#a total reflection of years of loyalty and love

[starzalign]

I think getting jewlery, specifically rings or necklaces that make/are alike to symbolize years of friendship is beautiful

[blkkizzat]

YAKUZA!TOJI X MILF!READER —aka toji on some joe goldberg bullshit

⟢ rating: mdni.18+ each episode will have its own ratings but general warnings— lactation kink, face riding, drugs (weed, alcohol, cigs), infidelity, yuji is sukuna x reader child, size-kink, milf kink, breeding kink, voyeurism, masturbation, dubcon/noncon, squirting, pussy talk, biting, creampies, obsessive tendencies, heavy manipulation, yandere, Toji in daddy and dad mode. this will be fem black reader coded as reader is foreigner and uses some aave but no other descriptors. ⟢ total run time: 𝟏𝟑.𝟒𝐤 of ? ⟢ opening theme: Rich Baby Daddy - Drake

⟢ subscriber access: tag request in comments, previous tag list from the teasers are already accounted for. ⟢ director's note: this fic is to celebrate my year of having this account! literally this is the first fic i thought of and wanted to write and have been working on it since nov'23. so full circle moment fr! i hope you enjoy it. ⟢ executive producers: special thanks to @littlemochabunni, @ryomens-vixen, @yung-notorious and @buttercupblu143 for helping me beta this and bounce off ideas and listen to me be crazy for the past 9-10 months about this fic 🥹.

꒰ disclaimer: this is a plot-driven eventual smut fic and is told mostly in Toji POV through flashbacks until the end of episode 3. so if you stick with me i promise you a freak nasty pay off in episode 4 💕🤭. the build up makes it 100x better, trust~ ꒱

🎬 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓—

🎞️ 𝐒𝟏 𝐄𝟏: ❝ I STILL GOT SOME LOVE DEEP INSIDE OF ME, PLEASE DRAG IT OUT OF ME ❞

⟢ Reflecting on the last 3 months of meeting you during a time of organizational unrest, how did casual desire turn into a sinister obsession for a deadly yakuza assassin like Toji Fushiguro? It's your fault though, as a new resident of the yakuza luxury high-rise, The Nursery—shoulda known better than to have smiled that brightly at a single-dad widower, mamas. episode run time: 𝟒.𝟕𝐤

🎞 ️𝐒𝟏 𝐄𝟐: ❝ POPPIN' MY SHIT COME WITH CONSEQUENCES, POST NUT CLARITY I CAME TO MY SENSES ❞

⟢ With tensions in the organization at an all-time high and a traitor still on the loose, everyone is on edge. Fortunately, Toji has been watching over you for weeks, especially since Sukuna has been even less attentive. But when Toji notices you making a new friend—a potential lifeline apart from him—can he keep his jealousy in check? Just how far will Toji go to have you all to himself? episode run time: 𝟖.𝟕𝐤

🎞 ️𝐒𝟏 𝐄𝟑: ❝ WE FROM TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS BUT IT'S A MATCH TO ME ❞

⟢ Forced to make difficult choices this past week, it's becoming increasingly clear Sukuna's loyalties lie more with the organization than you. But of course, as chance would have it, Toji is there to console you when you have no one. Who needs Sukuna, friends, or anyone else when you have Toji? Toji can see the cracks forming in your resolve—but when he pushes, will you still be able to resist his charms? Or will you crumble in his hands? episode run time: ⩇⩇:⩇⩇

🎞️ 𝐒𝟏 𝐄𝟒: ❝ JUST SAY GOODBYE TO HIM, THEN TAKE THE RIDE TO ME, RIDE TO ME ❞

⟢ Circumstances align and you're practically served on a platter to Toji, he takes this as the prime opportunity to finally claim you as his. Toji deserves you. You know this though, so he won't have to do a thing—you'll come to him all on your own like a good sexy lil' milf won't you, mamas? Nevermind about your world falling apart around you—Toji has already made all of the arrangements to see that you and Yuji are taken care of. episode run time: ⩇⩇:⩇⩇

🎬 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓—

🎞️ 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝟎 𝐄𝟏: ❝ WANNA STICK AROUND FOR THE RIDE? BABY HOLD ON TIGHT ❞ AKA "DON'T DROP THE PANCAKES"

Prequel/Standalone. Yakuza!Sukuna x Exchange Student!Reader. ⟢ Moving to a foreign country for school ain't all sunshine and rainbows—especially when your student status prevents you from acquiring legitimate employment. Good thing a friend of a friend has a connect for under-the-table work. Although, being a topless maid for a ruthless yakuza leader wasn't on your bingo card for your new life abroad—especially when you end up pregnant. episode run time: ⩇⩇:⩇⩇

©𝐛𝐥𝐤𝐤𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐟𝐱, 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞.

[iamnmbr3]

What's you take on the whole wand situation?

It never ceases to amaze me how well Draco's wand worked for Harry when he had trouble with Hermione's wand and they've known each other for years.

Not only did the wand work, he also defeated Voldemort with each I find so funny for some reason.

And we need to remember that his wand was made of unicorn hair, which makes it extremely loyal to its owner so how the heck did it work well enough to defeat one of the greatest wizards of all time?

J.K.R can claim that Harry disarmed Draco all she wants, I call bullshit. To me it feels they share a deep connection which is why it worked

I KNOW!! It is insane that JKR, Queen of the Anti-Drarry Squad, wrote this in canon. So fitting that she should be cursed to accidentally canonize queer ships she hates lol.

The bit about Hermione's wand is super interesting for several reasons. Harry never wins the wand from her, but because they are very close and compatible and because she loves Harry and wants the wand to work for him, it does. Not perfectly. But way better than the Blackthorn Wand, which he didn't win AND which came from a stranger who had no compatibility with him and felt no allegiance or emotional connection to him. So we see that the compatibility of the wand's owner with someone and, crucially, the emotional bond they have with you, also influences how their wand responds to you.

This has huge implications when it comes to Draco's wand. Draco's wand is made of unicorn hair, which, as you correctly point out is known for its loyalty and affinity for its original master. This is not a fickle wandcore that is easy to just win in a quick duel. Not only that, but hawthorn wands are particularly tricky to master.

Plus, if wands could switch allegiance too easily then it would've come up earlier. If just disarming someone is usually enough to do it then any class where such things are practiced would have huge repercussions. Not to mentions fights between enemies. It would be a huge problem for Death Eaters or Aurors. Snape would've lost mastery pf his wand to the Marauders pretty early on in his school career. (Harry also would've lost mastery of HIS wand to Snape in the end of book 6.) This would make wizards extremely cautious about dueling each other. Thus, the character and desires of the wizards and of the wands and the specific circumstances must play a much bigger role. Some wands must be more loyal than others too. For example I can imagine the Elder Wand being relatively fickle. Or the kind of wand that would choose Peter for example. But a unicorn hair wand?

Furthermore, Harry doesn't even really fight Draco. He pulls the wand right out of Draco's hand. And Draco...lets him. He has fast reflexes. He's a Seeker who is nearly equal to Harry in ability. And we see how quick he is at spells and how well he holds his own against Harry during their duel in book 6. Yes Harry - who is a deadly dueler - beats him in the end, but they go several rounds. Draco, in fact, holds his own against Harry for longer than anyone except for Snape. Much longer than Voldemort ever does for example. So if Draco had wanted to get off a spell to blast Harry away from him when Harry was totally unarmed and literally just trying to pull the wand out of his hand - he could have. But he doesn't. He lets Harry take the wand.

And the wand's loyalty transfers seamlessly to Harry. Not only does it work for him. It works PERFECTLY. It feels "friendly" in his hand. In a way even Hermione's didn't. He is deeply compatible with the wand and the wand obviously is actively friendly to him. This clearly reflects Harry's fundamental core compatibility with Draco (they're soulmates your honor!) and also Draco's true loyalty and affection towards Harry.

The Hawthorn Wand isn't betraying its former master. It's honoring his wishes by protecting the man he loves.

[clove-pinks]

I finally finished this documentary-drama series from 2013, and I highly recommend it, if you have any interest in the War of 1812. Commentary from a diverse group of historians representing Canadian and US perspectives (including Indigenous historians) is interspliced with reenactments of events on the western frontier of Upper Canada. They didn't have the biggest budget, but it's as close as you can get to a War of 1812 movie.

The focus of the three-episode series is on the suffering of ordinary people in the region, who wanted nothing to do with the war but found themselves in a war zone. Clockwise from top left, three of the actors in the series are portraying Duncan McArthur, who was a commander of the U.S. Army of the Northwest and later governor of Ohio, Brother Denke of the Moravian religious community, who repeatedly relocated to escape the war, and Andrew Westbrook, "the traitor Westbrook" who supported the invading Americans despite being a descendant of Loyalists in Upper Canada.

I watched the first two episodes thinking that the title referred to growing cultural and ideological differences caused by the War of 1812 pitting neighbor against neighbor, but there was a significant Title Drop moment in the last episode when it was revealed to be a phrase used in a letter by Michigan territory governor Lewis Cass. Cass was advocating for the complete devastation of Upper Canada to create "a desert between us and them" that could not feed or support British troops and their Indigenous allies.

Look—I love my country, but there's just no getting around the fact that the USA is the villain in the War of 1812. We invaded Canada on flimsy pretences for a landgrab and caused incredible devastation to specifically civilian areas (e.g. the Burning of York); it was even worse on the frontier. It also does not reflect well on us that the British had planned for years to exploit the many discontents in the territories of the United States: enslaved people who would eagerly work against their enslavers, and Indigenous people who had been exploited and attacked after multiple violated treaties and military incursions.

Almost needless to say, both of these groups fought for the British in the War of 1812. (Black and Indigenous veterans on the US side were poorly treated, despite their loyalty). The War of 1812 ultimately expanded slavery in North America, and it's directly connected to imperialist ideas of Manifest Destiny that saw the US turn to western expansion and the forced removal of Indigenous residents. The more you examine the beliefs of the War Hawks the worse we look!

Even knowing all this, A Desert Between Us and Them made me reconsider some of the narratives I've read about the War of 1812 in Upper Canada (the part of modern-day Ontario between all of the Great Lakes). I have read several academic articles and books recently that were critical of the Kentucky Militia, but they didn't say anything about their terrorism of Upper Canada! They're a lot less sympathetic in this account.

(This YouTube channel has many excerpts from A Desert Between Us and Them)

McArthur's raids are part of a more brutal phase in the War of 1812. They really did use Napoleonic era total war strategy, and the towns of Upper Canada's western reaches were depopulated for years. I appreciated how A Desert Between Us and Them explored some of the political intrigue and personal rivalries between all of the militia and community leaders in the Old Northwest/Upper Canada region at the time.

The trailer is worth a watch! (link if embedded video doesn't work).

[vechter]

what do you think it would take for dick grayson to kill?

a lot of people think he takes "killing" very lightly and he would easily commit murder on anyone who hurt his loved ones but i don't think it's that easy. it's way more complicated than that. i thought you could make a post on dick and his connection with his morals and how he perceives things?

i totally understand if u dont want to or if you need some time to construct the post <3

okaaaay. a couple of thoughts on this but the first thing that comes to mind is this set of panels from nightwing (1996) #112:

this is his voiceover right at the beginning of the renegade arc and it's written by devin grayson. while i don't agree with all aspects of how she writes dick, i think this one is a fairly accurate depiction of what dick himself thinks of his morals.

this is coming right off the blockbuster saga so dick has lived that moment where he froze and let tarantula shoot blockbuster:

the thing with dick's no-kill mentality is that he adopted it from bruce but it's way more nuanced than that.

bruce mentored him in his most formative years; he taught dick almost everything there is to know about vigilantism and crime. but the thing is, dick was an entire person before he met bruce! most of his inner strength and determination and will power is a reflection of being raised by mary and john grayson till age 8/9/10 (kat actually has a wonderful meta about this). panel below from jla (1997) #76:

it's what makes dick so different- it's why nightwing is a beacon of hope, why he's the guy every superhero trusts.

on the other hand, bruce is staunchly dogmatic in his moral code. for him, to take a life is essentially becoming a part of the senseless violence that took his parents from him in that alley. he will never be the same if he lets himself give in. and if he's not the same, he can't be batman (panel from batman 1940 #650):

dick, however, is different in the way he approaches this. while you cannot understate his adherence to no killing, his loyalty to bruce supersedes all. just look at his first thought after letting blockbuster die in nightwing 1996 #93:

did blockbuster deserve to die? yes. did dick himself think that? yes, for a brief moment. but that's the thing about vigilantism- it's all about split seconds and moments that are lost before they're ever held. it's why all of them have to hold themselves to such strict standards.

there have been several instances where dick has threatened killing when it's his loved ones in danger. panel from new teen titans (1984) #18 (lil nebulous bc i can't remember if he was under brother blood's influence or not):

but i think one of dick's chief characteristics is how deeply he values control, which brings me to dick killing the joker.

see, the thing is dick's moral code is deeply influenced by his desire to protect his loved ones. he gets angry when they're hurt. but this protective rage often wars with his desire to stay in control! if you read joker: last laugh (2006) #6 through that lens, it gets rlly interesting:

we see him state that this isn't the way. but his anger is driving him:

dick's reaction is soooo fun. it's not really about the joker being dead, it's about how he lost control and let the joker win! it's not about the joker, not really, it's about what it says about dick. if dick is not in control, can he trust himself? what does it say about him that he let his rage get the better of him?

the only other canonical instance where dick kills someone is creighton kendall in nightwing (1996) #146. but the thing with this one is that it's different from the other two. dick is very much in control of the situation. in fact, it's pretty much premeditated:

tomasi's run is excellent, prolly one of my favourites, but for some of the events that transpire, you don't really get any kind of introspection on them. and dick is very much an introspective guy, even if it's introspection based on his warped perception of himself. so, i'm a little unsure if he feels any guilt about this or if he thinks it's a justified call. because he did plan it out by letting kendall drag him across the water, soaking his wings and timing his own jump.

so, i think how dick would approach the situation is very important. if it's something like the joker or the blockbuster, where dick is lost to senseless rage or emotionally spent from deaths he blames himself for, dick will never forgive himself. but for a guy like kendall, where it's the only viable last resort, dick will not have the same level of self-hatred and guilt over it.

i think this conversation with babs in nightwing (1996) #53 is a pretty good summation of what moral philosophy he adheres to:

but to be fair, dick kills the joker literally 10 issues later and then blockbuster comes into his life soon enough to blow it all up, so maybe this is a slightly rosy view of what he thinks is the right thing to do.

which is why the monologue in nightwing #112 is such a good articulation of his evolving code. dick has been in a position where he has surprised himself more than once so he doesn't hold the same view about the infallibility of his ethics any more.

all this to say, dick will absolutely not easily kill someone who has hurt any of his loved ones. the only time such a thing would be tenable would be in a moment of great emotionality or him facing the absolute worst kind of sophie's choice, and even then- the odds of him killing someone are laughably low. remember, this is the guy every superhero trusts indubitably and whose resolve is too strong to be darkened!

[thebreakfastgenie]

If you don't mind sharing, I would love to know what you think people get wrong about Toby and Josh! (this is not a trap, I have no strong feelings and am genuinely just interested)

Yeah totally!! So I will say I think within The West Wing fandom on tumblr people get these characters more right than the general audience.

Toby is just an incredibly complex character. I go even farther than most (including, like, Richard Schiff) because I don't think Toby is cynical at all. Maybe by the end of the show, but certainly not when we meet him and not throughout the first four seasons. Cynicism isn't really allowed to exist in the Sorkin West Wing. Toby is the most idealistic character on the show and he is the way he is because he is constantly disappointed and frustrated. The world never lives up to his expectations but he never adjusts his expectations. It goes beyond hope, he really does expect better because he genuinely believes the world or in some cases a person, e.g. Jed Bartlet, has a potential it's not living up to. That's why we meet Toby as a professional political operative who has never won an election, who puts his job on the line and alienates all his coworkers because he's so committed to what he believes is right. Toby is an uncompromising idealist, which is an exhausting way to exist, and it makes him depressed, which is why Andi can't live with him even though I believe she still loves him. I hate that in season 7 Bartlet claims Toby thinks of himself as morally superior and that he always knew this would become a problem, because the dynamic we're given in season 1 is that Bartlet thinks of Toby as morally superior and relies on him for that perspective.

Josh is a wildly popular character and one of the more consistently written characters in the show so just about everybody gets the broad strokes of him right, but I think he's prone to flanderization and the complexities of him are frequently missed. Josh isn't someone who loves dirty politics. He isn't really someone who will do whatever it takes to win; he's willing to do a lot, but there are certain lines he only tries to cross when he's really desperate and each time it's framed as an unusual choice for him and he tends to reflect on it with some discomfort afterwards. Josh is the pragmatist who knows someone has to get their hands dirty, and he does it not because he wants to but to keep the president and Leo and anyone else he's working for clean. He's motivated primarily by loyalty, but that in and of itself is idealistic. He defends Hoynes because he does see a good side to Hoynes, a side the audience gets to see glimpses of later. Josh does leave Hoynes for Bartlet because he's tired of Hoynes not living up to the potential he sees in him and he's infected by Bartlet's idealism, but it's a decision he feels guilty about for years afterward. I think people have a tendency to exaggerate Josh's ego, too. He beats his chest (literally) in private but he doesn't want public credit; the reason he doesn't want to be "the guy" is he doesn't have the ego for it. Josh is not self-centered at all and I think that's a big thing people miss about him. And his tendency to screw up or shoot off at the mouth is real but also exaggerated and when it does happen it's just as much an expression of frustrated idealism as Toby's choices.

I think the really crucial part that's often missed is the dynamic between Toby and Josh and their respective roles in the Bartlet administration. The reason Bartlet for America and later Jed Bartlet's presidency is successful is a balance between Josh's pragmatism and Toby's uncompromising idealism. The campaign needs both and Bartlet needs both perspectives. Leo recognizes that and brings him both and Josh and Toby, for all they butt heads, recognize it too. That's why everyone on the show has such an underlying respect for each other. CJ and Sam are crucial to the team too of course they just don't have neat narrative foils the way Josh and Toby do in each other.

[clazaries]

Hi 🤗♥️

I saw that you opened requests for Oscar Isaac and lately I'm in full obsession with Dune

I wanted to see if you would like to write oneshot fluff about Duke Leto x reader.

The duke and his wife have been happily married for years and have a daughter who is just 14 years old.

She is totally daddy's girl, always following him where he goes and seeing him as if her father had hung the same stars, but lately she seems more and more rebellious and distant. Defying his father every chance he gets and being a constant pain in the Duke's mind. Then he and the reader talk about it.

And the duke confesses that he has a great fear of losing his daughter, but the reader reassures him.

It can end however you want (angry or fluffy)

Hope you have a nice day (Sorry if I wrote everything wrong, English is not my native language) ❣️🤗

A small ficlet for you! Thanks for the request!!

"I just...I just don't know what to do," your Duke sighs. You know that whenever your Duke speaks plainly and shows such a lack of restraint of his emotions tells you that you know he has very limited options. "It's like she's going through this god-complex, trying her hardest to make everyone around her feel inferior to her. She has no respect, disobeys every word and lacks responsibility. How am I suppose to manage my own responsibilities when I'm having to make excuses for hers?"

For the last few months it's become common knowledge amongst all those serving under House Atreides that the Duke has been struggling to contain the temperment of his 14 year old daughter, especially those have fallen directly into the firing line of her unsavory behaviour.

As a chambermaid only a few rotations older than the Duke's daughter, it isn't common for you to discuss such matters with the Duke, let alone be in the same room as him, but recently he's begun confiding in you in a way you were never trained for, so your hesitance to help him doesn't go unnoticed. But after seeing how defeated he is sitting on the edge of his bed, looking rather unruly, you decide to chance the same luck. "May I speak plainly, my duke?"

"Please." He looks up to you as if you are the beholder of all wisdom, fingers still tracing the grain of his beard.

"You had lived many rotations before I was even born, so I cannot judge on who you were, but I can speak on who you are now. Everyone knows that you are a leader and a fighter. A good one; even-handed and compassionate. And for that, you have attained Caladan's respect and loyalty. But you are also a father. Her father exclusively. Nobody else on Caladan can share the honour of being your daughter, only her."

His eyes travel over you like he's seeing a side of you he hadn't before, adding to the profile he already has in his head. "It's so curious to me that you are only a few years older than her but yet so vastly different. Why can't I make her see it the way you do?"

Because you've pampered her from the moment she left the womb. Alas, you have more sense to remember what kind of consequences you'd face should you have spoken those words so candidly.

"By blurring the lines of being a leader, a fighter and a father. By letting her see the reason of why you are Duke of Caladan. Gain her respect the same way you did ours. Invite her to House conferences, show her how you train, show her how you handle hostile environments, make her your shadow."

The Duke rises from the edge of the bed with a sigh and saunters over to his wife's vanity, glaring at himself in the mirror. He has a narrow face full of angles and planes, with a high-bridged aquiline nose that gave him the look of a hawk, and woodsmoke in his brown eyes. Despite his intimidating looks, his outer shell doesn't quite reflect what's within. A point that perhaps his daughter has been abusing in recent months.

"I miss the little girl she used to be. I have so much love for her that I can't bear to spare the thought of her not being in my life. I'm scared of losing her. I fear that exposing her to this would put her in harm's way."

"Of course, and she trusts you to protect her as every child does. But what would innocence teach her that you coudn't?"

The Duke's face remains expressionless apart from the very small twitch of his eyebrow furrowing inwards. After a long moment of deliberating, his gaze sweeps to yours through the mirror. You begin to worry that you've stepped out of line.

"Do you think it would work?" He asks quietly.

To be completely honest, you don't know. At the very least, it would do her some good to be humbled.

"It is only advice, my Duke, not an instruction. I would never tell you how to parent your child, I would never disrespect you in that way."

The gentle nod of his head is a relief, and you feel your breath pouring from your lungs.

The Duke paces back over to you, standing just before you that you could feel the traces of his breath sweep across your features.

"Perhaps you are right. When I think about it, I learned most, if not everything from my father when I was a teenager."

A small smile spreads across your lips. "As did I."

The Duke reciprocates the smile, returning his gratitude in the way his hand gently squeezes the top of your arm. "He is a man I aspire to be. Hopefully one day I can be as proud of my daughter as he is of you."

"Thank you, my Duke. I'm sure your daughter will make a great leader one day."

He chuckles softly, "here's hoping she can survive being grouded for longer than a week."

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

I’m taking my shipper hat off for a moment to delve into an aspect of Kuvira’s personality that I would typically overlook since, admittedly, as common knowledge for anyone who has been following my blog for a while, I don’t care much for Kuvira’s and Bataar Jr.’s relationship beyond what pertains to the facts of her story. However, since I've been recently paying a closer look to her childhood by analyzing key moments of her upbringing that Ruins of the Empire provided, I think that the way those events shaped her personality may have led her to the choices we see her taking regarding her personal life. Given the parallels between Baatar Jr.'s parents and him and Kuvira, we can joke, saying that he might have chosen Kuvira as a romantic partner because of “mommy issues," but what about Kuvira? What if Kuvira's choice of Baatar as a partner reflects her own issues, specifically regarding her relationship with her father?  Did Kuvira choose Junior to compensate for the absence of a caring and loving father? Kuvira’s insecurities have been discussed at length before, but I think this is an angle worth exploring, so let’s see if this notion holds any water. 

So I wondered if Kuvira’s traumatic experiences with her biological father may have impacted the traits she wished for in a romantic partner and if Junior fulfilled those traits. Before getting into the specifics, you may notice that I’m avoiding the term “daddy issues” because, after a quick search, I found out that there is no such psychological term but rather what she might experience could fall under attachment disorder.

So back to the topic at hand, if Kuvira’s traumatic experiences primed her to seek a partner to compensate for the absence of a healthy relationship with her father, perhaps what Junior brought to the table coincided with what she sought. It would’ve been difficult for Kuvira not to appreciate the unwavering way (to a fault) that Junior supported and believed in her, in stark contrast to the total loss of confidence her father had in her, manifested in her abandonment. This abandonment led her to crave stability, loyalty, and trust, and we can assume Baatar Jr. supplied all of these things in abundance by the way he talked about her to others and through his behavior. She wanted someone who would support and believe in her, something he had done since they left Zaofu, when he defied his mother's wishes and de facto elected Kuvira over his family. Ironically, it was Kuvira at the warehouse who ended up doing what she feared and abandoned Baatar Jr. via spirit weapon blast for her goal of uniting the EK.

In Zaofu, despite having been taken in by Suyin and her husband Baatar Sr., Kuvira lacked proper parental figures to replace the ones she lost since she never felt truly part of the family. It’s not a stretch to believe she yearned to relive the experience of feeling she belonged to a family in the proper sense, even if it was an imperfect one. Bonding with Junior could’ve been the next best thing, especially during the formative years of their adolescence, when they began noticing what Suyin did and said more closely, leading them to analyze her ideology and her actions, realizing that her words and her actions didn’t necessarily align when it didn’t suit her interests. It cannot be a coincidence that of all of Suyin’s children, the ones who wound up ideologically radicalized in the household were Junior and Kuvira, and I have my own theory as to why this happened. As the eldest children, they were allowed access to the day-to-day ins and outs of administering the city and were entrusted with important positions within the administration. They were part of Zaofu’s circle of trusted people (this can explain how they knew and were connected to the influential people who left with them when they deserted Zaofu). Baatar Jr. worked closely with his father on everything related to the city’s infrastructure. Kuvira, as guard captain, was a key component of the security forces safeguarding the city from internal and external threats. As far as we know, none of their other siblings were involved in any capacity in running the city like they did, so they had a privileged view of Suyin, not only as their mother but also as the administrator and political leader of Zaofu. 

I've posited before that either by conscious or unconscious choice, Kuvira emulated Suyin, and one of the ways she manifested this pattern was in the choice of Baatar Jr. as her romantic partner. He brought the built-in advantages of his knowledge and skills as an inventor and engineer to her grand plan, similar to Suyin and the skills that Baatar Sr. had, which allowed Zaofu to be the city Suyin envisioned. Kuvira wanted the same unwavering support Suyin had with her husband and also the ability to wield power without questioning as Su did, and Baatar Jr. provided this to Kuvira. This is not to say she didn't love him because I think she did, or at least she believed she did, since besides their bond growing up in Zaofu and developing similar ideologies, he provided the validation to counter the insecurity borne of her parental trauma, so it made it easier for her to develop feelings for him. She loved the way he validated her and her choices, and probably it was something she reciprocated since he had his own insecurities to deal with, so they became each other’s supporters, cheerleaders, and enablers. These aren't the things she might've actually needed from a partner, because we can assume that part of the unequivocal support he provided meant shielding her from accountability and from confronting her with the harsh truths of the dictatorship they led, something that in the end became a fatal flaw that affected both their relationship and their rule over the Earth Kingdom.

So, does this answer the original question? Kuvira’s trauma left an indelible mark on her psyche, so I think this could have predisposed her to seek and develop romantic feelings and attachment to someone who could make her feel validated and secure, and to me, Baatar Jr. fulfilled these needs for her. I’m not saying she didn’t have genuine romantic feelings towards him, but I do believe these factors weighed heavily on her choice because, for once in her life, she finally had someone who made her feel loved and cared for.

[life-winners-liveblog]

Shortening my reviews as well, so hopefully it won't take as much time. LimL!Cleo's backstory is so sad. Did you come up with it? I don't remember that being part of her series but maybe I missed it? The loop recap is wonderful... though I somehow missed a few? I think? Marigold continuing to not beat the Fae allegations. *crosses fingers* please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. My boy has so much emotional trauma and baggage. Also I feel WC!Scott fits more similarly to LimL!Scott than Chromia!Scott does. He doesn't actually care about himself winning, only making sure his allies get as far as possible and his teammate (*cough* partner *cough*) wins. The betrayal didn't matter to him because he wanted Martyn to kill him anyways because he couldn't lose another person he held so dear to his heart. He did everything he could. Even destroying himself and effectively killing himself to make himself stronger so he could bring Milo back. A certain vein of Self-Sacrificing that we also see a lot of in LimL!Scott. If it wasn't him to win Witchcraft he would have wanted it, and even pledged that if he didn't win he'd ensure Cleo's victory instead. Aka, his closest friend and ally. Someone who he knew he could trust, and who trusted him in return. A connection stronger than most dedicating their loyalty to each other. Because both knew what it was like to hate what they saw in their reflections. Hate what they've become. Yet embracing it for the hope of a better future. A loyalty that continues into the games. Aaaand I've made this longer than I was planning too... anyways! I totally forgot Jimshie existed.... and he now has Ren as another father, of course. Of course LimL!Cleo's fav song is Addams Family (fun fact that was the spring musical we did my senior year of hs) Oh that's Cleo's actual canon lore.... holy shit. Why have I not heard about that before? Bel caught up. Maybe there is hope for me *stares at 3 months worth of posts*... hopefully. RIP Grian's pottery, as someone who also works with clay, I feel that pain on a deep level. I see what Bel has done and I send him a bit more clay, as well as a mixer and clay powder so he can recycle the clay when needed. And a refill of any glazes he may need. Oh! And a wheel if he doesn't have one already, as well as a few needed tools like sponges, bats for the wheel, some ribs, etc. LimL!Cleo is so Toriel coded. We love Goat Mom. Oh also, (this might have been answered already and I haven't seen it yet) but what faction, if any are Gem and the Scotts part of? Also possible Scotpulse? Perhaps? Scott²? Idk i love those 2 together, also Impulse was the only one to not betray Scott during the Boogey Infection sooooo. Lmao Cub is scared of ducks. L oh... oh. oh Pearl. Red and light blue huh? I totally didn't start tearing up. I didn't do that. No way. And thats the end of the May review! I mean't to make these shorter and I don't think I succeeded.. oh well!

-Xas

Ooh reviews are back, loved these!

And yeah, I actually found out that Cleo used to have a Tumblr blog where she stated that as her backstory!

[mikuni14]

Sing My Crush

I binged Sing My Crush and absolutely loved the series. I liked practically everything, from the main and side characters, the interesting and innovative type of the villain and the conflict he created, the fact that the "11th episode drama" has its mostly external causes, that one of the ML falls in love twice and it's treated completely normally, that the story is interesting and well narrated, both MLs are equally likable and I was cheering for both of them, there was no separation at the end, which I totally expected, all problems were solved practically right away.

What I also liked is how both MLs reflect the "cat and dog energy", but in a way that is not irritating. I especially mean how typical a "puppy-golden retriever" is Im Han Tae. But he is the way I like, that is, this "dog" energy gives him only good features, i.e. absolute loyalty, optimism, willingness to help, the need to save and to care for other people, sincere and bubbly personality. And what's especially important to me about the "puppy/sunshine" personality type, which the series NOTORIOUSLY fail to do right, is that these characters sometimes come off "stupid", BUT THEY ARE NOT STUPID. It's just that someone else is taking advantage of their good nature and good intentions, and their belief in the goodness and good intentions of other people, or that they're being caught off-guard and need time to think.

Unfortunately, many shows create scenes for characters like this, often intended to be comedic, that "puppy" literally behaves stupid, or like a pre-pubescent boy in a man's body, and in some extreme cases like someone who, sorry to write this, appears to have some intellectual and developmental disabilities. The perfect example of this type of character for me was this guy from Love Tractor, which made me unable to finish the show because I felt so bad watching this 20 year old man act like he was raised in the jungle, who doesn't understand what's going on with him and his body and is completely freaking out. To me, mentally he was literally a child, I felt sick watching him as a love interest of a grown man.

Being child-like is ok when it is part of a personality that is open, trusting, cheerful, eager to explore the world, and curious. Being child-like as a mental level of an adult person is not ok, to me it's just creepy.

When I started watching Sing My Crush and I saw Im Han Tae I thought oh boy, here we go again, another man-child. And you don't know how happy I am that I was wrong. Im Han Tae has all the best features of the golden retriever personality type and is also smart and acts like a guy his age. Unlike many characters of his type in movies and series, he never runs away from his feelings, he confronts them and confronts Han Ba Ram, and when he needs time to think, he doesn't spend it avoiding and hurting in the process his love interest, or feeling sorry for himself and freaking out, but actually thinks the situation through . Like an adult. And he always, ALWAYS, tries his best not to hurt Han Ba Ram, even when he's angry with him.

Similarly, Han Ba Ram, who is portrayed as a typical "cute" and withdrawn character with "cat" energy, is not stereotypical, but also smart, has his own life outside of the romance, his own worries and desires that he doesn't want to "burden" other people with and is a good person who worries about others, and definitely tends to be self-sacrificing. And yes, he's incredibly cute and cries prettily (I thought I'd die and just turn into a puddle of goo when he started crying after boxing class 🥺🥺) and he's soooo adorable and I'd do anything for him (as well as Han Tae who is such a great character).

Ok, I will stop here, because of the chaos of my thoughts regarding this series. Unfortunately I binged the series with only one break, instead of writing my thoughts after each episode, which is the best way not to miss and organize all my reflections about the series 😉 Anyway, I highly recommend this series, I don't think there are any major, or even minor flaws (ok, maybe too much music, but the title says it all, also the singer's voice is really nice). Wow, this year Korea is spoiling me, this is the third series that I like so much 🤩

[inchidentally]

MUSE LANDO YES

truly is this what he is for DJs?? energy being so important for a DJ set and of course having beautiful Lando dancing around with the sheen of his perfectly toned skin reflecting every change of the lights right where they can grab at him and furtively smell where his cologne hasn't touched has got to be inspiration.

but god I want him to get really artsy friends who not only make him feel desired and loved but who can express how Lando makes them feel in photography, painting, sculpture, poetry, film, or making jewelry that specifically invokes Lando's eyes or the gradient of pinks in his lips or the way humidity clings to his curls like a coronet fashioned from the air of faraway places that smell like oudh incorporated in a fragrance made just for him.

a painter could express the textures and vibrating energy of Lando standing shirtless and shoeless on a balcony during torrential rain. a sculptor could transform pieces of old industrial iron into a lithe climbing shape to evoke Lando stretching himself up and awake after a nap on a sun-filled penthouse rug. photographers and visual artists would spend weeks just following him around cities he's never seen before, straining to capture the way his neck extends balletic and strong when his curiosity is piqued and the broken-open fragility of his verde gris eyes when he falls into a fleeting love affair with a stranger or a cramped side street or a little hint of the humdrum practicality of a Normal Life he's never known even in passing.

and if I let my brain go real nuts here maybe some rumpled wannabe documentary filmmaker-slash-nepo baby desperate to justify his place in filmmaking chooses to stumble after Lando during an entire F1 season. and maybe he brings a cumbersome setup of thin, patched screens covered in acoustic foam panels and an even more unwieldy vintage camera across oceans and continents so that he always records Lando in one familiar corner of space no matter where they are. maybe he's trying to settle Lando's too-trusting, frightened nature into a sense of habit so that he can finally record the way Lando looks and talks when everyone's phones are down and the early evening steals the hotel room's artificial light and makes reality feel thin and viscous. maybe after a few races he finally gets Lando to talk about The Ones Who Were Gone. the men who did what Lando had never known men could do to him: leave. he'd urge Lando past the "I know it's stupid" and "it's totally normal in racing" and "obviously we're still really good friends, it's not a big deal anymore". get him to revisit two, three, four years ago and the filmmaker would sit frozen as still as possible until Lando's face regresses into the softness and the bitterness of watching a supposed dear friend laughing big and loud while his child's heart was burning with hurt and sadness. perhaps it would feel too cruel to keep him there in that old sadness and the filmmaker's own voice would be left in the film when he brings up Piastri. good, steady, possibly boring Piastri who eagerly took two extra years before his first had even finished. the even-keeled wallflower who had endured resounding hatred from fans across everywhere Ricciardo had sown loyalty to himself and an entire team proclaiming Piastri an ungrateful turncoat, both to the public and to the court. the pale boy who pressed his pale lips together and turned his shoulders in and soldiered on through months of everyone crowing that he must already regret all he had thrown away, that he was getting what he deserved. all because the boy chose McLaren, chose the little live-wire changeling Lando, and whose steady brown eyes saw his future's glory clear and bright through the mess and the noise. the boy who was so unlike Lando in every superficial way, who Lando one day turned to look at in the eyes and thought 'you're the same as me'.

because it was worth the waiting through all of Lando's capricious sometimes frenetic moods during their hours of filming to capture the moment when Lando's smile untwists from wry and fond to bright and clear when he talks about his future with the boy who waits and watches - and sometimes turns serious - in exactly the way the one! and only! Lando Norris! deserves. whose eyes see just what Lando's see and the filmmaker thinks bang! got it! because that bright-eyed toothy smile looks just like the photo of tiny Lando holding a trophy nearly the size of his own body that he's absolutely going to cut into the end of the doc.

[cod-with-boobs]

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about the ways in which Aziraphale and Crowley reflect/contrast each other, especially in terms of their outward presentation.

Crowley’s look, Crowley’s style, is constantly shifting with the times. He’s always fashionable, he’s always of the moment, and he’s always changing.

Aziraphale is seemingly the opposite. He has worn like a total of 3 different outfits since the 1790s. He likes the way things are and he does not like change.

Because of this, it’s easy to assume that Crowley is mercurial while Aziraphale is the rock of the dynamic, but I think it’s the other way around.

Crowley has known from very early on that he is a “demon who follows hell as far as he can”, and made peace with that. For appearances, doing outward good is something he tries to avoid, but for him hell has always been a job, and not an alignment. So while outwardly it would appear that Crowley’s appearance changes constantly because of internal instability, the fact that he is able to change so often and with such little indecision is moreso indicative of his strong sense of self.

Aziraphale on the other hand, is presented as someone who experiences a lot of inner conflict. While heaven is undoubtedly a job to Aziraphale too(with the Arrangement showing that much of the work he does for heaven is just that, work), it is also an alignment to him. He has a very clear cognitive dissonance where he does genuinely believe that heaven is the side of the good guys, while witnessing firsthand the corruption it’s capable of. He has his own developed sense of morality, one that accommodates shades of grey and the complexities of existence, but he also has heaven’s sense of morality, which is, as Crowley points out, very black and white. He often charges into situations fully confident that there is an objective Right answer, and that Right answer is the one that aligns most closely with heaven’s mission statement. He spends much of his time justifying and believing in heaven while directly counteracting its goals with his actions. He becomes visibly troubled whenever he is forced to acknowledge the fact that goodness as he knows it contradicts goodness as heaven defines it, so he spends as little time acknowledging it as possible. As he spends more time on Earth and more time with Crowley, he finds himself increasingly pulled between two deeply significant core characteristics, his loyalty to heaven and his own sense of right and wrong. He doesn’t know where he stands. He hasn’t known where he’s stood since he gave Adam a flaming sword at the gate of Eden. So, to combat how confusing and tumultuous and distressing his thoughts are, he entrenches himself in familiar behaviors and routines, convincing himself that if everything stays the same, then he’ll never have to pick a side, fully abandoning either the comfort he has carved out on earth, or the simple, severe, orderly views on right and wrong heaven has instilled in him. Through all of the many layers of denial, Aziraphale is deeply aware that his two belief systems cannot coexist, and that at some point, one will win out over the other. But for now, for the past 6000 odd years, it has been enough to follow orders, love humanity and the world quietly enough as to not draw heavenly scrutiny, and wear the same outfits, drink the same tea, putter around the same bookshop with the same old friend who works for hell. Maybe if he continues with these rituals forever, then he can will things not to change. Aziraphale is terrified of change within himself, so he makes sure to minimize the change around him, because that is something he can control.

Whether intentionally or not, Crowley often forces Aziraphale to take responsibility for his decisions. For Aziraphale, living like Crowley means accepting that he is no longer strictly operating by heaven’s rule book, and that is not always a truth Aziraphale is prepared to handle, hence “you go too fast for me Crowley”.

TL;DR: Crowley = fast moving, outwardly changing, but inwardly steady. Aziraphale = attached to habit, outwardly predictable, but inwardly unsteady.

[oopsitszuli]

80’s music??? DEMON SLAYER HASHIRA??? HEAD-CANONS???

Authors Notes: Ummmmm. Hey y’all!!! Sorry for going awol and not posting in like a year. I got wrapped up with huge loses in my personal life and a lot of stress and mental health issues. I’m so sorry and I’m glad to announce that I am going to try and make a comeback!!! SO- without further ado, In honor of DEMON SLAYER SEASON 3, I’d love to introduce y’all to a fun little headcanon list I made while listening to music. And as always, spoilers for character backstories.

———————————————————————————

The Hashira’s favorite songs from the 1980’s!!!

To start us off strong, the man, the myth, the music kickin Hashira himself;

Tengen Uzui🎵🎶

- Without a doubt, Tengen Uzui is a Mötley Crüe diehard. He SCREAMS the song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls.’ Much to the disapproval of Hina, Maiko, and Suma. But other than being a CrüeHead, I feel like he would also be way into bands like Warrant and Quiet Riot.

Next up is our favorite annoyed lover boy;

Iguro Obanai🐍

- While I thoroughly believe that Obanai would be a music elitist, I could see him getting in his feels to the song ‘Waiting for a girl like you.’ By Foreigner. Additionally, he would for sure relate to the song ‘Faithfully’ by Journey. Forever longing for his lovely Love Hashira and silently confessing his undying loyalty to her when no one else is around.

Moving on from lover boy, why don’t we take a gander at Lover Girl;

Mitsuri Kanroji💖🍡

- Mitsuri is definitely into big 80’s power ballads. I’m talking ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ by Poison big. But I also see her jamming to songs like ‘Edge of a Broken Heart’ by Vixen and ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ by Pat Benatar. She’s got a history with love and heartbreak that would make anyone sympathetic to her and I feel like she would really find solace in songs that told stories of heartbreak.

From someone who has a history with love, to someone who’s got a history of poisons. For our next candidate we have the woman Kesha wrote ‘Toxic’ about;

Shinobu Kocho🦋🧪

- Shinobu, my dear!! Oh I could see her absolutely kicking it to some Joan Jett. ‘Bad reputation’? Hell yeah! ‘I love Rock n Roll’? Hell yeah she does. But other than Joan Jett, I see one of her FAVORITE songs being ‘Bad Medicine’ by Bon Jovi. She probably listens to it while making her elixirs or discovering new medicine and honestly I love that for her.

Moving on from Shinobu, why don’t we take a look at the Hashira who took the world by their heart in less than an hour;

Kyojuro Rengoku❤️‍🔥

- Listen, Rengoku is a fire boy through and through, so I feel like his number one jam would be ‘Fire Woman’ by The Cult! And he would also absolutely adore the song ‘Heaven’s On Fire.’ by Kiss!!

Fire. Water. Two total opposites, just like their Hashira’s favorite 80’s song;

Giyuu Tomioka🌊

- I’m so sorry but I could not see Giyuu listening to upbeat songs from G’n’R or Mötley. My boy is just not that way. I actually see him listening to slower songs that have a little bit of kick. I also feel like his music is a reflection of how he feels about his relationships. So I believe one of his top songs would be ‘Nobody’s Fool’ by Cinderella. He truly is nobody’s fool and he is a lot more perceptive than people give him credit for!!!

His emotions remained tucked away just like him, but so are another water based Hashira’s emotions. The kiddo that gives us all misty eyes;

Muichiro Tokito☁️

- My boy Tokito has been through trials and tribulations on his road to becoming a Hashira, and after regaining his memories in full, I believe the guilt of loosing his brother would stick in with him. So I believe Tokito’s favorite song would be ‘Running Up That Hill(A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush. He chooses to live for his brother but I feel as though there’s a part of him that wishes his brother was the lucky one. (Also that song could count for so many people. But I really think it hit him differently.)

From Hashira who tuck their emotions away, to Hashira who show their emotions a little too aggressively. Give it up for the man who can and will sweep you away;

Sanemi Shinazugawa🍃🎐

- Oh, Sanemi, my darling. Violent in actions, deeply lonely in mind. I believe our boy Sanemi wouldn’t be one to listen to music for fun, his music Is his way of finding people who relate to him without being outwardly vulnerable. He wants connection, but he chooses to find it trough ballads and songs that remind him of the home he so desperately misses. He finds solace in songs such as ‘Home Sweet Home’ by Mötley Crüe, ‘Coming Home’ by Cinderella, and ‘Something to Believe In’ by Poison. Songs from people who were astronomically different from him, and yet they all sang of Greif or wishing to return to a home that wouldn’t be truly theirs again. And for once, while listening, Sanemi felt seen.

The wind that sweeps you off your feet, that rustles your clothing, the ever moving force around us. So different from our last Hashira, steady as stone and built with a heart of pure gold. Our Stone Hashira;

Gyomei Himejima🪨

- Now I know a lot of people are like, “Gyomei??? Rock n Roll?! HA! Not that one.” But I raise you, Gyome Himejima’s favorite songs; ‘Sister Christian’ by Night Ranger and ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake!!

———————————————————————————

There are my picks for the Hashira’s favorite songs from the era of S,D,&R’N’R!! I know CANONICALLY they would never touch 80’s music but that’s also because demon slayer is based in 1920’s Japan and I’m just having some fun :D

Hope y’all enjoyed, as always these are just my IDEAS and OPINIONS, and if you have any thoughts and suggestions please leave them in the notes!! I love you all and hope you’re doing wonderful!

© 2023 Oopsitszuli. All rights reserved. Do not modify, repost without credit, or claim as yours.

[hughiecampbelle]

hey!! i saw ships were open and i wanted to request one. i go by she/her pronouns and preferably a male ship. other than that i have no preference. if you don’t want to do it that’s totally okay, but if you do thank you in advance. :)

currently i’m in college currently majoring in government. i’m still not completely sure what i want to do but i am considering political consulting or political journalism, eventually i do want to take a few years off to have kids though. looks wise im 5’1 with dark brown hair, dark brown eye, and pale skin. my mom used to call me snow white when i was younger, if that puts it into perspective. i’m an enfp. as for personality i’m talkative, smart, kind, motional, and loyal. i’d say my loyalty is my best trait, i will never turn my back on someone i care about and i’m always willing to help them. yet, i’m not patient, i try to be but its just so hard. also, i hate when people underestimate me. it is so fun to prove people wrong and show them how smart i actually am. i would say one of my more annoying traits is that i walk around the house singing most of the time. most of the clothes i wear are like brand names that i try to find on sale because i like them but i don’t have a lot of money. i love to spend time with people i care about and i hate to be alone. yet, i don’t need to interact with someone at all times, being in the same room is enough. my free time is mostly spent watching tv shows, i really like comedies, or playing video games, like calm farming sims. i typically date people that are opposite of me, more logical and serious. i wouldn’t say i need a lot of reassurance but it is nice when the person i’m dating calls me pretty or smart. some dreams of mine include going to greece because i love the architecture and having a family one day because i would love to be a mom.

Hi my love! I ship you with: A-Train!!! He loves your looks. Reggie definitely jokingly and affectionately calls you Snow White. He loves to ask if the birds and woodland creatures are going to help you do your course work or clean up. You roll your eyes, though you can't help but smile. He also loves your loyalty. Being in The Seven for so long, watching and realizing how unstable relationships and alliances are, it's hard to believe anyone is loyal these days, let alone would be loyal to him. He has a lot of fears that the people he loves and that matter the most to him are going to leave him. They'll figure out he thinks he's a bad person and come to that same conclusion. Being with you lessens hose anxieties though he has a lot fears. You love how he's changed. A-Train had a lot of issues when you met. Over time, he's become a better, kinder, more caring person. He wants to be the hero he's been pretending to be. He wants to protect you and his brother and nephews. He wants to show that he's still capable of being a hero, being worthy of The Seven. He wasn't always willing to show this side of him. It wasn't welcomed or valued in an environment like The Seven. He was doing a lot of bad things and hurting so many people in the process. With your help and a lot of self reflection, he's working to be better. He's working to make up for all that's happened in the past. Your relationship is complicated. Despite loving and caring for one another deeply, Reggie is still involved with The Seven, he's still involved with Homelander and The Deep and Firecracker. When you are together he's dressed in civilian clothes and tries to hide his identity as much as possible. As far as anyone knows at Vought you're just a friends, if they even know you exist. He really wants to keep you a secret for your own safety. It complicates things, but the more he tells you about how dangerous Homelander's become, the more you realize this is out of necessity. When you're together you watch TV and play video games and it's actually more relaxing and chill than you'd expect. Your first date is pretty casual. You order takeout and watch TV. Reggie doesn't want to risk getting caught in public just yet considering your relationship is still very new and it would just put a target on your back by Homelander. You've seen his press conferences and interviews, but he's a completely different person in front of you than he is with the cameras. He's sincere and introspective and thoughtful. He laughs easily and is actually pretty funny. He doesn't want to scare you, but he wants to be up front with you from the beginning: being in a relationship with him comes with a lot of baggage and danger. If you want to stop seeing him, for whatever reason, he's more than understanding. But you like him too much to let him go like that and you're more than capable of facing a little danger. Relationship Headcanon: Just like how Reggie wants reassurance, you do, too. This is a big part of your relationship: reassuring one another. Neither of you mind, you both personally know what it's like to be eaten alive by insecurity and worry. He tells you how smart you are a lot, but truthfully he's blown away by your mind. Your area of study is not easy and yet you make it look effortless. He loves reading your papers and hearing your thoughts. He tells you every time he sees you how attractive you are. You get embarrassed, but he means it. You're like a princess. He considers himself lucky just to be in your presence.

Hope you like it my love!!! Xoxoxo💜💜💜

SHIPS ARE CLOSED

[ayearofreadingitalylit]

Reflections on a Year of Reading Italian Literature

Books read this year: 

- The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

- Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (pgs 1 through 200)

From Reading these two books, I have learned quite a bit about the Italian Geography. Obviously, Italy is a very beautiful place to visit but it has so much more to offer than seen with the naked eye. For an example, in the book “The Solitude of Prime Numbers”, Alice was on a skiing trip with her father along the Italian mountains, and it was very cold. Not to mention she had a terrible skiing accident, she told her father she needed to use the restroom before going up the mountain but he didn’t listen. With this event happening, I have learned that Italy is not only a hot summer country, but can also be a scenic, and different place. I have learned that Italy has other sides to it like big mountains that then have snow. This is something new to hear. In the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, Frances and Ed spend a summer traveling the Tuscan countryside, buying wines and touring old tombs. And in the winter time, they collect oil from their olive trees. I have learned that Italy is a very touristic country and is full of amazing things to do and see. It is known as a very romantic place to go with a partner and this tells us that because going along the countryside and buying wine is one of the most romantic things a couple can do. Isn’t it?

From Reading these two books, I have also learned a lot about Italy’s history. In the book “The Solitude of Prime Numbers”, Alice and Mattia are bestfriends and have a unexplainable connection with one another. The kind thats only one in a lifetime, if that. Towards the end of the book, Alice is having a very rough patch with her husband, Fabio, and She finds herself in her living room with Mattia kissing. In that moment, she realized that her feelings for Mattia were always real and weren’t just a fantasy in her head. I have learned that Italy’s history is connected to Romance. I know this because one of the cities in Italy is Venice. And Venice is classified as “The City of Love”. Italy has a long line of photographic views, beautiful sunsets, and full of color. Like Happiness. Something big and yet so beautiful. In the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, a professor of creative writing, Frances, who takes her divorce settlement and buys an abandoned villa in Tuscany. She gets her now husband, Ed, to help her completely remodel the villa for their own little place together. I learned that Italy wasn’t always the modern place it is now. Rome was found at least 800,000 years ago and the history goes way back to BC. Which was then called Italy from the Roman Republic.

From Reading these two books, I lastly learned about The Italian Culture. Now in Present time, Italians are very big on family, tradition and loyalty. Back then, Italy didn’t have much culture. It was mostly known for their exotic foods and different language. In the book “The Solitude of Prime Numbers”, its about love and friendship. Alice and Mattia were friends since middle school and they were both twin flames. They were both lonely, broken and were there for each other. They are one anothers person, but more love over friendship. I learned that Italy’s culture is Love. Its what its known for, and its beautiful and extensive history. In the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, Its about Frances who was hurt, starts a totally new life from scratch and finds a way to live again. I learned that Italy’s culture is also about finding yourself. I know this because this story is all about rebirth and transformation.

In all of my time of reading these two books, I have learned a lot of life lessons. In the book “The Solitude of Prime Numbers”,  I have learned to never let what you truly feel go unsaid. It may become too late and that can cause you to lose very big people apart of your life that are irreplaceable. In the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, I have learned that you should never be scared to make something of yourself from nothing. Any one can accomplish anything they put their mind to and you just have to believe in yourself and not worry about what others may think of you.

Finally, In my time of reading these two books, they have taught me very big and important life lessons that are useful in this generation. Mostly, I have learned some things I didn’t know about myself. I have always had a difficult time liking to read since i was at a young age. It is easy for me to read a sentence or read a quote written on a wall, but a whole book?! Yeah I have always told myself that I hated reading. Its hard for me to stay focused and keep track of where I am in the book without losing myself. Everytime I would try and sit down to read the 10 pages a day, I always stopped at 2 or 3 and found myself on my phone for the rest of the night. I then tried to find things to help me stay focused and I came across something called Audible. Audible is a audiobook subscription that has many stories and books and you listen and follow along. This made me stay focused and not easily lose myself within the pages. That is all I learned about Italian Literature and also about myself.

Final Blog Word Count: 932

[arabellasleopardcoat]

is there an otto fic in the works? *wiggles eyebrows*

My thoughts on Daemon and Aemond

Anon: Nope. But if some of you want it, the requests for my bingo are still open. And I have three pending, including the Alicent spanking fic.

What is in the works and what I wanted the Otto discourse for is an Aemond fic. If I plan right, it should be out the week after I wrap up Divine Intuition. I am hoping to gain some insight on Aemond's character the same way I pinned down Daemon. If you are up for seeing my method, it's under the cut. I totally used this ask as an excuse to talk about what I like.

So. As some of you know, I have not read the ASOIAF books, nor the ones pertaining the Dance of the Dragons. But this is not my first rodeo on fic writing, and before I write for a character, I like seeing what makes them tick.

Daemon was easier to crack down for me than Aemond. He has more screen time, which helps. But what really helped me nail down details about him was a Matt Smith's interview and his interactions with other characters. Especially, those with Viserys and women. From that, I got a few key points that I keep in mind every time I write him: Attention seeking, sadistic, controlling. I make sure to hit those in every scene he is in. But also, I try keeping in mind his motivations and his core values, loyalty, love for Viserys and Rhaenyra, competence (When he wants to)

I think in the case of Aemond, when considering his interactions with other characters, there are two that are key. Mother and Father.

Alicent is very important. She teaches him about the Faith, and it's clear she favors him. Aemond doesn't want to give her trouble, hence his attitude towards duty. He knows she has one problem child already, he doesn't want to be a cause for concern. It also determines his relationship with Aegon and Helaena. Aemond loves her. A lot.

Father should be taken in terms of absence. Viserys is just not there, so when looking for Aemond's father figure I have to look at two different stages. Childhood and teenage years. During childhood, he has Criston. I have been reading up discourse on him and rewatching a few of his scenes. He influences Aemond's sense of honor, he taught him how to fight, he actively parents him (See, the "All women are reflections of the Mother) To get Aemond, I need to get Criston.

But then, Otto comes back to King's Landing. And he influences Aemond during his teenage years, which is really relevant for a kid. This is where Aemond gets his sense of duty, his planning and his love for knowledge. Otto is a second son too, but one that is different to the other second son we are introduced to. He is one that stands by his own merits, that has risen to the highest position in the realm. Aemond probably looks up to him.

And you can't tell me that Otto was not an involved grandfather, because look how he acts when Helaena is making his toast or when Aemond gets up to give his. Watch his body language. He cares for these kids.

Finally, last talking point. I like Otto. I find him very interesting, and I like the mirroring with Corlys Velaryon. They both have the same objectives, getting their family on the Iron Throne. That's why I made him Aemond's Hand on Last Man On Earth (Which has to be the worst fic I have written, too many typos) I think him and Otto share the same ruthlessness, one that is very interesting to explore. And Aemond, obviously, soaks that up like a sponge. It shows even in the way he moves. When he is wrestling Aegon, it's not just siblings fighting to me. There is a sense of ruthlessness there, when he tugs at Aegon's leg, Aemond is pissed off and uncaring of hurting him. He is willing to get him to stay through any means.

Otto is blunt too, haughty. Despite being Hand, he is not a good courtier. He has the awkwardness of smart people, his brain moves too fast and gets frustrated when other's can't keep up. That's why he and Alicent clash, too. To Otto the picture is clear, to her, it takes her a bit longer. Many issues in their relationship would be solved if he took time to explain his thought process to her and listened to her thoughts. He doesn't. Otto thinks his reasoning is obvious. And that he knows best. Alicent feels blindsided and manipulated by his actions.

I think Aemond is similar. His speech is to the point, unless he is deliberately trying to insult someone (See the toast to his nephews) And even then, they are not particularly well hiden insults.

Then, there are Aemond's anger issues, of course. I have read a few Ewan Mitchell's interviews too. The boiling pot of emotion, being so cold and calculating on the outside (imitating Otto so hard in my opinion, mind over heart) but with the Targaryen's temper.

Still on the topic of anger, we have to agree Aemond is petty. So are Criston and Otto. He is just like his fathers.

So that's what I want the discourse for. It helps me, reading others opinions, even if they clash with mine because I get to think and spin my little web.

Sorry for the rambling! It's also eight in the morning for me, so probably not my most eloquent.