#they both handle their trauma so differently yet they are both connected because of trauma that ties them to each other

[ntaras]

we could talk about how hanzo’s rage is a metaphor for his grief and trauma and his title of scorpion represents his difficulty to let go of his anger how he can never stop mourning his past because he refuses to stop mourning and how kuai liang’s taking of the mantle is representative of the ability to move forward rather than be stuck in constant mourning of the brother he lost. we could also talk about how hanzo’s protection over kuai liang was out of guilt of how hanzo could not stop himself from allowing emotion to control him and killing bi-han, and his ability to allow kuai liang to live instead of exacting more blindness vengeance allowed kuai liang to prosper and grow and end the years of rivalry between their clans.

[v1x3n]

ᝰ.ᐟ✮⋆˙ - NSFW ALPHABET // GHOST

simon 'ghost' riley x reader ⸝⸝ navigation ୨୧ tags : fluff, smut

୨୧ 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 : nsfw alphabet for simon riley!!

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

he loves aftercare, its one of his favorite things about sex. he loves the sex smelled filled room with both your sweaty bodies connected with eachother. he cuddles with you, on the nearest comfortable, plush place : normally either the bed or the couch. he mutters soft praise whilst kissing your bare body! he loves the soppy moments after where its nothing but you two and hot, breathless kisses!

B = Body part (their favourite body part of their partner’s)

i dont think simon would have any part of you he favourites, yeah sure he loves your waist or your thighs. but he wouldnt say he prefers them over another part of you. he loves all of you differently. but if he had to pick? like answer or die? he would pick your waist/ lower stomach, he loves picking you up from your waist and just dropping you (carefully) down. youre so small compared to him and loves just man handling you!! he also likes it when youre on your period and your lower stomach kills, your cramps harming you and he uses his big warm hands as a hot water bottle!!

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

he would cum on your tits most of the time, barley ever inside of you unless you have some sort of protection. he loves to see your perky nipples covers in his cum, hot sticky cum plastered all over the bite marks he leaves all over your tits!!

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

hes a switch, he loves when you take dominance but you know how far to go and what to not do. he would only let you top after a while of dating because of trust issues and trauma. but eventually you two chat and the first time be came so much the bedsheets were covered

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

he doesnt fuck loads but hes not a virgin. hes had sex before he met you, but he would only shag unless he trusted them. he wouldnt really do hookups, he would do relationship. trusting relationships. he does know what to do and how he just likes easing up into it though.

F = Favourite position (this goes without saying)

doesnt mind anything really aslong as the two lf you are comfortable. but he likes when you ride him a little more than all the rest, he loves gripping onto your waist to help you and guide your movements and he almost orgasms when he sees your sweaty face trying your hardest to fit his cock all in you. seeing the small bump on your lower stomach from where his dick is finally makes him shoot a load into you

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

depends on how hes feeling, he likes silly sex where you two are both laughing and soft deep breathes when he pushes inside of you. he makes cute little jokes that make you clench at how cute hes being and he knows how much you like it. yet he also likes when all he does is focus of getting you two to cum, especially after not cumming for a while or being apart for a bit.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they?)

hes one hairy ass motherfucker. he doesn't shave, he doesnt see a reason too. you dont really care so he doesnt either.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

will touch you everywhere, constantly all over you. touching your tits and rubbing your arse, you feel up his arms and his strong muscles. touching is the most important thing he thinks. he loves intimacy with you and you only.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

slow and steady wins the race. he jacks off normally to a thought of you or sometimes to a picture if hes really horny. hes quiet but sometimes if hes neglected that much he will whimper softly. small silent whimpers that only you will ever hear

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

praise, he likes when you praise him and he likes praising you. he loves the way your eyes light up when he tells you youre a good girl, he loves the way you mutter how well hes doing when kissing him.

restraints / bondage, but only of you. he likes the control and knowing whats happening, he loves seeing you squirm whilst youre tied up and he loves when you ask for it aswell. if you dont he feels weird like hes forcing you into something, but when you ask he instantly gets hard.

L = Location (favourite places to do the do)

bed, he likes the comfort and how you two can just collapse onto eachother and hug. he will throw you, gently, onto the bed whilst laughing, mutter quiet dirty talk into your ear and you two will have a perfect night together!!

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

seeing you with his clothes on turns his grinds. he loves seeing you take care of him and he lovesss seeing you after a shower. all wet with dripping hair, your smell filling his nose and your soft skin!! boner constantly!!

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

he doesnt really like cnc, after everythings hes been through he just wouldnt. it would remind him too much of the past. if you say stop or the safe word - he is off of you instantly and comforts you. even if you didnt mean to say stop, if its just a spur of the moment thing like you feel so fucking good and your just going to have orgasms after orgasms, so you say stop. he is off. he is checking on you and pulling out. he doesnt like feeling like hes forced you.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

preferably both, he likes 69 and he likes feeling your clit on his tongue and he likes your mouth around his cock. so why not both at the same time? with his tongue - hes a fucking legend, he'll flick so quick at your clit making you cum all over his face!!

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

he likes to mix it up, honestly he could just cum as soon as he drags his dick into your sweet cunt but he will do it how ever you wanna <3

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

if you have somewhere to be and fast and you two just wanna then he will ofc but he prefers the slow and sensual sex than rushed.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

not with pregnancy, unless you two are sure and you two wanna have a baby than he will make sure to wear protection or if youre on the pill. just any protection. he wouldnt be open to threesomes, he likes you all to himself. you are his, not someone elses. he is okay with different kinks, trying out new stuff. unless its weird - obviously.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

normally around 2-3 rounds, he would go for ages until you cum at least twice. until you want enough really. obviously with his build and his stamina, he knows how to go for multiple times and without getting exhausted.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

prefers you over toys, if you arent there he wouldnt use toys. maybe a flesh light at most, but he would use his hands or fingers more. he would use them on you, vibrators are his favourite to use on you. he loves seeing you squirm as he holds you down with the vibrator pressed onto your clit, maybe tied up in the process. but yes he will use them on you!!

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

50/50, he would love to tease you but couldnt for ages due to how horny he is. he cant see you with your fluttering eyelashes while you moan out whilst pleading. begging him to touch you just sends blood rush down to his cock. he would for a bit but wouldnt for hours. maybe just a little before he fucks you.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

small whimpers if hes feeling needy, like ive said before. he groans softly while fucking deep inside of you, he would grunt when you do something he likes. like a 'fuck, yes' grunt!!

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

isnt overally jealous, yeah he would get angry if someone tries to get with his girl but he wouldnt shag you infront of them or beat them up. he would just swiftly grab you and walk away with you, wrapping his arm around your waist. but if you have a guy friend or a guy best friend? he wouldnt care, he trusts you.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

girthy, 6 inches, big vein on the left side and hes a grower!! almost 7 inches when hard.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

around the middle, he gets it on at night not much in the morning though. he can go for ages but he wouldnt constantly. he would rather have a little comforting hug then constant sex. just being close to you does it for him. he would whenever you wanna.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

almost instantly. hes one tired guy, he never really gets sleep so with you he can. he would get all comfortable next to you and kiss your forehead,

"come sleep now baby, yeah?" he mumbles whilst waiting for you to sleep, after youre sleeping then he will. first he needs to check youre okay and nothing can ever hurt you.

୨୧ taglist: @xxshadowbabexx // @wonyoungloversblog // @ambitiousabi4288 // @royaltysuite // @tiredlittle-wallflower // @nic-stars // @snowyaddiction

comment to join main taglist!

[corazondebeskar-reads]

no quiet on this earth

Joel Miller x f!reader

originally for Febuwhump 2024 Day 10 - killing in self defense | Febuwhump masterlist

words: 2.8k

summary: You and Joel run into hunters on patrol.

-- I'm a fucking menace, and this is Joel & reader from "you know you never stood a chance" (spoiler warning). BUT this can be read as a standalone. I just can't seem to help myself/let them go.

warnings: established relationship, jackson, patrol partners, hunters, Joel and reader both kill hunters, canon-typical violence, graphic descriptions of violence, lots of blood, oral (m receiving), p in v unprotected, creampie, feelings, guilt/trauma, trauma response, a little hurt and a LOT of comfort, Joel takes care of you, one (1) ass slap, pussy/clit spanking

dividers by @saradika-graphics

They had been waiting for you. Not the biggest group of hunters that’s come ‘round, but there hadn’t been any signs. It was supposed to be an easy half-day route. 

It was also your first patrol with Joel. 

You’re already off to a rough morning. He’s settled back into Out There Joel, gruff and tense, and you’re already feeling useless again even though you know you can handle it now. 

You’re on horseback, you with a gentle brown mare that you’re a little irritated about. Penny is notoriously slow and usually used to teach people to ride. Tommy taught you to ride ages ago, but Joel fucking insisted. 

“Ain’t havin’ you have to deal with a spooked horse our first time out.”

“Our first time. I’ve been out loads of times,” you grumbled. He leveled you with a look so stern that you rolled your eyes. 

“Don’t start with your smart mouth,” he said. “Only way this works is—“

“If I do what I’m told. I got it. Same shit, different place.” 

To say you’re pissed would be an understatement. You thought after all the shit you’ve been through that he’d trust you now. And you’ve gotten quite good with your revolver and halfway decent with the rifle. 

Now, out here on the trail to the safe house, neither of you has said a word. Just like the good old days. Y’know. If they had been good. 

You’re nearly there when they make their move. They don’t have guns, thank fuckin’ god, but there are five of them and two of you. 

It becomes quickly clear that they want the horses. Joel makes quick work of the first hunter that lunges for him. 

One comes at him from each side, and you’re too worried to notice the other two do the same to you. 

One grabs the reins and the other tries to yank you from the saddle. Your boots are stuck, and they don’t seem to particularly care if they break your legs during the extraction. 

You free your feet, boots left behind, and let the brick house of a man pull you down. He doesn’t care much about your landing, so when you hit the ground, you grapple for your revolver. 

His partner yells, and he spins back to you, a huge fist aiming for your face. But it doesn’t connect, because your bullet does first. 

He was close enough that it would have been near impossible to miss, which also meant that his stupid body landed on you, turning your clothes into a sponge for his blood. 

Joel’s rampaged through the others by now and turns to take down the one trying to abscond with your horse. 

But he doesn’t make the shot, because he freezes up when he sees you. 

“Get the fucking horse,” you yell. 

He swears and loads the rifle, one neat bullet into the head of the escaping hunter. He hadn’t fully mounted your mare yet, and his corpse crumples into the soft spring soil. 

Joel whistles and Penny takes her fucking time to come back, giving him a very unimpressed look and shaking her mane. 

He heaves the dead man off you. “Where?” he says sharply, eyes darting all over your body. 

“Nowhere, Joel, I’m fine,” you say. 

He’s already dropping to his knees, hands gripping and patting every inch of you before cradling your face. “You’re sure?”

“I mean, I think so. Unless I’m in shock, but I guess we’ll find out in a little bit.”

“Not funny, sweetheart,” he mutters, doing another check, slower this time and more thorough. 

You let him. You feel kind of funny, dizzy almost, but mostly just… muted. Like the world around you is muffled and you’re suddenly hyper aware of how blood is turning tacky and your jeans are stiffening as it dries. 

“Hey,” he snaps. 

You’re pretty sure that means he was already talking to you, and when you look up and meet his eyes, they abandon their irritation for concern beneath furrowed brows. 

“Sweetheart, listen to me,” he says, voice low and slow. It draws out the Texan twang and loops you in. “You’re okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you. You did what you had to do, okay?”

“Okay,” you echo, but the word sticks in your throat, tasting of copper. 

“Say it.”

“I did what I had to do.”

You’ve done as he said, but he looks more worried for it. 

“Alright, c’mon. I’m gettin’ you home.”

“But—“

“Rethink that, baby. I ain’t in the mood to argue.”

“But we were supposed to—“

“Yeah, and plans fuckin’ change. We’re going back. Tommy and I can come out and deal with the bodies later.”

He stands and pulls you up, though you follow willingly. You hover where you stand as he pulls a rope from his bag and tethers it to Penny’s lead. 

“What’re you doing?” 

“Want you on Oakley with me.”

“I can ride,” you snap. “I’m not fucking hurt.”

“I know,” Joel says. “But you’re gonna ride with me.”

“Don’t start this shit,” you say, mortified when your voice and hands are trembling. “I can handle myself.”

He spins around, fury written in the curl of his lip. “I fuckin’ know that! I don’t give a shit. You’re riding with me, end of fuckin’ discussion.”

You open your mouth, ready to bite back, but he seizes you by the shoulders and shakes you a little. 

“Don’t you fuckin’ get it? It’s not about you,” he snarls. You’re crushed against him before you realize it’s an embrace. “You’re gonna fuckin’ ride up here, so I know you’re okay.” 

“Oh,” you whisper, leaning into him. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” he says, but the fight is already leaving him. He presses a kiss to the top of your head before he lets go. “Now get on the damn horse before I put ya there myself.”

You think you deserve credit for only hesitating a little, tempted to see if he really would. But his jaw ticks and you heave yourself up onto Oakley. Joel swings himself behind you, caging you in as he takes the reins. 

“You’re so fuckin’ stubborn,” he gripes. 

“I learned it by watching you,” you say, voice pitched in mockery of the vague memory. 

But instead of irritation, something akin to relief flashes across his face. “Yeah, s’that right?”

“Uh-huh.” Now that everything has calmed, you’re exhausted. He can tell because of course he can. He knows you too well. 

“C’mon, lean back. I got ya. Not gonna let you fall.”

You don’t sleep, not really, but you fall into something between the light and dark. It’s blissfully absent of reality. You’re only aware of the soft sunshine, the sway of the horse, and Joel. 

Joel, your Joel, is everything right now. All encompassing. You’re surrounded by his warmth and smoky musk, masking the chill and tang of the stains on your skin. 

His heart seems to beat in time with Oakley’s hooves and the steady pace he encourages keeps you lulled in this safest place. 

“Holy shit, what happened?” Carl asks at the gates, almost loud enough to knock you from your peace. 

“Nothin’ too serious, she ain’t hurt,” Joel’s smooth tone settles you back down. “But do me a favor and get the horses back? Send Tommy my way in a while. I’m gonna take her home.”

Home. It sounds so nice. But you’re already there, you want to tell him. There’s nowhere you’d rather be than right here. 

You must actually say it, because he chuckles. “Okay, sweetheart, but I can think of somewhere I’d rather be.”

It hurts a little before he leans in and murmurs in your ear. 

“I’d rather be in a warm bath with ya. That sound better than stayin’ put?”

“Oh,” you say. “Yeah, you’re right. Way better idea.”

He makes good on his promise when you get home. While he draws the water, he peels your ruined clothes off and sits you on the bathroom counter to rinse the blood into the sink. 

You sit very still with your eyes clenched shut as he cleans you. 

“I know,” he murmurs. “First one’s the hardest.”

You can’t quite stopper the whimper. 

“This is part of why I don’t like ya goin’ out there. I can’t protect you from this.” The admission costs him, but he seems to decide it’s worth it when you look up at him. 

The tub isn’t really big enough for both of you, but he makes it work, long sprawling limbs propped up to make room for you against his chest. You lie on your side, both to make more room and to press your ear to his chest and listen to his strong, tender heart. 

He holds you there, hand gentle on your head and the other around your shoulder until neither of you can pretend the water is comfortable still.  More importantly, his cock’s been pressing against you for a little while now, and you’re unable to ignore it anymore.

You roll over on your stomach, legs bent a little funny to fit, but it’s the right angle to press a kiss to the fat mushroom head that you love so much. 

“Sweetheart, you don’t need—”

But you just give him a look, because he knows better, he knows you’d never do anything you don’t want to. And he knows how often you crave it, how your throat aches for it.

He raises his hands in surrender. “I sure as hell ain’t gonna stop ya.” 

With the convoluted seating arrangement, you’re able to swallow down his length, working your throat open in the way you’ve grown to know well. It’s a lot at once, but the way he groans is worth the effort. 

You choke and gag a little, but neither of you are really bothered by it. Quite the opposite. And you’re grateful for the way the thoughts you don’t want to face are knocked from your brain each time he ruts deeper. 

Too soon, though, he’s pulling you off, spit thick with precum stringing between him and your lips as you whine.

“C’mon, let’s get out. I gotta have more of you.”

You don’t dry off quite as much as you’d like, but you’re probably going to need to change the sheets anyway. He can’t be bothered to let you towel off properly, picking you up and setting you on the bed before crawling over your body.

He kisses you, ferocious but hesitant, and you trail your hands up his arms, basking in the way he encompasses you for the second time today. His soft, powerful body leaves no wiggle room, practically pinning you down with his bulk. 

Except he’s holding himself up, tense. And the gentleness of his tongue and distinct lack of nipping teeth in his kiss is grating. 

You turn your head to break apart. “Stop acting like I’m gonna fall apart.” 

“I—”

“Oh, don’t even. It’s like you think I’m going to break if you touch me.”

“I didn’t want to make it feel like…”

“I know,” you say, softer. “But I want to feel you, Joel. I don’t want to feel the ghost of it… him. Please.” 

“You wanna feel me, sweetheart? Want me to be a little rough with ya?” 

“Unless you’re too tired. S’it past your bedtime, old man?” 

He doesn’t fall for the taunt, but he pretends to, and you’re deeply grateful as he snarls and bites at your breast before licking and sucking at your nipple, taking it between his teeth and shaking a little. 

“Oh, fuck,” you moan, hand tangling into his hair. He wears it a little shaggier these days, and you find you like it long. A lot. 

“Think you can take it just like this?” he says around your other nipple. The hand that isn’t holding him up has reached down to his cock, rubbing it against your clit until you squirm, and then dragging it down your slit. “You’re fuckin’ soaked. I think you can take it.”

He doesn’t wait any longer than the first little nod of your head before he flicks his hips, parting you, forcing your body to make room for him. It takes a second thrust to push all the way in, and you cry out as he stuffs you full. 

It hurts so good. It’s just the edge you need to feel awake again. The world is no less fuzzy but the haze is pleasurable and electric instead of the numb fog that refused to dissipate. 

“That’s my girl,” he says. 

It floods you with warmth. You think maybe the sappiness is leaking through, that he can see how stupidly in love you feel. 

Or, you know, it’s actually leaking, since you’re apparently fucking crying. You can’t really begrudge yourself for it. It’s been a hell of a day. 

“There you go,” he murmurs, the gentleness of his voice playing second to the harsh slap of his hips and the tight pinch of his fingers on your breasts. “Let it out, sweetheart. Let me help you.” 

His pace, somehow, intensifies, the brutal snap of his cock blunt against the softest parts of you. He pushes your legs to your chest so he can shove his way in deeper, and smacks a harsh hand against your ass from his new vantage point. 

He grips your hip with one hand and lets up on your tits, only to show no mercy to your clit. He skips over the gentle circles and soft strokes, instead pinching and tugging. He wrenches two orgasms from you before he eases off. 

“Hold your pussy open for me,” he grunts.

You look at him with wide eyes. How can he still be finding ways to shock you with depravity? The two of you have to have fucked every which way, and yet. You slide a hand down but he shakes his head.

“Both of ‘em, baby. Nice and wide.” 

Your cheeks are burning as he lifts up onto his knees, pushing your legs apart to watch as you spread your lips wide. For a moment, he’s mesmerized by the push and pull of his cock splitting you apart and the way it comes out a little slicker each time. 

“Look at that,” he says, a smug smirk spreading. “Fuckin’ creamin’ all over me, sweetheart. Now hold still.”

Before you really process the order, still dying from how hot his filthy words are, he slaps your clit. You jerk and let go, crying out more in surprise than pain.

“Put your fuckin’ hands back,” he says, and you obey. 

Your whole body is on fire, maybe. He brings his hand down sharply again and again, making you hold yourself spread wide for him to use as he pleases. 

It doesn’t really surprise either of you when you come. He finally knocks your hands away from your cunt and leans back down over you, hips stammering sloppily. 

“Can I—” he chokes out, and you’re nodding so hard it shakes your brain around. He digs his fingers into your hips. “C’mon, sweetheart, one more. Gimmie one more while I fill you up.”

He goes to reach for your clit, but it doesn’t matter. As soon as he starts twitching and pulsing inside you, you come, eyes rolling back and fingernails digging into his biceps. 

When you’ve both settled, there’s something bright in his eyes, something wild and dangerous. He sinks his teeth into your collarbone and doesn’t pull out. His softening cock isn’t much smaller than it is erect, and he stays buried deep in you, eyes trailing over your face. 

“What?” you say softly.

“I thought… thought I fuckin’ lost you today.” His voice is gruff but tight.

“You didn’t, Joel. M’right here.”

He kisses you, and it’s not gentle exactly, not like earlier, but it’s tender and demanding. His hands grip you and roam, not pursuing pleasure but just to have his fill of you, to feel your body warm and alive beneath him. 

When he breaks away from your swollen lips, he presses a kiss to your forehead. “You did good. I don’t like it, but you did good. I’m not gonna ask you not to go out again, but—”

“I’m gonna ask Tommy if I can have a break,” you say, pursing your lips. “I’m not a coward, but I don’t know if I can do that again.” You’re burning again, but this time with shame.

“No one expects you to. It doesn’t mean you’re a coward. You’re tough, sweetheart. But y’ain’t a killer.”

“I am, though,” you whisper. 

“Stop. Yes, you killed that man today. But you had to. It was him or you. You’re a survivor. But I’m going to make damn sure you don’t have to be anymore, alright? We’re safe here, now.”

You let out a ragged sigh and try to relax back into the pillow. “Okay,” you agree. You can tell he needs it. How scared he was. 

At least for now, you’ll let him protect you from this.

*title from "Death For My Birthday" by Say Anything

[lullaebies]

To Make It Up To Your Inner Child: Alicent with Helaena and Aegon with Jaehaerys

So, haven't been here for a while, but now that the season is back on I have some reflections on the Targtower family generational trauma and how parent characters take to their same gendered child. This post is of course about Alicent and Helaena, while comparing them to Aegon and Jaehaerys. This post speaks solely about the House of the Dragon characters, and not their book counterparts. We will start with Alicent. We know that at 14, she was an anxious child, scratching her fingers and being very visibly uncomfortable when Otto asks her to be a part of his plans to win over Viserys. She is abruptly shoved away from childhood to being a woman, queen and a mother, practically made to shove herself in a succession crisis and lose friends on the way, all in service of her own family and accepting her duties. And she has her boys, the duties she had for the crown fullfiled. Those boys are hard to handle. Aegon and Aemond as we see on the show, are very much hurting from their father's decisions and other circumstances. Aegon takes to alcoholism and sex, Aemond takes to hatred and eventually is revealed to also cope through sex, though it isn't evident in the first season. Alicent, although she tries, cannot connect to them on certain levels - she often feels unheard by them instead as she states in S2. She takes a different personality when they have to be handeled, which I would argue is in order to make a facade of strength for them to respect her. She lacks tenderness with them - in S1 it was very evident with Aegon, in S2 it clear Aemond is feeling shafted by her as well. Between those boys however, she did have on girl. Helaena is her secondborn, her only same gendered child. Despite being unable to connect to Helaena fully due to her personality, she is the one person Alicent is very clearly trying to connect to desperately. We see her trying to hug her several times, we see her being as gentle as possible in words and actions when she is speaking to Helaena. I think, we are made to understand, that Alicent thinks that her reflection is Helaena, though Helaena is far more unfiltered and raw about her emotions. She poses questions and challenges duty in a manner that Alicent can very much empathize with. Because she was there; Alicent didn't want to be Queen, and didn't want her son to be King, and didn't wish for any of the duties that had been placed on her. She can see Helaena hurting from the same thing she is hurting by. Her daughter is hurting, and she notices that she needs someone to help her, because she had felt once as helpless too.

"All I wanted was for someone to say that they were sorry for what happened to me" - Young Alicent Hightower, S1 "But what they’ve done to my girl…” - Older Alicent Hightower, S2

Note how the first quote is speaking of Alicent's late mother, her death, and how alone she felt at the time of her death. Alicent wants to connect to Helaena as a mother, and be the light that her mother had been to her. But duty overtakes that position from her, and all Alicent can offer is tender reassurances, to the best of her abilities, to connect to Helaena through the grief of carrying the Crown. She does her best to heal the inner lonely child she had been, because her only girl would only ever be tended by her, and she knows it - none of the other people who build the Crown would be there for her in the same way. Alicent views Helaena as a mirror to the past, and now, she may also be a mirror to the future, in more than just the dreaming, as the death of her own children is impending through this war. And yet, a mirror to her in a different way exists in her eldest, Aegon. Aside from the casting choices magic, that make it seems as Tom Glynn Carney and Olivia Cooke are truthfully family through visage, it has been noted by plenty of others that Alicent and Aegon both throw themselves into similar patterns of behavior, such as falling deep to vices that hurt them. (Alicent's reliance on the Faith while Aegon reliance on alcohol for coping, self-harming ways shown from both characters, and also having sex as coping mechanism - shown from Aegon in S1, and from Alicent in S2 due to the addition of Alicole). Aegon also seems to be trying, just like Alicent, to make up for his inner child's trauma through making it up and being there for his same gendered child.

"He could have, but he never did because he didn't like me." - Aegon II, on his father not naming him heir, S1E9

Aegon has been noted to have self-worth issues. He has been neglected by his father and pushed aside by him in what would many would consider his rightful inheritance; his father did not look at him as an heir to the Throne, or even a child worth caring for and minding the feelings of. Attention was not given to Aegon II by Viserys I, and struggled with that for many years. But immediately upon being given the power to make it different for Jaehaerys, to let him know that he loves him, he named him heir; he takes him to the councils, he makes a show in order to flood the boy with the attention he had never received. The throne, due to societal constructs, has been deeply tied for Aegon with love and self-worth. It is a gift from his parents and sign of belief in his capabilities. Jaehaerys is four, and hardly cares for any duty. He does not associate any of this with his father's love. But Aegon did not want him to grow feeling robbed of his inheritance, and of his parents' love, or think that his parents never fought for his rights. In him Aegon sees his little mirror, not yet tainted, not yet shattered, deserving of attention and titles he is able to bestow Jaehaerys as his father. Love is subjective, as is love language. Alicent and Aegon look at their same-sex children, and look at them as flowers to tend to. Flowers to make sure will not wilt the same way they feel they did. When they wilt regardless of their effort, it is the worst of grief. They have failed the next generation and somehow fell to the same trap of hurting them regardless. The mirror they thought they have is shattered and ruined, and they are left pained, at their breaking point...

"The gods punish us. They punish me." - Alicent Hightower, S2E2

And at the point of boiling.

"Fuck dignity. I want revenge." - Aegon II, S2E2

The stage is set for them to spiral further and further, now that hopes of healing the generational trauma had been robbed of them. The nuances of what they do next, I would only be able to explore in the future to come, but needless to say, mother and son are parallel lines, trying to navigate now that the ground had been robbed off their feet.

[rwbyrg]

Another thing I had noticed was the way Ruby interreacts with everyone vs. how she interacts with Oscar. Like her mannerisms seem to change a bit when she speaks or is near him or she treats him differently from the others. Because personally I've never seen her act very nervous around the others when she met them versus how she met Oscar, and she still does it to this day. What do you think?

I am soooooo late to answering these asks and this got sooooo long aha. Thank you for your patience. 🙇‍♀️

I have noticed that Ruby acts markedly different around Oscar than the others! And in my opinion, it is done with a great deal of intention. The thing with RG is that a lot of what makes the ship so strong is how subtle its writing is. So much of it is paralleled themes and a lot of it relies on an absence of something that is usually present. Often treating the absence itself as a presence of something to be paid attention to.

When we first meet Ruby in V1, she says she gets along better with weapons than she does with people. (Lol isn't it funny that Oscar's name means "God's Spear" haha. surely that has no correlation whatsoever... anyway).

When Ruby meets Weiss, she gets screamed at and makes a dust bomb explode in the courtyard, but by V2 so many of their conflicts are resolved and they've become rivals/besties/team partners.

When Ruby meets Blake, she's got her foot in her mouth and is super awkward... until there's an opportunity to connect with her about stories and fairytales. Then we see Ruby's earnest side come out and the anxiety in her pretty much disappears.

When Ruby meets Jaune, it's remarkably not awkward. Their shared social awkwardness and feelings of not belonging at Beacon cancel each other out and they're able to have a fairly normal conversation.

Very quickly through the early volumes, Ruby gets comfortable. As a leader, as part of her team, as a welcome part of their social circle. She's young, still optimistic and full of hope. She hasn't been given too much trauma or cause to question herself by that point. She has her moments, sure, but like a lot of kids that don't fit in much and aren't super social, she's actually really good at it once she's given the chance.

But when Ruby meets Oscar - while she has experienced some of the Horrors��� that have chipped away at her self confidence - she's not too different than usual. Not at first, anyway.

He comments on her eyes and she responds naturally by asking him who he is, she's able to be candid with her response when she's told he's carrying Oz around, and yeah she giggles a bit when they're all playing the 'getting to know you game', but she also smiles at him. Earnest, trying to make him feel at ease cause this situation is kind of weird for all of them. When they spar later, she's being a goofy kid. Sticking her tongue out at him, laughing while they throw and dodge punches, running to help him when he collapses, grabbing his wrist with very little hesitation to tug him towards the rest of the group. It's all fairly normal...

...and then the Dojo Scene happens.

With the Dojo Scene, the narrative tone of their relationship is both established and changed. Ruby comes down the stairs and she's open, at first. But as they talk a bit more, her body language becomes more and more closed off the closer she gets to him. Clasping her hands in front of her when she asks a question about his past, then hugging herself as she dares to step a little closer to him, as if putting up some kind of protective barrier.

She tries complimenting his efforts, laughing a bit to hide her nervousness, is fairly candid, and makes a bit of a joke. But the joke reveals a wound of hers that hasn't healed yet and opens the conversation up to vulnerability. A vulnerability that Oscar points out immediately. One she has not spoken to anyone else about up until that point.

"How do you handle all of this?"

Ruby pauses. She's not used to talking to people about her problems. At first, I don't think she's even thinking about herself when he asks. She nudges him to clarify what he means and he opens up about his own fears, which prompts her routine song and dance that she gives to everyone. Uplifting words, holding onto hope, keep moving forward, just don't let the things that haunt you catch up and you'll be fine.

And Oscar doesn't accept it. He isn't moved by it. He's not comforted. He rejects it, questions it, and completely lashes out. Is actually angry that she's telling him to "just press on" in spite of those fears. Is angry on her behalf that she's not being honest about her own feelings.

And Ruby cracks. She actually opens up and talks to Oscar about all the grief she keeps buried down and doesn't burden anyone with. She might have argued to herself that it was the only way to make Oscar feel better, but it's uncharacteristic for her. She doesn't usually have to go that deep to cheer other people up. When she tells him about her losses and motivations, Oscar joins her in that open doorway, in shared vulnerability... and the moment she sees an opportunity to retreat, she takes it. Not used to this closeness in the slightest.

From then on out they're still friends, clearly. Their bond strengthened, if anything... but Ruby does not know how to handle him when he has such a skill for seeing through her in ways no one else ever seems to catch onto. She's able to push it away a bit when he's pre-occupied with something else. When he's worried about the merge or his mistakes in Atlas, or they're in a group conversation, she's able to act with some sense of normalcy... but when they're alone that awkwardness comes creeping back.

When WBY confront Ruby about her decision to keep the truth from Ironwood, Yang specifically asks how Oscar feels about it, and we see Ruby falter. This is a direct parallel to Bumbleby circa V8 when Yang is the one worrying about Blake thinking less of her for her own decision. We've seen Ruby disagree with people before and remain confident in her choice... but she questions herself here because of how much she values Oscar's opinion. And their disagreement colours more of her interactions with him throughout V7.

When they're all practicing in the academy training rooms, Oscar comments on her semblance. Asking if she's always been able to do that, which is something he wouldn't ask if he didn't pay close enough attention to be able to notice such differences. She's laughing awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

And the fumble, when they finally come back together with renewed trust - that I already dove into a bit over in this post - she's still doing it!!

She is so excited to talk to him again, to not be at odds, that she almost runs directly into his back and is all flailing arms, and awkward giggles as she tries to tell him she agrees with him. When they finally establish that they're on the same page, she's hugging herself tight, rubbing her arm, looking away from him in her nervousness. Even when she walks away she's hugging herself again. Meanwhile, Oscar is all open body language, hand on hip, hand extended to her, active listening and receptive to what she has to say.

Interesting that this conversation's themes around choosing truth over fear calls back to the Dojo Scene so well, innit? 🤔

The last example I want to give isn't about Ruby. It's about Oscar. Throughout the show, he's always been a bit skittish, jumpy, and expressive with things like loud noises and - quite noticeably - touch. Oscar's been tackled to the ground by Nora in multiple hugs, tackled by the whole team in V6 after he went missing, scooped up by Jaune after he was kidnapped, and in all of those instances there has been a noticeable physical discomfort from him. Often a flinch or a wince beforehand, only relaxing into it after the surprise of the impact is over with.

But Ruby has put her hand on Oscar's shoulder multiple times (outside the Dojo Scene) without eliciting that response from him. One of those touches made him blush, if anything. And when Oscar returns from Salem's prison, beaten and covered in bruises. Ruby is running to hug him and not only does he not flinch, he smiles with open arms, completely ready for and accepting of it. And then the narrative robbed him of the chance 😭

Ruby, despite her usual confidence, resolve, and unwillingness to talk about her issues, becomes nervous, awkward, and self conscious around Oscar. The absence of her usual demeanor becomes the presence of how much she values what Oscar thinks of her and how vulnerable he's able to make her feel. (Which, for a character as emotionally guarded as Ruby, is a good thing).

Similarly, Oscar's established pattern of resisting physical touch - even when he's injured and probably sporting a few broken ribs - is absent with Ruby. It becomes a presence instead of his comfort, trust, and (desire for) closeness to her.

While these examples aren't exhaustive, generally speaking, the absences of their usual behaviours around one another become the presence of something unique to their relationship and often serve to highlight their attachments to each other. Be it how they interact with each other directly... or how they act when they're apart. But that, my friends, is an entirely different post and I have rambled long enough for today.

[mayaketu]

Character analysis: Naruto vs Boruto’s forgiving natures

Naruto is a kind person. But a lot of people interpret all of his actions to being foolishly kind, when Naruto really is just a traumatized & principled character that empathizes with people based off that.

Both are traumatized & principled, but have different traumas driving their actions.

Let’s examine Naruto first:

Notice, Naruto does not decide to be understanding until he draws a connection between himself and his opponent being victims of child abuse. Naruto never tried to empathize with Orochimaru, Danzo or Madara, nor had much of a negative reaction to their demise at all. Naruto also knew all 3 of them had repeatedly committed the worst sin- abused children. His biggest trauma.

Naruto hasn’t been advocating for people to escape consequences, he wanted people to atone because he understood that they were traumatized as children & never got the guidance that saved Naruto from going down their exact path. He wasn’t rly being gullible (he had nothing to lose by the time he tried talk-no-jutsu lol), kind or even forgiving- he decided no matter how difficult to stick to his principles he learned from Jiraiya. To try to stop the cycle of hatred by having people atone rather than to punish them through revenge.

Naruto’s biggest flaw though, is that he is overly blinded by his abandonment trauma- he feels he has to “save” people who went through child abuse like he did. He projects too much of his own feelings onto them- when they are their own people who won’t necessarily turn around as easily as Naruto did- which is why he lost his arm to sasuke who wouldn’t relent until beaten into submission. & (temporarily) lost his life to kawaki.

In psych terms, Naruto is trying to reinforce to himself that he was always worthy of being saved, which is what drives him to go as far as he does. It’s not really his kindness, or passion but his trauma is the way Naruto deeply connects to others.

Episode 10 of boruto NNG. This convo is not in the manga but it’s clear from the manga as well that this is how Naruto feels:

This is why Naruto struggled so much to connect with Boruto. Boruto wasn’t an abused child- thats why it seemed Naruto didn’t “care” about Boruto and Himawari as much as Kawaki. His bio kids were the first people very close to him without significant trauma for him to build a relationship on. Hima was still pretty young, & not as outspoken as boruto, so we didnt see that dynamic as much with her.

Boruto is still early in his story & has a lot more to learn. So this is as of chapter 14 of TBV.

Boruto’s current analysis:

Boruto has spent his whole life building healthy connections unlike Naruto, yet seems to have the same desire to “save” even the most “irredeemable” people. There are 2 reasons why.

Reason 1, For Boruto he is able to forgive kawaki because he understands that he’s not in a position to judge him. Boruto recognizes that he is a threat because of momoshiki, and blames & hates himself for everyone being endangered, not kawaki who is actually protecting them in his own twisted way. & now, feeling the pain of abandonment, he also empathizes with kawaki, thus forgiving him. This is how BORUTO sees it right now.

He’s also trying to make the right choices he knows ADULT Naruto would make, but adult Naruto has confronted his self hatred & knows not to take or blame everything on himself. Boruto hasn’t learned that yet, he’s willing to accept help when it’s dire, but still believes the overall burden is his alone. He has also been mainly taught by Sasuke, who still hasn’t overcome his own self hatred as much as Naruto has & desire to handle everything alone.

*boruto has actually been struggling with self hatred since getting caught cheating, that’s why he irrationally hated all ninja tech- it’s from the shame of being exposed. Self hatred is a huge underlying part of his character I could expand on later; I’m focusing on this comparison to Naruto here.

Boruto is blinded by his self hatred in the same way Naruto is blinded by his abandonment trauma. That’s why some of their actions seem so irrational, they are fueled by trauma. & These blind spots are where they both make their most costly mistakes.

That’s why he naively defied Koji’s order to escape and instead released code. He knows from Naruto he can’t do everything alone, but he lacks the wisdom to understand when/how to apply it. He should’ve relied on Koji’s advice rather than trying to plan on his own which led to a huge mistake. Code is still loose.

Reason 2, Boruto’s will is to be shadow hokage. To bear burdens for the sake of the village and people he loves. Part of bearing the burden is swallowing your pride for the greater good, which he learned from Sasuke. He’s not being kind or forgiving by saving Code. He wanted to kill the shinju ASAP before they could evolve further and needed his help.

Same with asking to train Kawaki. Kawaki’s fate is tied to both Naruto/Hinata, the EARTH & boruto’s fates. Outside of any emotional reasons, he literally cannot afford to let Kawaki die + kawaki’s unique abilities (shrinking claw marks particularly) are instrumental in defeating the shinju. & Especially now that the shinju are growing in number and in other villages, boruto cannot always be there to protect kawaki. Kawaki needs to get stronger fast for the sake of the planet.

I’m interested in the larger convo between boruto and kawaki and training him, but we’ll have to see once chapter 15 officially drops.

[hot-in-a-dress]

Peter Bishop, aka God's Multiversal Apology

Preface note: I've currently been watching/rewatching Fringe, and I have Thoughts, so expect this to be the first of many posts.

First of all, I just need to talk about how much I love Peter Bishop. Not necessarily as a character crush (although it's not not that), but just generally. For all of his background and all of his emotional issues going on, I would have expected him to be a lot more..toxic? I mean, when we first see him he's a bit of a bad boy type, and generally mean to both Walter and Olivia, but I'm glad that the writers knew where the line was. His actions at the beginning of the show are demonstrations of how he's been closed off and running from his past, currently living in a state of hyper independence where he feels like he can't really trust anyone. I think that if it continued for too long, those traits could easily have made him really dark really quickly, and they could have overpowered any grounded moments that he had. Instead, the writers cut/heavily dilluted that aspect of the character pretty early on. At the very least, by the midpoint of season one, he's already started to soften up a bit, and his mean streak becomes the more sardonic charm of Peter that audiences love. By the end of season one, he's downright affectionate.

Speaking of affectionate, I absolutely live for the way he treats Olivia after that mid-season change. I think it would have been pretty easy for the writers to make him a tough-love, "get a fucking grip", push-her-to-the-breaking-point type, similar to earlier Broyles, and instead Peter treats her with such....gentleness.

When she has a panic attack in "Bad Dreams", he goes to comfort her. He clearly makes moves to touch her, but the motions that he makes are really carefully placed in front of her where she can see him, and he backs up/moves his hands away so as not to seem restricting. He doesn't even make contact with her until he knows that she's in a grounded enough place to handle it. That level of respect for her space and emotions is something not often seen in media, and not necessarily expected to come from their (at this time) still vaguely antagonistic relationship. Not only does it show his respect for her, though, just his willingness alone is something that feels so personal. It was one of the first examples of Peter's really deep compassionate streak that he has (especially in terms of Olivia), and it stuck out to me that...at that time, he had no reason really to comfort her. He was still in a more professional setting, and they hadn't quite developed the same level of emotional understanding they have in later seasons. And yet he was so ready to go after her, and so ready to offer not only words, but actual, physical comfort. He held her so tightly, once he knew he could. As all of Olivia's backstory becomes more and more apparent to both audiences and herself, I appreciate these moments even more. She isn't used to gentle men in her life, so the fact that Peter comes along, and he respects her, and trusts her, and most importantly, is gentle with her when she needs him to be, showing her time and again what true love and affection can be, it's just..fucking precious to me. It's everything she deserves and more (though that's a different post entirely).

Anyways, it's also really charming to me that physical contact is a repeated pattern with Peter. From a character perspective, that's so fascinating. He has faced such traumas throughout his lifetime that he seems like a character that would be really hesitant to form connections, and rightfully so. Yet, not only is Peter empathetic, he is so overtly physical about it. Whenever someone else is in pain, Peter becomes a comforter and a protector. And every time he does, it feels like that "he healed something he didn't break" moment. It seems like Peter, who comes from such brokenness and secrecy, just wants to keep the people around him safe, because he's seen the absolute worst things that can happen. He had every right to be angry and cruel, but instead he chooses to be an anchoring point for the people around him, and absolutely loves them fiercely.

It's not that Peter is flawless. He's known to be a bit aggressive, and often dismissive of Walter, among many other instances of recklessness, plus a couple counts of fraud. Yet at the same time, to me, those flaws don't make his love and compassion any less merit worthy. It just makes him a complex character. It's the reason why he feels so stand-out from other characters of that genre of show, and other tropes of The Leading Bad Boy. Peter Bishop at his heart is just...written beautifully, and he's exactly the type of healthy masculinity that sci-fi tends to lack. He's God's Apology, across all the multiverse, and I am absolutely here for it.

[toastofthetrashfire]

My Top Shows 2023

Doing this at the last minute but here goes--the top 10 shows I watched in 2023!

*Note: I rate my shows on a letter scale cause I don't like narrowing it down to a specific number. (S-standout As-Strong Bs-Fine Cs-There's some problems Ds-ooof)

1. Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This one instantly became an all time favorite. It covers themes about grief and loss in a deeply empathetic and humanizing way along side the supernatural elements. I don't know if it's because I've experienced loss myself or because it's a universal experience, but I love shows like this that help you understand what it means to grieve and heal in a familiar yet new light. It reminded me a lot of Natsume Yuujinchou (another favorite) in that respect.

Aside from the larger themes, you have a distinct directing style, quirky sense of humor, well-rounded cast of characters, and excellent acting (the lead actor was also in Your Name Engraved Herein and he's just as standout here). In addition to all that, the show gives us a main trio of characters whose strengths are deliberately not their wits. This is used for humor but also to make more meaningful points about connection, empathy, and different ways of thinking (yes, I headcanon the main trio as neurodivergent).

Rating: S+

2. The Eighth Sense

This show! Another piece that is deeply rooted in exploring trauma and loss. This time within the framework of a romance. I'm usually pretty hesitant with stories that bring disability into romance, especially mental illness. There's a tendency to lean into the idea that love cures all and other not so great tropes. The Eighth Sense does a great job balancing that line, giving us romantic beats without wading into them uncritically. In the end, healing and love are things we choose not something guaranteed, but there's still an immense hope in that. I'm an giant sucker for shows that tackle both queer and crip experiences with nuance and grace, and the Eighth Sense hit that mark for me (so much so it even had me writing a little meta). On top of that it has beautiful cinematography and visual choices.

Rating: S

3. Moonlight Chicken

A beautiful show all around! P'Aof constantly knocks it out of the park with every show he directs, but I felt particularly strong about Moonlight Chicken. I adore the way it centers on themes of home and community. It even inspired some meta and a bit of personal reflection for me on what it means to choose home as someone who is queer and disabled. The show gives us the messiness that comes with navigating new and old relationships and somehow also the simplicity of it all. And of course, the show includes a Deaf character and handles his story with nuance and clear care.

Rating: S

4. Shadow

Singto, Fluke, and Fiat in a queer horror show--sign me up! It wasn't as scary as I expected, more psychological (which is good because I am so picky about what types of horror are too much for me vs what I enjoy). I loved the way the show played with time and reality and drew upon various religious practices to create a unique atmosphere. I also adored the attention to small details that make the piece ripe for analysis. I will probably be eyeing clocks and tech in many shows to come. It's also a show that is bringing up themes about queerness, mental illness, domestic violence, and historical trauma. I'm continually drawn to pieces that are queer and crip, so I suppose it's no surprise that this one drew me in too.

I know this show was divisive, about as many people thought it stuck the landing as didn't. I happen to land in the former category. I adore media that makes me stop and think, and given the amount of meta the show had/has me writing, I'd say it well and truly tickled my brain. The show didn't always go where I most wanted or expected but I think that challenged me even more to really think about what the show might be trying to do (my thoughts on that here, spoilers though).

Rating: S

5. Our Dining Table

Japan does a lot of things well, but I'm particularly fond of their slice-of-life. Our Dining Table fits right in there with food and found family at the center. It's warm and cute, but has a depth beyond it's soft exterior, delving into loss, loneliness, and what it means to be fully seen by those around us. All of this tied up in a queer bow. It was easily the show I was most excited to watch each week when it was airing.

Rating: S

6. Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Another one I fell in love with this year! While it has plenty of tropes, cutting through the core of all of this is the growing friendship between the main trio, especially between Li Lian Hua and Fang Duo Bing. Their relationship and personal growth as characters was really beautiful to watch, on top of it just being a fun show with a great balance of humor and drama. Plus Fang Duo Bing's mom 😍

Rating: S

7. One Room Angel

Another solid entry out of Japan. As much as I love Japan's bright slice-of-life offerings like Our Dining Table, they also excel at stories that don't shy away from heavy or complex emotional themes. And I'm noticing as I tackle this post that I really resonate with heavy themes. One Room Angel has it's lighter moments and own quirky humor. But it also tackles depression and suicide as it explores the journey of finding enough connection and meaning in life to keep moving forward.

Rating: S

8. I Feel You Linger in the Air

I Feel You Linger in the Air was such a beautiful show! I'm so happy we got a historical thai bl this year and that it was so so lovely. I really liked last year's To Sir With Love but it does have it's Lakorn/soap style that is a bit more of an obstacle for me. IFYLITA certainly has it's drama, but it feels more tightly drawn. Throw in a little time travel and beautiful love scenes and it was a delight to watch.

Rating: S

9. My Beautiful Man S2, Eternal

When I watched the first season of My Beautiful Man I liked it but wasn't exactly sold. I read a bit of meta from the community which changed my tune a bit. But it wasn't until watching season 2 and Eternal that something really clicked. I immediately went back and watched season 1 after finishing the film and oh boy did I fall in love. Not only do S2 and Eternal give us great character growth and forward motion to Hira and Kiyoi's relationship, and they feel like a natural expansion of the first season in the best way possible. What can I say, I love the whole series!

Rating: A+

10. Kiseki: Dear to Me

Kiseki: Dear to Me feels like an outlier to me. It's hard for me to put my finger on just what made it click for me, but I was so into it when it was airing. I recognize that plot wise this show is a bit of a mess, but at the same time it hit something just right in my brain. Perhaps it was the emotional intimacy the actors portrayed? They did a fantastic job drawing me in. Apart from that I couldn't take my eyes off of Ai Di's impeccable fashion choices, and the many many cameos were quite fun.

Rating: A+ YMMV

A few close contenders:

My School President (S) *split airing 22' and 23'

Tokyo in April Is... (A+)

Laws of Attraction (A)

Bed Friend (A)

The End of the World with You (A)

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (A)

If it's with You (A)

Our Dating Sim (A)

Love Tractor (A)

The Warp Effect (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

The New Employee (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

La Pluie (A-)

Midnight Museum (A-)

[rockwgooglyeyes]

So, since it's possibly canon that Nyx and Asa are related- how would he (and possibly others?) react to the fact that Sebastian is related to Flor(ie, being her son) <- just thinking of this. I think they might bond (along with Cas) but who knows

It is canon that Asahi (@apriciticreveries) is Nyx's daughter!

Nyx's feelings around family and children are complicated in and of themself because he's immensely protective over his children (despite the fact that he can do little to actually protect them) and he loves them dearly even though he only knows them for the first three-four years of their lives. He loves his children. He names them after the little beauties in life, the movements of the heavens, the steadiness of the stars. He wishes that they hadn't been born because they were brought into a world containing such cruelty and betrayal but still, he loves them.

That's the crux of the complexity when it comes to his feelings on even Flor and Cas's relationships with their children.

He understands Cas' (@lookatmysillies) aversion to raising his offspring and the reasoning and trauma behind that. After all, none of them had any choice in whether or not they would have children, Nyx knows why Cas would want to avoid thinking about it and looking at his kids because those kids are representative of an irreversible and irrevocable trauma. Even for Nyx, who actively involves himself in his children's lives, it's still a trauma, which he takes out on Oryon and whoever was tasked with fucking him that time (unless the studs want to be around the kids, Nyx is like "fuck off and get away from me" lmao).

Flor, well, Nyx has a little bit more trouble understanding Flor. This is simply because he can get why someone would remove themself from the life of their child, but forgetting about that child entirely? He doesn't really fathom how that's possible. (With his knowledge pool, I doubt he understands PTSD and the selective amnesia that can be involved in trauma disorders like that which is ironic considering he has one.) Nyx definitely tries to connect with Flor over the fact that they were both the carriers of their respective children though, with the way that it changed their bodies, the specific trauma that comes with bearing a child, that sort of thing. (I say "try" just because I think he reaches out a hand but it's fully up to Flor to take that hand and I don't know if she would)

Dian wouldn't really be able to handle Flor being a mom super well despite the fact that they're friends just because the whole breeding process is something he doesn't touch with a ten foot pole. He knows he's privileged for being able to avoid it but it's an incredibly bad time for him to think about/interact with so he does not go near it!

Yumi definitely thinks it's interesting that Sebastian and Flor are related because she can see the family resemblance? But at the same time, they're so different. She honestly thinks it would make more sense if Nyx and Seb were related because of their attitudes but when it comes down to it, she's kind of ambivalent to that whole can of beans.

I have another season 40 OC in the works but I don't think he would have much of an opinion on this either, except for maybe the fact that it's ironic that Sebastian has a mom and yet he experienced all of this family based trauma. Not ironic in a funny way, just peculiar.

[gg-selvish]

analysis of maple syrup vs. good luck charm: mirroring in dynamics, reactions to rumors, and bad vibes

this spoils the ending of both fics btw.

there's a lot of mirroring between these two fics, naturally because they're in the same series/au but there's a lot of similarities between the two relationships yet it's handled completely differently by the characters involved. all four of them have issues (sapnap is the most stable but he's damaged too lets be real) and they handle those issues in unique ways that lead to interesting dynamics in the duos they're in (because while they're all connected they don't really all connect yknow?)

in maple syrup george is unempathetic and possessive while also having this deep desire to be 'good' because he knows he's not. he knows sapnap makes him better because sapnap is in love with him and can kind of wrangle him into being reasonable so he latches on both emotionally and physically. he really does want to be a good person i think he just has no idea how besides clinging to sapnap because all he's ever known to do is hurt people throughout his life. sapnap is so kind and endlessly understanding, its inspiring to him and he admires him as well as truly loves him and i believe that. the way he hurts him is because of impulse and some sort of trauma response i don't even understand but rev said it was because he had his toys taken away as a child (/lh)

so he scars him as a permanent commitment to settle his internal anxiety that he's going to fuck up and sapnap is gonna keep running instead of just committing to being better and showing that he can be a good partner for sapnap. but he can't yet. so sapnap pulls himself away and they take another break and george relapses into his self-hatred and self-destructive tendencies and perhaps that's the wake up call he gets that teaches him to be tamed a bit. so him and sapnap are back together a third time and he treads much more gently because he knows no matter what he does, even permanently marking his lover, it's no guarantee he'll stay. the only way to get sapnap to stay with him is being kinder and learning to be good.

karl is very different. at face value when you first hear about him he's pretty similar to george, untrustworthy and a bad reputation, but the way he's introduced to dream is different because he has a base level of respect for dream and admires him distantly. as in the fic: george sinks his teeth into sapnap while karl yearns from afar. he probably talks about dream so much without even thinking of it, he's quite resigned to his fate of never being anything to dream because dream is far away from anyone, but then sapnap gives his number, dream texts him, and it's the start of something.

a kind of unfair aspect to the style of this storytelling is because maple syrup was written for an exes to lovers prompt, so i skipped over their whole getting together and pleasant months of their relationship. i havent put too much thought in how it happens but i have a feeling its just george stalking after sapnap after that first glance in the first scene of maple syrup and sticking to him. that's another similarity between the two dynamics: sapnap and dream look different than the rest of campus. sapnap punk and hardcore with denim jackets and big boots, dream in maxi skirts and loose blouses and long hair, and karl and george are very intrigued by that and it piques their interest. karl and george are bad, dream and sapnap are different and they want that.

so i think georgenap got together in a pretty simple way, with george and his girlfriend breaking up when he realizes he has feelings for sapnap, pulling moves on him at parties until they hook up, continuing to hook up because despite george's abysmal reputation he's funny and hot and a good fuck so sapnap goes with it until he catches feelings himself and then he's In It for about seven months. then he gets cheated on again, maple syrup, moving on.

good luck charm: karl has his eye on dream from before dream even knows what he looks like. well, he kinda does, he's seen him around, but dream isn't really attentive to other people with what he has going on. karl sees him, though, around campus and at parties and maybe even at the bar too. i think that could be a cool thing to think about... when karl brought george and the ex gf to the bar in the first fic and must have tried to talk to dream. and dream still doesn't have him on his radar at all

and then dream gets a little interested himself, with karl being flirty and promising nothing serious it's easy to accept his affection and instigating because dream's always just been kind of going with the flow. he doesn't have any big expectations and definitely doesn't think anything with karl will go anywhere until he actually meets him. then he's consumed, infatuated, totally drawn into his orbit and would really like to stay there even though he's scared of two things: karl leaving, and karl asking him for more. they're equally terrifying to him, so he holds his feelings close and enjoys being fond of karl without worrying about escalating it at all and just coasting.

my friend rev brought up another really cool aspect of mirroring that i didn't consider until he brought it up: the scar versus the hair dye. it's obvious that the purple is important, though it may not seem so at the time. that date where they dye karl's hair really means the world to dream, that's when he really starts to commit to having feelings, it's a shame he got scared off so shortly after that just because it meant something to karl too.

the thing is, george and karl have some pretty nasty skeletons in their closet. they both fuck and drop, they both kiss boys and brush away what it means, they both war with themselves with what they want and what they can't have but they handle it very differently. george never stops moving towards his goal, while karl knows to respect boundaries, because if him and dream had something real he knows dream will come back. especially with sapnap on his side. setting up the party and loosely inviting dream is the farthest he's gonna go with instigating and trying to get dream in the same room as him. but once he's back he takes that as an inch to run with and really let dream know he wants him and that hasn't wavered despite dream ghosting because he knows and trusts that dream feels something for him too. even after scaring him off. he came back, and that means something to both of them

the hair dye is kind of similar to the scar, that's the mirroring i'm thinking of. not as permanent, but a physical altering of karl's body that stays after dream is gone. and when he comes back to karl's house and sees him in his lilac glory made from dream's own hands it hits him right in the chest. he did that. he's so used to things happening to him and taking it so it impacts him, but this time he changed someone else and it was a good thing. george branded sapnap as an act of cruelty and possession, while karl asked dream to dye his hair because he wanted dream to have some kind of claim on him. and dream finds comfort in that with his own more hidden possessiveness in the same way george finds comfort in the scar, the difference in the climate in which those changes took place

just one more thing i want to touch on: the ending of good luck charm. when i first finished it i was worried it was unsatisfying and rushed and didn't really hit very strongly, but then i read it cohesively with the full context of that ending and i was like

oh.

so it's a fic like that. you have to reread it to really get it, maybe not the whole series though that would be cool, but definitely glc is meant to be read more than once. watching dream agonize over karl's behaviour in contrast to his kind actions to him personally you're wondering the whole fic what is wrong with him? why is he hurting people? and then it comes out and you're like oh my god. he's just ace. so you reread the fic with that information and all of karl's actions make so much more sense, everything he says and his behaviour and his gentle treatment of dream's boundaries, and then his freak out at the end of dream touching him. i still think it's a bit rushed but when you've spent the whole fic agonizing over a why and then find out that why, what more is there to say? they get each other now, so they can just be together and be happy. that's what it's all about, really, georgenap's ending was bad because of their contrasts and george's poor way of navigating his feelings while karl is more stable and both asks for what he wants and respects boundaries.

so the same, but different. two very different stories that follow the same general idea: damaged people do damaged things, but sometimes there's a reason you have to unearth to find the good person buried beneath the negative actions. and it's up to you whether you choose to stay and steer them in the right direction, or protect yourself and run.

i'm glad they both stayed. i'm optimistic for their futures together.

[fireboltsystem]

ok this is going to be an obnoxiously long ask jsyk ahead of time, i have a lot of little things to say/ask aoejrof. 1. this is our-library's main blog!! for context, since im sure youve seen us in your notifs lmao 2. related apologies for digging through so much of your blog we were really curious about you because weve been following you on sonicaspeed for a long time and we wanted to know more about you! 3. related again im about to ask a LOT of questions that youre totally free not to answer if theyre too invasive, but theyre all things were genuinely curious/confused about, so wed like to at least take the opportunity to ask! 4. i really hope you dont mind us jabbering at you like this too much alejfkfn we tend to yap ^^'

first thing were really interested in is how exactly an endogenic system works, talking as a traumagenic did (as far as we know) system, especially one thats partially endo and partially traumatic as you seem to be. in the past weve gone from negative (due to being around people who were very bitter about endogenic systems when we were first figuring ourselves out) to supporting it and knowing full well they exist but not understanding it, and wed like to go to understanding and supporting it, but thats really hard when we dont really have an example and looking things up, as always, leads nowhere.

this is of course a little more personal, but we wanted to ask about your subsystem a little, partially due to the fact that weve begun to form our own and arent totally sure how to handle them yet; i noticed a mention of a satellite subsystem within the solar subsystem? is that a nested subsystem? im both very curious, baffled, intrigued, and wanting to know in case it comes up for us, but either way, id love to know exactly how that organization works exactly!

and, um...oh, that might actually be all the questions. woopsie. overestimated that a lil, hehe. think we mightve answered some of them for ourselves as we were scrolling through your blog and then TOTALLY forgot that we didnt have as many questions as we did when we first read your pinned post. we did still manage to yap for a While though apwkrjgh hope this finds you well and all that and that you dont mind the long ask and all the notifs!!! were gonna go raid your sonic blog using our main blog to rb now lmao

🌪 - Oh snap hey! No worries about 'spam' it doesn't bother us at all lol.

Response got LONG so I'll throw it under a cut!

Endogenic systems have as wide a variety of experiences as traumagenic systems do, so describing how they "work" generally is kind of impossible KWNFWK. The only thing to keep in mind is that endogenic systems and system members form for reasons other than trauma - maybe they were born that way, maybe it's neurodivergence, maybe it's spiritual beliefs, intentional formation, or any number of other reasons! Not all endogenic systems lack trauma or even disorders - You can be a system and then experience trauma which causes problems for you later on. Or you can experience trauma that doesn't cause plurality in you, and then discover or become plural later, too! If you don't know yet about Pluralpedia, it can be confusing to navigate but has tons of info about different system origins, traumagenic and endogenic alike. Plus lots of other info about plurality as well!

We consider our system to be primarily traumagenic, but with many individual endogenic members. Most of our endo members exist as introjects and come from the process of creating or experiencing art - our brain is just naturally inclined to make headmates out of characters we connect with qkdnskcn.

As for our subsystems: Yeah, the Satellite subsystem is nested within the Solar subsystem. Team Solar consists of me (Zephyr) and everyone from my world, including my own headmates from back then. The Satellite subsystem is the Shadow I know from my world and all of his headmates that basically got carried over with him. That includes Mia - his protector and introject of his sister - and some of the Black Arms that hitched a ride. The Satellite subsystem is a classic "system-within-a-system". They experience shifting fronting patterns and stuff like that just like we do generally, sometimes cofronting/coconsciousness too. The Satellite subsystem is traumagenic, and Shadow is considered the host for them. They have protectors, persecutors, trauma holders, etc that revolve around Shadow, rather than the system as a whole or any other particular member. We think this is because they are his alters specifically!

For the most part, we use subsystems as organizational labels first, just to communicate and remember who is related or connected to who. Shared sources is usually the deciding factor for whether we lump headmates together in a subsystem or not. Headmates that are 'related' in some way tend to be more likely to be close to front for us at the same time, if that makes sense? Like loose package deals. The Satellite subsys is probably the closest thing we have to a traditional Subsystem as described by the general plural community, probably because they were a system before entering this one (and so was I actually!).

In another ask, you added the question "What are 'exomemories'?". Sometimes known as 'pseudomemories' (we don't like that term personally for reasons we'll get into), they're memories of things the body didn't experience. "Memories from outside", exo-memory. For us these can manifest as traumatic flashbacks to source moments, or positive memories of our lives before being in this system, or just basic facts about who we are and our home worlds. I have a TON of exomemories. I'm very close to source and care about it a lot! Since you follow our art blog you probably already know how much of our work is based on exomems akdnwkfsnci. We don't like using the term 'pseudomemory' for ourselves because there's nothing 'pseudo-' about them. They feel just as real as any of my memories of this life and shape who I am even more!

Hope this was interesting and/or helpful! Feel free to send more questions our way if you have any.

-Zephyr

[askanaroace]

How I Came to the Aplatonic Label

March's Carnival of Aros topic "Platonic Attraction" gave me the motivation to write about something I've been thinking about for a while.

Firstly, real quick, a blogging carnival is an event where bloggers are all welcome to post their own takes on a given topic. In this case, it's aromantic bloggers about "Platonic Attraction". Learn more about participating in the Carnival here.

So for a while, I've been seeing posts and takes about all these microlabels, including for different attraction types, and I've been thinking about my own journey with this.

By a technical standpoint, I would say I always fell somewhere under the aplatonic label. It's most likely related to how often we moved when I was a kid, teaching me that all connections were temporary and would be shortly lost upon the whims of my parents, leading me to be less interested and more resistant in forming these types of bonds that I knew I was just gonna lose anyway. As a result of this and likely in combo my natural feelings/instincts, I always had lower social needs than others seemed to.

I remember in high school (at the point where my mom put her foot down and said we weren't moving again until my sister and I were both out of school because we both had trouble making friends) where I even had an established friend group that was not only established but was more than one person. One of my friends admitted to me that they only invited me to about half of the things they did together because they knew that about 50% of those would be rejections anyway, so for their own feelings/mental health, they just didn't bother inviting me a large portion of the time.

And I was SHOCKED! And confused and even honestly hurt. My needs were low, but finding out like in that way that my friends had "secret" hang outs without me had me feeling all type of ways. And I couldn't even blame them. I knew I was turning down invites. It was just a lot to me. And the fact that my friends were meeting up even more than I knew was... I think that was the point where it really hit me how different I was from them. They REALLY wanted to be together a lot of the time. Way more than I could even handle.

And this was information available to me when tertiary attraction started becoming a named thing around the community. Yet still, it was not at that point that I had ANY interest in any of these terms whatsoever.

Much like being asexual, I knew that these types of attraction - aesthetic especially blew up first (to my recall), then sensual and platonic, and then alterous, etc. - just weren't things I felt. But unlike asexual, these were not things I was interested in labeling. I guess because these weren't things that I ever felt left out of. They're not things that allos typically label or even talk about in unnamed terms a lot. So, it's not something that was ever really relevant to my life. Whereas as an asexual (and then eventually as an aro, since I'm caedromantic and wasn't aro until later in life), THAT was an attraction type that impacted my perspective and relationships and the way I related (or was unable to relate to) others.

Even the first time I heard aplatonic, I didn't connect with it or feel drawn to it or consider labeling that way. I thought it was really interesting! It opened up my perspective a lot. But I felt at that time that I was involved enough in enough friendships that it wasn't applicable or relatable to me, even though looking back, I now disagree with that. But at that time, the label didn't have a draw. I didn't have a need for it.

It wasn't until later down the line when my needs really changed that the label became of interest to me. I'd never really had a strong interest in friendships, but around the time I realized I was caedromantic (or aromantic due to trauma), I realized other feelings had changed as well. Now not only was I completely uninterested in a romantic relationship and not feeling any sort of romantic attraction anymore, but socializing in general became specifically exhausting and undesirable to me.

Introvert had been enough to describe me before, but the way I felt now was more than that. I didn't just need alone time to recharge. Alone time was the only thing I wanted. Shallow connections could be fun and nice, but I really didn't want anything deeper than that. I was resistant and scared of anything deeper than that. I was okay with taking care of people behind the scenes, but I didn't want that sort of care returned or even acknowledged.

My social needs weren't simply less than others anymore, they were practically nonexistent and a core component of how I was interacting with the world. This change in my needs in not only valuing alone time but being exhausted by any socializing at all really changed my perspective on where I was going in life, as well as interacting with other people in general.

Suddenly, aplatonic became a very desirable label that helped me categorize what I was experiencing and realizing I wasn't alone. There were people out there who understood. I wasn't the only person who felt the way I did. I wasn't in an in between place where either label could be applicable. I was at an extreme end of the spectrum where aplatonic specifically was the only thing that could describe me, and that's the point where I needed a label. The point where I became so different from others around me where I really couldn't relate to them at all anymore.

Now this is not everyone's experience. People choose labels for a lot of reasons. This is simply one of my reasons for one of my labels.

[prying-pandora666]

My Azula Diagnosis Analysis Part 7: CPTSD

As the master post I wrote was too long, I’ve divided it into parts. Find them all here.

Sick of bad armchair diagnosis for Azula? Me too! So in this thread let’s discuss Azula’s most commonly “diagnosed” illnesses and disorders, and find out what she actually meets the criteria for, if any.

Does Azula have complex post traumatic stress disorder?

Unlike PTSD, which is caused by a singular traumatic event or experience, CPTSD is caused by a repeated or even routine trauma.

Although oversimplified, an easy way to think of it is the difference between being traumatized by a car accident or mugging versus traumatized by an entire childhood of abuse in the home.

As such, CPTSD is a more complicated and less understood phenomenon, as the abuse and the sufferer’s reactions may have become so normalized to them, they may not even fully realize what is their traumatic response to past abuse versus what is their actual personality.

CPTSD Claims

—Azula clearly has trauma regarding her upbringing, seen both in her breakdown and failure to socialize normally

—Azula can’t regulate her emotions when she’s rejected

—Azula is desperate for love and familial approval and will go to insane lengths to get it

So Does Azula Have CPTSD?

CPTSD can present in a number of ways. People are all different. But diagnostically significant symptoms include:

—Lack of emotional regulation: Azula normally keeps her emotions very firmly in check to an obsessive degree. So firmly that she can lie to Toph or stare death in the face without flinching. However, after her breakdown she loses the capacity to regulate herself at all, lashing out at her brother homicidally for betraying her, and sobbing in front of a mirror she smashed herself. Azula’s tight control of her feelings therefor seems to be a coping mechanism to deal with intense feelings she can’t process, and the moment rejection makes her mask slip, Azula falls apart. Even years later in the comics, she is yet to regain full control.

—Changes in consciousness: This can include forgetting the traumatic event or feeling detached from your emotions or body aka disassociation. Azula constantly dismisses her own trauma and flippantly jokes about it to avoid showing vulnerability. As such, she is completely unprepared when the emotions finally catch up to her. At her worst, she shows no concern for her own physical well being, taking several suicidally dangerous risks, and even choosing to use painful chi-blocking to slip out of a straitjacket without a care for what she is putting her body through.

—Negative self-perception: Azula has internalized that she is a monster. She believes fear to be the only way to control and keep relationships, as she fears she is unloveable.

—Difficulty with relationships: Mai said it best. “I love Zuko more than I fear you”. Azula’s worst, most sensitive trauma, and Mai hit that weak point like the expert marksman she is. Azula truly couldn’t handle it when Zuko and her friends all turned on her, and it’s clear she has no idea how to resolve any of it despite desperately wanting their love just like she wanted her mother and father’s. Azula also hides vulnerability from others out of fear of showing weakness, which makes it hard to connect. She also struggles to relate to kids her own age in a normal way, despite being a highly charismatic leader when it comes to war.

—Distorted perception of abuser This includes becoming preoccupied with the relationship between you and your abuser. Azula lives only to be Ozai’s perfect weapon because this is the only way she knows to stay in his good graces and get any validation at all. She doesn’t realize until he discards her that he was never going to love her no matter what she did.

—Loss of systems of meanings: Systems of meaning refer to your beliefs about the world. Azula clearly loses faith in the Fire Nation’s crusade to conquer the world, and later on she loses complete interest in the throne as well, even saying that she found relief from her symptoms only once she accepted it wasn’t her destiny to be Fire Lord.

—Overaroused somatic system: Azula perceives rejection as a threat, and overreacts as her brain sets alarm bells off in her nervous system, leading to psychotic episodes and violent outbursts. This explains her impaired motor function when she’s at her lowest, as well as her reacting to Zuko’s rejection as if she has to kill him. His betrayal is taken so hard and personally because her body misinterprets this emotional pain as a physical threat. This is an extremely common response amongst child victims of abuse, and Zuko also shows shades of this with his anger issues.

Conclusion: Azula does suffer from CPTSD.

Out of everything else on this list—except Golden Child Syndrome which is canonically confirmed—this is the most likely diagnosis for Azula.

The enmeshment with her abuser, the coping mechanisms, the emotional responses, the repressed feelings, even the way her motor skills and rationality deteriorate during periods of intense stress.

Several personality disorders, notably Borderline Personality Disorder, can have overlapping symptoms. Considering Azula’s circumstances, it is my opinion that she more likely has CPTSD masquerading as BPD, but this is open to individual interpretation.

[bookqueenrules]

And So It Begins.... Season 2..........

This article at screenrant with showrunner Zabel was published a couple of days ago..

The title is somewhat misleading....

In an interview with TVLine, Zabel addressed the possibility of a romance developing between Daryl and Isabelle in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2. Zabel acknowledges that the pair have formed a connection over the course of season 1, but that a relationship would take a lot of work. Check out his statement below:

That’s a good question. A deep connection has clearly formed between them over the course of the five episodes we’ve seen so far, and it continues to deepen in episode six. They have to deal with conflict about what [their relationship] means in the future for both of them, because they have different goals and ideas about what comes next. So it’s an interesting, kind of profound place they find themselves in at the end of the season. The idea was, from the beginning, to really form a mature bond between two people who are really different… and to follow that in a truthful way. And that includes following not only the story that we were telling but following the performances of Norman and Cleménce. We tried to be really nuanced in terms of how we developed that and what romance may be read into it or not by the audience. The actors feel what they feel, and the characters feel what they feel. We’re not trying to force anything. There’s this whole idea of a surrogate family forming. That may include romance, but a surrogate family was really the idea behind the premise. The big question for Daryl was, ‘What happens if in your effort to go home, you wind up forming a sort of home in the place where you are?’ That goes beyond just romance. That’s more about ‘How do you fit into the world, especially an apocalyptic world? In that scenario, what is your place? What is the place that you’re most needed, and what is the place you most want to be?’

However, it's unclear if a relationship between Daryl and Isabelle could work. Despite the pair growing close and becoming parental figures to Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), their relationship has been strictly platonic. Isabelle is a nun and has shown no indication of wanting to break her vows. Additionally, she has shot down the idea of a romance with Daryl anytime it arises. There's a chance that he could still get a love story in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, even if it's not Isabelle. Perhaps Isabelle teaching him about family could inspire him to let someone else in finally.

That is the end of the article.

My thoughts:

My take on this is that the Isabelle/Laurent "family" tease is serving a few purposes:

It is supposed to create angst and interest in the France storyline.

It is yet another example that Daryl is now ready for a wife and child.

In Season 5, Daryl was, in many ways, less emotionally mature than Beth. I think of what happened in Still. Beth handled the loss of their "family" more maturely than Daryl. It's well known that childhood trauma often arrests emotional development.

As Daryl has slowly made some peace with his past, he has had a variety of relationships that have helped him understand husband/father dynamics. Leah and Connie have helped him understand attraction and developing, or not, that into a romance. Lydia, Judith, and RJ have all been surrogate children.

Isabelle and Laurent combine the mother figure and the child into a type of surrogate family. They are NOT the happy ending. They are another "therapy" step.

Additionally, I don't see either actor actually wanting to develop this into a full romance. It would negate Isabelle's claim that God and becoming a nun lead her to change from her former self.

Norman sorta of let it drop that Season 2 is the end of their time in France.{He jokingly said maybe Costa Rica should be next) Zabel said that there are 6 episodes planned for season 2 as well.

SO, that means either:

Isabelle and Laurent leave with Daryl and Carol. Can you see Isabelle giving up the idea that "Laurent is the Savior of France" in the next 6 episodes? Especially when much of those episodes have already been spoiled to be Genet's backstory, Carol's story, and more insight into walker experiments?

I don't think so.

OR

Isabelle dies and Laurent leaves with Daryl, Carol, and possibly others. This would complete Isabelle's redemption arc. I will post something later on the "Land Rover of Love" scene in episode 6, but something no one is commenting on is how when Laurent is talking about "having to do terrible things" he looks at Isabelle and says, "Like what you did to my mother." Isabelle is shocked. We saw her do NOTHING terrible to her sister. I think we will find out about that next season. So, this could be a definite possibility.

OR

Isabelle and Laurent stay in France and work with Fallou's group to rebuild after Genet is defeated. I think this the most likely senario.

Thoughts?

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

Who be the second favorite tragic mom character 👀

That would be the MCU's Scarlet Witch!

Cause let's see

Killed their partner: Albeit an accident on Maple's part, and Thanos very quickly renders Wanda's new trauma redundant in an even worse way, they still both killed their respective partners. Also if you count the Hex one Wanda actually did it twice wHEEZE

Lost their children in a terrible event she would be blamed for: The flash flood for Patchkit Petalkit and Larchkit, and the end of Wandavision for Billy and Tommy (kinda?), arguably both events weren't entirely in their control, yet still blamed for. Their actions afterwards are not relevant, as they hadn't really done anything out of malice yet.

Lost her mind: Self explanatory yet still not handled very well by writers.

Decided to take it out on a child: Crookedpaw and America Chavez, a 14 year old girl. Both kids absolutely DID NOT deserve that bullshit.

My secret point, the writers suck at handling them: Jesus Christ on a BIKE would it kill either of these teams to A) Talk to each other or watch/read their own stuff, and B) Make an actual plan for your characters? Mapleshade is going to get dragged out as long as she can be featured in animations, long past her own gimmick (She should be haunting the Tribe right now because every Applekin Clan member is DEAD) to the point that even her biggest fans are getting sick of her and Wanda went from having her own movie project, to "hmm I don't think audiences can connect with a women" to having a lovely vacation under 50,000 kilos of mountain despite being one of the few characters left worth anything! The writers of these franchises just... Don't seem to know what to do with these characters anymore. At least Warriors has the slight advantage of not having to worry about an actor dying suddenly, I guess. But they both have the same problem. They clung so hard to their OGs that, now that they're gone, they've realized that their other characters have nothing to them, and audiences are apathetic because they don't know them, shoveling out content at a rapid pace to the point it loses quality and coherence because there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and no one is talking to each other.

I have a lot of love for both franchises but if I were in charge they'd look so, so different.

But yeah I love messy mother characters!

[tariah23]

Yeah! The biggest threat to goiji is gojo himself. Not just because of his status and hang ups about being the strongest but because his powers make him so above it all he can't begin to comprehend where ijichi is coming from and he's so mean to him for it 😭😭 he starts out nicer in opposites attract because from the onset he already wants to interact and hang out with ijichi on purpose. otherwise in pretty much any other scenario he's just not considering him. It could even be backhanded if gojo extended literally any thought to him at all 😭😭😭

Exactly!!! I’ve talked sm about their whole THING for months and MONTH now with friends/ mutuals privately 😭…….. for Gojo, he’s just TOO stuck in his ways; absolutely stubborn. He’s also been sheltered to hell and has been raised to believe that he isn’t really a person ever since he was a child and so, it was probably always hard for him to actually BELIEVE that he could ever connect with anyone on a human level because he doesn’t see himself as one. He’s too far above them and feels that it’s useless to actually connect and build bridges with other people because they already don’t SEE, nor do they understand him, at least from his perspective.

It’s like he most likely unconsciously prejudges everyone around him, even his friends and students, because he’s already set himself up to never be truly part of their world on a personal level that’ll leave him vulnerable. He just exists in it and he won’t ever go any further than a silly joke, teasing them like hell to the point of bullying (Ijichi……), and hugs (because Gojo really does love to throw himself onto other people. Physical contact is fun for him and he’s already an extremely affectionate individual as is so it comes naturally for him. He also seems to do this on purpose because he’s tall as hell, annoying af, and ugly!!! He is aware of the fact that he gets on everyones nerves but when he does this, it really does show that he enjoys the company of those who he cares about even if his way of thinking might come off as backwards skkssksks.)

As for Ijichi, yeahssshs. In “Opposites Attract,” Gojo is the one who makes the first step but tbh, the story/characters themselves seem to be very much in character imo!!! I can see all of what’s happened in the story, especially between them, legit go down in canon IF JJK were a different story and that the themes revolving around Gojo’s trauma were more zeroed in on and I’m so serious.

The writer handles his feeling of loneliness and isolation so well and you can literally see how hard he tries to push back on Ijichi from getting closer to him in the story until it had gotten to a point where the both of them just became legit friends who were 100% comfortable around each other. They had built up a comfortable routine… they had their disagreements and confrontations and Gojo never apologizes for the awful things he said to Ijichi in the story but you can always tell that he’s at least sorry and that he will do better with dealing with Ijichi next time. I love seeing just how used to Gojo’s personality Ijichi becomes over the course of the story lol. That’s what close proximity and overexposure does to a mf!!! The development from Ijichi feeling awkward and uncomfortable around Gojo to Gojo swinging him around at the airport bro…… (that chapter was so fun whajajajl. Ijichi was going THROUGH it while Gojo, his new FRIEND who used to be bully his ass back in HS, was gone away on a mission and he missed him sm lol. Then I think that was the same chapter where he went out drinking with fellow auxiliary managers and how he had to defend Gojo from being badmouthed by one of them 😭… and Gojo heard about it and teased Ijichi by calling him his hero or so 😭… falling to me knees…….. )

It’s so well written and the way that the writer had dragged their relationship along for so long… It’s literally insane that they haven’t kissed or even so much as held hands yet lmfao. They’re probably still not even dating even after 100K words lmfaoooo. I’m behind on the last 5 chapters so idk if anything has happened YET but uhhh. Gojo FEELS like Gojo in the fic for sure!!! Same with Ijichi! I love how character driven the narrative has been! Gojo does have the tendency to surprise others, especially Ijichi, when he wants to. Like, he’s kind of shitty towards him and he doesn’t usually realize that he’s being dismissive and mean at all but he’s aware of the fact that Ijichi is a sensitive person who’s always nervous and wanting to do his best and please others as well and so he takes advantage of that people pleaser side of poor Ijichi lmfao.

I think the story handles their dynamic incredibly well and the progression from Ijichi being annoyed with Gojo being around to falling head over heels for him makes sm sense 😭!!! Gojo has the capacity to treat other people with respect and he’s not the monster he thinks he is. People actually DO care about him, not just because he’s strong 😭! I just love how Normal Ijichi is… and it has been brought up multiple times throughout the story as well. Of COURSE he’d feel insecure around someone like Gojo but Gojo, even in canon, doesn’t really give “shallow,” at all to me at least. He’s kind of ableist though and again, super dismissive of those who he views as weak, but it’s because of the way that he’d been raised and conditioned to view himself as a something not human. His views don’t steam from a place of malice at all. Also, because it’s his job to “protect,” the weak. That’s always been part of his whole mindset. Gojo is also a weirdo lakakakakl. Given a little time and patience, Even outside of all of the bullshit that comes with dealing with him because of his personality, I think that It’ll definitely come down to Gojo allowing himself to be vulnerable with others in order for something to shake. My guy is literally a thorny rose 😭!!! I hate him for that!!!