#of either her men or her enemies. probably both

[art-is-kayos]

Homeward Bound - Smokey Old Man Outis and Heathcliff

[eightmakesonebraincell]

our leaves must fall before our flowers can bloom (teaser)

genre: poly hockey team!ateez x coach fem!reader, enemies/strangers to lovers, athlete!au, slow burn, fluff, angst

length: 1.0k (teaser) + approx. 38k (full fic)

c/w: sweaty ateez (warning well deserved), lots of hurt/comfort, one of the slowest slow burns to slow burn, remaining tags to be revealed with full fic

synopsis: you become the new coach of the elite men's ice hockey team, the red devils. but with both yourself and the team carrying burdens of the past, you all find it difficult to see eye to eye. as you lead them to the championships in the korean ice hockey league, you discover that teamwork and trust is not as straightforward as it seems.

a/n: when i started writing this i really thought it wouldn't exceed 25k but here we are :D full fic will be released in about a week and i am so ready

“she’s the new coach?” yunho frowns in confusion. “no offence, but we’re not a bunch of kids for her to practise being a soccer mum to.”

“she was the assistant coach for the grey eagles,” coach cho discloses.

“the grey eagles? the under-21 men’s championship team?” yeosang looks incredulous.

mingi sceptically comments, “the fact that we’ve never seen or heard of her before probably tells us enough.”

hongjoong’s lips purse sourly as he tries his hardest to analyse the situation with the professionalism of the team’s captain. but with the sudden change in coaches and the same critiquing doubts as mingi, hongjoong cannot help but feel his personal judgement webbing over his mind. over the team’s entire career as an elite ice hockey team thus far–five years, now well into their sixth–the red devils have only ever had two coaches. coach cho has been with them for the longest and whilst it took the team a while to eventually warm up to him, he has been with them for almost quadruple the amount of time it took to trust him.

the team’s alternate captain, seonghwa, speaks to you directly, “if you don’t mind me asking, why are you not playing as an athlete yourself? you’re clearly our age–nowhere near retiring.”

you knew from the very start that your age would make your credibility as a coach much lower, and your answer to seonghwa will not help your case either. “i stopped playing.”

“how come?”

the trigger of memories fills your nose with a sharp stinging smell. you blankly reveal, “i chose to stop playing.” you know exactly how it sounds like to somebody else, even more so to professional athletes. coach cho has also told you of the team’s hardheadedness and strong will when it comes to the passions of their career, so you are expecting the cold receptiveness that you are met with.

your response strikes the wrong chord within wooyoung. there was a point in his career not too long ago when the choice of continuing to play or not was at risk of becoming a forced decision. the way you answer so callously with those very words that had threatened to tear his world apart has his jaw grinding and eyes darkening, and he is not the only athlete in the arena who feels similarly.

“i would rather choose to die before i choose to stop playing. ice hockey is my entire life and without it, i am not living either,” hongjoong jabs and you cannot help but clench your fists because you know exactly what he means. still, you stay quiet as he continues, “sorry, but i can’t respect a ‘coach’ who chose to stop playing.”

at the captain’s words and subsequent move to leave for the changerooms, the rest of the team also gather their equipment and follow his steps. san’s feet falter in front of you, expression hesitant until he decides to voice, “our team needs a bit of time. it’s hard for us to warm up to…outsiders, and i know it might not mean much to say this but we have our reasons. don’t expect us to blindly trust you just because you’re a coach.”

the use of the word ‘outsider’ does not go unnoticed as you nod, “of course.”

san jogs off to rejoin the others and coach cho hums, “guess some things haven’t changed. they were just as prickly to me when i first became their coach.”

you raise an eyebrow, “prickly? to you?”

“yes, believe it or not,” he chuckles nostalgically. “we’ve come a long way because i’ve been their coach for years now. but it took me a while before i was able to break down their walls.”

you briefly mull over the information, then ask out of curiosity, “what would you have done if i didn’t sign the contract?”

“begged you to rethink your decision,” he jokes with a pleased chortle. “i would have to start looking for a different coach, i suppose. you were my only pick.”

“but why me, of all people? there are so many other experienced coaches that you can choose from.”

he looks at you, eyes glinting with intuition and confidence as he simply says, “you’re familiar with their playing style. they play just like you used to.” at your silent processing, coach cho probes, “why didn’t you tell them the real reason?”

you smile wistfully, “i didn't tell them because i’m not here to gain their pity.”

some of the boys’ voices grow louder as they emerge from the changerooms, changed into fresh clothes and their kit bags slung over their shoulders. you hear one of them ask, “captain, is she really going to be our new coach?”

they step out from the facility’s corridor and you accidentally make eye contact with hongjoong, yet neither of you look away. maintaining a steady gaze directly at you, he responds with a slight glower, “maybe, but she’s only the coach by title. i’m still the captain of the team, so let’s see who everyone listens to.”

as they exit the rink’s arena, you feel a fire of determination growing inside of you. you have won over your own demons and you have won the championships before–this is nothing in comparison. whether your next words are for coach cho or for yourself to hear, it does not matter.

“i may not play anymore but i was still once an athlete and no athlete has ever, in their career, wanted pity. i’m here to earn the team’s respect and i will win over them, especially their captain.”

you watch the swing of the glass door as it shuts behind the players, catching a brief glimpse of the trees lining the arena’s perimeter. it is the first day of autumn when you meet the red devils for the first time and outside, the leaves are beginning to change their colours.

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[moldybonessmell]

"Deadpool and Wolverine": queercoding analysis of Poolverine in the movie

// SPOILERS

//Disclaimer: This is NOT a hate post to Vanessa/Wade shipp, but if you ship them, this post is probably not for you.

I've seen a few queerbaiting allegations and, frankly, don't agree with them. Now I'll explain why.

Starting with the fact that movie begins as a typical reasoning for a character to get a new love interest: we find out Wade and Vanessa broke up after roughly 7-8 years together.

Either we don't know (or I just don't remember lol) for how long they've been separate, but it was enough time for Vanessa to get in a new relationship.

And we know that the reason for this breakup is the core differences between the two. In the previous movie they wanted to get a child and Wade's entire motivation was based around Vanessa. In this movie tho, it seems like even if Wade is still not completely over breakup, he seems to be compliant with the fact they are not together anymore. You would expect Wade to go and do something silly to Nessa's new guy, but he doesn't. He respects her decidion.

Wade has more of an existentioal crisis than just hurting from the breakup. So I would assume he's not over because he feels like he messed up and keeps giving sad puppy eyes holding on this romantic relationship with Vanessa. Tho they are still soulmates and friends no matter what.

I don't know about you, but for me this exposition doesn't look like a foreshadowing of Vanessa and Wade getting back together. Vanessa is happy and self-actualised on her own, even if Wade is not.

I don't see Wade trying to change as an act of trying to get back with Vanessa. He reacts like this because his family member pointed out his flaws.

Secondly, the only other "hints" for a relationship between Wade and Vanessa is him remembering how they kissed and in the end Vanessa holding Wade's hand. Which, let me point out, is not a typical trope to show characters are back together. You know what's typical? A KISS! Which never happened btw.

Not to be this person, but we all know Disney/Marvel haven't got the balls to show a canon queer relationship. So the only "hints" for Vanessa/Wade seem to either read as platonic, or purely as an attempt of Disney to be like !look! female love interest!.

Now, other important part. If you really think about it, referencing the first part of the post, the movie follows an enemies-to lovers romantic movie formula:

(optional) breakup with previous partner;

annoyance first (previous deadpool movies);

admiration upon actual meeting (even if Wade acts cocky, when you listen to him telling the story about how his universe's Logan saved Laura, you can clearly see he adores the hero, who, as we know, is relatively similar throughout multiverse. Wade knows this Logan has the same morals as other ones, hearing how he regrets not being able to help his x-men);

"having to" go on an adventure/quest together even tho they are annoyed at each other;

enemies bickering and fighting because they have differences (which are actually similarities between the two which drive them insane when they see this mirroring);

the breaking point and confrontation (the Logan monologue in the car scene);

*the close proximity tention* hate fucking as a spicy way to get over the argument (in the car scene they are shown to fight just for the sake of letting out steam);

the cold period when characters ignore each other because they are still pissed (when Laura got the two to her base);

getting over it and working together, trusting that the other got their back;

saving the world with the power of love brotherhood with romantic soundtrack on;

both staying alive and having a heart-to-heart conversation;

one wants to leave, but the other stops them (usually it would be followed up with a kiss but oh well);

officially meeting a parental figure of one of the characters and moving in together as in an established relationship.

I don't think I'm delusional if I say I haven't seen brotherhood media (ones without queerbaiting or actual siblings) that would follow this formula. But I did see romantic storylines.

All in all, Wade and Logan go through a development and establishment of a relationship. And I'm not even talking about the obvious "one being there when other lost everything and giving them a new family and home".

In the movie there are so many romantic tropes of these CANONICALLY QUEER CHARACTERS, which make it safe to assume that queercoding is in fact happening. I would argue about it if both of them were straight in the source material, but this is the best and most important part, they are not :)

And this is why "Deadpool & Wolverine" is actually a romcom. Thank you for reading!

[followerofmercy]

I think Freminet has some of the most interesting dissonance in his self perception of any Genshin character.

Like, of the Hearthlings we know, he's one of the most emotionally mature and intelligent. Lynette might still have him beat, but after playing her hangout... I dunno. I think they're tied. Lyney is Crumbling, Alrecchino is. Well. Arlecchino. Everyone else is a deeply traumatized child or adult and Freminet seems to pretty regularly be people's emotional support. His character stories talk about getting his vision by saving a bunch of other kids on a dive that went bad. The Selkie event literally had him being a therapist for a grownass woman, citing his past experiences with all the other Hearthlings that have died or killed themselves. And he handled that situation WELL. Yeah, he seems to live in a fantasy, but goddamn he's alive and a lot of people in his position aren't so clearly something is working.

Either his or Lyney's character story talks about the time Freminet had reached out to Lyney to try to ease his burdens, which resulted in Lyney blowing up at him. That probably contributed to Freminet thinking he's not good at it, but I think the reason Lyney reacted so badly was BECAUSE Freminet is actually a good support. He can't allow himself that from the little brother he's supposed to protect.

Freminet seems to both cry and dissociate often, but like... Kiddo you are in fact the only person in this family actually processing your emotions. Lynette dissociates 24/7. Arlecchino. Lyney lies and tells everyone he's fine and would literally rather die than admit otherwise. In comparison, Freminet is doing FANTASTIC

Freminet also gets a lot out of helping people! Like anyone, he needs to feel useful and needed. He seems to be an excellent mentor to the younger Hearthlings and perfectly competent on his own, but when you put him in a room with Lyney and Lynette who baby him and insist that THEY take care of HIM, he withdraws into himself.

Like, Freminet by himself feels like a young man and Freminet with the magician twins feels like a teenager. I have no idea how old he actually is. Logically, he would be OLDER than them! He's been with the House much, much longer and his experience shows. I think it's fascinating that they love him SO MUCH and yet, they just Cannot let him help them. Which is hurting him.

(Lynette is much better about not babying him and that is probably why their relationship is so much better than Freminet and Lyney's. Also why she keeps having to mediate between them. Because Lyney charges off trying to Fix Everything and that just makes Freminet feel useless and he doesn't want to get in the way and- you get the point)

Idk. It's hard to tell what things the previous director said to him vs what Arlecchino has said to him. I'm inclined to think our Arlecchino was the one that said he cries too much, but in a "crying in front of your enemies will get you killed" way and she herself is too fucked up to realize how "you cry too much" could be damaging.

Also I try not to consider gameplay stuff when it comes to story, but Freminet also has some of the most BRUTAL animations. He SMASHES HIS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT METAL PENGUIN INTO HIS ENEMY'S FACE. He doesn't think he's the most amazing fighter, and by Fatui standards he probably isn't, but he is winning fights against most grown men.

Tldr Freminet thinks he cries too much and is a burden and isn't good at helping people when he's actually the most mentally stable Hearthling send tweet

[jjngkook7]

Choices (6)

Werewolf Au! Jungkook x Reader / Enemies to Lovers [Angst and mature content. Not smut but almost smut.]

Summary: Jungkook finally found her. His mate. His lifelong partner. But she’s a human. Does he have to stay with her or can he stick it to whatever and whoever binds mates together and make his own decision? ***THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE. I PROMISE I WON'T MAKE YOU WAIT THIS LONG AGAIN***

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5

You rang in the new year with some coworkers. The night was a blur of lights, laughter and music. Despite being a lightweight, you didn’t get as drunk as you thought, in fact, you were barely tipsy. It was hard to have fun when your reality didn’t even feel real. You had all the ingredients to drink your heart out: you met who was supposed to be your soulmate, you find out that mythical creatures are real and your best friend in the whole world has been hiding all of this from you for a year. To add more salt to the wound, Jennie spent Christmas and New Years with the pack. Sad wasn’t quite the right word for how you felt, maybe confused or disoriented? You had been in a haze since the last time you saw everyone trying to figure out if the past weeks were real or not.

After Jungkook dropped you back off at the cabin, Namjoon decided that you should leave for your safety. Apparently having someone as unpredictable as Jungkook free from his chains while his mate was hanging out with other men was not a good idea even after you told Namjoon that Jungkook actually saved your life. Namjoon took you home that night and advised you to keep your distance for a while. He seemed sad when he dropped you off and truth be told, you were kind of sad too. You had a fondness for Namjoon because he was the one that made you feel sane and safe throughout this whole journey. You would miss your friendship with him and everyone else.

Your phone pinged, reeling you out of your thoughts. You thew it towards the edge of your bed when you saw that it was just one of those annoying marketing texts. Your eyes then glided towards the Christmas card on your nightstand as it did almost everyday; it was the one artifact you had proving that everything you went through was real. Everyone from the pack had signed the card, all except for one. You reached for the card and ran your fingertips over the glitter covered snowman on the front page. I wonder how he’s doing. Embarrassed didn’t even begin to explain how you felt. You felt like a fool, an actual idiot for still wondering about Jungkook’s wellbeing when he couldn’t even write his name on a stupid Christmas card for you-he probably laughed when Namjoon asked him to contribute. With one last read through of the card, you placed it under your bed and made never thinking about Jungkook again as your new year’s resolution.

__________________________________

Maybe because there was no one to talk to about your new year’s resolution in full but getting over Jungkook was pretty easy. You hadn’t spoken to anyone in the pack in over a month and the memories of them become less and less clear by the day. Was it Jin that helped you with your injuries or Yoongi? Was it Namjoon that drove you home or did Hoseok tag along also? And did you actually feel sparks when Jungkook touched you or was it just your imagination? Either way, it felt good to feel less crazy. It was only when you and Jennie hung out that everything would hit you like a freight train. Seeing her was bittersweet. You were so happy to spend time with your best friend despite your guys’ schedule but you couldn’t help this building of resentment in your chest at the same time. Anger and guilt gnawed at you so raw that replying to her texts took hours to do. Luckily, both of you were so busy with work that seeing each other was few and far between.

One thing you had a really hard time forgetting was the night you had to leave. After Jungkook asked you to wait, you sat by his side and watched him catch his breath. It was hard seeing someone in so much pain despite the lack of physical wounds. Once Jungkook seemed to have a grip on himself, he told you to sit as far away from him as possible while he sat on the other side of the cabin. You remembered feeling like you were naked under his red gaze, like he could see every single movement you made. Jungkook told you that it wasn’t safe for you to leave yet and that you had to wait for a little bit. Unbeknownst to you, Jungkook couldn’t have you leave just yet. A wolf in the midst of his heat finally meeting his mate after being kept away from them was like a ticking time bomb. Jungkook needed to engulf your scent and calm his mind before letting you go back to a cabin full of fully grown men. He was surprised that you complied and that you kept your composure. Sure, he noticed your trembling hands and shortness of breath but you kept calm and collected. Jungkook needed to direct his attention to something else-anything- and so the small talk began. It started off with what you did for work and ended with Jungkook shit talking his pack mates. When Jungkook felt sane enough, he insisted he carry you home to be safe. You remember flinching when a low growl escaped from Jungkook when you hooked your arms around his neck. You felt his body shake as you wrapped your legs around his waist. It took a minute before he was able to hoist you up and get going. You remembered him being gentle and asking if you were all right the whole way back to the cabin. You remembered him letting you down a couple meters in front of the cabin because Namjoon would’ve killed him if he saw Jungkook and you together.

“Are you going to be okay?” you asked.

Jungkook offered you a nod, his bright red eyes doing the soft smile on his face an injustice. Perhaps it was the darkness playing tricks on your eyesight but Jungkook looked bigger. His muscles were more toned, his hair was thicker and his overall aura was just larger. You felt embarrassed drooling over his physique like some school girl despite almost dying a couple hours ago. Namjoon’s voice from inside the cabin redirected your guys’ attention and you suddenly remembered that it was below freezing outside.

“I-I’m going to go inside now,” you reached out your hand to give Jungkook’s arm a reassuring squeeze but retracted remembering how much he ordered you to not touch him, “goodnight.”

To your surprise, Jungkook reached out instead and caressed your face with both his hands. You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch pathetically. Jungkook left out an exhale of both relief and frustration. Every ounce of control he had was quickly slipping through his fingers. He was teetering towards the edge of danger with you right now. You opened your eyes to see Jungkook watching you but not like he did before. Just a couple of hours ago, you felt like a prey under his gaze. This time, he was looking at you like how Taehyung looked at Jennie.

“Do me a favor?” he asked, his voice almost hoarse.

You nodded and scrunched your eyebrows. What could you possibly do for him? Jungkook felt his stomach drop knowing what he was going to ask of you. The warmth that happened when you guys touched intensified as Jungkook brought your body closer to his. He knew he only had a couple minutes to relish your touch before his heat and his reality would take over again.

“I need you to forget about this night,” he finally said. Although subtle, he felt your pressure lift from his hands. “I need you to forget about me, about my pack, about everything. Make it like I never even existed, and I’ll do the same. Trust me, it’s for the best.”

As cruel as his words already were, Jungkook then sealed it by pressing his lips against yours. You couldn’t help but gasp which, he happily swallowed. A surge of electricity pulsed through you as he deepened the kiss. The heat from his body immediately making you forget how cold it was. As gentle as he was, you remembered his body began to tremble and the slight sting against your bottom lip when his fangs unsheathed.

And that was all you wanted to remember. Perhaps you were a masochist. Of all the memories you chose to forget, you just couldn’t let go of this particular one; no one ever really completes their new year’s resolution anyways. You knew you would never get an answer but it didn’t matter anymore. Every time Jennie saw you, she'd try to ask about Jungkook but you would either change the subject or give her vague answers. You didn't want to know more than you already did.

“Goodnight, Sooyoung!” you chimed.

“Goodnight,” Sooyoung replied with a sympathetic smile, “you should leave soon.”

“I will!” you lied, “see you tomorrow morning.”

Sooyoung hovered by your desk for a few more seconds before heading towards the elevator. It was common for you to stay after work but not for this long. You waved at Sooyoung until the elevator doors finally closed. When you were certain that there was no one else in the office, you closed the document you were pretending to work on and slumped against your chair. A tired sigh left your mouth as you roughly ran your hands against your face. Just as you were accepting your new reality, the past week and a half had you re-questioning your sanity. Being at home recently felt eerie. You were constantly checking over your shoulder and hesitant to sleep with your bedroom door closed. The nightmares you were having didn’t help either. Night after night, you would see the same things in your dream: rogue wolves chasing you and a Jungkook bleeding out to top it off. You’d jolt awake in the middle of the night and could only fall back asleep after taking melatonin. With the nightmares being a daily occurrence, the melatonin had stopped taking effect and you were left trying to calm your racing heart on your own. To your disdain, the only place you felt safe was at work. Your office was high up on the 25th floor and security here was pretty strict. You concluded that your paranoia was from these nightmares but those moments when you felt like someone was watching you felt too real to blame on lack of sleep. You put your head down against your desk and stared at the time displayed on your computer. It was nearing 7:45 and you promised yourself that you’d leave at 8pm. As the minutes ticked by, you tried to come up with some sort of game plan to combat another inevitable sleepless night.

____________________________________

“Jungkook!” Taehyung shouted as he kicked over a half conscious rogue towards Jungkook.

Jungkook caught it mid air and slammed it down onto the ground before ripping its head off. With that being the last rogue, Jungkook and pack were able to finally catch their breath as they examined the graveyard of torn limbs by their feet.

“Where the fuck are they coming from?” Hoseok panted.

Namjoons eyes wavered as he studied the carcasses on the ground. He had no answer for Hoseok. Rogue wolves attack here and there but never had he seen such great numbers. Their appearance usually coincided with the phases of the moon but recently, their attacks had been random and in hoards. He did notice that they foolishly always went for Jungkook first. As strong as Jungkook was, he was not invincible. Namjoon had also taken note of how haggard and tired his pack was from fighting almost everyday. If they didn't find an answer anytime soon, he feared that he would lose a pack member.

Everyone turned their head towards the trees when they heard a branch snap. In the distance, Jungkook caught a flash of white teeth and familiar pitch black eyes.

“I got it!” Jungkook shouted, before running after the rogue.

He was fucking exhausted. He really hoped that this was the last one because he was losing strength and fast. These recent attacks only fuelled his anger because if he had mated with someone of his species, he would’ve tripled in strength by now.

A yelp emitted from the rogue when Jungkook finally caught up and grabbed its legs. Jungkook swung the rogue against a tree, breaking its ribs in the process. As the creature whimpered against the ground, Jungkook winced when he saw that it was laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Jungkook sneered, angry that it was still breathing.

The creature seemed to be mumbling a familiar word over and over again but Jungkook couldn’t figure out what it was saying. Another yelp came out from the rogue as Jungkook kicked its face in. He crouched down and grabbed the creature by its scruff.

“Speak up!” He demanded.

Despite his impressive experience fighting rogues, Jungkook still had a hard time getting used to the disturbing ways these creatures moved and laughed even though they were near death. This rogue had its jaw kicked in and its tongue was hanging out due to the lack of the bottom half of its face. The grip Jungkook had on it tightened when it continued mumbling. Just as he was about to lose his patience trying to unscramble the creatures jargon, Jungkook finally put together what it was mumbling. The rogue seemed to notice the shift in Jungkook’s eyes and laughed even louder.

“I bet she’d taste so good too.” were its last words before Jungkook ripped out its heart.

Jungkook had to get back to Namjoon and let him know what happened.

It was mumbling your name this whole time.

The living room was quiet as the pack tended to their wounds. Jin went around ensuring that everyone was treating their injuries correctly even if it was just a little scratch.

"You need to clean it." Jin sighed, looking at the deep cut on Jungkook's forearm. The cut was his own fault. As Jungkook was ripping the rogues heart out, his arm got caught in the creatures ribs and it carved his arm as he was pulling it out of its chest.

"Just leave it, Jin." Jungkook grumbled, swatting Jin's worried hands away.

Namjoon and Jin exchanged glances, both annoyed and worried about the youngest member but Namjoon didn't have time to adhere to Jungkook's attitude. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt but who knew when the rogues would come back to attack again.

"So," Yoongi said, sucking his teeth in the process, "anyone here knows what they want?"

Jungkook wanted to hear his members theories before jumping the gun because maybe the rogue was toying with Jungkook or maybe it wasn't even saying your name at all. The silence that followed confirmed Jungkook's fear. No matter what Jungkook did, he just couldn't seem to get away from you. All eyes were on Jungkook when he suddenly cursed.

"They're after her." Jungkook said, his fingers pinching his nose bridge.

"Who?" Jimin asked.

"His mate." Taehyung's grin only grew when Jungkook glared at him.

Amidst Jimin's surprise and the symphony of swear words thrown back and forth between the members, Namjoon felt his heart sink as a wave of deja vu hit him. The younger one failed to notice the sadness in the leaders eyes as he berated his pack mates who were teasing him with swear words.

"They're not after her," Namjoon finally spoke, breaking the fight, "Jungkook, they're after you and then her. They know that you'd go after them if they kill her before you mark her. They're after you first to get you out of the picture. As long as she's unmated, they're going to keep coming."

Namjoon felt a lump grow in his throat as realization washed over each member. All eyes slowly turned towards Jungkook who had his fists balled up. The pressure from his fists made his blood seep out from the cut on his forearm. Why did he have to deal with this? How come you were still intertwined with him despite being away for over a month? What did he have to fucking do to get rid of you for good?

"T-this could be different, Namjoon." Jungkook stammered, his mind moving too quick for his mouth to catch up.

"Jungkook listen to me," Namjoon said picking his words carefully as he approached Jungkook, "only you can stop this. We can't fend them off forever."

Jungkook grit his teeth and felt his breath labour. This wasn't fair. He didn't choose this and it seemed like life wasn't planning on giving him too many options either. Jungkook began to replay the conversation he had with Namjoon after he first discovered you. The blood from Jungkook's cut was now staining his pants as he remembered what Namjoon said about how strong humans were. What a fucking joke.

"I am stopping this! Who here in this room has killed more rogues than me? Huh? Who?!" Jungkook bursted.

Jungkook's brown eyes had now turned into a dark red shade.

"Killing them one will send ten. Killing ten will send a hundred. Killing a hundred will send a thousand. You have the responsibility to save her life," Namjoon argued tiredly, "look at your brothers. Look at you! We are not immortal, Jungkook."

Jungkook jumped up from his seat and grabbed his hair. His ears were now ringing. His responsibility?! He hadn't even marked you yet, why were you now his responsibility? He couldn't help but laugh aloud by how absurd everything and everyone was sounding. You had stolen what seemed like everything away from him-his freedom, his bodily functions and now even his morals. You kept taking from him and now you were his responsibility?

"Jungkook please," Jin pleaded, "can you please put your own ego aside and make a good choice for once in your life?"

Jungkook turned towards Jin and snarled, "Remind me who saved your fucking life just 20 minutes ago? If I hadn't ran to you in time, you would've been shredd-"

"Enough!" Namjoon yelled, "Whether you like it or not, her life is in your hand-"

"I will not be responsible for her death like you were for Irene!"

Within a second, Jungkook was slammed against the wall. His right cheek was throbbing and his nose bloodied. He wasn't sure if he had finished his sentence but the right hook from Namjoon answered that question for him. Before Jungkook could orient himself, Namjoon grabbed Jungkook by the neck and trapped him against the wall again.

"You will never utter her name in that context again do you understand?" Namjoon asked through gritted teeth.

Jungkook licked his lower lip, the taste of his own blood filling his mouth as he did.

"Do you understand?!" Namjoon bellowed, shaking Jungkook.

"Y-yes." Jungkook finally answered.

The older one finally let go but not without giving Jungkook one final shove.

"Have a better attitude tomorrow morning or you fend for yourself from now on." Namjoon threatened before disappearing into his study.

Jungkook kept his eyes on the floor as his members stood around staring at him. Jungkook could only count on one hand how many times he felt ashamed in life, he would now have to count on two hands after tonight. His members didn't say a word to him as they retreated back to their rooms one by one. Taehyung lingered for a little bit longer. He wanted to ring Jungkook out but decided to leave him to sulk all alone. Jungkook watched his blood drip from his nose onto his sweater. Would dying by some disgusting creatures be better than surrendering to fate? One thing was for sure, Jungkook would rather die with his brothers than alone. He turned his head towards the end of the hallway where Namjoon's study was. The searing pain from his broken nose was nothing compared to what he just said to Namjoon.

Namjoon had his head buried in his hands as Jungkook's words echoed in his mind. It had been years since Irene's death but it still pained him like it happened yesterday. He knew the younger one was speaking out of anger but if he only knew how much Namjoon did blame himself.

"You know, I couldn't even mourn her after she died. I think I finally did after three months." Namjoon spoke.

Jungkook figured it was probably the smell from all his blood that alerted Namjoon to his presence. He cautiously walked towards Namjoon and sat in front of him.

"Her death was the first out of the two times I ever regretted taking leadership of our pack." Namjoon continued, looking up to meet the younger ones sad gaze.

"And the second?" Jungkook asked, his voice barely audible.

"Tonight." Namjoon replied.

Jungkook let the uncomfortable silence engulf him. He stared at the picture of Irene resting on the bookshelf behind Namjoon and felt remorse like he had never before. Irene was Namjoon's mate. For years, Namjoon refused to mark her not because he didn't want to-because he did-but because he was afraid of bringing Irene in his world. He thought the best way to protect her was to keep her away. Jungkook had never seen someone love another person the way Namjoon loved Irene. He doted on her and gave her anything she ever wanted, everything except for one. Irene had begged and begged Namjoon to make her his official mate but he always rejected her advances. By the time Namjoon decided to turn a new leaf, it was too late. If Namjoon had marked her, he would've been stronger and maybe could've fought off the pack of rogues. That day, Jungkook and the pack were out hunting. When they came back, the cabin they had built had been ripped apart. The image of Namjoon carrying Irene's bloody body in his arms as he wept and called out her name was forever imprinted in Jungkook's brain. Namjoon's physical state was no better and if they hadn't returned when they did, they would've lost their leader too. Irene was one of the strongest people Jungkook knew. She was brave, unwavering and quick witted. Before Jin met Mina, it was Irene nursing everyone back to health after a fight and braving the forest to find medicine. Irene was strong and she was human.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean what I said and I shouldn't have said that," Jungkook apologized tearing his eyes away from Irene, "I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Namjoon smiled. Although brash and somewhat arrogant, Jungkook always meant well at the end of the day. He couldn't even count how many brawls Jungkook got into because someone slightly badmouthed a member of the pack.

"Please, your life will probably end in the next few minutes with the amount of blood you're losing. Just let me punch the other side of your face and we can call it even." Namjoon joked.

Jungkook scoffed and wiped his nose. He really was losing a lot of blood.

"Jungkook, I couldn't save Irene but you have a chance here. Learning to love someone...don't you think that's better than losing someone," Namjoon wanted to laugh when he saw Jungkook flinch at the word 'love', "and if you can't do it for her, do it for me. For Irene."

Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat, "I-I don't know if I can mark her right away, you have to give me some time."

Namjoon nodded understandingly.

"But I promise," Jungkook sucked in a breath, "I'll protect her with my life."

[evil-women-step-on-me]

How Hand Jumper Treats Gender

Most of the manga/manhwa I read default to the male gaze. I don't even mean that the female characters are needlessly sexualized, which they often are, but that they're only allowed to fill certain roles. Holy figures and healers are (young, impossibly beautiful) women, the tragic, innocent character who gets assaulted is a woman, the skimpily dressed ninja is a woman, the pure, younger sibling that needs protection is a woman, the seductive villain is a woman, the extremely powerful fighter that will nonetheless always be second in strength to the male lead is a woman. Upskirt shots and carefully framed ass/boobs panels abound. Their characterization can be shallow: especially in action and thriller series, the motivations of female characters are rarely given the same consideration that male characters receive.

Hand Jumper is different. First, female characters are taken just as seriously as male ones, in every way possible. Second, a character's gender does not influence their power level. While it's true that cis men are physically stronger than cis women in the real world, "men are always stronger than women" does not make sense in fantasy action contexts. Why are all the most powerful heroes in My Hero Academia men? Why must all the notable healers in Naruto be female ninja? In worlds where people possess honest to God magical superpowers, power is totally divorced from the density of your muscles. This is true of Hand Jumper's world as well, so it treats its characters appropriately: Male and female Aberrants fight on equal ground. As a result, some of the most prestigious Aberrant positions are held by women: Samin is the leader of the Crimson Society, Cell 4's instructor and mentor are both women, and Sayeon's mother Sara is so mysterious and so powerful that she seems close to godly. Sara's treatment is especially interesting, given that she's filling a role usually reserved for men: the mysterious, legendary parent of the protagonist who left their life when they were still a child. Think Gon's father in HxH, Baki's father in Grappler Baki, Naruto's father, the Joestars in JoJo, or Luffy's father in One Piece. In Hj, it's not the mother, but the father who is drowned out in the shadow cast by his spouse.

Personalities, fantasy power levels, and interests are not inherently gendered! So Hand Jumper doesn't treat them as gendered either. The bubbly, cheerful member of the main group is usually a girl, but this time it's Iseul Kim. The pretty, androgynous Min is both a deadly weapon and a baker of cute pastries- he picks up Sayeon in a bridal carry after a fight, and incredibly, it's not framed as a romantic gesture. Lastly, the aggressive, jaded rival to the protagonist is usually male, but this time it's Ryujin Kang. This position being filled by a female character is so unusual that I remember the comments section being filled with people mistaking Ryujin for a boy, even though she was clearly presented as a woman from the start. Part of this confusion is probably fueled by how Ryujin has a lot of… tension with Sayeon, tension usually found in heterosexual enemy-to-lover relationships. And Sayeon herself? She's on a crusade to avenge her childhood friend, a damsel in distress who died in Episode 2. Somehow, in Hand Jumper, the tragic dead lover that needs avenging is a man.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Do you think that book!Alicent was a one dimensional evil stepmother and the show has fixed her by making her a sad victim of the men around her? I don't agree with this take but i see so many people argue in favour of stripping her of her agency in the show in that book!Alicent was nothing but a misogynistic caricature made by the sexist maesters.

Thanks for this question anon! I had actually been meaning to write something about the "evil stepmother" accusations that get thrown at book!Alicent because having recently re-read F&B, I just don't see it.

First of all, and I think most notably, Alicent's relationship with Rhaenyra doesn't really deteriorate completely until Daemon returns to court. Before that, we don't really have much information about the first few years of Viserys' marriage. The fandom likes to claim that Alicent was beefing with a 9 year old but that isn't really backed up with much evidence. After the account that nine year old Rhaenyra poured for her new stepmother at Alicent and Viserys' wedding (and on a seriously wtf note, helped undress her father for the bedding, but that's another topic), the next words we have about Alicent and Rhaenyra are when Alicent quips, about Rhaenyra's relationship with Criston Cole, "Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?" And y'all? This is not beefing or bullying. Alicent is pointing out that Rhaenyra, now about 13-ish, is in a vulnerable position as an unmarried young woman. Is she also possibly picking up on some weird predatory vibes with Criston? Perhaps (which is also also interesting, considering Criston later defects to Alicent's camp)! Remember, book!Criston is only a year younger than Daemon, so anything between them would not only be completely off limits because Criston is a kingsguard, but also extremely inappropriate just based on their ages alone. Regardless, Rhaenyra is at this point surrounded by a lot of men ("many lords and knights sought her favor") and Alicent alone seems cognizant of the danger this poses.

After this, the relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra evidently deteriorates, but we're not told precisely how, only that the "amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved short lived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm..." Keep in mind, this is Gyldayn editorializing without a source, and as for being "first lady of the realm," it's just as likely that Rhaenyra was jealous of her stepmother's position as queen as it was that Alicent had any particular animosity towards Rhaenyra. In any case, the book does not suggest that either of them are at fault for the breakdown.

This is also around the time that Otto gets sent home for bugging Viserys about the succession, so that probably had something to do with it, although this still does not amount to Alicent beefing with a child, as it's doubtful she brought up the situation to Rhaenyra herself, but rather she and Otto brought the issue to Viserys. And although I don't really want to get into the succession weeds here, I do want to make it clear that the expectation that Viserys would make his firstborn son his heir was an entirely reasonable one. Everywhere except for Dorne, sons inherit before daughters, and if Viserys had made it clear before he married Alicent that he had no intention of replacing Rhaenyra as heir, Otto might not have married Alicent to Viserys in the first place. There are multiple examples of men with daughters but no sons remarrying in order to get a male heir. It's the only reason Corlys offered Laena as a bride to Viserys (and, arguably, Corlys would have had the leverage to force the issue, which is perhaps one reason why he did not choose Laena). And it wasn't just Otto and Alicent-- people asked "what of the ruling of the Great Council in 101?" But Viserys basically told naysayers to shut up and stop asking. Okay.

Then we have the dress incident, and at this point Rhaenyra is 14, Daemon is back in town, and there's a tourney on. Alicent wears a green dress, Rhaenyra wears a black and red one. It's interesting that in this chapter, no additional context is given to this event. Much earlier in F&B, we do learn that the High Tower is lit green to call its banners against Maegor the Cruel. The show makes this association clear, but Gyldayn does not say that Alicent did this as a declaration of war on Rhaenyra, only that "the queen wore a green gown, whilst the princess dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black." If you've read F&B, you know that Gyldayn loves editorializing, so the fact that the association made by the show is completely omitted here suggest that Gyldayn lacked this context, or people at the time of the event simply thought it was a green dress with no additional meaning, or perhaps he expected in-world readers to draw their own conclusions (although it's kind of unlike Gyldayn to resist showing off his knowledge when he can). Regardless, after that, the people gave them the nickname the blacks and the greens, and it stuck.

Anyway, it's clear Alicent and Rhaenyra aren't getting along at this point, and they probably resent each other, but there is no mention of Alicent actually doing anything whatsoever to harm Rhaenyra, much less "bullying a child who has just lost her mother" or "beefing with a nine year old." This seems to be a complete invention. Given that book!Rhaenyra is a spoiled only child, by this point a teenager, accustomed to having her father's undivided attention, and now he has a new wife and at this point three new children in his life, it's equally likely that Rhaenyra was feeling displaced and acting out. However, instead of giving her any helpful guidance or correcting her, the trusted adults in her life reinforce her negative feelings, and as we'll see, even use those insecurities to manipulate her. As for Alicent "poisoning her children against Rhaenyra," there's simply zero evidence to back this up. In fact, what eventually happens would seem to suggest that Alicent was at least somewhat concerned about the hostility between her children and Rhaenyra. And here is when things really break down, because this is where Daemon really starts to stir the pot.

Before the tourney, Daemon had been fighting in the stepstones. He returns to King's Landing a hero, and immediately latches onto Rhaenyra. As for Alicent, "although he treated her with all the courtesy due her station, there was no warmth between them, and men said that the prince was notably cool towards her children, especially his nephews, Aegon and Aemond, whose birth had pushed him still lower in the order of succession." So who is, in fact beefing with children? Daemon Targaryen. At the same time, Daemon starts cozying up to Rhaenyra, giving her extravagant gifts, telling her stories, and doing the one thing that is absolutely sure to win over a teenager, being a hater. Daemon hones in on Rhaenyra's issues with Alicent and together they have a great deal of fun openly mocking Alicent and her children, and what Daemon called the "lickspittles" who were in Alicent's camp. This works very well on Rhaenyra because of course it does! Daemon is the cool dragonriding uncle, the handsome Rogue Prince, and Rhaenyra is eating up the attention. She and Daemon have dragonraces and he tells her she's much prettier than Alicent and strokes that teenage ego. It's also at this point that the rumors about Daemon and Rhaenyra having a sexual relationship begin, and Daemon supposedly asks for Rhaenyra's hand in marriage because "who else would take her now?" Keep in mind, she's fourteen. And whether it's true or not, Viserys exiles Daemon again. He goes back to the Stepstones, and things settle down in King's Landing.

Of course the relationship between between Rhaenyra and her stepmother is bad by this point. Her and Daemon have just spent six months mocking her and her children and their supporters. Aegon is only about four or five years old, so the beef has got to be pretty one sided, although even little kids can tell when they're being given the cold shoulder or laughed at. Rhaenyra even makes a point of always referring to them as her half-brothers, rather than simply as her brothers. Still, a few years pass, Rhaenyra is now sixteen, and it's time for her to get married. Alicent proposes she marry Aegon, and one of the reasons she gives is that they don't get along well. "All the more reason to bind them together in marriage," Alicent says, acknowledging that Rhaenyra hating her now six year old younger brother is in fact a big fucking problem. If Alicent hoped for Rhaenyra and Aegon to marry, why on earth would she poison her children against Rhaenyra? But Viserys shoots this idea down, saying "the boy is Alicent's own blood. She wants him on the throne." And yes, of course she does, but she probably also wants him to stay alive.

So, Rhaenyra marries Laenor, and after that there's really no point in trying to maintain any sort of stepmother relationship, is there? Rhaenyra is now an adult, she's married, and she's made her feelings about Alicent and her siblings very clear. At this point, Alicent has to look out for the safety of her children, who are going to be Rhaenyra's biggest rivals. And if they dislike their older half-sister, who can blame them? Again, this is a girl who spent the better half of six months laughing at them. Rhaenyra did nothing but sabotage that relationship. And if Alicent decides she's going to fight for Aegon's inheritance, she's only doing what any mother in her position would do. There's no evidence she does it for power or greed, she simply does it because she doesn't owe Rhaenyra anything and letting someone who is actively hostile to her children take the throne unchallenged, especially when that person's claim is untraditional to say the least, and seen by many as being weaker than that of her sons, would be taking a huge risk with their lives. There's nothing "evil" in Alicent's actions. Book!Alicent did not bully Rhaenyra, did not "beef with a nine year old," or "poison her children against Rhaenyra," in fact, she did what she could to bind them together, but Rhaenyra, (at least in part taking her cues from Viserys and Daemon), was simply not interested. And you know, that's fine too, Rhaenyra doesn't have to love her stepmother or care about her half-brothers. They're much younger and it's natural that she wouldn't be much interested in them. But as heir to the throne? It sure would have been a much smarter idea to cultivate those relationships.

Book!Alicent isn't an "evil stepmother" though either, after a certain point she she simply prioritizes her own children over someone who has made it abundantly clear she has no use for any of them.

[i-like-anything-water]

What your Favorite Chloé ships say about you: by someone who's sleep deprived and took one look at a post and typed.

Chlodrien: You're a sucker for childhood friends to lovers but with maximum angst, probably had a Wattpad phase or watches Asian dramas/telenovelas. Bi/Pan.

Chlobrina: No, the girl who you are crushing on for years does not know how you feel. Tell. Her. Or stop insisting it's okay that 'she only sees me as a friend as long as she's happy' for both your sakes, say something. Your crush is probably a useless lesbian as well and doesn't even know they're gay. Probably writes fanfic. Straight to lesbian land you go.

Chlolila: Enemies and lovers but it's more hating than liking. You like spice, drama and you probably have a kink. You support women's wrongs and rights but especially their wrongs. Bi/Lesbian hostility.

Chlonath: You either have a gay best friend or you are the gay best friend. Or you're bi. And an artist. wlw/mlm solidarity.

Chlolix: She was a punk, she did ballet. 'I'm not fixing her, I'm going to commit the same atrocities with her.' You like when Alix doesn't take Chloé's shit. Queer platonic bros/Lesbians unity.

Chloalya: You like independent women. You would probably hide a body without being asked. You think Ladybug is a lesbian and a goddess. Bi/Lesbian companionship.

Chlogami: LESBIANS. SWORDS. MASQUERADE BALLS. WEALTH. 'i'd stab you if you weren't so pretty right now.' Queens. Did I mention lesbians? Lesbians.

Chloluka/Lukloe: You're probably a multishipper, watches anime, has probably stanned a boy band in the past and you pin over fictional men. Bi/Bi.

Bonus but I think I'm biased:

Chloenette: Motherfuckers, what did the world do to you.

I just wanna say I respect all ships y'all are awesome, keep slaying and fuck you, asstruck.

[pubbamoon]

The Natal Chart of Taylor Swift

Good afternoon (or maybe evening) to everyone! In my next post I'm going to analyze the Taylor Swift's tropical natal chart. I think that everyone knows who that woman is, I don't even have to explain that. I chose to analyze her natal chart, because she's one of the most successful singers currently and her ongoing tour is probably the biggest tour ever. First, I'm gonna put her details as an intro. Her full birth name is Taylor Alison Swift. She was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. Her birth time is 5:17 a.m. Now, we can get into her natal chart.

Taylor Swift has a Sagittarius Sun, Cancer Moon and a Scorpio Rising. This tells me that she's is tune with her emotions, optimistic, intense, passionate and energetic. Her chart ruler, Mars, is located in its own sign of Scorpio, in the 1st house, tightly conjuncting her Ascendant. Her Mars/chart ruler is in domicile and is in very strong position and it's placed in the 1st house, which means that she has a strong personality and she naturally attracts other people by just being herself, which is truly a blessing. She is basically supported by showing her true personality.

Mars and Pluto are both placed in her 1st house, which makes her powerful, ambitious, success-oriented and even calculative. She's always been hated and scrutinized by a lot of people, because both Mars and Pluto are malefic planets. People either love her or hate her. She has always seemed to people as someone who's a control freak, which can be a manifestation of this placement. Mars represents men and Pluto represents obsessions and this indicates men being obsessive with her, extremely loving her or extremely hating her. Or maybe she's the one who hates men. Who knows.

Her domiciled Mars/chart ruler also rules her 6th house, which means that she's very hard-working individual who takes care of her health. She has a lot of people who openly hate her, 'cause the 6th house is associated with the open enemies.

The thing that always gets my attention whenever I read her chart is her stellium in the 3rd house in Capricorn sign, being formed by Mercury, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A stellium is a pattern in astrology and it occurs when there's three or more planets in one sign and house. It represents what we might focus the most in our life path. This stellium gave me a clarity about her focusing on writing. She really takes writing very seriously and is articulative. The conjunction between her Mercury and Neptune makes Taylor creative with words, she communicates in creative and in intuitive way. Her communication might be indirect, she has never talked badly about anyone. A lot of singers have aspect between Mercury and Neptune, including Taylor. She's also very grounded, ambitious and career-oriented person, which relates to the Capricorn sign.

She also has a conjunction between her Moon and Jupiter, but this time in Cancer, 9th house. The Moon is its own sign in Cancer, while Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, which is a truly lucky placement for her. Whenever I see the conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter, it mostly means that this person was born into the rich family. Same with Taylor, she grew up wealthy, 'cause the Moon represents childhood, while Jupiter represents aristocracy. The conjunction in the 9th house makes Taylor intelligent, smart and a learned individual. She was a great student at school with the straight A's. This conjunction also tells me that she is lovely, nice, bubbly and can be liked by everyone.

In the context of her career, she has 10th house in Leo and Midheaven in Virgo in the 11th house. Her Leo 10th house tells me that she can work in creative field and in entertainment industry. The South Node is placed in Leo in the 10th house, which means that she might take the type of career which is tied to her spiritual calling. The South Node represents the past and she is often dressed like she came from the older times (50s/60s/70s/80s). She basically released her album called 1989 which was inspired by the music from the late 1980s. Her 10th house ruler, the Sun, is placed in Sagittarius in the 2nd house of money, throat and singing. She's always had a financially stable career as a singer. The math is mathing here.

With her Virgo Midheaven, she might be seen as grounded, workaholic, stable, clean and even calculative to the other people. Her Midheaven being placed in the 11th house means that she's supposed to work in organization or with other people. The 11th house is associated with social media, fans, internet, masses of people, finances etc. and she has always had a connection with her fans. She also uses the internet/social media to build her career and to connect more with the fans from the beginning of her career. She was even the most followed person on Instagram back in 2016, I guess.

Her ruler of the Midheaven, Mercury, is placed in Capricorn in the 3rd house and it's part of the stellium I mentioned before. The 3rd house relates to the writing, communication and self-expression and she's built her career as a songwriter. She has a lot of good aspects with Midheaven and with its ruler. Her Midheaven forms a trine aspect with her Mercury (MC ruler), Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and a sextile aspect with Jupiter. She really has a flourishing career and she is mostly liked by others. Her Midheaven ruler conjuncting Uranus means that she might have a career that no one saw before. Neptune conjuncting her MC ruler indicates her career as a musician. Neptune represents illusions and idols, so she's been idolized by a lot of people. Saturn also conjuncts her MC ruler, which indicates a stable and long-lasting career with consistency in her success and work.

She has a lot of oppositions in her natal chart, especially in Cancer-Capricorn axis. She is someone who needs to balance her emotions with stability. Her natal chart has a see-saw shape, which means that she is a balanced person in general. It's hard to categorize her.

Now I want to look at some of the asteroids. We all know that she always uses the word karma. The asteroid called Karma (3811) conjuncts her Midheaven ruler (Mercury) in the 3rd house and she wrote a song called 'Karma' and it was a huge hit last year. The asteroid Fama (408) represents fame and it's located in the exact position as her Mercury, in the 3rd house, forming a trine aspect with Midheaven. She's basically famous for writing songs and for a successful career she has.

The asteroid Aphrodite (1388) is associated with the beauty and is placed in her 10th house, which means that she's always been described as beautiful. Her Aphrodite forms a square aspect with her Ascendant, which can also indicate beauty, but she often receives negative reactions by others because of her presence.

The asteroid Talent (33154) is placed in Libra in the 12th house in her natal chart. This tells me that she is naturally artistic and creative and has a talent in negotiating. Talent trines her Moon, which means that she knows how to express her emotions easily. This asteroid also squares both of her Venus and Ascendant, meaning that she might have to work on her artistic talents or that people always question her talents and musical abilities.

When it comes to the relationships and sexuality, I can tell that she has a lot of placements that can indicate being gay or bisexual. No wonder why Gaylor theory is (or was) so viral on the internet. She has Venus in Aquarius, which can indicate being open to the relationships and being attracted to something that is out of the norms. Her Venus is also placed in the 4th house, which is a very private house, so even if she's open in the relationships, there could be a lot of hidden things about her love life and sexuality. Her 7th house ruler is Aquarius Venus, which duplicates everything I wrote.

She has a 5th house and the 8th house in mutable signs, which can also be a sign of someone's homosexuality or bisexuality, 'cause the mutable signs are so adaptable and open. Her 5th house ruler, Jupiter, opposites her Uranus, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Her 8th house ruler, Mercury, conjuncts her Uranus and Neptune. These placements can show that she might be a sexually fluid or even restricted. Both 5th and 8th houses are associated with sex and how we express our sexuality.

Part of Fortune of hers is placed in Taurus in the 7th house. This doesn't mean her being gay/bi, but it indicates her being lucky when she is in stable mode and when she's surrounded by people. She'll always be successful if she's a people's person and uses her artistic abilities. Lucky her!

This was the natal chart of Taylor Swift. I hope you enjoyed it. Comment what do you think about that if you want to. I didn't want to call her out, I just wanted to analyze her natal chart. Thanks for understanding.

Best regards,

Paky McGee

[twoidiotwriters1]

one bed trope with usopp?

Yeeeeessss....

Danny and I really enjoy this one-Val

One Bed (Usopp x fem!reader)

Warnings: SMUT

Words: 1,940

“A Captain, you say?” The receptionist leans forward as Usopp keeps talking bullshit. 

As if this day couldn't get any worse, you have to wait for him to flirt with that lady who was so fucking rude to you when you first asked for a room. Meanwhile, your body shakes in cold as your wet clothes stick to your skin. 

“So, as you heard,” says Usopp leaning on the desk between, making the muscles of his arms pop. “My last adventure left me completely exhausted and that woman,” he points at you. The lady looks at you with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I just saved her from those evil men. So, she’s tired and she can get cranky, like we all do, right? Nothing personal, sweetheart.” 

She smiles, turning to him. “Well… I always had a soft spot for heroes like you, Captain Usopp,” she says caressing his arm. “So, I guess I can help you out,” She grabs a pair of keys from behind the desk and lifts them in front of him. 

“You’re really kind, sweetheart,” he smiles at her, taking the keys. 

“But,” he stops him before he can go. “If you want to add more action to your adventure… we can share a room. Mine is ready for you.” 

Now, the great Casanova Usopp is blushing and stuttering. You roll your eyes and approach them fast, snatching the keys.  

“Thanks!” You yell at the receptionist as you walk away. 

“Hey! Wait for me!” Usopp says behind you. 

“You have to be joking,” you whine staring at the shitty room of the shitty hotel.  

Just a basic, old, dirty, and stinky room with a bathroom, table, two chairs, a crappy kitchen and… just one bed. Before Usopp can say anything, you walk to the bathroom to shower. 

*** 

You close your eyes as the water falls over your body, relaxing your muscles and cleaning the dirt and blood from it.  

This is the moment when all the situations of earlier come to your mind. How your crew had to separate from each other, your enemies not having mercy on you, the rain never stopping and that bitch lady. Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock and the door being opened. 

“Hey, uh—sorry” you hear his movements. “I’m leaving some clothes for you and I—uh… I couldn’t find women's clothes, but I thought—uh…” he rambles nervously.  

“Thanks,” you answer. He leaves without saying anything else.  

You dress in a big men’s shirt, pants, and socks. As Usopp takes a shower, you sit in the middle of the bed and stay still until he finishes. 

“Uh… Are you okay?”  

You scoff. “Do I look okay?” You snap at him. 

“Yeah, Okay. I get it. I know you aren’t but don’t think being mean to me will make you feel any better, Y/N,” he pouts. “If you didn’t notice, I’m in the same situation as you so…” 

He’s right, you think. Now you feel even worse, and this is just the final drop for your sanity. 

“I’m sorry,” you say as your voice breaks. “You’re right. I’m such a bitch like the lady from downstairs,” you sob. 

“Shit, no, no, no, it’s okay,” he quickly sits in front of you and takes your hands. “I didn’t say bitch.” 

“But you thought about it!” You squeal. “I don’t blame you,” you clean your nose. “I’m so selfish and take it on you. I’m sorry, Usopp. It’s not your fault and bitching about it just makes things worse!” 

“No, please don’t cry,” he moves closer to carry you to his lap and hug you tight. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, it’s all my fault,” You hide your face on his chest. 

“No, it’s not yours either. It was just a shitty day, shhh,” he coos. “But it’s over now, okay? And we’re fine, we’re alive! And I’m 100% sure that the others are too.” 

“You think so?” 

He thinks for a bit. “Maybe an 80%—If Zoro’s alone, he probably got lost.” That makes you giggle, making him sigh in relief. 

You both stay like that for a while. “Thank you, Usopp.” 

“No problem, sweetheart,” he whispers. 

You frown and make a face as you lean back to him. 

“Ew, don’t call me that,” you chuckle. 

“What? Why?” He smiles confused. 

“You called the lady like that,” you cringe. “By the way, when did you learn to flirt?” 

You always saw Usopp as the one who gets all nervous when he tries to date someone. 

He laughs. “Well, I asked Sanji for a little help. Honestly, I didn’t think it’d work, but...” he raises a brow. “I’m good at it.” 

You roll your eyes as you stand up from his lap. “If you’re so sure, then go with her,” you say as you walk to the tiny mirror on the wall and try to brush your hair with your fingers. 

“What?” 

You shrug. “She offered her—I mean, her room.” 

“But I don’t want to be with her,” he stands up. “The reason I flirted was to get us a room,” he explains. 

For some reason, that makes you smile proudly. “Okay.”  

“I...” he sighs and grabs your arm to make you turn to him. “I’m not like that. I wouldn’t do that, I mean. We’re on a mission and, I wouldn’t let you alone, at least not in this awful room.”  

You make a face. “She was quite beautiful, though. I wouldn’t blame you if you, you know,” You shrug. “I mean, she was a total bitch, but I can’t deny she was beautiful.” 

“She’s not my type,” he chuckles. That makes you turn back to him raising a brow. 

“You have a type?” 

“Uh… well, I guess. I dunno, maybe I just think—ugh! Forget it. I’m gonna shut my mouth for good,” he whines embarrassed. You giggle. “You’re enjoying this, don’t you?” He smiles shyly. 

“A little.” 

“Why? It’s not like you don’t have a type, I bet you like guys like Sanji or Zoro,” he says like it’s a dumb thing. 

You shake your head. “Actually, no.” 

“What?” you shrug. “Well, how did your last boyfriend look like?” 

“Why are you so curious about that?” 

“I—I’m not. I just, c’mon it’s a simple question. A girl as beautiful as you must have lots of guys waiting for you.” 

You blush and smile. “You think I’m beautiful?” 

“Of course, you’re beautiful! Are you kidding? You’re the most amazing, lovely, beautiful, smart woman I’ve ever met!” He looks like he said that without thinking. “I—uh...” 

You look at him and nod. “I believe you,” your eyes go down to his lips, but you immediately pull away, afraid of your thoughts about your friend. “So,” you change the subject. “How are we gonna do this one-bed thing?” 

“Oh, I can sleep on the floor. There’s no problem,” he stretches his arms. “It’s not the first time, you know.” 

You giggle but then you make a face. “But this floor is dirty and who knows what kind of insects you’ll find?” 

“I’m not scared of bugs.”  

“Last time you saw a ladybug on your arm and practically cried about it.” 

He blushes embarrassed. “I did not! Captain Usopp is not afraid of anything!” 

You giggle. “Just come already,” You make a sign for him to get into the bed as you pull the sheets down and lay down.  

“A-are you sure?” He stands up. 

“Sure… it’s not like we’re gonna do something else than sleep, right?” You think about it and blush. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” he jumps in and laughs nervously. He lays down at your side. 

You both stay face-to-face with anxious smiles. 

“Good night, Usopp,” you whisper looking at his eyes. 

“Tomorrow will be better,” he nods. “Good night, doll.” 

*** 

The truth is that you can’t sleep, no matter how many times you turn around the bed. His presence makes you uneasy and for some reason you— 

“Can’t sleep either?” he whispers. You turn back to face him, but this time you’re closer to him. You can feel his breath and your nose brushes his. 

“Usopp, I...” 

“I’m sorry,” he says before grabbing you by the neck and pulling you to his lips. You whine in surprise but kiss him back immediately. 

“Don’t be,” you mumble pulling back. You smile and he does it too. Now you lean forward willingly and kiss him. 

The kiss gets more intense as he grabs your waist, keeping you as close as possible. Then he moves to be on top of you. 

“Is this...” he breathes. “Is this okay?” 

“Yeah, please. I want you, Usopp,” you practically moan.  

“Shit,” he says before kissing you. He can’t believe what’s happening. But he doesn’t want to overthink it. At least not now. He starts to kiss your jawline to your neck. 

“Usopp...” you moan. 

“My name sounds so perfect when you say it,” he chuckles. 

You smile as you grab his shirt and try to pull it off. He sits back to help you and then you two undress each other. You forget about the fact that your early clothes, with your underwear, are still wet somewhere in the room. You flush hard, begging for the night to cover everything. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he kisses you again. “I can’t believe...” Kiss. “We’re...” Kiss. “Doing this.” Kiss. 

“Why?” You giggle. 

“I never thought I had a chance with you,” he confesses. 

“Why?” You frown. “If you’re the most amazing...” You kiss him. “Strong...” Kiss. “Brave...” Another kiss. “And kind guy I’ve ever met.” Both of you laugh. “Stop thinking, Usopp. I want you, I need you.” He groans in response. 

You take his hand and guide him down on you. His fingers move slowly, testing you.  

“Fuck,” you moan when he touches your clit. He takes that as a good sign, but he wants more, so he boldly moves and start kissing your inner thighs. “Usopp?” 

“Don’t worry, just guide me,” he smiles eager to make you feel good. He takes your hand and puts it over his head as he dips down and kisses your core. You moan louder this time. 

He kisses, licks, and tastes like you’re his favorite dessert, he obeys you in every movement of your hand and when you tell him what you want. He makes you see stars and makes you scream in pleasure. 

“Usopp, please. Come up here!” You whine. 

“But you—” 

“It’s okay, I need more, please,” He obeys and returns to your upper body to sloppy kiss you. “Usopp...” 

“I got you, baby,” he moans as he guides himself to you. 

Both of you moan at the slow start thrust. He takes a moment for you to adjust, but then, his thrust becomes harder and faster. 

“You feel so good, so pretty, so perfect,” he praises like a mantra. 

Your hands travel all over his body, you want to feel everything of him. “You’re so deep, so good,” you mumble then continue to moan his name over and over. 

“I’m not… gonna last...” he grunts. 

You shake your head. “Neither will I, please, keep going.” 

With a couple of more thrusts you finish, Usopp stares at you in awe as he finishes too. He falls on you, hugging your waist and you caress his hair and play with his thick locks. 

“Is this a good time to say that I’m so in love with you?” He asks making you giggle. 

“Just if I can confess that I’m falling for you too.” 

He chuckles and kisses your skin.  

[blingblong55]

Pride -141 + König

Based on a request:

BLING!! *runs into the askbox* Blingy, a cuteass adorable reader but then when the guys turn around she just looks this with anyone who wants to fuck around and find out with her man.

F!reader, established!relationship, soldier!reader, fluff?

Dating him is probably the easiest of tasks, he is loyal, attentive, responsible, fun, and always respects your boundaries. If another woman is giving him attention, he is so oblivious to it and thinks it's all friendly but of course, you don't. There have been times when he has had to stop you from fighting a girl because she couldn't get the message that he is clearly taken. You know he is loyal, there is no doubt in that. But what really annoys you is how those women make him uncomfortable, if he is dating someone, then his love and attention go to his someone.

"Hey, handsome, here by yourself?" a woman in her early 20s tried to flirt with him but all he did was shake his head, once more oblivious to the flirtatious look she gave him. "I'm here with my girlfriend actually." She tries to play his comment off and smiles, "But she isn't around now, is she?" He looks at her confused, did this girl not understand you were literally in the establishment? "She is, she's just talking with her boss." He always referred to Laswell as the boss lady, which Laswell hated. "Whilst, she is busy, you and I can do something~" she tries again. "Oh, well, maybe you can call the waiter? I'm sure my lady would like a drink. He isn't paying attention to me but I'm sure if he sees us both call then he'll come over." The woman rolls her eyes and walks away.

You watch the woman leave him and walk up to her. "Hi, is that guy your boyfriend?" you dumbly ask. She sounded annoyed, "No, he is stuck on his bitch girlfriend." You smile, content and once more you are his one. "That's what I thought, well maybe next time you shouldn't fucking talk to my man when he is clearly stuck up on me, you bitch." He grabs you by the waist and carries you out of the establishment. "My love, do you really want to fight that girl?" You sigh and shake your head, "No but I mean, I just think it's stupid. You clearly told her you are taken, why can't she just move on?" He chuckles and cups your face once he puts you down, "It's clear she wants what only my love has, and you my dear have my devotion, now let's go eat elsewhere, yeah?"

----

Gaz:

When you two are in the field and the enemy either hits him or shoots in his direction, you are someone else. R/N is his sweet kind and caring girlfriend. Grim is the soldier who hits back, protects her boyfriend against everyone in that room and is a mean killer. "Don't you fucking dare!" she punches the enemy soldier and then after the poor man is on the floor with a bruised face, he makes him apologise. "You say, 'I'm so sorry, Gaz.' y'hear me?!"

There have been times when he has had to physically stop you from hurting Soap after sparring. Now, you know he can fight, he is after all good at what he does but there are days when you feel extra protective. One scratch and it takes Ghost, Price, some rookie and Gaz to stop you from knocking Soap out. "Fucking let me go! I just wanna talk!" All men hold you down. "Nope, we know what you'll really do"

Soap:

He is a natural flirt, no lie there but all that flirting is to you. So when a recruit is trying to flirt with him, and he seems very uncomfortable, you walk to him, assert that he is taken and then he has to grab you by the hips. "Not, 'ere my lass." He kisses your cheek and you give the girl a clear fake smile. When she walks away, you sit on his lap and caress his face. You aren't the overly jealous type but unfortunately, because he does feel uncomfortable and these girls are desperate to become the barracks bunny, you have to take all these extra measures. He loves that about you, that you make yourself seem like the jealous, obsessive type, even though you aren't just so he can walk comfortably around the base without the women wanting to get touchy with him. "I love you, my R/N, you know that?" He whispers and kisses your neck, and you nod and smile. "I love you too, Johnny."

Price:

The first time he had to physically make it clear to the much younger and desperate women on the base that he is in fact in a happy relationship, he had to kiss you in front of the others. Made it weird for the next meeting but it worked. A time where you were the one protecting him, was during a raid in Latin America. He was bait, he was tied to a tree, and beaten multiple times and unconscious. 30 minutes is the time you all had to take down the enemy base. 5 minutes in you all infiltrated it, Ghost, being your best friend tied all the men up. For 25 minutes, you personally beat and possibly killed the men who hurt your boyfriend. Ghost alone could've found the men who hurt Price but you needed revenge.

Ghost:

It's more than clear that people fear and respect him. However, he in your eyes is the one who at all times must be protected. You would go to hell and back for him and him only. So, when he arrived at the infirmary, all bandaged up, moaning from pain and being treated by the medical staff, you gave them all a speech after he was sleeping. "You all better hear me, this man here will be treated like damn royalty, if he says it still hurts, then you better fucking check the area he is indicating, and no, I will not leave the room. He feels safe with me there and I will stay in that room. And if I find out, one of you bitches is hurting my beloved I will make sure you understand why they call me Grim, got that?" The nurses and two doctors nod in fear.

"Good, now you are excused." You walk back into the room and turn back into his sweet girlfriend. "Hey, love, where were you?" his voice hoarse. "I had to take a wee." you lie and he gives you his usual questioning look. "The loo is over there, my love" he points at the door in the corner. "I just didn't want to wake you up if I flushed it." He nods, "Mmm, yeah, makes sense."

König:

As the tall, feared and at times awkward man König is, you only worried about one thing. That being, you are around him when out with friends in huge social gatherings. Because of the military, he was always looking behind him, checking the room for suspicious people. You always held his hand, massaged it or just had to be next to him. Giving him constant physical touch to remind him you were there. If he was bouncing his leg, you'd place your hand on it, if he became fidgety while out in the pub, you'd hold it and/or kiss it. When he has his mask on, he feels way better, he is less anxious but when without it, he has no other protection from his anxious mind but you. So, instead of verbally threatening people, you stare them down for minutes if needed. This all started when you went out with him to a pub and people kept staring at him, his accent, reddened face and the fact he was maskless all made him more awkward. For his sake, you never picked up fights but you would make a mental note to punch the person if seen again and if they kept doing the same thing. "You know, we can go back home, recharge that social battery of yours and use it next year." You rub his back and look up at him with soft eyes.

"Would that interfere with your plans tonight, Liebling?" He, again, shows respect for your time and plans. "No, not at all, in fact, I kinda need it too, so miene bär, let's go home, yes?" He gives you a small and sincere smile, "Ja, let's go home, Liebe."

Tags: @anonymuslydumb

A/N: No idea what the hell I just wrote, but hope you liked it?

[sniigura-archive]

Adam x Reader x Mammon AU anon again.

You: You should be writing fic instead of me anon!

Also You: *Expands upon my idea in ways I didn't think of and once again proving to me you're an amazing writer <3*

READER GETTING PREGNANT TERTGDFTHYFGTHFV YESSSSS

I feel like Reader would refuse to find out who the father is cuz she KNOWS it would be a shitshow with these two either way (one claiming "ownership" of her and the kid and the other making her life miserable because of it), so as such Adam and Mammon are both the Dad That Stepped Up(tm).

They def fight over whether or not Reader should get an abortion early on (neither of them believe in women having agency over their bodies *sobs*). Adam's so offended cuz he doesn't believe in abortion and is like "how could you suggest murdering my baby????" and Mammon's like "it's a clump of cells and I can't have a pregnant bitch riding a pole" he needs Reader back to work asap. Reader decides on her own to keep it ONLY if they promise to not make her life hell for it (or else bye bye snu snu). Mammon begrudgingly gives her paid leave and Adam begrudgingly accepts that Reader is keeping her job.

When the baby comes the men def both spoil the shit out of them. Adam happily offers to babysit/help out with anything no questions asked, Mammon gives Reader all the money she needs and more for the baby and buying the kid all the best toys and clothes. Reader has the main authority on how the kid will be raised (she does not want her kid to end up like either of them lmao) and the boys just gotta accept it like Yes Ma'am.

WAHHH THANK UU but if you ever need help to like brain storm stuff for a fanfic im your man my dms are always open for that i love going through ideas so much RAHHH

mammon: i can’t have a pregnant bitch riding the pole

adam: why not? pregnant bitches are hot as fuck

reader fighting off pregnancy nausea: can you both leave now pls

reader is so done with these sexists guys 😭 she’s aware that technically she doesn’t need them and she can just leave for another city. she has made enough good financial decisions to make her be able to live a comfortable life with her child with no problems

reader says neither of them will be the father and then they’re like „who else were you fucking 🤨🤨🤨“ NO ONE YOURE JUSZ ANNOYING!!!! reader is lucky the baby is her carbon copy other wise both of them would throw hands with each other

adam probably says it’s his since she has been with mammon for longer and all it takes is one night with him to get knocked up because he’s just that good

i think it’d be interesting once reader is too far along to continue working at the club if that’s when glitz and glam make an appearance. they really want to steal that spot of being favourites with all the benefits. they’re very willing to fill in all the spots. mammon considers it for a hot sec but then he visits reader and is pissed the fuck off that he actually genuinely likes reader. the realisation hits him like a truck

adam and mammon refuse to acknowledge that they’re basically in a poly relationship now with you. they get along surprisingly well as long as the topic isn’t you and the baby. as soon as it’s about you and the baby they remember they are Sworn Enemies

but it also gets very annoying for reader when they agree on something because they’re soo stubborn 😭 poor woman. should have moved away lmaoo

THEM AS DADS!!! precious as fuck. imagine if it’s a girl shishsjs girl dads…….little girl who looks like reader so she has wrapped them around her finger. who can say no to such a cute face 😔

[3vln]

Ravens and Stallions: Ch. 2

Pairings: D. Blackwood x Bracken!Fem!Reader

Words: 3.2K

C.W.: probably needs lots of revisions. lots of time-inaccurate privileges (modern dilly-dallying), OCs, enemies-to-lovers, Romeo & Juliet-esque, non-canon stuff, no smut yet (but MINORS DNI) usual banter, SLOW-BURN

A.N.: Would love an editor with this, fr; also, both need to learn how to fucking communicate

Summary: Reader is presented with terrible news, while still thinking about the raven-haired man. A quick and heated meet-up happens in the godswoods gardens in Riverrun during the Harvest Feast.

“Well? Do tell!”

You let out an exasperated sigh as your friend dragged you across the halls to the common room for the debrief amongst quartet.

“Bellena, you’ve become tiresome tonight,” you groaned. She stuck out her tongue.

It was a fortnight since the evening that was spent at Harroway amongst the girls. Neither of them had a moment to debrief on the specific evening, until now at Stone Hedge. You’ve been thinking about the time you spent by the distant trees of the tavern, and how you longed for the butterflies you felt in your stomach. More meetings with suitors set by your mother were spent in vain, finding an excuse or another to explain to your parents that none of them would work, and another sigh coming from them.

Greeting the guard outside the common room, you both found the other two ladies chatting away by fire.

“There you are!”

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

“We must debrief!”

You sighed quietly as you sat, wanting to ensure that the conversation didn’t fall on you to recount the memories of your evening with a certain Blackwood. You looked at Lyanne, recollecting, however, an interesting view, “Well? Get on with it. How was your kiss with the Northerner?” you wiggled your eyebrows, and then more seriously, “Did you also get ahold of that tea I mentioned?”

Lyanne’s stark contrast to her previous state was present, blithe and gushing as she recollected her evening with the man from House Locke - a rather improvement from the previous man she had been.

Kaya, the other from the friend group, had a nice chat, but nothing noteworthy. In actuality, they’ve never known Kaya to be one to gush or express interest in any of the men presented to her. But she’s always been one to wish the other girls well with any suitors, and was rather pleased if something went well. You liked Kaya, she was the most relatable one to you, even if she was rather distant at times.

Bellena, on the other hand, was most like Lyanne but less whimsical, and wasn’t taken away by the words of men. Her spirit was rather charming. Much like a siren, she knew how to turn an opportunity to her favor, and her evening at that tavern was nothing short of what she had expected with her time with Ser Aron.

“You’re awfully quiet,” one of them noticed.

“You did have us leave in haste,” the other added.

“Did you have a good time?” the last asked.

You breathed in, debating if you should explain your… dilemma? No, it was nothing noteworthy. “Nothing eventful happened," you sighed. "And I agree with Kaya, the man I spoke with was nothing of note as well. It was getting late, and I didn’t want my aunt to fret,” you shrugged. It wasn’t an absolute lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. It was a middle ground you were satisfied with.

Bellena wasn’t sold on this half-truth, glaring at you when the others weren’t looking. You rolled your eyes.

It was your experience to live in, and you were willing to swallow your emotions for the sake of preventing anything further from happening. None of them would understand. What could they possibly say that you didn’t already know?

This was an issue and feud that spanned generations-long between the two houses, and none of them would be willing to understand the intense dislike you carried for the Blackwoods, and how utterly wrong that evening was; you weren’t going to be swayed by mere words from your friends.

You quietly sighed, ordering more tea and snacks for the common room from the nearby maid.

-

The ladies bid themselves farewell in the morning after staying for the night, watching them go from inside the bailey gates.

Come nightfall, when supper was served, you couldn't help but feel a sort of tension in the air. Something was filled with a sort of anxiety, nervousness. A loaded silence waiting to explode.

Your father cleared his throat, gaining your attention.

“You must marry soon,” is all he says, rather uncomfortably.

Confusion falls upon you at his sudden and weird comment. You looked at him curiously, not understanding. You were out meeting suitors, but it wasn’t your fault the men were falling short.

Your mother grabs his hand, trying for a more eloquent explanation to his sudden request, “The Harvest Feast is upon us, and House Tully has already sent out their invitations to have us join them. It would be a great opportunity for you to meet someone,” she says. “We’ve been… rather… flexible with you –”

“And I’m forever grateful for the privilege, mama, but this is all so sudden. I don’t understand where this is coming from,” you frowned.

She looks at her husband, not meeting her gaze, and tries again as she takes in a breath, “Lord Greyjoy has taken an interest in you.”

“The old geezer?”

“The Red Kraken.”

“The Red Kraken? As if that makes things better! Does he not have a wife already? 4 others, in fact.”

“My sweet,” your mother reaches out for your hand, “we urge you to marry. His reputation, from what we hear… it’s not great. The ironborn… they’re a culture foreign to us, and we want to ensure you’re happy with your future beloved. But time is running out and Lord Greyjoy has plans to declare for you…”

“No daughter of mine will become a salt wife,” your father scorned, to no one in particular. You held your breath.

“You,” he said after some time, a distressed look in his eyes, “you are my one and only daughter. Love marriages are miracles, but not impossible,” blindly returning his wife’s caress on his hand. “However, I will have to marry you off to someone soon should you fail to secure a marriage yourself.”

Needing a moment to digest with too many thoughts running, nothing was said from your end, other than a nod of understanding.

Keeping quiet throughout supper, in the hallways leading up to your bedroom, and throughout the bath that was readied for you, the thought of having no control over whom you would soon wed terrified you.

You asked the maids to leave you in the warm water, breath becoming shallow as you thought about the prospect of marrying Dalton Greyjoy, and the thought of it boiling your blood. You would need to find your finest silks, finest jewelry, finest anything, to find a man that would make-do. Thinking conservatively, a love marriage wasn’t in the cards anymore, as much as your parents would like, but a decent marriage would at least grant you the freedom of a married woman. All you would need to do is give birth to an heir, and the best possible outcome would be that your future husband would leave you alone or flourish, pray to the Maiden.

You groaned.

You didn’t want something decent, you wanted a love marriage. You wanted one like your parents, and it was breaking your heart. Why Dalton Greyjoy of all people, why was this happening so soon? And why the Blackwood?

You thought back to the evening, promenading around the tavern, the shared laughter, the attentiveness and careful actions around you, the scar above his lips, the dark hair, the kiss by the trees, the grasp around your waist, the stirring in your loin. A hand ventured, your quiet sobs drowned out as you held yourself underwater, hoping no one would hear you.

The Harvest Feast was a celebration that often involved the overlord and their noble houses. Lord Paramount Grover Tully, although failing in age and growing weak, was not one to miss on these feasts to celebrate with his vassals. He was a man committed to his principles as Lord Paramount of the Trident, however weak or bedridden, and this was one of them.

Your Lord father made his rounds greeting the other lords in the Riverlands when the Harvest Feast came around, ensuring you got the opportunity to meet their eligible sons he thought were worth presenting. Swallowing embarrassment, polite smiles were exchanged, and sure enough, after the feast was served and the dancing ensued, their sons would come looking for you. None of them being the raven-haired male you were looking for.

“Are you enjoying yourself, my dear?” your mother asked.

You gave her a look, hoping she’d understand that No, you were not enjoying yourself, but you would at least keep trying as you sat down from a rather painful dance with one the many lord’s sons.

She only chuckled and continued her wine, keeping a worried expression for herself as she looked away.

Your eyes secretly scanned for the Blackwood boy, then focusing on your feast table when you'd catch yourself looking for him.

House Blackwood had feasted opposite of you. The seating arrangements were set up to prevent any unnecessary interactions between the opposing families, but no one knew for certain if such efforts were futile, seeing how many many feasts were set up similarly and one, imbibed with too much ale or wine (or even ego or pride for that matter) would always end up in a yelling match with the other. It was tradition at this point, in jest.

"M'lady?" one of the men had offered his hand to you, an invite to take up the upcoming ballad. As you did with the others, you paid little mind to the small talk the young lord would make, other than the small compliments and the "thank you"s that ensued.

No enjoying yourself, or the lack of conversation between you, you thought about ending the dance abruptly, excusing yourself with whatever excuse you could think of to go back to people watching.

"I'm quite parched," you fanned yourself in the middle of the dance, which wasn't a total lie. Catching on, he excused himself, fetching you something to drink and leaving you in the middle of the floor with others swirling to the ballads. The perfect opportunity.

You used the moment to get away from the crowd, get away from the Great Hall and get away from the bustling noises. You enjoyed such festivities, but you couldn't help but seek time for yourself in the middle of it all. When it all became too much, it would become emotionally consuming, having to show up for everyone and everything.

Finding the nearest balcony and a seat, you took in the evening wind, breathing in the musky and leafy scent of Riverrun in its autumn glory. You couldn't help but notice the detailings of the castle on the way to the balcony, the trout fish carved into the pillars, the clear sigil of House Tully. An appropriate sigil for the castle, seeing how it was built on land that separates two rivers--both streams flowing on both sides of the big castle.

Lost in thoughts and observances, you almost didn't see the figure out of the corner of your eye as it passed by the godswood garden below the balcony.

The raven-haired man. A sort of a pressure and a sigh of relief left you, finally finding the person you've been hoping to see all evening. Your curiosity peaked and a form of excitement brewed in you while studying him. Walking up to the godswood trees, he planted himself there, his back facing you. You saw the way his head bowed. Saw the way his jaw looked to be moving, as if praying. The moment seemed peaceful, curious about what he was saying.

Taking a seat in front of the weirwood tree, he sat there, as if finding solace. The Blackwoods were the only ones in the Riverlands who still only worshiped the old gods - something you weren't still sure if you admired from afar for being deeply rooted in their culture, or stubborn for not converting to the Holy Faith.

You debated reaching out, grabbing his attention.

But then what?

You shook your head, knowing it would only end in a terrible shouting match, and you'd be named the Harvest Feast Bracken this year. You had very little patience for nonsense with Blackwoods, and you were sure he would get on your nerves one way or another.

You decided to leave him be, and just admire his solace from afar for some time.

Back inside you sat back next to your mother after your little time away, wine cup still on hand as she looked at you. “Well? How are things going?”

You groaned, “Mother, please, must you always insist on how everything is?”

“Well, I think Lord Darry is a fine fellow. Rather handsome, I think,” recalling after the last man you danced with.

“Mama.”

“My Sun, I am trying my best to ensure your future…is with someone you want to be with. But you’re making this difficult,” she no longer was sympathetic, but a sad yet stern presence became apparent in her voice as she looked at you. “An arranged marriage can be done, yes, but I… I want you to be happy with whom you’ll be spending your time with.”

You mused at this as you paused on her words. It was a real priviledge for you to have this sort of freedom within the realm. Not many married for love, and more so for duty. You often times found it easier to give up and find a husband for duty. But this was a gift, and, althought frightening, you wanted to explore its options.

You hugged your mother for the comfort, and for wishing you the best in this scary part of every woman's lives; you debated if you should bring up a touchy subject. You hesitated, wondering how you’d phrase the scenario in a way that wouldn’t give suspicion. It was rather difficult.

“As long as they’re not a Blackwood,” you muttered coolly, studying your nails. Nice.

“Good gods, anyone but that treacherous family,” your mother laughed, a red glow in her face appearing from drinking wine.

Disappointment hides in your face as you feign a laugh. Not the response you were looking for. “Good. Wouldn’t be caught dead with a Blackwood.”

A figure from your peripheral view catches your attention, seeming to have been walking up to you.

Except, when you turned, you saw the raven-haired man storm away, and your laughter fades with every step he takes, a quiet panic taking over.

“Oh, posh, leave him,” your mother pouts in scowl. “He had no business here anyway.”

You start to think that she hasn’t assumed anything, which you thank the gods for, but your heart sinks for Davos. Eyeing him as he exits, you try to come up with an excuse to get away from your mother without her worrying. “Umm, have you seen father? I think he was asking for you before I came. I need to find Lord Darry for my drink, should I get ale or wine?” After taking a bit long to respond, you depart by telling her wine should be the better refreshment and Lord Darry should bring you another one, all while eyeing the exit.

Inside, you start to panic after not being able to find the raven-haired lord, turning around every corner in the castle hoping to see him, and only finding empty rooms, and in one embarrassing instance, a young couple needing their privacy, followed by profuse apologies from your end. After spending a lot of time searching, you thought about how it was getting to be too late to apologize, and you’d never recover from this moment.

Finally, outside, you saw a caped figure by the godswoods garden - of-fucking-course - and a lump in your throat starts to form as you approach him.

He turns to you and emptily chuckles to himself. “Well, if it isn’t the pride of Stone Hedge,” he announces to no one.

You frown, clearly starting off on the wrong foot, but taking a moment to form your words before you begin.

“Davos, I… I wanted to apologize,” you try in effort to veer back into diplomatic territory.

But he shakes his head, and something of disappointment appears in his dead eyes, “Tell me, Bracken, do you practice being insufferable, or does it come naturally?”

“Davos, I am trying to apologize.” You let out.

“For what?” he shrugs, maintaining the same dead eyes.

“For… for…,” you try, and think about how stupid everything was going to sound. For saying the truth out loud? For hurting his feelings? For lying to your mom? Why was she apologizing to a Blackwood in the first place?

He nodded with a frown, clearly disappointed. You groaned in exasperation, growing frustrated with everything, “Ugh! I-I don’t know, I don’t know Davos! I wanted to come and apologize! I don’t even know why I’m apologizing in the first place!”

Unamused, he shrugs again, “Can’t accept an apology if you don’t know what you’re sorry for.”

“Oh, fuck you!”

“Fuck me?” He points to himself, disbelief in his voice. “Fuck you! And your mother!”

Your hand meets his face and leaves him with a red print, both shock and adrenaline running through you as you point him a finger. “You leave my mother out of this,” you spit.

He stuns for a moment, astonished by the force of a woman before him, then recollects himself. He finds your finger pointing at him when he looks, grabbing your wrist to remove it from view with a grunt.

“Get your hands off me!” You try to retreat your hand from his grasp but he locks in, grabbing your other wrist as you try to fist the free hand and muster all the strength you have to hit him and release you. “Let me go!”

Heaving as you try to shake your wrists off him, you don’t hear him call your name, until he embraces you, leaving you in a confused state.

“I… I stepped out of line,” is all he says after things seemed to calm.

You pushed yourself off of him and met him with another slap.

Grabbing his jaw, all he does is nod. “Deserved.”

“Fuck you!”

Another nod, “I mean…”

“You’re so… so…!” you try to come up with the meanest, most profane, vile insult you can muster, but your thoughts run with the wind, not finding the correct words to fully explain him and his being well.

“I’ll wait,” he shrugs as he crosses his arms.

“Davos! Shut up!”

He bites back a smile as he looks down.

You groan, pacing back and forth, “Look, I’m-I’m sorry for… what you heard back there. I saw you walk up to me when I said that. And it was such a… a moment, I-I-I just kinda panicked, and… No, I'm not going to be elaborating anything further, but I just wanted you to know, and I know we’re in a relatively public space right now and we can be seen but I don’t care about that because it’s not even about what you think it was about!”

He says nothing as he studies you, arm still crossed, and you grow uncomfortable under his silence, wondering about what he’s thinking.

With a defeated sigh, you hang your head, “Davos, say something, yeah?”

But before he could answer, your father calls for you from a distance, announcing your early departure.

“I… must leave,” you look towards the distance, “but…” you look at him, hoping he says something, hoping to ask you to meet him somewhere, anything.

You leave him in the godswoods garden in Riverrun.

And for that, Davos will always kick himself for not telling you everything. How you stutter when you have a million things running through your mind. How you became the most magnificent woman when enraged, and how good you smelled when he embraced you. He, too, had a million thoughts, but none of them expressing himself in the way he wanted to, scared to push you away or the time not lending itself for him to say everything. Much less when you had to leave so sudden.

He looked at the weirwood tree they were both under, before you departed, and had hoped the gods would work on his favor and see you soon.

_____________________________________________________________

~ Tag list: @cypherpt5fttaehyung

[evaglass]

Speculation about Mizu's parents pt. 6

Mizu has already killed one of the first white men, Violet. Fowler isn't going to last too long once there's no use for him, and assuming both Routley and Skeffington are in the British Isles, because I doubt the show will have Mizu relocate again farther from Japan to find her target, Mizu will most likely kill them three in season 2, and that seems a bit too easy.

Having her kill all the four white men by season 2 seems too quick, especially since the people behind the show want four seasons. It's too quick, unless there's a plot twist, like none of the four men being her father and none of them putting the bounty on her.

Don't get me wrong, they probably were involved in Mizu's mother getting killed. Remember the bird Mizu had to kill when on the mission Madame Kaji requested?

A bird flies from its nest for two reasons if a person is near, one reason is to fly away from danger. The other reason is that if the bird has eggs or hatchlings, it will try to defend its nest, like how the bird in that scene tried to do.

Look at the way the dead bird was laid out, the four white eggs that are there, almost like they're looking at the dead mother bird.

It looks like these two scenes I brought up before.

Mizu finding out her mother was the European one instead of her father will not make her happy; it will fill her with a lot of complicated feelings, especially anger, and she might even hate her mother. The worst part about it is that her mother is likely dead, and she can't enact her vengance on her mother if she's already dead. She will believe it was all for nothing.

I do think she will probably eventually find self-acceptances, especially if she finds out her mother really did love her and died protecting her. Maybe she'll even find an old diary of her deceased mother describing how much she loves her.

The revelation will probably lead to Mizu wondering who actually put the bounty on her, which will lead her back to Japan seeking answers, which will set up Lady Itoh as the final antagonist.

I already can tell Akemi is gonna have conflict with Lady Itoh, especially if Akemi and Takayoshi start developing actual romantic feelings for each other because that would make Lady Itoh lose more control over him. I highly suspect Lady Itoh is behind the death of Takayoshi's first wife, so that puts Akemi in potential danger, and Lady Itoh has no problem trying to put Akemi down with what she pulled in the dinner scene. I think the common enemy of Lady Itoh will have Akemi and Mizu ally with each other

Going back to this scene, I think there's more potential foreshadowing to explore here. I think the man who tried to kill baby Mizu was voiced by the same man who also voices the older son, Kazuyoshi, while the man who stopped him was voiced by the same guy who also voices Takayoshi. I think this will foreshadow what choices Kazuyoshi and Takayoshi will make in the future.

Look at this scene that's in the POV of Kazuyoshi before he does what his mother tells him to do, which is to lock in the Lords to die because they saw his father's shame. Look at how his mother is in front, then Takayoshi, and then Kazuyoshi's own wife is way in the back.

This may show that Kazuyoshi puts his mother first, then his brother, and then his wife last. I think both Kazuyoshi and Takayoshi will have a choice: they will either have to choose their mother or their wives, and by extent, their possible half-sister Mizu.

Kazuyoshi will choose his mother, while Takayoshi will choose Akemi and Mizu.

The show has subtle moments of sibling tension and/or drama; Akemi and her younger half-brother show the different societal expectations set for them, Fowler's backstory with his dead sister who's kidneys he had to eat to survive, the two men in the beginning of episode three could have easily been brothers, the subtle hints that Kazuyoshi and Takayoshi could end up on opposite sides later in the show, and I also possibly believe that Mizu's mother may have been one of the four white mens' sister, mostly leaning towards Routley because of the "pretty eyes" comment from Fowler.

It could be possible that Routley brought his sister with him to Japan. I can assume that Violet was the oldest of the four men, and they all came from broken backgrounds like Fowler before Violet took them under his wing. It's probably why Fowler looked so upset when he realized Mizu was the one who killed Violet. Routley could have easily been an orphan with his sister before meeting Violet and working with him.

This would mean that Routley probably agreed to betray Mizu's mother in order to keep the deal with the shogunate intact, and oh man, I love sibling angst and betrayal. It's probably why Fowler thinks he's worse in his opinion.

Now there's one more film I want to talk about. It was cited that there were a good number of films that influenced the show, the main two being Yentl and Kill Bill, another I stated earlier was also Lady Snowblood.

Now I can't find any source to claim that the film I'm about to bring up also influenced Blue Eye Samurai, but it could be possible that it did, because like Kill Bill I heard it was also inspired by Lady Snowblood

I'm talking about the South Korean film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

I've also seen this film. It's about a woman named Lee Geum-ja who gets pregnant in her teens and decides to run away from home and stay with a former teacher of hers who used to make really inappropriate comments about her (she was a scared pregnant teen who wasn't thinking straight, and probably thought if she came home to tell her parents she's pregnant they would have kicked her out).

Obviously, it goes south pretty quickly. The man is still a teacher, and one day, he decides to murder a boy from another class. The teacher makes Geum-ja take the fall for him due to him threatening her baby's life. She falsely confesses to the murders and spends 13 years in prison, planning her revenge against the teacher for when she is released from prison.

When she is released, Geum-ja puts her plan in motion and also finds out her daughter was adopted by a couple in Australia and was named Jenny. She goes to Australia to meet her daughter, in which her daughter threatens to stab herself with a knife if she doesn't let her visit Korea.

Geum-ja loves her daughter, but Jenny is mad at her for giving her up (she's a 13 year old kid) she expresses that in a letter, which Geum-ja reads after getting it translated and then takes Jenny to where teacher is being held by her and makes him translate her speech to her in English

The reason I bring up this is not only because of influences from Lady Snowblood from what I heard, but also the themes involving mother-daughter relationships

The complexity, tragedy, sacrifice, anger, hate, sadness, and love can all align pretty well with Mizu and her mother. Mizu will no doubt have complex feelings about her mother, especially if she was the European one, but I think under the circumstances, I've brought up Mizu's quest for vengance will shift to making her potential white father pay for her existence to avenging her mother.

One more thing before I finally finish this. I want to briefly talk about the theory that Lady Itoh could be Mizu's mother or her maternal aunt. I can see where it's coming from, and it is possible, but I can also see it being a red herring

Yes, both Lady Itoh and Mizu have smaller faces, but Lady Itoh's features are still round and soft while Mizu's are angular and sharp; Lady Itoh's face is more oval shaped while Mizu's is more shaped like a diamond. Even up close, their noses look a bit different as well.

I also think that if any of the four white men actually impregnated and killed a Japanese noble woman when they first got to Japan, they would have lost the trading deal. Yeah, Fowler killed the Shogun, but that was after 10 years of building up an army. Plus pretty poetic that they're reminded of the woman they betrayed through her daughter's eyes.

But I'm open to being wrong. Anyway, I'm sorry this was long but now I'm done. Let me know what you guys think, I'm totally open for discussion

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6

[the-busy-ghost]

Men Called Him Sir Gray Steele

Having many Strange and Norrell thoughts at the moment, but since I'm not exactly the type of fan who goes through and annotates and analyses I'm probably missing things or overthinking other details that have already been noticed.

That being said I've arrived at Chapter 51, "A Family by the Name of Greysteel" and this reminds me of my old theory about Flora Greysteel's name. Potentially the most famous Flora in British history was Flora MacDonald, who in 1746 assisted Charles Edward Stuart in escaping to Skye in the aftermath of the failed Jacobite Rising. I may be overthinking this aspect, since as a Scot I'm naturally conditioned to associate the name Flora with both that story, and stories about women who help historical and mythical "heroes" generally (note- no opinions are to be given on the character of Jacobite claimants in this post, but I have many).

What I am now less convinced that I'm overthinking is the 'Greysteel' aspect. Now Greysteil was a ballad which was extremely popular in sixteenth century Scotland (though like many popular ballads and poems from this period it may have its roots on the other side of the border in northern England as well). The references to Greysteil in Scottish history are probably related to the poem Sir Eger and Sir Grime, which may be fifteenth century in origin, but chiefly survives from 17th century versions, including in Bishop Percy's collection. The plot synopsis on wikipedia makes it clear that this is a poem replete with strange knights, and, perhaps more importantly, helpful female characters who go around giving gifts of magical swords to the heroes or generally acting as 'cunning' leeches (a leech was the term often given to a medical person, but it's more ambiguous than the rather more specific terms 'surgeon' or 'physician'). The name Greysteil refers to the antagonist of Eger and Grime in the poem- he is a mysterious knight who lives in the 'forbidden' country.

In preparation for reading chapter 51, therefore, (and while my food is cooking), I'm skim-reading a copy of the version of this poem in the Percy folio and trying to keep any important details in mind so I can compare it with Strange and Norrell. (Copy printed here)

What I do notice immediately is that when Greysteil (clad in red and gold) defeats knights who have the misfortune of coming across him, as a prize he takes the little finger of the man's right hand. This is his calling card.

It's a bit early in my read to say for certain but this absolutely calls to mind the fact that the gentleman with the thistle-down hair takes the little finger of Lady Pole's left hand as a token of the agreement when he agrees to help Norrell bring her back to life. Now taking a little finger may be a common motif in other literature too, I'm not sure, but given that there are other reasons to connect Strange and Norrell to the old poem Greysteel I have to wonder if this is significant.

In heraldry, the man's coat of arms often went on the right or dexter (viewer's left) and the woman's on the left or sinister. From what I've come across over the last decade this tends to be seen in other depictions of male-female relations in mediaeval and early modern culture, with maleness associated with the right and female associated with the left (bearing in mind that these were often married couples where the straightforward gender binary was at its most evident). So I have to wonder if Greysteil taking the little finger from the right hand of his (presumably all) male enemies, and the fairy in Strange and Norrell taking the little finger of the left hand of the woman he enchants, can be compared.

Again I have no idea yet what this may mean for the significance of Flora Greysteel, and whether we are to assume that her family has some connection to either the figure in the ballad or the gentleman with the thistle-down hair- I have yet to actually re-read chapter 51 and find out. But I'm posting this here in case it's useful to more observant fans than me and in case anyone can offer any insight. It was always a question I'd have loved to ask the author if there was ever a Q&A but I may be twenty years too late on this one.

Anyway, on with my re-read of Sir Eger and Sir Grime (and dinner)!

[marzipanandminutiae]

Do you know anything about how queer women/sexual and romantic relationships between women were seen during the 18th/early 19th century, particularly in France? Im asking cuz I know that rumors of Marie Antoinette having sexual relations with her female favorites were used in propaganda against her, so I felt curious about how ppl in pre-revolutionary viewed lesbians; was it seen as "perverted" and just as taboo as male homosexuality?

So, as I understand it- and pre-revolutionary France is not my primary era, keep in mind -it was lewd if sexuality was involved. If people could imagine that they were just Super-Good Devoted Chaste FriendsTM, that was less likely to be looked down upon. However, contrary to some pop history sources, people WERE aware that sapphic sex existed. And even actual Super-Good Devoted Chaste Friends could find themselves accused of it if one or both parties became unpopular with the accuser. When those parties were both public figures...it could get ugly.

That's why claims that a famous historical figure was queer have to be taken with a grain of salt if they come exclusively from that figure's enemies. It sounds rather homophobic to say "it was just slander," but it's not necessarily that the historian thinks having gay sex is a bad thing- it's that the accuser probably did, and therefore might use the idea to damage someone's public reputation. If there's no other evidence, as with Marie Antoinette, it's not considered a credible claim of homosexuality for that historical figure.

tl;dr- Devoted friendships verging on romance between women good; sexual relations between women either titilating (for men) or Bad. And sometimes the former was used as "proof" of the latter if someone wanted to slander the parties involved