#things i am both dying to discuss and also never want to think about again

[seulszn]

Listen I love TLOU and the fandom very much but a lot of people (not calling anybody out) need a reality check and need to grow up. I wanna say my two cents on things that bother me in this fandom.

1. Boycotting for Palestine

I have seen multiple times on multiple occasions where people would sit on their phone and complain about why writers are “flooding the tags with this boycotting bullshit” and honestly all I have to say is your super childish you can’t take a hour or a week out of your day to raise awareness on a important topic that is affecting millions of people? Your so horny so down bad for pixelated characters that you don’t care about the innocent children, women and men that are dying in Palestine? The boycotting isn’t gonna stop just because you want your needs filled, the boycotting isn’t going to stop because you think it needs to, it’s not gonna stop until Palestine is free. And if you wanna read things that bad then read nobody is stoping you but a take into ignition that if a writer is spreading awareness then don’t be ignorant and say stupid shit

2. Less Sex and more angst or other genres.

Listen I love Abby and Ellie just like everyone else and I read a lot of smut about them but does that all y’all see when y’all look at them? As sex objects? Like I’m not saying that you should stop writing smut for those characters but write other things to that don’t involve smut, like angst I see a lot of people under that tag say how they wish writers would as write other things that isn’t just smut and majority of the time when they say that they get hated for it. It lowkey gets boring reading fanfics where the whole plot is smut, smut, smut. And again I’m not saying to stop writing smut but please for the love of whatever you believe in write other genres.

3. Black inclusivity

As a black writer and a black person TLOU tag isn’t inclusive enough. I know you must be thinking “Why are we speaking about this again?” Because I’m honestly so tired of how uninclusive the fandom is like I said before Ellie dates WOC if you don’t know what WOC is it’s Women Of Color all of Ellie’s girlfriends where WOC now I’m not saying you can’t write for Ellie as a white person and I’m not saying that never did all I am saying is once again all of Ellie’s girlfriend where POC

Riley was a Black African American who Dated Ellie

Cat the girl who wasn’t mentioned alot but is in the game is Asian American who also dated Ellie

Dina is a Jewish (Mexican, Middle Eastern ) American who dated Ellie

Also yes we know when the reader is white coded so don’t try a put that you don’t mention when race mentioned cause you do and we can tell when you do “She’s Petite and cute with her long blonde hair” or whatever you bitches be saying we know when you guys aren’t inclusive the whole point of fanfiction writing is to be inclusive is to make sure that readers can see themself in your xreader so if your putting all these “white things and then labeling your story as “the readers race is not mentioned” or that OC stuff that y’all do then just label the story as a white reader or a OC reader

4. Futa, trans and masc

Now here I’m gonna discuss two or three things starting off with Futa and Trans. Now I don’t know when “Futa” or “Trans” Ellie and Abby came from but a lot of you readers need to understand and learn the difference between the two because they are both very different things.

Futanari: is the Japanese word for hermaphroditism, which is also used in a broader sense for androgyny. Beyond Japan, the term has come to be used to describe a commonly pornographic genre of eroge, manga, and anime, which includes characters that show primary sexual characteristics from both females and males. In today's language, it refers almost exclusively to characters who have an overall feminine body, but have both female and male primary genitalia (although a scrotum is not always present, while breasts, a penis, and a vulva are). The term is also often abbreviated as futa(s), which is also used as a generalized term for the works themselves.

Transgender (often shortened to trans) is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual. Transgender is also an umbrella term; in addition to including people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex (trans men and trans women), it may also include people who are non-binary or genderqueer. Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to a third gender, or else conceptualize transgender people as a third gender. The term may also include cross-dressers or drag kings and drag queens in some contexts. The term transgender does not have a universally accepted definition, including among researchers.

Mind you I am not transgender I am nonbinary but I see a lot of transgender people speak up about how offensive it is to write a character as Transgender but it’s not really transgender but a Futanari remember a Futa is a character who is assigned a gender at birth but just has extra sexual parts like a penis.

Now another thing that bothers me is how y’all Masculinize Masc Lesbians as if they still aren’t women themselves like every time I read a fanfic with Ellie or Abby or even Vi and Sevika from Arcane you guys like to ignore they fact that they are also women themselves like it’s not gonna kill you to give those characters feminine compliments there shouldn’t be a reason why your calling these women “handsome” or other Masculine compliments and also a lot of Masculine women where makeup it’s not just a feminine woman thing. Masc Lesbians are women they aren’t men so stop treating them as if they are men and ignoring the fact that they are women

5. the Innocent childish reader gotta stop.

They title says enough I don’t think I need to say too much but a lot of y’all get innocent and corruption mixed up but a corruption kink is When you find the idea of "corrupting" someone, mostly in a sexual way, like taking virginities or introducing people to stuff like bdsm etc. It's the idea of having someone "pure" do "bad" things under your influence. And innocent is not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure. not guilty of a particular crime; blameless. (From the dictionary)

Y’all need to understand yes not everyone knows what sex is but everyone knows what a vagina is what a penis is, what a orgasm is and what sex is but they may not knows what happens when you have sex so making the reader what y’all call innocent isn’t innocent it’s honestly to me perverted cause the only one who would say something like “my cunny feels weird 🥺” or that “what is sex 🥺” is a child. Children don’t know what sex is children don’t know what pleasure or orgasms is and when y’all say “the reader is a Bimbo” is also funny cause Bimbos know what sex is as well yes they may be stupid but they aren’t slow so before you make a innocent reader please think “am I making my reader act like a child or am I gonna make her really innocent like how regular grown ass adults act?” so don't get not knowing and "innocent" mixed up

6. The stories where they have sex inside a church also gotta stop

Now I’m not a Christian but these stories are honestly really bad and are Blasphemy a lot of people have come out and said that they don’t like the fact that people are writing stories about church in a sexual way like their shouldn’t be any reason why your characters are fucking inside a church, that’s like stomping on someone’s dead grave. You guys do shit like this and then wonder why Christian’s don’t like us. Religion isn’t something to be sexualized it’s not something to be playing with either this idc how much you hate Christianity you can be a Atheist, or Catholic or Jewish but please for the love of whatever you believe in don’t sexualize people’s religion.

That’s all I can think of at the moment if I think of more I’ll of course make a part two to this but don’t take anything I said here to heart it’s just my blunt honest opinion on things in this fandom and if I get hate for this 🤷🏾‍♀️

[writerblue275]

PLEAAAASE! I read both heartsteel becoming dad's and my heart AUGHHHH please continue the series!!! Maybe girl-dad Yone?! Who knows. Might be a lot though considering Yone's brother's with Yasuo who's in his own music group. (True damage needs a comeback fr.) BUT AAAAAA

(Guess who’s back. Back again!) I had such a lovely time writing Sett’s and Kayn’s Headcanons for this series, I’m absolutely thrilled to continue it! I’m so glad you enjoyed them both, Anon! Also HEAVY agree on True Damage needing a comeback!!! 💙 (Ok now that I got the calm response out of the way hehehe). AHHHHHH You definitely don’t have to ask me twice!!! Again, I don’t even want kids IRL, but holy hell I’d have this man’s children SO FAST if I was his partner. He gives me dad(dy) energy and I think he’d be a phenomenal father.

Heartsteel!Yone becoming a dad (/with a pregnant!reader)

Previous Members: Sett, Kayn

Inspiration: Requested but again have we seen Yone???? Pure husband/dad material right there. When I started the series he was one of the ones who inspired me to do it (along with Sett).

Genre: Headcanons

Type: FLUFF

Gender: Technically gender neutral but there is of course discussion of a pregnant reader and carrying a pregnancy.

Tw: Discussion of pregnancies and any difficulties associated with pregnancies. Slight mention of fertility issues at the beginning. Swearing.

There’s always a risk of unexpected pregnancy if you are sexually active and the circumstances are there for pregnancy, but out of all members, Yone is definitely the one who is the most careful. Now that doesn’t mean you and him wouldn’t enjoy yourselves before getting to the point of starting a family, please don’t misunderstand. Yone is not a selfish man. 😏

But otherwise he’s extremely careful and so are you. Having a child is such an extreme life change and he’s of the mindset that being as “prepared” as possible (emotionally, financially, physically) isn’t a bad thing.

Once he’s sure that you and him are in a solid place to start a family, he’d talk to you about it. Now of course before this moment he’d know whether or not you even want to have kids. So this conversation is just more of a “I think we’re finally in a really good spot to start a family. What do you think?” sort of thing.

And once the two of you do start trying, Yone’d be the biggest supporter if things are a little rough and it’s taking longer than you hope to get pregnant. He’d never let you blame yourself or your body, just as you don’t let him blame himself or his body. Things happen and pregnant or not, he loves you so damn much.

Regardless of how long it took to get pregnant, once you are pregnant, he’d be absolutely thrilled.

You can get so creative in how you tell him your pregnant, too. And you know who’d love to help you tell him in a way he relates to? Aphelios. Phel would gladly help you make a little song for Yone to surprise him.

Yone just seems like he’d be such a phenomenal partner to you while you’re pregnant. Something about him just seems so grounded and secure, and he absolutely wants to be a rock for you to lean on. It’s probably the age/maturity (A/N: Yes I know he’s only in his early-mid thirties. He’s not much older than I am. But still. People can change significantly as they go through their twenties into their thirties. I’m a significantly different person at 27 than I was in/directly after college.)

Yone already was your rock before pregnancy but he is even more so now. He realizes while things are changing for him, it’s almost 10x crazier for you since you’re carrying the baby.

Because of that, he’s remarkably calm during your hormone swings, etc. He just calmly figures out what might help and does it (with your consent ofc).

It did take him a little bit to get used to your cravings. He’d heard pregnancy cravings could be weird, but flaming hot Cheetos dipped in vanilla ice cream??? Yeah that threw him for a bit of a loop. (He still got you the Cheetos and ice cream though because he loves you.)

When the two of you tell the rest of Heartsteel, they’re not super shocked. They’re so happy for both of you, but yeah they saw the writing on the walls. They could tell Yone was ready to settle down with you very early on in your relationship.

Now of course Yone spends a lot of time in his studio. He has to, as a producer. But during your pregnancy, he creates a great home studio so he can work from home more often and be closer to you. He really makes the effort to be available to you as much as possible. He’ll take you to all appointments, help you with any physical side-effects of pregnancy, and just be there to help you process the wild emotions you’re feeling (those damn hormones). Whatever you need, he wants to help.

You know who else is surprisingly helpful? Yasuo! The True Damage DJ/Producer is so excited to become an uncle?? Like holy shit. (Lmao Yone lowkey threatens Yasuo not to spoil any of your kids too much….[Let’s be so for real though, Yasuo definitely still would.] TD Yasuo would be such a cool uncle.)

And Yasuo serves as a valued confidant for Yone whenever he needs to vent out his nervousness at becoming a dad. (Of course he’s nervous. Becoming a parent for the first time must be a nerve-wracking experience, even if you’ve “planned” for it.)

But anytime Yone can’t be with you for something (which is exceedingly rare, he really tries to free up as much time for you as possible) Yasuo is happy to step in and serve in the chauffeur or “door-dash” driver role for you!

But again, Yone will move hell and high water to be there for your appointments. Which is great because any exciting news he can get in real time. Including….:

Yone holds your hand and squeezes it soothingly as the sonographer moves the wand over your ever-so-slightly swollen belly.

“Is it cold, my love? The gel?” He asks softly, chuckling as you scrunch your nose and make a little face up at him.

“Yes it is! But hey, it’s the first time we can really see the baby since the dating ultrasound, so it’s worth it,” you respond.

“There they are!” The sonographer says, intently watching the screen.

Both your head and Yone’s head whip towards the screen, the joy between the two of you palpable as you see the dark area filled with what looks like a large-looking head. It’s hard to tell exactly what you’re looking at though.

“So that’s them? That’s our baby?” Yone asks, his voice containing a note of excitement which is very unlike his usual calm demeanor.

The tech looks at both of you and smiles. “Babies, actually.”

Your grip on Yone’s hand gets instantly tighter and you gasp as you register what she said. “W-wait did you just say babies??? With an s?? As in multiple??” Your question is a little breathless as you look up at Yone, whose eyes are wide and jaw is dropped in shock.

The sonographer chuckles softly and nods. “Two, actually. Twins. We must have missed the second one in the initial ultrasound since they were so small. Look here, you can see the differentiation of the placentas. And here are the two heads!” She shows you and Yone what she’s referring to on the large monitor as she speaks.

You look up at Yone who still looks a little dazed and has been quietly staring at the monitor. You’re almost a little nervous he’s gone into shock. “Yone, are you alright?” You ask gently as you briefly cup his cheek and turn his chin so he’s looking at you.

That small action seems to snap him out of whatever daze he was in and he quickly gathers you into a tight hug. “Holy shit we’re having twins, my love! Oh my god.”

You nod and whisper, “It seems we are. H-how do you feel? I’m both excited and a little terrified..” your voice fades off in a chuckle.

Yone kisses your forehead before pecking your lips. “(Y/N), I’m thrilled. Shocked, for sure, but I’m absolutely over the moon,” he murmurs reassuringly, already helping to soothe the spike of emotions you’re having at the news.

Absolute pandemonium ensues when you tell the the rest of Heartsteel that you and Yone are having twins. (With particular excitement from Aphelios and Alune.)

As for gender preferences? He doesn’t really care. He just wants healthy babies and as easy of a pregnancy/delivery as possible for you.

And you know what, maybe that no gender preference is a good thing because….

(*drumroll pleeeeeease*) You’re having a boy and a girl! (Again the news inspires particular excitement for Phel and Alune [who secretly have a bet on which baby will be older]).

Something cute Yone does is create music for the babies. While you’re sitting in his home studio and relaxing with your bump, he’s just playing/mixing some gentle instrumentals, writing one-of-a-kind lullabies for the babies. He really expresses the bulk of his feelings about becoming a dad through his music. And he makes sure to save anything he writes so they can be played later once the babies are actually here.

The Lamaze king. There’s no one better to help you remember and practice your Lamaze technicques. Again he just has such an unwavering/grounding presence.

And that calm and steady presence only cracks once during your pregnancy….when the babies decide to make their entrance into the world a little early (as multiples tend to do).

You waddle your way to his home studio door, knocking softly, but urgently.

“Come in!” You hear Yone’s voice call back.

Instead you just open the door, staying off of the carpeted floor of his studio and standing in the doorway. “Honey? Sorry to disturb you but it’s a little important.”

Yone turns and immediately catches onto the alarm in your expression, his eyes widening. “What happened? Are you alright?” He immediately rushes over to you.

You look up at him. “Y-Yone, my water just broke…”

You watch as he actually goes a little pale as his brain registers what you just said. “W-what?? N-now?! But you’re only 34 weeks along!”

You grip his arm. “I-I don’t think babies really care about sticking to a schedule, Yone. They come into the world when they decide to come into the world.”

You can see Yone’s brain immediately go into overdrive, so you gently grip his hand. “Yone…it’ll be ok, but let’s just get to the hospital, yeah? We have the car packed, right?

He snaps out of his daze and takes a deep breath, his features settling back into his usual calm expression, realizing panic will not help in this situation. “We do.” He smiles gently at you as he leads you to the car. “On our way, can you time how long it is between contractions, love? I’m sure they’ll want to know once we get to the hospital.”

Just an absolute fucking god send of a birthing partner. He works you through your anxiety (even though he’s experiencing some of his own) and is just so reassuring to you while you progress through labor.

Seeing you in pain is something he hates more than anything. So he’s ready to do whatever you need him to do in order to lessen your pain. He makes sure you go through all the various Lamaze techniques you learned, distracts you with some music, and murmurs reassurances in your ear as you squeeze the fuck out of his hand.

And the second you decide you want an epidural, he makes sure that’s properly communicated to the medical team, grateful you’ll be in much less pain.

Yone is checking in with you throughout the entire process, making sure you’re alright. Because while he’s excited about welcoming the babies, your well-being is even more important to him.

And once the babies actually arrive, and you’re doing alright, well just one look over at him and you can tell he’s already so in love with being a dad and that he loves your kids so much, even after just meeting them.

Similar to Phel and Alune, the boy twin is the older one, though only by about 10 minutes. (You catch a chagrined Alune slap a 50 note into a grinning Phel’s outstretched hand after you reveal which twin is older.)

And when he gets the chance to hold the babies, you can immediately tell how fiercely protective he’s going to be (but not in a way that makes your kids sheltered if that makes sense).

(A/N: YONE HOLDING A NEWBORN/TWO NEWBORNS ENDMXIDNFHSMX WHAT A THOUGHT.)

He’s just got such a dad vibe already and he’d be such a good father and co-parent with you.

Other extra tidbits: (post-birth)

His sleep schedule is already so fucked up that honestly, having newborn twins doesn’t impact him that much (he’s already used to running on very little sleep and an insane amount of cold brew). It really helps you because he’s able to go check on the babies super easily, meaning you don’t have to wake up as often.

(This is for when the twins are a little older. Like 3-4.) One of your favorite photos on your phone is from when you walked into your daughter’s room to grab something and found your 6’ 2” husband squeezed onto a tiny chair at a tiny table (like his knees are against his chest), wearing a green feather boa, a sparkly pink tiara, and - wait…is that sparkly eye shadow, blush, and pink lipstick he has on??? - having a very exclusive tea party with your daughter and her favorite stuffies. You managed to keep a straight face as you apologized for intruding, but you quickly grabbed what you needed after taking the photo and rushed back to your room, going into your closet and laughing. (And laughing even harder when Yone later came into your room and asked for your help getting the makeup off. He got you back for laughing though by covering your face in messy pink kiss prints before you could take the lipstick off him.)

Another favorite photo of yours is Yone with your 1.5-year old son sitting on his lap as he works in his home studio. He even gave your son his own pair of headphones to listen through, though of course he majorly limited the volume output to protect his little ears. As he worked he kept asking your son for his opinion, interpreting his little babbles and coos as musical advice. (The photo is of a moment where Yone asked your son what he thought about a verse.)

Ex: “You’re right, bud! There is a bit too much bass here! Good ear.”

And multiple times you’ve walked into his home studio after running errands to see Yone in one chair, Yasuo and/or Aphelios in another, 2/3 of them holding one of the twins on their laps as they seriously discuss music production. And you can’t help but smile at the lovely feeling of family your kids have surrounding them.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!! I apologize for the delay in posting. May was really nuts and for me and June is shaping up the same way. But things will hopefully start to calm down soon and it feels good to finally have the urge to write again!! I definitely have some other things in the works so keep your eyes out for that! 💙

[my-pjo-stuff]

Alright this is going to be a sensitive question to ask but some of my friends have spoken about fics where luke (🍇) other characters, some even have said he’s done that to their own characters where they were underaged and since you’re the best person I know that can speak super well about Luke, I was thinking do you think Luke would be capable of doing such thing to underage characters or ocs?

TW: DISCUSSION OF UNDERAGE RAPE, PEDOPHILIA, GROOMING AND UNDERAGE (ASWELL AS IN GENERAL) SEXUAL ACTIVITIES

So, I will start this off by saying thank you for comming to me with this anon. I know this is a very delicate topic. Which is why I want to say that I am more than welcome to have these discussions, since I think it's important to talk about these heavy things openly and seriously. That being said, my answer to that question is a resounding No. Luke would never even THINK about such a thing. Before we start (and this is by no means an attack on you or any other one of your friends) we need to remember that discussions like these are based in canon. Meaning that things such as "But Luke did it to my character" or "well Luke did it with my OC" are all worthless. Fact is I could also just aswell go and say "well Luke renounced Kronos and married my OC, he's actually loyal to the gods now for them!". But that also wouldn't mean that Luke is suddenly not the leader of the TA anymore or loyal to the gods. Now onto the real meat of it. Based on his canon actions Luke has never once shown any interest in anyone underage. He's had two semi-romantic relationships in the entire series. One with Thalia when he was 12 and she was 14, which was only ever implied and was immediately dropped and never picked up again when Thalia died. And one with Kellie, who was a fully grown monster and was more than eagerly consenting to a sexual relationship with Luke. I think the reason for this conversation all comes back to the Pedo and Groomer arguments we've had about Luke ever since TLO dropped- the rape being a continuation of that. Because, fact is- the only talk of Luke liking anyone underage we ever got only ever came from that one quote in TLO and other character's POV. The quote in TLO being the one where Luke asked Annabeth if she loved him, and she in kind responding that while she USED to love him, he's like a brother to her now. Which....I'm not going to lie, yeah that looks BAD. But what I see myself needing to point out here is that the question in and off itself does not need to mean romantic love. The whole theme of Luke and Annabeth always was family. Luke was laying dying, and in my opinion most likely just wanted to know if he and Annabeth still were family.

In that sense it would be logical for Luke to say love, as in- the love between family. The way Annabeth answered that was honestly stupid in my opinion, and I genuinly do not know what Rick was thinking. The reason why Luke never clarified anything was probably because he was actively dying and just didn't have the time for it. The second instance were other characters describing the relationship between Luke and Annabeth, and thus "confirming" that Luke had a romantic interest. Here I again have to point to the fact that A)it was only a statement, never an action. And B) It was from a different character's first person POV. Such POVs can never be fully trusted by the nature of being first person. I genuinly do not understand what Rick was ever thinking writing these things. Not only is it, frankly said- inappropriate for a children's book but would also ruin a core theme of Luke's character, family. The "Groomer" name has even less reason than the "Pedo" name. Grooming describes the action of an adult deliberately establishing a friendly relationship with a minor to manipulate them into certain actions or roles. I've mostly seen him being called a groomer in relation to Annabeth and Silena, which are both equally baseless. We first have to start off with the fact that Luke never really talked to them while they were a minor and he an adult. He met Annabeth when he was 14 and she was 7. He never once sook her out, their meeting was an accident. Even after meeting Annabeth he, on multiple occasions has expressed explicit platonic love. In The Diary of Luke Castellan he referred to himself as the "father" of the group after meeting Annabeth. Thalia in this context being the "mother". If anything that was more a hint at romance between Thalia and him than between him and Annabeth. During the main five books he also repeatedly called Annabeth his "little sister". That all also ignored the fact that Luke grooming Annabeth would mean that he got Annabeth to do something. Which never happened. Annabeth consistently does the exact opposite of what Luke wants her to do- that being fighting for the gods. Had Luke groomed her, Annabeth would have been in the TA. For Silena it probably comes from the fact that her saying that Luke was "charming" and "nice" as a reason for her joining and spying for the TA. Aswell as him blackmailing her to keep doing it. Again, Luke probably met Silena at camp purely by accident. Most likely while he too was a minor still. Is Silena's reason for joining the TA a bit weak? Definitely- but it also proves that it was her decision. There is no reason to believe Luke actively manipulated her into it.

The blackmailing was just that, blackmailing. Plain and simple- Luke did some fucked shit for his goals, which I'm not going to deny. But that certainly wasn't grooming. We also need to remember that it can be pretty harmful to excuse Silena's decisions as Luke "grooming" and "manipulating" her, as it strips her of her independence and abilities to make decisions for herself in the greater narrative. Having all that debunked, my personal theory as to why the fandom hangs so consistently onto these things is that they need reasons to villainize Luke. (A deeper dive into this here) Fandom as a whole seems to need a reason to justify their hatred of Luke- and the easiest way to do that is to make him a villain and evil. What is the easiest, most evil crime could commit? Easy, rape. Especially rape of children. So, with the abovementioned things combined, they just jumped to saying Luke is attracted to minors. And wants to do stuff with them even without consent. But coming back to your question, I have one last, extremely strong argument to make why Luke would NEVER do anything like that. Because, as hard as it may sound- if Luke wanted to rape someone, especially children, he would have done so already. He was the main caretaker of them at camp for a LONG time. He had minors of all ages lining up infront of him wanting to impress him, fully trusting him. Most of the minors having had bad homelives before getting there. Luke would have had an extremely easy time taking advantage of any of the campers. All while basically having free picking and choosing in terms of gender, look, age ect. And even if we say that he couldn't have done it at camp for some reason, he certainly could have done so in the TA. We all know Kronos wouldn't give much of a fuck if Luke had sexual relationships with the minors in the TA. He had a (most likely) sexual relationship with Kellie, which shows that Kronos allows romance. And he also doesn't seem to have a strong enough moral compass to stop Luke from going after kids would he want to do it. Not only would everything from above still apply in the TA, but Luke would also be their leader. Meaning an IMMENSE power imbalance between him and your average TA member. Luke, throughout all his life, was in a prime position to take advantage of children. Especially so in the TA where he had 0 consequences to fear. And the fact that he simply never did (like any decent human being if we are honest) proves in and off itself that he had no interest in anything like that. And would never even THINK of doing something like this.

[gotskamstuff]

MY THOUGHTS (THAT NO ONE ASKED FOR AND A BIT TOO LONG) ON THE WHOLE “RUDY IS LEAVING THE SHOW/JJ IS DYING” SPECULATIONS

Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who enjoys tv shows and still is very passionate about it but without entering the world of the fandom ‘cause I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that all the things I’ve come to know about the cast in past couple of years have ruined my experience with OBX a little.

Even this whole “JJ is gonna die” speculation, let’s be real it’s not the first time we have discussed this in the fandom and we basically ask ourselves this question every season and yet now it feels different.

I don’t believe speculations coming from unknown sources and I don’t believe in rumors as a solid proof… HOWEVER again I’d be lying if I said that finding out that Josh Pate (one of the main producers of the show) has abruptly unfollowed Rudy and there’s seemingly something that happened between the two, didn’t stir up the fear in me that yeah maybe he could be leaving the show. Because let’s be real, the actors having drama is one thing, but one of the producers cutting ties with you IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY.

This is why it feels different this time.

I remember genuinely fearing JJ was gonna die in S2 when in the trailer they showed his head wound and I was incredibly scared about it, but it was a “devastating” fear still with a tingle of excitement about the storyline involving a possible Pogue death and with curiosity on how the story could possibly move forward…but now? Now it feels completely disappointing knowing that IF JJ dies it will be simply because he wanted to leave and honestly it would completely ruin the show for me ‘cause to put it quite frankly I would lose my trust in the story writing.

I am in no way a snowflake when it comes to characters dying in shows, sometimes I even love it ‘cause as devastating as it can be it can also be an amazing shock factor for the show but it needs to be done with purpose both for the story and for the character.

JJ dying for me would ruin the entire show and it’s not just because “omg Jiara” “omg JJ is my favorite character” “omg the show wouldn’t be the same” but because realistically it would ruin the entire arc of his character.

Regardless of who your favorite character is based on personal preferences, objectively speaking JJ is the best written character of the show and one of the characters who was given the most depth and one of the most interesting storylines, there has been a great amount of good writing when it comes to JJ’s character development and a character like him ending with death would be like throwing all that work out of the window.

I think it’s a pretty common thought amongst the fandom that JJ’s arc to end in a right way for his character would be to literally having him live his future that he so badly believed he could never have. For the whole show JJ has projected hos lack of a future and his impossibility to ever have anything good for himself, his entire story and growth was about him overcoming that and accepting he can prove everyone including himself wrong, to then end his character like “syke you actually do not get a future and you never get to live it” would completely destroy the entire arc of his character and nothing about his journey from S1 to S3 would have any meaning whatsoever looking back at it.

And I want to make it clear that IF (once again it’s still all speculations) JJ dies I still would not put ALL the blame on Rudy for leaving ‘cause actors leave shows ALL THE TIME and there’s an endless number of things you could write to take a character out of the picture especially for JJ who always had an element of unpredictability to him.

If Rudy was like “hey listen, I’m done with the show” the producers could have 100% put their foot down and still negotiate something reasonable for both parties to leave the door open on his character like “ok your choice free to go, but we are not killing the character…would you come back for the final 2 episodes of the entire show?”

And JJ could have tooooons of possible scenarios for him to leave: following his dad, breaking up with Kiara and leaving Kildare…the INSTANT they mentioned the surf trip in the show they had the perfect opportunity to use it as an excuse to make both JJ and Kiara or one of the two leave at any point to be lost somewhere in the world offscreen. So no it wouldn’t be all Rudy’s fault ‘cause there’s a lot of ways to mostly get rid of a character without killing him and closing the door for good.

This is probably gonna sound bad but I’d rather see the show end all together with S4 than seeing it getting dragged out for longer and longer meanwhile the main cast slowly leaves one by one and especially if the writing gets more and more superficial for convenience.

I HONESTLY HOPE THAT AFTER S4 ENDS WE’LL LOOK BACK AT THIS TIME WHEN WE THOUGHT RUDY WAS LEAVING THE SHOW AND LAUGH…but I don’t even know what to believe anymore. I didn’t believe it until I saw the producers cutting ties with him which realistically sounds like a “good life and goodbye”.

WISH WE COULD TURN BACK TIME TO S1.

[tornrose24]

I’ve been rewatching The Ghost and Molly McGee and have concluded watching season 1. These are my thoughts and observations:

-I love how Scratch slowly warms up to Molly across the season and it is easier to catch when you watch the episodes in order. From going to a complete jerk, to valuing her friendship, to caring about how she views him, to not wanting to lose her.

-I also love how this show’s art style is like a storybook come to life in every shot.

-It makes even more sense as to why Scratch haunts Adia’s old home. Todd’s soul gravitated to the one place in Brighton that held happy memories for him, where life had yet to turn him into an anxious, fearful adult. It was a safe space for him, and he was mad when a family managed to move in and invade it. Especially Molly specifically moving into his personal room/the safest spot in the house for him.

-Molly and Scratch are BOTH horrible liars. It’s funny how similar they are in that detail, and it’s even funnier if they call each other out on it.

-Scratch is an absolute asshole to a lot of people and enjoys seeing them suffer during this season, but I think that partly stems from a ‘I was/am miserable so I like seeing others suffer.’

-I’d say Molly’s worst episode is the Snow Day episode (not listening to what everyone else wants to do) and Scratch’s worst episode is the Internship episode (taking advantage of an intern to do basic, unhelpful tasks and being a bigger asshole than usual).

-Molly nearly dies 4 times (the machine during ‘Friend off,’ was willing to catch hypothermia in order to have fun in the snow, was almost hit by the truck, and was nearly sliced in half by Jinx).

-Scratch, Mr. ‘So afraid of dying that I never lived a day’…. Gets trampled by animals, eats poison berries, gets hit by a tour bus, gets blended by the machine from ‘Friend off,’ and is sliced in half by Jinx among all the possible things that WOULD have killed him in this season if he hadn’t been a ghost at the time.

-In ‘Very Hungry Ghost’ Scratch doesn’t get to eat any of the food intended for the ghosts. Because he wasn’t fully a ghost, that feast was not meant to be eaten by him.

-I admit I have yet to catch Scratch’s ‘nervous habit of scratching his arm’ during these episodes.

-There’s a recurring theme of the adult characters regaining their passion for something they once loved in a few episodes.

-However I also appreciate showing very realistic struggles, like financial concerns and how you can’t magically restore your community and town to its glory days without some effort put into it.

-Libby’s mom can be seen as an early cameo during ‘The (Un)natural.’ Of course, she would be there for her daughter ^_^

-I’m not a huge fan of the Christmas episode (never rewatched it until now) but GOD do I love the pink sky they use against the Christmas decorations and snow.

-In Pete’s news article in ‘Twin Trouble’, it mentions that other city planners mysteriously disappeared. However, I don’t think the show EVER addressed that, because such a story fascinated me and made me wonder if there was more to Brighton than meets the eye.

-There was a wasted opportunity in not discussing who or WHAT The Chairman was. Was this mystery meant for season 3?

-Scratch mentioning that he is dead throughout the show hits differently now that we know its quite the opposite. So does seeing him having to do mandatory things for the ghost world that he technically shouldn’t NEED to be doing at that moment.

-So does his interactions with Geoff. Oh boy.

-Was Scratch specifically assigned to scare Brighton? What about the other ghosts from there, like the Tugbottom siblings? Howlin Harriet? Sonia? Why don’t we see them doing their job as much as Scratch has to?

-The sheer irony of Scratch believing that he didn’t have any fears in ‘Scaring is Caring’ only for fear to be the reason WHY he was a ghost to begin with. Once again, there’s a hell of a difference between ‘Scratch as a human being afraid of everything’ and ‘Scratch as a ghost being afraid of losing Molly and would do anything to save her.’

-No seriously, it gets to a point where Scratch risks his existence to save Molly in this season and in the next one-if he had been human, he would have been willing to die for her.

-‘All Night Plight’ is an episode I hadn’t rewatched until recently. And it hits a LOT differently this time around. Molly wanted to form a forever memory with Libby and Scratch by seeing that comet and she managed to win over Scratch who went above and beyond to ensure that was possible. While that memory is now somewhere hidden in Scratch’s mind as a living person, this episode likely was one of the events needed to push him into becoming someone who would take chances and embrace life upon coming back to life.

-Considering the number of times Molly almost dies, it would have been one thing if Scratch didn’t take it too well if he failed to save Molly. But if he learned that he was the one who had the chance to come back to life and not her? Yeah, that would have seriously wrecked his mental state.

-That moment when you realize that it was TWO souls hovering on the edge between life and death that changed everything in the Ghost World. Also I could be wrong, but I caught that Molly AND Scratch both have a brighter glow compared to most other ghosts in the Ghost World. Was this stealth foreshadowing, or just a coincidence?

-Scratch’s declaration that knowing Molly was the highlight of his afterlife. That moment when you realize Molly brought him joy after years of being miserable as both a ghost and as a human. This girl reached out to him and was able to get him to open up when no one else did. This girl who is showing him how to truly live once more. This girl who he openly declares to be his friend no matter what others will think.

-When I see Wraith!Molly hugging Libby and Scratch, I just wonder ‘WHY DOES MOLLY HAVE 3 ARMS?!’

-As good as this show is, a lot of folks who watch these Disney Channel shows are likely used to the more story-oriented shows. While the ‘slice of life’ style for TGAMM did pay off, the slow pace and length it took for the episodes to release likely worked against it and I could see why it didn’t attract more viewers at the time.

Stuff relating to Todd:

-Scratch possesses people a lot in this show, but especially in season 1. I’m reminded of someone who talked about the wraith theory on YouTube and he had this guess that Scratch might someday possess Todd and then realize something is different this time. I think that having Scratch use the possession trick so often was building up to that one moment in the last episode because it WAS a matter of time until he possessed Todd.

-As I said in a previous post, I caught Todd in the stands during The (Un)Natural, which was his ACTUAL debut episode. It was easy to miss the first time, but its a noticeable establishing character moment since he’s the only audience member who is visibly NOT happy despite that the team is winning.

-Molly stopping at Todd’s house during the song montage in the bandshell episode hits a lot differently now after the series finale. But then I laughed when she smacked him in the face with a flyer upon stopping by the house a second time in the same episode.

-We have confirmation that Scratch (as Todd) knew the mayor when they were kids and that is a tale I’m very curious about.

-I caught Todd in the audience during ‘Citizen McGee’ when the mayor bestows the honor of being mayor for a day to Molly. I admit a cynical side of me thinks that this is how he actually remembers her name in the last episode…. But at the same time he was so on auto-pilot during that time that he likely wouldn’t pay much attention or remember those events that well. (Plus, you can’t be expected to remember someone’s name once all the time). I refuse to believe that he remembered this event and that Scratch’s memories were what actually triggered the name.

-Todd’s actual lines are very limited (I don’t think he gets many in season 2 compared to this one). While Dana Snyder was voicing him, Snyder lowered his voice so much that it’s really hard to tell that he’s the one voicing Todd. I keep putting my ear to my computer to listen, but Todd barely sounds like Dana. I think they did this on purpose to avoid making it too obvious that Todd IS Scratch. (And that’s probably why he doesn’t talk as much in season 2…. Until the last episode of course).

-The Internship seems to double as foreshadowing, and not just because Todd appears or that his ‘junk’ held some very crucial clues. Molly believes that the pawnshop is where happy memories go to die while Weird Larry assures her that it’s where memories can be reborn into something new. So… is the pawnshop a metaphor for Scratch’s own depression causing his ‘death’ and how he’ll be resurrected into a happier person?

[alicent-hightowers-spouse]

Idk if this is real or I’m just going crazy from sleep deprivation, but am I the only one that thought in the most two recent episodes Rhaenyra and Alicent were being paralleled in their internalized misogyny? (Not a hate post, I love both of them and I think it’s impossible NOT to have internalized misogyny in that setting. Just talking about something I noticed.)

Like in episode two we see Alicent having Helaena do the whole political funeral thing, and it’s so obvious that before, during, and after it, Alicent sees herself in Helaena. The whole thing is like Alicent reliving her earliest days as Queen all over again where not only was she also just a political pawn for the men in her life, but also where her biggest fear started. This fear being something happening to the kids she was forced to have. While the political pawn thing is majorly important too to the generational misogyny discussion, I think the more major relation that registers within Alicent’s brain is the fear of her children dying, and her consciously forcing Helaena to suffer through an extended version of that pain, and it is what will be relevant later in my post. Keep that in mind.

Similarly, in episode three, we see Rhaenyra narrowing Rhaena down to nothing more than an idea of motherhood. Rhaenyra basically tells Rhaena that her main purpose in the war is to take care of her children, even though Rhaena is less than enthusiastic about it. Even before I made the distinction that I make in this post, this whole scene struck out as odd to me, because my first thought was “teenage Rhaenyra would have hated to be told this,” yet Rhaenyra didn’t seem to care about Rhaena’s feelings at all. And then I realized that was the point. Sure, Rhaenyra’s fear of motherhood surrounded around childbirth mainly, but still, her greatest fear had been motherhood for most of her life, specifically being forced to mother children she didn’t want, and yet she forced it onto Rhaena without a second thought.

So. Alicent’s greatest fear, suffering the loss of a child, befell Helaena, and instead of comforting her in her time of need, Alicent furthered her daughter’s pain. Rhaenyra’s greatest fear, being forced into motherhood, was easy for her to force onto another young girl. It’s disturbing, and shocking, and upsetting, but it’s such a good decision for their characters. It shows how easily women can forget their girlhood fears when they come into more power, contributing to the misogyny around them. But that’s not all. Because then I realized something else.

Despite the idea haunting her for almost her entire life, Alicent never had to suffer the loss of a child. But Rhaenyra did.

And in the end, Rhaenyra did get to choose who the father of her children was, and when she had them. But Alicent didn’t.

They lived each other’s worst fears. It adds another layer of tragedy to them, because it would have been so easy for them to understand each other, their fears and grievances matching perfectly, but they never really got the chance because of how they viewed the other as having caused their issues in the first place. And even later, they get another chance to understand both themselves and each other through their daughters, but it makes no difference.

None of them will ever win, because they don’t help each other. Everyone complaining that “so-and-so” is better than “this character” because “so-and-so” is a true feminist and “this character isn’t” doesn’t understand the point of the show.

The point is that they won’t help their mothers, they won’t help their best friends, and they won’t help their daughters. If you think any of the men in House Of The Dragon are an ideal image of feminism…. I don’t even know how you’re on my page in the first place. And all the women in the show are only looking out for their own best interests. Which is totally fair for the time period theyre in, and I would probably do the same. But it all goes to show that they could’ve been so much stronger if they all stood together.

[callsign-relic]

wow!! thank you for writing such a comprehensive response- i love hearing other peoples opinions about things, it's always fascinating to see what people pick up from the same piece of media!!

i agree with a TON of your points, even if they didnt detract from my personal enjoyment of the movie shfjdbdj (i. genuinely could not stop talking for about 4 hours after watching it ;-;)

i especially agree about the fast pacing and the way B and Elita didn't do much in the story; the same can be said for a lot of the other non-main characters, which is somewhat understandable because the movie is framed as being focused on Orion and D-16's relationship and the destruction of, but still!! As a Jazz and Soundwave enjoyer I was. both delighted and dying. I want to see more of the High Guard/Decepticons! What little we saw of them was... compelling, but I would have LOVED if they dug into that more. The reveal of the High Guard sorta came out of nowhere for me (especially the fact that they ALSO saw Sentinel's betrayal???????)

Like you said, if this were a show it would have given more time for emotions (and concepts!) to feel more impactful and- with what they did with the characterisation in the short amount of screentime each character had?? I WANT THAT SHOW. I want to know MORE about the world and the characters!!!!! Also Shockwave was a whiny little bitch in this and I love him.

I actually think that D-16's turn to anger and violence was pretty well foreshadowed and played out nicely in terms of seeing how his views got turned around, but I also EXTREMELY agree that his constant anger gave the climax less of a punch. Again: pacing TuT!!!

I'm actually planning to watch the movie again, but for the opposite reason LMAO. I feel like I got TOO hyped and now I want to go back and dissect the movie now I'm calmer 😂 Evidently I am. still pretty excited, considering the length of this ask which im cutting off now because you can't put a readmore on these oh my god AHHH

- init

Ahhh ofc! It means a lot that you wanted to hear my thoughts!!!

Omg the brainrot hit you hard HAHAHA. My sister and I were talking about the movie the entire way home!!

I agree about this tbh! The movie was indeed focused on Orion and D’s relationship, so it makes sense that that was the main focal point. I just wish the other characters had a little more time to shine since they were there anyway you know? And about the High Guard, right!!! They came out of literally nowhere HAHA. Literally jumped out and kidnapped the main crew. We needed to learn more about them to truly understand their impact and role! Oh and little sidenote, the fact that D choked Starscream so hard his voice box started glitching was such a good detail.

And YES right! Honestly feel like this should have been a show. Of course that would’ve meant slightly lower quality animation and score and everything, but from what we saw from the movie the writing could’ve saved it from that. I really just wish we had more time to get to know the story more in full.

Yeah, pacing!! And actually I do agree with you there, we do see his dedication to Sentinel well beforehand, I do agree that the buildup and foreshadowing was great. It was just— his anger felt like a punch in the face. On its own, would be great. But the fist never pulled away from my face, and kinda just. Stayed there smushing my face. And they’re like “does it hurt??” By the end and im like “yeah I mean you punched me in the face ofc it’s gonna hurt. But you could’ve pulled back, gained more momentum, and punched me again”.

Hopefully that metaphor makes sense LOL

And YEAHH REWATCH!! And pls be assured I don’t mind the lengths of your asks at all! I love hearing your thoughts and really appreciate that you want to hear mine! It’s a fun discussion :D

[ilynpilled]

I like your jaime opinions but you have such bnf takes on jb and marriage that kind of baffles me

bnf takes 😭😭? cmon man. im just not that interested in that. like i am just not crazy about the marriage/children endgame aspect, simply out of preference. do not care for that kind of clean happy ending for any of my faves, i think it would emotionally resonate with me less. i also internalized what george had said about what romances he likes to write and read and the “we’ll always have paris” example he used. i do like some kind of tragedy or bittersweetness in romantic stories too. and the love was and would still always be there and all that. i do want some kind of departure, some key choice and sacrifice perhaps. i see the possibility of jaime dying too, which could achieve the same, but not executed the way it was in the show. i do not at all deny the possibility of interpreting the set up for what u guys r saying either, i think you can find foreshadowing for it (certainly has more of a basis than a majority of what ppl skew as marriage foreshadowing for other ships), i just dont feel crazy about it as a “happily ever after” scenario, dont think it would fit:

like i see this. i even thought that stage direction (if it was that and not a directorial choice that was not in the script) in the lion and the rose could be alluding to a union. the one where loras and jaime discuss the cersei-loras marriage and the dialogue ends with “you will never marry [cersei]” “neither will you” and then brienne enters the frame while the camera is on jaime. followed up by the cersei brienne convo. grrm wrote it after all. this is the technique he kept using with olenna regarding joffrey’s murder as well.

i am just fine with if all this just indicates future romance between them, and is being used to emphasize their desire for each other that they both repress in different ways (oathkeeper itself can be read as an engagement metaphor: “He will bring a rose for you,” her father promised her, but a rose was no good, a rose could not keep her safe. It was a sword she wanted.”, “Ser Galladon was a champion of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him. She gave him an enchanted sword as a token of her love.”) i do not think it would be made lesser if the relationship does not necessarily operate within the boundaries of westerosi society. i dont care if the marriage is a symbolic one rather than a literal one (like a knighting.) i do not think that would take away from the romantic relationship. we will see. i know jaime deals with failure when it comes to fatherhood but i am still pretty lukewarm when it comes to that kind of ending for him. i would prefer that remaining a tragedy. could that change? idk.

brienne too is a complex character. her relationship with her desires is complicated. part of her does crave marriage and a child etc. again, it is not as simple as her not at all desiring any aspect of the role she is assigned due to her gender. it is a role that society made for her, but also did not allow her to fit due to how she looks. so that is already very loaded and highlights the contradictory nature of this strict binary. but she also is a knight. she likes it. there is a reason she is a little relieved as well. she has agency to be what she wants to be. she is operating outside of society’s moulds in her own way. is there a way to make these things compromise? maybe.

if you want an “anti-bnf” 😭 opinion from me i do absolutely want their relationship to be consummated, and i disagree with the ppl who want it to be/read it as just a courtly love/chivalric romance type deal in that sense. sexual themes permeate the dynamic, and i wouldn’t like it if george, who does not shy away from dealing with sexuality, didn’t deal with this one relationship, ESPECIALLY because Brienne is an unattractive woman. would unironically rub me the wrong way if she ended up being the one ‘major’ female character, with a key romance, who is also an adult, to not have that. do not want her to be desexualized in this context. i am also tired of the relationship being “purified” in this sense in a lot of general discussion bc i think it often ventures into backwards territory. i would not be really happy with them only getting sex metaphors (which there are plenty of already) + i do believe it would actually mean a lot for both of their characters too.

[unrivalling]

"Just When Was Grell Sutcliff Alive?" Part 1: Establishing a Timeline

So as many of you know, I recently got into Black Butler (I know, about 17 years too late), and I'm almost caught up. However, I want to talk about how I'm still thinking about Vol 29 and some of the lore dropping Othello does at the beginning there.

Namely I'm fixated on possibly having a timeline for Grell's human life and death.

This wasn't intended to be a proper meta. It's been too long since I've written one, and there's probably important stuff I'm forgetting or don't know. But I wanted to write all of this down to get it out on the page, for posterity. Then it accidentally became a meta. Oops. Mild BB spoilers up to Vol 29, and heads up for some discussion of historical homophobia, transphobia, and state violence at the end. As well as a canon-typical suicide mention. I use she/her pronouns for Grell, but broadly interpret her as queer and transfeminine given the complexity of talking about identity in the time periods I'll be referencing (I use "queer" as a reclaimed, academic, blanket term). I'm also largely taking a Watsonian approach (Grell's experiences from her perspective), although a Doylist approach to Grell (as in relating to the author's intent and cultural context rather than the character's) is also really interesting one, but feels like more well trodden territory. With that out of the way, let's begin.

The info we have So. Something really interesting happened in Vol 29. We got a lot of great Undertaker backstory, but Othello said something relating to Grell that made me eyes emoji.

"Weren't you around 70 years ago?"

So, she never replies to this. But it seems highly plausible this means Grell was not a reaper 70 years before the current date in the manga. We don't quite know what the lag time is between someone dying and becoming a reaper, but I'm taking this to mean she had not died yet, as I assume she would have remembered an event like the one Othello describes. I believe this is the implication. Now, I am making some assumptions:

- To clarify, I know this is all guesswork. I'm just having fun with different possibilities. - Like I said, we don't know what the lag time is between someone dying and becoming a reaper (as in, the new state of being, not the job), and we don't know how long it takes to go from trainee to collections to senior. - That Grell was around 25 when she died. It's hard to tell anime character ages from 20-40 at a glance, but her design seems similar to me to characters that are in their 20s in other series. She could be older or younger, but I'm using that in lieu of a better option. It's not precise, but it'll get us in the ballpark anyway - Black Butler has a lot of anachronisms. However, Toboso is known to research things heavily and her changes are typically very purposeful (the purpose is usually "Rule of cool" and that's why we stan). I'm assuming historical events happening in BB to mirror the real world except where indicated otherwise. - I'm also assuming she's English. The names Grell and Grelle are both German in origin, but there are a lot of Germanic names in English and Sutcliff as a surname originated in Yorkshire. This is only based on a quick Google search--I could do more later, but this seems in line with Grell not being presented as "foreign" to England in any way in the series making her stand out in the same way her flamboyance or flirtation with men does. Establishing a range

The series takes place in 1888 and 1889. 70 years ago would put Undertaker's defection at 1818. If what Othello says is true, this means Grell became a reaper sometime after that date.

Let's establish the outlier possibilities first (again, assuming a pretty rapid transition from human death to becoming a reaper).

The earliest possible date Grell could have become a reaper: sometime in the following year, around 1819. This would put her birth at around 1794, and her death that year in 1819. This feels unlikely because it seems like she would have been exposed to people talking about Undertaker defecting since it was such a catastrophe, but who knows.

The latest possible date Grell could have become a reaper is 1887, which would place her birth at around 1862. This is massively improbable to the point of being impossible since she's a senior in collections and I assume that didn't happen in a year, but again, it's important for establishing a range. Basically, tldr, according to this framework, Grell became a reaper sometime between 1819 and 1887, which puts her human life (and death) in that timeframe as well. This would place her in the Georgian-Victorian eras, or possibly even the 8 year Regency period.

Will the Reaper OVA I've only talked about the manga so far since the 1st anime canon is wildly divergent in a number of ways, but if we include the Will the Reaper OVA, this would push things towards the earlier end of that timeline. I don't know much about the history of fashion (especially not middle and lower class dress), but it seems distinctly late 1700s/maybe early 1800s to me. Which if I'm reading right, would actually push Grell becoming a reaper back as far as the 1790s or 1810s, and would dispute the 1819 date implied by Vol 29. IF ANYONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE FASHION REFERENCES HERE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME. I WANT TO KNOW.

(Baby....Grell...furious and stark raving mad recently dead stray cat making it everyone's problem. I'm fine) This is subverted a little bit by the reaper outfits appearing more like Victorian businesswear, but Reapers always seem to be a few decades ahead of the world in terms of fashion and technology. My personal assessment is that the fashion in this is to make it immediately, visually clear that the OVA takes place in the Georgian rather than Victorian period, however that forces me to break my largely Watsonian approach for a Doylist one ("the animators perhaps decided it was necessary to show that time had passed since the events of the OVA"), but considering it came out so long before the lore drop in Vol 29, who knows.

I'm not inclined to take it as gospel truth for the manga canon, but considering Toboso did collaborate on that one, I think it at least worth talking about and considering as supplemental information.

I personally take this to support (but not solely uphold) the idea that "Grell became a reaper sometime during the Georgian period (1713-1837)", but again, grain of salt.

What would it mean for Grell to be a queer person in England in the 1700s and 1800s?

As far as I'm aware, we don't know anything about what Grell's life might have been like before becoming a reaper. Unless I'm missing something, that's a black box until Toboso reveals more.

But establishing this timeline gives us a great opportunity to consider the circumstances she would have lived under.

Understand that I'm not speaking in absolutes here, more "here are some interesting things I like to think about when considering why this character might be the way she is". I'm also not saying Toboso intended any of this to be read into Grell, but as readers I believe it's reasonable to assume Grell may have encountered these events or they might have impacted her unless stated otherwise. A brief list of things Grell would have been living under or around or could have been aware of. I want to do a part 2 talking about how these things might relate to someone like Grell, as well as talking about other major historical events not directly related to queer people (like, you know, the Napoleonic Wars), but this post is already feeling long enough: - The Buggery Act and the Offenses Against the Person Act, which made a variety of sexual acts punishable by death, including acts like anal sex. These laws were used to persecute people, usually queer men (although people who would today be called trans women and nonbinary people were also certainly prosecuted as well*), particularly in the 1700s and 1800s. I believe as of 1862 it was no longer punishable by death, but people still lived in fear of prison and hard labor (Oscar Wilde going to prison in 1895 being a famous later example). Here's an article about the men killed under the Buggery Act. *Trans men were not exempt from this, even if the specific legal and social threat was likely different. If memory serves, Dr. James Barry was jeopardized by rumors that he may have been Too Close to one of his cis male friends. - Molly houses. Generally considered places in the 1700s and 1800s where queer men gathered to socialize and find sexual partners. There was a lot of gender divergence in these spaces, and it's widely believed they were frequented by people who, again, today, could have a variety of gender identities. This article about molly houses and gender is really interesting. This article specifically talks about one in Whitechapel. - The Chevalier d'Eon. This one is just really interesting. While the Chevalier d'Eon was likely one of the first examples of legally recognized gender transition, this person was very famous and wealthy and the circumstances are buckwild. This video is highly watchable and informative. Grell

As a queer person and someone who likes history (I don't have any specific training, I just like learning about it), I already think a lot about what it must have been like to live during this specific time period, and Grell slots into that pretty well as a character to fixate on, since she dovetails with the other existing hyperfixation. By extension, I like using this information to think about what Grell's human life might have been like, and how those experiences could be aligned to explain a lot of her behavior, and seems especially poignant to me in light of all reapers having been people who committed suicide, another recent lore reveal in the manga. Maybe she lived closeted and lived in fear of discovery. Maybe she wasn't afraid! Maybe she was impulsive and endangered herself and others! Maybe she got blackmailed. What if she experienced her first taste of femininity at a molly house? Does she only go after men who reject her because she lived during a time where her affections being returned was intensely dangerous? Did she care about anyone? Is anyone she knew still alive? Thank you so much to everyone who read to the end! If I'm able to rally, I do want there to be a part 2 to this going more into detail about how it makes sense to me that these homophobic and transphobic societal pressures could have created a character like Grell.

[iamjustalittle]

ABO, Mpreg, Alpha Max / Omega Daniel, ~800 Words.

This was the first fic that I wrote about Maxiel when my friend asked me to take a look at this madness of a couple. And I did and went insane. So the dynamic is not very exactly what I think they will share if I write it again but I think it is kinda funny nevertheless.

Family Day was usually Daniel's responsibility. Daniel was super popular among kids, parents, and teachers – at this point, it was no surprise. Every time he went to pick up Jasper, their little boy, he brought some snacks and bribed many of the kids' classmates, which went a very long way.

Although Daniel loved Family Day very much and even wanted to take the opportunity from Max again, the healthy development of a child required both fathers to do their jobs. It was really weird how he got to this point if you thought about seven years ago. Daniel had been (literally) screaming like a pile of chicken in front of the mirror when he took a look at the pregnancy test and woke up Max, who went straight into full panic mode. He had only had some dumbass experiences with kids, them flopping to the ground and crying, and he had been dying, laughing his brain out by their side.

How he had made it this far, he had no clue, but for one, Daniel was very proud of himself.

He had to comfort himself with something good because Max going to Family Day alone was stressing him out. Max was a very good dad, don't get him wrong, but sometimes they, both of them, pulled some ridiculous dad shit that a dad would do.

The theme of Family Day was to build electric toy cars. Parents and kids worked together, and based on the results of a series of small games, they could choose different parts to assemble the final car. Finally, the cars raced on a 100-meter track on the playground.

Both Verstappens were very serious. Between the two, one was much more serious than the other—one of them went to the teachers almost at every step to discuss the reasonableness of the race design. Well, this indeed put the teachers and the principal in an awkward position. This seriousness could be understood because Family Day was planned based on the parents' different professions, and the WDC was probably not included in the teachers' prepared plans originally. Max thought they should. This was Monaco, at the end of the day.

Things finally got out of control when they were ready to bring the race cars on the scene. Little Verstappen had probably never been treated this way by his dad, as Max just snatched away the better toy tire that they won from the previous game. He faced his deflated tire on his toy car and watched his dad write on his own car: "No.1 Verstappen."

"Daddy," he poked Max's waist. "I am No.1 Verstappen."

"Who said that?" Max raised the toy car in his hand and examined it from the back (rear wing), actually not even giving his son a glance.

"Papa. Papa said I am the best Verstappen!" the son said proudly, patting his chest.

"Papa's number is 3. How does he know who No.1 is?" Max said sincerely. "Papa is lying to you. I think I am No.1, and everyone can see that. I mean you also have Ricciardo in your name!”

Jasper just could not understand what he was talking about. He’s six. But Max just kept going.

“And you know, daddy’s name is Max. Do you know what Max means? Max means the greatest in English. Which means No.1.”

“And also the first No.1 to your papa. Most importantly.” He added. Sebastian’s face showed up in his mind for a moment, which made his voice even louder and clearer.

At least this time his son got the memo.

When Daniel arrived at the scene, his son was still sobbing in the teacher's arms and didn't want to come out. Max stood beside the teacher, looking helpless, with messy hair and shirt. He tried to coo and had no luck whatsoever. He scratched his head, also on the edge of freaking out as he glanced at Daniel, with a scent full of chaos. "We haven't even competed... He has been crying! Why is he crying?"

Daniel's veins were about to pop from his head. He apologized to the teacher, half-knelt in front of little Ricciardo-Verstappen, wiped his tears, hurriedly offered him a strawberry lollipop, and then hugged him, patting Jasper’s back, while giving Max a stern look. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, I mean, my car is just a little better than his, that's the truth..."

An Alpha being stared at by an Omega and retreating, how strange. Max began to pull his hair again, and he started to explain with his hands everywhere. "I said I am the number one Verstappen... You shouldn't lie to him because I mean you love…"

"Max Verstappen," Daniel interrupted. "Shut your mouth."

[nat-seal-well]

Wip Wednesday :D

Kicking things off on my lunch break this morning (at 7 AM 😭)

Tagging @pinksparkl @evilbunnyking @serenpedac @ejunkiet @agentnatesewell and anyone else who has something they want to share!

The snippet under the cut is a little long, but it’s from the Halloween fic I’ve been working on :)

They bit their lip. “I’m afraid of dying.”

Nat felt like she had been staked through the heart.

Her reaction must have been obvious, despite the fact that she didn’t make a sound. When they opened their eyes, they offered her a smile of reassurance, when it really should have been the other way around.

“Marin…” she tried to say, but they cut her off.

“I know it’s dumb, because worrying about it doesn’t do any good. It isn’t like I can control it. But I’m still scared. Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but… but with everything lately, all the Agency stuff and the bounty and the trappers… and last week… it’s getting harder to ignore. Eventually it’ll go away again and get easier to deal with, because that’s always what happens. I just gotta get there first.”

Reaching out, Nat took their hand in both of her own and brought it up to her chest, over the heart between her ribs that felt like it was being strangled. “Mari, you know I will not let anything happen to you.”

“That’s the issue, though,” Marin said, sitting up so they could look her in the eye. “You can’t. Not really, I mean. It’ll happen someday, because that’s just how it works. I don’t know if it’ll be during a mission, or because of some sort of freak accident, or a health thing, or maybe I’ll just be really, really old. But it’s still gonna happen.”

Their words turned the blood in her veins to ice. She had thought about it too. Of course she had. Nat couldn’t keep them at her side, lovely and painfully mortal, and not think about it. She knew it slipped through her carefully-woven mask of self-control more times than it should have, no matter how hard she fought to keep it under her thumb. But not even that could be helped sometimes. Nat had been watching them more closely since the last mission, afraid that if she looked away even for a second she’d find them with a hole punched through their gut by a bullet, bleeding out and helpless on the floor.

…She also hadn’t been able to lock away the idea that kept creeping back into her mind.

It isn’t something they discussed yet. Neither of them had even danced around it. In fact, they hadn’t talked about it at all, in any capacity. Nat knew the avoidance couldn’t go on forever, though.

Not when it was her. Not when it was Marin. Not when it was the two of them, together. The conversation had to happen eventually, no matter how much she dreaded it. But ignoring what was right in her face didn’t make it go away. It was still there, no matter how often she kept throwing a sheet over it to keep it hidden. Marin was still aging, every single day, every single hour, every single second. Each breath and heartbeat drew them closer to the end, no matter how slowly it happened. She couldn’t pretend forever.

Sitting there on the blanket, under the cover of the night sky, she still didn’t think it was a discussion she was ready to have. That didn’t change the fact that it had to. Nat would never be ready for it.

So she inhaled to find the right words, and then—after a long, slow deliberation—she said, “Marin… I know we have yet to talk about it, but… we could take measures that would keep that from happening, in most ways. Barring a few limitations, of course. But you could—you would be with us. With me. Forever.”

The thought of it pained her as much as it brought her hope. Pain for what it would mean Marin would have to lose; Nat never mourned the loss of anything like she mourned the loss of her humanity, aside of course from her family. Marin would have to go through that, too, and she wouldn’t wish it on anyone, least of all them. But without that, she would risk losing them. No, not that. It wasn’t even a risk. It was an inevitability, something guaranteed to happen. And that hurt far, far worse.

She would have been willing to be the one to do it, if Marin asked. Nat would have volunteered to take care of the job herself when the time was right. All they had to do was ask. All they had to do was say yes.

Please, please, please. You have to say yes.

She wanted them to as much as it hurt her. She needed it.

But all Marin did was smile. They didn’t say anything for a long while, choosing instead to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear as they looked over the details of her face like they wanted to commit them to memory.

“I love you, Nat,” they began at last. And her heart broke even though they hadn’t given her an answer yet, because if that was how it was going to start, there was only one way it was going to end.

[simshousewindsor]

ASCOT ADVICE

[Buckingsim Palace, Buckingsimshire 9:50 AM WST]

Queen Katherine: I still can't believe granny Niema is dying!

Zarah, Queen Dowager: It's her time. We all have a time, darling.

Queen Katherine: Mom isn't doing well. Between the Royal Lodge fire, her feeling like she has no place to call home, to finding her place as the new Queen Mother.

Zarah, Queen Dowager: Rowena will be just fine. What about you? This royal ascot guest is quite the pick!

Queen Katherine: What am I walking into, granny?

Zarah, Queen Dowager: Your father was a smart man. He never did business with shady people. Louis, well, I still love him. I trust both of my sons!

Queen Katherine: There isn't much information on her. Martin looked into her, into her husband, and into the deal that got them Glimmerbrook back. Prior to that, she's a ghost! To find out that she was also close with daddy before he died, I need answers. What better way than during a public sporting event!

Zarah, Queen Dowager: You are strong, just like your father. So quick to action and judgement! What is her maiden name again?

Queen Katherine: Stanley. Why?

Zarah, Queen Dowager: Oh, nothing. I see we're taking a shorter walk today. Either you don't want to talk about something or you've had too much coffee.

Queen Katherine: It's Lara...

Zarah, Queen Dowager: You are so much like your father.

Queen Katherine: Lara doesn't understand the stresses I'm under. She expects everything to still be the same, and granny, she's gotten even lazier! Her and Anthony have declined so many engagements. They're unreliable! She also wants more money!

Zarah, Queen Dowager: Your sister is looking for a place in your shadows. She doesn't feel that she belongs, that she has a purpose. She was born second in line to the throne and, with the birth of the twins, is now fifth. I'm sure she also misses her sister. We live complicated lives, my child.

Queen Katherine: Speaking of complicated, where is your cane? The doctor said you've had complications walking?

Zarah, Queen Dowager: It's nothing! He's just being dramatic. Where is your brooch? I think your outfit is missing something!

Queen Katherine: I wanted my outfit to speak for itself.

Zarah, Queen Dowager: I know Ascot is calling! I do miss attending but I am far too weak. I'll be watching on the television! I love that sexy anchor, Cameron Dorly, on SNN!

Queen Katherine: (laughs) Oh, granny!

- - - - - LATER - - - - -

[Easton Racecourse, Balsimore 12:52 PM WST]

Queen Katherine: Grand Duchess! We finally have a moment alone.

Grand Duchess Kamil: Hello, Your Majesty.

Queen Katherine: Enjoying your first Royal Ascot?

Grand Duchess Kamil: I am! My husband and I both are.

Queen Katherine: This was one of my father's favorite engagements. (smug) He is the real reason we're both here, am I correct?

Grand Duchess Kamil: With all due respect, Your Majesty, undertones are not needed with me. There is much you do not know.

Queen Katherine: It seems my father told everyone everything except me, his heir, and now he is gone and I'm left to finish whatever scheme he started. My uncle told me a few things but it appears there is more.

Grand Duchess Kamil: We have much to discuss.

Grand Duke Erik: You should visit Glimmerbrook, Your Royal Highness. You would love the country!

Prince Louis: I'd like that! How is your military?

Grand Duke Erik: We could use some help.

Grand Duchess Kamil: Also, His late Majesty and I were not having an affair, contrary to rumors. The Duke of Kent also knows the truth!

Queen Katherine: (hesitant) The truth? What does the truth of you and my father not having an affair have to do with the Amulet of Amethyst?

Grand Duchess Kamil: I know the Queen Mother thinks we were having an affair. I need her to know the truth. We are cousins, Your Majesty! I am also a descendent of Queen Isabella and Albert I.

Queen Katherine: (gasps)

Grand Duchess Kamil: "I am also a Virtuoso spellcaster."

Grand Duchess Kamil: Princess Catherine had a secret child with a spellcaster during a time, in the 1800s, when spell casting was forbidden in Windenburg. Queen Isabella forced Princess Cate to leave the baby in Glimmerbrook, with its father, and the infant was never seen or spoken of again.

Queen Katherine: I... I don't know what to say.

Grand Duchess Kamil: The infant was a girl, my great-grandmother. Your father knew this, and together we were searching for the Amulet of Amethyst. My great-grandmother died performing a spell with the stone, then it was secretly sent to her grandmother, Queen Isabella, who hid it. The magical stone could be worth §100M simoleons!

Grand Duchess Kamil: Before he died, your father found a clue. We don't know what he found but it could help lead us to the stone. The only problem is no-one has access to the Kings files except...

Queen Katherine:...except me.

Grand Duchess Kamil: The Queen Mother believed the media reports that we were having an affair and has refused to see me. I knew she would not help us.

Queen Katherine: Us?

Grand Duchess Kamil: Yes. Will Gates. There is more you should know.

Queen Katherine: Lunch, Grand Duchess?

Princess Lara: Look there, Anthony! Hickory Blazer has overtaken Bentley Road!

Prince Anthony: Aren't we rooting for Bentley Road?

Princess Lara: (excited) "Yes, but I love a good fight!"

Prince Anthony: Who's fighting?

Princess Lara: "The horses, Anthony! The horses!"

Grand Duchess Kamil: I think that is a lovely compromise.

Queen Katherine: Well, it's a large gamble on my part but in the spirit of Ascot, I'm open to making a deal.

Grand Duchess Kamil: The terms His late Majesty agreed to are perfectly fine!

Queen Katherine: Fine for who? That agreement died with him.

Grand Duchess Kamil: Okay. I'll agree to your terms.

Queen Katherine: I'd like to meet Mr. Gates, also... since we're all cousins.

Grand Duchess Kamil: I'd be happy to arrange that. The Amethysts Quest continues!

Queen Katherine: "The Amethysts Quest?"

Grand Duchess Kamil: "Yes. That's what His late Majesty called it."

Previous | Beginning | Next - continue Heir Ascent (story)

Previous | Beginning | Merged with Heir Ascent - continue The Amethysts Quest (story)

The Royal Ascot Procession

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

First of all, I can't thank you enough for all the work you have put out on Haylor. Also, I was relieved to see your analogy of TK and agree with it. My question to you is do you think that Blondie knows that she's hurting Harry by getting with someone else so quickly? I never imagined that she would do this after the fiasco with MH. I'm also afraid that she's looking for an excuse to not make a commitment to Harry.

TYSM for your kind words, Anon. It is a lot of fun to have somewhere to outline all these thoughts and discuss them because I don’t have IRL, local friends who want to discuss Haylor with me. It’s been a joy interacting with you all here.

On to your questions: I think Blondie is the queen of compartmentalization and keeping her shit held close to her chest. If she lets herself think about it, she would for sure realize her choices hurt H. I just don’t think she is letting herself think about that right now.

In my social media avoidance, I am listening to the audiobook of Jennette McCurdy’s harrowing “I’m Glad My Mom Died”. One particular passage jumped out at me earlier today:

- while her Mom was in hospice and dying, McCurdy broke up with her the guy she’d been seeing. Looking back, she admitted that it was so much easier to just pursue the heady, infatuation stages of relationships and run away when things started to get serious because that required honesty and compromise and vulnerability and hard work. And I thought: bingo!

For weeks, I have been saying TK is uncomplicated. We know that Blondie sure loves the “delicate beginning rush” (and H adores that delicate point of view) because it’s FUN! And carefree! And all the discussions about “how do we merge lives? Deal with communication issues? Etc.” are all well in the future.

The May MH fiasco was a reunion of sorts, and I bet early on Blondie was like “and thaasaaaat’s why it didn’t work out last time. Shit.” I speak from personal experience when I say that reunions are initially amazing, but very quickly force some hard conversations about all the things that led to the breakdown in the first place. And that is scary and hard. And doable, sure, but complicated.

Story time: when we were 17 and 19, I fell deeply in love with my best male friend. We dated for a couple years but broke up because we needed to grow up and figure our shit out. The in between times were messy (and included me drunkenly enacting the song Question….? when he dated someone I hated despite me having a different LT boyfriend). We reunited at 22 and 24, and it was amazing at first and then quickly became fraught. We legit had a discussion where we agreed: “our options are (a) this goes the distance or (b) we cannot speak again” because we couldn’t just be friends anymore. We figured out shit out and are happily (and beautifully imperfectly) married, but it took and takes work. It is absolutely worth it but it is hard! And it really could have gone either way.

So the prospect an actual, official public reunion—knowing that they’ve publicly cultivated the “peaceful friendship” Tree told us all about after the Grammys—is scary and risky. It might be too much for them ever to contemplate, even if they want to be together otherwise. And Blondie has been through what many people (me included) would consider a divorce. Hell, same with HS and the OW coparenting stuff. They’ve both been vulnerable then badly burned in the recent past.

So I think Blondie continues to run (which @womanexile tells me is often what one TF does). And new relationships have no baggage, at least at first. So here we are.

What do you think, besties?

[llliiinnnaaa]

Reprisal | Chapter Three

coriolanus snow x gaul oc

Summary: Ten years after the Tenth Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow is under Dr. Volumnia Gaul’s wing as a Gamemaker alongside her niece. Unbeknownst to either of them, they’re both being prepared for a much greater task.

Warning: This story will contain explicit violence against adults and children alike (I mean, it’s Dr. Gaul AND Snow) as well as explicit language, and sexual situations.

***This fic is in no way, shape, or form, me endorsing or co-signing the horrific shit Snow does, nor am I trying to romanticize it. Also, apathy and will be the main driving force of any remnants of a relationship between my OC and Snow’s character. So if you’re interested in something very romantic and fluffy…it’s not gonna be this.

     She’s home by nine o’clock, quietly tip-toeing in after realizing her husband had already gone to bed. 

Approaching the dinner table, she lifts the silver lid of the plate cover, seeing steak, some asparagus and a baked potato before quietly replacing it…

It’s when the lamp in the formal living room snaps on, capturing her attention as it illuminates the face of her father that she nearly jumps out of her own skin — her mind already riddled with enough guilt tonight. 

“Ah!” A sharp but short scream leaves her throat. 

Her hand rests over her pounding heart, taking in deep breaths as he offers a warm smile. “I forgot that you and mom were coming to stay for a little while.” She admits before it hits her fully. 

Oh, shit. 

The house isn’t ready, the groceries, her mental capacity to handle her parents…

“We just got in about an hour ago — Dyess fed us, don’t you worry.” He keeps the smile on his face despite his daughter’s appearance.

Exhausted and clearly scatter-brained. 

The same as she was when he and her mother visited for the night a little over a month ago. 

She had crept in well into the middle of the night, heels in hand, skirt on backwards, makeup smeared, hair a mess…exhausted. 

He had kept his mouth shut, then, and he does so, now. 

“I’m gonna go to bed. I’ve got a big day tomorrow.” She informs him quietly, kissing his cheek. 

“Goodnight, dear.” He replies sweetly, watching her disappear behind her bedroom door, the both of them huffing out heavy breaths once they're out of sight of each other.

"Everything alright?" Dyess asks, still awake, book in hand as Tawny steps to him, crawling onto the bed and on top of him to lay on his chest. “Did Snow go easy on you?” He adds, not taking his eyes off his book. 

She wants to scoff at the question. 

Snow never goes easy on her — or anybody for that matter. In any aspect of anything. 

“I still have a job. He told me we’d go over it tomorrow.” She mumbles, closing her eyes, deciding to leave off the part where he had her backed against the door, leaving her with no option but to dig  her nails into her palms and bite her teeth into her tongue to keep from getting on her knees, falling at his feet. 

“What about your aunt?” He asks it cautiously, eyeing her reaction.

“She just sat there and let me ramble on. She didn’t say a word to me until I went to go and she told me we’d discuss it in depth tomorrow.” 

“So…meet with Snow tomorrow, and your Aunt?” Dyess asks, terrified at the agenda himself. 

But he knows Tawny will face it with a stiff lip. 

She’d always been the better of the two of them to pull up her bootstraps and just push through. 

“They’re going to rake me over coals, Dy.” She whispers, dreading the lectures. 

“They’re like cats that bat around a mouse until it dies but never actually eat it. They’re bored and need someone to pick on. This time it’s you.” He mumbles, sighing out as he turns a page. “It’ll pass once they get bored again and move on to a new victim.” 

“I don’t know what to do. It’s easy to fix things when you know what needs to be fixed. All the problems start from nothing, it seems.” She thinks it aloud. “I started doing this because I believe in the Games. I believe they’re good, and justified. Everything I’ve done has been for our girl, but this last year…especially these last months…”

Trailing off, she swallows the lump in her throat. 

“You have two of our best Gamemakers on your side. If they weren’t, you’d be gone already. Just take a breath, think of tomorrow as a new day, and let it be for tonight so you can get some rest. Alright?” 

She nods, accepting his lips pressing to hers but she recoils when his hand finds the small of her back and tries to drift lower. 

“Not tonight, Dy, I’m really stressed.” She sighs out, earning a chuckled out, “That’s what I’m trying to help relieve.” 

“I don’t need anything relieved right now with my mother in the next room.” She grasps his face in her hands. “Okay?” 

He nods, smiling gently at her. 

“Okay.” He nods, to which she kisses him one quick time before heading to the bathroom to shower, and go to bed. 

     The next morning, Dr. Gaul and Coriolanus stare at the empty syringe that’s perched in a labeled, air tight bag, staring right back at them. 

“I want to keep this between us for now, Mr. Snow. I’ve ordered a discreet investigation into her other failed cases.” She says, her voice shaky with anger and irritation. 

“…It was in his office?” Snow asks, lowly, studying the evidence before him. 

“In the trash. The DNA on the needle matches that of the mutt Tawny was working on just yesterday.” 

“Liver failure due to too much iron.” He echoes what Dr. Crane’s students had told him the day before. 

“Implemented by her own husband, apparently.” Dr. Gaul mutters. “More than likely not the first of many of her cases he has sabotaged.” She adds. 

“Have you devised his punishment?” Snow hisses, anger cradling his words as blue eyes nearly puncture the evidence itself from how hard he’s glaring at it. 

Volumnia doesn’t speak a word. 

He slowly looks at her, letting out a breath. 

“Dr. Gaul.” He says in a grit, his mind running wild with his own vivid reprisal.

At first it’s the basic instinct to punch him until his face caves in, yelling, screaming, cursing…

Then it turns to more appropriate manors of revenge. 

Crane didn’t outright slaughter mutts or burn down any plants that his wife had tried her hardest to create and maintain, no. 

He was more discreet, more contrived, patient, planned…sneaky. 

His mind immediately drifts to Casca Highbottom, what feels like eons ago, knowing he carefully took his last breath by Snow’s will. 

No. 

A bloody and obvious murder wouldn’t be in the cards for Dyess Crane. 

Coriolanus has to play this just as Dyess is. 

It wasn’t that he was offended for Tawny, had it occurred to anyone else he’d still be infuriated if it possibly affected the Games in any way. 

They had deadlines, statistics, test runs, meetings, a certain amount of hours in the lab that needed to be met weekly, grievous schedules and agendas to make sure all went perfectly and keep everyone on their toes and try to maintain impeccable results. 

Scientists and Gamemakers alike were both on the same team. Their goal is to achieve and deliver a more entertaining and interesting Hunger Games than the year before.

And someone on the team is fucking it up for everyone — to what end, exactly?

He envies his wife? 

He scorns her for being the same intelligent woman he married?

It almost makes him scoff. 

Of course. He’d known this. The evidence had practically been there to anyone to see if they looked a smidgen closer at the Crane’s relationship. 

Tawny had confessed it in the aftermath of one of their times together.

Dyess Crane didn’t marry her because he was in love with her or her intelligence.

Coriolanus furrows his brows, rolling his jaw.

“ We got married because I got pregnant ,” She had whispered it to him, her delicate fingers fumbling with the gold wedding band on his left hand.  

Snow – in the lusty haze that followed his satisfaction that couldn’t quite be quenched when it came to her – had nearly admitted that his own marriage to Livia was out of convenience. 

He enjoyed her compliance, and beauty, and her ability to ask as little questions as possible. She was smart enough to have good conversations with, they shared the same opinions of Panem and how it should be. 

They were compatible, so he proposed. They married a year later, and were still happy enough eight years later. 

The way Tawny had spoken of her marriage, she’d been trapped for fourteen years. 

Fourteen years married to Dyess Crane.

He wrinkles his nose at the thought. 

He would’ve already taken a deep dive off of a short roof if he were her.

He never felt trapped with Livia, nor did he ever feel the need to do any extra-marital activities until the last few months of working directly with Tawny. 

He feels tempted to inform her that not only did her husband marry her solely because she got pregnant, but he married her with the hopes of her staying at home and raising their child while he got to run with the big dogs. 

“I want him dead.” He speaks it clearly, casually. 

It’s not him asking permission.

It’s him informing Dr. Gaul that Dyess Crane will die. 

“Wait for the investigation to conclude, and then we begin our game.” She says to him dreadfully, the promise of demise in her tone pulls his eyes to hers. “Until then, this debacle stays between us. Not a word of this will be mentioned during your time with her this morning.” 

“You want me to lie to her?” 

He’d never had to before, and he liked to think she hadn’t lied to him, either.

But omitting the truth…that line was thin, but not too thin for him to walk on. 

“She is going to want to retrace her steps, as she always does with her failed cases. She’ll order an autopsy and will receive the results and then eventually will put together that someone sabotaged her. She’ll be so consumed with fury that she’ll act irrationally — unbecoming — of someone in our profession.” Dr. Gaul says it as if knowing full-well how her niece will react.

“I want you to keep her dumb to the idea that the man she loves is trying to make ruin of her career…of her future as a part of my Games.” 

I want you to keep her dumb…

Keep her distracted . 

His mind roams at the thought.

It sounds like an order, one he silently wonders has creative liberties as he gets a brief picture of a few ways to keep Dyess out of Tawny’s mind completely. 

Go about things as usual .

He merely nods, taking in a breath as he steps from her lab. 

     An hour later, Snow waits impatiently for Dr. Crane, seated at his desk glancing over the past five of her failed cases — excluding the most recent. 

He checks his watch, huffing out an irritated breath. 

She’s nearly fifteen minutes late.

Down the hall, Tawny and Dyess slowly step toward Coriolanus’ office. 

“…I don’t want those people in my apartment, Dy.” She mutters. 

“Tawny, be nice, now.” 

“They’re district.” 

“They’ve wisened up and chose correctly.” He replies, optimistically. 

Strabo Plinth — an inherited friend of Dyess whose dead rebel son was in the same class as Dyess’ dead sister who might as well have been killed by a rebel — and his wife had been invited to dinner by Dyess and Tawny’s parents…who also adored the Plinths and the ground they walked on. 

“And that’s why their son was hanged for conspiring with rebels out in 12?” She remarks. “Because they’d wisened up?” 

He sighs out, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before he stops and pulls her aside. 

“I know you’re still angry. I know you’re still resentful, and you have every right to be. But the Plinths have been nothing but good to all of us. They can’t help that they weren’t born Capitol.” He says quietly. “Your parents enjoy their company, I enjoy their company, and they haven’t gotten the opportunity to come to our house in the fourteen years we’ve been married. It’s long overdue.” He adds, raising his brows. “I thought you’d be happy to have more people to celebrate fourteen years together with.”

She exhales, rubbing her full lips together and he awaits her answer. 

Ah, yes, ringing in their fourteenth anniversary with the Plinths and her parents. 

There’s no other way she’d rather celebrate. 

“Okay.” She relents, mumbling it to his amusement. 

“Okay?”

Nodding, she offers a little smile as he kisses her chastely, glancing over her shoulder when they pull from one another. 

She’s about to turn to go when he stops her, bringing his lips back down to hers. 

“Dy, I’m already late.” She giggles but doesn’t push him away or deny him, allowing him one last kiss before they’re both breaking it. 

“Good luck.” He says to her with a wide grin that he wears as the blue-eyed blonde approaches them.“Good morning, Mr. Snow.” Dyess states, not looking away from his wife until she turns to see Coriolanus standing a few feet away, platinum curls styled perfectly, reflecting the light above their heads. 

“ Dyess .” Snow says cordially, digging his hands into his pockets to keep from balling them up into fists as his gaze shifts to Tawny. “Dr. Crane, you’re late.” 

“We’ve had an eventful morning.” Dyess interrupts, Tawny’s face blushing slightly at his hint of utilizing the fact her parents had gotten up early and gone out for breakfast, leaving the two of them at home alone. 

“Well, no sense in wasting more of my time.” Snow blatantly blurts, stepping aside and motioning to the door of his office as he glares at Tawny despite maintaining his polite expression. 

“I’ll see you later, Sweetie.” Dyess tells her and she nods, walking toward Snow’s office. 

They don’t bother further entertaining the silent dick measuring contest that’s happening between them, the two men turning their opposite ways and going on. 

“I’m sorry.” She says to Snow when he gets in his office, shutting the door behind him. 

“You do realize I have every right to dismiss you and report you for tardiness, right?” He threatens in a sharp hiss. 

“I didn’t realize what time it was.” She honestly states. 

“You can’t get fucked and read a clock at the same time?” He doesn’t even try to disguise the root of his anger as he walks to his desk. 

“Are you angry because I’m late, or because I was getting fucked?” She gives it right back to him, using the same degrading tone, her irritation matching his perfectly. 

“I’m angry that I’m trying to help you, and instead of showing up on time, you screw around — quite literally — and take advantage of my grace.” He speaks as if she’s a clueless child. 

“If you want to dismiss me and write me up, you can.” She assures him. “I didn’t mean to waste your time. Everyone in Panem knows that your time — above everyone else’s — is so precious after all.” 

He grinds his teeth. 

“It is, actually. Quite precious.” He raises his brows. “But you know that, of course.” Referring to something else entirely, and she takes in a deep breath, peeling her eyes from his. 

She has to. 

“Are we going to go over my cases?” She changes the subject, shifting in her seat, trying to keep her breaths under control as he opens his desk drawer and pulls the few files from it, tossing them to the desk without a word. 

Sitting with a sigh and opening the first file, he thumbs through it and taps his fingertips on the heavy wood under the folder. 

His blue eyes narrow as he reads over her notes, his mouth pulling downward when he realizes it’s one Dr. Gaul even assisted her on. 

As far as he can tell, it should have worked out…

Assuming this is one of the ones Dr. Gaul referred to being a part of the investigation they've opened, he keeps his mouth shut on it and closes it, picking up the next one. 

“…Is something wrong?” Tawny asks. 

He doesn’t answer, scanning this one briefly before huffing out in frustration. 

Fuck, Crane. You slick bastard , he thinks to himself, closing this one and opening yet another. 

He wonders how far back this sabotage has been occurring. 

By the time he has to close this one without offering a word to her about it, she’s marching toward him and reaches for the small pile he’s working through, only for him to grab her wrist, stopping her. 

“None of it’s even good enough for you to want to discuss it with me?” She questions. 

“None of it's worth discussing when there’s nothing to discuss.” He replies. “It looks fine so far.”

“If any of it was fine they wouldn’t have failed.” She retorts. 

His eyes go back to the page before him, ignoring her words and releasing her wrist. 

After another moment, he stands, tapping his finger on one line of writing in particular. 

“Come here.” He says to her. 

She eagerly goes, wanting to see his finding, hoping it will help to answer the root of some of her confusion and frustration. 

He steps aside for her to read over the line, leaning over his desk as she does so, her hand taking his to move it from her way. 

Her dark brows furrow as she reads the sentence, then re-reads it again. 

He sees the struggle on her face to make sense of what exactly he’s talking about, until he lowers his lips closer to her ear and quietly, flatly states, “You used the wrong tense of ‘too’.” 

Brown eyes meet blue, noses almost brushing together when she looks at him, over her shoulder, infuriated with his behavior. 

Petty and dismissive. 

She knows he doesn’t care for her, nor love her, nor does he truly care about what her husband does with her or to her, but he seems curious enough when he nearly whispers out, “Does he know?” 

Does he know?

Does he know I’ve had you in the car he bought you? In his house? In his bed?  

No. Dyess didn’t know. 

Her head shakes slightly, plush lips parting to breathe somewhat easier but all that does is grasp ahold of his gaze. 

“No.” She has to speak to break his attention from her lips. “Does Livia know?” 

“No.” 

He thinks of his sweet wife, always gentle and easy with him, so he tried to be just that  with her as well. 

It would be too obvious if he snapped and treated her as roughly and ravenously he treated Tawny in their time together. 

“Would you like to come eat dinner with my family and the Plinths this Saturday night?”

“That sounds like torture.” He doesn’t hold back, needing a drink even imagining them all around a table. 

His make-shift parental figures, his mistress, his wife, his enemy, and his mistress’ parents. 

Then he thinks of Dyess’ face when he answers the door, seeing Livia and Coriolanus. 

He’d pay good money to see Crane try to mask that rage. 

“I’m sure it will be for everyone involved…but I’m going to need a buffer between the Plinths and my parents and Dyess is only so good for so long. You can invite your cousin since she helped her old boss with my wedding gown. Having a few  other people there to hold their attention will help me not want to bang my head on the table.” 

He thinks about it, looking back down to the paper they’re standing over. 

“Philo will drop off a new case for you to work on this afternoon. Your last one before the Games.” Snow moves from her, black eyelashes resting against her cheek from her briefly closed eyes. “Make sure it’s somewhat successful. Meeting dismissed.” He adds and she gives an acknowledging nod of her head before she moves from him, too, back to the other side of his desk to head to the door. “What time is dinner?” He asks as she reaches for the door knob, stopping in her tracks, a little hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“Eight o’clock.” She replies softly.

“I might be there. It depends on how generous I’m feeling.” He admits, seeing her eyes roll before she opens the door. “Oh, Dr. Crane?” 

“Yes, Mr. Snow?” She asks, raising her brows. 

“Don’t say a word of your new assignment to anyone. Not your students. Not even your husband. It’s imperative it stays between you, myself, and Dr. Gaul.” 

He sees the way her brows twitch in slight confusion, her mouth pulling somewhat downward, the many questions swirling in her eyes, but all she says is, “I understand, Mr. Snow. I won’t tell a soul. I promise,” before she leaves his office, shutting the door behind her. 

I won’t tell a soul. I promise. 

The same words she’d whispered when they swore their affair to secrecy before agreeing to stop. 

He looks down at the folders, each one perfectly planned out, notes dated exactly, steps drawn out…and not a success in the bunch. 

His mind drifts back to that syringe Gaul showed him.  

Dyess could be charged with destroying Capitol property, malpractice, misconduct…Gaul would ensure he suffers more than anything and if by some abnormal chance she didn’t, Snow would. 

[bbygirl-aemond]

You may already be aware, but I actually found ppl going back and forth on Reddit about a post you'd made on here (re Viserys being a shite parent). It's under r/HouseOfTheDragon in case you ever wanted to check it out. I just recognized your name, as I follow you and it was shared as a screenshot from here.

lmao i will never get over how wild reposting on the internet actually is. that fucker has over a thousand comments and i had no idea until you told me just now! literally made a reddit account to try to add my voice to the din just to encourage people to discuss on the original platform so i can see but tbh people on reddit are a lot meaner than tumblr so i won't be mad if it doesn't get too many upvotes.

reddit's responses to this post is such an interesting case study in the polarization that's happening everywhere online. i get SO MANY accusations of being wildly biased from supporters of both "teams" all the time and it's funny because like am i too team green or too team black bc i can't be both right? mostly i think it's because people get really defensive when you criticize a character and assume it means you hate them. like bruh we are adults with big girl emotions can't it be a little more complex than that?

when i say i think viserys is a bad parent, i'm not saying it as team green propaganda. i've said before that rhaenyra is the rightful ruler and that i absolutely adore her as a character (let's just say aemond isn't my only babygirl). there's a reason i've written 100k+ words of fanfic designing a political scenario where she'll be able to happily rule without any of her children dying. spoiler alert: it's not because i hate her and think she's a bad ruler. and she's far from the only character on team black i love: daemon, jacaerys, lucerys, and baela all come to mind.

it's also really interesting to me that people see my opinion about viserys and, even though i literally did not mention rhaenyra, assume that i'm somehow shitting on her. it just goes to show how much they stand blindly by one team or another. that to criticize one member of their "team" feels to them like you're criticizing every member. like baby, i'm not the one making it about teams: you are! honestly, i understand why the team mentality was a good marketing move, but it really has been the death of critical thinking in this fandom. there are aspects of both that we're meant to root for, just as there are aspects of both we're meant to hate. none of these people are objectively morally good, and that's what makes it interesting, so why are we trying to pretend otherwise?

so while yes, i don't like viserys, why would i extend that dislike to rhaenyra? it's not like she forced him at gunpoint to do the things i'm criticizing him for lol. in fact, i think viserys did her just as dirty most of the time. i have another post in the works about this, but he neglected her for her entire childhood, groomed her best friend and dealt with telling her in the worst possible way, and made her heir in a bid for her affection yet did none of the actual work to honor her as a ruler. he could have made her his hand but instead he made her pour his wine?

now, again, just because we dislike part of something does not mean it's all bad. do i think viserys is generally quite a bad parent and person? absolutely. did i also cry ugly tears in the scene where he forces himself up from his literal deathbed to defend his daughter? yes. these two things can coexist.

also, because reddit is reddit, there are a bunch of comments that just miss my point about alicent and aemma entirely. i've already responded to those in a post here so i won't beat a dead horse too much. but to paraphrase: viserys married alicent because he liked her specifically not for duty or he would've married someone who wouldn't horrify the entire small council; and aemma didn't need to be alive and conscious for the pain she was put through at the end of her life. the things he did to his wives weren't necessary and i don't think we should be pretending they were.

lastly, it's really funny to me how many people incorrectly assumed i was a man in the comments. i'm genuinely the girliest girl to ever girl in real life (makeup jewelry and tits to the gods, sorority girly, the whole nine yards, i love it) and it gave me such whiplash. there's a joke to be made here about trying to weaponize male privilege somewhere.

[a-halfblood-named-coin]

Saw DND:Honor among thieves and I have THOUGHTSSSSS

Disclaimer: I am a dnd nerd but not intensely so. So compared to other more serious dnd people I probably care less about ‘game accuracy’ or whatever. Also, if your gonna reblog with “weren’t we boycotting” or smth, just leave bestie also SPOLIERS duh

ANYWAY- my main critique is the pacing. Overall, the fast paced nature helped keep the vibe flowing without getting caught but their were a couple times where I kinda got overwhelmed with how often we were switching scenes. That and I agree with the critiques of the tiefling design being rather boring, especially when you factor in her whole “I hate humans” thing since she looks almost exactly like them.

…and that’s it….no really! I found myself enjoying this film FAAARRRR more than I thought I would. At the end, I think why I loved it much more than similar movies is that it nailed the humor and comedic timing. It has its serious moments and it does them well, but overall it’s a really fucking funny movie where one of the main villains is defeated with a potato to the face. There are several stellar jokes, like-

The fat dragon

Everything Xenk says

The death of the red wizard lady lol

“What’s wrong with my lips!?”

The dwarven bridge

The fake window at the end

And of course NAT 20 potato!

I was laughing a lot throughout the movie, definitely it’s best aspect in my opinion. But I also loved the relationship between Edgin (the bard) and Hulga (the barbarian). I LOVE that they have raised this child platonically and have no desire to change that. There’s no secret crush or anything, they’re both interested in the opposite sex, just not each other. Simon is stellar, his arc is very sweet and simple and I love how his magic is shown. I like how he knows what he can or cannot do, the range of his spells and stuff like that. He doesn’t just wave his hands and magic just happens, it’s an actual skill. Of course the Druid solos, the use of the wild shape is so creative and very fun. And xenk (the paladin) is so deadpan and serious, I love him. All these characters are very silly and fun and fit very well into the goofy writing. I will say, the red wizards are not very fleshed out, but for most of the movie they aren’t really the main villain so it’s whatever to me.

The effects were really dope! They were several times where I think the practical effects really made the creatures that much more real. Defiantly a great case study for why it’s a great idea to ditch CGI (at least partially) and go practical.

Lastly, the serious scenes are really nice here, I’ll discuss two.

1st, the scene where they almost break up. Every good campaign needs to almost break up but I really like this scene. Yes, Edgin has lied by omission but only because he truly believes that Simon can do it. I like how he brings them back together, he doesn’t exclude himself from being a fuckup as well. But you have to keep trekking until youre happy, becuase if you don’t, your past trauma has won. Its very sweet how they all sit together. But what I love most is that they pivot their plan, Edgin still believes in Simon but realizes that not every insecurity can be over come by encouragement. So they come up with a plan that feels more comfortable, but just as crazy.

And 2nd, of course the death scene at the end. Yes it was predictable,but hulga dying and coming back is not what makes this scene, it’s Edgin putting his daughter first. Obviously I think she would want to meet her birth mother, but at the same time it’s a women she’s never known. Edgin realizes that he’s the only person here who would rather bring back his wife than Hulga. He comes to terms with the fact the Hulga is just as much his child’s parent as him or his wife, she means just as much to her. So, finally, he puts his daughters feelings first and resurrects the closest thing to a mother she’s ever had. It’s heartbreaking, but the action of a true parent.

OVERALL, I really loved this movie, again a lot more than I thought I would. Its funny, witty, fast paced fantasy fun. If you don’t want to give money to WOTC or Hasbro, watch it after it gets released online. But I definitely recommend it!