#because yeah I don't need to imply anything we know they're in love they always will be kthnx

[zepskies]

Omgosh I loveeee the imagines for Sam having a crush on deans gf!!! And the part 2 SO ANGSTY. And you write dean and readers interactions so well! (Feel free to ignore if you don't wanna do this) But I'm so curious to know how the conversation went between Dean and the reader after finding out! I just need to know how dean talks about the situation with them!! Anyway HAVE A GREAT DAY 🩷🩷

Hello my lovely anon!

I'm so glad you enjoyed those angsty little imagines. 😂 For those who don't know, they're referring to these:

You are Dean's one exception. (In which Sam is in love with Dean's girlfriend - and how Dean reacts.)

Sam crosses the line. (The sequel: Sam finally sees his chance with you after he's hit by a witch's spell.)

I tried to imply what followed between the reader and Dean after this section:

Your eyes widen further. You look from Sam, to your boyfriend. Dean's jaw is clenched tight.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?!" you ask in earnest.

Dean meets your gaze for a moment, his face tense. His reluctant eyes communicate to you things you never knew. Things that clog emotion in your throat.

But since you asked so nicely, this is my headcanon for that conversation between the reader and Dean (after Sam is knocked out by Rowena lol):

Of course, you would demand to know why Dean didn't tell you earlier.

Your heart and mind are a maelstrom of emotions: shock, not wanting to believe it's true, anger and hurt at both of these men for lying to you for so long about what's been going on.

Because a lie of omission is still a damn lie.

Dean is quiet at first, and you're forced to read into his silence. You peer at him closer, grabbing his wrist.

"Dean...did you really think it would change anything?" you ask incredulously.

His brows furrow. "No."

But you don't quite believe him.

"I just...didn't want you to have to deal with this shit, that's all," he eventually admits.

Your eyes narrow as you stare up at his face. You're trying to discern the truth.

"Is that really why?" you ask.

"Yeah, okay?" His voice is gruff and frustrated.

You move in closer, gripping the open edges of his plaid shirt. He knows what you're demanding in your gentle silence.

Don't lie to me.

Your hand reaches up to his cheek, a tender gesture that softens him. Your thumb brushes across his lower lip.

"Good," you reply. "Because if I have to remind you that I am entirely, undeniably, irrevocably in love with you, then I might just have to punish you."

A slow smirk spreads across your man's face.

"Oh yeah?" he says. His hands find your hips, drawing you closer. You're satisfied by the hint of doubt washing away from his demeanor. From his tight shoulders loosening.

"Just outta curiosity, what might that entail?" Dean asks.

Your lips curve. "Oh, you'll find out, after we fix your brother... Dean, I'll need to talk to him."

Dean's burgeoning good humor fades, but you take his face in both your hands and make sure he meets your gaze. You are firm in your convictions, and he sees that.

He nods in acceptance, before he dips down to press his lips to yours. It's gentle at first, but all too soon becomes claiming, born of hidden frustration and passion.

When he parts from you, it's slow, reluctant. His fingers draw a strand of hair behind your ear.

In his eyes, you see the true depths of him. Something not many people get to see.

It's there that you always know that you're loved.

I hope that satisfied you, my dear! 😘 I miiiiight do a more official 3rd part to this imagine-verse where Sam gets his happy ending (with Eileen).

Dean Winchester Imagines

Dean Winchester Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Dean W. Tag List:

@hobby27 @kazsrm67 @letheatheodore @agothwithheavysetmakeup @jacklesbrainworms @foxyjwls007 @wincastifer @iamsapphine @simpforbuckyb @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @roseblue373 @this-is-me19 @emily-winchester @spnexploration @deans-spinster-witch @deans-baby-momma @iprobablyshipit91

@melancholictearz @nic-kolas @katherineann83 @sleepyqueerenergy @wayward-lost-and-never-found @thewritersaddictions @just-levyy @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @deanwanddamons @antisocialcorrupt @lacilou @adoringanakin @theonlymaninthesky @teehxk @midnightmadwoman @brianochka @branj19

@agalliasi @venicesem @chriszgirl92 @lyarr24 @ladysparkles78 @solariklees @xsophianicolex @deansbbyx @candy-coated-misery0731 @curlycarley @sarahgracej @bagpussjocken @ultrahviolentart @chernayawidow @beskarfilms @mimaria420

[lemotmo]

Hulu comment. Let's all spiral with glee 😀

Q. We see you fan girling, Hulu! We see you!!

A. Haha, okay I received a ton of asks about this but I'm only going to post the one because you all get the gist of what the questions were like. Technically the Hulu account moderators, much like the 911 moderators, are employees of Disney, but usually moderators are given pretty free reign to post, comment, and 'like' as they please. As long as they're not being problematic or inappropriate. So I would caution that the comment doesn't necessarily mean anything. I will however say that the fact they felt comfortable enough to publicly comment on a video that is in direct contrast to the current canon probably doesn't bode well for said current canon. Because at minimum it's confirmation that there are no regulations in place for them to push the current canon. Which is probably not a good sign as far as anything long term goes. They would need to push it fairly hard to try and move the needle from an audience perspective so they would absolutely discourage Buddie encouragement. And that's clearly not a directive anyone has been given, so far anyway. We will probably get a clearer picture in the coming week or so. Embargos have to be close to being lifted, if they haven't already, which means we'll start to see more and more engagement from the media that covers the show.

I want to take a moment in this post to address several asks I received raging about how Buddie fans were the reason the show didn't release a full trailer. You all continue to prove you haven't been here longer than 80 something days. This is how the show always does things. They always start with a teaser. Last season was a hand on a ship rail, I believe. The season before that was the blimp. This has always been the way they do things. I know show history is irrelevant to you all but you should at least maybe Google something before jumping into blogs and raging.

Thank you so much Nonny!

Yep, I agree. Last season the show was heavily promoting Buddie. And it seems they have subtly began doing that again, while completely ignoring the canon relationship. But we do have to see if they will keep it up. I expect they will though.

This Hulu intern might just be a Buddie fan, but in the end they still commented using the Hulu account. They would have known it would be noticed and shared, but they still didn't delete it, which means that it was posted deliberately. They didn't just forgot to sign out of their professional account.

The comment talked about Buck deserving to be happy. Which basically implies that he isn't there yet right now. He still hasn't found his true happiness.

I realise that this is just a small thing and it might not mean anything, but to me it's definitely a subtle nod to signal that something has shifted.

And yeah, the promo always starts with a small teaser that has none of the characters. It has always been like this.

I do think that last year it was a hand on the round window of a ship, instead of on the railing. Do correct me if I'm wrong though. 😋

This has me excited though! I wonder what else they have in store for us this month. I'm looking forward to it! 😁

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[that-random-outsider]

Family line is so fucking Red coated istg

Credit for this entre thing is from @199DegreesOfGay on ao3 I completely agree with your statement so I'm breaking down the song.

This first line could honestly go two ways of course this line could obviously go for the Queen of Hearts but I like theorizing so I'll let you know when we get to a more speculatory party sound good? Okay, so yeah Bridget was obviously not a great mother in the original time line. She was likely extremely distant and cold, only ever fetching her when she needed to and even then it wouldn't be anything loving or caring, because "love ain't it" she'd probably treated Red with that mentality too. Never showing her any real affection or care unless it was out of anger or contempt. There's also one of her most iconic lines "I loose my temper you lose your head." The queen may be regal in this franchise but she's always been violent, and while we don't know if Red’s abuse was physical or emotiopnal (likely both honestly) I wouldn’t be surprised if she found other ways to blow off some steam

Okay now for the speculation we don't really get to see Red’s father, but I feel like people often tend to forget there was a King of Hearts at one point. Like I mentioned this before but I was watching a bunch of movies about Wonderland to understand Red better and in both iterations there was a King. Like I know there's a bunch of theories that Hook might be Red’s father but just for the sake of speculation. He was likely really weak from what I saw, and probably was a laughing stalk in the queen’s court if I'm being honest.

I'm not sure what his relationship with Red might have been like while he was around but he likely didn't stand up for her much in fear of the Queen of Hearts. He probably didn't say anything for the most part, but with silence comes resentment. I wouldn't be surprised if his anger slowly began to fester over the years after being looked down on for so long. And I also wouldn't be surprised if Bridget was once a witness to that anger and lost a temper of her own. In Alice in Wonderland 2010 the queen of hearts is implied to have chopped off the head of her king, and while the two queens are so vastly different in personality I honestly would not be surprised if that was one of their few similarities. But like I said this part is mostly all speculation.

Ignoring the part about the kids this is basically Bridget’s story in a nut shell. She took so much without so much as sheding a tear. Uliana and her gang ruined her life in so many ways so many times. She lost everything to them with a smile on her face, and even after that she never let herself crumble. When she was a kid she refused to let anyone see past her smile, and when she became the Queen of Hearts she swore off showing any signs of weakness. But no matter what stage of her life she was in I'm convinced not even Ella truly saw her tears.

I say they're just the ones who gave me life But I truly am my parents' child

THIS PART!!! This is what in my opinion RoR was really about after everything. It's about Red trying so hard to prove she's nothing like her mother, while only ever being allowed to see herself through the lens her mother forced upon her. Red wants so badly to believe that she could be good, that she is somehow worth saving but in her mind if she can't even see it herself how could anyone else?

She's in the constant limbo of trying to be her own person while also having given up on believing that she could ever be more than the queen of hearts daughter. You can see it in the way she belittles herself so casually in the movie. When she tells Maddox that she’s a lost cause, or how she doesn't argue when Chloe says she's just like her mother. It's her worst fear and only destiny, like she's just waiting for the moment she cracks just like her mother had. It's why she needed to believe that becoming the queen of hearts wasn't the only future for Bridget and herself.

Bro just this as a whole I feel like encapsulates Red’s relationship to the Queen before her and Chloe rewrote history. Like I touched on this in my night falls fanfic but I mean Bridget like canonically threatens Red throughout the movie. I feel like I remember it happening twice but don't quote me on that. I mean she never said anything specific but I doubt that when your mother say "get it right or I'll show you punishment" she'll let you off with a slap on the wrist, and I can't help but wonder how many times Red had forced herself to say whatever her mother wanted to hear to get out of said punishments. Or even worse, what she's forced herself to do to pacify her on angrier days.

Honestly aside from occasional snark we don't even see Red openly oppose her mother in the movie except for when she stages the coup or when she says "I don't want to be anything like you" but even then she was really cautious with her words and her timing when she said that. Hell her entire song about being a rebel, and not following her mother's command was sung in a mask and hood as she hid in the shadows, because yes while she really loves to rebel and she really does believe that what her mother is doing is wrong she truly is afraid of her mother.

To put it simply she'll always be the daughter of the queen of hearts, no matter how much of the time line gets destroyed she still watched that blood spill, and I can't imagine how much that hunts her most nights. (or could I? This is giving me ideas for angst but moving on)

It's hard to put it into words How the holidays will always hurt I watch the fathers with their little girls And wonder what I did to deserve this

I imagine that after the timeline is changed Red and Bridget start spending the holidays with the Charmings and I cand only imagine how much it probably hurt the first year because she could have had this. Watching Chloe and her family be so loving and sweet, seeing them care. Red never had that, she never got to wear cheesy matching sweaters, or watch corny movies with her parents, she never got to ignore her mom when she warned her the hot cocoa might be to hot to drink, or stay up late waiting for Santa to come. Except apparently she had because the life she remembered wasn't hers at all anymore and she hated it. Why didn't she get this timeline from the beginning? Why didn't she get this mom? Why didn't she get this life? Didn't she deserve it too?

How could you hurt a little kid? I can't forget, I can't forgive you 'Cause now I'm scared that everyone I love will leave me

Everything, every trauma she went though was real, the scars may have vanished from her skin but never from her heart. I can't imagine her ever seeing Bridget the way she is now completely as her mother, or at the very least not for a long time.

This woman even if it wasn't her technically, she hurt Red. And even now I feel she wouldn't be able to trust that she doesn't still has the compacity do so. She'll never truly be able to trust Bridget not in the way most daughter would at least. And I don't think those sixteen years will ever truly just go away. She's still slowly unlearning everything the Queen of Hearts taught her about love with Chloe's help and most likely keeps up walls around Bridget. She honestly probably terrifies her

Oh, all that I did to try to undo it All of my pain and all your excuses I was a kid but I wasn't clueless (Someone who loves you wouldn't do this)

When Red first meets Bridget I honestly can imagine her feeling betrayed. "Everything I do is for you" that's what the Red Queen said before she staged a coup and destroyed the one chance Red had at getting what she wanted more than anything. Her freedom. And she'd say that all the time too, "I just want the best for you" "this is for your own good" "you'll thank me when you're older" we're leaning into speculation territory a bit here but just bare with me. I couldn't help but notice this trend whenever I was watching Qoh scenes she truly believes that everything she does is to protect Red, to prepare her for how the world will beat her down by beating her down first. Or better yet teaching her to take over before it could even get the chance to.

In her mind it all about survival but with Bridget as her mom Red realizes just how much she was missing. She realized it was okay to care for someone you love. That it didn't make her weak and that her old mom never needed to be so cruel All of my past, I tried to erase it But now I see, would I even change it? Might share a face and share a last name, but (We are not the same)

Okay long one but pretty self explanatory right? More than anything Red wanted her mom to love her for who she is. Not as "the future queen of hearts" but as "Red" her daughter the one she was supposed to love unconditionally, the one who she was supposed to care for, and support without question. She used to dream of a mother like Bridget since she was a kid, but now that she has one she's realized that nothing's changed.

She's still terrified that she'll never be good enough for anyone.(especially Chloe) The coppery smell of blood still hunts the castle with it's stench. She still flinches any fear when her mother tries to give her a hug. Her mother might be different but her memories stayed the same. It was as if nothing changed at all. Even so, one good thing did come out of it. Because If they could change Bridget's fate, maybe there's a chance she could escape her own

[mike-haters-dni]

So while I'm Saying Shit, I also have a problem with this idea that El was upset that Mike wasn't saying I love you specifically because her love language is words of affirmation so she really needed to hear it? I mean, first of all I think the idea of love languages is mostly useful as a quick generalized way to discuss how we respond to and express affection—a messy nuanced human behavior thing that is hard to talk about, and the show is written with that nuance, but even then I don't think El particularly craves or requires words to feel loved anymore than anyone else does. I think in s4 she was really just confused about why her boyfriend was refusing to say the word 'love' under any circumstance to her? Especially after she heard him say it once already and then she said it back to his face in response so its like, he said he loves me before and I let him know I feel the same and now he won't say it again? Not even as a way to end letters—a normal thing people do for someone who means much less to them than she supposedly does to him sooooooooooo like what's the fucking deal? The contents of the letters sure implies he holds a lot of affection for her and he brings her flowers in her favorite colors and ok we're in love and then he signs 'from' on the card and its like ????? like even as the audience you're supposed to be confused lol like he clearly has some kind of hang up I wonder what it is? Then after El smashes a girl's face in she thinks "oh yeah, the hang up is that he actually hates me because I'm evil haha lemme just start projecting real quick" and then, you know, s4 happens. I mean, it's not like she doesn't value words at all, I just don't think her relationship to them is particularly tied to her trauma like people say, or if anything, maybe she values them less because that's all Brenner would ever give her? Like, perhaps the big Love Confession hits the hardest because it came after Mike and company spent a week or whatever driving across the entire western united states to save her from the government. Idk, something to chew on.

Honestly, if anyone's love language is words its Mike lmao he's the one whos constantly telling El how amazing she is. He's also desperately trying to tell her he loves her in like 5 scenes (arguably succeeding except for not saying the actual word in most of them) before he actually does like, he wants to so bad it almost comes spilling out of his mouth against his will (except for that one time it does ha) he's just terrified of doing so because it would essentially be ripping his entire beating heart out of his chest and handing it to this powerful-in-every-way girl on a silver platter for her to do whatever she wants with—like crushing it into a fine paste in front of his eyes, killing him instantly and preventing him from having the strength to love anything ever again. Like, the other half of the love language thing is that you also speak the love language, meaning you are more likely to show affection by doing the thing you want for other people, and Mike does this waaaaay more than El does for anyone actually (something I would love to see her do more in s5 lowkey. Like, she was at a severe disadvantage before and was too busy dealing with her own shit to have a ton of emotional energy for anyone else so it makes sense, but we're matured now. I think now is the time for a heart-to-heart that goes both ways u kno).

If I wanted to be cute, I could argue that both Mike and El's main love language is actually acts of service. They're both little heroes who jump at the chance to do anything for the people they love with no regard for their own personal wellbeing. Also, adorably, the thing that gets them back together in s3 is Mike saving El from Billy, which El responds to by helping him and Lucas with the vending machine. One offering of m&ms later and we're back baybee it's the quiet understanding that no matter what they'll always be there for each other for meeee

If I'm not being cute I'm saying the idea that everyone has a main 'love language' is bullshit and you're gonna appreciate different things at different times and people are not that easily categorized but it's still a good jumping off point for discussion so—

Anyway El saves the world and Mike saves her and they're dying in each other's arms thank you for your time <3

[bananamarshmallowz]

I'm here to talk about Destiel...

The internet is a very funny place.

If you're in need of a good laugh, go to your favorite series, show, films what have you and ask what are you unpopular opinions with _said show_.

I have watched dozens of shows and always think I might be the only one, post that and see what happens.

I am a shipper but I normally don't talk or boast about what/who I ship, it's not relevant and it can be weird. I don't ship actors/real humans, that's crossing lines. Characters however, yes. Anyway, I have to bring up this one. One comment said "Destiel shouldn't have happened." Okay, I get that, people can get weird about it. Then they go on to say how every shipper claws and digs for stuff that isn't there.

And again, I'm not saying some people don't dig but not all gay/LGBTQ+ representation is completely shown in media. Mentioned maybe here and there, sure. But there's endless cis-straight-relationship romance movies, romance themes and what have you. Some series make really bad portrayals and give gay people a bad rap because they're the only representation. And don't get me wrong, sometimes we do dig and claw because we feel what they portray, or at least we think so. But sometimes we don't need to dig.

That same thread added the random siren or even the policeman from yellow fever had more chemistry than Dean and Cas ever have. - Him looking at the soldier's ass in Time After Time while walking in the store. Yes, those were weird scenes, why were they even shown? Great question, I don't know I'm just here. - And as for they have no chemistry... They won best chemistry award for TV... It doesn't get better than that.

This is more of a rant than I want but this is certainly one of my favorite shows. And I feel the need to say what's on my mind because I know I can't afford therapy, so this is the next best thing.

Oh yeah before I start this, I have read numerous comments accusing all the actors of horrendous things... - Firstly, they all have kids, and wives and love their kids so much. I don't think they would do anything to jeopardize that. So stop making up messed up shit. - Secondly, I don't want to believe other people make other people uncomfortable for fun, but some people do. But considering that they acted for more than 8 years together, I'm pretty sure working with people that are cool for that long, they all had a strong bond. And all the times that Jensen looks uncomfortable whenever Misha goes into or talks about Destiel, it's because technically they're not even allowed to say anything about the show regarding shipping characters because anything could've been true, it could've not been. If every actor were able to spoil their movie, we'd be out of movies but we aren't. And Jensen is a rather shy individual, funny enough. At the beginning of Supernatural he was 27, and Jared was 23. When Misha joined when he was 34. They were and still are wholesome and great people. Regardless, All of them would pull pranks and stuff on the show, they're friends, not some messed up whatever someone said, I'm blown away that people would even imply some things. You can look up any video of everyone being close with one another from hugs to dancing, to singing to whatever. So don't say "read the room" when they're just being themselves, I shift a lot when in public, does that mean I'm constantly uncomfortable? No. - THIRDLY, they were all lowkey scared of certain parts of supernatural, in 2017 they did an interview with Entertainment Weekly {this one} and said what the scariest episodes or concepts were at the time for them. Jared's was changelings, shapeshifters, demons possessing people, things that could be real but possibly something posing as someone but something's off. Jensen's was people doing really messed up things and that it was the most realistic thing that could actually happen. Humans being psycho. And vintage dolls, lmao, same. And Misha said that everything could give him nightmares. He's so soft, any of it could give him nightmares. These guys are human. Not some terrible against religion people, they play on a show. Pure human. Just like everyone else.

ANYWAY, I think we all know the infamous eye sex scenes LMAO... if you haven't heard of them... {here's 10 minutes of them staring at each other} and that's not even all the seasons

They always look each other up and down and just stare at each other.

Above, Dean says "Cas, we talked about this. Personal space." and then Cas backs off. He doesn't know why, he just knows it makes Dean uncomfortable, so to make him more comfortable, he takes a few steps back. But Cas isn't aware of how complicated humans are. Personal space are just words, angels shouldn't care what humans have to say. They're so primal and they need more than just basic shelter and foods, they need the whole pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. He doesn't understand this until he goes through it himself, but we're getting slightly off topic. Sure, them continuing to stare could be just a funny little thing at the start... no. It still happens up to the last episodes.

This is the musical episode, Fanfiction, Season 10, Episode 5. Destiel, Samstiel and the most dreaded Sam/Dean are mentioned... They're brothers. As someone with siblings... gross.

"You can't spell subtext without S-E-X." Then Jensen gave this look to the camera, I think this is on behalf of many of the people on the show.

Below, they end a scene after talking but it's about 15 seconds of them just staring at each other then it ends. Personally, I'm not a big fan of eye contact, and try to make at least 5 or maybe 2 seconds of contact in between interacting with someone, anything more than 10 is past uncomfortable... I don't stare at anyone this long. Legit the scene is so long lmao

I don't remember the context on this but I just don't like eye contact. Both their eyes are gorgeous but I don't stare like this, especially with any of my siblings. When they have a hard time I hug them if they want a hug, talk to them, but I don't make eye contact like that.

I have never looked at my friends like this, not my best friends, certainly not my siblings. Someone I had a crush on, possibly.

Next, they are going in as Texas Rangers and Dean explains how to get Cas into character. "Yeah. Look, just act like you're from Tombstone, okay?" "The city?" "With Kurt Russell? I made you watch it." "Yeah, yeah. Yeah. The one with the guns and tuberculosis." [in a deep cowboy voice] "I'm your Huckleberry." [gulps] "Yeah, exactly.-"

I don't have anything other than I like that scene and how Cas says, "I'm your Huckleberry" :D

(SPOILERS AHEAD Whoops lol)

-

When Cas dies Dean tries to pray to God even though he swore off praying to God. One of the lines is "We've lost everything." Mary's gone, correct but everyone else is alive, except Cas. They still had the Bunker, Baby, Jack. Cas and Mary died (she fell through and there was no way to know she was alive.) But considering that Sam is still alive, the guy Dean has fought tooth and nail to save all these years, is standing by him, ready to fight what may come. But Cas is dead... Dean obliterates his hand from punching on a bathroom door. It's frankly the most punches he's made in a single scene I think and even then, God doesn't answer him so he begins to mourn. It creeps in that his friend is gone.

When Cas is being burned, at first it peers to Jack who sees the man who is supposed to be his father, not blood father but someone who promised to look out for him, someone he doesn't even know, he feels the loss but he's just been born and he never really met Cas.

Then we roll to Sam, he's lost a dear friend and is sad. He's wanting to cry and fidget and be sad.

THEN we roll to Dean. His face is drained of all emotion. He has lost his best friend. His dear companion and looks like he lost it all despite his brother being right next to him. He can't even move.

Now I would be sad if one of my brothers died but sadly I don't have that much of a connection with them as Dean and Cas have. And thankfully I haven't yet experienced one of my brothers pass on.

But I have lost a few lovers, and that... That is the face I have felt. When everything else feels irrelevant. You don't care about anything. You can't care about anything. You are numb.

-

And this all brings us to the finale.

Death is on her way, has them by their hearts, well Dean's in fact. They run/slowly walk over to Basement Storage Room 7B and Cas wards the room, slowing down Death on the other side.

This is the exact moment before he loses Cas for the last time. (I'm copying from the script on the Supernatural wiki, don't hate me, I watched it over and over too, and I've shortened Cas's monologue because I don't want to relive that heartbreak again lmao) But basically Cas realizes this is it, this is the happiest he has been. Everyone was alive and well, he has Dean alone at last. The last exchange they had was this: "You changed me, Dean." "Why does this sound like a goodbye? "Because it is." - "I love you."

"Don't do this, Cas." - "Cas..." "Goodbye, Dean." "What?"

Cas pushes Dean out of the way and gets taken by the Empty.

He has to process all these years of interactions with this awkward little man with sensible shoes in less than five minutes and it all crumbles.

Castiel is gone. And he's not coming back.

Sam keeps trying to call Dean but he's just getting Dean's voicemail and Dean isn't answering. He simply can't.

-

A few episodes later, Dean fucking dies. Just how he said he would, to a monster, like any other job. It felt rushed and I didn't like it.

But how they ended it could've been so much worse.

Dean makes it to heaven, expecting just memory lane, but Bobby's there and says Jack remade heaven new, everyone's together in heaven where they belong. He offers him a beer and tells him how different heaven is and how it's so much better.

Dean's sold, but it's missing something.

This is directly after Bobby tells Dean that Cas helped Jack rebuild heaven.

After that, he takes a drive as he waits out Sam's life. He meets Sam on the bridge and that's the end.

For years, Dean didn't have an obvious love interest, here and there a fling maybe but nothing romantic. All the soft scenes were pretty much between him and Cas.

Their bond isn't brotherly, it's very best friend-ish but lovers can be friends too.

And that's my review on Destiel and why it's a thing it's 4 am and I haven't slept well the past two days so what to do other than write about destiel

ok bye :]

[aroace-poly-show]

I couldn't stop thinking since your post about wxs parents, or more specifically the tenma parents, bc they actually interest me a lot

Because like, the tenma mom DOES actually come up sometimes in saki and tsukasa's side stories and an area conversation. And not just the fact she taught them to play piano, i mean more familial situations. She even appears by herself and it's usually when they're at the house and she seems really sweet and caring actually

And also whenever Tsukasa brings her up (which he seems to do more often than Saki? Or at least from the stories I've read, i might be wrong) he speaks of her in a way that seems quite fond and might imply that she is around at the house at least usually

In contrast, though, the tenma dad almost NEVER comes up. Like the only time I remember him being mentioned (that is NOT about tsukasa bringing up That Show they watched as kids or the family visiting saki at the hospital bc that's obvious they're there) was once in the hinamatsuri event about how he bought the doll stand and some helmet when they were little? smth about how he impulse buys things

And that was it. He didnt even appear

He's never actually appeared by himself at the house or any side story to my knowledge (do correct me if I'm wrong) and he doesn't SEEM to be around the house on a daily basis at all

Even in the past when tsukasa stayed at home alone it was tenmama he got calls from, at least the one they showed us

Tenpapa's job is also never mentioned unlike tenmama's. And like tenmas are implied to be at least somehow recognisable or respected of a family, or at the very least by people like the Aoyagis since they are always stated to hold them in such regard, but is it just about tenmama playing the piano? Or maybe there's smth more about the dad that we don't know?

He's just. Such an enigma. We barely have any crumbs. Even in that image of baby tenmas seeing a show for the first time from the beginning of wxs main story shows a little bit of tenmama, like we can see her hair and all, but we can only see tenpapa's hand

It's just... where is he?? At work? What does he do?? Why don't they talk about him that much??? Why won't they show him in side stories??? Am I reading too much into it???

He makes me so mad pls Sega tell me more about the tenma family im insane about them

ANYWAY sorry for writing almost an entire post in your asks it was supposed to be shorter but I accidentally spiralled deeper

Anyway tsukasa and saki definitely love their parents and at the very least the mom seems like a rly caring and overall present person in their lives. They never say anything bad about the dad either if they ever do. They seem like good parents overall. The whole tsks neglect thing, yes, of course it wasn't a good decision to leave him alone at home, but it doesn't make them bad. Tsukasa never even mentioned anything that could imply he holds it against them and ik he is stupidly forgiving sometimes and sometimes forgets about himself but still. You get me. Besides we don't really know the extent of it all so shsuhd

We just need more tenma lore dammit

do not apologize for long asks they make me very happy to read :3

i didn’t know all that abt tenmamom though!!! i practically never read side stories so. yeah no wonder i missed her fjbsjdbajdn

sega please give us more tenmadad content. or any at all really…..

and yeah!!! i can understand wanting angst but the tenmas are genuinely a happy family and they make me happy :3 i don’t think of his parents as bad even with tsukasa’s childhood bc like, it wasn’t something they wanted to do yk. doesn’t mean what happened with tsukasa wasn’t Bad ofc. either way i love the tenmas. sega can we get more tenma lore. please

[thesilverlady]

Judging by how Ryan love to show his feminist ideals by making female characters go through unspeakable amount of non-canon abuse and violence. And the only way for Rhaenyra's story to be a progressive/feminist tale is by making her get abused by the men around her. I am going to assume it's wouldn't be that far for Ryan to change Rhae's death and makes her gets raped in 4k scene by aegon (who should be disabled but we know Ryan loves to ignore source material) like show Rhaenyra's got zero respect from the writers. Like even her relationship with Daemon which wasn't healthy in the book to begin with , is now not really about her but because Daemon got the hots for Viserys (some leaks implies it for Aemma) he started projecting into her and entered a relationship with her bc it's the closest he can get to Visussy 🤓 f&b was already bad for me personally but Ryan is such a talented mf he managed to come up with much worse

*sorry for the rant I don't really ship daemrya but I really hate watching a female character get non-canon abuse just for the writers to prove a point about a male character *

Edit: My answer became very negative so for the pookies who want to avoid discourse and negativity pls scroll past ♥

it's alright! no need to apologize! 🫶

tbh with you I do enjoy daemyra very much in the book but I fully acknowledge their dynamic has its toxicity (tbf it's super rare to find a wholesome, sweet, "healthy" asoiaf couple and I probably wouldn't even get that hooked compared to how I get with the dark ones)

That being said, the couple lost me already by s1 ep4, so it terms of shipping I've given up waiting anything from them

Now about the writing, hotd has been misogynistic from the start so I'm not exactly waiting for a transformation to happen in s2.

in s1 Alicent’s character was rewritten - in such a way that the new version of her doesn't even experience a moment of happiness or a second of having autonomy or power. She's always someone's punching bag while also her being hypocritical and nasty to Rhaenyra

Laena's way of death was completely unnecessary and brutal, similiar to Aemma's. And the fact they made getting burnt alive being "a dragon rider's death" already gave a hint about how Rhaenyra's death will be seen if it follows canon.

asoiaf established how brutal dragon fire is when Rhaegal bathed Quentyn after he tried to tame Viserion. It's not "honorable" as hotd tries to make it be, it's torturous. And my concern with Rhaenyra's death is that it won't be seen for its brutality.

To continue Baela & Rhaena were barely given any lines, their role as kids was getting dismissed but their dad and as adults they were just standing silently - you'd think they were background characters.

Mysaria's character was brushed off by erasing the child loss she went through due to Viserys - which debatably worked as a trigger for the events she also did in the plot.

Rhaenys was downright written as an idiot who was envious of Rhaenyra and instead of supporting her, she was trying to "humble" her by being an asshole. When she got the opportunity to destroy the greens during the coronation she walked away because.... *check notes" she made eye contact with alicent and the power of motherhood won? her granddaughters being engaged wasn't enough for her to act I guess.

Then there's Helaena, who while she did have an extremely tiny role in the book, it doesn't justify making her extra passive. I've talked about this before but making her having "dragon dreams" is useless and a waste of time and it's also a great excuse to have her be dismissed and ignored.

Helaena in the book was said to be pleasant, motherly, patient and calm. I won't mention the leaks I've read about b&c but if they're true they paint her in a very weird light.

Rhaenyra deserves an entire post of her own. If alicent was the punching bad Rhaenyra is the bing bong boll being tosses from one person to another each second.

So yeah, the issue isn't about shipping or even which teams anyone sides with. The writing is atrocious to all the female characters, and what's the cherry on top is the showrunners constantly patting themselves in the back for being "feminist" and GA falls for it!

I'm so burnt out 😩 This is why I've decided to attempt turn off the media analysis for the show 'cause it's like kicking a dead horse. My goal for this season is to try to vent less and enjoy whatever I can put of context without thinking too hard about it.

[dinosquad-central]

Alright, after running this blog for over a year I've decided to make an actual pinned post—complete with a guide to my tagging system.

First off, who am I?

I am the sole moderator of dinosquad-central, obviously. You may call me Dino Mod, and I use any pronouns, including neopronouns that do not begin with x or z.

My Favorite characters are Caruso and Buzz. I don't actually know that much about dinosaurs in general; I just think they're neat. I'm the event coordinator on the Dino Squad discord server. And I love getting asks! (Although sometimes it takes me a day or two to answer them)

I tag posts with #dino mod to indicate that they are either original posts from me, or things I've reblogged wherein I added something to the body of the post, rather than just the tags. So if you want to browse my thoughts on the show, that's the tag to do it.

Now that you know who I am, what's Dino Squad and where can you watch it?

Dino Squad is a 2007 cartoon about five teenagers who can turn into dinosaurs, and you can watch it for free on YouTube. The first episode is called "The Beginning", but the series is episodic, so the order you watch doesn't really matter after that. If you want to watch in in order, there's an episode list on IMDB.

In the immortal words of my original pinned post, reblogged from @/deerlyloved: "Dinosquad is so bad please watch it forever 😌"

If you already know Dino Squad and want to hang out with other fans, we have a discord server! Anyone is welcome to join.

Is there anything else you should know?

Yeah, a couple of things, actually. But this is already getting long, so I'll continue under the readmore.

Firstly, I need to give credit where credit is due, and make sure y'all know that the person who made the banner I use for this blog, which is also the quintessential "there's like five of us" dinosquad fandom meme, is @scoutbot. Everyone say "thank you, scoutbot!"

My profile pic, on the other hand, is lifted from official Dino Squad promotional material, but if anyone wants to draw me a new one, I'd be willing to trade you a fic for it—DM me if interested.

Secondly, there's one type of tag I don’t list in the tag guide, and that's the type I use to fawn all over everybody's Dino Squad posts. In such a small fandom, every time someone makes something new for it, they do so knowing it won't get much engagement, so I want to make sure they get at least one person who with enthusiastically give a kind, thoughtful, personalized comment on their post. Creating for a small fandom can feel thankless, but I want to mitigate that as much as possible by saying thank you thank you thank you for hanging out with us and participating in our fandom.

I'll mention it a few times in this post, but as long as you tag a post with #dino squad (as one word or two) I am basically guaranteed to see it, and I'll reblog almost anything in this fandom. So if you want more of the stuff you like, I strongly encourage you to create it! I love to see new takes and new faces in this fandom, and I will always lift you up.

I think that’s it.

Wait, didn't I say something about a tagging guide?

Buckle in, because my tagging system is extensive and thorough.

Lets start with Basic Tags.

Every post about the show (which is 99% of what I post, since this is a Dino Squad blog) is tagged with both #dino squad (two words) and #dinosquad (one word).

In most other tags that feature the name of the show, I use the one word version, for consistency. More on that later.

Posts that are not about the show, usually either dinosaur/paleontology related posts, or occasionally technical information about this blog itself, are tagged with #not dinosquad. For cool dino fun facts and art, this is the tag to explore.

Every post on this blog contains at least one of these tags.

Next, how about some Character Tags.

Whenever a character is mentioned or very strongly implied in a post, I tag it with their full name, similar to AO3's character tags. You can follow any of these links to read every post featuring that character.

#Victor Veloci—That's his name, don't wear it out!

#Joanne Moynihan—AKA Ms. Moynihan, beloved mentor of the squad

#Rolf Maxwell—AKA Max, the squad's fearless leader

#Fiona Flagstaff—The Girl™

#Rodger Blair—Smartest kid in school

#Neil Buzzmati—AKA Buzz, the one who likes "punk stuff"

#Erwin Caruso—Yeah, his first name is Erwin

#Peter (Veloci's Assistant)—Remember him? Appears once in the first episode and never again?

#Rump (dinosquad)—The squad's pet dino-dog

#Liam (dinosquad)—Fan favorite autistic character

#Terri Flagstaff—Fiona's sister

#Winifred the Snake—Buzz's pet python

Obviously, some of these characters are going to have more posts in their tag than others, simply because people like and post about some characters more than others. If you want more post about your favorite character, Make Them. As long as you tag your posts with the fandom, I can basically guarantee I'll find them and reblog them to this blog.

That's not all, though, because there are also a lot of original fandom characters, and I tag for those, too.

If you want to see all of them, I use the tag #dinosquad oc on every post that features one, but I also tag them with the OC's name, in case you're curious about a specific one.

#Vega Veloci—Teenage transfem lesbian clone of Victor Veloci, created by @prometheus-adam

#Violette Veloci—Another female teenage clone of Vitor Veloci (though which one of them is trans is left to interpretation), created by @ufolvr

#Valentino Veloci—Male teenage clone of Victor Veloci, created by @al-gay-tor

#Iggy and Chloe—A pair of OCs by @musekicker who will be given individual tags when they have full names

#Gyrian Maelstrom—Buzz's dad who works for RaptorDyne and is also a dinosaur, created by @ufolvr

#Moss 'Rat King'—RaptorDyne employee self-insert, created by @hotratking5592

#Thysbe Ginko—RaptorDyne employee favored by Victor Veloci, created by @boysiinberry

#Miss Disma and Mouche—Head of PR at Raptordyne and her assistant, created by @boysiinberry

#Kalyeen—Raptordyne grunt, created by @boysiinberry

A lot of people seem to think that Veloci would be into cloning—can't say I would argue with them lol. On the discord server, people have shared way more OCs than this, but I can only reblog the ones that get posted about on tumblr. I anticipate this list will grow.

Ship Tags are a subset of character tags

Like with characters, if a ship is explicitly mentioned or strongly implied in a post, I will tag it with a ship tag in the format of characterA x characterB where A is the character whose surname comes first alphabetically. Posts about ships are also tagged with #Shipping.

#Rodger x Max—Those who like this ship often cite S1E2 "Growth Potential" as one reason

#Buzz x Caruso—Those who like this ship have cited S1E12 "Not so Great Outdoors" as one reason

#Moynihan x Veloci—A ship that is much more popular on the discord server than on tumblr

#Peter x Veloci—Remember Peter? Appears once in the first episode and then never again?

#Fiona x Vega—Ship between Fiona and @prometheus-adam's OC, Vega Veloci

#Caruso x Max—Those who like this ship have cited S2E10 "Scents and Scents Ability" as one reason

#Ginko x Veloci—Ship between Victor Veloci and @boysiinberry's OC, Thysbe Ginko

Most of the ship tags are pretty lightly populated, some only have one post. Suffice it to say, shippers are a minority in this fandom, but I still dutifully tag ships when they appear. If you want to see more of your fave ships, or have an idea for a ship not on this list, Create for it! I will happily reblog any ship for this fandom.

Now, let me tell you about my Categorical Tags

If you're looking for a specific type of post, for example, if you just want to scroll through all the headcanon posts, or all the fanart, that's what the categorical tags are for. These tags are usually accompanied by the word 'dinosquad' somewhere in there, and many of them are listed as featured tags on this blog as well.

#Ask—Someone sent me an ask to which I decided to post a public reply

#Character Analysis—These posts will always be tagged with the character being analyzed as well

#Crossover—These posts will always be tagged with both the other fandom in the crossover, and the primary character(s) from the other fandom that feature in the crossover

#Dinosquad AU—Posts about the Dino Squad characters or concepts in an alternate universe, whether it's completely different, or just minor canon divergence

#Dinosquad Fanart—Also tagged with #art and #fanart, in addition to the fandom specific tag

#Dinosquad Fic—Fan writing, typically, but not always, in the form of a link to Archive of Our Own

#Dinosquad Headcanons—Posts containing either a single headcanon, or a list of headcanons regarding the characters or world of the show

#Dinosquad Meta—Posts about the technical aspects of the show, like animation or writing, as opposed to the plot/characters/etc.

#Dinosquad Theory—Theories about the show, both in regard to the plot/characters, and the production (but usually the former)

#Episode Review—Posts in which a specific episode of the show is being analyzed, summarized, or otherwise reviewed

#Incorrect Dinosquad—Also tagged with #incorrect quotes, in addition to the fandom specific tag

#Poll—Posts that have at least one poll in them

#Prompt—Idea(s) meant to inspire the creativity of the members of this fandom. General prompts are distinct from the Dinosquad Monthly Prompts in that anyone can post them at any time. (more on the monthly prompts later)

#Rereblog—Posts that have been on this blog before but I'm reblogging again, either because something new has been added to them, or because there was nothing new for me to post, so I picked some old favorites to pad my queue. This tag stands in the place of all the things I originally tagged the post with, so when I use it I'll only add tags that apply to the new reblog

Most of these tags are self explanatory. Many have sub-categorical tags, which I've included either in the descriptions above, or in the Content Tags section.

After that come the Content Tags

Content tags tell you what's in the post, aside from characters, obviously.

#From the Dinosquad Discord Server—Posts containing content which was screen-shot or copy/pasted from the fandom discord server

#Dinosquad Monthly Prompt—The monthly prompts are part of an ongoing, year-round event hosted by the fandom discord server. Posts in this tag include not only the monthly prompts themselves, but also art and fic created to fill the monthly prompt. Members of the fandom server can DM me on discord to suggest prompts.

#Dinosquad Secret Santa 2022—We did a fandom holiday gift exchange in 2022 and posts with this tags are the gifts created for it

#Digital Art and #Traditional Art—Two self-explanatory sub-categorical tags for Dino Squad fanart

#Feathered Dino Forms—Posts wherein the characters' dino forms are described as or drawn having feathers

#Overheard at RaptorDyne—Posts about working at RaptorDyne, mostly incorrect quotes.

#Max Gets No Respect—Posts about the squad disrespecting Max, also mostly incorrect quotes

#Morally Gray Ms. Moynihan—Posts talking about the possibility of Ms. Moynihan keeping the kids dinosaurs on purpose, or similar theories/headcanons/AUs/etc.

#Trans Buzz—Posts regarding the popular headcanon that Buzz is a trans man

#LGBT+—Posts containing queer content, such as sexuality/gender identity headcanons for characters

#Trans—Same as above, but for specifically trans-related content

#Screencaps—Posts containing screen captures from the show

#Memes—Posts containing memes either related to the show or otherwise

There are probably a few more character-specific ones that I have forgotten, but I'll keep updating this tag guide continually as needed.

There is no #Gay Caruso tag because... well... Caruso. That would be every post about him lol. Maybe one day I'll go through his character tag and add it to every post where it's relevant but it'll have to wait until I'm really, really bored.

Lastly, I have Warning Tags

I don't really have warning tags for things that were in the show, like I'm not gonna have a warning tag for sharp teeth or carnivorous eating habits, because... well... it's a show about dinosaurs. If you had a problem with that kind of thing, you probably wouldn't be here. I also won't use the CW tags for passing mentions—my thinking is that if something's not really in the post I don't really need to tag for it.

#Cursing—I know most people don't have a problem with explicit language, but this blog is technically for a kids' show, so there it is

#Blood CW—For posts containing depictions or descriptions of blood

#Injury CW—For posts containing depictions or descriptions of one or more injuries

#Death CW—For posts containing depictions or descriptions of death

#Body Horror—For posts containing depictions or descriptions of body horror (excluding dinosaur tranformations)

#Long Post—For posts that are more than two screen-lengths on mobile. I will not tag something as a long post if it has a readmore, unless the part before the readmore is longer than 2 screen-lengths.

If there is anything not on this list you would like me to have a warning tag for, or if there's a post you think should have one of these warnings, but I forgot to add it, just shoot me a DM, or an ask, and 99% of the time, I will gladly add a warning tag.

Well done making it to the end! GOOooo GO DINO!

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

Mahiru T1 Cover - Psychogram

Here's your pal back again with another cover analysis! Am I getting annoying yet? Mahiru time let's go! Psychogram's a cool song, really unique sounding! And, because Mahiru actually has a lover to sing this to, it makes it easier to connect the song to her!

... We just, you know, have to make sure we don't accidentally make her sound like an irredeemabe insane person. I swear it's not as bad as it looks, believe me, please-

CW Murder and mentioned suicide, abusive and toxic relationships.

So... Psychogram is about a girl who fits the 'yandere' trope, I don't think there's a better way to put it.

I love you so much You're too wonderful, I don't want to let anyone else have you Hey, if not me, who would you choose? Come on, don't be scared It's just a fable, a what-if If you won't answer, then I don't need you

I've had enough of apologies Just keep smiling like that forever Don't make me worry; this hard goodbye Will never happen again I love you so much I dreamed of being together, just the two of us Don't run away anymore, I'll protect you I'll toy with all the things that get in our way, One after another It's all for you, I don't need anyone else

(Translation)

"Toying with the things that get in our way" may sound weird, possibly due to translation issues, but essentially it means she will easily deal with anything standing in the way of 'their' love, as if they're just playthings.

The word 'psychogram' doesn't really have a consistent definition, but the most applicable is that it's something which describes the mental functioning of an individual. It's used two times in the song.

It was always going to end this way Is your color changing because I touched you? From your open mouth, a face appears A sweet, sweet psychogram

The first verse has the singer claiming she can see her love interest's 'psychogram' just from their words ("open mouth"), in other words, believing she always understood her partner's emotions perfectly or something along those lines. That's why "it was always going to end this way", because "their color changed when the protagonist touched them", which I believe would imply blushing. Basically, she thinks her interest has always been in love with her.

It's so heavy, it gives me a shock Come on, tie me up tightly You'd better eat every last bite Of the sweet, sweet psychogram

The other case has the singer offering her partner her own psychogram to 'eat', meaning she wants them to accept her as she is. And I'm choosing to strategically ignore the "tie me up tightly" line.

And just in case you're worried I'm reading the lyrics uncharitably, the song ends with the singer killing the other.

I love you so much You're too wonderful, I don't want to let anyone else have you Hey, if not me, who would you choose? Come on, don't be scared It's just a fable, a what-if You won't answer, huh? You're disgusting Come on, don't be scared I'll never let you go

So, uh. Yeah, that's the basic premise of the song. Which is, uh... not a great look for Mahiru, gotta say. I see why the "yandere" interpretation of Ai Nan Desu Yo was so popular in Trial 1.

In any case, what's important to take away from Psychogram in relation to Mahiru aren't the actions the protagonist takes, but rather the feelings they have for their love interest. Going line by line, we first have the idea it was always meant to be and wanting to fully understand their lover, their 'psychogram':

It was always going to end this way [1] Is your color changing because I touched you? From your open mouth, a face appears A sweet, sweet psychogram [2]

[1] [Love is (Un)Dead] (T2 VD) Mahiru: I thought it was fate. He said it was, too.

[2] [Ai Nan Desu Yo] This is a claim of responsibility From the two of us with matching love Wanting to know everything about you, but wanting to die because it can't come true It's all because of love

The relationship is tumultuous and the love is too much.

"What is that face you've never shown to me?" Hey, let's make it sting "When will you give in and be my friend?" Hey, let's make it sting [1] There's nothing here but foul words They swallowed me up I get it, I get it I agree, there was enough love in the first place [2]

[1] [Ai Nan Desu Yo] We fought sometimes, I was happy to get hurt Let's have matching pain, this sickness is pretty bad

[2] [I Love You] My love, it scored an own goal, destroyed my love and me with its weight

Overwhelming love which is scary or inconvenient for the partner (please ignore the murderous undertones in Psychogram)

I love you so much You're too wonderful, I don't want to let anyone else have you Hey, if not me, who would you choose? Come on, don't be scared It's just a fable, a what-if If you won't answer, then I don't need you

[I Love You] This can’t go on, something’s got to give, I even love saying the words, “I love you” My emotions are out of control, that’s inconvenient? I don’t care!

Wanting to be accepted fully as they are.

It's so heavy, it gives me a shock Come on, tie me up tightly You'd better eat every last bite Of the sweet, sweet psychogram

[I Love You] It’s ok for everyone else but not for me Unfair and stuck between in love and love Kiss good-bye to this feeling cuz it’s too heavy? I can’t, no way no way no way

Uh... calling?

"Answer me right away--where are you now?" Hey, let's make it sting

[Ai Nan Desu Yo] Ring ring, I'm calling you in the middle of the night Forcing you to wake up, and I say "Good Morning!"

Not wanting to separate ever, even when they apparently drift away sometimes.

I've had enough of apologies Just keep smiling like that forever Don't make me worry; this hard goodbye Will never happen again I love you so much I dreamed of being together, just the two of us Don't run away anymore, I'll protect you I'll toy with all the things that get in our way, One after another It's all for you, I don't need anyone else [...] Come on, don't be scared I'll never let you go

[Ai Nan Desu Yo] If you don't hug me, even our hearts will start drifting apart. [...] Even when I test you, even the times we do the breakup ritual, Is because I love you

You see? Again, I don't feel like I have to elaborate on the connections beyond putting similar lyrics next to each other, since the connection is pretty straightforward if you ignore the murderous tendencies. One other connection is the love interest winds up dead as a result of the protagonist's love, which again directly connects to Mahiru and I don't think I need to really explain.

The final thing to note is that last line, "I'll never let you go", which in the video plays when the partner is already dead. This could play into the shinju (double suicide motivated by love) theory of Mahiru's "murder", which is too long to get into here, but if you want to read more about it, you can do so in this amazing post by dearmahiru. I personally find it quite likely, it's very interesting!

Yeah I don't know what else to say for this one. Take care!

[aceing-on-the-cake]

I know this might be an unpopular opinion but I actually agree that the first part of the doctor who specials were trying too hard to give queer representation

BUT

I think it's important they tried anyways. And I'm glad they did it even if they could've done it better.

So in the first three specials, I loved Rose. I loved them throwing her in there, I loved the things she represented, I loved the little look they gave us into her family dealing with her transitioning at different rates.

But then they gave us scenes like the one where Donna and Rose say that as a male identifying person the doctor would just never understand just letting it go, and it just felt, weird. It felt like the kind of thing people say when they're trying to be politically correct but aren't necessarily trans themselves.

Whereas a scene like the one where Rose tells the doctor he's assuming their pronouns, that is an actual conversation I've seen my queer friends have a lot, and just offhandedly. I think that's how you do it better.

But then they gave us the Isaac Newton scene, and like no it wasn't the most forced thing in the world, but it kind of felt like a conversation that was thrown in a couple minutes later to point out to us that the 14th doctor was gay. And like, don't get me wrong, Isaac Newton was hot, and I'm glad 14 is confirmed gay and not just kind of implied, but it still felt regardless, a little bit forced.

To contrast, in the fourth special with the new doctor, it just gave us representation of people living their lives, and that's I think the best kind of representation.

15 giving a line about a "hot summer" with Harry Houdini didn't feel out of place because they were in the moment discussing that topic.

There was a trans woman and she just was there, and she just knew Ruby, and there was nothing made of her existence good or bad because she just was a person.

15 in a skirt was treated as just immediately hot by Ruby and everyone around him because it was, but they didn't even need to state that he was wearing a skirt. It was no more consequential then when he was hot wearing a suit.

All of these things worked better I think because you didn't have to explain them to us as the audience. 15 just behaved queer because he is, but he didn't need to spell it out to you. Trans women exist because they just do and we don't always need to see them experiencing transphobia because trans people can and do just live their lives. Clothing doesn't have a gender but that doesn't need to be specifically stated when you show the people wearing that clothing just living their lives.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, loved the fact that they did have representation and clearly are going to try to continue giving us more representation, but yeah, people weren't wrong that for the first three specials, that representation was forced.

However, it's important they tried in the first place, and it will always be more important to try and to fall a little short, than to not give us anything at all.

[sapphic-agent]

Will work on my Izuocha ask. But here lets talk about Momo. She had a powerful OP quirk and so much potential but is shafted bc she has to be Mineta's target and also an "eye candy" for the fans. I say this as there many, many nsfw works of Momo where...well you get the gist.

1) Momo can create anything as long she can visualize in her mind. She could have been s great ally and friend to Izu as I think she would have to analyse her quirk (would be nice Izu having someone who does analyses too and isnt seen as "creepy")

2) Momo is rich. Extremely so, so why is she a hero? I know is an unfair question as we dont even get the answer for the mc(yes we got a generic "I want to help" but like come on this could have been more explored). But like if she is not doing for the money...then why? What is the endgoal? "I want to be a hero bc...bc!" Every kid, to me, seems to just want to be a hero bc yes (makes make me think: is the mkt in this world is that strong?)

3) Why she is wearing that uniform? While I get the intention of Izu having a costume that is "cosplay for poor" Why Momo used that? Did someone made her mind?(can see Midnight here but I admit I prefer her as a dark figure rather "she is the best woman on earth") like I know Hori did for fanservice but is a fanservice that hurts the character

4) is it canon she has meet Shoto before? Fanon seems to say in fics "Momo and Shoto are rich kids friends" which I mean, make sense as she is a heir (we dont even know what her family does) I ask this bc...IF this is true, did Momo had any positive thought about Endy?

5) Her quirk is super OP...and while I dont think she needs a quirk awaken I do think she, a minor in possession of such quirk needed more protection ...which makes me think if she was to have protection...would be bc of her op quirk or money?

1. I would love to see Yaoyorozu and Izuku interact more! I think they'd mesh well, especially since they're both intellectual people. Could have made for some fun scenes.

2. Yes, she needs a goal! Some have brought up that she could be the result of a successful quirk marriage that wasn't as abusive or dysfunctional as the Todorokis and tbh I think that's my headcanon now. They do imply that every kid wants to be a hero, but the kind of person she is I feel like it should go behind childhood dreams.

3. According to Horikoshi, this was Yaomomo's decision. Apparently, she wanted to show even more skin to make her quirk more accessible, but they restricted her (realistically, it's Hori being a perv). The theme of her suit is supposed to be "functionality" I'm guessing due to the kind of person she is. But the way her costume is, is more of a hindrance than a help. I said this to @anti-katsuki-lounge but she has no chest protection and the bookcase on her back could easily break her spine if she falls on it. I also always thought it would have made more sense for her to have an open back instead of an open chest since her back would be bigger space than her chest and she ends up ripping her shirt to make things out of her back anyway.

4. Yeah fanon is gonna have to take the L here. It's implied that Todoroki was completely isolated. Endeavor didn't even let him see his sibling let alone other kids. I'm almost sure he was homeschooled and even if he wasn't, Izuku was his first friend. And him and Yaomomo don't act like they knew each other beforehand, at most they knew of each other because of the recommendation exam.

5. Yes her quirk is super OP. Tbh, what would a quirk awakening for her even look like?

[undercooked-spaghetti]

I actually wish they had done the whole Saeko/Ichiban subplot better. When they had Ichiban have "the look" when Saeko casually says that he's cool, part of me was like "oh no" because him being into her just... felt like it came out of nowhere. And yeah, they've been friends for years now and it HAPPENS, but RGG just generally does not do a good job in the romance aspect in my opinion. It always feels like there's never good build-up and it HAPPENS.

But their date was cute. Ichiban asked out Saeko and her walking off because she got nervous was done well. BUT THEN ICHIBAN WAS LIKE A CHILD OVER IT? Nanba and Adachi giving Ichiban points and shit to impress Saeko felt so off because... well, yeah, Ichiban had never dated, but it felt so awkward since they've known each other for a while and you'd think Ichiban would just be chill and go with the flow since... he knows Saeko. He felt oddly childish in some ways in Infinite Wealth, and it felt more like they tried to play it up for the plot's sake, rather than because it was true to Ichiban's character. It was less endearing, more annoying, at least to me.

And then he proposed and was stupid about it? Which yeah, Ichiban is dumb about shit, but also, again, it felt out of nowhere that it went from they're good friends to he's SUPER into her. Yeah, she was an option to be a "girlfriend" in 7, but it also didn't seem canon.

And then it comes up constantly in the main plot when it has nothing to do with anything, just so we don't forget he likes her. And yeah, she just ignored him for a year, but even that felt out of character. Okay, she was upset he wasn't thinking of her at all when he proposed, fine, but it just felt like it was that drastic so they could have Ichiban pine and be upset over it. I know that RGG had to get the ball rolling for everything in the game to happen, but I kind of wish there had been some lead up to it.

Hell, during Tomi's drink links, Ichiban mentions proposing to a girl and she never gave him an answer. Except she did. She felt like she'd always be there for Ichiban, but it didn't feel like she felt the same way and wanted to be friends because she liked their dynamic. And I guess even in Saeko's drink link, she didn't even mind the thought of dating Ichiban, but it even ends with implying that neither he nor the CEO that she dated had her heart racing. Her whole thing was that she was happy with where she was and didn't want to get married (Kiryu could've asked if she was afraid of love, but I didn't go for it because... it just felt like Saeko had more important shit going on in her life than wanting to marry).

I don't know, the after credits scene of Saeko/Ichiban was okay. It just kind of feels like Ichiban needs to have it spelled out to him by others rather than he comes to his feelings on his own. And maybe if it hadn't ended with a big fucking joke and Ichiban having that stupid T-shirt, I would've appreciated how it concluded more. Ichiban is over the top, but it felt too over the top and by the end of it, it kind of felt like the subplot barely amounted to anything. It felt like everyone had to talk about Ichiban's proposal and Nanba tried too hard to be like wink wink, Ichiban is a good guy, right, Saeko? and it felt like the game tried too hard to smack us over the head with it. And any time a romance is that shoehorned in, it just comes off as trying too hard. Even before Nanba leaves with Kiryu, he mentions Chitose having Ichiban wrapped around her finger and asking if Saeko is old news... except Nanba was barely there for too long, and I don't think he would've noticed that kind of thing for the short time he was around? I don't think Chitose and Ichiban interacted enough around Nanba for him to be mentioning it.

I don't know, I just thought it was handled poorly. I think if there was some more time or little things to indicate better chemistry I would've been more into it, because as I said, I thought their date was very cute. But then it went off the deep end and killed it for me. I just felt like both characters seemed very off in terms of handling regarding the pairing, and it more or less felt like it amounted to nothing in the end.

RGG needs to stop trying so hard with romance because it just feels like it rarely pans out. For the kind of game Infinite Wealth was and what was happening, it just didn't need a romantic subplot and it never even felt rewarding once it finally did get somewhere.

[bisexualdinahlance]

I feel like fandom at large (like fandom spaces in general, no specific fandom) really needs to reevaluate the whole "everyone knows this person is queer/into this friend of the same gender but the person themselves" trend. Like, I get that some part of it is that fandom seems to love oblivious characters, but especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. The way it's handled in fandom is just... really uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if it's just my age (because the attitude and discussions surrounding queerness have obviously changed so incredibly much in the last decade alone) that makes this trope uncomfortable to me or what, but it reminds me so much of the stupid "gaydar" shit. And I don't mean like, the original gaydar as in queer people clocking other queer people, but like, when gaydar got taken up by straight people and they started "clocking" any vaguely effeminate man or masculine woman and claiming they knew they were gay.

I have such a clear memory of being the only (out, at least) queer person in a group of straight people, who during our semester abroad constantly speculated about the sexuality of another of our friends. Now, very likely, this friend is queer in some way (we fell out of contact so can't confirm), and he was definitely experiencing some internalized homophobia and some issues with toxic masculinity, but gods the way they talked about the fact that he must be gay and he just was too repressed to know it. Or that his culture's values was keeping him from exploring himself (the friend was a Chinese international student, so there was also a sprinkling of racism in there as well). They always seemed so smug and pitying that they knew him better than himself, and would be the same when I suggested that instead of gay maybe he was bisexual, because of course he must be just fooling himself.

And these are people who would claim they are excepting of gay people! That support gay marriage and have gay friends! But shit like this feels bad. Especially about something where so many of us struggle with it, struggle to come to terms with it, have to fight against what society taught us was and wasn't acceptable.

It often feels like this in fics, when a character comes out and every single friend is just like "yeah you didn't know you were gay why did you think you were so obsessed with this person?" or a person comes out and "it was supposed to be a secret?" like for some people being queer isn't still incredibly dangerous. And yeah there's something to be said for escapism, but there's ways to write accepting characters without basically implying a character is stupid for being worried and struggling with their sexuality. I don't want the family and friends of a ship to be homophobic even when it might be "period accurate", but yaknow, you can have escapism without invalidating real life fears.

I think also people don't understand that it's different to have a parent having a feeling/knowing that their kid isn't straight, picking up the signs and remembering things that were said when they were children, and working to make sure the kid knows it's okay to come out to them. It's different to have a best friend (especially a queer best friend) quietly sit you down and be like "is there anything you need to tell me" or "I know you've been struggling and I think I might know why". It's different when maybe you and your friends have known this person all your life, and while you think they might be gay, you don't know for sure and you don't know if they're sure, but you will wait until they are ready to tell you because it is their shit to figure out, and it's their right to choose when to do so, but by the gods you will support them however you can.

It's also incredibly uncomfortable to constantly have characters be "super obvious" and "everyone knows something is going on" between two queer characters when neither of them are out, and it be treated as some sort of "haha they're so silly/dumb (affectionate) thinking it's a secret" like that couldn't be life or death for some folks. Especially in fandoms where it's like, canonically there is homophobia or it takes place in like, the 80s during the fucking AIDs crisis. (On a more lighthearted note, fandoms also I think put too much faith in people's ability to overcome heteronormativity, especially by the straight characters lol.)

I'm incredibly happy that people feel more comfortable being out and proud. Escapism and canons without homophobia are great and I'm glad we're getting more canons that are following the trends of like, WTNV where they're just like "lol yeah homophobia doesn't exist", but like, I just could really do without this leading to having characters make assumptions about other characters and then pitying them/making fun of them/looking down upon them for struggling. Like obviously, everyone has their own experiences, but so many fics now start to feel like we queers are being laughed at for being worried or struggling with our identities, instead of laughing with us.

Because sometimes yes, your journey to self discovery can be funny! Not denying that! I could write a whole book full of stupid things I or my friends or my friends partners did or excuses we told ourselves while we were still in denial about who we were. But I want to be laughed with not at and that's what a lot of fandom has been feeling like lately.

[ofmdsalt]

Hey, I really liked your take about how Ed could have gone on a self discovery journey instead of ending up with Stede so I'm curious, how do you view Ed and Stede's relationships? TBH my interpretation is that lots of people in the fandom need to like...stop putting romantic love on this pedestal and understand that self and platonic love is equally important and media always skews our perception and the importance of romantic love in negative ways (I mean, there are literally academic articles written about stuff like this). And sure! a big part of fandom is the shipping! and a big part of the show is their eventual relationship! but idk like sure its nice to see and read but in irl I know lots of friends who fell into toxic and dangerous relationships because they were unhealthy and needed some growth and I've even lost a few friends to relationships that me, and our other friends, disapproved of. Some of those friends have even come back years later to apologize while others just unfortunately lost their entire support networks (friends, colleagues, and family) and still are in those relationships. Which like yeah in fandom i love the "us against the world" mentally but irl doesn't work that way. idk sorry for rambling, but would love to hear your thoughts.

sorry i left you on read for so long, anon! had to think this one through a bit.

so for those who don't know, they're talking about this post that i made. that was immediately screenshotted and taken out of context by implying that i said Ed needs to be 100% perfectly healed before going into a relationship. which is. a take. i won't go much into it, but this is a perfect opportunity for me to expand on that!

what i love in fandoms are long winded character studies. so a fic focused more on an individual person where the relationship (if there is one at all) is secondary. i've written such stories before because sometimes i like exploring an individual character and getting to know what makes them tick. what i wanted to get into with the post linked above is why do we immediately assume that a relationship between Ed and Stede is going to 'fix' them? both of them are in a period of flux within their lives. Stede has lived in a hetero marriage that was, as far as we can tell, fairly miserable and detached for both parties.

he then leaves them (lbr, abandons is a better word for it) to play pirate and put himself and others lives at risk because he does not know anything about the world he's gotten himself into

then we have Ed. a man who's reputation precedes him but who is also strangled and suffocated by this image that he's in. he's Blackbeard first and Ed second.

i can really resonate with both these characters and their struggles to understand who they are and need to be seen as who they want to be. it's a tale as old as time in terms of identity. and then when you add the complexities of a relationship into the mix of Stede realizing he's gay and Ed seeing that he doesn't need to be Blackbeard (but who is he really without Blackbeard?) it makes i all the more interesting

and then season 2 happens and packs in a whole lot of unearned character development due to budget cuts and a slashed screentime.

their relationship was never going to be perfect. no relationship is. but if that's how Ed reacted when Stede abandoned him, Ed should honestly be given the time to reflect on who he is now beyond Blackbeard. beyond being Ed&Stede, a romantic relationship. because the constant hammering home of 'it's the Ed and Stede show' reduces the complexities of these characters to a point where they no longer exist outside of each other. and i think that's really disheartening

why not give Ed a chance to discover himself? why not have him assert that he scared himself during his bender at the beginning of season 2? if he reacted that poorly to Stede's rejection, what will happen if they do break up? i think it's perfectly fine to ask and wonder if Ed should be by himself for a bit.

realizing you're not ready for a relationship can be a big moment of growth for people. knowing how to be alone, how to comfort yourself, how to be by yourself is good and healthy. and it's totally up to all of us to decide when we are ready to be in a relationship again.

i just wish this fandom didn't hit so many over the head with the assertion that Ed and Stede must be together no matter the cost. because sometimes that's not the best way forward and there's nothing wrong in taking more time to find yourself

[andorerso]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @fulcrumstardust <3

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

for simplicity, I'm only gonna be counting the fics on wintersend (I don't really use my old accounts anyways) so 51 (which... wow)

2.  What's your total AO3 word count?

462,660

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently just Rogue One (currently lmao... as if I wrote for anything else in years)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

you don't have to say i love you to say i love you (I can't believe this is number one... I'm pretty sure I wrote it on my phone 😭)

stars in the same constellation (just a drabble collection)

touching the sun (honestly considering how anxious I was about this one... it's reassuring to see it in the top 3 💖)

Blood Red Rose (I mean I would have been sad if this didn't make it)

skinny love (this one's a surprise! I wrote it so long ago and it never stood out to me in particular? but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

unless I somehow miss it, I always do!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

it's actually not written/posted yet but it's coming on Sunday so be prepared.... other than that, we have if you and i are a story that never gets told which is open ended but in a hopeless kinda way. they don't die but it's implied they probably will. all my other stories have happy endings because I want them to be happy.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think maybe imaginary homelands since the whole thing is about them finding their way back to each other, and also, it takes place post-war so no one dies, no one's suffering anymore, and they're married and happy by the end.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really

9. Do you write smut. If so, what kind?

I used to write more than I do now but yeah. Even if I don't, a lot of my stories have sexual themes or innuendo because that's just who I am as a person.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've never written a crossover, it's not my thing. I've written AUs based on fandoms, but not crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes but not in the SW/RO fandom

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Only twice but it was fun!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

do you actually need me to say it? it's rebelcaptain <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

if a WIP means I'm working on it and have posted it to ao3, then I have full intentions of finishing all of them. otherwise there's a bunch of ideas I play around with and/or outline that'll never get written but idk if that counts.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I tend to like my dialogue

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action and descriptions 😢 And plot agfdhdfhnhfg

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

if you're not using google translate and know the language (or ask someone who knows it to help you), then it should be fine

but please don't use google translate

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

it was Twilight, but barely... I tried but it didn't really stick. the first fandom I properly wrote for that actually stuck and became a habit was SPN

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

it's not very polite to ask a mother to choose a favorite kid of hers, now is it?

[squishmallow36]

It's all I wish to hear tonight, and you're all I wish to be, and this is how we all fall - Chapter Two

Summary: the garvar fic has turned garvarioli! We've done a bit of a time skip because I didn't want to write the dating and the blushing and the getting to know each other blah blah blah. So now they're just in a relationship and the fact I didn't feel the need to slowburn it is astonishing to me. Anyway Garwin's gonna be joining the Neverseen officially. Yeah that's pretty much the whole plot.

Word count: 3011

TW: drug mention, murder mention, implied sex, swearing. This is the farthest into pg-13 territory I've gone but these idiots demand it.

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @faggot-friday @kamikothe1and0lny @nyxpixels @florida-preposterously @poppinspop @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @remember-me-in-another-time @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125 @hi-imgrapes @callum-hunt-is-bisexual @xanadaus @callas-pancake-tree @hi-my-name-is-awesome @katniss-elizabeth-chase @arson-anarchy-death @dizzeners @thefoxysnake

The people who aren't on my taglist and I'm sorry for bothering you but you lost your minds on the last chapter so uh you did this to yourself (?): @camelspit @tw-5

On Ao3 (users only because, you know, AI) or below the cut

Previous chapter in case you missed it, but you don't really need it to read this :)

    “You know, if you ignore all the work camps, Sadlitzagvadtka is a lovely place,” Alvar remarks. 

    Ruy’s laugh drags Garwin’s attention from the bubbling Eventide River, bright green as it crashes against the rocks. 

    “I mean, you could say the same thing about the USSR,” Garwin muses. 

    “Yes, but we ignore those parallels, love. I don’t want to have to send you to the gulag.” Alvar replies, crossing one leg over the other as he takes a sip of his choyi. 

    Much like most of the foods of the non-Forbidden Cities, choyi looks nothing like how it tastes. The sludgy green slime is in a direct contrast to its strawberry lemonade milkshake flavor. Although how it doesn’t curdle is apparently “beyond human comprehension.”

    That’s just code for “we don’t know and we don’t want to admit it.” It was annoying at first, but it’s kind of become a running joke. 

    What the rest of the Neverseen doesn’t seem to grasp is that he does the same thing to them whenever he doesn’t feel like telling them about some cursed human shit. 

    They absolutely lost their shit when he told them about Twinkies. If they can’t handle apocalypse-proof snack cakes, there’s a hundred other food crimes several points higher on a logarithmic scale they won’t be able to conceptualize without their pathetic little elvin brains shattering. 

     Like pineapple on pizza. 

    Garwin can’t physically have less of an opinion, but the idea of having to explain the concept to elves makes him want to jump off a cliff. And not in the Sophie-teleportation way. 

    Hey--don’t think about that bitch. First she’s accepted into Yale with a full scholarship and now she has four abilities. Apparently she’s some sort of science experiment. I hope they transposed a decimal place. 

    “What am I in for tomorrow?” Garwin asks after a moment of silence. 

    Alvar opens his mouth, but Ruy interrupts him before he gets the chance. “Cállate, mi vida. Sharing any details would be a violation of the Neverseen code article seven, section three, ‘the council is always watching so don’t discuss confidential shit in public.’”

    “I call bullshit. You people are nowhere near organized enough to have an official code.”

    “Well, yes,” Alvar concedes. “But it’s more fun if you don’t know what’s going to happen. Besides, I’m sure Fintan has cooked up some interesting changes from when we swore fealty, so anything we tell you could be completely wrong by now.”

    “Yes, but I’m sure at least one of you have been involved in the planning,” Garwin argues. 

    “We can neither confirm nor deny that,” Ruy says, admitting his guilt. 

    Garwin rolls his eyes. I picked these dumbasses over going to a nice, normal, human, non-ivy league school ? I mean--at least there’s no finals. I guess. 

    He takes a sip of his choyi.

    “I promise it won’t be that painful,” Alvar says in an effort to remedy the situation, earning himself a glare from Ruy. 

    Garwin leans forward, head resting in his cupped hands. “And when did you become such a goody little two shoes rule follower, Exilium boy?”

    Ruy rolls his eyes behind his addler, because of course he has it on. We’re in public--well, sort of, as there literally aren’t any ogres in a hundred foot radius--and that means we’ve gotta wear the addler. 

    It’s like how Garwin also conditioned himself to wear the same sweatshirt almost every single day one school year like it’s his own personal security blanket but we don’t talk about that. 

    But now the elves have stupid capes, so that solves that problem. Even if he doesn’t have an officially licensed Neverseen cape until probably tomorrow. Unless there’s some elaborate scheme being planned. Which of course there will be. This is what happens when you take three or more gay idiots and tell them to plan something. 

    If it ain’t absolute batshit, what’s the fucking point? 

    Alvar’s smile falls as he pulls out his Imparter. He must be getting harassed once again. This is why Garwin doesn’t have one. Well, that, and the fact that he’s not a legal resident of the Lost Cities. Same thing. 

    “Y’all can see that I’m busy right now so I can’t answer a hail, right?” he says tiredly. 

    “Yes, indeed.” Garwin throws back the last of his choyi, smiling. 

    “The Fork Man wants me for some shit and I’m having a good day, so he will be getting ignored for a while. Are we really sure I can’t come out to the Bullshit?” 

    “Bullshit” is Garwin’s nickname for the Black Swan because it both represents their ideology and, at least in English, they can be abbreviated the same way. At least his pathetic short human life will be worth something, even if it is just an inside joke that’s more explanation than it’s worth. 

    “You know what Fintan’s orders are, and if you don’t wanna get burnt to a crisp, I’d recommend following them. Now, that doesn’t mean he knows what he’s doing. It’s just a matter of self preservation. I don’t make the rules around here. If I did, we’d have to replace more Councillors than just the one.”

    Alvar rolls his eyes at his Imparter. “The Fork Man is being very insistent. I have a feeling I’m gonna have to drop you two off at home and talk to him. Be prepared for some shit to be going down soon, regardless of whether or not I have a chance to share details.” He turns to his imparter, inventing new swear words just to curse at the Fork. 

    Like he said, Alvar drops Ruy and Garwin off at “home”--their assigned room at a Neverseen facility Garwin’s not allowed to know any details about--to much argument. He shan’t be allowed to have all the fun without them but alas, ‘tis the way the world works sometimes. 

    The next morning, Garwin sleepily blinks himself back to the land of the living, snuggled into the crook of Ruy’s neck, but there’s no Alvar to be found. 

    He better fucking be okay. 

    Ruy’s hand absently twirls Garwin’s hair, and when he notices that Garwin is slightly less dead to the world than usual, he smiles. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

    “It’s still morning? Damn. Guess I gotta go back to sleep. Need my beauty rest.”

    “Bitch, no amount of sleep is gonna help.”

    Garwin huffs, turning away from Ruy. “Fuck you.”

    “So soon after last night, mi amor?”

    Garwin leans back to look at him. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”     

    “Yeah.” Ruy presses a soft kiss to his lips. God damn. If you weren’t so fucking hot, J wouldn’t put up with you. Love you, Rue. 

    Garwin kisses him again, pulling him close. 

    Ruy gently pushes him back. “Finny’s gonna be pissed if we miss the prescheduled time.”

    “Fuck Finny.”

    “Look, I get that you’re polyam. I know, no shit, Sherlock. But there is no way I’m going anywhere near him or near you again if you do. Man’s got his own harem.”

    “Ooh, please do elaborate.” 

    “Let’s see…I’ve heard rumors that he and Bronte are or were a thing. Not sure if they’re still a thing though, considering the war crimes, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were. And then have you ever wondered about the alliance with the Ogres? Dimitar. Fintan. Yeah. Then there’s Fallon, one of the original three Councillors. And I’m not completely sure on this one but there’s a prisoner in Lumenaria and I’ve got mixed evidence but I don’t doubt it. Uh, then there’s J.R.R. Tolkien. You might’ve heard of him because he’s a human. And how could we forget Shakespeare. He’s…also a human. If I remember correctly. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing because I have actively tried to ignore everything, but yeah.”

    With each name, Garwin regrets his life choices more and more. And more. “What the fuck do you mean Shakespeare? Like, the one of the William variety? The playwright?” 

    “Yeah. Sometimes Finny drops into iambic pentameter just to make us suffer. Are you really sure you want to be exposed to all of the Neverseen drama?”

    “Might gouge my eyes out but, eh, whatever. Sounds fun. If Yale doesn’t want me I guess I’ll have to cause large amounts of havoc instead.”

    Ruy smiles. “I’m going to go foraging for some semblance of a breakfast that doesn’t taste like dogshit. Don’t cause too much havoc while I’m gone.”

    “No promises.”

    Ruy shakes his head as he gets up, joints singing the song of his people--the Rice Crispy elves. 

    Garwin throws on some clothes and inhales breakfast before he’s led to a hideout he’s never seen before. 

    This one is really fucking bleak and really fucking disappointing. There’s probably tetanus on every surface of the grimy, ragged brick walls. It’s the exact kind of place where you should expect to have your body never found, but honestly if they’ve waited this long to kill him, that’s kind of their own poor planning. 

    A set of stairs leads into the even more murder-y looking abyss below. 

    Having no better options, Garwin slowly begins to make his way down without slipping on the mossy, uneven stairs and falling and bonking his head and dying. 

    At the bottom, he finds a room, larger than it seems like it should be, lit entirely by flickering, yellow candlelight. It catches on bottles of what appears to be wine set into racks every few feet or so. 

    He will never admit that this reminds him of a short story he was forced to read--and perhaps even enjoyed reading--in ninth grade English. 

    As Garwin steps closer to the middle of the room where a space has haphazardly cleared, he notices the first of many cloaked figures, white eyed lapels glowing in the dim light.

    In total, around a dozen figures surround him, and he searches for Ruy in the crowd. Well, it’s not exactly a crowd, per se, but it feels like one in the cramped space. 

    It doesn’t take much effort to find him, with his long, dark hair curling out and escaping the hood. 

    That being said, Garwin can tell who most of the figures are without trying. From Umber’s absolutely sunny disposition to Fintan’s concave ass, it’s not exactly difficult. It’s just a little dissatisfying that Alvar isn’t there.

    Fintan lowers his hood like it’s some huge reveal, whispering ominously, “Garwin Chang. You wish to join our order?”

    Garwin nods. “That’s…kind of why I’m down here. Although these wine bottles do look like they could be some fun.”

    A low, overprotective growl echoes behind him as his fingers trace the label written in fancy Trollish. One of the many, many languages not on Duolingo that no one bothered to teach him how to read. Hell, most of the time he can barely read English but that’s an issue for a different day. 

    “I trust you know you’re the first non-member of an intelligent species to join our ranks in a long while,” Fintan says. Garwin’s hand falls to his side. 

    “I wouldn’t exactly call Ruy intelligent, but okay.”

    That got a couple of snickers out of the crowd and a death glare from Ruy despite most of his face being cast in shadow. 

    “Well, you got me there. I was prepared to make a convoluted line of reasoning like I’m hopped up on a cola before all of those pesky safety regulations were introduced, but you made it for me instead.”

    Wait, is he an old man bitching about New Coke or is referring to when the recipe had cocaine? Or just…caffeine? And sugar? Any of the above interpretations are fucking hilarious, so it doesn’t matter which is true. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an objectively best answer. 

    “The rest of the requirements are simple: do you promise to do everything in your power to help our world?”

    “Yeah, sure. Why not?” Garwin shrugs, smirking. 

    “Convince me.” Fintan’s icy gaze stares into Garwin’s soul. A threat behind his words.

    “I’ve been seeing Alvar and Ruy for months on end now. Do you really think I would go through all of that if I wasn’t committed? I could’ve blackmailed my way into a Yale scholarship long ago, but I’ve stayed. And for what? Because I almost care about this place not being a shithole. Also because there aren’t any taxes but we don’t need to mention that.”

    “Yeah, the cost of living is real fucking low when you’re mooching off of Alvar,” Ruy mutters. 

    Cállate. 

    …Holy fuck, Ruy has infected my brain. I don’t like this. How dare he keep sprinkling Spanish into everyday conversation? It’s like he wants to prove that he’s not an idiot to this human idiot because he knows, like, four words in a human language.     

    In reality, it’s because he lived in an undisclosed Spanish-speaking country during his time at Exilium and hasn’t broken the habit. But why be reasonable when you can be petty and bitter because he knows more Spanish than you do even after taking it for three years? 

    To be completely fair, he didn’t pay attention and convinced a kid to send him pictures of the homework and cheated on the tests, but in his defense, he didn’t realize he’d need it later in life. At least Google Translate exists all of its glorious inaccuracy. 

    “I bestow upon thee thou official codename: Elay.” Fintan says, bowing his head. “Alvar came up with it so don’t ask me what it means. Normally each person gets to pick out their own, but he was insistent and it’s not important enough to me to argue with him.”

    Yeah, that sounds about right. Gonna have to ask Alvar about it later. Maybe he’s avoiding me because he doesn’t want a full interrogation in the middle of this murder chamber. Yeah--let’s go with that. It’s better than imagining him in a Black Swan murder chamber. 

    Fintan takes a metal rod and heats it until it glows a faint red, bright in the dim light, knighting Garwin. And thankfully not sizzling his ears off in the process. 

    Fintan nods at a hooded figure Garwin only knows by his codename and that he’s a guster. “Trix, if you please?”

    Trix hands Garwin a bundle of dark fabric, emblazoned with a bright white eye. 

    It unfolds like the little bitch folded things always are, causing unattached pieces of concerningly neon fabric to fall to the ground. 

    As Garwin reaches to pick them up, it becomes all too clear that they’re not only bright pink and orange but also a very, very 80s leotard and legwarmers.

    What the actual everliving fuck?

    …and also maybe Fintan did mean New Coke. 

    It’s up to the stars above to decide which is a worse revelation. 

    “You know, Ruy, if you wanted me to wear this, you could’ve just asked. No need for all of this.”

    Ruy flips him off. He’s probably glare-smiling behind the hood though. 

    Garwin drapes the cloak part of the Neverseen uniform around his shoulders. It’s wonderfully heavy, like a weighted blanket, but surprisingly breathable. It’s probably made from a gnomish fabric which is weird because the gnomes hate their guts as much as plants are capable of hate. 

    And now I’ll finally be allowed to know why that is.

     The crowd begins shifting around him, escaping slowly up the narrow steps and light leaping away to god knows where, and soon only Ruy and Garwin are left. 

    “I got an update from Alvar,” Ruy smiles mischievously. “This should be a fun first assignment for you.”

     No fewer than three light leaps later, Garwin is in the Lodestar system, standing in front of a blonde boy with ice blue eyes. He’s immediately recognizable from Alvar’s stash of pictures he keeps to pretend like he’s still connected to his family. 

    He also knows Sophie, a regrettable decision. 

    “Meet our new son: Keefe,” Alvar says, mussing his hair. 

    Keefe flinches away. “Bitch, I’m literally only, like, six years younger than you,” he complains. “Also hasn’t my dad fucked your dad?” He puts air quotes around both uses of “Dad.” Fun family dynamic and it hasn’t even been five minutes yet. 

    “I do believe I was the one who told you about that.” Alvar turns to Ruy and Garwin. “I’ll take first shift babysitting.”

    “Nonsense. I don’t trust Garwin nearly enough to be by himself and you’ve been up all night causing problems and destroying half of Ravagog--”

    “--which is a perfectly normal way to spend an evening, thank you very much.”

    “--so you will be going home and you will take a nap. I’ll make sure Blondie here doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”

    There’s a glint on Alvar’s eye that looks like he wants to argue, but a yawn cuts him off before he gets the chance. 

    Garwin almost has to physically drag him back home, partially from him being tired and partially from him not wanting to go to bed because some days he acts like a toddler. 

    “Sorry I couldn’t be at your coronation today.”

    Garwin kisses his cheek. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure sooner or later, Ruy’s gonna end up doing a whole reenactment except I actually get walled into the wine cellar this time.”

    Alvar laughs halfheartedly. 

    “And, besides. It’s not like it’s gonna change much. Do I still hate the elvin government? Yes. Is the Bullshit still a bunch of useless dumbasses? Yes. Are you still going to tell me shit that’s way above my pay grade? Abso-fucking-lutely. It’s just now I don’t have to steal your cape when it’s cold out. But I will anyway for old times’ sake.” 

    “Unmapped stars, you’re such a little shit.”

    Well, if you can’t make your boyfriend regret being with you, what’s the fucking point? 

  “And yet you’ve repeatedly chosen to not leave me to die in the middle of the neutral territories. So who’s the real winner here?”

    Alvar sighs, shaking his head. 

    God damn, he’s cute when he’s annoyed.