#like he barely even cared about the magic at that point TBH!!!!

[nextstopparis]

you know how in 5.13 arthurs like “i tried to take your head off with a mace” and merlins like “and i stopped you, using magic” and arthurs immediate reply to that is “you cheated” … and i guess i was just thinking about the breathy little laugh merlin lets out in response to that. bc like i just noticed how maybe it was a little bit of relief and awe. because like. he just talked to arthur. about magic. about using magic From The Beginning. against him in a fight. and arthurs immediate response, his most natural reaction to that, was to comment on merlins poor sportsmanship. out of anything he couldve said something about. the first thing that came to mind was merlin not playing fair. which. idk. IDK!!!

[starbylers]

Rambling about things that’ve been said a million times but like…character’s final scenes in each season foreshadow what will be going on with them in the next season right? We’ve seen this. So by that logic we literally know what’s going to happen in s5. (In terms of character’s journeys, not talking about plot). Like we know for certain. They’re barely even theories to me anymore it’s just canon waiting to happen 😭. A huge amount of my Byler confidence comes from this tbh so if you need a little boost maybe this will help.

Dustin’s scene shows he is going to be grieving Eddie (we’ve already had confirmation of this I think so we know the pattern follows for s4 that final scenes are foreshadowing)

Lucas’ scene shows he will obviously be doing everything possible to care for and help Max

El’s scene shows she’s going to be focused on 1) saving Max & defeating Henry and 2) her family and having the support of her dad back

Caleb literally mentioned that Lucas & El’s relationship will be explored and we know Max is the thing that ties them together (the boyfriend and the best friend) so that’s another piece of evidence of s4 final scenes being foreshadowing

So it has to follow that Will & Mike’s scene shows they are definitely going to be working as a team

And if we take symbolism into account…

Their final one-on-one in s3 lingered on a shot of a blue telephone on yellow wallpaper & we know all about their s4 communication issues so yeah we’re absolutely taking symbolism into account

…that red flipped couch? They’re going to be in the upside down. Together. In the season where Will is going to have an emotional arc which will ‘tie the entire series together’. (Although even if the couch stuff was somehow incorrect the team part still stands).

To me the chances of M*leven being endgame in this scenario are so tiny they’re almost nonexistent? If next season was about showing how strong of a couple and how in love they are (which is basically the only place their story could really go atp if the intention was for them to be endgame), they would’ve had their final scene together! El would be sitting in Will’s place on the couch! Mike would be reaching into the light and grabbing El’s shoulder, symbolising that he’s choosing her.

The meaning behind this shot is so clear it’s almost funny like it literally looks like some magical celestial beam of light from heaven is shining down on where they’re connected

They wouldn’t be spending the season with their stories primarily focused on & tied to other people (“other people” being Mike’s literal other love interest!!!) if the show was trying to tell a story of them being this alleged central power couple working together and growing together in a loving, healthy, mature, supportive relationship. It’s completely illogical.

I feel like it’s so obvious that Mike and Will are at least going to be working together next season, and it’s incredibly weird to me that people even try and argue us on that point. Is it denial? Is it the fact that deep down, they are actually aware of how foreshadowing and logical story structure work and they’re scared that if they admit Mike and Will are going to be paired up, they’ll have to admit where the story is inevitably leading…?

[beloved-belittled]

Gods/Titans x Sick! Reader

Characters: Shinnok, Raiden, Fujin, Liu Kang, Cetrion, Kronika 

A/N: Did not have the brainpower to work on my other stories so I drafted up this instead. Influenza is a bitch.

TW: Implied yandere, mentions of drugging, kidnapping, death, SFW

18+ to interact

Shinnok 

Can probably detect that you're getting sick before your symptoms show. You know how some people can smell sickness? It's like that with Shinnok. Thankfully, you don't have the waft of death he's so accustomed to being around. He's not worried about you dying from this. Still, he'd rather not his plaything be ill.

He's a bit confused on how you got sick in the first place though. He doesn't exactly take you outside once he's kidnapped you, and it's not like he's affected by any mortal disease so ???. It's especially puzzling if this happens while you're trapped in the amulet. At least in the cell you came into contact with demons who may have carried something. 

Regardless, at this point Shinnok realizes his arsenal of healing magic is rather… Lacking. He's much more adept at rending flesh than mending it. But he's a skilled sorcerer so it takes him little time to learn a healing spell. A few test subjects later and he feels confident at curing your cold.

All this takes less than 24 hours for Shinnok to achieve. You're probably bed ridden at this point with all the chills/fever, coughing, and weakness. Speaking of beds, I think this is one of the few times he'll have you sleep in a bed rather than your cell. He wants you to recover after all. The only way you’re dying is by his hands and not some petty mortal disease. 

His magic works better than any herbal healing or medicine tbh. One moment you're on death's door and the next you've completely recovered. No sign of illness anywhere in your body. Even though being Shinnok's darling is not desirable, it does come with a few benefits like this.

Raiden 

Raiden doesn't know you're sick until the symptoms show. Might not discover your illness until 2-3 days of you being under the weather due to his busy schedule. He likely hears about your condition from a monk he's trusted to watch over you. Man immediately teleports to the Sky Temple to see how you're doing. He finds you laying in the bed barely able to move. Wearily, you greet him only to immediately fall into a coughing fit.

Unfortunately, he can't fry the disease out of you with his electricity. So, herbal healing it is! You drink more tea this week than you have your entire life. Seriously, you have to beg Raiden to stop because your stomach is about to burst. He does, only to immediately pursue some aromatherapy. Your room smells strongly of flowers and eucalyptus afterwards.

Would frequently check on you nearly every hour. If there's an extremely urgent matter that calls for his attention he'll leave his most trusted colleagues to look after you. Right after he's done with business he'll ask the person if your status has improved. 

He's super mindful of making sure you don't get bed sores or any other complications from laying around all day. At the same time, he only wants you getting up to bathe or use the restroom. You're essentially stuck in one place until he can 100% guarantee you've recovered. 

If your condition worsens he would hire a doctor to come see you. If the doctor suggests you go to a hospital, Raiden will take you there. I imagine the admission process would be a bit awkward though. He has no idea how all this works so you're left doing most of the speaking. You get admitted in though, and no his constant visiting doesn't stop even now. The hospital staff would likely have to kick him out.

Overall, he's praying that you'll make it through this.

Fujin

Well, Fujin actually lives among mortals so he has more knowledge on how to take care of you. Like Raiden, whenever he's on important business he hires someone to watch over you. I could see him having a phone unlike his brother. Definitely more hip with the times. Anyways, because of this he probably gets a worried text from your caretaker that you've fallen ill.

He arrives back home ASAP. Seeing you in this condition pulls at his heartstring the most. Out of everyone he's the most worried, as he's had his most favorite mortals pass away from illness. He wastes no time getting into Dr. Fujin mode.

He has you on a liquid diet until you heal. Tea, soup, broth -that's all you're eating for the next week. He’ll get whatever you need medicine wise. Got a headache or cramps? He'll get some painkillers pronto. Are you coughing with an irritated throat? Have some cough syrup/drops. He's very attentive in giving you a balance of home remedies and prescribed drugs.

It pains him every time you cough or groan in pain. He wants nothing more than to cure you right now. He hates seeing you suffer from illness. You can expect him to keep you company for as long as necessary. He'll also bring whatever entertainment you want, long as it isn't too expensive. 

Again, if your conditions worsen he'll take you to a hospital. It's a smoother process getting in with him though. He also understands the concept of visiting hours, but best believe he's taking full advantage of them. He'll only leave your side if he has to and will be back the next morning.

Liu Kang 

He doesn't have an ability to detect disease but he does have impeccable intuition. Something just changes about you before you fall ill. He's not even sure how he predicted it, but sure enough you're bedridden a few days after his spidey senses tingle.

He tries not to be too worried about your cold. He hasn't crafted your destiny to be one where you die from disease. But, there are some externalities even he can't control being Keeper of Time. So, it's off to the Wu Shi's medbay with you!

The Fire God checks up on you regularly, but not as often as Raiden or Fujin. It's not that he cares less, but rather he understands boundaries more. You don't need him breathing down your neck while you're recovering or sleeping. He makes an effort to see you every day though, giving you updates of what's going on at the academy. 

If you're suffering from chills though at least you're in luck! He'll keep the room more than warm enough with his fire powers. It's like having a heated blanket around whenever he's in the medbay. At the same time, if you have a fever you may find his presence to be a little too warm. 

I believe if you don't get better he'd take you to a sorcerer skilled in healing. Luckily, there's a whole multiverse at his disposal so it's extremely easy for him to find someone to cure you. You won't die under his care. You're far too precious for him to lose.

Cetrion

Can detect your sickness way before symptoms show. Honestly, you probably wouldn't even realize you're sick before her magic heals you. With her around you don't have to worry about such mortal afflictions. 

If there was an illness that her powers couldn't heal… Well tbh you're probably going to die. But, I think it would leave her spiraling into a pit of worry beforehand. How did you get this disease? What can she do to help you? I think she'd try a lot of home remedies like the other characters here but doesn't have as much faith for it working. After all, no mortal medicine can surpass her powers as an Elder God.

If you pass away from this she'll likely just keep your soul in Heaven with her. If she's Keeper of Time she may just restart the Timeline. Although, I can't imagine it'd be too hard for her to just put your soul in a surrogate or artificial body. Regardless, she's not going to let an illness take you away from her. The consequences be damned.

Also, in a weird way I could see Cetrion getting you sick on purpose. Drugging whatever you eat/drink with just enough poison to make you lethargic and sleepy. Or manipulating the timeline so you're purposefully born with a weak body. It feeds her ego to take over a caregiver role for you. Having you completely dependent on her love and attention gives her a much needed dopamine boost. It's very unfortunate for you.

Overall… Probably the best person to have if you get sick. As long as she decides to heal you immediately of course.

Kronika

Is even more confused than her son about how you got sick. After all, she had you trapped in a pocket outside of time. Even if you caught a pathogen, it wouldn't be able to progress due to time being paused there. And not only that, you've been in there for far longer than the incubation time of any disease. Briefly, she wonders if your safety inside the bubble has been compromised. She dismisses that idea though. No… No one has the ability to tread that space without her permission. Not in her New Era.

Fortunately, she can just reverse the “age” of your body to before you got infected. She's reversed time on your body several times at this point, so she's not the least bit worried about doing so. A wave of her hands later and you're cured. And feeling a bit younger too.

Not much else to really say here. I doubt she would intentionally get you sick. Also with her being a Titan and succeeding against Liu Kang/Raiden in this timeline, the arc of history really does bend to her will. So basically -you're not getting sick on her watch.

[celestial-dreamscapes]

Taking care of you on your period - Obey Me

Characters: Lucifer, Asmodeus, Diavolo

A/N: I’ve seen a lot of these types of posts, but they don’t feel specific enough for me, so I did it myself 💀 Might do other parts with the other characters eventually or if it gets requested. Reposting cause this isn’t showing up in tags :’) Requests are open!

Warnings: mentions of throwing up, blood, nudity (not sexual), and mention of fainting

Word count: 1.7k

part 2

part 3

Lucifer:

-At the House of Lamentation, every day is a different person’s turn to cook. Conveniently enough, on the day it’s your turn, you’re hardly able to get out of your bed without the whole room spinning

-He definitely checks on whoever is meant to be cooking dinner every day a while before the usual time everyone sits to eat, since his brothers aren’t exactly the most punctual and responsible people around

-So he goes to check on you thinking you’re just being lazy and stuff, but he’s also a bit worried because he hasn’t seen you for a good portion of the day but didn’t realize it because of how busy he was

-After a while of lying down and feeling your body burning, you decide to try and pace around your room for a bit, hoping that a bit of movement would help ease the pain at least a little bit

-Except you’re still suffering so you’re kind of curled in on yourself, hunched over because it hurts to move but staying still feels like hell and it feels like nothing is working

-And you’re also trying not to puke the tiny amount of food you were able to just barely eat that morning because of the nausea

-I just know this man gets back pain, he definitely has some type of heating pad already that he keeps hidden away in his desk or something maybe like a couple rice packs or whatever the devildom version of those would be

-He’ll get you two of them, one for your back, one for your stomach and he also gives you a heavy pillow to put over your thighs in case they start hurting too (the weight helps quite a bit with the burning, and you feel less antsy)

-Once you feel better and are able to talk without the pain bothering you, he’s definitely gonna ask you more about it and if it’s that bad every month, so that he can be more prepared, especially if it gets worse the next time you get your period

-He’ll look into it some more and get you whatever supplements or meds you need (if you need any) to help with the pain and make sure you take them as often as you should

-Lucifer is such a workaholic but he’ll take a break since it’s for you 🥰  

-Tbh he will probably give you an annoying lecture at some point ... as if you don’t know what you’re doing   😭 you just gotta tell him you obviously do know what you’re doing since it’s you feeling the pain and you’re doing what you can to take care of it but you’re not a doctor or able to just magically completely heal yourself and he’ll kinda shut up and stop being patronizing about it

-Will let you lay your head on his lap and he'll either play with your hair or rub your back gently until you either start feeling better, want to do something or want to get something to eat

Asmo:

-Asmo definitely has his fair share of experience with this kind of thing, I’m sure a few of the brothers do, but even though he loves to party and stuff, I doubt he’d just ditch everyone he’s with right after, he’d be attentive and especially if they got to know each other for a bit longer than just one night or a day, he’d learn to take care of them better

-He’ll notice you’re not feeling well and then ask you about it, but he doesn’t really need details, since he’s already familiar with humans and whatnot

-His bath is absolutely ginormous, so he’d definitely draw you a very hot bath (not to the point of it being super painful but enough to drown out the cramps with the amount of heat) + bubble bath if you’d prefer and Epsom salts to relieve the burning feeling on your back + other oils so the smells help you relax but nothing too strong

-If you’re comfortable with it he’ll keep you company while you take your bath and talk if you’re not feeling up to talking but don’t wanna be alone

-Or if you wanna play music to fill the silence and help you relax he’ll let you pick of course

-I feel like his room is very cool and not too stuffy which is perfect because the cramps make your body heat up a whole lot so if you’d like to stay, he’d let you nap on his bed and also bring you a heating pad just to help any more pain, just in case

-From the amount of cramps you were having + their intensity, he would know that you shouldn’t eat anything right away especially if you were nauseous as well, so he’d wait until about an hour and a half or so after you fall asleep to order something warm for you + he’d ask Solomon for recommendations because he’d know what foods are good for humans and stuff (he offers to cook something himself and Asmo has to hold himself back from telling him that the goal isn’t to hospitalize you 😭)

-He wouldn’t get anything spicy of course, since it could make your cramps even worse, and he doesn’t wanna risk it after they finally calm down/go away

-If it’s caused by vitamin deficiencies, he’ll order vitamin supplements for you and set alarms on his phone and remind you (over text or in person) when it’s time to take it, just in case you forget

-This man would absolutely not care the slightest bit if you happen to get some blood on his sheets, he may be super particular about lots of things but he knows that bedsheets being slightly stained is not a big deal and it hardly takes any time to wash them anyway, he’s so sweet too he’d probably try to make you feel better by saying he’s been meaning to change them anyway :’)

-He’ll gladly cuddle with you if you want, but he’s more than okay with giving you space if you want to just rest alone, as long as you have everything you need and have your phone near you so you can text or call him if you need anything else

-Will not hesitate to tell his brothers to shut up if they’re being loud when you’re resting because you need to replenish your energy and your hearing becomes more sensitive after all the pain (especially if you threw up before or were dizzy and your ears were ringing)

Diavolo:

-Let’s say you’re staying at the castle for a little while when you get your period all of a sudden

-It’s the first time you get it since coming to the devildom (since being around a bunch of demons would obviously cause quite a bit of stress, it just stopped for a while), so you’re a bit thrown off since it’s the last thing on your mind and you haven’t been keeping track of your cycle

-He’s not completely clueless when it comes to the differences between species and all that but he’s still not super great with how differently human bodies work in comparison to demons so he might just think you’re going to bleed to death for a little bit when you tell him :/ so you have to reassure him that you’re not gonna die and that unfortunately it is a very regular thing for humans

-Tbh you probably won’t be able to give him the whole rundown in detail of how it works because of how much pain you’re in so you just ask him to get you painkillers, and you go to take a nap and hope the pain fades once you fall asleep

-Instead, after napping for a bit the painkillers seem to just wear off as if you never took any to begin with and the pain comes back full force, so you ask him to draw you a hot bath

-The bath doesn’t seem to be helping much even after over half an hour of soaking in it so you decide to get out

-But then you get extremely dizzy all of a sudden, so you put on a towel robe and lay down on his bed to try and wait out the ringing in your ears + the dizziness and your heart beating insanely fast

-Conveniently enough you don’t have your phone on you and he’s who knows where probably working so you can’t even try to call him to help you (to get you a heating pad, painkillers, anything really, even just to have someone else’s presence because it legitimately feels like you’re about to die and not even in peace)

-You notice you got blood on the robe while lying down, so you go to the bathroom to get a pair of underwear and a pad (which you manage to do) but you get super nauseous all of a sudden so you just. sit on the floor for a bit, wearing basically nothing and hoping you’re not about to pass out or straight up die alone, partially naked on the cold bathroom floor

-After not too long (but what feels like a whole damn hour to you) he finally goes to his room and so you call him and he’s kinda panicky, but he brings you a new robe since you bled over the other one and helps you get up and walk over to his bed which is thankfully not too far from the bathroom since it’s in the room

-And then he helps you lie down under the covers, and then gives you a water bottle + he helps you drink from it since you’re dizzy and can’t really lift your head properly

-Gets into bed after you and just chills beside you, kinda rubbing your back and just making sure you’re not in too much pain (basically ignoring all the work he has to do)

-Makes sure you have food and water almost immediately after you wake up so the dizziness will go away faster

-Diavolo would feel really bad about not being able to help more, and I feel like he’d be the most likely to try to look into other solutions (aka stuff not meant for humans) if you find that human medicine and supplements aren’t doing anything even after months, he doesn’t want to see you in pain ever, let alone every single month, so he’d definitely want to fix the problem as soon as possible (and you do too obviously, although not exactly in the same way)

[ex-textura]

Please word vomit to us about Ilztaufein's complicated relationship dynamics (if you want, no pressure) 💜

HAH! Oh, you've asked for it.

i'm not proof reading any of this stream of consciousness lets goooo

_

Alright soo early in the game Izzy never had any sort of actual interest in the other party members at all, romantic or otherwise. He's a pissy little prince of a man who likes things a certain way and isn't so far removed from his noble upbringing in the underdark that he's unlearned all his negative associations with other races (or even with drow themselves tbh. he'd say he's complicated but he's mostly just a bitch), but he's still a good guy in the most technical sense so he did start to get close to them in spite of himself.

He's also a man who's pretty used to just casually sleeping with other members of his teams whenever the desire arises. So when Astarion propositioned him like...QUITE early on he was like fuck it. Whatever. I could use an orgasm. And Astarion was similar enough to him in personality (and to drow in appearance to be quite honest) that he didn't give it that much thought. Fun romp in the woods, whatever nbd.

Only that Astarion like...didn't seem to get the hint, or something. Because despite Ilztaufein being pretty clear that he was just having fun, Astarion started crossing some lines from one-night stand to fwb and then maybe a little more? Only Izzy still was never really feeling it. I mean, Astarion was fine. The sex was technically well executed and Astarion is handsome and fun so he had no regrets in that regard. But see this sad little human was starting to worm his way into Izzy's mind. He kept showing pieces of himself that Ilztaufein didn't expect from someone like him. Hints and pieces of greater power, greater ambition. And Ilztaufein was intrigued.

Then Izzy learned about Gale's past with Mystra, about the truth of the orb and what he'd done and rather than being worried he was sorta. kinda.... well that was like really really hot??? I mean sure it was foolish and it backfired but the power it had to have taken in the first place to do what Gale did. To catch the eye of a goddess too. And the ambition to aim so damned high. That was the turning point. Gale was no longer just some wizard that claimed to be an archmage and wanted to learn to play sava. Gale WAS an archmage. A chosen. A powerful man with powerful means and powerful desires and Ilztaufein wanted, needed, to be part of that.

So he was still sleeping with Astarion on occasion, the vampire showering him this performative sort of affection that never really did anything for him but Izzy didn't care enough to stop because like. Whatever floats your boat, man. And flirting with Gale in the meantime, spending most nights discussing magical theory over a game of lanceboard or sava as they taught each other their chess game of choice. Falling hard for Gale, and not ever really trying to hide it. He'd never wanted someone like that before, but being such a little princess, he always got what he wanted.

The hiccup is where Astarion comes into this. Cause Astarion's little pet names and affection and all that definitely started as a performance but in spite of himself he'd actually started to fall for Ilztaufein. A sassy little minx who shared a lot of his interests (and mannerisms. and clothes), who even though he was a good person fundamentally, didn't really do anything for the sake of altruism. Who made him laugh, and didn't give a shit about his past, or what he'd done, but was immediately more than happy to help him with whatever - whether that be casting Hold Person on a bandit specifically so Astarion could drink from them without fuss, teaching him how to make drow poisons, or straight up plotting against Cazador.

So Astarion is maybe sorta starting to fall hard. But he's never been free before. He barely knows who he is. He doesn't know how to be alone but he also doesn't know how to be with someone...in the way he might want to be with Izzy. Maybe. If he lets himself think about it long enough. So he's weighing his options.

Talk to Izzy. Tell him how he feels. Tell him that maybe what he wants with him is more than sex (and, honestly, maybe not even sex at all). Maybe they get together, maybe he swipes the drow out from under Gale's nose and they live a long, long life together of hedonistic debauchery. After they kill Cazador together. Maybe Ilztaufein helps him find a cure. Maybe they spend the rest of their lives in the underdark. And Astarion never truly gets to be his own man, shackled forever to love.

Don't talk to Izzy. Keep up the seduction and squash his own growing feelings. Keep Gale's big soft eyes off of his paramour long enough to get the job done, kill Cazador, and be free. Then dump him, and go learn who the fuck he actually is. Take many lovers or none at all. Every choice made from that point on would be his own, at the cost of perhaps breaking his own heart.

Or, the option he's starting to realize might already have been made for him when he wasn't looking: Let whatever is happening between Gale and Ilztaufein happen. Just. Let him go. And hope that they'll still be willing to help him anyway out of..what? the kindness of their hearts?

Or maybe if the old tramp who came by the camp gets his way, Gale will blow himself up and leave Izzy in mourning and Astarion can be there to pick up the pieces and resume their little thing from wherever they left off. Have his cake and eat it too, at the cost of a perfectly good Gale, I suppose.

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 50: It's Up to You Now

Failure Is Not An Option: A Shoujo Story About Love and Monsters

UMA Autumn has gotten both bigger and stronger from eating people while Fuuko and Andy were in the book. Andy suggests that it's starting to enter its second phase and busts out a new move:

Autumn can regenerate! That's perfect for Rip, except...

he can't even injure it in the first place because he's still just a kid!

We get to see Latla's ride, and it's a motorized broom of some kind. I hadn't really thought of her as a witch before this, but I guess it makes sense since she can predict the future. Her side-saddle riding is so cute. Is Latla a magical girl now?

She's got her back turned to Autumn both because it's gross and so she can make a quick getaway if she needs to. I don't blame her tbh.

Anno Un says they'll draw an Artifact that can capture Autumn while the group distracts it. Rip asks Latla to fact check Anno Un and we FINALLY get an explanation for her ability.

Also, I kinda can't believe Viz hasn't fixed Andy's typo in the first panel. I wonder if they fixed it in the print edition. UU is usually pretty clean, so it caught my eye.

Anno Un reflects on their strange life as they draw the Artifact with the G Liner in their mouth. The first object Akira manifested from a drawing was a little car, and that discovery led to the creation of Anno Un.

Once they had a human avatar, they tried to visit Akira's mom, but she had already passed.

Akira couldn't bear to even look, and so Anno Un did the grieving for him. Anno Un did all the things that Akira couldn't, including drawing those characters that little Akira had been so eager to show her:

Each character is described by their relationships and loyalties to other characters. It's their relationships and interplay that make up the core of the story, no matter what the plot is.

Beyond the fact that his mom likes handsome (adult) characters, I think she would like Rip because Rip also lost someone. I don't believe there's ever an explanation for what happened to Akira's father, but it must've been a loss at some point, whether through death, divorce, or abandonment.

Akira's mom took a different path than Rip by devoting herself to those who remained instead of pining for the one who left. After all, she had a kid to care for, and there wasn't anything supernatural she could do to bring Akira's father back, unlike Rip using the Ark. But she probably understands his feelings very well. After losing Akira, I'm sure she'd do anything to find him again.

Anno Un uses the Life Is Strange Artifact on Rip and turns him back into an adult. Latla's expression is hilarious:

With his prosthetics getting taller and his shorts shrinking, Rip's kinda got an Absolute Area/zettai ryouiki thing going on! (Which reminds me to add that Tatiana's ability is named after the A.T. Fields in Eva, which are protective barriers like Tatiana's that expand around the users. Which of course, got turned into a stocking fetish by otaku...)

ANYWAY, Rip already knows how the Artifact works because it's the same thing that Feng used on him when Andy almost killed him. It causes the user to age 10x whatever they aged the target.

Rip has a moment of pure kindness and offers to use the Artifact on Anno Un to try to even out the damage, but they won't allow him. The look on Rip's face in this bottom panel is a turning point.

It's like he realized how much they knew already and how much they really did care about him. Rip has a hard time understanding selflessness and altruism, like when Fuuko saved Chikara. And here's someone he barely knows--someone he was recently trying to kill--and they're willing to sacrifice themselves for his sake. Rip's expression is childlike, which is funny since he just got aged up.

Rip is still stunned as Anno Un fades away, leaving only the tracksuit, Soul Caliber, and the broken G Liner. The unlikely team of five will have to fight the rest of the battle without their advice. Will we ever see Akira again?!

Masterpost

[kitspindles]

anyway time for a hot take that's probably been discussed a million times already but. essay time!!

I don't think that Will was meant to be Rick's solution for Nico's trauma-- the main solution as in, "Oh, he has a boyfriend now. Everything is all better, no more trauma, he's cured!" I don't think it's like that, though I can definitely understand how some people might see it that way. Putting aside the issue of whether or not their relationship was rushed for the moment... When someone is trying to heal from and process their trauma it sometimes helps to just have another person around to be there, to talk to, to have a friend in.

For a character like Nico, who spent seven books since his introduction (subsequentially four years) pushing away everyone, never opening up about himself, and feeling like he had nowhere to go, having a friend, a real friend, to fall back on is an integral step in overcoming his trauma. We saw this in his friendships with Jason and Reyna, where he was able to share important aspects of himself to them and come away feeling like a bit of the burden had been lifted, even for a moment-- or at the very least like he could speak to another person without scaring them away (tbh, Rick did Nico dirty with the way the majority of the Seven treated him, but that's a discussion for another time). Having someone close to confide in is something that Nico desperately needed but wouldn't allow himself to have-- something he hasn't really had since Bianca died. (Yes, Hazel came along eventually, but even then Nico kept quite a bit from her).

That's where Will is important. Again, yes, maybe Rick didn't need to push them together as boyfriends right off the bat (though they were arguably barely bfs in The Hidden Oracle, still in that "new relationship" phase, and by this point it had been about 6 months since they officially met in The Blood of Olympus, so I like to believe that they were friends first during that little time-skip between series), but regardless of the status of their relationship, Will is still immensely important to Nico taking that step in the right direction. He's one of Nico's first true best friends. They clearly care for each other and help one another.

Anyone who's read the Trials of Apollo fully knows that Nico's trauma is not gone just because he has a boyfriend. I mean, the poor guy has to sit near Mr. D, Dionysus, the god of madness, just to keep it together most days. It's literally stated that he has PTSD and waking dreams. Not even Will can make these problems go away, and he says as much himself. It hurts Will that he and Nico's other friends can't help him more, but that's just the reality of trauma and healing. Having someone to lean on certainly helps, but it isn't a magical cure, and I think Rick knows at least that much.

On that note, I have faith that the Solangelo book will tie up the loose ends of the relationship and answer the fandom's lingering questions and concerns-- how did they start dating, how are they actively working to help each other, more about Will's character and his own trauma (and gods know this boy has to have some), etc., etc. I think we're in for a good wrap-up since the book is co-written by Mark, who knows how to write about trauma and sexuality, and was brought in to help because Rick knew he couldn't do it on his own.

Anyway, all of this just to say: Will is the friend that Nico always needed, and regardless of the status of their relationship (friend or boyfriends), that's an important role for Nico's character to have in his life and a necessary step in healing from... everything.

[sapphickittykatherine]

i just wanna talk for a sec about arthur. disclaimer: i adore him. he's my blorbo boy. however, he definitely does get prince privilege with regards to both the narrative voice of the show and the fandom. i'd like to point to this post as a jumping-off point:

if you're anything like me, you might need cw: lancelot slander

ofc my bias towards lancelot has affected my view of this in absolutely no way whatsoever lmao

i understand that arthur was raised by a power-hungry tyrant - although, one who was said to care for his kingdom even before his own son... - and that being brought up with privilege goes to someone's head. this is why i excuse his dickishness in early seasons. he's going to grow! that's what merlin is there for! by season 5, however, when he has not only not grown but actually gotten worse, you have to question why everyone - including merlin - still praises him so much. he still oppresses magic. he still upholds the inequality of the monarchy. (another disclaimer: i adore fictional stories about monarchs and royalty etc. nothing wrong with liking them!) yet still, people praise him for the absolute barest of minimums. this man will be like, "yeah i don't think we should leave our citizens to die actually :)" and everyone will act like this is some incredibly brave moral stance. "we shouldn't tax our citizens to the point that they starve, or execute innocent people without a fair trial. probably." and the crowd goes wild!

basically every character who isn't a stuck-up noble with their head in the stratosphere thinks this. yet arthur is the one who gets praised for it. why? because he has the power to actually do something about it? the guy actually fights alongside his knights rather than hiding in his castle, which makes him better than the other knights. bc logic. "he's such a great guy!" he's bordering on a mediocre guy with bare-minimum moral stances. and that's okay! he's allowed to be a stuck-up royal prat! he's a medieval prince with a tyrant father, for goodness' sake! but this worship of him - not just by characters, but also members of the fandom - is weird tbh.

how the aforementioned post ties in to all this exactly: lancelot. there is a reason, dear pinterest user, that lancelot is the bravest and most noble of them all, rather than arthur. arthur fights to defend his kingdom, first and foremost. he is the crown prince, and later the kin. if not for the seemingly infinite supply of knights and citizens of camelot, thanks to this being a show, he would have no kingdom to rule if he let everyone die and all structures be destroyed! he wants peace among the kingdoms - great. again, a highly bare-minimum stance, though. you remember when uther signed a peace treaty with a bunch of other kingdoms, even though another king was mad he couldn't get rich off war if that happened? uther the pure-hearted. on the other hand, people like lancelot are just commoners. he wants to risk his life not because he's defending the kingdom over which he presides, but because he doesn't want a bunch of people who, honestly, have very little to do with him, suffer or die like he saw happen to the people in his village. "arthur risks his life for his friends!" the guy has, like, three. i should hope so. not to mention lancelot does the same 💀 for arthur (1x05), for gwen (2x04), for merlin (4x02).

lancelot is literally just one example. if you don't want to, it's chill - it's literally just a work of fiction lol - but maybe try to assess arthur sans privilege. even once. do i think that arthur is better than uther and other tyrants? obviously! do i think that's a particularly high bar? ...

he's a dick with a heart of... bronze. maybe. good for him.

[kookieswan]

Of Blooms & Bounties - Charmer

Pirate!Jungkook x Explorer!Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Genre: Pirate!AU, Magic!AU, Semi-Historical!AU, slightly fluffy, very silly.

Warnings: Stealing…? Just a reminder that many of the characters in this series are morally gray!

Summary: You want that rare black silk, and you’ll pout until you get it. Pout and scheme and giggle.

Notes: Idk tbh, a call back to an ask about Jimin and MC tag teaming to distract merchants lmao. I hope you all enjoy!

This is from the Of Blooms & Bounties Series. Find it here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimin looks toward you and nods quietly, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his lips. You smile back, giddy to be wearing such pretty clothing out and about. Jimin looks like a vision himself, all pretty silks and striking jewelry. You feel absolutely beautiful standing next to him, it almost reminds you of the old days…

Following his lead, you walk up to the merchant from around the corner with a swing in your hip, face purposely kept soft as you smile up at the bald man. He looks between the two of you with a careful smile; not worried at first, but more so uneasy when he spots Jimin beside you. Time to pull out your charm to get what you want.

“What can I do for the two of you? I can see you both enjoy the finer things, your garments are very beautiful!” It almost makes you feel bad. Almost. He seems like a lovely man but a birdie told you that he has beautiful rare black silk and you want it. You want it so bad that you pulled out the big guns on Blossom, pouting at the crew till they all crumbled under your gaze. And now…

“Oh wow, you’re sooooo muscular! That’ll work out perfectly.” Once a charmer, always a charmer. Reaching for his arm, you gently squeeze the muscle there. Your aren’t lying to him, Mr. Muscle man has quite the physique, you dare say he’s even bigger then Namjoon. You watch giddily as he flushes, as Jimin wanders closer in and pokes and prods with you.

“We-well thank you little lady! I do try my best to keep in shape.” Giggling a bit at his words, you try your best not to full on laugh as Jimin practically curls up to him like a snake. He places a hand on the other man’s bare chest, long fingernails scraping against the skin slightly.

“So big and buff, I bet you could lift us both up at the same time, hm? You see, we need someone to carry back all the fabrics we wish to buy from you…” It comes out low and sultry, Jimin smiling like he knows he’s already won. Mr. Muscle swallows visibly, hand coming up to pick at his collar as you sway back and forth, the silk of your dress shining prettily in the wind.

“We-well, I, uh. Maybe I could…? Yeah, I bet I could!” He nods to himself, almost like a pep talk as you and Minnie glance at each other. Phase one a go then, now it’s time for the ultimate distraction.

“Let’s test you out then! I would love a piggyback ride. Could I have one mister? I know you could handle our purchases then!” He nods silently and turns around with a large grin at the prospect of a big sale, and within seconds, you’re flinging yourself onto his back. There’s a slight ‘oof’ as you do so, and he tries very hard not to touch your ass as he adjusts you. What a tried and true gentleman.

Turning your head back as you make a ruckus, you see Jimin pull the second signal for the day, watching as Jungkook and Hoseok slip by you quickly and into the shop. Kookie flashes you a cute smile, giving an okay to indicate that everything’s running smoothly. So far, you think everything’s going pretty good then. Lovely silk, an intense adventure, and even a fun little ride. Jimin signals for both of your attentions with a few claps, pointing toward the ships.

“Bring my pretty companion out this way, she loves the view of the sea just as much as I do.” And so he does, trailing after the witch as the smaller man strides ahead. You don’t call out Mr. Muscle when his gaze trails downward; you can’t blame him. Minnie has quite the silhouette. You finally reach the docks after a bit, ignoring how people stare at first at your hiked up dress, but quickly slapping your hand on the bald man’s head when he tries to turn back.

“WHOOPS let’s not go that way, I want to go towards the sea! The sky’s so pretty!” You bet Tae would love it; hell, you bet Tae is drawing it from the ship right now. Maybe Joon and is off at shore while Jin and Yoongi fish… shaking your head, you don’t want Mr, Muscle to get bored and leave because who knows what he likes, so you slip your hands over his eyes and giggle cutely. Cute always wins.

“Let’s play a game of Helvadio Krensal! Try to find my friend Mr. Muscle.” Surprisingly, he goes along with it, shouting Helvadio as loudly as he can. You pat his head gently whenever he gets closer to Minnie, secretly liking the sound, but of course, Minnie never lets him get close enough.

“Krensal~~~~~~~” Jimin dances around the man with ease, actually laughing as he runs around with you on his back. After a long while, he finally allows the man to catch him, lips twitching as Mr. Muscle apologize profusely for touching his chest blindly. To be honest, you don’t think Jimin minds very much at all.

“No worries. Now, let us return to your stall, shall we? I think you’ve proven your worth.” Mr. Muscle is clearly tiring from carrying you, but he doesn’t say a word as he teeter totters back to your destination. You know Hosoek and Jungkook have made it out at this point. You’d given them at least twenty minutes to rummage through the shop, and black silk can’t be that hard to spot...

Except for the fact that it must be, because everything stops as Mr. Muscle spots the two men ‘sneaking’ out of his shop. More like tumbling as Jungkook practically falls on his face, Hobi just barely catching him in time and causing half of the awning to fall. Both of their eyes are wide, blinking owlishly as you and Jimin blink back. Shit.

Without warning, you’re practically tossed off the man’s back as he chases your crew mates down the road, yelling and screeching at the top of his lungs like a demon from the depths of the sea. Jimin catches you, cackling at just how much the tables have turned. Things can never go smoothly for this bunch, can it…? Dusting yourself off, you right yourself as Jimin continues to giggle to himself, flicking a finger as the awning rises back up.

You wander over to the poor merchants stall with Jimin in hand after the shouting disappears into the distance for a closer look. It’s easy enough to spot a lovely bolt of lace, a pair of scissors, and some packaging. It doesn’t take much convincing to step behind the stall a snip a few yards for yourself. Jimin glares at everyone who walks by, effectively keeping them all away as you do your work.

Your crew mate watches with a slowly raising brow as you pull a few coins out of your pocket, enough to pay for at least double of what you took, and put them on the counter. What can you say, you feel a little bad for the lovely bald man, it’s clear he’s actually quite kind... Only a little though, because now you have rare silk, lovely lace, and blackmail for the future. Turning back to Jimin, you boop his nose and he playfully bites your finger.

“Help me wrap this up Minnie.”

[playstation-lichenthrope]

Hello Hello! I've spotted the Deck of Phoenix tag enough times on my dash now that I HAVE to ask. Whats it about? Care to share the cool oc universe story thing? If you're interested in doing so of course! I would love to hear about it (:

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO FRIEND /pos

This is going to be long and barely coherent/word salady but here you go friend Merin :)

Okay so... Deck of Phoenix. Prefacing this with with the fact DoP's message is about finding your own way to deal with trauma of all kinds. All of the characters have their own trauma and deal with it in different ways for better or worse LOL! LMAO! The main 6 we have for the cast are Neptune, Vikki, Teresa, Twilip, Ichigo and Salem. Salem is Ollie's OC that got absorbed into the story and became one of the linchpins in Ichigo's backstory (Childhood friends who were kinda romantic then shit happened and then OUAHGAHFDHGgeF anyways)

The magic system in the story is really complicated to explain because it really only makes sense in my brain at the moment and it's supposed to be universal across many different alien worlds :) Hehe! Did I mention this is a fantasy sci-fi? In the way of a fantasy world in a sci-fi setting!!! HEHEHHE!

Every person/soul is born with an ability that aligns with two sigils (magic types) and it can range from something extremely powerful and useful to something that never even manifests. An example of the latter would be a character we have; she seemed powerless until she died because her power was to revive permanently when brought back by a necromancer. Back to the main characters! Neptune canonically has schizophrenia, he has the ability to see the future of someone when he looks them in the eyes, which is how the story starts and also how he finds out he saves the universe from an evil tyrant called Paradox (Name might be temporary, idk lol) But yeah he has a character arc that might be spoilers so i'll explain on discord but it makes his schizophrenia so so soooo much worse <3 <- Projecting my problems onto him. (Also he is the only human in the group)

Vikki's powers are under construction but! She is basically the glue holding the crew together and is a satyress :3 She likes ballet and is the sweetest person you'll ever meet unless you get on her bad side HFGJEHFVQ Also she's built like a centaur and it's so cool to meee cuz I love drawing non-human characters

Teresa is like if Doc was a Loverboy and also a necromancer >:) I'm thinking about giving her the weird gender swag just to make one of the others the only cis person in the group TKYURLF (Twilip) Xe's an alien from a desert planet and is kinda a cyclops lynx/kangaroo mouse and she kinda looks like a vortigaunt now that I think about it..

Twilip. How do I even explain... He's like if Boomer (bubby x coomer) was a person tbh.. Cranky old man who gives tutorials and worked at a library and he misses his late wife so so much :( BUT he has a swag ass pen that can make drawings come to life and he's about the size of a cat btw if you even care <3 /ref

Ichigo... WHERE DO I START. Ichigo's been our OC since we were a KID! So they technically have the deepest lore due to sheer time scale soooo.. They use any pronouns with a preference for they/them and ze/zir and zir sooo everything to me <3 Imagine Leading Light with cloud's buster blade and soooo many more insecurities... Yea :) I can't even begin to dive into their backstory because I will be here FOREVER but long story short, canon system allegory with being 3 souls meshed into one body by the US government to be a super soldier (A human, an alien, and an inter dimensional being) and the alien part is destined to destroy the universe but that's beside the point! Teehee!

For Salem I suggest asking Ollie because I don't wanna misinterpret anything about him <3

That's all I have for now because my fingers are starting to hurt from typing /g /lh I hope you enjoy!!!!! >:)

[thedarkmistress16]

Disgustingly Sweet Oliver Kirkland Headcanons

Slight NSFW

He gets the following nicknames:

Cupcake Honeybun Sweetie Darling Sugar

When his partner gives positive attention to his freckles, and that person also has freckles or beauty marks showing on the skin, he will shyly give his partner the same treatment in silent appreciation, pouring all his respect for the person into each peck.

Gets flustered easily with flirting, even from minor hints. He’s more visibly receptive to them when it’s coming from someone he fancies. He brushes them off awkwardly or pretends not to understand them otherwise.

Takes being a gentleman seriously and never initiates anything sexual until his partner expresses an interest in them. Even then, he’s fidgeting with nerves and keeps his hands to himself, taking in how his lover feels about this more than engaging. He’s constantly asking for consent whenever he’s about to or is asked to touch his partner, even after receiving it. The more they dance to this tune, the more assured he is about his worth to his lover and how he approaches those moments.

Oliver being more sexually comfortable with his partner includes:

Food kinks (this is the only time he’ll allow food in bed- a whole cupcake, even) Knifeplay (his desire is not to cut and is immensely careful with how he teases the blade; even if his lover protests, he won’t budge on this matter) Dirty talk (he’s mixed between allowing his partner to curse in this state but paying him back for it later and pounding his lover until the point of being unable to form words as a punishment)

May or may not be open to his partner painting his fingernails in pastel blues and pinks with shimmery or glitter polish and pastel stickers. The only worry he has is the flaking and peeling ending up in his kitchen prep and unnecessarily dirtying the house at random intervals in the process, but the novelty of looking at them is just as strong as when he finishes decorating a batch of cupcakes.

Wears soft-colored and patterned frilly aprons that only cover his lower front every time he bakes. He only wears a full apron that covers his entire outfit and torso when he’s harvesting ingredients.

If his partner happens to not like sweets or cannot consume them, Oliver will be incredibly heartbroken by this but tries his best to woo that person otherwise. The idea of breaking up with his partner never even crosses his mind. His only focus is adjusting to the minor predicament, depending on his level of infatuation (it’s a low bar, tbh).

Does not like ties unless they’re bows.

Insecure of his own style of dress and appearance when thinking about how he’s usually perceived by onlookers. Yet at the same time, is too prideful of said style to fiddle with the idea of changing it to “fit in more.” His only step to altering anything about himself is masking any visible freckles he has, due to how strongly he loathes and is ashamed of them.

His eye color is a saturated cotton candy blue, normally (#41B7FF). Flickers of rose pink appear in them when he feels a relatively light yet strong amount of emotion, such as shock or growing irritation (#F7C6DC). The pink pulses fiercely whenever he’s going “mad,” with the blue barely coming through at that point (#FF55A1).

His magic sparkles with pink and white, along with a light blue aura on occasion.

[stormyoceans]

Have a nice day, Monica! 🌸How are you feeling? Do you sleep better or are you worried about insomnia? I have a question for you: what are your favorite interviews with JimmySea? Can you make a top? I like their interviews, where the boys tell something special about their character, about hobbies outside the set or about their family. But I think the most favorite interview is Mint Hang Out. Very beautiful bright cafe, delicious dishes, Jimmy and Sea in flirting mode, and Jimmy, who did not come out of the image of Puen, because there were shootings the day before, and driving everyone crazy with gentle looks. Take care of yourself!🌸

hello, dear anon!!!! 💜

this is such a sweet message and that’s also a very interesting question!!! unfortunately im not the best at keeping track with interviews and events, so im probably going to miss some major one, but im going to try to make a small list of my favorites anyway!!!

praew magazine Q&A. YOU WILL NEVER GET ME TO ADMIT HOW MANY TIMES I’VE REWATCHED THIS INTERVIEW JUST KNOW I WOULD HAVE ORDERLIES AT MY DOOR READY TO DRAG ME INTO A PADDED ROOM IF I ADMITTED IT OUT LOUD. im not sure why i like it so much tbh, maybe because it’s a recent one and you can really see how much more comfortable they are in front of the camera and with each other, especially sea. my favorite part is how after the 15th time sea touched jimmy’s leg in the span of 3 minutes even the editor of the video was like if im forced to bare witness to things not even god could withstand then so are y’all [zooms in]

mint hang out vlog. jimmy truly be having some residual method acting left in his system with how ridiculously FOND he looks throughout the entire video. the only reason it doesn't get first place to me is because technically this isn’t exactly an interview but more of a vlog, as the title says, however since i love it and the ACTUAL interview doesn’t have any subs (if anyone asks this is my villain origin story btw) i’ve decided that i don’t care and that im gonna add it to the list anyway. ALSO THIS PERFECTLY SHOWS WHY WE NEED A JIMMYSEA EATING PROGRAM @ GMMTV LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!

our skyy vice versa interview. LISTEN i know it doesn't have any subs so it's not fully accessible to international fans, however it deserved a place here even just for THEE HUG™, i know it was for a challenge but sea clearly didn't expect it and you can tell he is SO DELIGHTED by it AND SO AM I OKAY IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU I AM ONLY HUMAN. also even if you don't know what they're talking about the vibes are just so immaculate and unmatched i would listen to them FOR HOURS

open the world interview. im so very fond of this one because i feel like it's a very good starting point to get to know them. sea is still very shy here, but you learn a lot of things that if you follow them for a while you find out are true: that behind the scenes sea is clingy and determined, that jimmy is always there to guide him, that the way they express their love (even the platonic kind) is by supporting and taking care of the other person, that they do end up spending time together swimming and singing and wakeboarding......

let's talk BL podcast. i knew i could trust them with my life when they were asked which was their favorite vice versa episode and jimmy replied that it was episode 10 (because he is so proud of himself for the derangement he unleashed upon us) while sea eventually picked episode 11 (because he is a man of culture) TRULY KINGS OF TASTE VISION AND CORRECT OPINIONS ONLY!!!!!!! honestly it's just a great interview all-around and i always love how both jimmy and sea try their best in everything they do

i wish i could add more but sadly all the other ones that come to mind (like the oishi magic of zero episode with milklove and the jd's birthday party live with earthmix) don't have any subs ;;;;;; let's hope we're gonna get a lot more when last twilight finally airs!!!!!

[edoro]

Ship bingo: Lumiter

i really like Lumiter! i like Huntlow a lot too but honestly Lunter/Lumiter was my first love and i still have a huge soft spot for it.

let's break this down a bit by the dynamics here...

Lumity of course needs no introduction. absolutely classic. i love the way it was built up and how well they work together, how they try so hard to communicate and work through problems, how they've both had conflict and issues and are slowly learning to grow and be better people together, and just how much they like each other.

Amity's gradual crush on Luz is really cute, and tbh i can understand people who say they feel like Luz's side of it was a bit rushed, but i also think that Luz's like, just long-standing determination to Be Friends With Amity even after their first introduction was so horrible can easily be interpreted as her having a huge crush on this cool cute witch girl and just not even realizing her feelings were romantic for the longest time.

Lunter is a classic. oddly controversial for a protag/main antag ship, and while i'm sympathetic to people who feel threatened because they value Lumity so much, i must say that pretty much every vocal Lunter-disliker i've ever seen has been moderately to extremely biphobic about it, and uh i think we can definitely dislike a ship without implying or outright stating that lesbians are More Queer than bi people.

i really love their dynamic though! especially considering all the development we got of it in the back half of s2, but i mean, s2e1 and s2e6 were fucking classic. beautiful sequence of meetuglies. he threatened to boil her alive, she slapped him and called him a bad person, he licked her hand, she embarrassed him in front of the scouts, ten minutes later he's telling her his tragic backstory and visibly barely restraining himself from infodumping about wild magic to her because this is literally the first time in his life anyone has acted even vaguely interested in anything he has to say. What's Better Than This.

they have so much in common - being bisexual, being transgender in every possible direction at once, being incredibly neurodivergent (bi4bi t4t autistic4adhd) - they also both tend to minimize and repress their own feelings and devote themselves to others, seeing themselves as leaders of a sort who are responsible for everyone else.

plus they're also both absolute nerds but like, extremely chaotic about it. there definitely needs to be a strong element of rivalry or competition to their relationship. they're Best Frenemies. they're kismeses. they annoy the absolute shit out of each other but they also understand each other and have been through some serious stuff together and both really value and care about each other.

Luz has seen Hunter at his worst in a variety of ways and has still been there for him and offered him companionship and kept reaching out to him, and i think that's really good for him - he's spent so much of his life being told that he only has a limited number of chances, and like, nobody's patience is inexhaustible, everyone has limits, but for someone to just keep holding out that hand for him no matter how much he screws up? someone who believes so strongly in giving people the benefit of the doubt? just really good and meaningful, even if i think he also isn't sure how to engage with her because of the low points she's seen him at.

and for Luz, like, i think Hunter is someone who can act as both a restraining influence on her more out-there ideas and also logistical support - he can both tell her when she's being ridiculous AND help her turn her ideas into actual plans. he respects her abilities but wouldn't let her blindly rush off into or lead him into something dangerous.

one thing i also really like about Luz and Hunter is the potential for like, exposing her to his trauma. Luz has trauma of her own (another way she and Hunter can relate is their tendency to totally downplay the bad things that have happened to them), but i just don't see her as someone who's dealt with or is very familiar with the kind of intense, chronic familial abuse that Hunter grew up with.

she's a really optimistic person, and naive in some ways. she's surprisingly socially astute for her character archetype, good at figuring out how people feel and responding to that, really nuanced in her approach to even really shitty people who've hurt her personally - not in a way where she ignores the bad, but where she assumes people have good qualities too and just need the opportunity to display them. but that can also turn into not realizing when someone doesn't want to change, or won't change, or it's not worth it for her to try to change them or give them that opportunity.

and i think like, seeing Hunter and how he's been treated and what he's been through can sort of demonstrate that to her. just in general he's sort of her foil - he's living the fantasy chosen one life she wanted, and he's miserable, because it sucks actually. in some ways he functions as a reality check for her, or just like, shows her the downside of a lot of things that she thought she wanted. knowing him introduces another type of nuance, about the worst sides of people.

also, they are hilarious and extremely chaotic together. like they just manage to get into the weirdest situations. throw them into 1000 bizarre circumstances, i want to see it all.

and now for Hunter and Amity... i really love the two of them interacting. their relationship is very fascinating to me. they have so much in common, specifically wrt their trauma and the abuse they've gone through.

i think that it would be so valuable for the two of them to be able to talk to each other about that. it's something they've both been through that no one else can really 'get' the way each of them can, and especially when it comes to like, having complicated or positive feelings about their abusers, or even having complicated feelings about the abuse and the effects that it's had on them - those are just really difficult aspects of having been abused and they're things it's really hard to discuss with people who haven't been through abuse themselves, no matter how open-minded or non-judgmental or understanding they are.

they're also both just really serious, self-sacrificing, overachieving, perfectionist types - also perfect rivals in a way. i think that they'd make a great matched set of intimidating bodyguards for Luz. they know she can take care of herself, but they want to make it so she doesn't have to take care of herself!

i also think that they could be a really powerful source of support for each other about their issues and trauma, but there's also a lot of fascinating possibility for them to like, kind of encourage each other's worse traits - to reinforce each other's beliefs in existing as a tool for someone else, to egg each other on in driving themselves too hard, that sort of thing. Luz offers a very stabilizing influence here.

personally, i don't mind considering the two of them being sexually or maybe even romantically involved in a poly situation. i don't see the two of them ever being involved on their own*, but with Luz in the middle bringing them together, i can see it in a variety of ways.

i'm not an identity purist and i think that sexuality is fluid and complex and i'm more interested in exploring that than i am interested in writing about Amity Blight, Gold Star Lesbian.

maybe she's not attracted to him at all and refuses to even be in the same room while he and Luz mess around. maybe she has certain strict limits on how physically intimate she's willing to get with him in a threesome situation. maybe she's willing to do sexual stuff to/with him during a threesome situation, but pretty much only for Luz's entertainment. maybe having sex with him + Luz means that she feels horny for him under that precise specific circumstance, because he's there and she's there and she's horny and she doesn't mind directing it towards him when he's there along with Luz. maybe she's curious but ultimately not into him. maybe she doesn't like boys but she's attracted to his body. maybe he is just literally her One Exception. maybe she's a lesbian because her attraction to men is vague and theoretical and mostly based on fictional characters + her attraction to women is very real, visceral, immediate, and intense, but as she gets to know him she gets more attached and finds herself more and more attracted to him, but it's a very specific circumstance that isn't reflective of the broader trends and so she still considers herself a lesbian.

maybe she's not attracted to him but they've messed around for whatever reasons - curiosity, boredom, Luz wanted them to, they were both horny but Luz wasn't there, wanting comfort/intimacy, whatever.

maybe Hunter is transfem or fem-leaning nb and therefore is either a girl or girl-adjacent in a way that Amity is attracted to.

the point being, there's a lot of ways they could engage with each other sexually while also having a meaningful emotional relationship with each other, and i don't necessarily think that any of those 'erase' Amity's lesbian-ness at all - if someone wants to imagine her as like, a Kinsey scale 6 who would never even look at a nude man if she could help it, then that's certainly their prerogative and i don't think they're wrong to do so at all, but i think there's tons of room to investigate them being involved in a sexual + emotional capacity and for Amity to still be a lesbian, and just personally i find 'exploring the fluidity and complexities of sexuality and gender' way more interesting than setting up rigid boundaries.

(plus those boundaries inevitably like, declassify Real Actual Living People Some Of Whom Are My Personal Friends from their own sexualities, and i think that's pretty shitty.)

[writeblrsvoid]

Quick note that I am a disabled queer (ace) author. My main character raised his younger sister after their parents died and their village didn't help, so of course he would have helped her bathe and stuff when she got sick (and probably also when she wasn't up until she could do it herself, since they're not that much older). Major theme in the book is sacrifice and loyalty, which is why this is important.

Anyways, one of his new friends has a disability like POTS (same as I do), and after some magic stuff and a sacrifice of his own, friend has a moment where he has a bad flare and can't bathe by himself (inspired by my own struggles with this exact type of thing). He swore off romance due to backstory reasons and ends up asking MC for help bc of other reasons. I was sitting in the shower thinking "this is going to be a great scene!"

Now I'm kind of upset because I realized people are going to severely sexualize a moment that's literally about the two bonding over the shared trauma of being forced to grow up too early and a moment where the MC isn't thinking of romance (his eye is on another friend in the group) and is instead thinking about his sister. On top of that, both of these characters are queer and we've already been sexualized enough in the media.

It's so frustrating, I'm not even sure I want to leave that scene in or just let whatever publisher the book ends up with decide if it shouldn't be there so I can fade to black. I want to write the scene because it feels important, it's just really upsetting to know it'll be romanticized or sexualized when it's just my MC doing exactly the same thing he's done with his sister.

That, and also I know people are going to think that it's creepy he helped his sister shower and stuff when they were younger but tbh that part I have less issue with because anyone with media literacy can probably figure out that MC and his sister were so broke they could barely afford hot water and food, let alone medical care or stuff like that. Maybe I should just add in some questions like the ones you see in literature class after reading a section, lol.

Anyways, thanks for listening to my rant! Hope you have a lovely day.

Honestly, people will sexualize and romanticize anything. Literally anything. And there's nothing a writer can do about that. It's a hard truth many writers that are in your boat have to swallow at some point.

So the question becomes: is the scene important enough to you to leave it in for the people that will understand it, knowing there will be people that will twist it like that, or do you want to do away with it altogther? Does it add enough to the story that you feel it's too important to leave out? Or do you just love the scene enough to deal with all of that nonsense? If so, just keep it. Let people interpret it how they will. There's no way you're going to convince them of something different than what they want to see, so just let them see it and let those that will relate or understand or that need to see that connection get what you actually intended out of it.

There are a lot of important lessons and personal relations that would never happen if people were to worry about how others could take it. Essentially, if it's important or special enough to you to keep it, then keep it.

Sorry, talking in circles. I think you get my gist.

Either way, happy writing. I hope whatever you decide, you're happy with it. 🧡

~The Void

[raayllum]

Opinion about the first episode of season 4?

My first watch it did feel a little clunky, but I think that's also bc 1) as a super fan I'd seen all the clips released already and 2) had read the SDCC twitter thread, so nothing about the episode was a surprise in terms of like, scene by scene stuff. 4x01 in particular hinges on two mis-directs where what we think may be conflict (Sunfire ambush, 'plot against the king'") only for them to both be happier things. Which is why I think Callum's plotline ending badly (aka sadly) is important because otherwise it's too much of a positive note.

AKA I've watched the episode 3 times since and it 100% worked for me (which is also how it worked for S3 feeling a little fast the first time I saw it, but I was also hyped up on so much adrenaline and very little sleep and - shockingly - that makes a difference, I know). I've seen people complain about the tone but I think people tend to have nostalgia perfection goggles on for things they love and compared TDP to (largely ATLA, which had "Zuko angrily visiting Iroh in prison" and "Aang throwing a secret dance party" intercut immediately with one another) and it's like - TDP has always done a very good job at balancing its tone, same as ATLA, but it does feel hypocritical to watch fans of both not realize what they're "excusing" just cause they're used to it vs being hard on TDP.

This goes for TDP too since besides 1x01, this is probably the most packed premiere episode we've had. 2x01 was very exposition heavy when it came to magic and not much else actually happened in it, and like... 3 things happen in 3x01 and the most important stuff is all near the end of the episode, basically? So while 4x01 is absolutely doing the heavy work of catching us up and doing set up for the season, I think it does that difficult job as well as it reasonably can, tbh. Again: I don't mind people complaining, but the complaints gotta be grounded in merit, y'know? (That said: soft blocking people with negativity in the tags because I'm not about that with this show and never will be).

I have also been tickled pink by all the more casual reviewers / watchers who was surprised at Callum's behaviour with Soren and his lack of patience for bullshit now, since not only is it exactly how I thought he'd be post-timeskip and TTM, I thought it was exactly how he'd behave post-a speculative timeskip back in January 2020 with excerpts like this from "If Time Is Money" - so fucking satisfying, man:

She could perfectly picture the haughty look on Runaan’s face as he said, in a rather bored voice, as though whatever conversation that was about to be had was pointless. Runaan wasn’t necessarily a proud individual, but he had little patience for what he deemed illusions of youth or other perceived wastes of time. “Listen, boy—” “No, you listen,” Callum said, fair more sternly. Sterner than Tiadrin would have thought possible, given the softness he generally carried. “We’re never going to like each other, for obvious reasons. I think I have a far better one, as yours is based in prejudice, and mine is based on the fact you literally murdered my father, but that’s not the point. The point is that while I don’t care what you say about me, as I’ve heard far worse from other elves like you, Rayla does and you are still her father and she deserves to have you in her life and to have a good relationship with you. So when she’s not around, you can say whatever you want, even to my face. I don’t care and I don’t plan on rising to it anyway. But when she is around, you keep that shit to yourself, because it’s only going to upset her, and she’s been through more than enough.” Runaan’s face was stiff and barely readable, when Tiadrin stole a look. It was only because she knew him so well that she could tell he was at least a little gobsmacked, and so, quite frankly, was she.  The prince’s tone left no room for debate, as she carefully watched Runaan try and scrounge up anything to say at all. 

Adored all the Viren and Callum parallels since I've also thought since S2 that S4 would ramp it up majorly and it's super gratifying / interesting / exciting to watch that come to fruition. I also loved the Janaya proposal and thought it was super sweet. I gotta adjust to some of the small animation changes (I think possibly character / face silhouette line work and being even more fluid than before) but I love the flexing, updated character designs, and all the little microexpressions.

I'm so pumped for the rest of the season, it's going to be unreal (and just like, 2.5 days away now)!

[djs-horny-blog-lmao]

still got brainrot from your superhero oneshot so thanks for that

wondering what else Janus would do. maybe feeding him tasty little morsels that melt his brain a little more with each bite, or using his magic to tie Patton to the wall and make him stop fighting, or memory/self image play like "but you're so weak and soft and sleepy right now. heroes are strong and alert, so you must not be a hero, yes?". the possibilities are endless

just. the corruption arc! hypnotizing your target into caring about their personal safety and comfort bc you don't become a superhero if you have a healthy mental state! and it's barely corruption because Janus isn't actually a terrible guy and Pat needs to learn to take care of himself. and the dubiously grey motives of taking a hero off the streets but also Janus clearly cares about him at least a little bit

(and I know this is a smut blog but tbh I could even see an emotional aside w Janus taking care of Pat when he breaks down because he's fed up with thankless hero work, or Patton protecting Jan when he gets hurt after a robbery goes bad)

- 👽

omg sorry i was asleep

fuck yeah. that's Exactly what it's about. Janus' interest (care) directed all at this man who does Not stop to look after himself....... and tbh i dont know if there'd be ulterior motives. i dont actually think so. Janus just decided that one, he looks like he needs a break slash breaking and realised how right he was when Guardian didn't really fight back <3

and Patton Should fight back shouldn't he? but Siren can be soft and gentle and careful with him.... it feels good... and he makes a point to be nice to him.... dfhgkdfhgj Guardian Is going to make a better person out of Siren too

but yes the "you're so weak and soft for me" is sooo good. his limbs feel like lead and Siren has to move them for him with magic :]

(sdghdfgfd i write stuff that's heavily emotional and skyrockets into tens of thousands of words, normally, when it isn't smut, so don't you even worry i understand completely. there's Something about it)