#my bad for the long ass post

[soo-won]

What is your opinion of Minsoo and Lili characters?

They both seem neutral, but Minsoo gave Yona information during the xing War, and Lili took Yona's side in the same war.

Suwon is completely alone.

Hi Anon, thanks for the ask!

I don't see Lili and Minsu as "neutral" and I don't think it really works to take it this way to be honest. They're not neutral and don't pretend to be, they definitely have stakes and their own personal reasons to act the way they do with both Yona and Suwon. Rather, I think it's more that they don't feel that their loyalty to one of them is exclusive and cancels out their respect/loyalty for the other? You could say it's the case for most characters today, but yeah I guess they can be paired to say they had this stance before the official Yona-Suwon alliance and the developments that followed that made it just easier and like the "right" thing to do to support both of them. Like, Lili and Minsu were doing it when it had actual negative consequences to Suwon's reign (Lili hinting at the truth of the coup to soldiers, Minsu helping Yona with the Taejun strategy, and then in the castle arc calling Yona when Keishuk was about to get Hak executed etc). I think it shows their resistance of blind loyalty and following orders to instead follow their own free will when they're against something, on top of their affection/respect for Yona.

Also both characters' feelings towards Suwon and Yona are pretty different since Minsu was more directly involved and impacted by Suwon's coup. Like, Minsu has personal resentments towards Suwon and Keishuk for using him to kill and hurt the King and Princess he was happy and content serving, and then making him serve Suwon which made him feel intense guilt. He was also wounded and is now disabled from that night. Minsu appreciated Suwon and Keishuk honestly and they were childhood friends (that one panel of Minsu laughing with Keishuk lives rent free in my head like what on Earth were they talking about...), so he's very much a victim of a betrayal from people he trusted too. By the Xing arc Minsu doesn't really seem content serving Suwon because of all these reasons and it's more like he's forced into it. However once he meets with Yona again and makes him feel forgiven (I never really enjoyed that chaptersince I don't think he had to be "forgiven" by Yona for anything, but I get what it meant to him), I think he was free of the feeling it's a terrible sin to serve Suwon and started using that very position to help Yona.

So, yeah, if you had to choose one "side" Minsu is on, he's probably more on Il and Yona's side. After all, Il is a lord he "chose" to serve, whereas Suwon was pretty much imposed to him when he least wanted it. Minsu's role by that point was to be a character serving Suwon that actually feels more for Yona and help her "against Suwon". However does that make him strictly Yona's follower? I don't think so either. After all the one he is serving right now is very much still Suwon and he doesn't resist against it or give up everything to join Yona instead. Maybe it's because he contractually can't because of the illness, but personally I don't really feel like that's the only reason. To me it feels more like Minsu has accepted his position as Suwon's physician and is content with it despite his conflicted feelings.

Minsu's "neutrality" stems from the pretty unique fact that he is really familiar with both Suwon's and Yona's past background. Hak only knew the Yona/Il part. Keishuk only knew the Suwon/Yuhon part (Judo also witnesses a bit of both but is in another different position). Minsu knows the environment Suwon grew up in, knows about the Crimson Illness, was here when Yuhon and Yonhi died and felt for them, and then became Il's physician and witnessed the environment Yona lived in and Il's death and felt for them as well. In a way, that makes it that today he's probably one of the character who has seen the most of Suwon's life. He knows both the dynamic of Suwon and Yuhon's faction and the dynamic Suwon had with Yona and Hak.

He is also the first character that knew about Suwon's illness and to whom Suwon showed himself physically more vulnerable. He's the one servant that sees the most of Suwon's vulnerability in general I'd say. Like when he questions Suwon about his actions hurting Yona again in Xing, or witnessing everything happening between main trio in the castle arc and later. This unique history makes him aware of Suwon's own circumstances and unable to completely reject and blame him for everything either. Like he says in Xing, part of him believes that Suwon as a King probably can't advance embracing kindness, but he can't really swallow the idea of others and particularly Yona suffering from the consequences either since he also believed in Il's peaceful ideology.

I've felt very neutral about Minsu for a long time if not a bit annoyed by him because "one more character siding more with Yona than Suwon" etc etc... But I have to admit that the more it goes the more I am endeared by his relationship with Suwon. Maybe he can never forgive him or Keishuk as he said before, but in practice he interacts with them on a daily basis and work together very functionally? There is no conflict, they just...cooperate normally, even if there can be tension. Like you could criticize akayona for the pattern of every character ending up warming up to Yona eventually but lowkey I think it's often the same for Suwon.

Many characters aren't immune to him either and can't help but understand where he comes from and try to sympathize. Maybe it started as just a job and a duty to Minsu, but to me it looks like he seriously got into it, no? I don't think he simply hates Suwon. Similarly to Yona (even if probably much less intense) it feels more nuanced than that.

Minsu is also very serious and determined about his job and finding a cure to the Crimson Illness. Maybe it's also partly for Meinyan and Yona's sake like it is for Yun, maybe it's for his pride as a physician, maybe it's because Suwon dying would be a hindrance, but he always runs to Suwon when he''s in need of his expertise, even when Suwon doesn't ask. He seems genuinely concerned about the evolution of Suwon's illness, and he is moved to see Yona and Hak connect with Suwon again. I don't think someone that doesn't care in the slightest and would be against someone would do all that.

When Suwon doesn't believe there's any merit in looking for solutions for his illness, Minsu is the one person insisting to look into the senjusou and exploring all leads without being asked by anyone else. He's the one that asked Keishuk to deploy Hak for it too. Minsu acting on his own accord is first shown in his initiative to help Yona in the Xing and Castle arc, but I'd argue that it also very much shows with Suwon too. And it's a pretty neat thing if he's so dedicated even if only for his own convictions as a physician. That makes him trustable and it shows that any personal grudges he might have doesn't change anything about that. He is loyal to Suwon as his personal physician and it gives Suwon the justice of deserving medical treatment no matter what.

(I've seen people read this part as Minsu being angry at Keishuk, but to me it was always more like Minsu just feels kind of complicated and conflicted about the situation? Minsu was also "close" to Keishuk before, so he must understands how much it means for Keishuk to say something like that and to let Hak go look for the senjusou. Like it just feels more ambiguous than straight up being mad at him...it conveys the seriousness of the situation AND Minsu's mixed feelings about these developments imo. But I admit that may just be my wishful thinking. Like I don't get what on earth Minsu potentially being pissed off at Keishuk would even add and bring to the story here)

I think he can care in this mysterious third secret way precisely because he was friends with Suwon and Keishuk in the past and was fond of Yona and Hak. He inherently has a sense of familiarity with all of them. The fact he respected Il and Yona and was hurt personally by what happened to them also makes it that he sees Suwon differently and allows himself to make comments to him that the other people serving Suwon wouldn't make. Like, that makes him correctly call out Suwon when he's being a bit hmm oblivious? too pessimistic and negative? about Yona and Hak for example, which reveals Suwon's innocence and vulnerability when it comes to them. Such is possible only because Minsu is the only person around Suwon aware of main trio's history and who knows both Suwon and Yona well. Minsu saw how Yona and Suwon used to interact before so he knows perfectly well what makes Suwon feel awkward and unsure sometimes, like, you could say Minsu knows about Suwon's embarassing past or something lol, which is only "embarassing" in the context of Suwon being King and acting like everything before with Yona and Hak was all fake when he visibly cared very much for them.

So even if it's because he's disillusioned about Suwon and that he's feeling for Yona, I don't think it's a bad thing that Suwon has someone with this stance by his side. Minsu can see well through the armor of Suwon as this sound reasonable and pragmatic King, and also see him as a person that happens to be awkward and clumsy when it comes to his relationships with others especially Yona and Hak, without using it against him or pushing him to conceal it even more. In these little moments he treats Suwon like a normal person more than like a King or his lord. And the fact he's moved by main trio connecting and working together to me shows that he is deep down rooting for the three of them to reunite and not be against each other on "different sides".

It doesn't mean Minsu likes and cares for Suwon super super deeply or anything, he was also always more distant from him than Yona and Hak or Keishuk, but there are things he only can see and point out thanks to this distance too imo. So, in what way is Minsu leaving Suwon alone? I would say he barely leaves him alone at all tbh. What does it mean exactly to take someone's side? Minsu might have grudges against Suwon and feel conflicted about his actions and he might even sometimes act "against" him through Yona, but to me it's again part of the misconception that everything has to be a dichotomy between "Suwon's side" and "Yona's side" even if that was a misconception shared in universe by many characters as well. Never has Minsu acted personally against Suwon and try to hurt him as far as I can remember. Helping Yona in Xing wasn't to harm Suwon in any way, it was because he wanted to help Yona not lose her family again. Calling Yona in chapter 201 wasn't against Suwon either, it was because he didn't want Hak to be killed. And even after what Suwon did and tried to do it didn't stop Minsu from treating Suwon the same as his physician in any way.

As long as he helps Suwon and shows concern for him, I'm fine with Minsu having complicated feelings for him and personally prefering Yona as a person or whatever. Like does it really matter when the facts are that he is genuinely concerned about Suwon's health and will never betray his duty to him as a physician? When in the present he argues all the time against Suwon pushing himself too hard and believes in his survival against all odds and Suwon's own beliefs? It's kinda endearing to me too that both Suwon and Keishuk have this guy with them calling them out sometimes but never to their detriment nor making it as dramatic as it is with Yona or Hak. It feels a bit like teasing and something that can only be because they've known each other forever. I also like when Minsu argues a bit with Suwon and Keishuk about not pushing Suwon too hard etc...He's a bit like a needed reasonable force as a physician sometimes, and they allow it and never punish him for any of his oppositions. Maybe that's because they can't afford to get rid of Minsu, but the tension stemming for that is pretty lovely to me...i love their strange coworker bond so much.

Is Minsu that deep? Maybe not, but he's deep enough to simply have complicated and ambiguous feelings towards Suwon and I don't mind that. Him siding with Yona sometimes doesn't erase his efforts to help Suwon, which I can't help but appreciate as a Suwon fan. Is what Suwon need only loyalty, or also people that are simply fair and honest with him?

Like, truly no offense anon but the statement "Suwon is completely alone" is just so sad? :') Even if Suwon is more emotionally closed off from the people around him, he is not alone, and I feel like this just validates Suwon's own insecurities to be honest. I obviously know what you mean when you say "alone", like, yeah he has no one fully supporting and prioritizing him above all else all the time, right? But I don't think it means he's alone at all either.

He was kept alive so far by so many characters around him who, no matter their reasons, desperatly and often risked their life to protect him or follow his orders. He has Hyuri that would do everything for him, he has Judo and Keishuk who even under the prestance of doing it for Kouka's sake also do everything to protect Suwon in every possible ways, even at the cost of their own pride, he has the generals respecting him, he has the people of Kuuto that want to protect Kuuto so their "cute little Won won't cry", he has Yona and Hak that don't leave him alone when he needs help, he has Minsu nursing him, and he has Lili. A friend who despite loving and admiring Yona deeply and criticizing Suwon if he were to harm her, doesn't end their relationship here and comes by to chat with him casually a few chapters later like it doesn't affect their relationship, a friend who wants to protect Kuuto in his absence and runs after him in a collapsing castle. All these little things by all these characters aren't meaningless, Suwon is surrounded by many many people that can't help but care for him! No matter what these characters also do for Yona will never change and erase what they do for Suwon.

Like, when it comes to Lili, the very fact she hangs out with Suwon despite knowing what he did to Yona and feeling bad about it is precisely what makes it so meaningful. Lili is different from Minsu in that she is not familiar with Suwon and Yona's pasts. She had no personal stakes in Suwon murdering Il and doesn't really disagree with the act itself, she only knows Suwon and Yona from their present. She met both of them without knowing their identity either and so got to become more familiar with them completely unbiased about the situation and their relationship. But that doesn't make Lili fully neutral. She cares for both Yona and Suwon simply for who they are as the two people that saved and inspired her, so even if she feels "neutral" about the coup itself and their past, she isn't neutral about them in the present basically.

So of course she is against Yona being captured and killed by Kouka's army and would take her defense. But again it doesn't mean she does it in Suwon's detriment at all either. She says explicitely that she doesn't want to believe it would undermine Suwon's position. She simply didn't want Suwon to kill her. Siding with Yona doesnt mean wanting to hurt Suwon at all. It doesn't change her relationship to Suwon at all actually, this is the wonderful thing about their friendship! It's the reason why she feels hypocritical too, but that's what for example differentiate her from Hak who can't help but have his relationship with Suwon heavily impacted by Suwon and Yona's conflict.

Suwon and Lili's ability to interact casually and like nothing happened even after Lili defending Yona from him in chapter 141, or after them not seeing each other for ages in chapter 261 is the kind of relationship that is extremely good for Suwon! Like, Lili isn't so affected by Suwon not contacting her at all for a while, Lili isn't so affected by the idea Suwon might be annoyed by her actions in the Xing arc, she isn't so affected by the idea Suwon invites her only because it serves him practically etc. Maybe she's a bit harsh in her assumptions that Suwon doesn't care at all sometimes, but this sense of distance coming from this disillusion about him is what permits her to enter so casually Suwon's personal space. She's running straight ahead and often recklessly in dangerous territories, but that frankness is a strength that made her break through some of Suwon's walls as well. So many people in Suwon's life care so so much about anything he says and does one way or another, that someone like Lili that interacts with Suwon not because she expects him to give her anything but just because she wants to is extremely refreshing and moving.

What I think about Lili is that she's one of my favorite thing in the manga and her presence in a chapter has the power to make 100000x happier. She is so important and I love her position between Yona and Suwon. She is so cool and funny. She just feels so fresh. I don't think Lili cares about "Yona's side" or "Suwon's side" so much deep down even if she questions herself about it. She just does whatever she wants to do. She wants to be close friends with Yona and she wants to hang out with Suwon. Maybe that's "incompatible" like she said, but she does it anyways and in the end it...works? Maybe this assumption that such thing such as siding with both at the same time is impossible was never true to begin with and we just needed someone to try it out even before Yona and Suwon's alliance made it pratically more compatible, no? It's similar to the Xing conflict to me in a way. Suwon and Kouren didn't believe avoiding war and an agreement between their two countries was possible, yet Yona made them try anyways and it wasn't perfect or without any sacrifices and grudges but... it worked! They just had to try and surprisingly they even can get along personality-wise.

If you turn it around, does Minsu serving and trying to cure Suwon means he's against Yona and doesn't care about how Suwon hurt her and killed Il? Does Lili hanging out with him casually despite what he did to Yona means that Lili is "against" Yona? Does Yona and Hak defending Suwon mean that they forgot about Il or how he hurt them? Does Hak helping Suwon mean he's against Yona and doesn't care about her? Does Yona not wanting Suwon to die mean she forgives him for killing Il? Of course not, right? These things are not incompatible. The characters can be against and disagree with others for some things, and side with them for others things and still love each other (more or less)...I don't think it's much more deeper than this in the end.

Does Suwon need everyone to agree with him all the time and to follow his every order, or someone that will interact with him like a normal person and an equal? If you ask me, I think he needs both in the context of the story. I sometimes even feel that I wish there was some kind of character just being a Suwon fanatic in universe a bit like Mizari with Kouren for example, things like that... That Suwon had characters for him like Meinyan has Kaji etc... Characters like Hyuri Keishuk and Judo who are loyal to him, or Ogi and the people of Kuuto that love him overtly and will do everything for him are just as important. But he needs not only that but all different kinds of relationships! He needs a Minsu and a Lili and a Hak and a Yona too. As long as all these people will be here Suwon will never be alone. They're here already, even if he struggles to realize just how much he is cared for and admired and trusted. In the end, I think it's just so fitting of him to have all these kind of unconventional and unique relationships. Just believe in his boundless charm Anon <3

[wickedcriminal]

Last Unicorn quote stuck out to me so I gave it to Spider-Fox

(the only person willing to be your friend and he didn't show up until long after you already lost all trust in other people)

[jmr-observingfromafar]

ngl Matangi in Moana 2 was kinda gay. like just a little gay. i mean my girl is a "crazy cat bat lady", calls Moana "babe" twice in her song (the way i audibly gasped in the theater when i heard it lol), and is like sooooo queer coded i love it sm. she just gives off the vibes of sapphic-coded older woman who's played as suave and confident and makes the mc just go "haguphuk" and we all know if this was old disney they would've leaned so hard into that. but i could not have been the only one to keep catching Matangi poking her buttons, the hand on her chin in one scene, just being a total fucking vibe like please i know what you are. that whole scene felt real gay and don't think im leaving Moana out of this one. she is gay, i don't make the rules. i'm stickin with this hc no one can stop me from making Matangi the cool lesbian aunt and NO ONE will stop me from turning Moana gay (Auli'i Cravalho knows what she's doing)

ok im gonna be so real for a second i was simping HARD over Moana's character design in this movie.... like even more than baby me was dying during the first one... like this girl is just- oh my gosh. baby-gay me from 8 years ago would have actually DIED if she'd seen this Moana. it's almost embarrassing how down bad i was during that movie like she's so fucking pretty i wasn't ready for her design. like girls are just too much sometimes, i cant cope .

also side tangent but the lazy ass rewrite of Moana 2 from its planned version as a Disney+ series into a freaking MOVIE was just- so painfully obvious. like they didn't even try reworking it. the structure of the whole movie is painfully episodic and it was just so blatantly shoved into movie format without any care for the integrity of basic movie versus tv structure, so the char dev and pacing was just so rough. like what were the writers even thinkingggg. pretty disappointing but that's ok i have the fandom to make me feel better (moana fan art save me....)

[bamboozled-distress]

was stressing over this case at like 2am and pheonix pissing me off because mayas about to DIE and he’s doing his gayass monologue over edgeworth like don’t make me mad

[jinxpantsu]

Samantha Picota the WolfBride

A young woman desperate for love and attention. Would you be her friend? Or her next mistake?

A brief (Hoyoverse game tier) explanation of her;

When Sami is sold to Eden in the woods, she suffers a string of assaults by his hand and develops an aggressive personality. By refusing to eat whatever he prepares for her and instead picking berries, nuts, and the wolfshrooms from around the cabin (as well as whatever she can steal from Eden's garden when he isn't looking).

From there she eventually develops her ears, and it's not long after that her tail comes as well. It's an appearance Eden takes kindly to, and grooms (trains) her to become an obedient traditional wife. In the mean time, Bailey returns to check on his ward, who hasn't escaped in the time he had suspected of her. Eden is not too kind, and he figured Sami would try her hand at running away by now. He is surprised to find that Sami has stayed and seems in better shape than he thought. This is fine... but she still owes him a significant debt. It won't be paid off by Eden, nor will she pay it herself if she just stays there in the cabin.

A deal is worked out where Sami must come back to town to earn the money. This is the first straw. Work seems hard to come by for Sami. After experiencing a great loss in her sense of self, she no longer trusts your average human. Why beat around the bush with "honest work" ... people in this town only want one thing. If her body is worth something... maybe she can have a consistent income after all.

Thus begins her career as a prostitute. Bailey always said she was one of the prettier looking little shits, and she could use that to her advantage. The downside of this... was that eventually Sami became addicted to the sex. She was always as safe as she could be in a town like that- but that didn't mean Eden approved of it. And he never did.

Despite her obedience to him, she still always left to turn tricks and make her money. She was just an objectified tool of the towns obsession. She was an empty canvas for others to paint on to and she accepted the role as gracefully as she could. An unapproving Eden often beat her for this, and eventually she left and never came back. Eden still sometimes hunts for her. In places close to the forest, in the forest itself when she rarely goes, and into the moor as well.

Although she has had and lost countless relationships since then, none have captured the spark that she had with Eden. Yes... he did beat and yell at her and raped her when she wouldn't willingly put out. He was terrible to her, and she was terrible and unfaithful to him. But deep down she knew he understood her. He wanted better for her, but she didn't know what better was anymore. She misses him, and when left alone to her thoughts for too long while howl in agony, missing her first true love. She misses Eden, for all his nastiness he was tender and gentle, and treated her like her life mattered to him.

If it did once upon a time ago, it doesn't anymore when she finds he's been buying other wards in her place. +Trauma

[spampai]

Noli Timere: Chapter 1-Peregrini Rumores (Pt. 7)

Cut Conversation

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AU MASTERPOST

[lyxchen]

Okay so I've heard this said a bunch of times and I'm gonna admit I thought like that too for a while but no, Gi-hun did not win the games because he was lucky. A lot of people think that's how he won because he never killed anybody but that's really not the point. Gi-hun won the games because a) he's smart and is able to look at things from a different angle, b) because he is a good and kind person who also believes in others and c) because of the goodness and care get got back from other people.

In the first game he survived because Ali saved him and that wasn't luck, that was Ali being a good person and helping somebody not get killed. Ali could've not caught him, let him die, he didn't even know Gi-hun at all at that point and he put himself in more danger too by having to hold on to a person while standing completely still but he still saved Gi-hun because Ali is a good person.

In the Dalgona game he quite literally Was Not Lucky. He decided to go with the umbrella which is the worst shape to pick and he probably would have died if he hadn't looked at the game in a different way and decided to change his strategy. Gi-hun is smart. He is also optimistic and so he tried something new and found a different way to beat that game.

In the third game he survived because he was smart and kind enough to listen to Il-nam. The other people in their group dismissed him as just an old man speaking but Gi-hun didn't and that way they had a good strategy to beat the other team. The same goes for him listening to Sang-woo's idea of running three steps and then stopping, which ultimately was what saved them. His group also chose him as their leader (who, as Il-nam said, needs to not seem weak or loose hope because then the whole team is doomed). His team trusted in him and his optimism and they were right to do so.

In the marbles game he won because he was once again kind and decided to team up with Il-nam and also because in the end Il-nam decided to "sacrifice himself" for Gi-hun because he showed him kindness before. Yes Il-nam didn't actually die but he also knew that Gi-hun had cheated and still let him continue on to the next game, probably because Gi-hun had been good and kind and caring towards him before, even though he really didn't have to be. Gi-hun also didn't know this but by teaming up with Il-nam he inadvertently ensured that Il-nam had a lot more fun in the games than he would have had, had everybody just ignored to "old, fragile man". Gi-hun was good to Il-nam throughout all the games and it ended up saving him in the marbles game.

In the fifth game it's only some small moments as Gi-hun isn't really involved in the game because he's the last number but still it wasn't just luck. First of all he was kind enough to give the number 1 to the player that asked him for it. Yes, that number was bad but he didn't know that and had he been selfish enough to say no to that other player he wouldn't have survived. Being the last to play in any game can end up being bad for you, still he decided to give up the number he picked because the other player asked him to. Secondly he also survived that game because Sae-byeok was kind enough to remind him of which glass tile to step on after he had forgotten which one it was. It's only small but she didn't have to tell him and still she did. Sae-byeok btw is also good to him because before that he was good to her and protected her (even though he was angry at her at first) and that way he was able to gain her trust.

Lastly he won the Squid Game because Gi-hun was kind to Sang-woo and because Sang-woo deep down was still a good person. There were probably many reasons as to why Sang-woo decided to kill himself in the end but part of it, I'm sure, was also because Gi-hun was a good friend to him. I mean Gi-hun was even willing to give up all the money and go back home with nothing gained if it meant that Sang-woo didn't have to die and would be able to come home with him. Gi-hun deserved that win and that money and in the end Sang-woo knew that. He also knew that Gi-hun would make sure to take care of Sang-woo's mother and that he wouldn't just take all the money for himself because Sang-woo knew that Gi-hun is a good person. (Gi-hun technically also won the Squid Game because he was good at it which is also him being smart)

So in conclusion and I hope y'all haven't stopped reading yet: Gi-hun didn't win the games because he was lucky. He didn't just sit around doing nothing and won anyways. He won because he was smart but even more importantly he won because of the kindness and goodness that exists in humans and that is especially present in him. He won because he had empathy, because people trusted him, because he got back from them what he gave to them first. He never killed anyone and we can clearly see that he Could Never kill anyone in those games but that's not his weakness. Just because he didn't let himself get corrupted and turned into what the games wanted him to turn into doesn't mean he won because of luck. Him not playing by those subtle, hidden rules that are made to force him to be bad, to not care about others and to give up his kindness actually means he was better than the games. He won because he didn't let them turn him into a monster. They tried really hard and they failed and that's how he won!! But also on top of that he also won because he isn't the only good person in this show. He also won because other people helped him, were kind to him and gave a shit about him. Each and every person that helped Gi-hun didn't have to do that. They all could have not helped him, Ali could have not caught him, Sae-byeok could have not told him which one was the correct glass tile, hell, she could have Lied to him about it and the only difference it would have made for the other players would have been them being one more dead person closer to winning all that money. But that's really not how humans are and act which is why all these people helped Gi-hun, helped each other in small or big ways and in the end his own kindness and the kindness that exists in other people is what lead to Gi-hun winning. That's not luck. That humans being good

[zoswriting]

✦ happy birthday.

⤷ synopsis: an extremely late shoto birthday post, featuring your kid. (i sincerely apologise, i was meant to write this like last week, but BAM! exams. whoopsies. either way, take it or leave it. happy one month late birthday, shoto.)

⤷ a/n : for some unknown reason all the dividers i had in my photos literally just disappeared? i have no idea where they all went. I had so many cute ones, someone pls give me purple dividers i'm begging. anyways here, take a cute dad shoto on his birthday

⤷ warnings : fluff, f!reader, dad!shoto, husband! shoto, you have a daughter called rumi (but feel free to change the name in your head), absolutely not proofread—what are we expecting?, an unfortunate mention of endeavour, long as FUCK, i don't know what else to include ngl, bonus little smut piece at the end but you can skip over that if you want (it doesn't contribute to the plot)

january 11th. 26 years ago, one of the top Pro Heroes was born-who just so happens to also be your best friend, partner-in-crime, husband, and father of your gorgeous baby girl.

he's never been excited about his birthday (you can thank his father for that) but as the years go by, you're determined to change this—you know you can't alter the past and the memories that come with his prior birthdays, but the pen is in your hands now, and you can write your future. so, when he's out on his last-minute patrol of the city, you're decorating the house for his arrival. you went out the day prior under the pretence of "shopping for rumi", and instead went to go buy him a lot of gifts. he can never have too much, you think; he deserves it all. especially this year, marking the peak of his career and his first birthday with your daughter.

he comes home just moments after you finish setting everything up, and you can hear the house keys rattle in the door. you grin, quickly picking your daughter up—who you dressed up in his merch that looks like his hero costume—and checking your face in the mirror. the door opens as he's putting the keys back in his pocket. "my—Jesus Christ," his announcement of his arrival is cut short as he looks up and at all of the decorations you worked so hard to make absolutely perfect. he looks so in awe, exactly like a little kid who just stepped foot into his own birthday party—which this pretty much is. the house—mainly the living room—is decorated in hues of red and white and gold, the coffee table sporting gifts galore, plus a bouquet of red and white roses (that you arranged meticulously so that the white roses form a heart) with a small card embedded in the middle.

"surprise!" you quickly walk up to him, pressing a fat kiss to his cheek. your daughter reaches out for her dad with her baby hands, and he immediately takes her into his arms, studying her little outfit with the widest smile on his face. "happy birthday, baby."

"i don't—my love, why?" he's dumbfounded as he stares down at rumi whilst bringing her to his chest, who in response just grips at his hero costume in her tight, tiny little fists.

"what do you mean 'why'?" you tilt your head, still smiling at him fondly.

"because... god, love, i don't even like my birthday, and you've gone and done all this," he waves his free hand with a flourish, gesturing at all your decorations you so liberally put up.

"but birthday's are a thing to celebrate, shoto," you say as you dragged him over to the couch by his arm. "listen, i know you didn't have the best birthdays growing up. i mean, they were just treated as every other day, and that's why i want to change that. that's why i always try and go extra, just for you."

"i don't—" he starts, trying to say how he 'doesn't deserve it', but you cut him off.

"shush, you do deserve it, i don't wanna hear otherwise," you put your foot down on the matter, not leaving room for discussion over it. he leans back against the sofa cushions and taking a moment again to take in everything you did. for him. for his birthday. he subconsciously spins the band that sits perfectly on his left ring finger, like he's reminding himself that you're his, that you seriously did this. your daughter also looks around the room with her big, wide eyes, but they're more so on the gold of the wrapping paper.

you bring forward the bouquet from the table. "you always get me flowers, but i feel like i don't get you them enough. so, here you go. flowers," you push them towards him, but you then realise you're missing an important detail. "oh right, the child. swapsies?"

he chuckles at your request, nodding slightly. you set the bouquet down beside him on the couch, taking your daughter from his arms whilst he takes the bouquet. his eyes immediately fall onto the card concealed inside the gold envelope, and he plucks it out carefully. the envelope reads 'My dear husband’, on the front in neat handwriting, and he looks up at you.

"what? it's a card. you can't have a birthday without a card," you plop yourself next to him as he gently opens the card, and rumi's hands immediately go to the discarded envelope. “i pulled out my best handwriting for this.”

“my, your best handwriting? for me? i’m touched, my love. truly,” he laughs, pulling out the card inside. and he runs his finger over it before opening the card, reading its contents. you bounce rumi on your knee as he does—for some reason, you feel like a teenager watching her crush read the confession note she put in his locker, and the way he’s scanning over the words over and over again is honestly making you a little nervous. but he smiles after a moment of reading, and leans over to kiss the side of your head. “you’re cute,” he mumbles against your hair, going to put the card back in the envelope.

“shut up,” you mumble. “wait, don’t put the card back yet. look inside the envelope again,” you tell him, intently watching his face for his reaction when he looks inside.

he looks at you confused before placing the card down beside him (he ends up putting it on the coffee table once he sees your baby reach for it, however. he doesn’t want it to suffer the same fate as the now ripped and slightly chewed envelope, he wants to cherish the letters inside for a little while longer, at least) and looking in the envelope again. two polaroids sit inside, and he pulls them out. “what are these?”

“polaroids,” you say simply.

“i’m aware. i meant as in the phot—” he cuts himself off once he flips one of them around so he can properly look at the picture on it. it’s a picture of you and him at his fourth birthday, sitting side by side as he blows out the candles on his small little cake. you’re wearing a party hat and a toothy smile, and he’s smiling softly. it wasn’t the best day of his life, you both could say that much; the party was only thrown because it was the day he was to get his quirk, and his father—dressed in a reputation he so desperately wanted to build—had invited every parent in his kindergarten class, which included you. endeavour wanted to boast about his youngest son’s quirk to all the other parents, but you were one of the only kids there who actually wanted to be there, everyone else just wanted to go home. most did, actually.

he looks starstruck as he looks down at the polaroid, a little confused as to where you even attained this, even. he sighs softly, running his thumb over your face. “you were cute back then,” he comments, to which you raise an eyebrow teasingly.

“you saying i’m not cute now, shoto?”

“that’s not what i meant and you know it, sweetheart. you’re always cute, you were just cuter back then.”

“excuses,” you mutter playfully before turning the other polaroid around. it’s a picture of his mother in the hospital, carefully cradling a swaddled-shoto against her chest.

“okay, one question before anything else. where the hell did you get these?” he turns his head to look at you fully. you shrug.

“your sister.”

“checks out,” he grumbles before studying the photo again.

“apparently, according to her, this was taken by touya,” he freezes at the mention of his eldest brother. “apparently. i don’t know how true that is, i didn’t press, but see that smudge looking thing in the corner? that’s his thumb. probably. again, how would i know?”

he looks to the right corner and, sure enough, there is a blur of something there. he lets out a breath. “touya, of all people, touya took the first photo of me?” he mumbles, studying the picture once more before tucking both of them, and the card, back into the envelope. he places it, along with the flowers, back on the coffee table and then pulls you into his side, holding you and rumi close.

“thank you, love. really,” he mumbles against your head, pressing gentle kisses to it.

“happy birthday, shoto,” you whisper, and rumi babbles into the conversation, to which you both silently laugh at.

BONUS. (smut ahead) (wow first smut post)

⤷ everyone is over 18!!!!!!!!, f/afab!reader, fingering, oral sex (f receiving), shoto’s a cocky (haha get it) little shit, penetration, tits? is that a warning?, literally made up as i go, first time like properly writing smut pls bear with me i have no idea what the fuck i’m doing, say it with me: shoto’s a little shit, kinda rushed this part cause i really wanna sleep

at this point, the sun had set. the three of you went out to a restaurant (which you paid for, obviously) and ate to your hearts content—although your daughter just had milk, but the way she conked out during the drive back was more than enough evidence that she, too, was full—and then did the whole cake thing after putting rumi to sleep in her nursery. now, you find yourself laying in the middle of your bed with shoto attacking your neck and chest with kisses, plus the occasional nip here and there.

how did you get here, exactly?

“i don’t need thanking, shoto. i feel like a broken record saying that, just shut your mouth and accept this,” you huff as you tell him for what seems like the fiftieth time. your husband’s so set on ‘showing you his gratitude’, as he puts it, and as much as you try to refuse, you know shoto will get his way. he always does, no matter what you do. the minute you guys walked into your bedroom, his lips were crashing on yours as he walked you both backwards to the bed. his hand stayed planted on the back of your head, tilting it slightly to deepen the kiss before he was pushing you back onto the mattress and moving on top of you, straddling your legs to keep them down as he removed your top, revealing your bare torso under. he ran his hands over the newly-exposed skin gently, his calloused fingertips sending shivers through you.

and now this is where you are��under him as he moves down your body, practically worshiping every inch, committing all of it to memory.

“i think you should be shutting your mouth. you’ve done way more than enough for me today, it’s wrong not to thank the provider,” he hums against your skin, hooking his fingers into the waistband of both your leggings and panties. “may i?” he asks as he straightens up and looks you straight in the eye, his voice a little softer, yet still tinged with that lingering desire.

you swallow as you look up at him. he knows what he’s doing, you know that he knows what he’s doing. he has that slightly cocky look on his face, the one that says he’s so aware he already has slick looking in your panties just from a little bit of making out, and yet he has the audacity to ask you if he can take them off. the audacity to think you’re gonna say no—you’re already nodding, even though you know he’d do it anyway, and soon enough, the last bit of your clothing is joining the shirt your husband so elegantly discarded to the floor.

he spreads your legs just that little bit wider, running two fingers through your folds, your pussy already dripping for him. he smiles at the sight. “see? you do want me to show my appreciation, don’t deny it,” he teases, and you open your mouth to respond, but the words are queued behind a moan as those two fingers are thrust into you without warning, curling up immediately to rub against your g-spot. fuck him and his ability to navigate your body so damn well, you think, but god does it feel too good to even try and curse him out. but just as you go to moan for more, his fingers slip out of you, and you whine at the loss of friction.

he raises an eyebrow at your little noise, then shakes his head before pulling you closer to the edge of the mattress by your hips and sinking to his knees in front of you, between your legs. he slowly, slowly, kisses up the length of the inside of your thighs, and just when you think he’s actually going to put his mouth where you want—need—him to, he just pulls further back.

“shoto, i swear to god if you don’t put that mouth o—fuck,” he cuts you off quickly with a soft yet firm suck on your clit, making you mewl in response.

“what was that?” he pulls away, looking up at you from between to your thighs.

“nothing. never mind. i retract my statement.”

“that’s what i thought. let me enjoy my gift,” he says annoyingly calmly, as if he’s not torturing the life out of you. that paired with his smooth, low voice reaching your ears as he says that just serves to turn you on more. and then his tongue is running up your slit, the contact causing your hand to fly up and into his hair. he laughs against your core, the vibrations coursing through you like electricity as he laps at your juices.

it doesn’t take long for you to be writhing on the bed, and your back arches deeply when he returns his fingers inside you again, and it’s like he’s on a mission to make you come quickly. his fingers curl in that same, skilled way as his mouth makes quick work of your clit. shoto’s a tease, that’s well known, but what he also is right now is desperate. the moment he stepped through the front door that afternoon, his mind immediately thought of how well he’s going to fuck you.

the more logical side of his brain is telling him to get you to come first, but his dick says otherwise with the way it’s straining against his boxers, having made quick work of his trousers whilst kissing your body. he doesn’t listen to his brain this time; standing up, he pulls his boxers down and runs the head through your wetness before stroking it a couple times. his breathing is deep, laboured yet controlled—a stark contrast to your short, shallow breaths. his eyes are locked on your tits as you take those breaths, his free hand going to one of them to knead and tug at your hardened nipple. you mewl, the short and sweet sound turning into a loud moan as his cock sheathes itself inside of you fully, his hips meeting yours as he bottoms out in one deep stroke. he lets out a sharp breath, groaning at the feeling of your walls, warm and wet, clenching around him.

“fuck, i missed this,” he curses, his head tilting back slightly as he begins to move, pulling back to just the tip before slamming into you once again, the hand playing with your breast clamping over your mouth before you’re able to cry out again. “i hope you’re aware of the child in the other room.”

you just nod, it’s all you’re able to do now with his hand tight over your mouth, and you bite your tongue to keep from moaning. a small part of you wants to curse at him for reminding you of that fact right now, but the bigger part of you is already drunk on his cock as he drags it through your cunt in that pace that allows you to feel every inch, every ridge. but that’s just the start; it’s not long before he abandons all care and starts fucking you properly, the pace of his hips increasing with every muffled noise you make. he watches your hands gripping the sheets below you, but he doesn’t like that. instead he takes your hand in his and interlocks your fingers, keeping it pinned by your side. it acts as an anchor, as something for you to hold on to as he fucks you. periodically, he’ll squeeze it three times—your little way of saying ‘i love you’—but you barely notice it as your vision already starts to blur.

your back bows off the bed as you near your orgasm, your eyes squeezing shut and brimming with un-shed tears whilst stars dance behind your eyelids. he smiles again when he realises this, when he feels the way your pussy tightens around his length, and he can already tell that he definitely won’t be far behind once you do come. his hand leaves yours momentarily, just to press on your stomach to keep your body still against the mattress, but the feeling of his large hand splayed and applying pressure to the majority of your lower stomach is enough to get you to almost choke on a moan and come almost instantly around his cock without any further warning.

he lets out a guttural groan from deep within him when your walls close in on him intensely, still slamming into you with intense fervour a few more times before he leans down and presses his forehead against yours, mumbling out a spew of ‘i love you’s and ‘you’re so good for me, s’good, the best pussy, the best birthday present’ before removing his hands from your mouth just to shut you up again by pressing his lips against yours messily as he comes, filling you up.

you both sink—you into the mattress and him sinking on top of your body, his chest pressed against yours as he’s still kissing you sloppily. after a second of silence (that’s actually not silent and just filled with heavy breathing from both of you), he smiles against your mouth before pulling back just slightly to whisper to you. “tha—” you don’t let him get a word in, just tilting your head up to meet his lips with yours one more time, and then back.

“i said shut it. you already thanked me,” you mumble.

“i’m thanking you again.”

“no thanks, i’m okay.”

he rolls his eyes at your phrase. “mmkay, sure,” he sighs as he straightens up, pulling out of you. he watches intently as his cum drips out of your hole, and he has to fight the urge to push it back in with his fingers.

the rest of his birthday night is spent taking care of you; cleaning you both up with a much-needed shower, feeding you more cake, plus forcing him to go check on your daughter when her whines can be heard from the baby monitor. when met with the question ‘why can’t you?’, you respond with ‘you just fucked my soul out and tucked me back in, my legs are still shaking—yes, still, even if it’s been 50 minutes, that was probably one of the most intense orgasms i’ve had, never press on my stomach again.’ to which he’ll laugh at and surrender, going to check on your daughter.

[crossbackpoke-check]

blessed be (lorscher bienensegen) | telling the bees (wiþ ymbe)

"Bees" [remixed, abridged], Claudia Emerson // "Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now" [remixed. abridged], Matthew Olzmann // "Letter to my Great, Great Grandchild" [remixed, abridged], J.P. Grasser | Len Redkole, Nina Weiss, Brian Babineau, Christian Peterson, Mitchell Leff, Dave Isaac, Megan DeRuchie

[threepandas]

Bad End: Wildfire Widow

"My condolences."

A nice thought. Yet here I stood, as cold and empty as the rain. I was a widow, now, and yet I could not... my mind would not... It did not seem real. Not yet. How could it possibly be? So soon? When it seemed only just the other day, I was nervously getting married. A modest but beautiful dress, made together with my in-laws to be. A humble church. Simple celebrations.

Our whole lives ahead of us.

Andrew was... was no one significant. But he was mine, and I was his. And though he couldn't give me a life of dreams and roses? He loved me earnestly. Picked road side flowers to bring me bits of beauty. Sang silly little songs, to wake me each day. Ate every bite of my, frankly, mediocre cooking, as though it were the greatest meal he'd ever had.

I loved him. I... I truely, actually, l-loved him. H..How can he be gone?

Where is my silly little man? My songbird? My best friend? H-how... WHY-‽ I don't understand. For days now. Since that final, terrible, wheezing breathe. I don't... I can't... Nothing feels real. I don't want it to be real. Please.

Please, Andrew. Darling. D-Don't do this.

The grave does not respond. It can not. Because... he is not there. I know he is not. Nothing but meat and soil remains. Empty shells and emptier houses. Like a punishment from God, for not following along politely. Bowing my head sweetly, and accepting my Fate.

It's my fault. Isn't it? Andrew would still be alive. Happy and in love. Married to some other woman, perhaps. Making her the luckiest wife in the world. Chatting over breakfast and giggling together as they joke their wake to work. She would get to admire his beautiful eyes and riot of freckles. He would write her terrible poetry.

They would be in love.

Alive... and in love.

But I ruined it. B-because I'm selfish. Right? That has to be it. Surely. It must be! B-because what else could it BE? He was healthy! It happened so fast! And now... now he is... is...

Sobs rip their way out of me, uncaring of the witnesses. My legs buckling under the weight of my grief. Who cares? Who CARES? So what if I kneel in the mud? He's gone! My best friend is gone! And it's all my fault! I deserve this! It should be ME!

I already lived once before. This was always borrowed time anyway. If it had to be one of us? It should have been me!

Someone kneels behind me, a shawl draped over my shoulders. An umbrella brought forward to shelter me from the rain. As though I don't wish to drown. Almost everyone else has left, now. But I can't. I just... I just can't. Leave me. Leave me to my grief!

This world was a Story to me. I escaped it. Selfishly thought there would never be a price for that. That quitely bowing out of my antagonists role to live quitely, humbly, with a good man, would never... would never...!

"Shhhhh....shhhhh.... It's okay. It's over now."

Over? Ha ha. How can it BE OVER‽ He's GONE! Another sobs wrenchs free. They seem unending. But oh, that voice. That cool, smooth, aristocratic voice. How is he even HERE‽ When I fled, I all but cut ties with my past. Traveled nearly two countries away. I am no longer the wretched, trouble-making daughter of a well to due man. The infamous leech, clinging to the grand-dukes unfavored first born son.

I am a bookstore owner's widow. Nothing more, nothing less. No royal dramas. No court intrigues. No otome game paths or thousand characters to remember. Why would he even look for me? How could he possibly have the time? With his brother the favorite to inherit and his father a cold hearted bastard. I was little more then arm candy. Vicious and childish arm candy at that.

Remebering, the person I was, before I remembered? I was a terrible, lonely child. And I took it out on everyone around me. I coveted the stars, because everything inside me felt empty. Because my family was cruel. Because the coin brought treachery and gilded chains.

Because I was terribly broken and hateful about it. Greedy for what I could not have.

I was indulged. Enabled. By this man, most of all. It only made me worse.

Of course I left. It was the only way to heal. To grow. And in the end? It made all the difference. Yet... he is here. How? Why‽ What part of that terrible brat of a child did he come for? That horribly broken thing? Our shared history is a shame to me. And it's not as though we were lovers. For all that the world certainly assumed as much. Did he actually consider us frien-?

"I always promised, I would marry you. When I became Grand Duke. Now we finally can."

The words seem to hang in the air like nooses. Full of unseen bodies that swing and creak, like silent horrors in the day's mild wind. Around us, the world was filled with a terrible hush. Rain muffling everything to distant, dull grey. And for a long moment... everything was cool, quite, and far away.

All at once, the world crashed back in. Like a wave crashing back in, after the tide receding before disaster. A tsunami of tiny things.

We were the last two here, I noticed. My in-laws, the neighbors, our... my social circle. All had left to give me privacy to grieve. The rain was cold. So much colder then it had seemed. I hadn't noticed. The wind whistling eerily through the near silent grave yard. As we kneeled at the foot of my husband's grave, the dark earth muddy. He... was he wearing cologne?

Kneeling in a wide open field... I suddenly felt cornered.

That expression. That... that was not the expression of a man who's feeling sorrow for an old friend. Not distant memories and what could have been's. That... that was hunger. A predator's patience. Was...? No. No, it could not have always been there. Right? I would have...

"You shouldn't kneel in the dirt, love. Not for him. He wasn't worth it." He murmured, soft and sweet as a lover. Eyes almost kind. "I'm here now. Here to make everything better, all right? No more worries. No more struggles. All the riches your heart desired. I got them for you. Isn't that nice? Let's go get you warm, hmm?"

I.. God, I wasn't an idiot.

What Did You DO?

You bastard. What did you do to my HUSBAND?! Ignoring the hand, softly held out, as though he had any fucking right, I grabbed the bastard by the front of his jacket. To shake him? Slam him down to punch until my fists break and bleed? I couldn't tell which impulse was stronger. It was like all my howling grief had turned to RAGE. As though my blood had filled with fire. My bones ropes made of live wires.

He has the audacity to smile. Fondly. Even as my white knuckled grip drags roughly at the fine fabric of his clothes, threatening to tear stitches. As I bear my teeth, unhinged like a mad dog. Wild around the eyes. I drag him closer. The bouquet, now made cruel mockery, that he brought, goes tumbling into the mud. Filth that he is, he sucks in a shuddering breath. Leans towards me.

"Ah, my love, you were always so magnificent in anger. You wear it like a queen."

Whispered towards me. Each word made obscene by the waver in his voice. The way he dares to roll it off his tounge! Another man's wife. You sick bastard, I was ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE! But you couldn't have that, could you‽ The shriek that howls free of me would put hawks to shame. I lunge. Hands clawing as I try to claw his fucking eyes out.

Shameless, he dares to have a laugh that is charming. How utterly practiced it must be! Effortlessly, he keeps my hands from his face, as I curse him. Holding my wrists as I struggle to maim. To avenge. Killer. MONSTER! I struggle to rip my hands free, so I can wrap them around his fucking throat!

The world spins. No longer am I pinning my husband's killer. The grey sky distant witness as I thrash like an animal. I have nothing left. NOTHING! He took everything from me! Andrew. My songbird. My everything! I won't let him get away with it. I WON'T. If it's the LAST THING I FUCKING DO. Screaming, thrashing, I try to get him off me. Clawing at the mud I can feel seeping into my back.

"Look at you... so broken." He said softly, like a confession. With an unholy reverence. "We always were so beautifully matched, weren't we? Two perfect little monsters."

His grip tighten. Painful at last. Bones grinding and bruises starting to bloom.

"But then you tried to run away, darling. Why would you do that? Were you scared? Afraid of loving me too much?" Furious at his audacity, I bucked and writhed. Get off. Get OFF! I'LL KILL YOU! "Shhh shhh shhh, it's okay, it's okay. I forgive you. I forgive you. My wildfire. My bride."

In the distance, the day's storm, long building, finally arrived. Thunder rolled as the rain picked up. The air biting.

"I'll take responsibility, of course. Who else could handle you? Knows you as I do?"

"Dont worry darling, my wildfire, my monster~ Ours is a lovestory~♡"

[sunlightera]

☆ starscream tf sequences ~ es s2 ☆

[svtskneecaps]

honestly foolish's character walking the slightly meta line of "oo this'll be fun content" makes him feel like that marvel immortal character who is only immortal as long as he doesn't get bored (and was played by jeff goldblum in the movies). like idk why but the more i see of foolish's rp the more solidified the comparison gets in my mind.

like it's kinda cool for a headcanon ngl and also it means i'm not really surprised pikachu-ing when, say, he flips a coin to decide whether to rat out his son-in-law, or climbs into an incubator of corruption crystals, or doesn't ENTIRELY kick owen out of the kingdom. it's not that he doesn't CARE, but..... well, wouldn't it be interesting? don't you want to know what would happen?

[ria-starstruck]

signalisheads. ninesolsheads. ive swapped your tragic doomed yuri. they're getting enrichment i swear

[thirdeyeblue]

“Nine would have treated Martha better than Ten did”

I need to talk about this argument that never seems to stop circulating.

Note: Not a venomous/anti post. There’s more than enough of that across fandom spaces as is, and this is supposed to be a place for ✨sweet, blissful escapism✨

When making this argument, people seem to envision a scenario in which Nine never met Rose.

While I can appreciate a good hypothetical, recognizing Rose's significance to the Doctor (Nine and Ten) is essential to understanding why things with Martha played out the way they did in the first place.

In the third series, the Doctor is grieving. This grief is deliberately threaded into nearly every script, whether spoken aloud or not (and these are just a few examples):

He's burning in Rose’s wake the entire time Martha travels with him, which is why it’s so frequently called upon: It’s 100% deliberate in framing his grief. He grieved as Nine too, of course— having been fresh on the heels of the Time War — but then he met Rose, which changed everything.

Back then, he was still a rude, traumatized pain in the ass, but we watch Rose soften more of those jagged edges with every episode as they grow closer; as he lets his guard down and forms a deep connection with her.

He falls in love (against his better judgment) and it's game over.

And yes: provided S1E1 had been titled 'Martha', one can realistically assume things might have unfolded similarly to how they did with Rose. However, it wouldn’t have been that way just because the Doctor was Nine and “Nine was different” — it would be because he wasn’t already in love with someone else. The same can't be said for the start of S3.

Think of it like this: if Rose AND Martha had been in that cellar — if Nine had taken both of them along with him in S1 — we’d eventually be looking at the most melodramatic love triangle ever, what with him living in close quarters with two brilliant, gorgeous, compassionate young women... But Doctor Who is plenty “soap opera” as is with just one woman in the TARDIS.

(I certainly wouldn’t object to reading that fic, though)

Now, regarding the unrequited elephant in the room…

His inability to be romantic with Martha isn’t because he thinks her lesser, nor is it for lack of compatibility. It isn't because Rose is any better than her. It certainly isn’t just because he’s Ten.

It’s really only for one reason, which can't be denied — and now I’m a broken record:

He is still in love with Rose.

(cut from a tenrosedaily gif)

Nine is Ten, and Ten is only such a mess in S3 because he’s just lost the love of his life. Martha merely got caught in the crosshairs of a volatile Time Lord in mourning, and yes — it sucks. Absolutely.

But it also feels dismissive to chalk Ten and Martha’s relationship up to little more than some sort of mindless dance of pining, jealousy, and toxicity.

Ten trusted Martha with his life over and over again — and hers, with him. He constantly praised her brilliance, happily carting her around time and space with no intention of letting her go. In the BBC’s extended universe of novels/comics/cartoons/etc, there’s so much depth to their relationship: love and trust and trauma and sacrifice. They had their own special bond as mates, their own complexities — so it’s a bummer that it's forever overshadowed by the other things.

I’m not denying that there was a lot of stuff that sucked/was for sure toxic about Ten's S3 behavior, but so many of the things I've seen him catching flak for can be directly attributed to being A Clueless Fucking Alien Idiot (not a trait that’s unique to Ten) — as well as his flat-out obliviousness to Martha’s feelings.

So yes, I agree: if Rose never existed, he would have treated Martha differently as Nine. He also would have treated her differently as Ten. Certainly.

But Rose did exist, and when discussing canon, it matters.

“He tells me that he absolutely, 100% loves Rose... He tells me how my daughter; my wonderful, beautiful, clever little girl saved him from himself before… And he says that’s all because of me! I made her into the Rose Tyler that saved him.”

-Jackie Tyler, Flight Into Hull!

Martha got the short end of the stick in S3. She came round at the wrong place and time, but that doesn't mean it was all bad. It doesn't mean the Doctor didn’t adore her. It certainly doesn't mean the time they spent together was wasted or worthless. They were brilliant!

Sure, he could be a twat, but let it be known that he was a twat with Rose as well, both as Nine and Ten. I’m sure Tentoo can be plenty infuriating, too. So while I'll defend Ten (and Tentoo) into the ground forever and ever and ever, I'll concede that he's fucked up.

The Doctor is a certified Pain In The Ass. It’s one of the things I love so much about this character — dynamics.

But never forget that Martha was goddamn tough as nails and overcame every bit of it. She moved on with her life, and the Doctor moved on with his. One can only pray that, when they inevitably drag her back onto the show (which feels inevitable if I'm honest), we see at once that she's been living her best life for all these years.

[rowanraven08]

Fucked up cecil drawing but I’m actually liking my design of him for once so little doodle for you all

[starleska]

honestly done with doctor who after the trainwreck that was the the interstellar song contest. i became a casual fan back when the eleventh doctor had a chokehold on tumblr and even had fun self-shipping with mr. ring-a-ding, but just thinking about how this series tried to "both sides" a GENOCIDE makes me feel physically ill. i can't believe i was indirectly supporting this series by making fanart and fanfiction

anon, gently, i think that your response is...a little overblown, and i'm not sure why you've sent it to me 😅 i'm going to put my reply under the cut, whilst tapping the sign on my blog again, which requests that folks don't try to drag me into discourse. i've shared my thoughts on the episode, and that's all: i'm not interested in validating whether or not people decide to interact with a show.

as i explained in my longer post about The Interstellar Song Contest, i don't believe that the intent of the episode was to "both sides" a genocide. i think that the allegory was poorly handled, and i also think that they made a bold move by daring to make this episode at all, let alone slotting it right before the actual Eurovision Song Contest. after discussion with other fans, it's very possible that earlier versions of the script had a more sympathetic view towards Kid, or even a more obvious condemnation of the Company, but the script needed to be edited because they would never have allowed such an episode to air. i'm getting the sense that you're either on the young side, or very active in fandom discourse. i understand your outrage, but i encourage you not to think in such black-and-white terms. you must understand how silly it is to be getting your hackles raised now, when Doctor Who is a show funded by the BBC (which airs the Eurovision Song Contest), and Disney (where do i even begin?). from my perspective, the show made a clumsy, weird and deeply uncomfortable episode which attempts to create an allegory but wildly misses the mark. do i think that's better than making nothing at all? honestly, i'm not sure: but it has gotten people talking, and i don't think that's a bad thing. you can do what you like, but i have no idea what you ceasing to make fanart/fanfic or watching the show will do except make you feel a little more righteous. poor writing doesn't mean that someone is an advocate of genocide, and frankly i think this is a chronically online stance that discourages people from thinking critically about deeply traumatic, difficult topics. this attitude you have, to immediately discard anything that you perceive as having a 'wrong' view, is detrimental to literacy and to educating people. it's one i strongly encourage you try to get out of. this is an exhausting conversation, and the second the episode was over i knew this kind of discourse was going to pop up. one thing the episode did try (however unsuccessfully) to make clear is that jumping to rage is never the answer, and only serves to perpetuate the cycle of trauma and violence. making it about whether or not you should engage with a television show feels reductive and silly. i would recommend putting this energy towards reading up on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supporting Palestine where you can.