#They go out and pretend to be Just Friends TM

[itsdrawingmen]

Bet you thought I died! You aren't getting rid of me that easily! Me and my Yoozens are pushing on.

This time, it's them as Best Friends And Lovers (ship dynamic meme by @/kirikidu on xitter) because That's What They Are!

Alt version under the cut

[unproduciblesmackdown]

omgg lol [guy who won't stop going "more like scapeGOATED" voice] now hold! on!! lmao [same guy just saw encanto voice] Hold on!!!

[lonesome-pear]

So I saw a video about the epic of Gilgamesh, saying that it contains the phrase in those distant days. Well, I thought that could be a good theme for a poem so I decided to write one. I turned on some Minecraft music (not sure why but it ended up working out) and got writing. It ended up being about missing the past. I kind of wanted to share it so here it is

In those days, those distant days

I would sit there for hours, placing things in new ways

Stuck in a creative haze, in those distant days

In those distant days, I would be with friends

People I loved, people I no longer know

Sitting in the basement, by a warm fire glow

In those distant days, I would find a new thing

Something that was little, but also somehow big

A planet of sorts, where it seemed like I had wings

Flying through the memories of those distant days

In those distant days, I had childlike wonder

Before all I knew was torn asunder

Little me, scared of thunder, was comforted in the moments of those distant days

How I miss those distant days, where there was joy and whimsy

A time where memories made were of good quality

But I cant go back to those distant days

I must relive them in different ways

Find whimsy with new people, in new places

Find joy in new games, with new faces

But I will enjoy this days now

The present can be pleasant anyhow

But even when it's not, I keep going somehow

Those distant days are far away

But I carry on, I find a way

Because I might be looking towards them, those distant days

[bats-and-the-birds]

Headcanon that early on in Dick's tenure as Robin, Batman gets seriously injured during patrol one night. Not enough that his life is in danger, but like, enough that he's unconscious and needs medical attention.

And after he gets him squared away, Jim Gordon sees a small, masked child covered in someone else's blood, and then his Dad (tm) instincts kick in, and he refuses to let Robin go to wherever he calls home alone. So he just... takes him back to his home.

And this can go two directions. Either

Barbara, not Batgirl yet, wakes up when her father comes home and sees a boy slightly younger than her, covered in blood, and befriends him, for sure freaking out her father but also making him incredibly worried about Robin and if he has any other friends or not.

or

Barbara, fully Batgirl, but not on patrol that night because she had a test that next day, wakes up when her father comes home, and comes face to face with her best friend in his masked alter ego, and they both have to pretend that they don't know each other for like two days, meanwhile Dick's sweating because like Holy shit, I've had sleepovers here before, whatever you do, don't act like Dick Grayson.

Either way it ends with Dick, mask still firmly in place but wearing Barbara's pajamas, and Babs fully passed out on the ground around a game of monopoly when Batman finally comes to collect his sidekick.

This experience would also make Jim Gordon even more terrified for Robin on a daily basis because before, he was sort of a shadowy, cryptic force that followed Batman around, but now Jim knows that he's just a little boy, smaller than his own daughter, that likes the same games and cartoons that Babs does, and I'm not sure he'd be able to handle that.

[talon-dragonbeast]

weird rules, social expectations and Being A Woman

you know, something that really pisses me off about Society (tm) is how normativity is just so mindlessly, happily rewarded, even by the most tolerant of people. specifically (but not exclusively) regarding to gender expression.

i am a woman. i was born a woman, i live as a woman, i am perceived as a woman, and i even identify as a woman. ill admit i also have some gender fuckery going on in here, but my internal identity is, frankly, nobodys business; im happy to be assumed a woman, because i honestly dont care how others perceive me in this regard. but. this doesnt mean that i am happy to do the whole nonsense routine that is required to be considered a Real Woman by almost everyone in this god darn planet. i dont do makeup, i dont like to style my hair, i mostly stopped shaving, and you couldnt pay me to care about clothes.

my mother is always telling me about how pretty i am. growing up, i heard it all the time. you have such beautiful curls, if i had hair like yours i would let it grow a lot longer (thanks, i like it shorter tho). im so jealous of your eyes, they are so blue! (haha yeah, i was born with them). i bet this dress would look so pretty on you, why do you never wear skirts? (they just make me uncomfortable, i like my own clothes anyways). if you wore makeup more often you would look so much more beautiful (i like how my face looks, thanks). you should shave your legs, they look bad like that (you never tell [brother] to shave his legs).

it is infuriating. i hate it so, so much. i am a woman, not a doll to play dress up with. and if i have to pretend to be a human, the least that society could do is to just let me exist in peace! it drives me crazy that all this is even expected. worst part, it is fucking Everywhere.

this christmas one of my cousins got me a new pencil case. it is pink and green, and has some cats and snakes and bugs and moons drawn on it. it is beautiful, and although i wasnt too thrilled about the color, i figured it was cool so i began using it. one of my friends saw me take it out during class, said oooo [name], thats so pretty! and gave me a Look. i dont know how to explain it without sounding crazy, but i swear it was like she was saying, so now you like Woman Stuff! you know what Look im talking about, right? when you finally cave in and do the feminine thing, and its like everyone is so happy that youre finally filling your expected role in life. it is weird as hell. i dont like it.

but like, this is my friend, who supports me being aroace and autistic and IS BISEXUAL HERSELF! something something, leftism leaving peoples bodies when a gender non-conforming person does something that is stereotypically associated with their gender. idk, its a bit like dog training when you think about it for a second. in animal training (and i mean proper animal training, not beating your dog until it stops barking), good behavior should be rewarded, while bad behavior is supposed to be ignored so the animal learns to only do the good behavior. you do the feminine thing, and you get smiles and compliments; you stop doing it, then suddenly gender presentation doesnt matter. and this... training behavior is, of course, mostly unconscious, with its perpetrators unaware that theyre even doing it. if i asked my friend what she meant by that, she would say that she didnt mean anything, she just liked the case. if i asked my mother why do i have to shave while my brother doesnt, she would say that its just how things are.

its just how things are. its how it always has been. its how it always will be. so just shut up, smile, and pretend it isnt happening. pretend youre not being trained like a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. it doesnt matter, it isnt happening, so why bother thinking about it? dont think about it. stop thinking about it.

[storiesconsumemysoul]

Stupidly Long Incoherent Ramblings on Lanfear, Rand, and Egwene

I feel like we are only discussing the Lanfear play with Egwene and Rand as jealous vindictiveness but we are truly not giving her enough credit. Every action she's taken so far this season has strategically resulted in, once again, slowly isolating Rand from his support system. Required conditions to secure her hooks - that have been rudely slightly dislodged - back in him. And in her eyes, Egwene is pretty much the last major obstacle.

By end of S1, Rand was alone, pretty much resigned to going mad and dying in the near future, cut off from all that he has ever known and loved, and terrified of his own mind and body. Selene makes herself a place of safety, companionship, trust, but most importantly, strength. She was the second relationship he'd ever had. With an older worldly woman who still wanted him, a clueless country bumkin. As he put it perfectly, she made him feel like a man (2x4). While he is extremely vulnerable, isolated, and terrified out of his mind, she made him feel stable and capable. That is an incredibly potent connection that does not get dissolved by the reveal of who she is. Especially since all of the reasons why he was vulnerable and isolated are still factors at play. He's still the Dragon. With all that that entails.

In the backend of S2 Lanfear has to resort to explicit forceful methods and make deals and transactions because the relationship has been damaged. But after she gets to be his big savior (2x7) she now gets to go back to building their dynamic again with more subtlety. Namely, by recreating the conditions that got them together in the first place.

We start S3 with explicit acknowledgment that 1) Lanfear is invading his dreams and trying to interfere in his decisions, 2) He is not being swayed and is instead working with friends again, and most importantly, 3) He told Moiraine about it! And what does Lanfear do? Bubble of evil that kicks every member of his entire support system exactly where it hurts them most -> makes them all splinter in different directions -> makes Moiraine (and Lan) her accomplice in that act of betrayal and cruelty establishing some real mutual destruction leverage over Moiraine where Rand's trust and compliance is concerned. Even though he still chooses to not go after the sword, that's still impressive work. And of course, continuously torturing Egwene in her dreams every night since she is the last holdout staying with him.

The scene in (3x5) when Rand says that he and Egwene haven't had a moment alone to talk since Rhuidean really stood out to me since the last we saw of Egwene in (3x4), she was desperately trying to catch his eye. To connect. Of course, since it's clear that Lan and Moiraine hadn't talked either (until settling in from their travels) that tells me that there just wasn't a chance for heart to hearts on the way from Rhuidean. But Lan gets to it basically the moment there is an opportunity because babygirl came out of Rhuidean in absolute shambles and he needed to get on that ASAP. But Rand (who's doing a great job pretending he's not going through it) and Egwene can't work towards reconnecting and really processing the shitshow that is their lives together because ... oh yeah ... Egwene is slightly preoccupied by being tortured nightly by a goddamn forsaken. Lanfear actively and materially benefits from keeping Egwene strung out and preoccupied. I really don't think it's the simple petty satisfaction of it all that she's really after. And The Wise Ones, wisely, prioritize teaching Egwene how to defend herself as quickly as possible over having heart to hearts with her dubious-status-boyfriend. Which means Rand, who is totally Fine(TM) and in no urgent need of a heart to heart, once again only finds real refuge with one person.

Repeatedly triggering and retraumatizing Egwene, who is still stubbornly sticking by Rand, ensures that she continues to have a hard time with intimacy of any kind anyways. Which is in turn also somewhat triggering for Rand since his biggest fear is hurting those he loves. And Egwene tensing up, flinching away, and distancing herself from him - as much as he understands isn't actually about him - well ... still is a particularly rough experience for him too. Their bubble event was truly perfectly calibrated to severely mess both of them up. Add on to that both of their nightmares, the arches, and Rhidean? Yeah. So, naturally, the distance between them grows and grows because Lanfear is pushing all the right buttons at such a crucially vulnerable time for both of them. Egwene needs her own refuge in order to protect herself from even more trauma, and Rand finds relief in the only familiar place of comfort still being eagerly (against his will) offered to him.

And it is so important that he finds his refuge in dreams instead of clandestine real world meetings. For one, it allows him legitimate deniability. He's not like ... seeking her out and he doesn't have control of this space so ... you know? Is it so wrong to soak in whatever comfort he can from the continued invasion of his mind by a near all-powerful being? And I really don't want this to be misconstrued as "oh he secretly wanted it so Lanfear is doing nothing wrong there actually" type of argument. What I'm trying to get at is this: making your target feel complicit in their own abuse because you put them in a position to "enjoy" some part of it is very much so an abuser tactic (the cult dude ritualistically performing oral sex on his victims as part of their initiation into his inner circle comes to mind).

Two, his dreams without her are nightmares where he commits his worst fears. And taking the alternative of having a nice little chat with his ex(?) in their "love cabin of simpler times" sure is a no brainer. The waking world and his dreams are terrifying and painful, but Lanfear can give him refuge in a safe little warm bubble. All for the cheap cheap price of indulging her advances a little. Three, seeing Lanfear in Rhuidean reinforced a thing we have seen him kind of realize but not really confront. Which is that Lanfear (and Ishamael) have a real meaningful connection with some version of him. And he can say all he likes that he's not Lews Therin but it doesn't make the grain of truth there go away (I often think about the strange lovely tenderness he shows Ishamael in his last moments). But like ... the hell is he meant to make of all that anyways? Nothing realistically. Except when he's in this strange liminal "unreal" space ... who can blame him for trying to feel out the shape of that connection?

And four, in controlling the setting of his dreams, Lanfear gets to naturally invoke Selene and all the ways Selene made him feel, all the warm fuzzy feelings associated with that place, and time, and lover. Even while he actively distrusts Lanfear. It's why her "there is a way for me to escape the dark one ... oh what am I saying let me dramatically dip real quick" thing is so effective. She's sitting on their bed, in the warm glow of their cabin, vulnerable and allowing him the opportunity to step into the role of a stable and safe version of himself. The opportunity to be in a place of safety and strength again for his own sake AND be a place of safety and strength for her. Again, that quote about making him feel like a man is so important, especially when he's vulnerable and so terrified of himself. So when he meets Mierin, of course he's going to latch on to her goodness. It's everything he saw in Selene. And everything Lanfear had been subtly priming him into keeping at the forefront of his mind and heart throughout their interactions. She has slowly but surely positioned herself back where Selene was. As a place of respite, comfort, and strength. Of course, of course, he would be tempted by the idea that that version of her can be saved. Can be made real again.

Now the real risk with her shenanigans in (3x5) is that, surely, Egwene is going to tell him that Lanfear has been the one hurting her this whole time. Which could be a massive blow that ruins the fruits of all her work. But I think Lanfear is taking that calculated risk now because she feels secure in her position. Secure enough to forcefully sever the connection between him and the last person in his support system close enough for him to seek in them what he found in Selene. She's betting on his anger being mitigated by growing more desperate for comfort when isolated fully again.

I don't know if this play is gonna work out for her the way she wants. But I can't deny that I respect the hustle. Truly villain-ing at the highest messiest degree.

[bluedandylyon]

Rewatch Rambles (tm)

Season 1

The Sea Gate

Not a whole lot of analysis on this one, but it's a fun ep.

Love how Adora is just SO angry at this person for no reason

This show is so gay dude. Glimmer's little bisexual grunt too as she checks their muscles out too asjkdj

This episode is the first ep where shit gets really fucking funny, and jock Adora is my favorite Adora, it’s just butch culture to arm wrestle and I’m glad the crew-ra included it. 

Also Bi disaster Bow my beloved. His mega crush on Sea Hawk means everything to me.

I know we all love Scorpia and she’s the fandom baby and yeah, she’s lovely and gentle and only deserves the best. But like I feel like we really don’t talk enough about how much she disrespects Catra’s boundaries throughout the show ngl. 

Scorpia is one character that I actually like less with every rewatch, and I think it's cause I become more and more empathetic towards Catra with every rewatch as well.

Also calling someone "kitty" as ur first word towards them is insane behavior. It'd be like calling someone baby, and unless you're like... a drag queen and you're doing it ironically, u cant do that to me, nope!

You know what? This might be unpopular but I'm gonna start a new counter : the SBB (Scorpia Boundary Break) specifically in terms of Catra and her bc it really does happen often and imo it gets swept under the rug a bit.

so SBB : 2

I love how Kyle is the only one who respects Catra’s position as Force Captain. Go Kyle tbh

I know this phrase becomes a repeated joke, but it really goes to show that Catra is always at a disadvantage. Shadow Weaver is setting her up for failure and waiting for her to mess up so she can punish her and confirm her bias (which is also projected self-hate.)

Which is to say it's impressive that Catra manages to become second in command DESPITE that. And it's through horrible means, but she was also using the only tools she was given (which weren't much).

Every woman in this freaking show has a crush on She-Ra and I so respect them for it, me too girlies.

Just an outright lie lmao. I sometimes wonder if Sea Hawk is just like... a pathological liar.

Thinks of Season 4

YEP!

sure u do Catra, go pester ur ex intimate-situationship

Scorpia basically attempts straight manslaughter without a second thought. If Sea Hawk hadn’t saved Bow, he would’ve been DISINTEGRATED 

Yum. Finally, some good fucking food (me at any catradora scene)

The way She-Ra is able to carry Catra on the sword effortlessly… lesbianism for real

Catra puts her hand on Adora’s forehead like she did when they were kids. She is pretending she isn’t taking this seriously bc she can't show Adora how much she actually cares about her coming back.

She misses Adora and wants to catch up with her and she also wants Adora to be proud of her, PLEASE.

When Adora doesn't really acknowledge her, her easy smirk falls away.

GIRLLLLLLL when Catra says “it seems like only yesterday (being force captain) was the thing you wanted most in the world. Hasn’t this gone on for long enough?” And Adora’s focus on the sea gate wavers bc it’s Catra she wanted in reality. 

"Cupping your enemy's face when you're fighting is a good strategy right? asking for a friend." - Catra, probably

Catra always takes Adora leaving the horde personally. She always turns to attack when Adora says she’s not going back, and she says “this is what you left ME for?” Her identity is so entrenched in her environment. Again, BPD behavior. Catra doesn't really have an identity without Adora, and now that Adora is gone, the only thing left for her to cling to is her environment. It's not safe, but it's familiar.

I also like how in this whole interaction, you can see how Catra is trying to imitate SW's tactics. She tries to appeal to Adora with their shared past and past goals, she insults her, and when that doesn't work, she attacks.

Literally not necessary to whisper in Adora's ear like this but pop off.

I also really like how Catra's nose is always shaded like this to imitate a cat nose seen from the side.

My soaked, sad blorbo, look at her little face in the first one, PLEASE. She is so upset Adora won't go with her.

I love the visual of Catra being dragged by Scorpia in the water but she can’t stop looking at Adora bc she can’t focus on new relationships while she’s mourning Adora’s loss.

[johanna-swann]

Okay, but how about an angsty thanksgiving intervention? They have a friendsgiving thingy a couple of days before or after the actual holiday at the Madney house. I imagine Maddie, Chim, Hen, Karen, all their kids and Buck are there. Eddie is in El Paso for the holiday and Bobby and Athena are busy with something else, idk. (I feel like having Bobby there would prevent a lot of the drama, so for reasons he can't be there.)

But Chimney (with Maddie's approval) also invites Tommy - except Tommy doesn't know this is a family event [tm], he thinks Chim just invited him over to hang out. Drink some beer, watch a movie maybe.

And Tommy thinks: "I should probably go, Howie's been my friend for almost 20 years now. I can handle hanging out with an old friend for a night, even if he happens to me ex's brother-in-law. It'll be good for me." But he's completely and utterly unprepared and not ready to run into Buck again so soon, much less in a context that oh so loudly screams "family" and thus represents everything Tommy always wanted and never had. It's an ocean's worth of salt in a fresh wound.

Buck on the other hand doesn't know Tommy's coming to the friendsgiving either. He just prepared a shit ton of food and figured spending time with his family will be a good distraction from the break-up. He hasn't hung out with Hen and Karen in a while and he's looking forward to having all the kids around. Who can mope about a stupid ex when the noise is drowned out by giggling and laughing children running around?

Chim and Maddie hoped that their plan might help Buck and Tommy to at least find some closure or maybe even get them talking to each other again. Either way, at least everyone gets a good, home-cooked meal and some quality time with friends out of it, right?

But then they're suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with each other when neither of them is ready. Buck has barely begun to even process the break-up. Let's be honest, the baking thing has been more of a distraction from thinking about Tommy than a coping mechanism to work through his feelings. He's still a little bit in denial and Tommy crashing his safe-space catapults him into the anger/depression stage.

Tommy could've dealt with a movie night with Chim, could've even coped with having Maddie and Jee-Yun there, but an entire ass family holiday? Avoiding eye contact, forcing smiles, faking normal for hours while pretending he isn't still putting the pieces of his own heart back together? Knowing he will go home alone with the fresh reminder of what he will never truly have and get to keep?

So Tommy awkwardly excuses himself and maybe Buck throws in a bitter: "Yeah, leave. You're good at that." And maybe in an attempt to de-escalate - or at least move the escalation out of earshot from the kids - Maddie suggests they talk outside. But outside they just stare at each other, not knowing what to say. Tommy apologises again, saying he'll just leave and let Buck enjoy the evening.

"It's fine", Buck says: "I think I'll leave too, actually." And Tommy lays into him about how he shouldn't spend the holiday alone when he can just go back inside and be with his family, he shouldn't be sitting in his empty loft when he could play with Jee-Yun or catch up with Karen instead.

Buck finally gets angry about what happened, but he hasn't put his thoughts in order yet, can't put into words what he feels yet. He also feels ambushed and a wee bit manipulated. So he just bites out: "Oh right, I forgot. You're the expert on what I should and shouldn't be doing. God forbid I decide for myself what I want", walks over to his car and drives off.

Tommy sits in his car for a little bit, then he goes home too. Maddie and Chimney feel bad. After they tried to encourage Buck to move on a bit too soon, they overcorrected in the opposite direction and it blew up in their faces. Maddie tries to call Buck, but he's turned off his phone. Chimney tries to reach out to Tommy, but his text sits there delivered, unread and stays unanswered.

Tommy ends up sitting on his couch, crying and staring at the tv which he hasn't even bothered to turn on and Buck spends hours pacing in his kitchen, alternating between wanting to yell at Tommy for breaking up with him in the first place and deleting his number so he'll never even be tempted to talk to him again.

So they all end up spending the friendsgiving evening in varying degrees of misery.

(Maddie, Chimney and Buck patch things up almost immediately. They bring him breakfast the next morning and apologise for springing this on him without warning. He accepts the apology, he knows they meant well and it was actually a nice thing that they tried to include Tommy despite the break-up. He wants Tommy to be happy. Really, he wants Tommy to find whatever he thinks Buck couldn't give him. He hopes Tommy one day finds a man who won't make him run the opposite direction. He wants Tommy to feel good about himself and to have a life full of friends and family and people who he can call his. Eventually. Right now, he admits, he selfishly wants Tommy to feel a bit shit. He hopes Tommy is hurting at least as much as he is. He hopes Tommy's favourite basketball team loses every game of the season. He hopes one of Tommy's coworkers says the q-word and jinxes them for a full 24 hours shift. Buck doesn't know when he started crying, but Chim and Maddie are there for him and they spend most of the day together.)

(Chimney also apologises to Tommy. They don't really talk about it, Tommy doesn't want to. He'd rather listen to Howie gush about becoming a dad again, talk about the next pick-up game and ignore the elephant in the room. It's easy to slip back into the casual friendship, the conversations that are full of movie dialogues and references, the bragging and comparing of batshit calls they've worked in the past 20 years. They don't hang out at Howie's house, they either go to Tommy's or meet at a bar. But Tommy is relieved he at least got to keep this.)

(Buck and Tommy run into each other again a few weeks later. It's the second christmas day, Buck is invited to hang out with the Diaz family. Christopher has agreed to come to LA for a week - a trial run of sorts to help him and Eddie figure out what comes next - and they're all going to spend the day at tía Pepa's. Buck is picking up some groceries on his way there and who does he meet in the canned foods isle? Buck doesn't really know what comes over him, but he suggest they should hang out together while Chris and Eddie are here. All four of them. Eddie was Tommy's friend before they ever went out after all and so was Chimney. Plus, they're all firefighters. They're bound to run into each other again sooner or later, it'd be childish to be hung up on the past. Tommy says yes.)

(They start talking to each other more after that. Not very often, not consistently, not about their break-up. But they talk. It starts with texting and hanging out in group settings. Then the phone calls start. At first just small ones, "it'll be quicker than texting" calls, "I'm ellbows deep in foccacia dough" and "broke my hand on call yesterday, so quite literally can't text" calls. Then they start hanging out one on one again. Neither of them has ever stayed friends with an ex before. Is it supposed to feel like this? Is Tommy's laugh still supposed to make Buck's heart skip a beat like this? Is Evan's soft smile still supposed to melt Tommy's insides like this?)

(They get back together in March. It's not preceded by a big and dramatic event. There's no "life or death" situation, no traumatic incident to make them realise that "tomorrow isn't promised, no awkward jealousy over a new partner. It's just another movie nigh. Buck falls asleep with his head on Tommy's shoulder and Tommy doesn't even think about it before running his fingers through Evan's curls. Buck wakes up as the credits start rolling. He shifts a little, looks up at Tommy, but he doesn't move away. The kiss is soft and chaste and they leave it at that one kiss. Buck doesn't move to the bedroom with Tommy, but he does crash on Tommy's couch. They talk in the morning. They talk about being all in but taking it slow anyway, they talk about crushes and admiration and love and the difference between all three, they finally talk about the break-up. They keep it a secret for a little while. Call it precaution or payback for Chimney's attempt at meddling.)

(They make it three weeks. Then Tommy surprises Buck at his loft and they forget that not only was Eddie supposed to come over, Eddie also has his own key. They never live it down for as long as they're alive.)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Could I maybe get a Hisuian!Reader who came to Paldea through a space time rift? They remember everything, they still have all their old Pokemon, they like to share stories of their adventures (anything from taking on Volo to "Oh yeah, I caught this alpha garchomp after a half-hour standoff, here's her gigaton ball lol."), they've got little scars here and there from accidentally standing too close to Pokemon attacks or taking fall damage, and they give descendants of their Hisuian Pokemon to their blueberry friends (BBE4, Carmine, and Kieran) during their trades. To make things even more interesting, I wonder what that reader would think about bloodmoon ursaluna, Perrin, and modern Sinnoh - seeing their dear friend Adaman in someone alive today and seeing just how much things have changed over the years

The PLA fixation is real so YESSSIR I finally got around to this one. I separated the headcanons by region and their respective characters

.............

Paldea (Arven, Penny, Nemona)

After finishing your mission in Hisui, you decided to confront Arceus, being satisfied with everything you've done for the Survey Corps and the good people of Jubilife Village.

You fully finished the pokedex, fulfilling Professor Laventon's dreams, and were ready to return home.

After some reluctance, Arceus agreed and ensured you wouldn't lose any of your memories, as you didn't want all your feats in Hisui become lost to history.

It warned you that you'll never get to see Rei/Akari, Professor Laventon, the Wardens...or anyone else ever again.

But you've said your goodbyes and were ready to go back.

One warp through a space-time rift later, you were dropped off in Paldea-

Right where Arven, Penny, and Nemona were discussing whether to call off the search for you or not.

As it turns out, you've been missing for months, not long after the Area Zero adventure, and so it's a rather tearful reunion when they realize the person in the old fashioned clothing was you.

You looked tired, scarred, battle-hardened...and yet you smiled as you joked about being "back from the past".

Since then, easing back into modern life was..trickier than you expected.

You still had the habit of crafting pokeballs and potions as you were taught, rather than spend money buying them in bulk (even though you had boatloads because of your champion status).

You tried getting the trio to follow your directions, but they kept fumbling with the tumblestones and didn't know where to attach the iron chunks that made up the clasps.

When you start talking about feather, wing, leaden, and gigaton pokeballs they stare at you in confusion until you realize "oh shit those are outdated".

Nemona is VERY curious about the gigaton ball, however, and so you show it to her--revealing your Alpha Garchomp branded with the "Former Alpha" mark. She got to keep her height.

"Oh yeah, she was a real feisty one. We had a half-hour standoff on a slippery ice mountain slope but I showed her who's boss haha." You laugh as you share the story of how you encountered and tamed her.

Your fellow champion now thinks you're 10x cooler for actually facing a Pokémon head-on....while poor Arven and Penny are shook(TM) and wondered how you made it back alive.

Especially when they discover your scars are from falling and vicious Pokemon attacks

Introducing your Hisuian starter to your Paldean starter was...a little awkward. One recently became a champion's Pokémon and the other faced Giratina itself.

But they eventually shake hands and become besties, becoming members of your party whenever you wanna battle Arven, Penny, or Nemona again.

You keep accidentally calling out agile/strong style in your commands (ie "Avalugg, make an Agile Avalanche!"), but your Pokémon like to pretend they still know them.

Kitakami (Perrin & Bloodmoon Ursaluna)

Returning to Kitakami felt most familiar..and quite comforting considering how traditional everything is.

Festival of the Masks came back around, and while you didn't get to spend it with Kieran nor Carmine this time...you did wind up spending it with somebody else...

Perrin, who you were drawn to after seeing her Hisuian Growlithe getting into trouble with an Arbok and trying to stand up for itself.

Reminds you of a certain late lord's son..

She expresses her thanks for rescuing her buddy, and mentions how you got there "right on time".

You just look into her eyes and see Adaman: the Diamond Clan leader, the kind man who gave you the celestica flute and came to your aid when you got exiled from the village.

He may be gone now, but time didn't allow him to be forgotten.

Because he lives on in somebody else.

Perrin gets concerned when she sees how emotional you're getting, but you just wipe your eyes and say she just reminds you of an "old friend".

When you show her your other Hisuian Pokémon, she's THRILLED and wants to take all of their pictures, delighted to have proof that these creatures existed.

That leads her to ask how you acquired them, and you start talking about your adventures in the very region she's been studying...including the fact you met her ancestor who used to worship Dialga and had an easygoing attitude like her.

Girl is taking notes fr.

Together you seek out the "Bloodmoon Beast", only to discover that it was an Ursaluna who travelled alllll the way to Kitakami from Hisui, the environment causing it to change appearances and abilities.

You were fascinated, wondering what Lord Ursaluna or Calaba would think of him, and made him a member of your team after quelling his rage.

While going on more casual photoshoots with Perrin, you ask her about what Sinnoh is like now or if anyone there knew about Hisui.

She mentions how the elderly folk talk of it, and how the subway battle system was being run by one conductor due to the other going missing...

You find yourself holding your breath---until she says "oh but apparently he came back like yesterday" and you were SO relieved.

'Ingo made it back home, too. Thank you Arceus.'

She plans to invite you to Sinnoh someday, seeing as you're so curious about what it all looks like now.

BB Academy (BBE4, Carmine, & Kieran)

When you got to study abroad at BB Academy, you...sorta forgot all the beef you had with Kieran until you saw him berating a student out in the terarium.

A year later, you're Paldea's champion AND the one who saved Hisui, but you couldn't exactly tell him the latter.

But now you understood why everyone back then calling you a "hero" made you a little uncomfortable.

Ogerpon (who was worried sick about where you've gone all this time), was SO happy to see you were back and got to meet your Hisuian Lilligant. Two plant gals just vibing together.

You find a Kleavor in the canyon biome and become a bit sentimental, happy to see a descendant of the Lord of the Woods had survived to this very day.

He must've known you were the one who helped his ancestor (albeit not without receiving some scars from flying wood chips), as he bowed and began walking alongside you, loyal to a tee.

Least to say, he became a valuable ally when you finally battled Kieran in the championship.

He sees that you've definitely changed a lot, too. You look tougher and he was concerned about where that scar across your eye came from....

But he's still obsessed with winning, and his attitude when talking about Terapagos afterwards reminds you of...well...Volo.

It's such an extreme comparison, and you hate how your brain immediately jumped to that considering that was a legitimate monster of a man who betrayed you.

Yet it feels like such a similar situation when Kieran pits the turtle against you in the Underdepths, obsessed with power and wanting nothing more than to be recognized as "worthy".

At least he wasn't planning on ending the world, just yours.

After you both reconcile, you spill the beans about where you've gone for the past year, expecting him to laugh or shun you again for keeping such a big secret from him.

Instead..he has this star-eyed look and wanted to know MORE.

So during your next visit to Kitakami, you tell him and Carmine some stories of your Hisuian adventures, showing off Kleavor and your Alpha Garchomp.

Seeing that you still liked to make authentic pokeballs and potions made Kieran appreciate you a lot more. Kitakami used to have a lot of those apricorns, tumblestones, and leeks before everything became mass-produced.

Like him, you really became out-of-touch with today's technology, so while he's learning it, you're re-learning it along with him.

Eventually you tell those same stories to the BB E4, who are all just as shocked, amazed, and bewildered as the twins were.

And when they all came to offer up a trade, you knew what to do:

For Drayton, you gave him a Goomy, insisting that he trains it fully, not wanting to spoil the "surprise".

As lazy as he is, he does so and is stunned when Sliggoo is revealed to be chilling in its own shell, and Goodra had its whole shell on its tail, capable of withdrawing into it anytime

Ngl it makes him wish he had his own shell to withdraw into just to escape situations.

For someone like Kieran who likes old-fashioned stuff, you figured a Hisuian Voltorb would suit him best.

Its appearance reminds you of the olden ways pokeballs were made, and he got the hang of crafting a few himself after a little trial and error!

He gets nervous about it exploding like Kantonian Voltorbs at the slightest touch, but is happy to find out it's super friendly and discharges just to spook humans.

As for Carmine, the sharpness in her golden eyes reminds you of a certain ghost type's...and thus you believed giving her a Hisuian Zorua was ideal. You had a feeling she'd love its evolved form.

When she does evolve it, she's stunned that it has reddish highlights like she does, jokingly asking if this is her in "another life".

Least to say, she loves it indeed.

While you were adamant about giving Amarys your Kleavor, you ended up trading her a Scyther and give her a black augurite afterwards, explaining how it's the secret to its other evolution.

She mentioned deposits of that mineral existing within the canyon biome, but it couldn't actually evolve the surrounding Scyther population due to being simulated.

But thanks to you, she gets to witness that in-action because you held onto an authentic piece of it, and she gives you her thanks.

As for Crispin, well, you believed a Hisuian Growlithe was perfect for him. It was energetic, loyal, and full of fire..just like him.

He got teary-eyed at the story you told of the late Lord Arcanine, his son, how you quelled his frenzy, etc..and feels inspired to train the pup you've given him into something incredible.

One thing Kantonian and Hisuian Arcanines have in common? They love spicy foods.

For Lacey, you trade her a Hisuian-born Petili, encouraging her to use the sun stone right away.

She does and is delighted to see Lilligant as such a graceful dancer..who really packs a punch when it counts!

She'll definitely doll her up and ensure she knew Charm (the only fairy move Hisuian Lilligant could know, alas).

[wistfulenchantress]

"they've been building up wills feelings for mike since season one"

meanwhile mikes been here fighting to search for will, abandoning all his friends when he thinks they've lost will and instead just sitting and looking through will's art, clinging to any idea of will being alive, refusing to sleep in the hospital waiting room, putting his head on wills chest, checking in with will, prioritizing will, comforting will, holding wills hand, noticing changes in wills behavior that nobody else does, stressing about it, sleeping over at wills house because will might be sick, going to the hospital with will, never leaving his side or trying to go anywhere despite the adults not comforting him, suffering through wills pain even though he knows it is what needs to be done, reaching for will even though he can't carry him, clinging to an unconscious will in terror, telling will that becoming his friend is the best thing he ever did and meaning it, telling will stories, jealous of the girl will is dancing with, apologizing to will as soon as he sees he's upset him including biking in a rainstorm and then running out to the voice, staring at wills lips constantly, grinning ear to ear when will says he won't join another party, hugging will goodbye in the saddest way fucking possible, staring back at wills house, crying about losing will, trying to call will but getting a busy signal, hearing through el's letters that will has moved on, thinking he's lost will, embarrassed about touching will in front of his girlfriend, aggressively pretending he doesn't care who that fucking painting is for, monitoring exactly how will is behaving on their day out without pushing to hard, being jealous of angela because he thinks will likes her, pouting when will doesn't laugh at his bad joke, shutting the door when he talks to will so they aren't interrupted, easily apologizing to will, checking out wills butt that one time, opening up with will, feeling like his relationship is different with will than with his other friends, making a point of correcting things that will has pointed out in arguments, blushing, being honest with will but also uncomfortable about the discussion of romance, taking what will says seriously, the triple take TM, more lip glancing, opening up to will again, being in love with the painting, looking subtly disappointed when will says it was commissioned, staring at will like he is seeing him for the first time, only truly smiling at will when will isn't looking, only confessing he loves el when will pushes him to because he thinks that is what will wants, comforting will again, gripping will like he could be faked at any moment, standing next to will constantly, and a bunch more stuff

i have receipts if need be, and also a ton more examples

[undomesticated-animal]

I have the feeling I'm going to keep returning to this idea of sexual agency a lot from different directions because like.

Okay so I only really date other trans, intersex, or gnc folks right? But I fuck a LOT of Straight Men TM, and I pretty much always have a good time, but this is NOT because they're all good in bed. In fact, a lot of them basically have nothing but size and stamina (the two things I care least about) working in their favor.

But this is where being vers as fuck comes into play. Because even as a bottom, I fuck like a queer. And I look pretty visibly queer, I have a voice that's rough and low. And they're attracted to all of it get me? It's safe because I have tits and a vagina and they can just pretend they're fucking a dyke, not a GUY but friends they are absolutely fucking a guy. And they learn that the minute I'm on top of them, which is why men love it so much when I ride them and I can almost never get another position out of them after that lol

What do I mean when I say I fuck like a guy? I mean I ride like I'm penetrating them because circlusion is basically the only form of clitoral stimulation I enjoy, and while I would need a strap and a willingness to try anal from a partner to ACTUALLY fuck them, it turns out that using the movements and thrusting rhythms is actually still pretty fucking stellar when both parties are getting that experience. It's basically like 69ing with eye contact, and every Straight Man TM who has experienced it for the first time with me becomes slightly obsessed and seems to have some kind of sexual awakening in the process. Tbh I had one too the first time I experienced the sensations because they're WILD but for me there was no morality involved, just sensation-seeking. The best way I can think to describe it is "what if the dick belonged to both you and you BOTH experienced the pleasurable sensations of fucking your partner and being fucked by your partner?

See, I tuck my ankles up between their thighs for better bounce, and I lace my fingers under their neck and the heels of my palms under their ears so I can hold their face at kissing angle, and between the two, I have discovered that a lot of Straight Men TM find themselves experiencing for the first time what it's like to get fucked missionary. Some of them do NOT like it, but the vast majority spend the whole time looking up at me with literal awe and frantic desperation as they forget to even try to fuck me back. I suspect it's the sensation of having their thighs pressed open is a big part of it for them, it makes them feel vulnerable, but I'm really good at keeping them anchored through it, so it's rare for vulnerable to tic all the way over into fear or threat, and usually the second it does, I'm topping from the bottom anyway, so they get to regain their feelings of autonomy while maintaining the vulnerable sensations, and psychologically that'll fucking break a person's self control like no one's business lol.

It's easy for people to forget that penetration is vulnerable and emotionally intense, esp if they're not set up for easy or consistent experience of the sensations of penetration. But folks. Folks, the look on a Straight Man TM's face when he realizes that he can have his dick sucked or fucked as a SUBMISSIVE experience FOR HIM? That's the good shit right there. That's what sexual agency is. The ability to sit with yourself and really ask "why do I like this and what else might I like?" and allow the answers to come without shame or fear.

Anyway, next time you want to switch shit up, try setting your top up in a comfy oral chair and let them start off thinking this is gonna be service as usual from their sub, but little by little, get your arms around their thighs and hips from underneath so you can get your face deeper into their crotch while holding them more and more still so all they can do is experience what you give. If they try to push you to give more, dig your nails into the soft part of their inner thighs and apply some gentle suction to the head (clit or cock) while sticking your tongue out and sort of grinding your tongue and chin against the underside of the shaft (clit or cock), but go slow and firm, not fast or intense. Watch them start to fall apart and get twitchy and incoherent. Watch as they go from trying to grab your head and take what they want from you to grabbing at themselves, their hair, their clothes, half sobbing at how good it feels and how they can barely stand it. If they whimper and beg for a specific sensation, make a thoughtful hum at the back your throat the vibrates against their pelvic bone and once those little frantic sounds start coming because they're trying not to push your head where they want you because they want to be so fucking good for you so you'll keep doing what you're doing, give them what they asked for. Watch their head snap back, hear the moans turn to wails, feel the way they pulse and swell under you, and do not fucking stop unless you have to.

When they come, they WILL grab for you again, but even as it is to keep your mouth on them the way they like, it is not a command anymore. It is a caress, a desperate plea to touch and be touched in turn, an expression of vulnerability no different from the wail of despair I make every time someone pulls out of me. They have forgotten what their body feels like without you there and they are afraid to remember.

If you really want to fuck a bitch up, this is the point where you slowly, gently, softly, lick them over and over again while they shake and plead and yell until they're nothing but putty in your mouth and holding off the next orgasm by the skin of their teeth.

[1111111122sthings]

Ivti love never lies au.

So. If you dont know what love never lies is, then im happy for you its a shitty reality show where six couples compete for a large sum of money. The catch is, they are asked intrusive and drama causing questions about their relationship under lie detector. Whichever couple has the least lies at the end of the show wins. (Forgive me if anything is wrong, i watched a single episode like 3 years ago and the rest i know is from my friend).

Now, insert Ivan and Till. Both 20 something, friends since forever. Ivan generally doing well in life, financially stable, obviously hopelessly in love since like forever. Then there's Till who's barely scraping by, just lost another (shitty) job and his art doesn't make enough to cover life expenses. So when he spots an advertisement on social media about the show, he has a great idea.

He will go there with Ivan, pretending to be a couple.

In his mind, it's a great idea. While all real couples will be killing each other, avoiding questions, Till can easily grab the prize. Why? Because he and Ivan are always honest with each other. Besides, it's not like there are any real feelings involved, so it won't hurt anyone. Right?

Right.

Oh, and also free vacation on a tropical island sounds like heaven.

Ivan agrees right away, because a) getting to pretend to be Till's boyfriend isn't a chance you get everyday, and b) it's not like this lie detector is real, the producers say true or false deciding which will spike the views. His true feelings won't be revealed.

At first everything goes well, they even have fun. Ivan is elated since he gets to be affectionate with Till. Till? He finds out he doesn't mind. Hell, he even likes it. And in the following days he finds out some other things about himself.

See, in this show theres something called villa of temptation and villa of doubt (yes, it's really called something like that). Basically couples are separated, one person goes to villa of temptation full of hot singles there to tempt them while the other is in the villa of doubt watching the footage of the other. So, Ivan goes to the former and Till to the latter. And even though Ivan is just friendly talking with people there, Till finds himself... jealous? It doesn't make any sense, they're not even really dating. He isn't into Ivan. Sure, he knows him better than all other people, he's attractive (conventionally!!! conventionally!!!) and Till likes to be around him but that doesn't mean anything. At all.

But there has to be a time when Till is finally forced to confront his feelings. They're subjected to the lie detector again (the questions so far weren't too bad). After being accused of "no real chemistry going on between them" Till is asked:

"Do you really love Ivan?"

And he is like "?????????" like full brain freeze mental screenshot cause what he is supposed to say to that??? He doesn't. This whole relationship isn't real. They promised they would be honest and would win this show.

So he chokes out a "no".

The screen displays a big "FALSE".

×××

Bonus:

-ivan gets the same question about Till, obviously says yes (true) and till just doesnt know what to do. (Hes kinda stupid but he will figure it out)

-hyuluka are there too and they are even more dramatic. Endless arguing.

-the Hot Single TM supposed to tempt ivan is dewey. Hyuna (who is there too) finds it hilarious and dewey ends up unintentionally not making 1 but 2 (till and luka) people jealous

Somebody..... Write that please

[whichuniverseisthis]

I did say I would have talked about some stuff from the new episode, and I think it's pretty obvious what I want to talk about.

I've seen so many people discussing about that kiss and what it implies for both the Diencer and Mathlete side of things, so I want to give my own two cents.

I don't want to do a "which is better" or "which should be canon" kind of post, mind you, I've already said I'm fine with both as long as it makes sense (hell, I'm even fine with Spencer ending up alone if it's the path they decide to take). Nor I want to make any kind of prediction because I suck at those.

I just want to do a small analysis about what happened, and how it happened, also taking into consideration the Diencer almost-kiss from episode 5 to make a comparison.

So let's start I guess (god this is long, what is my problem-).

First of, I want to compare Diego and Logan, their similarities and their differences. They're both physically strong, kind-hearted, nice guys, who mostly follow their emotions and are willing to vote out their own allies to keep in their friends - if he'd got the chance, Diego would have voted out the Vibe Tribe to keep Hannah, and Logan did vote for Richard and Lynda to keep in Anastasia.

Diego is more subdued and quiet, trying to avoid any kind of conflict, so much so that his dare in the train challenge was to fight an animal. Meanwhile Logan is more hyper and energetic, thriving in friendly competition, as shown multiple times with Anastasia, being a competitive athlete himself. Also, based on what I've gathered, Diego's only experience with love seems to come from the telenovelas he watches with his mother, having no real life experience whatsoever, while we know for certain that Logan had at least one girlfriend before getting in the show.

Now let's start talking about the scenes themselves. Ironically enough, The Deed(tm) starts in a similar way in both cases.

By holding hands. And in both cases Spencer is quickly aware of it, though with very different expressions. With Diego it feels like a "Oh, it's gonna happen [flustered]" while with Logan it's a "Oh, it's gonna happen [scared]", because it's the second time, and the first one didn't go well at all.

Now what really differenciates the moments in my opinion.

Logan grabs Spencer, making sure he doesn't get the chance to run away. Diego never moved his hands away from the previous hold, so Spencer had the chance to pull away in any moment.

Here's what I think: if Diego had grabbed Spencer, the result would have been exactly like the kiss with Logan. But as mentioned before, Diego is more subdued and with less experience than Logan, and Spencer is a slippery little weasel who always runs away from his feelings unless forced to face them.

There's also to take into consideration the locations. With Diego, they were out in the open, where anyone could stumble upon them, while with Logan they're in an enclosed room, just them, nobody else there to see.

In both cases Diego and Logan realize they fucked up, and in both cases Spencer is left questioning himself if he actually wanted it to happen.

But because Spencer is a weasel and Logan didn't let him run away, here comes another difference: since with Diego he did run away, Spencer had the chance to lie more openly especially to himself, trying to avoid any confrontation and pretending it was just a mistake. With Logan he couldn't do it because the kiss did happen, and he did kiss back, so Spencer's forced to confront him and his own thought. But, the challenge doesn't give them the chance, so we don't actually know what he was going to say.

Diego takes the first chance he gets to confess and explain his own feelings, exhorted by Hannah earlier during the challenge. And maybe that's also one of the reasons Spencer didn't let Logan talk (besides needing to go save himself from elimination) - so that he could face him on his own terms this time, plus the fact that Logan didn't actually know what to say in that moment.

In both cases, Spencer went and threw out either Diego's and Logan's names for elimination, which is why I think that even if the kiss with Diego had happened, nothing would have changed in the outcome.

Diego's, he did out of sheer panic. He didn't want to deal with it, and since he had time to openly lie to himself, he tried to convince himself that he was doing it for the game and to get rid of a distraction, but he later admits to Logan that he didn't do it for the game at all, he was simply scared and couldn't think logically, and he knows that Diego's elimination was what screwed his entire game from then on.

As for Logan, he put his name on the platter together with Richard's, this time seemingly and effectively for gameplay reasons to save himself, but we don't know if he did it being aware that Anastasia was more willing to take out Richard than Logan or if he once again wanted to get rid of him because of a relapse. Also, I wonder if this will come up later on, that he proposed him for elimination twice to Anastasia or if it will just be left as it is.

Lastly, I wanted to mention these two confrontations.

Diego seemed to know exactly what he liked about Spencer, but we know how little does he actually know about real life love, and so what he said felt really vague and maybe a bit stereotypical, because it's what he was used to see in telenovelas.

Meanwhile, Logan doesn't know how he feels at all. He knows that he's at least physically attracted to him because he felt the same way about girls, and he liked that new aspect of himself. But he doesn't know what he feels about Spencer as a person. There certainly is something, but what that something is, he still needs to find out.

On Twitter there's a super cool thread about how Spencer and Logan's kiss had a sexual nature, and not a romantic one, making a comparison with all the other kisses of the series and pointing out how the focus of the scene wasn't their expressions, but rather their hands and touches to underline the lack of actual feelings.

And I've seen so many people say that they felt like they were watching something intimate that they shouldn't have seen and. Yeah. That's why I mentioned the locations earlier. They're in a isolated room, enclosed in a literal satanic circle, and it feels like the viewer has stepped in at the wrong moment. Compare it to the Anarissa kiss and all of Zaivy's, which all happened out in the public for the other contestants to see.

So yeah, this scene has entered in my top 5 of the season, for everything that it implies and what's to come from it, especially if Diego's about to come back in the next episode, bringing a whole lot of chaos with him.

[mrs-understoods-blog]

More headcannons because my chapter fic is making me cry

Charles can't keep any house plants alive. Erik is confused by the idea of house plants and looks down on them ("just go outside if you want to see plants.")

Erik sings in the shower. Charles has an existential crisis in the shower.

Storm and Colossus are friends because they see through the teams bullshit but are choosing to embrace it.

The team has game nights and on the rare occation Erik is there and in a good mood he will join. Him and Charles only care about beating each other and it gets way to intense for most of them.

Jean + Logan + Scott HAS happened before and all three of them pretend it hasn't. Charles had to hear their thoughts about that for weeks and he feels sick to his stomach.

Charles has a specific smile that means that he isn't happy whatsoever, and Raven is the main one who can tell which ones those are. The harder he is smiling at you when you're in trouble the worse he actually feels.

Charles mixes his pain pills with alcohol to sleep when he first stopped taking the serum.

Erik gets really cranky if he isn't sleeping enough, and especially if he is awake past 10:30. You cannot have a real conversation with him. He has said the most horrific, unforgivable things to Charles because Charles kept him up past his bed time.

Charles is so hard on himself in comparison to others, and it's hard to notice but he talks about his past self with no mercy and in his stories, everything is his fault, and he's horrible. Erik picks up on this and challenges him every time.

Charles would hit the geek bar if he was born in the early 2000's.

Raven goes clubbing at all ages and she steals stories from every person she has ever met to pick up people. It makes both Erik and Charles (whoever she is getting along with at the time) roll their eyes. She always reminds Charles he has no room to judge.

Erik only ever flirted with Raven to further THE CAUSE tm and Raven eventually figures this out. She can't even be mad at him about it, and it's why they stayed such good friends.

Erik has specific clothes for the days of the week.

Charles doesn't fold his laundry.

[aimportantdragoncollector]

My next werewolfverse story will focus on the temporary second pack that decided to live in peace with humanity and not turn humans against their will. In preparation, here is some backstory on how the second pack, the League of Luna, was created. It took multiple mistakes to lead to this disaster (or rather, disaster from the Lupercal Empire werewolves’ perspective). Darius can be proud to say he had a huge part.

Darius led a mercenary group and one of their own got in trouble with the Wolf Hunters. She had never even met a werewolf, but medieval Wolf Hunters functioned a lot like professional witch hunters, bullying anyone who seemed different and falsely accusing people to murder them and steal their belongings. The Wolf Hunters picked the wrong target as they underestimated the close bonds among this particular mercenary group.

Darius and company broke in to rescue their friend. They also freed all the other prisoners, including an infected man. Then they skipped town.

To go back in time: a Lupercal werewolf had a forbidden secret romance with a human, and the human’s own family turned him over to the Wolf Hunters for a homosexual relationship. They didn’t even know about the werewolf part, the Wolf Hunters just decided homosexuality had been invented by werewolves. (In reality, the Wolf Hunters found gay humans easier to bully than werewolves.) If the Wolf Hunters had known they’d imprisoned a man actually infected, they’d have murdered him immediately instead of doing their usual torture to get a fake confession. The infection spread around some other prisoners due to the wolf’s innate desire to make allies and help people in a bad situation. The chaos of the jail break spread blood around even more, also leading to some latent infections which are even harder for the pack to track down because they don't show up right away.

The Vanguard was very Not Happy TM because this is how you get a second pack. They found out when the werewolf guy who was the original source came clean.

Werewolf: So, I was dating this cute local human and he was worried about anyone finding out we were in a same sex relationship and not sure if he wanted to become a werewolf. I didn’t tell him the infection could be sexually transmitted and figured I would pretend it was an accident so he wouldn’t get mad. I also figured we’d bite the homophobia out of his family afterward. But then he went missing and I found out the Wolf Hunters captured him, I’m not sure if it’s because he’s infected or the gay thing. Please help?

Vanguard: You moron. You imbecilic. You unbelievable dingbat. You shit-for-brains. Yes, of course we’ll help you, that’s what pack is for.

The Vanguard arrived a little too late. A whole group of infected prisoners got freed by Darius and his friends, including their original target. The Vanguard had a lot of fun chasing down them and everyone they’d infected. (Cassian actually had fun, the rest of the Vanguard would say that sarcastically.) Meanwhile Darius’ comrade had gotten infected by her cellmate and didn’t realize at first, then she thought she could keep it under control. Predictably that ended with her biting the entire group. Many ran in all directions, creating even more of a headache for the Vanguard.

One particular prisoner among all the others got lost in the crowd. Luna lived a very exciting life that I may talk more about later: a childhood in slavery, marrying a nobleman who died and left her a fortune, becoming an abolitionist, and starting a pacifist cult. Even though this cult was a deeply harmless bunch who wouldn’t even eat meat or raise a hand in self-defense, the local organized religion had no tolerance for religious diversity and arrested Luna. The Wolf Hunters did not immediately kill her because of her noble status and the large group of cultists peacefully protesting outside. Those cultists would later be a great distraction for Darius as he busted in the back.

Luna had a lower priority in the Vanguard’s hunt because no one had a particular emotional attachment to her. Big mistake.

In the chaos, Luna returned to her cult and very conveniently had followers eager to accept a holy blessing from their leader. It was the perfect condition to create a pack because a large group of people had an isolated location in the forest to shelter. The cult’s pacifist principles forbade infecting people against their will. Also, the cultists were generally isolated people with no one outside the cult who they cared about, so they didn’t immediately generate a biting urge before this rule solidified. The cult kept their pacifist ideals. If anything, it’s easier to be a pacifist as a massive eldritch monster whose hide is tough enough to break swords.

Fun fact, Darius unknowingly helped Luna’s group a second time merely by existing. Cassian had been on Luna’s trail when he got distracted chasing Darius again. And that delay gave the second pack time to form, because the other Vanguard agents on the trail weren’t quite as good. They definitely weren’t as ruthless as Cassian, who would have said “I bet if we start kidnapping locals they will suspect the new werewolves and lead us straight to them as a pitchfork wielding mob. What? I’m not saying to actually eat anyone, just pretend we did.”

By the time the Vanguard found them, this group had already developed into a second pack. In the past, the werewolves had absorbed other packs. If two packs meet and have no reason to fight, then they will naturally merge. A schism happens when there is an irreconcilable difference, such as the second pack believing that transformation should only be consensual and the original pack having a mission to convert all of humanity. The original pack attempted negotiations, saying that no one would ask the pacifists to be involved in biting people against their will, but the pacifists weren’t willing to stand by and let others do it. The original pack also challenged them to a competition to determine if they would merge (a typical werewolf way of settling disputes). But the second pack knew themselves to be weaker and refused to play. There was a dance of manipulation and bribes, but the second pack wouldn’t budge. It’s probably good that cultists made up the second pack because this group was stubborn as hell and used to standing up against the majority’s pressure.

At this point someone (it was Cassian) suggested that they should tell the local humans about the werewolves living among them. When the humans inevitably attacked, Luna’s pack would obtain a bunch of new members, the newbies would want to bite their families, and they would have big enough numbers to tip the pack over to biting people against their will. It was an evil plan but it could have worked. However, the local lord decided that humanity could use some werewolf allies and decided to make peace with Luna’s pack instead. He even persuaded the king. For once human leadership made a smart decision—shocking, I know. In exchange the kingdom obtained the second pack protecting them from invasion by standing between them and any werewolves who tried it.

Meanwhile the second pack continued to expand peacefully, having an easier time getting volunteers due to having good publicity with humans. The second pack would have grown faster than the original one, with the support of surrounding humans, except a lot of their new recruits would defect over to the original pack when they discovered they really really wanted to be able to bite people. It’s easy for werewolves to switch between packs, the no pack infighting rule means no one can stop them. Strays are more complicated. The second pack also had a “no breaking strays” rule. Some strays joined the second pack willingly. Some strays just wanted to hang around the second pack’s territory for protection without joining, but that didn’t work out so well. Strays who get friendly with pack wolves slip into the pack without even noticing.

For a while the werewolves had an unplanned and accidental good-cop, bad-cop deal going where the threat of the original pack pushed more people to join the second pack willingly and pushed human rulers to accept the second pack as allies. This in turn would later help the werewolves whitewash their image. The second pack became the source of some fun stories until they inevitably collapsed. More on that later.

[sapphicseasapphire]

IT’S ME, I’M THE FOOL.

This whole time I’ve been saying that people with God Powers TM are Marked. They all have something on their face! (Except Legend, what’s on his face is just scales, don’t be confused).

But this WHOLE TIME I’ve been drawing Sun without her Marks. Like. She’s literally Hylia. She has God Powers, she should have them. Anyway so this is my Sun redesign for real this time. Just pretend that she looks like this in my “I am Sky” comic.

Anyway so here’s some information about her under the cut.

I don’t have a big story for her like I do for Flora because Cryptid Sky’s story barely changes Skyward Sword like at all. He’s formed that the very very end, after the Goddess’s Silent Realm, so most things involving Sun remain the same.

I will say that she didn’t always have her Marks. When she was born as Zelda, her face was clear, like every other Skyloftian. But when she fell to the Surface and began a quest of her own, when she discovered her divine origins, she started to remember. She’d pray at the springs to recover her memories and her powers, and one by one, her face would be Marked.

By the time that Link had secured all of the Sacred Flames and forged the Master Sword with them, Sun was already lost. And in her place stood a Goddess.

I don’t think that people give her enough credit for all she’s been through. Sun deserved so much better, she lost her life to Hylia’s plans just as much as Link did. And when Link merged into Sky, he was merely mimicking the transformation that his dearest friend had already gone through. Sun’s soul is still split in half, still shared between herself and her Loftwing, but in that empty part of her core lies the domineering presence of Hylia herself. Her life as she knew it is over. Is she Zelda anymore? Or is she Hylia?

She loves Link SO MUCH. When she first comes out of their thousands-of-years long slumber, she’s in shock to see that he’s gone. She falls from the amber shards and lands squarely in Sky’s arms, and Sky envelopes her in his soft wings, holding her as if she’s the most precious thing in the world. In the haze, she doesn’t realize the change in her dearest friend. But when she opens her eyes, she’s devastated.

As far as she’s concerned, it’s her fault. She used Link. Forced him to go on this quest, forced him into the Silent Realms, forced him to wield the Master Sword and the Triforce. She’s the reason that he fused with Aepon; she’s the reason that Link is gone.

But Sky laughs the same as Link would, relief in his eyes when she gathers the strength to stand. She holds her hand in his own, and it feels just like the hand she knows. His face is the same, for the most part: his hair is different and he’s got red spots on his cheeks, but the more she looks at him, the more she sees Link. And as they make it through the Temple together, as she watches Groose fawn over him, she realizes that he’s not gone at all.

He’s changed, just like she is. But just like she’s still his Zelda, Sky is still her Link. The guilt still worms its way into her chest, but as long as Sky is smiling, she’s able to see past it.

Sky does not smile for very long, as a certain Demon Lord shows up mere moments later to ruin their happy ending. To be honest, Sun doesn’t remember much of that night. She remembers the anger in Sky’s face as his body trembled on the ground. She remembers the cold cruelty of Ghirahim’s voice against her chest as she was carried away from her Link- her Sky. She remembers feeling so weak and helpless, cursing the Goddess- cursing herself- for being so useless.

And then all she knew was pain. Blinding, burning agony that enveloped her entire being. She thought she was dying, weightless and alone and scared.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was inside the Sealed Temple. Groose held her. Sky was nowhere to be seen.

She cried into Groose’s chest, something she never would have dreamed of doing a year ago, her head still reeling from that feeling of hopelessness, that pain. All at once, she was scared and relieved and safe and in danger. And Groose held her through it.

Sky would stumble into the Temple much later, limping and bleeding and spasming. His right arm would be totally friend and his wings would drag on the ground, feathers in disarray. He’d lean away from Groose and fall into Sun’s open arms. And when it was time to return the Master Sword to her final resting place, he’d do so with a heaviness in his eyes that’s uncharacteristic and a weakness in his body that’s frightening.

Both Sun and Sky take a long time to recover from that. And really, neither of them ever do. But as Sky starts to physically heal, Sun starts to see more traces of her dear Link. Being around her closest friend and newfound lover is healing, and after the adventure they’d had, they don’t leave each other’s side for a long while.

Sun is very protective over Sky, just like she always was with Link. They exchange Loftwing feathers (Sky gives her his own). And just five days after they’re reunited, they’re separated again.

Okay okay okay. This was less about Sun and more about Sun AND Sky, but they’re pretty much inseparable I think. From Sky’s perspective, there’s a lot of confusing feelings that I’ll get into when I actually write a fic (I’m starting a fic!), but Sun just loves him so much. I have a little comic series which is actually a collection of little short stories in a much bigger plot called “I am Sky.” The short comics aren’t all finished (and they can be read as stand alones) but the order they go in is:

“I am Sky” Stories: Pipit

“I am Sky” Stories: Groose (I’m not done with it I’m sorryyyyyy)

“I am Sky” Stories: Zelda

This all takes place after the Demise battle, when Sky is healing and has the chance to sit down and reflect. When he gets the opportunity to learn about himself, the person that his two halves made him. He struggles a lot, but these specific stories have a lot of comfort. He’ll be fine. Probably.