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fallingdownhell · 2 months

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Hello !! I wish u a happy Valentine's Day >< love it writing ;)

Can I request Best Friends with feelings Sumero boys(+wanderer) reacting to gn!reader being gifted here and there all day bc it's Valentine's day?

Thank u! U can ignore this if I don't want to write :)

Happy belated Valentine's Day! Hope everyone had a nice day celebrating with their loved ones, be it romantically or platonically<3 Characters Included: Tighnari; Cyno; Alhaitham; Kaveh; Wanderer Content: gender neutral reader; no established relationship; the boys are getting jealous; fluff; love confessions..?; not proofread yet Word count: 2,6k words Enjoy<3

Tighnari

he loves the fact that one of his closest friends actually works with him, which means that you can see each other on a regular basis

not like Cyno or Kaveh, who he sometimes doesn't see in days or weeks, depending on their workload

Tighnari enjoys working with you, but not just because he's friends with you. You complement each other, his strenghts negate your weaknesses, and vice versa. When he's stuck in his research on some specific topic, you offer him some insight from a different perspective that he otherwise would probably have never even considered

Plus, you're very easy to talk to, and just an overall fun person to be around. It's no wonder he'd want to be your friends.

So it's also no wonder that one day, he realizes that his feelings for you go much deeper than just friendship

Is he gonna do anything about it, though?

No. At least, not right away

He's let it sit and sink for a while, come to terms with the fact that he actually likes you in that way, and that it's not just some fleeting crush. He'd plan to tell you eventually, but much to his dismay, he forgot what time it was while he was pondering about his feelings for you

Valentine's Day was here, and of course, he's heard plenty of talk among his fellow forest rangers. He knows that many of them plan to ask you out, thinking that it'd be the right time

He realized what day it was when the first one came up to you and handed you a self crafted bracelet that you gladly accepted. Tighnari watched the interaction take place intently, yet swallowed down his feelings

But then another one came up to you... and another.. with every person that came to you, handing you gifts and trying to flirt with you, his anger at them rose, and he couldn't take it any longer

With an annoyed tone, he pushed all his responsibilities aside for today, went over to you and grabbed your hand, almost demanding of you to accompany him to the city, since he claimed he had some important errands to run and needed your help with them. In truth, he just wanted you as far away from all of the attention from other people as quickly as possible

His lie became obvious pretty fast when he made no attempts to actually go to Sumeru City with you, but you'd already realised why he did what he did, yet decided not to comment on it

the two of you took a stroll along a close by river, and after some time, sitting down and just watching the nature around you

Not many words are spoken, but it's also not neccassary

he has a feeling that you're aware of his feelings for you now, as well. But he won't say anything to you just yet. He needs some more time, but you can be sure that you won't have to wait too long..

Cyno

I see him as one of those people who are not to keen about Valentine's day. To him, it's just a day like anyone else. He's also one of those people that would voluntarily work that day

He's never understood the appeal of it. Why celebrate one special day with your partner, when you can show your love and affection for them any given day? Why safe it for one day in the whole year?

Not that he has a partner to begin with, but it's the whole concept about it that just irks him

however, there is a certain someone that Cyno has had feelings for, for quite some time now. A certain someone that was a desert dweller just like him. Who came with him to the City at a young age and who he stayed friends with all those years

You and Cyno go way back, having been friends with him since you were kids. When he was leaving the desert, he couldn't stand the thought of leaving behind the only person he ever knew and trusted, so he convinced you to go with him. Not like anything was holding you in the desert to begin with, so you agreed

Cyno has come to terms with his feelings for you a long time ago, but has yet to make any move on you. Sure, he's dropped some hints here and there, and made some - very poor - attempts at flirting with you, but you never picked up on any of it

and now, he kinda regretted never telling you more specifically. As every other Valentine's day before, Cyno was working this one, too

he was currently on his way to track some hints he'd gotten, leaving the Academiya, when he catched a glimpse of you, standing on the platform before the Academiya building, surrounded by people

he froze in his steps, deciding to stick around and see what was going on. And it didn't take long until he figured it out..

from the people surrounding you, many were offering you gifts, holding them in front of you and begging you to accept them, while you smile shyly and try to appease as many of them as possible

quickly, jealousy was rising within him, but also his protective side started to show. He knew you disliked crowds, never having the courage to deny people of anything, so he knew you had a hard time right now

without another thought, he rushed to your side, putting an arm around you protectively, while he scared away the crowd under some made up excuse

as soon as they were gone and you had your space again, you let out a relieved breath, thanking him for getting you out of this

Cyno stares at you for a second before looking away again, then claiming that he'd walk with you until you were home safe. Just to make sure that no one else would bother you

on the way there, he's thinking hard. This incident showed him, that he'd have to step up and confess his feelings to you, soon. Or someone else might get ahead of him and snatch you away. And he couldn't let that happen..

Alhaitham

another one who I think wouldn't be too big on Valentine's day, but he'd be much more indifferent about it

much like Cyno, he sees no sense in picking out one "special" day in the year to celebrate love when you can just do it whenenver

however, he does begin to see at least some appeal to the thing when he develops feelings for you, one of his best friends

he loves that he can just spend time with you in silence. That you don't always have the need to converse with him, and instead just enjoy the presence of each other while each of you might be doing their own thing still

however, it still takes Alhaitham some time to accept that he's having these types of feelings for you, so you can't expect a confession from him anytime soon, either

he tries to approach his feelings with logic first, but he comes to realize that logic does not help him in the slightest with this particular "problem"

so instead, he decideds to throw logic out the window for this one and instead settles on the plan to use the upcoming valentine's day this year to actually confess how he feels to you

after talking to a bunch of people about different ideas for gifts, he decides to go with what seems to be the "standard", some flowers and chocolates

he plans on gifting them to you after your shift for the day is done and you're heading home, since he comes by and walks you home from time to time, so it wouldn't be weird for Alhaitham to show up

however, as he arrives, he becomes witness to a scene, similar to what he had planned to do. A man in front of you, asking you to accept his flowers as he asks you out on a date

Alhaitham's heart immediately drops, and he finds himself frozen in place, unable to do anything about it. The only thing he can do, is watch as you laugh awkwardly at the guy and then kindly decline him

seeing you reject him gives him some hope again, and he watches the guy leave first before he approaches you, his gifts for you hidden under his cloak. Even if you rejected him, he was now hesitating wether it was a good idea to actually follow through with his plan

the same exact thing then happened four more times while he was walking you home. Some random person would approach you on the street and hand you some form of a Valentine's present. And every time, you'd kindly turn them down with an uncomfortable smile

seeing the interactions both gave him relief - as you were always rejecting them - but also made him feel more anxious

in the end, when the two of you arrived at your home, he had half a mind to just not say anything at all and just let it go. But then, another thought entered his head that he couldn't ignore away. What if, if he was to forego his chance now, someone else would show up who you'd ultimately agree to go out with?

he couldn't let this happen, not without shooting his own shot, at least

so, before you close the door on him, he stops you, and very awkwardly pulls the flower and chocolates out from under his cloak, handing them to you

he sees the surprise morph into your expression, as he's anxiously waiting for your answer...

Kaveh

I personally think that Kaveh would be very obvious if he has a crush on someone. Wether that be a close friend or someone he doesn't personally know, he's easy to figure out

he wears his heart on the tongue and is very expressive, so one simple question is often enough to figure out what he thinks about certain people

so, it was obvious to you, and everyone around him, that Kaveh has been having feelings for his best friend, You

has he done anything about that or plans on doing anything?

No.

as much as he's aware of his feelings, he also has no idea how to go about it. How would he ask you out in the first place? And why, for all Archon's sake, would you even say yes to him in the first place?

He has to come to terms with that question and many similar ones first, before he feels like he's ready to ask you out

unluckily for him, you're quite an impatient person, and waiting around for him to do something, when you've already dropped so many hints that you liked him, too, was just too damn exhausting

however, luckily for you, Valentine's day was just around the corner, and maybe, you could use that to your advantage..

that day, you'd ask Kaveh to accompany you on a stroll through the city, to get him out of his little office that he's been cramped up in recently to finish a project of his

he gladly took the offer, figuring that he could really use the fresh air. He always loved to spend time with you, talking and laughing with you about anything and everything that came to your minds

however, he noticed that on this particular day, people seemed to approach you every so often, with roses in their hands, engaging in conversations with you that Kaveh stepped away from, not wanting to eavesdrop on private matters

still, he inwardly scoffs to himself. What are these people even trying to achieve? Don't they know that roses aren't even your favourite flowers?

But the more he looks around the city, he slowly comes to realize what kind of day it is today

Now the roses also made sense... and now he could also figure why they were all approaching you, probably to ask you out

And, why wouldn't they? You were a catch, no matter which angle one were to look from. Anyone would be lucky to be able to call you their partner, but.. Kaveh wanted it to be himself, not some random person who doesn't even know you as much as he does

the more people talk to you, the more jealous Kaveh grows as the day goes on, yet he never says anything about it or to you. He just intently watches everyone that dares come closer to you, narrowing his eyes on them, like they just personally offeneded him

once the day is over, Kaveh then locks himself into his office, trying to come up with the most elaborate plan to ask you out. He wanted it to be something grande, something that would be better than anything anyone had ever done for you, that would outdo all the gifts and presents you'd gotten today... and once the plan is set, he'll be making it happen as soon as possible..

Wanderer

not fond about this holiday. At all

he hates how stuck up people can get with their feelings. Why did they have to make a celebration out of it and shove it down everyone's throat?

scoffs loudly whenever he sees a couple act all cutesy and stuff on Valentine's day. It doesn't really bother him all that much on any other day, but that specific day? He hates it

he also hates you. You may be his best - and only - friend, but he hates the way you make him feel sometimes

he tries to deny it for a very long time, chalking it up to some malefunction of his body, but there comes a point in his life where he can no longer deny the feelings he has for you

much to his dismay, the day he'd make that realization just had to be Valentine's day... the fucking irony. Celestia really must hate him

He didn't think anything of it when he invited you to join him for some leisure stroll outside Sumeru City that day. He's waiting for you before Lambad's tavern, impatiently tapping his fingers against his crossed arms

finally, he notices you, but just as he was about to call out to you, he notices someone else approach you and engaging in a conversation with you

the Wanderer had half a mind to walk over there and pull you away, because how dare you make him wait even longer? But then, that person hands you a flower, gifting it to you, and he froze seeing you accept it

soon enough, you'd part ways with that person and finally join the Wanderer, but by that time, his mood has already turned sour

he still goes on that stroll with you, but the entire time, he basically ignores you as he tries to figure out why he feels so frustrated by this interaction. Why would you accept flowers from a lowlife like that? Wasn't he enough for you?

As soon as that thought entered his mind, his eyes widened and he knew he was screwed, that he'd somehow caught feelings for you. But realizing it, and admiting to it, are two completely different things

when you two return to Sumeru City, he witnesses two other people approach and do the same thing, gifting you a flower each that you accept with a kind smile

and with every interaction he sees, his anger and resentment towards them grows and grows

he can't deal with it any longer, so he leaves the scene without any further explanation

he'd have a lot of thinking to do, as well as coming to terms with some things. You wouldn't see him for a while, even if you were to seek him out. He just needed to do this on his own, because the next time he sees you, he plans on making you his, no matter what it would take..

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genderqueerdykes · 2 months

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in honor of aromantic spectrum awareness week, i thought i'd take the time to talk about how much my personal life and feelings improved after coming to terms with the fact that i'm aromantic. before i accepted this, i found myself in several romantic relationships where i was deeply unhappy, uncomfortable, and made to feel like i wasn't a good enough partner because i just couldn't do or feel certain things.

i've never enjoyed kissing, and cuddling gets uncomfortable for me within the first few minutes of doing so. even hugs are deeply uncomfortable to me unless i really know and care about someone, and even then, hugs only come when that person asks for them. it never occurs to me to touch people this way, the most you'll get out of me is a pat on the shoulder, back or knee.

i ended up dating several people who were very much romantics, and heavily focused on that aspect of our relationship. it kind of felt like torture to me, i felt like i was being forced to live every day like it was Valentine's Day- every day had to be filled with hours of cuddling, kissing, and telling the other person how much i loved them. while not all romantic partners are like this, it wore on my psyche quickly to be paired with folks like this, because i understood how important it was to them, but i just couldn't keep up the performance.

i thought something was "wrong" with me for years and that i just wasn't in touch with my emotions, or that i was somehow embracing some toxic aspects of my masculinity without realizing. it took me ages to remember that i came out as aromantic when i was much younger, but after criticism from my friends, including a friend who was asexual, i stopped identifying with the label, because i was told that aromanticism wasn't real, and that that just made me an asshole.

nearly a decade and several uncomfortable romantic relationships later, it finally clicked that there wasn't something wrong with me, but there was something wrong with the situations i was getting myself into. sure, i love being partnered- i have a queerplatonic partner that i've known for a decade and have only gotten closer to over time. but we've never been romantic. we don't exchange romantic platitudes, and i realized; i've never been happier with someone else than i am with this person.

why is that?

oh. because they don't expect romance from me. they are also on the aspectrum and don't have a romantic partner, either.

this relationship has brought me more joy than any romantic partnership i've ever attempted to pursue. that doesn't mean there's something wrong with me- i was just looking for happiness in the wrong places. i was miserable not because i'm aromantic, but because i was getting into romantic relationships.

romance can be a source of misery. romance does not inherently make everyone happy. we are not all looking for romance as a species. in fact, chasing it makes many people miserable. too many people spend their lives looking for "the one" that they can kiss, cuddle, hold and say all of those mushy things to when they may not even want that to begin with.

i've never been more at peace with myself since finally, fully accepting that i'm aromantic. i love who i am, and i love how i love. i am not loveless, i experience platonic, queerplatonic and other forms of love. but loveless aromantics aren't miserable, either. we are all embracing ourselves in a way that's true to us. we are refusing to warp ourselves to a society that tells us that we all must have homogeneous feelings.

i am aromantic. i am here. my aromanticism is queer in a society that expects and demands romance of me, and this is true of all aromantics, cis, trans, gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, and otherwise. we are here, we are not going away any time soon, and we will not be silent because our identities make some people uncomfortable. we are happiest being who we are.

happy aro week, this goes out to every last arospectrum person out there, appreciate yourselves this week. you deserve it.

#aromantic #aro #lgbtqia #lgbt #queer #lgbta #aromantic spectrum #arospec #arospectrum #aroace #aromantic asexual #aro awareness week #aspectrum #aspec #our writing #about us

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nogenderbee · 5 months

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Could I request the seven brothers being called a blessing in their s/o's eyes?

Yes, of course! I swear it was such a long time since I did Obey Me, I literally missed it sm!! Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it despite this being so short hah

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ 7 brothers being called a blessing in their lover's eyes

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @vodka-glrl @miya-akane @indi-has-fallen

✧ Lucifer literally cannot say if you're trying to compliment or insult him now

✧ he's aware that you may've been just trying to be nice and maybe only simply forgot about him being a literal demon

✧ doesn't get mad or anything like that, instead will try digging deeper into it

"I'm sorry, would you like to elaborate?"

✧ now if you actually explain what you meant... he won't get angry and accept the weird compliment but will definitely give you a small talk about how you shouldn't say it again, to any demon at least...

✧ if you won't explain meaning behind these words tho, he might think you said it on purpose, just to make fun of him

✧ either way, be prepared for smaller or longer tall about your... unique way of complimenting demons

✧ just to make sure, he's not mad at you or anything, he's just worried you'll say something similar to wrong demon and will get yourself into troubles

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Mammon was literally about to thank you for the compliment when it hit him... he's a demon... are you trying to insult him now!?

✧ somehow his expression went from high and mighty to one of annoyence

"Whatcha mean, human!?"

✧ literally thinks you're just being mean to him so you better explain to this boy that it's not what you meant by that and maybe you won't have one of a hella grumpy demon on you account

✧ after you explain it was just a misunderstanding he just sighs and forgives you

✧ give him a bit of kisses or affection in general and he'll come back to his usual self

✧ but there's also something... why he's so grumpy about that compliment? Yes, it's partially because he's a demon but also because somehow he likes the compliment!

✧ he knows it's not the compliment demon would want to hear but he sees the meaning behind it!

✧ but the truth is he would rather take a bath in holy water than admit he somehow liked your compliment

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ now Levi doesn't even consider the fact you might've said that by mistake, he's immidietly sure you just wanted to insult him

✧ let's be honest, he has pretty low self esteem, he won't believe it was a misunderstanding even if you tell him so, not at first at very least...

"Oh..."

✧ it's literally all he says, you can see you just said something he found insulting by his glassy eyes

✧ 1000 tonight just went though his mind in that second and now he's analyzing each of them so please, comfort him before it gets worse

✧ it's definitely not easy but with time, he'll finally understand that you just wanted to express how important he is in your eyes

✧ when the full realization hits him, he literally melts on spot... he's really THIS important to you!?

✧ congratulations, you have clingy demon on your side who will never admit what's the cause of it!

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Satan immidietly understands you just made a small mistake and your intentions weren't as bad as some may think

✧ literally doesn't even correct you or anything, he just accepts it like normal compliment

"Thank you, dear. You're just as important to me."

✧ you'd have to figure it out by yourself or with help of someone because he won't care enough to explain

✧ when you come apologize to him about your previous compliment, he immidietly tells you he understood from beginning

✧ a little amused by your small mistake and may even smirk the whole time you're worried he's mad at you for that

✧ but if the realization won't hit you and you even continue to give him more compliments like this, don't be surprised if he suddenly chuckles at one of the compliments

✧ he'd never explain where his amusement comes from tho, instead brushing it off as simple good mood

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Asmo immidietly got what you were trying the say and he appreciate you trying to be a bit romantic! He really does! He'd just feel bad if he didn't explain it to you...

"Darling, I appreciate your sweetness but you realize I'm a demon, right?"

✧ when the realization hits you, he can't help but chuckle at how stressed you are suddenly

✧ of course he calms you down and assures you he doesn't mind and in fact even got it from very beginning

✧ honestly he found your sudden nervousness somehow adorable

✧ definitely spoils your face with little kisses afterwarda

✧ he doesn't care how many compliments he got from other or how adorable they were, yours was the one he'll cherish forever, along with your face for sudden realization

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Beel didn't fully understood the compliment at first, instead he was a bit confused...

✧ or was an insult? Did he do something to upset you? He's so confused that he just decides to ask you

"Y/N... you know I'm a demon now, right?"

✧ as soon as you explain what you really meant, he sighs with relief as he hears you didn't wanted to be mean in the first place

✧ he ignores that small mistake and actually thanks you for the compliment, and even tells you small compliment of his own!

✧ literally doesn't hold it against you and instead acts like he forgot about this whole situation

✧ the truth is, he still remembers that and even finds it a bit cute yet amusing but decides not to mention it since it was one time situation

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ you probably caught Blephie during his sleep with it

✧ when you said it he just shook his head and mumbles small "thanks" unaware

✧ he realized what you said only after some time because of him being half-asleep and he had confused look on his face when he finally opened his eyes

"Mhm, thanks.... Wait what-?"

✧ calmly explains to you that it's actually an insult for him and asks if you're aware of it

✧ when you say it was a mistake, of course he forgives you tho, he just teases the heck out of you by making himself a victim

✧ all of him making a scene was just to make you cuddle with him for the whole day and anytime you tried pulling away, he'd mention that situation to make you feel guilty

✧ his behavior may be seen as manipulative but he really means no bad with it and you know it all

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

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vidavalor · 19 days

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Ok fine, I brought milk and chocolate chip cookies this time 🥛 🍪 and also some eggs from my lovely chickens! 🐓 🥚

I hope you accept this apology, and I’ll try my best to behave 😜

So, I wonder how you interpret 1.03 where, just before the flood, one of the unicorns makes a run for it and Crawley says ‘you still got one of them’? Some people seem to believe this means she didn’t understand the process of procreation (at the time). Do you have any thoughts on that?

Please don't behave. Why would you want to do that? Would make this all very boring lol. 😂 Thank you for the very fun ask. I love this question.💕

I think the scene you're talking about is more than a funny aside about whether or not Crowley had finished reading Demon's Guide to Reproduction of Beings on Earth yet... and that might not be the question the scene is really asking. I think it also has a ton to do with the Final Fifteen of 2.06, too, so *slices pie* let's get into the unicorns and the professional midwife/cobbler and what, imo, these two moments have to do with one another:

In S1, in the scene set just before the beginning of The Flood, we have two questions emerge from Crowley's dialogue, both of which are then picked up again in S2. One is what Crowley meant by "kids" when he said "you can't kill kids" after looking at a group containing both small goats and children. The second question is the one you're talking about, which is whether or not he understood at the time how human reproduction works. The question is born out of the fact that, on the surface, he might appear to not exactly be grasping the concept of Noah's Ark when he says that Shem's "still got one of them" after one of the pair of unicorns takes off and doesn't get on the boat. Both things show back up together again in S2 in the Job minisode and that sort of continuation of story, in a way, might suggest that there's going to be a third layer to this that emerges in S3 as well. I think, though, that we might have enough to look at some potential answers already.

While the "kids" bit is, essentially, answered and was always more of a language joke anyway-- Crowley wishes to kill no kids, be them goats or humans-- the fact that this question returned in S2 and was tied once again with a plot centered around sex and reproduction shows that the questions raised in The Flood scene in S1 are interrelated and pretty important overall. The entire Job plot ultimately comes down to who knows what about human reproduction. Saving the kids comes down to fooling Gabriel and fooling Gabriel can only be done because Gabriel, at least at the time, did not have the first clue how human reproduction normally works. He had only seen this one, initial, very atypical version of it that has basically never happened since and because he didn't spend time on Earth at that point in the story, he didn't know he had it all wrong. This whole story is built around what someone's understanding of reproduction of another species is and it isn't Crowley who doesn't know how it all works by 2500 B.C., it's Gabriel. But what does this have to do with The Flood and Crowley and the unicorns?

In the Job minisode, we are told that Gabriel was in The Garden at the start of it and witnessed Eve's birth from Adam's rib. We find this hilarious because we know that this isn't how sex works and this time, in this scene, Crowley is more than in on the joke with us. What makes the scene funny is actually Crowley's knowledge in it of how human sex and reproduction work. Unlike Gabriel, he wasn't there for Eve's super-weird birth and so he's visibly trying not to be like what the actual fuck? this is how Eve was made? at Aziraphale as Aziraphale's gestures lead Crowley to telling Sitis to pull out one of Job's ribs-- absolutely not a feature of any sex Crowley has ever had or seen. Aziraphale then is flirting with a Crowley who totally gets the joke when Sitis pulls the ox ribs "out" of Job. It's very evident between this scene and the prior night in the cellar that, circa 2500 B.C. at least, Crowley absolutely knew how human sex and reproduction worked.

The key bit here to understanding what Crowley was saying about the unicorns back during The Flood is actually in the reminder in the Job minisode about The Garden that the minisode gives us through making the plot equally about what Gabriel saw in The Garden-- Eve's weird conception and birth-- but also about what Gabriel didn't see-- Adam and Eve have more human-typical sex-- which is something that Crowley set into motion and then something that he and Aziraphale both witnessed.

By bringing up how Gabriel doesn't know what human sex and reproduction normally look like because of what he saw (and missed) in The Garden of Eden, the show is also reminding us that, after Gabriel left, Crowley was sent up into The Garden and tempted Eve into eating the apple. Eve then shared the apple with Adam. Adam and Eve figured out sex not long after that, during a period of time in which both Aziraphale and Crowley were also in The Garden and Eve's pregnancy was one of Aziraphale's motivations for giving them his flaming sword.

Mah point is that Crowley absolutely knew about sex and sexual reproduction during The Flood because Crowley and Aziraphale essentially watched the first humans have sex on Earth in The Garden of Eden.

The show also has about a half-dozen jokes about Anthony J. "Can I watchchch?" Crowley's voyeuristic tendencies and roots some of it to the fact that he's the Serpent of Eden and gets off on watching his temptation labors bear fruit. (It's been a long day. I have earned that joke😂). Ya know, such as:

This whole unicorn and sex thing is also part of the Job minisode by way of the ox ribs, further making it all kind of part of the same story. The inclusion of unicorns in ancient history in GO feels like a nod to the re'em, an animal mentioned a few times in The Bible (including in The Book of Job), which has been frequently translated as "unicorn" and is part of the origin for from where our idea of unicorns comes in the first place. The same word has been translated as meaning other animals-- among them? The wild ox.

Making things even more interesting is unicorn lore. The unicorn was said to be a wild, secretive creature who lived in the forest and who could only ever be captured and tamed by a virgin maiden. Aziraphale, in 2500 B.C., is shown to not eat or drink before the night in the cellar began so odds are also good on the food-and-alcohol = sex show that Aziraphale definitely qualified as a virgin maiden when he went to absolute town on those ox ribs. Anyway...

...what I'm saying here is that it feels extremely unlikely that, by the time of The Flood in 3,004 B.C., that Crowley didn't know how human sex and reproduction worked when he saw it play out in The Garden. Other than Eve's speedy stages of pregnancy meant to get the ball rolling on humanity, Adam and Eve's sex was typical of humans. So, Crowley knew about sex and sexual reproduction when he made the comment about the unicorns... but then how does that make sense, right?

In order to think that Crowley didn't know how reproduction works during The Flood scene we've seen, you would have to assume two things are true: 1) that unicorns reproduce via sexual reproduction and 2) that unicorns went extinct as a result of one of them making a run for it and not making it onto Noah's Ark, right?

The thing is... the show might be subtly trying to show that unicorns do still exist in GO. But before you say 'but, Vida, seriously?! We've never seen an unicorn after The Flood!', I'm going to argue that maybe we actually have one as a major supporting character and this S2 scene might be hinting in that direction:

The parallel to the "Oi, Shem!" scene is Nina-as-Crowley telling Aziraphale-as-Shem that that unicorn (The Bentley) is running of its own accord. Unicorns are magical beings. How magical beings present, as God pointed out in S1, is up to them. Human forms are just one option, right? I don't know exactly where this is going but this bit in S2 was a direct tie to The Flood's unicorn moment and it would explain a thing or two about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang if it were somehow tied to the unicorns. Can Crowley actually make them, the way Beez can make flies? Can Aziraphale? We really have no idea how the unicorn thing works in GO so we can't really use it as an example that Crowley didn't know about sex when it's more that we don't know about unicorns...

The unicorn that we saw during The Flood tracked with what we think of as the mythical being of an unicorn in our real world so we could make the assumption that some of the same aspects of them are/were true in GO. Unicorns are magical horse/donkey-like beings (which couldn't possibly be more Crowley and Aziraphale if it tried.) They are few and far between, are hard to spot and mostly keep to themselves. Human beings have no real actual proof that they ever existed in the first place and generally consider them mythical beings but Good Omens shows us that they at least did exist in GO ancient times-- and might still. In modern times, unicorns have become a LGBTQIA+ symbol and, for that reason and that reason alone, it seems unlikely that they actually went extinct in the world of *Good Omens*...

So, let's presume that Crowley said the existence of unicorns would continue even if Shem only had one of them on Noah's Ark because he knows that unicorns are not like other beings on Earth. Think about what else Crowley is then saying here with this line to Shem:

Noah's Ark, to us, is a story about continuing the existence of life for beings on Earth, right? It's about pairs, about mates, for the purpose of continuing species on earth via sexual reproduction. That's why we consider what Crowley's saying in this moment of this scene through the lens of it being entirely about sexual reproduction. When it comes to the unicorns, though, you could argue that Crowley is not actually talking about reproduction but about romance. We don't actually know how unicorns work-- but Crowley does.

What Crowley is actually telling us in this scene is that paired unicorns can survive the death of one of them because they're a part of each other. What Crowley is actually saying is that the pair of mated unicorns in the scene are two beings who share a single existence.

You couldn't permanently kill one of a pair of unicorns without killing both of them. So long as one of them still exists, they both do.

One unicorn could make a run for it for any reason and bolt away from his mate and die in the storm but Crowley knew the bolting unicorn was a part of the one that Shem got on the boat and so could be brought back.

In S2, we see something like this with other magical beings-- Ineffable Bureaucracy.

Oi, Shem, that purple-eyed unicorn's gonna make a run for it...

It's too late, too late...

Oh, well, you've still got one of them...

The Fly is Gabriel and Beez together; it's their shared existence. Without it, Gabriel would not have survived. The one of them still left-- Beez-- is the one who can put it together and bring Gabriel back into a full existence.

Ineffable Bureaucracy are unicorns who parallel our main two, though, and Oi, Shem...

...that bow-tied unicorn's gonna make a run for it...

Oh, well, you've still got one of them...

#ineffable husbands #good omens #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow

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thegoldenhoof · 5 months

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After reading multiple metas on all sides, I think the biggest problem with OFMD, specially Season 2 is that it is almost entirely built on tell don't show. Worse sometimes it is hint, don't tell or show. This is not great writing in itself but it is made worse when the POV characters are all shown to have a rather unstable relationship with reality and memory.

Stede is self-centered enough to just not acknowledge or even notice things around him that don't actively interact with his focus which is mostly just Ed. He is self-centered to the point of being delusional about other people and reality of circumstances. Season 2 sees him doing better and his rescue of the crew is his highest point. But we see this even through Season 2 in his interactions with Lucius and during Ed's apology his interactions with Zheng Yi Sao.. Basically anyone not Ed.

Ed is shown to have a negotiable understanding of truth - seen with his Ed/Blackbears/Kraken split, his "I didn't kill them, the fire killed them" dissociation with his own actions, his rewriting of the context of his own memories (Knife parade) or just straight up forgetting shit (Talent show). And yes all of these are trauma responses but that does not dismiss the fact that his perception is far from objective.

Izzy is straight up shown to be lying in his first interaction with Ed regarding Stede. He is aware of his surroundings better than Stede and Ed but he is also supremely blind to himself and his interpersonal relationships. Where Stede is delusional about the world he can be interpreted as delusional about himself.

We as the audience ofcourse can put context to their words from their actions and this worked ok in season 1 (not always but mostly and that becomes important later) But Season 2 leans much more heavily on tell without show. (Yes yes budget cuts...but that doesn't change the final product).

Where season 1 added some flavour of back story with tell dont show, Season 2 expects dialogue to do all the heavy lifting (none more than Izzy's death speech) without this dialogue being backed up by action. Worse (or better) this dialogue isn't exposition which makes the scene better but which also means more often then not it is merely hinting at a meaning.

So we have half explained dialogues, sometimes with dubious context, used as a substitute for action given to us by characters with established unreliable perspectives. The heavy lifting of understanding the meaning of these dialogues, their significance and weigtt, has then been shifted to the audience interpretation. This interpretation is of course done per individual interest and bias. This is not bad in itself but remember this has been happening since season 1. Which means the new interpretations are being built on older interpretations. Those little flavour back story hints have now become the lens through which the entire season 2 is meant to be understood.

We are all watching a different show in a sense and that us not a failure of the audience. It is, rather, an accidental byproduct (and a failure) of the show's design because of the combination of all the above factors which was (made worse by the budget cuts leaving less time/space for action)

The show then unfortunately comes down to whose POV are you accepting (and certain fans have turned this into an exercise of moralizing self righteousness.) and to what extant.

A true understanding, imo, can only be by accepting that none of their perspectives are absolutely true and trying to center the objective narrative between all of them in a way that best fits all their perspectives AND accounts for all their blind spots, rather than lift any one POV as the absolute uncritical truth. (And fans on all sides have been guilty of this)

(P.S. I think this may also have worked positively towards making this show so huge is season one because it left enough ambiguity for us all to project on it multiple complex and sometimes contradicting interpretations creating an Illusion of much greater complexity that was more in our collective heads than in the actual show.)

#ofmd #ofmd critical #our flag means death #stede bonnet #ed teach #Izzy hands #ofmd meta #narrative techniques #yes there are some pro Izzy interpretations i don't agree with either #because they are definitely guilty of this #a lot of very early Izzy meta before the annoying harrasment was actually much more balanced #but here we are.#but 'Ed ha never done anything wrong in his life and saying he did makes you racist' brand of fans are definitely the worst offenders.

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fizzigigsimmer · 2 months

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This has been nibbling at me for days, but "Billy's Fantasy Girl" is such a weird awkward as fuck inclusion in the VR game. Allowing for the fact that I am not male, and I do not know for certain how the average hetero dude is conceptualizing their existence and processing their deepest desires and insecurities, but it just feels incredibly clunky and odd that Vecna is filtering Billy's weaknesses through a female of no face and name.

Do men project their weaknesses onto their partners and search for meaning within their relationships just as much as women do? Abso-fucking-lutely. My issue is not with Billy's Fantasy Girl's existence within his psyche, but with how she exists and why she exists. FG exists to reveal to the audience something about Billy. Several things, in truth. One of them, quite deftly, that Billy has all the insecurities of a budding abuser himself. His fantasy woman is someone so broken and desperate that she will put him first in everything, because he's the only one or thing that can make her feel like she has any kind of value or presence in the world (because that's how he feels). And before anyone climbs down my throat about it, lets just all agree that this is the bed soil of many a toxic relationship.

Because Billy is never going to find that, the resentment/pain/frustration will continue to build and it is likely he will seek to control his partners in the future and try to force them into the shape he needs - keep them locked in the trunk and by his side. We see the seeds of this developing in the canon with him and Max. He cares about her whether he's accepted that or not, and when she steps outside the box or does things that put her or him in harms way he lashes out.

The second thing FG exists to do of course is flip the script and show us just how broken Billy is. How worthless and desperate he feels, because he is a victim right now. More important than any potential abuse he could visit on some imaginary girlfriend or wife of the future is the abuse Billy has suffered and is suffering right now, which has made him the perfect target for The Mind Flayer - an abuser, who has literally come along to tell Billy that he's seen, understood, and he can have everything he wants if he just literally gives up control of his self and devotes himself to the monster and his monstrous desires.

All of that tracks, and is frankly the kind of deep exploration of trauma cycles that the Duffer Brothers failed to do. My issue with it is that there were much cleaner ways to make the same points, without filtering Billy through a female lens. Choosing to focus on a female and filter Billy through that female is what we call A Choice. They did not need to do it, and in just about every way there were easier ways to get the same points across without risking loosing less media literate players in the muddy waters of nuance, metaphor, and symbolism.

We could have seen Billy filtered through the eyes of the wounded child again. Vecna could have promised him a picture perfect family, like maybe his mom never left, or maybe he gets to punish her for leaving and Neil for being a piece of shit. IDK there are just dozens and dozens of ways they could have shown us he is love starved and just as desperate to give up control as he is to control his world, without literally forcing the audience to imagine a female and then saying - this is Billy btw. LOL like, y'all don't understand. Choices were made.

#billy hargrove #stranger things #vr game spoilers I guess

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syrena-del-mar · 9 months

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Kawi's Journey with Self-Worth and Pisaeng's Reassurance

I don't know how to put it into words, but there is something so nice about Pisaeng always sticking to his guns about what interested him about Kawi was simply that he found Kawi to be cute.

Yes, there are millions of cute people in the world, but it was specifically Kawi's cuteness that intrigued Pisaeng. There was no ulterior reason that he found himself into Kawi, there was no deeper meaning. It's not like Kawi needed to do something to prove himself worthy of Pisaeng's love (even if Kawi thought that he had to.) Instead, Pisaeng was, initially, simply attracted to Kawi and that had been enough.

It's a simple reason that I think that Kawi will always have to grapple with for the rest of his life, probably because even though he may have found a sense of peace and serenity in his life after all the time-travelling, he'll likely still have some minor struggles with his self-worth. Love is not a fix-all, and (again) like what I'm positive has become synonymous with @bengiyo's brand here on BL reviews, "There's no magical dick. It doesn't fix." Even if it happens to belong to Pisaeng. When you have low self-esteem and issues with you self-worth, even when you take the most pro-active methods of care to combat these ideas, a part of it will always remain. Some days will be more of a struggle than others. So while his relationship with Pisaeng will not magically fix insecurities, the fact that Pisaeng is there to reassure him is incredibly important. I really doubt that Kawi will ever be able to fully understand why it was simply his cuteness that attracted Pisaeng, but the constant reminders are necessary in his journey to self-acceptance.

Combine that with the fact that Pisaeng comes from an uber-rich (and political) family, and Kawi spent ten years dealing with very little self-worth, it makes sense that Kawi will never fully accept it, even ten-years down the line into their relationship. Yet, the fact that Pisaeng's answer remains constant and never changes into something deeper than he just found Kawi cute is so critical in allowing Kawi to rebuild his trampled self-esteem.

While I think that compliments like that could potentially come across as either insincere or even shallow, it does more good than harm for Kawi. He spent ten years alone, in his small apartment with no significant social connection and his last true connection (his father) dead. He was detached from human relationships and he placed higher value on what he could bring to the table, doing so he shattered his own self-esteem because he had a sincere belief that he had nothing good to offer.

Pisaeng's consistent and persistent insistence that he adored Kawi due to his cuteness, at a time when Kawi believed that he wasn't worth much, is so important in ensuring Kawi that becomes aware of the fact that human relationships aren't solely transactional. His presence doesn't mean that he has to offer more solely to be loved and particularly a recipient of Pisaeng's love. Pisaeng's answer serves as a reminder of that, even if it's not said or understood outright.

It's a subtle reminder, a reassurance of sorts, to Kawi that he has worth even when he's not aware of it or when he doesn't recognize it in himself. His worth isn't tied to material objects or titles that are expected in fully transactional, interested, relationships. Rather it serves its purpose by becoming a verbal notice to Kawi that for Pisaeng, Kawi will always be enough just by being himself, that he always finds him cute, and that's was enough reason for him to fall in love with him.

Kawi's journey consisted so much of learning how to live in the moment, of learning the importance in actually making decisions, because there's only one thing certain about life: time moves on with or without us. When we live in such a capitalistic society, we often tie our self-worth to our social capital, the achievements that we make, the people we know. In turn, we can end up neglecting and stepping all-over our self-esteem in the moments that we don't reach those "social tiers" and start believing that in turn we have nothing to offer. When you let yourself believe that you're worthless and time moves on, you end up being left behind.

Kawi is worth more than his accolades and job titles, more than any achievements that he may receive. His worthiness derives from his authentic self and who he is as a person. He's loved for being Kawi. It's enough for Pisaeng to find him cute, because Kawi is enough and will always be enough. That constant reassurance is critical in shaping Kawi, allowing him to find his happiness and peace in life. He's now surrounded by the people that he loves and who love him back. He's no longer alone.

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dia-souls · 8 months

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DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Analyzes [ Vol. 3 Sakamaki Reiji ]

Original title: 遅い朝に

Source: Diabolik Lovers Daylight Vol. 3 Sakamaki Reiji

Seiyuu: Katsuyuki Konishi

Analyze by: Admin Afra

Admin's note: My God. This CD really moved me to tears. I can boldly say that Reiji has one of the most reasonable behavior in managing such a crisis. Among all the CDs I listened to, he was one of the few boys who was willing to find a solution to cure Yui without losing his cool or thinking about killing himself. This man is truly a gentleman.

What a beautiful flashback to describe Reiji's love. Sometimes I think about the words of these vampires who are so kind and I ask myself if this is really the same boy? Is this the same boy who tortured and humiliated Yui to the point of death at the beginning of their relationship? And now he wants to go to the death to save the same girl?

It's really hard to believe that these boys have changed so much, but I think it's really beautiful that they all got the concept of love. This also applies to Reiji. Reiji's own description of how he was changed by Yui is beautiful to me. Reiji believes that Yui has taught him humanity, something that was hard for Reiji to accept, but Reiji himself realizes over time that Yui is a treasure that he gained from this. Just like chinaware is a treasure for Reiji, Yui is another treasure for him that he wants to take care of with all his heart.

But what is important is that Reiji will never let go of the treasure he cares about, so he chooses to never let go of Yui's hand and stay by her side forever. Reiji's words are said while he decides to abandon the investigation and enjoy his last minutes with Yui. It can be understood from his words, does it mean forever that he will follow Yui even after death?

When Feshbak ends, I see a normal daily life of Yui and her partner again. This time Reiji tries to wake up Yui and complains about Yui being lazy and sleeping too much.

I don't know how others see their relationship but I always find it so cute how Rosji tries to teach Yui like a father and teach her good manners. Yui's playfulness and clumsiness is always endearing to me and I'm sure Reiji enjoys it too.

What really caught my attention was that Reiji noticed something strange about Yui's health condition just by looking at Yui's walk. Everyone knows someone else who was so quick to notice the abnormality in his behavior and health. Honestly, the rest of the boys needed at least two tracks to realize this. This shows that when it comes to Yui's health, Reiji is smarter than the others and realizes it sooner.

As usual, spending a beautiful day drinking tea with Reiji. This is very enjoyable.

Also, Reiji, who certainly cares more about his father's royal parties than anyone else and likes to train Yui for it, is very gentlemanly. I honestly feel that Reiji is really like a kind father to Yui. We can even say that Reiji has acted more like a father to Yui than Seiji.

The dance ceremony looked very interesting and Reiji's jealousy was very cute. The fact that he took Yui out because he didn't want other men to look at her simply shows how easily he can get jealous. Also, I have no doubts about Reiji's unique taste in clothing. I'm sure he made Yui so beautiful that he made all the men attracted to her.

Walking with Yui makes Reiji more aware of Yui's poor health. Of course, I'm pretty sure Reiji already knew about it, he just didn't want to worry Yui about it, or felt like it wasn't too important to worry about.

But when he carried her in his arms, he had undoubtedly noticed her low weight. And as he himself said, the irregular rhythm of her heart as well as the different smell of her blood had convinced him of this and started his research to find a solution to cure Yui.

As expected, Reiji is one of those boys who tries to act rationally in such situations and instead of thinking about suicide because he loses his love, he decides to look for a solution. What most boys did not do. Well, to be honest, I really like this feature of Reiji and I think he did better and more reasonable than all his brothers in this case.

The interaction between him and Yui in track 3 can be interpreted as a symbolic relationship of Reiji's love for Yui, who is precious to him like a treasure. When Yui accidentally breaks Reiji's china cup, Reiji likens it to something interesting. That something that is not eternal will disappear one day. Reiji may have once thought that because vampires were immortal, death was like a celebration for them, but he soon realized that it was different when it came to something you hold dear. You simply do not like to lose someone dear to you.

In this track, I would like to mention more details. For example, Reiji used to punish Yui with a whip for breaking his china cups, but in this departure, when he found out, he was more worried about Yui getting hurt than anything else. It's very interesting how one of Reiji's main obsessions has been changed by Yui and I find it very very valuable.

Maybe that was the reason for Yui's insistence on fixing it. I can boldly say that Yui never has high expectations from her partner. She never looks for expensive gifts and clothes. The only thing Yui wants from her partner is pure and simple love. When Yui does something bad, she feels guilty because she was hurt by that boy before and thinks she deserves to be punished. This can refer to their past relationship. Before, Reiji or even all the boys would punish Yui for the smallest mistake. It can be said that over time, Yui has made herself believe that she is nothing but a moving blood bag and that the only value is her blood, so when she does something bad, she deserves to be punished. And maybe the reason is Yui, who keeps trying to offer her blood to the boys because she believes that her value can only be summed up in her blood.

But what Yui doesn't realize is that the boys have changed over time because of Yui's golden heart and humanity. They have learned humanity from Yui and this is something that Reiji himself has admitted to.

Reiji can't imagine life without Yui just like all the boys. Although he wants Yui's blood, Reiji tries to control himself so as not to cause harm, and it can be said that this action seems completely fair and natural from someone like Reiji.

Reiji's thinking is all about Yui's bad health and the fact that he can't find a solution for it makes him conclude that he is the cause of it because he always sucked her blood.

When Reiji went from imagining a room without Yui and a house without Yui to a world without Yui, I realized something. Reiji thinks that Yui's existence is necessary not only for himself but also for the world. In his opinion, the world needs someone like Yui, that's why he doesn't want to let Yui disappear from this world.

Reiji's efforts to find a solution are futile and therefore he considers himself useless. When he realized that Yui knew about this, he accepted Yui's request to be together. But I doubt that Reiji, by accepting this request, was content to give up and stop trying. I mean, we're talking about Reiji. A person who never gives up to achieve his goal.

But he agrees to spend the remaining time with Yui to make Yui happy. I feel that Reiji feels remorse for the sins he committed against Yui in the past and wants to make it up to Yui in some way.

I realized this because Reiji tested the drugs he made on his own body. This was what he used to do with Yui in the past. He was experimenting on her body and forcing her to take her medicine. It can be said that Reiji now realizes how much he hurt Yui and somehow experiencing this karma made him blame himself for Yui's current state.

Reiji wants to give Yui her last wish. But I guess her last wish as a human being, not the last wish of her life. Because at the end of the track, Reiji said, "I will give you a kiss with the promise of eternal love." Well, here we can have different interpretations of this sentence. But my impression is that Reiji plans to turn Yui into a vampire to make this love eternal. As he said in the previous episodes, he cannot imagine a world without Yui and he will be by her side forever.

Forever can mean even after death but I know Reiji as someone who will never give up on what he wants and even if he has to turn her into a vampire to keep Yui he will do it.

In the end, Yui's life for Reiji was like the same flower that he intended to pick. Yui was a beautiful and fragrant flower that always shine next to him and tempted him to pick her, and with this, Reiji shortened her life and he can no longer be by her side forever. He can resurrect this flower as an immortal being, but this flower will forever have a different color and smell just like Yui.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #reiji sakamaki #sakamaki reiji #yui komori #komori yui #reiji x yui #yui x reiji #reiyui #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd analyze #drama cd

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budynsliwkowy · 27 days

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❝ STARRY NIGHT❞

Norman Osborn x female!Reader

Summary: you're at an OSCORP gala as Norman's assistant, Harry's ex-girlfriend

A/N: first one shot on this blog, hope it's okay. It's for Rosie, love you<3

Word count: 1,7K

Warning: age gap

Harry's eyes were staring at you in shock and disbelief, while his lips were vainly trying to exclude any words. He couldn't believe what he just heard from you. His gaze was on your face, on a cup of coffee, on his own hands, then again on the face.

"What do you mean you're breaking up with me?" His hands moved chaotically, trying to understand the situation.

"That's what I'm saying. That's not it, Harry." All his current emotions were visible in his dark eyes. He would do anything to prevent the situation from happening. He'd do anything to keep you by himself.

"But we can talk about it. We can come up with something else, please. Just tell me what you need--"

"No, it doesn't make sense." You sigh. His opposition made the situation more difficult. You had a need to explain yourself because of his silence, so you're in your words. "We don't match each other. I have nothing to you, but I don't feel like I have what I need. You're immature, that's the main problem."

He didn't say anything. He still couldn't understand you. You've survived through the end of high school together, you've been in college for over a year. You want to break up after that? Although he could have understood the problem. He was also quite poor in this connection. Maybe you didn't really feel good about him.

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did wrong, okay? Just... Okay, you know what, all right." With a sigh, he lifted himself out of the chair. He left the coffee unfinished and took his jacket from the back of the chair. He looked at you again. He will accept this fact in his own time. "Thanks for your time."

☆☆☆

It's been over two years since you broke up with Harry, but it wasn't enough time for you to get him out of your life. Working at Oscorp provided you with frequent casual meetings, but you, focused on work, did not bother. Your thoughts were fully focused on your desk job as Dr. Osborn's assistant. Despite working right next to the boss's office, you didn't have much opportunity to talk to him about nicer topics. You used to spend your evenings at Oscorp or at home, but tonight was more interesting.

There was an Oscorp Gala. The borrowed hotel hall in downtown Manhattan was swarming with important figures and scientists. Journalists and photographers ran between representatives of Oscorp and other companies. Osborn was in the business of holding galas every so often, mainly to show off the amount of money in front of other companies. The hall was decorated in gray-black tones with elegant accessories with a wide variety of food and liquor.

Of course, it would have been a wasted opportunity not to show off your own person, so you decided to dress pretty. Osborn requested to be sat right next to you, but there was still a vacant seat waiting next to you. The event had started almost two hours ago, and he still hadn't found the time to at least sit down for a while. Your evening mostly passed with table talk. It was a good opportunity to start building relationships with other employees, including scientists you had not faced early on.

After some time, Osborn came in, sitting down in his seat. He sighed, tired of his earlier conversations with other guests. Then his gaze fell on you, his lips curved in a smile, almost immediately asking you a question. "It's good to see you. How are you enjoying yourself so far?"

It was hard to tell how you enjoyed yourself. You spent the entire two hours sitting in your seat and possibly picking up something from the buffet, however, you couldn't complain. "All right." You took a sip of your champagne, and soon he did the same after you.

"Good to hear. I'm glad you enjoy it." A nice music was playing in the background, which, despite being drowned out by people's conversations, gave a pleasant atmosphere. He drew comfort from it, trying to take as much as possible from it.

"It's good to relax sometimes." You spoke up. You stared at Osborn with a glass in your hand. He was wearing a suit, his hair, as always, was neatly combed. Perhaps he didn't even need to prepare for the ceremony.

"Right." He smiled slightly, but this broke up the conversation for a moment. He seemed to need at least a short rest. He wanted a break from talking to people, the other hand he didn't mind talking to you. It was something different. "You know, we don't talk to each other very often, so let me change that."

You admitted the fact, but did not comment on it in any particular way. He was right, however, this conversation changed that point. The discussion began to get quite nice, not only hooking on work topics, but also on private themes that you were comfortably able to express. He did not give the impression of being pushy, but curious about you. Despite the image of a focused, firm boss, he was able to hold a relaxed conversation. During the conversation, you emptied your champagne glasses again and again. He allowed himself a variety of questions, including those about his previous studies and college. In the ﬁnal, you also managed to get to some interesting facts about Osborn's private life.

At one point his figure raised, and before he completely disappeared into the crowd he leaned over you. He said he was going to get some fresh air and he was gone. He left you with your own questions in your head. One of those questions was the relationship with Harry Osborn. Did Norman know about it? Should he have known? What does he think about it? You didn't know if you would ever know the answers. The interesting fact was that you just spent the next two hours of the event talking to your boss, who at the same time is the father of your ex.

Afterwards, you could only confirm for yourself that Osborn is interesting, but also open. You did not expect such a pleasant conversation with this man. In all this flurry of thoughts, you forgot how long he disappeared for. You were reminded of this by the man who tapped you on the shoulder with his finger. Asking where Norman was currently, you were completely distracted. In response, you said you would go for him, so you did. You raised yourself from your chair and fixed your dress.

Your heels clattered against the paneled floor as you walked toward the balcony. When you finally made it to it, you kept your surprise hidden. You could hear Norman's voice, but when you stepped out onto the balcony, there was no one there but himself. He was standing by the railing, against the night skyline of New York. He was looking down, leaning his elbows against the railing, almost pulling his hair out of his head. He mumbled something to himself until you decided to speak up.

"Sir?"

His voice suddenly quieted. He decided to simply pretend that nothing had just happened. He turned toward you straightening his previously hunched posture and adjusted his jacket.

"Yes?"

This sight stuck in your mind, you couldn't guess what it could have been about. Norman saw your confusion, however, he did nothing about it. He stood still while you approached him with a slow step. You stopped at the railing next to him. Your eyes encountered the night skyline of the city. From this floor, everything was perfectly shown. This view took your breath away, leaving you almost speechless. "They're looking for you."

He frowned, ignoring this observation. He had no interest in going back to the people. He wanted to take in some more air. The night breeze cleared his mind. "Stay with me for a while."

You just nodded glancing again at the view of the city, while his gaze this time rests on you. He understood what Harry saw in you. A beautiful, intelligent woman with charm. Paying attention in this way to a person who was so connected to his son was strange to him, and oh so it is. He found you an attractive woman, even if much younger. He took another deep breath, enjoying the night air.

"Even on an evening like this, it's good to disappear for a while, don't you think? Get away from the crowd, to take time to think." He leaned his forearms against the railing and gazed up at the sky again. You did the same. "Aren't you cold?"

"No, it's nice." Your dress may not have been the warmest, while the weather was sufficient.

He nodded. The weather was lovely. He wondered how he could not find time to talk to you earlier. Better late than never. Even this moment of silence between both of you gave him comfort. He glanced away from the scenic landscape, giving you a small smile.

"It's good to have an assistant like you. You really help me in my work." He gave you praise that you didn't expect to hear. Everything that was happening between you now had a different ambience than it had before the event began. You see each other every day and will continue to do so, but differently.

You thanked. The voices of the guests in the room reached the balcony. You also talked among yourselves. Another pleasant conversation on the balcony. Time was once again losing its value. He did not have to bother with other people, however, until then. Norman leaned slightly over to you to add something to his speech, until someone entered the balcony. Recalling the surname of Osborn, your gaze dropped to the man. Once again, someone needed him. So much for the good, everything comes to an end sometime.

His gaze fell on you again, looking at your entirety. He moved a little closer as the last words to you came from his lips.

"You look lovely tonight."

He smiled one last time. Correcting his shirt sleeve, he moved away and with a slow step walked away. His step changed to a sure and firm one as he headed toward the man.

With that, you were left alone on the balcony.

#norman osborn #norman osborn x reader #one shot #spiderman raimi #raimi trilogy

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gay-jesus-probably · 11 months

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(Feel free to ignore this-! I’m just happy to hear someone’s deep takes on Zelda)

I really love your deep dives and interpretations/discussions on the Gerudo people and their history, influence and life in BOTW/TOTK (I totally agree with all you’ve said)

I just want to ask/Point out (after reading your imperialism post about TOTK) didn’t the Zora for many years like- not want to serve or be a part of the Hylian families army either? Like, even before Mipha’s death, weren’t the Zora very much against conforming to the Hylian’s rules and such? (In every game?) I’m a bit confused on how Hyrule is split up, the Zora’s having their own kingdom(s), the Rito and Goron’s having elder’s/their own leaders but still serving the royal family??

It’s always bothered me how these separate races all still have statues to the Goddess Hylia (Started in BOTW) and not their own deity’s to pray to or follow (Like the Zora praying to Nayru makes sense, or even something like Jabu Jabu to bring back- or the Rito could’ve prayed to Valoo, a great dragon or something.)

It just feels like Nintendo COULD’VE put so much care into all their races stories and histories! But oops no this game will be for Kids(TM) and we can’t put anything too deep or serious. Makes me sad :( I wanted to see them in a deeper context.

Oh yeah, it's very weird that they just put zero effort into explaining some of the worldbuilding. I mean, in BOTW it makes perfect sense to have the races be off doing their own things! It's post apocalypse, Hyrule does not exist anymore, these different communities have no real reason to interact with each other! And I really liked that BOTW outright showed that there was no particular effort for diplomacy, but people still got along as individuals - I liked that we saw different races hanging around each other. I loved that there were Gerudo in Goron Town to trade for their gems, I loved that Goron were allowed into Gerudo Town because they're a race of rock people that legitimately don't have any real need for gender and just use masculine terms by their own choice, and the Gerudo understood that. And I loved the whole Tarrey Town sidequest, because it actually felt really satisfying to build up a new town that had inhabitants from all the races, not for any particular reason, but just because they were people that wanted to live there and work together. They didn't need a big central government to make it a whole Thing; they were just getting by.

And we also saw the less good side of these things, like that one guy in Hateno that greeted you at the gate, and decided Link was trustworthy specifically because he was Hylian, making it clear that xenophobia still existed. I like that Kass was kind of thrown by Link asking if he was a giant bird, and the implication that Link was being kinda insensitive there and Kass was choosing not to be offended. I liked that there was a Hylian couple on their honeymoon in Rito village because the guy genuinely loved the town and its culture, while his new wife looked down on the Rito and hated being around them. And I liked that the older Zora still held a grudge against Hyrule for many things, up to and including the fact that Mipha died defending it, and the older generation would rather risk everyone's wellbeing than accept help from a Hylian that had been involved. And I like that you can run into other Hylian's near Zora's domain that outright tell you Zora have been trying to recruit them to do something important, but they all refused to get involved because they don't think that those weird fish people could have anything serious going on and it all seemed really sketchy.

My point is, BOTW really did feel like it'd been a hundred years since the end of the world, and everyone was just trying to get by and live their lives. You saw people being open minded and accepting other races for no other reason than the fact that they were all people, and you saw people being petty and bigoted just because they didn't trust people that looked and acted differently from them, but for the most part people were all just getting by and doing their own thing. BOTW gave the impression that Hyrule had been an equal alliance between the Hylian's, Zora, Goron, Rito and Gerudo (and with the Sheikah having a considerably less equal role, specifically built on the Sheikah having been forced to submit to cultural genocide to save their own lives, and the Yiga clan being the survivors that fought back instead), with Hyrule acting as sort of the core of the alliance, if only due to literally being in the geographic middle.

I mean fuck, the existence of the Divine Beasts suggests that things are equal! Yeah, Hyrule has a royal family with holy powers due to literally being the descendants of a Goddess, and they're the ones that always get the reincarnation of the Hero that's the only one who can wield the bullshit OP magic sword... but they don't get a Divine Beast (Link's dinky little DLC motorcycle doesn't count). The Divine Beasts were specifically made to be weapons of mass destruction, and they were specifically made for the non-Hylian races. That really does suggest an active effort being taken to balance the scales, that the ancient people saw that only Hylian's were granted divine favour, and so if the gods wouldn't give that power to other races, they'd fucking make it themselves. The existence of the Divine Beasts feels like a promise to keep everyone on equal footing, and say what you will about pre-Calamity Hyrule, but they didn't even question keeping that promise.

...And then in TOTK, all of that's just gone. The Sheikah aren't their own people with a complicated relationship to the throne, now they're just Hylian's with a different aesthetic. The 'alliance' between the races turns out to be built on Hyrule's first King and Queen pointing their stockpile of magical nukes at everyone and asking them politely to become their subjects, and pretending not to notice the implied threat that they'd magically nuke anyone who refused. In BOTW the Sheikah race being sworn servants of the Hylian royal family was acknowledged as a fucked up situation, and that power imbalance being horribly abused in the past was what created the Yiga clan. In TOTK, we're outright told that Rito, Goron, Zora and Gerudo all exist for the sole purpose of serving the Hylian royal family, and that is framed as a good thing and the proper way of the world; the first sign of Ganondorf being evil is that he refuses to submit.

And even putting all that super gross ancient past stuff aside, the present day is equally fucked. Hyrule has been gone for a century. In BOTW, few people even remembered that Zelda had ever existed, and of those people not many of them cared. Nobody was really interested in having a central government, they were all getting by just fine on their own. And again, it was made pretty clear that the pre-calamity situation had been an actively maintained collective alliance between independent nations. There was a reason that people were predicting that Hyrule's monarchy would be abolished in TOTK, and that's because we all saw that there was literally no reason for anyone other than the Sheikah to respect Zelda's authority as a ruler - the Zora were the only other people to still remember her, and they were completely done with the Hylian royal family anyways. If Zelda rolled up declaring herself the Queen of Hyrule anywhere else, she'd be laughed out of town, because that's the standard response to a random teenager showing up and informing you she was actually the highest authority in the land. Zelda had no inherent authority left at the end of BOTW, if she wanted to be in charge, she'd need to earn it. That's the state of the world that we were shown.

Except nope, nevermind, Zelda's the almighty God Princess of the world and literally everyone mindlessly accepts her ultimate authority. She can order people to strip naked and walk into a monster den to die for her amusement, and they would immediately do it without asking any questions (yes I know the underwear thing was a misunderstanding, but the fact that everyone jumped to follow the misheard order without a single question is horrifying). And the imposter Zelda arc just hammers home the point that Zelda is in a completely unearned, lifelong position as dictator of the world, and literally nobody cares if she abuses that power. Zelda brainwashed Yunobo and forced him to ruin his own business and nearly destroy his own people? He's just worried she'll be angry that the mask keeping him brainwashed was destroyed. Zelda summons a giant monster to attack Yunobo and Link then walks away? Oh my god, the giant monster Zelda just summoned to kill us might hurt her, we have to save Zelda from it! Zelda literally openly attacks King Dorephan and tries to murder him? He'd rather go missing in the middle of a crisis and suffer alone in hiding than let anyone know that Zelda just tried to kill him. I don't understand why they bothered with the fake Zelda arc, because literally nothing the fake Zelda does is allowed to have consequences.

It just doesn't make any goddamn sense. Nobody feels real anymore, there's no politics between the races, there's no reason for anything being the way it is now. The entire world of Hyrule has been reduced to just Zelda's Fanclub, and nobody would ever consider doubting her for a second. I don't understand why the fake Zelda arc is in the game, because it's never actually allowed to be part of the story. Nobody actually cares about 'Zelda' tormenting people, and so we're told that there is literally nothing that can possibly happen to make Zelda lose her authority. There's no stakes. We're not supposed to care about anyone who isn't Zelda, we're not given any real reason to care about Zelda herself, and so why the fuck are we still here?

...I've distracted myself a lot here lmaoo, I'm not really sure where I was going with all of this beyond just rambling about shitty writing and bad continuity. The point is, BOTW had some really good writing and worldbuilding. That Hyrule felt like a real place inhabited by actual people, and the different races were their own, independent people. When they worked together, it was a sign of them putting time and effort into reaching out to each other and meet on the same level. Meanwhile TOTK feels like it's made of fucking cardboard most of the time.

(Also for the record I agree that the Goddess statues being Literally Everywhere was kinda fucked, BUT I'm willing to let it slide as a matter of just game design; that's where you go to trade spirit orbs for upgrades, so you want a spot to do that in every major town for player convenience. And using different deities in different areas wouldn't work, because the players are introduced to the mechanic with a goddess statue; they're not gonna naturally assume that the statue of a giant fish can do that too, so most of them would assume the statue is scenery and just ignore it. I thought it was at least a nice touch that the goddess statues had different decorations in some towns, and that some towns put the statues away from the main areas; it gave the impression that while everyone while worshipping Hylia was widespread, everyone was doing it differently, and in some places it wasn't very popular - just look at the Kakariko statue being in the middle of town with a well maintained pond surrounding it and torches to draw more attention to it, then compare that to the Gerudo Town statue being down a side street on the edge of town, away from the main gate, with nothing of any real importance nearby, and nothing to get people's attention. It really works with the Sheikah's culture being built on their devotion to the Goddess, while the Gerudo's history with Hylia and her followers is a lot more complicated, and so their statue's location implies that worship of Hylia is pretty unpopular among the Gerudo.)

#tears of the kingdom spoilers #tears of the kingdom #my continued inability to shut up about this game #i hate the writing in totk and it's boring as hell if i take it as face value #but the fucked up stuff the bad writing accidentally implied is FASCINATING #also for everyone thats sent me asks about this sorry in advance if i dont reply to you #but they keep prompting me to deliver long rambling essays about my thoughts on this game #and i only have so much time in my life to do that #for context while i was typing this whole essay i got another 3 new asks #still dealing with a puppy over here. he's got another month before he's ready to leave his mama #and that means a month of trying to socialize him enough to make up for the lack of littermates #basically i'd love to do nothing but rant about totk but life is still very hectic right now

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hideousvoid · 1 year

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Can you write yandere Leona and Azul(separately) headcanons? Thank you, all your posts here were amazing

Dry and Wet

reader: gender neutral

warnings: stalking mentions, possessive behaviour, manipulation, jealousy, implied violence/blood, slight mention of sexual themes and kidnapping.

Author comment: thank you, I'm trying my best for this blog <33

・゜゜・┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °

You met him for the first time thanks to Jack, you already knew him since some rumors are present in the school. Leona is two years older than the others since he didn't attend one and failed the other, known for his "laziness" and good grades. You only needed him for a hand with some homeworks that both you and Jack didn't understood, the wolf explained to you how great the dorm leader was.

He certainly is but everyone has their dark secrets, being of the third year Leona knew many people and you being a new student ended in the mouth of many people. It's not often that the dorm leader listens to rumors but since you came there for the first time, why not? Once you two arrived, Ruggie came to warn the dorm leader that some students needed a hand. Many minutes passed before the hyena finally returned to make you two enter, Leona was taking a nap and he wasn't happy of your visit at all.

"warn me before coming here next time, I don't like to get interrupted"

He was patient while helping with the homeworks, clear and very nice. Incredible isn't it? Even though his gaze was most of the time on you, probably got curious since you looked like a normal human. The next days you discovered how charismatic he is, everyone in the dorm loved him, isn't that surprising? You started to see him around more and you didn't know that it was rare, to think that he even skipped classes before. Always in your way or in the same rooms, how was that possible? Had he been following you? Gradually he got more and more closer, standing behind you ready to tease you or just greeting you. You didn't get it at first, the way he talked made it appear for a desire of friendship not for else, Leona was haunting without you even realized it.

"look who is here, hello herbivore, isn't it strange how much we are meeting? Say, are you doing it on purpose to met me?"

The friendship plain actually worked and you went to his room often for a help with school or just to pass some time together, having a third year as a friend was cool, wasn't it? Until his jokes slowly turned to heavy ones with too much flirting or a sexual meaning behind it, he always sat so close that your thighs touched and his tail was near your waist. You didn't give it many importance to it at first, he was only a bit clingy in your mind since the dorm leader never made it too obvious. In advance of those jokes Leona started to pinch you playfully or starting a little fight to make you get closer, gradually adding bites to it or some licks. An evening he pressed his lips against yours making you red as a tomato, why did he do that? You didn't have the time to figure it out before his hands started to stroke your hair as he continued to kiss you. A refuse never escaped from your mouth, he was good at it, pleasant and the way he massaged you was heavenly.

"red for a little kiss? How cute herbivores are"

The same evening he confessed his feelings and you gladly accepted to date him, how could you refuse someone like Leona? Unfortunately there was even no choice, the lion wouldn't have allowed that. Your neck and shoulders started to be often full of bite marks or hickies, everyone must know that you are his. In fact many people didn't even look at you anymore, they knew the type of man was the dorm leader, what can you expect from a lion? Clingy and jealous, warning you everyday about how you should avoiding with some students. One time you had a little chat with Malleus and it didn't end well once you went to Leona, how could you talk to him? With all the students the only one he argues the most? His punishment was cruel and you never dared to talk to the Fae again.

"did it on purpose didn't you, herbivore? Admit that you were seeking for a punishment, and, it's exactly what you are going to receive"

・゜゜・_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

Azul tricked you like he did with anyone else, took advantage of one of your weaknesses to make you fall into his trap. He only needed to send the eels to find out more about you, your needs and general information. Even made sure that his service arrived to your ears, who wouldn't accept a contract so convenient? It took almost a week to realize the perfect plan, he used a notebook where he wrote all the things he knew about you, the options, the choices you could have chosen and a way to put you with your shoulders against a wall.

While brainstorming on it he actually noticed how interesting and lovable you were, oh, but Azul knew that if you found out that it was for love you would have thrown him away. It had to start with a contract only to use you, threating you to let everyone know about your secrets and weakness, do you think he is an idiot? If he screamed it in front of everyone no one would have believed him, so he threaten you to do it slowly, first whispering it to a student and then letting it do his work. Azul can be way too intelligent and scaring when he desires to achieve something. Oh, dear, when you started to sign the paper he got hit by a wave of pleasure and satisfaction, it was working!

Your soft hands signing a contract with the devil, he was trying his best to not smirk and chuckle while staring at the paper. So innocent and pure, you could have never guessed what was going to happen! He bit his right hand pressing his thighs together, the left hand grabbing one of them hard as his breath started to get heavier. The octopus was going insane, so much emotions hit him that moment, thing that lead him to scream his typical phrase.

"it's a deal! Oh (y/n), you will see how good our restaurant and services are! Prepare yourself, dear"

It was only the beginning, in fact he never made you realize how he was leading you to his cave. With soft words and gestures he pampered you, creating a false sense of trust in you, a false version of him to cover his delusional one. You volunteered to help with the monstro lounge to stay more time with him, you never got why Jade and Floyd always started to laugh or smirk in your presence, but why would have taken you to care? They often had something to joke about so it wasn't a problem to you. Every time you entered the office Azul became euphoric, blushing the more you got slowly closer. You started to give him some lights caresses for some reasons, feeling him starting to warm up incredibly fast. Squirming against your touches as you played with his hair or just pinched his cheeks, he is a slut for physical affection. Even starting to ask for massages since his "poor back" hurt all the time, strange that it happened only in your presence.

"you would really help me with a massage, you see since I sit all day here I feel a terrible pain"

He licked often his lips in your presence or just making them do a "pop" hard enough for you to hear, always hydrated as if he was waiting for something. Something that he received! How could you not give up when he is practically begging you for a kiss with all his forces? In a subtle way but he is still trying, you only took his cheeks between your hands and then gave Azul what he truly desired. Pulling you closer to him put the arms around your neck, he wanted you to devour him. Handling you hard and tight, it was pretty noticeable that he was an octopus. The grey haired man laid weak on the chair once you stopped the kiss, looking at him as if he run a marathon.

"more, give me more my pearl! I want you to eat me, grab me or squeeze!"

He handled you perfectly around his finger, you were always with him or the twins helping with the restaurant. You were so good for him, without noticing you started to avoid your friends and became one with the eels, dragging yourself in his lair. Floyd and Jade pushing you more in it to help their octopus friend, there was no way to escape something you unfortunately got yourself into. Met a man too cunning and smart, his hands making you move like a chess piece.

"you waited just for me? Oh my, you are so sweet, I think I'm going to have an heart attack!"

#twst #twst writing #gn reader #twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #yandere twst #tw violence #tw yandere #tw possessiveness #tw stalking #tw manipulation #gender neutral reader #gender neutral mc #yandere azul ashengrotto #yandere leona kingscholar

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zaenaris · 5 months

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Personally I see a lot of despair in Koko's eyes (see the bags under his eyes) and the epitome of his guilt; guilt for not saving Akane and because he's probably afraid that Inupi also used him for his own gain like everyone else, which is not the case of course but it's a delicate moment and Inupi touched a sore point, but one that was imperative to address because, in the end, Inupi had a point, Koko couldn't forgive himself for Akane's death even if it wasn't his fault. Koko rationally knew she was gone, but he couldn't let his guilt go.

Inupi is desperately trying to reason with Koko, (the way Seishu's voice just breaks when he screams he's SEISHU and not Akane destroyed me, kudos Enoki Junya) but Koko is still not ready to forgive himself and accept that he simply wants to be with Inupi (he needs another 2.5 years and a separation to get to that point) so I, personally, see a lot of despair in that look, I see Koko feeling that he has let down, once again, the people he cares about: Seishu and Akane.

He probably feels that he let Seishu down because he doesn't want to join Tenjiku with him even if Koko made sure to prepare a place for him because, in Koko's mind, Tenjiku was the safest option. And because, for all that time, Koko always tried to do his best.

I've got the feeling that Koko feels he's being judjed by Inupi at that point, he's angry and emotional during the whole fight with Inupi (and in the anime even sadder and more defeated), he shouts at him to "stop looking at him with that face". The official translation in my native language imho conveys better this feeling because Koko says "Don't look at me with those eyes full of contempt" and then he talks in past sentence regarding everything he did, all the requested he accepted in the past in order to make money.

Imho this is Koko projecting his own anger towards himself: sure, Inupi is worried for Koko, a part of him is mad at Koko because Inupi has perfectly understood Koko's problems and his guilt, while Koko clearly isn't ready to face the problem and I guess Inupi is tired, emotionally drained by that situation (let's keep in mind Inupi's fears as well, he wants to believe Koko sticks with him because he wants to, but he's also afraid to be seen as a substitute).

But also let's not forget that, with all the history they have, Koko also probably doesn't feel at peace with himself in his relationship with Inupi for the reasons we know: the fact that Koko saved him while shouting Akane's name and then he couldn't save her.

We know that Koko wants to be with Inupi as he choses to do in the last arc, but they never addressed their problems, even if i'm sure that Koko is happy that Inupi survived;

and I understand it wouldn't have been easy; to this day, I have no idea how Koko might have felt after the fire, it was such a terrible situation.

Then there was the kiss of course, the moment where, imho, Koko admits to himself for the first time he has feelings for Inupi and not for Akane. The same Akane that stopped him from kissing her and gave him an important lesson: "kiss only the person you like".

But it's terrible realization given their traumatic past, saving Inupi "by chance", his guilt for not saving Akane, the promise he did to her to protect her, the life of crime he was living that he hated and Akane wouldn't have condone. Let's not even start thinking about what it mean to be not-straight in a society like Japan...

Anyway, a part of Koko wants to go on, as implied by his character song and confirmed by his decisions in the last arc. But it's not easy, Koko sees himself as unredeemable for a long time, while he knows, because he sees it during the Tenjiku arc, that Inupi can live a good life without him, while he can't see himself living without making money in the worst way for the worst people

And in my opinion it is no accident that he caresses the scar, Inupi's hallmark more than anything else

He would like to be with Inupi, but he knows he has done bad things to get there that he can tell he is not proud of.

Inupi is pursuing an ideal by staying with Toman, which Koko cannot accept because he is too disillusioned and thinks he has no other choice (plus Tenjiku was the safest solution when they had their fight; then we know Tenjiku "loses", but Koko was trying to be rational, at least, before the Akane's topic came up.)

Inupi is more rational/lucid in regards to Akane and Koko's money obsession; maybe it was just a narrative decision, maybe it's a trait of Inupi's personality, maybe Inupi realized and processed many things off screen, whatever, but it seems to me that Inupi has a better grasp of the actual problem in their relationship, his own obsession with Black Dragoon (clearly a way to cope) and has somehow processed the trauma better; not that he's over it, otherwise he wouldn't shout at Koko to stop seeing him as Akane, but I see him more emotionally mature in some aspects or at least, he's more honest with himself about the situation, even if he still has his fears.

(There's is also a whole part of headcanons regarding Inupi and Akane and how he must have felt after the fire and her death, knowing that, in Inupi's mind, he wasn't "supposed to live", the grief of losing a sister that he loved, maybe some irrational jealousy because he wasn't Koko's "first choice" -i hate this term, but try to understand Inupi's pov🥲-, but still being sad because Inupi rationally knows it's a terrible thing to think, especially since she's dead, he misses her, has survival guilt, their whole family destroyed, physically, psychologically and economically, but this is more headcanon/fanfiction territory)

#tokyo revengers #inui seishu #kokonoi hajime #inukoko #kokonui #akane inui #tokyorev meta #tokyorev spoilers #tokyorev anime spoilers #zae talks about tr #zaenaris

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rhube · 23 days

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I have such enduring sadness when I see TERFs respond to trans people by saying shit like, 'What do you MEAN you just ~~feel~~ like a woman??' As though it's a gotcha, because... like... if you don't know what that means you might be AGENDER.

I often feel like there might be a lot more agender folk out there than we tend to see. We're marginalised in both trans and cis spaces, which often try to describe everything in terms of gender. But there is a strong thread in a lot of these discussions of people saying they don't understand gender and don't want to be gendered.

And it should be, like, FANTASTIC! There's a word for that: AGENDER!

And the beauty of this word is that it's fundamentally accepting.

It doesn't SAY that everyone is agender. It just says that YOU'RE not gendered.

It's a beautiful admission that YOU don't get it, and don't want to be a part of it, without trying to restrict how anyone else feels or what they do.

It is the epistemic humility of understanding that just because you don't - you CAN'T - understand something, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

All you need to do is look at someone who feels gendered (cis or trans) and say: I don't understand what it is that you're feeling, but it's clearly important to you - to your health and well-being - so I support it and validate it and celebrate it with you. Please also respect that it doesn't apply to me.

But because being agender isn't something most people know or talk about, these people have mostly only found a home inside TERF spaces. Which means they are existing in a world that should be largely inimicable to them, as the leaders of the movement are gender essentialists, whose end game is to convince them that because There Is No Gender everything is SEX-based.

But that doesn't follow at all from the simple fact of one BEING agender oneself. That's a fact about ME, not about you. And because I am an adult I can conceive of a universe that is not entirely like me.

But the trouble is that because most of the pro-trans and non-binary discourse is reactionary to this TERFist rubbish, it's ALSO aggressive towards agender people.

It's why I speak up every time someone says that gender is a spectrum that everyone falls somewhere on. NO IT'S NOT. Firstly, it accepts the anglo-european, colonialist assumptions of the binary - only two points. But importantly: NOT EVERYONE IS GENDERED. If such a spectrum were in existence, I wouldn't be on it!

When you say this offensive, exclusionary, erasive nonsense you are telling agender people that they don't exist in a world that accepts trans and non-binary people. So they dig their heels in and stay in the enemy camp - a harmful place for them!

It's also why I am increasingly upset to see 'gender' treated as another word for 'style'. I get the positive idea behind bots that propose random genders - it is poking fun in the seriousness of people who claim to not be able to compute more than two genders. It seeks to make the idea of gender fun and flexible. And if that were all it did, that would be to the good.

But it's not.

I have had young genderqueer people deny my existence to my face when I say that their poll doesn't include me because it assumes everyone is gendered. Because their understanding of 'gender' is 'it's just however you express yourself, so everyone is gendered'. NO IT IS NOT.

LISTEN. You can define your own gender, that's valid. But gender is still a socially constructed set of behaviours. It does not reduce down to 'however you choose to express yourself personally'. This is what distinguishes it from sex - it is a concept understood BY its socially defined aspect as distinct from sex.* And this enables us to understand agender people in a context where gendered people exist. How I express myself is not defined by the restrictions of social constructions of behaviour. I don't want it to be. I cannot identify myself with that. I just like the things I like, and the idea that those should be grouped together under social expectations isn't just foreign, it's harmful to me. You don't get to erase the harm done to me by gender by handwaving it away. And you don't get to deny me a personal sense of style by insisting that to have style is just what it is to be gendered.

Moreover, you know there are cis people who choose to express themselves in gender-nonconforming ways, right? Cis people whose sense of style is separate to their gender. I don't understand what's going on with them any more than I understand how trans people feel gendered, but I don't think I have a right to say 'You're not actually a woman, because your sense of style includes wearing trousers and having short hair, and those are Male Styles of self-expression.'

I get it. We all understand the world in part through our understanding of ourselves. And it's hard to take a step back and let go and say, 'I'm never going to understand what that person's experience is like, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.' It took me a long while to get my head around it.

But hearing that being agender was an option was a huge part of understanding how I could fit into a world where other people had gender and it wasn't a bad thing that needed to be educated away from other people's lives in order for ME to exist as me.

I'm not saying you have to be nice to TERFs just because they might be confused agender people. I'm saying that erasing the existence of agender people from your thinking and discourse is Not Helping.

It's actively harmful to agender people just trying to exist in a world that is dominated by gendered attitudes, and it has the side-effect of making a lot of people who might be agender feel like they're only welcome in the TERF camp. And that's deeply upsetting.

Very few people reblog when I talk about this stuff, which makes me feel like most of y'all probably find it annoying, or think that by asking for inclusion I am somehow attacking you. But I'm not. Allowing that some people may not be gendered and don't want to be gendered is not antithetical to you being gendered - quite the reverse.

Say you are a trans woman who doesn't want to be gendered as male. It sucks when people do that, right? It hurts. It's actively harmful and invalidating to you.

Now imagine you feel that way whenever anyone applies any gendered concepts or expectations to you. That's all it is to be agender.

It feels awful, and it's constantly happening in almost all spaces - cis and trans. But there's no reason it has to be that way.

Just stop projecting the gender you identify with onto other people when you don't know if they are the same gender. That's it. That's all you gotta do. Apply the same respect that you want from others to agender people.

Fini.

*Some of y'all haven't read the people who came up with the sex/gender distinction, and it shows. It's fine to have not read The Second Sex or The Sex Which Is Not One or The Traffic in Women. We all have limited time on planet Earth. But that means you have to be a bit more humble when you try to define away other people's lived existence based on concepts you haven't really researched.

#agender #non-binary

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i-dreamed-i-had-a-son · 4 months

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Recently I've been reevaluating my queerness and what it means for me, and it's a really weird and kind of uncomfortable experience.

Everyone always says labels don't define you, they describe you--when your experience changes, the way you "identify" also can change to reflect that. But it's scary to think, "hey, the way I've understood myself and my experience is fundamentally shifting," and losing the sense of stability that comes with having a familiar word to reference.

Over the summer, I dated (!) a guy (!!!!!), which I never had seriously believed would happen--and I actually had romantic feelings for him. I'm pretty sure I felt that way before we were officially together, so I've also now had a crush. Can I describe the difference between that and what I've felt before? Not really, which is also confusing.

But a huge part of the way I've seen myself over the years has been as aromantic as well as asexual. I have an aro ring that I wear every day, along with my ace ring. Knowing what I could and couldn't experience helped me set realistic expectations for what I would be like in a relationship, and was an important part of how I saw my relationship with my QPP.

And now I'm like, well, can I develop romantic feelings for other people? Was this a one-time thing? Was my ability to do that contingent on the fact that it turned out he wasn't actually attracted to women (oh the irony) and therefore I felt utterly unthreatened by him? If I want to date other people, because I would like to be married someday, what am I supposed to tell them about how I function and what they can expect? What can I even expect?

It's overwhelming and so I haven't thought about it much. If I try to frame it positively, I can take some benefit from thinking romantic connection might be easier for me than I'd thought (as in, it turns out to be possible); but without that intentional shift in my thinking, I'm just left with a giant question mark as to what my future relationships will look like--which is bad, because if I don't know what I'm comfortable with in a relationship, I can't establish healthy boundaries. Maybe part of a relationship is experiencing those new things together and working it out as you go...but I also have trust issues and can't imagine conventionally dating someone (e.g. not establishing a strong friendship first) and being able to trust that they won't take advantage of me in some way.

And now even my familiar words don't feel quite right. I still think of myself as associated with aromanticism, but I no longer describe myself that way to other people--I'll generally say I'm queer and then explain a little more without using specific terms. And I know I'm ace, but it's less important to me than it used to be.

I thought feeling more "normal" would be a good thing; it actually just makes me feel weirder.

I'm just hoping that as I continue learning more about myself, I can accept whatever I find out. I want to embrace the uncertainty along the way. It's just hard. Ya know?

#kay can i just catch my breath for a second #queer #asexual #aromantic #ace #aro #my asexuality #my aromanticism

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desperatelyseekingcannibals · 7 months

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Armour (Valhalla Enchanted) - Shortfic

Explicit // M/M // One Eye (Valhalla Rising)/Prince Charmont (Ella Enchanted) // Tags: Slightly AU/darker retelling Ella Enchanted, AU Valhalla Rising, soldier turned slave turned bodyguard One Eye, Prince Char, plotting, TW: snakes, canon typical violence, death (not MCs), getting to know each other, sexual tension, resolved sexual tension, sort of trans Char (see note), virgin Char, loss of virginity, masturbation, mix of masc and femme terms to describe Char's anatomy, vaginal sex, happy ending, brief mention of mpreg. Patreon prompt fill.

Young Prince Char employs a wounded soldier.

NB: As I was writing this I found I wanted to set it in a world where people might be naturally trans/multisex without being omegaverse. I.e. a place with natural gender variations similar to omegaverse, and completely accepted but without the social-cultural implications of dynamics. So here I have written Char as having a full penis, but in place of where his testes should be, he has a vagina (male futa?? I don't know what to call it, but hopefully you get what I mean).

Latest installment on my @hannibalbingo card: Armour (HEU)

Armour - (4k words):

Safe. The words were scrawled messily in the dirt, One Eye looking at him expectantly as he made a stay gesture. Char nodded that he had seen the writing and understood the poorly written word, before his companion gave a curt nod and brushed the dirt over with his foot.

Even so, as the man went about making them a small fire in this dismal cavern, Char found he couldn’t relax.

He hadn’t expected any of this. When he had first grown to suspect his uncle was plotting for the throne, Char had hired himself a bodyguard as simply a matter of precaution. He had never dreamed that the bodyguard would have to spirit him away from the castle, and the royal guards under his uncle’s command. He had expected the men that had been loyal to his father, to show him the same loyalty. But his uncle had a way of twisting words and poisoning minds. And so, he didn’t really blame them.

As for his bodyguard - if such a term could describe such a man as One Eye - the man was stoic and reliable. Char wasn’t ignorant of the fact that his loyalty was bought not earned, that he was little more than a slave trying to escape the life he had found himself in. And on days like today, Char could relate.

He had found the strong, silent man via unscrupulous methods. With no one loyal to him, Char had to rely on his money to buy what he needed, and that had led him to the blackmarket trade in people. Not slaves, they tried to claim - slavery was long illegal in Lamia - instead these were people imported to the kingdom expected to pay off their passage as indentured servants. It was crass and awful, something Char swore to himself he would put an end to as soon as he took the throne. But until then he needed protection, and there was the man they called One Eye, for an all too obvious reason. His seller had assured Char that the healed but evident injuries the man had received were not at his hand, and claimed them to be the markings made on, surely, a once great soldier whose name had been lost and was now simply One Eye.

At first, Char had just expected One Eye to watch over him as he slept, and be at his side during the day. To protect him from any harm his uncle might try to enact. But that action had come swiftly and strongly. After only a few days together, One Eye found himself fending off a night time attack of armed guards.

It was the snakes that woke Char, slithering in his bedsheets, an open window banging in the wind, but he had soon tuned into the noise outside his door. There, the guards that had been sent to finish him off - or perhaps discover his snake-bitten body - were being brought down by his servant. His saviour.

Char had barely dressed whilst One Eye beheaded the snakes, and taken up a small bag he had already packed. Then One Eye had ushered him into the dungeons of the castle, and out the same way that the waste water left.

That had been over a week ago and they were still running. Char was unsure where, but it was clear that One Eye had a plan and knew very well where he was and where he was going.

And Char had to trust him.

Continue on AO3!

#Hannibal #Hannibal Bingo #myfic #hannibal lecter #hannigram #fanfic #hannigram au #hannibal extended universe #Valhalla Enchanted #valhalla rising #ella enchanted #prince charmont #mads mikkelsen x hugh dancy #one eye

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