#which it very very deliberately and wonderfully is

[autistic-beshelar]

rue is, i think, in love with the idea of love.

they set a wager. the lords of the wing will find true love in this romantic, ephemeral bloom, if they only seek it. they can win it, as though it’s a game.

they long to abolish the courts. their own court has never held any love for them - why would any other court be different? a court stifles, a court smothers, a court suffocates love. the courts must be abolished, so that love can bloom. true love, love that is unfettered by politics, or station, or duty.

they are the architect of the bloom. the hunt, the heart. the dance. the potions. they will pour love into a cup and the guests will drink their fill. fae from across the realms will fall in beautiful, perfect love at rue’s hand. 

they have become the arbiter of love. when an engagement between a cruel prince and a wild goblin is set, what else can they do but judge it unfit? it was not love, it was not true. 

they share a moment in a forest with a venerated captain. he is tall, as they are. he is clawed, as they are. he is a beast, as they are, and so beautiful for it. they fall fast, and hard, and heavy. and perhaps it is only the nature of queerness, of a life lived behind a mask, yearning for the faintest spark, that causes them to love so fast. 

or perhaps they did not truly fall in love with hob at all. for they did not see him. 

they fell in love with a reflection of themself.

except, of course, that hob is not a reflection of rue. hob is his own person, and like any real person, he cannot live up to an idea. and while rue is on a wonderful journey of revelation and self acceptance, it is baffling to them that someone else’s love does not always mirror their own.

rue, in an act of bravery and vulnerability and hope, removed their mask. and they long so very much to remove hob’s - but he has never worn a mask. he has always been exactly as he is - a soldier, devoted and dutiful. an outsider, used and abused by his court. rue’s true form was hidden by their court, while hob’s otherness has always been mercilessly exposed.

rue loves hob for the idea of who he could be, if he could simply unmask as they did. but hob needs, just as rue does, to be loved for who he is.

#this really went from 'rue doesn't truly understand love and is fucked up about it' #to 'rue thinks hob's story is one of queerness but it is in fact of neurodivergence' #and while rue could pass #hob never could #this hurt me to write btw. #a court of fey and flowers #delloso de la rue #captain kp hob #i see a LOT of talk about rue's story being a queer one #which it very very deliberately and wonderfully is #but i see the same being said of hob #and i'm not saying it's wrong to see hob's story as a queer one too #but to me hob's entire narrative is so clearly an autistic one #the abuse and manipulation and straight up gaslighting that he has received from his superiors #reads so clearly as authority figures taking advantage of a neurodivergent person #his whole... inability to accept that anyone could love him for who he is #the way he is othered not so much for how he looks #but for his BEHAVIOUR #for things that are blatant autistic traits #that's... that's an autistic narrative for sure. #not to say that hob isn't also queer #and of course there is so so much overlap between queer stories and autistic stories #but i think that #rue is only seeing their experience as a queer person #they aren't understanding that hob's experience is different than theirs #because he is autistic #also for many other reasons but like. look. we're talking autism babey. #and also i'm not saying rue can't also be autistic or neurodivergent in some way #but they don't have the same experience as hob does

[astrologanize]

pick a card : what making out with you feels like for them ᡣ𐭩…

could be someone you're already seeing or your future person, whatever it is...whoever you are asking about...this is what it feels like for them (: *please take a moment to take a deep breath and choose the image you are most drawn towards*

for pile 1 ✩˚

well, hello there. while trying to channel and synthesize this spread i thought about how this pile has something very instinctive going on within the makeout sessions, there's viscera, and cillian murphy came to mind somehow?? he does have a very mars look imo so maybe that's why, but it reminded me of a gif that i believe is from peaky blinders (never seen the show but i exist on tumblr so...) that i will add (it's a lil nsfw i guess?). anyhow. when it comes to your makeouts with this person, it feels like a nice balance of release and control for them because on one hand they do feel very disarmed while making out with you but at the same time they're acting deliberately - which is why instinct is coming through...it's like having a flow of reflexive movement. i'm not seeing you two going crazy and having vigorous kisses, there is a slowness to it, there's a building of inertia. making out with you makes them feel like their life is in their hands, their free will is palpably felt, and it brings out a sort of self-discipline in them

for pile 2 ✩˚

this person looooooves making out with you, they feel like they're having a movie moment when you guys are kissing, and the connection itself is what is at the forefront when they're kissing you. this seems like someone who hasn't had great experiences with romance and making out with you imbues them with so much hope. it's like if this person had a horribly messy breakup a couple years prior, they were with someone for quite a while and it ended up turning into a nightmare that left an ugly mark and they became jaded by it. making out with you feels like a rebirth - they don't feel afraid, they feel uninhibited, their cup is wonderfully full. they are not in the slightest bit doubtful of how they feel for you and they are certain that they want this; when they kiss you it will feel like a sweet plead - please love me back. there is no ego when it comes to kissing you because they are happily willing to give their all. making out with you does help them to move on from any residual gunk they've been dealing with

for pile 3 ✩˚

what is wanting to come through strongly is that this person is the one somehow taking the lead in the makeout session because when they're making out with you they feel firm, they feel empowered, they're like 'i got this'. lol...funnily enough though, whatever it is about making out with you...they don't expect it to go the way it does and it throws them off their game. something about making out with you is new for them, there's a notable oscillation happening within them, an internal battle of hot n cold energy. the makeout session itself won't be all over the place, once you start making out you guys just keep going at a constant and indefinite pace. this person is probably used to getting what they want/doing what they want/being reckless, this person is hardened - they keep their feelings in check and like being in control. & even though they feel in control while making out with you and do like feeling as such, there's something about making out with you that wakes them up and brings out a softer side. making out with you feels like a stream of consciousness for them

for pile 4 ✩˚

this is my fun makeout sesh pile 😛

what you guys say to each other before/during making out is being highlighted so maybe there's some steamy words being exchanged, some sweet talkin' perhaps. y'alls makeout session(s) involves experimenting, it's messy, it's sloppy, there's coloring outside the lines, it's an indulgence and you guys change things up during it. it does seem like this is more casual and that this person might be hesitant to take things further. this may be someone who is really attached to their independence and/or is perpetually single so even though they're having fun with it, they are holding back and not giving their all. making out with you is going to make them try to consider and factor feelings into the equation, they may just take the leap for once

love this song for pile 4

#pick a card #romance #relationships #Spotify

[lunaescribe]

A Biracial Reading of BlackBeard

It came to my shock-a lot of white fans of OFMD seem to have not caught up on the fact we're explicitly shown Edward Teach is a man of color from biracial origins in Our Flag Means Death. And that identity, goes so much into how his character is written and reacts to situations. I would argue Episode 4 and 5 are extremely deliberate in their showcasing of how his identity has informed his choices and the way he behaves around others. I want to highlight just a few moments, that stood out to me as a someone who is also biracial and light skinned-that I don't think some people have picked up have a deeper meaning.

From the get-go we're introduced to two sides of Blackbeard. Either as 'the terror of the seas' or an extremely clever-but at times irritatingly eccentric man. There's an element of duality, multiple faces, and most aptly code-switching to him the moment he is introduced. This  post really wonderfully goes into all the elements of performance and multiple identities Ed seems to juggle. Code switching is something many POC learn though-which is learning to behave one way with white people-and another with people of your own race-or other races, and so on.

We see from flashbacks Ed is biracial, with a white Father and Maori mother (the same biracial make up with genders swapped, of Taika himself). The framing of this shot above is so significant. He and his mother cowering from his white Father (patriarchy, colonialism against indigenous peoples like himself and his mother), and Ed is positioned slightly closer to his mother in the middle of them-another demonstration he is closer to his indigenous/POC side than his white side.

It's wildly significant the first murder he has to commit is his Father, very much showing that attempt to resist colonialism-as an institution and the side of him descended from it. And it leads to those fracturing identities.

Being biracial puts one in a position-you are not as excluded as darker skinned people of color who have very limited access to white spaces in this time period-but nor are you ever seen as belonging in those white spaces either. We know he grew up in proximity to whiteness hence having access to even see things like the red silk in the first place-but he never felt allowed to be part of it. It puts Edward in a place where he is both an outsider with other POC and in white spaces. So how do you cope with that? Do you soften yourself as much as possible to be non-threatening enough to pass in a white space? Or do you lean into white perceptions of your 'otherness' and play it so you can't be further mocked or excluded-you are choosing your own isolation and denying them the chance to do it to you. Hence Edward's need to make himself a larger than life fearful 'monster like' figure like the Kraken. However it’s the fact he is light skinned-that privilege that has probably lended himself to be able to become as successful he is-capable of earning respect from white pirates (Calico Jack, Izzy) and those of color (Ivan, Fang, and many on his crew). 

Which doesn't mean he enjoys that image at all. Becoming "The Kraken" began as an attempt to fight off white violence and has continued so long into life. Especially where we meet Edward in the series-he's grown weary of being so stereotyped as the 'beastly POC'.

When Edwards' shown this image-he gets especially upset. It's worth noting he's referred to as a "Devil" in the image too. And while yes it is a scene of him exhausted of the weight of reputation of "Blackbeard" it's also an image of a man of color being shown a racial stereotype of himself.

The fact he calls himself a 'vampire clown' and is frustrated at the amount of guns he's shown to carry-he's showing outrage over how he is stereotyped as an othered monstrous and hyper-violent caricature- something men of color are often forced to deal with. The fact he is a man of color-is probably what has allowed his reputation to become so fearsome. White people will automatically assume he is more violent because he is brown. All the more significant his bathtub confession that he personally dislikes the act of murder-and rarely personally ends a person's life. It's only because of this racial stereotype that rumor has been able to grow so large that he is killed HUNDREDs like Black Pete says in episode 2.

It makes all the more sense in the next episode he is very anxious for an attempt to join a white upper-class party. Especially after being called a "donkey" when attempting to learn about dinner party etiquette. Another example of white people excluding him due to his mixed race status.

The fact he is mixed is part of the reason he's even able to get into the room with the rich aristocrats rather than be confined to the servant's quarters-or immediately othered like Frenchie and Olu are ('you're so much better than my african servant!')

However it's extremely significant he only becomes popular and gains the attention of the white aristocrats (and he is the only person of color in the entire party) when he makes a joke about violence. From the get-go they're laughing and amused because he is again (Not realizing it this time) playing into their stereotype of him. A violent man of color-but presenting it in playful manner they feel un-threatened, much like white people watching minstrelsy shows in the 1800s-but still being so afraid of black men they had numerous laws to keep them separate.

And immediately, when Edward catches on they're not amused by him as a person-but by the caricature they see of him he's humiliated and leaves the party. It's an example of a lesson he learned long ago. He has to be either extremely non-threatening-a joker-if he wants to be tolerated in a white space, or he can be extremely threatening, play into their stereotype-and use their fear to avoid being further hurt. We see a touch of that in episode 4 when he dodges Izzy’s questions by being especially eccentric and difficult to read-making jokes and random statements than give sincere straightforward answers that can be mocked. It’s very deliberate he takes out his knife when answering Izzy’s threat/demand he needs to make choice-it’s a refusal to be openly intimate-and a reminder not to tread too closely. 

Edward's not stupid/or socially inept for not realizing he was being mocked from the start-he had really believed Stede's lessons and clothes had given him practice to blend into a white space. So the first thing he does when realizing he's being mocked is code switch back into violence-pull out his pistol. Stede talks him down-but it only works because he knows he's outnumbered in this scene. If he showcases any violence or anger as a man of color he would be jumped upon immediately and thrown in that ships holding cell.

It's all the more significant Stede is a white man too-when he leaves Edward in the end of episode 9. It's not just a break up, it's an example of Ed once again feeling not good enough-and excluded from the society Stede chose to return to. Part of the reason Ed fell in love with Stede is Stede was willing to see Ed as a whole person-he admired his anger AND sensitivity-and as a person who has also been an outsider due to his very overt queerness-Stede can form a kinship with Ed due to their mutual ostracizes from society.

While there's been multiple good readings about Izzy pining for Ed, and Izzy's frustration against Stede being driven because he is a rich person invading a working class space-as this post pointed out, Izzy is still a white man asking Ed to behave as that hyper-violent caricature that has been carved out for him. That is where he sees Edward's worth. The fact Izzy immediately begins mocking him for missing Stede-it reminds Ed so clearly, he can not drop his act around white people. Or he will be harassed, mocked, and threatened. 

Edward has to become the Kraken to survive in his mind. Hence why he uses a caricature image of himself as inspiration. To survive heartbreak, to survive the white people who would rip him apart if he isn’t threatening, to maintain control of his life. There’s a reason he has to kill Lucius-who he revealed too much of his heart to, vulnerability is not an option for him. When you’re biracial-the closer you are to whiteness, the more acutely you will be held up for failing at it. It is much easier for him to be guarded, threatening, and give into the perception of him-rather than have his heart broken over and over-told how he is not good enough-too sensitive, 

Which is why this Kraken image-Blackbeard-it’s all a tragedy. Edward knows-as much as being Blackbeard makes him safe-it makes him painfully lonely. And it’s an identity he has only fallen into because it was assigned to him-and because he feels convinced at the end of this season there is no space for him, as a queer man of color to have life full of love, softness, and emotional availability.

I certainly hope this reading is enlightening for folks who never read Edward or the show this way! I think it may cause people to rethink how they characterize Edward in their own writings or artwork, since the amount of people who seem to love leaning into an element of making him monstrous, well that’s exactly why he is suffering in the show. He doesn’t think a man of his identities has any other choice.  

#our flag means death #ofmd #blackbeard #edward teach #ed teach #ofmd meta #poc of ofmd #im begging you all stop with all the fics and art where he's a literal kraken its gross when his story is so wildly tragic #my writing

[ilynpilled]

GRRM on morality, heroism, villainy, and parallax in ASOIAF:

Time magazine wrote of you, “What really distinguishes Martin and what marks him as a major force for evolution in fantasy is his refusal to embrace a vision of the world as a struggle between good and evil.” Do you agree?

I think the struggle between good and evil is central to fantasy and, indeed, in some ways, central to most fiction. It's certainly a worthy subject for fiction. But I regard the struggle between good and evil as being waged within the individual human heart. […] You know, the greatest monsters of history, as we look back on them, thought they were the heroes of the story. You know, the villain is the hero of the other side, as sometimes said. That doesn't mean that it's all morally relative. That doesn't mean that all things are equally good and evil. I think there is good and there is evil in the world. But you know, it's sometimes a struggle to tell one from the other and to make the right choices. I've always been attracted to great characters, maybe because that's what I see when I look around the real world, whether I read about it in history books or the news or just people I meet. I mean, all of us have it within ourselves to be heroes. All of us have it within ourselves to be villains. We've all done good things in our lives, and most of us have also done selfish things, cowardly things, things that we're ashamed of in later years. And to my mind, that's, I don't know, the glory of the human race. We're such wonderfully contradictory, mixed-up creatures that we're endlessly fascinating to write about and read about.

via

In your work, you have essentially captured Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of polyphonic fiction, where the characters are equal, and the reader can root for any of them. This has been impossible to convey on the TV series.

I wouldn't say all the characters are equal, but they have (hopefully) human traits, especially the viewpoint characters. I have seven viewpoint characters in the first book, and each book has a few more. So, by now, we're probably up to 12 or 13 viewpoint characters, and those are the ones where I go actually inside their skin, so you're seeing the world through their eyes. You're hearing their thoughts. You're feeling their emotions. And I try to paint over those viewpoint characters, and some of them are noble and just, and some of them are kind of selfish, and some of them are very intelligent, and some of them are less intelligent and even stupid. But they're all human, and I want to portray their humanity. […] I think the battle between good and evil is fought all over the world, every day, in the individual human heart, as we all struggle with the choices that define us and define our lives. And we have to choose what we are going to do, and sometimes the choice is not easy; it's not this absolute juxtaposition of the good guys and the bad guys. And I wanted to get to that with my characters, and show some of the difficulties that they face.

via

Another element I liked about the series was the moral relativism of many of the characters. Too many Fantasies rely on the shorthand of truly evil villains in the absolute moral sense, but your characters, while they might commit terrible acts, generally do so either from short-sighted self-interest or because they truly believe they are acting for the best. Was this a deliberate decision, or is it just more interesting to write this way?

Both. I have always found grey characters more interesting than those who are pure black and white. I have no qualms with the way that Tolkien handled Sauron, but in some ways The Lord of the Rings set an unfortunate example for the writers who were to follow. […] Before you can fight the war between good and evil, you need to determine which is which, and that's not always as easy as some Fantasists would have you believe.

via

Do you purposely start a character as bad so you can later kill them?

No. What is bad? Bad is a label. We are human beings with heroism and self-interest and avarice in us and any human is capable of great good or great wrong. In Poland a couple of weeks ago I was reading about the history of Auschwitz - there were startling interviews with the people there. The guards had done unthinkable atrocities, but these were ordinary people. What allowed them to do this kind of evil? Then you read accounts of acts of outrageous heroism, yet the people are criminals or swindlers, one crime or another, but when forced to make a choice they make a heroic choice. This is what fascinated me about the human animal.

via

Martin's realm is not one of unambiguous heroes and villains. His characters, from royals to peasants, tend to be ethically mutable. So-called good people, like the noblemen Ned Stark, his son Robb Stark or the indomitable Daenerys Targaryen ("the Mother of Dragons"), make terrible mistakes - out of weakness, pride or an overly rigid sense of right and wrong. And horrible people, like Jaime Lannister, known as "the Kingslayer," do terrible things and then, over the course of several books, reveal themselves to be capable of heroism and sacrifice.

As we're discussing this in the theater, Martin quotes Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" from memory: “The evil that men do lives after them ;/ The good is oft interred with their bones.” Then he adds his own version: “We shouldn't forget about the evil that good men do. But we shouldn't forget about the good either,” he says. “I do think a society needs heroes. They don't have to be flawless.”

via

Your books have a very strong storyline associated with the atonement of sins. For example, the way of Jaime Lannister, do you yourself believe in karma?

I don’t believe in karma per se, although sometimes I have my doubts because sometimes I think I see things that could be explained by karma. But no, I don’t really have any beliefs in the supernatural. I do believe in the possibility of redemption. And I believe that human beings, all human beings, are grey. And I try to remember that when I write my characters. We are all heroes, we are all villains, we all have the capacity for great good and we all have the capacity to do things that are selfish and evil and wrong. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. In your lifetime, you can be both. And it’s making choices that defines us as human beings. There’s this sensation of compartmentalism. This eagerness to judge everybody based on the worst thing they ever did, not the best thing they ever did. And you know, I think Shakespeare in "Julius Caesar" wrote “The evil that men do lives after them ;/ The good is oft interred with their bones.” And sadly that’s true. And I think it should be the reverse. We should remember the good things and the noble things that people did, and forgive them for their failures and moments of selfishness or wrongdoing because we all have them. When we forgive them, we are essentially forgiving ourselves. Redemption should be possible.

via

Are there any characters that you've kind of fallen out of love with, that you just don't, you know, get excited about any more?

I still love all the characters. Even some of them who aren't very lovable. At least the viewpoint characters. When I'm writing in the viewpoint of one of these characters, I'm really inside their skin. So, you trying to see the world through their eyes to understand why they do the things they do. And we all have, even characters who are thought of to be bad guys, who are bad guys, in some objective sense, don't think of themselves as bad guys. […] “What evil can I do today?” Real people don't think that way. We all think we're heroes, we all think we're good guys. We have our rationalizations when we do bad things. “Well, I had no choice,” or “It's the best of several bad alternatives,” or “No it was actually good because God told me so,” or “I had to do it for my family.” We all have rationalizations for why we do shitty things or selfish things or cruel things. So when I'm writing from the viewpoint of one of my characters who has done these things, I try to have that in my head. And I do, so there's an empathy there that makes me love even people like Victarion Greyjoy, who is basically a dullard and a brute. But, he feels aggrieved and sees the world a certain way. And Jaime Lannister and Theon Greyjoy, they all have their own viewpoints. I love them all. Some I love more than others, I guess.

Who do you think to be the most important characters?

They're all important. I don't favor them, or I don't think of them in terms of importance. The viewpoint characters in the first book I have are Bran, Tyrion, Catelyn, Ned, Jon Snow, the two girls Arya and Sansa. There is the core of the Stark family plus Tyrion to represent the Lannister family. Then I have Dany on the other side of the sea, Daenerys Targaryen, whose story runs parallel and some ways doesn't connect to the others, but some day I'll eventually bring those two stories together. In each subsequent volume I drop some of my viewpoint characters and add new ones. Although the same core still dominates, the cast changes somewhat, and I like to do that. In the third volume which you haven't gotten to yet (he refers to me) I have a new viewpoint character. He's been a major character, but now you see things for the first time through his eyes. Which I think changes your perception of things somewhat. I like to play that kind of game, because we all have our own way of looking at the world. Something occurs and two people witness it. They might have very different versions of what happened, and very different explanations. I like to play with parallax in my fiction, and get different versions of the same thing.

via

A Song of Ice and Fire has much of the complex texture of authentic history, both generally and in its specific echoes of actual historical episodes. What laws and principles (if any) in your view govern human history, and how has your understanding of historical processes shaped the series?

Historical processes have never much interested me, but history is full of stories, full of triumph and tragedy and battles won and lost. It is the people who speak to me, the men and women who once lived and loved and dreamed and grieved, just as we do. Though some may have had crowns on their heads or blood on their hands, in the end they were not so different from you and me, and therein lies their fascination. I suppose I am still a believer in the now unfashionable "heroic" school, which says that history is shaped by individual men and women and the choices that they make, by deeds glorious and terrible. That is certainly the approach I have taken in A Song of Ice and Fire.

A Song of Ice and Fire undergoes a very interesting progression over its first three volumes, from a relatively clear scenario of Good (the Starks) fighting Evil (the Lannisters) to a much more ambiguous one, in which the Lannisters are much better understood, and moral certainties are less easily attainable. Are you deliberately defying the conventions and assumptions of neo-Tolkienian Fantasy here?

Guilty as charged. The battle between good and evil is a legitimate theme for a Fantasy (or for any work of fiction, for that matter), but in real life that battle is fought chiefly in the individual human heart. Too many contemporary Fantasies take the easy way out by externalizing the struggle, so the heroic protagonists need only smite the evil minions of the dark power to win the day. And you can tell the evil minions, because they're inevitably ugly and they all wear black. I wanted to stand much of that on its head. In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which.

via

When you are writing the different conflicts in Westeros, do you personally pick a side? Or feel that one side fights for a more just cause than the other?

Yes, certainly. I mean, I’ve often said that I believe in grey characters, I don’t believe in black and white characters. But that’s not to say that all characters are equally grey. You know, some are very dark grey, and some are mostly white but they still have occasional flaws. I’ve always been fascinated by human beings and all of their complexity— even human beings that do appalling things, you know, the question is ‘Why?’ And it’s interesting to get inside their head and see why. Some of my viewpoint characters have done some incredibly reprehensible things: Theon, for example, or Victarion Greyjoy. Why? Were they born a monster? Weren’t they born like a cute little kid wanting to be loved and all that? We all start out that way, right? But things happen to us on the way that lead to junctures in our lives where we make decisions, and those decisions and the consequences of them color everything that comes after. You look at [historical figures] and what’s the verdict on these men? Are they heroes, are they villains? Are they great people, or people we should despise? I mean, they are fascinating characters because of their complexity.

via

“I don't concern myself over whether my characters are “likeable” or “sympathetic.” (I had my fill of that in television). My interest is in trying to make them real and human. If I can create a fully-fleshed three-dimensional character, some of my readers will like him/her, or some won't, and that's fine with me. That's the way real people react to real people in the real world, after all. Look at the range of opinions we get on politicans and movie stars. If EVERYONE likes a certain character, or hates him, that probably means he's made of cardboard. So I will let my readers decide who they like, admire, hate, pity, sympathize with, etc. The fact that characters like Sansa, Catelyn, Jaime, and Theon provoke such a wide range of reactions suggests to me that I have achieved my goal in making them human.”

via

“You want the reader to care about your characters — if they don’t, then there’s no emotional involvement. But at the same time, I want my characters to be nuanced, to be gray, to be human beings. I think human beings are all nuanced. There’s this tendency to want to make people into heroes and villains. And I think there are villains in real life and there are heroes in real life. But even the greatest heroes have flaws and do bad things, and even the greatest villains are capable of love and pain and occasionally have moments where you can feel sympathetic for them. As much as I love science fiction and fantasy and imaginative stuff, you always have to go back to real life as your touchstone and say, ‘What is the truth?’”

via

#asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #tyrion lannister #jon snow #daenerys targaryen #arya stark #sansa stark #jaime lannister #theon greyjoy #ned stark #catelyn tully #victarion greyjoy #brienne of tarth #etc #long post #sorry #some of u r very annoying when it comes to this topic #wahh wahhh full moral relativism wahhh thats not what is happening #but some of the counter compartmentalism that is obv also not the point is also obnoxious #asoiaf fans when germ deals with themes he intended to deal with: 😧 #mind u he spells it out in the actual text too but whatever #ok thats my haterism for the day

[loveyourownsmiilee]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that by the end of this season, we are getting concrete confirmation that Buck and Eddie will be together romantically. Whether it be by the finale, or early next season, it seems to most definitely be happening. I’ve complied a few different things that once read all together, definitely add up to Buck and Eddie finally getting together romantically. There’s no way we can read and see everything that’s happening and has yet to happen and still think there’s a chance they won’t become a couple. These are all my findings and opinions as to why I strongly believe the writers are finally taking them towards the romantic route. Sure anything is possible and I may be wrong in the end, but there’s just too much in favor of it happening verses it not. So please read and I hope you all can come to your own conclusions in the end!

Here is a compilation of everything we knew while they were filming 6b! These were all posted before we even knew for sure what was awaiting us for 6.10 and on. Some of us were able to correctly guess the storylines that happened based off these BTS.

Then, while they were filming 6.12-6.15, we barely got any BTS of Oliver or Ryan on set. Things were very hush hush about what’s to come in those three episodes. We’re literally going in blind for those episodes. If it wasn’t for the poker game picture that was leaked, we wouldn’t have any clue as to what’s happening. Also, important to remember that the picture was taken down quickly and Joaquin seems to be counting down to that episode in regards to Buddie. So something big is happening in that episode.

We got a poker game picture, courtesy of @matan4il, and then we got some more information on who’s going to guest star in the episode. Captain Mehta is set to return, which is a huge coincidence considering Buck and Eddie discussing the shooting an episode prior to the poker game episode. Here’s a bit of a spec post that isn’t confirmed or anything but it can possibly happen.

I made a compilation of Oliver and Kristen Reidel’s interviews and highlighted the important things that were mentioned in regards to Buck and/or Eddie’s storyline(s). There’s a lot of talk about the couch metaphor and how it sorta adds up to the couch being Eddie.

I also answered an ask about the couch metaphor and why it’s so important considering how much it’s been mentioned this season.

Then there’s this complication of all the shared and stolen looks between Buck and Eddie all of this season so far. There’s a huge difference between their looks this season compared to previous ones. The framing of their scenes are so deliberately done so in a way to make it as obvious as possible to the viewer.

In addition to the previous point, here’s a wonderfully beautiful tiktok made of said shared looks between Buck and Eddie all of season 6.

We can’t forget the shift in Ryan and Oliver’s behavior since the beginning of the season. There’s been a definite shift and their behaviors can indicate only one thing in my honest opinion.

We also got confirmation that Andrew Meyers wrote the finale. So here’s a compilation of all the important Buddie scenes he’s written. Which makes him coming back for the finale even bigger considering he was responsible for the whole couch metaphor. This, in addition to everything else we know, can possible mean a big Buddie win for us all!!

Some more things to remember. We have mainly pro Buddie writers for the remaining episodes along with strong directors who’ve given us wonderful romantically coded Buddie scenes. That all paired with some of these episode titles that can be related to them, such as “Mixed Feelings”, “Performance Anxiety”, “Lost and Found”, “Love Is In The Air”, and “Pay It Forward”, and things really be coming together perfectly. I really don’t see how all of these things combined can not lead to Buck and Eddie getting together finally.

#buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 spoilers #911 speculation #911 on fox #jujus having thoughts #I’m back with another deep dive #911 meta #buddie meta

[another-blues-clues-day-hooray]

Hey, you. Yes, you. I'd like to have a minute of your time to tell you about a Blue's Clues character that Nickelodeon wants you to forget about. Buckle up, this is long.

Her name is Green Puppy, and this is what she looks like:

Source

[Image ID: An image of Green Puppy from Blue’s Clues. She is at school, sitting on a rug and surrounded by knocked-down blocks.]

See, isn't she adorable? In the original Blue's Clues, she and Blue met on a bit of a bad note. Green Puppy knocked down Blue's block tower in the episode "Blue's Sad Day". But during that episode, she and Blue made up and became friends, so you'd think that she'd be treated like any of Blue's other friends, right?

Well, as it happens, when the reboot Blue's Clues & You came along, all of Blue's classmates returned eventually. Magenta, Orange Kitten, Purple Kangaroo, even Periwinkle...but wait, where's Green Puppy?

Source

[Image ID: A photo of the Little Golden Book “Blue’s Clues School Day”. It is opened to a page where Blue, Josh, Magenta, Purple Kangaroo, and Orange Kitten are standing outside of school. The page has a line that says “All our friends are here”. I have circled the word “all” and drawn a red arrow pointing to it for emphasis]

Alas, Green Puppy wasn't included in the reboot.

But what about the episode where Blue's block tower gets knocked down? Surely, when they remade that episode, Green Puppy had to reprise her role?

Nope. They replaced her with Magenta.

Then, what about the episode "Colors Everywhere", where Blue wanted to add Green Puppy to her painting of friends? Green Puppy was the answer to Blue's Clues in that episode. So when they remade that episode for the reboot, she had to have come back in some capacity, right?

Magenta. They replaced her with Magenta again.

[Image ID: Green Puppy and Blue are together. They are sitting in front of a painting. Blue is painting Green Puppy.]

Now, it might be easy to write Green Puppy off as "a little mean", given how she was introduced. But personally, I believe her existence as a character was very important. Almost everyone as a kid had a moment where they'd gotten a little overexcited about something, leading them to do something that accidentally hurt another kid's feelings. Green Puppy represents that.

Plus, she and Blue got along wonderfully after that episode. Like in the episode "Blocks", where Blue invites Green Puppy over just to knock towers of blocks over as a physics demonstration:

[Image ID: A gif of Green Puppy unevenly stacking blocks on a tower, deliberately causing it to topple. When it falls, she looks proud.]

Or how about Blue and Green Puppy playing on the swing at school together?

[Image ID: A gif of Blue using her long ears to push Green Puppy on a swingset.]

What about the holiday episode, where Blue gets her a self-knocking-over tower of blocks as a Christmas present?

Source

[Image ID: A screencap from the episode “Blue’s Big Holiday”. Blue is watching with excitement as Green Puppy opens her gift, which is a self-knocking-over tower of blocks. The blocks are now knocked over, and Green Puppy looks like it’s the best thing she’s ever seen in her life.]

Or when she celebrated fall with Blue and Periwinkle?

Source

[Image ID: Joe, Green Puppy, Blue, Periwinkle, Mr. Salt, and Mrs. Pepper are at an apple orchard. They are holding apples and wearing sweaters that match their signature colors.]

Or when she participated in the big parade with the rest of Blue's classmates?

Source

[Image ID: Blue, Green Puppy, and Magenta are having a makeshift parade using pots & pans, party hats, and a wagon. Orange Kitten, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, and Paprika are watching excitedly, cheering them on.]

Or Blue's Big Musical Movie, where Green Puppy gets to dance in the big show with everyone?

[Image ID: A gif of Blue’s Big Musical Movie. Several of Blue’s housemates and classmates are on stage together.]

In the iconic episode "Blue Takes You to School", plus the tie-in book AND the tie-in PC game, Green Puppy was featured just as much as Blue's other classmates:

[Image ID: Periwinkle, Orange Kitten, and Green Puppy are playing with boats in water together. Periwinkle, however, is holding a toy helicopter.]

If THAT’S not enough to convince you, Green Puppy even got TWO of her own books: “I’m Sorry” and “Green Puppy Goes to the Dentist”.

Source

[Image ID: An image from the Blue’s Clues book “I’m Sorry”, with the text edited out. A basket of strawberries, a hand drawn card, and a pile of flowers are sitting on the ground as Green Puppy and Magenta give each other a big hug.]

If that’s not enough evidence for you that she’s important, how about the fact she got her own figurine?

Source (I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH SELLER)

[Image ID: A figurine of Green Puppy. She is holding a blue lunchbox and an apple.]

She even got her own plush!

Source (ALSO NOT AFFILIATED WITH SELLER)

[Image ID: A plush of Green Puppy. Her tongue is sticking out.]

So why was Green Puppy chucked out like trash when it came time for the reboot? Orange Kitten and Purple Kangaroo survived, and they're both considered "obscure" characters, just like her.

If I've gotten your interest now, and you want to know what you can do? Talk about her. Create fanart. Create memes. Together, we can make sure Green Puppy isn't forgotten.

#blue's clues #blue's clues & you #green puppy #yes I blazed this post what are you gonna do about it

[acapelladitty]

Scarecrow/Harley Quinn - CNC (Kinktober #11)

Summary - The infamous Harley Quinn finds herself in quite the tricky situation when she is held captive by the equally infamous Scarecrow. (A commission for the very kind and wonderfully sweet @forthegothicheroine)

“Did you think, all those years ago, when you sat coyly in my office, batting those beautiful lashes and begging me for an extension to your paper, that it would end up like this?” Crane asked, gripping Harley’s chin in a spindly hand. “I refused you then, professional judgement, but I always knew I would have you like this. Spread around me like a common whore.”

Baby blues painfully wide and fluttering anxiously as muffled words struggled to break through the thick cotton gag which looped around her mouth, Harley was every inch the perfect little doll in his grasp; a beautiful victim with her bottle-blonde hair fanned out around her head like an angelic halo as she shook her head against the darkened sheets she found herself pinned against.

Crane’s cock was hard, almost uncomfortably so, and he rubbed it along her slickened folds, enjoying the shudder which crossed her muscular frame as her body betrayed her, the wetness there giving him all the consent he needed. Her skin was soft, like velvet coated steel due to her years of physicality and gymnastics, and it gave her a strength which he himself lacked. But here she was, presented before him like a delightful gift – one which begged to be unwrapped as her mouth and hands remained restrained to prevent any hope of escape.

A soft grunt fled his throat as his long fingers gripped her creamy hips, the indents of his fingertips brutal enough to guarantee at least a light bruise, and the hold allowed him solid purchase as he snapped his hips forward and buried himself within her in a single, violent thrust. Her warmth was immediate, and his grunt dissolved into a low, languid groan – one which only increased in volume as he slowly slid free, her walls delightfully flush around him. The loss of contact barely had time to resister as he slammed himself forward once more, his groin flush against her thick thighs.

It was addictive.

So hot and warm around him as her eyes blinked away discomforted tears. Muffled cries making her breasts bounce in such a way that Crane found it difficult to decided where to pin his hot gaze. She enthralled him; every inch of her perfect frame a siren-like call as he found himself unable to resist having her in the way he knew that so few others had.

Stretched around his cock, her walls fluttered around him greedily, pulling him in closer with every jerk of his cock and the fingers of his left hand dropped free of her hips to trail up her heaving stomach. Tracing a soft line up her abdomen, his fingers paused to tweak almost playfully at her hardened nipple before tapping along the swell of her collarbone.

“A beautiful little doll.” Crane growled, wrapping his fingers around her neck as she swallowed in panic and thrashed below him. “Just perfect to be used.”

His lazy thrusting and musings were cut short by a very deliberate sensation against his lower back as the heel of her right foot came to tap roughly at the base of his spine.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Three distinct movements and the feel of them made his hands drop from her neck immediately as though the skin there had burned his palms. With a deft swiftness, he loosened the fabric gag and pulled it free of her mouth as his hips stilled; his cock still buried within her cunt, but unmoving as his analytical gaze swept across her face to search for an answer he knew would soon be revealed.

“Harleen?” Crane prompted; his voice softened from its previous aggression as he allowed her to settle her frantic breathing. “Do you need water? Loosened?”

“No.” Harley stuttered out. “I’m – I’m okay. Just feeling a bit, y’know.” Her words were shaky and Crane could see the shadows in her eyes, the panic there which she was so valiantly trying to hide behind a soft, placating smile.

“Do you want to stop?” His other hand still planted on her creamy hip, Crane stroked the skin there gently with the sides of his fingers. It was a simple gesture which replaced his unspoken concerns as he gazed down at her.

“Not yet.” She confirmed before pausing. “But maybe – maybe don’t put your hand on my neck again, okay?”

Her eyes, so big and blue, blinked at him and a warmth which had nothing to do with the arousal which still burned within his veins swept through his chest.

“Of course.” Crane agreed as his hips moved slowly once again, allowing Harley to set the pace a little more as he pretended to forget to reapply the thick fabric of her gag.

#Jonathan crane #scarecrow #harleen quinzel #harley quinn #scarecrow x harley quinn #scaredyquinn #gotham rogues #dc comics #cillian murphy

[lovelytsunoda]

featherweight // alexander albon

summary: nsfw thoughts about alexander albon and feathers. as well as me rambling about how soft and romantic that i think he is because you should know by now that i am a hopeless romantic.

author's note: blame @magnummagnussen, the brainrot is her fault. these are expansions upon a conversation we had at ten o clock at night when we really should have been productive members of society.

also i did far too much research into this topic and had to wipe my browser history before someone found out about this.

i think that alexander albon is a die hard romantic

i also don't think that i would say he's very kinky, there's just kind of like this one thing

he's into positive sensory things, like silks and velvets and feathers

like, soft and sweet things that still allow him to be a romantic motherfucker

candles and rose petals anyone?

is my romantic side showing yet

"babe, you've been staring at the thread count for twenty five minutes now."

"i only want the softest thread count! we're too good for subpar sheets."

egyptian cotton, silk, flannel

whatever his girl wants, he's got it all in the linen closet somewhere

a million candles and diffusers

the entire room smells like the pillsbury dough boy's ass the first time because he misread a recipe for getting your house to smell like vanilla

fake rose petals on the bed because they don't stain the way that real ones do

glasses of sparkling fruit juices on the nightstand

a plate of lindor chocolates

where do the feathers come in you ask? right about now.

he just wants to make her feel fucking euphoric.

it's slow and deliberate and sensual

with a focus on the sensations

lying naked next to each other in bed, a feather tickler in his hand

he's on his side, she's on her back, one arm reaching behind alex's head to tangle in his platinum blonde hair

he's kissing her softly as he runs the feather's up and down her arm

listening to her soft hums, and the occasional giggle

"i love you,y/n."

gently brushing the feathers over her perky nipples

just enough pressure to get her to whine for him

his end goal, while also trying to make her feel as good as physically possible

is to make her whine and beg and whimper for him

because there is a very small part of him that is sadistic like that :)

"tell me what you want, princess." he hums, peppering kisses to her thigh as he tickles the feather over her clit

"you, alex. please, i just want you to take me."

"since you asked me so nicely, pretty girl. let me love on you, yeah?"

he also uses the feathers when he's in a sillier, goofier mood

he just wants her to laugh and smile and giggle

using the fluffiest feather's he can find to creep up behind her when she's doing something mundane and normal

like the dishes or the laundry.

"alex!" she would squeal as he giggles, running the singular massive feather over her skin. "knock it off, i have work to finish."

"you can take a break for ten minutes, princess."

that typically ends with alex's head between her thighs, tongue fucking her into oblivion until his jaw aches

or with her riding his cock, hisi hands gripping her thighs so tight they leave marks

smiling and moaning into kisses

"i love you, baby."

"i love you more, princess."

something sweet followed up with something cheeky like

"and i love your sweet pussy almost as much."

which gets him a playful smack on the chest before she snaps back with something equally as smart-alecky

"bold of you to assume that i don't love your incredible cock more than your bubbly personality."

"oh, we both know that my incredible cock complements my personality wonderfully."

thigh. high. stockings.

and i'll just leave that thought there. alex is a fucking man-whore for thighs

the most romantic and sensual lover on the planet

i rest my case.

#alex albon #alexander albon x reader #alex albon x reader #f1 headcanons #formula one x reader #f1 smut #alex albon smut #formula 1 smut #formula 1 imagine

[eatmangoesnekkid]

We live in a world where women still go to doctors to find out what is going on with their bodies. When I heard a woman who centers the unseen and spiritual and calls herself a “Priestess” say that she needed to go to the doctor to find out what's going with her body, I was in shock. Not to shame or judge her but I forget how the female collective thinks and perceives as it relates to their bodies, because as a female, as a woman, as a woman who is connected to her heart, womb, and pussy, as a woman who lives the Priestess path, as a mythical playful ancient spirit who lives in a highly pigmented melanated avatar, as a root posterior chain dancing expression, there is absolutely no way any doctor would know more about the inside or outside of my body more than me.

Please consider the depth of divine knowing you hold within your body when you no longer believe that you should go to the doctor to find out what is going on with YOUR body. To hold a high level awareness of the body your soul lives inside of is incredibly valuable and imbues you with precise clear sensation, not only for you, but for your loved ones and this world. You sense and feel what is going on with your body and if you decide to go to the doctor, you wonderfully go merely to receive a second opinion or confirmation. This is what being connected to the divine feminine becomes a real lived experience and not just a bunch of memes. Women have been taught to fear our bodies, to distrust them, and to give our power away to practitioners, doctors, lovers, and entities outside of ourselves. We have not be taught to learn our bodies and how to tend to our vessel so that we can optimize our health and vitality and capacity for more that allows us to create a body and life that we actually have a relationship with and adore.

Modern women spend so much time in their heads or just talking all the time and as a result have very little energy to expand their feeling-body capacities which means that they have no real craft. Learn to sit in stillness. Go into the dark and get quiet. Develop a listening practice with the instrumentation of music like harp sounds from the likes of Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Valérie Milot, Andreas Vollenweider, Loreena McKennitt, etc. Become more aware of subtle details communicated from your body. Doing so will tell everything you need to know about what is living within you (and what is dead).

Once a day I spend some amount of quality time with myself. Hands on-and sometimes hands inside. Temple-tending I call it. It is not masturbation or sexual, as lovely as those experiences can be. If I do orgasm, it is NOT from force, effort, deliberate, intentional, or a concern. Orgasm is always present in our body and when conditions are harmonious, it will happen on its on. The only reason I understand my body and have radically shifted my quality of health is because I have spent quality time with it. That means that I can push out new work in a fast-paced way because my hands-on touch with myself, my taking time to be with my body, is also part of my work and living in my dharma.

But temple-tending, as I experience it, is an actual listening practice. It is how I listen to and connect with what my body is communicating *TO ME.* I don’t care how tired I feel, it is such a gift to myself for me to take time out to feel this body. It not only activates my vagus nerve, but floods my body with oxytocin. At minimum, I slow stretch, massage my breasts and consciously and deliberately say kind things to my skin. I truly believe that it is one of the reasons I haven’t had a cold, bellyache, cramps, virus, or been sick in any other way in decades.

Be willing to make your own self-touch part of your daily practice. It doesn't matter how long the practice is, but the more you ritualize your own self-touch, the more you build a real relationship with your body. Then your desire/need to touch your body becomes second nature and less odd, goal-oriented, or a kind of chore. You won't have ever have to "make time" or remind yourself to do it. It will be like brushing your teeth. —India Ame’ye

[legitimatesatanspawn]

What happened to Shelob's giant mother who bit the Devil so hard that the entire universe heard him scream? (Not that I blame him on that one, as I would also utter the most unholy shriek if a big spider bit me.)

Oh crap I thought I answered this. Geeze, it's been a while, sorry. Also same about being bit by a big spider. The guy is pretty damn big so the spider itself would be terrifyingly huge and that's before the "webs of unlight" and other fun powers. Y'all thought Mirkwood's were big? Nah, they're tiny compared to Ungoliant.

We have no idea where Ungoliant is from although it's assumed it's space but it's implied she's some kind of maia (angel/minorish god) that went off in her own particular rocker. She's basically a Primordial Hell Spider. We don't know where she went or and what became of her. Last we know, she was seen fighting and then just skittered off to parts unknown "southward" and was never seen again.

Knowing Dagor Dagorath, Ungoliant will probably show up at the end to help further that Ragnarok / End of Times setup. I mean after all, the Silmarils will be shattered there and the Sun and Moon will crash to the planet and you know she'd be hungry for that final feast of the Trees and their tofu/seitan imitations.

Although the fact that she dipped South makes me very worried about the people living south-ish past Gondor and Mordor. Like, what kind of unholy spider abominations do they get plagued with that teaming up with the evil "god" Sauron is a good idea, even with any Morgothian indoctrination at play? The Blue Wizards are late to that party but at least they can help shake things up over there.

Okay so to clarify for people who no idea: Shelob is the giant spider living in Sauron's mountain range nearish to the front gates. Ungoliant is her ancestor to an unknown degree (mother? grandmother? ungodly number of greats? who knows how long giant spiders live for in this setting) and is famously known for draining dry the giant magic trees that glowed brighter/dimmer in an about yearly cycle.

The trees, for the record, are the source of the Sun and Moon and also part of the inspiration for Feanor creating the Silmarils (specifically their light reflecting off of his niece Galadriel's hair). Telperion was planted first and then followed by Laurelin. The silver-leafed tree Telperion had flowers that dripped star-like dew, while Laurelin had clusters of golden fruit surrounded by golden glowing leaves. I mentioned before in another post about these trees and how the last flower and fruit were shotpucked into orbit on skyships. The moon's driver is apparently kinda shitty at sailing which is sometimes why the moon is larger. You'd think he'd get better but…

Anyway, the Trees' light stretched all the way from Valinor (basically heaven on earth) all the way to the known lands across Arda (including Middle Earth, which is charitably around the size of Europe compared to the rest of the landmass). Now it wasn't a perfect go and I forget at this moment when exactly the Two Pillars over on the continent Middle Earth is on were built to give that continent its own light source but Morgoth hates it when people have nice things so either he deliberately smashed them or a fight with the Valar got out of hand there and they got smashed in the fight. Because of this, the land got "ruined" by developing rocky mountain ranges, canyons, and so on so instead of being completely perfect it's wonderfully imperfect and varied. Similar way that Morgoth fighting with Ulmo - the Valar god-archangel-master of the Oceans - helped carve the shorelines and ocean-facing cliffs.

Ungoliant joined up with Morgoth with the promise that he'd offer her freely from his hands anything to satisfy her endless hunger. Using her webs as a ladder to breach Valinor's capital during a massive party since everyone would be busy, Morgoth struck down the trees with his giant spear weapon, and then she lapped up all the sap and her hunger and gluttony only got worse and Ungoliant grew larger and possibly more monstrous-seeming if she was able to scare Morgoth shitless.

They fled across the Grinding Ice, a jagged arctic wasteland (which is why the Noldor when led by Feanor went across that rather than any sensible path).

Ungoliant wasn't an idiot even if she was greedy. She knew that Morgoth broke promises when it suited him, so she demanded her goods. I am not sure how he had the time to do this but Morgoth looted Feanor's treasury along with swiping the three Silmarils. So the promise was demanded and she was fed all the gems held in his left hand… but he refused to open his right which contained the Silmarils (somehow, given that nothing evil can hold them).

Understandably pissed off, Ungoliant wrapped him up in her webs of unlight and tried to kill him. This created the echoes of Lammoth - the endless scream that would rattle forever until the area's destruction. This scream is what drew his minions' attention to the area and so Ungoliant exited the scene, pursued by Balrogs.

Yes, Balrogs. Plural. The Balrog of Moria was just the one and possibly a weak one at that.

Each Balrog is a fallen angel that was formerly working for others or could've been one of Melkor's had he stayed true (which was never gonna last given how he changed the Song and went Lucifer on God).

She wandered around, was known to have attempted to breach Doriath but was somehow successfully fended off by Luthien's mother Melian (told you she was a bamf), then had lots of spider babies in the ruins of Angband (Morgoth's Hell on Earth capital).

After that we have no idea where she went or what Ungoliant is up to beyond going "southward". Come the Fellowship's founding, it's been about 6458 years (not counting the exact date she was last seen in the Second Age) but if she was sniffing around for a Silmaril then that'd make the last possible sighting around 466 First Age so…6583 years.

That's a long time to lose track of a giant spider. Hope it doesn't literally bite them in the ass. Hopefully Pallando and Alatar (the "missing" two Wizards of the Istari Order) are handling things over there.

#sorry i'm late #lore drop #lore dump #the silmarillion #lord of the rings #tw spiders #ungoliant #morgoth #melkor #silmarils #melian #doriath #ulmo #valar #noldor #valinor #feanor #telperion #laurelin #dagor dagorath #shelob #mirkwood #you shouldn't lose track of giant monsters #to be fair its a big world and only Eru and maybe Manwe and Mandos know what's going on south of Middle Earth #Good luck Blue Wizards #pallando #alatar

[peachy-yan]

Crunch

⚠️Warnings: Insects (bees)

Synopsis: You and John are enjoying the summer weather with some summer treats. Short crack fic.

~~~

Flowers lay spread across your yard, beautiful in their chaos. Last fall, you had casually mentioned to John that you wished you had more native wild flowers in your yard, and before you knew it, dozens of piles of dead flowers were strewn everywhere. Luckily, though probably not purposefully, the seeds from the dead flowers had taken and now several dozen types of (living) native plants bloomed wonderfully in your small backyard.

The weather was warm, but not hot, with a pleasant late summer breeze drifting lazily through the air, and you were taking advantage of a rare day off from the gas station by sprawling lazily in a cheap lawn chair. John was sitting on the ground staring at you as usual. He used to stand and stare, but you’d told him that unnerved you, so now he sat down and stared which somehow made you feel less uncomfortable.

You took a sip of your lemonade and crunched on a few stray ice cubes. But when you finished chewing your ice, the crunching noise continued.

CRUNCH crunch crunch…CRUNCH crunch crunch

You looked over at John, who was usually the source of any weird noises around you.

“What the fuck are you eating??”

“…”

He blinked at you, deliberate and out of sync.

“Bees!”

“What.”

“I’m eating bees! They’re very tasty, do you want one?”

“NO I DONT WANT ONE!! WHY are you eating bees?!”

“…they taste good. You should try one! I love love love them. But not as much as I love love love you! Or teeth!” He added the last part as an after thought before snatching another bee out of the air and popping it into his mouth with a loud CRUNCH.

“…”

“…”

“I’ll stick with my lemonade, thank you.”

#john doe #john doe game #short crack fic #crack fic #john doe x reader #john doe x you #short and crunchy #bee tw #almost forgot to put a tw 😓 #if i need to tag this more let me know #i was thinking about how i want to start keeping wasps as pets #like keeping bees but worse #and then i was thinking i should write a fic with that #but then i was thinking maybe i should do like. a beekeeper and john #but then i was like ‘john would just eat the bees tho’ #and here we are #for some reason i feel like john wouldnt eat wasps. especailly if you told him not to #peaches rambles in the tags

[roalinda]

Entry for @hprecfest

☆Day 10: A fest fic☆

1. you'll see me in hindsight by @gracelesslady23

[ Done for Don'tMindTheGapFest2023 ]

Summary:

Professor McGonagall was still talking but Sirius had been unable to adsorb a single word in several minutes.

Twenty two years. He’d been gone twenty two years.

He’d missed more than two decades. Been gone more years than he had even lived. ____

A mishap with a time turner flings Sirius far into the future. Everything has changed, not least of all, Sirius’s very best friend.

Pairing: James Potter/Sirius Black

Rating: E

Category: M/M

Words: 35, 234

This work contains age gap, between James and Sirius who canonically are the same age. That being said, let us proceed with me going on and on about what an ABSOLUTE delight this is. I cannot even put it into words, the way James feels so immoral for being attracted to his now much younger best friend, Sirius deliberately leading him on, the pinning, Sirius being Harry's friend ( which is such a wonderful take to see ) and Lily being all supportive with her usual dry humour, all of them are so wonderfully done. It's a unique story, even in prongsfoot usual age gap themes with a wonderful narrative and hot smut . Go read and enjoy.

"I’ll be 52 when he’s turning 30, 62 when he’s the age we are now. He might think he wants this now, but those are not insignificant differences… What if he decides in 5, 10, 15 years that I’m a mistake, and I’ve stolen his twenties, his thirties. What if he grows to regret us? What if he eventually resents me, knowing I could have stopped it but instead selfishly chose to stay even though I knew what he’d be giving up… I’ve already lost him once...”

2. Let me call you Jamie by @goldentruth813

[Done for Jeddy fest 2018 ]

Pairing: Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter

Summary:

Teddy knows he and James love each other, he just isn’t ready to let everyone else know about their relationship — they have forever to handle that little hurdle. Until a freak Quidditch accident leaves James without his memory and Teddy finds himself examining the choices he’s made and wondering what forever really means.

Rating: M

Category: M/M

Words: 22, 085

Ok, look, I usually don't read HP next generation fics and despite James Sirius being my favourite character, I normally don't ship him with anyone. But this work was a bittersweet treat and if you are into next generation and have not read it, I seriously rec it.

"Albus—”

“No! It’s my turn to talk. I should’ve known when James moved in with you, but he told me it was alright, that he would be fine. He said it wouldn’t be a problem living with you and I should’ve known it was because you were using him.”

“I never used James!” Teddy can’t keep the anger out of his voice.

“James hates secrets. He never would’ve kept this a secret, not from me, not unless you asked him to. And Merlin knows James would do anything for you.”

#hprecfest2023 #Day 10 #James potter #Sirius black #James Sirius Potter #Teddy Lupin

[distant-velleity]

Easy Surrender

Summary: Yu faints. Jamil takes care of the problem. Word count: ~900 A/N: This was supposed to be wholesome. Guess what it ended up being? Not entirely that, but hey, it's better than outright angst. Only so much you can do about writing Jamil during Book 4, I guess, and only so far you can go with a pre-friendship/pre-relationship fic set during that time. Oh, well~ Enjoy! <3

~

[ You’ve scared SANTIAGO out of his wits. +10 concern points, +1 fear point. ]

[ You’ve startled JAMIL considerably. +5 concern points, +1 regret point. Character’s satisfaction has increased, reasons unavailable. ]

[ CURRENT DEBUFFS: Dehydrated — USER may experience lightheadedness and other adverse symptoms until he has taken in enough liquid and rested sufficiently. ]

…

Consciousness and coherence return to Yu at the speed of a tortoise—which is to say, not very quickly. When his eyes flutter open and his parched throat tries to take in air through his mouth, he finds himself underneath an extravagant ceiling. Beneath him is the wonderfully soft mattress he’s enjoyed since he got here, just barely firm enough to support his back.

How did he end up here; is the question that comes to mind. Last he remembers, he was being accompanied to his room by Santiago and—

“You’re finally awake.”

—Jamil, who is standing by his bedside and watching over him with his arms crossed, like some kind of well-meaning guardian-aide. 

“Ja…mil?” Yu asks, although it comes out as something more of a weak rasp. He could really go for some water right about now. “What happened—?”

The vice housewarden sighs, which is just as sympathy-inducing as it elicits shame. “You fainted about a minute ago; from dehydration, I’d reckon. Santiago’s getting you some water bottles as we speak.”

Oh, right—

(Following behind an eager Santiago and an exasperated Jamil, Yu was about to step into his room before feeling a sudden spell of dizziness. Instead of stepping carefully, he staggered forward, and then all of a sudden he saw the floor coming up to meet his face—)

If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, Yu feels himself almost wilt with humiliation under Jamil’s sharp gaze. Regardless of any concern that might be found in those onyx-like eyes. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, observing the well-made sheets under him to avoid eye contact. “I shouldn’t have gotten distracted at the oasis—I’ll be more careful next time and hydrate…”

At the same time, he thinks despairingly, With my luck, this’ll somehow screw me over later in the Main Mission.

“It can’t be helped now,” Jamil says neutrally, clothes rustling and hair ornaments chiming as he kneels. “You’re technically a guest, not a Scarabia student. If I can catch Kalim in a good mood, I’ll tell him to keep you out of the training. Worst comes to worst, I’ll have you ride up with him if there’s another march.”

“What?” Yu sits up so fast his head starts to pound, and he’s left reeling for a moment, unsure if he’s swaying or not. Judging by the alarmed little ‘hey!’ he hears and the hand Jamil puts on his back to support him, he probably is. “But everyone else… That… It won’t be necessary…”

There’s a note of exasperation to Jamil’s voice as he dryly remarks, “Please don’t be reckless. You are my responsibility as long as you’re here, so I need to be mindful of your wellbeing.”

Yu hesitates, still not daring to meet Jamil’s eyes. “Right. But it still feels unfair to everyone else…”

“Yu.”

The firm tone has Yu tensing up and, out of instinct-based compulsion, glancing back over at Jamil to make sure the expression on his face isn’t anger. It isn’t, and yet… 

One accidental flick upwards of Yu’s gaze, and sharp dark-brown eyes lock onto golden ones for a moment—but a moment is enough for him to experience an odd sinking feeling, like he’s falling without any ledges to grab onto and stop his descent. Or is that just the lightheadedness he feels from having fainted?

“Just rest for now,” Jamil insists in a deliberate tone. “You’re obviously not cut out for the physical exertion Kalim is putting us through, so don’t push yourself. Especially after your fainting spell.”

And just like that, much of Yu’s willpower to fight, to resist, to be contrary—it crumbles away like sand dunes in the wind. 

“Okay,” he replies, nodding curtly to punctuate his words.

Jamil hums almost approvingly, and with a faint hint of relief. “Glad to see you can listen to reason. Now, where is Santiago—”

As if on cue, there’s a sound not unlike a feather-filled pillow bursting that comes from beyond the closed door—followed immediately by someone cursing under their breath. Jamil mutters, “Speak of the devil,” just as the door opens and Santiago—clutching several water bottles to his chest—stumbles in.

“Sorry it took so long,” the beastman pants, looking less like his usual smug self and more like the frantically genuine teen he should be allowed to be. “I really was trying to go as fast as I could, but—”

“It’s fine, I don’t need excuses,” Jamil says, tiredly, and takes a bottle while turning to Yu. “Here. You’d better start replenishing the fluids in your body.”

“And quickly!” adds Santiago.

Yu smiles a little, quickly forgetting about that weird weightlessness he’d felt earlier (it felt so familiar, like he was losing control of his body, but when had he experienced it before, again…?) as he takes the water bottle and takes a long drink. “...Thanks, you guys,” he says sincerely, catching his breath after finishing.

The way Santiago almost preens with pride is enough to overshadow how Jamil says, “It’s no problem… no problem at all.”

…

If Yu just looked and listened a little more closely, he would have noticed the ominously self-satisfied glint to Jamil’s eyes.

#kai's writing #twisted wonderland #twst #jamil viper #twst oc #yuusona #santiago parro #kai self ships #jamiyu <3 #I GUESS??? it's very pre-any sort of relationship though #whatever #lesson learned: even if you have a thing for pretty eyes do NOT stare into them at any cost #if we follow canon book 4 where mc was coaxed into staying at scarabia then this is the second time yu has fallen victim to jamil's UM #rip bozo #and knowing jamil the incident with yu fainting will become another arguing point against kalim ashdkfjsdk

[9leaguesofmirrors]

Ranking Inside No. 9's Horror-esque Episodes

I love Halloween, and I love Inside No. 9, so it's only right that I put together a ranking in celebration of both! Plus it's Friday 13th, which makes it even more appropriate. Let me know what your favourites are too, just remember to be respectful of others and their opinions

This ranking goes from lowest to highest

NOTE: This list will only include purely horror, so neither of the Christmas-centred episodes (Devil of Christmas and Bones of St Nicholas) will appear. Also, after some deliberation, episodes which switch genre halfway through won't be counted either

Tempting Fate

Oh boy, this is gonna be controversial...

The quality of the episode is high and the acting is remarkable, it just didn't click with me. I don't know why, it just wasn't the one for me. I should probably rewatch it, maybe then I'll like it more

The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge

While it did have some very funny moments, a great cast, and fantastic replication of a historical setting, the ending is the weakest in the series and lets it down significantly. Nonetheless, it's still a good episode that's worth the watch if you like horror comedies

Seance Time

I enjoyed the build-up of this one, and the acting is brilliant. The ended jumpscare felt a little cheap but, as someone that's a massive wuss when it comes to them, it got me. An overall good episode

The Harrowing

A severely underrated episode with, once again, a kickass cast! While there are elements of comedy, the ending is bone-chilling and uncomfortable. I also love that it's female-led, a rarity in Inside No. 9, which often features Reece/Steve as the main character or opts for none at all

Wise Owl

An incredible episode that deserves every bit of hype it gets, Wise Owl perfectly combines animation and live action to create an uneasy, unsettling atmosphere. On top of that, the overarching story is emotive and the ending is one of the most powerful in the whole series

How Do You Plead

This one HAD to take the top spot! Derek Jacobi and Reece Shearsmith work wonderfully together, plus Steve Pemberton's performance is fantastic. Not to mention the excellent twists and camerawork, this one is perfect for any horror fan

#reece shearsmith #steve pemberton #inside no 9 #inside number 9 #in9 #dark comedy #tempting fate #the trial of elizabeth gadge #seance time #the harrowing #wise owl #how do you plead

[variousqueerthings]

actually if i may be so bold, in some ways sam/tory makes me more [insert some kinda bites things feeling here] than lawrusso or cobra husbands, not because they don't all compliment each other wonderfully (as, for that matter, does danzen in my humble opinion) but because if you were gonna make an explicitly queer couple, it probably was never going to be legacy characters, it wasn't going to be the mendudeguys that the mendudeguys who are writing it are also writing it for, but if they were thinking about nextgen, really thinking

like the excellent casting of miguel diaz, off the back of daniel larusso being italian american right on the cusp of the time in which that was still considered something lesser and often mistaken (by people watching) for a latino lad, so taking that to the next step and actually saying who today would be that kid, where would he be from, what would he look like and it's obviously miguel diaz, spot on!

similarly maybe it should have been obvious to make sam and tory gay for each other if you were really trying to also appeal to the diverse youths that are seemingly being catered to via the younger contingent, and yeah it might (it would) lend more fuel to the fire of connecting that very deliberately lawrusso 2.0 dynamic to the OG dynamic, however they could have just presented it as-is, they didn't need to do anything to say that these things are Connected, we ship anyway, we ship with no text at times

like

sure I like to say that the first gen have queer subtext, but the younger gen are playing with a whole new set of cards that you didn't have in the 1980s, when you couldn't just release a mainstreamish movie for the kids in which boys kiss

they could've had the girls kiss is what I'm saying here, they really coulda (and like, look, they're not gonna, but if I had to tread carefully lest I got cancelled and then discovered I had one season left, I would make the girls kiss)

(alas)

(but they should)

#sam larusso #tory nichols #cobra kai #ck #samtory #lanichols

[certified-diplodocus]

Sooo... jellyfish.

You may have seen this video circulating recently. The original was posted on Facebook by Scuba Ventures Kavieng; this is a colour-corrected edit [link to the original in the post source, because Tumblr is stupid about external links]. It caused a small stir on the internet after being tentatively identified as Chirodectes maculatus, a monotypic genus known only from a single small specimen captured and filmed in 1997, off the coast of Queensland. (That footage is sadly not available on the Internet.)

If you know a little about jellies, you’ll recognise this as a box jellyfish or Cubozoan. Box jellies are wonderfully interesting animals, and differ from the more familiar “true jellyfish” or Scyphozoa in a number of ways:

a more developed nervous system allowing more complex behaviour, including the capacity to learn from experience

true eyes (with retinas, corneas, lenses, the whole shebang)

the ability, unlike true jellies which mostly drift, to actively propel themselves around obstacles and towards prey

...a concerning trait in an animal most notorious for being extremely fatal to humans. (c.f. Wasp Jellyfish, Viper Jellyfish, the delightfully named Common Kingslayer, Irukandji*) * sting symptoms include excruciating pain and “a feeling of impending doom”, and let’s raise a glass to the researcher who first documented Irukandji syndrome by deliberately testing it on himself, a lifeguard, and his nine-year old son: “Eschewing animal models and laboratory studies (not to mention all common sense), Barnes took the two specimens, and proceeded directly to human experimentation.” please read the article linked in my reblog, it’s hilarious. (A lack of self-preservation is a trait apparently common to all jellyfish scientists - the 2005 article on Chirodectes maculatus notes that it failed to sting, or adhere to, the hand and forearm of an incautious volunteer.)

The point is that box jellies are deeply, deeply cool in every respect except basic body plan, which goeth thusly:

box

tentacle on each of the four lower corners

....and while many cubozoans find that four is not enough and multiply to get 4n tentacles, that’s about it. Ultimately, what you end up with is still just a translucent jelly box with string hanging from each corner, like a very sad, very dangerous piñata.

Compare scyphozoans / "true jellies": [top to bottom: Pacific sea nettles Chrysaora fuscescens aka windows screensaver, barrel jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo, sea cauliflower Cephea cephea, moon jelly Aurelia aurita, lion's mane jellyfish Cyanea capillata]

They may not be all that bright, but by god they’re fancy.

Now let's see the box jellies: [Bonaire banded box jellyfish, which rejoices in the name of Tamoya ohboya; sea wasp Chironex fleckeri; Copula sivickisi; Tripedalia cystophora]

And by cubozoan standards, it is big: according to the diver, "a bit bigger than a soccer ball" (which have a ~21cm diameter), which would make it larger than the 15cm in the original species description.

Where am I going with all this? My point, dear jelly lovers, is that Chirodectes maculatus took a body plan like an inverted plastic bag and made it into the fanciest, most ostentatious chunk of jelly that ever wobbled the seven seas.

Look at it. It’s like a 1970s lampshade set off to colonise the ocean. And isn't it just fabulous.

Please reblog the linked post for sources and further reading. All images via Wikimedia Commons (licensed with some version of Creative Commons.)

#you may not like it but this is what peak adaptation looks like #there are many benefits to being a marine biologist #being stung by box jellies is not one of them #marine biology #jellyfish #box jellyfish #nature writing #cubozoa #my writings #science! #video