#hope that makes sense

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

do drag queens count as queer? when nothing else abt their sexuality/gender is stated?

I've been asked this before, and in short, no. Feel free to submit them anyway for me to take a look though! Even though drag is a traditionally queer art, you do not have to be queer yourself to participate in drag! If there's no other indication that the character is queer outside of being a drag queen, I'm going to go with no.

[celluloidbroomcloset]

I wanted to repost these bigger, because, first, good acting choices. Second, the progression of their faces as Jack talks about Ed's past really does tell a story about how they're both perceiving the conversation.

Stede's initial reaction is surprise, but it quickly slides into trying to discern how Ed is reacting to what Jack says.

Ed never really looks at Stede as soon as Jack brings up the burning ship. He dissociates almost immediately. Even when Stede directly speaks to him, he won't meet Stede's eyes, and keeps avoiding his gaze throughout the scene.

It lays the groundwork of Ed's fears that Stede will eventually realize what a monster he is. It's also the first time that Stede is really facing the reality of Ed's past—Ed's reaction indicates that Jack's not lying—and he's increasingly distressed by it.

Stede brings up Ed having "given up the killing," a reference to their conversation in the bathtub. Stede doesn't know that Ed has only ever told him about this, but of course it resonates with Ed. And Stede does seem to be looking for reassurance, or for some explanation, since what Jack is saying and the man that Stede knows seem to be two different people.

Though Ed doesn't look at Stede, Stede looks at Ed. He looks at him more than he looks at Jack, and he watches his responses. Stede has very little emotional insight into himself, but boy does he have a lot into Ed. You can see the progress of his thoughts across his face, even as he doesn't put them into words.

The whole episode isn't just about Ed looking at his past, but Stede looking at Ed's past. Ultimately Stede's conclusion is that Ed's past is Ed's business, but it's also important Stede himself knows more of who Ed is now. He's learned more facets—Ed has indeed been Blackbeard, the man who burned a ship full of people, and who made turtles fight crabs. Stede can either accept that about him or deny it, but denying it means that he denies a part of who Ed has been.

It is not that Stede decides to ignore Ed's past violence, but to accept what it is—a part of piracy, something that Ed has done and that he's moved beyond. Because Stede does not see a man laughing and joking about burning people alive, as Jack does, but a man deeply ashamed of having done it. Stede later tells Jack that maybe Ed isn't the same man he knew, and he means that.

This feeds into Stede's love of Ed, as well as the basis for Ed's self-loathing. Where Ed believes that this is "what I am," and where his shame at bringing violence onto Stede's ship makes him want to run before he can hurt or be hurt, he misses that Stede sees him clearly. Stede neither rejects Ed based on Jack's stories, nor does he disbelieve those stories. It gets threaded into the fabric of his love—his recognition of Ed's past, his belief that Ed is a good man (because he has seen more evidence of that than anything else), and his acceptance that this good man has done bad things.

Once more, Stede does understand Ed. He does love everything about him. He doesn't excuse Ed's past violence, he doesn't disbelieve or pretend it doesn't exist, but he also doesn't treat it as the sum total of the man. Stede sees the man who murdered his father to protect his mother, the man who went on a treasure hunt for a petrified orange and who takes seven sugars in his tea, the man who has treated him and his crew with kindness and gentleness, the man who planned to kill him but didn't, the man who has cried in the bathtub and also threatened to skin a racist. Stede never sees Ed as a monster, even when told the most monstrous things he's done. He sees him as a flawed, damaged, gentle man. And he loves him for all of it.

[soaps-mohawk]

I have a question about the marks. So John is the pack alpha and has marked reader and Kyle. Does this mean he marked ghost? And if so does that mean soap has two marks? Or just one from ghost with ghosts bond with John transferring?

So, alphas don't really mark each other. They recognize each other as being part of the pack in a different way (which can extend to other non-alpha members as well. There's not really a need for a claiming mark for everyone.) It's more instinctual, sort of telepathic in a way, I guess you could say. It's just something they kind of know after that bond is formed. So John didn't bite Simon, but they still recognize each other as being part of the same pack, with Simon being second alpha.

Johnny just has one mark from Simon, and because of that connection between Simon and John, that allows everyone else in the pack to recognize Johnny as a member as well. Even if Johnny didn't have a bond with John, they would still recognize him as a member of their pack because of his connection to Simon.

Even without marks, they would still be recognized as members of the pack. The claiming marks are more for everyone else outside of the pack to see that this person belongs to them (especially important in the case of omegas, though as it's been stated, that won't stop everyone.) Inside the pack, it's the bonds that matter most. Those connections to each other that allow the sort of hind-brain, the instinctual side of them to recognize each other and their connections to each other.

[valyrfia]

hi i came here from thearchercore where they said that you think there seem to be friendship cliques forming around the paddock as of late like carlando vs. lestappen. i've seen these divides between fans but what makes you think there's also that divide between drivers?

I wouldn't call them friendship cliques. More....workplace alliances regarding the way F1 is going and the way F1 should go.

(Full disclaimer. This is a theory of grid dynamics that's been brewing for a little while in my head and I've only really bounced it off people in dms so far, so feel free to critique or refine it.)

Now, why would these two camps clash? Apart from interpersonal reasons (power struggles at any of the teams for example, I think any of the drivers listed racing or PR would resent being labelled as the team's n2 driver), F1 itself as a sport is at a crossroads. We're seeing the obvious effect of DTS in popularising the sport and making these athletes world-famous. In the past, only the world champions really became world-renowned. Now, most drivers are massive social media stars, or even proper A-list celebrities in their own right (Daniel at the Met Gala, for example). This one one hand is brilliant for the sport, because it brings more attention and eyes, and F1 becomes far more popular than it ever has been in the past. Liberty media especially is fond of this, as it brings in more profit for them.

However, in a lot of ways quintessential aspects of racing are lost via appealing to the masses. We see this in the removal of traditional purpose-built tracks in the calendar to make way for street races, in team line ups prioritising the PR-friendliness of a driver much more than before. The question of can the individual personalities of these drivers be sold is now a much bigger factor when considering a line up now than it was even ten years ago.

Since the question of racing vs. PR is raging in F1 in general right now, I think there's natural battle lines being drawn up in the paddock at the moment, that seem to fall along drivers which prioritise racing results over PR, and drivers that rely on PR/sponsors to boost their image without the racing results to necessarily back it up. Let's call them the racing clique vs. the PR clique for simplification.

Furthermore, I think these battlelines are drawn between teammates more often than not. So for example, I'd say Oscar tends to fall into the racing clique, Lando the PR clique (because let's be frank, his level of hype in British media especially WITHOUT a grand prix win is a little ridiculous). Likewise, if we consider our once and future RBR teammate pair, Max is the racing, Daniel the PR.

Ferrari is a little trickier because Charles is a PR mastermind and plays the PR game well in order to manipulate public perception about him. However, I will say that above all Charles has a fair estimation of his own abilities, an incredible racing IQ, and a sharp hunger to win that shines through despite the scrupulous Ferrari PR training (lest we forget the origin of the Il Predestinato name). For this reason, I think I place him in the racing camp. Considering the way that the Sainz camp uses leaks, well-timed sympathy posts, and Carlando to boost the public perception of Carlos's racing ability, I would place Carlos in the PR camp.

There are also other natural flash tensions between these people, but from Lando and Daniel distancing themselves from Max post his Vegas derogatory comments (@tsarinablogs has written some good thinkpieces on this), to the Ferrari civil war (as currently being chronicled by @thearchercore, along with some pretty good evidence as to McLaren trying to copy Ferrari's contract renewal hype, which further puts Lando and Charles into conflict). I don't think the happy go lucky Landoscar dynamic will survive McLaren being a competitive car, especially if Oscar wins a grand prix before Oscar.

There are faultlines and flashpoints forming in the paddock, and I think that especially with the incoming silly season, this question of PR vs. racing when picking drivers will be thrown into haut relief and that'll serve to only heighten the natural and/or pre-existing tensions between these two different groups of people.

[zmickmilk]

What is wrong with you ???

Idk how to tell you this, but little 15 Yr old mandy would not have been going against kenyatta in a fight. She was just as likely to get into an abusive relationship in the earlier seasons, and her being abused isn't ruining her character??

If anything, it makes her character better. Mandy, even in season 1, has mentioned that she passed shitty guys. She starts fake daiting Ian to "keep the creepy guys away from her." When Ian leaves and they start being not as close(break up), she finds a new boyfriend who ends up being a creepy shitty guy. It shows how important Ians friendship was to her.

Ians and mandys friendship starts because of mandys fear of rejection. When Ian doesn't want her, she cries and lies about him, but we she finds out that Ians gay and literally can't like her she's fine. They become friends very fast liking because of mandys deep want for connection. Mandy shows her fears of being alone, rejected, and abandoned from the start. How is showing how those fears develop ruining her character?

And where did you even get the "not letting that side" bit from ?? Just because mandy is quick to defend herself against people she hardly knows doesn't mean she isn't already getting abused. Terry has abused mandy her WHOLE LIFE. Her dad, the person who was meant to love and care for her, is physically mentally and sexually abusing her. It's really not that crazy that she "lets slide" similar behaviours from her bf, the man who is meant to love and care for her. Unfortunately, it's just what she is used to.

How can someone actually think that. AND THE REPLYS ??? Someone put that they made her "mentally weak." are you crazy???

Mandy has always and will also be an incredibly strong woman. She got out of the relationship a whole lot faster than lots of people would have. She got out of the southside and made a whole new life herself. What about the screams weak ??

I hate tiktok

[swordsonnet]

okay i lied, i am going to be talking spoilers (because i have no self-control, and i've seen other people share spoilers in the magnus protocol tag, so i assume it's fine?). assorted rambling thoughts on the premiere under the cut:

-ngl "rusty quill presents... the magnus protocol" made me so emotional

-ah yes, a civil service data entry job that has you working night shifts for no discernible reason. that's not ominous at all

-i love the new characters already! they all have such interesting personalities and relationships with each other, can't wait to see how they'll be developed in further episodes. colin is probably my favourite so far, we stan a grumpy IT guy

-speaking of colin, i'm glad we've got a scottish character this time! i love TMA to bits, but it had a lamentable lack of scottish accents

-alice is so much fun as well! i love how jonny described her as a "tumblr shitposter par excellence"

-sam is such a sweet guy, but i'm sure he'll be introduced to The Horrors™ soon enough... although maybe he already was! he seemed to be familiar with the magnus institute, and just like the trailer, this episode also hinted at something traumatic in his past that led him to join the OIAR. probably something to do with those dubiously ethical child psychology experiments...

-i hadn't even considered what OIAR would sound like spoken out loud, and it's so awkward lmao. really doesn't roll off the tongue

-i kinda ship alice and gwen now tbh. i'm getting prime "workplace nemeses to lovers" vibes from them

-okay, let's address the thing everyone's probably thinking about: i'm not sure how to feel about jon and martin's - sorry, chester and neil's - involvement in protocol. (i mean, it's not 100% confirmed that it is jon and martin, but it seems pretty likely.) like i've said before, i would have preferred to keep the ambiguity of their original ending, but on the other hand, this could be shaping up to be a really interesting plotline. plus, y'know, i've gotten pretty emotionally attached to these characters (*gestures vaguely at my ao3*), so i wouldn't be opposed to seeing them again!

-i guess the guy alice nicknamed augustus is going to be jonah magnus, then? that idea is just so funny to me. imagine being trapped in a computer with your boyfriend (who stabbed you) and your evil boss (whom you stabbed)

-i really like the vibe of the new "statements"! i particularly enjoyed the forum entries, i always appreciate the use of unique formats to tell a story. it reminds me a little of analogue horror, though of course it's the exact opposite of analogue - you could call it digital horror, i suppose? anyway, much as i loved the more traditional horror story structure of the TMA statements, i think it's super exciting that they're branching out and trying new things with protocol. looking forward to see what else they'll come up with!

[anamericangirl]

How would you respond to a claim that "a woman is someone who can menstruate and get pregnant" is defining womanhood by the ability to bear children.

Like in here:

https://www.tumblr.com/bi-and-a-witch/738929410912223232/yall-are-really-defining-womanhood-by-our-ability

I got stumped earlier with this statement, sorry if I come across as hostile, I' just stumped on hwo to answer this..

You're not coming across as hostile at all. People thinking that person is actually "defining womanhood" as having a period and getting pregnant is just an example of tumblr's "piss on the poor" reading comprehension.

Those are two things that are unique to being a woman and women can do those things because they have female biology that goes all the way down to their bones. This manifests in physical differences that we can observe between men and women. Like the ability to get pregnant and have a period. Those are things only women can do because that's how our bodies are built and it's something men cannot do and never will be able to do and if they were really actually women then they would have bodies with those capacities built into them.

We're not women because we can get pregnant and menstruate. We can get pregnant and menstruate because we're women.

Men aren't men because they can't get pregnant or menstruate. They can't get pregnant or menstruate because they are men.

[thevirgodoll]

i posted on my twitter and on here how im having an existential crisis of sorts about my birthday. it’s half joking and doesn’t mean im sad about it lol. it means it’s a beautiful day and makes me emotional because i was supposed to be dead right now. for a lot of us, birthdays are heavier than just blowing out candles and receiving gifts and taking pictures. if you’ve been here awhile you know I’ve been through a LOT. hospital and continued sickness, attempts, abuse… and my birthday is a bittersweet reminder that im still making it. birthdays mark your progress and your personal journey no matter what that may look like. and for me, it was way harder than i could have ever imagined and i am so blessed beyond measure and i thank God everyday but especially today.💗

[kyuriman]

Controversial maybe but as much as I do like kyman I definitely have pet peeves about certain ways it's portrayed often in fanon. Firstly, I don't like when Kyle is constantly a victim or holds no power in their relationship... Makes me feel icky and when I read stuff that has him like that I can't help but kinda agree with [da haterz] about it being gross or fetishy... Like ultimately if someone ships kyman like that it's whatever they can do what they want but it's not my shtick and I feel it's inauthentic to the character. Secondly, I don't like when Cartman is constantly in the wrong. This one is kinda related to the first one- to be specific, I don't mind when he is wrong if it's valid. I've seen fanfics where Cartman has every right to be mad but then the author writes out Kyle as the justified one (or the victim) even when it's absolutely within Cartman's right to be just as frustrated.

(Obviously if the POV is from Kyle's perspective; he is going to see himself in the right. I've read a lot of fanfics that do this and they do it well! I don't mind these because it's obvious it's Kyle's perspective. However, I've also read fanfics where it's 100% evident it's the author's perspective that Kyle is constantly a victim or in the right even in situations where he isn't... And that can get maddening.)

...TLDR: I prefer my kyman with them being both assholes (of different extents depending on the context) and both have a level ground of power in their dynamic. Otherwise, I genuinely don't think Kyle OR Cartman would let a relationship develop between them. (AKA: I think they'd only let romance happen if they were 100% sure ((or delusional)) that they'd be the ones in power thus leading to a levelled out power field because neither would yield easily)

[soaps-mohawk]

I know betas are supposed to be chill but could there ever be an unhinged beta. 😂 Or moments when a beta acts unhinged 😂 like someone says something so crazy to one of the other 141 members or reader and Soap or Gaz just pull out a gun. I'm thinking of that clip where Tom Hardy plays as "twin brothers" and someone says something to one brother and said brother just pulls a gun 🤣 and then the other brother is like whooaa hey wait no no calm down. Idk if you've seen that clip but it is hilarious to me.

Oh absolutely.

That's why they're allowed in the military too. Of course, their natural instinct is more peaceful conflict resolution, but in the right situation? They'll go absolutely berserk.

Think like that scene in MW3 where Soap snaps and attacks Makarov in the helicopter and draws a gun on him. That absolutely would still happen in this fic (even though we're not going that direction plot-wise.) Betas can absolutely be just as ruthless and dangerous as alphas, they're just less prone to jumping straight to aggression and violence as alphas.

You threaten their pack, though? Oh absolutely. Fists are flying, guns are being drawn. They absolutely will kill to protect their pack, it just takes more to get them to that point than it does alphas.

[dawn-moths]

Can i ask for 21 and 18 for Dabi/Touya? Daddy pls/j🥺

haha ok i got u 💕

prompt: brushing through the other's hair while talking & developing own terms for everything

character: dabi/touya (boku no hero academia)

words: 1100+

content warning: no warnings apply! just some cute, innocent fluff.

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“Wow…” you remark, fingers loosely threaded through Dabi’s inky spikes. “I’m actually surprised, y’know. I thought you’d have a lot more knots and tangles.”

From where his head is resting in your lap, Dabi tilts his face slightly more your way, half-lidded cobalt gaze meeting yours. He looks serene like this, all relaxed and pliable as he rests between your gently folded legs, but as the ghost of a smirk tugs up at one corner of his scarred lips, a spark of mischief wiggles its way in.

“Why?” he asks. Simple. Like he’s testing you.

Your soothing, stroking motions cease for a moment, staring down at him with a flicker of guilt. “I dunno,” you shrug, breaking eye contact for a second as you sarcastically roll your eyes. “Maybe because I’ve never seen you do anything to your hair besides embrace perpetual bedhead?”

At this, he puffs out a small breath of a laugh, lazily amused at your little quip.

“Yeah, and why would I…?” Reaching a big, slender fingered hand up to cup the smooth skin of your cheek, he concludes with, “When I have someone who’ll comb their fingers through it whenever I ask?”

The sincerity of the comment flusters you for a moment, but then you’re wearing that soft, sweet smile reserved only for him and melting further into his rough palm, eyes fluttering shut as you sigh against his familiar touch.

“I let you get away with too much,” you joke, continuing your rhythmic combing through his course dark hair, the first flurries of his natural snow white color just beginning to show at the roots. “Next thing I know, you’ll be asking me to dye it for you too.”

Dabi gives that some thought, then he says, voice dropping to a low, sated lull, “Y’know, that’s actually not a bad idea,” which earns him a teasing pull on his hair as you curl a loose fist through the strands and gently tug. “What?” He chuckles, beginning to reach further back to twine his fingers through your own hair, mimicking your tender ministrations the best he can from his current position. “Don’t like the idea of having your hands stained blue for weeks on end?”

If it was for you, you want to say, I wouldn’t mind at all. But what comes out instead is, “Better watch out or you might end up with neon blue in the end, if I feel like messing with you that day.”

“Oh, if you feel like messing with me, huh?” Dabi playfully mocks, winning another one of those melodic giggles from you, the kind he lives for. The kind that makes him forget, even if just for one fleeting moment in time, all the hardship he’s had to endure up until now. Will likely have to endure in the future to come. “You’d be in for one hell of a payback for that.”

You and him mutter some harmless banter back and forth for a little while longer until eventually a silence falls over you again. It’s the kind that almost had Dabi dozing off before you’d made the comment about his hair, the kind that keeps you mesmerized enough that you could absentmindedly comb through his spikes all afternoon.

“I wish things could stay like this forever…” you murmur under your breath, so quiet you’re not even sure Dabi heard you, the way his eyes are once again closed and his breathing is slow and shallow, no doubt on the precipice of unconsciousness.

But then he sighs out, without opening his eyes, “Me too…”

A couple seconds pass and then his head is reluctantly lifting from your lap, shifting his position to sit upright. You let out a small whine of protest but he’s quick to beckon you back into his arms, your back resting against his chest and feeling safe and comforted as his body heat seeps through the fabric of your clothes, cradling you in warmth.

“You know we gotta make that supply run today…” he reminds you, pulling you both back to the reality that is being a bunch of wanted criminals hiding out with not much to their names, having to sneak around the city and steal cheap food from convenience stores just to survive week to week, sometimes even day to day.

“Yeah, I know…” you mutter, not trying to hide your blatant not wanting to make that supply run today. You nuzzle your head closer into the crook of his neck and say, “Sphynx will have a meltdown if we’re not back before sundown…”

Dabi smirked to himself, then said, “Well we can ask Ragdoll to come along. She’s been complaining about being cooped up in here for too long…”

Now it was your turn to smile. Because it had been your idea to code name the other members of the League as different cat breeds. At first, Dabi scoffed at your little game, asked you why, so you’d just shrugged and answered, “Because it’s fun,” and then, after a moment’s hesitation and a devious expression forming on your face, you added, “And this way we can talk about people without them knowing, if they decide to listen in.”

And so the joke had stuck.

Tomura was, obviously, “Sphynx”, Toga was “Ragdoll”, after she’d caught wind of your guys’ inside joke and wanted to choose her own breed to be referred by. As for the others, Jin was “Persian”, Spinner was “Devon Rex”, Atsuhiro was “Russian Blue”, and Kurogiri was “Bombay”.

Just for fun, you’d assigned one to Dabi— “Calico”— and for you, you’d chosen “Siamese”.

There had even been a few times when Tomura had been nearby while you two had been talking about him, butting in to ask, “Who the hell’s Sphynx?” only for you and Dabi to exchange smug glances and then reply, “No one. Don’t worry about it,” and then try to contain your laughter until he walked away lest you blow your entire cover.

It was just some silly, harmless fun, but it helped make the dingy, mundane, day to day of slumping around the bar that was currently serving as the main HQ a little more bearable, so Dabi didn’t mind playing along.

“Guess we should get ready to head out…” Dabi looked down at you, now settled in his lap, and quirked up one dark brow, “Don’cha think?”

You hummed out a twinkling giggle, Dabi’s heart stuttering a beat at such a genuine, jovial sound. You said, “If we have to. But this time you’re gonna be on lookout while I grab the goods. Deal, Calico?”

He flashed a grin that was half challenging, half proud. “Deal, Siamese.”

He’d taught you almost everything you knew, since you’d been taken in by the League. He felt pride in knowing, for as sweet as you were with him when you two were alone, he’d also been the one to corrupt you, in one way or another.

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send me a number from this prompt list + one of the characters i write for and i’ll write a short lil something for you 💕

[squealing-for-harusono-sensei]

You know, I really think that one of the biggest difference between sasamiya and kagihira is that Sasaki and Miyano both have read a lot of romance stories and Hirano and Kagiura hasn’t.

Consider the experience with romance each of the four have had when they meet their love interest:

Sasaki has never been in love, but has read/seen heterosexual romance stories

Miyano had a crush in middle school and has read a lot of BL

Kagiura had a girlfriend in middle school but wasn’t actually in love with her

Hirano has neither had romantic feelings nor dated anyone before

They’re all newbies at romance, but at least Sasaki and Miyano have stories to help them. And their prior experiences have a big impact on how their romance plays out. Because sasamiya are the only ones with an idea of what it’s actually like to be in love. Even if Miyano’s “I don’t want BL to happen to me!” mentality got in the way for a while.

Sasaki, despite never having been in love, recognizes his thought of “oh he’s cute” as romantic early on. But since he only has met it in context of hetero romances before, it takes a little while for him to reconcile it with Miyano being a boy. He’s an open-minded guy, though, so it doesn’t take long. (And didn’t even need BL for it - he recognized it before Miyano lent him his first BL.)

Miyano takes a long time though, because while he is arguably the most experienced of the bunch in both real and fictive romance, he, aside from shipping kagihira, kept BL and his own life very separate. While he recognized gay couples as being a real thing, BL was something “not real” so it mostly confused him when figuring out his own feelings. He still recognizes how easily it would be for him to hurt Sasaki once he knows Sasaki is in love with him, though whether it’s because of BL or his own past experience is debatable. Still, the BL has DEFINITELY made it easier for Sasaki to flirt with him. And sasamiya’s ability to spot misunderstandings and resolve them early is almost definitely in large part due to both of their experience with romance stories.

Meanwhile, while Kagiura has more experience with people having romantic feelings for him than any of the others, this is the first time he’s had them for anyone else. And it turns out that he’s actually incredibly naive about romance. Because here’s why I think that sasamiya’s experience with romance STORIES is so important. Because Kagiura does have a lot of experience with romance, but only from the outside. Romance stories, while rarely very realistic, DOES show what romance feels like and often show some of the ways being in love can hurt. I think that the reason why Sasaki seems to understand his romantic feelings better than Kagiura from the get go is because he’s been in the head of characters that’s been in love, while Kagiura only ever has been on the outside, guessing about what it feels like.

Hirano... Honestly, I think he’s barely ever even TALKED about romance before Kagiura’s third confession. Where Kagiura at least knew what it looked like even if he didn’t know what it felt like, Hirano doesn’t even have that. And honestly? I can’t really blame him, as frustrating as it is to read. Like, consider listening to someone talking in a language you don’t know. You hear the sounds but you gain no meaning from them because you don’t know what the sounds are supposed to represent. To Hirano, that’s what romance is; a language that he doesn’t understand. He’s heard other people speak it enough to pick up some of the words - he knows what it means to accept or reject a confession and what Valentine’s Day is - but he’s had neither interest nor reason to learn it. But suddenly he’s hurting his dear roommate because he doesn’t know the language that Kagi-kun is now insisting they speak. And he’s trying to learn now but romance isn’t easy and because he never talks about feelings with anyone (except Kagiura because he’s forcing him to) he doesn’t have an interpreter like Niibashi sometimes is to Kagiura. Meanwhile Kagiura has to spell everything out because while he is very far from fluent in romance, it’s still more than what Hirano currently understands.

[jsdhwdmax56]

This but mxtx couple.

The real winner would be wangxian, why you ask? easy

They have both!

Hualian have the former, Bingqiu have the latter.

[thxrnking]

Now a thought you've given me while reading the jack/wander dynamic is that not only would they lose each other, but they'd also put the other in harms way by giving nightswan acsses to one without the other being there to protect them or stop her from possibly hurting them (the way you write them, jack leaving wander and putting directly into the hands of nightswan)

So i guess the question is, is wanderlust aware of the fact that he's just there as leverage for jack, or is he blissfuly unaware? Im sure jacks fully aware that if he left nightswan would hurt wander (very possibly because she keeps him reminded of that fact) but does wander know? and would he care? is he happy to be of service, no matter what the price is, or is there a certain fear that keeps him in line, knowing his place is to keep jack in his and if he fails to do so its his head? and would that be something he'd use if jack seriously considered rebelling, reminding him that hes actively in danger if he does so??

Sorry if this was complicated or something you were already alluding to my adhd go brrrrrrrr

I've spent all day on this answer and I just hope I can make it make sense.

Night Swan would only hurt her Children if they displeased her directly, she would never punish them for the stupidity/disobedience of the others. Instead she prefers to motivate them with the promise of reward: personal praise for Sara, recognition for Brezziana, and Jack and Wanderlust for each other. As long as they stay loyal they get their 'prize' and fear of losing it pushes them to do as their told.

Wanderlust is vaguely aware that Night Swan is using him against Jack, but he honestly doesn't care. His own motivation is Jack's safety, and he will do anything to make that happen, even if it means going along with Night Swan for now to keep her from hurting him.

Post-corruption Wanderlust has much fewer moral issues over what he's willing to do, including but not limited to, lying, manipulation, threat of physical force, actual physical force, scheming etc.

Initially he encourages Jack to give in to her corruption of him as a direct way of ending Jack's torture at her hands. If he's corrupted then she won't harm him any more. Over time though, he actively maintains the corruption (reminding Jack what he has because of it i.e. him) because he believes Jack is and will be happier as the Swan Prince. Confident, no insecurities, almost always smiling.

He trusts no one else to be able to keep Jack happy.

Wanderlust is a man of few words post-corruption, but he is always three moves ahead of everyone else. And the second going along with Night Swan doesn't serve his purpose, he doesn't plan to stick around.

Jack wouldn't really think of rebelling, perfectly happy with the life he has as Jack Swan, however the fact he chose his corruption does make him more susceptible to changing back. He may question but without someone to keep poking a hole in his doubts, it won't just happen.

[teathattast]

the closest you can get to slapping your own ass is when you go to add a song to a playlist and it's already in there

[sentience-if]

What is each ROs love language?

Also- did MC ever bite Val in canon? Maybe just some light nibbling??

I'll leave it up to you whether or not Io has done any biting in the past, but I have a feeling you'll get a chance to do some gnawing on things in the game

I kind of think love languages are nonsense so I'm gonna go off the rails a bit here

Val: trust. letting them into your house and in on secrets and giving them responsibilities and wholeheartedly trusting them to take care of things. val's very good at fixing problems and acting as a buffer to the world, and they want to be able to do that

Ira: listening to and participating in each other's interests. ask Ira questions about the things they're obsessed with and they'll love u forever. even better, ask their opinion on the things you love and value their opinion, whether or not you agree with it.

Connie: willingness/ wanting to be around someone without needing something from them. Constantine's very used to being the responsible one, the protector, the hired sword, so having the opportunity to just be means a lot to them.

Klaus: also trust, but in a less practical way. you know klaus loves someone if he's willing to appear anything less than completely composed and unshakeable in front of them. sharing his inner monologue is the ultimate sign of trust; he needs someone to be stupid and childish with

Kat: playing along with her silly little games, commitment to the bit. an inside joke or the ability to match her energy will go a long way with kat. it's sort of a combination of taking her seriously and knowing when she's not being serious at all.