#i wish i could see her suffer the consequences of her choices

[stonersolana]

i hope she burns. i hope she suffers the fate she placed herself in the way of. i hope she learns what true, genuine suffering is and i hope it eats away at her until there's nothing left. i hope she learns what it's like to be truly alone. i hope she learns what real, lasting pain is.

i hope that lying manipulative gaslighting piece of shit feels everything she put me through and i hope it breaks her. i have no compassion for someone who manipulated and gaslighted me for (5)years only to say the most ableist shit and claim that she feels no guilt for what she did to me and that her shitty boyfriend is a harmless angel(yeah, tell that to the hole in the wall he punched). she can make herself look like a victim, she's a spectacular liar, but that won't ever change the truth.

what a sick, disgusting, cowardly, ignorant and immature bitch.

[powerpuffobsession]

The whole Eden Lucifer-Adam-Lilith-Eve situation is kinda creepy. I see serious groomer undertones in it, given the difference in Lucifer's and humans' life experience (and to extent, maturity) at the moment

Imagine that you are an adult experienced angel who is present during the making of Eden and the birth of first humans. You also apparently want a wife. And to be a part in creation of Eden. What do you do? Find some female angel to marry and live your life with? Find an actually helpful way of working alongside elder angels?

Nope, instead you meddle with the lives of newborn and inexperienced humans in the most destructive way possible.

You could have helped them sort out their disagreements and actually taught them proper ways to behave. But you don't. You groom the naive female human into trusting you and then you encourage her cheating on the male human, causing trauma and insecurities to corrupt his personality in his first few years of living (the most influential in shaping a person's mentality). Thus you become partly responsible for the vengeful monster he will become in the future

More than that, you take away the female human's chance to live safely in paradise or on earth. Because of aiding you in your not-so-well-thought-out-plan (she didnt have any other choice, you and the male human were the only company she had), she is doomed to be allowed to only live in hell the rest of her life. And you knew that no one in heaven was going to give her the benefit of the doubt

As icing on the cake, you don't stop just on grooming and encouraging cheating, you don't leave the male human alone after you've already did him dirty and abandoned him... you come back and corrupt his new wife for some unclear reason (because your "whimsical" ideas of how you'd do a project elder angels know better how to carry out, are never even elaborated upon).

As a result, you doom not only these three babies in adult bodies but also the entire humanity to a terrifying life of fighting sinful outbursts, suffering, surviving, dying and risking ending up in hell where they'll be suffering for an eternity

I'm not sure if writers will ever hold Lucifer accountable for all this in a proper way. Probably not. But thinking about how much he fucked over first three humans makes me wish more depression on him

At this point, Lilith leaving Lucifer is not surprising. Imagine if after maturing and gaining life experience (and already giving birth to Charlie) she realized how her husband was practically using her. That could be why she left after doing her job of raising Charlie until she became an adult that can survive on her own

(I mean, it could be true if hazbin hotel was good at having the characters live through consequences of their actions and not just making Adam a scapegoat who is supposedly like Stella v 2.0 - evil ever since he was born and already inventing patriarchy with his very first breath. Like, all humans are selfish jerks when they are newborn - that's what parenting is for, shaping something more pleasant out of all that selfishness) (notice how the writing only focuses on how Adam was "bad" back in Eden)

(That also gives me a reason to judge angels in general - just a few narrative details really show how little they cared about the first humans' wellbeing and future. It's their fault too that Lilith ended up in hell and had to make some sort of deal to get a chance to visit her home/ Adam became an immature mentally unstable murderer/ and Eve... dunno, we haven't seen her yet)

[bestworstcase]

rolls over

yeah yeah, the ruby-salem grief weapon parallel, we've all seen it

salem offers up the staff as a votive to the god of darkness after telling him of her story and what she hopes to receive in return. he deems this a fair bargain and grants her wish; salem drops the staff at his feet and rushes to ozma's side. do ut des. this is an act of prayer, of worship. salem knows what she's doing—she's pious—and does everything correctly.

(including making an offering of something she must have put some serious thought into: she gives the god of grimm her most precious possession and a token of her suffering.)

and what she asks for in return is ozma's life. the staff was precious to her only in ozma's absence, because it represented her lost love. had the god of darkness answered no, salem would still be obliged to leave the staff in his domain—just as she left light his flowers, you don't take back an offering if the god's answer is not to your liking—and to part with it and walk away empty-handed would have been devastating. but the moment she sees ozma again, the staff means nothing; she lets it fall from her grasp without a thought.

she chose to make herself vulnerable to that pain, offering darkness her own heart as a fair sacrifice for the mere possibility of ozma getting to live. and he tells her to rise and see her faith rewarded.

<- faith.

ruby is in pain. ruby is grieving and boiling in guilt because penny died again and ruby could do nothing to save her again. the sword is all she has left of one of her best friends. and then she offers it up to the toy soldiers—who have come to take them to the red castle—in exchange for, er… being taken to the prince's birthday celebration so that she can present the sword as a gift.

why?

"look, we may not know exactly what's going on, but for whatever reason, this place is putting us on a similar path as a book we all read as kids. i say we follow it—and stop pretending we know what we're doing."

the consequence of this choice of course is that any emotional or spiritual significance this offering might have had is elided by the toy soldiers' grift and the red prince is a child who throws the sword away in a fit of pique: "how could you!?" ruby whispers, before swallowing that pain and stunting around in a scramble to keep the story on the "right" path.

<- fate.

rolls over again.

salem had faith. ozpin believes in fate.

faith is—asking. trying. communion with something greater than oneself. but to believe in fate is to believe in a single narrow path which must be followed no matter the cost because…because.

this is what "look how you've diminished" is about. how you've lessened yourself—and for what? ruby tears out her own heart in a futile effort to appease a spoiled child who kicks it away out of utter indifference—and for what? because the story said so. because she's afraid. because she doesn't know what else to do. she's lost her faith.

[ellievickstar]

Nobody’s Choice

A/N: I am so sorry I ended part 2 in a cliffhanger…it was cruel…and…rude. I hope that this beautiful fic will…make up for my…wrong doings <3

Summary: When then mating bond finally snaps into place, what are you meant to do when you realise your mate has another in his heart, will you break it off to save yourself, or will your mate be able to save this heartbreak?

Request: N/A but highly anticipated.

Pairing: Azriel x Witch!Reader

Warnings: breaking of mating bond, talking to ancestors, major angst, cliffhanger, self-doubt.

My Masterlists & Rules

Part 1 — His Second Choice? // Part 2 — Your Choice.

~*~*~*~*~

"Azriel...I-" But something made you pause. You knew there was no way Azriel could be with you forever. You had seen the lingering glances he had given Elain. You couldn't deny that they shared a connection that you both didn't have...not anymore. However, Azriel was also a male of honour. If you wished it, he would never see Elain again, but how could you do that to him. He will eventually resent you for it, maybe not of his own accord, but with time. You couldn't rip away his will, but you couldn't give him what he wanted in this moment right now. Eventually he would realise that though you were mates, his heart belonged else where.

You looked down at the male again. And as you weighed your options carefully, you knew what you had to say, what you needed him to believe.

"Okay," You plastered a smile on your face, and in a split second you let a piece of happiness in all this sorrow slip down the bridge of the bond and slam into his side. It was enough for him to beam up at you, to sweep you into his arms as he celebrated. If only he knew that inside, you couldn't enjoy this moment with him. He thanked you, his eyes bright, and without a word he instructed you to get ready quickly, because he wanted to give you the best night you had ever experienced. Nodding, you shooed him away.

As soon as he was out of your sight, gone to prepare what he planned, you fell to you knees. Maybe, you could lie to yourself, but the second you awoke you could feel that spark of desire from his side of the bond, maybe it was so small that even he didn't know it was there, but it only takes so much for a spark to become a flame and a flame to become wildfire.

You had to let go of him, you had to break it. Break this damn bond that shackled you to him, break it, and return home. Ever since the war you itched to return to your own people, but stayed in Velaris because you had hoped that Azriel would choose you. It was naive and a ridiculous notion.

You remembered what you had said to your ancestor. You remembered her eyes when you asked that question. How do you break the bond? She had looked at you, sad and sombre. You knew you weren't the first witch to be soulmates with a Fae, and you wouldn't be the last to break the bridge between two souls.

You closed you eyes and with a wave of your hand, who you summoned, appeared. You opened your eyes and came face to face with none other then the suriel. It bent down to meet your eyes, and as you stood tall, folding your hands in front of you skirts, its eyes widened in recognition. "Princess-" "Queen. My mother died. But you already knew that," The Suriel was silent but nodded it's head, waiting for orders.

"I need you to tell me how to break a mating bond," Hearing that, The Suriel paused. It didn't want to tell you, after all, The Suriels prioritised their friend's wellbeing first. You had become friends with The Suriel species when you were eight, they were your friends along side you, and they were very protective. However, this was a question that you needed the answer to.

"A ritual, you can find it in your mother's library, but be careful little one, many have suffered dire consequences," The ominous warning sent chills down your spine, and you nodded. You weaved anew cloak from thin air and handed it to The Suriel, before it bowed and left. You sensed there was worry in its eyes, however, you couldn't care enough. You needed to do this.

With a wave of a hand and a flash of light, you looked around as your surroundings melted away and became something else entirely.

Home.

~*~*~*~*~

The walls were the same. So was the lighting. But the bookshelves were dusty, the table worn and on the verge of breaking, what once full of life, was now abandoned. Before the first war you had lived here, but after your people had abandoned this place, the knowledge with it. And now you needed one piece of information in the whole library.

As you scanned the endless stacks of scrolls and books upon books, stuffed onto shelves that looked like they were going to collapse under the weight of the books, you realised that you should have asked The Suriel specifically which book you needed to get. It would take forever to go through your mother's private library.

Cracking your knuckles and gritting your teeth, you approached the first shelf. This would take a while. But, it would be worth it.

The first hour went by with no luck.

The second hour you felt Azriel reach down the bond, you gently told him that you had plans and couldn't join him.

The third hour you finally found it.

"Oh for wickedness sake, it was here the whole time!?" You hissed as you realised that the spell you were looking for...was in your mother's old diary. Of course. You should have looked there first. Part of you wanted to throw the damn book across the room with how much time it took to find it. However, you calmed yourself. Now all you needed to do is get your hands on some damn salt...and a knife.

You conducted a few practice rituals to ensure that your magic was ready for the advanced spells, the sky had already darkened by the time you were ready to journey home. The journey back home was, tiring, after a full day of searching and rituals, you weren't exactly primed for spell-casting, especially not transportation spells. Then again, if you didn’t return, the night court would suspect you. So you prepared yourself for the exhaustion that would hit you the second you arrived.

But nothing would have prepared you for what greeted you the second you arrived.

Rhysand and Cassian were there…waiting. Their eyes were fuelled with anger as they stepped towards you.

“Where have you been?” Rhys demanded. Cassian stayed silent as his gaze stayed on you, surveying you for possible injuries. You fidgeted as you tried to take a stp back but you were stopped by two people behind you. Mor and Nesta.

“I was just…running errands.” “Don’t lie to me,” Rhys snapped. Your eyes shuttered. You looked down and cursed as tears began to stream down your face uncontrollably. Everything you had been keeping inside came down in waves, one after another.

Gentle hands guided you to sit as your friends surrounded you. “You can finally take control of all this, why do you hurt yourself?” Rhys prompted. You shook your head. No. There was no control in this situation. “I don’t want control, I want to let go,” You choked out, crying into the front of Mor’s dress. Nesta pulled back your hair and brushed through it, the action soothing your slightly. Rhys swore as he realised how miserable you truly were. Cassian was furious.

“I’m gonna kill Azriel,” He mumbled, but you stopped him. “No! It’s not his fault…besides, not all mates are meant to be,” You didn’t know whether you were convincing them or yourself. You only knew that you couldn’t tell them your plan. You were so…tired…

“I’m just gonna go to bed…can we do this tomorrow?” You asked. They all exchanged looks, but eventually, you were helped to your room, and it wasn’t long before you finally fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~

“You are a child…remember…you are the descendent of the greatest kind in all on Prythian…you are their queen,” You looked away from your ancestor as you kneeled before her. “My heart tells me to stay, my head tells me to break it,” The Queen smiled as she looked down at you. It was a kind smile. Like no other, it was pure, and genuine and something in you warmed at that familial love that you missed so much. “And what of your gut?” You went silent as you looked down.

“I’m not sure…” You fidgeted again. “You know the consequences of breaking the bond, yes?” You nodded. Most witches died because of the absolute pain they went through. The only witches who could survive were those of the strongest blood. Azriel would feel the unbearable pain too but his chances of dying were slim as he was mated to a witch not a fae.

“What about your mate?” You asked her. Her face fell as her eyes seemed to flicker to hurt, sorrow. “He was a faerie…like yours…but different. He had beautiful red hair that fell to his shoulders and he could manipulate flame. I loved him…it was us against the world,” Tears seemed to fill her eyes. “We fought to be together and eventually, we were. I thought we were happy, I had four beautiful children, one was a true witch while two were fae and witch, the last on was a fae. It was two girls and two boys. We were a family..” She closed her eyes, a stray tear falling down her face.

“On day I came home early from the market with the children…and there he was. With his mistress. The fae female that his father had wanted him to marry when we first got together,” Her tone was bitter and your heart broke for your ancestor. “I left him…never heard from him again. But I do know that he ended up marrying that whore and having their own children.” She seemed to straighten. “I don’t believe that all fae males are that way…but you must understand. Just because he is you mate. Does not mean his heart will stay with you. Because we are not like them, we are witches, and for millenia we have been hunted and hated,” You nodded your understanding.

You had to remember. A comet could become a meteor. A candle could become a blaze. A male can be a monster. But when, does a ripple become a tidal wave? when does the reason become the blame? does a male become a monster?

She waved to you, dismissal as your vision of you surroundings began to darken. You were ready.

~*~*~*~*~

Dragging yourself out of bed at 3 in the morning was far from easy. But you needed to sneak out before anyone else was awake. You listened carefully to the house around you, keeping an ear open for footsteps or careful calculated breathing instead of the shallow breaths of deep sleep.

You were in the clear.

Silently, you waved a hand in the air as you summoned the portal to your home realm. It was time for you to finally...finally execute this plan. Humming, you smiled as you realised you'd finally be free. Yet something weighed down something made you want of pause and think of what could be. But as you looked into your memories, those thoughts, his heart, tears filled your eyes and you looked at your palms.

You didn’t understand. Was she prettier then you? Was it because she liked flowers not books, liked gentleness more then confidence? Was it because she was brighter? Softer on the inside? Or was it because she was still naive to the darkness of the world?

Why?

Why would the cauldron give you a mate that loved another?

That you did not know. But you sure as hell would do something about it. You drag your ass out of this bed and perform that damned spell, you would break this cursed bond then you would go home. To the people you hid so long ago. And you would rule with compassion and love. You would find peace in this chaos, find light in this dark.

A wave of your hand, an inhale and exhale. You closed your eyes for a second as you felt your surroundings shift and change, you held the book that you had grabbed tight to your chest and as you pealed you eyes open you knew exactly where you were.

The library might have restricted people from winnowing in, but faeries didn’t know how to ward of witch spells. You sifted through the pages, carefully, afraid that the book would fall apart in your hands, terrified that if you even blinked your plan would disintegrate before your very eyes.

You had to finish this.

A bag materialised from the air as you pulled out bright red sand. It was unique to your kind, specially made for rituels. This was no ordinary coloured sand. To your knowledge, specially taught witched had bathed this sand in powerful spell potions, they could be manipulated to follow any shape, as long as it was right. The sand would be able to activate the ritual, to break the bond.

You smiled as you reminisced over the lessons that you had learnt such information from, when your mother was still alive to chase you around the palace if just to make you sit down and listen for five minutes. Now, you would give anything to sit with her, to listen to her careful warnings, the soft lilt of her voice, or the firmness she held as she tried to dissuade you from doing anything mischievous. But that was a long time ago, and…she was long gone.

Your heart cracked.

You blinked back more tears as you finished pouring the last line of the symbol. It was a large circle that had symbols tracing the inside, slowly spiralling to the middle. It was very old language that loosely translated to ‘breaking mates’.

Taking a deep breath, you stepped in and as you dropped a strand of Azriel’s hair in the centre, one that you had picked up from his brush, light flashed. It was bright and it was hot, you flinched closing your eyes.

And screamed.

~*~*~*~*~

It was unbearable, the pain. It was endless, it was torture, it was everything and nothing all at the same time. You screamed louder, screamed even as your throat was dry and hurt like hell. You screamed as the pain seemed to stab you over and over again. Screamed as you fell to your knees, barely being able to handle the torture that was punishment for breaking a fated bond.

Azriel’s POV

My eyes flew open as pain began to grew in my chest. It burnt, burnt like the fire that had lit my hands up all those years ago, it speared my soul and I watched in horror as a thread seemed to be materialising from my chest, it was going somewhere.

I barely managed to stand as I stumbled through the door, hand gripping onto that thread, some part of me knew, something was wrong with Y/N.

I made it to Cassian’s room, pounding on the door even as the pain seemed to rip me apart. He opened the door after a few minutes, his eyes heavy from sleep, and I saw Nesta behind him, annoyed. But as they saw me in my state of distress, saw the bond that had somehow shown itself clear as day, they immediately jumped, Cassian rushing to support me, Nesta running to where ever the thread was leading to.

“The library! Hurry!” She hollered back at us. Cassian let me lean against him, we seemed to have woken the whole house as I heard Nyx begin to cry from all the commotion. Rhys winnowed in front of us, if looks could kill we would both be dead, but his demeanour shifted, rushing to help Cassian with my other side. Cassian grunted out the location and Rhys nodded. However, nothing in all 500 years of training could have prepared us for what we would see.

When we entered the library, my knees were ready to give out, I watched, terrified, and my gaze was hazy as I looked to see Y/N, in the middle of a spell. It had to be. I recognised the sand from the times she had been talking about her abilities. But what was she doing. My head pounded and as I read the old language that Amren had taught me, my heart dropped.

I reached out, wanting to hold on to that bond, but as Y/N looked at me, after what seemed like an eternity, through that blinding light, blood dripped down her nose.

Drip.

Drip..

Drip…

And the pain stopped as I collapsed, screaming being the last thing I hear as darkness consumed me.

~*~*~*~*~

taglist: @azriels-mate123 @penguinsworldsblog @hannahx1111 @jacksonpleasestopkillingme @positivewitch @happyseadreams @fuckthatfeeling @meritxellao @xiangping-28 @clarkie-carmody-blog @aroseinvelaris @azrielhours @shadowsinger-654 @azzydaddy @nisa-wisa @cosmic-whispers @cat-or-kitten @thecraziestcrayon @thegirlintheshadows101 @marina468 @act1839 @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @holywolfsstuff @gengen64

(If your user is in bold I could not tag you, sorry T^T if you want to be tagged please specify in the replies <3)

A/N: HAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAH HOW YA LIKE ME NOW!? I love you guys…but you really didn’t think I wouldn’t end part 3 in a cliff hanger? After part 2!? Think again :D Love you guys, thanks for all the support <33333

Part 3 out now

[ilikepjo24]

Percabeth comes second to Chrisse/Chrislisse.

Contains major spoilers for The Mark Of Athena.

Not trying to start any ship wars out there. I'm just here to share my opinion. Most of the Percy Jackson fandom views Percabeth as the best ship, and it's actually pretty good, but Clarisse and Chris, are in my opinion, a much better ship.

Why is that? Cause the milestones Percabeth has reached, Chrisse/Chrislisse reached first.

Annabeth had to suffer through the pain of her loved one going missing, possibly being dead, for 6 months, not remembering anything, but her. Tragic and yet romantic. Surely some brute Ares Daughter and a forgotten Hermes Son couldn't compare, right?

Except Clarisse also had to suffer through the pain of her loved one going missing, possibly dead, for over a year, not remember anything, but his pain and suffering, and when he was found, she stayed by him, begging him to remember her and doing her best to nurse him back to health, praying to the gods for the chance to love him as much as she physically could when he'd be healthy and safe once again, and when he was healed, that's exactly what she did.

Also sounds excessively romantic and tragic, doesn't it now? Dare I say, more romantic and tragic than Percabeth?

Surely not, right? I mean, Percy and Annabeth suffered through Tartarus together. They would have gone crazy if they were alone. They kept each other safe and protected and they made it through. It's a classic "True Love Beats All", is it not? Chrisse/Chrislisse is good, but not that good.

Except Chris went through the Labyrinth (a dangerous, deadly place, just like Tartarus) alone and he did go crazy, only for Clarisse to find him and do everything possible to help him. And on top of that, she also willingly went through the Labyrinth, after finding Chris, while knowing damn well what consequences this choice could have, to find a way to destroy the godforsaken place that had the nerve to ruin her soulmate.

I don't know about you, but I did not see Percy going down to Tartarus with the intention to take it down, brick by brick if needed, just because Annabeth got hurt down there.

It's important to note that Clarisse and Chris did their "went missing, went crazy, was found, got better, found love" journey a whole ass book before Percabeth was even canon! They were living the love story of the century, putting Romeo and Juliet to shame, while Percy still couldn't pick between his redhead and his blond. It's cute that Percabeth later on tried copying them, thinking we wouldn't notice, but let's be real, nobody is better than the original. You can't outdo the doer!

May I also mentioned that Chrisse/Chrislisse combines the tragic "friends/lovers to enemies" trope with the incredibly sexy "enemies to lovers" trope with toppings of "I can fix him" (she did fix him!), "I love you not despite but regardless your past mistakes" and "It's you and me against the world" because Clarisse loved Chris when others still saw him as the camp traitor. Percabeth wishes they had that much flavour.

Thus proven.

[himehomu]

Homura did nothing wrong. And I stand by that. Because, she didn't do anything wrong towards anyone nor did she do anything with malicious intent. The only thing she did wrong is entirely in regards to herself. Rather than basing Homura's entire character around an act she made out of love or reduce her character to an evildoer with no morals nor love in her heart like some people still do to this day under the poor facade of “valid criticism,” I'm going to explain what Homura actually did wrong in Rebellion and her what her act of selfishness actually was.

What Homura did wrong was condemn herself to suffering as an immortal deity, the Devil whom acts as a rebellion against God, The Law of Cycles, strict laws of the original universe, which included Madoka Kaname not existing. That is what she did wrong, but not in the black and white, Good-vs-Evil way most people interpret this as. Yes, they are meant to be enemies one day, but because God favors rules and always doing the right thing, whereas the Devil favors her desire to stay in a world where Madoka is happy, where her friends are happy, where they are safe and have a chance at a life. A desire for happiness vs maintaining order of a broken world for the greater good, even if maintaining order means making sacrifices and making hard choices that directly rebel against that desire and yearning for happiness.

But, here is why Homura is wrong in dooming herself to her fate as the Devil. It's very subtle, but seconds before the Flower Field scene, as they are walking, Madoka turns and tells Homura that it really hurts her seeing her in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. This may seem like a simple thing a friend would say, but remember that Madoka lost her memories as a goddess. And, as a goddess, she was stuck alone in Heaven having to watch life go by, Homura's life go by, and wasn't able to interfere. Think about that for a second. Think about being Madokami.

Think about when she could finally understand just how much Homura did for her, just how much Homura fought for her in all those time loops; the moment she's able to reciprocate her feelings, she fades from existence as the consequence. Wanting so badly to comfort Homura as she bears the psychological burden of being the only person to remember her, to know her, to miss her, to grieve and mourn her. Thinking the only time she’ll ever be able to see let alone talk to Homura again is when she’s essentially dying from all the grief, the pain, the guilt, the sadness of not being able to save her from her fate of being a goddess trapped in isolation. Think about that, then look at what she says here again. Of course it hurts Madoka seeing Homura hurting so badly and feeling powerless to do anything about it. Because that's what she's been doing as The Law of Cycles. Much like how she said she'd never make the decision to become a Goddess in the first place a few seconds later, she says this because this is the real Madoka who loves and cherishes Homura, who hates to see her hurt.

Take that into consideration when looking at what Homura turns herself into at the end of Rebellion, how she's suffering and you can see the exhaustion on her face and in her eyes, how you can see the immortality essentially sucking the humanity out of her to the point where she herself believes she is evil. This was never about Good vs. Evil. This is about Homura hating herself so much not only for being unable to save Madoka, but possibly even for loving her in the first place considering her love is what made her powerful enough to condemn herself to her fate as a Goddess trapped in Heaven with her wish. This is about Madoka hating herself so much to where she only deems herself worthy so long as she's helping others, her self-loathing making her reduce herself to a sacrificial lamb and throwing away her life for the better of everyone else, caring so little for herself and being unable to even fathom that she'd be mourned or grieved if she were to die, thus sacrificing herself over and over, seeing herself as a means to an end if it means freedom for everyone she loves. Madoka has always been there to comfort Homura and protect her since the first timeline. How can she do that if her memories and powers to do so are locked away? She can't. Because Homura doesn't believe she deserves Madoka's love.

Homura doesn't believe she's worth Madoka's sacrifice in becoming a God and Madoka doesn't believe she's worth Homura's sacrifice in becoming the Devil. Madoka cannot understand that she is so so much more than what she can give to other people whilst Homura is the only one that does. Homura can't understand that dooming herself to immortality pains and hurts Madoka because she can't do anything about it thus she can't save her from her suffering like how Homura ceased her suffering. It's a cycle. A snake eating it's own tail. A pumpkin that spins round and round and round. They're both selfish and they're both selfless. Homura is selfish in the sense that she's not taking into consideration how Madoka would feel if she knew how much she were suffering as the Devil for her sake yet she is being selfless because she's only suffering as the Devil for Madoka and her family and their friends to have a happy life. Madoka is selfish in the same sense that she's not taking into consideration just how psychologically damaging it is for Homura to not only have to watch her die over and over again throughout 100 timelines but to then erase herself from existence with Homura being the only one to remember her and she is selfless by of course only sacrificing herself so much because she cares for everyone and all Magical Girls, Homura especially included. They both love each other enough to sacrifice themselves for the other but they both hate themselves so much to where they believe they are undeserving of the other's love hence they keep dooming themselves to suffering in isolation and in turn dooming each other.

[madam-whim]

The Gold Road Reveal and my thoughts on it

I’m gonna start this off by saying I love ESO. I have been playing since 2017 and I’m pretty much doing everything the game has to offer. Quests, dungeons, trials, antiquities, sometimes PvP. That being said, this post will include lots of criticism that I feel (or know) is shared by many other fans.

But first things first, let me start off by listing some of the things on yesterday’s stream that had me bouncing in my seat:

The new zone is absolutely stunning! There’s a lot of variety to it and it does look very pretty. Exploring it will undoubtedly be fun and a feast for my eyes.

Also, Fennorian will be there, so I know there will at least be one well-written character that my Vestige has an actual bond with.

The scribing system being more of a roleplay thing – I don’t know what some people were hoping for, but I’m glad it’s not some Big Damage For Those Who Are Good At Maths kind of system. It still allows for a more unique playstyle, and I suppose it’s going to turn out like always: Do whatever you want in open world spaces, but keep your bow backflip heal out of veteran content.

And maybe the biggest “Yes!” moment of the evening: Ed Stark being the zone lead for Gold Road. While I did not like High Isle as much (too predictable for my taste, but at least it had recurring characters), he was responsible for Greymoor and Murkmire as well. I thought Greymoor was fantastic (good quests, excellent new characters alongside very familiar recurring ones), and Murkmire… well, I think Murkmire suffers greatly from being “the DLC that came after the Daedric Triad” so to speak. It kind of fell into the void created by a storyline spanning a full year (or even more, if you count the setup for the whole thing, which really began with the Varen’s ghost and Darien’s letter in Wrothgar and the Gold Coast sweetroll killer quests). I think that’s why lots of people don’t seem to like Murkmire very much despite it having great storytelling. My point is this: I do have some hope that after the fiasco some recent DLCs were story-wise, Ed Stark will at least make sure Gold Road makes sense.

And now for the criticism.

Ithelia’s design (Whenever, wherever, I want to kill Hermaeus…)

… yeah, about that. As one of my friends put it, she looks like Shakira with wings.

They really could have done so much better. The way she is now, as @akaviri-dovah said, she really just looks like a Meridia clone who somehow stole Jyggalag’s crystals, which is funny on so many levels (more on that later). Suffice it to say that I personally think the design choices are kind of lazy, given that we already have an angelic-looking Daedric lady.

Also, what’s with this picture? This kinda makes it seem as if she originally looked. Um. A lil different from the way she is now. In any case, I’m just gonna call this a missed opportunity for something more unique. I do like the glass shard aesthetic, I just wish they’d taken it in a different direction.

Dragon Break Princess Ithelia, or something like that

Now I know Dragon Breaks have to work differently from what Ithelia does, but I am kind of wondering what the consequences of her fate-altering abilities are. How do you alter fate in a way that threatens reality (with reality consisting of past and present events, with all possible versions of the future being possibly-real until one actually happens) without altering the timeline? Just by removing a possible future? Then one could argue that any Daedra could do the same just by manipulating people. Granted, it’s possible that Ithelia sees all possible futures and can do whatever she likes with them, but even then, she’d only be influencing what can become reality, not what already is. So how can she be THAT dangerous?

Right now, it just seems to me that they needed an adversary for Hermaeus Mora, and since his big things are knowledge, secrets and fate, and they couldn’t very well make a Daedric Prince of Anti-Intellectualism or a Daedric Prince of Snitching, she had to be a fate-altering type of Daedra.

At this point I’m still wondering how she even works, because how does she not accidentally cause Dragon Breaks? And if she is that damn powerful, how on earth did Mora alone manage to pretty much remove any trace of her? Which kind of brings me to my next point.

Memory Issues

I know, I know, Ithelia is not the first “new” Daedric Prince. (Which makes her stolen Jyggalag crystal vibes rather funny if you ask me.) And I don’t mind her being crazy powerful either, because so was Jyggalag or else he wouldn’t have been cursed. But that, to my knowledge, required several other Princes, whereas Ithelia apparently got owned by Hermaeus Mora alone, who then erased all memory of her. Which is not only quite the feat given how powerful she has to be, but also a very weird thing for Hermaeus Mora to do. I kinda thought stealing memories was more Meridia’s style. This entire part does not quite make sense to me yet and seems a little out of character, but well. By the way, speaking of Meridia…

Meridia-baiting the players

At this point, ZOS have to know we’re getting tired of waiting for villain Meridia. Everyone I know who is even the least bit interested in ESO’s storyline wants to see it. And I’ve seen people get their hopes up in recent days (new Meridia/Dawnbreaker-themed music box, the Ayleid ruin hint on the fragments sent to streamers…). Even in the twitch chat, there were people hyped about what they thought was Meridia, and who were disappointed when they were told it was Ithelia. And yes, I am absolutely saying they did this and made her a Meridia lookalike on purpose. But I’m well aware that we haven’t gotten any new hints about either Meridia or a certain someone since Greymoor, and that chapter will be four years old soon. Even I am beginning to give up, as much as I hate to say it.

By the way, I really did NOT appreciate Matt Firor name-dropping Darien right at the beginning. If you’re not planning to do anything with him, just let it go. I know absolutely nobody who appreciates being fed very tiny hints for two years and then being left in the dark for four years straight. If you don’t want to pick that storyline up again, just stuff the man into the Old Life quest and be done with it.

Honestly, once again, I’m gonna say this is a MASSIVE missed opportunity right here. ESO’s 10 year anniversary is coming up, what could possibly be better than to go back to the roots now and reward all those loyal players with the story they are waiting for? I distinctly recall Molag Bal telling me to watch my step around Meridia, and the setup is all there. I’m honestly disappointed that there is no Meridia content at all. And this ties in with my final point, albeit vaguely.

“Recurring” characters

Ah, yes, we do love recurring characters. Sometimes. We do love it when a fan favorite comes back – a character who’s accompanied the Vestige over the course of an entire story arc or has made multiple appearances over the years and has become beloved by many players, and, most importantly, who is well-written, i.e. has a unique personality. And that’s why “recurring characters” is not always a recipe for success when it comes to getting people hooked on a story.

It is when it’s one of the five companions, or a Ravenwatch member, or your main alliance buddy (Raz, Naryu and – oh, wait, yeah, us Covenant babies don’t have one anymore). It also works when it’s a character we’ve run across several times already, like Alchemy, who I know tons of people love, or my favorite walking disaster Revus Demnevanni.

But it’s certainly not working when it’s a character we barely know anything about, and who isn’t a hit with the community. Like Eveli’s brother whom I had to google because I could not remember who he was. He’s from a prologue quest. Nothing more. That’s not a “beloved returning character”.

ZOS have several of those just lying around, and they’re just not using them. And even the base game had so many characters that were there over the course of several zones, that were well-written and at least memorable to the degree that people would recognize them with just a little reminder, like Indaenir or Holgunn and Walks-in-Ash or the Vanos siblings. Hell, we haven't seen good old Vanus Galerion in a while. They are ten years old now and deserve to be dragged to the surface again.

Okay, I’m done now!

This concludes my rant (because that’s what it is, I’m aware). I just want to say again that this is not be dragging ESO through the mud, this is just me pointing out that the devs (especially the writers) could do so much better if they listened to their lore nerds and story-interested players more.

[noforkingclue]

(doc ock anon) Hmmm how about: You’re in a shitty marriage to some contemptuous prick high-ish up at Oscorp. He’s not necessarily “nobody” but not exactly a “somebody”. He is a strategic choice and conveniently everything even the old Otto would have hated. One night, Doc Ock reappears after months of absence and breaks into your home to shake down your husband for access to something or other from Oscorp.

Of course anon! Hope you like the fic :)

Title: Leverage

Warnings: dark fic

“Oliver? What’s going on?”

Otto cocked his head to the side, noting the panicked look on your husband’s face. He’ll admit, he wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there that night. He had heard that you were going on a business trip and would be away for a week. Clearly that intel was wrong (in that case his source would have to be punished) or the trip had been cancelled last minute.

Either way, he now had leverage against this pathetic waste of skin.

You slowly walked into Oliver’s office, pulling your dressing gown tightly around you. You had only walked a couple of steps in when you saw Otto. You froze and just as your flight or fight instincts kicked in, a metal claw curled around your arm. You let out a shriek as you were roughly pulled towards him.

“Let her go!” cried Oliver

However, Otto just slammed him against a wall, a metal claw around his neck. You were lifted off the ground and you hit the arm. This did nothing but amused Otto.

“Now then,” he said, “I think this,” he shook you violently, “might make you more… cooperative.”

“Look, I already told you-” Oliver began

“Then find a way,” Otto said quietly, although that didn’t detract from the danger in the words, “or your precious little wife will suffer the consequences.”

“What? She has nothing to do-”

“She does now.”

You let out a shriek as you were hoisted high into the air. You shut your eyes tightly as you hung helplessly above New York. You wished the Spiderman would come and save you but that would come with the risk of Doc Ock dropping you. You didn’t know if Spiderman would be able to catch you in time. However, it seemed the Doc Ock had no intention of letting you go. If anything his grip on your tightened when he left your flat. Your arms curled around his metal arm tightly and you let out a small whimper. You didn’t see the small smile that Otto gave at the action.

“We’re here.”

You let out a yelp as you were suddenly let go. You were expected to fall through the air but you only dropped a short way. You opened your eyes a crack and pulled your legs up against your chest. It looked like you were in some kind of loft. You could imagine that it must’ve cost a hell of a lot of money and that he bought it before he was…

Well…

Before his accident.

“Where am I?” you asked quietly

“That isn’t important.”

“You kidnapped me.”

“You’re safe.”

“Why should I believe-”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence. A metal claw pinned you to the floor by your throat. Doc Ock stood over you and looked you up and down. Originally you were just meant to be collateral. To make sure that your waste for space husband did exactly what he was told. But now, well, now he had you stretched under him and at his mercy. Your thin dressing gown left hardly anything to the imagination.

Oh yes, the two of you were going to get to know each other very well.

And maybe he won’t give you back afterwards.

[todoroki-waifu]

Super late, but this is from the poll results! Thank you again to those who voted. :)

Itadori x Reader

Warning: Gender neutral reader, a small, slightly suggested part, and cursing.

Scenario: How Itadori shows he really cares for you.

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,896

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

You returned from your two day mission late that evening, exhausted and sore. You also didn't recover from the previous missions that were given to you prior to the one you just came back from. Because of your abilities and the rising numbers of high grade curses, you were needed more frequently. You either went solo or in a group, but lately it's just been you.

"Good morning, everyone." A yawn is laced with your greeting as you walk  towards the entrance of the dormitories. The others were training, but stopped when they saw you.

"Good morning? It's already evening!" Itadori straightens up from his defensive stance to rush over to you.

"__(y/n)! It's been forever!" Kugisaki beats Itadori and has her arms wrapped around your body.

"I know, I've been a bit busy with these assignments." You returned her embrace.

"I'm gonna yell at Gojo-sensei for taking you away from me. I'm getting hives from being around these two monkeys for so long." She jests as Fushiguro sends her a glare while Itadori raises a brow.

"You might have to hold on just a bit longer. I'm leaving again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Already?" Itadori was starting to agree with Nobara about scolding their white haired sensei.

"Yeah, but it's at night! Hopefully it'll just be a one day kind of thing."

"I hope so! Anyway, go get settled. We're finished here then we're gonna make some hot pot."

You nod at the three of them, agreeing to join them later once you finish taking a shower and changing into comfortable and intact clothes. Yuji leaves Megumi and Kugisaki to walk with you back inside.

"You sure you're gonna be okay going tomorrow?" He then grabs your bag and belongings, offering to hold them for you. You attempt to get them back, but Yuji wants to help. Even if it's something as tiny as this.

"Yeah, I mean...I don't really have a choice, but even if I did, I'd still take it. There's people in danger so I want to do this."

"You're over exhausting yourself." He frowns at the consequences your body may potentially suffer.

"I'll be fine. Promise." You give him a smile as you make your way towards your room. Once in front of your dorm, that was when you both departed to get ready for dinner.

You're gathered on one table with a boiling pot of soup and various ingredients scattered around. You thanked those who prepared it since none of them allowed you to help and instead encouraged you to rest. A few minutes into dinner and your body was starting to crave sleep.

"Whoa, hey, you okay?" Itadori sees your head in an alternating up and down motion with your eyes fluttering and bowl almost tilting forward. He puts down his own bowl to stabilize yours as you finally lift your head up.

"Sorry! I just got so tired suddenly."

"We can save you some if you want to go to bed." Megumi suggests and you shake your head.

"I'm hungry, too. Wish there was a way I could both eat and sleep at the same time." You tried to rub the sleepiness from your eyes.

"Oi, why don't you feed them? They can barely hold their bowl. Help them out." Nobara points her chopsticks at Yuji.

"M-me?!" A red tint develops across his face.

"Duh, of course you! You're the one sitting next to them."

Itadori grabs your utensil and dish, picking up some noodles before telling you that he'd assist feeding you.

"You mean I can close my eyes and eat? Perfect!" You turn your body to face Itadori with your eyes shut and mouth open to accept some food. Itadori's blush only deepened and he could feel his blood was being directed elsewhere.

"Oh my God!" He shouts suddenly, earning confused stares from his friends.

"What happened?" You ask and Itadori shakes his head.

"No-nothing. Sukuna was just being...funny."

"Fuck you, kid. You know you were thinking the same thing." A toothy grin appears on his right cheek, making Itadori yell at the cursed spirit residing in him.

"He's having a moment...Fushiguro, you go feed __(y/n)." Your brown haired friend elbows the shikigami user and he starts to stand up.

"N-no! I got it. Just give me a sec." The pink haired boy was able to quiet a laughing Sukuna before focusing on you. You went back to your previous position and Itadori had to bite down on his tongue to fight off another blush. He thought back on how tired and hungry you were which redirected his concentration.

Yuji made sure that the food wasn't too hot or too big for you to bite on. He kept a steady pace and managed to find a way to feed himself in between. After a few more bites and enjoying being fed by your crush, you took back your bowl. It was fun to see his reaction, but found it sweet at how determined he was that you fulfilled your nutritional intake for the day.

Once everyone was satisfied with warm and full bellies, you attempted to wash the dishes. Again, none of them allowed you and Kugisaki sent Itadori to bring you upstairs.

"You should get some rest." He starts leading you to your room.

"Not yet! I've missed you!" You immediately swerve in front of him then your eyes widen at what you just said. "A-and Nobara! And Megumi, too! I haven't hung out with you guys in a long time."

"Well, Kugisaki and Fushiguro are gonna head to bed early since they leave for a mission in the morning. Mine isn't until the afternoon so I can hang out with you if you don't mind just me?"

"Of course, not! I love hanging out with you. C'mon." You grabbed his hand, dragging him to your room. You both occupied your bed, you leaning against the headboard while Itadori was laying sideways on the foot of your bed.

Within a few minutes while Itadori was catching you up on the past few weeks, you were nodding off again until you plopped on the bed. The pink haired vessel wasn't offended, instead was relieved that you finally accepted some sleep.

He carefully maneuvers you into a better position, covering you up to your shoulders with your blanket. As he adjusts the pillow under your head, he frowns at the number of bandages and bruises on your person. He then exits the room after turning off the lights, pulling out his phone to dial his teacher's number.

"Itadori? What's up?"

"Please let me take __(y/n)'s mission."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I know they have one tomorrow night. Let me take that instead and switch theirs with mine."

"Why?" Gojo asks after a brief pause.

"Be-because I...I just..they've been, you know and I just-" He stutters, face and ears becoming warm. "Just let us switch! Please, sensei."

The white haired male exhales loudly before explaining the details of the case. "This is going to be a difficult one for you, Itadori. Based on __(y/n)'s abilities and technique, they could finish the job in 3 days, but for you, 6 days. Are you prepared for that?"

He had no idea that there was such a difference between yours and his fighting levels. Itadori was going to need to catch up so you didn't leave him behind or worse, be a burden to you.

"Yes. I'll take it. Do I need to wait until tomorrow? Can't I just go now?" Itadori had the energy and resolve plus if it was going to take him 6 days, maybe he could cut it down if he starts now.

"I don't see why not, but be aware that even if you leave now, you're only shaving off maybe...half a day earlier. Anyway, pack your things. I'll send a ride for you in 20 minutes."

--------

It's been almost a week since you last saw Itadori and when you noticed the changes to your assignments. They've become lighter and you were able to finally work with Megumi and Nobara again. You also found out that Itadori had swapped missions with you and you were anxiously waiting for him to return so you could question why.

As you sit on the front steps of the dorm, you see a familiar white and pink haired teacher and student. You're the only one to greet them since Nobara went shopping and Megumi was visiting his sister.

"Yuji! You're all beat up." He sees concern swimming in your __(e/c) eyes.

"I'm okay, promise! That curse was a tough one, but I did it!"

"I heard what you did. Why did you switch our missions? Were you afraid that I couldn't handle it?"

"Wha-no! That's not it at all!" Itadori fidgets in his spot, trying to explain it in a way that doesn't devalue your sorcery skills. Behind Itadori, you see Gojo a few feet away, laughing quietly at the boy who was in love with you. Your teacher makes an outline of a heart with two fingers then points at Itadori.

Ah, now you understand.

"I didn't think that you couldn't handle it. I just felt like you were being overworked and I wanted to help you. I wanted to relieve at least a bit of your workload because you deserve some rest, too. And you know, teamwork makes the dream work...ahehe..."

Gojo slaps a hand over his blindfold, shaking his head at Itadori's missed opportunity to tell you exactly how he felt. But you already knew what he was trying to say. Maybe it was time for you to make yours a bit more obvious.

"Thank you, Yuji." You take one step towards him, aiming your lips to his cheek. Instead of feeling a soft, somewhat flat surface, another pair of lips touch yours. You gasped, pulling away as you realized that you had kissed Sukuna's mouth and not Yuji's cheek.

"Sukuna!! What the hell?!" Yuji places his hand over the side of his face, covering the cursed spirit.

"Hey now, I did most of the work so I should be getting some kind of reward, too."

"Well, thank you, Sukuna, for all your hard work." You cut off their bickering and you move to the other side of Yuji's cheek. However, a mouth and eye were staring at you, showing off a toothy grin. Before Yuji yells at the King of Curses, you press your lips to his, finding that it was a safe place where Sukuna couldn't appear.

You removed yourself after a few seconds, giving Yuji a sweet smile. "You should probably shower and change. I'll make you some food. It's tiring after a long mission."

"S-sure!" He nods then jogs to the dorm entrance, but immediately stops to turn back to you. He plants a quick kiss to your lips this time, a big grin decorating his face as he walks back to his room.

You giggle at the extra energy Yuji has in his stride, happy that he returned to you in one piece and with a surprise. Gojo comments about how both of them are going to be a handful, but you knew that already. You love all of Yuji, even the King of Curses that resides in him.

[ohthewhomanity]

Miguel looks at Gwen and sees himself - a Spider-Man who lost everything, who is alone and without friends and without family, who is trying her best but her world is falling apart around her anyway.

“I don’t know how to fix this,” she says. “Join the club,” he replies.

Miguel looks at Miles and sees himself - a Spider-Man who got something he was never “meant” to have, something from another universe. Who ignores the rules of the universe and consequently causes change, causes destruction, wherever he goes.

So there’s no “join the club.” There’s beating the crap out of him. Because how dare he dream big when Miguel knows better? How dare he strive for more when Miguel could not have more? How dare he even imagine that he could get away with changing his fate, when Miguel could not? Miguel does to Miles what he wishes he could do to his past self. Miguel believes he deserves all the punishment he’s received, and so he doles it out liberally.

Miguel looks at Peter B. Parker and sees… what? A Spider-Man with a family? With a daughter? A Spider-Man who found in his own world what Miguel found - and lost - in another Spider-Man’s world? Is that why Peter believes that Miguel has no bite - because Miguel has never bitten him? Because Miguel can’t bear to attack what he couldn’t bear to lose?

Mayday Parker is an anomaly - undeniably so. But she’s one that Miguel allows. For now.

Does Miguel even realize that Mayday only exists because of Miles? Because Spider-Men from different universes came together and changed each other for the better? Because Miles told Peter, “You have to go home, you have to try again, you can’t know if you’ll get it right but you need to try anyway, you need to take that leap of faith”?

Because Peter went home and tried again?

And now Gwen has gone home - not by choice, at first, but she chose to walk in the door. She chose to speak from the heart, to unmask herself again for her father. She couldn’t have known it would work, but she tried anyway.

And it worked. And things changed. Because Gwen went back home and tried again.

She didn’t know how to fix things. “Join the club,” said Miguel, meaning, “I didn’t know how to fix my world, where I was alone and suffering, so I ran away. So run away.”

Miles does not run away. Not for long. He returns, and he inspires others to return. And he’s two for two on them getting it right. Two for two on it working out.

What if, after seeing the world where he had a family, Miguel had decided to go home and try again, instead of running away?

Is it the trying for better that destroys the universe… or is it the running away?

[greenqueenhightower]

This is mainly an Anti-Viserys rant:

That scene in Aegon’s coronation when the “beast beneath the boards” turns out to be Rhaenys and Meleys (you choose which one to be the beast 👀) and the greens are shocked and paralyzed but Alicent’s mother instinct kicks in and she literally positions herself between the imminent danger and her children, proves that she has the guts to fight this war and she is not a pawn to be moved about by others anymore. What’s more, her motivation is not pure envy or hurt pride but acknowledgment and fear of the danger that her family and children are inevitably in, being “the other” Targaryens.

And then think about how they should have felt, growing up as “the other” party in their father’s love, always feeling second choice compared to their flawless, perfect-in-her-father’s-eyes older sister and heir to the throne Rhaenyra (don’t hate me on this, I love Rhaenyra too), whose faults and shortcomings never seemed wrong to her father. And then Aegon, tries so hard to be the heir that only Alicent sees in him, but “it will never be enough.” Helaena is completely ignored by her father, and that is even more evident in the dinner scene where he doesn’t seem to be even remotely interested in what she is saying about her married life with Aegon. And then Aemond loses an eye and still has to see his father defend Rhaenyra and her sons with the other one. I’m sure he was thinking, “what else should I do for you to notice me, or what else should happen to me for you to show me you care?”

What I’m saying is, all those years of neglect from Viserys and the accumulated hurt that his children feel towards him are very easily turned against Rhaenyra in the end. Viserys did not protect ANY of his children from the consequences of his own careless actions and even if he didn’t take part in the Dance, he is the main instigator of the events to unfold. He made sure Rhaenyra distanced herself from her siblings by being distanced from them himself. He made sure Alicent felt uneasy with the line of succession and the future of her children due to his lack of interest in them. So, Alicent literally took on the role of the SOLE PARENT who had to take care of them, by any means, as best she knew how.

So, yes, Alicent in her complex relationship with Rhaenyra and Viserys does feel resentment because she was second choice, always less important, always suffering alone, always undermined in her role as mother and protector of Viserys’ children. But even more than Alicent her children feel undermined and betrayed by their own father and the girl he loved the most, Rhaenyra. So to those who praise Viserys for loving her, that’s not enough. Being a parent doesn’t mean loving ONE of your children. Being a parent means loving ALL of your children equally and showing them that. This is where Viserys failed, and this is where the succession crisis comes from. If his children felt loved and secure, and Alicent felt that her children would be safe and well cared for, they wouldn’t be feeling the need to claim the throne.

Now, all of Viserys’ family has to fight bitterness and resentment, make one wrong move after another, and raise their defenses against a practically invisible enemy, since they all craved and wanted the same thing all along: his attention and love, a place to belong, his assurance that whomever they were mattered, that they could have their own place in court without having to fit into one-dimensional standards, and that they would always be enough.

I feel like Rhaenys on dragonback in that crucial moment at Aegon's coronation senses that yearning, and even though she has the chance to destroy the greens and make sure her dying cousin gets his wish to see Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, she knows how it feels to be on “the other” side. She knows how it is to hope for something, to long for approval, to fight for what you think is yours, and I dare say she identifies with the feeling of resentment and betrayal that possesses Alicent and her children more than she lets show. It’s “not her war to begin” but she knows it has already begun. And she sides with the blacks politically. But she damn well knows how the greens feel too.

[thecoolcatstuff]

It seems people still have trouble seeing the mysoginistic patterns of this show with Adrien's arc so lets look into it from another character's angle that suffers from the same patterns: Emilie.

Emilie used the peacock miraculous, fell into a coma offscreen and was condemned to a role of being the show's emotional catalyst. The only little spoonfed information we have about her isnt ACTUALLY about her, but an information that served the porpose to affect the development and progression of other characters the writers deem as more important.

People are only allowed to remember her to create tension and drama, and to improve their own arcs, never her own.

As a consequence, in 5 seasons and 3 specials of this show (and with Emilie being mentioned in several episodes) we still have absolutelly no idea to what her personality was like, besides the handwavey "dead mom" archtrope they always present her.

And if it wasnt bad enough, lets look on the perspective of her agency.

Of course, we are talking about a character that is in a coma, which is just a convenient excuse to make a character unable to make their own choices for the whole extension of the show.

But here is the thing: her being in a coma doenst mean her whole character arc should be in one too. She could have always be fleshen out and developed by the instances where she was able to: the past.

They could have added flashbacks in many instances to develop her character. They just chose not to.

They could have voiced her opinions and thoughs through other characters many times. They just chose not to.

They could have make brief references and snipets about what her life was like or what did people think of her. They just chose not to.

Not even from the past she is able to express her opinions and make her own choices.

The only choice she DOES make(the video) is promply ignored by Gabriel even AFTER watching it. He sees the video, he misinterprets "dont put your life and Adrien's in line to try and save me" message she was saying as "come lets kill ourselves together". He does it, and kills her without her consent while still doing exactly what she said not to in the video: the wish.

And this sickening and fucked up thing is portrayed as a good and altruistic move. Horray for all women who have "dedicated" men like gabe as their husband I guess.

[mhevarujta]

Quite often in the fandom, those who like Alicent and not Rhaenyra are blamed for supposedly hating women. I think this is a very biased take that is based on seeing Rhaenyra as a feminist badass because she wants to sit on the throne and Alicent as some hag who hinters her in her want to see her suffer the same oppression she did. I feel this strips the characters from the context in which I perceive them. Naturally, one can love them both. I guess I like them both In the sense that I find them both to be very interesting fictional characters, but I definitely have a deep fondness for Alicent while being constantly annoyed by Rhaenyra and here is why.

In the show, Alicent is actually supportive of Rhaenyra’s claim since the beginning. She perceives that Rhaenyra’s supposed disinterest for the throne is reactionary, since she knows that Viserys overlooks her as a potential heir and is wishing for a son. She wants Rhaenyra to study and prepare for her duties, is frustrated when she thinks she doesn’t and delighted when she realizes she does. Alicent marries Viserys to do her duty to her family. We don’t know the exact reaction Otto would have had if she refused. But we know she would not inherit and that falling out of her father’s favor could have consequences throughout her life, from punishment, to being destitute, to being sent to the silent sisters. She was not naïve and clearly perceived that this marriage would create an uncomfortable situation, but she didn’t go forth with Otto’s wishes to undermine her friend.

In fact, Alicent kept supporting Rhaenyra’s claim and thought she’d make a good queen. Some claim that Alicent got angry because she was jealous of Rhaenyra, but I don’t think it’s true. Alicent had a good sense of how things worked for women in that society. The fact that she had internalized the expectations of her society aside, which was both because of her education and out of necessity, she could see the larger political implications. Rhaenyra publically having sex at a brothel might have been compromising for a female heir if the rumors went around and she was ‘attacked’ on the grounds of immorality. She is fast to believe Rhaenyra’s word, which makes Otto blame her of choosing Rhaenyra over him. Her anger before she and Rhaenyra talk and later is rooted in the way she sees Rhaenyra pursuing pleasure in a way that might compromise the opportunities Rhaenyra had, which other women of that time would only dream. Rhaenyra’s actions are the first seed of doubt for Alicent, because if Rhaenyra’s claim got questioned, the future Otto painted for her sons becomes more likely.

When she talks to Criston Cole, and despite her religious education, Alicent mentions she can understand a lapse of morals which actually shows she made for Rhaenyra more allowances than she made for herself. Realizing that Rhaenyra dropped her tour instead of taking her chance at having a choice of husband, which Alicent herself and many others didn’t have, probably (almost) had sex with Daemon at Flea Bottom, initiated sex with a King’s Guard and lied in a way that compromised the position of Alicent’s own father for sharing the actual information she got indicated, from Alicent’s POV, a consistency of behavior that made Rhaenyra unreliable, furthered by Rhaenyra outright lying to Alicent herself. When Rhaenyra eventually has not one, but three bastard children to the same man and tries to pass them as legitimate heirs, which was high treason based on both the show and the book, Alicent’s perception of Rhaenyra as someone power hungry who would be willing to deceive and possibly  harm to keep the throne only grows. The moment that Rhaenyra chooses to make public the rumors about the bastardy of her children, which the Greens had never done, to force Viserys’ hand if he wants to protect her and the threat of mutilation at best if Alicent and her family even address the truth is a breaking point for Alicent, being proof of the fears she had for years.

When it comes to Rhaenyra, I get why she wanted the throne and despite the lack of precedent of a woman sitting on the Iron Throne, traditions are meant to evolve at some point. That said, Rhaenyra had a profound lack of sense and of dutifulness. She tells Viserys that everyone is ready to tear her apart and to undermine. This is valid and he promises to support her unconditionally. She complains about being forced into marriage. She HAS to marry, as Viserys did, as Alicent did, as Daemon did, but Viserys gives her the opportunity to choose. Rhaenyra’s tour started disappointingly, but it was far from over and she gave up on it fast despite it giving her a chance at choosing that other women would crave and even many men didn’t have. Thereafter, she focuses on pleasure, much more than on keeping the façade necessary to be accepted as unquestioningly as possible. Unlike Alicent’s distance from Rhaenyra, which starts when Alicent genuinely starts seeing Rhaenyra as selfishly reckless, Rhaenyra’s distance from Alicent starts the moment Alicent and Viserys are engaged. For almost 3 years she remains angry and bitter towards Alicent. While I understand Rhaenyra’s feelings, I also believe that for a woman who knows how the world works for her sex, her reaction to Alicent is rather cruel, especially because of its endurance.

Back to Rhaenyra wanting the throne, sexual liberation, the right of her children inheriting her etc. I GET it as a modern viewer. Regardless, I judge her within the context of the world Martin created. Rhaenyra knew that sitting on the throne was an opportunity like no other. Picking a decent husband on her own, even if it wasn’t out of love, was a privilege. By making compromises, she could have had power that might have allowed her to make changes that Alysanne would have killed for and couldn’t push as queen consort. But Rhaenyra cared for the moment and for pleasure more than she cared for the grand scheme of things.

Interestingly enough, Daemon being seen as ‘Lord Flea Bottom’ was harmful for Daemon’s reputation and for the way he was seen by the council. Many men were forced into marriage. Bastards were not allowed to inherit unless legitimized regardless of the parent’s sex. I’m not saying that Rhaenyra did not have disadvantages compared to men. But admittedly she consciously made decisions that would have been used to politically harm even male heirs; even more so a woman. On top of that, she arrogantly dismisses Rhaenys’ warning about how men view a female heir and acts as if Rhaenys was denied because of her own shortcomings, while Rhaenyra herself is different and special. The way she pursues Luke inheriting Driftmark is highly questionable. Later, based on the book, she does nothing to help other women and even uses stereotypes that men used against them in the case of a certain character who seems to have actually been loyal to her. Ultimately, to me Rhaenyra comes across as a woman who is out of touch with her society and with the women around her because of her considerable privilege. The show tried to make us care when she cries about having thought she wanted the throne but feeling it’s hard, seeking Viserys’ help. But I find nothing sympathizing about this, because ultimately, all I see is someone who acts in a way that costs her and is calling her sick daddy to clean up her mess. I see someone who weaponized her father’s love against the righteous questioning of her actions based on laws or traditions that her own family’s dynastic rule had perpetuated and which she later perpetuates herself. 

Ultimately, I think I find Rhaenyra spoiled, irresponsible, devoid of sense and obnoxious in a way that feels too real to me, which is why it makes me unable to enjoy her character even if I have enjoyed and keep enjoying, in ASoIaF and in other books, movies and series characters whose actions are much worse than hers.

[pharrell-the-formation]

Let me be clear: I love Emma Hazer with a tender love, but not exactly for who she is, but for who she could be.

I kind of wish to rewrite her and my solution is surprisingly simple: remove her “easy accessibility” as a woman and focus on something else. Hazer is a single mother, taking care of two boys, whose existence is hidden due to a directive prohibiting mothers of many children from working, after losing her husband at the front. The only other relative she has is her mother, who isn’t really emotionally supportive (this is information from the game, I’ll dance from her from now on). She loves her children with all her heart and wants to provide them with a good life and therefore makes workaholism a priority in her life - after all, more work, more money and authority, right? For the same reason, she is applying for a promotion and is one of the three competitors for the protagonist on the first floor. However, even so, she understands that it is hard for her and she is suffering from the stress. This leads the woman to find another goal for herself - to find a spouse who could help her and her family survive in their debt-ridden society. Fortunately, she is pretty, but right there also lies the problem - in her beauty and desperate desire to find a young man, people see a lady of the evening so to speak. Hazer is disgusted by this and most likely the topic of sexual relations kind of repulses her now, because it reminds her that she is perceived as an object. She can be a living demonstration of the destructive influence of the State’s sexism and stereotypes on a person, while still being the chatty lady, who loves to discuss TV series and claims to have a good intuition.

The scene where she and Evan are having fun in the back room can happen provided that the recently met Redgrave pulls her leg for some time, talking about love, deep feelings and lies to her about being single, so that the truth for Emma is revealed later. Most likely, after this story, you won’t be able to build a normal friendship with the character, because choices should have consequences.

There is no quest where she hands over her children to an orphanage, because that would completely go against her character.

She does not call Ferguson the ideal man in the dialogue. Just shows her respect for him and that she thinks good of him.

The "big joke" could still happen, but it has an even darker context, as Evan's only methods of persuading Emma to help them would be to commit blackmail, in that way or the other. After what happened, she deeply regrets what she did, and when the next day Peter does the unspeakable she probably blames herself.

As for her story with Peter Dong.. mm, I suppoooose we as players should consider their relationship as a kind of “endgame”, and Dong as a man actually suitable for her, whom she simply has not yet seen, so I guess I would probably try to make their connection more genuine, if that’s the case. Peter’s love is built not only on his colleague’s appearance, but also on some of her qualities. Let’s say he saw and appreciated how hard she worked, or one of the few noticed how sad she’s been looked recently. Let’s say that when they start dating, Emma doesn’t limit herself to “I hope everything works out for us” in the dialogue, she probably also says something about how she didn’t think that Peter would be such a sweetheart, she is surprised how she wasn’t noticing him before. This, as a bare minimum.

It seems that these are all the changes that I would like to see, maybe if I remember something else I’ll add.

Bonus headcanon for those who read to the end: Emma was the best informant on the floor before Evan came into the game, it’s not for nothing that she hangs around that office phone so often.

[naomifj97]

Hoping and wishing

"Garrus is a sniper. He knows about waiting."

Shepard makes a choice in the Crucible that should’ve cost her life. But also should have suffocating in the depths of her spacesuit and falling off from a planet’s atmosphere like a falling star.

Or: In which Commander “I don’t die easily cause I’m pretty much immortal at this point” Shepard refuses to leave and Garrus hopes that’s enough for them.

Hi! Haven't been posting here in a while, but life has been a bit difficult lately and my creativity is suffering consequences. However, last saturday my friends and I went to a thematic Mass Effect party (surpirse! I'm a Mass Effect fan, too) and I had the urge to post this very short oneshot that has been on my laptop for like...two years, I think? Nevermind. I'm Shakarian trash and still in denial about the ending of Mass Effect 3, so, enjoy!

"I'm falling

In all the good times I find myself

Longing for a change

And in the bad times I fear myself

I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in

I’ll never meet the ground

Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us

We’re far from the shallow now

In the shallow, shallow”

She’d been told she would die. He said she’d die.

Death and she were old friends. Close enough to know how the other behaved, smelled, felt.

But she was Commander Shepard. Cheating death, escaping from its claws, was something she’d became pretty good at.

She had to admit that, for a second, she thought she would.

And then, collapse came. Her body’s, that just couldn’t support the burden of her devastated system; the platform’s, that was swallowed by the weight of her decision.

She felt everything. The burning in her skin, her cells ripping apart, the shocking wave. And the fire. The problem had been the fire. It licked the shattered pieces of her torn, ripped armour, burying her in an indistinguishable mass of ravished flesh, metal shards and broken pieces.

So no. Not this time.

While the rumbling started, the Citadel exploded and the Crucible fell apart around her, Shepard found herself remembering Garrus. His jokes and his warm voice, the purring of his subvocals, the ones he thought she couldn’t hear, the soft stroking of his talons in her back during late hours of the night, when sleep was too stubborn to arrive, or the feeling of his words whispered under breaths in her hair when he thought she was too asleep to notice.

She thought of everything she was going to miss.

Before everything went black, Shepard thought that maybe, this was really it.

It isn’t.

She’s pretty sure she’s dead.

She can’t see anything.

She can’t hear anything.

She can’t feel anything.

Until the pain hits, so sudden she can’t help but gasp.

She’s breathing.

—I’m sorry. We…we haven’t found her.

Admiral Hackett’s words feel deaf, hollow in his brain.

—She has to be somewhere!

Joker’s reply is a bit louder, like a voice suffocating under dark waters.

Garrus can’t force himself to worry. Or care.

Was that what she had felt? That first time, after the Collector’s attack, with her damaged suit, suffocating, trying to breath but not finding air, wandering around with nowhere to go. That second time, when the Crucible crumbled over her while the Reapers suddenly stopped in their trays and fell to the ground like lifeless puppets whose strings are suddenly cut.

—The ruins are still there.

—Doctor T’Soni…

—If the remains of the Crucible are there, that means Shepard may be, too. We’ll dig her out. Give me a shovel, I’ll do it myself.

Of course she would.

—Even if she’s…still there…there’s no way she could have survived.

That’s obvious.

Even if the explosion that had ended with the Reapers had not killed her, the fall of the Crucible should have.

But she’s Shepard.

She’s been dead before.

And not even Death has been able to stop her.

—She’s not dead.

His voice sounds strange to him. Hoarser. Fiercer.

—Vakarian. I understand-

No, he doesn’t. No one else does.

—She’s not dead.

Commander Shepard made him a promise. And she has never failed him.

So, Garrus hopes.

Why? He doesn’t know.

It’s only during the long scanning of the battlefield, over the battered ground covered in ashes, blood and broken dreams, searching for her in the place he saw her for the last time, that he realizes it’s because he knows that their first can’t be their last “I love you”.

EDI finds her first.

Her radar catches the soft, minimal thumbing of her heart, so mild that other sensors would have missed it.

She races towards the spot, transmitting her position to Tali, Liara and Garrus, falls to her knees, and starts digging. By the time she finds her arm, three more pair of hands, one with five fingers, two with three, have joined her.

Tali radios Joker, tells him to get Doctor Chawkas ready for them and set a course to the nearest medical centre. Liara stabilizes her vitals with such an amount of medi-gel she may had gotten high on it wasn’t she so outside her body, and EDI connects herself to the implants that have kept her alive despite death to make sure they don’t stop working.

And Garrus picks her up, prepares her for transport, keeping her torn and exhausted body (or what’s left of it) together.

Shepard breathes.

And Garrus breathes with her.

Miranda works with the doctors. She pushes them, screams at them, sometimes, when they don’t do as she commands, when they say that’s simply not possible.

Bullshit.

She brought Shepard back from the dead once.

They don’t get to tell her what’s possible from what’s not.

There’s nothing impossible to her.

Kaidan, Hackett and Vega are fighting with the Council for resources to keep Shepard alive.

They say she’s not going to make it.

But the Alliance is not giving in this time.

Because they did once, and Shepard paid the consequences. Because she’s in an operating room fighting for her life as they speak because they did not support her. Because she’s dying cause the Council refused to listen, refused to believe.

Because Shepard is a hero.

The discussion ends when Urdnot Bakara arrives to the Normandy’s communications room and menaces with unlashing a horde of angry krogan if they don’t pay. By her side, Urdnot Wrex growls in a signal of support.

And then, the Council decides to pay.

Grunt is a bit disappointed, but, well, he can handle it.

Because Shepard is going to survive.

They’ve done everything they could, they said to him.

Now, all that’s left is waiting.

Garrus is a sniper.

He knows about waiting.

He’s good at it.

So he sits down near her bed, counting her breathings and taking note of all her heartbeats, eyes fixed in the bandages that cover her body.

He’s made a mental list of her wounds. Knows is not healthy, but he just couldn’t help it. Burns, cuts, bruises, broken bones, destroyed tissue. A lot repaired, but also a lot permanently scarred.

She needs time.

He sits and listens, in the quietness, the fear that creeps in his chest, but also the blind hope. He asks the spirits for a chance, the last chance, because they’ve come too far to end this way.

Doctors says she’s a fighter. She refuses to leave.

And Garrus hopes. He just hopes. He chuckles a bit, too, because of course Shepard is a fighter.

Of course she’s stubborn. Of course she’s not leaving.

She promised.

So, the afternoon he feels her hand moving in his talon, her eyes fluttering lazily awake and the light smile she gives him in the haze of pain-killers, analgesics, skin grafts, needles and gauzes, he thinks he should’ve known better from the beginning.

Her voice is low, barely a whisper, but Garrus hears her as she had screamed in victory.

—So…a human-turian baby, was it?

He smiles.

Shepard and Garrus deserved better. Hope you liked it!

A/N: Team effort to save Shepard? Sign me the fuck in.

I kinda invented my own ending for this because I'll never get over the three ones we are given in the game. Also, are you really telling me that Cerberus tech could bring Shepard back to life in ME2 but not after ME3? Not buying it, Bioware.

[cosmicjoke]

Ahhh, Lestat to the rescue!  Like damn, man, just take my heart and tear it in two.

What really struck me here, with this whole situation with Louis and him legitimately making an attempt on his own life, is how David and Merrick both recklessly used Louis’ grief to their own ends, leading to this horrible tragedy, and how, in the context of that, one realizes just how much Lestat always, in his own way, treated Louis and his tendency towards melancholia, with respect.  Lestat always understood the danger for Louis, likely because of his experience with Nicki.  He always understood how easy it would be to push Louis over the edge into suicide.  I always felt Lestat’s anger towards Louis’ depression was his attempt to snap Louis out of spiraling, to push him towards a stronger will and desire to live.  Because he saw in Louis the same warning signs as there had been in Nicki.  Lestat never played with or used Louis’ grief for his own ends, he never treated it as a tool.  He tried to pull Louis up out of it.  Even the situation with Claudia was, in its way, Lestat trying to give Louis a reason to keep on, and in fact, strangely, it worked.  It broke Louis out of his habit of feeding only on rats.  It gave Louis a reason to live, in his desire to protect and take care of Claudia.  You realize that to a greater degree when you see here how David and Merrick dealt with Louis’ sadness and depression, how reckless with it they were.  How David used it as an excuse to get back in contact with Merrick and how Merrick used it, ultimately, to manipulate Louis into making her into a vampire.  And the result, most tragically, was Louis making an attempt on his own life. 

It feels poetic and right, then, that Lestat is the one to choose to bring Louis back into life, not to sooth any sense of guilt or remorse, the way Merrick obviously does, but in consideration for Louis’ own wishes.  This isn’t a decision Lestat makes easily.  I found it incredibly touching that Lestat seemed to be the only one while he, David and Merrick discussed what they should do, to consider what Louis himself would want.  He hesitated, because he felt that, if Louis really did wish to remain dead, then that should be respected.  It’s only when David admits that if he’d attempted to take his own life and failed, he would likely have lost his courage, reminding Lestat that it was that lack of courage that had stayed Louis’ hand before, that Lestat makes the choice to bring Louis back. 

I remember Lestat saying to Louis in “Queen of the Damned” that the ghost of Claudia was just an apparition, that it wasn’t real, discouraging him from wallowing in that trap of grief.  It’s after that, that Lestat takes Louis flying around the world, giving him this incredible experience and expression of love.  Like he was giving Louis a reason to keep going, to keep living.  That he could still find joy and happiness, somehow.  When you compare that to David and Merrick yielding to Louis’ desire to call up Claudia’s ghost, and see the disastrous consequences of that, with Claudia’s spirit saying all the most horrifically cruel things one could imagine, essentially driving Louis further into despair and self-loathing, whether it was truly Claudia or not, the point remains, a person’s grief and depression should never be used to manipulate them, or for any agenda at all.  It should never be played with. 

Finally, Lestat’s generosity in giving Louis his blood, in telling him “Harder, yes, take it from me... Harder, more of it, take it, take all that I have to give.” and then, even after Louis is fully restored, asking him to take yet more, speaks further to Lestat’s love for him.  Lestat suffered himself for something like 80 years I think in a state of serious injury and suffering, after having been nearly killed by Claudia and burnt by Louis, and then later starved and pushed from a high point by Armand.  He only got better, eventually, by burying himself in the earth for 55 years.  You would think being denied any kind of help himself would have left him bitter and reluctant to share his own blood to help heal anyone.  But that’s the thing about Lestat that I keep saying.  He’s someone who doesn’t hold onto resentments or anger.  He never holds anything against anyone for very long.  Whatever else you might say about Lestat, you can say with certainty that he’s a generous and, ultimately, deeply loving person.

Also, Louis completely broke my heart here.  The part when he thinks he finally hears Claudia playing the harpsichord, and the birds singing, was one of the most brutally tragic moments I’ve encountered in any of these books.  David’s dumb ass should’ve known right then and there that Louis wasn’t okay, and he should’ve known from that that Louis’ words about being in love with Merrick and that love supplanting his grief was a ruse too, but he let his own jealousy get in the way of seeing it.  You could tell Louis was completely lost to his grief, guilt and despair in that scene when he thinks he hears Claudia and the birds, to the point of hallucinating.  Ah, Louis is so horribly hurt.  To think that pain in him was so selfishly taken advantage of by others makes it all the worse.  I know David and Merrick didn’t mean for what happened to happen, but it did, and it was because they put themselves before Louis’ emotional well being.