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veltana · 1 month

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Buy my heart - 2

✦ Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Fem!Reader

✦ Word count: ~1,2k

✦ Rating for this part: Mature

✦ Warnings/tags: Alpha!Bucky, Omega!Reader, slow burn, eventual smut, pet names (little darling/darling)

✦ Series summary: In a desperate attempt to rescue your family from debt, you decide to auction yourself off. The alpha who purchases you turns out to be quite different from what you imagined, leading to a marriage that exists only on paper. However, when an omega moves in with an alpha who hasn't experienced a rut in years and is determined to keep things strictly professional despite his instincts, complications arise.

✦ In this part: Bucky and you have a chat.

✦ Note: Thank you so much for all the wonderful words about part one! ❤️ Reblogs, comments and asks are much appreciated!

Series masterlist

Masterlist | AO3

Light filters in through the curtains in the places where you didn't close them properly. The small clock on the bedside table tells you it's just a few minutes past ten.

Last night you did as Bucky suggested and took a bath, exploring all the different dials and buttons before scrubbing your body with soap that smelled incredibly expensive. Afterward, you dried off with fluffy towels and found a robe on a hook. Clothes had been placed on your bed and a tray of food waited on a small table.

According to the label, the pajamas were 100% silk. You'd had no energy left after that and crawled into bed.

Getting up you find that the tray is gone. Which means someone was in your room while you slept, and that makes you uneasy. Instead of a tray, there is a note. I'll be in the office, find me once you've had breakfast. It's not signed but there is no doubt who wrote it.

After washing your face you try to figure out what all the different creams, mists, and toners are for and have a proper look around your room. The closet is empty, so you guess you'll just have to walk around in your pajamas. Bucky did say something to the person on the phone about clothes but as far as you can tell, nothing more arrived last night.

You stand hesitantly in front of the door, your hand hovering over the handle but not daring to open it. This new place is intimidating. Bucky seems fine so far, but you’ve only just met him—can you really gauge anything yet? Taking a deep breath, you twist the handle and step out. Now to figure out where the kitchen is.

You head back down the stairs Bucky carried you up yesterday, hoping to find someone who can give you directions.

At the bottom, you look around but don’t see anyone. But you do hear voices and decide to follow them. It leads you to a set of double doors slightly ajar. From within, you can hear Bucky’s voice and a woman’s. The note suggested having breakfast first, but now that you’ve found him, you might as well join him. Again, you hesitate, but since the doors aren’t closed you gently knock on the door. “Come in,” Bucky answers.

He’s sitting behind a large desk and in front of it stands one of the most beautiful women you've ever seen. Her hair is long and red, but the tips are blonde, arranged in a messy braid, dressed in high heels, a pencil skirt, and a white shirt. She smiles sweetly, and you find yourself feeling shy.

“Hey there, little darling,” Bucky says. The nickname he's given you feels just as strange now as it did yesterday but you don't ask him to stop. “Did you sleep well?” “Yes, sir. Sorry! I mean, yes, Bucky.” The woman chuckles and now you feel flustered too. “This is Natasha, she's my right hand. Don't let her appearance fool you, she's as lethal as they come.” You nod at her.

“I hope some more clothes will arrive during the day, I wasn't sure what style you preferred,” She says with a smile. You have a suspicion that she was the one Bucky called from the limo yesterday. “Thank you!” “As soon as you've settled in a little we'll have a girl's day and go shopping on Bucky's credit card,” she laughs and steps away, passing you on her way out. She smells amazing too.

Natasha closes the door behind her and you're alone with Bucky. “Take a seat. How was breakfast?” As you sit you throw him an apologetic smile. “I haven't eaten, I don't know where the kitchen is.”

Bucky looks confused for a moment, then shakes his head. “Of course, sorry, do you want me to show you?” “No, I prefer waiting a while after waking up to eat.” “Oh, then we might as well go over the agreement I've drawn up.” “Agreement?” “Kind of like a contract. I'll explain,” he leans back in his chair.

“I took over the business from my father, who got it from his father, and so on. My grandfather is still alive but my father passed away recently.” “I'm sorry,” you say. “Don't be, we didn't have a good relationship. Anyway, I've been without a partner for a long time and it doesn't sit well with my grandfather. So he gave me an ultimatum two weeks ago: get married or see the money I'm set to inherit go up in smoke when he passes. And between you and me it could be any day now.”

“You need a wife?” Looking at Bucky, you find it hard to believe he would have trouble finding someone willing to marry him. Which could mean a lot of things.

“A friend gave me a tip about the auction.” “You decided to buy a wife?” “Yes, it might not seem like a very honorable thing to you, but I'm in a bit of a time crunch at the moment.” “I understand,” you nod. It's not your place to question his motives. You should be happy that he's even willing to discuss terms with you. You’ve heard stories of omegas being sold to horrible people.

Another thought enters your mind. Bucky seems to be well off, and when you're his wife then maybe you can convince him to send some money to your family. The money from your auction will last them some time but sooner or later it will run out.

He pulls a bunch of papers out of his desk and hands a bundle to you. “Read through this during the day. Write any questions down. My lawyer will be here tomorrow and can answer them.” “Okay,” you nod.

Then Bucky picks up a pen. “The paperwork I got from your auction wasn't very thorough. Are you on suppressants?” “No, couldn't afford them.” “And what's your family situation?” “Complicated.” That is all you give him.

He shoots you a look but you don't explain further, it doesn’t concern him. “When was your last heat?” He asks in a very professional voice but it makes you shift uncomfortably in your seat. You start counting backward but it's hard to remember exactly.

“Maybe three months ago?” you guess. “So that should give us around three months before the next time?” Bucky’s eyebrow goes up as he eyes you questioningly. “Yeah, I suppose,” you shrug. “You don't keep track?” “No, not really,” you confess. “I notice when it's about to happen and then it does.”

Bucky puts down his pen with a frown. “That can be dangerous for an omega,” he points out. “What if you're not at a safe location when it does.”

That makes you snort and then realize you’re talking to the alpha who’s bought you to make you his wife and you look away sheepishly. “Sorry, it's just that I was either home or at work and maybe occasionally at the library.”

“I see,” Bucky says as he picks up the pen again, but you can't help but wonder if he truly understands. The mansion is enormous, clearly not something he built on his own—it's likely been in his family for generations. Everything about the place exudes wealth, including Bucky himself. His suit is so crisp it seems brand new, with barely a trace of scent, as if it's never been worn. How could he possibly know what it was like to live your life?

“And have you been alone for your heats or have you had help?” Your mouth falls open and you stare at him. “Excuse me?” “You heard me.” “That's none of your business,” you cross your arms.

He leans back into the chair, eyes thinning as he looks at you. “It's not?” “No, it's private.” “You forget one thing, little darling.” His voice is void of warmth “I own you.”

There it is, you think. The reason he's been unable to find a wife.

You don't answer that statement, well aware of your predicament. “Why do you need to know?” You ask instead. “Because it matters if my soon-to-be wife is a virgin or not.” “I'm not,” you bite out. “A mate I should be aware of that's going to cause trouble?” “No, we split a few years ago.”

That appears to please him, and he jots down another note before placing his pen back in the holder on his desk. “Good,” Bucky nods. “That's all for now, let's get you some breakfast,” he looks down at the watch on his wrist, “or brunch, and then I'll show you around.”

#veltana writes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #alpha!bucky barnes x omega!reader #alpha!bucky x omega!reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #alpha!bucky #alpha!bucky barnes #omegaverse

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oflorelei · 3 months

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My Problem is:

That it's a let down. Listen I am not mad or horrible dissapointed over that Radahn is there (although sigh i wished we would have gotten that Age of Abundance/Compassion man). I am not mad that he is apparently a puppets and that miquella is apparently the villain from the shadows. I'm mad that they hyped this DLC up so hard, using Miquella's character, which they know to be shrouded in mystery and HYPE, made it appear that we may have the chance to join him/get betrayed by him, made people belief he SPECIFALLY seeks out the tarnished or multiple tarnished at once (to help him?)- that he is the central figure of this DLC when he is not. And thats not an underestimation.

Miquella, most fearsome of the Empyreans, the 'father' of the Halligtree, beloved by near all, who "[...]wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. (There is nothing more terrifying.)" - does not even have his own bossfight.

No, he is basically just a cape for a boss we already fought to a DLC that costs 40€. He is in the promotion arc, he is said to be a central figure, he is said to be the fearsome empyrean of all. One thing he isnt? Apparently worth the time of day.

I am ok with Miquella being turned into a villain, I am not ok with Miquella being turned into a joke.

There were so so many roads they could have taken with him, he was PROMISING in every regard.

Want to make him a Villain? Fine the reason can be:

=> Manipulation/Enchanting for people to love him (to ensure someone will always look out for him)

-not absolutely evil per say- and it makes sense that someone who is stuck in the body of a child might want to count on many people rather then one person to protect them = it is his weapon to wield affection

- still takes away free will, even consent to some degree

=> Formless mothers influence

- do i even need to explain this one lmao

- already thousands of theories before this DLC thought that miquella might have been negatively influenced by her- especially when so many things in this Game revolve around blood and the power of it

=> "for the greater good" ahh ending

- 'the means justify the end' mentality (maybe even allign with the manipulation and enchanting)

-would be a similar situation to ranni and could mirror it- not the best but also not horrible

=> St. Trina is Miquella's Radagon

- Miquella splitting slowly with the golden order & turning his back to the easier path & planning behind the shadows to change how Things have been? Yeah maybe St. Trina could have been to Miquella what Radagon was to Marika (a guard dog, keeping her checked (sry but i genuinely believe Radagon returned bc Marika started to stray)).

-could also have explored how marika had to deal with it & her relationship to her other self => player could maybe decide who they wished to serve

=> the curse drives mad

- being stuck in the body of a child when you are a grown adult mentally is pure eldritch horror imo, it is not only physically but chances are high it could cause deeper psychological issues

- when grief drove marika mad it can drive miquella mad to that despite everything he does, being so prodigal, does not help and helplessness of it all too

- bc no one can help and no one can understand him

- he is stuck in a body that is his, and yet its the body of a past him, something he should have outgrown, something that belongs to the past- and (IMO) he can not fight truly in his body, not even to defend himself- having to constantly rely on people for your protection when you are an incredible independent creature? Horrible

- while not the most climatic- would it be truly unthinkable that miquella maybe just..gave up? That it drove him mad with grief to realize he spends his life searching for a cure that might not even exist?

- again thats more then a 'what if' then realistic like the rest of the list but i just love the horror adult mind child body

Want to make him a good guy? Fine the reason can be:

=> He is described so. He knew that he would be the next god & took responsibility.

- Miquella created the Haligtree, feed by his OWN blood (which takes far longer and more energy then just using bodies) or all that are rejected by the golden order, he is compassionate & kind. He is protective and by gods above he does want to help, he does break away from the golden order when he realizes they are not what they seem

-With ranni not wanting to become the successor and Malenia cursed with the rot it only leaves Miquella open, he would have been aware of it

- He is already a 'big' brother, caring for malenia, caring for all who were considered Misfits such as the Albinauric & Misbegotten, providing a sanctuary and hope

- Miquella is described as kind, as compassionate someone who basically does wish to bring a change and is ready to self sacrifice for the better

There are many more but guys im so so tired and need to nap. In short: its incredible to me how you can make a Character that had potential for all possible sides (good, evil, inbetween) so bland, his arc and journey feel like white toastbread, his relationship to his beloved sister malenia seems fake, he doesnt appear to be an adult trapped in a body of a child but as simply put an idiot who is all about "me me me me" & then doesnt even get a bossfight.

Im not mad it was written, i am made there was zero thought or reasoning put behind it, when there were so so many options to make it good. Its sorta fascinating that somehow no one likes this ending, not the Radahn Fans, Nor the Miquella or Malenia Fans..idk man. Having feelings about this.

Also im really bummed we didnt get a cutscene were the tarnished touches Miquella's arm to travel like- man.

Also sorry for the grammar/spelling or maybe even logic errors i just needed to vent ngl

#elden ring #dlc eldenring #sote spoilers #miquella #miquella U deserved better im sorry bb #my boy im so so sad guys #shadow of the erdtree #starscourge radahn #miquella was assasinated like abraham lincoln #sigh i just dont know what to say rlly #im just dissapointed #i need to go to bed istg

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aethon-recs · 9 months

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23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 (Longfic Edition)

Happy New Year! 🤍 Here is a round-up of some of the most engaging multi-chaptered works/longfics that I came across in this ship in 2023.

I found each of these fics, in their depiction of the ship, to be a fresh or surprising take on our familiar beloved characters of Harry and Tom|Voldemort, truly groundbreaking in some way in their approach to the ship. It's amazing to me that even after 20+ years of this ship existing, there's still new themes / tropes / dynamics to explore, and the authors are all so talented in making me think about the ship in some new way — just incredible examples of what it means to be a transformative work of fanfiction.

Criteria for this list: multi-chaptered, Tomarrymort-centric, with at least 1 update published in 2023. As with a previous longfic rec list, I tried to find longer fics that were relatively under-rated (which is hard to define, but below 2K kudos for the most part).

See here for Part 1 (2023 Tomarrymort one-shots), and hope you lose many many happy hours to the unbridled joy of immersing yourself in one or more of these incredibly addictive, lovely longer fics!

23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 — Multi-Chaptered Fics

A Darkness by Any Other Name by river_marrow (M, 30k, WIP)

Decades after the war ends, Harry is thrown through the Veil, and finds himself in an alternate reality where the leader of the Muggleborn uprising is the Dark Lord Voldemort.

A Dead God's Faith by @selfishrot (M, 35k, WIP)

Blood and spittle rush to follow Riddle’s words that are dragged out through a wrecked throat. “I will consume you.” Harry felt a thrill run up his spine, along with the usual fear and anger that accompanied Voldemort's threats. “Be gentle, I can feel your soul ripping its stitches.”

And the Living Will Envy the Dead by @k-s-morgan (M, 81k, WIP)

When Harry looks at Tom, he feels overwhelmed. There is a spark that makes him hopeful, the fear that nothing he does will save Tom from himself, and the horror at what his lies might lead to. When Tom looks at Harry, he feels nothing. Until he does, and then Harry’s world starts drowning in blood.

At the expense of the world by @itsevanffs (E, 24k, WIP)

"He had a lover, you know," Jenkins says to Remus once Harry's behind a wall and out of sight again. "A boy, and a gorgeous one at that. Nobody really knew where he came from, and Tom didn't seem to favour him either, at first, but by the end, he was besotted."

Bitumen by @crowcrowcrowthing (E, 32k, WIP)

Harry finds out the hard way that Dementors can’t digest Horcruxes. Now separated from his body, his best option is to seek out a similar soul for help. A love story about immortals with too much time to kill.

Creatures of the Dark we are by @hikarimeroperiddle (M, 25k, WIP)

Banished to his cupboard at age 4, Harry learns to listen only to the Voice in his head. Its teachings wrap all around Harry until no more than dark magic and devotion remains, along with visions of a wraith with red eyes.

Exceeding Expectations by @mosiva (E, 56k, complete)

Harry Potter’s life ran along very different lines than Tom Riddle’s. He knew nothing more of the man than he read in the Daily Prophet. Then they get stuck in a lift together.

Exegesis by liquoricepantomime (M, 38k, WIP)

In exchange for peace, Voldemort asks for Harry Potter. And so, there is a new legacy that forms — of The-Boy-Who-Was-Sold, and his childhood spent in a castle, with a man who has killed his parents. A man who is mad, and whose ire reigns fiery hell. A man he will marry, and yet knows nothing about.

found by @honbug (E, 112k, WIP)

Tom knows from the beginning that he is destined for greatness. Nothing and no one will stop him from achieving his goals. (And then, of course, there are the dreams.)

hook, line, and sinker by @purplemineralwater (E, 21k, WIP)

Harry asks Professor Riddle for help in killing Voldemort. Riddle is endlessly amused.

if we were lovers by @reggieblk (E, 277k, complete)

When Harry arrives at the most prestigious theatrical school in the country, he doesn't have many expectations. The most unexpected thing he encounters is Tom Riddle, and subsequently, falling in love with the only other person who deals with feelings as well as him. But maybe, just maybe, he and Tom will find out that not all love stories have to end in tragedy.

Lover's Spit by @blogalinda & @k3uuu (E, 123k, WIP)

Following his father's arrest on a dull hot Sunday in North Yorkshire, 10-year-old Tom Riddle becomes a dark internet sensation. If Harry Potter listened to his father, he would never speak to Riddle again. But eight years after the arrest, an unexpected and painful encounter leads Harry to reconsider events — and arrive at a conclusion all his own.

One Year In Every Ten by @saintsenara (E, 189k, WIP)

A decade after the final battle, a serial killer emerges, with a message that proclaims the Dark Lord has risen again. Harry is assigned to the case.

Oversight by @dividawrites (E, 21k, WIP)

Voldemort’s resurrection ritual doesn’t go as smoothly as he’d planned. He requires assistance and there’s only one person he can ask—the boy tied to his father’s gravestone.

Paved With the Best Intentions by @perhaps-sunlight (M, 113k, WIP)

Instead of dying during the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort de-ages into an infant. Until he becomes old enough to be legally executed, he will be magically bound to Harry.

Prison Blues by @metalomagnetic (E, 68k, WIP)

Harry and Voldemort find themselves locked up in a mysterious prison in an A/B/O alternate universe setting.

Revolution of Configured Stars by @tollingreminiscentbells (E, 110k, WIP)

In a Voldemort Wins AU, Harry Potter was spared, and enters his seventh year at Hogwarts wanting to do Arithmancy research and keep his head down. However, after a chance encounter, it looks like it may not be so simple. Marvolo Gaunt seems to have his eye on Harry. The trouble is, Harry has no idea why.

Tender Reigns Our Night by @noumena-writes (M, 93k, WIP)

Sent on a Ministry mission to fight for magic's survival, Harry goes back in time with two simple objectives: find and destroy any existing Horcruxes, and stop Tom Riddle ever evolving into Voldemort — using any means necessary. Harry thus finds himself working alongside Riddle at Borgin and Burke's, examining dark artefacts and desperately trying to fulfil his orders.

the demiurge, the leontoeides by @ramabear (E, 125k, WIP)

Thomas Gaunt reaches through the dimensions and plucks an eleven-year-old Harry Potter from his world and brings him home again.

the eternal flame by @duplicitywrites (E, 25k, WIP)

There’s a well-dressed older man who enters the orphanage asking after Tom Riddle. The man’s green eyes fix on Tom’s face, searching and searching. “My name is Harry Gaunt,” the man says, the tenor of his voice soft and faltering, a reflection of Tom's deepest, most secret anxieties, “and I’m here to adopt you.”

the righteous dead by @aspengray (T, 23k, WIP)

Harry is resurrected, sewn together with thread and magic. He remembers nothing except that he loves his savior, a man named Voldemort.

The Longing by @aglassroseneverfades (M, 33k, WIP)

Harry is not thinking of his parents right now as he trudges up to Voldemort’s eerie castle. He is thinking instead, as he often does, of a name that burns too brightly on his wrist in the pre-dawn light. He is wondering if somehow the fruitless tugging on his heart means that somewhere, some way, Tom is watching over him.

With a resolute heart by Act_Naturally (M, 157k, WIP)

A Hunger Games-AU featuring Harry and Tom as competing champions. Harry has a saving people thing. It’s not conducive to surviving a battle royale. He doesn’t fancy his chances. Especially against Tom Riddle.

#tomarry #harrymort #tomarrymort #tomarry recs #tomarrymort recs #hp fic recs #longfic recs #ao3 recs #fanfic recs #harrymort recs #2023 reads #2023 recs

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unlikelypandahologram · 4 months

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Reasons to ship every single version of MegOP

since Very Dumb Discourse™ exists about whether or not certain versions of this ship are valid, this is going to be THE most positive post about all versions of MegOP. refer back to this post for reasons to ship your favorite version of MegOP if anyone gets weird about it with you. now let us begin!!

G1: goofy '80s faction dads fighting each other in a denny's parking lot every week LET'S GOOO, that shit is fun as fuck. orion pax also totally had a celeb crush on megatron before megatron ruined that and shot him and his pals 😔 and there's a lot of angst you can add with megatron becoming galvatron and optimus coming back to life to see how much he's changed!

BW: it's the sheer fucking comedy gold factor of a newly minted college graduate and a terrorist dinosaur IMMEDIATELY singling each other out on a prehistoric rock and deciding to call their daily gang slap-fights the BEAST WARS, what iconic drama queens LMAOOOO. also, megatron made his final body in BM look like optimal optimus SPECIFICALLY to fuck with him, and that's just...incredible

UT: the fact that megatron CANONICALLY acted like a grieving widower over optimus after he died in armada is. amazing. never forget their absolutely insane obsession with each other that they can never EVER give up on played a direct part in unicron nearly ending the world <3

Bayverse: this is the one continuity of all fucking things that gave us the lore about megatron being prime's lord high protector. absolute galaxy brain writing from the tie-in comics. also these two would ABSOLUTELY have the messiest, nastiest, most brutal hate sex imaginable, and that's beautiful. <3

Animated: optimus being a rookie washout underdog and megatron being a super scary much older warlord is a really interesting and underrated fresh take on their dynamic! lots of fun to be had with exploring what their relationship would be like after megatron finally acknowledged him as his archnemesis, lol. also...age AND size difference ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Prime: do i even need to say anything, i'm pretty sure that one flashback still of orion and megatronus being friends is responsible for birthing a million shippers for this pairing alone LMAOOOO. the bitter ex-boyfriends energy was TRULY off the charts in this show, it's a damn shame megatron never appeared in RID15

Cyberverse: same bitter ex-boyfriends energy but this time with dates at maccadams. megatron also dies encouraging optimus to beat the unhinged alternate dimension megs AAHH THE ANGST

IDW1: they're both depressed gay war criminals in this one who CONSTANTLY live in each other's heads rent-free and that's amazing, lmfao. also, megatron becoming an autobot means this is one of the VERY FEW continuities where it's not nigh impossible to figure out a way to give these two a happy ending together in fanon

IDW2: space date space date SPACE DATE. they were falling together and everything. megatron also LITERALLY tells optimus to open himself to him...to give him the matrix...yeah megs my dude i'm sure that's the ONLY thing you wanted from optimus "opening" himself. toootally positive, lol

G1 Marvel: megatron was SUPER fucking pissed and weird as shit about the time optimus died over a video game. it counts

Dreamwave: their first fight had megatron urging optimus to join him AND they disappeared together in a space bridge explosion once which is like, a fanfic-esque setup for them to be alone. also i'm pretty sure this is the continuity where optimus accidentally gave megatron a lobotomy, so...uh...potential for angst is to be had

SG: mirror universe!! evil crazy villain optimus with noble goody-goody hero megatron has so much potential for absolute chaos. bonus if you also bring in the normal versions somehow through multiverse shenanigans <3

KP: the only way this version of prime can redeem himself from the creepy underage human girl bullshit is if he gets a good hard dicking from megatron. next

Prime Wars: huge "ex-husbands go on a road trip with their disgruntled daughter" energy here. megatron also LITERALLY says "oh optimus, if only you could see me now" <3

Earthspark: again...need i say why? they're pals and working together from the get-go, what's not to ship??

Skybound: optimus literally wears megatron's arm. truly beautiful <3

TF One: it's not out yet but give it time. the entire movie is going to be about orion and d-16 being madly in love and tragically breaking up, baby!!

#if you're wondering why i didn't include the wfc trilogy it's because those shows fucking suck and i hate them LMAO #transformers #maccadams #megop #edited after the fact to include the new comics lol

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catboybiologist · 8 months

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About to fall asleep ramble time, this has been kicking around in my brain for a bit and I need to get some form of this thought out

I was diagnosed with ADHD and gender dysphoria one day after the other back in August. Extremely stereotypically zillenial of me, I know. Handling both of these has dramatically improved my quality of life. yes yes insert discourse about how much you need to have dysphoria as a diagnosis, it's just a tool for the medical system that's ultimately meaningless, that's not what this is about.

There's one thing that was really, really weird about the experience of getting care for both of these.

Most treatment and public talk of transition and motivations to transition are about misery. How much despair your birth sex gives you and how gender affirming care is the only stopgap against suicide (oftentimes, used as a barrier to entry that it should only be given when it's at the suicidal point). How crushing dysphoria is.

In contrast, most of the public perception of ADHD is this cutesy, "omg look I'm so quirky" kind of thing. People talk of ADHD "superpowers" and how neat it is to have hyperfixations (I'm low key starting to dislike that word, even though it's an accurate description of many things- it's very overused).

My actual experience has been almost exactly the opposite.

I absolutely had gender dysphoria, and still do, and misery associated with being AMAB. But is that what defines my trans experience? No, and in fact, it feels like a more incidental blip in it. My trans experience has mostly been defined by joy, by feeling my mind and body slowly make me more and more content with my default existence day after day. And the exploration of it all! The social roles, the romantic dynamics, the friendship dynamics, even small aesthetics like clothes and makeup, and again, the body and mood changes. It's incredible and it brings me joy so much of the time. That, more than anything, has defined my trans experience.

In contrast.... ADHD has objectively made nearly every aspect of my life more miserable. Working with my therapist and my pysch, as well as feeling what it's like to be properly medicated, have shown me extremely well how much the constant feelings of misery I always seemed to have were caused by ADHD. ADHD means being unable to receive a baseline level of dopamine to function under normal circumstances, so your brain starts looking for any way it can get new sources. And wouldn't ya know it, novel stimuli are a perfect way to do that. Keep in mind that dopamine isn't just "the pleasure molecule" it's a neurotransmitter with a broad range of functions. If you don't have ADHD, or even if you do, I want you to think about how miserable of an existence that is. Your default state is depression and inability to do things. It has been for me for most of my life. Additionally, anxieties creep into your head and distract you far more easily. You're less functional. You can't do simple things most of the time. You're distracted and have anxiety spikes easily. Continuous tasks are hard. And day in, day out... You are miserable. Almost constantly.

Oh also, you're easily addicted to extreme novel stimuli. For me, it was self harm. And when that stopped working... Well, I was in a state of mostly background depression that was only punctuated by spikes of massive, overwhelming anxiety that my brain hooked itself on. At a certain point, I just wanted it to end, by any means necessary.

It's been almost ten years since that day, and at this point I can genuinely say that I'm glad I'm still here.

But it wasn't dysphoria that did that (it contributed a bit, but still wasn't the biggest factor). Or a depressive disorder. Or bipolar. Or whatever the big, more "scary" mental illnesses or neurodivergencies are. They tried to treat me for some of them, and it ended horribly. My symptoms fit mixed presentation ADHD perfectly, including my physiological response to stimulants. They don't fit anything else. I likely don't have any strong comorbidities, unless you count the symptom-level anxiety and depression. ADHD did all of that to me. The "cute and quirky" one.

By the time I got around to a diagnosis, my pysch was astounded that I made it as far as I did with symptoms as severe as mine. Tackling ADHD has removed so much misery from my life, it's indescribable. Adderall has been the only thing that has ever actually gotten rid of my constant anxiety.

It's not fucking cute. Keeping with this being the flip side to my dysphoria, I do try to keep it light most of the time, and I join in on all of the classic "whoopsie doopsie my ADHD" trains and jokes. You don't have to stop making those, hell, they're fun. There are cute and funny parts to having ADHD, and ways it's made my personality what it is. But don't forget that this is also something that makes people genuinely suffer well beyond the "oopsie I'm such a procrastinator!!!" Type thing.

Idk where this thought is going. It's just kind of an observation that's been kicking around in my head for a bit. So uh. Hope it at least generates discussion? Feel free to add your experiences if you think it'll help you. But fuck I need to sleep lol

#trans #adhd #cw self harm #cw suicide

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thrashkink-coven · 2 months

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Genuine Red Flags in Spiritual Books, Grimoires, Occult Teachers or Mentors

Very often I see folks talking about things they consider to be red flags for beginners when entering witchy or occult spaces. Here are a few of the things that I’ve noticed over the years that will immediately make me put down a book or step away from a practitioner.

1. Claiming they know every thing about every sect of spirituality / occultism or witchcraft

Simply put, there is no one person who knows the deep inner workings of every craft, of every philosophy, of every practice. The guru that claims to know everything from Reiki to Jewish Mysticism to Native American Spirituality to Voodoo to Acupuncture to Chakra Healing, Tarot, Herb Wizardy, Alchemy, etc etc etc. No. They are lying. Even the most dedicated and wise practitioners devote years into understanding a philosophy or spiritual practice. And especially in regards to closed practices, it is impossible for one person to have read and done it all. Either they are straight up lying or presenting brief skimming over texts or conversation as “years of experience and practice”. No.

2. Constantly trying to convince the reader that they are a God, deity or some inhuman creature like a cosmic elf, mermaid, or angel

Now I don’t mean to confuse this with the idea that some Luciferian or Satanic spaces may adopt that all humans are gods in their own right, or you are the god of your own existence. I’m talking specifically about books that try to convince you that you’re actually a lost race of alien who has been trapped in a human body, or has been mistaken into believing they are human. I’m not going to get into my opinions on star seeds or deity ancestry, what I will say is that very often, and I mean uncomfortably often, these ideas are intrinsically tied to supremacist or xenophobic rhetoric You do not have to be an angel to be special and cosmically significant. You don’t have to be an elf to explore herbal magic, people who push these ideas are very frequently praying on those with delusions of grandeur or other dissociative mental disorders and that’s not cool.

3. Using pseudoscience to push miracle remedies. This includes denying things that are provable to push a narrative, like the fact medication can help the mentally ill.

My dears, please fact check what you read. Please see what educated people have to say about these authors before you take everything they say at face value. As many problems and rightful distrust as there is in the medical industry, usually, if a concoction is commonly dismissed by 99% of medical professionals, it’s usually not because they’re trying to cover up the holy grail, it’s because they know it’s… probably not that good for you or simply doesn’t do what it claims.

4. Trying to convince the reader that with enough practice, willpower, and a donation of $9.99 per month, you too can obtain some incredible power that will allow you to airbend, waterbend, firebend, and basically defy all the laws of physics in general!

The point of most occultism, spirituality and witchcraft is not to defy the laws of physics or to obtain some godly power. There most certainly exists the belief in many sects of spirituality that one can influence their reality through training, but I promise you, anybody that is promoting that they can walk on water is trying to make a fool out of you

5. Inability to disagree, contest, or dissent from the opinions of the mentor, teacher, high priest(ess) or leader

This is how cults form, guys. Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug. If the presentation of different ideas or even questions are met with harsh backlash and censorship, you need to get the fuck out of there.

6. Them automatically making the assumption within a very short time of meeting you, usually presented as psychic intuition, that you are suffering and have a “deep sadness” or energy blockage in your soul that only they can fix.

I understand that damaged people often seek mediums and whatnot for help, and sometimes it genuinely brings them ease, that’s fine and good. But so often I have been approached by people online that claim that “the angels have a really important message for me that they can only give after they’ve received an epayment of just a few dollars”. These are obviously scams, but often people who have been trusted for a reading or service in the past will fabricate these stories to trap a costumer in a loop of service. Some of these claims may be genuine but I guarantee you most are not.

7. Sprinkles of Fascism

No you are not superior to other people because you’re spiritually “enlightened”. No you should not separate groups of people or decide who should and shouldn’t procreate. No mainstream society is not being being deceived by the devil, and the devil is not more prevalent in any one group of people, sex, sexuality, gender, or race. You are not the only enlightened one in a world full of lost people. Mentally ill folks are not demons and trans people aren’t energetically unaligned. You will not inherit the Earth while everyone else dies. Uuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shut the fuck up.

8. The claim that ancient societies of people were aliens. Presenting hoaxes and proven scams as evidence of a conspiracy.

This includes things like using documented hoaxes as evidence that aliens built the pyramids. I’m going to be so for real with you guys rn. This is just racism. It’s insane to think the Egyptians were smart enough to build the society they literally lived in, but nobody doubts the validity of the Roman Empire. Crazy concept but maybe Indigenous people of color aren’t savage idiots. And maybe white people aren’t the only ones capable of having societies and interesting architecture. The thing about this that annoys me the most is that… Egyptians still exist today, and the ancestry that dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and Canaan still exist today too. These were human beings, just like us. The alienation of black and brown people proves how little some people see us as normal people.

9. The promotion of practices that are directly harmful. Self mutilation, disorderly eating, or rituals that can induce psychosis or states of mania.

Guess what you actually don’t have to sit on a mountain naked and eat nothing but sunlight to be enlightened. You can definitely do religious or devotional things like fasting within a healthy degree, but I so so often see people promoting things that will very obviously lead to mania and hallucinations just by design. Starving yourself for two weeks while constantly blasting mantras and doing a bunch of psychedelics isn’t enlightenment… it’s a manic episode. While some devotees may feel comfortable offering blood to deities, this should always be in very small ways, a needle poke, not self mutilation.

10. Trying to do business with minors or promote occult topics to children specifically

Just no. I really dislike the idea of selling spells or promoting deity communication to kids still in grade school. They’re trying to manipulate a young mind into believing their dogma or spending their parent’s money. If a parent wants to share their craft with their child, that’s cool, but people who specifically target a younger audience are suspect to me. This isn’t to say spirituality isn’t for kids, it’s just that content that is created for kids is often created to be surface level and profitable in the algorithm.

11. Shitting on New Age Spirituality

Yeah I said it. This to me feels very much like a let’s hate on anything women, especially young women enjoy. Let’s delegitimize their experiences and paint them all as ditzy girls just clanging their crystals together.

There are some things that New Age Spiritualists do that I’m not a fan of, all of the things in this list. However, that doesn’t make this form of spirituality and witchcraft any less legitimate just because it’s somewhat trendy right now. Go fucking howl at the moon and have bon fires with your besties while you do tarot and talk about angel numbers, I don’t give a fuck.

New Age spiritualists aren’t inherently doing anything wrong or different than what ancient cultures have been doing for centuries, it’s just trendy and profitable now. But anything that young women enjoy will inevitably be exploited by the capitalist machine and that is not their fault. Wicca is still a legitimate form of spirituality and witches are not inherently doing anything wrong by being young women. So much of the criticism against NAS is literally just misogyny.

“I’m not into new age spirituality I’m a REAL witch”

omg please shut up

#pagan #witchcraft #paganism #magick #occultism #demonology #witch community #witchblr #grimoire #spiritual practitioner #spirituality #pagan witch #baby witch

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cripplecharacters · 3 months

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Hello! I want to write a horror book with characters that are not human but were a long time ago and now are something changed. What I want to do is explore themes of body horror, but what I do not want to do is be offensive or stereotypical towards physically disabled people. I have been doing some research and making sure the horror I am writing doesn’t have real world people it is affecting. (for example, characters with multiple eyes or arms or who have bare skeletons on their limbs) Do you have any tips to be non-offensive in my writing?

P.S. thank you! Your blog has been so helpful to me 💛

Hello beautiful asker!

We have a post on body horror right there! I would just do your research very thoroughly (read Sasza's part, he worded it much better than me). Characters transforming into something non-human is such a cool concept and cool to explore. And while this isn't our area, I would also research stuff like identity, race, body dysphoria, dysmorphia, Ethnicity, queerness, on their intersectionality with body horror, outside of disability and such. It's really interesting and it all intersects in such a fascinating way!

~ Mod Virus 🌸

Hi!

I think that as long as you're making sure you're not passing off symptoms of disabilities as said body horror, you're fine. If there's no connection between the two, then it won't be offensive to physically/visibly disabled people :-)

With that said, there's an incredible number of conditions that can be disabling (literally thousands). So to avoid including any of them as "body horror" or "gore" or what have you, you will need to do research.

There are disabilities that involve extra fingers (polydactyly), extra limbs (polymelia), extra eyes (diprosopus), and other things that involve what's widely considered "body horror" by the genre. Yes, they're very rare (except for polydactyly maybe) but they're still very much real; the Witches movie tried to pretend that limb difference was just some magical scary thing rather than an actually existing disability and it was horrible.

That doesn't mean you can't do it, just don't mimic it 1:1. Put the eyes on their neck, or make their fingers come out of their mouth, whatever. Things that don't happen to visibly disabled people, including the ones that die from complications of their disabilities - I think it's incredibly cruel for the horror genre to treat many of them as some sort of "evil creature inspo" because of severe congenital conditions.

That's just my view on it, I hope it makes sense. Good luck with your writing.

mod Sasza

#mod virus #mod sasza #body horror #fantasy species #fantasy setting #caffeinated-frog

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felassan · 24 days

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Notes and thoughts on the August 30th dev Discord Q&A. (this post contains DA:TV spoilers from the recent Q&A).

Mother Ghil is a herbalist 😌

"there are opportunities in conversations, in dialogue, in scenes where you will, you know - a companion may ask you for a hug because they’re having a rough time and you are able to give it to them"

🥺😭 I'm worried (but in a good way, pls hurt me storylines) because this reminds me of DA:I when the Inquisitor can hug Varric after something incredibly sad happens as a result of our choices (Hawke's death in the Fade) oughh.

Influence on the fate of nations? 👁️

"Rook does become a fairly important figure" - this reminds me of Solas' line in a past trailer: "They call me the Dread Wolf. What will they call you when this is over?"

UNDERWEAR CHOICES

Taash is babey 🥺 it makes sense why in this screenshot she looks young. if Taash is in her early 20s, say 23, that means she probably can't have been one of the Five Belles of Hunter Fell as that was in 9:42 and she would have been like 13

Here is some further info about companion ages that came out since the time of the Q&A

Harding had to have been at least 18 ten years ago in 9:42 when she joined the Inquisition and became Lead Scout, so must be at least 28. but I think older, as I think she was older than 18 in DA:I by a fair few years. like around early to mid 20s at that point in time.

"they’re all people who have been through a lot [...] they’ve been through a tremendous amount by this point by the time you meet them" 🥺😭

"They’re more linear than some of the other parts of the game, because we feel that’s how we can tell the best stories, give you a very intentionally-paced experience, y'know, with lulls and climaxes, so it really hits you."

This was how Trespasser was and it was the best part of DA:I, the storytelling and narrative beats in that DLC were soo good.

Hossberg Wetlands! - new location confirmed, and also described as being one of the biggest like Arlathan Forest. also new location just dropped, Hossberg existed before in the lore but I don't remember hearing about the Wetlands! Hossberg is the capital of the Anderfels. it'll be awesome to see more of the Anderfels than only Weisshaupt. by the name these wetlands must be nearby Hossberg. I wonder whether they're around the Lattenfluss or more around this body of water to the south of Hossberg? the area around Kassel looks wet with multiple bodies of water, but there the nearest settlement is Kassel. we also learned that there's a Davrin-oriented quest there that he can show up in with Assan and help you clear the way forward

also, I remember reading before that "Thedas’s separate regions are connected by The Crossroads, which will allow players to venture out into", but from how The Crossroads was described in the Q&A, they sound kind've like an explorable area in and of themselves in the game like they were in Trespasser, and that's exciting. :D I'm so excited to explore in there some more and see how it has changed from DA:I/Trespasser:

"but this, isn’t necessarily the Crossroads as you remember it. So you’ll be able to explore this, this part of the Crossroads, and as you’re there, you’re absolutely gonna be discovering new areas, new quests, mysteries and new challenges"

like this sounds very 👁️. The Veil has been having a rough time lately and magic has been flowing into the world. reality is warping in places like Arlathan. we've seen the effects this sort of thing is having on the waking world. but what about the effects this is happening on the Fade and Fadey dimensions? I wonder if this game will still reflect that the Crossroads looks different for elves compared to other lineages?

"I wanna see that big 100% completed on my map. That’s gonna take you quite a bit of time."

I love that. :D

I totally agree that the cloth sim and hair sim in the game is beautiful and looks beautiful. you can see this when characters move their heads or when their capes and things move around as they move. its so cool!

"there is a unique Venatori-themed helmet. I, I don’t want to spoil what that is exactly, but, so, you can get a helmet, it is unique, it’s pretty interesting and ties into some of the events that can happen in the game but I’m just gonna leave it there."

inchresting... this helmet sounds like it has special powers or attributes and has some sort of presence in a possible plot somewhere.

I will still romance Strife Dragonage in my dreams

while Rook's romance is within the companions, iirc was mentioned elsewhere that sometimes companions may find romance both inside and outside of the party

Cat Vibing To Ievan Polkka

KFM: "So Taash breathes fire, Lucanis has wings, Harding is a dwarf who has magic. A lot of our companions have some strange abilities - is this because the Veil is compromised?" JE: "Oh, I’d say it’s, I mean partially yeah. I mean, we’ve talked before about how over the course of the time since Dragon Age: Inquisition, I mean, it started at the end of Trespasser. The Veil’s not in great shape. Corypheus already did a number on it, and Solas has very clearly, as you saw, in the [inaudible] preview, not been making things better in the intervening times. [...] because there’s all this magic that’s coming back to the world through the torn Veil"

This is inchresting and ties to what was said in these two previous quotes:

Lore/art direction: “Magic has started seeping into the world through Solas’ ritual”, “and so you’re seeing the effects of that on the space, and on the visuals as well” [post this is from, original source. original source is a John Epler interview video]

“Epler, who writes Bellara, tells me about her place in Thedas as an elf and the connection elves have to the magic of the world. He says if you’ve paid attention to the franchise, you likely already know that elves are historically an oppressed people in the games. Now, with two of their gods on the loose in Veilguard, magic has poured back into the world in a big way. […] A Quick Detour: Magic During my discussion, Epler spoke about magic’s place in the world and how it differs in Veilguard from previous Dragon Age games. Here’s what he said: "Historically, as you’ve mentioned, we’ve been in the south of Thedas and south Thedas is Ferelden, Orlais. Both are fairly still oppressed, they still have circles. Mages are viewed with suspicion, but Tevinter has always been this land where mages rule, mages are in charge, mages make the rules, mages run the show. So what does that look like? And as we’ve gone through [Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition], magic has become more and more present. And part of that is because Solas has been slowly preparing this ritual for longer than anyone in the Dragon Age universe is really aware of, but also, just going into the spaces where magic is, by definition and by the lore, much, much more present. And it’s been fun because, again, we do have rules; we want to make sure we’re not violating the lore or violating things we’ve said before. But it’s also, again, that permissiveness of, ‘Okay, what is the most interesting way to do this? What’s the most interesting way to tell the story? [In] Origins, II, on the Eclipse engine, we could talk about this fantastical magic, but the engine didn’t really allow us to show it. For the first time, we’re really able to let the visuals speak for themselves and not have to tell the player, ‘Trust us, it’s spectacular; this magic is really cool.’ We can actually show you and let you drink it in.” [post this is from, archive post of the original article as that went down when GI did]

The effects of this on space, reality, visuals, people and their abilities, ancient elven artifacts turning back on, and Solas' activities being part of what affected things in the time since DA:I. I wanna speculate that these ancient elven artifacts turning back on or becoming active again is part of why reality has been warping and "something [going] wrong" in Arlathan Forest. I wonder if the Morlyn clan journal relic began rewriting itself as a consequence of the magic returning.

Bellara was an interesting example though, she's a mage not a non-mage like Taash, Lucanis, Harding. was I parsing this right - is the implication that she wouldn't be able to interface with the artifacts that have turned back on if the Veil was in better shape and magic hadn't been pouring back in?

^ Bellara interfacing with an artifact

All the talk of magic coming back into the world are like Sandal's prophecy:

One day the magic will come back - all of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part and the skies will open wide. When he rises, everyone will see.

and reminds of a few other bits too:

Ardent Blossom Faerie: "Pulling back the curtain. Let the light in. Let it burn. Bring faith. Bring hope. Bring dreams of life. - Morrigan: "Change is coming to the world. Many fear change, and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free." - Flemeth: "We stand upon the precipice of change."

I loved hearing about Bellara's friendships with Lucanis and Neve. it sounds so well thought-out, and I'm looking forwards to learning the relationships between each companion!!

Bellara believing that family is deeply important combined with a previous quote about her backstory,

"Whereas Bellara is somebody who has seen tragedy, and as you get into her character arc and get into her backstory, you realize this is a character who has seen a lot of tragedy"

makes me wonder if this tragedy has involved her family and if her family are okay. 🥺

Lucanis' belief in the deep importance of family makes me worried in case any of his personal arc/story involves the family tensions he has with Illario and Caterina

I love that Bellara collects newspaper clippings and was basically Neve fan before meeting her!

Neve must be a fairly prominent, well-known/successful private detective/investigator to have formed a large profile in print media

Taash and Emmrich [...] When you’re out in the field like exploring, or on missions with them, their banter is so good, because they do not see eye-to-eye on necromancy, like, at all, and, it’s really funny, it’s really delightful, I love seeing how it evolves

as a necromancer Emmrich doesn’t have a problem with necromancer (makes sense). I wonder what Taash dislikes about it? is it its bad reputation (per Josie in DA:I)? Solas freed the weak spirit the Mortalitasi in Tevinter Nights had bound to stir her drink. maybe Taash doesn’t like the binding part, or the undead helpers or servants part? maybe she just doesn't like the dead the way Bull doesn't like demons?

Having to figure out how Harding's new powers layer into her combat kit - Harding's new magical powers are part of her gameplay abilities confirmed!

Harding can also do Heavy Draw

Interesting - the more you help a faction the more gear you get from them. between that and transmog it means everyone can access the Antivan Crows awesome threads if they wanna :D

Both the specs and gear are themed around particular factions like aesthetically but aren't exclusive-to-them when it comes to use/gameplay

It sounds like each faction will have a quartermaster

Veil Jumper lore! they tend towards electricity/lightning damage and archery in their fighting style. and in general they're practically minded and dress as such because where they go and what they do requires care and protection and is dangerous, they wear boots/shoes etc for this reason

Veil Ranger info! it tends towards electricity, use of the Veil and use of that kind of magic. it also uses archery

The answer to the question about the Evoker spec made me reassured about the answer I wrote here ^^;

Great news that any piece of gear we find will unlock the appearance of that gear and how it can be applied to anything we want <3

Training dummy cosmetic - joke gear pieces like the Wedge of Destiny live on :D

I'm so psyched that we can even transmog our casual wear!! that's so cool and allows for so much agency. I find when I play mages in the past I'm always looking for the.. least magiest-looking mage gear to wear, and previously there wasn't crazy amounts of choice in casual wear, so this is amazing dbgfjdbd

very personal GIFTS for the blorbos 🥺 the gift system sounds so lovely and thoughtful. I think maybe some of the empty shelves that can be seen in the new screenshots of the companion rooms in the Lighthouse just miiight be where the companions will display the gifts

"A really big thing for us on this project is making sure that the gameplay reflects the characters, their arc and their personality as much as possible, so."

looking real hard at Lucanis' wings rn, especially given the context of what else we know about him 👁️

"you’re not even going to see everything necessarily in a couple of playthroughs"

Aaaaaa :D

as a warrior fan the love for the warrior class was really heartening. (love you Inky)

The Missing setting up some of the characters we'll see in the game makes me even more sure that alongside Strife&Irelin and Evka&Antoine we'll see Teia&Viago in the game (plus the characters in the release date reveal trailer that totally look like them ofc)

Emphasis that themes and events/things present and explored in Tevinter Nights are present in the game

It sounds like Vows & Vengeance is set in the weeks before the prologue of DA:TV kicks off

There is a buff called Rally Party where Rook triggers a surge in their companion's ability

MAAEEEEEEEEEE 😭😭😭 this was so good I was like yelling OMG. I'm sooo happy about this, this is so great. she's been on my 'DA4 wishlist of stuff' for so long and we waited to meet her since 2012 (12 years ago!!!). I'm soo excited to meet her oh my god. this reveal was honestly the highlight of the whole Q&A. pack it up, we can go home now. Mae.. 😭 I hope we get to see her interact with Varric. and I wonder if she has some involvement with the Shadow Dragons (Varric said something about "some old friends in Tevinter said the Shadow Dragons were pog to work with" in the gameplay reveal..), and how things are going with her and Dorian's faction the Lucerni

It sounds like Lucanis' parents were killed at some point in some Crow-Crow politics. probably when he was quite young, since when Lucanis thinks back on being raised by Caterina she did things like making him spend days without food or water, which makes it sound like he was quite young when he entered her care

No jealousy dialogue is interesting

I hope for a poly romance option in a future game

ABILITY TO SAVE CHARACTER APPEARANCES for use later in CC aaaa. Amazinggg. thankyouuu. a lot of thought has been put into the quality of life features of this game :') pausing cutscenes is another great one.

KFM: "The question is, is Lucanis possessed?" JE: "So, again, spoilers, everyone has been warned, fairly warned. So Lucanis Dellamorte is also known as The Demon of Vyrantium. And, he has spent a lot of time killing Venatori, who are mages, and who do know a lot about demons, so. Yeah, somebody decided that it might be a good idea to make that nickname stick."

👁️👁️👁️ Aaaaa. Inchrestinggg. From this and The Wigmaker Job I would guess that this "somebody" who decided that and did that to him is Zara Renata. she ended that short story like [evil anime villain laugh] "huehuehue":

"From flying vermin to malicious spirit. That's quite the promotion." [...] "A true maleficar knows demons cannot be killed, only controlled. If this Crow fancies himself a demon, then I look forward to using him to his full potential. He'll be duly punished"

Who else could the "someone" be? Zara, when I catch you.. 😠

I'm sure it will be different this time around as it always is! - both Wynne's situation (the specifics of it, how it came around, the effect it had on her) and how it was explored in the story was different to Anders' which was again different to Justice's in DA:O's to Cole's etc. (speaking veeery broadly in terms of the 'spirit companion' archtype, I know for example that Cole isn't possessed, simply a spirit. yk what I mean). I'm super curious about the take on this theme this time around ^^

(Lucanis possession-y-type-situation evidence [plus his demon-y looking tarot art, plus the wings and purple magic abilities of course])

I love the agency companions are given by them showing up in the field to help you, waiting for you somewhere on a quest they want to go on, or you encountering them out randomly somewhere doing there own thing (like the tidbit from a magazine about encountering Neve). it makes them feel like real people

I wonder if Taash's keen interest in the main story mission & the challenges of its arc in the far reaches of Arlathan Forest (it's strong enough that she shows up there impatiently if you don't take her) has something to do with the eluvian that's in her room?

"Far reaches of Arlathan Forest" is music to my ears btw as someone who has wanted to explore in there for the longest time

"You’ve just been around them, you’re aware of their techniques, and you wanna take that on yourself." - sensical explanation of what 'specs are aligned with/tied to factions' means ^^

KFM: "This next question is, where is the equator in Thedas, or the planet Thedas is on, relative to places we’ve explored?" JE: "That is a great question. So, I will say that, you know, it’s funny until I saw this question, it’s not something I’d ever thought a lot about, but as I started thinking about it a little bit more deeply, based on how the climate changes across Thedas, you know, obviously, to the south are the Avvar and things get a little bit more wintry, and then up north is a lot more tropical, I’d say that Thedas is a southern continent on this world, so."

I feel like the answer that was given here matches what a lot of fans have speculated or headcanoned on this topic. ^^

"There are these times where a companion, either their faction or their story arc is so closely tied or intersects with the events of a main story mission that they do become required, but it’s not the standard"

This makes sense. It sounds like Liara on Thessia in ME3.

When someone asked "Can a companion leave due to your world decisions, and if so, will their partners leave with them?" and John Epler mentioned that he would only answer half of this question as the other half is a spoiler, it made me wonder if companions will leave at certain times due to our world decisions

No mechanic behind companion-companion romances is so nice, it's more organic and real that way. I'm really looking forward to seeing the friendships and relationships between the companions develop

DAVRIN INFOOO 😭🙏 He sounds amazing. I wonder which companions in particular bring out his kindness

"He’s not just a Warden who sees fighting monsters as, you know, just part of the job. He believes in turning this into a skill-set that he alone, you know like, he has more than anyone else. Learning how to defeat monsters, learning their weaknesses, and that does show up a lot in his character arc, so."

this ties back to a related quote from a lil while ago.

I know it can be inferred from her vallaslin, but this Q&A is the first place I remember (atm) Bellara specifically being stated to be Dalish

We already saw each companion's Lighthouse casual wear here

Emmrich?? what are his casual threads like? :D

I wonder if Lucanis being one of the team cooks is part of why he appears to sleep in the kitchen storage/pantry

"It’s funny, I’d say that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is probably the most we’ve talked about food in a context of Dragon Age, ever" - it makes sense that it was only recently that the DA cookbook came out hh :D

Some of the companions being so bad at cooking that they'd burn water and die took me out. who do you think are the ones that aren't even 'passable' cooks but terrible ones hh? :D

So do the Crows in general quite enjoy the finer things in life and in food?

I wonder if part of Lucanis' interest in food and cooking stems from when he was young and Caterina made him go for days without food and water? :(

"So one of the things I really love is, you know, Bellara and Lucanis actually end up being, essentially, the team cooks. Bellara, you know, spending a lot of time out in nature, learning a lot about, you know, different types of cooking, is really big on experimentation, she likes to, you know, try different things. Lucanis comes from the Crows, Lucanis is very big on the finer things, so between the two of them, there’s a point in the story where they basically decide, if we don’t do this, the entire team is going to starve, so let’s just call ourselves the cook, cooks, and make sure that nobody dies of food poisoning, so."

I love this so much 🥺💜 ooh my heart. (its so wholesome and so funny at the same time). also Bellara's creativity and love of learning and exploring expresses itself in her cooking too!

It's great that fine, fancy dwarven-style beards are returning :D I wonder if there are also hairs with beads woven in? Strand hair in the beards 👌 beard physics working with different armors 👌 (amazing work!!). Dwarf Rooks shown before launch 👌 as many options in CC being universal as possible 👌 I love what I'm hearing!! I would guess from this that it means hair isn't gender-locked and mostly isn't lineage-locked (I can understand qunari hair may have to be) and things like that.

It wasn't in doubt ofc but this Q&A is the first time I remember hearing a clear mention that Solas was written by Trick Weekes in DA:TV

I'm really curious about the Rook faction background-dialogue with that same companion. it sounds like some have only heard of them and some may have known them a bit more directly. Like for example, is Antivan Crow Rook also from House Dellamorte, or another Antivan Crow house? Has Grey Warden Rook ever been to Weisshaupt (some Wardens don't seem to have)? Did Veil Jumper Rook ever go on adventures with Bellara? Did Emmrich and Mourn Watcher Rook ever be direct colleagues in the Necropolis? etc.

"maybe even heard of you leaving the faction to go help Varric to track down Solas" - this snippet makes it sound like part of Rook's backstory may involve having left their background faction when getting picked up/tapped by Varric for the work. inchresting

This screenshot shows an example of the Veilguard team hanging out together

"Rook and Solas have a connection, they have a bond'' - my guess is this is to do with Rook interfering with Solas' ritual, and the Lyrium dagger passing from Solas to Rook

I'm curious about the differences in Solas' connection/relationship with Rook to the one he had with the Inquisitor

"there are followers who, you know, are going to have a more complicated connection and complicated relationship with just, Solas as an entity, you know, Bellara, for example, is an elf, she’s Dalish, and this a person from her pantheon, so. There’s going to be a lot more of a, I guess, like I said, complex relationship between the two of them. Davrin is another example, someone else who is Dalish, so, you know, their views on the gods in general are going to be a little bit different"

I was happy to hear this. ^^ it would be odd if this sort of thing wasn't explored or at least acknowledged in the game. you can hear a bit of this in Bellara's release date trailer line, "Our gods are back. Our gods." it was also hinted at a bit in this Game Informer article I feel.

It sounds like Bellara and Davrin have slightly differing views on the elven gods.

It's so cool that we have 2 Dalish elf companions in the team this time! I missed a Dalish perspective in the roster in DA:I.

Turning off some of the UI components is great for taking screenshots and stuff

I think that Bellara's unique exploration ability is Tinker

Party swap-points confirmed?

Rook's ability to channel the companions' exploration abilities through the Lyrium dagger is super interesting 👀 I wonder how that works and how that comes about? Is it to do with lyrium? the Veil? the runes that can be put on the dagger? the mysterious entity in the Lighthouse that assists with crafting? do the companions each have some kind of connection to Rook sort've how Rook does to Solas? back in the day, when Solas led his own band of followers during his rebellion, when Solas' Lighthouse was filled with his own group of companions (Solas sees himself in Rook etc), did he channel his own companions' abilities the same way using the dagger? Was Felassan once essentially a party member of Solas'?

Great news on the helmet situation :). I wonder if the vitaar variants of helmets thing also applies to Taash?

Here's an example of qunari vitaar, two

Themed color-variant cosmetics 👀

Flowing faction-themed capes 👀

ASSAN SIBLINGS... after the Mae reveal, this was the highlight of this Q&A for real :D and it makes sense, griffons seem to lay clutches, so unless Assan was created or something wild or all the rest of his clutch died somehow, there would be others around in the world. I wonder what role the others will play in the game, and what the plotbeat around griffons is more generally

Confirmation that if companions showed up previously in TN they were at that point intended to be companions. It gives you an idea of how long some of these characters were worked on and developed for

Rook's surname being referenced in dialogue quite a bit 👀 interesting, I wonder when. Neve and Varric have called Rook "Rook" in videos from the game

Confirmation that the shape of Morrigan's crown is meaningful and tied to Flemythal stuff/themes

"In the case of Morrigan, she’s coming to terms with a lot of truths about both herself but also her mother, you know, you see her with Flemeth’s crown, or a variation of it, and that’s speaking to her personal journey of, what I would call, kind’ve acceptance of who she is and how she connects to Flemeth, because ultimately we want this to feel like a real world"

It sounds like all of these hints are coming to fruition now:

"A soul is not forced upon the unwilling, Morrigan. You were never in danger from me." - "Mother is the inheritor, she who awaits the next age." - "Designer’s Notes: This is Flemeth from the previous two games. In this game, Flemeth’s story comes to a head – she knew that Solas would summon her, and that he would need to steal her power to further his plans. She knew that because they are both elven gods…yet Solas has slept for a thousand years and his power dwindled, while she was killed long ago and a spark escaped from her into the body she now holds. She has nurtured that spark, and knew that Solas would need it. He was once her oldest friend, but she knows in his drive to save the elven people he will kill anyone – even her. She intends to let him have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her god-hood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession."

Even mundane Kieran's dialogue line about who his mother is ("She's the Witch of the Wilds") touches on this. The old Witch of the Wilds, Flemeth, is no more. Morrigan has taken on the mantle, in a manner of speaking. These things seem especially impactful in worldstates where Morrigan drank from the Well. I am curious about how Well-drinking Morrigan vs non-drinking Morrigan will play out.

In a way, Morrigan has already stepped into her mother's role in the world of Dragon Age. Flemythal used to show up dramatically and mysteriously in every game to interact with the main character of that story. Morrigan has also been doing that, also now for 3 games. I'm reminded of Varric's tombstone in the Fade, Became His Parents. especially if she continues to do this while she gets older, the similarity is apparent.

It's cool that you don't have to be Spellblade spec to use orb and dagger

"while City Elf versus Dalish Elf is a lot more of a useful distinction in, you know, Ferelden, Orlais, we’re in northern Thedas, things are different up here. And a great example is Rivain. Dalish settlements, you know, they have Dalish settlements within cities, integrated into the cities, because, again, they don’t have that same bias, that same distinction."

New lore, or maybe a return to older lore? in DAII Isabela tells Merrill the Dalish haven't reached Llomerryn. but prior to that around 2009, David Gaider mentioned that the Dalish elves in Rivain have a semi-permanent settlement in Llomerryn. this sounds like that, and it sounds like it's not only Llomerryn. of course, Bela could just have been mistaken or this could be a recent development that began in the last decade or so in the world. I think it makes sense for what we know about Rivain.

"It’s a lot more about, how you play into the faction, you know, and, in some cases it matters more that you’re an elf, in other cases it doesn’t actually matter to the people of that faction, they’re just looking for someone who could do the work. A great example, and I’ll just, very, very light spoilers, Mourn Watch is a great example where, they just care that you are capable of, you know, executing the duties that you’re given, so."

I'm curious about which do and which don't for this, and not only for the elf lineage. an elven Veil Jumper may have more to say on or different investment in the artifacts they find and places they explore. an Antivan Crow who was employed because humans often find them attractive, or an Antivan Crow who was an enslaved elf or enslaved human and then bought by the Crows may have different thoughts on/experiences being a Crow than say a human who was born into it. (this is previous lore stuff, the Crows favoring recruiting elves, Zevran was bought etc). etc.

Lastly a quick recap on the things that came up in the Q&A that the devs said they would be talking about more soon:

They will be going deeper into settings, accessibility settings/features and similar things closer to launch

(On accessibility features, Corinne Busche mentioned that she thinks they are doing a feature, some kind of blogpost on that subject)

They will be talking more about exploration next month

They will be talking more about the Lighthouse next month

They will be showing some dwarf Rooks before launch

[transcript link]

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aziraphales-library · 10 months

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Hello!! I was just wondering if you knew of any fics similar to In Love We Rise by AJ_Constantine, like in the sense that they're slowly exploring and figuring each other out, like eventually progressing up to kissing and then, y'know, but in a fluffy kind of way? Im not sure if that makes any sense tho but thank you anyway! (P.s. i love this blog so much, you people are actually amazing at this! I hope you all have a lovely day/night :])

Hi! You might be interested in our #developing relationship tag for fics along these lines. Here are some more for you...

Love and Lust in Mesopotamia by The_Bentley (E)

Living among humans means sampling their activities, including the sexual ones. There's only one problem. Crawly isn't interested in women, but he is in Aziraphale, who is attracted to him in return. If Crawly agrees, Aziraphale would like to show him that physical affection can exist between two beings who are presenting as the same gender.

It's Getting Hard, This Holding Back by ZehWulf (T)

6,000-odd years is a long time to evolve a romantic relationship, but as a near-immortal being, Crowley had patience. True, they had lost momentum right around reaching the Speaking Looks and Meaningful Gestures stage, but at the time Crowley had been more or less content to let things idle. Now, he was determined to shift things back into gear, and that gear was Explicitly Romantic Physical Expressions of Affection.

Resonance by Macx (T)

They had been friends for six millennia. They had been on their side. There had only been their side. Of course, they had never known it until it was all supposed to end. They had stood against their respective sides, had been hurt, had suffered, had felt desperation, fear and terror. Now it was suddenly over and both Crowley and Aziraphale have to deal with the consequences. Not just those of Up Yours and Down There. They have come a long way at a very slow pace. They have come so much further in just within day. And they were still going incredibly fast, changing, evolving, becoming something that might be part of the Ineffable Plan...

The professor, the old crush, the new love by AccroV (E)

Aziraphale Fell is an english literature professor who freaks out when he discovers that his new colleague is his ex best-friend and crush from high school : the one and only Anthony Crowley. They didn't talk for years after one night in high school. What can happen now ? An AU with : high school memories, awkward flirting and lot of good feelings

Chemistry by Twilightcitysky (E)

Aziraphale and Crowley have been living among humans for 6000 years, but there have always been parts of the human experience they've chosen to avoid (like allergies, head colds, and having to use the loo). They've also never let hormones get in the way of making rational decisions, because they didn't have any hormones to speak of. That's all about to change.

Introduction to Touch by sheendav (E)

Aziraphale and Crowley survive the Not-Pocalypse and profess their love for one another, but Aziraphale has tremendous anxiety about pursuing a physical relationship with Crowley. He genuinely wishes to move forward, but past fears surrounding touch, intimacy and body image are prohibiting him from acting on what his heart (and corporation) really want. Crowley is ready to go as slowly and carefully as needed to be there for his Angel as they pursue their new "Arrangement" step by careful, sweet step.

And the one you mentioned...

In Love We Rise by AJ_Constantine (E)

Ever since the thwarted apocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley have gradually expanded the boundaries of their relationship. Aziraphale has delighted in slow progression of lingering touches, tender embraces and chaste kisses. He enjoys the demon's company more than ever, but one evening he finds himself in an odd sort of mood, nettlesome and heartsore, and declines Crowley's offer to take him out to dinner. He figures that once he has a good sulk in the privacy of his bookshop, he'll get over it. Crowley decides that won't do, and drags the recalcitrant angel out on a mysterious mission, which ends up taking them on a path that neither of them expects it to.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #adult omens #developing relationship #fluff #mod d

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mrs-stans · 7 days

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A Different Man dives into an absurdist exploration of identity

Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson are unforgettable as friends and rivals in a beautifully bizarre take on what it means to be human.

By: Sarah Gorr

A Different Man dives into an absurdist exploration of identity

A Different Man is all about what it means to be seen, in all the best and worst ways. It’s what it means to avoid eye contact with the unhoused man on the subway and to gawk at anyone who looks remotely outside the norm. It’s the difference between simply being noticed and being intimately seen, the way only someone who actually understands you can.

Writer and director Aaron Schimberg looks for as many ways as possible to play with these ideas, fitting the seer and seen inside each other in a little matryoshka doll. But first and foremost, our gaze is on Edward.

Adam Pearson isn’t internationally known, but he’s known to rock a microphone. (Matt Infante/A24)

Edward (Sebastian Stan) is a struggling actor with a rare condition that covers his face with large, benign tumors. He’s quiet and reserved. His every movement reveals a discomfort even existing in the world, never mind taking part in it. So when he gets the chance to take an experimental new drug that can completely heal him, he does so without a thought. Reborn as his new, more handsome self, he finally gets what should be the part of a lifetime in a local play based on his life. That is until Oswald, a man with the same condition as Edward, steals the part. In the process, this new arrival reveals just how exactly Edward has actually transformed.

Sebastian Stan captures all the nuance and complexity of Edward as he stumbles through this journey in a manner that’s nothing short of impressive. Hidden behind Mike Marino’s brilliant prosthetics, Stab carries the weight of his performance in body language. The slump of his shoulders, the way his eyes apologetically flit to those around him as if apologizing for even existing. Post-procedure, Stan infuses the performance with Edward’s confusion, frustration, and even unbridled rage. Schimberg’s script is an actor’s dream, and Stan more than lives up to the part.

Renate Reinsve isn’t buying what Sebastian Stan is selling vis a vis a plaid couch. (Matt Infante/A24)

Meanwhile, Adam Pearson’s performance as Edward’s foil, Oswald, was clearly crafted with the actor in mind. It’s an incredible showcase for Pearson’s exuberance and energy. He steal every scene he’s in and gives Edward’s jealousy the perfect excuse to boil over. He embodies everything Edward is not: charming, confident, witty. Pearson’s Oswald is a man you not only want to know but are downright grateful to have in your life.

Together, Pearson and Stan depict a dynamic that is mesmerizing to watch. Does any of Schimberg’s script work half as well without them? Honestly, it’s impossible to imagine.

However, audiences shouldn’t take that as a slight against Schimberg. His script is an intensely rich text, less Beauty and the Beast, more The Scorpion and the Turtle. A Different Man questions not just what’s in a person’s nature but what benefits or inhibits the performance of identity. In art, what makes something feel real or true? What truths benefit a piece? Which hinder? What facets of ourselves we take as inherent truths are anything but?

Sebastian Stan is giving what if autumn was fashion.(Matt Infante/A24)

It’s a film in a constant push/pull with transformation vs. consistency. Permeating it all is a sense of bleakness that seems to radiate from Edward himself. It infects everything from Umberto Smerilli’s bold and moody score to the film’s very texture, with its high contrast, sharp shadows, and rich color. It all comes together as if to say Edward’s insecurities, anxieties, and sadness that can’t seem to disappear as quickly as his features transformed.

Schimberg’s depiction of Edward’s journey to something like a discovery of self is part tragic, fully comic, and delightfully absurd. It’s a distinct film, despite the comparisons to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance that people are already forming, and more than worth the price of admission.

A Different Man gives face in limited theatres starting September 20 before opening wide on October 4.

#Sebastian Stan #Adam Pearson #Aaron Schimberg #Renate Reinsve #A Different Man #A24 #The Spool #mrs-stans

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ardenation · 4 months

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THOUGHTS ON (some of) SWEET TOOTH SEASON 3

Just my rambles. Also I only remembered sweet tooth existed 2 days before the third season came out so I quickly re-watched season 2 and then season 3 right after AND WHEN I TELL YOU I HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS SHOW.

spoilers under the cut

Okay, I can't remember which order the episodes are so I'm winging it here and just word vomiting. in my defense my best friend is away camping and I have nobody to yap about this to so tumblr gets it instead.

The first thing I can remember is that whole thing with the bat kid. OH MY GOD. that poor kid man. it's so awful how his parents raised him to believe that what he was was unfit for society, below humans, and not natural. no kid should have to grow up like that. I don't completely blame the parents, but there were some very, very bad decisions made. and the fucking scene where the dad tries to cut off the baby's hybrid traits??? I got SO reminded of when Gus' antler was cut off. baby boy was mutilated. but the difference between the scene with the baby and gus was that nobody was there to stop it from happening. nobody was there to wrangle the saw out of that guy's hands. bruh. tears. I fucking hate it here.

also live laugh love Rani <33

uhh I dunno what comes after that so let's jump to the boat episode! *laughs nervously*

That. freaking. episode. broke me. I didn't even want to keep watching after that (lie) because it was just so incredibly awful. just when they walked onto that boat for the first time and It was dead silent? goosebumps. especially after finding that dead body. by the way, this is when I started to dislike Dr. singh. bro fell way off after Rani left. anyway, I did not trust Darwin AT ALL when he was introduced. I thought he was shady as all hell. Glad I was proved wrong in the end, though. not important. let's talk about those dead bodies and what Gus had to do because that is a whole rodeo.

I admit, when I first heard he was going to have to find and toss dead bodies overboard my first thought was 'FUCK yes trauma angst trauma angst trauma angst' because what can I say, it's how my brain works. it started off pretty chill, the deer boy doing some nice yardwork and tossing the flowers overboard. okay. this is fine. oh, shit, now he's found dead bodies. oh my god he's crying. oh my god i'm crying. MY BABY. MY BABY BOY, WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS TO YOU?! anyway that was probably the most fucked up thing I have ever watched in my life. kill me. kill me- and the fact that he kept all the people's little things as ways to remember them? what the fuck. what the hell netflix. why would you do this. he's just a little kid. I'm going to kill someone. ALSO I fucking KNEW Darwin was going to get sick. I was watching it with my little sister, and when he popped up I went 'bet you Gus is gonna look away and darwin's finger is gonna start twitching' then BOOM. also, that makes it so much worse. at this point I was like, how many more people is this poor kid going to to lose? WHY IS HE SO TRAUMATIZED???

hahaha. boy oh boy.

side note, why was Siana and Birdie actually so cute? I would've loved for their relationship to be explored more before... yk. and Nuka?? my baby. my darling. she means everything, actually.

wait what happens next?? idk

episode 7 time! or at least the end of it.

first of all, FUCK YOU DR. SINGH. I LIKED YOU AT THE START BUT NOW?.ALL THIS DESTINY BULLSHIT 'it's my destiny to kill gus' BRO YOU JUST SAID YOUR DESTINY IS TO MURDER AN INNOCENT CHILD?? WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR BRAIN. THIS IS WHY RANI LEFT. and when Adi was getting closer and closer to stab Gus, when he was screaming and kicking, I was actually going to vomit and cry. what the actual fuck. why is this show so incredibly messed up. it's not even funny. this is the most disturbing shit I have seen in a while which is saying a lot. the sheer horror of the things in this show once you start to think about it is insane. anyway before that whole thing I genuinely thought 'hm I think that blood on Adi's knife in the vision thing is actually big man's blood because he probably protected gus' and I was half right? I was not expecting Birdie to be killed AT ALL. It totally took me by surprise. once again, this show is so horrifying and sad. Gus crying over Birdie. i'm going to die. he's an orphan. why is this stupid world so mean to this kid?? he's turning into fucking Peter Parker for god's sake! I really, really thought big man was going to die in that cave. and imagine if he did? Gus would've lost both his parents AND his father figure in just a few months. I would've lost my mind. anyway. birdie's dead. jesus fucking christ. WHY. JUST WHY. NETFLIX, STOP HURTING MY BOY.

Alright, let's see if I can remember literally anything that happens in episode 8.

It was such an emotional rollercoaster fr. I felt like I was getting emotional whiplash every five seconds. he's gonna die! wait, he's gonna live! now this guy is actually gonna murder Gus! wait, now this guy turned good and saved him! holy shit, everybody is going to die- holy shit EVERYBODY IS DEAD! wait, Gus cut himself to bleed on a tree and now they're alive! oh my god, Gus finally snapped! wait, now his dead dad is popping up and convincing him to save people again! OH MY GOD BECKY IS DEAD! WAIT OH MY GOD SHE'S ALIVE! (I think that one was the worst) NO is big man going to die on that mountain?? oh good he's not! omg jordan actually died in the crash!

....there was no resolution to that one. good riddance. sorry Jordan fans.

and then we had the whole reveal of Gus being the narrator the whole time- how tf did I not predict that?? Also, am I the only one who doesn't like stuff that does those huge timeskips where it shows the main characters when they're old. is it just me who doesn't like it. okay i'll go

let's talk about Gus and Wendy for a second. honestly, throughout the whole of season 2 and three there was a little nagging voice in my head saying 'it's a boy and a girl interacting.... you know they're going to end up together' and I would tell my head 'stfu, I wouldn't really like that because there are no good girl boy friendships in any media ever that's completely platonic (mostly, anyway)'. I was hoping SO SO badly Wendy and Gus would stay platonic besties forever, simply because it's cute and stuff like that barely happens. praying to GOD. but I knew deep down it was hopeless from the start. I don't like when media does that. 'oh, look! it's a boy and a girl of the same age meeting as kids! OBVIOUSLY the only possible route to go from here is romance, RIGHT?' I mean i'm biased as a gay enby chronically online person who thinks these stereotypes are shit but it's true. don't get me wrong. I love wendy. I love her so, so so much. but just- WHY?! I was at least hoping it would be somebody we didn't know or something. oh well.

i mean, I guess they only held hands a few times and sat together as old people, so maybe there's a tiny little chance it wasn't romantic? but they also had grandkids. yk what fuck canon. they're old besties. I think they'd be cute either way but I just prefer them friends.

SO. the sweet tooth fanfic community. it's admittedly nonexistent. I went to check the tag earlier and like- what?? it's ALL weird shit. there was like three good ones but just like why Is that all of what's in our fandom?? guys, we have not done well.

I call upon all ao3 authors and encourage them write sweet tooth (if you want to). It doesn't even matter if it's a short fluffy or angst drabble, we just need to wash the weird shit out. go ahead and post that 200 word interaction you wrote between big man and Gus in the aftermath. we need more good fic in this fandom, DESPERATELY.

and why did the writers put Gus through so much. like his dad dies, he's captured, traumatized, mutilated, shot in the leg, shot in the back, traumatizedx100 on the boat, watches his mom get murdered to protect him, has his father figure almost die multiple times, has a scientist try to kill him with a knife while holding him down multiple times, fucking snaps, and idek. WHYYYYYY. WHAT DID HE EVEN DO TO DESERVE THIS?? WHAT DID ANYBODY DO IN THIS SHOW TO DESERVE ALL THAT HAPPENED TO THEM?????? man....

I think that's all that's in my brain? this wasn't really a review just me spitting words.

moral of the story, I have adopted Gus and that is that. if you managed to get through all this you have a longer attention span than everybody I know combined when they try to listen to me ramble so congrats lmao

and I know I only brought up a few things but don't even get me started on Zhang, Rosie, and her kids because I will not shut up. and Jordan. Jordan why did you do that. and Munaq, that poor guy. ANYWAY I gotta stop talking now cuz it's 9:45pm byeee

#go watch season 3 #actually if you haven't seen sweet tooth wtf are you doing #Arden rambles in the garden #sweet tooth #sweet tooth netflix #sweet tooth season 3 #someone kill me #my empath ass cant take this #this show is so goddamn underrated and for what #it's so good

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pinkeoni · 1 year

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Arguing for realism in Stranger Things

So whenever the take "Mike and Will can't be together because it's not realistic" comes up, usually from twitter or reddit, I often find it met with the argument on here of "Well, this is a supernatural show about monsters so who cares about realism!" or something similar along those lines.

While I understand the the sentiment behind it, and yes advocating for realism in a sci-fi fantasy show may seem silly, but I find this argument to be kind of flawed.

The initial take isn't coming a genuine advocacy for realism, but instead using "realism" as a flimsy cover for their homophobia. The more appropriate response should be to question why they believe a happy resolve for homosexuality is unrealistic in the first place. You countering their argument by claiming that the show is unrealistic is only backing up their belief that a happy ending for gay people is also unrealistic.

Stranger Things is a realistic show.

And, okay, ST does not fall into the same category of cinéma-vérité-dogme-95-esque-hyper-realism that a show like Succession may fall under, but it does try to capture real emotions and real experiences using supernatural elements as a vehicle to explore such things. Sure, alternate dimensions and tentacle monsters are not realistic, but the American government trying to coverup and undermine the suffering of queer people, as well as the constant fear of an encroaching foreign power, is incredibly realistic to that time period.

It's not often caught on from the casual viewer because it's carefully placed under layers of subtext, although in the show's defense for some of these viewers the Reagan/Bush signs from season 2 are purely just set pieces and don't have any further meaning. But the supernatural elements are not arbitrarily placed and the show doesn't take place in the 80's simply for the nostalgia factor, these facets all work together to speak to real experiences.

And sure, sometimes even the non-supernatural elements can come off as exaggerated, such as the Russian storyline, but one could argue that this is a dramatization of very real Cold War anxieties that did exist at this time.

So, when it comes to displaying realistic emotions, why should the way the show handles queer identity and relationships be any different?

And the show does handle queerness in an almost tragically realistic way. The show’s queer characters must adhere to the precedents of the 1980’s, and the supernatural element is one way to exemplify some of those fears. Will lives in fear of something slowly taking over and killing his body, while the Reagan Administration government scientists treat his possible death as a non-issue.

If then, the show is realistic and aiming to portray queer experiences as such, does this mean that byler can’t happen because that would be unrealistic?

Well, I think that people might he conflating “realism” with “pessimism.” I think if the show wanted to have an ending with a pessimistic outlook, then I could see byler not happening. Yes, there are plenty of gay people who died during the 80’s. But there also plenty of gay people who got in relationships and lived too. What people consider realistic may also be influenced by the type of media they have consumed in the past as well. “Well, gay people usually die/end up alone, so that must be what the realistic outcome is.”

So, with all that being said, when considering the ending of the show, it now just comes down to everything else. What is the show trying to say thematically? How has the show handled other character’s storylines in the past? How is the show being written? What kind of ending is being foreshadowed? What type of ending would best serve to fulfill the needs of the themes and storybeats, while still maintaining relatability?

#didnt really know how to end this post but i think you get the idea #byler #stranger things

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blakeswritingimagines · 1 year

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Dating Yandere Alfie Solomons:

Well, as a yandere, he would constantly be watching his beloved. He'd be extremely possessive, and when you interacted with other people, he would act irrationally and make his intentions clear. He would keep tabs on you 24/7 and make sure that you were always with him. If you showed any interest in anyone else, he would act violently and eliminate the new competition by any means necessary. But most importantly, he'd do anything for his love and would go to any lengths to make you his and his alone.

He'd be very territorial of his prey. He'll be very clingy and obsessive, constantly wanting your attention. He'll also be very possessive, going out of his way to ensure that none of your other suitors ever get a chance to be alone with you. Whenever he sees another person even coming close to you, he becomes jealous and angry, doing everything in his power to ward off his competition and keep his prey all to himself.

He'd be obsessed with you, to the point where he'd be jealous of anyone he perceived to be a threat to your relationship. He'd probably go to extreme lengths to "protect" you, including killing any potential rivals. He might even try to isolate you from your friends and family in order to have you all to himself with no more interruptions.

As you would become the centre of his existence, he'd be willing to do anything for you: take your side in any situation, put your needs before his own, stand by your side through thick and thin, protect you from harm, and even die for you. He would want to be your first thought in the morning and your last thought at night and to always be in your thoughts and mind.

If he knew that you were meeting friends or spending time with family, he would get incredibly anxious. He would constantly check the time, praying that you would come back to him soon. He would worry that you would fall in love with someone else, or that they would steal you from him. He would obsess over trying to call you or having one of his men watch you and get jealous of anyone you were speaking to. If you were late coming back, he would call and call, desperate to hear your voice, and leaving you with someone else was out of the question.

His strength, dedication, and determination are what make him a fantastic lover. He is a powerful and fierce beast in the bedroom, yet he also has a sensitive and passionate side. When he is with you, he wants to dominate you, control you, and take you to heights of pleasure that you've never felt before. Yet, he also wants to please you, to explore your body and touch your soul. He is a force of nature, a warrior, and a lover.

If anyone gets too close to you, they may find themselves in a world of pain. He may be sweet and caring towards his darling, but that all flies out the window if you become interested in someone else. He will be jealous, angry, and unforgiving as he will do anything to ensure you stay with him.

He's not shy at showing his love and affection for you, but he doesn't want you to get bored either. He likes to spice things up every once in a while to keep things exciting and unpredictable. This could include surprise date nights, romantic gestures, and even breaking into your house just to show how much he cherishes you. No matter what he does, though, he always wants you to know how much he loves and cares for you.

He's also protective and sweet to his darling. He'll pamper you, spoil you, and show you how much you mean to him. When it comes to your happiness and wellbeing, he'd move heaven and earth. As much as he may seem overly obsessive, he truly loves and cares about you and shows it in his own special way.

While he may seem like a twisted individual, the one thing he can't help but feel is love for you. Although his means may be questionable, every action, every choice he makes is made with your safety, happiness, and love in mind. He may be a yandere, but that doesn't take away his ability to care and love even if it comes down to smothering you.

He also has a side that is more vulnerable, sensitive, and deeply affectionate. His sweet and kind side isn't seen by many, but when it comes to you, he doesn't ever want to hide himself away. He wants you to see the full extent of his love and affection, and he wants to ensure you know how much he cares.

He is also loyal, dedicated, and extremely attentive to you. He wants to be the greatest lover and partner you've ever had and will work hard to be that person. While he's quick to act on and express his possessiveness and protectiveness of you, he's also capable of restraint and showing you how much he cares through more subtle and thoughtful gestures. When it comes to you, he wants to be the best and is willing to put in the effort to ensure he is.

Aside from being very protective and obsessive over you, as a yandere, he can also be quite jealous, possessive, and territorial. He doesn't share his darling with anyone else and will go to extreme lengths to ensure you remain his and his alone. This can include threatening anyone who gets too close to you, monitoring your activities and messages, and becoming controlling in the pursuit of total control.

He may come across as cold and distant toward everyone else, but he's really just hyper-focused on you. Everyone else is pretty much irrelevant to him. Their thoughts and feelings mean nothing to him when compared to you. Anyone that stands in the way of his love will be destroyed, and he won't think twice about it.

He's also willing to adapt his behavior and approach depending on his darling's needs. If you prefer a more subtle and restrained approach, he'll try to reign it in and keep his affection more subdued. However, if you prefer a more active and vocal expression of love, he'll happily oblige and show his love in a more overt way. The most important part of being a yandere is making sure he is true to himself and his feelings, but also ensuring he listens to your needs and wants.

He'll also go out of his way to learn more about what you love and how to make you happy. He'll do everything in his power to find out what makes you tick and how you like to spend your time so he can surprise you and make you feel special. He'll also do his best to support and encourage you, to help you reach your full potential, and see your goals and aspirations come to life.

He's also prone to experiencing extreme emotions, both positive and negative, toward my darling. This can lead to frequent mood swings, from the euphoria of being with you to the depths of desperation and distress if he believes you are in danger or are being unfaithful. His mood depends on how he believes the situation is progressing, but it's not uncommon for him to switch back and forth between these two extremes multiple times throughout the day.

He's also loyal, compassionate, and understanding towards his darling's feelings. He's aware that being overly obsessive or controlling can lead to feelings of resentment or apprehension, so he tries to balance his love and affection with consideration for your thoughts and feelings. He also makes sure that he's doing all this for your own good, not his own, and makes sure that you are the priority in your relationship.

He may seem unpredictable, even chaotic at times. However, when it comes to his love for you, nothing will stand in his way. He may seem possessive and obsessed, but he would do anything for you and the "love " you share. He may not always show his love in "normal" ways, but that only adds to the unique and special love you share together. And while he may occasionally be seen as unhinged, the truth is that he is just a deeply passionate and caring person who craves affection.

"You're mine, darling, and you always will be. You are my world, without you I am nothing. I'm obsessed with you and I worship the ground you walk on. From the moment I discovered you, I knew you were the one for me. And you will be. Forever and always."

#alfie solomons x reader #alfie solomons #peaky blinders alfie #peaky blinders alfie solomons #the peaky blinders #peaky blinders #dating would include #yandere #tw yandere #yandere alfie solomons

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fvllingcamellia · 10 months

Text

𝐈𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘

seeing your roommate's instagram posts can't lead to anything.. right?

suguru geto smut, masturbation, substance abuse mention, reader on rehab, reader has a rly bad mental health, at first it's some kind of philosophical shit and then i just went wild so enjoy! btw!! my inspiration was yunonoai's art on twitter, so i'll leave the link here.

you've been feeling terrible lately. you missed the feeling of your brain being stimulated by dopamine. the feeling of happiness was so distant and so unknown lately which caused you to question your entire existence. what's the point of it? you had a good job, nice salary, pretty apartment that you shared with another roommate. but does any of it have any sense? for the world, it doesn't mean anything. you're no one. nobody would remember you if you suddenly disappeared one day. those thoughts were corrupting your mind every single day since you were on rehab. it was supposed to be helpful but it was worse. but you promised, right? you promised to change – for him. suguru geto was the man who almost begged you for this. you didnt know each other for long, but when he moved into your apartment you both understood ourselves well. he wasn't a close friend of yours, just a regular roommate but he helped you to get out of drug addiction. and even if you were feeling shitty, you were extremely grateful for this.

the amount of stress you were experiencing lately was insane. during the rehab you became really sensitive and the slightest words could made you furious or sad. you've been experiencing a lot of mood swings that were exhausting in some way. the frustrations were so unbearable that you found yourself on your bed wondering how could you let all of those thoughts and feelings get away from you. you've been scrolling down on instagram checking those stupid posts and photos of your so called "friends" that doesn't even bother to text or call you to check if you're still alive. but as you've scrolled down the page you stopped. one post where geto was tagged caught your eye. this picture made you think that your roommate was actually incredibly attractive. you've never been interested in him in any romantic way. he was just a guy, a roommate to you. but as you were admiring the photo.. the more excited you felt. you didnt even realized that your hand was slowly sliding down on your abdomen. instead of looking at only one photo you started checking his entire social media activity to find more posts. and he looked so good in every photo he uploaded. you put down the phone. it was enough for you.

your fingers were moving dangerously down to your panties. at first you were hesitant about this. fuck what kind of a person masturbates to their roommate's photos. but you didn't care. it was something you NEEDED to feel right now. you slowly moved the material away and brushed your finger over your clit. you squeaked. you haven't touched yourself or had any sexual intercourse in a long time so you needed to explore your body again. you brushed your finger again, but this time over your inner lips, and oh my god since when you were so wet? you were desperate now. this feeling made you slid down your pants along with your underwear completely exposing your lower parts. suguru wasn't at home yet, he went out for some groceries about 20 minutes ago so you could be as loud as you wanted to be. you took a deep breath before touching your folds again. you started from rubbing your clitoris. your head was turned towards the phone on which still appeared suguru's photo. you looked at him imagining it was him who was pleasuring you right now. you imagined his fingers working on your pussy, abusing your sensitive clit.

gaps were leaving your mouth and free hand moved up to your chest you slid it under your bra and while stimulating your pussy you also took great care of your boobs. squeezing them, massaging, pinching your nipples doing almost everything to them. slowly you moved your fingers down, to your hole. you bit down your lower lip and you inserted one finger, pushing it slowly further. but it wasn't enough. you wanted to feel more inside, so you added another one. stretching yourself while moaning and whinning geto's name seemed like something unreal. but it was real experience, fingering yourself while fantasising about him.

– just got home satoru, cooking for y/n tonight. – suguru answered as he was opening the door to the apartment. he was on line with gojo who was complaining about his life for 45 minutes straight. – ill talk to you later.

– you fucked her finally? – the white haired man asked with a curiosity. he always had some weird speculations in his head and one of them was the theory that geto was banging his as satoru said "sweet roommate"

– dude don't be ridiculous. im hanging up. – suguru frowned and ended the call. he closed the door and started walking towards the kitchen. he placed the groceries on the counter and wanted to get changed to he went into the direction of his bedroom but he stopped midway. he couldn't believe his ears and the sounds he was hearing. whines and other octaves of moans coming from your room. most of them were his name in many varieties or words like "fuck," "i want more," "faster."

geto was completely confused. he was standing next to your door wondering who was more perverted – suguru listening to your sweet moment, or you who was pleasuring yourself while screaming his name without shame. but he decided to not make any moves and he simply went to his own bedroom as he had originally planned. but he couldn't stop thinking about you. listening to you made him hard, and geto could only imagine how you look right now and what you're doing to yourself. he had many visions of you right now. how would you look under him when he would fuck your brain out? how would you taste if he had a chance to eat you out someday? how would you look with your lips around his cock? all those thoughts lead him to the one most important question – maybe he should finally fuck you just like satoru theorised?

#fumiswritings #jujutsu kaisen #anime #jjk #manga #geto suguru #getou suguru x reader #geto suguru smut #suguru geto smut #jjk smut #jjk geto #gojo satoru #jjk gojo

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