#ppl can do what they want and ultimately it doesn't matter

[marinsawakening]

I have lost 'don't be pedantic' fight once again, so: it annoys me when people straight up state fakiru is canon, because that's a gross oversimplification. There is certainly romantic subtext between Fakir and Ahiru, but unlike Rue and Mytho, they never textually get together, so how 'canon' it is depends on how you define 'canon' to begin with. Furthermore, it's also really easy to interpret the romantic subtext as platonic. This is because Princess Tutu, for the most part, distinguishes very little between romantic and platonic love. In this show the boundary between the romantic and the platonic is fluid. The exact nature of Fakir and Ahiru's relationship and feelings for each other is up to interpretation, and intentionally so. So talking about fakiru as if it's unambiguously canon without acknowledging the inherent ambiguity simplifies the show and is not an accurate representation of their relationship. Also it annoys me personally.

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Just to minimize my chances of being genuinely misunderstood OR deliberately misinterpreted, and crucified for something I don't think, How Dare You Say We Piss on the Poor website etc...I'm gonna say this right up top. I absolutely understand why people don't like Thessaly as a character, if anyone does completely unironically stan her as some kind of feminist hero who Did Nothing Wrong uwu, I personally see it as a bit of a red flag. I don't like terfs real or fictional. In a vacuum, I could even completely sympathize and agree with the people who want her cut.

HOWEVER.

It's really something to me to see people clamoring for her to be cut, because she carries and expressed an ugly indefensible prejudice (transphobia) in words towards (1) person. Meanwhile Hob fucking Gadling enacted one of the most violent forms of antiblack racism I can even think of against thousands no, millions of people, the ripple effects of which still affect billions more today. Just a little light idk, profiting off the fucking slave trade and had to be told by someone else that it was bad...and he's a fan favorite.

People are saying Thessally being Dream's love interest reflects badly on him or is somehow endorsement by the narrative (?!?!?!?!?!? Didn't she (SPOILER ALERT AS IF IT MATTERS BY NOW) help participate in his extended assisted suicide? She's not painted as a great person to me just another character what are y'all SMOKING whatever fine. It's fine this is fine.) But shipping Dream with Mr. Former Slaver is not only not verboten or frowned on widely in the fandom but its THEE most popular pairing by far. So...why the difference?

Like where are the same fans who are saying Thessaly shouldn't just be more clearly shown to be wrong, she shouldn't even be in the show at all when it comes to Hobert's crimes??? Yes, transphobia is indefensible. Isn't racism?

And I hear the cries of "it's fiction!!!" Already rallying (if anyone who needs to hear this even sees it lol) to which I say:

HORSESHIT. I KNOW you don't, deep down, really agree because if you did, why get upset about Thessaly being included??? Why does what she said to one person matter if it's Just Fiction You Guyze. Fictional characters are allowed to do bad things and fiction isn't reality sweaty....except when you only apply that standard to fictional racists you like and simp for, but fictional transphobes you don't are SO HARMFUL they shouldn't even be portrayed in fiction.

Like. Give me a big fat BREAK. This looks like bullshit, no? I'm sorry, but I'd love for someone to try and give any other explanation besides one personally offended you or hit home for you, and the other doesn't.

And if that bothers you or you feel like it says something negative about you...idk what you want me to say??? You can't control how other people perceive you and that's how people outside this majority-of-the-fandom bubble see it. You don't need to respond, I just wish and genuinely hope this gives you a moment to think about why fans who ARE bothered by both (and not just paying lip service to being bothered by the one but railing against the other) are so frustrated with people saying everyone is welcome but in practice only bending over backwards for the comfort and emotions of themselves, and people they can easily relate to.

You don't have to like Thessaly (I don't. I find her an interesting antagonist, I don't stan her. And frankly that's not the point of her character) but you'll pardon me for feeling more than a bit cynical and side eying people's motivations for what seems a...pretty obvious double standard, on what fictional crimes related to real world issues matter to y'all, and which clearly don't. Either actually bring the same energy to the table for fictional people who committed atrocities, even if against a group you're not part of and thus don't feel the need to empathize with, or just carry on, but accept that you don't have the SLIGHTEST room to talk about cutting characters who do immoral things. And you also need to accept that you look like a hypocrite when you do.

[sammydem0n64]

I've also been thinking about Rinoll a lot recently and like. Guys she. She kinda wins in the end? SPECIFICALLY in regards to her relationship with Chocip. She gets what she wants in the end with NO consequence. Dude.

[onmyyan]

Manny NSFW HC's

A/N: someone asked for Manny n I gotta give the horny ppl what they want, Marcos is next, feedback is appreciated NOT EDITED

TW'S: YANDERE,SMUT, CALLS READER MASTER, PET PLAY, PEGGING, PUBLIC SEX, BLOOD KINK, SPIT KINK, MASK KINK

Certified lover boy

Gave his virginity to you so you guys get to have the fun of discovering all his different flavors of nasty.

Blood kink, finds out when he gets a little too excited during a kiss and nips your bottom lip enough for a little bead of ruby to pool into your mouths, he apologizes immediately but when you just keep kissing him he allows himself to get lost in the feeling. Addicted to the way red looks on you.

If you scratch him deep enough to draw blood? His eyes are rollling back and he can't speak in full sentences anymore.

Spit kink he loves when you grip him by the face and tell him to open up, sticks his tongue out like the proud doggy he is and says thank you master.

Mask kink off the walls, one of his biggest fantasies involves him in a Ghostface mask, he'd stalk you all day, call after call, telling you all the bad things he wanted to do to you, how he wanted to come out of hiding just to see the pretty look on your face, sometimes he doesn't even speak, the only thing you can make out between the wet noises of him fisting his cock, are the adorable little whines and whimpers of your name, he edges himself like this alllll day, saving up for when he inevitably breaks into your home and takes you on the floor.

Please put this mf on a leash all he wants to do is follow you around staring up through those dark wet lashes, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

Moans so loud you have to gag him, he loves seeing your disappointed face as you have to sush him again, especially loves when your fingers slip into his mouth while you're securing the ball.

PEG THIS MF

He has the prettiest arch in his back, makes sure to look as seductive as he can as he looks over his shoulder, "C'mon baby please?" He'd press himself against your front, skin flushed cherry red, the pout on his face nearly too cute to resist

" I want you to destroy me. Need'ta feel you."

If you want him to top it's no problem, he just loves letting you take control.

Please choke him.

Really into the idea of filming the two of you, thinks you're the hottest couple on the planet.

Likes fancy underwear, once put on a pair of your's as a goof but uh oh he's rock hard all of a sudden?

If you call him babygirl he will latch himself to your neck to hide his red face, but with the way he's whining and subtly grinding his clothed cock into your thighs, you can guess he's into it.

His oral fixation is really present here, will suck on your fingers/strap for hours if you'd let him.

Has his left nipple pierced, it's a little heart charm and speaking of,

Really sensitive nipples, came once just from you nipping and sucking.

Obsessed with the way you feel around him, thinks it's the ultimate way to bond, to become one.

Loves playing with toys, especially the one's he can put in and forget about until you decide to mess with him and press the power button on the remote he gave you.

He immediately excuses himself from whatever he's doing, and wobbly walks his way to the bathroom, legs quivering the whole time.

He'd lock the door and try to whip out his phone to call you, key word being try as you decide to up the vibration level, hot tears trailing down his cheeks as he grips the marble counter of the sink, fingers desperately grasping for anything to steady him as his orgasm rocketed toward him with break neck speed.

He'd manage to get you on the phone, the buzz going up and down in the most evil pattern, but no matter how good it felt he refused to fun without hearing your voice.

"Hi baby boy, does that feel good?" Your tone was devilishly warm, as if you knew what a mess He was making right then, He felt himself spill over in his designer jeans, the squeal of your name gave you the insight to turn it off, "Mm-god damnit Sweets don't stop-" he whined into the receiver, hips still bucking against nothing.

"Greedy little thing." Was all he heard before the toy was buzzing back to life, he had to roughly stuff his fingers in his mouth in an effort to keep his mewls quiet, he imagined they were your own and haistly tossed his phone on the counter.

His hand would be down his pants and despite the sting from having just came his brains out, he keeps going.

Fucks like a rabbit in heat.

Quickies everywhere, anywhere.

And I mean that quite literally, you get horny at the movies? He's got his hand down your pants.

In the mood stuck in traffic? He will pat his lap with that evil grin of his and you're riding him for dear life.

He's pretty insatiable himself, when he brought you to a family dinner party he had his hand gripping the meat of your inner thigh the entire time, slow circles turned into his pinkie brushing against your clothed clit just to feel you soak the fabric.

He's holding a conversation with his Father the entire time, not breaking a sweat as he makes you tremble beside him.

Fucks you in the bathroom upstairs cuz he just can't wait till you get home.

He doesn't hide his crazy, meaning if he's pushed into a jealous frenzy (which isn't very hard) he becomes much more dominant, holds you to the bed by your throat in a way that has your head fuzzy.

You didn't even see the offender approaching you at the bar, but Manny did. And he makes it a point to drag you off to the room closest to it, knowing the creep would follow.

Before you can ask what's wrong he's on his knees, yanking your skirt up with a pout, tossing a thigh over his shoulder.

He'd kiss his way up to your core with a mean smile.

"Thanks for the meal."

Makes you cum on his fingers twice, then he's tearing off his belt and forking his tongue in your mouth to give you a taste. "Jump f'me gorgeous." Would be your only warning as the next second he'd bottom out

"That son of a bitch thinks he can look at you like that? Nuh uh this is my pussy- say it."

"Who fucks you this good huh? Nnngh-who makes you cum pretty girl?"

"Say it- want em to hear you."

When he gets possessive he gets rougher.

The times when sex is a little bit softer he likes to hold you close, moans into your mouth or skin, slow rocks of his hips would leave you breathless.

Overstimulation, but at this point that runs in the family idk

If you tell him you love him during be prepared to not leave that bed until daybreak.

[gold-rhine]

please share correct opinions on alhaitham and kaveh👀

genshin leaks tw i guess. they are both right and they are both wrong actually. like fans will be like omg this ship is canon bc their quest name is "Pride and Prejudice" and then literally not look at what that reference means, as if P&P entire thesis wasn't on how two leads both have to get over their flawed perception of each other and grow personally after admitting their own shortcomings

the whole throughline of them being narrative foils and mirrors for each is like. yes, alhaitham was right about kaveh martyring himself for selfish reasons, and kaveh was so appalled to hear that bc he wants ppl to think he's perfect. which like yeah, was his trauma response mechanism, but no, it doesn't mean it's healthy and shouldn't be challenged. being close with someone doesn't mean they don't see your flaws and think you're perfect, it means they DO see your flaws and love you in spite of them. yes, kaveh has high ideals of combining beauty and practicality and of everyone participating in creation, no, it doesn't mean that him carrying other ppl or people-pleasing at any opportunity is good way to reach his ideals, it obviously doesn't work like that. yes, kaveh is lonely, but he 100% put himself into this position, he has ppl who would be willing to support him, he hangs out with cyno, tighnari, brags about having friends and fans, he's literally akademiya celebrity, he could reach out and ask for help at any moment, but that would ruin his facade of perfect success, so he doesn't. literally he opened up about his problems one time and alhaitham immediately took him in despite their broken friendship. the only reason he doesn't actually own the part of this same house is because he refused out of pride, he obviously wants to feel superior to alhaitham, and he used his social standing and popularity as proof, which is why he's so shocked and dismissive of the idea that alhaitham can have friends or do smth heroic, and now the only way he has left to feel superior is to insist he's better bc he's empathetic, while alhaitham is not, so kaveh keeps falling for every scam despite being a genius. bc he sees this as him being good and that's the last refuge of his ego. tldr great ideals, clown execution

but alhaitham is also performing clown behavior. he's not ambitious like kaveh, yes, but his flaw of pride is in pretending that if he's right he can sound like an asshole. bro has "language is the ultimate tool and weapon" all over his stories, he knows that how you word things fucking matter and he knew that kaveh is fragile about his ego and emotions, yet he didn't try to talk to kaveh on the terms he could accept and help him reach the conclusion, but bluntly poked him into the weakest spot instead. and yes, alhaitham has feelings and they were obv hurt and he's still obv highkey cares and lowkey bitter at kaveh at the same time. fellas, is it rational to meet your worstie drunk and miserable in a tavern, learn he's bankrupt, and immediately take him home as a roommate. and like explain that you don't care about him, but you did it to have another genius through whose presence you can perfect your vision of the world. and then every time you talk you tell said genius that he's devolving into a fungus and shit like that. which is how perfecting a world vision works obviously. yeah sounds very logic, very rational, very objective, and no confused feelings to me.

no, their fight is not bc they have incompatible ideals and can never understand each other. they can understand each other very well, they can't get over their egos. kaveh spent years wanting to take back his words to his father and vowing to never hurt anyone again, yet he refuses to see realize what he said years ago hurt his best friend and he doesn't take it back despite them literally living in the same house and having that opportunity every day. he accuses alhaitham of being an egoist, yet he his own ego makes him pretend to have perfect life and have no problems instead of opening up to ppl. alhaitham accuses kaveh of being irrational and in denial about his true motivations, yet is in denial about his own motivations for becoming roommates, instead facetiously framing it like it was strictly for his own purely academic goals. they are mirrors, but they refuse to actually look at each other.

if hoyo has an ounce of sense, this is obv a setup for character arcs of them growing and getting over their pride and prejudices to be able to work together and combine alhaitham's strategic thinking with kaveh's groundbreaking designs.

[lemonhemlock]

it's amusing to me how ppl will try to criticise alicent's "where is duty, where is scarifice" by saying it's just her demanding why rhaenyra doesn't "submit to men", "scarifice her happiness", "give up her bodily autonomy" blah blah blah.

there is such a smugness and it's made worse by their security in them thinking this defense of rhaenyra is flawless."

submit to men". im not even going to deign to respond by pointing out all the ways which shows this simply isn't true or at least challengeable for alicent, but in the context of rhaenyra....its questionable because who made rhaenyra his heir in the first place? quickly. her father. rhaenyra "submits" to viserys' will by accepting his decision to name her princess of dragonstone. obviously she's only 14 then but it's a decision she continues to, using their language, "submit" to well into her adult life. of course, you could say that rhaenyra wants the throne anyway and that's fair but rhaenyra's own wants/needs are still ultimately irrelevant. they just happen to align with viserys' own wishes that stem from his powerful guilt over aemma and his conviction that he misread his "prophecy" wrong. it's because of these factors that one can find it really questionable that viserys would have listened to rhaenyra if she asked him to change the succession. what's more important, his daughter's happiness, or his need to redeem himself through her? im comfortable saying this because viserys at his core seems allergic doing right by his kids.another way it's questionable because again who is the final "authority" on rhaenyra's sons? quickly. her dad. rhaenyra's word by itself isn't good enough, she still has to submit to viserys' will through getting his protection.

"scarifice her happiness". mind you rhaenyra calls her own life a "droll tragedy". how great could that "happiness" (harwin) have been then? it's also very clear that harwin was never going to be enough for rhaenyra.

"bodily autonomy" I mean, I wish they kept this energy for alicent. but they don't. alicent's line to viserys "to have one child like that is a mistake" is also really interesting to me concerning this whole subject because it suggests that alicent would have been sympathetic to rhaenyra if she had been honest from the very start with jace's birth. but she doesn't and she ends up lying again and again. obviously rhaenyra lying about such a matter is going to be a huge trigger for someone like alicent whose father was removed from his position partly because of rhaenyra lying or not being wholly truthful.

sorry for the long post!

Hi there! I think there's a lot of naff defence of Rhaenyra and hypocrisy towards Alicent in TB's discourse, but, by now, there are a wealth of critical posts available that highlight these discrepancies and, if they don't pose any interest to them, we kind of, at some point, have to let bygones and be bygones and leave them to their little bubble. They can educate themselves from many sources now; it's not like when the show first aired and the meta was dominated by TB content. But if they don't want to engage in good faith arguing, then there's not much point in getting worked up about it. IMO a lot of these posters skew on the younger side, have a rather primitive view of feminism and rely heavily on anachronism, so girlboss pew pew is appealing to them. Maybe they'll grow out of it, maybe not, but we can't be educators for everybody.

That being said, onto the points you highlighted. I think I agree the most with "sacrifice her happiness", because Rhaenyra had all the options in the world for a husband, but she didn't take any of it seriously and exhausted everyone's goodwill after a ton of resources were wasted on her marriage audition tour for nothing,* until Viserys got tired of her tomfoolery and forced her to marry a closeted gay man. This is where a point about bodily autonomy can also be made, because Rhaenyra could have very well married Harwin (who was in her social sphere), had she taken any of this seriously.

*think of the cost of transporting her and hosting so many suitors under one roof - some of the bill being footed by the lords who were hosting her. Perhaps Lord Baratheon had better use of his time and money than organizing Rhaenyra's engagement contest. And you can bet she didn't just leech off of him, she must have visited other castles as well, since she is said to have been gone for several weeks (? can't remember). And all for what? It's very disrespectful.

I do have some sympathy for her because it's a lot to ask a 15(?)-year-old to start seriously considering marriage proposals, when that's probably the last thing she is interested in. And it is normal for teenagers to be immature. But there's got to be some give-and-take here. Rhaenyra can't both be the nominal heir and future queen, entrusted with more power than anyone else in the kingdom, and not heed any of her responsibilities. It is a position that comes with sacrifices and responsibilities; it's part of the job description. Making a politically-advantageous marriage is one of those compromises. Acknowledging that is not anti-feminist lol. God forbid kings and queens can't just do whatever the hell they want all the time.

And Rhaenyra is presented with choices: at no point does she refuse Viserys' offer to name her heir. He straight-up tells her at one point: choose a husband or I will name Aegon instead. She could have very well said "You know what, I didn't really think about what this would entail when you nominated me in the first place and now I kind of realise this is not for me. I don't really want to get married and I'm not particularly inclined towards politics either, so can we find some kind of alternative arrangement here?" Does she? No!

She doesn't want to run away with Criston and eat oranges either. Fair enough, but then you kind of have to move your butt and work towards securing your position as heir to the throne. Does she do that instead? No, lol. She's the definition of eating one's cake and having it too. In ep. 7 she bemoans to Viserys "I thought I wanted it" (i.e. the throne). So she does want it!

As far as her just going along with whatever Viserys wants, I am going to be generous again and say that I get she doesn't really want to disappoint her father and appear diminished in front of him, cool, but at some point you have to start taking responsibility for yourself and not just explain everything away resorting to your shitty childhood and relationship with your parents. And Rhaenyra never does. Especially when the stakes are this high. We're talking about the possibility of civil war here. It's very laissez-faire to the point of irresponsibility to just "go along" with this, in spite of succession laws, when you know people are going to be opposing your shaky claim, if you don't really want the throne deep down and are just half-arsing it.

And Rhaenyra can't blame it all on the follies of youth either. Because there is a time when she is a mature woman with three illegitimate children under her belt, not really putting in the work to diplomatically advance herself, being rude to people at court and just interested in her love affair and doing whatever she wants. But, by that time, Alicent had already produced 4 children, so Rhaenyra could have just noped out of this situation, if she considered it so shitty, and conceded to Aegon. Viserys by then was old and weak, he wouldn't have really put much of a fight if that's what she truly wanted. She could have lived her life as a very rich, privileged lady, but instead she chose to escalate and marry Daemon. And, no, the greens would not have killed Rhaenyra and her bastard children, not because of the kindness of their hearts, but because Rhaenyra's claim is comically weak and would not be taken seriously by any medieval historian, let alone by a person actually living in those times.

So this is where I wrap it up with the "submitting to men" argument. I don't think it's necessarily accurate to categorise Rhaenyra accepting Viserys' decision to name her heir as going against her will, because she is known to want the throne. What I think is more relevant here is to consider that Alicent is in a much more powerless position than Rhaenyra and doesn't really have much of a choice when it comes to defying men. Alicent is the daughter of a second son and she doesn't have a dragon soul-bonded to her who can roast people who annoy her. I think it quite trite to be "angry" with her (lol she's not real) that she has the (normal) coping mechanisms that she has and is not magically transformed into a rebel Lagertha figure who does whatever she wants and takes no shit from anyone.

However, I don't see the solution as Rhaenyra "submitting to men" either. I think that's a misrepresentation of the green stance (although I'm sure there certainly are green-aligned posters that skew more towards the Kinder-Kuche-Kirchen disposition). On my part, I don't see Rhaenyra respecting the basic law of the land as her submitting to men. Kings have to follow succession laws to acquire the throne, too, and then produce legitimate children to succeed them. Of course the law is meant to favour men, but not once does Rhaenyra do anything to further the cause of women in Westeros, only to further herself. She wants to be Queen, but it has to be served on a platter to her and she is not interested in putting any work in. She's not interested in the plight of bastards in Westeros, as long as her own bastards get comfy seats. At one point you have at least concede that she's mainly on a one-woman mission for her selfishness. And anyone is welcome to like her exactly as she is! She doesn't have to be morally pure to have fans.

But there comes a time when, after appraising the inequalities of the world, you also have to adjust your own behaviour so that you won't end up causing more harm in your quest to advance your own interests. You have to find a balance between your desire for absolute freedom and reforms that are achievable, because some progress is always better than no progress.

Some of this stuff is really complicated, like how can you integrate bastards in the inheritance process when most of the wealth is acquired via land and you live in a society in which people of means turn marriages into economic alliances, with vested interests in passing down that wealth to children related to both parents? The short answer is that you have to diversify the sources of wealth, but, for that, you need technological advancement, the rise of the middle class and, ultimately, to dismantle feudalism. Could Rhaenyra have accomplished this during her reign? No. Could anyone? Absolutely not. These are historical developments that happen gradually, over a great span of time, so the best any decision-maker could do is introduce incremental reforms that can help speed up this process, increase literacy rates* (you cannot become free if you cannot read) and, yes, tumblr is going to hate this, but engage in harm reduction - basically don't become part of the problem or an active vector of destabilisation.

That is wisdom that Rhaenyra never comes to possess. And, to cut her some slack again, this is truly visionary stuff, like very few people would be able to be so politically avant-garde. But, at the very least, Rhaenyra could have engaged in harm-reduction. And it's pretty insincere or misguided of TB to reduce this resolution to just "submitting to men".

*But can you even? You'd need to invent the printing press for this. See my mentioning the need to technological advancement.

[sweetescapeartist]

A DBS MANGA CHAPTER 102 REVIEW. KINDA...

Some stuff about chapter 102 of the DBS manga I don't really like/I want to quickly discuss. Meant to post this last month but didn't. I'm behind on a lot of things.

All those folks saying True UI is Goku's strongest form... The upcoming chapter says otherwise. Goku uses the silver haired UI form & Beerus apparently views that as Goku at his strongest. Heck, Goku calls it his best move. Good job Toyo for creating True UI (black hair) and confusing fans to believe that was stronger than Mastered UI (silver hair) when in reality True UI is simply UI Sign (black hair) that changed how UI works so it matches more closer to how the anime depicted the technique. UI Omen in the anime allowed Goku to use his emotions, but the more control he has over them, the stronger he becomes until he transforms into Mastered UI. UI Sign in the manga was depicted as Goku needing to be emotionless & stated that emotions hinder the power. This was from the ToP Saga all the way until Toyotaro "created" True UI to function off of controlled emotions like how the DBS anime always has & gave it Omen the name "True Ultra Instinct." [Link to a long post that I paraphrased, so you ain't gotta read it unless you're really interested.]

I get tired of the same expressions in this Super Hero Saga. Its a pouty or surprised face accompanied with an oval shaped mouth. Toyotaro is overusing the hell out of that. Here's a compilation & I left out like 4 other panels with this same expression. (There's more in CH 103)

I saw ppl talking about the poses when Goku & Gohan fight look cool.... Looks pretty stiff imo. At least from what I've seen. Lacks a feel of movement. And you don't even see most of the fight. It doesn't make it cool imo. We've seen MUI in action against powerful opponents. If MUI Goku & Beast Gohan are close to equal strength, why not show actual combat between the two other than the aftermath of clashes? There was more attention to choreography with Gohan vs Trunks & Goten than there is with Gohan vs Goku. (Chapter 103 does better with the combat for Goku vs Gohan)

Toyotaro doing the "this form is called such & such" is weird for me. Seems like he's trying to hype up Western fans or something. Like when Goten & Trunks name Gohan's potential unleashed form "Ultimate." Its just dialogue for the sake of some sort of fanservice. Some ppl will like it, others wont. I just wasn't a fan of it. Feels like its placed here just for fanservice. If they called it ultimate & didn't draw too much attention to it, I would've prefered that. Its naming it but not stopping the narrative flow.

Also wasn't a fan of Goku asking Gohan is his new power was SSJ2 or SSJ3. Goku knows dang well Gohan's Potential Unleashed form is far stronger than SSJ2 & was stronger than SSJ3. He should've just asked "So, what's this form of yours?" and leave it there.

Some Vegeta fans are calling him a proud uncle when he smiles at Gohan & Goku about to spar. No, he is a Saiyan who is ready to see a good fight just as Broly smiled when he watched Goku & Vegeta fight. Is there some pride there? Yes. But Vegeta ain't no uncle figure to Gohan. That's Piccolo & Krillin.

Why are Carmine & Soldier 15 there on Beerus' planet? Goku could have just had his sons & Trunks put a hand on his shoulder then teleported. And why would Gohan see Carmine & 15 who shot at his home & at him, turn Beast out of anger, then hop into the same vehicle as them as if he forgot what happened in the last chapter? It was literally a few seconds ago.

This was just for them to record Goten & Trunks in their costumes (can they even keep up with how fast they are moving?) And it just seems like a plot device that won't matter at all. Anyone remember 7-3 in the Granolah Saga?was there for a moment & served no purpose other than a reference. I bet this with Carmine is for a simple joke to be quickly thrown aside.

[superfluouskeys]

i know you're probably not into maleficent/aurora anymore, but since you were like THE malora writer, i'm curious in what do you think would happen to maleficent when aurora dies? either from natural causes like old age or somethiing terrible happened

My friend, this is so kind of you to say!! This is also, unfortunately, MY JAM LOL

So in my personal interpretation, I think once Aurora became more sure of herself and the relationship, she would learn (passively, not even really thinking of it as such) to de-fuse Maleficent a lot of the time. Maleficent is naturally temperamental and always about 3 bad steps away from starting a fight. Once Aurora learns that this is just sort of how she is and she isn't actually mad, and doesn't even usually mean anything by it, Aurora learns to just kind of skillfully sidestep like 99% of Maleficent's bad moods. As a result, because she isn't being fought at every turn, Maleficent (also without realizing it) calms down a LOT, and tends to stop seeing everything as a challenge or threat, even from ppl who are not Aurora. This mostly just freaks ppl out, because you know she always seems super calm until she is suddenly Not LOL, and the average person does not know how to tell Maleficent's "actually calm" from her "quietly seething."

Additionally, while I believe that Maleficent operates on her own code of ethics and doesn't just do whatever, I also think her ethics and what she considers "wrong" differ significantly from where the average human would draw the line. As she grows more comfortable in her relationship with Aurora, I think she would be surprisingly willing to draw lines where Aurora wants her to, at least most of the time, because in her mind, e.g. not harassing someone who mildly annoyed her is important to Aurora, while it's not that important to Maleficent.

However, I think both of these changes, no matter how long Aurora lives, are utterly temporary. Once Aurora is gone, Maleficent will go back to the way she was before, if not ultimately worse, because in a sense kindness will remind her of Aurora, and I don't think she will ever reach a place where that is a good thing for her.

I think Maleficent's first reaction would be a kind of desperate fury, sort of like a wounded wild animal but with very powerful magic. She would be absolutely terrorizing the countryside, especially anyone she perceived to be responsible. It's almost worse if Aurora dies of old age, because then the fault in her mind would lie with...everything, the nature of life itself. This phase could last forever, depending on other factors, and I think it would be a very long time before Maleficent is even slightly functional again.

Even in eg. Prisoner-verse where Maleficent has other friends, I can see her getting into terrible fights with almost all of them. Girl can be next-level vicious when she wants to be, and even if her friends have known grief, most of them don't know exactly what she's going through, and therefore from Maleficent's perspective are not in a position to comment. Also I think "Aurora wouldn't want you to live like this" or similar would be like, the worst possible thing you could say to her, and might send her spiraling into a murderous rage all over again, because how DARE you presume to tell her what Aurora would want?

I am really a sucker for these kinds of villain backstories LOL, you can play me the same tune over and over and I will never get tired of it. I think the only kind of person who could reach Maleficent would be someone who's sort of similar to Aurora, at least in unfailing kindness. I'm imagining someone just trying to save her village or w/e from being razed to the ground showing sympathy to Maleficent for her lost love, and Maleficent showing just the smallest amount of mercy in memory of Aurora, even if ultimately she hasn't changed or healed at all. (oh my godddddd don't look at me I want to write this now lol)

So anyway, it was 5:30 in the morning, a very normal time to be awake, and I was thinking, well, would anyone in Prisoner-verse be able to calm her down at all? I think she and Kinsale would absolutely get into a really bad fight, and Zenovia would try to be chill about it but she would also pretty quickly be like okay well talk to me when you've calmed down lol. And then I realized............

--

“Hey.”

Maleficent doesn’t move.  She doesn’t know how long she’s been sitting here.  Odd, that she doesn’t feel a fresh wave of fury at Joy’s presence.  Then again, perhaps she is simply too tired to feel much of anything.

“I’m not going to say anything.”  Joy holds out her hands in a show of defense.

Maleficent inhales, sighs.  Her throat is burning.  She only distantly remembers the sound of screaming, and realizes now that the memory was of her own voice.

“Good,” says Maleficent.  Joy of all people should know that there is nothing to say.

A long silence follows.  Joy joins her on the floor some distance away, and pretends to train her gaze upon the fire.

“I do have one question, actually,” says Maleficent.

“Hm?”

Maleficent closes her eyes.  She tries to imagine Joy the way she looked in pictures, with long, beautiful hair that she wore in intricate curls, and a radiant smile full of youthful mischief.  “How did you…not…”

But words fail her.  She holds out her hand, grasping at nothing.

“What,” says Joy, “burn down the world?”

Maleficent sighs again.  It is as apt a question as any.

“Well, it was perhaps to my benefit that I am not nearly so powerful as you, Mistress Maleficent,” says Joy, although her characteristic attempt at wryness comes out remarkably strained.  “I wouldn’t have gotten very far.”

Maleficent opens her eyes.  The flames of the fire flicker and dance, enticing in their destruction.  “I’m not sure I would have cared.”

Joy chuckles, dry and mirthless.  “Yes, well,” she says.  She does not continue.

Outside, a terrible wind howls, desperate and mournful.  The windows rattle and the fire flickers low, casting them both in dramatic shadow.

Maleficent inhales.  She closes her eyes again.  “Does it ever…?” 

The words catch in her throat.  She already knows the answer.

“No,” says Joy quietly.  A long silence follows.  The embers from the fire crackle meekly, and the mournful wind falls deadly silent.

“But…I don’t know.  You find…other reasons.  To, you know…”  She waves her hand vaguely at the fire, and stokes it back to life.

Maleficent shakes her head.  Reasons?  The word feels foreign, meaningless.  “I don’t know that I ever had a reason for anything, before…”

Before her, she means to say, but she cannot.  There was always a before her, yes, but now there is an after her.  Everything from now on is after her, without her, and the mere idea of it is something akin to drowning, or perhaps slowly suffocating, deep underground, with the weight of the earth sinking down upon her chest.  What did she do before?  How did she live?  However is she to live now, knowing what she has lost?

“Yeah,” says Joy simply.

Maleficent doesn’t know how long they sit together in silence after that.  It hardly matters.

--

ANYWAY THANK YOU ANONYMOUS FRIEND I HAD FUN LOL

[seasaltmemories]

The Question of Dark Aono's Role

I don't want to make any definitive statements towards Dark Aono's role in the story on either a literal or metaphorical level. It feels like there is still a lot Shiina is holding back about him; however, I feel like for all the terrible horrors he could represent, at this it is pretty clear Dark Aono is not just a simple abuse allegory

Like I get why it might appear that way early in the story, we don't actually know Aono that well, and neither does Yuri, and stories of men turning "into completely different ppl" once locked into a relationship do exist, what Aono does with his limited agency speaks in direct opposition to that. When he feels he crossed a line, he isolates himself from Yuri and tries to stay away from her. In the cannibalism dream sequence he begs Yuri to run away from him even when she is determined to feed herself. Much of his greatest conflict is about being stuck in this monstrous role and trying to self-sabotage himself.

And like perhaps this could be a seen as a messy representation of the honeymoon phase of abuse, where apologies are made and the abuser is extra affectionate to make up for it, but I lean away from that bc we have much better representations of that in the familial stages. Midori and Hitomi both tend to follow up the worst of their wrong-doings with explicit apologies and excess affection, sometimes immediately after the incident. The Aono to Dark Aono cycling doesn't hit nearly the same beats, even when taking into account the supernatural elements.

While I don't want to lock myself into one interpretation before the story is finished, I always come back to the stairwell incident. Where Dark Aono is shocked in Aono when Yuri informs him he sounds like Midori for saying exactly what his Mother used to tell him. I think of how when he regains control, it is usually followed by shame and self-loathing, sometimes simply saying that his behavior was "weird' or outright calling himself a conman.

It is such a tricky situation bc to me Dark Aono has distinctive quirks and differences from our Aono in attitude/speech/everything, even when both characters try and manipulate others, they do it in very different ways. Yet for as drastic as the switch can be, he is never so clearly an alternate personality or entity taking over. Aono has stated outright that the further in the story he goes, the more aware he grows during this shifts, and many take place specifically due to Aono's emotional state rather than any outside taboo breaking. Dark Aono is both something alien, something intrusive, yet also a painfully familiar thing that clearly originates in himself

In the end I am reminded much more of how the aftereffects of abuse haunt even relationships formed years after escaping the situation. Aono was taught love is choosing one ultimate idol and doesn't realize how fucked up that is until he finds himself parroting the same words back to Yuri. Aono reverts to a child-like state and tries to prove both to others and to himself he is worthy of love when he realized he fucked up in some way. He excuses all his self-destructive self isolating coping mechanisms as necessary even while calling out those same traits in others

But as man-painy and gross the premise of "guy keeps hurting his gf even though he doesn;t want to bc mommy issues and that makes him sad" could be, what makes Shiina's writing compelling is she makes it clear that the one suffering the most here in the present is Yuri. Having sympathy for Aono doesn't make her situation any less worse, and from where volume 10 ends off, there are things Aono needs to answer for that can't be explained away by spooky occult shenanigans. I feel like Aono's ultimate role as either ally or antagonist will be determined by his choices in the end, no matter how many or few he has. There haven't been any easy answers in the story and so I don't except to suddenly discover them this late in the game. But regardless of how it plays out I can't help but already praise her for putting such an interesting and unpredictable spin on "dark alter egos" in a genre that can be overstuffed with them.

[jrueships]

Ted's omegaverse alignments but not really horny, i just think collabing concepts is neat.

READ ABOVE if u haven't the lore of the world. It's long like this so i can summarize a reminder of some of the terms real quick before we start the list:

ROIDing: can be used by omegas, betas, or alphas to change your status into either an omega, beta, or alpha. Can be a combination, like taking hard rut inducers and hard heat suppressors for an omega to go to a beta status, and can be doubled for an omega to even go as an alpha, although that jump is rare as it's quite the turmoil psychologically and not all minds might be up for the task or temper. Heat inducers and rut suppressors can turn a beta or an alpha into the categories listed below itself on the hierarchy. Anybody can use anything, and anybody can be anything.

WHICH MEANS.. anybody can top or bottom anybody. Omegas can top Alphas, betas, etc. Betas can top Alphas, Alphas can top Alphas. Omega does NOT equal bottom, and it doesn't equal Small either. Although different players take the dynamics differently though. It's Very rare for an alpha to Admit being in a relationship with an omega or beta if they feel like it goes against the usual Alpha relationship grain. There's a certain tension that always follows with freedom

Anyways, let's get right to it. PART 1 because i don't have the time to include EVERYONE rn and i probably won't bcs i don't know know everyone and don't wanna get stuff wrong so. Use ur own interpretation! This is a very open assignment that let's you be the judge in the end! Have fun! Ask questions or give feedback, im happy to hear it! I just love concepts tbh, that's all i rlly wanna do with this. The most will be little stories to go with this world. I'll reblog with more ppl LATER!!!

Michael Jordan: an ALPHA who (supposedly) PRESENTED very, very LATE. No one is exactly sure when he presented. Even Michael's story changes from before getting cut in highschool to after to college to the 'flu' game. But Everyone, at one point, thought he was going to be a beta. ( His siblings laugh at this. ) And then he wasn't. And then he won. And then he became a dictator. After Dennis announced being an omega who ROIDed to even an alpha status, distrust spread to every alignment, no matter how high. An omega becoming an alpha was rare, but now possible thanks to Dennis's admittance. It takes a certain strength, dedication, and insanity to undergo all the medicine, but someone competitive and desperate enough to do it could. Someone like Michael Jordan. Michael merely smirks whenever asked, which is quite Often. Those around him gag at his powerful cigar smoke scent, enough to overwhelm any alpha to their knees. Before his fame, he was quieter, more contained. He did his own laundry, knitted his own clothes, because no one wants a man without a secondary nature. When his alpha nature was finally announced, he stopped smiling and started smirking.

Allen Iverson, an ALPHA who was known to take protecting and providing for the pack a little too seriously. Like Isiah, his status as an alpha was highly doubted due to size. Unlike Isiah, his independent dominance humbled the doubting media time and time again, ultimately trailblazing in the NBA and expanding the game's personal freedom through his refusal to cave into other's wants or needs if he found disagreement. Unfortunately, his hard-headed strengths would also serve as some of his weaknesses, giving some alpha traditionalists confidence to nag on his struggles with finances and championships, always bringing up how a Real alpha would never. For a select few, no matter what Iverson did or didn't, he would never be ‘alpha enough’ to them all over something as silly as height. AI just finds the thought comical, he's probably taller than 50% of those alpha Truist freaks, and he knows for damn sure that he's 101% cooler than all those motherfuckers combined. He doesn't care if they don't think he's an alpha with all of their highly-opinionated evidence, people have hated on him out of basic bitch jealousy his whole damn life. Other people have never changed his mind, and other people never will. If he says he's wearing cornrows, he's wearing cornrows. If he says he's buying everyone everything, shieet, he's buying everyone everything! If he says he's getting a tattoo, he's getting a tattoo. If he says he's an alpha, he's a Fucking alpha. Argue with the wall.

Charles Barkley: ALPHA. hilarious and prickly, perhaps too prickly at times, can be his own downfall from either sheer laziness or stubbornness. Example of how just being an alpha isn't an automatic win in life like some alpha fanboys or egoists might try to persuade

Wilt Chamberlain: ALPHA. was a great player, but personality-wise? .... other alphas like Kareem butted heads with him..

Kareem: ALPHA. Even betas like Magic would then butt heads with Kareem. Standoffish, he tries to keep his distance even from his team due to the stigma of alphas being violent always following him especially because of his height and looks. Even in childhood. Distrustworthy of everyone because of deep-rooted trauma

Isiah Thomas: ALPHA. defends his team and their troubles like a bull, oftentimes a hypocritical.. near-sighted bull. Alpha status is often questioned because of his height. Many think Bill is the real alpha and Isiah is the beta. Those that have the pleasure (or displeasure, as Michael would say), stand firm on their stance that Yes, Isiah is an alpha. Unfortunately, you can really tell. Very protective of his team, especially of Dennis Rodman/omegas in general. Thinks the Bulls are bad for Dennis and doubts Michael’s way of ruling. The Bulls, in his opinion, are too hands-off and don't feel like the kind of loving pack a team is meant to be. Very maternal to his team, which doesn't help his beta questioning case, but everyone close to him vouches his alpha assurance with an annoyed strength. Rumored to have been heard asking if Magic took too much of a specific, unnamed medicine during his sickness, which sprung a lot of people into a panic of whether or not Magic Really is a beta or a ROIDed beta. Isiah firmly denies ever saying this, but Magic believes otherwise even though he’s forgiven him. When questioned about Michael’s status (is he Really an alpha who presented late, or is there ROIDing in the case), Isiah huffed, narrowed thick angry brows, and stated in a high and mighty voice how that's really none of his business, no matter how annoying Michael may be to him.

Larry Bird: ALPHA. Competitive. And fucking Rude. Left baseball even though he was good at it because he was bored with the minutes he was getting. Needs the ball and will clutch the most unexpected games as his form of thanking the coach. Magic is his favorite teasing victim. A famous quote

A reporter rooting around for drama: so, Larry, with all this ROIDing and SUPPRESSOR stuff going around thanks to that weirdo, Rodman, is there anyone you know is using? Like, anyone.. you're close with? Magic’s been under the weather, I heard. Could be a bad side effect of ROIDing.. he smell funny to you?

Larry, cracking open a beer by squeezing the sides until it popped: Magic is Magic.

And refused to elaborate, as he casually turned away and started to play basketball. The camera crew left out of fear for their equipments’ safety when Bird ‘accidentally’ let the ball rebound into a lens.

Bill Laimbeer: BETA who will beat the breaks off anyone. People are surprised for his violence, except for Isiah, who lovingly regales it as Bill's best job. Notably not a big peacemaker for a beta. Just a guy who comes in and plays hard. Not here to be a coddler like other betas were brought on to do or a media darling like Alphas. “I'm here to play basketball and piss people off. Speaking off, hey, Larry” “fuck you, Bill.” Known as The Odd Couple whenever him and Isiah are together, which they often are. In Dennis's book, he regards Bill to be surprisingly cold for a beta, and that Isiah would always be the one to tutor him instead. He only learned from Bill by watching Bill rather than asking, perhaps intimidated. If you want consolation or coddling, go to Isiah, not Bill.

Scottie Pippen: BETA. would try to middleman Jordan's frustrations with his team, especially the rups (rookie 'pups', men playfully called pups because they're new to the sport). Grew envious of Jordan, mainly disturbed by his frequent Sidekick sidelining. Switches up on his stories to whatever he thinks will boost his image best. Sometimes that's siding with Jordan, sometimes it's not. It's not easy being Michael's beta, the enigma. Wafted his calming scent around like febreeze from all the arguments and heated moments he had to calm down regarding Jordan and his competitive temper. Pippen’s scent grew the strongest during Michael’s …flu game. When questioned about Michael’s status, Pippen hummed and turned away, looking conflicted and guilty.

Shaq: BETA. Magic and him both have humorous charms that make them Feel like alphas.. but they needed more to get a ring. They needed alpha teammates, ultimately. no matter how big or bad or good a Beta may be, they are always Second. But they should never, never be considered first. That's an alpha's job. Orlando made that mistake drafting a beta to win them a ring, a beta that would eventually leave to ringchase with any alpha he could. Shaq's a bit shameless for a beta, but being shameless is maybe the only path to 'fame' (becoming a simple shtick to an easy-to-remember title, either being Sidekick, Dumb, Helpful, Funny, Enforcer, etc) for the life of a beta. At least in that time. People wonder if Shaq ever ROIDed into an alpha during key games only, to increase his dominance. He says that would be too much effort. He's just a big ass beta <- his words

Magic Johnson: BETA. Or Was he really? People RUMOR, after Rodman's reveal and especially after Magic's scare, if he was actually a self-conscious, self-compensating omega who craved the lure of feeling needed? And then even went an extra step with the rut inducers to make him a Shiny beta, charismatic enough to peacock? Or was he just that magic to be a really flashy beta? OR OR.. is Magic all of that all at once? Maybe, if he did do it, he needed to? What is known is that he grew up with an alpha mother and an omega father. He yearns to impress and lead people, and showing off gives him a high satisfaction. Because of his beta hierarchy, he had a bigger barrel to fish out of with less scrutiny, so to speak. And man, did he like fishing.

Dennis Rodman: OMEGA. one of the first in the NBA to openly admit to ROIDing so he can change hierarchies. First, he used amplified rut inducers and heat suppressors to hide his omega nature into a beta, just to make the nba transition with less pitfalls and drama, as (out there) omegas were virtually nonexistent due to prejudice. Being a beta on the pistons was phenomenal, he played whatever role was needed, and what happened to be needed was his favorite kind of role: defensive agitator. But, he ended up having to play another role afterwards.. one he found far less amicable. After getting traded, he took more and more of the ROID medicine, not caring for the symptoms of overdoing it. He became an alpha on the Bulls, and his behavior became worrisome for Isiah, but the Bulls had championships to worry about, not teammates. His behavior continued until, after one wild night, Michael Jordan, the mysterious apathetic alpha when it came to worry or kindness, dumped all his ROIDs down the toilet. That was the turnaround, that was the moment that Dennis decided to come clean and tell the world that he was an Omega from the start. And he would be an omega in the end, refusing to go back to ROIDing to become something he knew others only wanted. While he admitted how ROIDing wasn’t for him, he also elaborated how it's really a personal decision, he knows some guys consider it a positive part of their life and he loves that for them. But for him, personally, his decision to ROID was not for himself, in the end, it was for others. And Dennis was notorious for not listening to others; he watched. He watched and realized that he refused to allow others to saddle him, the mustang, so why saddle himself? He was going to play as omega this time, a completely uncovered omega. And the Bulls went on to win. And Dennis became one of the first unROIDed Omegas to win a championship, while being one of the top three pieces-no, Players involved to do so. His decision changed the game for future hierarchies, bridging the option of omegas openly playing sport. But he still stands firm on his flexibility of whether or not to ROID, laughing over how it's ultimately a matter of the self, not the sayers. For him, he felt more true to himself without the medicine, for others, they may say the opposite and that's okay. He knows many like that already. But it's up to the person to deem what is true to himself.. and what is true to the people, that's the hard part: ego.

There's plenty of other older figures to assign, but these guys above are mainly the best for lore-building purposes. To sum the rest up, back then there were mainly alphas and betas. Omegas were either considered too useless or too weak. Alphas would lead, betas would follow. That is.. until LeBron.

LeBron : a BETA who presented late. Everyone thought/wanted him to be an alpha. The highschool phenom was such a hot topic, the truly invasive reporters would go as far as trying to sniff out a deciding scent just so they could be the ones who'd release the giant unveiling first. He was following Michael's Stardom, and everyone wanted him to be the same or larger. When he happily announced his hierarchy reveal after shaking The Cavs hands, the media turned, the team turned, and LeBron realized telling an adult the truth doesn't always grant the clemency family cartoons wished you to believe. His team hated him, refusing to pass or cheer when he was winning. Betas Don't Lead. That's how it’s Always been. His white wine scent tried to soothe their tempers, but it only made them nauseous. Through talent, effort, and unfortunate youthful uphill battle experience, LeBron managed to carve out a name for himself and for other hierarchies to breach the mold besides simply Alphas. The tide was starting to turn. Now, he has fans who prefer him over Michael, an alpha, because he feels more believable, more attainable to them. His beta nature made him more all-around, less competitively daggered than Jordan's rule. But those that hated him then still do with a ruthless vigor. They dislike the change, and they Detest his outspoken advocacy for allowing Omegas into the league. Of any kind. Because of LeBron, Steph was inspired. Reporters asked Michael if he had any strong disagreements with what LeBron's doing to the game. He smirked, “the flopping is funny.” And then smiled, just a bit. Just a touch soft. The cigar smell fades. “Everything else? I could give less of a damn.”

Kyrie Irving: ALPHA who eventually couldn't stand being in a beta's shadow, especially when the dynamics started flipping from the media because of it

Russell Westbrook: OMEGA famous (and infamous) for 'Playing like an alpha'. Giannis's idol. His security and power in his status drives alphas away. Doesn't care for the alignment system because that's what he's always been fighting against (banking against). Criticized for playing so hard that it makes his own teammates wary, Russ just rolls his big shoulders and snaps back, matter-of-fact like a rubber band's elastic response, “then get out of the kitchen.”

KD: ALPHA. His only pack is a gold bust of himself now. Cares about the alignment system because that's what he's always been fighting for (banking on)

James Harden: ALPHA. Known for being more carefree than most alphas. This annoys hard-core alpha basketball elitists. Because of his own traditional condemnation, he holds a not-so discreet disdain toward omegas.

Giannis: OMEGA. People confuse him and his brother's statuses often. Believe it or not, though, Thanasis is an alpha and Giannis is an omega. The bucks were a doubted organization for a Long time due to their strange and rare lack of a strong alpha presence. Giannis is a heavily criticized super star, mainly by alphas, but even some disgruntled betas join the scorn. Some audiences don't consider him a real superstar, merely an omega who got lucky with a superstar body blessing. Giannis grins, his sugary sweet cotton candy scent making Khris cough next to him, and chirps how he wishes he could be blessed with a good 3-point-shot too then, since he's just such a talentless miracle

Thanasis: ALPHA. Dedicates 99.99999% of his life to helping his family. Laughing stock of the NBA fans for Giannis feeling more like the alpha and him feeling like the omega. That's when Giannis gets mad.

Jrue: BETA. Always stands up for his team, while still humbling them. Was brought on as the perfect systematic beta, started to become something more before he was eventually traded for a systematic Alpha after the bucks caved into the idea of there not being enough

Khris Middleton: BETA. Found giannis's attempts to be seen as a Westbrook-like leader annoying at first. They balanced each other out later

Damian Lillard: ALPHA. Quiet, let's his game tell you what he is. If that's not enough, he'll butt heads with other alphas to dig the point. Notably more withdrawn and teasing to packs than classically alpha protective. Rumored to have been a beta who ROIDed into an alpha out of pressure to win. Dislikes Giannis instantly accepting him as the bucks new leader. Uncomfortable by the thought of never being enough

CJ McCollum: BETA. Starting to branch into more leader-like positions after being inspired by LeBron

Steven Adams: BETA. Casually admitted to originally having been an Alpha, but hard dosed rut suppressants because he simply didn't feel like dealing with all the complications and ruckus of being an alpha. Friends with Russ because they hold similar ideologies about not really caring about alignments, they just want to play ball the way they like best

Kawhi Leonard: BETA. Once dropped in an interview that he was an omega who ROIDed into a beta because he didn't like attention and high needs, and he knew he'd be swamped with it if he went into the NBA as one. Then laughed his weird little Kawhi Leonard laugh and left like he just told a silly little dad joke and not an atomic bomb of information. Paul George choked on his water

Paul George: ALPHA who, at first, tried to play the original alpha role by buying into The Savior hype he received after being drafted. LeBron's playoff showdown helped widen his eyes about other hierarchy skill, so when being the packs dependable alpha that didn't work out the way he planned, he tried to play it diluted. Then he tried the beta role. Then the omega role. .. then Kawhi made that monotone announcement and.. he got embarrassed. And confused. And now he's just confused. Like most alphas, he grew leaning into the alignment system that favored him for his high status. Like most alphas now, he doesn't know what to think of it. It's all kind of muddled now. (dammit George! HOW do you keep letting OMEGAS or.. ex-omegas? TOP you?? HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE PAUL GEORGE LEGACY ?!?? ..ugh, he just won't think about it..)

Joel Embiid: ALPHA. WAS an Undisclosed: Beta who ROIDed into an alpha to contribute to The Process. Now too afraid to go back because it failed. Tries hard to be an alpha when others want him to, until he's too tired to when they actually need him to. Known as one of 'The Lazy Alphas' now

Ben Simmons: ALPHA whose anxieties got too high from the pressures of The Process

Markelle Fultz: ALPHA who was pushed to PRESENT EARLY as one by The Process. Was going to present as an alpha anyways, but the sixers needed him to be revealed as one on Their time

Tobias Harris: BETA disliked by the originally alpha heavy sixers organization for not being dominant enough

Boban: ALPHA, given a lot of leeway for both his status and his size

Tyrese Maxey: ALPHA. Praised as the golden alpha sixers child, although they're not used to his low-aggression levels for an alpha. They're not exactly opposed, though, his sweetness is captivating. Slowly, Maxey is softening the once toxic city

Jokic: ALPHA who once hated not being seen as one due to incorrect aesthetics (alphas are supposed to be strong, so eventually he got strong enough to match their idealization), but now hates being seen as one. Dislikes attention and attraction. He's apparently 'accepted' as an alpha, but STILL not a Complete one for other opinionated reasons. Whatever (similar plight of Allen Iverson + Isiah Thomas, responds like AI by not responding)

DeMar DeRozan: BETA who PRESENTED LATE. It's always a gamble to draft an unpresented pick. When the raptors realized their potential alpha Savior wasn't what they expected him to be, they were blatantly disappointed.. but because of LeBron.. gave him a chance. Maybe he could be like Him? They already had similar stories and hardships? Maybe Toronto had their own LeBron? But DeMar wasn't LeBron. DeMar was DeMar. Toronto deemed him unfit for his playoff struggles. They traded him not for an alpha, but a beta who could at least dominate like one. But the hardest blow was his split with Kyle.

Kyle Lowry: ALPHA. Rough around the edges, smiling at you one second, scowling the next. His turbulent past consisted of personality conflicts the most. He was bristly, suffering from the lone alpha wolf syndrome teams disliked where, instead of leading the team toward him, the alpha pushed them away out of some form of pride. But the Raptors were known for their big culture of chances. Maybe it was thanks to Canadian clemency that Kyle found the one beta who wasn't afraid to step in and calm him, who didn't tire of his temper, whose scent never tried to overwhelm him out of desperate, and was just lowkey enough to extend a comfort enough for Kyle to settle down and calm down in. Maybe it was just a happy coincidence. And then another beta came, one who smelled of mystery and not like the movies. And His beta was sent away. And so was Kyle's secret dreams to settle with their rups and start something he'd be otherwise afraid to do alone. …then an alpha swept in.

Jimmy Butler: ALPHA who PRESENTED LATE. Smells like freshly brewed coffee. Lauded as the next Michael, or at least very similar, he tries Very hard to keep the kind of athletic aggression alphas are typically known for alive. He says it's for himself, working on what he does best, but saying you're not influenced by something (or someone) is always easier than committing to the actual practice of abstention.

OG Anunoby: BETA who refuses to coddle anyone's feelings, yet, despite his best efforts at apathy, still somehow draws in disgusting extroverts to be his friends. He doesn't know why. Likes to subtly stir things up rather than calm them down. Kyle finds him very funny. Their unique Raptor squad was a real unique charm.

Norman Powell: BETA who just craves to be involved, worried about being invisible

Serge Ibaka: a fussy ALPHA with peculiar tastes. Considered to have a very intriguing behavior for an alpha, which allures omegas and betas toward him (usually so they can tease him for being funny, but he does a certain charm to him, admittedly)

De’aaron Fox: ALPHA. Bubbly, welcoming, and teasing, he attracts everyone with his confidence, most particularly other alphas seeking his sunlight

Tyrese Haliburton: a beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA out of desire to help the pacers. Calmer than most alphas, but will hold competitive grudges like the worst of them. Tired of being a loser

Jalen Smith: OMEGA, beloved by locals but barely recognized by outside nba fans for being an omega center/forward. While omegas are actually allowed to show themselves in the league now, that doesn't mean they're allowed to do so without some words by unwarranted audiences.

Buddy Hield: omega who ROIDed into a BETA. Switches from polite to petty on a dime

Steph Curry: OMEGA. Inspired by those that expanded the game before him, he's taking the handle through his moves on and off the court to increase the league’s talent and prosperity for everyone. Those that dislike him disparage him for not being physical enough, which is the only reason why he, an omega, has been so successful. Proving them wrong by going in the paint. Now, they're focusing on whether he can carry a team with a crumbling alpha..

Klay Thompson: a beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA for his team. The injury has left him feeling hopeless, a ghost of his former self. Worst of all, he can't ROID any further to help

Draymond Green: Omega who ROIDed into a BETA and is suffering some of the personal side effects.

Andrew Wiggins: OMEGA who USED to be a ROIDed beta and only stopped when he went to the warriors and Curry consoled him Only because it was hurting him more than helping him

Jordan Poole: ALPHA under constant pressure

Jabari Smith Jr: stuffy ALPHA whose father was a beta. Distrusts the use of ROIDing because, according to his father, it's not playing Fair.

Jalen Green: ALPHA. People like to doubt his hierarchy because he likes to preen and doesn’t hold the same kind of aggressiveness or possessiveness most people perceive alphas to have. Jalen just minds his business and enjoys what he enjoys

Alperen Şengün: beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA. New to the effects, but doesn't mind them. Likes protecting his pack but also keeping the peace. ROIDed to bring more prosperity back to his family through his fame

Aaron Holiday: OMEGA. Jrue likes to tease him since he's the youngest, but the middle Holiday brother will Not let Anyone hurt his little brother or his feelings. Aaron works hard on defense so he can win a ring like his brothers

Justin Holiday: ALPHA who gets confused for a beta at times for his peaceful and placated personality. ‘Blames’ it on being the eldest brother

Anthony Edwards: no known status of any kind as he has YET TO PRESENT. Still. Has to tell reporters to stop sniffing him all the time. Another MJ comparison player. Everyone, including himself, is Hoping for an Alpha reveal, lord knows The Timberwolves need it. Got in trouble for posting a video making fun of omegas, and why would he make fun of something he is? See? Everyone can stop worrying now! It's all gonna be okay!! He swears! ..he hopes. Well, at least he has his charm. If people aren't bored with it yet…

Karl-Anthony Towns: beta who ROIDed into an ALPHA and thinks no one knows but, trust me, everyone does .

Anthony Davis: alpha who ROIDed into a BETA. Heavily hated for this decision, but doesn't care because he says he's more comfortable as a beta, so he's being a beta whether people like it or not. LeBron says he supports it, but people like to stir that he really thinks otherwise

JA morant: ALPHA who PRESENTED LATE. Actively argues against his ROIDing rumors, taking them as a blow to his pride. Hates whenever people confuse Jaren and his hierarchies, then acts out to try and prove them wrong. When he's not obsessed with outside opinion on himself, he's a protective and kind alpha, especially to his pack. Very close to his attracted crowds.. no matter what kind they may be

Jaren Jackson Jr: BETA. His alphas’ number one hype man. May or may not have an (unfortunate) thing for alphas or betas who act like alphas. Thought to be an alpha for his height, but his family and friends quickly disregard that possibility regarding his personality. While it's very difficult to get him actually mad, it's quite easy to get him upset or huffy. For a beta, Jaren’s usually the one who needs calming down rather than the vice-versa of his hierarchy’s original talents. Seeks constant validation because of this, worried he's not the best beta

Desmond Bane: BETA. Withdrawn and would rather stay back to let people fight things out than intervene. He's here to work out, then work. Unfortunately attracts self-conscious crowds with his quiet confidence. Often confused as an alpha.

Dillon Brooks: BETA who ROIDed DOWN from an alpha. If you thought he’s bad as a beta, you should’ve seen him when he was originally an alpha. Oh, he's a Saint now. He only ROIDed because Houston was worried they had too many alphas on the team, an error proven to be bad back in the 80s.

Zion Williamson: a nervous ALPHA who ROIDED from beta to alpha to try and appease his college hype. It's not exactly working..

RJ Barrett: ALPHA who was being pressured into ROIDing into a beta but didn't only because he got trades before the process could really start. Keeps to himself. Known for being charismatic, chirpy, and a bit controlling to those he trusts. Which is fewer than some.

Keldon Johnson: OMEGA. Instantly adopted by older betas and alphas for his happy-go-lucky ( and airheaded ) glee, but secretly yearns for rups of his own to tease and protect. More than willing to step up and be a leader and a shoulder his new rups can lean on when needed, but secretly growing more worried with each passing criticism that he can't be as strong for his rups as his mentor figures were for him

[nicki0kaye]

I think all fandoms would benefit from the knowledge that

the thing you like most about a piece of media is likely coming from YOU and not the author

so no the author is not betraying their initial intentions or forgetting the canon they've already established when they don't give you what you want

you and the author have completely different goals and that great thing you absolutely adore may just be something you projected onto the work which is fine

its the best part of fandom, actually, to look at a piece of media and have it reflected through the prism that is your personal lived experience

but every single piece of media you adore will 'betray' you if you can't separate what was your shit from what was the author's shit

I don't know how to do that entirely, but I reduced so much of my fandom related stress when I stopped needing media to give me what I wanted from it and instead was excited to see what the creator wanted to show me

It doesn't devalue the work if you realize what you like most about it is your own interpretation. That's amazing. That's so fucking cool of you. Death of the author incarnate. It used to feel like such a gut punch to realize I had made shit up about my favorite things, that I worked myself up with certain expectations and felt like such a fool when those didn't come true

its so much easier now that I'm able to separate the author from the work and then acknowledge how much I am making the work my own by interacting with it. It also helps that I learned more about the industry and the expectations imposed on directors and writers and actors and all the complex chaos inherent in getting something in front of an audience in this capitalistic hellscape. It makes the good shit that much more exciting.

I really do hope more ppl start realizing and respecting their own part in the dialogue between the creator, the creation and the audience. Looking at it that way has made me so excited to see what comes next, because I know their intentions will not come from a place of pleasing me. Yes, fanservice feels wonderful and my demographic has been largely ignored or shamelessly baited and then tossed aside, so its nice when a creator does consider what I might want, but ultimately a good creator cares about the art itself, which means they will have their own personal relationship that I can never comprehend and that will not and SHOULD not place Pleasing Me over making the art the creator was passionate to make. That's the art that matters to me and part of celebrating it is respecting it is not purely for my satisfaction or entertainment.

People pleasing does not create good art. Loving an idea, being passionate about it, needing viscerally to exorcise it from your very soul in order to continue to exist makes good art.

[findafight]

I love your opinions on r0nance so much. If you ever bring Steve up to the shippers they always start talking about how you can't insert a man into a wlw ship/relationship. As if he isn't integral to both their stories in the show. He's Nancy's ex and they dated for a year and he's Robin's best friend. If he was only one of those things it wouldn't matter, but he is both. And you can't separate them. If it wasn't for Steve, Nancy would have never acknowledged Robin. She didn't know who Robin was in S3 and it's heavily implied that she didn't care and wasn't interested in anything about Robin until she was useful. If Robin wasn't friends with Steve she wouldn't have become involved with the Upside Down, and Nancy never would have noticed her.

thank you! yeah I was writing that answer and thinking "literally so many of my issues with this ship and how it's approached have nothing to do with Steve. woah" though obviously i really hate how poorly robin and her relationship with steve is treated/written within the ship. why make her mean, or purposefully deceitful in a way she knows will be hurtful to her best friend? :( if you have to butcher a character/their relationship with another character for a ship...is that worth it? seems kinda vindictive too like what did power QPR duo stobin do to make ppl want to break them up? they hate to see bad bitches winning XD

I think taking criticism of how the robin and steve dynamic is treated in r0nance fic and saying that people saying those things are just making a wlw relationship about a man is sort of...idk. not insulting but. insincere? about how they care about characters, because like. this is a man whose relationships with these women is deeply influential to who they are and how they met. Robin is Steve's best friend. She wants to combine into an ultimate being with him. She made a crush she had about Steve, she's just going to insert him into her romo relationships and her partners are gonna have to deal with her weird obsession with her bestie! Nancy is his ex! Who cheated on him!! Both of them have history with steve, and that history influences dynamics! If we use rebel robin, she longs to find her people, real friends she can trust and talk to and click with without worrying about being too much. Steve is Robin's person. She puts a great deal of weight on her platonic relationships, and we see that with steve! Her thinking about how her actions would affect him is not centring a wlw relationship on a man it's being a good and loving friend!!

totally agree, Robin and Nancy's relationship with each other is pivoted on steve, because he's their point of commonality! He's the reason they know each other, (and also are alive), and has/had intense and deeply meaningful relationships with both of them, that have helped to informed who all three of them are!

Nancy's relationship with steve is tied to her grief and guilt surrounding Barb, and their involvement with the upside down. Treating it like it didn't mean anything to either of them is a disservice to that year they spent dating. yeah, maybe it wasn't a relationship meant to last, maybe it wasn't good for them or was cliche adolescent first love but it was important to steve, and important enough to Nancy that she stayed in it. tbh disregarding the s4ncy history and how steve loved her happens in a lot of fics, so it's not only a rnce problem, but it's a particularly annoying thorn when combined with steve's bff not caring about it or how he feels about it? doesn't feel like robin to me.

[raeflora]

Hi! Almost everyone I know ships Serenate as endgame so I'm happy to have found the one other Derena shipper here and would love to hear why you prefer them to Serenate, why you think they actually COULD be happy together, what you see as them having in common despite their differences, and what you envision their life like as adults!

hi!! sorry it's taken so long to post this sksfjkdk but yes derena shippers unite!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻 so I prefer them to serenate bc I think they have more chemistry and they're more believable to me. although I do believe serena and nate loved each other, it wasn't in the same way that she and dan loved each other and made each other better bc of that. nate gets over serena pretty quickly in s4 and only really wants her back once dan starts to (like him getting back with blair in s2 only after chuck wants her) whereas serena still has obvious feelings for dan during s3 and s4, and they have more of a romantic connection than she and nate do. when serena says dan's the love of her life I believe her bc of her actions, and ultimately she's the love of dan's once he stops being in love with any woman who talks to him for 5 minutes. although serenate is the preferred endgame ship, and I really don't wanna upset anyone here, I don't really get why bc nate's clearly more in love with serena than she is with him, and they don't really seem to want to get back together after the middle of s4, so I don't really see why ppl are so hung up on them when they both moved on easily

I think derena could be (and are!!) happy together bc they both enjoy each other's company and like spending time together. they can do all the glamorous ues activities but also do more normal things together. I'm gonna cover things they have in common here too bc it's kinda connected. they both value family, so they definitely spend a lot of time with the humphrey-van der-basses and each other. they both definitely cook together, dan trying to teach serena and her being a v cute sous chef (side note I hc that she gets super into baking bread) bc serena loves food and dan likes cooking so it works. I think in s4 eric's venn diagram implies serena writes poetry(?) so I love the idea that she and dan are both writers, and they write each other l'il poems and things

in terms of their adult life, in the ggrb they have a son so they definitely spend a lot of time with him and are good parents. I can see dan writing a series of children's books after his son's born bc he wants to be able to share his passion with him, and he and serena definitely read to him a lot, with serena being v good at acting it out and doing the voices, and dan thinking it's adorable. obviously bc dan's an author he can work from home and I hc serena as becoming an accidental influencer and stay at home mother so they all spend a lot of time together at home, but serena's v respectful of dan needing space to work so she'll take their son out or do something while dan's writing. she also acts as his personal cheerleader and motivation if he gets stuck. they go on date nights weekly, ranging from playing pool in brooklyn to going to ues restaurants. they also go on picnics and go stargazing and to book readings and serena signs them up for pottery lessons which end messily but they both try. I think that after everything they've been through it doesn't matter where they live bc they have each other, they have their own family, and they can carve out their own l'il niche in ues society and do it their way like they want, and they're stronger for it

[akajustmerry]

anyways, why are the tags on the sarah snook interview excerpts ppl acting like sarah snook was saying jeremy strong was actually trying to make everyone feel unsafe by not wanting to rehearse? that's not what she said. she said he usually doesn't like to rehearse but was happy to do it because she was pregnant. also, as someone who's spent the last few weeks reading SAG-AFTRA regulations i can tell you guys right now that fight choreography, rehearsal, and safety prep is mandatory on all union sets where any kind of physical altercation is being filmed. even if it's just a slap or something. it doesn't matter what any one actor wants, it's mandated by the union. before this interview with sarah, the director mark mylod, kieran culkin, and jeremy strong have all spoken in interviews about rehearsing and having safety meetings before the boardroom fight was shot. i know things have been blown out of proportion with jeremy strong's method acting in the past, but sarah snook was not saying in any way she felt unsafe because of that during that scene. in fact, she said the original version of the scene was apparently more physical between her and jeremy, but then kieran improvised the line about her being pregnant and he and jeremy took the scene in a slightly different direction that was ultimately away from shiv/sarah experiencing any violence. if anything, she was saying that the cast and crew did everything they could to prioritise her safety and the scene turned out better for it. pls, just chill out and stop reading things in bad faith.

[animation-is-my-jam]

Halo heloo!! Popping in to say if you have any more Wordgirl hot takes? I'm new to the fandom and I saw your post about the opinion meme. (Btww my favorite character is Lady Redundant Woman and I ship Tobecky-- I wonder if you also have unpopular opinions on those mostly cause im curious)

Hi!! Thanks for the ask.

Kinda funny that I'm asked fandom/character questions considering my activity and obscurity, but I have been in the Wordgirl space for 7 years and observed it back in the early 2010s.

As for hot takes...hmm, I could give some since I was watching through the series again, and I recently had some discussions with a friend about Wordgirl stuff. (The Disclaimer, aside from one of the takes I have, these aren't that serious, or do I want to come across as confrontational, just my thoughts and opinions):

Scoops is not a jerk. Random, I know, but it's also connected to the idea of Scoops being this secretly selfish boy and why he's the least liked kid character in the fandom next to idk Eileen. Yes, Scoops is a bit of dunce and can often say or do stuff because he gets carried away or his ego--but he wouldn't straight up be malicious. He's a kid. And idk, I think it's pretty funny how oblivious or callouse he can be to others. But no Tobecky fans, Scoops wouldn't just straight up hate or stop being Becky's friend if she either confessed to him or started seeing Tobey. (I agree that he's such a dummy at times and could say the wrong things, but come on, look at Scoops and tell me he would treat his friends terribly.)

Granny May is funny. I know a lot of people don't like her or her episodes because they hate the gaslight or turn on Wordgirl schemes, but idc I think it's hilarious that this 75 year old is beefing with a child and gets away with manipulating people for the 100th time. Plus, I think it's interesting that her episodes could bring out a Becky that makes us question if she's doing good deeds bc it's the right thing or doing them because it gives her purpose and adoration. Either way, I'm like the only Wordgirl fan who is interested in Granny May character lore, and what exactly is her relationship to her own kids and grandkids. And that's cause she makes me laugh.

(Oh boy, serious time) Okay, so this is a very recent observation and discussion I had with a friend who is more educated on this matter over the entire fandom perception of Two-brains|squeaky. And I'm gonna say it on mine and on their behalf... I don't like the usage of squeaky as this ultimate evil or an overt metaphor for the difficult/bad side effects of mental illness. Like, okay, I know this is touchy for people since Two-brains is the favorite--but I don't like the constant fandom aesthetic sticking to making Two-brains the ONLY character with either DID or any number of serious mental conditions just because he fused with the brain of a evil mouse, especially when their depiction of it is worse than Detroit Become Human with racism. At worst, it could be ablelist and ignorant to people with those actual diagnoses. What do I mean by this? Well, it's mostly for people who think that Steven is still inside Two-brains or that Two-brains could be fixed. I'm one of the Steven is gone believers, but regardless--it's kinda ehh to try and make Two-brains represent someone with mental illness or addiction and just say "dw he can be cured if we kill this other part of himself". Even worse than when he does get "fixed," it's only squeaky's influence that encourages his bad behavior and that others would care for him more if only he got rid of the "problem" and went back to being "normal". Like...that's not how a mental illness/condition works. I should know. And this idea kinda makes me uncomfortable because idk, it's like the equivalent of when TOH was still airing and some ppl going: "Why doesn't eda just isolate or destroy the owl beast?" Or the audacity to say that she should have been fully healed at the end when no, she was a good example of the metaphor, and it would completely ruin the purpose. (Plus, I don't get the Jekyll and Hyde comparisons if you try to apply the mental illness metaphor).

As for the other parts of your question. Hmm do i have unpopular ideas/takes of Lrw or Tobecky?

For LRW, um, not really? She's one of my favorite villains, so I'm good, not really any complaints with her or how she's done in fandom tropes. All I know is that fandom actually makes her cooler somehow, and I get mad about that bc shes so awesome/lhj

For Tobecky...yeah I know, another discussion about them, lol, can't help it. But for unpopular ideas/takes...I guess one is that I don't think Wordgirl was completely terrible during the Miss Power scene with him. Like obviously it hurted Tobey's feelings and Wordgirl shouldn't be so mean, BUT you can't lie to say that if not then...Wordgirl would have blown up at him one day and it's good that Tobey at least knows what she deep down thought of him. I know a lot of people who like Tobey don't think he should be treated badly ever, but no, the kid kinda needs the humbling (the stuff of his appearance was uncalled for though. Like who cares about his drip Wordgirl--he destroys buildings and belittles others 😭 thats the least of his issues.)

Another one is that I don't think Wordgirl/Becky owes him anything just because he likes her and is secretly lonely. Like you can have Tobey as your favorite and want him to be happy, but, to me, it's like don't just make Tobey the one who only gets Becky because he like deserves it after getting mega sad or he "won" her (im saying this as a tobey fan). What's Becky thoughts? Or make her the one to realize why she would be with Tobey? How does Tobey make her happy? And that it's okay that Becky rejects Tobey in a fic or art. It doesn't make her the bad one in the scene or that she's treating him unfairly. (Something I realized in my own fic).

[forgottenamira]

OOC | Amira & Edmund

hiya, it's ya mama!! ummm idk how to tell you this but...godfrey's the fun parent klajdsflkjsf amira is too busy tryna one-up varys at court and being all 'you embarrassed me today' when edmund fails as a motivational tactic lkasjflkjdf (and we've already discussed the kind of dad ~roderick is akljsdfkjsf) BUT don't let her fool you!! where roderick is all fire, amira is all ice and if you touch her kid you WILL quietly and painfully die -- not that she'd ever tell edmund that beyond smth along the lines of 'no one else matters, only us' bc her parenting is a++++

ANYWAY!! edmund is 100% the product of her ambition like...lol she don't give a flying fuck abt roderick! as far as she is concerned, roderick is a tool in multiple senses! ;D honestly, edmund ~is the person she cares most abt (sorry, bros!), but like...he's #2 in her life bc the thing she cares abt most isn't a person at all -- it is ultimately revenge/power (they're the same thing to her -- miss thing is a slytherin ;DDD) <333333 she's def got a 'the world is at your feet or its at your throat' mentality so she ~does 100% see gaining revenge/power as protecting edmund in her own weird way bc she's been at the world's mercy before and she'd do absolutely anything to make sure that edmund never is -- like, making him emperor is, in her eyes, the only way to keep what happened to ~her and to godfrey from happening to her baby, but that is still 100% more important than his happiness!!! and she would 100% acknowledge this openly there is no dancing around it alkjsfkljsdf like, she doesn't really believe in gods as such (just that there ~are super powerful beings out there that it pleases men to call gods), but if she did, that whole 'god doesn't want you to be happy, he wants you to be strong' quote is 10000000% amira's whole mentality so that's fun!!!

anyway, she's def raised edmund as mommy's lil warlord <3 he must be strong if he wishes to survive what's to come!!! (she also thinks roderick is actually weak af and that's why things have gone as abysmally as they have) also lowkey think amira might've poisoned guin's mom bc she was worried she would have a son </3 and amira can compete with marian for roderick's affections, but not w his og empress, so she didn't think edmund would stand a chance of ruling if the og wife ever had a son. like...amira's been looking towards this war since the first day she clapped eyes on roderick and said 'imma seduce that man' alskdjfkldf also tbh i don't think it actually ~was black magic that produced edmund but i think ~amira thinks it was alksjdfaljksdf so!! that's fun ksjdfaklsjfaksdf amira: you know what really spices things up in the bedroom? black magic babies!

ANYYYYYYWAY, she had edmund specifically and intentionally to create the next emperor and then stupid marian beat her to the punch (i.e., hearing about marian's pregnancy is when amira turned to black magic to ensure she'd conceive) but then amira really fucked up and started to actually care about edmund!!!! #whoops so she was like 'no more babies! i will not become weaker!' and that's why edmund has no full siblings aldksjfskldjf

so, re: amira's opinions abt the future!! she isn't really worried about guin becoming empress bc she honestly can't see roderick w all ~his hangups ultimately wanting guin to rule, what w being a woman, and besides -- and much more importantly bc amira doesn't give af what roderick wants tbqh -- guin obv doesn't wanT the throne so she aint gonna fight for it after roderick dies (in fact, bc of this amira is 100% fine w roderick picking guin -- she'll just oops! tragically die of grief after losing roderick, just like her mama did, and then BOOM edmund for emperor aljsflkjsf), but arthur ~will fight for the throne. sebastian's hardest to nail down, but he ~is male, so ppl of the varmont empire might still amass behind him, so amira means to axe him too someday, just for good measure

i do think once or twice, she has tried to kill arthur and sebastian when amira thought roderick was on the brink of making a decision she didn't like (yeah? that one really really srs childhood illness arthur had? poisoned by his stepmama, but tragically -- tho he nearly died -- he pulled through after all :/) but i do think she was only halfhearted even then bc i think she believes that the competition makes edmund stronger so his bros get to live a lil longer ig alsdjflksdf but she probs has been poisoning marian for awhile, just enough to keep her from conceiving again lkajsdfkljsdf bc amira realized too late that poisoning wife #1 actually made guin's position stronger w roderick and she def doesn't want that for arthur and seb, so marian gets to live lkajsdlfkjdjf