#i'm telling you though i've connected the dots

[maevesque]

a/n: Something about Sylus pulling you out of your thoughts... the patience and simply being there for you, even if you don't say anything. It's just so... comforting.

winter came slashing through the warmth that once wrapped around you. extra layers of clothes are needed. more tea and hot chocolate to brew. coffee, if that suits your fancy. anything to keep the cold away. but do you mean from your heart or your physical self?

the snow gently fell and if you look closely, you can see the patterns of each individual snowflake. all are unique and never the same. you traced one snowflake to another, like connecting the dots. you get lost in the moment, your eyes focused on the intricate patterns.

you remember many christmases, or your past wintery seasons. you were filled with warmth and your days were dosed with laughter and smiles. until it was ripped away from you. but it wasn't a quick grab and pull like ripping off a bandaid. no, it was slow. tantalizing. you watched as the person you once shared your secrets, adoration, and care slowly slipped through your fingers.

communications lessened. words of reassurance were absent. and the face of the person you thought you knew contorted to something unrecognizable. hands that once held you like you were the most precious thing in the world to exist began losing their warmth, and distance... you couldn't close it.

the sun gradually disappeared behind the horizon, your body tensed at the feeling of a warm chest pressed against your back, and a large hand against the window near your head, fingers curled as he pointed with his forefinger at the snowflakes still resting against the window.

"lost in thought again, kitten?" sylus whispered against your ear, a gentle caress of his lips along the outer shell, "i've been calling your name for quite some time, what's on your mind?"

your body instantly relaxes as his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him. he rested his chin on your shoulder with a soft hum, one that quells the raging thoughts in your head. he always knew how to bring you back into the present.

back to him. 

but you're silent. and, well, he is always patient. he would never push you to speak up on your thoughts. at least not in this moment. not when he knows you're drifting back into the past that didn't treat you the best. he knew when to push you to become your best self, and when to guide you to let your guard down, feel your emotions, all while remaining grounded with him.

"you don't have to tell me. but just know, when you are ready, i'll always be here to listen."

and even though you're fighting with yourself inside your head, arguing with your thoughts. yelling at yourself to say something, there's never a panic of sylus pulling away due to lack of words from you. he stayed there, holding you close to him. humming a soft tune from a vinyl he recently purchased, kissing the back of your head before he kisses your temple.

"i'm not going anywhere. i'm staying right here until you're ready to move or talk. take as much time as you need, sweetie," he whispered the reassurance you are so afraid to ask for, "i adore you."

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Y'all, I think I've figured it out. Operating on the assumption that the finale is indeed an alternate timeline from the manga, then someone could have written on a page of the Book to rewrite reality to lead to the events of the finale sometime during season 5's events. In other words, this would explain the INCONSISTENCIES with things that were established or at least heavily implied/assumed prior and in the manga: Chuuya being a real vampire and not in control, nothing being planned, Dazai giving sincere speeches, Dazai really being shot and saying his "last words", Fyodor's hand not being injured, soukoku not killing Fyodor while in Meursault because they literally couldn't and Dazai needing Sigma to discover Fyodor's secrets because of that, Fukuchi's goal not being one that relied on Fukuzawa being alive since he clearly intended to kill him, etc etc too many more to count

Events and explanations in the finale feeling so contradictory and out of place, and characters feeling so ooc and not acknowledging any discrepancies, makes perfect sense if you consider that, up until a certain point, this was our canon timeline — until someone rewrote the ending of the arc with the Book, starting with Fyodor injuring his hand...! We only have one example of the Book being used to majorly rewrite reality in the manga, and when that happened, the main players — the ADA members — were aware that reality was changed, even though they did have memories of the new rewritten reality. BUT, Nikolai was unaware of this during that scene, and so also were all law enforcement because of the clause written on the page accounting for that, so what if the same thing could happen in this instance, to prevent all our characters in the finale from being aware that things had changed? We literally saw someone writing Nikolai's dialogue for him; imagine someone doing that during Dazai's final speech in the episode, and during all the rest of it! I don't know who this would be, but possibly a mysterious third party who got a hold of a different page from the Book somewhere and wrote things to turn out this way, because they wanted the ADA to win against Fukuchi and Fyodor? Maybe even because... this is the only way they can win?

Remember Atsushi asserting this plan, and how silly and too simple it sounded? What if someone else ended up doing just that, writing their own simple outcome for the ADA to win (as a narrative of course, which is probably why it had to start with the major catalyst of, again, Fyodor injuring his hand)? Additionally, if that's what happened, maybe the ending of the finale is a sort of side effect to the Book being used improperly in this way, leading to a destabilization of the timeline or a mishmash of other timelines into the anime one, leading to the alternate Fukuchi and Akutagawa we see there?

[medicinemane]

Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy

You have... very very very very very very very very smart people you know, and they're say something that not only isn't true, but literally is as opposite of the truth as it's possible to be... and you'll... gently inform them "hey, it's actually a bit more like this" and then they just kinda... go on saying literally the exact same thing

I'm not sure if it's just that... I often feel like I must be very bad at communicating, or people must just not notice/ignore a lot of what I say, but... I don't know

Like dearest friend, you've said something as absurd as... I don't know, it's hard to say without saying it, but honest to god about as absurd as saying the United States was a part of the USSR, that level of completely getting it backwards

...and it just doesn't seem to matter when I try to explain it... I legit don't even know if you read what I said

Really end up feeling like I'm going nuts sometimes

[heian-era-housewife]

Synopsis | Sukuna gives you a lesson in Heian Period courtship. Will you find these strange customs to your liking?

Content | reader x sukuna, mostly fluff, some chasing/mention of fear, nicknames "dove", "little one".

"Ryo?" You began softly, still clutching the small poem he had left for you earlier that day. "Was dating -err- I mean courtship a lot different in the Heian Period?"

"Substantially so," he replied as he laid out your shared futon over the tatami floor.

"Was it...romantic?" You asked, climbing beneath the cotton sheets.

"For the time, yes. Though you would not have enjoyed it."

"How do you know? Did you enjoy it?"

Sliding in beside you, he took the poem from your hands and set it gently to the side, brushing stray hairs from your face as he answered. "I never engaged in such pursuits. Romance was unthinkable," he placed a tender kiss on your forehead, "before you."

"But you wrote poetry, didn't you?"

He could tell you weren't going to let this go. Heaving a sigh, he continued. "Poetry was used for many things. Heian seduction involved elements of fear, pity, and token rejection. In romance, the poetry typically came later."

You blinked. Fear? Pity? Surely he had misunderstood your question. Reading the confusion on your face, he offered a different approach.

"It may be easier...to demonstrate," he hesitated. "But as I already mentioned, you might not enjoy it."

"Try me."

Sukuna's eyes darkened. A predatory sneer crept across his features. It was as though a thousand-year craving were finally being satiated. With two little words a sleeping beast within him had come unleashed. He was free to prowl, and you were his prey.

He lunged at you with explosive force. As if on instinct, you dodged his advance, rolling from the futon and scrambling to your feet. Heart pounding in your ears, you ran from the room, steps falling fast and heavy as he took chase.

You weren't sure why you were running. It was only a demonstration, right? Besides, Sukuna would never hurt you. But you couldn't shake that look. The way he shifted from gentle lover to carnal predator. An irrational fear was taking hold.

Fear! You thought. That was the first part he had mentioned of Heian Period courtship. With gripping realization, you allowed your fright to overwhelm you, finding it both alarming and exhilarating.

Easily catching up to you, Sukuna rounded the corner quickly pinning you to the nearest wall, hot breath panting down on you as he eyed you hungrily.

"I've got you now, little one!" He growled. "Next I'm going to-"

"hnnh..." A pathetic whine escaped your lips. With his face mere inches from yours, Sukuna stopped. His eyes softening as he recognized the terror he had caused.

"My dove," he cooed, gently caressing your face in stark contrast to his actions mere moments before. "I never meant to startle you."

The whiplash was astounding. You questioned his sanity.

Dropping to one knee, Sukuna held your hands in his, sincere apologies spilling from his lips. Looking up, his eyes met yours in a gaze of pure pity.

Pity! You nearly shouted. Sukuna was taking pity on your weak and fearful state!

"Oh my gosh..." you said slowly, the point of his lesson having landed a direct bullseye. "Heian Period seduction was insane."

He broke into a wry smile, glad you were finally connecting the dots.

"Does this mean..." he gasped dramatically, "that you're rejecting my love??"

Token rejection. The final courtship component.

"But alas!" You played along. "How could I take such a cruel lover?"

"Let me show you!" He urged.

"Be gone!" You ordered.

"I insist!" He demanded.

"If you must," you cried, falling theatrically into his arms, laughing.

~~~

Back under the sheets of your futon, Sukuna eyed you thoughtfully, a soft twinkle in his eyes.

"What?" You asked.

"You enjoyed that more than I imagined," he conceited.

"I suppose I can see the appeal," you admitted, reaching for the small parchment beside you. "But, if it's all the same to you, I think I prefer the poetry."

"Me too," he whispered, kissing you goodnight. "Me too.

Please feel free to check out the video that inspired this little story. ⚠️Trigger Warning⚠️ While the video is relatively lighthearted and informative, there is mention of nonconsentual actions and use of the "r" word in a factual context.

[bones4thecats]

TFOne request: Megatronus x Fem!Reader who was an unofficial 14th Prime that presided over Cybertron's music.

┗ Song of the Spark; TF1! Megatronus ┛

Characters: Megatronus (Transformers One) A/N: This is my second TF One piece, so there may be a couple OOC things happening with some characters. Just warning you there. But, I do hope you like this, @sassycandypoetry! ⇘ Summary: When you find out you were carrying, you wanted to make sure in case anything happened, your sparkling had someone to watch after your offspring. But, when you tell someone, you three neglect to notice the blue and yellow figure behind you, listening angrily.

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

🎭 Steps of large weight alerted the surrounding Cybertronians. They all looked up and smiled. Walking inside of the room was two of the most beloved Cybertronian leaders, the powerful and gigantic warrior, Megatronus, and his dearest sparkmate, the creator of music for their planet, Y/N.

🎭 You hummed along with your steps. Like your lover, your mask covered your face, but, instead of having one pair of optics, you had four. Two were placed below your normal ones, and while it would unnerve many, the way they glowed a beautiful blue like his own, he couldn't help but be entranced at the sight of them.

🎭 Megatronus adored you a lot. You were strong and obviously built very well for a fighter, but you were also very kind of loving of your people. Despite the time the war of Cybertronians and Quintessons, you always found a way to connect everybody. Even the other Primes had to admit, you were close to becoming an honorary one.

🎭 The soldiers stood and bowed to you both. You blinked and nodded at them, telling them they were dismissed for the day and could return to their homes to see their families.

"Starscream. May we speak with you?" You called to a singular seeker.

🎭 Starscream turned around and looked at you, nodding and stepping to you both. He took a knee and stared at the ground. You just chuckled and grabbed his servo, pulling him to stand up as Megatronus watched silently.

"Starscream. You have been leading the High Guard for very long, and you have been doing a spectacular job."

"Why- thank you, sir."

"For eons I've been looking for someone to hold onto my dream of uniting Cybertron though not only our words, but through our hymns. Every song I have written and have sung to be passed on are ones I hope bring us closer and motivate our people to be their best selves. But, I believe there are certain ones that are planning something darker."

"If you don't mind my prying, who are you speaking of?"

"Nobody who shall be named." Megatronus spoke. "It is a mere hunch as of the present."

"Understood, sir."

🎭 You smiled and lightly gripped Starscream's shoulder, making him look into your optics. He cocked an optical ridge and watched as you raised your wrist, tapping the button on the back of your servo.

🎭 After you tapped it, a glowing blue holograph appeared. He looked at it carefully as you scanned through it all. You went through many bots before landing on one. Himself.

🎭 You hit his face and dragged a designation to his title, renaming it to General Starscream of the Cybertronian High Guard. His optics widened as you submitted it, successfully changing it permanently.

"With your new title of having near complete control over the High Guard, I entrust this dream to you. But, you mustn't tell anyone else about it, is that clear?"

"Yes, it is clear."

🎭 Megatronus laid his servo on your shoulder as you pulled up one more holograph. This time, it was the moving images of a small, glowing dot in darkness. A small hum came from the ball of light as it's glow brightened and dimmed almost every second.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"A growing sparkling, yes."

"C-congratulations, Megatronus and Y/N! I'm very happy for you both. But, what does this have to do with your dream?"

"Inside of this spakrling's growing spark is a blessing. One made by myself and my sparkmate. If anything happens to either of us, we would like you to raise them with this single goal in mind."

"Ruling Cybertron by yourself is beyond difficult. Having others there to help you is something they must understand as they age. Allies and loyal followers much like you are the reason we Primes stay in power and keep you all safe. I want our sparkling to be the same as us and their relatives are." You began. "Please, Starscream. Keep them safe just in case we cannot."

🎭 Starscream nodded and saluted you both before bowing and glancing back at the holograph. You dismissed him, but before he left, you reminded him to tall nobody of this talk.

🎭 He agreed and flew off to his two fellow seekers, Thundercracker and Skyquake. They waved to you both and flew home. A smile overtook Megatronus' face behind his battle mask as he held your servo and laid his helm on top of your's.

"They'll be safe no matter what, my voice."

"I know that now, my muse."

🎭 As you both walked off, you were unaware of the figure behind the pillar. A sparkling was something that could pose a huge issue in his mission to succeed the Primes. And the fact that you asked Starscream of all Cybertronians to care for the thing? That just put him in his way!

"Looks like I need to put my plan into effect sooner than intended..."

[kanmom51]

I didn't know this

*p.s. - She was his gf then and his wife now, why the need to say "his first girlfriend"? First gf we knew about more like it.

OK, so here's the thing... those are JK's eyes, sue me. And the timing of that billboard falling and the keep going..

I have a draft way back from July, me talking about JM's Who MV shoot sketch. I started writing it and found that I couldn't complete it. And now with this - I didn't know this little ever so important piece of information - maybe I can talk about it a little more (bring up some of the things I was thinking about back then).

Basically a few things stood out to me while watching the BTB.

JM being JM as usual. Beautiful, talented, shrewd.

It's quite obvious that JM is involved in the direction of the MV (we were saying...), and this is one thing that stood out to me:

3 things stood out to me. First was his use of the word people. "...people walk past me...". The second was "for now", as in the MV's "for now". And third was "that's what I'm trying to show". So yes, this was part of JM's vision. The song's meaning chasing that muse, but also the song's MV, which is more about finding that "someone", that "who" in a more understandable language to us, being romantic love.

Song is about the intangible, MV is about corporeal, if you wish.

Watching this had me also go back to the MV itself and notice a few more things I didn't notice first times around, and with that new piece of information about Taeyung and his then girlfriend now wife, and knowing just how huge ENL was back in the day and JM's close friendship now days with Taeyung, well, it just fits so so well.

Just bringing this back for a sec before moving on:

Back to Who MV and me trying to connect some of the dots.

The scene JM is talking about, with the people, men and women, passing him by and none of them are the person he is looking for, it comes right after this:

NO QUESTION MARK ON THERE!!!

I also noticed that before this screen falls JM's interactions, the 'people' passing him by are only women, where as after the screen falls and tells him to keep going, well, then it's not only women passing him by. Now he's not limiting himself only to finding "her"? Maybe now he's looking for "him" too? Maybe "him" is the "who" he's looking for and not "her"?

But we know that the billboard has a specific "him" on it. And even though the hers and hims are crossing his path, at this point he isn't interacting with them, they aren't the who he's looking for.

Another interesting thing I found was that when it comes to those one on one's they are only with women. We have them before the screen falling, and after it fell and he is walking down the street people walking him by, even then, the only ones he interacts with are women. But as he is doing that, this appears on the screen as well:

This is also right after the huge screen falls from the sky. Is this again someone or something telling him to go back, rewind, that the screen he just walked away from has the answer he's looking for?

That he missed something, or someone...

And we know NOTHING is a coincidence when it comes to these two, especially in their artistic decisions.

This either:

We weren't sure at the time what it all meant.

What was JM hinting to?

What were the editors of AYS hinting to?

I know not everything about their art is about them as a couple. I've said that multiple times. Not every song is about one or the other or them and their love for each other. Not at all.

But...

That doesn't mean we should ALWAYS dismiss the possibility that it may just be about them. That some of their lyrics do have to do with each other, that some of their songs (even if they did not write the lyrics themselves) do have representation of their relationship in them, that some of their artistic decisions are about them showing their true selves and their love for each other.

We have seen songs that we just KNOW are written for the other, about the other, about their love for each other, about a moment they shared with one another, about what the other means to them. And sometimes when the song isn't there are things surrounding them that are. It can be photoshoot concepts or hints within their artistry that pay homage to the other, or that they are agreed upon hints to what they mean to each other. We have seen this with both of them during their solo journey as well.

And now with this new piece of information, which I was not aware of, coming to light I'm thinking that this isn't about a collab or a song (although I would love for there to be a Jikook song). I'm thinking that our first knee jerk reaction to this could have been the right one. That this was all about the Who. That the eyes on that screen, the one JM doesn't get to see in the MV, those are the eyes of his "Who". In the MV, but more so, you know, in real life.

*Another p.s. - I know I've been silent since the last AYS episode has dropped. It's been a hectic week, but more so it's been hard for me to even try and put into words how I felt coming out (pun most definitley intended) on the other side of this episode. I am working on my post at the moment. The words are not coming easy, I can tell you that much. But it will come. Eventually.💜💜

[ittybittyremy]

All the details Bells Hells know about Cyrus' death & everything surrounding it

I've been seeing people wondering/forgetting how much Dorian has told Bells Hells about the circumstances of Cyrus' death. So I've decided to go through the episodes!

A couple disclaimers before I start:

Orym shouldn't have made that comment to Dorian. Even if he didn't know all the specifics, knowing Dorian's brother died recently (and at all for that matter) should have stopped him from making that theoretical. Even if Cyrus' death had nothing to do with the gods, it would still be an inappropriate thing to say. He could've made that theoretical to anyone else in that group but he said it to the person with a recently dead family member.

Even though it would be beneficial for Dorian to tell BH (and for BH to learn/understand) everything about that day, he doesn't have to (and` shouldn't be forced to). Plus, it's very in character for Dorian not to tell them.

I don't want to see any comments saying "well it's implied," "BH should be able to connect the dots," or "BH should get the hint because of how Dorian has been acting." I'm bad at picking up hints irl so I won't fault BH for not connecting those points.

This post is about what Dorian has explicitly said (even though I did add a couple parts where he implies what happens).

This is all under the assumption that Dorian has not told BH everything off camera.

All timestamps will be based on the YouTube VOD.

I may miss a couple tidbits so sorry in advance.

Now to the actual information

Episode 93

Cyrus died (3:43:24)

Two of Dorian's best friends became the champions of the Matron of Ravens and the Spider Queen (3:43:28)

It all happened yesterday (3:43:38)

Opal is "not really" okay (3:43:45)

Cyrus died in battle "if you can call it that" (3:53:36)

Until that day he never thought real evil existed (3:53:46)

What he saw in the previous couple days does was "irredeemable" (3:53:55)

They tried to help Opal (3:54:59)

Dorian knows that there are forces enacting on the world that go "deeper than [he] imagined" (3:55:05)

Fy'ra Rai stayed with Opal (3:55:16)

Dariax is "all right" (3:55:20)

Opal is alive but corrupted (3:57:04)

Fy'ra Rai may be walking down the path as Opal (3:57:12)

Episode 94

Dorian doesn't explicitly mention it this episode but there is a moment where he hints that the prime deities may have somehow been involved.

"If you are relying on the help of the gods, champions, I can't say that I trust them anymore" (2:30:17)

Episode 102

No explicit mentions here BUT we begin to get Dorian's opinions of the gods. That's not what this post is about so I will move on

Episode 103

More of Dorian's views on the gods and we finally get another (sort of) explicit mention

"The last I conferred with a god, they cared very little about the feelings of anyone around us." That god being the Spider Queen (1:37:01)

The reason I say "sort of" is because Dorian doesn't say this is in regards to Cyrus' death (even though we the audience knows this). Orym and Fearne could've easily assumed that this was in regards to their EXU times.

Episode 109

Get an idea of what "getting dark" means. Matt describes Opal as "a humanoid shape of white hair and a black crown dripping and black oil and ichor. Opal stands dark and still" (2:19:13)

"Opal the Twice-Crowned, born a fractured, dual soul. A being of unknown potential, manipulated by cult and betrayer gods alike to walk a violent path without agency, a pawn for the gods and their whims." Raven Queen describing Opal (2:19:32)

Opal has a spider form (different from three-armed Opal) (2:49:20)

Episode 110

Dorian remind Bells Hells that Opal is now the champion of the Spider Queen (51:29)

Laudna says "hang on, because didn't, the last time you saw Opal, wasn't she trying to brutally murder you?" (52:22). I guess BH knows it was the Spider Queen? I'm a bit confused because Dorian never explicitly told them this but maybe it was an off screen thing

Dorian: "I'm not certain any information we would get from her would be particularly reliable" (52:30)

What does Bells Hells know?

As far as they know, the day before Dorian reunited with Bells Hells:

Cyrus died in a (sort of) battle.

They tried to help Opal but she is corrupted, she is still alive though

Fy'ra Rai stayed with Opal

Dariax is safe

Opal and someone else are now the champions of the Spider Queen and Matron of Ravens.

Dorian discovered real evil existed

The title "Opal the Twice-Crowned"

Opal's spider form (but different the three-armed Opal that Dorian saw)

Opal is not a reliable source of information right now

What does Bells Hells not know?

Wildmother refused to help

Matron refused to help

The Spider Queen killed Cyrus (? tbh i'm confused about this one)

Dorian came here because Opal casted mass suggestion

Dorian abandoned Dariax

Opal's memories are either gone or altered

Opal with three arms

The whole Ted thing

And much more

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Hello!

First of all, thank you for your blog, it is pure linguistic gold to me (especially since I'm learning Japanese).

Remember when you mentioned a parallel between Zoro's nickname 閻王/enou as a parallel to Rayleigh's 冥王星/meiou ? Well, the dots connect to your post about the gorousei's planet-themed name since Pluto's name is 冥王星/meiou- makes sense, it's the japanese name for Hades and Pluto in Greek and Latin mythologies. But where it gets interesting is when you realize that all Ancient Weapon-based Greek/Latin god names have 王/ou in the name of their star equivalent : 天王星/ten'ousei for Uranus (where you have the kanji for sky/"celestial"/heaven), 海王星/kaiousei for Neptune, and what I mentioned earlier for Pluto. None if the gorousei's star name equivalents have this. All theories aside (like the parallel you can establish between the 3 Ancient Weapons and some Straw Hat members), what can you tell us about the Earth (地球/chikyuu, if I'm not wrong) ? Can you think of any instance where this term stood out, or if Mr. Oda used the kanji but with a different pronounciation ? Or if he used the term at all instead of borrowing the english word.

If you can't find anything, it's okay though! I just couldn't help but mention the link between the gorousei and the Ancient Weapons through the kanji, haha

TRUE! this also connects with something i noticed awhile back, which is the fact that the name of the sea kings, 海王類/kaiourui (sea-king-species), matches with the name of the planet neptune (aka poseidon), 海王星/kaiousei (sea-king-star). which is why they're sometimes called neptunians in translation!

so the gorosei are the five closest non-earth planets, and then the outermost three planets- uranus, neptune, and pluto- are the ancient weapons, 天王星 (heaven-king-star), 海王星 (sea-king-star), and 冥王星 (dark-king-star).

the most interesting thing i can say about your actual question is actually that, unless i've missed it, i don't think we've ever gotten a name for one piece's planet? i don't think it's ever been referred to as earth/地球 or any other specific name. normally the only term used for one piece's world is 世界/sekai, 'world' more generically. so that is still something of a gap in this assemblage, as is the lack of a clear association for imu.

but since we're talking about the solar system i would be remiss if i didn't mention we've also of course got the sun accounted for.

[shadowwolfsage]

DJ ARC 4

Jaune: (after letting another song play out) Alright well tonight's been great, so while I'm still riding the high, and with my girlfriends permission...

Neon: Go get 'em babe!

Jaune: Okay, so this song is one I wrote for someone I'veheld a torch for for a while. She's amazing, but people only ever seem to focus on her looks. She's so much more though. Sure she's an absolute ten out of ten beauty, but she's also one of the best fighters I've ever seen. She always looks out for her friends, giving up her own time to make sure others are doing okay. She's basically the big sister for her entire team, but no one ever seems to notice. So I wrote this song as a bit of a joke based off of that.

With RWBYNPR in the audience

Yang: *elbows Pyrrha* Damn. Lover Boy has it bad, huh P-Money?

Weiss: Yang, before you continue can I say something?

Yang: Yeah? Wassup Ice queen?

Weiss: Before today, Arc only ever performed under his Alias, and only appeared wearing a hologram mask.

Yang: wait really?

Weiss: Yes. Until today, the dance that you were put in charge of, and stressed over. You couldn't find a DJ, and Arc stepped up, knowing his cover would be blown, and choosing to reveal himself instead. Now, why do you think he did that?

Yang: (slowly starts connecting the dots)

Jaune: (over speakers) So this song is dedicated to the pun loving, badass brawler Yang Xiao Long. Yang? I hope you get a laugh out of this, and maybe tomorrow we can grab a bite to eat, just you me and Neon? And to the rest of you I say. Stop staring at her boobs.

Yang: Yang.exe has experienced an unexpected crash due to file publicconfession.zip trying to open Bi-panic.jpeg. Please wait while systems attempt to reboot.

Ruby: HAH, so this is what its like to see your sister embarrassed in public. *snaps photo* I'm so telling Dad that she's in a three way relationship like he was.

[angelofsmalldeaath]

work song — a.h.b.

a/n: full disclosure, i've posted this before on tumblr for something else. but i love this piece very much and i think it fits for him and this song so well 🤍 (it's gone under quite a few edits too, though)

cw: mentions of death but of well that's a given

the artist flicks through the feature. 

her name is printed in big letters on the cover of the monthly issue, her face—smiling and excited—next to the centrepiece of her latest art collection: cupid and psyche. 

the painting is stunning, a riot of bold colours and patterns, but at the centre is a man, his face hidden, his red-brown curls tousled. his body is relaxed, she thinks there's an air of carefreeness about him. 

and she'd know that for sure, after all that day is etched into her memory. 

when she feels a familiar pair of arms wrap around her, she smiles. 

“you're rather proud of the feature, aren't you?” his voice holds a little teasing note. she's stared at the feature for close to thirty minutes now, discreetly pinching herself in the same spot on her arm. (it sports a tiny, barely-there bruise now) 

“good,” he nuzzles his face into her neck, softly kissing the skin, “you should be. the exhibit was fucking gorgeous.”

“mmm, because you were the centrepiece?” fondly, she teases back, but the memory flashes in front of her eyes—the bustling art gallery, him in a corner, wearing a plain hoodie and jeans and a cap hiding half of his face, absolutely brimming with pride. 

she remembers the journalists asking about the man in all the paintings, the one whose face no one can see. “he's my muse,” she says every time, “this collection is dedicated to him.” 

“someone's going to connect the dots,” he walks around her, settling himself next to her on the settee. instantly, they rearrange themselves into a tangle—her legs on his lap, his arm around her, her head on his shoulders, his head on hers. “if they looked carefully, they'll make the connection.” 

“sweet boy, we have been each other's muse for years now and no one's found out. i don't think they're going to start now. besides,” she snorts, “i think the art world thinks i've made you up in my mind. won’t be the first time an artist's gone insane.”

he laughs a hearty laugh. “maybe you have. you always say i'm too good to be true.”

when she can't think of a retort, she sticks her tongue out, shrieking away as he smothers her in kisses. 

“seriously though, it's fun writing about you. singing about you. and i love seeing myself through your eyes.” suddenly he sounds all sober and serious. she thinks his voice even wavers slightly at the end. he blinks quickly though, and just like that the brightness in his eyes is gone. 

“love it when you write about me too,” she teases, “love being told i give you a toothache just from kissing you.”

“oi! i put my heart into that! it's a precious memory for me.”

“the memory of me taking care of you when you were burning up a fever? the memory of you demanding more kisses?”

he giggles like a teenager, hiding his face in her hair. it's fun to rile him up like this, so she continues, poking him in the ribs. “oh, oh, is it the memory of you passing the flu to me?” 

“we took care of each other though!” he traps both her hands in his so she won’t be able to poke him more. a second passes, and he can’t resist kissing the knuckles. “and so you deserve to have a song written about you. or a whole album works too i think.”

he pauses for a little then tuts. “actually, no. don't wanna tell anyone it's about you, that'll ruin the magic.”

“ruin the magic?” 

“of being your muse and having you as mine. a hundred years from now, when people would see your art as the artwork of this generation, and my music as the tune of our times—”

“tune of our times...”

“yeah, quit laughing at me!” he flicks her nose, kissing it right after. “so when my music becomes the tune of our times, i think people will see it then. they will make the connections.”

secretly, she loves the idea—that their love might transcend time and space, heaven and hell through their art. that decades from now their names might be whispered together, even though they aren’t just yet. 

“of course, we'll be buried together by then. same grave by the way, very romeo and juliet of us.”

“that's morbid!” she laughs sharply, “what will the epitaph say?”

he hums for a bit, thinking. his eyes flutter shut for a second or two, almost like he needs to focus on the half formed thought until it's a complete sentence. then he excitedly clears his throat and gently holds her face between his hands. 

“here lie the artist and the muse; inspiring each other in death as they did in life.”

[partyanimal167]

A Win-Win Situation PT 2- Rayleigh x F!Reader

Part One

Hello~ I've been chilling all day, and I wasn't sure what I was going to write on my days off, but I got a request for a continuation! So how could I saw no especially considering it's Rayleigh 😊

CW: modern au, black fem reader, age gap, suggestive, daddy kink, half-assed jealousy trope, brat taming, spanking, established relationship, MDNI

Things were certainly different now. Your car was always in perfect condition even though you rarely drove it. Your boyfriend was sweet and always considerate of you. Life was good, so you were a bit surprised to see the man react the way he did.

It took you over a week to realize that Rayleigh had been courting you. Sure, the way things turned out wasn't necessarily common, but maybe all those orgasms fogged up your mind since mechanics don't normally drive you home after leaving your car at the shop.

You were a bit confused when you arrived a few days later to a car that certainly had more work done than originally planned: tires rotated, new catalytic converter, washed and waxed, and an oil change. You were further confused when the price for the repair was certainly less than what you were quoted.

"Come on now sweetheart, you thought I wouldn't keep my word?" Rayleigh had winked.

You didn't know what to think, but the dots finally connected when the man showed up to your house with a fresh bouquet of flowers and asked to take you out on a date.

"Told ya, I'd fix that boyfriend problem."

And things just came so easily. You two got along great, and it was kind of nice learning about the older man and all his journeys. He always beamed at you when you talked about your day or your plans for when you were off next. Rayleigh always made sure to spoil you no matter what.

Even now, he was all smiles from a corner as he watched you play pool with Shanks, Scopper, and some of the other rascals he had known over time. It wasn't an upscale bar, but the neighborhood joint had seen their patronage for years. People came and went to enjoy a glass and have some fun.

Your shot is getting better, Rayleigh thought to himself. He hummed away in admiration until he saw a hot-shot your age approach you. The young man smiled and shook your hand before placing a peck on it. Rayleigh could tell you didn't think much of it since you went on talking with the man animatedly, and he showed you a couple of trick shots.

You decided to take a breather and joined Rayleigh at his table. "Having fun, sweetie?"

You nodded as you hugged onto the man's arm. "Yeah! I was just talking to this guy over there. It seems like we ended up going to the same school."

Rayleigh hummed. "Oh really? Did you know him?"

You shook your head. "Not really. We just-,"

"Here's a tequila sunrise from the gentleman at the bar." the drink was placed in front. You both looked up, and the man winked from afar and waved.

"Oh jeez," you chuckled nervously.

"Go ahead and enjoy it, princess. I don't mind."

"Really?"

"Mmhm."

The two of you sat and chatted away, but Rayleigh couldn't get over the slight glances in your direction--the ones you were totally oblivious to with your back turned. Rayleigh laughed at a joke you made and took a deep breath.

"Oi! We startin' another game! I'm feeling lucky," Shanks waved you over back to the pool tables.

You finished off your drink and looked up expectantly at your man. "Wanna come with?"

"In a minute," You went off across the bar, and Rayleigh couldn't help but watch the way your hips swayed with each step and the peek of skin just above your belt. Rayleigh polished off his beer.

"I'm shocked she'd be into an old geezer like you. You must be rich."

Rayleigh turned and looked up to see the cocky young man standing in front of him--peering down. "I don't like what you're implying, young man. You don't seem to have a problem spending some change on her." Never mind, that the drink had top shelf liquor. Rayleigh could get you that and more if you just said the word.

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I hope I can be pulling baddies in my golden years, but I'll take her off your hands for now."

Rayleigh knew he had to keep his calm. He wasn't really concerned about you ditching him. You two had a good thing going. More so, with Shanks and the crews here, things could get messy quickly. Rayleigh didn't feel like being banned from this bar again.

"Just watch." So Rayleigh did uninterestedly as you played on with the boys and laughed and smiled. A competition of sorts started with you and Buggy against the young guy and his friend.

In between turns, you sipped another free drink and cracked jokes. Rayleigh was hot under his skin, but he felt his eye twitch when he saw the man "squeeze" by you and placed his hand on your hip for a brief moment. Rayleigh rolled his eyes. How corny.

So he stood up to join the group and caught you in a hug as you cheered. "We won, babe!"

The old man chuckled as some of his hair moved into his face and placed a kiss on your forehead. "Good job sweetie. I told you you'd get better."

You giggled before grabbing your things. Rayleigh watched as you realized something. You grabbed pen and scribbled on a napkin. "So cool to meet you again! Hopefully we'll run into each other soon." you handed it to the guy and kissed his cheek.

Rayleigh felt the last strike tick, and he caught Shank's glance while you said bye to everyone. Rayleigh knew he probably looked the same, but Shanks knew. He grinned with amusement and mouthed, 'Be nice to the girl.'

Rayleigh smiled as he helped you into your jacket. He smiled as he walked to his car and opened the door for you. He smiled as he drove and you both sat in comfortable silence.

You had no idea.

~~~

"Say it again."

"I'm sorry, daddy!"

"What are you sorry for, dear?"

"I'm sorry for being a slut!" you wailed as you the spankings finally ended.

"Mmm, I don't know what you mean. I'm a good girl." you pouted and chuckled.

Rayleigh smiled too sweetly as he flipped you onto your back and trapped you from above. Tears peeked out of your eyes, and you looked all soft and innocent. But the grin was telling a different story. "Tch, you should be nice sweetheart. You shouldn't go leading another man on just to anger daddy." he chided.

"Oh, you're lying now too?" Rayleigh shook his head as he kissed his teeth. "I've spoiled you too much. Seems I need to fuck the brat out of you. Give me my good girl back, slut." Rayleigh. grunted before bringing your lips together.

Rayleigh knew you weren't sorry now, but by the time he'd be done with you, you'd know not to try his patience again. But no matter, you had the fun of teasing the old man and the roughed up sex that came after.

Easy win-win

I was this close 🤌🏾 to making this a threesome with Shanks lol, but I couldn't get my brain to do it. So we'll hog ol' Rayleigh for ourselves.

@dannie-pooh28

[bonny-kookoo]

yes! lacrymaria olor jk is a tease can we have more almost smut scenes with him pretty please?

"My god-Jungkook!" You gasp out, covering your still in underwear dressed body behind a blanket for good measure- and action that makes him simply smile impishly.

"I didn't intend to startle you." He offers, though there's no apology to his tone. "I forget that you do not have the sharpest senses." He hums, before he walks closer, and places a box he'd been holding onto a table close by. "Remove that." He demands, and yiu shake your head.

"I- I'm not dressed-" you stammer, and he sighs.

"-I'm aware, and that is fortunate." He tells you. "I want to help you wear my kingdom's jewelry properly for tonight." He explains, and you seem confused.

"To- what's tonight?" You wonder quietly, and he can't help but chuckle.

"Forgetful too. You'd truly be nothing but easy prey out there, hm?" He laughs, reaching to open the box on the table. "I told you that I'd need you to attend tonight's festivities." He offers to spark your memory. "People from my kingdom outside the royal grounds are allowed entrance for tonight, and I need you to be my pretty little excuse as to why I won't be participating in any amusement." He says, untangling what seems to be a thin chain of some sorts.

"..amusement?" You wonder, and he smirks.

"The only way I will participate in any of this.. amusement-" he chuckles, gaze moving to catch your eyes, "-will be with you, or no one at all." He says, and only now do you seem to connect the dots.

"Oh.." you mumble a bit flustered, tugging the blanket a bit closer.

"Dont be scared." He shakes his head. "Like I've said, I'm only.. playing with you a little. I won't force myself on you at any point." He promises, and you nod. "Now let me see your body. I will not touch it with... such intentions." He says. "..yet."

"Can't.. isn't there maybe, I don't know, a female-" you try, but he shakes his head, a hint of.. jealousy found in his words.

"Your bare skin is only for your own eyes, and mine to see." He growls. "And especially only for your own hands, or mine to touch." He threatens more or less like a big dog who doesn't want their toy taken.

Potentially dangerous- but docile, down the line.

So slowly, you lower the blanket, and watch in fascination as his eyes seem to glow for a moment, pupils dilating as he drinks in the sight of you. If he's already visibly affected right now-

What if you were to be.. well..

"Are you testing my self-control right now?" He lowly asks, before he moves the chains to lay over your skin- delicate jewelry meant to be worn as body decoration, you assume. You've seen him wear similar ones in the past as well. "Because I feel very much as if you're playing with me right now, my love." He purrs as he stands closer, closing the small hook behind your back, fingers barely grazing your skin.

But its nothing compared to when he connects the next few lines of silver jewelry to the front of your body, resting on the tops of your very breasts, his knuckles brushing over the soft skin with clear intent.

"You make it very hard to resist." He offers almost as a whisper, and you try hard to keep eye contact.

"I'm not.. doing anything.." you say equally as quietly, like you're both offering each other secrets never meant to be shared.

"I know." He chuckles. "Its what makes it all the more dangerous." He says.

"..why?" You ask, and he tilts his head to the side, a hand holding the back of your neck.

"Because I already feel myself at my very limit." Jungkook explains. "Only the gods might know what would happen if you were to reach out to me right now. I can smell your... desire."

".." your breath seems quicker, as you lean into the hand that now touches your cheek. "..what would you do?" You ask, very well aware of the dangerous game you're playing, and he seems thoroughly amused by it.

"I might have to ruin those beautiful metals resting on your skin right now.." he offers, his other hand letting his fingers run over one of the chains. "..or I'd leave them on, and just strip you bare of those unnecessary undergarments instead." He purrs, and you shiver.

"There's not much they're hiding anyways.." you say meekly, and his gaze sharpens.

"They're hiding way too much." He growls, leaning in even closer. "Every part of skin you're hiding right now is too much."

"...reveal them then." You boldly say- and for a second he seems to genuinely struggle, tongue running over his slightly pointed canine teeth, before he breaks out into an almost animalistic grin.

"You are getting bolder and bolder each day." He says, hands on each side of your neck as he seems to admire you for a moment. "I'm starting to get the feeling you are not as docile as I thought you to be." He mumbles.

"Is that a bad thing?" You ask, and he shakes his head.

"Not at all." He offers. "It is simply interesting how much you blossom. Becoming more and more.. attractive to me, so to say. Even though I thought I could not desire you any more than I already do." He laughs at himself, and you look away at that, genuinely flustered now. "And there goes my bold little devil, replaced by the shy creature again." He teases.

"You lost your chance." You huff, and at that he leans down, lips finding yours in a kiss that can only be described as Primal.

He's pushing you to walk backwards until your back hits a wall- a wall he easily pushes you high up against to reach you better, legs wrapped around his waist where he holds them by your thighs. His grip is strong, tongue already running over your bottom lip as he steals your breath quite literally so.

Only to part away from you, lips red and eyes sharp as he watches you struggle to regain composure. "You're so forgetful, my love." He chuckles darkly, fingers digging into your flesh as he keeps you up against the wall, face leaning in to run his lips over the crook of your neck. "I will not be the one to hunt for 'chances' as you might call them.." he chuckles, tongue running over your skin before he places a kiss against your neck. "I'll wait instead."

"..for what?" You ask breathlessly- and he just smirks.

"For the moment your simple desire turns into love."

[bluecapsicum]

hi Blue! I am absolutely IN LOVE with the "Reports From Unknown Places" series. If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn to draw the clouds and the sky so well? I've always found the prospect very daunting, but you draw them in a way that simply amazing! Do you have any tips for brushes/practice?

Hello!

Thank you so much for the message, and your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoy Reports.

I completely understand how one might find drawing the sky daunting. I still regularly give myself headaches when working on reports. Everyone has their own issues when it comes to drawing, though.

For instance, this might sound a bit absurd, but one of my main issues as an illustrator is that I don't think well in 3D, and I ended up realising that I was unconsciously thinking about the sky as a flat image. When I started drawing clouds as objects moving in space, everything became a little easier.

(This is the kind of epiphany that I had. Truly a revolution in my mind. Now I can totally rotate clouds in my brain.)

This all came about as I kept on drawing more and more, sure, but the most important part really was watching clouds for myself, as much as possible, and to try and notice things every time. It's mostly silly stuff, especially at first, like oh yeah, I guess clouds produce shadows on other clouds too. Wow! Or, huh, this cloud doesn't have the same density throughout, so the light scatters differently inside of it.

Because it's all fundamentally physics, it ended up sounding incredibly simple once I had noticed it. Of course! It's all logical! I had just never connected the dots before I saw it in person.

So I also bought some books, and watched videos (all those airplane videos are fantastic), read websites, looked at pictures. Everything was helpful in one way or another. Listen, I knew about cirrus and cumulonimbus and that was pretty much it, at first. So looking at diagrams about how high cirrus are in comparison to stratocumulus, for instance, was a revelation. Looking at the life cycle of cumulonimbus explained so much for me.

These are studies I did on the side of Reports, in November 2020, then April 2021, and the third one in September 2023:

I think I'm able to look at these and tell that I got progressively more confident because I understood what I was drawing a lot better.

If I had to say, a few concrete things I learned that work for me is being bold, not to be afraid of contrast and sharp edges, and to treat light as an actor of its own. I can't find it right now, but I once read a quote by (I think!) Cezanne that went something like "I'm not painting the mountain, I'm painting the air between me and the mountain". I think it's the most helpful thing I've ever heard for painting and drawing. It's obviously especially relevant here. The air changes everything.

Anyway, I could go for ages more, I'm totally rambling, so I'll just leave a few references I find helpful:

The International Cloud Atlas

The Cloud Appreciation Society

What's This Cloud

In the end it's just fun, and good for the soul, to spend quality time with clouds, so nothing is ever lost!

[abiiors]

Veee could you write something with matty where reader is also an artist (a way less known one) and its just pure fluff with both of them being inspired by one another?

Feel free to ignore ofc!!🫶🫶🫶

muse - matty x reader

a/n: this took a very different direction than originally planned and got slightly existential sorry about that 💀💀 but i hope you like it regardless <33

divider by @/cafekitsune

cw: mentions of smut, talks of death, general fluff and sappiness.

the artist flicks through the feature.

her name is printed in big letters on the cover of the monthly issue, her face--smiling and excited--next to the centrepiece of her latest art collection: cupid and psyche. the painting is stunning, a riot of bold colours and patterns but the at the centre is a man, his face hidden, his jet black curls tousled. his body is relaxed, she thinks there's an air of carefreeness about him.

and she'd know that for sure, after all that day is etched into her memory.

when she feels a familiar pair of arms wrap around her, she smiles.

"you're rather proud of the feature, aren't you?" matty's voice holds a little teasing note. she's stared at the feature for close to thirty minutes now, discreetly pinching herself in the same spot on her arm. (it sports a tiny, barely-there bruise now)

"good," matty nuzzles his face into her neck, softly kissing the skin, "you should be. the exhibit was fucking gorgeous."

"mmm, because you were the centrepiece?" fondly, she teases back, but the memory flashes in front of her eyes--the bustling art gallery, matty in a corner, wearing a plain hoodie and jeans and a cap hiding half of his face, absolutely brimming with pride.

she remembers the journalists asking about the man in all the paintings, the one whose face no one can see. "he's my muse," she says every time, "this collection is dedicated to him."

"someone's going to connect the dots," matty walks around her, settling himself next to her on the sofa. instantly, they rearrange themselves into a tangle--her legs on his lap, his arm around her, her head on his shoulders, his head on hers. "if they looked carefully, they'll make the connection."

"matty, we have been each other's muse for years and no one's found out. i don't think they're going to start now. besides," she snorts, "i think the art world thinks i've made you up in my mind. won't be the first time an artist's gone insane."

matty laughs. "maybe you have. you always say i'm too good to be true."

when she can't think of a retort, she sticks her tongue out, shrieking away when he smothers her in kisses.

"seriously though, it's fun writing about you. singing about you. and i love seeing myself through your eyes." suddenly matty sounds all sober and serious. she thinks his voice even wavers slightly at the end. he blinks quickly though, and just like that the brightness in his eyes is gone.

"love it when you write about me too," she teases, "love being called a gemini and a sexy girl, such poetry."

"oi! i put my heart into that! it's a precious memory for me."

"the memory of us fucking in the new bath for the first time?"

matty giggles like a teenager, hiding his face in her hair. it's fun to rile him up like this, so she continues, poking him in the ribs. "or waking up the next day with a head cold because we stayed in the cold water for so long hmm?"

"you took care of me though, and so i think you deserve to have a song written about you. or a whole album works too i think." then matty tuts. "actually, no. don't wanna tell anyone it's about you, that'll ruin the magic."

"ruin the magic?"

"of being your muse and having you as mine. i think a hundred years from now, when people would see your art as the artwork of this generation, and my music as the tune of our times--"

"tune of our times..."

"yeah, quit laughing at me!" matty flicks her nose, quickly kissing it after. "so when my music becomes the tune of our times, i think people will see it then. they will make the connections."

secretly, she loves the idea--that their love might transcend time and space through their art. that decades from now their names might be whispered together, even though they aren't just yet.

"of course, we'll be buried together by then. same grave by the way, very romeo and juliet of us."

"that's morbid!" she laughs sharply, "what will the epitaph say?"

matty hums for a bit, thinking, his eyes flutter shut for a second or two almost like he needs to focus on the half formed thought until it's a complete sentence. then he excitedly clears his throat and gently holds her face between his hands.

"here lie the artist and the muse; inspiring each other in death as they did in life."

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Ahhh it’s been so long since I’ve been on here n I saw ur writing for PEETA?! I’m currently rereading the series n On Mockingjay and want to cry everytime he’s mentioned. Anywhoo can I request telling Peeta ur pregnant (obviously after the war is won and all that) in honor of baby #2 I’m due with in a October?<3

GIIIIIRL CONGRADU-FUCKING-LATIONS!!!!! I'm so so so happy for you, so so so so so happy omg. I hope this is exactly what you wanted it to be.

I also wanna reread all the books before the next Hunger Games movie comes out, so excited for that one.

There's a haze across the lake outside our house, steam rising up from the warmer water as dusk settles upon the surrounding acreage. The sky is a pale orange, like Peeta's favorite color, and the stars are already out, speckling across bare sky like freckles.

My hand wanders down to my belly, though it's not growing yet, I know what's growing in there as I think to myself now, sitting on the edge of the peer as I take a deep breath in, filling my babies lungs with the most genuine of oxygen.

He doesn't know yet, I didn't want to tell him until he finally had a break from all the stress he's been under the last few years, finally bridging the gap of his therapy and coming up perfectly clean from all the capitals torture.

He's finally him again.

"Hey, there you are." Peeta's voice behind me makes me smile to myself, realizing this is a better time than never to finally rip the bandaid off and tell him our big secret. "I've been looking for you."

"I'm right here. Where I always am." I smile up at him and I watch his eyes trail over me as he sits down beside me, legs swinging off the dock beside mine. It's so still, everything is quiet except for the frogs singing their song.

"You okay?" He asks quietly, pressing a kiss to the side of my head while he wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. He smells like the pastries he was just working on inside, warm hazelnut and caramel wafting all the way from the open kitchen window to the pier.

"I've never been better." I grin, looking up at him with heart eyes, my whole body buzzing with love as I stare up at him through my lashes.

"What's got you so happy?" He asks, brushing some hair from my face as his thumb brushes against my bottom lip and I giggle giddily, giving his knee a gentle squeeze.

"I have a secret."

"Oh yeah? Can I know what it is?" He asks with a silly smile, eyes flickering from mine, all the way down to my lips.

"I'm nervous," I say through a small, worried smile and his expression softens to something so wholesome, so caring as he worriedly looks across my expression.

"Don't be nervous. It's me."

There's a pregnant (pun intended) pause between us as I think of how to bring this up in a way that's not just blurting out 'you knocked me up', even though that would probably make him laugh. My mind wracks the conversations we've had about having babies, making a family, and he's never given me one ounce of fear that he may not want it with me.

"You always wanted to have babies right?" He pauses, brows furrowing together as he gives me a slow, drawn-out nod.

"It was always the plan after I was de-conditioned... right?" He asks, leaning a little away from me so he can get a good look at me and for a moment I think that he's connecting the dots in his head.

"Right." I huff, giving him a bright smile. "So..."

"Oh my god." His realization is sudden, eyes widening and his smile spreading across his lips as quickly as the thought comes into his head. "Really?" He asks and I giggle, head tossing back in laughter as Peeta grabs my shoulders and shakes me. "You're joking? You can't mess with someone like this-"

"I'm pregnant." I squeal and he throws his arms around me, tugging me to his chest as a small cry escapes him and suddenly, all of the pain of the last few years closes like a book just as another one opens.

[jamelslivres]

Hama

Let's start with the canon(ish) timeline:

Assuming that the young woman with the hair loopies is Katara's grandmother Kana and she's around the same age as Hama, I'm going to say that both are in their early-twenties. This is because Kana needed time to emigrate from the Northern Water Tribe. Yue got engaged at 16, and the healer Yagoda thought Katara was old enough to be engaged at 14. Judging by these engagement customs, Kana was probably engaged and then left around 16/17. To give her enough time to cross the world and settle in, I'd say that she and Hama must be around their early 20s.

During "The Puppetmaster", Hama says "the raids started over sixty years ago". Based on this, Hama is in her 80s during the events of this episode.

As she is describing her escape, Hama says she "walked free for the first time in decades". This could mean anything, but given that she hasn't started graying yet, I'm going to say two decades. Making her in her 40s when she first escaped.

Now, when did Hama get to the village we see in "The Puppetmaster"?

I've collected the relevant pieces from the show and discussed them. I truly can't make up my mind on this point, so I'd love to hear what others think. Let me know if I missed anything or if you guys have different interpretations of the evidence.

Here is what is said in the episode:

A merchant explains to a customer that he won't have any ash bananas until next week. The customer then says 'oh right, the full moon'. The merchant then says that he can't lose another two delivery boys to the full moon.

This interaction, to me, can be used to justify that Hama either has or hasn't been kidnapping people in this specific village for a long time:

Kidnapping in the short time interpretation: The merchant looks to be around sixty or slightly older, so he'd have been around when Hama came to the village (if she arrived immediately after escaping in her 40s). Let's assume he's been running this business for that long. If Hama started kidnapping people near immediately, I'd assume the lost delivery boys incidents happened near the beginning of that time. In this case, up to four decades ago. The merchant might not bring up those incidents to a customer who is (two?) decades younger than him and might not remember that incident. Since telling the customer is kinda bad marketing and makes the merchant look irresponsible or reckless. This could imply that these incidents are more recent.

Kidnapping in the long time interpretation: The customer doesn't need to be reminded that the full moon is that night. He knows it instinctively and doesn't need the merchant to connect the dots between the two day journey and the full moon disappearances. This awareness of the moon phases could imply that this has been happening for long enough that people have been habitually paying attention to the moon for a long time.

2. The guy who tells Aang, Sokka, and Toph about Old Man Ding says he's the "only one person who ever saw it and lived".

The word "ever" here implies that this might have been going on for a long time. However, local legends are quickly made and inflated, so the timing might just naturally be exaggerated.

3. Old Man Ding interaction, in which he says, "I'm not ready to get snapped up by any moon monster".

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this. To me, this reads like a semi-recent event, but I don't have anything to really back this up. Apart from maybe Ding saying he's not ready to get snapped up by a moon monster in response to a conversation about his age, which could imply that he was already old when this event happened.

Fun fact: the credits say "old man dig" even though the subtitles and voices clearly say "old man ding" (: 

Now for some speculation:

If Hama escaped in her 40s, the earliest she could have gotten to the village was forty years ago. In my opinion, that is a LONG time to be kidnapping people and not get caught. However, she does only have the opportunity to kidnap people once a month, but still that seems like a really long time. This brings me to the part of this that is just me asking questions (so again, please let me know what you think!)

When did Hama start kidnapping people?

Did she go to other villages before she came to the one we see in this episode? If so, did she kidnap anyone in those previous villages (I'd guess yes)? If she was in other villages, was there a point before she started kidnapping people, or did she start immediately (I think it could be interesting if she struggled with it for a bit, then gave into the urge. Or even if the urge didn't appear immediately)?

Did she ever try to go home? If so, did she find that she wasn't able to let go of the need for revenge, and leave again?