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#this game has impacted so many lives in different ways
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My girlfriend proposed to me today! Neither of us really like rings, so they had handmade me an amulet of mara and surprised me with it when we were out with some friends ♡
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BY. THE. NINE!!!
Congratulations first of all! I am so happy for you guys, really living the dream out here!
That amulet though! It is incredibly detailed, straight out of the game imo. This is such a neat and splendid idea. Diamonds and jewels are cool but nothing beats handmade AND from a video game. Someone better call Maramal, he has another wedding to officiate haha.
Again congratulations and thank you for sharing!
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dramarants · 5 months
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Wanting more homoeroticism in the tension between the show’s leads as the narrative introduces greater intimacy and higher stakes between them, especially in a landscape that lacks queer representation who isn’t a villain or dies within one or two episodes, but also recognizing that core values/motivation for these characters lie in their relationships with one of two major female characters in an on screen sausage fest where the only other woman is a morally reprehensible femme fatale and erasing and/or vilifying female leads in favor of conventionally attractive males is a common practice observed in fandoms that’s rooted in misogyny and justified under the guise of rejecting heteronormativity, thinly veiled double standards, or claiming the woman is simply not interesting enough and not wanting to bolster that mindset
#the worst of evil#you know who’s not interesting enough? haeryeon!! bibi’s acting the hell out of her and slaying while doing it#but idk anything besides she’s willing to subvert her dad for dick and values money over everything else#and also she’s hot which is great for me!! but also the male gaze#and I also get it - we don’t know much about euijeong in her limited screen time besides her relationships to junmo/kicheol#but she is given so many traits that are silently conveyed like compassion and bravery and sacrifice#she brought a fucking gun to her date with kicheol like the conflicts and motivations here are SO JUICY#her exasperation guilt and despair with the investigation; esp after listening to the voicemails#what’s the self respecting thing to do; do I still love my husband if he loses himself; can I continue a game I never wanted to play#at the cost of my life or my family’s life?#even though a lot of her choices are for her marriage she’s using whatever agency she has in her own terms#kicheol works to be an honest man and make a difference partly bc of her#not trying to place the burden of fixing men on her but ignoring her impact in the boys’ lives is wild#ship whoever you want hate whoever you want but don’t deride a woman just cuz ‘she’s in the way’ ya know#all this being said; kicheol bringing junmo home after he RAMPAGED seemingly on his behalf - literally who else is doing it like them#the yearning all around - I get it now; we need gangster mob!throuple to get any shit done around here (and for all 3 to stay alive 🫣🙏)#but the reality next week is gonna be so so bitter
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carriesthewind · 1 year
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The IA's "Open Library" is Not a Library, Yesterday's Lower Court Decision does Not "Hurt Authors," and the Planned Appeal Is (Almost Certainly) NOT a Good Way to Try to Change Bad Law (In Fact, It's More Likely to Make Bad Law Worse)
Ok, so a day later, I'm still mad about this. If anything, I'm even madder. I'm going to write this as a response to the Internet Archive's "The Fight Continues" blogpost, but before we begin, let's get some facts straight:
Copyright law in the United States, especially the law around digital lending, currently sucks. It's really really bad, and anyone with a stake in the game - except the big publishers and e-book services that profit from it - hate it.
That said, copyright law exists as a thing. As I said in a previous post, you *can* try to change it through court cases, but there are certain things you cannot change. And there are certain things you can try to change, but it will be an uphill battle to change them in a positive direction. And notably, as bad as digital lending law is in the U.S., it still could always get worse! And one general rule of impact litigation: if you are trying to change the law, you want to make sure you have the best possible facts. Because the worse your facts are, the worse your case is likely to go.
Yesterday's district court ruling DID NOT CHANGE ANY SUBSTANTIVE COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE U.S. I cannot emphasize that enough. Regardless of whatever you think of the ruling, it was applying already existing law to the facts.
This is because the Internet Archive's "Open Library" absolutely violates existing copyright law. It just does! They broke the law, they had plenty of notice they were breaking the law and harming authors (more on that below) and just think the law shouldn't apply because they don't like it.
The Internet Archive's "Open Library" is not a library. Some big ways it differs:
While it pretends to have a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio, as the opinion granting the publisher's motion for summary judgement notes, IA concedes that it allows "partner libraries" to add books to its collection and then doesn't check (and has no way of checking) if the book is out of circulation at the "partner library" at the same time it's being "checked out" of the Open Library. In other words, it's like if you took a book, scanned the pages, and then gave the scans to your friend who then loaned the scans out to other people but totally promised they were only lending the scans to one person at a time so it's basically like there is still just one copy! And meanwhile you still own, are reading, and lending out the physical copy of the book. Except instead of one book, they were doing this on a massive scale. NO, THAT'S JUST THEFT.*
Speaking of which, the "Open Library" didn't keep that promise! Their "Emergency Library" just let everyone borrow as many copies at a time as they could! Again, THAT'S JUST THEFT.
Like I'm sorry if you don't like the idea of copyright at all: right now, we live in a capitalist system where authors need to be paid for their work in order to, like, not die. If you take their work, scan it into your computer, and give it away for free to anyone and everyone, THAT'S JUST THEFT.
Also, most authors love libraries! Libraries allow more people to access their books while not substantially impacting their revenue and not impacting their rights! AUTHORS - not just publishers, authors - DO NOT LIKE AI'S "OPEN LIBRARY." Why haven't authors sued to stop this before, why is this the publishers suing? From the above letter: "Even simple copyright lawsuits must be brought in federal court, and often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A challenge to the Internet Archive could easily cost millions." Publishers have deep pockets that authors and authors' groups don't. Also, authors who object to AI stealing their work are frequently subject to harassment.
If IA won this case, the new law that would be made is this: it would be legal to steal an author's works.
*I'm using "theft" and "steal" instead of "piracy" throughout this write-up to make it clear what this is. "Pirating books" is just stealing them.
So to sum up the facts above: copyright law in the U.S. sucks, but it exists. Attempting to change it for the better through the court system would be very difficult. Even then, changing the law for the better would likely require a case with good facts. Unfortunately, the law could also change for the worse. Yesterday's ruling did not change any law. The facts in this case are very bad, because the IA absolutely violated copyright law. That is in part because the IA's "Open Library" is not a library; they just steal books. Many (if not most) authors and author's groups don't like that IA is stealing from them. If IA won this case, that victory would mean that anyone was allowed to steal an author's works.
*deep breath*
Ok, let's turn to the IA's statement, "The Fight Continues":
"Today’s lower court decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is a blow to all libraries and the communities we serve."
The Internet Archive is not a library.
No it's not. It is a blow to the Internet Archive, specifically, because you broke the law and it ruled you broke the law. As stated above, it does not change anything with regard to copyright, including digital copyright, law in the U.S., and therefore does not impact libraries or the communities they serve. If you appeal this ruling, as you have stated you intend to, and the law does change for the worse (which is always a risk of appeal, and a risk that gets worse when you have bad facts), THEN libraries might be affected.
"This decision impacts libraries across the US who rely on controlled digital lending to connect their patrons with books online."
I mean yes, in the sense that "controlled digital lending" isn't normal e-book lending. It's the thing you made up where you steal books and illegally redistribute them.
This genuinely sucks for libraries and communities that don't have other ways of accessing digital books because the current copyright scheme sucks so bad! Real libraries are doing things to try to help, and not just steal from authors! More on that below!
"It hurts authors by saying that unfair licensing models are the only way their books can be read online."
OH GO FUCK YOURSELVES
Ok this line, this line right here? That is honestly why I wrote this whole thing.
How DARE you cloak your theft in the real struggles authors face with unfair licensing models. How DARE you pretend you are on the side of authors when you are stealing their works, and they have made it quite clear that they would like you to stop, please. And how DARE you frame it in this "for exposure" bullcrap that ignores the real struggles that authors have to eat, to get healthcare, to get any sort of fair pay and wages for their work, and instead pretend that all authors should care about is whether or not their books can be read online.
And bluntly? If you - not IA, YOU, tumblr user reading this - if you shared this bullcrap statement and told people to donate money to the IA because of this? If you told people they should steal more books in response (because it's the publishers fault, ignore the real authors who are actually harmed)? How DARE you. How DARE you pretend to be on the side of authors and writers.
"And it holds back access to information in the digital age, harming all readers, everywhere."
Except for those readers who are also authors, and need to eat.
And readers who want to read books that will never get written if authors can't write (because they need to eat).
And also, no it doesn't, because it doesn't change the law. It just applies the law that already exists to you. Because you are not above the law.
"But it’s not over—we will keep fighting for the traditional right of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books."
You are not a library.
You were not (and are not) fighting for "the traditional right of libraries." Plenty of other organizations are fighting against bad copyright law in the U.S. This court case, however, was literally just about you stealing books.
Like I cannot emphasize enough that you were just stealing and you got caught.
"We will be appealing the judgment and encourage everyone to come together as a community to support libraries against this attack by corporate publishers."
You aren't a library.
Fuck you for borrowing the (justified) hatred of corporate publishers to paper over your bad actions.
Does "coming together as a community to support libraries against this attack" mean giving you money, as suggested by the calls to action at the bottom of this page? Because you aren't a library.
"We will continue our work as a library."
You aren't a library.
"This case does not challenge many of the services we provide with digitized books including interlibrary loan, citation linking, access for the print-disabled, text and data mining, purchasing ebooks, and ongoing donation and preservation of books."
First, and most important: these are all uncritically good and important things that the IA does! Despite the rest of this post, I am really really glad the IA exists, that it is doing these things, and I hope that it will continue to do this things!
You are correct that this case does not challenge those services! Because those services aren't just stealing books from authors, which is what you were doing, which is what this case is actually about!
I'm skipping the statement from Brewster Kahle because it's just more of the same. The statement then invites you to Take Action! by donating to IA and positing themselves as standing up for libraries! (They are not a library.)
But real libraries and librarians are actually fighting the good fight over lack of access to materials, especially digital materials and bad laws, and you can support them!
If you actually do want to "come together as a community to support libraries," and support digital access, may I suggest instead donating to The Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned program?:
https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned
While they aren't directly challenging bad copyright law, they are directly fighting back against laws that are much more actively and materially impact people's access to books, including providing free e-book and database access to everyone in the U.S. age 13-21. It's a great and important program, and your donations can really help!
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mylonelylittlestar · 2 months
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My little star
Characters: Xavier Summary: random relationship headcanons with Xavier Warnings: None A/N: I've completely fallen in love with Love and Deepspace, especially with Xavier. It's truly hopeless
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the type of boyfriend to get you matching pyjamas
he gets you so many that they slowly start to replace all of your own
likes to match with you even if you don't live together, so sometimes he just texts you to ask which pyjamas you're wearing so he can change into the matching one after he showered
if you ever gift him slippers, blankets, or pillows, he will keep them forever (even if it's something goofy like those big fluffy bunny slippers)
the best person to ask for good midnight snacks. He can recommend fantastic instant noodles, chips, crackers, or other snacks that are light and won't give you stomach aches late at night or negatively impact your sleep in any other way
very interested in your skincare routine (if you have one) and will try out any mask or cream that you give him
if you come up with a routine for him (a simple one, maybe, like the basic cleanser > toner > moisturizer), he will follow it diligently, dragging himself out of bed before he sleeps every day to do it because you were the one to pick those products for him and he doesn't want to waste that
he feels like it connects you to him, even if your routine is completely different and a bit more complicated
never cries during movies, no matter how sad they might be, but he does (on very rare occasions) get a bit teary-eyed
he will hold you if you cry during a movie, and he would never even think about making fun of you for it
he does secretly think that it's cute that you get so worked up about a movie
can sleep through anything. a bomb could go off in his house and he wouldn't know that it happened until he woke up
has seen every single episode of any shitty sitcom you can think of at least three times because he occasionally watches them while he sleeps
sometimes he quotes them but because he knows each of these shows so well now he always quotes the lesser known scenes and no one gets what he's talking about
you start to understand his references after a while, so sometimes he will quote some obscure scene from a super unpopular sitcom that got cancelled after one season and you're the only one laughing
secretly sneaks to the arcade sometimes to practice the claw machine game because he wants to get you the plushies you don't have yet (and to impress you)
he ends up getting dozens of repeats of plushies that you already own. he collects in a small storage room in his apartment that used to be empty
he ends up giving them away when the collection gets out of control, donating them to a children's hospital nearby
gets all shy when you find out about it, blushing bright red like a tomato (or a wasabi octopus)
knows about every single 24 hour store in the city because of his odd sleeping habits and always knows what to do no matter what time it is
you can't sleep and want to go on a date at 3:27 am? he knows a place
if someone is mean to you he will try his hardest to deescalate the situation, but he's also fully willing to fight the person if that doesn't work
I mean have you read his Anecdotes 2? He doesn't give a fuck. He'd prefer not to fight, sure, but if it's unavoidable? What is he gonna do? Not fight and defend you? Ridiculous.
The fandom has already started turning him into this soft uwu stereotype, but the thing is that that's... just not him? He's sweet and kind, yes, but that's not all he is. He's complicated! He has layers!
if he ever falls asleep during a date he would feel awful about it for days, even if you reassure him that it's fine and that you're glad that he feels safe enough around you to fall asleep
he tries to make it up to you with a different date and he falls asleep again, which starts a vicious, endless cycle
when he finally does get over his guilt it's only because you fall asleep during a date after you had a long day at work
knows when you cheat in kitty cards, but sometimes he just lets you get away with it, especially if he knows you had a stressful day at work. He hopes that the win will cheer you up
his good night kisses are forehead kisses while his good morning kisses are on top of your head if you didn't sleep over or on the cheek if you did
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I’ve noticed that in the marauders fandom, we tend to have a lot of young people and/or people who are new to fandom as a whole. I figured we could all use a refresher on general fandom etiquette, so here are a couple things to keep in mind as we all play side by side in the giant marauders sandbox:
Not everything you come across in the fandom is for you, and that’s okay. The fandom has many different sub-communities surrounding different characters, different eras, different ships, different tropes, and different ways of engaging with the source material. Some of it will be your cup of tea, some of it won’t be, and that’s okay and normal. You have the power to curate your own experience in the fandom and find your way to content that you want to engage with—don’t put that responsibility on the other fans doing their own thing around you. Ship and let ship, kin and let kin; learn that others’ way of “doing fandom” does not have to impact your own, and that your personal feelings of disgust do not need to equate to a moral judgment. It may just be created for an audience that does not include you, and that is fine.
TAG APPROPRIATELY:
It’s rude to post hate in a character's main tag. It’s simple; if you wouldn’t want to see such a post in your fave’s tag, don’t post it in another’s. Additionally, don’t post anything in a main tag that you wouldn’t want fans to engage with. A shitpost you don’t want fans to take seriously? A critical analysis that you don’t actually want to debate with die-hard fans? DON’T TAG IT. If it’s in the main tags, it’s fair game.
Respect the artist. Don’t post ANY hate on on someone else’s fan work (edit, fanart, fanfic, etc). It’s of a character or ship you don’t like? Scroll on. Your tags are always visible to the creator, and authors on AO3 often read all comments and notes on bookmarks. This is art provided to fans free of charge that took effort to produce, and fandoms wouldn’t be alive today without the work of these creators. If you value your community at all, encourage creating things as much as possible, and if you can’t find anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.
Only the characters and topics in the post should be tagged. For example, if you’re posting a headcanon about how Lupin, as Sirius’s bf, would react to Sirius’s new tattoo, you tag #remus lupin (or another remus variant, like #lupin, #moony, etc), #sirius black (or another variant like #sirius orion black or #padfoot), and the relevant ship: #wolfstar. Possibly #marauders (or a variant on that), #harry potter (or a variant on that) or something topical, like #tattoo. THAT’S IT. You do not need to, nor should you, tag James, Peter, Lily, Jily, Mary, Regulus, Jegulus, Marlene, Barty, Rosekiller etc. Tumblr’s tagging system is hard enough to search, and fans looking through their fave’s tags are going to be annoyed that it’s been cluttered up by posts that have nothing to do with the character/ship they’re searching for. You’re not getting “more eyes on your work” or “working the algorithm”, you’re just pissing off people who will report you for spam and/or block you.
Fanfic authors are, first and foremost, people just like you. Please remember to treat them that way. They have demands and projects and life events going on that have nothing to do with the fandom. They are under no obligation to write, they are under no obligation to post their writing, and they are under no obligation to write what you want them to. Be aware of their boundaries. Mind the tags and hit the back button if you don’t like something. Again, you are responsible for curating your fandom experience.
Fandom is a segment of someone's life. Fandom is not reflective of how anyone conducts their day-to-day lives, and it’s not reflective of morality, sexuality, causes they care about, political alignment, religion, etc. Don’t assume you know anything about anyone because of the ships, characters, tropes, etc that they like. Let them reveal as much of themselves as they feel comfortable doing; no one owes you any personal disclosures—ever.
If someone has asks on, feel free to engage and send them one! Most users really enjoy answering asks. Just make sure you’re treating the user with respect and that your tone is clear from your message. And don’t be afraid to leave (nice, kind, supportive!) asks with your username; it can be a great way to start to build a relationship with others in the community.
Reblogging > liking in fandom spaces. Obviously, it’s your blog, and you can decide what kind of posts you want to put on it, but in general reblogging is better because 1. it gets the original post in front of more people, who may not have seen it when it was first posted and may prompt a new round of interest and 2. you can’t search your likes, so reblogging is usually a much better way to make sure that you can find the post again.
This one isn’t really etiquette, but just general advice for new fans: Spend more of your time engaging with what you like in the fandom versus what you hate. If the ratio starts to shift, you might want to ask yourself if you even like what you’re defending, or if you’re just anti-whatever you hate.
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Fallingforyou
Imagine
Luke Hughes x Latina!reader
synop: a few moments where y/n mistakes Luke's kindness for being best friends, but they mean something more, it always does.
a/n: besties to lovies, the notebook is mentioned ofc, my work feels rusty but hopefully u enjoy ;)
cw: reader gets black eye in non-violent type of way, one cuss word I think, joke about being mugged, drinking, sweetie pie & Lu pet names hehe
You were one of the very few to see Luke Hughes. The turtle under the shell. It took time to see the real him but quickly over time he peaked out every now and then. He didn’t know why but he felt a different kind of my comfort around you. A comfort where you knew wouldn’t judge him. Maybe as a joke you would tease him but both of you knew you didn’t mean any harm. So he let walls come down to a complete stranger. A stranger he had just met, a stranger that he would fall in love with over and over again.
“You need to be more careful."
It was any other game day that you could attend. Wearing his number after you persuaded for him to buy for you. “Who else am I going to represent? Certainly not Jack…no offense.” you joked years earlier when you first started to cheer for him in person. He was surprised to hear you to bring up the idea but quickly got you your jersey the next day.
It was any other game day besides the slowly bruising black eye your friend gave you hours earlier. It was childish really, you two were messing around and dared each other to wrestle on the living room floor, and one maneuver led to your left eye hitting the couch’s arm rest. It hurt like a bitch on impact and the stinging after but the ice your friend placed on your face helped.
You knew Luke would say something so you showed up to the arena with sunglasses, taking them off to see the game clearly but putting them back on to see him after.
“Nice assist Lu,” you hugged him after he changed
“Thanks, what’s up with the shades?” he laughs poking at your glasses
“I thought they looked good with my outfit, what do you think?” You knew you weren’t fooling Luke, you were wearing jeans and his jersey, the basic outfit didn’t really need the sunglasses.
“How could have you seen my assist if you were wearing sunglasses?” His brows raise waiting for your response
You were about to come up with another excuse before Jack runs by snatching said glasses off your eyes, “Nice shades!” He yells as he jogs away, revealing your reddish purple turning bruise right under your eye.
“What the hell happened!?” Luke asks as he steps forward to get a better look, gently turning your head into better light.
“Nothing really, I was messing around and hit my eye on my couch. Don’t touch it.”
“Did you put ice on it?” He asks
“Of course I did Luke. Looks crazy though right?” You were kind of proud to have such an injury, it would heal eventually so why not be proud of it.
But Luke was not on the same wavelength, “Here. We gotta put ice on it." he grabbed your hand, dragging you towards the team's med room
"Luke I have ice at home."
"Just come."
The doc checked your shiner out by Luke's request and to no ones surprise, you were fine. He gave you an ice pack and Luke interrogated you on the way out,
"So what actually happened? You didn't just fall into your soft couch and get a black eye... No one hit you right?" you saw how his eyes slightly squinted
"I got mugged for my phone." you deadpanned. His eyes widened and his fists clenched, "But they clearly didn't win." you waved your phone in front of you with a big grin on your face.
"Thats not funny y/n." his features finally softened
You sucked in your smile into a flat one, "Sorry, me and y/f/n were wrestling and it ended with my face into the couch's hard arm rest and boom." you clapped for dramatics.
"You and y/f/n need to be more careful." he whispered in a stern voice making you smile of how many times Luke has said to be careful. Too many times than he would like that's for sure.
“Yes I can imagine.”
One of the many things Luke had to put up with to be your friend were the late night calls. You always watched your shows and movies at night. Sometimes with him but other nights when he was at his own place, you would call him to rant and give your movie review. This night you couldn't decide on a new movie to watch so you rewatched The Notebook for the nth time and it left you hollow like always.
You dialed Luke’s number mid sob after you finished the movie,
"Y/n what's wrong?" his voice was filled with concern as he heard your cries.
"Luke, you have to watch the notebook." you choke out, mindlessly staring at the rolling credits.
He paused in silence, "I already have y/n, I saw it with you, twice." he emphasized the word twice.
"Then you have to see it a third because it's just too good," you hiccup a sob before you started, "I mean- can you just imagine the love of your life writing you a letter everyday for a whole year and not knowing they existed!? god! it's heart wrenching. Noah Calhoun is the standard." Luke heard the same statement you have made many times before and with the same strong conviction. The change in tone in seriousness had him smiling on the other line holding in a laugh.
"Are you imagining?" you demanded after some silence,
"Yes I can imagine." he said in that sweet voice of his. He did imagine a love like Noah and Allie had. He would write a letter everyday to the love of his life if he knew for sure it wouldn't scare her away. He continued to hear your rambles he had heard before because it's the closest thing he can have insight on your views on love.
“I wish we met when we were kids.”
You were having a very small party for your birthday. You had the night off and wanted a quick but memorable celebration so you and close friends had dinner and a birthday cake in your cozy dinning room. You had help from your friends and Luke to decorate the place and it turned out better than imagined.
After dessert, and recreational drinking, gifts were handed out and it was Luke's turn. The one person you were excited the most to receive. He had gifted you a vinyl record of your favorite album,
"Thanks Lu but I don't have a record player" you laughed nervously
"That's why he bought you one too." Jack who had also been invited, carried a medium sized wrapped box that sounded heavy as he placed it in front of you.
"Dude she was supposed to unwrap it." Luke nagged at his brother spoiling his gift
"Oops, I thought it was obvious he would buy you both." he just shrugged his shoulders.
"I love it. Luke, you sweetie pie, thanks." Luke blushed as you called him his favorite nickname you gave him years ago. You hugged him before unwrapping the second gift. Behind your back Jack gave his little brother a wink.
The rest of the night consisted with setting up the record player and playing the album, playing board games, and more drinking than you should have if you wanted to remember the night. It was a bit too late when Luke had cut you off but the night was ending when people were leaving.
He was half-carrying you to bed when you drunkenly admitted, "You’re a good friend Luke, any girl would be lucky to have you that’s for sure.”
“Thanks,” he whispered as he helped you tuck into bed
“Can you stay with me? At least until I fall I asleep? I always feel lonely when I sleep alone, especially on my birthday.” you asked without any embarrassment.
“Of course.” He kicked off his shoes and got comfortable next to you. It wasn’t uncommon to be so close to one another but Luke always felt his heart race.
You were already under your covers, “Shouldn’t I change into my pjs?”
“You already did y/n.” Luke noted that you were very intoxicated and you wouldn’t remember the next moments.
“Oh crap, when did that happen!” Alcohol also made you delirious.
“An hour before people started to leave, you said you wanted to be comfortable, so now you're wearing your grinch pj pants."
You caressed the soft material, "I love my fuzzy grinch pants." "Hey don't you have a pair too?" you asked Luke from a lingering memory
"Yeah, we have a matching pair," he confirmed
"Because of last christmas... gosh that was a fun break, remember the snowball fight we had! we stayed out so long that your mom forced us to stay inside for the rest of the weekend."
“I remember. That was my favorite christmas.” He admitted,
“That was my first Christmas with all of you guys.” you realized out loud with some clarity.
Luke cleared his throat as he pulled out a small box from his pocket, “I have one more gift for you.”
“Wow. Three gifts. I must be important or something.” you joked as you took the box from his hands,
“You have no idea.” He whispered to himself but you were too preoccupied with untying the box to hear.
You opened the box to find a dainty gold swan necklace. Intoxicated or not you knew what the swan symbolized.
“Is this- what is this?” you asked in disbelief
“You know.” he stated softly
“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” You recited the line that always brought you to tears as you traced the minuscule details.
He watched how your tired eyes blinked slowly, “You can wear it in the morning.” He took the box and reached over to put it on your nightstand.
“Thanks Lu. You are way too kind. Scares me sometimes.” you snuggled into his side as a hug
"I wish we met when we were kids," you said.
“Why?” his arms found themselves around you caressing your arms.
“Because I would have spent more time with you. Having the title of growing up with Luke Hughes.”
“You wouldn’t have liked me then.” he said flatly
“I don’t believe that. Some friends of mine weren’t that great but you,” you point into his chest, “you are a true friend everyone should have at least once.”
“I was annoying as a kid.” he tried to deflect your words but it didn’t help.
“All kids are annoying. But you were probably the same sweet shy kid and I would have loved you for it like I do now.”
Luke had wondered the same, if, you two grew up together. Would things be different? Seeing and knowing you for longer than a few years. Luke didn't have to think too much before realizing he would have fallen for you inevitably.
You had cuddled closer to his torso if possible and started to close to your sleepy eyes.
“You should sleep,” he says
“Goodnight Lu”
“Night” he whispered softly
Once you fell asleep, he stayed in your bed a little bit longer. He thought of the nice words you said about him and thought of the possibility of you liking him back. He imagined at least 1% could have been possible. All he knew for sure, all that was admitted and shared that night would be forgotten on your part. He eventually left your place after leaving pills and water next to the gold necklace.
“I fell for you, hard.”
You woke up the next morning, almost afternoon, gulping the pills and water immediately. You noticed the dainty necklace and smile. You don’t remember exactly how you got it but you knew who gave it to you. You wore the necklace for the rest of days ahead.
A few days after your birthday you and Luke had plans to take a night ferry ride to see the city from the water. Another, belated, gift from Luke since you mentioned the idea a long time ago that you don’t remember bringing up.
You two ate dinner at your favorite spot and then headed out to the port.
“And I thought this was my last gift,” you fidgeted with the jewelry over your sweater.
He smiles at your recognition, “You never know, I might have another one after this one.”
“No more gifts please. I can’t compete when it’s your birthday.” you two shared a laugh as the ferry cruised by the city lights.
“As embarrassing it is, I don’t remember you gifting me this.” You motioned to your neck,
“I knew you wouldn’t remember. You were pretty gone by the end of the night.”
“Yeah I’m starting to regret that.” You leaned against the railing staring at the city
“How did you it was me who gifted you it?” He asked following your movements but not staring at the city view.
“Who else knows about my notebook obsession better than you?” You turned to face him, looking up at him even though he leaned down for you.
“Y/n.” his face drops into a serious one
“Luke.” you mimic his tone but with a smile
He breaks into a smile and laughs towards the water.
“You make me go crazy.” he says through a smile still looking ahead
“I didn’t do anything.” you laugh along at his demeanor
“Exactly.” his voice drops again
“I don’t get it.” you chuckle again but with uneasiness
“The night of your birthday. You said you would have loved younger me like you do now if we met then. What did you mean by that?” he turned to you this time.
“I said that?”
“Yes you did.”
“I guess I mean I would love you then like I love you now. You just said it yourself.” you scrunched your eyebrows in confusion leaving Luke frustrated.
“But what does that mean? When you say you love me now.”
“You don’t know what love means Lu? C’mon now.” you were deflecting in humor
“I know what love means. I want to know if we’re talking about the same type of love.”
“What type of love are you talking about then?” you asked in the same tone he had been using.
“The one where I gift you a necklace from your favorite movie. The one where I take the girl I’ve been in love with for years to see the city lights. The one where I would write you a letter everyday for a year.” he talked so fast it surprised you.
“You would write me a letter everyday?” is all you could get out.
“In a heartbeat. But I wouldn’t want it to come down to that because in the movie they breakup and that’s when Noah starts writing—“
He rambled off his reason but he was cut off when you pulled him in for a slow and soft kiss that quickly turned passionate. A loud a boat horn interrupts the moment and pulls you both away.
“Why didn’t I see this coming at all?” you asked yourself in his presence
“I don’t know. I thought I made it pretty obvious.” His comment would have made you laugh but you were still digesting that you kissed your best friend.
“I always thought that was you being you. The sweet Lu you always are.”
“I think you’re the only person who has ever seen that ‘sweet Lu’. You’re the only one who calls me sweetie pie.” he laughs as he rubs his neck.
“I mean that why I fell for you. How couldn’t I?”
“Right after we first met, I knew I was falling for you and falling hard.”
“I wish this happened sooner.” you said with teary smile.
He pulled you in and cradled your face, “I’m glad it happened at all.”
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AITA for not wanting to hang out with my boyfriend’s best friend?
My [33F] boyfriend’s [30M] (we’ll call him R) best friend (30s M) (call him D) is chronically late but also never communicates anything. I have ADHD and like I get it. I have all the patience in the world for people who are late if they communicate they will be late. But D will never communicate anything, ever.
R and D have a standing game night on Fridays where they go for dinner and play board games. D “normally” comes between 4-5pm. He picks up his kids from school at 3:30, drops them home with his partner and then drives over. It is a 30 minute drive. But in the past, both on regular Friday meetings, and for other meetups, he has been significantly late (3 hours, once!) without saying a word all day.
R wants me to join them on Friday evenings. I don’t have a traditional ‘job’ but I am a crafter with many things to do and also, as mentioned, I have ADHD. Part of that means I really need a specific time to go and do something otherwise I will just be stuck in like “wait mode” all day unable to do anything because I don’t know when I need to stop doing it. The first time I went out with R & D I did lose the whole day (no work done) because we could get no actual information from D on when he was coming, and he ended up not arriving until after 5pm.
I told D I didn’t appreciate not being able to properly plan my day, and that providing a heads up about these things is generally considered polite. I also made it clear afterwards to R that if D continued to not communicate anything and just “turn up whenever, at some point after 4, maybe” then I would not be joining them on board game nights. 
Today I once again only had “4-5ish, I guess” but by 4:30 not only was D not here but R had heard nothing from him, and suspected he had not even left. I told R I was not coming, I had already mostly lost the day - having stopped work several hours before - but I would at least be reclaiming the evening.
At 5:15 R called me to say that D had been arranging to have his partner come, and had been sorting out childcare (in the form of D’s mum). He at no point earlier in the day had said anything about this to R. In fact they hadn’t spoken at all. D then told R they would be leaving at around 5:45, so wouldn’t be here until at least 6:15.
I reiterated that I would not be coming. It was a boundary I set before and was very clear about, and was now enforcing it. D could have said much earlier that he was planning on inviting his partner, would have to arrange childcare, and would likely be later than usual. He chose not to do that, so I am choosing to not go.
R then got upset with me and said he would not be coming over to spend the night at my place the following evening (we have a normal routine on who stays where which days, and he knows unexpectedly changing that without any discussion at all will also mess with my ability to do things. The routine is important to me) because I was being unfair. 
I told him, again, it’s a firm boundary for me. People who won’t communicate anything at all when you have plans (even loose ones) aren’t respecting other people’s time. Even if that’s not the intention it’s still just… rude to the other person. Other people still have lives when you’re not there, and expecting everyone else to just be ready for “whenever” you feel like showing up without a word is not ok. Again, if it happens only once in a while because Shit Happens that’s different. But if it’s every time, with everyone, forever, then really you’re just a bit inconsiderate.
R says he doesn’t feel that way because he doesn’t have anything going on so it doesn’t bother him, so he isn’t upset with D (even though I have things on, so it does impact and bother me, his partner) but he is upset with me because I am “making him feel bad”. D’s complete lack of communication and lateness is not the problem, the fact I am annoyed about it and choosing to stay home is the problem. I said it is not fair to blame me for this turn of events when (unlike D) I was VERY clear beforehand that I wouldn’t be going if this happened, and that if nothing else he should still be at least a little annoyed with D for not respecting my time after I’d already spoken to him about it.
Instead of actually sitting D down and properly telling him “look I don’t have things to do but L does and it does bother her when you don’t communicate anything so it is messing with her work when you do this and that is not ok”, R then said he just won’t invite me to anything ever again. So I can’t be upset if he’s late.
AITA for refusing to go to board game night?
What are these acronyms?
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thestarlightforge · 4 months
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TBOSAS Meta
This started as a couple-paragraphs-long Everlark & Coryo x Lucy Gray rant. It turned into an essay on the politics of systemic oppression and how we illustrate it in fiction, with The Hunger Games and Ballad as case studies. Regardless, I hope others enjoy, lol. This is where my brain lives, now, as I expect it will the rest of 2023. Cheers!
***
It’s been interesting, the last few days, some of the discourse that’s popped up around TBOSAS. FASCINATING political discussions, as I’ve come to expect for a Suzanne Collins release. (#1 in my heart.)
Personally, I always separate books vs. movie canon with her franchise. With the OG Hunger Games, sometimes I felt the films were better—like she got another pass at it and REALLY took advantage, and utilized the hell out of taking it out of Katniss’s first-person POV to develop other characters and the world (still without detracting from her narrative)—while for some details, I preferred the books.
With TBOSAS, though, the book and movie feel almost entirely different to me.
There are MANY shared elements, of course, and I feel either version gels quite nicely with the OG franchise. It’s not even that there’s that many continuity differences—some things cut or altered for time, sure, but the bones of the plot are the same. Both illustrate astute political commentary, Coriolanus’s descent into madness, Tigris’s shift in position on him (foreshadowing her full turn by Mockingjay), and Lucy Gray’s role in his life in both his initial downfall and his defeat by Katniss. The actors and creative team all did BEAUTIFUL work bringing it to life, and I honestly love both versions.
But fans who mainly like the book may be frustrated by the sympathy Coryo garners in the film.
Normally, I’d say this is because the book reveals more internal monologue—and it does. But honestly, one of the things I was most impressed by in this film was how legible the actors’ internal monologues were. It was clear, the amount of work they all did to that end. So I don’t know that it is just more. I think it’s also different.
Book Coriolanus devolves much earlier and more obviously. He starts from the same pressed circumstances and has moments of goodness, but he becomes the villain we know him eventually to be pretty damn fast.
Film-Coriolanus has a much slower descent. Ironic, honestly, given the film has far less time than the book does.
I think as a result of this, I’ve seen discourse comparing beats in his relationship with Lucy Gray to Katniss and Peeta. For example, that beautifully shot/choreographed/performed scene in TBOSAS with him and Lucy Gray on either side of the fence after the bombings that night, where they almost kiss and he asks her, “Is this real? If I’m going to risk everything?” being compared to Peeta’s long game of “real or not real” throughout Mockingjay. Everlark folks (rightfully) pointing out that for Peeta, the refrain is about shared trauma, especially between him and Katniss, and both of them grounding their relationship in mutual trust—while asserting that for Coryo, the same refrain comes from a place of selfishness.
I get where this opinion comes from: President Snow is probably one of the most violent, sadistic, genocidal dictators in modern popular fiction. His relationship with Lucy Gray started as transactional—even more acutely in the book. Nearly everything Book-Coryo does is for his or his family’s personal gain.
But to me, half the beauty and tragedy of the film is this delicious possibility—the hope—they showed us.
THG has always had a strong anti-war philosophy in general, with through-line commentary on showmanship, propaganda, surveillance and performance: The recurrent themes of cameras always bring on them, the arenas and entirety of Panem being a stage/game—and how those things impact authentic human relationships. Everlark hit for so many because of the ways authenticity bloomed out of that hellish, contrived pit. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray’s relationship started out similarly contrived: Thrown together by the politics of the Academy, the uprising, the districts, the Capitol and the Games—helping one another survive. Largely unlike Katniss and Peeta, they both played the game intentionally, to varying degrees. (Personality wise, these four really have almost nothing in common, lol.) Lucy Gray is a good person, both in the end and from her start (unlike the terrorist Coriolanus becomes). But she is a performer. He’s right about that.
So honestly, I don’t see much purpose in reading Peeta’s question as valid while Coryo’s wasn’t. I think that judgment is colored by dramatic irony—us knowing who they each become. But in theatre, we talk about living honestly in imagined circumstances. It’s used in a lot of acting techniques, but particularly for people playing villains. To stay grounded in the truth of it, you have to believe honestly in the imagined moment, not the gestalt; Leslie Odom Jr. was a great Aaron Burr because every performance, he believed in the whole journey, from hope to ruin. Tom Blythe was a great Coryo because he invested in the earnest reality of Snow as a young man, not the devil we know he becomes. And at that point in the story, at the cages that night with Lucy Gray, Coriolanus was honestly grounded in similar struggles as our OG heroes: Trying to provide for and protect his starving family. His family (and the Capitol at large) reeks of privilege, and his prejudices were obviously flawed. But in his developing love for her, he was steeped in starvation, the same political forces as lashed all citizens of Panem, and was clawing his way from beneath just as much Capitol propaganda as people from the Districts—perhaps even more so, given his Grandma’am and how his father died. Because of their given circumstances, politics bled into everything—but eventually, so did feeling, and they had several moments of genuine bonding, trust and connection which the actors invested in beyond their political need for each other. There’s a constant push and pull: Holding hands at the zoo for the cameras was political; her reaching for his hand in the arena visit was less so. The first “Stop treating me like I’ve already lost” in front of everyone was wit-soaked survival, while “Please don’t let me die in that arena tomorrow,” near-whispered and with hands held between them where the camera would struggle to see, bled into real vulnerability. Saving him from the other tributes in the cage-ride to the zoo was about survival; risking her life to go back for him when the arena was bombed was at least a mix. Her motivations for singing in her interview are complex—perhaps guilt that a “rebel” attack nearly killed Coriolanus, his advice she’d get the most money that way—but I feel strongly that a non-zero amount of her was motivated by wanting to demonstrate that she trusts him, which for her is even higher-prized than love. And I also feel that, after the hospital and her “final performance”—leading up to their near-kiss at the zoo—Coriolanus scoped out the arena (and ultimately took all those risks to help her cheat the Games) both because he wanted the Plinth prize, in theory, and because he increasingly desperately wanted her to live.
The waters between them were thoroughly, legitimately muddied—which I believe was intentional, that constant tension between authenticity and politics. And as much as he was falling for her, Coriolanus saw that Lucy Gray was just as clever and good at crowd-work as he was—maybe better.
So to circle all the way back to this Everlark comparison: Given the absurdly multilayered situation, is it really that selfish or unreasonable he would check in with her during that moment through the fence? That this child—wrapped in oppressive patriarchy, violence, starvation and propaganda—would ask for reassurance before he was willing to be vulnerable, or to potentially risk his family’s lives?
Some artists are hesitant to engage with the humanity of “villains,” their origins, because they feel humanizing them excuses them. In real life, I get this: Second chances aren’t always the answer, and people need to be held accountable. But isn’t it more powerful storytelling to demonstrate the corrosive nature of all systems of oppression in our fiction, to show how they can corrupt even those who try, than to condemn people before they’ve even had a chance? Isn’t the beauty of Lucy Gray’s whole thing that everyone starts out good, and it’s our job to choose to stay on the right side of that line?
And when President Coriolanus Snow finally chokes on his last rose, wouldn’t it be a more satisfying victory if we imagined him as a real-feeling person—full owner of sixty years of horrifying choices—rather than a cartoonishly evil cardboard cutout?
Book-Coryo has a more obviously manipulative/evil streak, much earlier on. To make it plain: He’s an ass, and his “love” for her reads more like obsession. But my favorite aspect of the film (and I feel one of the most compelling) was how it illustrated that these systems of oppression can make tragedies of almost anyone: All but those at the very, very top. Suzanne’s anti-capitalist politicking—how classism turns everyone below the 1% against each other, where the “upper middle class” (doctors/lawyers/actors) is vilified to the poor as a red herring while a handful of robber-baron CEOs amass almost all wealth on the planet—strikes again. She, Francis Lawrence, the film’s creative team and these actors came together to put tragically human faces on that struggle—how hard it is to stay a good person amidst intense, violent, systemic oppression.
But none of that sings quite as true if you go into it having decided that Coriolanus was evil in his bones. The stakes are so much higher, richer, otherwise. If his love—for Tigris, for his family, for Sejanus, and yes, for Lucy Gray—was, or became, authentic.
It’s not a descent into madness if he’s already mad. Or, as he put it in the original Hunger Games film: “Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear.”
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miss-menhera · 1 month
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HELLO THERE!!! Trying to cope with OR UNDERSTAND Adam's death? The denial and "what ifs" just get stronger?!?!?!?
Me too tbh I'm fucking miserable
BUT!!!! YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT THIS SHITHEAD COMING BACK IS ACTUALLY MORE PLAUSIBLE THAN YOU THINK! (W.O.W!!!!)
I actually also have some pretty solid theories about season 2 in here so be warned.
(This is a bit different from my usual goofy post I might delete this and separate into parts since I talked about too much)
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VIVZIEPOP MADE A COUPLE STATEMENTS THAT COULD BE GAME-CHANGING AND WON'T LEAVE US GRASPING AT STRAWS ANYMORE. I'LL DISCUSS EVERY GROUND THERE IS TO COVER AND EVERY COPIUM THERE IS TO INHALE, AT THE MOMENT!! (Might update this or make a new post if more comes out)
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Ok so to start this off, don't be put off by this person's perspective, just listen to me. Vivzie talked to this fan at megacon and got asked if Adam was still alive, all she said was "he lives on in a way", I'm gonna take my delulu aside and the most pessimistic guess would be that someone (pfff lute obviously)avenges him or that his death has an everlasting impact that changes the story, BUT we already got that made clear, like that was pretty obvious already.
(It's made obvious by this scene, Adam's death created a whole other big problem)
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(Unless what she means by it is that his death is honored? Like maybe we get to delve deeper into his history, but again i dont think so) SO I DONT THINK THATS IT, I feel like if it was either of the ones I mentioned she would just say "Nope, he's deceased BUT he lives on in a way" But ALL she said was "He lives on in a way" which is very different, although it could be she expressed herself badly or the person writing the tweet didn't quote it word for word. But taking it in the literal sense, this might be pretty much confirmation he lives. There's a way he lives right? So considering that.... could it be that after Lute took his halo,(which was also broken which often renders an angel as "fallen" by default) and left his body there, he just... like woke up as a sinner? Yes yes, I know everyone's been talking only about that, I'm not giving any groundbreaking revelations but I'm just saying that there's alot of options that open up to that possibility. Or who knows! What if he actually doesn't get reincarnated? What if he just wakes up with no halo, so no place to come back to or what if the ever-absent God takes notice of his death and fixes up his first loyal creation?
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Besides that if they THINK Adam is dead, (hesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdeadhesnotdead)
They make these huge ass changes in tactics, and need to find another way to deal with what Charlie is doing; IF Adam actually becomes a sinner, and his life is super important to heaven... with evidence that sinners can now be redeemed... What if people like LUTE, or LILITH actually become allies of the hotel in an effort to redeem him? He WAS God's first, most loyal and favorite creation, HELL THE REASON HE WAS ALLOWED TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTED AND WAS BASICALLY IMMUNE TO THE LAW IN HEAVEN IS BECAUSE OF HOW MANY PRIVILEGES HE HAS, I don't think God would be too pleased with his soul dissipating or whatever the fuck. That might actually be a plot point, he's way too important to just be killed off like this, am I the only one who got that impression? He's the FIRST MAN, first man, the first man being THE FIRST TO DIE IN THIS SHOW IS ABSOLUTELY MIND-FUCKING AND ALSO A CRUEL JOKE anditskindafunny OF FATE FOR HIM.
Something else I want to add is that my personal take on it is that if I learned anything about this show, Lilith will show up in the next season and pretend to be an ally to the hotel, she will pretend to support Charlie and basing this off the theory that Alastor made a deal with Lilith to keep her daughter safe, he failed to meet the end of his deal. So now she's coming to take matters into her own hands after all these pesky men failed, (ermmm girlboss!!) Stop, and manipulate everyone in the hotel into giving up on the idea. Considering how she deliberately kept Charlie away from her dad her whole life, there's gonna be a whole lot of family drama. And we might see Alastor lose his shit for good. Still tryna figure out wtf does "Lilith thrived and empowered demonkind with her voice" if her voice is that powerful, and her words are just as powerful, we're gonna get 1. FIRE ASS SONGS 2. Mother Gothel ass song with Charlie, I just know it holy shit. Not to mention that they actually don't know that Sir Pentious went to heaven, Lilith definetely will know and won't tell anyone. Lucifer will definetely be the one to step up in the situation yet again. Anyway after I yapped my heart out about what I think will happen in this show, I just wanna say one thing.
There is this DUMBASS thing everyone in the fandom is talking about when someone says Adam is gonna be reborn as a sinner. "He is not gonna come back because he was killed with an angelic blade and Pentious was not" That is the most stupid bullshit I've ever read and if you genuinely believe it for a second, i feel sorry for u cuz how did your brain go and make this correlation?
Most of these people say that the show explicitly stated that Angelic metal SPECIFICALLY and just if it's metal, it can castrate a soul or whatever. Which is literally NOT true, at no point was it established that Angelic steel was the only thing able to exorcise demons. You really need just a bit of common sense to come to this conclusion, what makes the weapons dangerous for demons and angels isn't that they're steel specifically. It's that they're ANGELIC guys.. Have y'all seen Helluva boss at all?
There are blessed ropes, Angelic guns, Angelic bullets. These are just items that replicate the power of Holy magic. A PURE,HUGE, HOLY BEAM of unfiltered angelic power is not stronger than a little dagger infused with a fraction of it? Not only does that not make sense from the show's lore perspective, but using common SENSE that sounds even dumber. This is the only argument I can completely scratch off the lists of why Adam can't come back, and it's the most popular one...
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Man you know what guys, after he died, whether he comes back or not, he's never gonna be the same again I just can't picture it. He's gonna be much more insecure, without a mask and not funny and goofy............. Or he is just gonna come back and go full joker. He just cant possibly keep being a light-hearted dark humor andrew tate stan after the most, first immature man in history pulled a gentle smile like that. That just can't be, like take a look at the way he always smiles to the last smile we saw him have.
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THAT IS A CHANGED MAN YALL, THATS ANOTHER ENTITY 😭
I HIGHKEY DONT WANT HIM TO GET A REDEMPTION ARC EITHER :(( MAN WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DETHRONE THE LITTLE GUY, THEY RUINED EVERYTHING. One small little theory floating in my mind was that, what if the news of Adam being dead could result in some powerful overlord or even A SIN we've never seen or know the power of, revive him and have him work under them? Even if he actually comes back as a sinner, this little theory I haven't brainstormed much about could be explored.
But y'all know what? Let's say he's dead okay? Let's say he's dead dead, then what did they do with his BODY? I didn't see anyone dig him a grave, yet he died on the hotel, I didn't see anyone even move his body after the angels left. And we know damn well they didn't take him, that's too much of a big detail to leave it out unless they REALLY screwed up with the writing and animation direction in the rush to have the serie come out, but the animation has always been so detailed with almost unnecessary background details. I think they left it out intentionally to have that worked out in season 2, heard some people say it could be they just built the hotel over his body? But I doubt it. If so maybe he could become part of the hotel or just condemned to never leave the hotel in a.... a... ghooooost.... like form...?(Massive amounts of copium). Someone could argue his body just dissolved or something but 1. That makes no sense pookie 2. In the first episode they found the body of the dead exorcist long after it died, and we definetely know atleast it's head was still perfectly intact by episode 3. AND i also went back to check, after Lute takes the Halo they purposefully never show Adam's body, ONCE. Not once, not even as they show all the corpses on the ground as the exorcists depart. So that couldn't be it, one thing we know for sure is that Vivzie is definetely letting on there's something more to his death she doesn't want to reveal yet. It could be she's doing that just to leave it ambiguous to delusional theorists like myself,,,,,since my type of stupid is usually the kind of idiocy infectious enough to rot everyone's brain into pointless speculation based on minor details. Which definetely sells the show better AND keeps discourse and attention alive till more is fed to us, which in that case, very effective marketing strategy at the cost of everyone's mental health Viv! Good job, the prospect you might be giving us false hope cuz its good for business is really making me reconsider signing the christian mom petition to make Amazon prime cancel tis' demonic blasphemous show. (And yes that is a serious threat, I will even fund the petition with 100 euros watch what you write, i don't want any mammon ass marketing tactics pls)...... or... she just doesn't wanna spoil the surprise and im reading too much into it... BUT YOU NEVER KNOW OK?? I NEED TO EXPLORE EVERY SINGLE POSSIBILITY AND NOT LEAVE ONE UNCOVERED. I seriously think I've thought of almost anything-Except that he's just dead, we'll see his funeral in the next season and he actually makes no other appearance......... BUT THAT'S BORING AND I WILL DROP THE SHOW IF THAT HAPPENS! By the way kinda can't wait for Adam merch to drop, cus it means SHE STILL FINDS HIM RELEVANT ENOUGH TO MARKET HIM!!!......and i just really want to have physical objects of him...... But u know what guys Vivzie likes adam alot, he's one of the characters she retweets stuff about the most, along with Lucifer and Alastor. And she also kinda admitted to it.
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NOT TO MENTION THERE IS MORE THAT PROVES ITS NOT OUT OF THE WINDOW FOR HIM TO MAKE A COMEBACK CUZ ALEX BRIGHTMAN(Adam's va) ANNOUNCED HE WILL BE IN SEASON 2. and I know he voices Sir Pentious too,(insane range btw wtf) but like i said if they're keeping it a surprise (Thats been pretty much confirmed, Vivz refuses to give too many details so she obviously wants to keep us guessing, which would be cruel if it was for nothing, and i think she knows would leave fans very disappointed) the possibility of Adam still being present in the show could work out.
VIVZ UNLESS YOU'RE A SADISTIC EVIL WOMAN YOU WOULD NEVER HOPE PEOPLE LIKED HIM IF YOU DIDNT HAVE BIG THINGS PLANNED FOR HIM, RIGHT? RIGHT? VIVZIIEIEIEIEIEI3IE😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 GIVE US BACK OUR FRATBOY BEETLEJUICE UNSCATHED PLS NO MORE PAIN!!!
Also guys look adam actually changed out of that smelly ass robe and dolled himself up for the early extermination!!!!
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canmom · 2 months
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Comics mini-Comints: Dungeon Meshi
reread dungeon meshi through to the end. still such a great manga. here are immediate thoughts - if I end up having time and energy I hope I can write something that goes deeper!
ironically i was only a few chapters from the end when I stopped keeping up, but I was struggling to remember all the characters and context, so reading it through in one go was definitely an ideal way to achieve maximum impact there.
ryoko kui does a very elegant job of handling a transition from 'silly antics' to 'big dramatic fantasy' while still keeping the central thematic throughline - eating and being eaten, belonging to an ecosystem, the significance of sacrificing others to achieve your own desires. a lot of setups pay off in a way that feels meticulously planned - and of course the crux of the final showdown revolves around characters attempting to eat each other, of course the big payoff is a huge feast that symbolically unites all the conflicting factions. it is maybe a bit too neat and happy for my taste, but it's undeniably tightly executed - it never loses sight of what it's about. especially compared to something like Frieren, it's an incredibly coherent serialisation, up there with e.g. Fullmetal Alchemist.
kui's art style deserves all kinds of praise - it feels effortlessly simple, but it clearly communicates all sorts of different shapes and body types and it's really fun to see her play around with remixing the different visual elements when she switches the races around. in general Laius's autistic monster loving ways clearly reflect kui's own deeply felt appreciation for all the ways people and animals live (accentuated further by all the extra sketches the scanlators tuck in). in a way you could kinda call it like Parts Unknown the fantasy manga.
the stakes of the final conflict are interesting - there is much to be said about the framing of 'desire' and its fulfilment, of this occult idea of 'the infinite'. lots you could put in relation to other manga, and also buddhism. (in particular I really want to develop a comparison to Made In Abyss, there are so many parallels, it just might be too spicy for tumblr lmao).
one thing I really like about it is how much its fantasy dungeon-exploring setting owes to D&D and other TTRPGs, rather than videogames. monster ecology has been a fascination of that game since the early days of Dragon magazine, and Kui sharply zeroes in on some of the intrinsic conflicts baked in to that fantasy milieu, notably the lifespan thing, while smartly avoiding the traps of 'evil races'. there's some really fun nods to the weirder monster manual entries. and in a story with so many characters and factions, it does a genuinely incredible job of furnishing everyone with understandable, reasonable motivations, conflicts drawn from their context just like the monsters are explained by their ecology.
and one thing that I particularly appreciate is like... how much it is able to simultaneously understand and sympathise with a character and also show us how and why they'd rub others the wrong way. it's impossible not to like our main group, they're all such charming dorks and the manga leads you along with all the crazy rpg party shit they do, but at the same time you definitely find yourself thinking 'guy's got a point' in the kabru chapters lmao. I'm projecting hard bc i don't really know a thing about ryōko kui but laius def feels like the sort of depiction of having an autism that you can only do if you've lived it.
but yeah, it's a fuzzy ending where it all turns out well. but what's the deeper thrust of it all? there's a funny moment where marcille is like 'maybe in the end our journey is about learning to accept death' and the grouchy old gnome guy completely laughs this off as naive, because death doesn't mean anything. and indeed their big plan pays off, and falin does indeed come back just fine. but still, through all of this it asks you to bite the bullet that being a living creature means eating to survive, at the cost of other creatures, with the other side being that one day you too will be eaten. in contrast to this honest way of being is the beguiling fantasy of infinity, where all your desires are immediately fulfilled - this is shown as a dangerous path of corruption that produces madness and manipulability. having limits and rubbing up against the wishes of others, or 'doing things you don't want to do' as izutsumi's arc puts it, becomes necessary for having some kind of definition as a subject. the thing that makes the demon concrete as an entity is a desire, or appetite, that can't immediately be fulfilled.
of course we can connect this to the idea of narrative conflict. a standard advice for putting together a plot is to ask what each character wants and why they can't get it. wanting something implies movement. and indeed over the course of this story, we see that while having too many desires fulfilled too readily leads to incoherence and callousness, equally a character who is left catatonic as their desires have been eaten by the demon must be reawakened to activity by finding a new desire.
it's kinda Buddhist innit. neither the opulence of the palace nor asceticism. desires are what tie you to the world. but mixed with ecology: what a creature does to find the energy to live is what defines its lifestyle, its form.
this is probably where I'd start talking about entropy gradients and shit if i wasn't typing this on a phone at 1:30am lmao.
but yeah - it's a powerful move to go from 'D&D monster recipe show sendup' to 'living with the inherently violent nature of being an organism fated to live in a finite sum game' and yet Dungeon Meshi makes it feel natural and convincing, while remaining tremendously charming and funny throughout. ryōko kui is definitely some kind of genius, and I can't wait to see what her next act is gonna be. it's all definitely making me appreciate the act of eating a lot more.
next story on my plate is probably The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, which sounds like it will present a very gnarly thematic contrast.
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stuckinapril · 3 months
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2023 almost over what have u achieved so far?
Graduated a year early with a wholeass degree in biochemistry!!!, traveled solo abroad for the first time ever (and multiple times at that, I was by myself hopping countries 4 times this summer), started embracing the bad moments as learning experiences, pushed myself out of my comfort zone way more, upgraded my skincare routine (and just self-care routine in general), made a concerted effort to be off my phone more, got in touch w my dad’s side of the family/my ethnic roots, drastically expanded my friend circle (younger me would never imagine me having multiple friend groups now and navigating that as well as I do), successfully juggled my teaching assistant positions as a chemistry/genetics tutor in addition to my full-time school workload and organic chemistry research, gave my ex the middle finger and worked really hard to move on from him by immersing myself in my studies and hobbies, got my driver’s license!!!!, got way more consistent w the gym, learned a lot of basic recipes (2024 will be about expanding my cooking abilities), finally got myself out of my reading slump, worked hard on alleviating my abandonment/anxious attachment issues, became way more accepting of people walking out of my life, started doing my hour by hour schedules (literally a game changer), stopped being so fucking nice to people who don’t deserve it, got my curly hair routine down after years of viciously straightening it, indulged myself w things I wanted a lot more this year, started giving far fewer fucks what people think of me, wrote down a list of things I wanted to change about myself and continue to actively work on those, just became a lot more adult in general (which is big for me bc I hail from an overprotective family that has notoriously coddled me). Stopped dimming myself for other people’s comfort/benefit. Really expanded my fashion sense. Tuned way more into myself—I’m only 21 so there’s a lot more to learn about me, but I feel like I’m the closest I’ve ever been to knowing what my likes and wants are. Became way more spontaneous in general. Did a lot of dumb bold young things this year and don’t regret them at all. Made so many memories. Realized my actions have a very real and tangible impact in other people’s lives. The person I am is very different from the person I was, even if I have a lot more to go—and I’m very proud of that. The biggest thing is I think I finally started developing real, genuine self-love. I’ve forgiven myself for a lot of things. I feel like I’m finally present for me/my wants, rather than spending so much time focusing on other people’s. The people pleasing is fading away, slowly but surely. And the best part is!! There’s so much more to come. I cannot wait for next year bc I know the woman I’ll become will be unstoppable
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duhragonball · 19 days
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Akira Toriyama (1955-2024)
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I wouldn't say I'm feeling better today, but I'm feeling less bad than yesterday. So let's see if I can put some words together.
In case anyone still hasn't heard, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024. This news was made public on March 7 or 8. I woke up early on Friday morning and found out while I was checking Twitter. I had a long, busy day at work, and I kept getting on my phone to scroll through fan reactions and tributes.
I think that, more than anything, is what's gotten me so worked up about his death. My Twitter timeline and my tumblr dashboard were just chock full of touching message and images about how Akira Toriyama's work has changed their lives. I wanted to write my own tribute, but I'm not sure what else I can say that hasn't already been expressed by Archie Comics, professional wrestling trio The New Day, and the Republic of El Salvador.
There's this immense, global community of fans, and it's easy to lose sight of just how big it is. It's easy to get bogged down in the infighting and petty squabbles. I saw one tweet responding to the criticism of Dragon Ball not being like this "entry level" franchise compared to other, more high brow anime and manga. It's popular with so many people, that critics will assume it's designed to appeal to the lowest-common-denominator. But the opposite is true! Dragon Ball is accessible, which is how so many people from so many different places and walks of life can get into it. The guy telling the story was such a master storyteller that he could grab an audience's attention and make it look easy. So easy that the haters would start to think that it was a trick, and he must be overrated.
Let me talk about this panel for a minute.
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Last night I started going through the original manga, looking for panels to screencap. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I thought maybe a selection of panels that really stood out for me might be worth posting. I'll probably still do that one of these days, but I got to this one, where Gohan tells Chi-Chi about Goku's death, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
This was a powerful scene in the anime, of course, but in the comic it's even more profound. It's just one panel, no dialogue, because the reader already knows what's happening here. We know Gohan is telling his mother that Goku died in the Cell Games, and that he refuses to be wished back, because he thinks his presence on Earth will attract new enemies. It was hard enough to hear when Goku said it to Gohan and the others, and now Gohan has to relay that message to Goku's wife. All she can do is lie prostate on the floor and weep.
And look at the composition. She's surrounded by all that negative space. Gohan's there for her, but she still feels so alone, surrounded by her husband's absence. Pots of flour for food he'll never eat. An empty chair he might have sat in. Their son, who will have to grow up without him.
I saw this, as though for the first time, and it was so gut-wrenching that I had to post it by itself. I felt like it summed up my feelings better than any words could. We're all Chi-Chi in this panel, reacting to Akira Toriyama's death. And we're all Gohan too, each of us consoling one another with our own thoughts and tributes.
So what did Akira Toriyama mean to us all? Lots of people have answered this in a lot of different ways. Obviously his art, storytelling and cultural impact speak for themselves. I've seen people compare him to other luminaries like Jack Kirby and Osamu Tezuka. I'll try to add my own two cents with this:
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I wrote a post about "Dragon Ball Daima" back when it was first announced, and I led off with this image of a note from Akira Toriyama. I guess this was from some big fancy presentation about Daima at a convention. I forget which one. In particular, I was skeptical that the Daima rumors were even true, and if they were, the whole idea seemed half-baked to me. Turning Goku into a kid had been done before, and it wasn't exactly successful the first time.
But this note from Toriyama was very reassuring to me. More than the trailer clips and character designs, this was what got me interested in the show. That's because he took the time to not only hype up the show, but also to explain what's going on behind the premise. He took the time to tell everyone that he's working on this show, and what "Daima" means, and why all the characters get turned into kids. It's "due to a conspiracy", and the good guys will have to "fix things". In short, he established a plot, conflict, and resolution to the story. He didn't just slap this together to sell new merch. I'm sure that was part of the motivation to make Daima, but there's more to it than that.
I think that's the loss I feel with Toriyama's passing. It's not that there won't be new Dragon Ball stories in the future. I'm sure others will continue telling their own versions long after I'm gone. I'm not that worried about the fate of Daima. I'm sure they'll figure something out, whether it's delayed, rewritten, or canceled. But we'll never see another message from Toriyama to promote a new project, and that's what I'll miss. From here on, his credit will just be an acknowledgement of his past contributions.
There's this great credibility with Akira Toriyama's name. Fans will argue about how involved he was in a project as a way of establishing how good or bad it was. Dragon Ball GT has his name on the credits, and he provided some designs and artwork early on, and for some fans that proves the series has his endorsement. For others, the sole problem with the show is that he wasn't directly writing the script. There's similar debates over Dragon Ball Super, where he was involved, but only writing those mysterious "notes". So if a fan doesn't like something in DBS, who do they blame? Did Toriyama lose his touch, or did his co-creators fumble the ball? Dragon Ball Evolution basically ignored all of Toriyama's advice and bombed, while Battle of Gods, Resurrection F, Broly, and Super Hero all put Toriyama's writing credits up at the very beginning, and each film made plenty of money. I read his comments on the Daima confirmation, and immediately thought "Okay, this should be pretty good. Akira Toriyama knows what's up."
That's gone now. I mean, there's still a lot of talent out there, but we'll never again have the little gas mask-wearing robot telling us that this story will be good because he worked on making it good. I don't think I really appreciated how much I trusted that guy until now. I still can't believe he's really gone.
I'll probably have more to say about this in the coming days, but I'll stop here for now. Thanks for letting me ramble a bit on this.
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Genshin Impact Reverse Harem
A.N: I had seen this husbando ranking someone did as if they were in an Ancient Chinese harem. And that sparked something so THIS time, this is a Reverse Harem, SAGAU fanfic!!
Genshin Impact MasterList  
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You had come from different world where the game of Genshin Impact existed. You were also a Husbando collector, or rather you tried to be. As a complete F2P, you did have to budget, so you technically didn’t own all the husbando characters. 
But that didn’t mean they didn’t own your heart or that in your heart you considered them yours. 
Then you one day, you went to bed, normal as could be. When you next woke up, you were not in your own bed. You were in a plush bed, surrounded by the softest pillows you’d ever known, in silk sheets even (you’d realize this later). 
It decidedly was NOT your bed. 
But that wasn’t what held your attention at that moment. 
“You’re awake!! You’ve finally came to us!” 
You had awoken in Teyvat, surrounded by the very husbandos that owned your heart in your world. 
“We had been waiting for you!” 
You had your own Serenitea Teapot where you lived if you weren’t traveling Teyvat. But if that wasn’t surprising enough, you woke up to discover that the husbandos were, in fact, your very own harem. 
The harem is broken into sections. Rank in the harem was largely determined on who your heart connected with most. The higher the rank, the more of a connection you had with that husbando. 
And why this one and less of a connection with that one, you may ask? 
Who knows?.... 
1st Husband/Emperor 
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Zhongli was the one that held the most connection to your heart. It made sense to your way of thinking.  He was the first 5 star that you got. The one that you spent all of your time trying to get. He was a rock, both in your party and in your heart. You spent hours listening to his voice: 
Why is it that, once you finally get a break, rather than taking a rest, you instead come to me? Is it that you want to hear one of my stories?
He was the first one that you saw when you woke up. Shock was an understatement. You thought maybe this was an elaborate prank and/or that he was very, VERY good at cosplay. 
He took your shock in stride, ushering out the others: “You will see her again later, but for now, you must give her some breathing room.”
Your eyes were wide as the group grumbled but filed out, promising to return later when you were feeling better. 
Zhongli returned to your side, cupping your cheek. His hand was warm to the touch. You jumped back at first, startled by having a grown man suddenly show such affections. 
“My apologies. I should heed my own advice and not rush you.” 
It took you a minute (ie several hours before you even felt safe enough to get out of bed much less come downstairs). And it took you several days longer to realize, this was real. You had fallen into Teyvat and you actually had a harem of husbandos. 
This was a legit fanfic come to life!! 
But you eventually settled in. You spent quite a great deal of time with Zhongli. Listening to his stories in person had a whole other effect. If you weren’t listening to his stories, you could sit quietly with him, drinking tea as you watched nature go by. 
Ahh, yes, your 1st husband made your heart quite calm. 
2nd Husband/Noble Consort
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How long will this require, exactly?
Alhaitham was more surprised than you that, he was ranked so. He preferred not to socialize and not to invite any kind of extra trouble into his life. 
Based on my observations, many people inflict trouble upon themselves. Life already has enough hardships — no need to add to them.
You were exactly like this too. You loved that he wasn’t so noisy all the time. Both of you could be found sequestered away, either reading together or doing your own separate things. 
But the silence was not oppressive. 
Perhaps that’s why he became quite commendable to your company. When you did speak to each other, it was with a purpose. Neither of you liked small talk, and if you both had something to say to the other, then you said it. 
But the moment there was nothing to be said, then didn’t. Quite simple. 
Sometimes, one of the others would interrupt the silence between the two of you.  Your twin glares were enough to freeze a boar.  Thankfully, that didn’t happen very much. If either of you were needed, usually Zhongli could interject in a way that did not have him running for the hills. 
Although, he was technically head of the Consorts, he rarely interacted with the rest of them unless he needed to. 
Alhaitham guessed it wasn’t so bad. He was allowed his own quarters away from the general Consort area, but could usually be found in the library. 
On rare occasions you, Alhaitham and Zhongli could be found sharing the silence. And extremely rare times did the voices of Alhaitham and Zhongli carry a conversation that, whose combined voices often had the power to lull you to sleep. 
Even if you weren’t sleepy… 
Consorts 
Most of the husbandos fell into this category
Xiao was technically a consort, but he rarely lived among the consort area either. Even now, he was scared of his karma poisoning those around him. He was scared of poisoning you and generally preferred to maintaining a little bit of distance. However, he still expected you to call if him ran into any trouble. 
If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.
Most of the time, Xiao still preferred to act as a bodyguard to Zhongli. Not that he needed to, as the man could bring a mountain on someone’s head. But if Zhongli was around, look for a shadow and Xiao would probably be there. 
If there was a “leader” among the Consorts, it would be Cyno. He acted as a barometer of justice and would shut down any kind of tomfoolery. 
I'm Cyno, General Mahamatra of the Akademiya. It's my duty to uphold the rules, and punish wrongdoing. I will protect you on your journey.
He frequently had to monitor the Concubines, just because there were quite a bit of ruckus in that court. You did not appoint him so, but he took it upon himself. His stern constance was enough to make most come on the correct. 
Not that Tighnari or Diluc needed it. They were quite capable of monitoring themselves and acting accordingly. Tighnari managed a garden in your teapot, while Diluc could be found training. If for some reason Cyno’s constance wasn’t enough, with the combined force of Diluc and Cyno, not even the crystal flies would dare to flutter their wings loudly. 
Despite being a barometer of justice, Cyno was a big child when he was with you and those he trusted, namely Tighnari. The three of you would play TCG. 
Tighnari would blame you for Cyno’s jokes getting worse. Most of the time you laughed, not because the joke was funny but because Cyno was being so serious or more often than not the reactions he gets from those involved, namely Tighnari. 
You had to break up friendly fights between Tighnari and Cyno because of that. 
Kaeya and Venti were a bit more rambunctious of the Consorts. Both were ecstatic to see you, usually wanting to break out the wine. 
Um, only you didn’t like alcohol, just like Diluc. 
Kaeya only pouted: 
I can't believe that some people actually drink grape juice... If they had a little more patience, they would find that it ferments into the most exquisite wine. Hmph. So unromantic.
Yeah, you found remaining sober to be the height of romance, but whatever. Both you and Diluc could be found drinking grape juice. Sometimes you like to drink Almond Milk, if you wanted to be extra. 
Sure, I'll play you another tune, but it'll cost you an apple.
Venti was always bringing delicious apples to share with his Windblume. But you found him to be sneaky because in order to get him to play a tune on his lyre, he would want an apple as the cost.  At this point, you were sure, he was doing this on purpose. 
But on days, when you felt a little down, he could quietly pull out his lyre and strum a calming tune. Those days, mentions of apples were nowhere to be found. 
Most of the problem children were found in the Concubines court, but that didn’t mean that no one else had ever been punished from the Consort court. 
Both Kaeya and Venti’s drinking sometimes landed themselves punished, usually resorting to being locked in the Cold Palace for a period of time. There was this time when both of them with Kazuha….
Wait, we are getting ahead of ourselves… 
Concubines  
You were going to be honest, half of the concubines gave you a headache….. They had the least connection with your heart but wasn’t totally disconnected, landing themselves in this court. 
Problem Child #1- Saramouche/Wanderer:  His problem was the lack of trust in you. He was 95% attitude on a good day and would eye you as if he was going to betray him. On his bad days, he’s rant and rave about how he is the new god and that you should serve him, and not the other way around. 
To be fair, you didn't consider any of your husbandos to in “servitude” to you. No one was bound to do anything they didn't want to. Your hubandos frequently came and went from your Teapot when they got good and ready. 
But at those times, Scaramouche could not be reasoned with and usually landed himself in the Cold Palace because of that. However, most of the time Scaramouche didn’t visit as much as the others to begin with, so that might account for why he wasn’t practically living in the Cold Palace by now. 
But then he eventually became the Wanderer. As technically a Descender, since you were not of this world, you were the only one that remembered the fact that he was Scaramouche along with the Traveler. 
Wanderer wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He unexpectedly softened, but only for a brief moment before he returned to his usual snarky self. As Wanderer, he found himself visiting your Teapot quite a bit more than when he was Scaramouche, which annoyed him to no end. (His words, not yours.) 
As Scaramouche he was Concubine status, but perhaps, he would quickly rise to Consort status as Wanderer? Only time would tell. 
Problem Child #2- Childe: You admitted he could be charming….when he didn’t flip a switch and suddenly want to fight everyone. This habit of his landed him in the Cold Palace more often than not.  You sometimes wondered if it was a way to get your attention. 
There was one time he stormed the Consort court, looking for a fight. Cyno gave it to him and threw him in the Cold Palace. You only heard about it after the fact. 
At some point you wondered if that was considered a punishment because he would just use that time to train. 
Problem Child #3-Itto: You admitted he had a heart, but there were marbles missing from his jar and he had a stubbornness that often landed him in trouble. Once Childe wanted to fight, Itto was easy to goad into fighting him. They were pitting their strength against each other, going all out.  
Cyno was not having it! 
Itto usually got sent to the Cold Palace as punishment for not learning to stay out of things. But once in the Cold Palace, he’d laugh it off and began training as well. 
You weren’t sure if Childe or Itto would ever keep themselves off of punishment at this point. 
The good children of the Concubine Court were as follows: 
Thoma could cook his way into your heart and frequently cooked for everyone. Ayato impressed you with his grace and brains. Kazuha was soft-spoken, often greeting you with haikus when you saw each other. The three of them barely gave the harem any trouble. 
But there was that time that Kaeya and Venti got Kazuha drunk. After getting drunk, Kazhua somehow managed to find you and cling to you just before he fell asleep. Kaeya and Venti were punished with time in the Cold Palace (after they sobered up–they needed to realize they were on punishment) and while you were willing to let Kazhua slid…..
Kazuha would not let himself off the hook. He was so embarrassed by his conduct that he couldn’t look you in the eyes for weeks. He locked his own self up in the Cold Palace to reflect on his mistakes. 
But despite the range in personalities, you quite enjoyed spending time with everyone. 
You still thought this was a fanfic come to life though… 
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bibbibib · 9 months
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Peeta's amputation
One of the things I really wish we'd gotten more information for in the books was the impact of Peeta losing his leg. On himself, on his habits, his reactions, anything really. We don't even know how badly he took it because around that time all Katniss was able to describe was him (understandably) being just happy to have survived it all along with her, plus he was putting on a brave face throughout the interviews, and maybe even in front of her so she would feel less guilty. And, I get it, most of the stuff I'm going to mention is just slice of life and maybe not that important as plot points, but I find them super interesting, for the perspective if anything.
Would Peeta's self-esteem take another deep dive after that? With everything happening during that time (moving out of his parents' house, his falling out with Katniss, being viewed differently by the rest of the district, living alone and possibly lonely, his romantic hopes crushed, PTSD from the Games, etc etc etc) he had a lot of triggers seemingly supporting those thoughts of being useless and uneeded and generally not good enough.
It's so frustrating to lose a limb and have to basically relearn everything from the beginning. How to navigate stairs, how to get in and out of a sitting position, how to balance and not tip over, stuff you've been doing esentially your whole life. And Peeta was athletic, he worked manually, he trusted himself to be capable of doing physical things, so that might have hurt a little more.
How about medical complications? From weird sensations to nerve pain, possibly phantom pains, everything related to his prosthetic leg (which, depending on the type, can get uncomfortable in sooo many ways, especially since he's still a teenager who's growing). And he was dumped at a place with basically no medical care at all, let alone anything specialized. Which, ok, was part of everyone's life in D12 already, but it must have still left a bitter taste... There was no one around to know much about his state, (exept maybe Ripper the liquor seller) and he had to make do on his own.
What if the Capitol had chosen his prosthetic more for aesthetic functions and less for functional? @whenthewallfell has a fantastic post about it, complete with illustrations!
Peeta's artificial foot getting tangled in the vines in the second arena and impeding his ability to run was no funny business. With prosthetic legs, there's usually different kinds for different functions. Your average foot people use to be able to walk is stiff and does a horrible job at supporting these sorts of activities. That's why equipment like running blades exists for amputees who want to be running and jumping. And you have to switch to that before the activity! Peeta apparently never got one. Even if he had, he would have to carry the alternative equipment around in the arena.
Speaking of that, even with a single type of artificial leg/foot, adjustments are frequently needed throughout the day. Most people as far as I understand remove the prosthetic to sleep, but also ball -and-socket models at least move around and need to be put back in place because it gets uncomfortable (sleeves -stump covers- sliding down, etc). The fact that Katniss never mentioned anything like this means that either he was actively not doing it in front of her or she just doesn't wanna talk about it (or maybe his leg is some fancy Capitol tech that doesn't work that way?)
Also, he's got to be hungry. All the time. He needs more food after the amputation, because the rest of his body is compensating for the lost limp and he has to use different muscles/nerves/tendons/etc. that are not designed spesifically for this. The same thing means he gets tired more easily. So Peeta being that active and training for the Quarter Quell while battling insomnia and nightmares with an amputated leg? Even harder than we thought.
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kangjaehee · 1 year
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RFA + sex headcanons
because i am in a Mood. minors do not interact
content under the cut
YOOSUNG.
SUBBY.
like... very. He likes it when u take control.
He likes it when you’re mean to him, when you demand, when you give him no choice but to do as you say if he wants to be a good boy for you.
Humiliation is his shit kinda... he says he doesn’t like it when you highlight how sensitive he is but you, who sees how he trembles at every word you say, you know different.
And on that regard... he’s sensitive. Like, the slightest touch and the right words can crumble him into a whimpering mess within seconds. You’re actually quite shocked. But you absolutely love it.
And he’s loud, too. Doesn’t at all hold back his cries, which sound oh so beautiful to you.
Very into pet play. Likes when you take care of him, likes the element of humiliation that comes with being treated like an animal.
Make him do the gross embarrassing things. Make him eat from a bowl and bark. It gets him off.
Surprisingly, he’s not that much into physical pain or impact, just the control element of it all. He likes it as part of something else, but not in and of itself.
Actually he gets off more in the concept of punishment than the act itself... it urges him on. You think it’s cute. It makes him harder to hear your little dismissive laugh after he whines.
He finishes quite fast but my god does he have stamina. He can go for rounds and rounds that leave you asking for a break.
it turns out all those lolol all nighters he pulled did actually mean something....
Also: the idea of you taking care of him while he’s in the middle of a game??? and not letting him cum until he wins????? GOD it makes him melt.
Very kissy during aftercare. Also very talkative.
You actually have no idea how a person can have this much energy after cumming so many times but hey this is Kim Yoosung we’re talking about.
He doesn’t sext but he does call you to tell you how needy he is. Over the line, you hear him stroke himself to your voice. It makes you lose your mind.
ZEN.
this man has 1 goal and 1 goal only: making you feel good
service top pleasure dom whatever you wanna call it. He just wants you to feel loved and sexy and give you the orgasm of your life.
He likes feeling you. Groping your thigh, manhandling you, kissing you red and raw.
(of course, all while he praises you and tells you how unbelievably gorgeous you are...)
And you absolutely love it. It makes you feel wanted, powerful.
Active sex drive. Y’all do it every other day or so. Not always for long. But it’s an integral part of your relationship. 
He’d do it anywhere. In the kitchen, living room, bathroom, car... He doesn’t need to be comfortable, he just needs his hands and your body to touch.
But don’t misinterpret him, he loves planned affairs too. Especially when you go out of your way to set the mood with lighting and scents and stuff.
LOVES it when you dress up for him. Put on some cute lingerie and sit there, watching as he turns beet red and his breath deepens.
And send him pics. be the biggest tease you can be. Anything relating to you drives him crazy. In his eyes, you’re the sexiest being on the planet, no matter what anyone has told you.
Although keep in mind that he Will warn u about the power u have over him and The Beast potentially coming out at an unwanted moment...
You always tell him to be patient and wait, as if that’s not exactly what you’re after. The Beast always comes out when he gets home though, with him absolutely devouring you in kisses.
Stamina for days... like come on let’s be real he’s a musical theatre performer. He’s Never done.
Not very kinky but has a thing for breeding? creampieing? He wants to claim you, to have something of his inside you.
...And you don’t hate the idea but Babe don’t you think we’re... too young for kids?
Oh my God sorry I didn’t mean it like that... But, hey, don’t you think I’d make a good dad ;)?
You roll your eyes and laugh.
Also he’s not so opposed to the idea of bondage... to have unrestricted access to your body like that (or you to his...)
Surpisingly likes toys. If they make the experience better for you... (and he wants to try them too, though he’s not gonna admit it).
He’s not very keen on being on the receiving end. Doesn’t exactly like not being the one in charge, but he relents every once in a while.
He particularly loves blowjobs. He thinks you look so stupidly sexy while doing them, and the way he flusters and bites his lip... it’s so cute
(One day you’re gonna get him on his knees for you, one day.)
JAEHEE.
Although the tension between you two and the desire you harbored for each other was undeniable, it took you quite a while to get intimate.
When you crossed that threshold, though... Well, let’s just say there was no return.
Lots of kissing. Before, during, and after. She kisses you intensely, with purpose, like she wants to eat you whole. It’s a bit overwhelming. Makes you wonder for how long she’s been saving this.
Quick, does not hesitate. Teases very little, goes straight to it, and has you shaking and remembering nothing but her name in a matter of miniutes.
Stupidly skilled with her hands. They’re good for so many more things other than kneading dough...
Absolutely loves to hear your moans and other sounds. It urges her on. Please be as loud as you possibly can.
The sight of her large honey eyes looking up at you while she’s eating you out has to be one of your favorites.
But while she absolutely adores being the one to take care of you, she actually pefers it the other way around...
And you do too. Because, my god this woman is the cutest being in the universe when she’s flustered. And it’s extremely easy to fluster her.
All it takes is a smile, a kiss, a remark on how wet she is for you... and boom. You’ve reduced her to a mess of whimpers. She’s sensitive and easy to crack.
And it’s funny because all the while you’ll see her trying desperately to hold onto the propriety that she’s so known for. But soon enough it’s gone and she’s cursing and pleading.
You love to tease her because of this. She groans like she hates it but actually doesn’t, actually wants you to do it, draw this out as long as you can. It makes her climax much more satisfying.
She loves when u play with her boobs. Bite them, mark them, grab them, pinch them, maybe slap them if the occasion requires it...
Two words: Praise. Kink.
...Yeah she very obviously has it.
Tell her how well she’s doing no matter what it is that she’s doing. How good she is at taking your fingers down her pretty wet cunt. How well she’s sucking on your clit. It makes her feel like she’s in heaven.
And of course, tell her how she’s a good girl, how she’s your good girl. And watch her fucking dissolve.
(...yeah she’s quite a sub).
She’s into some other stuff... classics like bondage and the occasional spank, more adventurous stuff like wax play.
She likes sexual experimentation. She’d try most things once, just to have the experience, as long as they’re safe, sane, and consensual.
She has quite a bit of stamina and can last long, although she doesn’t exactly like cumming many times in a row or overstimulation in general. Instead, she prefers being edged until she can barely hold it in.
She also cries. It shocked you the first time, but... she cries when cumming.
And after you’re done, she’s always extremely tender and soft, wanting to cling to you for long. You always reassure her, tell her how good she did. Often you like to shower after, or eat something together. Cuddles after sex are mandatory but always remember to get up and do your necessities.
You guys don’t do it often, and don’t like to do it quick. The Jaehee motto is “If you’re going to do anything, do it how it’s supposed to be done” and that applies to sex. But that just makes the encounters you do have all the more special.
JUMIN
for someone whose only experience is having explored his best firend’s body once out of “curiosity” he’s surprisingly very good.
(JUMINV REAL i will die on this hill. i am cheritz actually.)
instinct-driven. doesn’t hesitate. takes you in whole.
composure and propriety thrown out the window, he will make you his. he’s gonna make sure that you forget your own name and only remember his, that you forget everything else but the feeling of his hands on your body and how he pounds inside you.
It’s not hard to get him going. Like at all. Just kiss him deep the way he likes it, grind agaist him, and bam.
He likes to tease verbally, you like grinding against my thigh, love? but not a lot. Eventually his desire to just have you wins him over.
It’s possessive, yes, but it’s his way of showing you just how much he wants you and no one else. You think of it as almost a privilege to be loved so deeply by someone.
Loves marking you, biting into you and then seeing the pretty purple bruises that from, that mark you as irrevocably his. Kisses you a lot during and after. A lot of You’re mines coming out of his mouth.
Also, he loves hearing your moans. And you love hearing his.
It’s actually very funny to tease him, because it’s very easy and he tries to make it subtle. Just push out your shoulder, watch as his face gets red and he swallows, struggling to keep his poise.
And then God save you, because he will not hold back...
You guys do it often. It’s a way for him to destress, so it’s almost a daily affair. A little quickie before bed and after waking up never hurt anyone...
Doesn’t like doing it in public, likes it when it’s just the two of you, though he for sure likes teasing you in public... You’ve given him a handjob in the limo in more than one occasion.
He’s averagely kinky. Likes bondage. Likes calling you his kitten. Likes slapping your ass when you’re both really into it. Not much beyond that. 
The dominant position is comfortable to him, he can let his desires run wild and free, and you like how he exerts his power, how he’s so confident. It almost lights you up.
Though he also has a strange, almost hidden desire for the other side of the coin... he likes being the one with the power taken away, too.
It always oddly attracted him, but he never paid attention to those desires, as they made no sense. But then you suddenly decided to be more dominant one time, and oh boy something awoke in him.
It’s not very easy for him to submit and let go. But it’s extremely liberating once he does so. For a man who has to be thinking and making decisions and bearing more responsibility on his shoulders than any person could imagine, being in a position where he doesn’t have to make any of the decisions is almost cathartic.
He likes being your kitten. Likes the sight of you above him, holding him by a leash and smiling, just as much as he loves the sight of you under him.
Likes impact quite a bit, actually. More on him than on you. It’s a little humiliating to imagine the heir of one of Korea’s biggest conglomerates being spanked raw. But that’s inexplicably a turn-on.
Likes latex a lot. The sight of you on it is pure art.
Also into shibari. Likes the intricacy of it, the protocol, the fact that it’s an art form.
Lot’s of stamina, doesn’t cum easily. Will always make sure you’re the one to finish first or with him. Prefers to cuddle after, sometimes for hours, tightly and in silence or with just a few words exchanged. It’s the act of bodies becoming one, of feeling being not said but expressed in the way his skin contacts with yours.
SEVEN.
Okay so wbk this man is a menace. This applies to sex too.
Most of the time, it’s sloppy and imporvised. Undeliberate, hands everywhere, kisses all over the face. He doesn’t think, and you don’t either. It’s almost funny.
A tease, just because he absolutely loves to see you riled up and begging for it. But, do it a bit aggressively. He’s a bit of a brat. He pushes, and wants you to push back and push harder.
He doesn’t need things at all to be fancy, he can have fun with very little. He’s creative.
But you know what his absolute shit is?? Roleplay.
He does it almost naturally. Has fun with it. Likes the performance element, the not being himself, the play. It’s a way for him to take advantage of all the costumes he’s kept form his agency days.
You’ve found him on more than one occasion just weasring a maid dress and pretending to clean... The indirect was caught and enacted upon.
He’s kind of a jack of all trades. He can top, he can bottom, he can take the strap and rail you until walking is an arduous task.
freak in the streets and the sheets. Truly willing to try anything once.
Pain enjoyer. Likes spanking you, and likes you doing it to him too.
Also likes overstimulation. Edge him, then let him cum, and do not let him stop... just let him go off like that.
Lots and lots of stamina. And also just fucking dies after. Does everything and then five minutes after he’s absolutely fucking spent. To you, it’s shocking. To go from being so loud to being so still...
Likes to kiss during foreplay, but not much during or after. Prefers to tease with words or just let the actions speak for themselves.
One thing about Choi Saeyoung: he’s a romantic partner and extremely entertaining lover. You can trust that stuff will never get repetitive on him. Always switching it up... in all ways possible.
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goingbuggy · 7 months
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Although I absolutely loved episode 2 because of how Jeff Ward and the writers portrayed a different side of Buggy, if there's one thing that I didn't like, it's this line:
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In Orange Town, Buggy's reasons for why he wants to enter the Grand Line are kept purposefully vague. It is clear that he wants the "world's treasure/all the treasure in the world," but not once does Buggy outright state that he wants A.) the One Piece, and B.) to be Pirate King.
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Of course, after 1082, we know that being Pirate King has been his dream all along, and these manga panels do let readers form their own conclusions. (i.e. If Buggy wants "all the treasure in the world," does that mean he knows and wants to find the One Piece, too? Oda encourages us to ask these questions.)
I don't believe the live action adaptation will reach as far as 1082, unfortunately; it would be nice if it did, but there is a lot getting in the way. However, the writing decision to jump the gun and just have Buggy claim to want to be king.... totally undermines the impact of 1082. Buggy never believed in himself. Even though he desperately wanted to be king, it was the one thing he could not bring himself to say explicitly until 1082.
There are so many throwaway lines in Orange Town which imply Buggy sees himself as incapable/inferior. Take his "Pirate God" comment, for example. He underestimates Luffy, yes, but the impact of that line -- "If you are the next Pirate King, then I must be Pirate God" -- also serves to underestimate himself. Of course he's not a god; he's not claiming to be. He is belittling them both. "If someone as little as you can become king, then I can be god," is what he's really saying, which implies that he, too, is lesser. Buggy talks himself down in subtleties because he needs to maintain his facade, for his crew's sake and his own.
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That is why it is so inspiring and emotional to see Buggy finally admit his real dream in 1082 -- one, because it was only ever (at most) implied before, and two, because as a character, we realize he was too insecure to achieve that dream before this point in the story. Buggy talks a big game, but it was not until he recognized he was on equal footing with Shanks that he realized he could finally go after his own dream. By 1082, he is not just a former warlord, but a man with massive influence. He's a goddamn emperor! For an insecure character, realizing you have power is a hell of a motivator.
Buggy has no real reason to outright claim the title of king yet. It just... doesn't work from a narrative standpoint, given where we are in East Blue. And for that, I am a little disappointed. Feel free to give your own thoughts, though!
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