#it's only for a single idea I had for a potential thing I could add to a poster 'm kinda working on with a teacher that draws humans way

[daily-whistlepaw]

daily whistlepaw until a becomes PoV day 761

chibi whis at your service (long rant in the tags, I am more than open to constructive criticism)

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 25/∞

VIOLENCE AS COURTSHIP IS A PART OF DEMON CULTURE

Rating: CANON

A nearly universal trope, especially in Moshang fics, is the fact that courtship is performed through violence in demon culture, and that the misunderstandings between the pair are because of cultural differences. The fact that demons mistreat the targets of their affection is canon, however, it is important for fans to note that this sort of characterization and worldbuilding is rooted in racial and ethnic stereotypes.

This is one of the most-requested topics I've ever written on this blog, and I took a long time to think about how best to approach the subject in a way that both keeps to the intention of this blog (referencing canon & providing quotes) as well as raising awareness to the very real problematic aspects of what is a well-loved and often-used trope in fanon that I don't think most western fans are aware of.

First, the canon analysis:

“If you hold unique feelings for a certain person, how can you make them understand your intentions?” Luo Binghe asked. Obviously, no one dared to tear down Luo Binghe’s facade and expose him directly, but this question was really very…unsuited to the demonic approach. After a long moment, not a single person had answered. In fact, the answer was so simple that any normal human could have given it to you. If you liked someone, you should just tell them. Unfortunately, there was not a single “normal” person on the scene—and aside from Shang Qinghua, there also were no “humans” either. Mobei-Jun thought about it. With the paths his mind was given to take, there was no telling how he had interpreted “unique” feelings. “Beat them up three times a day?” (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

Most of the fandom remembers this passage, and some may think that this is where the interpretation of violence as courtship comes from-- however, that is not the case. This passage might actually not refer to courtship at all-- while that is one possible interpretation, Mobei-jun could also be interpreting "unique feelings" to mean something different than "romantic feelings," since Luo Binghe didn't specify romance directly.

The "violent demonic courtship" idea actually originates much earlier in the novel, just after the invasion of Qiong Ding Peak:

In truth, Shen Qingqiu didn’t intend to tease; he thought himself very straightforward. The one who’d tampered with Luo Binghe’s dream realm was Sha Hualing. Though she did have some harmful intentions, her underlying motive was obvious. Naturally, she was driven by a young girl’s secret yearning for love. Otherwise, she would have directed her aggressions toward others, not specifically Luo Binghe. Demons were compelled to viciously bully the person they liked. Only if the object of their affections failed to die would the demon accept them. If their target died, that meant they were useless and not worth nursing any lingering affections for. (7 Seas, Ch. 3)

This, in fact, has somewhat more serious connotations than the way I have often seen it interpreted in fanworks-- it is not merely beating up a potential partner, but pushing them to their limits, nearly driving them to death, and it is certainly implied that it is not uncommon for the object of a demon's affections to actually die.

Now that the canonical basis of the idea has been established, let us move on to the second, and arguably more important part of this post: the racism.

I would like to add a disclaimer here-- I am going to discuss this in hopes of raising more awareness in the fandom, but I am not North/West/Central Asian myself, so I will only mention things in brief and somewhat generally-- if anyone who belongs to the affected cultures would like to make corrections, or more detailed explanations, or any other additions to this post on this topic, I greatly welcome that, as I feel it is an important issue that should be addressed.

In Chinese fiction, particularly fantasy genres like xianxia/xuanhuan/xiuzhen, but also in historical and wuxia fiction, there is a pervasive, prevalent tendency for authors to use racial and ethnic stereotypes against Central, Northern, and Western Asian cultures such as Mongolian & Arab cultures in their worldbuilding regarding the North, while stereotypes against Southeast Asian cultures are used in worldbuilding regarding the South. These stereotypes are most typically applied to villains and villainous groups, and are so widespread as to be ubiquitous within the genre. MXTX has used these tropes before-- notably with the Banyue people in TGCF, with adaptations of both TGCF and MDZS including design stereotypes, such as CQL's portrayal of the Qinghe Nie (combining their tendency toward violence and 'unnatural' cultivation method, with design traits typically associated with Northern/Central Asian cultures).

It is worth noting, though, that most authors do not intentionally use these traits as racist stereotypes in their worldbuilding, especially when regarding a non-human species-- in the same way that western fantasy authors use goblin and orc characters and tropes without realizing or acknowledging their racist origins and connotiations, these stereotypes have simply become genre tropes without that direct connection to their origins. Nonetheless, it is still worth noting-- and worth trying not to fall into the trap of leaning into stereotypical traits in fanworks' character portrayals.

Stereotypes include but are not limited to barbaric and brutish cultural traits, association with animals/having animal features, dark or corrupt magical/spiritual practices, certain types of braided hairstyles & other fashion choices, and originating from the far north or south.

Some of the prejudice and stereotyping of Northern Asian cultures likely originates from the fact that in the past, China was invaded and subjugated by peoples from the north (under Mongolian rule during the Yuan dynasty, and under Manchurian rule during the Qing dynasty) as well as having many conflicts with these peoples throughout history. In fact, the Qing dynasty only ended in the early 1900s, so some of this oppression is still in recent memory-- nonetheless, people belonging to ethnic minorities in China are still affected by this negative stereotyping today, so regardless of the origin, racism is still racism and should be addressed, and China today is a majority Han Chinese nation-- even if Han Chinese are considered a minority and affected by systemic racism in other places in the world.

Additionally, many tropes specifically applied to the southern demons, but also used for demon culture as a whole, are tied to stereotypical portrayals of Southeast Asian culture, which is rooted in a long history of Imperial China's invasion and oppression.

All of those stereotypes listed above apply to SVSSS' demon culture. Even in Mobei-jun's name-- 漠北 meaning "northern desert," which is the real-world name for a region in the north of the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

Therefore, it is important to remember that though violence-as-courtship in demon culture is canonical within SVSSS' setting, it nonetheless originates from harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes. It would be a good idea for fans to keep this in mind when creating their fanworks, and to treat the topic with sensitivity-- but I will leave any direct suggestions on how to handle this to those who are actually part of the affected groups.

--

(thanks to @flidgetjerome for additional notes regarding SEAsian stereotyping and author intent!)

Also, to be absolutely clear: I am not saying that svsss’ demons are specifically coded as any real ethnic group— it’s only that in many ways the portrayal is similar to the common portrayal of various ethnic groups in cmedia. I don’t believe they are specifically meant to parallel a real life group, unlike for example TGCF’s Banyue— but it’s worth questioning why these traits, why these characters.

[ctheathy]

hi omg would you be able to do a smut nine x reader hcs??? i love how u tend to make the reader dominant, i'd love if in these hcs nine is suchhh a sub but tries to deny it and act dominant when really he so isn't... by smut it can range from heavy making out/suggestive to full on smut idm, whatever u can think of :3 (if ur gonna do full on nsfw can nine eat out the reader pls pls (afab reader)) tysmmm !!!!

Nine NSFW Headcanons

Nine x Reader

Suggestive+NSFW Headcanons

Short Concept

Author's note: pfft- Nine would be making sounds that haven’t even been discovered by science yet

Nine/Reader [Romantic]

[Gender-neutral Darling|Female Darling|Male Darling]

Potential ⚠️TWs⚠️ :

Both reader+character are of legal age or aged-up for obvious reasons in this post!

These are smut headcanons, read at own risk. dom!Reader+sub!Nine • Partly !Female!Reader • 1/2 eating his darling out [Fem!reader] • Breast foreplay • Marking • Biting/nipping • Drooling/Salivating • 2/2 making out session [Gender-neutral!reader] • Gagging • You basically shove your tongue down his throat

- ½ Nine eating you out

I honestly just enjoy the idea that Nine is already quick to get hormonal and in the mood. But he gets in heat especially quick when you get a little too whiny and pouty. I just imagine you whimpering for one single time and his whole body would tense up, pressing his legs together and biting away at him bottom lip to the point it almost splits. Trying to keep himself from getting ...hard from something as simple as a subtle mewl. He is so weak towards you, your emotions and the way that you feel to the point any sense of self control can go out of the window. When you're showing signs of being turned on and when he can quite literally smell your arousal, he's gonna have to fight tooth and nail to not get aroused himself.

This is certainly not something that would have too much of an improbability of happening. As you see, the thing about Nine is that he can already be quite lustful in general due to his bottled up frustrations. Now add on several years of isolation from other creatures and you have a boy who hasn't satisfied his primal urges and inner desires for literal ages. But you can make all his anger, frustration and self-hatred turn into a desperate need and craving for you. You could enjoy taking away any sort of dignity and prideful nature that he has left when the intimacy gets to that point, before giving some of it back through your praise after the ordeal. You'd absolutely know him and his vulnerable spots good enough for you to really set him off, because at the end of the day, you'd always have him begging for more.

You could start off a bit simpler before allowing him to eat you out like that, but still feed into his uncontrollable horniness for you. You can begin with giving Nine the opportunity to touch your chest with his mouth, something despite with his shy embarrassment and hesitance, it being something he just couldn't say no to. You could just sit there and lean back all smugly, while Nine's on his paws and knees infront of you, shivering and head hanging down as he shakily reaches out to one of your breasts, fighting his dripping arousal from staring at your bare and exposed chest alone.

But that's a point of no return ...and to take it to the next level. After that heck of a fest Nine had with drooling all over your boobies, he'd definitely be more open and quick to agree to foreplay that includes him pleasing you in some manner, because ultimately, it really pleases him as well. Not only because your body shape and appearance triggers something inside of him, but because you trust him with your body. And that's how you two got to oral fixation, something Nine would want to think about it for a little while. I mean. HIS mouth?? DOWN there??? Though he would be lying if he wasn't intrigued by the idea. The way you excitedly spoke about it in detail got him excited too... And so, he would cave within under a week at max. Even with his denial, he would absolutely be the most eager in the ENTIRE world for that little taste of your bottom half and he would absolutely make sure that he wouldn’t let you down and leave you unsatisfied under any circumstance

And as soon as he gets one of the tips in his mouth, he could start to feel himself melt. It's just the softest and most squishy flesh he's ever felt in his life. His mouth would start watering the longer your breast is inside of him, and his saliva would slowly begin to seep all over your skin. He'd have his self-control at first, but it wouldn't take long before he'd needily start licking his drool over every inch of your chest as if trying to mark it. He'd be all over you and goes completely feral as soon as he feels your nipple hardening against his moist tongue, as he'd let out a soft moan while feeling that change in texture. Nine's tongue would just swirling around your chest, with his body shivering and trembling with every lick and swirl. He’d glance up at you with those pleading puppy-dog eyes for approval while you just look down at him with such a cheeky grin.

Nine would absolutely be reaching for your fluids like it’s a bottle of fresh water in the middle of the Sahara, he’s never wanted to try anything more in his whole life than he wants to have your sweet nectar right now. He would become so desperate and overstimulated that every second he’s away from it would seem like an eternity... and he'd just want the volcano to erupt in his mouth. If you could easily control yourself and just not let your climax happen. No matter if it's for the sake of teasing him or just having the self-control, this would only drive Nine further into going berserk. His entire existence would become centered around having that release in him one day, tasting you like you're the last meal on Mobius.

Nine would desperately try to keep his calm and pretend that he wouldn’t absolutely go crazy if he actually had a taste. He’d absolutely be in a huge need for more of you and it’d be such a spectacle. His face all red with him basically panting over you. And as soon as he'd even start, Nine wouldn’t be able to focus on any single thing at all. His senses would be completely overwhelmed from everything that’s going on because he’s not used to this kind of stuff at all. Even as he's the one eating you out, his own junk cannot help but keep pulsing as he continues doing it. He'd get a bit impatient and would really want more attention to be brought to his privates, so he might just start touching himself in the duration of the moment... which would definitely make him more vocal, even with his tongue in your folds. You could look down with amusement as he plays with himself, all while his needy moans begin echoing through the entrance of your body.

But Nine always seems to remain on high alert on what's happening to you physically. If you just so happened to let out any grunts or moaning noises, those sounds would go straight to in-between his legs. Any noise that indicates that you're enjoying yourself would definitely keep him going... Even if you're just breathing funnily, he'd get an adrenaline boost that motivates him to become more sensual with the movements of his tongue, getting more desperate to make sure to never fail you in this matter.

Though if you were the type to start squirming all over the place with his mouth still on you. Or if you were to rock your hips back and forth into his tongue, that's when he would just crumble and lose it. You'd just be using his tongue to make yourself feel good, something that turns him on so much more than he'd ever believe it would. His body would be going haywire and he would start gently biting and nipping on your most sensitive nerves to try and get even more of your juices, his tongue would be doing absolutely everything that it possibly could because he’s never been this aroused in his entire life. It would be a scenario that he will absolutely never get over and which he'd be utterly desperate to experience once again.

- Making out sessions

The thing about all of this that's the most exciting is just how absolutely convinced Nine is in his disliking towards being so vulnerable and in a submissive position, and yet he would be so incredibly needy for more. Even if there are moments where he doesn't enjoy being under your command, he would be begging you to continue, begging you to kiss him deeper, to go further than he's ever been, all for you. He must feel intimidated by how submissive he is around you, he must feel intimidated by how vulnerable you makes him feel, but he just can't stop, just can't stop wanting more of you and your sweet tongue.

The kisses that you give Nine is certainly something that manages to keep his on his toes. Though your pecks are as innocent and sloppy as it can be, every very time your mouth is on his, you manage to take control and shatter his mind little by little through the heat of the moment. You're always so teasing... pulling out and taking it back as soon as Nine is shown enjoying himself, keeping him so needy and so utterly horny for more while you feed him these little crumbs. As soon as you're slowly pressing your tongue to the back of his throat, you should purposely roll up your tongue as it's sliding down the back of his mouth. You'd have Nine gag at times with ease while his eyes keep rolling back with just how overstimulated he's getting. And with how teasing and playful you're being through the kiss, there's no way he'd be capable of keeping in his loud, pleading moans. He'd love the sensations so much but would feel so shameful for enjoying it as much as he does.

But at that point he would 100% be loudly begging for you. Crying out for more and more, for you to keep using your tongue on him because his brain is too overwhelmed with the intense pleasure he’s receiving to even really think about anything else other than how amazing it feels. I can picture him crying and sobbing, maybe even begging with you to take him to your room. He would become obsessed with that tongue of yours if you just kept it going for long enough.

He would have no choice in the matter, you would absolutely force him to look you right in the eyes as his vision blurred and his whole body trembled in a way he never thought possible. It would be so intense he'd think he was having a seizure. He would still find a way to keep trying to lock his eyes on yours to contain some sense of dominance, but his head would just be going back and forth, his tongue desperately reaching for yours whenever you pull back, needy to taste you again with his eyes rolling back and trying his absolute hardest to not explode. He couldn’t last much longer at that point, his body eager to betray him and his mouth and tongue would be yours further upon that point.

ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤

The poor bastard would look like he’s being electrocuted, the moment he’d try to maintain eye contact he’d just go cross eyed. He’d be completely and utterly broken at this point. As soon as you release him and let go, he’d be a puddle on the ground with his mouth wide open and eyes rolled, just mumbling absolute nonsense while you gaze down at him. A lovestruck, heart-filled look in his eyes as soon as he manages to get back to Earth Mobius. I’d be genuinely surprised if he could even recognize his own name at that point because he’s just been reduced to a drooling puppy who wants to satisfy you.

Something you'll have to make sure he keeps doing with his bratty bottom energy

[imaginesfordifferentfandoms]

Dear John

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Click here to add yourself to my taglist.

Prompt - ‘Run as fast as you can.’

When you had first met House hadn’t known what to think of the man. You hadn’t caught his attention, less vocal than some of the others competing for a fellowship under him but he had caught yours. He was so self-assured, the way he walked into a room and immediately started talking, not needing to see if he had everyone’s attention because he already knew he did. The games he played, putting you all against each other so obviously, eliminating people from any chance of a fellowship mid-sentence. 

You hadn’t known if he was a good man, it was hard to determine when you were in such a competitive environment where the man only wanted the best of the best but you had known he was a good doctor, sure he might not have given a damn about the patient but he was always determined to get a diagnosis. 

You had caught his attention two weeks into the fight for a fellowship. It had been an impossible case, not even he could figure it out, no matter how long he spent bouncing ideas back and forth just like the ball he threw against the wall. It was driving him crazy and even worse was that none of his potential fellows could figure it out either, how was he meant to create another perfect team when this lot couldn’t come up with anything? 

That was the day he noticed you. Of course he’d seen you before but you hadn’t done anything to catch his attention. He’d seen the way you’d open your mouth to say something only to close it, he’d seen you stick to the back of the group. He hadn’t said anything though, sure you were pretty and any other time he would’ve been all over you but it wasn’t worth his time if you weren’t going to be around long enough to make it fun. 

He stood at the front of the room, the remaining 26 hopefuls sat in seats around the room, all silently contemplating the case. House’s gaze shifted around the room, seeing nothing but stumped and defeated looks until he got to you.  

You were the only one in the room, himself included, who didn’t look disappointed, in fact you were sitting up straight in your seat whereas everyone else had slumped in theirs. Your eyebrows were knitted together, not in a frown but in a way that told House your thoughts were running wild. 

“You, number 7, come with me.” House said suddenly, watching as you startled in your seat and looked at him wide eyed as every gaze in the room turned to you. “Now.”

House didn’t wait after that, turning on his heels and leaving the room, hearing your footsteps hurrying behind him. He didn’t say anything in the elevator, staying silent until you both stood looking into the patient's room.

“What’s your diagnosis then, number 7?” He finally asked and your head shot from the patient to stare at House but he kept his eyes forward, waiting for you to speak.

“I don’t-”

“Oh don’t do that.” House interrupted, turning to glare at you. “Every single person in that room looked devastated. They couldn’t figure this out but you, no you have a diagnosis. You wanna work for me? Speak up, even if it’s idiotic it gives us something new to work with. So, go, what’s your theory?”

You took a shaky breath, letting his words roll around your head for a moment before nodding and turning back to look at the patient.

“Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.” You said, watching House out of the corner of your eye to see his eyebrows knit together. “Her husband said nearly a year ago she became clumsy, people with CJD lose balance and coordination, they see double or they have blind spots. He said it became worse a few months ago and this causes loss of brain function and mobility, her brain is forgetting how to do the things she’s been doing her whole life. Add that with going from a highly respected professor to not knowing basic answers to the questions we’ve asked, it makes sense.” You defended your theory, shifting to look back at House as he stayed silent, showing no signs of how he felt about your answer. “I know it’s a rare disease but-”

“You’re right.” House said as he cut you off again and you could do nothing but stare at him in disbelief. “It makes sense. Have a biopsy done to confirm.”

And that was that. House walked away leaving you staring at him before you were able to snap yourself back to reality and do as he requested.

House had been surprised by you. He had honestly expected that you wouldn’t have made it much further into this little game he had made of gaining a fellowship but now, now he suspected you’d already won and he was more than happy to focus his attention on you now.

After that day House watched as you grew, confident in yourself now and offering theories and diagnosis’. You blushed and stammered under his newly given attention but refused to give into the man’s request of dinner or skipping the meal and heading straight to the bedroom.

It wasn’t that you weren’t interested in him, you were but you refused to let anything happen, needing to know that if you were awarded a fellowship it would be because you deserved it not because you were sleeping with the man giving them out. 

Once you were in though you held out for only a few weeks before you found yourself sat opposite the doctor in a surprisingly nice restaurant, House seemingly making an effort with his appearance and it was easy to let yourself get swept up with him and even easier to let your guard down.

It didn’t matter that he was your boss, it didn’t matter that he was years older than you, all you cared about was how he made you feel. 

And so just like that you found yourself getting wrapped up in House, whether it be going out together for food after work or falling into bed with him, suddenly your whole life was consumed by House.

“So you and House, huh?” Cameron asked as you sat down at one of the tables in the cafeteria, taking a seat opposite you with her own lunch.

“What about it?” You asked, frowning slightly at her. 

You hadn’t spent much time with House’s old fellows, only Foreman who had been brought back whilst you were fighting for a spot. From what you heard Cameron and House used to have a thing but you hadn’t pried, not sure how serious it ever got or if it had just been a fling. 

“You like him?” She asked, ignoring your question and you tried to figure out what her plan was. “I’m not here to cause trouble, me and House, there was never anything there.”

“There was something.” You told her and watched as she sighed.

“I had a crush on him. I realised it was a bad idea.” She told you after a moment to think about it.

“Why?” 

“You want my advice?” She asked you, sitting up in her seat and continuing without giving you a chance to answer. “When it comes to House, just run. Run as fast as you can because that man is incapable of putting somebody else’s feelings before himself. This won’t end the way you want it to and you’ll be left alone, heartbroken and angry. You’ll have to see him at work and you’ll hate it.”

“Thanks for the advice but just because it ended badly for you doesn’t mean it will for me.” You said, standing from your seat and leaving the cafeteria.

Cuddy was the next person to warn you away from him. She had managed to catch you just as you were heading towards your car and told you to be careful, told you that you were a good doctor and she’d hate to see House ruin that.

You weren’t so sure what to say so just smiled politely and excused yourself, brushing off her warning just as you had Cameron’s. 

You refused to think much more about the two of them as you pulled up to House’s and the man let you in, immediately attaching his lips to yours and pushing all thoughts and warnings out of your head.

It stayed good for a while, or maybe it had never been good and you were just so blinded by your feelings for him that you couldn’t see how bad it was. 

When things eventually took a turn you tried so hard to blame it on something else, convinced yourself that it was just the pain in his leg that made his mood shift more often than you were used to. 

“We had plans.” You said into the phone, already sitting in the restaurant House had said he would meet you at after his meeting with Cuddy. 

“This is important.” House told you, his tone even and not showing much concern for the fact that he was standing you up. “It’s just dinner.”

“Yeah, yeah it’s just dinner.” You nodded even as your heart sank.

The next time he called you it was like it was a different man, so apologetic and full of promises to take you out again, to make it up to you. You had smiled and written his earlier behaviour off as Cuddy frustrating him but it started happening more and more to the point you dreaded answering his calls, not sure which version of House was going to be waiting on the other side.

You were more than used to getting stood up at this point, House differed between having excuses for not showing up or just brushing you off when you finally did manage to catch him. 

You could feel yourself becoming drained, dealing with House’s mood swings was starting to take its toll on you. The nights you spent with him where just as confusing as everything else, some days, usually the days he had seen you withdrawing, he showered you in affection, kissed every inch of your body and made you feel so loved, other days he shut you out, glared and snapped at you until you left and somehow always managed to make you feel like it was your fault. 

Even during work, House made you feel useless, no matter how right your diagnosis was, no matter how much the others stuck up for you it was like you couldn’t do anything. You couldn’t remember how many times you’d walked away and cried silently in the toilets or gone home only to cry yourself to sleep.

You hated that you felt so bad about yourself, you hated that you were doing everything you could to please this man and he always made you feel like you were the problem. You hated that you hadn’t taken Cameron and Cuddy’s warnings when they were given, hated that you were so wrapped up in how good House made you feel that you had let him treat you like you were nothing just to soak up the small bits of whatever this sick, twisted thing he had convinced you was love was.

House liked his puzzles, he liked his games and he liked answers. He liked knowing how far he could push you and still have you running back to him, still having you thinking he could do no wrong.

You couldn’t do it anymore. You couldn’t keep running away from the hospital in tears, you couldn’t keep playing his games with their ever changing rules that you couldn’t understand.

“You can’t leave, we can work this out.” House told you, a soft hurt look on his face.

You’d usually fall for it, usually shake your head like you were being foolish and fall into his arms, savour the day or two of the House you had fallen for before starting the cycle all over again when he eventually turned cruel.

Now that you had made the decision to leave you couldn’t believe how you had missed how bad everything about your relationship with him had been. How had you been so blind?

“That won’t work anymore. Whatever game you’ve been playing with me is done, go find some other girl who’s too naive, who wants to believe there’s good in people to mess with because I’m done.” You told him, feeling a spike of pride for finally standing up to him.

“What game? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” House sighed, leaning against the desk. “Look, I’m sorry, I know things have been rough but I’ll be better. I promise.”

You’d believed that the first time. And the second. And third and fourth time. 

You wouldn’t fall for it again.

“Bye House.” You said softly.

“Don’t do this.” He pleaded with you but you ignored him and turned to walk out of his office.

On the way down to Cuddy’s office you bumped into Cameron and because word spread like wildfire in the hospital she gave you a sad smile.

“I hate to say it but I told you so.” Cameron said and you couldn’t help but laugh, a small laugh that bubbled into a slightly maniacal one.

“I promise to listen to you next time.” You swore and Cameron laughed back, squeezing your shoulder gently.

“If you ever need anything…” Cameron told you and you nodded gratefully, smiling back at her before her pager alerted her she was needed and you said goodbye, heading into Cuddy’s office.

Cuddy was sympathetic, she’d been waiting months for this meeting, knowing that at some point House was going to ruin it and send one of their best fellows running out the door. 

“If you decide to come back I’ll find you a spot somewhere, somewhere far away from House.” Cuddy told you and you smiled at her, thankful for your time at the hospital and hoping one day you would take her up on her offer. “It’s a shame to lose you.”

“Thank you for everything.” You told her softly before standing and shaking the hand she reached out towards you.

“You’re really just gonna leave? Like this meant nothing to you?” House asked as you left the clinic, walking alongside you towards the exit.

“I loved you, House, and all I wanted was for you to love me back but all you ever did was mess with me. You never loved me, hell you never even cared about me!” You told him, yanking your arm from him when he tried to stop you.

“Oh please, I missed a few dates and suddenly I’m the bad guy.” House rolled his eyes and there he went again, trying to make you the problem.

“House, I’m done. I’m done trying to get you to love me, I’m done playing your games, to shifting my whole life to revolve around you. I’m done feeling like I’m not good enough. Tell everyone it’s me who doesn't understand you, who betrayed you, say whatever you want but I’m done with you.” You told him, refusing to let your eyes tear up, knowing House would see it and jump on it.

You took a deep breath, behind him Cuddy was making her way out of the clinic, watching you and House carefully but you just shook your head because you didn’t need her to intervene. 

You weren’t lying when you told House you were done so you ignored whatever retort he had and turned away from him, walking out of the door and finally let the tears fall, sitting in your car until you were able to breathe properly before making your way home with tears running down your cheeks.

Doctor Gregory House Taglist (Click the link in my bio to add yourself!) - 

@softmullet, @wheredidiputmyfish, @famouscrusadsluminary, @missabsey

[beauty-and-passion]

Lore Olympus: a superficial vision of Greek Mythology

Hello again,

here we are with the third and last post about Lore Olympus. New post (posts?) will come when the story is over, but this is my last one for now.

This post will be about the main characters of the story: Hades, Persephone and Demeter. The story is about them after all, right? Right?

These three aren’t just the protagonists of the story: they are also the sum of all the problems we talked about: they’re badly written, they’re a waste of potential and they’re insulting to Greek mythology - and everyone’s intelligence.

But let’s talk about them in detail.

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Hades: boring rather than mysterious

Hades isn't exactly an easy character to write. According to the myth, Hades is serious, dark and gloomy - and of course he is, he should be the representation of death!

In addition to that, he's not exactly a positive figure. In the original myth, he kidnapped Persephone and when Demeter asked for her daughter back, Hades tricked Persephone into eating a pomegranate. The pomegranate was considered a fruit of the underworld and whoever ate it, could not leave the underworld anymore - so he found a way to have her around, at least for half of the year.

So nope, he wasn’t exactly the good guy here.

However, Hades is also one of the very few gods/mythological figures who is mostly faithful to his wife: he had just a few lovers, compared to the billions of lovers other gods had.

That could be used to portray him as an introverted guy, who isn’t able to find the love of his life - at least until he meets Persephone.

Or it can be used to make him even more intimidating: he’s the god of the dead after all, so people can be rightfully scared of him. And he would grow bitter and dark, because of the constant rejection. This could lead to a sort of Beauty-and-the-Beast remake, in which he slowly learns how to improve, thanks to Persephone’s acceptance.

Or it can be a way to show him for who he is: a dark, gloomy figure no one can accept because he’s linked to death and only someone who deals with the cycle of nature can understand. (Guess which idea I like more.)

Hades can be very interesting. He has A LOT of potential.

But Lore Olympus doesn’t exploit it. Hades is rich in the most boring way, just like any modern American capitalist could be. He owns stuff and people and doesn’t care about anything and anyone, starting from his dogs that appear only when the story needs them, to his godson or whatever Thanathos was supposed to be.

In addition, Mrs. Smythe tries so hard to make us sympathize with Hades by giving him a ton of traumas. But we never delve deeper: I don’t care about Hades’ childhood, I don’t care about his resemblance to his father, I don’t care about his supposed abusive relationship with Minthe. I. Just. Don’t. Care.

And this is bad. He’s the male protagonist, I should care about him! But I don’t. I don’t remember a single moment involving him. He's incredibly bland, for someone with all these issues going on.

This is one of the biggest proofs of amateur writing: in order to make a character interesting, you add as many things as possible. And so Hades has stuff and problems and everything, but it’s all words. It’s telling and not showing. All of his threads are not developed and do not reach any point.

Do you know what Mrs. Smythe could’ve done instead? She had two possible choices:

1) To spend time on Hades’ character and his personal growth (and focus the story on him and not on a shit ton of other characters).

2) To make him a simpler character. No character needs 200 traumas and 300 quirks to be interesting. And considering we’re talking about fucking Hades, we don’t need much else. He’s the god of the underworld, what else do you need? Mrs. Smythe could’ve focused on his role only and it would’ve been a great story already.

But nope, we got a rich, old guy swooning over a young, naive kid like everyone else does in this boring story.

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Persephone: over-perfection

Persephone is never allowed to be a character in this story. She cannot have flaws. She is always nice, the nicest, the most perfect girl in the world. All the other girls are bad and mean, but not her. She is and she will always be nice.

But then, oh, she starts talking about "a feeling" inside her: a super vague-y feeling that made her angry.

And I had a feeling inside me too: the feeling that this would lead to some bullshit.

We reach the end of act one, by finding out about Persephone's act of wrath. Helios' version is: Persephone got angry because the humans were killing her friends (friends she never mentioned and will never mention, but let’s pretend it makes sense), so she killed the humans in return.

Okay, so Persephone can get angry. She can be vengeful. She can make mistakes and be flawed. Wow, that’s interesting! I can’t wait to see how she will talk about these feelings inside her and I want to see the contrast between them and her need to be perfect. We will see her regret and her growth, because she did something terrible despite harmless humans begging her to stop and she will learn from her mistakes...

Nah nah nah, none of that. First of all, we should justify Persephone because clearly this is the right thing to do: justify a bad character.

Do you want to know what the truth is? The humans weren't begging as Helios thought, by they were mean to Persephone: bo-hoo, poor little goddess, she's just a fucking goddess after all while they were humans, she's clearly the perfect target for bullies.

Also, it wasn't her who did her act of wrath, it was the feeling inside her! The feeling made her do it!

This is the epitome of immature, horrible writing: justifying the bad actions of a character at all costs. It's a bit like saying that, idk, Voldemort murdered a lot of people, but only because they were mean to him and because he was surrounded by bad people who made him do it - otherwise, he would've been the nicest guy ever. That's bullshit, that's idiotic, that strips the character of their responsibilities because the author is very biased and doesn't want to see flaws in their perfect creation.

Because of that, Persephone's flaws disappeared again. She isn't bad, it's the thing inside her (that is not her and we see it reconfirmed over and over) that made her bad! She is perfect! She is the purest!

I hated this. This is the biggest proof that the author is immature, inexperienced and immensely biased. Persephone had her chance to finally be something more than a smile and a pretty body but nope, once again she was nothing more than a bidimensional cardboard.

But that's not all. The constant reconfirmation that Persephone had "a feeling" inside her, that "it wasn't her doing this" was still pushing in the back of my head. My bullshit senses were tingling more than ever.

And then, we reached the fucking trial.

A trial that doesn't make any sense because, even if Zeus trusted Helios' version of the story (i.e. Persephone got angry because the humans were killing her friends, so she killed them in return), this whole thing isn't worth a trial. I mean, the gods did worse stuff for a lot less: for example, Hera and Athena were so pissed at Paris for the story of the golden apple, to welcome the Trojan War and take sides, despite Zeus telling everyone to not interfere. And speaking of Zeus, what about when the gods tried to overthrow him? He punished Hera and a couple of other gods, but didn't make a whole ass trial.

But okay, fine, this is a retelling and the gods are a lot more tamed, compared to their original selves. A trial is needed. We may see Persephone fighting for her version to prove to everyone she is Little Miss Perfect. Maybe we will have the immensely boring clichè of the Unexpected Witness we see in every stupid movie, when the lawyer suddenly says, look, they found a witness hidden until now who saw everything! And Persephone is perfect as always!

But nope, we got something much, much stupider.

Instead of the clichè of the Unexpected Witness, we got a walking plot device, who appeared Because Yes, moved the conversation where the author needed Because Yes and delivered the answer of a plot point. Because Yes.

Hear me out: Persephone isn’t a flawed character, how dare you think she is less than perfect? She is Perfection Incarnate and her act of wrath wasn’t her doing this, but Eris making her do it.

Why? Because, when Persephone was born, while other gods blessed her with perfection, Eris blessed her with a “feeling”, i.e. wrath. And this is the reason why she becomes angry: not because it’s a normal feeling and it would make sense that she can experience it, but because of Eris.

No, I'm not making this up and yes, it’s a fucking Sleeping Beauty rip-off. Only worse and more stupid, because it doesn’t acknowledge that Persephone might be flawed like every other character. She is the absolute fucking best forever and ever.

In case you’re wondering: no, this isn’t good writing. That’s the exact opposite of good writing - and the opposite of logical sense too.

Do you want to know what we could've had instead? What about a Persephone who has a real dark side? A goddess who spent so much time trying to appear as the perfect daughter, to grow anger and bitterness inside her? A goddess who, when her friends died, reached a breaking point and let out years of repressed frustration? A goddess who isn’t perfect and not because of Eris, but because she is a gray character?

I would've loved to see it. And it would’ve been great for the romance too: instead of the typical "dark gloomy Hades finds love in the sunny happy Persephone", we could've seen the other way around: a dark Persephone who finds her soulmate in the darkness of Hades.

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Persephone: over-sexualized in the wrong way

Persephone started being sexualized since her first appearance. Not only because Hades stared at her like a fucking creep, but especially because her friend gave her a dress so short to barely cover her boobs and ass. Considering that Artemis is taller than Persephone, my question is: are we sure this was a dress and not an oversized top?

So the female protagonist has been introduced with a feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment, because she is wearing something she doesn't feel at ease with. The first thing we learn about her is that she doesn't like to show too much skin. And, over time, she reconfirms that.

However, we also see her frequently half-naked or almost naked. And this rubs me the wrong way.

Why? Because it has been clearly stated that Persephone is extremely young. She's barely an adult - if you consider 19 years old like "being an adult". And the time skip was so stupid and useless, I didn’t even realize there was a time skip, because she STILL looks like a teen.

Her physical connotations are also accentuated to be the same as a child: round face, big round eyes, very tiny figure. She literally looks like a child in some drawings and that rubbed me even more wrong. Making a youthful character is one thing, making a fucking baby is a different one.

And if we think about it, the first time she and Hades met, she wasn't even wearing clothes, but pure light. And I’m not even sure she was 18, so... bleurgh. Just imagine a naked adolescent on top of an 80-year-old man. Or even just a 50-year-old man. I don’t know you, but I find it fucking disgusting.

And the more the story goes on, the more we see her sexualization. Persephone’s boobs are so big that, if they were real, she would have some serious back pains. Her ass is huge as well and her figure went from a simple hourglass to a literal hourglass, with huge hips and an impossibly tiny waist.

However, this isn't inherently a bad thing... If this goes along with Persephone wanting to be more sexualized. If we saw Persephone wanting to show her skin, to be sexy, to do alluring poses, to be naked, there would be nothing wrong with showing her like this. The art would match the character's desires. And there's nothing wrong if a character (or someone in real life) just wants to be sexier or to show more skin.

But Persephone never wants to. We never see her saying/thinking or even trying to be sexier. She vaguely thinks about it, but everything is kept in a façade of family-friendlyness (despite the, well, almost naked scenes). She never wants to show too much skin, yet she always shows her skin to everyone.

That's not interesting, that's not character growth, that's not even sexy. That's just sad. And, as a woman myself, I do not like to see women being forced into nakedness without wanting it.

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Demeter: incoherence to its finest

In all of this mess, Demeter is treated like a manipulative mother. Why, do you ask? Because Yes, of course!

Let’s just ignore that, in the myth, Demeter is not a manipulative mother, but a simple worried and angry mother, whose daughter got fucking kidnapped and she could not find her. Let’s close both eyes and accept that Demeter is manipulative. Okay? Okay.

Now please tell me when we see her being manipulative, besides the stupid “eclipse” episode in act 3. We always saw her being worried and protective of her daughter, but not manipulative.

And even the overprotectiveness isn’t handled well. If Demeter is so overprotective, then why did she never call, when Persephone was at Artemis’ house? Why did she never pay them more than one visit? Why did she never give Persephone a phone? She could’ve used it to track her every move and call her daily.

But she did not, because she was not an overprotective mother. Her actions were not overprotective, but the simple actions of a worried mother.

But then I suppose Mrs. Smythe needed a villain to start act 3, so Demeter changed and became overprotective and manipulative Because Yes.

The problem is that it’s still by words. I still do not see an evil, manipulative mother. All I see is a mother who has every right to be worried, because Hades is an asshole and Zeus is an even bigger asshole and because patriarchy wins in this “feminist” retelling.

But hey, she’s bad because the plot says so and because Mrs. Smythe needed a villain, so let’s hate her... even though she has all the right to be worried. And even thought most of the time, all she said is perfectly logic and reasonable.

Also, let’s not forget how Mrs. Smythe mistreated her, by taking away a lot of her power and influence. The real Demeter is an insanely powerful goddess, she controls the cycle of seasons and fertility all over the earth. When her daughter disappeared, she basically let everything die. Zeus was forced to intervene and find an agreement, otherwise Demeter would’ve ended life on the planet.

The most powerful thing this Demeter does is put a stupid embargo that Hades and Persephone bypass in 30 seconds. Do you see what I mean when I say that these gods are much more tamed compared to their original counterparts?

Also, this Demeter was used by Zeus for sex with the promise of becoming a queen, which is

disgusting

still part of this weird obsession for sex, rape and sexual assaults

disrespectful towards the mythological goddess, who didn’t give a fuck about the throne because when you’re already this powerful you don’t need much else.

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In conclusion

A story is nothing without good characters and Lore Olympus doesn’t have any: Hades is a ball of nothing, Persephone is so perfect she makes me puke, Demeter doesn’t make any sense and when she does, everyone treats her like a villain.

And I know I said I don’t want to talk about act 3, but the whole Eleusian kid is such a bullshit it deserves at least one mention. What’s the moral of the whole thing supposed to be? That if you know the right people, even death isn’t a problem? That nepotism always win? That Demeter doesn’t give a shit about Persephone, but she was just projecting?

What an absolute waste of time, what an absolute disrespect to Greek mythology and life in general. Death is never underestimated in Greek myths: as I said in my first post, Greek myths are supposed to offer explanations for things humans cannot understand and there isn’t a force as strong and as impenetrable as death. Death is unstoppable and impossible to overcome and it’s treated as such in Greek myths: no one escapes death and the exceptions are few and rare.

So changing a story to make a character escape death is the ultimate proof Mrs. Smythe didn’t understand the Greek myths in general and the myth of that character in particular, because that kid

wasn’t Demeter’s son

died in his myth because death is not a swinging door you can cross whenever and whatever you want

And speaking of Demeter: what this story is supposed to tell me, about her? That she doesn’t care about Persephone so much? The same Demeter, who in Persephone’s myth was grieving her child and because of her sadness, she almost ended life on Earth? The same Demeter, who refused to do anything, until Zeus intervened?

Or maybe Rachel wants to tell me that a mother’s love is finite and you can either love one child or the other? In that case, I really hope this woman has no children at all.

Portraying Demeter as this shitty mother is beyond disrespectful. In the original myth, her love is what changed the cycle of life and death forever. It’s because she fought for Persephone, that she didn’t get stuck in the underworld forever with her kidnapper. It’s because of Demeter’s love, that life blossomed again after the winter.

Lore Olympus is disrespectful towards the original material. And if I find it a waste of potential as a reader and a badly written story as a writer, as a Greek I am just sad. Sad because I’ve already seen a lot of rewritings and this one isn’t as original as I hoped. It doesn’t give me that tingle of pride and joy, it doesn’t make my imagination work. When I read it, I don’t think: “Oh, I remember this figure! And this myth! Can’t wait to see how it will be developed!”. I think: “Oh wow, another clichè. Oh, come on, what kind of solution is that?! That’s just too stupid to handle”.

That’s just sad to see part of your cultural heritage being mistreated. And I feel bad as Italian too, because Romans treated these gods and stories with respect, not by doing stupid, soulless rewrites. I feel insulted 

So, do you want a rewrite that doesn’t seem as sad as Lore Olympus? Then check Punderworld. It’s still going on, so it could end up being shitty too, but for now, I think it’s much better than Lore Olympus and much more interesting.

Just an example: the author knows about Hades’ invisibility cloak. That’s something small, sure, but that’s promising. And, at least for now, seeing Hades and Persephone talking about the cycle of life and death is much, much more interesting than “I’m a fertility power battery”, “Bring me Hera because now I’m obsessed with her for no reason”, “I’m such a stupid villain all I can do is cling to other gods because I want power Because Yes”.

So check that and check other rewritings too! Luckily Lore Olympus isn’t the only one: there are a ton of rewritings, both old and new ones. You will find a better one in no time.

And if you enjoy Greek Mythology, then read the original myths too. You will find complex personalities, human flaws, metaphorical stories and much more. After all, there’s a reason why these myths survived the passage of time and they’re still so well known and so beloved despite being so old.

Thank you all so much for your time and thank you for reading these posts.

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(How about a coffee? ☕)

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[imthepunchlord]

So, I think I know why Lila feels like she's all over the place, and it has to do with Chloe. I genuinely think that Lila was created to take over Chloe's role as the mean girl and school/civilian antagonist once Chloe was redeemed. But thanks to Thomas axing Chloe's redemption arc, Chloe got sent back to her old role, and Lila was left redundant. This is probably why she wasn't very present in season 4 since the writers probably had no idea what to do with her. This was probably made worse when Felix got more focus. I genuinely think the only reason Felix was originally brought in was to make Adrien look better by comparison, and either he was so popular or they realized he could help with the sentimonster plotline, but ended up getting more plot focus and roles that probably would have made more sense for Lila.

I mostly agree.

While I acknowledge that the potential of Chloe's redemption is there, I really don't think she was intended to ever have one. I think the agenda was to stress "she's terrible, and will always be terrible". Though, the more you see of ML's development, the clearer it is how messy things were, they even had writers/scriptwriters who didn't fully understand what they were working on to make episodes, which probably added to Chloe's sloppy mess of a role in the show. This is probably why we got the whiplashing episodes of "uwu pity the sad rich girl" to "she's absolutely terrible".

Either way, I did think the same pre s2. That is one way to get a redemption rolling, someone worse comes along, filling the role the prior antagonist/villain had and doing it better (e.g. Vegeta). This has the previous antagonist/villain either stepping in line and becoming a lackey as someone superior is filling their role, or they're role is changed up entirely, working with the heroes as the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

And given that both girls had a big ego and liked attention, it was easy to expect that these girls were going to clash. For there can only be one Queen Bee of the school, and Chloe is the sort to expect to have lackeys, and not be a lackey.

And I was expecting Lila to play a major role in that speculated redemption for Chloe. That, unlike Chloe, she has charisma and cunning, that she would win over most of the school, and that she would turn the school against Chloe. That Lila would inspire everyone to come forward to call Chloe out on her bs, for what she's done to every single one of them. Be a classic popularity vs power, and how the many overtake the one. And how the one thing Chloe had, the power she used to instill fear and control that allowed her to throw her weight around and do as she pleases, that's now broken down. There's not a lot her father could do if the whole school stood up to her, he can't shut it down or have everyone expelled.

It's just Lila bringing forth the consequences of Chloe's actions, and no Miraculous Cure will fix this.

And Chloe is set up to either bow out, bow down, or make that first step to change, as change, and redemption, starts with you. Chloe herself has to want to change. And I am of the belief that change comes with a really hard reality check.

But we didn't get this. And with them set to not change Chloe, then yeah Lila was a useless inclusion. We did not need two mean girls, who play very similar roles, for Marinette to go up against, additionally with both of them interested in Adrien. And then you add Kagami to the mix, who was a somewhat mean girl in certain eps, then yeah it was just redundant.

And it's made worse with the inclusion of Felix and Zoe.

Felix was a better Lila, making her even more obsolete. Between Chloe and Felix, there was nothing unique to Lila. Doesn't help that Lila was a plot device who comes in as the writers need her to, and drag down everyone's IQ. Felix doesn't need people dumbed down to trick them, he has the charisma and deceptive skills to do so. So yeah he was very much the superior Lila.

And then you got Zoe coming in and acts as a fill in for a redeemed Chloe and Lila. As you have two girls filling a very similar role, one needs to change. Typically redemption is a good way to do it, and there are fans who did want that (especially for Chloe), but they didn't want to redeem either, so Zoe comes in to fill that role awkwardly, adding more to this already big cast.

Zoe is a "redeemed" Chloe as she's related to her, played a "mean girl" role, and gets the Bee by default whether it really clicks with her or not. She's a "redeemed" Lila as Zoe is deceptive and a manipulator, but with a golden heart.

So yeah, in hindsight, Lila really is just a pointless inclusion. S6 does have a chance to do something with her now, but eh, I'm not expecting much.

[seiya-starsniper]

There were so many good ones to choose from! But here we go!

'A puts a blade by B's throat, be it seriously or as a joke/teasing. B's reaction is…enthusiastic.'

(Maybe Corintheus? I love how your mind works so anything you're inspired to write will be amazing!! Though as a potential premise I was struck by the idea of Dream holding a knife to the Corinthian's throat. Maybe even one of the Corinthian's own knives.)

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS IMAGE IT'S HAPPENING APSODAODKADOPAKDKOAD

I have written so much porn these last few days, what a way to celebrate my birthday, thanks so much for the prompts ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

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“You,” Dream of the Endless growls as he pins the Corinthian down to the silken sheets, the nightmare’s own dagger pressed at the edge of his throat, “are not supposed to be here, little dream.” 

The Corinthian barks a laugh as thin black ropes appear from the bedposts, wrapping themselves around his wrists and tying him down.

“Then maybe you should’ve hidden this place better,” he says, darting his eyes around the room to take in his surroundings. It had taken him a long time to find Dream’s private quarters in the Dreaming, and they looked pretty much as he’d imagined them. The walls were barren of color or any sort of personal touch, and other than the bed, the only piece of furniture decorating the room was a single, black, slatback chair. There wasn’t even a rug on the floor. Even the bed, soft as it was beneath the Corinthian’s back, was plain and dull. 

“All the imagination in the world, and you dream up the world’s most boring bedroom for yourself,” the Corinthian complains, grinning when he feels the knife on his throat press closer, cutting into his skin. He doesn’t bleed, not here, not in this nothingness where Dream thinks he can escape and hide from the messiness of the universe. But the Corinthian doesn’t need to bleed in order to feel pain.

“This place,” Dream says, narrowing his eyes, “is meant to be a reprieve from my duties. It is meant to be a peaceful space, so it is sparse on purpose. You, my little nightmare, are not peaceful, nor are you a reprieve, so you must leave. Now.”

“I could be,” the Corinthian replies, prompting a noise of confusion from his creator. “A reprieve that is,” he adds, trailing his eyes along the opening in Dream’s star-lined robe. It had fallen open in their scuffle, exposing the moonlight pale expanse of Dream’s neck and chest. His skin is immaculate and unmarked, and the Corinthian wants to put his teeth all over it. 

When the Corinthian has had his fill and meets his creator’s eyes again, Dream's eyes are no longer pale and blue, but darkened to that pitch black shade the Corinthian both loves and fears. There's no pupil there in those depthless eyes, only stars that hold the weight of the entire universe within them.

The Corinthian is so hard, he’s certain he could hammer nails. He knows that Dream knows it too.

After a few moments of charged silence between them, the knife is removed from his neck in favor of cutting away at the Corinthian's clothes. They both know that Dream could wave them away in an instant, but Dream seems to find some enjoyment in destroying something of the Corinthian’s with his own tools.

“Be still,” Dream commands when the nightmare squirms, pushing against his bonds. The Corinthian cannot help it. He wants to feel more than just the light kiss of a blade, and Dream seems intent on teasing him to death. He stills his body anyways, and waits as the seconds pass agonizingly by. It feels like an eternity passes before he is entirely naked, for Dream also focused on popping off every button from each garment with the Corinthian’s dagger. The Corinthian has a mad thought during it all to switch all of his future clothing to t-shirts and sweatpants.   

The last thing to be removed are the Corinthian's glasses, and Dream places them gingerly along a newly appeared side table. It is a surprisingly soft gesture, considering everything that would soon come after. 

Dream discards his robe, and it disappears into the ether of the room, leaving the Endless completely naked. Though he is hard, Dream’s cock isn’t leaking with need like the Corinthian’s is, and it make the nightmare want to put his mouth on it, to make a mess of it, to make a mess of Dream.

Dream smirks down at the Corinthian, as if reading his mind. He probably did. 

“Show me, then, little nightmare,” Dream murmurs, as he crawls up the Corinthian’s body, placing his knees on either side of the blond’s head. He positions the tip of his cock right at the Corinthian’s lips. “Show me how much of a reprieve your mouth can be.”

The Corinthian grins, before he parts his lips to take the tip of Dream’s cock inside. He sucks lightly at first, with small kitten licks, and shallow movements, trying to see how much teasing he can get away with. Then, in one abrupt motion, Dream thrusts his cock all the way to the back of the Corinthian’s throat.

It's brutal and unyielding the way Dream uses him, uncaring of whether the Corinthian can take it or not. He can, of course. The Corinthian knows how to swallow cock without gagging but he has a feeling that Dream wants him to gag, so that's precisely what he does. He swallows just a little too tightly, letting Dream hit all of the sensitive spots he’d normally try to avoid. Soon the Corinthian’s face is a drooling, crying mess, a mix of bloodied tears and saliva and the slick from Dream’s cock. 

The Corinthian can feel his own cock bouncing uselessly against his stomach, untouched and completely ignored in favor of his lord's pleasure. The thought makes the nightmare moan around the cock in his mouth which in turn elicits a growl and an especially deep thrust from Dream. 

Then Dream braves his hands against the wall and changes the angle of his thrusts. The Corinthian is practically choking now with each thrust and he cannot do anything about it. It feels so good to be used like this, to be nothing more than an instrument for his lord's pleasure, a reprieve from his duties as Lord of the Dreaming. It is yet another thing that makes him better than the other dreams and nightmares, another thing that makes him the favorite. 

The Corinthian can tell when Dream is getting close to orgasm. His movements become less sharp and unfocused, even as the brutality of the thrusts into his throat remain. He hollows out his cheeks and swallows down Dream’s cock, expecting the Endless to come down his throat.

He doesn't.

Instead, Dream pulls his cock out just as abruptly as he'd pushed it in earlier, and then he is spilling his release in thick, warm ropes all over the Corinthian’s face. The Corinthian can taste Dream’s spend in all three of his mouths, his ocular ones seeming particularly keen at licking it up. Dream watches as the Corinthian licks up the come closest to his mouth, then drags a finger through the mess of fluids pooling at the Corinthian’s cheek.

“My precious nightmare,” Dream coos, leaning in to lick up the rest of the mess of the nightmare’s face. The Corinthian purrs underneath the attention, nuzzling unashamedly into Dream’s face. 

“Was that a sufficient reprieve for you, my lord?” the nightmare asks cheekily, chuckling when Dream rolls his eyes in response.

“For now,” Dream says, flopped down next to the nightmare. “You may stay,” he adds, as if the Corinthian can even leave. He’s still bound to the bedposts, and at some point during their activities, Dream had bound his feet as well. He still hasn’t come either. 

It’s still a win as far as the Corinthian is concerned.

[immortalbutterflycos]

I've come to realize something important in writing. (specifically in my personal experience)

(TLDR; I have ADHD and writing is hard even though I'm still doing it every single day. Make it make sense.)

If you have a story in your head that means a lot to you, and you need to take more time to develop and fully flesh it out before posting it, that's totally okay! In fact, in my experience, it has the potential to make the story better over time, really forming it into what you imagine it to be.

Here's an example because I just typed a lot of words and right now I can't seem to process whether they make sense or not.

I have a fanfic that I've been working on for a year now. (For the Marauders fandom if y'all are curious)

It's one that I haven't talked about much because every time I do, I end up losing the motivation to write. This is what happened to another one of my fics for the Haikyuu fandom. (well that and the Marauders.. yeah they fucked me up in the best way and Freckles and Constellations has really suffered because of it smh)

So the reason why this fic is taking so long is because it is such a specific AU that I'm out here trying to meld magic systems, and I've got like EIGHT MAIN CHARACTERS to write backstories for to fit this AU while also being true to them and even though I know the basic plot, there are just so many little details and aspects that will make this fic what I desperately need it to be.

And no one knows just how intricate it is or how important it is to me. Which is totally fine. I don't even know if people are going to read it when I finally manage to post it. This fic is purely self-indulgent.

let me just break down for you what I have prepared for this already:

countless drabbles and scenes and plans written on the backs of receipts and on bits of scrap paper

a 3" 3-ring binder that I've been trying to organize it all in

a google doc titled "TAoRfOL Doc Masterlist" that has links to every single doc I have for this one fic. (it's dated back to March of last year and as of this month has 93 total links. Only 5 of those are reference links.)

notes and ideas i have written in my phone to transfer into docs so I can add them to the masterlist

Hero Forge digital models of those 8 main characters because I wanted to see what their group would look like outside of my imagination

Multiple Spotify playlists dedicated to this fic and the characters which I listen to every single day. (currently @ 494 songs)

And you know what? I just recently, at 6 am this morning, finally figured out the solution to a fucking plot hole I could not work around.

Basically what I'm saying is that I needed all of this time. Every single day I see things and get inspiration. Every day I learn new things and fix errors in my own plans.

As much as I crave the validation and recognition for all of my hard work on this project, I know that If I had just bit the bullet and posted the first chapter without having done all of this research and all of this planning, then it would not have lived up to the story I have in my head.

I admire people who can just write without all of the added steps and in some cases, I can do that. I haven't been able to in a while (which is why that Valentine's Day microfic was actually really big for me to have posted) but that's just how my brain works.

I needed all of my experiences and all of my daily thoughts and all of my collective playlists for this fic to be able to write the story I intended and that is exactly what I'm going to do.

(though if I'm being honest, this timeline is rough. I really want to just write and post this first chapter so so so bad. ToT)

[odtherat]

Love the idea of Bradley having siblings that he can look up to and feel super jealous of coz they're all probably much older than him and seem like they have their whole lives figured out in his eyes, maybe even already have families of their own. And maybe his parents compare him to them more than they really should, which makes him compare himself more than he should. And maybe he's the youngest coz he was an accident from an anniversary or smthin, so he also compares that too, that he was the only unplanned one out of them all. Sometimes he probably wonders why his parents didn't just abort him or somethin. Sometimes he probably wishes they had :)

He also probably loves his siblings more than he'd ever admit, but there is also that small side of him that just.. resents them all because they all left him. All left the second they could to get away from their parents and left him behind to deal with it. He probably got the worst treatment, too. I agree with most of the fandom that he totally gets abused, physically and emotionally. But his siblings most likely only got emotionally abused, so they think that's the only thing happening to him. Thinking all those scrapes and bruises are from skating or practicing some sport(maybe volleyball since they were playing that in the movie, but I literally just saw someone else add that to their comic and don't want ppl sayin I took the idea hhh maybe he could be in like baseball or soccer??? Doesn't feel right tho)

Anyway, sbling insecurities(I'm not projecting a lil. Shut up)

But I also like the idea that he's an only child. The only one who's there to take over his father's company. The only one for his parents to "focus" on in being the greatest he can be. And also coz this gives good angst with his mom, who probably hated being pregnant with the one child she could bare, and he didn't even get a single thing from his moms side, except the blue eyes. She probably hated that the most while watching him grow up. Watching her only child turn into the man she married(yall know it's gotta be a forced marriage hehe), the man she hated most. And now her own son was turning into him in front of her very eyes. I also really love the idea that Bradley looked up to his mom more than his dad, and was genuinely hurt the first time she said she hated how he looked more like his father(he was at least 13 at that time)

She'd hate her own kid, but also would want to keep him safe from the man he could turn out to be

So much potential with both ideas

[seenoversundown]

Amongst The Stars: Chapter Four

Josh x Quinn (Nonbinary OC)

Warnings: Shitty partner (again), mentions of cannabis, an Accidental date, Pining (a lot of it), Thinking your friends are hot (platonically?), Verbal arguments, Willa knowing too much. 

Word Count: 4.6k Summary: Josh has always loved love,  and he's finally found it. Buuuut, he can't exactly tell anyone. Join him as he navigates the ins and outs of his sweet, secret romance. Author's Note: Have you ever been on an accidental date? I have a friend who has been on three because she just can’t tell when a guy is trying to get to know her better versus when they’re being friendly. She is married. 

Bowl of Oranges - Bright Eyes  “I think I’m cured No, in fact, I’m sure of it Thank you, stranger for your therapeutic smile” 

I sit at the kitchen table, flipping through my notebook of potential lesson plans for the upcoming week. I keep many options available, so it's always hard to choose. Papier-mâché animal masks could be fun, but I'd need to go to Hobby Lobby to get supplies. I nix that idea and move on to the next. We could do a Jackson Pollock unit, but I’d need to check the weather. There is no way I'm letting these gremlins throw paint indoors. I pull out my phone to check the weather app and let out a giant sigh when I see that we’re scheduled for rain every day this week starting tomorrow. As I dive back into my planning book, I'm interrupted by Craig barreling into the room. “Do you plan on actually doing anything around here today?” He practically yells out. It’s been a few weeks since he had his little “come to Jesus” moment, and whatever niceness he had in him seems to be wearing off. He’s been picking fights again over the smallest things. He’s even started making snide comments when I have to make another trip to Hobby Lobby. “Interesting how you always just seem to be out of something for your classroom! I’m not great at math, but it seems improbable that you’d need something every single week.” I slowly blink and look around the room, taking in the clutterless counters and decidedly empty sink, before gazing back at him. 

“What do you mean, Craig?”  “It’s just a mess around here, and you’ve been holed away at the kitchen table all morning.” 

I take one more look around before crossing my arms over my chest. 

“If there's a mess in here, you made it. I cleaned the entire house before I went to bed last night,” I grit out, “though I don't suppose you would have noticed because you were so engrossed in your Xbox.” I watch as he flounders for a moment, mouth opening and closing as his brain attempts to find the words to respond. He’s not used to me talking back to him, so I relish the reaction I've gotten out of him. Before he can find a new way to criticize me, I stand up from my chair and say, “Gonna have to cut this short, babe. I have work to do. For my job.” 

I gather my items from the table and put them back in the canvas messenger bag I use for schoolwork. 

“You’re being so mean.”  “I’m being mean because I’m the only one who does anything around here. I work full time, I am in school full time, I cook, I clean, I wash your dirty fucking underwear, and you come in here and ask if I’m going to do anything around here today?” I glance at his outfit, finally realizing what he’s wearing, and it only adds one more layer to my annoyance. “Oh! Real nice, Craig. You go into my closet,” I tug at the sleeve of the garishly patterned grandpa sweater he has on, “and you take my clothes. Then you waltz in here trying to start a fight?”  “…All my sweaters are dirty.”  “Do you know what functional adults do when their clothes are dirty? They start a load of laundry.”  “You just do it better than I do, babe,” he shoots back with a cocky grin.  I exhale sharply, shaking my head. Oh, to have the audacity of a cis white man, I think.  “Sorry bout your luck. I’m going to Higher Grounds so I can focus on my work.”

Leaving him no time to respond, I sling my bag over my shoulders and make my way to the door. I slide on my worn Blundstone boots and grab my corduroy jacket off the hook. I toss a quick “Bye, text me if you need anything” behind me and head out.  -------------------------------------------

I set my canvas bag down at one of the outdoor tables and headed into the cafe to order a latte. I stand behind a group of apparent tourists, silently begging them to decide what kooky, zany little treat they should get from Portland’s Very First Weed Cafe! That they only found out about through Trip Advisor. I have to calm down. I can't just think mean things about these people because I feel crabby over Craig. I’m not even technically a local, myself. I give myself a little shake to get out of my internal funk and decide to get lost in the beautiful murals that litter the walls. No matter how many times I come here, the artistry will never cease to amaze me. The way the artist seamlessly moves from cool, starry blues into bright, sunny oranges. All surrounded by smoke and foliage. The way each side of the mural is a mirror image of the other side, but it represents duality. Night and Day, Dark and Light. 

“Quinn?” I jump as someone behind me calls my name. I turn around to see a mop of curly hair bounding toward me.  “Josh! It’s so good to see you! I feel like I never see you out and about.”  “Well, it is The Lord’s Day and all. Hobby Lobby is required to grant me this one day of rest.” he lets out a small chuckle at his joke, and I find myself laughing with him. “Too true. How silly of me to forget. I’ve been away from the South for too long.”  “That does seem to be the case, dear. How scandalous of you to overlook the Sabbath.” 

I giggle, stepping up to the counter now that the customers in front of me have ordered and moved on. 

“What do you want, Josh? I’m buying.” I gesture for him to order. “Oh, I- I couldn't.” “I insist. Now hurry up, or we’ll be nearly as bad as them,” I gently incline my head toward the group waiting on drinks. The barista hides a laugh behind their hand.  “See,” I point at the barista, “they agree with me!”  “Fine! But the next round is on me,” he finally gives in and steps in front of me to order a chai latte with a dash of CBD in it. 

I place my order and pay, then Josh and I head out to my claimed table, the barista promising to bring our drinks out. 

“You’ll have to forgive me. I may be a boring conversational partner for a little while. I’ve got to make a lesson plan for the kids this week.” I reach into my bag and pull out my iPad and my notebook.  “I suppose that will be fine,” he replies with mock sarcasm, “no, truly… what you do for those kids is so important, Quinn.” I feel my face heat up and pray that Josh doesn't notice.  “Please, I highly doubt I’m changing lives here,” I raise one eyebrow in disbelief.  “Oh, but you are,” he continues, “I’m sure you remember being that age. How many of your teachers invested in your creativity?”  I think back, and not a single name comes to mind until my high school art teacher.  “Okay… I think I see your point.”  “I’ve seen how excited you get about your students, about your lesson plans. You’re in my store damn near every week. You’re helping these kids in a way they will remember forever.” 

My heart skips a beat, and butterflies erupt in my belly as I Crack a smile. It’s a good feeling to have someone recognize the work I do. To have someone notice the excitement and joy I get out of it. Why doesn't Craig understand? The short-lived smile drops from my face. 

“Thanks, Josh. That means a lot.” I trail off, pulling out my Apple Pencil. 

I begin designing an intricate mandala, getting lost in the precise strokes of my pencil against the paper-textured screen protector. I feel Josh’s eyes on me, intently watching from his seat across the table, but I (try to) ignore him for the moment. Surely, he understands that this is more important than small talk. I notice from the corner of my eye that he’s pulled a notebook out of seemingly nowhere, and he begins scribbling in it. We sit in contented silence for who knows how long. The only sounds between us are our pencils and the occasional squawk of a hungry seagull harassing passersby for a snack. I can feel the stress leave my body as I sit across from him, sharing space but not taking space from each other. 

It’s nice not feeling pressured to provide entertainment as I work. Maybe we can do this more often.

The sound of Josh setting his pencil on the table grabs my attention.  I glance at him as he laces his fingers together and cracks his knuckles, flexing them in a way that showcases the veins in his hands. Oh, brother. I can't look away as he uses his freshly stretched hands to push the long sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows. Why is my mouth dry? I slowly reach out to grab my latte. Surely, this will quench my thirst, I think, still watching as Josh picks his pencil up and murmurs an angry “Fuck me” under his breath. My face heats as I replay that frustrated whisper in my head, eyes darting over the muscles contracting in his forearm as he aggressively erases something on his page. Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me? In my slightly frazzled state, eyes definitely not still locked on Josh’s bare arms, I overshoot the paper cup I aimed for and knock it over. I close my eyes, wincing, waiting for Josh to get angry that I spilled something on his notebook, but instead, I hear his tinkling laugh. I open my eyes and see him smiling widely at me, an adorable dimple on full display. 

“Good thing that's empty! I’d hate to cause more work for the barista.” I let out a breath I didn't realize I’d been holding in.  “Yeah, I hate being a pain in the ass customer,” I awkwardly chuckle. Josh stands from the table and stretches his arms over his head, causing the hem of his shirt to ride up. Fuck me. My gaze dips to the pale sliver of skin above the waistband of his pants. I need to relax. Josh clears his throat, glancing down at me, and I finally meet his eyes. 

“Want a refill? I’ll get this round,” he taps his wallet in his pocket. “That sounds great, thank you!”  He nods his head and gathers our empty cups before he heads inside. 

I hang my head in my hands and let out an annoyed groan. Jesus Christ, Quinn. Get it together and stop ogling your friend who is nice enough to buy you a new latte. The truth of the matter is I may be in a relationship with Craig, but I do still have eyes. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that your friends are beautiful. Honestly, the world may be a bit more fun if everyone could accept that their friends are hot, and between Josh’s big brown baby cow eyes, his unruly curls, and his ability to make you feel like you’re the only person in the room, he, unfortunately, veers into Hot Friend Territory. The dimples don’t hurt either. I attempt to finish my drawing while Josh is inside, but I can hardly focus on anything but the odd feeling I get in my chest when I think of him. 

When Josh returns to the table, he sets a fresh cup in front of me.

“I hope this is right. I tried my best to remember what you’d ordered.”“Thank you,” I take a small sip of the obviously correct coffee order, “it’s perfect!”

He visibly relaxes at my confirmation, and I can’t help but think how sweet that is. I can’t remember the last time someone cared so much about something so small. 

“Since we’ve been interrupted,” He starts, “I have to admit I’m curious about what you’re working on.”  “Oh, it’s nothing special. I’m just making a coloring sheet for the kids.” I flip my iPad around, showing him the mandala design before continuing. “I had a hard time coming up with something for them to do this week since the weather isn’t going to be great, and I’m running low on classroom supplies. And I kinda stole an idea from that mural inside.”  “Oh! That sounds interesting. Please continue.” “I’ve always liked mixing warm and cool colors in the same piece like they did inside, and I decided that I want the kids to do the same. So, I’m designing this Mandala coloring sheet for them, and I’m going to have them work on it throughout the week—“ I stop myself, unsure of how much Josh actually cares.

He gestures for me to continue.

“It’s stupid, but I figured I could use this as an opportunity to plant the seed in their brains that art can be used to express and work through your emotions. So, at the start of each class, I’m going to ask them to work with Warm Colors if they’re happy, excited, or in a generally positive mood. Cool colors if they’re not feeling their best.” “Quinn,” he reaches forward and grabs my hand across the table, “that’s not nothing special. That’s beautiful. It’s so important for kids to learn about their emotions and have an outlet to let those emotions out.” 

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. I don’t love being shocked at someone taking my work seriously, but I’m not used to it. Craig always acts like it’s a chore to care about my career. Willa is supportive, but it's different coming from a fellow artist I've known since college. It's nice to feel seen by someone else. 

I pick at my nails for a moment, trying to think of anything to say back to him to convey my appreciation for his words. He reaches a hand across the table and rests it atop mine, and I meet his warm gaze.  “I used to pick my fingernails until they bled,” he starts, “nasty habit.” He gently rubs his thumb across my knuckles, and butterflies erupt in my belly. This is fine. Friends can give each other butterflies. It's totally a normal thing that happens sometimes. I’m sure I could ask anyone, and they’d say, “Of course, Quinn! I get friendly butterflies all the time.” I open my mouth to thank Josh yet again, but I am interrupted by my phone buzzing in my bag. 

Once.  Twice.  Three times. 

I yank my hand out of Josh’s grasp like I’ve been burned. I already know it’s Craig. I can't get more than two and a half hours to myself before he starts bombarding me with messages, begging to know when I’ll be home. A fourth message comes through, and Josh raises an eyebrow. 

“Our Quinn seems popular today,” his eyes light up with mischief, “Should you answer that? Or you could hand it to me. I’m happy to let them know it’s rude to interrupt someone while they're working.” Fucking butterflies are back. “Oh, that's really not necessary, Josh. I’m sure they’ll stop..”  The universe laughs at me; a fifth message comes in immediately after I trail off, and I groan. “You really might want to check that. It sounds like the Pope may have died,” Josh lets out a bewildered chuckle. I shake my head at his vaguely blasphemous joke but reach into my bag and pull out my phone. 

I take a deep breath before clicking into my messages. 

Craig: Where are you?  Craig: You need to come home NOW Craig: I need laundry done  Craig: I don't care how busy you are  Craig: Stop ignoring me 

It's times like these I am glad that I keep my read receipts off for him. I don't know what to say, and I don't want to respond. 

I lock my phone and place it face down on the table next to me. 

“Not the Pope, just a nosy partner,” the word partner feels slightly off coming out of my mouth. It feels like it doesn't belong in this bubble that Josh and I exist in at this moment. I don't have time to unpack that. Josh’s eyebrows scrunch together, and an indecipherable emotion flits across his face as he processes my words. It leaves just as quickly, though. “Offer’s still on the table for me to tell him he’s being rude,” he sounds off, with a half smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. 

My phone buzzes twice more, and I briefly consider slamming my head against the table. 

Craig: So you ARE ignoring me Craig: Cool 

I do gently slam my head against the table at this. It's more like I allow my forehead to kiss the cool metal before letting out a silent scream and then looking back at my messages. 

Me: I’m not ignoring you? I’m working  Me: You’re being rude

His response is immediate 

Craig: Your job isn't more important than our relationship  Me: My job doesn't treat me like its surrogate mother Me: I’m putting myself on DND. I’ll be home when I’m home 

I click into my focus settings and select Danger, Will Robinson, which only allows Willa to reach me. 

Me: If Craig texts you, leave him on read  Wilson: 🫡 Wilson: But we will be discussing this later 

I finally look up at Josh. 

“I’m sorry about that. I told him he was being rude and put my phone on DND,” I trailed off, feeling slightly embarrassed by the situation. “You don't have to apologize to me. You weren't the one being rude.”  I nod my head. Wow, what a foreign concept. I don't know if I can just not apologize; those Cancer traits run deep. I’d take a wild guess that my frequent need to apologize is why Craig thinks he’s allowed to treat me the way he does. I sigh. I need to work on that. I know I need to work on that, but— 

“Where’d you go?” Josh asks, pulling me out of my internal spiral. “Stuck in my head. It happens a lot.”  “Well, let's get you out of there,” he hits me with another boyish grin. “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”  “By putting you in mine for a little bit,” he slides his notebook across the table to me. I gently scoop it into my hands, cradling it like a child.  “Are you sure? I don't want to overstep.”  “Go for it. They’re just film ideas. I’ll probably never get around to doing anything with them.” 

I feel bad about looking through his deepest thoughts without offering something in return, so I set his notebook back on the table and began rifling through my bag. 

“A-ha!” I brandish my sketchbook in his face, shaking it back and forth.  He quirks a brow.  “If you're going to let me look through your work, you have to look through mine.” 

We sit in silence, flipping through each other’s notebooks. Josh’s mind is a vast and beautiful thing. He has so many ideas written down, that it's difficult for me to digest it all. Horror, Sci-Fi, Romance, Comedy… He has ideas for every genre. Some are more fleshed out than others, but he has bare-bones ideas for at least fifteen different projects. I sit and read through the outline of a murder mystery he’s clearly put a lot of thought into, and I begin to envision scenes in my mind. I can picture the main characters fully. I can hear their accents as I read through the small bits of dialogue he has written out.  

“This—” we both start at the same time. 

He lets out a soft chuckle and motions for me to go first. 

“I was just going to say that this,” I gesture to his notebook, “is absolutely insane. You are so talented, Josh. Truly.”  His face flushes an adorable shade of pink at my praise, making me want to continue.  “I can picture these characters, hear their voices, and this is just a draft. You’re such a strong storyteller.” “Oh, hush. They're just little stories. As I said, I'll probably never do anything with them,” he scratches at the back of his neck before flipping my notebook back to me, “besides, I don't know why you're praising my work when you literally did this.” The page he flipped around to show me is a portrait I drew of Willa holding a giant bouquet of irises. I filled in the negative space with all the silly nicknames I've given her over the years.  “I don't even know this woman, but I know that you captured her down to her very soul with this piece. I know she would be honored by your portrayal of her.” 

I suck my bottom lip between my teeth and chew on it. Would she be? I've never shown her this drawing. Maybe I should. 

“Thank you, that means a lot,” I finally say, meeting his eyes, “she's my best friend, and I've never felt like that drawing does her justice.” “I can assure you, anyone would be happy to see themself drawn with such reverence.”  “So, I guess we’re both pretty good at what we do,” I laugh.  “It would seem so!” 

My phone buzzes again, and I sigh and pick it up, muttering another apology to Josh. 

Wilson: Craig’s on the warpath  Me: JDJDBCHDHEJJS okay. I’ll head home so he’ll leave you alone. Wilson: Call me on your way ☺️

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but my boyfriend,” there's that weird feeling again, “has moved on to harassing Willa, so..” I trail off. 

He nods, moving to stand when I do. He reaches over to me and wraps me in a hug, splaying his hand across my back and rubbing gentle circles between my shoulder blades. 

“Thank you for letting me sit and work with you. It was really nice,” he finally pulls back.  “No, thank you. I had a beautiful afternoon. We should do it again sometime.” I grab my bag off the back of my chair and say my final goodbyes while pulling my phone out and hitting Call on Willa’s contact.  She obviously answers on the first ring. 

“Quincy. Quinny. Quailman.”  I hold in a laugh as she rattles off nicknames for me “Wilbur!”  “Are you on your way home?”  “Yeah, but I’m walking, so I have time for your interrogation.” I look down at my feet and kick a few stray rocks across the sidewalk, prepping for whatever she’s going to say. Why do I feel like I’m about to get in trouble? I didn't do anything wrong.  “Beautiful! Because I do have questions.”  “Shoot,” I breathe out a laugh at her nosiness.  “Firstly, yes, firstly. Why did you have me covering for you with Greg?”  “Technically, dear Wilson, I asked you to ignore Craig,” I emphasize Craig. Willa loves to call him Greg to rile him up, but I usually end up catching the heat for it when she does it to him in person. I’m trying to train her out of it. “It’s difficult to ignore a man who blows your phone up seventeen times in ten minutes.” I can practically hear her eye roll.  “Welcome to my life, Wills,” I grunt as I kick another stray rock into the street.  “It's unhealthy, you know.”  “Mhmmmmmmm.” “Well, what were you doing that was,” she puts on her very worst Craig impression, “more important than responding to Greg?”  “I was working on a lesson plan. He came into the kitchen, harassing me about laundry this morning while I was trying to work, so I left.” “Sure.”  “Sure? What does that mean?”  “It means that I’m sure that's why you left. But there’s more to it.” 

I groan; we’ve known each other long enough that she can tell when I'm omitting information. 

“It wasn't anything special, really. I left, came to Higher Grounds, I maybe ranintoafriend,” I try to breeze over the last part, “and then here we are.”  “Run that last bit by me again, Quinn.”  “I ran into a friend,” I squeak out, knowing there’s no sense in trying to dodge the question. Willa is like a bloodhound when she wants information.  “I'm your only friend, and you didn't run into me, so.”  “Hey! I resent that.”  “You resent it because it's true!” I grumble at her as I turn the corner and head down my street to my apartment building.  “FINE. I ran into the guy from Hobby Lobby, and we sat and worked together.”  “The guy from Hobby Lobby?”  “Yeah, Josh. The manager?”  “Stock Boy?”  “The very one!”  “So, what? You ignored your partner,” She shudders over the word, “to go on a coffee date with the guy that caused Greg to yell at you in a Gamestop?”  “Whose side are you on?”  “YOURS. But, I’m playing devil's advocate, and the Devil said you cannot tell Greg that.”  “Why? We’re just friends.”  “Greg is convinced that you are in love with me. Do you really think he won’t have an incorrect opinion on your coffee date with another man?”  “Not a date, but I see your point.”  “Don't make a habit of being wrong, you know.”  “I know, I know,” I say, sliding my key into the lock on my door, “anyway, I'm home. I have to deal with hurricane Craig.”  “Love you, babes. Text me if you need me.”  “Love you, too.” 

I hang up the call and slide my phone back into my bag, bracing myself for whatever is about to blow up. 

“Nice of you to come home, babe,” he greets me with fake sincerity when I enter the kitchen.  “I missed you!” I reply, voice dripping in sarcasm.  “Oh, I'm certain that's true. That's why I had to contact Willa to get you to come home,” he huffs, “what did you even work on anyway?” 

I pull out my iPad and show him the mandala.

“You couldn’t have printed a coloring sheet off Google?” 

So, this is how it’s gonna go. I slam my iPad down on the counter and quickly turn around to face him. 

“No, Craig,” I grit my teeth, “I couldn't print it off Google. Because my students deserve more than that.”  “You're a student teacher. They aren't even your students.” 

I close my eyes and run a hand down my face, sucking in a deep breath to stop myself from absolutely tearing into him. Once I have a handle on my anger, I let my breath out and open my eyes to meet Craig’s. 

“You can put me down, but do not dismiss my career.”  “Career? You’re still in school.”  “Which is a lot more than can be said for you!”  Craig lets out an annoyed laugh  “All I wanted to know is why you were gone for so long, and now you're attacking me.” 

A breath catches in my throat. Does he really think I'm attacking him? Does he not see what he’s been doing to me all day long? Oh, he wants to play it that way? Sorry, Willa. Fuck your advice, we’re going rogue.  

“Hey, Craig,” I let out a slightly unhinged laugh, “do you want to know what I was actually doing?” 

He raises an eyebrow. 

“I was with Josh, you know, the guy from Hobby Lobby? I ran into him at Higher Grounds, and I bought him a coffee. Then we sat at a table together, and he told me how important my work was. And we had a beautiful three-hour-long conversation. And it was the least stressful thing I've dealt with today.” 

I turn away from him, grabbing my canvas bag and iPad 

“I’m going to the room. Do not follow me.” 

Without giving him a chance to respond, I walk down the hallway and into our bedroom. I shut and lock the door, then pull out my sketchbook and a pencil, flipping to the first free page. Despite my anger and hurt, my thoughts are still full of Josh’s hair and his dimples, so I put my pencil to the paper and begin to draw him from memory. 

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[9w1ft]

Am I the only one only one who thinks the girls wanted people to think they broke up? That their teams even spread rumors of it? Because they had big personal plans for 2020, and it really behooved them to quiet down the rumors that they were together, because of these big plans (that were foretold and then happened?) I don’t even blame people for believing it and I don’t blame people for stepping away from the fandom either, because at that point it got serious. The kaylor fandom was too big and too mainstream in 2019. Where it stands now is a nice, cozy safe place for it to continue to exist and capture the evidence, without being a danger to their private lives.

oh yeah for sure this is quite possible, though for me, i think there were several things going on and adjustments were made along the way and personally i don’t think it was one single plan executed uninterrupted from start to finish.

i think there were signs in early 2019 pointing toward karlie being reintroduced into taylor’s friend group in later 2019 (her hand in the yntcd promo, her posting using the lover album filter and congratulating taylor, etc) and if the deleted tiktok duet with the rainbow dress that christian siriano did a few years ago is an indication, taylor was in fact likely going to come out in between that.

for me and some of my mutuals, we think that they adjusted the plans to reunite once scooter jumped in because he had positioned himself to profit from taylor coming out and karlie being her friend while it happened. and as taylor has said in interviews since then, she is someone who will deeply inconvenience herself to prove a point. and i think things like the i can and i will necklace that karlie wore in late 2019 add to this idea, and songs like mad woman and vigilante shit point to this as well. as in, i believe it’s possible that they spread a rumor of a new rift between one another even among industry folks, in order for scooter to be lulled into a false sense of security around karlie, and in the end that’s how they got a lot of dirt on him. i remember how karlie posted from paris sipping tea just days before scooter’s infidelity was first reported.

and then from within everything that happened with late 2019, lover fest being announced that september with such limited dates, miss americana becoming what it was, the the man mv, among other things, i get the sense there was a shift again like i feel like they might have extended the period of distance between them for reasons i think you were alluding to, although there was talk of taylor touring less because of her mom, and then quarantine came and the shift to a more private few years was natural, so the whole thing is still a little haze-ridden. but, i firmly feel that with each album since lover she has given us progressively more clarity as to what has transpired.

so to circle back to what you were suggesting, i dont necessarily think that they spread break up rumors in 2019 in order to lower the number of kaylors so that they could have a more private life. i think the chief driver was revenge on scooter, with then not taking it all back being a potential choice because of what they might have gone forward with under the circumstances they found themselves in.

[fireemblems24]

Scarlet Blaze Ch 14

So close to completing this.

MAIN STORY

How many chapters is this game? 15, right?

Typical Caspar excited to murder. God, he's awful in this route.

Dorothea breaking the 4th wall. She says she can't deal with any more doubling back lol.

I love how they dress up "kill everyone who resists until the Empire Imperializes Fodlan" as "unite Fodlan" lamo.

Felix, Sylvain, and Dimitri discussing strategy. Seteth and Rhea joining it.

They suggest retaking the monastery. Not a bad idea. Rhea also thinks this could flip some Alliance lords.

Haha, the "bad guys" are going to kill Bernadetta's awful father.

They think by doing this, it'll inspire the faithful to unite against Edelgard's war.

Dimitri says to keep quiet to keep Empire defenses down. Dimitri suggests tricking the enemy. It's funny how the only lord that doesn't use tricks and strategy is . . . Edelgard.

Ugh, so many side battles again.

MAP/SIDE QUESTS

See, this is what's so annoying. I talked to Raphael who wants to fight Dimitri because he's so legendarily strong (this game hypes Dimitri so hard, and I am here for it). Anyways, that's not my problem. My problem is that Raphael can't wait to ask Dimitri about his training routine after the war is over. Like, I get it's Rapaheal who isn't the deepest thinker, but this attitude is everywhere - like war is no different than play fighting and like, after going to war against someone, not only will they definitely survive, but will get chatty with you about training - not.

Dorothea, Ashe, and Yuri are the only characters who seem to realize they're about to go kill innocent people, lamo.

Hubert just insulted me. Seems the right time to declare my love for him with the merc whistle, lol. He earned it doing almost all the work this playthrough. (it's even funnier bc an NPC just asked if I had a special person, and Shez picked Hubert).

Add more to Caspar being a complete psychopath in this route - he's happy his brothe failed because now he could potentially rule his family's territory and make Edelgard's vision come to life (oh, yes, how amazing, passing it from one noble male to . . . the male noble's brother, viva la revolution! /s)

Shoutout to the NPC who's pissing himself over the idea of having to fight Dimitri, Dedue, and Felix.

Add Mercedes to the list of people who realize they're going to kill other people.

Claude talking to Byleth and being like, if I had you around, I'd probably be a decent person!

I had to fight Cyril :(

SHEZ & FERDINAND A

Ferdinand is pulling a Dimitri and working until tired. Unlike Dimitri, though, Ferdinand listens.

This support is shipping Ferdibert because it's Hubert who sent Shez, and apparently worried about Ferdinand.

It was kind of short.

EDELGARD & HUBERT A

God, I hope this is better than their final Houses support.

Haha, she's asking about Byleth. Wishing she could've recruited Byleth, lamo. I bet this goes differently if you're a better gamer.

It sucks that, once again, Hubert and Edelgard's relationship is reduced to Edeleth bait rather than being about Hubert.

And so, once again, Hubert's not going to be any credit for being the Eagles' single braincell.

Wait....... did they just confirm the Crest connection between Edelgard and Byleth?

God, I would HATE it if they did that to Dimileth. Idk, there's something about magic influencing people to like each other that takes away from the romance of the relationship.

How did Edeleth fans react to this?

Oh, we're actually talking about Hubert now.

Hubert is happy with the role groomed into him. To Edelgard's credit, she wishes things would reverse sometimes.

I love how different all the lord-retainer relationships are in this game. They made 3 distinct, interesting ones. No points if you guess my favorite of them.

LINHARDT & PETRA B

These two have so little in common. Also, I'm going to need to grind to get their A.

They know what diaphragms are in Fodlan.

Petra needs help with a letter. It's written in archaic language. I forget that poor Petra only gets a language teacher ones, and it's Blue Lions locked. Dedue for the win.

It's a love letter, lamo.

I headcannon it's from Dorothea.

Welp, headcannon squashed. She says she has no knowledge of the writer, and is rife with mistakes.

Linhardt finds the letter sacrilegious, but Petra's impressed.

PETRA & HUBERT A

One of the worst pairings in Houses.

An assassin goes after Hubert, but Petra shoots her.

Hubert's annoyed bc he can't question her, but grateful.

Hubert critiques the tactics that Petra uses to save him. Only Hubert.

He's more surprised that a queen would use a tactic than thinking it's a bad one.

Hubert's hating on chivalry and knights.

Petra doesn't understand their thoughts, and Hubert tries to explain it.

"It's peace we are wishing for." Uh, no. People who start wars don't wish for peace.

Hubert admits it has its uses though. But dislikes it.

Hey, at least this wasn't a support revolving around Hubert gurdingly accepting Petra as an "inferior" Edelgard.

HUBERT & FERDINAND A

Hubert calls Ferdinand the ultimate noble, not sure if that's a compliment or not.

Ferdinand's like don't sneak up on me while I'm training, dumbass.

But then Hubert's like you could just kill me right now if you wanted too! Which, is kind of weird. And Ferdinand's like, stop being weird. agreed.

Ferdinand doesn't see his father as the man who raised him.

Hubert admits that Ferdinand's matured. Ferdinand admires Hubert's obsession with Edelgard.

Ferdinand asks to stand alongside both of them as Edelgard's two jewels of the Empire.

And Hubert laughs at him.

And then it ends.

Ok, so why is this such a big ship again?

DOROTHEA & PETRA A

Bummed they only have 1 support. This is my favorite ship for both of them.

They go on a date in the marketplace and are happy to get away from all the death they're causing.

Petra is surprised to see it so upbeat, considering the war. Dorothea says life goes on for commoners regardless of what nobles are doing, but get upset when family dies.

Petra claims in Brigid, everyone is family. Dorothea says Fodlan's not like that.

In Brigid, they fight over thrones and lovers, but not land, like in Fodlan (like in Scarlet Blaze, lamo). Dorothea wants the tea.

They get accosted by random dudes, but Petra fights them off. Dorothea helps, I think.

Does this mean women get accosted in the market in broad daylight in the Empire???

Hahaha, Dorothea tells Petra that her skin is silky smooth and asks her to feel. Sadly, Dorothea doesn't act on that.

Petra calls Dorothea important to her, and to watch out, that she'll keep Dorothea safe. Dorothea promises the same.

My shipping heart is happy with this, though the random attack was a bit odd.

PETRA & RAPHAEL A

I could have seen this already in GW, though it's unlikely?

Raphael is howling to catch a wolf, but it keeps getting louder, so he's upset. Petra disagrees that he's not getting better.

They've made a team up, where Raphael scares the animals, and Petra hides and kills them all. So they make a good team.

Raphael is acting as a hound, he's upset that he isn't a wolf.

Petra thinks Raphael would fit in in Brigid. He agrees and plans to visit.

I honestly have no idea if I've seen this before.

DOROTHEA & BERNADETTA B

This is their highest support.

Dorothea sees her talking to someone. And the little bit on screen looked a lot like Yuri? Dorothea confirms that it's a man.

Don't Bernadetta and Yuri have a history? Dorothea thinks it's romantic.

Yep, it's Yuri. Bernadetta talks about the commoner friend she had once, which is Yuri.

Dorothea thinks this is the makings of a good opera. Bernie insists it's not love; Dorothea says that's how an opera would work.

Honestly, though, Yuri and Bernie may be one of the least compatible pairings possible in this game.

I've heard about this. Yuri's support retcons Bernie's father's abuse into "protecting." Which is such bullshit. Imagine excusing abuse as "I'm protecting you." It's really gross.

Bernie thankfully gets to set it straight in this game. Saying her father didn't love or protect her, but just a valuable item that he owns. SOOOOO glad Hopes took the opportunity to fix that awful implication the Yuri-Bernie support added.

Dorothea says her father treated her mother like an item too.

So more Empire men treating women like possessions.

Even in the Kingdom and Alliance when characters feels pressured to perform (Slyvain, Ingrid, Hilda, Lorenz, etc . . .) - no one talks about it being so bad they're dehumanized. This really seems like an Empire-exclusive, sexism thing. (also notice that, without thinking, I came up with male and female examples of both the Kingdom and the Alliance).

LINHARDT & BERNADETTA C

I feel like I did a much better job unlocking Blue Lions supports than the other houses and I don't know why since I paid close attention to all of them.

Bernie is messing around and the weeds, and Linhardt asks why.

It's to avoid a man and a woman going on a secret date, according to Bernie at least. She thinks they'll get mad at her for interrupting their date. Linhardt says she's no more significant than a pebble on the road to them.

Honestly, Bernie thinking everyone will blow up at her is a self-centered, isn't it?

Lin's like, they're lost in their own little world. And gets a bit romantic for appreciating them for sharing love when they could die on the battlefield tomorrow. Bernie argues that in fiction, they'd get together. Then Lin's like, that's fiction, not reality. Then Bernie argues fiction that's more realistic. And Lin's like, yeah, those stories exist bc people relate to it. And they go a bit in a circle.

Then Lin just falls asleep right there.

FERDINAND & EDELGARD A

Ferdinand asks for some compassion from Edelgard about killing his father, but then says that's just pity and tells Edelgard to just give him the order she wants.

Edelgard says she's not here bc she wants something, she just wants his typical effort.

Ferdinand can't die here or history won't remember him well.

Edelgard then says imagine what history will say about me if I lose?

Then Ferdinand says he'll gladly die to further Edelgard's goals because her life matters more.

And because he's not from Faerghus, that's a good thing because dying for Edelgard = good, dying for Dimitri = bad. Or Edelgard can't recognize her own hypocrisy (Claude, at least, thinks "dying for Claude = bad" per his "wtf, Hilda" in CF).

I know Edelgard approves of Ferdinand's attitude (which is the EXACT SAME as Sylvain, Ingrid, etc . . .) because she says he's such a great noble she wouldn't have to get rid of them if they were like him.

So, unlike Dimitri, who hates it whenever Ashe or Ingrid or whoever says "I'll die for you in battle bc your life means more!" and tells them not too, Edelgard is like "wow, that's such a great attitude that I wouldn't even need to start a war if they all thought like you." Yet, somehow, this game wants me to think the Faerghus fighting back against this idea is worse than the Empire glorifying it, lamo (since Monica has the same attitude in her Edelgard support, which isn't portrayed as a negative).

Ferdinand argues for the existence of the nobility and the structure they build, that she can't throw it away. She says that's not her plan. (so, has she like, not even told him her plans??? What happens if she dies?? Would anyone have a single clue what her plan was???)

Then it goes back to their CF support, where he argues for education. And this game makes it obvious that it never occurred to her that poor people can't just automatically compete with nobles. That this dodo bird has killed hundreds of thousands without considering the gap between the poor and rich, lamo. Hopes is gold for confirming she never thought of this, only Ferdinand did.

I know Yuri does the same for Dimitri, but Dimitri already had the right idea of knowing the poor needed their basic needs meant before they can advance (and familiarizing himself with how they live unlike her staying in her ivory tower), and he also, you know, didn't go killing everyone who won't bow their heads to him bc he thinks his plans are so brilliant.

SHAMIR & HAPI C

Shamir is in a church. Hapi is confused, until Shamir says she's looking for some peace and quiet.

Hapi's "not the praying type" either. But she also just wanted quiet.

Shamir doesn't seem annoyed with Hapi's nickname, which is why Shamir is never annoying. She's edgy, yeah, but not in an annoying way.

She's talking about some pagan statue in the abyss. I honestly don't remember that.

Ohh, Shamir wound up in the abyss after the war. Then ran into trouble with the church. And Rhea hired her.

That pagan is actually from Dagda. One of their deities. Cool lore. It's apparently their god of fate.

They both wonder why it's there. Good question.

SHEZ & DOROTHEA A

Dorothea is singing for Shez. Who's like, yeah, it's good.

She's disappointed with the lack of response, because Shez isn't very cultural lol.

He says it made him warm, like his mother growing up. So he actually does get it because Dorothea was singing a lullaby.

It's a lost song though, and Dorothea doesn't know the words (only sang lalala, you cowards, give us lyrics like Annette gets!) But the song got researched and her melody is a guess.

Shez tells Dorothea that her voice touches people even if they don't understand high-art, like himself.

Dorothea lost her passion while working while singing, but she's getting her passion back now, thanks in part to Shez.

Shez thinks Dorothea speaks beautifully and can reach people's hearts, and credits her training, so it wasn't worthless. Unlike Shez who can't string a sentence together.

Dorothea says that Shez isn't back with words. And that he was actually pretty smooth and flirty.

Honestly, super cute support at the end.

EDELGARD & BERNADETTA A

Edelgard lists her worries at night; Bernie walks in on her. It's one of the places Bernie goes to be alone.

Bernie asks if Edelgard is alright after hearing the list, and offers to listen, which seems a bit OOC for Bernie.

Edelgard appreciates it, but says Bernie would get tired of it.

Bernie thinks the curse eating away at her is the same as the one eating away at Edelgard. Edelgard is impressed with Bernie's insight because she guesses right.

Edelgard is upset that TWSITD is still around after thinking she's already beaten him.

Edelgard says being kind to people doesn't help people recover from pain. Consistent with her characterization, but I HATE "feminine" things like compassion are weak instead you gotta just man your way through it (bc it's toxic to your mental health) and the game mostly proves her wrong though.

HUBERT & CASPAR B

This is their only support.

Hubert gets a report that Caspar located enemies scouting the base. He attacked, no enemies survived, and he got hurt.

Hubert's questions were all hopeful that at least one survived, but because Caspar's an idiot no one should trust with command of an army, of course they're missing intel now.

Caspar brags about it to Hubert, lamo. What an idiot. Caspar's inability to read people is also not a good thing for a commander.

Hubert is unimpressed. Actually sees it as bad.

Caspar counters that Hubert is impressed with Berligtz does it, but Hubert's like "those were reinforcements, also, he's competent."

This is why Hubert is best boy in the Black Eagles. (he or Dorothea are by far my favorite Eagles)

Caspar is like well my gut said attack, so I went, not caring at all like the smartest guy in the army thinks his plot was stupid.

Hubert keeps lecturing him. Saying he'll get people killed.

Caspar's like "if you wanna make a name for yourself, you gotta risk death!"

So . . . Caspar doesn't care that he hurt the Empire's war efforts by killing spies rather than capturing them, nor that he got his men hurt by his rash actions, because he "proved himself in battle to gain status."

Caspar is just really awful in this game. Hubert, though, is gold in this support, as usual. Even when he's a dick, he's an entertaining dick (and usually supposed to be seen as wrong lol)

Caspar learned exactly 0 things in that support.

LINHARDT & CASPAR A

Caspar wakes Linhardt up, who's slept into midday.

Caspar claims he found something amazing. Linhardt is like usually you're wrong about that.

Caspar wants to show off a huge bear someone took down. Linhardt is grossed out by the gore. Caspar really has 0 ability to see any POV but his own and understand who he's talking too.

Caspar wants to hunt it. Linhardt's like, ok, then go. Lamo.

Caspar wants to fight a bare bare-handed.

Linhardt bring up when Caspar's dad took down a bare when he was younger than Caspar. Caspar still insists he'll do it, and used to drag Lin along while bear hunting. This is how he learned healing.

I think Caspar got really dumbed down in Hopes.

Lin's like, let's focus on the war, not bears, ok? Caspar at least agrees to this.

LINHARDT & EDELGARD B

Their only support.

Edelgard plays with a cat, only after making sure no one can see her. Then Linhardt walks in, and she's thrown off.

Edelgard pretends she doesn't know the cat. Lin calls her out.

Lin likes cats. I don't know why Edelgard is surprised. Lin is basically a human cat.

Edelgard likes cats because of how they help humans (get rid of rodents, etc . . .)

Lin keeps arguing that cats are awesome because they trick people into waiting on them hand and foot.

Edelgard asks if he's owned a cat. Lin's like, seriously, that's too much work.

She's being so difficult because she didn't want Lin to own the cat.

Edelgard made a funny, accusing Lin of aspiring to be a cat.

This gap moe Edelgard stuff works wayyyy better than the stuff in Houses, imo.

SHEZ & CASPAR A

Haha, Shez is like, "Oh Caspar, there you are," and Caspar assumes that he wants to practice, Shez is like, yeah, but with your dad.

This game really dunks on Caspar, everyone just talks about how much better his dad is lamo.

Caspar is like, you're too ordinary to spare with my dad.

Apparently Count Bersraser whatever his name is really hurts people when they train, and Caspar tells Shez to cancel his plans.

After the sparing, Shez is exhausted, but Shez did better than anyone else ever did.

MAIN BATTLE

I don't remember who I'm fighting this chapter.

Why does Claude get a picture in SB? Will I see it in GW too?

Waaaaiiiitttt, is Claude . . . turning against the Empire?

He's like, we only agreed to pair with Edelgard under duress and bc the other option is the Kingdom protecting Rhea - who invented racism, who is the only reason hierarchies exist, and who made Claude stub his toe this morning.

Ok, so siding with the Empire is stupid, but thinking the Alliance can fight the Empire, Kingdom, and Church is maybe the stupidest move yet, lamo.

He thinks Dimitri will "shackle us to their outdated customs" because, you know, Dimitri is all about ruling the Empire and Alliance and not improving the Kingdom at all or anything. Projection much?

This is so funny, and dumb. Not like the writing has ever cared about making Claude look like he has the intelligence to surpass a toddler in this game.

Yep, Claude turned against the Empire, lamo.

Cut scene time! They're just marching and talking about the battle.

Dimitri's here too. And Dedue's right beside him. Of course.

Claude too, and he's like "too bad we can't do something more civilized" - like, my dude, you are part of the problem.

Seteth coming in on a dragon looking badass. He's begging Flayn to retreat. But she won't. Please don't make me kill her :(

Edelgard's like "time to prove the Empire's supremacy!" and "anyone who stands in our way must be cut down!" But see, this is why I like her so much better in SB. It's just more honest and tries less to twist things around to make her into a typical princess type, instead of owning (at least a little more) the red emperor type she is.

Fuck, I have to defeat Flayn. She's healing people, not attacking, but I still have to take her out. If it was a side mission, I'd ignore it. Hubert mocks her like "is this the second coming of Saint Cethleann" - well, about that . . . .

Now Felix appeared :( It's also a main mission I can't ignore. At least it looks like he's retreating.

Only for Sylvain to show up, which isn't any better :( Fuck, he's claiming he's avenging Ingrid :(

OH FUCK. He actually died. Begging for forgiveness from Dimitri. SB is really the most bloody path :(

Dimitri sounded so upset. I really feel the like the villain. It's by far the route with the highest named character count killed (Rodrigue, Ingrid, Annette, Gilbert, Sylvain) AND my main goal is to kill Flayn because she's . . . healing people.

At least Flayn retreats. She makes Seteth promise to do the same :( (If I have to kill Seteth too, I swear to GOD).

Please let Dedue retreat :((((((

I also have to defeat Hilda :( Sad, but not big sad.

THANK FUCK. Dedue retreated. Dimitri sounded near tears.

Now I have to defeat Seteth too :( Thank God, he retreated. I think Hilda did too?

Now I have to defeat Dimitri and Claude. I am considerably more upset about the former. I wonder if they live or die.

I'm letting the other units fight Dimitri. I'm tired of killing him. I'll go kill Claude, which doesn't upset me much.

Lamo, Edelgard was like, go back to your people! Stop protecting the church - like, as if her plan isn't to take over Faerghus regardless? Dimitri smelled her bullshit at least.

If Claude retreated, does that mean Dimitri does too?

Ok, he retreated at least. Still Sylvain :(((

Ohhhhh, Byleth the final boss? Sothis has possessed Byleth though. But he seems along for the ride bc Byleth's pissed we killed Jeralt.

Shez vs Byleth cut scene again, except unlike in AG, Byleth is Sothis possessed and Shez is Shez, but then Shez goes demon mode too.

Shez is worn down, but wins bc Byleth stops glowing, so I think Byleth dies?

NARRATION

Yep, we killed Byleth. Shez feels empty about it though. And talks about this being a horrible mistake and wishes there was another way to solve this.

Funny how he only cares about Byleth and not all the other people who died (Sylvain, and tons and tons of people).

Arval feels freed though, from an old quest, and major relief, and starts crying.

So you have to either choose between Byleth dies, but Shez and Arval are on good terms, or Byleth lives and Arval and Shez aren't happy (I think, since he took Shez over in the special chapter, but I haven't played that in AG yet).

Ok, so this battle took me 26 minutes. AG took me 4, because Dimitri is just that absurd. He kills bosses so fast. Like before the dialogue finishes. It's just so absurd.

Edelgard is worried because Rhea and the knights weren't seen (or most of them), she's also under the impression Rhea would love a battle like this, but Rhea's never seen bloodthirsty? Vengeful, but not battle loving.

The main force will proceed with occupying Galatea :((((( That small bit of dialogue - knife to my heart.

No one even mentioned Sylvain :(

xxx

[horizon-verizon]

Userhttps://www.tumblr.com/witheredoffherwitch/747550490833928192/as-i-continue-to-spend-more-time-in-this-fandom-i?source=share

"Her descendants exclusively blame her for the extinction of their dragons - and not a single descendant carried her name thereafter. Her surviving lineage brands her as a traitor and that same line went extinct mainly because of the Dance."

This is a lie, right? Only Stannis recognizes Rhaenyra as a traitor, and Arianne recognizes her as the true heir. It's not known what her other descendants think about her or the Dance and succession. There isn't a single quote where they exclusively blame her for the extinction of the dragons."

Stannis Baratheon

Stannis--who is trying to make claim for the throne through male primogeniture himself and is a rigidly unlikeable guy besides...like this is what he's known for, being intolerable to be around--from what I researched is the only one to be so vitriolic towards Rhaenyra in a way that this user you're linking me to is making her legacy and the cultural feelings are towards her. It serves him to brand her as a "traitor" specifically because he's trying to invalidate the Lannister-Baratheons that are on the throne; to default to the traditions of having any trueborn male come before trueborn girls gives his claim credence. btw, he also names his daughter his heir and he will never have a boy. We can say that he could still set aside his wife but he hasn't bc he needs/needed her family and no family has come forward to offer him any of their daughters at the right time, so...he delulu. And not the fun kind, the really sad and annoying kind. Even if he did have a son, he still used his daughter to "warm up" the spot and try to get others to support him--similar to Viserys naming Rhaenyra (except he had the decency to be serious abt it) just so he can make use of potential allies. Rhaenyra needed heirs to solidify her claim? So did Stannis, and he used Shireen.

Thereby, with that and his disbelief in any religion but continued use of Melisandre to scare people, he's much more dishonest with himself about what is the "right" thing to do. And we already know that in Winds of Winter, he will burn his own daughter. So let's not take the words of the only descendant we definitely know calls Rhaenyra a "traitor", yeah? Typical hypocritical extreme nihilism. Total opposite of Dany, who locks away her own "children" to preserve the lives of others' children and contemplates family betrayal as negative in relation to power-grasping [down below].

Oh, and Robert, his brother and the person of whom he's saying he is the true heir to? Robert made use of their shared Targaryen mother--Rhaelle--to add more legitimacy to his reign. Thus to Stannis' potential reign as well.

Other mentions of Rhaenyra both in the main series and in the Hegde Knight series (so PoVs, not written histories) are:

None blame her for the extinction of dragons specifically; they mostly mention the how the "rift" or rivalry between "sister" and "brother" tore the realm part and plunged it into a devastating war. That's more the OG poster projecting their ideas onto those people outside of the Citadel.

And this is really emphasized by how Dany remember her own brother (abusive and once said he'd tear her own son from her womb, hah!) relating the tale of how Rhaenyra's son had forced his dragon into eating Rhaenyra right in front of her son (in contemplation of the "price of power" when she learns that a young girl is killed by presumably dragonfire, by one of her own dragons, the source of her ability to rise to power and protect those she wants to protect).

So here's the thing about Fire & Blood and even A World of Ice and Fire...both are books written by people who have not witnessed most of the things they write about AND are doing their best to BOTH record historical events AND push out propaganda or propaganda-like material to maintain a certain status quo. For Gyldayn, it is anti-female rulership/women in higher positions of power and with similar or close-to-traditionally-male-assigned positions.

Fire and Blood

Not only is Gyldayn already a man who has lived within the re-affirmed stigma against female leadership the Dance left Westeros in its wake, Gyldayn is trying to tell us how a woman, at all, being the heir to the throne of Westeros was itself catastrophic, and is using the war to affirm that idea. Meanwhile, when we really look at the whole of Westerosi history we realize two things:

much more women been used up, tortured, killed, etc. by men in any sort of position of power than those have been actually used their power for evil and selfish destruction once they had it or were close to it THAN IN THE REVERSE---ancillary as a Consort or the "highest"/central: Queen Alyssa, Queen Alysanne, Aerea & Rhaella's isolation and removal from the line of succession, Ceryse Hightower, Alys Harroway, most of Aegon IV's mistresses and certainly his sister wife Naerys, Daena, Elena, and their sister Rhaena, Argella Durrandon, Cassella Staunton, Shiera Blackwood, Rhaena the rider of Dreamfyre, Helaena, Jaehaera, Jeyne Arryn, Mysaria, Cassandra Baratheon, Saera, Viserra, Daella, *Princess Alyssa, Myrielle Peake, Lucinda Penrose, Jeyne Westerling, Elinor Costayne, that unnamed Lannister woman who married the man who would inherit her family's lands after taking her family name, Marla Sunderland, etc. Truly, the system already takes care of women who either just want a little bit more protection and agency or are ambitious or just want to protect their ancestral lands. (Except in Dorne, even though you can make the case of nonDornish people inflicting cultural violence against Princess Meria Martell's legacy by calling her a "toad" and saying she was a witch, but that doesn't affect the Martell women as much as nonDornish women...unless they are lowborn--Sylvenna Sand & Obara's mother).

even in his own telling of the Dance, him being a maester (the Hightowers have funded the Citadel for years and socially benefit from doing so by reputation of being pillars of the Faith), he fails to obscure just how greedy, traitorous, and destructive the green/green supporting males were...more so than most of the women he's recounting---INCLUDING Aegon, who was told to have been convinced of becoming king only to avoid Rhaenrya's wrath...which was quickly disproved by her explicitly stating that she wouldn't hurt him if he just gave up...and he responded by saying that he'd kill or seriously injure her...which he eventually did, as well as traumatize/nearly mutilate her 10 year old son as a deterrent to her many supporters

If there are descendants blaming her, they are mainly men AND they tend to be cruel, foolish, or otherwise men who should themselves never rule over a group of people for hos irresponsible they take to power. Fire and Blood rather shows us what happens when you let misogyny rule the world; it's liable to burn with how degrading you keep your women, esp those who already have dragons that you can entrust power rather than stifle and oppress. "Rhaenyra" is not a name used again for two reasons, one Doylist and the other Watsonian:

Doylist: she is mean to be a sort of "marker" between two periods of Targ history: no dragons vs the dragons...as the "peak" of the ruling Targs, when they were at their most powerful. not because she herself was so special or unique, but because of her position in the timeline

Watsonian: again, she is blamed, sexistly, for the Dance even though it was the greens who usurped her, etc....the council that convened after the Dance were full of men who didn't learn the real lesson and decided, esp after Baela's actions, to not place a woman on the throne bc "it causes too much trouble"...so the name itself is probably "cursed" in the sens that no Targ wanted to bring disfavor to themselves like how Aerion named one of his kids "Maegor"

It's a case of a man almost getting the real point, and skipping right over it. That person you link? They also missed the point entirely.

And yes, Arianne, one of her blood descendants, attributes her as the true queen...which she was. But remember, it's not so much that Rhaenyra wasn't the "true" heir, but that having a female ruler "causes chaos" so we shouldn't do it anymore.

AWoIaF

On the other hand, Yandel (AWoIaF) has several subtle exotifications & interpretations of foreign people's that come from Westerosi-Andal distaste for magic and suspicions of non-Faith practitioners. But more importantly, he was writing the book in dedication to first Robert, then Joffrey, and then Tommen and to the new Lannister-Baratheon alliance/dynasty that replaced the past Targaryen one, which had ended with a mad man but for the most part had non-mad people. The book really capitalizes on the Targaryens' boldness and possible link to power and mystery to paint the Baratheon-Lannisters as the best for Westeros, as the most righteous set of people to rule...(*cough, cough).

And you can see it when he's describing Robert's role in the Rebellion, the Lannisters, Tywin in particular, and how he characterizes the rebellion:

[nightmaremonarch]

so… im normal, obviously…

Anyways. I have a general idea on how every part of the FNaF (and subsequent related media) animatronics work. The one thing that tends to be a reach in my brain is ANIMATRONICS WALKING.

so here’s my theory/redesign on how this works!!!

(warning, this is a brain dump i wrote at midnight, so it may not be fully coherent! additionally, im not a mechanic nor do i have any mechanic/engineering experience. i just likea da robot)

i find the walking a bit hard to make realistic. around the 1980’s larger animatronics weren’t walking at all, and we’re only recently starting to make good walking robots. historically animatronics have been held in place via stands… so.

with walking, there are a lot of things to be considered. technology constraints, movement systems, balance, etc etc.

for technology constraints and movement systems, we have to look at how animatronics of this time typically function. they are powered by hydraulics (bursts of air), which requires gas and gas canisters. the mechanics of the hydraulics are connected to a computer, which up until recently (when chuck e cheese got rid of EVERY SINGLE ANIMATRONIC 😐) used pre-programmed floppy disks to run their movement.

a walking animatronic (powered by hydraulics, which is a technology constraint of the time) would need all of this to be INTERNAL. so along with all the other internal stuff like the endoskeleton, support layer (typical for more period accurate animatronics), hydraulics, you’re also adding a COMPUTER and a GAS CANISTER. this would, of course, make the animatronics quite heavy.

with these constraints in mind, here’s how i think walking would work. first, the animatronic would need to have its weight redistributed. the computer would be in the lower chest near the pelvic region, since computers are Heavy and it needs as much support and room as it can get.* the gas canisters would either just be stored in the legs, or both the arms and legs, though the latter might result in it being more top heavy which is not what we want.

*additionally, animatronics are large, and children (the target audience) are small. if they have an internal sound system, the sound system would likely come from the computer as well, which basically puts the sound at a child’s level, which adds to the benefit of it being lower in the body.

we need the weight evenly distributed so it can properly balance. it would be easy to just give it wheels or have it shuffle without picking up its feet, but we something that can WALK. so. you know what ill just make a diagram of my conclusion

thank you freddy!

now. this may seem like a simple conclusion. but it took a while for my brain to accept it since it had to consider Every Single Other Factor Beforehand. For Example:

1. how the joints work (the knee, pelvis, abdomen, and ankle are sliding joints, i think is what they’re called…)

2. how they know where to move (like how an npc moves in a video game. they have a predetermined path coded into their computers, and stop when an obstacle is in front of them)

3. how they return to an idle position (instead of stopping the walking code entirely, they run a different code which brings them back to an idle stance instead of stopping them mid walk, which could leave them off balance)

4. how the hydraulics work (gas and servos that control gas output)

5. things that i could’ve potentially gotten wrong (step four of the diagram when the opposite leg swings up, weight distribution, how joints work, etc etc cuz im not an engineer or a mechanic)

6. alternate solutions (“why not servos for all movement?” unrealistic for 1980’s animatronics. “why not ball joints?” cuz ball joints ain’t gonna work here. “why don’t they have some of these features in game?” scott didn’t do research on how animatronics work in 2014. “why can’t they just be powered by the ghosts?” they can, this is specifically pre-ghost, since it’s implied in fnaf 1 and 2 they were able to walk before being possessed. id imagine being a ghost would just allow for control of electrical impulses, which would make the computer essentially useless since controlling electrical impulses means controlling the movement. the gas canisters would still need to be refilled though!)

Okay. That’s all. Let me know if you want to see more (there is always more) or you want to critique this or if you have any ideas. Love you!!! Bye!!!

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Darkness Looks Like Haven

Author’s note: Third part in the series with Claude. Past - Next

Summary: Claude is dealing with Captain Asshole, who’s nice to everyone else. What the fuck?

Warnings: Bullying, swearing, abuse of power? Ish? Tell me if I need to add warnings in the notes.

Tagged: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k, @egrets-not-regrets

He had been trained, as all Primaris marines in many things, how to endure, how to fight, plans and orders go to die in Actual Battle. How to listen and heed the orders of those above him, to put aside his personal feelings and emotions. How to control himself and use his mind and body For The Good Of The God Emperor and The Imperium.

For the Lord Regent, for his brothers, First born and Primaris alike. One of the First Born Captains of the Storm Hawks, for reasons that he can’t ascertain has noticed Claude. And at first he’d been honored by the attention of the Elder brother, First Born Marine and Captain. But, no matter what Claude did, the Captain always found him wanting that he was failing in some way. This stirred up anxiety within him. He was doing his best to obey, to heed orders, to train, and be a good team player.

To move on swift, silent foot steps as he fights for the God Emperor. He’s trying to figure out what flaw in his being, or failing in his practice at combat, stealth, and other things he’s doing. He does all the tasks required of him to the best of his abilities. And yet the Captain can find the faults and flaws in everything that he does. Demanding he redoes it again. He’s asked his squad, wanting to know what it is that he’s done so wrong.

None of them have any ideas, and they have been, understandably, even if it hurts, distanced themselves from him. Not wanting to gain the Ire of the Captain. The whispers giggle and croon and rage in his ear. Murmuring madly of what he should do. Could do. How they’d help him make that Captain suffer and be the one who’s humiliated publicly.

 He closes his eyes briefly and silences the voices that cackle and forces the voices back down into silence. Well, not actually quiet, but more manageable levels as he goes over his forms again. Hours after the rest of his squad, and the other Primaris marines are off to bed, the Captain glowering down at him as he continues to practice, at quarter, half, and full speed repeatedly until the Captain tells him to stop.

“You Primaris are not only Taller, but faster,” The Captain spits out, almost like a curse as he scowls at Claude.

Claude remains quiet, there is The Correct and Only Answer, as well as Traps in the forms of verbal conversations. He’s not going to be lured into making himself suffer more than he has to by Saying The Wrong Thing. Even though no matter how Correct the Answer (supposed to be) is, it’s the Wrong One, at least if he says it. His brothers would give the answer that at the tip of his head and would get a scoff or a grumble, but allowed on. But if he says the words, he will get Punished for it.

Part of him wonders what would happen if he asks, why the Captain has singled him out specifically for this treatment out of all of his fellow Primaris brothers. Just what was it about Claude that upset the Captain so much. Why he had fixated on Claude. His mind snaps to Potential and the Captain rears back as if he’s been slapped due to the question and he snarls and gets into his face.

Drags Claude down to eye level, the First Born are shorter than Primaris and gets scolded for several hours and the Captain shoves him away and orders him to his bunk. Also, as punishment for his audacity he’s not to have rations for the next three days and to submit to correctional flogging. He blinks and snaps back to Now and keeps the words strangled in his throat and he shrugs.

“I was made this way, Captain.” He says quietly.

“Tch, to showers and bunk, you Stink, boy,” The Captain growls at him after a few minutes.

He snaps a salute and heads off to the showers and then to bunk. The rest of his squad are already asleep, and have been for a few hours. He closes his eyes to rest and wakes up to the sound of the morning alarm. Astartes don’t need much sleep, but even he hasn’t had enough. But he gets up and into armor and follows his squad to morning chow. Quietly listening to his squad mates and older brothers as he keeps his eyes almost shut.

He's not supposed to where his helmet in the refractory and the lights on the ship are really fracking bright. His brother’s don’t seem to have a problem with the light levels, so he keeps his mouth shut. Head bowed a little as he speaks a little to his squad when spoken to and eats the nutri-mash and drinks the electrolyte-infused water.

“It’s an honor that the Captain is training you personally,” One of the other Primaris marines, not of his squad tells him.

Claude blinks at him. “What?”

“The Captain,” Jono says impatiently, “He’s not seemed to notice any of the rest of us Primaris, you’re lucky enough to be getting personal training time with the Captain.”

Claude just stares at him. That is not true, the Captain isn’t training him to help he’s seeking to punish him. For some perceived sins that Claude doesn’t know what it was that he’d done to piss off the Captain. But to articulate that, or to complain would seem as if he’s ungrateful. Apparently, to most of the rest of the Prmaris, and from what he hears of his elder First-born Astartes, the Captain is a wonderful, stern man. Good Officer who, while distant with his underlings, isn’t a complete shit head.

[autisticlancemcclain]

I’ve really enjoyed your writing and I was curious to know if you ever experience writers block and how you try to drag yourself out of it? (I’m in need of advice)

thank you!! and i most definitely have omg. only rarely do i actually have, like, ideas for a fic. most of the time the hours are ticking past and i’m like FUCK i don’t have a goddamn thought pinging in my brain rn for tonight’s fic 😭😭 so i deal with writers block several times a week lol. i have a couple strategies for it.

1. this one is more of a future set up thing. over the weeks and months i’ve set up a saved folder where i use social media the most —inst*gram — and every time i see something that either reminds me of the blorbos or i think has story potential (which takes some time to start noticing, don’t worry if it’s slow at first, i used to add to the folder like once or twice a week and now it’s once or twice a day lol), i save it:

sometimes i send the post to a friend with a vague outline of what i’m doing, which looks something like this:

and screenshot that for later. this way i have this folder of ideas and one-offs to turn to when the well has run dry. it doesn’t always work, but it works enough that i think it’s worth the effort.

2. this one is less cool and suave, but when i don’t have any ideas, i try to just…write whatever. i don’t mean, like, write a random story, i just mean write random ass words and see what happens. i tend to work best with dialogue, so i’ll just type out a random sentence and see what happens, see what my brain does without me focusing on it. i’ll walk you through one of those now:

“Don’t.”

there’s a random starting word. just a single word. it could go literally anywhere, from humour to actiony order-barking, but i’m getting a bit of an angsty vibe to this, so i’m just going to pick a character — my beloved — who i’m very used to writing and can picture easily and add a dialogue tag.

“Don’t,” Lance warns.

okay! now we’re getting somewhere farther. now i try to ask myself one or two prodding questions: what does his voice sound like? can i hear him saying this in my head? who’s he saying it to? what emotion is he portraying? i don’t have to actually answer any of the questions, but now i’m thinking, baby steps, and i can get going easier, because i’m actually starting to hear this in my head:

“Don’t,” Lance warns, voice wobbling. “Don’t do this to me.”

from here i just see where i can go. one thing i have to remind myself is that no one is holding me to a standard but me. this can be two words or two hundred. a page or a novel. whatever i come up with. i’ll give it a fair chance, but if it doesn’t go anywhere, that’s okay, i’ll try again later. i try to just get into things and go. i’ll lean into what’s familiar to make things easier on myself:

“Don’t,” Lance warns, voice wobbling. “Don’t do this to me.”

Keith looks away. He has a hard enough time keeping steady with Lance normally, when he’s smiling, smirking, when he puts a hand on Keith’s shoulder and teases him about his hair.

But when he’s looking at Keith like Keith has a choice to make? And he’s making the wrong one?

It’s almost physical, the ache. The pain of knowing he’s hurting someone but doing it anyway.

“I have to,” Keith says quietly. He clutches the strap of the duffel bag hanging over his shoulder, picking uselessly at a loose thread. “I can’t stay here.”

“You can.” Lance’s voice is still weak, shaking, but there’s something steady to it, a resolution. He’s sure he’s right. “You always can. You’ve never had to run.”

Keith says nothing.

“Don’t run away from me, Keith.”

Lance never pleads. He’s too proud. Keith pretends he doesn’t hear the desperation in his voice, for both of their sakes.

“I’ll call,” Keith offers. He looks up as he says it, but he still doesn’t meet Lance’s eyes. He’s afraid to see the hurt that he knows is there, the disappointment. If he doesn’t look he can pretend it’s not.

“No, you won’t.”

He says it like it’s a surety. Space is vast, time expands, and Keith won’t call. Keith is running away, again.

Keith turns around and leaves without another word.

that took me about six minutes. took some thinking, here and there, but it was easier as i kept going. i stuck to what i’m good at, remembered i don’t need any context for this (it’s just an exercise!) and moved forward.

i hope this is helpful! feel free to dm me if you’re still stuck, i’m happy to bounce around ideas :))