#they basically already act like a married couple so it's really just that it's also on paper

[sso-montana]

I do think if Montana and Justin ever got married they just went to the courthouse on a random wednesday, borrowed Derek for however long it took because they needed a witness and never really told anyone except, like, Thomas and if she's still around Mrs. Holdsworth (she's a witch. I feel like she could be 200 in game right now because of that)

The only reason people found out was because Derek mentioned it to Anne who then immediately called the others and everyone freaked out because "why the fuck did you not tell anyone??"

Either that or Justin referred to Montana as his wife and Alex who was at the stables hanging out/visiting Maya overheard it and went "wait what since when?!"

[joejhang]

my aftg hot takes

most of these are pretty lukewarm but i'm gonna get flamed for them anyway but whatever. spoilers ??? ahead ??? idk read at ur own risk

i don't think andreil ever say i love you to each other; i feel like the discourse about this is virtually endless ever since nora said it but honestly her explanation was so valid??? they're such a show not tell couple it just makes so much sense for them to show the "i love you" in their actions than ever saying the words out loud. esp bc neither of them have ever really heard those words and have them mean anything real or true or actually loving. personally i think their little percentages and the "i hate you"'s and kisses and keys mean more to them than an "i love you" ever could. i'm not a purist on this tho i do think i could visualise it happening maybe somewhere along the road i just think nora's explanation for this is very very in line with canon andreil.

i don't hate thea muldani; i've made a post abt this but basically my thoughts around her are literally just: she's a human being, and she's never gonna be perfect. i also find it very...interesting how the fandom likes to flame thea (an explicitly stated woman of colour) for being "problematic" and a "terrible person/character" when she doesn't act all that different from andrew, neil and kevin (white men) ??? idk it seems a little strange to me bc she seems pretty on par with them on whatever moral compass this batshit crazy fandom has decided to impose on these fictional and very much morally ambiguous characters. anyway go check out my post i go a lot deeper into thea's character and why she does a lot of things wrong but i don't rlly think she's deserving of the insane amounts of hate she gets in the fandom.

i don't think andreil ever get married; this MIGHT be me projecting bc the idea of marriage is just a very complicated and rough concept in my mind but also just i feel like there's something so beautiful about andreil never really putting a label on their relationship??? like they never define it by calling the other their "boyfriend" or "husband" they just are. they have nothing "concrete" binding them like a marriage certificate but they choose to stay with each other through everything. idk it's real to me but again i'm not a purist people can do whatever they want.

i've said it before but i'll keep saying it till enough people hear me: the aftg fandom mischaracterises literally the main fucking characters; i'm mostly talking about andrew and ESPECIALLY neil here bc neil is not a sweet, sunshiney, oblivious, blushy softboy and andrew is not a cold, unemotional, stoic, "conceal don't feel" stone. since i've already bitched on and on about neil's mischaracterisation let's just talk about andrew for a sec. i think andrew is actually a deeply emotional person and is fully aware of the feelings he experiences. does he vocalise or express them often? no but more often than not they show themselves anyway. him crashing out after neil was kidnapped, letting himself get walked like a dog by neil for three books straight, choking allison for slapping aaron, idk i could go on. but yeah you get it.

i don't actually think neil is that oblivious; before people come at me like "but nora said!" or whatever yeah, i know she said he's as dense as a brick when it comes to people flirting with him. considering how much of the ec the aftg fandom likes to disregard allow me to disregard this little bit of it, yeah? this isn't me tryna impose my own projections onto nora's characters, this is lit just me tryna explain how i understand neil josten (he's my bsf btw). he literally clocks his feelings for andrew in trk (after his deep convo™ with nicky) but he just files it away for later bc he doesn't consider attraction or romantic interest anything to be thinking about considering he's got the mafia and his serial killer dad on his tail. i also don't really blame him for not catching onto andrew's feelings earlier (tho doesn't he get pretty fucking close during that one convo they have in exites in trk???? someone correct me if i'm wrong but) bc dude andrew was out here sending fucking mixed ass signals like bro was saying "you are a pipe dream" and "i hate you" in the same fucking conversations like??? neil has always taken andrew at face value and he's not about to question him now. he's also never confused or uncertain about nicky or marissa and what their comments about him meant, he just genuinely does not gaf about them so he doesn't acknowledge them or pay them any attention in his narration. i truly truly think his dismissal of all the advances made upon him in aftg were borne out of indifference, not obliviousness.

have already said this in detail but i don't think andrew's actually a misogynist; the wording doesn't feel right. i'd probably describe andrew's distrust of women (esp. those in motherly/mother roles) as a similar ingrained wariness that neil has for older men. this is something borne out of trauma and shitty experiences that takes time and trust to unlearn. nora says a lot of things the fandom disregards and for me, this is one of those things i'm a little iffy about. misogyny actually isn't reflected in andrew's actions at all, i'd say. does he respect women? no. but he doesn't respect anyone unless they've actually earned it. and among the people he does respect and care for there are women (renee, bee). he doesn't treat women any differently and obv doesn't think they're any weaker than men are (considering renee wipes the floor w him their first sparring sesh). andrew's an equal opportunity hater and i don't think he actually has any sexist or even misogynistic tendencies. i think what is there is just a slightly biased worldview of disliking/mistrusting mother figures, given his bad experiences w tilda and cass (they've left him w more long-term emotional damage that's probably rlly difficult and complicated for him to work through esp considering cass did love??? him and he did want her enough to be willing to suffer dr*ke to be close to her; there's more to it but for the sake of word count i won't go into it) but honestly it doesn't actually show that much??? if people wanna say he hates women, sure, but for one, he doesn't hate a lot of things he's just very indifferent to them and two, he holds a pretty similar apathetic distaste for most people and things, so it's not like a very big distinction. i also think the whole "no girls" thing w aaron was very much a personal thing, and his mistrust of katelyn probably came from aaron's past (apparently negative) experiences w other girlfriends and friendships in general. and if i remember correctly the deal wasn't even "no girls" it was just "family only" which is why aaron didn't make friends w the rest of the foxes either. i digress but i don't think saying "andrew isn't a misogynist" is robbing him of any nuance as a character.

i like nicky and honestly feel similarly towards him as i do about thea; he isn't perfect and never will be and i think while the way he acts towards neil and others (see: matt, kevin) is pretty untoward and inappropriate, i also do see where he's coming from, esp after aaron's explanation of it. that it's a defence mechanism coming from someone who's experienced a lot of prejudice and harm because of his sexuality. obv i think everyone can agree his assault on neil was fucked up but i think nora was right in saying that nicky was high and drunk and not rlly in his right mind at the time, and he does apologise and i'm pretty sure she also said he and neil work it out privately anyway. he's a messy character and definitely not perfect queer rep but again, he's pretty realistic, and i think he's honestly a rlly well-written and complex character.

[quietzap]

how do you navigate your feelings towards ziam and cheryl/bear/kate/maya on top of this immense grief? i don't mean to be insensitive but i haven't found an answer for myself yet, i can't believe we'll never get answers now

(To anyone seeing this, read until the end before saying anything thank you.) Well. I'm gonna ramble a bit but bear with me. Spotify played Let Me and Common on shuffle the other day and I cried a bit. It's unfair. It should've never ended this way. But I had already accepted ages ago that we might never know the truth. I still have my beliefs. That Zayn and Liam were together. Maybe they had broken up who knows but if they did then I still truly believe their bond was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I've gone through so many emotions this past week. But seeing the posts of cheryl etcetc or people mentioning bear (Zayn was the only one who didn't fwiw), it didn't make me feel anything. Maybe bc I had already accepted we couldn't do anything about the stunts, and/or maybe bc it's still difficult for me to accept he's really gone or bc it doesn't matter to me at this moment. Or bc I haven't actually sat down to think about what it means that he's gone. I've just been thinking of the pain all of Liam's loved ones are in right now and will be in for the foreseeable future. And I include Zayn in this. I also don't really want to think about it bc I think I might get angry. We've all seen Liam's video on snapchat from last month, where he said he was stunting and forced to do things he didn't want to do and to send help. I often used to say that I didn't understand why the boys accepted this situation instead of just getting out, consequences be damned. Ofc it's easier said than done. But I thought maybe they thought it was worth it in some way. But then, Louis got out. Zayn got out. (In some way, I mean they have privacy and a real career, like Niall and Harry). I guess I will never understand why Liam was still the only one so stuck in this shitty situation. Why couldn't he live his life in peace like Zayn and only appear when he released music? Why couldn't he find a better team or why did he even accept to go along for so long? Why did people let him? Why?! That's what I want to know. Fucking why. And I want Liam's image/reputation to be redeemed. Anyway I digressed I'm sorry.

I just sincerely hope Zayn will be ok. Jaymi who was in Union J lost his soon-to-be-husband a couple months ago (Olly was buried the day they were supposed to get married last month). They'd been together for 14 years. And Olly died in similar circumstances (a fall from the 3rd floor of a hotel). And as incredibly awful as this is, knowing that other people are going through similar grief helps a bit, and I hope it will help Zayn and Liam's loved ones know they're not alone.

Idek if I've answered your question. I guess basically the stunts don't cross my mind coz it's not important to me. These past few years when Liam was alive it wasn't important (tho I hated it) bc I accepted the boys made their own choices. And now it's not important bc it won't bring Liam back and bc his loved ones matter more to me. Now, if I'm actually wrong about my beliefs then it is what it is and I feel for his exes/gf/child, and if the maya thing is true I still think addiction made him act that way and that if he'd got a chance to really get better this wouldn't have happened again. If I'm not wrong tho, I truly feel for Zayn who doesn't get to grieve the way he deserves to. Tho I'm glad he has loved ones who know the truth and who can support him the right way.

I hope this helps. Feel free to tell me if you want to discuss this further or anything ❤️

(Link to the videos of Liam from snapchat: x)

[polin-erospsyche]

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the society doesn’t really seem to react or gossip about how close Pen and Colin sometimes are. Some have said it’s because of how Pen is perceived in society and a spinster so no one in the ton thinks that an eligible Bridgerton man could be interested in her romantically. I believe it’s the contrary. And I think this commentary kinda supports this idea:

“All these rules are to keep the marriage mart churning. But once you have performed your function and found your match, you are free.”

“It’s an intriguing perspective that, one assumes, much of the ton shares. It also casts a new light on Colin and Penelope’s interactions thus far. From day one, they’ve always been a little (or a lot) closer than society allows. They think nothing of being unchaperoned alone, talking about highly personal things, or even physically touching. There’s a casual intimacy there, and it only becomes a “problem” when the ton begins scrutinizing them more closely. Symbolically, they are already on the level of an old married couple, with the freedom and intimacy it allows.” Amanda Prahl - Scene Breakdown: Colin and Penelope’s Dance in Bridgerton’s “Old Friends” (Marvelous Geeks Media)

Like yes, when they’ve been written about in LW then there’s gossip, or when Colin interrupts that dance then there’s scandal, but the rest of the time? Not really, no. Like the willow tree? The sweet stand? The repetitive dances they have throughout the season? The fuckin “come with me”? There’s talk at the end of season 2 sure but for how close they are most of the time this is nothing. This is just some teenage boys being immature and unkindly teasing Colin (it is basically what that is). My guess is that Pen and Colin have always been so close that the ton doesn’t really question it. Of course young girls still throw themselves at Colin because he is eligible and of good fortune and that’s the horrible game they’re all playing. Try to catch the biggest fish in the pond. But what strikes me for example is when Cressida says “Eros and Psyche battling it out”. She says it so nonchalantly. There’s not a hint of a question or surprise. She acts as if it’s obvious and there was no other plausible situation. And you can argue that she says it this cause she’s Cressida or that it advantages her because then Debling is available, but I think that in that moment she’s probably voicing what everyone else in the ton is thinking. That it’s a given. That there was probably always something unspoken between Pen and Colin, thus allowing them to act as they have with the freedom and intimacy it allows. The unspoken but well known fact that these two were always meant to be for each other

[obeymesheep]

Husband Energy

Lucifer, Mammon

gn reader!!

OMG SOOO LONG!! hope everyone enjoys this, i am planning on doing all the brothers just on my own time! thank you so much for being patient, it's the end of the semester so i had lots going on, and was also working on this which is much longer than normal!

Lucifer

Lucifer probably bought the ring the day you told him you loved him. It's no small feat getting the demon of pride to fall in love with you, let alone a fall in love with a human.

He kinda sets you up a lil, just a little trick. He has you believe that he's proposing at the restaurant, its very mean, where he gets down on one knee... to tie his shoe, or these long speeches about how much he loves you, and how he never wants you to suffer so that's why... he's paying the bill. When you get home, a little disappointed, you cuddle up with him with a glass of brandy, and confess what you thought tonight was. Lucifer chuckles and pulls out a ring.

"Is this what you wanted love? I apologize for the tricks, but seeing how badly you wanted me to ask was too cute to pass up. I promise you will never spend another night alone, and I will forever hold you in my arms"

Lucifer doesn't let you touch anything!! He is a perfectionist, so apart from the occasional opinion needed he does basically everything! You do have to pull him away from everything just to let him enjoy the fact that you're engaged :(

The wedding is flawless, and goes unblemished by any snot nosed kids, mean and nosy relatives, or clumsy brothers. If you're going more human, everything is draped in pure white, with a classic ceremony, you both also in white, you exchange vows and kiss. However, if you decide to go the demon way and bind your souls together, Diavolo has to officiate, and it hurts a lot, very few people attend, at most it's Mams, Barb, and Simeon, but! a very large reception is thrown afterwards! You're glowing and in bliss throughout the entire party, people come up and congratulate you, with lots of food and drink!

Y'all do not move out of the house, you just can't, his brothers are not equipped for it and Lucifer doesn't want to leave them. However for a couple days after the honeymoon the brothers spilt so you can enjoy your time as a married couple.

You are expected to do most of the housework, and Lucifer prefers when you're at home (assuming we've graduated??? from RAD) instead of some job where he can't guarantee your safety. BUT you're basically excused from dinner duty, you have no obligation to feed anybody, or do any dishes!

You soon come to learn the you and Lucifer already acted like an old married couple, the soft good-morning kisses and the glasses of wine after a long day, but it's also a learning experience for both of you, Lucifer learns to sacrifice time for you, and you learn to trust that Lucifer won't make any life changing decisions without you!!

Mams is super happy for the both of you and is glad your now an in-law! Leviathan is a little jealous that Lucifer got married first. Satan is LIVID when you announce the engagement and feels very betrayed it's takes a while for him to come around... Asmo is very overjoyed about the whole ordeal and is very involved!! Beel is also really happy and is super happy to have you as an in-law!! Belphie feels a little apprehensive about it, none of them have ever been married and feels he is the only one worried about the dynamic :/

Mammon

It's sooo impulsive, i like to think he didn't propose with a ring, with maybe like a sword, or a crown, he is pretty non traditional and wants to pick something that means a lot to him, and it will probably be a treasure brought with them from the celestial realm. Mammon almost proposes a lot, he runs into asmo's room with a sigh "i almost proposed :("

You guys go out to Mams favourite casino, dressed to the nines, and ready to have a drink while Mammon wins some games! At the nights end, Mammon surprises you with a night away at a expensive hotel room. In that moment everything was right, you keeping him company while he smoked on the balcony, he pulled out the treasure.

"I want ya to be mine forever, not Lucifer's, not Levi's, not Asmo, mine! So please, let me make you mine.."

Mammon is such a good haggler and always knows the best vendors. The work load is pretty even, Mams has pretty hard opinions, and wants to help make the day special.

You guys have a demon wedding, when he said he wants to make you his, this is what he meant, to him human weddings are far too temporary, but if it means a lot to you, he will allow you two to also have a ceremony because he does think it's really romantic, at the demon ceremony, Lucifer, Asmo, Luke, Solomon come, and at the reception lots of demons are there, Mammons pretty connected so lots are his guests, though this also means there's lots of presents!

You definitely leave the house, into a smaller one near by, there's lots of tears from the other brothers. You're house is very suited to your tastes, and breakfast visits from the brothers at least happen once a week <3

Mams really falls into the 'wife' roll, his modeling gigs are pretty all over the place, so if you have a more stable schedule, Mammon does lots of the house work, while you cook/plan most meals!!

You and Mammon really fall into a cute routine, Mammons an early riser, so he's doing his skin care and getting dressed while your sleeping, then slipping back beside you to watch you sleep, when you wake up, you go make breakfast, while Mams definitely cuddles you from behind, things like that <3

Lucifer is really proud of how grown up Mammon has become and the partner he chose. Levi is probably not surprised and is only shocked that Mammon finally did it. Satan is touched at the pairing and like Lucifer is proud of Mammon. Asmo is once again through the roof just at the simple fact there will be a wedding. Beel while very happy is a little sad that it means Mammon will move out. While it takes Belphie a little while for the news to really sink in, is only a little salty of your choice in partner.

[skitskatdacat63]

Happy One Year Anniversary to Boy King AU!!!! 🎉

Okay wait before I start talking, look at these close ups and the process!! Aren't they so beautiful aaaahhhh

Wow, can you believe it’s really been a whole entire year since my very first post about this AU? Well technically I first started talking about the statuette a day earlier, but the very first sketch was exactly a year ago!! Let us not forget the incredibly prophetic tag on that post: “also in the sense of this au i think the only ship that would work(historically accurate wise) is Vettonso.” Who knew that after that my entire life would devolve into vettonso, this specific period of history, and the lovely combo which is Boy King AU. Also wow this means it’s taken me almost a whole entire year to actually draw a joint portrait of them hahaha. I drew this sketch around the beginning of the AU, but never finished it. It’s fine though because this one is a lot better, and I’m in love with it. Took me a year to draw a couple portrait, and took me almost a whole entire month to finish said piece. 

Okay let me explain this piece, which I am very obsessed with!!! I dragged the process out more than I usually would, but I’m glad, because it was so enjoyable. But also look at that fucking crown, no wonder this took almost a month. Usually I’d write like 50 paragraphs detailing the characterization. HOWEVER! I’ve spent over a month writing little bits of characterization, mostly for fun, but also in preparation for this very post. A lot of the earlier ones, I had this drawing in mind, thinking on how I could expand on the ideas I was drawing. Though there’s definitely some things I could still write about. I’ll probably continue to write more Lore a Days, but yeah, they basically amounted to this drawing where you can actually see the characterization I was talking about displayed. Anyways, here are the explanations of bits in the drawing:

First of all, this is some part of the long process of their wedding. Look at the married couple!! Look at their rings!!!

Okay, but why are there two, almost identical looking pieces?? Because look at their hands!! I talked a lot about how Fernando is the one to give out affection more easily, especially in public, where he knows he can easily fluster Seb. He’s acting all grumpy and out of it, I mean to be fair, it’s probably been such a long ceremony across weeks. But he notices Seb is out of it too, just better at keeping his smile (let’s be honest, even if he’s distracted, he’s super smug.) So Fernando catches him off guard by squeezing his hand. Before that, as you can see, Fernando is just resting his hand on Seb’s outstretched palm, like that one scene from Succession. Very: yes I’m getting married, but I’m not happy about it. The combination of Fernando refusing to even touch him more than lightly beforehand but now going full force, them being in public, and Seb already being distracted catches Seb so off guard he has to try to cover his blush with his fan. He thought Fernando was being super impolite, but now he’s the impolite one!! Getting all blushy and giggly over a simple display of affection, perhaps even ha-

So. Their crowns. Seb’s wearing the crown of Austria, because he is in fact only a king still! Also, because I really wanted to try drawing it after I wimped out of it before in this drawing. Fernando’s a king as well by the point, but the fact he’s wearing only a tiara-like hairpiece is to represent how much of an outsider he still is. At this moment, he’s just Seb’s wi- ,I mean husband, to all these guests. Of course this bitch wears a black veil instead of a white one, to signal that he’s mourning the loss of his autonomy and personhood. Don’t worry too much about his mental state though, considering he’s not depressed enough to be able to resist teasing Seb. 

The fan, oh my god. Back in this era, people would gift/make fans for basically any occasion. To symbolize an event, to celebrate something, to show a story, etc etc. I wish I could have drawn something more narrative, but I think the bull vs. horse is good enough. Also you can see those same symbols on the pendants they’re wearing!! I’m so happy when I can fit irl, modern stuff like that into these drawings, it feels so clever!!

It’s so funny, I wrote a lore a day from a prompt about what they’d be like when doing a joint portrait, while I was already almost through painting a dual portrait of my own! So I got to explain some stuff like their clothing colors and poses before I even posted this. I feel very coy about that still honestly. 

Hmmm what else? It feels so weird to not expand on the characterization, considering I already did it for myself weeks in advance. I can’t imagine what it’s like opening this read more, and seeing more than 10 in-text citations. Happy reading!!!

 Happy anniversary to  this wonderful, crazy AU that makes me download 500pg German papers about 18th century etiquette. I drew a couple pieces of fanart before this AU, but I definitely think it jumpstarted my insanity about drawing/making AUs, and literally is what made me insane about Vettonso in the first place. Remember, if I hadn’t learned about Joseph I/Charles VI, most of my blog probably wouldn’t exist in it's current form. Thank you if you’ve stuck around since the beginning, or if you’re even just learning about it now!! It’s so incredibly niche but I’ve had so much fun researching and building this world and these characterizations, and I hope you’ve enjoyed what I’ve made in the process. I hope I can draw/write many more things in the future. I think next, I’m gonna maybe open up requests. I’d like to try to either write ficlets or draw chibi comics about specific Lore a Day posts on request. I think that’d be a lot of fun, but also will probably kill me. We’ll see!! Anyways. PPlease enjoy this absolute labor of love, which is a result of a year’s worth of work.

[purple-nightfall-writes]

real talk though i'm legitimately so excited for each and every one of the teamups this season. banger after banger after banger. genuinely, no sarcasm, i really do love how many of them are reprises of some sort. it feels like we're getting a lot of the best teamups from different previous seasons all mixed together in one series and it's gonna be SO hype to watch it all play out.

the gaslight gatekeep girlboss impulse team is gonna be SO fun to watch! even just in the first episode there's already been double life callbacks that are just so excellent from a character angst perspective. scott and cleo ribbing pearl about winning double life and pearl just playing into the absolute perfect level of "awkwardly laughing along" for her character. c!pearl teaming up with the people who betrayed and abandoned her in the darkest game for her, trying to act like everything's okay and this is fine she'll be fine it's all gonna go fine. oh this is gonna be SO juicy. also impulse is there and i love that for him. c!impulse is the perfect counterbalance, a stranger to their fraught history, just awkwardly glossing over the tense atmosphere and hoping it all goes fine. this is gonna be so good i'm HERE for it

return of renchanting is just absolutely incredible them just immediately falling into lockstep as a duo they're perfect no notes can't wait to see how devastating of a story those two make for us this time

team bet already has such a fun dynamic with ethubs scrapping like an actual married couple on the verge of divorce and tango just egging them on, i was laughing so damn hard during their interactions they just have such excellent chemistry and i CANNOT wait to see where this goes. also iirc tango hasn't teamed with bdubs since last life i'm sure it will go excellently hehe >:) no lingering fear of betrayal there nope

sub-one club is hysterically funny i'm so happy to see grian and mumbo teaming they have FANTASTIC creator chemistry and skizz has such a good dynamic with both of them. whatever the hell they have going on with mumbo's paranoia arc is SO hilarious i was crying laughing during that bit. also just grian teaming with Those Two is gonna be hilarious in terms of like. the wildly contrasting levels of situational awareness

god the bam team i love them so much scar and jimmy are such a fun duo together and i love lizzie so much. they have such underdog energy and everyone is talking about how they won't survive long but i think we're forgetting that scar is actually like. really good at the game. i do think jimmy has gotten a lot better too i think they're gonna do a lot better than people expect. lizzie is a wet cat though and i love that for her

gemjoel is a terrifying teamup they're going to absolutely scare the hell out of everyone when they start making enemies. just so excited to see how their dynamic develops too as the season progresses.

bigb is a surrealist force of chaos and i love that for him

basically i'm pumped as hell for this season it's all gonna be so amazing and i just can't wait

[itsmattchou]

when and how might our relationship start ?

pairing: zb1 maknae line x gn!reader warnings: ricky's and your mom are just ANNOYING🤬, GYUVIN AND READER ADE LIARS, pining gunwook, yujin has communication issues, the reader in yujins is considered a CHILD (if you ain't a child dni tf?), english isn't my first language!!! genre: fluff, maybe a slight bit of angst if you squint your eyes real hard synopsis: why you started fake dating. notes: i know i said I'm only gonna write for mline + matthew from now on but honestly fuck matthew (lovingly). FUNFACT gyuvins is basically what happened to me 😍😍 life is a fanfic fr. for some reason i am not aware of i included some smau... maybe my urge to write one finally took over? who knows. ignore the bad quality pls.

shen quanrui - to get your parents off of your backs

it was basically like this: rickys family and your family knew each other for decades now. your moms were already besties when they went to s highschool together 😭

so best believe they were THRILLED when they got pregnant around the same time

and since day 1

seriously. since ricky and you were little INFANTS

you two were being shipped by your parents

"oh, they must marry one day!" 🥰 no

you two grew up together and were naturally really close to each other

but ROMANTIC FEELINGS? nuh uh. not a thing. not happening 🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️

but your parents- or more specifically, your mothers- did not want to hear it

they're CONVINCED you two will fall in love eventually and won't leave you two alone

after years of suffering and repeated "no mom we're not gonna be dating!"s you two hit your LIMIT

so you two went ahead and decided to get your family off of your backs and to start 'dating'!

only to 'break up' like a month later and tell them that you actually aren't a good fit at all🔥

your parents literally threw a big ass party once you announced your relationship… awkward

kim gyuvin - to prank your friends

you actually thought it would be funny to tell your friends that you two started dating; they wouldn't believe at all you but it would be hilarious

hilarious you said. TURNS OUT, it wasn't all that funny

instead of not believing you when gyuvin and you dropped that bomb as believable as possible, they started cheering and congratulating you

"we knew this would happen eventually! finally!" you what. 😃

originally you planned on playing the prank for one day and then tell the truth- but by the way everybody started congratulating you (even a teacher exclaimed that she was happy for you!) you two couldn't help but feel incredibly bad at the end of the day

so you two did the only plausible thing to do in a situation like that; continue on lying instead of simply telling the truth 👍🏻

the very next day you two came to school again, still as a couple. it hurt your heart to lie to your friends like that, but they would be SO disappointed in you if they found out about the joke :(

park gunwook - to make your crush jealous

gunwook was a close friend of yours and he was aware of your unrequited crush on that one guy in your class

well, kind of unrequited? it was honestly hard to tell for sure. your crush sometimes acted like he was interested in you, on other days you didn't even exist to him

his mixed signals drove you CRAZY🥴

so out of pure desperation you asked gunwook for a small favor.. to please fake date you in order to make your crush jealous

AND REVEAL HIS TRUE FEELINGS!!!

gunwook was reluctant at first but he also had a small but secret crush on you so he took his chance and RAN

you had like an hour long talk to him about your great plan, about do's and don't's, about boundaries and what not

he was just silently listening and nodding his head whenever needed

(his heart shattering could be heard whenever you mentioned your real crush) 💔💔💔

you let your other close friends know about your plan too in hopes they will help to make it believable

han yujin - to prove that he is not a 'child'

poor yujin has to go through that 'youngest in the friendgroup' treatment 😪

everybody treats him like a baby and he feels as if he's not taken seriously by any of his friends

bro should probably try COMMUNICATING with them homies but oh well

and in his mind, the ultimate proof to not being a baby is having a significant other 👍🏻

and this is where you come in!!

you're one of the very few people who did not make fun of him- maybe because of your similar age- and that's why he felt save to propose that idea to you

and considering that you weren't taken all that seriously either due to your age… he was sure that you would understand where he was coming from!!

and to his delight you actually agreed to fake date him! 🤗

so after discussing everything further, you two announced your not-so-real relationship to your friends the very next day

YUJIN'S PLAN WORKED! there was gyuvin who dramatically whined about "his two babies growing up way too fast"

but the question now is… for how long should this keep going…?

[intrinsicepiphany]

Okay so I recently watched Hazbin Hotel. And I really like Chaggie so looking at some of the comments about the relationship online I noticed that a lot of people's negative opinions about the couple kind of revolve around Vaggie's seemingly one-sided utter Devotion to Charlie and her being so differential to Charlie but I actually think this may be a storytelling device.

(lets not talk about people saying they dont have chemistry - they 100% act just like an old married lesbian couple)

hear me out because if I am right I may have cracked the code to redemption.

from what I can tell of the Sinners they actually over exemplify or are consumed almost by their sins .

Alastor is probably Pride or Wrath, Angel Dust is Lust and Envy (he shows some self hate/self distructive behaviors as well), Husk is greed, Niffty is violence/wrath.

So what is Vaggies sin?

we know that she was originally not a sinner so she didn't have a human sin to be incorporated into her character which is why she looks the most human.

Her fall from Heaven, (if you want to call it that because, let's be honest none of the other angels knew or casted her out) was either caused by

1) her Devotion to her own morals and eventually disagreeing to what the angels were doing,

2) devotion to the exterminators leading to a loss of self, which she realized only when she defied Lute.

Or 3) the self hatred she developed after realizing how horrible Adam and the exterminators are.

so now that she's Fallen she's kind of taken on being a sinner and since her sin was devotion/self hatred she has transferred her devotion onto the one person she sees as being worth it, the most morally correct person she knows, the person who saved her life Charlie.

This may actually not be a bad thing. I think Charlie's devotion back and general good nature allows for this to avoid toxicity. She encourages Vaggie to be her own person, to forgive herself and to love herself. They are actually quite balanced in my opinion. I also think Vaggie getting her wings back shows that she is close to or maybe already redeemed.

( and lets all agree for all that Charlie is Hellborn she is the most selfless and good person we've met on the show - makes me wonder if a hellborn dies with a good soul would they have always gone to heaven? Was this perhaps one of the reasons the hellborn were exempt from the extermination? Look I have theories about Charlie actually being more Angel than Demon. )

Now Onto my redemption theory!

What if the way to redemption isn't so much being Pure but breaking out of the behaviors that are toxic?

I think Sir Pentious was redeemed because he stopped being selfish. He stopped being a coward and envious. His last act was one of selfless sacrifice in the end he overcame his own fears and limits for someone else. The reasons it's never been done before is because Hell by it's very nature puts them in a place where this is basically impossible. To survive you have to be selfish or cowardly or more violent than everyone else.

This also mean there is a the possibility that if an angel is bad like Adam and dies they could reincarnate in hell as a sinner.

[zelda-cooper]

Is Morgwing (Darkwing and Morgana) a toxic couple?

This is an opinion blog and about something I thought about these days, you can have a completely different opinion and share it here in the comments or reblogs. But I just ask that you read it until the end, think about it and, PLEASE, no toxic comments or threats! Having said that, let's continue...

These days I was doing my activities while listening to my podcast "Saint Canarian Files: A Darkwing Duck Podcast" (By the way, a very good podcast that I recommend! They're basically on EVERY social network that has podcasts!) and I ended up getting to the episodes of "Monsters R Us" and "My Valentine Ghoul"... I'm not a fan of these episodes, but I wanted to watch them because I like to hear other people's opinions about something I don't like. Then they started talking about the couple's interactions, so I was kind of doing my thing and my brain tuned into the audio... Then I paused and thought ".... Wait, what?", then I went back and listened more carefully... Then it went to the episode about Morgana's family and I was just in complete shock... Because it was right in front of me and I didn't see it. You know that I'm a person who defends Morgwing A LOT and this is my favorite shipp, but listening to this podcast and watching the episodes MORE CAREFULLY... My view started to change a lot about this couple. And not in a good way...

And now I'm here, writing about whether or not Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard and Morgana Mawcaber are a toxic couple (the world goes round...). And just to clarify...

THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR HATE ON DARKWING OR MORGANA, MUCH LESS ON THEIR FANS!!!

But it's to try to analyze the couple's dynamics and see if there's any salvation or not. I'm NOT a couples psychologist either, much less have I dated in my life so far, but I'm guiding myself by some behaviors and experience in narratives. Having said that... Let's start by talking about the beginning of the couple.

It all started in Morgana's debut episode, "Fungus Amongus" (I know, lol...), where the future couple met... And right away we felt a slight tension between the two... Not slight... A LOT OF TENSION... Okay, just kidding... Right away, we see that they really like each other a lot and feel comfortable talking to each other, even with Morgana's family being against it, the two got along really well in the beginning. This extended to "Ghoul of My Dreams", where it is shown that Morgana really likes Darkwing, because if she didn't like it, it wouldn't make sense for her to dream about them getting married or for Drake to dream about Morgana kissing him, they really fell in love with each other... But there's a small problem... In these meetings, Drake ONLY appeared as Darkwing Duck, not in his civil form (this will change later on, but keep it in mind).

Then we get to the other two... "My Valentine Ghoul" and "Monsters R Us"... And here we already see the couple's problems... In the first one mentioned, we see that Drake is once again as Darkwing Duck and not Drake Mallard (which is already strange, considering that they are dating...), but also... He acts like an idiot with Morgana's feelings, belittling them and such... And the witch reacts angrily and throws magic at him, and, even at the end of the episode, with him saving Morgana, their behavior didn't change... In the second episode mentioned, we have another problem... And I'm not just talking about Drake...

In the episode, we meet the Addams Family - I MEAN, the Mawcaber Family! But especially Morgana's father... And he's the one who causes the biggest fight with Darkwing in the episode... And there's also a simple phrase that the Darkwing Duck Podcast people mentioned too... Where Morgana's father says that her daughter deserves happiness, but Darkwing counters by saying that she doesn't want happiness, she only wants him... Just that simple phrase already kind of shocked me... Where did I see that phrase? Oh, yes... In MANY abusive relationships! :D

And let's mention another episode, "Malice's Restaurant", where Drake also doesn't really support Morgana's dream and her food (ok, in the episode they really drew the food in a way that is disgusting, but you'd be surprised by the animals that are edible IN REAL LIFE...). I'm not going to mention "Hot Spells" because that episode is much more about Gosalyn and neither are the other episodes where Morgana appears with the Justice Ducks. I'm also not considering the Boom or Dynamite comics... Because I haven't exactly read them... IN MY DEFENSE, THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE COUNTRY WHERE I LIVE!!! And buying imported comic is also not an option because I don't have the money... So, uh... Basically that...

But having said all these points... I want to talk, now, about the characters' mistakes... Starting with Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck...

•Take a deep breath....•

Can we start by talking about how much his personality doesn't help? He's very... VERY arrogant and problematic with many of his relationships... Even with LP, you think they're good friends, but in "Jailbird" and "Quack of Age" Darkwing is also extremely rude to him! And that also applies to his relationship with Morgana...

Let's go back to the two episodes I mentioned before, Drake never let Morgana talk and never cared much about her feelings and that's a red flag for Morgana that she tried to ignore... But there's also the fact that, at no point, he really trusted her... Because, if you notice... In all the dates we saw, Drake ALWAYS kept the disguise of Darkwing Duck, as his heroic persona! He never went on a date with her in the series being himself, and I suspect he DIDN'T WANT to reveal his secret identity to her. But then you remember "But in 'Malice's Restaurant' she appears with him in civilian clothes and also in the comics", yes... I also commented this with my friend Annie and she said it could be a coherence error because it was never explained how, but me... I have my Headcanon that he DIDN'T TELL, she was the one who found out ALONE (and let's be honest that's not hard, because even Negaduck found out because of the Launchpad-).

In this, we have two pillars of a bad relationship: Lack of trust and problematic personality. But there is another factor, which is how much Darkwing DOES NOT accept listening to Morgana, not even when it comes to her feelings. The biggest example is when he says that Morgana DOES NOT want happiness, she wants HIM. Which, let's face it, is not a healthy way to say it! And he also does not accept that she makes "disgusting food" in his eyes, even though he sees that his family and the Muddlefoots liked it. Now you can understand why Morgana's father did NOT want her to date Darkwing... But Morgana doesn't get away with it either... She also made a lot of mistakes...

This will have things from the series, but there will also be a lot of speculation... Because we know NOTHING about Morgana's past, but there are dots that we can try to connect. And let's start with... She didn't have the best of temperaments... And, let's go back to the two fateful ones... In "My Valentine Ghoul", we see how badly Morgana reacts when something goes wrong in her relationship. She gets angry, possessive and basically casts magic on her own boyfriend (even though he deserved it, the reaction was way too exaggerated...). But where did all this temper come from? Eh... I guess it was her father's fault. Let me explain...

Again in "Monsters R Us", we see that her father also did not accept listening to his daughter's opinion, she wanted him to give humans a chance, but he refused until the end. And, apparently, this WASN'T the first time he refused to listen to Morgana and, also, it seems that he was not angry that Morgana had a boyfriend, but rather, that this boyfriend is a HUMAN. And let's go to the theories and speculations... Why does Morgana's father HATE humans? Well... We saw most of Morgana's family in the series, EXCEPT HER MOTHER. There could be many reasons for this, she could be traveling or she could have gotten divorced, but the most likely thing for me is that her mother DIED. And here I'm going to pick a movie that has a similar story... "Hotel Transylvania".

In the first film, Dracula was completely overprotective of Mavis, because of the death of his wife, who died because of humans, going to EXTREME EXTREME measures to keep his daughter from leaving the Hotel. Nothing stops us from thinking that this also happened in the Mawcaber family and that this is what made the family patriarch hate humans so much that he doesn't want to listen to his daughter for ANYTHING. And the fact that she is always silenced, whether by Darkwing or by her own father, ends up generating these violent reactions in her. She ALWAYS has to scream and use her magic to be heard. This is even shown in a scene in the comics (I don't have the scene now, but it happened in a frame I saw randomly). Again, I'm not a psychologist, but having an upbringing where you can't have an opinion and where you can't even really feel the loss of grief MAY end up affecting your personality a lot... This may also have affected her self-esteem and made her very insecure...

BUT I STILL DON'T PUT HER UP!!!

She ALSO never worked on this issue in her life, never tried to deal with her temper or her insecurities. And remember how I said that her father was mad because Darkwing was HUMAN, not because she had a boyfriend? So... Like some other fans, I also think that Drake IS NOT Morgana's first love. She is clearly older than Drake (I'm guessing at least 100 years older, because monsters - We don't even know if they have the same limits as normal humans), so she really must have lived a long time! And these various relationships may have been a kind of escapism for Morgana, and I'll give another example... Rose Quartz from Steven Universe.

It has been said many times in the Steven Universe series that Rose had dated MANY humans during her "life"/existence (....?), it is both shown on screen and said by Pearl to Greg. Even if Rose didn't know what dating was, she only found out with Greg. And here it is the same thing with Morgana (in this case, she knew what dating was-), she used these "passing" relationships to try to escape her problems somehow. Until, at a certain point, she decided to go to Saint Canarian and follow her dream of having a restaurant, and the rest we already know...

But not to say that their relationship was terrible, toxic and horrible from start to finish... There are indeed points that are very good to highlight in their relationship.

Both characters were very loyal in their relationship from beginning to end and in the love they felt for each other, so much so that when one was in danger, the other went to save him. In "My Valentine Ghoul" (so attacked on this blog) this is proven, when Morgana was kidnapped by Negaduck, Darkwing ran to save her (he failed, but at least he tried -) and this goes for other episodes. And also, like it or not... They really LOVED each other and never wanted to harm their partner. In "Fungus Amongus" (sus) and "Ghoul of My Dreams", Morgana NEVER wanted Darkwing to get hurt and also wanted him to stay out of it. They truly loved each other and it was the first time that Morgana wanted a serious relationship... But even with that... I have to say... Their relationship is not good... For either side...

And we arrive at the fateful resolution... Is the relationship toxic?... Yes. But can the relationship be saved?... Maybe, but we don't know if it will last long...

Unfortunately... I don't know if their relationship will be saved... In the current comics, apparently from what I've seen, everything is fine now... But still, I'm very afraid of what their relationship might be like in the future.

Drake can still continue to be a jerk and arrogant who doesn't respect Morgana's feelings... And Morgana will be a temperamental and insecure person who can't control herself emotionally... But would it be possible for them to change? I don't know... Maybe... But they, perhaps, need to break up to see if they can really change their behavior... Even if they truly love each other, the relationship will only hurt both sides... Maybe... It's better for them to let go...

But... What do you think? If you want to comment or reblog, feel free... Thanks for reading this far and bye...

Art by @anniesilverl2

[princess-of-the-corner]

The Batman 2004 had some awesome designs which sadly didn't get much love at the time because they weren't just re-treads of what had already been done. (Wish they had kept the straight jacket themed look for Joker it worked so well)

Firefly is one of my faves:

Here & Freeze also had an episode where they basically acted like an old married couple where only one of them (Firefly) is trying.

Some folks hated that Freeze wasn't tragic in this version, but even ignoring that was a new not old element of his character, the writers outright said they didn't want to try and compete with Batman TAS's version of the story. Plus his powers and design still rocked.

Also had a great Riddler design & voice. He was actually a real threat and a bit of a tragedy, with the Riddle thing mostly being a gimmick he chose for vibes then stuck with. IE he's not compelled to leave riddles, it was a trap the first time & he stuck with it cos branding.

Plus one of the coolest, smartest and most tragic but with a hopeful ending in the comics versions of Killer Cros:

It also has a really solid movie where Batman fought Dracula:

Riddler looks like he's the author of My Immortal and will take that secret to his grave.

[chaifootsteps]

Full Moon anon - unexpected third part, sorry.

I think I've figured out why 'Stolas sending Blitzo nice texts and having phone chats means Blitzo should understand he wants more than sex' bothers me so much, on top of everything I outlined already

it's becaue it's accepting Stolas' narrative (and Viv's) as the only legitimate one

like from Stolas' perspective this is all some grand love story, right? - love at first sight as kids, magical day together when Stolas had a friend, reuniting later as adults leading to the magical first time Stolas ever enjoyed sex. From there everything that happened has been rewritten in Stolas' mind to suggest he and Blitzo are an actual 'thing' - Blitzo agreed to the deal, so he must want (or at least be OK with) monthly sex. In fact Blitzo's (we assume) very good at sex and seems to enjoy it sometimes, so that means he's happy with the arrangement. He even invited Stolas out on a date, so he must want romance...!

Then Ozzie's happens, & this is Stolas' big Missed Reality Check #1. He's wrecked his life for a transactional fling and he doesn't even have the guts to stand up for Blitzo in the moment, though he does still try to hold his hand afterwards, because why shouldn’t he have the kind of happiness those two married imps seem to have...? Except, no. Blitzo pulls away, then gives him the big speech that should have told him everything he needed to know about why this isn’t working out the way Stolas expects it to - because he's been deluding himself this whole time. But instead of grappling with the damage the full moon deal has done, he pushes reality away some more - and claims Blitzo lied to him on top of everything else.

Instead of ending the deal straight away he seems to internalize the message that he just needs to act nicer and more romantic to Blitzo and that'll prove his love - even though the deal is still in place so all he’s really succeeding at doing is confusing him at best and making Blitzo think Stolas wants to have it both ways at worst. Even while he’s arranging to get the crystal to end the deal he keeps sending Blitzo text messages and having nice phone calls with him, effectively LARPing the romantic relationship he actually wants *while the deal that Blitzo was so upset about is still ongoing (*and Blitzo doesn’t know Stolas now also thinks it’s wrong on some level, since he never apologized for it by text except for a backhanded ‘I’m sorry if something I said or did offended you but I won’t specify what or think about why’). The most Stolas does is pull back a bit on the deal - the duet has Blitzo imply it’s been awhile since they met up for their arrangement, though on its own that’s not good enough to make Blitzo think Stolas wants him for more than sex/views him as an equal without a proper apology from Stolas’ side when he ends things, and right now it’s feeling like it’ll be a small miracle if that happens without Stolas or the show acting like Blitzo is equally in the wrong here.

Assuming 'Blitzo should know Stolas wants more than sex' is viewing things entirely through Stolas' perspective, where a couple of nice texts and phone calls entirely counterbalances a long history of treating Blitzo like a sex toy and disregarding his feelings and boundaries on a near constant basis. All Stolas wants is to fast walk their 'relationship' from 'transactional fucking' to 'actually dating' and he doesn't want to do any hard work of acknowledging what the effect of that first bit was on Blitzo or why he can't just demand Blitzo trusts him the moment he hands over the crystal. Likely Blitzo will try to hammer this point home in Full Moon and Stolas will get mad and shut him down (Missed Reality Check #2) - frankly it’s already a fair argument to suggest Blitzo should just take the crystal and dip but if the show wants to really make a case for these two, this is basically its last chance to show Stolas actually cares about Blitzo’s emotions and that Stolas is willing to acknowledge how him not caring about Blitzo’s safety or ability to give informed consent back in Murder Family has affected his perspective of the ‘relationship’.

I imagine some Stolas/Stol/tz stans will look at that last bit and say ‘but s1e1 was ages ago! Stolas has changed a bunch (read: been retconned into a new person without doing much actual character development) since then and it’s Blitzo’s fault he can’t let it go’. To which I say, no. Stolas doesn’t get to dictate that Blitzo should ‘just get over’ how he treated him when he hasn’t apologized properly for any of it. It will always be an issue until Stolas deals with it because it will always hang over Blitzo’s perception of him. Plus Blitzo had an entire season of dealing with other BS from Stolas; it’s not like the owl just did one bad thing and that was it (see: basically everything about the way Stolas treated him in Loo Loo Land, persistently mispronouncing his name until Stolas wanted a romantic relationship and decided it was time to address him properly, yanking on his face multiple times, putting cigarettes out on his horns, calling him a plaything, flirting with him when he was T-minus seconds away from a panic attack the episode right after Blitzo told him off for treating him like a sex toy). Frankly it’s self absorbed on Stolas’ part to refuse to acknowledge the way he has treated Blitzo affects the way Blitzo treats him in return and demand he get over it the second Stolas has decided he’s ready to be better (and if Stolas doesn’t even listen to Blitzo’s feelings without losing his temper and throwing him out in Full Moon, his idea of ‘better’ isn’t worth a darn).

Look at it from Blitzo's perspective instead and it becomes clear. He steals the book and tosses Stolas some pity sex because he feels bad the bird actually thinks they're friends/has never had anyone want him physically before. From then on he has the problem that Stolas has become obsessed with him and fixated on him sexually - it’s evident in their convo in e1 that he’s been avoiding his calls, after all, and he has a panic button for him in his office. Stolas then leverages a situation where Blitzo can't freely consent to him changing up the terms regarding his use of the book to get him to agree to monthly sex. He does this after having let Blitzo use the book no strings attached for some time, too. Blitzo agrees to get him off the phone, then probably thinks that because he needs the book and wants to stick to his word (even though it wasn't freely given) that he should just grit his teeth and get on with it, so he doesn’t argue the issue further. Stolas is kinky enough that the sex is maybe at least enjoyable, even if Blitzo would rather not have to please his every whim every month just to keep the lights on. He keeps his head down, maybe thinking they could have been something if only he didn't feel like Stolas' prisoner (truth seekers). But then Stolas starts to change - a one off invite to a club has Stolas acting like they're on an actual date and Blitzo has no idea what to do with that (’that’s a little much, don’t you think?…oh yeah, I guess it is.’). They don't have a ‘thing’ after all, it's just transactional. And it's starting to get annoying that Stolas - who he couldn't even trust not to attempt to drag him off to some dark corner in loo loo land for a hookup - is acting like they're a real couple. What's worse is he's now sending these long desperate text messages and extending this delusion that he cares about Blitzo to their phone calls! And he has the nerve to act like he’s been hinting he wanted to go out with Blitzo for a while, when he was the one who proposed the deal instead of just asking Blitzo out and working out a separate business arrangement for the book? He has the nerve to act like he was powerless despite being a prince, that he was seduced by Blitzo despite Blitzo acting annoyed or rejecting his advances outside the deal near constantly?

Tl:dr, but what's so frustrating here is that it would be bad enough for Blitzo to have deal with someone who uses his life being in danger to extort sex out of him. But it's worse because he's also having to fight against Stolas' delusions - Stolas has been trying to treat him like a boyfriend even with the deal still in place. If Blitzo had come inside at the end of Ozzie's and they'd watched a movie and cuddled, it wouldn't have fixed anything. It would have enabled Stolas' notion that he could have a relationship with Blitzo and that they were mutually in love, even as he refused to give up the deal. Stolas wanted to act like they were a couple now and somehow at the same time he doesn't realize/refuses to see that it's wrong to use the book to have power over Blitzo. That's an outstanding and disturbing level of double think tbh and it's frustrating to see fans so totally buying into the show's narrative of how Stol/tz should be viewed that they don't realize how irrational it sounds to basically say 'Blitzo should realize Stolas wants more from him than sex because Stolas has been behaving like they're going steady, while he's still kept this transactional deal going'.

They don't seem to get Blitzo's perspective is heavily informed by the transactional deal, because it's the only reason he interacts with Stolas at all! Of course he's going to behave according to his own perspective and everything we've seen from Stolas makes it entirely rational to behave the way Blitzo does. If I were Blitzo I'd be tearing my horns out with frustration that Stolas just can't seem to compute that treating someone like a means for transactional sex means they're not going to behave in a romantic way towards you. They're going to behave like you're the client and they're the one being forced to please you (because they are), and naturally snap when the client tries to act like the relationship isn't entirely based around them getting what they want at all times (and then have the client get indignant because they wanted the benefits of a transactional relationship but they don’t want their ego hurt by being made to face the fact they treated another living being like a means to an end)

Honestly given how cruel and delusional Stolas is, I'd love to see Blitzo tell him that not only did his father buy Blitzo's company and he actually has a childhood friend that isn't him who he was actually in love with (Fizz), but he only slept with Stolas that first time out of pity. If Stolas is going to delude himself and fail to understand where Blitzo is coming from, he frankly can't have enough reality checks shoved under his beak (and even then he'd probably take a while to get it).

Put it this way - if Blitzo had swallowed down his upset in Ozzie's and come inside as Stolas wanted, Stolas would probably still be deluding himself that it's totally valid to have a romantic relationship with someone while simultaneously having a deal with them so you can ensure they sleep with you.

Stolas isn't ending the deal because he thinks it's wrong (and I'm not counting that song from the trailer as enough proof that he's really learnt this lesson - if he can't hear out Blitzo's feelings on the matter then it's clear he's gone from demanding sex to demanding a romantic relationship with no change in his fundamental flaw of not treating Blitzo like a person with his own feelings) he's doing it because the thing he wants out of Blitzo has changed and if he can't have that thing within the confines of the deal, ending it is his only option left

Your guys' writeups never fail to feel like a neck rub. I'd kill for more people in the fandom to realize exactly what you've written here.

[d0v3uae]

okay, i was just rewatching season 4, and i realized something, remember this scene in the airport right in the beginning of the series? Mike says “i handpicked those for you in Hawkins” most likely he got those from the field that we also saw in the end of this season, and the one of the very first scenes in season 3. now, i was watching the very last episode, and the very last scene, and i noticed when el was walking forward, she picked up dead flowers, specifically the same colors Mike got her as a gift back in the beginning (yellow and purple). this means the fall/deadness of their relationship, because as we already know, they are NOT on good terms. i mean i really tried to like their ship, but i just cant see it without being toxic, and having communication issues for example: El felt the need to lie about her life and Lenora, and how she had friends, and everything was good. why would she need to lie? shouldnt they trust each other and tell each other things like this? And back in the beginning when Mike tells Lucas that they dont want to be popular, and the airport scene when El says that she wants burritos for breakfast, Mike says something like “really? no i mean i trust you,” that scene to me meant that Mike was very awkward, and not acting like himself. and not to mention but Mikes outfit was not himself AT ALL. Argyle says “oh no its a shitty knockoff,” meaning again, that mike is acting like someone hes not in front of his girlfriend.

now, i wanna talk about the roller rink incident, because there is a LOT more stuff going on then what it seems. so basically Mike and Will are fighting while trying to find El, and Will says “well what about us?” and Will DID NOT mean this romantically, but Mike took this romantically?! Will meant it as “Ok i get it, you have a girlfriend, but what about our friendship?” Mike took it as romantic, which is why he said “We’re friend! We’re friends!” and the fact that he said it two times is also insane, and his tone of voice when he said it was so tense almost. when people in other shows/movies say they are just friends, they most if the time end up as an endgame couple. for example: the office, Jim and Pam, they both had crushes on each other throughout the first seasons, but oh look they were an endgame couple, and even got married. what im trying to say is, Mike took it romantically, when Will didnt.

And another thing with this fight, is that as soon as Mike said “We’re friends” the song “in the closet” started playing, and some people think “oh its because Els in a closet” which yes, in a way, but it was an employee’s shed. and also this song started playing RIGHT AFTER Mike assured that they were “just friends” little sketchy right? And i also just wanted to point out that after Mike said that, he saw Wills face and immediately knew he made him sad, and we can see the tension in his face almost disappeared.

now right after the skate incident, El, Mike and Will were all standing there in a triangle if i may point out, but anyways, we can see Will reacted normally, he said “oh my god..” but Mike reacted very aggressively towards it. and the camera pans over to El sitting alone at a table, and Mike and Will are right next to each other. really quickly, i wanna point a few things out. when angela takes el onto the rink, we can see Mike not care, hes just like “meh” but Will knows, so he stands up and says “oh no” which directly after he says that, he stands up so quickly, but this is weird for me. because Mike can sense when something is wrong with Will, but not El. because we see that when angela comes over to the table they are sitting at, it is very tense but Mike doesnt really notice, but Mike notices when something is wrong with Will almost IMMEDIATELY. and this is proven back in s2. so Will is closing his locker and Mike says something like “come on” and Will looks worried or even tense, and Mike immediately notices, because he says “what” many times and not to mention in his soft voice that he only uses for Will. so i think this means Mike understands Will and Will understands Mike.

i think this might be foreshadowing to the break up to Mike and El in season 5. so, once again. BYLER ENDGAME!!

[tedwardremus]

Perspective

[This is a continuation of A Decent Bloke. I just couldn't stop Lily and James talking about wizarding politics.]

Underneath the grand willow tree on the bank of the lake, the air was thick with the scent of crisp autumn leaves that layered the ground as Lily dropped down unexpectedly next to James Potter, who was engrossed in a Quidditch magazine. Startled by her sudden appearance, James looked up and greeted her with a quizzical, "Alright, Evans?"

Lily cut straight to the point. "What is the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

James set aside his magazine and raised an eyebrow in surprise as he turned to Lily. "The Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

Lily took a deep breath, she was nervous about asking questions that seemed so obvious to people who grew up in the wizarding world. Severus had always told her it is important to act like you belong, to not show ignorance. "Yes, in the library the other day, you mentioned your family was excluded from all this twenty-eight nonsense and I don't know what that meant. So what is it?"

"It's a load of rubbish," James declared, looking away from Lily and grabbing nearby rocks that he began absentmindedly tossing into the lake. Lily watched the ripples form from the contact with the water expand across the lake into large circles and then fade back into still water, "The Sacred Twenty-Eight, more formally known as the Pure-Blood Directory if you'd like to look it up in the library, was created by an arsehole named Cantankerus Nott at some point in the 1930s. It is a record of which families in the British Wizarding World are considered 'pure-blood'."

"So it's like an official directory? Is it managed by the Ministry?"

"No, it's not official in any government sense. Though some families stupidly consider it an honor to be on the list. It is basically just another way to perpetuate pure-blood supremacy. Some families won't even associate with someone unless they can tie their family back to the list.

"But no family is really pure-blood," James continued, tossing a small rock between his hands before throwing into the dark depths of the lake. "Take Sirius, for example. Anytime a member of his family marries a muggle or muggle-born they are literally blasted off the family tree. They pretend they never existed. But just because you pretend someone doesn't exist doesn't change the actual reality or history of your family. You know Ollivander's in Diagon Alley? His mother was a Muggle-born, yet their family is still on the list too. It's all about power and keeping elite families in line."

"If no family is actually pure-blood then how can the list have any authority? "

James paused in his rock throwing while he looked at Lily, the autumn sun reflecting gold in his hazel eyes. Lily liked noticing the different colors in his eyes. "Ah well, it's all propaganda, isn't it? People like to confirm their already preconceived ideas, especially if it validates their sense of superiority... or fear. The two kind of go hand in hand I guess."

"My dad, he fought in the Second World War, and he never really talked about it. I think it upset him, the things he saw. When I found out about magic I never imagined the same issues that sent my dad to war and left him a bit haunted would exist here. The wizarding world is so small. It seems counterproductive to separate us into this, I guess caste system you could call it. If the goal is to exclude people like me from the magical world how do they expect to create a workforce or support their economy?"

Talking about this kind of stuff to James was different than talking to Severus. Severus always gave short, clipped answers and was quick to change the subject. James was always long-winded and excitable. Severus told her facts. James gave her explanations.

James, Lily had noticed the past couple of weeks, was also different than the James she had rowed with after their OWLs. She couldn't put her finger on it since he was still loud and overly confident but there was something about him that changed over the summer.

Maybe she was the one who changed over the summer.

Maybe they both did.

"Well, only the most extreme pure-blood supremacists seek to purge the world of what they considered 'impure.' However," James explained, picking up tiny rocks once more to toss into the lake, "Most people merely uphold societal norms and unexamined prejudices. Not that those biases are any better mind you."

"But you aren't most people. You don't think wizards are better than Muggles?" Lily questioned.

"No," James asserted. "People can be smart or dumb, decent or nasty, and it has nothing to do with being magical. The problem is that most pure-bloods live totally removed from the Muggle world."

"You think we need to get rid of the Statute of Secrecy?"

"No, well I don't know. I do think our community could benefit from more exposure and relations with the non-magical world. The problem is the supremacists argue the statute should be abolished so they can rule over the muggles." James tossed a rock high in the air before catching it and throwing it into the lake before he continued. "I haven't worked it all out, to be honest. I just know things need to change."

A year ago, watching James toss rocks into the lake while she tried to have a serious conversation would have annoyed her but as she watched him closer she thought perhaps the distraction of doing something with his hands was helping him concentrate, to articulate his thoughts better. "My family lives in a town with Muggles, goes to church with Muggles, we buy produce and eggs from Muggles at the market. My parents even hang out at the local pub with Muggles. They are my neighbors, not my enemies or my subordinates."

Lily realized all of a sudden how close they were sitting. His scent, a mixture of wood polish and sage, filled her senses. Their hands were almost touching, and she pondered whether he could hear the pounding of her heart. Just as she considered reaching out to see if playing quidditch had caused rough callouses on his hands, James moved his hand to throw another rock into the lake.

Lily picked up a rock herself and threw it where James' had landed, the sun reflecting through the ripples. "Do you want to meet in the library again? Maybe you can help me with more NEWT history work."

"I'm not taking NEWT-level history, Evans."

"Yes, but I like hearing your perspective."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, watching the ripples fade across the lake as the water became still once again.

James got up from his place under the tree and turned around to offer a helping hand to Lily. His hands were soft. He smiled at her as she allowed him to help her up, "I like hearing your perspective, too."

[soursfilms]

If you could have any future for Rina what would it be? Doesn’t have to line up with show canon or it can, whatever way you want to answer this! ☺️🫶🏻

i love this question! i think i can perfectly tie this ask to @daphnebowen’s ask so i’ll answer both in this post. hopefully you both don’t mind !! 🥰

as tim federle said, they will be owning a backyard full of golden retrievers and will go by ricky and gina porter-bowen! okay, that’s canon to me!

i see ricky and gina getting married young, definitely during their early twenties. i mean, they already act like a married couple it’s insane. it’s kinda sickening, but also beautiful how deeply in love they are.

i think in an interview joshua said he sees ricky as a stay at home dad and that ricky doesn’t necessarily “want to go the distance” and he’s so correct! i’ve always seen ricky as a behind the scenes type of guy and someone who doesn’t really care for the spotlight. probably ends up doing something with composing music behind the scenes, or teaching music. not everyone wants to be a star and i like that while everyone else wants to be on broadway, or become movie stars, pop stars etc. ricky just aspires for a simple life with a family. so even if he becomes “famous” (because he’s definitely playing romeo right? we all agree on that right?) i don’t think he’d ever genuinely care about fame and want to be a part of that world.

gina though, she’s a movie star! i saw some mixed opinions on the “fame” plot line/aspect, or basically the movie plot line, but i loved it because i love seeing gina shine and get everything she deserves and has ever wanted. along the years, she’ll get home from a busy day of filming and busy press days, to ricky and their daughter watching mark and spark on the television. ricky will always be her home and normalcy after a busy day in the spotlight. just like in season four with gina filming hsm4 all day, but at night ricky would climb up her window and it would just be them, talking and laughing because no one amuses gina like ricky. i don’t see that ever changing. that’s their thing, being each other’s homes.

also, this may be random but, i’ve always had this vision that when their daughter grew up, they’d want her to go to school at east high. then ricky sees that the theater program is not the same or is in danger, so he pulls a miss jenn because he can’t fathom to see the place that changed him and believed in him just be gone. so in order to keep it alive for his daughter he becomes the drama teacher. i feel like this is a prefect spin off for the future. their daughter is annoyed at her dad being the drama teacher and it’s chaotic and funny. and gina brings the kids cupcakes and helps out when she can with the choreography. (i can also see older ricky and gina opening some type of dance studio or music studio together just to give kids an outlet to express themselves and feel “not like outsiders” like what theater meant to them growing up) so whichever one it is, i basically just see them helping “outsiders” find their place. either if it’s back at east high’s theater department much to their daughter’s dismay, or using their fame to open up dance and music studios in a bunch of different places (because gina moved so much y’know? she’d want her business in many places so no matter where people travel to and move it’s always home) that’s what i envision.

and speaking of their daughter, there’s no doubt that ricky and gina are having a girl, like he’s a girl dad through and through! and to tie in @daphnebowen’s ask, i read a fic the other day that used the name “grace” for their daughter and i think that it is absolutely perfect. it starts with the letter G just like gina, and gina exudes grace so i think it’s a perfect name for her daughter.

i’ll stop here before i keep rambling. i feel like this is so long already i am so sorry! so their future is golden and beautiful and they’re in love forever and i love them! okay bye!

[silverynight]

Friendship chocolates?

It's Valentine's day which means Tanjirou takes the opportunity to give all his highschool friends some chocolate.

Even though the Pillars (nickname for the nine members of the student council) are older than Tanjirou and his classmates, he considers them close friends too so he gives them chocolate too.

Zenitsu doesn't like the idea.

"Don't do it, Tanjirou!" He almost begs, looking slightly irritated already. "They'll think it's something romantic."

Tanjirou chuckles at the silly idea; they'd never think something like that. They're too amazing to date a simple boy like him.

"They won't," Tanjirou assures his friend with a smile that doesn't seem to work to calm him down. "Besides, I'm giving these to you, Inosuke, Nezuko and Genya as well!"

Zenitsu just shakes his head and doesn't say anything else.

***

Everything turns out to be more than okay; all the hashira seem to be really happy with the chocolates Tanjirou gives them. In fact, they're so unbelievably excited that all of them (one at a time) pull a very amused Tanjirou in their arms and kiss him all over the face until the redhead starts giggling.

They sure are very physically affectionate with their friends; Tanjirou is glad he decided to give them the chocolates outside school.

However, after that day they start hanging out with Tanjirou and his friends even more and basically growl at whomever wants to get too close to Tanjirou (especially if they're infamous for being the school bullies). The other students treat Tanjirou different now, like he's very important and it really puzzles the redhead.

The Pillars have also started walking him and Nezuko home; his little sister insists on keeping an eye on them and even mentioned it out loud in front of them.

"Understandable," they always say, nodding. Even after they find Nezuko narrowing her eyes at them they seem to be more than okay with that. "He's your brother after all."

She's not the only one acting weird, Tanjirou's mother has welcomed them inside their house a couple of times, but Tanjirou's other siblings are the ones who usually join them in the living room, only to glare at them...

Rokuta is always trying to keep Tanjirou's full and undivided attention to himself; making grabby hands until Tanjirou takes him in his arms.

"Are you serious about this?" Nezuko asks at some point, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Completely."

"We'd marry–"

Tomioka suddenly puts a hand over Rengoku's mouth before he can finish the sentence, but it still makes Nezuko eye them suspiciously.

"Not too fast."

"Of course not," Kocho says then. "We'll take it slow."

Tanjirou tilts his head to the side, confused, however, before he can ask anything, Rokuta tells him he wants Tanjirou to take him to the kitchen to grab a snack.

Even though it doesn't make any sense, Tanjirou has the feeling all of this has to do with the chocolates. Maybe he should've followed Zenitsu's advice after all. He shouldn't have given anyone friendship chocolates...

Tanjirou shakes his head then, no, it's ridiculous... This can't be about the chocolates.

***

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