#the tragedy of their entire relationship will never not make me insane

[carmineline]

jiang cheng // the moon will sing

[yellowocaballero]

i very much enjoy the extremely scientific analysis of the naruto verse in which there are three genders, aka naruto, sasuke, and Woman.

AM I WRONG? AM I WRONG? pulls down projection screen and plays powerpoint

Obviously let's give room for nuance. A ton of Naruto characters don't fall into these gender norms. This does predominantly apply to the rampant proliferation of the three-person dynamics that were assigned by the government and dictate your entire life. And, like, society. It does not end. Gender isn't a biological factor in Naruto, it's a social dynamic constructed entirely by your homoerotic tension with other men. And there are so many.

Madara (S), Hashirama (N), Mito (W). Izuna (N) and Tobirama (S) - tragically, Izuna died before women could be invented. Sarutobi (N), Danzo (S, horrifically) - see above about women not being invented yet. Jiraiya (N), Orochimaru (S), Tsunade (W). Yahiko (N), Nagato (S), Konan (W). Obito (N), Kakashi (S), Rin (W). Shisui (N), Itachi (S), that little deeply unimportant girlfriend (W). Um, fucking, Naruto (N), Sasuke (S), Sakura (W). Even - even, fuckin, Rock Lee (N), Neiji (S), Tenten (W).

And what do they all have in common????

(OT3. They're all OT3s. Is what I'm saying).

There is some room for alternative gender expressions here, like being butch or femme. Naruto gender expressions: teacher, otouto, woman who you can't even tell is woman gendered because she has no backstory but you just have to kinda assume that she has a polycule-based backstory where she was Woman Gender. I feel almost as if 2/3rds of the Rookie 9 are liberated from this. InoShikaCho just doesn't fit (their chaotic cousin energy is just too strong and Ino's too much of a lesbian). Hinata's too busy being defined entirely by a different throuple's N to have codependent dynamics with her own N and S (and I'm hesitant to even say that, since I actually don't know if Kiba and Shino have a codependent rivalry - do they?).

I get, like, the reason for all of this. Curse of Hatred. Cycles. N and S Genders being sourced from demigods or something. Narrative parallelism. Sympathy points. It's not the bad guy's fault he's evil, his N and W gendered counterparts died :(. But an extremely strange side-effect of this is that all of the male characters are, like, Just Naruto or Just Sasuke. But the vast majority of the female characters are - like, completely defined by the men in their lives - but also they are more likely to be a unique person. Mito, Sakura, and Rin have actually nothing in common. Writing so sexist it creates more interesting characters?!?!

Unironically, this is why I'm always saying that Sasunaru is the ship of all time, nothing will ever top it, you will NEVER do it like Sasunaru, etc. Every important relationship in the series is meant to evoke Sasunaru. (Notably, none of the explicitly romantic ones. But we're beyond such paltry understandings of the most iconic pairing of all time as fundamentally based in romance. We're operating on a higher level than that). This unbroken chain of toxic yaoi has culminated at the end point of Sasunaru, and it exists to parallel Sasunaru and define their relationship by the dysfunction of generations of tragedy. That's why Naruto has to consciously break the cycle and free them from the generational hate - it was the only way to save Sasuke. This is also why I'm always saying that Sasunaru is the point of Naruto, and that the entirety of Naruto is about Sasunaru. Come back to me when your work has invented new genders in the all-encompassing pursuit of toxic yaoi.

This also means that the only truly gender non-conforming individuals in Naruto are its mightiest heterosexuals: Minato (W) and Kushina (N). Truly insane. The N/S/W configuration is the societal norm, it's bonkers to make a major good-aligned male character a wifeguy. By Naruto standards Minato and Kushina are the only queer couple.

[moonbaby26]

Title: Trust

(Chapter 19 of Doflamingo’s Marine Series)

*Crossposted to AO3 Here*

Chapter Pairings: Doflamingo x Reader, Smoker x Reader (in the past)

Chapter Warnings: language, toxic relationships, Doflamingo is still insane, breeding kink

Chapter Synopsis: As the marines begin to react further in response to Doflamingo’s public ensnarement of you and their true helplessness in it all, the warlord still grapples with the mistakes of his past that he now refuses to repeat.

Chapters: 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Fic Masterlist

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——————————

Only once in Sengoku’s life could he remember ever truly yelling at this woman. And he’d had tears running down his face the night that he’d done so.

Five years ago, when they’d also been on the phone together, oceans apart much like they were now. 

And to his shame, in the grief of that moment, Sengoku had had the gall to accuse Tsuru of holding back. He’d told her that her softness had allowed Doflamingo one too many second chances.

Sengoku had blamed her for still wishing to save what was already long gone within that boy, and thereby enabling every subsequent tragedy which followed from his actions. 

He remembered yelling that it should have been Doflamingo lying cold and dead two decks below her in that makeshift morgue on her warship, and not his precious Rosinante instead.

He’d berated a woman he trusted more than any other in this world. As if she hadn’t been sitting there in silence with that very same pain in her heart that night. 

Sengoku had been too consumed in his own emotions then, when it’d only been Tsuru who had had to personally oversee the retrieval of the body once Doflamingo’s ship had again escaped over the horizon.

Only she had been the one barking orders at her entirely confused crew. Telling them to treat a former Donquixote executive’s remains with care befitting one of their own as they’d unknowingly dug Sengoku’s adopted son from the still falling snow with their bare hands.

“I gave you as many days as I could.” Is what she told him now.

And her voice was as cold as that snow must have been then. Though she still didn’t yell at him in the way he deserved. Tsuru didn’t return that cruelty that he’d given her those years ago.

Not yet.

The fleet admiral’s eyes were closed behind his glasses in guilt regardless. His forehead rested against his hand in his disgust for what these webs had really become.

Somehow they had all become entwined.

Somehow this nightmare had still never stopped.

Rosinante had sworn to him that he would not go back to his brother in the end. Because they had all known the danger and most likely final result. 

And Tsuru had never expected you to have needed to make that same promise to them.

Rosinante had gone to Minion Island willingly. Just as you’d gone to Scylla, specifically requesting leave there that Momonga hadn’t known enough to deny.

And Doflamingo had been ready and waiting both times.

Neither you or Rosinante had left that devil again after stepping willfully back into his strings.

And why?

Why could Doflamingo never be sated? Why did it always have to be those that they already loved that he took?

“Every day, Tsuru. Every day I have been asking the Five Elders of when enough is enough. Or even for them to give me a single goddamn reason. A reason of why he’s now become this untouchable.”

Sengoku had taken all the criticism from his admirals, from Garp, and from Tsuru. But he had never stopped working towards a resolution behind the scenes.

Because this was so deeply personal.

It didn’t matter that you were only a captain, only a single marine in his ranks of thousands.

He’d never wanted Tsuru to have to go through this as he had with Rosinante.

But today’s newspaper and the lies within had been her final straw. 

This phone line was encrypted. But it may not have mattered today. She was that furious.

“I want you to understand that this call is simply a courtesy. I will not be returning to HQ. I will not be maintaining the blockade here. Cipher Pol is welcome to keep chasing my ship as they see fit. But we’re crossing the calm belt and heading for Dressrosa.”

His most steadfast vice admiral was now abandoning her post in Lyra.

“I’ll deal with Cipher Pol.” Sengoku muttered. He’d have to lie that he had given her specific orders to leave. 

Lyra was still under full World Government quarantine. No one was allowed in or out as they finished whatever bioweapon testing they’d really chosen that island and its rebels as horrific test subjects for.

Tsuru had hated that too of course, as anyone with a soul should.

But this additional stress with Doflamingo had broken what remained of that dam and all she’d been holding in. She would not be cooperating a moment further.

“I also want you to check with Mariejois for a marriage registration in his name. I suspect he’s already signed her over to him if he was willing to make this public declaration and antagonize us outright this way.”

Sengoku’s eyes finally opened again there. 

He also knew Tsuru well enough to understand that the false calmness as she said these things meant nothing of her true intentions.

“And if he has done that…what are you going to do with that information?” He asked her with the tension far clearer in his own tone.

The silence hung for a moment.

“You understand what he’s really doing, don’t you?” Her voice sounded briefly more cutting there.

“I don’t try to understand the reasonings of the insane.” Sengoku’s bitterness was reemerging as well.

An enemy would always be an enemy. And Sengoku lived for the day that Doflamingo’s immunity would finally fail him.

But that day was not today.

“He lost his previous marine. By his own hand.” Tsuru said next, somber but factual.

An assumption they always knew must be true. Though Doflamingo had never once confessed to Rosinante’s murder to them outright. 

“He thinks she’s strong enough to survive his madness where so many others have not. He’s betting on that. Because he’s terrified of ending up alone. He always has been.” She said so surely, with that additional impatience that meant she would be hanging up momentarily.

The fleet admiral’s eyes narrowed. But he knew it was already futile. He could stop his own admirals easier than he could this woman once she had made up her mind.

“And how do you know this isn’t exactly what he wants you to do, Tsuru? Just to draw you in as well?”

“I’m an old woman. So it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not letting her endure this alone. Just be ready to mobilize if the winds change in Mariejois.” Her finality was clear.

And it still hurt. Be it today, five years ago, ten years ago, twenty, or more. Sengoku had lost too many loved ones already. 

One day she wouldn’t come back to him either.

This was the way of their world.

“Be safe, Tsuru-chan.” Sengoku’s voice quieted. “Please.”

The snail’s eyes looked out in that knowing silence.

“You know my answer to that.” She spoke one last time before hanging up.

And he could only smirk sadly. “I do.”

Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru had once considered themselves a trio. They used to laugh about inescapable danger.

Death will come when my purpose is done.

That had been their irreverent rhyme of a saying. One far easier said in the arrogance of youth. And not from the aged veterans they’d become, just trying to protect their vulnerable seeds of the future.

——————————

“Oh, boo hoo! Just get over it already! If you didn’t want to share your notes, then you should have encrypted your data better!” Caesar’s golden eyes had gleamed as he floated closer, the newspaper still spread taut within his grip.

He was grinning too, flipping through the pages again and the pictures that graced them. “What a lovely couple! So how could you be so selfish as to not grant their hearts’ desire?”

Vegapunk made another disinterested noise, looking through large goggles and still trying to resume the experiment he had so frustratingly been interrupted from when Caesar had first burst into his lab. 

“If you had any ethics or common sense at all, you would drop this subject immediately. It’s not our place to interfere in something like that.” The older scientist tried to rebuff again.

“You think I don’t have common sense!?” Caesar’s voice was immediately more grating as his thin lips moved back into a scowl.

“I look the other way repeatedly for you,” Vegapunk reminded, already used to these theatrics from the other. Though still watching the beaker in front of him as its contents began to change in density and color. 

“I’ve ignored your greed and resulting moonlighting of still selling illicit compounds right from our backdoor. As well as your questionable tastes in companionship at all hours in your quarters. Your ‘socializing’ is quite loud and distracting.” Vegapunk also criticized.

Caesar blinked. So what? When he did have escorts over to visit from Dressrosa, they were paid very well for their trip. And he’d be damned if after spending that much of his payments from Joker on such entertainment, that he would have just let those women lay in his bed quietly. 

“Ugh, spare me your false modesty! You dirty old hypocrite.” Caesar clucked, waving a gloved hand dismissively even as he now floated to Vegapunk’s other side like an insistent child. 

“These two are my friends, I’m telling you. And they are desperate to start a family!” He just went on, then trying to shove the newspaper in front of the other scientist again.

“I already read it.” Vegapunk responded flatly. “And you don’t have any friends. I know Doflamingo must be your client. There is no other reason for you to be as fixated as you are with him. Money and cruelty are the only things which have ever enticed you to this degree.”

“Well he enjoys my creativity! And he knows a real genius when he sees one!” Caesar didn’t even bother to fully deny the accusation that time. If Vegapunk really was going to tattle on him just for taking money under the table, he already would have. Though Caesar was sure even Dr. Vegapunk didn’t know all the things they’d been cooking up together.

“He’s just using you. And you’re insecure enough to encourage it.”

“He is not just-” Caesar’s quick temper nearly got away from him all the way there, before he briefly bit his own lip to stop it. “Okay, fine! Doflamingo wants a child with her. I don’t even know this girl or care what she thinks! But look at the full picture. What happens to queens that don’t hold up their end of the bargain in giving a man like that his heirs?”

Caesar rather gleefully made an exaggerated pantomime of moving his finger in a sharp slice against his own throat to this.

And finally, only at that insinuation of barbarism to a supposed innocent like yourself, did Vegapunk actually look him in the eyes. Secretly sympathetic as that fool could often be. 

“And how could I trust he wouldn’t still harm her regardless?” The older man asked, rightfully skeptical.

“Because it doesn’t matter of course! Doflamingo will be here tomorrow night to pick this up either way!” Caesar exclaimed, lifting the small vial he’d already made from his gaseous coat pocket. 

“But my serum for her will be meaningless if he isn’t capable of delivering on the other half of the equation!” Caesar attempted to reiterate that need for urgency as well. “After all these years of working together, you’re really just going to leave me hanging like this, Vegapunk?”

“You should be embarrassed is what you should be. You got yourself into this mess. And now you come to my lab, interrupting me just to admit you don’t know how to mitigate something as simple as varicoceles in the testes?” Vegapunk asked with further incredulousness.

Yet Caesar ignored that heavier insult just this once, eyes widening as he pointed at the other scientist instead. “Aha! So you did already look at the data to figure out a solution! I knew it! Your ego couldn’t help it, could it? You prideful monster!”

“Of course I can correct it! At least temporarily at least. His lineage factors are a mess of recessive alleles.” Vegapunk did look properly shamed for only that moment to be so called out though. “But how far were you planning on going? What’s in your serum that could conflict with mine if I do make one? Is this full blown eugenics?“

Caesar paused, his seeming victory only weakened in his belated realization that Vegapunk may have indeed noticed more disfunction in Doflamingo’s bloodline than he had at first glance.

But Caesar would never admit aloud that his own concoction could be even further insufficient then. Yet he knew just how to give Vegapunk that extra, personal investment to do the rest of the hard work for him.

“He was aware of Vinsmoke’s wife.” Caesar admitted abruptly there, feigning an extra somber expression even if this was actually the truth. “And Doflamingo was explicit about wanting both his baby and the womb owner to survive without permanent damage this time. So I’d say whatever it takes to ensure that.”

Vegapunk lifted up his goggles then, watching the gas logia user carefully. Those stressed brow lines were now wrinkling all the way up the older scientist’s unnaturally large forehead.

He had indeed taken that emotional bait when it came to thinking of Sora’s death.

A tragedy that his weaker heart did not think worth repeating.

“If you’re going to be like Judge to do this to some poor woman either way…it might as well be safe. Give me your serum so I can analyze it. I’ll come up with something.” Vegapunk sighed.

And Caesar smiled.

It really was too easy.

————————— 

The sun was beating down by midday. Hot and relentless, just the way Doflamingo wanted it to be for this as he stretched his long legs across your lap, relaxing on his outdoor couch together by the pool.

At least he was relaxing anyway. You were quite a different story.

You hadn’t yet recovered from his confessions of this morning. And well…also from the totality of every other thing that had occurred from the moment he’d first kissed your hand in front of those camera flashes in the bloodied ballroom in Scylla to today.

And it had only been days, not weeks since then. But he lived a fast paced life.

One which you were now living too.

The newspaper had finally come as well, just as over the top and simultaneously aghast and excited by his manufactured drama as expected. The world would be salivating to see the navy’s next official reaction to your and his sordid love story he was sure.

But you’d refused to read a word of it yet. 

Just as you also refused the untouched food still on the tray in front of you.

Only Doflamingo and his crew ate. Enjoying lunch and drinks as he took a few more phone calls while the other Donquixote members either sunbathed or played cards in the shade beneath the archways.

He’d left the palace gates closed. There were no money hungry sycophants in their little string bikinis bouncing around to distract him today.

He already had the pretty toy he wanted most right now.

Though you had needed a bit of help. He’d made you change out of the ugly clothes he knew you’d been hiding your wounds in this morning. 

So you were currently in a very short sundress he’d chosen instead. One he could tell you hated as his gaze rarely left your more exposed figure and bared shoulders while he talked on the phone.

He didn’t conduct any business conversations he was too concerned with you hearing though. He made sure of that. It was mostly just receiving flattery as other high ranking contacts of his called to offer their mix of congratulations and surprise.

Everyone wanted to know a wedding date. They wanted to know his next move with the marines. And if they knew him even a little better than most, then they were trying to get a sense of his motives too.

What was in it for Joker?

Surely Donquixote Doflamingo didn’t have a heart.

They all knew he already had money, power, and more lovers waiting in the wings than he could possibly run his cock through on any given night.

So what the hell could a random marine provide to him now?

And such burning curiosity about you apparently extended to his uninvited guests as well, just as Doflamingo had ended another call, returning the receiver back to his snail beside him.

The Tontattas had been especially bold ever since your arrival in Dressrosa. As if they really thought he hadn’t noticed their little scouts flitting about more and more often.

Target practice was all he’d call them whenever they failed to stay on his blind side though. And he enjoyed the way he did see you startle as that bullet string left his fingertip without warning.

The resulting pop of the then exploding terracotta roof tile he’d hit had his officers looking briefly skyward as well.

But there was no blood spatter running down the eaves this time, a rare miss for him.

“Just clearing some of the bigger bugs we get around here.” Doflamingo chuckled as his vague explanation to you anyway, kicking his shoes off then as he kept his legs still across your thighs. “They’re a nuisance.”

“I didn’t see anything.” You said quietly. The first words you’d spoken in a few hours at least.

“They’re fast.” He answered simply, albeit smiling just to hear your voice again.

It was true he hadn’t intended to have this morning go as oddly as it had with you.

But he hadn’t expected to find your tired eyes boring through him just like his brother’s used to either. Only complimented by the haunting smell of the cigarette smoke as it’d drifted from you like a vengeful ghost, there to grab a hold of him as soon as he’d reentered his suite.

It was too many memories for him, too many feelings all at once. And things had just started falling from his lips afterward.

He’d told you how you did remind him of Corazon. 

And how he couldn’t lose that twice.

How badly he wanted his blood family back.

And how he would make you be the means to that end in any way necessary.

But he hadn’t yet taken your contraceptive pills away either. Because you were this stressed already, even with you believing there was still more time for you.

He’d let you think you were still being protected by those pills for now. Not so much as a real mercy to you, but more because he wanted you to eat again. He needed you to relax again.

So that he could have you functioning to do what he needed to do with you. It made his life easier if you weren’t in a full blown breakdown twenty-four seven.

Though since you were already this upset this morning. There was one other thing he’d planned to now get out of the way as he felt that first bead of sweat running down his chest in this oppressive heat.

Doflamingo smiled wider at you as he slid his legs back off of your lap for his bare feet to meet the warm ground.

This dangerous idea was yet another reason he’d shut everyone but his most trusted out of the courtyard now.

“I think we should cool off, love.” He said so casually then too. His head turning to look briefly towards that tranquil water which sparkled in the sunlight without a soul yet within it.

And his sunglasses were just as reflective as that deep water when he looked back to you. You and the dark realization already beginning across your own face while his hand grazed your bandaged thigh.

That wrapping would just have to be redone again.

“I’ll get in if you do.” He promised then, but unable to keep the cruelty from his resulting smirk either. You were just too smart as he saw the correct assumption fill your eyes, hungover or not. You were learning the proper times to assume the worst in his intentions.

“But yes…you first. I want to see you swim for me.” He confirmed as his smirk grew into a grin.

“You already know I’m not a devil fruit user. A test isn’t necessary.” Came your first attempt at argument regardless.

And he’d known it would be this way. He had no illusions of you going easily to anything right now.

His executives were already getting up though, listening to you both as they began to spread out around the pool.

He had warned them of this earlier.

“Just like we knew my brother wasn’t hiding a power from us either?” Doflamingo tutted at you anyway. “Official records can lie, darling. And you’re so good at what you do. I just need to be sure this time. I’d hate to ever carry doubt of my own wife…that’d just be miserable for me.”

For him.

At least he said it out loud this time.

Because his own emotions were all he thought of as he refused any further stalling on your part. The sooner this was over, the faster he could return to the pleasure he wanted.

“I’ll be waiting for you on the steps. That will be your only way out.” Doflamingo spoke so calmly, even as he’d yanked you off that couch by your arm when he’d stood.

And you’d still almost set him off balance in return when the struggle began. No small feat for someone already injured and only partly his size. But his strings pulled your legs out from under you with equal vigor before you could kick him.

He had to be fast, very fast, throwing you before your strong grip could get a solid hold on him either.

There was no guilt in him either of course. No matter how many times you’d already gotten further upset over this exact kind of rough treatment.

Part of his shirt sleeve which you’d ripped still ended up in the pool however. Floating, torn on the water’s surface once that large splash collapsed back in on itself after you’d hit the water.

“She sank!” Trebol exclaimed, sounding delighted.

“Everyone does at first. It’s whether she comes back up or not.” Diamante answered slightly more sensibly, but looking at the still rippling water with an eager anticipation all his own. 

Doflamingo knew there was some jealousy at play in their excitement of course. They thought you hadn’t yet earned your place at his side.

And only they’d seen the mess he’d really been after Rosinante. To which they’d all vowed never again.

They had every right to be this overprotective of him now.

Doflamingo’s own grin had vanished with your body as he’d stalked the edge of the pool in that brief time between. His height giving him an excellent vantage point while the still disturbed water now lapped the sides.

“How long do you want to wait, Doffy?” Pica was the only one already sounding anxious by comparison. Pica’s devil fruit could lift the entire courtyard, and dump all that water in an instant if his master only bid it.

“Her wounded leg certainly won’t help her. Give it a little longer.” Doflamingo answered firmly.

He couldn’t let them rush things. Because this trial was actually two fold after all.

Part one was just to clear the last of his anxiety of your hiding any secrets like his last Corazon.

And part two…

“Remember, if she comes up at any of the sides, don’t let her out. She only leaves the pool through me.” Doflamingo reminded his men as he now removed the rest of his torn shirt.

He had seen the warped shape of you finally moving along the bottom. You weren’t paralyzed, though he hadn’t truly expected you to be. His stress could now shift to what he had to do next to himself. 

His men hadn’t liked this portion of the plan earlier when he’d said it in private. And they certainly didn’t enjoy seeing it in action now as Doflamingo first stepped off the side and onto the underwater stairs which led to the pool’s bottom.

But he’d timed it well, wading in only in his capris pants. The cooler water was all the way to his knees just as your head at last broke the surface.

You looked initially furious of course. Spitting out water and barely staying afloat, fighting your weakened leg just as he’d thought while you kicked hard to stay upright. Your feet were nowhere near the bottom in that deepest section of the pool.

And just as you’d spun to curse or even fight one of them, his breath had caught as he felt the paralysis begin through his own lower body all at once when the water met his thighs.

Doflamingo’s power was fully ripped away as he landed on his ass on one of those submerged steps. The water then up to his chest so quickly as he panted, his weight falling back just enough to touch his shoulders to the pool wall.

He’d barely managed to keep his arms above the water. Now only able to move them weakly as they laid limply stretched on either side of him along the pool’s edge.

This was much deeper than the time he’d sat in the bath with you. That time had only made him feel pleasantly sluggish on top of disconnecting from his devil fruit.

But right now, he couldn’t even have stood up if he’d tried.

And if he slipped further down or fell forward instead…

“So you can swim.” Doflamingo spoke through his now labored breathing, forcing a smile regardless of that near atrophy then spreading into his chest muscles. 

There was still a very specific high in this for him of course. The rush of experiencing such primal fear he rarely got to play with. Not when he was so much stronger than anyone else he normally faced. 

His crew was horror stricken to silence however. But the executives were keeping the officers dutifully back. Letting their insane master do as he wished. Even if it meant now handing himself to you on a platter just to see your reaction.

This second test was him wishing to confirm that additional difference between you and his brother in the end. 

And all the more reason he really had thrown you into the deep as violently as he could.

Because humans showed their true colors most in times of duress. And he already had an idea of what you really were. 

But he wanted to show the others. And he wanted to remind himself after he’d briefly seen his brother staring back at him this morning.

“The fuck.”

He saw you mouth those two words more than you actually said them as you finally saw him and his too precarious placement on those steps.

Your eyes narrowed and you took a sharp breath before going immediately back under.

It was easier for you to swim just beneath the surface, not fighting to keep yourself above it as the shape of you then moved towards him quicker than even he’d expected.

And he could still feel everything so acutely too as his body beautifully suffered. Your soft hands as they opened against his bare chest. Your knees as they bumped against his inner thighs.

You emerged right in front of him in no time at all, shoving him to put his back harder against that pool wall. The texture was so rough, scraping against his shoulders as he breathed louder.

“Was I already slipping, my love?” Doflamingo asked, trying to keep his head raised to watch you as a chuckle rumbled through him. You were fully holding his torso up by then.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!? You think this shit is funny!?” You bitched loud enough that every member of his crew surely heard you that time.

And it was a little frustrating to him, not to be able to just kiss you then and there with that lovely fear still in your eyes.

But he couldn’t move his body enough to do it. So he had to settle for another intoxicated smile instead. He couldn’t get enough of you like this. 

“You surpass every expectation…you really do.” He tried to purr through his panting.

Because he knew it.

It wasn’t just about this silly game for you. It wasn’t anything about this goddamn pool at all really.

Your eyes said everything you were feeling.

And so Doflamingo laughed, even as your smaller arms tried to catch under his and force him up one stair step at a time. Wet skin to wet skin as you fought his dead weight with no help from his crew.

Donquixote Doflamingo could make anyone do anything. He could beat them, break them, cut them, or shoot them.

But he couldn’t make someone care. 

Not the way you did, so naturally and sincerely.

You were too obvious, and he was loving every moment even as his back finally fell out flat and hard to the ground. Laying beside the pool with only his legs then still in the water as you nearly fell on top of him after forcing him out.

“You are too damn big! You fucking asshole!” You were breathing harder, in clear pain for the unexpected exertion you’d just endured.

No, you were not at all the next Rosinante in his mind at least.

Because your feelings for him were different than that, and his anxiety of this morning had finally quieted in this affirmation.

The heated air now against Doflamingo’s skin revitalized him rather quickly too. Only his knees were still bent over the pool edge with his calves and feet in the water as he grabbed you quickly before you could think twice.

“And you were so upset this morning…and for what?” He teased, pulling you down onto his chest to stop you from getting away. 

He didn’t care if the girls in his crew would already be blushing now. 

The two of you were laid in quite the compromising way then, glistening in the sunlight together.

Doflamingo was already strong enough again to grab one of your hands as he forced it over his still racing heart, continuing to talk to you. “Yes, you’re a marine. But the last one that lived with me aimed a pistol to this instead.” He said in reference to that hotly beating muscle inside, his mouth almost against yours too by then. “If I hadn’t answered with my own, none of this would be possible. Do you understand? He wanted to erase me…and you…” Doflamingo smiled, searching your still emotional eyes from behind his glasses.

“You only want to save me.”

He kissed you right after those words had left his lips, pulling you to him even tighter as he forced his tongue up into your mouth. 

He might have heard Baby 5 gasp. 

Maybe Dellinger had made a retching sound.

But they’d just have to get used to it. 

You were here to stay. And soon enough they’d have a new little brother or sister to go along with this perfect family addition.

—————————

“Vice Admiral Tsuru has abandoned her post in Lyra and is no longer updating her coordinates. At least on our channels.” Tashigi said quietly. “The fleet admiral has ordered no one to speak to the press. And there is still a travel embargo in place to Dressrosa per HQ. No navy ships are allowed to port there until further notice. This order will be strictly enforced by the sailors of base G-5 and their commander Vice Admiral Vergo.”

Smoker remained silent, looking out to sea as his subordinate gave her latest updates from the bulletins that had been coming periodically across the snails all day.

Some transmissions were official, some more secondhand, leap frogged in communications from navy ship to navy ship here in the New World as everyone clamored to make any real sense of this new humiliation.

“We’ll still beat Tsuru there.” Smoker finally said gruffly.

He was standing alone otherwise.

Even as much of a rookie as Tashigi still was, she was the only one willing to approach him after he’d exploded on the rest of the crew earlier.

Smoker had yelled, asking how braindead they had to be to believe these steaming piles of dogshit being purported as the truth about you now.

And he could rage at his own men to knock sense into them all he wanted. But he knew their opinions would now reflect the majority of marines regardless.

Doflamingo was purposefully cutting off your support.

Just as Smoker and Aokiji had both assumed that pirate would further try to.

Yet that didn’t mean that Smoker was reacting well either. And he was certain Aokiji would be laid over a bar somewhere in Marineford by tonight.

“Are you okay…Captain?”

Tashigi’s damned soft voice only irritated him further as he bit against his cigars. “Shut off all our snails from here out until Dressrosa is in sight. Then start the S.O.S. signals. Tsuru has the right idea about going dark. There’s nothing else we need to know about this. We stick to the plan and that’s the end of it.”

“Yes, Captain.” She saluted only half heartedly however before walking away to deliver those orders to the communications room.

She even had the audacity to look back over her shoulder too. Her concern so insultingly etched over every bit of her body language as Smoker tried and failed to focus only on the ocean’s windswept whitecaps still in the distance.

He was a practical man. A straight forward man who loathed the idea of ever living within the failures of the past.

Everything should only be the next step forward. The next answer to what existed now, not to what was before.

But even his resolve was not enough to overcome this twisting thing, now eating through his heart and mind as he went through cigar after cigar.

He didn’t care if you hated him any longer.

He only cared if you hated yourself. And if he had so stupidly contributed to it in the end when he’d thought he’d only been pressing you to be better.

You had never been in love with him. Smoker was still certain of this. You’d just been killing time. The two of you were friends that’d gone too far, because it had felt good and you’d both been so similar.

He could trust you and you could trust him. And for almost two years that had been enough.

Until it wasn’t. Until he’d wanted more and it had started to hurt. But you’d never change. And you couldn’t understand why it was wrong. 

Smoker had tried to pull back, expecting you to see it and cut him off with a vengeance. He had no insecurities that made him need to be the first to end it.

He’d wanted you to. To say you’d dumped him so you could walk on with your head held high. You’d needed that win far more than he did.

But you’d clung to him in your own way. And he’d been so irritated by it. Because in every other aspect of your life you were one of the fiercest women he’d ever known.

Yet you just wouldn’t walk away from him as many times as he’d tried to push you towards freedom.

The true end in his mind, being that last time the two of you had ever been physically intimate. Both your ships had been in a port in the East Blue at the same time. He had tried to have an honest conversation with you alone then. Because he’d never wanted to do something that serious over the phone.

But you’d wanted to go drinking instead, and he’d gotten all the more frustrated. Culminating in bending you over in the bathroom of the bar as he’d used himself up again inside of you.

He’d still wanted you so fully and he’d hated it. Because he’d seen your own anger and hurt. Drunk as you’d been, wanting his attention and affection even in the aftermath. 

He didn’t enable you further to give it that night though as he’d only refastened his pants and helped you straighten your skirt before making sure you made it back to your ship safely.

You were never ready to listen to him. And you’d probably cried that night. He’d stayed awake the entire time on his own ship, waiting by his snail.

Surely he’d thought you’d call cursing and fussing by then. That you’d finally break up with him and wake up to what you were really doing to yourself.

But it was so much worse than he’d ever believed.

Because the next time he’d seen you had finally been in Mariejois. And he couldn’t wait any longer by then. He’d prepared to say what you wouldn’t and cut you loose. 

And he’d known you wouldn’t handle it well. Tashigi had followed him to the courtyard, worrying as always. But Smoker had felt a rare dread in himself that morning.

Much like he did today.

You’d been using him to feel something. And he’d let you, until the day he couldn’t anymore.

It’d hurt like hell.

And it still hurt because he knew you’d learned nothing even as many times as he’d tried to show you. 

You’d pour yourself into every goddamn other thing but actually saving yourself. Chiefly your career and your shitty taste in men, himself included. 

You didn’t trust yourself to deserve better. You didn’t know your real worth. And now the absolute worst fucking candidate Smoker could ever think of had to have learned this about you too.

Smoker had done his damndest to make you take flight.

And all you’d done was double back right into the strings of the next man in waiting. 

One that wasn’t a man at all, but a demon to be beaten back before he broke your wings entirely.

But did you want Doflamingo to lose when it came to you? That was a question Smoker still couldn’t answer either. Despite all his bluster, defending you so doggedly before his own crew.

All he could really do would be to try and wake you one more time. 

And hope that this would finally be enough to be different somehow. That you would want to be free instead of just holding tighter to the chains you’d already made in your own mind.

The ones Doflamingo surely kept tightening once he had found them.

Hell itself couldn’t have dreamed of a worse combination than the two of you.

———————————

    T⨂  BE 

CONTINUED

———————————

Thanks for reading!

Author’s note: I’m pretty sure that in canon Law is the only person ever shown knowing of Rosinante’s devil fruit ability. For purposes of this story, I’m assuming some of the marines Rosi served with ended up also knowing. And Doflamingo dug up that information after his death, bothered by just how much else his brother may have been hiding from him. I didn’t want to spoil Doffy’s “are you or aren’t you a witch?” pool trick by posting this note at the beginning. 🫣

[bucca2]

okay not to wax poetic about a minor side character in Skyrim that annoys the fuck out of most people, but it really does sadden me that most people are like “he’s annoying, kill him!” and then do no self reflection on the fact that they only killed him because of a petty personal gripe and because they were sent to do so by a power tripping traitor who LATER ALSO TRIES TO KILL THE LISTENER THEMSELVES.

For a long time I’ve had Thoughts™ on the phenomenon of Gamers (derogatory) who treat any NPC who is even slightly an inconvenience with disproportionate and often violent vitriol, but this post is already getting long. General musings on the tragedy of Cicero’s character and how it’s objectively the wrong choice to kill him below.

Thanks to my partner @wrenanigans I’ve had reason to re-examine Cicero’s character, and his past just makes me so deeply sad. Of course, his journals only cover DB-related events, so maybe he had a personal life he just didn’t write about, but it kind of struck both of us that he feels the loss of his fellow DB members so keenly and yet never really mentions any personal relationships outside of obligation to his fellow assassins. (i.e no family or lovers pre-insanity when he was a normal, extremely capable man) Like of course he went insane. The organization that was his entire life’s purpose not only promoted him to a position where he could no longer do what he joined them to do, but then he watched the organization dissolve around him and all his friends be slaughtered.

Then he was alone with the Night Mother waiting for her to talk to someone and give him direction for eight fucking years!!! Of course he went completely off the deep end! If I was isolated, paranoid (but is it paranoia if they’re actually out to get you?) and constantly on survival mode for that long, I’d be relieved if being a little quirky and doing little dances was the extent of my deviant behavior! (The murder comes with being in the Dark Brotherhood, so I don’t wanna hear any whining about him being stabby. Murder isn’t OK if the Dragonborn does it, but suddenly immoral if people you don’t like do it. In video games.)

I think for most people who don’t put much thought into Cicero and his actions, they just vaguely think “oh, Cicero betrayed the family and tried to kill Astrid, so killing him is justified irrespective of her later betraying us”, which is simply not true. There’s a very interesting post I saw floating around lately about how you can’t treat religion in fantasy worlds like TES the same way you would with religious groups IRL, because in TES there is tangible proof that gods exist, and they can and will fuck with the mortal world for their own whims. The point of the DB quest line is that the Tenets matter, and straying from them and the Night Mother almost snuffed the DB out for good. The narrative of the game explicitly justifies Cicero’s actions and QUITE LITERALLY tells you that killing Cicero is not the right call.

TES has a lot of creative interactivity with picking your own outcomes and going with your own solutions, but quests don’t usually end with “go kill this guy. but you can also spare him… ;)” They usually don’t give you an old wise dude whose spirit you can summon who tells you not to kill that clown. And then if you spare Cicero, he comes back and is a potential companion. Like…I don’t know how much more obvious it can get that you’re not supposed to kill Cicero. I get for most people it’s not that deep, but this is TES. We talk about lore here.

[vigarioamelia]

there are a lot of tragic characters in elden ring (pretty much everyone lol) but godwyn exudes a kind of Shakespearean tragedy that just makes me feel so bad for him

godwyn the... betrayed

do you guys remember that trend? jupiter was supposed to be a star but failed?

alexa, play the old doll audio

i'll be talking a lot about godwyn so uh big words trigger warning i guess

Godwyn the Golden, the first child of Godfrey and Queen Marika the Eternal and also the first Demigod known to ever perish.

He was the first descendant of the Golden Line and one of his traits is *literally* being friends with dragons.

Whenever he's mentioned, grief is involved. Both the grief of a Mother and the grief of the people.

He was part of the Golden Order, but we know for a fact he was no maniac for its fundamentals, given the genuine bond he had with Fortissax, for example.

I know we can't really Know this stuff but come on, Godwyn seemed like a certified Big Bro™. He gives the feeling of how pure a person should be. Royal blood – of the purest kind! From the lore we have of him, it appears that he really was The ideal prince.

I like to believe he was particularly fond of the Omen Twins and that, even though they grew up in completely opposite worlds from each other, he was always sort of There. Better than Marika, that's for sure. Just imagine big bro Godwyn taking his baby bros for a tour around the capital. They spend the entire day running around and Godwyn looks so peaceful that the twins can't help but feel that too, if only for a moment.

Not to mention the tender relationship he probably had with the cursed twins.

When Godwyn's spirit was slayed during the Night of the Black Knives, he received a fate worse than death itself: the curse of living in Death.

He who should be crowned golden as the Lord among them all was crowned in ruin as the Prince of Death.

Godwyn will not only never die, but he will never live again. His existence is a terror that punishes the roots of the Erdtree, a thing that not even Miquella was able to stop or help in any way.

This once sweet and kind and beautiful lord is now nothing but a creature spreading across the land.

When both Miquella and Fortissax failed to give him a proper death and rest, what then remained of his body was laid under the roots of the Erdtree. A bit fair, isn't it? First of the Demigod, ruined and buried under the Erdree, where he will slowly but certainly cause destruction and despair all across the land, bringing death to all it touches.

It kills me that the place where he's buried is so dark and lonely and scary. The Godwyn before the Rune of Death was assured to have dozens if not hundreds of statues and paintings and churches and whatever to honor him.

But Godwyn the Golden ceased to exist. There's no one left to adore or admire or cherish. The only thing left is Godwyn the Prince of Death.

He's now worshipped by the undead, Those Who Live in Death, as D calls them. Is there a more tragic end for a royal who was once beloved all across a golden capital?

The only way to change his fate is to make things even WORSE.

Restore the Elden Ring with the Rune of Death and he supposedly comes back again, but. Oh. My. Fucking. God. I would literally go fucking insane if I first opened my eyes to the world I cherished and grew up on completely destroyed by MYSELF without my damn consent.

If he became Prince of Death by his own choice? Fucking sexy. I would support him. SLAY (literally).

But this? My man was ROBBED.

Imagine being "reborn" (in death) and realizing that EVERYONE from your life is dead. The place where you ran around as a kid? Fucking demolished, DIRTY with ashes. ASHES OF DEAD PEOPLE.

AND YOU'RE THEIR MONARCH.

There's NOTHING to rule and most of all THERE'S NOTHING TO PROTECT.

Literally the worst thing that could happen to a dude.

look what the fuck they did to my baby holy shit there truly wasn't enough room for a blonde twink in the lands between was there

Ohh... Oh,  Lord Godwyn... Such cruelty, such humiliation... My poor, sweet lordling should have died a true death. As the first of the demigods to die. As a martyr to Destined Death. But why must it yet bring such disgrace? A scion of the golden bough, sentenced to live in Death...

i really only have two things left to say:

1. godwyn was too sexy to be in the game so miyazaki gave him the worst fate known to humanity (godhood?)

2. this happened to my buddy eric

[mamadarama]

I was going through some posts I missed and came across the “tatsumi is mature but still does 19 year old things” and I just wanna say I’ve never been able to put it into words when my friends ask but like. That’s exactly what I love about this game.

We’ve got scandals and drama and weird crypto currencies and convoluted backstories of implied murder or identity theft or military shit or relations to underground gang activity or so SO much more and yet the writers still succeed in reminding you that this is a game full of high schoolers.

Natume was one of the five oddballs and suffered through so much during the war where it affects him to this day, but he also refers to his tech savvy and love of the occult as magic and loves the junior he “adopted” to death. Despite Aira struggling against every odd to become a real idol he still buys merch and looks on the internet to look for content of the ones he likes. Rinne was destined to become the monarch of his homeland but ran away in an attempt to find happiness and acceptance and is an amazing strategist who uses it to take down corruption, but his sense of humor is entirely made up of sex jokes and romantic teasing like Aira being “hiiro’s little girlfriend”. The amount of characters that assign themselves the mom friend role just because. Trickstar. I don’t think I need to explain Trickstar-

Like this game has made me cry so many times and it has its ridiculous moments but it also has its genuine ones while also being the most teenage shit I’ve seen in my life and I feel like so few media can balance those and still have a decent story like that. Sorry for the long ass post I just have so many feelings about this kind of stuff 😭

YEAH this is exactly what i was talking about in a previous ask when i said i have nothing meaningful to add to the enstars cast that isnt a headcanon . its all very well thought out and the interpersonal relationships are nuanced enough to feel realistic but outlandish enough to be interesting .

worldbuilding and character design is one of my special interests and i say this any chance i can get: the most important part of building a character (and a story in general) is realizing the importance of comedic irony and comedy as a whole regardless of genre or tone. it makes characters feel more 3 dimensional and relatable because people arent stagnant and theres multiple facets to any individuals personality (this is also why some of the most popular animes of all time have filler episodes or funny bits that show the characters personalities, every event hits with 3x emotional impact the more you know about the characters as people but that's a different discussion) enstars does a really good job of this . like for example if wataru were to have had a realistic reaction to eichi starting the war it wouldnt be nearly as good of a story. the fact that eichis ridiculous ass backwards plan to get wataru to fall in love with him actually worked is a perfect example of comedy used to make a story more interesting. another thing similar to this is how sometimes its better to not detail something and let characters do things for a mundane reason or even no reason at all . for example subaru hating chiaki just because he annoys him, or shinobu being on the broadcasting team despite his character not being associated with technology otherwise and therefore having no real backstory on why he likes radio stuff. its all really well planned worldbuilding with an insane amount of subtle details , which is why enstars is one of my favorite stories to analyze . the only thing i could possibly want more out of it is hardcore tragedy but thats entirely a personal preference rather than a critique because im a slut for catharsis and i love sad endings , especially ones where characters die . (don't worry im in therapy)

[hello-nichya-here]

Hi. What do you think about Lisa and Michael's marriage? I mean... they had a complex relationship. Do you think he made mistakes in some of his actions? Do you think both were immature?

The best way to describe Michael Jackson is "Surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who was abused his entire life" and the best way to describe Lisa is "Surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who was literally being exploited in a cult."

I love Michael with all my heart, but he would disappear for weeks after fights with his wife, and told her, to her face, that if she didn't give him children, he was gonna get someone else (who was supposedly just a friend) pregnant, and then he did and went on to marry her. "Made mistakes" is quite the understatement. This is on the level of "Do you WANT to make this woman hate you?"

Not to mention the simple fact that being married to someone who has an addiction is quite the emotional turmoil - especially when they're addicted to the same thing that killed one of your parents and full on told you they feared they'd die the same way. It really isn't hard to understand why Lisa Marie asked for a divorce, and then also gave up on the "affair" they had during his second marriage (well, """"marriage"""" if we're going to be honest here).

But that's not to say Lisa was perfect. She wasn't. She full on said "He had a sad childhood, but who didn't?" to kind of dismiss the whole Peter Pan thing he had of compensating for the time of his life - which is an INSANE thing to say. There's "My childhood wasn't that fun" and there's being a survivor of abuse.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Lisa was some heartless monster (if anything, to me that sounds more like her being very much in denial about how traumatic her own childhood was and not liking that Michael was indirectly/accidentally reminding her "No, what happened to you wasn't normal, you need help too") but obviously it'd hurt to open up about something like that and have your own wife act like you're being dramatic. Dude was the definition of "Just 'cause you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you" after all, of course he would take that to heart.

Lisa also full on admited that, looking back, she had not truly appreciated how much Michael had genuinely tried to make things work for a long time. That it truly had been a HUGE step in the right direction for someone as traumatized him to open up to her the way he did, to share his life with someone, to let everyone see him in love. She full on said that it took him dying for her to finally understand that he loved her.

I think Lisa also set herself up for disappointment to some extent.

She married the man that called himself Peter Pan and lived in Neverland, then was suprised that he was goofing off during interviews instead of trying to act more "adult" to prove their marriage was real. She didn't want her marriage to be turned into a spectacle, yet her husband was literally Michael Jackson (and he had just been accused of abusing little boys, OF COURSE he'd be reminding everyone that he was very much a straight man). She literally said in an interview that she thought she could save him - she looked at that trainwreck of a life that left this man badly damaged, emotionally stunted, paranoid and depressed, then went "I can fix him!" when she was equally messed up. Just terrible idea after terrible idea.

They both went through A LOT of tragedy from a very young age, and it messed them up. On good days, that made them a great match because they could relate to, and find comfort in, each other. But on the bad days? It was a VERY toxic relationship - and not because one or both of them were terrible people, but because, to put it bluntly, it's hard to have a normal, healthy relationship when you never experienced it, or even seen it, your whole life. Of course they didn't know how to make it work.

Add in the fact that a lot of people, including Lisa's mother, seemed to be actively rooting for them to fail, and openly questioning if their marriage was even real, and it becomes a truly unbearable situation. Lisa gets a lot of shit from some MJ fans for being the one who ended things (twice), but in all honesty, sooner or later Michael would have said "enough is enough" too.

And it really is a shame, because considering how genuinely happy they seemed through a lot of their marriage, how they showed support to each other through hard times after spliting up, how they couldn't keep their hands off each other for five freaking years after their divorce, how Michael's nephew was defending Lisa from slanders in public because he had only ever heard his uncle say good things about her, and how much Lisa was grieving after Michael's death, it's clear that they loved each other A LOT.

[maxanor]

Watched up until ep 9 so here are more of my abbreviated thoughts, don't want to make this ask too long but many thoughts head never empty about this show and my babygirls.

Ep 5: god what an episode, the official and final break up of my best girls. The scene where Alicent walks into the banquet in that green dress: lifechanging, actual chills, that scene is sooo good and other people don't seem to care about it as much as I do from what I saw online but like that scene is insane, I want to live inside of it; the meaning of the colours, the declaration of war, THE MUSIC (!!)

Ep 6: the shift to the older actors oooh we're here, they're both so excellent and just the tension in this episode, like that's sexual the small council scene uuhm Alicent babes look away and Rhaenyra stop touching that ball there is a touch starved lesbian across from you have some decorum (also Alicent was at her most bitchy (affectionate) this episode and I kind of lived for it)

Ep 7: THE episode. Now why did I have to see that Dae/myra sex scene?? Controversial opinion: the knife scene was more sexual than the Dae/myra sex scene, something something stabbing as a metaphor for gay sex, stabbing your homoerotic situationship after breaking up 10 years ago something something. WHERE IS DUTY WHERE IS SACRIFICE - Olivia that entire scene, yeah I was captivated (also Otto being proud, oh the toxic generational abuse continues yes tragedy)

Ep 8: Viserys losing an eye after not giving a shit Aemond lost an eye and not doing anything, oh I call that poetic justice. Rhaenicent making soft eyes at each other oh the gays are at it again, who let them out? The children continuing their fighting because of the damage their mothers already did, oh the generational conflict continues, cannot bury the hatchet when you have sown hate for years

Ep 9: no one seems to agree online from what I saw, but honestly maybe one of my favourite episodes of the season, maybe that is because I adore Alicent and this episode was all about her in my opinion. The scene between Rhaenys and Alicent, loved that, they could not have played that scene any gayer but maybe that's just me. Otto calling Alicent out about her feelings surrounding Rhaenyra, like at this point the closet is glass sweetie. "Childhood companion", the subtext is there if they ever make it maintext I will sob.

Question: I know the actors have discussed the queer subtext but have any of the writers or directors ever hinted at it as well? It can't be all coincidental right?

Anyways this got way way too long, my bad🩵 going to watch ep 10 soon, wish me luck🫡

making popcorn to answer this ask mwahahaha 🍿

ep5 – god this episode is heartbreaking, emily carey's acting is just incredible i love her so much!! this was actually the first episode i watched live and i know people were freaking out about it, but it does seem to get overlooked in light of everything that comes next

ep6 – EMMA AND OLIVIA 🫶 both their introductions are incredible and i'm forever thankful they were cast <3 the small council scene is insane 😵‍💫

ep7 – soooo true this is THEEE episode!!! although ofc every time i think of this episode i redact the dae/myra sex scene bc poor rhaenyra has been thru so much she doesnt need that as well!! also your opinion is not controversial, rhaenicent absolutely have more chemistry, both emma and olivia's performances in that scene are insane god i love them (bonus: the script from the scene)

ep8 – i loveeeee this episode sooo much, their children are so poisoned against each other but alicent and rhaenyra cannot help but want to mend their relationship like they yearn for each other so deeply they'll never be free!!!! also aemond is my best friend in this episode i love him <3

ep9 – i love this episode too!!! i don't necessarily subscribe to any "team" but the targtowers are just much more interesting than all of the team black characters (excluding rhaenyra) and i love seeing the inner-workings of the green council. also aegon's coronation scene is so incredible oh tgc the actor you are!!! and "you imbecile" being unscripted like oh that shit is insane 😵‍💫

to answer your question about the writers/directors supporting rhaenicent, yes they do! i'll put some quotes under the cut <3

"they are good friends with this potential romantic entanglement from earlier on that has always been a big thing for that, that i thought it was an essential component  of why they are such close friends. it seems like it’s a kind of unrequited love…rhaenyra has this deep longing for her best friend" – miguel sapochnik (co-showrunner involved in s1, he's not going to be involved in s2 due to some internal drama lmao)

"the underlying theme is that rhaenyra is actually in love with alicent. with milly as young rhaenyra, it was very much about seeing how she experiences this constant series of small rejections from alicent" – miguel sapochnik

"alicent is feeling very alone. so when rhaenyra enters, that’s what she wants. she wants the love in her life, and it’s a bit of a love story in a way, of these two women" – geeta patel (directed 1x08)

"[rhaenyra and alicent] are in my mind a divorced couple. they were in love as friends, and now they are apart" – geeta patel

"these two young women who were friends as girls, who grew up deeply loving each other...and then how they were forced into this situation by the pressures put on them by the aristocracy and by the patriarchy, by these ancient political constructs around them" – ryan condal (main showrunner)

"there is an element of queerness to it, whether you see it that way or as just the unbelievably passionate friendships that women have with each other at that age. i think understanding that element of it sort of informs the entire rest of their relationship...at the core of it, they knew each other as children, and they loved each other and that doesn't go away" – sara hess (executive producer/writer/lesbian)

"despite everything that happened, there is a deep connection and ultimately you can’t erase the fact that you loved and cared for someone. it can get twisted, but it cannot be deleted" – clare kilner (directed 1x04, 1x05, and 1x09)

"i saw the love and romance of these two girls, which makes it all the more tragic when they become estranged" – greg yaitanes (director of 1x02)

honestly there are more and this isnt even getting into everything emma, olivia, emily, and milly have said but 🤗 rhaenicent is canon change my mind!!!!

[the-girl-in-the-high-castle]

I’ve been going crazy about this show for a month and my mind is completely taken over by either sound, crazy or half baked theories, so I’m gonna share some of the thoughts here. They are not all mine, it can be said it’s a combination of my own thoughts and the things I’ve read other people notice. So this is a long post, sorry about that, I just have to get it out of me. 

**************************************************************************

- The memories Daniel is trying to make Maura remember are 100% fake, like I’m sure of it. Nothing about them seems real. All the photos are the same, they are dressed in same clothes, they all look the same. His memory takes place in a modern looking flat that definitely does not match either the photos or the landscape outside. It’s like those crazy dreams we have with dozen things put together and then they don’t make any sense. 

- Daniel and Elliot aren’t real. The fake memories from the previous point are one proof, but what’s even more important is that neither of them has any motivation as own character outside of Maura. They do not exist inside the story without their entire existence being tied to Maura. They are trying to wake Maura up, save Maura, etc. But it always comes back to Maura. Every other character has their own story, but they are always tied to Maura. Elliot’s memories are the same as Daniel’s. That grey landscape looks like a dream and it’s always the same in all those memories. The only difference is that Maura’s hair is down in that scene, otherwise, it’s like they just jumped there from the Kerberos. I will focus on this point further as well. 

- The traumatic memories of all the other characters might not be real, or are partially real. I believe Eyk’s family might not be real as well, and that the memory of the tragedy was probably installed there for a purpose. The only one I believe might actually be real is his eldest daughter Nina. She’s all he talks about and sometimes it’s funny how he almost never mentions anyone else. She’s the only one he hears, sees and touches. Like the only one that actually feels real. 

- 2099 is another simulation. I’m sure of this. It just does not feel real. And like a lot of other people, I believe the real reality is somewhere in between 1899 and 2099. Maybe 1999. This takes me back to episode one when Maura stands in front of the mirror and says her name, date and then starts with “19...” corrects herself and says 1899. 

- The body remembers! Eyk is Maura’s real husband. Yeah, my favorite delusional theory. Or not so delusional after all. The out of this world chemistry that you can cut with a sword is not the reason for this, but it’s wonderful. There is a lot of focus on the body remembering either trauma or things of other form. The way they act with each other screams that they have something going on in reality. I do not believe it’s just the repeating simulations. It’s the projection of their relationship in reality that their mind forgot but the body cannot. The way that she always reaches out to him and touches him so casually like it is a habit. It’s also interesting how he reacts to her touch, first with surprise, then disbelief, like he cannot believe she did it, like he does not deserve it, which can mean he might have fucked something up royally in reality. The way she constantly defends him in front of everyone even though his decisions are questionable at best and outright insane at worst, she does not hesitate for a second in defending him, and I don’t believe it’s just because she herself knows weird ass shit is going on on that ship. Might be a sign that she was also the one that fucked things up royally. Failed marriage storyline maybe. 

- I think that Maura’s memories she has at the beginning, the miscarriage storyline, are actually what is real. Why? Well, we go back to the body remembering. There is a very huge ass focus on her not feeling anything when she looks at the “family” photos of her, Daniel and Elliot. Like it’s not just her saying she doesn’t remember, it’s her insisting she doesn’t FEEL anything when she looks at them. She says she’d know if she had a child, she would feel it, and she breaks down, in a sort of blaming herself moment, that she does not remember her child, that she does not feel anything, and it looks really genuine. Maybe it’s because her body remembers the trauma of losing a child, not having one. Because from episode one it looks like she feels the loss of a child in that way. Plus, we have her reaction to Eyk’s family photo, which is a lot more emotional than her reaction to her supposed family photo. It happens 3 times. Three times she looks at Eyk’s family photo and has an emotional reaction to it. And there is a real huge focus on that for it not to mean anything.

- Eyk’s family photo on Kerberos, the burned down house and the empty frame on the Prometheus. Someone came up with a theory that Maura’s photo Daniel has belonged in the Prometheus empty frame. I actually like the theory. Even though it can just mean it’s in the letter Eyk received, but if it’s a simulation after all, they could’ve just created a new one. So the theory can still be correct in a way, since we have Daniel essentially coming from the Prometheus. And there is a bit of focus on that empty frame, so it must mean something.

- The way things are being spoken is going to be of huge importance. I think this is one of the reasons we have so many different languages. Like, I can notice these things in English and Spanish, because I speak these languages, but fuck if I know how the French phrase their sentences. Some of the examples are: Maura and Eyk essentially have their tragedies happen at the same time, except he uses the “two years ago” and she uses “a couple of years ago”. Or Daniel saying “we got married 12 years ago”, not ‘’we’ve been married for 12 years” or anything like that. Or Maura saying ‘’my focus was....is on the human brain”, etc. 

- 12 years are somehow important, or just number 12. This got me to reading about different meaning of number 12 and 12 labors of Hercules in the middle of the night. Daniel mentions it “we got married 12 yeas ago” and Franz says he’s been in Eyk’s service for 12 years. 

- The connections the characters form with the people they “aren’t supposed to be with” are the projection of their real life relations. I think this has been established as truth amongst fans already. The most obvious being Eyk and Maura, Clemence and Jerome, Olek and Link Yi, but also Angel and Krester, even Tove and Franz. 

- I didn’t believe a single word creepy Qyburn said and think he has a bigger part in it than just being trapped inside the simulation.

- The theory of either Daniel or Eyk being Maura’s brother is the stupidest possible theory anyone could come up with. And this is happening because of Dark. People should stop connecting it all to Dark. The creators said that they are trying to make it as different from Dark as it can be, and I believe them, What would be the point in creating two shows that are the same? Like yeah, Daniel is suspicious as hell, but no way he’s playing that sort of sick kind of mind games. Eyk, whoever thinks Eyk can be the creator is just really funny to me. My man spent the entire season lost and confused as fuck, and no, subverting expectation does not count here. 

This isn’t even a third of what’s going on in my head these days, but I had to share at least some of the things I had in mind. 

[eternitas]

Hi 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 Questions time!! For Ava and Lorenzo

Are there any tropes fandom would put upon your character, for better or for worse?

What headcanons/theories do you believe fandom would invent about your character?

By contrast, what would their haters dislike about your character? Is it a petty complaint? A mischaracterization of the character or their intentions? Are they just a woman in a largely male-centric series?

Ask Meme

Hi hi hi there! Thank you for sending this in Mel! I'm so honored that you have interest in my dudes!

Are there any tropes fandom would put upon your character, for better or for worse?

Ava is definitely one of the biggest yandere providers. The way he clings to his brother would spark many many yandere scenarios. I also think he is someone who is put a lot through unhealthy relationships or one sided loves. Another thing I could see with him is going through the entire shipping bingo (only one bed, hanahaki, fake boyfriends, arranged marriage, snowed in together-)

Lorenzo weirdly enough I could see as being made the reluctant team mom? Also def seen as being a witty one liner machine. Biggest enemies to lovers candidate tbh, he gets instantly paired with whoever he has beef with and that's half the cast.

LorAva as a ship would def be a fave for the tragedy enjoyers, because despite them working it out in canon they just have such high angst potential. Lots of "there was only one bed" stories.

What headcanons/theories do you believe fandom would invent about your character?

For Ava they'd definitely do a lot of HCs about how much he is like their mother and what that says about their mother and Ava in return. Lot's of fluffy headcanons about him being pure and wholesome, letting out his box animal to play, holding tea parties. There is definitely a long running theory that all officers and especially Xanxus have "adopted" Ava as their princess because it's Squalos cute younger brother? Many many "Xanxus is actually soft to Ava" headcanons.

Don't ask me how but i believe there'd be people who believe Lorenzo is secretly related to Belphegor or even Gokudera. Def a candidate of moe gap headcanons about him secretly being really into stuff like stuffed animals??? definitely a lot of "he is just misunderstood :c" posts and a strangely wide accepted AU of Lorenzo and Dera being brothers??? It's all good fun though

By contrast, what would their haters dislike about your character? Is it a petty complaint? A mischaracterization of the character or their intentions? Are they just a woman in a largely male-centric series?

The amount of hate for Ava, because there are a good few that ship him with his brother. In general I think most Ava hate would come through how he is depicted by fandom as this uwu shota bean too pure for this world, which makes him seem so unnecesarily childish. With the uwu baby bean comes also the "he has never done anything wrong in his life" which some find extremely annoying because Ava is ALSO violent and hotheaded and can say insanely stupid things. Also lots of hate because of his relationship with Takeshi and the Yama x someone else shippers don't like that.

Lorenzo is definitely just hated because he is a meanie. Or rather it's the whole "they are so unhealthy for each other" debate. One specific thing he is hated for by some is that [SPOILER ALERT] during the fights that break out to determine if Tsuna keeps listening to Squad 4 or if he refuses their teachings, Lorenzo actually wins his fight against Hibari through a technicallity and myyyy god there are enough Hibari fans who hate that so much, and therefore just can't forgive Lorenzo.

[edwardsissyhandsthtdanceslikeabb]

Blink Twice is an encapsulation of dubiousness to me, not only in the thinking it inspires, but in the layers you’re left grappling with, and then the inferences one has to resonate with after that.

and nothing evidences that more than the intangible nature of the disturbing angle to me, as its muddied in the layers of complication and nuance that lurk beneath. i mean the movie itself paints over the tragedies with cynicism, is entirely dedicated to weaponizing intuition and comfort against you.

i’d never read it as disturbed, and it too, never lets you mourn in turn. bc its insane at its inception, warped by frida’s fanatical infatuation with slater, bordering preying, a reverence for one's kill. and lures us with psychedelic, sugary visuals, with the indulgence – on food, luxury, substances. on billionaire brainrot fodder, perpetuating their power, craving proximity. inviting it into our homes, our heads. the movie *wants* you, most of all, to understand frida’s hunger. and its that thirst i most resonate with, not for a lack of empathy, or even technical prowess, but the basal intrigue it cemented in me instead.

bc it’s a movie that’s nearly primal for me. it scents cycles and desensitization, roles and autonomy, a self-infliction of decay, and disorients you before you’re allowed a proper lungful. there are only questions. shifts. a russian doll of detail and poison, and the inviolability that invoked, ironically only ever paralyzed my thinking, serving creative rot, over any epiphanies or nuance i could hope to be enlightened to.

the animalistic cruelty of desire is not there to be contextualized, but understood. felt. a relationship as inextricable as frida and slater’s. with slater likely parasitizing her algorithm, wielding his techbro power to further entrap her. like how we routinely indulge in the same. you rewind the movie, and pick out signs of danger, slater snickering at frida praising her memory, the supposed water he drinks and its snake-venom hue, the recurring jingling of a necklace, and like frida, have the fantasy demystified, wonder how there was *ever* an illusion of safety.

so watching an analysis video which posits that slater smokes the venom, that he indulges all suffering except his own, just as frida remembers the doctor’s blinks of warning, while burying the suffering they foresee, that they have seen, is watching frida emulate slater, and slater her.

it’s the movie’s thesis statement: there is no healing, there is no forgiveness, only embrace, only numbness, apathy. and when a stray tear glistens on slater’s face, he mourns not for the men, for paternalistic, patriarchal dominance, but for his friend. the only one he claims. he mourns their intimacy, their unity — grieves the good time™. a good time unattainable within trauma, within memory.

yet this pleasure, love, are perverted into captivity, and all i ended up thinking of was: “i love you means you’re never ever, ever getting rid of me.” that slater thinks he knows best, thinks he’s doing good by unburdening her, yet scars her all the same.

as bodies are made immaterial to him, dispossessed of sanctity or autonomy and so their desecration harmless. as slater makes frida a conduit for physical harm while lavishing her emotionally, and yet also exploiting their bond, feeding on their closeness for the labor of love and pain it provides. bc the one thing he needs, the one thing he cannot sacrifice, is her closeness, her intimacy, as it validates his ethos of forgetfulness, reflects it back at him. thusly, frida is reduced to a vessel of experience just as he was, just as he reduces himself to, oversaturated in good times™.

good times masquerading as truth, which slater exposes a latent contempt for, as he emasculates the remaining boy for his cowardice, his complacency, despite his glaringly disoriented, unaware state. regardless of any violation he too may have suffered, when we’d seen him scooting away from another man on the ground, enfeebled and vulnerated. in spite of slater’s aggrievement by his own lapses in memory, his own embracing of that which violated him, and violated also, those he cares abt. but slater is relieved of any loneliness by this flagelattory camaraderie, of the perpetual loss of significance, when frida remains a fixture in his suffering, when she constantly violates her boundaries too.

and we too strain our boundaries, test our empathy with the narratives we are inclined to accept. frida the girlboss or frida the fallen angel? akin to the tests slater sets for her, handing her clarity just to see what she dares remember. the good time™, the willing participant, the indulged, or the languished? seeing if she’s really forgiven, or rather, forgotten instead, drawn to indulgence despite how its hurt her. when she endangers jess in turn, desperate to feel valued, to *feel* power — in it all, is the powerstruggle.

and yet, also a relationship, as jess protects frida despite it all, and frida wakes up to the deception bc of her love for jess. while the island, the staff, embrace frida as if she has always been, will find her way around just as she will find a way to enlightenment, handed venom as if it were benign, as if the island itself wanted her freed. pests, predators, turned to salvation, just as poison becomes a cure. the cure. and when the island has been said to be the garden of eden, enlightenment is truly then, the original sin. the genesis of awareness.

and thusly, frida reclaims power by hurting him, fed his own poison. frida now the snake, frida refusing to leave the island still. denied healing, alienated from it, and so stuck still. bound. bound too, as we watched them enjoy every intimacy except the physical, sharing the pain and trauma they’d been subjected to with a nearly ironic a-sexuality, transcendent of it. with slater seeing her as his best friend. exempt from death and equally so from release.

and that twisted, appropriative bond, the repurposing of trauma, and so feeling a sick sense of ownership over it, love for it, are equally present in frida keeping him from death.

her newfound, bleach white luxury, the disappearing stains and panopticon of elitism, are not horrific until they are, and you either embrace it, or you let it hurt. and frida, red rabbit running, red rabbit caught in slater’s sick, trivializing game, already likened to livestock by her name, decided to become the hunter instead. made high on the chase.

unlike slater who provides and subjects experiences onto others, now there is frida who takes and caters experiences for herself. all congratulatory. all good.

thusly, the movie is the trip, it’s delusion and entanglement and the self-eating snake, and trying to sterilize that is as futile as it is sacrilegious.

[candyskiez]

For the character bingo

Adora

Glimmer

Luz

Amity

Any of the mane 6 from mlp

I don't watch MLP so just doing the ones I know. First off, Adora:

Before anyone gets confused by canon focus what I mean is. We don't really get an episode focused on how Adora feels about the catradora split like we do with Catra, or about her own trauma, which I think is a missed opportunity. Also she's just. I fucking love her. I relate to her so hard. She's so flawed and scared and just a kid who was taught to feel guilty for wanting to be happy and her trope subversion makes me eat GLASS. I love her so much. The fandom is so fucking weird about her. Good god.

Glimmer:

I NEVER see fan shit about how fucking fascinating she is and it's a damn shame. The daughter of an immortal who was never prepared to be queen suddenly has to rule over an entire kingdom. Child general mistaking her mother's rightful concern for distrust. Has a black and white view of rebellion good, horde bad, no matter what either side does. Has an arc about learning morals and to be a good person and not let her rage cloud her judgement. She's so FASCINATING she's a ball of stress and insecurity and she's just. Such a good character. Where's my fics about her.

Luz:

I'm not as insane over her specifically moreso I go !!!! over her in a part of a dynamic. But I do love her so much. I love how she foils Belos and how her dynamic with Hunter is to show that the wittebros didn't HAVE to end in tragedy. I love her dynamic with Amity, it's such a realistically healthy relationship that makes me so fucking happy that kids are gonna grow up with that. I love her dynamic with Willow and Luz, I love the owl family, I just love ALL of it. I love her so much. I will always read her as a trans allegory. You can't stop me.

Amity:

Amity is unfairly bashed on and I will never forgive the fandom for it. None of the dudes are bashed nearly as hard as her. Leave her alone!!! Also I just. God. I love her. She's so good. She's trying so hard. I love my girl. I LOVEEEE my girl.

[9haharharley1]

Having a dilemma because I would love to know 001 for Blackice but also 002 for Jack and Pitch individually 💦

Where do I even begin with this!!! Hold on to your hats!

001 | Blackice

When I started shipping it if I did:

Story time! So, back when I originally watched the movie in 2015 or 2016, I didn't think much of it. I thought it was cute, but I was battling heavy depression and dissociation, and so I didn't really think anything of it past that. Themes and characters meant nothing to me. Even the voices didn't stick, which is weird because I've been in love with Jude Law since I was wee. Fast forward to September 2022, I'm reading Apprentice89's entire pompep catalog, and, desperate for anything similar they might have written, I stumbled upon their only Blackice fic. Even though I remembered nothing from the movie, the summary was just interesting enough, and I love their writing so much that I had to read it. I read it, fell in love, had to go watch the movie again, and promptly watched it about ten more times that same day, and I've been obsessed ever since!

My thoughts:

They make me insane. I've always been a sucker for dark/light ship dynamics, Yami/Yugi (puzzleshipping) was my very first ship when I figured out what shipping was, so you can only imagine how I lost my mind when I found out Jack used to be a creature of light in the books! Black/White, Light/Dark, Black/Blue, two sides of the same coin, beings who complete each other if only they would let it happen! This stuff makes me feral. I was never gonna be normal about them when I finally figured it out, and I hate that I'm late to the party, but better late than never!

What makes me happy about them:

Where do I even begin with anything on this list?! They're just... ugh! They're perfect! They're comedy and tragedy and hope and despair and love all wrapped up in a messy box of internalized pain topped with a neat little bow of healing magic! They understand each other in a way that no one ever will! They have felt and experienced love and loss, have faced a lifetime, and then some of loneliness and heartache, only to have finally found each other when it all became too much, this other being who understands, who feels some semblance of the same bitter ache the other feels! Here is someone they can talk to; they can touch, they can exist together, and maybe, finally, be able to begin to heal together.

What makes me sad about them:

They're lonely. They are both so lonely, even Jack with his newfound place with the Guardians and among his believers- he will never be completely unalone among them. The Guardians will never understand the kind of ache and bitter loneliness he and Pitch have felt, Jack will never be able to explain that kind of torment to them. And now he has to worry about spreading belief in him when it seems only a handful of kids from the movie even know he exists. And Pitch has been alone for even longer. He's had nothing but shadows and the whispers of failures long past for centuries before Jack is even born. He'll forever be haunted by the things he's done, the lives he's ruined, and know that belief in him will only continue to fade with time. But when they're together, they're not alone. They understand each other in a way that the Guardians will never be able to. They can help one another, they can connect and heal, and maybe even tie themselves together enough that they can spread a shared belief in each other.

( I have no idea if any of this is even making sense, I've gone incoherent)

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Pitch always seems to be too nice. He's too nice and too thoughtful, and Jack is sometimes too timid or even just too angry and aggressive. Jack being a little too confident can also be grating. I also don't like it when they're over-sharing their thoughts and feelings, and every little action needs to be picked apart and talked about, oh hey, here's what a healthy romantic relationship between these two should look like! It gets annoying to me.

things I look for in fanfic:

I read fics based on interesting enough summaries and worry about the tags later. I love it when there's a bit of conflict and drama, I love it when Pitch is possessive and needy of Jack's affection, I love when Jack doesn't realize how desperate he is for Pitch's attention and doesn't know how to reconcile his love when faced with the Guardians when they find out! I love when Pitch is not necessarily redeemed, but certainly not Good, and only willing to heel for Jack.

Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I love a good platonic relationship with Sandy for both of them. A begrudging friendship between Pitch and North makes me laugh. Gilly, you made that wonderful little doodle of them sharing a drink that just melts my heart! Jack and Katherine in the books also have a cute friendship, and that can stay platonic for me as well. I do like a little bit of JackRabbit, but I also prefer it as a cliche trope to make Pitch jealous cuz I crave a possessive Pitch. Basically, no, I don't ship them with anyone else.

My happily ever after for them:

Their happily ever after includes continuing to learn and grow together. Since they're immortal to some extent, they get to spend their days learning about each other, falling in love over and over again at some new quirk they never notice the other has, they get to heal as time goes on, they get to bicker and argue and kiss and makeup over and over while falling more and more in love until the heat death of the universe. Basically, they get to live their best married life forever.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Pitch is the big spoon usually. He tends to run hot, and Jack is just the perfect little ice pack to keep him cool in the dark of his caverns. Jack tends to sleep curled up - he's used to sleeping on tree branches or awnings, small tight places high up enough he won't be bothered, but also has had to learn to make himself small for so he won't fall. Pitch loves it, and since my Pitch doesn't sleep, he tends to use this time to me be creepy; touching and groping at Jack until his lover is squirming uncomfortably in his sleep.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Honestly, they just like spending time together. They've both been alone for so long that idle conversation is enough for them as long as they're together, be it down in Pitch's cave or up in the world as Jack spreads winter. They're constantly touching - feet in laps, holding hands, hands brushing skin. They play games, they spar, and Jack often drags Pitch to the movies or a play or even the occasional concert. As long as they're together, they're happy.

002 | Jack

How I feel about this character:

I'm normal about him. I swear. Completely normal. No, his centuries of loneliness and isolation doesn't make my heart weep. What do you mean I'm crying over the resentment he so clearly harbors over the ignorance from his creator and the Guardians alike? No, I'm not sobbing over how he can relate to no one except the one person he's not supposed to feel kinship with! How dare you insinuate I'm tearing my hair out over his choosing to be kind in a world that has shunned him and being a good and decent person despite his pain and isolation when he would perhaps be justified if he had taken the devil's hand and unleashed a a second ice age upon the world!

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Pitch. Obviously. Also Kozmotis. Obviously.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

He and Sandy can be bros. As a treat. And I guess Katherine is a cute platonic friendship. I forget Twiner exists because I go off the movie mostly, so him to, I guess.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Oh boy. So this kind of goes with what I said under the ship bit above, but I don't like it when he's too timid. Jack is not a timid person. He's insecure. Insecurity does not necessarily mean he's scared, but he's been alone for 300 years. He's interacted with very few people as far as we know (unless you go by the books, which I don't usually, but even then). He talks to himself, he talks to the Moon, he talks to Sandy , who doesn't talk back, and he's talked to Bunny, which has been historically antagonistic. His social skills come from studying the people around them, gauging what is right and wrong thru observation alone, but he's not entirely confident in himself. Which brings me to: I can't stand when he's overconfident. Once again, he's insecure. He's unsure of himself, of his place in the world, of his role with the Guardians. He's known no true loving friendship in 300 years, and suddenly regaining his memories is not gonna fix that kind of trauma. Can you imagine the mental break he'll suffer when he realizes his sister had to watch him die, knowing there was nothing she could do to help? That she had to go on with her life, thinking it was her fault her big brother drowned? I don't like when he's super happy-go-lucky, either, but also when he's this weird avenging spirit of hurting children, too? I've seen that, and it bothered me.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

What blackice fan doesn't wish for him to have reached out to Pitch at the end of the movie? I would have loved for him to be the one to chase after Pitch at the end, to have reached out his hand to the Boogieman the same way Pitch had in Antarctica, to offer him a place among friends. Maybe not as a Guardian because I firmly believe Pitch would hate that, but as equals and friends.

my OTP:

Blackice, of course

my cross over ship:

None that I take seriously, but I did use to really enjoy Hijack, and I still find it cute on occasion

a headcanon fact:

I know it's unpopular HC, but my own HC for Jack is that he's a virgin. As a human, he fooled around with a local friend, discovering together what these weird teenage hormones are all about, but they never got that far past frotting in the woods after dark. When he became a spirit, his internal and external temperatures were too cold for anyone short of winter fae to handle past embracing for a brief period of time, and Jack learned early on not to entirely trust the fae court, so he steered clear of them foe the most part. He figured if he didn't have the urges too much as a spirit anyway, then it wasn't a big deal. His body didn't miss it, why should he? Then Pitch came along, and suddenly, his sex drive is working overtime.

002 | Pitch

How I feel about this character:

I am SO normal about him. Please ignore my twitching eye. Tall, goth, creepy, handsome men with spooky shadow powers haven't all been my weakness since I was wee lass, stop looking at me like that. I'm not thinking at all about the broken legacy this man left behind, about how he was once a great hero, renowned and loved by all, how he loved his daughter above all things, only to lose her and what little he had in an endless war and become a shell of that great hero, how he lost himself to despair, became corrupted by the very shadows he vowed to destroy, proceeded to lay waste to his people, destroyed entire Constellations, and became the monster in the dark children fear. I'm not thinking at all about how this man became nothing more than a shadow himself, forced to prey on the fears of children who no longer believe in him in an ever changing world. I'm not frothing at the mouth that this same man found the only other person in existence who has felt even an inkling of his same loneliness, had pinned all his hopes for companionship on that being, only to be turned away, forced back into his dark and lonely hole, into the dark and away from a light he can never touch. What do you mean I'm clawing at the walls? I have no idea what you're talking about.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Jack Frost, and a bit of Nightlight thrown in for some flavor.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Sandy, of course. The idea that Pitch is the only one who can community clearly and fluently with Sandy makes me laugh every time and is one of my favorite HCs to come out of this fandom.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Once again, it all comes back to characterization. Authors tend to make him too nice or too thoughtful. He's too neutral or too tame. I like my bad guys to be Bad Guys. Don't neuter him just so you can have a fluffy redemption thru sex. This man has had nothing to claim as his own for millenia. He's gonna be possessive and all kinds of red flags about it.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I wish we got to see more of Pitch's power in the movie. I would have loved to see the spooky, shadowy shapeshifter from the concept art. I would have loved to see him be an actual nightmarish threat, with shadows and fearlings, sailing the skies on his Nightmare Galleon. I wish we could have gotten a hint of the terrifying Nightmare King we glimpse in the books and the fear his very presence strikes in those around him. It would have been an entirely different movie.

my OTP:

Blackice, duh

my cross over ship:

None

a headcanon fact:

Pitch spied on Jack over the course of the boy's 300 years. He sensed his fear when he died. He wanted to be there when he rose out of the lake, but the Moon's light prevented him from reaching out to Jack. Instead, he settled for being a stalker creep, feeding on Jack's fears when both of them were in Burgess. He never met Jack personally, but he watched him. He thought it a kindness to leave Jack out of the fight with the Guardians, but since Jack was playing favorites, Pitch decided he was fair game to try swaying to his side, especially since they had so much in common.

[thegodcomplcx]

Literally so true about the “fun little limbo” of 11/amy! the way there is this weird cognitive dissonance in fandom where on the one hand people moan about the love triangle and how unlikeable Amy was by cheating on Rory etc. yet simultaneously it’s sacrilege to think 11/amy is valid on account of the adultery. people are driven by purity politics rather than engaging with the text ergo we must go with the party line that Amy only ever loves Rory because it “redeems” her (boo hiss) whereas the alternative is immoral. (I’d be willing to bet this was a real note from the network/execs once Amy got married - “no more infidelity because it makes your female lead unlikeable”. the subtext is still there but they almost certainly had to tone it down).

On this point, you’re right we never see Amy *getting over* the doctor — on her wedding day she STILL wants to make out with him and interrupts the party to remember him back into existence. this was portrayed as more significant than her actual wedding! (in both the Big Bang and TWORS she can’t remember Rory when he’s in front of her, but she remembers the doctor when he’s not even there.) Yet 2 episodes later when Rory thinks her love declaration is for the doctor she’s like “what, him??!!” As though this is a ridiculous idea when it’s literally based on *all her previous behaviour*!

I think the fandom denial of 11amy is also based on the fact that the writers were too subtle about 11’s feelings apparently. we are supposed to think he plausibly reciprocates river’s love when he is nonsensically cruel towards her and straight up says he doesn’t want to marry her, yet it’s somehow ridiculous to think he may have feelings for Amy based on his behaviour of trusting her completely, placing her opinion of him above all else, acting generally insane/fixated, etc. also, from a storytelling perspective the triangle holds no weight if the doctor is indifferent! it’s established from the beginning that Amy must choose between him and Rory, and at the end 11 begs her to choose him but by then it’s too late. The entire tragedy of this and 11’s behaviour makes no sense if he doesn’t reciprocate; it is SUPPOSED to be a doomed love story!! Anyway thank you for indulging my asks, i am insane about them.

this is why this rewatch has been so fun for me, because i wasn't sure if my hazy memories from a decade ago were an accurate depiction of what happened in the show or if i was clouded by 11/amy nostalgia and like. they're actually just like that. 11/amy had so much more of a complicated and multifaceted relationship than people usually talk about. they want the whole 11amyrory dynamic to be so simple and easy to digest but it's just not!

in my eyes the infidelity makes amy MORE of a likeable character and they should have leaned HARDER into it

the amyrory wedding was so not about rory at all. we don't see the ceremony, we literally only see amy crying and bringing the doctor back into existence. the amyrory wedding is literally an 11amy reaffirmation. amy made a public declaration of love on that day and it was not for rory lmao.

and the whole s6e2 "it's not him, it's you" speech is so fucking about the doctor its insane. they literally made an episode about how the doctor thinks it ought to be rory (s7e1). and the reason why they even had to do a divorce plot between them is that the only thing interesting about amyrory is amy's conflicting desire. the love triangle is literally all they have. they are at their best with "the core of our relationship is i love you more than you love me" (and amy's whole i can't give you children i gave you up is sickening btw)

and i literally cant speak on 11river anymore. literally my madonna-whore complex post that's all i have to say about the matter for the rest of time.

[emilykaldwen]

Hi, I’m disgusted with how the show has demonised TG and feel sorry for Aegon, Aemond, Helaena and Daeron. Book Alicent would never do that to her children.

Hey you!

I think for me, I am definitely frustrated though with the route the show took and then weirdly doubled down on even though Condal had been saying how the GA would have sympathy for TG.

Are they demonized? That feels like a strong word but I see where you're coming from. They have definitely been punished in the weirdest of ways. What TG had going for them was their loyalty to one another, their ride or die. But now they're a house further divided and it's just weird to me.

When you look at S1 and S2 as a whole, you can see the throughline: Rhaenyra believes she's ordained by the gods, and combined with the prophecy shared with her by Viserys, she's shifted from the 'The throne is mine because my father named me his heir' to 'The Gods have decreed I must sit the throne and unite the realm and here are the symbols of that'. Is it fascinating? Yes.

It would be more intriguing to pit Rhaenyra's descent into prophecy (shades of Rhaegar plunging the realm into civil war anyone?) with the counter of the TG side coming at it from 'We live in a feudal society, the throne is Aegon's as his right as first born son' and not... what are they doing with TG anyway? The point of the stories GRRM is writing is that gunning for the Iron Throne is bad. Subjugation and Feudalism and using the people of the realm as canon fodder for war is BAD. That is the tragedy of it. Instead, the narrative has set up that Oh My Gods it's So Insane and Unheard Of! That in a feudal society, it's.... silly? Evil? Ridiculous? For one to assume that the first born son would not become the heir and How Dare You Support That.

And so by giving Rhaenyra these symbols of Divine Right of Prophecy vs Aegon having his symbols of legitimacy that are recognized by the realm at large, you're in this weird place where TG is having to kowtow and get punished for getting in the way of Prophecy.

Here's the Thing:

I'm so okay with Rhaenicent. I loved the change the show did to make them friends and throw this wrench into that relationship and shows how vying for the throne will tear friends and families apart, right? The Alicent of episodes 1x06/1x07 would fucking never. Where is that woman? Yes, she is horrified by how she acted, but oh no, she cut Rhaenyra's arm after Aemond's maiming and the public disavowment of Alicent and her children by their father, the king and... now she's sitting on her hands not plotting payback?

Rhaenyra and Alicent have been enemies far long than they were friends, and it's okay for that to all be really complicated because of the closeness of formative years and Situationship but Alicent choosing to give up her son like that?

She would never. I get that she's scared, I get that she sees what Aemond sees: Rhaenyra with three more dragons ready to clearly burn them all alive (since they came and butchered her grandson) But when Olivia Cooke is saying she's having to work backwards from the decision to see how Alicent gets there it's like... no. You're sacrificing all three of your sons, the three sons you have spent your entire life protecting, to get your daughter and granddaughter out.

And it's some of those things where it's like 'what else is she supposed to do? Condemn them all to death??' which no, she shouldn't. But she's like 'I'm throwing the gates open for you and you can let us leave but you know, you can totally kill Aemond while you're at it, he's become something else' and Rhaenyra was totally right to call out that fantasy! Because Alicent Hightower Would Never.

It's this weird hopeful naivete Alicent Hightower shouldn't have. Like, Alicent has known for twenty years her sons' lives have been hanging in the balance. Because that's how contested succession works: The boys would always be used against Rhaenyra the moment someone with enough clout gets pissed at her. The idea that this wasn't ever going to happen underscores how bad of a ruler Viserys was (please don't get me started on this season deifying him in the weirdest way).

I dunno. The point is, if this was the route they wanted to go, you're expecting us to believe that Alicent Hightower is just as mid-milquetoast as her late husband and she just isn't. This is a mama bear fighting for her children and spitting on the trappings of the Targaryen dynasty (which Jaehaerys weakened by inviting the realm to have a say in the succession in the first place) and Rhaenyra fighting (rightfully) for her stolen throne.

Because BOTH Rhaenyra and Aegon got screwed over. BOTH Rhaenyra and Aegon were let down by their conflict-averse father. Both of them were left unprotected by the king, but while Rhaenyra made her own protections (such as marrying Daemon), Aegon had his mother.

I don't even know if any of this makes sense. I'm annoyed. I'm not disgusted, I'm just frustrated. But it is what it is. There's a lot of things that have gone in there. Where this season shone bright, it shone bright, and where it failed, it failed hard. But it was already built on a rocky foundation to begin with.

Remember to support your fic writers!

[kylermalloy]

Hi hello sorry for spamming ur notifs sndndnd i have a question for you! Are you just into elijah and klaus (and rebekah too??) or do u go crazy for all the mikaelsons? If u dont whats the main appeal of elijah and klaus for you! Im very glad to have found ppl who are also Insane™ about the mikaelsons in the year of our lord 2023 and its really fun seeing ur takes on things and reading ur work! Hope u have a good day/night uwu

Hi hi hi never apologize for spamming! How else would we express our passion for the things we love? ❤️

Klaus and Elijah are definitely my favorites out of all the Mikaelsons, but I do love Rebekah a lot too! Freya, Finn, and Kol are further down the list, in that order. I love my murder children, but I’m not their mother—I’m not obligated to love them all equally!

I think the main appeal of Klaus and Elijah for me is simply their intensity. They’re the first originals we meet in tvd, and before we even see them together onscreen we can tell they have a fraught, complicated history—yet there’s love there too.

The flashbacks to the 15th century as they prepare to sacrifice Katherine? Klaus laughing about their silly ploys throughout history, while Elijah gazes lovingly over his shoulder? Bliss. I swoon. And the scene in present day, after Klaus has broken the curse and has just transformed back into a human? Elijah, the previous night (or however long ago) was prepared to kill him. Had his hand in his heart and everything. Yet now here he is, helping Klaus dress like some kind of butler—someone who’s been there for him like this time and again.

I go similarly insane about the flashbacks to the 1920s, in which Klaus has to explicitly tell the audience that Rebekah is his sister and not, you know, his girlfriend. But they do undercut this slightly with Rebekah immediately jumping on Stefan and, while I approve, climb that ripper tree, it does take away from her psychotic, erotic bond with Klaus.

And that’s just in tvd! That’s only setting the stage for TO! In TO, Klaus and Elijah’s bond is ramped up to main character status. Elijah is simultaneously Klaus’s brother-associate, his overbearing, cautioning father figure, and the lover with whom he has frequent spats and reconciliations. Klaus is having a baby? No, Elijah says, we’re having a baby! And inserts himself into this pregnancy situation with Hayley, and no one questions it.

(Klaus and Rebekah’s relationship also gets some amazing moments in s1 of TO, and for the first time Rebekah and Elijah’s relationship gets to shine too! But alas, after some of the best episodes of the entire show—episodes 1x14-16—Rebekah departs, so we get to see less of her with her siblings, and Klelijah continues to take center stage.)

I could detail every single thing I love about Klelijah’s relationship, their ups and downs, their tragedy and their comedy—and I might come back later and add on, if I feel like it!—but yeah, that’s my draw to these two. Canon is so generous with them, and I simply go crazy for it!

Not to mention—the actors’ chemistry had a huge hand in all this. They bounce off each other so well, and their mannerisms are so different yet both so old at the same time. You really believe they’ve known each other for a thousand years, and any fight that they have is mere window dressing to the centuries they’ve stood shoulder to shoulder.

And not only that! But! (⚠️Spoilers for the end of TO, if anyone still cares about that⚠️) The show rewards me and lets them die together. Klaus makes the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter, and Elijah’s like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ guess I’ll die too, and follows him into oblivion for no other reason than he wanted to. Ah yes, a very normal brotherly relationship. (I’m going FERAL just thinking about it again!)

Truly I have not been normal about them since 2018, and that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. I will keep repeating myself in posts like these until…either the whole world understands the brilliance of TO, or until I die. Whichever comes first.