed is sure a thing.

"I'm sorry, my son, that it is I who must do this to you." 🥺 Chris Judge is great in this episode.

No one suggests that Drey’auc and Ray’c go with them to Earth? Seems like it would have solved some problems that arise later.

Hammond even stated the mission was to bring Rya’c back, and the issue (other than the impending implantation) was that having family on an enemy world compromises Teal’c, but everyone is just cool with them remaining behind, including Drey’auc despite the danger they face?

I suppose they believe they can’t get them all through the Stargate with their subterfuge plan, but it’s odd they don’t even try.

There’s a nice callback to “cross that bridge” when Sam points out the priests will tell Apophis of Bra’tac’s betrayal which is cute, but he just kills them right?

[lemonhemlock]

okay ik you’ve been disappointed in hotd’s depiction of aegon and you’re against the idea of him ‘going darker’ so to speak in s2- if i can play devil’s advocate, im actually super stoked for it (you’re welcome to delete and move on, it’s your blog and you didn’t ask for contradictory opinions! im encroaching here lol. you’re def not required to even read this at all)

obviously hotd has made aegon the ‘villain’ so to speak (there’s a hundred arguments to that and i agree with a lot of them but from the pov of a casual showfan, he’s a rapist and he likes to watch little kids fight 🤷‍♀️) i think the time skips in s1 did a lot of damage to building relationships beyond the primary rhaenicent/daemyra, and the greens kids suffered the most. we see glimpses of aegon/aemond’s relationship, but helaena never gets to speak to either of her brothers (l m a o) and alicent gets limited screentime with them as adults. daeron is, well, non existent. what we get of aegon’s role is that he seems to be the troublemaker/problem child- the way alicent reacts with dyana suggested (to me) that this isn’t a first time occurrence, and it’s more of her being at the end of her rope than experiencing the shock that her son is capable of this.

the show doesn’t do a great job of balancing the actual depiction of aegon we see on screen (he’s kind of a large adult failson) vs the one other characters tell us about. i understand the reasons why, but it creates this disjointed feeling of the sad/rejected boy vs this monster other people are trying to say he is. i think when we see the coronation, and he receives this uninterrupted love for the first time in his life, it’s gonna be a joffrey-esque situation at least in terms of this unstable manchild getting absolute power. it’s going to change his dynamics with his family for sure- ik you’ve talked about alicent/aegon and aegon/aemond roles, and tbh im excited to see him claim that power in those relationships. i think it’ll be a large shift from s1, because now he has the idea of acceptance and admiration from the public, and his own family has given him the crown! they’ve doomed themselves to his actions in a way

anyway this is long 😔 i get people dislike how he’s written in the show (totally understandable!!) but with what we’re given i must confess i can’t wait to see him go nutso, especially after blood & cheese. the idea of the greens infighting but still being a force to contend with in the war at whole is delicious to me lmao!!

Hello there!

I'm actually not opposed to him going darker, I just think there are more interesting ways of doing that, ways that don't involve further brutalizing two female characters that already have it pretty rough canonically. There's no need to add to that - it would kind of feel like what D&D did to Sansa by giving her Jeyne Poole's storyline with Ramsey, after escaping KL and Joffrey's abuse. Just unnecessary and cheap shock value. For whomever is interested, I went into further detail here, here and here.

The show doesn’t do a great job of balancing the actual depiction of aegon we see on screen (he’s kind of a large adult failson) vs the one other characters tell us about. i understand the reasons why, but it creates this disjointed feeling of the sad/rejected boy vs this monster other people are trying to say he is.

I do agree with this. On screen he behaves in a certain way, off-screen we are told he is different.

i think when we see the coronation, and he receives this uninterrupted love for the first time in his life, it’s gonna be a joffrey-esque situation at least in terms of this unstable manchild getting absolute power. it’s going to change his dynamics with his family for sure- ik you’ve talked about alicent/aegon and aegon/aemond roles, and tbh im excited to see him claim that power in those relationships. i think it’ll be a large shift from s1, because now he has the idea of acceptance and admiration from the public, and his own family has given him the crown! they’ve doomed themselves to his actions in a way

My main gripe with this is that I don't want another Joffrey. What would be the point in that? :)) They shied away from turning Alicent into a Cersei-clone, why turn Aegon into a Joffrey-clone? They don't even have the same origin story - yes, both were ignored by their fathers, but Joffrey never craved his mother's affection, because he already had it; Cersei doted on him and was very indulgent. Joffrey never had the sword of Damocles hanging over his head because there was another claimant endangering his life. Also, Joffrey is not really shown to be particularly awful towards Myrcella either; she's more or less nonplussed by his existence.

Even when Cersei admonished him and he had his power trips, he never really did anything to her, it was just posturing. He didn't really have the balls to go against his mother, because deep down he knew she was always on his side and there wasn't anything to gain by that? As soon as things got tough, he was the first to cower behind her skirts. Furthermore, Joffrey's entire power comes from the Lannisters - how is he going to piss off Lannister Girl #1 and, by extension, Lannister Patriarch #1? It's very much a case of "fuck around and find out". When Tywin came back to KL, he made quick work of containing Joffrey and there was fuck-all "the king" could do about it. All of Joffrey's awfulness is extended outside his family, apart from Tyrion - although, we should note that he doesn't always have the guts to go against Tyrion all the time either and is even disciplined by his uncle a few times.

Similarly, it doesn't really make sense for the Hightowers to be such pushovers because Aegon decides to act like a prick. Aegon's entire powerbase comes from Oldtown. Yes, Aegon has an advantage over Joffrey because he has a dragon, but he can very much be locked in his room or not allowed entry to the Dragonpit if he acts like a little shit. And what would he even do with his dragon anyway - burn his family members? Come on. There should be Hightower guards sworn to Otto and Alicent swarming the place, just like Cersei had her personal army of Lannister soliders sent by Daddy. Anything else doesn't make sense. Erryk and Arryk have already manhandled Aegon, Aemond gave him a black eye, Criston would backhand him so fast if he were mean to Alicent?

I mean, I'm not in the writing room, and they ultimately can write whatever they want and bend themselves over backwards explaining it, but they've set Aegon up so far to be a different character, so why not act like it? And, if not, at least respect the internal logic of the fictional setting, because I don't see why Aegon should have unfettered access to power right now either. He has literally zero allies at court and no network of support apart from what his Hightower relatives have built for him.

anyway this is long 😔 i get people dislike how he’s written in the show (totally understandable!!) but with what we’re given i must confess i can’t wait to see him go nutso, especially after blood & cheese. the idea of the greens infighting but still being a force to contend with in the war at whole is delicious to me lmao!!

No worries, I don't even disagree with you on principle - I'd like to see ~the darkness, but there are more novel ways to go about it rather than abusing his family members (if that's the way they even intend to go! bc all of this is speculation anyway LOL). I don't mind him scuffling it out with Aemond, but I would hate to see the greens' love and loyalty for one another erased for some gratuitous cliche villain plotline.

Not to mention that the other side is most likely going to be Sainted Rhaenyra as the most wonderful mother to Hero Jace, who loves & respects & would die for her + everyone mourning Rhaenys as a war hero, loving (grand)mother, dutiful wife and queen-who-never-was, everyone vowing to avenge her. Meanwhile Alicent is going to be painted again like the most failed mother in the world, daily regretting her decision to crown her son and weeping after Rhaenyra, the most capable queen that ever was robbed.

And I just don't think that would be a v good story. 😫

[yamatossideboob]

ONE PIECE 1026 Spoilers!

This week's chugs:

missing Soba girls… what sinister machinations are afoot…

smh Dorry and Brogy, aren't there more important matters to deal with? 😤

Nami is fucking GLUGGING that absinthe, I sure hope nothing strange or peculiar happens as a result!

I was genuinely taken back by the presence of absinthe tbh. It tracks that the giants would have a robust and varied liqueur cabinet, but absinthe just feels like a world apart from these mead-swilling colossi. That shit is decadent, maybe in Dressrosa I'd think nothing of it lol. It's HEADY too, not quite hallucinatory afaik, but you'd be proper munted on it for deffo. Which is odd imo for a culture so fond of fighting… maybe Dorry and Brogy imagined their beef 100 years ago lmao

Green fairy was my nickname in high school

LOL I love the Nika pose by Luffy holding the Flintstones meat bone.

Damn I wish Robin would eat me like that

YEAH GIANT SUPER POSE!!!! EVEN ZORO IS DELIGHTED

Bonney is so cute with her android father's corpse 🥺

Also I'm just fretting now but. istg if Oda undoes Kuma's death i am going to right fecked off

I wish i enjoyed this next segment more, but I can't help but see Barto as being underserved since the Grand Fleet formed. I doubt he's out for the count just yet, but I wish we'd seen more of him somehow. I hope at least we see him again for the final battle (and the rest of the GF PLEASE ODA)

In practical terms I appreciate that we're getting closure on this little sub-escapade. Plus Oda probably wanted to remind us that Shanks is in Serious Pirate Mode, can't be letting snots like Barto disrespect an Emperor.

tbqh I think more stan-brained weirdos should be made to drink poison.

The above said, I appreciate Bartolomeo getting this moment to shine. He could be a quality bro of Bon Clay nature when he leaves the parasocial nonsense behind.

Yasopp's actions here are interesting to me, it's like he's a Zoro to Shanks in making sure his captain keeps up the standard of Emperor. Neat little dynamic.

And with that, another vulgar star is snuffed out by Uncle Shanks. Barto & crew aren't dead obviously, I think he could use his fruit power to maybe encase the lot in a large sphere and hamster ball their way back to shore. I really do hope this isn't the last we see of him.

I LOVE THAT ISLAND MAN PIZARRO HAS LITTLE BANDAGES ON HIS ROCK SKULL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

just why is KOBY of all people important to getting the last ponegliff… Pudding is obvious given her ability to read them, but I'm blanking on why Koby is necessary… unless it was as collateral for some exchange of imprisoned pirates? Koby is a current golden boy but idk that he's that important rn… mysterious 🤔

Actually wait if that were true they'd be stoked by having Garp instead lmao nvm

But more importantly YAY MORIA ESCAPED AND CAN NOW MAYBE JOIN CROSS GUILD! I've always had a soft spot for Warlord Dracula, I'd love love love if he became a cog in the wider story again :3

also Sanjuan putting knocked-over buildings back is so funny and sweet. and tbh the next page scene of the BB crew hanging out is just nice, I love when crews just share company, it makes their comradery (or at least cooperation) that much more believable.

LMFAO HEY GRANDA HOWS IT FEEL TO BE LOCKED UP IN CHAINS BY A GREAT EVIL HUH????? fucking cop locked up in a pigsty, we love to see it

The Marejois siege continues, again love to see it!

Okay calling it now, Blackbeard is going to break the siege on for leverage in getting Fullaled nation status. This doesn't feel like much of a call, but BB is nothing if not an opportunist.

Pizarro picking up Devon and Augur's ship is cute 🥺

and now Blackbeard is one step closer to attaining an Ancient Weapon… interesting times are due friends…

Bonney staying to Jimbei is cute too 🥺 it'll be okay dw

"I wonder if it got chomped to bits by a big fish" Robin I love your fucked up sense of humour more than words can say

And now we have the highlight of the chapter: NEW NAMI OUTFIT!!!!!!!!!

This viking glam ensemble is beyond cute imo, I cannot wait to see what outfits the rest of the crew get on Elbaf!!!!

And we won't have long to wait, as there'll be another chapter next week!! Giant fun is ahead namaka!! 💪✖️

[inforelationship]

What is paper clipping and the signs to look to?

Today's relationship seems to be volatile and dynamic different from what the matter used to be before 50 years. The introduction of the digital age has complicated the matter in which the majority of relationships remain undefinable. In response, the lexicons of terms to simplify the expansive love terms are also increasingly becoming more communicative than ever before. 

Now, it is important to note that the normal relationships where people used to date, engage and get married are no longer the norm; instead, every dating stereotype whose presence was not described before is now clearly illustrated, which is mostly attributed to the exacerbation of the dating apps coming into existence. 

With the advent of dating stereotypes, relationship experts have also tried not to sit idly until they explicate the complications of emerging dating terminologies as the new relationship terms have taken centre stage. 

Now than before, every stage of a relationship is categorically explained, whether the relationship is reciprocated by the crush or the person you are seeing is crushing on another person, or the engaged person is interested outside the engagement zone are all explained.

Nonetheless, there are many dating scenarios that go hand-in-hand with emerging terminologies on the dating scene, such as ghosting, breadcrumbing, and gaslighting, among many others. 

In fact, "paper clippers" or "paper clipping" are among those new dating terms on the scene that you need to understand. 

Illustrator Samantha Rothenberg first came with an Instagram post and captioned the image, which attracted almost 14,000 likes.

The word paper clipping or paper clippers was inspired by the artwork of Samantha Rothenberg, whose Instagram post under the name Violet Clair.

She described the text messages of a guy who used to send creepy pop-up messages out of nowhere after separating as paper clippings.

"Sometimes, I pop up for no reason at all. See, the truth is, I'm damaged, flaky, and not particularly interested in you. But I don't want you to forget I exist," Samantha's illustrated Instagram post explained.

On an Instagram post-Rothenberg first came up with the word "paperclipping", which later attracted attention from the New York Post, Glamour and NBC, among other publications.

Dating experts have defined "paper clipping" as a dating situation where someone comes back into the life of a person they abandoned with the purpose of making them feel about themselves and then leaves again. 

It is a weird dating situation in which a psycho person feels good, re-energized, and confident by emotionally using other persons in their interest. The "Clippy" person makes you think that they are interested in you without indicating any signs of a committed relationship.  

"Paperclipping is when someone has you on the back burner, and it feels like you are about to go cold. They will reach you not in an attempt to move things forward but to re-stoke the flame and make sure you are still an option," Rothenberg said in an interview with Refinery 29. 

"It's quite typical, and there's something empowering about giving the action a name." 

According to the Collins Dictionary, "paper clipping" is when a person you dated abruptly sends you a message after a long absence, then vanishes once more.

According to Carla Maine Manly, a clinical psychologist, "paperclipping" is a new term for old-age behaviour in which a person with flaky behaviour exploits others in exchange for their self-worth by feeding on apparent connection and emotional reactions of others.

With the Manly description, definitely, paper clippers are emotional predators who will exploit any chances available to any person who weakly exposes them to their quarters. In most cases, paper clippers will leave out of the place before things get tangible and then reappear unexpectedly to invalidate their self-worth.

It's likely that you may be "paperclipped" without knowing. Yet, by paying attention to these trivial signs, there are sure ways that you will realize whether you are "paperclipped" or not.

They give you false hopes

The paper clippers will do all that they can to make sure that you feel the vibrancy and hope in your life, and then they will leave you again and give out excuses for their past behaviours. The clippers or paper clippers will continually ghost you and do whatever they can to cancel the plans despite the willingness to show the commitments.

Cold conversations

The sure signs of the paper clippers are that their conversation with them is going to bore and get cold because they have no legitimate purpose of moving things in the mutually benefiting mode between you and them. 

All they have to do is to initiate conversations that seek to know what you feel about them but couldn't have a meaningful conversation with you. Talking to them is going to put you into deep confusion, leaving the person hanging in a dilemma on what to do next about themselves.

Random appearance

Usually, when people take long without talking to each other for quite some time, the chances are that they are going to be surprised when they get messaged or called on when someone who abandoned them appears in such a manner. Paperclippers will shock you with comebacks and nagging conversations that will make you feel hopeful. You will rather find out that their actions weren't really genuine.

What to do if you are "paperclipped."

The best way to deal with "paper clippers" is to avoid them when they reappear. Just know they are always the same, and the problem is not on you but their flaky behaviour and repulsive attitude attached to their personality. Don't let their indistinct conversations confuse you; instead, tell them straight away what they want to communicate.

It is advisable to abandon the undefined unhealthy messages which do not sound communicatively straightforward from Clippy persons. 

Noteworthy

If you are "paperclipped", it is important to keep in your mind that it's never your part to be blamed, but instead, the blame should be shifted to them. It doesn't either mean that you have done wrong or there is something unattractive about you. Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with keeping Clippy persons outside your friend zone; it makes you well. You should also understand that you will find other people who treat you well and respect you deservingly. 

[whateverthedragonswant]

Hi! I don’t know if you have covered this before but do you think Jon/Dan was toxic and abusive? I feel like it was. Like the scene in Mareen where Danny tells Hizdar she has suitor on his knees was foreshadowing. ☹️I think it’s partly Dany never knowing healthy love relationships. I’m not excusing her behaviour but I think it’s a contributing reason.

Hey, Nonnie! So sorry for the delay in my response. I started to answer and had written you back a 10,000 word essay lol but then realized I didn't really answer your question so I scrapped it. And instead wrote you another 10,000 word essay LOL. Sorry! This got long.

I'll be honest, idr if I have gone into this before but no worries, I will go into it here. =)

I do feel that the relationship was toxic and abusive. One of the things I've always stood by when I've been asked why I'm anti-Jonerys (besides Dany becoming a tyrant and the KL massacre) is that the relationship was not good for Jon or Dany. Though I do think the toxicity and abuse of power was coming strictly from Dany's side. Some might disagree and say Jon was manipulating Dany the whole time (if they're willing to admit that pol!Jon or something was there that got dropped in the end) which is also not healthy but their argument gets lost in the context. Had Jon been manipulating her to get some form of power, then yes. But that wasn't why he did it as we know and he tried to do it in the kindest way possible, which falls in line with what Kit said about Jon in season 7. But, regardless, the relationship overall wasn't healthy and really helped to contribute to both of their downfalls in the story.

That's an interesting observation there, Nonnie, and I do tend to agree with you. Like you said, it doesn't excuse her actions but I do think part of it is that she never knew a healthy relationship or type of love. The purest form of love that she has known is absolute devotion from her followers and from men who were blinded by her beauty and in awe of her.

This is just pure conjecture on my part, but I do believe her abusive past with Viserys helped to contribute to that rage she had. As if each time it happened, it stoked the fire within her. I'm not saying it's the sole factor but I think it definitely added to it. She had never known any kind of love before that. She was simply a pawn, a piece to be traded, based on her looks and relation to Viserys.

Then she was with Drogo, which she ended up turning to her advantage. I do think she loved him, possibly as much as he loved her, but as we know it didn't equate to how much she loved Jon. I almost wonder how the relationship between Drogo and Dany would have gone had he survived. Like I would almost have loved to have seen S8 Dany and S1 Drogo together for a moment, to see if she would have kept him as her husband or he also would have become a threat, because she wasn't willing to share the throne. But I digress. While they loved each other, I think that love was slightly tainted due to its beginnings (her being essentially sold to him) and the fact that she had to utilize the knowledge Doreah taught her in order to change the dynamic between them. In that scene linked, to me, it's yet another foreshadowing clue/inside look into Dany's character. "Are you a slave, Khaleesi? Then don't make love like a slave." And then Dany flips her somewhat aggressively onto her back, which catches Doreah pleasantly off guard. But this also shows what Dany's real motive was. She said she wanted to please Drogo, which is why Doreah is instructing her, but ultimately she wanted to turn things to her advantage (which in this scenario, who could blame her?) so that love that develops between Dany and Drogo started a trend of the love of the so-called men in her life. Drogo has this absolute devotion to her (moon of my life), he doesn't behave like any other Khal when it comes to their wives and/or women, and she basically tames him so to speak. To his own detriment, which leads to his downfall and his death.

Then you have Jorah who she never got involved with but he had his own absolute devotion to her and was willing to do anything for her. He kidnapped Tyrion to get back in her favor and goes to find a cure for greyscale so he can go back to serving her because she tells him she needs him. She loved him in her own way, but she never returned the feelings he had for her. But she still had his devotion and he was someone she ultimately trusted and kept close. This farewell scene is very telling imho of the dynamic between them as well of his devotion. A lot of people focus on Dany's farewell to Jon for various reasons, as well as the looking back trope, but to me this was the most important piece:

Jorah was going to say something but she puts her hands into his, letting him know silently that she needs him and to return to her. Jorah sees Jon coming and kisses her hand before withdrawing. But this very image is of someone subservient to someone else. He may not be on his knees doing this but he doesn't need to be; she already has his devotion. So as pure as this love is that he has for her, it's not requited and there is a power dynamic between them. Which is a shame because I dare say that I think had Dany returned his feelings at all, he might have been a healthier love interest for her (later on in the series I mean) and would have been able to temper her impulses. And I only say that because of this scene:

He not only convinces her to let up on Tyrion slightly but also to try and talk to Sansa. And here Dany, while lying through her teeth (about Tyrion stealing Jorah's position; thankfully her manipulation tactic doesn't work here), is not acting as his queen so to speak. (and even notice that she ends up walking away from the open fire, ending up on the other side of the room, which is interesting because Dany was facing the fire when Jorah walked in - very powerful statement the show is making here; the blocking of this scene was super important)

Then you have Daario. Daario who betrayed the other Second Sons' leaders for her and immediately bends the knee, helps her take Yunkai, and begins advising her on how she must rule. He makes a valid point that she needs to know the land she is going to rule (a precursor to the whole Westeros arc) but he also sees who she really is and encourages her to be the dragon basically. He loves her and while she has affection for him and despite getting involved with him, she doesn't return the feelings. But in this relationship, you have the power dynamic at play as well as his absolute devotion.

Then you have Tyrion. Tyrion who considers himself to be a smart man and see through people easily. While he convinces Dany not to execute him once Jorah delivers him to her, as he starts advising her, he begins to have faith in her. He believes she is the answer to the shit world they're in and wants her to make a better world for them all. And in the course of this, he falls head over heels in love with her. He is the antithesis of Jorah. He has devotion to Daenerys but it's not absolute, and Dany knows that. Hence the constant contention between them once things in Westeros starts going sideways. Tyrion saw through her, knew what she was, but he convinced himself that he could guide her and temper her impulses. So he couldn't be wrong and he loved her. This line he says to Jaime isn't just about Jaime and Cersei; it's also about Tyrion and Daenerys and the current dynamic they're in. "You always knew exactly what she was. You loved her anyway."

(I couldn't find the scene of Tyrion walking through the destruction of the battle in 7x05)

From Jaime/Tyrion seeing the destruction to seeing Cersei/Dany, all paralleled. Even this:

Not only does this form of love contribute to Tyrion's downfall (and he obviously didn't learn his lesson from Tysha or Shae), but it also leads to his family and house being wiped off of the map and contributes to the KL massacre. Dany didn't return his feelings but she had a form of affection for him, which lessened the more and more the chasm between them grew. (I have a post I'm currently working on that goes into this more, about Dany's expectation of absolute devotion, including giving up family; I hope to finish it soon and post it) The more and more mistakes Tyrion made that she did not want to forgive. Her line to Sansa in 8x02 proves exactly why she kept him around. "I didn't ask him to be my Hand simply because he was good. I asked him to be my Hand because he was good, and intelligent, and ruthless when he had to be." And we all know how this relationship ended. That Tyrion literally embodies "Duty is the death of love".

And then we have Jon (sorry it took me so long to get here, Nonnie). Jon would have been good for her as well, but not as much as Jorah I don't think. Their relationship, as brief as it was, started on warring power dynamics (mostly on her side), abusive power dynamics (again, from her side), and manipulation (from both). As we all know, that's not a recipe for a healthy relationship. A lot of Jonerys shippers like to point to Dany's proposal in the 8x06 throne room scene as to how this power dynamic between them would have balanced out, but they always miss three big things: 1) Jon was not going to last had he accepted that proposal (she was going to eventually kill him), 2) there was already an abusive power dynamic at play, & 3) this proposal did not happen in a romantic type setting (or even a peaceful or mellow one), it literally took place in a destroyed throne room while the ashes of those burned alive swirled in the air around them. It was not going to be a happy ending for this pairing even if Jon had never grabbed that dagger.

And sure enough, since the relationship started, it has been beyond toxic. I admit, it was more subtle in the beginning, but it definitely became more and more overt as the show continued on. To the point where we now have some very big examples: 8x04, 8x05, and even 8x06 (though this one I would say is more related to the throne and the power struggle than their relationship tbf).

8x04:

Here Jon mentions Jorah at first (because Dany is basically Jon's Jorah in that dynamic but also because Dany wants Jon to be her next Jorah, but one she loves back). Then we get her admitting she loves him and then this breakdown:

Jon kisses Dany but he subtly moves her away from the open fire

Dany begins to try to undress Jon & only then does he return the favor

Jon stops kissing her and moves away (notice how this only happens once she's where he's moved her)

Dany then goes into her spiel about how she wishes she could forget, how she wishes Jon hadn't told her the truth (the audience's initial impression is that it's about how the truth affects their relationship in the love/sex aspect) and how she sees how many people love Jon compared to her

Jon tries to assure her that he doesn't want the IT & she tells him to never tell anyone who he really is

Jon makes it clear that he wants to tell Sansa and Arya who he really is and Dany doesn't like this due to Sansa because it will threaten her claim to the IT; she begs Jon not to tell anyone & when he tries to assure her that everything will be okay, she goes cold (aka comes out of her manipulation attempt) and basically threatens him with "I've just told you how" (and the implied '...or else') & leaves

For me, the most important lines to focus on here are:

"If I didn't know, I'd be happy right now." -> Dany only focusing on how she feels about this situation

"I told you I don't want it." "It doesn't matter what you want. You didn't want to be King in the North. What happens when they demand you press your claim and take what is mine?" -> not only is this foreshadowing for what ultimately would happen to Jon had Dany survived but it also is once again, all about her; not to mention, she now knows the IT isn't hers but in her mind "mine" -> "Dragons don't understand the difference between what is theirs and what isn't." (7x07)

"You can say nothing. To anyone ever. Never tell them who you really are. Swear your brother and Samwell Tarly to secrecy and tell no one else." -> as if this isn't bad enough just by itself, we've seen Jon's struggle throughout the series as a bastard who wanted nothing more than to be a Stark, to have this identity and be embraced as something more than a bastard - we've seen him work hard and how he has moved up the ranks so to speak - we've seen the toll it takes on him to be something he's not (aka his wildling arc, to me it's no coincidence that he falls in love with Ygritte, someone who knows who he really is, a crow, and loves him anyway; and even this hidden thing he has during his Dany arc) - so for her, his only other relative on that side of the family, to deny his identity and want to keep it hidden all because of who he is (which is literally a parallel for the bastard part of his story, like Cat hating him because of his birth, something that can't be helped & is not his fault), as we know for a relationship that's a HUGE red flag - some may say Dany is thinking proactively and politically and to an extent, they're correct, but for the relationship to thrive, both people have to be getting what they need and validate the other - not to mention, Jon is on his knees during this part while she leans over him, gripping his face & saying this, this very image is an abusive power dynamic at play (which is exactly why Jon gets to his feet, he is stunned that she's telling him to deny himself basically)

"Even if the truth destroys us?" "It won't." "It will." -> tbf, Dany is right here but not just the truth about who Jon is, it's also about the truth of Jon "kindly manipulating" her; however, the truth about who Jon is only being told to his other family shouldn't matter here and here's why: Cersei broke the wheel so to speak by becoming the first Queen of the 7K (which is why Dany is so anxious to get her off the throne btw, Cersei beat her to the punch on that one & it doesn't bode well for her destiny and making impossible things happen). Jon's claim, while being strong, doesn't automatically mean that it usurps Dany's now because he's a man. The only way his claim is a threat to her now is because she's a "foreign invader" and like she says in this scene (and in 8x05), Jon has love (and a healthier form of that devotion) where she doesn't. Dany knows if the truth gets out, Jon will have more support and people will want to see him on the IT besides Sansa or any of the Starks. So here we have manipulation coming from Dany (which we already had in this scene, like the hand grabbing for instance, but here it's extremely overt) in order to keep him quiet so she can still "take what is mine". (and the begging him is part of this) And the manipulation as we know isn't healthy either, from either of them tbf, but her endgame is definitely different to Jon's, as well as the means they take to go about achieving them.

"We can live together." "We can. I've just told you how." Her tone and expression changes on a dime here and becomes cold and flat. We then see them break apart and she leaves. -> this is a threat, she's telling him 'don't say anything or else' because of the fact that she says "We can. I've just told you how" after he says "And they are my family. We can live together." And obviously, if there's threats present in a relationship, this is another HUGE red flag and this does not lead to a happy ending. This is toxic and abusive, especially since the threat implies possible bodily harm to Jon or his other family should he tell his sisters the truth about himself.

And then of course they gave us the contrast in these two images to show us exactly who is leading this abusive power dynamic here (as well as showing us the contrast between the two characters since they're two sides of the same coin):

For 8x05, I already went into this a bit here, so I won't go into it too much but we see the abusive power dynamics come sharper into focus, becoming more overt. We see that Jon is actually afraid of what she's going to do when he refuses her advances and makes it obvious that his love devotion for her doesn't run as deep as he had been trying to portray (though we don't find out until 8x06 that his fear is not just about what will happen to the North or Bran or Arya but to Sansa, since Sansa was the biggest threat to her besides Jon himself). It becomes about fear at that point, which Dany basically says herself at the end of the scene, and once that's in the mix (which it already was but the show made it extremely obvious here in this moment), there's no hope for that relationship.

And this scene is also meant to link (as a parallel and contrast) to the 8x04 scene above since they have the open fire, Jon trying to placate her, and how Dany initiates the physical intimacy while also the mention of the truth, Sansa, and "I don't want it" comes into play.

The other scene in 8x05 that I think shows deeper into their relationship is this one:

Even though this is about Varys, some important lines are said:

"There's something you need to know." "Someone has betrayed me." "Yes." "Jon Snow." -> without Tyrion saying anything & her knowing nothing, she automatically assumes that it's Jon (this is not a truly romantic relationship nor is all of this suspicion healthy) - talk about toxic (and while Jorah may have betrayed her in the past & she feels Tyrion is betraying her consistently, Drogo and Daario never betrayed her so yes she may deal with betrayal constantly but there was no reason to assume that about Jon other than paranoia/worry about the truth getting out) -> this points to that Jon is already layered heavily in suspicion in her mind and foreshadows what would have happened to Jon had she survived (she had Jon there at Varys' execution for a reason; the show had Jon there purposely despite the whole Northern army traveling timeline thing they had going on)

"He knows the truth about Jon." "He does." "Because you told him. You learned from Sansa. And she learned from Jon. Though I begged him not to tell her. As I said, he betrayed me." -> even though Tyrion has just told her that it's Varys who has betrayed her, her focus is once again on Tyrion, Sansa, and Jon, with Jon being the worst since he told the truth though she "begged" him not to -> this all ties into the absolute devotion she expects even when it comes to someone's family; had Jon stayed with Dany & accepted her proposal, not only would he have eventually been executed but he would have had to give up the Starks, literally and figuratively, especially Sansa; isolating one from one's family/loved ones is obviously toxic and leads to abuse (if it's not present already)

Then we have the 8x06 scene that I think was foreshadowing Jon's eventual demise itself:

(and funnily enough, right after Dany walks away, Arya shows up & warns Jon about this very thing happening as well as mentioning how Sansa won't accept Dany as queen; "And I know a killer when I see one")

and the bonus is this look when Dany has walked away (before Arya shows up):

(he looks like one smitten kitten, doesn't he?)

So it definitely was toxic and abusive, and it was never going to have a happy ending. Even if the KL massacre didn't happen, let's say. They set it up this way from the get go:

In 7x02, when Dany summons Jon, she makes it very clear that Jon is to come to Dragonstone so an alliance can be brokered (as is indicated by Melisandre, though tbf to Mel, she said Dany should meet Jon and hear what he has to say so there goes Dany taking the words and running with it for her own gain, yet again) but he is to bend the knee first and foremost.

In 7x03, we see Jon and Dany meet for the first time, but we also see something else happening here:

1) Drogon intimidates Jon and Co by flying directly over them (quick side note here: one of the various reasons I'm looking forward to HotD is because I'm pretty sure they're going to be getting into just how much the dragons are bonded with their riders and how they represent them, like Daemon's dragon - this was something that was sorely lacking in GoT and only if people watched behind the scenes do they see David talking about it at the end of season 5 when Drogon saves Dany & in that deleted scene where Jon asks Dany how to control Rhaegal - I'm excited because this is definitely something from the world of the books & if any GoT GA watch HotD, they will finally understand just how much Dany controlled Drogon & how much he represented her)

2) Jon's boat is taken away when it doesn't need to be (they literally could have moved it further up the beach so it wouldn't wash away but the show chose for us to see Jon noticing how his boat is taken away & it plays into Jon now being a prisoner & unable to leave) - while the disarming makes sense, the boat relocation does not, especially since the Dothraki are used to do it (and not the Unsullied - very purposeful - the Unsullied aren't there to make war, they're following orders, the Dothraki are Dany's bloodriders)

3) The first shot we get of Dany (from Jon's POV) is this:

While it makes sense for Dany to make this impression, it doesn't make sense if they're going for the romance angle, despite the rough start they may have at first. If Dany was meant to be seen by Jon as regal, someone to believe in, a powerful but just queen, this shot was the wrong way to go about it. (and we all already know, this show definitely made choices)

4) In Dany's intro scene to Jon, when she doesn't get what she wants (him bending the knee), she instead becomes displeased & threatens him with "As far as I can see, you are the enemy to the North." (which calls back to Jon and Sansa's convo in 7x01 above Winterfell) & then making this point again with "It's also fair to point out that I'm the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. By declaring yourself King of the Northernmost Kingdom, you are in open rebellion." (after Jon literally just explained that the Northern lords put their trust in him to lead them and he would do so as best as he could)

5) Jon likens Dany to Cersei (the enemy to the South that Sansa had been mentioning in 7x01) with "The only reason I can see is you don't want to kill thousands of innocent people. It's the fastest way to win the war but you won't do it which means at the very least, you're better than Cersei." (so now, based on the dialogue itself, we have the setup of them being on opposing sides, and that Dany is indeed an enemy though Jon tries to smooth this over - and now looking back, it's easy to connect the dots even more to that 7x01 scene, since the show was trying to tell us about Dany being another threat in addition to the NK)

6) Dany's speech to Jon in this scene shows who she really is (when she talks about faith, you see a glimmer of that simmering rage shining through) & how she views herself through the lens of how others have viewed her so far, her so-called believers. You can see Jon taking this in (that's not an impressed or awe-struck look he has as shippers claim) and then puts it to her point blank: "You'll be ruling over a graveyard if we don't defeat the Night King." (I really do believe he sees her for exactly what she is in this moment but he needs her help with the NK)

7) When Varys speaks to Dany and basically sends Jon and Davos to rest in their rooms, Jon asks "Am I your prisoner?" He puts voice to everything that this scene has set up to this moment. And she replies with "Not yet." But after everything we've seen, we know he is (because let's face it, Dany wants her northern kingdom, she's not sure exactly yet what she's facing as far as his following goes and how devoted they might be to him, he's not looking at her with awe and wonder like so many others have done, she just lost the Greyjoys and Dorne, and compared to her other Westerosi allies he's showing up asking for help versus the others showing up to help her go for the IT no matter their agendas of revenge)

8) In this scene with Tyrion, not only do we have Jon looking out over the sea (I would say almost longingly), he says point blank: "I'm a prisoner on this island." There it is. He's her prisoner. (and people wonder why he agreed to go beyond the Wall later on after getting the dragonglass lol) And Tyrion confirms this: "I wouldn't say you're a prisoner on this island. You're free to walk the castle, the beaches, to go wherever you want." But Jon isn't having it: "Except to my ship. You took my ship." So Tyrion tries again: "I wouldn't say we took your ship." And Jon shuts him down: "I'm not playing word games with you." And there it is for the audience in a few lines: Jon is Dany's prisoner and he's not allowed to leave, Jon and Tyrion know it, and Tyrion is trying to get Jon to play ball for Dany's benefit. And Jon is refusing to: "I'd like to leave." But Tyrion insists, accesses Jon through his mentioning of the North and his title (aka the trust the North put in Jon). But the line that Tyrion says that is so telling (about Jon and Dany themselves) it's chilling: "Sometimes there's more to foreign invaders and Northern fools than meets the eye." That line, now knowing what we know, sets up the foreshadowing for both of their characters but also their relationship and its dynamic perfectly. And Tyrion's line of "Maybe you are a Northern fool" sets up how Tyrion sees Jon in this dynamic with Dany, that he believed that Jon was really in love with Dany. This episode was written by D&D; these lines were very purposeful & now looking back, you can see it was the setup for the J/D relationship.

9) In this scene where Jon & Dany talk, it starts out with Jon stopped on the stairway, watching a dragon fly overhead. In this shot, we can also see Dany is further down the stairwell, at the Wall, watching them as well. This sets up exactly how Jon is viewing her (as the dragon or something that appears scary and intimidating) as does the beginning dialogue from Jon saying the dragons are amazing things to see. Then we have the conversation where Dany asserts her position as Jon asserts his, both are faced away from each other (in opposition to one another) except when they are asserting their positions, and the attempt to find a common ground by both of them (him mentioning the dragons; her mentioning his brothers) fails. They only are facing each other again when Dany capitulates about the dragonglass. After Jon thanks her, she turns away from him again. He tries once more and asks "So you believe me then about the Night King and the Army of the Dead?" She doesn't answer this but tells him "You'd better get to work, Jon Snow." And he walks away. Because in the throne room scene in this episode, she called him Lord Snow (purposely demoting his title because she is asserting herself as Queen) and he called her Your Grace. So for her to say "Jon Snow" instead of "Lord Snow" demotes him back to his full bastard status that he had in the beginning of the series. And this is why Jon walks away in the fashion he does. So even before their relationship begins, even before this attraction pops up that Davos mentions in 7x04, Dany had already introduced the abuse of this power dynamic and eventually this will become toxic.

10) The cave scene was not only meant to attempt to get Dany to understand the very real threat the world is facing but also shows how Dany uses this moment to her advantage in order to get Jon to bend the knee. It's still about the IT for her & her being in power.

11) In this scene, Davos tries to get him and Jon out of the situation with "You'll want to discuss this amongst yourselves" which Dany immediately denies "You will stay." There was no reason for Jon or Davos to be a part of this conversation, especially since technically Jon and Dany aren't allies yet and Jon has not bent the knee. It's not smart to have things you're discussing with your advisors in front of people who are technically not on your side and could pose a real threat. Even Varys looks surprised that she orders Jon and Davos to stay. But she does this because it's manipulation and slight intimidation. Some might look at her asking Jon's advice as her valuing Jon's opinion, but ultimately she doesn't take it. We see her use Drogon and her army to attack (and burn) the Lannister army on the Gold Road. And we also see her impulsively burn all the food in the midst of the battle. She wanted them, more specifically Jon, to see her rip Tyrion apart (because Tyrion has that link to Jon; he vouched for him in addition to Melisandre & he and Jon have a history) because she's angry and she wants them all to know it. Notice how when the camera is on Tyrion after Dany turns around to unleash on him, in the background Jon takes another step back to get closer to Davos. Varys also takes a step back, as does Missandei and even Davos himself. Tyrion is the only one who doesn't, but he keeps his eyes down as she verbally tears into him. Only in the next shot of him do we see his eyes meeting Dany's but then dropping again. When she says "Our enemies? Your family, you mean. Perhaps you don't want to hurt them after all", the camera is then on Jon, Davos, and Missandei, but the focus is Jon. Because it will come down to Jon's family (Sansa) and Dany herself. That if Jon doesn't give Dany the absolute devotion she's looking for, he will also be in danger himself (without the parentage reveal even). Manipulation and intimidation.

12) Which makes absolute sense to Jon's reaction (or lack of one) to the news of Arya and Bran here. I know people wondered why he didn't react more but the show purposely had Jon's emotional reunion with Bran in 8x01 (& then his private emotional reunion with Arya in the same episode) to show us that Jon obviously cared. He didn't want Dany to see back in 7x05. Which is interesting because technically in 7x06, when Jon bends the knee, that's when his more personal manipulation of Dany starts. But here, the manipulation (to get off of Dragonstone and back North) has already begun. He still wants her as an ally, still needs her help with the NK, but here I don't think he planned to kick that manipulation up a notch. Not until he saw the dragons in action. And in this scene, we see Jon trying to get her to let him go but she comes up with reasons why he can't (and as we start to see, this is to the beginning of developing feelings she has for him). It's only when Tyrion comes up with the Wight plan that Jon agrees to go (once again, trying to get off this island but get Dany as an ally), and when she refuses, he asserts himself again. And this time, she capitulates. The fact that he had to fight for his freedom so to speak, speaks volumes once again to their dynamic.

13) This last scene before Jon leaves Dragonstone, everyone talks about the lack of a look back to Dany from Jon but also about the infamous words Jon says to Dany: "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, Your Grace." But more importantly, he says this in response to her "I've grown used to him". She is making her interest in him obvious in that moment, to the audience and to Jon, and he instead replies with the infamous line said between enemies. Very telling for how their dynamic is not only viewed by Jon himself but by the writers as well.

So, it was all set up from the get go. And like you mentioned, the foreshadowing of Dany and what she expected in her relationships after Drogo, that scene with Hizdahr was very telling. And we literally see that play out with Jon. So, I absolutely agree with you, Nonnie.

I also agree with you that Dany never knew healthy relationships or even knew what love was. Take her dragons for example. I'm not saying she didn't love them but she definitely used them as weapons long before season 8. I remember watching 3x01 and being shocked at what she says to Jorah about the dragons, after watching the dragons flying overhead fondly.

"They're growing fast."

"Not fast enough. I can't wait that long." (as she's literally stroking Drogon and he's enjoying the attention from his mom - this is part of the reason I don't hate the dragons btw or blame them, it was Dany and the Targaryens that turned them into weapons)

I remember seeing that at first watch and being like 'but they're your children! Wtf?' But it was just one of many things that didn't add up about her (until they did). Plus, my thinking is: Sis, I'd like to see you try to take KL without the Unsullied, the full Dothraki force, and at least one grown dragon. Stannis had an army (and ships) and wasn't able to get it done. What makes you think you would have? Sorry, I digress, but I get irritated when I watch that scene, and slightly protective (I have a thing with fictional animals, I guess).

And she seems to agree with me. "I need an army." (and she looks irritated as she says this while watching Drogon fly off which again made me go 'wtf', almost as if it was the dragons' fault for taking too long to grow)

So even though these dragons are her 'children and the only children' she will ever have, she also views them as weapons. A means to get her what she wants and to instill fear in those she means to rule slaughter and whoever stands in her way. Tbf to Dany, she never knew her mother and she wasn't raised with love, but like you said, Nonnie, it doesn't excuse her actions.

She definitely had no reference point for a healthy and loving romantic relationship since she had never been in one. But again, no excuse. While I can appreciate what she was trying to accomplish, or maybe it's more appropriate to say what she was selling to her believers, she absolutely went the wrong way about it and it should have been no surprise to anyone that things never worked out for her in the romance department. Especially since Jon was never going to be one of those blind followers.

Toxic. And abusive.

Thank you for the ask, Nonnie! I hope I was able to answer you with this 300 page paper LOL. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!!! <3

[simonalkenmayer]

I never made a judgement one way or another on if u were really a cryptid or not, but you've proven to be kind & thoughtful, & really that matters more then anything else someone might say about you, I've enjoyed your blog a lot, & I'm sad to see you go, I hope you got what you wanted from being here, & I appreciate the perspective on the world you've been able to share. Thank you for putting the time & work u did into this blog, & a wish u a lot of happiness

I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to change how I do things. There will no longer be any negativity here. I'm sick and tired of this garbage. From here on out, every reader of this blog ought to hear this:

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4. I do not give a flying fuck what hate bloggers post. They have five followers and are all their own insular echo chamber of bullshit. They make up whatever they want, doxx people, create fictions that make them victims. No more interaction. None. No more bickering. No more school yard "fuckery". We are finished. If I find out someone has tried to pick a fight with any of them or defend me to them, they will also be blocked. I mean it. Do not defend me to these bullies. I do not require it. Their actions speak for themselves.

5. Please always act beneath the assumption that I may at a moment's notice, delete this blog after the first of the year. So follow me elsewhere if you want to stay in touch.

6. As I said before: if you have a bone to pick with me, do it in private DM me. I will hear you out. I will think about what you say. I will seek some resolution or progress like an adult does. I will not be concerning myself with anymore of this immature, pedantic stupidity. I will not participate in gossip, lies, breedbaiting, bickering, drama, or any other kind of tomfoolery anyone decides to stoke. I am finished. Done. It's over.

7. If you are a gentle reader and have remained gentle then thank you kindly. I enjoy your company and thank you for all the education you have given me. Please continue to teach me things. I enjoy it so very much.

[jadethest0ne]

Saw on your new Twitter that you're reacting to the 2003 tmnt series!! I'm so excited to see what you think, the 03 turtles were my first introduction to the turtles and holds a special place in my heart. I will let you know, Leo and Raph do butt heads often in this series, but there are also very tender moments of them acting more soft spoken and honest to each other. The whole series is a rollercoaster ride, so much that it'll have you asking "how did they get away with showing this on tv?"

Yeah! I was honestly a bit nervous at first cuz of all the hype, but I'm enjoying it so far and am I'm very excited for more! I'm about a third of the way through season 1 so far.

Here's some of the things I like so far:

the action is dynamic, clever, and makes use of both the turtles' weapons, but also the surroundings/situations

the animation is super smooth! I know I said it in a tweet, but it's amazing what 7 years time between end of '87 and start of '03 can do to improving the quality of animation!

the overall style is really consistent and stands out, particularly the color palette and those stark shadows

Donatello! I can see why folks love '03 Donatello! Nerdy good boy [pats head]

Splinter having better jokes and one-liners than Michelangelo sometimes XD

So far getting a good sense of dread and unease from the villains, pretty much right off the bat without even seeing a whole lot of what I assume to be the main plot

the pacing - the episodes somehow go fast, but not rushed. Everything that needs to be in an episode is there; very little padding for time

I think the next couple episodes will be bigger ploty ones so I'm stoked!

[purple-worm]

Ahhhhhh thank you for your thoughts on my post!!! I'm honestly stoked that people want to talk about these characters, since I feel like I'm a bit late to the party. I do agree with your points. Gram does come across as a bad friend, and it ends up looking like he was only close to Black to be near Eugene. I mostly feel meh about his actions because I was so uninvested in the whole dynamic. I agree that the situation could've been salvaged if Black and Gram had talked to each other more or if Black had been angrier with Gram. And I would have believed in GramEugene more if they had had more meaningful conversations.

If you ever want to yell about these characters feel free to message me!

Oh my thank you for reading it all, you’re too kind😭

You’re right about it feeling a little meh bc it looks like gram was just hanging out w black for eugene. honestly, i didnt feel as strongly as i wanted to about all the platonic friendships in the show? I still call it found family, and that’s mostly because of the ending. but a few incidents (not sympathizing with sean enough, or even wondering where black was) don’t help sell the found family dynamic as much as they could have, unfortunately :(

i think all that is mostly to do with the timing issues they had. they wanted to prioritize the pacing of the romantic relationships within the main Tawi related plot points they had chosen (which is fair), it didn’t leave time for a lot of things. But they also prioritized throwing us off w GramEugene which was eeehhh?? Again, im convinced they couldn’t put much thought into it bc of logistical reasons so who knowss :((

They were shooting as it aired which is,,, super difficult bc you dont get to see the fully edited show start to finish before putting it out in the world. and it is bound to have errors especially w the way pnuchy works bc she improvises and keeps trying to improve it as they go. Gun even mentioned that she added dialogue in post production, which he had to record separately. if you see the full picture once, we can scrutinize and improve it, but yeahh. i partially blame gmmtv, not hating them, but a show w this degree of depth required better scheduling and idek if it was in their hands to provide that, or that they expected it.

BUT! Im super glad that you are still talking about it! i joined just before ep 9 aired, and while the hype was high while it aired, it quickly died down once the it ended which surprised me. there’s lottttssss to go over, bc the themes are complex. it was basically, all my favorite things served on a platter. it changed me forever, and it’s staying this way. And im sorry if this initially came off as picking on the show😭😭 i promise im not, im willing to go on forever about what the MANY GOOD things show did.

so right back at ya @lelephantsnail ! feel free to yell at me about it, whenever!