#rereading war game again

[mytly4]

I'm currently rereading Barrayar, and flipped back to Shards to check on a bit of dialogue, and came across this little line:

"Why can't you just lose your temper with subordinates, like normal men, instead of with superiors, like a lunatic?"

This is said by Rulf Vorhalas to Aral, right after his conversation with Prince Serg in his cabin during the Escobar war. Now, there's a valid reason why Aral speaks to the Prince so disrepectfully - it's a part of the ruse to goad Serg to fight on the frontlines in the war and get annihilated. Nonethless, something tells me that this wasn't in the least bit out of character for Aral, especially as Vorhalas frames it as something that Aral has done before. Which of course, reminds me of this exchange, from The Vor Game:

Cecil flashed a grin. "Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah . . ." Cecil paused, apparently groping again for just the right word.

"Equals?" Miles hazarded.

"Cattle," Cecil corrected judiciously. "To be driven to your will."

So looks like insubordination runs in the family. 😉 Granted, Miles would never think of "being disrespectful to superiors" as something he has in common with his father (especially as during his lifetime, his father had no superiors, except Gregor), but it's interesting to see that Miles follows in his Da's footsteps in a way that he never intended.

#vorkosigan saga #miles vorkosigan #aral vorkosigan #shards of honor #the vor game #vorkosigan #lois mcmaster bujold

[dailycass-cain]

2023 was another big stepping stone with Cass. The character was featured in A LOT of stuff this year amongst a few negative antics.

But unlike prior years the good really outweighed the bad. BY A LOT.

So let's take a look back one final time #CAINAISSANCE2023...

The year started STRONG with the release of Batgirls #14 aka the BEST solo story that involved the character this year.

I've gone in LENGTH on how AMAZING this tale was. If you haven't read it DO SO. You don't need any context but to just take in the masterpiece given.

Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad gave artist Jonathan Case just this canvas of an issue to tell AN EPIC mostly silent issue.

If there's a tale Batgirls will be remembered for it'll BE THIS ISSUE.

I've lost count to just taking in the gorgeous art Case delivers here and just letting the actions and emotions tell the tale.

The only regret is well no full payoff to what is fully learned within this issue.

It just hits EVERY mark and is something any Cass fan CRAVED, but never got in Batgirl Vol. 1. Batgirls #14 was a worthy issue that should be talked about amongst fans of Cass for quite some time.

February gave us Cass's grand entrance to Ram V's Detective Comics run (#1069) and what an entrance it was! Literally, I can't let it go of how AMAZING it was.

And the run itself? It just keeps delivering as THE Batman book out currently.

It's a slow burn and when the run lays the payoffs IT HITS THOSE PAYOFFS. The series just ended an exceptional bi-weekly event that featured Cass and well, I'm extremely curious where this run goes with the character.

If anything, I just want MOAR from Ram V or a smaller secondary story involving Cass. But given the various characters he's been rotating and given next year is 2024 (more on that later) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL OF THIS.

This run does work in trade but I digress you'd be missing the GORGEOUS covers this series has been shelling out. If anything BUY the single issues and read the run this way until you get to the present.

Or reread them like I've been doing. 😋

The early half of 2023 marked Cass's surprise return to an actual role in mega crossovers. She took part in the final issue of Batman vs. Robin being one of the random factors to stall the possessed Batman until ALL of DC's magical users came to cast it out of him.

The weakest of the crossovers the character was involved in I have to say was Gotham War. It was a nothing burger that made me swear off the Chip Zdarsky run of Batman completely.

Honestly, I feel more rewarded reading Tec more. Unless Chip pulls off a miracle turnaround in 2024.

But I digress Zdarsky was only half of the problems with the other being Tini Howard and yeah, if you were a Bat Family member who wasn't Jason Todd (how did that mini turn out to be more entertaining then the ENTIRE event?!)?

This story SUUUUUUUUCKED. Quite possibly the worst Batman event story since War Games/Crimes for me.

Sadly, the most disappointing stories I'd have to say are on equal ground in Beast World and Knight Terrors. As there was interesting concepts with Cass involving them, and both stories just go NOWHERE.

I feel more so robbed with Knight Terrors as the design for Cass within it went hard. It's just that you give us THIS design and tease us with this little nugget and give us NOTHING?

COME ON!

Beast World was a whole nothing burger as well, save the pretty art and a full confirmation that Cass's old NML is now canonically her defacto one again.

Even if we had it mentioned earlier last year and again in the best crossover event involving Cass...

WHICH WAS IN LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE #1. It gave us Alyssa Wong returning for a THIRD time to write Cass and they were joined by Haining on art which introduced us to the world of Xanthe.

That in itself led to a spinoff mini-series that had Cass in it with SPIRIT WORLD. It did more with the new character Xanthe and laid out their origins and powerset nicely while also laying some seeds for MAYBE future Cass stories.

Again, I feel like a repeating record on how GOOD this series was. Like, I can't wait for the trade next year to take it all in again. But besides the creative team delivering it gave us Dustin Nguyen AND Marcio Takara drawing Cass again OFFICIALLY AS BATGIRL!!

Even when this series ended, I STILL WANT MOAR!! Like what memories did Cass lose? What the heck happened with Spirit World twisting her memories of Batgirl Vol. 1 #72?! How will Xanthe be with the Jade Court?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

Something else that left me with MANY questions was DCeased universe as even though the story ended back in April.

I still crave more starring Cass, because let's face it STEPH/TALIA DESERVE CLOSURE!! Cass could be the gateway to that.

Doing so would tie up the final loose ends as well. Let's see how Rose is raising her kid with Jason. Silent Olsen. Harley/Ivy. Ollie/Dinah. Jim Gordon.

But I digress. It gives us more Cazzam. We need more Cazzam.

But an alternate universe Cass just didn't pop up there we had a Cass show up in various other comics. Knights of Steel which also had me hankering for MOAR and Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats.

I know some didn't like it, but me? I think it was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what we got in the actual season of HQ.

Let us never talk about that season again…

Now something we SHOULD talk about more is the first actual appearance of Cass in a DC ANIMATED MOVIE!! Yes, Kai Li Cain from Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham.

I was blown away at the extended role they gave the character in the film (to the, "Oh right Tim is here and alive." role in the books).

Kai Li voiced perfectly by Tati Gabrielle gave a balance of innocence and reason with the batshit craziness this film throws at us.

Like, I really REALLY want a sequel. Just to see what she'd do now given full access to Bruce's fortune? Will she follow his path? I mean yeah we want steampunk Bat!

Speaking of which artists we need designs for this stat still!

It just adds that anchor where you want to see more of this universe and the characters that inhabit it. I mean that's the sign of a REALLY good Elseworlds. Where you want more and sometimes you get just that.

But with all this good came the sad, and that was the canceling of Batgirls. I know many were against the series (especially after #7-8), but the series found its footing with #9 and ran into something I hope more positively can be talked about it.

It's true failing wasn't the creators behind the series, more just elements outside that just slotted it's end (Batgirl movie getting canned making #7-8 more wasteful), Evil Oracle #4 aka the pitch, and just being something it couldn't be).

I'm grateful for each and every creator who worked on this book because it was a GIFT that I'll always be appreciative of.

I'll say it again, THANK YOU TO ALL! 🙏

And its spirit lived on in the Nightwing back up a few months ago. It was something that was TRULY needed after the garbage fire that was Gotham War. It gave us this Cass/Dick sibling stuff and GIVE ME MOAR!!!

Unlike the past where we'd be done, DC brought us back up giving us the current BIRDS OF PREY ongoing which has Cass in it.

Really the series is a revelation of giving us things I always wanted that I'd never thought we get. Cass with Dinah? CHECK.

Cass meeting Big Barda and the two having a bond? HELLS YEAH CHECK! Anytime that bond grows I squee even more.

Just give writer Kelly Thompson ALL the time and ideas she has to churn this out to the proper conclusion she has envisioned. Just give me fifty-plus issues of her, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire.

Finally of course there was Batman: Wayne Family Adventures which gave us THREE banger Cass stories. One where she and Steph are a MENANCE (as they should), Cass scaring the crapbaskets out of EVERYONE and of course...

Season 2 gave us A LOT of things I wanted in general (her interacting with Damian) and just showing the world why I really really love this character. Why I talk about her daily.

Really as 2023 closes and 2024 is about to begin... Well, it's the character's TWENTIETH-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 25 years of kicking ass and ripping our hearts out.

It's been a journey for sure.

really REALLY hope DC honors this anniversary and continues to mend the bridges burned all those years ago.

Give us that Omnibus. Give us a mini or SOMETHING to celebrate this character. If not, I'll take whatever Ram V and Thompson give us.

#CAINAISSANCE2023 may be over, but #CAINAISSANCE2024 will be the most important year yet.

25 YEARS OF CASS!! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN ON JANUARY 1st!

#cassandra cain #dc comics #cainaissance2023 #my thoughts #CAINAISSANCE2024 v

[lewiscarrolatemybrain]

Rereading Take The World By Storm has me thinking about how Luffy (and honestly all the East Blue squad + Chopper) is like, genuinely The Most Adoptable Child On The Seas, and now I desperately want a fic that’s just Jinbe defending his custody rights with his life.

Like, obviously Robin, Brook and Franky are also co-parenting these kids but more importantly: none of them are Important Political Figures in the World Government’s eyes. Shanks is staying hands-off. Whitebeard got turned down when he offered Luffy a place on his crew. Hawkeye can claim Zoro but Luffy is too independent for him to call his own just yet, he has a plan to wear the kid down slowly.

Then all of a sudden Jinbe of all fucking people is walking around with pictures of Luffy in his wallet and everyone is appalled.

Where did he come from? Since when is he even a competitor?? How did he win the game when he’s barely even played it??? He better realize this means war.

News that all these Emperors and Warlords are fighting over the Strawhats gets back to the East Blue, and Red Leg Zeff comes out of retirement and sails the Grand Line again to track them down because fuck you, that’s his little Eggplant’s crew, and if anybody has a claim on any of these kids it should be him!

Dragon watches all of this from afar and is torn between elation that his son is loved by so many people and soul-crushing grief that he doesn’t get to be one of them. (He knew he was sacrificing any right to Luffy’s life when he left, and Luffy being alive today proves it was the right choice to make. But god does he wish he could meet him, speak with him. See for himself what it is that makes him so special. He already loves Luffy as his son, but it would be nice, he thinks, to be able to love Luffy as Luffy, too.)

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #jinbe #jinbei #jimbei #sir what is your name #red hair shanks #whitebeard one piece #edward newgate #hawkeye mihawk #monkey d dragon #red leg zeff #this got sad I didn’t mean it to #this started as funny and is still mostly funny #but then I thought about dragon

[dduane]

In the Young Wizards 'verse, how would the universe handle two wizard-potentials going for the same manual at the same time, like reaching for the same book at the library? Would it somehow magically duplicate itself? Would it avoid the question entirely by waiting to choose the potentials until later? Would either (or both) of them get a notification of the manual installing itself as an app on their phones, thus distracting them from grabbing the book? (So many options!)

The Young Wizards series is one of my all-time favorites, by the way. Thank you for putting it into the world ❤️❤️ I need to reread it again soon!

First of all: thanks for the nice words! Delighted that the books were there for you. 😊

As to your question: I'm not sure this is a problem that's likely to come up, for an array of reasons that have to do with the basic nature of YW-'verse wizardry.

Basically, though: every wizard (like every other human, and every other sentient being) occupies a unique temporospatial position that doesn't just involve where they are, and when they are, but who they are; as well as where they've been, and what they've experienced. Different people, born in different places and raised in different ways by other different people, are inevitably going to have different personalities and different worldviews... and therefore, also, different preferred ways to engage with wizardry.* The chances that a given instrumentality offered to a given person is going to be an exact or even near-exact duplicate of the one offered to another person are pretty small. I don't think we need to worry too much about the two-hands-reaching-for-the-same-Manual-at-the-same-time paradigm.

Bear in mind also that there are a lot of different ways to get at Speech-based wizardly info besides books. Offered instrumentalities can vary wildly due not just to cultural norms, but personal preferences. Someone who likes stories but doesn't care for reading physical books might have their Manual turn up as an (apparent) audiobook. (Or maybe a podcast: or a videoblog: who am I to judge?) After all, we've already had wizards who manage spells or otherwise engage with wizardry by listening to the Sea, acquiring the Speech through sentient laptops, hearing it as in-mind speech which they manage by (probably somewhat Speech-enhanced) memory; by direct communications with the Powers that Be via an (apparent) little magical light source they carry around with them, and numerous other methods. (And don't forget the slightly unusual instrumentality that turns up in the YW 30-Day OTP sequence, in which one new probationary wizard obtains his Manual access via what appears to be Tuxedo Mask's rose from Sailor Moon.) ...Additionally, I have a vague memory of one wizard carrying around a Manual access that seems to be the one and only Magic 8-Ball featuring answers that are not hazy. Don't ask me which book it's in, though. Might be Games Wizards Play, but that's a guess.

As for app installations—no reason that Manual access might not turn up as an app update. Also, in terms of dedicated devices, wizPads and wizPhones (formerly wizPods) have been around for a while now, and both have become canonical over time: Darryl McAllister's using one of the wizPhone-based Manual versions in A Wizard of Mars. (Though these may occasionally present problems for practitioners testing out a new paradigm.) As a wizard grows into their practice of the Art, it's not at all unusual to change instrumentalities as one finds something that works better for them than what the Powers sent them the first time out.

Anyway: hope this helps! 😀

*As for the probably inevitable question, "But what if they're twins?" To quote a well-known authority, "It's never twins." :) (And that said: starting with Wizards at War, we see that occasionally, it is twins... and I'm pretty sure they acquired their delivery instrumentalities separately, though I can't recall whether this gets dealt with in canon.)

#Young Wizards meta #wizard's Manual #issues

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Ahhh it’s been so long since I’ve been on here n I saw ur writing for PEETA?! I’m currently rereading the series n On Mockingjay and want to cry everytime he’s mentioned. Anywhoo can I request telling Peeta ur pregnant (obviously after the war is won and all that) in honor of baby #2 I’m due with in a October?<3

GIIIIIRL CONGRADU-FUCKING-LATIONS!!!!! I'm so so so happy for you, so so so so so happy omg. I hope this is exactly what you wanted it to be.

I also wanna reread all the books before the next Hunger Games movie comes out, so excited for that one.

There's a haze across the lake outside our house, steam rising up from the warmer water as dusk settles upon the surrounding acreage. The sky is a pale orange, like Peeta's favorite color, and the stars are already out, speckling across bare sky like freckles.

My hand wanders down to my belly, though it's not growing yet, I know what's growing in there as I think to myself now, sitting on the edge of the peer as I take a deep breath in, filling my babies lungs with the most genuine of oxygen.

He doesn't know yet, I didn't want to tell him until he finally had a break from all the stress he's been under the last few years, finally bridging the gap of his therapy and coming up perfectly clean from all the capitals torture.

He's finally him again.

"Hey, there you are." Peeta's voice behind me makes me smile to myself, realizing this is a better time than never to finally rip the bandaid off and tell him our big secret. "I've been looking for you."

"I'm right here. Where I always am." I smile up at him and I watch his eyes trail over me as he sits down beside me, legs swinging off the dock beside mine. It's so still, everything is quiet except for the frogs singing their song.

"You okay?" He asks quietly, pressing a kiss to the side of my head while he wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. He smells like the pastries he was just working on inside, warm hazelnut and caramel wafting all the way from the open kitchen window to the pier.

"I've never been better." I grin, looking up at him with heart eyes, my whole body buzzing with love as I stare up at him through my lashes.

"What's got you so happy?" He asks, brushing some hair from my face as his thumb brushes against my bottom lip and I giggle giddily, giving his knee a gentle squeeze.

"I have a secret."

"Oh yeah? Can I know what it is?" He asks with a silly smile, eyes flickering from mine, all the way down to my lips.

"I'm nervous," I say through a small, worried smile and his expression softens to something so wholesome, so caring as he worriedly looks across my expression.

"Don't be nervous. It's me."

There's a pregnant (pun intended) pause between us as I think of how to bring this up in a way that's not just blurting out 'you knocked me up', even though that would probably make him laugh. My mind wracks the conversations we've had about having babies, making a family, and he's never given me one ounce of fear that he may not want it with me.

"You always wanted to have babies right?" He pauses, brows furrowing together as he gives me a slow, drawn-out nod.

"It was always the plan after I was de-conditioned... right?" He asks, leaning a little away from me so he can get a good look at me and for a moment I think that he's connecting the dots in his head.

"Right." I huff, giving him a bright smile. "So..."

"Oh my god." His realization is sudden, eyes widening and his smile spreading across his lips as quickly as the thought comes into his head. "Really?" He asks and I giggle, head tossing back in laughter as Peeta grabs my shoulders and shakes me. "You're joking? You can't mess with someone like this-"

"I'm pregnant." I squeal and he throws his arms around me, tugging me to his chest as a small cry escapes him and suddenly, all of the pain of the last few years closes like a book just as another one opens.

#peeta #peeta mellark x reader #peeta x reader #peeta mellark #the hunger games series #the hunger games fic

[hexsdexs]

More from my thg reread, mockingjay edition

The dialogue is UNHINGED. It's so unhinged that it's funny.

I think it shouldve been in the movies just how uncomfortable katniss was the entire time she was in 13. It makes much more sense.

When she finds her prep team and they removed their physical additions. Katniss describes them as an inflated balloon. When she sees a drain in the cell.

Gale is the worst. And not because of the love triangle manipulation. Because: Absolutely no regard for any civilians. Thinks katniss cares too much about her prep team. Effectively implying they deserve being imprisoned and katniss has to spell it out for him that it is over a PIECE OF BREAD?? Thinks katniss is causing trouble by asking for the victors to be pardoned. Wants to kill DISTRICT CIVILIANS in the nut in 2. Wants to kill capitol civilians. He's like actually a war criminal.

Katniss doesn't trust any of them except the other victors.

It's a significant moment that katniss and finnick see peeta's propo together in the hospital, where peeta tells her not to trust the rebels. Finnick then tells her to pretend they never saw it, and then they keep it from them for days. They don't even tell them. Katniss is the one to confront gale about it.

Katniss takes annie to 12 to pick from dresses, then upon describing how weird annie is on the plane, decides she loves her based soley on the fact that finnick loves her and katniss trusts him. It's slightly funny how she spend the entirety of cf thinking of ways to kill finnick and now he's her best friend.

Haymitch is katniss' dad. That scene when he tells her he will surgically implant her with an earpiece if she takes it off again?? 😭😭

It's significant that haymitch repeatedly calls katniss and peeta "the girl", "the boy". Effectively reminding everyone that these are CHILDREN

Katniss making johanna the pines because she doesn't have any possessions. 😭😭😭😭

Most importantly. Katniss and peeta, through and through, are what they wished they never would become. From the first chapter of thg to the last one in mockingjay, they are both pieces in a game. Once in the capitol's game in the original book, again in catching fire when they are the only ones kept in the dark about the rebels. And each in 13's games in mockingjay. Peeta is snow's piece against katniss, katniss is not useful to the revolution except as a pretty girl. She's a showgirl. Not part of the fight. She doesn't even want to be the mockingjay at all.

#the hunger games katniss #the hunger games #katniss x peeta #katniss everdeen #katniss and peeta #thg au #catching fire #mockingjay #peeta mellark #haymitch abernathy #finnick odair

[makoodles]

Was rereading Sex education and had this scenario pop into my head after they're all mated and whatnot, and the hoomans likes gaming for purposes let's go with the Spyro reignited trilogy, and they've been up all night tryin to 100% which I'll have you know is a pain in the ass

Neytiri and Jake*entering the outpost to take their human mate out with them*

Jake:Y/n, darlin! Come on!

Y/n: Uh-huh. Give me a minute.

[video game sounds]

Neytiri: Have you been up all night?

Y/n: No, it's okay. The cat's got it with the salad.

Jake and and Neytiri: What?

Y/N: I already put— I, uh— the— wh— the French toast.

Neytiri: Y/n!*she turns the game off*;This is getting absurd! You stay up all night, and you...!

[video game sounds]

Jake: Y/n, stop.*shuts it off again, and this time unplugs the whole thing after removing the game*

Y/n: But, guys, I need to fight the the rhynocs, and egg thieves to save the dragon babies if I want to beat the sorceress and beat the game!!*as well as a jumbled mess of the games plot*

[a beat, and a confused Neytiri before she shakes her head]

Neytiri: No! You're taking a break! Lest you start threatening the bouncy purple thing's family and threatening to break things....again. Besides we wanted to spend time with you, you're game will just have to wait

Y/n:oh fuck my game let's go.

omg not spyro 😭 my friend used to play that all the time when we were kids, but i was so bad at it. so the only game we ever played when i was at his house was that game worms? i think it was called worms. like, it was about worms at war with machine guns and everything?

imagine trying to explain that to your big blue alien s/o's fhkhgkhgka

#asks

[spencer-is-dead]

Rereading chapter 62 and this is my mood

Manga spoilers under cut

God, it’s just so fucking tragic. He loses everyone he loves, he loses his name, his identity. It’s all torn away by war.

And you can see how happy he is with his friends in the beginning. He’s just a little kid wrapped up in all of the propaganda. He thinks war is just a game, because he’s just a kid. I cannot emphasize enough how I love Endo using the theme of “they’re just kids”, it just hits you right in the gut.

When the first bombing happens, the only word I can really find to describe it is horrific. Just a few pages ago, the town was full of happy people who were enjoying their lives. And just a few panels ago he was talking with a woman. One moment, she’s there, the next, she’s been crushed. And you see the town, his hometown, destroyed. You see people trying to save their loved ones. And you see [REDACTED], horrified. And it probably hits him in that moment; this is war.

And he doesn’t want to leave, he’s worried about school, and the town fair. He doesn’t realize that they can’t stay. And when he sees the destroyed building he and his friends used to play in, that he had found for them, you think they’re dead.

the scene where his mother dies is probably one of my favorites in the chapter, simply because it’s so well done. We don’t see her body, we don’t see his face. All we see are screams. All we know is that this boy found his mother’s body, and I think that’s all we need to know.

This is when [REDACTED] dies. He is buried with his mother. But his body still lives. He’s lost everything he’s ever loved, and the only reason he keeps moving is because he wants to destroy what had destroyed his life. He is not living, he is merely surviving. I hope that, when it gets adapted, the anime expands upon this part. It probably won’t, but one can dream.

When he becomes Roland, I doubt he ever accepted the name. It was just a nickname to him, not an identity. It’s just a vehicle for vengeance. He lies about his age, though my bet is that he’s at least 16, maybe even 15. And then we see him, in a tight spot. As a child, he pulled some strings to beat his friends, as a teen, we see him blow up his enemy. And don’t you think it’s haunting, to see someone alive one moment and gone the next? Even if they were a common enemy, you can remember that they were human once. Even he (Roland) was human once. But they’ve all been torn apart into beasts, beasts who want nothing but blood on their claws. And he wonders how many have to die? How much blood will be spilled before he can be happy again? How many more have to lose their lives just so he can live his?

He meets Franky, or, the man who would become Franky. When Roland hears his pleas, hears that “He’s never been with a woman”, it humanizes him. For a moment, he sees him as an equal. So he gives him a cigarette, a sort of truce. He still hates the enemy, but he learns that the enemy is the same as him. Everyone has lost someone, everyone was in it for revenge and glory. They were all told that they had a reason to fight, that they had a right to be angry at the other side.

This upsets Roland, because he wants to hold on to his worldview. It only shatters when he sees his friends, half the reason he’s been fighting. A side note, I appreciate how Endo still makes him look like an older teen here, it adds to the effect that they are still just kids.

It’s a short-lived reunion, as he finds that they die due to people’s stupidity. And he realizes: Ignorance is a weakness, Ignorance is a sin. This is probably one of the most gripping pages in the manga. It’s just so… depressing.

when he’s approached by the WISE guy, he really views it as the only chance he has, the only reason he can keep going.

The train station scene is also very important. We see the man ask why he’s doing this, and He sees a group of kids pass him. We focus on his eyes. This is why he’s doing this. He wants to make sure no child ever lives the life he had to live. He wants to make sure no child has to cry.

But he doesn’t realize it.

Twilight’s backstory doesn’t have a happy ending. Sure, the chapter ends happy, but you can’t help but feel… dark after the chapter concludes. You realize just what brought Twilight to how he is today. You realize that, deep down, he’s just [REDACTED], a small child who wants nothing more than to be comforted.

#spy x family #sxf #sxf manga spoilers #sxf manga #sxf chapter 62 #Loid Forger #sxf meta #sxf analysis #This a very autism/brainrot induced rant #Long post

[yeyinde]

Haha, I also spoil myself intentionally, but for the plot of movies, tv shows, and games I’m not super invested in. If I accidentally spoil myself (especially if I learn a character dies) I’ll cope by telling myself “I don’t know how/when it happened though”

Anyways Major Character Death!!

I’m SO disappointed in them killing off Soap and especially in how they did it! No buildup or anything! To me it was disrespectful to the character and to Neil Ellice. And then the 141 don’t even say anything and it cuts to them spreading his ashes with a simple goodbye! They could have at least made them a little more upset 🥲 also I hate how abruptly the game ended. Makarov gets away, but no mention to that at the end.

I had also initially requested what would become infinity in the palm of your hand (eternity in an hour) as a way to “cope” with 2009 Soap’s death because it’s always been on the back of my mind for years (weird, I know). But now after playing the new MW3 campaign I look like boo boo the fool because of who went and got killed off 😭 now every time I go back to reread it, it will be painful knowing what’s in store for reader for their current reincarnation of Soap.

Tldr I’m kinda not okay with MW3.

From what I've seen, it feels like they pulled it out of a hat. All names went in, but his (amongst others) came out. And I guess it's safe because he died in the OG, so the backlash can easily be deflected from within their own community when other fans come to their defence over this choice. But idk.

I agree with everything you said. It doesn't make any sense. It's jarring and misplaced, and canonically pointless. I'm not against character death. Grief is a powerful thing. But I just hate when it's so contrived and needless. It was definitely done for shock value over plot/character growth and I think they were trying to re-create the massive storm that happened when OG Soap died because they know they don't have much else going for them. It just massively missed the mark because: a) Price and Gaz had no tangible in-game relationship with Soap the same way Ghost did; and b) what does his death really amount to in the end? Nothing. It feels cobbled together and poorly thought out. It's sad when Portal 2 has better writing than your whole remake combined. Honestly, it's kind of impressive how little thought they put into this. I'm getting flash backs to DGG's Halloween.

If it's any consolation, the mythology I based the reincarnation off of in infinity would essentially just be neverending. An ouroboros. The events would happen much the same way. A knock on the door. Spiral of grief. A bog. A deal. Restart. So, you'd just wake up again and live life until whatever the old you made a deal with decides it's time to collect. You're forever stuck in a loop with your soulmate until you get it right.

The rest is just how I kinda wish it went, but this was getting very long because I have more thoughts on this than I anticipated lmao 😅

Personally, I think it would have been much more interesting if they brought in a new passel of characters and slowly chipped off the main cast in a series of horrible decisions that slowly begin to feel hollow and empty. That leave you, the player, feeling emotionally gutted with each new chapter because the choices previously are absolutely impacting the way they move forward, but they're too deep into their own revenge fantasy to see it until the very end when it's too late. Give me actions have consequences and every choice you make is directly responsible for someone's death. The realities of war. And what happens when you give a group of people the power to play god in countries they know nothing about. It would have matched the gritty tone they tried to go for with the trailers and actually served as an interesting conversation about war and how we tend to deify the military when they're just men with too much power in their hands. Instead, we have a death that means nothing. That arguably happened much too early in the series so the payoff is solely meant for clicks and reaction channels. Pointless.

And Makarov. A Russian Ultra Nationalist. I feel like that title alone says everything for me, and yet. They still somehow managed to give a Russian War Criminal so many wins. I'm just so irritated by it all.

#cod spoilers #mw3 spoilers #mwiii spoilers #call of duty spoilers #cod 2023 spoilers #SO MAD!!! #but also #it was a cheap way to get more engagement with their fanbase and theyre technically protected against backlash so #poor writing for the win (again)

[thydungeongal]

Been rereading some D&D 3.5 manuals again and damn it's so good but also it's so bad in so many ways

There's a pregen character in Complete Divine that actually doesn't meet the qualifications of the prestige class they have. The thing is, they do have the feat necessary for the prestige class (Weapon Focus in their deity's favored weapon) but the way they got that feat was through the War domain... which they gained from the Prestige Class in question.

Pathfinder 1e really ran away with the idea of "this really specific activity that could easily be resolved using the skill system as normal is now locked behind a feat because fuck you I guess" but that really did get its start in late 3.5. The PHB2 features a feat that gives you a bunch of specific diplomacy tricks, one of which is "when you catch someone in a lie you can go along with their lie to get them to accidentally reveal more information" and good job, now that activity is locked behind a feat.

But yeah, the final verdict is that D&D 3.5 kinda owns actually and I do need to run that "no-core" 3.5 game at some point.

[wellbelesbian]

an ask game for writers to procrastinate working on your WIP(s)

thanks for tagging me @theearlgreymage!

1. 🦈Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s):

comfortable coats, calico cats, and collapsible canes. i just liked the alliteration.

2. 🍄Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of “___ + ___ =___”

artist + nude model = flustered

3. 🌍What tags or warnings will one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?

oof, there's one that might need a major character death warning. but haven't fully made up my mind yet.

4. 🧭An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

the very last thing i do is title a fic, so none of them have alternative titles.

5. ⚠️Which WIP your most likely to finish or update next?

my first sapphic week fic, for the prompts moonlight and reflect.

6. 💾What is your document of your WIP/ a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

my trojan war novel ones are all titled Part One Astyanax, Part Two Briseis, Part Three Hermione, and so on.

7. 🖍Post Any sentence(s) from your WIP.

“Where’s your hat?”

“Crowley, I think I left it at the cafe!” I realise with a start, and we both dissolve into giggles.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” Simon offers.

“It cost £60.”

“It did not!” He looks at me incredulously.

“It’s designer!”

“I will buy you a cheaper replacement.”

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP.

i scrapped the idea of Natasha and Malcolm having marital problems in blow on the tinder, it ended up feeling unnecessary and just slowing down the plot.

9. 🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

a few years ago i toyed with the idea of a Carry On Once Upon A Time In Space AU, and i've started thinking over it again, but haven't made a start.

10. 🤡How many WIPS are you actively working on?

at least 10, which is a lot more than i usually have at one time.

11. 🛠Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

i'm struggling to get Margaret and Blue's voices right, i need to reread their chapters in WS.

12. ❤️Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.

thank you!

tagging my fellow writers so they can procrastinate too: @forabeatofadrum @j-nipper-95 @artsyunderstudy @that-disabled-princess @prettygoododds @confused-bi-queer @imagineacoolusername @ic3-que3n @aristocratic-otter @larkral @hushed-chorus @ivelovedhimthroughworse @shemakesmeforget @fatalfangirl @ebbpettier @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @cutestkilla @youarenevertooold @alexalexinii @shrekgogurt @bookish-bogwitch @thewholelemon @supercutedinosaurs @shutup-andletme-go @ileadacharmedlife @alleycat0306 @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @comesitintheclover @blackberrysummerblog and @orange-peony

#tagged stuff

[sitp-recs]

Hi liv! I was wondering if you had any fics with really charged moments between harry and draco? Where they both want each other but are unwilling to make a move? They don't strictly have to be slow burn or ust fics because I feel like I've read some where there's a fast sexual burn but they still contain heavy moments. This ask was inspired by me just finishing little Compton street and rereading some bixgirl fics, and I know you love those authors so hopefully you know the vibe I'm trying to find! Thank youuu

Ohh I love this ask! And I’m really pleased to know that we share some favorite authors and works, LCS has my whole heart ❤️ I also think that Writ and Bix are great authors to binge read if you’re looking for that specific vibe of UST, their fics are sooo cinematic. Here are some recs, I’ll save this list as “intense UST” lol

Take These Lies by @pennygalleon (E, 20k)

There’s a portrait of his godfather in Draco Malfoy’s potions shop and Harry needs to know why. But that’s not why he keeps coming back.

The Venice Job by nishizono (E, 25k)

Harry Potter was one of the youngest Aurors in history. He was the Boy Who Lived, and the Boy Who Lived Again. He loved Guinness and Quidditch, and hated pineapple. He wrote letters to Hagrid every Thursday, and on Sundays, he visited Hermione and Ron. Harry Potter was also not gay.

I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor by birdsofshore (E, 28k)

God, he wanted this – wanted it so much he could taste it, a metallic tang of heat and desire. He suspected nothing would ever be the same again – especially when he saw who else was in the room.

War Wounds by SilentAuror (E, 30k)

Some wounds take longer to recover from than others. HP/DM, with background HP/GW. Themes of alcoholism, love triangles, and dubious fidelity.

Us, in Lieu by Tepre (E, 30k)

Teddy needs help and Harry needs funding. Draco sits in the other room and plays the piano.

Expecto Patronum by @writcraft (E, 35k)

As Draco Malfoy negotiates his feelings for the wizarding world's brightest star, he becomes increasingly attached to Harry and unravels the secrets he keeps hidden from the rest of the world.

Stately Homes of Wiltshire by waspabi (E, 57k)

Malfoy Manor has mould, dry rot and an infestation of unusually historical poltergeists. Harry Potter is on the case.

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (E, 61k)

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is.

Criminal by @the-sinking-ship (E, 83k)

Things were going just fine for Draco Malfoy. He successfully conned and counted cards across Europe and America, amassing a small fortune, along with a lengthy rap sheet. That was until he made the grave mistake of returning to England for a high stakes card game and got himself caught – by Harry Potter no less.

Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (E, 100k)

What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life.

By the Grace by lettered (T, 140k)

Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

Can't Sit Still by wilteddaisy (E, 193k)

Five years after the war, Harry finds himself drawn to Draco Malfoy by memories that aren't his own. Or, in which Harry hates his Auror partner, Draco flips houses, Pansy sleeps around, Hermione is a magical creatures’ justice warrior, Blaise is getting married, and Ron is just along for the ride.

#asks #anon #Drarry reclist #intense ust

[hogwartsandhawkins]

Prove Me Wrong

Chapter 15: Friends Don't Lie

If you need to catch up, here's the masterlist

Summary: After days of not talking, Jess figures she should apologize.

Word Count: 4.4K

Warnings: Cursing, angst for sure, I think that's it? As always, if I missed anything, please let me know

Author's Note: I missed you guys :') I definitely feel out of practice so if this is shit I'm so so sorry

It had been days since Christmas Eve, and Billy had yet to come around the house. There were no taps on her window at night, no knocks on her door during the day. She hated how her room didn’t feel like hers anymore without Billy being there. She hated the way his absence made her feel. Only about a month ago, his not being here would have been welcomed. Jess would eagerly finish their shared assignment alone, hoping that Hargrove would stay away for the remainder of the break. But now? Now she was used to waking up with the blond boy sleeping on the floor by the foot of the bed. She was used to him griping about the movies she would put on, or about having to read a book he would never touch again. The thought of Billy made her reach slightly below her collarbone and fiddle with the necklace he had gotten for her for Christmas, reaching for the note that she now kept in her nightstand.  

Before you say anything 

yeah, I know the stupid horse isn’t in the book. 

It should be. 

But I saw this and thought of you anyway. 

Thanks for reading to me like a child

Merry Christmas Princess

-Billy

Jess sighed while rereading the note, remembering the argument they had over whether the Trojan Horse was in The Iliad or not. They were lying in her bed, as they had every night for a week before Christmas Eve. Billy had been throwing one of Jess’s stuffed bears up in the air like a basketball, catching it at his chest before passing it back to the imaginary person on the ceiling. 

“So when is that big ass horse in the book?” 

“Huh?” The question made Jess prop herself up on her elbow to look over at Billy. 

“You know. That thing they hide in to get into the city.”

“You know about the Trojan Horse?” 

Jess’s surprised tone caused Billy to pause his game of one-person catch, twiddling with the bear’s ear. “Jesus. How long is it gonna take for you to realize I’m not an actual idiot?” 

“I don’t think you’re an idiot! I’m just… it’s just cool you know about it,” Jess defends, giggling at the end. 

“So when is it in?” Billy threw the bear back up in the air again, a little too hard this time, causing it to bounce off the ceiling and back down aggressively toward Billy’s head, which he quickly dodged, catching it with his right hand. 

“It’s actually not.” 

“Bullshit.” He pauses tossing the bear up in the air again, propping himself up just as Jess had to look at her properly. 

“I’m serious. The book doesn’t make it to the end of the war.” 

“Then how the hell does everyone know about it?” 

Jess shrugs as much as she can with her free shoulder. “It’s in the next one I think.”

“The next what? Book?” 

Jess nods at his question, smiling at him as she raises her eyebrows. “Jesus. There’s another goddamn book?” His question made Jess laugh harder than she had earlier, leading to Billy feigning annoyance, rolling his eyes while giving her a lopsided smile. “Well, it should be in the fucking book we’re reading. That’d be badass.” 

“Why don’t you just read the other one after? It’s called The Odyssey. I have it here somew-“

“Fuck no! I’m barely getting through this one!”

Jess pushed her head farther back into her pillow, tossing the note back into its home, her other hand running over the golden horse that was attached to its matching, dainty chain. She had been wearing it since the night Billy handed her the small, wrapped package, and had only taken it off to shower and sleep, placing it atop Billy’s handwritten note anytime she did. She, however, made it a point to tuck the small horse away under the top she would wear, not wanting her parents to question her about her new gift. And when she saw Steve Harrington’s car pull up in her driveway yesterday afternoon, she hurriedly threw on the first turtleneck she could find, shamefully realizing at that moment this was why Billy Hargrove was mad at her in the first place. 

Jess looked over to the right side of the bed, Billy’s side. Even if he never actually slept there through the night, she slowly realized how she was now leaving room for someone on that side, no longer sleeping closer to the middle as she used to. She groaned as she lifted herself from where she was. Looking at herself in the mirror, she made sure that this time, the necklace was now untucked from her sweater and admired it for a moment before retreating downstairs to the kitchen. 

She was greeted by her mother, who was organizing the pantry with what she just brought home from the store a few moments ago. “Morning, hun.”

“Morning, Mom.” It was in fact no longer morning, but instead a little after one in the afternoon. By this time, Jess would have been up and about, either doing homework with Billy, or out with him getting lunch at Big Al’s, or maybe even out with Steve as they drove passed the new mall that was being developed. Jess and Billy drove by that mall all the time too, him joking about how it was going to be “super lame” because “which stores would actually want to develop here?” 

Instead, however, she had been in her room moping all morning, too stubborn to speak with him first, but coming to the realization that Billy was much more stubborn than she was. She and Steve barely ever fought, and even if they did, he was always the first to break the silence, coming to her first with an apology. Steve and her also never went days without talking like this. 

When Jess made her way passed her mother to the refrigerator, Mrs. Logan took notice of the necklace around her daughter’s neck. “Oh, that’s pretty. Is it new?” Mrs. Logan asked, now rotating the flour from the top shelf. 

“Uh, yeah…” Jess paused for a moment, retrieving 3 cranberry muffins from the fridge, and closing the door once they were secure in her hands. She hesitated for a moment more, looking down at what she could see of the necklace, and then looked back at her mother. “… Billy gave it to me for Christmas…” 

This made her mother pause what she was doing, her hands leaving the sack of flour so that her body could turn to face Jess more directly, being sure to look at the necklace once more.  “Well, it’s very pretty,” Beverly said with a knowing smile, causing Jess to shake her head, realizing this was the exact reason why she had been hiding the necklace away in the first place. “You know, I haven’t seen him around for a few days, which is… strange…” Beverly continued, “Everything alright?” 

“Yes, Mom. It’s not like he has to be here every single minute. And one of those days happened to be Christmas. So,” Jess snapped back.

“Okaaaaay. I’m just saying, he’s been here a lot recently…” She continued to give her daughter the same smile. 

“Mom. Please stop.”

“What? I’m just saying. He seems to enjoy being around here. That’s all.” 

“Steve’s here all the time too, Mom.” 

“Yes, that’s true…” She went back to fixing the flour. “But Steve got you that sweater for Christmas, hun, not a piece of jewelry.” 

Jess huffed at her mother’s quick response. “I should probably go.” 

“To Billy’s?”

“Mom.” 

Mrs. Logan only chuckled at her annoyed tone. “Really quick, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Steve and Billy, they’re not exactly friends, are they?” 

“Yeah… not exactly.” Jess leaned against the counter across from her mother, placing all three muffins down and twirling around one of them, the bottom of the lining circling the granite. 

“Your father and I could tell. Dinner was… interesting to say the least.” 

Jess snorted at her mother’s description. “I told you not to invite them.” 

As if reading her daughter’s mind, she again stopped what she was doing, and moved closer to Jess, pausing in front of her for a moment before continuing. “You know, you can be friends with both of them. Steve’s a good boy. He cares about you. He’ll understand.” 

“It’s not exactly that simple…” 

“And why not?” 

“Well…” Jess stopped spinning the muffin around and sighed, looking from the counter to her mother. “They kind of… got into a fight not too long ago. Like November…” 

“Oh… like. A fight fight?” Jess only nodded. “How’d Steve do?” 

“You remember that time him and Joyce’s son got into a fight?”

“Ah. So not very good.” 

“Nope.” 

“Well, sweetheart, Steve’s your friend, but you don’t always have to do what you think he wants. You are allowed to have other friends. Billy’s a good boy too. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the reason they become cordial.” 

“Yeah. Right,” Jess laughs out sarcastically but quickly stops. “Mom?” 

“Yeah, hun?” 

“You don’t think Steve’ll hate me?” 

“I think you two have been through too much together for him to hate you.” 

If she only knew how true that was. Jess pondered it for a moment, nodding her head slowly at the possibilities of how Steve could react to the news of her actually enjoying Billy Hargrove. There were a few options. One, and highly unlikely, Jess would tell Steve the truth and Steve would automatically accept it, not caring that she was now spending her nights with the dude who would have loved nothing more than to beat his face in a little over a month ago. Option two, which her mother was most likely banking on, would be that he would feel a little put out and would need a bit to process it, but ultimately accept her decision and would move forward. And then there was option three, the option Jess dreaded, the option that she was sure would have happened until now, Steve refusing to talk to Jess again. 

However, her mom was right. Steve was her best friend. She was the one who stayed with him through his relationship with Nancy, and their breakup. Hell, they’ve fought demi dogs together with a bunch of children. He wouldn’t just drop her for not seeing eye to eye with him, would he? 

Jess grabbed the muffins from the counter, finding a new surge of motivation. “Thanks, Mom.” 

“Of course.” 

“I should uh, I should probably get going…”

“To Billy’s?” 

“Yes, Mom, to Billy’s.”

“Well tell him I said hi.” 

Jess promised that she would and headed toward the door, grabbing her jacket as she exited her house. It wasn’t as cold as it had normally been, but it was still cold enough for her to want to hurry and hand the muffins off so she could be able to put on her jacket. She made the short walk over to Hargrove’s/Mayfield’s home, seeing Billy’s blue Camaro being the only car in the driveway.

At least he’s home.

Jess hesitated at the door for a moment, wondering whether this was a good idea. It had only really been two days since Christmas, maybe he just needed a little more time. Maybe he wasn’t actually mad and apologizing would just make her look stupid. Maybe he doesn’t want to see her, or he’s busy, or-

“MAX! If you want me to drop you off at that damn arcade with your freak friends, then hurry up!” Billy opened the door as he yelled the last part, practically screaming in Jess’s face before he turned around and realized there was someone at the door. They both paused, not yet saying anything, both staring the other down. However, Billy’s expression differed from Jess’s. While Billy attempted not to show any emotion whatsoever, his face as still as stone, Jess looked as if she was a deer caught in headlights. Billy was the first to break the silence, walking passed Jess to get to his car, practically bumping her out of the way. “If you’re wanting to finish up the project, it’s gonna have to wait. I’m busy.” 

Jess’s shoulders deflated. So he was mad. “That’s… that’s not why I’m here.” Her confession caused Billy to pause at his car door, both his hands placed on the roof while he hung his head slightly. 

“Then what?”

“I, umm…” Jess moved to where he was, standing by the hood of his car. “I brought you some muffins… you’re favorite…” 

Billy took one of the cranberry orange muffins handed to him and took a small bite. “My favorite’s actually the blueberry ones,” he deadpanned, not returning eye contact. 

“Oh… I just thought. You always asked for these ones. So. Nevermind. Sorry.” 

“So you just here to drop these off then?” He finally looked at her again and watched the way her gaze dropped to the concrete driveway as she shook her head in response. His gaze then traveled down to where the necklace sat against her sweater, causing him to clench his jaw to keep from smiling. 

“Billy, I-“

“I get it, Jess. Okay? I do.”

“Then why are you upset?” Billy sighed, throwing his head up to where he was looking at the sky then back down to where his eyes were now meeting hers. He knew exactly why. He knew how much he hated how he couldn’t walk the halls with her without the both of them looking around to see who was watching. He hated how quickly she would separate herself from him when she saw Steve coming her way, how he could spend every night with Jess and it still wouldn’t be enough for him to have a chance of staying in her life after this shared assignment was over. 

“Jess. I just thought-“ 

“Hey!” Max had finally exited the house and closed their front door, running over to Jess and hugging her. “Oh, thanks.” She took one of the muffins Jess had in her hand, turning away to enter the other side of the car.  

Jess handed the third to Billy and turned to face her own home. “I can… I can come back when you’re not so busy. I’ll-“

“Max, get in the back.” 

“No really, Billy, I don’t want to-“ 

“Get in the car, Jess.” 

Max did as she was told, climbing over the middle console as she normally did when Jess was tagging along. Jess then sat in the seat beside Billy, who was already starting his car. Once her door was closed, Billy peeled out of his driveway and sped toward the end of their street, turning without much of a stop at their street’s stop sign. They had arrived in front of the Palace Arcade even quicker than he’s accomplished before, possibly due to the tension in the car. Once they got close to the entrance, Billy stomped on his brakes, causing Jess to lurch forward.

“Alright, shitbird-“ 

“I know, I know. I have an hour.” 

Max began to climb through the middle before Billy stopped her, looking at Jess intently before he decided, “You can make it three.” Max’s face lit up, scrambling to get out of the car before he changed his mind. “But hey! I want you out here when I come get you!” Max nodded, slamming the door before Billy even finished his sentence. 

Jess sat there, making herself as small as she could, now feeling the awkwardness of having just them two in the car. It normally wouldn’t have felt this way; she typically liked it when it was just them two. Now, however, she wasn’t exactly sure where she stood with him. Jess began fiddling with the charm on her necklace, causing Billy to look over at her and decide to park in the arcade parking lot. 

“What are we doing?”  Jess looked around, slightly confused. “We’re not sitting here for three hours… are we?” 

He continued to watch the way she grabbed at her necklace, which was something new for her, as he’s never actually seen her wear one before. “No. Just. Thought you wanted to talk.” He looked down at her necklace again, realizing she wasn’t planning on saying anything anytime soon, so he decided to ease the pressure. “Cute necklace.” 

Jess smiled sheepishly at his joke. “Yeah? Some asshole gave it to me as a Christmas present.” 

“Is that so?” Billy chuckled a bit at her comeback, looking out her window before turning his attention back on her. “Well, that asshole has great taste.” When he earned a laugh from her, he looked down at her sweater, something else she had on that was new. “You get this for Christmas too?” He grabbed the bottom of it gently and rubbed it in between his fingers, just as he did with the sleeve of her dress Christmas Eve, making Jess’s stomach erupt. 

“Yeah. Yeah, it was. Steve actually got it for me.” 

Billy quickly removed his hand from the sweater and shifted in his seat, pushing his head into the headrest. “Fuckin’ Steve.” 

“What?”

“You couldn’t have come see me with another damn sweater on?”  He teased, though only slightly, as he was also somewhat serious. It was ironic to him that the first time he was seeing his present for her on, it was accompanied by something Harrington got for her, and that didn’t necessarily sit right with him, though he knew he had no right to think that way. 

“See, this is exactly why I don’t tell Steve about anything. Because you two absolutely hate each other! You can’t even stand that I’m in a sweater he simply got me for Christmas.” 

“Listen, alright, I’m sorry for freaking out Christmas Eve. But Jesus. I’ve been hanging out with you non-stop for weeks now, Jess. Isn’t he gonna find out eventually?” 

Jess didn’t know how to respond. As always, he was right, even if she wished he wasn’t. “I just want him to find out on my terms, Billy. That’s all.” 

“And what exactly are those terms? You gonna tell him after you ditch me once our project is done like you’ve been promising him you’d do? Huh?”

“Billy, what…”

“I heard you that day after practice, Jess, okay?” 

“And what about you? You don’t-” 

“Yeah, well, the difference between you and me is I don’t mean the shit I say to them. You fucking do.” Billy began running his fingers through his hair in frustration, slightly messing up the curls that he seemed to have worked hard on this morning. 

“I didn’t realize you cared what I say to Steve…” 

“I do when it’s true.” The left corner of his mouth ticked downward as he cleared his throat. He then turned away from her, looking out his front window, which was now faced at the brick wall of the arcade. He scrunched his nose in irritation as he had yet to hear a response from Jess. “Be straight with me, Logan, after this project, we goin’ back to how shit was before?” 

“I…” Jess paused, looking down at her lap, and then followed Billy’s gaze to the windowed brick wall right in front of them, being able to find Max and Lucas standing at a machine by themselves, laughing, while the other three boys and El were huddled around another machine. She had been watching them for too long, as Billy sighed, slamming his head back into his headrest. 

“Really wish I would have known that before all this shit.”

“Wait… Billy…” Her attention quickly snapped back to him, who was now looking everywhere but at her. 

“Jess. I don’t care. Just would have been fucking nice to know.” His demeanor, however, betrayed his words. He was clenching his jaw again, as he did when she first saw him this afternoon, but he was now blinking rapidly, looking around the parking lot once more before he opened his door to get out of the car. Without a word, he slammed the door shut. Jess watched as he reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his pack of reds and placed on in between his lips. At this moment, Jess decided to follow him out, rounding the front of the car to the driver’s side. 

“Fucking piece of shit.” Billy was now aggressively raking his finger across the starter of the lighter, failing each time to get it to light. He groaned as he realized he might not get it to work, but continued to try, looking over to see Jess had joined him outside. “What.”

“I didn’t mean it.” 

“What’re you talking about?” Billy looked down at his lighter, which finally decided to spark, and brought it up to his cigarette before letting it go and putting it back into his pocket. He took a long drag from it before Jess spoke up again. 

“What I said to Steve, everything I’ve said to Steve. I don’t mean it.” Billy shot his head in Jess’s direction, his eyes fixated on hers, seeing if they held any insincerity. He stood there a moment, letting his red continue to burn at his side, and when the ash began to grow, he finally broke eye contact, flicking the butt of his cigarette, and letting the collection of ash drop on his boot. 

“What happened to ‘friends don’t lie’?” 

“Well, I’ve been a pretty shit friend lately…” Her voice shook faintly.

Billy’s gaze left the ash still on his foot and returned to Jess, his eyes holding a softness she was not yet used to. “No you haven’t.” He gave her a sympathetic smile, which she briskly returned, and opened his right arm for her, still holding his Marlboro in his other hand. In two quick steps, she closed the gap between them, wrapping both arms around his waist while Billy’s free arm pulled her in. She normally would have looked behind her, through the window, to ensure none of the six teenagers she knew would have seen them. She would have made the hug short if she even went in for it at all. 

But all that is what caused this in the first place. 

“I’m really sorry…” 

Billy clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue, pulling her away only so he could look at her better. “I get it. Look. You don’t have to tell Harrington. That’s not what… Just… It’d be cool if I still got to hang with you even if we’re not doing homework together anymore.”

“I mean, to be fair, I��ll still probably need you for pre-calc. You know, considering you’re a math whizz and all.” Jess beamed up at him, causing Billy to roll his eyes playfully. 

“Oh yeah? And what about summer? Still gonna need me?” He looked down at her the same way that always made her wordless, his eyes starting at her own, slowly regarding each of her characteristics as he made his way down to her lips, occasionally stopping on a certain feature of hers, squinting ever so slightly as if to dial in and appreciate it even more than he already had before. She couldn’t continue to watch him and turned away, hoping she did so just in time before her blush became evident. 

“I think so.” 

Billy smirked in response, reaching down to hold the gold horse in between his thumb and index finger. “Gold’s your color.” 

“Yeah, well, like you said, the guy who got it for me has great taste.”

“Yeah, he does.” But even though he continued to hold on to the charm, he was no longer looking at it. Instead, he was again looking at her. She furrowed her eyebrows as he continued to stare into her, not sure if she understood what he meant. As her mind began to wander, Jess felt a slight shiver run down her back, which Billy mistook for her being cold. 

“Get in the car, gorgeous.” Though he had only a puff from his red, he threw it down on the asphalt and snuffed it with the ball of his boot. Jess moved to the other side of the car, opening the passenger door and climbing into the cockpit, with Billy moving in next to her shortly afterward. 

“So where are we going?” 

Billy looked over at her and down at her necklace again, grinning to himself for only a moment. “Wherever you want.” 

“Oh, can we uh. Can you teach me how to drive again? If we have the time?” Jess asked, looking at Billy hopefully. 

“Oh Jesus,” Billy groaned, smiling a bit while he looked out his front window, nodding to himself. He threw his car in reverse and reached his right arm across Jess’s headrest, backing out of the parking spot with ease. “Whatever you want.” 

Jess bounced in her seat excitedly, causing Billy to chuckle, muttering, “Don’t make me regret this, Logan.” As they continued to drive to the abandoned space she had practiced in before, Jess was unable to look anywhere but at Billy Hargrove, who was now drumming his steering wheel with the music, completely unaware that the girl next to him was imagining how his hand would feel on her lap while he drove with his other, or maybe he would rather hold her hand in his. She imagined what it would be like to park on the side of the road, or her driveway, or a parking lot, and watch him lean over the middle console, feel his hand at the base of her neck pulling her in, and have his lips on hers. She imagined what it would be like to wake up with Billy in her room with her, and instead of him being on the floor, he had her pulled in next to him in the comfort of her bed. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Billy caught Jess’s gaze, noticing the way her pupils stayed dilated before he’d brought her back to reality with his question. He continued to stare at her curiously, only shifting his eyes away to look at the road briefly. 

Jess shook the thoughts away as she finally looked away from him. “Nothing. Just zoned out I guess.” 

“What happened to ‘friends don’t lie’?”

Yeah. Well. They’re not supposed to make you feel like this, either.

Taglist: @nix-rose @fandom-princess-forevermore @ooo---hazelgrimm---ooo @axionn @defenslessheart-main @the-lost-are-ignored @ahoyyharrington @strawberrykittey

#billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove imagine #billy deserved better #billy hargrove stranger things #billy hargrove #billy stranger things #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove antis dni #billy hargrove deserved better #billy hargrove x oc #billy hargrove angst #billy hargrove fluff #stranger things x reader

[allovesthings]

Masterpost Targaryen/Stark parallels and contrasts in AGOT

This post is a list of the parallels/contrast I found during the reread in AGOT alone (I’ll do one for each books).

The first one I found was the Direwolves and the dragons being born which bookends a game of thrones. the Direwolves were born in the snow/ice while the dragons were born the sand/fire, all of them are born of the dead, only death can pay for life is probably illustrated there with both species.

Viserys says: “the dragon remembers” in the first Dany chapter about the stolen throne by Robert and the rebellion which later parallels with “The north remembers” when talking about the red wedding and the death of (some of) the Starks.

the Starks and Dany both have anti slavery values: We can see it in Dany’s chapter’s (this feels obvious) but also with Ned when he said that about Jorah “so the slaver has become a spy,’ Ned said with distaste. He handed the letter back ‘I would rather he became a corpse’  (I cheered)“ which is followed by Arya “he should have killed the masters”.

The description of the traits of blood of the dragon and the wolf blood are actually extremely similar : reckless and passionate and a bit chaotic and independant.

The way they talk about the dragon skulls (which are Targaryen thing) as if they are still alive and watching in King's landing and the way they talk about the dead men in a crypts (which is a Stark thing) as if they were alive and watching in Winterfell.

The parallels/contrast between Viserys and Ned’s death. Both of them dies a traitor’s death by execution but only one of them is guilty.

I think that’s a stretch but Dany plunge her entire body into the fire to create life and Jon plunging his hand into the fire to save a life might be put in here.

Cat’s quote which makes the Targaryens and the Stark direct parallel explicit : “if you lose, there is no hope for us. They say there is naught but stone at the Heart of Casterly Rock,Remember the fate of Rhaegar’s children”.Two houses seemingly destroyed by Tywin Lannister with horrifying means with secret heirs and children still alive all over the world with magical creature maybe able to change the outcome of the war for the dawn.

The parallel/contrast between Rhaenys and Arya, two little girls who got Balerion the Cat and the first victims of Tywin, (the parallel is done by Varys), Arya being the one saved by Jon’s gift (who is technically both of theirs brothers) and her knowledge of the tunnels created by the Targaryens (and she feels protected by the dragon’s skulls).

Robb being crowned king and the next chapter Dany getting the symbol of her queenship and essentially being crown queen in her own right with the birth of the dragons a chapter away from each other

There are a lot of Fire (for Targaryens) and Ice (For the Starks) symbolisms, although some characters from said house are associated with other elements (Arya and water, which is what happen when Fire melt ice so this feel relevant to her character in general but this isn’t about that) :

In the first Dany chapter again: her brother had often said that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. “ours is the house of the dragon” he would say, “The fire is in our blood”

In the Second Cat chapter:: Ned could never abide the heat, the Starks were made for the cold: “Even now, he was a Stark of Winterfell, rage and grief froze hard inside him” which links the Stark explicitely with the cold.

I might do a seperate post on Dany and Arya’s arcs specifically (in the entire series) paralleling each other sometimes.We’ll see.

#asoiaf #asoiaf reread #A Song of Ice and Fire #daenerys targaryen #Catelyn Stark #viserys targaryen #Rhaegar Targaryen #Ned Stark #jon snow #robb stark #I'm sure there is more #arya stark #Tywin Lannister

[15-lizards]

hi hannah! :) it's me again!!

okay. i'm finishing rereading a game of thrones at the moment and i was wondering-

in your opinion, what are the main fashion differences between the lhazareen and the dothraki? since the lhazareen are shepherds instead of war crime horse girls i assume their textiles would be mainly from wool and hemp/grass instead of the leather and hemp/grass the dothraki use but i'm interested in hearing your thoughts. thank you!

also mirri maz duur you will always be famous to me 🫶🐑

Lovely question my darling 🫶

I think the Dothraki use more leather and sturdy fabrics overall, bc they’re nomads and need clothes that can bear the elements. The Lhazareen def use cotton and wool from their lambs bc it’s available to them and bc they’re not nomads and don’t need riding leathers

Like I imagine this could be an average Lhazareen outfit: mostly roughspun clothing made from wool, fibers, and whatever other fabrics they could get their hands on. They cover up to protect from the sun, but it’s still thin and only one or two layers

And then ofc the Dothraki are gonna have stiffer garments that can handle being in the elements and on horseback all day. Also they probably use the grasses of the Dothraki sea to fashion some elements of clothing, which the Lhazareen don’t have bc I feel like there’s not a tone of vegetation

#asoiaf #asoiaf hair and clothing #lovely ask dear 😗

[burst-of-iridescent]

i've been re-reading the hunger games in preparation for the tbosas movie, and having last read the trilogy over eight years ago, i didn't realize how much i'd bought into the fanon interpretation of gale. it's pretty well-established that gale and peeta (to put it a little simplistically) represent war and peace, respectively. but the way gale is discussed and presented in fandom seems to act like he was always that way, that he never had a chance, and i realized upon reread that that's just not true.

On other days, deep in the woods, I've listened to him rant about how the tesserae are just another tool to cause misery in our district. A way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another. "It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided among ourselves," he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine.

this passage is taken from the very first chapter of the first book, and it's evident from this that gale knows who the real enemy is, at least in theory. but that doesn't stop him from being angry at madge, from being able to dehumanize the other tributes in a way katniss never does. then he doesn't understand why katniss is outraged by the treatment of her prep team in 13, and and that turns into being willing to sacrifice the miners left in the nut in mockingjay, until finally, he designs weapons that take advantage of compassion and empathy and the desire to help fellow human beings.

gale takes human connection - the very thing he recognized the capitol was trying to destroy because of the innate challenge it posed to authoritarian rule - and deliberately uses it against itself to wreak destruction, and in doing so becomes exactly what he once despised and condemned so thoroughly.

and i think that perfectly illustrates the point suzanne collins was trying to make, that holding onto your humanity in the midst of war and suffering and brutality is a choice. war is inherently, fundamentally dehumanizing. it has to be, in order to justify itself, and no one is immune to falling into that trap, not even good people.

in recognizing the value of human life, in refusing to pay that price needlessly, in choosing to connect with others over and over again simply on the basis of their humanity, peeta and katniss go against everything war demands of them. they make the choice to hold onto their humanity by refusing to lose sight of the humanity of others.

and that's a path that was always available to gale, even if he lacked the innate compassion and goodwill for others that peeta and katniss share. though the seeds have been sown, the gale that katniss talks about in that paragraph is not yet the boy who would end up complicit in the slaughter of innocents. he isn't doomed to walk down the path that he eventually does. he still has a chance to be different, to choose different.

but it's a choice he doesn't make (is likely no longer able to make by the end), though he once might have, and to me that is the real tragedy of gale's character.

#the hunger games #gale #god these books are so so so good