#literally talk to me about all of these if u want to

[vershautece]

Now girlfriend I am gonna need a list of all possible kinks and things of sorts you think Luigi is into, DROP THE LISTTTTT 🩷🩷

ok queen i literally never like to project my own fantasies onto someone if i can’t realistically picture them doing it irl so these thoughts are just my opinion, taking an educated guess lol!!

size kink: phd tweet this speaks for itself ;) and he just exudes that energy hehe u guys get me (also u all know those 2 pics where u can see his bulge even though he’s soft :3)

on here we decided he has a breeding kink which could Definitely be farfetched but who careeees we’re never gonna know for sure what he’s into so whatever :) we started discussing that bc of his tweets about falling birth rates in japan, he’s brought it up more than once and in one tweet said sex needs to be more encouraged bc the falling birth rates are a cultural issue. thennn there’s also the fact that he seems quite traditional regarding relationships just based off his personality, i can imagine him courting a girl properly and wanting a committed relationship which is why i think he’s never been in one, bc he’s never felt that deep connection; he feels rlly hard, so i don’t think he’s found his person yet - SO what im getting at is that i think he would then be quite traditional in dating to marry and then having kids, definitely at least 3, even more so bc he comes from a huge traditional italian family :)) and there u go that’s why i think he might have a breeding kink and in like all of my writing he cums inside every time😭

i also think he is most definitely a switch in bed, he’s so cocky but is def a sub at times bc he 100% didn’t lose his virginity until at least college haha and he’s so soft and sweet like that boy just loves to be underneath u :3 i also think he prefers passionate sex over quickies, maybe not in his college era but definitely now, bc like i said it’s literally confirmed that he’s a veryyyy emotional sort of person like he feels so deeply and i know he’d be obsessed with making love to u more than any other type of sex

i’ve said before that anything non-vanilla he would do with u only if u asked first, like something as simple as choking he’d be like wtf no way bc he wouldn’t wanna hurt u but once he starts doing it to u and anything else u ask him to do (obvs within reason lmao) it would turn him on so much knowing how much u like it

which brings me on to my next point, and prob my final point bc i can’t remember if there is anything else i should mention! but yes the fact that he is 100% a munch :) it turns him on more than anything to know that you’re feeling amazing and that he’s the one making u feel like that, so he’d spend hours between your legs pleasuring u - & he had a couple of female pleasure books on his goodreads list (he hadn’t read them yet) so there’s that :p also i know with him being a nerdy science guy he would definitely love knowing all the different ways of making a girl cum, he’d research so much shit lol

& we all know he’s not kinky at all but he’s passionate as hell, he’ll be rough with u but in a passionate and intimate way, not any degrading shit ofc lol. and he will definitely pound u into the mattress if he’s in a bad mood or if you’ve been teasing him :))

oh and i forgot to say he 100% talks u through it, he’s cocky and intelligent there is no way he doesn’t :D

[wanderingblindly]

Number 60 on the Situations list with Oscar pls!!💞

I'VE WANTED TO WRITE A TRUTH SPELL FOR SO LONG!!!!! this one is teeechnically norpiastrell (i think that's the full ship name??) but it's only landoscar on screen. Hope u enjoy!!! Celebratory prompt list here!

Please Shut Me Up

Oscar snags Lando as when he walks by the closet, door just cracked enough for spying purposes. Lando yelps, expectantly, and Oscar makes quick work of eliminating the evidence: clamping his hand over Lando's mouth, closing the door, turning them so his back is pressed against it as a makeshift lock.

Lando's brows are drawn together, staring at him like he's grown a second head. And considering the situation, Oscar can't really blame him.

He takes a deep breath and lowers his hand.

"Mate, what the fu–"

"Something's wro– you smell really nice," Oscar winces, biting his tongue. The closet is tight, it's not his fault that he noticed. Right?

Lando manages to look even more confused, a feat. "Thanks?"

"Something's wrong, Lando."

"Because I smell nice?"

"God, you're an idiot," Oscar groans, hating that he said it. He doesn't really mean it, not like that, but apparently there's only room for literal truths – not nuance. "Not an idiot, you're not stupid – you're a bit daft, but not, um. Fuck. I really don't wanna keep talking, reckon I can't stop. Can you – your hands are um. I think about them –"

It's Lando's turn this time, slapping a hand over Oscar's mouth, only managing to muffle the onslaught of horror coming from him.

"I think your hand is big enough to –"

"Oscar," Lando hisses, holding his jaw shut with his other hand to finally shut him up. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Oscar's reply is muffled, lost in his cheeks and spoken to closed teeth. 'I love you.'

"Don't answer that."

Oscar rolls his eyes.

"I'm gonna call Max –"

Oscar shakes his head fervently, awash with renewed terror. Making an ass of himself in front of Lando, he could handle that. Lando would probably laugh off anything, would think that it wasn't a truth spell but rather a humorous sort – fine. Oscar can take his feelings being a joke.

But Max would know.

Max would know.

"Right so… no Max?"

Oscar nods.

"You wanna explain?"

Oscar shakes his head.

"Really think you need to explain, mate. I dunno what to do about this." He starts to relax his grip on Oscar's mouth, his jaw, and in a desperate panic – heart rate dangerously high – holds them back in place.

He starts trying to babble about how hot it is that his hands don't cover Lando's, something about how he wants him to be rough with him, but thankfully it's too muffled to mean anything.

"What the fuck would you tell Max?" Lando raises a brow at him, eyes squinted in suspicion.

Oscar shakes his head.

"Oh, nothing? You'd tell him nothing, then? Right, let's go –" Lando slides his hands out from under Oscar's, releasing a torrent he'd rather die than own up to.

"I love him. I love you. I don't wanna break you up, that's… You're gonna think this is all a joke, but Max is gonna realize that it's real, so we can't call Max. But I been in love with you both for ages and it's – stop me, please stop me, please stop me," Oscar grits between his teeth, trying with all his might to hold his jaw closed, screwing his eyes shut so he doesn't have to see Lando's look of utter–

"You… what?" Lando whispers, voice so soft that it somehow manages to make Oscar's tongue freeze, makes his eyes open.

He's staring at him with wide, astonished eyes – lacking any sort of hurt, any tinge of repulsion. It's just…

Oscar feels like he's going to throw up. "I love you. Both. You and Max, I love you and Max, I –"

"You muppet," Lando closes the minuscule space between them, struggling to wrap his arms around Oscar's neck. He's beaming, the one that crinkles his eyes into the most adorable crescent moons he's even seen, as he leans his entire body against him – warm and lithe and everything Oscar's ever wanted. "It's… yeah. Let's call Max."

"I wanna kiss you," Oscar says dumbly, truth-addled brain too lost to believe what's happening.

And Lando does it, presses his lips against Oscar's gently – something like a whisper, a passing dream. Until he tilts his head, inviting Oscar to take what he really wants, to wrap his arms around his waist and kiss him fully, deeply.

He doesn't even notice the feeling of the spell snapping in the back of his mind – some arbitrary criteria met. It matters so much less than the feeling of Lando's tongue darting across his lips, the taste of breathing in his quiet, contended hums.

Maybe calling Max is a great idea.

[yawujin]

can u do how the thh girls would flirt?

sure , why not ( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )

{ request } how the danganronpa thh girls would flirt 💭 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

ⓘ head canon format , cute , light hearted , non killing game , flirting , they/them pronouns used

kyoko kirigiri ♡

very indirect with it

it's hard for her to outright flirt with someone, so she starts slowly by doing things to include the person she has her eye on

for example: saving them a seat right next to her at a table

inviting them out even if she's with all her other friends, just because she wants them there

gives them moral support and always tells them when they've done a good job on something

(whenever they're not around, though, she talks to her friends about them, like...non-stop)

toko fukawa ♡

toko? flirting? HA

she's so weird i love her!!!

but really, it's hit or miss with her

depending on the person she likes' personality

her style of flirting can either be endearing or just...gross

LOTS of innuendos...

probably sends those dumb dirty memes to the person she likes too 💀

aoi asahina ♡

becomes very sharing and very caring

much more than usual, actually...

she's really confident in herself so she isn't afraid of letting the fact that she is interested in someone show

the type to want to impress whoever she is after

celestia ludenberg ♡

strategically uses the feedback loop to get the message of "yes , i am infact flirting with you" to them

meaning, she basically compliments them everytime they do something for her, that she wants them to continue doing

they bring her a cup of tea once?

she tells them "you're so good to me!" or something of the sort, and it makes them want to do it more often

over time, celeste moves up from just compliments to kissing them on the cheek each time they do something nice for her...motivating them even more to do stuff for her

smooth moves tbh

sakura ogami ♡

also the type to want to impress them

starts off being friendly with them and inviting them to her martial arts tournaments

may or may not be the type to convince them to try martial arts out just so they can spend more time together for fun!

they study martial arts together, go to the gym together, and gradually sakura opens up more to them

she's a little conflicted on whether she should be more direct with the flirting or just wait some more though...

sayaka maizono ♡

always find a way to go up and talk to them

she wants to know their opinion on her new songs, what outfit she has on, how she can improve her perfomances...etc

once they do give her their advice/opinion, she changes what she can to cater to them. of course, still finding ways to keep her authenticity

she then goes to them with a smile on her face and tells them that she does it all for them ;)

one thing is for sure, she knows how to live up to a fantasy

junko enoshima ♡

literally does the same thing as celeste but is more overt with the pet names

also is more handsy earlier on

the haste brings her great despair

she's demanding, but they (most likely) won't notice it because uses sweet words like;

"please, be a dear and do [such and such] for me."

notice how she doesn't ask for a favor and just tells them to do it? yeah

don't worry! she'll give them a reward that will have them coming back over and over !!

mukuro ikusaba ♡

she becomes kind of a loser when she likes someone

always asking about every little detail of their day, what they love to do, what foods they like, the types of movies they like to watch

asks questions a little too much, but she can't help it!

she wants to know it all

and she holds onto every little thing that they say...

thinks saying "i'd kill for you." is a way of flirting

...but depending on the person it might just be.

[luiluvr]

i keep seeing things about luigi and hyper feminine gf but what ab trashy gf like im talking y2k, alternative baddie ykwim 😩

oh me oh me oh my I THINK AB THIS SM i love the hyper feminine gf headcannons but i can only IMAGINE frat boy nerdy and shy lulu with a bold loud and trashy y2k gf

like all his friends def ask about how he bagged a literal baddie and he gets jealous n stay really close to u to protect u even tho he knows u can handle urself just well 💔💔 he loves ur style and worships ur every action and breath SIGH

imagine a cosmetology major baddie with computer science major nerdy lulu MAN! ☹️☹️☹️☹️💔💔 he’s also super touchy and needy for u cus hes always touching u and giving u those eyes cause he WANTS his girl

[teaxeee]

hiii tea! it's been a while, right? how are you? 🥟 anon here ♡

i absolutely LOVED your latest gw smuts! his bday one is SOOOO OMG im crazy abt it.. tbh i was searching for some food play with him a while ago and now u just served thisssss yay thank u sm!! also looking forward to the upcoming content <3 hope ur doing well

...i have a hard thought for today 😃

its a little silly but you'll get me ik

first time with wookie after he recovered from lasik surgery, now he can finally stare into his lover's eyes without having to keep his glasses on or suffer with blurr when he was doing it without them... but unfortunately his gf uses glasses too...

~

it started with a making out session after a cuddling on their bed so cutely

his left hand on her waist as he uses the right hand to take her glasses off "i want to see your beautiful eyes water when i finally get to be inside of you, darling" gw says kissing reader's cheek softly.

"p-please, wookie.. let me keep them on, i want to see you too.. t-this is not fair" she says between whimpers and pouts

"oh, princess, that's useless though.. your vision is still gonna get blurry from all the pleasure i will provide you, don't need them covering that pretty face, hm? just relax and your man will make you feel really good. you want it, baby?"

~ could u write more on it pretty pleasee

[although i do love him w that nerdy look foggy glasses while eating his gf out IM GONE but thats a talk for another day..]

Omg hii! I've been good! I'm glad u like them all hehehe~ Also how are you? I missed u on here ngl <3

I literally LOVE how you wrote this, u should start posting pookie 😍🫶 But anyways:

I feel like Gunwook would be too smug ever since he recovered from lasik surgery and the fact that he doesn't have to use glasses anymore to see you makes his confidence rise even more. But on the other hand he felt bad that you couldn't get the surgery too, he knew how scared you were of it.

It was one of those nights where you were cuddling in bed and exchanging kisses. At first it was all gentle and soft, but somehow it led to you stradding his lap, making out desperately like you haven't seen each other in so long. His hands would be on your waist, holding you had one arm wrapped around his neck, your free hand tangled in his hair, eagerly kissing his lips, your breaths mixing together and fogging up your glasses. As soon as you broke a kiss to take a breath, he moved his right hand away from your waist. His face was still close to yours, peppering kisses along your cheeks as he tried to remove your glasses with one hand. It was a bit difficult and just as he was about to succeed he heard you whine, and he quickly calmed you down, reassuring you that he just wanted to see your pretty eyes better.

That only made you sulk more, your lips forming into a pout as you tried to convince him not to do that, since you also wanted to see him, but that only led to him cutting you off, telling you how you wouldn't need your glasses anyways because "your vision will get blurry anyways, just wanna get a look at your pretty face and eyes better, baby." and his words alone managed to convince you to finally give in. As much as you hated the idea of not wearing your glasses any time you were getting intimate with him, you trusted him well enough not to wear them this time. Within a few minutes both your clothes and his were scattered on the floor and he was between your legs as he pushed his cock in and out of your pussy, and the way you clenched around him had him grunting and almost whining.

It made him satisfied that he could finally stare at you as much as he wanted without having to readjust his glasses every 5 seconds, seeing the way your face scrunched up in pure bliss whenever he hit your g-spot. He just loved how pretty you looked, cheeks flushed and chest heaving as you struggled to focus your eyes on his face, eyes filled with tears from how frustrated you felt with your vision not cooperating at the right times. As soon as he saw a tear fall down your cheek, he'd quickly calm you down by showering your face with kisses, his hands roaming all over your body as he told you how much he loved you and how adorable you looked being in this state.

And as soon as you both were done he made sure to take care of you, praising you every second as he cleaned you up, but he knew you were missing something, so when he asked you if you could give him his old glasses. Even though it made you confused, you quicky did as he said while you put on your glasses in the process and he put on his despite not needing him. That's when he got between your legs and started eating you out, cleaning up your cum stuffed pussy as he enjoyed the taste, and luckily you could finally witness the sight of his glasses fogging up once again, which you missed badly <3

[rapidhighway]

art dump timeeee! just stuff i doodled or started and never finished. various stuff under the cut

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

[keferon]

“Mistakes on mistakes until” ch 69 spoilers below!

Ahahahahahahah here I go again

Mistakes on mistakes until until I can draw Jazz with my eyes closed

I woke up, checked my phone, woke up for real and decided that whatever plans I had for this day yeah no they can wait a little bit kfkgnfk

Also. Consider listening this while reading. Or don't who am I to tell you what to do~

[sunnibits]

potentially hot take but this is a pet peeve of mine

[psychomusic]

oc time again! + her town & culture (heavily inspired by pre-roman italic populations)

she is suri sauthon. her story is linked to my swtor imperial agent, tar'x, but most of her life except for the one year away where she meets him, is spent in a town in the mountains of mirial.

despite mirial being cold and desert, and many cities developing underground, her town flourishes thanks to a force nexus, venerated in the form of an ancient, sacred, alive crystal. the ecosystem of that mountain depended on what "the horned crystal" was capable of giving them, but mirialans couldn't live off of that alone, so they developed trade and some rudimental technology, even if oftentimes it was bought thanks to the highly profitable trade of a plant used to make medicines that slowed down aging and had overall healing properties.

note: everything that's generated by this nexus has these healing properties BUT they have to be processed, except for those who bathed in the waters of the cavity under the crystal - the "real" nexus, but not the worshipped one. the waters were sacred but they were not thought to be miraculous, unlike the crystal, who instead was thought of as the keystone of the ecosystem: without it, everything would fall apart (and that is partially true: the cavity was the "real" nexus but thanks to the crystal, also strong in the force, the properties were spread all over the mountains). those who bathed in the cavity's waters - so, all of the town, who had a sort of baptism there - could eat the plant, make whatever food with it, and not only that plant, but everything generated by the nexus, that, again, had similar properties. this allowed people to live up to normal life-spans without advanced medicines or, much, really. to those who didn't live there, though, after the processing, had incredible effects, slowing down aging - for those who took it regularly - and making people able to live up to half a century more than the average]

originally, there were four tribes of nomads that lived thanks to horned farm animals that decided to settle down into one bigger town and other smaller settlements, to live off of transhumance. this division of the tribes stayed into the political and social organization: every person belonged to one tribe specifically, and had slightly different rituals and culture. for examples, each tribe had their own priests and healers, with different techniques and traditions. the town, tho, was guided by a group of people in the high priesthood, a position you could reach only by having earned the trust of all tribes. those high priests had many roles: they guided the people into sacred processions common to all the tribes, they managed the trading with outsiders, they did the maintenance of the temple of the summit (the one that functioned as casket to the crystal) and created a special liquid to offer the crystal that helps it grow.

this particular temple was important because 1. it was very visible, from every angle of the town, and it became an important identity symbol; 2. it stored the venerated horned crystal; 3. it had the altar where sacrifices were made for the crystals. that altar had a hole connected to the cavity, that allowed the liquids to reach the underground; 4. it had various symbols: statues representing each tribe + the high priesthood, and typical mirialan tattoos carved into the wood of the trees that served as columns for the temple, symbolizing 8 values that who dared to enter HAD to have; 5. it was on the way to an important lake (called "mother lake" because the lake the town was built around to depended on the waters of that other lake) where they traveled to in important processions; 6. it was said that a the wizard who unified the tribes made it with its magic, making the plant grow to hold the temple's roof. this wizard was, actually, a force user, obv.

BACK TO HER THOUGH: she's daughter of one of the high priests, who was in charge of managing the trades with outsiders, and lives in a house on the mountains with her mother and him. her parents are from different tribes (that's one of the things that earned him trust from the 4 tribes): when a child is born from two different tribes, they don't pick one to allign to, but they're usually linked automatically to the one with more relatives in it (in her case, the father's tribe: she had many uncles and aunts on his side while her mom only had one sister).

later, though, she got quite tied to her mother's tribe due to a mysterious illness that only her mother's tribe healer was able to cure. she spent 4 years (from 10 to 14 years old) living with the healer and learned her secrets. to better study, she wrote them down. when she returned home, she studied to become a priestess with her father. at 22 (the average age: you can't become priest before your 20s), she was supposed to take a test and become a priestess, but the healer of her mother's tribe died and the tribe asked her to take her place. she couldn't technically do that, but both tribes estimated both her and her parents and she was allowed to become both. she then decided to try to become a high priestess, and became one at 25 (a quite young age). being part of the council, she tried to convince the various tribe healers to unite their knowledges and write them down, and eventually made it. healers still remained tribe based but they now had an "upper, inter-tribe level" similar to high priesthood.

years later, the sacred horned crystal is stolen from the temple by some Hutt mercenaries looking for a profit. given the trust she has earned from all the tribes and the fact that her father is the high priest that deals with outsiders (and she's been hearing stories and advice about it since she was little), she is the one tasked with getting it back. without the growing crystal, the keystone to their ecosystem, the village would have lasted only a few years. in hrr quest, she meets imperial intelligence agent tar'x laran and, as they "solve the mystery" and fight to have it back, they get closer. they'll get married and have a daughter, Vegoia (who's the only one who actually will get to the plot of my story. this was all background)

[spending-life-pretending]

no bc when you stop and think about the full implications of fitz and the fool calling each other “beloved” you do have to go a little crazy. it’s required. because what do you mean that 6 sentences after fitz thinks, “being fitz had never been that enticing an existence” the fool summons him back to himself by calling him “beloved” and renewing their bond. what do you mean fitz refers to this as “burning my identity into me.” what do you mean “the word echoed through me, rebounded me from my fraying edges, found and bound me.” what do you mean. are you not going insane.

[lorephobic]

literally nobody asked for it, but here's my list of saltburn essays that i've slowly been drafting over the course of the last week which WILL be required reading for anybody trying to engage with me about this movie. my very personal saltburn 101 syllabus just dropped

A Wolf in Deer's Clothing: Saltburn's Attempt at Innocence

an examination of party costumes and our character's last attempts to masquerade as something they're not: felix—an angel, all-forgiving and all-knowing, something to be worshiped; and oliver—a prey animal, prey to class-divide, prey to saltburn, prey to felix.

thoughts about oliver specifically are loosely organized in my #bambi tag

A Midsummer Night's Mare: Farleigh Start as the Ultimate Victim of Saltburn

a farleigh character study, about the ways he was mistreated and manipulated at saltburn, about fighting to stay alive and the scars left behind by knowing when to give in

alternatively titled "QuickStart", may be adapted into a conclusive essay specifically focusing on oliver and farleigh's relationship

The Eye of the Beholder: On Saltburn's Voyeurism & Violence [working title]

how wealth and class pushes the catton's toward the volatile reality of being able to look, but not touch. on desire and the lack thereof, and portraying yourself as an object to be desired

may end up as two separate essays on wealth and aestheticism but i'm pushing toward a conclusive essay about the intersection of the two, which i feel is at the heart of saltburn

alternatively titled "Poor Man's Pudding: A Melvillian Approach to Saltburn's Class", again, may be adapted into it's own essay

Gender-Fluid: A Study in Sexuality and Saltburn's Desire to be Dry

a deep dive into the bodily fluids of saltburn and how oliver upsets the standard of men who are just so lovely and dry. on the creative choice to lean into the messy wetness of sex and desire and the audience's instinct toward repulsion

a celebration of the grotesque and an examination of why we would label it as such

least developed of the four, heavily inspired by @charnelpit's lovely post about the fluids in saltburn

if anybody is actually interested in any of these, i can work toward something closer to a finished piece instead of just bullet points and quotes in a google doc, but mostly this is so i can share my very brief takes on a multitude of themes in saltburn that have been haunting me

edit for people seeing this in the future: all posts about my essays are being organized into my #saltburn 101 tag if you’re interested in following these through to development!

[compacflt]

YOU'RE ALIVE??? - my reaction upon seeing your most recent reblog

Anyway, your fic and blog single-handedly kickstarted my U.S. military history obsession <3

im alive!!!! yeah I've been away for a while. it, ah... has not been a grrrreat time to be a military historian or a Big Fan of military propaganda pieces like Top Gun for the last year or so...

lmfao I just saw that the second trump admin plans to haul up all the commanders in charge of the Afghanistan withdrawal (which HE negotiated btw) in front of congress with the plan to charge them all with TREASON per the UCMJ (good fucking luck dude)

but um in my timeline... that includes navy secretary 2021-2022 tom iceman kazansky, bro... so in case you're wondering what these characters are up to in the present day apparently the answer is "getting investigated for treason." sorry to bring down the mood. my happy ending's a little sour now.

mostly I've been insanely busy. I graduate university in may & have to have a journalism capstone, an English research thesis (my paper on military commanding officers in fiction inspired by my top gun fics tbh) and a creative writing capstone (novel) done by march. plus job applications, work for the place where im currently freelancing, apartment hunting... so im a wee bit crunched lately.

some minor updates for anyone who still cares: I am, extremely slowly, still editing WWGATTAI & the other stories. I've finished a complete overhaul of the Carole-dies chapter, chapter 7, but have yet to post it because I'd like to sync a logistical change in the story across the other pieces. and I'm mostly done with a COMPLETE overhaul of chapter 6 (aka "the nineties" chapter where ice & mav move in together & build their family) which goes into much more detail about how... emotionally and logistically... they could pull that off. + a lot more baseball stuff + the Clinton sex scandal. which leaves just chapter 10 left to do. ugh, my least favorite, which is why im putting it off... and then debriefing etc. which won't take as long because I don't honestly care about debriefing at all and I just have very minor changes to make to it. slider doesn't need editing and idgaf about the other pieces.

once I finish with the edits, which will happen eventually I swear because more than anything I just want to hold the updated edited final thing in my hands the way I did with the first draft, I'll upload my pdf (with meta analysis and notes that go back to mid-2022) for u guys to do with as you wish

also for the m:i doubleheaders I am planning on editing my m:i fic pre-m:i8 next year and pending ilsa life status will write much much more

[blluespirit]

TL;DR: Zuko is not winning any Liar of the Year awards here, but he's by not a ‘bad liar’ either. He's also (apparently surprisingly) not sharing his every deep-seated thought and feeling to anyone and everyone and can in fact, keep a secret.

a canon vs fanon Zuko thing thing I see fairly often that I personally disagree with is that Zuko is constantly over-sharing and telling people too much about himself and his problems.

People love to use the Book 1 finale incident when he talks to Aang's unconscious body in the cave, but that feels like a bizarre example because... he's more talking to himself. He's not really talking to Aang. Aang can't hear him. Aang is literally none the wiser. It's not an inappropriate time or person or unreciprocated, and honestly the whole thing is more for the audience to get a sense of what in gods green earth is going through Zuko's mind considering how reckless this action was. And even if Aang was awake I still don't know if you could call it oversharing considering Aang has genuinely tried to reach out to Zuko before and tried to understand him (e.g., the Blue Spirit). Of all people, Aang would likely be the most receptive. Like... net zero information gained...

I've seen people use some examples with Iroh which I personally think is pretty ridiculous to count because it's not like he's saying anything Iroh doesn't already know??? Iroh is like the only one in Zuko's orbit who actually knew all the details about his banishment and trauma. I don't know how any scene Zuko could have with Iroh that you could call over-sharing. Zuko also never said shit to his crew about any of his past for like. two whole years. The most they thought of him was angry and spoiled. They didn't actually know anything about him. like... at all. Jee thought his scar was from a training accident.

People like to also use the scene on the ship with Mai in Book 3 when Zuko is returning to the Fire Nation, but even that feels like a bit of a stretch. Yeah, Mai dismisses him and tries to play it off, but nothing Zuko says feels 'too personal' especially when Mai is supposed to be his girlfriend and Zuko has literally not been home in three years. Telling your girlfriend/someone you trust how you feel in a obviously emotionally turbulent situation is not sharing too much, no matter their reaction or whether they asked first.

MAI: Aren't you cold? ZUKO: I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed. MAI: [Yawns.] I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story. [Zuko frowns at her sarcastic response. Mai giggles and holds his face in her hands.] MAI: Stop worrying.

Another example I see is when Zuko rants to the badgerfrog. Again, not really an example since the badgerfrog is not a person and the story needed Zuko to Say Things Out Loud so we have some clue about what he's thinking. It's the same thing with the unconscious Aang. It's not oversharing. It's venting. And once again - net zero information achieved!!

Like, none of these instances feel like he's revealed too much information. None of it feels inappropriate in the context of the story.

I think people get 'over-sharer' and 'openly wearing your emotions' lines confused sometimes, but even that gets misconstrued in fandom.

I don't think that Zuko being more open with his emotions than other characters is an incorrect conclusion to make, however, I think there's something to be said about Zuko in book 1 and 2 using anger and rage as a coping mechanism rather than being vulnerable with his emotions.

Zuko will talk about his feelings a lot more in Book 3, which is actually super important to his arc, since he doesn't actually talk about his feelings in a real way in Book 1 and 2 (he's angry most of the time, and the only times I can remember when he does really talk about how he actually feels is usually when things have gotten Real Bad like when Zhao takes his ship or it's the anniversary of his banishment). In Book 3, he's really thinking and reflecting on how he feels and how he felt in different situations.

Even the 'Zuko is a bad liar' gets WAY over-played in fanon!

Yeah Zuko is not great at thinking on his feet when confronted, but it seems very context dependent, actually.

When in dangerous situations, while he's definitely not winning any Best Liar Ever Awards, he's not a bumbling fool either -

Zuko lies to Zhao about the Blue Spirit swords:

ZHAO: I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko. ZUKO: I'm not. They're antiques. Just decorative.

While not ultimately convincing, his delivery of it is far from terrible. The circumstances are against him here, though, after all, there are few people who hate Zhao enough to commit treason to stop him from capturing the Avatar than Zuko.

Zuko lies to Zhao about having found the Avatar:

ZHAO: [Pulls up alongside Zuko and smirks.] Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going? ZUKO: [Aggressively.] We haven't found him yet. ZHAO: Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago. [Close-up of Zuko, as he slants his eyes.] Along with the rest of the airbenders. [Close-up of Zhao, whose face contorts in an evil expression.] Unless you have found some evidence that the Avatar is alive? ZUKO: [Faces Zhao and responds very clearly.] No. [Stares back in front of him.] Nothing. ZHAO: [With an expression of disbelief on his face, as he rises from his chair.] Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. [Leans in and faces Zuko.] If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found. ZUKO: I haven't found [Looks up at Zhao and his tone becomes slightly more aggressive.] anything. [Close-up, as he continues on a softer tone, slightly mockingly.] It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. [Gets up.] Come on, Uncle, we're going.

I'm not trying to say Zuko is secretly this great liar, but his effort here is commendable. It's his directness that gives him away, but he's not afraid, or nervous, or stumbling over his words like he's often portrayed to be.

Zuko confidently lies to Jet about not being a firebender:

[while on the ferry; you can see Zuko thinks for a second Jet knows who he really is. Jet doesn't pick up on this, and Zuko plays off his fear].

JET: You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were. You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs. Because no one else will. ZUKO: I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path.

[during Zuko and Jet's fight]

JET: Bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast right now. [As Jet swings at Zuko's feet, Zuko stabs one of his broadswords through the hilt, pinning it to the ground. Jet looks at it with annoyance before focusing back on Zuko.] ZUKO: You're the one who needs help.

Zuko, throughout these interactions, plays off Jet's comments. He's learnt to be vague sometimes (like on the ferry to Ba Sing Se) and be confident when refuting someone. Yeah Zuko did go straight for Bodily Harm but that's very on brand to me.

Zuko lies to Chit Sang about the escape plan without hesitation:

SUKI: But how are you going to get the cooler out? CHIT SANG: [From the staircase.] Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out? [Jumps down.] SOKKA: [Covering up.] What? We didn't ... w-we didn't say that. ZUKO: Yeah, you heard wrong. CHIT SANG: I heard you hatching an escape plan, and I want in. ZUKO: [stern] There's nothing to get in on. SOKKA: Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is ... an egg? [Zuko lowers his head and Suki covers her eyes while they both sigh in annoyance.]

Zuko comes up with a lie to tell the guards at the Boiling Rock about keeping his helmet on:

MALE GUARD: Hey, new guy! I know it's the rule to have your helmet on at all times, but this is the lounge. Relax. ZUKO: [plays it up] But what if there's an incident? If I'm not prepared, someone could strike me on the head. [The guards laugh.] FEMALE GUARD: Give it a week, he'll loosen up.

However, Zuko most often has the most difficulty lying to people who are kind to him (and who are Azula tbh) -

In Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko and Iroh are now refugees and Zuko bungles this conversation with Song:

ZUKO: [Nervously] Yes, we're travellers. SONG: you have names? ZUKO: Names? Of course we have names. I'm, uh ... Lee and this is my Uncle, uh ... Mushi?

In Tales of Ba Sing Se, Zuko struggles to find even ground with Jin and doesn't know how to answer her questions:

ZUKO: You have ... quite an appetite for a girl. [He fiddles his thumbs awkwardly.] JIN: [Uncomfortably.] Umm ... thanks? So, Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here? ZUKO: Umm ... well, we've been traveling around for a long time. JIN: Oh. Why were you traveling so much? ZUKO: We were ... uh, part of this traveling circus. JIN: Really? What did you do? Wait, lemme guess. [She thinks for a moment and quickly points at him.] You juggled! ZUKO: [Zuko folds his arms and looks annoyed.] Yes, I juggled.

In Zuko Alone, he's at a loss for words when asked his name:

SELA: Does this guy have a name? ZUKO: [Nervously.] I'm... uh... GANSU: [Off-camera.] He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela. [Cuts to shot of him standing with his family.] Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms.

Listen, he's not weaving any incredible tales here, but he's not this bumbling little uwu boy who's completely helpless without Iroh or the Gaang that for some reason is incredibly persistent in fan depictions of him.

[unriding]

kablam

[chryblossomjjk]