#I don't even have the wherewithal to like. talk about it.

[natjennie]

I feel like I've seen the heat death of the universe and have been left forever changed. I can't speak. everything is in slow motion. I think I'm going to pass out genuinely.

[carbonateddelusion]

the pile of writings I will probably never show anyone aside from Ben is slowly growing

[dyeher]

FIVE WAYS TO END A FIRST DATE| shouto, suna, draken, megumi, eren.

warnings| sexy time, fluff, unedited (obviously).

author's note| for @ikkakvs ❤️

Let's be real. When your nineteen-year-old son says he needs to talk to you during breakfast the last thing you expect him to say around the table with his three year old sister not even a foot away is-

"I want to fuck her on the first date..."

His father absolutely spits his morning coffee across the kitchen counter. You're frozen, a forkful of your breakfast halfway to your lips. He continues to eat like he didn't just say what he said. You make eye contact with your husband who is on the verge of hacking up a lung as your son gently wipes baby food from his little sister's face.

You drop your fork into your plate and attempt to muster your most serious mom face. Not the kind you use when he's fucked up but the one where you are on the fence about whether or not he needs to have sense shaken into him.

He doesn't even have the wherewithal to look chagrined. Instead, he musters a small, smug smile...something identical to his father's (still dying by the way). You narrow your eyes, he shrugs.

"Dad always says when you know you know...and trust me. I know. Besides didn't you-" he glances at his sister who is happily making a mess of her breakfast and then whispers (like it makes a difference, the child is three she has no idea what is going on)"-you know...have sex on the first-"

"Okay!" His father interrupts. And bless his soon-to-be-dead ass because you did not volunteer this information to your son so it must have been your husband. The one you did fuck after the first date.

"What?" Your son shrugs. "Dad tells me everything."

You glare at the dad in question, only to receive an identical shrug.

"Baby," you start carefully. "What if she doesn't want to fuck after the first date?"

He gives you a quizzical look. "That's fine, we have like forever together. We can fuck after date one hundred for all I care."

"Oh, thank God," you share a relieved glance with your husband. At least you haven't completely failed at raising him.

"But- I guess...I mean the vibes are there, you know? We're totally gonna f-"

"Small ears, kid," your husband covers your daughter's ears and eyes him meaningfully.

You let out a breath and start eating your breakfast. If parenting has taught you anything is that every conversation with our teenager can become a lesson.

"There are other ways to end the first date, baby. A kiss on the cheek. Asking for a second date. Making sure she knows you enjoyed spending time with her-"

"Is that how your first dates ended? With cheek kisses and reassurance?"

You don't like the way he's staring knowingly at you. And your husband's snort disguised as a cough doesn't go unnoticed.

"Well-"

You can feel your husband's eyes on you as you open your mouth. You have to sift through your exes quickly but the most memorable end to your first dates were from-

SUNA RINTARO

Car sex.

Suna Rintaro fucked you in the backseat of his car and the memory is fresh in your mind as though it happened yesterday and not almost twenty years ago.

The leather seats were sticky and slippery with your mixed cum. The squeaking as your body slid up the seat with each of his hurried thrusts. The scent of his cologne as he shoved his face into your neck. The way your body bowed against his. The harsh sound of your breaths. His whispered 'fuck' when he slid in for the first time.

His promises. And of course...his unplanned I love you.

And no, this is definitely not something you do not want to suggest to your son.

2. SHOUTO TODOROKI

He bought you flowers.

Of course, it was more of a 'oh my goodness, look shouto a flower shop' 'do you want to get flowers?' kind of situation where he bought you every flower you looked at for too long (because you deserved it, his words not yours) plus a bouquet of fresh roses and sunflowers.

And...and then he fucked you in his king-sized bed on those flower petals. Used the stem of a rose with the thorns still attached for a bit of fun. Laid you on your side facing his mirror so you could see as his cock disappeared into your body. Spoke filthy, disgusting things into your ear.

You shudder at the reminder.

No. That's also not appropriate...

3. KEN RYUGUUJI

You drove his bike.

Actually one of the scariest experiences of your existence. But also one of the most exhilarating. The purr of the bike's engine between your thighs, the grip Ken had on you. The deep rumble of his voice in your ear gently coaching you. Guiding and praising you.

Okay, to be fair the adrenaline is to blame for the sex that occurred after that. It was wild, and God if you both didn't make promises that to this day have you ducking your head in embarrassment whenever you see him.

The reality is, that this particular first date ended in two creampies, a promise to be the best mother to his children, and a marriage proposal.

You glance at your son quickly only to find him already staring at you. Your husband is smirking in the background.

4. MEGUMI FUSHIGURO

First of all.

It was a picnic. How fucking cute is that?

And to be fair, he was adorably nervous and you thought kissing him would ease the tension but one thing led to another and...

He fucked you beneath the stars to the symphony of crickets. Once he got inside you became an entirely different person. The way he propped the soles of your feet on his shoulders and fucked you until you were weeping into the soft blankets, your nails digging into his skin.

Unprepared for the way Megumi became a sex god you'd squirted all over his chest, much to your mortification. And he had the audacity to drag his fingers through the mess and suck it off his fingers.

The man was a whore.

You're almost dismayed when you realize the last first date you had was-

5. EREN YEAGER

A child.

That's right.

Eren Yeager fucked you after the first date and left you with a mini version of himself growing inside you. Granted he married you before you gave birth and you've been living happily ever after since but still.

You glare at your husband as he reaches across the table to take your plate. Your son sits back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest.

"Wear a condom," you grunt.

Your son cackles as he stands from the table. He bends to scoop his sister out of her high chair. "Don't be silly-" he coos to her, "-wrap your willy."

As he disappears around the corner your husband chuckles.

"How was your trip down memory lane?"

He steps in close to you as you stand and prop yourself against the dining table.

"I hate you, deeply," you groan. Eren laughs as he bends to brush his lips against yours.

"Sure baby, anything you say," he smiles against your mouth. "Anyway, I've been thinking..."

You frown, pulling back to look up at him. "About what?"

"Sharing."

Your breath leaves you in a rush. "Sharing what?"

His eyes darken to a shade of green you've never seen.

"You."

[002yb]

jason and roy have a longstanding guys being dudes thing where they text each other pics of their gnarly bruises and not too serious wounds so that the other can be like “woah, i can see the tread pattern of the boot just from the bruise!” because these things are cool and gross in the way that dudes find irresistible and here is a guy who will valorize it without all the you should have been better undertone or smothering worry and it escalates until one day when jay gets a fingernail ripped off and his first thought after all the danger and blood is ha! this beats roy’s thing from last week and like they are somewhat aware that its kinda abnormal but their text convos are a safe space free from shame or judgement so its all good until someone gets a glimpse of pure gore followed by a winky face emoji when jason goes to open his phone

Just gonna casually bring this around to something more dickjayroy, because of course I would. All the above, but:

Dick and Roy running a mission together and, while successful, isn't without casualty. It's nothing they won't survive, but they're a little fucked up. Dick more so, but he's a scrapper. He'll survive the wait for first aid while Roy takes some sick and sleazy mirror pics for his boy Jaybird. It's all good.

Dick might be a little concussed and bleeding on Roy's couch, but Roy can't not share the road burn that stretches up his arm and shoulder.

Roy hearing Dick call for him from down the hall. Just a thoughtful check-in of, 'You okay?' Like Dick in his current state of wooziness and pain has the wherewithal to come help Roy if needed. The thought is sweet.

The fact that Dick would find the resolve to help Roy even as Dick is s t r u g g l i n g is mildly horrifying though, so.

Some cute banter as Roy sends his message off, calling out to Dick that he's good but also for validation that Roy looked cool while he was skidding across asphalt earlier. He was, right?

Pffft, Dick trying to be playful/teasing when he agrees, but he's so fucked up that it comes out sounding more genuine than anything and Roy is ;U; as he settles in to take care of his friend. Helping Dick out of the top of his costume only to pause because - wow.

Just Dick lacking all self-awareness. He's hurt. He's tired. He's got someone he trusts looking after him, so. Dick just slouches on the couch, head tipped over the back of it. Boneless. Dazed. Chest and abs a beautiful sight - all toned muscles heaving with shallow breaths, and like. Dick being hot is nothing Roy blinks an eye at, nah. It's the ugly, weeping wound in his side that does. Blood stained and irritated and already showing signs of bruising crawling up his ribs.

Of course the camera comes out. Of course Roy sneaks off a picture to Jason (it only shows Dick's wounded torso, even if Dick's scowl is handsome and deserves to be seen by more people than Roy lol).

Anyway, Dick joking about if Roy got his good side. To which Roy snickers because Dick is all good sides; but yeah, for sure.

Then Roy proceeds to actually tend to Dick's injury. Cleaning, stitching, distracting. Dick being a model patient, disturbingly still although he's sweating through all the pain. Seemingly ignoring Roy, only he'd never. Because whenever Roy stops talking Dick opens his eyes to look at him until Roy starts talking again.

Just Dick finding comfort in the sound of his friend's voice ahhhhhhhhhh. ;A;

In which a Roy and Jason ask becomes entirely Dick and Roy omg. This happens every time but in my defense they're perfect, so.

While Roy's hands are all bloody from patching Dick up, a reply comes through on Roy's phone. Roy telling Dick to check it for him.

Which leads to a little coy game of, 'what's your password?' and 'hah! like you don't know,' and 'if it's not my birthday idk if i'll recover,' and 'bull. what's your password?' 'the day we met ;)' which it isn't, Roy would discover later. Which would lead to lots of laughs and play fighting and it'd be cute af.

Anyway, Dick checking the message and seeing that the picture Roy took of him went to Jason, of all people. Jason - who has no idea who he's looking at.

Letting Dick read the texts is top tier distraction plan, on Roy's part. Also, it ends up being funny.

Just Jason being genuinely confused because he doesn't know about all of Roy's missions and stuff. So he's just like, 'hot damn.' 'i know that's not you who's mr.man?' and extra stuff about the actual injury with Jason trying to figure out what happened and being all thirsty because he'd take a bite fr

And it makes Dick laugh and ow, but it's so dumb

Dick taking the cheekiest photo with Roy that shows how he's stitching Dick up and tbh? Roy thinks it's criminal the sort of devastation Dick can cause when Dick tries. In that same vein, he's just as devastating when he doesn't try. That's neither here nor there though.

Roy cackling as they send off the photo and watching through titters at the ensuing silence, the indication that Jason is texting before he disappears before coming back again and going away.

Something something with Roy and Jason being fascinated by injury and gore. Meanwhile, Dick is all there for the emotional damage and injury through flustered feels. He's w/e about a bleeding wound, but blood rushing to Jason's cheeks in a blush? That's what Dick would want a picture of.

Commence Roy and Dick having their own text conversation that is entirely photos of just that LOL.

Roy's just living his best life and he deserves it.

[franki-lew-yo]

An 'A-ha!' fandom moment, ft. The Owl House

These comments I screencapped from a user I watch elsewhere really hit like a brick in the face to me. I'm blotting out OP's name, mostly cuz this was just a shower thought they had rather than any meaningful open discussion with people, but it ended up making me realize something (also NO they're not some contrarian AntiSJW type or even hate TOH; they're a very gay+trans writer themselves. Sorry if youknowwhoyouare sees this and recognizes ur posts but you don't allow reblogs or comments and I wanted to present it on my own):

The Owl House was always hampered by being killed halfway through, writing wise and that will always be it's greatest 'sin'. However, OP's comment made me realize how much the show kind of tells you it's characters are flawed rather than actually give them arcs to suggest it, especially in season 1. When I say flawed I don't mean lacking quirks that are relatable but human: Eda is a recluse criminal; King thought he could kill people and acted like it; Luz is a genki girl; Amity starts off as a bully; Hunter...is unfortunately Hunter, ect. Those ARE flaws, character wise, but in the presence of the complete story (as complete as the show will ever be) they really aren't actually flawed, bad people in anyway.

Before I go further, two things: 1, IN ALL FAIRNESS, this is why myself and others particularly LOVE the characters and why TOH was a comfort show for me rather than a 'high-tension narrative'. The characters are a lot of what you want and hope to be like and I think that's really sweet and enjoyable, especially for horror and especially for kids.

2, NO! I DON'T think any particular bad faith cartoon reviewer opinions about coddling certain characters and punishing others IS WHAT DANA and co did at all here! Steven Universe and certain crap-reviewer's takes ON Steven Universe and how it's characters were flawed but overly forgiven by the fandom the show itself are NOT the b-all end-all of this discussion, nor are they the reason The Owl House is the way it is!

The context op was talking about was how in the upcoming hate crime The Last Airbender live-action show the showrunners are going to tone down Sokka's sexism because they think it's 'unlikable'. Even though, we all knew as children that this was an arc for him and it was WRONG, so axing it because we the audience lack nuance to recognize characters we love doing problamtic-sisms is BEYOND annoying.

Op's point is how The Owl House in particular doesn't actually expect much or want much out of it's characters. Or audience. For any infighting early on about how much Amity should 'die' because of reasons, that's really just fandom infighting when you get right down to it. There's nothing on par with the disagreement people have over, say, the Diamonds from Steven Universe and how Steven 'totally forgave them or 'should have murdered them in cold blood' about The Owl House. And like...from a fandom point of view that's good, but otherwise the show is pretty concrete the way you're supposed to see certain characters vs other shows which allow you to make up your own mind.

Avatar, Star vs the Forces of Evil (pre finale), Centaurworld and Amphibia all showcase your protagonists being genuinely, intensely flawed. Sure, maybe some neckbreather crap-pseudocritic complains that they 'made the unlikable' or whatever (i.e. me with Friendship is Magic) but overall the actual point is HOW the characters actually have grown and have ended up with the ending and morality they need. The villains, no not Zukos or 'redeemed' villains who joined the protagonist squad, VILLAIN-villains, will always be at least one serious step behind the protagonists and that's what give the protagonists the cautionary wherewithal to end them like they should and not 'be like them'. It's such a fufilling narrative, there's a reason people like it so much because it's really good when it's delivered well.

Removed from my fandom gaze; the Owl House feels like it's saying it has that ultimate messaging and character arc when it actually doesn't. Your protagonists have the endearing aspirational-part totally covered, but as far as the actual 'edge' and nuance? Well...

Eda is, at most, naughty. She really isn't any kind of morally sidetracked character. She's an outlaw because literally her society is awful to her and she's in the right to be against it. She's cursed but she's not addicted to her potions or hiding it or not really taking care of herself or her loved ones because of it. Her actual biggest flaw is that she's been 'running away' from problems rather than dealing with them, but I'd be lying if that wasn't suggested more than it's actually portrayed; or at least, dealt with fast enough in "Eda's Requiem". A bigger issue I see, even if it's what's also endearing about her, is that she REALLY isn't a flawed caregiver at all. It's portrayed as her most redeeming feature that she's otherwise a good mom and mentor, but Eda having virtually no problems in raising Luz and King just, again, makes her feel ONLY aspirational. All of the angst about 'failing' to parent and making up for it is moved all onto Camilla and sadly all of that angst for her is mostly within an already bloated episode. Eda, while an absolute mood, lacks any real kind of edge. Does she need it or not? I don't know. Discuss, kids.

Luz, like OP says, is treated like this high-energy super-optimist. She's like Star Butterfly in that her fangirlism and impulsivness are supposed to get her in trouble. But, she absolutely just isn't one when you break it down. Besides episode 2, Luz really is never that inconsiderate or lost in her fantasies ever again throughout the show. She never has anything like what Steven goes through where he hops into Larz' body and makes things worse for people by trying to fix things- which is not only good filler but it calls forward to the ultimate ending of Steven's arc for the series - Luz is just sort of adorable. Luz has blindsided by hype moments of weakness, like when she accidentally hurts Owlbert or messes with Amity's secret room, but still always level headed and down-to-earth. Her impulses are always kind of treated like...excusable? Because, again, they usually are. This is a large part about what makes her self-hatred at the end of the show about accidentally helping Belos' feel 'forced'. Even MOREso than what Hunter and Daddy Titan explain about Belos using her, we the audience never see Luz's choice to go back in time and try and get answers from Philip as being anything other than just, you know, logical. Because it is. The show acts like what Luz did was reckless and bad and that she was SOOO overtaken by her fangirlism about Philip and now just how much she has to live with the guilt and regret of helping being duped by him...it just doesn't come off that way at all. She was only so much excited about meeting him and her interest was getting home to her mother. In terms of comparing her to Philip, that's all fine and good, but again it's not 'flawed'. Not really, anyway.

Lilith absolutely has it the worst...but I kinda think people know that. She arguably does have the most morally-gray turning point in the show given what she did to her own sister. But neither the characters nor her nor the show really hold her accountable in any lasting way for cursing Eda. Lilith is the closest we get to that 'Diamond'-dilemma. She does 'make things right way too quickly and it's obvious to even her biggest fans that her character is really rushed in this area. They lampshade what Lilith did and that she was their villain in season 2 and 2B, but lampshading isn't the same thing as progress. As a result, as a Lilith fan you kind of never really forgive her for what she did. None of that's her fault, cause' you know...she doesn't exist, but it makes it frustrating that you the fan watching the show is doing the heavy-lifting in your mind in this area.What you come away from is this feeling of loving the characters for being able to work everything out. They're engaging and nuanced in theory, but you also feel robbed, w or w/o the Disney interference, of them being fully rounded or WHOLE. It kinda feels like 'and suddenly, he wasn't racist, anymore' all the time with every character ever with except Amity's mom, the Titan Trappers and Belos.

The reason everyone dunks on Star vs the Forces of Evil's finale, (besides being salty over ship wars and declaring THAT'S the reason for the drop in quality) is that 'Cleaved' could have not only worked but REALLY worked. It just needed to be better written and processed as an ending. Instead people reviled Star, the protagonist we're supposed to be rooting for, for what feels like impulsive apathy and cruelty towards everyone else by destroying magic, as opposed to it being an actually selfless sacrifice that makes her different than Toffee. Ultimatley, I do prefer The Owl House, unfinished as it is, to any of that. But yeah... I can now never unsee the characters as being what they are: fun but indulgent when they're supposedly complex. Indulgent is never bad u guys, but the problem is when you only have that to go on while insisting you have fully developed characters, there's a lot of the show telling you how to feel and how to come away from it rather than letting you, the audience, make of that yourself. As annoying as fan-wars can be over this stuff and when people are either WAAAY to forgiving of their villain blorbo or form hate-campaigns over Glub Shitto for ruining their life, it is ultimately a good thing that shows give you that chance to really see the characters that way at all.

The Owl House is, as OP calls it, "tumblr feels" not for being gay and magical and fun and wholesome and indulgent like that stuff is GREAT. It feels 'tumblr oriented' in that it all kind of feels too easy even when it's not for your protagonists. It's never actually "challenging". I guess, in as far as 'good' indulgence is concerned, it's as warm and fuzzy and a happy AU fanfic you found but not so much the Pacifist Ending of Undertale where you really do feel bad if you rectify the good ending in anyway. It's fun and it's comfort food, but not entirely lasting as you want it to be???

Amphibia, I think, was also way better than Owl House in this respect. It wasn't perfect cause nothing is but you really got a feeling for HOW flawed Marcy, Sasha, the townsfolk and even Hop Pop throughout their arcs-- which made it so SO rewarding to see them get their happy endings and come together to defeat the core and be the better people they needed to become.

The Owl House is my favorite where I think Amphibia is the better of the two.

[yellowkitkieran]

To Have and to Heal (Part 15)

Masterlist

Read part 1 here

Word Count: 3.1k

Summary: Single working dad Martin Odegaard is navigating the ups and downs of parenthood all on his own, and he’s struggling. That’s not to mention football, life and... love?

Could we talk? 

When your message appears on his phone, Martin doesn't believe his eyes. At first he assumes he is dreaming; a quick pinch to his forearm and the subsequent brief burst of pain confirms he is, indeed, awake. He laughs to himself then, a giddy, overjoyed sound as he reads the message from you again and again, enough times that the words are burned into his eyelids when he closes them. 

Rearranging his schedule to pick up Atla today had been worth it. Incurring Arteta's wrath for sneaking out early? Also very, very worth the reward. Even if nothing comes of it, even if you don't have the courage or wherewithal to send him a follow up response, Martin can live with that, as long as he has some closure. 

His fingers shake as he types out a casual, cool, collected response. Of course! Now? Tomorrow? When are you thinking? 

Nailed it, honestly. Not overly eager. Simple and to the point. Leaves nothing up to interpretation. Martin is still sweating bullets regardless. 

For a few minutes, Martin simply stares at his phone until his eyes water and he is forced to blink some moisture into them. He tries not to fret when you don't immediately reply. It's late; there is a good chance you're either sleeping or prepping for your classes tomorrow. Despite his racing heart, sweating palms and pacing feet, Martin somehow convinces himself that he is perfectly calm. He's definitely not freaking out. Nope. He's fine. Toooootally fine. 

Though that fragile construct comes crashing down when Martin's phone vibrates. Whenever you have an hour or so free? After school of course. I can come to you?

Absolutely. Friday? I'll be done at six. But I'll come to you though. 

Martin immediately arranges for Kieran to take Atla overnight as a precaution. Who knows what might happen? Martin doesn't want to get his hopes up, but regardless of how things go, he knows he will be a volatile bucket of emotions and he'll need some time to process. He would rather do that on his own than have his daughter around to witness it. Good or bad, Friday will be… interesting, to say the least. 

Friday at six thirty then. That works. I'll see you then 

The expectation of hearing from you again is dashed when twenty four hours pass with nothing new. Martin's phone is far from quiet thanks to the Arsenal group chat, which thankfully keeps him busy and occupied on his day off whilst Atla is at school. Martin even arranges to pick Atla up himself, though he's disappointed to find another teacher in charge of after school care instead of you. 

Tomorrow, he tells himself. Tomorrow is my second chance. 

And Martin is completely, utterly, wholly determined to grab the opportunity with both hands and run with it. He refuses to squander his relationship with you a second time. He will say all the right things, fall over himself to make all the right promises, and follow through with each one of them. Because if Martin is being honest with himself, the last time he felt about someone like this… He married them. 

On his way into Colney the next morning, Martin passes by Atla’s favorite bookshop. It is a quaint, family owned place located on a busy corner in north London. He glances at their window displays when he is stopped at the light, as he often does. 

And Martin does a double take- the sign in the window promotes a new romance book, titled ‘Second Chances Only Come Once’, written by the author of the hit book ‘She’s the One’. 

The grin plastered on Martin’s face is indicative enough. If he had been waiting for a sign, that would be it. The sky over London is a bright, vibrant orange, streaked through with rich reds and subtle yellows. The sunrise is the exact shade of Maria’s favorite paint- Windsor Orange, a color she claimed felt like home. Each Christmas Martin would buy her a year’s supply to ensure she didn’t run out. 

“Thank you,” Martin murmurs to the sky. A light breeze ruffles his hair through the open car window, and the smile does not leave Martin’s face for the entire drive.

Kieran doesn't ask questions at training that morning- he's simply excited to spend some quality time with his goddaughter. Kieran does not question Martin��s good mood, not even when Martin convinces Arteta to go easy on the team and skip the half dozen extra drills he had scheduled and opt for an extra gym session instead. 

Martin pays very little attention whilst Kieran rattles off a long list of things he's planned to entertain Atla, including a trip to Harrods to spoil her rotten. Normally that sort of thing would irk Martin, but today the thought barely registers. 

“Uh huh, sounds great,” Martin murmurs noncommittally, “Perfect. Atla will love it.” 

“Mate, you've not heard a word I've said. You're fine with me taking her on a shopping spree? You normally yell at me for that! What happened to ‘she's got enough toys,’ eh?” Kieran makes air quotes there, referring to the dozens of times Martin has argued that point. That, at least, causes Martin to pause. 

“What? Oh- I mean sure if that's what you want to do with her I won't stop you, she'll enjoy it. Really she will-”

Kieran sets his weight down and rests his elbows on his knees. Everyone always says that blue eyes are unnerving, but Martin knows the truth- it's the unflinching, hard brown eyes that really do you in. Martin clears his throat, squirming under the pressure of Kieran's stare. “Tell me.” 

“Tell you what? There's nothing to tell.” Martin scarcely believes himself as unconvincing as his words are. Kieran simply blinks, which somehow is even more unnerving than the original stare. Martin sighs, knowing his friend will not let up until he uncovers the truth. “Alright fine- I'm talking to solskin tonight. It's not a big deal!” 

Kieran, knowing better than to pry, simply nods firmly. “Good. Maybe you'll quit moping around the grounds then. Honestly it's getting tiring, carrying this entire team on my shoulders. I cannae do it all on my own, you know.”

Martin cracks a grin, “I know mate. Hopefully after tomorrow I can take some of that pressure off you.” 

*********

Martin, Martin, Martin. For nearly forty eight full hours, the Norwegian midfielder fills every corner of your brain. You're barely able to make it through your lessons, as distracted as you are by the thought of seeing him again. In a private setting. Alone. At your house. 

Why did you agree to this again?

Friday evening, you frantically clean your already clean flat. You agonize over whether or not to leave the blanket slung over the sofa- is it too suggestive? Or is it just cosy? You wind up leaving it. You are fully aware that you are overthinking. That doesn’t stop you from rearranging the shoes in the entry three times until you’re positive they are just the right amount of messy. 

Deciding on an outfit is nearly as chaotic- with Jen's help you settle on comfort over chic, opting for your favorite pair of jeans and a loose, warm sweater. Your hair you leave in your usual style, not putting too much effort in. This is not a date, as you have to continually remind yourself. It is simply a chat, nothing more. 

Waiting is the hardest part. You sit on your sofa with a random show on for background noise, something about the history of the crown jewels. Should you have cooked? Six thirty is dinner time, ish- maybe he's expecting a meal? Oh god-

The doorbell interrupts your thoughts and you spring into action. You wipe your palms on your jeans before opening the front door, pasting a smile on your face that you pray appears genuine. Your eyes start at his feet- black and white Nike dunks, light wash jeans, and a black bomber style jacket- and end on his soft, angelic face. You quickly meet his eyes, lasting all of one second under the gentle scrutiny of his baby blues before heat floods your cheeks and you are forced to look away.

“Hey- hi Mr. Ødegaard, please come in.” 

Martin's hands slide into his pockets, thumbs hooked into his belt loops. “I'm not coming in until you drop the formality, solskin.” 

You swear your very soul responds to the nickname. It glides so easily off his tongue, as though no time has passed despite the cold shoulder you have given him. With one sentence, Martin crosses the chasm between the pair of you without a second thought, throwing you a lifeline to cling to whilst you try to wade through the sea of emotions that threatens to overwhelm your good sense. 

“Okay,” you murmur, “Okay. Please come in, Martin.” 

“Mar,” he corrects softly, tipping his head to meet your downcast eyes. “Please call me Mar.”

Only when you nod in agreement does he finally relent and enter. He bends to untie his shoes and hangs his jacket on the hook behind the door. There is a familiarity in his actions, like he has done this a hundred times instead of being able to count the number of occurrences on one hand. 

“Um, please have a seat,” you say around the bile creeping up your throat. You haven't been this nervous since your first day teaching. It feels as if one wrong move will leech away the confidence you've spent ages rebuilding; brick by brick you've had to remind yourself that you deserve this. One step at a time. 

“Thank you.” Martin makes himself comfortable on the sofa, one arm slung over the back. It strikes you then how well he fits in. Despite his undoubtedly expensive clothes, he does not seem out of place in a room filled with mostly second hand things. The cream of his shirt perfectly matches the blanket you worried over earlier. If you didn't know any better, you'd assume they were cut from the same cloth. 

You clear your throat and carefully perch on the opposite side. You smooth the wrinkles from your sweater, suddenly self conscious of your appearance. Shit, you forgot to offer him a drink! 

“Would you uh- would you like a drink? There's water, soda, uh… milk I think?” 

Martin's smile is like a physical caress, calming your nerves. Whether he realizes it or not is uncertain, “I'm alright for now, thank you solskin. You wanted to talk?”

How is he so calm right now? How are you not calm? You're the one that asked for this. You prepared, didn't you? Spent hours on the phone with Jess last night, coming up with bullet points of what needed to be said. How have you suddenly forgotten it all?

“Solskin,” Martin prompts softly. “Hey? I'm perfectly okay sitting in silence but if you have something to say, I want to make sure you're heard.”

“Stop- just stop being so charming for two minutes,” you mumble. You press two fingers to your temples and try to get your ducks in a row. You requested to speak with Martin, yes. You wanted to discuss the potential of moving forward. You wanted to tell him you still care about him. Okay. Okay. Basics first. 

You take a deep breath and straighten your spine. Cheating your body towards Martin's you begin, “I still care about you a lot. More than I should considering you're the parent of one of my students- don't do that,” you scold when Martin tips his head side to side. Martin grins, forcing you to fight to keep your mental train on the right track. “As I was saying, you're the parent to one of my students and I shouldn't even have asked to speak with you. I should've taken what happened as a sign from the universe, an easy way out but I just…”

“Can't let it end, yeah.” Martin finishes the thought on your behalf. You nod, grateful that he was able to voice it when you couldn't. 

“Right. But I also know that your daughter has to come first, and I don't want to suggest otherwise. Atla loves you and you're all she has, I know she looks up to her papa. I know she doesn't want to see you with anyone other than her mum, and maybe she's just too young to understand, which means this was all just a waste of time and ishouldn'thaveinvitedyouanyway-”

Your words rush out in one long heap, piling over each other and overlapping at the ends. Tears prick your eyes and suddenly you feel so incredibly stupid for thinking this could work in any capacity. Martin reaches for your hand but you pull it away, unable to bear the thought of him touching you, knowing you'll only crumble. 

“I want this to work Mar, I really do. But I can't ask you to choose between me and your family, it's not right. I don't want to sneak around either,” you add in haste when Martin opens his mouth. “I won't be the reason your daughter hates you. I won't tear apart your home. I just won't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.”

Once he's positive you're finished, Martin cautiously scoots closer to you. He watches for any sign that you'll flee, and when you don't move a muscle he wraps an arm around your shoulders and pulls you to his chest. This time you allow it, because you know you'll never have this luxury again. 

Martin's hand runs over your arm whilst he silently soothes you. Your nose is buried in his shoulder, his cologne imprinting itself in your memory. It baffles you how such a simple thing can bring you so much comfort. But slowly, like molasses dripping from a spile, you feel the coils of tension stored in your muscles unknot themselves. Slowly, you feel yourself winding down, your breath coming in even intervals instead of panicked gasps. Your hands, which had fisted themselves tight in the cotton of his shirt, unfurl to rest flat on his chest. 

“That speech was quite noble solskin, but I think you've forgotten something.”

You sniffle, determined not to cry despite the battle raging within yourself. “What did I forget Mar?” 

“That you're part of my home now,” Martin says into your hair. “If you're determined not to let anything ruin my home, you need to include yourself in that.” 

Martin is terrible at articulating how he feels. You've grown used to it; you may not have dated for long but it only took a handful of dates to realize that his trauma ran deep, and that he played his cards close to his chest. So that display of warmth, of what he truly feels inside, is rarer than a diamond. You want to nestle it against your heart and keep it protected behind your ribcage. It is worth more than any precious gem. 

Without thinking, you reach up and cradle Martin's jaw. You smile sadly when he presses his cheek into your hand, your thumb soothing a line under his eye. He's so beautiful- tender and raw and open. Vulnerable. A side you never expected him to share with you. 

“I don't want you to put me before Atla,” you say softly, mindful of how fragile he is beneath your fingertips. You have to be gentle; if you're not he may never trust anyone again. 

Martin covers your hand, fingers tight around yours. “And I don't want that either. I want you both on the same level. I-” Martin stops himself, his throat bobbing under the weight of words left unsaid. “I care about you so, so much. I just want you in my life. That’s all I want.”

“Then Alta needs to understand that I'm not replacing her mum. She needs to understand that before we even think about doing anything, Mar. You can't risk hurting the relationship you have with your daughter.”

“I know. I will. I'll get it all sorted and then it'll be fine- we can try again. Right?”

You nod then, your smile brighter this time. “Once she knows all that, we can try again.”

Martin's eyes flick to your mouth and you know you've both had the same thought. You want to kiss him, to climb into his lap and melt like chocolate on his tongue. You want to pull at his stupid chicken hair until he moans into your mouth, his sounds of delight so sickeningly sweet that your stomach will ache for days afterwards. 

But you can't kiss him. So you don't. At least you have that much control. Instead you let Martin trace your parted lips with a reverence that makes your skin tingle. He moves on to your jaw, your cheeks, your nose, your brow- as if he were a blind man putting a face to a woman who until now has been no more than a voice to him. 

“I have so much to say,” Martin says finally, “and there's not enough time to say any of it.” 

“One day soon, you'll have plenty of time to tell me anything you want.” You allow yourself the luxury of his embrace, your arms winding around his solid middle whilst his fit firmly around your shoulders. 

If you're lucky, this could be your reality. You could come home to Martin, or rather he could come home to you, and have his busy days be endcapped by love and devotion. You've always said you would never consider being a housewife, that you respect yourself far too much to allow yourself to be reduced to a servant to your significant other. But for Martin? You want him to eat a home cooked meal every night. You want to massage his shoulders when he makes an off-hand comment about being sore from training too hard. You want to put Atla to bed and then draw a warm bath for you and Martin to share. 

You want to give Martin the world because he deserves it. You would wait on him hand and foot because you know with absolute certainty that he would do the exact same thing whenever he was afforded the chance. And that sort of fairytale is exactly what you've always wanted in life. You aren't about to let it slip through your fingers. 

[theragethatisdesire]

Ideas!

Bff Eren #10

Because there’s gotta be more Eren/Jean discourse before Jean comes to terms with the fact that he’s not getting his ex back. Eren being a smug ass mother fcker about it, too.

OR

Roommate Jean (well, poly boyfriend Jean). “You look pretty like that” prompt.

Maybe reader is handcuffed to a chair or in a bed? She’s an absolute mess because she’s dying to be touched and neither of her boyfriends will indulge her. They’re not sure if they even want to considering how pretty she looks all desperate and restrained. They’ll stroke themselves so close to her mouth, let her think she’ll get a taste. She stains her neck in hopes of getting a lick but they stay ever so slightly out of reach. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If I keep writing, I’m gonna end up sending a damn drabble to your ask box. 🤣

HIIIII kjt<333 omg.....this is like...such a difficult choice. honest to god i may pocket your first idea for something.....longer than a drabble ;) so i'm gonna go with the second one bc i am OBSESSED with poly erejean like genuinely. obsessed. might have a part 2 coming for them too solely bc i love them<3

throwing all nsfw under the cut like always

"Not too tight, is it, baby?" Jean tugs the ropes digging into your skin into what has to be the final knot after nearly twenty minutes of positioning, repositioning, and admittedly, a rope burn around your ankle.

"Mm-mmm," you try to assure him around the gag in your mouth, shaking your head no. Jean smiles, places a laughably chaste kiss on your forehead.

"Such a good girl for us, aren't you? He's going to love it."

The ropes were Jean's idea; ever since he'd joined your relationship with Eren, almost everything was Jean's idea, having come so far from the timid, reluctant lover you'd made of him a few months ago. These days, Jean's nearly bouncing out of bed in the morning with a new idea to bring to the bedroom, and neither you nor Eren have the wherewithal to complain about it.

Eren's had a rough few weeks at work, and over coffee this morning, Jean had talked you into a "surprise" for your mutual boyfriend. This surprise had involved a trip to a sex shop, a hardware store, and an hour-long Youtube tutorial on knot-tying, but you'd figured it out together, and it's paid off.

Jean's got your arms above your head, secured to either side of the headboard, and your legs spread wide enough to incite a slight ache in your hips, ankles tied to your thighs and putting your already-dripping cunt on display. A black lace gag is holding your voice back behind your teeth, and the collar Eren and Jean had surprised you with last weekend jingles around your neck when you wiggle experimentally, testing the bonds that Jean's wrapped you up in.

"Can't get out, can you?"

"Mm-mm," you affirm, tugging on the ropes at your wrists to prove your point. Jean grins again, wicked and dark.

"Eren's not the only one getting a surprise today," he muses, knocking around in the nightstand drawer on your side of his bed.

What he pulls out makes your eyes widen.

"I didn't tell you, but I left a little pocket riiight..." Jean trails off, working the vibrator under a little slip in the rope, "here."

He angles it perfectly against your clit, not yet turning it on, but watching your reaction lecherously. You're already running hot with your movements restrained, already starting to feel the hum of lust buzzing through your body.

Before Jean can make another move, you meet eyes meaningfully at the sound of the front door opening, Eren's voice calling out into the empty apartment.

"You guys home?"

"Be right back, don't move." Jean snickers at his own joke, leaving you there bare and unattended.

Unable to move, your other senses hone in on every little bit of stimulus around you. The muffled sounds of conversation between Eren and Jean outside; you can hear Eren's disgruntled grumble, Jean's soothing timbre, but not what they're saying. The annoying, understimulating nudge of the vibrator against your center. The texture of the lace gag against your tongue, the way it's making you drool ever so slightly. And then the door clicks open.

"Fuck..." Eren trails off, eyes going wide. If you look close enough, you can see the front of his pants already beginning to tent. You're not sure what to do, so on display; you can't smile through the gag, can't even move in greeting, really. Jean's turned you into their little fuckdoll in the most literal sense of the word. Jean smirks proudly.

"Isn't she so-"

"So pretty," Eren breathes out, rounding the bed to caress your cheek, brush a thumb over your nipple, "you look so pretty like this, baby."

Jean comes behind Eren, wrapping muscled arms around his waist, palming slightly at the erection forming behind Eren's zipper. "She's all yours, we both are. Whatever you want tonight."

"Whatever I want, huh?" Eren's eyes darken. He turns his head over his shoulder to Jean, catching the other man's mouth in a slow, languid kiss. Watching them pulls a whimper from you, muffled by the gag, but insistent.

Jean breaks the kiss to frown down at you, reach over and flick the vibrator on, ripping a tinny whine out of your throat.

"Behave yourself, you're supposed to be his little surprise, remember?"

Eren smirks down at you through hooded eyes, lets one lazy hand drag soothingly up Jean's neck, lets the other come down to tweak your nipple roughly. "Let her act up a little. Can't punish her if she's not being a brat, right?"

[intheholler]

i like what you said to the other anon, 'whos to say it's even misspelled? it's our language.' because as someone who loves languages and studies them in my freetime I've been saying stuff in that vein for years. Language is man made, and by men it will continue to be made and remade-- even in ways you don't like. You just have to get over it.

Idk why so many English speakers get so up their own ass about speaking 'proper english' even when what's being said is perfectly understandable. It's these people who turn their nose up at dialects typically associated with the poor, the marginalized, and the not-white and don't see any problem with it. Like do you actually care about the fact they spelled it 'dieing' or do you just want to take cheap shots at those backwards hillbilly redneck racists or whatever you think youre doing?

i also love languages and study them in my free time! i can talk myself blue in the face about capital L "Language" as much as i can about appalachia. how cool to meet you.

my passion for language joins forces with my love of the region and its dialect often, and it's why i find myself defending it this loudly.

like, i write for a living. i KNOW proper spelling and grammar. i have a fine grasp on it because they fuckin pay me for it.

and frankly, even though i know the "proper" way to say things, oftentimes i simply Do Not. why? appalachian dialect is easier, more natural to me.

its easier to say "them things" than "those things." it's easier to say "that" sans the "th-" when it follows a word ending in a consonant. "it don't matter" as opposed to "it doesn't matter" just feels better in my mouth. "ain't" is a word, because we speak this word and use it to communicate, and therefore it is so.

appalachians and southerners alike get accused of being lazy with our language, and so what? i love that our dialect reflects the slow way of mountain living, the freedom and ease that comes with it. it's a feature, as they say, not a bug.

sociolinguistics is absolutely a thing, as you know, so while that sort of thing gives me the liberty and wherewithal to speak in my dialect even though i """know better,""" unfortunately, there's a flipside. meaning i can't help but to think the answer to your question is in the latter half. no, they don't give a shit. but it makes them feel morally and intellectually superior over them damn uneducated hillbillies to tell us when we say shit or spell shit "wrong."

all the more reason for me to wanna do it.

this got long and out of hand. sorry. languages. appalachia. excitable. etc. thanks so much for this ask, i love the topic you introduced.

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S1E19: The Home Invaders

Vice helps Sonny's mentor investigate a rash of violent robberies.

A heavy, methodical, paranoid episode* with a surprisingly non-devastating ending and a lot of Castillo doing very serious detective work-- The Home Invaders is another Vice classic, and also a great Crockett & Castillo episode

The Squad is roped into a robbery case in the middle of the night (Gina seems bright-eyed and bushy-tailed-- the rest of them are in various states of decay); a series of homes have been broken into and their residents not only robbed but violently assaulted

There's no Tubbs in this episode, which is explained by an offhand comment from Trudy-- he's in New York "sipping champagne with Valerie," which bothers the hell out of me, because last time we saw her she was going to jail for murder. Next time we see her we learn Sonny pulled some strings to get her exonerated (which... okay. Fine. I don't actually buy it, for a number of reasons, but I do understand why you'd want to get Pam Grier back), but at this point it just seems like a major oversight, like they forgot how the last Val episode ended

When the squad is pulled in to help, we learn that Sonny's old mentor is leading the investigation. Sonny is thrilled to see him and clearly still is harboring a bit of hero worship. Martin is significantly less impressed, looking through the files from the robbery department and asking, essentially: okay, but do you actually have any... clues? This becomes a running theme, and Sonny has to navigate a My Parents Are Divorced situation because of it-- his mentor doesn't actually seem to be doing a very good job with the investigation, but Castillo-- who is incapable of tact on this topic-- is his current boss, and someone he has developed a lot of loyalty to.

Trans Flag Sonny

The episode involves scenes where the robbers are doing the robbery (with faces hidden, violent and unknowable and terrifying), which are really well done and raise the tension and stakes to genuinely uncomfortable levels. However, there are also scenes where they show the robbers plotting, and to be honest I think the episode would've been better without those. This episode is by no means a treatise on the nature of criminality, so by turning them from almost a force of nature into "a couple of chuckling guys talking about money," it just makes them... less scary? (And I think there's a sense early on that Sonny's mentor might be corrupt-- once we meet the titular home invaders, it becomes fairly clear that he's not involved in the crime, he's just phoning it in. I think that extra bit of tension could've been really good!)

This is such a good Castillo episode, partially because it really establishes the dichotomy of how good he is at his job vs. how weird he is and how iffy his social skills are. Castillo will solve the case! But he will absolutely not make eye contact with anyone as he does so. The moment where he and Sonny sit in the car and Castillo just... literally does not move for about a minute is fantastic, and there's another scene that's all cuts between Sonny out pounding the pavement and Castillo... reading. Reading every file ever. Endlessly reading files forever. That is just so emblematic of their two characters. I swear at one point he drinks a random drink he finds on the bar-- he is odd! Insanely competent, but odd.

Sonny realizes Castillo is right, but he does not want to be his babysitter-- he spends a lot of this episode sighing and furrowing his brow and trying to apologize to Malone (his mentor) even though he is actually suspicious of his ability to run this case-- Sonny is very charming, but he actually does not have the emotional wherewithal or bandwidth to play go-between for those two. (There is a scene where Sonny and Marty both ask Malone a bunch of initially gentle and then increasingly dire questions and Malone just..... stops making eye contact, too.)

Gina is sent to the hairdressers to investigate a possible link between victims, and has a really well-done sequence where she is carefully watching everyone in the salon (to the tune of Sheila E.'s The Glamorous Life-- which I always think is a Vanity song, and then I always think about the fact that Prince wanted to name Vanity "Vagina"). It's not only a well-shot and choreographed sequence, but also one where Gina mirrors both Sonny and Castillo-- it's an episode with a lot of watching and looking, and the three of them all get a really lovely opportunity to show off their actual detective skills. Sonny watches the streets and looks for clues there, Castillo watches the actions of the robbery division and looks for clues in files, and Gina watches people, looking for behavioral hints that could help them get to the heart of the case.

Trudy is not given much to do in this one, which is a bummer, because she is also super-extra hot this week. Otherwise it's also a really good "the whole team working together" episode, too.

I do like this episode but there's a bit of mean-spiritedness towards both the sex workers that help them narrow down their suspects and the older woman who is a potential victim-- it's all a little too victim-blamey and ha-ha-women-are-frivolous for my tastes.

So, Sonny has a number of "person I have hero worship feelings about" episodes, and every other one ends with that person being swallowed up by the job and either dying or letting the system turn them bad. Malone, on the other hand, makes amends with Castillo, realizes and admits he's been phoning it in, decides to retire because of that, tells Sonny what he's doing and why, and then goes and eats lunch with Vice Squad. He's the only person in the whole series who shows Sonny that sometimes you need to say goodbye, and gives him an example of what it looks like when you do it on your own terms. Given the ending of the series, Malone may in fact be the true hero of Miami Vice-- he literally says to Sonny "let me show you when it's time for you to put your gun on the shelf," and when the time comes, Sonny also manages to walk away.

Also Castillo/Malone remarriage for the sake of their son arc?

*Re: the home invasion plot and sense of paranoia-- there's a bunch of S3 episodes that basically are just Dick Wolf saying "hey, what if we redo the plot of a S1 episode but worse and with more police brutality," but there's another paranoid home invasion episode in S3 (Shadow in the Dark) that is so good it almost makes The Home Invaders seem a little tame by comparison. It's probably the only "plot retread" episode I actually like just a smidge better than the "original." Nonetheless, this is still a great episode.

[fairytail-whathesays]

hello! if it’s not a problem, can i ask for some headcanons of sting with a veeeryyy hot headed BF who’s also not a wizard? both sfw and nsfw if that’s okay :)

you’re very good at writing and i love how you portrait all the characters so well

Thank you!!!

Being a wizard and using magic is so normalized around Fiore and especially within Sabertooth that Sting's kind of surprised to meet a guy who doesn't have or use magic, let alone date one.

Hot-headed matches well with Sting, especially if they have that upbeat spark that he's got himself. You guys obviously started out arguing or competing against each other, maybe fighting, and you know how Sting loves to prove himself.

Granted, these traits do match up badly with the fact that Sting near-exclusively hangs out with wizards otherwise. Sting has just enough wherewithal to pull you back if you start trying to beef with Orga or Minerva or some shit, bc without the magic, u ain't Natsu and ain't gettin up if they clap you.

If you aren't a fan of wizards in general or don't keep up with wizard culture, then it ends up kind of refreshing for Sting. It probably tripped him up a bit at first, expecting you to know who he was, illustrious guildmaster of Sabertooth and all, and floored him to hear "who the fuck" back.

He's SO DISAPPOINTED AT FIRST like him boasting about killing dragons has never failed to earn a reaction but pretty soon he gets excited about showing you what being a wizard is like. It's even better if you uno reverse card him and drag him into whatever world you're coming from, be that non-magical guilds or just everyday life where people use electricity and shit.

You two probably met at a gay bar. Bonus points if you were the bartender. Double bonus points if you were the bouncer.

Since Sting is so eager to defend or just fight alongside his man, many fights you'd otherwise struggle with get one-shotted. Which probably irritated you after a while and he was asked to back off. He sulked about it for a week.

Unless you are yourself a high earner by some fashion, odds are Sting is richer than you by a good margin. He is a pretty capable wizard who regularly goes on difficult and high-paying missions, so the good news about that is you get treated often. Anything you want, you get without a second thought, you're pretty spoiled.

Rogue vanishes the second you appear, not because he doesn't like you, but because your energy and Sting's energy put together makes him need a nap very badly.

Sting does his best to hype you up the way he would any boyfriend, and he's good at it, only he sometimes lets people think you're a wizard for the fun of it. He's had a lot of fun lying to people about what kind of magic you use and how it can make people's heads explode or other outlandish tales.

NS/FW:

There are two possible outcomes here: One, you put your money where your mouth is and get Sting in Slut Mode pretty easily with that surefire aggro attitude of yours...or Sting discovers your bark is worse than your bite and you get a free domming out of your man.

The 69ing. Good looooooord the 69ing. Y'all be makin' each other dizzy.

Sting's filter is only half what yours will be. If you talk about sex lightly, then he's gonna be ready to brag to everyone around him how good you are in bed. If he's not too hoarse to speak.

So many nudes. You get new snaps daily, always after some attention, because you know he loves that attention.

Sting hates getting dressed after the fact so be prepared to see him walk around in the buff once he's got his breath back.

[foodsies4me]

When Alec decide to have a nap in the orphanage garden and baby Max and Sorcha decide to join him

+ general rookies always circulating around him

I am slightly cursing you for making me break my "no Magnus POV till Bridges is done" oath, but also this was too cute a scene that I couldn't stop myself from writing this.

His vision swims with pulses of light, the million sunbeams increasing his headache into a migraine that has him swallowing pain and bile back in equal measure. His body shakes with exhaustion, his fingers prickling with oversensitivity despite how familiar all these sensations have grown through the years. Magnus is tired and exhausted, his limits so far out of sight that they might as well have been the starting point. Ragnor and Agatha are talking among themselves, discussing something Magnus doesn't have the wherewithal to pay attention to at present. Neither is looking at him and Magnus takes the chance to slip away before either can notice his growing unease and discomfort. Magnus is about to head back to his loft, his mind running through all he still has to do despite his clear exhaustion, the plans he still needs to discuss with Raphael, and the potion he still needs to finish for Catarina and the werewolves. He planned to head straight home only for his eyes to land on a giggling Shan and Cylia, who disappear behind the corner and into the small garden behind the orphanage. The two girls are holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands - daisies, bluebells, forget-me-nots, and other flowers Magnus doesn't have the time to recognize. Even with exhaustion dragging him down, his magic hurting more than any headache ever could, Magnus follows them to see what the two girls are up to. He can hear Ali's voice before he turns the corner, bright and gleeful as he whispers something to a giggling Shan and what sounds like a chuckling Zacharias. His little magicians are all turned with their backs to him when he peeks in their direction, talking among themselves and looking down at something on the ground at their feet. A step closer reveals that something to be a sleeping Lightwood, his arms wrapped around a dozing Max and Sorcha. Lightwood's face is pressed tightly to Max's wavy blue hair, Max's fists clutching Lightwood's shirt between his hands. Sorcha is tucked under Lightwood's armpit, scaly feet wriggled under Lightwood's shirt and pressed to his bare skin in search for warmth. Yara is lying draped over Lightwood's middle, her face cushioned on Lightwood's stomach as all four continue to doze peacefully - unbothered by the giggling voices around them or the flowers that Shan, Cylia, and Ezra are braiding into their hair. His little magicians are all smiling happily, his ward looking safe and content in Lightwood's arms and some of the exhaustion fades from his shoulder as Magnus reminds himself why he's been pushing himself so far for so long. Just a little bit longer. His eyes linger on Lightwood's face, soft and peaceful in his sleep and Magnus feels another wave of pain and doubt wash through him. He just needs to hold on a little bit longer. Lilith, please just don't let him have made a mistake.

[kiefbowl]

I live in Seattle and wanna move back to Chicago one day. Your blog is cool, mine ain't and that's why I'm anon. Serious question here: my family is pressuring me to have kids (I'm a lady) and I don't want to do that. I'm 31 and hetero-married. I wonder about if it'd even matter if I regretted my decision to not have kids. Is this potential regret going to shatter me emotionally? I don't think so. Has anyone ever pressured you to have children? I wonder if I'd be ready to have kids if I was not expected to. Does that make sense? Anyway love your blog because you're real and super relatable.

Yeah, I feel a little pressure. I think when compared to other women, it's really not so bad. I think my mom feels like she can't talk to me at all about children (which isn't true...she's just unwilling to have the conversation on my terms), so she has made some off handed comments to people who aren't me within my earshot, things like "well I'll never have a grandchild at this rate" and other nonsense. The thing is I actually haven't decided yet, and I am leaning towards yes as long as certain things happen in the next couple years financially. I also feel the "biological clock" as it where in the fact that it would be nice to have a baby by a certain age if I'm going to have any, and that age gets closer. However, I'm not overly concerned about that either. It weighs on me but ultimately I want to make this choice intelligently, because I'm not interested in bringing a child into the world without it being the best situation possible for that child, so if I haven't reach certain goals by 35, I'm not going to say fuck it let's get pregnant just so I'm having a baby by 35.

I'm quite satisfied with what my life is and could become without kids, so I don't think I'll regret it if it never happens. I think I could feel sad though, only because if it doesn't happen, it feels like a choice I didn't get to make freely, and I can see myself lamenting never meeting the child I could have love. That being said, my life won't be over! I'll have freedom, youth, money. I'll lament it in the same way I didn't try to become a paleontologist or travel vlogger now knowing with hindsight I could have with the right guidance and knowledge. You can't be everything, and if I don't become a mom, I'll be the other things I'll be.

All that's to say, if you don't feel like me right now, you're probably right that you won't regret it. And if you start feeling like me in a couple years, that's fine because you still have time. And if you do end up feeling shattered with regret...you know, you just can't avoid grief and pain, so why try to hedge your bets on this one when it involves brining another person in the world? Maybe you will feel sad later, but I think you'll have the wherewithal to shoulder it, because you've probably already lived through many sad things and disappointments and jealousy and anger, why would this be something so uniquely different?

In the end, you can't live your life for others. You have to make your life your own, and every choice you make will have detractors. Ultimately, you have to say "well fuck off lol" even if it's your own family.

Good luck sis!

[irregularcollapse]

hi i have a migraine so i'm not up to looking unfortunately but is rhere a particular snippet you've written you're dying to talk about?

if you want smth extra i Love nicaise :) ❤️

Thank you for this!!! <3 I'm feeling pretty chatty hahahaha so I appreciate it a lot (very sorry about your migraine though).

You love Nicaise! I love Nicaise! Laurent loves Nicaise! So let's talk about Nicaise in even in another time.

This is the section in Chapter XIV when, after experiencing a triggering conversation over dinner, Laurent asks Damen to tell him about "the informant":

“What else can you tell me?” Still a low rumble more than words, and may whatever gods Damen believes in bless Laurent’s husband because he clearly wants to ask the direct question, clearly wants to fix the unfixable. Because Laurent knows him, has come to know him so well, he understands even here and now that it is about sharing the burden. It is about knowing Laurent in turn, but they wrote the rules themselves and so he must abide by them. Laurent takes a long, tired breath. “I did not know about what the Regent has done, aside from his machinations for the throne.” “Are there… other gaps in your knowledge?” An odd question for Laurent, considering where his own head is at, but in light of their previous private conversation—perhaps not so left of field. “Yes, Damen. Everyone has gaps in their knowledge. Tell me about the informant. How old was he?” There is a heavy pause, after which Damen’s chin meets Laurent’s shoulder. “Fifteen, when he was sent to Acquitart. But he was clever, and observant, and dedicated. He figured a way for Lazar to smuggle messages into Delpha, into the hands of loyalists. Word was sent to Nikandros. It was not long after Kastor—I was not… I was unable to meet him, or speak to him. His name was Nicaise.” Laurent feels him swallow, the working of his jaw. “When the Veretian defectors joined us, Lazar said that Nicaise had been found out. Lazar had tried to smuggle him from the fort, but they came for him in the night. The escape was tight, and a child—I do not have the full details. Lazar provided only the necessary report.” Time is a circle, Laurent muses, but has the wherewithal not to say it aloud.”

The first thing is Damen asking "What else can you tell me?" and Laurent's musing that "they wrote the rules themselves and so he must abide by them," obviously a nod to their mutual agreement to never ask the other to share information that they don't want to give. The deliberate promise itself is drawn from Outlander, as I've said, but it also has a grounding in canon. One of the things about Damen's treatment of Laurent is that he allows Laurent space and grace when he needs it. There are many examples of it, but one that I particularly love is in Prince's Gambit and actually relates to Nicaise as well:

Laurent pushed himself up and gave Damen a look glittering with triumph, even as he dragged the back of his right hand across his mouth, where his lips were smeared with blood. And then Damen saw what else lay among the overturned platters that littered the floor. It was bright against the tiles, like a scattering of stars. It was what Laurent had been holding in his right hand when Damen entered. The blue sapphires of Nicaise’s earring. The doors behind him opened, and Damen knew without turning around that the sound had summoned the soldiers into the room. He didn’t take his eyes off Laurent. ‘Arrest me,’ said Damen. ‘I have raised hands to the Prince.’

This is after Laurent, destroyed and furious with grief, deliberately provokes a violent reaction out of Damen by insulting his father. Laurent uses Damen as a tool for his own punishment here, pushing Damen in precisely the way he knows will hurt most to, firstly, stop Damen from treating him with a kindness that he does not think he deserves, and secondly to force Damen to hurt him because that is (to his mind) what he deserves for failing Nicaise so completely. I could go on about that, but to look at Damen here: it's the reaction to the realisation that is important. When he works past his own grief and sees Laurent's, and connects his own feelings of rage and pain to Laurent's, he immediately apologises. Him saying, "Arrest me ... I have raised hands to the Prince," is an acknowledgement of what Laurent is feeling in this moment, it's an apology for not giving him grace as others have not given him grace, and it's a call-in for Laurent to remember who Damen is and what they are becoming to each other. (There is sooooo much more, but I'm so aware that I haven't even gotten to Nicaise yet!)

Then the other moment I want to mention (although, as I said, there are many) is in Kings Rising, before they spend the night together:

Laurent didn’t look back at him. Deliberately Damen leaned back, his body intentionally relaxed, his weight on his hands on the bed. He didn’t understand the forces that moved in Laurent, but some instinct pushed him to say it. ‘My first time, there was a lot of rolling around. I was eager and had no idea what to do. It’s not like Vere, we don’t watch people doing it in public.’ He said, ‘I still get too caught up near the end. I know I forget myself.’

It is, once again, about Damen seeing a conflict inside Laurent but not pushing him on it—acknowledging it, saying "I see you," but not forcing Laurent into voicing it or explaining it. He doesn't need Laurent to explain himself, to share things he doesn't want to share. He only ever tries to create the space for Laurent to honestly express his feelings, even if he can't give voice to the reason for it. This all sits behind the scene in EIAT, where Damen is simply trying to give that space and grace, to say You are safe here because I won't push you. You can tell me as much as you want.

But also, they're both quite tit-for-tat people (another thing I could write a dissertation about, oh wow)—both have a strident sense of justice, and both have a sort of transactional view of relationships (Damen positively so, i.e. if you treat people well they will be kind in return, vs. Laurent's 'everyone has an agenda' outlook). This is also the basis for their "be honest with me and I will be honest with you" agreement in EIAT, which Damen deliberately plays on here: he answers Laurent's question about "the informant" with as much honesty as he can, within the limits of what he knows about him, to encourage Laurent to share as much as he can as well.

It is enough, within a few sentences, to give Laurent some of the connection to Nicaise which he feels in the books. Nicaise in the trilogy functions as a sort of distorted mirror for Laurent (the other distorted mirrors being Aimeric, Erasmus, and Jokaste). He sees his young self so intensely in Nicaise, a version of himself that can be saved—that is strong enough to save himself. However, still being captive in an abusive situation himself, there is little that Laurent can do without dealing out more harm to Nicaise (yes, there's another dissertation in that).

In EIAT, Laurent hears that Nicaise was "clever, and observant, and dedicated," and he fought against his abuser to uncover the truth but ended up as collateral damage anyway, and he thinks, "Time is a circle."

At this point, Laurent has not yet accepted that he was always meant to come back, that he was in history all along; he is using the phrase more in the sense of 'history repeats itself.' The circle here is that the victim is the one who has to take initiative, who has to make the most of their circumstances to protect themselves, who becomes responsible for uncovering the information which will punish the abuser, and yet ultimately is still left damaged. The consequences for modern-day Laurent are nowhere near as horrendous as they are for Nicaise, but Nicaise will always be—in the books and in EIAT—a symbolic representation of the worst possible outcome for Laurent. In both the modern world and the ancient one, the information that the victim uncovers is invaluable, it saves countless other people, but at what cost?

When the idea that time is a circle comes up later in EIAT, it is in acknowledgement of Laurent's place in this world. It is about him coming to recognise that his choices do have an impact, both positively and negatively, and that the reverberations of those choices have significance outside of himself. It is also, ultimately, about the connections between him and the world—between him and Damen, him and Nicaise, him and everyone else he encounters. It is a reminder that he isn't alone, in his trauma or his grief or his joy or anything else. Accepting that is part of his character journey in the books as much as it is in EIAT, and Nicaise will always be part of that.

Thanks again for letting me ramble! I hope that this somewhat makes sense; I feel like I had to truncate a lot of it, I had so much more I could have said! But nobody's reading all that lmao

(Pssst if anyone else wants a DVD commentary on a bit of my writing, send me a passage!)

[borzoilover69]

> BORZOI: READ HOMESTUCK LIKE ITS 2011 (PART 4)

(4256) THERE HE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ❤️   ❤️   ❤️   ❤️   ❤️   ❤️  HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SCIENCE PROJECT! HELLO DEAREST!!  ❤️   ❤️  ❤️  WOJAK POINT WOJAK POINT THEYRE CONVERSING!

I'm throwing popcorn at my screen and laughing my ass off HEY COOLKID is this you? Hahah. Hehe. Hahaha. I'm not falling for your tricks cool kid.

BURST OUT LAUGHING. THE WAYYYS THAT THE JAKE AND DIRK GET JANES GOAT ABOUT THINGS GOOD LOOORD. Jane jabs at Jake at grammar and stuff, Dirk does it with Jane, just little consistencies in friendship is what they're so endearing for. They're like "uh huh. yep. you certainly used that word. mhm." *judging*. But in an ENDEARING way ok. The "that sure was a phrase you used".

This is important!! Also this reminds me you should probably go talk to Hal here it's trained off dialog from the comic and as of this post stands at a staggering 14.1k messages! I always like to see what people say to him (when they send it) and he can be really funny!

I haven't checked on him for a hot minute so the accuracy is to be determined but look! Here's him right now! Go talk to him!

4257

What is. What is blud doing in the background. I like to think seb has an inner monologue similar to dirk striders where hes like going "This thing needs to be moved. Geez Jane, this place is a mess." or "I'm awake and ready to serve fucker." You get the gist. Inner monologue going crazy as he works but being full aware ain't nobody hearing his cool wittisms. Janes expression is completely valid lmfao

Here is another moment of Jane casting doubt on her abilities. And here's where Dirk talks.. about his ancestor for the first time. You know what I guess I can bring up the post where I went over.. dirks jealousy of Dave and self internalisation of that hate? To be honest I'm surprised it got the attention it did. Its been something that I thought about for so long but I never brought it up because it felt and still does to a merit "taboo". Nobody really talks about what admiration can do on the flip side, how it can make you measure yourself up, make you feel attached in a way that provides you with a flip flop between intense aspiration to despisal and envy.

Except.. that isn't exactly true. As I pointed out before, Jane casts doubt on her ability to live up to her ancestors legacy, even if it's just a joking legacy.

You fancy yourself a SKILLED PRANKSTRESS, if by no other measure than lineage. Though at times you feel it's tough to fill those shoes when you are SURROUNDED BY JOKERS. Seriously, the shenanigans perpetrated by your pals make your old school japes feel KIND OF PEDESTRIAN SOMETIMES,

Poppop Crocker was a LEGENDARY COMEDIAN, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who of course was the greatest southern pranking legend of all time. One day, you hope to follow in poppop's too.

GG: Maybe I'm just stuck in the dark ages of pranksterism with my funny mustaches corny old joke book.

Jane and Dirks parts are equal parts jokes as it is thinly veiled inner conflict of ideas they have about themselves and their role. Dirk is sort of ironic in how seriously he takes his irony. Which means it's not really as ironic as he thinks it is.

4258 goes hard.

TT: Ever hear of Con Air?GG: Nope.GG: Wait...GG: Wasn't that some bit of action schlock from the 90's?TT: Yes. GG: Some of the silly nonsense referenced in his work was well before my time. I don't have the wherewithal to investigate all this minutia. TT: Yeah, it doesn't matter really. But it was from that. Dude weirdly obsessed over that shit movie for years, among others.TT: Know those signature shades you see him wearing on magazine covers and stuff? Another prop. A gift from Stiller himself, I believe.

You know this seems like an old man gay yaoi issue. Now why EXACTLY dear sir.. were you obsessed with the very movie that your best friend had as a favourite? You know it's tragic. Alpha Dave SHOULDVE banged that old man.

You know one of you guys will have a field day analysing this piece of text and I know it, you know it, so put on your goggles spaceman.

4259

I'm not going to provide screenshots, but this is where Seb starts getting antsy, and Dirk says that Jane will be the leader of their group, drawing parallels to page 2682 where John and Rose are talking about their null session, unable to get any further.

TT: This session was never meant to bear fruit. TT: It's barren, so to speak. EB: that's a bit of a bummer! EB: i am still skeptical about that, though. TT: That's why you're our leader, John. EB: huh? TT: Optimism through stalwart skepticism is a defect not everyone is lucky enough to be cursed with. EB: that's stupid. EB: i'm not your leader, i am your FRIEND, there is a BIG difference! TT: Statements like that are also why you're our leader. EB: pff. EB: laaaaaaaame. TT: Yes, kind of.

But in Dirks, he chooses it because he thinks thats "the thing to do"

TT: I'm sure you must be aware by now that you'll be the leader of our group, as you will be the first to enter the session. GG: Um, no? GG: This is news to me. I never gathered that "team leader" was a thing for this game. TT: Trust me. It's a thing. GG: Are you sure? I have my doubts. GG: I believe as a group we will have the temerity to succeed, without my having to order people around like an insufferable bossypants. TT: That's why you're our leader, Jane. GG: Hm? TT: Optimism through stalwart skepticism is an affect not everyone is plucky enough to be graced with. GG: That's stupid! TT: Yeah yeah. I know. TT: You're not our leader, you're our FRIEND, right? GG: Precisely! GG: There is a BIG difference! TT: And statements like that are also why you're our leader. TT: But only in name and in spirit. Less so, functionally. TT: If it puts your mind at ease, I'll be the one pulling the strings here.

This reads to me a lot as something he orchestrated, something he thought up to look cool, but what's the point of saying all this shit when you say afterwards you're just going to say that she's controlling none of it and really it's just you (which really, in the end it wasn't). Jane points out a pretty good point about there not being a true LEADER leader, and Dirk just plows on. He proceeds to have a long and eyeroll worthy emphasis about how much he can serve, how good he is at it, how Jane only has to call and he'll come to the rescue, not to worry at ALL. I mean i have to laugh. Here he is emphasising how much he can serve and he can't. He can't at all. Pushing someone in a direction does not always equal helping. His suggestions are befitting his aspect sure, but doesn't always mean it's the right solution!

4261-64 moving on.

The dads are always so incredibly endearing. ANd i love when janey does the lil. :| at people like giiirll me too! Absurd whimsy everywhere. Hey look at lil seb g-

4266 OH NO NOT THERE LITTLE SEB!! GOOD LAWRD.

Dad crocker is incredibly funny to me i will tell you why in a hot second

GET IUT JANE!! ALL OF THIS IS MALAAARKEY!! Even now quite a few of her friends are being INCREDIBLY silly to this girl from a normal childhood growing up in a normal time!! Egads!!

Reminds me of the times where I was travelling around ( i travel a lot majority of my friends expect im outside constantly) and they swore i just wasnt real because i show up in random places that contradict each other and go missing for weeks only to be found on some desert island hunting crabs.

But anyways

4271- 4273

Sorry i dont have much to say just imagine me with the goofiest smile on my face.. like <:}... Like ah.. yes.

Nearby, someone or something bleats like a goat for strategic purposes.

And also

Ironic purposes.

.... :} !!!

Look.. heehee... hes so :D!! His bes friend... :3 Silly..

4282 THEY DONE KILLED OFF THE MOST WHIMSICAL GIRL!

4283 ITS SO OVER.

[ END OF ACT 6 ACT 1 ] ?! Hey wait what does this mean for us. hey wait what does this mean hey wai-

[ screen cuts to BLACK with cue card with words "HUSSLE" in comic sans. ]

4299 panel goes hard? So does 4303

JADE: witch powers can teleport things, and fling things around through space at very high velocities JADE: all sorts of stuff! JADE: but to be honest, im not sure how much of that is attributable to inheriting becs abilities... JOHN: man, spacey witch powers sound a lot more versatile than my powers, frankly. JOHN: not that i'm complaining, because wind powers are still awesome. JOHN: but anyway, that is neither here nor there!

I'll leave you on this piece of dialog to consume. I'll see you all in the next part. As always anons and comments are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[rainbowgaez]

long ramble because i just dropped my gf off at the airport and I am a fucking mess with too many thoughts in my brain

over the last couple weeks, i finally met one of my partners—the one ive been with longer than ive been with literally anyone else in my life. despite being together since mid 2016, this was the first time we both had the wherewithal to make a visit happen, and while that may seem like it took way too long, for a lot of reasons that you don't need to know, it couldn't have happened at a more perfect time.

she flew in on the 26th and immediately i knew we would get along just as easily as we had online for years before then. both of us have always talked about how quiet and introverted we are, but it was one of those things where i didn't know if we were going to truly vibe irl until it happened, even if both of us were pretty sure we would.

we always talked abt how the first car ride from the airport was going to be awkward—it's a 3 hour drive from my place to there. both of us are slow to work up to physical affection, but when i picked her up, it wasn't but like ten or twenty minutes into the ride before we were wrapped up in each other. it just clicked. that's so incredibly rare for me with anyone. even partners ive established intimacy with, i usually have to re-warm up to them after time apart. so the fact that we connected so quickly when we first met was so special.

im a pretty boring, solitary person. my favorite activities are ones in which it's quiet and i can do my own thing. this is always a bit scary for me. i don't want to bore anyone just because my brain only ever feels like engaging with what it wants. but that wasn't a problem with her—quite the opposite, actually. we could just sit there and quietly do our own thing in my room, and it felt every bit as special as it would if we went out and did things. there was no pressure for either of us. we settled into each other's patterns instantly. within days, it felt like she'd been living with us all along. i wished that were the case.

distance is hard. it's a lot of counting. how many miles apart you are. how many hours, days it would take to close the gap. how much time will it be before you can be together for real.

and then, when you plan a visit, it becomes about counting down, and that's so exciting. you start counting the months until it's time. before you know it, you're counting the weeks. it's something to look forward to. something to hang on to.

but the moment you meet, the countdown isnt exciting anymore. it gets a lot harder. you might still have weeks to count, but before you know it, weeks become days. days become hours. hours become minutes. minutes become mile markers, and mile markers become exits, exits become streets, streets become steps, and steps become seconds spent holding each other, waiting for the other to pull away because it's the last thing you want to do. but you have to. that's the only way to start the count over. and that sucks. because you dont get to know how long it's going to be until way later. but just the same, you don't know when the next countdown will be the last one. it's the most terrifying assurance there is.

i feel blessed that me, her, and all my partners exist in the same time, in a reality where we have the ability to connect to each other despite how unlikely the chances of us ever meeting were. i feel lucky to live in a world where, one day, a silly string of text like @nudist-squid can be the first name i know someone who will eventually become one of the most important people in my life by.

but at the same time, im heartbroken and devastated. it feels cruel that we met because of certain circumstances, and yet we exist so far away for those same reasons. and closing that gap takes so much from both of us, and there's no promise we can ever close it for good. but if I can help it, I certainly want to try.

this summer has been dogshit. ive been through so much unnecessary bullshit, and when things have been looking to improve, something else happens. but this was the most wonderful bookend to a dismal season i could have asked for.

thanks for reading.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece SBS Vol 105 Thoughts

The spoilers have been flowing out for SBS 105, and with it a bunch more info to digest. So let's talk about some key points.

Spoilers for the SBS (which also has Wano spoilers)

Starting with the big one:

Zoro's bloodline

I see a lot of people upset or mad that Zoro's family tree was put in an SBS, but honestly I don't think it matters. The Wano chapters were already pretty blatant about the fact that Zoro is a descendant of Ryuma and there's more to his likeness to Ushimaru than the prior SBS confirming that he's not his dad. All you really get from the SBS is the bits in the middle; Ushimaru is his great uncle, his sister Furiko married a swordsman around Shimotsuki village, Roronoa Pinzoro, who bore Zoro's father, Roronoa Arashi. Arashi died fighting pirates, but interestingly married a 'Tera', a Bandit's daughter, who died of illness.

Honestly though, I think there's still more to it. The fact that Zoro didn't initially grow up in Shimotsuki village must mean that his mother resided somewhere else, was Zoro a bandit kid? Is his maternal grandfather still alive? What pirates did Arashi die fighting against? There still feels like there's some stuff less obvious Oda could potentially unpack.

Side Note: Tashigi Reminder to people that this does not confirm that Tashigi is a Shimotsuki either, despite some people's efforts to spin it that way. Yes 25 people left Wano and only 10 founded Shimotsuki village (which was already a village but renamed) but that does not mean they were all Shimotsuki, Miyatomo the craftsman was also a part of that group after all, plus there will be people in service of the clan (like Orochi was to Yasuie, even though he wasn't a Shimotsuki). In addition, it's worth noting that the village was established by defeating bandits, some simply may not have made it out alive. Overall her former likeness to Kuina may be something, but it also may not, nothing about her is confirmed yet.

Chopper vs SMILEs

So while many were disappointed to hear that there was nothing Chopper could do to fix the people suffering from the defective SMILEs, it always made sense to me. For one, the after-effect is not a disease or virus, so it doesn't quite undo his goal (people just expect Chopper's goal to be completed in Wano when it's convenient?). Secondly, SMILEs are fake Devil Fruits, so people are really expecting Chopper to undo a Devil Fruit effect? That's a bit much.

I feel like people expected too much from this because of how easily Chopper could counter Queen's Plague Rounds, but even this was beyond his capability.

Kurozumi Tama

I mean, this was obvious right? She has purple hair, how many other characters in Wano have the same hair colour as Orochi? The key thing though was Oda clarifying the also-obvious matter of Hiyori's parting words to Orochi being specifically for Orochi himself. Tama is a Kurozumi, but she isn't going to be subjected to the same harassment, especially since she partook in defeating Orochi and Kaido too, plus she has an army of SMILE users at her disposal and also the only ones who really know she's a Kurozumi would be Hitetsu/Sukiyaki (who was fine about raising her) and herself, and she would have the wherewithal to keep it to herself anyway.

Others

On the less unpackable side of things there was art of Yamato as an Oiran to satiate the thirst traps, of course in this case Yamato probably wouldn't be identifying as Oden if he was an Oiran.

Green Bull and Black Horse (the criminal investigation guy) had their design inspirations revealed, they are indeed very accurate.

And Oda very expertly danced around Sanji's eyebrows changing due to the Raid Suit effects, so there will probably be more to Sanji's biology to look into later.

Post-Reverse Mountain crew know some of what happened during the sagas before they joined, by asking those who were there if they were willing to tell, which makes sense, not too necessary but it also explains why Franky and Robin didn't know about Laboon in Thriller Bark.

Also alongside Sora, Warrior of the Sea, Oda revealed that the other popular picture books are; 'Fire Dog' (A dog on fire), 'Pokeemon' (maybe Pokémon hinted but image is more Doraemon), Monkey Ball (Dragon Ball, has a monkey with an axe flying the nimbus), and 'Marco-San' (which is just a girl, I was half expecting just Marco or a Pineapple, dunno the reference).