#let people have different interpretations

[bohemianblasphemy]

Heist.

Billy Butcher x fem!reader

You and Billy team up for an undercover mission in Vought Tower to corner a target for information. Pretending to be a couple was proven to be more realistic than you both bargained for.

Contains: canon violence, gun use, jealous butcher, Mr and Mrs Smith vibes, Billy turned on by reader being a badass, incel vibes from a target, Smut, Car sex, unprotected P in V, creampie, Oral (f! Receiving), handjob, bad writing

A/N: Is it after 3am as I post this? Yes but we back with some Billy goodness! I hope you enjoy ✨

The Boys had a new target - Stan Edgar’s assistant- who was linked to Homelander’s next shady gig, and you were gonna find out what it was. And what better way to get to that information is to be undercover at Vought’s annual celebration of the Seven?

Frenchie, with his self proclaimed ‘Jack of all trades’ skills managed to scrub up some phoney invites for Butcher and yourself, made up with fake aliases - an English tycoon and his brand owner girlfriend- totally inconspicuous.

“You right there, love?”

Billy’s voice cut through the moment of disassociation you were experiencing, wall-flowering the cream colour marbled decor of the Vought Tower walls.

“As good as I can be being in this fucking hellhole, plus my feet are killing me in these heels.” You replied back, pupils raking in his all black suit.

His shirt buttoned all the way to the top and dressed with a tie- it was such a different sight of his usual attire, but did it look hot?

Absolutely it did.

His eyes grazed over the floor length strapless dress that hugged your figure, your hair pinned into a messy updo with a striking red lip that pulled the entire look together.

He thought you looked so damn beautiful…

With a clear of his throat, he squashed those thoughts down into his chest - they both had a job to do.

“Frenchie, have you got eyes on the target?” You murmured, hoping that the ear piece could pick up your hushed tone.

“Target is all the way over in the corner of the ballroom, Mes Amours. Get yourselves over there, pretend you love each other.” Frenchies crackled voice was laced with a teasing tone, before cutting off.

Butcher sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, but couldn’t help the flush that danced along his collar before turning to you, feigning that smirk he always adorned with.

“Shall we then, love?” He offered his arm, which you took a little too eagerly. He didn’t take mind to it - after all It was just for show right?

Right?

Making your way through the crowd, the overwhelmingly pretentious ‘I’m richer and better than you’ conversation was the hot topic amongst the wealthy guests invaded your ears, almost threatening to give you a headache.

Your eyes swung to glance at Butcher, his expression slightly stern as he observed the room. There was no way of steering your attention away from him, not when he looked that good in a suit.

“You’re starin’…” his gruff voice hit your ear, making you snap out of your hypnosis. “Lookin’ at me like you wanna jump my bones, sweetheart…” pressing a kiss to the shell of your ear.

The action brought a sudden spark to your system- was that apart of the act? Or was it real? Your brain was in overdrive as you tried to interpret what it meant.

Stop it. Focus.

You cleared your throat, trying to ignore what had just happened. “Jesus, you’d think these people would at least have a personality.” You feigned a chuckle to change the subject, bringing up the pile of the snobs that were lined up like sardines on the floor. He chuckled, letting it go this time. “Nothing in those brains of theirs love, only money in their pockets.”

Scanning around the sea of people as you settled in your own little corner, your eyes fell on the target who was attempting to chat up one of the many beautiful women in the room- only to be rejected once more.

The scowl on his features was amusing to say the least, similar to how a child would look if they had their iPad taken away from them.

“Eyes are on the subject Frenchie, I have an idea…” you spoke without faltering your expression as you turned to butcher. He raised a brow at you, an expectant look formed as he waited for you to explain your plan.

“Go over to that bar, wait for me to give you a signal.” You created a gesture for butcher to recognise. “Wait what’re you gonna do?” “You’ll see, trust me.” You gave him a reassuring squeeze on his bicep, eyes flicking to his before turning on your heel as you strutted toward the target. Billy watched as you swayed your hips just that little bit, his unsavoury imagination picturing what you would look like with that dress ripped off of you-

“Butcher, what the fuck is she doing?!” Frenchie spoke into the ear piece, a mix of concern and annoyance, giving poor Billy boy a fright. “Fuck knows, French. Just keep an eye out if this go sideways yeah?” Billy sighed, before making his way to the bar- a whiskey on the rocks being poured for him as he watched you like a hawk.

You took a deep breath as you approached the wimpy assistant, hearing him muttering to himself about how ‘all women are the same’- great, one of those guys.

“Well… hey there.” You grimaced at your sham seductive voice, but it didn’t seem to faze the assistant- his attention turning to you. “O-oh hello, um… I’m uh-“ he fumbled as he muttered his name, as he tried to straighten out his suit jacket and adjust his greasy hair.

“Cute name… I’m Layla.” Your fake name rolled off the tongue unnaturally- again, another pinch of cringe filling your being. “What do you do with yourself?”

As the conversation progressed, Billy leered at you from the bar as you flirted with the subject. Watching how you twirled your hair around your finger as you gazed at him like he was created by God herself, swatting your hand against his chest when he supposedly said something funny. He knew it was all fake, but the grip he had on his glass gave away how he truly felt, along with his scowl and flared nostrils.

“Why don’t we…” you whispered, coming close to his ear- your breath tickling his skin. “Go somewhere… private?” You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, twirling a finger around his ugly patterned tie.

The man was flushed, nodding rapidly at your offer, his forehead sweating with nerves. “Come this way, there’s an empty office down the hall.” He grabbed your hand, starting to lead you down a hall, beyond the makeshift barrier between the rest of the building and the ballroom.

Your head swivelled in butchers direction, twitching your head to signal him to follow before disappearing into the hallway.

Billy slammed his glass on the bar counter, bee lining to your direction. His thoughts were running rampant with jealousy- wanting to be the one who you were giving bedroom eyes to, the only one that your delicate hands would touch.

He was determined to make sure you knew that you were his, and he was yours.

Turning that corner down the hall and following the sound of your heels, Billy gets a glimpse of an office door- the one that you and the object of his jealously had just entered.

As he reached the door, he saw you perched on a desk, the target moving to stand between your thighs to press sloppy kisses along your neck and chest - Billy’s entire being filled with hot rage and envy as he slammed the door, alerting them of his presence.

Your eyes landed on butcher, smirking as your plan had worked - the asshole was stuck in a room with you two, no where to run or hide. “Cmon man, can’t you see I’m about to get lucky here-“ he couldn’t finish his sentence before you grabbed him by the throat, squeezing it.

Billy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, sure he had seen you take down criminals before but… doing it in a dress and heels? It was doing things to him.

“No fucking way that you’re getting all this.” You grumbled, pulling out the pistol that was strapped to your thigh, pressing it to his temple.

“We have a question for you, and you’re gonna answer them- or…” you pressed the cool metal against his temple. “Your brains are gonna be all over this fucking office.”

“Fuck you, you fucking bitch!” He spat, trying to make a grab at you before Billy yanked him away, slamming him to the desk, his arms locked behind his back.

“Right, cunt. You’re gonna tell us what Homelander is up to, or someone’s bollocks is gonna be cut off and shoved down their throat.” Billy bared his teeth, a death grip on the man’s hair. “I’m not telling you shit-“ he grunted in pain as butcher lifted his head and slammed it against the counter again.

“You will be, or this pretty lady right here-“ he pointed to you. “Is gonna blow a crater into that head of yours. Now, you gonna spill? Or is she gonna paint this nice table with your cerebrum?”

The assistant was silent, trying to writhe out of Billy’s grip, not before you lay a backhanded slap against his cheek. “Answer him, fuckface.” You were aggressive, but that slap was just the tip of the iceberg of what you were capable of.

“Okay fine!” The man whined, making you and Billy look at each other in confusion of how quickly it was to make him break.

“There’s a - a secret lab, a bunker in the Bronx. They’re creating something - like, a stronger dose of V. Homelanders involved with it. They’re using people as Guinea pigs and they’re dying, That’s all I know. Please let me go, please don’t kill me.” He pleaded, tears brimming his eyes.

You looked down at him, a faux pout contorting on your lips. “There you go… see what happens when you do as you’re told?” You smirked before the butt of your pistol hit his temple and knocking him unconscious, his limp body ragdolling to the ground.

“Subject is down, Frenchie. We have the information and heading back to base.” You said into your piece, hearing Frenchie confirm that he had received your message.

Butcher stood in place, his blown pupils never leaving your figure as you sat perched on the table, raising the skirt of your dress to put your gun back in the holster.

He couldn’t take it anymore, moving to plant his feet in front of you- pressing himself to your front. He pulled up your chin, making you look at him- taking your surprise.

“Fuckin’ hell love, seeing you do that…” his calloused thumb pulling down at your bottom lip, smudging some of your lipstick. “Drives me fuckin’ crazy, always has.”

A small chuckle left your lips, pressing a chaste kiss to his thumb- all those teasing words and small touches exchanged between you both since you both met all lead to this moment... never to turn back.

“Watching me slapping people around turns you on now does it?” You purred, straightening his jacket and tie. “Mmm… yeah. Makes me wanna fuck the shit outta-“

“Oh mon dieu, don’t dirty talk on the job.” Frenchie groaned, cockblocking the situation to save his poor ears.

Butcher let out a laugh, putting his forehead on yours. “Bloody hell, making me forget we’re on a job there.” His eyes averted to the unconscious body on the ground.

You rolled your eyes as he stood up straight again. “Let’s get outta here then hmm?” You said softly.

He nodded in agreement, taking a hold of your hips to shimmy you down the furniture piece, pulling you into his side as his arm extends around you- his palm just above your ass.

As the pair of you exited, there was a shout down the hallway- security guards had noticed the barrier had been moved, catching you both in the restricted area.

“Shit run!” Billy practically dragged you further down the hall- searching for any way out - anything to get out to the car. Your feet ran, trying to ignore the grief of pain your shoes were giving you through your soles.

“Frenchie we need a way out right fuckin’ now.” You said, your words becoming breathless. “There’s an exit on your left at the end of the hall, the closest way to get to the car. fous le camp de là!” The Frenchman’s now frantic tone cut off, you both had to run and get out of that tower.

Your hands pushed hard on that door as you reached the exit, the home run towards Billy’s Cadillac not leaving room for any fault. The security guards started to threaten their use of weapons, the familiar sounds of rounds clicking in their hand guns.

You winced, starting to limp from the poor choice of footwear. Billy noticed you falling a few feet behind, turning around to get back to you- picking your arm to sling over his shoulder to help carry you the last few hundred meters.

“Nearly there, we’ve got it love.” He reassured, his free hand reaching for the keys in his pocket - becoming in range to unlock the car as you approached.

As soon as you both reached the car, the sound of shots echoing in the alley way rang in your ears as he threw open the passenger door, pushing you into your seat and slamming the door as Billy slid over the bonnet, getting into the drivers side.

There was no time to strap in, Billy putting the pedal to the metal and screeching out of that alley way, dodging any bullets ricocheting towards the car as Billy reached top speed, twisting through the bustling New York streets.

“We can’t go back to the hideout just yet, gotta lay low somewhere so we don’t compromise the others. That alright?” Butcher glanced over at you as your fingers took out your earpiece before fiddling with the fastening on your heels, a breathy sigh of relief as you freed yourself from them. “Y-yeah… that’s okay. Let’s get to a secluded spot.” You replied softly, the exhaustion from your escapade was chasing after you.

He chuckled as he watched your relieved face from being able to rest, taking out his ear piece.

It was silent for a while, the outside landscape dissipated from the city lights to more natural surroundings.

“You did well, sweetheart…” he complimented, pulling his signature smirk and placing his hand on your thigh, giving you a reassuring squeeze before pulling back. “So damn good…”

A small giggle and teasing smile came over you, a swipe of your tongue over your bottom lip as you watched him drive.

“Mm… I could hear you praise me any day.”

“Trust me lovey, I’ll give it to you in abundance.”

Your hand snaked down to his own thigh, moving agonisingly close to where he wanted you most- your palm rubbing up against the smooth fabric of his clothed cock.

He let out a deep sigh through his nose, his arousal spreading through his body - the feeling of your hand on him was more addictive than any drug he had ever taken.

“I cant wait any longer, I’m pullin’ over.” Billy huffs, drifting down a dirt path- travelling a few kilometres to a secluded area concealed by trees and foliage.

Putting his Cadillac into park, his darkened gaze turns to you. “Get in the back, now.” He ordered, his words pooling in your core. Without a word you unbuckled your seatbelt, opening the car door to get into the back- draping over the leather seats.

Butcher followed suit, taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie as he crawled over you- his lips pressing against yours hard, almost bruising as he desperately sought out your taste.

Your hands pulled at his dark hair, a deep growl from within his chest spilling into your mouth as he moved his lips to your neck, sucking on the sensitive skin and coaxing moans and his name to fall from your kiss bitten lips- sounds he had longed to hear.

“I’ve waited… too fuckin’ long for this.” His voice was husky as his lips trailed down your collar, before flipping you over onto your stomach. “As much as I love this dress on ya, I need to see what’s waitin’ underneath.” He smirked as he took hold of the zipper and pulled it down, your back becoming exposed to him. “Oh I’m sure you’ll like what waiting for you…”

Billy peeled the rest of your dress off of your body- admiring the arch of your back, the roundness of your underwear covered ass as he ran his large palm across your skin- hooking his index finger under the material to pull it down your thighs, leaving your silken cunt on display for him. “So fuckin’ wet and I ain’t done nothing yet.” He chuckled, running his finger through your delicate folds, earning another delicious moan from you.

“Billy… please - do something.” You whispered, desperately needing some relief on your aching core.

He adjusted himself behind you, his strong fingers holding the apex of your thighs open as he leaned in close, his hot breath hitting your center- his tongue dragging flatly against your cunt, savouring your taste before dipping back down, lapping at your clit.

The way he felt against you was unbelievable- that mouth of his was to die for. Your hips uncontrollably bucked up against his face, moaning at the sensation of his dirty mouth bringing you to euphoria.

“God Billy… fuck!” You whined, unable to stay still before he dug his thick digits into your ass cheeks, holding you in place as he continued- not stopping until you came hard on his tongue. “B-Billy I-i can’t hold- please, Im gonna cum…” you breathed, unable to hold your head up as your thighs shuddered- a high pitched moan erupting from within you as your orgasm washed over you.

“Such a good girl, so sweet…” he grumbled as he dragged his tongue over you once more, manoeuvring it over your slit- pressing a kiss to it before turning you around onto your back.

He kissed you with that same lusty passion as he did before, feeling your hands unbutton his shirt to reveal his chest. The soft defined muscles, tufts of chest hair, faded scars and freckles that riddled his chest left you in awe, your fingers touching his hot flesh as you worked them down to the hem of his slacks.

You worked fast to unzip them and pull them down slightly, giving you room to release his cock from his boxers. His hard length was leaking pre cum as you ran your delicate fingers over it- slowly and softly pumping it, earning a grunt of pleasure.

Billy panted, burying his head into your neck. “Feels good-“ he managed to get some words out, but your actions made him feel like putty in your hands. “Someone likes that…” you purred, biting down on his earlobe.

“Fuck love I need to fuck you, I can’t take it.” He breathed, swatting your hand gently from his cock.

He made sure you lay comfortable in the back seat, before sitting on his knees in front of you, running his length along your wet cunt - before sliding himself into you with an audible grunt, your tight walls squeezed around him as you let out a cry of sinful sounds.

“ move, please…” you whispered, grabbing onto his shoulders as he began to thrust at a faster pace. The car began to rock, the windows began to fog as Billy took you- his palms kneading your breasts as he watched your sensual expressions, motivating him to fuck you a little faster.

His thrusts never faltered, his mouth falling open in the overwhelming feeling of being in you, finally having you…

“So fuckin’ tight, and all mine…” he bit down on your shoulder, causing another cry to burst from your lips.

It didn’t take much time before his thrusts became sloppy, his cock throbbing to announce his release. “Gonna cum- fuck…” he gritted his teeth.

“Fill me up, I want it. Give it to me…” you pulled at his hair once more, a higher pitched grunt filling the Cadillac as one final thrust made his orgasm wash over him as he rutted his cum deep within you.

Billy lay there for a moment, deep breathing coming from both of your bodies before his hovered above you- giving you a warm smile and pushing some hair away from your face.

“Beautiful…” he muttered, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. You smiled back up at him, a soft blush crawling across your cheeks. “Who’d have thought that the mission would end like this?” You chuckled.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, love…”

Tags <3: @bluemerakis

[milkywaydrinker]

I've been rotating this thought in my mind for a while: People in fandom have a very weird fixation on age gaps.

There's a tendency to instantly assume an age gap is always bad or problematic but it's not the case at all, especially in fiction and doubly so for a human/non-human ship.

The most recent example would be Kit and Jentry (from Jentry Chau vs The Underworld).

Let's start from the general topic: When is the age an issue?

Most rational people acknowledge age gaps are pretty common in real life. Between adults, an age gap isn't as much of a problem because we're dealing with people on the same stage of life, a 24yo shouldn't have any issues dating a 30yo just by the virtue of one party being older. They're both years into adulthood there's no moral or legal argument to make there.

A 30yo dating an 18yo raises eyebrows because we recognize the difference between their lives experiences, it's still not immoral or illegal but many would find it suspect due to a potential power imbalance compounding with financial dependence or adult life experience. It still doesn't necessarily mean the relationship is exploitative or abusive just because of the age gap but the probability of it is way higher.

The age gaps between minors can be similarly suspect just as in a case of a minor and a freshly minted adult. Things like that need to be carefully evaluated on a case by case basis.

Now, to the point: fictional characters dating non-human/long lived/immortal characters when is it problematic and when it doesn't matter at all?

The fictional narratives often play around with what age means for an immortal character, how they perceive the passage of time, how they grow and change with time, if at all?

In case of Kit, the narrative positions him in a similar spot to Michael who's a regular highschooler. He behaves in ways consistent with a teenager too, socially clumsy, not very developed emotionally and impulsive just like Jentry. The only mark of his age we can see is the compounded trauma he carries with him.

He has no social advantage over other characters, no financial advantage, no maturity advantage as his lived experience in society is so different and fragmented he cannot reliably pull from it to have an upper hand in any way.

That's why it personally drives me a bit crazy when people pull the age gap card as if it matters when it's the least relevant part of why he should never be together with Jentry. With so many other, serious red flags about him, throwing an absurd "pedophile" label diminishes the angles of possible character interpretation. It makes people miss out on all of the things that are actually wrong with him that should be talked about more and are leagues more interesting.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

...sighs

looks like i owe my sibling 10 dollars ← betting that the sonic 3 episode would come out

(the following is my live reaction:)

so Costco, eh? and with Meggy, Melony, Mario, and Bob? This will be interesting

as always, you gotta have your conveniently placed "World's Biggest Meat Grinder" there ofc 😌↕️

Bob... PLEASE REPHRASE wtf dude

not in this economy, no (not even eggs are worth it)

new bed? wait what happened to the...oh

"you're not my friends anymore" [*gets war flashbacks*] oh god, there was Mr Puzzles, then Tari, and now Melony got this line

"Ink, they reused old audio before" and yet the pattern is there. Puzzles and Tari feared that they were gonna lose the people they held dear. And if Melony had this as a nightmare, the same can be said. As to why, hmmmm *game theory theme starts playing*

uh anyway here's Melony being cute :)

fun fact for the day: NEVER LEAVE MARIO AND BOB UNSUPERVISED

can we get them in those kid backpacks with leashes?

Meggy, what are you talking about? We HAVE to get the racecar bed!!

also Meggy don't say that word, the fandom's already going insane over the steam and flareglow mystery as it is ← says a theorist who has already gone crazy

y'know I should've suspected a racecar bed to be an actual car (I was close tho)

never thought we would get this Mario and Bob dynamic again and y'know what? I'm all for it! It's a nice different flavor of chaos I could get used to

It IS important, it's to see the mattress's durability and stiffness bc back pain is just awful (there goes your spine). plus, we aren't getting one that was found by the dumpster

can we get a pillow fight in an episode? SLEEPOVER EPISODE?

things would've been worse if we were in IKEA, Meggy

oh... we got Leggy again...

well, a new thing is that she can change at will. BUT I think it kinda defeats the purpose of Leggy "off to a better place" back at WOTFI 2024. I think it could've been done better at a different episode when her past trauma overwhelms her and turns into Leggy, even more if Mr Puzzles escapes and finds her. I know for a fact that no one has gotten therapy and Meggy did say in the New Year's Special that those were traumatic memories.

Basically what I'm saying is: Meggy thinks her trauma (as well as everyone else's) is past them bc Mr Puzzles is in solitary confinement when it's really not, and THAT will eventually reach a certain limit ← this could've been executed better if Leggy wasn't in this episode and let Puzzles marinate some more, hopefully that makes sense

also Leggy's screams kinda give me sensory issues but that's me thing ANYWAY BACK TO THE EPISODE

ofc if you find the perfect bed, you're already dead asleep :)

THERE'S THAT LINE AGAIN, I'm telling you it's foreshadowing

AND AGAIN AUGH

love the Danny Phantom theme add-in

...WAIT NONONO YOU CAN'T JUST LET IT PASS BY WITHOUT ME NOTICING THE SAME BED USED IN WESTERN SPAGHETTI

"...Ink" Just let me me have my moment of exaggeration, I'll come back to sanity in a second

hey, i'm just living proof that a theorist brain can go haywire at the smallest things

"I work everywhere" Shroomy 🤝 Karen

FLASHBACK TIME YESSSS

...oh....can we talk about this for a second?

The fact that Melony's past has been recontextualized again and again, it somehow makes sense. Well, kinda.

All of Melony's memories are through HER point of view. We can take the conversation between her mom and dad as true but we might not know how far this problem is.

Hear me out: in the role of a child, you would view your parents as friends (depending on how much you see them caring for one another) since the concept of romantic relationships/marriage is a bit more complex to know at that age. It's why Melony interprets her mom leaving them as the friendship ending between them, "you aren't my friend anymore". Again, Melony was pretty young when it happened but it truly stuck with her, and this mentality of "friendship ending = losing them forever" as she had it with Axol Jr. in that nightmare (the closest thing to Axol when she lost him) and then to her friends.

Now, I'm not sure if I should include the memory trip from Revelations (bc of her not remembering having a family at all) but regardless, I think Melony blames herself for her parents separating in the first place. It's normal for children in a scenario like this to believe they are the cause. As said in Revelations, Melony thought she was a "bad daughter". And in the nightmares she had, SHE believes to the cause of losing those friendships as well.

There is still that gap of time between her growing up to when she debuted on the show so the question is: did she leave her dad behind bc of the past guilt she had? And perhaps had even more guilt afterward to leave her dad by himself after everything?

The image of a perfect family in Revelations and her being the "bad daughter that has forgotten about her family", it's pretty sad to think about, and no doubt I feel bad for her :(

EVERYONE NEEDS THERAPY STAT

Mario being the voice of reason, we love to see it

guys, it's not a baby smh /silly

oh good Melony's okay... right?

and the episode ends, we got a bed at least :D y'know, it's just another Saturday

Congrats to alex-dolmatescu2-0 (here on Tumblr) for your art being featured at the end credits! 🎉

we're just not going to think about the implications as to why the Team decided to pick it for this episode, still great fanart tho :)

also this,

i think it was an editing mistake lol (...or IS IT? jkjk)

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Well, chat, this is a good episode. I wouldn't say that it was a life-changing, plot-driven episode but it was okay.

Ofc I did love the Mario and Bob dynamic and some depth on Melony. There were definitely things, like the Leggy part, that could've been executed better/be placed in a better episode.

The year has started so I don't expect much to be absolutely perfect from the Team, they're trying. I still enjoyed it, don't get me wrong.

Then there's stuff whacking at my theorist brain but we don't need to talk about that.

And apparently, we got a new member on the Team, Max Sturz (also known as WizardzWiz)!

They're the writer and storyboard artist for the SMG4 show so hello, welcome! Very excited to see what they're gonna be working on in the future!

(so for future reference, I'm gonna call them Wiz)

That's all from me. I'm just gonna be in my little tent until SOMEBODY responds to the steam + flareglow mystery. Remember: numbers always go first, and I'll see you guys on the next one!

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

BTS Tea Session

Disclaimer: No facts, all alleged, just interpreting the cards and messages I get.

Now that out the way. I got some wild messages here, so here you go, hope you enjoy, because I did enjoy this one, although some were a bit difficult to get through.

Jin

So, he is showing me some sort of pact that he can't back out of here. This helped him climb up the ladder and the pyramid. I feel if he backs out there will be some strong consequences, like it may not be good for him. It is like you may the deal, we got you to the top, no backing out. So, he's got to keep working. I see him being mentally tormented about it. He seems to get a lot his disposal, like things were giving to him. He was able to rise to fame, even though there were plenty of obstacles in his way to get there. Billie Eilish's Birds of a Feather is popping up looking at this page of cups, so not sure what that means.

I am just getting, you made the deal, you made your bed, lay in it. He is giving me that they have to appear like a family, be it with the members or the company. To be a family unit and stick together, no matter what. I feel he wants to peace out and ride into the sunset, but he is tied down. Jin gives me someone with a lot of pride and a bit of an ego, so there is a desire to win and defeat the odds or the people who doubt him, not sure what that means. There is this need to defeat them, could be the company and rise above them. He might cause some problems, maybe wanting to shake things up, break a bit of the foundation. He wants them to pay up and pay him fairly for his work. He wants things to be restructured or changed. I see him advocating for fair payments.

Okay, stopping there, not a bad start. I didn't see him giving me much tea, but interesting start. I don't see that as too wild, but maybe I get too numb to all of this by now. Also, he gave me a lot of what I expected. Moving on.

Suga

I see him being upset, frustrated, disappointed, nothing new with this one. I get a sense of betrayal here. I see him heavily focused on the negatives. I don't see him appreciating all the good and achievements he has. He just seems perpetually frustrated, hurt and angry, sounds like a Pisces, alright let me stop, love ya'll though. He has this will and courage to face any obstacle that stands in his way. There could be someone he wants to stand up too, could be a feminine, a powerful one. I see him wanting to cut out associations or connections he has had in the past. This may have helped him gain global success. I see him being pretty stressed, losing sleep over this, not sure what this is. It seems like he wants to start fresh and new, have a new beginning. I am getting starting from the bottom. I feel like he may regret some associations he may have had in the past. It could do with parties and drinking, like what I got with RM, he could of been involved with that as well. I keep getting 3, so it has to do with two other people.

I got 3 of swords, 3 of wands and 3 of cups, there is two people involved here, this had to do with some advancement to his career, could be people he has worked with. But he keeps giving me he wants to distance himself from that. I see him wanting to leave the idol world and all the this shit it contains. I am also seeing something about backpacking, like he may want a whole new life. Wipe the slate clean. I see him wanting to move in a different direction. I see him wanting to defend himself and speak up, but could lack confidence. He may not rather speak on things, or he won't share much information about what he wants to do. It could be with the company. He may act like he isn't aware of much but planning something. It seems he wants to claim his money, so they may be withholding money of his and he wants to claim it and take what is his, that is how I see these cards. I think I got something like this in his last reading, but can't remember, anyway, stopping here.

Okay, felt he would give me tea and he did.

Jhope

*sighs* Another one who wants Justice. He is showing things being hidden, kept in the dark, dark secrets. He is showing me he is aware of the bullshit, the cloud has lifted. I see him wanting information, could be gathering information, trying to formulate a plan. There could be information he wants to bring forward, how that manifest I don't know. I am not sure he likes whoever this KOP's is, probably their CEO, most likely him. He wants to dip as well. He just isn't satisfied serving him anymore, I just heard greedy mother f*ck** Sorry that made me laugh. I wanted more for the KOP's and low and behold, the hierophant flies out, who would guess lol He orchestrates everything, has so much damn control. I am so annoyed in this energy. I don't like him. He is so money hungry, like the man on the card has a coin around his damn neck! All he cares about is money, not them, not their emotions, not how depressed they are. I heard, you gave me all of this, this is how you repay me, that is the man in charge saying that I feel.

I need to take a shot every time this 2 of Cups pops up in these readings. Once again, wanting more clarification and that popped up. What is this with cups and contracts, what type of voodoo here they do lol It seem he lost sense of himself, his strength due to this connection, like they break your soul and spirit, not sure how else to take these cards, so sticking with that. Justice card coming out twice in different decks, so he wants balanced restored. I wonder if he will take this person to court, because I sense that, but not sure it will happen. Because Justice is about law and order and the courts, so hmm, let's stay tuned. Pulled more, but not really getting anything else, so moving on.

RM

Omg, he is showing me exactly what he gave me in his career reading. This man is consistent, so a lot of swords here, once again got the ace of swords. I feel this man is leaking information, I feel it, because he can't really share it publicly, also I hear feigning innocence, maybe acting like he doesn't know things, but this man has a lot of information. But with this King of Swords, he may share it, or he is confident in what he knows and the information he has. I see him having regrets of the past, maybe about how he upstarted his career. Also, not able to utilize his skills how he may have wanted. I see him wanting to end things, maybe cut people out. He doesn't want to work in this environment he is in or the people he works with. I just sense he feels there is dysfunction, like things don't work as well. I see him wanting creative freedom, a happier environment. It seems he pours a lot of himself into his work and poured a lot into the company and the group.

I see him reflecting a lot. I think this isolating period has helped him to reflect and see things better, or he gained clarity on the things he wasn't aware of. It seems he wants to take control of his life and to not be as controlled. I feel he is coming to his senses. Once again, seeing he wants to start fresh and also wipe the slate clean. It is like they distort your view of reality. I feel there are drinks they give to do that, he is showing me cups again, that make me think of drinks being offered to them. It is like they offer them drinks and they don't think anything of it, but it does something to their psyche, like weakens them somehow. And this feminine energy is highly involved. She is a strong presence in HYBE I see, because I see this energy in Enha and TXT as well. I pulled another card for this strength card and guess what, the hierophant popped up, can't make this up if I try, so it has to do with the company and powers that be. It is a way to keep them controlled and in line, that is how I see it.

Okay, always fascinating to see his point of view and what he has to say.

Jimin

All pretty much have similar stories, with some differences. There is a strong burning desire to seek Justice and get fair treatment for him. I see him wanting to take a stand against whoever he wants to seek Justice from. He seems the most poised to take action as he represents the KOW's, this is a person of action. I see a lot of aggression towards this person as well. I do see this carefree energy from him. This needs to keep things together though. Or wanting everyone to get alone. So, this Star card of the person naked, just reminds me of what I have gotten from him in the past, refer back to their thoughts on being an idol part 2, selling himself for the industry. It is like he poured all of his emotions, and he may not even have any for himself anymore. He is quite drained. I see him being at odds with someone, taking a stance, or I am getting he tries to stay neutral and not take a stance. I can see him being put on display, being a money maker for the company. I see something difficult happening to him in the past, could do with what I mentioned before, there is shame there, a difficulty to move past it or recover from it.

His thoughts and memories are tied to this traumatic event. I see him doing what he can to not go back to those memories, trying to distract, which is why he is struggling to heal from it. He hasn't moved on from it and it sticks with him to this day. He also gives me JB vibes, along with Jungkook. I asked for a clarifier for the KOW's wanted more there, got Death rv, The Lovers and the Ace of Pentacles, this gives me something that is unresolved, a type of contract or commitment he had to do, to make money or move ahead, probably sleeping with someone allegedly. I didn't get the Devil card though, so not sure it was anything toxic, or something he was completely forced to do, but may felt he needed to, asked for another clarifier and got 6 of pentacles rv, so this is where the unfairness plays, he feels he may have had an unfair payoff here.

So, I wanted a clarifier for the fool card I got as well, because wasn't sure what that was about and got the King and Queen of Cups, this is a pair here people. There are two people who may have duped him, but they put on a guise of being very emotional and loving and nurturing, but he was fooled. OMG, I got the message molly wop, ya'll I heard that phrase before, but had no clue what that really means, it means "When a grown man beats another grown man as if he were a girl under the age of 10. Getting mollywhopped is not a regular beatdown, but a beating where the victim is so physically or mentally incapable of fighting back they go down like a little bitch." that is horrible, did this couple do that wtf man, is this why he is so angry. Ya'll had to sit here for a second and process that. If this is true, that is horrible and fuck this couple. It is crazy that they show up as Cups, meaning they acted very loving to him to fool him. Now, the 10 of swords makes more sense, the person on the card has swords on their back and looks beaten and defeated, that card can be referring to this instance. So, that card is basically literal. So glad I clarified that card, but not really with the message I got.

Oh Jesus, this dude had been through it. I am sending him healing message. More and more I learn why he is so disconnected and split.

V

I am getting secrets, lies and deceits. Once again seeing he is observed, many things happening behind the scenes. I keep getting this fool card for all the members basically, a need to clean the slate for them. I see him also gaining clarity and gathering information. I see that he is showing he is no longer deluded. He is seeing things for what it is. He does seem like he may have all that he needs, but he is not really satisfied, or there is this need for him to escape. Alright, need clarifiers cause not getting much else here. I wanted a clarifier for the moon card, not sure if this KOP's is him, since he is a Capricorn or their CEO, but see it being more the CEO. I see him believing he has created obstacles and challenges for him. He may have gaslight him. Sold him fantasies. But now he realizes the truth. It is like once these idols go to the Military and step away from the nonsense, they start to realize the bullshit and guise they were under, now that they are away from it. It is like once they are not immersed in it. They see things for how it really is, because their influence over them isn't quite as strong. Because I see him being aware of the lies and deceit and confusion they may have created. It is like everything has come full circle. There is a new awareness he has now.

I needed clarifiers for this fool, and I am seeing he went through a similar situation as Jimin, he may not want to confront or address it though. I got the High Priestess, the 3 of wands, which means him and two others involved, this also shows me not able to move on or get out of a situation. I got the King of Wands rv, which can be very dominating, aggressive, even abusive energy, and guess what else popped up!, the couple, Queen and King of Cups, so yeah, they are involved here too, and I believe it was the Fool card for Jimin they popped up as well. I tried to get more on this couple as to why they keep popping up and they seem to be important to their advancement and they have to go through them to get the success that they have. It is like they have to put them in uncomfortable situations, but they start off being very kind and generous and loving to open them up to them. This still makes no sense to me. I also did hear mollywop again when I pulled the fool card, so yeah. I am not sure why that word had to pop up, but I guess the guides wanted to make a statement with that and felt that word was the best way to send that message.

He also stresses about the connection he has and pours his heart to them. He doesn't want things to crash and burn. He tends to get stuck in the middle of situations. He would like a solid base, or for things to be stable. There is some rebranding and restructuring he may need to do with his connections. I do get a sense people ask him for money a lot and he may have been pretty giving in the past, but he seems to be getting a bit more selfish and not giving as much anymore, which good for him if true. I see him wanting to distance from these people.

Healing vibes for him as well. I sense he may handle things a bit better than Jimin though.

Ya'll I better not see this couple again!

Jungkook

So, I don't see the couple, but do see the 2 of cups, could refer to them, but not sure. I can also see that as him possibly knocking someone up, so going to need clarifiers for this one. I got some cards that could indicate a baby and baby momma, the lovers, ace of cups, 6 of cups and the ace of wands, so yeah, that is a possibility, will we know publicly or not, who knows. Or how accurate this is, but cards are indicating a baby here. So, 6 of swords could indicate bad news coming out, he also got the judgment card in the clarifiers, could this come out? Not that I see it as bad news, but we know how fans can be and how that could affect his career, but I feel like it wouldn't though for some reason. I can't see that happening. Remember he got the tower and ace of wands in a mini reading I did before of him, he may shake the world with baby news lol I will be real I don't believe what this is showing me though. I refuse to believe he will come out with some baby news, maybe it is a collaboration of some sort, idk, but that is what the cards are telling me, so whatever, moving on.

Okay, let's get to these other cards. There is this will for him to face any challenge that goes his way. He has a strong fighter spirit. And will push over anyone who gets in his way. I see him pretty cautious when it comes to his career. I see him wanting to keep things secret and hidden. I say he holds on to his career, his assets and what he has obtained. He can be pretty selfish about it. I see him trying to heal and work through his past. I see him reflecting and trying to get in tuned with his emotions. It seems he will be working on what he has been through and trying to grow as a person. And maybe working on forgiving and having compassion for himself.

So, I also see this Empress as someone who may plant seeds or create rumors around him, so it could be rumors and not truth or be proven truth about a baby. I can see him being put in a difficult situation and his hands being tied, not sure what that means. It seems he wants to head in a new direction. He seems unsatisfied and bored with things. I feel he is someone who needs a challenge, needs excitement, so he may try to do something that brings that out of him. I keep seeing him want to revolutionize things, be innovative and bring excitement and change to things, not sure how that will manifest, but he got the ace of wands, queen of wands and king of wands, a lot of creative energy there. I am also seeing a big collab with him, maybe that is what I was picking up on with the 2 of cups and the empress card, so it could be just that, but the king and queen of wands is two big stars together, so this could be the shake up and excitement he brings. So yeah, going to stop. I find him very intriguing, but girlie needs to close this.

Okay, at first his seemed really wild, but the more I read into it, I could be seeing a collab coming, so that will be fun if true, wondering what that is about. But looking back I did get the 6 of cups and that is about children, unless he treats his creative work as children, and the 6 of swords gives me another story, so idk with this one. I'll guess we will see.

So yeah, this was this installment, it was pretty wild, what I expected. Hope you enjoyed this tea session.

[shmisky]

Me, after finishing watching Gravity Falls and seeing the Stan twins sailing away together: The beginning of a dream! 🙂😀😃😄😆

Me, after finishing your meta about how Ford just dragged Stan back to their extremely codependent dynamic and Stan never goes to therapy to get help to deal with his inferiority complex: Everything went wrong! 😟😩😫😣😭

OH NOOO 🥺 Poor anon!! I’m sorry!! 🫂

Is this you? shejdkj

I was going to just comfort you a bit but then it got somewhat long again (I’m HOPELESS 😭), so... Under the cut.

Perhaps it helps to know that, when I said things would inevitably blow up here, I didn’t mean that in an ominous, dark way! I read a looot of fanfic, and in fanfic, the point of conflict is the climax of the story!

So, basically, in my head I imagine that once Stan accidentally makes his inferiority complex/feelings of worthlessness very, very clear in the worst way and moment possible (sorry, I just don’t have much faith in the communication skills of those two 😔), Ford would absolutely, firmly, and sexily shower him with love 😏 Like in those fanfics in which he worships Stan’s body to help with his insecurity 😳

And you don’t have to subscribe to my interpretation, btw! Not even Alex’s! That’s the fun of fiction! If you want to imagine them as more wholesome and functional, of course you can! 💕

I happen to love the codependency/most toxic aspects! It’s SO juicy for me 🧃

This actually reminds me of many people’s expectations and reactions to the finale, with Stan accepting Ford’s broposal being a big surprise! I’ve seen before fans saying that they genuinely thought Stan would reject it, after all what he went through, or that it would’ve been way healthier for Stan if he had rejected it.

I agree that this could have been healthier for Stan, and even, perhaps, the more predictable ending...? I don’t remember what I thought because I was a kid way too invested in Dipper and Mabel and Bill to care much about the Stans back then. But I think that it would’ve been a pretty classic ending!

They could have leaned on the “found family” trope. That even if Stan isn’t with Ford, it’s okay. Blood isn’t everything. Stan realizes his true family was there all along, valuing and loving him: Mabel, Dipper, Soos, Wendy... (never mind the fact Mabel and Dipper are still his biological family 😅) He realizes it’s time to step out of Ford’s shadow and be his own person (especially after he saved everyone in Weirdmaggedon and proved himself), that it was wrong of him to cling to Ford so desperately, and it was time to... finally let go...

I can easily picture it: Ford invites Stan, hopeful, but Stan looks at the horizon as his hair is tousled by the wind. After all the adventures in the summer, Stan learned so much. Stan is wiser now. “Nah, Poindexter...” [says some deep stuff about never realizing how dependent he was on Ford] Ford hesitates for a moment, then smiles sadly but somewhat proud of his brother, says he understands, apologizes for taking so long to understand Stan’s value. He also learns his lesson, one very different but no less painful than the one Stan had to learn. About humbleness, the consequences of the choices you make, etc.

He then stays in Gravity Falls as the local authority on anomalies whose help people can always count on as the Author of the Journals, while Stan, Soos, and Wendy take care of the Mystery Shack. I think it would be too sad to make Ford sail away on his own in a show about the importance of family so they likely wouldn’t go there. Or would they...? Ford could just permanently assume his narrative role as the Author of the Journals and keep sending the kids’, especially Dipper, updates on his new findings. They show Dipper receiving one letter from Grunkle Stan, and one letter from Grunkle Ford, separately. Their relationship with the kids (the protagonists) ends up as more important than their relationship with each other.

I don’t know about you, anon, but I think we did get the happier ending 🥺

Yes, according to Alex, they are both so damaged that they desperately need each other. But according to this same Alex, Stan and his brother are meant to be a parable that show what can go wrong in a family relationship, but also show that, with hard work and sacrifice, the rift can be repaired.

Also, to be honest... I just pity Ford 🥺 His pitiable regretful peacock swag unfortunately works on me. I want them to stay together codependently and kiss codependently on the mouth!

[musclesandhammering]

(sorry, I had to respond in a reblog because I ran out of characters in my reply)

I’m sorry if I had an attitude with my reply!! I feel bad about commenting now cause I usually make a point not to bring my anti attitude onto pro posts & vice versa. I really did get a laugh out of it just because of my *insert shocked Mr krabs meme* when I realised we were on different pages lol- not because I thought your tags were wrong, just because I expected it to go in a different direction.

I probably did let some passive aggression slip in there, though, just because I always feel like Dean is largely a fandom sweetheart (especially among shippers) and usually when he’s criticised, it’s met with outrage and accusations. I should’ve been more careful not to project that onto your post, though, because i don’t even disagree with anything you mentioned.

Like… people trying to make Sam into the one who always pushed back against John and stood up for the “good” monsters and tried to protect Jack and didn’t want to kill demon vessels, while Dean did all the opposite? Yeah, definitely not. Part of the complexity of their dynamic is that they were both problematic in different ways and a lot of their issues overlap. I SO agree with you on that.

That being said, I will mention that a large part of my issue with both the character and the fans (not you in specific, I’m just speaking generally) is the exact thing you made the post about- just in the opposite direction. People insisting certain things about him are hard canon when they’re either strongly up to interpretation or just flat out fanon. I see the things I mentioned as examples of this.

And I really think like 80% of it (particularly the early seasons stuff- the porn thing and the slut shaming and jailbait comments etc etc) is that, at the time, the writers just genuinely didn’t see anything wrong with any of that stuff, so they didn’t intend those things to be negative traits on Dean’s part. They just wanted to give him some edginess and some funny one liners. Which is annoying but understandable. But now we can look back at it and say “yea so that was.. iffy” and it results in some Dean fans either calling it ooc (which.. unfortunately, it’s not) or twisting themselves into knots to explain why those things weren’t actually that bad or he only said them because of internalised whatever whatever etc… that’s a bit irritating.

The only other issues I have are how some deangirls have a slight disconnect when it comes to his actual personality (ie emphasising his protectiveness/brotherly love and brushing over his domineering behaviour and anger issues). But I mean samgirls and casgirls do that too- it’s just kinda natural to focus on your fav’s best traits and ignore their worst ones.

The other thing is his sexuality. …Listen. I’m queer myself so I know how frustrating it is to see such a perfect opportunity to make a character bi/gay- to see so many little hints and offhand comments that could have been developed into something if the writers weren’t cowards- and have to admit that all those bits of “evidence” never got solidified into anything… but they just didn’t. I’m being completely genuine. It’s so so easy to read Dean as bi via interpretational subtext, and I don’t disagree with anyone doing that… but canonically? He’s not. It’s a missed opportunity and it’s unfair as hell but he’s just not. Jensen has said he’s straight, the writers have, Dean himself has. Every bit of bi evidence can be explained away as a joke or coincidence.

And it really pains me to say that, because I get why people are so ready to die on the “Dean was intentionally queer coded” hill. But stating it as a fact, calling anyone who disagrees homophobic, letting the writers off the hook for chickening out by deluding themselves into believing bi!Dean is as good as canon when it likely never will be?? It’s so annoying. Especially when there’s other characters who (imo) were a bit more intentionally queer coded (like sam) or were outright confirmed to be lgbtq (like cas).

Again, I’m not shading you with any of this, cause I have no idea if you’ve said any of those things before. I’m just ranting out my opinions. I’d love to see your take on it, though! Seriously, I think it’s really cool that you were so nice about it and I’m really interested to hear your thoughts!!

(Reading back over this, I feel like my tone here sounds a little standoffish too, but I swear it’s not! I just don’t know how to convey emotions on the internet!! 😂😭)

so much supernatural discourse boils down to claiming a thing we actually see dean do on the show is something he would not do, claiming a thing we see dean specifically not do on the show is something he would do, claiming something all the main characters do is something dean alone is doing, or claiming something sam does on the show is something dean did.

and im so confused. because the answer is comically simple and it's a thing we all allegedly love doing and that is... watching supernatural?

[meear]

umineko fans are the original "if you don't like it you just didn't understand it" people. I genuinely cannot think of anyone more annoying and obnoxious, except SNK fans, except not even them, because in Umineko's case that behavior is enabled by the author himself. It's crazy how a story that spent hundreds of hours discussing the value in several coexisting interpetations will have both characters and fans turning around and tell you that actually you're completely wrong for thinking a certain way

The crazy part is they don't even realise how their smug attitude about being part of R07's very special club of people who "have love" and the superior way they act about holding the true answer are EXACTLY the Erika traits they criticise in readers who don't think like them. "He spells it out but you still cannot see it? Lol" "are there still people who can't accept the literal canon answer? lmfao" "you know you're exactly the goats r07 wrote about right?" (Because r07 is a god who cannot possibly be contradicted, this is supposed to be the worst insult somehow) (these fans cannot seem to decide who the goats are an analogy for, considering they'll scramble to say they only represent the story's witch hunters as a criticism of true crime fans when you call out r07's arrogance, yet they'll smugly tell you you're just a goat when you question the story itself. Thank you, it's nice to know that Ryukishi wrote about me, but that doesn't answer the fucking question, Brian)

It's incredibly ironic. How did a story like Umineko create and encourage so many people to sanctify one "official answer" and taking any other attempt as an insult?? Like is anyone feeling how ryu07 completely fucked up at what he was trying to do?

"So I won't open the catbox and reveal what actually happened on the island." oh, that's cool, I actually really like that! I agree that ultimately the true events of that day are a pretty trivial part of the story, and it's way more interesting not to know - "anyway it's Rudolf and Kyrie and it happened exactly like so and so, and Shkanontrice did this and that".

... Okay, well I really wish that had remained a mystery forever, since the point was that any truth would've been anticlimatic, and the choice to reveal that genuinely kills a lot of what made Umineko's appeal to me, but I guess we can still have fun with EP1-4 and try several alternative theories for the sequence of events- "here's the manga explaining everything in detail and if you didn't get it have you tried maybe having some more love? It would be sooo clear if you had love lmfao. you literally cannot comprehend my work unless you have"

... I really wish that guy would stop making assumptions about the inner mind of complete strangers who read his work, but I do enjoy getting to choose an ending! it really fits in with Umineko's theme of choosing the truth for yourself and making your own path that you can be happy with, as long as you keep thinking- "the Magic ending is meant to be the true end btw. if you prefer the other one you pretty much have no heart lol, it's obviously framed like a bad ending and there's only one acceptable choice and one way ange can find happiness"

... man, I'm so bored. Why write a game like that and then make it so that some choices are better than others instead of letting people think for themselves? Why would you force an interpretation on people/Ange when I've been led to believe that the narrative was against that sort of things? You want to highlight the value in your vision of "magic", fine, but why am I the heartless bitch for disliking that perspective and even trying to see things differently?

Why would you write a whole game around the really fun concept of several tales happening at the same time and the existence of endless truths inside the same catbox only to open the catbox and tell me "NO, you need to think a certain way, and if you don't like my answer FUCK YOU"

I understand that maybe he just had a specific answer in mind but I'm sorry the way he write the ending simply does not match the vision he seemed to have in the earlier chapters.

I genuinely respect Umineko as a work, I think it's one of the most ambitious stories I've seen and there is some amazing writing in there, but if Ryukishi wanted to allow for people to keep thinking and discussing what it means, he has failed miserably and I'm not talking about confession of the golden witch, I'm talking about the way he and his minions have shut down any possible discussion under the guise of "you just don't get it" (rephrased to "you don't have love" to make it sound more enlightened) and it's soured my enjoyment of something that should've been an amazing story. What is even left to discuss here when everyone has pretty much already made up their mind?

[aithusarosekiller]

This is on my tiktok but I wanted to post it here too bc it's really been bugging me

The caption essentially said that if I see a characterisation I don't like (I used the example of big buff alpha remus) I just scroll because clearly the content was made for someone else and I'm not the target audience

[songofthesibyl]

There’s a pervasive narrative in the fandom that we only need to pay attention to the things we are “meant” to. And to interpret actions based on what role the character plays in the narrative. Since Rhysand is Tamlin’s foil and generally “means well,” we shouldn’t really think deeply about areas where that seems to be in question. If the CoN citizens are shortchanged, well that’s just an example of poor writing, it’s not supposed to be a reflection of Rhysand’s character (it may very well be part of a future storyline, but we have to go on what we have now—how the Night Court is after centuries of his rule). “Critical thinking” regarding ACOTAR then involves showing the crumbs the author left—showing Tamlin’s red flags, for example. Illustrating what the author “meant.” Critically thinking about the books in any other way is mocked, because it will ultimately be irrelevant to the story—even though that’s not really the point of criticism. (Unless it’s ACOSF, then all the bad things that Rhysand does, Nesta’s growth and healing, are all a product of bad writing, and wasn’t the author in a bad place then, and when you think about it, SJM isn’t really a good person. Suddenly it doesn’t matter what the author meant, and they are capable of thinking critically again.) Feyre’s character arc was disappointing to me because I would expect, in a transformative arc where she becomes a powerful being—one she hated a year ago, one she would have only known as an enslaving monster growing up—that she at some point would let the power corrupt her. This happens all the time in these kinds of arcs—the hunger taking over a newly made vampire, abusing new superpowers as a mutant, etc. So Feyre falling in love with her powers—both magically and politically—makes sense, especially with how it’s framed as empowering after what happened with Tamlin. It’s fine if she goes too far, because then she can have that moment where she realizes maybe she has lost, or is in danger of losing, her human heart. I figured that would happen after that scene in the first book where she’s on the balcony with Rhysand. But it didn’t really. There’s a little moment at the High Lord’s meeting, but the focus is more on Tamlin being a bitch, and so her actions are seen against him, not judged on their own. This is repeated in ACOFAS. So to bring up your other recent post, it’s difficult to judge all the characters the same, because it isn’t framed as every character has different shades of grey-ness, and we just have to wait to see what’s underneath (like with Nesta, and probably Eris). There are very clear good guys and bad guys, and it’s clear how SJM wants you to feel about them—I’ve never read a series where I had that woman-behind-the-curtain feeling so much. But I do hold the protagonists to a higher standard, and it will be jarring when they do something bad/hurtful/etc. and there are no real consequences. That’s one reason I find Tamlin/Lucien/Nesta etc to be more interesting and palatable, because they do have them. Not necessarily because they are better people morally.

But then SJM talks all the time about liking to write characters who are difficult people, and to examine what might be behind that. So it’s hard to tell sometimes what actually is meant by the author and what stems from the fandom—I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to think Nesta is an abusive bitch/irredeemable monster by the end of the latest CC book. I’m also not sure if, during that exchange between Feyre and Lucien where Feyre mocks the Band of Exiles and he calls her an asshole, I’m supposed to find it attractive character-wise that the only reflection Feyre has when he says that to her is “true.” I can imagine she feels uncomfortable around Lucien still, and is recovering from trauma, and is entitled to lash out. But for the author to have that be the only thing she thinks turns me off her character all the same. But does she mean for me to feel that way, or does she just like writing characters like that? It feels like she wants to write grey characters, but wants to force you to like the ones she likes best; she wants to have it both ways. And that’s where the characterization becomes a problem.

I see a lot of posts that are like “y’all call Feyre selfish or blah blah blah, but she has done XYZ” and I think that is a huge issue with the books.

We have seen her do explicitly selfless acts. She gave the people in her village money and she gave her jewelry away to the wraiths to pay tithe. We are told time and time again that she does these big acts of charity and is a selfless person.

BUT this is all intentional characterization. The issue comes from when you look at her actions later on that aren’t meant to serve as a direct glimpse into her personality or goodness, but moreso just a product of her acting in the circumstance. THAT is when you have criticism of her being selfish or other. When the narrative stops peddling the Feyre is amazing train, that’s when it cracks. When the book pauses on trying to characterize Feyre and moves onto another, that’s when it falls apart. When the spotlight is on her, she’s perfect, but when it moves away and her character is left to act naturally without an agenda for the narrative, that’s when I think you see her true character.

We have a similarly opposite issue with Nesta (I find). Everytime the spotlight is on her, she’s nasty or cruel, but when she’s in the background you can pick out parts about how she’s really not what the main narrative (Feyre’s pov) conveys her to be. Even pointing to Nesta’s arc and Feyre’s actions in it, the book doesn’t try to say that they’re bad, it even tries to say that’s they’re good, but it still comes off as negative to many because it’s not concerned with making her look perfect. It’s how Feyre would act without the Feyre-tinted glasses.

A lot of the evidence people point to of Feyre being selfish or classist or what have you comes from moments that are not in your face about “Oh look how kind she is!”. And I think missing this really just continues to show that a lot of readers only look for direct explanations of actions or character and take whatever’s given at face value.

What I’m trying to convey is very hard for me to put into words, so I hope you’re able to kinda understand, but if someone smarter than me is able to do so, please do 😭😭

[overanalysingfandoms]

Ok, so I know without even looking at the Scarian tag that everyone will be calling their interactions this session divorce coded (and that's valid)

However, THIS IS JUST HOW THEY FLIRT

Like, Scar being obsessed with killing Grian and then Grian blowing up his reputation board once he does???? Get a room. They are staring into eachothers eyes daring the other to do something, this is not divorce, this is enrichment

Exhibit B: Immediately after the whole murder and destruction of property debacle, when Grian has promised to hunt Scar until he's out (kinky) and Scar is hiding in Joel's car with the bamboozlers and the family and the sub ones are staring at them Scar LITERALLY DESCRIBES "THEIR SOCKET EYES" like???? only one man staring at you has socket eyes Scar, are you too busy getting lost in them to notice that???? Hmmmmm

Not to mention that after Mumbo's disastrous lava murder attempt Scar immediately runs right over to Grian and stands as close to him as physically possible for NO REASON!!!! Sir, this man has promised to murder you after you spent 50% of the session being obsessed with murdering him and now you're all up in his personal space whispering in his ear???? The least divorced thing I've seen all day, these two are absolutely openly disgustingly insane about eachother IN PUBLIC for everyone to see

AND Grian once more respawned in Scar's bed

This session is just the minecraft equivalent of making out in public and nobody can change my mind

[dykedvonte]

Mouthwashing is genuinely one of the first fandom spaces in a while where I’ve seen people outright refuse to curate their own personal spaces and try to shame people for not making what they personal like/believe

Like this is not saying ignore any issues that come up or whatever is serious but like on the general terms of just not interacting with things that are not your personal take or interpretation, a genuine refusal to just look at and create things that you like.

Constantly seeing people repost art without credit to shit talk it and excusing it because “well it’s bad cause insert deeply personal and not actually a valid justification”, calling out people for silly comics or differing interpretations. Its not just a holier than thou mindset it’s just a weird hatred for things not specifically catered to you or your view point at this point and like it’s seriously the case of just follow and like what you want to see and block, mute or whatever doesn’t fit it.

Take this out of context all you like, but I just so odd to me to try and force people to interpret and engage with a media that is supposed to be purposefully vague and open in certain areas. Or just be mad that people like to play with and explore the characters outside the story, in different settings or with twists in events.

Like why is it an issue that someone is having fun with the game in a different way than you?

[puppppppppy]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[headcanontheshitoutofsoulsborne]

I thought that I should reply to this. I don't have anything against loretubers per se, there are quite a few really good ones who do their research and take their time with their videos and especially, do not milk it until it is dry. The loretubers I am making fun of are the ones who crank out a video every week, are absolutely sure that there theory is 100 % correct and no one else can have another theory and just aren't able to let go and admit to themselves that they should move on. I am talking about people who post stuff like "Elden Ring Nightreign is Dark Souls 4 and I have proof" and stuff like that. It just makes me incredibly tired, especially as a fanfiction writer AND reader, who enjoys seeing all the different interpretations.

New idea to make fun of Soulsborne loretubers. Take the headcanons of this blog, read them and act as if they are 100 % proven fact.

[vampirehizzies]

... as friends, or as something entirely different. you understand one another, and you're partners in crime. you became friends under the strangest circumstances. and they help you feel alive. (x)

[rupeenotruby]

Adventures in Research: What do you mean "Bowl of Hearts"???

It starts simply; I was checking out the Heart Container page on the Zelda wiki (as anyone does) where I saw it "also known as Bowl of Hearts (TAoL)." Known as Bowl of Hearts? TAoL?? Uh no, it isn't??? I have read that manual quite a few times and I think I'd remember if it was called "Bowl of Hearts" as it is such a strange phrase. But I always have lots to learn so I put my pride aside and start to get to the bottom of this claim. Because hey, if this is true it's one more piece of AoL trivia I get to feel superior about knowing.

Link to the Zelda Wiki page

Naturally the first thing I do is that I look for the source of this particular claim. It comes from the Zelda Encyclopedia! Okay alright that means I have a lead. So, I hop on Google only to find that the only places I can find it is Internet Archive and Internet Archive is currently down due to some kind of cyber-attack. :| Fantastic. I guess I have to wait. To quell my interest, I double check the game where unlike in TLoZ, TAoL does not have an intro scroll with the names of the items. Additionally, I checked a text dump (link to that) of the game where it is only referred to as a "Heart." No bowls there. The manual is exactly as I remember it to be calling it "Heart Container" like normal.

(Zelda 2: Adventure of Link English Manual pg. 45)

I also see if I can find another source like a strategy guide which, yes it is still called "Heart Container."

(Nintendo Power January/February 1989 pg. 20)

So I put it aside until I get the wonderful news that Internet Archive is back and running!!! Yay! I rush over and check the Heart Container entry to find that yes, it does in fact say that TAoL calls Heart Containers "Bowl of Hearts."

(Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia pg. 127)

And so the Wiki did source it properly.... But my sources are also correct, no? So what's the deal? Why is this the first time I've heard of this phrase?

And thus I decide to go to the source: The Japanese Encyclopedia. Unfortunately, I could not find the Japanese version of the encyclopedia anywhere so I do the next best thing. I grab Google translate and start looking through the Japanese manual. Some things to note first:

I DON'T KNOW JAPANESE!

At all! And Google Translate is notoriously very finnicky when it comes to Japanese. So, I'm relying a lot on pattern recognition. (Also, apologies in advance if I mess up any of the Japanese here. Again, I don't know Japanese, and I am using Google translate.)

First stop is the TAoL Japanese Manual where it is referred to as ハートのうつわ.

(Zelda 2: Adventure of Link Japanese Manual pg. 48)

I stick that in Google Translate and seem to find the problem.

ハートの means "heart."

うつわ means "vessel, container or bowl." So maybe this can be translated as both "Heart Container" and "Bowl of Hearts" and it just depends on the context! As I lack all cultural and linguistic context I do the next best thing: check other manuals and see how they spelled it. The key here is that TAoL has been singled out for whatever reason. If the other manuals match this spelling something went wrong somewhere else.

I find the OoT Manual where it has... the same spelling?

(OoT Japanese Manual pg. 28)

And to double check I look at the OoA Manul and again:

(OoA Japanese Manual pg. 42)

Same spelling! So why was TAoL singled out? What a mystery...

I still can't find the Japanese Encyclopedia, so I keep looking. I look in the game to find that it is also referred to simply as "Heart" in the Japanese version (Underlined in pink).

(Youtube: "リンクの冒険 (FDS) 全クリア (ノーデス)" Time: 1:06:43)

I check a Japanese Strategy guide!

(The Adventure of Link Winning Guide pg. 17)

Its all the same(ish)! Where did this seemingly unique part of TAoL come from???

And I finally find it! I find a youtuber who has access to the Japanese Encyclopedia and I ask them to show the Heart Container entry.

(Youtube: "LoZ lore because you asked 1" Time: 0:10)

Note: It is hard to see but TLoZ is "ゼルダの伝説" while TAoL is "リンクの冒険" above with the in-game pictures.

And AH HA! You see that? That last portion that should refer to TAoL but is instead referring to the ORIGINAL LEGEND OF ZELDA???

It says that in TLoZ Heart containers are also referred to as "Heart Shaped Water Bottle" (ハートの水筒). And this is true as in the game they are referred to as "Container Heart" with the (イノチ ノ ウツワ) spelling while in the Manual they are referred to as "Heart Shaped Water Bottles" with the (ハートの水筒とハート) spelling.

(Youtube: "Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy - FDS - No Commentary Playthrough" Time: 0:48)

(The Hyrule Fantasy: The Legend of Zelda Japanese Game Manual pg. 21)

So it was a mistranslation all along! Or so I hope... Because at the end of the day, why was it translated like this? What happened along the way to end up attributing the "Bowl of Hearts" translation to TAoL when I cannot find a primary source that refers to it as such. I believe the reason they did not translate the Japanese Encyclopedia entry directly to English is that it is not referred to as a "Heart Shaped Water Bottle" in the English translation. Then why single out TAoL? Is it because no one would doubt it or think to double check? Or is there some primary source out there that does refer to it as a "Bowl of Hearts"? I just can't know for sure. Ultimately, this doesn't matter that much, at the very most it's just annoying that it gets referred to as this in the wiki when there doesn't seem to be a primary source to back this claim. Oh well.

For now, I sign off! And wish you on your merry way. Thank you for reading or at least scrolling to the bottom.

Sources:

Zelda Wiki Hart Container entry: https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Heart_Container

TAoL Text Dump: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/563487-zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/faqs/20234

Zelda 2: Adventure of Link English Manual: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAASE.pdf

Nintendo Power January/February 1989: https://shedevr.org.ru/zelda64rus/media/Zelda2_(Nintendo_Power_004)_(1989)_Jan-Feb.pdf

Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia: https://archive.org/details/TheLegendOfZeldaEncyclopedia/page/n119/mode/2up

Zelda 2: Adventure of Link Japanese Manual: https://archive.org/details/booklet_aol_jp/page/n47/mode/2up

OoT Japanese Manual: https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/images/a/aa/Ocarina-of-Time-Japan-Instruction-Manual-Page-28-29.jpg

OoA Japanese Manual: https://archive.org/details/zelda-oracle-of-ages-j-cart-and-manual-ozidual/Zelda%20Oracle%20of%20Ages%20-%20Manual%2007%2009.jpg

リンクの冒険 (FDS) 全クリア (ノーデス): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBsZTae_TTo&t=4003s

The Adventure of Link Winning Guide: https://archive.org/details/zines_zelda_famimaga_1987_aol_guide_600dpi/page/16/mode/2up

LoZ lore because you asked 1: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gF3KRcwD3pU

Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy - FDS - No Commentary Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-aYJyHgCy0

The Hyrule Fantasy: The Legend of Zelda Japanese Game Manual: https://archive.org/details/booklet_loz_jp/page/n19/mode/2up

[eelfuneral]

It’s kinda uncomfortable that whenever someone with religious trauma says something along the lines of “the Jedi Order reminds me of the high control religious group that I was abused by”, the rabid “The Jedi are Never Wrong” stans basically come in and say “nuh-uh, no it doesn’t”.