#i DO think it's a strange writing choice when you're trying to make the audience root for this fictional couple though!

[captain-hen]

i get why people are hesitant to believe buddie is endgame or will go canon soon but it’s impossible for me to believe they aren’t going there with how they write buck and tommy’s relationship. everything in 704 and 705 had eddie haunting it (literally like buck coming out was only really about him lying to eddie, you could argue that buck has his feelings confused in all of 704 because half of the clown shit he pulled didnt have anything to do with tommy, the whole maddie coming out scene was about eddie) and even in 706 eddie was all over it. suggesting the couples costume, making the effort to dress up because buck was excited, being basically attached at the hip with him all episode vs tommy not dressing up and then being uninvolved throughout the rest of the episode until the end. like it feels like a deliberate choice!!! maybe a couple instances of stuff like that could be a coincidence but not with this much stacking on top of each other yknow

no yeah the way eddie has been haunting the narrative is literally insane like they didn't have to do All That. it would have been infinitely easier, from a writing perspective, to leave him out of it completely, but here we are! 🤷🏼

[dochkarauta]

jealousy jealousy

— my first little work in another language (i try :,) )

ships: carlando; loscar

tags: little drama, jealousy, happy end

read:

"i have new gossip)"

LN

"Oscar said they would break up with Logan because Logan is jealous of me lmao)"

LN

"god, you’re so lucky that you got me, Carlos."

LN

"you're great at eliminating the hardships of choice in my life, darling"

LN

"does Oscar give rise to jealousy?"

CS

"and I hope we're not talking about that McLaren video right now?"

CS

"exactly))) think about it: what kind of insecure idiot to be jealous of such a thing?"

LN

"although... yes, maybe Sargent has something to worry about)"

LN

"and what should he be worried about?"

CS

"you know, Oscar and I spend time together… all the time."

LN

"sometimes it seems to me that even more than them"

LN

"do Logan and Oscar live together, they’re not?"

CS

"outside of race weekends"

CS

"what makes you think that? I've never heard of it. Isn't Logan living in America now?"

LN

"he and Oscar have been living in the UK for the second year. before that, both lived somewhere else, maybe in America."

CS

"i’m afraid to ask, and how did you know that?"

LN

"I talked to Oscar recently in the paddock. and I read a couple of clippings from his interview."

CS

"and you spend so much time with him that you don't even know if he lives with Logan?"

CS

"it's strange that Oscar told you about their breakup, but didn't tell you about living together."

CS

"he said. in other words"

LN

"and I see his emotions, his irritation during the conversation. so something is definitely wrong."

LN

"well…"

CS

"and what did Oscar actually say?"

CS

"I'm telling you, Logan didn't like his answer to the question about the best teammate. Well, obviously, Oscar would have called me, why this stupid american drama?"

LN

"he would have named you because there are cameramen and people from McLaren sitting next to you, cabrón, make no mistake"

CS

"it doesn't affect the fact that I'm a cool friend and teammate in any way"

LN

"you should watch a few interviews with your teammate. he never calls you a friend when he talks with people unrelated to McLaren. I saw a clip from the show where Oscar lists close friends in the paddock, and there are at least two people in front of you, buddy."

CS

"you're kind of tense."

LN

"you're being disgusting, Lando."

CS

"you are deliberately provoking Oscar, thereby trying to hurt Logan and somehow interfere in their relationship. and this is not the first time. So with Alex and Russell, isn't that right?"

CS

"who am I provoking, darling? I don't care any of the listed ones at all. and Oscar could easily name his greatest american boy if he wanted to. I just asked a question that will be interesting to the audience. It's a damn show, who's offended by the show?"

LN

"we've known each other for so many years, and you've just started to get stressed out by my behavior. before that, what? oh, right, you could easily get distracted by a pretty face and close your eyes to everything"

LN

"but now there's a other pretty face, isn't there?"

LN

"what are you talking about?"

CS

"don't turn this on me, Lando. you literally feel proud and enjoy when you find out from somewhere or you can figure out that everything is bad between these two. Is that what friends do?"

CS

"you're also trying to get me emotional with your stories about how often you and Oscar are together. do you lack attention so much that you are ready to forcibly demand it from others and extract it from me in such a barbaric way?"

CS

"of course, as always, I am the most terrible. bravo, Carlos, what else could a loving and caring guy say"

LN

"I told you the truth. I want you to stop acting like a total bitch and leave them."

CS

"one more word in that tone, and you don't have to write to me anymore, okay?"

LN

"since I'm acting like a total bitch, you can go to anyone you don't think is like that. to Oscar, Logan, or at least to your perfect Leclerc, dude. idfc”

LN

"what does Charles have to do with it?"

CS

"I don't even know. google it, man»

LN

"maybe I really miss your attention so much, since I'm looking for it in others? It's worth thinking about, Carlos. I hope you will have time for this while you spend days and nights with your wonderful teammate."

LN

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I was dating an adult who can: a) to distinguish between working and personal relationships; b) to entertain himself while I am doing work and all this nonsense with contracts. It turned out I was wrong."

CS

"then you definitely need someone like Oscar. to sit in different rooms, remember each other once a day and admire another person. and what am I, I'm just a kid who wants attention from his boyfriend. of course, it's just terrible, Carlos!"

LN

"why are you so aggressive about our friendship with Charles? are you really that jealous? how can you, it's just a show, Lando))”

CS

"fuck you"

LN

"you say that adults should not demand attention by "barbaric" ways. but can adults afford deprive their partner so easily? You've been ignoring my messages for days. Didn't you have a single second in three days to say, "I'm fine, baby, don't worry," like it used to be? You don't notice me in the paddock anymore. damn, it really seems to me that you communicate with the same Oscar more often than with me. am I no longer worthy of this attention? Do I need to curry favor and beg?"

LN

"although it's unlikely to help. you never forget to tell me about Charles. you have fucking time to discuss your "divorce" with the whole press, Carlos. and how much time do you spend with him? you are together in the paddock, at shows, in clubs after the race. oh yes, Logan can sleep well, Oscar and I will never get to that level!"

LN

"I literally can't be with someone for as long like I would to be with you. God, I think about how cool it was with you at every show. it will never compare to Piastri. I was happy then because I didn't have to draw out praise, compliments, or any other attention. like now"

LN

"and I've already developed a real paranoia. when I received a message from you, I began to be afraid to enter our fucking chat. because I constantly think that I will see from you "we need to break up" or "I'm better off with Charles." fuck, I'm already dreaming about this story. and you would have known if you had picked up the phone when I called you. but you were at the club, judging by the stories of Charles' friends."

LN

"sometimes I'm so afraid of your betrayal that I'm ready to leave you, because it wouldn't hurt so much."

LN

"Lando, this is such a stupid thing."

CS

"I've never thought in my life that I want to cheat on you or break up"

CS

"including when we started communicating with Charles"

CS

"if that doesn't calm you down, then I'll remind you that he has a relationship. he hardly needs me."

CS

"I had no idea he was dating anyone, mate."

LN

"come on, Lando. you spend so much time with Max, didn't he tell you?"

CS

«…»

LN

"and that's not the main thing you should have heard."

CS

"I said I don't want to break up with you, baby."

CS

"that week, my phone fell out from the second floor and died. I asked Oscar to give you this, by the way, since you had a meeting in the near future. so all the questions are for him."

CS

"and I'm not ignoring you in the paddock. We're just talking as a group. I'm talking to everyone."

CS

"baby, are you here?"

CS

"yes."

LN

"what are you thinking about?"

CS

"about you calling me a bitch"

LN

"it's not the first time."

CS

"this is the first time you've said it seriously and aggressively, not as a flirtation or a joke."

LN

"I'm sorry about that."

CS

"I was wrong, Lando. I love you. It won't happen again, baby"

CS

"I'm sorry for being so persistent. and with Oscar, this situation... you're right, sometimes I'm terrible because I feel lonely. but I love you too."

LN

"I'm sorry that lately I haven't been able to spend as much time together as we both would like. but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you or stopped loving you. I just want to wait for the summer break and take you to Spain, to my parents."

CS

"I know. I want it too"

LN

"and one more thing... I also think about you during the ferrari show. In your case, I really wanted to finish all this as soon as possible so that I could take you to a hotel room... but let's leave that out."

CS

"why don't you come now? I don't think anyone from the team will mind one former pilot in their lair."

LN

"will you give me 20 minutes?"

CS

"I'll give you more if you don't stay late."

LN

"el pequeño diablo"

CS

[morallygreys]

i love the grey's fandom. truly ive had so many amazing and eye-opening convos with people about the choices and mistakes characters have made and thats so great. and then theres a seemingly endless supply of people who have no respect for compelling storytelling or writing multidimensional characters. like the titular character makes some of the most ethically questionable choices, and tbh all of them do, thats like the WHOLE show, and then one of them makes one choice and the character is so dead to you in a way that you think they should have been written to be the snoozefestiest fluff piece. this isnt the happy fun time friend show. people watch for the drama! the highest rated ep is the shooting and you're having moral panic because someone was annoying a few times!

you are so allowed to have opinions, more power to you, really, but its so strange to come on here and act like you know anything about crafting a narrative/character thats interesting enough to last this long when all you have to say is "this character is a bitch and i hate them" sorry girl, they served a purpose and reflected something back to the audience that the story relied upon at the time. your whole puritanical attitude is super weird in this context. you're trying to advise writers on how to make all the characters perfect and behave without fault. it is milquetoast as fuck and i dont know how you take yourself seriously.

[blockgamepirate]

I've been thinking about how much I enjoy the way roleplay allows stories to live and grow as they're being told, how it creates such unique narratives that nobody would probably have come up with just writing a conventional story

To some extent this is also something that happens with serialised storytelling, like with many TV shows and audio dramas and comics and even serialised novels, whenever a piece of media isn't fully written in advance, where often the story changes along the way, actors might leave, audiences might latch onto a character nobody expected to be popular so the writers have to quickly write them into more stories, storylines might be so unpopular that they get retconned or otherwise redirected, or the writers might straight up change their minds about something in the middle, etc.

And the result is going to be different from what you'd get if you rewrote the whole thing from the start with the changes in mind. The latter will probably turn out more polished and maybe even actually better, but it won't have quite the same kind of organic charm

Conventional, carefully edited storytelling can be great, and I often appreciate it a lot and strive to achieve it myself, but I also tend to find it kind of boring. Sometimes even when it's great, even when I find it to be a really special and revelatory experience, even if I enjoy it a lot in the moment, I just don't end up going back to it. It doesn't occupy my mind the way more flawed works do (and after all, flaws often create texture and style and what would art be without those)

And like I said, often you don't get the truly unique and strange kinds of narratives in conventional fiction because the strangeness gets edited out and polished out of existence, or just never even comes up because people set out to write a Good Story that follows certain concepts of what makes a story good. Concepts that serialised storytelling often completely ignores, because it's always moving ahead and can't look back

And of course improv storytelling is that but even more so because in improv the whole thing is "written" live. Roleplaying can be fully improv but it can also be somewhat of a fusion of serialised storytelling and improv when there's some sort of GM guiding the story to an extent. (Also of course even in improv you can sometimes have some pre-planned story beats that you're trying to hit)

I really enjoy that sort of middle point between full improv and serialised storytelling where a lot of roleplay series in general live, but of course I particularly enjoy MCRP because there's something really fun about having a setting that the players are able to freely move around in and interact with in real time. I mean I guess the same could be said about other video game roleplay too but I haven't watched any lol (also I think in some ways Minecraft could be uniquely flexible because you really can interact with almost everything)

That's also why I tend to find it really frustrating when people try to make Minecraft storytelling more polished and pre-planned. I enjoy how organic it can be, that's its main charm factor for me

I have more thoughts but I gotta go now do real life stuff so idk maybe I'll continue later (also don't have time to proofread this, sorry, there might be typos and weird wording choices)

[pupkinpumpkin]

Spoilers for Hadestown and Last of Us

OK FUCK THIS SHIT IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR HOURS NOW AND IM WRITING IT DOWN FOR MY PEACE OF MIND

ok ok ok so when I was watching the latest episode of Last of Us, and ya know, Joel goes on his lil' murder spree to save Ellie, I felt such familiarity in his decision to save Ellie in spite of the world. I realized the story reminded me so much of Hadestown(and Life is Strange, but that's an easy comparison to make).

How are those two related, you say? Well Eurydice's choice to leave Orpheus for Hadestown compared to Joel's decision to save Ellie and not save many other lives.

Now these two are kinda exact opposites. Eurydice leaves the person she loves most while Joel saves the one he loves most, but their reasons and how much you understand their decisions are similar.

Eurydice's backstory is that she's never had stability in her life. Never enough food, never a stable life, so she always leaves when the weather gets bad and times get hard. She finally learns to trust and finds someone she can love, Orpheus, but when Orpheus tries to finish his song, he neglects her and doesn't provide, so she leaves for Hadestown, where she's promised stability.

Joel, as we know, has lost many people throughout his life. Sarah, Tess, Bill, Frank, even Sam and Henry mattered to him. After years and years of losing people, he becomes detached, but this changes with Ellie. He sees Ellie as the person he can save, so when The Fireflies try to kill her to create a cure, he saves her, not only killing the people in the hospital, but dooming the world.

Both of these decisions are condemned by some of the audience. Why would you do that to Orpheus? Why would you doom the world?

It's because their biggest fears are on display. Eurydice is deeply afraid of not having enough and Joel is afraid of losing a loved one again, and they can't deal with this fear, so they both become so incredibly desperate to feel safe again, which requires a decision that is condemned by others.

But both of these decisions are completely understandable once you put yourself in their shoes. Even the Fates in Hadestown sing that you can't judge Eurydice for her actions.

" You can have your principles when you've got a bellyful. But hunger has a way with you. There's no telling what you're gonna do. Now that the chips are down."

Imagine being promised stability with your partner after a lifetime of hunger and fear, but you are now starving and weak.

Imagine losing loved one after loved one and finally being given the opportunity to save one of the only people you have left.

Both of these characters are flawed and their actions are criticized, but can you really blame them once you've felt what they've felt?

Just my two cents

[kiridarling]

𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐄

d.kaminari and h.sero | f!reader + corruption + weed/shotguning + praise + threesome + more! minors dni!

— 3.6k words

"I knew I wanted you the second I saw you."

Denki’s addicted to the pre-concert high.

His veins hum with a song that has yet to start, fingers drumming some mixed beat on the body of his electric guitar as he assumes his place on the dark stage. The theater’s dead silent, the room suspended in a titilating anticipation—and the steady rhythm Denki's heart dissapates into chaos when the faint crack of Eijirou's drumsticks bounce off the walls, and the click in his earpiece begins.

Eijirou hits the kick drum once. Twice. Then his hands fly across the set in a flurry, the rolling beat echoing into the packed arena and spurring the crowd to explode, fans flying to their feet to render their vocal cords for the night.

As the other instruments fill the blank space, Denki's hand grips the back of his guitar's neck, on hold for his solo, and by the time the electric blond steps up to the mic, pavlov's theory has already kicked in overdrive.

"Who’s ready to feel good tonight?”

“Dude, I’m on fucking fire!” Denki vibrates, nearly glowing in comparison to his bandmates as they sift through a flurry of fans at a meet and greet. It always seems like Denki and Eijirou are the only ones with energy after a good show—but what can he say? Being on stage lights him up like a live wire.

"You said that last concert, buddy," Hanta snorts, before his a fan ran sacks his attention by shoving a tiara into his hairline.

"And? My point still stan—" Denki cuts himself off with a gasp as a bra slings across his face, followed by a burst of pain when the metal hits him in the cheek. He peels the lacy thing off with an eye on the audience and an eyebrow raised in question, unsure of what to do with the undergarment (other than put it on) until someone screams:

“Sign it!”

Denki shrugs and pops the Sharpie cap with his teeth to sign the crest of both cups before flinging it back into the audience—he can only pray it pinpoints its rightful owner before the meet and greet ends.

Katsuki clicks his tongue (because he hates these events) and as the next round of fans lineup in front of their table, Eijirou stretches like this is a sport, saying, “Guess it’s go-time.”

"Go-time is when we perform," Katsuki grumbles in the seat to Denki’s right. "Go-time is when we're in the studio makin' a goddamn album, not meeting crazy fuckin' fans—no, I’m not gonna marry you, you obsessed fuckin—“

“Oh, you're just salty you're not popular with the ladies~“ Denki gushes, wiggling his eyebrows, and a fan hands him a canvas the size of his upper body. “Un—oh wow, did you make this for me—Unlike me, of course.”

"Okay, pretty boy." Hanta rolls his eyes, before signing a phone case and returning it to an overzealous fan. With a hand covering his mouth, he whispers, “Can you believe this guy? So full of himself, I swear.”

The fan giggles and Hanta meets the blushing cheeks with a satisfied smirk. Denki huffs from the disrespect, crossing both arms over his chest. “Full of myself? It’s not my fault I’m sexy—*an autograph? Of course!"

Katsuki chuckles, scratching under his chin with ink blue fingertips, "Call yourself sexy one more fuckin’ time and I'm projectile vomiti—no, I'm not signing your tits, give me a goddamn paper or somethin—"

"What?” Denki scoffs, chest collapsing with the disbelief that one could make such a lie. “I'm literally the definition of I'm sexy and I kno—"

"Um, excuse me?"

His gesticulations freeze at the passive voice, arms stretched wide and to the sky, and Denki knows he has to look absolutely ridiculous as he blinks down at the next person in-line; who's stood with bambi eyes and such a sweet smile the electric blond thinks it might make him sick.

"I-I'm your biggest fan! Could you—um, please sign this for me?"

She comes alive, shoving a poster into his chest with pink cheeks and shifty irises. Out of all the bras, all the breasts he's been asked to sign today, and here you are, with your pocket-sized poster and your lamb countenance. Denki beams.

"Of course, Sweetness! What's your name?"

"[Y/N]!" you say, giggling, and it's so. Cute. Denki opens the Sharpie and struggles to focus on signing instead of your gorgeous fucking face.

"Anything specific you'd like me to say?"

And he knows there's a rule—there always are when it comes to these things, and it's simple: don't fuck the fans. As tempting as it is, don't invite them back to your hotel room because there are too many uncertainties, and if something leaks to the press that’s possibly career ending, that’s it. So, Denki holds his tongue. For the future of himself and the band.

"Uhm, just write what you want! I...I think I'd like it best if it was authentic and came straight from you, so."

Fuck. Of course she does.

And maybe Denki just can't help it when he leans down to speak, perhaps a little lower, "You want something more authentic, cutie?"

You light up like a kid on Christmas, gasping, "Yes please Mr. Kaminari!"

So eager, too.

"Awe, you can call me Denki if you'd like," he coos, and you nod so quickly he starts to worry about whiplash. "Meet me out back, in the alley behind the venue if you wanna get to know me better. Sound like a deal?”

"O-Okay!" You nod, and when he returns your sign you grip it tight between both hands. "I'll um, see you soon Mr. Kami—I mean, D-Denki!"

You flush from the mix up and bow in apology, and Denki knows he's made the right choice when you light up, indicating you have no idea what he meant at all.

"Row row row your boat, gently down the stream," you hum, sniffling. You’re unsure if your nose is running, it's too frozen to tell, and it has you patting to confirm it’s presence. With your hands stuffed in your pockets and a jacket wrapped tight around your body, you'd think you'd be warm, but no.

The alley is dark. It's dank enough that you can smell it and you're positive what you're dancing in is vomit, but none the matter—today, you met your favorite band. Literally the people you'd die for.

"Merrily, merrily," kicking the loose rocks in the gravel every which way, you enjoy the sound of them scattering against the surrounding brick walls. "Merrily, merrily..."

"Life is but a dream," a voice finishes, a yelp rips from your throat and you jump twenty feet in alarm. But you’d know that voice anywhere; Denki chuckles at your reaction and it has you recoiling with timidity, unprepared for the surprised audience. "You have a lovely voice, Cutie. You should use it more often."

"I..." but you're not exactly sure what to say to that, knowing Denki's heard so many professional voices in his career to last a lifetime, and yet yours is lovely. "T-Thank you."

Denki watches your reaction with a hum and a smile, his visible breath escaping between the slit of his lips and into the cool air.

"Of course, Cutie."

Another voice sighs, shattering the friction that fills your gut when Denki gives you that look. You're not sure what to call it, but it makes you shiver, and that's enough to make you to run and hide.

"...Denki, who's this?"

"Um," the blond places his frozen hands in his pockets and swivels his head around to Hanta, guilty written all over his face. "A fan?"

Hanta sighs again, head tilting to the right in exhausperation, “Denki—"

"I know, I know," the electric blond sighs, waving him off. "But it's fine as long as we don't get caught, right?"

Hanta's black hair threatens to fall into his face so he combs through it, and you try not to drool at the sight of his bicep flexing. "Yeah, until we get caught."

A honk blares and it has you shrieking, to reveal a parked tour bus in the alley once the lights flicker on. Denki points the car keys at the vehicle and the doors swing open. "Awe c'mon, don't be a sour puss. It's a one-time thing, alright?"

Hanta's eyes narrow into slits.

"Seriously, dude! I'm a man of my word! On God."

The noirette's shoulders sag, but he waltzes around both of you to get on the bus. Over his shoulder, he warns, "Denki I swear to fucking god—"

"I'll be careful, I'll be careful~" he singsongs, hopping onto the stairs after the pianist. When Denki notices not you're not moving, he stills at the top step. "You coming, [Y/N]?"

"O-Oh, am I um, am I allowed?" You ask, biting your cheek at the thought of what Hanta just said as you peer around the electric blond’s body. Denki snorts, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, you're allowed," he exits the bus, only to tug you on via your collar. "Now c'mon! Let's have some fun, yeah?"

"Okay!"

Denki steers you through the bus and into a space that looks a bit like a living room, with a couch, tv, and a makeshift kitchen in the corner. Following Denki to the kitchen, you look around.

"Where are Kirishima and Bakugou?"

"Out drinking," Denki tosses, flicking open a RedBull. You wonder if this is always the post-concert routine. Hanta fiddles in with something on the couch, but he still has yet to look you in the eyes tonight, even when you ask him:

"What are you doing?"

It seems he didn't realize you’ve relocated from the kitchen to the couch next to him from the noirette nearly jumps. The green stuff in his fingers crumbles, and you scrunch your nose at the smell.

"It stinks," you add. Denki snorts, jumping onto the cushion to your right. There isn’t a whole lot of room and his addition causes your shoulders to slush between the two of them, but it’s strangely comfortable.

"It's weed," he explains like it's obvious. "You smoke, Cutie?"

"Obviously not," you and Hanta say at the same time. You turn his way, and for the first time that night, Hanta looks you in the eyes—and it's a smile, with his eyes crinkling in the corners, but there's...something else. Something else hidden behind the thinnest veil that makes you cower, if ever so slightly.

Something feral.

Denki, unaware of the crushing grip your hand has around your thigh, huffs, and tosses the energy drink down his gullet, "It was a genuine question! Geez."

"What are you doing?" You ask again, and the electric blond whimpers from being ignored.

"Rolling a joint," he utters, lifting the paper to his lips to lick the length. You watch, semi-disgusted, as Hanta finally folds over the last bit of paper around the crest of the joint, gluing it together.

"Know what a joint is?" The noirette implores.

"Yeah," you breathe, shifting at the new closeness Denki provides when you feel his chest against your back. "My roommate smokes, so."

Hanta taps it on a tray, or what Denki describes as "packing it down," before twisting the tip and tossing it back onto the tray in conclusion. Denki cheers.

"Aha! The joint-rolling master has blessed us! Everyone say thank you, joint-rolling master."

"Thank you, joint-rolling master!" You giggle when Hanta's face turns a ruddy red. He reaches over to pop Denki upside the head. Denki gasps, before lunging to return the favor, and you squeal from being jostled between two men.

"Okay," when Denki returns to his seat he's panting and so is the noirette. He picks the joint off the tray and though there isn't much room, turns so he's facing you, your legs smushed against his body indian style. "You ready, Cutie?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," you huff, swinging your arms in preparation despite the lack of space. Just in case.

Hanta snorts, holding the joint to your lips, and Denki raises the lighter and raises it to the end until it's hot enough to burn on its own.

“Now suck."

You do, cheeks puffing, and you blow the smoke straight in Denki's face. It's...a lot.

"Not quite," Hanta chuckles, and flips you via the waist so you're facing him. Denki whines from the change but finds solace in hooking his chin over your shoulder. "Suck, and then inhale. Act like it's a big breath—you gotta hold it in your lungs for a sec."

"Okay," you assert with a nod, eyes burning with a new determination. When Hanta holds it to your lips, you suck and inhale, and start coughing your throat raw, in a flurry of smoke and tears, eyes watering and nose burning. You scramble for water, but by the time you get some, the only thing that's left to soothe is a sore throat.

"Here," Denki offers, grabbing the joint before flipping you his way again. "Take smaller hits, like this."

Denki's mouth wraps around the tip and smoke pours from his lips so smoothly you're determined to do the same. With a raised eyebrow, he passes it back to you, and though it takes a moment, you try again.

The back of your throat tingles but the glide is much smoother, and you find that it doesn't burn on your next exhale. So you do it again. And again. And agai—

"Okay," Hanta picks the joint from your fingers with a click of his tongue, before taking a hit himself. You frown, making grabby hands.

"Hey, wai—"

"Nu-uh," he tuts, pushing you down by your forehead. "You'll feel it soon enough, trust me."

You whine, crossing your arms over your chest. Hanta gives you nothing but a raised eyebrow as he takes another hit, and you're convinced it's to taunt you. "I'm not eve—"

But then the world blurs, a bit, and your legs hum in a way they haven't before; it's warm and it's nice, and it has you blinking down at your hands in bewilderment. Whoa.

"And there she goes," Denki announces, and somehow seized the joint from the noirette when you weren't looking. Your mouth drops to say something, but all you can produce is a light giggle before it melts into a guffaw that only comes straight from the gut, your hands trying to soothe your cramping belly. Tears come to your eyes fairly easily, and when Hanta asks if you're okay he sounds like he's underwater, and that's enough to send you flying through another fit of laughs.

"I—y-yeah, I'm just—just fine," you snort behind a hand, chest spasming as you finally gather yourself enough to calm down. "I'm good. Mhm."

"Yep. Totally fine," Hanta says, but something in his tone suggests he doesn't believe you at all.

You nod, biting your bottom lip to avoid another laugh attack with your hands bunching the bottom of your shirt for extra purchase. Hanta narrows his eyes while taking another hit, so you sock him in the shoulder with a huff. "Stop looking at me like that."

The noirette snorts, "Like what?"

"Like..." you start strong, but falter under his eyes. "Like you want to eat me."

Hanta hums at the comment but says nothing, and you're not sure if your mind fabricated the quick look he gives the electric blond sat behind you. Denki speaks first.

"Do you know what shotgunning is, [Y/N]?"

You frown, "Like a shotgun?"

"So no," Hanta answers for you.

"Here," Denki offers, turning you again. Plucking the nub of a joint from the noirette, he takes a big hit before picking your face up by the jaw and hovering your lips over yours. You're not sure what to do, but once your lips connect, smoke fills your lungs, and you don't exhale until Denki pulls away. You blink, a little dazed.

You just kissed Denki Kaminari.

"Feel good?" He asks, never leaving your personal space. You nod, and he grins. "Wanna do it again?"

Your hands fist his shirt, teeth tearing the inside of your cheek due to the amount of embarrassment this question encourages. "I wan—can we do it again but without the um...without the smoke?"

Denki's hands find your hips and it's hard for him to contain a sly smirk, biting his lips to move in on his prey.

"I knew I waned you the second I saw you."

Denki's lips feel much better when he puts a little weight into the kiss, pinning you between him and the noirette. You're not exactly sure what you're doing but he takes the lead, titling his head and kissing harder, rougher, so your lips are pink and swollen by the time he pulls away.

"A-Another," you whimper, tightening your grip around his tee.

Denki hums in contemplation, picking your head up by your chin. "Ask nicely, Cutie."

Flushing deeper, your eyes dart to the coffee table.

“Another, please."

"Good girl," Denki coos, and he's propping you up against Hanta's chest. You shiver at the comment, finding purchase on Hanta's thighs as Denki kisses you on the lips again. "Wanna feel even better?"

"Yes," you nod vehemently. "Yes please."

Denki hums at that, climbing down your body as his hands glide from your waist to the band of your pants. You frown, "What—What are you doing?"

"Eating you out, Cutie," the electric blond says, hands freezing once his thumbs dip under your waistband. "That okay?"

"Oh okay," you breathe, relaxing against Hanta's chest. "Y-Yeah, that's fine."

Denki rips your pants off at that, tossing them towards the corner of the room and ultimately, to a place you'll probably never find them. Pushing your panties to the side, he licks his lips at the sight of your pussy, and flicks your clit with a smirk. You jump.

"H-Hey, that's not—"

He flattens his tongue against your slit and chuckles when you shudder, and after tossing both of your legs over his shoulders. You're not sure what he does after that though, because Hanta picks your face up by the chin and presses his lips to yours.

Denki slides a finger inside and you squeal against Hanta's chapped lips. You hear the electric blond moan, readjusting himself between your thighs, before you finally peel your lips off the noirette's, chest having from lack of oxygen.

"Such a pretty pussy, Baby," Denki gushes before his warm lips fold around your clit and he sucks, humming in surprise when you buck against his mouth. Hanta hooks his chin around your shoulder with a second joint dangling between his lips—and where it came from is beyond you.

Once he exhales, the joint finds its way between your lips and he instructs you to inhale, and the head rush afterwards has you digging your head into his chest.

"You're so wet, holy shit," Denki pulls away, lips strawberry pink and glossed with slick as he trades his both for his thumb and inserting another finger. It crooks just right and that's enough to make your hips buck, nails carving crescents in Hanta's thighs.

“T-There,” you whimper, wiggling your hips again, and Denki grins, thumb pressing into your clit. Your thighs quiver with the strain it takes to hold them back and Hanta’s calloused hands skip to your waist after dropping the burning joint off in the tray.

“Pull his hair,” the noirette commands, but you hesitate, hands glued to his thighs. Hanta sighs, reaching over you to tug for himself.

“Mph—fuck!” Denki’s eyelids flutter as he moans into your pussy with a new passion, his hands wrapping around your thighs to hold you in place. You gasp at his reaction, fingers scrambling under Hanta’s own to thread through his electric blond hair.

“Move your hips—grind against his face, c’mon,” Hanta’s grip tightens around your waist as he offers the suggestion, and you whimper with a nod before your bucking into Denki’s mouth without abandon. As the noirette trails butterfly kisses up the column of your neck, the coil in your gut snaps, and you barely have time to squeak out a warning before you’re flooding Denki’s mouth.

“Good girl...ride it out—there you go,” Hanta coos, biting your ear. You shiver as Denki pulls away with a final (and obscene) slurp, grinning like he didn’t just shatter you to pieces with nothing but his tongue and fingers.

Denki’s lips are on yours in a blink—you moan, legs still buzzing from the afterglow as you weakly grope for the small hairs on the back of his neck.

“Taste good, don’t ya?” He says with a click of a tongue after pulling away.

“I guess so,” you flush, the humiliation from so shamelessly digging your heels into Denki’s back finally settling in. Hanta reaches under your arm for Denki’s chin.

“What? Want a taste too?” The electric blond giggles, wiggling his eyebrows. Hanta snorts.

“If you could be so kind.”

Denki hums at that, placing a hand on your inner thigh for balance as he slams his lips on the noirette’s for the first time that night. He dives straight for the kill, tongue and teeth and everything, and Denki moas when Hanta’s teeth sink into his bottom lip; you find that you like it a lot.

Though eventually you tired of watching, and press the heel of your hand on Hanta’s hard cock through the fabric of his jeans. The pianist hisses, and you grin—you’ve got their attention now.

“Whoa Sweetheart, what are y—“

“I...I want more,” you assert despite the tremor in your voice. Hanta raises an eyebrow in question which has you pressing harder in hopes he’ll cave just as easily as before. Just in case, you add, “Please.”

Denki redirects your attention by squishing your cheeks until you’re looking him in the eyes. With dark eyes, he says, “You sure you want more, Cutie?”

You nod despite the restriction, “Wanna...wanna get to know you better.”

You watch Denki’s pupils dialate at that, and he can’t even hold back a groan when he says:

“Gods, Baby. We’re going to ruin you.”

unpopular opinion: bakugou's the bassist and kirishima's the drummer. fight me.

not me projecting 12yo sun's fantasy of getting railed in the tour bus by 5sos um—

[heretherebedork]

Okay, rather than spam absolutebl with this... I'm gonna write a bit of character analysis on here! @clairificusrex this is in response to your second comment about My Mate Match on the weekly BL summary!

Huh... but they are so unrealistically stupid 😕 like how can you be a professional musician and it not occur to you to spend downtime writing your own music?!? I like Mix, he's sweet but Match feels like he's written as lobotomised... like you're competing for a place in a house but you can't be bothered to be tidy and annoy the person who's choosing the winner? How does that make sense? Lol, I'm unreasonablely annoyed I guess. I'd love a poly show but without idiots 🤣

See, I don't see them as unrealistically stupid! I suppose that's my starting point. I don't think any of them are unrealistically stupid, I just think they're in the strange lifestage of early twenties in unprecedented times and struggling.

Mix not writing his own music... well, I don't think he does write his own music. It seems like he mostly does covers from what Match was saying and it makes sense that he wouldn't instantly think of writing his own songs when that's not what he does. I'd also consider that he's likely suffering from situational depression, considering how all the performers I know reacted to the pandemic and the lack of audience the same way. So many of them talked about not wanting to practice or being able to work up the energy or effort to work on a craft that they had no idea when or even if they'd be able to get back to.

Match is an indecisive little sweetie who never wants to say no to anyone but is trying very, very hard not to just be subsumed into letting everyone walk all over him while also struggling with trying to find an entirely new line of creative work that he really doesn't have any idea what to do with. He's struggling between the friendship he's finding and the choice he has to make.

And Mix's lack of cleaning just... I guess I identify strongly with someone going 'I will definitely clean that up!' only to discover like three days later that you never cleaned it up because thinking about it isn't doing it but feels like it sometimes. I dunno, I just... I get Mix. He feels like a mix (lol) of situational depression and ADHD and that's just so familiar to me it really endears him to me.

I just adore them. I'm really hoping we get some more time with Ryu soon because he falls the flattest so far and I still adore him and his overconfidence.

BUT ANYWAY.

Yeah, I love this show. I went in expecting chaos and idiots and I somehow found myself being absolutely endeared to these boys rather than just amused and annoyed. The end of episode 2 almost destroyed me, it was so soft and so darling and the way Match just hugged Mix and Ryu distracting him to get him to talk and then Match squeezing his hand under the table and i just... ugh, it was so perfect.

[thinkdrinkandsink]

"Why do you like The Weeknd so much?"

The following is a list of defining lyrics of my favorite songs by The Weeknd, which have heavily influenced my writing, and my way of being. Among the thousands of people that I've come across, few are capable of uncovering the real me. Those who willingly cross beyond the superficial layer of perception, will more than likely feel the same vibes from this collection of words that define who I am - and words are all that I'll ever have. Tears In The Rain They all feel the same Adjust to the fame Cause no one will love you like her It's pointless Like tears in the rain. So now that she's gone Embrace all that comes And die with a smile - Don't show the world how alone you've become - This song is arguably the biggest influence in my writing. I've written countless paragraphs of excruciating grief, that will never reach my intended target audience - and that's the point. To cry for something that will never be heard, is like producing tears in the rain. Not everyone will ever truly grasp the severity of how alone I can be, because I'm not trying to be seen nor heard by everyone. Angel And even though I sin, maybe we are born to live But I know time will tell if we're meant for this, yeah if we're meant for this And if we're not, I hope you find somebody I hope you find somebody to love - This song epitomizes the one time that I've been told, "I hope you find somebody to love," several years ago. Never in my life did I think that I'd be on the other side of the equation, and repeat that same line to another. It's strange when you're in a situation where you feel like you truly want things to work with someone, yet you find yourself telling them anyway that you hope they'll find someone else to love. Often times, life forces us to do the things that we don't want to do. I’ve definitely shed a few dozen tears to this song. In The Night In the night, she hears him calling In the night, she's dancing to relieve the pain She'll never walk away (I don't think you understand) In the night when she comes crawling, Dollar bills and tears keep falling down her face She'll never walk away (I don't think you understand) - This song is probably the most played song out of the bunch. I've a complex relationship with strippers and naked strangers that have kept me from ever revisiting the industry. Having a conversation with a woman who felt like she didn't have a choice in becoming a sex object, shaped my averse hesitation in succumbing to my own sexual desires with others. All I ever think to myself when seeing an attractive woman is, she's a person too. Professional So you're somebody now But what's a somebody in a nobody town?

- Sometimes chasing after external sources of happiness will only ever get you so far, before you're lost in a world that will never truly make you happy. Like the fame that Abel (The Weeknd) received, it's not as fulfilling for those of us who have always been unhappy from within. Echoes of Silence Baby please Would you end your night with me Don't you leave me all behind Don't you leave my little life. - Echoes of Silence is not a song that I'll play too often, but it's definitely one that defines the yearning that I've felt over the decade. There was a year where unrequited yearning was all I could ever write about. Twenty Eight Baby if I knew you'd be living in my sheets I wouldn't have shown you any love I would have left you in the club You said you don't belong You keep saying there's no one And there's no where to go But who keeps calling on your phone? I'm so wrong, I'm so wrong, I'm so wrong - One of the more complex songs that I don't relate to as much anymore, but it certainly speaks volumes to those who have regrets in opening up to another. For almost a year, being vulnerable has been one of the most difficult battles that I've faced. It was only recently that I could do so again with a stranger from Brooklyn. As You Are Show me your broken heart and all your scars Baby, I'll take, I'll take, I'll take, I'll take you as you are, I'll take you as you are Show me your broken heart to know your flaws Baby, I'll take, I'll take, I'll take, (you'll know I'll take you) I'll take you as you are

- This song used to be one of my favorites. It's one of the few Weeknd songs that revolve around the theme of loving someone wholeheartedly without deception nor bad intentions. It's a song that represents a time that doesn't exist for me anymore. I can never finish listening to this song, because it sparks sensations that are still far too heavy for me to process and walk away from unscathed. It’s rare to come across someone who will truly accept us as we are. There are few, if any, who would ever read all of this, so to those that have - thank you for your time in unraveling a layer of my soul.

[movienotesbyzawmer]

April 12: Rocky III

(previous notes: Rocky II)

Because now that Rocky has done the unthinkable and become The Champ, we want to see him tackle the next challenge… win AGAIN.

I remember seeing this in the theater with my buddy. I don't know if I liked it. I'm pretty sure I found Mr. T to be as charismatic and as terrifying as they wanted. I'm pretty sure when I bought the ticket I hesitated and asked the cashier, "hey, wait, we get to see him do some variation on the triumphant steps jogging moment, right? Otherwise never mind I'll go see Poltergeist again". If I'm paying good money for boxing sequels, I want to be assured that the formula has not been altered.

Okay let's go.

Once again, this is Un Film De Sylvester Stallone.

Slight variation on the fanfare with the title, now there's a close-up of the Important Belt Buckle Of Punchsport.

Then we see the climax of the previous movie, maybe edited slightly for time. But not very noticeably different.

That segues immediately to a montage of Rocky doing many successful beatup games, scored by the enormous pop hit "Eye of the Tiger". I suspect this isn't the last we'll hear of this number.

The montage morphs into a different story, one starring Mr. T! He's watching Rocky win stuff and he is not pleased. He can also fist-game, it seems. But the montage makes it clear that it is our hero Rocky who is the star of commercial endorsements and marriage love.

I mock but this visionary filmmaker has indeed opened this movie with energetically cinematic choices.

0:8:40 - Arcade games! Paulie goes to an arcade and it is like the arcades I went to when this movie was out and I see games that I played! But Paulie doesn't like the Rocky pinball machine. It seems he is a sore brother-in-law.

Rocky is now very dashing. Paulie is drunk and whiny about how Rocky is such a big shot now, but he has a point about how prettied up he has become.

Later that night Rocky and Adrian are in their bed and it has a rich person headboard. The director, also visibly present in front of the camera, clearly instructed the production designer to create a bed that would reflect the elite level of financial flexibility that the protagonist has reached.

So apparently Rocky has gotten himself into the strange situation where he has to do a charity boxing match against a wrestler played by the increasingly famous Hulk Hogan. I had forgotten that Hulk Hogan is in this movie. Mr. T is watching this match and he looks intensely the same way he only ever does.

Whoa Hulk Hogan is way taller than Sylvester Stallone. Is that allowed? The rules have changed! And this whole thing is not boxing it is wrestling and it is that silliness instead of boxing. This is a long scene that is the same as a typical Wrestlemania thing, all manufactured drama made to seem like fighting and true menace, but at the end we see that they are just professional coworkers and we have all learned a valuable lesson haven't we.

At a statue-unveiling, Rocky announces that he is maybe retiring. MAYBE. But then Mr. T shows up talking smack, and ladies and gentlemen we have ourselves an end-of-Act-One.

As Act Two begins, we have a scene that was an A+ homework assignment for the screenwriting teacher of Rocky III's screenwriter, who you will recall is the craftsman Sylvester Stallone. Burgess Meredith is like "I quit! I won't help you with this fight! Mr. T is too hard to beat!" But then they talk it out to advance past that scripted complication. And now Rocky and Mr. T are training for their fight in their separate worlds.

Speaking of worlds, in the World Of Rocky, the famous theme that was introduced in the score of the first movie is actually known to the characters in this movie as Rocky music. They play it for him publicly to celebrate their pride in his violence accomplishments.

Apollo Creed appears to be retired, but he is a commentator at this Rocky/T fight.

0:40:00 - They're about to do the fight, but Mr. T is so The Way He Is that the wants to fight on the way TO the fight. That results in some tumult that makes BM have health problems. It was vague what happened, it seemed like BM was shoved aside by all the mad/scared/fighting people, so then he has a conversation with Rocky in a back room where he's like, don't stop the fight even though I am suddenly vaguely frail. He sort of clutches his chest like maybe there's a heart attack but just one of those everyday ones. I have those every time I click send on a work email. My friends should not be discouraged from championship fisticuffs when that happens.

This is the first Rocky movie to be made after Raging Bull came out, and I detect some influence in the boxing footage, like with close-ups of Mr. T.

Rocky loses that fight pretty quickly, and maybe the problem is that he didn't do a pre-victory steps jog. But the movie is telling us that BM is dying on a table in the back room and that's the real problem.

BM dies and SS has done some pretty ambitious cry-acting. Then the funeral is in one of those indoor above-ground file-cabinet-style cemeteries, which is not the normal cinematic choice so nice job there.

I can already tell that we're going to have another thirty minutes of a bummed-out Rocky to fill out Act Two before it starts to look like the setup for a fulfilling climax can begin. It's what I would have told him to write if he were my student at the third-rate community college where I'm a part-time screenwriting teacher in this scenario.

Apollo Creed has shown up to try to pep-talk Rocky, and he keeps saying "eye of the tiger" because of marketing departments. But also, he is a more mature person than in the first two movies. Even though it's a character shift, I do kind of buy it. It seems like another side of the character we knew slightly.

0:59:00 - Another scene beginning with dialogue that sounds like it was improvised by people who don't know what real life is like. "Come on you're going to be late to the airport!" "Maybe you should have packed another sweater" "no in California it's not too cold". AHA THEY ARE GOING ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA I AM ON TO YOU ROCKY III

When they go to Los Angeles and show us people on the street and the people have been told to look and act super different so that the audience will be like, wow California is different, then, well, we are at this part of Rocky III did you know.

Although there was my earlier expectation that we were going to have a prolonged funereal story arc, but what's happened is that Apollo is invested in training Rocky so they're showing us that side of Apollo, and that's interesting. But also it's the template of "Rocky is training and he doesn't look like he's going to get there, but then inspiration will hit and he will look like he is going to get there". S. Stallone, noted filmmaker, is using montages and flashbacks to show how recent bad news moments for Rocky are haunting him. It is working.

Adrian performs a pep talk monologue for Rocky. I don't understand her point. It's like a box of those refrigerator poetry magnets jumbled up together and spoken as movie script lines. I guess the gist is "don't give up" and he starts to think maybe he shouldn't give up. Then it's a new training montage, and it's got the classic "running far now" Rocky theme so we know it's going well. The twist on the classic cheering-atop-stairs cadence is it's Rocky and Apollo on the beach, and Rocky is a little faster than Apollo and that is great news for them both.

Now we're right before the final fight, and we heard Mr. T tell a reporter that he "pity the fool". I didn't hear the rest of what he said, I was just so happy to hear him say "pity the fool".

Oh but shortly after that he is asked what his prediction is, and he looks at the camera, OUR camera, at US, and says "PAIN". Submitted without comment.

That face-to-face moment right before the fight starts, Mr. T says "imma bust you UP" and Rocky says "go for it". Advanced Scripted Dialogue with Professor Stallone.

The final fight happens, and it's mostly the same as how the other ones went except without a montage summarizing a whole bunch of rounds. I think this whole fight ended in three rounds. But it ends with the exact same music that I'm getting sick of….

BUT! There is a follow-up scene this time! It's some other day later on and Apollo and Rocky are just palling around at the gym. And THEN the movie ends. I feel that the producers must have implored Stallone, artisan that he is, to just end the movie on that climactic moment right after the fight ends, just like the other movies, but he said NO. That is not ENOUGH for a SYLVESTER STALLONE FILM. We will have an additional scene with INCONSEQUENTIAL BANTER. It will last OVER ONE MINUTE. And here we are. Rocky III: it's like Raging Bull, but better!!

I think Talia Shire is the only female actor with any lines in this movie.

One thing that's very much worth saying about this movie is that there is WAY more actual boxing in this movie. The other ones had almost no scenes where there were live boxing matches, but this one had lots. Plus that wrestling one! And as I observed, the directing style with this one also had a newfound sense of visual pop. But the story seems like it changed not at all from how it was described in the first studio board room meeting where jackass producers blurted out what Rocky III might be like.

(next: Rocky IV)

[i-write-sometimes-blog]

Cold Eyes (Dark Rey x Reader) [Part 13]

Summary: After spending your first night together, you have to face a new and dangerous threat.

Words: 1,910

A/N: Have I told you how much I enjoy writing this series? Well I do and a lot! Just wanted to thank you for all your love to this little thing. That was all, happy reading!

It was still dark outside when your eyes fluttered slowly open, the strange yet soft orange light slided through the big window turning the room into a warm, comfortable golden tone.

“Hi” you murmured with sleepy voice, a smile forming on your lips as you saw Rey’s hazel eyes darting at you, the warm light of the dawn letting them look warmer than usual.

“Hi” she smiled back at you propping herself on her elbow. She looked beyond beautiful under the golden light, her dark hair was tousled, some strands hanging into her face while a soft content smile adorned her delicate face. She observed you for a moment before she leaned down to capture your lips.

A content hum left your lips when she moved from your lips to your neck pressing light kissed onto your skin there and along your jaw, your mind still trying to realize what had happened last night, you smiled with the memories of her hands dancing over your body, what an incredible night.

“Did you sleep well?” she murmured and you could feel her smiling on your skin.

“Better than ever” you giggled. You felt so peaceful, so free without the nightmares and you felt safe with Rey’s arm wrapped around your body.

Rey took a new look at you, caressing your face softly and pushing some strands of hair away from your face. Her eyes filled with longing and adoration, she couldn’t help but smile at you, it was hard for her to believe you were really there with her.

“I have to go now” she told you reluctantly. “I have a few meetings today”

“Can’t cancel them?” you joked around “I mean, you’re the Supreme Leader after all, you can do whatever you want.” you saw her laugh before she leaned to kiss you again.

“It’s not that simple, Y/N” she murmured inches away from your lips before she finally got out of the big bed. You watched her delicate naked body walking across the room as you stayed in the bed comfort. She caught your gaze when she was sliding into a new black dress that hugged her curves just enough but still perfect for a battle, noticing your gaze she looked at you for an instant, the confident grin was back on her lips.

“You can stay here a bit longer” she told you “Maybe sleep a little more, I’ll send someone for you later” she said fixing the last touches of her clothing, then she came closer to you pressing a short but sweet kiss on your lips.

“See ya” you said before she was gone.

You did take her offer, a good sleep sounded great so you curled up in the big bed alone but knowing there will be no more nightmares, you were sure Rey had somehow make them stop. However you sleep wasn’t as pleasant as you expected.

There was a voice, a very distant voice but it was there, echoing in the back of your head. It called your name one, two, many times. It was different from a nightmare, this voice was familiar and didn’t seemed to want to harm you.

Then you finally recognized it when it grew louder.

“Finn” you murmured snapping your eyes open.

“Y/N!” his voice said entuciastictly. You looked around the big empty room searching and scanning for any sign of your friend but he was nowhere to find, it was impossible, he couldn’t be there. “Y/N, can you hear me? I need you to concentrate, okay?”

“Finn, yes I hear you” you said out loud “Can you… see me?” you asked as you covered yourself with the dark sheets.

“No” he said “It’s just your voice for now, why?”

“No reason” you chuckled searching for your clothes. “Where are you? How’s the Resistance? I- I’m glad to hear your voice”

“We’re hiding, Y/N. We’re weak but I least I found you.” he said “I’ve been trying to contact you somehow with the Force but Leia said I wasn’t ready but we really need your help, the Resistance is smaller every day and the First Order conquered so many planets.” he explained.

“I know” you sighed, you had seen the maps, the holograms, you had been in some of those planets now controlled by the First Order.

You sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. He did it, he had learn how to reach out, a thing you were supposed to do a long time ago to help them but instead you were lying in bed with the enemy.

“Y/N?”

“I’m here” you told him.

“We lost communication after Endor, there was a mission to rescue you, we thought you were there but never found you.” he continued then he paused for a moment. “Where are you, Y/N?” he said in a serious tone, you looked at the ground before answering.

“Mustafar” you said adjusting the last pieces of fabric over your body and already knowing what his next question would be.

“Mustafar!?” he said surprised “But that’s the First Order’s headquarters, how…”

“It’s a long story, Finn” you cut him off, “I’ll tell you later, the only thing that matters now is that I’m still in your side and I’ll find a way to help.”

Just then the heavy metal door opened and you glanced at the man in the doorway.

“Y/N, you’re still there?” Finn asked in the back of your head. “Y/N!”

“General Hux” you greeted the intruder. “She send you to pick me up, right?” you told him serios.

“Exactly” he limited to said before he turned around, an unspoken command for you to follow him. You felt the Finn’s voice fading away as you walked in silence behind the General.

"You're not special" he said without looking at you once you were in a completely desert hallway.

"Excuse me?" You asked confused.

"To her, to Rey" he said, this was the first time he didn't called her Supreme Leader and it seems weird, though you weren't surprised he was a double face man doing whatever to stay alive. "Do you really think she cares about you? No, you're just a toy" he scoffed.

"You're wrong" you told him. "You don't know her like I do, Hux"

Then he stopped his feet and turned to look at you.

"Don't play the fool, girl" he said with satisfied grin on his lips, keeping his posture as he held his hands behind his back. "She's using you. She just wants your connection with the force" he looked you up and down. "And perhaps as a stress reliever" he said, of course he figured out you two were sleeping together when he found you in her quarters.

"It's different with me" you huffed.

"Oh, darling. I thought you were smarter than this" He said smiling "Enjoy your privileges while you can, Y/N. But for your own good I suggest you not to get use to it" he walked closer to you leaning close to you "Because once you're not longer useful to her she's going to get rid of you in an instant, just like she did with Kylo Ren"

You stared at him with fury, you wanted to punch him in the face but you're doubt stopped you.

"You don't know what happened to him, do you?" He said "She didn't tell you everything"

"She killed him, I know that" you said "he probably deserved it, he turned her into a monster"

"No, darling" he told you "He tried to stop her. After he killed Snoke he was free to see the destruction he made him do" Hux explained "Ren tried to convince your precious Rey to go to the light again but it was too late" he added "Becoming the monster was her choice"

He looked at you satisfied to see your face going from anger to horror.

"Now come on, dear" he said already making his way down the hall "They're waiting for us."

Minutes later you found yourself lost in your thoughts sitting in the long table full of commanders and generals, Hux staring across the table to you.

Then an hologram popped out of the holo table revealing a small blue figure with the form of Rey.

"Supreme Leader" Hux greeted the little image.

"Apologies for keeping you waiting" she rushed to speak in a serious way "I'm afraid I won't be able to attend the meeting, I have to take care of other kind of… business" the rest of the people stayed quiet as she spoke "My apprentice Y/N will take my place on the meeting and will report everything to me when it's over"

"Me?"

"Her?" Hux said surprised "Supreme Leader I assure you I can inform you of everything we discuss here."

"I want the report from her and only from her, General Hux" she said strict. You looked across the table and smirked at Hux who seemed to be very offended.

"As you wish, Supreme Leader" he said and moments later the blue figure was gone. Then it was replaced with the same hologram of the system you had seen before that marked the advance of the First Order.

"Commander Benndra, you have the floor" Hux said looking at a woman sitting next to him. She immediately stood up and started to speak with confidence.

"This hologram shows the occupied by the First Order, most of them surrendered and those that didn't were defeated by the Supreme Leader herself" she explained, you felt the fear running in your body again, you could imagined her killing innocent people and it scared you. "Supreme Leader is right now attacking this planet and once we have it under our control Phase One would be finished. We can proceed to Phase Two"

"Thank you Commander Benndra" Hux said and the woman sat back on her seat.

"Phase Two" the man said as he pushed some buttons in the side of the table, zooming to a small planet marked with the First Order's colors. "With this phase we will guarantee the order and peace in our colonies" he explained as he zoomed even more, to the surface of the planet where a big structure was visible. "This is how we bring order to the galaxy"

The audience applauded him for a moment and then get back to silence again.

"Cannons with technology from our ships are being installed in this precise moment" He continued "Cannons that destroyed planets like Jakku in a matter of second. We will have more options if our fleets gets damaged" he looked at you "Or if the civilians rebel against us. I just have to press a button and the planet would be gone."

You listened his words carefully, the fear growing bigger with every new sentence. How could they do a thing like that? It was monstrous, terrifying, really really bad. You felt sick when the hologram showed again the conquer of the First Order, there were lots of planets forced to live now in fear.

And then you felt pain, how could Rey allow this? how could she be possibly okay with this? Maybe Hux was right, maybe it was her choice to become the monster after all.

You had to find a way out, a way to stop this now more than ever, before it was too late for all the galaxy.

Tagging: @cpt-bolter , @elvencantation , @jay-birf03 , @x-a-gay-disaster-x , @redleysjazz , @hstoria , @iamafangirl-fightme , @leilei-draws , @hayley-the-comet , @snoot-snoot-toot , @1-800-depressedlesbian , @empresspalpatinee , @xgaygremlinx , @the-great-imagines-of-1812

(In case you want to be tagged for specific things or everything I write, just let me know)

[theangrypokemaniac]

There's a sneering attitude that the dub is inherently inferior solely for being a dub, and when I say 'dub' I mean the American one. No one attacks the South American interpretation, funnily enough, or the variety that exist globally.

Why not if foreign languages are so abhorrent?  Do you think it's kewl to hate America?

That's so original you know.

If the moan centres on the dub changing certain things, well that's a pointless stance, because it's impossible to do otherwise.

What's accepted in one country is not always permitted elsewhere, so either you make those alterations or it's never shown. I'd prefer seeing a slightly toned down version rather than have it never reach the West at all.

This is without considering the technical obstacles that a direct translation brings. The words do have to fit the mouth movements, and if they don't, truncation must follow.

America and Japan are different; the population of the former are not going to comprehend the references to the latter's history and culture, which necessitates some divergence from the original to give it mass appeal.

Anime is a branch of entertainment. It has to attract the public's good will to stay in business. If impenetrable, it'll fail, with all the resulting unemployment and finacial losses that brings.

Those in charge of dubbing understandably think they're on safer ground promoting familiarity rather than the strange, but that's not to say Pokémon was stripped of its identity. On the contrary, it was like nothing I'd ever encountered before.

I may have watched Western cartoons then, but the idea of doing so now is silly. I won't give time to any modern animation unless it's Japanese. Growing up on the dub has not produced an ephemeral fan less serious or 'true'.

The 4Kids dub had wit, humour, deep emotion, suggestive comments and flights of fancy. The voices fitted the characters well.

Unlike the current one, where everyone sounds on the verge of vomiting, but then they're clearly working with substandard material on a miserly budget. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear after all.

Dubs can be bad, but the very state of being a dub doesn't confer worthlessness automatically. Considering the work gone into them, attempting to gain your favour, it seems rude not to appreciate the time and energy spent in production.

Knowing a little about history, sub-only fanatics remind me of the kind of folk who opposed an English Bible, because it was too good for the oiks to read the word of God.

Of course it was alright for them, rich enough to be taught Latin, but not so much the ordinary man.

It amuses me how dozens dismiss the dub, but see no hypocrisy in using its evidence to further their ship or anti-ship arguments, so it can't be that revolting.

It's also bizarre that so many hold sacred the sub of a series currently in a frenzy to shed every aspect of its anime and Japanese origins, leaving a vague, rootless ghost, supposedly making it easier to slip down the gullet of the masses.

Pokémon I've seen referred to as a 'gateway drug', as in the anime that introduced a generation to the entire concept. This means the dub. You would not have got enough kids in the late Nineties to read a screen rather than watch it, and even today most would lose interest rapidly.

Where would you be without that dub? Unless you're Japanese, your first experience of Pokémon will have been a dub, and if not the American, the one where you live, which was only made because there was the funds available.

You may have then progressed to watching the sub, but only because that dub stirred love in your soul.

Where would the franchise be without that dub? You think Pokémon would've grown to be a world-wide obsession raking in billions by itself? No, it'd still be a solely Japanese phenomena, and most likely never lasted this long.

Its decades of supremacy rests on the quality of that dub. It sold games and merchandise to kids by the ton, giving an incentive to keep the series going. If you're not a fan from the first wave, then your favourite era would have never existed had it not been financially attractive carrying on.

The team who wrote the first film actually preferred the dub, moved to tears by its emotive use of music, therefore they aren't so precious as the fans.

Where would anime be without that dub? Pokémon brought it to the West. A handful slipped through previously, but made minor impression.

To those who would dismiss Pokémon entirely in favour of more 'worthy' output such as Studio Ghibli, I would say that Pokémon, first the games, then the programme they inspired, must have an integral quality to have caught on in Japan, which isn't exactly short on similar concepts.

To have gained popularity in a crowded market, and so fervently a dub became an option, can only have come about because it held a certain magic.

It was the dub that smashed a hole in the cultural barrier, setting free the tidal wave to engulf the world. In Pokémon's trail followed Digimon, Cardcaptors, Monster Rancher, Yu-Gi-Oh! et cetera.

Without Pokémon, I doubt they'd have been translated, and definitely never broadcast on mainstream television. That came about as channels desperately hunted down anything Japanese to serve as the next craze.

I really appreciated the effort made by 4Kids in converting every aspect of the series to suit American tastes, including changing text on signs, letters and books into English. I assumed this was standard practice until I watched others.

I could never be as involved in them as I was Pokémon because of that block. It was like being denied access to the deeper waters, fenced into the shallows, and implied a rushed dub, with little care shown but to chase the same crowd and money.

If personified, the dub 'n' sub wouldn't be one human being, but rather identical twins: the same to a casual observer, but easy to tell apart by the more attentive.

It's like the games: Red and Blue are versions of a single adventure, but not totally one. Take the dub and the sub the same way. They are parallel dimensions running on separate rails, and beyond reconciliation, and that's before we consider that, sub and dub alike, each generation has only a faint relation to its predecessor, working on its own whims.

Everyone has a favourite, or can like both, and there's nothing wrong in that, but so many are proud of the fact they hate the dub, as if it conveys a revered status of supremacy.

When Disney films are shown abroad, they too are translated, and I'm sure references and jokes are redesigned to make sense to the locals. It's no use selling yourself as a comedy then being surprised when the audience refuses to laugh, having no idea what you mean.

If people prefer that one, for being what introduced them to Disney as a whole, or as a fond memory of childhood, then so what?

I don't mind if their view of a character is minutely at odds with mine, having seen the original, because what they think is canon to their version, so can't be wrong.

I don't go round declaring every Disney dub to be pathetic by its nature, that viewers of them are of a lesser breed of fan for preferring their own tongue, even though more of the world's population understand English than they do Japanese.

If you enjoy one tailored to your country there's no crime in it, just as I like one at least comprehensible to mine. It's not even my culture, but I pick it up mostly.

The choice must be made on which to follow, and this blog runs on dub canon, as that has a claim on my heart. Just because I don't acknowledge what takes place in the sub doesn't mean I'm unaware of it, but it has no bearing on what I write.

The idea that the dub alters things willy-nilly without rhyme nor reason is also mistaken. Often it does it because the original does not make sense.

In the sub, I know Nanny and Pop-Pop are just a couple of old duffers taken at random and dropped in to a castle, supposedly as James's far away nannies.

Oh yeah, that's a cushy position. You doing a lot of child care from miles off?

Mind you, it used to describe 'em as 'caretakers' on Bulbapædia, as if Nan serves as housekeeper whilst Pop tends to the garden.

That's right. Ma and Pa finally got some work out of this pair of freeloaders.

They're not related, remember? No, no, absolutely not, no way. Of course their style reflects that. They just gave Pop a 'tache, thick eyebrows and a bigger nose, and Nan got a bun and lines in her hair, but there's certainly no connection. Oh no. Such a thing is ridiculous.

They're NOT family. No. Yet Hoenn James still panics they might learn he's joined Team Rocket, spending the whole episode trying to hide the truth.

Why? Who are servants to criticise the son of their employers? Why should their opinion be of any consequence to Hoenn James, especially when his parents, fiancée and butler are cognizant of reality?

Children of aristocrats are usually brought up by governesses, thus develop a stronger attachment to these figures rather than their parents, but that isn't the case here.

James lived with Ma and Pa, not the codgers minding the castle. He would have very little contact with distant employees compared to those who waited on him daily, so why seek out their approval?

Hoenn James apparently was permitted visits to Nan 'n' Pop, which is strange considering they're not relatives. Why them and not any other house-stters?

That's right, Ma and Pa sent their son to one of their properties without them, entrusting him to the care of two shrivelled pensioners of his size that he barely knew, and who could keel over at any minute. There are no other servants present. Apparently Nan and Pop clean an entire castle by themselves.

Oh, and they run a makeshift Pokémon sanctuary, but since it's not their home it has to be done with Ma and Pa's blessing, who also have to pay for it, but they're eevul aren't they?

The idea that somehow Nanny and Pop-Pop have not cottoned on to James's occupation by now is risible.

Servants gossip about their masters. I bet the entire household of his home know, and so in turn does the county. That Nan and Pop remain oblivious proves how isolated they are, for no one's thought to inform them.

When it came to dubbing it, they were made his grandparents, removing all the above nonsense. Of course he visits his nan and granddad, it's their gaff and their money funding the place, and it is likely his mother or father would keep James's job a secret, for fear the shock would finish 'em off.

It should do really. If they're not bothered by it that's a sign of where his rapscallion ways were inherited.

They aren't facially akin to Ma and Pa, but display the same additions, so if staff it's bloody lazy, as if nannies have to resemble your parents, but inventing a blood link excuses the slothful characterisation.

Every reference I've seen on Tumblr relating to the coffin-dodgers calls them Nanny and Pop-Pop. Apparently the dub decision is met with universal approval. It does have redeeming aspects then.

Now the sub writers, rather than ignore this development, took to it too. They aren't exactly bursting with ideas these days and are probably grateful for the lifelines offered.

Remembering James had parents, they forced a likeness between them and Nanny and Pop-Pop. How else do you explain the inexplicable ageing, even when Sinnoh Ma and Sinnoh Pa are younger than Ma and Pa?

I've also known for years that the sub has this woman as Jessie's foster mother, not Ma Jess, but that's stupid.

I can grasp the idea that Jessie and Ma might have endured extreme deprivation, considering that's what Team Rocket has brought to Jessie anyway, and that they may have lived at the bottom of Mew's mountain prior to Ma's death.

What I find difficult to take in is that social services (or as they're known where I live, the S.S.), however notoriously awful they are, would give a child to a mad bitch in a shack with no running water.

Come on, they have to at least pretend to be concerned for Jessie's welfare.

As Jessie is very young, bereavement can't have befallen her in the distant past, so how can she be happy this soon after becoming an orphan? How could the grieving period be a cherished memory?

If that woman's creaming off the money, why hasn't she fixed the place up by now? Where do the payments go, sniffing glue?

Then there's the depiction. If this is just some daft bint never to be mentioned again, why do they conceal her face? Who cares what she looks like when she's unimportant?

Here's another figure from Jessie's past. She isn't disguised, and why not when she too briefly appears and is then forgotten?

Who was she?

The only sort of characters they tended to hide were other members of Team Rocket:

During the early scenes featuring Giovanni, he was enveloped in shadow, adding both intrigue and a sense of menace.

Madame Boss also got this treatment, even though there was probably no intention to ever feature her in the anime. What's the use in keeping an appearance a mystery if it'll remain masked?

With that pattern, it implies this woman is in the same category, like Ma Jess.

When it came to animation, it definitely was intended to be a foster mother. Not her real one. No.

What did they do?

They gave her Jessie's skin tone and purple hair hanging down her back!

You know, like Ma Jess?

Any colour would've done. Any at all, and being anime I do mean any colour, but no. The choice was made to give her the looks of the exact person she's not meant to be!

Is it that surprising the dub simplified things?

I don't mind if you like the dub, sub, both, or any from around the world, but I'm tired of the smug condescension, as if we all agree the sub is the only one that counts, and that dub fans are grunting troglodytes, or not 'proper' aficionados.

None of us would be here were it not for the dub. Pokémon would not be here. I think it deserves some respect for how much of a difference it made, to my life and to yours.

[fortunatelylori]

Hi! I apologise in advance if this question comes off as antagonistic, because I'm worried that it will, but please know that I'm genuinely curious. I've been reading some comments by you and @nothinghappensinalstonville and noticed you're both very critical of Sansa during her arguments with Jon, and seem to think he was absolutely right and she was absolutely wrong. (part 1 of 2)

My question is, can you elaborate on why – if you believe she undermines him and her advice to him is always wrong – you think she’s a good match for him, why you think they’d be a good team, why she’d be a good queen to his king? I’m sorry, my question sounds petulant even to my own ears, but I don’t mean it that way, I promise! I truly would like to hear your thoughts on why she’s good for Jon when you seem to think she’s been so wrong in all their interactions. (part 2 of 2)

Dear nonnie,

…..

I’m trying very hard to contain my frustration right now because you seem like a very nice person. However, I spend a lot of time and energy writing my posts and comments. I try, to the best of my abilities, to be fair and as objective as I possibly can and explain my point of view in detail. That takes quite a bit of thought and effort on my part so to know that, in your case at least, all of that was an utter and complete waste of time is a deeply disheartening feeling. 

To make it clear, I have no issues with people disagreeing with me or having different interpretations. Nor do I have issues with people sending me asks where they challenge my views. What I do take issue with is when my opinions are misrepresented or I’m accused of saying things I didn’t say. 

If you’re genuinely curious to find out my opinion, you could have checked out my blog before sending me this ask. I have a meta page all set up for anyone to go through and see what my opinions are. 

There is a tendency in the GOT fandom to believe that stanning a character should mean that you believe that character is above reproach, is never wrong and anyone who might disagree is not a “true fan”. By and large, the Jonsa fandom is more open to debate on the nature of characters than other groups but even in our little corner, there is a tendency to try to protect the character of Sansa from any and all criticism, mostly in relation to Jon. 

I understand the impulse to a degree. Sansa has been my favorite female character since season 1. I’ve gone on the bat defending her time and time again and I understand people being protective of her because Sansa is very much a maligned character in the rest of the fandom.

However, the way I stan characters doesn’t conform to this approach. To give you a clear example, my favorite literary character of all times is Scarlett O’Hara. That’s not because I believe she is perfect and beyond reproach but rather because of the complexities of her character that include both positive and negative traits. My liking of Sansa Stark is the same.I like characters, flaws and all and I have no problem discussing those flaws and I don’t think I should stop doing it just because fans in general are unfairly criticizing Sansa. That is not a valid argument to me. I would find it completely disingenuous and hypocritical on my part if I spent my time criticizing every other character, which I do, but stopped myself from doing it with Sansa because my opinion does not conform to the general consensus of the Jonsa/Sansa fandom or because she’s already unfairly criticized in other places. 

So, let’s get this over with: 

seem to think he was absolutely right and she was absolutely wrong

you seem to think she’s been so wrong in all their interactions.

I never said that. In this post I said the following: 

My problem with the way this whole thing is presented in the fandom is that it’s taken as a very black and white issue and people feel compelled to either defend Jon or defend Sansa.

The discourse is either:

“OMG! Look! Sansa is undermining Jon! Dark Sansa is coming, people! Alert the presses! This episode … this season … in 2035. It’s coming!“

Or

“Sansa is right. Jon is stupid. He makes decisions with his heart, instead of his head.“

Except that things are never as simple as that and it’s this type of decision that could cost you in the larger scheme of the game of thrones. Deciding whether to pardon the child of a bannerman that betrayed you could go many different ways.

And also: 

So to say that Sansa was right in this situation and Jon was wrong is oversimplifying things. It’s those kinds of decisions that a medieval king/lord is always struggling with and there is no 100% guarantee that you will make the right choice. Jon and Sansa are very young and they have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. There’s a lot you need to learn in order to be a successful ruler, and that goes for Sansa as well as Jon.

In my addendum to that post, I also said: 

I have also talked in the past, on several occasions, about Jon being a poor communicator, acting like a lone operator and blindsiding Sansa with his decisions despite them needing to act like a united front.

In a post I wrote just yesterday, I said this: 

Since season 6, Sansa has been frustrated that Jon doesn’t listen to her:

1. When she argued that he shouldn’t take Winterfell until they had enough men.

2. Before the battle of the bastards, when she warned him about Ramsay and felt that he wasn’t taking her opinion into account

3. In season 7, when she argued against his decision regarding Alys and Ned.

4. In season 7, when she felt he was paying too much attention to the NK and not enough attention to Cersei.

5. Still in season 7, when she told him not to go to Dragonstone and he blindsided her by announcing to everyone that he was, in fact, going.

So this: “this is the way he is, the way he’s always been. he never listens to me” business is a standing issue between them since the start of their relationship in season 6.

I didn’t find it strange that she would say that. She was angry and venting and she’s frustrated with Jon always doing things without talking to her or taking her opinion into account.

if you believe she undermines him 

Except I don’t believe she’s undermining him which is why I wrote an entire meta attacking the “undermining” argument that you can find here. 

In case you don’t want to bother reading all of it, here are a few excerpts: 

Now people have pointed out that, as one of his vassals, Sansa has every right to question him publicly. The problem is that’s not how Jon sees her. He very distinctly separates Sansa from the rest of his court. And since we already had the “we need to trust each other” scene at the end of season 6, I think it’s safe to assume that he sees the two of them as a unit that is supposed to be on the same page so the fact that Sansa speaks out against him in public, instead of privately, feels like a betrayal.

However, if there’s one thing you learn sooner or later, is that there are two sides to every story. That’s why it’s never a good idea to side with one party whenever couples fight.

Because if we look at things from Sansa’s perspective, you can see how she might feel dismissed. The fact of the matter is Jon isn’t the world’s greatest communicator and failed to talk his decision over with Sansa before announcing it to the Council, which in turn makes Sansa feel sidelined, hence her aggressive snark and Joffrey digs.

And that’s because the audience support is very much skewed  in  Jon’s favor. Being on tumblr, sometimes you forget that the Jonsa fam is very much the minority and that exclusive Sansa fans are the unicorns of this fandom (#love4unicorns). The vast majority of this audience will not look at Jon as an unreliable narrator, as every character in this show is, but as the ultimate authority on how this scene should be viewed.

If he says he feels undermined, then it must be because he’s being undermined, which by extension means that Sansa will betray him.

I simply believe that just like Jon, Sansa makes mistakes not only in their conversations but in her approach to certain issues, like the Alys/Ned incident. Jon and Sansa’s arguments, in my opinion, are not clear cut or black and white. There are points to be made on both sides of the debate and pretending like Sansa is completely correct and Jon is wrong is oversimplifying things, as is the reverse. I’ve already talked ad nauseam about the Alys/Ned situation. So here are a 2 other examples: 

Sansa warning Jon that they don’t have enough men  prior to the battle of the bastards: 

She is correct in that they don’t have enough men. That doesn’t change the fact that they’re stuck in the middle of freezing, wintry terrain, a fact that is brought into the plot by Davos who says Stannis lost the war primarily because of the weather, which is in fact correct. In addition to that, by that point they’ve already tried to gather up more men and were denied at almost every turn. It’s not that Jon can’t count, it’s that he doesn’t see any possibility of getting more men and is afraid that he’s going to lose the men he has if he waits. That is a valid argument. 

The reason why Sansa is so resistant is because she knows there’s the possibility of getting more men but dreads having to resort to calling the Knights of the Vale because Littlefinger comes attached to that particular deal. Jon can’t really be blamed for that since he doesn’t know. 

Sansa warning Jon that Ramsay will try to trick him: 

She is correct in her assessment of Ramsay. However her: “Don’t do what he wants you to do” isn’t going to help Jon much, is it? What does that mean? How do you build a strategy around that? She doesn’t know either. Saying that Jon should have listened to Sansa in this instance is … I mean, listen to her about what? He can do absolutely nothing with the info that Sansa provides. 

Her being angry that Jon doesn’t specifically ask for her opinion in a meeting where she is present is also, quite frankly, debatable. Could he have asked? Yes. Could she have just said what she thought instead of taking her frustration out on him in private? Also yes. 

That’s about it … These are the instances where I kind of lean  towards Jon’s point of view more than Sansa’s but also acknowledge the fact that she has reasons to say the things she says, thus making it a more complex situation than one of them being wrong and the other right. 

For those 3 instances, I am now stuck writing another extremely long post trying to defend what are not, as far as I can see, opinions that should garner this amount of controversy. 

But since now I must also atone for those opinions by proving just how much I love Sansa, here is the list of reasons why I believe they’re a good match and she’ll make a good queen to Jon’s king: 

1. She is more politically minded than he is. Their debate on trusting Tyrion is proof enough of that. She also has experience in dealing with an extremely treacherous court in King’s Landing and that will prove very useful in managing their future court. An experience Jon completely lacks. 

2. He has a tendency to be impulsive whereas she is more controlled and strategic. They balance each other out. Jon is a big picture thinker which is fine but that can cause him to miss details that might turn into huge conflicts later on whereas Sansa is much more aware of the subtleties of situations and can identify potential risks. 

3. Jon has a hero complex and a self-sacrificing streak, where he wants to save and protect everyone. Sansa is more willing to accept the possibility that you can’t always do that. But Jon will continue to try to protect people so he needs someone to protect him, sometimes even from himself which is what Sansa can do for him. 

4. In my post regarding the alliances that Sansa and Jon can make, I called Sansa the most eligible match in Westeros. The amount of allies and strategic power she can bring to the table is undeniable and will be among the main reasons why they end up king and queen.

5. They’re both humanists. Despite Sansa’s more calculated temperament (something she learned, btw because naturally she’s not a calculated person),  she would have given a mob of people that attacked her and almost raped her bread if she had had it, she takes charge of calming the spirits of the women during the Battle of the Blackwater and as Jon’s regent, she supervises the food storing and preparations for winter. They both have the same view of what leadership is and the kind of leaders they want to be. They both very much see leadership as a duty and want to do right by the people that they govern.

6. On a personal level, they’re both romantics who dream about a quiet, domestic life. They want to have children and raise a family. So their personal goals and temperaments are aligned. 

7. Jon is insecure, particularly when it comes to how other people view him and since the moment they have been reunited, not only has Sansa understood that but given him the validation he needs to feel secure, content and happy. In turn, Jon can be the brave, gentle and strong man that Ned promised Sansa and that she’s always dreamed about. 

8. They fight a lot, they both make good and bad point along the way but at the end of the day, their fights are constructive and lead to both of them growing and developing as people. They push each other to be better. 

There are probably many more reasons that can be added but this is all I can come up with at this time. 

One more thing I’d like to add before I finish this:

I was under the, perhaps mistaken, impression that people sending me asks or reading my blog were interested in my honest opinion on topics and not just in answers and posts that validate their pre-existing views. If that is the case, I don’t think my blog is for you. I will never shy away from expressing my thoughts on a subject, even when that might be controversial. So if that bothers you, I understand. Please unfollow me, block me or otherwise scroll past me if you feel leaving a comment disagreeing is not enough. I don’t want to make anyone’s fandom experience anything less than a happy one, if I can help it. 

So, in an effort, to keep the Jonsa fandom experience a positive one for myself, I’d like to let everyone know that this will be my final answer on this subject. If you’re ever tempted to send me an ask telling me that I don’t think Sansa is entitled to voice her opinions, that I think Sansa is undermining Jon, that I’m trying to steal her agency in order to prop up Jon or that I think Sansa is always wrong and Jon is always right, please know that I will delete those asks and not answer them. I really don’t like doing that because I love talking to you guys and I really appreciate your interest in my blog and my opinions but at this point, if you still believe all of those things, there’s literally nothing I can say that will change your mind. Thank you for understanding!

Have a nice day, nonnie!

[sonnets-and-snowdrops]

Heya! Hope you're pleasantly drunk by now! Is the Shunsui b-day thing still on? If so, Shun-Uki head canons please! Whatever you want to say about it (I reckon you might have a thing or two...)

Hey hey, Anon! Yes yes, the birthday thing is absolutely still on - and, actually, I think I might just, like, leave it on indefinitely. I kinda like this game, heh.

(Sorry I didn’t get to your ask last night, btw. I fell asleep at like 1am because I’m a square. Eh. Oh well. Shunsui would be proud of me for that, too. He’s a guy who gets the whole sleep thing.)

Anyway! ShunUki headcanons, you ask? As a matter of fact, my friend, I do indeed have a headcanon or two! But because going through all of them would take a long, long time - I think I may just describe one of them here, if that’s cool. Do feel free to drop another ask later if you’d like more, though!

One of the most bizarre and fascinating things to me about Shunsui is that his first-person pronoun of choice is boku.

For those who are unfamiliar with Japanese first-person pronouns, Wikipedia has this to say about boku: “Used by males of all ages; very often used by boys. Perceived as humble, but can also carry an undertone of “feeling young” when used by males of older age. Also used when casually giving deference; “servant” uses the same kanji (僕 shimobe).” That doesn’t convey all of the flavor of using the pronoun “boku” in anime, but for context - other Bleach characters who use “boku” include Uryuu, Hanatarou, Yumichika, Gin, Kira (and Rose, now that I think of it - so everyone of significance in Squad 3, I guess - huh. Maybe there’s something in that. Also maybe not. Eh. Whatever), Szayel, Tsukishima, Urahara during TBTP (he switches to atashi later, which is a whole nother thing, but I won’t get into that here), and others. In the world of anime, I find that boku is used by characters who are either “polite speakers,” characters who are young, or characters who are a little bit slippery, and are trying to hide something.

I didn’t know until I was well into the TYBW arc that Shunsui used boku - mostly because I’d watched the anime dubbed *cringes* and was reading the manga in English. I’d assumed, knowing that he was a powerful dude with chest hair, that he used ore (which I’ll get into in a minute), or maaaaaybe even washi (i.e., the old man pronoun). 

So, already reeling from this new knowledge, I, of course, had to ask myself - which pronoun does Ukitake use? He’s kind and polite, isn’t he? Surely - surely - a guy like that uses boku…?

But no, my friends - Juu-chan, tragic and handsome embodiment of Shinigami sunshine that he is, uses the first-person pronoun ore.

…which, as promised, we will discuss here. Ah-ha-ha-hem: “Frequently used by men. Establishes a sense of masculinity. Can be seen as rude depending on the context. Emphasizes one’s own status when used with peers and with those who are younger or of lesser status. Among close friends or family, its use conveys familiarity rather than masculinity or superiority.” So, yeah - basically, in anime terms, it’s a quick way of letting the audience know that this character is a man who is comfortable with being a man, and in some cases, it can be a way of conveying that a character is assertive, or a generally informal speaker. Other Bleach characters who use ore include Ichigo, Renji, Kenpachi (so, just to be totally clear here, Ukitake uses the same first-person pronoun as Kenpachi), Shuuhei, Iba, Starrk, Nnoitra, and Grimmjow (which - again - Ukitake uses the same first-person pronoun as freaking Grimmjow), among others.

Learning that boku was Shunsui’s pronoun of choice and that ore was Ukitake’s forced me to think about both of them a little bit differently - and, I eventually found, in ways that I liked, and that made sense for their characters, when I actually sat down to connect all of the dots.

I think that ShunUki is a frequently misunderstood ship. I’ve read dozens of fics, for example, that portray Ukitake as a perpetually ailing optimist who leans heavily on his best friend for support, both physical and emotional. There’s validity in writing fics like that - and, full disclosure, I’m an absolute sucker for a well-written sickfic - but I think that ending one’s conclusions about ShunUki there does a disservice to both Shunsui and Ukitake, and oversimplifies the ship in general.

I believe that, generally speaking, Ukitake is a fundamentally stronger person than Shunsui is. He’s encountered hardship, but he’s well-adjusted and personable. He’s emotionally intuitive, but he still possesses the ability to make difficult decisions. He’s a man of peace who has still applied himself wholeheartedly to learning the arts of war. He’s a cute, sweet, goodhearted gentleman who loves sweets and has no idea how to cultivate bonsai. He knows who he is - strengths and weaknesses and all - and he is not ashamed of himself. And his pronoun of choice, ore, reflects his quiet but undeniable inner confidence.

Shunsui, by contrast, drinks all day and takes naps in the middle of the afternoon on a regular basis. Shunsui can’t keep up with his paperwork. Shunsui doesn’t have a good relationship with his family.  Shunsuihas a soul whose greatest power manifests itself through a dark, painful, intricate story of lovers who commit suicide.

When you think about it like that, is it any wonder that Shunsui might feel a little more comfortable using boku, an potentially more elusive pronoun than the arguably expected ore?

I still had to figure out, though, why these pronouns still threw me for a bit of a loop. On the surface, I still struggled to see Ukitake as anything but a boku user (or maaaaybe watashi, I guess, but that’s a little stuffy for him imo) and to see Shunsui as anything but an ore user.

And thanks to these thoughts, a headcanon (I promise, I didn’t forget what this question was actually about lol) was born.

I think that, when Shunsui and Ukitake met during their Academy days, Ukitake was a boku user and Shunsui was an ore user. Ukitake valued politeness and etiquette - he still does, even during the main arc - and as a young boy raised in a noble family, he would have been taught to speak politely and properly. He would use boku at this time in the same way that a character like Uryuu would - it’s polite, it’s correct, and it gives a small level of respectable deference to his peers. (Plus also, there’s no way anyone can convince me that little baby Juu-chan wasn’t all wide-eyed and cute when he entered the Academy, and cute, wide-eyed characters - think Deku from BNHA, Nagisa from Free!!, Rock Lee from Naruto if you want the super-extreme version haha - tend to use boku in anime and manga.) Shunsui, by contrast, was a too-cool-for-school slacker boy who liked chasing skirts and who had never had as much freedom at home as he’d wanted. While Shunsui never wanted to attend the Academy, I don’t doubt that he valued what little new freedom it gave him.

See below:

Also, if this doesn’t look like the face of a smug-ass ore user, then I don’t know what does:

We know that Shunsui and Ukitake met at the Academy and became friends. We also know that, during the main plot, Shunsui uses the pronoun boku and Ukitake uses the pronoun ore. It may not line up completely perfectly when all is said and done, but simply put, my headcanon is this: As Shunsui and Ukitake spent more time together as friends and learned more about themselves as they grew older, they slowly switched personal pronouns.

This happened for several reasons.Ukitake ’s story is pretty straightforward - you see multiple young protagonists switch from boku to ore over the course of their respective anime (such as Shinji Ikari from NGE and Simon from Gurren Lagann, for example). This shift usually implies that a character has grown up, or has grown more confident - and I figure that’s exactly what happened to Ukitake. He entered the academy as a bright, young boy with a lot of physical challenges to overcome, and probably a lot of self-doubt, but through six years of training and education, and six years of friendship with a lunk like Shunsui, he slowly began to gain confidence - enough that, by the time he entered the Gotei proper, he was ready to claim ore as his pronoun of choice.

Shunsui’s journey was probably a little more roundabout. Shunsui is a strange guy, and he stands out. He’s different from those around him, and attending the Academy probably highlighted those differences. He’s smarter than almost everyone he interacts with, for one thing, and there’s a duality about him that most people don’t experience firsthand - the key aspect being that he’s a male-presenting person with a female-presenting zanpakutō spirit, which is, I think, indicative of many other dualities that exist inside him. My guess is that, at first, Shunsui tried to hide a lot of his complexities, and to present himself as a boring, straightforward, oh-hey-I-like-slacking-off-and-chasing-girls kind of guy, and using the pronoun ore was a quick, easy, uncomplicated shortcut that helped that image. But as Shunsui began to grow closer to Ukitake, I’m sure that he began to letUkitake see the many dualities within him - whether he intended to or not. Ukitake, being the kind soul he is, embraced these parts of Shunsui. He told Shunsui that it’s okay to be complicated, that it’s okay to be strange - that it’s even okay to be a little messed up inside. That it’s okay to be who you are, even if it isn’t what people expect, or ask of you.

So, in short! The headcanon goes like this:

When they first met during their Academy days, Ukitake’s pronoun of choice was boku, and Shunsui’s was ore. As they became friends and moved through the Academy together, Shunsui helped Ukitake’s confidence grow, and Ukitake helped Shunsui towards self-acceptance in general. By the time they graduated the Academy - or perhaps shortly thereafter - Ukitake’s pronoun of choice had shifted to ore (Shunsui’s former pronoun of choice) and Shunsui’s pronoun of choice had shifted to boku (Ukitake’s former pronoun of choice). These pronoun shifts reflect Shunsui’s and Ukitake’s growth, both as individuals and as friends.

Phew! Welp, uh - that got longer than I anticipated it would. But it’s a personal favorite headcanon of mine, and I haven’t ever had an excuse to share it publicly, so - thanks for giving me the excuse I needed, Anon! I had fun writing this up - hope you had fun reading it, too!

Ask me about myShunsui headcanons!

I’m not drunk anymore btw because yaboi can’t do that two nights in a row lol - I hope this was still fun anyway!!

[booksandwords]

The Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson

Read Time: 4 Days Rating: 4/5

The quote: 'You're a good person, Edwin. I've watched you, the last few days, and I know. You care about people. You're moral. Look at how upset you are about this - it proves that you're a good person. You developed that random selection technique because your ethical code was so strong that you didn't want to sentence anyone to death, even imaginary people.' — Cecily Cartwright

Warnings: violence, death, the obvious memory loss/ amnesia, torture (arguable) and discussion of the penal system.

It's been so long since a book left me guessing as much or as long as The Erasure Initiative did, with the last two being last year's The Grace Year and Impulse. The ending was so surprising to me, so impactful, I really didn't see it coming and it left me a little in shock. As a disclaimer, this is my first book by Lili Wilkinson so if this is typical of her endings forgive me. It will not be my last. I really want to read After The Lights Go Out (dystopian fiction) and The Boundless Sublime (cults and based on her own family). Just some warnings before I get into the review some content warnings for the books. This novel deals with violence, death, the obvious memory loss/ amnesia, torture (arguable) and discussion of the penal system.

When I'm reading I always keep a notepad with me it helps with writing reviews in The Erasure Initiative that came in useful especially at the start as we meet the passengers. Sandra (a middle-aged woman), Catherine (a much older woman), Riley (a 20 something white guy covered in prison tattoos), Edward (a young Asian kid 14ish), Paxton (chisel-jawed guy aka hot guy), Nia (brown-skinned girl with cheekbones to kill for) and the protagonist Cecily (rich white girl). None of the passages has any clue who they are (episodic memory) but retains their general knowledge (semantic memory). It's slowly revealed that each of the passengers has their own skill sets that can be useful. But specifically, Edward is a genius and Nia is a hacker. Honestly, it felt like the start of Dark Matter to a degree but it is also a trope, a good one if it is done well as it was here. As they try to figure out who they are, what is going on and the mystery of The Blue Fairy they are asked a series of trolley problems (see my review for Life is Strange: Dust) getting more and more ridiculous than more high stakes. Moving into the realisation that not everything they've been told is the truth and what are they going to do about it. Developing relationships and unravelling their previous ones. On the timeline of the book. The whole thing takes place over 7 days with timestamps to move through the time and some decent time jumps. Not all of the trolly problem questions are included as that would just get tedious.

There were some beautiful descriptive passages anxiety and passages on memory, free will, power. It does discuss some important and thought-provoking issues leaving the reader to make up their own mind about them. The idea of nature versus nurture. There is some pretty heavy discussion of the penal system, overcrowding and potential solutions. I really liked that message that we need to find alternatives this isn't the right one but it is something. Given the intended audience, it is something that needs to be discussed and as this Australian YA the setting feels even more important.

The writing was appealing to me. As was the choice to tell parts of the history at the end of each chapter. Rarely ever is it telling you what you think it is in the moment. As a protagonist, Cecily was complicated, neither good nor bad just human. Her emotions during the whole experience feel relatable. Look I honestly loved this book. From the way, it gave you enough information to figure out what was going on through the additional information to the relationships between the characters to the twists and turns. I appreciated learning the background of the characters even when they were gone. I do recommend this to people if they want a fairly fast read that gives you something to think about.

[anothershadeofpurple]

You're sort of an E-Celebrity. The meta that you and Alabama miles created was once mentioned in a tweet by T.V something. Do you sometimes worry about the influence you have on people's minds, given today's social climate, and the laziness of others? Do you get scared that people can bend, if they don't use their minds? Or do you not worry about that sort of thing because you feel like people should be responsible for their perception? How do you do this? How does shady do what she does?

Hey Anon,

I both think that people are responsible for their own perception and that I have a responsibility to present myself in a truthful way. Everything you ever read is colored by the perspective and the worldview of the author. Even something like Wikipedia with multiple authors will simply give you a truth based on the most prevalent worldview - or the publicly accepted worldview - at that point in time. Truth shifts with perspective. Critical thinking is something that develops. If you’re lucky you have people guiding you, if not, maybe you get burned before you get smart. That’s how we learn and it’s an evolving process for the rest of our lives. As a writer you cannot write for everyone. You can’t meet everyone at their level and you cannot choose your audience or what it uses your writing for. You can try to reach a specific audience, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be successful. If you publish anything on some level you have to accept that your words will be misunderstood, taken out of context and used to prove the opposite of what you’re trying to say. The alternative is silence.

I have a few things that I do that are ethical decisions connected to this. As I mentioned before, everything anyone ever writes is colored. What I try to do is to show you my goggles. Our goggles are made out of our social class, culture, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity… and just generally all of our life experiences. Imagine it as if I am wearing green goggles and I am describing you the world in green, because that’s how I see everything. What I try to do in order for people to read me critically is to pull back and also describe the frame of these green goggles from time to time on top of the reality I see. 

In practice, that means I will often use “I”-messages. “I think this…”, “I feel…”, “…at least that’s how I see it.”. It’s an invitation for people to be aware of subjectivity. It’s encouragement to ‘do as I do’ and not ‘as I say’. Analyze, think, feel for yourself. Sometimes I’ll include anecdotes and personal experiences, which serves to inform, but it also shows emotional involvement that again, might color my perspective. It’s something I consciously include. 

Dumb positivity is another way to be more objective. They are another description of the goggles. It means ‘in this post I am specifically looking at the queer subtext and the queer reading’. In every other case where the subtext in a tv show doesn’t specifically relate to homosexuality we could be sure that foreshadowing is really foreshadowing and that symbolism will become meaningful in text. The only reason we can’t be sure in the case of Once Upon a Time is because at some point in history queer subtext was divorced from main text to tell secret stories, cause it was the only thing we were allowed. Every story has subtext, it’s a general storytelling tool. We live in a strange time where it could be either. We’re starting to see more queer stories told openly and at the same time this historical storytelling device lives on and is still being used. Dumb positivity is about not having to repeat this awareness of history in every post. It’s about not reminding or focusing on the reason why we got here in the first place - discrimination and homophobia - but on the validity of our stories regardless of how they are told.

The other choice I make is to try and never shame people or be disrespectful toward people who have different opinions. Making people feel ashamed - for example by calling them stupid or naive - causes people to stop focusing on what is being said. Instead they will be digging in their personal history to defend who they are. Or they will stop talking to you or to anyone, but they won’t change their minds. I know when I am personally under attack the first reflex is emotional, it’s about self protection, so why would that be different for others? It seems counter-productive if what you’re after is a meaningful exchange of perspective.

Similarly, even if I get very negative messages I will still try and look at what they are saying and wonder if there is truth there, wonder if they have a point. I seek out other parts of the fandom and try to understand their point of view. I won’t always publicly address this, but it’s something I use to check myself. I try to face my shadow. Of course it is nice to be read, to get feedback, to have people ask you questions. To be po-pu-la-a-ar. Of course there is ego involved. I think the only thing you can do is to be aware of this and to try and correct yourself if you find out if it interferes with your being truthful.

Last but not least, I do take into account the context of where I am writing. Say I would have arrived in this fandom and I hadn’t seen anyone mentioning the possibility of queer baiting or criticize the problematic aspects of the show… I probably would have. Right now there is plenty of criticism and everyone is aware of the possibility of queer baiting. The information is there and I can’t imagine people who have been around for a while haven’t been exposed to all the different views and they are choosing what resonates with them. So it’s also a matter of this blog not happening in a vacuum.

The part that seems to confuse people most about my blog - or where some seem to think I’m lying for popularity or attention - is that I genuinely believe it is more likely than not that they’ll make the romantic subtext between Emma & Regina text eventually. I think anyone who has read, engaged with and understood OperationOUT completely, understands where I am coming from. However, many people are angry about the show - for good reason - so I am not actively going to invite people to invest their time and energy in reading about a show they hate just so they can understand me. What I can’t do is lie about my perceptions of the show just because it’s somehow perceived less shameful to be wrong when you were being cynical. I think I’d rather be fearless, truthful and wrong then.

Does that answer your questions?

PS: I have no knowledge of our meta ever being tweeted by… someone at TV something. Do you have a link?