#and yet people are calling her stupid or weak because of her actions in this episode

[queennyra]

just to put things in perspective, rhaenyra not only found out her father died AND that her throne was usurped from her, but also went into labor months before she was due and lost the child as a result. and to make things worse, the person who usurped the throne from her was her childhood best friend who she thought she was finally making amends with after YEARS of estrangement. and ON TOP OF THAT, she sends her son on what should be a safe diplomatic mission to secure allies just to find out that he was brutally killed by her ex-childhood friend's own son. all within the span of a week at the most.

#rhaenyra targaryen #house of the dragon #and yet people are calling her stupid or weak because of her actions in this episode #like bro she's GRIEVING #not to mention she's viserys daughter and somewhere along the line she did take the prospect of being his heir and aegon's dream to heart #and seeing as she was already usurped and some houses had already sworn loyalty to aegon as king #it makes sense for her to sit back and actually see who her real allies are before she declares war #at that point it would be way too risky to march on king's landing even with dragons with what you think is a sizeable army #only to realize that half of the houses you assumed were actually on your side sided with your rival #can you tell i'm fed up with the fandom tonight

[aakeysmash]

Roommate or boss?

Pairing: f!reader x Katsuki Bakugou.

Warnings: cursing, cutesy stuff.

Word count: 3.6k.

Previous part: part 5

And what's your definition of love?

You can't seem to stop thinking about the way Katsuki looked at you with somewhat of a soft gaze, body relaxed and on your shared couch. You noticed he tends to be tense a lot, like something is always bothering him, and it's rare to see him for what he hides to be. He acts like being soft is a weakness, almost as if being vulnerable in the past has caused him a scar that is not fully healed yet.

Also, if he asked me that without even blinking, he must have hella bitches, you think. What kind of guy talks so freely about love with a girl?

"What should I do Saturday? What's something you like to do, Y/N? Thinkkk" you whine to yourself. Blaming your own brain for lack of ideas is very therapeutic.

For you, love is easier with words. You could probably write a book about love if you really wanted to, but you don’t think you’re that good with actions. It’s not like you don’t try, it’s more like a lack of experience: you’re not used to thinking about expressing love, you just do it depending on who you’re facing. You are a pretty habitual person, so you might be shy when you first meet someone, but when you start knowing them you never fail to show what you truly are. You’ve never liked to hide your personality to make friends: it’s better to have a couple of real friends instead of a multitude of fake ones. You like expressing how much you care about someone with words, but you and this someone have to be close. You love loving, and you probably would be nowhere without it, but showing your rude and cold roommate something so important to you is difficult, maybe because if you don’t make a good impression you’re going to cry. Joking!

Unbeknownst to you, Katsuki is freaking out. He regretted asking you that stupid ass question the second he went to bed that day, and he regretted making that stupid ass deal with you even more. It's not because he doesn't want to know the answer, he's really damn curious about what you think, but he doesn't know how to answer it. He doesn’t know how to act in friendships, let alone in loving relationships. You just looked so soft, so cute, so trustable in that moment, that his brain shortcircuited and became smooth. "I'm a fucking idiot", he grunts while putting his pillow on his face.

He knows what love means to him. Love is the way his mother still calls him to check on how he's doing even if he doesn't put enough effort into keeping the relationship strong; it's the way his father smiles at their antics when they get together for the holidays even if he hates how loud they can get; it's the way Kirishima gets him hot chocolate every hard day at work without Katsuki asking; it's the way you care about Ochaco enough to call her even when you're exhausted from your own day at work, bags under your eyes and hand soothing your back that hurts from how much you've been at your desk studying. It's in the way the people around him want to see him happy, and in the way his heart beats a little more affectionately when he sees how naturally they seem to do things for his own happiness.

He sees love reflected in the actions of those who are close to him, but expressing it himself? He doesn't even know how the few people around him can tolerate him.

He decides to call Kirishima and ask him about frienships. Out of his male friends he’s probably the only one who can answer properly, and there’s no way he’s talking about it with the girls.

"Oi."

"Hey, Bakubro, everything alright?" his right hand answers.

"Listen, we're friends, right?" Katsuki bursts out.

"Uhm, yes, of course. Why are you asking me this? It's weird coming from you" the redhead suspiciously tells him.

The blonde ignores the comment and continues with his questions. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Kirishima says, more confused than before. Katsuki sighs, because he knows his friend will have to know all the details about it or he won't shut up about it, ever.

"Made a deal with my roommate, I have to show her what love means to me" he explains.

"That sounds pretty intimate, to be honest. You barely talk about her and suddenly you talk about love with her? Is there something more between you two? And what does that have to do with me anyway?" he rambles on.

"Shitty hair, stop asking questions, fuck. We were talking about friendships after she made me watch a dumb ass film and now I don't fucking know how to tell her what I think about love. She said to think about love inside of friendships. You're supposed to tell me why you're my friend. Also, we're not fucking intimate or some bullshit. As I said, we made a deal" he replies, annoyed. 

"Sure, every roommate makes a deal about love nowadays" Kirishima mumbles.

"SO?" Katsuki is starting to get pissed. "Just answer the damn question."

His friend sighs, before starting to answer. "You're not good at telling people how you feel about them, but you know how to make them feel safe. And I'm not talking about physical safety, even if I bet if I asked Mina she would say you scare the creepy guys away, I'm talking about safe friendship. It's nice to know you're always there if I need you, you know? You help me without being asked to most of the time, and you don't even realise it. Remember that time half of the class fell sick and you spent a day going to the store to take medicines for every specific illness we had? Or remember when me and Mina almost broke up because of that stupid broken plate and you talked me out of it saying something like "If you really want to break up with her go on, but I'm breaking your nose because this is a really stupid fucking reason to break up with the girl of your dreams"? That's stuff that touches people. Yeah, your love can't be defined as kind, but it's real. Everyone needs to have a friend that will straight up tell them when they're wrong and that doesn't sugarcoat things. You're that guy, man. I’m glad I have you as a friend."

Katsuki is stunned into silence. He didn’t think Kirishima would be this specific.

“Hello? Are you still there?” His friend asks, thinking the line has fallen. Katsuki clears his throat before answering “Yeah. I didn’t expect all of this. Thanks, Eijirou, I appreciate it.”

His friend chuckles. “No worries, bro. Also, what’s going on with this roommate of yours? And don’t tell me that it’s just a deal, we both know it’s a lie. What type of person is she?”

Katsuki groans. He is currently in his feelings though, so he shares a bit of what’s on his mind lately.

“She’s cool, I guess. She knows how to deal with my mood swings in a way that… you-know-who didn’t do. She’s funny when she wants to be and she stands her ground with me, but she’s also pretty kind from what I’ve seen. Sometimes too much. It annoys me,” he says almost whispering. He feels like if he raises his voice even a little bit then he won’t be able to not think about you for the rest of the day. Almost as if the raw things he’s feeling right now will come back to haunt him.

Kirishima hums. He knows he won’t get more than his friend already said. It’s a miracle he even talked about something so personal.

“I’m glad you found a good roommate, man. You know how they say, calm at home equals calm at work” he says.

“And who says that?” responds Katsuki, raising both his voice and one eyebrow.

“Me” Kirishima proudly says.

“This was some of the corniest shit you ever said, Kiri. And I saw you propose to Mina” Katsuki barks.

His friend bursts out laughing. “Yeah, and you’re still my best man at the wedding.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I’m gonna work out now, see you at work” he says rolling his eyes.

“Sure, man. See ya,” and he hangs up.

Katsuki gets up from his bed and goes straight toward your bedroom door. He makes sure to knock before opening it, then crosses his arms and leans on the side of it. You look up at him from your desk and stretch. You’ve been writing for hours.

“How’s your vitamin D intake?” he asks you. You look confused. Is this a dirty joke?

“Why?”

“Because. Answer the question,” he says.

“Are you talking about dick or the literal sun?” You respond.

“Both. I do think you need to get laid. It could make you less insufferable” he answers, smirking.

“Fuck off, Katsuki” you roll your eyes. “By the way, I could use a walk if you want to go out. Do we need groceries or something?” You stand up, going next to him. Up close your height difference is even more noticeable.

“Nah. I was thinking about Saturday” he says looking down at you. Damn. If she comes a little closer I could strangle her without exerting too much effort. I’d just have to straighten my arms and get her neck and-

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re freaking me out. Please cover your eyes and get out of my way, I need to pee” you tell him scowling, bumping his shoulder and getting out of your room. “Also, I did say that you can choose to go out, so if you show love by taking someone to the Bahamas, I have nothing to object to.”

You hear him humming before entering the bathroom door.

“I can’t take you to the Bahamas, ‘cause if I see that ass in a bikini, you’re getting both of your vitamins D” he mumbles, just having finished staring at your backside and knowing you can’t hear him. He shakes his head to make the voices disappear, then prepares himself to work out. A run will do.

It’s finally Saturday. For this deal both you and Katsuki took the day off at work, so it’s basically a small vacation. You wake up at 9 am, which isn’t even that bad, but when you get out of your room with sleep still on your features you see your roommate super busy in the kitchen. He’s so focused that you think he hasn’t noticed you, so you stare at him for a bit. He’s such a housewife. Let me take a picture, you think.

When he hears the click of your phone’s camera he snaps his head towards you. “Delete that shit,” he says with a deep voice.

“On my dead body, Mr. Bakugou,” you reply.

He growls, then throws you a mean look. “I’m poisoning your food, brat.”

“Oh! You’re cooking for me? How nice of you” you say genuinely, getting closer to him and observing what he’s doing.

“Don’t look. It’s for later. We’re having a picnic” he roughly responds.

“Is this what you planned on doing for today?” You ask, smiling up at him.

“Yeah” he says hesitantly. He didn’t think you’d be excited, and seeing you smile for something so little makes him pause. He composes himself, remaining neutral. “I'ma need your help though, we’re baking cookies. Is that easy enough for you, dumbass?” He continues, smirking.

“Hey!” You pout, throwing a punch at his arm. He chuckles. You’re surprised, because you’re not used to hearing his laugh, but you go with the flow and laugh with him. His laugh is a bit rough, just like him: you like it though, because it shows a little of that particular side he doesn’t show often. You’re a sucker for it, your need to always know every detail being quelled a little and making you feel light. Being in Katsuki’s presence is like being exposed to the bright and hot July sun for a whole day and finally finding a bottle of fresh water. You still don’t know if he’s the sun or the water, you just know that it makes you happy.

You start mixing the ingredients according to the recipe he reads you and he occasionally screams that you’re not doing it the right way, taking over. After a while he frustrates you so much that you take a bit of flour, put it on your hand and then slap it on his chest. He’s flabbergasted, your white handprint on his black tee super visible. He doesn’t say anything for 5 minutes, just staring at you and at his shirt, while you’re on the floor crying from how much you’re laughing from his expression.

“You bitch” he seethes, scowling. “If you want me to show you how I hate people, you’re on the right fucking path”. Then he takes some cookie batter and smears it on your forehead. You try fighting him but he gets both of your wrists in one of his hands in a matter of seconds, and you can’t escape.

He gets on your eye level and with mirth in his eyes tells you “Y’can’t win at this. Keep on cooking or you’re not gonna taste what I prepared for you”. You poke out your tongue with laughter still in your irises. He rolls his eyes, trying to appear mad. At that moment, you realise that- He’s having fun. He's happy.

"If you're going to boss me around I'm at least going to have the music privilege," you tell him, wriggling out of his grasp. He whines, saying how your music always gives him a headache, but he's lying. You caught him singing along more than he would want to know.

You keep on cooking and singing all morning. You laugh, you scream while running around your living room making fun of each other (well, you laugh, he scowls), you truly enjoy your free time for the first time in what feels like ages. Katsuki doesn't try to hide that he's enjoying himself and how he gets annoyed when you're not on tune, and you beam at the fact he feels comfortable enough to show you some of his true colors. Your chocolate chip cookies turn out to be pretty amazing, and Katsuki says that it's only because he made the recipe himself.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Y/N" he smirks, looking at you breaking one cookie in half. You're both sitting down, having just finished taking them out of the oven.

"You know, you never call me by my name. Is that because you're rude or do you have problems with showing affection? How's your relationship with your mother?" you mock him while munching.

He flicks your forehead and blows on your face, making you scowl. He smells like the cookie he just finished eating plus a little bit of the coffee you made for the both of you. You offer him the bigger half of the cookie you broke in two, and he stares at you for a bit before taking it.

"You could've given me the smaller part. It's not like we don't have enough of them" he mumbles. You just shrug.

"Just take it. It came as a natural gesture, don't worry, it's not like I like you enough as a person to plan something like that" you reply, flipping him off while standing up and dusting yourself.

"Go prepare yourself. We're going out in 30 minutes," he tells you ignoring your middle finger right in his face and looking at his watch. If you didn't think about it it's even worse, dumbass , he thinks.

"30 minutes?! But I want to be cute! Ugh! You could've told me sooner!" you scream while running toward your door, and you hear him scoffing. You turn around and look at him, still basking in the sun that comes from the window in front of the kitchen counter. He seems more peaceful than he's ever looked, with flour on his clothes and his hair ruffled up from how much his hands were in it when you were doing something wrong baking.

"Kats?"

"Yeah, Y/N?"

"This was cute. We should do this again sometimes. You're a great cook" you say, giving him one of your most genuine smiles. He nods, then tells you to hurry up. When he's alone in the kitchen he brings one of his hands on his chest and hears how fast his heart is beating. He groans. You're going to give him a heart disease. Was this day a good idea?

You get out of the house and he has to force himself to not look at your legs. You wore one of those flowy summer dresses that compliments your skin so well he feels like he'll have a nosebleed at the end of the day. Fuck Katsuki, get a hold of yourself. You sound like a horny teenager, he scolds himself.

You lay your blanket on the green grass of one of the parks near your apartment, and he gets out different tupperwears with different things in them. He even gets out two bentos filled to the brim with food. You're shocked.

"Just how early did you get up to do all of this?! There's so much food!" you excitedly say, looking at the pearly whites of his teeth when he flashes you a shy smile for a fraction of a second, before returning to his usual impassible face.

"Early enough to see you still sleeping like the lazy ass you are. Don't flatter me too much, dumbass: dig in, you're gonna taste the best fucking food you'll ever eat. I'm never doing all of this again, but I'm gonna win this fucking deal no matter what" he says.

"You mean I just had to make a bet with you to make you a decent human being for a day? I'm writing it down" you joke. He rolls his eyes, scowl ever present on his features.

"Oh! By the way, I thought about doing something too. We're going to play a bunch of different games and whoever wins the majority of them is going to clean the house alone for two weeks. Are you in? Or are you scared to lose?" you ask him, pointing your fork at him and looking mischievous.

"You're talking to a master here. You're gonna be so sorry for yourself at the end of the day" he responds, looking ready to annihilate you.

You spend the rest of the afternoon eating and playing with each other. You're both really competitive, so most games finish as ties, but you have fun. When the sun starts setting, you get your things and start going toward your apartment.

"By the way, I won the flag quiz. That's so much better than winning fucking monopoly" he says frowning.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, loser," you tell him.

"We're gonna have a rematch. I'm gonna get your ass so bad you'll cry" he barks, glaring at your laughing form.

You open your door and mimick a parrot with your hand, like you're saying he's all talk and no smoke. He slaps the back of your head receiving an ouch from you, then puts the containers he used to prepare lunch in the sink. You sit on the kitchen counter while he's washing them.

"So, you're big on acts of service? That's how you show love, right?" you ask him, swinging your legs and looking at his back.

"Yeah, basically. I like it when people enjoy the things I do for them, I guess" he answers, not turning his face toward you. "Instead, your love language is quality time, right?" he continues.

You hum. "I like physical contact too, but it depends on the person I'm receiving it from, you know? It makes me super uncomfortable if someone forces it on me" you explain, shrugging. He nods, drying his hands and turning around.

"I noticed," he says.

"How?"

"I'm good at details. That's why I'm good at everything I do," he responds, seriously.

"Woah, your ego just blinded me," you tell him, a bit disgusted.

"Whatever. Hot choco then we order out?" he offers.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired. What about you make it?" you whine, and he scoffs.

"You ain't no princess, get your ass up," he says, putting one of his hands on your thigh and shaking it. He's positioned in a way where he maintains some distance, but if he were to take two steps he'd be between your legs. She's not uncomfortable now, he thinks. You huff, then hop off the kitchen counter.

"You should call me princess, since you look like the assassin the rival king hired to kill me" you mumble, getting a pan out.

"Oh, I'd kill you just right, princess" he whispers in your ear, making you shiver. He sounded kind of serious, too.

You push him away, calling him an idiot, and he chuckles before ordering pizza for the both of you.

Well, today was nice, you tell yourself, a little smile on your lips. I'd even like his pomeranian-looking ass if he wasn't so rude, you remark.

Meanwhile, as he's looking at you singing to yourself, he thinks that if he doesn't distance himself a bit from your big eyes and pretty smile, your story will be an "enemies to lovers" instead of a runaway princess and her assassin.

Tag list:

@perfectsukii @sleepykittycx @what-the-jams @bakunianadecorazon @vensunzy @eyesforbkg @bffrrufr @imas1mpp @cold-deep-water @peonies-and-teacakes @berryvioo @opticesmeray @one-piece-frvr7 @youngststark @kahelis

#bakugou katsuki #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bnha #bakugo fluff #barista au #and they were roommates #soft bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bakugou fic

[theemptyartdeco]

Twin Tides (Nate Jacobs)

Chapter 1: Carnival | Nate Pov

Warning; toxic fucked up Nate (his pov is fucked up)

"Yo are you at this Ferris wheel or that Ferris wheel?"

"I know I'm on my way. How the fuck am I supposed to know there are two Ferris wheels?"

Nate paced through the crowd, Maddy's complaints combined with the overwhelming carnival music raged the familiar storm of anger in his chest, threatening to explode at any moment. Finally, the sight of Maddy in that outfit drove him off the edge.

"Why are you dressed like a hooker?"

He demanded furiously.

"What?"

What my ass.

"Jesus Christ, Maddy, I'm here with my parents."

His ire grew with every word, a storm brewing beneath the surface.

"So? It's a carnival."

"No, it's the chilli cook-off, it's very important. I can't have you hanging around the booth dressed like that." Nate walked past her impatiently, attempting to keep his temper in check, not because he felt the need to, but because the thought of Maddy's endless complaints and provocations once she was triggered made him want to do things.

Risky things.

The ones that would feel good yet which his rational judgement dissuaded him from constantly.

Nate Jacobs was many things.

Driven, manipulative, angry, narcissistic, even dangerous maybe, but impulsiveness was not one of them, let alone stupidity. Every time the boy makes a move, he already anticipates the next three.

The cycle was not that complicated.

Anger, evaluation, calculation, action and scheme.

Each of those steps was essential, and he had gotten away every single time, but it didn't mean the process was not exhausting.

So there he was.

He succeeded in controlling his body, team, grades, and people around him. And now comes the most challenging task: controlling his rage.

"Maybe it will sell better."

His fists clenched Maddy's flirtatious and coquette comment. A part of him desired to rip off her revealing pieces, mock her and take her right there and then, "If you want to dress like a whore, I shall treat you like one." The other part burnt with frustration and rage.

"This isn't a fucking joke, ok?"

Does she ever have fucking common sense?

"Why are you being like this?"

No, she does not.

"Listen, my parents already don't like you."

Truth.

"What?"

"Go home, get changed, and come back looking like a person."

Nate hissed and left her standing in the middle of the crowd, toning down the aggression in his voice as much as possible with effort.

"Another breakup?" he queried, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No," Nate replied tersely, every muscle in his body tensed.

Keep your damn nose out of my business.

"She's nothing but a distraction," Cal observed nonchalantly.

A muffled scoff escaped Nate's lips. Maybe Cal had a point.

Yet what had it ever not been a distraction for him? Some things slip away more quickly, some less so.

First, it was conquering his body, followed by conquering the field, next conquering his mind in the classroom, then Maddy, who was often undoubtedly a pain in his ass, like the night at Mckay's party. Still, it was exactly her unpredictability and her boldness, which some would call shamelessness, that made his quest of conquest interminable, more addicting.

In Cal's head, Maddy was the distraction from his goals.

He didn't like to think about it, but he knew the truth. It seemed that none of it, whether it was football, victories on the field or Maddy, could contain the flame of anger blazing in his chest forever, and it scared him.

"Yo—"

Aaron yawned. Nate frowned, sensing the revolting scent of alcohol in his brother's throat even if he wasn't facing him.

"Now that-" Aaron grinned foolishly at Cal, pointing drunkenly, "Is what you don't call a distraction. That's a girl you fuck for life."

Nate chuckled blatantly with disdain. The mere idea that a girl finding her cunt buried with Aaron's weak drunken cock was one the few things that could echo sympathy in Nate Jacobs' blackened heart.

Nate raised his head, the amusement and disdain written only in the depth of his pupils, which were met unexpectedly with another pair of dark eyes, which, as ridiculous and improbable as it sounds, were so beautifully similar to his.

She was standing in front of the booth, her mouth slightly opened, clearly shocked, disturbed, offended yet holding back her irritation at Aaron's comment for the sake of politeness.

Nate was momentarily taken by her presence, a reaction he would've usually blamed himself for, but this time, he couldn't.

The stranger girl appeared out of place in ways he couldn't even count. Among the teenagers like him, whose hormones for sex and high misted everywhere, her perfectly toned figure balanced between slenderness and fullness, molded into simple yet stylish black dress just above her knees that revealed just the right amount of her flesh straddled the fine between seduction and elegance. It was also the way she held her head high, showcasing her collarbones and snow-like slender neck, despite the ostensible discomfort and startle. It was an inborn pride.

"Excuse my brother," Nate apologized tactfully, putting on the mask of the charming gentleman, "He's a loser."

"Apologize, Aaron."

"Are you fucking serious right now?" The older brother's widened in annoyance.

Before Aaron could retort by unveiling Nate's label-whoring routine.

"Apologize."

Nate repeated, his voice unyielding, it was a command.

"Fuck this," Aaron threw the beer can in the garbage, "Sorry."

Nate watched the irritated and conflicting tension among her features dissipating naturally, replaced by a sweet smile on her doll-like face, "I appreciate it."

He chuckled when pouring the hot chilli into the cup, "I don't recognize you from here," he raised his eyes calculatedly, observing her face, "Are you new in town?"

She nodded with that harmless and innocent smile, "Just arrived last weekend. My mother and I are still adjusting."

Her cheeks seemed so soft, delicate, untouched. And her voice.

If only a girl in East Highland had that voice chord...

"Going to East Highland High soon?" He hands her the chili cup, his fingers brushed against hers, "It's on the house, as an apology on my brother's behalf. It's Nate, by the way."

"I'm Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn Arundel," her lips curled naturally, "Yeah, I'll be attending East Highland High."

He raised his brows, "Junior?"

"Senior," she swallowed.

Nate noticed that faint hesitance, shame, and something else... anger behind radiating through her carefully crafted innocence.

"It's nice to meet you, Kaitlyn," he simply nodded in acknowledgment without further pursuing questions, knowing that he would crack them, one by one, eventually.

"You may want to be careful around here. My brother just has a loud mouth, but he bears no ill intentions."

Kaitlyn tilted her head, her dark doe eyes seemingly confused and surprised.

"A beautiful girl like you," Nate approached her quietly, his large figure hovering over hers, "A lot of men would try to get their hands on a beautiful girl like you. You don't want to get yourself in that kind of situation."

"I'm not trying to," she whispers softly.

"Good girl," He brushes his finger tips on her cheek.

If only Maddy saw this.

It amused him how she would have reacted.

Call him a cunt? Slap her on the face?

He could get used to imagine how he would shield this innocent, sweet, beautiful, decent girl, her face red from the slap, sobbing in shock in his chest, from Maddy.

"It was nice meeting you," Kaitlyn retreated slowly but firmly from their proximity, yet her voice still gentle, her smile defenceless, "Nate Jacobs."

With that, she disappeared into the crowd, the last glint in her eyes screamed an innocence and purity that made his cock twitch, yet something behind those dark eyes had left him unsettled.

Until next time, little girl.

Taglist; @tember1

#euphoria #nate jacobs #nate jacobs x reader #fanfic #maddy perez #rue bennett #jules vaughn #cassie howard #nate jacobs fanfic

[demonslayedher]

Shall we talk ☆Pillar Filler???☆

(As well as the rest of the episode?)

Keeping it behind a cut because it's not yet available for everybody and a lot of people will appreciate being surprised (I know I did)!

First, how about that new OP??

I love how it sets this arc up for being a pause in the constant life or death struggle (for the Pillars anyway, hahaha), and pricks at how the Pillars always feel they are struggling to compensate for their weaknesses, and the inky hatred that fills their hearts which Oyakata-sama knows they've channeled into defeating Kibutsuji Muzan at all costs. I also had a passing thought the other day about how so many Japanese legends of demon slaying require the hero to call upon a non-human higher power, or use something like a poison or alcohol to weaken a demon before they stand a chance of defeating it. In the end, the medicine that Tamayo and Shinobu develop does serve this crucial role (and the sun fulfills the role of a higher non-human power), but it's otherwise ironic that instead of temporarily weakening a demon to their own level, the usual course of action is to use Breath to temporarily increase their power to that of a demon.

Attaining a mark sure increases the role that "temporary" already played in their lives, and it's really no question that they would choose to pursue that option, even knowing the result.

(Also, CHUNTAROOOOO)

So anyway, onto that filler!!

I loved it.

First, the nitpicking just to get it out of the way: why did a demon need to bother tying up a victim???? Whhhhy? Like, at least they didn't pull a Speedy with some contrived "this demon just toys with victims and leaves them injured instead of killing them" routine that makes for a happy low-stakes Piller Filler episode while showing utter disregard for what demons are and why the Corp risks themselves to stop them. (That said, I always love seeing other Corp members fulfill their own Corp duties with no relation whatsoever to Tanjiro, who is just one piece of a much, much larger whole.)

But rather than write what would ultimately be stupid dialogue with an insignificant filler demon, it's nice that Ufotable did not bother developing the Castle Demon. The totally undeveloped baddies are easy to cast off as Blood Technique (but maybe they could have looked a little cooler if, like, they were vaguely wearing samurai armor or something instead of just being in skin suits? Whatever, not important.) I appreciate that Ufotable did not bother to answer these questions of "why is the victim tied up" because the point of this scene was very obviously not about her or the demon. (I like to think Iguro cut the ropes and then told her to get to safety but just, like, left her there on the top roof).

So as for what this scene WAS for... hot dang, did it accomplish that!!!

The purpose was to make Sanemi and Iguro look cool, and it sure as hell did that. WHAT GOOD CHANBARA, those show-offy sword-play moves against a mob of nameless villains were just so deliciously well choreographed, and the people who can appreciate that were also likely to really appreciate the use of a castle as a purely fun battle setting. Ufotable was probably like, "Our biggest fans are nerds for KnY's touches of traditional Japanese folklore and culture, and for swords and swordplay, so you know what else will probably get them riled up? Yeah, let's give them a castle fortress."

And then everyone cheered, like, "Yes, yes, the fangirls like demonslayedher on Tumblr will never know what hit them."

But then some brilliant person spoke up and said, "You guys, I have the perfect finishing blow."

And everyone said, "What? How could we possibly top this scene that not only purely makes Sanemi & Iguro look cool, but also serves their characters and the plot nicely by showing how the Pillers don't feel they can rely on the other Corp members, and that even though they speak sharply to them they show concern for them by their actions? You know, especially slyly since anime-only fans will get to appreciate a new side of characters whom they haven't gotten to bond with much yet for only having seen their mean sides mostly and none of their battle coolness, and also slyly because the hardcore manga fans know that these two are buddies?"

And then the brilliant person says, "Let's give them that fortress."

The brilliant person was then crowned Ruler of Ufotableland and the fans lived happily ever after.

Speaking of Pillar Filler, I also want to point out how nice that opening exposition between Shinobu and Kanao was. First, what a nice way of incorporating Kanao into a nice episode that gives us a nice little dose of everyone in the Corp cast, even by adding that little scene of Amane and Ubuyashiki too. I loved the little touches that develop the Butterfly Mansion, like the fact that on the path there, they have a stone sign that says "Butterfly Mansion" and a line of carved Jizo statues (to protect travelers and (deceased) children) with little butterflies. And that moment of Nezuko frowning as the sunlight goes behind a cloud? Wonderful. And Shinobu essential saying to Kanao, "I trust you with defending everyone here in the now VERY LIKELY EVENT OF KIBUTSUJI MUZAN ATTACKING while I have to go off to a Pillar Meeting now that you're back"? I looooove iiiiiiiiit. That also says a lot about the trust other Pillars have in Shinobu to entrust her with Nezuko instead of putting any pressure on her to take part in Pillar Training, as clearly they don’t know about Tamayo, and it's really anyone's guess if they know about the poison or not (though the light novel implies Himejima might have an inkling but doesn't know). Being Pillars, though, I doubt any of them would tell her she's wrong for being prepared to take down a demon in any possible way.

I love, love, love, love the treatment of all the straight-from-the-manga scenes, like "Welcome home, Inosuke" (except for the added 'did you miss me, Aoi-chan' because canonically Aoi is the one kind of girl who is not his type), Tamayo speaking with Oyakata-sama's bird, Mitsuri's "explanation" of the mark, and every single Pillar interaction. I love the amount of respect they show to Himejima (and how Ufotable slightly expanded on this), and I am so excited for the extra Himejima content this season. In the new marketing materials released on the same day as the episode/movie, they make stark use of one of the kanji characters in his name ("cry out"), which is a very nice touch. And the use of BGM!!! Especially the touches of Giyuu's and Mitsuri's themes during the meeting!

*happy sigh*

It is nice to be a fandom citizen of Ufotableland.

[frenchtantan]

There's something that has been bugging me for a while about the QSMP fandom and it's that... Too many people (not the majority but still) seem to not accept character actions have consequences, regardless of intention.

The biggest example is q!Cellbit. If you look at his background and his history with the Federation, him snapping and deciding to kill workers is understandable.

But it doesn't make his actions forgivable.

It's still deeply wrong, it's like the extreme version of getting mad at the waiter because your food tastes bad.

And if you get mad at q!Bagi for not fully supporting his actions just because it's her brother, or at q!Baghera for calling his behaviour "weak" (she's fucking right by the way), you're a dumbass of the highest degree...

Same thing with q!Bad and his morally grey behavior, kidnapping a worker was wrong (even though it ironically ended up with Ron being the most safe of all), and q!Tubbo confronting him about it is a consequence of this.

What's worse is that the content creators choosing these paths for their character KNOW this! You think Cellbit expects smooth sailing for his arc? Fuck no! He WANTS conflict to arise from this. He's going for a villain arc, V I L L A I N. By getting mad when people oppose him, you're objectively going against his wishes.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, as the audience we know way more than the characters. It's stupid that it has to be said time and time again, yet here we are. Just because you know what led to a decision doesn't mean other characters do. In fact, 99% of the time, they won't know.

And even if they did, I can assure you, it is very much possible to understand what lead to a character committing a bad action, while still considering that action bad! It's quite literally the best way to analyse a villain arc without being rude or throwing insults.

I don't know where I'm going with this... I guess I got tired of people saying the phrase "I support their rights and wrongs" and using it way too literally. Support the content creator making their character commit wrong actions by all means, but don't get mad when other characters act NORMAL by considering it wrong.

#also stop holding the women on this server to a higher standard #let them make mistakes #let them start villain arc #let them exist outside male character's lores #as we say in France #turn your tongue 7 times in your mouth before talking #qsmp #qsmp cellbit #qsmp bagi #qsmp baghera #qsmp badboyhalo

[cheemscakecat]

Missing in Action

Chapter 1: Morning

Scout is smarter than people give him credit for, and tensions are high after he confronted Spy.

TW: Angsty. Scout’s got some low self esteem.

How’d he figure it out? Scout got asked by a couple of teammates over the next few days. When he’d been dying on the floor and “Tom Jones” showed up, he thought it was real. There was a chance that Jones could be his dad, even if the odds were crap. And he was dead already because Soldier decided to kill him. It made enough sense to Jeremy that his dead dad would come to collect his soul.

But “Heaven” didn’t. Scout was too embarrassed to share what “God” told him, about him and women. It was the fact that he walked into Heaven and Tom wasn’t following him, despite coming to collect him. The fact that Jones got his neck snapped by angels when Scout got close, the fact that he was in the middle of a game and not anywhere near “Heaven’s” entrance.

And there was the fact that he hadn’t died. Medic told him that because of his size, loosing too much blood made him cat-a-tonic. Soldier n Pyro thought he died in Siberia when they went to get Heavy for the same reason. All that bleeding made him hull-you-san-ate, which explained his dumb version of Heaven. It also meant that there was no ghost coming to greet him that day. And there was only one teammate with a dopey disguise kit to pull that crap off.

Jeremy didn’t really sleep that first night back at base. He wished Spy had left him alone until they got to base, so he could chew him out private like. But then again, maybe the others needed to know so they’d be disgusted with Spy too. At least Ms. Pauling hadn’t heard it. She had enough goin on herself. He wished he’d realized what was going on with her on his own, but she had been hidin it real well. Being from Boston and having Ma calling to talk about life, he’d heard about the gays tryin to get their rights. It was good that he understood Pauling’s reasons for keepin secrets, he didn’t wanna be mad at her like he was mad at Spy.

Scout still wished he had a girlfriend. One that did like guys. His brothers drilled it into him that real men don’t hug each other when they get all teary-eyed. And that getting teary-eyed made you a weak little crybaby. The only person at home that would’ve hugged him was Ma, and sometimes she was just too busy chasin them all around. So after 20 years dealing with that, he’d drop dead before he ever went to a teammate for a hug. They mighta laughed in his face, just like his siblings. So he wished he had a girlfriend to hug him, so nobody would make fun’a him for getting comfort.

It didn’t really matter though. He was still the runt, no matter what. He hated Spy for being so **** skinny and fragile. Hated taking after him, instead of any’a the men on Ma’s side of the family. Hated the fact that loosin blood made him look dead and made him think of stupid crap. Hated being a virgin at 27, and being too dumb to identify a lesbian. Scout didn’t know what to do with himself.

**** Saxon calling him a it, like he wasn’t even a human being. At least that “Mags” lady turned Hale down; the selfish ******* deserved it.

No, Jeremy didn’t sleep that night. At breakfast, which Engineer and Heavy threw together, they gave him an extra few strips of bacon. Thankfully he got to enjoy it, since Spy didn’t bother him. Yet.

————————

A whole lotta planning was going on for fightin BLU as a placeholder job, using the Administrator’s leftover money hoard. Pauling figured she could find someone willing to pay teams to fight, but it might be a while. If BLU and RED ceased to be, most’a them wouldn’t have references at another merc recruitment. She had’ta find something for everyone who wanted the work.

Soldier was planning to marry Heavy’s weird sister, Sniper wasn’t doing too well, Engineer had to get used to Medic and Pyro being around, and they all had to get their things and unpack. It was gonna take a while.

Spy didn’t bother him until that third morning back. He was hovering near Scout’s room out in the hall. Great. At least he didn’t look smug and “better” n everyone when he awkwardly walked up. “Are you in the mood to talk?” Spy asked cautiously. Jeremy just stared back at him in disgust. “What do you think, *****?”

“Okay.” It bothered Scout that his old man thought he’d ever want to talk.

Two more days went by and Spy asked again, this time after dinner. And again 4 days after that, when Jeremy finally told him he’d come talk if he ever felt like it, and to quit asking. Then Spy finally left him alone.

Jeremy sold some of his Tom Jones merch, which was thankfully still mint condition in that craphole Teufort. The people there weren’t trying to hang him anymore, but he still wanted his crap moved. Just being there made his neck prickle and itch, made him remember that goon crowd salivating as he got dropped. Now that Jones had been dead for a while, true-blue collectors were scramblin to buy. Scout kept the best stuff for himself, so he could sell it when he was old as dirt and it would go for more.

It was hard to sort through that collection, but he’d rather sit in a storage unit feeling heartache than deal with Spy. Sent the money back to Ma, shipped his bedroom crap back to base. He found that bein all organized was helpful; it distracted him. He looked for other towns that might have fried chicken and good storage for his collectibles. There was one hours away, if he could get enough motorcycle fuel.

A bunch of people bounced back fast. Whether Spy did or not was the last thing Scout cared to know, but that wasn’t the case for Sniper. He spent a lot of time holed up in that van, more than he used to. Demoman pulled him aside one day and told him why. As much as he hated Spy, he hated the fact that poor Sniper had to hear about it a heck of a lot more.

Stupid, stuck up New Zealand parents. Jeremy made an effort not to whine about Spy around Sniper, it wasn’t fair to him. Ms. Pauling was busier than any of them combined. At least she was smart and useful, two things Jeremy was not. “It’s not like that’s all you ever do.” The woman he loved saw nothing worthwhile in him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever find love. Who would want a loser runt like him, with 7 dumb brothers and a dad who smells like an ashtray?

Just stay busy. Ma’s right, it helps! At least, that’s what he told himself. Four of his brothers had actual wives, the others were not alone like him. Ugh, stop thinking about it! Scout kept working and trying to distract himself, but even being tired from all that wasn’t enough to make good sleep. He had all sorts of dumb freakin nightmares for those first 9 days. Somehow being back on that gallows in Teufort was the worst one.

Day 10 came and Pauling briefed them over the big computer that Engineer built. She deli-gated people to do certain things every other day. She had to so the same for freakin BLU.

“Spy? I need you to gather your things from one of the other bases. You guys are gonna be here for a while.” Spy froze. “Which base is it?” He asked. “Harvest.” That was 4 days away, in freakin Arizona! Not that Jeremy cared. “Alright. I’ll leave in an hour.”

——————-

Scout had a bad feeling that somethin was gonna go wrong. He tried to ignore it, but over the hour it just got stronger and more annoying. He found himself walking to the garage 5 minutes till Spy said he’d leave. He tried not to make eye contact and tinkered with his motorcycle. It’s nothing. Just stop being so weird about-

“Scout?” Spy was way too close, but Jeremy played it cool. “Just workin on this.” He muttered. Spy sighed real shakily and looked away. “Listen.” He begrudgingly looked up.

“I’m going to come back. I promise.” Scout stared up at him blankly. He scoffed and furiously started picking at metal that was fine where it was. Dumb Spy, acting like he’s a kid! Freakin- “I mean it.” Jeremy paused. “I’m going to come back.” Stupid little tears were tryin to form in his eyes. “Whateva.” He choked out. Spy walked away and started his car, which also hadn’t been destroyed in Teufort. And then he left.

Funny. That stupid gut feeling didn’t go away.

#dadspy #tf2 #tf2 scout #tf2 spy #sad lad hours #angst fanfic #tf2 fanfiction

[anti-spop]

When people compare Catra to Amity, I just had the thought of “Yeah! Remember how smug and satisfied with herself Amity was when she accidentally fucked with Willow’s mind and memories in Understanding Willow and then she chuckled to herself about covering up/saving face in front of Boscha and left Luz, King, Gus, and Eda to clean up the mess she made?”.

I'll admit that one thing about Amity's arc bothers me, and that's the way they make Amity more complicit in the bullying against Willow. Like, Inner Willow says that Amity "let" her friends pick on Willow for years, and not the fact AMITY was Willow's main bully. It's true that at this point in the story, she wasn't actively going after Willow anymore. But yeah, I don't like the way they worded it. That's a minor issue that I thought was relevant.

THAT BEING SAID.

Amity is obviously way better handled than Catra. Amity never meant to burn all of Willow's memories, and she clearly showed regret once it was done. I also like that the other characters openly point out how messed up it was, too, regardless of Amity's intentions. She might try to avoid going inside Willow's mind at first, but it's more out of guilt, not pride, and not her trying to push the responsibility to Luz.

And I think the best thing about Understanding Willow is that even after we discover Amity's abusive background, it's still not an excuse and Amity actually admits the errors of her ways. "You were never too weak to be my friend. I was too weak to be yours." Better yet, Amity and Willow don't immediately become friends again. "It's a start."

That never happens to Catra. For starters, Catra never apologizes to Glimmer of all people (they straight up don't bring up Angella, only at the last minute and it was so Glimmer could save Micah). Catra doesn't save Glimmer out of genuine care, it's simply for Adora's sake. While Amity grew as a person because of Luz, Amity shows real remorse for her actions. Amity and Willow have their proper reconciliation without Luz in the picture, for that matter.

And yet Glimmer is already defending Catra when Adora vents to her about how shitty Catra is. Like? Seriously? GLIMMER? Glimmer was always the person who called out Catra. If anything, Glimmer is the most brutally honest character here. I'm appalled that they made her say "oh lol did you expect Catra to be a completely different person?". Nah, the real Glimmer would agree with Adora. I don't care what season 5 and the stans tell me.

Yeah, that's the problem. Adora reasonably gets angry with Catra but she's seen as... you guessed it! Stupid! Naive! God, I'm tired.

... I feel like I went off tangent here. But to sum up: Amity is nothing like Catra and I'm tired of everyone pretending they're alike.

#asks #spop critical #anti c//a

[laney-rockin]

OKAY OKAY OKAY.

I know I haven't made a whole "my thoughts on -insert star trek episode here- for a while [I've been so busy and surprisingly to me doing a sport for two weeks straight will murder any energy I have]

BUT THIS WEEK WAS THE SNW SEASON 2 FINALE AND I COULDN'T NOT TALK ABOUT IT.

FIRSTLY. Chapel, babes. GET THE FUCK OVER SPOCK HOLY FUCK. Spock, babygirl, GET THE FUCK OVER CHAPEL. You two are not soulmates, you will never be soulmates. I am tired of watching you two hold hands and look in each other's eyes while you could be GOING BACK TO THE SHIP HOLY FUCK MOVE.

SECONDLY. WHAT THE FUCK?!?! The Gorn are shown to be a highly advanced society capable of fucking WARP. What the actual fuck is SNW doing trying to push a "they're monsters that eat humans and babies" narrative. YOU MURDERED A CHILD. NO FUCKING WONDER THE GORN HATE YOU.

THIRDLY. Batel and Pike are kinda cute together I can see how they're meant to be together. Kinda weak making Batel get bitten by a Gorn but go off SNW- make some decisions. Would've been way fucking cooler to have Batel get into more action without getting bitten just so Pike can have some sad man moments. But what do I know? I'm not even out of high school, I cannot possibly fathom what is going on in these people's minds.

SPEAKING OF WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN THESE PEOPLE'S MINDS- WHAT THE ACTUAL FLIPPITY FLAPPING FUCKING HELL ARE Y'ALL DOING ON A COVERT MISSION WITH SEVENTEEN MILLION LIGHTS ON YOU. THE COLONY IS BURNING AROUND Y'ALL- THAT'S ENOUGH LIGHT HOLY FUCKING SHIT IF YOU DON'T WANNA BE SEEN BY THE LIZARDS WHO YOU DECIDED ARE CANONICALLY SENSITIVE TO LIGHT DON'T WEAR FUCKING LIGHTS.

Also Chapel uselessly looking out the window to stare at the Enterprise was so fucking stupid. I get her flashlight didn't work but also like- she had an HOUR until she ran out of oxygen/life support. Where is the hustle? Personally I would be having an actual legit panic attack as I searched for a spacesuit and extra flashlight instead of just staring at the Enterprise and calling Spock's name.

ALSO [In my opinion that means nothing] THE "TO BE CONTINUED" SCREEN FUCKING SUCKED. The ending was not satisfying at all in an "I wanna see more!" kinda way. It was more of a "LET THIS "ADVENTURE" FUCKING END" kinda way.

In my opinion the only thing that saved this episode was Scotty, my role model and the biggest reason why I wanna do aerospace engineering. That man was amazing and stole the show for me, every single time we had to cut away to see Spock and Chapel be annoying I just wished I could see Scotty again. He was so fucking cool and so fucking nerdy and just the coolest man ever.

Speaking of introducing legacy characters: next season they have to bring in Bones McCoy. And I guarantee it's gonna be top-tier because SNW seems hellbent on just ruining Spock and Chapel atm. But if they touch the grumpy country doctor and don't give him and Spock the stupidest yet so in character reason for them to just start bickering like two old woman at the bazaar I will riot.

All in all- a "what the fuck was that" episode. Loved Uhura, Pelia, Scotty and everyone else but Spock and Chapel. Their actors I have no ill will towards [I think they're both super cool and I'd love to meet them someday] but I just cannot actually stand their characters in scenes together. That's just me tho!!

#star trek #spock #strange new worlds #star trek snw #scotty #montgomery scott #snw chapel #snw spock #snw spoilers #snw #st snw #star trek strange new worlds #strange new worlds spoilers #ALSO SCOTTY SAID “LIEUTENANT” LIKE HOW I PRONOUNCE IT #Which is “left-tenant” #and that made me love him more #I am actually kinda mad that the gorn are so animalistic now #cause it seems that all valid aliens have to be humanoid now #like are intelligent lizards capable of warp too cool to delve deeper into?? #or is the only way the plot can be considered “cool” is if they have to fight animals that happen to be smart #the writing has been really hit or miss for me this season ngl #but i still love this series #not enough strange new worlds though #the name is quite the misnomer lmao #also i really hope they bring in bones for season 3 just so we can collect the TOS crew like Pokemon #cause i believe we have everyone but Sulu Bones and Chekov #and I also gotta see who they bring in for Bones #and how they decide to throw him on the enterprise #cause like kirk it's gonna be hard to explain why tf he's there if he's supposed to off doing doctor shit elsewhere

[descendants-brat]

besides you disliking chad all your opinions are A1

I've found that while thinking about how to answer this a lot of my opinions on the AKs may seem negative but I think it's because the Vks were the main characters so they didn't give them any thought to be fleshed out. One word I've thought about multiple characters is shallow and I'm realizing it was just the poor writing because they'll justify, humanize and explain horrible actions the Vks did but made the Aks all completely shallow so that's something to keep in mind.

Chad- I don't actually dislike Chad with a burning passion or anything. He was a handsome teenage boy who knew it and used it to his advantage and I don't see him as a villain within in the whole him and Evie thing, her intentions weren't pure either yet, he takes the brute. Then in D2 and 3 I just kind of felt sorry for him because he was used as comedic relief with no real background anymore.

Doug- Overly hated in my opinion, he was a simple guy, people do way too much about him being quote on quote stalker. I don't care about him and I think he's boring but overall he's the character that made me realize that Aks are held to this unreachable standard while Vks are given grace for everything in the fandom. I've seen people call him abusive because he pretended not to wake up after Evie kissed him it's ridiculous.

Jane- Shallow and insecure. My unpopular opinion about her stands, she got off easy compared to Audrey and would've ditched any of her friends for the winning team. In hindsight that's not the worst thing an insecure teenage girl can do, of course she wants to be popular. My problem was Audrey was villainized and isolated and blamed for actions Jane took part in and Jane pretty much felt no remorse on seeing her old friend fade.

Lonnie- Same thing shallow and wished they didn't make her do certain things. She was happy and supportive seeing Audrey get publicly dumped just because Mal fixed her bob. Then when Uma did the same thing ditched Ben who she knew way longer than Mal in favor of Mal just because he brought another girl after Mal broke up with him. Her D2 plot was stupid, she was way more pissed about a school sport than her friend being kidnapped.

Audrey- My second favorite character out of the whole series, she was treated poorly and deserved better. While saying that I can acknowledge all of her wrong doings and how the plot could've been different had she taken a different path in D3 than trying to destroy Auradon. But she was never a villain, she never bullied the Vks and she did her job like she was supposed to and got her life ruined and was kicked while she was down by her own family. I wish she was the main character and we got to see a good story play out for her after being mistreated so.

Ben- my ultimate favorite Descendants character. I like Ben because he's everything I'm not basically. He annoys me as a figure of authority because his kind nature quickly becomes a weakness and makes him look like he has no backbone but he's Ben so I can forgive him. He had potential to be a good King but ultimately he was not a good King to me looking back. His willingness to forgive others, think of others was commendable and he made his mistakes but ultimately when I see Ben I see a respectable person but not king. He would be a friend to rival all others but if anybody advocated for his King status to be postponed or removed I'd be the first to agree.

#disney descendants #descendants #descendants critical

[the-savage-garden]

Nitpicking ACOWAR Ch 8

I'm going to have to start posting individual chapter notes for a little while because I got real nitpicky the next chapter. Might still do it after too. Hopefully I'll be able to eventually post more chapters in one post because it's getting ridiculous for me doing it this way.

Chapter 8

-Tamlin gets mad at Lucien and Feyre for retaliating against the weird twins for some reason.

-Tamlin wanted to deal with the twins his way. Tamlin expected better from Lucien but he wasn’t surprised by Feyre’s actions.

-[“That’s the sort of thinking,” I snapped, clutching the armrests, “that has allowed for a wall to be the only solution between our two peoples; for the Fae to look at these sorts of murders and not care.”] Did… Feyre just imply that Tamlin doesn’t care about humans?

-I know Tamlin has a temper but why does it matter to him if Lucien and Feyre sent the Bogge after the twins? In the first book he hated Hybern! This book mentions the 1st one and references scenes but then changes and adds things that weren’t there before! UGH.

-Lucien tries to reason with Tamlin but since Feyre has made sure their friendship is falling apart now Tamlin doesn’t trust Lucien anymore.

-Feyre targets all of Tamlin’s triggers to get him to lash out at her and she doesn’t shield herself. She’s become a manipulator now because of Rhys, I miss her old character from the 1st book.

-[“What have you done,” Lucien breathed, and Tamlin’s face was the picture of devastation as Lucien shoved him aside. He let Lucien shove him aside and help me stand.] This reminds me of something, like a scene from a movie.

-”The sentries—Bron and Hart, two of Tamlin’s favorite lord-warriors among them—were gaping, attention torn between the wrecked study and my face.” Keeping a note of these minor characters' names.

-Feyre and her stupid naming of her paintings. Ugh.

-Useless bathtub scene and Rhys asking how Feyre is doing.

-”Perhaps I’d been too good at keeping those healing powers at bay. “ Haha, you sure are good with your powers, que eye roll.

-Have I said how much I hate possessive male characters yet? Because I really hate possessive male characters! Ick. Tamlin I had been meh about but Rhys? I have no interest in him. He’s a creep.

-Feyre goes on a ride with Bron and Hart.

-Tamlin begged Feyre for forgiveness which she accepted (because she’s a manipulator) but Lucien avoids Tamlin.

-The naga attack after midnight.

-Tamlin will be dealing with the guard that lost the keys.

-”We all gathered outside the barracks the next morning, Lucien’s face pallid and drawn, purple smudges beneath his glazed eyes. He hadn’t returned to his room last night.” I don’t know what this has to do with anything?

-When did Tamlin become someone that punishes people? Is it because of Hybern being there? I’m still so confused by the world-building in this book.

-”...the ropes restraining him groaning as he strained against them.” What is up with this grammar? Is it just me that finds this odd?

-The sentry had apparently fallen asleep, probably because of Feyre.

-“Twenty lashes. And one more, for the Cauldron’s forgiveness.” This sounds more like human punishment than Fae but what do I know? SJM makes the rules around here.

-”I made my move. Slid my power into the bound sentry’s mind and freed the memory I’d coiled up tightly in his head—freed his tongue, too.” Making note of this.

-Sentry says that Ianthe took the keys.

-Wait, did Ianthe cause the naga attack? I thought it was Feyre that did that? Is the book gaslighting me?

-”It wasn’t fear of pain that propelled him, I realized. No, the lashings would have been deserved and earned and borne well. It was the fear of honor lost.” Huh?

-”I kept my focus on him, even as I counted my breaths, even as I prayed that Ianthe would take the bait—” I need to keep this in mind.

-Tamlin is suspicious of Ianthe.

-Brannagh calls them pathetic. For some reason this makes Spring look weak to Hybern.

-When has Tamlin cared about laws and traditions? I guess since the 2nd book.

-”In this … in this, my revenge edged toward something oily, something foreign and queasy. He would heal from the pain, but the blow to his honor … It’d take a little piece out of mine as well.” It’s almost like you’re doing a bad thing, Feyre.

-Tamlin being backed into a corner.

-”And like I’d gambled, Tamlin’s need for control, for strength, won out.” What are you even talking about? Tamlin literally doesn’t have a choice in this!

-”Ianthe was too important an ally to risk isolating. The word of a low sentry … no, it did not matter as much as hers.” Keeping note of this.

-”They had no idea—none—that I’d goaded her into it, pushed and pushed her to reveal just what a snake she was. How little anyone without a title meant to her.” I’m pretty sure this is still on Feyre, it doesn’t matter what Ianthe has done, Feyre manipulated everyone to get the right results to cause all this. She’s putting all the blame on Ianthe so that she doesn’t look like the bad guy.

-”How Tamlin listened to her without question—to a fault.” I don’t even know why Tamlin listens to Ianthe at all.

-”The sentries were sizing up Ianthe, the royals. Tamlin had always been one of them—fought for them. Until now. Until Hybern. Until he put these foreign monsters before them.” It’s almost like Tamlin did it to save someone he loved.

#anti sjm #anti acowar

[greenhappyseed]

Sympathy for the Demon Lord: Why is AFO Crying?

AFO crying in Ch.369 has set off a fresh round of “AFO loves Yoichi and wants to be with him” commentary, so let’s look at the evidence! Is AFO a man or is he a monster? A monster of a man or very manly monster?

In Ch.193, AFO says outright that he loves Yoichi. But in context, AFO states his love while being a quirkist asshole. He’s saying he “still” loves his brother, despite his brother’s weakness. (Further, AFO calls this “meeting [Yoichi] halfway” and questions whether Yoichi is more egotistical than him for maintaining a strict ideology that denies the “helpfulness” of AFO’s order.) Of course, even though AFO explicitly acknowledges Yoichi’s weakness, AFO has no issue allowing his bodyguard to slam Yoichi to the ground and pin him, simply saying “Be gentle. He’s a fragile one” rather than “stop” or “let him go.” AFO is using his bodyguard to display his power over Yoichi while acting casual. (AFO subscribes to the same school of thought as Cersei in Game of Thrones that power is power.) AFO also has no problem imprisoning Yoichi and hiding him away as AFO unites people and gains new “friends.”

Similarly, at the end of 193, AFO tells an imprisoned Yoichi “you matter to me” and invites him to “walk this path with me,” but it’s all in the context of AFO’s “dream come true” and how “new reality” doesn’t “follow the old playbook” (specifically, a trope-y and cliched old comic book). We now know AFO’s dream is to “thwart the future of the whole world” and eliminate all individual variation so the world chooses to follow his order. Does AFO really want his flesh-and-blood brother — the (seemingly) quirkless, physically weak, idealistic, and obstinate man — by his side? Or does Yoichi represent a defiance AFO desperately wants to conquer? A pebble in his path, perhaps…

Upon stealing New Order in Ch.333 and believing he had obtained the power to easily steal OFA, AFO addresses Yoichi directly his monologue. Instead of expressing any caring about his brother, he gloats about how he won by disregarding the “old playbook”: “This is where it truly begins…Yoichi…the stories I read with you that day…those comics. You thought I didn’t realize there was more to the story? Wrong. I knew how it would go, so I chose to stop reading there!” In other words, AFO knows the villain “always loses in the end,” so he’s decided to never reach the ending. He has planned for a long (eternal) life because the winner is the one who stays standing the longest. In Ch.329, AFO even says obtaining OFA is only his “mid-game” goal, NOT the final one. If that’s true, then reuniting with his beloved brother clearly isn’t AFO’s motivation.

Jumping back to Ch. 287, we see this played out when the brothers reunite for a real-time interaction. AFO says “It’s such a shame that I could never make you mine!” and sounds affectionate towards Yoichi…until 2 pages later, when AFO tells Tomura that Yoichi and Nana “are but a couple departed people who fell to me!” In other words, AFO meant that he could never make Yoichi and OFA his, but TomurAFO can. AFO was never expressing lost love for his brother; he was just doing the thing he does so well: Gloating over his victory and rubbing it in other people’s faces as a power play. (There’s also the implication that AFO killed Yoichi by saying Yoichi “fell to me,” although I don’t think the manga has actually confirmed this yet. It could be that one of AFO’s “friends” exercised their own free will to kill Yoichi. Or maybe Yoichi died after trying to use OFA for the first time against his brother. Worst case scenario, Second killed Yoichi….)

It’s also notable how AFO lumps Yoichi with Nana. We know from Kamino that AFO thought Nana was a “fool of a woman” for putting “her stupid ideals first, without the power to back them up.” He also said Nana’s actions were “pretty embarrassing for me, as the father of One For All.” Does AFO feel the same way about Yoichi as he does with “foolish” Nana? Is Yoichi an embarrassment to the King of Quirks? Does AFO want a victory over his weak and idealistic brother to cement his own strength? Is Yoichi’s existence a threat to AFO as a powerless blood relative or as someone who, in hindsight, DID have the strength to back up his ideals?

Finally, there’s one line from the Star fight in Ch.322 that I think is relevant. When TomurAFO is close to swiping New Order, he says to Star, “Me and myself make better use of your resources.” AFO believed Star wasn’t using New Order to its fullest potential, and he could do better. AFO is insulted by someone underusing a powerful quirk and gladly substitutes his own judgment for the original quirk holder’s ideals. What we see with Yoichi is the opposite — AFO could decry Yoichi’s ideals all he wanted, but couldn’t make a “better use” of Yoichi, so into the vault he went. AFO then had to give Yoichi a quirk to even try to use him.

In short, it’s not clear at all why AFO is crying in Ch.369, but it’s not likely out of love for his dead brother (especially not until we get confirmation of how/why Yoichi died). I would, however, like to float a possibility that has nothing to do with Yoichi. What if AFO previously knew Second and maybe Third? What if Second & Third were originally some of AFO’s “friends” before splitting apart? (Or even real friends?) Second has emphasized a few times how his quirk is different than it was in his time. Did he get it from AFO? Or did they work together such that AFO is very familiar with the old version of Second’s quirk?

Maybe AFO is crying because he has to kill his former friend — who only has a quirk due to AFO’s own kindness — because said ex-friend stole his brother out from under his nose, created a new superquirk using his familial bloodline without asking him, and then used said superquirk to lead a rebellion army against him. The nerve of that guy.

#bnha 369 #mha 369 #mha #bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #all for one #AFO #TomurAFO #afo’s vestiges #bnha yoichi #tiny yoichi reading his little comic #second ofa user #bnha meta #mha meta

[aella-targaryen]

I guess for me it depends on the context of how he calls her “weak” by frustration but idk if I still like it. I think the writers were trying to make a parallel with him calling viserys weak. I’m just mostly nervous because this is the last episode before season 2 and who knows if the writers are going to mess it up with mysaria or even nettles. Ryan doesn’t seem to like them either with the way he said daemon abused rhaenrya and it’s shapes her to how she is so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ruins the relationship moving forward. Also apparently they don’t talk about it afterwards according to the leaks which is weird in my opinion and how he doesn’t apologize. I’m sure we’ll get the context of why he wants to go to war in the scene but idk… I can’t help but be nervous cus this could be the downfall of their relationship. Who knows if we’ll get any touching moments anymore

DAEMON AND THE ABSOLUTE LOVE.

Well, there is a possibility that their romantic relationship will end, yes.

Which would be stupid considering that Daemyra is the best couple ever created in the entire GOT universe.

And yet one thing I've learned from Daemon is that: Once he loves someone, he loves that person forever. Just like he did with Viserys.

The more I analyze Daemon the more I am convinced that the fundation of his emotions is not romantic love, the fundation of his emotions is absolute love. That kind of love that exists only for itself, regardless of any relationship and appreciates all aspects of the people Its directed to. Daemon will always be what Rhaenyra needs: her husband, her lover, the father of her children, her consort, her family, her soldier, her uncle, or her warrior. She just has to ask him honestly and if he opposes her wishes I think he will be to protect her or their family.

His romantic feelings for Rhaenyra are only the effect and not the cause of his absolute love for her. Daemon will never stop loving Rhaenyra no matter what happens and whatever she does.

We have all been somehow contaminated with Disney fantasies and children's fairy tales where the prince always has to profess his love with dramatic speeches, kisses or sexual acts and emotional talks of apology if he offends his delicate princess.

But we usually forget that those things are not the only ones that show that a person truly loves us.

Still, unfortunately we always hurt those we absolutely love, sometimes in irreparable ways that cause us to take differents ways . And that's fine. We should never stay close to someone who hurts us. But but we can always love someone from the distance, even if we never see them again but, if our hearts allow it, we can always love someone who has hurt us.

Honestly, at the moment, romance is the last thing I care about Daemyra. Yes, I enjoy it. But I can also enjoy true and unconditional love stories even if there is no romance involved.

I understand that there are many who do not like that idea. So don't feel bad if the course of their story disappoints you. Trust me, I have experienced the same situation and the truth is that no one has ever died for disappointment. It is better not to take things so seriously, after all it is only a television series. I am sure that at some point you will find a couple in fiction that you completely like.

And i don't think Daemon will ever apologize in words for his actions. He seems more like the kind of person who apologizes only through his actions.

He never told Viserys "I'm sorry"

And for that reason his relationship with his brother was "ruined" ?

#daemyra #hotd #daemon x rhaenyra #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra x daemon #rhaneyra targaryen #rhaenrya targaryen #hotd spoilers #house of the dragon spoilers #ask anon #viserys i targaryen #daemon x viserys #king viserys

[randomnameless]

Too late. But I saw your post about the Supreme Leader's family, and how we know more of Glenn than any of her siblings. I would also like to mention Raphael's younger sister, Maya, who, like Glenn, more is known than any of the her siblings. However, there's also Marianne, who I find outshines Supreme Leader in terms of family background loopholes.

It's funny how simple characters like Raphael and Ignatz have less of a problems than supposedly "interesting" characters like Marianne and Lysithea. But I think all of this falls under crests BaD.

Why no mention of Hilda anon? lol

TBH Lysithea is what I'd call here a "pétard mouillé", aka something that had some potential but ultimately ended up as underutilised/wasted.

I know it's because Adrestia 5evah, but the sheer fact Lysithea has nothing - no mention, no words in her useless and worthless support with Supreme Leader about, uh, papa Ionius being angry and sending dark mages to "test some science project" on her siblings, who died as a result, is completely bonkers - and we don't even have a weak "it's not daddy dearest who did it but the bald fatso who wasn't in power because the insurrection didn't happen yet but it's totes his fault daddy told me and if you question me more i'll stop pretending to give a fuck and ignore you" support, no, it's just... not touched.

Then you have the entire Solon/Tomas from House Ordelia thingie she only mentions in VW but goes "nope I'm not telling you" in WC which is completely, uh... ridiculous, and again, never called out. Heck, the game spends more time dissing Lorenz because his dad sided with the imperialists (to protect his people else they'd be Waldo'd) but not a thing is said about Lysithea who knew there was something wrong with Tomas/Solon since the day she saw him at the Academy and worked with the maniacs who tortured her family at the behest of the Empire! Lysithea saying this in WC would have destroyed Supreme Leader's "plans" in half, but w/c.

There are a lot of things completely stupid regarding Marianne, and I'm not even talking abou the Momo sobfest, but imo nothing concerns her biofam?

We could talk all day long on how she swallows Supreme Leader and Clout's nonsensical shit about "Church BaD promotes IsOlAtIoNiSm" when her own father managed to get fame and acknowledgment as one who can be part of the Roundtable because he's so successful in his trade with, uhh, foreign countries (tfw no isolationism?), or how she could tell Claude that sure a free market where goods and people could cross without any difficulties borders would be a good thing, if some people just want to trade goods and don't invade every saturday because I'm pretty sure if her dad managed to become "important" due to all of the trading he does it's also because the people he trades with don't set up raids for funsies once per week.

But instead we have... well, as the Nopes dev put it "cute girls" and apparently it's ok, because the "very serious (tm)" plot dgaf about how the world it depicted works and actually shits on said plot.

It's also too bad that for all the interesting aspects Ignatz and Raph bring as the new bourgeoisie in a world we're told is full of aristocrats who keep the non-aristrocrats down, nothing is ever brought up.

Some people already pointed out how much of a wasted opportunity it was for, say, Doro looking for a wealthy husband, not looking at the Alliance's bachelors who might not be nobles, but are rich as fuck, or my own favourite plotbunny that will go nowhere, maybe Ingrid's dad trying to set up a match between his daughter and... Ignatz. But no.

Instead they will both swallow the nonsensical "without church there won't be any nobility and the commoners will be happy and able to rise and fall on their own!!" - Raphael's fall not being dictated by his actions but by his parents fucking dying - when their own situation has strictly nothing to do with the Church or the so-called "Crust system".

At least I can write fodlan nonsense about Ignatz's nabatean radar or his wish to be a painter - aka an utterly useless job in a world that's only focused on the military, but maybe reveals that if Ignatz, a merchant's wealthy's son can dream to become a painter, then maybe the world isn't as "martial" and "crust obsessed" as it's supposed to be.

#anon #replies #honestly this house is utterly meh tier to me #I've said 90% of the student cast is meh and yep the GD are like this #bar maybe Leonie from FE16 Lorenz and Ignatz the rest doesn't interest me at all #tfw Maya has a name and an ending but Hans 2 the initial Imperial Heir has nothing #FE16 #character rant #salt

[dhampiravidi]

polyamory on Suits (USA) - it's canon if I say it is. go watch it on Netflix!

ok so Suits is about a kinda dumb guy named Mike who uses his photographic memory to memorize law books & pass the LSAT for people (for $). he ends up working for a law firm, no spoilers.

ANYWAY, this show has a lot of parallels. like, Harvey (smug hot lawyer who commonly fucks) will say something about "don't call your flings back, because it'll show weakness" & then talk about how he doesn't wanna acknowledge something Mike said. as if Mike is some girl he just fucked--

basically, Harvey dates a bunch of women but Donna (his secretary who has more common sense than anyone on the show) is one of the only women he respects (who would maybe fuck him).

Harvey also shows way too many signs of falling for Mike, but it's 2011ish so no gay allowed here (except for the occasional "haha you act like a girl" teasing done to certain male characters). & then there's the badass scheming-yet-"she honestly deserves her business" Jessica, played by The Excellent Gina Torres (famous Afro-Latina actress extraordinaire). she's so tired of everyone's shit (aka her firm's lawyers acting like squabbling kids). but she also paid for Harvey's law school & they have complete mutual respect for each other, on a level that I've rarely seen between a man and a woman on a live-action show from pre-2013 America.

yeah, so uh, Donna-Harvey-Mike-Jessica poly where everyone fucks Harvey & that's it, because Donna sees Mike as a younger brother (who's kinda stupid) & Jessica would NEVER deign to even be roommates with Mike (lol). also unless Harvey's with Mike (or me *cough*) he won't be in control because tbh he needs someone who won't always put up with him being cocky.

polyamory. awesome powerful women. bisexual pride.

& no, I don't care about what's canon as far as love interests are concerned.

#admin #suits usa #tv show #television #netflix #mike ross #jessica pearson #harvey specter #donna paulsen #polyamory #polyamorous #poly pride #bisexual pride #bisexuality #lgbtqia #live-action show #shipping #fandom

[h-a-unted]

you could have been killed out there! — Maevelight!! @dollhidden

Annie's suggestion turned into a reality. Maggie thought about it thoroughly, joining the boys after she had lost her powers. She thought she would just be a hindrance, yet more than half of the group was composed of regular people, Annie reminded her of this. She assured her she'd fit right in, ... and that they could spend more time together.

So, she had ended up joining, though she would not clearly admit that it was because of the prospect of being able to spend more time with Annie -- someone who seemed to understand and care for her even after all of her own shortcomings.

Being who she was and her status to the outside, she could not just expose herself. She could not go out or fight the external battles with Annie and the others. Instead, she'd have to hang out inside their hideout, watch over the news, help out in there, do something with her time.

Needless to say, she didn't follow through. One of those days in which the full group had left, she had gotten some intel of a possible Supe sighting that could help them out with their current task. She acted on impulse. Instead of calling Annie to get her to move over there, she went. Maybe it was because she wanted to feel more useful or because she missed being in on the action itself, but she felt a thrill... And once she was back at the hideout, Annie had been waiting, it seems someone had told her what Maggie had been up to -- trying to find a Supe.

A sigh comes out of her and she shrugs.

"I wasn't thinking, clearly, as I didn't even manage to get some stupid intel for you guys..." She responds before walking over to the nearby couch and plopping herself against it. "I did get into a random fight, though... and I won." She sounds proud of it, a slight smile formed right before a groan comes out, she could still feel the bothersome stings of the scuffle. But maybe, she wasn't as weak as she thought now.

#dollhidden #;; the disillusioned empress ;; (queen mae.ve) #that AU in which she joins the boyyyysss!

[dallasareaopinion]

I am supposed to call someone dumb or stupid or whatever or worse

Yet YOU are not dumb or stupid or whatever or worse. It is not that I feel I have to insult someone, it is just society seems to relish in it. And that is not correct. It is not society that wants me to insult someone or some thing, but rather I wonder have we just devolved to that point. And I think not. So what gives?

Is it social media? Is it the media? Maybe.

I would love to have tons of likes on “X” what use to be Twitter. Why can’t it just be twitter? People change things for reasons that make no sense or it gives them a sense of power. I affected your life by my action. Yet is that true? I still say the same thing I would have no matter the medium. Maybe some people are affected. There seems to be even more hate on Twitter I mean “X” than before. Is it because the name changed? Or because the owner changed? Or because we are just going further down the crazed rabbit hole no matter what you call it or who owns it?

People are obsessed with being accepted by their side. And I am not sure what that even means anymore. Politically we have two sides and everything is geared for those two sides to control our lives. I personally have railed against this for decades and in print for over a decade now. Yet what do the great unwashed masses think is their side. Certainly not the political sides, but are they accepting that the two sides as their only choice or have they gotten to the point where they don’t even care anymore. Of course that presumes that at some point the great unwashed masses cared.

Polls say the majority of this country does not want a Biden v. Trump rematch, yet we are staring at it in the face. We got it no matter what we wanted. So what gives?

Did Ms. Haley make a valiant effort? Or was it just a waste of media space all along? I am perturbed she dropped out. I wasn’t going to vote for her, but I was routing for her.

Yet as a person that posts on some type of social media, do I fail because I do not have a thousand likes and is it because I do not play the hate game? Do I succumb to insulting the other side to make a bigger name for myself? Yet I am against both sides. I do say both sides have failed this country, but I do something “weak” and attack them on points, try to come up with something better, argue for policy changes, patter for new ideas, but it falls on deaf ears or unresponsive ears. Why? Do I need to say horrible things to get noticed?

Some people might call me a Mike Milquetoast, someone who acquiesces or lets others run over them because I do not attack, yet those same people do not define on what hill I should die on. That is for me to choose. I feel no matter what age you are, whether you are 33, 43, 53, 63, 73, 83 acting like the 13 year old mean girl is not the answer. And just because I do not act like the 13 year old mean girl does not mean I am not ready to fight. Again I choose what hill I die on. And quite frankly like 99.999999… percent of humanity I am not ready to die on a hill, any hill. I may have an inkling of what that may be, but like most everyone except the Saints I am not that strong, yet it is mine to choose. And it is definitely not joining the crowd and spewing vindictives against some imaginary enemy to make me feel good.

Yet here we are staring as a country at something we say we do not want. The hate, the candidates, the public ridicule some people are suffering through for no reason are some of the current madness we say we don’t want, but open your local social media outlet and what do you have.

Invite someone to a barbecue, a back yard cook out, a dinner party, and we can talk about everything, but what it is we don’t want. Sports, books, movies, recipes, how to build a better deck for the backyard, cars, makeup, the list goes on, and we might even disagree about some aspects of it like what is the best sauce for barbecue, but what is staring us in the face right now we cannot bring up. People who normally like each other have been set on fire with angst about someone being on the other side. There is no compromise because it has become sacrilegious to say lets get something accomplished. I am willing to concede a point to do something better is criminal behavior. You have failed your side. And quite frankly we are all on the same side just looking differently at the answers. Does our side’s answers make us feel better? What gives?

I will continue to offer my version of sanity. Some type of idea that normalcy, what ever that may be, still exists. I will not create more hate just to get a name, yet I still want some success. How does a person create space for themselves in this environment by trying to jolt people awake to something better? What can give?

I hope to find out, but for now have a good evening.

#front porch ramblings