#so the idea that she actively resisted it when given the chance even if she eventually had to accept the reality of death makes me very !!!

[aerithisms]

i still have so many questions about the ff7 remake story. why did aerith even have knowledge of the future in remake to begin with? from a watsonion perspective, why does she lose that knowledge after the end of remake when sephiroth doesn't? (i'm fully aware the doylist reason is that having a character who knows the future would totally break the plot but i'm still curious if there's more to what they were doing with aerith's remake character or if this is it). what was her motivation to encourage the party to fight the whispers in the original game when she knew the party would defeat sephiroth in the end if events followed fate? was it simply that she wanted the chance to live? because that makes me want to lie down and cry!!!!

#blahs #ff7 #rebirth spoilers #sephiroth's whole “so must you” line to aerith about accepting her fate seems to imply he's saying she was resisting it #and that the aerith we see in cloud's dream reality is the aerith from remake with all her knowledge of the future #and her pushing cloud out of the dream is her accepting her death? #which makes me want to die!!!!! #it also seems implied by sephiroth that remake!aerith went and hid away in the alternate reality as a way to run from her fate?? #idk i might have to go back and watch things again #but if so perhaps that answers my question about why aerith loses her future knowledge #i do dig it a lot bc i have always been a staunch Aerith Wanted To Live Believer #i dislike the interpretation that in og ff7 she knew she would die and it was a noble sacrifice. i think that diminishes the tragedy #so the idea that she actively resisted it when given the chance even if she eventually had to accept the reality of death makes me very !!! #like it breaks my heart but it's in line with my interpretation of her character #anyway. i'm vomiting all this to my tumblr audience of People Who Don't Care About FF7 bc my bestie's asleep so i can't talk to her about i #tumblrinas please play ff7 i promise it's so good it's some of my favourite character writing in a game ever for real

[saionjeans]

yet another moment where saionji says something incredibly trenchant and insightful only to be completely dismissed due to the ridiculous framing and the general cringiness that pervades everything he says and does (eg, pointing out that the castle is a trick of the light, announcing that they must shed the coffins end of the world has prepared for them, etc etc). obviously in this instance, he is both saying something that is proven correct throughout the show via a myriad of dynamics, but is also shown to be a precept that is teleologically challenged and rejected by anthy’s final choice.

upon a first viewing, one might assume saionji himself is talking about anthy here, whether by presumptuously assuming that she loves him despite his abuse, or claiming that her rejection of him does not lessen his love for her. either way, he seems totally delusional and moronic. i can only assume that utena, who has even less information than we do regarding saionji’s true feelings, assumes that he is talking about anthy, and thus dismisses him out of hand for being a violent idiot. and rightfully so. but also, he’s clearly not talking about anthy, even if he may think he is (or at least would claim that he was if questioned). and this statement is truly definitional to his relationship to touga, whom he resents, envies, and maybe even loathes, but whom he cannot seem to ever actually abandon.

even when he’s given the chance to start fresh, he returns to ohtori (and in this case you can say that it’s because he has nowhere to go, no family, the outside world is scary, ohtori is all he knows, he felt he had no other choice… but this was also true of anthy, and she eventually found the courage to leave! it’s very very hard, but it’s not impossible, which is the point). even as he vocally condemns akio’s system, he nonetheless participates in it, albeit reluctantly, for touga. he is freer, healthier, and kinder in wakaba’s dorm, but he is also deeply unhappy. which isn’t to say that he ever seems happy (at least, not after losing the rose bride), but his unhappiness in “wakaba flourishing” is that of depression, whereas his unhappiness around touga is that of resentment. he’s rightfully angry over constantly being mistreated, but at least he’s not lost. he has a purpose. even if it’s just the purpose of receiving abuse and putting up a futile fight, it’s a role he can play with the only person who has ever truly mattered to him. it’s all he knows; it’s the closest thing he has to real love. and so he stays.

nanami is in a very similar situation as saionji is. they both idealize a version of touga who never really existed, and cling to him despite his blatant mistreatment of them because he is the only person who has ever shown them true affection in their entire lives. he manipulates them, makes a laughingstock of them, facilitates and participates in sexually abusing them, but also makes sure that they are too dependent on him to leave them. nanami is even more blatant in illustrating this idea than saionji is, as for most of the show, she does not even resist against touga like saionji does, rather she purely venerates and worships him, to the point of parody. he is a terrible brother to her, but in such a way that makes it seem like he’s actually a good brother to an obnoxious, ridiculous sister. he is actively grooming her, and she has nowhere to run, because he has fashioned himself her entire world. she cannot fathom a world beyond his limits, her very own personal end of the world.

it’s somewhat unclear whether touga thinks that controlling saionji and nanami is necessary to keeping them around, or whether he only wants them around because he enjoys assuming control over others. it’s probably a mix of both. he probably does hold some affection for them, but cannot conceive of a way to keep them as close to him as he would like without exploiting them, because he believes that true friendship is for fools and true love is impossible. to touga, if every relationship must be imbalanced in some way, then he at least wants to be the one with the power in his deepest relationships, unaware (or at least, willfully ignorant) of the fact that by corrupting and perverting their dynamics, he is slowly tainting their naive childhood love and affection that drew them to him in the first place. so in touga’s case, he inverts saionji’s logic to refigure it as “love can only be facilitated through abuse, no one will truly show you love unless they have to (through exploitation).” it’s the logic of someone who sees the world through an almost 2D framework of abuse, exploitation, transaction, and control. it’s the logic of someone desperately sad and desperately cynical. nanami is very wise (and brave) to ultimately reject him/it, even though it, too, is all she knows.

tsuwabuki complicates the nanami/touga dynamic by aspiring to inhabit both their roles simultaneously, and so he allows himself to be subjected to nanami’s exploitation while simultaneously subjecting her to violence. he is happy to be abused by nanami not because he loves her per se, but because their abuse is mutual. shiori and juri have a similar dynamic, wherein they are both at fault in different ways, both attempt to avoid the other (physically and psychologically) and yet constantly collide like magnets. however, the i would argue that the abuse they face is largely systemic, and their behaviors are primarily a symptom of their internalized homophobia rather than overt malice (even though shiori may pretend otherwise). miki and kozue’s tension is also mutual. they both harm the other despite loving them deeply. because love is not a bandaid that revolves all pain, misunderstanding, and miscommunication. see: the utena and anthy ledge scene.

finally, i think this quote is actually most powerful when figuring it through the lens of utena, anthy, and akio. of course, akio has fostered a dependency in anthy much like touga has with nanami, and so she does not know how to leave him despite being in incredible pain at his hand. but she is not “happy,” as saionji puts it. she is the most miserable girl in the world. she doesn’t love akio as much as she loves the memory of him, the idea of dios (which is of course also true for nanami and saionji re: touga, arguably also true for juri re: shiori, miki re: kozue, etc etc) — but anthy needs akio. or at least, akio has convinced her that she does. he is end of the world, she cannot envision a life beyond his imposed limits.

but i actually find it more interesting with regards to utena and akio. i don’t think at any point in the show, utena ever actually has real, romantic feelings for akio. i think that she is terrified of him, and in her desperate feelings of trapped helplessness as he ensnares her, she convinces herself that those heart palpitations, startled movements, shocks and thrills she feels in her presence is the emotional response not of fear, but of affection. but we know that in anthy’s presence, she doesn’t feel afraid, she feels calm, relaxed, happy. being with anthy isn’t wildly exciting, constantly requiring rationalizations to explain away the dread and internal rejection she feels towards akio’s advances. being with anthy feels like coming home. and it’s why she is initially so happy to be accepted into anthy’s family, to have a big brother like akio, to live under their roof. in utena’s naive, hopeful mind, she is joining anthy’s family in the most innocent possible sense. and she endures it, the grooming, the abuse, the rape, the end of the world; she fights til her very last breath, because she is in love. no matter how [utena] may be abused (by akio), she’s always happy to be near the one she loves (anthy).

#remind me to write an analysis on the moniker ‘end of the world’ next #bc i only rly allude to that here #id in alt text #u #analysis #manalysis #saionji #utena #touga #anthy #akio #nanami #miki #kozue #juri #shiori #tsuwabuki #dios #utenanthy

[sokkadora]

we can’t be friends — crosshair x fem!reader

inspired by: we can’t be friends (wait for your love) by ariana grande

summary: a clinic on pabu offers to erase the pain that came along with crosshair leaving the batch, but how will he react once he gets back and sees you with his brother?

a/n: crosshair and the reader never had an established relationship for this fic, but reader had a deep love for crosshair! also NO hunter hate on this page that is my man :P also i might make a part 2 but idk

wc: 2,078

warning(s): angst, no happy ending for this couple bb, flashbacks, memory wiping, reader has poor self/body image, kinda smutty but it's crosshair so, friends with benefits, unrequited requited love for hunter

︿︿︿︿︿︿ ✎ᝰ . . . .

‘You have given extensive thought behind your decision and give “Brighter Days Inc.” the exclusive permission to remove this person from your memory:’

Stopping your pen under the last word, you hesitate.

‘Maybe this was a bad idea,’ you think with a soft sigh, glancing at the woman in the room across from you; one seat for her, and another for her box of memories. Yours sits beside you, the weight of what you’re about to do hits you quickly, and suddenly any notion of even looking at the box makes it feel like a ticking time bomb.

The woman across from you strokes a thumb across what must be her late pets collar, and you quickly revert your gaze down to the sheet of paper again. The tip of your pen hovers over the “No” option, but drifts over to the “Yes” box, checking it off, and finally, signing your name at the bottom of your page.

The necklace dangling over your neck feels like iron against fae skin as a nurse comes out of the back room, door quietly creaking open as she calls your name. You stand quickly, handing her the paperwork and the pen with trembling hands before grabbing the box labeled “Crosshair” and walking inside.

MEMORY WIPE INITIATED

“Please, Crosshair?” You beg sweetly, dragging him across the arcade to a claw machine, finally having a bit of free time on your shore leave. 

You’d been trying to convince him to have a break together with the both of you for a while now, away from the boys and the riff raff of the military, but per usual, he was stubborn about it. He’d offhandedly said how childish it was of you to want to play games with him at an arcade instead of your usual… activities, on shore leave. But you got him to agree, seeing as he can barely ever resist how cute you look when you beg.

“Hellcat, this is ridiculous,” Crosshair crosses his arms and glares down into the machine at the plethora of stuffed animals inside. Your eyes had been on the small lothcat in the middle since the both of you had arrived, and you’ve bugged him about it enough that he considered it. “Even Wrecker knows these are rigged.”

“Where’s that overcompensating confidence?” You tease, pulling out a few tokens and placing them in his hand softly. You glance up at him with a soft and pleading look, one that you don’t yet know (and will never know) gets him weak in the knees. “Please, Crosshair? For me?” 

At the sight of your big doe eyes, he scoffs, loading the coins in and barely holding back a smile at your excited squeals and the hand shaking his shoulder gently. It takes him a minute to get a hold on the controls, but after some peeking around the corner of the machine and some naturally perfect aim, he lowers the claw and catches the lothcat.

You gasp, watching excitedly as it stays in the claws grip as it moves over to the prize dump, and as Crosshair retrieves it for you and holds it out.

“Happy now?”

You grin down at the stuffed animal and then at Crosshair before lunging forward, arms wrapping around his shoulders with an breathless laugh, “Thank you.” You grin, nuzzling into the side of his head, and pulling away before he had to chance to hug back.

Overwhelmed with the happiness of the moment, you barely notice the room going dark before the feeling of Crosshair’s surprisingly warm gaze leaves you. You look up, eyebrows furrowing at the sudden void of the arcade.

MEMORY SUCCESSFULLY ERASED.

“Cross?”

“Yes?”

“Am I ugly?” 

Crosshair’s gazes narrows, glancing at you as you lay under the covers of your bed. He lifts his arm to hold up the blanket better, glaring at you, but not angrily as tears begin to well in your eyes. He shakes his head firmly, grunting.

“When I was a kid I thought I was,” You started, having his full attention from the second you walked in the room. You scoff softly at yourself, “I can’t believe I’m crying already, sorry.”

Crosshair doesn’t reply, but instead simply reaches over and wipes your tears; a gesture he never would’ve done in the first months of the arrangement the two of you had, but things had changed. You’d changed him.

“I was so lonely as a kid,” You say softly, the words just pouring out of you. “I don’t think anybody realizes how lonely kids are, even after growing up. We just sort of stop paying attention. Like they don’t matter.”

You sniff, and Crosshair doesn’t seem to want you to stop, so you keep going; relishing in the feeling of his warm hand covering your cheek.

“So, I’m like… eight or so. And I have this really pretty girl doll, that I named after myself that I’d just get so frustrated with,” You wipe your nose with the back of your hand, expecting the embarrassment of sharing the personal memory to rise, but it never comes. “It was some standard I’d hold myself to and whenever I’d find myself not liking myself, I’d look at her and it’d get me so mad. I made it to encourage myself, but it was just a constant reminder of my shortcomings as a person. It’s weird. Like… if I can make myself that pretty, maybe people would finally like me,” You finally glance up to meet Crosshair’s gaze, finding that it’d softened into something unreadable to you. 

He leans over and plants a firm kiss on your mouth, his hand sliding down to grasp the sides of your neck before he pulls back. His hands start wandering down with his mouth that keeps peppering you with kisses, softly murmuring the word ‘pretty’ between each kiss. You writhe under his touch, a hand rising to cover your mouth as a warmth shoots down to your lower stomach. You relish in how safe you feel under him before he… he…

MEMORY SUCCESSFULLY ERASED

“Why won’t you come home?”

Your voice echos through his head as he stares out into the vast horizon where Tipoca City used to stand; where the home he grew up in with his brothers and met you in used to stand. He scoffs, glancing back at you from over his shoulder.

“That is not my home anymore,” He says in a low tone; a warning to anyone else, but you knew you had a bit more leeway with him. Fists clenching at your sides, your gaze narrowed into a glare. “Now leave. Hunter’s staring after you like a kicked dog,”

You don’t bother to glance back at the man you already knew was waiting for you, but at the mention of his name he seemed to back further into the ship to give you some privacy, trusting that Crosshair wouldn’t hurt you, of all people.

“This isn’t about him, Crosshair,” You snapped, “Come home. Please. I need you, and so do your-”

“I don’t need you,” Crosshair says sternly, pivoting on a foot to turn to face you with a cold glare. You reeled slightly at the look; you’d seen it before, but never aimed at you. “I never had and I never will. And if you were as smart as you made yourself seem, you’d join me on the right side of the battle. Just like how I thought you and Hunter didn’t have anything going on,” You open your mouth to correct him; he knew there was nothing happening between Hunter and you. He was your best friend, but Crosshair beat you to the punch, “But I guess looks can be deceiving, huh?”

It felt like a clear blow to a vulnerable moment you’d shared with him— only him — and it nearly sent you to tears. You reached up, taking the necklace and snapping it off your neck with a harsh glare in the sniper’s direction; another look that had never been sent directly at him from you, but one that he found made his heart break.

“Fuck you, Crosshair.”

MEMORY SUCCESSFULLY ERASED.

The sense of overwhelming dread that filled your chest and sank down into your belly had you jolting awake, eyes darting around the mundane white room as the panic of what’s happening begins to set in.

The heart monitor picks up its speed, and the two nurses rush to your side as your hand shoots up to grab and fidget with your necklace. You’d fixed it from when… when… 

Why did it need to be fixed? Who broke it?

Who gave it to me? What was his name? Cross…

The nurse grabs your shoulder as your throat tightens with your hands grip on the jewelry, “Can I keep this one? Please?” You sob, managing to smile through tears at the nurse to your right, “Please let me keep this one.” 

‘Crosshair!’ You think, another sob scratching it’s way out of your throat. ‘What am I doing?’

The nurse glances to her coworker and nods gently. She comes to rest her hand over yours, and you let the necklace fall against your chest, but you rest a hand over it protectively. If you couldn’t save your memories of him, maybe this could be the one thing that you do save.

MEMORY WIPE RESUMED.

You can feel yourself being jolted around before finally landing in another memory, your head resting on a warm, firm shoulder and your hand gripped in a strong one in your lap. The person you’re resting your head on… they sit up, and hand you a box which reveals a necklace that relates to your namesake. 

You grin, but the figure in front you shifts which causes you to look up.

Hunter.

He’s smiling at you softly, they way he almost always had; save for the first time he met you. You grin back to him, leaning forward on the couch from your kneeling postition to wrap your arms around his shoulders.

He returns your embrace without hesitation, and you allow yourself to feel how perfectly the both of your bodies meld together. The warmth of his body under the civvy clothes you held for him in your personal dormitories on Kamino sank under your own, causing you to pull away. 

You barely notice how the room around you starts to shift, any objects affiliated with C4!@#??? begin to disappear, whatever holds your mind in it’s grasp seems determined to keep your attention on the sergeant sitting before you on the couch when you pull back from the hug.

‘Hunter gave it to me…’ You look up at him and smile lovingly, ‘of course he did,’ before leaning over and slotting your mouth over his.

MEMORY WIPE OF ??? COMPLETE.

The nurses gently help you up out of the chair, removing the device from your temples as the doctor comes to greet you. Another nurse holding a box hauls it out of the room as you shake the doctors hand and thank him profusely, grinning at the light and happy feeling on your chest as you turn to embrace the nurses in thanks. The woman at the front desk hands you an envelope of slips to give to your family and friends, and you thank her on the way out.

After leaving the office, you enter the outside of Pabu to find Omega waiting for you. Grinning you sneak up behind her, lifting her up and spinning her around. She shouts your name, but you can hear the smile in her voice as you set her down.

“How are you feeling?” She checks you over, and you smile dotingly down at her. 

“I’m alright,” You ruffle through your bag, the feeling of the necklace against your chest making you feel giddy. ‘Why did I feel so bad about it before?’ You think, but quickly shake it off and pull out the envelope. “The secretary said to give this to family and friends, but I don’t think I’m supposed to see.”

Omega curiously takes the large orange envelope from your hands, opening it and reaching in to find a ticket that said that you had:

‘Y/N L/N has erased Crosshair (CT-9904) from her memory. Please never mention their relationship to her again.’

Omega glances up to where you’re walking off with an arm looped through Hunter’s and feels a sense of dread fall to the pit of her stomach.

#crosshair x reader #crosshair x you #crosshair x y/n #crosshair x oc #the bad batch x reader #tbb crosshair x reader #sergeant hunter x reader #tbb hunter x reader #the bad batch #star wars #my work #zoe's works

[chillinglikeashilling]

In Defense of Wizard Steel

I may be under reacting because I can't think of an extremely terrible immediate result off hand from getting someone- not even specifically a Witch by the wording- to sing where a magical artifact might capture the sound.

The geas and the mind wipe are much more concerning, but I would be more concerned if Suvi was more concerned. Suvi knows a lot more about the laws and rules of magic than we the audience do, and Aabria often turns to Brennan as the source of those laws and rules to confirm Suvi's knowledge.

Not only did Steel give Suvi the option to back out of the whole thing in narrative, Brennan gave Aabria a chance to resist the mind wipe mechanically. Both the PC and the player declined (for different reasons of course but still).

I don't think it's going to be inconsequential at all! I just don't think it's going to blow up the way we might expect, if only because we know how Wizards operate. Wizards are slow to move in a way that most Witches and Spirits are not. It's the exact reason Ame ended up fleeing the Citadel right? Wizards are slow to get going so if anything I think the successful completion of this mission (should it happen) would come back to bite them in an arc or two.

And besides that Brennan is already toying with our ideas of what we (and the Witches) expect from Wizards and vice versa. Part of Ame's panic is that she expected Steel to bar Suvi from coming but it was a Witch that refused Suvi.

Also addressing Steel's actions and thoughts directly here:

Steel was told by Ame and Suvi that the Witches are going to destroy Ame

She was also informed that when the Witches reached out to Ame, they did so in a manner that either broke through or avoided the Citadel's defenses

Steel is also aware of the danger of Witches in a way that other Wizards are not even though that's still very limited

And lastly Suvi is important not only to Steel but to the Citadel. I don't think she's worth burning over what seems like a very hastily put together plot.

So, at this time, it seems like Steel and the Citadel are reacting to the information they have been given and are responding in proportion. Whatever the artifact does or the aim of this mission I don't think it's meant to be any active danger to the people at the Castle so much as a fact finding mission, and I don't think it would be anything that the Witches might kill or even hurt Suvi over if it was discovered.

The Citadel is already dealing with a war, it does not make sense from what we know to antagonize an enemy that they don't know anything about (yet). It definitely does not make sense to endanger the Apprentice Archmage, or the only Witch fron this coven they have access to, to do so.

#the wizard steel #the wizard sky #wwwo #the wizard the witch and the wild one #Wwwo arc 3 #wbn pod #worlds beyond number #Listen I think there's a lot of potential for things with Steel to go wrong #But I think part of the guilt Steel was feeling is that she doesn't like operating like this! #Steel actually seems very disdainful of the ways Wizards can hoard and hide secrets and information to avoid accountability #She said to Suvi she does not like that shit!! #So I think acting like Steel is this master manipulator hiding tons of personal information from Suvi is coming at it from the wrong angle #If or when Steel becomes a danger to the Party I think it will be heartbreakingly direct

[error-pleaseleaveamessage-error]

These are (mostly) lee Jay headcanons (with Nya specifically) from the Ninjago Movie. This was requested by an anon!

When I saw this request, of course I rushed to do it. This is JAY we're talking about!! /pos

These headcanons can be either platonic or romantic!!

He's so giggly, it's adorable. He giggles before anything even happens. If you even look at him or breathe a certain way, he's also giggling and backing away.

This goes for both the movie and the show, but I stand by Jay being called a "giggle monster".

I also headcanon him being one of the shortest, so Nya will have no problems scooping him up.

Jay blushes very easily, poor guy. All Nya has to do is smirk and he's melting!

He's a sucker for any kind of affection. He has anxiety about initiating first, and he gets flustered at the idea of doing any kind of causal touch with Nya.

Nya's blunt, she's not really going to spare anyone's feelings... except for Jay. The guy literally coo's at every animal and insect he see's, he's simply too precious for Nya to even dare breaking his heart.

That makes him a very easy target, though. Nya's favorite activities involve seeing how red she can make Jay's face. (It makes his freckles stand out, and she can't resist kissing those adorable cheeks of his.)

Nya traces his freckles. Jay has freckles all over, even on his tummy. Jay swears he's going to ascend anytime her short nails graze over his waist and bellybutton.

Jay wants to impress Nya so bad, but he's clumsy. Which still makes Nya adore him regardless.

Nya has perfectionism, and works herself down to the bone most days. Jay and Nya share a tinkering space, so Jay's all too aware of her habits. If Jay can't convince her to take a break, then he'll give her gentle tickles to persuade her and make her relax.

On the few occasions Jay gets his revenge, he's still very sweet. However... he's really cheeky. More than Nya thought he was, Jay is not to be underestimated. He's already energetic, but he gets downright gleeful when given the chance.

Nya gives cheer up tickles to Jay CONSTANTLY. Jay overthinks every little thing, so Nya just needs to turn him into a giggly puddle for him to calm down.

Jay is a walking tickle spot, but he has melt spots! He loves back tickles, it makes him sleepy.

Jay loses his mind with raspberries and nibbles, he blushes a lot from those. Nya loves giving little raspberries and light nips at his ears, for when Jay is being especially stubborn.

Nya can be ruthless without meaning to be, which leaves Jay's head spinning more often than not. He's not complaining though, he stumbles away with a dreamy expression.

Jay denies being ticklish, and Nya calls BS every time and tickles him to prove him wrong. But after the initial denial, he's a squealing mess and will try and plead for mercy. Nya will tease him like, "I think someone is a little ticklish! Who's is it though, hm? Is it you?" Jay will shyly say in the midst of his giggles, "Me! Mehehe!!" Nya gets hearts in her eyes, and her poor heart can't take it.

The aftercare is wonderful. Jay gets clingy even after light tickles, and Nya really appreciates it. Sometimes she forgets how physically affectionate Jay is, but she never forgets how sweet he is.

Speaking of afterward, when Jay is wiping little mirth tears away with his flushed face, he looks up at Nya with a big goofy smile. "Thahanks. I think I needed that." Nya's now blushing, anytime Jay looks at her like she's stars in the sky she gets a bit flustered.

#pandas writing #ninjago thoughts #lee!jay #ler!nya #ninjago tickles #ninjago tickle

[deathdxnces]

👫 - For Haru

» — SEND 👫AND I'LL WRITE FOUR HEADCANONS ABOUT OUR MUSE'S RELATIONSHIP

— @witchcraftandburialdirt

we've already established the hunting down and killing noxians as a bonding activity, but i like the idea they might have met before, even if just in passing. i'm not sure if haru actually got to fight during the invasion, considering he tried to flee the conflict, but if he did, they might have fought together then. irelia suggests she saw firsthand what the noxians did to bahrl, and it makes sense considering it's after the placidium and she's leading the resistance. so there's always the chance they'd have interacted then and that he met irelia when she was a 14 year old baby responsible for far more than she should be, even if it was a brief meeting.

irelia doesn't really know much anything about the darkin, but given kayn's struggle, she's Not a Fan. which is to say, she's at best wary of tarhos and by extension of haru preaching the darkin's godhood around. but at the same time, irelia really doesn't know anything about the darkin, so she doesn't really know if they're all alike (but! the fact they were all imprisoned in weapons! doesn't make it look good for them!). at any rate, haru and tarhos are also slaughtering noxians, so she can live with that. if they eventually turn to harm ionia, then she'll fight; but if the spirit isn't trying to kick them out that's good enough for her, at least for the time being. but i think in part it's also that irelia knows there aren't that many people both strong enough and willing to fight the noxians, and as always, she's very certain it's a matter of time until swain launches a new attack. and hey, when that happens, she'd rather have them fighting by her side than waiting for the kinkou to move their asses to do something c:

we. haven't really discussed much about them but because of that one ask you sent the other day (which i still love so much thank you egg), i feel even if there isn't outright friendship, there's some distant sense of kinship, or at least respect - enough so he was there imparting the wisdom to not be merciful at all to any noxians ever, but that wasn't done in a way that was aggressive or antagonistic toward her. and on my side when writing the answer it just. felt like that respect existed because she was so willing to listen to what he was saying in the first place. i don't see them as close friends, but i think that mutual respect would exist. they could become friends proper and talk about how similar or different things are in bahrl and navori and maybe one day get to the level 9841234123894129384 of friendship when tragic backstories are unlocked and bond over losing their families bc of the war (or they can end up following the antagonistic path, depending on what happens. i can see it going either way, but i think that, for now, there's at least a degree of respect between them)

that might be in part projecting because i think haru is so beautiful but i feel irelia would be a little awed by how beautiful he is. not immediately when they met, if it really was during the war, because then the focus would be on the war, but whenever they interacted in better circumstances and she actually got to look at him and see how gorgeous he is. the girl probably had to take a moment because he was just so pretty — and i don't even mean it in like, irelia being actually attracted to him, because she's very demi and it wouldn't be that at all, but rather just in a i saw a man so beautiful i started crying sort of way USDFHAHSDFH i imagine haru would have noticed even if irelia wouldn't have said anything, because she's not good at hiding anything honestly. she got over the very awed reaction eventually, but she still thinks he's really beautiful

#» out of character — ⌜main sup irl.⌟ #» character study — ⌜both the tranquil sea and the tempest.⌟ #witchcraftandburialdirt #we should talk about them more i think....... #since we haven't talked that much those are just. commentaries on how i think their relationship could go.... #and also about that last point never bring that up or she will be embarrassed kdnfkjadn

[300iqprower]

Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 74-77: Tamamo (Cat)

[Special thanks to who else but @hastamamocatdoneanythingwrong for letting me consult them on the balancing (mfw no one on your friends list has a Cat to use) as well as helping to heavily streamline the effects being handed out.]

New Passive:

Catnap B++: Increase your HP Recovery amount by 33% while asleep.

Self-Explanatory really, and it'll come back later on.

Monstrous Strength B -> Maddening Consumption (Beast) B

Increase own ATK (2 turns).^ Remove own Offensive Debuffs. Increase own Quick Card effectiveness (1 time, 2 turns) Increase own Buster Card effectiveness by 10% (2 turns). [ATK up scaling increased to 20-40%, Quick up scales from 30-50%.]

Man, it is NOT easy with these units with odd decks, doubly so if Quick is involved. But at least it makes for variety in the stims I hand out. We're sticking to only 2 turns instead of 3, but they're two turns with the Strength of a Beast. Cat taps into her inner Ammy to massively boost her NP type of Quick 1 time, both increasing its refund, star drop, and of course damage, but not being reliable for looping and you'll want to make sure you don't use her quick facecard beforehand. Meanwhile, her monstrous strength becomes near unstoppable (debuff removal to throw a wrench into attempts to mitigate it) at the "cost" of drastically ranking up her Madness Enhancement while active (Buster up).

So to restate, what this all does is clear the way for Cat to deal major burst damage. By briefly giving in to her Beast attribute alter ego she gains a massive Attack Up and a 2 mutually exclusive stims that stack with the universal one manipulatively: a big one time buff intended for her NP and a small multi-use one for most of her facecards.

Malediction, Cat Sunshine B -> A-

Chance to decrease one enemy's Charge. Apply Invincible for yourself (1 time, 5 turns). Decrease ATK for a single enemy (3 turns). Decrease Quick Resist for a single enemy (3 turns). Apply [Sunlight] field status to self (5 turns) Decrease own Debuff Resist by 100% (1 turn). [Demerit] [ATK down scales from 10-20%, Quick Resist down scales from 10-20%.]

You'd really think they'd have given the already existing rank up for this skill something that reflected how it was used in SE.RA.PH but oh well I guess that's what I'm for. So firstly since this is an Amaterasu spell (and also because ITS LITERALLY IN THE NAME) we're making this a field change! if it wasn't clear yet, get used to seeing these fairly often. Next we're gonna give it a bunch of effects based on what we saw in the event against Suzuka, so that's gonna be an attack reduction as well as a quick res debuff. Oh and we're changing the text so that it's not a flat out lie about the charge's chance to reduce. Originally I was gonna boost that to 100% but I have it on good authority that with Cat's kit that's actually more of a stealth nerf given how useful it is for the charge reduction to NOT proc on the skill. Even still, it's a lot of positive effects so both for lore accuracy and balancing, we're having the skill tucker poor Cat out like we saw in the event, tanking her resistance to other status effects for a turn (because defense down on a berserker is just unfair)

Morph (Lunch) A -> Morph (Lunchtime!) A+

Increase own DEF (3 turns).^ Further increase own DEF for each other [Cooking] ally (3 turns). Increase own Max HP (3 turns).^ Recover HP for all allies by 1000 Further recover HP for each other [Cooking] ally. Apply Debuff Immune to self (1 turn). [DEF up scaling slightly increased to a max of 30%, Max HP scaling increased to 1500-3000, Extra DEF up scales from 10-15%/ally, Extra HP Recovered scales from 1000-2000/ally.]

You'd ALSO really think that the series of Nasu "Everything must have a foodporn scene" TypeMoon would have a dedicated Cooking trait but again I guess that's what I'm here for. I still have no fcking idea why they give so many berserkers Morph when it's about as much use as, to pick a random example, giving Mash a buste-crit stim, but I suppose if there's any berserker it makes sense to give a semi-tanky skill it might as well be the chef taking as much comic punishment as wile e coyote.

To do that though we need to ramp it WAY up, both in the base effects and the new ones, using the team-specific qualifier to balance it out. To that end Cat'll work with everyone else available to whip up a feast for the entire party. Not only do other allies increase the food to go around and thus the recovery, but in addition to that being at home in the kitchen also does wonders for keeping her berserker tendencies at bay (IE the defense mitigation further increases for each cook with her). While the numbers reached can reach astronomical amounts given the skill's unchanged 5 turn cooldown, reaching said numbers requires one of the most finicky team compositions around given the scattershot results of who exactly qualifies as a cooking servant. None of the staple DPS or Stall support units qualify with the exception of Castamamo whose arts focus is completely at odds with the rest of Cat's kit. There are a handful of units with good inherent synergy with Catamamo, but more than half of them are gold rarity and/or limited. Overall the result is that, under the right conditions with event bonuses or something similar at play you could have a real dream team, but most of the time you're better off not going for a full team of 3 fielded cooks at once. ...I'm sure there's a witticism buried in there about spoiling the broth.

Cooking Servants: Emiya, Arash, Boudica, Saint Martha, Ruler Martha, Santa Martha, Medea, Medea Lily, Kiyohime, Lancer Kiyohime, Tamamo Cat, Tamamo no Mae, Tamamo Lancer, Geronimo, Tawara Touta, MHXA, Suzuka Gozen, Paul Bunyan, Tomoe, Saber Tomoe, Inshun, Oskabehime, Circe, Chiron, Robin, Qin Liangyu, Beni-Enma, Muramasa, Percival, Barghest, Gareth, Gareth (Saber), Yamanami Keisuke, Daikokuten

Napping in the Dazzling Sunshine and Feasting D+ -> D+++

Apply Sure Hit for yourself (1 turn). Deal heavy damage to all enemies. Inflict Sleep^ to yourself (2 turns). [Demerit] Increase your Buster Card effectiveness when field is [Sunlight] (3 turns). [Activates first] Increase your Quick Card effectiveness when field is [Sunlight] (3 turns). [Activates first] <Overcharge> Restore your HP per turn (3 turns). [Buster and Quick Card up scale with level at 20/30/35/37.5/40%.]

I told you Catnap would be relevant later! Self-Stun is pretty horrid demerit, even if they gave Cat that rank up with a debuff immune charge, so we're buffing that up to only be a self-Sleep now that Sabby made Sleep an official debuff. This is a buff twofold, both removing the stun a turn early if Cat gets attacked (which without setupid is still pretty devastating given she's a berserker) and boosting the HP recovery per turn indirectly since while the rank up isn't changing the inherent Overcharge scaling, the new passive improves the HP it'll recover by 33% so long as Cat remains asleep. Next we're gonna give her a much needed Sunlight buff, again ITS LITERALLY IN THE NAME. Scaling with level, which isn't TOO hard as an unlimited servant who still gets rate-ups to boot, we're tying a Sunlight dependent buff to both her 3 buster cards and her Quick NP which without leveling isn't as strong as her first skill but has a more flexible duration to make up for it, and with a dedicated team can probably fairly easily get stacked with itself at least once (and if you do have a dedicated Cat team, you deserve that). Lastly for some niche appeal we're giving Cat the role of Sure Hit AOE Berserker as well, something desperately needed in the free to play pool as well as a representation of the patented Catamamo tactic of "Just make the fight dust cloud so big everything gets caught in it! :3"

This was a real fun one, even if I got a bit too carried away and had to tone it down quite a bit to make it properly balanced. Which is at least in character for Cat. Again, super huge thanks to @hastamamocatdoneanythingwrong ! Their help went beyond simple tweaks into basically being half the reason I was able to do this one.

#artist: bakunyuu gorilla #artist: koyoi mitsuki #fgo #fgo meta #fate grand order #hypothetical rank ups #tamamo no mae #tamamo cat #fate tamamo #who to do next......

[radicalbotanicals]

Guerilla Gardening and Me – My Journey through this Beautiful Movement

I want to conclude my entries into this blog by talking about something that is quickly becoming near and dear to my heart. There are many different types of activists in the world, and I think all of them serve a purpose. There are those who are willing to put themselves in the crossfire, to tear down statues, to stand up to the “man” as it were and have a visceral impact with what they do. That was never my style, as someone who is violence-adverse and perhaps a little too cowardly to engage in such lion-hearted activities, I always preferred the pacifist route. What can I add to the world that will be positive? And my peace has always come from gardening. I think it was after the loss of someone close to me that I found solace in working the land, just as she did, the soil with its earthy richness grounding me somehow. I loved seeing how my labour would create beautiful life and even help feed my family and neighbours. So, imagine my surprise when I learned I could combine these two worlds through guerilla gardening, a practice that has become more and more commonplace here in the UK, but not something I had come across back home.

So what is it, what are it’s origins?

In fact we know that in the 1970s, communities in New York’s Lower East Side attempted to resist the ‘cleansing’ of plots of land by “clipping barbed wire fences or throwing ‘seed grenades’ over them. It was after these efforts that city authority “ultimately succumbed to the protest and legitimised many of the Green Guerillas’ plots into one of the country’s first community gardens, staking a claim for public green space before the onset of gentrification raised the value of the abandoned land and thus transformed the space into a landscape of power and profit.”(Adams & Hardman, 2013). I adore this idea of a community coming together to reclaim their space in a way that actually is useful to said community. Not only are you halting the efforts of greedy developers trying to buy up all the land and sell it back for exorbitant prices, but you are actually providing, feeding the people who live there. It’s such a beautiful idea that really creates change.

As noted in my project, spatial justice is a very intriguing concept to me. How without even realising it, our rights can be encroached on via methods of gentrification or letting spaces deliberately fall into disrepair so they can be sold off since ‘they serve no purpose to anyone.’ With our increasingly individualised society, it is becoming easier to weaken communities as no one feels supported enough to do anything that will enact real change. This needs to end if we ever hope to see improvements in our impoverished urban spaces.

Which is why I respect the efforts of one Ellen Miles, whose Tiktok account has exploded, so much so that I came across her through a Guardian article earlier this year. She is re-igniting the efforts by her predecessors such as Richard Reynolds and informing others on how they could also pick up a shovel and transform the space they live in. “So-called public spaces have been really privatised, and communities actually don’t get a chance to interact with them often. So I think we do have a right to do that in the places we put down our roots, where we live.” Miles stated this in that very article, and it set me down this path that I am currently on.

Should I continue to develop my project of Radical Botanicals, I would love to see it work to support this growing community. I was given much to think about after I presented my work, and I will definitely need to consider a few things as I work on tweaking its conception and design. For example, considering diverse voices in the space, consulting communities directly to see what they want, and finding the balance between guiding others through this legal grey area and ensuring people do not put themselves in danger as they carry out their activities. I want peace, as stated earlier, I am a pacifist at heart, and I would hate to see others get hurt because of something I created. I am a long way away from having this vision realised, but I thank this class for allowing me the opportunity to explore this idea and really put me in a position I have never been in before, and that is that of an activist. This journey will continue, even if it is just me throwing a seed bomb into a golf course under the cover of night.

Bibliography

Adams, D. and Hardman, M. (2013) ‘Observing guerrillas in the wild: Reinterpreting practices of Urban Guerrilla Gardening’, Urban Studies, 51(6), pp. 1103–1119. doi:10.1177/0042098013497410.

Gayle, D. (2023) ‘I call it botanarchy’: The Hackney Guerrilla Gardener bringing power to the people, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/i-call-it-botanarchy-the-hackney-guerrilla-gardener-bringing-power-to-the-people (Accessed: 12 December 2023).

#guerrilla gardening #rambles #personal post #uk #activism

[boethiah]

Can we please hear some of your thoughts about Almalexia and Vivec's relationship?

i go back and forth on how romantic i think their relationship was though i do think they were definitely romantically involved. vivec for hir part seems to idolize almalexia-- in the 36 lessons ze writes about her glowingly, calling her beautiful and comparing her to the stars, and there are multiple points in that narrative where vivec deliberately seeks almalexia out for comfort and reassurance, which is a sort of trust ze doesn't seem to have in anyone else. it's harder to say how almalexia felt in return because she's much more guarded with her feelings and we rarely get to hear her opinions, but given that she writes about vivec in a flattering way in the homilies (cf the embarrassing childhood sotha sil stories) and the fact that she didn't really have it in her to criticize vivec during her villain monologue (cf the deep vitriol she aimed at sotha sil there). so it's safe to say they were very fond of each other

that said i think there are two major dark spots in their relationship, one that influenced them as mortals and one that influenced them as gods: nerevar and the septim armistice

for nerevar-- both almalexia and vivec had very complicated relationships with nerevar. in the 36 lessons vivec associates marriage with trauma; almalexia is married to nerevar. vivec also identifies nerevar with trauma (in sermon 34), but goes to almalexia for comfort before confronting that same trauma (in sermon 18). this combined with the near idolization of almalexia in the lessons makes me think that, for vivec, almalexia was somehow wrapped up in how ze was processing hir own experiences-- maybe ze projected onto her, maybe ze saw her as a sort of savior. again, ze strongly associates marriage with trauma, and almalexia married nerevar. i don't think that's coincidence. there's no real canon evidence about how almalexia felt about nerevar, outside of the fact that she either killed him or let him die, and then, when he was reincarnated, gleefully attempted to get him killed again. but, knowing what we know of her in the games as a strongly independent and proud person, and knowing nerevar was a much older man from a common background who kinda stole the limelight from her, i can't imagine she was very happy about that marriage. and vivec had been the one that brought nerevar to mournhold in the first place. so there's nerevar between them, a point of resentment at best and of active trauma at worst.

the second dark spot and the thing that irrevocably ruined their relationship imo was the armistice vivec signed with tiber septim. this time we have a much better idea of how almalexia felt. from 'on morrowind':

"Though the Imperial legions and navy were widely considered undefeatable, House Indoril and the Temple hierarchy proposed to resist to the death. [...] The situation changed radically when Vivec appeared in person in Vivec City to announce his negotiation of a treaty with Emperor Tiber Septim, reorganizing Morrowind as a province of the Empire [...] A shocked Temple hierarchy, which apparently had not been consulted, greeted the announcement with awkward silence."

the story here is fairly clear to me: faced with the invasion of tiber septim, almalexia (the traditional war-leader of the tribunal and herself a member of house indoril) was prepared to resist, even at cost of death of herself and all her followers. to prevent an inevitable slaughter, vivec went behind her back to negotiate the treaty, and then announcing it, forcing almalexia to fall back into line. if my interpretation of this seems unlikely, keep in mind that this isn't the first time almalexia would chance her own death to defeat an enemy; according to 2920 she nearly died during the battle against mehrunes dagon, and she later attempted a suicide mission (along with sotha sil) against dagoth ur. the armistice is messy; vivec was motivated to sign it to prevent almalexia from getting herself (and 10,000 of her closest friends) killed, but to someone like almalexia, servitude is literally worse than death. i don't think she could ever forgive vivec for putting her under the empire's control and the armistice marked the effective end of whatever relationship they had before.

all this to say that i do think vivec truly loves almalexia, the sort of love where ze'd choose to have almalexia hate hir forever if it meant saving her life. and i do think almalexia loves vivec in turn, in her own complicated and guarded way, especially since she seems to rely on hir and trust hir with the wellbeing of morrowind, which is a major vote of confidence from someone who lives for her job. whatever messy feelings they each had about nerevar probably brought them closer together more than it did push them apart.

#apologies for making this so long and 36-lessons heavy. i have about 200 new followers to scare away

[darkshrimpemotions]

I feel like in the rush to pick sides and lay blame in HotD fandom, one character is escaping relatively unscathed when he needs to be dragged over the coals: Viserys.

While another disputed succession was practically inevitable given how Viserys himself took the throne, he could have taken steps to secure the succession long before it became a massive problem, and as king he should have. It was his responsibility. Let's start there. This is the very first example of how Viserys's weakness and irresponsibility sowed the seeds for the Dance of the Dragons.

He also should have actually stood up to Otto Hightower and curtailed his power-grubbing from the get. Otto should never have had the kind of authority he did, even as Hand. Daemon was right about him, but Viserys cared more about keeping the peace and enjoying the luxuries that came with being king than he did about actually doing his damn job and ruling.

Third, if he really wanted to insist on Rhaenyra as his heir, he should never have remarried and had more kids. He literally only got the throne because the lords of Westeros weren't ready for being ruled by a Queen. He had to know that no matter how accepting they were of Rhaenyra when Daemon was the only other option, that would change the second he had a trueborn son.

Next, if he absolutely had to remarry, it should not have been to his Hand's daughter. That was a stupid decision that immediately created divided loyalties and conflicts of interest within his own court and even within his own damn bed. Not to mention that instead of curtailing Otto, he handed the man even more power, and gave him clear incentive to resist Rhaenyra's claim in favor of his own grandchildren.

And once he made all these mistakes, he STILL could have salvaged things if he did any of the following:

betrothed Rhaenyra to Aegon

forced Alicent to accept Rhaenyra's proposed betrothal of Jace and Helaena

permanently fired and exiled Otto

kept Daemon close and in line

made Alicent face consequences for any of the half dozen times she committed treason lite by attacking Rhaenyra and her children

admitted half his grandchildren were bastards and then just fucking legitimized them

kept Rhaenyra at court and active in the daily business of ruling, both giving her experience and a chance to prove herself and giving the court a chance to really get used to the idea of her as ruler

literally paid attention to anything that was going on around him and responded appropriately even once in over 20 years

defended Rhaenyra and her children before he was dying and she had to beg him for help

been the kind of king whose decrees might be respected after his death

punished Ser Criston for any of his various bullshit

But Viserys, again, was weak. And he was selfish. He cared more about keeping the peace while he was alive than ensuring it had any chance of lasting after his death. Hs stuck his head in the sand, let Otto do as he pleased, let those around him disrespect him with near impunity while he was alive. Is it any wonder they had no respect for his wishes after he was dead? And he left Rhaenyra in a dangerous, precarious position and doomed his family to years of war that would see their power diminished to such an extent that it would never fully recover.

He was the most powerful man in Westeros, and all he did was give that power away and avoid the responsibility of using it. And while Otto and Alicent are still the ones to blame for their own actions, he is solidly to blame for putting them into positions where they could do what they did, and leaving Rhaenyra so unprepared and unprotected.

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd spoilers #viserys i targaryen

[raidenshogunmommy]

Museum Date with them

Finally another fanfic for this blog yay!!! This is something I've always wanted to write tbh.

Tags: hcs, genshin impact, gn!Reader

Warnings: mention making out in Kazuha's part, NOT PROOF READ!

Genre: fluff?

Characters: Kazuha, Ei, Shenhe

Kazuha

He proposed the idea.

Been waiting for this his entire life.

I KNOW FOR A FACT THIS MAN LOVES MUSEUMS. NO I DON'T TAKE CRITICISM

Has a very wide area of interest and knowledge, so he will kinda act like your personal guide.

His eyes are sparkling throughout the date. He's just so excited, he's always wanted to take a loved one to visit a museum, and since it's with you he couldn't be happier.

Ok. But. Imagine. It. Being. An. Art. Museum.

He may not be a painter or sculptor but has a very fine artistic knowledge and a keen eye for artistic value as well.

He will definitely be appreciating each and every piece.

Even still knowing him–

HE CAN'T RESIST BEING CHEESY.

"We may be surrounded by the most impressive artwork but you still are the true masterpiece amongst it all. I wouldn't be surprised if they ask to display you up there as well, because I can't imagine a single soul not being in awe of your mere presence."

Mans a hopeless romantic.

Prepared to be flustered as soon as you agree to his date idea.

Might even make out with you in the centre of the display.

The embarrassment would be real but who could resist him honestly?

He will even take you out to a fancy a dinner after spending the whole day walking around through the museum.

Let's just say y'all frequent museums a lot now.

Ei

You probably had to convince her little hehe.

Obviously being obsessed with eternity for so long she hasn't given herself the chance to appreciate all that exists and all that used to exist.

But now that she has you and now that she has finally begun noticing the present she will try to go along with your idea.

She probably hesitated at first since she thinks she's not ready face her people in the public just yet cause she's still mentally recovering. But also because she thinks she may not be up to your expectations in a place such as a museum. Though that doesn't mean she does not possess her fair share of worldly knowledge as a goddess, she's just afraid that you'll view her emotion for it as shallow, because she just knows it, she hasn't held it in any particular regard. All she has is empty knowledge.

But she still knows that she's safe with you so after a while of overthinking and careful consideration she'll agree.

"Fine. I accept your proposition. You really won't give up huh. "

Quite stoic though her expression gives her away.

*whisper* " If you weren't so cute I'd be able to put up more of a fight."

"Hm? What was that?"

"NOTHING."

Expect her to be very shy.

She isn't used to this atmosphere.

PLEASE REASSURE HER.

Unknowingly she really impressed you with her understanding of so many things even if it lacks emotional value, it just made you fall deeper in love with her.

You compliment her throughout the day.

Hearing it just makes her melt, and she has a smile on her face for the rest of the day.

She really didn't expect to enjoy this date so much.

On the way home she gives you a piggy back ride because you complained about your feet being dead. (She blushed the whole time)

Overall, she really treasures this experience with you.

Shenhe

Was honestly a little curious when you suggested the idea.

Not particularly used to such confined areas.

She is like Ei but alot more stoic and expressionless.

Though she doesn't hesitate to accept. She may not be able show it but she's actually excited.

"Sounds intriguing. I'm in."

You were quite surprised at her readiness, and it kinda made your heart beat faster.

Because c'mon that's adorable.

She hasn't had a very active relationship with the human world so she's kinda clueless about everything she sees.

You have to do explain everything to her. But you actually enjoy doing it because witnessing her experiencing a museum for the first is really wholesome.

She's like a little kid.

Questioning everything she sees.

May have gotten scolded more than once for touching the displays.

There is the tiniest hint of a pout when the security guard gives her a warning.

AAAAAA PLS SHE'S SO PRECIOUS

May still be a little stiff because people will definitely tend to stare at her but, quickly gets distracted by you pulling her towards the next display and explaining to her.

Will randomly kiss your cheek here and there, a little out of character for her but she just really appreciates your effort.

Afterwards she decided that she really likes museums.

Next time it's her asking you out for a date at the museum.

Ok. So ik alot of you wanted a part 2 to my previous post,( I even got asks for it omg) but I really wanted to write this first. Also, did you want a second part with more characters or a continuation of the ones already there I'm very confused pls-

#genshin impact x reader #kaedehara kazuha x reader #raiden shogun #ei x reader #shenhe x reader #shenhe #kazuha #gn! reader #genshin hcs #genshin fanfic #ei x you #shenhe x you #kazuha x you

[nientedenada]

Ulfric Stormcloak’s Thalmor Dossier - A Line by Line Analysis

Originally posted on r/teslore.

Because I feel like living dangerously today . . . let's talk about Ulfric Stormcloak and the Thalmor dossier.

The Dossier is a turning point for a lot of Skyrim players. It often is cited as being the point that decides players to fight for the Empire. It certainly was for me. Reading the Dossier solidified my understanding that to thwart the Dominion this war needed to be quickly ended. And it also solidified my growing belief that Ulfric wasn’t a capable government head.

But what exactly does the Dossier mean? A lot of people believe the Dossier reveals that Ulfric is a puppet/sleeper agent of the Thalmor. That interpretation is pretty obviously wrong. The first line of the Dossier reads

Asset (uncooperative)

A puppet or a sleeper agent who could be activated at will is not "uncooperative."

But putting aside that obvious misreading of the Dossier, there's a whole range of possible interpretations.

The most common defence of Ulfric is that the Dossier lists him as an asset simply because he has been/is being manipulated to benefit the Dominion's interests. I think that's true. But I don't think it's the entire truth. There are some damning details that don't let Ulfric off the hook that easily.

So, line by line: let's read the Thalmor Dossier. I'll note anything i find interesting; some of it won't be about Ulfric necessarily.

Status: Asset (uncooperative), Dormant, Emissary Level Approval

"Asset" is not a damning designation for Ulfric. In spycraft vocabulary, an "asset" can be completely unaware they're being used. We have to look elsewhere in the Dossier for details.

"uncooperative" and "Dormant" both underscore Ulfric's lack of current interaction with the Thalmor. "Dormant" suggests Elenwen isn't even trying to interact with him.

Emissary Level Approval, of course, refers to Elenwen, whose asset Ulfric has been from the start. I think we can assume this was either written by Elenwen directly or by her staff from her files, as an instruction to her subordinates in Skyrim.

Description: Jarl of Windhelm, leader of Stormcloak rebellion, Imperial Legion veteran

The dossier (as we'll see later) is completely up to date, covering events to Helgen.

Background: Ulfric first came to our attention during the First War Against the Empire,

I like this line because it confirms some of the scuttlebutt elsewhere that the Thalmor treat the Great War as "the First War" in official documents, not just when mouthing off (like Ondolemar).

I mean, probably not a good idea. The security in the Embassy is shameful, that's what it is.

when he was taken as a prisoner of war during the campaign for the White-Gold Tower.

It would seem then that Ulfric was taken prisoner between late 4E 173 and early 4E 174.

Specifically, he probably came to Cyrodiil as part of this force mentioned in The Great War.

The year 4E 173 saw stiffening Imperial resistance in Cyrodiil, but the seemingly inexorable Aldmeri advance continued. Fresh legions from Skyrim bolstered the Emperor's main army in the Imperial City, but the Aldmeri forced the crossing of the Niben and began advancing in force up the eastern bank. By the end of the year, the Imperial City was surrounded on three sides - only the northern supply route to Bruma remained open. (bolding mine)

not with the later Nord forces under Jonna, since he's captured before the fall of the Imperial City, and apparently knew something about the defences fo the City.

Under interrogation, we learned of his potential value (son of the Jarl of Windhelm)

I find it interesting they zeroed in on that as the value. Nowhere in the dossier is the Thu'um mentioned.

and he was assigned as an asset to the interrogator, who is now First Emissary Elenwen.

Elenwen's career was either made or broken by this chance encounter, depending on how she feels about her Skyrim position. Probably broken, given that most Dragonborns will mess up everything in Skyrim for the Thalmor.

He was made to believe information obtained during his interrogation was crucial in the capture of the Imperial City (the city had in fact fallen before he had broken), and then allowed to escape.

A mystifying bit of the story. Why on earth would this young soldier think he knew something so crucial that it'd lead to the capture of the Imperial City? What was it? And how did Elenwen manage it so that he wouldn't be able to realize the truth afterwards?

The last bit is the easiest to understand. It'd be easy enough work for the interrogators to mess up Ulfric's reckoning of time so he couldn't compare timelines later. As for the information he thought he had? Well, passwords, troop numbers and disposition, knowledge of secret tunnels into the City . . . he's certainly naive to have thought his tiny bit of information (as a young raw recruit) would be the deciding point, but this entire deception working on Ulfric seems key to what comes next in the Thalmor dossier.

Ulfric has to be too guilty/ashamed to share his experiences in interrogation for the next part to work.

After the war, contact was established and he has proven his worth as an asset. (bolding mine)

And here we come to the most damning part of the Thalmor Dossier for Ulfric.

There's a common argument that "asset" just means he's been manipulated by the Thalmor without knowing that they're the ones doing the manipulation. I honestly don't think that argument works. Because

The so-called Markarth Incident was particularly valuable from the point of view of our strategic goals in Skyrim, although it resulted in Ulfric becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact. (bolding mine)

"Becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact" means that he was co-operative to direct contact before the Markarth. He has to have known that the direct contact was being made by someone with ties to the Thalmor, because otherwise, how would the Markarth Incident have changed his co-operation?

It's not like Ulfric after the Markarth Incident stops co-operating with people. So the previous contact couldn't have been just with a spy whom he had no idea was Dominion affiliated.

The obvious reading of the Dossier is that Elenwen and her agents used their hold over Ulfric to directly contact him and nudge the Markarth Incident towards its beneficial conclusion.

The details of that contact are completely up for imagination. I think we can also conclude that he never thought he was working directly for the Thalmor, given his later behaviour, his sincerity shown in his conversations with Rikke and with the Dragonborn in Sovngarde, and the dossier's own notes that he's uncooperative. But something more than a Thalmor agent in disguise meeting him happened before Markarth.

At this point, I have to tip my hat to /u/docclox 's famous post: Elenwen and Ulfric: Prurient Speculation (in which Elenwen seduced Ulfric) for the most dramatic version of this manipulation. But even if we don't go to that extreme, it'd be a good bet that Ulfric was manipulated into putting his trust in someone among his interrogators during his stint under Elenwen's interrogation.

Maybe someone who assured him later that the Thalmor weren't actually bothering with Skyrim when it came to the Talos ban? Who knows?

But Ulfric was a little more involved with the Thalmor than he wants everyone in Skyrim to know.. After Markarth, he changed his behaviour, "becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact", so he knows how he was manipulated.

But it's dangerous that he's carrying around that secret. It might make him open to manipulation in the future.

Operational Notes: Direct contact remains a possibility (under extreme circumstances), but in general the asset should be considered dormant.

Does Direct contact really remain a possibility? Well, if they're holding previous contact and the fall of the Imperial City over his head, they do have blackmail potential. But this might also be Elenwen's boast that OF COURSE she has possible control of her asset in the future. Is she going to admit she no longer has a hold over him, when that's the whole basis of her career? Probably not. (Thanks to /u/syllisjehane for pointing out Elenwen might be overstating her influence.)

As long as the civil war proceeds in its current indecisive fashion, we should remain hands-off. The incident at Helgen is an example where an exception had to be made - obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim.

Confirmation that Elenwen was there at the beginning of the game to save Ulfric.

The dossier is also, by the way, the strongest confirmation of the Empire's strategy to defeat the Dominion being legitimate. If the Thalmor are worrying about an Imperial victory in Skyrim, it's a very good indication that the Empire might actually be united and strong enough to keep the Dominion up at night.

(NOTE: The coincidental intervention of the dragon at Helgen is still under scrutiny. The obvious conclusion is that whoever is behind the dragons also has an interest in the continuation of the war, but we should not assume therefore that their goals align with our own.)

A thoughtful analysis of the Dragons coming back, that contrasts with Delphine's certainty it has to be the Thalmor. But then the other Thalmor report on dragons thinks it might be the Blades, so paranoia is all around.

A Stormcloak victory is also to be avoided, however, so even indirect aid to the Stormcloaks must be carefully managed.

And finally, an important sentence that should not be forgotten, but often is. No, the Thalmor do not want the Stormcloaks to win. We might guess that if they had to choose the lesser of two evils, they'd prefer a Stormcloak victory to a quick decisive imperial victory. But on the whole, they want this to just drag on forever.

#Ulfric Stormcloak #Skyrim #tesblr #tes lore #Thalmor #Elenwen #niente lore

[munsonsduchess]

Hello there, lovely duchess <3

I'd love to see what you come up with for prompt #8!

Take care! :)

-bee

summary: You and Bucky are FWB and you've been together for a while now but that's all about to change warnings: kissing, fluff, swearing, gambling (don't do it kids), mentions of smut a/n: yeah so this took an age and that's because my motivation went on vacation and i had to wrangle it back through customs

Prompts from this list

»»————-　♔　————-««

You’d met the Avengers when Tony had finally had enough of your constant nagging and had agreed to let you meet the team he always spoke so much about - not to mention you wanted to see the people he couldn’t stop complaining about in the flesh - so he’d finally relented and introduced you to everyone as only Tony knew how. With a party.

You’d been so excited to meet everyone you hadn’t even minded when the dark brooding man at the bar had spilled your drink on your dress, he was too handsome for you to be mad and with the gleaming metal arm on his left side there was only one person he could be,

“It’s perfectly alright Sergeant Barnes, it’s just a drink” you’d given him your best smile and offered to buy him a drink instead but he’d refused and you hadn’t seen him the rest of the night. Much to your dismay, he’d been someone you’d been looking forward to meeting the most.

In Bucky’s mind anyway he wasn’t planning on getting too close to you, figuring that if you were Tony’s friend there was a high chance you were just another upper east side park avenue princess. A socialite who only cared about wealth and who she could be photographed next to in newspapers and he didn’t have time for that anymore. He was a different man now.

Then you were around more often, spending time at the compound with Natasha, getting lunch with Wanda, offering to bank roll the team since you had “more money than I know what to do with” and it didn’t seem fair for Tony to have to do everything when he had a family to support as well.

Slowly but surely you wormed your way into the team’s hearts and it got to the point where everyone was asking Bucky what his issue was with you, why did he not like you? Had he even spoken to you?

Bucky had brushed off every question, he’d just ignored the needling and the nagging until finally he couldn’t. He’d blown up at Peter who’s eyes had gone wide as the teenager stuttered out an apology. Bucky hated himself for it, even more so when everyone was walking on eggshells around him afterwards, even Steve and Sam who knew him best.

He’d gone out to clear his head and off all the gin joints in all the world you had to be in the one he chose. With your warm smile and offering to buy his drinks, telling the bar staff to put everything on your tab despite Bucky’s protests that he could buy his own drinks. You just rolled your eyes at him and moved to sit next to him instead.

It ended up with just the two of you in the bar that night, your cheeks rosy from the alcohol and your eyes glassy with tears of joy as you listened to his stories and laughed at his jokes. Maybe you weren’t as bad as Bucky originally thought but he still wasn’t planning on getting closer than he needed to, until you’d put your hand on his thigh when you settled the tab and offered to split a cab.

You’d both ended up tangled in your bedsheets, laughing and joking, gasping and moaning well into the night. It had been a while for both of you and this release was definitely needed, plus you’d ended up teaching Bucky a few things when the initial groping like horny teenagers had worn off.

You’d also introduced him to the term ‘friends with benefits’ which is where you found yourself currently. Of course you both went on dates separately but you found yourself cancelling plans more and more to spend time with Bucky instead. To be curled up on the couch watching a terrible movie which was usually forgotten about halfway through for other more entertaining activities that could be partaken in on a couch.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Maybe it was silly of you to think you could resist having feelings for someone like Bucky, someone so kind, caring, funny and someone you felt so comfortable around but that’s exactly what happened. You’d woken up one morning with the smell of him cooking in your apartment kitchen with the radio playing something you didn’t really care about. You’d curled up in the blankets on the bed and revelled in the domesticity of the whole situation and it had struck you. You really cared for this man and not just as a random hook up.

The only problem was, did Bucky feel the same? Everyone else seemed to think so, when you’d spoken to Steve and Sam and Natasha and Wanda and even Scott they’d all seemed to think you and Bucky were already a couple. So you’d enacted a plan, was it your smartest plan? Probably not. Were you going to do it anyway? Damn straight.

You’d created a new tinder profile and specifically matched with the most boring man you could find. The poor bastard had no idea what he was in for or why you’d decided to go out with him but you needed him to be the human equivalent of the colour beige for the plan to work.

Bringing the man around the compound to meet the team, telling Bucky you couldn’t spend time with each other sexually anymore since you and … Dave were serious now and it wasn’t right to cheat on your boyfriend.

Bucky to his credit had wished you well and was happy you’d found someone, outwardly anyway. He’d known the ‘relationship’ the two of you had couldn’t last, that of course you’d move on and find someone worthy of your time and attention. Did it hurt? Like a bitch but he was going to be the bigger man.

Or at least he had wanted to be. The more you brought Dave around the more Bucky wondered what the hell you were doing with a man like that, he couldn’t make you laugh the way Bucky could, where your nose would crinkle in the middle and you’d gasp for breath. He didn’t know how you liked your coffee in the morning, iced usually and loaded with sugar. He sure as shit didn’t know how you liked to be touched.

It had come to an ugly head one evening when you and Dave had gone for dinner, in a restaurant you and Bucky would hang out in all the time. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, that and the asgardian mead that Thor had left on his last visit. Bucky had taken a shot for some dutch courage and driven his bike straight to the restaurant pushing past the staff who tried to stop him,

“Y/N” he yelled, causing you to look at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression.

“Bucky, what are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something happen to Steve or Sam?”

“Forget them and forget this guy too, you’re coming with me” he reached down to where you were sitting and wrapped his metal hand around your upper arm, “come on”

“Bucky no, I’m on a date I can’t just leave!” you protested, “David, I'm so sorry about this”

David opened his mouth to say something but a glare from Bucky told him that wasn’t a wise move. Instead he seemed to shrink back into his seat under the weight of Bucky’s icy glare,

“Come on doll” Bucky said again, hoisting you up from your seat by his grip on your upper arm, “we’re leaving”

“James Barnes! I am not your property, let go of my arm right now! If you have something you want to talk about we can talk about it later, I am with David and you have no right to barge in here like this!”

“The hell I don’t”

“Leave James, we’ll talk about this later”

Bucky was about to rebuke you again but was interrupted by a man in a fancy suit clearing his throat, apparently you and Bucky had caused enough of a commotion that several guests had complained and now both of you were being asked to leave. Which suited Bucky just fine. He grabbed you and pulled you from the booth ignoring your cries and protests and simply pulled you along with him until you both were stood at his bike,

“Come on”

“No! You do not get to manhandle me like you own me and then act like nothing is wrong, if you had something you wanted to talk to me about we could have done it like grown ups”

“Oh yeah? Like Dave? Is that what you do with him? Talk like grown ups?”

“What David and I do is none of your business Barnes”

“It is my business cause you’re my business, you’re my girl not his!”

You blinked at Bucky a few times before you huffed out a laugh, that was definitely confusing. Why were you laughing?

“Oh my god! You couldn’t have said something earlier? You had to make a scene? How am I supposed to come back here now?” you were still laughing, “not to mention I owe Steve $50 because he bet you couldn’t last the month”

“Wha? You and Steve had a bet goin’ about me lastin’?” Bucky was beginning to get agitated now, what the hell were you and Steve betting on?

“Yeah! I mean honestly Buck did you think I really liked David? He’s the most boring human being alive! I mean yeah he’s nice enough but oh my god of course I wasn’t serious about him!”

“Then why were ya out with him?”

“To see what you would do!” you said exasperatedly. Bucky raised his eyebrow, what the hell did you mean by that? “Oh my god how can you be this dense, it’s you I want to be with Barnes, not David. You! So I picked David to see if you would just let me be or if you felt the same way!”

“Wha? You couldn’t have just asked me?” Bucky shoots back, “you had to make this whole convoluted plan?”

“Right because if I’d asked you you’d have said you wanted whatever was best for me and if I wanted to see other people that would be fine and you’d never tell me what you really wanted. At least now I know” you said batting your eyelashes at him “you like me, you called me yours”

Bucky groaned and ran a hand down his face. He’d been an actual idiot. He’d told himself he was fine with you seeing other people, that this was just how the modern world was like. He couldn’t expect to hold onto someone like you forever. Now he’d gotten you kicked out of your favourite restaurant and had put his hands on you in a way he swore he never would. That being said, none of that would have happened if you’d been honest with him, no matter what you thought he’d say to you. Now here you were batting your eyelashes at him like nothing had happened,

“Don’t you dare give me those sex eyes right now! This is a serious situation, here!”

“Oh shut up and kiss me Barnes”

That he could do. Repercussions from his actions be damned. You were his. All his.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Taglist: @metalbuckaroo @doasyoudesireandlive @spicynudlesoup @calisamcro

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fic #bucky fic #mcu fic #duchess writes #bee 💛

[random-imagines-blog]

Just in Your Heart {Taylor Swift x ChubbyMale!Reader}

Requested by: @lunchawx Wordcount: 2114 Summary: After five years of dating, you’re finally thinking of making it social-media official. Warnings: Fat shaming.

You weren’t the sort of person that most people would picture Miss Americana herself to date. Taylor Swift had gone out with some of the best looking, or at least according to the media’s standards best looking - men in the world. You didn’t need to go over them. The tabloids did that enough for you on a daily basis. But the point was that you were the opposite of a lot of these men. You weren’t in the entertainment industry. You weren’t rich. You weren’t famous. You didn’t have a six pack or a chiseled chest or that rugged jaw line or any of those things. You had worked your way up to being a curator at a Museum in New York - not one of the biggest ones, mind you, but big enough to where you always had a lot on your plate. You were overweight according to your doctor though you ate healthy and tried to get lots of exercise. And you had next to no social media presence, only followed by your friends and family - not even Taylor as for the most part, you both agreed on keeping you out of the spotlight, much as that sometimes hurt. But then again - you both had been together for five years now, and you weren’t being picked apart by the media. That was nice.

“Do you think that this is folded in enough? I always think of that scene in Sleeping Beauty where they actually fold them in,” Taylor laughed, snapping you out of your thoughts. When you had stopped at the grocery store to get the ingredients for baking night, you of course had seen Taylor on the magazines. Stepping out with new ‘mystery man’ it had reported. It was only her new bodyguard and would be forgotten in a week or so but it was still a bit annoying to be surrounded by rumors of your own girlfriend.

“Yeah, that looks good babe,” You’d say, looking into her bowl. It was cake night in your shared apartment. The whole quarantine thing had the both of you at home a lot more, though you did still have to go to work, so you were trying new hobbies. Baking had been Taylor’s idea, and it was something you had shot down at first considering your weight, but she was so insistant. She had given you those puppy dog eyes you couldn’t resist. Those baby blues had you saying yes every time. “No shells this time?”

“Oh my god, it was one time, let it go,” Taylor laughed, going for the next couple of ingredients. “I don’t think that you put enough chocolate in yours.”

“It’s a light chocolate cake, not a Devil’s Food Cake. I’m still watching my weight, remember?” You kept on whipping the eggs until they were light and fluffy, and then finally folded your own into the rest of the mixture. “This will probably be my lunch tomorrow,” You joked.

“I’ll make you something, don’t worry,” She said, putting a kiss on your cheek, transferring a bit of flour that she had on her nose onto your skin. You laughed and wiped it off. “What were you thinking about?”

“Saw you on the cover of another magazine today,” You said, slipping behind her, taking the chance to run your hands across her waist as you went to grab one of the cake pans you already prepped. “They’re thinking that Greg is your new boyfriend. It’s really throwing them off that you’re not out there dating openly anymore.”

“Oh, that’s hilarious. I’m sure his wife is going to love that,” Taylor laughed, not taking it seriously. Being in the industry since she was a teenager meant that she had to develop that tough skin. You loved that about her. You only wished that you had been able to do that yourself. “Oh, let’s take a picture before we pop these into the oven.”

Always the change of subject. But you gave in, as you always did, giving her a little nod. She pulled out her phone, turned the front camera on, and snapped a picture of her kissing your cheek while the full cake pans were waiting on the counter. You were grinning, you couldn’t help it. Every time that this wonderful, beautiful woman gave you attention, you were fawning for it. You couldn’t wait to make her your wife. Just a little longer. Just getting the ring sized.

And then the pans went into the oven, and you settled back down on the couch, looking for something to watch while waiting for the timers. Taylor went straight to Law and Order. Of course. You even bobbed your head to the theme tune. Her favorite show in the whole world. She cuddled up to you, hand and head resting on your barrel-like chest. When she touched you like this, it was hard to feel insecure. And the way that she looked up at you whenever the screen went dark between scenes - still made you feel like blushing to this day.

Once the timer went off, cake out of the oven, it was the only part of this whole baking thing that you really enjoyed. Decorating. Tongue in cheek, going over the layers with the icing that you had managed to make look tie-dye with different colors. “What do you think, fruit maybe? Some whipped cream?” You looked over to see what she was doing, only to see that she was literally throwing sprinkles on top of the icing. Making a huge mess, but it was cute to see her looking so joyous.

“Whatever you want,” She’d say, bending low, turning the plate to see the other side of the cake, and then threw even more sprinkles. One thing could be said for her method - she was thorough. There was hardly an inch on it that was untouched. You looked back at your own which was looking plain in comparison, and started chopping up some fruit to put on the top. At least give some semblance of it being healthy. That way you wouldn’t feel as guilty when you went to the doctor next and explained what you’ve been eating. “I can’t wait to try yours,” Taylor said, sticking a finger in your spare icing and dabbed some of it on the tip of your nose with a giggle. Her eyes were lit up from the inside out. She looked happy. Truly happy. “Can we take another photo?”

“Can I at least get this off of my nose first?” You laughed. She shook her head no, and this time in the photo, she was licking it right off of you, the cakes on full display in front of you. Your face was scrunched up from the attention on your nose, which made her laugh when she saw it.

“This is really cute. I might even post it,” She teased, tongue in cheek.

“Doubtful,” You chuckled, and grabbed a knife to make the first cuts.

“No, really,” She said, leaning against the counter, looking at the picture on her phone. “We’ve been together five years now and I haven’t really been able to tell anyone but our close friends and family.”

“Does anyone else matter?” You asked, eyebrows furrowed. “Everyone that I care about knows about you. Why does the whole world?”

“I just - I don’t want you to feel like I’m ashamed of you when I’m not. I’d love to start posting pictures of us, like normal couples do.”

“We’re not a normal couple,” You pointed out. She was pouting again, but this time it didn’t look like she was trying to get what she wanted. She looked genuinely upset. You watched her for a minute as she dropped a couple more sprinkles on spots that she missed, trying to keep her hands busy. “Okay. Fine. You can post one tomorrow if you really want. But can we just relax tonight?”

“Okay,” She said, tucking a long blonde piece of hair behind her ear and smiled. She looked happy again. And that’s the way that you wanted to keep her forever.

-

Your phone was left in your office for most of the day while you were working on the usual day-to-day activities of the museum. You had forgotten your little agreement with Taylor the night before, having settled back in for a night of watching Olivia Benson on the television solving cases.

So when you finally had a chance to sit down and look at your phone, you were surprised to see that it was dead. You plugged it into your spare charger only for it to turn on and have hundreds - maybe even more notifications. You had to quickly go into your settings and try to turn them off so that you could have a breath. That was when you remembered, and immediately opened up instagram. 2.6 million follow requests. Jesus. At least your account was on private, who knows what they would have done if they had been able to go thorugh your photos and comment on them.

You’d leave those for another time to deal with. The next time that you were taking the subway and had nothing else better to do. But for now, you went to Taylor’s profile, where you were one of her millions of followers, never anything special until now. The two pictures from the night before, kissing and silly icing on your nose. ‘#bakingwithboyfriend.’

Over three million likes. Comments galore. And most of them were not of the nice and supportive kind.

‘Oh my god, is this some body positivity stunt?’ 'This is literally like three of her exes put together, weightwise. ‘ 'Must be really rich or have great dick’

There were other ones that were much more rude, but you weren’t going to go through them. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t do that to yourself. You put the phone back down, face down so that you wouldn’t have to look at it, or at the very least be a lot less tempted.

“Mr y/l/n,” Your assistant said, poking his head into the office. His face was looking flushed, so that already gave you an idea of what was going on. He already knew about your relationship, but that didn’t stop him from having fan-boy moments whenever Taylor came in. “She’s here to see you.”

“She can come in,” You said with a nod. He popped his head back out and the tall, lithe figure of Taylor, as dressed down as she could be, walked into the stuffy room. She smiled nervously and sat down across from you in the spot where donors or assistants usually would sit.

“You saw those comments, didn’t you?” Taylor said. You simply nodded. “I already talked to my publicist and we’re going to be taking comments off all of my posts. It isn’t right. Any of it.”

“Can’t say that it wasn’t expected though,” You admitted, leaning back in your chair. “I’m not Styles or Hiddleston.”

“That’s why I love you,” Taylor insisted. “You’re not any of those men, you’re you. They’ve got nothing, nothing at all, on you.”

“But I’m apparently three of them,” You laughed humorlessly. “Look, I knew what I was getting into by falling in love with you. I can accept it. Just sucks that the day had come after all.”

Taylor was quiet for a moment, but then she leaned forward over the desk, and took hold of your hands, giving them a squeeze with her well manicured fingers. “You’re everything to me, y/n. And I just want to show you that. I want to show the whole world that.”

“I know. I know,” You breathed out with a sigh. “Were any of the comments good?”

“Selena is going apeshit in the comments. Or at least she was while I was on the way here. Threatening to fight some of the people saying the worst things but I already deleted most of the really bad ones. I have my publicist on it. Some of them were really positive though. You’re really handsome. Some of them are threatening to come after you when we break up.”

“Ha, like that’s ever going to happen,” You said, shaking your head. “You’re it for me, baby.”

“You’re it for me too,” Taylor said, raising your hands up to kiss the tops of them. Your unmusical hands. “So - are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll get over it. I guess. More incentive to go to the gym maybe. Gotta show your millions of fans that you can still get a buff guy after all.”

“Don’t change yourself too much,” She’d say, smiling. “You’re perfect. Completely and utterly ... perfect.”

#Taylor Swift #Taylor Swift x reader #Taylor Swift oneshot #celebrity #celebrity oneshot #onreshot #one shot #request #x reader #taylors

[vibesandwonders]

a tie that binds

Rhodey looks between the two of them; both grinning with unsettling glee. They barely waited for him to retract his helmet before making their request.

“How did you even know I can legally—”

“We’re past that.” Sam interrupts, he’s bleeding from a cut above his eye. Bucky notices it with an eye roll, and, —quite literally— slaps a bandage on it. “We just wanna know if you’ll do it.”

“And if you say no we’ll post about it.” Bucky adds. The buildings behind them smoke. Local authorities had been given the all-clear and are already raiding and arresting. “Instagram and Twitter will come for your ass.” He says with scary confidence.

Rhodey’s mouth snaps shut with an audible click. “You serious?” He asks.

“As a heart attack.”

“As the fuckin’ grave.” They answer in a horrifying tandem.

“Right here?” He watches Bucky move a knife from the inside of his wrist to his ankle for no visible reason. Sam’s only half-listening as Torres and Doppler give up-to-the-minute updates on the situation post-raid.

“Why not?” Buck asks.

Rhodey gives a half hearted gesture at their surroundings.

“We were gonna do a big thing.” Sam says, by way of explanation, “You know, invite all of our closest friends.”

“Enemies too.” Bucky adds, “Give ‘em a solid chance to take a potshot. Maybe take a couple of them down, kind of a two-for-one deal.”

“Wedding present to each other. Good shit like that.” Sam finishes. “But then Barnes here took an armor piercing round to the shoulder.” Bucky turns and shows the massive tear in his jacket on the vibranium arm side.

“And we figured. Life is short,” Sam says.

“—And you are hot.” Bucky quotes with a cheeky tilt to his mouth.

“We’ve been watching Doctor Who ,” Sam explains quickly to Rhodey.

“It’s been around almost as long as me.” Bucky says proudly. “I get to explain pop-culture references to Sam.”

“Research for the time/universe bullshit.”

“Timey-wimey—”

“ Please stop ,” Rhodey begs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And frankly, I don’t want you to explain.” He adds quickly. “I like not being a nerd-ass virgin.” Cuts himself off when he suddenly remembers that he’s somehow officiating their wedding; and has very-recently been witness to their oblivious R-rated behavior. A muscle in his eye twitches.

Sam blinks, then plows ahead unbothered. “Might as well make it official while we’re both young and have all our pieces.”

“Mostly,” Bucky reminds him, waves casually with his prosthetic, waggling his fingers dramatically.

“Fuck you, jackass.” Sam mouths happily. Bucky flips him off.

“Ya’ll got a real messed up thing going.” Rhodey says, reminding them that he’s definitely still in the middle of all this.. “But uh congratulations, I think, Future Wilsons? Barneses?”

There’s the pop of gunfire in the distance. All three heads snap that way, three sets of hands going for various weapons.

“So you’ll do it?” Sam asks, when a quick radio signal indicates that the situation was safe again. They can see the glow of some sort of magic still inside the building.

Fucking multiverse.

“I mean…” Rhodes sighs. “Yeah.”

Sam nods. “You mind if I facetime Sarah and the kids?”

“You’re kidding right?” Rhodey knows the answer. “She can’t be a witness if she’s not physically present—”

“Yeah.” Bucky acknowledges, “We know. I googled it.”

Sam looks pleased and surprised. “When?”

“After we finished clearing out the cult members inside the entry-way.” He shrugs, “There was a lull.”

“I knew getting you that phone was a good idea.”

Rhodey clears his throat. Bucky throws up his hand, “Yeah yeah, I remember, witnesses. Uh…” He looks around, makes eye-contact with a helmeted figure; rattles off something in quick, confident hungarian. Sam fights the urge to find it distractingly hot and fails. The man in SWAT gear stops, halting the prisoner in front of him. Rhodey and Sam wait for the conversation to end. Bucky’s speaking fast and grinning sort of sheepishly. There’s a quick bark of laughter from beneath the helmet.

“He says he’ll witness.” Bucky says.

“I now pronounce you husband and hus—”  There’s a breathtaking flash of color that they’ve all begun to recognize as magic and/or multiverse fuckery, of course,  it comes from over where the Multiverse cult had been performing their ritual, cutting off Sunny’s quick, joyful cheer. She’s holding Alpine and waving her little paws in her little videochat square. Zahra adds something over comms in persian and it makes Bucky blush.

“Ah fuck.” Sam murmurs, “Can’t give us five goddamn minutes to get hitched?”

Bucky squeezes his hand. “Could just let Strange and his people handle it?”

“Look at you acting like you wanna miss out on all the fun.” Sam rolls his eyes. “Sarah?” He says to the screen that the hungarian SWAT officer is holding. “We gotta go."

“Be safe you two,” she says all pixelated. “Or I'll kick your asses.”

Bucky waves and thanks the soldier who hands him his phone and kisses them both unexpectedly on the cheek.

Rhodey watches the whole thing in barely suppressed horror and fascination.

“You ready Cap?” He asks. Sam’s wings unfurl next to him. Torres is saying something about a big-ass, post-wedding party when they get home.

“You two have rings? Or is this uh, a purely gentleman’s handshake kinda deal?”

Sam scratches his head. “Well, uh—”

Bucky shyly pulls a small box from somewhere and tosses it to Sam. “I mighta called in a favor with Shuri—”

Sam opens it, finds a slim band made of a familiar gold metal. Bucky pulls his glove off and wiggles his fingers.

“Figured this’d be easier,” he says. Pointing smugly at the link of metal that had been swapped for gold on his left ring finger. “She took one outta my hand and made yours.” He adds. “I’ve just been uh, waiting for the right moment.”

“Ya’ll done?” Rhoday says tiredly.

Sam winks, pulls Bucky in for a kiss that makes Rhodey groan with annoyance and avert his eyes; slips him a little tongue just to be annoying. Torres (and the rest of the Little Howlers) whoop over the comms. He pulls back. Both now a little breathless, can’t resist, goes in for another. Shorter. Sweeter. The edge of Bucky’s mouth quirks up.

He tilts, looks a little past Sam’s face, pulls a pistol and fires a shot off behind them. Rhodey watches a figure fall from a hidden vantage point too-far for any normal human to hit. The barrel smokes softly.

Sam’s eyes darken, mouth dry. He swallows.

Honestly. Murder Husband hot.

Husband.

And there are no other thoughts for a solid 5 seconds.

“We are in active combat.” Rhodey reminds them, mostly for his sake. They separate hesitantly.

“Don’t do any dumb shit and make me a young widow, okay Barnes?” Sam calls over his shoulder, and then he’s blazing toward a wide wall of shimmering power starting to erode and expand out of the building. Bucky rolls his eyes at Rhodey and takes off running, calling after the winged silhouette.

“It’s young widower asshole.”

I'm on ao3 too :)

the series here

#bucky x sam #sambucky #winterfalcon #sam/bucky #bucky/sam #sam x bucky #the falcon and the winter soldier #captain America and the winter soldier #tfatws fic #caatws fic #enemies to friends to lovers to husbands #just kiss #marvel fic #its all au now #one shot #Rhodey is so tired of them

[jennycalendar]

ok you know what i think it’s actually really vital that i talk a little bit about tea time. buckle up kiddos.

first off, a brief and relatively spoiler-free summary: the premise of the issue is very simple. the kiddos (aged up, if willow’s mention of being engaged is any indication) are hanging out in the library to help giles with research, swapping stories about what it would be like were giles a vampire. each of them, save giles, gets a chance to tell a detailed story -- xander tells two! -- and each story plays out in a way that says a lot about the scooby that’s telling it AND the way they view giles.

obviously this is a VERY character-driven issue, and it’s a really really interesting look at giles and how he is perceived as well! shit like that is my bread and butter, so this has honestly become one of my favorite things that boom has put out -- possibly my ACTUAL top favorite issue if we’re being real here. 

below the cut is a spoilery dissection of every story told -- a literal summary of Every Single Thing that happens in this issue, as well as what it has to say about the scoobies and their perception of giles, so definitely keep that in mind.

as can be seen in the preview, xander’s first story is about giles rising from the grave as an ineffectual british caricature, who is easily defeated by smoldering, sexy xander harris (and xander in turn walks off with buffy and willow draped all over him, cooing about how amazing he is). it’s more of an intro to the premise than anything, but it still sets the tone pretty clearly wrt how xander handles this situation: there’s some laughter and levity, and he’s center stage. obviously a lot can be said about xander’s self-esteem issues and how he overcompensates by casting himself as the main protagonist both in canon and here. however, i wanna save my more in-depth xander analysis for his second, longer, story, so i’ll stop myself there.

willow immediately responds with skepticism: she’s of the mind that giles would be an incredibly serious big-bad level threat. the tale she spins involves giles as a dangerous vampire cleric with access to a cryptic altar, killing xander almost immediately and slaughtering buffy as a sacrifice to create eternal night. her view of giles is more clinical than anything -- and, i would argue, the most perceptive and realistic from a threat standpoint. the guy knows a fuckton of magic and he is incredibly well-read and powerful. he’d have some kind of terrifying master plan. where xander goes for comedy, willow goes straight for logistics, already looking at the battle like it’s a battle rather than laughs aplenty. 

xander and buffy have a bone to pick with willow’s story (xander is indignant that he’s immediately and brutally killed, buffy is of the mind that she would easily defeat giles in hand-to-hand combat even if he IS a vampire), so (after one more teasing story where buffy lives and xander dies) willow gracefully alters her narrative to reflect her friends’ objections: after a dramatic tussle, xander helps willow and buffy unceremoniously stakes giles in the heart. still pretty straightforward and plausible. willow sees vamp giles primarily as a threat -- one not easily neutralized. one who could easily wipe them out.

buffy, about to tell her story, is interrupted by xander, who “had an even better idea!” the web he weaves is this time purported as realistic and entertaining: while partying at the bronze, buffy and co. are interrupted by a bunch of balding, greying vampires in curlers and bathrobes, led, of course, by giles -- who is wearing a hair bonnet and disapprovingly informing the bouncers how late it is at eight PM. a knockdown brawl breaks out at the bronze -- old people feeding on and decimating the young -- and culminates in giles and the geezers taking over the band to sing “some terrible song” that’s “probably something really old and bad!” the rest of the story descends into b-movie chaos, with buffy throwing a broken guitar neck up at the stage lights to send the whole thing crashing down onto vampire giles and his vampire old person band. it’s categorically absurd.

the thing that really sticks with me about this story is how dumb it is. xander’s take on giles is not even slightly serious and wholly underestimates him. fandom at large talks a lot about how giles dropped the ball with xander, but i think tea time explores an easily overlooked factor: xander constantly, consistently underestimates giles. in canon, xander’s view of giles is not often challenged: to him, giles is a bumbling, british librarian who regularly gets his ass handed to him by vamps and demons and the like. certainly part of his story’s intent is about laughingly entertaining his gal pals, but there’s a very real and consistent thread involving giles being hilariously nonthreatening. 

giles, taking umbrage at this particular tale, calls out both xander and willow: xander’s story, in giles’s opinion, emasculates vamp giles and turns him into a ridiculous caricature -- and willow’s story, though much more flattering, lacks the kind of imagination that vamp giles would clearly have. he then offers a suggestion of his own. it’s worth mentioning here that both xander’s and willow’s stories get gorgeous multiple-page spreads depicting the vampy action, but giles’s is a simple and chilling little thing: this is his vampire story. this meeting, called to ostensibly “research” a vampire altar, is really an excuse to get the scoobies to do his dirty work and find the thing for him. they’re tired and silly because the tea and donuts he’s given them are drugged, and their library location is to keep them out of daylight. he laughs it off when he sees they’re bothered, and the meeting is then adjourned when willow finally finds what they’re all looking for. 

buffy’s left her phone in the library, so she doubles back, and accidentally wakes up a dozing giles. just as she’s about to leave, he inquires, casually, “...you never did tell your version of the story.”

and good god here is where it gets interesting.

see, buffy’s take is simple: she’s fighting giles in a cemetery, she’s given the chance to kill him, and she is entirely unable to do it. they share a tearful embrace as she sobs about the unfairness of it all -- “you’re giles! and you’ll always be! ...how will i do this without you? without your guidance?” and as the sun is rising, giles turns her into a vampire, with no resistance whatsoever from buffy. the next handful of pages depict bloody, indulgent violence on the parts of giles and buffy, the two of them cuddled up together as they watch the world burn. 

buffy’s tale is the most emotive, the most loving, which makes me so damn soft! i love this girl so much! she is unable to even joke about giles as a foe to be taken down -- he is her watcher. he is her friend. she loves him endlessly and that does not change when he’s a vampire. vamp giles as she portrays him is gentle and understanding, holding her as she cries, because he knows that they’re connected. it’s easily my favorite part of this whole issue.

notably, there is a definite buffy/giles bend that the comic itself tries to contradict. the art is sensual in nature -- vamp buffy all dolled up in a way somewhat evocative of drusilla, giles tenderly caressing her face as he waits for her to wake up. “watcher and slayer connected forever” being the quote chosen to describe the situation. i think it’s kind of what naturally happens in a vamp giles sitch, especially if he turns buffy -- the childe/sire bond is incredibly sexual in nature, especially in canon, and a lot of frustrating human sentiment gets translated into something sexual as well. sex is a big BIG part of the relationships between vampires we see in canon; it would make a lot of sense for that to hold true for buffy and giles.

the comic is reticent about Going There, which i can understand -- though buffy is decisively aged up in this issue (willow mentions being engaged to a woman, later revealed to be tara), the buffy/giles bond is always seen through a father/daughter lens in canon. i do think it’s also important to always recognize how desperately giles wishes to escape the label of father in reference to buffy, pretty much entirely because there is no way to parent a child soldier who you’re also training, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. point is, buffy very pointedly refers to vamp giles as her father not once, but twice -- once as a human, once as a vampire herself. it’s a very clear attempt, imo, to un-sexualize the vampy experience. the reason it doesn’t totally work, at least for me, is the fact that -- like i said -- the childe/sire bond is VERY sexual (spike and dru, angel and darla, angel and dru) and it seems just totally implausible that vamp buffy/vamp giles (two people who, as human were both VERY repressed) would chastely remain within the socially acceptable version of their relationship.

i can definitely understand why they did their best to blur that line, though. the idea of buffy and giles being romantically involved as vampires is 1) Kind Of A Lot and 2) not exactly the target demographic that i think this comic is going for. but the subtext is there, to the point where the issue itself has to actively obfuscate it, which i think is .... so interesting? especially as a counterpoint to the way i often see buffy/giles in fandom, wherein the father/daughter subtext in canon is at times actively obfuscated in fic in an attempt to push a preferred reading. 

the ending i particularly enjoyed: after buffy leaves, it is lightly and ambiguously implied that giles might really be a vampire. works GREAT as a standalone, imo, and the end is like the cherry on top. it’s a really REALLY interesting issue and i highly recommend it for any giles fan. 

#meta #btvs comics #buffy and giles #''a little bit'' they say. and write a full fucking essay #anyway i love this issue it's my prized possession i am dying for at least one (1) person to read this insane summary and talk to me abt it