#they're stuff she wouldn't get to use so it would just be forgotten

[shhh-secret-time]

10, 26, and 27 please!!! 🧡🧡

Ahhhh! Yay! Thanks anon you're the best!

10) Pick an element for them! What is it?

For Jean, that's kind of a tough one but it'd probably be lightning! It's quick and flashy! I think she'd like the feeling of the crackle too! Plus she wouldn't need an Amp anymore! She would be the Amp!

26) What are their loved/liked gifts?

Oh! This isn't something I've thought a lot about! So thanks for asking this one!

Loved: Honey, pins and patches, stupid stickers, anything she can wear that will remind her of you, home cooked meals! (She cannot cook for shit, please help her.),

If you give her cds and records, she's on one knee with a ring out. Congratulations.

Liked: Any cool rock you find, plants (the only reason this isn't love, is because she's afraid she'll kill it and it'll make her sad), guitar picks, and energy drinks!

27) What are their hated/disliked gifts?

Again! Not something I thought about! This one is gonna be tricky Jean's not usually a picky person! She's just happy you thought of her.

Hated: anything too expensive - she's not a fan of people spending too much money on her, money (she'd rather you just keep it and use it on yourself)

Oh! Nuts! She's allergic! So she'll die. (Because that stupid ass will want to eat them very badly.)

Dislikes: Most gems (again, it's a bit too much. It's not that she doesn't appreciate it. It's just..not her style). Books (again, not that she doesn't appreciate it, she just won't have the time to read it.) She can't read.

And then probably things like mugs? She's never home so again it's another gift that will just collect dust.

[sharp-rosee]

Hey funny story: I haven't been around Tumblr at all for months, but today someone told me menalez had deactivated or something so I came on here and looked it up. First result was a post by you, i checked out your blog and wouldn't you know it your most recent post had you defending me post mortem lmfao. I sent an anon to the other woman too but it seems she won't post it so to clarify to you: when I supposedly said "studies showing violence suffered by bisexuals are cringe and useless" what I remember thinking about that is that those studies that I've seen are never used to try to understand why bisexuals suffer such insane rates of violence (more than homosexuals) and trying to stop it. I've only seen them be used as battering rams in discourse when homosexuals criticize bisexuals. Which is crazy for such a serious issue and totally trivializes it lol. Also that my explanation for it was that such studies show that many abused people incorrectly id as bi for a time. You can disagree or wtv just those were my points, she made it sound like I'm cheering on women beating if they're bi or something. Also your defense of me (thanks queen lol) is accurate if you were wondering. I used to be sorta pro strict separatism but I outgrew the anger/ denial phase of "most women will partner with men" and reached acceptance. Most people are built for romantic partnership, that's just human nature, I can't be hating het women just because their lot in life in that means they're more likely to be abused. Just because I'm not drawn to men, or even much to romance, doesn't mean I should act like that's everyone else too and judge them on that standard, I accept reality and want women to be safe within that rather than pointlessly hate on them and get all worked up because some women have boyfriends..

Well I'm also a mean asshole, I'm sure you noticed, and I definitely would give the bi girlies on radblr a hard time here at the time lol. I don't have the "one side" sort of takes on this divide on radblr. It was funny but I can't feel the energy to that anymore since leaving tumblr, way too few bis or gays irl to care about that stuff. But at the end of the day these are my actual takes on all that disk horse. Funny to see it immediately on such a causal stroll around here lol

-sleep3r4gent

QUEEN I used to follow you ♡ at least when I was crypto a few years back I did.

Also, I'm glad you clarified because the way some women on here seem to hallucinate things they read almost makes me feel insane as well. Like you sending an ask saying you never thought of a certain perspective is not indicative of you agreeing and obviously one can change their opinions over time.

I really have no opinion either way tbh, I myself am straight and in a relationship, and have had others on my last blog send some anons calling me a "dick worshipper" and other misogynistic BS, but they stopped once I didn't let it bother me much. It's so obviously a group of trolls that it's embarrassing that they still believe it enough to keep bringing back the same users, some like you who aren't even misogynistic, to further their persecution complex.

It even is more annoying because these are the women who made Mena/Moideater leave, the above drama is a big reason why. The way radblr will still reblog posts from very racist blogs and not bat an eye but then freak out over a clique of women who aren't even radfems really does show what demographic makes up this site.

I know it gets exhausting to be involved in arguments, but it's nice to know you're still somewhat around. I hope you, Mena and Moid come back someday. If not I understand. But I'll never forget any of them and I haven't forgotten you 😭😭😭

[set-wingedwarrior]

I should have known that people would have acted annoying about the Team's reunion and, after the dumb takes I saw, here I am to make a breakdown of their reactions in relation to the context because that's defenitely how my psychology majoring is supposed to be used apparently

Before I dig specifically to each character I'd like to remind people that, like Weiss herself said, everything happened so fast. It's not just that the time itself wasn't that much. In between the fight and them trying to find each other in the Ever After it would have been, what? An hour?

It's been 2 years for us guys, for them it isn't that much time to justify the super touchy and hugs reunion like we got in V5, or V6 in Argus, or V8 when they meet back (except for Blake, but I'll get there). You all need to remember that media in general for stories like this aren't your fluffy fanfic full of feelings and hugs and kisses all the time.

Now, welcome to my psychology class! First on our list, our one and only traumatized team leader child, Ruby Rose.

"Why didn't ruby rush to hug her sister?"

Well, let's see it from her point of view; actually, we litterally saw it at the start of the episode! We saw how fast everything went from her eyes!

She had to go in fight mode in a fucking instant because, differently from Blake (who was trying to jump after Yang) and Weiss (who was busy stopping her), Ruby has been attacked immediately by Neo after her firt attempt at her life failed. She didn't even have the time to process what happened because she was already fighting for dear life!

Our brains are very resourceful machines that always try to save energy (it's why stereotypes exist, it's our brains identifying stuff by one thing to not think about it too hard), and considering how complex and crippling the feeling of loss is, and how much it takes to process, in a life or death situation our brains would just shut it down.

Because we're all different people it might not work the same for everyone, but Ruby is a trained fighter, she's a huntress, her body and mind falling in fighting mode is actually the most logical reaction in the given situation because it falls both on habit and instinct.

And given that she didn't even have the time to process the the thought that Yang might have been dead (even during the fucking fall she had to fight Neo still, give my girl a break!!), it's very reasonable that despite the frustration and stress of everything else in the Ever After, she wasn't too worried about Yan'g safety. Because she never got time to even think "I lost her" that she got in the very same situation. So, "If I fell and I'm here and I'm okay, then Yang is too, she must be fine".

Besides, Ruby did run towards her after fighting the thing!

Yang just interrupted her with her "Dammitt! You're not supposed to be here!" before Ruby settled to get near her and "If you thought we wouldn't come for you then you must have forgotten who raised me", so any argument about them not caring is just really dumb.

In conclusion, considering that she found out that her sister was probably okay before her brain could have even processed the concept of her loss, and all happening in a very short spawn of time, it makes 100% sense that Ruby wouldn't need to jump in her arms and cry or whatever. They're in a weird place but they are okay and that's all that matters (before Ruby will discover the horrors of what happened after she fell and the horrors of her quickly approaching breakdown, but that's for another time!)

Blake on the other hand.

Blake is the one that speed into action the moment she saw Yang fall. When chaos wa around nobody went to attack her, she saw Yang disappear in the void. Now, she got to feel the loss, the pain, the weight of failure because she failed to save her!

And her first reaction was to fucking jump after her. Because she couldn't fail, she couldn't lose her, she must save her! And Weiss had to drag her up the platform herself to stop her from doing so because they had a job to do and Blake was blinded by pain!

Then, she got blinded by rage. It wasn't her fault, it was Neo! And Cinder! And I think that in that moment of emotional disregulation it's reasonable to think that Blake wasn't acting for the good of Mantle, of the plan, or anything else. We all saw it in her eyes, it was pure rage, she wanted revenge! And that's completely reasonable in that given moment. She saw the love of her life DIE because of them, OF FUCKING COURSE SHE'S BLINDED BY SUCH POWERFUL EMOTION.

As you can probably already tell, Ruby and Blake's actions are dictated by very different feelings! Even if the action itself, fighting, is the same, the mindset and motivations differ completely!

So, what happens when she meets Yang again? That after the danger is over (because it's not like she dropped everything, they fought the thing and waited for the situation to calm down and be safe. She also waited for Ruby to say her things first tbf) she fucking runs to tackle her!

Because Blake actually got to see and feel the loss! She thought she had lost her! She thought that she died because she wasn't fast enough! So, even regardless of the romantic feelings (that obviously play a part because come on, they've been inseparable for volumes now, it's obvious that she would have felt it all that harder), it makes sense that Blake's the one to feel pure utter relief in seeing Yang still alive! And she'd need to go to her, feel that she's there with her!

Now, probably the most complex one to explain: Weiss.

In a way, she's middle ground between Ruby and Blake. Weiss wasn't attacked right away either, but she had to jump in action to stop Blake. That means that she stopped to see what was happening and at Yang's "death" she just assumed what Blake was about to do or else she wouldn't have ad the time to stop her (we saw how fast Blake was)

That means that, in some way, she got to take in what was going on before going in fight mode, but she still didn't get to process it herself because she needed to act on the others' behalf. Where Ruby was litterally just hanging in there and Blake was blinded by her pain, both of them against Neo, Weiss saw what happened and told to herself "I must keep going with the plan, I must protect who's left, I can't let Yang''s sacrifice go to waste" and went to fight Cinder alone (until Penny arrives).

Weiss during the fight is the one more "emotionally stable" (more like she efficiently locked them to be functional in the fight), she's well aware of what is going on and doing her best. In this mindset, she got to fight but also to see more clearly everything that is happening.

She's also the one who stayed there the longest. She's the one who saw the worst because she's been there long enough to witness more horrors, but despite the awareness she didn't get the time to really feel them. When does she though?

After she saw all of her teammates, her family, die. When she's almost completely alone. Only her Penny and Jaune left, Cinder towering them while she's using Gambol Shroud, everything she has left of her family, to try keep fighting. Because at that point there's less chaos, less things to prioritize her focus on, the evacuation is done, she just has to not let Cinder get Penny's powers.

We didn't see Weiss and Blake finding each other, but my guess is that either there was a hug off screen or, more likely, she kept it together because they logically needed their weapons and teammates back first. She then chooses to stay focused (and cheer for Blake, bless her), and work, and shuts down every question about what happened because she knows that talking about it would break her down and be a distraction from their objective.

Which is why she doesn't speak until they're all together: withouth a distraction, she's crying before she even got to start.

The pain added up and got to her, and I'm pretty sure that Ruby's big reaction wasn't just because of the news on their own, but also the feelings Weiss was letting out while telling them (you know when you feel someone is feeling bad even when they don't tell you nor openly act up on it? And you still feel deeply bad/uncmofortable?).

I got overboarded here, but in short Weiss didn't act too clingy in the reunion either because she was busy staying focused first and then dealing with EVERYTHING that happened earlier and that she needed to tell them. Like, after getting both to Blake and Ruby, Yang's safety was basically 100% sure anyway, so. And, again, everything happened so fast.

It's been 2 long years for us. Not for them. So, to the people who have been complaining, you're just projecting your own personal feelings on them and then calling it bad writing when they're not acting like you feel right now.

Class dismissed.

[jolalibrary]

Hi, Jo💜 for #mmvalentinesevent can i request back hugs with Ghost and Helen? Preferably something as simple when they're on their rarer days off and just doing their thing spending quality time with one another? If you're up for it, I'll leave the rest of the details up to you. 🫶

gimme your hand. your heart.

simon ghost riley x f!reader (helen!reader)

part of the #mmvalentinesevent || wc: 1k an: helen is her callsign. not her name.

Ghost likes her being next to him.

He's thought it for a while. Letting it thicken at the back of his throat, almost dripping from his tongue when she suggests going to her own room. He never says it, just tugs her close, a silent declaration.

Now, whenever time allows, she is here. Her room becoming a place she only goes when he isn't here and when the hours are ‘inconvenient’.

Sometimes, she goes there when it's been a really shit day. When she says she can’t people—her eyes glassy and her skin drained. If he's around, he always pulls her to his, let’s her lie in her usual place, in one of his t-shirts.

Ghost doesn’t see the point in her not sleeping in his room. The space she takes up is never used anyway. Even if heavy sleep pulls him under, he unconsciously doesn't move into it. Lets reality kiss the tips of his fingers when he wakes up and she’s not there—feeling cold when it should be warm, allowing himself a moment to miss her, before he stuffs the longing deep down.

He's thankful those days are few and far better. Just like he's grateful more of his days off duty line up with hers.

"You know," she says, taking his hand in hers. Her body pressed against his, mask forgotten, draped over the inside door handle. "You didn't have to injure yourself to have a day off with me."

"Didn't."

She squeezes his hand, watching his eyes as he grimaces. Bitch.

"It would hurt less if you moisturised the area. It stings because it's scabbing and your hands are as dry as sandpaper."

"Y'weren't complaining earlier."

She gives him a look before her body twists, turning her face from his—sliding from his hold as she grabs the bottle she always leaves.

"Wouldn't have hurt if you didn't fuckin' squeeze it, either," he adds.

She shoots him another look. He's getting good at understanding each one, each slight infliction of a brow or curl of her lip. Her hand holds the obnoxiously large bottle, the one that looks normally-sized in his own. The one which has found itself a permanent residence in his room, and not hers. Ghost is sure she'll never reach the bottom, even if she's always squeezing from it, covering her hands, arms and legs in it.

He doesn't hate it: the smell or the way it makes her skin feel. Liked how it felt when he pulled her close when he kissed his way from her fingers to her wrist to her elbows.

The noise of the contents spilling into her hand fill the space. It almost tugs a childish smirk from him—almost. He could always watch her do mundane things.

Watching her swirl a white pattern into her palm before gesturing for his hand. One he gives, all with a half-roll of his eyes.

"I think you're a masochist. Enjoy feeling the injuries from your latest adventure."

He says nothing, which only makes her smirk, all light and knowing—and more than enough to make his heart skip.

He lets her run the cream over his skin, over his fingers, bones and knuckles. But then, he lets her do so much that he'd never allow others to do.

It soaks in quickly, but her thumbs continue. Lightly applying pressure to his joints, to his muscles and ligaments. It's nice, different. Her eyes fixed on his skin, and his fixed on her.

She could stop his heart if she tried.

If she compelled him to, he'd stop it for her. Rip it out his goddamn chest and hand it to her. He'd show her all the places inside of him she's taken up—that he's willingly allowed her to carve as her own. Places he's longed thought would never be filled.

"Could do this more often..." Her eyes flick up to him, washing him in shades he'll never be able to name. "Massage you. Do something other than have you moaning my name."

Fuck, he wants to kiss her.

Smother his mouth over her fucking smirk and taste the words she's just said.

"Think you'd miss how good I make you feel, Helen."

She slows her touch, digging it deeper into the space between his index and thumb. "Your ego astounds me. It should be studied."

"I don't have an ego." He places his other hand over hers, feeling the leftover cream soak into his palm, "Just know what I'm good at."

She bites back a smirk. He can tell. Knows from the slight narrowing of her eyes and the way she dips her chin for a moment before she pretends she's defiant. If he touches her cheeks, he knows they'd be searing, likely soaked her underwear too, if he were to check.

"What? Getting scars..."

His tongue darts into his cheek as her hand lets go of him, kneeling up before stepping from her place on his bed.

It's fleeting, the urge to pull her back to him, crash his lips against her mouth, but he doesn't. Letting her go, hating the emptiness he feels sitting on the bed when she heads into his bathroom.

He stands because of it. Stands because he has to.

His eyes peer through the gap in the door, settling himself at the sight of her. Fingers twitching, ever so slightly until she turns, and smiles.

"What?"

"C'mere."

Her lips curl up, smiling, running her hand briefly over a towel before crossing to him. He turns her when she's in reach, her back to his chest, her little oof lost to the room as she melts into him. Just like he knew she would.

Slowly, he rests his chin on her head, sliding his arms around her waist, pulling her wrists close to her body. Taking in the scent of her hair, the way she hasn't moved—allowing him this.

"You're getting good at this. Hugging."

He digs his chin a little into her hair. "Shut up, Helen."

Her fingers brush over his, looping themselves in between his as she sighs. Not in annoyance, but more in content. Something he does himself a few minutes later.

"Thank you."

"What was that?" her head twisting, eyes looking up at him.

Sparkling, shining—like the stars do when the sky is dark and empty of everything else but them.

"Thank. You."

"For..."

Everything, he thinks. Instead, he turns his hand slightly in hers, and she smiles—softer, sweeter. "Y-you're welcome, Simon."

She motions to move, but he simply holds her tighter. His eyes looking at her, pleading almost—Don't make me fuckin' ask you to stay, Helen.

So she doesn't.

She just remains, back to his chest, head under his chin, fingers in between his.

[james-stark-the-writer]

rewatching The Conjuring series for the first time since like 2019 (when Annabelle Comes Homes released in theaters i binged the whole series and it's probably on my twitter archive if you go scrolling back enough, but i haven't seen any of these movies since) bc i honestly do not remember most of what happened in the movies, and Alanda Parker just started getting into the series so figured i might as well get a refresher. and i'm just getting to the title card for the first The Conjuring movie and like i had forgotten how good the title card itself was just as a piece of typography and how it felt to see like it's a great title card, but also just how desperate the opening was to get you scared. like even Insidious let us breathe with the characters a little bit, like The Conjuring is so desperate to get you scared from the first second, it even plays loud sounds in the opening studio credits, and it's only partly effective as an opener bc it's James Wan behind the camera, but the framing really doesn't help it shdhsdhsbd, and the whole opener is just such an odd structural choice and such a weird way to open the movie.

so much of this opening 6 minutes is just exposition after exposition that's completely irrelevant to the rest of the movie, and only really matters as an introduction to Ed and Lorraine — which could have been done better with like actual introduction to them as people, see the second movie — and the idea that demons only possess people, for that third act "twist," and the rest of the sequence really is pretty meaningless to the rest of the movie, if i remember correctly. it's interesting worldbuilding but Insidious did it way better. like it's just strange that it's really barely even an interesting or important opening bc those two things are really the only relevant part of that entire sequence because the rest of the information is just in the text crawl that comes before the title card. fuck, the text crawl gives you more info about Ed and Lorraine than the fucking scene does bc it doesn't give you much of their dynamic. it's a fine tone-setter ig but i'd rather see the actual relevant stuff, or get a longer scene of the actual talk, instead of it being weirdly mediated through the video, which has the same framing as the fucking movie bc it does a match cut to outside the video so i'm confused on why the hell the Warrens would ever put so much emphasis on the doll's face (and where the camera is bc we don't even see it in any frame like when Ed leans forward like shouldn't the diegetic camera be visible? like it's the 60s, that shit would be huge and clearly visible. but then the placement of it would make it an odd choice in-world too since, wouldn't you want to capture the actual faces of the people since they're giving the testimony? like the whole framing and reveal that it's an actual video just raises more questions than necessary imo) bc like. she's not even sitting across from them. also, ngl, Vera's dialogue delivery... oh she was completely checked out.

sigh. anyway, now that movie's actually started, excited to see what Wan was cooking.

[textingtroublesanswers]

The same lil she gremlin sees medic and drops her stuff she was carrying. WHOA… he is the THE LUDWIG… she drops all her engie stuff and races to him and hugs him. She’s never seen THE LUDWIG, before. She looks like this is the best day of her life. She’s clearly young and very impressionable. But she looks like the engie debockle has completely been forgotten meeting The Doc. She looks elated

Ludwig looks down at the little gremlin hugging his leg.

"Doktor?" Mikhail sits up in their bed, looking over. Maria, who had been sitting on his chest & playing a very chaotic game of patty cake, slides off him & onto the bed, right into the semi-neatly ordered line of organ plushies. Emil lets out a little growl & begins fussing at having his toys messed with.

"Ja? I'm coming." Ludwig picks up the little gremlin by the scruff & sets her down on the cot near Heracles. He's not happy that the two gremlins are here, but Heracles refused to move from his spot, & the baby gremlin clearly doesn't want to leave him either.

"What is doktor thinking about?" Mikhail asks him, opening his arms for Lutz to slide right into a cosy hug.

Ludwig rubs his face against Misha's cheek, humming, "I'm thinking about what this would be like if we hadn't returned to work for Mann Co. If we had moved to a cottage somewhere where it is warm for most of the year, but not stiflingly so, & we were just far out enough to not be bothered by civilisation. Just the two of us, & the Kinder, & all the time in the world for napping together & playing chess & reading & cultivating strawberries."

"Doktor wants strawberries?" Mikhail asks with a chuckle.

"They're my favourites. We would have a little garden, & I would learn how to make jams, & juices, & I would make us strawberry popsicles to have in the summer. Or I could make strawberry syrup to put into our tea, & we might sell the extras to our neighbours even though we wouldn't need the money after our contracts ended. Wouldn't that be amazing?"

Mikhail smiles down at him softly, leaning down until he is certain his husband can see every little detail of the love in his eyes, "Da. Would let babies play in strawberry bushes & then laugh when they get juice all over them."

"Misha?"

"Yes, муж."

"Sometimes, I want to just run away with you & start my life anew. Change my name, cut my hair differently, & forget about that entire period of my life since I first joined the army. I want to be with you, as if I was still a young man & we were only just beginning to fall in love." Mikhail adjusts them both, until they can comfortably press their foreheads together, breathing in tandem & their hearts beating in unity.

"Four years. Four years, & then we do leave. We do whatever we want, doktor, even change identities."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Ich liebe dich."

"я тебя люблю."

[dragonagitator]

I started out just wanting to write a "Modern Girl in Faerun" author self-insert fanfic of BG3 in the tradition of all the "Modern Girl in Thedas" fanfics I've enjoyed over the years in the Dragon Age fandom. You know, someone who has played the game gets transported to the world of the game and uses her foreknowledge of events to steer for the best ending and pursue her favorite romance, yadda yadda yadda.

And then I thought, oh, I should also write a sequel from Gale's perspective that runs parallel to the first story that's about him trying to figure out if she's just crazy or what.

I decided that while my MGIF character will be successful in using her foreknowledge of events to achieve the best or even better outcomes for the main events of the game, it would be hilarious if that same foreknowledge of events also led to her inadvertently flubbing every single scripted romance progression scene with Gale so that it ends up being an even slower burn than canon.

Meanwhile, most of the companions (including Gale) don't believe her story about how they're fictional characters in an interactive story she's played as a game because there are so many other plausible in-world explanations for why someone would have her foreknowledge of events. So Gale thinks she's mentally unwell, and he struggles with the ethics of pursuing a romantic relationship with someone whose interest in him is at least partially predicated on (what he believes to be) delusions.

It works out in the end, but Gale's perspective of what the fuck is going on is so divergent from hers that it would be a fundamentally different narrative.

And then as I was researching Forgotten Realms lore for the first set of stories, I realized it would be hilarious if I wrote a post-canon sequel about Gale and the MCIF trying to plan their wedding in Waterdeep while the events of the D&D modules Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage are unfolding in the background.

And then while I was researching stuff for that, I learned that it's Forgotten Realms canon that Elminster knows about Earth, has a portal to Ed Greenwood's house, and regularly visits Ed and few other D&D authors to give them more lore to write about.

So then I realize that while the Elminster we meet during BG3 is actually a Simulacrum and thus wouldn't be privy to anything Elminster didn't think it needed to know for its mission, presumably the real Elminster would show up for Gale's wedding. So if Gale happened to mention his new wife's unfortunate "delusions" to Elminster, Elminster could rock Gale's world by confirming no she's been right all along. Thank you, Elminster, for the best gift a bride could ever receive: the opportunity to say "I TOLD YOU SO!" to her husband. Lol.

And then I thought if Elminster has a portal to Ed's house in Toronto, what if Gale and the MCIF eventually used that portal to flee to Earth for some reason? Either to escape the reach of Mystra, or maybe because their child has a condition that's treatable on Earth but not with Faerun magic/medicine ala Outlander?

Then we could have another story in the series that's a reversal of the first story's trope -- a "Faerun Character in Modern Earth" story of Gale going through culture shock while also losing his connection to the Weave and thus losing all his wizard powers AGAIN. Mmmm angsty.

This is my first time writing fanfic, I've only written a fraction of the first story so far, and I've already come up with at least three sequels I need to write too.

What.

The.

Fuck.

I now fully understand what fanfic authors mean when they cry about "the plot bunnies are multiplying."

[submarinefleet]

Can you do the ladies of PFL with an s/o that is just a civilian but is impossibly durable? Like if they got shot by a bullet it wouldn't go through them/barely would or if they got run over by a tank they'd get out mostly fine except for maybe a sprained or broken limb, not an absolutely crushed one. They could probably take a point blank explosion and walk away with only slight burns and minor pain from impact.

Tex actually really appreciates how durable her partner is. She's used them as a meat shield before in a pinch, but she doesn't like making a habit of it, and generally doesn't involve them in her business to begin with. She likes that she can wrestle and be rough with them and they can take it like a champ, even with her enhanced strength. She does get a little huffy that she can't leave bite marks and hickeys on them that easily, but she doesn't dwell on that. She gives them affectionate punches in the arm as often as kisses.

Carolina is honestly a little disturbed whenever she bears witness to her partner's freakish durability, but seeing them survive is still more of a relief than anything else. She feels guilty about it, but she's used them as a meat shield at least once. It's on instinct! Somewhere along the way, some wires got crossed, and she subconsciously put them in the mental basket Maine used to inhabit of being the bulwark at her back. The absolute last thing she ever wants to do is make them feel like she doesn't care about their well-being, though, and the shame makes her get defensive and try to hide. She always comes around in the end though, with apologetic kisses and some kind of present.

South ABSOLUTELY uses her partner as a meat shield-- but never in combat. She just goes out of her way to instigate things, so she can dive behind them with a cackle. She's like a kid with a toy that doubles as a stress ball. Whenever she's in a good mood she'll give them a few punches, whenever she's antsy she'll given them a few punches-- she'll gnaw on them, wrestle them, pick them up and toss them around like a beanbag. Maybe lay on her back and treat them like she's rolling a barrel with her feet whenever it's leg day. It gets pretty excessive, but she'll stop and pout if they get annoyed and tell her that's enough. They're her hyper-durable teddy bear, and she falls asleep squeezing them more often than she'd care to admit. Having them on hand relaxes her.

Connie is nonplussed. She's the only one of the PFL ladies who has never used her partner as a meat shield even once. It was a shock the first time she saw them survive something crazy, and she questioned them thoroughly--ex-SPARTAN? Another unethical UNSC project to try and win the war?--before she added the new information to her mental dossier, and continued on as if nothing happened (although that's not true at all. She's still to this day digging into their background and family history in her spare time trying to figure out where they got it from, to find out if there are any unpleasant side-effects to watch out for down the line). She's relieved they survive what they do, but plans meticulously to keep them out of harms way all the same. The fact that they're a civilian is never forgotten.

479er goes from a verbal "what the fuck?" the first time she witnesses her partner survive an explosion, to thinking it's the absolute funniest shit ever. Whenever company's around and she's had a few beers, she wants her partner to do stunts to show it off. She cackles at all the shocked expressions. Otherwise, it doesn't really come up, beyond her insisting they be the one to climb ladders, and stick their hand down the garbage disposal to fish stuff out whenever she's home. She hasn't needed to use them as a meat shield before, but absolutely would without a second thought, if it ever came up. Don't look at her like that! Some of us are ordinary, non-bulletproof humans, okay?

[horizon-verizon]

I liked the fight itself, but I was like: girly what’s the plan tho?????

Jace is politically astute and a great diplomat but he’s still a teenager, Rhaenys is going to die...The funny thing is even after saying that she cannot trust him he’s still going to raise an army and take Harrenhal for her. Has she forgotten he was going to stay in Pentos forever until she BEGGED him to stay because she needed him to fight a war for her ?

In F&B, Daemon kills Vhagar and eliminates the Green’s blockage in the Riverlands. The Winter Wolves and the knights of the Vale came down to aid the Blacks in the Riverlands. Reaching King’s Landing, making the Greens panic, poison their own king, and crown Rhaenyra’s son. Daemon’s efforts might not have saved Rhanerya in time but they did aid their son and his daughters’ safety.

I believe the sort of "trust" Sara Hess was trying to define and reveal in this scene is the faith that Daemon would not use his proximity and relationship to her to do stuff that she cannot fix or direct the effect on herself. But she makes it focus more on Daemon trying to rule through her and not him deciding things on his own/perhaps failing to do as he actually wishes which is to protect his family....as was canon and already hashed out even in this show's universe/writing.

Rhaenyra's reasoning is being put to question--for how she'd think to allow Daemon to be around her first 3 kids if she actually didn't trust his ambitions comes into question, and no Rhaenyra was not utterly stupid in canon. She marries the man knowing that he would support her and only her claim as well as be non-murderous or threatening to her and their eventual kids. The true story is that Daemon is a principal element to how Rhaenyra was able to garner support and in good time in critical spots of the realm--he was a good political partner as well and she espied that. So them being together at all or why she chose him (as the character she is now) is also called into question, just as Rhaenys and Corlys do not make sense together in the show.

The other issue is that even with Jaehaerys being a child, this isn't a world/society that will consider a child's death as reason enough for them to pull back support, or it's not an unconditional deal breaker. They may have some personal qualms, but many would see this as "blood for blood" for the death of Lucerys AND/OR keeping their oaths to Rhaenyra/Viserys. And especially what voluntary designation of heirs vs traditions over their ability to name an heir and that heir being able to keep their seats they way those lords intended. As rhaenin-time pointed out once, it's pretty dangerous to set the precedent that anyone could just accuse the heir of things and then carve out their way towards the seat not assigned to them. All this would rather motivate the lords over a child's death, esp when Aegon has another son to be his heir. Does that make them cruel and amoral, duh. But Hess and Condal are not actually being that true to the story/setting we got. They're acting like everyone is in this tightly interconnected, very tiny bubble of a community where the relationships between houses across the entire realm are very very personal and that their ethic system is similarly human-prioritized based as we try to make our own and it disrupts the logic of the story.

*EDIT* [7/13/24] This is not to say that child killing is wrong, I'm trying to point out that in the context of political support and Rhaenyra's ability to gather her own loyal vassals, that this wouldn't be the biggest turning factor for her to lose followers and potential ones, so the argument had to be about something else, which is was. *EDIT END*

It also contradicts how Ned rationalizes his treatment towards Cersei ("honor" over actual safety of vulnerable people) in the canon world, and don't get me started on how we make a double standard, as a fandom and reader, in how we praise Ned for how he tries to follow the line of honor or save his family by what he intended to allow to happen with Cersei--or risk happen--but suddenly Rhaenyra can't be the type of protagonist who marries Daemon for her own interests, love, to protect her family, etc.

Them and the rest do not really understand Daemon's character in relation to Rhaenyra nor the weight of all those social elements I described bc they didn't really bother to ponder over all these rules implications...they didn't even bother to really consider the effect of Aemond's kinslaying and the taboo around that (or some are just making this as immediately understandable to a 2024 audience, idk). Sure the court may not shame Aemond but there's the factor of them being in close proximity and immediate danger. And it still is in the back of their minds that this dude is too "crazy" to really follow sincerely....at least some of them. Which could affect the entire greens' standing and image.

Thus, while I do think that there's always a chance bk!Rhaenyra didn't trust Daemon to not mess up her own image in his own impulsivity (having some internal conflict of her own bc I don't think she'd be angry at the act to get blood for blood and still resent him for the outcome), show!Rhaenyra questions his hold on his ambitions instead of what he desires. We already went over his ambitions back in season 1 and he already proved that he wasn't with her or made a family with her to rule anything through her (so yes, his scene with Rhaenys in the first epi didn't make sense esp with how dumb it is to make him try to go to KL to kill Aemond...there's a reason why he sends B&C in canon instead!!!). The show should have really made Rhaenyra question his present desires and not past ambitions. Which is what Branwynwith of Twitter speaks to in their review of the episode.

But now, the team didn't think about how this would look to multiple different groups of people, thus, you know.

*7/14/24* I forgot to include that Daemon actually leaving for Harrenhal before getting their particulars and priorities in order, making any sort of plan as to how he's going to "make it up" or fulfill...not even him yelling out something along the lines of "watch me" concerning Harrenhal and his intent is insane even for him, this version. Again, does the show expect me to think Rhaenyra often has to plan around these events he causes whenever they fight and he crashes out?

[felikatze]

thinks abt my many half baked ISAT FE AU stuff again....

siffrin is a manakete that is all good night

uhhh act 5 and twohats spoilers below

joking but. also yes. i was thinking a lot abt what FE classes the cast would have recently so.

Mirabelle is a lord. HOWEVER. she gets to be a fancy lord who also gets staff access. Like Hoshido Noble. could you imagine dragging around a scrublord who only gets good on promo but they had heal utility the whole time. isn't that a dream. imagine if Roy could heal and then still rips in endgame

Odile is very obviously a Sage. Like cmon. If i had to pick any specific sage outfit it would in fact be Awakening sages. But the thought of Odile in the outfit of Engage sages is enough to kill people I think. Though the banana mage gba era would be hilarious on her.

The trifecta of magic is also a nice reflection of her being able to use all types of craft :) esp tellius mechanics are dope for that (and integrated into my silly isat emblems stuff). It could also be very thematically appropriate to make her an Omnyoji instead.

Isabeau just has massive axe bro energy. Yknow how fighters are stereotyped as stupid but then Lot FE6, generic axe bro ever, plays chess and does philosophy? Yeah. From a gameplay standpoint it would also make sense to put him in armor knight cuz he will Protect His Friends. Also he has the highest hp in the cast anyways. He would also have rally skills.

If i had to pick one guy to make a beast unit, it would be him also. Tiger isabeau.

Bonnie is the Transporter. They cannot fight. They cannot die. Bonnie is Merlinus. We are not letting the child on the battlefield. Give Bonnie a caravan and convoy access, you know they gotta.

Sif is. hm.

Like the obvious call is Thief, right? In games that have em, daggers are exclusive to thieves (unless you're fates, and have butlers and ninjas). Dagger classes can also debuff (with engage thieves poisoning, and fates daggers inflicting debuffs) which would be a nice niche. However Siffrin isn't actually a criminal.

From a story standpoint mercenary would be the most appropriate since they're not really here for any particular reason but just bcuz he happened to be in the country when the curse struck.

HOWEVER.... engage has given us a very tantalizing third option. Wolf Knight. They're not associated with crime. They are speedy, dodgy, and use daggers.

Siffrin gets a pet wolf. Do you see it.

TO ELABORATE ON THE MANAKETES THING.... So, if you've seen me talk abt my fucking, fe6 isat au, i cast Idunn as Siffrin. And the idea of someone forgetting their own species is really funny, and also kinda terrifying. And the only other person like you is the guy you have to kill.

Also I think creechur siffrin AUs are great. And dragons in FE are associated heavily with two things. a) going insane. b) amnesia (just look at corrin, and grima, and alear).

Also also dragons love to take naps. WHO ELSE LOVES TO TAKE NAPS?? That's right. Siffrin.

Oh yeah also. Dragon Loop. Wouldn't that be epic. AND. act 5 boss fight siffrin turning into a full dragon.

And the development possibilites. As siffrin learns about the island, also uncovering myths about dragons. And the new strength siffrin is able to master more and more of each loop being bcuz. well. dragon. and growing aware of the ways he's different from the others not just in the growing chasm as they veiw the party more and more as actors, but also the paranoia in physically becoming a monster.

Do you see my fucking vision, here.

SPEAKING OF ENGAGE.... i forgot who. but SOMEBODY. suggested. Emblem Loop. wrgrhr.

and i've thought abt how this would work. And i think it does work, if like... the island (and the divine dragons) all got forgotten because of the emblem's miracle. That somebody thought it was too dangerous and wanted to seal it away forever and used the power of the emblems to make them forgotten. And so Wish Craft would be the emblems' power instead, which only dragons have access to - supposedly. Hey, if a whole country tries out a prayer incantation, would it work?

And. and. this would be really easy to do by. replacing the silver coin with a ring. Siffrin just has this random ring they've had forever. So when Loop wishes to get out, they become the emblem they've been using. You get recursive timeloop questions - who was the emblem that granted Loop's wish in the first place? Was it another Siffrin? Somebody else altogether? Who knows. But isn't the asking really fun.

And like, I mean, Emblem Byleth already exists, we all know what "rerolling missed attacks to hit instead" is. Emblem Byleth is still rewinding time you just can't see that he is.

Do you see my vision. ISAT fire emblem engage AU.

[eisforeidolon]

Question: So I just rewatched the whole series again with my husband, who's over there. And it's so beloved for us - just like everybody here. And so I was wondering, do you guys have any shows or movies you rewatch or books you reread that are really cherished, and that - why do they mean something to you?

Jared: Awesome. Thank you. And where's your husband?

Question: He's over there.

Jared: [to husband] Hey, hey, thank you, buddy. Yeah, so twice? Y'all have seen it twice? Amazing.

Question: More than that, more than that.

Jared: I wasn't judging!

Jensen: I am.

Jared: Uh, yeah, I have some, like, feel good shows. I try not to reread books, believe it or not? I just feel like there are so many that I would love to read but I try to reread. I have reread Into Thin Air, John Krakauer. Awesome book. Yeah. And then when I find myself rewatching shows, it's from my childhood. I haven't forgotten Garfield, or Simpsons. Don't judge.

Audience member: Turtles!

Jared: Ninja turtles, for sure. That was a a special time -

Jensen: Which one?

Jared: Which turtle am I?

Jensen: Mmm-hmm.

Jared: Who's my favorite? Probably Michelangelo, but my favorite was Donatello. Yeah, and I always regret - I think it was because I could always find a stick and hit people with it? It's hard to find num-chuks, or a scythe, or swords - my parents wouldn't let me have those. I'd find a stick, though. I'd find a stick and pretend I was Donatello. And he was in the purple outfit, which was pretty good - [to someone in audience] No, I - Leonardo was pretty cool.

Jensen: Donatello was blue.

Jared: No, Leonardo was blue! How dare you.

Jensen: Raphael was red.

Jared: Raphael was red, Michelangelo was orange -

Jensen: Why are we talking about this? [to questioner] Thanks a lot, thanks a lot. And I see you, yeah, your wife's still pregnant, you might want to take care of that. She's been pregnant for ten years.

Jared: So when I do rewatch things, it's from my childhood. What about you?

Jensen: I have - this was unintentional, the show is just always on. But my daughter, my ten year old daughter, has found Friends. And I had forgotten how entertaining that show really, really is. So it's been fun to, y'know - and it's just 'cause it's literally, I don't know what station, TBS or whatever - it's just always open. Any time we're in the kitchen, she'll come in and she'll throw it on and sit down and we'll be just doing stuff, but it's on and I'll just hear PIVOT! and I'll just start laughing.

Audience member: We were on a break!

Jensen: Yeah, we were on a break. And that's another thing, I forget how many iconic sayings came from that show. I mean, what a powerhouse of a show that is. But, um, as far as like a genre-type show, I don't know. I'm kinda like Jared, like once I watch it, I've - going back and rewatching it, I feel like I'm missing out on the opportunity of seeing something new? There is - I do have films that I keep on my iPad and whenever I'm travelling or something they're downloaded. And there's one particular movie that - I don't watch it, from beginning to end? I usually will just fast-forward and watch scenes? Of No Country for Old Men. 'Cause I just think it's a master class in filmmaking.

Jared: I'm like that with Inglorious Bastards.

Jensen: Yeah. Oh, anything Tarantino. Like, I got Hateful Eight, I've been rewatching -

Jared: Oh really?

Jensen: rewatching scenes in Hateful Eight. Which, I mean, that could be a stage play. I think it was originally - he wrote it for almost being able to do that, but. Um, it's uh - yeah. So I get the wanting to go back and kinda revisit those things, 'cause it does give you those nostalgic emotions, but also, you know, new experiences, like I'm sharing this with my daughter, so that's kind of a fun new experience.

Jared: Yeah. It's also - So I guess I question my earlier statement about how I want to read new things? 'Cause it's very interesting if you watch the same show or movie or read the same book at different points in your life where you pick up. So maybe I'll just start binging [pause] Supernatural. See where it ends up. I do, I will say, I will say, not a word of a lie, I've probably watched fifteen or twenty reaction videos to the finale. Cry every time. I'm like - I start out like, they don't know what's about to happen, neener neener. And then once Dean meets the post and they go [huge gasp] I'm like, same, same! So I have watched, I think, every single one. But yeah, yeah, that'll be interesting to go back and revisit that show that we worked on that one time.

Jensen: You just talked about a scene from it! [dramatically hangs head, big sigh] We're gonna get cancelled by our own union. Shh.

Jared: I said that show. Super-normal show.

Jensen: No, it's not Supernormal, it's Anything But Normal. It's Unnatural. It's Abby Normal.

[imsogayyippee]

18 and 40

hi i am SO sorry ive been ignoring this ask for like a month and a half. i wasnt feeling like answering asks idk why😭

Song 18: Again by Crusher-P (sorry if this is a cover and not the person who actually made it, I've seen other versions and idk if this is the original but this is the one I listen to lol)

this is more of an alex song than a timlex one but anyways!!!!!!!!!!

"I haven't been myself lately/I don't blame you for not wanting to stay/Saying things that I don't mean, not meaning what I say" "What am I supposed to say/When I end up driving everyone away?"

pre mh alex slowly growing more like,,, aggresive or whatever because of the operator

"Cause I am on fire/A crying, burning liar/Seeing nothing/Nothing/But myself/And I'm the one with the lighter!"

self explanatory. I do feel like this kind of works as a way to show their parallels though

"God, what happened to my heart?/I'm about to fall apart/Again, again"

Alex thinking he's unfixable/incurable from what he's done. Maybe this would be post-MH and the fall apart thing is like falling apart even when he tried to better himself.

"And you're never coming back/And I'm not okay with that/And I should've never let myself get attached/Again"

I wasn't really gonna include this but since this is supposed to be about Timlex. I will. Tim and Alex separating, each going their own ways, after Alex dropped the production of MH and maybe Alex eventually thinking back on that?

"What's done is done/And nothing's gonna change/I should be moving on/But I still feel the same"

Alex forcing himself to not think about the people he's killed/what he's done.

"And it's like everyday is a fight for my life/To get some self-control/And when you've forgotten who I am/It just feels, it just feels/Like I'm nobody at all"

Again, post-MH Alex being encouraged to try and better himself (by Tim), but after what's happened, he's never gonna go back to what he was before MH. Even if Tim probably wouldn't expect this, knowing that after what they've both gone through, they probably couldn't "go back to how they were before", Alex would still think that's what Tim thought would happen.

"I found myself hitting the ground/I held my breath incase I drown"

Kind of a stretch, but it's like implied(? that the operation sickness symptoms mimic drowning, such as the coughing and stuff. I mostly got this from night mind's videos lol

"I should've known when to let go/And when to see who I was being"

Alex maybe thinking back(? to how he should've tried to get help when he noticed himself growing more paranoid, aggressive, etc because of the operator.

--

Song 40: Dead Girls by Penelope Scott

This song to me is more "Tim after MH" than anything else but yeah. It's more in here specifically for timlex because of like one line so. oopsies :3

"Sometimes I see her on the sidewalk/Biking on the wet chalk/Spelling out their names/And I feel insane/Cause I know it's just a game that I'm playing with my brain/I don't see her, but I see her/And I know it isn't real"

Tim after MH hallucinating/having nightmares about Jay/Brian/Alex.

"But I fake it anyways/Pull a smile and wave/Nod and look away/Wait for it to fade/But it happens all the time/People say it's fine/My roommate says they're killing us/But we're killing ourselves"

Him ignoring the hallucination/nightmare or maybe playing along with it(? to at least pretend that they're still alive. I know they don't really interact much in post-MH, but the roommate thing could refer to Jessica? Since it's kinda like. excluding her from "people say it's fine", which would make more sense since she actually went through MH too lol

"I'm surrounded by/Dead girls on the road/Dead girls on my phone/Dead girls, where do they go?/All of the fucking/Dead girls, all around/Dead girls in my town/Dead girls, I don't know/Dead girls, where do they go?"

"On the road" could refer to Jessica, still alive but a reminder of MH. "On my phone" well. marble hronets channel. "Where do they go?" could refer to the ark? lol

"And it'd be wrong to say I miss them/I didn't really know him/I just had a couple friends who say they knew him well/He'd seemed like something special/Really, don't they all?/I guess before you're gone, it can be kinda hard to tell"

THIS IS THE TIMLEX LINE!!!!!!!!! Tim might start feeling like he misses Alex even if (in this song's case) they didn't date before MH nor did they really know each other. He'd probably start thinking about how Alex was literally just some guy and then he had to go through something similar as Tim, but he just 'couldn't handle it well'.

"And if all you ever see are dead girls/If all you hear is terrible news/Maybe it's not all about them, the dead girls/Maybe it's more about you/The living need attention too"

In a way, this could be seen as how Alex said that Tim was the source: "if everyone around you gets operator sickness, why do you think it is?"

--

YEAH if you wanna add anything. go ahead!!!

[festivalofthe12]

SO this is probably something covered in the manga which I have since entirely forgotten, but. The Juunishi thing is reincarnation, right? As in, whenever the old Horse or Dog or whatever dies, they're soon/immediately after reborn as another new Sohma family baby?

Obviously there are metatextual reasons why the main characters are mostly grouped around the same rough generational range... but if you think of it that way, it makes more sense: in modern days, there's not that much variation in how old people get before they die, so it kinda makes sense that they tend to die and therefore be reborn at within a couple of decades of one another? maybe????? (of course this has been going on for a Long Time and stuff like infant mortality or just death at a young age due to injury/illness used to be much more common but. ignore that. maybe.)

ANYWAY my point is. Could Sohma adults potentially try to game the system and time it such that their kids will be born around about when older Juunishi members die? Thus giving themselves a way better chance of having their kid be one? (For those who would care about that, which we know at least some do.)

Specifically, I'm not sure if we ever got a stated reason for the huge age gap between Yuki and Ayame... but this sure as hell sounds like a plausible one, giving everything we know about Yuki's mum. Like, IDK if she deliberately tried to get the Snake (the Snake, Dog, and Dragon are all very similar in age, so presuming that their previous reincarnations' deaths weren't super sudden, that'd offer better than usual odds of getting at least one) and then realised she could do better, or if she got the Snake but wasn't satisfied and started planning things out for the Big One...

Though. the Rat would most DEFINITELY have been a high risk/high reward goal. Because. This time around, at the very least, the Rat and Cat both ended up the same age. :'D

Which, now that sounds like a fanfic idea just waiting to happen... but in practice, IDK if it would've really changed all THAT much? Yuki's mum would almost certainly have just disowned Kyou lmfao (possibly while trying to hide that he was even hers so she wouldn't be associated with the Cat??? no clue how she'd manage that though. I feel like the two options are some other random woman gets him and immediately the curse is revealed [and the main house would find out about that, ofc] or Kyou fjucking dies. I guess she could try to pass him off on a single father????????)

anyway uhh I know less about Kyou's parents. but. his dad doesn't seem the type to NOT send his kid off to Akito, especially if there was something in it for him.

So if this isn't that wacked-out 'the Cat gets weirdly lost for a while because he grows up with a random dude who doesn't even figure out about the curse for several years making it way harder for the Main House to track him (and honestly given that the juunishi transform when they're too weak and babies are Definitionally Defenceless even this doesn't seem all that realistic)' scenario. I guess the main difference would be just that Kyou and Ayame are siblings. Presumably in this case Kyou still gets raised by Kazuma and everyone knows his mum is his mum but she maintains some level of status by having the Snake. And I guess in this world Ayame gets treated more like Yuki because she doesn't have a better option this time round and is desperate to distance herself from the Cat lmao.

That's about as far as I've thought it through hahahaha because in the end this is more of a Kyou-centric thought experiment than Yuki really. But it's still kinda interesting (to me)!!!!!

[iamacolor]

At the end of the day this was an epic love story and I genuinely believed that these two people would and did do anything for each other however I still felt the show focused a lot more on sunjae being in love/romantic than sol, they gave him all the clinginess (that's not a word lol)/whipped "looser" in love behavior , all the sweeping romantic speeches and declarations (just in the last 2 eps he had at least 3 and we didn't get that from Sol) and I wanted more of that more Sol because sometimes it felt like it was 80% more focused on what he was doing in that regard. Their actions were offset by each other, she traveled time to save him and he loved her for decades and died for her multiple times but otherwise I wanted her to talk about her time spanning epic love for him like he did, I wanted her to be as clingy as him and as prone to dramatics sometimes when it came to their relationship, I wanted them to give her as much as they gave him.

hi anon! that's a really good point actually and i do think some of it is in part due to this specific story (which i liked) but some of it is also due to the genre (romance/kdrama) that has its limitation in how it portrays the dynamics between men and women and often has this imbalance between the leads (that often annoys me).

kdramas often tend to portray men as more proactive in their declaration while the women (who are often supposed to be more emotional because well...they're women :))) ) are reacting to these declarations or grand gestures - it might be because romance as a genre still mostly cater to a female audience and they're trying to make it "dreamier" for the women by having men saying swoony lines etc (which is a shame because as a viewer i love seeing a woman actively in love, loud about it and proactive, it's fun, it's touching. I support women being stupid in love. and being in love isn't just about having someone tell you romantic stuffs and kiss you in the rain it's also about feeling in love and getting to share that and to love someone anyway i'm getting sidetracked) and it might also be because a lot of the times women are "used" as a plot tool to chanel a man's journey and emotions. (same with "skinship" for which a similar dynamic is mixed with how korea seems to value a certain idea of modesty for women and how most of the time the man is the one initiating it no matter who fell first and the women tend to shy away from it in a lot of dramas and don't really get to show that they're excited about it...).

in regard to that i felt that lovely runner kind of was a nice change because although you can see these patterns of writing and storytelling in it like you said and how sunjae is definitely written to be dreamy and make people go "omg what an ideal bf who wouldn't want a man who's so devoted and so overwhelmed by his feelings he acts stupid", sol gets to be a very romantic lead with her own version of several grand gestures, her own sacrifice for the good of the man she loves, her love for him is driving the plot, she defends him from bullies directly and killers more indirectly, she has much more agency than a lot of female leads from the beginning to the end (a lot of the time the female lead's storyline just gets sidetracked or forgotten around ep12 lol), she literally writes an entire movie about him and once she's free from the fear of driving sunjae to his death she is actually much more like him in her behaviour (and also more proactive with physical touches!!). and the moments when sol is like that are some of my faves! i was watching ep16 like omg i love this sol so much why didn't we get more and well the answer is because before she thought if she did something as simple as talk to him he'd die so that kind of dampens the mood.

but then i would say there is an imbalance inherent to this very specific story that i don't mind since it makes up for more angst - and i love that - because a) sol was just his fan at first so it took a while for her to even get in that mindset while he was already crushing on her hard - like when he tried to confess when inhyuk threw the petals and she was like ok maybe we can't be fan and athlete anymore but we can be friends! because in her mind she was thinking about how to stay close to him so she could save him for sure while he was like sol please be my gf b) and then sol was never free from the burden of what she saw as her duty (ie. saving him) the whole time they interacted until ep16 and so she never could let herself be too clingy (clinginess is a word i think btw and if it's not it should be!) or super romantic (although she did allow herself some very cheesy puns) because most of the time she was either trying to make big changes in his life or trying to stay away from him as much as possible and so she had to show restraint constantly (and that's actually a very common trait in a male character in romance - not just kdramas but also like romance novels which i read a lot of lol - they're always like no i have to stay away because i could bring danger to my loved one, because i have a dark past or i'm not good enough for them, too dangerous or tainted to say i love you and to shackle them to me and my fate etc gosh life is so hard when you're a romance lead) while sunjae was literally just a guy standing in front of a girl he liked and trying to make it happen most of the time, he didn't really see anything else at stake lol and even once he did you could tell he was just a 19 yo trying to cheer his girlfriend up knowing she's also trying to save him and he kind of walks into his big gesture without really planning it.

and that to me is what truly created this imbalance because she did her sacrifice but unlike his that was very visible (he literally got stabbed in front of her and still made sure to not let go until she was safe) her own sacrifice was to make sure he never saw her (which obviously plays into the less proactive type of representation because her grand gesture is to walk away but also that makes it all so tragic because she choses to endure her pain knowing it's going to last rather than risk death which stops everything ). And all of that meant also she could only say she liked him - either "too late" (but thankfully not really because he still liked her) when they were already adults or "before it's too late" when she prepares to say goodbye to him at the seaside and she doesn't want him to feel too entangled with her, she doesn't want him to be too sad this time - or when she made speeches about her love for him, how big and strong it was, how steadfast she stood in her desire to see him safe before anything else, how much she loved him...(and especially in those last 2 eps - and to me that cound as declarations) but she had to say them indirectly by pretending she was either talking about her character or someone else because she couldn't tell the truth directly to sunjae. so technically sunjae heard her say (and also read her) that she loves him very much, that she's ready to sacrifice her own hapiness for his live etc but it was all retroactively which is quite bittersweet. i do wish we could've had her say these things directly to him but at the same time i understand that once he remembers everything and understands she was talking about him and they can finally be together, they prefer to focus on their future rather than on their multiple pasts.

also i like that by the end they both waited so many years before reuniting - because when it was just sunjae who had done the yearning from afar and who still had feelings it made him stand out in a way because wow look at the sheer size of his feelings no wonder he gets a little stupid when she comes back into his life and clearly he's the big romantic once between them. and now they both did the waiting, the yearning, the let me sacrifice my life (or at least life as we know it) for you, the "omg what do i do now that they're back!!!!" and that kind of eases the differences between them.

all this to say i mostly agree but also if it brings more romantic angst i quite like it dghjdfgqsjk

[mydysfunctionalvampirefamily]

Now that my secret identity has been revealed (by me) I shall bravely soldier on like nothing has changed and scream into the void.

Wynn! I know subtlety is not your strong suit, but damn.

Look at them! They're actually just talking and not arguing! I'm so proud.

Guys, I'm gonna be real honest. They've been talking for like 10/15 minutes now and I don't really know whats going on, my brain is so tired. I tried relistening. Absolutely nothing was retained. I might have to do this episode again, or maybe just not and see how big of a issue this will be.

So far I know that the sabat is attacking and they are debating what to do.

Johnny asking Miles to be his date. 👀 We all. Know Miles is saying hard to get.

😂😂😂Britta idk what you were expecting they'd say, but I know you didn't expect them to go oh okay no problem, because you're smarter than that.

Britta you cannot stay with Eden, there are people who would be upset. Here in the real world.

I mean Britta or someone needs to reach down deep inside her, if you know what I mean. 😏

This is hard though, because I totally get what Johnny is saying, but my social anxiety is agreeing with Britta. Tbh I'm surprised she hasn't just walked into the sun.

Neil, sweetheart, baby, love of my life. What is going on with you and the obsession with Britta? Like you are grilling her way too hard, and this is not the first time. Is this because she was kidnapped? Idk it's very strange, I can't place it.

Poor Britta, so much has happened to her that I had completely forgotten that Shaw had promised to 'give' her to some Bruja.

Johnny you don't know the half of Britta and Pendragon.

Wynn, you're a goddess for offering to go with Pendragon.

NEIL?!??! WHAT THE FUCK???? Idk if this is confirmation bias or what but you're being so weird about Britta!

Wynn: can we let Britta choose how she comes (to this). 😏 I'm so sorry, I am Really tired.

Neil: Britta, how do you wanna come?😂

Omg Wynn: I like mouth stuff. 😂😂 Thank god I am not alone on this train.

Do aunts and uncles usually talk about sex at thanksgiving???? That feels very unamerican.

Aw Britta I get you, being scared is the absolute worst. And having to do smth you're scared of sucks.

Wynn being her guidance councillor self.

Wow look at Johnny being all tactful and doing this dividing the invitation.

Neil, goddamn that is so sad. Why would Johnny just tell you good luck?? Dude you are a part of this coterie! When will you get that into your thick skull?

Wynn immediately catching it. She had a full time psychologist job with this coterie damn.

Miles just being a shithead: I heard you got invited to a ball recently.

Miles: I am used to being hated. (😭 what is going on you guys??? Youre the best!)

Miles actually thought that Wynn hated him now. Goddamn Wynn, I hope you charge by the hour.

Hell yeah, Britta!! I know this is all under duress, but if you can stop yourself from fleeing the scene when Pendragon shows up (which I wouldn't blame you for, let me be clear) the you're going to do a great job at this rave!

What if Delgado brings Carmen and Britta is going to get sucked into some bisexual maelstrom.

Neil!!! Sweet lord, why does it sound like you exactly know what's going on and yiu just want to hear her say it. Calm down.

Johnny getting a new jacket for Britta without question. 🥰

Neil omg are you seriously going to steal that jacket back??? Is this a weird Britta thing? Or a weird ownership of stuff thing? Or both or neither?

We all knew it, but it's still gratifying to see Miles being a great boy toy.

I don't think anyone has called a Bruja rave a soiree before. Lmao

Lmao Neil being pulled around by Jane.

Okay say what you want but this Rave is making everyone look good!!

Lmaooo Jane just collaring Neil without explanation. 😂

Wait what diablerist?? Ohh because of the trial??

Jane is the best, I love her.

I know it's such a small thing overall, but I love the mount of detail we always get clothes wise. It really helps me visualise, even though my visualisations are often wrong and offend people (see: Johnny's shaved head and Britta's light blonde curls)

Whethers is such a dream boat!

Johnny doing his iron heart thing. 🥰 I know he has done it a few times alrwady but it always warms my heart.

[miss-bvnny]

Cinderella sequels multiverse theory + Anastasia's reward for repentance

Do I have your attention? Great! Let me explain what I mean:

For those unfamiliar, Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time (2007) tells the story of Lady Tremaine getting ahold of Fairy Godmother's wand, and using the magic as a means of enacting revenge on Cinderella and finally climbing the social ladder by using Anastasia as a pawn. Cinderella eventually undoes this chain of events thanks to the mice, and Anastasia's conscience as she realizes this is all wrong.

Anastasia is at first coerced into the scam enticed by the thought of the prince loving her. However, as time passes Anastasia realizes that this is NOT what she wants. Especially not through these means. The prince loves her because he's been tricked into thinking she's Cinderella via Among Us Imposter means. Anastasia wants someone to love her for who SHE is, not for who they THINK she is.

This movie takes place on Cinderella and the Prince's first anniversary. Meaning it's been a year since the wedding at the end of the first movie, and LESS than a year since Cinderella 2.

Now, this movie came out in 2007. Cinderella 2 came out in 2002. Many of you might remember Anastasia and the baker falling in love in Cinderella 2. Which, to sharp-eyed Disney Nerds, was never once mentioned in Cinderella 3. Anastasia laments that she wishes there was someone who would love her the way the Prince loves Cinderella

But...what about the baker??? If the story with the baker in Cinderella 2 had really happened at this point...she PROBABLY wouldn't be singing this?? And before you say ''They obviously just forgot about that aspect of Cinderella 2'' HOLD ONTO THAT until after you hear what I've got to say.

At the end of Cinderella 3, when the prince finds the REAL Cinderella and the truth is uncovered, Fairy Godmother asks them if they'd like the true timeline to be restored, as they're currently in a botched false timeline created through Tremaine's meddling. They choose not to return to the present, instead electing to fall in love and have their first year all over again. In layman's terms...Cinderella 2 is now obliterated. It happened, then the timeline change occurred, and now it's going to happen again. Basic Back To The Future timeline meddling plotline stuff.

So here's the meat of my theory: Anastasia doesn't meet the baker until after the timeline reset. It was her reward from a higher power (God, Fairy Godmother, True Love, etc) for doing the right thing and coming clean to Cinderella and the kingdom instead of going along with Tremaine's scheme. She's shown to be visibly uncomfortable with being a piece in her mother's game. And despite obvious fears of consequences, she confesses at the wedding. Something that...I have to imagine must've been hard to do with such a horrible mother and Drizella breathing down her neck. She did the right thing, despite fearing the outcome. Something worth rewarding.

Now remember when I said I didn't think they'd ''forgotten'' about the baker? During the end credits, they show a bunch of really cute painterly portraits of the cast presumably taking place after the movie. And...what's the FIRST one they show???

SHA-BOOEY!!!

Now...this CLEARLY isn't an airtight theory, but in my defense...all time travel movies are VERY messy to a degree. My fallback explanation for any cracks in the case is Cinderella 2 actually takes place after 3, in the new timeline. THAT'S how the story of Anastasia in love manages to be present in THAT movie.

Anyway all this is to say that you should REALLY watch Cinderella 3 if you haven't already because it is GENUINELY one of the cutest disney sequels, and I REALLY love Anastasia's character in the latter Cinderella movies <3