#this is hypothetical because I have a family

[p1n-p0int]

Honest to gods, I'm working on that that hc, but hear me y' all...

I have a "Ghost who's too closed off due to his trauma, doesn't talk about his past nor his work (the details he's allowed to say), and a reader who is desperately trying to save him from drowning in his self-hatred, and everything seems fine between them til the day before Simon's countless employments where reader pokes the bear too hard and Ghost snaps at them before leaving for the base" agenda running free in my mind

Like man, he loves you but the constant betrayals he went through, both familial and work related, before making him unable to let you into his comfort zone properly. Don't get me wrong; this man loves you to death and could do anything and everything, illegal or not, for you at the drop of the hat, but the thought of you knowing about his past? It sends him spiralling.

Thus why he doesn't see any issue in keeping you at arm's length and out of his business 'til the night before he has to depart for a mission.

You randomly begin to talk about hypothetical marriage and children you two are going to have one day. A happy life together you wanted for yourself and Simon... He threw you a side-glance telling you to drop it, he told you twice when you insisted on interrogating him as to why a loving family he could come back to from employment sounds bad... He has never meant to verbally snap at you the way he did - you backing away from his reach zone and putting a heavy kitchen table between him and you as an additional barrier, your brain was terrified of the man you were seeing in front of you. But it was not your Simon that was speaking, it was some twisted, traumatized soldier? child? part of him peaking its sorrowful head out, that much you knew - triggered his traumas. He couldn't hold it in. You pushed way too many times and his glass-like wall broke under the pressure.

When he was done ranting off to the grimy image in his head and looked up at you, scared of him, he bolted, grabbing his things and running out of your shared flat, not able to face you and the look on your face that's going to haunt him for the rest of his days. Because, sworn with a hand to his heart, he thought he singlehandedly ended the relationship there and then.

I don't have detailed route options for this one, but definitely, just like for Price, I'm planning for:

that hits all the raw points and talks about all the important topics of mental health, PTSD, self-worth and trust issues, you name it basically. A bit darker, with Ghost literally going through it to make himself better for the reader and first and foremost himself. (Groveling on his knees, fix-it route)

Ghost coming back from the employment, determined to discuss the previous fight with them, explain his side of view... Only to find the reader long gone from their apartment. (Angst route)

[gtwscratch]

okay now I wanna know

any idea on how to work the games into your lab au? (if they’re going to be something you do add)

like did scar and grian used to share a cell before grian hurt him so bad he couldn’t forgive himself and ask to get moved so he wouldn’t hurt him again?

did scott think back to how everyone treated him and how he treated them? how he should’ve snapped back? gotten some sort of revenge? or did he just blame it on the games, hiding and pushing his feelings further and further down until he couldn’t feel?

did pearl avoid scott in their cell for months after what he did to himself because she knows their bond meant nothing as he held cleo’s dead/unconscious body?

did martyn savor every second he had for months not knowing when his time would run out? when the ticking would stop? the sound of waves crashing still hitting his ears, but never there?

did scar think of poppies and lilacs every second after? did scar think back to the desert? to the cold freezing nights? to the cactus ring? to the panda reserve? to the weak bond between them because grian couldn’t face his own feelings in worry the doctors and nurses and workers would find out and punish him?

did cleo become disoriented for weeks and months, never knowing if her movements were her own? arms aching and sore, headaches pounding, fatigue prominent, collapsing on the floor afterwards?

did joel feel happy he was able to maintain a good relationship with everyone after or did he feel it was all in vain? that winning meant nothing if his friends weren’t there to enjoy it with him? that a dumb car, a stupid cherry mountain, and powers meant nothing to his *family?*

asking the philosophical questions here, scratch

Damn, that is a LOT.

I’m sorry to disappoint, but the games themselves have really nothing to do with my AU. It’s primarily based off of Wild Life, of course, because of the powers. But other than a couple of relationships (romantic and platonic) that I liked from past seasons and wanted to incorporate, Third-Real Life have nothing to do with the plot. I might reference it every now and again, but they aren’t super important.

If you meant if I’d add them in as a hypothetical, I have no idea other than, like.. simulations?? Idk. If you wanted another Lab AU that included them with more thought than I have, @the-solar-eclipsed has one that they’ve started to work on.

[theallianceofcelestials]

Tinder Anon back, I had a few funny ideas for the hypothetical tinder arc for Kc-

The first one, he gets super obsessive over the family phone and doesn’t let anyone use it/touch it. Ie, hiding it somewhere in the kitchen or just somewhere high where the others can’t reach, or just keeping it on his person at all times (maybe in neck ruffles somehow? If he even has those, I don’t remember his design XD)

And second, one of the animatronics he messages on Cindr just… ghost him. And he gets confused and he’s just like Why? And of course his family notices because he’s just sad and confused that he’s being ignored online. Then he finally says that he got a dating app and Eclipse and Lunar are having complete opposite reactions (because Lunar is probs the only other one of them who knows what dating/dating apps are)- Lunar is dying laughing and Eclipse is just panicking because his father is trying to date someone.

Anyways I just thought I should share my silly goofy ideas

Hey Tinder Anon! Been a while!

Killcode would probably become obsessive over the family phone because he's being secretive. And he doesn't want any of his family members to accidentaly see a text from his 'beau'. He'd be mortified and forever humiliated if any of his brothers found out he was trying dating. Especially after what happened with the last time he dated, back before the prison, where he ended up in tears pathetically crying face-down in the grass.

(Here's a little part from the first chapter that describes him: His casing split in an incriminatingly familiar fashion, between a stark white and a black so deep, it shone blue. Dark buttons sitting under a deep red ruffle, nightcap a bruising dark blue trailing behind him, dirtying the cute fat little sickly yellow stars, fur trimming illuminated by deep red optics, thorn pants, the same colour as the facsimile of a sleeping accessory sporting suspicious stains.

Just your basic KC design with the slightest tweaks. Lunar's design is the most unique out of the entire family, cuz Eclipse uses the body that he did when he had the star and in which he died, Bloodmoon is first iteration, everyone else is the same and Lunar is a mix of all his designs actually, even the thumbnail one)

If someone ever ghosted him he'd lose it. He'd start rage cooking+baking, beating the dough to whatever he's making with such fierceness he scares at least Eclipse, who hasn't ever seen that before. He'd come to the prideful conclusion that the person who ghosted him is an idiot, because first of all, he was honest about his looks, second of all, he didn't lie about his family situation so he put it in his profile he has kids, and third, he's a catch thank you very much!

If they found out, Lunar would alternate between laughing his ass off, being grossed out, or just staring blankly ahead, because a potentional partner of his dad is a threat.

And yeah, Eclipse would just keel over from stress and anxiety by that point, and he'd cry to Bright about it. Who'd maybe try pretending to be understanding.

[lirri-eats-eyes]

actually going back to this, i only have one disagreement with this post.

"The Grishaverse doesn't seem to have any form of homophobia;" i was conflicted about this because on one hand, this could just be a product of bardugo having to work within our society's already-heternormative standards to give the story structure and make it understandable for readers, but on the other hand, i think bardugo deserves more credit than that. i think there are deliberate instances of the characters or society showing homophobia that add to the story's overall setting.

im going to list some examples here, and then maybe try to analyze why they exist in the end

example number 1:

(bear with me i don't have access to the first book currently) but jesper talks about "flirting with girls" while bonding with wylan, who is more of a stranger that the crows are holding at arm's length at this moment. after wylan asks "only girls?" jesper grins and amends his statement, saying no, not only girls. this could hypothetically just be a product of a society that accepts queerness but where heterosexuality happens to outnumber any other type of attraction, but this could also be jesper testing the waters because he knows wylan is a) a stranger and b) a son of a merch. i think that with the second interpretation we can set up the idea that queerness is generally seen as "less high class" and that maybe those in the crow gang don't really give a shit (and perhaps embrace it as something that seperates them from the upper crust), but wealthier people in power do in fact care.

example number 2:

wylan's status as van eck's heir is pretty important to the plot (and VERY important to van eck). i figure a society that puts so much weight on heirs and family name probably has difficulty being normal about relationships where reproduction cannot occur. although, wylan never "comes out" to his father and we can't see his reaction (and never really displays any anxiety about coming out as much as he displays anxiety about his dyslexia [?] being revealed) so that might be something that discredits this evidence. in any case, even if homophobia doesn't exist in this society to the extent that it exists here, i have not trouble imagning van eck mocking wylan for another thing he can't do (have a biological heir with jesper)

example number 3:

again, an example of how straight interactions are kinda seen as the norm (and again could be written off as them just being more common in this universe). however, the other point that matters is that matthias's society has specific standards for different gender roles. i don't think it's impossible for a society to have split gender roles while also being normal about gender-queerness, but i think bardugo also knows well enough that matthias's explanation of Fjerdan gender roles can be reflected in the Real World. i personally think that we are supposed to read his and the broader Fjerdan values as pretty sexist without necessarily drawing direct comparisons to any specific culture, even though one can be tempted to with the way the grishaverse nations are introduced. that all to say, i think Fjerdan culture, with the way matthias explains it, would not take too kindly to trans people.

fourth example, tw for sexual assault.

example number 4:

this is when inej describes her indentured work at tante heleen's. a man gets upset that he cannot "perform" (likely referring to his body not 'properly' reacting to inej's) and hits her to vent his frustration at himself because he sees her as an object. setting aside the horror of this scene, this implies that on some level, there is shame that comes with a man not being able to have sex with a woman. this could be a high-ranking man, which refers back to van eck's obsession with producing an heir, or this could just be an average man, which means on some level lack of attraction to the opposite sex could mean some sort of shame

those are all the examples i remember. i think it's no mistake that bardugo usually uses examples of straight relationships being expected or strict gender roles to describe the oppressive cultures or people she wrote. i also think it's no mistake that she does not write characters "making a big deal" out of jesper, wylan, kuwei, or nina's queerness; i think this is her using fantasy as the venue for escapism that it usually is, while also managing to tackle real-world issues in metaphor.

SOC and CK allegories for the queer characters (and other thoughts)

I was going to make a separate blog to yell about books but I decided to do it here.

I AM NOT DONE CROOKED KINGDOM AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS SO EVERYTHING I SAY IS HAVING ONLY READ HALF THE BOOK SO FAR.

The Grishaverse doesn't seem to have any form of homophobia, but SOC and CK are chalk fulllllllll of what I can only see as plots that mimic queer experiences for the queer characters in the main group.

We have four queer characters (that I know of at the moment): Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Kuwei.

So let's start with the obvious, three of the four are Grisha. Obviously not all Grisha are queer, but all the Grisha in the party are. This gives them an automatic plotline of "hide who you are".

It could be said that since Nina is Ravkan she wasn't raised that way, and no, she wasn't. However since leaving Ravka she has been forced to hide for her safety, and not only that but she is frequently told she's "too much" which sounds a lot to me like what some people say about queer people when they think queer people should be less queer. Also Matthias is all about being "traditional" and "proper" and Nina's whole thing is that she is neither. Traditional and proper sound a lottttt like some people's arguments to be homophobic.

Jesper's I think is rather obvious. His father has a clear concern for his son being Grisha since it can put your life at risk. In Jesper's argument with his dad he goes off and asks his dad why did he never let him go to Ravka where he could be himself and learn about himself and his powers. Oh not to mention the fact that him and his dad talk around him being Grisha like it's some sort of virus that can be caught by simply speaking the word.

Kuwei's took a second to hit me but when it did I was like "ah yep, makes sense" and this is probably because it took me a hot second to realize Kuwei was queer. Yeah, apparently him being jealous that Jesper only looked at Wylan a certain way didn't tip me off... ANYWAY THOUGH. Kuwei is also told to hide who he is, but his dad goes the extra length of literally making a drug to help him hide himself. Is it giving anyone else Dorian's dad from Dragon Age vibes??? Blood magic for the gay son???

FINALLY, I will talk about my baby, the character I love more than anything else. Wylan. Here's the thing about Wylan, while I was reading SOC I wasn't sure if homophobia existed in this world yet and I was half convinced that his dad disowned him because gay. While his dad obviously didn't do that, I still think at the end of the day it portrays an experience that is very similar. Wylan is shamed, hidden, and ultimately his dad tries to have him killed, all because he can't read. His dad loathes him over such a stupid reason, especially since Wylan is absolutely brilliant at tons of stuff and the cutest lil guy. But I think it's that hatred of his son over something so trivial that really lends itself to being about something else entirely, Wylan being queer.

All four of our queer characters in the main group have different plots, but ultimately they all circle around the idea of hiding who you are and being ashamed of who you are. That sounds like a very common queer experience if you ask me.

I don't know if this was intentional or just a huge coincidence. As a writer myself I am all too aware of how easily accidental metaphors and symbols can happen. But I think about it a lot as I'm reading so I wanted to shout about it either way. I also have no clue if this is a common idea or not, I just know when I pointed it out to my friends who had read the books prior, one of who loves and reads them yearly, they both kinda went "oh damn, you right," but didn't see it before I mentioned it.

Anyway, if I missed things (or you wanna yell at me about how wrong I am, which is usually the more likely option) I'd love to know thoughts :)

AND BONUS THOUGHTS

This one is super obvious but I just wanna say it. Jesper is ADHD and no one will change my mind in the history of ever. This man cannot sit still, has been described as having limitless energy, and he seeks constant immediate gratification in the form of gambling and adrenalin rushes. COME ON MAN. I know I know, there's a lore reason, something something Grisha not using magic blah blah. No. No. He is ADHD and you cannot tell me otherwise. And I love him dearly.

Also, not a theory or anything but, y'all, I love Wylan so much. I just wanna give him a hug and a lollipop and tell him it's okay. He's so cute.

[solis-angelus]

Sorry, this is a dumb question. Hypothetically, if a person checks themselves into a mental hospital/rehab how much money do they need to pay? What if the person has no family or doesn't want bother their family with shit, so is going alone like enough? (Asking for a book thing)

[If u respond, please mention the respective country]

[puhpandas]

I literally cant imagine beckory any age below 14 because it only works if tony develops as a person and also if they're a bit older + gregory has had time to get used to having friends and family 😭 which is why 12yo default gregory is still 100% a family boy aka his new fam is all he needs for the time being

[dailycupoftrauma]

It's wedding season y'all

[porekawa]

[grinchwrapsupreme]

book runs based on tv shows are usually mediocre at best, like star trek, torchwood, doctor who, etc etc, but i would give anything to get a book run of the BBC Ghosts hotel i need to know what shenanigans those guys get up to in there

[todayisafridaynight]

NO YOU’RE SO RIGHT ABOUT THE MAJIMA STUFF THOUGH. GOD. God forbid you speak poorly about the fandom silly guy etc etc. I rt’d one post about someone being annoyed abt majima getting an insane amount of merch (especially compared to other characters- even other PLAYABLE characters) and suddenly my TL is filled with ppl taking it as a personal attack….. like?? Settle down???

My one fear is that instead of Mine content we’re just gonna get Majima Saga 2 for yk3 and rgg will call it a day. WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY ABOUT THE GUY !!! GENUINELY!!!

at this rate we’re going to have a complete record of Majima’s life from birth until modern day bc you knowww they’re never gonna let the cash cow die or retire. + god I lowkey need the 3jimas to break up Now so saejima and daigo can stand on their own again (w/out being overshadowed by Majima)…. Saejima especially… I miss the days when he felt like a character………

(I may have a lot to say on the topic) (he’s a fun character but at this rate I’m getting so sick of the fandom around him)

gen is kinda funny how when there's the Monthly Critique Of Majima post on twitter the rggtwt part of the tl is flooded with majima fans being upset. its like clockwork really LOL

as for saejima, i do miss him being solo... like he's funny with majima at times, but as wack as Y4 was i still really liked his coliseum scene, and his prison adventures in Y5 were a real treat too..

[stellar-jay]

when i read the tawny man trilogy i made a lot of guesses and predictions on what would happen, and yet "they get fucking married" was so securely not on my bingo card it took me out. i think i joked abt it but it was not ever seriously considered by me. it was so not seriously considered by me that the fool CONFESSING wasnt even on my bingo card, i thought hed never do it.

likewise, for the fitz and the fool trilogy, i could not have, in a million fucking years, ever would have guessed, ever, "fitz and the fool have a biological child together."

[salemontrial]

Firing rent lowering gunshots by admitting that i dont care what happens surrounding mks origin im dying on the spicynoodles ship.

[arctic-hands]

My parents make better friends than they ever did spouses and like that was painfully obvious to me at age ten to the point I was pleading with god during my christian years by saying "I know divorce is a sin but I'll take the punishment if you let them divorce" but for whatever fucking reason they thought it was better for me to wait until I was eighteen to split and then they marvel at how all my romantic options just end up being friends and how lonely I am romantically

[aritany]

i’m beginning to think there’s a kind of indestructibility that comes with the territory of your first heartbreak being from your parents.

like, what are you going to do to hurt me? my superheroes chose religion over me. good try though

[policemanofprincesspark]

https://www.tumblr.com/policemanofprincesspark/764194096140222464/do-you-think-there-is-a-possibility-that-f-is?source=share

People who believe F is Louis son don't think "Louis chose to have him". They think he got BJ pregnant by accident and then she insisted on keeping the baby. The news leaked and he got ahead of that and announced it. It wasn't a situation he welcomed at all but the law makes him pay child custody so he can't do anything about it.

Why do you act like he's a victim in a situation like that? If that's the case, then he recklessly had sex unprotected with a woman he barely knew in a country he didn't live in. And yet, you've made multiple posts in which you claim Briana "forced" a baby on him. What kind of misogynistic (not to mention stupid) view is that?

[gay-artificer]

Honestly the idea of slugcats existing in a sort of space where they are capable of 'moral' thought but not having a full structural concept of it in like, slugcat culture is kinda an interesting thought. Like they have sympathy as a personality value that governs a willingness to do harm, particular in terms of slugpups being unwilling to eat live food like centipedes if it has high enough values, if i recall right.

Which does seem to at least a basis for slugcats having an internal capacity (or lack of) for violence, and at least some understanding of what the 'weight' of choosing to harm something is- enough to potentially have a discomfort with it just by their personal nature. The idea of experiencing guilt for a natural, accepted and expected behavior without otherwise having a full understanding of what guilt is even is interesting.