#irrationally scared of aging

[girlivealwaysbean]

i don't feel like studying any of the subjects from The Plan rn but everything else is so boring that i also don't want to waste time on like watching content or something and i would rather switch subjects then give up on studying for the day and by old me standards ive already done enough but new me i still feel like i can do more but i don't know what ughhhhh this is torture

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

I know the usual role swap AU has Marcy in Wartwood, Anne in Toad Tower and Sasha in Newtopia but I think it's be hilarious to see Sasha in Wartwood, Marcy in Toad Tower and Anne in Newtopia.

Andrias encourages Anne's worst vices, her selfishness and laziness. He just gives her a room and infinite money and lets her do whatever she wants, facing no consequences for her actions whatsoever because all Andrias cares about is using her as bait for her two more competente friends to come looking for. Only thing in her favor is that she DOES have the Calamity Box, which she gives to Andrias without question as soon as he promises to send her back home. Problem is that it's uncharged, and Anne at this point is too useless to do anything about it, so he, alongside Lady Olivia, have to keep up with this spoiled brat, forcing fake smiles and praying that her friends show up soon. He even sends Yunnan to go find them, because this weird annoying alien kid is causing disasters in the city every two days and all Andrias can think about is "jeez now I remember why I never had children".

Marcy in Toad Tower has a very Entrapta-Hordak kind of relationship with Grime (without the romance) in the sense that she's too enthralled by the wonders of Amphibia to be scared. She might not have the social abilities Sasha has but she DOES have an extensive knowledge of Age of Empires types of games, her strategies are UNMATCHED. While she is terrified during the first two weeks, while she's locked in a cell (this is NOT what her isekai fantasy looked like in her head), she soon proves her usefulness when she yells strategic advice from behind bars, demanding to be let out because she NEEDS to be in that war meeting! That strategy won't work! She saw it in an a dozen different animes, she knows how this ends! Though she's not very aware of the brutal reality of Toad Tower - she really just thinks she ended up with a cool warrior order she's helping defeat their enemies.

But Sasha in Wartwood takes the cake. If she ends up with the Plantars like Anne, she's an absolute menace for Sprig and Polly because she's one hell of a bad influence. Hop Pop takes it as a challenge - he thinks she wants to force him to kick her out, and he won't give her what she wants! Plus he's very aware of the ways in which she tries to manipulate his grandchildren and he won't allow it! Every time she gets them in trouble on purpose she has to do a full day of farm work, or to clean Bessie's stables. It's his way of telling her he can see straight through her bullshit and he won't tolerate it. If she wants to turn his kids into little delinquents she will have to get through him first! She probably becomes closer to Polly than Sprig, Sprig being a bit too much of a goody two shoes to follow half of her plans, while Polly is a natural troublemaker that joins in to whatever mischief Sasha comes up with. Though seeing Polly, a small child, continue to get in trouble and suffer the consequences for Sasha's actions, kind of triggers her more protective insticts. The moment Hop Pop realized she was making progress was when he saw her admit, in front of the whole town, that she was responsible for whatever trouble they had earlier, and she only did that because she felt responsible for Polly.

Btw she gets sooooo irrationally mad when Hop Pop gets a girlfriend and encourages Sprig's frustration, whispering like a devil in his ear that this is how it starts: first he gets a girlfriend, then you stop being his priority and suddenly he has new kids and a new family and you're not part of it. Trust me, buddy, single dads getting girlfriends is bad news. We should push her into the river!

Though I do wonder if it'd be even funnier if she ended up with someone you would never expect, like Mrs. Croaker. This old woman has her clean and cook for her all day long while complaining that she's doing everything wrong but she's the only person in town who lets her crash in her couch so it's her fucking snow white arc or getting eaten by a giant mantis.

As expected, Toad Tower and Newtopia makes the girls worse while Wartwood makes them better. While Marcy is kept in the dark and used for her intelligence to commit war crimes and Anne is allowed to be even more selfish and useless, Sasha becomes incredibly protective of her new family and this little town that suddenly looks to her to keep them safe and provide.

[rachetmath]

Jaune: *pacing back and forth*

Writer: *scared* Um.

Jaune: Let me ask you something. Do you get off on me suffering?

Writer: What? No. No. No, we don’t.

Jaune: Really? S-so—so w-w-why have me kill Penny? Like I really could have saved her. I really could have healed her. Like what are we doing? But no, I listened to a girl who had a human body for the first time and was having a dying experience which she probably wasn’t thinking straight.

Writer: …. ….

Jaune: Then I don’t even mention her and Ruby was going through it, acting like she killed her.

Writer: I mean she technically did kill her.

Jaune: Why didn’t you let Ruby do it then? Why did I have to go through all that crap?

Writer: Jaune your a knight.

Jaune: I also had a rabbit hoody. Plus didn’t Ruby pick a knight piece? She is TECHNICALLY a knight. You all could have had me as the late bunny.

Writer: How does that fit into your character?

Jaune: Hm. Beacon wasn’t I late to save Pyrrha? Mistral, wasn’t I think irrationally to where Weiss almost died. Argus, I was close to getting my friends killed because I was lack of leadership skills.

Writer: …. ….

Jaune: The heir always arrives late because he neglects his responsibility and doesn’t do his job. Haven’t I been neglecting some of my duties to almost where no one has complete faith in me?

Writer: …. …

Jaune: Plus, again, Ruby has silver eyes. She could have been training with those and her scythe skills. You can also determine what age you want her to be.

Writer: Okay Jaune chill. We just thought it was best for your character.

Jaune: So having me go back in time. I was stuck in the Ever After for years and couldn’t find a home until RWBY was there. Letting me get poisoned by Alyx. And getting no kind of skill set was good. Isn’t my character all about growth and change? So why does it feel like I haven’t changed? I’m back to square one again.

Writer: Yeah…

Jaune: y'all come on. First, you had Tyrian having some interest in me which might as well be a prison joke right now. Then you had Vine say something about extending my aura which is irrelevant considering y'all wanted Ren to have attention. Y'all had Harriet grieving over Clover which I could have been related to her on, you know, because I lost Pyrrha. And I let Emerald join my team because Oscar says so. There was a lot of shit I could have done. But no, killing Penny was important.

Writer: …

Jaune: Ya’ll had Ruby and Salem in the same kingdom, Salem drops the Summer bomb, and instead of having Ruby figure that shit out by seeing her you had her sidelined.

Writer: She was protecting Nora and Penny.

Jaune: She could have left and gone help in the war. Silver-eyed warrior timing and left Weiss in charge. Don't give me that shit.

Writer: Okay but -

Jaune: Back to what's important, why was James her highest priority over Salem? I mean at least he was protecting his citizens. Salem was trying to kill everybody. How was she not Ruby's target? Why didn't you leave James to me? That would have hyped up Penny’s death way better if you wanted me to kill her!

Writer: You wouldn't stand a chance against James?

Jaune: I almost outsmarted the Atlas military with my plan.

Writer: James is stronger and smarter than you. You are no fighter

Jaune: Exactly fighting for me is the last resort. I am a strategist! Not an all-out fighter! My job is to adapt to situations and operate within the chaos!

Writer: … I mean-

Jaune: I also have emotional intelligence. And I’m not stupid. Are you telling me I wouldn't see through or question some of James’s actions if given a chance?

Writer: Well Ruby was trapped in an electric barrier.

Jaune: Gravity shield. So Nora didn't need to be absent in the fight.

Writer: Shit.

Jaune: Let's go to the Ever After.

Writer: Come on man. If it wasn't for you team RWBY wouldn't have made it out. Also, you were going through the worst.

Jaune: F team Rwby.

Writer: What could you have done better than Ruby?

Jaune: The same shit but better. I would have traded my armor for Yang’s arm. My sword for an audience with the Red King. Pyrrha scarf for the antidote. All are a part of my identity. Not to mention while having my friend's gun on me which she rejected after keeping it safe and not destroying it.

Writer: …

Jaune: Alyx’s dagger, I could have used it by probably seeing her memories and figuring out what happened to her and how to get home. And, mainly, as a means of self-defense.

Writer: But Yang, Blake, and Weiss-

Jaune: Speaking of them why did they prioritize me over Ruby? And why did Ruby need help from a god when her issues were minor compared to mine? I mean even if she spent years alone, talking with her team would have been enough for her. And probably for the best considering Ruby is her team's sister, friend, and leader.

Writer: … …

Jaune: Like seriously, I was messed up mentally. Penny whose death I might as well be keeping a secret, from everybody. I mean if you killed one of your allies to save the world, wouldn’t you feel morally messed up? Meanwhile, my team was nowhere on site. I don't know Weiss, Blake, and Yang like that, so opening up to either of them would have been a challenge. Especially Ruby. Not to forget but my friends were in a whole different kingdom by themselves and I don't know what happened to them. They could've been dead for all I knew. So my worries would have been expeditiously high!

Writer: Oh God.

Jaune: And since we are on Penny, what happened to her body?!

Writer: … … We don't need to discuss that.

Jaune: Funny, because of the way the Jabberwocky was looking at Ruby I can make a guess what happened to her.

Writer: Please don't.

Jaune: Then we have the Cat, my enemy and opposite to my personality., He manipulates my friends and controls them like puppets. Neo would have had a field day with me too. After all, Pyrrha died because I couldn't stop her. Penny died because I had zero options to save her. Ozpin died because I failed to do my job. Ironwood died because of me and Ruby. And Harriet told me about Clover so I know he’s dead.

Writer: …

Jaune: And after all that bullshit you just gave us nothing. No new looks. Now new weapons I could have used. We might as well have been through a filler arc. Oh, and you know what, you could have finally given me a backstory. Something that finally ties my character together.

Writer: *tears falling* Jaune, please.

Jaune: *weapon drawn* You f*** with me for the last time. Now. DIE!

Chopper, Steven, and Orihime: No!

Orihime: Shoten kessun I reject.

Writer: *protected*

Chopper: *Goes Arm point and restrains Jaune*

Steven: *Traps them both in a bubble*

Windy: Jaune please calm down.

Jaune: Nah I'm killing them. They got me f*** up.

Steven: We’re really going to need therapy for you buddy.

Jaune: I don't need therapy, I want them dead.

Sakura: Chopper.

Chopper: Come, buddy. They are not worth it.

Jaune: Let me at least punch them.*screams in rage*

Sakura: *stares at the new staff*

Viz media writer: …

Sakura: Look just go easy on him. Please? Just let him be useful in other areas. Don't give him more trauma.

Viz media writer: You must know how he feels.

Sakura: Yes. Yes, I do.

Steven: And so do I.

[kalelactually]

posting a merlin drabble here that i’ll never finish. arthur’s pov — sorry if this doesn’t make sense !! i’ve been staring at it for too long :)

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— and all my tears have been used up, on another love, another love —

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you look at him, and tremble with the weight it takes to keep secrets together.

you are a prince. you are used to secrets. secrets that are vital, that hide bodies of villages, arms of troops, and the beating heart of your city. secrets that mean, if exposed, you could lose everything your ancestors have worked for overnight. a beating heart, gone, in the blink of an eye.

but his secret, oh — his secret would destroy not your kingdom, but your world as you know it (with him in it.) and you can’t live with that. you know you can’t. and you don’t want to find out what it would be like to have to.

so you keep moving, and you stay blind, and pretend, and hope and hope and hope, that above all, he will stay safe. (that he will stay with you.)

——————

however, some part of you is always mad at him. you’ll look over and see his face, split in half with a grin, and get unbearably, irrationally angry. you’ll snap, and throw insults, and cut with your words, if not your actions — and you’ve never known why.

(you know why. it’s fear.)

——————

leon points it out to you one day, easy, simple, quick as breathing.

he tells you that you never seem to smile. and that shakes your mind.

you ask, confused and caught off guard, why he points it out. he shrugs, leaning on his staff, and stares off at your servant, your merlin, who is mock-battling with some kids. (and when have you ever not thought of him as yours? just as you know you’re his.)

“you haven’t smiled since we were children.” he holds up his hand, as if to stave off protests you’re already forming. “oh, you’ll grin, and you’ll smirk, but it’s sardonic. like you don’t truly find the humor in it; humor that everyone else seems to see.” he hums. “you’re jaded, a little bit.”

you immediately get defensive, the heat of your anger rising, as your throat tightens and almost chokes you up, strangely.

he shrugs again before you can answer, tilting his head towards your servant (your friend.) “but you smile when you’re with him.”

you sit back, dumbfounded, and remarkably exposed. (oh.)

——————

you think later that night, once you finally have some time to yourself, and realize that you can’t remember what your face looks like when it’s smiling. you haven’t felt laughter, or humor — let alone joy, not truly, for years — and you abruptly remember something your father said, once.

“joy is for peasants. it’s the only thing they can afford. it’s common, and it’s cheap — and as kings, as rulers, we have no use for something so easily obtained.”

you didn’t smile in his presence again, after that.

and that decision, one you can’t even remember making, has followed you up until now.

(until him.)

——————

you understand why you’re so angry, now. it’s not because joy is cheap, (like your father once claimed,) or below you, (like you were once taught.) it’s because for you, joy is rare — and you don’t know what it’s like.

you, a king, a prince, (a man, a boy, a kid,) don’t know what it’s like to feel joy. to feel … happy.

and then he came along, and burst into your life, with abhorrent manners and mismatched outfits (and a humble kind of wisdom you’ve never seen,) and shows you that something like happiness is there, and it is possible.

and you are scared.

you, who backs down at nothing. you, who has fought dragons, who has stared down the queen of the north, who bested knights at the age of five. you, who gained your father’s approval. (you, who has fought for the right to live since birth.) you sit back, and you realize, you are deeply, deeply scared.

and then you’re angry, and full of a white-hot rage, and then touch your face and feel tears slipping free without your consent. and you think you’re grieving, because you were never taught things that so many others seem to just know.

and you, you are the one who doesn’t know something so simple, so crucial. you don’t know what it’s like to feel, and you think, that’s unfair.

you also think distantly you’d rather face another dragon, or a horde of them. it’d be easier. those, at least you know how to face.

you don’t know how to fight an enemy, one without a body, or arms, or legs — one that is nothing more than just a feeling, a shadow, a futile grasp at something you don’t even know how to understand.

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hope someone on here enjoyed !! sorry for the abrupt ending :// someday i’ll learn how to post using the tumblr format but today is not that day <33

(title: another love by tom odell)

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• character credits belong to bbc and bbc’s merlin. all works enclosed are solely my own, and are purely fictional and meant for the enjoyment of the reader. please do not repost, republish, or steal my works without explicit permission, otherwise you will be blocked and reported. ty !! •

[l3st1b0urn3s-707]

I recently read The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and the reading experience was absolutely amazing, so let's talk a bit about it.

I've always felt some kind of aversion towards classics, which was implanted in my head by beeing forced to read them at school at a really young age, but now that I'm finishing high school I've been trying to open my mind a bit. I started with this book because I love the 2009 film, and I'm really happy I gave it a try, because I really loved it. The narration was very different to what I expected, it wasn't hard to read at all. I can't really describe it, but the way the author uses the words just makes you feel so inmersed in it, I hadn't felt that way reading a book in so long.

Dorian was also such a fascinating character! One of my favourite things about him was how he always felt things so intensely (love, distress, hate.. ), and how his personality changes gradually from an inocent young mind who's excited about the world to a rotten man, corrupted by the influence of Lord Henry. This happens so smoothly, I cannot really describe how incredible it is. The character who really stood up to me, tho, was Basil Hallward. His love for Dorian felt so genuine, and he really cared for him and was afraid Lord Henry would make him a bad person, because even tho he was his friend, Basil knew what he was capable of. Lord Henry also noticed how Dorian atracted people arround him, either because of his beauty or his charming personality, and that's why he wanted to meet him. I think, in the end, Dorian Gray was a mix between Basil and Harry, taking parts of both their personalities into his own.

More on the spoilery side, I think there're at least two parts of the book that are worth mentioning. The first one is Basil's death. His care for Dorian, his faith in him beeing a good person made him die by his firend's hand. Dorian's rage made him act irrationally, and even though he was scared to be discovered, he didn't seem to care much about killing a person (specially someone that was once dear to him). The next part I wanted to mention was the ending and how Dorian said he wanted to become a better person but in reallity he just wanted to feel like he was one. The moment where he took the knife he used to kill Basil to destroy the picture, the only evidence of his evilness, and how it turned him into what he really was, killing him in the process and leaving the portrait as if nothing ever happened. That's one of the best endings I've ever read.

I absolutely loved this book, it was so fun to read and a great experience overall. I'd love to read the uncensored version in the future and see the differences it has. I didn't mention the queerness of the book, but it was definitely present and so cool and interesting.

[a-heros-legacy-project]

Book one: Chapter 5; a meal and a god

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1 2 2.2 3 4 info

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》Well, it's lunch now, im sure you want to eat after this long day, yeah?

Oh, and I've heard from chiron; happy birthday bud. 《

○●○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

And with that, we headed down to the dining circle.

Aileen had told me that everyone just called it "the plaza" so I decided that that's what it was from now on.

There weren't too many teens at the tables, in total I counted around 25, me, asteria, Aileen and pheobe included.

Speaking of those two, I tried to hide a smile at how charming asteria and pheobe were when they talked

Aileen seemed to share my thoughts as she sat beside pheobe, leaving me to sit beside ari

A gust of wind suddenly blew in our direction, leaving me shortly blindsided, but when I regained my sight, what i saw made my mouth water.

The table was now full of food all around the world, seemingly according to our collective taste:

There was the usual: bacon, burger, pizza and pasta but also there was a plate of rice with miso noodles, plates with ifferent kinds of bread, some really fragrant sauces and soups and some nice and warm curry (yum!)

in short, I got everything I could get my hands on, which made pheobe giggle

》gods above! Laertes, there's enough food for the all of us!《

she chuckled as she covered her mouth , talking quietly with asteria afterwards.

we all ate for a while, before we heard someone's voice at our table:

》mind if I sit here? None of the other tables want me here-《

》yeah, of course! I'm laertes, and you are?《

》Damien, legacy of diomedes and son of- well....um....you'll see《

I noticed that he looked pretty shy as he was about to mention his father, and Aileen was already looking at him pityingly

》 what's wrong with your father? Is he here?《

He looked embarrassed 》 well...yes, but-《

Suddenly a gong sound reverberated through the space, catching all of our attention.

Damians face paled as a gruff voice shouted into the plaza

》listen up mortals! It's June, you know what that means!《

A large, burly man in his mid thirties rose from his seat, an aura of fear surrounding him

》that's my dad...《 Damien whispered, as if telling me an embarrassing secret 》lord ares《

I looked at him dumbfounded and whispered back 》your dads a GOD?!《

》well it's very common with the Greek gods, but yes...my dads a God《

Ares continued 》its a new month, new recruits and new trainees! Which means that the drakon training week has started! And thankfully me and chiron won't be the only ones training you children....《

He sat back down, grumbling something about "his little vultures about to cause chaos"

Two figures appeared in the shadows beside Damien, maniacal laughter coming from them.

Quick question, are you scared of anything? Spiders? Snakes? Clowns?

Well, even if you weren't, you'd still be scared irrationally if you met the two gods infront of us

They looked around our age, maybe a year older, with unruly black hair , striking red eyes and pale skin.

Oh. Did I mention they're identical twins? Yeah no, they were identical twins.

》oh damiannnnnnn....welcome back to the training ground brother dear!《 one of them spoke up with a grin that was a bit too wide to be normal

The other one looked straight at me, their gaze unnerving. 》oh? What's this? Some fresh meat?! Oh how splendid! We haven't seen new blood since....hm....what was her name again?《

》i believe it was mellie, just last month ago《 his eyes narrowed and he fixed his eyes on me

》we're phobos and deimos; twin gods if fear and terror! You are?《

》um....my name is laertes....legacy of Odysseus?《

》legacy of Odysseus you say?!《 the one who is assumed to be phobos spoke up 》well, it just so happened to be that-《

Asteria spoke up, unsheathed her dagger 》one more word and this pretty little dagger is cutting out your vocal chords....《

》gods, little owlet, no need to be so feisty!~《 deimos purred, making her roll her eyes

Aileen spoke up , shifting to cover pheobe from view 》now that you two terros are done talking, could you leave? Dinner is done now anyway, and I'm sure laertes is exhausted....《

I nodded weakly as the two gods walked away, leaving us alone.

Asteria looked at me and smiled 》welp, I guess it's time for you too see the place you'll be staying for a while, hm?

TAGLIST :D

@bast-the-best26

[caughtnyact]

OC Tag Game

Thank you so much @the-bear-and-his-sunbird and @thequeenofthewinter for tagging me :') I loved learning more about Siobhan and Iris, two beautiful Ingellvars! Here's my blorbo that I love v much

General:

Name: Kayla Mercar

Alias: Rook

Gender: Cis woman, She/Her

Age: 27

Spoken Language: Trade/Common, mostly academic Tevene with some of the most heinous swear words mixed in, and very limited Elvish

Sexual Orientation: Bi

Occupation: Shadow Dragon

Favorite:

Color: Purple, especially dark purple

Entertainment: Extremely corny stand-up comedy shows

Pastime: Gambling, full contact street hockey

Food: Spicy foods, baklava exclusively from one specific mom and pop bakery in Dock Town

Drink: Iced coffee, for alcohol a nice Benediction cocktail

Have they…

Passed University: She had a complete education befitting a child of a high-ranking military commander, but did not pursue higher education

Had Sex: Mostly in committed relationships, with a few flings thrown in during a dry spell lol

Had Sex in Public: More than she should, less than she would like

Got Tattoos: Vallaslin (June), full sleeve of Dalish imagery on her left arm, a few thigh pieces on both legs

Got Piercings: Multiple ear piercings, eventually convinced by Taash and Harding to get her nips pierced lmao

Got Scarred: During the events of [Redacted], Rook was struck by a lightning spell and has fractal scars running across her right side, concentrated on her back, shoulder, and right arm

Had a Broken Heart: It certainly felt like it at the time (age 20)

Are they…

A Cuddler: Not if anyone asks (but absolutely in private)

Scared Easily: Generally not, but she has the occasional panic attack around any kind of lightning and absolutely hates storms

Jealous Easily: Slightly possessive but not to the point of irrationality, it's more of a love language than an indictment on her partner

Trustworthy: She is reliable and trustworthy, it takes a lot for her to even think about letting someone down lol

Family…

Sibling(s): No adoptive, unsure of birth family

Parents: Adoptive father - Legatus Charon Mercar; birth parents unknown

Children: None (Yet 👀)

Pets: Rook would LOVE a cat, but doesn't think it makes sense until she has reliable lodgings at home in Minrathous. In the meantime, she is incapable of stopping herself from petting every single cat in Dock Town and Treviso lol

Tagging @dialmformud @draco-illius-noctis @anew-flame @pseudospaceship and anyone else that would like to share their Rooks <3

[backjustforberena]

I’m new to the fandom; I recently caught up on the first season and watched the second. I fell in love with Rhaenys as a character; I think she’s very strong and particularly cunning. However, one aspect I’ve noticed, which I realize isn’t a common opinion, is that her relationship with Corlys seems absolutely toxic to me but people celebrated it as a great love story.

I genuinely don’t understand why people consider this couple to be solid - and compare them to Ned and Cat, when I’ve always seen Rhaenys as very lonely, she can count only on her own strength. Corlys is portrayed as so ambitious that he doesn’t value what he has, including his wife and children, he takes them for granted and he's even ready to silence them or put them at risk solely for his own pride. It seems to me that Corlys is fine with his wife as long as she agrees with him, but as soon as Rhaenys has a different opinion, he leaves her alone. I think that Corlys was written like a husband that did love his wife in the past but now it's more like routine- she's my wife and that's all. Also, rationally, the only times he does something for her, it's always driven more by guilt or shame (left his family after Laena and Laenor died -> so he joins the war; Rhaenys told him that she's aware of his bastards -> he changes his ship) than by love, affection, or respect for her.

So, I’d like to know from you and those who support this couple, what makes you talk about "great love"? what is the thing you like so much? I'm genuinly curious and interested in reading different opinions on the topic.

I just want to have a look at the word "toxic" because, in my view, that's a rather serious accusation to link to a relationship, and one that I don't think this relationship meets. To me, and I only speak on my views and I do want to say that I have been fortunate enough to never have been in or witnessed a toxic relationship, the label of "toxic" is one of an extreme.

To me, it brings to mind abuse and the idea of being trapped and of a significant power imbalance in favour of one participant in the relationship: lack of support, jealousy, controlling behaviours, unhealthy communication and criticism, isolation, eroding of self-confidence, high stress levels, and behaviour veering into physical and mental abuse. There are no other red flags such as a large age gap, chronic infidelity, or fear of the other. Rhaenys and Corlys are not cowed or belittled by their partner. They've been allowed to thrive: they are bettered by one another.

Corlys and Rhaenys do not meet any of the behaviours that would label them as toxic. Rhaenys and Corlys are not scared of one another, they engage in meaningful discussions, and they've had (for the most part) a stable relationship and committed relationship for decades, and one built from the fact that they love each other. It wasn't a political match. It isn't a question of whether they love each other either: they do. There's no power imbalance and no controlling behaviour exhibited. No one behaves irrationally. They aren't violent with one another, they treat one another with respect and care, they don't even really raise their voice, even if they can be curt and terse with one another. They confide in one another as well. Other than the complicated issue of Alyn and Addam, they have no secrets.

I don't think they're toxic.

Are we shown moments of conflict? Yes. Of course we are. For the majority of the time, but that's because this is a show that (certainly in Season 1) jumps from conflict to conflict and, for the most part, shows the characters in extraordinary circumstances. They are under pressure.

We aren't shown, for example, the ten years between Episode 05 and 06, where, presumably, everything was hunky-dory: with Corlys and Rhaenys just chilling on Driftmark. Instead, we meet them when they are at their most vulnerable, after the loss of their daughter, when the realities of Rhaenyra and Laenor's sons are reaching boiling point. We do not see their "normal", except in short glimpses and what we can infer or when they are on the periphery of the conflict, such as. And we rarely see their informal as well, where they are allowed to show their unguarded feelings and domesticity, because so much of them is either in political situations and at court - but when they are alone, we do have that. We have handholding, proximity, acts of care and a wish for/to comfort. Kisses to hands, flirtation, affection.

We can view Rhaenys as lonely for a portion of the time because, for the last three episodes of Series 1, to a large extent, she is. She's been alone, he did "abandon" her. When he's with her and it's normal (such as the first half or so of Season 1) there's no sense that she's lonely at all, even if she does have moments alone.

But it was never about a lack of love or a lack of care for her. It was about Corlys's own grief, a war already brewing in the Stepstones and even his love for her having an impact - he thought he'd lost her. It's an immature, and (to her) hurtful thing to do but it is an extreme. It is something that happens because of copious pressure and large events that uproot that relationship. In deleted dialogue, we know, he couldn't bear to face her. And whilst we acknowledge that this happens, we also have to acknowledge that she understands and forgives him for it. She holds him accountable, and then they are a unit once again.

It's not all sunshine and roses as we continue into Season 2, because again, external pressures force them into places where they find it hard to be vulnerable with one another. It's a continuation of their individual character journeys, but it's never undermining the love they have for one another or how they wish they could be, if given the chance.

For me, I get the impression that they'd love nothing better than for no one to die, everyone to be healthy and they can stay in bed all the time, eating nice food. If that's the baseline, if that's what they want from life, then that's not toxic. That's showing love. If this war hadn't happened, they would have been absolutely fine. Things out of their control and their individual vulnerabilities and worries drive the conflict in Season 2: losing Luke, the succession, the war, Corlys healing, Rhaenys being here, there and everywhere. But that's not a failure in their marriage. Their marriage doesn't fail. It just becomes unsure ground for once.

I'm aware I'm rambling so I'll just go with bullet points for what you've said and answer with counter-points and if you've got anything else you'd like to follow up on, please do come back. I like answering stuff like this.

She can count only on her own strength -> We see multiple points at which Rhaenys and Corlys are shown as a unit and that they take comfort from each other. From Rhaenys's POV, Corlys is regularly an advocate for her, a source of company, someone who seeks to soothe her worries and makes her laugh and get out of her own head a bit. There is an upgrade in her confidence from how she is when having to deal with things alone vs how she is when she has her husband by her side. No less capable, but on a lot surer footing (particularly in S1E10. She can count on him (for the most part). And she does. And she likes to.

Corlys is portrayed as so ambitious that he doesn’t value what he has, including his wife and children, he takes them for granted and he's even ready to silence them or put them at risk solely for his own pride -> Corlys's ambition is absolutely his major flaw. He does view his ambition as very important, but it does come from a place of love. I don't see how he "takes them for granted", though I concede, certainly with his children, that he's not above using them politically. But this is, contextually, normal. All the fathers do it or concede to it. And it is done with Rhaenys's awareness and consent. What I find interesting, as well, is that Corlys's ambitions are as much fueled by his love and hopes for his family as his own self-interest. So much is about justice for Rhaenys and her claim, and restoring how things should have been for her. His surprise at her accusations in S1E07 wouldn't have worked without this conviction. But he never silences her. I am absolutely clear on this. He never silences her. If you have examples, I'd love to dissect them with you.

Corlys is fine with his wife as long as she agrees with him, but as soon as Rhaenys has a different opinion, he leaves her alone -> the only example I can think of where this happens is S1E07. And he retreats because he's hurt. Again, this is a massive extreme and I've spoken about the layers to this scene before but she's uprooted him. She's gone for where he's vulnerable at a time in which he's vulnerable in the efforts to have a conversation and so he leaves the room because he can't deal with that. That's a normal reaction. He leaves her by the fire. But that's not a red flag. That's not an overreaction on his part, it's just a reaction that hurts her. Just as she has reactions that hurt him. If there is another example which suggests a pattern of behaviour, let me know, because otherwise, I don't see it.

I think that Corlys was written like a husband that did love his wife in the past but now it's more like routine -> they are literally post-sex in S2E03.

The only times he does something for her, it's always driven more by guilt or shame (left his family after Laena and Laenor died -> so he joins the war; Rhaenys told him that she's aware of his bastards -> he changes his ship) than by love, affection, or respect for her -> I would say that's a massive oversimplification on your part and I don't agree with your logic there at all. I also think it does a disservice to Rhaenys. He joins the war not because he's rolling over to Rhaenys's whims and would have done so anyway - she has to convince him. He protests to start with. She has to lay out an argument and give him context of what's been going on. Is he more amenable because he feels like he's let Rhaenys down? Probably. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love her. It implies it, if anything. And Corlys doesn't change his ship because she's aware of his bastards. He does it because she died. Because he wants to honour her. If they'd never spoken on the subject at all, do you think he wouldn't have done what he did? I do. Not once, during his mourning, has he ever mentioned them parting on bad terms, has he ever spoken about her in relation to that subject, or implied that he is motivated by that one fact. It wasn't the last time they spoke or saw one another. There's the unsaid and the undone but that was always going to be the case because she died. He changed his ship because he wanted to honour her. Because he misses her. Because he loved her. Because he's doing this (being Hand, fighting this war) for her.

What I like about they find solace and love in each other. They can react against each other and have differing opinions from one another but that doesn't undermine the love they have for one another. They are flirty with each other, care for one another, and seek one another out. They trust one another, they seek to empower the other, they are a team and present a united front. They discuss things, they advocate for one another, they are both political powerhouses. They don't try and change the other, either, which is a big thing.

Corlys did his voyages to prove himself worthy of Rhaenys which is like the biggest romantic gesture I've ever heard of. Rhaenys adopted her marital house and fought for it like she was born to it. She ruled in Driftmark and he trusted her to do that, despite having brothers of an age to do so. The fact that rocky waters for their marriage is such a destabilisation for them shows how much they value the support they give each other. It's not perfect. It's obviously not. But it is worthy to ship them. And they do possess a "great love". Great doesn't mean perfect.

[devine-fem]

dude. jon is not a bundle of sunshine. he’s short tempered and sometimes irrationally because he’s emotional. very emotional and he gets scared, he gets very sad but he has a kind and gentle heart because he does just want to help people to help people, that’s it. jon doesn’t pull punches, he will fight if needed and he’s not willing to judge someone immediately. him being his age made it so his interactions were fun and made for learning curves underneath a very established superhero. he was coming into his own skin and needed to be trained carefully in order to come into his mantle.

this almost emotionless and unfeeling jon kent that tom taylor is pushing as almost a pacifist is an insult to actual pacifist heroes in comics. its like he has this idea that superman can’t be “weak.” he didn’t finish school, he barely interacted with any characters in the dc universe and him being his age AXES so many other characters he knew at the time so THEY will also cease to exist, and jon just flat out lacks maturity. he was no where near ready to be in his mantle a couple years after coming into existence and he’s still not now. these people pushing this “what is wrong with the age up? jon kent age up is fine” is an insult to people who were around when jon kent first came to be in the flashpoint universe. did you read anything besides ssoke???

if you can’t see the issue with the age up when that shit is so in your face then i really do have to question if you like jon kent or if you just like your queer superman doused in insufferable queer sterotypes…

[goodluckclove]

Migration Patterns Excerpt (Weird Exposition Drop)

Hey so like this is pretty huge spoilers to Migration Patterns so if that'll ruin things for you skip this. But I'm very happy with how fucking chill Katy is about learning some crazy shit so I had to share. Enjoy?

Honestly it's not even a full spoiler. It's like the beginning of the spoiler. At this point I can't tell.

Songbird tag hop on hop off

@kuebiko-writing @cartoonghosts 

@atlasthecactus @aroaceghosties 

@booksntea6982 @xarrixii 

@mushroommanchanterelle @whoevenknowswhatimwriting

@fukurouonthesea

Pretty quickly Katy realized she had no real plan for what she was about to do. By the way Tenzin reacted it looked like things could potentially be catastrophic. If there was actual danger, it made a lot more sense to send in the trained martial artist as opposed to the dual college drop-out on day two of a hangover.

Her mind just fractured for a moment, glitched from worry over Tenzin’s expression and forced into Fix It Fix It Gotta Fix It mode.

It’s still Edgar, Katy reminded herself while creeping around to the side of the Lounge. It’s still Scott. I took Scott down once and I bet I can do it again.

One more step and Katy accidentally snapped a particularly loud twig. The rustling stopped suddenly. Everything was still and dark.

Katy grimaced hard, but still forced herself to call out. “You good?” She said.

A pause. Then Scott answered. “Bigfoot?”

She relaxed slightly and turned the corner fully. “No, it’s…”

Through the dim illumination of the aged floodlight nearby, Katy could make out Scott and Edgar standing on the outskirts of the woods a short distance away. They were holding hands. They were outside.

Edgar looked appropriately guilty. Scott appeared indifferent, maybe even slightly relieved.

“Oh Katy!” He said. “You scared me. I thought you were Bigfoot.”

“What the fuck,” Katy whispered, an observation more than a question.

After a quick look over her shoulder she darted closer to them. It was hard to keep her voice low when she was still rattled and only spiraling with greater intensity.

“How did you –?” She pressed her hands to her face and groaned through her fingers. “Did you fucking teleport? Did you no-clip? How the fuck did you get out here?”

At this point Edgar was holding onto Scott’s arm, notably huddled slightly behind him. Katy saw this and forced herself to calm down, remembering then that they were both still in the thick of a drug trip.

“There’s a window, Katy,” Scott said. “We climbed out the window.”

“Great! Now why don’t I help you climb back in through the window so all of this doesn’t go completely to shit.”

Edgar finally spoke up. Their voice was – different, somehow. The tone a little lighter. “He closed it,” they said.

“Why – why..?” Katy paused, took a breath, and leveled her tone. “Why did you close the window, Scott?”

Hearing that, Scott had the nerve to react as if she were the one acting irrationally. “Can’t just have a window wide-open when we leave. It’s a security risk. And objectively?” He pointed out into the woods. “There’s little creatures in there, I bet.”

Katy just stared at him. There were no words in her. She was the entirely wrong person to handle this sort of situation.

Then again, she reminded herself, Ten would be way worse.

“Sneaky guys,” Scott affirmed, nodding.

While Katy struggled to figure out what to do next, Edgar took the silence as an opportunity to step forward and pull Scott to be slightly behind them. They looked at her with a strange and eager hesitance.

“You’re, um…” their voice, Katy noted again, felt foreign to their vocal cords somehow. The same, but not the same. “You’re Katy?”

Edgar said that like they weren’t sure. Scott recognized her immediately, and yet he definitely wasn’t acting like any version of him that she recognized.

She decided to go along with it. Who was she to harsh another person’s high? “I am,” she said. “Who are you?”

The question lit up Edgar’s eyes with gratitude. They brightened visibly and stood straighter with increased confidence. “Oh, you already – that’s perfect!”

“What do you mean?” Katy asked.

“Maybe you already knew something like this would happen,” Edgar spoke quickly with new ease. “I’m Eddie, but I’m a different Eddie from the past. Doc says that there was this sort of tangential split in my consciousness a long time ago, so most of me ended up here, in this reality, while I ended up continuing in a partial, metaphysical state of semi-existence,” Edgar made a small, bashful laugh. “I think that’s really hard to wrap my ahead around, but – have you seen Donnie Darko? It’s kind of like Donnie Darko, I think.”

They smiled. It didn’t last. Their enthusiasm tapered off before falling down a sudden pit.

“O-Oh,” they managed. “Did I misunderstand the question?”

Katy stared at them. She looked past him at Scott, who wandered to the a nearby shrub while Edgar was rambling and was now cautiously examining a spiderweb. He did not seem to pick up on anything they just said.

“I’m…” Edgar crossed their arms tight around themselves. “I’m lying? No, that’s not...I don’t really know what to do now.”

Well isn’t that the theme of my entire goddamned life, Katy mused in dark bemusement.

She had to gather her senses. Katy had to be the one to figure this out before things went any further. Her head throbbed and she definitely didn’t drink enough water today.

“I’m sorry,” she heard Edgar say.

Katy motioned dismissively. “No, hang on, let me just…” she fumbled through her pockets for her vape and took a hit, dragging until her throat burned. “Okay, so – you’re like an alternate universe Edgar? That’s what you mean when you’re talking about a Donnie Darko situation – some sort of tangential timeline shit?”

“Um,” Edgar smiled apologetically. “I'm pretty sure? Essentially.”

“Assuming this isn’t – I don;’t know – a manifestation of everything you think you could’ve been. Assuming this is literal – is it literal?” Edgar nodded, an action Katy mimicked in response. “Cool. So you’ve spent the last however long where exactly?”

“It’s got a lot of different names. Cassus. The Witch Eater,” Edgar paused, then added. “Doc calls it Buddy sometimes but when I asked why he got really sad and quiet.”

Katy took what felt like a solid minute to parse all of that information. Then she turned her attention to Scott. “Hey,” she called out. “Scotty.”

He looked up at her. “Yeah?”

“Is it the same story for you? Are you having a Donnie Darko situation?”

Scott blinked. “Who’s that?” He said.

Edgar piped up again, a little softer. “He thinks he’s nine years old,” they said. “Or – or he’s deciding to be. I can’t really tell.”

“Katy, do you want to come over to my house and have bagel pizzas?”

Scott was speaking pretty loudly and intensely. It provided a pretty good mental image of what he was probably like as a kid – someone Katy could easy describe as a fucking handful. She rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily.

Then, suddenly, something occurred to her. “Where’s Edgar?” She whispered to Edgar.

They frowned lightly. “I’m right –”

“No, I mean OG Edgar,” she raised her brow, thinking further. “Or, I guess you’re OG Edgar, and they’re AU – fucking hell. You’re Eddie, they’re Edgar, so if you’re here then where’s Edgar?”

Edgar lowered their head for a moment. “Oh,” they said. “We – um. We switched.”

“You switched.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So you’re here and Edgar’s stuck in the Ghost Zone?”

“Is – is that what people call it now?” Edgar quickly moved past their confusion. “It’s not forever! I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that, I don’t think. The Fog Bank was my first chance so I’m pretty sure once this wears off…”

They didn’t finish the thought. They stared longingly at Scott, who was now bent down in the dirt and digging carefully though the soil. Katy observed this pining and thought about how long all of this had been going on for.

“Does he know?” She said.

Edgar shrugged. Then they shook their head. Katy sighed one more time and approached Scott, working herself in a kneeling position to get on his level.

“Lookin’ for worms,” he explained without breaking concentration.

“Nah, you don’t want to do that. It’s late. They’re sleeping.”

Scott stopped digging. He scrunched his face up in thought before proceeding to put back all the dirt he moved. “You’re right,” he said. “Good point.”

That forced a smile out of her. “Hey, do you know my cat Wilford?”

“I like that he’s fluffy – but he’s also silly,” Scott smiled at her. “It’s a rare combination.”

“Absolutely,” Katy pulled her phone out and began to swipe for her photos. “The other day I took a video of him wearing his cowboy hat. It’s really funny. He was so comfy in it that he fell asleep. You wanna see?”

Scott drew in a breath. “More than anything,” he whispered.

Katy smirked triumphantly and handed him the phone, the video already playing. Scott wiped the dirt off his hands and onto his dress, huddled up against the wall of the church, and cradled the phone in both hands. He watched – immediately and absolutely transfixed.

She stood up to face Edgar- Eddie, she reminded herself, and motioned with her head towards the parking lot.

“Come on,” she said. “We have ten minutes to explain this again in a way that sounds slightly less insane.”

[spider-xan]

Just getting this thought down before I forget, but following the conversation with @hawkogurl in this post, I do feel like a big reason why the Insomniac version of Harry, while very likeable and cute, doesn't quite work as a narratively compelling character is the fact that for whatever reason, Insomniac didn't quite commit to how they are doing their own thing with him in the same way they did for other characters, so Harry ends up feeling like two different versions the games switch between when convenient for the plot or emotional beats, and not in a complex character with multitudes or facades sort of way.

Like, on the one hand, Insomniac Harry, unlike other versions, is a well-adjusted mature adult in his mid-twenties who is a super genius and super successful right out of college, and while he loves his father, who has been nothing but extremely loving and affectionate, and any rare flaws as a father are borne out of genuine love and desperation, plus he had a loving mother for most of his life, he's fully aware that Norman is a bad person and isn't looking for his approval, and is even somewhat embarrassed with how excitedly involved Norman is with the EMF - but then halfway into MSM2, he suddenly starts acting like the traditional scared and insecure teenager who is jealous of his best friend Peter for having the love and approval of his father while he's never good enough for Norman and objectively a failure by comparison, even though this Norman has never not been completely loving of Harry and has never chosen Peter over Harry, and Harry himself is wildly accomplished at such a young age and has been praised for it; and while it's not always bad writing for characters to behave irrationally, it still has to be set up and come from somewhere in a narratively organic way, whereas here, that jealousy moment feels more like the game felt obligated to do a traditional Osborn family dysfunction plot beat, despite the lack of set up in this universe - but also not really bc it's just a misunderstanding and Norman didn't even do anything wrong himself either, and then it doesn't really add much to the plot, tension, or character development anyway.

And the thing is, there were absolutely ways a jealousy plot could have been set up while still working within the parameters of this version of Harry! Maybe instead of having him be almost perfect as a superhero right away as Agent Venom, have it be something he sucks at (which would also make Harry feel more like a rounded character than a perfect paragon), so this is something Peter is better at for once and stokes jealousy in him, even if he's aware Peter has years of experience on him, and adds early tension to their relationship while also feeding negative emotions to the symbiote that then amplifies that jealousy, sparking more conflict so that their falling out makes sense later! That would be a new way to do a jealousy and rivalry plot between them that fits into Insomniac's approach of respecting the source material, but still doing their own twist on things that is unique to their universe and interpretations of the characters.

[autumnrose11]

I'm so miserable and angry with my parents right now.

Ever since I can remember, I've been sheltered. Excessively so. And I never realised just how much until I came back home from the last four months at uni.

And yesterday I met up with two of my school friends, and they're shocked to hear I've never travelled alone. Never. My dad doesn't even let me get in a taxi alone. My mum makes me CALL her when I come home walking at night because she's scared of pervs (she stays on the call). And rebellion doesn't suit me; it never has. I think I'm very submissive by nature; I'm scared of these things and I let them do this to me. And it goes on, and on, and on. I'm eighteen years old, for heaven's sake. I get that they're trying to protect me, I really do. But surely there's a fine line between protecting someone and controlling them?

When we're going out for the day, my mum jumps in immediately with her ideas on my outfit. "Wear this today. Wear these earrings. Wear this. Wear it. Wear it." There's no advice, there's no input. There's no, "Do you think you'd like to wear this?" There's no space for MY adult opinions. Just hers. And I give in because I don't want to fight. I give in to them every time. They control me and I let them.

The worst part is they'll throw this in my face later, when I really screw up. They tie my hands in every possible way. They'll tell me I don't realise how privileged and pampered I am. Yeah.

My mum told me once that my dad's parents were incredibly controlling and overprotective of him. Until they got married, he basically couldn't function apart from his job. Well then, I'm going to turn out exactly the same way. How is it any different from what they're doing to me???

I told them today I wanted to get some blonde highlights. I've been wanting them for ages, more than a year now! And they said they use all sorts of chemicals on the hair and it'll make my hair fall out. And I just got so irrationally angry. And I've just come to my room and started crying so hard and I can't stop. Perhaps it's because of what my friend told me yesterday, which was, "If your mum and dad have sent you to a uni so far away, they need to trust you more. Trust that you've got a good head on your shoulders and you know what you're doing." And she was right!!!

Iwould have been more understanding about the hair if all of this hadn't been accumulating. I've never even flown alone before, or taken a train or a taxi by myself. They're turning me into an incapable adult who won't know shit. I don't know. I just had to get this off my chest.

[brightresearchers]

Repost, don’t reblog

NAME: Lucas Pine NICKNAMES: Cookie GENDER: Male AGE: 20 DATE OF BIRTH: June 8 OCCUPATION: Sinnoh Champion, evolutionary biologist, self-assigned fashionista

☆ APPEARANCE ☆

EYE COLOR: Amber HAIR COLOR: Black HEIGHT: 190cm WEIGHT: 85kg SCARS: Several scars resulting from claw marks all over his torso, arms and legs, visible at the back of his hands if he's wearing long sleeves

☆ FAVORITE ☆

COLOR/S: Bright blue ANIMAL/S: Cats and felines in general MOVIE/S: The Devil Wears Prada TV SHOW/S: Fashion competition reality shows FOOD: Rage Candy Bars, ice cream DRINK/S: Coffee BOOK/S:  Science books, usually focused on biology but he has also been reading about mechanics and engineering to better understand his Rotom

☆ HAVE THEY ☆

PASSED UNIVERSITY: Yes. HAD SEX: Yes. HAD SEX IN PUBLIC: Yes. GOTTEN PREGNANT: No. KISSED A BOY: Yes. KISSED A GIRL: Yes. GOTTEN TATTOOS: No. HAD A BROKEN HEART: Yes. BEEN IN LOVE: Yes. STAYED UP FOR MORE THAN 24 HOURS: Yes, often.

☆ ARE THEY ☆

A VIRGIN: No. A KISSER: Only with very select people, he usually hates physical contact. SCARED EASILY: No. JEALOUS EASILY: No. TRUSTWORTHY: Yes because he's horrible at lying. IN LOVE: Yes. SINGLE: Depends on the verse but even in the verses where he's single he has some intense romantic and sexual tension with Barry so there's that

☆ RANDOM QUESTIONS ☆

HAVE THEY HARMED THEMSELVES: No. THOUGHT OF SUICIDE: No. ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: No. WANTED TO KILL SOMEONE: Once, with long-lasting consequences. DROVE A CAR: Yes but usually doesn't drive because he's constantly traveling between regions. HAVE/HAD A JOB: Yes. HAVE ANY FEARS: Irrationally afraid of clowns. SIBLING/S: Nicolas Pine (twin brother), Julia Pine (younger sister) PARENTS: Both parents are alive and present. CHILDREN: No. PET/S: Mittens the Glameow

[defensivelee]

i think william acts kinda stupid around charles

there's something about her that he really wants to lean into. he doesn't know it but it's left behind from when he was a baby and charles played with him in the netherlands and he just could not get enough of her. most of the time he can get a hold on himself, especially since he can't really explain the feeling.

y'all remember that time charles got him shit faced and smashing windows and all that? i keep thinking of just like,,, william age-regressing in that moment. way back. he's always kept this locked away, even if he doesn't exactly know what this is, but obv when he's drunk he makes no effort to hide anything. (drunk william owns my soul)

so I think he follows charles around again, and she doesn't know exactly why, but she's very amused by how clingy he is. he acts irrationally scared of james and he keeps sitting on charles' lap bc he thinks she's safe. that's what all this is, he's finally leaning into that instinctual safety he had felt before. it comes from a time before he had any real responsibility, when his mother was still alive.

that's why he goes to break the windows-- he asks for his mother after he's had his fun, and while charles plays along at first, telling him she'll be back soon, james rather rudely informs him that she is dead. except ofc, he's at a far younger age than he was when he ~actually~ found out, so he takes this... quite badly! he doesn't understand death so much, really, all he knows is that his mama isn't coming back, which scares him a lot. so I imagine he runs away looking for her, and he gets more and more upset bc he can't find her, so he just starts breaking shit. also, he sees women where he's at ! surely she'll be here eventually if he screams loud enough.

he'll accept no help from anybody except charles, and even then he wants her to carry him. tbh I think she pulls it off, though she wishes he'd stop sobbing into her chest. she tells him that james is just a liar and it was a cruel joke, ofc his mother will come back, and william believes her.

idk just,,,, unethical agere william,,,, very important to me

[snaggletoothedbastard]

While I was in the shower earlier, I realised that Kitty's relationship with Eleanor is surprisingly similar to my relationship with my best friend in primary school. I was Kitty, if you filled Kitty with extraordinary amounts of rage, and my friend was Eleanor. I must admit our friendship wasn't very healthy. I simultaneously idolised and resented my friend because she made me feel inadequate, like I had to prove I was worth spending time with. She was cool, she was trendy, she was sarcastic, she was judgemental, and she always seemed to have the upper hand. I would try to tell her about something I was interested in and she'd tell me it was stupid and boring. I would suggest a game to play and she would ignore me. I would be having a conversation with her and she would get all pedantic and argue with everything I said. She would randomly go off with someone else and I'd be left with no-one to talk to because I was terrible at making friends. I felt like I had to live up to her ever-changing standards and we'd both get angry when I couldn't.

I didn't realise that she was hurting me until Year Six, when things escalated dramatically and the mild teasing turned into active bullying. It went from "I'm cooler than you" to "I want you to be miserable" very suddenly, and for no apparent reason. We stopped being friends and I avoided her like the plague, but that was difficult to do because practically every girl in our class was at least well-acquainted with both of us, and I was scared I'd be ganged up on so I avoided the rest of them too. Then I got an e-mail from my friend. She was hugely apologetic and wanted to be friends again. I can't actually remember what my response was. I don't think the drama ended there, because the passive aggression and the snide comments and the poking me in the back when we were lined up continued almost until the end of the school year, but eventually the resentment faded. In Year Seven, my friend left school and moved away, and before she left she hugged me. I was honestly happy that things were changing, like we were being given a clean slate and a chance to move on. We could only communicate digitally from then on, and we haven't actually spoken to each other for a bloody long time, but I no longer consider her to be my enemy.

Why did I just tell you my life story? Because I saw a post yesterday that was complaining about Eleanor's "redemption" and saying it shouldn't have happened. Frankly I wouldn't call it much of a redemption. There's no arc to it. We don't see what happens next. We don't know if Eleanor becomes a better person after Kitty's death or if she stays the same. We don't know if she is punished for her bad behaviour or if she's rewarded for wanting to be better. Literally all it is, is Eleanor realising she fucked up and feeling remorse. That's it. Nobody tries to excuse her actions. Eleanor does give us a reason for disliking Kitty: because she thought Kitty had taken something from her. It doesn't take a genius to know that this isn't a fair reason, because Kitty has been nothing but kind to Eleanor, and Eleanor herself acknowledges this.

Considering the whole context of Eleanor and Kitty's relationship, I think Eleanor's behaviour and her feelings about it at the end make sense. It's not that they're justified, because they're obviously not. It's just that it's realistic.

Think about it: Eleanor is a bully. She and Kitty are sisters, probably of similar ages, have grown up together for at least some of their childhood, and seem to receive the same level of affection from other people. Neither of them are obviously favoured more than the other. Eleanor isn't worse-off than Kitty is, nor is she significantly more powerful. They're equals, but Eleanor feels irrationally jealous.

They're both pretty young, and Kitty's naivety and Eleanor's pettiness suggest that they're not the most emotionally mature people in the world, which is fair enough because why would they be? Eleanor's immaturity is shown in the way she treats Kitty. Her bullying is always either motivated by jealousy, as we see in the flashbacks in Something To Share?, or simply because she finds it funny, as we see/hear in the book/audiobook when Kitty's reading from her diary. Her "jokes" do sometimes go into dangerous territory, like when she abandons Kitty for hours when they're playing hide and seek, or when she pushes her into the lake, but as far as we know there is no desire to seriously hurt Kitty, only to embarrass her or to spoil things for her. That's why I think the Six Idiots made the right decision when revealing Kitty's death. They had the other ghosts originally suspecting Eleanor, which makes sense because they know she was horrible, and this just reinforces that fact for the audience, but to be honest, if Eleanor had murdered Kitty that would be a serious escalation from the childish bullying. And from a writing point of view, they'd already had a "supposedly trustworthy family member turns out to be responsible for a ghost's death" plot already in The Thomas Thorne Affair, so doing that again with Kitty and Eleanor might have come across as lazy writing. And I think it just fits better with Eleanor's character and her relationship with Kitty that she didn't kill her. Eleanor is a bully, but she isn't a monster.

Thinking about their relationship, it makes sense, at least to me, that Eleanor had a change of heart right at the end. We know that she didn't like Kitty, but they were sisters and they treated each other like sisters and Kitty never did anything to hurt Eleanor, so it's safe to assume that Eleanor's feelings about Kitty would probably be quite complicated. And considering her immaturity, it's unlikely that she fully understands them herself. I imagine the threat of losing someone you're close to would be a pretty sensible reason to reconsider your relationship with them and wish it could have been different. I don't doubt that Eleanor would have wanted Kitty to go away when she was alive, but she'd be understandably shocked when Kitty is actually dying and she realises how serious the matter is. Even if they didn't get along, Kitty has been a very significant part of Eleanor's life, and everything is going to be different without her. I think that's what Eleanor is worried about, and that's what triggers the realisation that she's been horrible to Kitty and Kitty didn't deserve that treatment.

Eleanor isn't some kind of cartoon villain. She's a person. Not necessarily a good person, but still a person. And I can tell you from experience that sometimes real-life people have an unexpected change of heart. To be honest, Eleanor's makes more sense to me because I know what caused it. My friend's apologetic e-mail literally came out of the blue. For all I know, it might not even have been genuine. I still feel hurt by the way I was treated by my friend, but I know that's in the past and I can't change it so I might as well live with it. I've forgiven my friend, because I've tried holding a grudge and it's exhausting, and I know history won't repeat itself. Things are never going to be the same between us and that's okay.

Eleanor doesn't get forgiveness. At least, not that we see in the show. Kitty thinks Eleanor was a good person but that's because she wasn't aware that she was bullying her. The other characters in the show know how bad Eleanor was and make no excuses for her. Everything she did to Kitty is clearly shown as abuse, and the closest thing she has to a redemption arc is simply her own realisation that she was wrong.

Was this plotline executed flawlessly? Probably not, nothing's perfect. And I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I hope my argument at least makes sense to everyone. If you're unsatisfied with how the show went, I'm sorry, but the only solution I can give you is: fanfiction. Read it. Write it. Immerse yourself in it. You can do whatever you want with fanfiction. Go mad. Write the ending you wanted and don't harass the show's creators.

[twopoppies]

hey Gina, I hope you are doing well!!!!

i know this is not the place to talk about this but I want some insight and advice. The thing is I want my parents to separate. I am only 19 and I have never been in a relationship but I don't think my parents can coexist this way for long. I have always seen my father getting angry irrationally and giving my mom cold shoulders and being dismissive of her whenever she hung out with her friends regardless of their gender. last year my aunt got married and since then my dad has been saying all sorts of things about my aunts husband and my mother. he has even spelled my mom to be a cheater ( infront of me) just because she ate some birthday cake the husband brought to her at her birthday party. when I and my mom went to visit my aunt last week my father asked us to travel 2 hours to come back home at 1 in night.this is just what has become my home life for the last year . I know my mom won't get much support if they decide to separate ( it is taboo where I live) but I have seen my mom cry herself to bed most nights and my father remains justified that he did no wrong. when he apologized once he said I know you don't belong to me and don't owe me anything ,so sure go do anything you want with anybody.

i don't know if it is just me overreacting and over analyzing the situation or if it is really bad. it's just that my parents had an arranged marriage at a time when both of them were not working. my father refused to live with my mother for the first year of their marriage. he has made my mom to be the villain to his side of the family. but my mom is so loud and talkative so every one buys into his ploys . I have seen my mom care for him all night when he has been sick and I do think she loves him but I have not seen that love and care reciprocated as much.

when I have tried to talk to her about all this she has just said women suffer all over the world and she needs someone to spend her old age with. my brother is 4 years younger than me. I don't think any support will come for my mom without the baggage of riddicule and taunts. I am scared because I am just starting my 4 year degree and probably won't be earning for the next 3. my mom has always been a housewife. I don't care if every man in my country has the same douchy attitude towards women but I do care for my mom to find peace and happiness. I do love my father but my respect has just been going down in these last years as I have begun to understand what is happening. I am also scared that if I push this enough and they do go through divorce or separation I would end up being blamed for breaking my family. also ,I don't think they are good at communicating given that my father is planning to live in a different city for work and is planning to just drop it on her one day and leave

Hi, darling. Oh, this sounds like such an awful scenario. I’m so sorry for everyone involved. It sounds like your mom is just resigned to some idea that all women suffer like this. And I don’t know how easily she’ll be able to support herself and you/your brother if she were to leave if your culture doesn’t particularly uplift and support single mothers. Maybe your father leaving to work in a different city is the best solution you can hope for right now. And maybe while he’s gone, she can start to find some confidence in herself and figure out how she could support herself. I don’t think there’s much you can do other than to let her know she deserves better, encourage her to find a way to have a life outside of your dad, and remind her that you’re by her side, emotionally.

Sending you prayers for a happy resolution to all of this. 🩵

Edit: more advice here and here