#me: wants a fictional character to be considered another characters dad

[rabnerd28]

The "Clark is Kon's dad" group has the same vibes as the pro-life group. Let's force parenthood on people.

A part of me is tempted to respond to this, another part of me finds it so funny that I've gotten more anon hate this week then I've ever gotten in my life on this site (aside from that week AOT fans hated me but that was for different website reasons). And it was only twice, for two separate fandoms. Both of which compared me to IRL conservatives because I *checks notes* dislike the 2019 Cats movie and want one universe where Kon is considered Clark's son.

[librarygarten]

#2 Chain x Isekai! Reader - You Play Their Games

Part 2 includes Legend, Four, and Wild Slight trigger warning for Wild's part? He grabs your wrist harshly Part 1 ✿ Part 2 (you are here) ✿ Part 3

When you first met the chain, it had quickly come to everyone’s attention that you already knew them. At first, they thought perhaps you had somehow heard tales of them, passed down through the generations. But you knew things about their adventures they hadn’t told anyone. You knew the names of people and places that surely wouldn’t have survived the thousands of years the stories would have taken to reach you.

You tried your best to explain to them how you knew what you did. Thankfully, you had your Switch, which made explaining what a video game was to them a bit easier.

Legend

Oh this is seriously pissing Legend off. He’s glaring daggers at your Switch like it just insulted his entire bloodline. His adventures? Games? Children’s games? It’s disturbing. It’s degrading. His uncle died! Zelda was imprisoned! He had to fight Ganon in the freaking Dark Realm! And that was only his first adventure! You apparently had ALL of his adventures as games on that device. His life wasn’t some cool toy! (He is slightly smug about having the most games of the chain though.)

He knows you’re not the one who made the games. He understands that you had no reason to view his adventures as anything other than some story a person in your world made. But the fact that until recently, you viewed him as a fictional character? That before you met him, you had seen him as a toy? That hurts. 

Legend starts avoiding you. When the group walks somewhere, he’ll change his pace to make sure he’s not next to you. When the group settles down for the night, he keeps himself busy rearranging his items. He tries not to make it too obvious, always having a reason ready if someone asks what he’s up to. Eventually, though, the others catch on to his behavior.

✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧

“You know, you can’t avoid them forever.”

Legend looked up from his bag, which he had been reorganizing for the last half hour. Warrior was standing next to him, arms crossed in the “I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed” dad stance. (How he had snuck up on Legend without him hearing was a mystery).

“I’m not avoiding them.”

“Yes you are.”

Legend sighs. He’s not getting out of this conversation, is he?

“It’s just…How are you not bothered? They have all our adventures on a little device. They went on our adventures from the safety of their couch! Do they even see us as people? Are we just a game to them?” Legend snaps his mouth shut. He hadn’t meant to start rambling. Warrior raises an eyebrow, considering the younger hero.

“Go ask to see one of your games. Watch them play for a bit.” Warrior puts up a hand to silence Legend when he begins to protest. “I can’t have you treat a teammate like this. Go.”

Later, Legend begrudgingly found himself sitting next to you. The group had come across a town, so most of the chain was off exploring and gathering supplies. Warrior had practically dragged Legend over to where you were sitting, but you were just happy Legend was finally okay being near you.

“So,” you smile, turning on your Switch “I know Wars is kind of forcing you to do this, but which game do you want to see? There’s A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds, Link’s Awakening…”

“Are all my games puns?” he scrunches up his face, cringing at whoever decided on these names. He could guess which pun correlated to each of his adventures, except for one. “What’s Link’s Awakening?”

“Oh! That one’s probably my favorite. It was actually so popular they re-made it a few years ago.” You open the game, and begin moving the game Link around the world.

“Is that supposed to be me?” Legend asks, “Why is my head so freakishly big?”

“It’s not that bad! It’s just the art style! Everyone looks like that. See?” You tap the screen, pointing to another character. Legend recognizes her immediately. Of course. Of course you had Koholint in your device.

“So, how much of my adventure do you see in this game?” Legend asks hesitantly, a blush creeping onto his face.

“From talking to the others, all of the enemies and places are the same,” you explain while moving game Link up a staircase. “But the things you guys say to other people aren't. Links don't talk in games, like, ever.” He nods, and watches as you enter the Wind Fish’s egg. When you finish the final boss fight, you hesitate to walk up the stairs.

“Sorry, I always get a bit emotional at this part.” You give him a half smile, “If I go up the staircase, the Wind Fish will talk, and then the game ends.”

“Isn't that the point?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah, but I’ve never liked this game’s ending. It’s… frustrating. And sad.” You throw your hand up, clearly frustrated. “Like, I get that the stupid fish needs to wake up, but what about everyone else? I hate that I can’t get a happy ending for everyone.”

“Why do you care? Isn’t it just a game?” Legend crosses his arms, but his expression softens.

“It is- er… was.” You blush. “I don’t know. Even before I met you guys. Back when I thought none of this was real. I still wanted a happy ending.”

He lets his bangs fall in his face. You can’t see his expression when he talks again.

“I wanted one too.”

Four

(I know Four Swords is on the Switch now, but before that it was so ATROCIOUSLY difficult to play that I had to include The Struggle)

Games? About him? That's… concerning to say the least. It's not that he minds. He's honestly a bit flattered! But also. That means you know about the colors. Which he hasn't really told anyone in the group about.

He's preparing himself for an awkward conversation, but it never comes. Whenever another member of the chain asks about his games, you either only talk about his adventures with the Picori, or go on a half hour long rant about how hard it is to play the games.

Then during one of these rants you mention that Four Swords is your favorite game, and he nearly chokes on his own spit. He had thought you hated it from how much you complain about getting it set up. Something about emulators and linking cables? He doesn’t understand most of what you say, but knowing that he’s your favorite (well, his games are) makes him break out into a huge grin.

He watches you play occasionally, mostly out of curiosity. He usually has other things to be doing, like fixing Wild’s sword. Again. But on the rare occasion he has free time and is feeling especially bored, he’ll watch you.

✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧

Four finds you and Wind buried in a mass of wires. Your Switch, another box, and several smaller devices are scattered around the ground. You curse under your breath as you attempt to untangle the cords and plug them into the box.

“That’s it. I’m out.” Wind gets up and lets the wires that were in his lap fall unceremoniously to the ground . “Four’s adventure can’t be worth this much trouble to see.”

Wind walks away, and Four takes his place next to you.

“So… what is all this?” he asks, picking up a mass of wires and attempting to undo some of the knots.

“This, my friend, is all the equipment needed to play your game.” You say exasperatedly, trying yet again to plug the still-tangled wires into one of the devices.

“Are all your video games this complicated?” Four grimaces at the mess in front of you. He’s inclined to agree with Wind on this one. His adventure can’t be worth this much effort to play through.

“No, just yours.” You scowl and jam the end of one of the cables into one of the devices, hoping it will stay put this time. You have no such luck. “Four Swords is only a multiplayer game, and each person playing needs to own a copy of the game, plus have a way to connect to the other players. Hence… this mess.” You motion tiredly at the pile in front of you.

“Multiplayer?” he tilts his head questioningly.

“It means you can’t play it alone,” you stick out your tongue as you concentrate on finally putting the cords in their proper places. “You need to have multiple players.”

He nods. It makes sense, he guesses, considering how much focus he had to put on teamwork during his adventure with the Four Sword. He watches you try to boot up the game, then curse again as you fiddle with the wires again. Finally, you get it working.

“Sweet!” You clap your hands together, and Four smiles at how happy you seem to finally be able to play his game. To his surprise, you hand him one of the controllers. “Want to play with me?”

“Uhh… What about Wind?” He’s not sure he wants to actually play his adventure. Doing it once was enough, thank you very much.

“He ditched me during setup. Now he doesn’t get to play,” you say. “That’s been the rule at my house since we started playing this game.”

“Seems fair.” Four reluctantly takes the controller. He doesn’t want to seem rude and say no. Then who would you play with? “So, how do I do this?”

“It’s basically just a contest to see who can collect the most gems in the level. Not much story. Fastest wins.” you explain.

“Wait, really?” He's a bit surprised. He was expecting his game to be a bit more complicated. He suddenly doesn’t mind playing so much. “That sounds… really simple.”

“Yeah, it’s an older game, so it doesn’t seem like a lot of your adventure actually transfers over to the game.” You pick up a controller and smile mischievously. “Ready to lose, Smithy?”

“As if!” He grins, matching your enthusiasm. “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

Wild

Wild isn't sure what the feeling that's settled in his chest is. He's not thrilled at the idea of you playing games about his adventure. He’s been through a lot, and the idea that it was all just a fun game to someone? It hurts. It’s upsetting. He’s honestly a bit annoyed at you for a while. You also seem to know something he doesn’t? What’s that about? Why won’t you tell him?

He decides that if you won’t answer his questions, he’ll trick you into showing him. He watches you play Breath of the Wild while he cooks, or while the group is walking, or really any chance there’s downtime. He quickly realizes that most of what you do is just run around killing monsters and finding Koroks. Nothing very noteworthy or interesting. Certainly, nothing worth hiding from him.

Then, you let it slip that his games are your favorite, and oooh boy is he smug. For about a day. After the initial ego boost, he realizes you said games. Plural. He’s only seen you play the one, though? What’s that about? He’s not getting answers, and it’s starting to eat at him. Eventually, he just steals your Switch and tries to find out for himself.

✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧

Wild throws the Switch at the ground next to where you’re sitting. You look up and see that he is absolutely fuming. Anything you could have said dies in your throat. Without another word, he storms off.

“What was that about?” Twilight asks, watching Wild walk away. You shrug, completely bewildered, and pick your Switch up off the ground. There’s dirt in the headphone jack, and a corner of the screen is cracked. You turn it on, testing how much damage has been done, and all the color drains from your face.

“Oh.” Is all you can think to say. Tears of the Kingdom is running. It looks like Wild started a new save file on your account. He’s still in the underground area at the beginning of the game, so he must have just finished watching the opening cutscene.

Before Twilight can ask any more questions, you drop your Switch on the ground again, probably cracking the screen even more, and take off sprinting in the direction Wild went.

“Wild? WILD!” You yell into the forest as you run, trying your best to follow which direction you think he might have gone. “WILD!!? LINK?!”

You stumble into a small clearing, and stop dead in your tracks. Wild is furiously swinging his sword at a tree, each strike is less precise than the last. After what feels like hours, but in truth was only a few minutes, he drops the weapon and falls to his knees. His breathing is ragged as his fingers claw into the dirt beneath him.

“Wild?” you whisper his name, tiptoeing to his side. Hesitantly, you kneel down next to him and place your hand on his shoulder.

“You knew.” His hair hides his face from view, but his voice has an edge you’ve never heard before. He sounds ready to murder you, but he doesn’t move from his place on the ground, only digging his fingers deeper into the ground. “You knew I was going to lose everything again. And you didn’t tell me.”

“I…” you gulp. What can you even say? What comfort can you offer? “I was planning to tell you… sometime.”

“Oh! Sometime!” Wild grabs your wrist and his face is suddenly inches from yours, eyes dark with anger. “And just when was this sometime going to be?”

“I don’t know!” You twist your wrist, attempting to escape his crushing grip, but are unsuccessful. “I was trying to figure out a way to tell you! Or to stop it from happening in the first place!”

“Stop it? Just how do you expect to stop that from happening?” Wild releases your wrist and combs his hands roughly into his hair, pushing it away from his face angrily. You take a moment to rub where he had grabbed you. It aches, but there isn’t even a bruise.

“Well,” you speak softly as you stand up, taking a few steps away from him. “I figured, if we ever passed through your time, all ten of us could go wail on him before he even breaks the seal. There is the chance of him escaping and wailing on us instead, though.”

“THAT’S your plan?” He laughs as tears roll down his cheeks. “Sure! Let’s just go in, guns blazing, and all die of gloom poisoning!”

“That’s why I was waiting to tell you!” You throw up your hands. Your words sound louder than you intended them. Are you yelling now? “I have a couple design plans in the works for the Purah Pad and Sheika Slate, depending on which one is available, but none of them are finished yet!”

“Design plans?” Wild’s anger melts off his face, replaced with hesitant hope. “What are you designing?”

“Three words: Weaponized. Spinning. Top.”

[theresattrpgforthat]

@alizarinessence thank you for your patience as I took my time to respond to you! PbtA games can be pretty daunting, and I certainly didn't understand how the play flow was supposed to work at first. I personally learned through trial and error, as well as watching other GMs who had figured it out - I am blessed to have a friend who is very experienced in running PbtA games so I was able to play in some of his games and ask him questions.

That being said, there have been a few things that I've also found helpful that I can refer to you, so I'm going to put them up here.

The Flow Chart

This flow chart was originally posted in a Dungeon World reddit post, and later referred to me when I started asking for PbtA advice. You'll likely see a similar flow chart in Apocalypse Keys, where Rae Nedjadi illustrates how a typical session of play is likely to look like.

In any given PbtA game, you as a GM are going to be presenting pieces of information to the players, just as you would in any other ttrpg. PbtA codifies this information as "moves," and each game will present you with information that is considered useful for the kind of story that it is design to tell.

In Masks, the players are teenage superheroes, so the game encourages the GM to introduce facts such as "civilians are in danger" or "your dad thinks you're being irresponsible."

In The Ward, the players are medical doctors in an Emergency Ward, so the game advises the GM to introduce truths such as "a patient's condition is worsening" or "someone's dad is fighting with a nurse in another room."

This reinforces the common maxim that the game is a conversation, a cycle of presenting new information, letting players decide what they want to do with that information, and making a roll if the fiction calls for it. This is a rather simplified cycle of course - the "see what happens" sections may include moments when players may jump in with their own characters' reactions, generating more events that the GM doesn't need to add to in order to make them interesting. Many PbtA games thrive off of player conflict, which can occupy the table for a couple of hours without the GM needing to add anything (Last Fleet is a good example of this kind of play.)

Listening to Others

Listening to other people play PbtA games can give you a sense of how the game is meant to feel, especially when the GM's and players take their time to talk through their moves and how they work.

I found Monster Hour to be exceptionally helpful; they started out as a Monster of the Week podcast, and even though I've never run MotW specifically, listening to Quinn talk the players through how to ask questions or use different moves made the game very easy for me to understand.

Joining a Community

Joining a community that loves a specific PbtA game, or PbtA games in general can be very helpful when seeking out advice. The PbtA Discord channel has a number of players and designers, who have a lot of game experience and are more than happy to dish out advice.

Start With Games That Have Guide-Rails

Not all PbtA games are created equal, and while the original spirit of the game was to make sure you didn't plot out a story-line, there's still some games that have a certain amount of prep that will give you the tools you need to gain confidence as a GM. Here's some of my favourites:

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths can be played as a one-shot, and doesn't require players to make a lot of decisions when putting their characters together. It has a number of scenarios that you can throw at your players, a mapped-out mall with details on all of the NPCs (and whether or not you can flirt with them), and some pretty hard limitations on what you can and cannot do. You can't leave the mall, for example - go through an exit on one side of the mall and you'll just pop back in on the other. You can visit the stores throughout the day, but each team of players can only go to so many places before the mall is closed for the day, therefore bringing the mission to a close.

Apocalypse Keys has a game structure that looks daunting but can be broken down into steps, and also comes with pre-written scenarios as well as instructions on how to create your own. The concept is pretty straightforward - you're solving a mystery, and you need to do it before one of the Doors of the Apocalypse is opened. This puts the game on a timer, which helps GMs keep their players on task, and also provides the Game Master with a list of clues to drop into the story as the players look for them. I've heard very good things about how Brindlewood Bay, which inspired some of the mechanics in Apocalypse Keys, makes itself easy to run for new GMs, so if you can get your hands on that book, you might find it helpful!

Last Fleet is laser-focused on a very specific premise - you are humans, in space, running away from a terrible and insidious threat. What is more, this threat has the ability to infiltrate your fleet. The laser-focus brings everyone at the table to the same page pretty quickly, and the setting includes a mounting pressure track that will make sure things keep happening, so as the person running the game, you won't have to do much after you set up the initial scenario. The game also comes with some really good advice on where you want to start with your players, to make sure they're on edge, but not fully panicking yet. Then you just need to tip the scales enough to cause them to ask questions, make questionable choices, and start a series of actions that snowball into catastrophe.

Wrapping Up

This is all the advice I have for stepping into PbtA, but more than anything, I recommend just diving in and giving it a go! As with any GM-ing endeavour, you will likely walk away from your first session with a list of things that you'll want to do differently the next time around, but that's just a sign that you're learning.

[herstoryheaven]

Descendants Harry Hook x Reader: The Wolf Within

Request: I was wondering if you could do a Harry Hook x big bad wolf’s daughter. So they have been dating for a while but since she was stuck on isles she never able to use her powers so when the barrier went down her dad starts telling her about her powers and how she won’t be able to use them fully till the first full moon and so she never brings it up to Harry because they never really talked about her powers because neither saw it as a big deal. So one or two days before the full moon she starts feeling sick because of the full moon and avoids everyone because she feels really sick and Harry thinks he’s done something wrong.

Reader: Female

Word count: 2058

Average reading time: 7 min 30 sec

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Warnings: None

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Disclaimer: All events portrayed in my stories are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental. Any actions or behaviours portrayed by the characters may differ from reality and cannot be connected to any actual person. This work is purely fictional and intended for entertainment purposes only.

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Harry leaned against a tree in the gardens at Auradon Prep, his eyes scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Since the barrier between the Isle of the Lost and Auradon had come down, allowing villains and heroes to be amongst each other once again, life had been a whirlwind of changes. Amidst the chaos, Harry had his steadfast anchor: Y/n Wolf.

Y/n, the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf, had been his rock throughout it all. Growing up together on the Isle, their bond was forged in the fire of shared battles. Their relationship had blossomed into something beautiful, uncomplicated despite their rough pasts.

Harry's eyes finally landed on Y/n, sitting on a bench with a distant look in her eyes. He furrowed his brows, noticing she seemed paler than usual, her usual energy reduced.

"Lass." he called, his voice carrying the familiar pirate edge.

Y/n looked up, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey, Harry."

He walked over, sitting beside her and draping an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. "Ye look a bit off, love. Ye alright?"

Y/n leaned into his touch, sighing softly. "Just feeling a bit under the weather, I guess."

Harry frowned, his concern deepening. "Ye sure that's all it is? Ye been avoidin' everyone, even me."

She hesitated, the weight of her father's recent words pressing heavily on her mind. "It's nothing, really. Just need some rest."

Harry wasn't convinced, but he decided not to push her. Instead, he held her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Alright, lass. But if ye need anythin', ye tell me, aye?"

She nodded, grateful for his understanding, even as guilt gnawed at her. She hadn't told Harry about the conversation with her father, about her powers awakening with the full moon. She didn't want to burden him with something that had always seemed so insignificant before considering there was no magic on the Isle.

-----

Two days later, the full moon hung heavy in the night sky, its light gently shining over Auradon Prep. Y/n lay in her dorm room, curled up in a ball as waves of pain wracked her body. She had been avoiding Harry all day, knowing he would see right through her attempts to downplay her pain.

Harry, however, had had enough. He couldn't stand seeing Y/n suffer alone. Determined to help his girlfriend, he slipped into her room through the window, his worry intensifying at the sight of her trembling form.

“Y/n,” Harry whispered urgently as he crouched beside her bed. “Lass, what’s goin’ on? Ye’ve been avoidin’ me all day.”

Y/n tried to muster a response, but the words died in her throat. She clutched her stomach, another wave of pain crashing over her. Harry's hand found hers, squeezing gently.

“Please, love. Let me help ye.” he pleaded, his eyes searching hers for answers.

But as Y/n remained silent, Harry's mind began to race. Doubts and fears he hadn't voiced before started creeping in. Had he done something to upset her? Was there something he missed? Why would she shut him out if not for something he'd done wrong?

"Lass, if I’ve done somethin’... if I’ve hurt ye in any way, please tell me." Harry's voice broke slightly, the worry and guilt evident. "I can’t stand seein’ ye like this and thinkin’ it might be my fault."

Y/n's heart ached at the pain in Harry's voice, but she couldn't explain the truth to him, not now, not with the full moon's power overwhelming her. She squeezed his hand back, trying to convey her feelings through the simple touch.

Harry sat beside her on the bed, his expression softening slightly as he leaned in closer. “Lass, whatever it is, ye don’t have to go through it alone. We’re a team, remember? Ye an’ me against the world.”

Tears welled in Y/n’s eyes as she looked up at him, her lips trembling. “Harry, I... it’s not you. It’s something I can’t explain right now.”

Harry brushed a stray tear from her cheek, his touch gentle. “Ye don’t have to explain, not now. Just let me be here for ye.”

As the full moon's light grew brighter, Y/n felt a powerful energy building within her, more intense than anything she had ever experienced. She gasped, the pain reaching a new peak, and Harry held her close, his arms a comforting change from the intense pain.

“Just breathe, love. I’m here, I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he murmured into her hair, his voice a steady anchor in the chaos.

Y/n clung to him, her body trembling with the force of the energy inside her. “Harry, it’s... it’s the full moon. It’s affecting me.”

Harry’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t loosen his hold. “What d’ye mean, lass? How’s it affectin’ ye?”

She took a shaky breath, the words barely a whisper. “I’m... I’m not entirely human, Harry. The full moon, it... it brings out a part of me that I can’t control.”

Harry’s grip tightened protectively around her. “I don’t care what ye are, Y/n. Ye’re mine, an’ I’ll stand by ye no matter what. We’ll get through this together.”

Y/n looked up at him, her eyes filled with gratitude and love despite the pain. “Thank you, Harry. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Harry pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his voice a soft promise. “Ye’ll never have to find out, love. I’m with ye, always.”

Y/n couldn't respond anymore, the words lost in the surge of power. She felt her body changing, shifting in ways that defied explanation. The pain that had gripped her moments before melted away, replaced by a sense of profound transformation. She looked up at Harry, her eyes glowing with an ethereal light, and then it happened.

Her skin began to shimmer, the light of the moon reflecting off her like a thousand tiny stars. Her form grew and shifted, limbs stretching out, muscles rippling as her body transformed. Harry watched in stunned silence as Y/n's human form gave way to that of a breath taking white wolf, her fur gleaming like fresh snow under the moonlight.

The transformation complete, Y/n stood before Harry, a majestic creature carrying the moon's beauty and power. Her eyes, still the same vibrant shade he knew so well, looked at him with a mix of wonder and vulnerability.

"Y/n," Harry breathed, unable to take his eyes off her. He reached out tentatively, his hand brushing against her soft fur. "Ye're... beautiful."

The white wolf that was Y/n nuzzled against Harry's hand, a low, soothing rumble coming from her throat. Despite the drastic change, Harry felt a connection with her, stronger than ever before.

He sat down on the floor beside her, wrapping his arms around her neck and burying his face in her fur. "I told ye, love. We face everythin' together. Ye're amazin', and we'll figure this out."

Y/n felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She had feared Harry's reaction, worried he might see her differently. But him showing his support and love only made her feel more secure.

Throughout the night, Harry stayed by her side, talking to her softly, his words soothing her nerves. They shared the night in an embrace of mutual understanding and love, the moonlight casting a gentle glow over them.

“Ye’re still my Y/n.” Harry murmured, his voice filled with conviction. “No matter what ye look like. I love ye, lass.”

Y/n licked Harry’s cheek gently, a gesture of gratitude and affection. Harry chuckled softly, his arms tightening around her.

“We’ll get through this, love.” he promised, pressing a kiss to her fur. “Together.”

As the night wore on, Harry continued to speak to her, recounting memories of their time together, sharing dreams for the future. His words were a constant reminder of his devotion, and Y/n felt a sense of peace she hadn’t known before.

-----

When dawn began to break, the first light of day touching the horizon, Y/n felt the power within her begin to decrease. Slowly, she shifted back to her human form, her body curling against Harry's as she lay exhausted from the transformation.

Harry held her close, his fingers tracing gentle patterns on her back. "Ye did it, lass. Ye're incredible." he murmured, his voice a soft caress in the early morning stillness.

Y/n smiled weakly, her eyes heavy with fatigue but shining with happiness. "I couldn't have done it without you, Harry." Her voice was tender, filled with gratitude and affection.

He kissed her forehead, his touch tender and filled with love. "And ye'll never have to. We're a team, remember?" His words were a promise, his eyes reflecting a deep, unwavering devotion.

As the new day began, Y/n felt different, not just from the night’s transformation, but fundamentally changed. She sat up, testing her limbs, and realized she no longer felt like an ordinary human. She could sense the wolf within her, ready to be called upon at will, like an inner guide she can communicate with.

"Harry," she murmured, looking at him with wide eyes, her heart pounding with excitement. "I think I can transform whenever I want now. This is what my father meant with awakening my full power."

Harry's eyes widened in amazement, a slow smile spreading across his face. "That's... that's amazin', lass. Truly." His hand reached up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing gently over her skin.

Y/n closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on all her senses. Everything felt sharper, more vivid. She could hear the distant rustling of leaves outside the dormitory window, the soft footsteps of students waking up, and most distinctly the steady, comforting beat of Harry's heart.

She inhaled deeply, catching his scent. It was intoxicating, familiar, and overwhelmingly comforting. She smiled softly, her eyes meeting his. "Harry, you smell so good... like home."

Harry chuckled, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Well, that's a first. Never been told I smell like home before." His eyes sparkled with amusement and affection, his grin contagious.

Y/n laughed, the sound light and full of joy. She leaned in closer, nuzzling his neck. "It's true. Your scent... it makes me feel safe. Loved."

He tightened his embrace, burying his face in her hair. "And I will always be your home, Y/n. I've never felt like this before." His voice was a husky whisper, filled with raw, honest emotion.

They sat there in silence for a moment, basking in the warmth of each other's presence. The morning light streamed through the window, casting a golden glow over them. Y/n felt a sense of peace and belonging she had never known before.

Harry's hand slid up to gently lift her chin, his eyes searching hers with a mixture of playfulness and desire. "Y/n, there's somethin' I've been meanin' to tell ye." he began, his voice a low, teasing murmur. "Ye're my beautiful wolf, and I can't get enough of ye."

Her breath caught in her throat, a shiver of excitement running through her. "Oh, really?" she replied, her voice a seductive whisper. "And what does my handsome pirate plan to do about that?"

He grinned, his eyes darkening with mischief. "Well, I was thinkin' I might just have to keep ye close. Very close." he said, his thumb brushing over her lips before leaning in to whisper in her ear, "Can't let my beautiful wolf get away, now can I?"

A soft laugh escaped her, the sound filled with anticipation. "Is that so?" she teased, her fingers tracing the lines of his jaw. "And what if your beautiful wolf wants to play?"

Harry's grip tightened slightly, his breath hot against her skin. "Then play we shall." he murmured, his lips grazing her earlobe. "But be warned, lass, I play to win."

Y/n's heart raced, a flush spreading across her cheeks. "We'll see about that," she challenged, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She leaned in closer, her lips just a breath away from his. "Maybe I'll be the one to win this time."

He chuckled, a deep sound that sent shivers down her spine. "I'd like to see ye try." he said, capturing her lips in a tantalizing, teasing kiss. The world seemed to fade away as they lost themselves in each other. In that moment, nothing else mattered but them being together.

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Requested by: @Kailynwolf12

[mdanon027]

For a long-last friendship. | Aaron Hotchner x FemaleReader

For a long-last friendship. | Aaron Hotchner x FemaleReader

Masterlist

Summary | Aaron wants to make it up to Jack, so they go to the zoo. Not expecting to end up having a fun day with his team agent. (Inspired by the Prompt go to the zoo and point out the coolest animals by @creativepromptsforwriting )

Word Count | 1878. (I got carried away for a Prompt)

Warnings | I don’t think there’s any warning, if you found something triggering, please let me know.

Side Note: I don’t own any of Criminal Minds characters, words, or narrative. This is only a reinterpretation and fiction based on the Criminal Minds Universe they continue to develop. Also no repost is allowed. If you ever see this on another website, please let me know.

After one of the most exhausting and longest cases he had this year, Aaron needed to make it up to Jack.

Being apart from his son was difficult, specially when he was supposed to be the main care giver. Jack had spent the last two weeks with his aunt Jessica. He made a promise to spend every single free moment he had, to devote quality with him.

Jack was becoming a happy and curious kid again. He was in his animal phase; his new favorite animal were lions. In school, he was learning about them. Jack asked him weeks ago to go to the zoo.

Being the first whole free weekend, he had in months, he needed a little more sleep than normal. As a consequence, now they were late and the line for the tickets was longer than he expected. Jack was excitedly talking about some animal facts he learned with his aunt Jessica.

“Hotch?” Someone said by his side, by reflect he took Jack’s hand. He turned around to see Y/N, one of his team agents.

“Y/LN?” He said surprise to see her there on her free day.

“You can call me Y/N, we are not working.” She said smiling.

“Who is she, daddy?” Jack asked getting behind Aaron.

“You must be Jack, isn’t it?” She said getting down to match his height. “Nice to finally meet you, I’m Y/N. I work with your dad.” She extended her arm to greet him.

Jack looked up to his dad, Aaron just nod.

“Nice to meet you Y/N.” Jack shyly said taking her hand.

“You have been here for a long time?” Y/N asked them, she was by their side, outside the line.

“The line it’s taking longer than we expected.” Aaron said while looking to his son.

“We planned to get earlier, but daddy got glued to his pillow.” Jack said, joking while looking up to his father. Aaron could feel his face getting warm.

“Have you considered he may be a tiger?” Y/N asked Jack.

“A tiger?” Jack was getting interested in the conversation.

“Yep, did you know they sleep up to 16 hours a day?” She added.

“Tigers sleep that much?” Aaron didn’t know his agent knew animal facts.

“Yes, they are also nocturnal animals, maybe he stayed up at night. Probably working on the papers for the last case we had.” She told Jack. “Have you seen him up at night?” “No, I’m always asleep when he arrives home, “Jack told her in low voice. “He may be a tiger.” Looking suspicious to his dad.

“We can get faster over there; I have a members card.” She said while taking her pass.

“It’s not necessary Y/N, we can wait, isn’t it Jack?” He didn’t want to interfere with the free day of his team member.

“But it’s taking centuries Dad!” Jack growled.

“No worries, I come a lot, so I have some free passes. Let’s go!” She said, while guiding them through the main entrance.

They went through security, and Jack was waiting for his dad to come closer to finally take his hand.

“Awww! You are like otters.” She said to Jack. “Otters hold hands so they don’t float afar from each other, well they do that while sleeping, but it’s really wise of you keep your dad near Jack.” She said Smiling.

“Did you know they swim really fast? I can do that too! You remember dad, I’m the fastest in my swimming class!” he said taking both, Aaron and Y/N by their hands.

“Yes buddy, you are the fastest!” Aaron says proudly. “Thanks again Y/N, you didn’t have to use your passes on us.”

“Oh, its fine Hotch, you always invite the meals when we are out, let me invite you this. And I’m with the fastest swimmer in town, it’s an honor” She smiled.

Jack pulls his dad down, and started to whisper something to him.

“Jack the Otter wants to know if you would like to spend the day with us? If you don’t mind.” He asked, if his son was feeling happy today, he was willing to make him as happy as possible.

“That would be lovely! Of course, thanks for including me in your plans Jack.” She said beam back to the Hotchners.

They started to walk to main map of the zoo. Jack had a plan of the first animal they should explore.

“Have you been to this zoo before, Jack?” Y/N asked him, while he approach the map, looking carefully.

“Nop, it’s our first time here.” He said exited. “You know it really well?” “Kinda, I know where the animals are, but its really big. So, we are going to stick together like the Beluga Whales, ok?” She told to the little kid.

“Beluga Whales?” Aaron asked her.

“Yes, they travel in pods.” She said to him.

“What’s a pod, dad?” Jack question his dad.

“It means, they travel in groups Jack.” Explained Aaron.

“That’s why you need to keep close to your dad Jack.” Y/N look down to Jack. “They are also known to have last long friendships, most of the times they spend their whole life with their pods.” She said smiling to Jack.

They started the journey. Jack and Y/N started talking non stop about the animals they where watching, Aaron was just amused by the facts both of his pod where saying.

“Why do you know a lot about animals, Y/N?”

“When I was younger my Godparents where zoologist and they used to work at the zoo, so I spent a lot of time of my childhood and teens there. I loved it! My parents always gifted me animals’ toys, specially plushies, they still send me some.”

“Really? You still collect them?” He was speechless, at this moment of his young life, he just wanted to know about all about animals.

“Yes, I just bought this tiny crocodile and just saw a Beluga Whale plush at the gift store, but maybe another time…” She said while showing the tiny plushie on her backpack. “Whenever you want, I can show you my collection, I have some at my apartment.” She spoke.

“You can also come to our house, right dad?” Aaron just nod, smiling to his son. “I’m starting my own collection; I have 20 animals so far!”

“Wow! That’s a lot of them.” She said while getting close to the aquarium part of the zoo.

The main animal on the aquarium exhibition was the Octopus.

Jack started to asked if she new any facts about them, she started to answer. Once in front the tank, Aaron got the chance to say his fun fact.

“Now the Octopuses are becoming friends?” Aaron said while looking at them.

“We are not octopuses daddy; we are Beluga Whales.” Jack said while laughing.

“Octopuses collect shells with their eight tentacles buddy, both of you collect plushies.” He said smiling, he was mesmerized at how Y/N and Jack were getting along.

“It’s that truth, Y/N?” Its not that Jack didn’t trust his dad facts, but at this moment he knew Y/N was an expert.

“He is right Jack, but mostly shiny things, they like to decorate their homes.” She told him.

“I think Y/N its an octopus.” Hotch told to Jack.

“Why so Hotch?” She asked her boss.

“Your desk its full of tiny toys, shiny post its, postcards, and I can swear there’s a photo of you with a baby alpaca, your keys are full of keychains from almost every city we have been on a case. You always travel with a small pink hippopotamus plush, and try to get a plush every time you see one, I didn’t realize it was for your collection. Still…” He couldn’t continue because she started to talk over him.

“You are profiling me?” She said amazed at the tiny details her boss had taken notes about her.

“It’s not profiling, I just know my pack.” He said smiling.

“A pack?” Jack looked up to his dad.

Y/N was amazed with this new side she got to know about her boss, always so serious and professional being chill outside the field. She had seen him laugh and smile before, even getting drinks with the team after cases, but never seen him so carefree.

“Jack, I think your dad may be a lion…” Once again, she was designating animals.

“A lion?” Aaron asked her,

“Why a lion?” Jack was getting curious.

“Well, he is an amazing leader. When we are out catching the bad guys, he always come with a great strategy and always listen to our ideas. He always tells us what to do, some times he can be bossy, “she started to laugh at the smirk on his face, now she was profiling him, “but it’s always to keep us safe. Sometimes he intimidates me…” She said joking with Jack.

“Why my daddy scares you?” Jack asked amused of watching his dad with growing smile.

“It’s not that he scares me, but he is kinda serious, with that stern look, when he’s angry at someone that it’s treating us bad, but that’s a quality of the lions. It demonstrates his discipline and authority as the Unit Chief.” She finished. It was a long time since he was profiled.

“That means I’m a lion, daddy! Just like you!” He exclaimed exited, that his dad had the qualities of his favorite animal.

They kept walking through the zoo, Aaron decided to join with the fun facts he knew about animals. But he was impressed with the amount of information Y/N kept in her brain about them. She was like an encyclopedia.

When the day was over, they separated ways.

Jack made Y/N promised to keep in touch, so they could keep talking about animals and to hang out in the near future. Aaron was happy with the new friend his son and him just made.

They learned more about animals from Y/N than from the zoo charts, so they decided to get their new friend a gift.

------

Next Monday, Aaron was the first to arrive to the office. He had the well deserve peaceful weekend having fun with his son and surprising with Y/N. He had only known her on the field, a smart and excellent agent. He didn’t get enough time to spend knowing his team, and he was grateful by knowing another side from her.

Strategically placed on her desk a Beluga Whale Plushie and a drawing of three Beluga Whales. A big one, a medium one and a small one, they were holding fins and with Jack’s handwriting.

“For a long-last friendship.”

-Jack and Aaron :)

He couldn’t wait for her to arrive. He knew for a fact, that she was going to like it.

She arrived to the office, and staid speechless.

Her smile could light whole Quantico, Virginia.

She turned around looking for him, until she spotted him looking at her from his office, smiling. His agent just whispered a “Thank you dear friend.”

She added the new piece of art to her board, while hugging the new member of her collection.

She was overjoyed.

He was glad his new friend liked the gift. And he did hope, their new friendship last long.

Autor’s Note: Hello Again! I normally don’t write stuff, I just read/comment/reblog fanfics, but now I’m in my Criminal Minds Era, so it’s my first prompt I ever write! It’s being a year since I posted an original fanfic, I hope you like it!

If any of the authors I read ever read this, to let you know I always go as anon (thanks that this is my side blog) and I always sign as -MD💜 or -MDanon027💜 (@mdanon027). Thanks for the inspiration!

Also, please be honest if you like it or nah. Any comment will help for future personal writing skills. And if you see any misspelling, I’m sorry, I already reread it several times, and English it’s not my first language. Please don’t mind on telling me to correct anything.

Special thanks to some of the plushies I keep buying every time I got to the zoo/aquarium.

[waxingrunes]

I’m seeing too much of this across all channels and I need to write a little something on my humble blog with my humble amount of followers, because how else am I going to get this off my chest.

Some of you need to remember that this whole world we created is pure, fiction. It’s based off fiction and we are building off fiction, forking off in different directions with characters we love.

The canon vs fanon debate is ongoing and quite honestly, mind numbingly pointless and you all consistently contradict and overlap one another with whatever discourse you’re riding that week. You lot wanna argue a point by saying, “these are my hc’s and I can do what I like with them stop taking everything so seriously teeheehehehe” then uno reverse that the next minute by screaming, “that would never happen *insert name* is this or is that” but fuck canon right? Fuck JKR? Or is it more, fuck the parts of canon I don’t like and I’ll take the parts I do so I can shove them down the throats of creators who represent these characters in an opposing light. The amount of posts I’ve seen floating around these sites that are people preaching to their audiences about how dumb they are (unless it’s meant to be satire, I’m not a brainless sensitive lump with no humour bone) for liking certain things, or enjoying certain things, or preferring certain aspects in a character is astounding. Take pause before jumping on your high horse over a fictional character and shaming people for moulding them into what they enjoy. Is this not the beauty of fiction, imagination; the ability to twist and turn over different traits and appearances within our palms and make them into our own little dress up dolls?

Here’s my two cents as a WOLFSTAR artist, not a Marauders— if I want to make Sirius into a teacup and Remus into a sea slug and have him curl up to sleep every night in his bowl, then I’ll do that with fine china detail. If I want to make Sirius someone who refuses to wear nothing but a specific shade of tangerine and Velcro strapped trainers, I will. One day I might throw Moony into a boxing ring and have him be a middleweight champion, stained by the blood of his opponent whilst his wolf is chomping at the bit to come out just before the full moon threatens to take centre stage. If I want to make Sirius 6ft tall and Remus 5ft1, I will. Why not draw an AU of them as the rocks from Everything, Everywhere All At Once? Maybe, they can be something as simple as a boy and a boy who look the way you want them to look, fuck the way you want them to fuck and fall in love and fight, and scream, and cry, and make up a million different ways.

Let’s get more specific as the seal’s broken. Why not make Remus plus sized and give him a beard or a dad’s bod at age 23. Or maybe because he’s lighter haired he doesn’t have dark hair like that and only has a smattering of it across the ugliest of his scars. Consider this— moony with softer hips but fuller sturdy shoulders. Or long, slender limbs with a deceptively hidden strength owing to his wolf, stronger than James though he doesn’t look it. Onto Sirius, try to tell me I’m not going to put him in thigh highs and fem the shit out of him whilst he holds a bat in one hand covered in the blood of someone who tried to disrespect his Moons. Alert the press when someone erases every single one of his tattoos only to replace them with hyperpigmentation. What about giving him a beater’s build and a long thick trail of naval hair that he likes to call his ‘seeker’s delight’. What about a hairless Sirius who has a soft life and likes to make herself pretty for her 6ft 4 boyfriend every weekend when he gets on the train to visit.

How about, I stick with my personal holy take on the boys and present you with a harmless middle ground where Moony is whatever the fuck I want him to be physically, emotionally, or characteristically but always a wet fucking cloth for Sirius. A grape, under a thumb, you could say. And a Sirius, who is too whatever I want him to be physically, emotionally, or characteristically but will always be Moony’s biggest cheerleader.

Stay with me whilst I offer you the brain stretching, risky, taboo thought for you to ponder on: stop trying to please people. Stop absorbing all these takes that pressure you into thinking you’ve got to include every fucking thing that shaves you down and boxes you into their squeaky clean little creator! Indulge in what you like. Make it public, make it known and make it as loud as you want. Feels good on this side of freedom.

Lastly, quick (none of this has been quick) circle back to myself being a Wolfstar artist, not a Marauders one. I will not be shamed into drawing the women in this fandom, I will not try to even out my art with equal parts women and men, in fear of being called misogynistic. I came here for Wolfstar and I stay for them; I get 95% of my muse from them and enjoy drawing these idiots nearly every single day when I can. I’ve a busy life, a job, the luxury of a family that love me and a couple friends I’d like to keep too. If and when I draw, it’s going to be what I want to draw and want to indulge in, not to check off your boxes of inclusion. I am not going to defend my choice of indulgence to you. I am not going to refute women or wlw ships and in fact, eat up stories or art where they’re prominent. Will I have muse or will to do a piece on them? Probably not. If I do, I will and if it’s not done to a standard deemed appropriate enough by the council, well shit I hope I get an honourable mention in one of your hate threads on Twitter.

Grow up. I am the type of person who has a more or less rigid taste on these boys and what I, enjoy representing them like and you runts will run your throats hoarse before I turn an ear. I am not the type of person to see someone who doesn’t like what I prefer and start slamming my keyboard and slap them with a red card. I’ll move on but appreciate the take in silence. Some of you really, come across like you’re stomping your feet in a tantrum, some of you sound like you’ve never been told to shut the fuck up a day in your life and some of you, some of you, really think you’re a messiah.

Fuck your canons, fanons and righteous attitudes towards people who are quite literally, not real. You are not a deity of the Marauders, you are a fucking loser offline just like the rest of us.

[margueritedaisies]

I just love drawing families of fictional characters, its interesting to think of how each sibling would look. I try to make them different from one another but at the same time maintain familial similarities.

Jinzha resembles their mom, Muzha their dad, and Nezha's a good mix of both.

Also get ready with some sibling dynamic rant, mostly relation HCs by me.

Enough with the parent child dynamic

I want sibling dynamic. Where these three come to terms on what happened between them. Specifically Muzha and Nezha's interaction is the one I want to see.

Tbh those two's fates in the myth reminded me of Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru in Dororo.

Like Nezha and Muzha had so much potential to gain solidarity with each other. Because Jinzha could never relate to them as the ignored or unwanted child. Muzha has that middle child stuggle fr.

Muzha is the one so eager to gain their fathers favor trying to meet Jinzha's level . Nezha wants nothing from his father so he makes himself worse.

Muzha's frustration with Nezha is that Nezha is rebellious, disrespectful of their dad

While Nezha's frustration to Muzha is that Muzha is so blinded and always struggling to achieve something so futile. Deep down he hates how Muzha is suffering this way but he wouldnt speak of it. This is why they always at odds.

They should make a movie focusin the Li brothers fr

Other than overusing the actual myths.

Fuck the ending from the original myth, they didnt even consider how the children felt from all the abuse. Not even mention of Muzha's death.

Enough Ao Bing, what about Muzha???

And the moral lesson is just about "respecting elders"?? The story still had so much to wrap up. How can you call this a family if there is some sort of hierarchal system. A family requires empathy to maintain that connection.

Tbh its kinda realistic

Families and siblings can still inflict trauma from each other .And a story based on reconcilation is a good way for this to be about family counselling.

I wanna see the "what ifs". It could be each brothers own story of self healing from the trauma caused on each other.

Maybe Im getting my hopes up too much, but it could be a development for them to forgive, start anew and an opportunity to connect and catch up on what they missed on each other.

Edit:

As for Jinzha he also has his own struggles as the eldest. Keeping up the station as the golden favored and perfect son. But its Asian family dynamics, which means hes in a lot of pressure. But he is mentally and emotionally strong. The brothers always busy on his studies ,future responsibilities and training to be able to spend time together. Their timetables seemed to be planned out to always not meet. Jinzha especially had less freetime. And if he ever came across any of his brothers, it was only one of them never both.

He doesnt mind being a buffer for the other two feuding but it does stress him out that it will never change. But he'll make sure to give time and attention to both of them as much as he can.

Other than keeping up his fathers expectations he also doesnt want to fail as a big brother to them🥺😭

Muzha and Nezha can see his efforts so they do not dare hold anything against him. Muzha still keeps his competitive attitude when Jinzha's around but accepts any offered kindness from Jinzha. While Nezha enjoys his company when he gets the chance.

Also because I tend to hold on to this little bit of bonding😭🥺🥺Jinzha trying to be the best big bro

Thinking of the contrast in the future where Jinzha was tasked to torture Nezha destroyed me😭😭😭What did Jinzha even feel while he had to do it??

Also here some Nezha with his hair down again

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

Processing through Fourth Wing's Ending thoughts with me Part 4 with SPOILERS!!! (& other 3 post summaries + some Iron Flame theories)

So:

I think Xaden is gonna have a long journey in winning Violet back (as he should, she deserves to be fought for & respected in boundaries). Though it’s also a little hard to watch knowing where this all comes from & it’s a little mixed up/misdirected.

Speaking of misdirection Dain Aetos has some explaining to do, unless I read that wrong; if he intentionally sent Violet & Liam off to their deaths thanks to his betrayal… nope. No.

I am utterly destroyed over Liam & dreading the aftershocks of it… meeting his sister is going to make me cry & I will protect that baby with my life.

Brennan also has some explaining to do, backstory to give, etc.

So mostly I’m ruined and this book is gonna ruin me even more and then it’ll be time to cry with Onyx Storm… so… yeahhh

I am dying to know what the deal is with Lilith Sorrengail… she can’t truly have meant to get her children killed can she? Is she a part of the rebellion somehow? And what was the deal with Violet’s dad? Plus a lesser but still prominent question: what does Mira know? I get the feeling it’s not much… but I am curious all things considered how many more secrets that family holds.

Violet included in the latter as I wonder if the poison affected her memory, powers, etc. it seemed to be a different situation (to the level I was worried she’d turn Venin or something). Have her powers changed with Andarna growing? — WHY DID ANDARNA GROW? How long was she asleep for? What does that make the powers now? … also morbid question I don’t want the answer to but have a fear of learning: if Tairn dies could Andarna keep Violet alive?.. I just have a bad feeling about one of her dragons all things considered. — I’m just scared of who’s going to die next book since clearly they are not afraid to kill the ones I love.

Not important, probably fine, but how’s Rhi? I miss my bestie girl… where is she? What’s up babe? Will I get my crew back? Please tell me she and Riddoc did no betraying.😅😅

And of course between characters and secrets and the final chapter being Xaden’s perspective: what are the many stories he has yet to tell? What’s the deal with his mom? What’s all those one line mentions of things to catch Violet up on?.. please tell me we resume in time so it’s not 5 chapter of brief references & 0 explanations?

I have a bad feeling the robed Venin are someone we know or a bigger deal… also probably Dain’s dad being evil… and some big horrible betrayal upcoming and hurting my babies so not looking forward to that.

Mostly it’ll be fun to see what another year looks like… especially when Xaden graduates… and is tethered to Violet who is going to probably hate him & fill the book with angst… so I’m gonna have to strap in for a bump ride I suppose. We shall see! And no spoilers please these questions are rhetorical/hypothetical😂 though if anything happens to Liam’s little sister give me a heads up please🙃

Finally, in review of the first book:

I love Violet. Her heart is her first power, I love the brave fierce way she loves, and has a true compass for goodness… the way she didn’t blink at rebellion if it was right; she processed that extraordinarily fast & it says a lot as to her as a character. I love her wit, which is honestly awe striking and a superpower in itself and we just LOVE a smart heroine. She is also an awesome representation for the EDS/Chronic Illness community and FMC’s in general, which I greatly appreciated (especially for how relatable she managed to be not only for the disability community, but young identifying women who get called “crazy” or “not believed”, kids who are bullied (though this book is not for kids😅😂) and just generally speaking esp. for being fantasy fiction… she’s funny, she’s a mood, and her POV was great).

On the note of representation: I also loved the way they did adaptations (such as the saddle for example: because she did the work, and it’s just not accessible, so why not make it functional? The debate she has of using it or not resembles conversations I’ve had with many people when it comes to mobility aids, they worry about people seeing, about people thinking them less capable, about the mentality of “power through it” when really it makes more sense just to use the help you have when you need it… it’s not an act of weakness or lesser). The way Rhi even tries to compliment it, to encourage her, and the agency it still gives Tairn & even Andarna, who’s a friggin time-stopping dragon (she’s certainly not weak even if she is not as “strong”—not the word I’m looking for as the other dragons, she’s still a dragon) and she too uses the help!

And the dynamics they have within chronic illness relationships… from the over-protective: I CAN DO IT ON MY OWN many people end up with in siblings & previous caregivers. To the truth that there are some things you cannot do on your own and that’s okay even if your never okay with it. To the way Xaden not once thinks less of Violet for it or gives her special treatment; he is fair to each of them (well as fair as Xaden can be amid murder school). Or the way Dain’s comfort quickly turns into a stinging degradation even if it’s well-meaning & frankly valid (she may very well get herself killed there, he’s not wrong; but he also could, and she could die just as easily getting sent back) it’s her choice, and she does a damn good job honestly. And they try to give agency to Violet in that where they can and I appreciated that.

I love Tairn a lot, especially in character dynamics like his humor & protective affection for Violet in reminding her she is worthy & also please don’t die. He loves a lot, especially for such a “scary, tough” dragon. There’s a strength to that sort of love. And of course Andarna who is a fierce, brave, loving, joyous, other half to Violet’s soul… how could you not love her?

Xaden managed to avoid some very frequent and infuriating YA love interest tropes that I appreciated and while I won’t claim him to be “perfect” (because I know all YA novels have a problem if we’re gonna make it real world) but for the sake of character I actually found him to be not only attractive, intriguing, and entertaining as the classic “rebellious, bad boy, enemies to lovers, angsty brooding burdened softy” but also empowering, fiercely loving, protective but not stifling, and some strong standing points that are needed such as consent, or the why as to how he cares for people. He’s got good reasoning. He’s not needlessly cruel. He also has a cause he is a rebel with a cause, and not some nonsensical brooding, no he has reason. Generally I found him interesting & entertaining without being infuriating. And while he has his issues he’s a very young guy kinda issues? Idk the right way to put it. But I do think him and Violet with trust, and no “forced bodyguard” situations have the potential to be a really awesome couple. I mean he’s pretty much a shadow boi… like it’s fairly simple😂 and she’s the sunny & stormy trope. So, of course I’m an absolute idiot for him and find them sweet.

Also thanks for making the best friend bi! And if I’m correct some non-binary characters too! This book did a good job at trying to give some more representation. And managed to go beyond the basics of YA novels.

Overall it made me laugh it made me cry, I’m not calling it the perfect book but minus killing off one of my favorite characters it was a lot of fun and I look forward to the next one and think this will definitely be a favorite series of all time. And while I’ll process for fuller reviews (not that this isn’t already obnoxiously long). I really enjoyed this one a LOT!

So, off to Iron Flame with our theories, feels, and thoughts we go! Wish me luck! And we’re almost to Onyx Storm so yay for all you long-term fans!

(Should I read slow to avoid waiting a few days inbetween? I’m worried for a cliff-hanger😂)

Oh, and because he deserves to be in here: Yes, Liam was a favorite from day one. He always will be. He was just genuinely good, easy to like, funny, entertaining in his conversations to everyone, depth to the feelings it brought he added layers to many stories, he was kind and loyal… so loyal… somehow even to Violet, even with the lies, he was a good friend and he loved them all a lot. And more than just brawn (though also he was described to be a total heartthrob) he was also smart! And he learned sign language which I always love as someone who grew up speaking ASL for my sisters… he was the best of his class, and frankly just deserved a lot more. Watch Deigh & then him die broke me and I really thought they’d find a way out of it because he just loved his friends so much.😭 And I hate that this is gonna be the pain of the next book… it’s a little too personal for me right now in my own real life with holiday grief & stuff so I totally bawled like a baby… and the fact he said he just wanted to be alive, and see his sister… yeah-not-okay-enough to write this. I shall miss our sweet bb blonde wood carver boi.

Okay, time to go be basic: fall for the shadow guy, root for the FMC & project my life onto her, feel all the ship angst, cry for the fictional sweetheart, & totally fall for whatever the writes me to like/hate & guiltily forgive/hold onto…

[73chn1c0l0rr3v3l]

I think it's interesting that people tend to approach the idea of family as a value neutral thing, versus romance.

Saying "I see these characters in a romantic relationship" can be considered controversial because some people are uncomfortable with certain types of relationships in fiction, & that's fair enough - we all have different levels of comfort with things.

What I find interesting is that people don't seem to have that same sort of thought about... familial-ing characters. I see it a lot in Doctor Who fandom - a lot of stuff about the Doctor being like someone's dad, stuff like that.

And people don't consider that it might make people uncomfortable the same way romantic relationships are.

I don't know. Maybe I'm an outlier. The idea of getting to go to space to... get a new dad is just uncomfortable to me. I've got a dad. He's dead, he's still my dad. I don't want another one. I don't want to bring all the baggage that comes with family dumped on other relationships - I want them to be their own thing.

The differences in what's considered to be okay to uncomfortable with & what's considered a thing that everyone OBVIOUSLY likes.

This is not a judgment of people who do like all the familial tropes! May you enjoy them in good health! Just possibly remember thst everyone likes different things.

[witchykale]

uh oh im talking about daemos ava again!!

i think besides the biological basis for ava not being human, there are a lot of social aspects of ava’s character that could be explained by her being a daemos

ava’s biggest and most inhibiting character trait is her antisocial personality. she wants to stay in her apartment all day, watch tv and avoid her friends’ calls. and you could just say “lmao that bitch is depressed” but CONSIDER. what if that disconnect with her peers isn’t just because of her depression, but something greater?

ava doesn’t feel like she fits in with other people. she’s insecure, she thinks everyone’s eventually going to leave her. finding out that lorelai’s friends didn’t like her was just a confirmation of her fears. so why does she have such an aversion to people?

i think ava knows she’s different. not that she knows she’s a daemos, or even that she’s not a human, but she somehow has this feeling that she’s fundamentally different from other humans.

does that REMIND you of anything??

it is SHOWN that daemos have a 6th sense for telling the difference between daemos and humans. in the finale, the main five individually sense that zex is a daemos before he even walks in the room. ava’s detachment from humans is her 6th sense!

in addition, i think this adds another layer to the way ava reacted to bullying in high school. in the flashback, a couple kids talk about how “weird” ava is and mention her parents. ava immediately reacts, shouting at them to “talk bad about [her], not [her] parents”

i think the surface-level implication here is that ava has likely dealt with a lot of homophobia directed toward her parents, which made her pretty sensitive to other kids talking about them.

BUT what if it was more than that??

what if the real reason ava is so defensive of her parents… is because she knows she’s not like them?

i’m not just talking biologically — i don’t think she’s insecure about her relation to her parents because she was adopted, but because they’re human and she’s not. this ties back into ava’s daemos sense: whether she likes it or not, she knows she’s not like other humans. this feeling, combined with her love and adoration for her dads, makes things very complicated for her.

ava has two truths that she can’t seem to reconcile: she’s not human, but her dads are. she was raised to view them as her parents, she has a parental relationship with them, she loves them, but deep down, she has this sort of insecurity that what she has with her parents is not what other people have. so, she cares about them, but she still sees them the way she sees every other human: not like her.

this takes me to my biggest point, which is the actual plot of MID — ava’s biggest character arc is caused by her friendship with the daemos. the boys are the first people that she really starts to feel comfortable with, as she slowly lets her guard down and comes out of her shell throughout the season

i think that, while the character arc definitely stands on its own as ava growing and changing for the better as a person, i also think that her actually being a daemos adds a very interesting layer to what would otherwise be a very run-of-the-mill arc that most introvert characters go through. this would mean the biggest reason ava could come out of her shell around the daemos was the fact that she was finally with her own kind

unlike the aphmau werewolf reveal (werewolf aphmau my #1 opp) i actually think ava’s character was set up very nicely for a daemos reveal! but those are just my thoughts on it, and i also don’t think that any of the obvious/canon stuff (like ava’s depression or experience with homophobia) can’t stand on its own without some big fantasy reveal, ava is first and foremost a regular person with real-world issues and i think those things can be just as valid to the story as the more fictional elements :)

[momsforroadhead]

ok i forgot i wanted to post insane klaine opinions. so here goes.

let me first start by saying that i'm not that emotionally involved in their relationship. there is ONE fictional couple that is extremely important to me and i will never discuss them on here. i think i simply don't have the shippers mindset. so this is all from an entirely serious and scientific perspective i swearrrr like omg i prommy

ok so. i genuinely think the way these two were written, especially kurt's role in this relationship, is really fascinating, especially considering that kurt's character was based on chris colfer (the actor that portrays him). and since he's the show's main and first gay character, and hearing the way ryan murphy has talked about him, i wouldn't be surprised if he was somewhat based on murphy as well. what this results in is that kurt's character feels, imo, a lot more grounded than other characters in glee and, often, that groundedness translates into a kinda more downer arc than many other characters.

kurt, as a character, is defined by all the negative things in his life. the very first thing we learn about him is that he gets so relentlessly bullied he has learned to kinda passively accept it. his mother died when he was young, and his relationship with his single dad, basically right up until the beginning of the show, has been tense and uncomfortable. he gets a crush on finn (and later, in a minor way, sam) and gets told that he is being selfish, that a crush that he is never gonna act on is something he'd doing TO them. he wants to have solos in class, and cultivate his talent, but always takes the backseat to other people. the ONE TIME he wants to stand centerstage, with the defying gravity-off, he THROWS IT to benefit his dad. HIS DAD!!!!! and i could go on and on and in more detail, the boy truly cannot catch a break.

and then here comes blaine and he's a fucking disney prince. mega popular. rich, supposedly, since he goes to dalton and tells kurt that he understands "not everyone can afford it". sure, we eventually learn that he was a victim of homophobic bullyign at his old school, but this is a while after meeting him. for a long time, the only way we see blaine as is essentially perfect and struggle-less. chris colfer has talked about this, about how the klaine relationship was an idealized relationship, which he didn't really love as a plotpoint because it was unrealistic for gay teenagers to meet a perfect guy and stay with him forever.

because that's the thing!! kurt is a downer character! he's based on one (possible two) real life man for whom being gay as a teen was hard! as a fictional character, he has grown accustomed to and almost comfortable with never getting what he wants, with his dreams not coming true. that's at the core of the character. and now he's dating this guy who is entirely built on wish fulfillment! and supposed to stay with him forever! how do you write that!! genuinely how do you make a relationship with a character like blaine satisfying, writing-wise. you have to put conflict in there, to make it interesting, but with a character who's defined by being conflict-free and another who's the most (/only) grounded character on your show... what kind of conflict can you write??

obviously i'm not done but this is already a wall of text about klaine in 2025 which is kinda embarassing and this is more of a conversation anyway so. stopping for now. unless people want to talk about klaine with me which. you know.

[yutahoes]

Polarity

Teaser -Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four

characters: mafia boss! Yuta Nakamoto x innocent! florist! reader

summary: While running away, you seemed to be moving closer to the man you were avoiding. Are you even heading to the right direction?

chapter word count: 2.5 k words

chapter genre: suggestive, a little fluff, a little angst

chapter warning: descriptive dirty thoughts (MC is down bad), alcohol, nightclub, a little jealousy? (but you didn't hear it from me)

a/n: Posting early because of the Yuta cover from Cut Magazine. I don't know where this is going but I hope you'll like this chapter.

There are a lot of triggers that don't sit well with minors so please keep in mind that some scenes are disturbing and purely fictional. Inspired by Koi to Dangan.

taglist: @sourirensoleille @kyuprincess @nuoyipeach @anonjyxd @a-bts-world @a-place-filled-with-random @smolbeanieee @yumilovesavocado @imnotsureokay @dhaly-g @spicyryujin @doodoodove @blueeyedlove-blog1 @kosmoreads @joepomonerof @calipsou @yutadae @juungvely @hangyeomcult @cherrphoenix @itsyntt

“Y/N,”

He whispered against your ear causing the hairs behind your neck to rise up in goosebumps. His lips hovering above you, his breathing hot and rugged. “Y/N…” You didn’t know your name could sound that erotic.

His scent engulfs your senses: the mixture of musky cologne, sweat, and the pungent smell of blood. The feel of his tongue on the side of your neck ignited a fire inside of you. His fingertips against your skin feel so hot that it burns where he touches you.

“Y/N, I want you.” 

You opened your eyes followed by a loud gasp as if your breathing was knocked out of you. You feel feverishly hot, sweat soaking your body. What was that about? You breathed heavily at the vivid image of the mafia boss from your dreams. His black hair, his piercing eyes, his red lips, his tongue. Wait, hold up. Do not think of that last thing, Y/N. 

But it feels so real. 

You glanced at the spot on the back of your hand, the spot where he licked the salt from before, and felt it pulsating. Why does your skin still remember how soft his tongue is? 

And when you close your eyes, you can see his smile and hear his laugh. The ringing of his voice calling your name kept repeating in your ear as if it were an illusion.  

This is so crazy. He’s making you crazy. 

This is bad.  So bad.

“You look bad,” You stared at Sophie in surprise. Is it that obvious that you had a sleepless night because of Yuta? You sighed, maybe it is. “Are you not comfortable with working in the club?”  

Frantically, you shook your head. It was the opposite, rather. You were never that close with a lot of girls before. The waitresses were so kind to you, always complimenting and saying that you’re doing a great job. The hostesses were also friendly to you, except for Lexi who seemed to hate you so much. But then, like what Aeri claims, she does hate everyone. “I’m just too occupied lately.“

“Is it a guy?” Yes. “A customer in the club?” Yes. And he’s a mafia boss. “Don’t tell me it’s your dad again.” 

You smiled then nodded. Another white lie. Ever since you met Yuta, you have been lying a lot.

And you were reminded of him once again. 

A sigh escaped your lips as you shook your head, trying to focus and desperately staying away from the thought of him. 

You might have the power of attraction. First, when you considered selling yourself, you were almost kidnapped and sold. Second, when you needed a high-paying job, you found Sophie’s friend which is Aeri. 

Then, there’s Yuta Nakamoto. 

You were so guilty of the dirty intrusive thoughts forming in your mind that you cannot look him in the eye. Why is he even here today? Normally Mark will accompany the young girl or the kind middle-aged lady who you saw with her back in the mansion. Why is the mafia boss with her today? 

Sophie was the one entertaining them and you were just standing by the counter, trying your very best to not look at him. 

But how can you do that when he’s wearing an all-black ensemble with his leather jacket and a tight-fit shirt that highlights his chest? How can he look so good in those clothes?  

He’s just a typical customer, Y/N. He’s not the guy you were dreaming about. 

But you’re having a hard time convincing yourself when he turned to you holding jasmines and lavenders. It’s not the clothes, you thought. He does look good. Too good. 

Focus, Y/N. 

Your eyes wandered to the little girl looking at you with a beaming smile on her face. If only you can speak to her. Immediately, you took a piece of paper and wrote ‘Hi, do you want to pack the flowers with me?’ and then showed it to her. You noticed that during the first three times she entered the shop, she watched you carefully pack the flowers she ordered. The next time, with the help of Mark, she was resting her elbows on the counter where you were working. 

The young girl looked at the man she was with then smiled when he nodded at her. Excitedly, she ran to your side and you prepared a small chair for her to stand on. You didn’t actually know her name but it would be weird to ask for it. All of them, Mark and the older woman who sometimes come with her, just refer to her as ‘young lady’. So maybe you’ll just settle on that. Besides, you’re not in the position to ask about it anyways. 

You gestured at the wrapping papers, wanting to ask for her choice of color but she only gave you a confused look. It would be nice if you speak the same language. Quickly, you scribbled on the paper asking her what color she wanted for the paper and the ribbon. She chose a light pink wrapping paper and white ribbon which perfectly compliments the combination of violet and white flowers they chose. A smile escaped your lips as you watched her little fingers put the ribbon around the bouquet. These are very fragrant flowers and the color fits so well with her white dress. 

“You look so pretty.” You pat the top of her head gently, smiling at her. A wide smile can be seen on her lips and you were reminded of how much she looked like Yuta when smiling. You blinked in realization. They always address her as ‘young lady’ and she looked like Yuta. She must be Yuta’s child. Then that means he is married. Why are you thinking erotically of a married man? 

Your eyes diverted to Yuta’s fingers. If he truly is married, there should be a ring on his finger. But there were multiple rings on his finger that made you gulp. How would those cold metal feel against your skin as he touches you? 

“Y/N.” Sophie called that snapped you back to your senses. Your eyes went to Yuta’s who was looking at his fingers and then at you while cocking his head to the side, an eyebrow raised as if asking you a question. He caught you staring at him. This is bad. “Are you still sleepy?” 

You shook your head then started the cash register, telling Yuta the price of the flowers. He handed you a black card and you marveled at the veins along the back of his hand and his dark leather watch. The visual looks so good that you can just imagine him touching you roughly. You want that leather watch on his wrist as he touches the sensitive parts of your body.  “Are you working tonight?” Once again, your senses came back. You should really stop daydreaming like this. You only nodded, not fully understanding his question, before returning his card. “I’ll see you tonight.” 

The young girl waved her hands excitedly as the two left the shop and you were just as dumbfounded as earlier. “What was that?” Sophie asked as you let out a heavy sigh. What is wrong with you? It’s affecting your job. You wouldn’t be surprised that Sophie will be mad that you messed up this customer’s order. “You and Mr. Nakamoto…” Wait, she knows him? “Are you together?” 

What? “No.” 

“Then what was that? 'I’ll see you tonight'? Do you know each other?” 

Maybe this is your chance to come clean to your friend. A chance to lessen the white lies you have been saying to others. So you shared how your father owed money to him and that it was the reason why you asked to work in the club. You even shared that he’s a VVIP in the club and that he saw you there once. Although you missed a few details, it felt good that you somewhat told someone about this. 

“Then why is he looking at you like that?” 

“Like what?” 

“He looks at you like he wants you.” 

You shrugged. “He wants to kill me, that’s why.” 

Sophie chuckled. “No, Y/N.” She started with a haughty smile. “From the way he looks at you, I think he wants you. Period.”

No. You shook your head. That is impossible. 

Yuta is a married man. Yuta has a child. He frequents the club which even earned him the VVIP status. He’s a player. And most of all, Yuta is a mafia boss. 

Why would someone like him want someone like you? 

You laughed at the idea. That was so stupid. The funniest thing you heard in your life. 

Then why are you so disappointed that the VIP room where you’re assigned is for a different customer? He isn’t that bad. A businessman who often travels abroad and is just looking for someone to brag about his journeys to. His story of how pristine the waters are in the Maldives and how majestic the mountains of the Alps make you want to travel the world as well. But for now, you’ll settle on just listening to stories of actual people who can afford to go to those places. 

You desperately try to listen to his stories and laugh at his jokes. But all that was running through your mind is the term 'I’ll see you tonight'. Why would he say that if he wouldn’t come tonight? Is he here already? Maybe in the special VIP room? And with his favorite hostess, Lexi. 

Should you consider being a hostess and charm Yuta? 

The assigned hostess came to your customer and he thanked you for keeping him company, giving you some cash while tapping your shoulder. To your surprise, Mama greeted you outside the hallway. “Mr. Nakamoto is requesting for you.” You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling too wide. “And he requested the special room with the comfiest bed as well.” What? The statement made you blink in surprise. Why would he do that? 

Mama was just smiling as she walked you to the VIP room. She gently knocked on the door and came Yuta’s voice telling her to come in. “Good luck, Y/N. You’ll need it.” 

Your palms felt sweaty as you greeted the mafia boss who was seated on the couch. His leather jacket from early the day was discarded on the handrest beside him and you gaped at the black muscle tee he is wearing. “Please sit down.” He gestured for the space beside him. “Busy night?” 

You shook your head. It’s still kind of early so the customers aren’t coming in yet. “Mama said it’s the comfiest bed. Take a rest if you need to.” Take a rest? Why? “Earlier, your boss said that you’re sleepy. You should sleep now.” 

Wait, that’s why he asked for the comfiest bed? Of course, Y/N, what were you thinking? Are you expecting for something more? “I’m fine. I’m still clocked in for work so I can’t…” 

“If you’re worried about Mama, I can assure you that she won't get mad at you.” He claimed then drank some of the liquid in his glass. From the looks of it, he settled on Brandy tonight. “Besides, it’s me who requested that you rest.” 

But you didn't need to. You didn’t want to. You wanted to spend some more time with him. “I’m fine, really.” 

He leaned on the couch, giving you a side glance. “Suit yourself.” He finished the remaining of his drink and you were quick to refill it with the liquid he was drinking. “How was the job here? Is it tiring?” You wondered why he’s curious about that. And what exactly are you going to say to him? That you are getting paid to listen to those men who wanted to brag about themselves? 

You only shook your head then smiled. “It is a nice experience,” you mumbled, “I’ve always thought of hostesses and what they do in a negative light but I realize how important they are. They’re like therapists.” You grinned then remembered what Aeri told you, “Half-naked therapists.” A chuckle can be heard beside you, the side of Yuta’s lips curled up. “They’re really cool in that aspect.” 

“So you wanted to be one?” 

You shook your head, laughing. “I’m not fit to be a hostess. Have you seen how pretty they are? Lexi even looks like a Greecian Goddess…”   

Yuta snorted which made you look at him. What was that reaction? “Every girl is pretty in their own way, Y/N.” You noticed how he reached for the glass using his right hand then hissed before quickly changing it to his left hand. “Every girl is pretty half-naked.” 

But you didn’t even hear that statement and reached out for his right hand. Earlier, he was wearing the leather watch on that wrist but now it's gone. “What happened to your wrist?” It looks so swollen that it's almost purple in color. You took a block of ice from the bucket before placing it on his right wrist. It looks so painful. 

“A wrong punch to someone’s face.” You hissed. That must really hurt a lot. “It’s nothing, Y/N.” 

“Did you at least let Jaehyun see this? You should ask him to check…”  

“Do you like Jaehyun?” 

You looked up in surprise but were startled that you were almost near his face. His eyes were sparkling. It must be the lights. His eyes are normally piercing, deadly. But why does it look so soft as he looks at you? 

You lightly coughed, feeling the cold ice melting on your fingertips. “Jaehyun?” You laughed then shook your head, removing the melted ice and replacing it with another block of ice. “He knows the right words to say, I’m convinced he’s a playboy.” Yuta drank the brandy in his glass in one shot, not reacting to what you said. “And my dad would kill me if I ever get associated with the mafia.” You stopped, realizing what you just said. That is so offensive that you quickly regret spewing those words. 

“Of course,” Yuta claimed in a soft voice, “Fathers don’t want their daughters to be associated with the mafia.”  

Your mind was swirling. Yuta is married. Yuta is a dad. Yuta is a mafia boss. His daughter is associated with the mafia. 

You just stepped way beyond the line. “Could you check if Lexi is done with her VIP?” You just angered the mafia boss. You only nodded, stood up then bowed at him. 

Why are you so stupid, Y/N?  

The Greecian Goddess came in her tight-fitting black mini dress and red stilettos. Lexi really looked so pretty. She fits so well with Yuta. “You’re becoming Mr. Nakamoto’s favorite,” she claimed. You just stared at her. What should you even tell her? “But I should warn you that Yuta is always like that to newbies.” Of course. It’s not like you’re expecting for more. 

Right? 

“Besides, he had never moved on from his first love.” 

The door opened and you got a glimpse of the piercing look from Yuta. 

Yuta is married. Yuta is a dad. Yuta might be cheating on his wife with Lexi. Yuta is a playboy. Yuta is a dangerous man. There are a lot of red flags that you can associate with the man. 

But the reddest of all red flags is him being the mafia leader. 

Chapter Five

[davekat-sucks]

Okay, this is a VERY stupid question that came to me because of that weird Tavros/Harry/Vrissy relationship from Homestuck 2 and I'm really embarrassed to ask it. So correct me if I'm wrong please because it's been a while since I read Homestuck, we know that John and Jade are the ectobiological children of Jake and Jane and that both pre/post scratch Jake and Jane have a family relationship with Condesce/Betty Crocker (Nanna and Grandpa Harley being raised by Condesce as adopted siblings, Jake and Jane being adopted great-great-grandchildren of Condesce via Poppop and Grandma Harley). So getting straight to the point, can I consider John, Jade and Tavros Crocker as let's say """"""incest babies"""""? (My god this sounds so awful) I know Jake and Jane are NOT biologically related, but in both pre/post scratch versions they belong to the same family (Nanna/Grandpa as siblings and Jane Crocker and Jake English as "cousins") So Jane in Homestuck 2 technically married a relative????????? I'm so confused Jesus.

(just an addendum, I'm not a proshipper, fictional incest makes me uncomfortable) Sorry for the stupid question DX

It's alright. But yeah, technically through ectobiology, each of the characters, even separate groups like Beta and Alpha, have some being technically related to one another. For example Dirk & Roxy and Dave & Rose, they are all brothers and sisters in that sense, but at the same time, they are also like a father and mother to the other party (Dave would be Dirk's father as Rose would be Roxy's. Roxy would be Rose's mother and Dirk being the father). The same applies to John, Jade, Jake, and Jane. But yeah, Jane would technically be married to her relative, Jake. Even if they were raised by separate people like Dad Crocker, Poppop, and Grandma Harley, both Poppop and Grandma Harley are part of the ectobiology pool that would help create both Jake and Jane. So yes, them and Tavros Crocker would be incest babies. When you think about the creation of the Homestuck kids being made through ectobiology, they would technically be all related since they were born at the same time. Though it looks like the ghost slime imprints separate each base copy, it doesn't deny the fact that the machine goes through it to create the kids we know and love and appear simultaneously.

But that's if you wanna say they count the minute they were all born at the same time on that meteor or if it doesn't count since the DNA slime didn't technically touch each other to call it incestuous slurry. It's not like with trolls and their reproduction method, which is confirmed to be incestuous slurry themselves and they admit that incest on their planet is definitely okay. Which makes all trolls we know and love, inbred aliens. This applies to fantrolls too unless stated by their creator they they were born through other means. And since trolls live on Earth C, where they still born through incestuous slurry thanks to Mother Grub, incest for trolls and technically for humans and Carapacians, is allowed on Earth C. Because it wouldn't be fair if trolls are the only ones who get to fuck with their brother/sister/cousin. And when you think about the reproduction of humans that had been through ectobiology, as seen in Credits, Earth C would also be technically started out as incest since those babies would also need to grow up and then reproduce through natural means. And by looking at the kids, there is a chance one of them is a mix of incest in some way. Like one of them being a John/Jade baby, a Dave/Rose one, etc.

I can't expect Homestuck 2 or Homestuck Beyond Canon try to claim that the rest of humanity would use ectobiology as a means to make a baby instead of the usual method. Because then it would bring a question on why hasn't there been a hybrid human+troll kind. DNA compatibility between other species has never been brought up. But nu-fans of Homestuck don't think too deep about it and WhatPumpkin/Hussie doesn't WANT you to think deeper about it either. Even now, the motto for it is "DON'T THINK ABOUT IT". Homestuck is already confusing as fuck even with the plot holes still there.

[frecklenog]

after spending an evening listening to jessie gender tell me about starfield, capitalism, gender, selfhood, and ursula k leguin, i had. some Thoughts about another science fiction series; one you're probably at least somewhat familiar with if you follow this blog or watch ms gender's videos.

to start off; hey. this is partially based on my own experiences, my understanding of them, and how that lens can be applied to star trek. it's also very much inspired by the work of jessie earl, whose channel i can't recommend enough. she's funny, intelligent, kind, and an incredibly gifted writer, and she's a gift to both the star trek, trans, and "video essay youtuber" communities. show her some love!

that said, i want to start by looking at star trek. we all know the vulcans, don't we? pointy ears, green blood — spock's dad's side of the family. gifted with telepathic abilities, vulcans are practitioners of the mind meld, also called things like a mind link, probe, touch, or fusion, which is exactly what it sounds like. it allows two (or more, on occasion) sentient life forms to exchange thoughts as though they were one being.

of course, this kind of thing is common in media. steven universe has gem fusions, which should be examined from a plural viewpoint in their own right. x-man charles xavier almost routinely delves into the minds of others. but rarely does it have any lasting impact on the characters. even star trek itself falls into this, with doctor leonard mccoy not getting nearly enough screentime in the voyage home to show off what must have been the intensely strange experience of carrying spock's katra within him. (maybe that's addressed in a novelization or comic that i'm just unaware of, but regardless, i haven't seen it, and i think that's a travesty. (and if you know of a book where that gets touched on oh my god give me the fucking link now-))

there are instances of star trek mind melds having lasting effects, as discovery shows part of sarek's katra being permanently linked to michael burnham, though that could be considered an extenuating circumstance, what with her being on death's doorstep at the time of the meld. which most trek fans probably already know, and is honestly more fantastical than i care to bother reading with a plural lens. however, star trek is a fandom with nearly sixty years of history, including hundreds of books and comics from various authors and publishers. these stories are plentiful, bizzare, and sometimes outright terribly written. i don't blame anyone for not having read them all — to do so seems like a terrifying task.

but the one i want to look at right now is a particular run of the star trek: the next generation comic, published in 2000 by wildstorm comics.

the run is called perchance to dream — a lovely, flourishing name for a comic where half of the plot could be it's very own jessie gender video for how much sexual weirdness goes on (but i'll leave that to the professionals). the part we're going to focus on is that the b-plot of the run surrounds captain jean luc picard, captain of the uss enterprise-d. the comic is set after the events of the star trek: the next generation season 3 premiere, best of both worlds: part 2. in that episode, the captain had been disconnected from the borg hivemind (after being assimilated in part 1), and he returned to duty as usual at the end of the episode (though he does choose to go on leave in the following episode). it's also set after another episode from later on in season 3, — episode 23, sarek, wherein picard preformed a mind meld with sarek in order to allow the aging ambassador better emotional control, as it was being ravaged by his bendii syndrome — essentially, vulcan dementia.

the a-plot of the run isn't really important to us, i'm afraid — although it reveals to us in the second issue that worf accidentally killed a kid on another soccer team as a child. suffice to say, one of the abilities of the aliens the crew has to play diplomacy with is that they can prod into people's traumas through their nightmares. they have a lot going on. it's a comic book from 2000, what did you expect?

and, speaking of things that are easily dated, the third issue of the run brings us to the second part of today's topic.

image id: a comic book page. beginning at the top, a narration box reads: "chief medical officer's log, stardate 48503.8. lieutenant commander data, doctor selar, and i have gone through the damiano [alien] records regarding the chova. while no direct way to combat the weapon was ever developed we have discovered that certain people were immune to the chova's effects and could destroy the weapon." doctor beverly crusher is beside the narration box, depicted from the shoulders up, facing slightly to the right and saying "there has to be another way." a vulcan -- doctor selar -- is viewed from the waist up, holding a padd in her right hand and facing to the right of the page. she is saying "we have been over the records six times a piece, doctor. if there is anything to find, it is likely that we would have found it by now." data, an android designed to appear as a human with pale yellow plastic skin, is holding a book slightly behind doctor selar. his mouth is slightly open as he speaks. "i believe doctor selar is correct. this is the only course of action open to us under the circumstances." to the right of this panel is another shot of beverly from the shoulders up, this time facing to the left. her expression is stern as she says "i know, i know, it's just-- it could kill him." in the next panel. beverly is shown from the back, and captain jean-luc picard enters, saying "you sent for me, doctor?" beverly responds, "yes, jean-luc. please sit down." below this, the left panel takes most of the remaining page. this time we see captain picard from the back, while beverly faces the reader head-on, speaking first. "we've gone through the records chief du're [irrelevant one-off character from the a-plot] provided. it turns out that there was one group of people who were immune to the chova when it was first used. mpd's." jean-luc repeats "mpd's?" curiously. to the right, data is shown from the shoulders up, saying; "mpd stands for multiple personality disorder. mpd can come about through psycholo--" but beverly interrupts him; "not now, data." end id.

ah, multiple personality disorder. a term that hasn't been clinically used since 1994. these days, we call this dissociative identity disorder (did), but it's one dissociative disorder of many, which is what beverly is talking about. for whatever reason, people with this sort of dissociative plurality seem to be immune to the specific trauma nightmares induced by these aliens. (finally, some good news.)

okay, neat! so, dissociative disorders and plurality have been canonically addressed in star trek. let's see how it goes!

image id also available unbroken in alt text. image id pt 1: beginning in the top left corner, beverly is shown from the shoulders up, facing the right side of the page as she speaks. "the point is the people who are afflicted with more than one personality would destroy the chova before it could affect them. the chova was only built for one personality. mpds would literally overwhelm it." in the next panel, to the right, picard is shown from the chest up, partially obstructed by speech bubbles. facing right, he asks; "how does this help us?" beverly is also in this right panel, although from behind, and nearly completely obfuscated by speech bubbles. she answers; "well, mpd was never a common occurance, and it's almost unheard of these days.there've only been two cases reported in the federation in the last two hundred years -- and damiano [the alien planet] hasn't seen a case in the last fifty."beverly continues. "however, we do have someone on the enterprise who has the makings of a classic mpd. i'd like your permission to ask this person to volunteer to undergo a mind-meld with doctor selar in order to bring the submerged personalities to the fore."

this particular line, i take umbrage with, as dissociative disorders are a lot more common than people might think, and star trek has shown us a future as tumultuous as our own present for decades. there would absolutely be people experiencing some level of multiplicity in everyday life both within the federation and without. but, again, this was written in the 90s, i think? i don't know how long it takes a team of professionals to make a comic book. but, i digress.

image id pt 2: picard responds; "permission granted, as long as it remains on a volunteer basis. who is the officer in question?" below, the leftmost panel is larger than the right. beverly crusher is shown in profile, facing right, with doctor selar and data behind her from the chest and shoulders up. picard is on the right of the page, slightly smaller, but also in profile, facing right to contrast beverly as he listens to her speak. "it's someone who's been exposed to an especially intense vulcan mind-meld, who lived another life for thirty-five subjective years— and who had a second personality grafted onto his own for a brief period by the borg. the next panel takes the entire width of the page, and much of the height. picard is shown in the middle, standing in a purple void. around him are three other male characters shown in bust. from left to right, they are; kamin, a humanoid man bearing great resemblance to an older imagining of jean-luc picard, wearing a plain blue shirt. sarek, a vulcan with grey hair, a turquoise shirt, and a green stone amulet on a large gold chain around his neck. he is cast in shadow and his eyes are not visible. locutus, an ashen version of jean-luc picard, with about a third of his face obscured by black metal exoplating and implants that surround his right eye. tubes come off of his face and neck, trailing behind him, and a red light made to shine at his point of focus shines from the side of his head. there are several yellow narration boxes, which read as follows. "sarek of vulcan. picard mind-melded with the legendary ambassador in order to lend him strength for an important negotiation — an act that almost cost picard his sanity." "kamin of kataan. a probe sent out by kataan before their sun went nova allowed picard to live most of kamin's adult life as a way to remember his people."

oh, yeah. did... did i not mention that that happened?

basically, he was targeted by a device that beamed him into the world's most immersive vr game — kind of like the one from rick and morty? if you watched that? if you didn't, sorry for bringing it up, and if you did, ditto. but it forced picard to live out an entire life as though he'd been abducted by aliens and placed in a sims game. though, ultimately, the plot intricacies of the inner light are beside my point.

image id pt 3: "locutus of borg. quite simply, the greatest nightmare of picard's entire life. the subversion of his intellect, his will, his very self to the collective of the borg." "all three are part of him, but they do not dominate. if picard does as doctor crusher suggests, he will subsume himself in order to let the others come to the fore. for sarek, for kamin, he would be willing." "but locutus--?" the next panel takes a little more than half of the remainder of the page. a narration box in the upper left reads; "then he thinks of his first officer, counselor, chief of security, chief engineer, and all the others who have fallen victim to this vicious weapon." the rest of the panel shows two sleeping figures, both humanoid, in what is presumably sickbay. the last panel takes the remainder. a narration box in the upper left reads; "and jean-luc picard makes the only decision he is capable of making." captain picard is shown from the shoulders up, facing slightly to the left and saying; "what do i need to do?" below his speech bubble is another yellow text box, which reads "to be concluded..."

...which is how issue 3 leaves us.

fortunately, we can pick up in issue 4 with ease, since these comics are over twenty years old. i'm going to do my best to limit my use of comic pages, juuuuust in case, but once we reach the sixth page, with the credits...

image id: a two-page spread. beginning in the uppermost left corner, narration boxes read; "welcome to the mind of jean-luc picard." "'locutus' was a personality superimposed upon picard when he was taken by the borg, meant to serve as the spokesperson for that cybernetic race's ruthless assimilation of what they described as the 'authority-driven culture' of the federation." "ambassador sarek of vulcan suffered from bendii syndrome. in order to keep the effects of this devastating illness from endangering his final mission, sarek entered into a deep mind-meld with picard in order to give the ambassador emotional control and stability." "kamin was a prominent member of the community of ressik on the long-dead world of kataan. a probe sent by the kataan people allowed picard to live kamin's life for several subjective decades, although less than half an hour passed in reality." "all of these personalities have made up a part of jean-luc picard, but he remained dominant." "until now." "this is the mind of jean-luc picard." the left page is mostly taken up by a large illustration of locutus, drawn in far more detail than before. trailing off to the right are two tubes or wires, as well as a speech bubble that reads "resistance is futile." also on this page are the details of the comic title, run, issue number, writers/artists, and copyright. taking up most of the right half of the right page is sarek of vulcan, drawn in less detail than locutus, but easily recognizable. his hair is a lighter grey, he is wearing white and cream robes and an amber amulet on a thick gold ring around his neck, and he is holding up his right hand in a vulcan salute/ta'al. depicted below sarek is kamin, drawn from the shoulders up, wearing a plain white shirt with a collar. below kamin is captain picard, also shown from the shoulders up, in his starfleet uniform, and surrounded by four lights, with two on either side of him. (there is also further copyright information beside him in fine print.)

...i'm pretty sure that this analysis falls under the "commentary" part of fair use. right?

but, regardless, this is kind of a huge thing to drop in a comic that virtually no one has bothered to read. i mean, especially when, amidst the clashing of picard's plurality with the a-plot, we get this panel;

image id: a single comic panel. kamin is shown from behind, speaking to locutus and sarek within a noneuclidean space with four circular white lights shining in the distance. "what is going on?" kamin asks. "we have been subdued for too long. but now we shall dominate, as we were meant to." locutus replies. sarek interrupts. "your logic is flawed, locutus. we are all merely aspects of jean-luc picard's mind." "you may be sarek of vulcan, but we are of the borg."

sarek is able to acknowledge himself, kamin, and locutus as "aspects" of captain picard, despite picard rarely if ever sensing them or their influence. picard is being, not just implied, but explicitly stated to have a latent form of plurality, and perchance to dream depicts it in a way that strikes true to members of my own system, at times, with certain alters first making themselves known in the front already well aware of who they are, and having existed without the my knowledge due to dissociative barriers that only came down later in life.

unfortunately, because this is a star trek media, locutus ends up assimilating kamin in the headspace and forcing himself into the front. however, as he does it, he says something that does, to an extent, resonate with the experience of being one among many, for better or worse.

image id: a single comic panel. locutus is shown facing the viewer, and his chin and the top of his head are cut off by the borders of the panel. his light breaks the plane of the panel to simulate the effect that it is shining into the "camera." locutus's mouth is open as he speaks; "for too long you have suppressed us, picard. but you are of the borg."

plurality is a defense mechanism by the brain to protect against trauma. it is, from what i have seen, more common among those who are already neurodivergent, which already presents in a myriad of ways. mixing the ugly truth of trauma with the raw reality of mental illness caused by it can result in certain alters feeling as though they are being suppressed by not being allowed to front and live their own life, depending on how the system functions. admittedly it is more common in fictional depictions of dissociative disorders for these alters to simply live their own lives in secret anyway, as is the case in the marvel tv series moon knight with marc spector, steven grant, and jake lockley (along with the other possible members of their system who may or may not be present depending on the canon, but those are the main three). but, in reality — or at least my experience — this more often translates to alters making themselves social media accounts, or using services like tupperbox or pluralkit on discord, or finding other ways to more discretely express themselves, such as icon changes or status updates.

but, getting back to star trek, this is ultimately a one-off comic. so captain picard saves the day with his secret alters, ends the mind meld with doctor selar, and goes back to living his life as a singlet, ready for the people of the future to be able to easily comprehend without having to read a very specific comic run from 2000.

...right?

image id: part of a comic page. each panel takes up roughly one quarter of the page each. in the first panel, counselor deanna troi is seen standing, having just entered captain picard's ready room. picard is shown from the back, sitting at his desk. "counselor! good to see you up and about." he greets her. "it's good to be up and about." she responds. "playing some old tunes?" [picard had been playing the ressikan flute prior to her entry.] picard responds. "mmm. i wanted to make sure that i still remembered how." in the next panel, we look over counselor troi's shoulder and across the desk at captain picard. "were you worried that you wouldn't?" she wonders. "actually, yes," picard answers. "after what happened..." the third panel shows picard facing the viewer head-on from the shoulders up. he continues, "i suppose i knew intellectually how close to the surface locutus, sarek, and kamin were. but i never really thought about it. they were — memories, experiences. no different from any other. but they're much more than that." the fourth panel shows counselor troi, facing slightly to the right as she speaks. "not much more. all three of them are part of you. but the important word is you. the fragmentation was artificially induced." picard asks; "was it?"

ultimately, yes, this is a one-off comic run that isn't very well known, and i only read because i took a personal interest in the subject matter. i knew going in that it wasn't going to fundamentally change the entire fandom's understanding of captain picard, or make the star trek fandom an instant haven for systems everywhere. but, still, captain picard has his doubts, and that truly touched me when i first read it as someone who was actively reckoning with the fact that past traumas that had impacted me more than i realized.

the comic goes on for a while longer, but the last thing it has to say on the subject of plurality is this.

image id: a single comic panel. counselor troi is seated in one of the chairs in captain picard's ready room, facing him from across his desk. she is on the left, facing partially right, and he is on the right, in profile facing left. the dialogue reads as follows. picard wonders, "was it [the dissociative fragmentation of his identity] truly a creation of the mind-meld, or was it simply breaking a dam that was already cracked?" riker interrupts over the comm. "riker to picard." "go ahead, number one," picard tells him. "it's time to beam down to damiano for the ceremony, sir." "thank you, commander."

and that's it. picard asks a question, then gets called away and never tells us his answer.

i think, at least subconsciously, that might be part of why i held star trek: picard to such a high standard.

to be clear, i hadn't read this comic when the first season of picard was coming out. but i was starting to grapple with my plurality, and i used fictional media as a means to do that (as is still evidenced by things like my system simon tag). the first season of the show was centered around both picard's relationship with both his legacy and his history with the borg collective. as mentioned in perchance to dream, captain picard had previously been assimilated by the borg collective — a cybernetic hivemind from the delta quadrant that absorbed cultures and species into itself, effectively wiping out the cultural histories of entire planets, at times, in their quest to become the "perfect" life form through a combination of genetic engineering and mechanical augmentation. and, as this happened, i came to know a young man named hugh who took form within my mind. a fictional introject, or fictive, of the character of the same name from season 5, episode 23, i, borg. with his help, i grew to further understand my own plurality, and saw the potential for our stories to be told in the wake of reclamations from the borg collective. the reclamation project became a hyperfixation, and—

and then came the jurati collective.

my own system bears no connection to the jurati collective, but it is a wonder, and can be examined through a plural lens as an allegory for our own experiences as dissociatives. many consciousnesses, all working together as one towards a common goal, and willingly. after all, what is a system if not a hive within one body?

and then came picard's third season, completely ignoring her, along with all the unique perspectives that stories surrounding her might have offered in favor of what felt like a final next generation movie.

ignoring me, it felt like.

is that silly? probably. but, try as i might, i am human, and so i have a propensity for illogic — no matter how much my autistic brain craves structure and definitive explanations in order to understand the world.

i'll be honest, i'm not sure how to end this. but, sometimes i remember the time in season 6, episode 20, the chase, when picard became incredibly excited about an ancient alien society that believed people were, indeed, collectives within themselves.

"...the kurlan civilisation believed that an individual was a community of individuals. inside us are many voices, each with its own desires, its own style, its own view of the world." -captain jean-luc picard

and i realize that, with the core tenant of this series lying in the infinite diversity of both the known and the unknowable — the building blocks are already in place. star trek is a media that has grown over the decades, and hopefully will continue to do so, because there are still so many ways for new and interesting and meaningful stories to be told within this franchise.

but, if you can't summon your representation from a nostalgiabait sequel/reboot within a preexisting intellectual property... there's nothing to stop you from crafting your own story and letting loose as many systems as you like.

[minamorsart]

Happy holidays to you 🎄🎁🌟❤️

*whispers* , who do you think deserves better

Lotor or Ben Solo/Kylo Ren

First of all: thank you so much! Happy Holidays to you, too!! I hope you are enjoying this holiday season with your loved ones 🎄🎀☃️💖

And second of all: NOOOO Anon how could you make me choose??! 😭😂😂

My gut reaction is to say both of them, but that's not really the answer we're looking for here, is it? Hehe. So I have tried to seriously consider this and provide a sincere answer to your question.

A quick heads up, I will be mentioning reylo and lotura here and there throughout this little essay!

The most fun part about comparing Ben and Lotor I think comes from the fact that these two are suuuuper similar to one another. I covered this a tiny bit in this ask where I talk about how protective the two of them are, but to reiterate:

Both Lotor and Ben are from sci-fi/fantasy franchises that were released around the same time, both have troubled relationships with their fathers, both are great swordsmen and pilots and engineers, both murdered their fathers, have complicated childhoods, rarely show their true faces to others, killed their dads, fell in love with fierce and powerful women, kissed said fierce and powerful women before shortly dying afterwards, said bye-bye to papa by doin a lil stabby stab, became intergalatic leaders of the most powerful empires in the universe -- oh, and did I mention daddy issues? You tend to find that a lot with long-haired emo boys from fiction. It's just the way it is. And for these two in particular you can also sprinkle in a little "mommy issues" just for funsies.

But in all seriousness, Lotor and Ben share a LOT in common, which is pretty crazy! So who deserves better, really? In order to make a fair judgment my first thought was to take into account their crimes and if they were able to redeem themselves in the end. But this is also fiction. As soon as people slap the label "toxic" on a character or ship, I usually tend to tune them out. This is by no means a hot take, but fiction is a form of escapism. It is a way for people to experience a thing (e.g. horror, adventure, romance) without actually having to experience it. So if we have a couple of sad boys who murder and manipulate people but also want to find love, who's gonna stop us from rooting for them? Absolutely no one!

I digress, but my point is that I usually don't care which character did what and why they're a bad person for it. But even then were Ben and Lotor really all that bad? After all, we learned from "The Rise of Kylo Ren" comics that Ben was ultimately not the one responsible for destroying Luke's Jedi school, and in TROS we found out that he was being manipulated by Palpatine the entire time.

For Lotor, we never really got a clear picture of what exactly he was doing with that Altean colony. To this day I still don't get it! In S6E6 he says, "Many Alteans perished in my quest to unlock the mysteries of quintessence." But then in S8E13 Allura says, "Lotor may have been misguided, but ultimately he wanted to preserve life." Like, what does any of that mean?? There are cracks in the armor, Anon! Cracks!!! Not to mention all of the theories with very convincing evidence that there were a ton of changes made to season 8, and unfortunately I don't think we're ever going to get a solid answer from the showrunners as to what was really supposed to happen.

In the end, the complicated and morally gray choices that Lotor and Ben made throughout their lives are what make their characters so interesting! They did the wrong things for what they believed to be the right reasons. If they didn't come across as the mysterious and devious fellas as they did when we first saw them, we wouldn't be such big fans of them. We would've chosen someone else 😉

So any bad deeds aside, maybe we oughta take a step back and do one last comparison. Most notably, comparing how they died. Ben died saving the person he loved, while Lotor died fighting the person he loved. I would have to argue that Lotor's death was far more gruesome and superfluous than Ben's. Not only did he go mad from all of the raw quintessence coursing through his body, but we find out in season 8 that his body had remained in his ship for three whole years, decayed and melted (seriously whose idea was it to share that imagery? I'm scarred for life) and left to sit there by his own mother.

Ben's passing was also deeply upsetting. I cried in the theater. But you can't deny that it was a peaceful one. From the way his body faded into nothingness, leaving beind only his clothes, the audience is able to assume that he became a Force Ghost (or did he? 🤔). He was battered and beaten, but he brought the woman he loved back to life, and in giving his life to her and helping her defeat Palpatine, he redeemed himself. And not only did he redeem himself, but he was also able to reconcile with both of his parents.

Lotor didn't get to do either of those things. He never got the chance. He was manipulated by both of his parents, and he never had the opportunity to redeem himself on his own terms. You know, for someone who directly influenced the entirety of season 8's plot, Lotor is hardly in it! I suppose he sort of redeemed himself, at least in Allura's eyes, but he was long gone by then. He wasn't around to see any of the stuff going on in season 8, stuff happening specifically FOR him because his mother wanted him back. In season 6 he went out like your average cartoon villain--dying because of his own hubris while the heroes looked on. In season 8 we only get: a flashback episode, him showing up in Allura's bedroom ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), and him copied and pasted into the background as a ghost in the finale, almost like something is amiss in this scene (cracks in the armor, Anon!!!). UGH. You hate to see it.

But at the same time, I'm not too upset that Lotor died if I'm being completely honest with you. At least not anymore, anyway. Don't get me wrong, at the time I cried when his death was confirmed, and then I cried again when Allura died. But at least they get to be together in the afterlife. Ben had a lot going for him. He was only 30 years old when he died, and that's still very young. He could have had a long, happy life with Rey, and to truly redeem himself in the eyes of the resistance, could have devoted his time to restoring peace and order to the galaxy, as well as teach the new generation of Force-wielders alongside Rey.

Lotor, on the other hand, was 10,000 years old. The idea of having lived that long is not only unfathomable, but the fact that he probably spent most of that time being completely alone is just... really, really sad. If I were him I would have been ready to kick the bucket, too. I think the kindest thing to do for him at that point was to give him a peaceful, as well as justified, departure in the series finale. Allura had suffered as well. She had lost everything, just like him, so the two of them finding peace in the afterlife would be the most merciful conclusion, I believe.

Soooo I'm gonna cheat again with my answer 😂 Who deserves better? I would say BOTH of them deserve better, but in different ways. Ben Solo deserved to live, while Lotor deserved a better death.

Thank you so much for this question, Anon! I really had to think a lot about this one, and even though in the end I couldn't actually choose between the two, I still enjoyed coming up with this long-winded answer haha! If you have any further insights you would like to add, or if you even disagree with any of the things I've said, please don't hesitate to say so! I am always happy to discuss anything Ben or Lotor-related 😁 My love for these boys knows no bounds 💖

[darianias]

My view/TED Talk on Tengen Uzui and a platonic relationship with wives (not canon lol)

⚠️CW:⚠️ adult topics are addressed but nothing explicit is mentioned what so ever, probable typos everywhere, this is composes of half-awake ADHD tangents that wouldn't leave my mind so I'm writing it down so my brainw will chill and I can sleep lol. Meaning this isn't planned out in the slightest. No professionalism here. 😅 Also due to the tangental nature of this, don't take this as an attack on anyone or thing. Please. 🙏 That is the opposite reasons why I am posting this.

⚠️DISCLAIMER:⚠️ This talks about Tengen and his wives not being in love; despite me shipping it otherwise. (this isn't hate it's more so to help people be more comfortable and have access to more fics comfortably lol. I will not tolerate bigotry towards: polysexuals, polyromantics OR anyone LGBTQIA+. You will be blocked and reported.

Explanatory tangent about why I'm making this and QPPs:

feel free to skip the intro if you already understand lol the entire tangental for the most part anyay.

Into & brief? Personal QPP explanation

I'm writing this in the wee hours of the morning because I was trying to get settled to sleep reading fics... when I remembered that alot of people can't read a lot of Tengen fics as they're not into poly or aren't into women one way or another. It... somewhat bothers me that people get upset, but I also understand where people come from at least, as I just have a different mindset, and I think it could help some people's destress with this???

I am among those not really into women and am picky about polyships in general but esp with y/n. However, I am also aspec, specifically demisexual and demiromantic are the labels I'm most comfortable with in these cases. Why do I mention this? Well...

Among the #Asexual & #Aroromantic community we can feel and have relationships that can be labeled as Queer Platonic. (I imagine it can happen with any sexuality but that's not the point here.)

A Queer Platonic Relationship is a kind of strong platonic love that's stronger than just friendships but without the romantic or sexual feelings of a romantic or sexual relationship. It doesn't have to be between two people of the same sex or gender, it can be oppsites.

Also I'm not expert so do you research, a this is from a personal pov here to try and give an example.

I am in a Queer Platonic relationship of around 10 years now. The love I feel is just as real as others but it's different. In a way it's like how some animals become a bonded pair or set. I would do anything for her, but I would never feel comfortable or desire to kiss her, date her, or "sleep" with her. 🤢 Cuddles are the furthest I'd go and since we don't live alone we'd never do it around my dad, as most people don't seem to understand and I'd rather people not think we are in either of those kinds of relationships, but that's me. Other people in these relationships may feel differently and have different levels of comfort and confidence lol. My QPP and we each have our own wants and desires for other people... specifically fictional men for the most part. So sharing a bed is a nono and while we can share a room as we had to before- we respect each other's need for "alone time." Also snuggles and the like are human and mammalian nature, but society likes to just group it into two small boxes: young child/baby familial or romantic in nature. Which is weird when you think of our needs as a social animal or social mammal, it's not really healthy.

Anyway if you want to learn more, I suggest starting here:

Onto Tengen & His Wives

Anyway the POINT IS, in my head in tengen x y/n situations, tengen x sonas or tengen x other character but not in a poly way, I apply these types of feelings to. Hell I kind of do in canon as well, as for me the love and care he has for his wives is real, but I feel it more in a QPP way as I don't.... have any real vibes that tell me otherwise, regardless of them being canon. It's just how I vibe. I'm not against the relationship by any means as in aus not dealing with him as a main focus (these are private aus and my QPP and I are literally both Tengen simps and also ship him with Kyojuro), Tengen and his wives are very much are all in love with each other. So I'm not really against the actual ship or relationship. I do wish it was more fleshed out tho, I am overally more comfortable with the idea that everyone in the polycule love each other romantically and sexually in this case as otherwise it's uncomfortable for me. 😅 That's just how I like my Polyships.

With that in mind, I am comfortable with the idea of plantonic cuddle puddles, caring for each other, taking care of each other as long as it doesn't become romantic or sexual with the other women or between the trio and Tengen.

So... how do we begin to tackle this? Well look at some of the facts:

They were in an arranged marriage with prior relationships not being detailed whatsoever. Tengen didn't want to have 3 wives to use as tools as his ninja clan ruled. He wanted to save them from that fate as well.

While in canon they all did fall in love with Tengen there's many ways to take this relationship. They have some base level of care for each other be it friends, familial, QPP, romantically or so on.

Example 1:

One thing I like to do is ship the wives in their own polycule, but this is back in the day in Japan 🗾 so I sometimes apply the fact that with a divorce they all would be legally separated due to this, and Tengen whose relationship to them are more platonic, wouldn't do that to those dear to him. Meanwhile adding another wife is still more socially acceptable seemingly in this world albeit much isn't specified so we really just need to guess.

That is an idea I more so apply when reading fics rather than my own story creation.

Example 2:

A similar idea is that they all are in a way "trauma bonded", they went through hell and back together as ninja, and escaped from their clan, that isnt a simple or safe task when dealing with shinobi, ao them all joining the slayer corps makes sense. While they may not love each other romantically/sexually, they all love each other and are loyal to each other. You can take this ship the wives together or only two of them or find them partners outside of the group. Wanna ship Suma and Mitsuri or Makio and Giyu??? Go for it. They can join the family.

In the end...

I can kinda go on and on with tons of different examples, my point is, if possible, open your mind to these ideas, you can enjoy so much more of the fandom this way. Yeah there's no wives of wifeless fics and the like, but most people here are fine with being the 4th wife or an additional Husband or 4th significant other to Tengen. There's nothing wrong with that. But I see people get tense with that or annoyed and I can't help but feel this want to kind of bridge things if at all possible. There's ways you can enjoy many of these these fics, headcanons, scenarios, etc. without having to feel as though you have to be in an actual polycule if that's not your taste or thing.

End Statment

I am a NOBODY on this site, half of my small pool of followers are bots and the others mostly just followed be back/are moots??? I mostly like and reblog other people's things. My creations are mostly between my QPP and I and in our heads and random discord messages as just, we don't have the spoons to write or draw that stuff more often than not. 99% of it is entirely self indulgent lol. BUT there's a tiny chance this could help someone, y'know? Maybe it won't. Maybe it'll cause more problems. 😰😬 I'm not deep enough in any fandom to see drama and ship hate and the like. 😅 I'm more or less a fandom hermit in my own little corner or bubble. I am passionate about this series. I've been hyperfixating on it almost non stop for about a year now. 😅😂 I just want others to enjoy it as much as possible. As long as you're not being a bigot to others. 😌 So please don't think I'm trying to start crap, as long as what you ship is *legal* hint hint, nudge nudge. idgaf what you're into as long as you're not harming or harassing others lol.

Also getting these tangents out of my head makes it so my brain can settle down more lol ADHD is a pain in the ass at times.