#so he had to find something bigger 🤷

[goodoldfashionednerd]

Daniel Molloy really said I'm not leaving until the divorce papers are signed

[yourlocalstranger123]

[I was bored and wanted to take a break from writing....something 😳 👀💧]

The yandere sagau side: it's exactly the same but just a little too obsessed. They worship you, giving you sacrifices offerings. You couldn't exactly see since you have a limit to see what they offer you. You just maybe it's an item that has a shape of a human. Who knows... the experimenters like dottore and Albedo will work together to create a body for you that is made on the details of the ancient script. Ei/raiden would make the body eternity, Zhongli would put protection on it, Venti would give the blessing of the wind to alarm you of the danger and Nahida would give you knowledge since you only just protect and make people safe and ofc make them feel warm. So you don't know what's happening 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤷 and they made sure the body could at least withstand most of your power.

● Morax first felt a little alert. 'Who are you?' 'What do you want?' He was confused. He never felt a presence that felt more godly than the celestials themselves. He felt stiff. He asked the others if they felt this...presence. They say yes but it seems to have no harm. He couldn't risk it, he was still on high alert. But when the moment he was fighting, he felt protected, stronger too. Are you perhaps helping him..? Why? He did not worship you if you were a God of some kind. After the war, he cried, cried loudly as the people of liyue can hear his pain and the cries of his roaring. Suddenly he felt your presence once again but stronger. Were you here to attack him? "SHOW YOURSELF!" He yelled. Still no answer. Weird....he laid down then continued softly sobbing, mourning of his friend's death. He felt comforted though, he tried keeping it away from him, this 'comfort' feeling. But slowly he melted into it. Sleeping soundly. He felt safe. When he woke up he saw his friends, were they actually alive? Is this perhaps an illusion you made to taunt him? His knees went weak. 'No matter, even if this is fake, please...just let him hold them one more time..even if it's not real.' He actually woke up. He looked sad, as he was about to accept the death of his friends, he sees all of them. Even the yakshas came back alive. He saw Xiao on his knees sobbing in happiness. Is this your doing?...thank you..thank you so much. Truly. He accepted you. Your kindness. He made everyone know you, well the only people who didn't know you was the one who has no vision. The yaksha knows you, well only your doings and presence. They can also feel it. They worshiped you, and give you things. They weren't rich so they could only give you simple things like flowers but it didn't matter to you. They could feel the warmth grow bigger. They smiled. They wonder if you smiled back at them? Your truly a wonderful God. Slowly everyone in liyue finds out your the creator somehow and they worshiped you even more. Everyone who had one felt your presence even more. They felt very happy, truly they are blessed to have you as their creator. When Zhongli abandoned his duty as a archon, he still worshiped you. Although not fancy as it used to but he felt that you were still happy with these simple offerings. Everyone in liyue was so very happy. Azhada also felt it. He was set free and when Zhongli tried to make him go back, there was a note before he could attack. "He deserves a second chance. Let him experience the wonderful things in life. To: Rex Lapis" he was confused, was this the Morax he knew? His heart grew soft as he read the letter. Suddenly he felt his form start to change. He panicked and looked into the river. He looked like a mortal. Although he must give you credit for your taste. In the future, he brags on and on that you made a form for him. "Shall the Geo protect you with its heart."

● Heck, even the celestials were concerned and a little scared of you. 'What are you?' They thought. You felt familiar but yet not so familiar either. 'Are you an outlander?' Later they got used to it. They thought maybe you were a Supreme God that is watching over them, in the past, they were on guard. Waiting for you to strike. But....they felt a safe feeling, an addictive feeling. 'Who are you? Why are you so...nice?' Until it clicked. Are you...the creator? If you're not then why are you so nice to them?? But it does not matter no more. They will welcome and worship you even if you are a God who is an out-lander

I was too lazy. Oh well, thus is just for practice.

[xandy-toady]

Lyle Wainfleet || Late Valentines

uhhhh enjoy this is literally ass but I needed this okay leave me alone☝️ Afab reader teehee

Requests are open, I should have a bigger Zdinarsk post coming up and a Neytiri one is close to done too 🤭

MINORS DNI NSFW

Just Lyle fucking you silly, nothing more to add 🤷

—————

Tonight, he was coming home, and you had plans.

Setting up your lab so it’s dimly lit by lights you managed to find, putting on music that you knew he enjoyed for background noise. Candles also splayed out and about, the gentle soothing smell of very faint vanilla hitting your nose.

He spoils you so much, and even though it was a few days late, you were determined to give him this Valentine’s gift, he had been out on a mission to your disappointment but you weren’t going to let that stop you.

So you here you were, setting up you lab at midnight, wearing a large fluffy robe you had brought in along with the supplies, wearing part of his surprise underneath, a very skimpy and lacy red lingerie set that fit on your form just right.

You made sure you were absolutely breath taking, he always told you that you were always stunning to him, but you couldn’t help but want to look your best for tonight, for him.

Finally him calling you, saying they just got back, and you knew it was time. So in hearing him announce his return, you insisted he come to your lab, that you have something to show him right this instant—

Lord did that make him excited.

Lyle’s tail was wagging when you hung up, and he ended up running all the way over, what could you have to show him? Probably some science junk, but still, it was you, and honestly he just needed you right now, especially after having you urge him to come to you.

Then he turned the corner, finally at your lab.

Seeing you stood in a white robe, barely able to make out the faint red that poked out, looking around at the very romantic display.

He was fucking weak in the moment, and when he looked back to you, watching the robe fall?

He found himself with a shit eating grin, approaching you swiftly to guide you to the spot he assumed was made for him to take you, a nest of blankets and pillows layer on the floor, rose petals scattered around.

“Happy late Valentine’s Lyle!”

To say the least, this night wasn’t just the two of you fucking, it was a night where you made him feel more wanted then ever, so much effort put into this all for him.

You made him feel loved. He was going to make sure to show you that, especially right now.

“Oh tonight’s gonna be reallll good, just you fucking wait sweet cheeks.”

Lord did he ever show you—

You don’t even remember when the two of you had started, once he had you under him it begun.

Now, you lay with Lyle’s balls slapping harshly against your ass, dick reaching every spot you needed him most making you quake underneath him, weeping cunt already spilling his cum and your own. He was just as much a mess, he himself was shaking by the end, having you in a mating press rutting into desperately—

He fucked you for hours.

He couldn’t help how he starts to purr loudly seeing how your mind blanks aside from thoughts of him, listening as you’re only able to repeat his name over and over again.

He had you drooling, you looked downright fucking filthy under him and he loved every second of it, his stupid little angel he would coo out, balls deep in you, pressing down at the large bulge his cock made in your stomach—

He left you stuffed in every hole by the end of the night, satisfied in every way possible, your Valentine’s gift clearly a success— once finished, you firmly stated while laying on top of him that you think your clit fell off, he’s never cackled so hard—

[maedaeme]

lunch break. primary da world state ramble (as a little treat for me) (long and let's be honest prone to change lmao)

note: i am ignoring 80% of blue wraith 🤷

ardal tabris and mara surana are both technically the hero of ferelden. both recruited by duncan, met at the joining, both survived. they're very different people but their mutual focus on survival made them work well together. decisions in origins are split between them depending on who felt the strongest about things at the time.

mara tried to get the last hit on the archdemon, alistair beat her to it, and they were both shocked no one died. ardal seemed unsurprised and said nothing. mara and alistair stepped back shortly after to deal with personal things, leaving ardal to be the one officially promoted to warden commander, which irritated him but at this point, why not.

mara eventually resurfaced and is technically some form of second in command, but only in the sense that she steps in as acting commander when ardal needs to do something else. mara keeps in touch with the companions, ardal (with the obvious exception of zevran) does not.

davyn hawke spares anders but does not have time to process everything until after he is out of kirkwall, and he does not do it well. varric and fenris leave with him for a bit. carver is a templar and does not. davyn's eyesight is rapidly deteriorating, and after a lot of discussion they agree fenris will go to tevinter and davyn will meet him once he's worked out how to fight this way.

plans are derailed when cassandra arrests varric and davyn instead orbits around the inquisition to make sure nothing bad happens.

sometime between da2 and da3 ardal realizes he's now much more sensitive to darkspawn than mara. it freaks him out. mara takes over command of his wardens while he and zevran detour looking for a cure to the calling.

alistair stays behind to take care of something else, leaving him as the inquisition's warden contact.

varric ends up trusting taibhse lavellan enough to send davyn a letter telling him the inquisition is not a threat. davyn's delayed in responding because he has to find someone trustworthy with better eyes to read it for him. once he does, he shows up immediately.

taibhse leaves alistair on the fade. he did not actually get a lot of say in it. davyn immediately said he'll do it, varric said absolutely not and laid into taibhse about not letting it happen because he knew trying to convince davyn was a moot point. taibhse knew the decision had to be made and went the path of least resistance.

davyn now feels guilty about yet another thing, and varric knew he would, but guilty and alive is better.

mara gets word about alistair and fuckin Loses It. when the wardens fracture she's one of the commanders that immediately turns against the first warden. ardal returns when he gets a letter from her demanding he come back. she gave zero explanation and he didn't ask for one. he takes over so she can leave and find a way into the fade. once his wardens fill him in, he also backs up and continues her stance of 'fuck this first warden guy,' which makes a bigger enemy of the first warden, who assumed he would go back to business as usual and leave well enough alone.

inquisition is disbanded. taibhse is sick of doing things everyone else's way and is now going to do it his way, whether they like it or not. davyn eventually leaves to meet fenris somewhere adjacent to arlathan forest. ardal takes on quinne thorne after traveling across the sea (hated it. hates boats) into the free marches. they proceed to bite each other's head off for 5-6 years.

so. by the time da4 starts:

ardal: somewhere in the free marches/south of antiva

mara: in the fade, godspeed

davyn: outside arlathan forest, possibly traveling downwards towards ferelden. wherever fenris is at.

taibhse: doing all that stuff in the west the inquisitor is doing lmao

quinne: about to drop a building on some darkspawn and get into a lot of trouble

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

I would guess part of the comment issues in ol1 are the lack of a jealousy system like nobody can react or make comments because there is no jealousy at all I am hoping it is more natural in ol2 with there being 2 main lis plus an actual jealousy system even if it is optional

There is a little bit of jealousy! But it's all mainly in Step 1 and your typical kiddy jealousy😂 it's also just me splitting hairs really, but I get where you're coming from lol. It's not actually jealousy I'm looking for, honestly. I personally despise jealousy in any aspect for my own reasons, though I do get what you mean and I'm depressingly aware of how prominent jealousy is in the situation I've given😔

What I'm more looking for is upset - and I mean that in the most clinical definition of the word: to make (someone) unhappy, disappointed, or worried; to knock (something) over. (ie. to disturbe or unbalance)

LMAO, this got long, so I'll throw it under a cut!

Basically, Sunset Bird is the place where nothing happens and everything stays the same, until Baxter comes in and upsets the norm. The game writes many times that he's disturbed the peace and many characters respond to that in various different ways - mostly positive and slightly negative on Cove's part specifically. You, as the MC, have the option to take it as positively or negatively as you choose, of course!

I have a suspicion that, if MC takes it negatively then maybe others would too but, I don't play that route personally and it isn't really the point I'm getting at either. I want to see that upset happen, even in a positive viewpoint MC. I want to see Cove upset because MC has been flirting with him for possibly several years and he has been flirting back and he and everyone understandably thought you both had something, only to see you fall for Baxter like a rock in a stream, the moment he turns your head. It's not specifically jealousy I'm looking for, it's hurt and confusion and/or a need for answers from the people that surround MC and find their expectations suddenly trampled on.

"What about us/Cove?" is a very real question that should be there yet just isn't 🤷

An example of where the game actually did do this: The protectiveness from your family, that was A+ on the game's part but there wasn't enough of it, in my opinion. There should have been more worried dialogue from at least your family, if not your friends. Cove also has one moment where he complains about how he doesn't like Baxter flirting with the both of you but, again, that's not actually touching on the subject of MC so much as it is the both of you. It's also before any dating can occure so Cove is still 'intact' as it were... So I would honestly even consider that situation void because it happened before the flag triggering can changed him.

Even in Step 4, this trend continues! [violently rips out hair] There are scenes that should have such a bigger reaction out of characters but simply just don't because the mechanic for upset is entirely lacking!! It drives me crazy yo😭there's no deep 'sit down' conversation at all in so many places and it makes the emotions that the really good parts of the story pull out of you feel so cheap in comparison!

Awaaahhhhh... This has just turned into me complaining lmaooo

My apologies😂I know there isn't anything to be done that can change it, currently, but it does just really upset me. In fact, how I'm talking about it here is exactly what I would have loved to see in the dialogue of the game!

The desperateness, the desire for answers, the deep meaningful conversations, just- [clenches fist] Yes. Everything would feel so much more grounded and real and immersive if they just let MC sit down and have a talk with these people about everything and have feelings get resolved and see bonds strengthen!!! It would be so Good!!!

Instead, I must sit here, depressed while Cove laughs off several years of character development like "ha ha okay then bro, very funny" like😭😭😭What happend to you, my sweat summer bean???

[disaster-vampire]

pls talk about the shelf

i was desperately hoping someone would ask me to rant abt it akehdjshd i'm kissing you sweetly on the forehead anon

okay so if anyone sees this out of context: i have a shelf in my bookcase dedicated to hannibal. yes it's kind of like a weird little shrine but leave me alone.

be warned this is going get LONG.

so, it has the obvious: the hannibal books, the tv show box set, the tv show's cookbook, my fancy copies of the divine comedy (they're hardcover with gorgeous sleeves that have art printed on them to match each book), and i also have the iliad and the odissey in there in a single big book that i bought on a whim when out once and then after buying it i found out it also had the original greek alongside the italian translation and i lost my mind. i've never felt such pure joy and i can't even read greek. yet.

as for decorations, as of right now there's a piece of driftwood that is kinda shaped like an L so it stands up on its own and it also kinda resembles an antler.

there's this fuckin box, i don't even remember how i got it, but it's made of bones. it's shaped kinda like a stereotypical treasure chest but it's literally made of bones. the inside is lined with red velvet.

i'm not sure what else to decorate with? i've put in a seashell but it can't even be seen because the shelf has glass doors but the shell is covered by the frame (might move everything to another shelf where the frame is not in the way tbh just so i can decorate with tiny things at the front).

i just moved this whole thing from my other bookcase (i just got this new one today because i have too many books and in my first bookcase the shelves are literally bending with the weight of the books piled up on them) and when it was there i also had a teacup in there along with a lighbox that says "bone saw time! 🖤" but this new shelf feels very elegant and there's also not enough space for the lightbox. i also had a bust of dionysus there but i'm going to move it to my dionysus altar.

i've got an old scalpel somewhere too and i'll try to find a visible spot to put it. i also have 3 tiny japanese plates that were all given to me as gifts and some souvenirs from japan from a friend too but idk if i wanna put japanese stuff in there. like it's fitting but at the same time idk if it's disrespectful or not.

if i had money and more space i'd make this whole thing bigger and get like. a little frame with fly fishing lures like the ones will made in the show and maybe something like some ethically sourced taxidermy. a snake skeleton and a mongoose skull would be really cool. maybe i could print out a little something with lures instead of buying real ones and like. a fake death's head hawkmoth taxidermy. i'd need some of those shadowbox frames and i'd make it so the pictures stand out a bit from the back so it looks like they have shadows. bc like i'm fairly certain real death's head hawkmoths cannot be ethically sourced at this point in time because ever since silence of the lambs came out people have started going insane over them.

i think my grandpa has this framed thing somewhere with sailing knots made with actual ropes in it rather than just pictures. haven't seen it in ages so i'm not sure anymore if it was my grandpa's or someone else's. probably my grandpa since he was in the marines when military service was mandatory in italy but idk maybe i saw it somewhere else. i could print out a small picture with various illustrations of sailing knots.

i also have these cards that my aunt gave me at one point that have prints of a lot of famous paintings with descriptions in the back and i THINK one was the primavera. it was either that or the birth of venus i'll have to check but either way there's at least one botticelli in there. i don't like botticelli much tho so 🤷

i plan at some point to also get physical copies of all the movies but idk when that'll be since i've found a different box set for the tv show with gorgeous covers that i plan to buy as well. also of the ones i currently own i think one of the dvds stopped working bc it got scratched while inside my pc because i was pausing and rewinding/forwarding too much. we'll see i guess.

now for the rest of the books. i have a medical book in there called the abc of the human body. i think the title is kind of hilarious for a hannibal shelf. i just found out today while moving books back and forth from one bookshelf to the other that i actually have two copies of this book and one of them was owned by a doctor that died i think like 15 to 20 years ago. i have a few other medical books that said doctor also owned on the shelf above. he also owned the scalpel i mentioned before.

there's the book skulls by simon winchester, which is a collection of pictures of skulls from one of the biggest skull collections in the world, along with a few inserts on biology if i remember correctly? i originally bought it for art references and i LOVE the cover so i made sure it was facing forward in the shelf.

there's the resurrectionist, which is a sci-fi/fantasy book kind of in a frankenstein-esque vein where the main character is this made up doctor who manages to make some mythological creatures through surgery & digging up dead bodies and i won't spoil it any further. the second half of the book is a whole bunch of medical/biology style illustrations of said creatures, their skeletons, their muscles, how certain parts of their bodies would function (for example i believe it goes into explaining the lungs for both mermaids and harpies). i don't think it quite fits thematically with hannibal but i think it's got The Vibe so i put it in there.

there's a book on saint lucy, who is the patron saint of sight. i have it because i was born with my skull being asymmetrical and the doctors immediately told my family it would likely cause problems with my eyes, and so instead of, you know, starting to take me to eye doctors from a young age, they swore me to saint lucy and left it at that. i'm likely going to go blind on my left eye at some point in my life btw lmao thanks st lucy <3 i do like her though. i like her iconography a lot, she's always portrayed as holding a plate with her eyes on it.

there's damien by hermann hesse, which is one of my all time favourite books. it's written in first person and it starts with emil sinclair's childhood, explaining that he sees the world in a very black and white way, and does so very literally because he speaks of the world of light and the world of darkness, which are kind of meant as good and evil. but then something happens to him that starts blurring the clear line he thought was between the two, which sends him into a moral panic until he meets max demian, who starts to make him see that there's more to both sides. the story as he grows up follows his "corruption" into someone who is neither good nor evil. it has a lot of implied homoeroticism, as it was written i think either in the 20s or the late 1800s so it couldn't be explicit but it is very much there and is expressed mostly through demian's mother. there's also a weird cult thing going on and the ending is a bit ??? and honestly i need to read it again because for such a short book SO much happens that i'm having a hard time summarising it accurately.

the only other books i remember being there rn (it's 1am i'm not turning the lights on again) are dracula, because cannibal/vampire count with a big castle, the butchering art, and les fleurs du mal, plus two other books written in french that i haven’t read yet because my french isn't the best, whose titles i don't remember rn, and one in italian that i've found at a used books stall once but i believe it's from a local author and i've never seen it in a bookstore nor online so there's definitely no english translation of it. i still haven't read this one either and i don't even remember what it's about, it might be a poetry book? not quite sure. but yeah these few ones i haven’t read are there like. on trial. if i read them and find them fitting they'll stay otherwise they go to another shelf. i also haven’t read les fleurs du mal nor the butchering art yet, so the same applies to them. i think that's all of them? i plan to put my art history books and regular history books on the shelf above as well next to the medical books to kind of carry the theme over lol.

i would like to maybe someday get some of the books that we've glimpsed from the bookshelves on the show but this is it for now!

anyway. tysm for asking me about it dear anon. you said but a few words yet they meant the world to me <3

[goodwomanbadlady]

I just had a coffee fueled dream. I call them coffee dreams because when you're so exhausted that you fall asleep after a coffee, you have weird dreams. But this one, despite being benign and somewhat comforting takes a turn for disturbing just a bit before I got a phone call that woke me up. Okay so,

I'm in this fancy gorgeous house with huge windows and beautiful staircases, but it's been remodeled from a house that maybe wasn't so nice. Something more akin to a house I might have actually lived in. I go to take a shower (idk why, do I??) and I can't find it, so this little girl shows me where the bathroom is. She's a great kid, but a little too wise for her apparent age, ya know? I can't find the correct light switch and I don't want her to leave me there in the dark so I flip all the old looking ones and no, So I flip all the new ones I see and nope and finally she shows me the new flat ones on the wall behind me that I'd somehow missed. But they don't work either and now I start really looking around this huge bathroom for a light. There's a weird little kitchen-like cabinet over behind the giant shower on the wall and for some reason I checked in there and when I'm closing the cabinet door, I look up and light switch is a cord hanging from the fixture as though the light had a ceiling fan, but it doesn't.

So I turn it on and suddenly I see the exquisite antiques they're using (in the bathroom?? Idk it was a dream.🤷)

and start recommending things like "use those drawers for your clothing so you don't end up stuck after your shower without clean clothes."

The scene changes and I'm standing in a parking lot with Aziraphale and Crowley as they're arguing about something I'm uninvolved in. They both tell me to drive the car. I'm nervous but is Anyone really going to tell them no? So I get in the driver's seat and look over and Aziraphale is making himself comfortable and Crowley is in the back. (ikr, wtaf? But it felt completely normal right then.) There are now kids in the back but it's as though Crowley is taking care of them and someone told me not to worry and so I didn't. I put the car in reverse to back out of the space and turn my shoulder to make sure it's clear. The car had somehow gotten attached to the bumper of the car in the facing parking space (likely when someone slid into the space at speed, but that's purely speculation) so when I backed up, it dragged that car, a motorcycle, and the car beside it all together and I immediately stopped.

I looked over at Aziraphale and realized he had no miracles. I also realized from the look on his face that the vehicle damage at any rate wasn't as uncommon as Crowley liked to pretend. So I looked back at Crowley and asked if he was going to do anything. I could hear sirens approaching. The cops were coming. (I'm American. This is a scary thing regardless of any wrong doing.) He didn't want to attract attention so he got on his phone to handle it the human way. I panicked because what?!

Scene changes. Crowley and Aziraphale now need to escape something bigger than a simple car situation. The kids are gone. There is no car. We are all standing on the side of a sparsely dotted country highway. I have seen many like it IRL and dream of them as a scene setting regularly so not that awkward, but I digress. There are a few houses and down the road, just visible, is a very small rural community. Think a small shopping center and across the way a lawyers and a bank or something. They excuse themselves and head over to the small shopping center. One assumes to appropriate a vehicle, but either way they're leaving. Okay, so I started walking just a foot or two off the side of the road. A group of kids that appear to be tweens to early 20s are off in the background. As I set off with my determined stride, they approach in a staggered group. The tweens ask me where I'm going. I'm leaving I reply. They don't want me to and warn me of the danger for people our age to be seen in public. (Apparently I still dream as though I was a younger person. Ah, but to dream.) It comes to me that there is a draft and our government is collecting people. Anyone who appears young and isn't enlisted could be picked up and horrible things would happen to them. They're right to warn me to stay out of sight, but I don't listen. I pick up a cat that has just walked past my feet and cuddle it close to me as I trudge away. The kids are angry but allow me to leave. As I approach the businesses on that side of the road, there is a company of soldiers doing community service. They are filling in trenches with soil. One of the girls makes glancing eye contact with me and looks away as I step directly on the dirt area they are filling. It's not malicious. It was just the next step in my stride.

My phone rings and it is over.

Now, just a coffee dream, right? Nbd. They're always weird. But the three things that stuck with me heavily after I woke up were that I was in a room in my Father's house, Crowley and Aziraphale were in the dream as a bit of humor, and then there was a draft. The shiver of fear that runs through me at the thought of the draft is not natural. It feels almost dystopian. I'm kinda glad my phone rang.

I suppose I could have actually written this up as a story, but the dream element would have been lost and it's harder to explain the erratic behavior/ scene changes/ knowing that comes in dreams.

[howtobecomeadragon]

Everyone likes presents. The show does focus a lot on them and I'm trying to figure out if there's a bigger meaning here. I don't think there's any new info here to uncover, but thought presents was a good focus for an analysis 🤷

Will absolutely loves presents, to the point of asking Jonathon, with no hesitation, if he can open JONATHAN'S present from his crush (I'll give Will a pass, he just survived the Upside Down but this is hilarious behavior on Will's part). At home, he's shaking presents before Christmas, he's guessing what the presents are. He's very very very into presents at the end of s1. Unfortunately I don't think we see him get another present yet (YET) so far in the show. With all of the s4 March 22nd drama about Will's birthday, it almost looked like the birthday boy didn't get any presents, but supposedly the Duffer Brothers forgot.

Next we see Mike's absolute bafoonery in s3, trying to get El an "I'm sorry" present for lying. It's the thought that counts, right? Not really when Lucas is doing all the thinking here. Will in that third picture is me giving Mike the side eye in this season. Will knows what a good present is and he knows that this isn't the right attitude to have going into shopping for a present.

He tells El he was trying to get her a present but has nothing to show for it. Big swing and a miss. "We couldn't find anything that suited you." We see the boys looking at a jewelry store, where Mike finds the $300 teddy bear pin, perfume, and lingerie. This is classic "I don't know anything about my girlfriend, let me just look for a present that any boy could get any girl" behavior. After seeing each other every single day for 6 months (according to Hopper) Mike doesn't have much of anything to show for it. He only had $3.50, which equals about $9.64 according to an inflation calculator. Not a lot, but enough to get something. El's favorite snack, a cute hair tie, a cheap bracelet, a comic, a toy, just something. Or he could've made something homemade, but it was shown very clearly that he wasn't going to put time or thought into that, when he can hardly admit he did anything wrong. In my opinion, he would've been better off not even telling her about his failed attempt to get her something, it's just more disappointment piled on. He's not thinking about her feelings though, he just wants credit for putting the work in (*cough even though Lucas was the one that did all the work cough*).

At the end of s3, we get the iconic "I like presents" scene. I've seen a lot of analysis about how Mike felt more comfortable talking about liking something childish, opening presents, because he just reconnected with Will about wanting to play DnD, but then doesn't feel comfortable being himself about liking these things he considers childish around El. But focusing more on the idea of presents here and the text of what was said: Mike likes presents, but El has never given him a present. El likes presents, but Mike failed at getting her a present. Maybe Mike is thinking about how much he likes playing with his toys on Christmas and how if he's with El on Christmas, he might be too ashamed to enjoy them. Just last season, just 8 months ago, Mike was so hesitant to throw away toys at his parents' request. And in s1, he showed El his toys and she walked away from him. He won't enjoy his presents if they spend Christmas together.

In s4, we see Mike bring El an actual present this time! However, he brings her Hawkins flowers right after he read in her letter that she doesn't even miss Hawkins flowers anymore. So the flowers aren't on the mark and the note definitely isn't. Again, he probably would've been better off not bothering, the present brought more pain than getting off the plane empty handed would have. He's showing that he doesn't understand her enough to get the right present, to the point of ignoring/missing what she's saying to him in her letters.

And of course later on, we see that every letter Mike wrote El, each one a present in a way, was really a knife to the heart with every "from, Mike" and then later we see yellow Hawkins flowers wilted and dead. Mike's presents to El bring pain and disappointment.

We know that Mike loves the presents he gets from Will: drawings and the painting. Mike likes presents, we know this from the s3 finale, and he also loves Will's art. He keeps those presents and has for years. He displays the presents in his basement and bedroom, years after he gets them. Contrasted with El's letters, which are presents in a way, not being seen anywhere in the house.

But when he thinks that the painting, the present, is from El, he's not as pleased. I think that's the only physical present "El" ever got for Mike other than her letters, and for a guy that likes presents, he's not pleased to think this one is from his girlfriend. So in a way, when Mike thinks he gets a present from El, he's disappointed and confused.

El and Mike both say that they like presents, but their presents to each other are never the right gift, never evoke the intended emotion, and are never given with good intentions or thought put into them.

A colossal bummer is, of course, the fact that Will hasn't gotten a present from Mike on screen, as far as I remember. We don't know if a present from Mike to Will would be as awful as his presents to El, but all evidence points to the fact that it wouldn't.

Basically, I want to put Mike in a mall with $3.50 and see what he would walk out with for Will.

[acourtofthought]

I'm getting pretty irritated at seeing the argument that Pro Eluciens don't respect what Elain wants because she's "declared she's part of this Court" when we envision her elsewhere in Prythian or that Cassian's voice should not trump that of Elains when he counters that by saying no matter what she says about being part of the NC, the color black (which is symbolic for the NC and can easily mean the NC itself) literally sucks the life out of her.

Elain is not a real person. She is not standing in front of you and I right now telling us what she wants. She is not someone we can ask follow up questions to, in an effort to see exactly why she's making that claim and whether it's the full truth. People often say things they don't mean. Or that they're trying to convince themselves of. So Elain making a one off comment is not the same thing as hearing that comment, having a lengthy conversation after it and really digging into the validity of it to find out if she truly feels that way or is trying to convince herself that she feels that way. If as a reader you're choosing to focus on one sentence Elain speaks (and without actually getting into her thoughts) as being more important than the many other clues the author has left for us indicating the opposite than I personally feel you're approaching this authors writing style the wrong way. Not to mention there's a whole lot of "the character said this before but it turned out to mean something else later down the line once we really get their thoughts or detailed explanation" going on in these books. Of course that is just my opinion but.... 🤷

It's extremely funny that "Cassian" shouldn't be speaking for Elain but it's alright for Az to. Not to mention Cassian isn't speaking for Elain. He had a thought that he kept to himself. That even though Elain claimed she belonged, he observed (to himself) that he still noticed she looked lifeless in a place and color that is still part of the Night Court and that the characters regularly visit as it is part of their duties. And that it's cruelty bothers her. Yeah, none of them like the Hewn City because they think the people who live there are pieces of shit. But they have no issues stepping into their roles, playing their parts and no one can deny that they play their parts well. That regardless of whether they like the Hewn City, they all look like they belong ruling over it. Which is in direct contrast to Cassian thinking to himself that Elain doesn't quite fit in like the rest. But for some reason Cassian's out of line for thinking something doesn't line up with Elains words yet Az is a cutey wittle boy for announcing to everyone (behind her back) that Elain shouldn't be doing something she volunteered to help with.

Elain glowing and healthy in purple means absolutely nothing in regards to her belonging in the NC. It's mentioned twice in SF that Elain in purple equals good health. That means Elain could be wearing purple anywhere in their world and she would be glowing with good health. Also, Nesta notes Elain has always been special because creating friends and a place for herself had always come easily to Elain. It's not the NC helping her recover. It's Elains character that's getting her to a better place. Not necessarily the right place for her, just better than the depression she was in before. And the bigger take on the color of her dresses is what happens when they are placed side by side. Black while in the Hewn City versus purple when she leaves it. Purple is not a Night Court color whereas black is (and the one she looks ill-suited in). That's not to say no one in the Night Court is ever allowed to wear purple. I'm sure they can and have. But based off the authors writing, I haven't seen any real symbolism given to the color purple and the NC. Purple for SJM is usually associated with her Healers. Or outside of SJM, it's the color associated with royalty. Things that are given symbolism in the NC? The color black. Illyrian leathers. One which Elain looks dead in and one she refused to wear.

Can others just stop accusing Eluciens of not having Elains best interest at heart? She doesn't have her own best interests. She has whatever the author tells her she's going to have. And based on many many clues, the author is building a very compelling argument that regardless of Elain doing her best to make a life for herself, regardless of what she's trying to convince herself of, the NC is not going to be where she thrives.

That's what usually happens in a characters story. They start off in one place thinking certain things, and grow and change by the end of the book. It happens alllllll the time in novels. It makes a lot less sense for Elain to claim (in someone else's book) that she's happy in the Night Court, that she's already got her friends and love life figured out and by the end of her book to be in exactly the same place, with exactly the same friends, with exactly the same love interest.

If anything I'd say Eluciens care more for Elains character considering they want more for her than what's currently been shown in the series so far.

[narcissa-black-supermacy]

Dani!!!! I'm trying really hard to think of a nickname but my brain is failing me.

Anyway! Here's some questions I have for you <3

🤢 Who is your NoTP?

🤷 What thing that your fandom loves do you just not “get”?

💡 Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)?

fun fact about my name? it's an Arabic name but the origin of it is in Hebrew and it literally means "judge me, God". i love saying "my name is Daniel so only god can judge me" :D

🤢 Who is your NoTP?

I don't really have a notp, I'm quite the multishipper. but there are ships that I just don't get and I won't read.

remus/james and remus/sirius/james have been gaining popularity lately but just don't make sense to me. i've been seeing remus/regulus lately too and it's just so..off. regulus/barty is another one that i don't like.

🤷 What thing that your fandom loves do you just not “get”?

in Jegulus fics, when James keeps the relationship a secret from Sirius/Sirius getting mad at him when he finds out. I get wanting to keep it private while they're figuring it out, but the moment they would, I think James would be physically unable to not tell him. Sirius, in return, would only be mad about James not telling him, I don't think he would have a problem with the relationship.

when Sirius drops his name and takes Lupin/Potter/etc instead. I think it's an important legacy, and if anything he would be proud to keep it and do something good and different with it. I think Remus/someone else whos deemed "not worthy" by the Blacks taking his name would be such a bigger power move than just "disowning" himself which they already did anyway

💡 Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)?

okay SO Walburga and Tom Riddle were canonically in the same Hogwarts year.

I think that Regulus figuring out about the horcruxes thing had something to do with his mother, I don't think she told him outright but I think she knew about Riddle's true identity and might have hinted at it several times.

I also think that Riddle held quite the grudge against Walburga and her family for the way she treated him during their school years, so taking her son at such a young age and putting him through all kind of challenges was kind of his way of getting back at her.

and it's me, I SHOULD WRITE THIS, i should write a lot of things

[lovecolibri]

The Alex knows what happened to Forrest's cousin thing is really something Carina should have thought through. Even relationship with Alex aside, we know Wyatt gets a bigger role, which presumably ties into stuff with Rosa and him finding out the truth, but Wyatt's cousin just gets shuffled off screen never to be seen again after dating Alex for a whole year? What was the point of him being a Long? They really could have snooped around without him on the farm for one episode. Then again, the same goes for Kyle keeping major stuff from both Steph and his mom and Liz keeping something pretty big from Arturo. 🤷 I really hope at least Sheriff Valenti and Arturo get looped into alien stuff this season, especially with their significant others having had an affair.

Uuuuuuuugh, yes to ALL of this, Nonnie! Forrest is here because c*rina just wanted more misery porn and to keep Malex not just apart but in other "serious" relationships when there was no narrative reason for that to be happening. Maybe if it had been made clear that Forrest was just another Kyle or Jenna, just two adults having a good time, then maybe, but c*rina turning Alex's arc into an "Alex isn't 'out' enough" journey instead of an "Alex has severe trauma related to homophobic violence and maybe needs to deal with that" journey realllllly hits me wrong. Also totally crap that Liz, who had a damn good reason to decide to maybe be more serious with Kyle because she was justifiably angry with Max, just kinda blew past all her anger and was bright/happy/adoring with Max back in season 1 but Malex who DON'T really have any good reasons to be running off and dating other people are stuck in year-long relationships! Even the (flimsy) excuse that Michael was spiraling out of control didn't work because they couldn't have blessed m*ria being used by Michael as part of his self-harm spiral, and also that he "blamed" Alex for what his family did was canceled out in episode 2x04 when he expressly states that he DOESN'T blame Alex. So WHY THE CINNAMON TOAST FUCK did he go to m*ria in 1x13 instead of GOING TO ALEX, WHO JUST SAID HE SAW HIS FATHER WHEN HE LOOKED AT HIMSELF, TO ASSURE HIM HE WASN'T TO BLAME?!?!

*insert Adam Driver gif from Marriage Story here*

*siiiiiiiiiigh* It doesn't make sense. It can't! Because it wasn't written to make sense, it was c*rina forcing certain plot points and elements onto characters where they didn't fit, just because she wanted to.

As for mamma Valenti (no longer sherriff 😭😭😭) and Arturo, I hope to see more of them too and for them to be let in on the secret. It's RIDICULOUS that Arturo, a strong, mentally sound individual who loves his girls more than anything is given some rando "miracle" explanation instead of the truth which he could absolutely handle. You think he cares WHY or HOW Rosa is back? Also, I really just need more of Papa Ortecho. He is such a good man and a great character, we deserve to see more of him.