#it’s not normal in fact it’s actually very weird to see the extents people go to defend someone who doesn’t know they exist

[ceoandslutler]

a short analysis on the theme of kindness in kuro, in defence of the morally reprehensible protagonists.

i previously spoke about sebastian pulling a "not like other humans" line on ciel but the things he's actually saying in this chapter are crazy...

chapter no's and pages in alt text!!

media illiterate (most kuro fandom antis') logic is that ^this guy's^ the big bad villain of kuro, there's so much to analyse about the theme of kindness and humanity in kuro but ultimately people are blind to it because sebaciel are not the kind, happy-go-lucky type of protags many people are used to and people struggle to purify them. there are so many people in this story "more innocent" than them and less morally grey which makes them look like worse people but the fact is that they are the "worse" in a world full of the "worst". they're there to show you how despicable humanity can be but they have their moments of 'good' (otherwise they'd be lacking in likability), especially moments like this can be quite odd in this story about corruption and evil because in those pages, these two do not seem like the deplorable, manipulative and conniving characters we often see them as. this moment reminds me of another very dear chapter to me which two volumes comes after this.

this is such an interesting part of the manga (it's why the blue cult arc is my favourite arc of the manga despite all the popstar/idol shenanigans that threw a lot of people off). the way these two behave in this arc is not normal, they do not need to go above and beyond for these people. it is not necessary for sebastian to go this far for ciel AND his tenants (who it is important to note he has no contractual obligation to care for, especially not to the extent of giving them the "time of their lives") and it is certainly not normal the way ciel treats these people with zero contempt even when they 'disrespect' him as a noble. these two are genuinely weird for their time, blue cult arc also gives us an unforgettable seb moment (link).

this chapter also serves as part of the transition between the blue cult arc and the blue memory arc which is also...

one of the most intriguing parts of the manga... what's interesting here is that ciel HAS kept his tenants happy as proven by the halloween chapter (the page below from this same chapter talks of infrastructure needs having to be met and we read that ciel has fixed the roads since becoming earl and even an old donkey can transport milk from across them- that's how good the quality of the roads are). however, what i want to focus on is undertaker previously saying ciel, despite having phantomhive blood is not like his predecessors. in fact, the flashback chapter shows he's not even like his own identical twin brother!

i really wonder what exactly undertaker meant by saying that right as ciel saves joanne in the school arc and also what vincent was thinking about his sons in this flashback sequence. did vincent think o!ciel is different too? and what is it that makes him so odd? or rather, what makes him an exception in the phantomhive family? i look forward to whatever yana has in store for us and hope to see where these wonderful characters with such bizarre morality (or lack there of) end up.

i will talk about this theme more in the future but if anyone has something specific to add, please do. and even if it's not too detailed or you're unsure, feel free to tell me what you think about the use of 'good' and 'evil' for the main characters of kuro overall! some things to consider:

fundamentally why are ciel and sebastian the way they are? and more importantly, do you think yana intended either of them to be read as strictly "evil"? a lot of people make the case of the fandom purifying them but i never see that these days, usually it's only ciel that's sanitised of all sin and sebastian that is demonised (although occasionally both are demonised as solely "bad guys"). i joke about them being narcissistic and not the nicest people (which is something i genuinely believe) but i do not think they are the root of all evil; which is a take you can have without absolving them of any and all misdeed they may have committed. i think what i'm really getting at is that sebastian is not ""evil""? and he's not innocent either. but he's a force for "good" in the story. he works for the phantomhive estate and the people living on that land more devotedly than a demon with a 3-clause contract with the master of the land should and he shouldn't be excluded from the phantomfam and only seen as horrible/evil but nor should he be solely seen as a silly little cat loving parent. and you don't need to ship sebaciel to see him this way, just read the source material with your eyes peeled, really think about what sebastian does and says. he's so interesting and he's so much more than the fandom makes him out to be. but interpret him however you want, i guess.

[butterflydm]

more cr103

The fact that the group that has the least exposure to the gods and the least understanding about them is the one that is sorta incidentally saving them while doing something else is... I guess a vibe, lol. But I really do hope that at least some of them take advantage of being in Vasselheim to do some godtalking and at least get even a fraction of the understanding and knowledge that VM or MN had about the gods.

It isn't necessarily all that important for the plot - 'Stop Ludinus' is the plan whether or not you give a shit about the gods, and that motive has been baked into Orym's backstory since day one - but it just feels weird that the party that knows the least about the gods is the one given the most power over their fates.

So it seems like we could end cr3 with a few different possibilities:

a. Bells Hells succeeds; Ludinus is defeated and things go back mostly to normal

b. Bells Hells fails; Ludinus succeeds to a certain extent and we end up with another calamity and cr4 is a post-apocalyptic campaign in some fashion, with the gods either eaten or chased away (Chetney brought this up in the episode, iirc)

c. Bells Hells succeeds but only after the Divine Gate gets torn down for some reason (either by Ludinus or by the gods to fight Predathos), thus leading to a world that is more like the one pre-Divergence (honestly, this one would be kinda funny if only because of how much Ashton would hate it).

I do think that the recording wouldn't have as much of an impact on faith in the gods as Ludinus thinks that it would -- everyone who knows about the Calamity already knows that 'the gods destroyed Aeor', or at least I believe that's part of the established history/lore of the series; and we see two of the gods (Everlight & Dawnfather) actively seeking to not have to destroy the city the entire time that they're there.

It would make some people lose faith, but it would also endear the gods more to others (like it has done for Launda). I just... given how wide-spread faith is irl without anything like the pluses that faith-based people get in Exandria, I would just find it unlikely that the orb would have the impact that Ludinus wants. We've seen that the only people it really 'convinced' were people who were already inclined to be unhappy with the gods (Ludinus himself, Dorian, and maybe Ashton, but I think Ashton just dislikes any kind of authority/structure and I'm not sure if the orb actually had an impact on that one way or the other)

But, of course, if the world doesn't immediately agree with him, that only gives Ludinus more reason to invade and conquer and destroy, because now his pride will be hurt over the fact that people aren't listening to him ("I am talking!").

As someone who isn't a believer irl, my main feeling about fantasy gods tends to run along the lines of "are they more helpful or more harmful?" and the Exandria gods as a whole have shown themselves to be more helpful than harmful over the course of the three campaigns (*cough* defeating Vecna *cough*), so I'd like them to stick around (since they've shown that they can mostly keep the betrayers in check with the Divine Gate in place). There are fantasy worlds where Ludinus might well be doing something heroic by wanting to take out the gods... but I don't think Exandria is one of those worlds.

Exandria is a world where the prime gods were willing to take a hard look at the consequences of their actions and do something to prevent more harm in the future, even at the cost of losing something incredibly important to them. As far as fantasy gods go, they're pretty nice! Especially the ones we met in Downfall, I feel very fond of them.

[andreal831]

I found it so absolutely crazy that the Mikaelsons (especially Klaus and Elijah) were constantly throwing Marcel’s background back in his face and just the fact that they lived in/on the same plantation that he was a slave on was absolutely wild. Marcel was so blatantly “othered” by the Mikaelsons, even though they said he was family, they always reminded him that he wasn’t ever one of them/a mikaelson and Klaus would always remind him that he was a slave before. Someone made the analogy that it’s like when a racist white family adopts a black child and make it clear that he’s not one of them and that’s quite LITERALLY what happened.

I would go as far as to say that Marbekah is not just weird because Rebekah knew him as a child, but also because of that strange power dynamic of her being a rich white woman and him being a black slave boy and that subtext there and it just doesn’t feel right (and this is a feeling I don’t get from normal interracial relationships, just THOSE TWO). And if you like Marbekah, that’s great! I just don’t lol.

And the fandom always says that “it’s just Klaus’ personality that he does and says these things to Marcel, etc” like… ugh.

And there’s other poc in TO that deal with the racism like Vincent and Inadu, etc

I love the Mikaelsons but they were so problematic to the point that I have to retcon certain things or at least insert headcanons to make me not hate them. Because you are absolutely right. It was literally a racist family playing white savior. People try to give Klaus props for killing an enslaver and freeing Marcel, but we see him kill one enslaver and free one person who was enslaved. He didn't do it because he was morally opposed to slavery. He did it for his own selfish reasons. Otherwise we would have seen more of this. People using the excuse that "oh it's just x's character to make racists comments" is very telling. It means the character is racist. They are literally saying it is part of that character. The Mikaelsons thinking it was fine to live on an actual plantation both when it was functioning and after is proof of this.

I personally do like Marbekah but they are not necessarily in my top favorite ships. I love both of the characters but I also hate how they began (same with Freelin, but I'll go into that in a moment). But again, you're absolutely right. There is not only the inappropriate dynamic that she helped raise him, to some extent, but yes, that he grew up being treated as a second class citizen, not only when he was enslaved but also when he was taken in by the Mikaelsons. There is also the bad dynamic of how possessive Klaus is over Rebekah and her romantic life. People love to say Klaus daggered Rebekah when he found out about Rebekah and Marcel because he was protecting Marcel, but let's be honest, he wouldn't have cared if it was anyone else but Rebekah. Klaus didn't have any issues going after teenagers, why would he care that Marcel was being groomed by an older woman? Klaus always treated Marcel as more of a friend than a son and we all know Klaus is not a good friend. I, once again, have to insert my own headcanon that Rebekah was not heavily invovled in Marcel's upbringing. I pretend Klaus was just as possessive of Marcel with Rebekah as he was with Elijah. We only see the one scene of Rebekah training him so I just pretend that was a one time thing and they hardly interacted outside of that. This not at all what the writers intended. They loved creepy, grooming relationships so it is completely understandable to not like them.

Marcel was treated as more of a possession than anything. I'm biased so I like to believe Elijah saw Marcel as a child at first and wanted to mentor him before Klaus got in the way. You mention Elijah throwing Marcel's history in his face, do you have an example? I am genuinely asking. I've seen people make this comment before and make comments of Elijah calling him "boy" but I for the life of me can't remember when he does, because yes, that is obviously racist. I am trying to think past my Elijah blinders, but welcome any help. Elijah is definitely condescending to him and it would be foolish of me to assume part of it isn't racism. Again, I insert my own headcanon that it is more to do with his elitism and how he speaks to everyone (i.e. the scene where he calls Klaus and Hayley "chiiillldddreeen" for bickering). But I also acknowledge that my headcanons are my own and we still need to call out the characters for their problematic behavior. The fact that Elijah doesn't lift a finger to help a single person who is being enslaved or to even condemn the slavery when he very much had the power and privilege to do something about it shows his racism, if not overt racism than at the very least covert.

I personally headcanon that Celeste set Elijah straight while they were together and got him more invovled in the abolitionist movements, because I refuse to believe Celeste was fine being with a man who was fine with slavery. I also love Elijah and refuse to love a racist so I have to insert my own head canons to fix the racist writing. I would also be remiss to point out how problematic it is that Elijah is constantly given partners who are women of color but the show only emphasizes his white counterparts. There is more love for Eelijah, a crack ship, in the fandom than Celijah, one of the two people Elijah loved by his own admission. I love haylijah, but how the women of color he dated were treated by his family, the writers, and his family, even by him, speaks volumes to their racism.

But back to Marcel. It would have made sense for Rebekah to be a mother figure to him since she is always talking about wanting kids, but the show makes it clear that there is a distinction between biological children and adopted. Here the Mikaelsons have a chance to be parents and they all squander it. It's hard to not talk about Marcel's race in that discussion. Rebekah loves her time taking care of Hope, who, while her blood, is still not her biological daughter. Why wouldn't she jump at the chance to raise a frightened boy who lost his mother at such a young age? Why wasn't he given a mother figure? Hope has like five. Marcel isn't even given a father figure. Again, Hope has like five. Because Marcel was never viewed as a child. This is a common trope where black characters, especially boys, are not seen as kids. Rather they are forced to be more mature and treated as adults, while their white counter parts are allowed immaturity. Marcel was never allowed to be a kid because the Mikaelsons didn't want a kid. They all had their own selfish desires for Marcel and they were all terrible.

I do think the Mikaelsons are also just a toxic, dysfunctional family. Literally none of them treat the others well. I love certain relationships over others, but it would be lying to say they weren't all toxic to each other. So it's no wonder all of their relationships with Marcel were toxic. Klaus undaggers Kol and instead of being angry at Klaus for keeping him in a box, he turns his anger and frustration on a literal child. You would think this resentment would fade when Kol starts dating his nephew's daughter (sorry, couldn't help myself), but it doesn't. Marcel and Kol still harbor so much animosity for each other and Kol's is merely based on Marcel being more included in the family, which is sad considering how little Marcel is included in the family. But even that extent was too much for Kol.

The writers had a fresh slate with The Originals. There was no book to attempt to follow or even to dictate character relationships. They could have done anything with Marcel, but they chose to make a black slave from the 1800s that Klaus "saved" in order to play into the idea that Klaus was a good guy underneath it all. So instead of focusing on Marcel's trauma, the story is told through the Mikaelson's perspective, the white perspective. It reminds me of so many movies, The Blind Side comes to mind. Media loves to focus on the white saviors and praise them without mentioning the trauma they actually caused while playing savior. In these stories, the white families aren't adopting a "child" they are "investing" in what that child can do for them.

I mentioned Freelin earlier and I don't think it is a coincidence that the only two instances where a white Mikaelson's endgame invovled a person of color there is a massive power imbalance. I want to love Freelin so much because I like both the characters but I struggle to get past how they met and how quickly it changed. Freya never even felt guilty or apologized for literally kidnapping and torturing her. The show loves to match up characters, especially women and especially woman of color, with their abusers with no repercussions to the abuse.

I could write forever about the blatant racism in this show.

Thanks for the ask! I hope I answered everything. As always, please let me know what you think or if you disagree with anything I said.

[sokkastyles]

Something I find really, really tragic about Ursa's situation is that she probably knew or figured out very, very quickly that she would never be able to protect both of her children completely, if at all. She did what she did to protect Zuko, because he was the child that was in immediate physical danger, as Ozai (and Azulon I think? my memory's a bit fuzzy) wanted to kill him. Azula parroted Ozai's desire to kill Zuko because that's what Ozai was conditioning her and abusing her to do, parrot his beliefs (she was the Golden Child, and yes this absolutely was damaging for her). I find it so strange that some people think it's weird that Ursa reprimanded Azula for this, as if it isn't concerning if one of your children gleefully talks about killing the other one. But also, I can't help but think about the fact that Ursa was watching how both of her children were being abused by Ozai and was trying to intervene to the best of her abilities, and while I don't think she was perfect, I do find it really sad to think that she nothing she did would ever have been enough. Ozai wouldn't have stopped hurting both of his children. Even if she tried to help Azula more, there's no way Ozai would allow her any more influence over Azula than she already had. Even Ursa leaving (after poisoning Azulon) to protect Zuko was something that kept him alive, but didn't completely protect him from Ozai, and it's not Ursa's fault, but it's just really sad. What's your view on this situation?

The thing is that Ursa couldn't really do much at all to protect Zuko, even when she was there. I don't think she did truly know the extent to which Zuko was in danger until that night she found Azula in Zuko's room, gloating about Ozai killing him. If she did, she would have done more to keep Azula away from Zuko, but instead she encourages them to play together, not picking up on Azula's manipulativeness or Zuko's fear. I actually don't think she was really aware of the extent of what was going on, or could not see it clearly because she was also being abused. She is neither as protective of Zuko as she should be, nor as overly critical of Azula as she should be, which is why it's blatantly bullshit when people go on about her "favoring" Zuko. Especially when the person who says this in canon is Azula, who is actually being blatantly favored by Ozai, and is not a good judge of what favoritism looks like.

I think Ursa probably tried to make as much of a normal life for her children as she could. People living under abuse are good at pretending their situation is normal to cope. And the only solution she's able to see is the one presented to her by her abuser, which gives him exactly what he wants. It's pretty startling when you consider how similar what Ozai did to Ursa is to what he did to Zuko.

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S3 E25 - Facets

Another good one and one that was a lot of fun to watch, too.

The whole time I kept thinking how the IRL cast must of had some fun playing different people for a minute. Their mannerisms, their speech, all of it was so different for who they normally are and it was interesting from a character standpoint, fun from a break in character place, and intriguing to see the small ways each previous life changed Jadzia.

Obviously seeing Quark femme it up for a while was a silly twist but I think I really enjoyed seeing Miles as Tobin and Kira as Lela the most. With Lela it honestly felt like she was a sweet but powerful old grandma that would give the best hugs before she stormed some political stage. With Tobin, he was a shy, anxious man that I just wanted to hug and tell him that he was going to be okay.

Sisko as Joran was one I was looking forward to and it was pretty much everything I expected. I'm glad she put her Klingon fighting skills to use, in a way proving him wrong about how 'weak' she is.

I liked Curzon the least. I'm not sure if that was the intended read on him but I know I wouldn't be able to spend two minutes alone in a room with him. Him as Odo was probably doubly bad cause I'm still not Odo's biggest fan. But then they went and made it weird with the whole love storyline. If they had made it love like granddaughter or something I would have accepted it but this was too icky for me.

That aside, I did get a little teary eyed when he saw Sisko for the first time. The way Sisko's face lit up at the idea of talking to his best friend again? Such a good moment. And then there was the Quark kiss, that was fun too.

I am happy that Jadzia got some closure there and that Odo and her now how a deeper understanding of each other because of their bonding. Odo is probably my least favorite person on the show but I think he deserves someone who actually understands him to an extent.

But the B plot!!!

Nog passed his test! He's going to Starfleet Academy!

And Rom buying a cadets uniform from Garak?! Best dad ever!

My very favorite moment, though, was Rom cornering Quark in a hallway and threatening to burn the bar down in Quark ruined it for Nog again. The fact that he admitted that he loves his son more than latinum had me literally punching the sky in cheers. Best moment and best dad.

7/10 - I want to give this an 8 but honestly the whole Curzon thing really icked me out, like a lot.

[thousand-winters]

Remember how Amity accidentally called a teacher mom? Imagine Hunter calling Alador Dad. Dad Darius overhears and is incredulously or jealous. He gets Hunter new gruby uniform cause he's worried Hunter likes Alador more.

It really doesn't help that both of them are abomination users, and frankly? Hunter is used to the one adult who listens to him and guides him gently being Darius, so that kind of mentor-ish attitude Alador is taking with him at the moment while showing him what he's working on (I picture Alador working not only on the sigil removal but on other projects to help overall on the Isles, especially to make up for the damage his creations made + the sort of ableism he was promoting when he and Odalia forbid Amity from being friends with Willow because she couldn't do magic well) threw him off a little.

He didn't even realize Darius had heard that one because he was a little too busy going all red and apologizing frantically to an increasingly confused Alador. He truly doesn't see him as a father figure, he just has a complicated relationship with actual kind adult figures in his life, considering the first one to be kind to him ended up becoming his dad, and then when he was in the Human Realm, he was sort of registering Camila's behaviors with Luz and Vee and the rest of them like "oh, so this is what a parent is supposed to act like" and while of course there's Camila herself, Eda, Raine, and other adults who are actually good and are not his parents, he's still adjusting to the reality of authority figures not acting abusive with their power.

So between that, and the reminders of his sewing lessons with Darius, when Alador picked up something to show him with abominations, the "dad" just sort of slipped out.

Alador is very understanding about the whole thing once he stops being all ??? and Hunter can go back to his normal life just a little more mortified than before, but it's all fine. Or so he assumes, anyway, until he notices that Darius is being increasingly doting and affectionate.

It wouldn't even be that weird; Darius was probably also holding back from being too affectionate at the very beginning because Hunter wasn't used to that kind of familiar dynamic and he got overwhelmed quickly with physical affection, mostly, plus feeling like he had to repay every single gift or thing Darius bought for him. It was progressive, and this almost could pass at that if Darius didn't seem slightly frantic about it.

Now, Darius truly does want what's best for Hunter, and he wouldn't have protested, even if it's not what he would have wanted, if Hunter had preferred to be taken in by another family (provided that they were good people, of course), but at this point, when they're officially a family? And the fact that it's Alador of all people? Please, that man is still trying to repair his mistakes with his own children, he's not well suited to adopt another kid out of nowhere. Darius is aware he might be letting a bit of bitterness slip in there but he's just a little panicky wondering what he did so wrong for Hunter to see Alador as his dad.

Eberwolf would probably be the one to call him out because if anyone knows Darius well, it's gonna be Eberwolf, but if he was absent for whatever reason, it would take a bit longer for the situation to come to a head, though probably not that long. Hunter, ultimately, did learn to read adults fairly well, or at least their emotions, as a survival mechanism, so he would eventually pick up on how Darius seems almost anxious whenever he offers him something these days. Again, it's not that Darius isn't doting usually, but to this extent that seems practically? Yeah, no, something's off.

He's very hesitant to bring it up because he's not the best still at confrontation with adults, let alone his parent since Darius is, in some sense, "above" him in his vision of things, but the question of what's going on might just be enough for Darius' facade of normalcy to just break.

Hunter wouldn't even think it's silly, he knows what he would feel if he heard Darius calling another kid his child, so he doesn't hesitate to explain the logic behind that whole thing, as sheepish as he is to also imply that Darius has enough similarities to Alador for his mind to get all jumbled up.

In the end it's an embarrassing event for everyone involved and they do NOT want to talk about it once they have solved it. They are swearing not to mention it once Eber gets back.

[deadendtracks]

responding to @divinekangaroo's response to me!

re: the Lizzie scene in s2, I never feel like I can articulate what I see in any kind of coherent way. It's one of those completely *weird* scenes that CM throws in every so often that isn't quite what you'd expect it to be but isn't particularly easily defined, either.

The impending assassination and his emotional shut down over Grace are definitely elements!

The ability to get away from being used to kill, but then being locked back into it against his will.

Yeah, absolutely, this is incredibly important to both season 2 and season 3 (and arguably season 5 in a different way).

I have such a sense he’s almost *forcing* himself to do it.

Yeah absolutely, that's how I look at it too. I don't sense any anger in it, but Tommy does often react to situations he can't escape by 'going away' in a sense (dissociating, detaching, withdrawing emotionally).

I wonder how this fits with what you talk about later regarding him 'acting out' on Lizzie what's being done to him -- would he have to so obviously force himself to do this if that were the case? It seems like it would be more compulsive/irresistible and feel necessary for him if that was the motivating factor? He doesn't seem to be aware enough to have it be the case that he feels this compulsion and knows where it's coming from and is struggling with it by becoming detached, idk.

From Lizzie’s words (and how warm the two of them are in the typewriter scene) I have to assume they’ve had a relatively amicable paid sexual relationship, and Tommy’s definitely acting different in that particular scene.

Yeah definitely. This tends to be misinterpreted by some parts of fandom as how he *always* is with Lizzie, but Lizzie's reaction to him is definitely a little "idk what *that* was about" and she wouldn't behave the way she does if that was how he typically treated her. There's also the fact that despite his demeanor in that scene where he seems to be dismissive of her, in the next scene he shows he'd listened to her and thought about what she said.

It’s not really about pleasure or release before a risky venture that might kill him. It’s not even about Lizzie at all, or a comment on his prior (or upcoming) connection with Lizzie. A reminder to himself about being used, the way certain disadvantaged people are always used no matter what they actually want, the way he feels about being used that way. And a very strong reminder at the end when Lizzie outreaches for connection that you take the money and treat the exchange as a transaction.

Yeah, that could be part of it, though to me it doesn't feel like he's aware enough even of Lizzie's presence for this to be a kind of acting out of that dynamic on another person -- instead it's like she's not even there (and he's not there either). In some ways you wonder why he's doing it at all. One of my theories about Tommy & sex is that he uses it to get out of his own anxiety spirals/out of his head, so maybe that was what he was hoping would happen and he was just too dissociated from the fact of what he was about to do to get anything out of it but taking the edge off.

So he uses Lizzie, not cruelly or unfairly in that desk scene given she is a prostitute then: she’s his only lover that he doesn’t have to perform with. He can have terrible sex, he doesn’t have to think about her pleasure, he doesn’t have to perform or satisfy her or try to influence her.

In some ways she's also the only person he doesn't have to perform for period, he's always performing for his family, he's always performing for his enemies and for the upper classes. He can often be quite 'flat affect' with them but never quite to this extent; with Lizzie he can drop even the pretense that he's present. Which isn't great for her! But his reaction to her wanting *more* from him ('i wish just once you wouldn't pay for it like normal people' or whatever she says) could be all about the fact that what he *wants* in that moment is to not have to be anything or anyone to her or himself, he wants to *not be.*

Tangentially: I also think a lot of his behaviours with Lizzie are actually about what’s going on in himself, not about his feelings for her.

Yeah, absolutely. His first scene with her at Epsom is about this; he's too wrapped up in what he's about to do to even hear what she's saying or how she feels about it; and I don't think it has a lot to do with what he thinks about her as a person, he's just dropped into that headspace where he can't spare anything for anyone.

This Lizzie as a Tommy-distorted-mirror warps and shifts over time, but I think S2 in particular she’s almost this “sexual-tool / extension-of-himself” to be that mirror of him being used as a “killing-tool” where he has no choice, and he actively uses her that way in the sex scene and at Epsom.

That's an interesting point. To riff on it a bit I think it connects to "everyone's a whore, Grace" and to "everyone gets tired, Finn" -- I think in a wider sense Tommy's thinking is nearly always war-time, in that everyone around him is also a combatant and there are no civilians. It's the same with his brothers often, it's the same with how he has disregard for the civilians in the housing project in the season 4 shootout: this is a battlefield for him so he treats everyone else as if they're also in the battlefield situation with him.

Which... at least for Lizzie and those civilians in s4, they didn't sign up for this! He blurs the lines between how people use their bodies-as-tools, including, later, himself. I think a lot of this comes from having been a lower level officer ranked over his brothers -- to have mentally survived at some point he'd have had to detach from any personal feelings about who he's 'using' to fight these battles and how, and now he can't turn it off.

He also fully intended for Lizzie not to have to go through with it, which is important; at the same time he'd have to know there'd always be a risk of that going wrong in ways that (at that point) wouldn't be true of himself (he'd end up injured, killed, arrested rather than raped).

asking for Lizzie as a thing/a Tommy substitute -- well, he actually did do that to Lizzie at Epsom, because he couldn’t do it himself. 

And it shows how he changes by s5 where he absolutely would never offer Lizzie to Moseley even if it would be strategically advantageous; instead he'll keep putting himself into the position where it's possible he'll have to do it himself, which terrifies him.

[midnightmah07]

💙 ☄️ for all my girlies hehe

ADDIE MY BESTIE<3 TY FOR THE QUESTIONS!!!!

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around?

Daisy -> yes😭 but also no?? Ok so I know I joke around a lot that daiggie has separation anxiety, but that's mostly because Ruggie's busy a lot of the time, and Daisy is usually being tasked by Crowley to do stuff around campus, study and help her friends study too. She's used to it, but it doesn't mean she doesn't miss him dearly; when she misses him she tends to fidget with her little dandelion phone strap Ruggie got her (I'm contemplating changing this to something else, but just know Ruggie gave her a gift lol) and keeps sighing throughout the day,,, everyone can tell she misses him and it's quite irritating (to them)

Perse -> hmmm I say surprisingly yes. She's been stuck to Idia's side ever since she was a kid so she does actually tend to miss him quite often when they're separated, it's just less noticeable, you can't really tell she's in a different mood until she finally see Idia and suddenly she's wayyyyy clingier than usual lol

Jeanne -> I think she misses him a normal amount! Kalim definitely misses Jeanne way easier than she misses him, but it's not like she can't miss him because when she does she gets reallyyyy cranky and easily irritated, it's quite scary lmao

Isabelle -> I think Isabelle and Leona are used to distance. They are from different countries, they go to different schools, Leona didn't use to answer her messages... They kinda got used to being distant from each other, you know? But once they're in a relationship I do think Isabelle suddenly misses him more, and it's kinda obvious by the way she keeps checking her phone to see if Leona already answered her messages (I HC he starts answering her after they get closer)

Damali -> she's. Insufferable. She misses Jamil sm and so easily it's quite irritating tbh😭 she looks like a lost puppy when she's missing him it's so funny like oh my goodness why are u crying at 2 am bc Jamil forgot to see you before going to sleep grow up

☄️ COMET - what do people assume about them? are they right?

Daisy -> people assume she's a goody goody and a pushover (mostly people at NRC), and that's like... 10% correct? I mean she does like to follow what's right and has a strong moral compass but it's not to this extent, so no the assumptions aren't correct😭 looking at u Ruggie Bucchi

Perse -> people think she's a either a jerk, emotionless, a self absorbed fashionista or all three at once😭😭 and to say that's wrong would be an understatement

Jeanne -> people often think of Jeanne as intimidating and not to be trusted which... Isn't that far off but she does have a heart of gold and cares deeply for the people around her; oh and yeah there's the whole issue of people thinking she's a guy😭

Isabelle -> people deem Isabelle as a strict dictator or a boring nerd who can't be trusted... The first half couldn't be further from the truth since she's strict to help her dorm members succeed and is willing to help them flourish, she's also kind and always willing to give compliment and provide feedback in a gentle way; the second half,,, well she IS a nerd😭 but not boring,,, and she's a very trustworthy individual

Damali -> people see her as a perfect servant, perfect woman, perfect everything, but she is in fact super weird and a mess inside😭

[caspersickfanfics]

Okay okay I've been thinking really hard about something wrong with Nari just, In general and it keeps bringing me back to that HC about Cyno and the Bimarstan. And Like. Oh man. Oh I really love it??? I think he'd have to be really desperate to take Nari there, if he really has that kind of history with them but he was Definitely demand to stay beside him as much as possible and def would work himself up into a mess even if a well hidden one and if you have more thoughts I'd love to hear!-Aery

Agh yes!!! The Bimarstan HC is one of my faves.

I imagine that usually, if Tighnari is sick, he'll treat himself, instruct Collei or Cyno in treating him, or (if he knows he'll need the Bimarstan) he'll take himself there without telling Cyno until after the fact. Save him the worry, and there's the easy excuse of Cyno being away with work most of the time anyway. I doubt Tighnari trusts the Bimarstan much either, but he probably has a few contacts there that he knows will do a decent job, and he brings a friend with him when he can, just in case.

But if Tighnari's too feverish to think straight or passing out or in pain to the point that he can hardly speak. That's a different story. And at that stage Nari's having such a rough time that he isn't aware of what's going on let alone able to calm Cyno down, but other people notice because Cyno is Not Doing Well. Not sleeping, not showering, not eating, barely talking. Alhaitham tries to get Cyno to come back to work, with the best of intentions, but he doesn't take that well. Kaveh is a lot more sensitive about it and brings Cyno food that he hardly touches, with a great deal of persuasion. He tries and fails to get Cyno to play cards with him. If it goes on long enough, Kaveh gets Lisa to come out and she's able to get Cyno to sleep, but he wakes up panicked from a nightmare not long after and then he's mad about it and just shuts them all out. The only person who brings him comfort is Collei, who similarly distrusts doctors, but is more knowledgeable about medicine and able to verify to a certain degree that Tighnari is being treated well. Cyno tries really hard to act normal around Collei especially because he doesn't want to worry her more, so she doesn't see the full extent of how bad things are, but she knows him well enough to recognize he's on edge. Mostly she helps with distractions, because Cyno will play cards with her and he'll eat with her and he'll read with her for Collei's sake, not realizing that she's doing all of this for him. Also, maybe she or Kaveh gets Cyrus to come, very much against Cyno's will, and Cyno has a bit of a breakdown then.

I'm rambling a lot but yes I love the idea of Cyno being so stressed to his wits end about being around so many doctors all the time, about Tighnari's health, and about Tighnari's vulnerability. When Tighnari is finally lucid enough to be reassuring, Cyno is like, weird/awkward at first - he's trying to make sure Tighnari's comfortable and he's still so stressed and just not thinking straight. Probably doesn't help if Tighnari tries to play things down. But eventually he's reassured that everything actually is alright and Nari gets soft and says something like "thank you for taking care of me so well" and Cyno just crumbles, and Nari is holding him and saying "I'm so proud of you." 😭

[austinslounge]

"but some shippers take things too far to the point where they're stalking said couple, obsessing over said couple, feeling like it's a "win" for them if their couple is seen together in public, or rejoicing if either side talks about the other in interviews, etc."

--- I'm so glad you mentioned this b/c this is how I've been feeling lately about Kaustin shippers. They feel the need to mention Kaia all the time in regards to things Austin says during this press tour. Like more than normal. It's actually super annoying. (Even that ET lady trying to mention Kaia in that interview. It was annoying and seemed really awkward for Austin). I think K&A shippers know deep down, something weird is going on and this is their way of coping. Just some kind of weird validation or something.

I'm a fan of Austin and I'm tired of seeing Kaia's name mentioned when it's not necessary. She has nothing to do with his professional life at all. I never had an issue with them as a couple up until recently. I think it's b/c the shippers (and Kaia's PR team) are trying to hard to keep Kaia's name attached to Austin's success. Even when she has nothing to do with Austin's current projects. It feels more forced now than ever, if that makes sense?

Hey Anon! Welcome to my blog. 😊

Girl you hit it right on the mark with this ask!

The constant need to insert Kaia into everything regarding Austin is just annoying, and it's a very huge reason why I hate shipping culture so much in fandoms these days.

*Austin bought flowers?

Shippers: "Omg! Maybe he bought those for Kaia or Kaia's mom!" 🥹

*Austin has the Bikeriders premiere in London?

Shippers: "OMG -- I hope we see Kaia attend his premiere in London!!!"

*Kaia is wearing a new ring on her finger? (like MOST celebrities do on the red carpet btw 😒)

Shippers: "Omg omg omg!!! I'm freaking out! Maybe they're secretly engaged!"

*Kaia has her hand on her tummy while wearing a dress?

Shippers: "Is that - is that a baby bump we see??" 🥹

*Austin mentions "his dog Milo" in a red carpet interview?

Shippers: "Yayyy we won! We won! We won!" 😁

It's just all so stupid to me. 🙄

I agree with you too. Part of the reason why I (and perhaps maybe other fans) don't really like the idea of Austin and Kaia being together is because she and her family seem to reek of opportunism.

There is something about their relationship that doesn't seem entirely genuine to some people. Perhaps maybe this is why some people don't like them together?

A lot of shippers tend to claim that we as non-shippers are just "jealous fangirls" who don't want to see Austin with anybody, and that's simply not true!

A lot of us do want to see Austin in a loving, genuine, real, and fulfilling relationship again, where he (at the very least) looks as happy as he looked with his ex girlfriend Vanessa, or, even with his friend/fling Lily Rose.

We would love to see him with a mature, talented, kind, and lovely woman who is truly his ever after love of his life, who he truly genuinely looks happy with and is like his best friend. 🥰

Many of us want him to be with a woman who didn't grow up in privilege her whole life, and who doesn't seem to be just using dating him as a way to leverage and further her own acting career. She knows that even if they don't flaunt their relationship, just the very fact that her name is attached to his through a romantic relationship, she will, by extention, get plenty of free press and attention.

It just all seems a little fake sometimes to me. A lot of these Hollywood romances seem a little fabricated tbh.

[utilitycaster]

also like, the cast approves the official art right? the official artist does not just make changes however they please

so i understand it not being up to your taste or whatever but this is how the cast wanted it to be, so being rude to the official artist accomplishes absolutely nothing

So here’s the thing: it’s totally fine to not like the cast's decisions! I think a lot of the weirdness I feel exists and talk about frequently is that there’s this unevenness and inconsistency in who you can criticize and the content of that criticism. Like, the main reason why ship discourse is so fucking fraught is because no one ever says “I wanted these two characters to kiss and then they didn’t and I’m sad.” It has to be “This guy’s story was clearly building up to a roaring rampage of revenge and this player was clearly avoiding their backstory and was obviously burnt out on the character and this character was clearly being infantilized in the ship I didn’t like and convenient, isn’t it how almost all of this is in the passive voice and I’m not actually coming out and saying I personally simply wasn’t happy with the choices the cast made?”

What’s also super telling is that I keep seeing the exact term “yassified” with regards to Fearne (and to a lesser extent Imogen). First off, whenever I see a very specific turn of phrase repeatedly it’s always a bit of a sign of like…does the person posting this actually feel this way in their individual thoughts or are they just parroting others. But what’s far more interesting is that Friederichs has outright said she fell somewhat short of Ashley’s intentions with regards to Fearne in the initial art, and was able to better grasp the uncanny and too-bright nature of the character now that she's seen the character in action for much longer.

It’s not really about what the cast wants. It’s literally as basic as “they changed it and I don’t like change.” And to be clear that’s very human and understandable. Before going back for my grad degree I worked in a tech role that bridged the gap between developers and end users, and people will lose their shit over minor cosmetic changes in software, let me tell you - but it’s also not rational, and it doesn’t need to be justified. A big part of life is realizing that brains are to an extent wired to be sensitive to changes in their environment, but if it’s a harmless change, it’s often beneficial to take a deep breath and let it sit for a while before knee-jerk deciding you hate it.

But I think my biggest gripe is that like, we’ve just seen the immensely swollen heads unofficial fan artists get about their work. We’ve seen people come up with truly bananacrackers faux social justice reasons to defend every hack who thinks they’re making a ~*statement*~ by drawing Imogen wearing the same exact style of glasses as twenty other people. We’ve even seen unofficial fan artists claim that their ability to make work that people will pay for is in fact evidence of their validity and contributions compared to others in the fandom. And then the second a fan artist actually gets paid by the production because they liked her art enough to hire her, it’s open season, apparently.

Personally? I strongly suspect the reason why the art of female characters in the cast gets the most criticism is because the weird refusal of many fans to be normal and say ‘hey I don’t love their choice in roleplay here’ means there’s just gallons of simmering toxic resentment about the women in the cast and their characters and choices below the surface, and somehow the official artists (who have also all been women) are considered an acceptable target for this bile.

There are also people I respect who aren’t loving the art! I think that’s a completely reasonable response. But they’re not making up a zillion reasons why actually they are correct, or yapping about it in highly visible places! It's fine to dislike it - just admit this is a personal preference with nothing deep behind it and keep it out of the tags! Like, part of why I’m so fucking wild about this relatively minor thing is when I (and others) have made untagged “I’m not a fan of this choice” posts I’ve gotten a barrage of anons thinking it’s time to change my mind and how dare you the cast likes it but for the official art it’s suddenly totally cool to be a huge fucking asshole in public.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 19 - The Judgement of Twelve

It's so funny for them both to have plushies of their dads. It's also funny that I think Keke would genuinely sell those.

Because he's just that good-looking, popular, and awesome,

Obviously.

The girls are fighting. And yes, this entire scene is just... brilliant. I love you, Joris.

I love his conviction in Kerubim. Joris is too familiar with Bashi to argue with the guy, but if he met Lou? He'd be more upset about the divorce than Kerubim. He'd be crying at her as if the poor woman is his absentee mother who left to buy milk. It'd be a nightmare.

Even if he's still sad about the divorce, he cannot stop rizzing up women.

Joris 7yo: "Go tell your dad about it!"

Joris 600~ years later: "Are you, monsieur, afraid of children?", "[recites poetry as Ush dies]", "No, mr-called-me-a-kid-and-asked-for-the-real-owner-of-the-shop, this Wondrous magical amulet I just dangled in front of you, is not for sale. I can sell you and your brother a hat that fixes shitty hair as a consolation prize.", "Master Adamai... If we died today, it would have actually been shameful."

Joris, just like his father, and just like his grandfather, is an evil fucking cat.

Keke and Bashi are such good parents.

Joris has the same vibe as the German Boy From The Weed Cave meme. I also love how enthusiastic he is about protecting Keke's Honor.

He's so hyped up to be a hater.

I think as an adult, in Wakfu times, Joris plots Evil Schemes together with Kerubim and Atcham as a bonding activity. From "here's how we can make people spend more money in the shop" to "here's how we can Enact Revenge upon that motherfucker Pierre who opened the croissant place a block away and said Keke's baking is SHIT".

Atcham is there just because he loves being evil, Joris is there because he loves being evil and has a personal stake in Kerubim's self-esteem, and Kerubim is there because of Pride and Greed.

I think living next to them, regardless of what century it is, is actually unbearable.

This is like if two peas in a pod started yelling at each other for being green.

They are such good parents.

But also, unironically, I think Kerubim is probably very chill about Joris swearing.

He is already a very... relaxed parent, when it comes to both child safety and cleaning. I think Joris deserves one good thing to come of it, like being allowed to say bitch.

I guess, considering the fact that this seems to be a thing that's not supposed to be known by normal people: Simone and Julie have a very active night-life in taverns.

An interesting note is that, as we'll see in one of the future flashback episodes, the three evil grandmas are around the same age as Kerubim, Indie, and Lou, and had known Kerubim since they were all teens.

But, the extent of their actual involvement with Kerubim seems to be just watching him like he's The Truman Show. Which, tbh, I would do too.

This is what people call "coping". Perhaps even "seething".

Joris for all 600 years of his life: if i had a lame ass shitty father i would hype him so much. i would make him wait out side so i could go in first and be like get ready here comes the most specialest boy ever if you dont cheer and clap for him ill fucking blow this whole building up

He's so confused when Kerubim isn't winning and so smug when he does. Like he fucking raised that man himself. I can't.

Of course, he'd force him and Atcham to call him dad, (besides it looking weird, if he were to call two babies "papycha" and "uncle",) — that way, he gets to sound normal when he's hyping them up.

I need him.

Hate wins.

[nyxvamps]

Child of Chaos - Xand Donovan:

Chaos Itself was curious. All of these primordials and titans and gods and other deities are making offspring, so It decided to do so as well. It had created many things, but had never 'raised' a child the way parents do.

It created Itself a human form. They did so easily. All They had to do was observe some humans for a few minutes and create a body that would pass as attractive and that could hold a child. They’re very androgynous and it seems as though no matter who looks at Them, they see something they like.

The whole process of creating a child in 9 months wasn’t something They were interested in, so They sped up the process to a day.

The child was born and They realized They would need to learn how to raise a demigod (demiprimordial? demientity?). So They observed. They picked and chose from the minds of the humans around Them what seemed to be the best ways to raise a child and did what They could to raise this child into a well rounded human. It worked, to an extent. When you are the literal beginning of existence you tend to have some quirks that can pass down to your offspring.

Overall, The child, that was named Xand Donovan (names that many people seem to think are "cool" and "edgy" which is apparently a good thing among human youth.) was a typical yet very weird ass kid.

Xand looks normal, until you see them from the corner of your eye, then it's like their eye's flashed like a cat's or their outline blurs slightly. It always feels like it's about to storm when you're near them. That feeling of static gathering like lighting is about to strike.

Xand kind of has, maybe, a little bit of a god complex, but not in a "im better than everyone no one can best me" kind of way, but in a "I'm going to live forever so why should I waste my infinite time with being insecure and caring about how others view me. They will die soon and will become a blip in my time in existence" kind of way. If that makes sense.

Xand loves humans. They have genuine relationships with them and they creates friendships and longs for people in their personal life and feels and wants and needs just like humans do. But Xand also knows that they are different and that they are an infinitely powerful being that is only nerfed by the fact that their parent is stopping them from ascending into primordial...hood? Why, because they are too young.

"Parent? I am 247 years old. That is like, 23 in human years. When will you let me join you as a diety?"

"Like I have said before my child, when you are older and have matured. Now. Explain again what these two women are trying to portray by running over and over again to their original song. It's very catchy."

The two of them, though they look human enough, feel very not of this world. If you were to meet one of the olympians, you feel that as well, but with Chanon and Xand Donovan, it's like being in a room with an eldritch horror, but not realizing how horrificly in danger you actually are.

They are uncanny valley without being uncanny. Something sets you off but you convince yourself that you're imagining it while your hair stands on end and you start to sweat.

Now: Power time.

We know that Chaos is literally the beginning of everything, therefore, can potentially have whatever power it wanted. It's child is not that powerful but is very much op. Of course.

While Xand is not able to ascend yet, their powers are more imaginable. Powers that make sense and you are able to wrap your brain around unlike being the beginning of all existance.

Xand is able to change their appearnce in anyway possible. Think, Nimona. Nimona can change into a shark, an exact replica of Bal with his voice too, a bird, a random little boy, (cough *ashes* cough).

They are able to create anything out of practically nothing. If they have a handful of dirt, they can make a new phone. A pile of trash? A beautiful house. Water partials in the air? A nice glass of juice. If there is matter, it can be manipulated. If Chaos let Xand ascend, they would be able to make anything out of nothing, just like their parent.

Xand can also "be" multiple places at once. Now, right now they only have one physical body, but they are able to split their consciousness up into multiple pieces that can functionally be in different places at the same time. Kinda like multiple ghost versions of them that are all their own sentient beings while separate.

We're gonna go a little cliché here and bring in telekinesis. When your parent in the beginning of creation, you're gonna be able to manipulate matter. and that means being able to throw it around and move it at will.

im gonna have so much fun with this character.

[ksfoxwald]

Fire and Hemlock Readalong - Chapter 4

In which our heroes acquire a horse.

Here the relationship between Tom and Polly starts to get a little weird - a grown man asking a little girl to come visit him in another city? But note also that Polly's mother only thinks of how it makes things convenient for her to "dump" Polly somewhere other than Nina's. Ivy is similarly oblivious in later chapters when her boyfriend starts acting inappropriately toward Polly.

This is actually very much an Ivy chapter, because Ivy is also Edna, which actualizes at the end but is still very much present throughout. Polly herself doesn't realize who Edna is, really; she's sort of pasted pop culture stereotypes over her own anxieties about her mother. Which is why when she encounters "real" Ednas - Carla the landlady, and later Edna in Stow-on-the-Water - she is surprised at how nice and normal they are. Because she is expecting her mother.

This is a good chapter to look at intertextually too, because there's a line in Aunt Maria/Black Maria about how young children don't think of their parents as people, and it's quite a shock when they realize their parents do in fact have histories and personalities as individuals. And that's part of what's happening here. The other part is that Polly is being pushed out of her role as daughter and into a role as Emotional Support. Too relatable.

The other DWJ book that echoes here is The Crown of Dalemark, where our heroines are mortified to find themselves unheroically crying for help in a dangerous situation. Polly, however, has a much stronger reaction than Maewen, and kicks off her hero training. Next chapter is going to have a lot of interesting gender in it.

"I don't think I will get married," Polly said. "I'm going to train to be a hero instead." But she could tell her mother was not listening.

[Editing to add some shower thoughts]

Why does Tom want to see Polly again anyway? He hasn't yet realized the extent of his gift or how it works. I think at this point his motivations are the same as Polly's: Laurel doesn't want him to, therefore it must be important. I think he knows that Polly is the key to his freedom, even if he hasn't yet realized how. Which is a little unsettling still; later on he even admits to using Polly. But also, because of the way the power dynamics work, he is also very child-coded; yes part of him is using Polly, but part of him is just lonely and wants a friend to play with.

[maeamian]

Hi hi I stumbled across ur tags in that one tumblr post about atoms and I loved ur response!! I also had a question related 2 it. My knowledge of chemistry and atoms is very surface level (dropped out of my environmental sciences major after 2 years lol) so forgive me if this sounds a lil silly. But I thought atoms could touch? Like when they form bonds their electron clouds can overlap right? The cloud is part of the atom so they are touching I would think, even if the nuclei wouldn’t be. Or are those models inaccurate and the electron clouds don’t actually overlap, is that just a simplification for diagram purposes when teaching bonds? Ik you said we don’t know for certain about anything! Atoms are crazy weird but I was curious what the accepted opinion is on this! Ty u seem very very cool

Great questions, my background's mostly coming from the physics side of things and is a little rusty, but I've got enough mutuals who will yell at me in the replies if I get anything seriously wrong here.

That said, generally when physicists tell you 'things don't actually touch' what they mean is a) roughly speaking the 'surface' of all normal things are made of that electron cloud you're talking about, b) when things 'touch' those electrons get (obviously) very close to each other but still have a distance between them, because c) the Pauli Exclusion Principle, one of the basic underlying things that defines basically all of chemistry says that multiple electrons can't be in the same quantum state. This is all, more or less indisputable fact as proven by the fact that chemistry works and can make extremely accurate predictions about how chemicals will form, something that they could not do without this understanding of the electron as an elementary particle

But! You're also right that a covalent bond does represent an overlap of electron! The distinction between these things is twofold, first, when you, for instance, stand on the floor, the molecules in your shoes aren't bonding to the floor, they're reasonably well bonded to each other, but generally you're not creating new chemical bonds every time you stomp your feet, at least not to any significant degree. Instead what happens is that the electron clouds at both edges get very close to each other and go 'someone's already in here' by sending a blast of photons at each other, although here I have to note that the photons are what's called 'virtual photons' in that they're more mathematical conveniences than anything that gets out further than the local interactions, you couldn't see them because they're absorbed almost as soon as they're emitted to the extent that they have any reality, which they definitely kinda do in that they have observable effects on space when it's either very empty or very small.

The other distinction is that a covalent bond, the sort you're thinking is two atoms sharing one electron, in that case I think it's pretty reasonable to say that the two atoms are, for pretty much all purposes, touching at that point, since they can not be separated without the expenditure of energy to break that bond. The case that scientists are generally talking about when they bust out this Fun Fact at parties is when two electrons try to get near each other at the edge of a shoe and the ground rather than when two atoms bond, so you're right about the thing you're thinking of, but the scientists making this observation are also right about what they're discussing, I think OP of that post made it with the understanding that people would recognize it as being this argument rather than one about bonds, but it requires having been exposed to it before to do that, which not everyone has done! Hope this cleared things up and feel free to tag on any follow ups

[projectbluearcadia]

Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge

Annelie: Lord Diavolo wants to see me?

Mammon: Oooh, you got in trouble. 

Annelie: Shut up, Mammary. 

Asmo: I wonder what kind of trouble~? 

Annelie: You too, Asmo. 

Beel: Why would Ellie get in trouble for anything? She’s really nice. 

Annelie: Thank you, Beel. 

Satan: I don’t think Asmo’s talking about that kind of trouble, Beel. 

Asmo: Bingo~

These guys... 

Mammon: Wait, what kinda trouble are you talkin’ about?

Levi: If it’s not obvious already, you’ll never get it. 

Mammon: Shaddup!

Annelie: Lucifer, I’m not actually in trouble am I?

Lucifer: Of course not. He just wanted to meet with you to see how you’re adjusting. 

Annelie: Phew. 

Lucifer: If you were in trouble, I would be responsible, not Diavolo. 

Annelie: That makes me feel better. 

Lucifer: It shouldn’t, but we’re leaving after you finish. 

Annelie: But I wanted to go back to bed after this.

Asmo: To Lucifer’s bed~? Hehe~

Asmo, I’m not even going to dignify that with a response. Of course I would be going to Lucifer’s bed. 

Lucifer: I’m not waking you up a second time. 

Annelie: Cheapskate. 

[ timeskip ] 

Diavolo: So, Annelie, how has RAD life been since you’ve started attending?

Annelie: It’s been pretty nice. The cafeteria is fantastic, and most students seem pretty nice to Solomon and I. 

Lucifer: Leaving aside the fact that you were harassed. 

Diavolo: Harassed? 

Annelie: It was just a demon making an assumption about my personality based on what other succubi do. It’s not like they actually did anything to me...

Lucifer: No, it was harassment. 

Diavolo: Don’t downplay what happened to you, Annelie. Please tell me. 

Annelie: Well... they basically just asked me to skip class with them and lightly implied that we should have sex. To be honest, I think they might have been joking at the time, and I just took it too far...

Diavolo: No, what you’re describing isn’t something I haven’t heard before.

Diavolo folds his hands together, pressing them to his mouth. 

Diavolo: Unsolicited sexual advances on succubi isn’t something that is typically heard of, but it’s a fact that it’s still a problem. There are plenty of succubi that only ever desire one or two mates throughout their entire lives, and it can be understandably very upsetting when someone tries to make them go against that, whether through an off-hand remark or through some form of coercion. 

I’m... kind of surprised. I didn’t think Diavolo was that aware. 

Diavolo: You have my apologies. 

Annelie: Uh, no! If anyone should be apologizing, it should be that demon!

Diavolo: Nevertheless, I’m sorry for failing in my duty to make a safe place for peers to interact, human, angel or demon. 

He looks so sad, like a lion cub that’s been abandoned... Would he be offended if I petted him?

Annelie: The fact that you care to this extent says more than enough to me. In the human world, we’re lucky if we get someone like you in charge. 

Diavolo: I really appreciate that; thank you. 

Diavolo laughs softly. 

Lucifer: Annelie, your collar. 

Annelie: What?

Lucifer sighs before he unloops Annelie’s tie, exposing one of his love bites for a moment before he conceals it again as he fixes her collar. 

What just happened?

Annelie: You and your perfectionism sometimes... 

Diavolo seems to be trying his hardest not to laugh.

Annelie: You think he’s ridiculous too, huh? It wasn’t really messy, was it?

Diavolo: No, but I got the message. 

Annelie: Message?

Diavolo: It’s nothing, right Lucifer?

Lucifer: Yes. Nothing. 

Annelie glances between the two men, confused. 

What was with that sudden and weird pang? I felt kind of... Well, I guess being left out of the loop would normally make people a little annoyed, wouldn’t it? 

Lucifer: In any case, wasn’t there something else you wanted to discuss with me?

Diavolo: Ah, yes, of course. Barbatos, would you escort Annelie?

Am I not allowed to hear this conversation?

Barbatos: Of course. 

Jesus! Where the hell did he come from?!

Barbatos smiles and bows at Annelie. 

Annelie: You don’t need to go to the trouble... I can just stay here until you’re finished...

Lucifer: Nonsense. Make sure to escort her all the way home. 

In other words, I’m not allowed to stay. 

Barbatos: Then I will entrust you with the young lord until I return. 

What is he, a child?

Barbatos: This way, Ms. Glasgow. 

Annelie: Well... see you later. I guess. 

Annelie follows Barbatos out of the castle. 

This is really uncomfortable. I feel like Diavolo just interrupted him from doing something important to escort me back to the House of Lamentation...

Annelie: You don’t have to take me all the way back. 

Barbatos: It would be unacceptable for me to allow a guest to return home by themselves. 

Annelie: If you say so... I guess...

They fall into silence again. 

Annelie: If you don’t mind my asking... is Diavolo bi, by any chance? Or gay?

You’re being ridiculous, Annelie. 

Barbatos: I don’t believe the young master has any particular sexual preference. 

I know everyone likes to joke about it, but... 

Barbatos: That being said, he does not have time for a relationship. 

Are you sure about that?

Annelie: That sounds lonely. 

Barbatos seems deeply conflicted. 

Barbatos: That is... a part of the life he leads. 

Annelie: ...

Barbatos: ...

I don’t even know who I should feel bad for right now.