#but like I agree with the general sentiment that shows are taking too long to release shows rn

[rotating-hyperfixations]

One of the comments that I’ve started to see pop up on Twitter and TikTok lately was that it’s wildly that Millie Bobby Brown is married and about to play a teenage girl that defeats monsters through the power of friendship; as a dig as to how long it’s taken Netflix to release a five season show. And like, they’re not wrong the show debuted when I was 17 turning 18 and now I have a bachelors degree, masters degree and a full time job. But, for the most part their production delays haven’t been their fault?

Like seasons 1-3 I think had about a year and half between each season, give or take. Then season 4 was set to follow that schedule and COVID hit and shut down film production for over a year, and then when season 5 was set to begin the writers and actors strikes happened which delayed filming again. It’s definitely a problem, how long it takes for studios/streamers to release shows now a days; especially ones that are not heavy VFX or effects shows. But I don’t feel like Stranger Things falls into this category, sure they’ve taken a while to release five seasons worth of content, but for the most part they have tried to have a reasonable turn around time between seasons; they just had bad luck with outside events interfering with production.

TLDR: There is absolutely a problem with the time in between releases of shows now a days, however Stranger Things by all accounts has tried to keep that window short and has just had unfortunate luck and not a good example of it being an egregious amount of time between release dates. Especially given the effects heaviness of the show.

[venvellan]

da2's arishok is a good villain. if you have a fundamental understanding of the qun and listen to his thought process, the things he does makes sense. he uses the qun to justify slaughtering kirkwall's people, which is utterly inexcusable and what makes him a villain, but his character is complex enough to make dealing with him that much more thought provoking. he sends agents to kill petrice because she was killing his people, he doesn't give up the elves because they committed their lives to the qun, no matter how recently they converted, and he refuses to leave without the tome (and isabela) because his idea of justice hasn't been done. his logic makes sense, generally, though it is wrong on more than one occasion. he isn't moral, but he is methodical.

i feel this way about solas, too. i like da2's arishok for the same reasons that initially draw people to solas, i think. when we meet them, i find them interesting and educational to talk to, someone worthy of respect, and someone very honorable in their own way. similarly, many of my issues with solas compare with flaws in the qun/the arishok.

solas asserts that all of his beliefs are correct, and we're never allowed to challenge him on any of it. if he has high enough approval, he'll approach you to go, "yknow, i thought you were all [insert prejudice or stereotype] but YOU showed me that some of you guys are actually okay," which is NOT what it looks like for someone's beliefs to be challenged.

brief aside, i want to be fair in that we don't get this opportunity with many of the companions, and it's not even an inquisition specific issue. the dialogue format is agree, joke, be mean, and it's flawed, but it works in the majority of interactions. we don't really get to engage in nuanced discussions with characters, but there are positives and negatives to the system overall. it is possible to challenge and shape a character within this dialogue system (i.e., garrus vakarian) but in dragon age that really only comes in the form of harden/unharden. it was a little more doable with origins' system, but it really hasn't been a huge part of any dragon age game. most characters' beliefs remain largely unchanged by you regardless of how you play.

solas also possesses a strong sense of duty and purpose, though what duty he has, what his true goals are, he keeps hidden as long as he can. the most damning comparison though, to me, is how willing he is to destroy the world and bring back "his people," while the qunari fight to conquer the world and homogenize society into "their people."

in any case, with both him and the arishok, you can see the wheels turning in their heads. you can see why they do what they do, even if it's wholly immoral. it makes their threat a lot more personal, a lot scarier, psychologically, that a "normal" person, who doesn't want to cause suffering, can hold such specific beliefs and such strong conviction that knowing that they'll hurt people doesn't give them any pause. the root of their motivation is understandable. solas wants to right his wrongs, at his core. the arishok implicitly believes that the qun is safer, better for its people than life outside the qun. we can see that they're taking it too far, but they don't care. it makes them good villains.

"i am not corypheus, i take no joy in this." sure, which is a very similar sentiment, emotionally, to the qunari sense of duty. you can say you don't enjoy it all you want, you're still committing genocide. you can hate the qunari all you want, but you fight with their ferocity, their unshakeable faith in their own cause. their need to "do what's right," no matter who's caught in the wake.

i understand why people like solas, i go back and forth on it myself, but i don't think he's all that different from the arishok in method and motivation. they're each thrust into a world so different from what they believe is "right" that they demand it change around them. if we had to kill the old arishok, then if solas refuses to give up, he will have to die. he doesn't get to do genocide just because he's romanceable. he's a good character, he's a good villain, but he's not a good guy, and unless he stops before he does any real harm (which he will not do), he should share the arishok's fate.

[builtbybrokenbells]

Poolsides & Pizza Boxes | JTK | Some Time Later

Just when you think everything is changing, you begin to see that it’s really the exact same as it’s been all along.

Read Poolsides & Pizza Boxes here

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: brief mentions of sex, brief mentions of drinking, swearing, and lots of fluff!

I received a lovely little ask and I couldn’t help but write a little blurb 🤍 I love you guys more than you know!!

“That’s just about everything, trouble.” Jake let out a long breath, landing a firm hand atop the cardboard box he just placed on the table. “Everything upstairs is cleared out, and it seems like we got everything that was down here, too.” He continued, his eyes briefly scanning the kitchen as he spoke.

“I think I’m gonna miss this place.” You said, an air of sadness in your tone. “It was my first house, you know? I made it into a home, even if it wasn’t for very long.”

“You did.” He nodded, his eyes settling on his face as he tried to decipher the emotion in your features. “But it wasn’t your first house. Technically, you're moving back into your first house.”

“No, that’s different.” You shook your head, your lips twitching into a small smile. “That was your house; I was just staying there.”

“No, you were living there.” He corrected, taking a step towards you. “That house has always been yours just as well as mine.” He said, brushing the baby hairs away from your forehead as he gave you a soft smile. “Now, it’ll really be ours.”

“I like the sound of that.” You hummed, stepping forward and wrapping a single arm around his torso. You leaned into him, resting your head on his shoulder as you let your eyes flutter closed. “You think the guys are mad at me for making them help me move again?” He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head immediately after the words left your lips.

“They’d never be mad at you, trouble. Plus, it gives them an excuse to day-drink and eat takeout.”

“They do that anyway.” You grinned, turning your head upwards to face his. He let out a small noise, not responding with words but very clearly agreeing with your thoughts.

It had been just shy of half a year since you and Jake started dating. The high emotion of the fateful night opened a whole new door for the two of you, and it didn’t take long for you to grow comfortable in a relationship, just the same as you did as friends. Now, he was spending nearly every night at your house, or vice versa. As adults, you’d come to the conclusion that paying two mortgages when one house was mostly vacant was a stupid idea. You were burning money the longer you lived apart, all while going through the motions of cohabitation.

A few weeks prior, Jake slipped the idea in your mind of moving in with him. At first, you brushed it off with a laugh, not taking him too seriously. Then, he brought it up again at dinner, striking the irrefutable idea. He liked your house; loved it, even, but his was bigger, and yours would need more work done to it as the years went on. You had lived there before, and you had both been under the general impression that the two of you were going to last. You felt no need to go through the classic motions of dating, because you’d been doing it all without the sexual intimacy for your entire lives.

So you thought about it for a day, but you didn’t need much longer than that to agree with his proposal. You both figured you could fix it up a little more and host an open house to show all the renovations it received, and once it sold, you’d move in with him. The process only took about a month total, and before you knew it, your life was packed up in boxes again and you were hopeful it would be for the last time.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just too sentimental.” You shrugged, your sad eyes glancing out the patio door to your backyard. “We put so much work into this place. I got the expensive wood floors Sam liked so much, and we built a pool, Jake.”

“Do you want to move in with me, trouble?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. If you were to disagree, he wouldn’t be angry about it. It was more or less a question to ensure your comfortability, to make sure that he didn’t pressure you into something you did not want to do.

“Of course I do, Jake.” You said, finding it near blasphemous that he even had to ask. “I love living with you, and I want to do it. Besides, even if I didn’t, it would be a little too late to back out now.” You smiled.

“Then what is it?” He asked, relieved to hear the words. “Why are you so hesitant?” You stayed silent for a moment, your lips dipping down into a slight frown.

“I guess…” you trailed off, your stomach twisting with nerves for a reason completely unapparent to you. “We happened here, Jake. Everything started here, in this kitchen, and that pool. I guess I’m a sucker for sentimental stuff, and that was the best day of my whole life. Is it weird that I don’t want to let that go? I don’t want strangers living in this house, especially when it’s so important to me. We’ll never get to see this place again, and I guess that does make me a little sad.”

“No, it isn’t weird, trouble.” He said, pulling away from you slightly so he could turn to face you. He lifted your chin with his index finger, forcing you to hold his gaze. The warmth of his brown eyes seemed to wash away all of your troubles, and you felt ridiculous for ever being upset at all when you had someone like him around. “This place is important, and it’s special to me, too. I think of that night every time I walk in this kitchen, trust me.” His tone changed as he spoke the last sentence, like the thought alone was working him up. A smirk was plastered on his lips and his eyes glazed over with a now overly familiar emotion to you. You rolled your eyes, landing a playful smack on his arms.

“Gross, Jake.” You laughed.

“Shut up, you think about it too.”

“Well duh.” You shot back. “But I don’t think about it like that.”

“Don’t lie to me, trouble. I know that’s not true.” He said, cocking his head to the side as he waited for you to confirm his words.

“Okay, yeah, fine. I do.”

“Right.” He laughed. “Point is, sweetheart, I’m sad to let go of that, too. You’re not stupid for feeling that way, because I’ve been thinking about it all day. But,” he said, leaning ever so slightly closer to you. “We’re going to make so many more memories, some that might be even better than the one we made that night, in our house, together.” He reminded you. “So yeah, it sucks when one chapter ends, but we’ve got at least ten more in this lifetime, right?”

“Right.” You nodded against his gentle hold, leaning upwards to meet his position. His nose brushed over yours, the slight touch sending a shiver down your spine. Still, months later, he managed to make you weak just by existing. “New memories, and a new life. It’s going to be great.”

“It is.” He whispered, his eyes heavy lidded as he fought the urge to kiss you. “We’ve got the whole world in our hands, trouble. Let’s do something with it.”

“Yeah,” you breathed, unapologetic about how immersed you were in him, in the moment. With that, he leaned down and placed a small kiss on your lips. It still took your breath away and made your head spin, and he still tasted as sweet as he did the first time he ever kissed you. The only tragic part about kissing Jake was the fact that it had to end, and you couldn’t spend the rest of your life with him, exactly like that. When he parted with you, you held him close for a moment, not ready to grieve the ending of the moment just yet. “I am going to miss that pool. I know I gave you a hard time about it, but I love it.”

“I know you do, sweetheart. That’s why I did it in the first place.” He explained, pulling your hips into his, showing you he was just as happy as you to stay in the position. “Which is also why I have a couple guys at my house right now, surveying the backyard so they can start on ours tomorrow.”

“What?!” You exploded, taking a step back from him. “Jacob Kiszka, you did not!” You tried to wrap your head around the fact, floored that he loved you enough to build you not one, but two pools.

“Yeah, I did.” He laughed, hanging his head low as his shoulders shook with laughter. “But it was a little selfish, this time. It wasn’t just for you, it was for me, too.”

“I can’t believe you.” You laughed, shaking your head at the man before you.

“Well, you better start believing sweetheart, cause this is what the rest of your life is gonna look like.” He grinned. “Now we have our own pool, and I can fuck you in it whenever I want.” Your cheeks burned red and your heart sped at his words, realizing that his intent this time really was a bit selfish. You couldn’t be too upset about it, because you knew you would enjoy that part just as much as he would.

“Right, so now that that’s settled, you ready to get going?” You asked, trying to quickly brush over the topic. You couldn’t focus on it for too long, because if you did, you wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else for the rest of the day.

“Yeah, s’long as you are.” He said, giving you a smile.

“Okay.” You let out a sigh, looking around the room. Tomorrow, new owners would have the key to the front door, and the most exhilarating and beautiful chapter of your life would come to an end. At the same time, you couldn’t be too sad about it because you knew it would only open the door to an even better future. “Let’s hit the road, then.” You said, giving a sad smile.

“Sure.” He nodded, but made no move to leave. You furrowed your eyebrows, curious as to why he seemed so reluctant to leave, now.

“Spill, Jacob.” You said, taking your turn to pry into his brain. He swallowed hard, tapping his foot against the floor as he tried to phrase his words correctly.

“How about we wait, just a little while longer?” He offered, his eyes glancing around the room.

“Why would we do that?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. He gave a slight shrug, his hands resting in the pockets of his jeans as his gaze finally landed back on your face.

“We could make one last memory in this kitchen before we have to leave.” He offered, waiting to hear your thoughts before saying anything else. “Up to you, trouble.” You slowly turned, your eyes landing on the kitchen table that started it all, and your lips quirked into a smile.

“One more, just for old times sake.” You nodded, turning back to him as you accepted his offer. A grin overtook his face as he stepped towards you, landing his hands on your hips and his lips on your own.

As you wrapped your arms around his neck, inviting him in even further, you finally understood what he was trying to tell you; it didn’t matter where in the world you were, not what house you lived in or how old you were. Memories would be plentiful, and perfection wouldn’t be a strong enough word to describe it. So long as you had Jake by your side, you would be happier than ever before.

[sukunasdirtylaugh]

3 Pink Roses Mean, "I Love You"

- Nanami Kento (ch9)

synopsis: a confession from Nanami sweeps out. Nobara, being the best assistant ever, helps you pursue a new project, and Nanami comes home late one night to reassure you. A romantic date is planned where feelings blossom. Gojo is also a nosy blob.

series masterlist

For as long as he could remember, Nanami Kento had always kept his emotions under check. Never in his life had he had to control his words, except in the case of Gojo where he really, and his therapist agrees, really exhausts his limits.

The businessman keeps his emotions as generalized as he can, relying on facts rather than emotion, it's what you have to do when you're in the corporate world. The world will believe facts over sentiments any day, it's what you can prove on paper what matters. So it became a habit for him. Ever since his university years, his job managed to solidify those beliefs. Mindlessly stimulate his brain with numbers and graphs until he's just too tired to feel at the end of the day.

Too tired to function.

Two days after your progressive 'movie' night with Nanami, he wakes up earlier than usual, assuring to call out from work for a few hours. He could never not take the day off, wouldn't allow himself.

“So, Nanami, I heard you went on vacation. How did that go?” The woman in front of him smiles, resting her bullet point pen against the spine of her notebook. She doesn't write at this moment, and she knows Nanami is observing if whether or not she'll write this conversation down.

"It went well," he replies, noticing her strands of hair are a darker shade than Gojo's. "I... I went to Boston, with my partner."

“A partner?” Her eyebrows raise in surprise, “You never mentioned you were seeing someone. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” 

“How long have you been together? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Two months.”

Technically, it wasn’t a lie. They met in June and July was already here, so that did count as two months.

If you were stretching the truth. 

“What did the two of you do in Boston? My husband and I haven’t been to a red socks game in forever and the lobster at Neptune Oyster is to die for.” 

“We visited the Aquarium,” Nanami focuses on the patchwork of her coat, “and we took a boat tour as well.” 

“Sounds like the two of you are compatible.”

“What makes you say that, Doctor?”

“You strike me as a relaxed fellow, Nanami. I’m sure your partner is the same? Unless she’s more enthusiastic, of course.” she holds a knowing smile, “because I could see that working out.”

“She’s…" Nanami searches for the words, "smart, well intentioned, independent, compassionate...”

“Sounds like a determined woman if you ask me.” the professional points out with a short chuckle. “It also sounds like she’s someone special because I’ve never heard you talk so highly about anyone. Not like your co-worker,” she notices Nanami roll his eyes, making her bite back a smile.

“Has this partner positively affected your day-to-day life?” 

“She makes me look forward to coming back home,” he replies. 

“Oh, so the two of you live together?”

Nanami freezes, fuck. 

“We... uh… we made the decision to move in before Boston…”

“So is that like a honeymoon thing?” she asks, genuinely curious, “Because I know younger people like to skip the-”

“-It was just for fun,” he quickly clarifies, “the trip.” and the word fun rolls off his tongue with such foreignness that even he can feel a shift in the room.

A moment passes by before the woman smiles at him.

“Well, that’s good to hear.” she says before adjusting a photo of her with a young man, Nanami presumes, no older than 21 wearing a cap and gown. 

“That’s my son,” she grins, following Nanami's eyes, unashamed to show off her son, “Michael, 21. Graduated in Economics from NYU. I believe you were a student there as well?”

“Only for Law.”

“Oh, so you’re a Lawyer?”

“No." He shakes his head, "I dropped after my 2nd year.”

“Change of career?”

“More like change of life,” he answers dryly, “My… my father was a Lawyer, and he owned a law firm of his own…”

“Then... what happened?"

"I… I’m not a good person," Nanami's voice feels caught through his windpipes. It is only then when Nanami decides to take the covers off. He thinks that if he were ever to unveil such personal detail of his life, then everyone around him would flee, and see him as the bastard he deserves to be called.

"I’m not a good person because... I ruined someone’s life."

“This is a lovely painting," Nobara sighs in content, "tell me, where in the world did your boyfriend buy this for you?”

As you and your interior designer admired your painting from the living room, you couldn’t help but stiffen as she was not aware of any arrangements you had with Nanami, like the fact the two of you slept in separate bedrooms. Nobara had suggested you hang the painting in your ‘shared’ bedroom', but the idea was immediately thrown out the window along with placing the painting in the hallway. 

“It was at an auction in Boston,” the palm of your hand rests on the back of your neck, “I actually didn’t know it was an auction until Nanami and I reached the end of the art gallery.”

“Wow, so you’re telling me he had to bargain for this baby?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say-”

“-Did he compete with anyone? What was the starting bid?” You could see the apparent interest in her voice that made your cheeks warm. Nobara’s passion for art and design peeked through the cracks of her voice, dying for an answer. 

“It was a starting bid of $12,500 and there was just one bidder apart from him.”

“How much did he pay for it?” she asked. 

“$25,000 dollars.” 

The realization of your confession didn’t sink until after Nobara’s widened eyes. You lucky girl! No wonder why you were so quiet and against putting this baby in your bedroom! You want your guests to see this work! 

Nobara’s hands were freshly moisturized that you could see the glistening lotion through the sun’s rays hitting her skin. The large windows to your shared apartment were expansive, granting you and anyone who stepped foot into your home an impressive view of San Francisco. Large buildings, primarily from tech-related businesses to the view of the Golden Gate Bridge itself. If you tilted your head a little more to the right, you could see the full bridge, but you stood place as you heard Nobara’s words of excitement for you. 

“I can’t believe this marks the end of our project, I was really hoping to do more, but-”

“-wait,” you stop her, “maybe there is. I’ve been wanting to do something, but I’d like your word on it. C-can I take you upstairs? To the rooftop, that is?”

That day, you learned that it was possible to impress Nobara Kugisaki with your words, allowing her into your home was already a delight for her, so you would only hope she would accept your idea as you took her to the rooftop of the building.

“It’s a bit dusty up here,” you admit, “who knows when the last time anyone came up here was, but can we fix this? Maybe add a small furniture piece or even fairy lights?”

“We can do that,” Nobara softly kicked the leg of one of the abandoned plastic chairs with the point of her boot. She turned to you. 

“By when do you want this complete?”

“Before the 4th of July.”

“That’s possible...” she contemplates, “...but I do want one thing.” 

Your eyes widen at her first ever request, “what is it?”

"Take a picture with Nanami outside," she smiles. "I'll check when the best hour for firework sightings is, but I'm pretty sure this rooftop has one of the best views in San Franciso." She suggests, possibly reading your mind, "Plan a picnic with him out here, get all romantic, and enjoy yourself. That's all I want to see- a happy couple in love."

Her words make you blush, filling your heart with hope, and maybe something more. This idea could work. You could do something special for Nanami, make his day worth something, and fulfill your obvious role as his fake girlfriend. But were you taking your role too seriously? You could care less, focusing instead on the details for Saturday. Hopeful for a successful... date?

"A little birdie told me someone's turning a year older todayy," Gojo's words echoed as Nanami worked in his desk, arriving to his desk, Satoru plops down a party hat, a few decorative birthday accessories that were probably way too much, and a birthday candle- the kind that exaggeratingly lights up like a firework.

A few days after Nanami's appointment, he had been extra cordial around you. And as expected, he was not home during the hours you were up, either leaving too early or arriving too late. He was thankful for your understanding, and the lunch break messages would now appear every 2-3 days. Nanami figured you were either giving him the space he needed, or you were too busy to message. Either way, he was grateful no one had made a big deal about this as much.

"So tell me," Gojo leans forward and rests his elbows on top of Nanami's paperwork, "What will Nanami Kento do tonight? Does he have a date? Is he seeing his girlfriend?"

Knowing he was striking a chord, Nanami grunts, giving him a displeased look until he freezes, noting the small loaf of banana bread he would frequent from his favorite bakery. His shoulders visibly relaxed. "How did you know."

"It's easy to figure out your birthday, also Facebook has these crazy reminders- you should try them out. The other day I forgot it was my Grandma's birthday and that website came in clut-"

"-I didn't need to know all of that information," Nanami says, then sighs, "but... thank you."

Astonished by his oddly accepting demeanor, Satoru's eyes widen. "Wait- don't tell me- did something happen with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfr-"

"-Side chick,"

"She's not a side chick."

"Okay... uh... friends with benefits?"

"I'm offended you think I might even consider that,"

"Okay, sheesh." Satoru huffs a piece of stray hair from his forehead, "Lady friend," he hears no complaint from Nanami and Satoru takes this as a silent victory. "I assume you guys are going out?"

"In this weekend?" Nanami questions, "it's a holiday, traffic is horrible, and I'd rather stay in."

"God," Satoru makes a noise of disgust, "I forgot how boring you can be. Let's hope Mrs. Lady-Friend makes something out of this," he says as he now stands, leaning against the desk. A long moment passes as he now eyes the banana loaf.

"Now give me a smile because I've got to take a photo with my best co-worker buddy,"

It isn't until past 11 when Nanami comes home exhausted that he notices you're still miraculously up. With a bun of messy hair, the laptop charger sitting under on the table gives him the impression that you've been here for some time. “You came.”

“I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

“You didn’t.” you exhale, “I figured you’d show up.”

Nanami suddenly feels her stare at him harder, “Whose birthday was it?”

“Huh?" he asks before looking down at his chest, crap. He forgot to take off the decorations Satoru made him wear. Both a party hat and birthday shoulder sling decorate his upper body.

"A-a coworker of mine wanted to celebrate my birthday.” he awkwardly stands.

“It... it’s your birthday?” 

“It’s fine,” he regrets saying it was his birthday now, “I-I even forgot it was my own.”

“But I didn’t know,” she mutters to herself in self-disappointment. “I… I should have asked…”

“It’s fine, we never really got to that part in our relationship.”

“But I should have known,” she defends with a slight frown, “It’s… it’s my job to make this relationship feel easy-” He suddenly cuts you off.

“-This is not a job that should feel like it’s a burden. It’s not your fault. Blame me too, I don’t know your birthday either.”

“But you’re always so busy…”

Not for you, he wants to say. Instead, he takes a step forward, placing his hands at the sides of her arms in reassurance. This is what couples do, right?

“Don’t give yourself a headache over this.” He tells you, your breathing deepens when his hands massage her arms. Nanami notices you're uncertain by the way she turns to her feet.

“Look at me,” he softly says.

“None of this was under your control.”

Taking you by surprise, he presses your body against his, arms wrapping themselves around your waist, and your face buries itself on his chest. 

“I know," you breathe, " ’m sorry.” 

“Why on earth are you apologizing for?”

"I don't know... I feel like I failed you.''

"There's no way you failed me, sweet girl." he says, softly placing a gentle hand on the back of your head as you lean against him, eyes closed and mind too full to notice what was going on right now. "I should've discussed holidays and birthdays with you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to become so taxing for you." glancing down towards you he speaks once more. "How about we do something this weekend, hm? go out?"

"Mhm," you hum, feeling him pull you closer, not saying anything yet as you had plans and surprises in store for him. ''You came late today."

"I did,"

“Will you be working tomorrow?” a gleam of hope surpasses your eyes, “it’ll be the 4th.”

Nanami shrugs, “I fail to see how that’s a holiday worth celebrating given this country’s historical and current standing.” he pauses, face softening, “but I’ll make an exception. Did you have something planned already?”

“Sorta,” you bite the inside your cheek, “but it doesn’t have to 4th of July focused, we can just celebrate your birthday.”

“Okay,” he breathes, “so what did you have in mind?”

“Can’t tell you,” you smile, “it’s a surprise.”

He chuckles, "Of course. Well... I'll be off tomorrow at 4, will that work for you?"

"It sounds perfect."

"Very well," you can't really see if the corner of his lip tugs upwards in the dim light, but you imagine it does by the sound of his voice. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yes," you breathe, breathless almost. "Don't work too hard, okay?"

As he makes his way towards his room, he thinks, for you? this is nothing.

a/n: I am terrible with taglists. I promise I will redo them. let me know in the comments if you'd like to be tagged/removed.

tag list: @mishroses @musegonemad @sweetteez @kachowness @summerli-u @r0ses4ndlilies @justoutheretrynaread @citrusteaa @fic-for-readers

previous // next

[slotumn]

Twist on a 3H golden route where Byleth does succeed in getting the lords to cooperate in implementing reforms and defeating Agarthans, but ultimately ends up backstabbed by them for political reasons.

Namely, they're way too popular/influential/capable, and this does not bode well for the rulers of the three nations.

Byleth being powerful isn't as much of a problem in the standard 3H routes, because one way or another, the continent becomes unified and Byleth is on the side of the unifier. But in a situation where all three regimes still exist and there's this prominent figure who helped fix so much of the continent's problems and has religious/ideological significance transcending the three nations' borders? Like it or not, they're political competition and threat for the lords. Whether they're archbishop or "just" a general/advisor, they are too damn competent and/or popular. And it doesn't even matter whether Byleth intends to become a politician themselves— just by existing, the lords are going to get compared to them.

Even if Byleth tries to stay behind the scenes as much as possible, realistically there would be other personnel who worked with Byleth alongside the lords in various endeavors, and they're going to have opinions. Said personnel are probably important figures in each nation's military/government, too. And again, like it or not, Byleth is risking showing up the lords in front of their own guys. Even if they're close personally, in terms of politics, it's that much harder to maintain authority when there's someone who seems stronger than you right in the vicinity!

Claude stepping down as leader of Leicester and going over to Almyra doesn't solve this either, because in a situation where Adrestia and Faerghus still exist, Byleth can't just take over Leicester. Considering the significance of their power, Byleth directly ruling over one of the three nations will definitely look biased and stroke tensions.

So, what are the options? Just have Byleth hang around and vibe? Either as the archbishop or an advisor who floats around between the three nations? This influential, popular figure simply being allowed to exist in vicinity of the three regimes without pledging alliance to any of them? That's going to work out real well (not). The most idealistic scenario is Byleth agreeing to disappear after everything (driving out Agarthans + implementing reforms) is over, but realistically? The regimes wouldn't wanna wait that long. If they let Byleth hang around until that's all done, it's too late, this commoner ex-merc already has stolen too much thunder.

This is the irony about overwhelming power; in times of great turmoil, it saves, but otherwise, it's a threat, a disruptor to the balance, even if it's wielded by someone benevolent.

Anyway, the situation is: the lords all have good reasons to want to solidify their own authority over their respective nations as they get rid of Agarthans and reform things, and it's obvious as all fuck who's (unintentionally) undermining said authority. Yeah maybe Byleth is their beloved mentor, but now, they're leaders of their nations before they're their teacher's students. Maybe they feel bad about doing this, but whatever their personal sentiments are, that doesn't change their next political move.

The lords betray and kill Byleth for power— just like how the Agarthans they'd teamed up to defeat killed Sothis for power.

I think all the ways Byleth could react to this are very sexy. Genuinely caught off guard and dies casting a curse on the ungrateful fools of Fódlan? Sexy. Expected it and doesn't stop it because they know this is what it takes to bring peace? Sexy. Too sad and tired and heartbroken to fight back? Sexy.

Tl;dr local teacher literally too powerful to be allowed to exist in a golden route, gets killed by their students

[brandwhorestarscream]

Megastar?

And if you're up for it... Megatron/Elite Trine, with Megatron as the carrier?

These two idiots don't know jack shit about raising a baby, but they're trying. God damn it, they're trying so hard. This feels like G1 to me, idk why. It's a G1 kind of night. You'll never convince me that G1 Megastar aren't the biggest switches. They fight snd spar and wrestle for dominance, winner gets to top, and the other one is so charged up from being manhandled they practically break the berth every night. A sparkling was never planned and by the time they realize they're going to be parents, it's too late to consider termination

Megatron is the one who ends up sparked, and while he never, ever thought being a carrier would ever be possible... he doesn't hate the idea. He really doesn't want to raise his child in the midst of wartime, but trapped on earth he doesn't have the means to put them into cryostasis when they're born. So instead, he pledges to do the best he can: so long as he's alive, no slagsucking autobot or uppity high and mighty civilian will ever put their servos on his child. This sparkling will grow up with every freedom he didn't have, they can be whatever they want to be and no one will ever speak a work of functionist pitslag to them. They'll never be anyone's property, they'll never be branded and forced to toil ceaselessly for the sake of slavedriving overlords. He won't even force them to take over his throne if they don't want to: he's not planning to kick the bucket anytime soon anyway, and he'll only retire when he's dead. If his sparkling wants to be a teacher, they cab. If they want to be an author, they can. If they want to be a sharpshooter or a spy or a general or one of his high commanders, they can. That's the finest gift he can give them, he thinks: the freedom of choice. Starscream begrudgingly agrees, as the child isn't going to be a seeker and so he can't prepare them as a future Winglord. They're not perfect and are in fact fucking crazy, but they do want the best for their little spark.

When the baby is born, they have Megatron's original alt mode, surprising no one as it was a singleton pregnancy. They're his gunmetal gray and Starscream's flashy red, truly a beautiful sparkling. Megatron is so proud, and almost nostalgic of the past: he sees so much of himself in them, full of potential but born free of Cybertron's confines. He can't wait to see what they'll become. Starscream shares the sentiment, and it's the first thing they've truly agreed on in so, so long. They're dysfunctional as hell but they both love their sparkling.

When the baby is born, Megatron is back to work within 3 days. He slows down for nothing and no one, not even birth. He's back on his throne commanding the decepticons with the newspark suckling from his pouches, Starscream for once proudly posted at his side. The seeker is walking on air, showing off to the entire airforce that he sired the first sparkling born in 4 million years. Very rarely is one of them alone with the bitty, just because their jobs overlap so much, but when they are? Starscream baby talks the little one. Coos at them about how handsome and smart and perfect they are, what a wondrous perfect little baby! Bitty eats it up, and he relishes in the way they giggle and wave their tiny servos at him. Megatron is quiet most of the time he's with them, content just to watch them babble senselessly and slowly learn about the world. At night though, every night before putdown, he whispers a solemn oath to them. "I promise to always protect you, to always be here for you, to always support you and be proud of you. I promise you a future where you're free and happy, and I promise to always stand beside you. I promise that as long as I live, no one will ever hurt you, and I promise, as l live, you'll never suffer needlessly." and he means every word. Their future is indescribably precious, it's priceless, and he'll fight with all that he has to make sure it's preserved. They won't walk the same path of misery as so many decepticons before them, and he'll tear the world apart a thousand times to guarantee that.

[nastyatticman]

another Eddie Gluskin x reader idea - pre Outlast game, but Mount Massive has gone to shit

TW: non con, public humiliation

I’m thinking you were working at Mount Massive, watching things go downhill fast.

It was getting concerning since you were still, somehow, trying to advocate for the patients. Even if all you could do was make a small difference in their days, show a little bit of kindness in a sea of misery. Maybe you were a psychiatrist or worked in the pharmacy, or even just in the cafeteria.

Your exact occupation isn’t important. For a few of the patients, you were a bright spot in their normally dismal routine. It was hard to tell with some, who were too reserved to speak to you much.

Not Edward Gluskin. He made his feelings about you known very quickly. You thought he was always very cheerful and well groomed. He seemed to have an interest in presenting himself as a gentleman, and speaking a … particular way towards the female patients and workers.

After some rude nudging from your coworkers you found out he’d always comb his hair when he knew he’d see you. Aww, looks like he’s got a crush on you, they’d said.

You waved it off. Of course he’d get attached to you, you reasoned. You were generally kind - even as you set boundaries - and besides, he was flirtatious with many people anyway. It didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t matter in the end, did it? Not when you were laid off after repeatedly raising concerns for health and safety.

There wasn’t much you could do - not with hearing whispers of ghosts and strange happenings deeper in the facility - not with the female patients being sent to a different facility, while all the women working were laid off.

You didn’t feel right just leaving, so you made a point to visit the patients who you saw often to say goodbye.

Things were clearly off. Security presence had increased, even in the areas you didn’t normally need an escort. You were flanked by two guards who made things awkward at best. Strained, mostly. They rushed you but you made sure to say everything you planned to.

You saved Eddie for last for… Perhaps sentimental reasons? You weren’t sure how he’d take it. As much as he’d been kind to you, you heard he could lash out when he was rejected. What did those poor women do to him, back then…? No, you weren’t attached to him…

When you got to his cell he noticeably perked up. And when you asked to be let into his cell and the guards let you, Eddie was over the moon.

It didn’t last long, however, once you explained the situation.

To say that Eddie didn’t take it well would be an understatement. You could see anger distort his handsome features before he took a deep breath and calmed himself. So he could explain to you that no, you weren’t leaving, you wouldn’t leave him.

Denial. His file said something about that, his tendency to deny things right in front of his face when he was desperate enough.

You took a deep breath of your own and stepped back. Time to assert boundaries again… You told him this would be goodbye, and turned to the door.

“For now,” he insisted.

You shook your head, started to tell him no.

He swore under his breath. “Fine. At least give me something to remember you by.”

“I - I can’t,” you answered. That would be breaking some kind of rule. Even if you were on the way out the door, it would surely count as preferential treatment or something… “I’m sorry. I wish you the best in life.”

You tried to leave quickly, but your exit was blocked by one of the guards.

“‘I wish you the best?’” the guard mocked. “That’s cold.”

The other guard outside agreed. “Come on, can’t you leave him with something?”

You laughed, trying to push your way past. “I don’t have anything to give him.”

The closer one pushed you back towards him, turned your body to face Eddie again. “At least give him a happy ending.”

Eddie’s face flashed with anger when he saw the guard touch you, and he reached a hand out to pull you towards him. The guard let you go, let him take you.

You could feel his muscles through his shirt as he pulled you close. The guards jeered.

He put his arms around you, one cradling the back of your head, the other going to your hip. He whispered something sweet in your ear.

One of the guards said something obscene - or at least, it must have been, considering the way Eddie reacted. He let you go and took a heavy step towards them.

“Don’t you dare speak that way about them. They’re not some two bit whore for you to boss around.”

They laughed it off. “We don’t want to boss them around.”

“Yeah,” the other agreed. They turned to each other, then back at you. “We just thought, since they were leaving and we know you have a thing for them… You should get a chance to say goodbye. Properly.”

One of them pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Eddie. He caught it easily and looked at it in his hand, confused. You could just make it out, the square condom wrapper.

“Come on, we won’t tell anyone…”

“No, I couldn’t,” Eddie said. He shook his head, put his arm up in front of you defensively.

One of the guards reached for his baton, but the other stopped him. They backed off.

You tried to step out, but he stopped you.

“I couldn’t,” Eddie repeated. He looked to you and grinned, backing you up towards the wall.

You looked back at the guards, who just pointed, urging you to turn back to Eddie.

“I have no use for this,” he said to you, his voice low. You could practically feel the vibrations with his chest pressed up against yours. He tossed the condom to the side. “I have a latex allergy.”

His hands went down your body, to spread your thighs.

“It’ll be safer if we do it raw.”

You shook your head in vain. He leaned in closer.

“Just relax, and think of me. Think of us,” he said, tilting your chin towards him. “Okay, darling?”

[veil-of-exordia]

'Hamlet was friends with Ophelia' this. 'Hamlet was friends with Laertes' that. Consider:

Hamlet was friends with Polonius.

Hear me out:

1: Both theatre kids. Enough said.

2: Apart from Horatio, Polonius is the character most capable of sustaining conversations with Hamlet. He takes Hamlet's insults in stride. He has not just one, but multiple extended conversations with Hamlet. Hamlet displays aggravation towards Gertrude and Claudius, while Polonius displays aggravation towards Laertes and Ophelia...but the two seem strangely calm, almost exasperated, around each other. Granted, the origins of Polonius's attitude is probably because he is socially inferior to Hamlet and because he wants to appeal to Hamlet to reveal 'secrets'...but Hamlet definitely appreciates a conversation partner that can endure him, if not keep up with him, and why wouldn't Polonius return that sentiment?

3: They also both speak numerous asides. It shows that they have a shared tendency to comment on people behind their backs (which is corroborated by other aspects of the play, of course), and this indicates that there is a nonzero chance that they have gossiped together.

4: Ophelia approached Polonius about Hamlet's madness. Consider:

-Ophelia seems to be distressed and concerned about Hamlet when she approaches Polonius.

-Ophelia knows that Polonius is overprotective, yet still approached Polonius about Hamlet, expressing her concern (as in Hamlet looking 'piteous', 'as if he had been loosed out of Hell') specifically.

The implication here is that Ophelia appears to believe that Polonius won't try to actively harm Hamlet, but might rather help him, or at least prevent Hamlet from getting worse. And why would Polonius want to help Hamlet? You know the drill.

5: We get a lot of ambiguity about Hamlet's madness throughout the play. However, we mostly agree that sending R&G, unwitting coconspirators in a murder plot, to die in his place, was a move no sane person would do. We can also agree that at least some of Hamlet's 'madness' early on was feigned.

Consider that the death of Polonius was what drove Hamlet truly mad. It matches up with the timeline that Hamlet started being truly mad just before the R&G death-sentence while being at least somewhat sane earlier.

And why would killing Polonius drive Hamlet over the edge? Apart from the general shock of murder, finding out you accidentally killed a long-time friend would definitely be enough to drive anyone over the edge.

6. They both like surveillance. One more shared hobby.

7. As I've outlined in my Polonius and Gertrude are foils post, Polonius appears to be too concerned as a parent while Gertrude appears to be too unconcerned, and Hamlet is greatly dissatisfied with Gertrude's attitude. By extension, then, Hamlet would probably respect Polonius's "engagement" better compared to Gertrude's "detachment", and this might draw them together.

8. Speaking about Gertrude! Hamlet and Polonius are the only two characters in the play who have expressed explicit, strong dissent in-person against Gertrude specifically. Combining with point 3, ranting about Gertrude could have been an excellent bonding activity for them.

Of course, I like this headcanon because it makes the story more tragic. But I have an additional reason:

-Were Hamlet once friends with Polonius, Hamlet's killing of Polonius would be a betrayal of that friendship. This adds an additional layer of meaning when Laertes talks about 'honour' in the final scene.

And finally, all this also indicates that Hamlet and Polonius are foils (differences despite similarity). I am too tired to analyse this further but. Yeah I think we get the gist.

[woozapooza]

Miscellaneous post-s5 Sopranos thoughts

This is just a selection of the stuff I wrote in my journal this season.

Adriana La Cerva suffered more than Jesus.

One of my favorite things to think about in any TV show is character parallels, and The Sopranos is fantastic on that front, yet for all the time I’ve spent thinking about which Sopranos characters parallel each other, somehow it took five whole seasons for me to notice what now seems like one of the most obvious pairs: Silvio and Melfi! They’re both Tony’s confidants and his two main advisers. Melfi is kind of his emotional consigliere, and Silvio is his…business therapist? What I’m trying to say is that they complement each other in their roles in Tony’s life, and that was (finally) extremely clear in “All Due Respect.” Despite looking at Tony from such different perspectives, they give him essentially the same advice about the Tony B. situation. They both conclude that Tony S. is using noble rhetoric of love and loyalty to mask what’s really motivating him. For Silvio, that motivation is “pride” and “a problem with authority,” and for Melfi, it’s “guilt and shame” (I suspect they’re both right to some degree, though I also think they’re both being unfair by implying that noble motives and selfish ones are mutually exclusive—come on, guys, he contains multitudes!) but they agree that to make the right decision, Tony needs to be honest with himself.

Another interesting parallel: in “Long Term Parking,” Christopher essentially does to Adriana the same thing he’s mad at Tony for doing to him. He “gave [Tony S.] pieces of [his] soul,” yet Tony S. favors the loose cannon Tony B. over him. Well, Adriana gave Christopher pretty much her entire soul, yet Christopher chooses the ungrateful Tony S. over her. The difference, of course, is that Tony S.’s choice (pre-“All Due Respect”) only costs Christopher his position, while Chris’s choice costs Adriana her life. And Adriana died knowing that Christopher had chosen Tony over her, his ride-or-die. With an emphasis on the “die,” I guess. At least Pussy had some comfort in his final moments. Adriana had none.

In “Sentimental Education,” Carmela’s relationship with Wegler failed because she tried to treat it as a transactional arrangement (well, and also because he was a pretentious misogynist). In “Long Term Parking,” it’s a transaction that brings Carmela and Tony back together. I’ve seen some people paint her relationship with Wegler as pure conniving on her part, but I don’t think that’s fair. It’s clearly how she’s used to relationships working.

In that same episode, I was SO proud of Carmela for starting to wake up to the absurdity of some of the things the Catholic church has taught her. 

I’m glad Carmela and Tony are back together if only because it was so painful to see how utterly alone she was during the separation. The suffocating feeling I got from watching her try to escape her awful husband’s clutches while also being vilified by her son was reminiscent of the feeling I got watching Breaking Bad, except worse, because Walter Jr. was never as vicious to Skyler as Anthony Jr. is to Carmela. 

I’m generally a Meadow apologist, but she had some unbearable moments this season, especially in “Unidentified Black Males.” The drama with Finn was frustrating (and to be fair, Finn could probably have handled it better, too, but Meadow was worse), but the worst part, IMO, was what she said to Carmela: “Haven't you thought beyond being dependent on a man?” Girl that is LITERALLY WHAT SHE’S TRYING TO DO NOW. Going back to the topic of Carmela’s isolation, it’s maddening that both her “progressive” daughter and her not-even-pretending-to-be-progressive husband essentially blame her for not being able to take care of herself, while also refusing to give her credit for trying to finally carve out an independent existence.

On that topic, this season continues the theme of what I call the obstacle of expectations: the fact that change is far harder when it seems that no one around you believes that you can change. (Which is not to say that this skepticism is always unearned.) Carmela tries to have a relationship with a normal guy, but concludes that “because [she] was married to a man like Tony, [her] motives will always be called into question.” Tony greatly impresses Melfi by not hooking up with Adriana (side note, it was really sweet how proud Melfi was of him), but he’s widely believed to have done so nonetheless, so he concludes, “I might as well have fucked her.” Then he says a sarcastic “thanks” to Melfi, the one person who consistently believes in his ability to change even after all he’s put her through, as if she’s the problem. Christopher literally says that “Tony don’t believe a person can change” and is therefore holding his past as an addict against him; in the following episode, when the Tonys are making jokes at his expense, Chris, in a moment of genuinely impressive maturity, says, “Sobriety's hard enough without having to get mocked for it.” All of Janice’s work in anger management is undone in a matter of seconds by her brother deliberately trying to undo it. Tony B. justifiably complains about the stigma of being an ex-con, although he’s a complicated case because he backslides into criminality at a moment when no one is being prejudiced towards him.

On that note, I never quite felt like I got Tony B. as a character. For example, I couldn’t really make sense of why he backslid so dramatically in “Sentimental Education.” I enjoyed him nonetheless, although a large part of that is surely due to the fact that it’s basically impossible not to enjoy Steve Buscemi. 

This post is getting enormous so I won’t go into detail about this, but the stories people tell—about themselves and about others, to themselves and to others—stood out as a huge theme this season. Excellent! Very Black Sails!

“The Test Dream” was so much fun. More shows should do episodes that let them bring back legions of dead characters.

Have I mentioned how much I love Melfi? No I haven’t because it’s beyond the capacity of human language to express. This season she was in 62% of the episodes (8/13). Next season she’s in 71% of the episodes (15/21), which is an improvement. I think she should be in a million percent of the episodes, but I’m also grateful that she’s ever been on my screen for even a single second.

[ineffable-snowman]

Fic Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @dark--whisperings!

How many works do you have on ao3?

fifteen

2. What's your Ao3 word count?

400,883 (holy shit)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

right now switching between Star Wars and Good Omens

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Maybe Someday - 841 kudos, most of them thanks to @plumbum-art's wonderful comic Date Night, which "resurrected" this little fic of mine.

and then my four MCU (sambucky) fics:

Trouble Man - 841 kudos, too!

Pet Psychopath - 712 kudos

Partners, Accidentally - 561 kudos

Co-Workers with Benefits - 509 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes. Because if I write a comment, I like to hear from the author. It doesn't have to be much but it just makes me happy to hear that my comment made the author happy. And I think interaction is important to keep a fandom "alive" (even if often I don't know what to say but I try).

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

I don't write angsty endings. But I'm a little worried that people won't agree with me that Match Made on Earth has a happy ending.

7. What's the fic your write with the happiest ending?

As I said, they all have happy endings, but the ending of Four Chord Songs and Sentimental Lyrics is particularly sappy. I was wondering if that love song in the last chapter was *too much*, but then I thought: nope, it's Anakin, *too much* is his personality trait.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

This year I got two very rude anon comments on one of my Obikin fics accusing me of horrible things. The accusations felt pretty generic and did not fit to that particular story at all, but they still left me a little shaken. Fortunately, the people in the Obikin discord were really kind about it and helped to cheer me up.

Back on FFNET I received the occasional "ew, they're not gay, why would you write that?" Also there were some people who were angry at the way I wrote Obi-Wan, saying things like "how can you say he's your favourite character and then characterise him as weak/flawed/incompetent... and make so many bad things happen to him?"

BUT, all in all, fandom has been a positive experience and the many good interactions far outweigh the odd rude comment.

9. Do you write smut? What kind?

Does one awkward sex scene per multi chapter fic count? (No.)

10. Do you write cross-overs?

No.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so, not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a long time ago on FFNET when I still wrote Harry Potter fic.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes.

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

I feel like Obikin is the "correct" answer because I always come back to them.

15. What's your WIP you like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Step into Christmas with me. So far, I've managed to add two chapters every season. If I continue at that pace, I might finish it in two more years...

16. What are your writing strength?

Beginnings and endings.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The long middle parts that always become too long and repetitive.

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

Okay, I have Opinions on this!

I don't like it and don't see the merits of it. It often just feels like the author wants to show off their language skills. But as a reader it takes me out of a story. I don't want to check footnotes or use google translate in the middle of reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Just for myself: Harry Potter. Posting online: Star Wars.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Servants of the Force is definitely not my best writing but it's still my favourite fic anyway because I've never put so much effort into a fic before and I'm proud that I finished it.

---

I'm not sure who has already done it. tagging (no pressure!): @underacalicosky, @demonghost, @somethingsteff, @ineffableobikin, @fulcrum843, @howlbrooklyn, @kingdomvel

[beevean]

Controversial(?) opinion: Forces' story would have worked better if the war had been significantly shorter than six months? ^-^

Oh, yeah, I saw that you mentioned it in a post! That in short you expected everyone to show more signs of being tired or traumatized after six months of war, right?

Mmh, I see where you're coming from, but I don't think the length of the time skip is the issue. In fact, six months of war would justify how Eggman managed to conquer almost the entire world (yeah, he's Eggman, he's awesome and we know it, but that still takes time :P) and why the Resistance would be at the end of its ropes.

Forces, simply, is missing chunks of the story, because much like '06 it was very clearly rushed. Just because you don't walk on walls it doesn't mean the signs aren't there :P yes i'm still salty that we never see eggman actually ruling his dystopian world

Also, personally I do believe Sonic was affected by his long stay on the Death Egg. Yes, he was smiling and cracking jokes, and back then I was also expecting to see him more shaken by the supposed "torture" he went through. But don't forget that he literally beat up Zavok's clone with his bare hands! The only other times he used physical blows like that were when he was Darkspine (a form created by negative emotions, right off the heels of Shahra's death) and the Werehog (again fueled by negative energy, although he otherwise was generally fine. Yeah, Sonic is also surprisingly chill in Unleashed all things considered, but people don't point it out as often as with Forces lol). And he very calmly threatened to kill Infinite in their last encounter, talking about his epitaph! Bro was mad, and was venting his frustrations in an unusual way for him.

I agree with the general sentiment that Forces did not, or could not, take advantage of its massive premise. I don't agree with the specific complaint that the time skip was too long, because I think that it's perfectly fine and it's not the root of the issues. The main issue is that the game doesn't show most of the things we would expect it to show.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

ADWD: Daenerys VIII (Chapter 50)

The Yunkai'i had come at King Hizdahr's invitation, to sign the peace and witness the rebirth of Meereen's far-famed fighting pits. Her noble husband had opened the Great Pyramid to fete them.

I hate this, thought Daenerys Targaryen. How did this happen, that I am drinking and smiling with men I'd sooner flay?

Flay?

+.+.+

Dany scarce touched a bite. This is peace, she told herself. This is what I wanted, what I worked for, this is why I married Hizdahr. So why does it taste so much like defeat?

Because you are not made for peace.

Daenerys isn't content; by the end she'll decide the price for peace is too much.

While we go through this chapter, try to keep in mind the other prices Daenerys is more than comfortable paying.

Slaves, Dany thought. Khal Drogo would drive them downriver to one of the towns on Slaver's Bay. She wanted to cry, but she told herself that she must be strong. This is war, this is what it looks like, this is the price of the Iron Throne. - Daenerys VII, AGOT

x

"You warned me that only death could pay for life. I thought you meant the horse."

"No," Mirri Maz Duur said. "That was a lie you told yourself. You knew the price." - Daenerys IX, AGOT

x

I will have them all [the Unsullied], no matter the price, she told herself. - Daenerys III, ADWD

+.+.+

"It is only for a little while more, my love," Hizdahr had assured her. "The Yunkai'i will soon be gone, and their allies and hirelings with them. We shall have all we desired. Peace, food, trade. Our port is open once again, and ships are being permitted to come and go."

"They are permitting that, yes," she had replied, "but their warships remain. They can close their fingers around our throat again whenever they wish. They have opened a slave market within sight of my walls!"

"Outside our walls, sweet queen. That was a condition of the peace, that Yunkai would be free to trade in slaves as before, unmolested."

"In their own city. Not where I have to see it." The Wise Masters had established their slave pens and auction block just south of the Skahazadhan, where the wide brown river flowed into Slaver's Bay. "They are mocking me to my face, making a show of how powerless I am to stop them."

"Posing and posturing," said her noble husband. "A show, as you have said. Let them have their mummery. When they are gone, we will make a fruit market of what they leave behind."

Slavery was already happening within her walls.

A sports general manager once said it's a good trade when both teams are unsatisfied. A similar sentiment has already appeared in this novel.

By the time Jon Snow signed the parchment the Braavosi drew up, both of them were half-drunk and quite unhappy. Jon thought that a good sign. - Jon IX, ADWD

The peace between Yunkai and Daenerys is not supposed to feel like a win. Change doesn't happen overnight, it's a long arduous process, with many concessions.

Regardless of how frustrating this feels, dragons are never the better alternative. It's tragic people still need to learn this.

+.+.+

"When they are gone," Dany repeated. "And when will they be gone? Riders have been seen beyond the Skahazadhan. Dothraki scouts, Rakharo says, with a khalasar behind them. They will have captives. Men, women, and children, gifts for the slavers." Dothraki did not buy or sell, but they gave gifts and received them. "That is why the Yunkai'i have thrown up this market. They will leave here with thousands of new slaves."

Hizdahr zo Loraq shrugged. "But they will leave. That is the important part, my love. Yunkai will trade in slaves, Meereen will not, this is what we have agreed. Endure this for a little while longer, and it shall pass."

Dothraki not buying or selling is how she justified taking the Unsullied.

Anyway, I bet this is important!

One rider, and alone. A scout. He was one who rode before the khalasar to find the game and the good green grass, and sniff out foes wherever they might hide. If he found her there, he would kill her, rape her, or enslave her. At best, he would send her back to the crones of the dosh khaleen, where good khaleesi were supposed to go when their khals had died. - Daenerys X, ADWD

+.+.+

No queen has clean hands, Dany told herself. She thought of Doreah, of Quaro, of Eroeh … of a little girl she had never met, whose name had been Hazzea. Better a few should die in the pit than thousands at the gates. This is the price of peace, I pay it willingly. If I look back, I am lost.

Say her name.

Get ready for Daenerys to look back, and demand a refund.

+.+.+

The other Yunkish lords were hardly more impressive. One was small and stunted, though the slave soldiers who attended him were grotesquely tall and thin. The third was young, fit, and dashing, but so drunk that Dany could scarce understand a word he said. How could I have been brought to this pass by creatures such as these?

Peace was never truly an option.

+.+.+

The Second Sons were represented too. If Daario were here, this meal would end in blood. No promised peace could ever have persuaded her captain to permit Brown Ben Plumm to stroll back into Meereen and leave alive. Dany had sworn that no harm would come to the seven envoys and commanders, though that had not been enough for the Yunkai'i. They had required hostages of her as well. To balance the three Yunkish nobles and four sellsword captains, Meereen sent seven of its own out to the siege camp: Hizdahr's sister, two of his cousins, Dany's bloodrider Jhogo, her admiral Groleo, the Unsullied captain Hero, and Daario Naharis.

"I will leave my girls with you," her captain had said, handing her his sword belt and its gilded wantons. "Keep them safe for me, beloved. We would not want them making bloody mischief amongst the Yunkai'i."

All of these people remain hostages going into TWOW.

It's not looking great for Daario, but I've seen characters escape worse odds.

+.+.+

The Shavepate was absent as well. The first thing Hizdahr had done upon being crowned was to remove him from command of the Brazen Beasts, replacing him with his own cousin, the plump and pasty Marghaz zo Loraq. It is for the best. The Green Grace says there is blood between Loraq and Kandaq, and the Shavepate never made a secret of his disdain for my lord husband. And Daario …

Wow, sounds like a whole ton of motive! Is he good with poison?

+.+.+

Daario had only grown wilder since her wedding. Her peace did not please him, her marriage pleased him less, and he had been furious at being deceived by the Dornishmen. When Prince Quentyn told them that the other Westerosi had come over to the Stormcrows at the command of the Tattered Prince, only the intercession of Grey Worm and his Unsullied prevented Daario from killing them all. The false deserters had been imprisoned safely in the bowels of the pyramid … but Daario's rage continued to fester.

He will be safer as a hostage. My captain was not made for peace. 

Is this about Daario or Daenerys?

+.+.+

Daario was war and woe. Henceforth, she must keep him out of her bed, out of her heart, and out of her. If he did not betray her, he would master her. She did not know which of those she feared the most.

Hard to say, which one results in mass death and carnage?

"Grapes are real. A man can gorge himself on grapes. Their juice is sweet, and they make wine. What do dragons make?"

"Woe." The Crow's Eye sipped from his silver cup. - The Reaver, AFFC

+.+.+

All of the entertainers were slaves. That had been part of the peace, that slaveowners be allowed the right to bring their chattels into Meereen without fear of having them freed. In return the Yunkai'i had promised to respect the rights and liberties of the former slaves that Dany had freed. A fair bargain, Hizdahr said, but the taste it left in the queen's mouth was foul. She drank another cup of wine to wash it out.

YOU COMMAND A SLAVE ARMY. YOU HAVE A BED SLAVE. YOU PROFIT FROM SLAVERY. MEN ARE FORCED TO WORK FOR NO COMPENSATION IN YOUR CITY. DOTHRAKI BLOODRIDERS AND JORAH MORMONT ARE YOUR BESTIES.

+.+.+

The tumblers who came next failed to move her either, even when they formed a human pyramid nine levels high, with a naked little girl on top. Is that meant to represent my pyramid? the queen wondered. Is the girl on top meant to be me?

Lol, probably.

+.+.+

Dany found herself face-to-face with Brown Ben Plumm.

He bowed low. "Worship. You look lovely. Well, you always did. None of them Yunkishmen are half so pretty. I thought I might bring a wedding gift for you, but the bidding went too high for old Brown Ben."

"I want no gifts from you."

"This one you might. The head of an old foe."

"Your own?" she said sweetly. "You betrayed me."

"Now that's a harsh way o' putting it, if you don't mind me saying." Brown Ben scratched at his speckled grey-and-white whiskers. "We went over to the winning side, is all. Same as we done before. It weren't all me, neither. I put it to my men."

Can't even give me Tyrion's head, what a disappointment this man turned out to be. He really is Targaryen.

+.+.+

"Never that," said Brown Ben, "but it's not all about the coin, Your High-and-Mightiness. I learned that a long time back, at my first battle. Morning after the fight, I was rooting through the dead, looking for the odd bit o' plunder, as it were. Came upon this one corpse, some axeman had taken his whole arm off at the shoulder. He was covered with flies, all crusty with dried blood, might be why no one else had touched him, but under them he wore this studded jerkin, looked to be good leather. I figured it might fit me well enough, so I chased away the flies and cut it off him. The damn thing was heavier than it had any right to be, though. Under the lining, he'd sewn a fortune in coin. Gold, Your Worship, sweet yellow gold. Enough for any man to live like a lord for the rest o' his days. But what good did it do him? There he was with all his coin, lying in the blood and mud with his fucking arm cut off. And that's the lesson, see? Silver's sweet and gold's our mother, but once you're dead they're worth less than that last shit you take as you lie dying. I told you once, there are old sellswords and there are bold sellswords, but there are no old bold sellswords.

This is a long-winded way of telling you he's not the treason for gold.

+.+.+

My boys didn't care to die, that's all, and when I told them that you couldn't unleash them dragons against the Yunkishmen, well …"

You saw me as defeated, Dany thought, and who am I to say that you were wrong? 

She wasn't defeated. She chained her dragons, and negotiated for peace.

Not that it matters, she'll forever associate not using dragons with defeat.

+.+.+

"You don't never want to trust a sellsword, m'lady."

"I have learned that much. One day I must be sure to thank you for the lesson."

Oop.

Dany poured the oil over the woman's head herself. "I thank you, Mirri Maz Duur," she said, "for the lessons you have taught me." - Daenerys X, AGOT

+.+.+

"Ser Barristan?" she said softly.

The white knight appeared at once. "Your Grace."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough. He was not wrong. Never trust a sellsword."

Or a queen, thought Dany. 

That doesn't feel like a queenly attribute.

+.+.+

"Is there some man in the Second Sons who might be persuaded to … remove … Brown Ben?"

"As Daario Naharis once removed the other captains of the Stormcrows?" The old knight looked uncomfortable. "Perhaps. I would not know, Your Grace."

No, she thought, you are too honest and too honorable. "If not, the Yunkai'i employ three other companies."

Lol, casually plotting assassination.

Can you imagine Bran, Jon, or Sansa doing this? Of course not. We're in Cersei Lannister territory.

Poor uncomfortable Barry. Déjà vu, buddy?

+.+.+

"I am only a young girl and know little of such things, but it seems to me that we want them to be treacherous. Once, you'll recall, I convinced the Second Sons and Stormcrows to join us."

"If Your Grace wishes a privy word with Gylo Rhegan or the Tattered Prince, I could bring them up to your apartments."

"This is not the time. Too many eyes, too many ears. Their absence would be noted even if you could separate them discreetly from the Yunkai'i. We must find some quieter way of reaching out to them … not tonight, but soon."

Except Cersei wouldn't bother with this ridiculous act.

+.+.+

"As you command. Though I fear this is not a task for which I am well suited. In King's Landing work of this sort was left to Lord Littlefinger or the Spider. We old knights are simple men, only good for fighting." He patted his sword hilt.

In case you forgot, Barristan Selmy is a dimwitted bootlicking ham, and can't be trusted to do anything right.

"Soldiers, not warriors, if it please Your Grace. They were made for the battlefield, to stand shoulder to shoulder behind their shields with their spears thrust out before them. Their training teaches them to obey, fearlessly, perfectly, without thought or hesitation … not to unravel secrets or ask questions." - Daenerys I, ADWD

x

"Let us hope this dream was not prophetic. You are a clever imp, just as Varys said, and Daenerys will have need of clever men about her. Ser Barristan is a valiant knight and true; but none, I think, has ever called him cunning." - Tyrion II, ADWD

x

A pair of common freeriders would have served if all that Stannis had in mind was scouting, Jon Snow reflected, but knights are better suited to act as messengers or envoys. - Jon II, ADWD

Great reminder right before his POV takes over!

+.+.+

"Our prisoners," suggested Dany. "The Westerosi who came over from the Windblown with the three Dornishmen. We still have them in cells, do we not? Use them."

"Free them, you mean? Is that wise? They were sent here to worm their way into your trust, so they might betray Your Grace at the first chance."

"Then they failed. I do not trust them. I will never trust them." If truth be told, Dany was forgetting how to trust.

hehehe

+.+.+

"We can still use them. One was a woman. Meris. Send her back, as a … a gesture of my regard. If their captain is a clever man, he will understand."

"The woman is the worst of all."

"All the better." Dany considered a moment. "We should sound out the Long Lances too. And the Company of the Cat."

"Bloodbeard." Ser Barristan's frown deepened. "If it please Your Grace, we want no part of him. Your Grace is too young to remember the Ninepenny Kings, but this Bloodbeard is cut from the same savage cloth. There is no honor in him, only hunger … for gold, for glory, for blood."

"You know more of such men than me, ser." If Bloodbeard might be truly the most dishonorable and greedy of the sellswords, he might be the easiest to sway, but she was loath to go against Ser Barristan's counsel in such matters. "Do as you think best. But do it soon. If Hizdahr's peace should break, I want to be ready. I do not trust the slavers." I do not trust my husband. "They will turn on us at the first sign of weakness."

If this results in any of these sellsword companies joining her in Westeros, I'm going to die of laughter. She deserves every betrayal coming her way.

I will never understand the point of Meris of Tarth.

+.+.+

"The Yunkai'i grow weaker as well. The bloody flux has taken hold amongst the Tolosi, it is said, and spread across the river to the third Ghiscari legion."

The pale mare. Daenerys sighed. Quaithe warned me of the pale mare's coming. She told me of the Dornish prince as well, the sun's son. She told me much and more, but all in riddles. 

Still waiting for a reason why Daenerys would be warned about Quentyn Martell.

+.+.+

"I cannot rely on plague to save me from my enemies. Set Pretty Meris free. At once."

No greyscale for Aegon. Only fields of fire.

+.+.+

"As you command. Though … Your Grace, if I may be so bold, there is another road …"

"The Dornish road?" Dany sighed.

[...]

"It would please me if he had turned up with these fifty thousand swords he speaks of. Instead he brings two knights and a parchment. Will a parchment shield my people from the Yunkai'i? If he had come with a fleet …"

PLEASE DON'T TEASE ME.

+.+.+

"Sunspear has never been a sea power, Your Grace."

PLEASE.

+.+.+

Dany knew enough of Westerosi history to know that. Nymeria had landed ten thousand ships upon Dorne's sandy shores, but when she wed her Dornish prince she had burned them all and turned her back upon the sea forever. 

Look who's back!

Shoutout to @agentrouka-blog for reminding me that Nymeria and Brandon "the Shipwright" Stark share an amusing parallel.

Brandon attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, and was never seen again. His son, Brandon the Burner, burned all the remaining ships.

+.+.+

"Dornishmen are notoriously stubborn, Your Grace. Prince Quentyn's forebears fought your own for the better part of two hundred years. He will not go without you."

Then he will die here, Daenerys thought, unless there is more to him than I can see. "Is he still within?"

"Drinking with his knights."

"Bring him to me. It is time he met my children."

A flicker of doubt passed across the long, solemn face of Barristan Selmy. "As you command."

Wait, is she testing him?

Oh man, is that why he tries to tame them?

+.+.+

A pair of Unsullied went down the steps before them, bearing torches; behind came two Brazen Beasts, one masked as a fish, the other as a hawk.

Perfect for when you don't want to be identified.

Kind of funny the show fashioned the Sons of the Harpy after her own city watch.

+.+.+

Even here in her own pyramid, on this happy night of peace and celebration, Ser Barristan insisted on keeping guards about her everywhere she went. 

Sounds like she's hard to kill.

+.+.+

"The dragon has three heads," Dany said when they were on the final flight. "My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes. I know why you are here."

Oh my god, she's totally culpable. How did I forget this? I thought it was his own brain dead idea, I didn't realize she lead him on. That's so bad.

Anyway, remember how there are living, breathing humans who believe there are two other heads of the dragon who will join her cause, and ride alongside her? (Jon, Tyrion)

If you're going to be that gullible, at least pick the Greyjoy brothers.

+.+.+

"For you," said Quentyn, all awkward gallantry.

"No," said Dany. "For fire and blood."

One of the elephants trumpeted at them from his stall. An answering roar from below made her flush with sudden heat. 

+.+.+

Prince Quentyn looked up in alarm. "The dragons know when she is near," Ser Barristan told him.

Every child knows its mother, Dany thought. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves … "They call to me. Come." 

Feels like she's repeating these words every chapter now.

+.+.+

The dragons craned their necks around, gazing at them with burning eyes. Viserion had shattered one chain and melted the others. He clung to the roof of the pit like some huge white bat, his claws dug deep into the burnt and crumbling bricks. Rhaegal, still chained, was gnawing on the carcass of a bull. The bones on the floor of the pit were deeper than the last time she had been down here, and the walls and floors were black and grey, more ash than brick. They would not hold much longer … but behind them was only earth and stone. Can dragons tunnel through rock, like the firewyrms of old Valyria? She hoped not.

+.+.+

Quentyn Martell jumped back a foot.

A crueler woman might have laughed at him, but Dany squeezed his hand and said, "They frighten me as well. There is no shame in that. My children have grown wild and angry in the dark."

"You … you mean to ride them?"

"One of them. All I know of dragons is what my brother told me when I was a girl, and some I read in books, but it is said that even Aegon the Conqueror never dared mount Vhagar or Meraxes, nor did his sisters ride Balerion the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than men, some for hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died … but no rider ever flew two dragons."

There's one for you Quentyn, all you have to do is claim it.

+.+.+

"They are … they are fearsome creatures."

"They are dragons, Quentyn." Dany stood on her toes and kissed him lightly, once on each cheek. "And so am I."

We know.

+.+.+

The young prince swallowed. "I … I have the blood of the dragon in me as well, Your Grace. I can trace my lineage back to the first Daenerys, the Targaryen princess who was sister to King Daeron the Good and wife to the Prince of Dorne. He built the Water Gardens for her."

"The Water Gardens?" She knew little and less of Dorne or its history, if truth be told.

Will the Water Gardens survive, tune in next time to find out.

+.+.+

She drew him away from the pit. He does not belong here. He should never have come. "You ought to return there. My court is no safe place for you, I fear. You have more enemies than you know. You made Daario look a fool, and he is not a man to forget such a slight."

That's true, but she's also projecting.

Her home was back in Meereen, with her husband and her lover. That was where she belonged, surely. - Daenerys X, ADWD

Compare that to this,

She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here. - Daenerys III, AGOT

Lol.

+.+.+

"Tell me of this other Daenerys. I know less than I should of the history of my father's kingdom. I never had a maester growing up." Only a brother.

I did a double take. Is that Daenerys wanting to learn history?

Too late.

+.+.+

Hizdahr at least was happy, if somewhat drunk. "I keep my promises," he told her, as Irri and Jhiqui were robing them for bed. "You wished for peace, and it is yours."

And you wished for blood, and soon enough I must give it to you, Dany thought, but what she said was, "I am grateful."

She's talking about the fighting pits, but that's probably not all.

+.+.+

Afterward he nuzzled at her ear and whispered, "Gods grant that we have made a son tonight."

The words of Mirri Maz Duur rang in her head. When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before. The meaning was plain enough; Khal Drogo was as like to return from the dead as she was to bear a living child. But there are some secrets she could not bring herself to share, even with a husband, so she let Hizdahr zo Loraq keep his hopes.

That's the first time in history she hasn't misquoted someone.

Not sure where the author will take this, but I'm certain the dragons will be her only children.

+.+.+

Daenerys could only twist and turn beside him. She wanted to shake him, wake him, make him hold her, kiss her, fuck her again, but even if he did, he would fall back to sleep again afterward, leaving her alone in the darkness. She wondered what Daario was doing. Was he restless as well? Was he thinking about her? Did he love her, truly? Did he hate her for marrying Hizdahr? I should never have taken him into my bed. He was only a sellsword, no fit consort for a queen, and yet …

I knew that all along, but I did it anyway.

"My queen?" said a soft voice in the darkness.

Dany flinched. "Who is there?"

"Only Missandei." The Naathi scribe moved closer to the bed. "This one heard you crying."

"Crying? I was not crying. Why would I cry? I have my peace, I have my king, I have everything a queen might wish for. You had a bad dream, that was all."

"As you say, Your Grace." She bowed and made to go.

Take a shot every time someone creeps up on Daenerys. I think we've covered this enough, but if you're new here - it's foreshadowing how she'll be killed.

The rest is slightly alarming. No doubt Daenerys was crying. It's another moment where she appears to be on the verge of losing it.

Westeros. Home. But if she left, what would happen to her city? Meereen was never your city, her brother's voice seemed to whisper. Your cities are across the sea. Your Seven Kingdoms, where your enemies await you. You were born to serve them blood and fire. - Daenerys III, ADWD

It's also another hilarious Cersei parallel.

"What's that for, Mother? Why are you crying?"

Because you're safe, she wanted to tell him. Because no harm will ever come to you. "You are mistaken. A lion never cries." - Cersei X, ADWD

x

Dany looked at him helplessly. It was good that dragons did not cry. - Daenerys V, ADWD

+.+.+

"If it please you." Missandei sat down beside her. "What shall we talk of?"

"Home," said Dany. "Naath. Butterflies and brothers. Tell me of the things that make you happy, the things that make you giggle, all your sweetest memories. Remind me that there is still good in the world."

Missandei did her best. She was still talking when Dany finally fell to sleep, to dream queer, half-formed dreams of smoke and fire.

The morning came too soon.

Really sucks when you're woken up from your blissful dreams of smoke and fire.

That might be her last genuine tenderhearted moment in the entire series.

Final thoughts:

Time to break your chains, crazy.

WAKE THE DRAGON.

I will teach them what it means to put a lion in a cage, Cersei thought. - Cersei X, ADWD 🤭🤭🤭

-> return to menu <-

[reikurusu]

The Buddy Daddies x Taylor Swift Playlist No One Asked For

I feel like there are a lot of Taylor Swift songs that fit Buddy Daddies! Be it the show in general, KazuRei’s relationship (most songs can be interpreted as both platonic and romantic imo), their relationship with Miri,…

So I decided to make a list!

And since there were more songs than I had initially anticipated, I put the list under a cut. You can find the songs (with link) below, as well as why I think they fit Buddy Daddies! Seriously, this got pretty long… You’ve been warned!

PS: Feel free to add more songs that you think fit! :) Or if you agree with songs I picked but have a more insightful explanation as to why certain songs fit, go ahead!

PPS: You know Kazuki has T-Swift on while cooking. He says it’s because Miri listens to her, but we all know Miri (and Rei, by extension and reluctantly) started listening because of Kazu!

FEARLESS (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

Change: “Because these things will change Can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down” I feel like this one is fairly obvious! The concept of change is very present in Buddy Daddies, especially in the second half of the season. And listening to the lyrics of this song, it just really fits Kazuki and Rei’s outlook on things in my opinion! Also: “You can walk away, say we don’t need this But there’s something in your eyes Says we can beat this” Is this not literally Rei and Kazuki’s conversation in ep11, when Kazuki wants to give up Miri to keep her safe, while Rei wants to take care of her and protect her like that? This song is such a KazuRei song, guys, like damn!

The Best Day “I don’t know why all the trees change in the fall But I know you’re not scared of anything at all Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away But I know I had the best day with you today” Literally Miri to her Papas and her Mama! Obviously not everything fits, but if we’d gotten a version of the show in which Misaki survived and took care of Miri along with Kazuki and Rei, this would’ve been so perfect!! I guess it’s the perfect song for a fix it fic?

SPEAK NOW

Long Live "Long live the walls we crashed through How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you” I feel like this one has a similar vibe as Change. How Rei and Kazuki overcame so many obstacles on their way to a happy family with Miri. It’s once again a song that carries a lot of hope in my opinion, hope that no matter what you go through, it’ll be all right in the end. Which obviously is very fitting to Buddy Daddies.

Innocent "It’s alright, just wait and see Your string of lights is still bright to me Oh, who you are is not where you’ve been” This could be about either Kazuki or Rei, or one of them towards the other. How the dark part of the world they belong to shouldn’t define who they are as a person (kind of like, just because you do bad things, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, if that makes sense). And how their younger selves (child, teenager, doesn’t really matter) probably had a completely different idea of how their life would turn out (maybe Rei less than Kazuki considering how he grew up…) EITHER WAY, it fits and it’s giving me feels!

RED (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

Forever Winter “Too young to know it gets better I’ll be summer sun for you forever” I feel like this fits Kazuki when he first met Rei. How Rei was a shell of a person and Kazuki did everything he could to gradually bring the real Rei out (or part of the real Rei because we all know Miri helped a lot with that as well). “He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these days I say, “Believe in one thing, I won’t go away"” Just… Is this not Kazuki taking care of Rei? T_T

Run "There’s been this hole in my heart This thing was a shot in the dark Say you’ll never let ‘em tear us apart And I’ll hold onto you while we run” I think this one definitely fits more when you view KazuRei as romantic. But I think the sentiment of the song just really fits them wanting to live their own life instead of having to continue to do what the organization wants them to do.

1989

Bad Blood “Now we got problems And I don’t think we can solve ’em” Aka the song that should’ve played during KazuRei’s raid in ep 12!! I think this is just their overall view of the organization by the end of the series. It’s just an epic song and imagining Kazuki and Rei killing Ogino and all the others with this song blasting… Good shit.

I Know Places “They are the hunters, we are the foxes And we run” It’s kinda hard to explain this one, because it’s more as if the vibe of the song fits the show? If that makes sense? There are lyrics that do fit, of course, mainly the feeling Rei and Kazuki must’ve had knowing the organization was after them, but the feeling of tension and being chased, hunted,… Idk, it fits to me.

This Love “These hands had to let it go free, and This love came back to me” At first I figured this could be seen as a KazuRei song, but while listening to it to see if it could really fit, I realised it could definitely be seen as the love Kazuki and Rei have for Miri? How they had to give her up, how they got her back, how she was the reason they managed to change, how they would never have guessed how much taking care of her would mean to them when they first met Miri,… Just listen to it with all of that in mind and tell me it doesn’t fit!

Wonderland “We found Wonderland You and I got lost in it And we pretended it could last forever” Aka the song that started this all. I was just randomly listening to this one and my brainrotted mind went “hey, Buddy Daddies” and it works so well!! If you think of “Wonderland” as Rei and Kazuki’s life with Miri, how they were completely enthralled by her and how they lost what they had,… "But there were strangers watching And whispers turned to talking And talking turned to screams” This is literally when they found out that the organization was after them and Miri. Aaahhh!! I’m normal about this song in combination with BD! It fits so well!! This song also inspired one of my earlier BD gifsets, which you can find here!

REPUTATION

Dancing With Our Hands Tied “My, my love had been frozen Deep blue, but you painted me golden” This is again a more romantic KazuRei song (the lyric above really feels like Kazuki after Yuzuko’s death). It’s about two people trying to stay together even though others want to tear them apart. This again really fits with the story of Buddy Daddies, with Shigeki wanting to separate Rei from Kazuki (and Miri obviously, but let’s just look at it from a romantic pov this time). Like “I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted” Does this not sum them up?

Delicate “Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you Oh, damn, never seen that color blue” Again a more romatic song for Rei and Kazuki, maybe a bit more from Kazu’s POV? (Especially the lyrics I quoted because is that not Kazuki seeing Rei for the first time in Yadorigi). I think this really fits the relationship between Kazuki and Rei before they know what’s going on between them. They’re partners in their jobs, sure, but sometimes, there are these moments... And it’s confusing and what’s going on and all that. Also, there’s this amazing male cover of this song, so if you want to picture it even more, be sure to listen to it! (He has more covers of songs listed here, so I’d really recommend listening to them!)

Look What You Made Me Do “But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined” Obviously this song has strong Bad Blood vibes so it would be also be perfect during Kazuki and Rei’s raid on the Suwa mansion! Okay, now I’m imagining Unhinged Kazuki having his phone on full volume blasting this song while killing a bunch of guys. Rei is so tired of him... Okay, nevermind that tangent, but the song is a vibe and it also fits because if Shigeki would’ve just let Rei be happy with Kazuki and Miri, none of it would’ve happened. Look what you made them do, Shigeki. Look at it!!

LOVER

Daylight "I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I’ve been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night And now I see daylight” I think this one can be interpreted in many ways! A combination of Rei and Kazuki towards each other, in both a romantic as well as a platonic way. But I can definitely see it as Rei and Kazuki towards Miri as well. How she was the reason for the changes they made and how happy they are that they managed to change because of her! How they finally managed to get a soft life after everything they went through! Also special shout-out to @toripar who’s pointed out how well this song fits them!

FOLKLORE

Seven “And I’ve been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad and that must be why And I think you should come live with Me and we can be pirates” Okay, so to be honest, most of this song doesn’t really fit I guess, but holy crap, the lyrics I quoted above?? Is that not Kazuki at Rei? Jfc!! I literally just added this song for those lyrics!

This Is Me Trying “Pulled the car off the road to the lookout Could've followed my fears all the way down” The sentiment in this one really fits both Kazuki and Rei. I know not all the lyrics make sense, but the feeling of trying your best despite all the crap you’ve gone through/are going through really fits both our boys. They both went through crap, but try to be better every day. For Miri, for themselves, for each other.

EVERMORE

Tolerate it “You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I I break free and leave us in ruins? Took this dagger in me and removed it? Gain the weight of you then lose it Believe me, I could do it” THIS IS LITERALLY A REI SONG?? Just picture Rei and his father’s relationship while listening to it! I feel like it especially fits younger Rei, from before he left his father to live on his own. How even back then, Rei knew that this wasn’t how a father should act towards their son. I know some things don’t add up, like the idolisation of the other person in the song, which is something Rei didn’t do obviously. The way Shigeki only saw Rei as a cog in the machine that is the organization, how Rei had to accept everything his father said and did…  But on the other hand, maybe he once did idiolize his father, when he was younger and didn’t know better yet? Because that’s how it goes in the Suwa family? Either way, it’s a Rei song!

Cowboy Like Me “And the skeletons in both our closets Plotted hard to fuck this up” Two people doing their sketchy jobs, meeting one another through said jobs and falling in love? Do I need to say more? Obviously a more romantic song, but I guess in some way it can be interpreted as platonic as well.

Right Where You Left Me “Everybody moved on I, I stayed there Dust collected on my pinned-up hair They expected me to find somewhere Some perspective, but I sat and stared Right where you left me” This one doesn’t really fit, to be honest, but the part above just really feels like Kazuki after Yuzuko’s death. That’s the only reason I added this song.

It’s Time To Go “15 years, 15 million tears Begging 'til my knees bled I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all Then wondered why I left Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones Praying to his greed He's got my past frozen behind glass But I've got me” Again, a song that for the most part doesn’t fit the show, but I just wanted to point out these lyrics because this is literally the relationship between Rei and his father.

MIDNIGHTS

You’re On Your Own, Kid “I looked around in a blood-soaked gown And I saw something they can’t take away 'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned Everything you lose is a step you take" So for this song it’s mainly the bridge and the ending that fits Buddy Daddies. I feel like there are so many references to Rei and Kazuki, how they did everything they could to protect Miri and their little family, how Rei cut ties with his father, how they let go of their pasts and their traumas to live happily with Miri and each other! I know this may sound like an exaggeration, but I sometimes tear up during this part just thinking of Buddy Daddies (this being one of my favourite TS songs is probably a reason as well). I might even try to edit a video with this last part of the song…

The Great War “My hand was the one you reached for All throughout the Great War” This is a bit 50/50, but it still fits in a way. I know that the original meaning of the song doesn’t really make sense in the situation, but if you regard "The Great War” (which in the song means an argument) as Kazuki and Rei’s battle to leave the organization and live their life with Miri, it works. Also just the symbolisms of fighting and war and blood and everything that’s mentioned fit with Rei and Kazuki’s jobs.

Bigger Than The Whole Sky “Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye You were bigger than the whole sky You were more than just a short time" I feel like this song really fits how Kazuki and Rei must’ve felt after giving Miri back to Misaki. But besides that, I like to picture that there is a deeper meaning to the song as well: The song often repeats the lyrics “I’m never gonna meet what could’ve been, would’ve been, what should’ve been you”. And like I said before, this really fits Kazuki and Rei giving Miri up, but I think it also fits Rei and Kazuki giving up the versions of themselves they’d hoped they could’ve become when they started to take care of Miri, bringing back the whole plotline of change. A while ago, I decided to make a fanvid with this song and the show. If you want to watch it, you can find it here. Feel free to let me know what you think! I’m really happy with how it turned out, even if it is kinda angsty and sad.

If you managed to get to this point and read everything, HOLY CRAP! Thanks for the dedication and for reading my ramblings!! I hope you enjoyed them! <3

~ Charlotte

[decepti-thots]

re: meta again. first, thank you for the long answer! you have a lot of interesting points, e.g. how fandom spaces influence how you interact with media: my first fandom space was restricted to teenagers who mostly knew nothing about media analysis (and it was also animanga haha), and then I moved onto tumblr, where - in my memory - most users were slightly older teenagers but still didn't know much about media analysis. there probably was meta somewhere (apparently on LJ?), but I didn't see (or notice?) a lot of it. which possibly also was because I changed fandoms a lot more quickly, and I feel like many others did, too. there's a book fandom where five years ago, the general sentiment about an antagonist was 'well fuck him' and now people write extensive posts on why he did what and what that means for the story and why it mirrors the protagonists arc etc, which maybe means that sometimes fandoms need time to get past the initial excitement of new things to give more attention/time to meta?

I very much agree that tumblr makes interactions/discussions harder. especially re: reblogs - its so easy for someone to disagree with you in a reblog and some of their followers to take that as a hint to hate on you - I've seen this happen mostly related to "shipping the wrong things", but why wouldn't it happen for drawing the "wrong" conclusions in a meta post? I feel like the general tumblr user is older than they were 10 years ago so maybe I should hope that they've grown up as well and are more reasonable about this to be fair

what I also noticed regarding the book fandom and TF is that TF fans - depending on your specific bubble probably - seem to be more aware that writing meta is a thing, because they're more likely to call it that.

re: elitism - it's important to me that the things I was referring to can feel elitist, not that they are, if the distiction makes sense? maybe it also wasn't the best/fairest choice of words, sorry. the sentiment isn't meant towards e.g. the people complaining about headcanons that have become accepted in the fandom but have zero relation to canon. its more frustration that theres seemingly infinite canon material and you can't really join any conversation without interacting with a good chunk of it, while (seemingly) everyone else has already done that already.

and finally, wonder if part of who writes meta and who doesn't is fandom "socialization"; there seem to be a few people for whom it appears easy to express their thoughts online, and then a much larger amount of lurkers who don't, and I've never really figured out the cause.

god tumblr does really let me put as much text as I want here, I'm a bit sorry for the long message. If you have any further thoughts I'd be happy to hear them but no pressure

First of all: no apologies for the long message! I love it, I will put my thoughts under a cut for everyone's dashes but we LOVE an in depth fandom meta-meta discussion in this household. I started this blog to RAMBLE and rambling is WELCOME my friend.

You make an EXCELLENT point about how longevity can influence fandoms here, anon. Especially for fandoms where there isn't a constant drip-feed of NEW canon, I absolutely think fandoms living on and people going back and re-engaging the source material to look for new ways to engage it can gradually make meta a larger part of the fannish space sometimes. (To give my own book fandom example, I was on the periphery of book!Good Omens fandom back in the day, and the amount of time people had spent with just that one single book meant that more and more discussion of the ways you could read and work with that one book meant there was some very in-depth meta going on there.) (…as you can imagine, the last few years have been a hell of a wild time for me with the show fandom becoming the Hot New Major Fandom, LMAOOOO.)

There's definitely also something there about the old "if someone I follow clowns on a person, my (para)social relationship with them means I feel like I'm doing a social faux-pas by not choosing a side" you mention here too. Tumblr really makes visible the idea of social networks in a way I have to admit I overall find uhhh. Kind of not great. "If I follow someone who follows someone my mutual hates, do I need to perform my support of someone here", that kind of thing. (Answer: no, that is some Panopticon shit, bring in the Foucault. I am only half joking.) Even over an objectively inane Transformers headcanon take, it's the social mechanism more than the content that brings in the pressure I think. Again. Web 2.0 wants everything pushed at everyone all the time to encourage More Interaction, and reducing any sense of wider social circles being removed from you personally is a part of that I think. It's all equal on The Endless Timeline, innit.

I see what you mean about the "feels like" distinction on elitism, anon, now you lay that out- that makes sense. I do think TF fandom is sometimes a bit of a minefield in terms of like, even within certain subdivisions of canon there's so MUCH stuff (and the fandom has, IMO, a bad habit of not bothering to decide what is more or less "useful" in conversations; sometimes tertiary material is… you know. Tertiary. LOOKING AT ALIGNED FANDOM). I think those of us who are sometimes a bit more "canon completionist" do need to approach these things in terms of like- take IDW1 fandom. If someone posts meta about MTMTE based on just material from MTMTE, approaching that in good faith and not going "well it's in continuity with phase one, and THIS phase one comic says [xyz]", but instead seeing it as a perspective that takes that one text as a complete thing in itself? (And maybe considering how that perspective and how it differs from one which looks at the whoooole canon is interesting, rather than deficient, in its differences of opinion.) There are folks who get very snotty about people doing that in a way that is, at the very least, unproductive. (And the folks bringing in their Extensive Lore Knowledge TM by whining stuff from other continuities contradicts a take on a different continuity are just uhhh. Annoying. Those people can just Stop, Please, lmao.) I think understanding that different approaches to what "canon" even is can be interesting rather than something to be "corrected" might go some way to making it feel less… intimidating? Alienating? For folks working with what they like.

As for the confidence in sharing opinions thing… I can only speak for myself but uh. If I have a personal flaw it is unwarranted overconfidence, not insecurity, haha. Let me put it that way. I do think that cultivating a confidence in the idea "I have my own personal tastes, and those tastes are idiosyncratic and do not need to be compared to other peoples' taste, and they are Valid TM" is a skill to be honed and one I think is worth honing, and I think may be a big thing here from my anecdotal observations. I find that many people in fandom don't have a lot of confidence in the idea that you can express not just an argument for "objective" (lol) "quality" but a sense of personal taste? (This is not unique to fandom, at all, but I think fandom has a lot of it, if that makes sense.) Especially because often the things fandom centres around lack cultural prestige. It's why an appeal to being Real Literature TM is the go-to argument for why fanfiction is "acceptable". I think a similar thing can be true of opinions; to let go of the urge to have everyone agree with you 100% of the time and to be "proven" right, you have to feel confident enough to sit in subjectivity and be like. My opinions may be subjective, but that's fine. And you do have to cultivate that! But I think that's where the "I can express an opinion and not feel destroyed if someone flat out rejects it and I can't even disprove their argument" trick kinda lies, maybe. And maybe meta is easier if you've already internalized that, so the possibility people will be like "nope" is less scary?

[kindheart525]

Triple Threat had made it out of the darkness and into the sun, but she wouldn’t forget the ones that she loved. Yes, she was a star now, an icon who was changing the whole of Bridleway for the better! But she had to take some time to go home, relax a little, catch up with the family that raised her.

Especially since they had a celebration planned just for her!

“How’s our favorite little cousin doing?”

Stockholm noodled her way into the spot next to TT on Rarity’s fancy couch, her husband Boot Polish sitting down on her other side. 

“It’s been forever since you’ve been home, but you’re sure making it big! Those performances were amazing! And the plays! I love me a good period piece, and you pulled them off perfectly. In fact, it was you who inspired me to do a little extra reading on Manespray and Rent and the politics of the time—“

“Only after we finished marveling at your performance. Which, by Ardor, took forever. We were simply amazed!”

Boot got straight to the point with his compliments, translating his wife’s more long-winded expressions of awe and wonder into his own style. 

“Yes!” Stock paused her infodumping to agree with him. “Why, I’d say you blew us all away! Like Haymilton!”

“Oh, thank you!” TT laughed at the joke. “I’ll be trying for that one eventually. Maybe you’ll see me there too!”

This was a high-stakes show and she was half-joking, but Stockholm took it in earnest.

“I’m sure we will! Who says Mrs. Haymilton can’t be a big girl too?”

“You’re right, you’re right!” TT grinned humbly. “I think I could pull off a good Satisfied too.”

“There’s bound to be more variety in such roles going forward. By you and many others.”

“There’d better be!” TT agreed with Boot. “Me and the other ladies aren’t doing all this for nothing. Oh, I don’t think I’ve explained all that!”

“I believe Aunt Sweetie has told it all,” Boot said. “She simply cannot cease mentioning it! Your advocacy, your interviews, everything. She is most proud.”

TT couldn’t help but be surprised at this. Her mom had always been proud of her performance and talent, but any discussions about her weight were met with resistance until what still felt like so recently. Now here she was actively causing an upset and changing the landscape…and her mom was bragging about her! She couldn’t believe it.

Before she could get sentimental about this, Boot continued:

“Why, even the local foals we work with have caught wind of your stardom, and now they’re inspired to follow in your hoofsteps.”

“You really are making waves! Those little ones are just raving about you!”

Stockholm wrapped TT in a tight hug as she processed this additional bit of information. She had always considered herself part of the youngest generation of performers, perhaps thinking about future generations in more abstract terms, as a group that did not really exist yet. But they were here, and they were ready to become stars too.

She couldn’t wait to tell the gals! How thrilled they’d be. She was already coming up with all sorts of new ideas to help create new stars and pave an unhindered path for these budding talents.

Suddenly her ears pricked up, realizing she could start right at home.

“You work with the local foals?”

“Ooh, yes, we do!” Stockholm beamed. “We help with the theater program with the middle schoolers, you know, where we all went! I help them memorize their scripts and Bootie’s in charge of tech crew—oh, baby, tell her about last Thursday!”

“But darling, you have the story memorized just as well—“ Boot started, but he couldn’t resist his love’s pleading, eager eyes. She had the talent to narrate any event with great accuracy, but somehow always relished in his retellings just as much. Nor was he to keep this story from his cousin, who lived for the arts.

“Very well then, I shall.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Over The Moon Next (flashback): Damned If You Do

[biblioflyer]

Picard s3e10 "The Last Generation"

I laughed, I cried, I cheered, but I'm not free of conflicts.

The artificial constraints of a 10 episode season are something I really feel acutely. So I'll start off with an acknowledgment: if OG Picard fans are furious, I get it. I don't share your anger, but I do understand it.

Spoilers ahead.

I broadly agree with the creaky older fan sentiment that in many ways Season Three is what Season One should have been. Primarily in that the absence of the rest of the main characters and centering Picard and Picard only and, to some extent, Data, was a disservice to the rest of the TNG ensemble.

A flaw that was rectified in Season Three. However, by rectifying it in Season Three and then committing to the story they were going to tell in the amount of minutes they were going to tell it in, a grim sort of triage inevitably was going to take place. The victims overwhelmingly were the characters and storylines of Seasons One and Two.

That was neither kind nor fair.

I won't pretend I didn't love this season. But I also was aware of and frustrated by what was missing because I am committed to the ideals I started this blog on: these are my self conscious reactions, reflections, and introspections rather than objective truths I live and die by and demand others validate, lest they be deemed "not real fans."

Now I myself will not be buying a ticket for the Matalas hate train. I think there was an awareness that a lot was being left on the cutting room floor to cater to fans like...well, me, and an attempt was made to offer an overture to a possible sequel series not unlike a "sorry for your loss" bouquet.

Should you view that as a fair consolation prize for only addressing Seven and Raffi's relationship with a couple of quips and an action movie one liner? Or literally forgetting Elnor?

Were I in your place, I probably wouldn't. But I sincerely hope we get that sequel show so that proper amends can be made.

Hopefully it will also include Worf so that the DS9ers can get justice for Jadzia.

Although, I am a bit pessimistic that its going to happen even with the overwhelmingly positive reception. Two overlapping ship focused shows seems unlikely unless Enterprise-G is a metaplot driven narrative show while Strange New Worlds is episodic with light sprinkles of meta. A prospect that I am kind of meh on. Season Three proves that you can do a season long narrative and it not get too bloated or convoluted and deliver a satisfying finish, but I don't know that its enough for me to trust the concept of the 10 episode version of a classic Trek two parter going forward. Five times burned, twice shy.

For those keeping score, that's seven seasons of serialized Trek with five that I think were not well executed overall, not unforgivably so, but they definitely had a clumsy adolescence as their shows matured. I liked Discovery season 4 quite a bit. I'm not on the "Discovery sucks" anti-hype train either, but I think the show has rather clearly been showing its work as it has struggled season after season to figure out its own unique identity and to balance that identity with the expectations of the broader Star Trek franchise, navigating the hellscape of the fandom and trying to figure out which parts have valid criticisms and which are misanthropes who are allergic to other people experiencing joy: and its been a messy process.

What also steals some of my euphoria from the ending of Picard is the announcement of the Section 31 movie.

I love Michelle Yeoh, I even like the character of Georgiou, but I don't trust anyone who has been involved in Trek to date, not even Ron Moore or Robert Hewitt Wolfe, to not resuscitate vile late 90s to mid-oughts nihilism and uncritical worship of "hard men making hard choices because the good are too effete and squeamish to do what must be done."

I know, I know, its negative for a Star Trek apologia blog but I hate Section 31. That's the only thing I'll ever gatekeep. Its a violent refutation of the core premises of Star Trek: that reason and decency win in the end and the endless fascination with constructing scenarios where characters have no other choice but to do near genocides, assassination, and other grimderp shenanigans really infuriates me. There are multiple franchises where I would accept that with zero qualms: Babylon 5, Star Wars, Farscape, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica*, the Expanse etc. but they don't have that same core premise that good wins because good is actually how you win.

*Although it got REAL tedious REAL quick because of how excessively Moore's Galactica leaned into this. Which is incidentally kind of why even though I admire the man, I kind of want to see him and Star Trek keep 500 feet from each other at all times. The guy is way too into torturing series leads. Save that for O'Brien, he lives on pain.

So, to recap.

Dear S1/S2 fans. I adored this ending: it was everything I love about TNG right down to Picard saving the day through warmth and decency. But I'm sorry you got screwed. This is not a zero sum game to me. I think there was a way we could have all been happy and it sucks that wasn't a priority.