#she does genuinely care about him. even though neither of them will admit it to each other

[echidnana]

ada and leon's dynamic is so good. the way after their first interaction in 4 they both just relax after the initial scuffle. leon hasn't seen her in 6 years, last he did she betrayed him, and he still just. relaxes in her presence. the trust is still there.

[reidgenius]

Low Pain Tolerance | S.R. x Reader

image by reidgif <3

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader Word Count: 1.4k Category: angst, hurt/comfort? Warnings: commitment issues, wildly insecure!reader (it's really just me) A/N: I haven't written for Spencer before, so please excuse any OOC inaccuracies and be nice okay! I am a long-time lurker/admirer of the lovely @pathologicalreid and am writing this for her cutesy margovember event :) Song Inspo: Low Pain Tolerance by Abby Holliday

You never enjoyed running.

Still, that didn't stop you from doing it often. Whether it be on the job or in a relationship, you ran.

To catch a bad guy. To catch yourself before you fall. To stop something terrible before it happens... You ran.

In this instance, you found yourself running from Spencer Reid.

"Would you look at me? Please?" he pleaded.

You knew if you were to turn around that you'd see his glassy doe eyes and be drawn right back in. You knew your weaknesses, and he was certainly one of them. The biggest one. That's why you stayed put, staring at his bedroom wall.

"I can't, Spence." You meant to say it with finality, but it came out more as a whimper.

"You can't look at me, or you can't-"

"Neither. Both."

As the holidays approached, Spencer had mentioned the idea of the two of you making a trip out to Vegas. "Just for a day or two," he'd promised. Though there wasn't much he treasured about home, you knew that his mother was there, and that was more than reason enough.

This evening, he'd brought it up again after letting you avoid the topic for weeks.

"It's only a matter of time before you figure it out," you admit.

"Figure what out?"

"God, Spence, that I'm only bringing you down!" you nearly shouted, though you hadn't meant to. The anxiety took over. "I'm like... gahhh! I don't know how to do any of this, I-"

To your dismay, he let out a laugh as you finally turned to face him. A real, genuine laugh.

"Bringing me down?" He looked at you with an earnest amusement. "Honey, I don't think you realize what you-"

"I'm scared. Okay? Is that what you wanted me to admit? That I'm scared of meeting her?" A single tear gushed down your cheek.

His brows knit in concern as he quickly thought of ways to disprove the common fears surrounding schizophrenia and it's manifestations.

"Baby, schizophrenia doesn't ma-"

"Dammit Spencer, it's not about that! It's- I..."

You found yourself stumbling over your words.

"I don't care about her diagnoses!" you laughed. (Of course, you did care, but that wasn't what was scaring you.) "I'm scared of this!" you said, waving your hands between the two of you. "I don't want to rush it. I don't want to get her hopes up..."

You let your legs give way to sit on the floor against the wall, your head in your hands, mumbling to the cold hardwood.

"I don't want to get my hopes up."

There was it. That was the truth.

You weren't used to it. You weren't used to someone asking you how your day was and really caring. You weren't used to the notion that a man would want to wrap himself around you at night and keep you close. You'd never been one to draw much attention from men. Or women. Or anyone, really.

Naturally, you figured that there must be something deeply and inherently flawed in you. Something Spencer had yet to discover.

So, being with him was... terrifying. You were constantly waiting and wondering when he'd conclude that you weren't as pretty as he initially thought, or as witty, or as intelligent, or kind, or...

And it would only be cruel to drag Diana into this. To have her think that perhaps her son had found his person. To have her thinking that she might be meeting her future daughter-in-law. It felt cruel to yourself, in some twisted way, to pretend that this was all going to last.

Spencer was typically a fast thinker, but your admission had the cogs in his brain working overtime. You were afraid of him? Of your relationship?

He padded over to join you on the floor, keeping a little distance so as not to scare you.

"Get your hopes up? You don't-" he gulped, "I mean... you don't think we're gonna- that this is gonna work out?"

Still speaking to the floor, you sigh, "I don't know, Spence."

You were exhausted. Incessantly feeling like you're on the brink of being "found out" can do that to a person. It's not that Spencer hadn't done all the right things. No, he was the perfect partner. But therein lied the issue. He was perfect. And, in your opinion, you were far, far from it.

You took a deep breath through your tears.

"I don't think I can keep doing this."

Confusion. Utter shock. Things had been going so well with you the past 8 months. Spencer immediately began to wrack his brain combing through all the possible mistakes he could've made. Did he raise his voice with you? Had he forgotten some big milestone? Was he not giving you enough?

"Honey I-" he gathered himself, placing a hand on your thigh, "I'm so sorry. Can I ask... what makes you say all this?"

Though you were reluctant, you figured that now was as good a time as any.

"Spencer. I am not good for you! Good enough for you!" With each point, you illustrated by raising a finger, "I am impulsive and I complain and I get weird sometimes when you touch me and I can be a massive bitch and I never know how to-"

"Woah, woah, woah-" He snuck up closer to you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and placing his head atop yours, all while you kept rambling. "Why in the world do you say that? Not good enough for me? If anything it's me who isn't deserving of you..."

"No, you-"

He stopped you in your tracks just by saying your name in that beautiful way he does. Like its covered in honey and dripping with admiration.

"You are everything. You may think those things about yourself but I certainly don't." His thumb caressed your bare skin so carefully as he continued, speaking slowly so as to allow the words to really sink in. "You are the most generous person I've ever encountered. You care so deeply about people you love. You are courageous and willing to try all the weird foods I suggest even though you really don't want to." He smirked a bit at that one. "You have taken everything that life has thrown at you and navigated it with grace. You really are just... you're it. You're her. You're the girl - the woman - I've always hoped would come my way but never dreamed actually would. Honey, I've figured out everything I need to know when it comes to how I feel about you."

You sat there, warm under his embrace, pondering his words as he spoke. It's nothing he hasn't said before, granted, in much less grand and emotionally charged ways. But it was like you were really hearing it for the first time. You wanted so badly to believe him.

"I love you," he continued. "I love you so much that sometimes I am afraid of myself. Of what I'd do for you. You, god, you make me so much better."

"I love you, too. Too much," you squeaked out.

"No. Not too much." He leaned back to encourage you to look up at him. "You know I really mean all that right? Just the way you are. Quirks included?"

"I guess. And now I'm just self-conscious that I am so self-conscious..."

"You say that as if I'm not the exact same way!" he chuckles, trying to make light of what is clearly a shared wound. You'll deal with that later. Together, preferably. "Please, trust me. Do you trust me?"

And you did. You trusted Spencer with every cell in your body and hair on your head. There was nobody else you'd ever been so confident in. So, you nod against his chest as your tears begin to subside.

"Good. Now why don't we move this party up into the bed?"

"No offense, Spencer, but the last thing I want right now is to f-"

"No no no nooope! Not that, babe," he laughed. "Just wanna lay with you 'til this feeling passes. Is that okay?"

"Please."

And so, the rest of the evening consisted of cuddles under your massive comforter. Sweet admissions whispered in your ear. The tiniest kisses to your hairline and your shoulder and your nose and your wrists.

By the time you dozed into a worry-free slumber, you believed him a little more.

Perhaps you could let Spencer love you, forever.

[yanderecrazysie]

hey!!

would it be possible to write something about the host club members with a reader who’s pretty oblivious bc she like genuinely can’t believe that any of them would actually like her, and is a commoner that goes to the school on a scholarship? and the boys are just pervs/perpetually horknee lol

if you could just do it for everyone except honey, haruhi and the twins that would be awesome!!! ur the bestest!!

I think it actually would have been faster to say Tamaki, Kyoya, and Mori XD (kidding) I decided to do headcanons since I rarely write one shots with multiple characters and I couldn’t think of how to do it.

Characters: Tamaki Suoh, Kyoya Ootori, Morinozuka Takashi

WARNINGS: yandere themes, NSFW content, masturbation, panty stealing, aged up characters (final year of school for each)

Tamaki

Tamaki is easily the most obvious with his crush, but he’s also the one you’re least likely to believe is telling the truth when he flirts with you. As a princely character who romances girls for fun (and profit) and is adored by the entire female population, you don’t really believe he could fall for a commoner like you. Surely he’d fall for a girl from a richer family and not someone there on scholarship.

You’re not particularly bothered when a pair of your favorite panties go missing- probably just lost in the wash or something. Never would you even consider the possibility that Tamaki would break into your house while you’re at your part-time job and steal your underwear to wrap around his cock while he strokes it, picturing you beneath him or maybe riding him…

He gets frustrated by the way you’re so oblivious to his true intentions, but he can’t find a way to really get you to take him seriously. You just laugh or roll your eyes when he confesses. You’re breaking his heart, you know!

Kyoya

Kyoya doesn’t come out and say he has a crush on you, neither does he flirt or make his feelings known. To be honest, he’s a little ashamed that he’s fallen for a commoner like you. His father would never approve.

But you’re so cute, with your happy little smile as you greet him, how you talk to him like a normal person and not someone intimidated by his cold, manipulative demeanor. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he has daydreams about you. From grandeur wedding fantasies, to wondering how your body would look under your white wedding dress on the start of your honeymoon. He’s not usually a sexual person, so this is really shameful to him.

Don’t worry though, he’ll keep this all to himself. That is, until he’s got you cornered and you have no choice but to submit to him.

Mori

Mori is another one that it’d be hard to tell he likes you. He’s so quiet, but soon enough he’s standing guard over you like you’re royalty. He follows you everywhere like a shadow, but you think nothing of it. Surely he does this to everyone (not that he’d have time to). He even walks you home, but maybe that’s because he wants to be friends! You’re so friendly and sweet to him that it’s no wonder he’d want to be companions.

Mori isn’t really a sexual person, but he gets frequent hard-ons when you’re around. You have such an oblivious nature that you frequently forget to be careful around a man. When you’re outside of school, in a skirt, you don’t think twice about picking up items from the floor, giving Mori a view of what’s underneath it. You jump up and down without realizing it’s making certain parts of your body jiggle. It’s like you’re trying to tempt him!

But you’re poor, a commoner, an outcast- the idea that Mori would want to be so close to you is laughable, or so you think. In reality, he cares least of all what kind of background you have, especially when he can provide for you, if only you’d give him a chance.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Can I request tea about things that have happened in the mansion?

Click here for part 5 which has links to the other parts

Toby is emotionally attached to one specific spoon. It's the perfect weight, size, and length in his opinion, and he will always insist on using that spoon, sometimes even going so far as to wash it by hand just to use it if it's dirty. Everyone knows this, however, one day Tim was up pretty late and wanted some ice cream, and he used the spoon to scoop some out, bending the spoon. He didn't realize it was Toby's spoon until it was too late, and he tried to bend it back exactly as it was, however, Toby knew. Toby knew something was wrong with the spoon and actually ended up bending it a specific way himself to make it feel right again. Tim is too scared to tell Toby it was him because he was genuinely distraught when his spoon was different.

Smile, the lovely dog, is on a specific diet. Jeff takes good care of him and tries to keep him on a diet made specifically for hellhounds so that he's getting all the proper nutrients he needs. Smile, however, wants people's food, even though he knows he shouldn't have it. Some of the residents are weak. Natalie began sneaking Smile people food whenever they were alone together, and now that Smile has finally eaten it, he will not stop begging for food, much to Jeff's chagrin. Natalie will not admit to it, but she also struggled to stop feeding him since it made Smile so happy. Now Jeff has to deal with his large, talking hellhound yelling for people's food at dinner, and Natalie has to avoid Smile like the plague lest she deal with the same.

BEN is a big fan of Legos. He has completed a bunch of sets and treasures them all, including his precious Millennium Falcon, one of the largest sets he's completed, that took him so long to complete. He always asks people not to touch them, but as you can guess, that didn't happen. Toby has also developed a fascination with Legos, and one day when BEN was out, he decided to look at all of the ones BEN had built. He had picked up the Falcon and was moving it through the air as though it was flying, before tripping and dropping it, slamming it into the ground and breaking it apart. Of course, he felt so bad he told BEN immediately when he got home, sobbing and apologizing, and despite how upset he was BEN forgave him, but he did make Toby rebuild the whole thing himself so that he could understand why BEN was so protective over them and wanted them to be safe.

Slender rarely loses his cool over things, but there was one time the creeps will probably never forget. Slender is a collector of finer things, and one of those things is a very expensive set of plates passed down to him from his mother, which are very beautiful, and also very fragile. Slender does not like when things like this are messed with, so they try their best to avoid them, but accidents of course always happen. The boys were roughhousing one day, and Jeff accidentally slammed into Liu's side a little too hard, causing both of them to slip and slam into the case the plates are kept in, causing several of them to fall into the case and break. Upon discovering this Slender was incredibly angry, all but screaming at them as he lectured them on safety and respect in the mansion, although he did later apologize for how harsh he was. Jeff and Liu especially haven't roughhoused downstairs since, and neither has anyone else unless they're in a wide space away from anything special. Slender was able to get a couple of the plates pretty perfectly restored, but a few were lost, and he's still very bummed about it.

[casscainmainly]

Bruce Wayne & Cassandra Cain in Batgirl (2000)

My last post covered the top 10 moments overall, but I had to skip a lot of my favourite moments involving specifically Batman and Batgirl. So here's a non-comprehensive, chronological list of great Bruce & Cass moments!!

Who Does She Remind You Of?

One of the most interesting things about their relationship is that initially, Cass doesn't have a name and doesn't know Bruce's name; they are purely Batgirl and Batman. This lack of alter ego allows Bruce to identify very heavily with Cass, and sets up the foundation for why Bruce acts the way he does later. He views Cass as a mirror of himself, which has both positive and negative repercussions.

You Can't Understand A Word I'm Saying

EXTREMELY underrated Bruce and Cass moment from Issue #2. Though I believe they fundamentally understand each other, there's still a disconnect between them (a disconnect Cass shares with everyone). But this disconnect goes both ways - Bruce is the one having trouble communicating here, saying 'I don't know how to say this' and pausing frequently (this speech pattern is very reminiscent of Cass' inner monologue towards the end of this run!). A great example of how neither of them are fully able to express the depth of their feelings towards each other.

Denial

A pivotal moment in Bruce's conception of Cass. When confronted with evidence that she killed a man, Bruce goes into complete denial. She's 'gentle', fully understanding his rejection of murder; how can she be a murderer? It's indicative of just how much he's projecting onto Cass, but also how much he genuinely cares about her. The second panel is underrated too - like David Cain, Bruce sees Cass as 'perfect', a word that will haunt Cass for arcs to come. This is where we start to see how Bruce's belief in Cass' perfection and morals negatively impacts her self-conception (as a perfect tool/weapon).

Good Answer

An incredible moment that's classic for a reason. Perfectly encapsulates both Cass' instinctive desire to protect, and Bruce's recognition of how similar Cass is to him. Also how his belief in her, however unintentionally, feeds into her death wish.

Jason Todd

Another underrated moment!!! This is the first major instance of conflict between death-wish Cass and no-more-dead-kids Bruce, and it's delicious. Bruce willingly opens up to her about Jason's death, and moreover, by comparing Cass to Jason, positions her as his child as well. It's sweet and sad and explains some of Bruce's more overprotective moments.

Denial 2

Not really denial but thematically it fits. When Bruce is framed for murder, the Batfam try to figure out what really happened. Cass sees that Dick has doubts, and helps him re-enact the murder so that he can believe in Bruce again. Not only is it a super sweet Dick-Cass moment, but it also shows how Cass believes in Bruce just as much as Bruce believes in Cass.

Good

A short and sweet moment that showcases how similar these two are. Bruce isn't exactly being a good dad here, but Cass genuinely DIDN'T enjoy that vacation. They just get each other. This is one of many, many times that Cass answers one of Bruce's questions perfectly (and makes Bruce smile).

Overprotective Dad Mode

In the second part of Batgirl (2000), Cass begins to explore her sexuality. This leads to issues of varying quality, BUT we do get tons of overprotective Bruce. A nice showcase of Bruce doing typical dad stuff, and Superman looking SO done. Also Cass in that first panel is hilarious.

Realisation

After lots of (rightful) heckling from Babs, Bruce finally realises that the way he's been using and treating Cass isn't right. Though this speech is couched in a lot of dismissive language ('disobedient', 'she was loyal'), I think that's just Bruce's inability to communicate. He cannot admit how much he cares for her. So he decides to fire her and tells her she jeopardises the MISSION (which, obviously, makes Cass feel terrible). Even when he's trying to put her first, his lack of communication skills only hurts her.

He Never Let Me Touch Him

The Bruce and Cass scene to END all Bruce and Cass scenes. Each panel is loaded with meaning. The first shows that despite Bruce's similarities to Cain, he still IS different; he is willing to be vulnerable around her, and allows her to do the same around him. The third panel is particularly interesting. Underneath all the ideological sniping between him and Babs, Bruce is jealous - he wants to be the centre of Cass' life and loyalty. Cass, however, doesn't fall into the trap. By pointing to the Bat, she both affirms her loyalty to his mission but also refuses any box he can put her in. She is his daughter, but she is not only his daughter, and never will be.

Honourable mention: the only reason I didn't put the Father's Day panel here was because I've already written about it. Also the scene where they mutually touch each other's faces and turn away of course!

[dopeasspancake]

Can't stop thinking about the concept of post-Scream (1996) and Billy and Stu's spirits being tied to Sidney for whatever reason. Maybe it's penance. Maybe it's unfinished business. Maybe they never figure it out. But they're just kind of stuck following her.

And maybe it takes her a while to notice. Maybe it takes Billy and Stu a while to become proficient enough at haunting for her to see/hear them and for them to be able to interact with objects or the living. At first they're not even sure they want Sid to know they're there.

But it eventually happens. And NONE of them are thrilled about the situation. For a long while. Maybe Stu finds it kind of funny, but Billy and Sid are PISSED. Billy & Stu aren't always around, though. They sometimes disappear for hours or even days at a time, but they always come back. They have no choice.

They follow Sidney to Windsor College, mock her choice in studies, and cannot stand her boyfriend Derek ("He's so corny it's painful, Sid.") And although Billy & Stu love finding out that they've inspired their own horror movie, they DON'T appreciate the new Ghostface(s) targeting Sidney. Sidney was THEIR final girl and she beat them fair and square. This New Guy should be more original, in their opinion.

When Sidney is distraught over Randy's untimely murder, Billy & Stu are actually a little bummed for her. And him. Stu was even rooting for them a bit. Thought Sid & Randy would have been cute together, but oh well.

And maybe Billy still hates Sidney, but he kind of respects her. He was once genuinely in love with her, before everything. Maybe Stu, who only ever got involved for funsies (and because he'd follow Billy to the ends of the earth) is even a little attached to her. So maybe they do their ghostly best to watch out for her (not that they'd actually tell her this, of course).

And when Billy eventually finds out one of the Ghostface killers was his mom, he spirals a bit (because why does she care NOW but not before he died? What right did she even have to be angry? SHE left HIM). And all Sidney can tell him is "Well, she's dead now."

After Sidney escapes death yet again following the Hollywood murders, she has to deal with several weeks of a falling out between her ghosts. Stu was there, he heard what Roman said about giving Billy pointers. About having a partner he could sell out if need be. And that had hurt more than any knife or smashed TV ever could.

(After a few weeks and with mediation from Sid, Billy finally confesses he never planned to sell Stu out. Only liked the idea of a partner, of not being alone, and Stu was the only person in the world Billy trusted with his life. And who Billy knew was unhinged enough to agree to murder for his friend. Getting this information out of Billy is like pulling teeth because not even death has cured his emotional constipation.)

And this just continues on through the franchise. And despite the fact that Sidney will never forgive Billy & Stu for what they did, she gets used to their presence. Even eventually begins to appreciate them, as fucked up as it is. They become a familiar constant in her life.

When they tease or mock her, Sid's not afraid to remind Stu that she dropped a TV on his face. Or that she put a bullet between Billy's eyes and would gladly do it again. But funny enough, she eventually says these things with very little malice. It's almost like a fun little inside joke. And to be fair, Stu can't think of a more ironic way for him to have died. He gets giggly about it sometimes.

They make fun of Sidney when she starts dating her eventual husband. They make fun of her even harder while she's pregnant because she's often tired, sore, and easily irritated. And while neither Billy nor Stu are big fans of kids, they have to admit Sid and Mark make some pretty cute ones.

Sidney is the one to break the news to Billy, "Congratulations, it's a girl" but 25 years late. She also has to break the news that his daughter is the latest target. And that Stu's nephew was already a victim. Both ghosts are left reeling over this information. Stu is weirdly disappointed to find out Billy cheated on Sid.

("Really, Billy? Didn't you plan an entire murder all because your dad cheated on your mom? And then you had the nerve...?!"

"Stu, while I appreciate you coming to my defense, I find it... fascinating that you're fine with murder but infidelity is where you draw the morality line."

"It's the hypocrisy, Sid! And you didn't deserve that."

"You literally both tried to murder me."

"... not the point, Sid."

If Billy wasn't so flabbergasted at the time, he might have felt more ashamed and embarrassed.)

When Sidney realizes what house Sam is at, Billy & Stu stay with her as she rushes headfirst into danger. All 3 of them are a little sick at setting foot back in that house. Billy & Stu are downright disgusted when they realize the killers are once again The Boyfriend and The Friend. ("Have some fucking originality, I am begging these kids.")

Billy later ends up genuinely thanking Sidney for helping save his daughter. They laugh over the irony of it all. Stu thinks about how Sam reminds him a lot of Sid, weirdly enough. But also of Billy, in some ways. He doesn't say these things out loud. But he does feel oddly protective of the young woman.

And I honestly have no idea how or when to end this concept, it could theoretically go on for decades... but I'm def obsessed with the idea obviously. So, if you actually read through all this (thank you and) feel free to expand upon the idea.

Maybe one day I'll get my shit together and write it out in detail myself. But probably not. BUT MAYBE.

UPDATE: after tons of positive feedback and although I am absolutely shitting myself with nerves, I have officially posted the first chapter of The Ghosts of Our Past for anyone interested.

[deafeninggalaxycandy]

✨️CLYDE DONOVAN HEADCANONS✨️

trigger warning: mentions of a dead parent, slight mention of drugs, general fuckboy activities

• Clyde Sterling Donovan

• He/Him

• Born on April 10th 2003

• 5'11"

• "Straight" (Closeted bisexual)

• Unironically says brainrot terms like "rizz" and "what the sigma"

• Clyde became a lot closer to Tolkien since he was the main one to show genuine empathy- and concern over his mother dying. He was also one of the first kids to say that it wasn't Clyde's fault (even though it sort of was but letting a child believe that he killed his mom is pretty fucked up).

• After his mom died, Clyde became very uncomfortable around toilets and bathrooms in general. The emerge of skibidi toilet made him break down in tears and the trauma came flooding back. He genuinely does blame himself for her death and was sent to counseling by his dad for it. He's slowly getting better but he never stops thinking that it was his fault. He's always like insanely careful about putting down the toilet seat now and starts freaking out if he sees it up in anyone's house.

• Clyde isn't really a crybaby but he doesn't like talking about his feelings and the compressed emotion just comes out randomly in tears. Even when he's not sad. He genuinely cries over things that are important to him, like his relationship to Bebe, or his mom dying. Other times, it's other small stuff that just tips him over the edge after these things are already on his mind. The entire month of May makes him sob and he refuses to leave his bed (it’s the month of Mother's Day and the month of his mom's birthday)

• Swears up and down he's 6 feet tall, he'll fight anybody who says he's 5'11"

• Genuinely in love with Tolkien but absolutely will not admit it. He doesn't even think he's bisexual.

• He did like Bebe at first because she was a pretty girl showing interest in him but eventually realized they didn't have much in common and were only together for superficial reasons. Bebe just liked having someone who'd give her anything she wanted and Clyde liked having a popular blonde girl on his arm. Neither of them had any real love or respect for each other.

• Once they got to the age where they could have sex, Clyde began cheating on her with some other girls in class. He genuinely saw nothing wrong with it since the relationship wasn't real in the first place. He was actually surprised when Bebe was mad about it. After she left though, he sank into a depression. He didn’t like her per se but he did miss her presence. And just being able to say he has a girlfriend. He felt like a failure for losing someone as popular and pretty as Bebe. Also she was the only one willing to actually date him, not just sleep around.

• Ever since the breakup, he's been trying to get her back by giving her free shoes. Like not even a discount anymore, just giving her any shoes she wants from his dad's store. He also briefly had issues with Kyle and even tried to fight him for supposedly "stealing his girl".

• Anyways back to Tolkien. He actually wants him, because Tolkien really cares about Clyde's issues and interests instead of just mocking him. He actually has a level of respect for Clyde and Clyde has not only respect for, but admiration for him. He's genuinely in awe of how collected and well-balanced Tolkien is in compared to literally everyone else he knows.

• Listens to Joey Valence and Brae, Beastie Boys, Eminem but specifically early 2000s Eminem (He screams along to "Kim" when he's alone).

• After being called fat for so long by his classmates (and them especially doubling down when Cartman was in the psych ward), Clyde took this pain and turned into a gym bro. He's actually in really good shape and has pretty good muscle definition. He slumped back into comfort eating in junior to senior year of high-school and some of his weight was gained back but he's not "fat" just a little bit chubby.

• Has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for most things. He's always excited to be doing something, especially with his friends. He's the main one who's always trying to get the others to get outside and do something fun.

• Got really into football as per his dad's advice so he could get more exercise and wasn't "bouncing off the walls" at home. He pours most if not all of his feelings into the game. It's like therapy to him and also why he didn't care for counseling. He already feels like he has it on the field.

• Drinks a LOT of energy drinks and 5-Hour Energy. He hates feeling slow, depressed or tired, he needs to be at 100% at all times. Once he's done crying over something, he'll literally force himself to drink a Redbull and play Usher to get over it.

• Says "no homo" any time he says or does anything remotely affectionate to another guy.

• Best friends with Tolkien, Cartman and Craig.

• Sleeps during class and drools on the desk.

• Ultimate third wheel to Tweek and Craig. He crashes almost all their dates until Craig shoves him away. He giggles like a schoolgirl when the two kiss and has a big ass yaoi poster of them. Tweek got really pissed at this and made him take it off his wall but he just keeps it in his drawer.

• Really, really, stubborn. When he has his mind set on something, he'll never fucking get over it and he will argue until he passes out. Then he wakes up, he'll start all over again.

• Clyde's dad had to work a lot more since his mom died, so he was alone at home mostly. He got through this because his older sister decided to start visiting home more. She moved out of South Park but she comes back every 2-3 weeks so Clyde won't be lonely. He really fucking misses his sister and gets incredibly excited when she comes back home. They became pretty close and she sort of filled that empty mom role for him.

• Sees Craig like a brother. He was his first friend and the first person to defend him in a fight. They bully each other a lot, and Craig is usually trying to keep him from doing something stupid. Or Clyde is playing dumbass pranks on him. (he filled his shoes with spray cheese once and received a black eye) Plus, they used to watch Red Racer together.

• Plays video games all the time. Mostly GTA and Call of Duty.

• Genuinely doesn't take Cartman seriously and thinks he's fucking hilarious. In his mind, nobody can unironically be that terrible, so he assumes everything Cartman says is just dark satire. Even when he's being racist, homophobic, antisemitic, etc.

• King of parties. Kenny started supplying him with alcohol and drugs and he had Tolkien let him use his house for throwing parties. He always gets super drunk and starts breakdancing and then falling on his face. He also suggested doing body shots and introduced that into the school, now everyone does it.

Ngl, I'm lowkey falling off with my hcs. Clyde has a lot of character that I need to unpack. When I'm finally free from work, I swear I'm doing a psychological analysis on all these guys.

If ur one of those guys who doesn't like my very popular portrayal of Clyde as a hyper emotional bisexual dudebro fuckboy im gonna tell u rn that I don't care :)

this is what came into my brain. deal with it. (and it definitely has nothing to do with the fact I was watching euphoria while thinking about clyde)

My perfect man Tolkien is up next 💜

Drink water and stay safe it's cold as hell <3

[overthinkthis]

Final thoughts on MMDIY

This is not going to be a review because I don't really do that kind of thing, but I do want to write about the point that I loved most about this show. I know it's not perfect but I will forgive a lot of wobbles in plot or editing when a show emotionally resonates with me or makes me feel seen in a way other shows don't. And the way queer struggles were portrayed in mmdiy definitely did that.

Neither Wan nor Kim are out as queer but it's like they're living in an open closet. It should be obvious to everyone (even themselves) that they love each other and yet, for the longest time they seem unable to make that last step and confess their love, even though they both desperately want to on some level.

We do get some explicit homophobia with regard to Wan's career but it very quickly becomes obvious that that isn't the actual problem. Wan is very well able to stand her ground when she is attacked directly, we see that with Jessie and with Marwin's family. She is ready to confess to Kim, plans to do so multiple times. Why is it so hard to make that last step?

I do not know what the creators of the show were trying to say, but what I feel when watching the show, is the impact of the invisible homophobia and misogyny woven into all of society. The kind that isn't openly hostile but consistenly equates happiness for women with straight marriage and queerness with being miserable. We can write essays about comphet, but to me, this show gives a good take on what it actually feels like to be pressed into this expectation (although, I should probably say that I come at this from the perspective of a trans guy, not a lesbian - I still think a lot of the feelings are similar).

I love the conversation between Wan and Kim and the end of ep 9, where Kim tells her that she is going to marry Marwin. She basically admits that she doesn't love him, but she is still going to marry him because her mother wants her to.

And we know her mum isn't really trying to control Kim or make her miserable - quite the opposite. All she wants is for Kim to be happy. She should probably know better - given how her own marriage ended - but the idea that marrying the 'perfect' guy is the pinnacle of female happiness is so ingrained in society that it's understandable why she still falls into this trap. I really like that they show how suffocating a parent only wanting what's 'best' for their child can be.

I love that this show made Marwin someone who looks like such a good catch. I mean, there were some red flags from the start, but at a time where Wan was more controlling and aggressive, he genuinely looked like the better option. Gentle, patient, rich (some people even commented that the show made them ship the straight couple). The kind of guy that would be endgame in every second cheesy het romcom.

The people around Kim can kind of feel that he isn't right for her (even Marwin on some level does) but they still all enable her terrible decision to marry him. Which is another aspect I like about the show: The conflict is only resolved when Wan and Kim choose each other.

Women are constantly discouraged from going for what they want, especially when it causes other people distress, but the show clearly says: They make this choice for themselves, even though it hurts people, and that is how they get their happy ending. Not by being perfect all the time, not by caring about everyone else's feelings, but by choosing what they want for themselves.

And yes, obvisouly the whole thing could have been resolved earlier with less people getting hurt. But in another sense it couldn't, because they weren't ready. It's easy to blame Kim and Wan for not being more honest earlier on, but we can't do so without acknowledging the silent (and sometimes very loud) pressure to conform to heteronormativity.

I know some people didn't like this show very much and I do hope you all get all the kinds of GLs you're longing for soon. But imo it shows important aspects of queer experiences that we don't see a lot. And I'm really glad it exists in the way it does.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Shamelessly spamming your inbox as well! Why do you think Kaz takes off his shirt in front of Inej? We know he likes to get a rise out of her (“something about the furrow between her brows was so satisfying”). Do you think he realizes he’s making her blush? Would you consider doing an analysis of your favorite parts of Kaz’s first POV in SOC and the CK bathroom scene? thank you so much!!

Hello and welcome to episode three of DK Finally Gets It Together And Answers Her Asks Because It's About Damn Time (working title)

Episode One - Episode Two

Hi, thanks so much for the ask and sorry that I've taken an eternity to get back to you, but yes absolutely let's talk!

Why does Kaz take his shirt off in front of Inej? The fact that Kaz takes his shirt off in front of Inej is kind of a strange one because it implies feeling a level of comfort around each other that neither of them are emotionally prepared to admit that they have - it's not that long ago (in fact I think it may have just been the previous chapter?) that Kaz told us "to say he trusted Inej would be stretching the point" and yet here he willingly removes his gloves and his shirt in front of her, a massive concession to his ability to be more vulnerable in front of Inej than he is anyone else. I think it's possible that, as you said, he enjoys getting a rise out of Inej however I aslo think this could be interpreted as yet another self-deprecating habit Kaz has collected around Inej to convince himself away from caring about her. I've talked a lot about the way his language separates them and famously the sarcastic delivery of "my darling Inej, treasure of my heart" to offend her even though the words represent, at least to some extent, his genuine feelings because he knows it will elicit a negative response (in this case pointedly referring to his cane and wishing him a long trip down the stairs before Inej herself slides down the bannister) and therefore he can somehow justify ignoring his feelings for Inej's because he had some kind of 'evidence' that she doesn't reciprocate. This is a damaging mentality to both of them, in Kaz with the evident self-deprecating qualities of the action and in Inej the belief that Kaz sees nothing in her except her monetary value to him (I believe the quote is something along the lines of "she was an investment no more no less" and is borne in Inej from the multiple times Kaz refers to her as such in his efforts to distance himself from her, unintentionally presently a massive and damaging misunderstanding of her trauma and the dehumanisation she went through - "bought her, and then sold her again and again"). the scene when Kaz removes his shirt in front of Inej is told from her perspective and we know she sees absolutely nothing beyond the practicalities of the moment as being any kind of vulnerability or romantically charged because she wonders what Kaz would think if she undresses and started washing herself in front of him, and comes to the conclusion "he'd probably tell me not to drip on the desk", and arguably this has a similar impact on her to the idea of being an "investment" rather than humanising terms because from her perspective he is acting exactly as he would if he were alone and with the way she's been treated and the kind of responses trauma and ptsd can cause in people this could to her feel like an extension of the dehumanisation tools that were used against her, effectively she may believe that he's willing to remove his gloves and shirt in front of her because he doesn't acknowledge himself as actually being watched by anyone - or at least not anyone of importance. Whilst this is obviously not Kaz's intention with the action I do wonder whether it's possible that it is to some extent another way of distancing himself from Inej. When Kaz removes his shirt Inej looks away from him, embarrassed, and pretends to study some of the papers on his desk. She comments that she had "lost most of her modesty at the Menagerie" but that there were still "limits". I think there's every chance that Kaz knows she will look away because she's uncomfortable with immodesty and the general vulnerability of the scene, as well as any relation she could reasonably find to her ptsd in this action, and that he is once again forcing himself to come up with this 'evidence' of her disinterest in him so he can bully himself into ignoring his feelings for her. I hope this made sense maybe it's just a rambling mess...

Also:

I have written an analysis of the CK bathroom scene so I will link that here

And when I was doing that series where I analysed my favourite quotes from each chapter I didn't get very far in because the posts took a long time to put together but I did cover chapter three (Kaz's first POV) split into a few different posts :)

Also, I'm back on my analysis nonsense right now so if y'all would like to see that series come back let me know, because I did have fun putting them together they were just also time consuming and I had a lot of other stuff to do at the time

Thanks so much for the ask! Sorry I took so long to respond, and the same to everyone else with questions in my inbox right now, but thanks for sending them in and thanks for reading this post - and don't let it put you off sending more asks if you'd like to! I am working my way through them, I promise :)

[all-pacas]

I feel so conflicted about Chase—I LOVE him as a character, don’t get me wrong—but to have him as a romantic partner must be so frustrating. He’s capable of being kind, devoted, loyal, but also…won’t hesitate to hurt you if it means guaranteeing his survival. Would rather you stay away if you feel like he’s being too much.

there are many reasons cam/chase was doomed from the start, lmao (there's also a reason, besides post divorce angst, chase basically stays single the rest of the series. he doesn't open up to people easily, at all. cameron was already his friend when they got together.)

like. don't get me wrong. in his day to day life, chase is probably just fine! we see he's capable of being patient and very caring, but also advocating for himself when cameron is too in her own head. it's just… when things go bad, he's going to jump to self protection disaster mode: if i need support, i will be abandoned, i need to prepare myself for that inevitability. i can absolutely see him pushing someone away because he's convinced they'll reject him and he has to act first.

the problem is, with cameron, her own traumatic responses are so similar in a lot of ways: she runs, sometimes literally. she quits her job. she moves to chicago. she takes control of the situation and her fears by trying to escape them. in her case i don't think it's a fear of rejection as much as a fear of loss (she's petrified of losing people). so, as we see: chase pushes cameron away because he's afraid, and she can't leave fast enough because she's afraid of loss/rejection too.

(i think the 'hack' to chase would be somehow convincing him you are, in fact, utterly loyal to him and not abandoning him. easier fucking said. it's why i cherish the sort-of canon chase-13 friendship, and the chase-park one at that: 13 knows all his darkest secrets and genuinely doesn't care, something chase has never had before; they genuinely can be -- and are -- very supportive of one another. and meanwhile park is much too stubborn to give up on being chase's friend, even though he rejects her 500 times. by the end, she's telling him they trust one another and he agrees. that's what he needs. just absolute stubborn bullheadness lmao.) (ironically, the terminally nosy and pushy cameron would, you'd think, also be pretty good at calling out chase's rejection bullshit and being super stubborn about it, but…)

the interesting part is that when the conflict is the other way around, they tend to do better: when cameron shuts down and tries to run, chase is historically very good at seeing through her bullshit and gently calling her out… although in saviors he absolutely does the 'i have to break up with her before she admits she hates me' thing, oops. on a day to day basis, with normal little relationship issues and couple's fights, they probably did well. but when things get hard, neither of them is at all equipped to deal with the other's issues, because they directly echo their own.

[blainehasregrets]

Some Wardrobe/Color Symbolism

are all these observations incredibly obvious and don’t even need to be stated? probably! did the show even care this much? …probably not!

Throughout season 1, Rachel and Quinn are constantly being presented as complete polar opposites of each other. But in Sectionals, after Rachel tells Finn the truth about Quinn and Puck, Rachel goes to talk to Quinn about it. She apologizes and says she understands if Quinn wants to hit her, but Quinn says Rachel just did what she was too scared to do. Despite the difference in everything about them, they’re both dressed in blue (which is a color I think glee tends to use to symbolize unity? Team work? A sense of sameness?) As of this moment, they’re on equal level now. Quinn even states a reason why out loud: “now neither of us have [Finn]”.

However, because Finchel is pushed so heavily throughout season 1, there’s never any doubt in our minds that Finn likes Rachel more lol. (I feel like the will they or won’t they have Finchel in season 1 is pretty weak because the pacing was just soo fast for them.) But, regardless of the Finn connection between them, Quinn and Rachel are the same deep down: just teenage girls. They can be selfish, and catty, but at the end of the day they’re both girls just trying their best. Quinn lied about Finn being the father out of fear and self preservation, even if it was selfish to do. Rachel told Finn about the lie because it was genuinely the right thing to do, but as well out of her own self interests and she herself admits this (“I wanted to break you two up”). It’s not about who’s right or wrong, in my opinion, obviously there’s a difference in weight in both their actions, but we can understand where both were coming from and I think this moment showed a new understanding between them.

Compared to their duet in Born This Way, where they’re represented by blue and red, and glee has a wholeee blue vs red theme they use often that I’ll get into one day (and usually the use of both is meant to show a character’s mind being at a halfway point between a decision). Even though they’re both feeling insecure, neither really understands the other’s POV yet, especially Rachel towards Quinn because in Rachel’s mind, Quinn is everything she’s not and she doesn’t get that Quinn can be just as insecure as she can. Even the distance between them where they sit in the choir room is greater.

In Mash-Up, Ken takes out his frustration towards Will on the members of the football team who are also in the glee club by scheduling conflicting practice. During this scene where Will goes to talk to him, they’re both wearing light and navy blue. Considering Ken usually wore single color (usually highlight bright) polos, so this I think this was deliberate for this reason:

They’re both teachers who ultimately want to put their students first. Despite the childishness of his actions before this, Ken still realizes how he can’t let his personal issues get in the way of his student’s happiness which is why he ends up moving practice so the football players can still attend glee after this.

And, maybe a lot less purposeful but something I got out of this season:

As for Will, while his clothes are more “professional”, and at this point of the show Emma idolizes him in a way that puts him in a different league from Ken, he’s no stranger to putting his own petty drama above the kids needs come season 2 (Britney/Brittany, Rocky Horror Glee Show) either. As much as Emma despises Ken and wants Will, Will’s going to end up breaking her trust by cheating on her in Hell-o, which will result in her losing her hero worship of him and seeing him as a person instead of an idealized version of him, which puts him back on the same level of Ken as “just some guy” and it’s not until season 2 does Emma start to see Will as an option again.

[froot-batty]

Hello! I am in love with your AU, it tickles my brain just right and I adore everything about it. So I just have a couple questions:

1. Why is Jervis so eepy all the time? Does she have narcolepsy? Is it a side effect of his brain damage? Or is she just like that?

2. So this Jon is aspec, right? Who does he love/care about, and how does he show his love and affection to him? (Also bonus: does Jon go by "it" exclusively when Scarecrow?)

Thank you!!!! And have a lovely day ^^

Thank you very much !! I'm always glad to know my AU is infecting people like a little brain parasite

Jervis is permanently eepy mostly because of the brain damage, yeah! She liked to sleep before the bump to the head (it was a kind of coping mechanism - to sleep through her problems - and it has been ever since she was a kid), but it only got worse as a result of that

One of the symptoms he experiences is a whole ton of fatigue. Chronic migraines paired with muscle weakness make a lot of activities physically exhausting for him, so sleep is one of the ways he recharges or escapes from particularly painful days

Also, sometimes it's just a good excuse to cuddle up with your friends :]

---

Jon is both Demiromantic and Demisexual :]. As of right now he doesn't have a partner, and he's quite content with that, but he's got lots of people he loves - even if his emotionally stunted ass won't admit it

His closest friends are Ed, Jervis as of right now, and Waylon! He also has a soft spot for Harley, as they were former coworkers! How he shows his affection differs depending on the person:

With Ed, they're both really emotionally distant guys, and neither of them seek physical touch (with Ed disliking it), so he's all about actions with them. Busting them out of Arkham, reluctantly answering riddles or testing out their puzzles, things like that. Ed is much the same way. They are a very snarky pair of guys.

Jervis' main love language is obviously physical touch, so the easiest way for Jon to show his affection is by letting Jervis cuddle up with him or hold his hand. He also will NEVER admit it, but he worries about her physical condition. When she gets tired, he'll let her sit on his shoulders (He also does tend to consider Jervis weak and in need of protection, and often underestimates him)

Waylon and him are SOUTHERN BUDS. Jon likes being around Waylon because he's just a genuinely nice guy. They have nice chats and look out/do favors for each other! Another example of Jon's love language being "busting your pals out of an insane asylum" though

When he worked with Harley, he thought of her as an overconfident, naïve, but well-meaning little sister. They're still friendly after Harley turned over to the dark side, but there's a part of Jon that resents how the Joker stole that glimmer of real promise that Harley had. Jon shows his affection for her by not injecting that annoying clown with a lethal dose of fear toxin

And to answer your bonus, yes! It came from the news articles written about the Scarecrow when Jon first started out, which used it/its for it because nobody really knew what the Scarecrow was. Jon liked it so much he adopted it into the Scarecrow persona (he probably wouldn't mind being called it/its in his normal life, but he ain't opening that can of worms, no sir)

Thank you for your questions !! I hope this satisfied >;}

[snowyslytherinowl]

My Views on Coriolanus Snow and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

This is a Harry Potter blog, but not even Harry Potter can capture my mind and soul like the Hunger Games can. I’ve read TBOSAS three times and I have some opinions to share. My conclusions will be based on the book since I didn’t particularly like the movie. 

Note: I haven’t read the book in about 2 months so I apologize if anything I say is blatantly incorrect. I don’t mind if anyone disputes what I say, but please be respectful. 

And of course, SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!

Point 1: Coriolanus cared for Lucy Gray in his own weird way, but he never loved her

After reading the book for the second time, I thought that Coriolanus never loved Lucy Gray and that he was only ever using her. After reading it for the third time, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he was only ever using her. I think that he genuinely cared for her before and during the 10th Hunger Games. For example, he felt disturbed at how she had nothing to eat and didn’t talk about what happened to Clemensia since she had bigger problems than he did. Also, Coriolanus kissing Lucy Gray in public during their final goodbye before the Games was one of the only moments where he broke from his true character (and this missing scene from the movie is one reason why I didn’t particularly like it). Coriolanus’s number 1 priority was maintaining his public image, so the fact that he kissed a District girl in public was a big deal. 

However, I don’t think he truly loved her since he viewed her as a possession. Coriolanus admitted to having an obsessive nature, which extended to him being obsessed with her. The first huge red flag in his relationship with Lucy Gray was when he gave her a matching rose before the interviews as a “reminder of who Lucy Gray belonged to.” Throughout the novel and especially after the Games, Coriolanus continually refers to Lucy Gray as “his girl.” He was also perpetually jealous of Billy Taupe even though she assured him time and time again that she loved only him. The most profound statement that proves his possessive nature towards her is when he thinks, “In some ways, it had been better to have her locked up in the Capitol, where he always had a general idea of what she was doing.” 

Coriolanus was someone who valued stability and control, while Lucy Gray was fiercely individualistic. So please stop thinking that it could’ve ever worked out between the two of them. 

Point 2: Lucy Gray is not a pick me girl

At least for the first few months after the book came out, people were claiming that Lucy Gray was what we would consider a pick me girl. The first time I read the book, even I thought that she gave off the vibe of not being like other girls. Lucy Gray emphasizes that she and the Covey were neither District nor Capitol; they’re just the Covey. But after reading the book for the second time, I realized that she only held this view because she was proud of who she was. At the same time, she didn’t think that being Covey made her any better or that District people were worse than her. She also said, “People aren’t so bad, really. It’s what the world does to them.”

I think that the “not like other District people” view originated from Coriolanus. From the beginning, Coriolanus viewed people from the Districts as brutish and subhuman. He used Lucy Gray’s identity as Covey as an argument that she wasn’t like the subhuman District people; she was special and one could even argue that she was even Capitol. It was unfortunate that she and the Covey were rounded up into District 12. I think he developed this idea as both a way to gain sympathy from Capitol viewers and to convince himself that he wasn’t in love with a “worthless” girl. He also would’ve disagreed with Lucy Gray’s quote since he viewed only District people as truly bad to the core. 

Point 3: Lucy Gray survived 

I don’t think we will ever get an answer as to what happened to Lucy Gray. I think her fate is supposed to remain a mystery, just like Wordsworth’s Lucy Gray’s fate remained a mystery. Nonetheless, I personally believe that she survived. 

Coriolanus hated the mockingjays because they were abominations that resulted from the breeding of high-tech Capitol jabberjays and the local District mockingbirds. And who is similar to the mockingjays? Lucy Gray. She was a songbird who wanted to be free and never wanted to be controlled, while Coriolanus wanted to control everything. Just like the mockingjays came to be and flourished in District 12, Lucy Gray also survived. She was a clever bird who survived the Hunger Games and tricked Coriolanus. 

I know that my opinion is based all on symbolism, but many aspects of Suzanne Collins’s writing are symbolic. 

Point 4: Coriolanus never cared for Sejanus

First of all, let me say that the movie did Sejanus DIRTY. They portrayed him as a pain in the ass (he was that in the book, but he was so much more as well) and I even saw some people saying that he deserved what he got. No one says that to my Sejanus. 

Anyway, back to the point: Coriolanus always viewed Sejanus as the bane of his existence. Sejanus was going to steal Coriolanus’s fortune and he always stole Coriolanus’s spotlight. Coriolanus thought that Sejanus brought the tributes food to take the attention away from him; not for one moment did he think that it was because Sejanus had a heart of gold. He viewed Sejanus’s attachment to District 2 as stupid since he should’ve felt lucky to have a comfortable life in the Capitol. 

Yes, Coriolanus jumped off his bunk and threw his arms around Sejanus when he arrived in District 12. But it was not because he was genuinely happy to see Sejanus; he was happy to see Sejanus because he reminded him of home. After their first conversation in District 12 was over, Coriolanus admitted that the news that the Capitol didn’t hate him was what brought him back to life. And while they were “friends” during their time as Peacekeepers, Coriolanus felt like he always had to get Sejanus out of trouble. Coriolanus was constantly watching over Sejanus to ensure he wasn’t communicating with the rebels and he was trying to convince Sejanus not to do anything extreme. This feeling got so bad that he wanted Sejanus out of his life.

One thing I will say is that I don’t think that Coriolanus wanted Sejanus dead, per se. When he recorded Sejanus’s plans using the jabberjay, Coriolanus thought that Strabo would donate tons of money and have Sejanus removed from District 12; he didn’t think he would be killed. I think Coriolanus felt slightly guilty for essentially putting the noose around Sejanus’s neck, but he also thought he was doing Sejanus a favor. He had saved Sejanus from dying multiple times before that, so it was only a matter of time before Sejanus died. So no, Anus^2/Snowjanus wouldn’t have worked out either.

Point 5: Coriolanus wasn’t completely evil from the beginning

I’ve seen people saying that Coriolanus was always evil or that he wasn’t even evil in TBOSAS. My viewpoint is in the middle between these two opinions. I think Coriolanus had messed up thinking from the very first chapter, but he wasn’t evil. He did have some morals, like genuinely caring for Lucy Gray’s well-being and feeling guilty over Clemensia’s snake bites. I don’t think he actually wanted to kill Sejanus or attempt to kill Lucy Gray, but he would kill anyone if it meant he would make it out alive and unharmed. I think Coriolanus would’ve eventually turned evil as he grew older even if the 10th Hunger Games had never taken place. However, I think that Dr. Gaul sending him to District 12 accelerated his path to becoming evil. By the end of the book, Coriolanus had devolved into the primal state resembling humans living without a social contract. 

Point 6: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes isn’t a romance

Point 5 brings me to this point: TBOSAS is a piece on human nature and political control. There is romance and I will admit that I giggled and kicked my feet as I saw Coriolanus kissing Lucy Gray like a starving man (this was despite me already knowing everything that would happen). The main actions of TBOSAS actually revolve around Dr. Gaul’s points on chaos, contract, and control (which originated from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes). Without a government and without a social contract, people are primal creatures and will kill at a whim. The only way to civilize people is to place them under a social contract, and thus there must be a strong government to enforce this contract and control the people. Coriolanus took Dr. Gaul’s lesson to heart and genuinely believed that only the Capitol could hold Panem together. Throughout the book, Coriolanus starts from a person with questionable thoughts to a person with no morals whatsoever. The downward spiral of his moral compass truly begins when he arrives in District 12, but he loses all morals once he leaves for the woods with Lucy Gray and abandons civilization. Therefore, Coriolanus fell victim to Dr. Gaul’s thesis. 

GIF Credits

Intro: @aemondtagaryen

Point 1: @xthecaptainssaviorx

Point 2: @myrcella-lannister

Point 3: @kvtnisseverdeen

Point 4: @clemensiadovecotes

Point 5: @fyeahvillains

Point 6: @xthecaptainssaviorx

[ur-local-cryptid-0]

HEY LILLY! Sorry for the ask out of nowhere! I’m in a real soft and fuzzy mood and that means I’ve come to poke you for more Alida lore! How did her and Walter’s relationship progress? What is her relationships with the others in Hellsing?

Thanks for the poke xdd!

My girl Alida definietly gets along with all kinds of people, but there aren't many she fully trusts! She's open for chit-chat, a coffee together, a shared stroll around the manor's yard. She enjoys the company of others, since her lonely years really did a number on her. But 90% of the time you can only see a pleasant persona she puts up, who will not answer any personal questions. Her goofy nature is genuine, though.

Her relationships with the people at Hellsing are surprisingly positive, considering how much trouble she gets herself into sometimes, with her out-of-place jokes and kleptomaniac tendencies.

She never stole anything from her coworkers, but because of her little "trips" to antique shops and jewelers, she gets scolded on a regular basis by Integra. Alida's luck is that she does her job well and is otherwise pretty well-mannered. She respects her master, and the country she now serves.

She loves chatting with Seras anytime they run into eachother. She reminds her of her younger self in a way. Therefore Seras is also subjected to the maid's jewelry gifting tendencies. Later on Alida even teaches her how to make such jewelry. They are having a great time over all.

Alucard is the one she's a teeny bit scared of actually. She can't quite grasp why but he gives her the chills. This doesn't stop her from talking with him, but she's definietly more careful with her jokes. She'd like to stay on everybody's good side, especially his. And yes, he also gets gifts (which are more like peace offerings).

Now for the old man. I plan to write about their whole getting together in my spicy fic (which I have to keep rewriting cause I'm not satisfied with it ough), but here it is in a nutcase. Walter's task was to keep Alida under survailance, since they couldn't fully trust her at first, just showing up and offering her services. He did the survailing with more or less success. She's just too damn good at stealing shit. He would accompany her on cleanup missions (this is a bit canon divergent, but I'd love for him to fight more!), check on her in her freetime and just generally stay alert. But Alida is not dumb. She knew exactly why Walter was always around her, and she understood. She just decided to act oblivious. And after a while, Walter's visits to her room became more frequent and he would willingly go on missions with her. He got captivated by her and she got captivated by him, but neither of them would admit it. They both knew deep down. Until on day it just became so obvious and unbearable that they finally confessed. There is like soo much more to this but that's for the fic. :3

[tayfabe75]

It is clear that most of the songs were written before May 2023, but I am sure that after too. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived was obviously written after, so what's your take on it? This is the angriest she's ever been. Where does this lead us?

Anon, I'll preface this by admitting that I don't think any songs on TTPD are reflective of the past year (though, they have been cleverly disguised to appear as though they're about current events) - I personally believe they are songs about things from Taylor and Matty's past that she dared not share until now for a couple reasons: 1) They wanted to keep their relationship secret 2) She wouldn't dare "out" Matty for his drug use (it was not yet hers to share)

Meaning, I don't believe Taylor would make such direct references to drug use without Matty's blessing.

Now, I get that almost the entire internet would disagree with me on this, I'm well aware that fans are out there right now giving their "diagnoses" about how "unhinged" and "manic" Taylor is on this album…

I vehemently disagree.

I've been studying the woman the past year and I'm continually impressed by her character. Sure, she's aware she's on camera and knows how to turn on the charm. But too much consistent wisdom comes out of her mouth in a way that never falters and isn't easily fabricated or replicated. Also, I don't think that a lot of the public perception of her matches up with how she actually comports herself. For instance, I often hear that she's a "petty queen" for writing about her exes, yet she rarely ever confirms any of them as muses, herself - yet somehow, the fans run wild with speculation and parrot it back like it's written in stone when the actual foundation of some of these myths consists of one or two paparazzi photos. It has been one of the most fascinating aspects of studying this "story".

Of course, I do my fair share of speculating, too… however, I mostly do this based on their discographies or statements made in interviews, things they've actually said or written, etc, rather than fan lore.

Let me just lastly say that the collective take from the "tayfabe" crowd is that TSMWEL is about Kanye, Scott Borchetta, or Scooter.

But… as the resident clown of the group, the one thing I can offer you is maybe a different perspective, which is what you must want if you came here at all, right??

TSMWEL, in my opinion, has romantic undertones ("our bed", "it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden", "you'll slide into inboxes") that I doubt she would use for someone like Scott Borchetta. Aside from references to substance use, there's being "gone by the morning", themes we see in songs like 'Cardigan' and 'Question…?' and even in the music video for 'Me' by The 1975, and a reference to a car crash, something else that pops up thematically on The 1975's debut album - most of which seemed to also be reflective of an earlier time (and, lines like "slide into inboxes" and "hung me on your wall, stabbed me with your push pins" seem only to bolster my suspicion that this song likely predates even 2014...)

"Where does this lead us?"

I guess that depends on your perception! Do you believe a person is able to repair or maintain a meaningful relationship with someone who once wronged them? Can someone write a heartfelt song about a betrayal that they've forgiven and moved past? Or must it always be perceived as "petty"? Can a song like this be purely reflective, or must it be fresh, scathing, or indicative of current feelings? We can safely extrapolate Matty didn't leave Taylor because he didn't care - he seems to have genuinely thought she was better off without him. If someone did that to you, would you maybe understand how anxiety lies to people and... ultimately forgive them? (As someone with a similar "cyclonic" anxiety... I'm genuinely curious!)

I personally believe that TTPD, like all of Taylor's albums, tells a story. Taylor does not sugar-coat things, and neither does Matty. And they're so beloved because they are willing to share their most vulnerable thoughts and feelings, right? If, indeed, TSMWEL is about our boy, well, I'm sure Matty also understands that "the good and bad end up in the song".

Now, read this quote again, but without all that pesky catastrophizing everyone seems to love doing:

"This period of the author's life is now over."

If, truly, this is a reflective album about the past (say, 2014), then maybe it means she wanted to document this period as part of her self-mythologizing confessional songwriting repertoire, but no longer dwells in the pain of it. It's probably just me, but as a fellow woman in her thirties, I just don't buy Taylor processing trauma this way! So publicly, I mean. She learned her lesson in 2016. And this album seems to be more about teaching lessons, herself, now…

But truly, your guess is as good as mine, anon. Thanks for the ask!

[samwiseism]

Rocket for the ask game, please!

1. favorite thing about them

how he genuinely is quite sensitive to the needs of his friends - he’s hell when dealing with strangers, and maybe isn’t the best at reading the room, but he DOES care. he’ll be kicking and screaming about it and denying it but if something is not right he’s not one to sit by and ignore the problem

2. least favorite thing about them

it probably ties into the first thing in that just cause he recognises a problem it doesn’t mean he knows the right way to go about fixing it. try telling him that though. i’ve noticed a lot over the years (and obviously different writers too so this is all subjective) that rocket’s version of arguing back tends to hinge on being louder than the other person and getting the last word. he needs to learn to shut the fuck up sometimes (affectionate). (wouldn’t be him if he wasn’t like this though! it shouldn’t change!)

that being said, kind of a tangent, I dislike it when some writers choose rocket arguing back as just him being an asshole. i haven’t played the telltale game in a long time, but i seem to remember their rocket falling into this trap. sometimes he would be contrary just cause…. the writers called for it i guess? so he came across as a dick for no reason. eidos rocket meanwhile was kind of a dick but always a dick who was trying to make a point and had legitimate quibbles. for his two page appearance in star-lord grounded rocket also blew up at peter - but had objectively good reasons to! and was willing to listen when pete met him on his level.

so long story short - he’ll snark back, might blow his top a bit but in his mind he always has his reasons and when you look at them they’re mostly legit from his perspective.

a lot of writers unfortunately just make him angry for no reason and it’s really, really, REALLY annoying /rantover

3. favorite line

rocket probably makes me laugh the most out of any character he has so many ridiculous lines there’s too many to count. “that’s how we do things in the raccooniverse”lmfao. that being said I’ve always liked the dialogue between him and Pete at the end of vol. 2. Rocket’s hardly an optimist but it kind of ties into my answer for 1. He knows Peter is beating himself up and when Peter tentatively reaches out, Rocket knows what he needs to hear. Hell, Rocket himself probably also needs to tell himself but they did good!

Peter: This guarding the galaxy thing sure comes at a price.

Rocket: You knew that when you put this team together, Pete.

Peter: Yeah… but Adam? Phyla? The cosmos will be a poorer place without them.

Rocket: What about Mantis? The Major? Gamora? God help me, even that damn dog. We thought they were dead. Life and death. The trick is to keep the books balanced.

4. brOTP

groot obviously. Pete.

5. OTP

none

6. nOTP

none

7. random headcanon

he and gamora are actually closer than you’d suspect - he quite often will help her deal with her implants if they’re becoming painful, or even take out ones she doesn’t need anymore. raccoons having weirdly small human hands comes in handy (ha!) for that. she’s surprised at first - he’s more capable of serious conversation than she initially thought - they have way more in common than both of them originally thought. he knows all too well how painful it is when your implants start bugging out, but he didn’t expect one of the most famous assassins in the universe, who should by all means have the best, to be almost as cobbled together as him.

it’s sad, though neither would admit that, but it makes the two of them feel less alone.

8. unpopular opinion

i feel like a lot of this is just wider MCU fandomy stuff that i’m not part of but, like i said, generally rocket ISN’T just an asshole for no reason.

9. song I associate with him

Mr Roboto by Styx

10. favorite picture of them

I wish i had a screencap of that selfie that he took of him and the team that’s in pete’s room in the eidos gotg game because it’s too cute. that one.