#pool scene meta

[cryptidotter]

I know it's always "being sad about these kids" time in The Locked Tomb but, uh, I just put all these Harrow quotes together and need to share the sadness with everyone else:

So the Reverends told Harrow about the child genocide when she was THREE? jfc

Tamsyn why do you give us distressing facts like this?

And as I sit here with this, it makes me think of how many times I've seen people be frustrated or confused by Gideon being kind to Harrow in the pool scene after this revelation. Where for me, also a religious cult survivor, I would have expected nothing else.

Because it's not that Gideon thinks this new backstory EXCUSES what Harrow did. That's not the kind of forgiveness happening here. It's the realization that neither of them deserved to have their childhood stolen like that. Neither of them deserved to be so dehumanized, treated as nothing more than tools who should feel guilty for never being good enough.

But before that moment, Gideon clearly hadn't realized how fucked up Harrow's life had been, so she hadn't ever seen them on a similar level of victimhood.

Harrow lived an exaggerated form of the standard religious trauma that kids like me and Gideon experienced while growing up. The whole, "you, yes you, toddler, are sinful and deserving of eternal torment unless God shows you undeserved grace" experience.

I think it's easy for a fellow victim of that to sympathize like Gideon does, knowing so intimately how that kind of trauma fucks up a person. Even when a person turns their trauma into a weapon against others like Harrow did for so many years. It doesn't make the bullying acceptable, obviously, but it does make it worthy of sympathy instead of pure condemnation. Gideon finally realized that Harrow didn't act out of personal sadism, and that meant a lot for Gideon and how she sees Harrow.

Anyway there's just something inherently relatable to me when one victim sees another one, even and especially an imperfect victim, and still chooses to humanize them. Because that act of compassion is a rejection of the system that broke them both.

[stheresya]

considering how close Sansa and Jeyne were in agot, one might think it's odd how she hardly mentions her friend in the following books. some take this to mean that their bond was superficial, or that Sansa is just a horrible friend or that the author is bad at writing female relationships. but i think all the confusion can be explained here:

She missed Septa Mordane, and even more Jeyne Poole, her truest friend. The septa had lost her head with the rest, for the crime of serving House Stark. Sansa did not know what had happened to Jeyne, who had disappeared from her rooms afterward, never to be mentioned again. She tried not to think of them too often, yet sometimes the memories came unbidden, and then it was hard to hold back the tears. (Sansa II, ACOK)

so Sansa actively pushes down memories of both her septa and Jeyne. this is very much in line with her usual coping mechanisms, which are: avoid and retreat into self. that's the only way she manages to not break and keep some shread of dignity in her situation. when she's forced to stare at her father's severed head she looks at it but refuses to see it, when she's forced into marriage with a Lannister she plays the dutiful wife while freezing her husband in place with her courtesies, when she's forced to lie about the murder of Lysa the truth eventually becomes just a bad dream in her memory. remember that the one time Sansa allowed herself to openly grieve (after Ned's death) she was awarded with physical abuse by Joffrey, so of course she had to learn to use her own skin as armor and rewire her own memory in order to numb herself from all the pain she has to endure. the mysterious circumstances of Jeyne's disappearance cause Sansa a different sort of grief precisely because she does not know what happened to her. she doesn't know if her friend is dead, but she understands that something terrible must've happened to her considering it was Cersei who ordered her to be put away. Sansa does care and misses her friend, but there's nothing she can do to help anyone or herself so she does what she does best: cope. she cannot allow herself to give in to grief or else she won't be able to function as a person and as a good hostage to the king, all that's left for her is to try to avoid feeling all the things she should naturally feel in her condition.

[carlyrossart]

Was the pool scene harrows first hug ever ?

Brb crying

[stuckasmain]

Revisiting the conversation scene on my last rewatch made me appreciate this scene more for its subtleties.

Initially I saw it as Dave being dismissive and changing the subject. It’s actually a misunderstanding. Hal asks his questions in a more rhetorical manner/asking if Dave felt anything was off/had similar concerns. He’s not outright saying it’s his own worries until the end of the conversation. Thus dave comes to the conclusion that Hal must’ve sensed some doubt and apprehension from him or Frank and was checking in on him. It’s more “oh, you’re working on your crew psychology report” > “give me the report.”

It makes additional sense when you think about the context of emotion. Never certain if Hal has those genuine emotions, it feels like he does but you can’t know. He’s never expressed worry/doubt before… at least that’s what it seems like in the way he discussed it as a question and how “silly” he claims he’s being. Also that Dave doesn’t catch on, it’s understandable because the first thought shouldn’t be the computer developed anxiety.

It’s all a bit sad looking back on it, as it’s a logical misunderstanding to make but if Dave caught on or agreed maybe things would’ve gone better for their little crew. Questionably, as this would’ve eased Hal but not suddenly fixed the mental break.

Side note Hal’s “of course I am🥺” gets me every time. The little guys so nervous and unsure and doesn’t know how to express it.

[thepotatofrog]

when gideon says i’m so bloody sorry and THATs when harrow loses it. because she needs gideon, and she needs her as an enemy. she’s clung to their mutual hatred all her life, it’s the fire that keeps her heart beating, it’s armour even more than the bones she wears. gideon not hating her, gideon forgiving her, is unthinkable. for harrowhark nonagesimus, walking war crime, being hated is so, so much easier than being loved. gideon opens the floodgates, and harrow breaks.

[gaiaxygang]

when sailom realises there's still something salvage in kanghan, that he still has a heart. from the moment kanghan saves him and concedes (accepting his tutoring offer) you can see something in sailom start to change from the look in his eyes. this show makes me want to walk into the ocean

[past-the-comfortzone]

Little things I'm catching on a rewatch:

From "who would wanna use their last days not fucking and fighting?"

To

"Last day of the afterlife and you're not off snorting a line off some hunk's abs?"

"Eh. You fucked one cannibal pool boy, you've fucked them all."

"I guess you have changed."

"Hey, Charlie said live tonight however we wanted, so pour me a fresh one! And lets get to living!"

(I am sobbing, you hear me? SOBBING)

(Also if you listen very closely to this scene while they talk at the bar you can hear a slowed down version of Loser, Baby in the background) (Once again: SOBBING)

"I can sense they're planning to kill me. But when?! How?!"

(Bro thats's so meta. They didn't need to do him dirty like that.)

"Don't worry mom, I'll make u proud."

"Only...seven...years. Off doing something important, I'm sure! But this kingdom was really something she cared about"

Welp. She's relaxing is heaven.

(Really love how Lucifer was built up to be this awful person, and Lilith a very loving person, but so far it seems to be the other way around.)

Funny things I missed the first time around:

THE TEXT.

"Bad. It makes us look bad!"

"Funny, I was going for hilarious."

Vaggie doesn't know what she's saying. Alastor was right. The text had me dying fr.

Never noticed Alastor had a little tux get-up for a few seconds I feel so robbed. Also in the commercial, he has his back to the camera and I just LOVE the possibilities as to WHY.

Did Vaggie force him to participate?

Did he still want to be included bc he's a little egotistical attention seeker?

Did he do it it bc he knew Vox would see it and it would fuck with him?

I need to know because like why are you even there little red demon man if you're gonna be barely out of frame and looking away??

Either vox had two mugs made except one with extra text OR (and my personal headcanon) he rushed to write "FUCK ALASTOR" on his mug just before Stayed Gone.

[thelostgirl21]

Somehow, I don't think I've ever truly taken the time to appreciate just how sort of... ridiculous Radovid's introduction scene is?

Not Radovid himself, he's adorable!

But it does make you wonder...

How often does King Vizimir just... randomly yell his name at the top of his lungs like that to get his attention, and then, just... basically lets him carry on, because turns out he didn't want anything from him?

He's like: "Nah, don't worry about it, 'bro! I just felt like loudly shouting your name in a crowd rather than simply telling Dijkstra that I'd decided you'd be leading the 'Princess Ciri finding efforts' from now on! Just reminding him of how adorable you are, you know? Look Dijkstra? Isn't he adorable? That's my baby brother with his little bottle making cute little "whoo! " sounds right there..."

Because, you know, once Radovid realises that his brother is calling him, he makes literally no effort to go see him, either!

I know he's playing dumb/drunk, but still!

"What's that?! Oh, okay! It's just Vizimir trying to locate me. Whoo!"

WHAT *IS* THAT?!

It's like a parent at a children's party suddenly going "SAMUEL!".

Child: *Stops playing to look at their parent.* "What?!"

Parent: "Oh, no worry, honey! I just wanted to make sure you hadn't run off, drowned in the pool, got kidnapped or something! But I see you've got your grape juice bottle and are having fun with your friends, everything's fine! Go on!" Child: "Yay!"

I mean, you might reasonably expect King Vizimir to shout Radovid's name in a crowd like that to get his attention so he can motion to him to come over, and then introduce him to someone he's never met before.

Which, on a meta level, is technically what he's doing: introducing Radovid to the audience.

But in Universe?!?!

It's Dijkstra. Dijkstra knows who the crown prince of Redania is, Vizimir! You could've just told him, and he'd have gotten it! No need to get all dramatic about it!

TL;DR: King Vizimir is a ridiculous drama queen that loves showing off his pet baby brother every chance he gets!

And Radovid's gotten so used to it by now, that he's totally stopped attempting to figure out what his big brother wants when he calls him.

What if it's not just Vizimir, though, and Radovid just has that reputation for constantly getting himself into trouble if left unsupervised for too long.

So, people at court have a habit of periodically shouting his name; just to get him to manifest himself in large crowds, or crawl out of whatever hole or tight space he's crammed himself into, make eye contact, and locate him.

Therefore, in my new personal headcanon, there's now a scene at the Thanedd Ball that pretty much goes:

- Dijkstra: "RADOVID!" - Philippa: *walking over to him* "I think I saw him leave earlier with his royal security detail. He's probably sniffed out the bard's scent..." - Dijkstra: "Oh, good! You made sure those guards understood their assignment, right?" Philippa: "Of course!"

***Meanwhile, in the nearby woods.***

- Captain of the guards: "RADOVID!" - Other guard: "It's no use sir, we've lost him! " - Captain: "Gods damnit! Dijkstra won't be pleased..." - Radovid: *having already put plenty of distance between them, on his way to go see Jaskier* "Whoo!"

It's a good thing Philippa wasn't with them, or what might have happened would have been something closer to:

- Philippa: "Don't worry! I've got this!" *in whispering tones* "Sabrina was right. Valdo Marx's compositions are far superior to Jask -" - Radovid: *instantly traveling across space and time to appear right before her* "Valdo Marx has NOTHING on Jaskier! His sublime ethereal melodies, and the poetry of his lyrics, elevate the bardic arts to -" - Philippa: "Oh. Look. There he is!"

[oshiawaseni]

Trails of Love Hori's been paving down in the build up for the series' ending

Part I: The Shape of an Eternal Bond

Romantic Love. Falling in love. When we break it down, what really is it, but a deep emotional connection formed with someone, an overpowering instinct that screams at you to protect that person, and the vulnerability you allow yourself to succumb to when your logical 'self-preserving' mind and it's hurt-proof walls is completely overrun by your heart's most based need to be close with them, the object of your affection.

And who shows these feelings for each other the most in BNHA? Bakudeku, right? Of course it's them.

It's something so obvious and yet this somehow feels overlooked by almost everyone in the fandom: I’ve never actually seen Izuku feeling happy or excited about his relationship with Ochaco, nor elated about getting to spend more time with her. But Izuku and Kacchan? The feelings they both have of longing to be closer to the other and every single action they took for that, chaotically and passionately smashes the "stable pleasantness" of IzuOcha right out of the park.

Izuku views getting to speak 'normally(?)' with Kacchan as a miracle on the exact same level of importance as being mentored by the greatest hero of their generation (and his U.A. room looks like what it looks like). This scene gave the cutest 'Work life: check. Love life: check' vibe.

Is it really all that surprising that BKDK have had plenty of development in this area while IzuOcha has had almost none? In fact, as BkDk became closer, the "expected end game" pair has gone in the opposite direction. And why does this not strike odd to "bkdk canon" doubters or the fans that ship IzuOcha? It really is no coincidence how many moments we’ve accrued about this mutual feeling and attraction that exists only between Izuku and Katsuki.

I want to be closer to you. I can't imagine life without you. vs Why are you so confused when I show you I care about you, too?

It's so simple - but maybe it being so simple is why this is not something we really stop and take a minute to think about specifically. About how this 'obvious' concept of two people desiring to become closer is one often shared between lovers and those who are falling in love.

And how that fits with bkdk because this longing for deeper connection has existed between them almost since the beginning... and we haven't been talking enough about it.

I want you to think about the true feelings and meaning lying behind these moments that have inspired the writings of many fic and meta:

Izuku's desperation and suffering at Kacchan being taken away...

the hurt and loneliness that pools within Katsuki's heart from his fear of being left behind (and alone) by Izuku...

the regret they both felt in not using their own hand to reach out and connect to each other (believing their hand 'wouldn't be enough') and putting those feelings aside to prioritise their boy's rescue and safety...

the distress Katsuki felt in facing his biggest fear of all - losing Izuku for good - forcing him to become a true hero, for his sake...

and the total overwhelming despair Izuku felt in realising he didn't make it in time and he had lost his hero.

This is it, this cover was Hori locking them in. Holding his Kacchan so precious, placing his hand gently over his heart, trying to somehow connect to it. The appearance of an enraged and protective alpha ready to strike down the monster who did this to his mate. This is the vision Hori wanted to draw for bkdk and it cemented the deep romantic love and bond that's been growing between them, rewarding those of us who have picked up on their trails of love and causing meltdowns baked in confusion for the rest.

They've had many scenes like these throughout MHA. Scratch a little at their surface and what lies underneath every single one of them is the pining desire Izuku and Katsuki both share of wanting to be together. The need for the other to be by their side and within reach.

And they don’t share this feeling with anybody else.

It’s always been this way exclusively for them and I think this aspect of their relationship was established by Hori to tell us they will stay feeling this way forever.

If Izuku is right and he takes back everything and the course of their future gets put on track again, then maybe the idea of them holding onto each other and never letting go isn’t all that far from reality.

After they graduate, I can't imagine these two not choosing each other every single time, until the very end of their days: becoming a hero wonder duo, moving in together, living their best domestic life complete with their adorable husbands banter (but repackaged into something so much more loving and soft which befits them), nurturing their relationship... letting themselves fall deeper in love...

It's so easy to imagine this all happening, simply because of their desperate need for closeness to one another in the manga.

They can’t imagine their life without the other.

Their love is a multi-threaded story that's been told to us over, and over, and over again. Through Izuku and Katsuki's every action and by the mouths of others (which I'll be covering in my next post).

I honestly believe that since the beginning, Hori has been carefully leaving trails of their passion for each other, simply to say this: While this series may be coming to a close, Izuku and Katsuki’s bond, that brings them only closer and binds them tightly together, will transcend the very last of their inked pages and never end. ❤️

Part Two -> Intro & Compress

[jolieblack]

Jolie's thoughts on

The Creeping Man (Sherlock & Co. podcast)

Check out these lovely pieces of fanart for the episode:

Stake out by @mayhasopinions

Rip Ratthew by @noodles-and-tea

You feline bastard by @abstractfrog

I hope people in this universe will never get the idea that Watson is the great storyteller. That’s clearly Sherlock - his deduction about the death of Ratthew was easily as engaging as his account of Matheus's death back in "Thor Bridge".

"Get down here and atone for your sins, you feline bastard!" 🤣 I just love how strongly Sherlock felt about Ratthew‘s death. And then how strong a bond he ended up forming with the perpetrator.

And the meta jokes in this podcast! Mariana pleading for donations bc Sherlock & John weren’t getting paid for this case but were still renting high end cars and attending expensive events… John ruining a brilliant opportunity for an ad break at the Thai restaurant… I can’t believe how brilliant a parody of true crime shows this continues to be, as well as a fantastic audio drama, *and* a very very sweet account of one of the most beautiful friendships in the history of literature.

More stuff I liked in this episode:

Sherlock & John playing Scrabble. Joel Emory is the King of Banter.

We got a "come at once"! 🥳

"It’s 2024, no-one needs to be saying 'thus'". 😆

Have we actually just assumed until now that John is short in this universe, too? At any rate we just heard it confirmed by Bill Wiggins and I’m HERE for it.

The uncool non-noir stakeout 🤣

"And are those skeletal entities in the room with us now?" 🤣

"My dear companion" *happy sigh*

John ending up in Chekhov‘s pool just before the 2nd part credits. On the cliffhanger scale of 1-10, definitely an 11.

"There we go, John." - I love how Sherlock reserves the use of Watson's first name for special occasions. And how caring he can be. He also literally just fished John out of the pool!? So they’re both sopping wet in this scene?!

Loved John's little speech about people’s lives getting commercialised. And the ping at the end.

"I hate you both." - Mariana is such a vibe sometimes.

"Say no more." - "So long, sucker." - "Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" - John Watson , anti-hero extraordinaire, strikes again, pun intended. How can you not love him.

"I have a dog and a detective to look after." - My heart.

On a serious note for a moment, I thought it was interesting how well this ACD story translates to our modern day and age, with the quest for eternal youth going stronger than ever, and people still willing to pay enormous sums of money for scams like that, and even ready to ruin their physical and mental health for it. I love how this show keeps finding ways to make the themes of ACD‘s stories relevant to today’s world.

In the crime solving sense, I dare say it was completely clear what the mystery was about halfway through the 2nd part, even for those who didn’t know the original story… but the showdown was definitely worth waiting for. Glorious.

[matan4il]

It’s missing Kinnporsche hours in the matan4il household.

Why?

Take for example even just the last gif.

The line of Kinn’s neck. His Adam’s apple moving as he gulps with the longing for Porsche even while thrusting into him.

The transformation we’ve seen from a Porsche who was too intimidated to even just hold Kinn’s hand in public in 108 to a Porsche towering over his bf and letting Kinn fuck him in plain view of the entire city.

The way they move together, in perfect sync. Punctuating how much they both want this and they’re both making it happen. The play of reflections, the image of their intertwined bodies bouncing off the glass walls of the pool and the balcony. And the illumination of their lovemaking from below making it look as if the light is coming from them, from the point where they’re joined.

Listen, I might not have written an entire meta post about why this sex scene is one of the best ever, like I did for the one in ep 107, but this gem deserves applause, too.

[technicallyverycowboy]

playboyy: no fags, no femmes

okay, so. playboyy meta. thanks to @lugarn, @chaos0pikachu, and @cryptidafter for talking all this out with me <3

i originally started this post with "not to be that guy," but honestly, i do want to be that guy. because so much of the critique and analysis of playboyy i'm seeing is a) grounded in a lack of knowledge about queer history and aesthetics and b) veers unintentionally but wildly into unexamined homophobia.

so, given i'm going to reference susan sontag's notes on camp several times, i've decided i might as well go full queer studies major about it and copy the list style she uses. (i would highly recommend reading notes on camp. it is academic and somewhat dense, but it's a tame 13 pages)

1. so many people are confidently asserting that playboyy is not camp, regardless of what the creatives behind the show think. to which i have to ask: how are you defining camp? what things are campy to y'all?

2. the personal definition of camp that i arrived at after writing a bunch of papers about it is two-fold: camp is exaggeration, treating things that are serious casually and treating things that are casual seriously. camp is about an aesthetic of inhabiting a role, where something is a little bit off or being something that it's not meant to be.

and to be clear, this is a wildly incomplete and simplified definition, because one of the points of camp is that it's a vibe, not something concrete. It’s also something that shifts over time the relationship between queerness and society changes.

2a. camp often intersects and overlaps with surrealism, like in rocky horror picture show. very often media that is campy exits the mundane world and enters a heightened world of exaggeration and stylization. 

3. so, is playboyy campy? i sure as hell think it is. i think lugarn and chaos0pikachu both made really good points about the campiness of playboyy and it being specifically sexwork camp. (both replies are at that link.)

4. a brief list of things that specifically resonated as campy to me: first throwing american dollars in the pool for soong to catch, zouey's fantasy of feeling up teena in art class, every single element of nant's room (especially the projected images), captain's sports plot that involved zero doing the sport and 100% fucking and fantasy, the softly romantic framing of nuth and phob's sex scenes, jump's pleather tank top & coverall combination, prom wearing assless chaps to a rooftop party at 2:30 in the afternoon, the entire concept of investigating a disappearance via a themed party... i could go on and on, but i said this was brief.

5. i think the actual problem a lot of people have with playboyy is that it doesn't care about straight people.

6. what i mean by that is that playboyy is not a universal story. you could not plug different characters with different sexualities into the plot and preserve the essence of the story. the gayness of the characters is integral to the plot. the sex work is integral to the plot. this is not a world where homophobia doesn't exist and being gay is just like being straight.

7. additionally, these characters are all performing gender in a specifically queer way. they are femmes and fags, they are obvious, they are clockable, they're visible. when nice gays talk about the people who are giving gays a bad reputation and making it harder for everyone (to assimilate into heteropatriarchy) they're talking about playboyy gays.

8. comparing playboyy to only friends is low hanging fruit at this point, but i would argue that the reason boston stood out in that cast and was so viciously punished by the ending is because he was a fag stuck in a nice gays narrative.

9. and this is where the fandom homophobia comes in. so, so many people describe these characters and chaotic and messy, watchable as incoherent and vaguely amusing from a distance, but without real substance. the resulting narrative is often that no one could take their characters or their stories seriously or resonate with them.

10. again, why? why was ray and sand's high and low, blow up fights, calling each other whores relatable but soong and first's miscommunications about what they mean to each other unbelievable chaos? why is white taking black's place an acceptable plot point, but nont pretending to be nant is absurd?

11. most bls do not deal with flamboyance except in limited capacities by comedic side characters. flamboyance is a baseline trait for most of the playboyy characters. so if they feel too much, too loud, too out there, consider asking yourself why they do.

12. to a large extent, i think a lot of the criticism of playboyy is rooted in a bad faith refusal to engage with the show beyond a surface level pearl clutching about the sexual content. the unspoken belief here being that sex scenes are inherently vulgar distractions. they can't be integral to characters or their relationships. they can't be vital pieces of a narrative.

to which i say, there are nine thousand other BLs out there where the kissing is chaste and sex scenes are ~tastefully abstracted shots of shoulder blades and hands. watch those instead.

13. if you decide you want to watch it anyway, take a couple minutes to examine what parts of the show make you uncomfortable and why. and to be clear, i think there’s a lot of value in watching things that make you uncomfortable; media is often one of the best ways to dip into interrogating your emotional responses from a safe distance. 

but don’t use discomfort to dismiss the possibility that there’s meaningful artistic and stylistic choices made to serve a meaningful narrative. take a second to sit with your reactions and ask yourself where it’s coming from. 

[stuckasmain]

Thinking about the stiff and awkward fake conversation they pull before their talk in the pod. It’s done for two reasons, primarily to not seem  conspicuous but it’s also been expressed in the novel how they view Hal so much as a person it’d be rude to talk about him infront of him. But in trying to seem casual you appear the most  suspicious, neither of them are good actors.

One of the main things they forget in this scene is symbiosis (expressed both in the film and book in different ways). Hal is a part of that. Spending so long on the ship and in routine it is easy to pin point if anything is out of sync - especially with each other. They forget here just how much a part of their little group Hal is and that he’d be able to tell quite clearly, something is wrong, they want to hide something- this is not the way they’d talk if there were a real issue. Honestly, I think how close he is to Frank and Dave is what leads to the “evil” super smart interpretation. This isn’t to say he lacks intelligence it’s just— really obvious something is going on in this situation.

It’s almost funny that Hal was right, a lot of what goes wrong is on the part of human error. Mission controls secrecy, their bad acting, failing to turn the pod around etc.

[dairy-farmer]

The caped community finds out Tim is a meta by virtue of ✨something I'm too lazy to think up✨. His power? Tim can choose when he's gonna be pregnant. Like a duck that can prevent unwanted fertilization. It becomes this thing in the caped community (and rogues who somehow found out) where they try to fuck Tim and get him pregnant. The problem isn't fucking Tim. Turns out Tim is quite the slut. The problem is that he doesn't want to get pregnant. It's like a ginormous dick measuring competition that no one can seem to win. And then one day, they find out Tim is pregnant. The baby daddy? Some random civilian Tim met at a bar.

On Tim's part, he would love to get pregnant. He just doesn't want to carry any babies with a meta gene (he does NOT want to know if those babies can develop superpowers inside his womb and he's not eager to try it out) or carry the baby of someone with as many deep-seated mental issues like the bats (he read somewhere that babies can inherit depression and anxiety and have worse issues. His babies are about to get his, he does NOT want to get them double more). It left him with a very, very narrow pool of sperm donors. Good thing sex with these people are great.

-🦆

😍😍😍😍 tim's power being built-in birth control!!!! and tim being very logical and focused on who he wants to father his baby. because tim loves sex, he loves it A LOT despite his more...modest reputation, some might even say prudish.

but just because tim is willing to fuck a whole manner of people doesn't mean he wants them to knock him, despite how often that seems to be a fantasy of the many people he lets fuck him. sex is one thing but a baby? that's something tim does not take lightly.

before tim had been born his mom and dad had a pure bred show dog as a pet. her name had been biscuit and her picture had been higher up on the mantle piece than tim. tim had heard all about her growing up and he'd also heard about how other competitors in the show dog scene had tried striking deals with tim's parents to breed their dogs with biscuit.

"but it's not that simple timmy," his dad would tell him. "you can't just let any stud mount the bitch, otherwise that's how you get bad pups."

bad pups, like pups who didn't like to listen, who had bad temperaments, who inherited dispositions to diseases, and worst of all- pups who were ugly.

it'd been the same reasoning his parents used when they chose a sperm donor to have tim. tim supposed it was that "parent" who he had to blame for his meta abilities of being able to choose who impregnates him. he supposed it made sense they were a sperm donor since if tim had a sort of hyper awareness of his reproductive organs then it was likely they did to. after all, it was how he was able to stop his period without having to go on any medications. it was just a matter of reabsorbing the egg that wanted to descend back into his system.

so that's what tim does. he refuses to present the seas of ejaculate in his womb with a nice little egg to fertilize because he can tell they wouldn't be suitable. tim can 'feel' out the genetic material in him. can tell which sperm contains the right genes to be born a meta human (approximately 75%). can tell which ones will result in phenotypes like blonde hair or brown eyes. he can detect genetic predispositions for disease contained within them.

mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, addiction, and even bad temperaments like anger. diseases like pku, sickle cell, and cancer.

tim isn't perfect either. he has an increased risk of bpd and colon cancer, a higher chance of developing diabetes, a predisposition to vision problems and cavities. that's not even mentioning the actual problems he has.

tim's ptsd, depression, and naturally elevated cortisol levels from being so stressed all the time might have an impact on the fetal brain development.

and even though tim can't control that he can still mitigate the risk.

tim has already carefully selected a handful of eggs from his ovaries with the lowest risk and is carefully watching over them, keeping them safe until he finds a perfect genetic donor father.

which...tim is keeping his hopes realistic. the father likely won't be a cape because even if they don't have inherited issues, their accumulated issues will likely leak into the baby. plus tim doesn't like the idea of his baby having another parent that could just swing by and bother them. no, tim would much rather prefer a stranger, preferably a one night stand who would have no rights or ideas about his baby.

but until that happens tim has a large pool of willing participants to fuck him even if he wouldn't consider using their genetic material. and that's how it is. until tim has a business trip in st. paul minnesota and meets someone at a fancy lounge downtown.

not overly tall but a decent height, a nice musculoskeletal structure, a nice face, not pushy, sweet laugh.

it's after they have sex and are lazily making out in bed that tim realizes he's hit the genetic lottery jackpot.

no history of mental illness, at all. no elevated risks for diabetes, cancer, or a whole host of diseases. tim's genetics have a slight disposition for alcoholism but the donor is a rare drinker and doesn't smoke. no cardiovascular disease issues, low chance of allergy to pharmaceuticals, all blood, skin, eye, muscle, and tissue disorders appear to be low risk, and the only risk for autoimmune disease comes from tim. his donor even has the right genes for his babies to have straight teeth and clear skin through their adolescence unlike tim who had been forced to liberally use zit cream and braces throughout middle school.

yeah tim has hit the jackpot. he's so excited he gets horny again.

the donor is already more than tim ever dreamed of and the genetic material he already has is more than enough for him to get pregnant.

but could tim be blamed for wanting to widen the pool even more and give his baby the best of the best?

tim rides his donor hard and fast, bouncing and trying to thank the father of his future child for this gift with every whip of his hips.

he'll be coming back for more. all of his children will need to be fathered with this person because there's no way tim can let someone with such beautifully perfect genes slip through his fingers (also it helps that the sex is nice).

tim stares down at the gorgeous brown eyes all of his children will have (tim's light blue eyes carry an increased risk of basal and squamous cell carcinoma) as they roll back from the bliss of another orgasm, their balls clenching and cum shooting into tim's more than welcoming womb. tim's cunt clenches around the throbbing length, satisfaction purring in his chest as a fresh load of material for him to parse through fills him.

tim spends the plane ride home carefully choosing out the perfect sperm and gently guiding his egg to it. he carefully makes sure the two fuse perfectly, joining his egg and the material of his lovely donor (who tim has carefully memorized the name and address of for future reference). after all he'll be back in a few years to fuck his brains out for another sweet baby. it's what tim always wanted after all.

tim already knows he's pregnant weeks later but takes a test for his medical records, after all he needs to get started on all the proper vitamins and treatments to make sure his baby is born with the least risk possible. he also needs to inform bruce as quickly as possible so he can be benched. no need for unnecessary stress after all, it would be bad for the baby if tim's levels rose any higher.

news of tim's pregnancy spreads quickly and practically everyone tim has slept with in the last few weeks are stumbling over themselves to try and find out who the father is.

tim supposes he'll let them keep guessing for a few more weeks before their inevitable hovering gets annoying and he shoos them away.

because while tim might have the baby he's wanted for so long, he still needs help satiating his desires. orgasms always help with lowering his stress and the flood of hormones that are to come will, of course, make him too horny to function.

but at least he'll have help with that. afte rall, ever since people found out tim could control whether he got pregnant or not more than a few people showed up on his doorstep, desperate to be able to fuck bare back without any risks.

and tim, well who was he to say no?

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi!

I am looking for both fics and meta about what would have happened if Sherlock detonated the explosives vest in the TGG pool scene. If you have any fics that really concentrate on the possible consequences/injuries/destruction of such a decision, I would love to read them. And while I have found a couple of posts that discuss the motivations of Sherlock/John/Moriarty during that scene as well as some discussion about how (un)realistic the whole scene in general is (i.e. can you detonate the vest by shooting it and why are these the most shaky-handed sharpshooters in the world), I haven't found any in debth discussion of the explosion scenario and I would love to read it!

Thanks so much for all your lists, I already found so many amazing fics that way!

Hey Nonny!!!

I'm happy you enjoy my blog!!!

Ah, the only fics that IMMEDIATELY come to mind are these ones:

Sink Like a Stone by pennydreadful (T, 4,348 w., 1 Ch. || Angst / Dark, Cuddling/Snuggling) – After defeating Moriarty at the pool, life isn't quite the same around 221B Baker Street...it's more peaceful. And stranger.

The Heart In The Whole by verityburns (E, 101,650 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TGG Canon Divergence, Drama & Angst, Hurt/Comfort, First Time, Blind Sherlock) – Events after ‘The Great Game’ leave Sherlock dependent on his best friend and colleague. But John has a secret of his own…

=====

BUT I do have a couple TGG lists that you might find fruitful!

TGG-Related Fics

TGG: Pool Scene

And there MIGHT be more on these lists?

Season 1 Fics

Season 1 Fics Pt 2

But don't quote me LOL 🖤💜

I'm CERTAIN that there are WAY more than those, so if anyone has a fic or few to suggest, please do!!!

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

If I became the Monster...

If I became the monster, and threw that guilt away Would that make us stronger? Would it keep our foes at bay? If I became the monster to everyone but us And made sure we got home again Who would care if we're unjust If I became the

Lyrics from "Monster" from Epic the Musical

Guys, this is Meta Knight's song... it fits him perfectly!

This scene takes place around the time of Garlude's death...

Due to MK's reputation & everyone's prejudice against him being part demon. Many rumors spread that he ran away from the fight or he had jinxed her... Meta Knight couldn't help but blame himself.

Things have just been getting harder... and he was just getting so tired of losing people... which got him to think of something... something awful...

However, Jecra wouldn't allow it... he had no desire to see Meta Knight sacrificing himself... thankfully, he talked to him before he even got the chance to...

Convo:-

MK: Jec... what if I could save all of us with this

J: Oh no, you don't... I'm not gonna let you destroy yourself for us...

MK: But you all have homes and families to return to... Oh no... Garlude had a daughter, right? And I... Jec I should hav-

J: META KNIGHT! Don't you dare finish that!

MK: But it's my fault Jec... it's the least I can do-

J: DON'T LET THOSE F#CK*NG RUMORS GET TO YOU! IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT YOU HEAR ME!... Meta, please don't do this...

MK: Jecra I just...*starts tearing* I just don't want to lose anyone else... I'm just so tired of Jec- *cries* It just keeps getting harder...

J: I know, Mets... I know... You're okay with me... you're safe with me... We love you so much... Meta, your life matters too! I'll say it as many times as I have to until you believe it... *Pulls him in for a hug

MK: Jec- I don't know what I'd do without you...

Finally, Meta Knight allows himself to cry in Jecra's arms and mourn the death of their friend...

Guess who ends up becoming the monster first... Oh, the irony is so painful... I can't believe I produced this.

Keep reading for more context & lore...

LORE TIME BABY!

Since the betrayal of Yamikage & the disappearance of the Ancients (the only people who had the power to reign him in), the GSA was now on the brink of ruin... Due to the lack of soldiers, everyone was spread out thin. This was when Uther reached his peak madness...

Similar to MK & Garlude... Sir Arthur & a small group (higher-ups who had some sort of moral code left) were sent out on a crusade to find the legendary sword Excalibur. (Which I will get into later...)

But in truth, these were all just "fool's errands" and were just ploys to get those who opposed him to be killed. And with Sir Arthur gone...(presumably dead), no one had free reign of the GSA...

Uther took this as an opportunity to cut Meta Knight's unit in half... putting them in squadrons that would surely use them as death fodder. Meta Knight loved his everyone squadron... he couldn't change the order... so he did something else.

Every time someone from the other half of his unit was dragged out to fight, he'd volunteer to go with them. Sir Uther used his affection for his team against him... (hoping he would die out there...)

(He tried to pull the same trick with Galaxia, and he was supremely pissed that MK came out alive... )

Meta kept sacrificing so much of himself to keep Jecra and his squadron safe... So many of his friends were dying now... and were forced to be scattered about. He couldn't save all of them (he couldn't be in two places at once...); now Garlude and his mentor were gone.

So yeah MK was already in a bad place... Garlude's death was just the cherry on top...

This brings us to this... "what if he became the monster", Meta Knight contemplates whether or not he should allow himself to unleash untapped power... and use his dark magic.

I can't say that much (because of spoilers), but he has a connection with Nightmare that allows him to tap into his pool of power... everyone in the GSA knew of his wings, but only his team (Team Halberd) knew of this connection of with Nightmare.

They knew he was playing with some dangerous forces...

But for those of you who were wondering what Meta Knight meant in the previous chapter in "Had I not tried to play the hero back then…... Perhaps this is my punishment..."

It's referring to this... Meta Knight does eventually go berserk after the death of Jecra! It was to protect the remaining people in his squadron... but it was all for not... they all still ended up dying.

But ultimately it was these powers that allowed Meta Knight to be the only one of the only survivors of the war... though he paid a terrible price because of it.

For those of you who were keeping up with the previous post... it was Jecra (Knuckle Joe's father).

I'm not going to confirm anything just yet, but Jecra was Meta Knight's right-hand man... his rock... his person... <3: Feel free to use this as shipping fodder... (MetaxJecra)

There's gonna be more lore-dumping before the next chapter 2-3 weeks until the next chapter. (which means more Jecra)

I hope you all enjoyed it!