#it was morally wrong of a character to manipulate the princess into liking him

[catgirl-catboy]

Incredibly specific pet peeve: when people judge characters in realistic historical settings by modern standards.

[delicatejaws]

what’re friends for?

pairing: togame x reader, sakura x reader, little bit of togame x reader x sakura

tags: afab reader, virginity loss (m), exhibitionism, voyeurism, cum eating, slight manipulation/coercion/corruption (character wants to participate but feels morally wrong about it), cucking, pet names used (angel, baby, princess), oral receiving (m & f), unprotected sex, explicit smut, threesome (?)

author’s note: this is my first time posting my writing anywhere but this idea has been rotting a hole in my brain so it felt like a good one to put out into the world. a rot shared is a rot halved and all that

summary: togame was always a good friend, and this year for sakura’s birthday, he wanted to get him the best gift he could imagine.

wc: 6.5k

“Are you sure about this?” You ask Togame again, wanting to be 100% sure you are both on the same page.

“Baby, he’s one of my best friends. Of course I’m sure.”

He had sounded certain, but you still couldn't believe it. Sakura’s birthday was coming up, and Jou had decided to get him the best gift he could possibly imagine: you.

It was a well-known secret that Sakura was infatuated with you, but it didn’t bother your husband. He always assured everyone that it only made sense he would be into you; you were irresistible, and you were one of the only women Sakura ever spent significant time around. He was bound to develop a little crush on you.

It didn’t bother you either; Sakura was cute and sweet, and the only reason he didn’t talk to other women much was because he was painfully shy. You hoped that growing comfortable around you could help him gain some confidence to branch out a bit more.

Togame liked watching you two interact. Harmlessly flirting in an effort to warm him up, Sakura’s blush would rise to his ears as his eyes bounced around the room, too timid to look directly at you for long but also terrified that Togame would notice and think poorly of him.

Little did he know that watching your interactions had the opposite effect on Togame. Jou loved watching you work Sakura into a puddle, and he soon was inspired enough to come up with a plan that would ultimately benefit everyone involved.

Sakura’s 25th was quickly approaching, and your boyfriend happened to know that his friend, as shy and awkward as he is, is still a virgin. So what better gift to give him than the feeling of a sweet, tight pussy wrapping around him for the first time?

It would be a surprise, of course; the more flustered Sakura was, the more enjoyment your boyfriend could derive from this. Watching him melt under your innocent touches and sweet mouth before he even came close to getting to feel you—well, that was the real joy for Togame.

For you, getting to mold this experience into exactly what you wanted, knowing how easily Sakura would do what you asked, and feeling wanted by someone so desperately, well, that was your joy. And Jou would be watching the whole thing, which was just icing on the cake.

After weeks of planning, the day has finally arrived. Your head is buzzing as you finish the icing on the cake in front of you, a small little thing fit for a party of three. Vanilla, of course. Didn’t want to dive into anything too wild. Sakura would be coming over soon; Togame invited him over for a home-cooked meal to celebrate his birthday. An innocent enough guise to get him in the door.

You quickly clean up and head to your room. Togame encouraged you to wear something casual but a little provocative—something that would make Sakura feel like he was pushing it by ogling you—but gave him plenty to look at while he did.

You slip on a simple, stretchy tank; it’s snug with a low scoop neck, and it doesn't really allow a bra to be worn under it. You knew that if it got chilly at all later, it may leave a little less to the imagination—perfect. Jeans felt innocent enough, but this particular pair are a little tight, and were notorious for drawing a wandering eye from all men, Sakura included. The outfit as a whole is unassuming, just a simple, comfortable outfit on a Saturday night in your own home. Nothing nefarious about it.

Just as you finish up, you hear the front door open and chatter between the two men. You feel warm, excitement bubbling through you at the promise the night held. You take one last look in the mirror, truly hoping Sakura will like his birthday gift.

You make your way to the living room, smiling brightly at him as you enter.

“Happy birthday, Sakura!” You move in for a hug, arms wrapping around his neck, arching into his body as much as you could without being suspicious. You feel him tense up at the contact.

"Dinner will be ready in five if you want to sit!" He makes his way to the dining room. He’s relaxed in your home, having been here several times before. He knows the layout, and he isn’t afraid to help himself to a drink. You smile as he settles in, enjoying how at ease he looks.

Dinner is pleasant, jokes and stories are tossed around, and laughter fills the room. You occasionally feel Sakura's eyes lingering on you as you laugh or when you reach across the table for the bottle of wine you've been sharing, but more predominantly, you feel Togame’s predatory stare flash between the two of you. You have all finished eating, but you could tell he is still hungry, and you couldn’t wait to satiate him.

After cleaning up, the three of you migrate to the living room, with your husband tactfully taking the only chair, leaving Sakura to drop into a spot at the end of the couch. You join him, sitting much closer than he expected, your leg brushing against his. You watch as he shifts in his seat, warmth building where your legs touch.

“So Sakura, what’d you do this afternoon? Anything for your birthday?” You ask, smiling up at him as softly as you can.

“Ah, no, not really. Got my free coffee at Pothos and ran some errands, but that’s about it.” He picks at a cuticle, hands settled in his lap.

"Well, that’s not bound to make you feel special; everyone should feel special on their birthday!” You cutely pout at him, gently slapping his chest in exclamation. His eyes carefully watch your hands before making their way up to fixate on your lips.

"Oh, babe, I know what makes me feel special on my birthday!” Togame chimes in, and you eagerly await your set-up.

“Right at midnight on my birthday, you come to me no matter what you're doing and wish me a happy birthday with the sweetest kiss—it makes me feel real special.”

Sakura chuckles, a little awkward but still genuine. “God a birthday kiss, huh? Haven’t got one of those since I was probably 16—and it was from Ms. Chiyoko.” You giggle in response, patting his knee in comfort.

“Well, give him a kiss, baby,” your boyfriend smirks at the two of you. You do your best to feign surprise, but Sakura doesn’t need to fake anything.

“What do you mean?” Your hands are twitching. You know exactly what he means.

“You want him to feel special on his birthday, right? Kiss him.” He stares at the two of you, legs spread, his smile confident and waiting.

Sakura sputters next to you, raising his hands up in surrender and resistance, his eyes darting between the two of you.

“You really don’t have to do that; he’s just fucking with m-“ he stops short as your soft lips press against his cheek, a blush instantly spreading across his face.

You lean back, smiling at him. He stares at you, mouth agape, his hand cradling his cheek where your lips had just been.

Togame scoffs, unimpressed.

"Oh, come on, just a kiss on the cheek? He deserves more than that, don’t you think?”

You hum thoughtfully as you place your hand on Sakura’s chest again, and look up at him. A blush rises up your neck now too, and though it plays into your ruse of innocence, you know it was the anticipation that was causing your body to heat.

“Would you like that? If I kissed you?” You press into him more, pushing your chest out and tracing your hand on his knee. Truly evil of you to ask him questions while touching him like that.

“I,” Sakura starts, but his eyes keep diverting back to Togame. Your boyfriend’s cocky expression has not waned in the slightest, and it is not giving Sakura any of the answers he is searching for. Your hand moves to the younger man’s chin, gently forcing him to look at you.

“Don’t worry about him; answer me.” He swallows tightly, his eyes fluttering between your tits and your eyes. He nods slowly.

“Yes, I’d like that.” Using your grip on his chin, you pull his mouth to yours. It’s quite chaste, but as your hand slips from his chin and splays across his thigh, he gasps, and you take the opportunity to deepen it. You run your tongue across his lower lip, and he shudders. Shifting, your other hand moves to fist his t-shirt to pull him closer, and you push your tongue into his waiting mouth.

He groans, his tongue slowly starting to move with yours. His hands, however, remain stiffly at his sides, nails digging into the meat of his palm as he resists the urge to reach out and touch you. Much too soon, his body makes him pull away for a breath. You don’t let him get far, gently digging your teeth into his lower lip, tugging it slightly before letting go.

He stares at you dumbly, flushed pink, with little crescent marks littering his palms. You pull your own lower lip in between your teeth, your eyelashes fluttering at him. The hand still on his thigh squeezes him before letting go, and a rush of warmth pools in your belly at the little hiss that escapes from behind his teeth.

The silence is broken by a chuckle from Jou, still unmoving from his spot in the armchair. The laugh isn’t loud, but Sakura startles anyway, being torn from the little world you two had been in only moments ago. Sakura clears his throat, dragging his hands up and down his legs. He looks up toward Togame, who finally leans in, elbows resting on his knees as he speaks to him.

“Told ya she’d make you feel special.” Sakura nods, avoiding looking in your direction, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Although you’re gonna hurt yourself resisting like that,” he says, head motioning to Sakura’s hands, still red from his clenched fists and fingernails. “Sometimes you just have to give in.”

“That doesn’t really feel like something I should do, ya know, considering...” It seemed Sakura wasn’t sure what to say. You can practically see his mind scrambling—something about the fact that you’re his friend’s girlfriend, and he really shouldn’t touch what isn’t his. But then again, Togame was just happily encouraging you as you shoved your tongue down his throat, so how much did that reasoning apply in this situation?

“You’re just going to leave my beautiful girl all high and dry?” A frown settles on Togame’s face as he rises to walk around and stand behind you two on the couch. Your mind drifts to thoughts of a puppet master standing over his characters, orchestrating his ideal story. It makes you smile as you think about how the evening would go if Togame had his way.

“Look at her; just one kiss isn’t enough. She needs more.” Jou places his hand in your hair lovingly, and you look up at him, a slight pout finding your lips again. He’s right, you’re quite flustered, even from just a simple kiss. Your legs are crossed tightly, the tops of your ears pink, and your nipples have perked up enough to proudly press through your tank. You turn your pout to Sakura, whose eyes are flashing across your body, hands once again in fists.

“Please, Sakura?” You practically whine, and despite how hard he tries to hide it, you hear a moan escape Sakura’s throat. Confusion still fills his eyes as he tries to understand what game you two are playing.

“I shouldn’t, right?” He’s asking now, and you can see his hands flexing, wanting so badly to reach out. Togame crouches down so he can whisper in the younger man’s ear, but you still hear him.

“The only thing you shouldn’t do is leave my baby waiting, Sakura. She wants it. She wants you. So what’re you gonna do about it?”

You stand as he speaks, moving right in front of Sakura and knocking his legs apart with your knee to step between them. He takes a long, slow breath as he watches you, thinking about what Togame just said.

Carefully, you move into place above his lap, knees on either side of his hips, hands settling on his nape. His wide eyes meet yours as you finally sit, fully pressed against his pelvis, where you feel the slightest hint of him pressing through his jeans. You scoot further up his lap, trying to get comfortable, and his eyes roll back at the friction.

“Fuck,” he mumbles, nearly inaudible. You don't want to rush him or make him too uncomfortable, but you need to feel his hands on you.

You make eye contact with a pair of lazy green eyes over Sakura’s head. Togame looks like he is sinfully enjoying this. He knows how badly you need something—anything—from the man beneath you. He can tell how turned on you are from the tension, and he gestures at the man, encouraging you to press on. So you lean forward and whisper, “Please touch me, Haruka.”

His expression is filled with longing; you know how badly he wants to concede. You let your hands glide from his nape to his shoulders, rubbing gently before continuing down his biceps and forearms all the way to his hands.

You pull them forward, placing them on your hips. "See, not so bad, right?" He squeezes the seam of your thighs, and you grind forward in response.

"Do that again; rock me back and forth," you whisper as your arms find their way back to his neck, fingers toying with the hair there.

He experimentally rolls your hips ever so slightly, but the angle has your clit rubbing against your jeans, and you whimper. Sakura's eyes look up from your lap to your face, where your eyes are fluttering and your mouth is hanging open. So sinful, he can't be expected to resist you.

Your expression has him gaining confidence, and he's rocking you faster now before switching the pace to one that's slower but harder. It's also more precise, and you whine at each grind of his hardening cock against you. Somewhere, in the recesses of your mind, you're impressed by his intuition. Or maybe he’s just getting lucky.

“Do you want to see her tits, Sakura?”

The man beneath you grunts as he continues to move your hips against his, nodding fervently at Togame’s suggestion.

“Go on, baby, show him.” You remove your hands from the hair at Sakura’s nape and slowly pull the hem of your tank up atop your breasts. Sakura isn’t moving your hips too fast, but even the slight movement has them bouncing, enticing, and just calling to be touched.

He moans at the sight; between your perfect tits and the dry-humping, Sakura was horrified of cumming in his pants. He knows that as soon as he does, all this will be over, and he'll be back to pining glances and thoughts of you while alone in his bedroom.

"Want to touch you, please," he's practically begging, using every ounce of restraint to not immediately put his mouth on you.

"Touch her," your boyfriend encourages him, "taste her."

Sakura needs nothing more, and his hands slowly slide up your rib cage until finally, blissfully, they're wrapped around your breasts. He gropes you, clumsily but gently, his fingers flicking across your nipples. The stimulation has you resuming your rocking, sporadic against his pelvis.

“Fuck, am I a bad friend?” His voice is whiny, conflicted.

You lean into his touch, his hands kneading the flesh of your tits. It has you grinding faster, a slight moan escaping your lips.

“No, no, you’re the best kind of friend,” you hum out, lost in the sensation of his rough hands. Suddenly, his head dips forward as he captures your nipple in his mouth, tongue sloppily passing over the sensitive nub. His fingers pinch your other tit, and the sensation is overwhelming.

He pulls away from your chest for air, but you hardly allow him a chance to catch his breath as you’re pulling him to you, mouth on his again. You’re writhing, desperate, and your kiss is all tongue and whimpers because of it. The way he’s been looking at you makes you feel like you’re an angel, and you’ve hardly given him anything. You’re eager to show him just how good you can make him feel.

You separate and look at Togame, pleading for him to guide you two towards more, and mercifully he does. He leans over the back of the couch again, staring at your breasts, glistening with spit, and smiles.

“Doesn’t she look pretty? All riled up like this?” His slow drawl is dripping with lust; you can tell he wants you too.

Sakura doesn’t look back at him anymore; he’s much too transfixed on you, fingers still digging into your hips as he struggles to control himself as he waits for instructions he’s come to expect when the man behind him speaks.

“So fucking pretty,” you make eye contact with him, his pretty gray and gold eyes clouded with desire as they drag across your body.

“Baby, you should do a little something for him, don’t ya think?”

You can’t help the devilish smirk that graces your face, and you love the surge of nerves and excitement that cross Sakura’s face when he sees it. You slide off his lap, standing between his spread legs as you pull your shirt off the rest of the way.

Your body is like a live wire right now, and you feel yourself overflowing with the need for physical touch. You stare down at him, grasping at your own breasts to give yourself some of the stimulation your body desperately needs.

“I want you to stand for me.”

He’s taller than you, watching you down the line of his nose as he starts clenching his fists again. Your hands move from your chest to his, sliding down his front until you find the waistband of his jeans. You push up his shirt, hooking your fingers into the space between his pants and briefs, and pull his body to yours, humming at the feeling of him pushing against your stomach. You need to see it, now.

Your hands move to undo the button, and suddenly his hands are on top of yours.

“You--you don’t have to.” His voice was tinged with worry, and you realize that he thinks Togame talked you into this; that you’re only participating because you’re being told.

He’s too sweet, assuming that your boyfriend was the mastermind behind all this, as if you haven’t been thinking about what his cock looks like since the first time you made him blush and wondered if his head would flush the same shade. You reach up and weave a hand into his hair and whisper pure sin against his ear.

“I’ve been dreaming about sucking your cock since the first time I saw you get hard for me. I remember you desperately trying to hide it as you got out of the car, but I had already felt you squirming beneath me. And I just imagined,” you slowly slide your hand into his pants as you speak, gently combing through the hair you find there, “what it would look like, all flushed and leaking for me.”

His breathing hitches at your words, his hands falling away from yours, and you pull back from his neck.

“So, can I?” Your smile is sweet as you look at him, fingers back to fiddling with the button of his jeans.

“Yes, fuck, yes, please.” His face is rosy, a combination of embarrassment at the realization that you’ve known how badly he’s been pining over you and a little because everything right now is just so warm.

You make quick work of his pants, pulling them down to the middle of his thighs, and are met with a lovely sight. His briefs are straining, his swollen cock pushing to get out, a wet spot growing near the head. You want to tear them away, get to what you’ve been waiting for, but this day is about him. And so you choose to take your time.

You don’t touch him right away, instead, you glide your hands across his hip bones, underneath the bottom hem of his shirt, digging your thumbs in with anticipation. Slowly, very very slowly, you sink down to your knees, your hands following your descent down his thighs. You avoid touching anything too sensitive, at least for now. His hands are eye level now, and based on those alone, you would assume the poor man was in absolute anguish. His knuckles are white and protruding, and his nails are freshening up the marks from earlier. It’s time to put him out of his misery.

You slide your right hand from his thigh, achingly slow, until his clothed dick is under your palm, and you gently squeeze. You feel his body tense under your left hand, still braced on his (very tightly clenched) leg.

You stroke him through the fabric of his briefs, barely-there touches that have his hips thrusting forward. You could do this forever, tracing the outline of his cock with one gentle finger and watching it twitch for you over and over again, but you are quickly reminded you have more you should be getting to.

“Quit teasing the poor guy, baby,” Togame speaks up, humor lacing his voice. He’s back in the chair, reclined—he'd be the image of relaxation if it weren’t for the flush on his cheeks. He’s got a hand draped across his lap, palming his half-hard cock through his sweatpants. It sends a jolt through you—the thought of him getting off to watching you pleasure his friend... It gets you back on track with the task in front of you, ready to put on a show, as you slowly begin to pull Sakura’s briefs down his legs.

As you suspected, it’s stupid how pretty he is. His dichromatic hair is here too, neat, dark curls with wisps of white. He’s Togame’s opposite in so many ways, you should have guessed that his cock would be too. Where you’re used to Togame’s girth and slight curve to the right, Sakura’s thinner but lengthy, with an upward arch that makes your mouth water. And, to your delight, the shade of his leaking tip did indeed match his cheeks.

You wrap your hand around him and give an experimental tug, the velvet skin feeling so soft and promising in your hand, and you hear an uneven breath from up above.

“Fuck, Haruka, it’s even prettier than I thought it’d be.” You’re still stroking him lightly, nothing to send him over the edge yet, but just the right amount to make him stutter when he speaks to you.

A small smile graces his lips, and one hand cautiously finds a spot in your hair. You lean further into his hand, encouraging the touch.

“You’ve thought about me?” Fuck, he sounds smitten; his eyes all hearts, and brain completely flooded with thoughts of you. You adore it.

You nod with a hum. “Of course. What you’d look like, what you’d feel like, what you’d taste like,” you emphasize your words with one long lick, from the base to his pearly tip, following a beautifully prominent vein along the bottom. Dipping back in quickly to lick his head, already slick with precum and leaking more with every single breath you take in his vicinity.

The room fills with his soft groans and the obscene sound of your mouth slurping around his cock. Occasionally, you can hear Togame swear under his breath. You want to go faster, take him deeper, but you’re worried he’ll cum too quickly if you do, so you keep it slow and measured, just enough to have his tip leaking and pulsing in your mouth.

Finally, Togame stands and approaches the two of you, circling you slowly. A predator determining how it’ll play with its prey next. It seems, however, that he is running out of patience.

“Have you thought about fucking my girl, Sakura?” Sakura groans at the question, eyes fixated on your plush lips surrounding his cock, the thought causing it to twitch in your mouth. Lust-filled green eyes meet yours, coaxing you to pull off of Sakura so that you can lead him forward. With one last lick, you make your way to your feet and replace his briefs.

“You’re so pretty like that,” he says, breathless and reverent. In his delirious state, he follows you easily as you pull him toward your bedroom, stepping out of his jeans and leaving them behind.

“You know how else I look pretty? On my back,” he hums, in obvious agreement, but you don’t stop there, “or my face pressed into a mattress, ass in the air, my dripping pussy just begging to be fucked.” Sakura freezes at your words, and you give him a small tug to pull him into the room.

Togame steps around the two of you, settling into the chair he set up in your room just for tonight.

“Wait ‘til you see how soaked she is just from having your cock in her mouth.” You blush in a bit of genuine embarrassment; you know it’s true. You can feel how wet you are, slick and dripping, desperate for attention down there. You undo the button of your jeans and silently pull the zipper down before reaching for Sakura’s hand.

“Gimme your hand, wanna show you.”

You start to pull his hand, but he quickly takes initiative, reaching and twisting to slip into your panties.

You gasp as the tip of his middle finger grazes your folds, and his eyes snap up to meet yours with a look of pure awe on his face. He slips in further, all fingers sweeping past your slit now, becoming coated in you as you whimper at his slight touch. To your dismay, he pulls his hand back out and looks at his fingers as the slick coating them catches the light and webs between his fingers.

Togame chuckles darkly from his chair, satisfied with how right he was. Then, as a bit of a shock to both of you, Sakura sticks his fingers in his mouth.

“God, I want to taste you, please.” This, you weren’t expecting, and you look to Togame for guidance. He can see in your face how badly you want it and can clock your arousal even from across the room.

“Whatever my baby wants. You better make her feel good, Sakura.”

With that, you sit down on the bed as Sakura eagerly grabs at your pants, pulling them off your legs. Left in just your panties, you scoot up to the head of the bed to lean against the pillows, holding your legs together.

Sakura crawls his way up to you from the end of the bed, his eyes wild with excitement.

“Have you ever done this before?” He shakes his head no, but it doesn’t halt his eagerness. Kneeling in front of you, he gently pries your legs open, eyes narrowing in on the wet spot in the center of your panties, and he groans.

“Is-is that because of me?” Togame asks you the same question sometimes, but they once again couldn’t be more different. The nervous shake in his voice, the genuine curiosity and uncertainty—fuck, it has the spot growing even more.

“Yeah, baby,” you whisper to him, "need you to touch me, please.”

A swear escapes under his breath as he reaches out, his thumb gently rubbing against your slit through the fabric, and your head droops back. It’s almost nothing, his touch is so subtle and brings you nearly no relief, but you whine all the same. At the promise, the promise that it’s so close.

“Go ahead, pull them aside. Take a good look at her.” Your head lolls over to look at your boyfriend, who has finally caved and taken his dick out of his sweats. He strokes his half-hard cock slowly, and you whine again, desperate for any kind of relief.

Luckily for you, Sakura does as he’s told and pulls your panties to the side, and his breath hitches at the view. Pink and slick, he stares wide-eyed, and it has you clenching, and the sight has him breaking.

His tongue sweeps out, a tiny kitten lick into your folds. Then again, then slower, and you’re fighting the urge to flail your legs. Fingers come up to spread you open, and he pulls you apart enough to expose your clit. It’s twitching violently, and Sakura is awestruck by the cute little pink nub.

“That her clit,” Togame sounds just as pent-up as you feel, frustration starting to kick in while waiting for the virgin to figure things out on his own. “Take her panties off and give it a lick."

While maybe a little clueless, he takes direction incredibly well. Your panties are quickly pulled down your legs and discarded, and then the roughness of his tongue is rubbing against your bundle of nerves, and you practically squeal with joy at the feeling.

“Fuck, again, Sakura,” and he does, again and again, as you try to keep your thrashing to a minimum. It’s a clunky way to build you up, but it’s doing the job. But you think it’s your turn to be selfish.

“Want your fingers too, baby,” you thread a hand into his hair to slow his direct assault to your clit. "Take it slow, start with one.”

He props himself up on his elbow, then slowly takes his middle finger on his other hand and runs it through your slit, searching for where you needed him. With a guiding touch, you help him find it, and it's sinking into you with little resistance as you groan. He pumps it back and forth, but the motion feels stiff, his nerves getting to him again.

But Togame always knows when to step in.

“Add another one, then curl towards you as you slide in.” Sakura turns to look at Togame, unsure of his advice, and finds the man with his legs spread, thick cock leaking onto his hand as he fists himself at the sight of you two. It takes him by surprise, but what’s even more surprising is how it has him grinding his hips into the mattress.

“You like that he’s watching, don’t you?” Sakura’s blush finds its way to his hairline, and you giggle.

“That’s cute, maybe next time he can join.” Next time? Sakura’s heartbeat spikes with the idea of another opportunity to be with you, to see how Togame treats you, to watch you take it from someone more experienced... He is suddenly very determined to not disappoint you, and gets to doing as he was told.

He nestles two fingers into you and moves them a few times before curling, and you keen for him. Your back arches off the bed, and your hands are back in his hair. He repeats the motion, and after a few strokes, he nails down the exact spot that triggers you the most and starts to absolutely abuse it.

Little tears leak down your cheek; you feel like you waited so long for this, and finally, your release was getting close. Just one more thing.

“Mouth, Haruka, please!” It’s a pitiful little scream that comes out of you, and you’re not even sure it makes sense, but your boyfriend is always looking out for you.

“Her clit, from before,” he’s grunting, and it sounds a bit breathless. “Suck on it.”

The younger man complies, his lips locking around your clit and pulling it tight into his mouth. He grinds himself harder into the mattress, desperately willing himself to outlast you, and with one long suck and a flick of the tip of his tongue, he gets his wish.

You writhe around him, shooting up to hold his wrist and keep his fingers buried inside you as you come, fluttering around his fingers. Sharp, whiny moans escape you, and he looks up at you, eyes glittering, and you can’t help but yank him into a sloppy kiss.

Breathless, you lean back, and he retracts his fingers, sitting up to his knees. Deep breaths fall from your lips as you turn to check on Togame, whose jaw hangs open a little as the grip on the base of his cock tightens, desperate not to cum from your fucked-out expression. He’s waiting for the grand finale.

Sakura’s the first to speak, his voice airy and excited as he crawls even closer to you; he’s lured to you, needy. Watching you fall apart under him has broken any restrictions he was putting on himself. He shamelessly drapes himself over you, wanting to be as close as possible.

“Fuck, feeling you cum around my fingers like that...”

A laugh puffs out of your chest, and you pull him in closer and whisper in his ear, “It’ll feel even better when I’m cumming around your cock.” He shudders out a gasp as your mouth places open mouth kisses across his neck, arching up into his still partially clothed body.

The two of you are getting a little lost in your own world when suddenly Togame speaks up.

"I want her on her knees," your boyfriend says, speaking up for the first time in a while, eyes dark, "on her knees, facing me."

You kiss Sakura deeply one more time before he helps you roll over and slides an arm across your hips to hike them up. You're arching for him, leaning on your arms as you stare at your boyfriend. Is he getting jealous? Right before the best part?

Sakura's hands glide across your ass, pulling you apart to look at your pussy, still soaked and shiny, pulsing as it desperately waits for more. His movements feel in sync with the sight before you. Togame slowly drags his hand up and down his shaft, orgasm successfully delayed for now. He's staring into your eyes, but you can't read his expression.

"Sakura, please, fuck me," you call out to the man behind you, with your eyes fixated on the one in front. At your words, Jou’s eyes relax, and as he smiles broadly at you, you feel the press of Sakura's cock before it slides all the way to the hilt.

You break eye contact, and the shock of suddenly being so full knocks the breath out of you. Simultaneous choked gasps come from you and Sakura, but a soft chuckle comes from Togame’s side of the room.

Sakura bends over you, unmoving, deep breaths pressing his naked chest to your back.

“How’s my baby feel, Sakura?” The question causes Sakura to whimper in your ear.

“So good, too good,” he sounds panicked as he runs his hands up and down your waist. You peek an eye open to see Togame smirking, fucking his fist much faster now.

"Well, come on, Sakura. Fuck her,” you moan at his words and clench around Sakura, and the feeling causes him to jerk his hips. Not even a real thrust, but just the taste of that movement, and he’s fucking hooked.

The definition of 0 to 60, Sakura’s suddenly moving his hips faster than you’d think possible, hips colliding with your ass over and over. Until his hands find your ass and he squeezes the flesh there. The pull lets him catch a glimpse of him disappearing inside you, and the sight has him drastically changing pace.

The drag as he pulls out slowly as you moan, hands fisted into the sheets, feels torturously sweet. He pulls out all the way, tip just kissing your entrance for a moment before he slides all the way in again, the vein on the underside pulsing as he does. You feel like sobbing, and maybe you are crying a little bit. The bed under your face is mysteriously wet as you babble out the man’s name.

“More, I need more,” and just like always, your boyfriend is there to help you.

“A little faster, Sakura,” he says as he approaches the bed, sweatpants discarded his dick bobbing and dripping with pre as he comes to stand over you, “focus on the feeling. I’ll get her to cum on your cock.”

The younger man nods dumbly as he grabs your hips, picking up his pace to something steadily in the middle of the two he tried before. It’s better; it feels good, but Togame knows exactly what you need.

His own cock in his right hand, he rests a knee on the bed next to your head and reaches his left down your body until he finds your clit. In time with the way he strokes himself, he rubs tight little circles, and the tears are in full force now.

He stares down at you, confident and endearing, knowing that even though he’s letting another man fuck you in front of him, your eyes are starry and tear-filled, looking at him, because he’s the one that’s going to make you cum.

“Jou, ‘m so close,” you whine, so focused on the man above you, almost forgetting whose cock is the one pounding into you at the moment.

“Yeah, princess? Cum for us, then. Show Sakura what it feels like to have a pussy cum around him,” his words send you over, crying out his name as you clench tightly around Sakura, and he’s folded over you again, whining in your ear.

“I’m going to cum, fuck.” You’re not sure who he’s talking to, but Togame grabs him by the chin and forces him to look him in the eye.

“Go on and cum in my girl, Sakura. Make sure she knows how good of a fucking job she did, yeah?” Before he even gets the last word out, Sakura’s pinned his hips to your ass, and you can feel it. Warmth floods you as he cums, so much virgin fucking cum filling you up as you whimper.

“Can I come for you, angel?” You nod your head furiously, wanting so badly for Togame to feel as good as you do right now.

“Wherever you want, Jou, please,” you tell him, eyelashes batting up at him.

“Such a good girl,” he groans out as he finally cums standing over you, ropes landing across your pretty face as you smile for him. He takes his thumb and wipes some from your lips, which you promptly open to suck his thumb clean.

“I think you may have killed him, baby.” Togame points behind you, and you sit up and turn around, finding a completely passed-out Sakura. Arm draped across his eyes, chest rising and falling slowly with sleep.

“Poor guy,” you carefully drape a blanket over him, smiling fondly at the man, “you think he liked his gift?”

"Oh, baby, I don’t think he’ll ever forget this birthday.”

[birder-of-remnant]

A Story Done Right

Kill Bill, The Princess Bride, Blue-Eyed Samurai, Wrath of Khan. Our media is saturated with revenge stories. Even children's tales often have revenge as a sweeping premise (e.g., the countless Star Wars villains as a modern example, but older tales such as Cinderella were even more rife with vindictive messages). And to be honest, I have never cared for this plot type.

Revenge stories are usually violent, merciless, myopic, and pretty disregarding of 'collateral' losses. Not all, but most lack any type of interesting moral symbology and substitute dynamic storylines and complex character development in lieu of exciting action scenes and a prosaic fixation on bloodshed. There are certainly exceptions to this, many of the titles I listed above actually have a lot of great things going for them. But I would say that these qualities are in spite of their focus on revenge and not because of it.

And there are an endless number of animes, movies, books, and other stories based on revenge that simply do not appeal to me (not judging other people if they like violent action media, just not my personal taste). Most of the time, I am just left feeling empty at the end, like Neo after volume 9.

But there is one exception to this theme. One revenge story that leaves me feeling whole, not empty. From the banner image, I think it is pretty obvious which story it is. This is my own highly subjective opinion, but I truly believe that the fight with Adam represents the perfect revenge story. And here is my reasoning.

Revenge is Not The Hero's Purpose

In too many stories, the premise begins with douchebag 'X' killing damsel 'Y', leading to hero 'Z' killing a lot of henchmen and blowing up a lot of buildings all for the singular purpose of making Mr. X pay. Once they achieve this purpose, they look around aimlessly before wandering off to have a milkshake or play golf or something. Yeah well, this story does not do this. Killing Adam was never the objective for Blake and Yang, because they have actual goals that involve saving people and not just executing some vendetta.

Don't get me wrong. I love redemption stories, I find them so much more satisfying, especially when the character in question has to struggle to overcome the gravity of what they have done (note: a redemption arc does not mean instant forgiveness, it might never end with actual for absolution for what they have done). I love Emerald's story and think it has a lot of interesting twists that it can take. But there are some characters who are just too far gone to save. And Adam fits that perfectly.

He has a tragic backstory and I truly pity him. But he is also an abusive, murdering shitlord who manipulated and groomed Blake (I wouldn't be surprised if he physically or sexually abused her, which is somewhat implied by her frequently defensive body posture, but is not definite). He kills out of spite and represents Yang's demon, who she could have become. It was cathartic to watch him fall, but I am ever so grateful that his demise was not the purpose of Blake and Yang. Because killing him out of spite for what he did to them would not be much different than the way he lashed out at others for the traumas that he has endured. Some might call it justice, but justice and revenge are two sides of the same coin and the edges between them can be blurry.

The point is, Yang and Blake are so much more than Adam. They killed him out of necessity, not out of hate.

They Are Set on the Future

As I mentioned, I often feel empty at the end of a revenge story. When the villain lies dead within a pool of their own blood and the hero has achieved everything they sought to accomplish, what more is there really? Often, I feel like the story has reached its ending without really achieving anything of note. Often, without really making the world a better place. A plot about revenge is not the same as one about taking someone down to save other people. The former is what Adam wanted and it would have made the world a worse place. But Yang and Blake are protectors. The fight was exhilarating and satisfying, but it ultimately humanized these characters whereas most revenge stories do the opposite, treating human life as cheap entertainment to be killed in the most 'epic' way possible.

But more important, the fight left me feeling excited about the future, rather than feeling burn out from seeing the villain die. Adam was fixated on the past. He was a character of the past. He represented Blake and Yang's trauma, their old demons and fears. He had no further place in their character arcs, because they had evolved into something so much more. Killing Adam was not the end of their story as it is in so many revenge plots. It was simply a new beginning. It felt whole and wholesome. Past, present, and future.

Because it is the People Who Matter

Ultimately, the fight was never about killing Adam. It was about bringing Yang and Blake together. About having them overcome the demons of their past. About the importance of mental health. About their individual traumas (abandonment issues & PTSD for Yang and Blake's fear of hurting others). About the challenges that LGBTQ+ people face in finding security in a hostile world. It was about these two, fucking amazing characters and the ineffably wondrous relationship that forms between them. One based on actual fucking support, equality, and love.

That is all I have on this right now. Hopefully, I did not offend too many people by criticizing typical revenge stories. But I have been wanting to talk about my love and appreciation of this scene for years. I know there have been so many more people who have discussed these same themes and points before, probably more adroitly than my rambling mess, but this is my rambling mess. Thanks for reading!

Random side trivia 1: Mandy Patinkin, the actor who played Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, is famous for his iconic line, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Mandy felt that the scene was symbolic of feelings towards the illness that took his father. But regarding revenge against people, he actually dislikes his iconic line and how it idolizes revenge.

Random side trivia 2: I love Jeff & Casey William songs and I just love BMBLY (except or that creepy line about the birds and butterflies knowing, wtf). But as an ecologist, I should note that bumblebees do not make honey. Jeff was thinking of European honey bees. Bumblees are cute, fuzzy, chunky super pollinators that live in the ground, in hollow plant stems, or other obscure spots and are either solitary or have very small hives. They virtually never bother people and are super pollinators, actually much better pollinators than honeybees (which are super awesome cool in their own right, but also highly invasive in the western hemisphere and hurt our native pollinators D: And yes, I cherry-picked the ugliest picture of one that I could find). Many bumblebees are endangered, just like our beloved Bumblebees. Save the bees! AND THE BEES!

[daeneryspilled]

Team Green is in the right💚💚💚 they are right no matter what you say.

How dare you say that Tg supports a r*p!st ???🤬

TG DOESN'T SUPPORT R*P1STS, infact, THEY support Rape survivors.

Like Alicent, who had to commit *duty and sacrifice* unlike Rhaenyra. No, she's right in everything, because she did duty and sacrifice.

TG, also supports another rape survivor, Cristin cole!💚💚💚

Did you know that Rhaenyra r*aped criston? Cristin was innocent the whole time, he did nothing wrong because silver princess seduced him.

I can't wait until TG supports other rape supporters. TG is the protecter of r*pe survivors.

So I can't until they support another r*pe victim, dyana. I can't wait to see thier support for dyana in season 2.

TG says they are r*ape victim protectors, didn't they? So wait till they support dyana.

ngl, this DID get me for a second, because this is how they genuinely sound like. they love to preach modern day morality onto characters like alicent and helaena, but suddenly it’s ’you’re not supposed to view the show/book through a modern day lens’ when it comes to rhaenyra.

‘supporters of rape victims’ except the audience not seeing aegon rape dyana on screen means that it didn’t happen, helaena’s implication of being sexually abused by her brother at the dinner scene is ‘taken out of context’ and she actually LOVES her brother, and he her. the only character that they can for sure agree on being maritally raped and abused is alicent, and how dare rhaenyra also be a victim of the men around her, just not in the same palatable way as the other women in her circle who suffer in silence, making it other women’s problems and not their actual abusers?

“she cuckolded her husband and had obvious bastards! she wanted her brother tortured in defense of her bastards! her bastards aren’t human, and by that count, neither is she! she should be grateful that she and her children were only abused for 10+ years by alicent! she should be grateful that alicent was attempting to have her and her kids disinherited, exiled, or even put to death; she was obviously manipulated by the father she hadn’t seen in well over 10 years, it was all him! and daemon!! the guy who she also didn’t see for 10+ years, and never once mentioned outside of episode nine’s ‘rhaenyra will never bend the knee, nor will daemon.’ she’s been terrified of these almost nonexistent men for years, it’s justifiable why she baited her kids against their sister! making herself and her kids enemies of the *one* person who would have the authority to have them killed when she takes the throne! if rhaenyra had been a good girl and done her duty, maybe she would deserve our sympathy! but she didn’t so she deserves to die a horrible and gruesome fate for fighting back! sunfyre ate!”

their support for dyana has already reared it’s rather ugly head, just look at any pro team black comment sections on tiktok or general posts on twitter 🤷‍♀️ very nice of them to be as supportive of dyana as they are of alicent. i mean, just look at the evidence:

this is totally normal behavior.

[thegreatpapaya666]

When Valentino Dies

Sooooooo, we all know Valentino is gonna die in season 2, or something similar. But let's just eXpLoRe what will happen when he does. SPOILERS AHEAD! (I worked really hard on this please read)

Who Will Kill Valentino?

The reason Valentino will die will most likely be to purposely break Angel Dust's contract. Because Valentino will probably never willingly give up a contracted soul, he will have to permanently die for Angel to own his soul again. To permanently kill someone in Hell who cannot be redeemed, you need a weapon made of angelic steel, which we can assume the Hotel has after the Extermination in S1E8.

If this is the case, I assume that either Angel & Husk, Charlie, or Alastor will kill Valentino.

Angel & Husk: Angel & Husk might kill Valentino because they already hate him, and even though Angel is strong on his own, he might not have the guts to kill Valentino all by himself. And Angel and Husk already have experience fighting together S1E4 and S1E8. On a character development aspect, this would be a great chance for Vivziepop to strengthen Angel and Husk's bond, maybe even creating a window to include HuskerDust (Angel x Husk).

Charlie: If Valentino snaps and comes to the hotel to bring Angel back to Vee Tower, I speculate that Charlie will kill Valentino. This is because she knows of a lot of the horrible things Valentino has done to her friend, Angel, and has the power to kill Valentino if she wants to, since she is the Princess of Hell. The only thing stopping her would be her morals, and Angel himself. Angel might attempt to stop Charlie killing Valentino because of how accustomed he has gotten to being with Valentino, and he might feel overwhelmed and protective of Valentino in that moment, rethinking whether or not he wants Valentino to die. Even though Valentino is a bad person and has been abusing Angel, it's common to feel some sort of obligation to stand by your abusive partner, even if you know they're in the wrong. This is precisely what Angel might do. Additionally, Valentino would probably try to convince Angel to save him and manipulate him because of the power he holds over Angel. Just like we saw in S1E4, when Valentino lashes out at Angel and hits him, he summons Angel's contract and a red, wispy chain, symbolizing Valentino owning Angel. If this happens, it could be a great opportunity for character development for Angel, choosing to either kill Valentino himself, or let Charlie do the honors. Charlie might also get some character development, too, because permanently killing somebody would most likely upset her. So she would have to make a difficult choice between standing with her friends, or sticking to her morals. When Valentino does die, maybe we'll get more insight to Angel's contract when Valentino is pleading with Angel to save him. Also, in S1E4 when Valentino licks Charlie's arm and she doesn't seem like she's under his control, this proves that his pheromones don't work on Charlie. So Valentino wouldn't be able to convince Charlie to spare him with his powers.

Alastor: It has been a longstanding question whether or not Alastor can be redeemed. In his current state, I don't think he is worthy to go to Heaven. But since the entire show's premise is to redeem sinners that nobody believes in by practicing kindness and forgiveness, I think Alastor could certainly go to Heaven as a S2 plot twist/plot point. And a way to get Alastor to Heaven would be for him to defend Angel and kill Valentino to get Angel his soul back. Another reason for Valentino to be killed by Alastor is because Valentino is friends with/dating Vox, Alastor's rival, that would be a great way to get back at Vox. So in that case, rather than killing Valentino out of the kindness of his heart, he could hit two birds with one stone: Convince Charlie to stay on his side, and upset Vox by killing his love interest. In S1E2, when Valentino is discussing Alastor's reappearance with Vox, he states that Alastor "owes us much more than money." This would be an opportunity to develop the Alastor & Vox angst and past friendship with a fight between Valentino and Alastor. If this happens, Vox might even step in after watching the fight at the Hotel on his Voxtech security cameras.

Lucifer: Another reason for Valentino to die could be Lucifer himself. Valentino already came on to Charlie, hurt her friend, and has the potential to do many more horrible things to sabotage the Hotel. Lucifer has enough power to kill Valentino himself, so if Valentino lashes out and crosses a boundary the King of Hell has set, there's no going back.

Niffty: Another explanation to how Valentino will die is Niffty killing him. In S1E8 when Niffty kills Adam, it was demonstrated that she has the capabilities to kill someone more powerful than her by sneaking up on them. And she's shown that she isn't afraid to murder someone, and has some sadistic qualities, even enjoying hurting creatures. The series has foreshadowed a conflict between Niffty and Valentino multiple times, mainly in S1E6 where she stated, "I just want a taste!" after attempting to bite Valentino, and "For my collection!" after stealing Valentino's fur. She has been seen having a collection of dead insects and parts of bugs, and since Valentino is a moth, she might consider him a bug and want to add Valentino himself to her "collection." Also, in S1E8, after Niffty kills Adam, she is interviewed on 666 News, saying, "Charlie told me to stab, so I did." This means that if someone orders her to stab Valentino, especially Alastor, who owns her soul and is also friends with her, then she would stab Valentino with no regrets, especially if he proves that he's not the "bad boy" she thinks he is.

How Will Valentino's Death Affect The Characters?

Angel Dust: If he kills Valentino, he'll have even more trauma to unpack with Charlie, Husk, and the rest of the cast. Angel has already been through a lot, and it will take a long time for him to heal after being in such an abusive relationship with Valentino, working for him, and possibly even killing him.

Husk: If he kills Valentino with Angel, he won't regret it. Whether or not Valentino dies at his hands, however, Angel will still need him more than ever, and Husk might be able to assist Angel on his path to redemption. This might also inspire Husk to try and get his soul back from Alastor.

Charlie: If she kills Valentino, she will most likely not regret it. But permanently killing someone, especially if Valentino is the first person she's ever killed, she will probably grieve Valentino, even if she hates him. This will be a chance to develop Chaggie (Charlie x Vaggie), maybe defining the nuances of their relationship if Charlie turns to her girlfriend for help.

Alastor: There is no question whether or not Alastor will feel bad for murdering Valentino. He will not regret it and will feel no shame for it, probably giving Valentino's corpse to Niffty. If Alastor does this for Charlie or the Hotel, that would be the perfect time to ask for something in return, making Valentino's murder a quid pro quo in his favor. If Charlie assists in killing Valentino, he could catch Charlie at her weakest and make another deal with her, slowly gaining her trust to betray her and the Hotel. Because Alastor does not own his soul, and he is probably under Lilith's control, this might give him an idea on how to get his soul back.

Vox: Whoever ends up killing Valentino, they'll have to face Vox's wrath. Even though Valentino is a pain in Vox's ass, he seems to have a crush on Valentino and want something more than their friends with benefits situation. Fans speculate that StaticMoth (Vox x Valentino) will be official in S2, and whether Valentino is Vox's boyfriend or business partner when he is killed, Vox will be royally pissed. Especially considering how far back Alastor and Vox go, and how their friendship was ruined most likely because of Vox's business proposal/love confession, Vox will be devastated when his friend is killed, and left alone (again). He will only have Velvette genuinely by his side. If Angel kills Valentino, Vox will be especially mad, because multiple times throughout the series, it was hinted that Vox is jealous of Angel. For instance, he seems oddly happy at the suggestion that Angel quit in S1E2, and in S1E4 during Poison, he is holding Valentino's hand after kissing Valentino, sees Angel, and seems to get slightly annoyed and leaves. He might come for Angel at the Hotel, which might end with him getting humiliated or killed by the residents there. If Alastor kills Valentino, Vox will be incredibly upset. After Alastor rejecting him, if Alastor kills his new love interest/friend/business partner/boyfriend/friend with benefits, he will probably have another fight with Alastor. In S1E2, Valentino asks Vox during Stayed Gone, "You still pissed he almost beat you that time?" referring to Alastor. This implies that Vox and Alastor had a fight before Alastor disappeared for seven years, one that could have even led to Alastor's disappearance.

My Opinion

I think Niffty will probably kill Valentino with Alastor's orders and add him to her "collection," upsetting Vox and leading him to fight Alastor at the Hotel.

THANKS FOR READING THIS TOOK ME TWO HOURS!

[teethcritter]

Alright, so. Finn and Princess Bubblegum. Yeah, yeah. Hero and the princess, a story as old as time. We all know the princess in question is by no means into boys, as Patience put it.

So what happens when we look at their relationship from a purely professional standpoint? A lot!

So, let's start with some background information, at least in my view of the characters. I think personally, that it makes sense for PB to have known Finn for a while before season 1. I like to think that she actually helped Jake with raising him, as she probably would've checked on the tree house from time to time with all her surveillance issues and a certain vampire breakup. And I mean, who's to say she wasn't in contact with Joshua and Margaret as well? They had, supposedly, the only human left in their hands. She would've been interested in that. She would've been very interested in that.

Now, let's take a moment to consider what being partially raised by a princess / mad scientist would do to your brain. Let's take a moment to consider what being a knight at such a young age would do to your brain. Clearly a number since the very first episode of the series is Finn and PB causing a zombie apocalypse.

PB was shown in a very morally grey light right from the start. What Have You Done?(s1ep24) is one of my all time favorite episodes because of how well it's portrayed.

Finn is pretty willing to cross her in this episode once he realizes that the right thing is not what she asked of him, but it certainly sets the groundwork of the CONSEQUENCES for doing so; as well as "The princess is always right," mentality he seems to have for most of the series. (A/N: these clips are taken out of context of the full episode, I highly recommend you watch the full thing to understand what happens in it, why PB and Finn do what they do, etc. This goes for all the eps I'll mention.)

As Finn ages, we see his relationship with PB change a LOT. Even after he gets over his crush, he still seems to worship her. In a way that she's kinda conditioned him to.

A very important thing to note while I talk about this, especially around this part, is that I STRONGLY believe that neither of these characters are in the wrong in the relationship. I don't think one is abusing or manipulating the other. It's a two way street. They are both making it worse.

The next episode I'm going to reference is Princess Cookie(s4ep13) (Another A/N: I apologize for the google drive links from here on out, Tumblr only allows one video per post. Cringe.)

By this point, Jake is willing to cross PB AND FINN in the name of doing the right thing. Finn however, is not. As we can see clearly here. Jake has a criminal past. Jake understands that crimes are often committed by people with a very messed up mental state. Those people need help, not a lifetime in the dungeon. But clearly, Finn doesn't get that. Which is not his fault whatsoever. He's been a knight since at least age 12.

I also find this dialogue from the same episode incredibly interesting. I know Jake was playing a part here. I know he was trying to de-escalate the situation so that PB wouldn't send in the guards, but these words still left his mouth.

And I don't know, the fact that he quickly had to correct himself makes this seem genuine to me.

This concept can actually be explored further in Burning Low(s4ep16) which is literally two episodes after this.

I was originally going to avoid Burning Low in this analysis, despite it being one of my favorites, but it is pretty important to the relationship between Finn/Jake and PB. It doesn't take much for Jake to flip out on PB in this episode, which is a drastic contrast from his demeanor in the first half of it. It really makes me consider the fact that he could have some deeply rooted issues with her. Or even, some deeply rooted issues with how much time Finn spends with her.

Another small note from this episode, is this.

We know for a FACT that this is not romantic jealousy in the slightest. I think that Bubblegum has gotten so used to being worshipped by Finn, that now that there's someone in the way — especially someone who she has such a strained relationship with — there is this weird jealousy. Not because she's in love with Finn, but because he's growing up. Because she isn't the sole princess in his life anymore. Because she has one less person 100% fixed on her and her alone. Because Finn is HER knight.

Alright, now before we move onto season 5, there's one more thing from season 4 that is worth talking about. This scene in The Lich(s4ep26).

This scene is one of the most disturbing scenes in the whole show for me, because of a few reasons. First of all, this is after Burning Low. This is after both of them have their explosions at her. But this is about Finn. Finn, right now, thinks that PB is jealous of him and Flame Princess. He thinks that now that there's someone in the way, that suddenly she cares. Which isn't entirely wrong, as I stated in the previous paragraph.

I think that her reaction here was partially a trauma response. Her reaction to Finn in general around this time period could be in relation to Mr. Cream Puff as well, since as we see in Bonnibel Bubblegum(s10ep4), was not a consensual relationship. Of course though, his pursuits were unwanted. Her reactions don't have to be because of a specific thing. She said no, case and point.

Now, I'm not going to get into the insanity of Farmworld Dimension, but I do think it's interesting that this interaction is the last one between the original Finn and PB. Of course Finn after Farmworld is still technically the original because of the paradox Jake created, but it's still interesting to me. Anyways, like I said, I'm not going to get into that in much detail.

Onto season 5! Frost and Fire(s5ep30) is a hard watch. But I rewatched it for this and actually made a connection that I've never made before. Jake says to chase the Cosmic Owl dream, which leads Finn down this road of manipulation. I don't put Jake at fault whatsoever, I highly doubt he expected Finn to do what he did. Finn fucked up — Aaand... I can draw some pretty distinct parallels between Finn and Flame Princess' breakup, and PB and Marceline's breakup.

Frost and Fire

Obsidian(AT:DL ep2)

After the breakup, Finn is not in the best mental state, obviously. He still doesn't understand what he did wrong and I think that's partly what's eating away at him. He doesn't understand what happened. But in a desperate attempt at getting back to normalcy, he gives himself entirely up to PB again. And then we get this line from the episode Rattleballs(s5ep46)!

PB tells him to relax, and he goes off to fight things in a dump. As you do. He finds Rattleballs there and after some training, Finn asks how he ended up here. Rattleballs explains that he escaped Bubblegum's mass execution. And he asks Finn to not out him, but loyalty to the Princess comes first.

Finn thought that Rattleballs and PB could talk it out at this point. Which they did kinda end up doing. But that is so goddamn interesting to me. He doesn't know the lengths of which PB goes, but it's so clear that deep down he DOES acknowledge that something is not right with her. Which means by proxy, something's not right with him either.

I'm going to break away from the show here to reference the comics. I know they're not canon, however the Princess and Princess graphic novel doesn't really contradict anything from the show, so I think this is of note. Finn isn't scared of her, he's scared what she'll do to other people. Very interesting.

Okay, back to the show.

In Hot Diggity Doom(s6ep42), PB loses the crown. This interaction is one that stands out to me.

Obviously the situation is tense. They don't want to serve a dillweed, but "We pledged our allegiance to you," freaks me out a bit! We didn't see this happen. This was before Slumber Party Panic(s1ep1). We don't know how Finn and Jake became her knights. They also seem to be aware of something relating to Cream Puff, as both of them know he died somehow. They both mention in it Slumber Party Panic. Besides exploding when scared, candy people don't die of natural causes as far as we've seen thus far. I do wonder what happened to that guy.

And this monologue in The Thin Yellow Line(s7ep25) doesn't make me feel any better about it. I am fully aware that implying PB did something to him is grasping at straws from what we're given, but hey! It's PB. And boy oh boy, is it interesting to consider that maybe Finn and Jake knew that.

Moving on from that random headcanon though, I want to talk about how Finn reacts to all that information from Banana Guard 16. Obviously he embellished the truth there. PB did what she had to do for the most part, although... not very ethically. Finn knows that. He knew a good chunk of that by this point in the series, and his opinion on her hasn't seemed to have changed. When he actually sees PB at the end, he realizes that maybe Banana guard 16 was right. Maybe she is gonna take him apart. So he, y'know, does a super sneaky thing and switches the guards. Instead of taking to her about it, he puts an innocent guard to death, as far as he knows. And we all know that she didn't actually do anything to anyone in that episode, she even says she's not proud of her past!! Growth!!! We love to see it. Though Finn, seems to have gotten worse.

He's gotten better socially, as he makes up with Flame Princess in Bun Bun(s8ep6), but worse professionally.

And here we go! Another parallel in Varmints(s7ep2).

At the beginning of Islands, we get my favorite scene in the whole show. We get Fern, PB, and Marceline seeing the gang off. And then we get a very interesting interaction between Finn and PB. She explains that if he finds humans, he might find out some heavy stuff about where he came from. She makes him promise that he'll come back to Ooo. And he doesn't promise. They hug, and he leaves. And she says, "He'll be safe." But clearly she doesn't believe herself. Finn, in my eyes, is probably the most important person in PB's life next to Marceline. And she's terrified that he's gonna leave his family for blood.

In season 9, when Elements starts, and Finn and Jake are greeted with the candy tree house, Finn automatically assumes that it was PB, which is something I don't see talked about a lot.

And wow, speaking of season 9! Fern would not have died the first time if PB didn't install a FATALITY SETTING TO THE WEED WACKER. Just a thought. Just an observation, if you will.

Then by season 10, he pretty much spends the entire season trying to prevent the war she's starting. And then in Obsidian, he's still ready to be by her side at the drop of a hat. And to top it all off—

In Together Again, even in death, his first thought for outside help, is her.

This never ended. They never fixed any of these problems. Finn is the knight of a dictator. Even if he wants to be ethical, he can't be. And I think somewhere, he knows that.

I'll probably go into seasons 7-10 deeper at some point in the future but tumblr's image limit for this post was hit a while ago LMFAO

TL;DR if you're going to talk about PB's wrongdoings, you can't pretend Finn is innocent. I strongly believe neither of them are bad people, and that they really do need each other. But that's not good. They actively make each other worse.

[nash-dara]

In what world was s1 favouring the greens? They were shown as hypocrites, rapists, pimps, murderers etc. the blacks were clearly the heroes of the story and they continue to be.

I can give you few examples that are pivotal to the whole story;

• Rhaenys' hair is black because her Baratheon Blood is so strong, she didn't inherit the typical Valyrian features.

• Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey are not 'Strong' babes, they are only rumored, those are only rumors made by the Greens.

• Alicent became someone whose somewhat sympathetic and does some terrible and stupid decisions when in the books she's very decisive and the one who planned it mostly and not a puppet of Otto. She's supposed to be a cunning manipulative stepmother.

• The show make Alicent usurp the throne because of a misunderstanding when in the book it's because she's ambitious.

• The show Aemond, they made him do a "prank/bullying session gone wrong" shitshow, for the reason that he just supposed to appear as sympathetic in killing Luke instead of a psycho going into a rampage .

• On the flip side, they highlighted all the crazy antics of Daemon and erase his good side. He wasn't supposed to kill Rhea, or those moments that shows Daemon cares about his family and not just a power hungry and war monger person were erased.

• Although I do admit that they frame Rhaenyra as the 'protagonist' in the pilot episodes and washed some of her crimes including killing Laenor which is in the book but in the show Laenor somewhat fake his death with the help of Daemon and Rhaenyra.

• However it doesn't changed the fact that they also did the same thing to other characters namely Alicent and Aemond. They also didn't show that Rhaenyra do ruled the Dragonstone and know how to rule and not just a spoiled princess who wants to inherit the Iron Throne because her daddy said so, no, even other lords agree upon it and only minor houses favored the Greens.

• Honestly, I just really enjoy the nuance of each character in the book, no matter what team they are even if they are not the team I root for because all of them are complex and not just a binary, white-black morality and now because it is adapted into a show they somewhat have free passed to butcher it. It is just sad and disappointing at this point that they (the show) didn't frame it as like a History Book telling what happen in the past before Dany as they put biases to a lot of characters whether they are Greens or Blacks.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Hope I gave you some clarity why I think the season 1 was bias to the Greens, although right now I'm still unsure too if the season 2 would be able to show the balance viewpoint of both Team's warcrimes.

[dangermousie]

I think it's a pretty good choice to skip over Li Xun's time in prison both because the details are not story relevant and because cdrama that can show even vaguely realistic prison condition has not yet been made. But we know it's been bad and between prison, the destroying betrayal of the person he trusted, his having no family left and having set his relationship on fire in a fashion that he doesn't even consider can be recovered, the man who is released is a dead eyed barely opening his mouth person with the intensity of unsheathed sword.

I mean, even as he speaks (and he barely does, as if each word is expensive), he barely even opens his mouth. Dude has turned into a stone. Compare and contrast:

He went from an expressive puppy, with every emotion written on his face to a rock.

This was glorious btw:

The way FZJ freaks! But also, Gao invited FZJ as one of the mains into the company - the man who LX holds responsible for the death of his sister (well until Gao's little jail visit after which he holds them both responsible) - this is the man he took to run the company he stole from LX. It's like he's spitting into LX's face every way he can. He isn't even a good thief! The only way he got the company was because LX signed it over and it was because LX doesn't have people skills and was a bad judge of character, Gao was not diabolically clever at manipulation or anything. And he stole it and perverted it and no matter how he boasts, it will never be his and a part of him is screaming that at him day and night in the back of his head (watching him give ZY a tour and boast boast boast is as if he's trying to fill an enormous hole in him but the hole has a sieve at the bottom so it's never enough.)

Side note, I totally get why LX fixates on getting the company back and not love - not only is he convinced that after what he pulled he can't and shouldn't get his princess back (unlike Gao, he is pretty clear on what behavior has what deserved consequences), but to leave it in Gao's hands would be unjust - unjust to him and to his sister.

Excuse MEEEEEEEEEEE. He's delusional the way only SMLs are in costume dramas, this is impressive! But horrifyingly realistic. Nobody likes to be a weak envious villain in their own minds.

Zhu Yun not mixing words is glorious (she was never afraid of confrontation however ladylike she was; at their base, despite their differences, both LX and her are steel but also are secure in themselves and what they view as right - that is why for LX Gao's betrayal and for her LX's seeming betrayal hit them so hard - it went against their fundamental sense of self) but also just shows how a just and right moral compass a person she is. She does not know Li Xun lied his ass off to save her from trying to tie her life to a man who was gonna likely spend a decade in prison. At this point, Li Xun is a man who let her chase him because he enjoyed the thought of showing up her mother and for connections in the industry and dumped her the moment he realized his ambitions would not go far with her family.

And yet, she fully jumps at his defense here, once she realizes Gao stole the company. She believes Li Xun wronged her. She has no plans to get back together with Li Xun. Any feelings she has for him she buried so deep I don't think she even realizes they are there. She doesn't even have plans to see him again. But none of this has to do with the fact that it is WRONG to steal a man's company from him in the most disgusting way. She can separate personal hurt from what is just. (And also unlike Gao, can follow both cause and effect AND proportionality; not only is theft of his dreamed of company has no connection with his being a user boyfriend and she can't find former OK because he supposedly was the latter, but PROPORTIONALITY! He's more than expiated any sin of being a user and dumping her rudely by three years of hard jail time! She doesn't hold a grudge any more since she's not a psycho.)

I do wonder how on earth Li Xun will ever trust anyone again after he's out of jail. He barely did before and then he mellowed and let people in and had barely a few years of normalcy only for all of that disaster and betrayal to happen.

[darklight572]

"Are we just gonna ignore that?"

Mermista is, of course, referring to Hordak and Entrapta together at the end of the Finale. I think its an interesting question, and represents far more than a meta look at the ship of Entrapta and Hordak.

Fundamentally, She-Ra Princess of Powers (2018) has a drastically different view of what it means to be "moral" and what "punishing villains" mean. It does not necessarily hold every individual who does something evil responsible for their actions, instead, investigating the system that prompts this evil. I want to explore that concept primarily through the characters of Entrapta and Hordak.

Hordak (The Derivative of Pure Evil) Starting with Hordak because he's frankly a bit less nuanced than Entrapta, not unnunaced, just less. He's introduced as the leader of the Horde, passive himself, but frustrated with Shadow Weaver's lack of progress. As the leader of the Horde, all-commanding, responsible for the (at least) decades of devastation and death.

However, despite that, he is- at least later on -given sympathy by proxy of standing next to Prime. Sure, Hordak has tried to dominate a world for decades, Prime has ruled the Universe for hundreds of years-maybe even a milenia. Further, while Hordak rules from afar, delegating his violence to Shadow Weaver and Catra, Prime manipulates directly- robbing will and mocking any form of attempted dignity in his presence.

Note that when Hordak does attempt to be charismatic he mimics Prime, most likely intentionally. It is clear that the evil Hordak has shown is fundamentally deritive, and that creates some amount of distance between Hordak and his actions. Further, there is the-slight as it is- possibility that Hordak had-fundamentally- no choice but to do as Prime programmed him. I find this interpretation doubtful due to the existence of Wrong Hordak, but, in fairness- he was severely physically damaged immediately.

Regardless of your take on that, Hordak is shown sympathy by Entrapta. This is interesting, not because Entrapta "doesn't care about her friends" as some people try to argue, but because it clearly displays how Entrapta cares about her friends. Sidelining that for a moment, Hordak is a great example of systemic oppression at work- not just as a leader, but as a victim of it. He was created "flawed" and was cast out, having only known one thing- Prime and his conquest- he attempts to emulate it but can't, not totally.

In his mission he recruits people like Shadow Weaver, and encourages her when she creates people like Catra and Adora- no doubt- even ordering the creation of the program which creates child soldiers. Stripping them of their indviduality through uniform and loyalty, twisting collectivism to benefit one individual through the gathering and hording of resources. When we see Hordak interact with his empire its strictly toward his end or delegated to another party. He expects his soldiers to be an extension of himself in totality, obviously, as a result of him being a clone of Prime.

The fact that most of the antagonism for at least the earlier seasons is a result of Shadow Weaver should not be ignored. Despite explicitly ordering Shadow Weaver to stop focusing on Adora she continues to do so, she has the capability to summon Force Captains and order them against his wishes- even one he promoted himself! By his own creation, Shadow Weaver is able to push a system where she wants to go, thats because at this point SW is who controls it, not Hordak. Once Catra defeats and imprisons Shadow Weaver, she attempts to take her place- and then the focus switches from SW to Catra as the primary antagonist.

Hordak is, never really the "true" narrative antagonist of She-Ra, not really, instead he represents the impersonal ambitious and destructive system of oppression.

So why the hell does he let a short, genius, probably neurodivergent woman invade his sanctum and aid him with something he hasn't confided in his closest generals with?

Entrapta (Schrodinger's Scientist) Lets talk about Entrapta.

Entrapta begins fairly simply, as the typical "mad genius" archetype, even introduced in a stereotypically villainous way cinnematically- a silhouette on a canvas of forboding colors. Then, revealed to be, fairly short, and asymetrical design wise- with top heavy hair that supports her. Immediately cutting most of the threat from the introduction. Entrapta seems to embody that contradiction as we move forward. Simultanously focused on doing whatever she can to learn and experiment and still being so anchored to others.

Over and over, we see Entrapta convinced not necessarily by helping friends or stopping enemies, but by studying more and more technology. Ot at least, thats what seems to happen, I want to posit another explanation. Mostly, I want to focus on her decision to stay in the Horde, and I do think its a decision. While Catra does indeed manipulate Entrapta at least to an extent, is isn't using false information or to lure her to some forboding place. Catra feels- imo -empathetic toward Entrapta. Her friends who had claimed to care for her had left her, used her as a tool to accomplish their goals, thats something Catra can relate to.

While this perception isn't true, Entrapta seems to believe it, and is visibly disturbed by the relation. Quickly, Scorpia befriends Entrapta, and even Catra seems somewhat fond of Entrapta's company. Entrapta explores all sorts of situations, helps the Horde quite a bit, and even begins to befriend(?) Hordak? Why? Is it because she feels betrayed and whats vengeance? Is it because she doesn't care about whats right and whats wrong? I don't think so- I think Entrapta fails to see the system behind an individual, or maybe doesn't care for it. She's almost a mirror to Catra in that way.

However, where Catra thinks herself immune to the propaganda of the system just by knowing it, Entrapta seems unaware or unconcerned by the logical ends of her actions. In a way that seems to both contradict her focus on scientific rigidity and completely fit with how she was introduced: in the throws of experiment, and completely unprepared when the logical end of it backfired. It is both a strength and a weakness of the character- something I have to agree with user Gythyanki (https://www.tumblr.com/gythyanki) that She-Ra 2018 does quite well.

Humanizing Hordak (And Destroying the System) It is precisely due to Entrapta's unique perception of systems that she is able to befriend Hordak. Keep in mind, for his entire life, Hordak has only known conquest and using people as a means to their ends. Thats how Prime sees him, thats how Shadow Weaver sees him, thats even how Catra sees him. So- when this woman- who should be an enemy, who should be a prisoner- not provides aid to him when he thought no one else could, but doesn't just use him it makes perfect sense that he becomes fond of her.

And while Entrapta's decision to help a tyrannical dictator build a portal that could have ended the world was.... not good, in the end, if Hordak hadn't been turned at least to Entrapta's side, there's a chance Prime could have won. And really, thats sorta the point right? Its not that Hordak didn't do horrible things. Its not that Entrapta was right to build robots for Catra or help Hordak build a portal, but that, it was not wrong for Entrapta to extend compassion toward him. That the evil being done is not ultimately caused by the individual, not really, but by the larger system at play.

Once you elminate Hordak from his context as ruler of the Horde, what do you have? You have a "defective" clone who'll do anything to return to his "brother's" good graces, but has fundamentally failed him by becoming an individual. Hordak learns to have his own values and chooses the one that showed him kindness over the one that used him. So "Are we just gonna ignore that?" has an answer, no, we aren't. Because we've already dealt with the problem. Hordak's means of doing harm has been taken from him, and his motivation to do it similarly.

Fundamentally, what would killing Hordak accomplish here? I might even ask, what would punishig him accomplish? She-Ra Princess of Powers seems to refuse the traditional concept of punitive punishment, and instead focus on how people are actually effected. How was Catra and Adora affected by Shadow Weaver? How was Shadow Weaver affected by Hordak? How was Hordak affected by Prime? What sort of system perpetuated the harm these individuals did? And how do we stop it?

I can't claim to know what the objectively best moral framework is, but I do know, that I can agree with the idea that maybe people matter a bit more than vague notions of "justice" which harm more people than they actually help.

End Note I: I am NOT saying Entrapta and Hordak are justified in their actions, and I am also not saying that Hordak shouldn't probably have to do a lot of rebuilding. One more note: individualism isn't inherently a "bad" thing, but it can be weaponized to attack geniune collectivism used to aid people in securing resources, be wary of that sort of thinking.

End Note II: Just in case you were busy reading and didn't wanna open a new tab GO READ GYTHYANKI'S STUFF, I WILL FIND AND RANT ABOUT HOW GOOD IT IS IF YOU DON'T

[sweetblossoms]

saw your post abt rapunzel manipulating tim in their convo and god hard agree it Is concerning that so many ppl didn't see it. also crazy to me that ppl are mad at tim and defending rapunzel, saying that they would have taken the book too because tim was being rude etc. to me it seemed that both tim the character and ally the player Wanted to believe that rapunzel wasn't part of the plan and was good but just kind of strange, and both are successfully fooled. tim absolutely fumbles the interaction and ally could have played things better, but rapunzel was so clearly in charge of the conversation, leading him into saying worse and worse things and putting his foot in his mouth while tim was genuinely trying to be nice. tim is awkward and blunt and eccentric with Everyone, it's weird that ppl are saying he was being singularly rude to her or patronizing her or that he deserved to get the book taken. that interaction was clumsy as hell and so many words could have been chosen better but tim so clearly was trying so hard to fix his initial fuck up and be friendly w her in the same weird way he talks to everyone. I don't see how ppl came out of that scene on her side even if tim was a little rude and unfortunate w his word choice, and it's concerning to see ppl being like "ha take that stupid old man!!" abt the book being taken + in defense of a character we met an episode and a half ago and who we have been told outright is an expert at deceiving people. the princesses are so so interesting as characters and the morals going on are complex and that's a whole different conversation, but I feel like no matter whether you love rapunzel or not, ppl should be able to recognize that she was manipulating tim in that moment and taking advantage of his trusting disposition. not trying to start discourse in your ask box ofc!!! I've just seen No One Else express discomfort w rapunzel in that scene

anon this ask has been living in my head rent free since you sent it, i've been stewing over how to respond because y e s. for context, check out this post to save discourse on main (this is about to be a long one of fan critic analysis, get your popcorn and settle in if you wanna read, this is the longest post i've ever made), im gonna put my thoughts and response under a read more, sososo many spoilers under the cut read at your own risk

These were all in the replies and tags and I want to reply to all of them bc they're all worthy of being talked about bc i feel like the majority of the fandom is almost scared to critique?? So like let's talk about it since nobody else seems to be taking this approach from what I can tell (thank you to you anon for being on my side as well as the rest of you who are screaming with me) I will begin by saying that my original post is not critiquing ally the player, or any of the other players. i understand that they were in that dome, filming a session of dungeons and dragons, and improv acting and roleplaying for many hours on end with back to back episodes. i kind of get ally and the rest of the table maybe just wanting to "hope for the best", especially ally as they are quite a "hope for the good in others" type of person. it's frustrating from a viewer perspective sure, but i totally dont blame anyone ever for making a "wrong" or "non-optimal" choice while playing a ttrpg, they just have the misfortune of being filmed while doing so. i myself have made tons of bag fumbles while playing dnd, even when i thought everything through ten times over. so anything i have said or will say forward isn't to put any shouldering on to the people playing these silly storybook characters, like, i Get It

What i do want to critique is the fan response, which is the more worrying one!!! like i said in my original post, i was surprised by my d20 watch buddy having a similar response to ally. the total "oh, maybe she's just quirky bc of the self isolation, maybe she's autism rep" approach. my friend, love her to death, is also one of those "sees the best in others and hope everyone is always aiming to be their best selves" type of person, very similar to ally. i came online after that episode expecting everybody on the fanbase level to be screaming with me in a "i told you so!!" way

instead. i came online and saw people just on the attack and the defense in absolutely skewed ways!! out of NOWHERE, all these fans have come on to post about how "tim was patronizing her, and thats why she stole the book" "wow i would have hated being called girly and honey as well" "wow these conversations really didnt go their way why was tim so mean to her :(" or the opposite of "rapunzel is the evilest person to ever exist bc xyz these princesses are evil villains" or "we need to protect these princesses bc they just didnt know any better uwu"

i feel like, on a fan level, me and you anon (+all these lovely folks in the notes of that post) were the only ones screaming "hold on, that is literally not the same media i just watched"

i've seen before a lot of people be like "wow, media literacy is at an all time low" and i never really understood that until i saw the reactions after that episode. as a fan or viewer watching any media, we have the privilege of seeing more about the media than the people who are creating it. that's the best joy of being a viewer, we get to sit back and spot those foreshadowing moments and bite our nails in suspense when the music goes creepy and see the artwork and overall, we have the privilege of catching vibes that maybe those acting in it do not. this leads to those bonding moments of "i told you so" "wow im biting my nails and pacing" "oh they're gonna REGRET that". and, an "oh my god no no no do not hug her she wants to take your book god now she's feeling you up with her hair she's looking for the book ROLL INITIATIVE!!!!". it leads to glorious moments of ~dramatic irony~, a literary term for literally when something is happening in a story and the readers can catch it, but the protagonist probably didnt bc they're not seeing the full picture. While watching, from my perspective, yeah it was frustrating to watch the player bag fumble turn after turn, but it's a game of dnd, they film so many back to back, they don't get the same experience as us. however.

brennan did a great job at dropping the foreshadowing, to the point of not even so much subtly foreshadowing, he DIRECTLY TOLD THEM rapunzel was a liar and uses her words as knives. like someone pointed out, the players even PAID for that information, with the golden bridle. by the time they met these princesses, they probably knew the most about rapunzel's true nature over all the other princesses, that she uses her charisma to her advantage. the players made their choice to do the diplomatic route, to split up and chat. ally did the right thing for picking rapunzel with tim's 19 charisma stat, it would have been charisma against charisma, and an even playing field for someone they have been explicitly told is a master of words and deceit.

as fans, we've seen these episodes edited and put back to back. clues are lined up in a row. was it frustrating to see ally playing tim in a naïve way? sure. but tim's been pretty naïve this whole time, so you could stack it up to a character choice. what's more frustrating is seeing the responses of viewers being blindsided by the book thieving and chalking it all up to "evil vs good" and rapunzel's choice shaking them to their cores.

by this point in the story, by the time you get to that episode, rapunzel already gave enough bad vibes with the talk of her charismatic deceits and with her hair everywhere spying on them. maybe that last one wasn't explicitly stated, but it was heavily implied to the point of gerard writing the plans on a note instead of wanting them said out loud by elody, a scene that happened way before tim's. by the time we see rapunzel get to the kitchen, she is INSTANTLY catty. someone described her on the post as "eldritch regina george" and. yes. exactly. eldritch regina george. from our privileged spot as a viewer, rapunzel comes in, puts on the fake smile, puts on her fake tone, and says "what are you doing in here? :)". she was already ready to fight timothy. that first sentence was hostile. she was OFFENDED and checking on tim to make sure mother goose wasn't counter-spying. i honestly didnt think that would have to have been explicitly stated, she was in attack mode and plastered the fake smile for a show so that she had the upperhand in the conversation that was about to happen. this is something that fans should have at least caught on to right off the bat, we've been explicitly told that she is fake more than she is honest for the sake of being a "performative person"

the conversation happens, and she starts becoming more verbally hostile. "i dont know, what SHOULD we do hehe. it's ruined now :)" "no use in crying over spilt milk *pours milk with hair on the floor with a smile* oh no :)" "...or if it was on purpose :/ :)" "why dont you go get a mop :)" "i chose to be charming :)"

every sentence she replied with was carefully chosen. as viewers, we can watch brennan's face in full clarity of intimidation. we can have the knowledge that has been provided to not trust rapunzel as she is a charismatic spy who has words for knives. in my opinion, even without those clues before now, her show that she put on in the kitchen should have been enough as is to show that she is acting maliciously and with hostility. the smile is there as to not incite physical violence on tim's part bc then it would make TIM look like the bad guy if he attacked first. by the time she goes in for the hug. im sorry. but ally the player should have caught that, the whole table should have caught that, and-more importantly-the fans should have caught that. we all watched the same thing. we have all been told the same information. to purposefully ignore all of the red flags just to pull a "well tim was kind of mean and patronizing, and rapunzel doesnt have social skills from being locked in a tower, i forgive her, wow i didnt see that coming" is absolutely *batshit*

the lack of people catching on is what concerns me. i've met TONS of people growing up (sorry here, im all for women's wrongs, but mainly cis-girls tbh) who act like rapunzel does. from middle school and high school bullies/mean girls. mean girls at college. from parents or teachers or bosses. from normal adults in my life. they always have the same tone and inflections in the same places. the same faces with the wrinkled nose. the same sickly sweet smile. brennan played rapunzel, a known manipulator, perfectly. to a T. he embodied it fully. people JUST LIKE RAPUNZEL walk amongst us every day. i can guarantee you that even these fans that didnt catch it have met people like rapunzel in their own lives.

rapunzel is a character yes, but she is a character that mimics a masterclass manipulator. she IS the mean girl, the regina george. it leaked out of her every word, tone, and inflection. every single thing told about her and shown was, in no world, some "uwu the sweet bean was locked in a tower and doesnt have social skills". that was her origin, her start point. just like sleeping beauty locked in a castle, snow locked in her coffin. rapunzel directly says "i chose to be charming. :)." she had her origin of no social skills, her sad origin of being locked in isolation in her tower, and said "this is my greatest flaw, so i am going to dedicate my life to improving this skill bc it's what stopping me from achieving my goals." she trained her social skills to be good. too good. so good that she hopes nobody will catch her sweet charming self in the act of malicious intentions. this. was. directly. stated.

it worries me on a psychological level of the fans. yes it shows a lack of media literacy, something is frustrating on a fan-to-fan level. it shows a lack of ability of critical thinking. it shows a lack of ability to participate in dramatic irony, a necessary literary device to instill tension into a horror campaign. but also, and to what is probably my main point in this novel long hot take: it has real world implications. mean girls like rapunzel are a guarantee in life. i'm sorry, but it's true. maybe the person acts differently, maybe they aren't as obvious or more obvious. but these people walk amongst us. they use the same tone and same cadence to their words. these manipulators see what they want, and devise a way to convince the person into giving them what they want. rapunzel did not use the Charm Person spell, or the Friendship spell. She used. her words. like a normal human being. and by doing so, we as the fans were able to catch on and should have had a moment of "RUN GOOSE, RUN AWAY, NO DONT LET HER HUG YOU". but instead, a lot of people turn a blind eye to these manipulators in their lives. they pull a "aw but they have a tragic backstory, they're just confused and need love :/" "they cant be THAT bad..." they see a sweet little smile on the face and an upticked tone of voice, and go "well, they're playing nice, so now i have to play nice bc otherwise im the bad guy here" which!!! you do not!!

this is exactly how manipulators worm their ways in, this is what ALLOWS manipulation to work in its various forms. it's how people get trapped in abusive relationships. it's how people get scammed. on a personal end, i lived a narcissistic manipulator for a long time growing up, and it was exhausting. once you could put down the rose colored glasses and see right through the act, you notice how every inch of their mannerisms are performative. everything they say and do comes with the caveat of them wanting something from you and are trying to butter you up in the meantime. if you catch and call onto it, they IMMEDIATELY turn on you, they sneer and retreat to their next target who it will fool. the cycle continues, the next target is selected.

on a fan level, if we as fans cannot play into dramatic irony as a practice, if we cannot exit our seats of mind to catch on to those "eldritch regina george" quirks at the bud in a piece of fictional media where the puzzle has been handed on a silver platter, then there is a l o t more work to be done on 1) general media literacy 2) ANY fandom perception on media and 3) general awareness of how to spot and deal with manipulators in real life. if you can't catch on to it in a silly fictional ttrpg media, how do you expect to catch on to it in real life? how many of these same fans are trapped in manipulative relationships around them? how many more will they fall for bc of the "oh no but they have tragic backstory so it's forgiven uwu"? as fans, you cant sit there in the same breath saying that tim was condescending to rapunzel and then follow it up with not noticing what was ACTUALLY happening in real time. if you wanna say that rapunzel was ALLOWED to be a manipulator because of her origin, what other manipulators are you defending in your real life? how many of these manipulators continue their tricks BECAUSE they know naïve people exist and will fall for it? how many have been enabled in the same cycle bc it worked on one so it'll work on the next?

i wish i had a fun way to conclude this absolutely massive chunk of fandom critique gibberish, but i just dont. i wish i could find a more comprehensive way to scream about this, so take this post as me SCREAMING about this, anon my dm's are open if we wanna rant some more

[abbatoirablaze]

Princess & Bunny, Chapter 7

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: mentions of being drugged, manipulation, coercion/manipulative sex, unprotected sex/smut, spitroasting, double penetration, knotting/spining, a/b/o sex, filmed noncon sex, morally grey characters.

The party was raging on around Princess and Ransom.  He’d returned in a sour mood a few hours before it started, growling on about how Harlan wouldn’t just tell him what he wanted to know.  And Princess, feeling neglected, just had to poke the sleeping panther. 

“Just forget about her, Hughie…”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Ransom growled at the needy omega.  Princess whimpered and his jaw clenched, “I’ve already left Linda a message…when she finally decides to pick up her phone you all are going to have a lot of explaining to do…you all tricked me.  Made me think it was you instead of-“

“Instead of Bunny!” she finished, shooting him a glare, “yeah.  Because Linda couldn’t let Bunny ever be the one who fucked up.  The news killed our father, and she blamed me.  She was always the perfect fucking angel…but you’re mine, Ransom.  Not hers.  You shouldn’t have even been in her roo-“

“SHE’S MY MATE!” the alpha roared, finally losing his composure, “TAKE WHATEVER IT IS YOU THINK I OWE YOU, AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS, PRINCESS.  YOU MANIPULATED ME INTO THINKING THAT KINGSTON WAS OURS.  THAT YOU WERE MY MATE INSTEAD OF BUNNY!  YOU AND LINDA.  I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT THE WHOLE DRIVE BACK HERE!  YOU MADE HER STOP HANGING AROUND ME WHEN YOU TWO STARTED PRESENTING.  YOU MADE IT SO THAT SHE SPENT ALL OF HER TIME WITH MY MOM AND THAT I WAS STUCK WITH YOU!”

“You wanted my attention, Ransom…whether you’re willing to admit it, or not…”she huffed.

“Well, I’ve realized that I wanted the wrong twin all along!” he spat, “now just do me a favor and leave me the hell alone until Linda comes and picks you up!”

“Hey doll, what’s got you lookin’ so sad, huh?” Bucky asked as he watched the needy omega glare at Ransom, “you and big brother having a little fight?”

“We heard you two arguing this afternoon while we were setting up,” Steve frowned sympathetically as he wrapped his arm around her waist, “are you okay?”

“He can be so cruel sometimes!” she whimpered tipsily, looking between the two strong alphas, “it’s always about Bunny…I just want to be good enough for once.”

“Oh sweetheart, you’re perfect,” Pronge offered, walking up to the brothers and her.  She sniffled and he handed her his own red solo cup, taking her empty one off of her, “if he can’t see that, then he’s as dumb an alpha as can be…”

“Yeah…” she sniffled, taking a long, heavy drink from the cup.  She went to hand it back, but Pronge only shook his head.

“Keep it, sweetheart…better yet…I can grab us some more…and we can head up to my room?  You don’t need to be around all this garbage…you just need some alphas that want to pamper you,” he offered, shooting his brothers a wink when she nodded, taking another drink.  Bucky and Steve’s eyes lit up, “we can all sit down and listen to you tell us all about what a mean alpha old Ransom is…how’s that sound, pretty girl?”

“O-Okay…” she sniffled allowing Pronge to lead her up to his room, “you know what the worst thing about it is?”

“What’s that, pretty girl?”

“I gave him my virginity,” she whimpered sadly, “and it’s like it didn’t even matter.”

“What a shame!” Steve added in as they started up the stairs, “that asshole…”

“I know,” she huffed, “I-I just had sex with him not even last week too…I’ve never been spined or anything, so it was new…and my pussy hurt so bad after because nothings ever been in there.”

“You’ve never…played with yourself?” Bucky asked curiously.

She shook her head, whimpering against Pronge’s shoulder, “even in heat…Linda always said that it was wrong so I-I’ve never-“

“Aww, it’s okay, kitten…we’ve got you!”

Steve raised his brow and Pronge shot him another wink, mouthing ‘heat powder.’

Steve smiled, leading her into Pronge’s room.  That’s when he noticed just how she was acting.  She was shifting around like her clothes were too itchy, and a thin line of sweat appeared at her hairline.  She took another few sips of the beer before putting it down on his desk, “is it hot in here to you guys?”

“Probably just you not used to the alcohol…you know what you need to do?”

“Hey-wh-where’s Bucky?”

“Oh he’s just grabbing us some more beer,” Steve smiled, “but you know…Pronge’s right…you’re so new to partying, you’re probably not used to the beer…if you’re feeling hot, you could always take off your dress…”

“Wh-what?” she giggled, “but then I would only be in my underwear…”

“I-I think one of my old girlfriends left one of her skirts and a top…might be more…comfortable…” Pronge offered with a shrug, “that dress looks really uncomfortable…”

She frowned at the suggestion.  She hadn’t thought about just how the fabric felt, but thinking about it, it did seem a little itchy on her skin.

“Y-you wouldn’t mind?”

“Oh, not at all, sweetheart!” Pronge smiled, already reaching for the schoolgirl outfit that he’d had from his various roleplaying outfits that he’d film his exes in, “you know what though…that underwear might be uncomfortable too…might as well just…take that off…”

“Y-yeah…” she said nervously, “I am feeling a little…uncomfortable with them on.  Thanks”

Bucky walked in with fresh beers, not bothering to close the door behind himself.  The men smiled as she took the schoolgirl outfit and began stripping down.  Already, the instant heat powder was working its magic.  Her nipples were pebbled, and the boys could smell her slick. 

Bucky growled and another wave of slick collected at her entrance.  She turned around, the outfit snugly fitting her.  Her breasts could nearly be seen through the thin white material of the shirt, and the skirt barely covered the round globes of her ass.  She bent slightly back to the desk for the cup and the three men growled, seeing her slick sex on display. 

But it was Bucky who had already unzipped and dropped his jeans.  His hardened length stood at attention as he started in behind her.  She yelped, nearly dropping her cup as Bucky’s large, calloused hands ensnared her hips.

“Bu-Bucky…”

“Shhhh…relax, pretty kitten…this dog’s got a bone to bury…deep in your perfectly wet little cunt.”

Another wave of slick poured from her entrance.  Bucky smirked as he lined himself up, the tip of his cock already collecting some of her wetness.

“I-I’ve never-“

“Let us think for you,” Bucky alpha commanded, “just relax and take our cocks like a good little needy omega…”

“O-okay…”

“Steve…you get her mouth…”

“With pleasure,” the blonde smiled, licking his lips.  Princess moaned when Steve appeared in front of her, “get on the bed, sweetheart…Buck and I are going to make you forget all about Drysdale.”

Princess was a mess. 

She’d been used up by Steve and Bucky, but they weren’t the only ones.

No one had bothered to close the door, and from downstairs, most of the frat brothers could smell the woman in heat; artificial or otherwise. 

So, when the alphas came up and saw her getting spit-roasted by Barnes and Rogers, they started lining up. 

She’d been at the house for nearly a week and was only meeting some of his frat brothers when they decided they were going to have a turn with her. 

Princesses eyes rolled into the back of her head as Curtis’ knot inflated inside of her pussy, his cum painting her walls, just like Barnes’ did before him.  She was panting as she needily rode him, the knot tugging at her entrance. 

Curtis growled, his nails creating crescent moons on her hips, that was sure to create bruises in the morning.

Princess was fucking herself on his knot, taking every ounce of his seed that she could get. 

Meanwhile, the man who had started it all, Pronge, was eagerly allowing his frat brothers to line up, encouraging them all to take a turn with Drysdales’ sister while he filmed it. 

Curtis growled as another alpha stalked over, “Wanna see how much she can handle?”

“Fuck off Storm!”

“Then get out of her pussy,” the playboy smirked, “me and Colin wanna have a go…and either you lay down on the bed and we take her throat and ass, or you clear out…”

He gave another growl but pulled his half-hard cock out of her with a harsh tug, his knot giving a hefty popping noise as he left her cunt a sopping mess, “enjoy sloppy thirds…asshats.”

Johnny didn’t care though. 

“You want her cunt, ass, or mouth?”

“Mouth, all day, baby,” he smirked, “see if she can handle me while my knot hits the back of her throat…”

“Anyone cool with taking her cunt while I take her ass and Colin takes her mouth?”

Another one of their brothers, Lance Tucker stepped forward, “you guys know I’m always up for some gymnastics…”

“Please,” Princess whimpered, her fingers already buried knuckle deep in her pussy as she tried to hit another orgasm.  Her back arched and the three alphas growled, seeing her pussy already fucked raw, her clit swollen and heavy, and her body covered in a thin glossy sheen, “need you alpha…alphas…please…give me your knots…”

“God, I love college,” Johnny smirked, picking Princess up as though she weighed nothing.  Lance  grinned, already stripping down, as he laid on the bed.  Princess whimpered watching as he gave his hardened length a few good pumps, “ready, Tucker?”

“C’mere omega…” he growled seductively.  The omega shivered, and the boys smelled a fresh wave of slick collecting at her entrance, mixing with her two previous partners’ cum, “gonna show you who the god of this pussy is now…”

Johnny helped place her on him, impaling her with his cock.  The omega panther moaned, throwing her head back as she felt herself being filled by his length, “Alpha…”

“Ready for another cock, baby?”

Princess nodded eagerly as Colin kneeled on the bed, his length almost out of her reach.  She whimpered, opening her mouth, “Please alpha…need…need it all...”

She yelped, shooting up when she felt Johnny behind her, his cock tapping against her ass.  But it was Lance who growled, pulling her back down onto his length, hard and fast.  She nearly howled out, half in pleasure half in pain from being slammed down on his cock. 

Colin took advantage of her mouth being opened, and grabbed her by the hair, only to fill the open hole with his own cock.  She nearly choked as he bucked hard into her mouth, not bothering with any foreplay. As she caught her breath, Johnny wasted no time in collecting some of the slick from her thighs and spreading it over the head of his cock. 

And without warning, he slammed into her, stretching her virginal rosebud around his own girthy length. 

“Oh, fuck, omega,” Johnny growled as he seated himself in her ass.  He bucked his hips gently, sending her forward on Colin’s length.  He slapped her ass and Lance growled again as he pulled her back towards Johnny and himself, “we’re gonna have fun with you alright.”

Everything hurt. 

Her jaw felt sore. 

Her pussy felt raw.

Her ass felt like it was torn in two.

And her head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. 

Princess whimpered as the light trailed in through the window.  As she raised her arm to try to block out some of the light, she realized that the pain extended to her joints as well.  Opening her eyes, she noticed the bruises on her hips and arms. 

But worst of all, she felt an unbearable pain in her neck.  Her fingers reached up, and her mouth opened in a horrified gasp.

She’d had a brand new mating mark in place of the one that she’d gotten removed.

And worst of all, she didn’t remember who she’d gotten it from.

Chapter 8

Tag List:  @lohnes16, @tenaciousperfectionunknown, @prokey16, @magnificentsaladllama

[bonesandthebees]

Btw, I promised Dune thoughts, didn’t I? Let’s get into it. Apparently they changed a shit ton from the book to be able to fit it into the film. Can’t really comment on the changes, cuz I haven’t read the books and I don’t plan to. Spoilers from now on for my fellow anons btw.

Movie Chani is very different and you can pry her from my cold dead hands. I love that girl. She goes through so much shit. Idk, I just love how she’s the only person to not fall for this planted project (the only surviving one anyway). And part of it is the fact that she didn’t believe in it in the first place, so did her friends, so they back each other up and it’s nice and it influenced Paul too. But then she gets to know him, and she sees him at his most human, right? She sees him at his most vulnerable and after his nightmares and that “I with love you as long as you stay true to yourself” or whatever the exact words are is killing me. Because her love had always been conditional and she made that choice and stuck to it and she was forced to be part of a prophecy she didn’t even believe in in the first place and I am ILL.

Then there’s Paul. Poor boy had his future set in stone, yet he still made the conscious decision to go there. He wasn’t dragged into it kicking and screaming. He willingly drank the Water of Life. He doomed himself (and everyone else in the process). And it’s just so interesting to watch the shift, because the more people follow, the more he denies it, the more he sort of surrounds himself with people who don’t believe even when his mentor is the most loyal believer of all. And still he makes that choice. And it’s to protect other people, right? Because he couldn’t see and he couldn’t predict and he could have saved them if he had seen, so he needs to see and he needs to take that role, but once he does everything shifts. My man literally dies, comes back wrong, walks in all arrogant, gives ONE speech and raises an army to commit not 1 but 2 genocides within the space of a day, then kills of half of his remaining family and starts a intergalactic war. Completely insane.

Quick little aside about the filming itself, because the start and the shots and there’s so much non verbal communication. Really using to medium to it’s fullest with the way it starts like we are one of the characters, crouched in the sand, looking around, equally confused. It’s so fun. And the visuals are all gorgeous. And it’s just a lot of subtitle story telling that I feel I can’t fully grasp without having read the books, but appreciate all the same.

Anyway, Bene Gesserit. I am Intrigued. I am all here for the planning and the scheming. This is so interesting but also so morally bankrupt on so many levels. They really feel like this all powerful force that’s fully in control of everything happening in the universe. Idk, it feels like even the emperor himself is just a puppet to them. And the princess is more aware, and well trained, but she’s still only in control because they allow her to be in control. They allow her to have power and should she become too much of a threat, they would probably end her just as easily as they tried to end the House of Arteries. Idk. Anyway, we like badass women and we support their wrongs in this household.

Lastly, Jessica. I feel like she’s the one who started it all. It’s been a looooooooong time since I watched Dune part one, but isn’t the entire catalyst that she was meant to have a daughter, but she fell in love and Leto wanted a son, so she gave him one. (And maybe she knew she had a promising bloodline and wanted to try and see if her son would have been the one.) To me, her character seems to be this combination of love and this life long manipulation that has led to arrogance. She is so terrified until she drinks the water of life and then she becomes absolutely ruthless. She’ll do what it takes to protect her family and she’ll sacrifice everyone else to get a way out. But at the same time the “You should have believed.” Sorta shows her own arrogance again, this belief that she had before that her bloodline was good enough (when her son never asked for any of this).

That’s enough for now. Not sure if I have more to say anyway. Enjoy the ramble!

-🌲

YESSS DUNE THOUGHTS. I also haven't read the book so we are in the same boat

god I love Chani so much. she's SO interesting. the fact that she and her friends were part of the Fremen group that don't follow the religious legends of Lisan Al Gaib so she never approaches Paul thinking he's this messiah, but just thinking that he's interesting and seems to genuinely want to learn and understand her culture means so much. he's just a person to her. she falls in love with a boy and sees the parts of him no one else does. she sees his nightmares, hears his fears, learns that he doesn't want to be this messiah even though everyone else is trying to push him towards that future. she tries to hold onto him so he has an anchor to the human being he is instead of this myth, but the prophecy must be fulfilled. and chani is forced to have a hand in completing that prophecy against her will. god. my heart.

paul is also very interesting as a character because there's so many facets to what's going on with him. like, he's being pulled towards this destiny that's been predetermined for him through centuries of bene gesserit interference. everything happening around him is telling him he has to go down this path, it's the only way. and he tries so hard to fight against it. because he knows he's not any real messiah and that the abilities he has is only the result of his mom's weird witch cult, and even the religion itself was planted by the bene gesserit as well. it's all outside manipulation of these people who have been subjugated for centuries and he doesn't want that, he doesn't want to hold this false power and especially not to lead so many people to their deaths. but like you said, he steps into this role willingly in the end. yes, there are outside forces pressuring him, but he drinks the water of life all on his own. and then boom it's genocide time.

(also, before I saw the movie I saw a meme on twitter describing the water of life as "the juice that makes you worse" so that's literally how I kept referring to it in my head the entire movie. he and jessica both drank the juice and got So Much Worse)

the film itself is SOOOO gorgeous and the elements of filmmaking are so well utilized. denis villeneuve the man that you are. he uses so much subtle storytelling just through the shots and the colors and everything like that. and yeah that opening scene is fantastic. great way to really throw the viewers back into the deep end.

I find the Bene Gesserit so fascinating in all of this. like it's very clear they're the ones who really control what's going on in the larger galaxy. none of the houses will make a move against another without getting permission from the Bene Gesserit. but of course the movie also makes you wonder what their end goal is. what exactly are they trying to accomplish with Arrakis? and what's the princess's role in all of this? like you said, it very much feels like she's only has power because the Bene Gesserit allow her to. so I'm just curious what's going on with all of them.

ahhh Jessica I love her she is so unhinged. yes, in the first movie it's mentioned that she was supposed to have a daughter, but instead chose to have a son. from what I've heard about the books I believe that if Jessica did what she was told, she was supposed to have a daughter, and then that daughter would give birth to a boy who would be the Kwisatz Haderach. but she decided to skip ahead a generation and have a son. it was her love for her husband that first led her to disobey the Bene Gesserit, and from there she wanted to protect her family and see her son ascend to what she believed was his rightful place as the Lisan Al Gaib. it's so jarring to see how different she is before she drinks the water of life and afterwards. she knows now, she can see what she believes is the only way now, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the best ending for her and her son. and of course, she's incredibly arrogant about it all at the same time. I love her there's so much wrong with her.

[haemosexuality]

i went insane rambling on the tags of this post about princess bubblegum and ran out of space so i copy pasted it here so i could finish writing. under read more bc idk

tbf i dont think i would say pb is like... Good. well actually. wait. im gonna go on a rant.

i think it depends on how we classify ''good''. what makes someone a good person? what makes someone evil? thoughts or actions‚ past or present‚ etc. i honestly dont think i can firmly say bubblegum is either good or evil. shes one of the few truly morally grey characters ive seen. like

no matter what you think makes someone good or bad she has most certainly been bad in every single way. and also good in every single way. hm.

. she is not a naturally empathetic person. thats not to say she doesnt care about people‚ she does‚ and sometimes those feelings influence her actions a Lot even if she doesnt realize it. but also‚ even when it comes to those she cares about‚ emotional empathy is a struggle. shes the definition of thoughts over feelings 100% scientific brain facts and logic. she is Very egoistical‚ she likes being in control and having power over people (not bc shes power hungry per se but bc thats the best way to keep control over others. shes Logical. and if she has control than nothing can go wrong)‚ she likes not being questioned and she did and still does often disregard other peoples rights and privacy to get what she wants and to be on top/have control over them. she does care‚ about a bunch of different things in a bunch of different ways‚ but caring about someone/multiple ppl and naturally feeling empathy are different things. she needs to make an effort to take other peoples feelings into consideration‚ and while not feeling empathy and etc obviously has absolutely NOTHING to do with morality‚ the thing about pb is that most of the time she does not make that effort‚ and actively does things that hurt other people for her own gain‚ or for Science™ or the Kingdom™. she doesn't care ab how other people feel or their privacy and she does like government crimes and mass murders and a surveillance state about it. she cares deeply about her people for example‚ but not really them as individuals‚ shown when she likes fucking kills them or put cameras on their bodies etc. shes more worried about them surviving than their autonomy. she cares about finn‚ but specially at the beginning she treats him more as an asset than anything‚ and does shit like implant a gps on him without him knowing. and while shes Always liked control and been all logical alpha brain and shit‚ and struggled with sympathy‚ she used to care a lot lot more. or better, she used to Allow herself to care and to love and to feel‚ she build herself a family because she felt lonely and she loved marceline deeply. but like the post and the show said she kept being hurt and she needed to protect an entire kingdom alone‚ which meant repressing all that to fucking hell and back. so she slowly just build up and let her ''no sympathy no feelings only Facts And Science'' side rule until she forgot anything else

and thats how we meet bubblegum in the show: manipulative and head of a dictatorship and with no one she truly cared about close to her, doing awful awful things and not taking time to remember about others. what are morals. being just so very fucked up

like

your thoughts and brain and whatever do not make you evil. your actions do. but her actions are terrible and she does the things she does bc sympathy and caring do not come naturally for her, but being waaay to super mega smart and wanting control Do and she has hardened and isolated herself enough that she has no one to like, pull her out of that. keep her in check. remind her to make an effort to consider other people.

in the show, we see her begin to try and be good again. by letting other people in, by letting herself feel, letting herself be a Person outside of being a Princess and a Ruler and a Scientist, she begins to make that effort again. and bc shes like a war criminal that comes not only in the form of apologizing for those who are or were close to her and she was awful too, but also destroying the surveillance system and stop spying on people. she tries to begin having good actions. she realizes what she had been doing, and feels guilty about it (for... probably the first time honestly. she was very indifferent about it before. everything she did was the most logical thing to do, after all.) i say shes still firmly morally grey tho bc while shes no longer like Evil, she still. goes back to spying on people and etc. shes still Like That, just toned down. all that show that while shes getting Better shes still not good, and probably will never be, because thats just how she is. crazy scientist manipulative pink candy princess. shes the best

she was also never truly evil tho bc even at her worse her actions were not to cause harm! Most Of The Time! and when they were to cause harm it wasnt just bc she was idk a sadist or something, it was with a goal (usually the neutral goal of Science or the good goal of protecting her people) in mind! Theyre still not excusable tho bc they did cause harm! a lot! to a bunch of different people! and like she does care a lot she loves marceline she loves finn she loves netty and she loved shoko but she just doesnt KNOW how to love people and all of those feelings are like behind a brick wall in her brain so she just tries to science everything out and it doesnt always work. like ARGH such a good character. such a good morally grey character. i ❤ bubblegum. i love watching the show and flinching at all the terrible shit she does and being like jesus christ bubblegum what the fuck

anyways here are more good pb analysis

xxxxx

i want to keep ADDING THINGS but this is huge so im just gonna reblog a bunch of posts ab her now goodbye

[noirhistories]

Welcome to Antioch, JEN BLUME ! Local sources report that you’ve been in town for YOUR ENTIRE LIFE and are known to be HELPFUL yet SECRETIVE. Others have dredged up rumors that you’re involved in THE VAMPIRE OF ANTIOCH as JEFF BLUME’S TWIN SIBLING, but most know you for your work as a CASHIER at ONCE UPON A BOOK. We’ll see you around town soon !

BASICS

Character Name: Genesis 'Jen' Yvette Blume Nickname (s): Jen (she doesn't care if you use a J or a G), Sisi, Blossom, Princess Face Claim: Florence Pugh Birthday: May 1st Place of birth: Antioch, Oregon, USA Zodiac: Taurus MBTI: ESTJ Moral Alignment: True Neutral Sexuality: Bisexual Occupation: Cashier, former florist Place of work: Once Upon a Book, former employee of LoveCrafts (fired) and Secret Garden (quit) Subplot affiliation: The Vampire of Antioch 3 positive traits: Helpful, detail oriented, patient 3 negative traits: Manipulative, Secretive, vindictive Languages: English Love language: Physical touch

TRIVIA

Believes herself to be psychic

BIOGRAPHY

tw: death, one mention of suicide

You came out seven minutes after Jeff and he never let you forget it. You were the baby and you played up to it, letting everyone think you're so dainty and that you need protection. But they were all wrong because the only person you ever needed was your brother.

It was a stereotype how close you and Jeff were. Most siblings you knew fought constantly and hated each other, and sure, the pair of you could fight, but you would also burn the world for him. At nine years old, you spilled lemonade on a sleeping bag and screamed about how one of the most popular girls in school peed the bed because she hurt your brothers feelings. You were never doubted and never caught.

At ten, when a boy put gum in your hair and you had to cut it out, your brother stole a letter opener to cut his bike tires. Jeff was caught, but everyone understood by that point - The Blume twins were a unit, you always fought against both of them.

So when you lost Jeff, of course you lost part of yourself. You knew long before they ever found Jeff's body that he was dead, because he never would have left you, and the way you grieved for the lost part of your soul long before the cops ever came knocking caused more than a few heads to turn in your direction once the Blume name blasted across televisions and newspapers.

Did she do it? They whispered, gossiping about how much the codependency you were known for had rotted away at your better judgement. After all, they murmured behind hands, Jeff could never leave now. No one would ever have the chance to be closer to Jeff than you.

They were right about that, but it didn't mean you were guilty, and you didn't give them the satisfaction of saying anything.

It wasn't only the people suspicious of you, but the cops as well. You went to them when Jeff first disappeared and they wrote you off as some foolish, ditzy blonde that bought into too much mysticism. Claiming to know someone was dead because of a feeling seemed the realm of psychics, and the law doesn't believe in those.

So much attention was put on you, and part of you wanted to scream that the attention belonged to Jeff. There was a funeral that needed to happen, a remembrance, a hunt for the real killers. You were so angry at them, and sometimes that seemed like all you could feel, no matter your best efforts.

You were always good at growing things, but the new life of blooming plants while your brother was cold beneath ground was suddenly too unfeeling for you, so you quit your job as a florist.

You tried to feel alive again and keep from replaying the ways all those people could have died and the way one simple change might have saved them by throwing yourself into an affair, becoming the other woman without concern about who you might hurt.

It wasn't really a surprise when you ended up fired, but it was a shame because you'd been enjoying the job. It seemed as though without Jeff, all you did was keep finding ways to implode, doing it so quietly that no one even noticed.

You heard once that when women committed suicide, they were more likely to do it in a bathtub because they were aware of the clean up that would be left for others. Considerate even on their way to death. You understood that. You recognized and resembled that, even when you wished that you didn't.

But you couldn't fade away, not when someone out there hurt Jeff. As long as the guilty party was out there, you would remain quiet and waiting because after all, the Blume twins are a unit. Hurt one, and the other hurts you back.

CONNECTIONS

Wanted Connection #1: Someone that she was having an affair with, a coworker she got caught fooling around with and she/they ended up getting fired for it.

Wanted Connection #2: Someone that suspects she or her brother were somehow involved in the killings. She and her brother were incredibly close and people think Jen has changed since losing her twin, just like the details of the crimes have changed.

Wanted Connection #3: People close to her brother! Best friends or exes of Jeff's that Jen keeps up with and looks out for, or who check in on her. Or maybe even people that she hates for not doing enough for her brother and keeping him from getting killed.

[theunboundwriter]

The Prices We Pay Characters

Link to WIP Intro Here.

Kendyleigh // An immortal girl who struggles to find her place in the world. Just when she's thought she's found it, it's ripped away from her and all of the relationships she's built are destroyed in a single night. She finds herself on a quest to avenge the death of her only family, losing her sense of right and wrong along the way.

Jack // A young boy who meets Kendyleigh by pure luck, and their life of isolation comes to an end. They live happily together for five years, and the same day Jack turns eight, he loses his life in the crossfire caused by Kendyleigh's immortal secret being exposed. Now trying to navigate being a spirit, Jack aids Kendyleigh on her quest to avenge him, but he does not have the heart to tell her that he doesn't think it is a good idea.

Dane // One of Kendyleigh and Jack's earliest friends in the Kingdom of Highcalare. He easily gets into trouble... sometimes his morals are a little twisted.

Prince Barrett Daniel // The soon-to-be crowned prince of Highcalare. Aside from his father hunting down the immortal he befriended, Barrett is being forced into an arranged marriage with the Princess of Breyca to fortify the peace treaty between their two kingdoms.

Hesperus // A tax-evading potato farmer that lives just on the brink of the Kingdom of Highcalare. He's the first person Kendyleigh meets after her secret is exposed, and one of the few people to show her kindness without an ulterior motive.

Cassiopeia // A werewolf girl in hiding from her brother and his group of unhinged wolves. She meets Kendyleigh while she's on the run from the King and his army, and the two of them decide to go into hiding together, keeping each other company and sharing stories with one another so they don't forget their humanity.

Lyra // A child vampire that is only looking out for her friend.

Diantha // A kitchen witch that seeks revenge on the Kingdom of Highcalare, striking a deal with a demon to help aid her in her quest on evening the score with those who wronged her.

Raelle // The demon summoned by Diantha who pulls at strings from the safety of the shadows to manipulate the actions of the people around her.

King Lochlan // The King of Breyca, who is considering going to war with Highcalare on account that he is given a staff created by the Gods to assure his victory.

Haven and Forest // Twin "wanderers" who join Kendyleigh and her quest just because it sounds like fun and they've got nothing better to do.

Captain Circe // The Captain of The Amphitrite, a ship that is stolen by a ragtag group of kids while he is asleep below deck and finds himself waking up in the middle of the sea with a curious group.

Jasper // The mer whose curiosity got the best of him and he joins this strange group of sailors.

Alistair // The Great Nokory Fire Dragon posing as a human so that he won't have to be alone anymore.

Princess Arabella // The Princess of Breyca who is being sent off to marry a Prince she's never even met. She just hopes that Kendyleigh girl will hold up her end of the deal so that she can use the staff to destroy Highcalare from the inside and marry the girl she actually loves.

Linnea // Breyca's mage and the girl that Arabella actually loves.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO EXO COSMIA, SUZAKU KURURUGI. 🌑

ꕥ — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: lati age: 26 pronouns: they/them ooc contact: @yorozuyas_ other characters in xc: goro akechi, oz

ꕥ — IC INFORMATION;

name: suzaku kururugi age: 20 pronouns: he/him series: code geass canon point: post r2. app triggers: suicide ideation, colonialism, terrorism, genocide, war, patricide, mind control

personality: someone who once believed if the means were wrong, then the ends they resulted in are pointless. he had strong ambitions and truly wanted the world to be a better place with as little bloodshed and innocent lives dying as possible. a world built on hatred and violence was empty and filled with regret.

however, this point of view was slowly stripped from him over time. suzaku holds a lot of compassion in his heart and puts others before himself, but after so much loss, betrayal, and manipulation, he couldn’t continue forward as such a caring and merciful person anymore. he cares dearly about those close to him, but those close to him have also hurt him the most. and he’s in turn hurt those close to him. he lives the lie of a righteous knight fighting for justice.

suzaku abandoned his morals for the sake of a peaceful future, and became resigned to how much death and destruction he’s caused. against his will and of his own will. he hates himself for it and many other reasons, but he lives with it. he has no choice. he may seem cold and antisocial, but he’s a boy with a warm heart that truly does care about his friends. his smile is sweet, though it is only seen occasionally. he can be a little silly once he’s warmed up to people, and treasures moments where he gets to live something like a normal life, though he doesn’t expect that sort of thing any longer.

something your muse struggles with: he is living a life that has already ended. your muse’s greatest strength: unyielding loyalty and dedication to whatever he may be fighting for.

history / background: suzaku is the only son of japan’s former prime minister, genbu kururugi. he is also the murderer of his own father, a choice made by 10-year-old suzaku to end the war with britannia in japan. publicly, this death was understood as a suicide, and a surrender to britannia. japan officially became area 11 of the holy britannia empire.

it was not long before this that suzaku met lelouch and nunnally. a prince and princess of britannia. they lived at the kururugi household and became suzaku’s close friends. however it was short lived, and lelouch and nunnally were taken to live somewhere else after the war had ended.

after this, suzaku had decided he would dedicate himself making sure his decision was not in vein. he joined the britannian military as an honorary britannian, and found himself on the front lines hoping he could eventually change britannian from within. however, there was also apart of him being consumed by the guilt of what he did–and by constantly putting himself in danger, he may die. both of these things were a form of atonement, but he truly did want to work towards changing the system from within. he wanted to save people, and kill as little as possible.

in doing this he was reunited with lelouch, became a knightmare pilot, went to school, fought against the terrorist group the ‘black knights’ lead by zero, was dubbed a traitor by the people of japan, met a princess euphemia and became her knight, stood by her side as she wanted to create equality for the japanese. but then lost her to the hands of zero, which became the focus of his hatred and revenge.

zero was revealed to be lelouch, and suzaku brought him to his father to decide his fate. suzaku became a knight of the round in order to work up through the ranks to be able to rule an area of his own. he kept an eye on lelouch who had his memories rewritten, yet zero had resurfaced regardless. during this time suzaku no longer was able to hold the same compassion in his heart as he originally did. he realized he had to kill in order to reach his goal, and became feared as the white reaper.

the united federation of nations is established by zero, and suzaku is convinced lelouch’s memories have returned despite having no evidence. he tries to use both nunnally and kallen(one of lelouch’s closet friend’s and the captain of zero’s guard) to confirm that lelouch’s memories have returned, however refuses to stoop to lelouch’s level. lelouch is pressured by his father’s existence threatening his sister’s safety and reaches out to suzaku and confesses his memories have returned.

the two talk and come to some kind of understanding, yet lelouch is taken into custody by britannia anyway–believing suzaku had sold him out yet again. regardless, lelouch escapes. another decisive battle against britannian starts, and suzaku under the influence of lelouch’s geass (given the command to live), prioritized his own life against his will and fired a FLEIJA warhead that annihilated nearly the entirety of the tokyo settlement, area 11’s capital. with millions of deaths on his shoulders, he can only laugh at the destruction he’s caused.

these events have further pushed suzaku into a state of resignedness, and he now believes the ends do justify the means. suzaku’s goal is to now kill the emperor. which he and lelouch do together, and suzaku winds up working alongside lelouch after doing so all to carry out the plan that is “zero’s requiem”. lelouch would become the new emperor and have all the world’s hatred focused on himself. suzaku kururugi would die in battle as lelouch’s knight.

the world would be stuck under the thumb of the treacherous emperor. and on the day everyone who opposed him was to be executed, zero would appear and take emperor lelouch’s life and everyone’s hatred with it. suzaku was punished to live out his life as zero. suzaku kururugi is dead. and he would sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the world as zero.

a punishment he accepted.

powers / abilities: N/A

inherent abilities:

- LIVE. lelouch once used his geass on suzaku to order him to live. this means if suzaku is in a near death situation, he will always prioritize living. through suzaku’s own will power, he’s turned this geass into a buff of sorts for his fighting capabilities. he can activate it at will in order to win a fight.

items / weapons: - lancelot albion. the third iteration of the lancelot unit, a fifteen-foot tall knightmare frame developed by the britannian research and development organization. lauded as one of lloyd asplud’s greatest works, it was specifically created to be piloted by suzaku kururugi. the frame itself boasts an immense amount of power, but the ability to use the machine to its fullest potential is owed to the young man that mans it. as the lancelot albion is a combat-oriented knightmare frame, it has the additional features:

landspinners - driving wheels attached to the lancelot’s ankles that allow it to move about quickly on land or scale heights quickly

blaze luminous - shields made up of energy which are on each of the lancelot’s limbs. this is typically used for defense but can also add in additional force in close-handed combat

energy wings - a structure made up of 6 blaze luminous shields in combination with float theory, allowing the lancelot to fly and attack people with condensed crystal shaped fractals of energy and light

factsphere sensors - radars built into its shoulders that pick up on visual and thermal information in the outside environment for pilot

slash harkens - wire cannons that are stored in its limbs which can be used for offensive, defensive, and/or travel purposes

super V.A.R.I.S. rifles - three double-barreled mecha-sized guns that can switch between multiple ammo types, those including a laser gun (hadron cannon), normal bolts, and full burst (explosive ammo). two are stored on its sides while one sits on its back

mvs - short for “master vibration swords”, they are twin blades which, when extended to their full size, change from a cold white to bright red. it employs high frequency vibration technology to slice through metal and stone alike easily.

cockpit - this one is actually capable of ejection compared to previous models!!!!!

- arthur. a black cat that suzaku took in a couple years ago. they’re good buddies, but he still bites suzaku sometimes… - britannian knight pin. given to him by princess euphemia when he became her knight. he keeps it on his person most of the time. - sword of zero. the weapon that slayed emperor lelouch, given to him by lelouch.

starting ability: n/a starting item: britannian knight pin.

extra:

suzaku our bi icon

crazy depression and self worth issues but we can fix him guys

he can outrun a machine gun. trust

since he is “zero” he’s just wearing zero’s outfit when he gets here ok…

discord id: traitorknight