Back on my Danny & Ras frienemies/rivals/maybe-lovers-nobody-can-tell-their-signals-are-very-mixed train.
See, Danny has gone through time a lot. Often. It comes with being Clockwork’s charge-son-thing and honestly he finds it fun. And several times he’s used this time travelling to get some training in. Enter Ras, stage left, also a teen at the time and also learning swordsmanship from the same person.
And they… utterly despise each other. They would kill the other for an apple slice, if the other one would die! But also, only they can kill the other, as it is obviously their right!
And well, they keep running into each other. It has been a hundred years, surely the other would die by now? But of course their rival would live through utter spite. Probably to spite them specifically.
The amount of times they have ended up sparring- trying to kill each other or not- the moment they see the other is actually ridiculous. But time is also passing. And… Danny understands, not having another to talk about things people are forgetting, or have already forgotten.
How they ended up actually talking without a murder attempt was a long story that included a demon, a dragon, a pair of fae, some bandits, and a lot of alcohol, but it happened. And then it happens again. And again, and now it’s just kind of normal to share a drink after their spars, talking about things that no longer exist, and things they miss.
Sure Danny can go back in time again, but he knows better than to do it willy nilly. He’s matured, he’s been an adult for a hundred years now, he knows there’s consequences for messing with time, even with Clockwork’s blessings.
The first time they got married was technically for an undercover assassination. Well, Ras was there to assassinate someone, Danny was there to grab an artifact that should Not be in the realm of the living. And they got divorced after, it was fine.
They just, also got married again when they met a few years later, for another job. And… okay, so maybe they have gotten married over a dozen times now and only divorced like half of those times. Half of those were for the bit or while drunk!
And even if technically they’re married or shared a bed, it’s not like they're exclusive! As Ras’ daughters’ existences attest to (adopted in one case or not). They don’t exactly have a label for their relationship, despite others asking for one or trying to put a name to it themselves.
Now Danny knows Ras isn’t exactly a good dude, or at least on the side of ‘good’ as he’s a literal assassin. But he also knows that good? Bad? Rather relative. He had gotten labeled as a villain when he was just trying to help all that time ago after all, and really who was he to tell someone else how to live their life?
Which brings him to now, where he’s run into his old frienemy-rival and his youngest daughter. Who has a braindead teenager and a small toddler. Which is fine, really- but also, Talia dear, why are you using a brain dead teenager to guard your three year old son?
…
Okay, Talia dear, Ras (Derogatory), why are you using your brain dead son and grandson to guard your younger son and grandson? Do you not have the Pits, which you were soo proud about Ras? Yes, he will spar with you, but for Realms’ sake, heal, what’s his name? Ah yes, go heal Jason and he’ll actually stick around for a few years, deal? Good.
louis, lestat, and their single bed as a motif louis puts into his own story, but refuses to explore, is literally one of the sexiest parts of the show. it speaks volumes about a level of fulfillment and freedom that louis feels by being with lestat that he rarely explicitly comments on when he's relaying his story to daniel, which feels extremely relevant to his overall reluctance to examine the parts of his relationship with lestat that he really enjoyed.
because louis is a character who's hyper aware of how he presents himself. he's lived his entire life projecting a certain masculine, heteronormative image, and he's aware of how deviating from that presentation has implications that impact how people view him - from enjoying the opera, to the presentation of his nails. the fact that he moves in with lestat and neither of them ever put a second bed into any room in the house as a level of plausible deniability is so huge and oversight by so cautious a character, it can only be read as deliberate - especially when the conspicuous lack of a second bed is pointed out to them by both antoinette and a literal police officer. in an existence where you don't sleep in a bed, the bed becomes a symbolic object more so than a practical one. it's louis choosing to deliberately transgress against the societal expectations he lives out when he leaves his house, a bit of presentation that actually amplifies his truth as a gay man living with his partner, rather than masking or hiding himself, like he does for the outside world.
Am I in mourning? And also in denial?
Yes.
Do I also think David Jenkins tried his best to solve this in 2 months and it didn't happen (because HBO needs to rot in hell)? And that he didn't want people to spend any more time, resources and mental health on something that could take (many many months) a lot of time?
Also yes.
And, most importantly, do I think Our flag means us?
It does. Our flag means us. It means this community, these people who managed to find hope and joy and solace in each other.
Our flag means found family for those who had the misfortune of having blood relations they couldn't call by this name. Our flag means queer celebration, indigenous representation, creative ingenuity.
It means the crew on the set of s02 doing wonders with their bare hands, budget cuts be damned.
It means a handcrafted mermaid tail, a hand-made storm, eel bites, sword training, meticulous tattoos, "There he is", boyfriends, running on the beach, a bare-butt guy, a green-socked leg, a sammy in the face, people dressing up in British navy uniforms.
It means everything. It means everything to me. It's my whole heart.
So don't forget it in the days to come.
Don't forget what was taken from us but also remember:
Our flag will always mean us.
Ok but I think I'm finally well enough to talk about this
....no I'm not *screams*!!!
Ok but in all seriousness, the way that the intimacy in this scene wasn't even sexual in the slightest despite their position. It was just comforting and soft and they're just so clingy with each other😭😭😭😭😭😭
3. a valid disorder that people struggle and suffer with every day
reminder that
1. if you use narc abuse, you are ableist, end of story
2. anybody can be abusive- nobody is inherently abusive because of a disorder
2a. your abusive ex was abusive because they're an abuser, not because they're a narcissist
3. you are not a bad person if you have low empathy. you are not a bad person if you have high empathy. you are a bad person if you hurt others on purpose for personal gain or validation
4. your trauma is real and valid. what isn't valid is demonizing a disorder because somebody else hurt you. calling abuse survivors abusive by proxy is hurtful, and you are a shitty person if you do it
pt under the cut ...
PT:
reminder that narc abuse
1. isn't real
2. is ableist and harmful!!
reminder that npd is
1. a trauma-formed disorder
2. not inherently abusive or evil
3. a valid disorder that people struggle and suffer with every day
reminder that
1. if you use narc abuse, you are ableist, end of story
2. anybody can be abusive- nobody is inherently abusive because of a disorder
2a. your abusive ex was abusive because they're an abuser, not because they're a narcissist
3. you are not a bad person if you have low empathy. you are not a bad person if you have high empathy. you are a bad person if you hurt others on purpose for personal gain or validation
4. your trauma is real and valid. what isn't valid is demonizing a disorder because somebody else hurt you. calling abuse survivors abusive by proxy is hurtful, and you are a shitty person if you do it
It's peaceful without u. But I'd rather choose the chaos with u over the peace with out u.
Sunshine golden retriever energy Pat Napat Jindapat being depressingly lonely because his childhood-rival-turned-best-friend who doesn't even allow to call each other friend is not in his life.
The fact that his life is peaceful without Pran, but he's at peace when he's with Pran.
Pran defines his peace.
Things might not end well whenever I'm close to u, but I can be anywhere as long as I have u.
Perfectionist Pran Parakul Siridechawat who plans everything in his life including his 3 watoons in his noodles feeling his life tilting out of its axis because his childhood-rival-turned-best-friend-turned-crush is not in his life. Because his axis is built around Pat.
The fact that things might not go according to plan when he's with Pat, but he can make peace with it as long as he's with Pat.
Jonathan always hooks his leg around one of Argyle's whenever they are sitting side by side. It's a comfort thing. He just sneaks his foot in between both of Argyle's, still in the middle of conversation with someone else, or focused on his food - whatever it is they might be doing. Argyle presses their knees together every time in a silent Hello. I'm here. I've got you, dude.