#she makes a comment like

[softquietsteadylove]

Could you do little thing in the Actors AU where Sprite and her salad have had enough… but there is an actual salad involved

Why did she agree to this lunch, Sprite had to wonder.

Oh, because she wanted to see their cousin Sersi, of course. She was in town for discussions of a few possible upcoming projects she was considering. And she wanted the chance to get together with Sprite and Thena.

And somehow Gil ended up coming too.

Of course, he had tried to insist politely that he didn't want to interrupt their time visiting with their cousin as a stranger. But he and Thena had made quite a habit of having lunch together.

Ultimately, it was Sersi who insisted that he join them.

"You should'a seen her," Gil chuckled, nudging Thena next to him as he cut his steak. "Really told him off for it."

"I did not," Thena shook her head with a smile, picking a piece of chicken out of her salad much more discreetly.

"Okay, you didn't curse him out or anything," Gil conceded quickly, "but for you to snap at anyone during an interview is pretty rare."

Except in instances that involved Gil, Sprite kept to herself. She had the same salad Thena had, while Sersi had opted for one with mandarin in it. She looked at her cousin, who gave her a wink.

Sersi had heard all about Thena's chemistry with her co-star--had seen for herself, in a few of their interviews together. And having further evidence from Sprite as a witness was more than enough to have her interest piqued.

"I think he's allowed a few too many liberties because he's young," Thena murmured, flicking another crouton from her salad cleanly onto Gil's plate.

Gil happily snapped up the crouton and popped it into his mouth. "I think he's just jealous I got to sit next to you."

"Yes, jealous," Sersi mused aloud, making the other actors' heads snap over to her. She smiled at her cousin with a certain glint in her eye. "I daresay you're onto something, Gil."

Gil swiped at his mouth with his napkin, "what was it like working with him on that thriller?"

"Admittedly, I didn't actually have many scenes with him, so our schedules were quite separated from one another," Sersi set down her fork, also dabbing at her lips. "Although when we did work together, he usually just asked me about you."

"Me?" Thena asked, while Gil just rolled his eyes (as did Sprite).

"Yes of course you, Thena," Sersi voiced what Sprite was thinking, although with a pleasant smile to go along with it. "He found out somewhere that we're related and made it his mission to make it quite known to me how much he fancies you."

"Fancy makes it sound kinda nice," Gil scoffed aloud at the subject, sharply contrasting how pleasant he had been acting with Eros in their interview together not long ago. "I think the punk just has a crush on her and doesn't know how to stay in his lane."

"Yeah!" Sprite put in, raising her hand for a high five, which Gil delivered with a firm but appropriate amount of strength put into it.

"Gil, don't encourage her," Thena gave him a look, tucking back her hair to take one of the last few bites of her lunch.

"I don't need encouragement."

"No, you certainly don't," Thena glared at her sister, who grinned back at her with all the menace she had to offer. Thena sighed, setting down her fork. "That was quite nice."

"Liked it?" Gil smiled at her eagerly. She nodded and he turned in his seat, "I discovered this place when I first got to LA. The owner was all excited, asked for my picture and everything."

Indeed, there was a picture of the owner and Gilgamesh shaking hands behind the front counter.

"I thought it was kinda silly," Gil admitted sheepishly, "since I'm sure there are big celebrities in here all the time."

"You are a big celebrity," Thena laughed in a velvety tone, nudging his arm with the heel of her palm. "And perhaps he's a fan of your action work."

"Either way, it's always nice and quiet whenever I've been in-"

Thena's eyes caught Gil's hand drifting to the inside pocket of his blazer, "don't even think about it."

"Thena-"

"No," she pulled her napkin off her lap and tossed it over her plate, "I'm paying."

"Really, it was nice of you to invite me," Gil argued, leaning forward in his chair as he tried to convince her of his position, "and I know the owner--it just makes sense."

"I'm paying," she corrected, leaning even closer with a smirk, "for my cousin, and my sister, and my co-star."

"You know, some guys find it emasculating to be paid for."

"You're not that insecure."

"No, but still!"

Sprite looked at Sersi, who was just letting this happen--right in front of their salads! They were going on and on, and getting closer and closer. And as much as she wanted her sister to actually deal with her feelings and maybe have a real conversation about them, that didn't mean she wanted to see them flirting like this in front of her. And she swore to all that was holy, if she ever had to see them have some big, passionate make-out in front of her-

"Thena, really," Gil laughed, but Thena was physically trying to pull his wallet out of his hand, tugging at the lapel of his jacket as he stretched it out behind him and out of her reach.

"Oh my god, both of you!" Sprite burst, shaking her head at the gross idiots and their cutesy play-fighting. "Go up and split it or whatever, just stop doing whatever this is."

"Sprite!" Thena hissed at her, although her hands did release Gilgamesh and snap back to her lap, prim and proper. She had plenty more to say but as soon as she let go of him, Gil shot up out of his seat to rush to the counter. "No!"

Sprite shook her head as the two continued to wrestle with each other jokingly all the way to the front register. She poked at her salad, having eaten all her chicken and bacon bits and croutons and now left with the 'salad' part. "Unbelievable."

"Aren't they always like this?" Sersi asked with a grin as she offered Sprite half the chicken from her plate, "in your own words?"

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, happily accepting Sersi's offering to her. "But, I dunno, maybe it's less embarrassing when we're all hanging out at Gil's and not in public."

Sersi simply smiled, though, watching as her cousin laughed with the man beside her. He even wrapped an arm around her, picking her up off the ground so he could state that he would be paying the bill for them all.

Sersi had left her card with the host as soon as they had arrived to pay, of course. But neither Thena nor Gilgamesh had noticed because they were too busy flirting for all the world to see.

[notherpuppet]

Alastor pulls the “we’re not so different; you and I” card 🤪

Don’t fall for it Vaggie!!!!

[leisi-lilacdreams]

[inkskinned]

we were sitting on the floor and i was cutting out tiny pictures to make a collage for a friend's birthday. you were on your phone and you laughed about something, and i was still in love with you then, so i asked what had you giggling.

"sorry. i was just..." you took a moment and went back to texting. "i was telling someone about how you're afraid of the dark."

i'm afraid of the dark because something bad happened. "oh." i felt a little slinky of shame crawl down my throat.

you glanced up, and maybe it showed on my face, because you rolled your eyes and held the phone to the side casually so i could see the group chat. "what? was it a secret?"

i looked down to the scissors in my hand. "i just..." no, it's not a secret. it just felt like something private, something serious. saying why would you tell someone that just feels like an accusation. it's unfair. i honestly am not even ashamed of it, it's just a fact about my person that i don't usually share.

what a strange experience. is this a human thing or a generational thing? for our grandparents: did they need to worry about how quickly someone can just... share your personal information? again, i didn't even really have a true objection. what could i say? i want any person in my life to feel they can be honest with their friends. it's not like i said don't tell anyone this.

i cut out another letter to complete the rainbow happy birthday, started hunting for the exclamation mark. i heard you sigh dramatically.

"don't make a big deal about this," you said.

this entire conversation was a pattern for us, and this was when we got to my least favorite part of the pattern. i would get my feelings hurt in some oblique not-technically-terrible way, and then it would be making a big deal about something. you'd get frustrated for me for being soft, but i was born soft. you knew i was soft when you pierced me. it's one of the things that made controlling me so easy.

"i'm not," i felt my voice crack. the question came without my wanting. "why are you guys talking about me?" and why are you saying that thing? why not like - i'm telling them how you're generous and kind and pretty.

you let out this low, tragic groan. "oh my god." you tossed the phone away from your body. "there, see? i just won't talk to them if you don't like it."

the rest of the hour went the way it always went, between us: i said i don't actually mind if you talk to your friends but -, you found a way to call my minor expression of discomfort "being dramatic." you got upset that i had been offended. i ended up apologizing, even though i hadn't actually done anything.

afterwards, you picked up the phone again. after texting for a little bit, you snorted. "okay," you said, "but it is kind of funny you're afraid of the dark. i mean, when you think about it."

[daftpatience]

please everyone see my cute wife In the bridget cosplay she made!!!!! she even made the yoyo!!!!

[somnimagus]

My page for @sheikahzine; about Impaz's duty to her village, empty of people and full of memories.

[id in alt text]

[kabukiaku]

GHULEH / ZOMBIE QUEEN. 🧟‍♀️

tribute to one of my favorite tracks from Infestissunam. (let's be honest, every single track on that album goes so hard.) I love this album so much.

bonus silly doodle:

[durge-marzio]

Ohhh, I'm rereading Mystra's entry in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide... and this detail:

This means Gale was punished for trying to restore and preserve what he thought was a lost piece of Mystra's magic. Gale being Mystra's ex-lover put aside. He as her follower, she his goddess, was punished for attempting to do the one foundational rule of her faith.

I'm seething and so sad at the same time.

Edit: I used the word punish loosely, as in, toxic/abusive people will take any small mistake or action and twist it into something they can take advantage of. This post was also largely from the stand point of a toxic deity rather than a toxic partner, but both takes are valid here. Especially with the, “you didn’t stay compliant so now I’m giving you the silent treatment” part of it—from a god and a partner perspective.

[ominous-horse-noises]

anyway i want to reiterate that i hope the rat grinders are tpk'd, revived and uncorrupted solely bc i want them to have to spend senior year together. 'redeemed' doesnt necessarily mean friendly with the bad kids and honestly? its so much funnier if they continue being bitchy to each other but without the trying to end the world stuff. they've built plenty of positive relationships w/ former villains now it's time for the next stage: uneasy alliance buzzing with the tension of both sides trying to hold back the urge to clown on each other

introducing, fantasy high senior year: the group project

[lilidawnonthemoon]

[clownowo]

I think that if Miles Edgeworth were to ever have a Tumblr blog it would be entirely Steel Samurai based with a carefully organized tagging system. He posts lengthy formally worded analysis about Steel Samurai and nothing else. He doesn't check his notes. He does check his asks, because they're kind of like emails. He has anon asks and dms turned off. Someone sends an ask about his interests outside of Steel Samurai and he immediately blocks them. He doesn't have pronouns or a name to be called by in his bio. The only hint about Edgeworth's personal life is that when he refers to the death of Jack Hammer or the conviction of Matt Engarde he only refers to Phoenix as "that man".

Maya definitely has a tumblr and it has a canon Pink Princess url. She actually hoarded a bunch of Pink Princess urls long before the character was officially announced because she knew she needed to have them. Her tumblr header is "the real pink princess ask sal manella". Her pinned post has these

[ID: Two blinkie banners. The first has a lesbian flag background and says "Pink Princess is canonically gay." The second is light pink and says "PinkSteel shippers dni". End ID] (thank you @princess-of-purple-prose)

Maya follows him and sends Edgeworth asks periodically. He thinks she's a wonderful conversationalist. He has no idea of her identity. Maya is fully aware he's Edgeworth.

[tending-the-hearth]

thinking about how canonically the pevensie siblings are 13, 12, 10, and 8 in "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe"

thinking about how lucy needed a stool to be able to get up onto her throne, how peter's sword is a little too large for him, how susan's bow is a little too difficult for her to pull back, how edmund's shield nearly covers his entire body.

thinking about the pevensie siblings and their first few months in narnia, getting to know their new people, and half the narnians sitting there horrified because WHAT have these literal babies been through to give them such traumatized, old eyes, and the other half of the narnians are preparing to adopt them, no it doesn't matter that they're the rules, they're children who are being put in charge of too many things, and if peter looks at the old man council long enough he's going to cry, so someone needs to give him paternal support while aslan is off doing Lion Jesus Stuff™️ and whoops oreius is being nice and encouraging and now he's adopted his kings and queens they're his kids now he doesn't make the rules.

just the narnians and the pevensies being thrown into it together, and just as the pevensies will do anything to protect their new kingdom, the narnians will do anything to protect their rules, because let's be honest, these children have no sense of self-preservation, and are far too overprotective of each other and their people to take into account their own safety, so a lot of battles it's just one of the pevensie siblings running headfirst into danger with oreius running after them because his kids are feral and don't know proper royalty manners and won't threatening old kings from different countries because they're being assholes and the last time one of them tried undermining the queens susan called him a self-righteous asshole and lucy tried to stab him SOMEONE help him corral his children please

[dykedvonte]

I just realized some people are confused about events in the alluded to past in Mouthwashing, particularly about how long the crew has been working together.

The only person who is truly new is Daisuke and it’s why his dynamic with the crew and role in the story is very unique and somewhat distant. Curly didn’t just get Jimmy this job on the Tulpar, he got him the job with the Pony Express. He’s been his copilot for probably a couple of years but still not as long as they’ve been friends. None of them are new with the freight industry, Anya and Swansea especially have been doing this for years, together.

Jimmy is the newest on the regular crew, maybe just a few assignments, but it’s not his first time working with them. I think it’s just something important because this isn’t just one bad mistake that snowballed with giving Jimmy the job. None of them thought Jimmy would do anything, no matter how off-put by him they could’ve been, since he hadn’t done a thing since being there. Generally unpleasantness isn’t a crime and he’d be aware of that.

It was a festering thing and a sort of forced trust they had to give him that he knowingly took advantage of. He was the black sheep and still a wolf under the wool. He expected when he lashed out, that he had been there long enough for it to be looked over completely. Got too comfortable in the space he inserted into and did a lot of damage with his claws when he felt he was going to get shaken out.

[beresaad]

there's nothing like rubbing your horns together in sappy displays of affection with your wife

[bonefall]

what's your opinion on moonkitti's video?

It's a good video and an excellent analysis for anyone who prefers to get their essays as videos over text.

Though I do have to mention, she did miss a couple of things. I don't blame her at ALL though, like she said, discussing Bumble is a rabbithole and you will find yourself tackling several chronic problems whenever you try to explain exactly how fucked up the entire situation is. Nevertheless, discussing Bumble is my specialty so I have to point out;

Moonkitti makes the mistake of accepting Clear Sky's premise that the territory he kills Bumble on is his. It is not.

Bumble was actually not trespassing-- Clear Sky slaughtered Misty because he is expanding his borders and wanted to steal her land.

The parcel Bumble was standing on is, in Clear Sky's own words, "This NEW part of MY territory."

As a result, I think Moon missed another chronic issue present in the DOTC narrative; Colonialism.

Also-- I know Moon is trying not to swing TOO hard at Gray Wing because his fans are downright bloodthirsty (and I'm sure she is reluctant to go through Bramblestan Harassment 2), but, as a result...

She kinda glosses over the fact that Gray Wing's turn on Bumble does make sense if you read it like he's doing it because he HATES the idea of his object of affection having friends who are not him.

In other words-- Gray Wing is controlling. Xenophobia against Bumble didn't "come from nowhere." It came up because he is toxic and it is a good self-justification for his feelings.

She also quickly summarizes a lot of the Tom the Wifebeater stuff... and ends up implying that Tom just found the kittens all on his own, when Gray Wing actually told him where to find the children.

This was technically an "accident" because Gray Wing is both cruel AND stupid.

I hate him so much Gray Wing SUCKSSSS

But again, I can't blame her for it because clearly she wasn't trying to get into the utterly shambolic mess that is the "Tom the Wifebeater Sleeper Genes" subplot.

yknow. The subplot where the kids decide the man who raised them isnt their real dad because the wifebeater boinked their mom before he started beating her and eventually got her killed.

dotc is a wonferful arc adn the best in the whole sries. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

That all said! Moonkitti didn't miss. She thoroughly gutted Clear Sky's lie and covers most of what's especially rancid about Bumble's treatment. I especially love the sentiment she had in pointing out, "Bumble hated no one; and everyone hated her."

It's a great video, she's been working on it for weeks and it shows. This is yet another victory for the BUMBLE BATTALION. Soon we will invade England and take Harper Collins by force

[branwinged]

so, someone called cersei a white feminist on one of my posts (not putting them on blast, don't seek them out), and i feel compelled to point out that contemporary comparisons like this don't always work well.

westeros is a pseudo medieval world with no history of a feminist movement and where all women are systemically barred from possessing political authority in their own right. power is derived from their male relations, specifically fathers and husbands. see, the way catelyn has to rally the men in her father's name when she tries to arrest tyrion in agot. in such a world, when characters like cersei and rhaenyra desire to gain the same social and legal benefits afforded to men, to denigrate their efforts right out of hand (which is often what labels such as 'girlboss' and 'white feminist' are accomplishing), is on some level, refusing to engage the premise.

i don't feel it's insightful to call these characters white feminists because their political reality is very different from ours. this doesn't even work as a criticism of the way they're written by the author, because the text certainly isn't neglecting racial and class issues in order to simply tell a story centred around the personal empowerment of two highly privileged women. they are both royalty who still enjoy power derived from an unjust feudal hierarchy, power which they have exercised to maintain their positions in said hierarchy. but at the same time, the desire for meaningful participation in the politics of the realm is not being condemned. nowhere is the implication that they shouldn't have tried to resist their socially ordained marginalisation at all. and we know the feudal patriarchy of westeros won't allow a woman to possess political power in her own right without the constant threat of hegemonic violence. this is the tragedy of both characters. westeros doesn't respect their authority and in order to command that respect they must go to war, but their support of patriarchal institutions and methods of violence eventually makes them tyrants. and the miserable end that rhaenyra meets (one that cersei will likely share) is critiquing both the hegemonic violence required to ascend and keep hold of the iron throne and the misogyny inherent in the system.

asoiaf is historical fantasy, the thing about stories set in the past is that you're being invited to consider a world with different models than ours. not everything is going to have a 1:1 contemporary equivalent, especially not in a fantasy series. and when readers try to force comparisons anyway, they ignore the actual social systems that influence and explain the motivations of these characters, and also often end up creating dishonest, far less sympathetic versions of them (see, alicent being seriously labelled a tradwife). and finally, these characters are narrative tools in service to the story. cersei and rhaenyra are not a moral lesson in the "right" or "wrong" way to resist gendered oppression, but simply one aspect of asoiaf's exploration of women navigating power in westeros. catelyn and alicent are another.