#literally nothing going on with the other characters

[liketolaugh-writes]

Re: the Fenton Parents-

The thing is, it's not abusive to be just... sort of okay at parenting. It is not abusive to be unable to stop your kid from behaving erratically, to not be able to figure out what's wrong, to not be able to stop your kid from lying to you and sneaking out of the house. They tried! They spend several episodes trying, which is, frankly, a lot of screentime for a 45-episode series (movies excluded)! They just were never able to figure out what was wrong.

(If you're curious: S1E7, S1E17, S2E9, and S3E3 all center around plotlines where the Fenton parents make an active effort to connect with their kids... and that's leaving out episodes where it's merely a major element and not half the plot.)

(It's also not neglectful to assume that a man showing an inappropriate interest in a married adult woman is probably not inappropriately interested in a teenage boy, especially when Danny hasn't said anything. That would frankly be a really weird assumption to make, and it only seems obvious to us because... we already know.)

You can say that they never showed the Fentons taking Danny to the hospital after his accident... but we also aren't shown that they didn't do that. We know nothing about the immediate aftermath of the accident. Stupid Desiree reality-warp episode aside.

It never said that they knew about Danny's accident... it also never said that they didn't. (Personally, I think that it would be super out of character for Jazz to know and not tell them, regardless of whether or not they're neglectful? Jazz, like Danny, has faith in them.)

You can say that we didn't see how the Fentons fed their kids when the food in the house was contaminated... but we also never heard that they didn't do that. There was not a word about missing meals, not even from Jazz.

Do I think the Fentons were abusive?

The simple answer: yes!

The complex answer: But not in any of the ways I usually see depicted.

The thing is- the thing is, I think that the only thing the Fentons did that was genuinely abusive - not just a mistake, not just they could have done better - is their godawful lab safety. That is where they knew better, knew what they were doing was wrong, and did it anyway. The house wasn't safe and that was entirely on them, and danger on that level is criminally neglectful.

But that's a very unusual profile. It's not that they didn't care enough about their kids. It's not that they didn't pay attention to their children, or that they prioritized their work over their family, or that they neglect their responsibilities. (For God's sake, they go to multiple parent-teacher conferences! Jack chaperoned a dance he didn't remember agreeing to attend! Maddie woke up in the middle of the night, not yet knowing there were ghosts around, and immediately went to find Danny!)

They were just, quite literally, criminally irresponsible, which is a different breed of family trauma altogether.

Now, Danny definitely experienced domestic violence. Was Danny physically abused? Absolutely. But because of identity shenanigans, 'was Danny physically abused?' and 'are the Fentons physically abusive?' are two very different questions. 'Was Danny physically abused?' is about Danny's childhood and the trauma he gained from it; 'are the Fentons physically abusive?' is a statement about their personalities. And this extends out to all of the other ways they failed Danny because they never knew about his ghost half.

Did Danny experience that trauma? Yes. Would the Fentons ever knowingly do those things to their child? No. (This contrast causes Danny a lot of stress.)

Of course, a lot of this is still rooted in headcanon, and other interpretations are equally valid! Just as it's never shown that they didn't make sure their kids got every meal, it's also never shown that they did. Just because it's never said that their kids couldn't catch their parents' attention when they needed help, doesn't mean that they could. But I wanted to get my thoughts down, since it's a fairly significant divergence from most of the standard interpretations.

[cryingoverpalta]

Ok so I was thinking, what if PIDW wasn't a novel, but a drama available on streaming platforms? So when SY transmigrates into SQQ's body, he perceives everything around him just like the audience is seeing it on their screens: with the low-budget fighting scenes that had him obliterating his keyboard with bad reviews, the soundtrack (that is pretty well-done and he actually enjoys it, but that doesn't mean he likes to hear the same silly song every time something embarrassing happens to him), the landscapes that are obviously made with green screen… Even the fabrics of his costume look cheaper than they should, considering the status of his character. Also, for some reason, everything that should be off-screen in a normal filming set (be it cameras, directing staff, or make-up artists) looks like a blurry continuation of the background, making the whole transmigration thing even more nonsensical than it already is.

But nothing disturbes him more than the fact that, just like everything around him is made out of an artificial project, the people also look just like in a drama, because SY suddenly is surrounded by literal celebrities acting like they belong in the pages of a badly written xianxia novel. And ok, to be fair just this time, he's aware they are currently living in a xianxia setting, but his brain can't deal with this logic sometimes. Like, yes, Sha Hualing is a badass character and is always a pleasure to see her fighting choreography in first person, but SY can't take her seriously after seeing her face plastered on a big advertisement while waiting for the train home the other day. And don't even mention Liu Qingge, whom SY can't even look in the eye thanks to the sexy, shirtless photoshoot his actor was part of (that SY saw against his will, because he obviously wasn't searching for handsome shirtless men on the internet. The photos were everywhere; it was a matter of time for him, a chronically online nerd, to see them after going viral the way they did, thank you very much). God, he can't even stand his reflection without panicking a little over his new handsome face, wich also happens to be the face of the actor that always plays the most brutal villains, but is just a chill guy in real life—starring variety shows and giving autographs to the older ladies with a warm smile on his face; that kind of chill guy. If he's as trash as the villains he plays, SY will never know.

And the worst of it all is: Luo Binghe. It doesn't bother him too much at first; his white lotus era makes him look really young and sweet, even though there's an obvious layer of makeup covering his real age, and their feet are always blurry when they're together, probably hiding an uneven floor to make 15-year-old LBH look much shorter than him. But then the abyss happens (and GOD what a shitty green screen that was), three years pass in a literal blur, and the white lotus isn't a fake teenager anymore. And ok, SY can be straight, but he isn't blind; the actor was chosen as LBH for a reason. The man is gorgeous, with that strong jaw, intense eyes, and the height of a supermodel. AND he's talented; SY has seen his other roles and is a genuine fan of his work. So of course, he nails his acting as blackened LBH so much that SY is incapable of perceiving it as acting anymore.

Imagine his surprise when the show turns into a BL and he's suddenly kissing LBH with tongue and all! Sure, it has been a while since he can't see the man as anything other than LBH himself, but he still looks just like that handsome actor that even his little sister had a crush on at some point! What's with this nonsensical plot twist? Wasn't the stallion protagonist supposed to be papapaing the eleventh wife at this point of the plot? Hello?? System???!!!!!

The funny thing is: not even the papapa can escape from the blurry off-screen logic. Yes, SY knew the scenes were typical soft-porn with too much emphasis on doing close-ups of LBH's manly muscles and the wives soft, big chests (he went through a lot of those while watching the show, mind you), but he never thought their papapa would be just them being naked with poor illumination and blurred genitals. So SY never gets to see the Heavenly Pillar. But he feels it. Thoroughly. And for the first time in months, he wonders if it was just a PIDW thing or if the actor truly is talented in all areas of his life.

[sparks-and-smoke]

Hello!

What about an avengers reader and bucky fic where reader dosnt realize they are in an depressive episode but bucky or steve or both ( platonically or romantically) notices.

Haha I just surfaced from a major depressive episode so that's where the inspiration came from.

Also hi!

Hi <3 this one is a little longer because, well I guess I needed it too. Plus fluffy lovey Stucky is my bread and butter. 

Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky barnes x reader, Stucky (but not really the focus)

Content/Warnings: mental health, depression, anxiety, self care

Author Note: as someone who also struggles with mental health I personally loved this ask. Thank you, and I hope your feeling better sweets. Take care. 

(Bonus note from my editor @voice-of-velhart)

Editor Note: Depression is not an easy thing to make your way out of, but I'm proud of ya'll for pushing through it and I'm glad your here. <3

The brain fog was the thing that set in first. It was hard to fall out of a routine living in the compound. Day in and Day out it was training and meal regimens. Sparring and paperwork. Someone was always around and yet you felt like you were drifting. Going through the motions with little to no reason to do so other than if you didn’t what else would fill your day. No one seemed to notice your lack of enthusiasm, or how your typically attentive nature had been slipping lately. Your reports were still on time and you weren’t pulling your punches in training so you were probably fine… right?

It was burn out or maybe you were feeling under the weather. At least that's what you told them if they asked. And while your friends and team loved you, they were busy people with the literal weight of the world on their shoulders. So who could blame them when they didn’t keep tabs, or at least you thought they didn’t keep tabs. 

Bucky sat in the library trying to find a fantasy book he hadn’t already read. Tony was a brilliant guy but he had horrible taste in written fiction. As he perused, he kept you in his peripheral vision. You stared down at your now cold cup of coffee looking lost even though you weren’t moving. He had noticed you are like this a lot the last few weeks. You shower less and less, your normally shiny maintained hair more often than not on the greasy and dull side of the spectrum. And he hadn’t seen you touch the piano or your switch in days. He was getting concerned. 

He taps Steve with his foot. “What?” 

The big guy had been deep in thought, sprawled out in a lounge chair with his nose in a tablet. “Have you noticed Angel is different lately?” 

Steve glanced up, taking a look at their girl as she swirled the coffee in her mug, totally disassociating. “Yeah, she said she was under the weather. I tried to get it out of her what was wrong but she’s being cagey.” his brows knit together in a mask of concern. “Sure is lingering a long time to be just a bug, don't cha think?”

Bucky nodded, “Yeah I do… what are we gonna do about it.” 

Steve sighed heavily and set down his tablet, giving the issue his full attention. He thinks back to those long cold winters in brooklyn. When the snow was deep and his bones would ache so bad he didn’t wanna get out of bed. There were always little things that would help him get out of those slumps. Bucky making him get up and shower was always a good start, followed by warm food and if they could find it, sunlight. 

“I think we're gonna start by helping our girl feel human again..” 

~~~~

Steve and Bucky formed a game plan. The two men are nothing if not efficient and tactical. Steve went down stairs to start food. Something starchy and savory. Comfort food. Meanwhile, Bucky started operation Angel Self Care. 

“Angel.” Bucky's voice was soft, wrapped in warm velvet. And you barely registered it before he was crouching down and smoothing back your hair from your face. Taking your untouched cup out of your hand. “How long have you been sitting here, beautiful?” 

You shook your head as if you could wave away the mist behind your eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Lost track of time I guess.” Bucky just hums. Yeah, he knows that feeling. He also knew it never led anywhere good. 

“Lost in thought?” 

You looked up to meet his gaze, warmth and concern mixing in the set of his jaw and the draw of his brows. “Yeah I guess. I’m fine babe. Don’t worry about it I’m just..”

“Feeling under the weather. Yeah, I know. You’ve been saying that a lot lately. I’m starting to think it’s a cop out.”

It is and you know it but you don’t know what else to say. “I just. I don’t know what wrong with me lately. I just… I don’t wanna do anything. Like anything ya know? It’s like sometimes waking up alone is all I have in me for the day. Do you know how that feels.”

If anyone knew how you felt it was Bucky. Hell sometimes he still felt that way, decades of torture and actions out of his own control had left him with more then his own share of depressive tendencies that drag him deep down under the current of reality pretty regularly. There are days he goes completely nonverbal, only going through the motions on autopilot. The only people who can pull him out are Steve, and you. And therapy, lots of therapy. “Of course I do. You know I do. But Angel, you can’t live there. It’s ok to feel it, but you need to acknowledge it and try to crawl back out. It’s ok if you can’t do it alone baby.”

You feel a thick lump forming in your throat that you can’t quite swallow down. The urge to argue, to tell him your fine and he’s being overbearing was there. But more then that you knew he was right. Something was wrong, and you couldn’t climb out on your own. But you weren’t ready to say it. Not yet. 

“Come on honey, let’s get you cleaned up and get some food in your belly. That might help a little.” Bucky didn’t wait for you to protest, he slid one arm under your legs and the other around your back and headed up to Steve’s quarters. Not caring in the slightest if teammates or recruits saw. That was a problem for later Bucky. 

~~~~

The big six had full apartments in the upper levels of the compound. Which means he could squirrel you away to Steve’s private bath and get you in the shower. Vetiver and pine, a familiar comforting scent. Gently and quietly he started the shower to an acceptable temperature for you (hot enough to turn your skin the next shade of blush.) and stripped you down to help you in. 

There was nothing sexual about the way he did this. It was all just about loving you. Helping you, as  he guided you into the water and let it wash away your stress. He pulled you back against his chest. “There’s my girl. That feel better Angel?” 

You nod as the smell of Steve’s body wash fills the small space. “Do you mind if I wash you?” 

With your permission he sets about cleaning you up. Slow loving strokes over your body as he pulls you back to lean on his chest. “You know you can talk to us about anything right. Steve and I love you. You’ve been here for us. Let us do the same.” 

“I would tell you… if I knew why I felt this way.” You confess. “If I had some inkling of what I needed to get out to feel better but I don’t.” 

Your voice wavers and it breaks Bucky's heart just a little. He wants to fix it. But he knows he can’t. All he can do is be there for you. “Well, I’m glad you trust me enough to help you.” He tilts your head back. Starting to wash your hair. “We’ll just take it one step at a time till we find ground again. Ok?

~~~~ 

Downstairs Steve fretted over the stove. Sweet potato pierogi and with onions and butter. It was easy, simple even. But it always made him feel better as a kid and the few times he had made it you liked it. He looked up as he heard feet pad down into the kitchen. Hair still damp, but clean. In fresh sweats and Bucky's shirt. 

“Ahh, there you are. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah… a little.” You admit, sitting on a stool across the island. 

Steve rounds the counter to kiss your forehead. “You look better.” He inhaled her skin, the longer scent of his soap and Bucky's touch still there, along with that sweet undertone that was all you. “Smell better too.” He teased. 

You breath out your nose with a half hearted huff. “Thanks.” 

“Always angel. Here. I made you some food. You don’t have to eat it all but at least a few bites would ease my mind. And then maybe we can go up to the room and get you some sun hmm? Would you be ok with that.” Steve slid the colorful pasta across the counter to you with a warm smile. Trying to coax you to follow his lead. 

“Yeah. Sounds good.” You eat mostly in silence. Steve and Bucky don’t push you to talk as you fill your stomach. You know they're worried. But even just these small gestures are helping you feel like maybe there is an end to this malaise. You see Steve smile and kiss Bucky softly in thanks as they wait for you to tell them you're ready. 

They spend the rest of the day trying to get you some sun. Fresh air and movement. 

“We’re gonna do this a little everyday till you start feeling better. And if you need it or feel up to it we can look into talking to a therapist too.” Steve assures. His hand firmly laced through your own. “You are not alone in this. We all feel this way sometimes. But I’m proud of you for trying love.”

A flicker of hope flies in your chest at his words. You aren’t alone, this isn’t forever. And your men are gonna love you through it till you can do it on you own.

[arcaneconfessions]

I hate that the memes about Vi being worse after a situationship compared to growing up in prison are somehow correct.

When I first saw it in the trailer I was like, this is clearly a cumulative thing. As she said she spent all those years starving, abused and freezing simply on the hope that Powder survived, so she has absolutely nothing left when Powder is dead and Caitlyn abandoned her, it’s just all that catching up. It’s not that she could stand all those years in prison and not last a break up.

but then they made the most idiotic choice of centring her breakdown entirely on Caitlyn- she is the only one that haunts her and nobody else when I know damn well Vi has other regrets and there’s so much more to her character. You can’t even make the argument that those other regrets are implied, because they aren’t - we are literally within her head. She’s constantly trying to drown out the noise (of Caitlyn) via drinking/fighting and it’s not working.

How about her family? Failing to fulfil Vander’s dying wish to take care of Powder? The last they saw, Jinx was trying to kill herself using Vi (“Go on”/“I’m glad it’s you”/ actively saying no and not moving off the table when Isha gets in the way of her death/“no, no this isn’t how it’s supposed to go”- in reference to her surviving) so what’s her thoughts on that and Isha?

how about some reflection on last season where she told Jayce to stfu and continue because one dead kid is more than worth putting an end to Silco?

How about her becoming an enforcer? The same people that abused her and murdered her parents? Now she was one of them, using brutality that she was a victim of since she was a child, willing to use the same poison gas that arose because of Piltover’s exploitation of Zaun within the streets- again told to her by Vander. (And don’t give me bs about it not being that bad when Viktor’s terminal illness is caused by it YEARS LATER, we are shown in s1 that CHILDREN work in those factories and with chembarons, we are also shown how bad the grey is in that music video). When Jinx brought it up, all she says is that she’s done blaming herself for Jinx’s mistakes- but those aren’t Jinx’s mistakes, those are her own. Does she recognise this?

Vi in s1 had opinions about “scraping together coins whilst [Pilover] has plenty”, the Lanes being her streets, wanting respect, growing up feeling less than them and wanting that to change etc. She’s super happy to be eating Jericho’s food, parkouring and correcting Cait’s assumptions. So does she still hold these opinions in s2? What changed if she doesn’t? Her entire thing was being Vander-mini with feeling/being responsible for the lanes/her family. How about now? How does she feel about anything?

I adore Vi and seeing her reduced to “Emo lesbian can’t get over her situationship” is awful. I’m not talking about the jokes, but in canon how things she should have strong feelings about are entirely ignored for her feelings about Caitlyn. Her trauma isn’t properly explored at all, a music video where she’s only upset about Caitlyn is so unfair to her.

.

[manicpixiedreamedwins]

GINGERWREN'S PAYNELAND RECS 2024!

I can't believe we have had Charles and Edwin for less than a year. Even still, we've had a lot of fun! I wanted to share some fics, art, and gifs that made this year worth it for me personally. I was talking to a friend recently, and we noticed recent rec lists seem to be short, tag based lists with no real input from the list writer. Many of them also seem to rec the same few fics. Sometimes I feel left out as a smaller writer, and I know my favorite fics also don't always make it onto these lists either.

So, gentle reader, I will not be making a list of tags and summaries. You can read the tags on the fics and the art work, should you choose to view. I will be telling you why I love the works themselves. This is the best way I can think to recommend work to you.

Without further ado: the list is below.

WRITING

sweeter than honey from the rock - @dearheartdont

This lives rent free in my head. Literally in my mind this is like a lost episode or something. I do not want to spoil it or anything, but some of my favorite things in it are the world building (there are delightfully sympathetic clients, and witty antagonists), Charles does... exactly what one would expect Charles to do in order to help the client and protect everyone, and he makes things temporarily worse for himself. Rest assured though, there is a very, very satisfying resolution. Really, this is such a wonderful fic.

Winter Bloom - @skinnybritishdudes

PINK!!! EDWIN!!!! NOW!!!! This was my request for our server's Christmas exchange and it blew me out of the water. Genuinely, the magical mischief PLUS the subtle horror PLUS the absolute tenderness at the end?? Was everything I wanted, and more than I expected. Friendship ended with my own pink Edwin origin story. THIS is Pink Edwin now. Run don't walk for this one (as you can see, I still have not calmed down I am so excited about this one).

Nothing Left to Hide - @roseganymede95

I know I need to say more than "spider jar" but there's a point where I just start crying softly and going "spider jar" while I am reading. Honestly I'm sure if I said that to you, you would probably know which fic I'm referring to. It's this one. It's brilliant. It rewired my brain early on and I haven't been the same since. I found a spider jar pin because it may as well be canon in my mind. They call each other mine in the fic what more do I need to tell you to get you to read this? Join the spider jar cult with me.

right. never finished it.- taableclofh

A classic. Charles tries to save Edwin from Hell. He figures some things out in the process. (This is canon divergent in the best possible way and was a real balm on the soul, somehow).

molliculi (soft little things)- @williamvapespeare

This was made in a lab to make me cry specifically. The first time I finished reading it, it was two in the morning. I stared at my bedroom wall for like twenty minutes, bleary eyed, and then finally managed to type something to @williamvapespeare (who was really gracious about whatever mess I sent, lol). God fuck. It's a character study on Edwin. It's a history of living and dying in 1916. It's wondering what it means to continue on existing, but never have lived on with your peers. It's an outsider's perspective on Charles' trying to figure things out. Go. Go now. Suffer with me.

All Rights Reserved- @phoenix-soar

Do you like possessive Charles? (There's one right answer and it's yes). This fic is the fic. This also lives rent free in my brain. I wish I could say something more coherent but honestly I do not know how much I can say- well there is this lovely description where Charles compares Edwin's eyes to the sea on a stormy day (ao3 is sadly down, I cannot pull the full quote, but it was gorgeous). The rest... 🌶️🌶️🌶️

The Case of the Omegaverse Portal - miraworos

Omegaverse, as specified in the title. Also a very well written casefic, and some really satisfying feelings revelations. Once again: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

ART

Kiss (Blue) - @ent-is-indecisive

Genuinely A I am just amazed by how lovely all the kisses you draw are. Like they come out stunningly, over and over. I have no idea how you pull off this wizardry but it is amazing. Anyway I picked the first picture we ever talked about but I am also genuinely blown away whenever you drop something in LOMA

Collab Gifset For Payneland Week- @mellxncollie

I know you have all seen Olly's gifs. If you haven't, what are you even doing? (Maybe you're new here. That's okay). It's something special when Olly makes a gifset for your fic. Genuinely, sometimes I just go back and stare at this one because WOW THOSE ARE MY WORDS. BUT ON A GIF. Genuinely thanks for making my first year in the fandom special Olly.

Pink Slip- @arisprite

Ari was super great during the flash sketch commissions and we had a blast. Now this reminds me of ongoing convos that @majorlb @deadboyslullaby and I have (and perhaps one day we will do something more with those) but the point here is Ari is great. You all should go and appreciate the wide range of payneland she has made. Her fem!payneland is dazzling, and so is her sad boy Charles (which I think is the first piece I ever fell in love with).

RITUALS - @deadboyslullaby

THE RITUALS ARE INTRICATE. This was a collaboration with @likemmmcookies . @deadboyslullaby worked really hard on the inscription around the edges for this one and I am forever in awe of all the little details here. I want more of them doing strange, arcane stuff together always.

ORBWIN IN CHARLES’ RIBS- @jube-art

This is absolutely what I think is going on when one of them is orbing and the other isn't. No I am not taking feedback. Once more, this was a piece of art that re-wired my brain early on. Ribs are for lovers.

BONUS:

Feathers and Fur - merle_p

Super secret rare pair that rewired how my brain works forever. I love you catcrow. I love you Monty that's a little bit depressed a little bit of a masochist. I love you Thomas who can't help but take in strays but still has teeth and hasn't been declawed in this fic. This fic is just... so... gorgeous*chef's kiss*. I won't spoil it for you, but I implore you to read it so I have more people to talk about this pairing with.

These were all my recs for now. Thank you Dead Boy Detective fandom 2024! We may have had some bumps in the road, but here's to a strong and healthy 2025!

[yannisdesk]

Caitlyn Kiramman - Name Symbolism

Looking at characters' names in anything is something I enjoy, and Arcane is no exception. Thought I would start with Caitlyn, because she has both the easiest and most complicated name depending on how you look at things.

I have no idea how League of Legends names their characters. I've only played a handful of times in the past, but I do know a fair bit of the lore. I'm looking at how they are in Arcane, and just gaging it from there because there wasn't much crossover until the recent season.

Caitlyn's first name comes the name Katherine which is derived from the Greek name Aikaterine; in modern Greek it's usually Romanized as Aikaterini or Ekterini. The roots and meaning of this name is actually a giant puzzle and it has several potential meanings, all of which can apply to Caitlyn.

1 - "Each of two."

Caitlyn is consistently a part of a duo throughout the series. Sibling duo with Jayce. Mentor and mentee with Grayson. Mystery solving duo + girlfriend of Vi. Mirrored with her enemy in Jinx, who's also her greatest foil. Master-apprentice with Ambessa. Combat duo with Mel.

2 - A reference to the Greek goddess Hecate.

Hecate was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, crossroads, ghosts, necromancy. She was also associated with night and the moon, as well as the Underworld. On the surface, Caitlyn has nothing to draw from here, she's one of the characters least-associated with Hextech and the arcane, but thinking for a moment, there's some things to connect.

For one, crossroads. Hecate was a triple-goddess, and was frequently depicted as having three different aspects of her body that were all attached to each other, meaning she could look down all different paths of a crossroad at once.

Caitlyn literally goes through three different stages throughout the show, from naive and compassionate, ruthless and violent, and then repentant and sober (in terms of bloodlust).

The next is ghosts. Not only is Caitlyn metaphorically haunted by the ghost of her mother, and of the phantom-like Jinx, butalso the legacy of House Kiramman looms over her. On the flip side, we see the memory of Caitlyn haunt Vi during her pit-fighter era to the point of appearing in hallucinations.

Lastly, the Underworld. What's the nickname for Zaun? The Undercity. Hecate was considered one of the Greek deities that was able to move between the Underworld (the land of the dead) and the land of the living with ease. Most people from Piltover never set foot in the Undercity, but Caitlyn does so several times, even going to deepest and most hopeless areas where no topsider had previously been.

Interestingly, she's guided through by Vi, who takes her through the milder areas like Jericho's and the main areas of the Lanes, the salacious ones like the brothel, and the pit of the tents where the completely forgotten live and - hold on, wait a minute... incoming tangent: call this a reach, but were the writers going for a Dante's Inferno type of reference, where Caitlyn is a stand-in for Dante and Vi is Virgil? Because now that has entered my head and I'm convinced it's true, I mean, I could see Vi writing the Aeneid. Caitlyn and Vi's excursions through the Undercity in S1 Act 2 now seem like such an obvious nod to Inferno that I find it kind of funny I didn't notice it on my first couple of watches.

This also means that come the end of season 2 act 2 Vi goes from being Caitlyn's Virgil, to being her Beatrice, which is kind of whimsically romantic.

Minor note, but Hecate's also associated with and sometimes depicted as a black dog. Caitlyn's girlfriend is Vi, daughter of a man nicknamed the Hound of the Underground, and her pit-fighter logo is two black hellhounds (Hecate's type of dogs). This was for several reasons, including dogs being considered protectors, a character trait both her and Vi have.

3 - "Torture"

...let's not forget...

...and the entirety of the "Paint the Town Blue" segment. Which, while is obviously about Jinx, also applies to Caitlyn. Her hair is dark blue, her eyes are sapphire. The Kiramman's in general are associated with the color blue. Zaun and Piltover are both being "painted blue" by two different people.

4 - "My consecration of your name"

Kind of reach-y but, I think Vi nicknaming her "Cupcake" and having specific times where she calls her "Caitlyn" or "Cait" (usually serious) and others where she calls her "Cupcake" (typically playful) applies here. She also calls Vi her full name at a very specific time, showing how close they've grown. This could also be to how she views her last name, Kiramman, as it and the legacy are treated as something sacred and of utmost importance.

5 - "Pure"

Season 1 Caitlyn was rather pure in that good-intentions way. She really never did anything with malicious intent until season 2, where we see her at her worst, and even then some of that previous "pure" Caitlyn is shown to be just bubbling underneath the surface, like in that scene where she asks Ambessa why violence is always justified in the name of peace.

Kiramman

Honestly, only Amanda Overton can answer for this. She gave Caitlyn a surname, but Kiramman as far as I was able to read, doesn't actually exist. "Kira" could mean several things including "young" or "humiliator of enemy" in Old Persian, or "lord" in Ancient Greek, or "black" in Old Irish, but I'm not sure if any of those were potential inspirations for the Kiramman name or not.

That's all I've got for Caitlyn. Either Vi or Jinx will be next.

[exhelluvafan]

I will never NOT be pissed about the writing of Stella, just to make Stolas look good. The abuse angle thing was only ever told and then just...brushed away. Then she gets sidelined for her brother, when she could have done basically everything he's done.

She can be dead for all of it matters for her character, because Andrealphus is now the one wanting everything from Stolas. Go ahead and write Stella out entirely from the show, have Andrealphus be the one to have hired Striker.....and nothing changes.

The 'abuse' thing was only to ever absolve Stolas from the cheating and everyone should realize this, not good writing sorry and it STILL amounts to nothing because Andrealphus takes the spotlight!

DING! DING! HELLO PEOPLE, S1 is POINTLESS REALIZE THAT!

I agree with you, Anon, the "Stella abusing Stolas" plot point was actually added in as a way to justify and excuse Stolas' cheating, ending up not being either an excuse or justification because cheating is unforgivable no matter what, even if Viv believes otherwise.

And also, you're right as well, Stella could be easily written out of the show and nothing would literally change as Andrealphus could easily take the place of Stella, since Andre is the supposedly cunning and actively malicious one, while Stella was dumbed down to a screaming, annoying one dimensional bitch.

Man, I miss the Instagram era of the show, since Instagram Stella was shown to be a deeply complex character and not a bitch that was born evil, she actually was nice and more pleasant than the Stella we currently have and even showing how the cheating had hurt her specifically, but since Viv cannot allow any nuance to her female characters, all that development went straight to the trash.

And lastly, while I enjoy Helluva S1, I do agree that it became pointless since S2 retconned EVERYTHING that S1 had established, but at the same time, S2 makes references to S1 sometimes which is so confusing since S1 could be easily considered not canon at this point, but despite that, Viv and co. keep making references to it.

At least that helps to keep a canon divergence between S1 and S2, since these two seem from two different shows, one that was decent and the other that became a fanfiction of a show that doesn't exist.

[elainsgirl]

if anything, nesta and cassian gave "just lust" more than azriel and elain but nobody says nothing about that. acosf was a porn book, im sorry. the end was the only good part.

Hey anon 🫶

🗣️ SPEAK ON IT 🗣️

Literally majority of acosf was just Nesta and Cass doing each other. I distinctly also remember Feyre and Rhys agreeing to a physical only relationship for a bit of acomaf. No where in Acosf do we see Cassian planning a future with Nesta. Yet they want to hate on Azriel - someone who feels unworthy and at that point, didn’t even know if Elain wanted him the way he wanted her - for not planning some elaborate future with Elain? Make it make sense - wait you can’t because once again, this just proves anti-elriel arguements do not make sense and can be so easily disproven.

What I find ironic - Antis love calling Azriel entitled for simply questioning why Elain and Lucien are mates which in itself is not even entitlement but whatever, yet they wanted him to have planned out an entire life with Elain, without her imput or even knowing if she likes him back. And if he had done so… it would have made him…entitled. They are no were near consistent with their arguments. How tf are they criticising him for one thing yet want him to do said thing to prove he has “deep” feelings for Elain ?

“its just lust” - if that was the case, they would have already had a relationship. What was stopping them? After all its just superficial lust. They wouldn’t have cared about the consequences or beaking apart as their relationship wouldn’t have been deep enough for either of them. And this whole lust arguement makes Az seem stupid - which he isn’t. Do they really think he would risk losing Lucien as an ally or have a bloodduel initiated, just bcs he wants to do Elain? He moved on from Mor after 500 years just bcs he now wants Elain? Who he didn’t even know wanted him back *that* way yet was still falling for her? If you actually think logically, it makes 0 sense.

God forbid that man wanting to beg on his knees for Elain. Antis act as though its such a heinous crime. “We wanted to see Az care about Elain!” Then go reread the books. The bonus was there to mirror Wings & Ember, proof Az and Elain are attracted to each other the way all romance couples should be. But then again what would antis know about the characters in a ship actually wanting each other physically?

This is a NA series. You will get explicit thoughts from each character. If you can’t handle that, then maybe the spin-offs aren’t for you. Antis purposely act as though the bonus is the only elriel moment we have. They’ve based elriel entirely on the bonus instead of the books + bonus, and I get why they do it. If they admit elriel have had caring moments pre-acosf then their entire foundation for not supporting elriel falls down.

every single anti arguement unravels so easily when you just apply basic common sense and logic to it.

[velvetvexations]

incredible, i just saw a reblog of that "transfem headcanons are always better and sometimes transmasc headcanons actively make the text worse and more hateful" by someone i followed. funny to see discussions arguing against the post before seeing the post itself, otherwise i would have unthinkingly internalized it and felt like shit without knowing why. anyway, i unfollowed that person now. to make it worse, op tore into someone for claiming that chihiro from danganronpa is an exception and better read as transmasc... the irony is insane. yet another example besides miquella that would make the story more boring and maybe worse if transfem.

it's so disgustingly petty lmao

a lot of transfem headcanons are reaches, often "this is literally a man magically trapped in the body of a woman and he hates it and desperately keeps trying to go back to being a man" and it's FINE to headcanon characters however you want but since some people can't conceptualize being a woman as anything other than something they wish would happen to them they take characters like that and hiss if you go near them

i get the sense that there's a very specific, narrow demographic of transfems who used to buy into that reddit guy "being a hot 22-year-old girl must be like having 10 billion dollars" attitude and never really let it go. thus the fixation on "AFAB privilege". isee a similar mix of resentment and attraction from lesbian TERFs, though it comes from a different origin. and it's an attitude that can slide easily into TERFism even for cis men--just look at tatsuya ishida!

If anything the idealization of femininity a small minority of transfems exhibit when they complain endlessly about how good trans people AFAB have it would come more from dysphoria and the grass being greener on the other side. "An AFAB trans person will immediately revert to being an innocent little girl to hurl sexual assault accusations at trans women," however, is really concerning!

Regarding whether "binary privilege" exists, i am once again on my hands and knees begging people to actually look at the statistics. The US Transgender Survey and Cohnting Ourselves (from Aotearoa) are right there. And they both show that all trans people are about as badly off as each other regardless of their specific gender. Yes, there are some ways in which being nonbinary is particularly hard, such as not having a social role to fit into, I'm not denying any of that, but if you're going to call being binary a "privilege" then there needs to be a visible whole-group effect for binary people compared to nonbinary people. And there isn't one when you look at the numbers.

It's not really about non-binary people having it flat worse, more just situational complexities.

The thing about even discussing privilege (binary privilege in this case) is that so many people talk as if to have privilege means to inherently have privilege Over someone else. Like is it an advantage for me to be vaguely binary alligned enough sometimes to have a legal gender marker that is moderately less dysphoria inducing when some people are equally harmed by either? (Tbf I live in a state where x is an option, I simply do not feel safe with that 😵‍💫 (tho that does not help when nothing else other than state id accepts it)) like yeah it's a privilege but it's not privilege Over someone. It does not make me an oppressor or mean I am causing harm, which is a thing many people seem to believe, about various forms of privilege

That's a very good point, anon.

I suppose this isn’t how others I’ve seen think about it but. I’ve always just understood that you can be oppressed for being trans without your gender being affirmed. Like. The bigots understand you’re trans but that doesn’t make them think of you as your gender it makes them think of you as trans. Misgendering is such a huge part of what transphobes do and I’ve never once assumed they were like. Lying about seeing trans people that way. I don’t get acting like transphobes can see our, as you put it, soul gender.

It makes people feel better.

[onlyymirknows]

When Jean Met Karina

My submission for Reijean Christmas Week, Day 1! Prompt: meeting each other's parents.

Read on AO3 (link)

Word Count: 7.1k AU: Modern, they're adults in an established relationship Genre: Angst w/ a happy ending (plus fluff and reijean banter) CWs: Reiner gets triggered, past emotional abuse, past character deaths (car accidents), past suicidal ideation, past homophobia, dropping of the f-slur

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

Reiner handed Connie a small notebook, “Everything you need to know is in here but feel free to text me if you got any questions.” He leaned down and traced a small heart on the glass tank, leaving visible smudges. The small turtle near his fingertip glanced at its owner for a second before lazily paddling away to rest on some driftwood.

“I’ve watched him before, remember?” Connie reminded Reiner with a small, exasperated laugh, “He’s in good, capable hands. Don’t worry.”

Jean, noticing the way Reiner’s jaw clenched, squeezed his boyfriend’s shoulder. This was their first time leaving town for Christmas and thus the first time they had to get someone to pet sit in the winter. The scariest season for a reptile keeper.

“Babe, I know what you’re thinking but we specifically got you a native species so you don’t have to worry about the heat as much. Besides, he’s a tough little guy.” Jean forced a grin, hoping to mask his own tense mood. Reiner returned a small smile accompanied by a soft exhale. Bingo. 

Then Jean turned to Connie, “Thanks for watching Bertl for us, Con. We’ll text you when we’re on our way home.”

“No prob, guys,” Connie beamed while ushering the couple to the door, “drive safe and see you next year!”

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

When Jean slid into the passenger seat of Reiner’s truck he noticed a text from Connie, “try not to lose ur mind on reiner’s crazy mom k?” He scowled.

“What’s wrong?” Reiner pulled his door closed and started buckling his seatbelt. He turned the key in the ignition, the car engine purring to life.

“It’s nothing,” Jean muttered while buckling his own seat. He fiddled with the air vents while Reiner picked out some music on his phone. When Last Christmas began playing Jean couldn’t help but shoot a glare at his boyfriend.

“What’s with that sour expression?” Reiner asked incredulously, “It’s literally the 21st of December.” After a pause he added, “There’s no Mariah Carey on this playlist, okay? Just let me have this, Jeanie.”

Sighing, Jean looked out the window at the now moving pavement. “Okay, but once we get through this I get to choose the next playlist.”

Reiner laughed. “Yeah, yeah. As if I was going to torture you with 8 straight hours of Christmas music.” He glanced at Jean for a second with a warm smile while they waited at the red light letting out of their apartment complex. “Y’know, I love you in spite of the fact that you hate fun sometimes.”

Jean cracked a genuine smile for the first time that day. Maybe he did hate what many people would consider fun but it was only because he had taste. Unlike most of these Christmas songs that felt gaudy and artificial. Yet it was hard to deny the joy they seemed to bring his boyfriend so Jean disregarded his own preferences in the second half of December. Sacrifice and all that.

Indeed, his high school friends were confused when he brought a more “lowbrow” guy back with him from college. Then they saw the way Reiner made Jean loosen up and it all made sense. Somehow Reiner could convince Jean to try something new or give another thing a second chance. As if the blond were a siren and Jean a sailor who never dreamed of diving into the ocean.

Sometimes diving into the ocean to swim with a beautiful siren meant meeting a shark. In this case her name was Karina Braun and, as far as Jean was concerned, she was his enemy. Someone to challenge and fend off and—

“We can’t keep avoiding this, Jean,” Reiner paused the Christmas playlist, “do you want to talk about it now or when we’re closer to my hometown?”

The question broke Jean out of his thoughts and he bristled once the words registered in his mind. “What’s there to talk about?”

Reiner didn’t say anything as he merged onto the interstate. Instead he looked over his shoulder to check his blind spot before roving his gaze between his mirrors.

Jean rubbed his eyes, yawning, his own gaze fixed out the passenger window. When Reiner’s silence continued after they’d settled into the flow of traffic he turned his head. He couldn’t help but frown seeing the way Reiner’s fingers gripped the steering wheel, digits clearly tensed. Knuckles turning white.

“Rei, you good?”

“I’m fine.”

“Ugh.” Jean crossed his arms with a huff. “Look, I know I’m not the best at hiding my frustration. But I also don’t see what there is to discuss when you know damn well how I feel. I would’ve rather invited your cousin to come visit us. If it weren’t for the mem—”

“Don’t,” Reiner cut in firmly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening further, “we shouldn’t talk about that. Not right now… Maybe after we swap.”

“Right,” the brunet replied hoarsely, cheeks red, shoulders aching from suddenly tensing them hard as stone. He bowed his head, ashy brown locks slipping down and obscuring his face from view.

“But I shouldn’t’ve suggested talking bout all this right now,” the blond grumbled, “I shouldn’t’ve even said anything to begin with but I’m a dumbass and… yeah.” Reiner turned the music back on, keeping his eyes glued to traffic the whole time.

The two sat unspeaking for a moment, allowing the dulcet tones of Andy Williams to fill the space. Was it really The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? It certainly didn’t feel like it and, well, Jean knew he wasn’t helping. 

Despite his genuine intentions to help, Jean recognized how his stubbornness and results driven mindset could push the envelope at times. Sometimes to the point of causing more harm than good. And selfishly, he didn’t want to alienate his favorite person, so,  as the next song began, he placed a gentle hand on Reiner’s shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze.

“You’re not a dumbass,” Jean reassured, voice regaining its warmth, “I think you’re being proactive and I’m proud of you for how well you’re handling this situation in spite of my bad attitude.”

“As if you’re usually a ball of sunshine,” Reiner muttered, though Jean saw the way the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth twitched. “I guess I want you to at least try being nice. Just try. You know?”

“I will try,” Jean murmured, “but let’s talk about all this later so you can focus on the road. I think that’s a good idea.”

Reiner nodded, his fingers still wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. Jean turned up the stereo before reclining his seat and looking out his window. The snowy landscape rushed by, filling his vision with a blurred field of white. It was oddly beautiful. Mesmerizing, even. Maybe that’s why his eyelids felt so heavy… though it was probably just last night’s insomnia finally catching up to him.

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

A sudden blast of cold air rushing into the cabin jolted Jean from his slumber. He looked up to see Reiner standing outside his open door and the expression on his boyfriend’s face instantly perked him up. Unbuckling himself he turned in his seat to tightly wrap his arms around Reiner who fell into the embrace with a shudder.

“I.. I’m so s-sorry for waking you, Jean,” Reiner whispered breathlessly into his ear, “I just… traffic slowed down to a crawl and I g-got this feeling that..”

Jean hushed him while running a hand up and down his back. Looking past to the world outside he noted they were in an empty parking lot attached to what was probably an office building. Perfect. He took a deep breath before turning his attention back to his partner. 

“It’s okay, I’m glad you woke me up. You did exactly what you’re supposed to, Rei. You did good. Really, really good.”

They stayed in each other’s arms for a couple of minutes while Reiner calmed his shuddering breath. When Jean felt that his boyfriend was sufficiently recovered he insisted on taking the wheel. Originally the two planned on each driving about half of the way there but Jean assured that he didn’t mind driving extra.

“You get full music privileges,” Jean announced as he buckled himself into the driver’s seat, “hell, even Mariah.”

“Jean… it’s o-okay..” Reiner protested while wiping his eyes, “you don’t have to listen to music you hate just for me.”

“But I want to,” he grinned and gave Reiner’s shoulder a playful shove, “I know you would do the same for me.”

“I think I already do that, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean. I don’t really hate any of your music but obscure 80’s ska and Medieval French battle hymns aren’t my favorite,” Reiner hesitated, “sometimes I’m not really in the mood but… I mean…” he trailed off, his mouth forming into a thin line across his face.

“Let me guess, you don’t ask me to change it because you don’t want to be a bother?”

Reiner turned to look at Jean head on and nodded, his lips curling into a faint smile.

Jean huffed. Of course his self sacrificing boyfriend would listen to literally anything Jean wanted. It was true that Reiner was a lot less picky than him. Yet he also felt like a bit of an ass for never asking if Reiner actually enjoyed his more niche music choices.

He reached over to ruffle the hair on the back of Reiner’s head, rolling his eyes as he did so. “You gotta work on this with your therapist more, hon. I want you to tell me stuff like that. I’m here to please you as much as you’re here to please me. I expect some god damn equality in my relationship. Got it?”

The blond’s smile grew wider. “Loud and clear.”

Without another word, Jean leaned over the console while pulling Reiner towards him. Their foreheads connected with a gentle bump and a renewed smile on both of their faces. Jean tilted his head slightly, making a point to nuzzle the crook of his boyfriend’s nose. 

Reiner sighed contentedly in response. He lifted his hand to cup the side of Jean’s face before pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. A silent thank you from one to the other, sweet, but also vulnerable. Like a hesitant knock on the door of Jean’s world where Reiner sometimes felt out of place. Such as now when his emotions were still dizzying and fraught.

Recognizing the call, Jean pulled Reiner in closer, and began peppering kisses all over his face. Forehead, brows, nose, cheekbones, jaw, chin. And the lips, so many flurried pecks to Reiner’s chapped lips. Every one meant to convey the same thing—I want you. I love you.

“Aghh!” Reiner exclaimed through the attack. He let out wonderfully delighted laughs that set Jean’s soul alight with elation. “Mercy, mercy!”

After one final kiss on the mouth, Jean let Reiner go to lay back against the passenger seat. The blond heaved deep breaths, latent laughs slowly dying on his lips. “I love this side of you,” he mused while buckling himself in, “I’m honored whenever you let me see it.”

“Oh shut up,” Jean chuckled, “you make me sound like some humorless dolt.” He turned the key in the ignition then threw the car into reverse.

“Humorless dolt? Not at all. In I fact think you’re very clever,” Reiner replied smoothly, “witty, droll, piquant—”

“That’s enough, Cyrano. Now where do you want to stop for lunch?”

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

The rest of the drive was relatively smooth. Free flowing traffic, no heated discussions, and Reiner chose a music genre both of them could agree on—80’s glam metal. Jean liked the fashion and showmanship while Reiner appreciated the cheese and catchy hooks. It wasn’t until Jani Lane started singing about secrets he just couldn’t tell that the dreaded topic returned.

“Are you sure you’re okay pretending to be roommates in front of my family?” Reiner asked after turning down the stereo. His voice cracked at the end, prompting him to busy himself with his water bottle to soothe his scratchy throat.

“Yeah, that’s okay,” Jean sighed.

“Are you positive? We don’t have to keep it a secret if you really don’t want—”

“I’m positive, Reiner. It’s seriously not a big deal.”

“And you’ll try being nice, right?”

“Oh course,” Jean insisted, albeit gently.

“…Okay,” Reiner moved to turn the volume back up when Jean covered the dial with his hand.

“Do you not trust me, Rei? To keep my cool?”

“It’s not that I distrust you, Jean. You have a cool head. I mean, I was surprised when your friends mentioned how much you fought with Eren growing up.” The thought of teens Jean and Eren fighting brought a smile to Reiner’s face. “But I know how strongly you feel about my mom. I don’t really blame you, either, it’s just that she’s not actually a villain.”

“I know that,” Jean responded tersely in spite of himself. In his periphery he noticed the way Reiner winced and he sighed again. With a softer voice he added, “I understand that she’s a person.”

“But will you keep that in mind when she says something ignorant? Or even just a little frustrating?”

“Reiner, I promise you I will do everything in my power to make this experience as stress free for you as possible. Trust me.” Jean glanced over at his boyfriend with a smile before returning his attention to the road. They were back on surface streets by now, mere minutes away from the Braun household.

The front door of the house flew open upon their arrival, before Jean finished pulling into the driveway, even. It was a teenage girl absolutely beaming from cheek to cheek, eyes scrunched closed in joy. From the passenger seat Reiner let out a quiet gasp and, without a word, hopped out of the car to meet her.

“Reiner!” She squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck and letting him lift her up from the ground. “I’m so happy you came!”

“And I’m so happy to see you again, Gabi. You’ve grown so much!” He gave her a twirl before setting her back on the ground, his own smile dazzling brighter than the strings of twinkling lights surrounding the open doorway. 

Jean hadn’t seen his boyfriend this happy in weeks and he couldn’t help but stare in grateful awe at the scene. Then his eye caught another figure approaching from inside of the house and his mood immediately soured. 

It was Reiner’s mother, Karina. She was short with drabby blonde hair, deep set eyes, wrinkles, and a very familiar nose. Not exactly the face of evil but he knew how looks could be deceiving.

Reiner turned and hugged her with what looked like a beat of hesitation. Jean quickly got out of the car to join them, his protective instincts kicking into high gear. He heard the tail end of a sentence on his approach that made his jaw clench.

“…you’ve gotten so big, Reiner.”

Thankfully he caught himself before his face formed into the nastiest scowl, remembering the promise he’d made minutes earlier. Besides, Jean reminded himself, maybe Karina didn’t mean anything negative by it when she called her son big. Perhaps it was a comment on the fact that Reiner had gotten into weight training since his last visit.

“Thanks mom,” Reiner replied with an awkward chuckle, “I started going to the gym more regularly. So uh, let me know if you need me to lift anything for you while I’m here.”

Okay, so he was right to give her the benefit of the doubt. Except then Jean’s resolve almost faltered yet again when Karina greeted him, leaning past Reiner and smiling at him.

“Ahh so this is your roommate Gene, I take it? It’s nice to meet you, dear.” 

Of course she said his name wrong. Fucking Gene, as if he were a pair of denim pants. His hazel eyes narrowed dangerously, preparing the most passive aggressive response possible when Reiner suddenly jumped in with a correction.

“No, mom. It’s Jean. Kind of like fawn but with a J.”

“Oh!” She exclaimed with wide eyes, “I’m sorry, I had no idea. It’s wonderful to meet you, Jean.” Her expression softened back into a smile as her gaze moved to Reiner’s truck. “How about we get everything inside? It’s starting to get chilly.”

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

“So Jean’s bags should go into the guest room, then?” Reiner asked as they carried the last few things inside with them.

“No, dear, that’s where Gabi’s staying,” Karina responded, “your aunt and uncle are out of town on a couple’s trip with the Grices. I offered to let Gabi stay here.”

“Isn’t it great, Reiner?” Gabi hopped excitedly between each foot, practically jogging in place. “Just like old times! Remember how my parents and I would stay over for Christmas Eve and we’d all wake up together the next morning?”

Reiner nodded, “I do remember. You’d kick me out of my room and I’d sleep on the couch.” Though the wording sounded bitter the smile on his face indicated he felt quite the opposite. “So I’m guessing I’m on the couch while Jean’s in my old room? I’ll take my stuff to the living r—”

“Ahh, no,” his mother interrupted, “Falco will be on the couch.”

“Falco?” Jean found himself asking, trying to place the vaguely familiar name.

“My boyfriend!!” Gabi practically shouted. Reiner looked surprised before quickly recovering into a warm smile.

“Also a family friend,” Reiner elaborated, “his parents are the ones traveling with my aunt and uncle. I’m guessing my mother agreed to let him stay over, too.”

“I did, yes. He’s currently visiting his brother out of state but he’ll be here in a couple of days. I know it’s… unusual but do you mind sharing a room?”

“I don’t mind,” Jean replied, practically holding his breath. Was this for real?

Karina lowered her voice so only the two men could hear her, “Thank you. I obviously can’t let those two share a room, even if they’re both 18. It wouldn’t be decent.”

Oh. Of course it was a concern about the teenagers having sex. Jean held in a sigh while Reiner hurriedly ushered him upstairs to his childhood room, saying something to his mom about coming back down soon for dinner.

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

“Looks like we lucked out,” Reiner muttered after closing the door shut behind him, “though I’m surprised she didn’t insist on finding me a sleeping bag so we didn’t have to share the bed.”

“Maybe she’s trying not to push her luck,” Jean sat down on said bed and looked around the room. Any decorations Reiner may have put up as a teenager were long gone. Her son had been out of the house for close to a decade at this point so perhaps that was warranted but it still rubbed him the wrong way.

“Did you know your mom sanitized your room like this?”

Reiner shrugged and plopped down on the bed next to him. “No, but it doesn’t bother me, either. I don’t want to be reminded of the old days, anyway… it’s not like they were good.” As nonchalant as he probably tried to sound, the edge in his voice gave him away.

Jean frowned and wrapped an arm around Reiner’s shoulder, pulling him in for a sideways embrace. “Don’t say that, Rei,” he leaned over to whisper into his partner’s ear, “maybe you didn’t have any good days in this room but we wouldn’t be here right now if your entire life before college was exclusively miserable.”

“You’re right,” his boyfriend pressed their foreheads together gently, amber eyes closing, “I owed Porco a visit, anyways.” A single tear rolled down Reiner’s cheek as he took a shuddering breath, “Sometimes I can’t help but still feel like they’re both my—”

“Hey, hey, don’t go there,” Jean cut in, hands quickly cupping the other man’s face, “I… I understand, you know that. And I also get you can’t exactly help it sometimes but I’m also not gonna let you just say it. Because it’s not true. It was never true. Never.”

In his mind Jean thought the words he wouldn’t dare speak aloud right now. Not as Reiner began weeping quietly, tears seeping into the cracks between his own face and Jean’s supportive palms.

It’s not true, no matter what your mom told you.

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

Over the next couple of days Jean found himself on high alert. Despite the fact that Karina never said anything outwardly hostile, he couldn’t help but notice her frequent attempts to get her son alone. As far as he was concerned, no good could come from such an interaction.

Thus he made sure to intervene every single time, practically gluing himself to Reiner’s hip. Somehow he managed to do so without any pleading expressions from his beau. No desperate glances silently screaming for Jean to behave.

Instead Reiner thoroughly enjoyed himself, catching up with his baby cousin and introducing her to Jean. Gabi, while initially a shock to the senses with her loud voice and frequent exclamations, quickly grew on him. She was spunky, reminding Jean of a younger version of himself.

All the while Karina stood on the sidelines, watching. Occasionally she made some attempt at joining in on the conversation but often failed to connect. Gabi also made some efforts to bring her in on some topic or another but the old hag was usually too clueless to contribute. Talk about satisfying.

Jean smiled every time she made eye contact with him, imagining how much Karina probably hated him for not letting her sink her claws into his man.

Everything changed when he woke up alone on the morning of the 24th. The moment he realized Reiner wasn’t there he grabbed his phone to check the time. It was 7:18, meaning he hadn’t grossly overslept. Then Jean noticed a text message from Reiner from around an hour ago.

“Gabi begged me to pick up Falco from the airport with her. Should be back before breakfast.”

He sighed in relief, happy that Reiner was occupied by Gabi and not his mother. Speaking of, Karina usually served breakfast around 8, meaning the three should be back soon. 

Jean got up from bed and commenced his morning routine: showering, brushing his teeth, skincare, and of course haircare. By the time he wandered downstairs in some comfortable clothes it was already 7:55. Reiner and the kids were due back any minute. He sat down at the kitchen table and did a crossword on his phone while he waited.

Karina stood by the stove cooking up something for all of them to eat. If Jean had to give her credit for something, it was her cooking. Even something as simple as scrambled eggs and bacon smelled absolutely divine coming out of her kitchen. Had she been any other person he would’ve jumped at the opportunity to learn her secrets.

“Here you go, Jean. I’ll pour you some coffee, too.”

A plate with some eggs, sausage, and toast suddenly appeared on the table before him. He looked up at her, surprised that she would serve him breakfast before everyone else was present. The past couple of mornings they always waited for everyone, no matter how much Gabi insisted she was dying of starvation.

As if reading his mind Karina spoke up again, “Gabi told me they were running late and would grab breakfast on the way home. So it’s just us two this morning.” She placed a decorative mug of black coffee next to Jean’s plate. 

The mug was Christmas themed with little reindeer flying through the sky pulling Santa’s sleigh. Except instead of being cartoonish it was elegant and minimalist. White silhouettes on a black background with smooth looping script wishing him a Merry Christmas. Okay, maybe he had to give her credit for her tastes in drinkware, too. It was a wonder where Reiner got his adorable but tacky tastes.

He sipped on the drink, still piping hot from the coffee press, while Karina brought her own plate over and sat across from him. They ate in silence, Jean practically gluing his eyes to his phone screen to avoid catching her gaze. Without Reiner’s presence there to rein him in, the temptation to tear into her only grew. 

He just had to hold out until Reiner and the kids came back.

“They probably won’t get here until lunch,” Karina suddenly stated right as Jean finished the last bite of food on his plate. The way she said it sounded so certain. Probably? That was definitely a lie for appearances. She knew they wouldn’t be back for a while.

Jean swallowed hard, eyes finally snapping up to look at Karina. “Why do you say that?”

“I asked Gabi to buy me some time, and so she lied to Reiner about when Falco’s plane landed,” she replied, expression stony, “I thought, if you won’t let me talk to my son then I might as well talk to you instead.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, “What did you want to talk about?”

“Are you the reason my son won’t answer my calls anymore? Why he blocked me on social media? Why I haven’t seen him since my mother’s funeral several years ago?”

“You’re damn right I’m the reason,” he declared, feeling a fiery heat ignite in his soul, calling forth the fury he’d contained over the past few days. One built up by years of watching his best friend suffer from deep emotional wounds primarily inflicted upon him by this woman. Jean clenched his fists, mentally preparing himself for what felt like an ensuing battle. 

She frowned, the wrinkles in her forehead growing more pronounced. “Why did you do that?”

“Why?” Jean laughed haughtily, his almond eyes brimming with deep disdain. “Because you make him absolutely miserable. He can’t help but love you as his mom but I saw the way Reiner deflated after every phone call with you. How he’d get so anxious about every little mistake he made. And, unlike you, I got Reiner the help he needed. I supported him through that process and eventually helped him find the courage to finally cut you out.”

“Then why are you even here?” She asked, eyebrows furrowing further in what looked like frustration, “And why for so long? Why stay here until after New Years?”

Jean scoffed, “It’s not to see you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“For Gabi, then?”

“No, if it was just about Gabi then I would have invited her to come visit us for the holidays. Falco, too. He sounds like a nice kid.”

Karina pursed her lips, mouth forming a thin line across her face. To Jean’s surprise, though, she stayed silent, evidently waiting for him to continue.

He hesitated, unsure if he wanted to elaborate. None of this was any of her business, after all. Except he wanted her to feel bad. To feel guilty for all of the cruel and messed up things she did and said to Reiner over the years. And, well, he only promised to make the trip stress free for Reiner who wasn’t there to bear witness… What if Reiner just never found out?

“We’re here to pay our respects to Marcel and,” Jean gazed at her with all of the intensity he could muster, “Bertholdt. Though you might know him better as that wretched sinner or, I don’t know, that disgusting faggot?” He paused for a moment, taking in the way she winced when he repeated her words back to her.

“I could scarcely believe it the first time Reiner told me about their deaths,” Jean spat, “how you screamed at him for killing Marcel. I mean, how dare you blame him for that? And for what? Because if he hadn’t skipped his extracurricular that day then he wouldn’t have been there to cause the accident?”

She bowed her head, staring intently at her hands to avoid confronting the deadly look on Jean’s face.

“As if Reiner had any control over the driver who ran the red light when they were all crossing the street. As if he chose to have his friend push him out of danger to take the hit himself! Marcel, a dear friend, died and you had no sympathy, no compassion for your son. It’s been 15 years and he still carries that guilt with him. Still blames himself.”

Tears of indignation started welling in the corner of Jean’s eyes but he quickly blinked them away. It’d be a cold day in hell when he showed any signs of weakness to this witch.

“And you didn’t even get him help! He watched a friend get hit by a car and you couldn’t be bothered to get him in to see a therapist. And I know you had the resources. Unlike Bertholdt’s father who wanted to get his son into therapy after also witnessing the accident but just didn’t have the right insurance. You realize that Reiner and Bertholdt practically held each other together after that, right?”

Surprisingly Karina responded with a single nod of the head. Yet she continued staring at the table, her expression unreadable. He knew he could stop here, having likely gotten his point across but fuck that. It wasn’t close to enough.

“If you knew how much your son relied upon that friendship then why did you tear them apart? Huh?”

Karina hunched further forward in her seat, elbows now propped up on the table so she could hold her head. She didn’t even attempt a response, which only served to piss Jean off more.

“We both know it’s because you walked in on them sharing a kiss! A simple peck on the lips and you lost your goddamn mind! You grounded your son for the rest of the school year and forbade him from seeing his best friend! They didn’t even know how they actually felt about each other but you didn’t hesitate to demonize an innocent teenager! One you’d known for years at that point, no less!”

Jean banged his fist on the table with a frustrated grunt, causing the dishes to clatter from the force. She flinched in response but still hung her head low, refusing to face his fury. He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing his condemnation. “The night Bertholdt died he was driving here to see Reiner. Not to have some secret affair but because your son was at the end of his rope.”

Finally she raised her head, looking at him with a hollow, wide eyed expression. 

“That’s right. Reiner started talking about hurting himself and his best friend rushed here despite your warnings in order to save your son…” for the first time Jean hesitated, temporarily uncertain if he should throw the finishing blow. Then he remembered the look of devastation on Reiner’s face the first time he heard this story and he knew it had to be done.

“Did you know that they were on the phone together? Bertholdt didn’t want to leave Reiner alone for a second, afraid of what might happen if he did. As a result Reiner heard all of it. The crash, the screams of pain, and then the emergency workers frantically pulling Bertholdt from the wreckage, shouting about the blood loss and—” 

“Stop!” Karina sobbed desperately, her suddenly visible eyes pleading with Jean to grant her mercy. The look on her face, the hint of remorse he sensed in her, made him take pity and skip the rest of the gory details.

“The only reason we’re even here talking right now,” Jean growled, “the only reason your son is still alive, is because he had other people to carry him through. First he had his friends here in town and then he went to college and found me. I saw how much he was hurting and I encouraged him to finally talk to a professional. Now he’s flourishing and I’ll be damned if I let you undo any of his hard earned progress!”

What he heard her say next didn’t make any sense. Jean couldn’t help but think he’d misheard Karina through her sobs and gasps for air. But then she said it again and again. So many times that it became unmistakable.

“Thank you.”

“What? Why the hell are you thanking me?”

“Because,” Karina suddenly reached across the table to grab one of Jean’s hands. In any other situation he would immediately pull away but his instincts told him to wait. “Jean, dear, I’ve been trying to get Reiner alone to ask if he would consider going to family therapy with me.”

“Wait, what?”

“After Reiner cut me off.. I was a complete mess. At first I was so angry. How could my baby forsake me like that? After everything I sacrificed to raise him. But then the anger, it turned into despair and I could hardly function. When I went in for a medical appointment, the doctor convinced me to see a therapist for my depression. It took years but eventually I realized how much I’d let down my dear son.”

Jean stared at Karina, too stunned to even notice that now he was crying. Not from righteous anger but from utter confusion. For all of the times he had daydreamed about putting this woman in her place he never imagined such a response.

“If you hadn’t convinced Reiner to shut me out I never would’ve gotten the help I needed. I never would’ve worked on my own issues and understood how I took them out on him. I failed him as a mother. I know that now.” She let go of Jean’s hand to grab a tissue box and set it on the table between the two of them.

“Hold on,” he watched as she pulled a tissue to dab at her eyes, “if you already knew you’d done wrong by Reiner then why did you let me tell you off like that?” Jean grimaced now as he thought back on the comments he’d just made. The fierce condemnations. The unapologetic jabs.

Karina smiled weakly, “Well… I guess I wanted to understand how you saw the situation as my son’s life partner.”

“That’s reasona— WHAT,” Jean bolted up from his seat, “what did you just call me!?”

“Reiner’s life partner,” she repeated gently, her smile widening.

“You knew this whole time!?”

Karina nodded.

“How?!” Jean slammed his palms down on the table, rattling the tableware yet again. 

This time, instead of flinching, Karina couldn’t stop herself from laughing. A goofy, genuine laugh that rumbled from her stomach and up through her chest. A laugh that sounded exactly like Reiner’s when he felt light and carefree. When he was happy.

“Gabi and Reiner are friends on social media, dear,” she finally explained after containing her amusement. “He isn’t shy about your relationship. And Gabi isn’t shy about, well, anything. I don’t think she realized that I wasn’t supposed to know when she told me.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well,” Karina sighed, her smile quickly fading, “I… I didn’t want to stress Reiner. Or you, for that matter. With how bigoted I used to be, I wasn’t sure if either of you would believe me if I said I was okay with it, either.”

Jean nodded, finally allowing himself to smile. He sat back down at the table and leaned back in the seat. Without saying anything, Karina grabbed Jean’s nearly empty cup of coffee and brought back a fresh pour.

“We have a few hours still,” she reminded him, “If you’re up to it, I think it would be nice to start over.”

He considered her offer for a second, a smug smile crossing his face. “Sure but on one condition.”

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

The last thing Reiner expected to hear when he threw open the door of his mother’s house after hours of waiting around at the airport was raucous laughter. Especially not Jean’s laughter, at that. He kicked off his shoes and hastily ran into the kitchen where he discovered Jean gleefully laughing at a photo album.

“Oh, that picture of him dressed as a yam?” Karina asked with a chuckle. She was back at the stove, putting the finishing touches on their lunch.

“Is that what that is?” Jean questioned with a wide, mischievous smile. His eyes were glued to a polaroid of a young Reiner wearing a lumpy reddish-brown blob of a costume. “Was this for some Thanksgiving play or something?”

Reiner froze in place, mouth hanging open. Wide eyed, he glanced back and forth between the duo, too shocked to speak.

“No, no” she replied cheerfully, “that was for Halloween. Reiner really, and I mean really, loved sweet potatoes back then. I borrowed his aunt’s sewing machine and tried throwing something together for him. It admittedly wasn’t very good.”

Jean cackled. He flipped to the next page, grinning at more pictures of the yam costume while sipping on some water.

“Hello Ms. Braun, thank you for hosting me,” a gentle voice suddenly came from Reiner’s side and drew everyone’s attention. Falco stood in the doorway of the kitchen holding a small tin. “Colt baked these cookies for us to enjoy.”

Without skipping a beat Jean got up from the table to shake Falco’s hand and introduce himself. Then he gestured for the young man to follow him to the stove where Karina once stood.

Reiner looked down to see his mother gazing up at him, a nervous smile adorning her face. She gently grabbed his arm and led him to the next room while Gabi passed them to join the others.

“Mom, what’s going on?” He asked quietly, eyebrows still stuck high on his forehead.

“I asked Gabi to keep you busy for a while so I could talk to Jean,” Karina let go of her son’s arm to rest her hands at her sides. That alone was unusual to him, having grown accustomed to his mother clinging to him when they were in such close proximity. She continued, “I’m sorry for the tricks but I realized I needed to get your boyfriend on my side if I wanted to talk to you. And yes, I’ve known this whole time. Gabi told me a while ago.”

“Gabi told you I had a boyfriend? But then why—” Reiner cut himself off and shook his head, realizing that it really didn’t matter why his mother played along with the roommate story. Not when she referred to Jean as his boyfriend without a shred of contempt in her tone.

“Reiner, I’m so sorry,” Karina looked away for a moment to wipe her watering eyes, “I know I hurt you so much.”

He blinked back tears of his own. Was this real? “It’s… it’s okay, mom, r-really…” Reiner stammered, suddenly overcome with an indescribable feeling of guilt. One that he often felt when thinking about his mother but never understood.

“My dear boy, it’s not okay. I am your mother and I failed you. After talking to Jean I realized that I failed you even more than I thought. I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me.”

“Wait,” he protested, “that man, my dad, took advantage of you when you were still just a teenager and then abandoned you with his child. And then.. grandma and grandpa, I didn’t see it back then but I see it now. I see how disappointed they were. You hardly knew peace a-and they treated m-me like an extension of you. I… I can’t b-blame you for wanting me to meet their expectations.”

Karina shook her head, choking back tears. Reiner could see the way she fought against her own desire to pull him into a hug and it broke his heart. As often as Jean had encouraged him to be angry at his mother, he rarely ever could. 

That guilt, he suddenly realized where it came from. And that was from the knowledge that his very existence made Karina’s life infinitely harder. How every little mistake he made was weaponized against her by his grandparents. The only ones he ever knew and also the ones who silently saw Reiner as a mistake. 

It’s not like they were wrong, either.

Yet Karina didn’t stop shaking her head in disagreement, fighting against her own emotions to find her voice. “None of what you said, about your father or my parents or my age,” she croaked, barely understandable, “none of that was your fault.” She muffled a sob with her hands. 

“You didn’t choose to be born, Reiner. And maybe… maybe I didn’t choose to give birth, but it’s not an excuse for how I treated you. Or how I treated poor Bertholdt. You were just kids and I… I had n-no idea th-that you… or that h-he… it’s all m-my f-fault…”

Reiner sucked in a sharp breath, immediately understanding his mother now knew about that awful night. Without hesitation he pulled her into a strong embrace, unable to contain his own sobs. Karina whimpered innumerable apologies and for once he let her without protest. 

Deep down Reiner somehow knew that both of them needed this. His mom needed to apologize for her wrongdoings. He needed to forgive himself for every one of those wrongs for which he had ever accepted the blame. This was them, finally healing. The first step of countless many in a journey that already felt infinitely easier.

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

That night five of them sat around the kitchen table, laughing and playing some of their favorite board games. Karina sat out of some of the rounds but, unlike the previous days, she was very much part of the conversation. Jean still struggled at times to hold his tongue after she said something questionable but he cut himself some slack. He knew this was a process for him, too.

When he and Reiner finally retired to their room his heart felt much lighter. As did his boyfriend’s for that matter, (though he was a little tipsy, too.) It didn’t take long before Jean felt Reiner lightly snoring into the back of his neck, the latter insisting on being the big spoon that night. He smiled to himself as sleep gradually came to claim him, too.

Never in Jean’s dreams did he ever imagine liking Karina Braun. Perhaps it was a Christmas miracle. Or perhaps, as was sometimes the case, he assumed the worst of someone he never met in the process of fighting for someone he loved. He didn’t question it, however, just happy that he agreed to give her the chance.

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If there is enough interest I might write a second part where reijean go on a double date with pokupiku and pay their respects to Marcel and Bertholdt.

[rizzoreads88]

I just want to tell you even though I have never shipped elriel its so nice to see at there are some elriels out there who love Lucien.one thing I can stand about most elriel shippers is they try to villianize Lucien all the time.

Hi anon,

Ohh man is this going to be a loooonngg response ….There are a lot of Elriels who still like Lucien. However I can understand what your saying too as I think at times certain shippers from both sides tend to try and paint Lucien/Azriel in a bad light depending upon who they ship…

Some E/uciens say Azriel is incel who feels entitled to woman and only cares about sex while some Elriels say Lucien is a coward and didn’t help Feyre enough. While neither are perfect( because no one is )none of this is true about either. I think both sides of these arguments contradict each other.

⭐️Lets start with the “Lucien didn’t do enough to help feyre” and he’s a coward argument

Do we forget Lucien was putting his life on the line UTM to help her whenever he could? He was also thrown into the second trial and almost died for being her friend… in Acomaf when everything was going wrong between her and Tamlin Lucien did try to help them both. And neither listened. (I don’t see how anyone can blame anything on Lucien seeing as he wasn’t in that relationship and Feyre was a grown ass woman but I digress). Then in acowar Feyre uses him as a pawn to try and make Tamlin jealous not even caring the repercussions it could have for Lucien. After all this when Feyre was escaping the spring court to go back to the night court Lucien was willing to die by the weird Hybern twins so she could escape…Lucien has helped Feyre in many ways. She would have never gotten back to the Nc without him or survived the trials UTM without him. He also did try to help her AND tamlin and neither listened… “well all he did was talk to them that’s not enough” What are you supposed to do when two grown ass adults are in the throes of PTSD and depression and in a consenting relationship if they won’t listen to anyone? Not to mention while this is going on Lucien is busy trying to protect the spring court citizens, gets attacked and injured by amaranthas beast, is trying to help Tamlin rebuild the spring court and dealing w his own mental health issues too. He’s being put in the middle of Tamlin and Feyre and tries to help them both and they don’t listen but “he didn’t do enough”? I’m sorry what a senseless argument that is…

Let’s look at the flip side… if you blame Lucien for not “helping feyre enough” do you blame Azriel for not helping feyre or nesta as well? Azriel had no issue going along with Rhysand taking away feyres bodily autonomy or lying to his high lady… Azriel said nothing when everyone found out Nesta could make made weapons but Amren & Rhysand felt she shouldn’t know about her own body (Rhysand seems to have a pattern of keeping info from women about there own bodies🥴), Azriel said nothing when Amren lied about court laws to manipulate Nesta into the house of wind or when they actually locked her in the HOW. How about in HOFAS when rhysand exploded rooms out of his anger for Nesta and he triggered ember, azriel said nothing to defend Nesta or call Rhys out and azriel had actually been around Bryce and got to know her more then them. You can’t say Lucien is a coward and didn’t help Feyre enough if you don’t hold that same smoke for Azriel in all these situations either. Let’s also not forget Lucien went on a dangerous mission to find their dad and Vassa and helped fight in the war. Lucien is no coward.

⭐️Now let’s move on to Azriel is just a incel who feels he’s entitled to women and only wants sex…

If you truly feel this about Azriel after Acosf and Hofas you don’t understand his character. Sorry not sorry. This man has never once acted entitled to a woman. “ well he literally says in his bonus chapter he feels should get elain because she’s the third sister”. No he doesn’t. He was asking how it’s possible the three of them came into their lives and rhysand and cassian fall in love and are mates to Feyre/ Nesta but he has feelings for Elain and yet can’t be with her. He was questioning fate over Elain. We know this because he then goes on to question his own damn religion over her too when he questions the cauldron over her. Friends let’s be so for real here…. You don’t hang out in the garden until the wee hours of the morning with someone, you don’t risk your life not caring you could die to rescue someone and then carry them while your bleeding out and won’t go get looked at until you know there ok…. You don’t save someone’s gift for a year and look at it every night… you dont lend someone your most prized possession that you never even let your best friends or anyone else touch… if you just feel only lust or entitlement to them. You and I both know Azriel has deep feelings for Elain. The antis know it too no matter how much they try and act like they don’t.

Let’s look at the flip side of this… if you hold this against Azriel do you also hold this against Lucien? Remember when Lucien left with feyre to go to the Nc to see if Elain was worth it? Or how about the first thoughts he had when he saw her at the spring court being “Touch her, smell her, taste her—“ even though he noticed how her depression had made her so thin… “well those are mate instincts” your right they are but that was still one of the first things he thought… so again you can’t act like azriel is a incel who only wants elain for a booty call and is entitled to her when Lucien thinks lustful thoughts about her and doesn’t even know her like Azriel does.

✨At the end of the day BOTH Lucien and Azriel are good men. Let’s not forget Feyre even talks about how good of a man Lucien is to Elain. We all know how the inner circle feels about Azriel as well. It is evident by both of thier actions they both have great hearts. I hate when either sides put either down because of the ships. You can still love a character and ship them with whoever.✨

[rottenfyre]

I can’t stop crying over this. They destroyed something that meant so much to me—Tim and Stephanie’s relationship wasn’t just some random pairing, it was everything. It was beautiful, real, and messy in all the right ways. Growing up with them, I saw what love was supposed to look like: loyalty, trust, passion, and this incredible sense of partnership. They literally have 30 years of history together. Like we literally have comics as adult Tim being with her.

Tim and Stephanie had history. They fought for each other. They saw each other at their best and their worst, and they chose each other every time. Tim loved her in this deep, unshakable way, and Stephanie loved him just as much. She wasn’t some perfect girl—she had flaws, she made mistakes, but Tim always believed in her. And she believed in him.

Like, do you remember how Tim dropped everything to be there when she was giving birth to a baby that wasn’t even his? Who does that? He didn’t care that it wasn’t his child. All he cared about was her. He was always there for her, and she was always there for him. Even when life was tearing them apart, they found their way back to each other.

And Stephanie—she loved Tim so much it was almost painful. She’d dress up to catch his attention, try to impress him even though she didn’t have to. He already loved her for who she was. And the way they fit together? It was magic. They teased each other, challenged each other, but at the end of the day, they always had this unspoken understanding. They got each other.

The slow burn between them was everything. Watching them grow into something so real and profound over the years made it feel like they were always meant to be. It wasn’t rushed or forced—it was natural. And that’s why it hurts so much to see what the writers have done.

They tore it apart. For no reason. There was no real breakup, no explanation, no closure. Just… nothing. They stripped away everything that made their relationship special and meaningful. And Tim? He’s not Tim anymore. He’s a shadow of the person he used to be. They’ve turned him into someone who doesn’t even recognize the love he once had.

It feels so forced, so hollow, to see him with someone else now. There’s no chemistry, no depth, no passion. And I don’t care if they wanted to change directions with his character—this isn’t about representation. It’s about them taking a fully developed, beautifully written love story and throwing it in the trash. Tim and Stephanie weren’t just a couple—they were soulmates. And now they’re gone.

I mean look at this, they were written and made to be together:

Now compare this to this trash:

What the actual fuck?

And Stephanie? She’s not the type to just stand there and accept this. She’s a fighter. She wouldn’t just let him go and embrace this new relationship like it’s nothing. She wouldn't.

They didn’t just ruin a couple. They ruined two characters who had so much history, so much chemistry, and so much love. They ruined a story that meant something to me. They ruined Tim and Stephanie. And I’m so tired of writers doing this. So tired of watching them destroy the things I love.

[shannonsketches]

Something I really, really love about super's manga and what I think is so appealing about Vegeta's character arc in general is that it's, in my opinion, good, earnest restorative justice in fiction.

Vegeta has no say in how he's raised, he's conditioned to have a certain mindset and worldview that he has to put in the work to pull himself out of. It's messy. It's ugly. He relapses. He faces it. He works on it. He learns that death and justice aren't the same thing, even when it comes to himself. He grows.

But his backstory never serves to excuse his horrific actions or his shitty behavior. Not by Vegeta himself, and not by the narrative. (At least not in the manga.)

It's never used as a sob story excuse about why he's allowed to be like this. It's never used to explain away why he's a bad person or imply that everyone needs to be nice to him. It's never, as my friend puts the trope, 'Aw, poor little war criminal.' There are people who forgive him and there are people who don't. Obviously the forgiveness of his immediate community affects him in a positive way, but the lack of forgiveness from people he's harmed also affects him in a positive way, and the narrative slowly rewards him because he's making the decision to do and be better, regardless of whether or not anybody claps (in fact, there's a whole bit in BotG that he does not like it when people call attention to and quite literally clap for his decision to do and be better).

He gets an arc about how that has no bearing on his decision to do better. He asks, point-blank, if someone is still angry with him for a horrible thing that harmed them. He's given an honest answer. Rejection doesn't change his determination to help the people who are left to save, not even for a moment. He accepts that it's permanent damage, keeps helping, and does not bring it up again.

The narrative tells us it's no one's responsibility to forgive him, and more importantly the narrative tells us he knows that, and knows that it's entirely his responsibility to keep trying to do better for the people who are still here.

He gets a minor plot bringing attention to the fact that he bears the weight of his father's legacy, and while he gets to deny that his fathers decisions were not his responsibility -- he gets a follow up plot that addresses that he was (and was wholly intending to be) just as bad, if not worse, given a seat of power.

He gets that whole arc to explore how there's nothing he can do to change his past. He is not responsible for the sins of others, but the burden of his past is something he has to take with him into his future, and that guilt is not entirely a bad thing. The guilt is something he chooses to embrace. It gives him empathy he didn't have before. It gives him awareness of himself and his power from the new perspective of self-imposed kindness, and allows him to help someone much like himself be less alone and navigate the anger without making the same isolating mistakes.

(Toriyama's version of) The story starts rewarding him (in terms of his stated, consistent goals) when he starts actively, knowingly, and willingly pursuing kindness toward others on his own, and it becomes his natural response. He's never going to be a sweetheart like Gohan, or the Fun Opponent like Goku, but slowly he becomes the best version of himself, while still very much being Himself. And it's only after his goals are completely freed of malice and insecurity that he's able to meet them.

I just think that's a neat moral and a really well-done way to write restorative justice.

[cynicalclairvoyantcadaver]

Have you noticed how both Percy Jackson and Cardan are often characterised as dumb and Cardan weak because they love their significant others? I think this is some weird sort of misogyny because 'only weak men will love these women' when that's simply not true!

Tell me if I'm crazy lol

You're not crazy. This is a real phenomenon that needs to stop.

The PJO fandom tends to dumb down Percy a lot and hype up Annabeth, when in reality it is Percy who comes up with brilliant strategies and fights very well. It seems to me that people think Percy is foolish and/or impulsive because he doesn't communicate his plans very well.

It's frustrating to read canon PJO and then go to the fandom PJO and see how much Percy is dumbed down. Even canonically, Percy is put down a lot-unfortunately, I think this is because Rick is influenced by the fandom, which he should stop.

In fact, Annabeth would have died without Percy. LOTS of people would have died without Percy.

Thankfully, there are many people who DON'T dumb Percy down, like @cynthiav06, @hermesmyplatonicbeloved and other people-I forgot the blogs, tell me if you want to be tagged.

Check out the blogs I mentioned above if you want Real Percy, not dumb Percy who's not even real.

And this happens with Cardan too.

All right-I will say it again and again.

REAL CARDAN IS NOT A DUMB, HELPLESS UWU POOKIE!

HE IS POWERFUL. HE IS SMART. HE IS CUNNING AND CAN RUN AN ENTIRE KINGDOM WITHOUT JUDE OR MADOC.

I think most of the TFOTA fandom forget that Cardan did, in fact, run the kingdom without Jude or Madoc between and at the beginning of The Queen of Nothing!

And he's no helpless pookie. Does ANYONE remember the scene in TWK where the sea mermaids and their retinue come and read the poem that's a threat in disguise?

Does anyone remember how Cardan reacted? I DON'T THINK THEY DO!

He did NOT whimper or look to Jude for help. Jude DID NOT step up and deal with things directly.

Cardan dealt with it. He gave a clever response and effectively dealt with it while remaining powerful in the eyes of his subjects. Jude herself notes how powerful he looks in that scene.

And his meeting with Orlagh? He looks and feels regal and intimidating, like a true ruler. He saves his kingdom from war, literally threatens to encase Nicasia in a tree to keep Orlagh in check like a true boss, is prepared to fulfil his theat and calls up AN ENTIRE ISLAND. AN ENTIRE NEW ISLAND, LIKE THE THREE ISLES, EXCEPT NOW IT'S THE FOUR ISLES.

And he also comes up with a smart plan for Jude's safety, thus ensuring that she can come back when she wants to. It's not his fault that she interpreted it differently and chose to ignore the real meaning when she finally found it.

And in The Prisoner's Throne when he saves Jude from the knives? 100 percent amazing scene. He really has a heavy regal ruler aura there. My favorite scene of Cardan.

Yet fandoms need must girlbossify the females and woobify the males to make us see that the females are oh so powerful and the males need them for everything apparently.

The fandoms make the males characters that are entirely dependent on the females and don't exist without them. And I can't emphasize how frustrated this makes some of us.

Annabeth is smart on her own without Percy and vice versa.

Same goes for Jude and Cardan. They deal with threats in their own effective ways, though said ways are different-but those ways still work for both of them.

This is a reverse form of misogyny that is still sexism to both males and females and this really needs to stop. Whenever a couple get together, people tend to not see them as equals-either the male or the female is dominant, and if it's the female, she has to be oh so strong and muscular and dark and serious while the male has to be soft and submissive to her at all times, oh noooooooooo.

Not to say that muscular and masculine women CAN'T be dominant, but please remember that this is not always the case. Submissive partners are not always soft and feminine, and dominant partners don't always need to be commanding and aggressive.

Being equals in a relationship is a big charm, and that's why Percabeth worked so well for a lot of people. That's a huge part of their charm. To take that away would be to push what made Percabeth good into an abyss and watch it disintegrate.

TFOTA fandom members, please remember that Cardan is a person on his own without Jude. Same goes for Percy and Annabeth, PJO fandom members.

[kero-cure]

Thanks for translating! And guys, Let me talk about him a little. Because no doubt that he's MVP of this year for me. So welcome to Yuki Hayama appreciation post by me (lol)

Around last month, I read his cast blog and impressed a lot so let me share about him.

He used to have a negative thought about himself and have a complex. (I heard one time somewhere that when he was in an idol group, He confessed to other members that he felt like he was a burden. While everyone moving forward, He was still there and had nothing changed.) Until one day he decided that he hate it and don't wanna be like this anymore. So he started to mark his goal of "his ideal self" and doing his best to reach the goal everyday. And while he's going forward to that goal. He managed to build his self esteem and finally, Be able to love himself more. Even though sometimes he messed up, He won't regret and think that

"Well, the answer I came up with turned out like this, and even if I fail now, it's okay as long as I acted because I truly believed it was the right thing to do at the time."

Instead.

I'm amazed of how he developed his self esteem to love himself a lot (so much that sometimes it sound narcissism lol) I feel like I, Who have a time of my life that lack of self esteem so bad and took so long to recovered, learnt something important from him.

He may looks cheerful, Being funny Kansai boy, And always have a big heart-shaped smile on his face when we saw him on camera. But he's actually hardworker and sometime maybe being too serious. I saw many times when he talk about his roles, Seeing him being literally no.1 Ishiro fan, Seeing him try to read and understand his role as much as possible, And seeing how he taking his role so seriously and trying his best to perform as Ishiro even though it might be hard make me impressed a lot.

I'm so glad that I entrusted my boy's life to him. And I'm so thankful I met him too. He performed the character who became my very first Super Sentai oshi (Seriously. I'm toku girlie for more than 10 years but my main focus is Kamen Rider. I didn't have oshi who I love that much in Sentai until this time.) And then he managed to made me fall for him later lol. I usually don't have much irl person oshi and maybe I'll find someone to become my oshi in every 10 years. And yes, He became my new irl person oshi, Since last time that was 10 yrs ago.

Thank you for become one part that changed me a lot in 2024. I love you and your character so much :)

Animage January 2025 Issue ft. Hayama Yuki Interview (translation below)

Publication: December 10, 2024

The Informant's Dignity

The Informant who supports the Boonboomgers, with his ability to collect data quickly from all over the world and superior intelligence to formulate strategies and countermeasures against enemies based on said data he collects, is Ishiro Meita.

Although he has immense trust in their leader, Taiya Hando, when they first met, they were enemies. Hired by the ISA, he sneaks into Taiya's house, where he's recruited by him to join the Boonboomgers. "I've fallen for you. That skill of yours, I want to buy it!" These words moved Ishiro so much, that he makes the decision to become Taiya's friend.

As the battle between the Boonboomgers and Hashiriyan intensified, Ishiro investigates the suspicious movements happening behind the scenes of the ISA's Division Director, Tokoyari Eiichiro. He's then confronted by Sutea, a former fellow spy, who received the request from someone else. The fact that someone associated with him was opposing the Boonboomgers, and that the tracking device attached to Sutea was found broken must have cast a dark shadow over Ishiro's mind.

With the current situation of enemies on Earth operating with secret techniques, Ishiro's spy skills gained from living in the underground are sure to be of great help to the Boonboomgers. Don't take your eyes off the Informant's future movements!

-I'll never doubt Taiya-

"Over the course of the year, Ishiro's come to show a variety of expressions."

Hayama: When filming first started, I kept a certain amount of distance from everyone else except for Taiya, often times because the Director asked me to do so. Lately, there have been more situations where he works as a pair with someone, the expression of my lines in the scripts have become softer, and his overall rough vibes have relaxed. I think he now trusts everyone else as his friends, though not as much as Taiya, but I think his participation in the BBG has changed into a goal for the six of them to achieve together. I think that's how comfortable of a "place" Boonboomger has become in his mind.

"What's one thing you consider to be important when playing the role of Ishiro?"

Hayama: Since the start of filming, I've been dedicated to carefully expressing his sense of distance from people. I'm conscious of keeping his distance from anyone he encounters for the first time, and I also put importance on his habit of folding his arms as an expression of being on high alert. This is just something I personally obsess over, but as an indication of him getting closer to a character, I've been challenging myself to change my tone of voice when speaking. He usually speaks slowly, but for those he's comfortable with, while not much faster, he does change his talking speed, and from the very beginning, I was able to create that distinction between Taiya and the others. I've also been slowly working towards breaking his habit of folding his arms, as I've been trying to avoid doing it right away.

"On the flip side, is there anything you became more conscious of over the course of filming?"

Hayama: It was depicted in episode 6, but in the beginning, I didn't know he had a hot blooded side to him (laughs). I took that into consideration and changed my direction to playing someone who's trying his best to be cool. I was conscious of making him look cool in the way he stood and the way he spoke. Also, Ishiro's past, which was revealed in episode 14, was a very important point for me. I don't think normal people would see fish at an aquarium, cry, and be like, "Uwah, they're all living their lives to the fullest," nor would their body and minds be driven to such an point. No matter how cheerful he gets, I keep in mind that there's a depressing back story at the root of him being like that. I was also extremely nervous about the part before entering the aquarium, where he walks around looking unwell, as I thought, "If I mess up here, Ishiro will be ruined forever." I remember very well how scared I was to go to that shoot.

"It meant just as much to Hayama-san as it did to Ishiro, huh? Please tell us what you value when expressing your relationship with Taiya."

Hayama: To never doubt. When I read the scripts for the episodes we're currently filming just once or twice, there are quite a few parts of his interactions with Taiya that left me thinking, "?" When this happens, without fail, I always remember the words Director Nakazawa Shojiro said to me in the beginning, that being, "He trusts Taiya 100%." As depicted in episode 37, despite the fact that Ishiro and Taiya were acting separately, they knew what the other was going to do. Sometimes I have to forcibly convince myself about parts like that (laughs), but I read my lines with the intention of never doubting Taiya no matter what, and I also try to express this through my acting.

"Taiya said, I can tell what Chasshiro's thinking through his eyes."

Hayama: It almost felt like cheating (laughs). When Haruhi and I read the script, we were like, "How can he tell by looking into his eyes?" (laughs). Still, I once again found myself thinking that the words Director Nakazawa said to me weren't wrong.

"In episode 37, the main focus wasn't only his bond with Taiya, but also the appearance of Sutea, a fellow spy."

Hayama: I interpret Sutea as someone who, even in the darkest moments of Ishiro's life, made him see the light, or rather, someone he had a few cranked up moments with. If they had just been on the same mission once or twice, they wouldn't have a relationship where they called each other by their names. At the end of the episode, Ishiro restrains Sutea, but she manages to escape after that. I'm sure it was a sort of "you've lost" restraint, and that in Ishiro's mind, Sutea was the one opponent who could do that (escape).

"What was the most memorable scene involving Sutea?"

Hayama: Before the exchange between Ishiro and Sutea, they had to film the scene where Sutea watches the Robo fight after she frees herself from her restraints, and Director Hayama Koichiro allowed me to observe the scene in order to study. The way Sutea said "Ishiro" sounded alittle sad, which made me imagine that the relationship between the two wasn't just as friends, although I wouldn't say it went as far as love. In the scene where Ishiro leaves after restraining Sutea, the footage was shot from a wide angle, so it didn't show the scene clearly, but when he walked away, Sutea looked sad, as if she was about to start crying. At that time, I was happy to feel that Sutea's Naito-san and I were thinking the same thing about the relationship between Ishiro and Sutea. I've learned alot from Naito-san's performance, and I hope to work with her again someday.

-Ishiro's range that we both created-

"Episode 37 had alot of untransformed action scenes, but both Ishiro vs Sutea, and Taiya vs the fake Ishiro were great because they were fast paced."

Hayama: Asai Kosuke-san, who normally performs as a Suit Actor, was my stand in for the more dangerous scenes, but I wanted to do as much as I could on my own, so I performed most of the scenes myself. I had struggled alot in the previous boxing story (episode 29) that involved untransformed action, so to be honest, I was anxious before the shoot. Furthermore, this time, Ishiro and the fake had two different "hands" (choreography for the sword fight and fighting while moving), so things were already pretty chaotic because of that.

"Sutea's Naito-san is good at action, so there'd be alot of pressure when performing with her."

Hayama: That's true, the speed at which Naito-san learns is amazing! She did all her actions without a stand in, so for me, she's like an almighty being (laughs). For the part where I was facing off against Sutea……I can't really say that I was keeping up with Naito-san, but I had to make it look like we were neck and neck with each other, so it was also tough mentally. Ishiro's a combat specialist, so If I moved too slowly because "action isn't my strong point," that wouldn't be Ishiro Meita. I'd just be Hayama Yuki cosplaying as Ishiro. So, for the scene with Sutea, I had Naito-san practice the same moves with me multiple times, and by taking advantage of the gaps in filming time, I was able to film them. BoonBlue's Suit Actor Yoneoka Takahiro-kun was by my side the whole time we filmed the action in this episode. Just having him nearby made me feel safe, and he also gave me advice like, "Maybe you should do it more like this?," which really helped me out.

"Yoneoka-san is like a partner to Hayama-san."

Hayama: Yes, when a new script comes in, I discuss it with Takahiro-kun by saying, "What should we do here?" and since we're also close in age, we go out for meals in our private time. When it comes to the performance, we both trust and leave everything to each other. Takahiro-kun sometimes does things that he's never done before, and I sometimes hear him say, "Sorry Yuki-kun, I might've been too playful," but he never goes beyond the role of Ishiro. Instead, it's fun to find out that "this kind of Ishiro is possible," and I sometimes wonder if it's "okay for me to be alittle more playful."

"What's one of the most memorable scenes featuring BoonBlue's performance?"

Hayama: In the baseball episode (episode 23), Takahiro-kun said "You may have overdid it alittle," and to be honest, my roll call sounded really silly (laughs), but I was able to use my voice surprisingly easily during the post recording. I was able to reaffirm that Takahiro-kun and I have the same image of Ishiro. From there, I came up with the idea that "maybe Ishiro likes sports," and "If he enjoys doing things with everyone, he must be feeling very comfortable right now." We even found a way to screw around that would connect to episode 41's soccer episode (laughs). It's fun for the two of us to play Ishiro, it really is. I'm glad that Takahiro-kun is BoonBlue.

"Finally, please tell us what some future highlights to look out for in regards to Ishiro."

Hayama: I think that going forward, Ishiro will be faced with more and more situations, ones where you'll want to say, "What are you doing?" But I hope that you won't stop here, and it'd make me happy if you could rewatch episodes again, all while imagining what he's thinking and feeling as you watch. _

Q: What's your favorite manga/anime?

When I was in my fourth or fifth year of elementary school, my father recommended "SLAM DUNK" to me, saying, "This is a manga that teaches you about morality and what makes humans so cool." At first, I watched the anime, where I thought Mitsui Hisashi was just the coolest! I liked Mitsui so much, that I actually started playing basketball. In the end, I didn't become a shooting guard. I went to see "THE FIRST SLAM DUNK" five times because the sounds of basketball in the movie theater was too good (laughs). (-Hayama) _

Emotional Record

Family of Spies Ishiro's parents were also spies. He once said, "I was trained in all kinds of fighting techniques from a young age," suggesting that he had a tough experience as a spy.

Memories In the past, when he was exhausted from his duties, he happened to visit an aquarium that saved his life. He's still attached to the aquarium, so much so that he bought an annual pass.

Fateful Encounter Ishiro is hired by Tokoyari of the ISA and breaks into Taiya's house to find out Bundorio's true identity. Taiya discovers him, but since he was impressed by his ability to break through all the electronic security systems, they become friends.

Becoming No.2 Ishiro becomes Boonboomger's Informant. He was strict with the members, such as being against Mira joining, and tailing Jou out of suspicion, but he began to trust them as they worked together.

Doubting Tokoyari Ishiro is asked by Tokoyari to carry out a top secret mission. The task was to retrieve the Hashiriyan key, known as an Ignition Key, from the Aori family. This incident caused Ishiro to become suspicious of Tokoyari.

Spy vs Spy Sutea uses the power of Camera Grumer to create a fake Ishiro and tries to destroy the system related to Boonboomgers. Ishiro and Sutea, and Taiya and the fake Ishiro face off against each other, with our heroes being victorious.

[kamiko1234]

Can we talk about how genuinly OP Rin acctualy is ?

(English isn't my first language, so please excuse any spelling mistakes I could have made)

So I've been thinking a bit and....Rin may just genuinely be one of the (if not THE (in the future)) most powerful characters in the entire series? Genuinly if you look at what the guy managed to achieve in comparison with his relative time spent training is crazy.

We know that it's been round about a year since the beginning of the manga (afaik at least). Before that Rin had no idea of anything demonic. He didn't even know he had the abilities he does. That already puts him at a HUGE disadvantage against virtually everyone else in his cram school class. Even if they hadn't properly trained before, they at least had some form of basic knowledge and idea of the work to go off on.

Rin in the meantime started off from 0, no training and no knowledge. And even on that incredibly weak and disadvantaged position, he managed to beat up Aimaimon, a demon KING, fairly well early on. Admittedly Mephisto did interfere and Rin did have the element of surprise on his side, but one still has to remember that he did this on his own with no training or preparation time.

Then during the Impure King arc he played a HUGE role in defeating it together with Ucchusma. Bon was only there to do damage control for the other exorcists and civilians while Rin really posed the "main" fighting force. Ucchusma's role mainly consisted of guiding and reinforcing his flames which- again I have to remind you all that Rin JUST learned to control his flames properly. He barely got down the basics of his powers at that point and was already able to go toe-to-toe with the Impure King.

Shima specifically advice Lucifer to go send his bodyguards to fight Rin in battle as a safer bet, due to the fact that Rin would have reservations about killing humans. And even then he just called it a 50/50 chance at winning if I remember correctly- and those bodyguards are highly skilled exorcists.

Then when we fast forward to his awakening- which may just be Rin's biggest power-boost, the guy just gets more and more op. Not only did he gain pretty functionally much full control over his demonic side, but his body was burned to a literal crisp. And it proceeded to regenerate a few seconds later, fully. Without any issues at all- still leaving the guy more than enough energy to go ham on his friends right after.

During the Blue Night Remembrance Arc we only get more indicators for how strong he is. Rin was able to straight up kill like...five people as a newborn? Not to mention the fact that he did but up an impressive fight against Shiro- at the time strong enough to be declared Paladin- for someone who was literally just fresh outta the whomb.

This just proves (in my opinion) that Rin with his flames alone could kill off just about anyone not an Upper Class level exorcist atleast.

Later when the exorcists ask how to deal with him and propose just destroying his body Mephisto also plainly states that it would do nothing- that Rin will just keep on regenerating himself over and over again if his demon heart is not taken out. This confirms that Rin is practically invulnerable to any damage not destroying his heart- as his body would just keep regenerating and healing any other injury.

This btw also confirms that Rin basically has the perfect vessel. If Rin would have had to deal with the same issues as the other demon kings, i.e his body not being able to handle his power and thus deteriorating, all they would have had to do was to wait him out. And then when his flames destroy his body, just make sure Rin doesn't get another one. But no- it was specifically stated that his body would just keep regenerating.

His body's regeneration pretty much makes the guy immune to the major limiting factor for powerful demons in Assiah.

But the most damning proof of Rin's OPness: The guy managed to go up against literal SATAN SOLO and do fairly well. This is someone Lucifer had respect for, and he wasn't able to just one-shot Rin. He's still vastly superior ofcourse- but he did have to put in some effort, as menial as it is.

At this point I'd again like to remind you at right now, Rin still has comically little actual training. Again he's been introduced to this world like....one year ago. The guy is SEVERLY lacking in experience and training compared to pretty much everyone else, and he already managed to do all that.

Just imagine what Rin would do if he had been trained and introduced to the world of exorcists since birth. Or even if he just had started to train from the same age on as Yukio. If one year is enough to get Rin to the point of throwing punches with Satan, what would have 8 years of training done for him?

This is also why I'm genuinely gonna say that Rin has the honest potential to just about surpass everyone and everything in terms of power if he's given enough time and training. The guy isn't even a nuke anymore, he's a hydrogen bomb!