#bc we do have all that and nothing to indicate the opposite

[galedekarios]

g*le: im not sure i consider myself father material

g*le: quite good at setting relationship boundaries and speaking up abt them

g*le: never mentions wanting kids / actually has / adopts a kid unlike a plethora of other companions

g*le: shoos t*ra away at the mention of grandchildren

fandom: we just don’t have enough information on how g*le really feels about the topic of fatherhood

[futurecorps3]

imagine no war!!! remus after hogwarts decides to go to university, meets a muggle and falls head over heels but doesn't think he's good enough for her (w his condition on top of being a wizard and poor) but he brings her to meet the marauders anyway because they keep asking to meet the person he won't shut up about, maybe harry's birthday or just a pub outing or whatever??? he's nervous she'll fancy sirius but it's quite clear to everyone the second they meet that she clearly only has heart eyes for remus and the gang are like are you insane she's CLEARLY smitten with you and it literally takes everyone he knows to point it out for him to think he might even have a chance but is still floored when she's like "remus, i adore you, i've adored you from the moment we met" bc goddammit he deserves to be loved like that!!!

𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞

Masterlist<3

Summary: The request sums it up, read it hoe Pairing: Remus Lupin x reader Warnings: Alcohol consumption and that's all I can think abt hehe Word Count: 4.5K (i'm sorry) Requested: Yes

A/N: I'm absolutely sobbing. This is so cute!!! I'm using the Reggie was a spy for the order wild card and roll with that. Tysm for this awesome idea, nonnie! And sorry it took so long.

Remus knew magic existed, the type of magic that opens doors, gives you luck or disarms someone. But until he met her, he didn't know there was a type of magic that could be contained in someone's eyes, someone's smile, or even in that little quirk she had of squinting every time she focused.

Y/N Y/L/N. Even her name felt like the sweetest honey when it rolled off your tongue and into the air, he figured. She was a new kind of magic and Remus was hooked from the get go. They had met on a rather peculiar set of circumstances. When Moony first got to college, he had no friends or anyone nearby to help him cope with the abrupt transition. The boys visited as much as they could, but it'd be for about an hour or two before they had to go back to the ministry.

So, as he did when he arrived at Hogwarts, Remus found solace in reading and taking his wolfsbane at appropriate times. He was doing a classics mayor and reading the Plato classics was a convenient way to kill time while doing something productive. The boy spent hours in the library, sitting on the couches or getting some annotations done on the desks; he'd be done with the school's classics collection before the semester was over if he kept that pace.

He would have if he hadn't found those notes. Remus first noticed them in a worn copy of a compilation from a specific period of Plato's scripts, the third page in Philebus. "Socrates is being very reductive. I don't like it. Out of character, I do declare" written in red ink, cursive letters delicate in the ripped white paper.

He giggled at that, his thoughts exactly. Moony picked the piece of paper and examined it to see if it had any indications of who might've written it, but he found nothing. He only knew that the person who wrote it had a ruined red pen; the stains of ink sitting messily on the opposite side of the annotation. Remus was a sucker for mystery stories and he viewed this as an opportunity of having one of his own!

A short-lived one, since he cracked the case when a pretty girl on his history of philosophy class asked around for a red pen. Remus frantically but quietly rummaged through his satchel and found one just in time.

He rushed to her, offering it out “Here” he smiled, looking down at her as she looked up at him. “Thanks… Remus isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure. Y/N Y/L/N”. Y/N introduced herself, offering her hand out. Stained in red. The boy stared shocked at the realization this was the person he’d been looking for.

“Oh shit m’sorry, it looks like I committed a murder or something. My pen started leaking yesterday while I was studying in the library” She laughed and Remus swore he’d faint if he hadn’t gripped her hand. “Actually…” Remus started, searching in his pocket for the piece of paper he kept, when he finally found it, he showed it to her and a smile broke on those pretty lips.

“…I hope you don’t mind! I-I kept it. Been looking for you, it made me laugh” He admitted, handing it to her “You found me then! And, you’re very much welcome to keep it, Remus” Y/N grinned and Remus mirrored her expression sweetly. They met for coffee the next day. The day after that, they studied together. And the week after, they shared lunch.

About two months after they talked for the first time, they had gone on a date every single week. From museum outings to walks around campus if one of them didn't have much time. They also sat together in philosophy and, turns out, literature (which they realized they shared after).

Y/N gifted him a cool rock once, and he kissed her.

He kept the rock in his pocket ever since.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"Come on, mate, you gotta tell us who she is!" James exclaimed, his excitement palpable as he repeatedly patted the worn wooden bar in the cozy pub they had agreed to meet at. Remus chuckled and shook his head, a fond smile dancing on his lips as he took another sip of his whiskey.

"You've been talking non-stop about her since you two met! The last three times we've seen each other, it's been Y/N this, Y/N that. We've gotta meet the missus," Sirius playfully teased, giving Remus a light shove with his shoulder.

Rolling his eyes playfully, Remus glanced at his friends, grateful for their persistent curiosity but also hesitant to share too much. "Oh, Pads, don't call her that! We're not even official yet, and I doubt we'll ever be. She'll find someone, alright, but I'm just good old Remus," he replied, a hint of wistfulness shadowing his gaze.

It was true; good old Remus had learned how to stop caring about what other people thought of him, but that didn't mean he was entirely confident about who he was.

Navigating the Muggle world presented its own set of challenges for Remus. He knew that at some point, he would have to confront the whole "Hey, I'm a wizard, and there's this whole other world you don't know about, hope you don't mind!" situation with Y/N.

Then there were the lingering money issues that weighed on his mind. College was not cheap, but he had managed to secure a decent scholarship, which alleviated some of the burden. He hoped Y/N wouldn't care about his financial situation. And, of course, there was the delicate matter of revealing his true nature as a literal werewolf. How would she react when she found out?

Yeah.

He was good old Remus: poor Remus, monster Remus, scarred Remus, wizard Remus. If he were honest with himself, he was surprised they had made it past the first day, considering he had stupidly worn a short-sleeved t-shirt without anything to conceal the telltale signs of his condition.

But she noticed the perceptive and kind-hearted soul that she was, and she chose not to mention it. In that moment, Remus couldn't help but imagine the possibilities, but he also knew that reality had a way of reminding him of his limitations. Moony knew he would never be able to claim her as his own. Not in this lifetime, not in the next.

For now, he chose to cherish the moments they shared, basking in her laughter and marveling at the way her hair defied gravity with its radiant beauty. She was his bit of magic in a world that often seemed devoid of it. Deep down, however, he couldn't shake the nagging certainty that good things didn't last for boys like him—boys with tragedy coursing through their veins.

"Yeah, no. We're not doing this shit again," Sirius declared, shaking his head in disagreement. Remus's best friends had grown accustomed to his self-deprecating tendencies and were determined to lift his spirits. Remus might have been a mysterious figure to some, but to the Marauders, he was an open book, their brother.

"That's why she likes you, mate. You're good old amazing, lovely, smart, hot Remus!" James proclaimed with a boisterous cheer, pulling Remus into a tight embrace. "Tell you what, bring her to Harry's birthday party this weekend! I'm sure Lily won't mind," he suggested, his mischievous grin widening. Sirius enthusiastically chimed in, nodding in agreement. "Just ask her first and let me know, okay? I don't want Harry to have a bad time becaus-"

"Oh, Moons, the party is more for us than for him! He'll be out like a light by eight, and we'll get wasted like we always do," Prongs interjected, his infectious laughter filling the air, causing Remus to join in, his worries momentarily forgotten in the camaraderie of his friends.

There was no way out of this one, not that he sought an escape. Remus couldn't blame his best friends for their eagerness to meet Y/N. They knew him better than anyone, and they could see the spark of happiness she had ignited within him. Moony did little to hide his excitement, his heart fluttering with the hope that maybe, just maybe, things would work out.

Now, he just needed Lily's approval so he could gather the courage to ask the girl who had captivated his heart to accompany him to the birthday celebration—a step that held the promise of a new chapter in his life, one filled with both joy and uncertainty

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Remus nervously fiddled with the corner of his book, stealing glances at Y/N across the library. The soft rays of afternoon sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows, casting a warm, golden glow on the rows of ancient tomes and the elegant wooden shelves that lined the room. But in that moment, all Remus could see was Y/N, a radiant presence amidst the tranquil surroundings.

Summoning his courage, Remus took a deep breath and approached her table. The scent of old parchment mingled with the delicate fragrance of her perfume, creating an intoxicating blend that filled his senses. As he neared, he couldn't help but notice the way her eyes sparkled with intelligence and curiosity as she immersed herself in the world of words. Her hair cascaded down in gentle waves, its hue reminiscent of auburn leaves in autumn, and he found himself captivated by the way it framed her face, enhancing her natural beauty.

"Hey, love," Remus greeted her with a warm smile, trying his best to appear at ease. "Mind if I join you for a moment?"

Y/N looked up, a surprised yet welcoming expression crossing her features. Her eyes met Remus's, and a playful glimmer danced within their depths. She gestured to the seat across from her, her voice laced with gentle humor. "Well, if you insist. But only if you promise not to distract me from my riveting studies."

Remus chuckled, grateful for her light-hearted response. He took the offered seat, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. "I'll do my best to behave, I promise," he replied, a twinkle in his own eyes. "But I do have something on my mind that I wanted to ask you."

Y/N raised an eyebrow. Her curiosity piqued. "Oh, really? Well, go on then. I'm all ears."

"There's a little someone's birthday coming up this weekend," Remus began, his voice filled with playful anticipation. "Harry, James' adorable son, is turning two years old. And, well, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the party."

Y/N's face lit up with a mixture of surprise and delight, her smile contagious. "Are you asking me to crash a toddler's birthday party? That sounds like a dangerous proposition," she teased, her tone lighthearted.

Remus laughed, his nerves easing with every moment of their easy banter. "Well, I can promise you that the party will be more entertaining than dangerous," he quipped, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "There'll be cake, balloons, and probably a fair amount of chaos. It's a chance to embrace your inner child if you want to look at it that way."

Y/N pretended to consider it, her finger tapping against her chin. "Hmm, cake, balloons, and chaos? You make a compelling case," she replied, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "How can I resist? Count me in, darling. I'd love to celebrate with you and your mates."

Remus couldn't contain his happiness, his relief flooding through him like a warm wave. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed, a genuine excitement coloring his voice. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone, t-they insisted I brought the girl I don't shut up about to the party"

Y/N smiled at that, holding Remus's hand over the table. "So you've talked to your friends about me?" "Oh shut it" He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Right before those grey clouds of self deprecation repeating "this won't last" and "enjoy it before she realizes what you truly are" clouded his mind.

He shoved the thoughts away, holding to Y/N's smile against his lips as if it was an anchor saving him from drowning.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.

He really did try to plan it all neatly. From what he'd wear to how he'd introduced her to his friends. Remus even asked them to keep the magic discreet since it was all too soon for that conversation, but for fuck's sake; it all got thrown out the window when he saw her in low waisted flared pants and his Bowie shirt. "H-hey!" He smiled, almost yelling, but she just laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Hi Rem," she sighed, leaving a kiss on the corner of his lips which she left lingering a bit too long. "Ready?" "As I'll ever be!". As Y/N and Remus walked hand in hand, the excitement in the air was palpable. However, beneath her playful demeanor, Y/N couldn't shake the nerves that fluttered in her stomach. Meeting Remus's best friends felt like stepping into a new world, and the fear of not fitting in or being accepted gnawed at her.

She stole a quick glance at Remus, hoping he wouldn't notice the physical manifestations of her anxiety. The last thing she wanted was to burden him with her own inner turmoil. But even as she tried to compose herself, her voice wavered slightly as she spoke.

"Remus, I can't deny that I'm feeling a bit... off," she admitted, her words stumbling over her nervousness. "My heart feels like it's racing a marathon, and there's this knot in my stomach that just won't loosen. I hope it's not too obvious." Remus turned his head towards her, a reassuring smile playing on his lips. His eyes sparkled with warmth and understanding.

"Hey, I get it," he said, his tone comforting. "Meeting new people can be nerve-wracking, and our bodies have interesting ways of letting us know. But you know what? You're doing great, sweetheart, and I'm here with you. We'll take it one step at a time, and I promise we'll have a good time together. So, let's embrace the adventure, nerves and all, and see what the night has in store for us, okay?"

Y/N nodded thankfully, the knot loosening up a little. “Thanks baby”. The world stopped in Remus’ perspective at the pet name but he just nodded and kissed her cheek. He helped. He was a warm blanket after a long day even when moments like those weren’t happening. Comfort.

They eventually got to James’ place; the loud music coming from the two floor house making Y/N feel even more at ease. It radiated a warm, welcoming energy even before stepping in. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

“Deep breath”. They both took a breath before approaching the door and knocking, the wine Remus’ plus one brought close to breaking with the force she was holding it with. A bright smile opened the door, hugging Remus immediately. “You have no idea how happy I am you’re here Moony”.

Y/N smiled sweetly at the nickname the boy had for his best mate. She didn’t know where it came from but James seemed to be the sun reflecting on the moon. On Moony. The girl knew Remus’ light was enough to outshine the sun itself, but the comparison seemed cute.

“You must be Y/N! He can’t shut up about you. Can I hug you? It’s okay if not, Sirius says I need to ask before hugging people but I just love it so much I cannot help myself” He rambled, making her giggle as she uttered a small ‘It’s okay’ and hugged the boy. She noticed Remus staring and just winked at him. “Is that cake I smell?” Y/N grinned, peeking inside before James stepped aside to let them both in.

“Yes, come inside! My wife, Lily, has just finished baking her chocolate cake recipe. It’s bloody brilliant! Harry’s favorite in his short lived culinary experience. You gotta meet him too!” Moony stayed behind, cherishing the way James’ warm welcome made Y/N feel a little more comfortable; her shoulders relaxed as well as her grip on the wine bottle.

He stepped in, hanging his coat on the rack he helped Lily choose when his best friends bought the house. Rapid steps came running down the stairs, and before he turned around, the smell of cigarettes and leather filled his nostrils. “Hello Pads” he smirked, hugging his friend tightly.

“Hey Moons! Did the missus come?” “Yes, she’s outside with James and Lily-“. He was cut short when his best friend, (his eyeliner wearing, muscled, rocker, tattooed, charming best friend) ran all the way into the garden to greet the girl. He was head over heels over.

A new feeling settled into his chest. An unpleasant one. Sirius was a dream. Remus was just good old Remus. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! He sighed heavily, ran a hand through his hair, and then covered his mouth. Y/N was not one to be too forward, but the way Sirius looked and acted could easily make her reconsider.

It got worse when he heard her loud laugh coming from the garden, followed by a chuckle that unmistakably came from Sirius. His best friend would never do it on purpose, but then again, his charm was never used on purpose. It just sort of happened. Remus sighed and walked outside to find the girl saying hi to Harry.

The toddler had his tiny hand wrapped around the girl's fingers, babbling incoherencies, as Y/N had a full conversation with him. "Are you sure?" she asked and Harry answered nonsense as the girl nodded back. She looked up at Remus coming through the sliding door. "Remus, he's the cutest thing I've ever seen!".

He laughed and walked over to her. The girl immediately wrapped her hands around his arm and hugged him tightly. James winked at Moony and went inside as the conversation ensued, Sirius teasing Remus about the girl he "brought home".

Soon, Y/N was well adapted to their friend's sense of humour and was joking around with Lily about how dumb they could all be. Despite Y/N's worries, it all went by smoothly. The one he got along with the most was James; he loved asking questions, and she loved answering them.

Remus had always loved her laugh; Seeing his best friends being the cause of it made it even better. "I'm telling you, he's insane!" Sirius laughed, bouncing his leg up and down as Harry sat on his lap giggling. "He's an absolute sweetheart" Y/N answered, kissing Remus' cheek as his best friends tried putting dirt (rightfully deserved dirt) on his name.

"Wait until you know him just a tiny bit better. You'll get to see his menacing self... got us in a shit ton of trouble back in school" James chuckled, making Remus roll his eyes and trying to divert her attention by asking if she wanted a bit more cake.

During their evening, Y/N kept a tight grasp on Remus’ hand while smiling at his friend’s jokes. When it was his turn to laugh, Sirius noticed how the girl looked intently over at Remus with a grin on her face. His eyes looked gorgeous in the sun with those little wrinkles when he giggled, she thought.

In that moment, she realized she wanted Remus to say her name as you’re supposed to say it; sleepily, with a mouth full of food, between laughters and in tears. Y/N saw the specks of brown in the amber colored lake that his eyes were and fell completely. Sirius saw it, James saw it, Lily saw it.

Even more when he turned to look down at her and wipe a bit of chocolate off her cheek, and she kept that look of utter adoration for him. “He’s gone” Lily mumbled to her husband. “She’s too” he agreed. Sirius smirked, getting up to get Harry to bed as he fell asleep on his uncle’s arms as the sun set.

James and Sirius were at the center of attention, regaling the group with a hilarious story from their time at school. Their voices were animated, and they gesticulated with enthusiasm, drawing everyone into their tale. Remus stood nearby, a mix of amusement and mild embarrassment evident on his face.

"And then, there was this one time at Hogwarts," James began, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "when we decided to prank the entire Slytherin common room! We turned all their robes into neon pink ones!"

Sirius chimed in, laughter bubbling in his voice. "Oh, it was epic! They all looked like walking flamingos! The look on their faces was priceless!"

Y/N was thoroughly entertained by the story, but she couldn't help but notice Remus's subtle blush. She leaned closer to him and whispered teasingly, "Remus, were you part of this grand pink robe conspiracy too?"

Remus grinned, shaking his head. "I plead the fifth," he replied, trying to hide his amusement. "Let's just say those were wild times, and I may or may not have been an innocent bystander."

Y/N laughed, enjoying the playful banter. She was captivated by the camaraderie and genuine friendship between the group. As the evening continued, she found herself drawn into more anecdotes and laughter, feeling a sense of warmth and acceptance in their company.

Remus's friends made her feel welcome and included, and she couldn't help but feel grateful for being a part of this close-knit circle, even if she didn't know the full extent of their world. The nerves that had accompanied her earlier had transformed into excitement and a genuine desire to create new memories with Remus and his friends.

The feeling was reciprocated. Remus felt, and not on mere theory; the moment Y/N excused herself to go to the bathroom, his best friends started gushing to him about the girl. "Moony, she's in love" Sirius said between incredulous and joyous laugh "Oh Pad-" "Mate, I'm telling you... she looks at you like you hung the bloody stars!" now said James, Lily nodding pridefully "She looks at you just how James looked at me back in the day".

And Merlin did he want to believe them! He truly, really did. But instead, there was this empty feeling on his chest. There was no way Y/N Y/L/N looked at him in the way James looked at Lily; Almost scared of the joy she brought to him, like that pain in his heart would end up killing him and he'd quite literally die a happy man. So, when Remus dropped her off at her flat and turned his head before she'd kiss him on the mouth, the void went deeper.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Y/N couldn't sleep that night. Her mind was restless, thoughts of Remus swirling in her head like a tempest. She tossed and turned, replaying the events of the evening over and over again, each memory etching itself into her heart. There was no denying it anymore; she was utterly and completely in love with him.

The realization hit her like a wave crashing onto the shore, powerful and unstoppable; she was head over heels for Remus Lupin.

The next day, Y/N couldn't concentrate on anything. Her mind kept drifting back to Remus, like she'd could easily find herself absentmindedly doodling hearts and his name on the margins of her notebook. She needed to tell him; she couldn't keep this to herself any longer.

In the late afternoon, she gathered her courage and dialed his number, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for him to pick up. When he finally answered, his warm voice on the other end sent shivers down her spine.

"Hey, Remus," she began, trying to sound casual despite the turmoil inside her. "I was wondering if we could meet up later? There's something I want to talk to you about." Remus's response was filled with concern. "Of course, love. Is everything alright?" "Yes, everything's fine," she reassured him. "I just... I have something to tell you, something important."

He agreed to meet at their favorite cafe later that evening, and Y/N's heart fluttered with nervous excitement. The minutes leading up to their meeting felt like an eternity, but finally, the time came. When they sat down together, Y/N took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. Remus looked at her with those caring, gentle eyes, and she felt a rush of emotions wash over her.

"Remus," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "I don't even know where to start. Y-you've brought so much magic into my life. From the moment we met, I felt something special, something I couldn't quite put into words."

He listened intently, his gaze never leaving hers.

"I've never felt this way before," she continued, her cheeks flushing with emotion. "You're like a beautiful enigma, a captivating mystery that I can't get enough of. You make me laugh, you make me feel safe and cherished, and every moment with you is a treasure. You've shown me a kind of magic that I never knew existed, a magic that exists in the little things, the stolen glances, the shared laughter, and the way you hold my hand. It's like you've cast a spell on me, and I never want it to end."

Remus's eyes softened, and a tender smile graced his lips. "Y/N, you're the most incredible person I've ever met," he replied, his voice filled with emotion. "From the moment I saw your ink-stained hands, I knew you were something special. You've brought light into my life, and I can't believe that someone as amazing as you could feel this way about me."

He reached across the table and took her hand in his, their fingers interlocking like two puzzle pieces, finding their perfect fit.

"I'm not good with grand gestures or flowery words," he said, his voice a whisper. "But I can tell you this: I care about you deeply, more than I ever thought possible. You make me happy like I never imagined I'd could feel. I've fallen in love with you, Y/N, and I can't believe my luck."

Y/N's heart soared, tiny tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "Oh, Remus," she murmured, her voice choked with emotion. "I'm so in love with you too. You've shown me a kind of love I never knew existed, a love that feels like coming home. I cherish every moment with you, and I want to share my time with you, if you'll have me."

Without hesitation, Remus leaned across the table, closing the distance between them, and pressed a soft, tender kiss to her lips. It was a kiss filled with love and promise, sealing their feelings and intentions.

"I'd be honored to have you in my life, Y/N," he whispered against her lips. "You're my bit of magic in a world that can be harsh and uncertain, and I never want to let you go."

And so, in that cozy cafe, two souls found solace in each other's love. The world around them faded into the background as they basked in the enchantment of their newfound love, knowing that this kind of magic was unlike any other they had ever known. They had found something truly extraordinary in each other, a love that would stand the test of time and shine brighter than any star in the night sky.

˚ · • . ° .

It’s currently 12am and my brain isn’t working so i’ll just post this and place the word count in the morning.

Remember, the best way to support writer’s works on here is by REBLOGGING WITH TAGS. I’d very much appreciate it if you did!

Thanks again, stranger. Hope you have a nice day<3

NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO REPOST AS THEIR OWN/TRANSLATE/OR COPY MY WORK IN ANY PLATFORM OR SPACE WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT CONSENT.

[runningfrom2am]

leveling the playing field XIV

summary: with nowhere else to go after getting caught cheating to help lucy gray, you both make some desperately stupid decisions.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.2k

tags/warnings: capitol brat!reader, maybe slightly ooc coryo, idk i tried my best. do they love each other or hate each other? who knows (we do, kind of). implications and mentions of abuse, so read with caution!! also a little bit of swearing but that's neither here nor there. oh, and manipulation (both of them lowkey)

masterlists // nav // requests

a/n: omg so the next part has over 5k words and its not even close to being done?? should i post it all at once or break it up?? lmk your thoughts! also!! i think there's only two parts left omg... BUT do not fear bc i'm also writing another little thing for this and i feel like i'll keep doing that :)

series masterlist

You run back out to the stage, just as the Covey band's song is about to end. It was the last one, you thought, if their at home rehearsals were any indicator. You climb back up the side with an exaggerated stumble in your step, drawing the attention of Lucy Gray. She gave you a confused look, having expected that you and Coriolanus would be quite busy, especially after your song. She didn't expect you back on stage at all that night.

You smile and take the mic before she can say goodnight to the audience. "How about one more? I've had a second wind!" You say, looking to the band for their approval. Everyone besides Lucy Gray just giggles at you and nods.

"Alrighty, well, we'd really love to but our Sage here has clearly had a bit to drink and needs to get home." Lucy Gray tries to save it with a joke.

"Oh, come on, Lucy Gray. Live a little!" You laugh, playfully nudging her shoulder. "Who wants one more!" You call out which is returned with whistles and claps of encouragement.

"Alright, alright. Just one more, though." She agrees, smile returning to her face as he shakes her head.

The song ends and the band is packing up, and you can only hope that Coryo is long gone. The floor empties out, and you watch as Maude Ivory hops off the stage.

"Hey, Maude Ivory!" You call after her, hiding the sense of urgency in your voice. "Hey, can you help me clean up the floor before you grab a drink? I'll grab you your water." You offer, hurrying behind her to keep her from going to the back room. You didn't want her to see the bodies you assumed were still back there.

"Yes ma'am." She nods, giving you a quick salute.

"It's not a lot today, just a few bottles we can reuse." You smile at her as she skips out to start at the opposite edge of the room. "Lucy Gray, c'mere." You call to her as she closes up her old guitar case.

"You okay?" She asks, confused by your sudden sobriety.

"Come with me." You whisper, leading her into the back hallway in front of the door.

She follows, worry creased into her brow. Suddenly, she notes the red spots across the front of your dress which were almost invisible under the stage lights and among the red accents of the fabric.

"Something happened, okay? You can't let them come back here." You insist, referring to her family. "And you can't tell anyone."

"What?" She asks in a hushed tone, glancing past you toward the door. "Is it Coriolanus?"

Before you can explain, she's pushing past you and shoving the door open. You follow her quickly, reaching your arms around her to cover her mouth to keep any kind of reaction from being heard. You effectively muffle a cry of shock, and she's shoving you away and turning to face you. "That's- that's Billy Taupe, and, and Mayfair-"

"Shh-" You hush her quickly. "It was self-defense, okay? She was going to get us all killed. You included."

"I- no, I don't-" She tries to articulate her thoughts as her eyes fill with tears.

"I know, okay? It's less than ideal. Coryo is handling it. We just have to stay quiet." You promise. "Let's just grab everything and bring it all out, pretend you saw nothing. Maude Ivory and CC can't see this, do you understand?"

She nods, sniffling and looking between the bodies. "Hey, don't look at them." You remind her, gently turning her chin toward you. "They hurt you. Now you can move on, okay?"

"Okay." She whispers shakily, nodding again as you gather all the Covey's backstage supplies to bring out.

The next morning, you're awoken to a pounding on the front door of the small home, the four of you who shared a room all shooting up at once.

You scramble to get a peek out the window, spotting the grey shade of peacekeeper uniforms and cursing.

"Who- who is it?" Maude Ivory asks, scared as she looks between you and Lucy Gray.

"Peacekeepers. Lucy Gray, we have to go." You say quickly, closing the shade and grabbing your dress and Lucy Gray's arm.

"What? What's happening?" Barb Azure asks, rubbing her eyes.

"They're going to bust in if you don't open the door. Just tell them Lucy Gray isn't home. Don't mention me and if they ask, you don't know who I am. Do you understand?" You ask frantically and the girl nods fearfully.

As quickly as possible, you and Lucy Gray are flying out the back door and making a sprint for the trees behind the house.

"Any sign of the guns, or the girl? Mayor Lipp is sure she did it, or at least knows who did." A gruff voice of one of the peacekeepers has you and Lucy Gray both looking at each other, hands clutched over your mouths to keep quiet.

"None." His comrade replies, standing almost directly beneath you after they searched the yard. Clearly not very thoroughly, if they didn't see you and Lucy Gray sitting only about ten feet above their heads.

You cringe as he walks right over your garden, crushing the blooming raspberry bushes. "They arrested Plinth. Just got word, apparently, he was involved with rebels." The first man speaks again, and your eyes widen.

"Plinth? He's two beds down from me. Didn't expect that from him. He's a nice guy."

"No, I know. Anyway, he'll be executed this afternoon." You have to bite your lip to keep it from shaking under your hand, as if somehow that could give you away.

"Whatever, we'll come back later to get her." One of them says, making their way back through the house.

You hide in the branches and leaves until you're sure they're gone before carefully unsticking yourself from the ridged bark you were sitting on for far too long. You carefully climb down after Lucy Gray, making a quick effort to pull any stray sticks of leaves from your hair.

"What are we gonna do? They think I did it, I didn't do it, they'll kill me!" Lucy Gray panics, and you think about it while you quickly change into your dress.

"I think you have we have to run. Like you planned to do. We just have to follow through." You tell her, nodding to yourself.

Lucy Gray sighs, tipping her head back to look up at the sky. "I didn't even really want to go, I just wanted to get Billy Taupe off my ass."

"Well, he won't be there now." You say, looking her over. "How were they going to break that girl out?"

"Lil?" Lucy Gray asks, confused as she looks back at you. "I... I don't know, but it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Did they have a plan? Did they write it down anywhere?" You ask again.

"Well, yes, but they didn't write it down. It was too risky."

"Tell it to me. Every detail you can remember." You urge her, trying to settle the panic rising behind your ribs.

Coriolanus had been out all morning with his team, looking for the weapon that killed the mayor's daughter and praying every moment that they wouldn't find it. After breaking down the doors of countless homes, he thought he would start to feel better. There was no way they would be caught, but he was regretting not taking the initiative to hide them himself. That way, he would at least know.

With his issued weapon in his hand, they were pacing down a desolate street. By now the whole district knew to lock themselves away, except for whoever he just saw in his peripheral vision through a narrow sidestreet. He turns his head fully, just catching the ends of their hair and the red in their short dress before they disappeared. He stops, quickly taking the turn into the side street and looking back to make sure no one had seen him depart from the group.

With the bag of tools thrown over your shoulder, you tried your very best to be quiet while walking through the city. Walking down a sidestreet, you found it was a challenge to be both fast and silent. At the sound of footsteps behind you, you hold the bag in your arms to prevent the tools from knocking together and step into a narrow doorway, back pressed to the wall.

You're breathing heavily, but keep it steady as the footsteps on the gravel of the road come to a stop. You hear them turn, presumably looking in both directions. You're in the middle of cursing yourself for being spotted when you hear a whistle. A calling one, baiting you to peek out from your hiding spot, but you don't budge. Another whistle. "Hey, Y/N? Is that you?" The whistle is followed by Coryo's voice whispering your name, and you're infinitely relieved.

You stepped out quietly, and you couldn't help but smile when you saw his familiar face. He meets you halfway, and you're quickly wrapping your arms around him. "Coryo..." You sigh, not ready to let go of him just yet.

"Hey, Y/N/N..." He whispers back, kissing your head. "Are you okay? What are you doing out? You need to get home."

"I can't." You shake your head, finally dropping your arms from around him. "Did you hear Sejanus got arrested this morning? He's going to be executed."

Coryo is in shock, jaw going slack as he tries to decide what to say. It must have been his recording, because there was nothing linking him to the murders.

"I'm going to break him out. Like they planned to do for that other girl."

Instantly at your statement, he shakes his head. "Absolutely not. You'll be caught and you'll be next. There's a poster of you in the head peacekeeper's office. I've seen it. They're looking for you here, it's too risky."

"I'm not going to let Sejanus die over something he didn't even do." You whisper, voice picking up in anger as you glare up at him.

"You can't, Y/N. I get why you'd want to, but it's not worth it." He insists.

"They won't catch us. I'm getting him out and we're running, just like they planned to do anyway."

Coryo scans your face for any sign at all that you may be kidding, but he finds none. "Don't. Don't go. I wanted to tell you this last night, but they're relocating me to Two. You can come with me. I'll get us both out of here."

"Closer to home?" You ask, a hint of hopefulness flitting in your eyes before it's quickly replaced with sadness. "Wait, no. No, they'll ship me back home, and then what? I'll be killed anyway, or worse." You sigh, shaking your head as you look down. This is probably about to turn into a goodbye you never wanted to say.

The idea of leaving him behind was breaking your heart, but would you really be leaving him? You knew what would happen to him. He'd go to Two, rise quickly in the ranks, and be elected president by the time he turned twenty-five. He would be okay, but would you be without him? You couldn't stomach the idea of taking such a bright future from him just because you had nothing left. "I have to go with them, Coryo. It's my only choice."

He can already see that there is no shot you'll be happy out there. You probably wouldn't last the week, either. He nods a little bit, taking your hand. "I'll come with you." He nods again, deciding it for himself. Coriolanus Snow is not about to say goodbye to the love of his life for the last time as someone she was pretending to be but never truly was, nothing more than a rebel from District Twelve.

"No, your relocation, it's your ticket home. You have to take it." You reply.

"It doesn't matter. If they find the gun, I'll be killed either way. Here, in Two, or back home. I can't escape it, same as you." He promises. "There's nothing for me there anyway. Not without you." Coryo says, rubbing his thumb gently over the side of your neck, warming the chilled skin there.

How could you say no? "Okay." You whisper, nodding slightly as your cheeks flush pink. "Can you leave tonight?"

"Uh, I, no." He shakes his head. "Earliest I can get away is sunrise."

"Shit... okay." You hum, looking around as if that will help you think. Undistracted from his all-consuming blue eyes looking into yours. "We can try and wait, then meet us at the hanging tree at dawn. If we're not there, hike to the cabin. We'll wait there if we can't hide here overnight."

He nods in confirmation, looking quickly over his shoulder as you both hear cheers and whoops of excitement making their way down the street toward you. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." He agrees.

"See you tomorrow." You give him a small smile, turning to continue on your way when he grabs your wrist. He's quick to pull you back to him, colliding his lips with yours. He always kisses like he's starving. God, you wouldn't be able to live without that.

"Be careful, Y/N/N." He warns as he pulls away. "Stay safe."

"Yes sir, mister president." You grin, kissing him again quickly before walking away. You turn as you walk backward to face him, giving him a salute.

Coryo smiles to himself smugly, nodding at you before rushing to rejoin the other peacekeepers in his squad as they drag Spruce back toward the compound.

taglist: @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @klplynn , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @gloryekaterina , @andrewgarfieldsbitch , @queenofspades6 , @pepperonipastas , @ladybug0095 , @lunamothwrites , @sbrewer21 , @mus-tbe-a-weasley , @splxtscreen , @unclecrunkle , @karmaswitch , @coconut-dreamz , @nekee-lilac02 , @ooooglymoooogly , @riddlerloveb0t , @lovedbalances , @notyourwildestdream , @snowlandson-top , @too-lit-for-fanfic , @utopiakys , @deafeningballoonnacho , @roosterschanelslut , @chmpgneprblem , @cosmoetik , , @urvampgfsworld , @carolanns-world@nan-nie , @shakespearseclipse , @iovemoonyy , @notyoursweetheart-honey ,  @xyzstar , @eatpizzasass, @slytherinholland , @queenofshinigamis , @elodiebeau , @soulessjourney

[casualgay-mer]

Keymaster appreciation post

There's something to be said about his initial design and I will say this something. We are taking the original game as an example, but will touch on the remaster too.

The design

How the fuck did Poki do it? How can you make a character that looks like an absolute dork AND kinda intimidating at the same time? I tell you how, but before that - let's examine these two faces.

Unfortunately, Poki clearly had a trouble with the Keymaster staying on model, I call the first version "squarey" (you can see this version of his face during the first dialogue and during KM wait in the truck) and the second's "long-ey" (you can see this one everywhere else) but I will say that I generally prefer the second version - the long face one.

Why? The look is a bit more human and not "I don't have no fucking eyelids", the eyebrows are so much prominent, which adds to the look, and the bang is a bit longer.

So what's so cool and actually funny about his design?

He combines two archetypes: a general creep (sick (not in a cool way) eye and skin colors (dude may wanna check his liver tho), an indication of sunken eyes, the stache) and a coolass emoboy (this fucking haircut, smug talk, drama). Like these two guys fused together:

Like dude what the fuck

Also his skin color is fucking sickening you know why? Ever tried to rub your skin along - say - shoulder? Ever got these partricles of dead skin? Have you ever saw what color does it get, when you accumulate it enough in your hand?

That's right! They are morbidly greay-ishly green. Exact hue of his skin. THE DUDE HAS SO MUCH DEAD SKIN - ppls kinda shed - ON HIS BOD IT MIGHT AS WELL BE 20% of his body weight.

The voice/s

Original VA for Keymaster goes for a top notch mix of freako and smug. He sounds both flirtatious and a biiit unstable, like a person who tries their best to hit you up but clearly haven't slept for like 3 days - the tone and mannerisms are all over the place, the voice itself is the perfect balance of semi-deep and whispery. I love this performance - it confuses you into whether or not can you trust the guy . An original performance and the one to be respected.

(sorry for the little snippet of another voice at the end - this let's player doesn't know how to shut up and I am too lazy to record it again from a different source)

Russian VA for Keymaster - who based his performance off the original one - DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THAT HARD?? Dat voice is deep as FUCK, thicc even, you can't call the voice "thicc" but this one just IS. The whispery part is gone absolutely, KM sounds kinda normal even, but holy shit did the VA turned it up to 100. This one is a favourite of mine, absolutely. I don't even give a shit about what he says, this is some ASMR shit. Absolute 0 wonder why he tricked most of russian let's players into actually trusting him. The only criticism I may ha

English VA went to the opposite direction of the spectrum, he went all fancy kind of dracula over the top performance, kinda like, WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY and while he does sound unhinged, there is no doubt he's a sicko actually. That, or just a theater kid. But no shame on this actor tho, just bc I don't really like this particular performance, doesn't mean it's TERRIBLE ok?

Basicly I made a chart:

Go with your preference of choice, my dudes.

The personality and motives

Holy fucking shit so hear me out.

I don't like him around the fact that he's a flity pretty possible serial killer.

I like him for the fact of being RESENTFUL about it, possibly hating it about himself.

When he killed the pastor it clearly was made on impulse, and he hated it so much that he locked himself - and therefore Edna - up. Despite the smarts he's clearly impulsive in nature - like getting off to drive a Dr's car ABSOLUTELY NOT KNOWING HOW TO and ONLY THINKING AFTER THE FACT, there is like nothing going on in this head.

I am not excusing the guy's actions, but there is a big chance he just went a full on Sam Gordon just with no curse involved.

...

HOLY SHIT IS KEY MASTER A BLACK MIRROR REFERENCE

THE FIVE KEYS SAM HAS TO FIND, THE SURROUNDINGS, THE "OOPS FUCK I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL PPL I HAVE ISSUES I HATE MYSELF *commits a sewer side*" AND THE LOOKS?

Okay I am just overthinking it at this point. BUUUT THIS GAME WAS MADE IN GOOD OLD 2003 AND PRETTY BELOVED IN GERMANY AND WE HAVE WALKING REFERENCES LIKE PROFESSOR NOK SOOOOOOOO

...

So anyways.

The conculsion

Key Master is great not because he's your stereotypical mass murderer POS. There is a lot of unpack and a lot of empathy to be felt if you try to think on how come he ended up the way he did.

He actively hates himself and doesn't enjoy the way he is which is - unfortunately - preeeetty much deserved.

I will write more abt the dude later - especially on my fav theory that says he's not real

[dfastback68]

Good news is the library has basically every One Piece book, bad news is I'm in competition with at least two other people so I'm resigned the most non-chronological read of all time bc I'm impatient. They had every book, then suddenly someone took 1-15, so I've been skipping around. No idea what's going on! Love the vibe tho.

Also making some decent headway on the goth fam fic, which is the shorter version of me wanting to write about sailing because I miss sailing. Hitsugibune's gotta be the only way on and off the island during the timeskip, but Mihawk's not about to let anyone take her for a spin, so Perona and Zoro have to either a. learn to sail her or b. prove they can sail her. I'm having fun with it. Mihawk is miserable. So here's a snippet:

--

“I don’t want to do this,” Perona announces. She’s standing at the edge of the dock, twirling her parasol in what Mihawk has come to recognize as a way to diffuse nervous energy. He’s already inside the ship, so she’s looking down at him with a frown on her face, watching him unfurl the sails.

“You said you could sail,” he says. He understands she hasn’t said she can’t, but he has the feeling that asking the exact reason for her sudden hesitation will yield nothing. 

“I can,” she huffs. “I just don’t want to.”

Mihawk looks out towards the bay, where the water is calm and the morning sun hasn’t quite banished the mist. It’s as close to perfect sailing weather as it can get, because they can rely on the current to carry them out. As the temperature rises, the wind will come with it to carry them home. These are the kind of conditions a child can learn to sail on. If she won’t go now…

“I thought you were making Zoro do this, too,” she presses, glancing over her shoulder to where the castle looms in the distance.

“I am. If he finds the docks before we leave, he will join us.”

“I said I wasn’t going!” Perona shouts, rounding on him. “Ugh, quit telling me what to do! All I want is servants, not you bossing us around or - or the smelly monkeys!”

Flipping her parasol to the opposite shoulder, Perona turns and marches back up the dock. The fall of her heels echoes loudly across the water. Mihawk just watches her go. He’s barely even begun getting the ship ready to sail, and already he’s without both intended students.

He sits down at the stern of the boat, and draws his gaze over the bay and the water beyond. Last night there was a red sunset followed by a new moon, and right now it’s low tide. The clouds are fluffy and lazy as they drift across the horizon, and the wind indicator at the top of Hitsugibune’s mast barely flutters.

So: it’ll be a slow start, but pleasant enough once out beyond the bay. After a few hours, once the wind has come back across the sea, he can follow the high tide back to the docks with little trouble.

This is all very straightforward and simple to him. Less simple is determining how to get Zoro here at all, and figure out why Perona has abruptly changed her mind. These are not problems he wants to consider. Not now, or ever really, but he’s going to have to, sooner or later.

For the moment, he decides to take advantage of the weather. He frees the last line and uses the flat of Yoru’s blade to push off from the dock before securing her inside of Hitsugibune, and takes his place at the tiller to steer her out into the bay.

After all, when was the last time he’d sailed just for the sake of sailing?

[blitzxiiru]

I just found you and I love your posts, if the like/reblog spree was any indication. I was looking through your blog at work and it gave me so much energy.

I wanted to know what you would think of a tmnt/Undertale crossover. I don't know if you even like undertale, but I've been thinking about nonstop since I thought of it. Wether the boys have the game, or they're actually in the universe, I think it would be super cool.

hello!! welcome to my silly blog :) i’m glad my posts helped give you a little energy boost for work, i know how tiring working can be, take care of yourself!

oh man this brings me back to the ABSOLUTE GODDAMN HURRICANE amount of undertale aus back in the day. christ, there was so much and i genuinely couldn’t keep up. practically anything you could think of — like candy, space, swapped roles — there at LEAST one post about it that was mixed and matched with undertale. i left the fandom years ago though, it was getting super toxic atp and i stuck to looking at it from afar

to answer your question — if the boys were to have undertale, it was released in 2015, so they would’ve had the game when they were like 18?? donnie would be scrounging around in the sewers and stumbled upon some thrown away copy of it

raph would defo be the one to instantly start off killing everyone towards the genocide route. laughs maniacally while doing so, and everyone is concerned for his mental well-being

• “bRO WHY’D YOU KILL THE LITTLE FROG DUDE”

• “IT WAS LOOKING AT ME WRONG. IT WAS BEGGING ME TO JUST FUCKING KILL IT”

• “raph, we’re having a therapy session tomorrow.”

mikey would be the complete opposite of raph. he’d be the most pacifist and try to befriend everyone despite the monsters trying to kill him. he was devastated when he couldn’t save asriel. his favourite is undyne

• “KILL HER, MIKEY. KILL THE FISH AND CHEW ON HER BONES AND FLESH”

• “WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU NO???? I WANNA BE HER FRIEND!!”

• “mikey she is literally trying to murder you”

• “I DONT CARE WE CAN BE FRIENDS SHE REMINDS ME OF LEATHERHEAD”

donnie would be the one to try to actually try to get all the endings. doesn’t matter if he has to go genocide or pacifist or neutral, he’s going to get all the damn endings. he secretly enjoys doing the genocide route bc it was a challenge, nothing more! (totally)

• “donnie you’re hogging the game”

• “leave me alone leo i’m currently trying to get the true pacifist ending”

• “i don’t care donnie take a break you’ve been playing for 10 fucking hours”

leo would try his best to be pacifist, but in the end he got the neutral ending because he killed some monsters along the way. he swears it wasn’t his fault — the game activated his fight or flight

• “LEO NOOOOO WHY DID YOU KILL UNDYNE”

• “WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO, NOT FIGHT BACK???? SHE WAS ATTACKING ME”

• “i thought you were being pacifist”

• “I WAS. I WAS TRYING OKAY.”

[imustbenuts]

i think the theme of agency in fire emblem awakening is fascinating to examine. both like in game and meta. and also kiran.

we have grima, a creature who wasn't given much agency and never realized they actually had any despite being reborn time and time again. each time they were needed it's because some extremist wanted their power to smite another party, not so much that grima was ever valued as, idk, a person.

and that extremist and the cult around grima are attached to an idea of grima. feeding grima both the ritual tools and the justification of their existence externally. "its the world that wants me to be evil" is both telling and and an indicator of how pathetic their willpower is.

(although granted, having enough experience of being knocked on one's ass will sap away determination fast.)

contrast with robin who was given the amnesia zap and then had the opposite happen. not force fed a a justification for existence externally, but having to internalize their own justification, needs and want. encountering people and events certainly would feed into this internal reflection. the environment is not a strings-attached transactional one.

and at the ending of awakening theres a mini thing of, now that robin has gotten their Self from internalization, do they let chrom take their agency away again, and inevitably let the agency cycle repeat itself? or does robin decide to exercise that agency and pull off the ultimate sacrifice bc they feel so strongly about the future of their friends and even a world they might just finally start to like a little?

and yet at the same time, ironically, robin is a character of a video game. the choices made are railroaded by the devs and then exercised by the player. we players are always playing something akin to an illusion of choice, there the ultimate choice is really no choice at all. there is an agreed upon satisfying ending and a unsatisfying ending, ie good and bad ending.

so under this meta lens, the choice robin enacts is the choice of a 3rd party outside of the universe.

ironic

and then the same agency issue seems to be happening again in heroes. the summoner, kiran, is grima's complete opposite.

just like grima, they already have a legendary almost mythical lore attached to them, that being the prophesied great hero (of all time) who will be shot out of breidablik and just help the realm.

that and their inability to fight means they always must rely on the guys who summoned them and are now willing to take care of them in exchange for their power. a transactional one. the way they learn of the world and its politics is also biased towards the order of heroes, that being pro-Askr. their entire existence is externally justified from the moment they touch the ground -- thats the only reason why they currently exist in the world of heroes.

if there was no war, they arent needed. if there was nothing to attack, then just like grima, they arent needed.

but the lucky thing for kiran is that askr just happens to be justified and the morally correct. that askr isnt interested in abusing and conquering. that alfonse just wants some peace so he can chill on a beach or something.

but ironically again, there is a 3rd party here railroading the entirety of FEH's time and events aside from the game devs. alfador. kiran essentially doesnt really truly have a choice other than to stick to alfonse and hope things pan out.

so grima is evil bc the world deems them evil and wants them to be evil. the people would call them bringer of despair.

and kiran is good bc the world deems them good and wants them to be good. the people would call them bringer of hope

its deliciously ironic and hopelessly wonderful.

[amaranthsynthesis]

Hey um, if its not too much trouble (I get sometimes a character is trans and that's not the big part of his story) would you mind talking about that for Ballard?

I'm trans and its been really nice seeing all the trans Tavs/Durges. Ballard is my fav. :3

hi anon it is not too much trouble at ALL, I have a lot of thoughts about trans characters in fantasy in general and Ballard in specific because I am incapable of being chill even for a moment. THANK YOU for asking and for saying he's a fav <3 <3 <3

Quick disclaimer: Like. A trans character (either hc or oc or canon) is never gonna be something I don't love; I remember when this just wasn't something you saw in fandom spaces at all, let along in actual media. I remember reading Khaos Komix in 07 or 08 and getting to Tom's story and feeling so strange and overwhelmed in a way I genuinely did not understand for another decade, bc I didn't even know it was an option, let alone one that I was identifying with--and I didn't encounter it again for fucking ages! But we're here now!! That's exciting!! That being said: I don't really get a ton out of settings where it's normalized and perfectly accepted and easily obtainable, the kind of toothless fantasy escapism that just tacks it on like it changes nothing about that character's childhood or adolescence or relationships or ability to connect with others. I'm not saying every setting has to be violently transphobic (although there is a kind of validation to that kind of story!), but the opposition to/hostility to/ignorance about transness is such an integral part of my experiences that I don't connect without those elements. So all of my trans characters (which is most of them, at this point) are very deliberate in how I conceptualize their gender and how it affects their story.

So to Ballard specifically! Backstory dump et all below the cut, this turned out.... rly long. I'm doing an ask game as well, feel free to send some questions in :3

Ballard grew up in Menzobarrenzen, fostered into House Halvyriin after the Matron received a dream from Bhaal about the baby he made and just kind of dumped on the side of the road (thanks dad). Drow society is matriarchal, and he was raised as female with the intention of taking a leadership role in the House and in Menzobarrenzen in general--his education consisted entirely of martial skills, diplomacy and communication, oration, discernment, etc. He wasn't permitted to learn any of the arts, or to really associate at all with anything 'frivolous'. Getting a beautifully crafted knife and just wishing for it to have been a necklace, or a doll, or a lovely tunic. I think he understood even at the time that this wasn't even a standard all girls had to meet, or even all presumed-heirs, but because of his nature he had to be the best weapon possible, without weakness or flaw. They do not hide it from him that he's Bhaalspawn, and in fact make it very clear that he was a gift to them from Bhaal and he has a grand purpose to achieve, but in the House and in the world outside.

His training was accelerated, and very intense, because the first time the Dark Urge came for him he was six years old and took out a a dozen or so people in the House before anyone thought to be prepared for a two foot tall murder machine--mostly servants or slaves, so the Matron was able to take it in stride easily enough, but after that he was very closely monitored and controlled, and severely emotionally repressed. This is the first time Sceleritas Fel showed up, after the bloodbath when Ballard was alone again. He offers some amount of advice and comfort, and indicates he knows much that Ballard does not: "You are ahead of schedule, my lady--no, that's not right at all, is it? Worry not, my lord, and know that your father has a plan for you. You must focus on your lessons, for now, and we will meet again in time."

(I think if you have a demonic butler who can die and be resurrected with zero difficulty or complication he SHOULD have some weird timeline powers, imo. Love Sceleritas as comedic relief, but also as the first and only genuine care even approaching parental feelings that Ballard ever had.)

He's six, so he fuckin forgets, and the urge is quieted enough that it doesn't trouble him for another ten years; so he very dutifully allows himself to be pruned and shaped into a perfect female heir and a perfect tool. At 16 he has his first period, and that, combined with the effects of puberty he is already having, drives him into a rage he cannot define the source of. He is in the process of destroying his room to the stonework when Sceleritas comes back--he only doesn't immediately kill him because he's so surprised to see this person he had assumed was a figment of his childhood imagination. They go through this whole exchange of 'my lord', 'why are you calling me that', 'I'm not wrong, even if you don't see it yet', 'well I don't have time to deal with this right now do I so (chucks it back in the vault)'. And then Ballard only interacts with the concept of his gender very intermittently and with both hands over his eyes for the next twenty years. Sceleritas is very firm in only calling him 'my lord' and 'young master' as he teaches him knives, poisons, etc but he simply does not address him in mixed company, which is not very often. Everyone else finds him deeply disturbing.

Only two other people ever know, while he still lives in the underdark. The first is Imton, a follower of Loviatar who is brought in as one of Ballard's many tutors to teach him a) 'to teach him stoicism in the face of pain' and b) to teach him how to apply violence and brutality without killing. (He is based on every fat drag queen I have ever fallen briefly in love with from the audience seating--super pretty, gorgeous, draping clothing, tons of jewelry--very sparkly shiny). Imton is known as 'the Jeweled Whip of Menzobarrenzen'--he is a very highly regarded sex worker, as much as anything else, and he ends up being Ballard's first lover. He has a lot of feelings about his first time, since Imton was still teaching as much as he was fucking and Ballard was somewhat infatuated with him, but he has such a bad physical reaction of disgust and shame afterward.

That's the final nail in the coffin for 'ah, I cannot keep ignoring this, can I' and he ends up having a bit of a breakdown trying to explain it to Imton without having any of the necessary vocabulary. Imton, being a worldly and reasonable guy who interacts with people who are not just Lolth and Bhaal worshipers, is like 'Ah! Ok. I can work with that. Let's get you some information.'

(Imton gave Ballard his dagger earrings he wears most every day and is also who the Emperor sniped it's dream guardian look from, fun little facts that don't make me upset at all.)

The second person to know is the Matron Halvyriin, and it is not until the second time Ballard tries to challenge her when he is 36. (A 'challenge' being my way of reconciling WotC 'elves reach social maturity at 100' with the actual timeline in BG: drow are expected to mature faster, and can prove their growth by besting their head of house in combat in order to be treated as full adults). His first, a decade prior, he failed; it's not expected that this time he will succeed either, as most don't until their 50s. He does manage to beat the Matron, however, to everyone's surprise including his own. She expresses the first pride she ever has in him, and says he will be the best Matron the House will have seen in generations when he takes the position from her.

Ballard confesses that he cannot be the Matron, and reveals himself to be a man to her, and it all goes to shit very rapidly after that.

He explains to Gortash later than any other Matron would most likely have killed him for that, and that she would have, too, if she had not loved Bhaal more than Lolth. She tried instead to banish and disown him. "Her mercy was her own ending," he says. He killed her and most of her guard and then everyone between him and the exit, and he burned House Halvyriin behind him when he fled. Later he finds out hardly anyone survived, and the house itself is no more--he still uses the house name so other drow are occasionally surprised to find some far-flung male of the lost House Halvyriin.

Sceleritas guides him to Baldurs Gate, when he leaves the underdark, and he's able to use some of the information Imton gave him to pursue transition. I imagine that HRT isn't too difficult to find, given alchemy being so easily accessible, but it is a bit more specialized so not every shop will be able to help. Part of me wants to say Sceleritas helped with top surgery but we have seen his surgical skills and I do not think that wise! It's reasonably straightforward at this point, except that the combination of the dark urge, a lifetime of repressed emotions suddenly given the opportunity to express themselves, and the hormonal volatility of second puberty means that for a year or so Ballard has a really hard time maintaining control of the Urge, and does a couple of really badly managed murder sprees he doesn't remember well.

This is before he's able to take control of or clean up the remnants of the Bhaalist cult in Baldur's Gate, so he ends up commandeering like a single dingy cell in the temple to lock himself in werewolf-style whenever he takes the potion equivalent of his shot every couple of weeks. Once his body got used to the new hormones it settled down! And, freed from the expectations of the rigid society he grew up in, he experiments more with pretty things. Earrings, necklaces, costume jewelry just as much as actual gold or silver, beautiful and embroidered and sheer fabrics, growing his hair out, wearing makeup etc. He likes to be pretty. He doesn't let it impact his mobility or access to weaponry, and he has to be fairly practical about things getting ruined by blood, but he's never without some simply jewelry or makeup prior to the tadpole.

I imagine that trans people aren't common in Faerun, but they aren't super unusual either. Most of Ballard's lovers have been surprised to find that he doesn't have the equipment they expected, but are reasonably willing to adapt to the situation. Bottom surgery isn't something he is interested in, but there are certainly some options available for both sides of the fence, both in terms of actual surgery and in terms of augmentative devices.

After the tadpole, when Ballard doesn't remember anything, he doesn't even think to wonder about his body or top surgery scars--it registers as normal. If prompted he is able to retrieve the information, but it's also very funny to imagine the first encounter he has with Astarion has a brief moment of 'what is THAT' (local man has forgotten about penises).

This is such a ramble and I'm sure I will remember things I meant to include later, but yeah! There are soooo many trans tavs and durges and they have been nothing but a delight to see, I love them all and I love hearing everyone's interpretations.

[yourpsicodelicbitch]

hello dear, how are you? may always be happy💗💞🌷 I have request your opinion about aspect :

- venus in 11° square ascendant

- asteroid aphrodite 20° square ascendant and conjunct mc

Thankyou so much for taking the time to answer and sorry bother you🥺💖

Ty bb!!💖 you don’t have to apologize, I’m making this bc I want to okay? Sending love 🫶🏼🫶🏼💌

NOW Let’s call out placements 😈 I’m jking🧍🤪🤭

Venus in Aquarius degree (11° or 23°) Square Ascendant

I’m going to start explaining how the “square” aspect functions: “conflict and tension between two planets”, it also indicates action. This aspect is towards the Ascendant, so is going to be related to the “type of energy you came in this world and the one you grow into”, “how we respond towards our environment, how we presente ourselves to the world, physical appearance and mannerisms”. Babe you are conflicted when it comes of what Venus represents, with self-image, how you manage relationships, what you’re attracted to, money and much more; this is directed towards the energy in your life.

This aspect is going to make quite the opposite of what Venus represents -or well your relationship with Venus-. You’re going to struggle in how others see you, how you approach to them. In some point, you could have supported yourself in superficial stuff or thinking that you don’t need anyone because of your beautiful nature. The 11° (aquarius degree) makes even more sense: aquarius, they could drown themselves into thinking that they’re way too special for “normal” people 😨, that not everyone have the pleasure of being in their lives, interact with them -I’m being too exaggerated-. Aquarius is a misunderstood sign, you could haven’t wanted to give that impression or didn’t felt that way but with this aspect it seemed like it. I’m sure that you’re liked by everyone or have a good fame towards others because of your authentic charm. You could seem cold and distant but happy and quirky. How you express yourself could be constantly misinterpreted by others, mostly with this aquarius degree that NEEDS to express themselves, bring their ideas to the table, change the world. This could be seen as annoying or people could not copy what you’re trying to communicate. Your popularity grows as the rumors about you. They’re just jealous, you have that power 👀🤭😚. You’re controversial. It makes you LAZY, make an interaction towards your crush. SHOW INITIATIVE. Make yourself know. I’m referring in all the types of relationships: make an effort for your loved ones, make them feel loved, show affection. You want to be seen as cool, as if nothing affects you, as if you don’t have a big spot for someone special and that you’re willing to do everything for them. They’re gonna get tired if you don’t do something (but it’s another case if you have a huge aspect/placement that changes this). Not everyone reacts like you or how you want them to. And if you’re so conflicted showing love, let them know how you feel about it; you’re the sign (Aquarius) that constantly affirms revolutionary ideas that would lead to change, start with yourself and communicate towards it or even do something.

Stop, you’re beautiful the way you’re, I’m referring to the inside -don’t start laughing I didn’t said you’re ugly in a physical way, let me explain-. Around all your life you kept and keep questioning yourself and basing your self-worth by your self-image. The beauty starts with your inner self, your soul, not the physical appearance -that’s what I think-. You could have grow thinking that beauty is only connected to appearance or someone/your environment sent you to that conclusion. You could have struggle or keep struggling with yourself image, A LOT. I want to give you a hug 🫂🫂 and It’s a fucking NO for me. Think of this: beauty (physically) is superficial, how you are physically doesn’t define your worth and if people can’t understand, they’re all fucking DELAYED -unfortunately, that’s mostly people- (I want to say more but 😤). People are not prepared. Question yourself. Who the fuck is that people that decided what makes you pretty and what not? Are you gonna give them the power? It’s so boring, don’t you think? Don’t let others decide for you, don’t let yourself being carried away by what others affirm, by the standards of society. Basing yourself only on your appearance. There’s no depth in that -I know your struggle is much more depth than what I’m saying, my purpose is not minimize or misinterpreted what you experience. Everyone passes distinct experiences and even If I experience the same situation I’m not going to live it like you, have the same perspective as you, bc I’m not you!!❤️-. How you express yourself, your emotions, everything, your body show it but it doesn’t origines there (only in your physical appearance). There’s a light waiting to shine, to take all over yourself, to make yourself free, to embrace you. I think the important question is: Are you pretty? But don’t think about your self-image. If you said no, there’s something to work, let’s start there :) I think starting with yourself, doing some introspection -I’m not saying it’s going to be easy and quick-, takes time, A LOT of time, even a whole life to pause and take a look of how you were/are, deciding to change, taking action and blablabla, to finally love yourself. To transform yourself to the inside to the outside…When I question someone How are they? They always end up responding abut their physical appearance, I didn’t question that -yes, I fucking did, it was a general question but that’s not the point 🙄-, I asked how the other is? how they treated you? How they expressed? How’s their personality? What you leave behind is how you are -in other’s perspective-, no how you seem. At least there you have my improvised mini philosophical point of view/tesis🤪. Be kind with yourself. Who is going to treat you well if you don’t treat yourself well? MORE THAN WELL. BABE YOU DESERVE MORE AND MORE AND FUCKING MORE. I believe in you. You can do this.🧍

Aphrodite at scorpio degree (8° or 20°)

YOU’RE POWERFUL, YOU’RE THE DEFINITION OF MAGNETISM. Your beauty drown others to know you more. You’re such a mystery in other’s eyes. You are empowered and your sexual energy is HIGH. You could be really horny but you don’t want to admit it bc it doesn’t work like that: you’re a mystery. You don’t revel more than what you need to say about yourself or about things that could distort the self-image others have of you. You are empowered by loving yourself; being turned on by your image in the mirror or the reaction of others when they see you -those eyes, looking at you..they’re drooling-. They know that what they suppose you’re thinking it’s not what you think and they love it, that you’re undecipherable, that they can’t control you, catch you and lock you in a cage unless you want it, unless you give them permission; and I don’t think you’re gonna let them that easy👀 You’re one in a million, you have to know your worth, bc you’re that special. You have power over them, want it or not. They want to be submitted by you, they like it when you give orders or obligate them. Or if they see you as a challenge they want you to be submitted by them. Rather way they’re drown to it. -I’m not referring only in a sexual way-. You make others crazy. You have some problems with control but you can hide it somehow -unless someone analytical enters-.

Square Ascendant

You could feel awkward about your sexuality or beauty. Let yourself be carried by what you feel/suppose others think about it or what others tell you or gossip. You make them jealous, for sure. Or maybe you drown yourself into your insecurities and crave the beauty of others, being jealous of them. One of the two options. Because of this you don’t like your appearance or what makes you beautiful.

Conjunct MC

This has a complete different effect in comparison as the “square” aspect. Aphrodite conjunct Midheaven makes others, specifically coworkers or from a career perspective/profile appreciate or be delighted by you. They love how you look and present yourself in work/career/in what you put effort and dedication. It could be that you seem so effortlessly hot, mysterious. The vibe you give off. When they think of you. You could be admired by that, so powerful and know it all without looking for it, reserved, having everything in control. How you are devoted in your work. Your work/career -or literally in what project you work- could be associated with what Aphrodite represents (beauty, pleasure, art, love, etc). So you could work in fashion, as a model…but it’s not necessarily like that: you could be an engineer and work in a empress that promotes fashion or that to be your frustrated dream 🤪 I’m kidding🧜‍♀️ But yeah is not that obvious…

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•

•This is based on my personal experience and what I’ve analyzed in my surroundings.

•English is not my first language.

•I’m not a profesional astrologer, I just love astrology and I’m willing to learn.

Thank youu. baibaiii🫣🫶🏼💋

Do not copy. Please give me credits.

[marley-manson]

God the tattoo plotline in Images reads like a Full House episode, it's so painful lol. Like I get that I'm coming at this from a 2023 perspective but regardless of times a-changin it's a fundamentally annoying and conservative message, and we don't need a weirdly moralizing anti tattoo psa episode at all. I wish Radar actually had gotten a teddy bear on his ass lol.

Also I'd misremembered Hawk as only being concerned about dirty needles in an effort to keep him ic, but they did give him lines about how it's permanent and he'll hate it in a few years so boo

The nurse subplot I have more mixed feelings on. It's better written and it passes the bechdel test lol which is something, and to be fair to the episode the pro-crying in the OR side isn't like 'it's fine to fuck up during surgery' but more like 'some people take longer to adjust including other nurses here who are fine now, and Margaret's just being a hardass in this case bc she's repressed.' Plus Margaret's crying scene was very well done and very touching <3

But ultimately Margaret's points rang very true, the nurse was endangering people, and it's aggravating to see Potter undermine Margaret's authority to make a point. I'm still #Team Margaret here.

random notable details:

-- BJ is initially anti crying in the OR and thinks the nurse should be transferred, but changes his tune and follows Hawkeye's lead when Hawkeye takes the opposite stance. I think it's just a result of the nurse running out on him specifically and the show wanting someone to express the opposite viewpoint in the scene with the nurses, and he just doesn't have strong feelings one way or the other, but yk, it feeds the vibe of BJ being a follower who lowkey resents it lol.

-- Hawkeye eats a single piece of bread for lunch here after sniffing the food and deeming it all inedible apparently

-- Hawkeye being the one who encourages Margaret to express her feelings at the end went a long way towards avoiding the potentially misogynistic message of 'girls are emotional and need to cry a lot.' Thank you for being you, Hawkeye <3

-- Also Margaret yells at him for "Always trying to get into my head when there's nothing there" when he tells her to spill her feelings to him, which is a nice indication that this is a pattern for Hawkeye, encouraging repressed idiots to talk about their feelings to him, even Margaret before they're officially friends.

-- Charles had weird Frank vibes in his defense of MacArthur and yelling at Radar for coming into the Swamp.

-- The nurses being the only ones to call Margaret Hotlips in what seems like forever feels almost defensive lol, kinda like 'it's not misogynist if the women do it.' I kinda dig it though honestly, I'm very into the contentious relationship between Margaret and the rest of the nurses.

[ladyimaginarium]

mini gangsta fandom rant bc im&. annoyed bc i& remember seeing a bunch of hcs back in the day of how like. striker never cared about beretta at all whatsoever & only ever cared about marco. or ppl just blatantly erasing or removing her autonomy & influence & power in the storyline & reducing her as a prop to be used for the male characters' angst or otherwise she's just there to look pretty instead of being. yknow. a villain. or g-d forbid a person. & ignoring & erasing beretta both as an individual character but also as a major person in striker's life. or that striker's lowkey violent or abusing beretta w/ her almost always being on the receiving end of all kinds of abuse or people implying that she's just plain stupid or dedicated enough to striker to be just his toy to be used for his own pleasures or that they're not equals in any way. despite canon indicating nothing of the sort & im& just like. are. ARE WE READING THE SAME FUCKING MANGA LMAO

like. striker literally NEVER, EVER, reacts negatively to her. striker CARES for her, he RESPECTS her, he PROTECTS her, he TAKES CARE of her, he TREATS HER LIKE A PERSON. striker NEVER abuses her. he NEVER swears at her. he has NEVER told her to mind her own business, he NEVER silences her or even worse, NEVER swears at her & NEVER hurts her like he had with spas when he told striker & beretta that he wouldn't be returning to the second destroyers. he NEVER said or did anything uncouth like that to her.

if anything, it's the exact opposite.

maverick literally tells spas that beretta is striker's weakness. which, coming from someone like striker, that's a hell of a compliment. she clearly wants to fuck him & expresses sexual interest & desire for him. they're almost always touching. she reaches out to hold his hand. after she "gifts" him constance, he tells her that she's incredible.

now. does any of that look like abuse or beretta being mistreated. lol

okay cw for upcoming gore & nonexplicit discussion of csa & creeps.

he PROTECTS her. he AVENGES her. he DEFENDS HER HONOR. he CANONICALLY MURDERS HER ABUSERS. i.e chau who's a grown ass 30 year old man when beretta is. literally 13 years old. a CHILD.

the night before CURSED happens, he fucking SNAPS the minute beretta tells him that three men attacked her & kills the mfs instantly.

& VIOLENTLY at that, particularly the one that threatened to kill her & after he previously said she "came onto" them, aka, beretta, a clearly visible 13 year old child, led three grown ass men on, & he keeps beating the guy even after he's dead into a bloody mess. good on striker. & seeing how unfazed beretta is, this has likely happened before. & that realization paints a very dark & sobering picture for beretta; this is a girl who grew up too fast & striker knows this & it's because of this that he's so viciously & violently protective over her.

he saved her life before. look at the look on his face when he tells her to get the FUCK out of there. that's pure unadulterated desperation.

now. do they have issues with marco?? yeah ofc !! but. yall. yall mean to tell me& that. HE DOESNT CARE FOR HER AT ALL ????

literally look at how gentle he is with her. he doesn't just throw her ass on his back then yeet her onto the stairs, he gently places her down. then he leaves her momentarily to rest & recuperate bc he cares about her rather than selfishly going on with their plan together to... do whatever the hell they were planning on w/ daniel monroe.

when the flare happens, beretta comes to get him & he's pissed because 1) he wants to go after daniel monroe & 2) he's pissed in like that angry protective bf way that she's even there with him.

he even apologizes to her. he does so right away in fact & he does so sincerely & in a teasing, loving, lighthearted way, putting himself in a position we, the audience, never see him be willing to take ( not even in situations where it was more than warranted ) because striker is just. simply not the type to feel he owes anything to anyone & much less the type who admits when he's wrong. but most importantly, he apologizes to beretta bc he genuinely WANTs to, with not a single thought to her abilities, having no ulterior motives & no personal gain. he apologizes bc he knows he was in the wrong, that he hurt her feelings by staying away a bit from her for too long ( maybe clingy, but they're like 13 & 14 respectively here guys what do you expect y'all lmfao ), regrets that & wants to offer at least that much. & he always says "we" when referring to their plans; he includes her in their plan.

with that said, it's. VERY obvious that beretta seems to trust only striker with the softer, more vulnerable parts of her personality since he was a source of strength for her in overcoming her trauma as a child experiment & he lets her cling to him so he can comfort her & vice versa. & keep in mind the above scene is all happening while striker is holding a decapitated head & neck & shoulderblades clean off. this is from STRIKER of all people, y'know, the guy who casually choked a man to death in front of his son while on the phone with beretta simply to kill time, the guy who deadass hulk smashed his way through a building while laughing like a maniac & wiped the floor with ergastulum's high ranking twilights. this guy is soft for someone like beretta, that has to mean something bc that's impressive tbh.

he literally lets her bodily drag him around by the arm. lmao

& that doesn't change not even as grown ass adults. lmfao

literally look at his face is when he realizes that she's hurt/in danger.

& he is literally ALWAYS near her afterward to make sure she's okay & acting as a source of comfort for her when he clearly doesn't have to.

& that's not to say beretta's a weakling, no, she faced several high ranking twilights even as a tiny 13 year old girl & caused so much death & destruction to ergastulum & by the end of CURSED, all she gets is a tiny cut on her right shoulder. all of that was a game to her. striker doesn't protect her bc she's weak, he protects her bc he Wants to. we don't have a full backstory for striker or beretta for that matter yet, but i'd& bet my& money that beretta, like the other destroyers, that she struggled & was experimented on & was traumatized in the government laboratories by scientists who treated her like she wasn't even human & that she had to work her ass off to get to where she is. like. this is only one example of how horrifying their treatment was.

LITCHERAL STRAITJACKETS, WALKING ON COLD TILED FLOORS BAREFOOT & STRIKER LITERALLY HAS A MUZZLE ON HIM. that's literally so dehumanizing for anyone let alone a CHILD where they look about 6-8 years old here & even moreso for a BLACK child & just how horrible those implications are & how black boys are so often treated & it doesn't make it better that nobody else from the destroyers were seen with a muzzle on them & i& think the reason why striker cares about & i'd& argue loves beretta so much is that she never once thought of him like a monster like literally almost everyone else in the series has or as a rabid dog to be treated like the government or as a weapon to be used; to beretta, he's a person. so there's this underlying undertone & there are many canonical implications in the series that, precisely BECAUSE they both went through hell and back together as children growing up, they have an unbreakable bond that's unparalleled with anyone else in the series. & y'know, for being villains, they're actually in a healthy relationship.

beretta would do literally ANYTHING for that man & it makes me& wanna tear men in half & go clinically insane. & some ppl might find that crazy but like. if you're genuinely in love with someone & go through the same circumstances that beretta has, who wouldn't. if you haven't been abused your entire life & someone comes along in your life & they're the first person to treat you like you were an actual human being? you'd do anything for that person without question. so beretta's not "stupid" or "too devoted"; she makes her own choices. they both grew up together & witnessed unimaginable horrors & governmental abuse together, they really didn't have nothing but each other for a very long time. & then spas betrayed them, & minimi & maverick are both dead. & now only striker & beretta remain.

this is one of my& favorite scenes in the entire series. there's no dialogue shared between them, but it carries one message: I'm here for you when the whole world stands against you. they don't Need that dialogue, the way they feel for each other is in their actions. it's a really heartwarming feeling despite the tragedies & crimes they both committed. don't get me& wrong, they're both horrible people who've done horrible things to both good & innocent people & tbh overall shitty horrible people, this isn't me& justifying any of their actions or trying to woobify them ... but the fact that beretta still metaphorically, symbolically & literally stands by & behind him is just so beautiful & it shows how much she loves him ( & by doing so she's saving worick's life bc let's face it striker can very well still kill him with one arm be for fucking real ). so striker's publicly humiliated by everyone, he's called a failure to his face, he's just freshly lost his arm & his eye & he'll likely live the rest of his life disabled, mocked & shamed by everyone else, after spending his entire life trained to fight & kill for a cause that he was brainwashed by the government to believe in ... but beretta still keeps her arms around him in his moment of greatest need, & if that's not genuine love, then i& don't know what is. even after he's hurt her by possibly making her think that he values marco over her despite all she's done for him, she still holds onto him to let him know that in his most vulnerable moments, she is right there beside him holding him. she still supports while knowing that won't get her anything in return & putting his needs before hers... that's something incredibly heartwarming coming from someone as cruel, cold & cunning as beretta; this is a side of her that only striker gets the privilege of seeing. because her love for him isn't shallow, it's not based on looks, power, glory or lust alone, because if it was, she'd have left his ass right when he became disabled, it's because she loves him as a PERSON despite how fucked up he is.

regardless, they have mutual development, i'm& not necessarily confirming whether or not their relationship is mutual & romantic in nature but it's definitely obvious they're in some kind of relationship. they have a significant amount of substance ( meaningful moments from both ends, interactions, they're literally almost ALWAYS by each other' side & almost ALWAYS touching, it's heavily implied & then confirmed that they've had sex, subtext, focus, backstory, remarks from other characters, etc. ). the most selfless acts they do ( as surprising as that sounds, coming from people like them ) that we have seen them have been directly related to their feelings for each other, like saving each other's lives & putting their lives in jeopardy & throwing aside any fear in order to courageously run to each other's aid & save each other's life to do so when no one else did... & that speaks volumes. & regardless of what happens next & regardless of whether or not you ship them yourself, you have to at least recognize that they do care deeply about each other, beretta is a MAJOR person in striker's life, striker has never ONCE abused her or treated her violently, they are EQUALS although she's happy to follow his lead but isn't afraid to make her own decisions, striker PROTECTS beretta, he murdered her abusers & there is no canonical evidence for any of the aforementioned headcanons & to suggest otherwise is an insult not just to the ship but also to their individual characters. & all this coming from a CANONICALLY QUEER BISEXUAL INTERRACIAL PAIRING? that's a MASSIVE deal in animanga.

[justatalkingface]

Here on my midnight's thoughts. I think one of your posts talked - maybe I'm remembering poorly-how Ochako puts her feelings on the hold for so long...could mean she doesn't like him anymore.

Hori is the only writer I can think screw up the main ship of his story- Naruto is another topic- and it hits me...

Could be this a toxic mentality?

"Heroes cant love, they need to work. I need to be the best hero for my parents" to sum up what Ochako could be thinking.

I mean, we dont see heroes dating. Yes, there's a rumou, in the story, how Mt. Lady and Kamui are dating ...but it was solve pretty quick.

But Ochako still feels the need to hide her feelings. Why?

There's nothing, as far we know, preventing a hero to have a love life and a career. Rock Lock is married...

Actually, think of Fairy Tales, a manga who I have a problem with the fanservices- all the ladies have tight clothes or bikinis- but here the thing the ladies are still cable and bad ass and ...want romance(some even get the romance they wanted) bc a heroine wanting a bf doesn't make her less of hero.

But with Ochako is the opposite. And I think is odd. I tend to chuckle with Hori's bad writting and Hori having a bias towards Izu...but even if is not that...we can certainly say we dont know Ochako well enough to say if she is the type to hide her feelings or if is just about her crush on Izu.

There's two questions here: is Ochako right in saying she can't do both at once, and is that attitude healthy?

Well, from what we've seen (which is very little), UA students seem to have a lot of free time; barring the summer training camp and the like, they certainly seem to do stuff, in a way that implies free time. Moreover, you need to remember that this isn't, like, most magical school shonen settings, where they're all hellholes training students to fight against doom via the 'insert enemy here'. UA is apparently just... a school where some of the classes are spent basiclly trying to murder your classmates (*notes to self to do that UA rant at some point*), and you'd probably have most of the spare time you'd normally have in high school, I guess.

Beyond that, there's the fact that heroes again, aren't... Batman, or Superman; these aren't people who are giving up their lives so they can save people, this is a job. There's a lot of, for lack of a better word, 'fair weather heroes' who apparently quit amass Post War, with the sub text of 'We didn't sign up for this!'. If heroic life was that harsh, you'd expect them to have done that earlier.

Also, I'm going to point out that, like so many other things in MHA, we don't see a lot of hero's lives beyond them heroing. We don't know what they do with their free time, or how much they have. There are heroic families, though; the Iidas and the Todokoris have heroes who are married and have children, and while they're both rich and wildly successful, no one really says that's unusual. There's every indication that they can have a family and all the things that come with that; a partner, a home... though romance, or time spent in the home, isn't exactly guaranteed. With how the commision based payment system is set up, your free time probably is decided by how ambitious you are and how much you need money.

So, on that logic, yeah, I'd say Ochako was wrong in that she didn't have the time to do it, though I don't really blame her for being wrong, either: she's a kid. She's a first year, going into the mysticism of heroism as a newbie. Why would she know better? It's shown several times that UA gives a whiplash between harsh training and ordinary school life, and the students are often surprised by how normal things can be.

Is the attitude of 'I can't afford to have romance so I can be a hero' wrong?

*wiggles hand*

...Maybe? Yes and no?

In the way I phrased it, it's wrong by the logic of the setting, because, well, you can. Unless your love is going to turn you into the memetic 'ideal Japanese housewife', who lives only for their loved one, then yeah, that'd get in the way. But, you know, that's not how it works for most people, so we can ignore that.

Let me rephrase, though, because there's a core concept to this question: Is it ideal that you're putting your own desires aside for the sake of getting a good job? No. Is it common? Yes.

The thing is you need to think about Ochako and the setting itself: Ochako isn't Batman turning away a love interest because of her dark secrets and self destructive tendencies; heroism is a job. It is a job, a decently paying one if you're any good at it, and Ochako is poor. Peel away the label of 'hero' and suddenly things become clear.

This is something that isn't about her, is the thing, it's about society. Ochako is basiclly the archetype of a poor kid trying to get into sports to escape poverty, with a thin coat of heroism painted over it. And it's bad that she has to do that, to think about that, but it isn't a heroism specific problem, and I can't really criticize her for wanting to leverage her skills to better her situation.

When you look at it that way, maybe she's just super serious in the beginning about succeeding, passing with good grades and some inroads into the industry, getting a decent job and securing her family's future, before allowing herself to think about, well, herself.

It's one of the things I regret about her character, because she could have been this great vehicle to explore outside of UA or hero fights, about the grey realities of being a hero for pay and how it isn't actually always a bad thing and so on, and she just got abandoned part way through.

[reallytiredartstudent]

I watched the movie a third time. Because I'm Very Normal about this movie and Not At All Obsessed.

And a thing i noticed this time (i don't think i will stop noticing things for a while lol) is how well they did things that other stories normally always lose me with?

.....okay that was very openended, this movie did so much what others didn't lol.

I'm talking about threat-escalation specifically though lol

Spoilers under cut.

Second parts of movies books series you name, often lose me the moment it goes from 'hey I'm new to this thing and damn i gotta save my friends' to 'hey let's go save the world'. Bc idk a lot of the time stories lose the part that actually made them interesting in that transition.

Also i just like the low-threat situations. I like friendly neigbhor hood spiderman that has to save one city and not the world. i like there to be consequences that can't be justified with 'well we all gonna die if we don't do this so it doesn't matter and nothing is on the table besides that'. I like it when the stakes are 'I need to somehow deafeat the villain, not die, keep my job, not jeopordize my relationship with my family/friends/partner etc and this is getting really complicated now'.

But this movie did smth really really interesting by yeah, raising the stakes, but also like. not. It wasn't a thing of 'hey we need to create more tension to show how Serious everything is now and because last time we saved the city lets now save the world'. The threat from the first movie? It just never went away. We just didn't know it.

Like, the first movie was 'let's not destroy the multiverse' and the second movie also has the general theme of 'gotta stop the destruction of the multiverse', but also Miles primary worry is 'gotta save my father'.

Which is the opposite of what normally happens. The threat Miles specifically worries about isn't the destruction of the multiverse. It's his father death. In a way the stakes have been at same time been held up, upped and lowered.

Held up, because 'the multiverse is dying' is still very much a thing.

Upped bc there's a frame in Miles vision about the Spot where like most of the spiders lie dead to the feet of Spot (maybe) implying that even if Miles did defeat him it could lead to all the multiverse being without spiders.

i need to get my hands on that movie so i can actually show what i mean instead of always relaying on my memory lol

Lowered, because Miles main priority currently is his dad. One person. (not that he doesn't want to save them all, but his father is like. A main priorty that nobody else has) and a lot of the time sacrficing ppl for the good of the world is a Thing that i simply don't like in stories, because it often contradicts the original message from 'saving one person is important' and makes it too large-scale and suddenly it is okay that people die, because the world is at stake and nothing matters.

In the same lane, a good part of the movie wasn't a epic battle against a invulernable being. It showed Gwen doing her usual job, Miles doing his usual life (the mf pigeons he avoided to get in his room lol, love to see you growing my dude) and even in the Spidersociety there had been just. Business as usual. Until they all tried to catch one fiveteen year old Spiderling and failed. (That was so good. It was so good. Miley my boy, that was epic)

(Is there any indication for how long the spidersociety exists, actually? Did it really only start after the collider incident in Miles world? gonna have to keep an eye out for that, bc if yes that means that Miguel has one hell of a year or two behind him)

And in the midst of all of that the movie never lost their jokes. It was dramatic and tragic and i laughed tears. The whole theater collectively snorted at scences, winced in sympathy and had a collective outrage at the cliffhanger. A lot of the time when things get serious, get tragic, stories become to heavy and the few light hearted scenes tend to feel forced. But this movie was like. yeah. We're up against the destruction of the multiverse, but Mayday also needs to take a crap and not even Miguel is going to get away from that no matter how stone faced he remains in the combined force of Peter B., Hobie and Mayday.

Another part of the Dramatic Doom Trap has been so easily sidestepped by the movie like its. easy. (It's not. It's really not. I can not emphatize enough how well made this movie is and how often it takes easy traps to fall into in modern media and just bounces around them like they mean nothing.) The threats faced are all consequnces of actions. It's very directly related to decisions that have been made, some by our heroes, others by our bad guys. And therefore the threats are directly tied to the future decisions of the characters. Their internal struggles are not a B-Plot, not a side story. Not a 'oh we remembered that you were teenagers so you have to worry about the destruction of the world and your crush to keep it #relateable' . It's interwined with the main story line, in a way it IS the main story line.

Miles struggle with who he is and who he wants to be is evident in all the layers of his life. In the way he interacts with his parents, his decisions about his future (the whole scene in the counselors office?), the way he treats his villains (cracking jokes about Spot, then the whole thing about 'villain of the week'), his struggle between being Miles, son of his parents, and Miles, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and how no one truly knows who he really is, the way how this inner conflict comes to a climax against all the other spider-people, how the 'Imma do my own thing' is the answer to a lot of his 'side-struggles' but also directly tied to the very heavy and big question of 'destruction of the multi-verse'.

Gwen's struggle with her father about what is right and what is not is in a way the same struggle she has with the spider ppl about what is right and what is wrong, just on another level and the other side of the coin. The same issues that make her unable to find a band makes her unable to ask for help with the whole Spot-situation at the beginning. The same struggle about right or wrong in combination of her inability to trust, rules/canon or gut feeling, makes it that she doesn't talk to Miles about what is going on, kickstarting a lot of the plot just as much as Miles actions did in the first movie. Her decision, resolving of her struggle, to talk and to take things into her own hands is the same for her band and for her to gather ppl to help Miles, to go against the 'rules'.

(I mean 'creating my own band' is a pretty nifty metaphor for 'following my own rules'/parallel to Miles 'i create my own story')

(Do i even need to mention Hobie here again and how he was the literal embodiment of the whole thing?)

My point is, Miles is not just about to rewrite the rules of the multiverse because that's what the story needs, Gwen isn't just gathering allies because it's very convnient to have support for Miles, both things are direct results of their struggles throughout the whole movie (and the one before that). And that makes it so damn interesting to watch.

Btw shoutout to my friend that i dragged along, that hadn't even seen a trailer and came out of this thing shell shocked and looking like they weren't fully in this world yet (understandable) just to have me vibrating out of my skin next to them finally able to talk about all the things and parallels and theroies that currently dictate my entire exsistence and never complaining once about but only suggesting that we should do cosplay about it. (Neither of us has ever done cosplay).

[incarnateirony]

The heavily expanded, pinned masterpost of all the ways these dumb motherfuckers lost the plot literally years ago on production.

(links included to extended discussions of basic history reminders the world outside of patrick and the wincel bubble are largely aware of short of late fandom comers after S13 at latest; history he's all incredibly ignorant to)

(cut for length)

truly the funniest denial of the existence of or ability to fan pitch concepts is like

ok let's pretend. for a hot second. That any packages or emails or communications never made it. And it's all just. One Big Giant Fucking Coinkidink And We're Crazy.

Ok but. Bear with me here. If this is so obvious that even people that were banned from a server for some insane fandom drama coup that are still salty as fuck recognize what's going on because they were heavily involved, like our proverbial old bible keeper coming back to the server like--

ok hear me out but. Imagining. Nothing ever made it.

...doncha think it's kinda weird that we nailed it that close as a fluke so powerful even the Salty Banned Ones return? Like

you get that means we. Have a pretty good idea. Of where their heads are at least. Fucking... right? If this shit was any further up my ass I'd say they're subscribed to my youtu-ohw- how long ago was season 13 again? and oh man just wait until you hear who loves to read my mythos meta that you'd deny from a master post I know for a god given right from at least one person onboard that they're freaking obsessed with and share around. idk whatever dude, cope. there's been years of an ongoing rent-free fucking timeshare of fandom and authors in each other's headspaces and you're just fucking now figuring this out or hearing about the Wayward Daughters movement. just search the fucking tumblr tags or google it or something you oblivious numpties. You were apparently too busy peeing your pants crying everything was "just subtext" or "just meta" to realize fans and authors have been talking about a lot of shit for a long fucking time and already put shit on TV collaboratively.

Just. Tossing that the fuck out there for Patrick's remaining desperate followers to wrap their fucking skulls around.

and none of this, NONE OF THIS even brushes the surface of the actual history of reliable leakers or holders of generalized knowledge vs the people who have made a career out of being wrong for upwards of 7 years.

Somehow this dumb motherfucker can't figure out that even if it's all a coinkidink me knowing from the goddamn jump what the wholeassed intention was the second the season launched and who's pissed about what being cut might in the very least give me a rough fucking indicator of what jensen's looking to fix with Dean in the Winchesters. While ofc, Pat screamed to argue with me that it wasn't about letting go of the past bc Jensen was TOTES PERFECTLY CONTENT WITH THE ENDING before he got bricked in the face by the ET promo. He never gives up.

the funniest reality is they've spent so long trying to argue against the actual canon being the canon, and so poorly understand the canon, that they don't even understand fans have built in a metric fuckton of things into this show or attempted spinoffs over time. Like, those fans were literally talking to the authors about what the fuck they were doing all around and you guys didn't even apparently realize this during Wayward? And you literally crowed against everything like... people.... deadass... knew????????????? just because you could manage to piss off some 14 year olds that didn't know better. Fucking hell.

"NOBODY CAN KNOW WHAT THE AUTHORS WANT" no man, you're just the dumb motherfuckers that didn't. You were the illiterate bastards at the edge of the room that even the show authors looked at like that fucking red solo cup party pic.

hell i'm sure they'll try to blow that into some shit to salve their egos and feel large but no like not even as a particular anti threat or opposition or anything it was literally like "wow we're all collectively impressed people this stupid, stubborn, or tv illiterate exist, we kind of want to fucking study this like a bug."

A fucking fandom of shrieking cicadas oblivious to how loud and annoying the neighborhood considers them because they're too busy siren calling for weird fandom porn rights in canon discussions while being dragged all across the wholeassed internet and kingdom come by bluechecks ranging from media to psychologists to talking cats about that very shit and they're still making fucking confused cow sounds why the con markets got bleached.

And you know what? We didn't want credit any more than Wayward's folks did. Hell we were gonna keep it perfectly quiet so you couldn't fuck it up this time like yall did Wayward while claiming you didn't believe me until people that are my own antis now figured out what the fuck was happening. We were absolutely happy to leave you dumb motherfuckers in the dark.

But since it's out there now, yeah. Get the fuck out. We're the warriors that built this town. From dust.

Genuinely funny that these rubes are so fucking basic they can't draw the two point line between the How Wayward Happened dot and the Who And What I Talk About On My Fucking Blog From What Angle fucking dot. jesus christ. Don't even try to add the third data point dot of How The Winchesters Happened, you'll fucking shatter their mental capacity. Like there's a common fucking denominator here that I can't believe you guys haven't fucking figured out I have literally been posting about some of this since season nine, are you ok.

Oh wait considering you dumb motherfuckers were oblivious for years to the Literal Line Of Toy Ships At Wayward Cocktails that Berens specifically selected what from when while winking about not supposed to pick favorites all those many, many different years ago. You argued he was somehow on the wincest side because you were so fucking unplugged.

It all makes sense.

You guys genuinely don't know what fucking happened with Wayward. Omg.

[golbrocklovely]

I think Sam has mentioned in the past that he hates editing. So, if it’s not his thing, why not get someone in to do something you’re not good at/don’t really like? Colby maybe really likes it and maybe likes the control of it. We don’t really know the actual dynamic of their partnership.

Maybe Colby was the one who replaced Sam on editing. And just because Sam isn’t doing editing doesn’t mean he’s doing nothing and making Colby do all the work. There’s more behind the scenes stuff that we don’t see. He could be doing more of the “business” side of it.

actually the opposite is true. sam loves editing. he literally said, i forget when, that if youtube ever went belly up, he would edit for other ppl. is it possible that that has changed? sure. but i know for a fact he said this at one point.

and i'm not arguing that he shouldn't have gotten an editor. they both should have one ! my whole argument is that if colby likes editing, and sam doesn't, that's fine - but DO NOT take credit for something you didn't participate in. sam all the fucking time says "we're editing" when there is no WE. sam has not edited in a long time, he has had an editor since some point last year. colby has been editing since the beginning of their careers. and all any fan does is give credit to sam, who also takes credit for it.

and no, colby did not replace sam in the editing process. there was literally a whole stint of sam posting about finding an editor, writing 20 page guidelines for them to follow, complaining he couldn't find someone, and stuff like that. he decided to leave the editing process. he was not pushed out.

i do think sam is doing other work, but so is colby. on top of the editing. colby is editing for 12 hours a day while sam is off getting hair cuts, training for marathons, and going on his third vacation of the year. and all while that's happening, colby is stuck editing and giving hints that his mental health is in the shitter. and we know all of this bc snc are saying it/showing it themselves.

this then raises the issue to me that sam SHOULD be helping. cut the other videos while colby works on the other. he can't hate editing that much to just not do it at all. and it's insane to me bc if colby is telling us as fans he's not doing the best, god knows what he's telling sam. so you would think that sam, the one that literally helped colby get thru his cancer treatment, would HELP OUT so colby has less shit on his plate.

respectfully, you are not gonna change my mind about this. this whole situation is very indicative of a larger issue in the fandom to me, and that's that this fandom can't handle giving criticism to sam. fans love to throw shade at colby, shit on him, call him names (but in a "joking" way ofc) since the millisecond i stepped into this fandom back in 2018. but when someone points out that maybe sam isn't acting the best in this ONE scenario, all of sudden there are ppl coming out the woodwork to defend him.

and i'm not blaming you in particular, anon. this is something that i've noticed for quite sometime now. i mean, prime example, any time i bring up dumb and wise and complain that sam's thinking is way out there and not relatable at all - i get tons of asks defending him. hell, i had someone send me an ask on here replying to me, and then they brought my other ask to twitter where they said i should go "kindly" throw myself in a ditch and "kindly" fuck off, all while not knowing i follow them on twitter lol

like i get it. i love sam just as much as yall. but you guys (in general, not you specifically) love pointing out when colby fucks up, but can't do the same to sam. it's weird and very dumb. sam is in the wrong this time. sorry.

[mutedsilence]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕🎈

Hmm. I found this question quite hard. But, I think that's bc I tried to over think it.

I have 2 fics I'm very happy with.

The first one is 'Birthdays. Don't. Matter.' It's a Johnlock fic where John learns about Sherlock's birthday. It also explains why Sherlock had never shared his birthday before. John loves Sherlock and although he's not told him, he wants to show him how loved he truly is. I've added a link to it if anyone is interested. I am proud of this one as the flashback to Sherlock's childhood is directly inspired by my own. I would sit at the window waiting just for no one to show up. I've not celebrated my birthday in several years now, and no one really knows when it is.

The second isn't finished yet. It's a slow burn called 'don't make me fuck you in space' . I'll put a little except under the cut. It's an ironstrange fic that is set after NYC attack. Stephen hasn't had the accident yet and Tony is struggling with his PTSD. All Tony wants, is to be near the man he had fallen in love with. Stephen just wants to be left alone. I am so far really liking this one as it started out as just a silly little prompt I saw but it has turned into something deeper. I'm hoping to delve into Tony's mental health issues as well as go into Stephen's. It has completely taken a life of its own. What was going to be a fun little shot, it is now a longer fic that will have a sequel.

Anyway, thank you so much for asking this. I don't tend to think about my fics. I just love to write so once it's posted, I hardly go back to them.

An Excerpt from, 'Don't Make Me Fuck You in Space'

The door opened automatically when he arrived. The room wasn't large. One wall had been made into a large window. Staring out into space and seeing Earth perfectly. There were two rows of benches with cushions along. The door was directly opposite the window. In the front left corner, Stephen could see Tony. He had headphones on and was drinking a can of rockstar. 

Stephen gave a quick look over the rest of the room and started walking towards Tony. 

Tony didn't give any indication that he knew he was no longer alone. He kept staring out the window. 

"Tony?" 

Nothing. He repeated himself. This time Tony took off his headphones. He still didn't move. 

Stephen took a deep breath. Preparing to apologise and make things right, instead what came out his mouth was, "Those are terrible for your heart." He always felt more comfortable hiding behind medicine. It was easier. He wasn't even sure how Tony had gotten it. It would have had to have been included in the initial packing, but who would let a man with heart problems bring an energy drink with him to space? It didn't make sense. Then again, Tony gave the impression that no one could stop him from doing anything. 

Tony smiled in response to the terrible joke. He tipped the can towards Stephen in offering. He was about to decline when he realised if he drank it, Tony wouldn't. He took it and drank some. He remembered how many he used to drink while he was still a student. He hadn't had one since. "I wanted you," 

Stephen looked towards Tony. He was still looking out the window and he was talking quietly. Almost for his ears only. "I saw you, and I wanted you. No one else. You didn't even see me," Stephen had no idea what Tony was talking about, but didn't want to disrupt him. They were finally talking - sorta. "You came into my examination room, asked my doctor where someone was," He smiled at the memory while Stephen struggled to place it. "I already had planned to go to space, I was going to come alone," Tony turned to face Stephen then, "I knew then - when I saw you - that I didn't want to be alone anymore." 

He didn't know what to say. 

He placed the memory. He had gotten a message on his pager from Christine, and had gone to find her. He noticed that Dr West had been in a nearby room and quickly popped in. He hardly noticed the patient. Dismissing them immediately as they were not Dr West. He had told him where to find Christine and he left without another word. He could see Tony now. Blood speckled over him. His mouth slightly open as he looked at him in the doorway. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. He had been ignored - now Stephen was saddened by his past self. This memory clearly meant something to Tony and he had practically forgotten about it. 

Looking at Tony's face, he could see the blood that had marked him before. 

He lifted his hand to Tony's face as if to wipe it away. His words turned in his mind. And he realised that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to be alone either.