#i could in theory do more if it’s helping but it costs $$$ lol

[vagueiish]

ugh, i have a therapy tomorrow but i’ve always sucked at therapy. and it’s telehealth too…. but i get 8 free sessions per benefits year through work so. yay?

[imminent-danger-came]

I was rewatching s2 last night, and ohhh man mk looks over mei so much it's not even funny. times mei has been ignored:

maybe you need to really listen! (during the blindfold ep)

mk just? grabs stuff she's using out of her hands all the time? (video game ep)

maybe you shouldn't skip the tutorials? (video game ep again)

the way he addresses her in dumpling destruction and then immediately pushes her aside for tang

i honestly remember it lowkey kinda bothering me on first watch but now it's REALLY egregious on rewatch. are you scared? I'm so scared. do you WANT to end up like shadowpeach MK

2x03 is so rude because the whole fucking episode they're like "MK you don't listen" and it's so true. He doesn't. Pigsy literally points it out again at the end of 4x14 with the whole sun screen bit:

Pigsy: "Tch, don't bother, I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we role."

-

THEY'RE SO FUCKING RUDE. "That's how we role." We. We????? Wukong and MK???? Like WHATEVER. FINE. (("I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no. Wukong doesn't listen to ANYONE! He just does whatever he wants" Like shut up. Shut up!))

MK gets so stuck in his own head ("You're all stuck up in your own head! None of this is your fault!" +1 to the MK ignoring Mei counter from 4x08) and I think that really contributes to his s2 scramble to get more powerful.

LIKE:

MK: "Stop? Now? Never! I just have to try harder. It's just like the Monkey King said! *laughs manically* I just need to get stronger!"

(2x06 Game On)

VS

MK: "Why didn't he just stop, right here? He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be!" Macaque: "Wukong didn't think so, he always felt he had to be stronger—more immortal."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

-

(Bonus thing between eps 2x03 and 2x06, look at 0:42 in this video for MK hearing Mei but not listening to her. Because of course that's what he would do. *head in my hands .png*)

The terrible s2 choices both Wukong and MK make in relation to their friends is just absolutely delicious after 4x11. Like, OH. This has been a lifelong pattern of Wukong's—paranoia is one of his fatal flaws (paired with his terrible communication and self-sacrificial nature), and while he had the power to stop LBD before he still feel's the need to go after the Samadhi Fire to stop her now, and to protect MK.

Hold on look at this parallel that I don't know what to do with:

MK: "Ugh, I can't do it!"

Mei: "It's alright MK—you did it before, you'll do it again!" Sandy: "Yeah! Maybe it's like Monkey King said: the power will come when you need it most!"

(3x04 The Winning Side)

-

MK: "What! But you said the Samadhi fire was the only thing that could stop her!" Sun Wukong: "I KNOW WHAT I SAID! But I've beaten her before I'll- I'll do it again! Mei was right—I need to stop dragging you into my fights, all of you."

(3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

-

Wukong and MK's reach for power inspires a lot of fear in me! It does! Because, well, MK's current reach for power is going to lead him to his Monkey Form, and uh:

Like I'm scared. I'm scared!

"All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart!" ; "This is Azure's utopia, and this barren wasteland is the price he paid to build it." ; "I'd do anything for my friends! But at the cost of the world?" "I'm sorry pal, ain't NOTHIN' worth that price!"

[vbecker10]

Language (Part 2)

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6

Pairing: Loki x female reader (Y/N)

Summary: Captain Rogers thinks you curse far too much at work so he came up with a way for each word to cost you fifty cents no matter where you are in the Tower. You are desperate for it to stop and go to Loki to see if he has a spell or trick that can help you outsmart J.A.R.V.I.S.

Warnings: swearing lol... obviously?

A/N: I'm so sorry @soubi001 lol and you know why. I've been kicking this idea around in my head for a while because I'm very aware that I swear way more often than a normal person lol hope you enjoy it 💚

"I found a few spells I would like to try when we finish eating," he changes the topic a moment later.

"Think one of them will work?" you ask hopefully.

"I certainly hope so," he says. "Of course, I could accidently turn you into a frog if something goes wrong."

"That's not funny," you tell him.

"I wasn't joking," he smirks.

You take a bite of pizza and as you chew, you respond by giving Loki the finger. In turn J.A.R.V.I.S charges you another fifty cents and you roll your eyes.

"Serves you right," he says and you can tell he is trying to sound serious but a smile tugs at the corner of his lips. "You are quite rude to me when all I am trying to do is be helpful," he places his hand over his heart, pouting to appear hurt by your gesture.

You ball up your napkin, throwing it at him but he deflects it easily back towards you, a smile spreading across the god's face. You stick your tongue out at the prince when the paper ball hits your shoulder and he laughs light heartedly. Loki's hand rests gently on your knee for barely a moment and he removes it almost before your mind can register the action.

He gets up abruptly, clearing his throat and you feel a sinking sensation in your chest at his sudden shift in mood. You had what you imagine is a rare glimpse of Loki's playful, mischievous side and you can't help but wish he wouldn't return to the cold, overly sarcastic demeanor he had when you first knocked on his door. Closing the pizza box, you decide to clean up the table and put the leftovers in Loki's fridge. It's a small but welcome distraction, keeping you from thinking about how much you enjoy Loki's company when he allows himself to relax around you.

"Thank you for the food," he says without looking up from his book. He sits crossed legged on the floor and holds the book a bit closer as his fingers trace the text across the page.

You smile then sit back on the couch, "You're very welcome... and thanks for trying to help me." He nods quietly in response as he continues to read.

Loki stands slowly a few minutes later, his eyes lowered as he reads the book in his hands. He walks towards you with the book still open and you suddenly become nervous as you realize this is actually going to happen. You are actually going to let him put a spell on you.

"Okay... so what's this supposed to do?" you are almost afraid to ask.

Loki sits next to you and places the open book on the coffee table. "Well, in theory it should-" he starts to explain, his eyes meeting yours as he glances up from the book.

"In theory?" you ask, your voice shaking.

"Yes," he answers seriously. "This is not what the spell was originally intended to do but I should be able to adjust it slightly so that it will fix your issue."

"So... I'm starting to think maybe having someone put a literal spell on me is a really fucking stupid idea," you say and shake your head, ignoring J.A.R.V.I.S.

"I am not just someone," he says, it is clear from his tone he is trying to sound offended but he doesn't hide his smirk as well as he thinks he does.

"Right, you're an actual trickster god," you reply, gesturing towards him. "The title doesn't exactly inspire trust, you know?"

He shrugs, "It's not too late to change your mind and either give up swearing or simply ask for a raise."

You groan and sit back, crossing your arms against your chest, "Just promise me you won't turn me into a frog." His lips curl into a smirk and you sit up, quickly adding, "Or a snake or a bug or anything else not human. Please?"

"I promise you will remain a Midgardian," he says in a sincere voice. His eyes flicker from yours to your hand and his fingers move slightly towards you but he pauses then places his hand on his knee. He shifts a few inches closer to you on the couch but keeps his eyes focused on the open book. "Do you still want me to do this, Y/N?" he asks, glancing back at you.

"Yes," you take a deep breath and nod. "Yea, lets do this. What's the worse that can happen?"

He chuckles and without thinking, you put your hand over his mouth before he can say anything. His eyes widen when your palm touches his lips and for a split second, your brain registers how soft they are. Loki has a look of utter confusion on his face when you remove your hand quickly with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, I just don't really want to hear all the horrible stuff that might happen if this goes wrong," you tell him, lowering your eyes to avoid looking at him.

"Nothing will go wrong," he promises, touching your arm lightly but he moves his hand the moment you look up. "Are you ready to start?" he asks.

"As ready as I'm gonna be," you tell him with a shrug, feeling slightly more confident in Loki than you had moments earlier.

He flashes you a small smile then leans forward slightly towards the book, his fingers tracing the lines of text as he mumbles to himself. He nods confidently when he is satisfied with the spell and looks at you. "Stay still," he warns you gently then he holds his open palm inches from your neck. Your heart beats faster as he begins to read the foreign words, his voice just above a whisper. The green glow of his seidr slowly reaches out from his fingertips and you feel it's warmth wrap around your throat loosely. You force yourself to remain perfectly still, keeping your eyes focused on Loki.

When he finishes reading, he closes the book and looks at you. "Care to test it out?" he asks, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice unsuccessfully.

You clear your throat and say, "I hope this *silence* spell worked..." You look at him in shock when your voice goes suddenly silent as you swear. "What the *silence* was that?"

"Interesting," Loki says, opening the book again.

"I really *silence* hate when you say *silence* like that," you tell him, trying not to feel worried as your voice cuts in and out.

"The spell was supposed to block J.A.R.V.I.S from being able to hear you swear but it seems to have silenced your words completely," he explains, running his fingers through his long, dark curls as he leans closer to the open pages. "Ahh..." he nods as he flips the page.

"What the *silence* does that mean?" you look at the page over his shoulder.

"I seem to have misjudged the potency of this part here," he points to a passage from the book that you have no way of understanding. "Still, it seems as if it was successful," he forces a smile as he can tell you are unhappy with the results.

"Successful?" you ask, sitting back you put your hands over your face.

"The computer is not charging you," he reminds you. "Was that not the goal of this whole evening?"

"Yea," you agree. "I guess you're right."

"Than you should be thanking me," Loki smirks proudly. "Feel free to throw in as many compliments as you would like."

You can't help but laugh, "Thank *silence* *silence* *silence* *silence*..." Your heart sinks and you fill with dread as all of your words are soundless but Loki doesn't seem to notice as he closes the book again.

"I am waiting for the flood of complements I am owed and then you are free to leave," he chuckles and you swat his shoulder with the back of your hand. He looks at you with a confused expression and you gesture towards your throat as you open your mouth to speak but no sound comes out.

"Oh, no..." he shakes his head as he realizes what you are trying to tell him. "Okay, don't worry Y/N, I can undo the spell," he assures you as he opens the book. He mumbles under his breath as he flips through the pages quickly and you can only imagine he must be swearing in Asgardian. He finds the page he had been on previously and pulls the book onto his lap.

You tug on the sleeve of his shirt nervously and he looks at you. "I am going to fix it," he promises again, taking your hand and squeezing it gently. "I just need a moment to think," he explains and you can't do anything but nod.

"So that was awful," you laugh nervously a few minutes later when your voice is fully restored. You rub your throat gently and Loki frowns, holding your gaze for only a moment before he looks away.

"I truly am sorry," he says, shaking his head. "I have no idea why that went so wrong," he skims the page again, his fingers comb through his hair as he thinks.

"Do you think it's cause you messed with it too much?" you ask as he closes the book heavily and stands up.

"It may have been," he responds, placing the book in the pile of useless ones. He sighs and looks around at the books still remaining on the shelves.

"Can I ask you something?" you tuck your legs under your body and pick up one of his pillows to hold against your chest. He nods but doesn't face you, his eyes searching for the next solution. "How come you have to alter the spells? Wouldn't it be easier to just use the right type?"

"Ah yes, why didn't I just look in my hundred year old book of spells that deals with artificial intelligence?" he says sarcastically.

"Okay, that's fair," you roll your eyes. "I guess I didn't really think about that part. I just figured... well I'm not really sure how I thought your magic worked honestly."

"No one on the team is concerned with how my spells are created," Loki says over his shoulder then he picks up a thick, leather bound book and quietly adds, "So long as the spells work properly, my magic rarely interests anyone."

"I think it's cause you make it look so natural," you try to explain as you get up and walk towards him. "Like when you are on a mission, you don't sit around a read a ton of books or recite all these spells before doing anything, you just sort of," you wave your hand towards a stack of books and mime moving them to the table, "and stuff happens. Am I making sense?"

He chuckles, "Yes."

"So how do you do it?" you ask.

"Do what?" he looks at you confused.

"Make it look so easy?" you respond with a shrug.

"Roughly nine hundred years of practice," he answers.

"Nine hundred..." you say quietly and he nods. "I forgot you're like a thousand years old."

"One thousand fifty three," he smirks, "And I will assume you forgot because of my stunning good looks."

"You're not unfortunate to look at," you laugh, unable to admit he is completely correct.

"You wound me, truly, Y/N," he shakes his head but can't contain his laughter.

There is a loud knock on Loki's door and you turn towards it but Loki makes no move to answer it. He opens the book in his hand and you shrug then walk to the door.

"What are you doing?" he asks without looking up.

"Answering your door," you tell him. "It's what normal people do when someone knocks."

"I am still dealing with the consequences of the last time I opened my door to someone," he says followed by a heavy sigh but you can tell his annoyance is faked and you fight to hold back a smile.

"Oh... hello Y/N," Thor says slowly, unable to hide his shock. "What are you doing in my brother's room?"

"Um..." you hadn't thought far enough ahead to come up with an excuse when you opened the door. "We were just- we're hanging out. Do you need him?"

"I was just wondering if he had seen my wallet," Thor says. "Or have you?"

"Brown leather wallet with a big script 'T' embossed on the front and a picture of Jane in the little plastic picture space?" you describe the wallet Loki had given you money from earlier.

"Yes, that's it," he says excitedly.

"No, sorry I haven't seen it," you tell him and instantly have no idea why you lied.

"Oh, okay well if you do, let me know. I had about two hundred dollars in it," he says.

Minus the money Loki already gave me, you think. "Will do Thor and I'll check to see if Loki's seen it," you tell him.

"Thank you, goodnight Y/N," he says as he leaves.

"Your brother is gone," you tell him when you close the door. You notice Loki is now sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the stack of books with one open on his lap.

Loki nods in response, his eyes scanning the open pages in front of him.

"He was looking for his wallet but I told him neither of us had seen it," you inform him.

"Mmhmm," he mumbles and nods again.

"Thor asked why I was here so late so I told him we've been secretly dating for months and we're madly in love," you say as you walk closer to the prince.

Again, Loki nods slowly, turning the page he hums, "Mmhm."

"I told him you are a really good kisser but you never know what to do with your hands," you smile as you stand right behind him.

Loki turns the next page and without looking up says, "I know exactly what to do with my hands."

"Oh-" you say in surprise. "You were listening to me."

"Yes," he chuckles. "I can read and listen to you lie at the same time."

"Right well..." you fidget with your fingers and try to think of something to say.

"Why are you standing so close to me?" he says finally looking up to see you reading over his shoulder.

You take a large step back and giggle nervously, "Sorry. I- Umm... Did you find anything useful?"

"Possibly," he says as he gets up.

I hope you liked this!! Please like, share and comment if you did 💚💚 Please let me know if you want to be added to my taglist!

@soubi001 @mochie85 @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @animnerd @cabingrlandrandomcrap @icytrickster17 @mischief2sarawr @mjsthrillernp @holdmytesseract @lulubelle814 @goblingirlsarah @alexakeyloveloki @siconetribal @lokidokieokie @kneelingformyloki @jiyascepter @eleniblue @loreniscrying @muddyorbsblr @alyeskathewave @loz-3 @firedrakegirl @javagirl328 @princess-asgard @morally-grey-variant @soulpiercing @km-ffluv @glitterylokislut @biodegradable-glitter-fest @wolfsmom1 @simone818283 @hopefuldreamers-world @blackhawkfanatic @lokikell8 @dracoswhorexx @sunglasses-in-the-bentley @anukulee @free-llama-arcade @michellewgrt @scrumptious-finicky-illusion

[ewanmitchellconnoisseur]

"𝑭𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆" 𝑬𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

A/N: This is part two of the Anti-Love Ettore one-shot.

Summary: Ettore mistakes a suggestion of yours as a sign that you're distancing yourself. It only gets worse when he spots you with some guy he's never seen before.

TW: Smut, Oral Sex (f receiving), fingering, tiddy sucking, lactation kink (with no lactation) p in v, creampie, bondage, vibrator play, violence

Word Count: 3k (I think this is the longest fic I've ever done lol)

← Previous Part • Next Chapter →

I can't remember who made the X Banner. If you know please tell me.

Your head was lying on his chest as you lazily drew shapes on his forearm over his tattoo. His hands gently rubbed your lower back as you both just lay there not needing to say any words. Just enjoying the moment.

Ettore had become fond of these moments. How calm they were. It was a big difference to how chaotic his life had always been. With you, there was only peace.

"Ettore?" As your voice reaches his ears he blinks back to reality and looks down at you. "Did you hear what I said?" He shakes his head while still rubbing your lower back.

"You should try BDSM. I think it would suit you. It would also keep you out of trouble." Ettore had heard of BDSM before but the costs alone to build a playroom was more than he had.

But that wasn't what was running through his mind right now. Why were you telling him this? He has no use for some random submissive girl when he has you. Were you getting tired of him? Did you find someone else?

You babbled on for a while about how you could help him start. Ettore didn't say a word the entire time. His brain bounced between different theories as to why you were all of a sudden interested in finding him a new fuck buddy.

Only when you moved to sit on top of him, straddling him, did he snap out of his thoughts. He looked up at you and held on to your waist.

"You ok?" He nodded. You knew he was a man of few words and expressed how he felt in other ways. His hips bucked upwards as he felt the heat radiating from your body just above his cock. It slowly hardened as Ettore thought of fucking any ideas you had of leaving him out of you.

Before he could initiate anything you kissed his cheek and got off of him saying you had to go.

To you, he was just being his normal self. You never would have imagined the turmoil going on in his head, the plans that were brewing. If only he had been honest from then about his feelings.

It could have saved you both some pain.

A day had gone by since you introduced the BDSM idea to Ettore. You had gone off to do God knows what. He assumed you were stealing stuff as you typically did in your spare time. He had calmed down slightly but his brain was still racked with thoughts of why you had brought it all up in the first place.

He managed to tell himself there was no cause for worry. That was until he tried to call you to hook up and you didn't answer. It only got worse when he texted you telling you to come over and you replied with "Can't. Im busy.".

Busy? Busy doing what? With who?

He paced around his apartment. Wondering if he should call you again. He chewed on his nails till they were too short to chew anymore. No matter how many deep breaths he took he couldn't calm himself. He had to know what you were doing.

In a matter of minutes Ettore was dressed and at the mall in a grey sweat suit with a black jacket. He had his hood up as he stalked around the local mall looking for you. He was there for about 30 minutes before he spotted you quickly walking out of a store.

A smile rose on his face when he saw you pull something out of your pocket with a smile.

See Ettore? She's just doing her typical shit.

The smile only dropped when he watched you turn around and wait for a boy to run out of the store after you. He was being chased by a security guard. You took his hand and began running as you both were in a fit of giggles.

The sight made his blood boil. He felt hot in his own skin and just wanted to crawl out. The guard gave up on chasing you both and returned to the store. Ettore began walking in the direction you both went. He needed answers. Who was this guy? Why were you holding his hand? Is he who you decided to spend your time with instead of being fucked by him?

He picked up the pace until he caught sight of the two of you heading towards one of the exits. it led towards the loading dock and was pretty much an abandoned side of the mall that barely anyone shopped in. He did his best to stay out of sight but with every step he just wanted to finally reach the two of you.

And when he finally does it changes your relationship forever. You barely have time to react as the man you are next to gets grabbed backwards by his hoodie and face-slammed into a brick wall. You scream as you see Ettore get on top of him and punch him repeatedly.

The man your with weakly tries to protect his head as Ettore continues to hit him in the head.

"Ettore stop! Get off of him!" You try to pull him off but that only redirects his anger. He stands up and shoves you. You stumble back and fall to the ground your hands scraping against the tough concrete. Ettore, driven by anger, pulls back his fist as if he is about to punch you.

And thats when he sees it.

The terror in your eyes. The tears that fall down your cheek.

The same look he saw in the eyes of the women he killed.

Seeing that look in your eyes. Your eyes... hurt him. Without knowing it you were the air he breathed. To know he had made you fear him, terrified him. He lowered his arm and ran off saying nothing else.

He doesn't remember much about what happened that night. He wakes up to his apartment trashed and can only assume his emotions got the better of him. He had sent you more messages than he could count and called you countless times. You ignored every call and message.

He didn't know where you lived considering you only ever hooked up at his place.

He had to get you to forgive him. He couldn't continue without you. He couldn't breathe without you.

He told himself that this wasn't love. That this was just fear of losing what you offered. Your wonderful pussy. The amazing sex. Thats all he's scared of losing, not you. He could care less about you.

It took him almost a week before he found out where you lived. He knew what bars you liked to hang out and started asking around. You were smart not to go out knowing he would be looking for you but eventually, you needed groceries. You stepped out to do some shopping wearing a more discreet outfit than you would usually wear.

Ettore watched from across the street as you pulled up your hood and walked towards the bus stop. He knew you would be gone a while and would give him time to do what he needed to.

You returned from shopping and carried in your grocery bags struggling a bit as the plastics pinched your fingers.

It's only when you step inside your apartment and place them on the table do you feel how the tense air. Your apartment feels different than before. You grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slowly walked towards your bedroom.

As you pushed open the door everything looked the same. You relaxed and took a deep breath.

Im just on edge. I need to relax.

"Drop it." You immediately tense as you hear his voice. You do as he says and drop the knife to the ground. "Turn around." Your heart beats in your chest, you're not scared of him, you never are, but you're scared of the confrontation. You turn around and face him.

"Ettore." He simply stares at you. When you first lay your eyes on him you notice his appearance. He doesn't look...well. His skin was pale and had dark bags under his eyes.

"You've ignored all of my calls and all my messages." He slowly takes a step forward and you respond with a step back.

"What was I supposed to say-"

"Hello, good morning, how are you? Fuck baby I don't know just talk to me-" He takes another step closer and you raise your hand.

"You beat my friend for no reason. Then you pushed-" He closes the gap between the two of you and pulls you against him.

"I didn't mean to...I...Im sorry." Ettore was not one to say im sorry. "Im sorry that I hurt you." He leaned down and kissed up your next stopping at your ear. "But im not sorry for beating that fucker up. He was touching you." He resumed kissing you while backing you up against the wall.

"He was just a friend." You want to be mad at him for what he did. You want to yell at him for being so violent but you can't.

"You ditched fucking me to hang out with him. You kept talking about this BDSM shit. You were planning on leaving me for him. I won't let you. I can't let you."

It all falls into place in your mind. He thought you were abandoning him. The realization made you smile and effectively softened your resolve. He was just scared to lose you, and this was his fucked up way of saying it.

You push him back slightly so you can see his face. Your hand runs over his cheek and he nuzzles into your hand.

"I wasn't leaving. I just thought maybe you'd like it more if...if you weren't just fucking me all the time..."

Deep down you had started to worry that over time Ettore could eventually become bored of you and even deeper down you slowly developed feelings for him. You knew he would never want a real relationship, and even if he did it wouldn't resemble the ones you see in movies. The ones you yearned for as a girl.

"I don't want no one else but you." He takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to say something but pauses every time. He leans down and kisses you cradling your face. It's softer than any kiss has ever given you. "And I don't want you to be anyone else's but mine."

You knew this was his way of saying it without saying it. He wants you to be his and he wants to be yours. Ettore watches as a smile creeps on your face and he knows you understood what he meant. He pulls you back into the kiss while walking you backwards into your room.

You end up falling on the bed and he crawls on top of you already pulling at your clothes. He undresses you while kissing every bit of newly exposed skin until you're fully naked in front of him.

He's still fully undressed and the idea makes you feel vulnerable. He has seen your body hundreds of times but you still press your legs together while your arms cover your tits.

He gently pushes a knee in between your legs opening them back up as his hands uncross your arms.

"You're beautiful." He rolls one of your nipples in his fingers while he suckles the other imagining again what it would feel like for milk to flow into his throat. The thought made him painfully hard.

He stands up for a moment and walks away before coming back. You sit up and watch as he undresses slowly before walking over to your dresser.

"I was doing some snooping earlier..." He looks over at you and smirks as his hands rest on the first drawer. You already know what it is he found and can't help but smile. He opens the drawer and pulls out your vibrator and a pair of handcuffs. He looks at you with one eyebrow raised. "Care to share why you have these."

You can't shake the smirk off of your face as he walks over.

"Move up." You do as he says and move up higher on the bed. Ettore returns above you and grabs your wrists positioning them above your head. He threads the handcuffs through one of the gaps of your headboard then locks each wrist. "You gonna be a good girl for me yeah?"

You nod as he kisses his way down in between your legs. He places a soft kiss on your clit before sucking on it gently. He looks up and watches as your mouth hangs open and your head is thrown back.

He moves on to fucking you with his tongue holding you tight as you try to squirm away. Ettore adds pushes in a finger and pumps it in and out of you at a relentless pace. His finger easily brushes that sweet spot and has your back arching off the bed.

You want to touch him and try to pull your hands but are only reminded that you're bound by the tightness of the cuffs.

He can feel you clenching around his finger and all he could do is smile against your pussy. As you cum Ettore praises you saying you did so well but he doesn't stop he asks you to cum again around his fingers and brings the vibrator to your clit as he adds another inside of you.

He doesn't stop fucking you with his fingers and the vibrator as he comes up and takes one of your nipples in his mouth while watching you. Your legs shake as you give him another orgasm, shivers running up your spine. He removes the vibrator and his fingers kiss your jaw.

"You did so good." He slides himself through your folds gathering your wetness on his tip. Instinctively you try to move away from being overstimulated but he holds you in one place. His eyebrows are knit together and his mouth hangs open as he finally pushes himself inside. "Relax for me, baby." Although it's only been a week since you've last fucked you're back to being tight from the lack of his cock keeping you stretched.

You both groan when he finally bottoms out. The hairs on the base of his cock brush against your clit only making you whimper more from the contact.

Ettore sits up and grabs onto your waist holding on as leverage so he can fuck you. He watches as a white ring forms around the base of his cock and how easily he slides into you now that you soaked. the only sounds heard are your whimpers and the wet smack of his hips against your ass.

"Fuck- please Ettore." He doesn't know what your begging for but stares at your face in pride as it's screwed with pleasure. He knows no one else could make you feel this way and it only inflates his ego more.

"Does it feel good baby?" He reaches back for the vibrator and brings it down onto your clit again. At this point, tears have formed in your eyes from how fucking good this all feels.

"It's always so good." You whimper arching your hips so he slides in deeper. He can feel your pussy spazzing around him. "Fuck fuck fuck." You draw in a short breath as another orgasm washes over you. You feel heavy and spent as Ettore removes the vibrator and comes up and kisses your neck and chest.

"One more. You can give me one more." He reaches over on your nightstand and grabs the key for the handcuffs. He unlocks the cuffs and turns you over so you're lying on top of him. "Please. Please ride me." Despite how tired your body feels from the three orgasms he has drawn out from you, you sit up and look down at him.

You lift your hips slightly and reach in between you two grabbing his cock. Ettore moans as your hands wrap around him while you line yourself up. His moan only gets louder as you sink down fully on his length.

He holds on to your tits as you bounce up and down his cock rolling both nipples in between his fingers. You do your best to set a pace you know will have him cumming in a minute but you're still so tired. Ettore notices and places both hands on your hips lifting you up and down and helping you to fuck yourself on his cock.

"Fuck!" He throws his head back as he feels the tip of his cock hit your cervix. "I love you so much." The words were out of his mouth before he could control them. And though you're not sure if he means them or if they hold the same meaning for you as they do him but it only fuels you more.

You meet his thrusts and feel him throbbing inside of you. His face is screwed in what looks more like pain than pleasure as he begs you to make him cum.

"I can't cum if you don't. Please." He circles your clit once more and tells you how much he needs it. How much he needs to feel you cumming around him, how that will tell him you love him too.

You finally do cum and fall against his chest as he keeps holding on to your hips fucking up into you, his balls slapping against your ass and the vulgar noises of your bodies connecting filling your ears before he pushes you down as far as he can forcing you there. You feel him cum deep inside you moaning loudly as 'thank you' flows repeatedly from his lips like a prayer.

He eases up slightly as he rolls over and pins you down not taking himself out of you. Your breathing evens out as he kisses you gently. A drastic contrast to how ruthlessly he just fucked you.

"I meant it. Every word." Your heart flutters at his confession. He kisses you deeply.

He knows he can't let you go. But he also knows you won't stay without that confession. Even if it was hard for him to say it he was glad he did.

You both lay there wrapped in each other's embraces. Scared but excited to see where this will take you.

Nothing could go wrong now...

....Right?

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this! I still have an ideal 2 additional chapters planned out. The next one is shorter but still good!

Gen Taglist: @valeskafics @thought--bubble @dixie-elocin

"Fuck Love" Taglist: @hi-eleonora @scarletbedlam @fan-goddess @qyburnsghost

[bluehourbucky]

Oooooo yes. Oki it's a bucky/reader

Reader was an asset at the same time as bucky and her orders were to keep him safe at all costs, so even if it ends with her taking a bullet. So they've had an intense relationship and hydra being hydra uses it against both of them.

Fast forward to the snap, she doesn't get dusted and manages to escape hydra. She meets nat who helps with her trigger words. They don't fix her since shuri is gone but ends up tweaking it so she's really only listening to her handler- nat or bucky as that's a default lol.

Come to the blip and her and bucky reunite and he has some lingering winter solider tendencies when it comes to her and being protective af. So Sam being sam notices it and gives bucky shit. He snaps and essentially says that she reminds him of hydra and can't stand her.

So typical angst troupe. She avoids him until they get put on a mission and she gets triggered. So bucky ends up taking care of her. Can be smutty lol. Like any part of this can be used. Doesn't have to be the whole thing lol

a/n: Hope you don't mind I simplified it cus I think I'd need more than one part to write all of this properly!!!

Hope you enjoy reading this I put all of the angst into it 😅😅

Sorry this is so long 😅😅😅

MY FIRST REQUEST EVER!!!!

To forgive

pairing: bucky x exhydrasoldier!reader

summary: tension between you and Bucky is unbearable and when a misson goes wrong apologies are in order

warnings: f word couple of times / angst a lot of it

masterlist

_______________________________________

Sam actually doesn't know how he managed to get stuck with not one but two super soldiers who have a staring problem but this is his reality right now.

Recently you and Bucky have been staying with Sam since you two could not live with each other alone anymore.

Bucky became your roommate after everyone came back after the snap.

At that point you were 5 years free of Hydra and mostly recovered, you had been found by Natasha and she had helped you a lot and so has Steve. Steve already had experience watching his friend struggle with what had Hydra done and his heart ached seeing his friend in you. The same lost and broken expression made him sad.

They did everything they could, Natasha and Steve even bought you to Wakanda but without Shuri the progress was slow but it was still progres.

Steve before leaving talked to both you and Bucky and suggested you two could help each other out since there was no one else who could understand more what you two had lived through.

It had been good in theory but in practice it was not.

Buckys' recovery was way past yours, and it frustrated you, you were angry especially because you still had this need to protect Bucky at all times.

Being Hydras punching bag was not fun, you didn't blame Bucky it wasn't easy for him either but he was so precious to them that they needed someone to protect the most important asset. It wasn't like you were the only one, you just survived the longest. There had been many before you, who had been removed or just killed in a mission to protect The Winter Soldier.

To Bucky, you were just a reminder of the torture he had survived. Some nights neither of you slept because the same nightmares haunted you, and yet you didn't talk to each other.

You both remember very little about each other from your time in Hydra, the pain is the only thing you both remember so clearly.

It had become impossible to stay together the night when Bucky had a nightmare and you had tried to help, it was awful. That night when Bucky woke up he had thought he was back at Hydra because he saw you. He yelled and screamed and even attacked you, telling you to let him go, and you didn't even defend yourself immediately going back to your training with Hydra.

"Protect the asset no matter what. your life is not important, the winter soldier must be saved. Do not hurt the asset or you will be punished."

That night had changed everything. The weak friendship that you've had with Bucky vanished and all you ever did was fight.

"The dishes aren't washed princess."

"Can the Winter Soldier throw out the trash sometimes?

"Does princess need to be reminded to not use all the hot water."

Oh but the missions are the worst for everyone.

Sam started to bring a spray with him whenever you and Bucky even try to speak to each other because sometimes it is so unbearable that it could ruin the mission.

Sometimes against your wish you jump in to protect Bucky, the Hydra training instincts rooted deep inside you.

"You don't have to protect me!"

"I don't have a choice here asshole! If it were up to me I wouldn't care less if something happened to you!"

But when Bucky had jumped from an airplane without a parachute your heart had dropped. And it was not because your instincts had kicked in, you had watched the man you've been protecting many decades jump from an airplane that was like 30000ft in the air!

You put a parachute on you and brought one with you and jumped after him.

"Dumbass you forgot something!" you had yelled over the wind catching up to Bucky.

He'd ignored the parachute you tried to give him and left you to just watch him descend.

You have no idea how he survived but you were pissed off and were ready to kill him yourself.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE? WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU JUMP WITHOUT A PARACHUTE!"

"WHY DO YOU CARE IT'S MY PROBLEM IF I JUMP OR NOT!"

"NOT IF YOU ASK ME! I LOST MY LIFE TO PROTECTING YOU AND YOU DO THAT! YOU'RE SO SELFISH!"

You had pushed him hard enough so he stumbled a bit but that's only because he didn't expect it. Bucky had also received a slap to the face which Sam might have enjoyed way too much. It had caused an actual fight between two of you and it took Sam 30 minutes to separate you. By the time you had to fight people you had come to fight in the first place you and Bucky already had battle wounds.

Tonight you're in Madripoor and the plan was that Bucky pretends to be The Winter Soldier, it made you nervous.

Sharon had give you a dress and some flat boots in case you needed to run, Bucky and Sam had received some very nice suits.

When you saw Bucky in a suit your heart flipped at the sight of him. You've never seen him in a suit before and you weren't sure how to feel about it. He looked handsome, it's not the first time you had that thought but usually there was annoyance clouding any other thoughts about Bucky.

When Bucky looked at you as you exited the room you were changing in his brain and heart malfunctioned. He'd never seen you in a dress before, you preferred clothes that covered your body completely - the scars on your body made you feel very insecure - Bucky was the same the more his body is cover the less attention he has on himself.

But God, have you taken his breath away. It isn't like he thinks you're ugly, you're gorgeous, and if you had known each other back when he was himself and before you had been brainwashed to protect him he would've loved to have taken you to a dance. Unfortunately your situation was too complicated and it had made it impossible for you two to have any kind of relationship not only romantic.

Bucky and you have a very awkward moment where you made eye contact and then quickly looked away. The tension in the room grew to a 100 real fast.

"So ugh about the plan." Sam coughs to fix the awkward vibe that has enveloped the room.

While Sam is explaining the plan you and Bucky glance at each other when the other isn't looking and Sam pretends not to notice.

The club is crowded and the atmosphere changes when people start to notice The Winter Soldier.

You're on edge the entire time.

Suddenly a fight begins but all you hear are the trigger words which do not affect Bucky but you're entirely a different story.

As Bucky was about to get punched you had jumped in front of him stopping the hit with your hands. You break the the guys hand and turn around to hit another big guy.

"Get out of here I will take care of this."

"No you won't."

And when you don't Bucky pulls you by your hand and you have no choice but to run with him.

When you finally arrive at a safe destination away from everyone who's trying to kill you Bucky turns to you.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WAIT! ARE YOU SO STUPID YOU CAN'T FOLLOW SIMPLE INTRUCTIONS?"

You only stare back at him not even blinking.

"Bucky stop she's not okay can't you see?" Sam puts a hand on Buckys shoulder backing him away from you.

"She fucked up she wasn't supposed to engage."

"Bucky look at her."

That's when Bucky notices that you're not looking at him you're looking at the floor, your hands behind you as if waiting for punishment.

And suddenly it clicks, your trigger words. Some of them were the same as his.

"I'm so sorry. I- I didn't notice I'm so sorry."

You stay in your place not moving an inch.

Bucky tries to touch you and at first you flinch, he doesn't know what to do - he hugs you, surpsing himself.

He stands there his arms tightly around you.

When you finally come back you start sobbing and Buckys heart breaks. He was supposed to know better.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I should've known I should've said it was a bad idea I'm sorry."

You're shaking in his arms and his heart breaks a little more with every whine.

It takes you 45 minutes to stop crying and that's only because you've exhausted yourself with crying.

Bucky carries you to a dodgy motel that him and Sam found. Your limp body in his arms makes him feel incredibly guilty. He feels awful, he'd been awful to you for months and you're right he's been selfish. Bucky can only hope you can forgive him.

You wake up with a headache the light coming through the window indicates that it's for sure not early morning. The sun is gentle and you can tell that sun is about to be gone. To the right of you there's a night stand and to the left is Bucky sleeping on a chair, sitting up.

You notice that you're in Buckys shirt and your pyjama pants.

"Hey."

You turn at Buckys voice.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry about last night I was out of line. I've been out of line for a while. And I'm really sorry I've put you in danger-"

"Bucky..."

"No I need to say this, please."

you nodd.

"There's so much I regret but I regret putting you in danger and giving you shit the most. I've done nothing to make your life easier I've only made it worse. And you were right I was selfish. I was in my head too much and you're the only person who completely understands what I've been through. Last night shouldn't have happened but I was stupid. I hope you can forgive me and I'll do everything in power for the rest of my life to make it up to you."

"Bucky... I-... What happened to us is not fair and we both did stuff we regret, I also wasn't fair to you. I'm not okay. I haven't been a while and last night wasn't your fault. I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for calling you The Winter Soldier and for hurting you purposely. And you have nothing to make up for nothing that happend is your fault."

Bucky and you stand in silence for a while each trying to process words and the situation you're in right now.

"Fucking Hydra."

Bucky breaks the ice with that statement and you both laugh.

"Bucky, could I ask you for a favour?"

"Anything."

"I haven't been well for a while and last night only showed how much I need help. I'd like to go to Wakanda so they get me in cryo to fix my brain. Please be there for me when they put me under and when they wake me up."

"I promise."

True to his word Bucky is there when they're preparing you for cryo.

"It's going to be okay. These people are the best they know what they're doing. Besides they had their experiment animal way before you!"

"Oh shut up..... Thank you Bucky. I'll see you when I wake up?"

He smiles and gives you a tender hug full of emotions but mostly love.

"I promise."

The last thing you see are Buckys blue eyes looking at you softly he doesn't let himself cry.

The next time you see Bucky is when your new life begins.

_____________________________________

[THE END]

This is gigantic udhdhdudud I'm not sure If I should've written so much but it was fun?

Likes reblogs and Comments are appreciated <3

[iamnmbr3]

hi there!!🫶🏻

Just a sad theory...how do you think Harry would've reacted if Draco had been killed (canon Harry ofc)?

Like how he'd react if death occurred in fiendfyre scene or after malfoy manor scene or after he couldn't kill dombledore and he escaped with snape or when he pleads to death eater but this time death eater kills him(better say each reaction of his in these situations if they make difference lol)

Think of this so much but can't find my answer...

Hello! It's always such a delight to see your questions in my inbox. They're invariably thoughtful and fascinating.

I think you're right that when Draco died specifically in canon would have huge implications for the specifics of how Harry would react. Generally though, if it occurred in book 7 during the war I think Harry would be very shaken by it and much more upset than others, or even he himself, might expect or understand. But he would try to compartmentalize it at the time.

Just like how after the Manor sequence he compartmentalizes and puts Draco out of his mind because he knows Draco may well be brutally killed as punishment for Harry's escape. He knows - and it horrifies him so much that for the first time ever he manages to block out Voldemort so he doesn't have to see it - but he has a mission to complete. All this suffering and death can't be for nothing. It just can't. Remember, following that escape there's a real turning point for Harry. He becomes single minded in his purpose to complete his mission whatever the cost and stops worrying or doubting or thinking of anything else. I think Draco's death would have a similar but even stronger effect on him.

But then the war ends. And he has time to think. And something about that particular death just haunts him even though it shouldn't really. I mean, he and Draco were never friends right? It's not like he cared for him? ... Right? And yet somehow as the years slip by he can't seem to get Draco out of his head. Wondering what could have been, whether Harry could have or should have done more? What would have happened if he'd thought to try to help him in sixth year, if he'd realized the full extent of Draco's doubts and vulnerability before that fateful night on the Astronomy tower? The years slip by and maybe Harry marries Ginny but feels that somethings's always just a little bit lacking in his marriage or maybe he breaks up with her and finds someone else, or no one at at all. But always in the back of his mind something is missing. There's some unanswered question. And whenever he goes back to visit Hogwarts he always finds himself turning to look across the Hall to meet a pair of grey eyes that aren't there.

Now, to get into the specific scenarios you mentioned:

if death occurred in fiendfyre scene

In this scenario I think Harry would feel a lot of personal guilt since he would feel that he failed to save Draco. Furthermore, he would probably also feel that perhaps Draco might have lived if Harry hadn't taken his wand. He's probably sick with horror in the immediate aftermath but pulls himself together long enough to complete his mission. And then the guilt plagues him for the rest of his life. At first he thinks that's all it is but over time he and others start wondering if there was something special about Draco, something more to him, to make him haunt Harry's thoughts so much.

Where it really gets interesting is there's also the possibility that Draco appears as one of the resurrection stone shades, which has all sorts of fun angst potential.

The other issue here is that Draco is dead when Narcissa asks about him. I think Harry probably still answers honestly but I think it doesn't change much since now she has nothing to lose and wants to avenge her son so she still lies for Harry.

2. after malfoy manor scene

So again, Harry definitely feels personal responsibility here. He also really dwells on the fact that Draco saved his life and died because of it. I think in any case where Draco dies after the "I can't be sure" sequence Harry spends a lot of time postwar thinking about what Draco did and why he did it and all the questions he'll never get to ask him and wondering whether if he'd done more earlier - during 6th year or another time - Draco could have gone down another path and been saved. Especially in this scenario though where Draco dies immediately after, essentially sacrificing his life for Harry.

Another interesting thing in this scenario is the question of whether Narcissa lives. If Voldemort doesn't kill her too then she still has her wand since there's no Draco for her to give it to. She might want revenge on both Voldemort - for killing her son - and Harry, for taking his wand and leaving him defenseless and for escaping. But also maybe part of her knows the wand might not have made a difference and that Draco surely recognized Harry and made his choice. Maybe she meets Harry during the battle and attacks him and wants to kill him but changes her mind in the end. Maybe they fight early on but then in the forest she saves his life because she knows Voldemort is the real enemy and she knows that Draco gave his life to save Harry's. Or maybe she even tries to take down Voldemort herself.

3. after he couldn't kill dumbledore and he escaped with snape

Ooh! This is interesting. I wonder how fast Harry would find out. He might discover it much later. We know he spends a lot of time worrying about Draco after the end of book 6 so this would basically be all his worries being confirmed. OR he might actually witness it through a vision from Voldemort. Since this would happen before the Horcrux hunt is really going on in earnest I think Harry would spend a lot of time brooding over it and it would give him a sense of purpose and a need to end the war before any more innocent lives are lost. Maybe Harry tells himself it's just a general feeling of responsibility, but it's also about grief and revenge over Draco in particular, even though rationally he knows Draco isn't someone he should be feeling this way about.

Of course, in this scenario a lot of other things in the story go very differently. First of all, Voldemort may become the true Master of the Elder Wand by defeating Draco (at least according to the canon version of wandlore; I think possibly he could never have mastered it because his fear of death meant it would always have chosen Harry) which means Harry might have died in the duel at the end....

Assuming he even made it that far because the Manor sequence would also go very differently. The Malfoys (assuming any of them were even left alive by that point and Voldemort didn't just massacre the whole family) might not be able to conclusively identify Harry and co right away and might have thrown them into the cells they had while they decided what to do (giving them a chance to escape) but they also might have chanced it and called Voldemort. Voldemort would've killed Harry on sight...thus destroying the Horcrux in Harry and knocking both of them out for a moment. Then Harry of course comes back to life. This means he might've had a chance to surprise everyone and try to escape (if so there's still probably a lot more carnage and death and everyone probably doesn't make it out not to mention Harry also doesn't get Draco's wand) or he might just end up getting killed a second time.

Really brings home how Draco - and his devotion to Harry - is a key part of what enables Harry to win in book 7. Voldemort really was defeated by the power of drarry.

4. when he pleads to death eater but this time death eater kills him

Harry definitely still tries to save him and feels terrible guilt over not being fast enough. Also here Draco dies right in front of him and his body is just lying there right where Harry can see it. He probably is momentarily distracted until his friends remind him they have a mission. He never gets the image out of his mind though.

[helaenathequeenmaker]

House of the Dragon's treatment of Dreamfyre is making my blood boil in my veins. They started by claiming that the three eggs from which Daenerys's dragons will later be born are from Syrax; too bad that since reading F&B a rather popular theory has arisen in the fandom that those eggs are *drumroll* from Dreamfyre. It is indeed a theory, but there is a whole lot of sensible speculation behind it full of references and quotations while on Syrax there is no quotation that would lead to such a conclusion (except the words of that clown Ryan Condal LOL). As they fully demonstrated with Daemon's vision, they want at all costs to squeeze the character of Daenerys and attempt to make a retcon of the disastrous Game of Thrones finale, and they certainly have to put the dearest Rhaenyra (and of course her dragon) in the middle of it at all costs

And turning to her, I would really like to understand how she can state so obviously that “Helaena doesn't fly” and “she doesn't care”, having never spoken to Helaena half a time. In general I'm finding the whole characterisation of Helaena absolutely ridiculous, totally robbed of some interesting aspects present in F&B (such as the love for her of the smallfolk, her loving relationship with her children, her diplomatic skills and of course her dragon, Dreamfyre) that could easily have been expanded upon. All of this has been completely erased in order to provide us with a magical subplot (it's a pity that the Dance already features a character with prophetic abilities LOL) in which she is a dragon dreamer, but the only dreams she can interpret with disarming accuracy are those related to Aemond but not to the death of her son

Apparently in fact Helaena not only doesn't fly but hates it (!!!). So I wonder why she decided to bond with a dragon in the first place (her family regardless considers her weird, so LOL), and certainly not a little puppy. Dreamfyre is in fact the second oldest dragon after Vhagar, is therefore of considerable size and seems to have a rather short-tempered and fierce temper, as shown by the way she approaches Aemond in the first season. It therefore remains a mystery how the sweet little innocent Helaena (as they insist on portraying her) decided to claim Dreamfyre (but in general to own a dragon) and succeed in such a feat

In F&B Dreamfyre and Helaena share a rather strong bond, as the dragon senses the death of her rider and manages to break the chains that held her bound. Martin recently wrote that flying Dreamfyre is the greatest joy in Helaena's life (and I thank him infinitely for that); a joy that was robbed from her after B&C, a traumatic event after which Helaena was unable to take care of herself and her surviving children, to the point where she and her dragon posed no threat. In F&B it is repeatedly pointed out how Helaena's possible military involvement with Dreamfyre could have helped the Greens (especially after the Seeding and the taking of KL), but apparently here Helaena does not want to fight because she is aware of how it will all end

By now House of the Dragon has made so many changes that I wouldn't have minded seeing her go down in battle and avenge her son's death (the same for Rhaenyra of course), but apparently Helaena can't do anything meaningful outside the dreamlike sphere of her dreams. Even this supposed dissociation following Jaehaerys' death I do not find dealt with at all, as I find Helaena's behaviour exactly the same before and after this tragic bereavement. The way they characterised Helaena would feel more sorrow for the death of her insects than of her own son

[glitteringcrab]

Nip this in the bud (3)

Well, if the theory that Rick C-137 was the one who personally triggered Rick Prime to use the Omega Device on Dianes, and then went after Rick Prime again anyway, consciously risking to lose absolutely everything (and almost did lose absolutely everything) is true, then...

A) This phrase from the creators makes kiiinda more sense:

“There are parts of us that might cost us the things that we really want. There is an implicit choice there, where Evil Morty is giving Rick a decision where you can either stay here and beat the shit out of this guy until he’s dead, which is what you supposedly have always wanted, and while you’re doing that, that’s gonna be the reason why I’m walking away with the power to destroy everything you ever cared about.”

And I'm saying "kinda" because Eyepatch Morty (a) downloaded the weapon plans while Rick C-137 was busy being out cold and (b) actually stuck around long enough for Rick C-137 to finish killing Rick Prime so he could threaten him to his face. Exactly because he stuck around, it was theoretically possible for Rick C-137 to attack him right after finishing off Rick Prime... The two objectives were not mutually exclusive.

But here's the thing. Rick C-137 was already risking everything he ever cared about being destroyed when he decided to keep hunting Rick Prime even after Rick Prime killed all Dianes as retaliation to Rick C-137, specifically.

OF COURSE he would not care about the possibility of Evil Morty using the Omega Device to kill his loved ones when he was presented with Rick Prime on a plate. OF COURSE. He had already risked everything to achieve this moment, he would absolutely NOT back away now.

And Evil Morty knew this, because he figured out the Omega Device was used after he had downloaded Rick C-137's brain (otherwise he'd already know all about it).

He knew Rick C-137 would risk absolutely everything and prioritize getting revenge over keeping his family safe. So OF COURSE he would keep doing it while Evil Morty waltzed around with the weapon plans.

B) And, most importantly, RICK PRIME ALSO KNEW THIS.

He kneeeeeeeew there was exactly ZERO possibility Rick C-137 would give him even the tiniest chance of survival by prioritizing attacking Evil Morty instead of killing him.

Rick C-137 hated Rick Prime that much, and Rick Prime knew it. All parties involved knew it (except Morty Prime lol).

Which, on one hand, seemingly gives more credit to Rick Prime's "warning"...

...Because if Rick Prime knew there was zero chance his life would be prolonged for even one minute, and Rick C-137 knew Rick Prime knew that, then what does Rick Prime have to gain by giving him that warning?

Absolutely nothing...

Nothing except deliberately poisoning any seeds of trust that had been planted between Rick C-137 and Evil Morty, doing his best to ensure Rick C-137 would try to kill his eyepatched grandson sometime in the future, so that at least one, if not both of them, would die.

And for some reason I can't help but get the impression that Rick Prime mainly wanted Evil Morty dead, as punishment both for besting him and for daring to insult him:

Because although he did try to turn Rick C-137 against Eyepatch Morty, he never tried to turn Eyepatch Morty against Rick C-137.

He didn't say "oh, Rick C-137 will try to kill you for having these plans, like he tried to kill me" or anything of the sort. Although Eyepatch Morty is a child and therefore likely more impressionable...

He only said this:

(which I'm not sure how to interpret, but I'm leaning towards Rick Prime knowing having the Omega Device schematics would make Evil Morty a multi-dimensional target, knowing his "warning" would be ignored by the kid, and wanted to rub this in Evil Morty's face... Eh, I'm not sure.)

He let Evil Morty walk away, well, not unsuspecting, exactly (because it's impossible to have "unsuspecting" and "Evil Morty" in the same sentence lol) but unknowing, and therefore kinda more vulnerable, to the fact that he had encouraged Rick C-137's fear of Evil Morty becoming unhinged.

As far as Evil Morty knew, he had parted that battle using the Omega Device threat to (a) convince Rick C-137 to leave him alone and (b) use Rick C-137 like a slave, if he ever needed to.

Option (c), murdering Ricks out of spite, was not in Evil Morty's list of options (in fact he even said as much), but it is in Rick C-137's list of options.

As far as Evil Morty knows, he is now safe-ish from Rick C-137...

...but it might be that he is a bit less safe than he thinks.

(I may be overthinking this, because Evil Morty using the Omega Device for whatever reason is not that much of an extreme concept. It would have crossed all of our minds even without Rick Prime's warning... Although I'm sure that Evil Morty's explanation "using a weapon like this doesn't get you left alone" would have satisfied most of us. It's very much in character for him.)

C) Dan Harmon said that by letting Evil Morty get away with the Omega device, Rick "basically gave a leash that’s around his neck to someone that isn’t him, because he’s more invested consciously in the destruction of himself".

This means that Rick C-137 does, indeed, recognize there is a possibility of Evil Morty Omega Device-ing him for whatever reason (or at least mistreating him under the Omega Device threat), and doesn't care.

Which, I suppose, could also mean that Rick C-137 did believe Rick Prime's warning.

But it's less that he feels any sort of appreciation for Evil Morty saving his life (which makes me very very sad :c ) and more that he feels plenty of hate towards himself.

[sketchedspiders]

Hello! in your essay about how cotag is doomed yaoi (lol), you said Co-worker is deeply insecure and puts up a front? ig it would make doppleganger!co-worker more tragic but i wanted to hear more of your thoughts on that ^^

Dropping everything and rising from my depression bed to write this . Thank you anon i needed an opportunity to yap about Coworker because I love him

(Elevator Hitch spoilers and Coworker analysis undercut)

Lets start with his personality. Coworker, as we all know, is a flamboyant and overconfident character. He constantly brags about his position within the workplace, and always tries to one up Protag by taking credit for his ideas or trying to prove that he’s stronger than the other. This makes most see him as an obnoxious character— nothing else. Yet, there’s a reason as to why he acts this way.

People who act this way often are insecure themselves. They put up this front to not only give themselves a false sense of security, but also they want others to respect and praise them just as much. This is what Coworker goes through, and there’s multiple reasons that can prove this.

Despite the fact he’s not very helpful at all during the game, he still tries to initiate that he’s the more superior and capable one compared to Protag. He’ll take credit for Protag’s ideas, and when Protag does ask him for his help, he goes on to boast about himself even more. One example is when Protag tries to open the Elevator door, but isn’t able to by himself. He goes onto ask Coworker if he could try budging the door open with him, and he responds with this:

He mocks Protag, calling him weak. Yet when he’s unable to open the door himself, there’s a moment where he breaks.

Obviously, this was put in for shits and giggles, but it can say a lot about Coworker. He belittles others so he can feel better about himself, but once it’s shown that he’s not as great as he claims to be, he begins to break.

Let’s also talk about his position at the company for a moment. When you first enter floor 6, Coworker and Protag have this dialogue.

He insists that the reason he’s such a highly respected employee within the company is because of himself. However, it is revealed that his nepotism is the actual reason for his position.

Sure, he may talk about how he’s been at the company for ages, and he’s “the full time employee of the month”, but his efforts truly don’t matter when his nepotism is the only reason he’s stable within the company. This makes sense when you also take into account out of touch he is within the game. He hardly ever helps, and when he does, he’s never truly useful. Once he’s in a situation where his nepotism can’t help him, he’s worthless.

His items are also very important to him, much like how his title is something he cherishes and brags about the most. This may not seem very important in this analysis, but it’s something I wanna point out regardless. Coworker is never willing to give up any of his items, even if it would help them escape the elevator. He supposedly lies to Protag and says he doesn’t have anything on him when Protag asks, Coworker doesn’t give away his lighter nor his cigars willingly, and he adamantly refuses to throw his shoe into the “darkness”.

What do all of these items have in common? Well, they’re all expensive. Of course, nobody would want to give up items that cost them a fortune, but in Protag’s and Coworker’s situation it’s rather dire. Yet, he still refuses and lies, and that could be connected to how he uses materialism and his nepotism as a false sense of security.

Although, while Coworker is unhelpful, that doesn’t exactly mean he has zero clue of what’s happening around him. He may cover it up by acting clueless when Protag asks if he remembers any of the deaths that occurred, but that’s yet another example of him being fearful.

Even if Coworker remembering the deaths is just an implication or a theory, it would make a lot more sense for him to be distant from what occurs. It’s not because he is desensitized, but because he desperately wants to distract himself. For example, when he sees the sight of blood, he becomes stressed, and he wants to get out immediately.

When he has to face the reality of the workplace, along with his fears, he breaks. He’s no longer in his safe space now that he’s reminded of the graphic nature of the office. Coworker is insistent on leaving, or at least for Protag to investigate the floor by himself, because he can’t hide how disturbed he truly is for once.

Speaking of the doppelgängers in your ask, false Coworker is actually a BIG factor in this analysis, and it goes along with the last part. After you get the Stranger Danger ending, Coworker gives you this advice:

This is one of the rare times he helps, and this teaches you to go for false Coworker instead of false Protag. Meaning that Coworker KNOWS he’s easier to break, and that he’s way more desperate than Protag. That he’s “the weaker one”.

Then, once Protag tricks the doppelgängers, he says this with an uneasy expression:

He felt the desperation from false Coworker because of his insecurities that he hides with his narcissism. False Coworker is the personification of the side he masks with a hubristic personality. What makes this even worse too, is that Coworker would know this is inevitable if he remembers all the previous endings. You cannot proceed with the rest of the game if you keep going for false Protag. You NEED to go for false Coworker, because he’s the one with little power in reality, and is easy to fool out of the two. No matter what, Coworker has to acknowledge the unfortunate truth. That he’s weak, desperate, and fearful. He also says after this that Protag “would be a good fit for the company”, meaning he has witnessed people who are as weak as him get baited and suffer because of it.

This is why he puts up a front. If he lets his insecurities slip, then there’ll be consequences, and he can’t let that happen when he’s “the star employee”.

Also, I may be taking this way too seriously because this was definitely meant to just be a silly fun fact, but this info provided by Rachel is also important !!

Coming from someone who knows another person who has done this before— drinking on the job is used as an escape to get through the day. People who have a lot going on in their lives, who can’t even find an ounce of comfort within work, use alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism. This is yet again another example of Coworker using escapism to just survive at the office and detach himself from the day to day horrors he’s subjected to.

There’s probably more that I may discuss later, but for now these are the biggest things I could find.

Even if this is reaching, it is canon that Coworker is mentally ill. I’m unable to insert the image because I’ve reached the limit on mobile, but it was a shitpost drawn by Rachel saying Coworker is a “person who’s mentally ill as hell but comes off as well enough to be considered put together”. You can find it on the Elevator Hitch official contect channel in sigcord, or maybe on her tumblr. So!! I am right LMAFOKDNFM

But I digress, thank you all for reading another Elevator Hitch analysis (that’s more or less a dump of my thoughts) <3

Btw if there’s a typo or if a part doesn’t make sense be patient with me because I wrote a majority of this with a headache LOL

[monosanimegenericzone]

Hunter x Hunter: Chrollo speculation

oh shit its the earrings man himself

so i had this thought that i considered doing in my free time but then my free time evaporated and im confused where did my free time go.

anyway. i was going to make a list of all the abilities on the black whale 1 and how many of them could help in a fight against hisoka.

aka who chrollo could steal from.

(this is assuming chrollo is playing convert hands with heinrich and has gone to the upper levels)

2nd prince camilla's Cat's Name. this. this ability right now. should be chrollo's number one priority once he finds out. and camilla is an easy target. this is a one hit kill with hisoka. if he fuckin steals this ability and uses it, that is gg immediately.

9th prince Halkenburg's Possession Arrow. now you see. THAT. is a spicy meatball. if chrollo can hit the shot, that would be insane. however, depending on if being honest is a condition of using double face, then it will not work. bcs all hisoka has to do is dodge and chrollo dies. but if chrollo is fast enough he could probably hit it and it would only cost one of the remaining troupe members. itd be really fuckin funny if it was illumi though

4th prince tserreidnich's ability. we don't know what it is yet but since tserreidnich is so new to nen he could be a complete dumbass and fulfill chrollo's conditions no problem. though it would depend on how parallel future works if chrollo steals the ability in the altered future or if tserreidnich can even do anything to prevent it. or if parallel future is even his ability because there is a juicy theory out there that it's not.

AND! chrollo would only have to lie once. and that's an opportunity for a very cool scar >:3

hinrigh's Biohazard. this ability could be very useful. however, chrollo will likely never get this ability bcs hinrigh is busy at the moment u-u. that being said, having diversions in a fight against hisoka has proven to be very helpful. consider: grenade squirrels.

yokotani's Battle of Wits. if im not mistaken this is only able to be activated within a certain area of the ship. but it is supremely busted. indestructible objects that can 'remove' a target from the vicinity could be extremely strong. probably not the best against hisoka? bcs hisoka is very slippery and gummy. so if he can get hisoka into that base, it would be great for holding him in place.

those are ones i think that would be useful to chrollo in a fight. there are more in the black whale one but things like Benjamin Baton, Bloody Mary and fuckin. Body and Soul are borderline useless to him. (thats a lot of b names at once lol). Room would also be useless since it requires a set space and is a landmine type. he can't control hisoka that much.

some fun combos:

Biohazard and S&M

Battle of Wits and Indoor Fish.

Battle of Wits and Command Stamp

Cat's Name and S&M and Convert Hand (this one is tricky bcs it depends on how cat's name activates)

Battle of Wits and Possession Arrow

Convert Hands and Possession Arrow

this is a certified nen nerd post. i cant wait to see more.

this isn't covering the hunters and bodyguards bcs a) most of the op hunters are stuck in marayam's room. and b) they're all experienced nen users.

if the noob nen users start showing me hatsus i'll add them to the list.

[noyasaur]

Any tips to ignore anti-shifters? when im on tiktok, i always see anti-shifter comments and its annoying cuz it makes me feel like shifting isnt real. I always look past their comments but it doesnt really work. Do u have any tips?

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊

cw: harsh motivation.

helloo anon! i totally understand your situation and in the past, i was also the kind of person who struggled to deal with anti-shifters! commonly when i would come across them, i would let their demotivating comments and takes shake my beliefs and make me spiral. however, over the years, i have found some efficient ways to take care of them so here are my tips!

🪐 HOW TO DEAL WITH ANTI-SHIFTERS!

1 ) spot an anti-shifter? stop, block, and scroll ― if you know yourself, that at this moment, seeing anti-shifters and their comments shakes your beliefs and doesn't help with your belief on shifting, make attempts to avoid their content at all costs. if you know and can tell it's not going to be good for you, literally do NOT let yourself consume that kind of content and just block and scroll. it's better for you and your beliefs in the long-run. only consume and interact with content that'll make you feel good, not the opposite. don't let your curiosity get the best of you and if you see anti-shifters, don't even let yourself see or engage with that kind of content and then stop, block, and scroll.

2 ) strengthen your belief in shifting ― strengthening your belief in shifting and allowing yourself to validate your beliefs helps SOO much in the long-run, and makes it so external factors won't shake your beliefs. and strengthening your beliefs is quite easy to do, and can even be pretty fun! i was going to make a post on this soon and i've spoken about this in the past too. so, how to do this?

doubt analysis ― firstly, take some deep breaths in to clear your mind. have a moment of self-reflection and ask yourself: what doubts do i have about shifting? identify and figure out every doubt you can think of, and just keep them in mind. you can write them down visually or just hold them in your mind, whatever it is. find out what YOU doubt about shifting and why anti-shifters comments bother you so much. find the root cause ― so, you know what you have doubts about. now, why exactly do you have these doubts? where do these doubts stem from? research and find your answers ― now, you know what doubts you have about shifting and where they come from! so here's the part where YOU do your research and find answers for yourself. find and research answers about your questions you have, and especially find answers that make sense to YOU. reality shifting is a subjective experience, and everyone will believe and experience different things (mainly because of the law of assumption). so, it's important for you to find answers for yourself to fill in the gaps of your doubts, so when you're doubting, you can think to yourself: "wait a minute. i know the answer to this and i know this is real so WHY am i doubting? lol" for example, if you have doubts over whether reality shifting is real, then find out what reality shifting is and how it works, for YOU. go over the science behind it, any scientific theories and concepts that work in favour for reality shifting. go over the different theories of shifting and find one that works FOR YOU.

once you go over and literally debunk your doubts, it'll help you strengthen your belief in reality shifting because you found answers that work FOR YOU and now, you literally have no reason to doubt anymore because you literally just found answers for every unanswered question and doubt you had about shifting!

of course, there are some more things you can do of course, other than just researching and debunking. you could use the law of assumption and just affirm, affirm, and affirm over and over again in your beliefs of reality shifting. you could read the countless success stories that exist out there and people's experiences or even just think over reality shifting and how it works/how it's going to feel. and of course, you could just shift yourself. let me also remind you how important it is to seek internal validation, over external validation/motivation from shifting. reality shifting is a completely personal and internal thing, so it's better to try and build that belief and strengthen it over time, to gain internal validation from yourself.

3 ) stop letting random people dictate your reality ― this one is more of a reminder/rant rather than a tip, but as harsh as it sounds, are you really going to sit there and let people dictate your reality and tell you what's real and what's not real? are you really going to let people discourage you or dictate your beliefs? please realise that in your reality, YOU have the power here. stop consuming things that don't work in favour of your beliefs, and stop letting random people decide things for you. take charge and stand your ground. what if user13849 says reality shifting isn't real? okay! sucks for them, but that's not the case in your reality! please have faith and confidence in yourself and your beliefs! trust yourself; not some random shifttoker who has no idea what they're talking about over shifting. nobody has any power outside of yourself, to tell you and deem reality shifting as real, unless you take that information it and settle it as your reality.

and think about it: there was a time where people didn't believe lucid dreaming was real. some people still think astral projection is a load of bullshit. we all know we have consciousness too, but do scientists know everything about consciousness and what it is? of course not! but we know we all have consciousness. reality shifting is the same, and guarantee in a few years, people are going to slowly accept reality shifting more and more. the only reason that reality shifting gets a bad rep, is because people think it's something that was formed on tiktok by teenagers, so it isn't taken as seriously. meanwhile, reality shifting has been a thing ages before that and many people years before have been doing it (e.g. quantum jumping, persistent realms, etc.)

some people aren't just going to believe in reality shifting, and that's okay. however, we can't let those people dictate our beliefs in reality shifting. we have to reach a point where we can understand this and stop letting these people hold us back.

anyways, i completely understand where you're coming from and nti-shifters can be very annoying and difficult to deal with sometimes. however, they are not the ones dictating over whether reality shifting is real or not. don't let yourself fall into the trap and let yourself trust a random shifttoker over yourself. avoid anti-shifters the minute you see a sign of one, strengthen your belief in shifting internally so your beliefs won't get shaken by external factors, and again: don't let random people on shifttok tell you what shifting is and isn't. find these answers out for yourself and try not to consume things that aren't going to be good for your beliefs! especially, when you realise that these anti-shifters have no idea what they're talking about 😭

and then, you'll reach a stage where whenever you see an anti-shifter, you can just sit back, and have a good laugh. how good does that sound?

i hope my advice was able to help you and good luck on your shifting journey! you got this!!!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

- saturn ♡

[thequeenofthestorm]

The Elden Ring Strategy Spectrum

Ok, so I was thinking about Elden Ring's gameplay. A lot of gameplay in Elden Ring tends to be about posture breaks, yes? But that doesn't seem entirely the case. Sure, a lot of Elden Ring's combat flow is about fast paced melee where you're trying to chunk down the boss's poise for a devastating counterattack, but how much does that actually apply? Well, although I've not played with every single weapon type, I believe that for most playstyles (aside from obvious ones such as tanking) the way to best utilize them could be visualized on a spectrum. I've jokingly thought of it as DS3 to Sekiro, although that's not exactly the case.

Ok, so what do I mean by this spectrum? The gist of it is that one end of the spectrum is sneaking in R1s or R2s mid-combo to poke bosses for lower, albeit faster damage. This can be to build status, potentially whittle down a poise break, or because you're playing RL1 and can't afford to play a riskier playstyle. Without knowing every boss moveset by heart, I'd say that this is the safer, albeit less rewarding side. The other side is about finding breaks in combo chains to get the largest counterattack possible, usually to chunk poise. A jumping R2 here, an L2 there, it's all about the punish windows. These strategies are both similar, but one tends to require more experimentation to find perfect punish windows, but for larger rewards.

My theory is that basically every attack in this game can be spread across this rough spectrum. For example, a dagger's R1 would be all the way on the fast side, whereas a colossal's charged R2, a lot of skills, etc. would be on the slow side. This is how I tend to envision my moveset in my head, and is how I'll (either consciously or subconsciously) go about my strategy. Let's take the Bolt of Granssax for example. Its standard R1 would be somewhat on the fast side, maybe about a third to half of the way out from the center (just for visualization sake). Its standard R2 would be somewhere in the middle, whereas the charged R2 would go likely just about halfway to the slow side. Its skill (both charged and uncharged) has roughly the same speeds as the uncharged and charged R2 respectively, so they'd go there. This can be a nice way to help visualize how your moveset can be set utilized, and how you should go about using this weapon to its fullest potential. Now, ranged attacks can muddy this a little, although as evident with what I said involving the BoG's skill, I still think it applies enough for this to be utilized: you just get more opportunities on both sides for a drawback: whether that be lower damage, FP costs, resource management, etc.

This was just a weird thought I wanted to get out on the internet while I was thinking about it today, so apologies for the random rambling lol. For anyone watching my channel, I'm still going to try for one more MTE stream before the video, and Fireball Spammer should be next week. Thanks for reading all of this lol

[rontra]

I have a question about CTDE zatanna's backstory. How do you interpret the medulla jewel? I mean both the impact it has on her story and powers. Also does the hidden city play a big role or not really?

zatanna nation alive and well in my inbox today... welcome... and you're activating my CTDE Ramble Mode 😭 here we go again (puts in a readmore) but thank you for asking!

god the fucking medulla jewel. i mean the thing is.

i MEAN. the THING is.

even DC didn't really seem to know how to interpret that thing. it's shown up like twice or whatever Back In The Day and it was all quite vague and then they stopped talking about it forever. so it never really crossed my mind as something i should factor in to be honest 😭 but now that it's been brought up i'm considering if it might be useful in some way...

well, CTDE Zee's power level has always been primarily a result of her immense experience (never ask a magician her age), which is plenty sufficient for my general purposes. her long training, lived experience, and intricate know-how are the main vehicle, wrapped around an engine of her raw magical power. taking the medulla jewel as a type of magical power source (as presented), it might serve as a means to support the immense pool of resources at her disposal...

primarily i would hate for it to be the Sole Culprit behind her strength since there are Other Reasons she's like this (lol) but i think it could definitely be a Factor (and help explain the truly Zany stunts Arc 3 demands of her, which are so immense they almost kill her lmao)

...i suppose there's a few ways to conceptualize it for my purposes without sundering the 'verse like for example

the jewel is an "innate source of magic" that actively supplies her with a constant flow of power

the jewel is a "battery" that passively stores excess power to be used whenever needed

the jewel is a "philosopher's stone" that transmutes base magic into effective spells directly, circumventing traditional casting methods/costs (essentially, casting for free)

the jewel is a "lens" that focuses magic and gives spells a buff to concentrated power, like a magnifying glass under the sun

something else or a combination

for my purposes and the role she plays in the AU, a combination of #2 and #3 feels more compelling to me than something like #1. Since the CTDE is running "magic always has a cost" rules, a big thing about zee's bad vibe is her non-committal relationship with actually paying—if the medulla jewel provides an innate "bank" of some magical resource, which she can choose to "trade" with the universe in order to immediately cast For Free, that suits her type just fine. her coin on a string for the vending machine of magic, if you will

but it should have a theoretical limit, so making it a "battery pool" that runs low Eventually and needs to recharge (by skimming magic off the world around her) is OK. how to manage her bank of resources—whether to do regular safe invocation or cosmic trickery or just cast from her cheater freebie pool—should be (at least in theory) a choice she makes when bending the universe around her

(her level is so immense that in like 99% of cases she could just freecast without thinking about it) (but the 1% of spells that she needs to Actually Think About is what we're concerned with preserving, so that's still okay)

if she has that funny thing built-in, she probably spent a lot of her training time refining and practicing how to use it and how magic interacts with it. which means she would probably have to Know About All Of That beforehand. which brings us back to the Hidden City Sindella Lore huh.

well when it comes to her parents and stuff, CTDE Zee does play the same general tune--so it's possible some variation of Sindella's Fun Battery Pack plot did happen. this part of the CTDE backstory i havent really delved into bc it hasn't been relevant/important to the main plot of the AU but honestly.... maybe it would be fun to tinker with those components and assemble something

if a variant version of that did happen and sindella was being used to power the hidden city's hidden city-ing, zee would know enough to refine her own Working Relationship with the Magic Brainstone. but also i did Simply Assume and mark sindella as "dead" in my chart earlier, so it probably didn't end much better for herBHJDJMKS

ahhh... we hardly knew ye...

if a version of that stuff happened its probably backstory/not SUPER foreground to her present-time CTDE storyline . since she has some other major shit going on nowadays . but it mightve still been a pretty important part of the backstory...hmm....

it might even prove useful for me down the road, in plotting some of the foggy areas, maybe? i could probably use a hidden city or two, they're convenient to have aroundHDHJBFD

(imagining fondly) the peak Evil Motherhood Theme moment of the CTDE will be when zee takes everyone back to the hidden city and is like Yeah so they sucked my mom DRY here and NOT in a good way. she Died! & theyre all like "ohhh. this is why youre like this"

haha no idk..hm... it's compelling. i'll have to think of a way to use it. if nothing else youve given me something to think about.... in my zee cave...

[waitmyturtles]

Geeeeez -- whoa. Did that ever take some twists and turns. I Feel You Linger in the Air, episode 9: I don't think this can be meta, since I'm still sorting through my thoughts, but I'll try.

I mean, I'm shook by the end, and I don't want to jump here, but I think I have to: Jom realizes that his fate follows him. Is this a Buddhist reincarnation analogy? His lovers leave him to enter traditional/heteronormative relationships, both of them out of obligation and not out of want (or at least, that's how I'm reading Ohm's decision at the start of the series).

And so: Jom strolls onto the scene during the engagement celebration to fuck a lil' shit up? Damn. As @shortpplfedup said to me in post-ep discussion: in that moment, as Jom interrupts the dinner, are we seeing Jom realizing that he has "nothing to lose"?

Jom learns through Ming that Eaeung Phueng was caught having an affair with Maey. Fong Kaew then comes to ask for help in saving Maey. And then Jom learns that Yai will be engaged.

Jom is putting two and two together: this is a family in which the parents are starving their children of the real affection that their children desire. BOTH OF THEIR KIDS. Both of their kids are gay. BOTH OF THEIR KIDS are potential embarrassments. Their parents will NOT let their kids lead the lives they want. As much as Yai will talk to his father about the life that YAI wants to lead: his father's power will always win out, and his mother WILL go along with what his father says. This is not a family that will allow the heteronormative paradigm to change. And we are reminded, constantly, that Yai's father's career very much hinges on his children following a literally straight path.

(Let me just fucking say that rewatching Bad Buddy right now is NOT HELPING MY FEELINGS towards BAD ASIAN PARENTS at this moment, lol help me.)

Anyway, I thought an interesting parallel to all of this was Pat's shooter's James's encounter with Robert (uhhhh, wtf James, just strolling into the servants' holding area, huh? I was like, what are YOU doing here, lol.) James sits Robert down to tell him: homeboy, you gotta focus on work. And Robert's like, nah dude, too much shit's going down at home. And James is like, bruv, what do you care more about? You are going to let your work go, and let your reputation go, because you're not concentrating enough on your job? Don't mess this shit up because of the house stuff.

I am absolutely, 100% like this sideeye (-_-) re: James -- I question his motives, because we have no idea what his priorities are, and Robert says as much.

But it's interesting that we got this parallel -- one side from within Yai's family, and another side from two foreigners, both saying that family life can be enough of a distraction to take down careers. This threat transcends Thai culture, as James's and Robert's backgrounds indicate. And that the struggle that these entities have is in making REALLY SURE that the family lives are as calm and copacetic as possible so as to NOT risk the careers of anyone involved.

Saving face, anyone? The effort to save face in these instances could VERY well cost a life or lives, and I think we know that Jom knows that as he begins to embark on his risky show at the end of the episode.

He may be trying to leverage his modern perspective on LGBTQ+ equality, because -- he sees his own fate repeating itself from past to present, and vice versa. If we take the Buddhist analogy further: is this a change he needs to make in a past (or future?) life in order to stop the cycle of repeating fates in his lives?

It might be. I don't know. We could call it a clown theory, but director Tee Bundit has referred to "dimensions" in the IFYLITA behind-the-scenes videos, so I'm really not sure. But we can safely assume that Buddhist practices infuse this show (remember the encounter with the side-eye monk in the last episode), so... reincarnation is a directional possibility.

All of this to be said. As Jom's fate repeats itself, I'll also note that certain Asian cultural practices like saving face also repeat themselves (...... can't believe I'm infusing almost all of my writing with Bad Buddy these days, but alas -- Bad Buddy shows that saving face in Asian societies is well and thriving in our modern times).

And maybe this is a theme of IFYLITA -- repetition. Of Jom's fate, yes. Of saving face, yes. Of prioritizing work and reputation over a family's happiness, yes. Traditions and behaviors that get inherited and passed down through families and societies, generation after generation.

And Jom arrives on the scene to change the paradigm. We don't know what risks he and/or Yai (AND EP, AND Maey) will face, but he's about to change some shit, and we'll see what that fall-out will look like.

[lol-jackles]

https://x.com/NataRomanovaBW/status/1800415674688553408

You have fans!! lol. The whole above thread right til she calls you crazy here:

https://x.com/NataRomanovaBW/status/1800428808186872271

I guess they are ignoring that originally (on production sites) it was listed as filming April 8, 2024 - August 22, 2024.

Do they think you pulled those dates out of your ass? I literally have a screenshot with the working title and everything lol. Just because THEY aren't informed, doesn't mean we aren't.

And they did push back GenV filming (only slightly) after Chance's death so it's possible TB got pushed back as well, but they were originally scheduled to film pretty much concurrently - probably so they can have crossovers, tie together storylines, etc. while they have ALL the cast in one location for shooting vs filming them at different times and calling back cast to film cameos. So more than likely even if TB filming got pushed back as well, they are still probably back right now. These people forget exactly how tightlipped TB filming is (and no, I don't mean no phones on set, they very very clearly have phones on set) and they aren't even really allowed to straight up say they are working on the show or show things from the show.

The huge thing they are ignoring is that maybe the reason Karl is filming something different is because he either isn't in s5 or is in s5 in a limited capacity. His new movie is an Amazon production as well, so they obviously allowed him to do it and the schedules are clearly ok with them.

Of course these are the same people who think SB/Jensen is the star of TB with a whole 12 minutes screentime and now an unconscious cameo in s4!

Link and Link. Everything you say is likely true, regarding why the casts are told to be quiet since their presence (or lack of it) in season 5 could be major spoilers for season 4 when it premiers in 2 days and it's finale on July 18.

Some fans will stalk sets to see if particular actors are seen on set, which will give them clues if the actors' characters live or not in upcoming episodes. Some studios attempt to circumvent these fans by having actors show up on sets as decoys when their characters are actually not in the episode. Games of Thrones were known to apply this tactic, but it's often not used because it cost money to hire and transport decoys.

Anyways, I just posted The Boys S5 film schedule from ProductionList to help AAs stop giving themselves funny aneurysm. AAs and hellers work in organized groups that function like a call-center set up to manipulate the conversation by inundating forums and social media with conspiracy theories that are conveniently not based on fact but feelings.  Perfect for cult leaders like Goob, so he just slid right in as “one of them” and manipulate the conversation with even bigger and wilder conspiracy theories. When even AAs/hellers were doubting Goob's words, he says they’re too dumb to understand what he writes, especially when his writings contradict himself.  So he writes even bigger and wilder conspiracy theories.

Remember kids, your vibe attracts your tribe. There is a very good reason why you never/rarely see such psychotic behavior from Jared's fans.

[transmutationisms]

also I am not trying to convince the other side to mask, I am trying to convince other leftists to do any kind of pandemic advocacy, but I've largely been met with resistance and pandemic denialism, and I may be wrong but I can't help but attribute it to guilt surrounding a refusal to even consider any kind of accommodations for disabled people in their spaces, covid or otherwise. this usually comes in the form of masking, ventilation, and/or remote options. I understand it's not feasible to Always have accommodations but it feels like people could at least consider it, and that frustration often does come out in the form of "why can't you just do the bare minimum that costs nothing and mask for a half hour". that's not perfect optics, I admit, but it is exhausting to have to be looking for the correct combination of words to tell someone who claims to be an ally to get them to not immediately shut me out. perhaps your point is that all of that is wasted effort, anyway, and maybe that does count as "the other side" in this case

hey, i really do sympathise with your frustration here. like i said: i <3 masks. i <3 other pandemic interventions. and i agree that a lot of resistance to these things comes down to ableism, whether overt (actively exterminatory mindsets toward disabled people) or more 'subtle' (just not giving a fuck). my point was just that i have observed a tendency, including among those nominally on the left, to shift any conversation about pandemic safety to technical interventions that they believe obviate the need for political action, and that among a certain subset of those who do take covid seriously, masks can sometimes serve this rhetorical function. if that's not you then great. again i repeat that the point here is not to reduce mask usage but the opposite. in fact i would say pushing for accommodations to be offered as a matter of course and not a 'special exception' is exactly the sort of political action that the technical-intervention crowd doesn't want to think about or deal with, because that points to a way in which masks (although great) do not 100% solve a social and political issue (the fact that large groups of people gathering together in person is inherently inaccessible for some people and always will be). like, this is precisely the sort of larger political issue i'm pointing to—capitalist valuation of disabled people, social designs that are exclusionary, and the way that the covid pandemic ought to be prompting us to think, "hey, even if we masked up and got vaccinated and dealt with This specific illness, don't we also have ongoing issues with eg accessibility as a result of living in a society designed around capitalist notions of productivity rather than the social responsibility we all have toward one another?"

in a more narrow conversation about public health communication strategies i would maybe say that assuming a guilty conscience on the part of your interlocutors is understandable but probably not helping you much (i'm not accusing you of something here. i would also not communicate to the public in the exact manner i do on this tumblr blog lol) and, although this is not my complete or definitive account of pandemic denialism, i do think a certain amount of it is fuelled by the sort of techno-optimism i'm talking about: the belief that we just need to get the right medical-technology intervention, and then that obviates our need to change our behaviour in any meaningful way. among those who are resistant to masks, often the vaccine is the technology of choice here, but this attitude is (i think) somewhat malleable in terms of what actual technical intervention it invokes. again: not a comprehensive theory of pandemic denialism but i do think this is part of the puzzle and is happily encouraged by a lot of mainstream news coverage & general attitudes toward science and technology as quasi-magical Forces For Good that will simply Solve Society (at its most concentrated this is simply technocracy). my position is that we need to be watchful for this sort of attitude, and resist it, whilst also using and encouraging those technical interventions that are useful for public health (masks, vaccines, ventilation, &c) or other reasons.