#but I think it ties into stuff I like about RJ

[halcyon-autumn]

Robert Jordan and Narrative Focus

As I reread the series, I’m so interested in the “scenes” that Robert Jordan doesn’t directly describe. (Spoilers! Big spoilers!) In tFoH, Mat kills Couladin fully offscreen. Similar thing with was Suian’s stilling in TSR - the Sitters tell her that they’re deposing her, but she’s tortured and stilled off screen, and we don’t see her again until she’s in a cell with Leanne, trying to come to terms with what’s been done to her. There’s a bunch more moments - Osan’gar, a forsaken, getting killed (although it was pretty funny that he got wiped out, offscreen, by a minor character who was ostensibly on his side), Nynaeve and Lan’s wedding, the Asha’man forcibly bonding the Sisters who came to destroy the Black Tower, etc - but the Suian and Couladin moments really stand out to me.

My thought is that RJ just wasn’t interested in these “dramatic moments” as much as he’s interested in the lead up and the consequences and how the character’s personality 1.) gets them into those situations and 2.) mean that they react to those situations. RJ doesn’t care about the ~drama~ of Mat v Couladin. He cares about Mat’s inability to leave people to their probably deaths when he could help, and he cares about how Mat reacts to accidentally becoming a war hero. Similar thing with Suian - RJ is interested in how she ignores Min’s warnings and what’s happening in the Tower, and he also cares about her ironclad determination to bring Elaida down. I think it MUST have been a deliberate choice on his part to focus on these things, especially because it’s a very unusual choice for an author to make. At the end of the day, RJ loved a character study, and I think that’s part of the reason his writing style feels so distinct to me.

[markantonys]

I'm curious how the show is gonna handle Rand's relationship with the Aiel. It should be very interesting. Bookwise he kinda rejects their culture/seeing himself as Aiel cause of him clinging to his old life. They might just frame it differently, maybe he just doesn't feel a right to it cause he wasn't raised Aiel. Overall it seems like the show might be going in the direction of people in general being more receptive to learning about Aiel culture over them just handwaving them away as weird (like Perrin's interactions with Avi when book Perrin wouldn't have done that). Maybe Rand is more willing to learn cause he wants to learn more about his birth parents

yeah i don't know what to expect in this regard! my only particular annoyance with aiel-culture-related stuff in the books is that the books would introduce something as culturally or thematically important, but then shuffle it aside once it became inconvenient to the plot. i.e:

the aiel are introduced as very anxious to tie rand to them so that he doesn't destroy them. but when later plot prevents rand from having aiel hanging around him, they stop hanging around him and aren't overly concerned about him ignoring them (bar complaints here and there, with little attempt to actually Do Anything to make him stop ignoring them).

avirand's relationship is introduced as a crucial binding cord between rand and the aiel and as significant to general aiel-wetland relations, but this is dropped once later plot prevents them from spending time together, and aviendha is never used as a mediator in rand-aiel conflicts when by all logic she should be since that was one of the main narrative purposes of their relationship upon introduction.

the maidens & wise ones are so concerned about keeping avirand together for binding cord reasons that they chase off any wetlander woman who tries to hit on him, but once RJ decided that a) he wanted min to hook up with rand without being obstructed by the aiel surrounding him and b) there would be no opportunity for her to become first-sisters with aviendha before doing so, then suddenly the maidens & wise ones are all about min and becoming top min/rand shippers and aviendha is saying it's totally fine to make an exception to the first-sister rule for min even though she is very adamant about upholding it for elayne. when by all logic, the maidens & wise ones should NOT be happy about another wetlander woman with no connection to aviendha trying to get with rand (they'd have no reason to think min is any different from isendre, cairhienin nobles, etc in this regard) and aviendha should be much more resistant to making exceptions to rules we've been told are hugely culturally significant to her.

so my one wish for all aiel-culture-related stuff in the show is that if the show introduces something as culturally or thematically important, it should commit to that importance for the rest of the series rather than sweeping it aside once it's no longer convenient to the plot. that doesn't mean rand/wetlander-aiel relations needs to be a major theme or plot point of every single season for the rest of the show, because ofc it should naturally fade more into the background as the story goes on and other things come up, but it's gotta be either a) rand is tied securely enough to the aiel by the time he has to go off and do other stuff that it makes sense they're not concerned about things like him ditching them and getting a new wetlander girlfriend, or b) if he's not tied securely enough, then make the aiel react accordingly and actually try to use aviendha to intervene with him on their behalf.

hopefully this ramble makes sense djkjfg and it didn't even end up having much to do with rand's personal attitudes towards aiel culture, so i got off topic a bit! but for me, i am good with whatever show!rand's personal attitude ends up being as long as things remain emotionally consistent throughout the course of the show.

[sublimecatgalaxy]

♥️ Daryl Dixon Masterlist ♥️ p.2

This is a masterlist dedicated to things I've written about Daryl Dixon.

Check out my Prompt List and my Character List in my Masterpost which is pinned for more info on who I write for and some inspiration for requests.

This is a mix of headcannons, oneshots and blurbs :)

Keep Quiet:

Summary/Request: "Scenarios:- I've never wanted to fuck someone so badly before"

Missed:

Summary/Request: "prompts: oh, now you’re shy? spread your legs. eyes on me. i’ve got you, don’t worry"

Scars:

Summary/Request: "Hey :) I was thinking how would Daryl react when his s/o starts to kiss his scars on his back very lovely and gentle while whispering sweet nothings into his ear?"

Oopsie:

Summary/Request: "Friends with benefits situation and Daryl accidentally got Reader pregnant (oopsie!). One time she overheard his conversation with someone so she confronted him saying: why do you feel the need to specify we're just friends?"

Cleaned Up:

Summary/Request: "another one! what about “when was the last time you actually managed to let go?” and “c’mon, let’s get you cleaned up.” with daryl? im still only on season 7, so any era before that is fine :)"

Eyes on Me:

Summary/Request: "I hope I'm not too late, could I please get a Daryl Dixon fluff au with 'eyes on me' princess/knight protector au. Please and thank you

Pain in My Ass:

Summary/Request: "Cuddling for Warmth with Daryl Dixon 🥺🥺🥺"

In Bed:

Summary/Request: "WithDaryl Dixon, maybe angst with a happy ending? But totally free reign with whatever you want to write 💚"

Innuendo:

Summary/Request: "bodyguard vs guarded with daryl with the prompts “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” and “I’ll always keep you safe.”? i know this is the bare minimum but hopefully its something you can work with?"

Tempting:

Summary/Request: ""If I ask you to kiss me, to be with me, in front of all these people, will you do it?" X Bodyguard AU with daryl ????"

What I Want:

Summary/Request: ""If I ask you to kiss me, to be with me, in front of all these people, will you do it?" X Knight!Daryl !!!! Angsty fluff perhaps?"

Halloween:

Summary/Request: "dressing up, handing out candy to the little kids in their costumes trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, that kinda stuff - with a partner "

Ex:

Summary/Request: "he lost her and that she didn’t survive. I mean that’s what he thought until when the group arrived in Alexandria, guess who was there to welcome them? Daryl’s “ex” girlfriend."

Broke Me First:

Summary/Request: "“you didn’t just break promises, you broke me” and “how many times am i supposed to forgive you?” angst with daryl please?"

Overprotective:

Summary/Request: "Overprotective!Darryl x reader"

Too Far:

Summary/Request: "I've been looking for a story of Daryl and Y/N, where an argument goes a little too far and Y/N end up fliching away. Soft and comforting Daryl💖"

Mangled:

Summary/Request: "Where, after the claimers attack, readers clothes get a little ripped and Daryl offers the angel best to cover her up! Very much fluff! 💕"

Braided:

Summary/Request: "Daryl went and was all grumpy and was about to leave until he saw the female reader wearing a dress and her hair tied in a beautiful braid that carol did on her?"

New Years:

Summary/Request: "Hi! Can I request Daryl with female reader any era having a new years kiss?"

Still Mad:

Summary/Request: "something angst but cute at the end as if daryl had moved away from reader(they were a couple) because of leah, and then she leaves with maggie, but at the end of season 10 they meet again."

Bad Guy:

Summary/Request: "Can you write a Daryl Dixon blurb with the prompts 7 and 18?"

Rubbing Off On You:

Summary/Request: "Can you write Daryl Dixon (set in commonwealth) where he's dating RJ and Judith's teacher?? I just think of someone so preppy and happy dating someone so gloomy and brooding like Daryl and I literally crack up."

I Got You:

Summary/Request: "Hi, could I please have a Daryl Dixon comfort/fluff request where the reader got her period and it's a sucky one so Daryl comforts her please and thank you?"

Guys My Age:

Summary/Request: "Daryl and the reader have had a 'sort of' sexual tension for a while but, given their age gap, Daryl's never made a point to act on it and neither has she. But it finally becomes too much when Daryl catches another man flirting with the reader."

Never Have I Ever:

Summary/Request: "May I request a Daryl x female reader the scene where he and Beth played “never have I ever” while drinking moonshine but with female reader?"

Him and I:

Summary/Request: "Daryl and his wife get separated at the fall of the prison but both manage to escape with another member of their crowd. After the reader and Glenn find Abraham and their group, almost after accepting they'll never find the rest of their families, they stumble in to Terminus. Will they be reunited or will the current state of the world impede them once more?"

Old Times:

Summary/Request: "May I request a Daryl with female reader where it’s during the prison ark. Carl or Rick find a working record player and play some records one night to liven up their spirits. Some start to dance while others smile and watch and female reader asks Daryl to dance with her?"

Just Share The Bed:

Summary/Request: "One Bed and Im not afraid of you."

Tough Guy:

Summary/Request: "Daryl Dixon and the prompt 'I’m not afraid of you.’"

Just Alright:

Summary/Request: "maybe daryl dixon and “stop pouting” toward the reader? sort of gentle but in charge vibes? 💙💙"

Need You:

Summary/Request: "could you do a Daryl dixon with "you're hurting me."

[laevanders]

My headcanonny backstory for José 'Zé' Carioca, as a Brazilian that has in fact NOT read the comics so this is just bullshit I came up with based purely in vibes

For me the maternal side of his family is from Bahia, his Grandma migrated to RJ when his mom was young. (Though he never went to Bahia before meeting Donald)

His father is from Rio, from all way back, and is the one with the surname Carioca

He has a older sister, but she's like way older, probably +10 years difference

His granny(mom's side) is actually a ""witch"", or something like that. But just basic nature stuff. (If José knows any magic is debatable since he only shows in the first movie)

His mother died when young, and his dad is not the best

Not like abusive, but he really shouldn't have a child he is just kinda negligent? Like not caring too much to where Zé goes and stuff

His sister moves out of the house young too, like they probably didn't live together for long

He used to go to his granny house on weekends and was actually very attached to her. She dies, obviously

And he kindof grows up in the streets, making friends with Nestor, Pedrão and cia, having meals in their houses etc going back to a probably empty house etc etc (i think I'm making this too angsty, and I don't really like it that way, but c'mon he's poor, life isn't easy)

If his dad taught anything was to get out of work and kinda to scam people, he didn't taught how to be good at it tho.

He does to school tho, and there he learned he loves 2 things Music 🎶 and women Rosinha

I believe she is for real his first crush and starts with him young, so isn't about her money o something (idk if they have an actual first meeting in the comics tho)

They start dating as teens, her dad doesn't approve and they go on to have a not really stable relationship because he's kinda of a jerk and she is jealous

Now considering the movies Saludos Amigos & The Three Caballeros "canon" and that Zé story is set in the 40s. Here is how I think it goes

It's the middle/start of the war and some boats of the U.S Navy shows up in the coast of Rio, that's how he meets Donald!

He shows him the city, probably try to scam some money or whatever, but become actually really close after a night of drinks, and really good friends after some days . But Donald has to leave.

(also when I say scam some money I mean, getting him to pay for thing probably expensive and give it to José or something, maybe that's how they end up drinking)

Later, when Brazil is actually starting to entering the war he flees, somehow, maybe Rosinha pays for him idk (Rocha Vaz would definitely want him gone, but I think the war would be preferable oh well)

Seeing he really doesn't want to see the snake smoke, he ends up in Mexico and meets Panchito!

Their meeting is not as nice though, they compete after a girls love, threaten each other of death and stuff (canon comic) but they part away not really hating each other

After a while he is the US of A working (oh no) as a entertainer (hm ok) when he re-meets Donald and Panchito!! (They both met each other in battle of something, and got along nicely, Donald is dispatch by the navy at this point). Panchito and José make amends and thus the Three Caballeros is born! They absolutely become besties (or something more👀)

That last point is absolutely based on a comic by @polisena-art though. Great art by the way, be-au-ti-ful

Then the *movie* 3 caballeros happens, on Donald's Birthday, they travel to their respective countries. And finally Bahia!

They part ways and become pen pals

A lot after that though (and after others apparitions in animated stuff, if from other eras)

So, Zé's sister is pregnant by some guy, it's twins! Our favorite parrot now is tio. But they aren't actually together a lot, Zico and Zeca live with their mom and probably dad, only seeing Zé occasionally.

But something happens and he becomes their legal guardian. In my mind their mom was sick, so they start spending more time with him as her disease worsened until she die (why did this become angst again?)

He takes a while to find his footing, but all thing including he ends up a good parental figure to them.

He also reconnect (actually just connect I guess) with some distant family. Mostly his primos, who coincidentally also have Ze in the name

Now just some throwaway headcanons

In my vision the name os his sister is Ana, His parentes are Joca and Tereza, and his Grandma is Zelaide and his paternal Grandpa is Josué

Also in Saludos Amigos his greeting card reads "José C. Carioca" and I'ma gonna assume that's with Costa or Do Carmo. Which would be his mom surname I guess. Even if both of them ends up sounding like locations in pair with Carioca

He start smoking kinda young, and continued for a long time (mostly stress smoking) until he got guard on the kids, than he stopped

He absolutely has a soft spot for kids btw

His relationship w/ Rosinha don't go anywhere, a really on and off thing, that doesn't end up working. But they still love each other (platonically (mostly)) and are good friends

He considers Nestor basically an younger brother. And all of his friends as his family

He is very emotional about this bunt refuses to show it

Honestly he gets along great with Gladstone. I just think it's worth mentioning because they're really similar for the stress of Donald

He also does a lot of Drag, and that's canon I just think it's neat

For my lgbtq+ HCs. He's a "Caiu na vila o peixe fuzila" (Pan and Polyam), but depending on the decade and his age he might be closeted. Also GNC

He plays a lot of instruments, including: guitar, tambourine, concertina, umbrella, flute, accordion and trumpet

He's also really good imitating voices and noises (parrot, duh) and whistling

He can cook decently, but hates it. Unfortunately he's a guardian of two and can't go always eat dinner at Pedrão .

But he cooks with pleasure to the caballeros when they come. Or in especial occasions for everyone.

He's a really good artist with watercolor, pencils and at photography, but he doesn't do any of that often

And for the surprise of all he kinda likes studying, especially art, languages and music. No would guess by how he was at school

Not actually for him, bit I want to believe Zé Paulista name is José Paulo, and he's related to José dad's family side, along with Pampeiro and Queijinho

Where Baiano and Jandaia are related to his mother's (yes, this based purely by the location of the states)

And not really a headcanons but I just love the Three Cabs as a throuple it's just so cute

Also between the three of them he has the braincell™ but neither does he use it or have some common sense to pair with it (that one stays with Donald)

Also Don calls him Joe, while Panchito calls him Jose (hispanic accent™)

And Panchito it's the only one who he doesn't actually mind doing it, even if he doesn't correct the others

Also his eyes are a reddish brown (I hate the blue from the comics with a passion) also in a human AU he would be black, thank you very much

And that's kinda of it. I love this cartoon parrot so much it doesn't even make sense

I could've go on with some aus where instead of WWII is DuckTales/Lottc, but I have to think about them first

[shachiruka]

head empty thoughts of wolfstar and dio songs only

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TD Clues in the S11 Preview Special

Hey Everyone!

Who watched the S11 preview show? I did, and there were actually some fairly heavy TD clues in it. (Yay!)

I only got to watch it once live, and didn’t have the option to record it, so I probably missed stuff. If anyone noticed anything I didn’t, feel free to send it in. I’ll focus on 3 major things that jumped out at me.

So, Angela Kang was in the studio with Chris Hardwick, but Norman was there only via satellite from Georgia.

@wdway​ noticed that the music box was still sitting on the shelf behind Angela, which was cool.

1. The first big clue we noticed came from Norman. Chris had asked him something like, how is this season was different from previous ones, or how has filming been different. Norman said everything was brighter and more colorful than usual. 

I think he probably means because of the Commonwealth. If you think of the CW sales video we saw in the coda of the trailer, everything looks new and clean and nice, and doesn’t have the bleak, dirty vibe of most of the rest of the show. Then he said (and I paraphrase) that a lot of it felt like they’d all “eaten the wrong mushrooms.” And by that, he means something hallucinatory. And that it seemed “like the Wizard of Oz.”

Yeah, massive hints going on there.

There has been a subtle but recurring mushroom theme in the show. It’s part of the overall hallucination theme, but goes back at least until S4 (you know, when Bethyl came from and center). It might be earlier than that, too, but that’s the earliest reference that comes to mind.

Either way, Norman is furthering the idea of hallucinations and things not being as they seem.

And then there’s the wizard of Oz reference. I’ve literally done entire theories on this (X), (X). We saw it around Beth at Grady and also around Rick right before the bridge incident, where he disappeared into the CRM. Because of the way it’s used in both cases, I think the Wizard of Oz motif is specifically about the CRM. Dorothy was transported away from her family and to a whole new world. The same thing happened to both Beth and Rick and both times they went to a community with ties to the CRM.

The hallucination theme is also present in TWOO. People have written whole essays about how trippy the whole thing is and how it feels like an acid trip for Dorothy. That’s not the way it’s written in the show, but of course this film came out in 1939. For Dorothy, it was an elaborate dream. But that just makes me think of episode 6x12 of Fear the Walking Dead where an almost identical thing happened with Grace and the episode is even called In Dreams.

And I’m not at all saying the CRM isn’t real. I’m just saying they’re using these things as themes and we saw them back in S5 around Beth. I’ll have more to say about this theme next week when I discuss episode 11x01.

2. The next thing that struck us as suspicious is that Chris asked Norman, with this being the final season, what does he want for Daryl? 

Norman replied that wants Daryl to find happiness and “what he’s looking for.” And he very clearly meant emotionally. You could argue that he meant romantically but it could also just be in terms of life and familial relationships.

But you could also argue that he already has most of that. He has strong family and community relationships. He’s helping raise two kids. (In fact, very small spoiler for 11x01: at one point Daryl returns to Alexandria and we see both Judith and RJ run out and hug him. It’s very sweet. The point is, he pretty much IS their father for the time being.) And he has closer “family” relationships with those he’s closest to: Maggie, Michonne, Carol, Aaron.

So, the only thing he’s truly missing is the romantic element.

@wdway​ also pointed out that the way Norman said it, it very much feels like something futuristic. Something he currently doesn’t have in his life. (Sorry Caryl and Donnie shippers.)

So yeah. That, and the “what he’s looking for” wording definitely made us side-eye.

3. Finally, near the end, we saw a sneak peek that comes from 11x02, and Dog enters a Dark Tunnel. 

The sneak peak is Daryl and Dog, alone together in the subway tunnels. Daryl finds a walker rolled up inside a sleeping bag, which he kills, and then Dog starts barking at something and runs away from Daryl, into a small, dark side tunnel.

So, the dark tunnel symbolism is HUGE around Beth and I’ve got theories about Dark Tunnel symbolism that are YEARS old (X).

And, until next week when everyone sees 11x01 and I’m safe to talk about it, you’ll just have to take my word for this, but they’re definitely using an S4/S5 Beth template for Dog this season. We already know from what’s been released about the season that Dog and Daryl will get separated and he’ll go looking for Dog. We already knew that. But when you see 11x01, it becomes even more evident.

So, Dog heading into a dark tunnel just backs up the Beth template even more.

But then, when they came back to TTD after the sneak peek, Norman started singing a song. Okay, I have no idea what it was. I didn’t recognize the tune and he did it very quickly. (If anyone knows what it was, let me know.) Chris clearly recognized it and started laughing, razzing Norman about how of all the songs he could possibly have parodied, he used that one. So, the lyrics weren’t real. Norman was making them up, overall.

But wanna know what lyrics he sang? He said (once again, I paraphrase) something like, “When Doggy goes into the tunnel, I know things are serious.”

So, he not only emphasized the importance of Dog entering the dark tunnel, he actually turned it into a serious/Sirius/return reference.

Me:  😲

Okay, those were the three big things that jumped out at me. 1) Hallucination/Mushroom/Wizard of Oz references. Yes, all in one sentence. 2) Daryl finding happiness and “what he’s looking for.” 3) Dog in the tunnel = Sirius.

As I said at the beginning, there were probably other, smaller things I missed, but these were the ones that made me super happy.

Thoughts?

[birgittesilverbae]

What did you honestly think of the WoT finale?

- don't really agree with the choice to show LTT thus far as wholesome family man, given how much the Dragonmount prologue set the tone for the books (also Lanfear had a point) - adore the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Roadtrip. Rand & Moiraine's relationship is one of my top 3 faves, and the choice to protect Lan and the remainder of the EF5 through self-sacrifice is so perfectly in character - excited to see where the show's going with Moiraine's tied-off shield. 80% of her TGH plot was pulled forward into 1x06 and her role mentoring Perrin in TDR is easily transferred to a different character, so I have no idea what's coming plot-wise for her and I think that's fantastic - was that Lan & Nynaeve convo anything but hella confusing and terrifically abrupt to show-only viewers? bc even having read the books I was still like ??? (but it's also classic RJ relationship pacing soo) and also how has Lan, a competent woodsman who's spent 20 years with Moiraine, never noticed this "Tell" - the location of the Horn of Valere makes as much sense as it did in the book tbh - feel like the rest of the ep was greatly affected by pandemic protocols; where the Eye scenes wouldn't have needed much alteration, it seemed like they had to gut the ensemble Fal Moran scenes, which left them laughably empty, even considering the city evac. - and "calling all women who can channel" -> cut to Egwene and Nynaeve + 3 was jokes af - lbr everything about that scene is yikes and my biggest issue with the finale. Accepted are taught battle weaves that can decimate a field of opponents? the protective buffering that's a vital aspect of circles just isn't a thing (if that were the case, who would ever trust anyone enough to link with them? and why would the weave be taught to Accepted?) we're taking "burned out" literally now? and I don't even want to get into the Egwene-healing-Nynaeve stuff - what even was Perrin's plotline in this ep? like, I'm not a huge fan of Perrin but boy got shafted - overall, the ep would have benefited a hell of a lot from some breathing room to bring in more coherence

[halcyon-autumn]

I’ve been thinking lately about the romances in the wheel of time books. RJ gets a lot of (deserved) flack for the romances in his books, but I do think there’s some stuff I really like that I don’t always see in fantasy, especially in the 90s when RJ was writing. Massive book spoilers under the cut

Okay so for all that RJ was Not Good at writing romance build up (Egwene/Gawyn, Nynaeve/Lan, and Thom/Moiraine as maybe the crowning example) I absolutely LOVE how he wrote female characters who were 1.) deeply in love and 2.) primarily motivated by things that had nothing to do with their romantic partner.

Elayne falls rapidly in love with Rand in book 4, and then proceeds to have a bunch of arcs that have little to nothing to do with Rand - hunting the Black Ajah in Tanchico, solving fantasy global warming with the Bowl of Winds, and taking the throne of Andor. Even though Rand tried to “give” the throne to Elayne (which pisses her off), she still has to struggle for it and overcome significant hurdles. Nynaeve’s whole plot of learning to break her block while maintaining her passion and rejecting Aes Sedai serenity has nothing to do with Lan. Same with Egwene, Aviendha, Moiraine, Tuon, and even Suian (and personally the Suian/Garreth Byrne relationships is one of my least favorite relationships in the series).

It’s so refreshing! I devoured book after book as a kid in the 90s and early 00s and the romances were usually SO central especially for the female characters. Even when reading the books, I remember being 14 and going “shouldn’t Elayne be with Rand somehow? Shouldn’t he be helping her take the throne?” Simply because that’s what I was used to. Think of how much weaker the story and the characters would have been!

The crowning example is in aMoL (which I know was written by Sanderson, but I feel like RJ laid enough groundwork and precedent that he still gets a bit of credit) when Rand proposes the Dragon’s Peace and both Aviendha and Elayne have BIG criticisms of what Rand tried to do. They love him! They worry about how it will affect their relationships with him! But their devotion and responsibility to their own people trumps their romantic ties and the narrative *doesn’t punish them for it.* It’s a great scene and one of my favorite Sanderson chapters in the books.

Anyway, I was just thinking how interesting it was that the thing I like least and the thing I like most about RJ’s romances both come from his focus on individual character motivations over his focus on romance.

[iamvegorott]

Inspired by Wellerman by The Longest Johns and you ofc 😊 Love your stuff! - 💜 -------------------------------------------

Anti had known the power behind a Siren’s voice - the alluring resonance in his own voice calling out many a sailor for his feed - but he did not think it capable of humans to have this sort of power behind their voices as well.

He was sitting atop the railing of the ship, watching the humans they claimed scurry about it’s main deck. They had been called to bring back up the sails, as they did everytime the wind blew too harshly. It was busy work, and Anti thought it quite tedious to keep rigging back up the same cloths for better control over something as fickle as wind, but he had made no attempt to understand it anytime one of the Ipliers cared to explain.

He watched the Ipliers curiously, his eyes occasionally glancing up at the cockpit to find Dark muttering about something with their healer. He shifted his stare back down to the wooden floor every time before he was caught.

“Everyone’s being so stuffy today!” Wilford groaned, casually catching a rope that was thrown down by Bim.

“Well it’s not like you can expect us to be in any better spirits,” Google grumbled back, fiddling with a few of his sea charts. “We’ve been blown a good week off course all because of this damned wind.” Bing was sitting next to him, trying to keep him as calm as possible.

“Well still, no reason to fret! Another day at sea is a good day to me!” He boasted proudly as he tried to push his usual optimism onto Google. He did not succeed.

“I know how to help!” RJ bounced in place, holding the ropes as taught as he could.

“Oh really?” Wilford raised an eyebrow, a small knowing smirk on his face.

“We should sing shanties!” RJ excitedly announced, CJ lighting up with the same joy and nodding.

While Anti had no idea what a ‘shanty’ was, he couldn’t deny the beaming grin Wilford gave back the twins. “Why, that's just a wonderful idea!” He went into fake thought as he tied his rope to one of the booms, “Ah, but which one, which one indeed?” He gave a little snap as his mind sparked with an idea, “Ha! I’ve got the perfect one!” He cleared his throat, the twins bouncing in excitement. Anti tilted his head in confusion, his eyes widening as he heard Wilford start to hold a tune.

“There once was a ship that put to sea / The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea / The winds blew up, her bow dipped down / O blow, my bully boys, blow,” He smiled and ruffled the young ones hair as they cheered back at his verse with a loud “Ho!”

“Soon may the Wellerman come / To bring us sugar and tea and rum / One day, when the tuggin' is done / We'll take our leave and go!” They started to bounce and sway with their tune, harmonizing their voices in such a perfect trio that Anti swore they had rehearsed this. He saw the eyes of the other Ipliers light up, the two up on the mainsail climbing down quickly.

“She had not been two weeks from shore / When down on her a right whale bore,” Bim started to join, carrying the same tune Wilford had started this mesmerizing music with.

Yandere cut in not long after, “The captain called all hands and swore / He'd take that whale in tow!” All five joined in for another “Ho” before the chorus started up again.

“What are they doing?” Robbie asked, getting Anti to jolt a little. The little pup must have crawled up the boat beside him as soon as he heard the noise.

“I think they’re attemptin’ to sing,” Anti chuckled, ruffling Robbie’s hair.

“I didn’t know humans could sing,” Robbie stared intensely as the little group started to dance around and with each other, a smile growing on his face.

“Don’t underestimate humans, little pup,” Anti jerked again, seeing Marvin, Chase, Henrik, and JJ had also pulled themselves up onto the rail to watch the humans. Chase spoke again, “They’re not nearly as talented as we are, but they know how to hold a tune.”

“Before the boat had hit the water / The whale's tail came up and caught her / All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her / When she dived down below,” Bing had joined in, Google mumbling an occasional harmony under his breath. Bing chuckled and nudged him, getting him to reluctantly put the papers down and join the harmony as the much needed baritone for the group.

He overheard Robbie humming along, seeing his head bounce to the beat. Anti chuckled, and caught himself swaying his tail to the tune, almost tempted to hum alongside him for the chorus. He refrained though, almost certain of the chaos that would ruin the crew's high spirits.

“No line was cut, no whale was freed / The Captain's mind was not of greed,” Edward sang next, stepping down from the cockpit and joining the rest who sang and swayed. Wilford joined him in an odd dance, bumping the outer edge of their wrists before twirling around, hands gripping together with a loud clap. “But he belonged to the whaleman's creed / She took the ship in tow.”

“Ho!”

Anti caught how red Henrik had become just by listening to the Medic sing, and had ducked out of sight from the Ipliers to hide his shame. JJ gave a silent chuckle and pat Henrik’s back, Anti chuckling at how enthralled he had become just by a single verse. He would have to remember to tease him about it later.

The crew became silent for a moment, suddenly their boisterous singing becoming a soft hum.

Huh? Did they ferget the tune er something? He looked up to see Dark had become aware of their shenanigans, and scoffed silently to himself. Of course, you just have to put a stop to everyone’s fun, don’chya?

His sour attitude was quickly flung away as he heard Dark’s voice start to sing, the hums growing in volume in support. “For forty days, or even more / The line went slack, then tight once more,” He stepped down to the main deck with a soft smile on his lips. “All boats were lost, there were only four / But still that whale did go.”

The whole crew cheered as they joined in for the chorus, but Anti was still rebooting after hearing Dark’s singing voice. With how brooding and deep he usually sounded, it was surprising to hear the brassy tones become smooth and even gentle. He barely even caught the last verse as he had focused in on Dark participating in the chorus, his voice overtaking the last singing of it as he proved himself to have a range that outdid most - if not all - of his crew. It was almost as if Anti couldn’t hear the other loud and proud Ipliers, and could only hear Dark’s additions to the group.

The crew cheered proudly as the shanty ended, all the sirens who witnessed the strange event finding themselves clapping. “That was quite good, for humans,” Marvin teased before dipping back into the water, Chase chuckling as he followed behind his mate.

JJ hopped up onto the starboard deck and started signing away at how lovely Wilford’s voice was and how sad he was to not come up sooner. Henrik was approached by Edward, the two mumbling to each other compliments under a shroud of red on their cheeks.

Anti barely paid attention to anything else as he stared at Dark, who was talking to CJ and RJ about how much they had improved. Something about Dark’s voice was still enchanting him somehow, leaving him in a daze as he sat on the rail. He quickly jolted out of it as Dark’s gaze drifted his way and he jumped off the side of the boat, feeling the cold sea contrast against the strong warmth built up in his cheeks.

--------------------------------------------------------

I love this so much!!!!!!

This is so well done and adorable and just aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

[let-me-love-you-loki]

Surprising Too Late Part I

Part 1

Nick

           “Matt, hand me that shelf.” My brother and I were practically dripping in sweat as we helped our dad put in a partition wall in the garage that had once been our home gym. It still was, technically, but we’d moved some of the pieces around to make room for a new purpose.

           Y/N’s birthday was in a week, and we had a surprise for her. When we’d met almost nineteen years ago—God, had it been that long—she’d been an art student. There were so many times when she’d beg the two of us to sit for sketches. I remembered the first time she showed me one of her paintings. It was a breathtakingly beautiful self-portrait. She’d given it to me as a present on our first anniversary. But in the years that followed that gift, our wife spent less and less time chasing her joy of art. It was as if the moment that Mattie was born, Y/N set aside everything except for our newborn daughter and us.

           “Is that going to be big enough?” he replied, holding out a piece of varnished and polished wood.

           Our dad poked his head around the corner. He was working outside, making sure that the window AC unit was sealed. “What are you putting on it?”

           I pointed to a spread of jars filled with a variety of paintbrushes and tubes of acrylic paint along with a bento box Kenny had given her where she kept her chalk. Dad looked between the objects and the shelf in Matt’s hands before he nodded.

           “Yeah, just tack an extra screw at the back of the bracket top and bottom.”

           I grinned and dug into my pocket for two more screws. “This is going so much better than the swing set.”

           Dad practically cackled. “You two helped me build your ring when you were teenagers. How you couldn’t follow some simple instructions is beyond me.”

           “To be fair,” Matt said as he passed over the electric screwdriver and the level. “We were stubborn.”

           “You were showing off,” Dad called back.

           “True,” I snorted. “Matt, hold this down.”

Matt

           It was hard to keep a straight face in the days leading up to Y/N’s birthday. We spent those final days in a panic. We ended up having to be in Jacksonville an extra day for a taping, and we ended up making panicked calls to our dad to get some final hardware stuff handled. From Friday to Saturday night, I don’t think either my brother or I slept more than a few hours. We took turns keeping our wife occupied while the other slipped away to the other house with the kids or to the garage to hang shelves or photos or art.

           I spent Saturday night—the night before her birthday—going through boxes of drawings the kids had done over the years. Nick had gone out that morning and picked up a dozen picture frames. I picked out two drawings from each of the kids and tucked them carefully into a frame to hang on the wall or sit out on the tables in the space we’d made for her.

           Nick had crept into her charcoal pencils and sketched the outline of the Tokyo Dome. It had taken a while, but the story of that first time he’d kissed her came out in the early days of our life together. It was a moment I didn’t begrudge them and I memory I hoped they kept with them forever.

           I’d spent hours trying to figure out what my addition would be. After a while, I decided to do my best to replicate that moment when our lives together really began. I went through my iCloud and pulled up the photos from our honeymoon. There was half a dozen of that day on the coast where Nick and Y/N had exchanged their rings. It took three tries, but I finally produced something that looked like the lighthouse on the edge of Oahu.

           It was the early hours of the morning of Y/N’s birthday when I finally slipped back into the house, bleary eyed and exhausted. Nick stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, and chugging a bottle of water.

           “Everything’s ready,” I said around a yawn. I thought about making a cup of coffee. “Is she still asleep?”

           “Everybody is. RJ was having nightmares, so I slept most of the night in his room.” My brother smiled a little. “Go get in bed. I’ll be there as soon as I check on little man.”

           I reached out and hugged him. “Thanks, Nick. For everything you’ve done all these years.”

           Nick locked his arms around me and squeezed me hard. “Thank you for letting me be here. For taking me back.”

           I squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn’t going to cry. “You and Y/N are the most important people in my life. And this life is the one for us, no matter what anyone says.”

           I padded down the hallway to the master bedroom. Y/N was curled beneath the blankets in the center of the king-sized bed. For a moment, I stood there watching her sleeping. I remembered the first time I saw her, the first time I kissed her. My wife was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t believe that I’d been lucky enough to have the last almost twenty years with her.

           She snuggled close to me when I slipped into bed beside her. She pressed her lips against my cheek and tucked herself under my arm. Her head pillowed on my chest. I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes.

           Sometime later, Nick crawled into bed on her other side. He curled up behind her, his arm tucked around her waist. Together—just like we faced everything else in life—we went to sleep.

***

           I woke up to a faint knocking. Sleep fell away slowly. I was warm and comfortable snuggled between Matt and Nick. They were both sound asleep, made evident by Nick’s slightly open mouth and Matt’s soft snores.

           The knock came again. I sighed and sat up, crawling down to the end of the bed to avoid waking either of them. Rubbing my eyes to wake up, I opened the bedroom door to find my sixteen-year-old daughter.

           “Happy birthday, Mom,” she said with a grin. “We made breakfast for you and Dad and Papa.”

           I smiled, tears in my eyes. “I think Dad and Papa are out of it for a while. But we’ll save them a plate.”

           She led the way to the kitchen where thirteen-year-old Nicole was piling eggs on the plates of her brothers. Ten-year-old Lee was carefully pouring orange juice into a line of cups. He turned and gave me a smile that looked exactly like Matt’s.

           “Morning, Mama! Happy birthday!” he said as he carried one cup at a time to the table. He handed six-year-old Ty his favorite cup, earning a wide grin from his youngest brother.

           The kids pulled me toward the table and tucked me into my normal place between Mattie and Nicole. The boys lined up on the other side of the table. Seats at the head and foot were empty, waiting for Matt and Nick to join us.

           Mattie looked around the table and frowned. She stood up and practically stalked down the hallway back to the master bedroom. I hid my laughter behind my hand as I heard her pounding on the door, yelling for her Dad and Papa to get up right now you’re ruining Mom’s birthday breakfast!

           Ty grinned, his smile pushing into his cheeks, and giggled. “Mattie’s yelling at them!”

           RJ looked over at his baby brother and nodded. “Serves them right. It’s Mama’s birthday.”

           My heart swelled at the sweetness from my sons. Lee looked after his sister and scrambled from his seat to run to join Mattie. He stood next to her, pounding his fist on the door in time with hers.

           “We’re coming, we’re coming,” Nick growled playfully as he swung open the door. I saw him grin at our eldest daughter before he leaned over, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. “Do you think we’d miss your mother’s birthday breakfast?”

           Matt appeared right behind him, swinging Lee up onto his back. “We were up late getting Mama’s present ready.”

           “Present?” I asked, arching my brows. I followed their movement as they carried our eldest son and daughter back into the kitchen. They deposited them in their seats, slipped around to press a tandem kiss on my cheeks, and smiled as they sank into their seats.

           “Who made this?” Matt asked, looking down at the plate in front of him.

           “Nikki,” Ty said proudly. She was his favorite, and he loved everything that she did.

           Matt’s brow lifted as he beamed at her. She blushed and looked away. “It looks amazing, Bug,” he said before taking a bite. “You cook like your mother.”

           Nicole glanced up at me, pride on her face. I kissed the top of her head. “You can help me make Thanksgiving dinner this year,” I whispered.

***

           After breakfast, Matt and Nick tied an Elite bandana around my eyes. Then they took me by the hands and led me through the house. I could hear the children following along, whispering and giggling at each other. I looked around, trying to get an idea of what was happening, particularly when we left the house for the late September sunshine.

           Nick talked quietly as he guided me over the uneven bumps and dips. I followed a map of our property in my head as I tried to figure out where they were taking me.

           “Okay,” Matt said from my left. “Mattie, you got the camera?”

           “Yep,” I heard her reply.

           The bandana fell away, and I squinted in the bright light. We stood outside the garage that the boys had converted into a home gym when they bought their homes next to each other. I stared at the door, not sure what was happening.

           Nick stepped in front of me, his hand on the doorknob, and grinned. “You’ve given up so much for us, Y/N. Your passions and your hobbies. It’s time you got those back.”

           The kids filed in behind Nick, Mattie walking backward to keep her cell phone trained on me. Matt pushed me forward with his palm on the base of my spine. The moment I stepped over the threshold, I started to cry. The space was no longer a gym. Somehow, the boys had created a whole new room. It was painted a soft heather grey and stocked with every art supply I owned. My bento box with my chalks. Mason jars of brushes and acrylic. An easel and canvases of every size. Parchment paper. Everything I could ever want or need to draw, sketch, or paint.

           The walls were hung with frames of every size and shape. Some held pictures the kids had drawn over the years, signed at the bottom with their names and ages. Two of them were clearly by Matt and Nick. A rough black and white sketch of the curving roof of the Tokyo Dome. Another carefully drawn outline of a lighthouse along a coast.

           A palette had been turned into a photo frame—I suspected Brandon’s wife had something to do with it. It was splashed with bright colors, and circular holes had been cut into the wood. A picture of each of my children had been placed inside. A larger oval had a picture of the three of us at the wedding, the two of them standing in their suits on either side of me. A photo we were desperately grateful for after the fact.

           I turned around in circles, one after the other, trying to take in everything. My heart pounded in my chest and the tears poured down my cheeks. Mattie followed my every move with the camera, her hands shaking as she cried, too. Nicole sniffled.

           “Do you like it?” Matt asked softly.

           Nick leaned his chin on his brother’s shoulder. The two of them watched me apprehensively, almost terrified.

           “I love it. So much,” I whispered, trying to take a breath. “You… you did this… It’s beautiful. It’s perfect.”

           A moment later, I was wrapped up in their arms. “We love you,” Nick whispered in my ear as Matt cradled my head in his hand. “Happy birthday, Sunshine.”

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it​ @not-that-kinda-gurl08​ @lilred91​ @imagineall-the-fandoms​ @maelleoute​ @librathepheonix13​ @justamess44​

[justasfacelessasever]

In the brief interlude of teamwork between Sam, Bucky and Junior I imagine Junior going to use something that Bucky brought with them before realising its far to small for him and certainly too small for Bucky who just shuts down entirely the second he sees the domino mask in junior’s hand. 

He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he takes it back and its a solid moment before he’s himself again. He responds to know questions about it but it’s clear the mask means a lot to him and that his stuff is better left undisturbed.  He keeps it not only because RJ is one of his biggest failures and he likes to punish himself with that and prevent it happing again, but also because he needs to remember that briefly he had a family and there was love there. And above all he needs to remember that out there somewhere, there’s a scared little kid all alone and he needs to make the world as safe as he can for him.  He ties the mask around his wrist and continues as though nothing happened. He tries not to think of the fact he can still smell RJ on the fabric or that he last wore that particular mask while they were fighting together. He just pushes everything down and continues, he has to tear down whatever is left of Hydra, if not for himself then for the Kid he can’t be there for in any other way. 

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 71

What’s that saying? There’s always a calm before a storm…

I never really thought about those old sayings. Not until the world turned upside down and inside out. I’m not sure most people did. Not really. We mostly just went about our days, putting one foot in front of the other, and did the same routine as if nothing would ever change. And maybe, if nothing had, we would have never noticed the sayings. Other than for cross stitch samplers or needlepoint pillows, like what my grandmothers used to have on their walls or the sofas we weren’t allowed to sit on.

When the first signs of the world going asshole over teacups happened, no one really thought about those cutesy sayings either. I think we were a little too busy worrying about whether or not the mailman really bit that annoying little dog down the street in two or was that a figment of our overactive imagination.

 Wrapped up in Negan’s arms, after Mom and Judith rode off to enjoy the fair at Kingdom, having sated our physical urge for one another, I never once thought about calms before storms. All I could consider was how to make the feeling permanent. What way, other than leaving Alexandria, my sister and brother, my family behind could I have Negan’s naked flesh against mine every single night of the rest of my life?

So excuse me if I didn’t see the massive shit (and snow) storm coming our way.

 The first salvo is always the bloodiest. At least in our world it is. I learned, late, far too late to be of use, of the deaths. Henry, Enid, Tara, Tammy, Addy, Rodney, Frankie, Ozzy, Alek, and DJ lined up as heads on pikes like a gruesome homage to Vlad the Impaler. With Siddiq tied to a tree as the marker, alive but broken. I thought of Carl, how he’d been in love with Enid, or thought he was. I thought of Henry, how he wanted to save Lydia but ended up dead. Of Tara, the reluctant leader. Each one a message and each one a pin in the heart of their loved one.

Negan’s purpose changed, he was still caged, but he was a body with a purpose. He could be utilized for work. Laundry, cleaning, labor. He didn’t bitch, much, and he was in the fresh air, which was better than nothing. But he wasn’t free. And it was like the world held its breath. First salvo, remember?

 I left Alexandria before the first flurry fell. And I would forever curse that decision. I wanted to be next to Mom, to stand beside her, as Rick Grimes’ eldest child, to show strength and unity. I left Judith and RJ behind with Negan and Dog in the care of people that I had doubts about, but I told myself that it would be for a day or two.

Who could have foreseen the blizzard? Not me, clearly. I was trapped with my ex and Carol and HER ex. I was trapped with Connie and with Mom. I was trapped with people that honestly had me considering frostbite as the lesser of many evils. Hell, at times their company had me considering becoming a WALKER being the lesser of ALL evils.

First of all, I have NO clue what is going on with Carol and Ezekiel. Losing Wren was hard, losing my ability to have another child was hard. Losing Henry was something that Carol felt far deeper than I can ever contemplate experiencing. After having lost Sophia, she’d been so careful at guarding her heart, but letting him in happened and now this? She was lost.

Add in her and Daryl’s strange relationship, which I had always seen as somewhat maternal/sibling like, but now it was becoming something else. Something vaguely intimate and uncomfortable for me to witness. So I tried like hell to NOT witness it. EVER. I dare you to try that shit in close quarters during a blizzard, seriously, do it.

Also, toss in Ezekiel in the mix. My ex, Carol, and now a lovestruck fake king. Fun stuff.

 Connie and I made peace. Look, she offered me a free baby. It was a sweet, if bizarre gesture, and if I was going to get up in arms every time someone offered me a free child in the apocalypse, well I was going to be expending a lot of time being aggravated.

All I could focus on, between moving from one snowy as fuck area to another snowy as shit place, was Judith, RJ, Dog, and Negan.

“Can you imagine the conversations going on right now?” Mom asked, as we sat side by side in front of a fireplace at the Sanctuary of all fucking places. I shook my head and held my hands out.

“They’d better not smother him,” I muttered, as she snorted. “Do you think they’re-”

“They’re fine,” she promised, her hand reaching for mine and clutching it. “We’ll be with them soon and you’ll see.”

 We were all together soon. At Hilltop, RJ and Judith were playing in the snow, laughing as uncle Daryl pelted them with snowballs. Running to me and Mom and hugging us both tightly, Judith breathed into my hair that Negan was fine, just in the infirmary.

I found him, leg propped up on a pillow and a grin on his face that smoothed out the tension that had him strained as I walked in. “Jesus, are you ever NOT prone when I walk in?” He laughed and I felt my own stress relax. “What the fuck?”

“Your sister,” he shook his head, but held open his arms, which I took as the invitation it was. Curling into his arm, I sighed. “She was so damn focused on that fucking dog.” He was breathing in the scent of my hair, his hands roaming down my back, curling over my hips, checking every inch of me he could reach. “Damn near broke my fucking neck making sure they both survived.”

“I’m glad you saved both of them,” I muttered into his shirt, breathing him in. Then I worked my mouth up, kissing the scar my father gave his throat, smiling as he moaned. “I like this bed, Negan, and the fact that you aren’t-”

“Handcuffed?” Mom’s voice teased from the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.” She didn’t sound it, and I was tempted to make her sorry by continuing my tour of Negan’s body. “Seems like we met here before.”

I barely listened to their back and forth, and by the time I woke up, because apparently the very scent of Negan and the warmth of him was soothing enough to put me to sleep, it was dark outside the infirmary. His heart was steady under my cheek, his arms tight around me, and I listened for a moment, trying to decide if he was asleep too.

“You awake?” I smiled, lifting my face to kiss his pulse point, answering him without words. “Thank God.” And then, with a groan from the pain in his leg, but that was the only sign of his injury, he had me under him and we were taking full advantage of a real bed.

[wrestlgbtboards]

Can I ask why guys like Pete Dunne were temp blacklisted because it was assumed they might have known what they're friends were doing(re: speakingout) but none of The Elite were even though Marty was named? And with Cody, Bucks, and Kenny being EVPs, now that Marty is making a comeback, if he shows up in AEW will they be banned for hiring their friend who has allegations against him?

Honestly, we just didn’t think about it. At the time, we were trying to keep track of who had allegations brought against them, whether they were true/false, that kind of stuff. 

With Marty attempting to come back into wrestling, I’ll revisit it all heavily and consider it all as carefully as I can. Cody is already blacklisted, and now that its just me running the blog, content for Nick/Matt/Kenny is either gonna be severely limited or (mostly likely) cut off entirely, both because of their ties to Marty and my own issues with them.

I’ll make a post once I come back full time with an updated blacklist, updated reasons, etc. In the meantime, I’m completely open to answer questions like this or any other questions you guys might have!

Requests are still closed, and any new requests will be immediately deleted.

- RJ

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD 10x13: What We Become - First Thoughts

Holy symbolism and a half! This episode was amazing! Kind of freaking out over here. Okay, where to start?

This was such a beautiful episode. Especially in a Richonne sort of way. I really loved it. It was a crazy psychological episode for sure, but I thought it was gorgeous! The way they tied things together and did flashbacks to the very early episodes with Michonne. It was just utterly moving and compelling.

***As always, spoilers abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched! ***

So, Virgil was a researcher in a medical lab on the island. There’s a lot of virus and Cure and medical stuff. In fact, the place Michonne goes into with him at the beginning to kill his family (who are walkers) was pretty much a replay of the golf club. It had the Grady lighting and it looked like a medical place. Not so much like a hospital as like the retirement that the Governor went into in 4×06. But it was still medical and then they went into a room and they were people hanging from the ceiling, just like at the golf club.

And that’s probably where we got the most fascinating symbol—to me anyway—of the entire episode. We saw a shoe on the floor. So, my first thought of course was lost shoe symbolism. 

And the people hanging were obviously Virgil’s family, so he fell to his knees and was crying. It was very difficult scene. But then he did something really interesting.

He picked up the shoe and put it back on the walker.

In all the seasons that we’ve had lost shoe symbolism, we’ve never seen someone pick the shoe up and put it back on its original owner. And that made me rethink the symbolism just a little bit. I still think it points to the death fake out. But I think it’s specifically represents the separation of the people involved. Putting the shoe back on probably represents the reunion. So, Virgil was reunited with his family, even if they were dead. And Michonne finds Rick’s shoes, which means she’s about to be reunited with him.

You could even think about it from a Disney standpoint. I’m thinking about the end of Cinderella when the prince puts her lost shoe back on her foot. Could this Lost shoe symbolism have been a Cinderella template all along? Crazy.

Oh, by the way, Virgil picks white flowers to give his dead wife. I am 99% sure they aren’t Cherokee roses. They almost look more like lilies. But when he picks them, he’s still telling Michelle that his wife is alive, and it turns out, much like Sophia, that his wife is a walker. So even if they aren’t actually Cherokee roses, I think the symbolism is the same.

The Apple Symbol – this episode made me totally rethink it.

Michonne eats an apple and then finds out that Virgil has poisoned her. What he gave her, Jimmyweed, apparently, gives her the trippy hallucinations where she didn’t save Andrea and becomes one of Negan’s minions. So, we literally have an example of a poisoned apple. Since we’ve compared the Snow White template to Beth, maybe that’s not very shocking, but I can’t help but think that every single apple has represented a poison apple in some way. 

And I think maybe the poison apple just represents losing one’s family. I was thinking that I didn’t understand why we saw so many apples around Maggie in season seven, since she obviously didn’t die or anything. But she just lost Glenn. So maybe just as the poison apple divided Snow White from her prince and her friends, the dwarves, the apples that we see in TWD are always about being separated from the ones you love. And that’s why they’re “poisoned” apples. (I went back and watched 7x08 finally, and it confirmed this. I’ll talk about it in more detail later in the week.)

The Michonne stuff, while not particularly TD, was totally crazy. Did everyone notice that, in her hallucination, it was here that killed Glenn, at the Savior compound? And I loved that she and Rick came face to face. And Daryl killed her. After all the history between the characters in this show, it just strikes a major chord.

Also, in the hallucination, after Daryl shoots her, the camera focuses on Rick’s boot as he steps on her. A direct foreshadow of her finding his boots. I also had the thought that this is why we saw so much closeness and banter between her and Daryl in ep 1. Of course we already know they’re close, but they were also setting up this hallucination in a big way.

But the biggest take away here is that Michonne’s decision to help Andrea is what set her life on a positive path. I’ve talked about this before, but they like to say, especially on TTD, that if Negan had been the hero of the show, rather than Rick, to begin with, he’d be the good guy. And you all know I don’t buy into that. No one has been 100% behind Rick when he makes morally questionable decisions. We still love him, but don’t condone his occasional brutality, per se. And he’s certainly never beat someone’s head in with a bat in order to enslave people. It’s all about the choices they make.

By making the chose to show Andrea mercy (we definitely had the mercy theme in this episode) it led Michonne to where she met Rick and Carl, who became her family. She met her soulmate, adopted Carl and Judith as children, and eventually had another baby with Rick. But that all stemmed for that one choice to help and show mercy. I love themes like this!

One of the most powerful moments of this episode was near the end, when it flashes back to Rick staring at her through the prison fence in episode 3×02 and you hear Carl saying, “dad, should we help her?“ So powerful!

Oh, by the way, in hallucination when Daryl shot her,  he had both wings on his vest. I about screamed. But it actually makes sense because that would have been back during All Out War, before he lost one of his wings. 

But it also shows that the loss of the wing was very intentional and they took the time to put it back on his vest for this hallucination.

They talked a lot about heaven and hell and staring up at the stars. This was Michonne’s hell, being evil and not having ever acquired her family (Rick, Carl, Judith, RJ).

When encouraging Michonne to go find Rick, Judith said, “what if he’s trying to come home to, but no one will help him?” (Emphasis mine.) Talk about a home reference. And Michonne heads north to look for Rick. So we have a home and north star symbolism.

Michonne also says that she will try the walkie every morning for as long as she can. Just like Rick and Morgan’s arrangement in S1. Obviously, just like with Morgan, at some point Michonne will move out of radio distance, and she’ll be gone for a while. But I maintain that Rick and Michonne will have a reunion with their kids, just as Rick and Morgan did.

At the very end, she sees a huge group moving north with horses. I couldn’t help but wonder if that will end up tying into Fear the Walking Dead somehow. Or possibly the Highwaymen, who also rode horses.

I have a ton more to say about this. SO many great details and symbols, but I’ll go into them more tomorrow. How did everyone else like the episode?

[shellheadtm-a]

SHIPPING INFO !! ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?:

if you guessed stevetony, surprise!  grab yourself a gold star from the sticker sheet.  i mean it’s obviously not my only ship, buckytony is practically tied at this point for it (thanks winter soldier 2018 and dean, it’s all your fault).  i was on the tonyfelicia train before that last issue of black cat came out, my main crossover ship for him is completely out of the blue (rj maccready, listen, it happened, i can explain to you how it happened, it’s a very tearful tale of miscommunication and awkwardness and the end of the world), i can see a lot of potential ships, maybe, where he’d settle in and do fine with it.  but my main ship for him is tony/being happy and loved and safe, which is really the only otp for him that matters to me at all.  is he happy?  does he feel safe?  does he feel loved (at least part of the time because god if he doesn’t have massive self image issues)?  then we’re good to go.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?:

my main goal here, which probably sounds stupid but whatever, is to give tony healthy relationships that he can grow in to balance out the shitty ones he’s had in canon.  it’s why i’m not here for toxic ships for him, it’s been the majority of what his love life has been.  i’m also not a fan of angst for the sake of angst with no resolution.  back to that whole no toxic ships thing.  it wears me down, guys.  angst with a purpose is great.  angst just to make myself mad is not my thing, especially since there are things that will be inherently touchy because of tony’s history.  basically what i want are ships where he can develop and maybe start to feel comfortable enough to let the masks down, not things that will put them back up.  so no, not happy fluff all the time, but if there’s gonna be drama, i’d rather it not be the kind i can picture in a high school relationship.  there’s enough possible friction with tony as is that i don’t need to manufacture it.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?:

typically...i don’t even consider a ship with a character under 25.  closer to 30 and above is actually better, usually, because honestly, tony’s not some twenty-something.  with tony i’m not super comfortable, usually, with large age gaps.  he’s in his early 40s, for him someone closer to his age and maturity level (which is more mature than i’m betting most people think) is better.  tony needs an equal partner with some life under their belt, you get me?  he’s a lot to handle, not just because he likes to barrel ahead and do what he wants to do anyway because he’s stubborn and thinks he always knows best (which is a thing that has to be negotiated and stood firm about), but because he comes with some issues and trauma from past relationships.  he’s not some squeaky playboy that’s never had a relationship, he’s been abused, he’s been used, he’s been cheated on, and he’s been hurt.  a lot.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

yeah, i’d say i’m very selective.  i don’t say this to like...discourage people from it, like, at all.  by all means, i’m all ears to possible ships.  but i like there to be a basis for a ship?  some interaction that’s platonic?  to see how they click first.  and also i really, really prefer it to be a thing where we talk about it.  i’m gonna use mala and dean as examples here, but.  we have such detailed headcanons and shit because we actually talk about shit.  there’s a lot of stupid what if scenarios that get passed around.  also i have a habit of sticking to one or two portrayals for it.  mostly because tony’s wrapped around those like a squid and i can’t pry him off.  but also because i’d rather have fewer, very well developed ships than a bunch.  shipping’s not my main goal, i’m just here to write for my idiot spam in a can.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

my rule of thumb is that if it’ll get censored on network television, it goes behind a readmore.  will there be things of that nature on this blog - of course there will be, i think it’s fairly obvious tony is a huge fan of sex.  it’s the casual stuff he sucks at.

WHO ARE OTHER THE CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?:

in marvel specifically?  i can squint and see peter quill and tony maybe having a thing with the right development.  doomtony, but don’t @ me i don’t want to hear it.  tonyemma honestly - but i can’t say one way or another if it would ever be more than fwb.  tonyrhodey is another big one.  really it’s less for me about general characters and more about individual chemistry between portrayals.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?:

i’d uh.  appreciate it?  bascially don’t assume because you rp x, y, or z it means you get a ship.  like i said before, i kind of stick to one or two portrayals per character with this kind of thing and also depend heavily on chemistry.  if there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there, and i’d rather it not be pushed on me without discussion and some feeling things out.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:

more or less.  ships aren’t the end all be all for me, but they’re nice to have.  i like to watch tony grow when he has a safe place he feels loved and doesn’t feel the need to put on the song and dance all the time.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?:

to a degree?  like i have ships i’m super attached to, can’t imagine shipping with another version, and others i’d like to try out.  i’m not single ship, but i’m picky, so take that as you will.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?:

it’s less that and more which ships are my favorites that i have and the answer is all of them, because they’re all unique.  fe is a good one to see where his morals and emotions come into conflict with one another, to a degree.  mac is about hope for a future he hadn’t wanted.  steve and tony are...well.  steve and tony, it’s seeing that requited and seeing them just naturally move into that next stage of their relationship going forward.  bucky’s all about healing.  i like themes.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:

send me a meme, come talk to me in ims or disco, whatever, but let me know so we can talk about it and see if anything’s there.

[munchyn]

Dating Jin would include…

Summary: The title is pretty self-explanatory.

Word count: 758

A/N: Okay, so I got a bit carried away at the end. 😅😌. Hope you like it I wrote it quickly just to get something out of my mind. I will try to make one for each BTS member. Also the one joke I used in this is not mine (because I’m unoriginal). I just found it in the internet.

Warnings: cuddling kissing and stuff gets a bit heated at the end. I swear I didn’t mean it to. I don’t usually don’t write stuff like that.

First of all-

He will totally mother you 24/7

Goes overboard when you say you’re cold.

You two will be walking

“Jin, I’m cold.”

*wraps you in his jacket* “I told you to get a coat.” *puts a hat on your head* “But do you listen?” *wraps a scarf around your neck* “NOOOO.”

It’s either that or he’ll pull you closer to him and zip his jacket up around the two of you.

Depends on the day

Your relationship is basically just putting two children on a playdate. If one child has 60cm wide shoulders.

But with more kisses and cuddles

…and fucking

He always cooks

You two learned that you can’t cook the hard way

You love it when he cooks.

Especially when it’s only for you

When you’re sick and he makes your favourite meal just for you

It makes you feel ten times better than you did a second ago.

He insists on feeding you.

“Jin, I’m not a baby.”

“You sure? ‘Cause you sure do act like one.”

“Not true.” *pouts with your arms crossed*

“You’re doing it right now.”

You actually kinda like it.

One time, you tried to make a surprise breakfast for him.

You were making pancakes and they were either burnt, deformed or semi-raw.

As expected, there will be an overload of dad jokes.

You like to ruin them for him.

“What did one couch say to the other couch across the room?”

"Furniture can’t speak.”

“YAA, Y/N! STOP RUINING MY JOKES!”

He also likes to buy you loads of clothes?

Like, ever since you met him, you have a completely different wardrobe.

At least ¼ of the clothes in your closet are RJ merch.

What can I say, he’s a proud father.

You still steal his hoodies tho.

He loves how they look on you.

If you’re a tiny bean then he loves that they almost look like a dress on you since they go at least to your mid-thigh.

You also like to take his sweatpants.

They are way too big for you so you always have to them up at the bottom or you’ll trip.

If you’re taller, he loves that he can also steal your clothes as well.

It’s not the first time you’ve seen him playing super smash bros in your oversized sweater.

"Jin, just because you think one of my sweaters is cute doesn’t mean you can just take it.”

“Why? You do it all the time.”

“It’s different when I do it.”

“Hypocrite.”

Did I mention he was playing super smash bros?

'Cause the two of you have played that game together countless times.

You also play Mario Kart a lot.

At least once a week you can be found playing either one of those games.

You get real competitive real fast.

Sometimes you’re either in first or second place or in 7th. There is no in-between.

If you lose too many times you get upset because you are a sore loser

Jin was right. You do act like a baby.

You getting upset (not only from playing video games. This applies to any situation.) Leads to Jin wrapping a blanket around the both of you.

He hugs you tightly with your back against his chest.

LOTS

OF

KISSES

Pecks on your forehead, on your cheeks, on your lips, on your neck.

Making out in front of the members.

Instant groans from them.

Then there are other kisses that lead to more.

He will start pressing light kisses to the back of your neck.

Then to your jaw, sucking marks into your skin.

He moves to your collar bone and kisses your shoulders.

You hum along, letting out a small whimper when he nibbles on the tender skin.

“You sound so good baby.”

He’ll turn you around to straddle him.

If you hesitate to let your weight on him he will pull you down onto his crotch.

He’ll nuzzle his head into the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent.

Be ready to be praised.

All attention is on you the moment you enter the bedroom.

He will place kisses on every body part he praises about you.

He loves to make you squirm that bastard.

You better listen to what he says he’ll leave you tied to the bed for as long as he pleases.

Loves to tie you up.

He didn’t know if you would want to do that.

But once you mentioned it he just smirked and that was one hell of a night for you.

MASTERLIST

REQUESTS ARE OPEN