#because the pretending does tend to look performative and like you want to make other fans problematic so you can 'win' by default

[nostalgia-tblr]

one of the best Fandom Discourse Topics is the one about how this female character i have minimal to no interest in is TOO GOOD for my male blorbo. she can do MUCH BETTER he's A CRAP BOYFRIEND and so that's why he has to be paired with my other male blorbo, who lacks The One Braincell and thus will believe himself to be in a wholesome loving relationship in the endless fluffy fanfic i will read/write about him and BLORBO, THE WORST POSSIBLE CHOICE for that female character.

obviously i ship her with this woman she interacted with in one scene, who is also SUCH A QUEEN YASSSSSS. god i love this wholesome lesbian ship between these two women who probably don't even know each other's full names <3 <3 <3 i might even hit reblog on a gifset of their one scene together someday. i probably won't, but i might.

so anyway back to blorbo and how amazing he is, i bet he'd be a great boyfriend for this other white guy.

[mad-scientist-enthusiast]

Yor Forger- Character Analysis

I think Yor is such a fascinating character. For one, she has a very unique relationship with femininity. Growing up, Yor had to be "the strong one" and look after her brother in the absence of their parents, and this led her to becoming an assassin so she could provide for him. But even without the Garden, Yor has always been physically strong, blunt, and brutal. Her upbringing didn't allow for the same societal socialization as most girls her age had, which also plays a role here. Despite this, Yor makes a great effort to present as formal and as feminine as possible. And to her credit, she does hit all the hallmarks there. She dresses the right way, has a formal manner of speaking, works in a stereotypically feminine occupation as her day job, and goes out with her coworkers when invited; yet her coworkers, and presumably others still seem to know there is something inherently different about her.

In any other setting, this might be okay—an odd coworker is nothing to worry about—but SPY x FAMILY takes place during the Cold War. People are willing to turn even neighbors in to the Secret Police on just mere suspicion, and that's not even including those who make false reports just because they don't like someone. Yor's survival (or at least freedom) relies on her ability to perform femininity according to the standard, but even when she does everything right, she's still alienated from her peers. A lot of this has to do with language, as she tends to only be aware of syntactic and basic semantic context of words and phrases, instead of the pragmatic context used in Ostania. This was likely also a result of her upbringing. She's not only living a double life as an assassin, but also having to perform this femininity to such an extent is another mask she has to wear. Throwing the pretend marriage into the equation, you get an unrealistic amount of masks to juggle all at once.

Although I'd like to think she's able to take a few of them off when it's just her, Loid, and Anya. Outside of Yuri, Yor has felt that her strength and brutality are things to hide and be ashamed of, so it's a pleasant surprise when her new family immediately accepts and praises her for these things. Loid doesn't think there's anything untoward about her, and typically finds Yor's strength to be quite useful (and hot). And Anya looks up to Yor, wanting to be strong like her one day. This is one of many reasons why their family works so well. So much of her life is spent feeling inadequate for things she can't control while living in fear that someone might report her to the Secret Police, and yet now, with her new family, she is treated normally and with respect. She is able to live a fantasy she never thought she would be able to have with her social difficulties. 

I mention her communication struggles as part of her separation from accepted standards of femininity because the way that women talk and their ability to be socially savvy is inherently tied to their femininity. To me this reminds me of the gender disconnect many autistic people (like myself) feel when they are unable to perform their gender roles conventionally. Even strongly masking, it can feel like theres something so deeply wrong with you that everyone else seems to pick up, but you can't for the life of you identify what. Yor wants to perform femininity, as seen by her uniform with the Garden. She very easily could've gone for something more practical or comfortable, but instead chose an outfit that is seductive and feminine. But the issue comes into play when she's presented with different social contexts. She didn't connect that wearing a seductive dress would probably be inappropriate for getting drinks with her coworkers, because she doesn't realize what is and is not appropriate in the first place. 

Overall, I think this view of her character adds so much depth to her and is way more interesting than the "female himbo dommy mommy" box that the fandom tends to stick her in, to me. (No hate btw, to each their own).

[riordanness]

i think he knows - [l.laurence]

wordcount: 1.3K

requested: no (but i am working on all my requests)

warnings: maybeee a wonka reference (my bad)

I lay side by side with Jo March, our hands intertwined, staring up at the clouds. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Jo laughs. “That is definitely not a giraffe. It looks like a flamingo.” 

I wrinkle my nose. “No way. It looks closer to a melted chocolate bar than a flamingo.”

She nudges me and laughs again. “Whatever.” 

I sigh and close my eyes, my spare fingers playing with the blades of grass we’re lying on. 

“This is the life,” Jo says quietly, as if she can read my thoughts. 

“Mhm…” I reply, feeling sleepy and sun sick. We’ve been out all morning in the hot summer sun, and the effects are finally catching up on me.

“You know what would make today better, though?” 

“What?” I’m barely paying attention now, my sleepiness wanting to take over. 

“If Laurie was here.” Jo says it like it’s poetry. 

I’m immediately awake. I sit up. “What did you say?” 

Jo looks amused. “I said…that today would have been better if Laurie was here with us.”

I try to downplay my reaction with a shrug. “Yeah, that would have been nice I suppose.” 

“Oh, y/n,” Jo teases. “Don’t try to pretend you aren’t head over heels in love with him.” 

I look at her sharply. “Jo, don’t talk about such things.”

“It's true, though,” Jo insists. “Isn’t it?” 

I look away. Of course it was true. Laurie Laurence was the one person I could never imagine not having in my life. I needed him like I needed air in my lungs. He was my sunlight, my happiness, my joy and my energy and my smile. He was my everything. 

“Maybe it’s true,” I whisper. “But it’s not important. I will never matter to him the way that he matters to me.”

Jo is quiet for a while, her eyes narrowed as she stares into the deep blue nothingness of the sky. 

I lay beside her, in comfortable silence, as my thoughts drift, as always, back to that boy with the laughing green eyes, unruly but beautiful dark hair, and that smile that fills me with everything I need.

I first met Laurie through the others. I’m lifelong friends with all the Marches, and being an only child, my days tend to be lonely. Marmee has me over as much as humanly possible. Sleepovers, performances, club meetings and dinners, walks and piano lessons, days at the beach, sketching in the garden, dances and dumb adventures. I do it all with those four girls. 

Then one day, a boy joined in on our fun. 

At first, it was nerve-wracking, doing all our usual antics in the presence of a boy. But I soon learned that Laurie was anything but judgemental, and better than that–he was amazing fun. 

We became best friends. 

Now, everything I did was with Laurie, or nearly everything. I’d spend every second with him if I could. 

It’s like there’s magic in his smile.

“Laurie!” I shove open his front door, yelling up the stairs. 

His curly head pops over the stairs, grinning down at me. “Hey, you.”

I squint up at him. “What are you doing? I thought we were going out today. You promised we’d go ice skating.” I wave my skates at him to prove my point. 

Laurie winces. “I’m sorry, y/n. I know I did, but–” He makes a face. “I’ve got a cold and Grandfather forbade me to leave my room.” His features turn mischievous. “In fact, I’m risking his wrath just being out here in the hall.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Well, I guess I’ll have to come up there and entertain you then.”

“You’ll get sick!” Laurie shakes his head at me.

“Too late,” I say, as I drop my skates and coat at the door, and dash up the stairs. 

Laurie watches as I hop, skip, and jump at the top stair, as I do every time (because he did it first, and I like to do everything he does). He stares at me with a small smirk on his face.

“What?” I ask, coming to a stop only a metre away from him. “It’s fun doing that at the top of the stairs. Like a little celebratory moment for conquering the staircase once again.”

Laurie laughs under his breath as he shakes his head slightly. “It’s nothing, my dear y/n. Hop at your heart's content.”  

I shrug and head into his room, a lage, ornate chamber full of antique paintings and old books and clothes strewn all over the floor.

“Oh, my,” I say disapprovingly. “Laurie, you really need to tidy this place up a little if you want to get any better, you know.”

“I know,” Laurie sighs, falling sideways onto an armchair. “But I just don’t have your work ethic, y/n. I love being lazy and useless and spending my time doing silly, worthless things.”

I click my tongue. “Don’t be ridiculous, Laurie. I know you. You have it inside you to do great things with your life. You just have to want it enough, and to work hard for it. You can do it. I believe in you.”

I wander around the room busily, picking up dirty laundry and discarded books, and straightening the bedsheets. I can feel Laurie’s eyes on me, but it’s not an awkward feeling. If anything, it’s comforting. Being around him, everything is easier, safer. My words come out of my mouth easily. I don’t worry about saying the wrong thing or coming across as too blunt or anything like that. They can come right from my heart, because I know him better than anyone, and I see what Laurie is capable of. 

“And you know, you can always–”

“Y/n.” Laurie gets to his feet. 

My voice dies, and I frown at him uncertainly and I drop a small stack of books onto his desk.. “Yeah?”

“You know how the other day, um, you and Jo were hanging out in the gardens, watching the clouds?”

My eyes narrow a little, but I nod slowly. “Yes…? How did you know about that?”

Laurie doesn’t meet my eyes, rolling his tongue around in his mouth nervously. “I might’ve been spying on you?” 

My hands are instantly on my hips as I give him a look. “Laurie Laurence.”

“I’m sorry!” he says immediately, holding his hands up like he’s surrendering. “I just… well, I heard what you were talking about.”

I try to think back. What would Jo and I have been talking about that was so important he’s bringing it back up now? I didn’t think we were discussing anything that exciting, except…

Oh.

My face goes slack, and my mouth drops slightly open. “You-you mean–”

Laurie nods and gets to his feet. “So it’s true?”

I want to lie, to shake my head and laugh it away, but my reaction has already made it obvious. I slowly nod my head yes, once, then twice.

Relief floods into Laurie’s features. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“What?” I ask, but my question is lost when Laurie attacks me with a hug. 

“I love you, y/n,” he says softly into my hair. “I’ve loved you ever since Jo first introduced me to you that day in the attic. You might’ve been shy and wearing that silly costume; a battered overcoat and tattered suitcase, but I’d never seen a prettier girl. You help me be a better person, you’re always so encouraging and kind and hard-workig, and I just… I really love you.” 

He pulls away, holding my shoulders and gazing at me. 

I’m in disbelief, staring up into his eyes, my mouth still open. 

He laughs, ducking his head a little. “You don’t have to say anything, y/n. You said enough the other day.” He pauses, licks his lips a little. “Y/n, can I kiss you?”

I can’t help but to smile. “Of course you can.” 

His mouth meets mine, and it’s better than anything else in the world.

[taesancult]

bf!beomgyu 18+ thoughts

warnings: that vmas performance got me fucked up real bad… anyways- kinda feel like i went overboard (?) but warnings include fem!reader, biting, lovebites, sub!beomie, dirty talk, heavy degradation, he’s a little shit, reader gets on top of him, oral (fem receiving), mommy kink, reader is a real meanie to him, beomgyu is referred to as baby boy/good boy/pain slut, lots of hair pulling, and aftercare bc it’s important!

SMUT UNDER THE CUT! MDNI!

bf!beomgyu, who loves a good fight for who will dom the other. you could pin him down on the bed, thinking you have him in the palm of your hand, and he would just laugh at you. “aren’t you cute?” he’d say while smirking at you, and you’d just raise an eyebrow at him. you would immediately start attacking his neck, knowing it’s erogenous zone for him, and he’d try so hard to not lose his composure, but would ultimately fail. he’d start whining with how good your lips feel on his neck, you would stop and look at him with a sly smile. “stop looking at me like that. am i supposed to pretend it doesn’t feel good?” he’s such a little shit. “right. so, you enjoy it when i kiss your neck then?” you smile because you already know the answer, but you just want to instigate. “huh? i’m not enjoying any of this, i’m only letting you because i think it’s cute.” he says with a shrug and a fake look of confidence, and you see right through him. “okay, guess i’ll stop then. do you want to do something else?” you start to get off him, attempting to trap him. “wait!” he’d say so desperately that you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing. “don’t laugh at me! i just.. i know you like this, so i don’t want you to stop for me.” he’d lie as if you couldn’t see right through him. “beomie, you do realize that makes no sense right?” “ugh just stop talking and come kiss me.” he’d say with a pout, gesturing to his empty lap as you shake your head and laugh again while climbing back on top.

bf!beomgyu, who is so mouthy when he subs, it’s actually the worst. in the best way possible though, because it’s hot hearing him so determined to not give in. you would be decorating his body with pretty lovebites, taking in every whine and moan from him with pride. “feeling good, baby boy?” you’d look up from his torso with a genuine smile. “it’s okay, i guess, but stop calling me that stupid name!” he’d roll his eyes. he actually loves that name, and has said so many times when he’s been intoxicated with pleasure. he loves being called good boy or baby boy, he finds those names to be so endearing, but obviously he can’t admit that. “i’m hurt! thought you liked it.” you’d say with a fake pout as his eyes would widen. “i uh- i do, i’m sorry.” you would smile at him as your fingers caressed down his chest to his stomach, making him giggle a bit in the process. “baby boy, it’ll be so much easier if you just give in to me. let me take control, i promise you’ll feel so good.” you would pout at him. he’d sigh in defeat then let out a small “okay.” and it would be game over for him. you would spend the night making him feel the best he’s ever felt.

bf!beomgyu, who is so fun to ruin. he’s so bratty, tending to resist you when you admit you want to dom him. it’s not that he doesn’t want you to. actually, the thought of you taking control, making his mind fuzzy with only thoughts of you and your pussy, makes his heart race. he thinks it’s more exciting to fight you, though. he enjoys seeing your efforts and the way you cheat to get him on his knees for you. no matter how much he fights you and jokes that you will never see him beg for you, you both know that it’s all a game.

bf!beomgyu, who has a mommy kink when he’s in a sub headspace. when he finally does break, he’s such a sweet good boy. he’s so obedient that you could ask him to be on his knees for hours eating you out, and he would. he also just loves eating you out in general, to the point where you have to pull him away. “baby, fuck- no more!” you’d wince at the overstimulation that his tongue brought you. “you sure, mommy? taste so good, don’t wanna stop.” he’d say as he stares at you with stars in his eyes, and lightly licks at your pretty pussy. you would have to physically pull at his hair to get him away from your core. “yes, angel. you did so well, too well.” you’d praise him out of breath, still pulling at his locks, knowing it makes his cock twitch. you’d pull him up towards you by his hair, he’d whine in pain and pleasure with his eyes tightly shut. you knew it hurt, but that’s what really turned him on. “my little pain slut, how should i reward you?” you coo at him and smirk devilishly. he’d wince at the name, knowing he was in for a long night.

bf!beomgyu, who melts for praise but also gets weak at the knees for degradation. there’s just something about seeing his girlfriend say mean things to him that just really gets his mind, his heart, and his cock going. you had been palming him through his underwear, finally taking it off as you had enough teasing and wanted to see his pretty cock. he softly moaned at the feeling of being free. you didn’t give him a chance to breathe, though, immediately starting to stroke his sensitive cock causing him to throw his head back and moan again. “mommy wait- oh fuck-” he stutters out, not being able to control his own moans as he had been so desperate to feel your touch. as you observed how deeply he was reacting to you, the sadistic urge in you took over. you stopped your hand’s movements all together, looking at him with a sinister smile. “oh my god, you were such an annoying little brat and now look at you? moaning so loud for me and i’ve barely given your stupid cock any attention.” you’d say to him and watch as his cock twitches in anticipation for what you’ll do next. “oh, you’re twitching? are you seriously so pathetic that you get off to me degrading you?” he would moan out, not thinking you were expecting an answer, until you grabbed onto his soft locks, lightly pulling on them so he’s staring directly into your eyes. “i’m talking to you, pain slut. answer me when i speak to you.” you’d tighten your grip on his hair and watch the poor boy spill out apology after apology.

bf!beomgyu, who needs lots of love, attention, and affection after the two of you play together. if you leave to clean yourself up, he’d follow along like a little puppy dog and want to help you. usually after one of your harder session, more degradation heavy ones, you would take a bubble bath together. the warm water feeling so good, you would face him and wrap your arms around his neck. “you did so well beomie, i love you!” he’d smile so big as you’d kiss all along his face, as well as the bruises along his neck and collarbones, then give him a much needed head massage. he’d tell you how he loves you too and appreciates how you always do such a good job of taking care of him while reveling in the feeling of your comforting, gentle touch. you two would finish the night off in each other’s arms with him lying on your chest sound asleep.

GRRRR ARRF ARRF RAWR MEOW ~arisa

author’s note: arisa wrote those animal noises at the very end when i made this draft and it made me laugh so hard i had to keep it in! anyways uh.. i am just going to leave this here bye u never saw me - kisa <3

[lemonhemlock]

I think a thing that bothers me the most is how fragmented TG (the fandom) is now. After season one, many of us had issues with character writing, but it still felt like we were largely on the same page. Now, some people can accept Aegon got bad writing but not Aemond, Alicent, or Helaena. They are all “good” or “bad”characters depending on how much they hurt Aegon this season. I’m so glad he got the time to be well rounded, and that TGC delivered on all his scenes, but I think people forget Aegon has received some poor writing as well even this season. His whole outburst about Jaehaerys’s death is not about his son, but the impact on his legacy- I thought this very odd at the time, but realize it’s because they can’t have him mourn Jaehaerys for a long time either. Nobody on TG is allowed to focus on this dead child, least of all his mother! Aegon goes out drinking with his friends next episode 😭 seemingly unconcerned. But somehow only Alicent and Aemond are called out for this, when it is a clear problem that Daemon is more affected by this loss than the greens. It feels like such an uphill battle to even discuss the faction and family anymore.

This is such a good point!

I know I am so contrarian about this rn, but I have had some issues in connecting with Aegon's grief scenes over Jaehaerys this season. And it's such an opinion I DON'T want to have, bc I'm fully on the Aegon/TGC bandwagon and I do think TGC is a competent actor.

But it's something about the general clownery of the framing, how everything is gloomy and dark but at the same time no one gives that much of a shit over Jaehaerys? It's very weird to describe. I know Olivia also shows Alicent crying and swallowing sobs and trying to conceal her grief, but, if you think about it, Alicent is just Kind Of Like That in a lot of her scenes anyway. Big doe wet eyes, filled with regret and unspoken emotions etc so that her acting similarly after B&C kind of doesn't hit as much?

And, in that context, having Aegon rage over this event is rendered kind of.....hammy and, honestly, comical. I'm reminded of the scene of the small council where everyone is somber and quiet and he kind of looks like he's pretending to cry. In other moments it's fine but there are frames where I can't take it seriously and it registers in my brain like a parody.

I realise how I sound right now, like I'm not satisfied with the subdued performances, but I'm not satisfied with the expansive ones either. IDK. I have a huge problem with the framing and direction this season, I think it's a huge impediment in making me enjoy the supposedly emotional scenes.

All of this to say that I agree, Aegon has also received some bad writing this season, especially him ALSO being kind of over Jaehaerys the next episode. But people tend to overlook it, because when you draw the line, the writing for him is still so much better than what he got in S1.

And, yes, this is why I can't really join the choir in blaming Alicent and Aemond for how they act with him, because it's not a naturalistic and organic progression, it's shoehorned in with little buildup or motivation and not even drawn to its natural conclusion. For example, Aemond should have been toast the minute Aegon woke up, because Prince Regent or not, Aegon is still the King and has the power to remove Aemond if he fears him. He doesn't have to justify himself in front of anyone, just give the order to arrest his brother and name someone else as regent, then just go back to sleep.

[azulsluver]

I'm assuming this was already talked about/mentioned in your posts but I do kinda wonder how awful it would be for reader during holidays and general breaks from school (bully au). Like- They would either be COMPLETELY isolated since they can't technically go home since this ain't even their world and everyone hates them, or they would have to deal with their bullies every. Single. Day. Which is hilarious to me because I can see at least some of them staying even though they were supposed to go home and rest and enjoy their break from school, so prefect just asks "Why are you even here tormenting me bro?! Don't you have a family" and the bullies have to come up with excuses to save their egos

I sometimes do go in depth detail on where reader lives within twisted wonderland because I tend to stray near canon lore. Options are that they completely have ramshackle as their home or Crowley in the kindness of his heart buys a place for them within the island (it’s close to the school just in the woods hidden deep)

tw: yandere, bully!characters, mentions of bruises/blood and vomit, force feeding/throwing up, unhealthy relationships, stalking.

(College setting)- there are other students that are staying during breaks but let’s be real no one’s gonna help you

The only major holiday that has the NRC students leaving was winter break, spring and summer. Here’s my take on each. Not proof read btw!

Winter: Azul, Jade And Floyd

No surprise to canon, but their excuse to stay during break is nightmare fuel for you. You can’t run away because that only peruse Floyd and Jade to chase you down. Azul pretends to not see the abuse you’re going through. In fact he feels less occupied when the twins set their eyes on you. There is no best scenario because you should be used to Floyd coming into your room at random times.

Quote on quote, “best break ever” is exaggerated greatly whenever Floyd gets his hands on you. You’re wheezing like a dying fish as he asks you if you’re ok. Knowing it’ll piss you off but you’re on the verge of death so it pisses you off even more.

I think staying with Floyd is the better option but it REALLY depends, Jade gets a little quirky at night. Waking up on a table and strapped as he gives you shot after shit of who knows what into your system. Pretty unhinged as it’s in the dead of night and it’s freezing cold. More stoic when performing these things. Jade never gets the chance or time to do this to you so that’s off his bucket list.

Azul stuffs himself in his room all day. Only going out for a jog as he looks the other way as you’re being dragged off while clawing on the floor. It’s too early for that okz. But he’s gonna tire from your screaming and crying so he grudgingly let’s you stay in his room whenever the twins are out to hunt you down.

That’s only if you are being too much of a nuisance to him^^

Because you’re involved in the subject of his problems he gets more snappy with the twins when they try to barge into his room. Lecturing them and often times loudly making deals to lend you to them because you’re so much work. He doesn’t tho. Like a father who never wanted a dog, he tends to your needs with a sneer and turn. Does this mean you’re staying in his room the whole break? Yes. Can you try to leave? Yes. Will Azul call you ungrateful and manipulate you that the twins will bother you again. Yes.

Slumber party!!! Floyd’s idea btw. Victim of every losers downfall, getting slapped and punched whenever Floyd loses a board game. Hands nearly breaking because Jade is too cool to show anger so he takes it out on you as a joke. Azul winning said games.

Floyd WILL suffocate you in your sleep on purpose. Slumber parties with him are never a good idea because any chance to scare you he takes it. Going to the bathroom? What a coincidence he’s awake and on the side of the wall behind the door you’re leaving. Waking up? He’s staring deep into your soul just so you can cry and roll away.

Wanna talk about you staying in Azul’s room because he lets you sleep on his bed (wow omg luxury bed knocked out ZZZzzz) because he’s doing work on his desk. Often times you wake up to him sleeping on his desk. Give it a week in the break and he’s all over you. His arms in a crushing grip as he holds you in sleep, you feel like it’s forbidden to move because you’re scared he might squeeze harder than Floyd.

This only happened ONCE. Sleeps on the floor and makes dumb excuses like “humans have such odd body temperature it was like an instinct to cuddle something cold.” Or “I hold things a lot when I’m in my merform this is nothing personal.”

Spring: Ace, Epel, Ruggie

Ace and Epel straight up tell you they’re here to have a great spring break together. By that they mean messing with you. These assholes start off slow, egging your dorm, blasting loud music. Anything to get your fatigue up, that way you can start messing things up on accident when it was all purposely set.

The duo are relentlessly pursuing their harassment from day to night, until in a couple of days within the break do things stop. It’s terrifying, walking on eggshells at how they ignore you during walks, opening the door for you, heck even Epel left a basket of apples on your front door. It’s leaving you paranoid and they know it, with their innocent going smiles and tilted heads. You wish you had some form of power to get those two without getting 2v1.

Alright this is where Ruggie comes in the picture. He’s there not by choice, instead paid by Leona to watch over you since Ace has a big mouth about his plans with you.

Ruggie randomly shows up in your dorm. He’s not doing much except making sure you’re eating and not brutally beaten near death. But you can find him grudgingly cleaning the place out of boredom, catching him dusting off shelves after your success in escaping the two. He threatens you out of embarrassment to not think much of it…he just thinks you’re really dirty to leave in such an unkept place.

He does at time chase Ace and Epel off, they don’t seem to bother you much when you’re with him. So you took this to advantage to stick to him like candy. You’ve only had this type of protection with Jack, on the other hand was much more comfortable to hang around with besides the deadpan stares.

Your safe haven can only be kept for so long, once money is involved. Ruggie is counting the wad of cash by the side as the two nudge your head with their foot. Ace blames you for making the last three days of their break boring, you should’ve known better than to run off when things were getting good. Didn’t you know good pal Epel prepared some fine treats for you? (Don’t eat them).

It’s no use crying for help, Ruggie can only shrug his shoulders and tell the two not to kill you before walking away. Your last bits of hope destroyed as Epel smacks the back of your head a couple of times, saying you must be brain dead so they’ll help you out. You’re really starting to miss Jack, as apple slices are being shoved into your mouth, Ace repeatedly thrusting three fingers down your throat to making you vomit. You’re delirious when hung upside down from a tree, the two taking turns hitting you blindfolded with a bat, luckily it’s wooden but the pain still blows.

You’ll be ruffled up with a pat in the head as Ace blows smoke in your face, telling you that you did good. Epel is more enthusiastic after all that, pinching at your blood socked nose to stop the bleeding. The two are joyous and leave by throwing a couple of dollars your way. Just looking at it makes you sick as you sob on the floor, seeing Ruggies shoes.

Sobbing on the way home with Ruggie by your side, staring off into the distance whilst ignoring your loud wails. You know it annoys him but he doesn’t say anything until the door closes, he’s lazily patching up your open wounds and dabbing them with a clean cloth. Giving you medicine—if you refuse to take them he will force you. You can only conceal your sniffles by rubbing your eyes and blowing your nose with tissue. Ruggie has his back turned as he tells you to do better. If you keep it up you’ll die sooner or later at this rate. So take it as a lesson to build character.

You can’t help but agree, maybe it was the medicine taking place. But you gruffly settle down with him, he’s sitting besides you with a empty look on his face. You cant tell why he’s staring at your beaten body like some interesting figure but you preferred it like this. Dropping your head on his shoulder as you rest, because you know he’s gonna let it happen all over again.

Might as well take his advice.

Summer: Sebek, Silver, Malleus, Lilia

This was all Malleus. His idea 100%. He’d rather not spend his break staying in his enclosure with running maids and fearing fae. Instead he’d prefer is the one fearing was coming from you. And since Malleus had decided to spend his break by bothering you Silver and Sebek have no choice but to come along.

Sebek is absolutely furious once he finds out the reason Malleus wanted to stay in campus was to see you. You! Out of everyone!!! There are times where Malleus must leave campus to attend his princely duties, leaving Sebek having the opportunity to get his hands on you. By that he’s choking the shit outta you until you’re blue. He doesn’t wanna be here with YOU, now he’s stuck babysitting you. Thankfully Silver is there to prevent Sebek from successfully killing you.

You cling onto Silver like he’s your last hope. He can only do so much when Sebek is frothing at the mouth because he has the “audacity” to step in the punishments that are so rightfully placed on you. Like come on man what would Malleus think?

Malleus is into it. Tells Silver that if you ever step out of line it’s only right for him to put you back in place, physically. Silver can only stand back with a frown, not too much to displease Malleus.

Lilia comes in later, he’s wondering where his sons went. He comes at a weird timing, you’re being examined because Malleus is interested in all the marks you’ve received. It’s amazing how you’re still alive, with a kind of your own as well. Lilia won’t do much rather than spectate Malleus’s adventures with you, rather than indulging in his desires he stands by the side to make sure Malleus nor Sebek won’t go too far. They may not listen to Silver but they certainly will to him.

If you want to be left COMPLETELY alone it can only be at night with curtains over your windows. Forbid the many times you’ve shit your pants in the middle of the night to see Malleus looming over your window. Be it sleeping or walking to the kitchen he’s dead staring. For some good reason he doesn’t throw much of a fit when you use the curtains to hide from his prying eyes.

You might think Lilia is off the hook of finally leaving you alone then you’re dead wrong! Standing by the side, yea more like giving more advice to Malleus and Sebek on how to properly punish you. Back in his days punishments were something else, since you’re human they gotta go on the low. So if Lilia felt like it he can just tell them some unique and grotesque ways to get you drooling and screaming like some pig.

Silver will be there after they’re done, being told to get you cleaned up and ready for the next trick. You really don’t wanna know, but you’re silent during your healing process, he feels bad yet doesn’t voice his opinions on it.

Oh and they almost carved a sick tattoo of dragon wings on your back but Sebek suggested that he use his sword to do it and you passed out from the thought. Not your first rodeo but you know damn well none of them will be putting you on meds during the whole thing.

[puckpocketed]

i just hate when players do this and people call them “warriors” i know you wanna play in the playoffs to help your team but YOUR FINGERS ARE LITERALLY BROKEN MY GUY THEY COULD NEVER GROW BACK TOGETHER THE RIGHT WAY im crying

my poor cringefail wifes i love them all so much i hope they all take the rest they need

GOD I hope they get rest too :((

breaking soooo much character right now to give my fullest take, and it’s that we can hold multiple ideas in our minds and i don’t think they conflict

playing through injuries is terrible.

They are whole adult human beings and professional athletes who have resources to keep them informed about long term consequences, and they still get to make those choices even if we hate the choices they make. Even if those choices drastically reduce the length of their career. Even if those choices end with long term heath complications.

i might lose some people on this one but i don’t care!! it’s what I believe: being disabled or chronically ill/injured/in pain is not a death sentence. it is not the worst thing in the world. people live full and happy lives whilst also being disabled. can it suck for the person living through it? yes. absolutely. but to me, people are not and never will be defined by how able-bodied they are!!!

All of this is true (to me) and also we can still condemn the circumstances that cause them to make these choices. (culture of not wanting to be seen as soft, the normalisation/valorisation of playing through injury, all the other [gestures wildly] forces at play that set athletes up to make these decisions) Like i’m sorry to get political but choices do not exist in vacuums. sports does not exist separated from hegemonic models of masculinity or capitalism. there are so so so many reasons a player might choose to harm themselves by playing through injury and not all of them are noble or valid, some of them are stupid and informed by bullshit!!! and we should be mad at that bullshit!! because it’s awful!!!!

these are their jobs, and i’m talking in the sense that they are performing labour and i think labour laws and workplace health and safety must apply here too. I think we have to start talking about these things in terms of workers rights, in amongst all of the compassion we have for them as players. there’s the pressure to perform due to contract status and salary bonus milestones; there’s team doctors having direct conflicts of interest, a monetary and cultural incentive to look the other way when clearing people to play; there’s the plain fact of the best possible safety equipment (cages/bowls, neck guards, cut resistant protective gear) not being mandatory; the blatant denial of CTE coming from the league itself. there’s a lot. and it’s a workers rights issue, not just a moral one. someone will play through xyz because of the culture, because of the pressure, and they will die from it.

EVEN STILL. there is beauty and narrative resonance and something compelling about it all, and I don’t want to deny that. as someone looking from the outside in, sports captures people’s hearts because of these narratives. sacrifice and teamwork and triumph — we have an appetite for these things. I am never going to sit here and deny that I feel compelled by it (which is simultaneous to the anger, the fear, the deep deep well of “i’m sorry you have feel you have to do this”) This appetite I/we as a society have for pain — unpacking it and addressing it is a whole other conversation and I am not qualified to have it. I’m just going to acknowledge it exists because I think pretending it doesn’t would be dishonest of me.

we are allowed to feel fucked up about all of this. call it parasocial, call it entitled, call it inappropriate, i don’t know!! we are people and knowing other people are in pain tends to fuck us up — and as much as I try to keep a healthy distance from these celebrities, as much as I remind myself they’re strangers, I care when they’re hurt because I’m human.

anyway. YES OUR POOR CRINGEFAIL WIVES 😭🤲

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

I believe that episode 5 is totally underrated for how much Yuuri and Viktor learn from each other during their first competition as a coach & student team.

Let's start with Viktor.

Viktor has been training Yuuri throughout the summer, but when it comes to competitions, he still has zero coaching experience so relies on what is familiar to him:

dressing up:

Note his matter-of-fact explanation. This is not the demeanour of a vain person. Viktor knows that clothes make the man and thus dresses appropriately for the occasion. It's just a detail, but Viktor is that serious about being Yuuri's coach!

2. being cute:

Viktor tends to act cute around men to get their attention. His attempts to calm Yuuri down before the SP, however, fail gloriously because Yuuri is already on edge. Viktor's silly cuteness only results in Yuuri being anxious AND annoyed. Please also note. The contrast to Minami's coach who tries the same by yelling and flipping her fingers in front of Minami couldn't be greater! And while both coaches fail to calm their athletes, Viktor deserves credit for being respectful.

3. flirting:

As Yuuri doesn't react to cuteness as hoped for, Viktor eventually resorts to flirting and manages to calm his nervous katsudon enough to skate Eros. Whereas Yuuri isn't comfortable with being hugged without warning, Viktor's bedroom voice and his words work their magic.

4. praising Yuuri:

Viktor underestimates how much shame Yuuri still feels about last year's Jnats and how anxious he is as this is his first competition, especially since Yuuri faces a skater who beat him. Talking in euphemisms is not uncommon for interviews in sports His answer to Morooka falls into this category, while still being his honest (and overexcited) opinion. Nothing to criticise, one might think. But for someone with anxiety and low self-confidence... very bad idea. All that Viktor achieves is increasing the pressure. Luckily, Yuuri doesn't stand for it and Viktor is more sensible in the next interview.

5. imitating Yakov: the famous lecture after the performance

As has been pointed out in many a meta post, Viktor adopts Yakov's habit to lecture his students after their skate. Yakov was his mentor for many years--naturally, Viktor resorts to his observations of his former coach. Of course, Yuuri doesn't like this at all, and he's not the only one. As Yuuri wastes many points in his FS when he ignores his instructions, Viktor contemplates another lecture but changes his mind when he grows aware of how everyone is cheering and finally understands that a lecture right now isn't how he should treat Yuuri. In addition to this, Viktor learns that once he steps on the ice, Yuuri does what he thinks is right, and learns to love this about him.

Now on to Yuuri:

Yuuri's anxiety and his shame about his result at Jnats are the reason why he ignores the other skaters. Plus, he either never learned proper PR skills or couldn't put them to use due to his lack of confidence. Just because you understood something in theory doesn't mean you can pull it off, especially when your anxiety gets in the way. Ignoring the other skaters is like pretending they don't exist, which is supposed to make it easier for Yuuri to compete against them. For Yuuri, this makes perfect sense. But by ignoring them, he creates a larger threat in his mind than these skaters actually are.

Throughout the episode, we often see Yuuri with his shoulders pulled up, a crease between his brows and avoiding Viktor's gaze. This is pure anxiety behaviour.

However, the best way to beat your demons is to look them in the eye. But when one is caught up in anxiety, this often seems impossible even if one knows that this would do the trick. Anxiety trumps reason. It's that powerful.

Yuuri wants to win the Regionals. If he delivers a clean skate, one quad would be enough as of the four skaters he has the greatest experience and the most superb skating skills. Plus, after the SP, he leads by almost a 30 points margin. Viktor is right that Yuuri doesn't need three quads, in fact, there are many sensible reasons for lowering the difficulty of a programme in one particular competition. Why take unnecessary risks when one quad would suffice to win?

When Yuuri overhears the other skaters talking about attempting a quad in the FS, his anxiety convinces him that he must jump all three quads. Again, it's not logical, but by returning to the initial layout, he makes sure that the base score of his programme exceeds the base score of his rivals' programmes far enough that he can see a chance for a gold medal. He needs this to reassure himself.

Anxious or not, Yuuri knows that he can jump three quads and this isn't the first time he shows displeasure because Viktor underestimates him. He doesn't want to be coddled. He doesn't even need to be coddled, and, frankly, this would make it harder for him to overcome his mental issues. So, in the middle of his own personal battles, Yuuri teaches Viktor another lesson.

Now back to Yuuri ignoring poor Minami--and there are several aspects that aren't that obvious at first glance:

Viktor who likely never suffered from anxiety in competition (or forgot how it feels after being unbeaten for so many seasons), doesn't understand how Yuuri's anxiety works. Seeing Yuuri treat a skater, who looks up to him, so poorly angers him. Viktor doesn't care whether another skater is a rival or skates several leagues below him--he's always nice to his fans and treats skaters with respect.

In the end, Viktor's harsh reaction cuts through Yuuri's anxiety and brings him back to reason (he will do this again two episodes later in a way more dramatic manner). Plus, there's this

and this

Yuuri finally realises that Minami's admiration mirrors his own admiration of Viktor. And through this, he can empathise with Minami.

And when Yuuri cheers Minami on and watches his performance, Minami finally loses his terror as an adversary, and Yuuri starts to take him seriously. This entire part of Yuuri reacting towards the other skaters--it's a typical reaction of a person with anxiety and low self-confidence who tries to protect themselves without realising that their method is faulty because it's dictated by anxiety. Viktor slamming the guards onto the barrier and telling Yuuri how disappointed he is might seem rude but is necessary to get Yuuri out of his anxiety loop.

And Viktor is pleased as, be it by accident or design, his lesson was successful.

And last but not least, in this episode, Yuuri learns that he loves Viktor. He has not been able to name this feeling before, but the events in this episode preceded by the months he has spent with Viktor so far, seem to lead up to this realisation. This is speculation, but I believe that this happens during his free skating and causes him to jump into the barrier. Skaters pay attention to where they take off, and Yuuri is too experienced to allow for such mistakes. But he canonically flubs his jumps when something is on his mind, he must have been super distracted at this moment. Also, note how Viktor's expression changes when Yuuri dances through the step sequence only moments before this jump. He knows something is going on.

Episode 5 seems to centre on Yuuri's growth as we experience it through his unreliable narrator's eyes, but in fact, both he and Viktor undergo a learning curve while they stumble through each challenge by trial and error. Throughout the entire episode, Viktor gets to know Yuuri better and learns how to handle him in competition and thus become a better coach. His growth is directed towards Yuuri and their relationship. Yuuri, on the other hand, can handle Viktor already pretty well as shown by how he doesn't put up with Viktor's bullshit. His growth is directed inwards with a focus on his insecurity and anxiety.

This show is done with so much attention to detail, I could swoon over it for ages!

Bonus: Viktor being canonically savage

Viktor learning his first lecture on looking after an athlete during a competition doesn't mean that all the bottled-up annoyance evaporates--no, he vents it through backhanded compliments!

Viktor has yet to learn to trust Yuuri's decisions and be a more sensible coach overall, but it's the first competition of the season and Yuuri is a good teacher in this regard. There's still plenty of time for him and Yuuri to grow as a team and as individuals, but in this episode both take important steps in their journey together.

If you enjoy my meta posts, please consider giving my blog a follow or checking out my works on AO3(link in bio). You will find the results of my meta musings in there!

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Ruth x maid! Fem! Reader

Ruth is 30 and reader is 24, 6 year age gap cuz I'm turning 23 this year but I think Ruth is supposed to be in his early to mid thirties so I'm being kinda Self-indulent (I didn't want to make the gap 7 years so... Yeah, upped the age).

Not the actual fic that will come out, just a drabble that I came up with

Warnings: slight self-conscious on Ruth's side

Nsfw warnings: fingering, oral (f receiving)

Minors, ageless blogs that barely have anything, dni or you get blocked.

This blog contains/interacts/creates dark content, dni if you are uncomfortable with that.

No tag list for this cuz I'm on the road + I wrote it down on a sheet of paper I left at home.

--

I think Ruth would absolutely have a low sex drive. He just doesn't look like someone who thinks about it often, much less have the urge. I am 100% sure he's a virgin cuz like, look at him. He doesn't know how to rizz ppl up nor does he want to unless it benefits him (having maxi help with making the magical devices, but that was more peer pressure than actual rizz).

I'm just saying, Ruth would be kinda hopeless with asking out the reader, not because he's cluelese (probably seen Gable and the others pick up chicks, so has a vague idea of what and what not to do + can see how unbalanced maxi's relationship with Riftan is. He literally told him to calm down with his antics once, but thats about it if I remember correctly) but because he's just so... Blunt that it comes off as rude.

Maxi literally thinks that in the webtoon when her maid slams his drink down on the table instead of placing it down gently like she did with maxi's cup.

But anyway, I just imagine Ruth as the type of guy who at first, tries to ignore the developing feelings he has for you, and it works, but it gets harder and harder when you smile at him like that, when you return his playful banter and don't get offended at his tone and choice of words. When you don't overstep his boundaries, attempt to get to know him, his likes and dislikes, interests, how you want to learn about magic and you listen to his lectures, hell sometimes he even invites you to sit along with maxi as he goes about teaching her (only if the lady of the castle is comfortable, of course, which she will be after a while cuz I said so).

The way your face lights up in awe and wonder whenever he performs a spell or summons fire from the tip of his fingertips. The very eyes that tend to glance at his lips, and he pretends he doesn't notice. Your hands that are a bit rough from washing clothes, helping in the kitchen, cold water stinging and numbing them when you scrub the castle floors, are the very hands he wants to hold, and sometimes late at night, he imagines them pulling and tugging at his hair as you lean against 'his' table or even the library wall, and fuck if he actually had enough room to use in his tower, he would, his mouth latched onto your clit and fingers pumping in and out of your sloppy cunt -

It's not very often he gets thoughts like that, but when he does, he gets harder than riftan gets with the knights and their training.

He doesn't comment on your efforts to keep the library tidy, organizing his books and research papers to where the place looks presentable, at least. But he shows his appreciation through small favors in return - helps you with the cleaning if times allows for it, showing you flashy yet small spells that don't affect the area or people around (riftan would quite literally kill him if they did), gulping down his embarrassment as he massages your shoulders, ignoring the way you were just a bit too squimish, or how flustered you would get but accept his offer regardless.

It's not even a sexual thing, it just makes him want to wrap his arms around you, take in your scent, confess and just enjoy a simple life with you -

It's not really possible. He's just incapable of showing clear romantic intentions and affections. He's not husband material and he doesn't want kids, and he's very iffy about weddings and marriage in general when it concerns him. Besides, he's older than you, and while age gaps are common, he thinks it'd be better if you were to settle down with someone your own age. Because someone your own age would understand you better, give you children, marry you without worry.

You deserve a loving, caring husband, one who would hug and kiss you, make love to you, respects you, who isn't afraid or uncomfortable with physical affection, and doesn't have a rather bad reputation around the castle because of his personality.

So, when your hands clutch at his shirt, tilting your chin up, mouth pressing against his, he should stop you. He should stop instead of loosely wrapping one arm around your waist, bringing you closer, moving his mouth against yours. He should stop instead of clumsily bumping teeth with you, humming in content as you sigh into the kiss.

He should stop instead of going in for another kiss once you part, finally understanding what makes riftan so crazy about physical affection.

He should stop, but he doesn't.

He can't nor does he want to.

[phoenix-manga]

Jinlong Esi

CV: Kawasumi Ayako

Biographical Information

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: July 27

Starsign: Leo

Height: 184 cm

Eye Color: Atlantis Green

Hair Color: Copper Rust & Gold

Professional Status

Dorm: Dragonstone

School Year: 3rd Year

Class: 3-B | Student no. 16

Occupation: Student | Dorm Leader

Club: Aviary Club

Best Subject: Magic History

Fun Facts

Favorite Food: Various Teas

Least Favorite Food: Porridge

Dislikes: Unorganized spaces

Hobby: Forging

Talents: Acrobatics

Idol Stats

Performance: Has excellent vocal range used for traditional songs and Chinese opera. Prefers to sing a story rather than just sing out her emotions.

Choreography: Mixes cultural dance with modern choreography. Sometimes incorporates fighting styles

Styling Jewel Outfits: Cultural | Cool | Gothic

Jinlong tends to try new things along with a sense of adventure, in which often gets her scolded by her father about how unladylike it was.

It doesn’t help that she was stubborn and she always ends up getting punished if she defies him. It took quite a lot of punishments for her to realize she had to keep everything she does a secret from almost all the men in her family.

Due to her unfavorable home life, Jinlong has developed a sharp tone towards the opposite gender. This may be judgmental on her part but growing up in a place where the men all think you should be placed in a box made her assume that she would be looked down upon even outside of the Valley of Clouds.

But she is much more toned down towards the girls. Although, she feels weirded out by the fact that there were girls who chose to embrace femininity.

After some time at DCA, Jinlong took a while to be a bit more accepting of the daintier girls and the fact that some women don’t like to be adventurous as her.

Jinlong was taught proper etiquette so much that it shows through her body language and habits. The lessons were hammered into her since childhood and are not easy to change.

Hometown: Valley of Clouds

Family Life

Jinlong grew up in a community where women are expected to be elegant and fragile. Their role in society was to be pretty and give birth to offspring. This kind of strict tradition was not for Jinlong, she’s been different from the other girls in the valley.

She wanted to do things that boys usually would, like climb trees and roughhouse. But her father would put a stop to her “outlandish” behavior by physical punishments such as kneeling on the floor for a few hours or being struck.

He even employed strict tutors to engrain etiquette into her. The tutors themselves were quite harsh and Jinlong couldn’t confide in anyone about her troubles.

Jinlong has 3 elder brothers and 2 younger brothers. The eldest often argues with her because he is the family’s golden child in terms of martial art strength and intelligence. He would agree with whatever father said, at times even using his strength to push his other siblings around to follow what he thinks is right for the family.

It didn’t help that when Jinlong snuck out, she was snitched on by most of her brothers. Especially the eldest brother who threatened the second eldest if he didn’t tell on her, but Jinlong didn’t blame the second eldest, Ying was scary strong that her father would probably take his side all the time.

She becomes less trusting of her brothers because she knows they’ll snitch on her, with the exception of the youngest and second eldest brother. She often ignores them and makes sure they don’t know what she’s doing behind her father’s back.

She started to keep secrets from her father, she sneaks out when no one was looking. She’s learned to memorize all their routines and is always back at the house on time and doesn’t look disheveled at all.

Jinlong’s mother tries to pretend she doesn’t notice her daughter doing what is considered to be “boy’s activity”. Knowing that it can be suffocating to constantly be told what to do.

Childhood Memories

Jinlong remembers the furious look on her father’s face the moment he saw her all muddied up and trying to play swords with boys. He harshly scolded her and ended up grounding her for weeks, she wasn’t allowed to play inside or outside the house and must be with an etiquette tutor. Ying taunted her for being so “unladylike” and even had the gall to try and rile her up to get her to act out and be punished some more.

One day, while out in town, she meets an old man who was known for being a lone wolf and is always cooped up in his smithy forge. Jinlong was curious and purposely let go of her mother’s hand while they were nearing a crowd to go see what he was doing.

She’s heard how this old man was rumored to be a warrior who fought in the Great War against the enemy who tried to invade the valley but not a lot would believe that rumor. Ever since that day, she secretly came to meet up with the old dragon and learned a lot from him. The most prominent skill he taught her were marital arts and blacksmithing.

As Jinlong grew up, she manages to perfect her skills in keeping up with her etiquette lessons as well as her secret training. Often times she is left alone by most of her brothers but she has also developed a hobby of nitpicking her eldest brother for every little mistake to try and knock him down a peg.

It’s petty of her to do so but she’s spent her life being told she can’t do this and that due to her gender, this was her way of getting back at him for telling her to stay in her “place”.

One day, the ivory carriage came to her house and everyone in the neighborhood was curious. Usually there were ebony carriages but here it was at her house, at first they thought it was from RSA until the coachman announced that Jinlong was chosen to attend.

The neighbors were happy for her but her father insisted that her education is perfectly fine at home. Of course, he had something to say! If it was the ebony carriage he’d had her brother’s packing already.

The carriage didn’t leave though, her father just had everyone stay in the house until it leaves. But Jinlong knew better, she had enough of this life and secretly packed all her things to leave for the academy.

She panicked when she heard her name being called, it was her mother. To her shock, she let her go and even covered for her. There, her mother confessed that she felt caged like her but there was nothing she could do for herself, but she didn’t want this life for Jinlong.

That night, she left the house for the academy, on her nightstand is her declaration of rebelling by leaving the floral pin that she was gifted by her father on her coming of age ceremony, as a way to tell him that she will no longer be told what to do by anyone.

 Jinlong is a 3rd Year Dragonstone student and is the current dorm leader.

At first, she wasn’t comfortable with other girls seeing as how most of them dress rather doll-like. But upon realizing that the pastel walls of the academy are merely aesthetic and that the education system allows for almost any field of study regardless of whether it was feminine or not, Jinlong loosened up and was able to embrace her athleticism.

Soon enough, she felt freer especially when she is allowed to go all out during her PE lessons. It felt refreshing to be praised instead of being chastised for it.

She slowly opened up and became a model student amongst the students who find her determination inspiring.

During magift tournaments, Jinlong is considered the ace player due to how she is able to come up with a plan on the spot. Sometimes even using her opponent’s strengths against them.

Though she had quite a hard time learning new subjects that are usually reserved for men, or were just not taught in the valley at all, she took the opportunity to focus and gain more knowledge than her brother ever could achieve back home.

She has high grades in most subjects, her performance in etiquette were also exceptional but she dislikes such class due to how she is reminded of the etiquette classes she took back home, even though this class wasn’t as restrictive. It just had too many rules and details to keep track of.

School Relationships

Jinlong would be often seen around Cerule, Rozeline, Evonie and Vidya. She’s felt really close with these girls throughout her school years of studying at DCA.

Cerule was the first mermaid she has met and Jinlong almost mistook her for a sea dragon when they saw each other. The two share sentiments of wanting freedom, though she does envy Cerule a little bit seeing as how her father was just worried about his daughter, something her own father reserved for the golden child.

Rozeline was a curios case for Jinlong, she can sense that she has tremendous power but for some reason she keeps it sealed away which cannot be healthy for her. Though she doesn’t pry since it would be too forward of her.

She admits that Rozeline has quite the extensive intellectual library and she would always consult her on historical objects. Jinlong appreciates the gift basket she gets from her on occasions. Her eyes were opened to the taste of foreign food that her father always thought wasn’t even worth tasting. He’s missing out on so much!

Evonie and Vidya are the girls she can admit would be worthy of becoming rivals with. Evonie was tenacious, though her determinations gets her to be a bit rash sometimes. But she’s got sprit!

Vidya was clever and will catch her off guard if she doesn’t pay close attention. She’s beaten her a few times during sparring matches.

The three started their friendship through rivalry but they do hang out when they aren’t sparring during PE. The three like to vent to each other about their issues whether it be about school or at home, they needed to vent their bottled up emotions.

Cinder has a fierce but clumsy personality. The fairy is strong, no doubt but she tends to trip over her own tail a few times. But this does allow Jinlong to let down her guard and enjoy life as it is. Cinder’s form is from Jinlong’s desire to live and laugh to her heart’s content.

Cinder, despite her clumsiness, has her wise moments too. She has lived for a long time after all, it wouldn’t be surprising if she spouts words of wisdom when it’s needed.

Rongyu

He is a Komodo dragon that Jinlong found in the wild, she begged her father to let her keep the little guy. Her mother managed to convince him by simply stating that Komodo dragons fit quite well with their dragon-like appearance and it technically follows the draconic image they have all over the valley.

Unlike normal humans who can have fatal injuries from the Komodo dragon’s saliva, Dragonkin are immune to poisons and fire. So, having Rongyu was not a problem.

Rongyu’s pampered life at the valley made him docile and have more refined tastes for culinary cuisine rather than just raw meat. He’s grateful for Jinlong and so he knows who she likes and dislikes, he often goes potty in Ying’s room and he can’t do anything about it because it plays dumb and does his “business” in places one wouldn’t notice.

People would just assume it was mold, painting Ying as someone who has a moldy room. Jinlong cackles internally at the sight of her brother gagging in disgust.

When Jinlong was away, Hou is the next person that Rongyu goes to. Hou always wanted a pet lizard, so getting to look after him for a while is always welcome.

Yinglong

He is a Holsteiner horse and Jinlong actually bought the horse from the stables. Horses aren’t kept in the Valley due to the steep terrain, she was curious about riding horses.

Yinglong used to trek through hills and rocky terrain. But Jinlong loves to use him in an obstacle course. With how fast and flexible he is, he can jump high enough.

Yinglong is a fan of gossip, anything he hears he wants to share with everyone. Better keep secrets away from this horse if you don’t want the stables getting noisy afterwards.

Her Unique Magic is called, “Gold Dragon Fire”, she can melt her target but not the surrounding area in gold fire. Recently, she’s learned to control her temperature and she would use this technique in smelting ores and fixing antiques that are made of minerals.

Magic usage is rather minimal outside of showing off in competitions or festivals compared to the Valley of Thorns.

Guang Esi

The father of the Esi family, he is a traditional man who will not tolerate breaking the concept of what he considers normal. He views the world outside of the Valley of Clouds as inferior and uncouth even if they had high standing. He shows favor for the eldest son, Ying and casually compares the other brothers to him.

Liling Esi

The mother who was engaged to Guang by her parents. She tries to stay out of his way and tries to live comfortably, but when Jinlong was born she realized that she didn’t want this life for her daughter. So, from behind the scenes, she helps keep Jinlong’s secret within her authority.

She was like Jinlong, a headstrong girl who was pushed into a box by rules and was forced to follow.

Ying Esi (26)

The firstborn son and the eldest sibling. A very strong martial artist who is prideful of his skills. He would remind Jinlong to know her place as a daughter of the household, he thinks that going against tradition is equivalent to bringing shame to the family.

While he wasn’t violent all the time, he does use a bit of force to get his point across, he injured the second eldest when he dared to raise his voice against him when he tried to stand up for Jinlong.

But despite his skill, he is rather immature where he will complain if he happened to lose fairly. Choosing to blame the opponent rather than reflect and be better.

He admires his father and would stick close to him rather than his mother.

Ushi Esi (24)

The second-born son. He doesn’t possess a slim yet muscular figure like the rest of his brothers, he is more buff and heavy with toned muscles. He works as an architect, building houses and fixing gardens.

He’s friendlier to Jinlong but is a bit of a coward when it comes to confronting Ying since he was injured by the eldest when he dared to go against him one time.

He has a soft side he hides away from his brothers and father, he wanted to make hairpins ever since he was young. He just finds the beauty of them so mesmerizing. He tends to stick closer to his mother because she was so understanding.

Gou Esi (20)

The third-born son. Although he is quite charming to the girls in his hometown, he is also a cunning lad. Jinlong doesn’t trust him since he’ll ask for favors in exchange for his silence.

He doesn’t pick sides but will take the opportunity to find entertainment even if it meant instigating drama. And Jinlong is careful not to let him catch wind of what she does in secret.

His flirtatious habits and penchant for causing drama stems from his insecurity for not meeting his father’s expectations. If he can’t get his approval, then he looks for it in women who easily give it to him.

Tuzi Esi (17)

The fourth son and fifth sibling. He is known for being quick on his feet. A bit of a troublemaker in the family, always running fast without a care in the world. He would skip out on lessons when he’s bored.

He is neutral with Jinlong and he thinks she’s boring so he barely interacts with her. Jinlong knows not to judge but she can’t help but be frustrated that he takes a lot of things for granted because he a boy, while she has limited options and her future is held in chains.

His unwillingness to cooperate with educators also stem from his father’s favoritism. If he can’t compare to Ying then why bother, was his reason.

Hou Esi (15)

The fifth son and sixth sibling. He spends his time reading books and holds discussions with his teachers about philosophy. He looks up to Jinlong when she took care of him while he was sick.

He decides to support Jinlong using his privileges to make sure that she no longer has to feel sad. He doesn’t care about his father since he was more of a momma’s boy. He plans on becoming a scholar instead and of what his father wants for him.

The character’s name, “Jinlong”, derives from the word “Golden Dragon” while the last name, “Esi” was taken from a name generator. It does not have a Chinese meaning tied to it. The artist took notes from Leona’s last name and named the character in a similar manner.

Jinlong is another fusion idea like Rozeline, she is both Mulan and Mushu.

Just like how Mushu is looked down upon by the ancestors, Jinlong is also looked down upon my most of the males in her family.

The names of her brothers derive from the temple guardians from the movie, the statues represent an animal guardian and the artist tried their best to figure out the names to fit the brothers. Some of them aren’t based on the statues due to how it didn’t sound right.

Ying – means “hero” but half is only used in the Chinese word “Yīngxióng”.

Ushi – means “cattle” in Japanese. The reason for Ushi’s name being Japanese just sounded better.

Tuzi – means “rabbit” in Chinese.

Gou – means “dog” in Chinese.

Hou – means “monkey” in Chinese.

[thebrawlerina]

Hello! Hope youre having a nice dayy, may I request some Draco hcs from you?

:3

MASTER OF THE STARR PARK, RULER OF THE WORLD! SAY DRACO!

Draco HC's

Draco's start at the park was actually as a member of staff in the Ruined Castle Courtyard (Ash and Grom's arena). He was one of the staff members meant to give the various arena's and park attractions more life by playing as characters/people who lived there, and Draco's role was to play a pretend knight.

He often brought his guitar along with him to work so he can play on his breaks. One day, he played a bit too loud in a not so private area, and whoops now hes got an audience. Being himself, he just continued to play and began to adlib a song about the Ruined Castle Courtyard by taking his usual talking lines and making it a song.

The park goers absolutely loved that and upper management heard about this knight-bard. They saw a lot of potential in making him a brawler since he already amassed a bit of a fan base and promoted him to being a Brawler.

He was originally supposed to stay in the Ruined Castle Courtyard and be considered part of Ash and Grom's trio, until someone had the brilliant idea to incorporate his heavy mental affinity into another location of the park.

Because of this, the park now has new lore for these places. The Mad-Evil Manor, was the reason that the Ruined Castle Courtyard looks the way it does, thus creating a new story for fans to get invested into.

Draco is extremely extroverted. He always tries to find a way and a reason to hang out with people, even they don't have any big plans to do anything.

That being said, his favorite things to do with people is anything involving music or storytelling. He loves having little jam sessions or kareoke with people, and hes actually fond of slam poetry and of silly little writing exercises. DND will always top his favorites however.

Draco has been playing Dungeons and Dragons ever since he was a little kid. He loves playing through campaigns, but finds the most amount of joy in being the dungeon master and making other people go through plot shenanigans.

He tends to be a pretty merciful DM, unless you challenge or annoy him too much, in which case he will make your character suffer while keeping everyone else somewhat safe from the retribution.

He has plenty of characters but his favorite one is a blatant self-insert thats a Bard and Barbarian multiclass. A Bardbarian if you will.

Draco is a dice fiend and he has a LOT of fun and pretty dice. Since becoming a Brawler, hes been trying to see which ones in his collection matches his Brawler friends the most. IF he doesnt have one, he'd probably buy some more.

Yes he is trying to get an official Draco dice set to be sold in the shop. Hes having some problems convincing the managers that it would be a good merch item and in trying to pick the perfect color scheme to represent himself, but by god hes gonna do it.

Draco made his original Mad-Evil costume himself. But the higher ups want him to wear something that wouldn't fall off and break in battle so they made him some fancy proper clothes based on his design. He is very stoked about that.

Draco is very proud of his long hair and its very clean despite its messy appearance. He doesn't really know how to style it though, so thats why its all flowy and loose. The most amount of styling he does for it would probably just be tying it in a low ponytail so he can get it out of his face.

Draco has several notebooks filled with cool quotes, story ideas, and little scenes which hes collected over the years and plans to use in a new story.

He plans on writing a book. But like all writers he struggles to get his ideas on a page. Hes just way better at telling a story than writing it.

Draco is pretty friendly with Poco and they like to jam sometimes and learn about each others techniques. Draco is also willing too help pick up some of the slack on the many many performances Poco has to do, which he is grateful for.

Draco was a bit upset at first that he wouldn't be in the same group as Ash or Grom, but thinks that this new deal is way better. None of them have any beef with each other so its all good.

[rainbowsky]

Anonymous asked: Hey Rainbow! I’m sorry to hear you are going through a rough time right now. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t mean anything bad from it. Genuinely curious… isn’t it wrong for us to think outside forces (i.e, so/os, mgmt) are forcing dd to do these things? As a turtle ofc it’s sad that they photoshopped that… but dd has always been someone who does what he wants to do. It just feels wrong to assume other people are making him do this.

First of all, you come across as an anti based on your entire ask, but I will address the part that I'm willing to.

This reflects poor reading comprehension. I never at any point said DD was 'forced' into anything. Of course we have to accept the likelihood that he agreed to the things we're seeing. But we also can't pretend that the forces at play (fan pressure, stakeholder pressure, industry pressures) have nothing to do with it. That would be a bizarre leap of logic to make, since those are the few things we actually have information on.

If we're really turtles, then we will of course reflect on all of the pressures that both GG and DD are under, and recognize those as real factors that are at play. If we're really turtles, we will of course consider the likelihood that GG and DD appreciate and value turtles and the support they give. They have repeatedly shown that through their behavior over the years.

So if we're really turtles, then we won't try to remove all BXG context from the situation and talk like an anti.

Yes, DD probably was in on the decisions that have been made, but his options are likely extremely limited at this point, and his hands are likely tied on certain fronts. It's also possible that he agreed to some things in a bargain to prevent others. We don't know.

He will also have been given a lot of advice through all of this, and some compelling points might have been made to support giving in to the fan demands. After all, he's about to go into promo for One and Only, and if his toxic solo fans (who are behaving like antis, frankly) are willing to boycott the YH concert - the only opportunity they'll likely have to see him perform live all year - then of course it only follows that they might be willing to boycott the film.

DD obviously wants to do films, so what choice does he really have, here? Any non-disingenuous person has to admit that these are all factors he will have had to consider, and if backers are nervous and starting to think of him as a risky prospect, he has absolutely no choice in the matter if he wants to continue to get film opportunities.

It's just like when he split with Nike and had to remove all the GG-related Nike posts from his account, including the sneakers and ice cream post. He would have agreed to that. He would have agreed to splitting with Nike, too, but let's not pretend it would have been easy for him, or that he would have done so eagerly and with enthusiasm.

I'm going to address an angle I haven't yet addressed, and that is the angle of how this all impacts DD's image among fans and passersby, because that is another factor in all of this.

Anyone who isn't a deeply brainwashed or dishonest BXG-anti knows that CQL is DD's most representative work to date, even now 4 years after airing. Unless you're trying to gaslight the world, it's plain and clear that CQL is an important work that has been central to his career success.

In those little bio tidbits on Weibo stars tend to pay homage to the moments in their career that 'made' them the star they are. It's customary for artists to honor those moments in that little bio, even decades later.

The removal of CQL from DD's bio isn't in keeping with that tradition. To some people it makes him look ungrateful and disrespectful.

Also, a dear friend pointed out that listing as 'representative works' a film that hasn't even aired or been evaluated by audiences - One and Only - is also strange in this context. It is a bit odd and comes across as premature to list it as a 'masterpiece' (because the phrasing is 'representative masterpieces' or something along those lines), and makes him look arrogant because of the phrasing.

It would have been better for him to remove 'representative masterpieces' entirely and just said, "Film actor, works including:" instead.

There are apparently also quite a few solos who are upset and disillusioned by DD's caving to the demands, and are voicing discontent on Weibo. In their eyes he's the guy who does what he wants and 'never backs down', and this has completely reconfigured their understanding of who he is as a person. They are unhappy about it.

Fans have unrealistic images and expectations of their idol, and getting upset when they don't meet those expectations is fairly common. Most of us can probably agree that's pretty messed up, but it is what it is. And that image issue only becomes worse, not better, when fans think he was the one who chose to cave to fan demands rather than being forced by management.

Point being, these are not 'neutral' choices. These choices have consequences, including consequences that weren't foreseen. That's the nature of decision making. But pretending the context doesn't exist doesn't serve any purpose but that of the antis. 👋🏻

It seems pretty clear he's giving in to solo demands. Those demands have been extremely aggressive for nearly a year now. The fact that he held out that long is information we should consider as well.

(This is in reference to a previous post.)

[honest-moth-of-silver-grove]

Hello!! i hope you’re having a good day!! I would like to ask for a BG3 matchup, please!! To make it easier for you, I’ve added anything that might be necessary here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-9dv4INxKsRYGLfZR22P7dUNY6gNqXnzEklxj_uxbhw/edit

A/N: Lol, I feel you w/ the undercut thing. If I let all my natural hair grow out, it would be its own situation every morning lol. Because you didn’t specify gender preference, I picked one male and female companion for you. 

For you, Google Doc Anon, I think you’d match best with Astarion (Male) and Lae'zel (Female)!

➶ Astarion is an independent person as well. Before he was turned he was a magistrate, a corrupt independent player who was very influential in getting what he wanted done. Of course, after being changed by Cazador, he lost all of his influence but managed to retain his aloofness and ambition. After getting a taste of freedom following 200 years of servitude, he’s insanely stubborn, and very vocal when it comes to voicing his displeasure about doing things. He makes it clear that he’s capable, but his capability is very intertwined with how much he wants to do something, similar to you. He finds such behavior to make sense and has absolutely no problems defending your thought process to anyone who complains. 

Granted, due to your shorter stature, he may not take you seriously upon first meeting you (he does make a fair amount of gnome jokes in game), but once he gets to know you, that all changes. He actually really likes your height difference because it makes him feel all the more  (dominant lol) in charge for once. And he loves, loves, loves your hair! He can’t see his hair in the mirror, but he likes to imagine it looks as cool as yours. He might even ask for your help dying his hair- of course, you’d have to try the colors first so he could see how they’d look on you before he’d dare try putting them on him, but that’s half the fun, right? 

Astarion enjoys the arts. Back as a magistrate, he’d frequent the theater and art shows, get the best-tailored clothes with the fanciest embroidery- anything that crossed art over with luxury, oh boy was he down. He wouldn’t ask you outright, he has his pride, but please please study him and draw him. He hasn’t seen his appearance in so long, and being able to see it through your gifted eyes would be such a marvelous treat. He trusts your craftsmanship 100%. 

And he understands your need for alone time. He, despite putting on a good show for everyone, is very drained after a day of ‘performing’. He needs time alone with you, just the two of you being quiet in order to recharge. He also tends to get a bit snippy when overwhelmed emotionally- which makes sense given his history. So don’t fret, he won’t take it personally if you yell or snap at him because you’re feeling overwhelmed so long as you don’t hold it against him when he occasionally does the same. 

And while he may be pompous at times, in most cases, it’s because he does have the skills to back it up. All the other times however, it’s good he has you to knock him down a peg, and get him to come back down to reality. You let him know he doesn't have to put on a show for you, he doesn't have to pretend. You love him just as he is. And he loves you just as you are. 

💥 Lae’zel is a great match for you because both of you are pragmatic, and disciplined people who do what it takes to accomplish their goals. As you said, you’re an INTP. INTPs tend to search for truth and accuracy, checking situations from multiple logical angles before proceeding. This is very much in tune with several Githyanki principles. However, unlike people who do not take you seriously due to your appearance, Lae’zel takes you as you are, at face value, so long as you’ve proven yourself worthy in your fields, your outer appearance is of no importance to her. 

She is much more focused on battle- the art of fighting. So she is very new to many of the artistic expressions you introduce her to. But if you put a lot of time and effort into your work, she appreciates it, not necessarily for how it turns out, but for the dedication you put into it. She also appreciates how instinctively smart you are. Intelligence is a sign of a worthy ally. 

She too, is not a fan of large groups, preferring to work by herself or with a few she really trusts. You, of course, are someone she trusts explicitly, so to have you around her doesn’t irritate her the way strangers do. In fact, she seeks out your company as a way to destress from the strife working with strangers causes her. 

She understands the need to separate work and social life now that she’s started developing a social life of her own. She respects your boundaries when you ask for time alone to work and does not worry about your loyalty or intentions. 

You are hers. You have said as much. And she is yours. She has said as much. No amount of time spent apart could possibly change that.

[canonicallysoulmates]

J2 Main Panel Nashcon 2022

The panel starts with some flirty!Jared saying 'you’re the only ten I see' to Jensen. x

Jared mentions that he’s heading to Australia, and Jensen says he’s looking forward to the holidays, that they have some fun plans, going to see some friends, and some family is visiting. 

For all, he pretends to not like Jared's dad jokes Jensen is the one who encourages him, telling Jared to tell the dad joke about math: He loves dad jokes but they’re kind of pun-y, English puns kind of make him numb but math puns make him number. Jared, honey, no.

The boys say I love you to each other 🥰

Question time! This fan has taken to asking men this question on dating sites and they say it tells them a lot about the guy, so Ryan Reynolds or Gosling? Jared is team Reynolds, Jensen is team Gosling. The reason why Jensen is team Gosling is that he thinks Reynolds is always funny, has an incredible wit and he thoroughly enjoys his work but Reynolds can’t do Lars and the Real Girl, he can’t do Crazy, Stupid, Love, or pull off those incredibly unique interesting character arcs that Gosling can; to him, Gosling has better range and he can also do funny and do it very well. Like La La Land, that's something he can’t see Reynolds doing, so from a performer standpoint, what he’s capable of and what he brings to entertainment Gosling has the deeper well of talent in his opinion.

Jared agrees that Gosling probably has more talent when it comes to acting but says Reynolds could beat the shit out of him, and Jensen is like don’t underestimate the little guy look at what Tom Hardy did in jujitsu. He also says Jared only likes Reynold's cause he’s taller 😂

Jared also says that when you go to give Gosling a hug his toothpick which is always in his mouth when he does any performance would poke you in the neck and hurt. So he’s going toothpick free.

Jensen asks the fan what the answers tell her and she replies that she has found that the men who pick Gosling tend to be more romantic - Jared, did you have to stroke Jensen's arm in such a way? - but the men who like Reynolds are very active and love pranks and being funny. x

On the Talking Dead, Christian Serratos, who played Rosita said she didn't want her character to survive, did Jensen feel the same about Dean and that’s why he wanted him to go out the way he did? Jensen replies he didn't want him to go out the way he did, that he thinks that’s been well documented.

That the difference between these shows is that the element of supernatural is much more heavily involved in SPN than TWD, they don’t have people coming back in their original form they come back looking slightly different so he feels like that kind of closure situation doesn’t necessarily exist for characters in SPN, and that whether he went out or didn’t go out either way that’s not really a closure situation. And he doesn’t know if he and Jared will ever really have closure on the show or characters because in his opinion it ain’t closed yet.

Jared asks if anybody would want to see him and Jensen play Sam and Dean together again and the crowd starts screaming and cheering. Jensen says they too would like that. x

What was their favorite milestone birthday? Or is there a milestone birthday that they are thinking about that they want to have something accomplished by then? Jensen says his 40th was definitely a big one cause he was like 'I don’t have the excuse of my 20s or 30s anymore I might have to actually act like an adult which I don’t know this adulting thing, do they know I’m just running around out there completely unsupervised?'. That 40 was pretty great and it was largely due to the festivities that occurred that D and friends put on, that it was a pretty special birthday.

And before that he would have to go back 19yrs to when he turned 21 and he got 21 shots on a serving tray, of assorted liquor, and he cleaned it up all 21, that he had a pitcher of water it was like a food challenge- he does admit that he did go to the bathroom and forced himself to get some of that out but then he had a few more beers, went home, brushed his teeth and went to bed cause he was 21 and his body was like 'we can handle it'. Says he can’t do three shots now he’d be face down on the floor but he will say that was a memorable birthday and it’s great when you can be with friends and family and do something that you never forget, and he hopes he has many more of those in the future.

Jared says he guesses similar, that for him he was always kind of the youngest guy in the room. He had 8 older cousins that they’d go to Christmas or 4th of July so he was the young kid, in GG he was 17 everyone else was older, in SPN he was 22 he was the youngest guy on set, now at 40 people are looking to him for the sage wisdom and he’s like oh gosh I’m the old guy now. But he’ll say this he thinks the best compliment he’s ever had in his life is from a friend of theirs who had been one of Jensen’s stunt doubles, Jessie Blue, who when spn was ending he, Jake Able, and Jessie went to do a class and as they were saying goodbye Jessie looked at Jared and said: "I can’t wait to know you when you’re 60". So as he’s aged over the past couple of years, he's gotten a different perspective or a little more hindsight than he had a decade or two ago so he can’t wait to turn 60. x

What is their fav impromptu or unscripted thing that happened throughout the show? Jared says Eye of the Tiger is hard to beat. That it’s too difficult for him to go and watch the barn scene. Same babe, same 😭

But that the barn scene wasn’t- Jensen and Jared didn’t say what was written on the page for Sam and Dean exactly, they instead found their own bits of how they say goodbye to them and how they let them say goodbye to each other appropriately, and he thinks that their writers understood. The people who were behind the scenes joined through the later seasons so he and Jensen just had more time with those characters so they just made it their own as much as possible because they couldn’t really run the scene. They found it impossible to stifle the emotion behind the words.

Jared also mentions the ep were Sam is possessed and hurts Dean and Dean punches Sam (Born Under a Bad Sign) that was them feeling like that would be Dean's reaction in that moment. But the barn stands out.

Jensen mentions there are a lot to choose from that they were able to make those characters as tailored to them as possible and the process of doing that allowed them to explore a wide array of emotions with the character and try on new things and saying it in a different way and relating to each other in a different way so they had a big playground and a big sandbox to play with and thankfully the writers and producers trusted them with those characters to let them do what felt natural and right.

That a lot of the unscripted stuff can be seen on the gag reel but a lot of stuff was also kept, things that felt natural that were not in the script and he’s sure some can probably pick those moments out. Like the son of a bitch with the lottery ticket that was not scripted and if you look closely you can see Jared look away cause he was laughing so hard. So there are little moments like that that you can find; he’s tried to do this in some other roles he’s done he’s gotten to play similarly as Soldier Boy and even as now Beau on Big Sky. He thinks he’s built a reputation of somebody who you can't write specifically for because he’s going to go rogue but let him go rouge you might get something. And he’ll get texts from his showrunner whose in the editing bay asking 'did you mean to do this?' and Jensen will be like 'I don’t know, probably' and the showrunner will tell him that it's great that they're using it and Jensen will just go 'okay' that sometimes he doesn't even remember doing it. But he thinks that's just doing what they did for so long and establishing a comfortability with being able to play and he thinks that's one of the things he loves most about doing what he does, is that every day he gets to get on the set and do something different and he gets to play with that and that's a lot of fun and very fulfilling. x

Austin is the home of a pun off, what topic would they use for pun slingers? Jared says he didn’t know that but he’s super into pun-ography. I can't decide whether I hate that or like it.

Anyways, neither of them knew about this pun competition but Jensen says he’s putting money on next year's new entry. Jensen asks the fan if she has a good pun for them and she does! She can’t wait for an earthquake to happen because she wants to go to where there’s a hole in the ground and throw some change in because she wants to be generous to a fault. That was good! 

Jared starts to say one but then says he forgot. Jensen says "speaking of cracked earth that shovel was a good invention huh what a groundbreaking invention that one." Then he says he’s entering the pun off next year. Jared does the boat pun, "I can row a boat. Canoe?" Then he starts to say one about his son and Jensen is so done 😂 Jared says his son asked him the other day if he could explain a solar eclipse to him and he told him no sun. I love the fact that Jensen tries so hard not to laugh and then breaks x

Has there ever been a time where they’re going about their day and they say or do something that they’re like wow that was Sam or that was Dean? Jared says, yes, all the time. He finds the argument interesting of did Jared become Sam or Sam become Jared or are they kind of fused to some degree but he thinks when his kids are going through certain scenarios or situations he tries to approach it like Sam. He tries to get outside of it and figure out what they might be feeling and why, almost investigatory; he thinks Sam and Dean try to figure out a puzzle and then approach it. He doesn’t know if it's who he is by nature and the writers wrote to that or if he learned it from Sam or if they learned it together but he feels like he tries very much to look at a topic or situation like he thinks Sam would.

Jensen says that he’s started jogging outside again, and he was out jogging like two weeks prior, and where he jogs it’s a two-lane jogging and bike path. And he’s cruising in the right lane and there’s a yellow line in the center dividing the two lanes, a couple bikes are passing him and it’s not very crowded so he pulls out his phone to find a playlist to listen to and he didn’t realize that he was kind of on the middle of the line and he looks up and there’s a cyclist, an older gentleman, heading his way but he’s like 30 yards away so Jensen gets back into his lane, and as the cyclist cruises by Jensen gives him a wave and the guy shouts at him "stay in your lane!". And Jensen says Dean Winchester came out of him so fast, he stopped, pulled out his headphones, and went "let’s go, old man! let’s go!" he was about to beat the crap out of him. And he doesn’t even know why it upset him so much, he has a pretty long fuse it takes quite a bit to get him to that point but not in that moment, Dean was locked and loaded and ready to go.

Jared says that on the plus side he's being safer that there was a lady in Austin who was jogging last week near the train tracks and the train came and it took off the left side of her body she’s all right now. This man. He told the story so seriously too all to make a pun.

Jared says he’s proud of that one then says that one of her legs did fall off so she changed her name to I lean and I swear it looks like he waits for Jensen to say the pun with him which Jensen reluctantly does. Jensen says Jared got in the car that morning and immediately started talking and from the first syllable out of his mouth, Jensen knew. x

If they could throw cold spaghetti at anyone who would it be? Doesn’t have to be malicious. Jensen says Richard Speight Jr. Jared says he would throw it at a chef who could heat it up so he could eat it. He would also throw it at somebody who is carnivore diet be like 'yeah, try some spaghetti'. That’s so random, my boy. x

The next one is not really a question it's letting them figure out how many times their characters have died. Also a lot of puns. x

What would they tackle if they ever decided to write? Jared says he has family friends with their kids who want to get into the industry, and he finds himself telling them stories about when he was starting or even now, and he would love to tell some stories about what his experience has been like because he thinks, and Jensen can vouch for this that it’s not as glorious as it looks, so he would love to let people know hey this is very fun right now but this was 15yrs of work to get to this place. Go with what you know he supposes, dealing with mental health too he would love to write about it but he doesn't have any answers for that he wouldn’t wanna give somebody advice his advice is to talk to a professional.

Jensen says he would probably write about the anxiety that fills him up due to this writing assignment. He is not good at it, never has been, he doesn’t seek to do it, and if he’s forced to do it he doesn’t like it. He saw something the other day, when you’re sitting bored on set you look on your phone, check email, and scroll through social media, and he keeps coming across these posts that are about how xyz react and one that stuck in his mind is one of how different generations react to bumping into a door jamb. Thinking about anxiety and how that’s not really a term that they had, it was something that was felt but there were no ways of coping with it or understanding it and it’s an interesting generation to be a part of where they learned to deal with it and move on so he thinks it would be interesting to see the juxtaposition with the other generations and how they deal with it given what we know now it might be interesting to dive in and learn about that and if he learned anything worth writing maybe he’d write about that. x

How do they feel about the way their characters and scenarios are interpreted differently by other people that might not be the way they see it? Jensen stands by his past comments that this is an art form that they get to do and luckily they have found an audience so they get to do it more but it is- he thinks early on he maybe took a little umbrage with what people were reading into maybe certain characteristics or certain storylines and then he realized it’s not up to him to tell others how to interpret what they want to interpret, or it’s not up to him to be disappointed if they’re not inspired by what he thought was inspiring or whatever it might be, and he realized, and he thinks they’ve talked about this, you don’t go into a gallery and have the artist standing next to you telling you what you need to see and if you don’t see it there’s something wrong. No, it is up to interpretation, and if it inspires you or makes you feel anything he thinks that's the whole point of art, it's the whole point of entertainment is to bring feeling and escapism. And feelings and connectivity all of that should be a part of it but they shouldn’t have to tell you that, that’s a gift they give and you get to enjoy it.

Jared agrees. He thinks the artist shouldn’t stand next to the painting in this proverbial situation but also the critic shouldn’t come in and go this is what this episode was about, this is what their relationship is about, this is what it means to me so this is what it needs to mean to all of you. It’s all incorrect, whether it’s art or life some people listen to Stairway to Heaven and think it’s about mortal coil that we live with and some think it's about LOTR and you’re like okay you’re both right but you shouldn't tell somebody else that they should think something about that because of what it means to you. And that’s great, it means to them what it means to them and that’s great.

That there’s objective and subjective so if you go to them and say 'hey Jensen, Jared, I just love the way y’all deal with aliens and their spaceships in supernatural' he’s gonna say they didn’t have any aliens and spaceships but if that’s what it means to you that’s great. He thinks that’s the wonderful part and why they’re there after so many years, it means something similar to a lot of us but it means something very unique to all of us as well; it means something different to him than it does Jensen even though they have such a shared experienced.

Jensen adds, no right answer no wrong answer. And Jared says it means to you what it means to you. x

If they could trade places with another celeb, besides the spn cast, who would it be? Jared says he thinks he would like to trade places with Elon Musk for a day inside his mind and then get the hell away from that, he just wants to know what that’s like and then get the hell away from whatever's going on.

Jensen says Harry Styles, who he had recently seen with his kids, that he has so much fun and gets to do it night after night after night for as long as he wants to but he wouldn’t want to be Harry all the time just when they’re on stage. He starts to say that he’s not a Harry Styles fan which makes Jared go "why not?" then says that he is now but it wasn’t because of his music. And I just love the way Jared says "it’s because he’s so cute" 💕

The reason Jensen is a fan is not because of his charm or his perfectly placed tattoos, it’s not any of that stuff it’s because of the light he emits on stage and gets filled up with his audience, it was such an incredible exchange of energy that he witnessed and he was like this guy is insanely entertaining and he is loving it. He’s not phoning it in or being there because it’s what he was paid to do he is up there because he absolutely 100% is loving every second of it. Jensen hopes we all get to feel like that, that was something really special that he got to witness. As a long-time Harry fan, it warms my heart that the boys have become fans of his 🥰

Last question! Do they trade with their siblings or have they seen their kids do it? Jared says during a con, they ended up somewhere and he hadn't packed clean undies so he asked Jensen and he still has it, it’s in his suitcase right now. Jared and Jensen share underwear, we been knew 😏 Jensen doesn’t think he has any kind of barter system with anybody. x

And with that we close off the last panel of 2022!

J2 Main Panel Nashcon 2022

[softguarnere]

Like A Girl (Like A Man)

Shifty Powers x OFC

Chapter 15: Something Like That

Summary: “There’s a girl?!” Skinny tries to swat him from across the table. “Powers, you’ve been holding out on me!”

A/N: I finally remembered to create an AO3 and post this fic there if you would like to read it on another platform!

Warnings: alcohol, language

Taglist: @latibvles @liebgotts-lovergirl @lieutenant-speirs @ithinkabouttzu @mrs-murder-daddy

England, 1944

They don’t leave England. Which is probably for the best, because as soon as they’re about to load the planes, Heffron – or Babe, as they’ve come to know him – freezes, staring up at the pin-up painted on it. Darling Doris seems like a bad omen, he tells them, considering that he just got a Dear John letter from a girl back home by the same name. Bill slaps him on the back and chirps a line about Babe never having to get inside Doris again. It quickly becomes the company’s new favorite joke.

They don’t jump. Veterans of Normandy don’t complain.

What they do instead is continue living while they can – some would argue that they manage to get a bit more restless with it, if that’s possible.

Bill tends to assign Zenie and Babe guard duty together. He always stops by to shoot the shit and laugh it up when he makes the rounds. He wouldn’t be laughing quite so hard if he knew that the two of them sometimes sneak away to go into town and hit the dance halls. Zenie can’t decide if he would be more upset about them shirking their duties or painting the town without him.

In the time they spend together, Zenie learns that Babe’s personality matches his bright Philly laugh. His wit is as quick as he himself is on his feet – Easy Company has a champion jitterbug dancer on their hands.

Babe falls into the chair beside her, breathless. His smile is wide as he picks up his drink and downs it. Then he lets out a breathless laugh and shakes his head. The band strikes up their next song and the pulse of the pub starts to beat again as dancers take to the floor. A few eyes are on Babe, wondering if he’s going to put them all to shame again. Zenie can’t decide if he doesn’t notice them or if he just doesn’t care. After that last dance, he looks beat.

“That was quite the performance.” The music is so loud that Zenie has to lean across the table to be heard.

Babe’s smile widens, if that’s possible. “Never know when the Airborne is going to be needed again. Gotta treat every one like it’s the last, ya know?” They have to live while they can. He leans in even further, like they’re sharing a secret. “Why don’t you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Dance! You’ve just been sittin’ here all night, watchin.’ What’s the point of sneakin’ out to have a good time if ya don’t?”

Coming from anyone else, it would probably sound judgmental. Or at least, Zenie would take it that way. From Babe, though . . . He just looks curious in that open way that he has about him. Like he doesn’t bother guarding his feelings and thoughts because he has no reason to hide them.

Zenie shrugs. “Guess there is no good reason.” Other than what would happen if she were found out. Or her previous experience with dance floors and parties; memories of that stupid Christmas party with everyone staring at her swirl in her mind. “I just . . . Oh, it’s so stupid. I don’t want to end up being the butt of the joke.”

One of Babe’s eyebrows shoots up. “Everyone here is havin’ a good time, though. And a coupla those girls three tables over have been starin’ atcha all night. You’re a paratrooper, Tommy. Ain’t nobody gonna mess with ya.”

She pretends to think about it. Then she actually does think about it. Everyone else is living while they can, and she’s not even living. Her whole life she’s wanted to be out there with everyone else – no longer stuck in the audience just watching the show. Besides, ever since the brothel she seems to have forgotten that to (almost) everyone else she is Tommy, and Tommy is a character that can be whoever the hell she wants him to be!

What had she decided on her way to Toccoa? Tommy Driver would be brave and friendly. As Matthew had once said to her “Zena McGlamery can’t deliver the lines because she’s afraid. But do you know who’s not afraid?” Except now instead of “the angel,” the answer is Tommy – who can be whatever she wants him to be.

Tommy Driver wouldn’t let a little romantic setback slow him down or send him into a slump. Tommy Driver would move on with his life and live it to the fullest while he could. Tommy Driver wouldn’t worry about being laughed at because he would be laughing along with whoever made the joke. Tommy Driver is his own person – his value is no longer dependent on other people’s perceptions.

“You know what? You’re right.” Zenie downs her drink and stands. Just for good measure, she throws Babe a cheeky wink before saddling up to one of the tables behind them and flashing the girls there a winning grin. She extends her hand to the one sitting closest to her – a brunette with bold lipstick that matches her dress. “Care to dance?”

As they head onto the dance floor, Zenie catches a glimpse of Babe back at the table. His mouth is open, but when he sees her looking, he laughs. Not at her. She laughs too. The girl that she’s asked to dance laughs, even though she wouldn’t get it.

They jump onto the dance floor, throwing themselves into the fray. The girl is quick, and with her eyeliner and with that look in her eyes, she reminds Zenie of a fox. Not one to be stopped from breaking into a chicken coop, but one that let’s you catch glimpses of it from the woods without ever getting close enough to catch it.

Zenie, however, feels like a bird as they fly through the dance, the ups and downs of the music carrying them to new heights. Colors and sounds blur around her as they dip and spin. Her cheeks hurt from grinning by the time the song ends. Her heart pounds in her chest as she applauds the band. Even after all those runs up Currahee, she finds herself utterly breathless, though in the best possible way. Everyone else was dancing, but she was just coming to life out there; remembering who she is and why she started this whole thing to begin with.

“You’ve been holding out on me!” Babe accuses when she weaves her way back to the table after a few more dances. “Too bad you ain’t a girl, or else we’d make one hell of a jitterbug team!”

Zenie accepts the drink he slides to her and rehydrates before she looks him dead in the eye and lies. “Yeah, too bad.”

When everyone at the table breaks into laughter over something Skinny says, Zenie accidentally catches Shifty’s eye from across the table. Something about his smile is a little sad. It tugs at her heart strings. Sometimes she catches herself thinking that if only they could go back to before the brothel . . . If only all of those I don’t wants were never spoken. Tommy may have gained a newfound confidence after that night of dancing at the pub, but something very distinctly Zenie still aches whenever she thinks about being alone with him – letting him drive the final nail into the coffin.

She and Babe have snuck out dancing several more times when Bill sticks them on guard duty. It’s not something that Zenie would ever have imagined herself doing, yet something about it is thrilling. Nothing spectacular happens. The nights and their events bleed together into one nondescript blur. All that really matters is that something about breaking the rules with Babe is freeing. He does things so effortlessly that you can’t help following along with him. He’s so much fun that you want to go where he goes.

Tonight she doesn’t follow him, though. The whole company has filed into the pub, wild and free, and Babe is engaged in a game of darts on the other side of the room with Luz, Toye, and Buck Compton. Bill is around somewhere.

Even though they’re spread out, something about the night reminds her of the one where her friends tried to gift her a pin-up of Beckie. Maybe it’s just because Shifty is watching her from across the table again. She tries not to think about that.

Skinny bumps his shoulder against hers. “What about you, Tommy?”

“Huh?”

He rolls his eyes. “Jesus, where’d you go? Webster said he was gonna finish college after the war. Muck said he was gonna get married lickity-split. And I’m gonna throw the homecoming party to end all parties. What about you?”

“Oh. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Don’t you think about it?”

Webster clears his throat. “It’s not the end of the world if he doesn’t know. It doesn’t always do well to dwell on an uncertain future.” He offers Zenie a reassuring smile. She returns it.

Every now and then someone brings up home and Zenie realizes that going back to her old life would mean something very different for her than it would for any of the men in her company. They would gain the freedom to go back to their lives, their family and friends, who will heap adoration on them for what they have done . . . And Zenie will have – ?

“I dunno.” She shrugs because she doesn’t. Tommy probably does. “I guess as soon as they announce it’s all over and done with, I’ll grab the prettiest girl, giver her a spin, and we’ll cut a rug to celebrate.”

From the other side of the table, Skip claps. “Now you’re talking!”

“What about you, Shifty?” Skinny asks.

The table falls quiet as they wait. Shifty takes a sip of his drink. Sets it down, studies the glass. A shy smile tugs at his lips.

“Ooooh! That means a girl!” Skip crows.

“There’s a girl?!” Skinny tries to swat him from across the table. “Powers, you’ve been holding out on me!”

Across the table, Webster catches her eye. He hasn’t spent a lot of time with their group – a positive for Zenie, because he’s mistaken her silence to be a reflection of his own confusion.

“Well now,” Shifty begins. He clears his throat, his smile faltering. “See, it’s complicated.” This earns more drawn out Oh!s from the other men. Zenie’s heart clenches, sputtering out a stunned response: Oh?

“There is – uh, was, I guess – a girl. The situation was unique, you know. Hard to navigate. Not a relationship, see, that could . . . I dunno the word. The war would have made things very complicated, it what I’m tryin’ to say.”

Webster leans in a bit, fully engrossed by the drama of the new group he’s sitting with. “Is she back in America? Or a nurse, or something, whose job took her far away?”

Shifty takes another sip of his drink, long and slow, making them wait. He runs his tongue over his teeth. “Something like that.”

Zenie is sitting across the table from him, yet the distance feels distorted. He’s simultaneously very close and very far away. What is he even saying? Knowing that he’s talking about her makes her heart pound, blood rushing in her ears the way that wind howls through the naked treetops on winter nights.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense,” Skip urges.

Shifty clears his throat. Is it Zenie’s imagination, or does he give her a quick glance before he stares back down at his drink. In the dim light of the pub, his cheeks tinge the slightest pink when he speaks.

“I’m hopin’ that maybe after the war that we can be together. As a proper couple. You know, like everyone else gets to be. I just hope –“ He cuts himself off.

At some point they all lean closer to hear him better. Blood still roars in Zenie’s ears. Maybe Shifty didn’t pause; maybe she’s so nervous that she just can’t hear him. Everything that he’s saying seems too good to be true. She wants to urge him on, but her breath is hitched in her throat.

“You hope what?” Webster prompts.

This time, Zenie doesn’t imagine Shifty’s glance. Because it’s not a glance – he looks her in the eye when he says, “I hope that she can forgive me for askin’ her –  makin’ her wait. And I hope that she’ll still feel somethin’ for me. I’ve been hopin’ to tell her that the first time that we’re alone together.”

Once again, the expert marksman’s words hit their mark with complete and utter accuracy. Zenie’s heart feels cold as all her adrenaline fades away with Shifty’s conclusion.

We can talk about this more another time, he had said that night in the brothel. I’ve been hopin’ to tell her that the first time that we’re alone together, he said tonight. And she wouldn’t let him get close to her unless other people were around.

But maybe if we – he had started to say before Earl fired his gun. I’m hopin’ that maybe after the war that we can be together. As a proper couple, he finished tonight. He was trying to ask her to wait. All of his I don’t want’s were leading up to something.

Well, they aren’t alone now. But he’s certainly told her. How can she even begin to respond? His words might have singlehandedly wiped away all the newfound confidence she gained while dancing a few nights before. Or does that confidence – that realization that her worth doesn’t rely on her relationship to others – make her doubtful of what he says?

No one else at the table seems to know how to respond either. Skinny reaches across the table to pat Shifty’s hand. He opens his mouth, only to be cut off by Smokey’s voice ringing out from the front of the room. A short round of applause and whooping follows before the room quiets down, leaving no room for anyone at their table to speak.

“He says he needs to make an announcement,” Smokey declares before stepping aside and giving First Sergeant Lipton a gentle push forward.

Lipton clears his throat. He’s somber, just like when came to tell the company that they were shipping out on the night that they met Babe.

“Whelp, I hate to break the mood here boys, but we’re moving out again.” He won’t meet their eyes. Then he exits the room, leaving a trail of silence in his wake.

No one speaks. Most people stay seated, and those who are standing shift from foot to foot, not wanting to take the first step and go. Zenie can’t move, can’t speak. She wants to move closer to Shifty and to ask him what all of that meant. He’s staring back across the table at her, stuck in the same dilemma.

Someone finally breaks the spell. People leave their drinks and grab their friends as they slowly migrate to the pub’s exit, the crowd a gentle murmur as they reluctantly move towards their fate. Skinny stands up and the rest of the men at the table follow his lead. He looks like he wants to say something, but Zenie beats him to the punch.

“I’m real sorry, Shifty.” Her own words surprise her. Shifty seems just as shocked. The others agree, and she hopes that he understands that her sorry is an apology for keeping him at a distance and not the obligatory sorry that the rest of their group offers him.

Webster pats the expert marksman on the shoulder. “Me, too. I hope it works out.”

Shifty nods. He throws another glance at her when he says, “Thanks. I do, too.”

Then they follow the rest of the company to the door. Zenie tries to fall back, hoping that Shifty will see her invitation and do the same, but they get pushed along with the throng of paratroopers, swept up in the tide that carries them back to their quarters, leaving them no chance to be alone.  

[vivithefolle]

Hello! I just wanted to pop by and say I’m sorry for spamming your blog with likes and reblogs the last couple days. I just was desperately looking for Ron content I hadn’t seen before and kinda fell in love with your blog (I also found you on Quora and love your answers there also)! I’d keep going back even further than I made it (sorry if that’s creepy) if I didn’t keep losing my spot and having to scroll all the way back to where I was (stupid phone). I want to be as bold as you are when it comes to defending Ron. He’s my hyperfixation and the way you passionately defend him is amazing. You take no shit and don’t let anyone make you feel bad for loving Ron. I love your fight back attitude because you’re right - Ron fans have spent decades fighting for our lives in this godforsaken fandom. Anyways, thank you for inspiring me to be loud and proud about defending Ron. It’s becoming a hobby of mine.

Don't be sorry! I'm glad you enjoyed my blog! Do keep in mind though that I've been... needlessly aggressive in the past, over sometimes misunderstandings. I can be much too angry, so... be careful. I tend to forget that behind the messages, there's another human being... ... a human being that's also a Ron-bashing asshole, yes, but a human being nonetheless.

Anyway yeah!! It's exhausting how much casual Ron-hate is still tossed around, and how even Romione shippers will call shitty toxic tropes "cute :)". Yeah sure, maybe Hermione saying "oh Ron you're MY idiot :)" was cute once. But when you've seen over a thousand fics where Hermione calls Ron "MY idiot :)" while Ron gets cruxified the SECOND he's upset at her, yeah that's not being a Ron fan, that's just being a Mary Suemione simp.

I should really finish my fanfictions, show an example of what kind of content I wish Romione could be. Enough of the bootlicking for Hermione, enough excuses for her, enough of thinking that her academic results are somehow proof of her being on another level of being. I hate that kind of thinking. People really have no idea what school does to kids, do they?

Other folks have talked about it before, and it's true, that a lot of Ron-hate is steeped in social issues. Classism, elitism, sexism, ableism, puritanical Calvinist bullshit from the USA's finest """Christians""". The notion of Ron being "useless" and how that means he shouldn't be friends with Harry and Hermione... like, my guy, you know that's the way Voldemort thinks right?

It's kind of astonishing how badly this fandom misses the point of the whole series (it's not like Rowling was being subtle about it!!), but then these are the idiots that worship Draco Malfoy and claim he was redeemed when his last action pre-Epilogue was to claim he was on the Death Eater's side. If that's the role model these folks want then no wonder they can't appreciate Ron: Ron actually recognized when he fucked up and actually apologized and tried to do better, while Draco was saying racial slurs and showed no remorse aside from that time he cried about how murdering people is hard. Of course the fandom of folks who believe that Harry should forgive Malfoy when Malfoy never apologized would assume that Ron is a bad guy: can you believe that Ron shows remorse? Remorse is for weak people. Only cool people don't have remorse, because that means they have nothing to regret. That's how it works right?

Anyway. The HP fandom sucks, it's a cesspool of bigoted jerks that like to pretend they're really progressive but are just a mirror of their much-loathed author whom they still worship through Hermione dearest. Rowling's books teach us that it's okay to impose your ideas onto the "lesser" peoples because it's for their own good, that a few performative words about how you think everyone is equal is enough to have you branded "tolerant" even your other behaviour is the polar opposite (see how Hermione will chide Ron for being "racist" towards giants when he points out that they're violent... only to be a quivering terrified mess in front of Grawp, yeah, I can smell the tolerance from here), and OF COURSE, that girly girls are dumb sluts here to steal yo man. Oh and also that the man is always to blame, and if he's feeling hurt by something, it's invalid unless he's an orphan.

This fandom sucks, but that's the only place where there's a tiny chance to find actually decent Ron content. Woe.