#since you can't save at all during that first cycle

[trulyhblue]

Baby England

Lionesses x Young! Reader (platonic), Leah Williamson x reader (platonic).

Warnings: fluff, a little bit of angst, coarse language, school, young reader.

A/N — still can't get over Sam's ACL. Like I woke up just to cry? No, thank you.

Masterlist

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The Games Room was quiet for what seemed to be the first time ever. The team was sprawled throughout the room, some of them on their phones, others by mountains of pillows. Georgia and Keira were in the indoor pitch juggling with one another. Alex was having a soft conversation with Hempo, laughing at something one of them had said.

The serenity of the room was something you didn't catch often. Usually, the hustle of the team would echo across the walls, loud pints of laughter and screaming coming from one corner of the room to the other. Lucy was often yelling at Mario Kart, and Ellie was always strutting around Table Tennis in triumph, while everyone else grumbled on about how she was too good.

But for now, it was silent, save for the low conversations from the different groups. Even Lessi and Tooney were keeping in check, sharing a rocking chair with mounds of blankets hauled over the top of them.

For anyone else in the room, it would've been extremely relaxing.

For you, it was anything but.

You wanted to snap your pen in half, feeling the fatigue of yesterday's game daunting on your muscles. The words on your laptop were dancing behind the blur of your eyes. You struggled to stay concentrated as Leah sat next to you, taking her eyes off her phone every once while to make sure you were actually doing your homework.

The Euros were speeding by quicker than any of you could imagine. The outcome of your results, and the number of fans that had started to compile over the weeks, was indescribable. This was your debut camp for the Lionesses, and while you spent most of your time on the bench, making late appearances in the 70th minutes of games, you wouldn't change it for the world.

However, with all the excitement and privilege that came with representing your country in such a prestigious competition at Sixteen, you were faced with the challenge of keeping up with school.

When you first signed with the Lionesses, your parents were determined to keep you in school. Your education was very important, and if football ever ended badly for you, they wanted you to have something to fall back on. Growing up through the youth groups, and developing skills in the Arsenal Academy, you were used to the physical and emotional demands of a professional football career. Your parents were incredibly supportive of your dream to play, but their underlying worry when you were called up to the National Team was daunted on them.

So, to make everyone happy, you decided to take on the complicated challenge of juggling both football and school. This meant that in your spare time, all you did was study for exams, take the exams, and then study for the next one. It was an endless cycle of school and work, but you knew that it would be all worth it in the end.

The worst thing about it was that none of the girls were your age. Some of them had Uni work to do, but you were still mastering high school subjects. The workload wasn't nearly as draining, and they seemed to have it all sorted out in a few short hours while you were spending all of your extra time peeling away your useless worksheets, essays and papers.

Lots of the girls were lenient. None of them liked the idea of you cooped up in front of a screen. Hempo would buy you some crisps from down the road. Mary would make TikToks with you, Beth would scoop you up for cuddles and a movie. LJ would pull you away for Mario Kart. All the girls believed that you needed a break, especially in such a stressful time.

But Leah was the exact opposite.

You had known Leah since you were seven. You had met her during one of your Arsenal Youth games, immediately looking up to her as an older sister and role model. Even as a teenager, Leah holds a protective arm around you. She was always ready to defend you on the pitch, not only as a Captain, but as a friend. She wasn't afraid to put you in line — she was the only one who could send you running laps if you were too cheeky. She was strict, especially when you parents weren't there to boss you around, and everyone knew that her authority over you was nothing to debate.

You were training with the Arsenal Women's Team while you were still at the Academy. You're not quite sure why you were chosen in the squad, as you struggled to believe you made the cut at such a young age, but the England Captain didn't hesitate to make you put in the work.

She was a bit like your agent, always persuading you to do something when you weren't sure what to do yourself. You still weren't signed with a WSL team, but as the Euros progressed, teams from everywhere were banking up to sign you as soon as possible. You tried hard not to delve too deeply into it. You knew Arsenal was a main contender, and that's where you most wanted to go, but your focus right now was the Euros... and the essay in front of you.

"C'mon, get it done," Leah ordered, scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, her hand carrying the weight on her head against the desk. You had been sitting there for over an hour, a total of one paragraph typed out on your screen. Outside, you could see Beth and Lotte playing Basketball. You threw your head backwards, groaning in respite. This was the last thing you wanted to be doing.

"No use whining about it." She spoke, still not looking at you. "'Might as well smash it out now so it's done."

"'Dunno what to write about." You grumbled, shoving your hands into your pockets. You managed to slip a glance towards Esme, feeling your hopes lift up when she gave you a knowing nod.

But of course, Leah caught the interaction. "Hempo, no." She snapped, sending the Forward back to her seat. "You don't get crisps when you've done nothing to deserve it."

"Leah-"

"-Get on with it."

You slouched back into your chair, making sure your Huff was loud and overly obnoxious. Leah had no reaction, leaning back in her chair, and continuing to scroll on her phone.

"Y/N." She murmured in warning.

When you made no effort to keep going, she finally looked at you.

You could tell she was over it. She wasn't obliged to sit with you, but it was an unspoken rule that she did, otherwise, you would never get it finished. The older woman secretly felt bad for making you do it. If it was her choice, you wouldn't be doing school during the tournament. She understood your reluctance, but both of you could guess the consequences of your actions if you weren't handing it in.

"You've got half an hour." She snapped, her glare darkening. If she wasn't strict now, it'd end badly. "If it's not done, I'll bench you."

From the corner of your eye, you could see Lauren stop her Lego abruptly. Esme was no longer looking at her phone, instead tilting her head away from the tension rising in an attempt to not get involved.

Leah didn't have the power to bench anyone, the older girls knew that. But to your virtue, you thought that Leah was capable of anything. An abuse of power, maybe, but it worked all the same.

You begrudgingly tapped at your keyboard, making a point to roll you eyes when Leah set an alarm for half an hour. You were determined to keep your spot as a preferred sub, refusing to let Leah feel all smug at the fact that you couldn't finish the stupid essay.

Lauren continued on with her Lego. Esme was starting a new bracelet. Beth and Lotte's giggles were drowned out by the determination written all over your face. Without your knowledge, more and more people began to cram into the Game Room. First, Lucy, then Kei and Gee. A few minutes later, Alessia and Ella were doing a TikTok, their voices growing louder as the minutes went by. LJ walked past with confusion written across her features. She leaned over your shoulder, eyes slightly widening at the page full of words. She glanced to Leah's phone and the timer, then at Leah, who was staring off into the distance.

By five minutes left, you had written nearly two whole pages. Your hands were cramping, and your feet couldn't keep still. Chloe and Katie were surrounding you behind LJ, waiting for you to snap out of your trance and notice the crowd that had complied.

You were reading over your final sentences when the door crashed open, revealing Millie and Rach running in frantically with a cameraman hot on their trail. Their presence was so boisterous that everyone stopped to see who it was, watching in curiosity when the two women started searching the room.

"We need the Baby!" Millie screamed, scrambling onto the floor to check underneath the lounge. "We need the baby!"

Rachel was running to the bean bags, dashing past Lucy, Keira and Georgia playing Mario Kart. Everyone laughed in amusement at the cameraman struggling to keep up with the two of them.

"Where is she?!" Rach screeched at Esme and Lauren, ignoring the fits of giggle the pair were in. "Where's the baby?"

"Over here, idiots," Zelem stated, causing both their heads to dart in your direction. The girls surrounding you were quick to scatter, knowing the wrath of the two women was not something easily escapeable. Millie was about to yank you from under your shoulders when Leah moved in front of you, her prior amusement halting, replaced with her usual sternness.

You were closing your laptop at the sight of the camera, beaming at the thought of freeing yourself.

"Not now, Bright," Leah uttered, wrapping an arm around the back of your chair. "She's got school."

Instead of leaving you be, the duo closed in on you, beckoning the camera over to your work sprawled across the table.

Both of them held tiny mics, holding them up to their mouths as they spoke.

"Here we've got the Arsenal Protege in her natural habitat. Born and raised in red, she seems to be researching ways to leave."

"Both Arsenal and Leah."

Leah's face contorted into deep offence. "Hey!"

"Yes, it appears she is." Rachel nodded vigorously, picking up your book, pretending to read it. "She has written down Aston Villa as her top contender. Not only is she fast, but smart too."

Millie hugged you from behind. "But we all know what side of London she's thinking of, isn't that right? Smart, little, blue she'll be, am I right, Williamson?"

The camera panned to Leah, who was not looking at all amused. The thought of you being at any other club felt absolutely gut-wrenching to her. Like her, you had grown up bleeding in North London. She wouldn't trade any other player twice as good as you if that meant you'd stay. But while she'd never admit it, Leah wasn't worried about you leaving Arsenal. She was more worried that you'd leave her.

"Over my dead body." She snapped, wrenching the Chelsea woman's arms away from you, swerving your chair back to face your laptop. "Now, off you go, she needs to get this done."

"I've finished it, Lee." You muttered, feeling embarrassed at the fact that fans would prune over the way you were bossed around. When it came to your figure in the media, it was mainly regarding your blamelessness in comparison to your more experienced teammates. You were often babied by the girls, and fans adored the interactions you would have with them, especially with Leah.

Your Captain looked at you, crossing her arms. "You promise me you're done?"

"Promise." Your cheeks heated as the snickers fell from Daly's lips. You nodded, slowly inching off your seat. "Please, Lee, I've been stuck here for hours."

"Yeah, c'mon, Williamson, let her come to the dark side." Millie barked, causing Leah to grumble at the notion.

It took her a few moments to decide whether or not to let you go, huffing in defeat when she turned off her phone. "Fine. But no Chelsea or Villa talk, swear to Go—"

You were off before she could finish her lecture. Millie had picked you up, lifting you over her shoulders as Rach followed behind. The three of you ran into the indoor training pitch, with the poor cameraman following after you hopelessly.

When Millie plopped you down, you engulfed the warmth of someone's lap. You craned your head back to find Jordan looking back at you, her beady, toothy grin beaming back at you. The Arsenal midfielder wrapped her arms around you as you made the effort to snuggle into her body. Jordan was like your second mother when you were away from home. She was an ongoing support that wore her heart on her sleeve. She was different from Leah's opposing relentless, being more of a calm before the storm, less sentimental but effusive nonetheless.

You were supposed to be Jordan's substitute during your time at the Euros, but her knee injury had ruled her out. Therefore, the woman was only there when the squad wasn't training.

You noticed the multiple cameras surrounding the couch you were all squeezed on, but the attention felt a little less daunting with the comfort of the girls around you.

"We've got some questions for you," Millie spoke, revealing some palm cards from God knows where.

You nodded, keeping your head on Jord's chest. "Ask away."

"Who is your favourite teammate?"

You thought to yourself for a second before shrugging. "Jordan."

Rach scoffed. "Boring."

"Yeah, next!" Millie rolled her eyes. "Who would win in a fight, me or Daly?"

"Why am I answering these?!" You laughed, shaking your head. "You could've asked anyone."

"Those aren't the real questions." Jordan prodded, leading the two women to laugh their heads off at their supposed humour. You looked around at everyone, extremely confused about what you were here for. There were a few PR Managers behind the media setup, all with clipboards in their hands. You managed to catch Jordan eyeing Bright and Daly, squeezing your body a little tighter.

"Yeah, yeah, we're just having a laugh." Mils chortled, straightening up before continuing. "We're to announce that Baby England here has been asked to answer a few questions on behalf of the team."

You watched the centre-back intently. "Why me?"

"Dunno." Rach shrugged, followed shortly by Mil's voice. "Just 'cause."

"Alright, then, by who?"

"God, you'd think with all that schoolwork you'd be a bit brighter."

Jordan huffed from behind you. "Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright." Rachel scoffed, taking out the same cards as Millie had, the England Lioness logo plastered on the back. "So, seriously now, how do you think the Lionesses have worked throughout the Euros?"

You were never the one to be faced with serious questions in interviews. In fact, you had only ever attended one or two. At Arsenal, you were in the Academy, meaning the media surrounding you and your team was very scarce. As a representative of your National Team, the two interviews you had been a part of were your induction and your Player of the Match award at the end of one of the games. You weren't used to being in the spotlight like your England teammates, but you were not opposed to being overshadowed by them either. You knew you had a lot to learn, you were happy to play alongside them.

“Erm, I'm not quite sure.” You posed, blushing at the laughter that followed. “I'm very proud to be a part of it… this is a big opportunity for me, and I'm grateful for having the chance to represent my country.”

“True English,” Mils said fondly, finding the camera with her eyes. “Modest as always.”

Jordan hugged you tighter. “Let her finish, Millie.”

“But I think all of the girls think that, even to a bigger scale than me.” You continued, fidgeting with your hands. “It's a home Euros so… we all want to bring it home. I think that's one of the main contributors — the pressure, but also the idea of winning. We all want our families and country to be proud. So, yeah, and because we all love football. That's a given.”

“That was a bloody good answer, Baby England,” Rach commented. Her hand was rubbing your shoulder, her legs crossed over each other on the lounge. The Defender behind her was smiling, propping herself into a more comfortable position before she spoke.

“Speaking of,” She smirked. “Are you bothered by your nickname ‘Baby England?’ Do you feel a bit bugged by it?”

You giggled into Jordan, your cheeks inevitably heating up. “Erm, yes and no. I mean, I know I'm the youngest but I’ll go back to training and the girls will be teasing me for it.”

“Do you want to stay in the Academy?” Rach asked. “What’s your plans after the Euros?”

“Not sure.” You shrugged. “Hopefully we finish with Gold, that's the hope, obviously. But, I’ll just have to see.”

Both women looked at each other, then the camera, hiding their smiles concurrently. Jordan and you watched in confusion.

“Should we start the list of offers you've got right now?” Daly chortled. “I can think of five on the top of my head.”

“Who’s your top five?” Millie continued, leaning in and mouthing her club Chelsea.

“Leah would kill me!” You laughed, shaking off the question. “I was talking to Lessi and Lotte about the States, cause my parents still want me to have an education. But to be fair, my agent hasn't told me any offers. I don't think she will until the Euros are over.”

“Well, you heard it hear first.” Rachel beamed. “Baby England to Villa!”

The Cameraman was about to end the video when a booming fury echoed from across the room.

All heads turned to an enraged Leah storming over. “I said no Villa talk!”

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yourusername (pretend it's you and Leah)

yourusername — sorry @ rachdaly, no Villa talk

Comments

milliebright — u say nothing about Chelsea, right?

^ leahwilliamson — don't even go there.

lionesses — football’s coming home ��🏼

racheldaly — I’ll find a way

^ leahwilliamson — no you won't.

user1 — Leah fighting for Y/N’s spot at Arsenal more than Arsenal themselves LMAO

^ user2 — she really said North London Forever

lottewubbenmoy — Baby England 🫶🏼

alessiarusso99 — beautiful girls

*liked by yourusername, leahwilliamson

User3 — is this an Aston Villa denial confirmation?

^ user4 — I think shes just referencing the YouTube video or Her, Jordan, Mils, and Rach.

^ user5 — shes got all these offers, who knows

^ user3 — she practically confirmed she was going to North Carolina in that video tho

^ user4 — 🤷‍♀️ you could say that is is an Arsenal Confirmation since Leah’s in it. Fr tho idk.

Leahwilliamson — my 🌟 girl

^ user6 — their friendship is so cute

User7 — All these clubs want her, WHERE WILL SHE GO

^ yourusername — 👀

^ user7 — STOP DO NOT DO THIS TO ME

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#lionesses #england #football #alessia russo #leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #millie bright x reader #rachel daly x reader #jordan nobbs #woso x reader #woso community #woso soccer #woso fanfics #woso one shot #woso blurbs #arsenal wfc #beth mead #chelsea #arsenal #chelsea women

[ladyluscinia]

What Exactly Did David Jenkins Say?

Look, I'm still staunchly of the opinion that Word of God statements and creator interviews are overvalued in fandom, especially when they get pulled out mostly as gotchas without then continuing to analyze whether or not the show canon is successful at getting across that same message. Death of the Author is good, actually, and we should remember that. But they are worth looking at in the context of evaluating intent vs execution, and for future speculation - just, like, please with less of the whole mile high pedestal idolizing and backlash cycles.

But if overvalued "Word of God" is annoying, then overvalued "supposed creator statements that have gone through three rounds of telephone and any given blogger has only heard about a quarter of them, which they'll use confidently anyway" is worse. So, since I'd already looked up interviews for various reasons...

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of interviews David Jenkins has given and statements he's made during them, presented without commentary (save curating which statements get highlighted). All provided with links. I definitely missed some, so if you have any that you want to add, please do - though if you could trim off any commentary and save it for tags / your own post with a link that would be cool.

Also, again, just because he said it doesn't make it incontrovertible canon that only a blind person wouldn't understand. Some of these even arguably contradict each other. The creator's intent doesn't always translate to what the show is doing, nor do you even have to think it was a good idea.

(Listed in chronological order from oldest to newest - post contains spoilers below the cut)

Pre-S1

Gizmodo - Feb 22, 2022 - with Cheryl Eddy (io9) - Link

Why this story - Really, it was the enigma of Stede that drew him in. "I think actual pirate stuff is fine, but it's not necessarily my cup of tea. And I think Taika [Waititi] felt similarly. But hearing about this guy and reading about him and seeing that, you know, he left his family, then he met Blackbeard, they hit it off, and we don't know any of the details in between. So filling those blanks in, and having a very human story, and then being able to do it with the pirate genre, that was like, 'Oh, this would be cool.'"

Post 1x01 - 1x03

Polygon - March 5, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

About Stede running off to sea - "Stede thought he could outrun his baggage, and you can't outrun your baggage."

About S1 - "I don't think there was enough improv on set! We had an insane schedule, with a huge amount of plot. We were budgeted and designed as a one-hour show, but with a half-hour production schedule, which means we really had to chase these episodes to get them shot. And then there are certain emotional beats that we really needed. So trying to find places to find the fun was hard."

Mashable - Mar 5, 2022 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the show concept - "It was Jenkins' wife who first told him about Stede's adventures; she thought it would make a good TV show."

On casting Rhys Darby - "Stede did a terrible thing to his family. If you cast it wrong, he's a very hard character to get behind," Jenkins said. "Very quickly, the only person I thought of for this was Rhys [Darby]. He has this childlike quality that's endearing."

About the story - "Seeing them discover a need for each other that neither anticipated and charting how that relationship goes is the meat of the story." + "If you're on this ship, you're running from something, and you're running to something that you can't be on land"

Mentions of matelotage - "In fact, one of Jenkins's favorite pirate facts that he learned while working on Our Flag Means Death was the term matelotage, which was a civil union between same-sex pirates. "The more you look at it," he explained, "the more you write to the fact that this is a queer-positive world.""

Discussing piracy careers - "Something else that astounded Jenkins about pirates was "just how fast it all moved — their lives were quite short," he said. "Your career [in piracy] wasn't very long.""

Post 1x09 - 1x10

Decider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Kayla Cobb - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "That was in the pitch," series creator David Jenkins told Decider. "That was the reason, to make them fall in love with each other."

About the romance - "The main thing to me was to side-step coming out," Jenkins continued. "I just want a romance. I want a Titanic romance between these two people. We don't have to do the coming out story and then the non-binary story for Jim [Vico Ortiz]."

About S2 and the show - "The show is the relationship," Jenkins said. "So, we end in a place where there is this breakup. What happens after a breakup between these two people who, one’s realized he's in love and the other one is hurt in a way that he's never been hurt before? What does that do to each of them in an action, pirate world with them trying to find each other again? So again, I really love those rom-com beats."

Collider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Carly Lane - Link

On making it a romcom - "It's the only reason to make the show. If you didn't do that, it would just be weird. I mean, you're using the rom-com beats. You're using these like they're together. And it's funny because so we're so habituated to be like bromance, bromance, bromance, and it's such a simple move to put them together."

Discusses focusing on romance - "I guess I really... I get kind of bored. How much pirate can you do? They're going to rob stuff. They're going to steal ships. There's only so many pirate stories you can do. So if you're going to do a workplace story, I mean, you're essentially having this... You'd have this same amount of relationships in Grey's Anatomy in the ER. So it's standard. It's the most standard. We're making a soap opera on a pirate ship, and to use those soap opera beats... I like it, and I like the flavor in a comedy when you have something that's played genuinely up against very ridiculous things."

Discusses history and kissing scene

Discusses importance of going home to Mary - "Yeah, that was the problem for me in the story. I knew that I wanted to have the end where he goes home, because you need to give Mary her day in court. I just wanted to know from Mary's perspective what happened and then to see that, yeah, they're friends."

Is Lucius dead? - "You got to wait."

EW.com - Mar 25, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "To me, [Stede and Blackbeard's relationship] is the reason to make the show," Jenkins explains. "When Taika and I were first talking about it, he was like, 'Oh yeah, that's the show.' I first started reading about Stede and how he befriended Blackbeard and we don't know why. Very quickly, it was like, 'Oh, it's a romance.'"

Polygon - Mar 25, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season intent - "I think three seasons is good. I think we could do it in three."

Discusses acts within S1 - "To me, when you see him get stabbed, and the blood runs through his fingers, it’s like 'Oh, no, the clown got stabbed! And not comedy-stabbed, he got stabbed stabbed!' That to me is cool. And then having Blackbeard find him as the end of what would be the first act of our story felt good to me."

Discusses kiss scene filming and the national moment around gay rights

What to focus on a rewatch - "I think Con O'Neill does such a great job. He's such a complex character, and it's such a tortured relationship. And that's a love story too, between him and Blackbeard. It's a very dysfunctional story, but it's fun to watch. Watch that maybe, on a rewatch, looking where their relationship ultimately goes."

TV Insider - Mar 25, 2022 - with Meaghan Darwish - Link

Discusses show pitch - "When I was pitching [the show] to people, I'd be like, 'Okay, so it's about Stede and Blackbeard, and then they hit it off and then they fall in love.' And then people are like, 'Okay, cool,' Jenkins shares. "And then they really fall in love, and become intimately involved."

Discusses historical inspiration

Discusses S2 direction - "But when [Stede] goes to find [Blackbeard], he's gone and his crew's been abandoned. And so watching them try to negotiate that, that's a good rom-com beat," he adds.

The Verge - Apr 15, 2022 - with Charles Pulliam-Moore - Link

Discusses being surprised by queerbaiting legacy - "...part of me knew that, yes, Stede and Ed's romance was going to be real. But one part of me felt like, 'We're going to do this story, and they're going to kiss, and maybe that's not even going to be that big a deal. Maybe it'll just be a blip.'"

Discusses writing romance - "I'd never written a romance before this one, but I think with Ed and Stede, the question's always 'what's the need for each other?'"

Discusses falling in love and Stede's accidental seduction - "It made sense to have that love be almost like a teenage version of falling in love — one with all these intense and conflicting feelings. They're middle-aged, but Stede's young. Ed's young. Emotionally, they're like 16, and they've both got a lot to learn."

Discusses Con O'Neill as Izzy - "He plays an exhausted quality that's really lovely because this character could just be generically evil, and the way Con plays, it is like, he's credible. I believe that he can do some damage if he wanted to. My favorite thing I've seen about the show is somebody saying that Con's playing the only human with a bunch of Muppets. It does feel like that a bit where he's like Charles Grodin in The Great Muppet Caper."

On Izzy being in love with Blackbeard - "I think Izzy's deeply in love with Blackbeard, and it's a very dysfunctional kind of love, and he's like the jilted spouse who's losing his man to fucking Stede Bonnet, and he can't believe this is happening."

Discusses masculinity and piracy as an escape from that

Discusses diversity and trauma based stories - "And the consensus in that very diverse room was that we wanted to show that isn't just wallowing in trauma. We don't have to do a coming out scene or focusing on the trauma of it — not to say that those stories aren’t valid."

Gizmodo - Jun 20, 2022 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Musing on fandom response to the show - "I'm wondering if the fact that because the queerness of this show isn't gaslighting the audience, and isn't a function of wanting to do something, but not being able to produce the results because of network standards. I think we just happened to be in this lucky spot where the show is actually queer… and I do think that people are responding to that."

Comparing fanfiction to writing - "And Con O'Neill's audition was one of those things I would go back to. I would watch that and be like… Oh, right, that's the show. And in a way, you're writing fanfiction for a certain actor and character because you want them to do something, and you're like–" at this point, it must be said, Jenkins let out a maniacal little giggle. He’s just as thrilled to show off Con O'Neill's ability to seem both deeply exhausted and menacing as the rest of the fandom. "And you [as the writer] you're like… And then Izzy does this now."

EW.com - Dec 13, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses The Chain sequence - "I had initially wanted that end sequence to be like the FBI raid in a mob movie, where the feds come in, and they've got boxes of stuff, and everyone's running, and someone makes a dash for it," Jenkins explains. "So, it's like a mob movie or FBI raid story, and then it's also a story of Stede's lover coming back."

Pre-S2

Collider - Oct 2, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses fan reaction to S1 - "I thought that they'd kiss, and people would be like, 'Oh, cool, cool!' I kind of thought people would know a little bit more [about] where we were going, but then in hindsight, no, people have been hurt and burned on so many other shows and then made to feel silly."

Discusses starting S2 dark - "One of these characters is very, very damaged and has never made himself vulnerable in this way before, and I don't think [he] would react very well to having his heart broken in this way. I don't think it would be cute, and I don't think it would be funny. I think it would be scary as hell to watch a very damaged guy that we've established in Ed, who killed his dad and thinks he's not capable of being loved, deal with rejection and see that Stede really hurt him."

Discusses adding more female characters

Discusses S2 needle drops including "This Woman's Work"

Discusses 3-season arc

Post 2x01 - 2x03

Mashable - Oct 5, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discusses fandom response to S1

About the canon gay relationship - "To watch the explosion of enthusiasm around [the kiss] was disorienting, almost," Jenkins said. "I thought people would react to it, but I didn't think the reaction would be that big. And then it was moving, because I didn't realize that this audience felt so unserved in general, as far as storylines go."

Insider - Oct 5, 2023 - with Ayomikun Adekaiyero - Link

Tease on leaning into the Stede / Ed / Izzy love triangle - "I think Izzy, in a certain way, got the worst deal in the first season," the showrunner tells Insider. "He gets jilted and then he still is in spurned spouse territory at the beginning of the second season."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other," he teases

Discusses addition of Zheng - "He likens Zheng's way of pirating to a successful tech startup, compared with the garage sale vibe Stede had going on the Revenge."

Discusses introducing Hornigold - "I thought Hornigold was the most obvious because he was the person who made Blackbeard what he is. And Blackbeard has a father complex, so it's natural that he's going to bring his former captain back," the show creator said. "It's a struggle with him because he and dad figures don't historically do well."

Discusses importance of the mermaid scene

Inverse - Oct 5, 2023 - with Hoai-Tran Bui - Link

Reveals he didn't commit to the romance until shooting 1x06 - "Jenkins always intended his pirate comedy to end with a romance, but he'd envisioned it as an unrequited love. "It was going to be about Stede learning what love is, and Ed making himself vulnerable and getting burned," Jenkins says of his original pitch. But Darby and Waititi's choices in the scene, which they played without diffusing the tenderness with a joke, made him wonder if they could take the show in a new direction."

Discusses mermaid Stede idea from S1 - "We talked about Stede as a mermaid very early on in the writers' room," Jenkins says. "At some point, yeah, I want to see Rhys Darby as a merman." + "They wanted us to come up with a Season 2 pitch during Season 1. And that was one of the ideas we hit on, and I can't quite remember how we got there, but it was us asking, what is a pirate world? Are there mermaids? Is there magic in this show? With pirate stuff, I don’t know that I want there to be magic, but there was a way where it was something really beautiful about a mer-person, and I like the idea that their coming together would have a mythic size to it."

Discusses historical divergence

Discusses matelotage and pirates as weird outsiders

TV Guide - Oct 5, 2023 - with Allison Piccuro - Link

About the shipping culture - "It's the meat of the show, so it's great to have people bought into the central romance. If it were a bromance that we were trying to make look like a romance, that would suck."

Discusses playlists he makes

Discusses opening dream sequence - "I just like that it started with something badass. Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

Discusses Kraken arc - "But I think the thing that's good about this show is that it can go to really sweet comedy land, but I want there to be, like, if someone loses a body part, for instance, they lose a body part. To do justice to the fact that this guy is a killer and a monster, and dealing with heartache that he doesn't know how to deal with, I think you really need to go there."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "I mean, he's jilted. He had a partnership with Blackbeard, and he knows he can't live up to this person that Blackbeard fell in love with... Who is that guy? What are his hobbies? What does it look like when he's not totally subsumed with his boss's love affair with somebody, and heartbroken?"

On S2 reunion - "The second season is them being a little bit more mature... It's the thing where you're in your 20s or 30s and you're like, "Well, should we move in together?" They have to make up some time because neither of them have been in a functional relationship before."

About genre of pirate stories - "...is a show about multiple relationships. That's what I want to see when I see this show. I don't want to see a bunch of pirate things that I've seen in other things, I'll just go watch another thing if I want to see that. That's not really my thing. I like the genre, but it's a very hard genre to budge. I want to see relationships in a pirate world."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Mashable - Oct 7, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the mermaid scene - "You need something expressive for when they come back together," Jenkins said. "Their reunion moment has to feel big and mythical. This is not a world where mermaids actually exist, but their love for each other has that size that you can get [a mermaid] in there somewhere."

About Kate Bush - "I love Kate Bush, and I love that song, and I know Taika loves that song," Jenkins explained of the choice. "So I wanted to find a place for that song somewhere in the second season."

Polygon - Oct 9, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson & more - Link

Compares S2 and "Golden Age of Piracy" stuff to Westerns, lists 5 he was thinking of - "Every Western that’s good is that story," Jenkins says. "'This way of life we made is coming to an end. It can't last. It's a blip in time. We created this thing because we need it to exist. We're outlaws, and we need a culture that suits us, but it's running out of time.'"

Gizmodo - Oct 9, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Short tease on leaning into the love triangle

About Stede, Edward, and Izzy - "I think the three of them are on an arc together that's pretty inseparable," Jenkins said in an interview with io9. "And to watch Izzy try to process what's happened [in season one]… to watch him kind of grow and figure out what's his own story, if he can separate himself from this kind of toxic relationship, is interesting to me and I think gives him a lot of room for growth."

Post 2x04 - 2x05

IndieWire - Oct 12, 2023 - with Sarah Shachat - Link

Discusses directing and show creation

"The limitations of the show also naturally push it back towards moments with the ensemble and plot problems that it would frankly be irresponsible to tackle if you had a giant budget and a fully working ship-of-the-line to sail and then blow to bits. "That's the fun of the show to us, I think. If you open this up and you're like, unlimited budget, that would be terrible because I think you can get seduced," Jenkins said. "[It could be like,] 'Oh man, it's all leading up to a climatic battle on the sea.' And those things are great. But that’s not this show.""

"The nice thing about that, though, is you get to be the lo-fi show that’s like, 'Hey, we’re making The Muppets.'"

PopSugar - Oct 12, 2023 - with Victoria Edel - Link

About S2 Stede - "I like the idea that he learns and grows and he doesn't just stay a bumbling captain. He might be ridiculous, but he is getting better at it."

Discusses genre challenges - "How do you have a show that's a romance show but it's also a workplace show and they're criminals?"

Discusses Edward's redemption - "But Blackbeard still has to come back and apologize and be part of the community again, and give his little press conference. It was fun for us to look at that in the context of piracy, where they all do terrible things to each other. But even by their standards, what Blackbeard did was a bit much."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "When Izzy shoots Blackbeard and they all mutiny on him, that's Izzy breaking up with Blackbeard. And they're both having their own journey in the wake of it, and Izzy's having his own redemption arc. He's trying to figure out, "Who am I if I'm not Blackbeard's first mate? Who am I outside of this relationship?"" + "If Stede's Spongebob, he's Squidward. I don't know what that makes Blackbeard. But there's a real pathos to Squidward."

Discusses trauma-based narratives - "As a diverse room in terms of sexuality, socio-economic background, and race, we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a non-trauma-based story for these characters who don't get that historically?""

Variety - Oct 13, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

Discusses three act structure and making Stede work for a relationship - "The way I like to look at a season is in threes. The end of the first act is when they find each other, and this is the beginning of the second act. They've found each other, but they are pissed. Stede thought it was going to be [Kate Bush's] “This Woman's Work,” but, in reality, it is this headbutt –– literally."

Discusses the central romance - "It was always part of the pitch... that is the reason to make the show. The pirate genre is fun, but I wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. Taika wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. But the thing that was interesting to me was that Stede finds love, and he finds it with Blackbeard."

Discusses 2x04 plot - "This episode is based on a very, very thumbnail sketch of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?." Anne and Mary are Martha and George, and they are Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton."

Discusses adding historical pirates

Discusses Buttons exit - "I just love the idea of him turning into a bird: I love the idea of Buttons somehow being the one character that is able to figure that out."

Discusses Izzy and the crew's trauma plot - "We liked the idea that there is something about trauma and getting past that trauma, even on a pirate ship. They have been through two very different ways of living and they have to get used to each other again. But it's also a family that was separated, and becoming one family again is painful."

Discusses bringing characters back - "We could bring Calico Jack back, who, if you remember, was hit by a cannonball last season. Anyone who is that fun to play with and wants to keep playing, you always find a way to bring them back."

Polygon - Oct 14, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season arc and how keeping them apart with some plot device was never in the cards - "at the end of the first season, they're 14-year-olds, emotionally. In this season, it's more like they’re in their late 20s."

Discussing New Zealand production and ensemble cast writing - "It's pretty organic, because as we're going through and tracking everybody's journey for the season, we're watching the thing that holds us together — what stage of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship are we in? Because the overarching arc is, are these guys going to learn how to settle into a relationship?"

"The second season is more overtly about romance, and more a relationship story."

Energizing aspect of fan reaction

S3 is about "love is work"

Gizmodo - Oct 16, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

About the story - "I want to see them become a functional couple or fail to become a functional couple," Jenkins said. "Those are the most interesting parts of the show."

Discusses fandom engagement - "...ultimately the writers are also "the fans in the room." He goes on to say that, "We're fans of the world. We're writing fanfic about our own characters, our own worlds… It's paid fanfic, but it's fanfic." He gives another example: "If you're writing a season of Succession, you're writing fanfic Succession. You're just getting paid to do it. We, as writers–" it's clear that he's not just talking about the writers in the writers room, "become fans of the world and we all have things we want to see these characters do. What we do is not that different."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Discusses Zheng Yi Sao

Villains of the series - There are a lot of new villains this season, but, Jenkins says, ultimately, "the antagonist on this show is normalcy… These pirates have a way of life that they're not finding in normal life. They've found a way to live and support each other and be there for each other. And that's always threatened by these larger, tyrannical forces that want to shut them down."

Post 2x06 - 2x07

Mashable - Oct 19, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discussing drag performance in 2x06

"It is nice to see with Izzy's arc, where he finally breaks through whatever he's been doing to himself. He lets himself have that moment, which I just love. It resonates for Izzy, and I think it resonates for Con. Just personally, it made me feel good to see how it turned out."

Consequence - Oct 19, 2023 - with Liz Shannon Miller - Link

Discusses intent for romance - "...telling a love story in a serialized medium like television has its perils, largely because it's tough to know how much you can draw out any unresolved tension. "I think we take it episode by episode and we try to not piss people off in taking too long and doing double beats and triple beats," Jenkins says. "You can only do Will They or Won’t They for so long. Then you have to deepen it.""

Discusses pirate setting - "The emphasis on relationships also fits into the show's high-seas setting, which Jenkins finds similar to post-apocalyptic narratives. "It is a little bit like you're doing Mad Max, except there's relationships," he says. "Stuff's shitty, so you gotta try to find some joy. Of course, people are going to have a need for each other in these extreme circumstances, and I like the idea of these characters finding some level of a healthy relationship in these extreme circumstances.""

Discusses Jim x Archie

Discusses 3-season arc

Polygon - Oct 21, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discussing gender and power dynamics in Jackie x Swede / Zheng x Oluwande / Blackbeard x Stede + A Star is Born aspect

Jim not being jealous of Oluwande - "I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic."

About adding a villain - "I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains." + "I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that's good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can't last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic."

Historical accuracy - "The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we're like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they're really bad!"

Post 2x08

AV Club - Oct 26, 2023 - with Saloni Gajjar - Link

Killing Izzy was always the plan - "We wanted to show the depth of that character. Izzy is one of my favorites. He's like middle management who is in a sort of love triangle [in season one]."

Discusses how they really wanted the happy ending for S2 - "I think with season one's end, it was a gamble to leave it the way it was. Everybody stomached through it. Now if it turned out they didn't want us to make more, I just didn't want to have another story where the same-sex love story ends in tragedy, unrequited love, or if one or both of them are being punished."

Discusses S2 progressing the 3-season romance - "They’re a couple who is like in their late twenties right now as opposed to being teens at the end of season one." + "It was an interesting tension of, which one gives up their dream? A lot of times in relationships questions can come up, like who is going to give up on their dream to take care of the kids? Obviously, no one wants to, but someone ends up giving up more than they want to at some point. What's wonderful about a mature romance, and what I'd want to see more of in season three, is Ed and Stede making these tough decisions." + progressing past the getting together point

Discusses parallels, Republic of Pirates, and Zheng Yi Sao

Short bit about fan response

Collider - Oct 26, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses Ed leaving fishing - "I like that he had a little prima donna moment where he thought he could go and be a simple man, and then it's revealed that he really isn't a simple man; he's a complicated, fussy, moody guy. No, he's not gonna be able to catch fish for a living. For him to be told that, "At your heart, you're a pirate. You have to go back and do it," he doesn't want that to be true, but it was true."

Discusses Izzy's speech to Ricky - "I wanted to give Izzy a proper eulogy for himself. He gives a eulogy for himself, but it felt true writing it."

Discusses Izzy's death scene - "In a way, it's very much for Ed, that speech. The "we were Blackbeard" is claiming that he is also Blackbeard, that Blackbeard is not just Ed’s creation, and I like that for him, too, because he's worked so hard for that — and then just to say, "You can give it up." There can never be a Blackbeard again as far as Izzy's concerned because he's dying, and they did that together."

Discusses Republic of Pirates / music parallels from premier to finale

Discusses finale wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the season, which is the real term they had for marrying crew members. And yeah, they've always been in relief to Stede and Ed, and they're a little bit ahead of Stede and Ed in how much they can talk about things. So to have a bunch of family things in the season, like a funeral and a wedding, and have the parents kind of watch the kids sail away, felt right, and all of those things seem to work well together and build on each other."

Discusses retirement ending - "That will-they-or-won't-they is interesting to a point, but the real meat of it is always like, "Can they make the relationship, and can they do better than Anne and Mary?""

"Frenchie's in charge of the Revenge" + teases Stede struggling to give it up

EW.com - Oct 26, 2023 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses Izzy's death and telling Con - "It feels like the logical end of Izzy's arc. It's heartbreaking to me because he's my favorite." + "I told him in the middle of shooting because I didn't want him to find out at the table read, obviously. I also didn't want it to leak. He was lovely about it."

Discusses Izzy's final arc - "You know, I didn't expect him to become kind of a father figure to Ed. I think we hit on that while we were breaking the [final] episode. He's in such a weird position: He's like a jilted lover, and then he's a middle manager who has to work for a terrible boss. He gets thrown away, and then he comes back. He really develops, and he becomes a part of this family. I think the biggest surprise was the extent that he was a mentor to Ed. They were both Blackbeard. They both made Blackbeard happen."

Discusses the happy ending intent - "With this season starting so dark, I kind of wanted to reward them for the work that they've done and the character growth that they've had. I wanted to leave them in a place where they're really going to try and make this work. I don't think it's going to be easy for them, necessarily. They're both still immature."

Discusses the wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the second season, and pretty quickly we landed on Lucius and Black Pete. It seems like they were ready for that. We made up a ceremony and everything, where they call each other mateys, and it was just fun to make our own version of a pirate wedding ceremony."

Discusses potential S3 and Frenchie's Revenge - "But it felt like a good place to end the second season. It felt like a contrast to the first season. If it turns out we don't make any more, I'm comfortable with that being a resting place."

Variety - Oct 26, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

S3 endpoint - "I love things in threes," he says. "That first act, second act, third act structure is so satisfying when it is done well, and you don't overstay your welcome. I think this world of the show is a big world, and if the third season is successful, we could go on in a different way. But I think for the story of Stede and Ed, that is a three-season story."

Discusses the draw of a "Golden Age" and it's ending

Talks about father figure Izzy and wanting a real sense of loss - "There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures."

Gizmodo - Oct 26, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Teasing future Izzy - "Jenkins looked slightly sad himself, saying that "Ghosts exist in this world." I told him not to make promises he couldn't keep."

"Jenkins said that he doesn't see Izzy as a pure antagonist in season one because on some level… Izzy was right in his hesitations about Stede."

Discussing Con O'Neill & Rhys Darby acting

Jenkins confirms the season was always 8 episodes due to budget cuts

About S2 finale vs S3 - "The first season ends on such a downer, so it made sense to end the second season in a kinder spot." + "I think there's plenty of story left for season three, but I think that it was important to end this as if it was the end of the show, and on upbeat note and avoid the kind of "kill your gays" trope. I don't want to see Stede and Ed punished for giving it a go. I want to see them really say, 'yeah, we’re going to we're going to try to have a relationship'."

Teases S3 revenge against Ricky and going to the Americas

Vanity Fair - Oct 26, 2023 - with Sarah Catherall - Link

About the ending - "It's bittersweet. There's death and there's the rebirth of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship; there's a funeral, there's a wedding, and the idea that this family is going to keep fighting even as they lose members. And then it's about belonging to something." + "A lot of times, with this narrative of characters, same-sex relationships end on a dour, downbeat note, where one of them dies and it's unrequited or it's unrealized; something horrible happens and they're punished in a way. So it was important to leave it open and a lot more show to go, but also leave it in a place where it's happy."

Discusses Izzy as a mentor / father figure - "We felt like Izzy's story had reached its conclusion, where we put him through enough. And then there was the realization that he is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard." + "And it's also a pirate show, so he's got to die."

Discusses filming challenges - "It's a big show; it's basically a one-hour show that we're doing on a half-hour budget."

Discusses adding Zheng Yi Sao

Is the show a queer romance? - "For this show, it's important to me just to write a really bold-bodied romantic show that happens to be between two characters of the same sex. I think that the story beats don't matter, because if you've been in love and you've been hurt and you met someone you love—hopefully we all know what those feelings are."

Blackbeard's arc in S2 - "...the second season is about Blackbeard's midlife crisis. And then when they both have their midlife crises, they can open a B&B together." + "I don't think Stede and Blackbeard are ready to be married. They're emotionally saying: 'Let's give this a go.'"

Discusses historical piracy as "counterculture" that's been straightwashed and whitewashed

Did he feel responsibility to the fan community? - "As opposed to responsibility, it feels more like relief—that people feel seen and they feel good about it and they liked what we did. And so it feels like, Okay, somebody's out there and wants the show. The makeup of the writers room looks a lot like the makeup of the fan base. So as long as we're true to our stories in the writers room, I think we just feel excited that there's somebody waiting on the other end to enjoy it."

Paste Magazine - Oct 26, 2023 - with Tara Bennett - Link

Discusses whether fandom expectations felt weighty - "I think particularly for this season, that "bury your gays" thing… I didn't want to end on a downbeat for Ed and Stede. We did that in the first season. I like that there's a lot of different flavors. It's even a little melancholy because the Republic of Pirates got blown up. But there's still more good things."

Discusses production and plotting - "I wanted to start at the Republic of Pirates this season and end at the Republic of Pirates. And I knew I wanted the Republic of Pirates to be destroyed, ultimately. Within that, we are making a one-hour show on a half hour budget, on a half hour schedule."

Discusses planning the ending - "In terms of ending this season, it all felt right just in talking through it when we were in the room. It felt pretty intuitive. When you get to the third act of the story, things kind of settle in. There's gonna be a funeral. We always knew we wanted a wedding at the end of the second season. And I knew that I wanted Stede and Ed to start an inn together. So once you have those beats, it's kind of locked in."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "It's kind of a strange arc in that I knew we were going to put him through all these things, and I knew he would ultimately die. But I think him becoming a father figure to Ed in the last episode didn't really dawn on us until we were breaking the last episode. Asking what would this man say to Ed at the end because they've been together through everything? He went from a troubled and downtrodden employee to a jilted lover to a discarded employee, to someone that is just trying to find his footing again—no pun intended—to actually becoming this guy's parental figure on some level. And he's one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures. So, it felt right and it felt like that's how the mentor dies. The mentor in a story usually dies in the second act and then our hero has to go on and try to do it without them. It felt like the right journey for Izzy and a gratifying one for Con."

On leaving open for S3 - "I don't think it was a very hard thing to do. I think it was more that I felt a responsibility to leave Ed and Stede in a good place, at least for now. It's not gonna go well. They're not going to run a business well. Ed's too much of a talker. Stede can't focus. It's gonna be challenging."

Vulture - Oct 28, 2023 - with Sophie Brookover - Link

Discussing Izzy as a "father figure" and his S2 send-off being a priority

Meaning of piracy - "...what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy."

Re: Con O'Neill & Izzy's death - "I had to tell him about halfway through the season"

Third season about the work of a relationship between still damaged main characters

Discusses middles as about change and transitions, and wanting characters to change instead of reset, have them experience permanent consequences

About the final scene - "...Ed and Stede as the parents kind of watching the kids take the ship. Frenchie's the captain now..."

Objective of the crew - "...have had terrible things happen to them at the hands of colonial forces, so they want some payback. Party, plunder, and payback — the three P's."

Metro Weekly - Nov 1, 2023 - with Randy Shulman - Link

Discusses historical premise of S1 and easing into the romance

Discusses S2 genre - "In the second season, it was great because we know it's a romance and we can lead with that. It's a workplace show essentially. I wanted it to be more in the vein of early episodes of Grey's Anatomy or something where there are all these relationships on those shows. That's what you’re following — relationships and friendships that are taking place in a hospital, procedural. That's Grey's Anatomy. This is less procedural for the pirate stuff — and you need the pirate stuff."

Discusses not being into pirates - "But I'm like you. I'm not a big pirate person. In general, it's a big creaky genre that's hard to budge" + "Pirates of the Caribbean, those movies are great. That's not necessarily what I hunger to see, but in that genre, it's great. You're not going to beat that, especially on something that's lower budget. We've seen a lot of this stuff, so it's fun to take it then and don't do any of that stuff."

Discusses adapting historical piracy - "You don't want to see them punch down. You don't want to see them do terrible things to people who don't deserve it, which is not what they really did. So, in the show's world, I think piracy is like a stand-in for something. I think it's a stand-in for being an iconoclast and an outsider and queer in some ways and just different." + "Yeah, I mean, the British are there to be Stormtroopers, or Nazis in an Indiana Jones movie. I mean, they're in there to die essentially."

Discusses diversity staffing

Discusses performative masculinity

Discusses Izzy's death, happy endings, and openness to S3

#trust me i appreciate the irony of making an extensive word of god reference when i want people to stop blindly promoting word of god #(and also when i'm currently very irritated with the creators) #and fyi showrunners talk A LOT but i was already committed so this was more work than i was expecting #i'll even use a small bit of my extra hour of destiel day to post this (most of it was assembled while watching supernatural) #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd meta #david jenkins #word of god #ladyluscinia

[mymarsmoonandstars]

It's been a week since I saw Wakanda Forever, and ever since, it's consumed my thinking. There are a million things I'd love to discuss about the film, but what keeps me up at night is Shuri and Namor.

Shuri had every right to gut his ass. Namor brought flooding and destruction to her home, killed her mother, all while knowing she was suffering from the death of her brother. Hell, Namor nearly killed her (by impaling her, which how did she survive that idk, anyway). And what was the worst thing that Shuri had done to him? Say no to his alliance to go to war with the surface world? Shuri wasn't the one who killed Namor's two subjects. She actually tried to save them. Yet just like T'Challa, she's forced to deal with the consequences of other people's actions, and when she stands over Namor with a blade to his neck, her internal struggle with this flashes across screen. It's a powerful sequence, but the one that captures me the most is when we hear her mother telling her to show Namor who she is. Not only is it one of many callbacks to the first film, but really, who is she? Who is Shuri? She is struggling with her identity, as grief often does to a person.

When audiences first met Shuri, she was the genius younger sister, the comic relief, who took solace in her lab. But now all this has been taken from her, and taken so suddenly. She's now front and center, now her country's most powerful figure, no longer the jokester, no longer a sister, no longer a daughter, and feels like a failure. The moments where she stands over Namor is us watching her return to herself but also become someone entirely new. She sees the destruction reverse. Sees Namor's hope. Sees their mothers and their nations. She understands that they are similar just as much as they are different. She finally realizes that ending Namor's life cannot reverse the destruction nor her pain, but sparing him is the answer to ending the cycle of it. She recognizes that even though her mother and brother are gone, she is still sister, still daughter. Death in Wakanda is a beginning.

Above all, Shuri understands she cannot think of only herself anymore. She cannot push her people to war because of her own grief and vengefulness. She becomes a leader, in granting mercy. A protector.  And extends this protection by offering it to Namor and his people. This brought a bitter taste in my mouth at first, but it isn't about who's right or wrong, especially when both sides have a little right or a little wrong to them. It's about navigating the actions of their forebearers in the best way they can.

Her multifaceted character is symbolized by her panther suit--it's reminiscent of T'Challa, Kilmonger, and her past self. Now that she's burned her mourning clothes, hopefully in the next movie, we'll see her accept this role with newfound confidence and surity of its purpose. I'm also hoping that Shuri kept Namor's little baby ankle wing that she sliced off and puts it up somewhere to serve as a reminder that she bested him. Can you imagine? I can't wait to see more of her.

Then there's Namor. And dare I say it, he was justified in his feelings of wanting to kill Queen Ramonda. She was cunning and tricked him and had two of his people killed in the process. Remember the scene where he's cradling his subject's face as she dies? And she asks if he can save her and he does not answer because he knows he cannot? And then--was it Namora?--who says, with such blame dripping in her voice, that he was busy meeting with the queen during Nakia's attack. Namor is so angry, and very possibly, so ashamed (and scared?). His ultimate goal is to protect his people, and he failed. He's a god and Ramonda made him look like a fool. To him, she had to go.

Ryan Coogler said that despite Namor being about 500 years old, he wanted him to still feel somewhat childlike. And is he! He's rash. He focuses only on the immediate response without thinking of the ramifications. He seems almost charmingly innocent in his hopefulness that Shuri would want to join him. There's no doubt they wanted us to feel a romantic connection betweeen them, or perhaps just from Namor's end. I don't know who gives clearance on the music, but whoever does, they are always very intentional and unique about it, and a love song plays during That One Mesmerizing Scene. The theories that Namor is infatuated with Shuri just weaken me. She's the first person to ever see Talocan. The bracelet. The mural. Him acknowdging her power. Him waiting for her to beckon him. I. have. folded. No one look at me.

I really hope the MCU explores their relationship. And though I'm sure it would never be a romantic one, that does not make it any less intriguing. Ryan is phenomenal with his villains. Just like Kilmonger challenged T'Challa not just with war, but challenged his core beliefs, Namor did the same with Shuri. The only difference now is that Namor is still alive, and this sets us up for a delicious exploration of a complex relationship between two leaders who have similar wants but conflicting perspectives.

Man. I love them. MCU, please let us see more of them. And if we do, please. Be careful with them.

#and the fact that this is between a black woman and brown man like PLEASE #seeing black women in multilayered relationships is something I did not know I starved for until now #shuri #namor #wakanda forever #shuri x namor #anyway let me talk next about how killing queen ramonda was a thematic mistake! #wakanda forever spoilers #black panther #black panther spoilers #wakanda forever meta

[thewertsearch]

AG: Tavros, you give confidence a 8ad name. I gave you all the chances in the world to earn it, to earn REAL confidence, and you failed.

Pictured: Vriska giving Tavros 'a chance to earn real confidence'.

AG: You couldn't even do the one little thing I asked you to! The one thing that would have made you man up once and for all.

'Man up' is a funny idiom for a troll to use. We've occasionally seen trolls fall into human gender stereotypes, but it's quite rare, and always sticks out like a sore thumb.

There's an interesting conversation to be had about troll genders. With a reproductive cycle so different to ours, their gender framework will inevitably be different as well. Yes, there are male and female trolls - but what do male and female actually mean to a troll?

On Earth, your assigned gender carries cultural baggage which simply wouldn't exist on Alternia. Assigned gender plays no role in reproduction, nor does it influence household division of labor, since trolls don't have households.

Gender aside, do trolls have a concept of masculine and feminine? Beyond a few stray idioms, the only evidence I can find is their clothing styles. We haven't seen any male trolls rocking a skirt - not yet, at least.

tl;dr: 'Man up' is a cultural can of worms. I think that was probably unintentional, though, and I think we're supposed to interpret that line as if a human spoke it. Vriska's calling Tavros a wimp, which is business as usual.

AG: So instead you flew away and cried, and decided to sleep away your sorrow for the rest of the adventure.

Tavros already alluded to this incident during his conversation with Jade. I guessed that Vriska would be involved, but that was a bit of a no-brainer.

Vriska's trying to frame Tavros as pathetic, but it sounds like he actually put his foot down, flat-out refusing to participate in whatever she had planned. Much like the FLARP incident, this sounds like a victory for Tavros, even if she's convinced him otherwise.

AG: Do you have any idea how sick that made me? Everything a8out you makes me sick.

He rejects your advice. He rejects your advances. His lusus cared for him. He was allowed to be kind, and accepts kindness from others. He doesn't care about winning, but he never lets you win. No matter how much you torment him, he refuses to get any stronger, which means your mindset might be wrong.

'Sick' would be an understatement.

AG: Your plan to control her lusus really wasn't a 8ad idea! AG: And using your a8ility to "save her life" (lol) was a pretty good way to test how effective your powers are across sessions. [...] AG: Practicing your a8ilities is important, so when it comes down to using them for something that really matters, you know you're ready for prime time. AG: I know this first hand. AG: I got lots and lots and LOTS of practice with your little guinea pig friend. ::::D

So that's why Jade was constantly napping? That can't have been good for her brain.

AG: The catch is it's not going to work! [...] AG: You couldn't sic the guardian on Noir even if you were inclined. Not even if I were to MAKE you inclined! :::;)

Like I said before, it's really Vriska who can control First Guardians.

AG: 8ecause you are dealing with a pro here. I already thought of that. AG: I thought of everything! AG: The guardian is not going to attack the agents who engineered him in the first place. AG: Or who I should say were "encouraged" (lol) to engineer him.

Why the fuck would you do this?

When Vriska prototyped Bec, she explained that the event was mandated by the Alpha Timeline, so she didn't make anything worse by causing it. I don't agree with her argument, but I do understand her logic.

This is different. Up until now, there has been no evidence that Bec can't harm Agents. Vriska had no prophecy to fulfil, and no reason to believe that this was required to preserve the timeline. Yes, now we know it's baked into the timeline, but only because Vriska wanted it.

Having Bec help with Jack was a really good idea, and removing the option to do so helps no one. Where's the benefit?

AT: wHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, AG: Tavros, at this point it should 8e o8vious. AG: I am the unseen hand 8ehind every major event in their session, and to some extent, their whole lives. AG: At least those events not happening 8y the volition of their own natural incompetence! AG: Don't you think this is how it should 8e? Shouldn't the greatest player leave her fingerprints on every step of the rise to power of her ultim8 nemesis?

I know Vriska likes to feel in control, but this is ridiculous.

Inserting yourself into Alpha loops is one thing, but nerfing Bec when you don't have to is straight-up sabotage. Couldn't she just stick to micromanaging John's outfits?

AG: I have every angle covered already. The human session is on full Serket lockdown. Any effort you make to disrupt my plans will 8e laugha8le, just like everything you have ever done in your life. AG: The only thing left to do now is prepare to kill Jack myself, and save everyone's ungrateful asses.

Oh my god, I think I've cracked it.

Vriska thinks she's the only one with the right to kill Jack.

She describes him as her ultimate nemesis, which reeks of main character syndrome. Bec isn't important enough to kill Jack, so she eliminated him as an option. It has to be her, the most powerful Player, who's gained all the levels, because that is how these things are done.

It's not just ego, either - there's a deeper motivation at play. If Vriska doesn't beat Jack, she doesn't win - and if she doesn't win, then what was all that abuse were all those challenges for? What was the point?

In Vriska's head, Jack needs to be her nemesis. She needs to be destined to kill him - because if she is, then everything she went through was justified. She'll have secured her position as the most powerful Player of all, and she'll never have to be jealous of anyone again - least of all that wimp with his sweet little fairy lusus. They're all weak, and she's strong.

If she doesn't kill Jack, she's a loser.

And losers may as well be dead.

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #3059 #s96

[samble-moved]

i hate the fandom idea that homura's actions (especially during rebellion) are out of a place of total selfishness, or homura just "not letting go" or because she's evil.

did everyone forget that madoka, while dying, begged homura to keep looping to make sure madoka didn't become a magical girl? homura had already seemingly looped several times before, and madoka all but asked her to keep going to save her from her fate. albeit, madoka was likely not thinking clearly about this, and obviously wasn't asking to be cruel or to "hurt" homura by continuing the cycle, but the idea that "homura only loops because she's selfish and evil and wants madoka to stay human because she's selfish and evil" is literally not true at all in canon. madoka asks homura to make sure she (madoka) doesn't contract, and all but asks her to loop again and again until that happens. obviously this is something homura wants to do (since human madoka = safe from the fate worse than death magical girls get), but the concept that it's only homura's desire, that madoka never asked for this, is false canonically.

and the idea in rebellion that homura is intentionally acting against madoka's wants and "forcing" her to be human and seperate from the LoC ties into this as well. for one, homura 100% genuinely believes that madoka regrets her wish. madoka (while not having all her memories) says she could never do what she did as a goddess — that is, leave all her friends and family behind, erase herself from existence, etc. and after this, homura then 1) believes her, and 2) blames this perceived misery madoka felt as a goddess on herself (iirc, she says something like "if those are your true feelings, then what a terrible mistake i've made").

she blames herself for "letting" madoka contract, thinking madoka was miserable, thinking she once again committed a grave sin by "breaking her promise" to madoka by letting her contract. remember, the reason the looping seemed to continue on for so long in the first place is that madoka begged homura as she was dying to make sure she didn't contract. homura had been ready to die, along madoka's side. and madoka, as any fourteen year old would, wanted to keep it from happening again.

then rebellion kicks in, and homura (in her despairing state) thinks that not only 1) she has betrayed her promise to madoka by letting her contract in the first place, and 2) that madoka is horribly lonely and miserable after the contract/wish was granted. she 100% whole heartedly believes this, and also believes the only way she can fulfill the promise and protect madoka from kyubey is to rip her from goddesshood.

kyubey openly said in rebellion the whole reason homura is in the isolation field is because he's using her to get to madoka. he can't prove the LoC exists, only homura knows who madoka is, so they can eventually control madoka/the LoC by having her save homura. homura is put in a spot where she can't really even let madoka save her, because that gives kyubey access to seeing madoka, which can lead to him controlling her. and even if he doesn't get madoka that time, there's always a chance he could try this isolation field trick with any other magical girl, possibly even another one of madoka's friends, since the LoC wouldn't just willingly ignore a magical girl despairing. and he has all the time in the world to work on getting control of the LoC/madoka (an incomprehensible amount of it), provided entropy doesn't accelerate, and his species is both determined and much more advanced than humans.

homura doesn't do it because she's bored or evil or For Fun or because she's a "yandere" or whatever the hell else some people claim. she unequivocally thinks it's what madoka wants, and that it's the only way she can keep madoka from being controlled and hurt by kyubey, once again echoing back to the promise made in an earlier timeline ("can you go back in time and make sure i don't get tricked by kyubey?").

#pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #homura akemi #essays #not as well written though..

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Hey so I read your post about writing web serial (I deeply adore TTO:U) and I was wondering if you have any tips for building up consistency in getting chapters out? I've been writing fic for a while and no matter what I try I always end up falling off whatever deadline cycle I set for myself.

Ik that at the end of the day the solution is to just make myself do it but do you have any particular techniques you use to keep your willpower up against these kinds of repetitive deadlines?

Here's what I used to do for the first few years:

Figure out how many words per day you write before it becomes a chore. This is NOT how many you write during NaNoWriMo or whatever. it's how many you can write in a day before it feels like work. For most people, this is somewhere between 500 words and 2k words. For me, it's about 1k words.

Multiply that by 30. So for me, it's 30k.

Halve that. For me, 15k. This is the amount that you will write per month. Do NOT set daily or weekly goals; this will do nothing but make you feel terrible on the days you don't write. use the monthly goal only.

You'll usually hit this goal around the middle of the month (since it's half of your Chill Writing Amount). Sometimes you'll hit it after a few days, sometimes on the last day. But usually around the middle. When you hit the goal, keep writing until your next natural stopping point (usually the end of the chapter, although some dramatic moments might necessitate another chapter), and then STOP. No more writing for the month. It can wait until next month. You're raring to keep writing? Good! You want that enthusiasm! That's valuable fuel to keep you from falling off the wagon. Use it to think about what you're going to write next so that on the 1st of the next month, you are ready and it's good and easy to write.

Set your release schedule so that you're publishing a bit less than your monthly goal per month

Don't start publishing until you've got 2-3 months' worth of your monthly goal saved up as a buffer. This way, you don't have to worry about some major life event (like a hospitalisation) wrecking your schedule.

If you can't write a story consistently *at all* then there's nothing I can do to help, I'm afraid. But most likely your problem is volume. Pushing as much as you can for months on end will burn out your enthusiasm. It's best to ration yourself.

[lucysarah-c]

Since I wrote an omegaverse Levi x fem! reader, I'll add here what I believe the ABO dynamics are like, at least in my ABO AU.

First, I would like to clarify that these are not some sort of "universal rules," and everybody has a different interpretation of ABO, etc. Second, this doesn't mean I've thought it all; it's just what I usually keep in mind while writing an omegaverse.

With that being said, let's go.

In my mind, betas behave like normal human beings. Women have their periods once per month, have fertile days each month, and a cycle of 28 days. Men, the same. They lack scent characteristics; they don't have scent glands; they can't knot, etc. Betas do not present, so when the time of presenting comes, they don't suffer what I consider a "second puberty."

Now, Alphas and Omegas.

For me, presentation is like a "second puberty." It usually comes "later," around 15-18 years old, and it determines if they are going to be alphas, omegas, or betas. The lack of this "second puberty" is basically being a beta. Usually, "high breeds" or "pure breeds," either Alphas or Omegas, show clear signs of their nature even before presentation. Perhaps high breed alphas would hiss, have slightly bigger fangs, or even be bigger in size compared to little kids because their genetics are already strong, as an example.

The second puberty basically makes Alphas present, grown fangs (if I'm allowed to go full delulu and magical here) that are sort of "retractile," usually only to be on full size during "asserting dominance" or "during mating." They start to liberate and perceive the smells and pheromones, etc. Omegas go through the same. Usually, the signs are there before their first "rut" or "heat." I like to think that alphas get a sort of toothache when their fangs are growing. I do believe that until reaching adulthood, Omegas and Alphas have ruts or heats in the respective seasons no matter what because it's also their body needing them to develop.

Now, great, what are "seasons"? Basically, Alphas and Omegas only reproduce twice a year, early autumn and early spring. I believe their system is made to "maximize" and "optimize" reproduction, so they prefer "quality" over "quantity." During "season," alphas would go into rut first, before omegas, mostly to secure the territory they want to claim and "show off their capabilities," so omegas can choose before going into heat. The process of mating may last from 4 days to 14. It depends on the quality of the couple.

During the mating ritual, alphas may show their strength, capabilities, and even give gifts of food and decorations to the omega they are fancying to demonstrate their willingness to mate. They may "build" a place where the omega can nest, and both mate. They mate for life, so usually alphas put a lot of effort, and omegas are very picky, lol. I like to think of it like when penguins spend a lot of time choosing the best pebble to give to their partner, and they start to build a nest with that pebble.

What is nesting? Basically, omegas surround themselves with soft pillows, blankets, etc., usually with the smell of their alpha to keep them protected. Like if another alpha steps in and they sense the smell of the omega's alpha around the nest, they may back up because they don't want to compete, or the other alpha is more powerful.

Now, all this is "in nature"; obviously, in society, you don't go fighting people in the streets for your mating rights, lmao. In the "modern society of AOT" (yes, I'm being sarcastic), usually, there are only "glimpses" of what used to be their nature. Alphas are territorial and can easily grow possessive, but it's also encouraged that they learn "to control themselves." Going around baring teeth for whatever would only make you look like some children who can't control themselves. Save them for important occasions. Show how much "better" you are by asserting dominance without having to resort to behaving like a dog.

Fun fact: that's why Hange says in "not in season?" that they had never seen Levi's fangs.

In my mind, high-breeds or pure breed FULL GROWN UP alphas and omegas don't go into rut or heat if they spend long periods without the constant presence of the other. So, they don't waste all the "biologically expensive work" that's for them to go into rut or heat. That's why the military doesn't allow omegas, since they are all going to be living in the barracks, it's better to avoid the problems.

As I say, while in development, young alphas and omegas may experience ruts or heats regularly on their seasons. Young alphas may create a sense of paternity in older alphas, instead of creating a "territorial" sensation. Older alphas may get a sort of baby fever and feel the necessity to be the one leading the pack. This is something that Levi felt about his squad, especially since Eren presented while Levi was looking after him in the former HQ.

While alphas always take positions of power, leadership, or works that demand high physical strength. Sadly, the AOT world isn't exempt from sexism, and omegas are usually reduced to "caring" jobs only. Such as teachers, nannies, bakers, mostly housewives. I do like to believe they are extremely talented for works that require long periods of attention and high attention to details, for example, in a war: snipers. But society has a hard time accepting that.

Now, about high breeds, low breeds. Basically, high breeds mean they are either "purely alphas" or "purely omegas." To explain it with an example, a beta may bear the child of an alpha, but they wouldn't be "pure breed" any longer; they may be "regular alphas," and the more alphas or omegas mix with betas, the less "strong" their blood is. And vice versa, obviously. Conservatives believe that's "wasting your blood, etc.," they are a pain in the ass. I do want to highlight that "purest the alpha/omega," the more

all their characteristics are boosted.

Betas and alphas or betas and omegas may have kids, but it's not that effective. Alphas and alphas CAN have kids if they are "a woman and a man," the process of dominating another alpha is called "bitching," and they have ONLY one kid. I like to think that's like when pregnant women have one child of a different blood type than theirs and they need treatment for the second one because their body rejects the pregnancy otherwise? Well, the same, but since AOT medicine isn't that advanced, alphas women can only bear one child.

Omegas can bear multiple children and, mostly, they have multiple pregnancies. And, on top of that, omegas who mate with an alpha only produce "alphas" or "omegas"; the pureness of the quality isn't lost, and that's why most rich people make sure to force "only omegas x alphas relationships" with their kids because they want plenty of heirs, all pure breed.

Fun fact, in my mind, I think Ackerman are incapable of being anything else than alphas. So they all are.

To set an example, both Erwin and Levi are high-breed alphas. Hange is a regular alpha tending toward a "lower alpha," meaning they have more or the same amount of beta blood as alpha. That's why they imply that Levi might think of "bitching them" if they don't leave, as a joke. This is because Levi, as a high-breed, would have asserted dominance.

… I think that's all. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, lmao.

#levi ackerman #levi #captain levi #levi aot #snk levi #levi x reader #levi x y/n #aot levi #snk levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackeman #levi attack on titan #captain levi ackerman x you #captain levi x reader #captian levi x reader #captain levi ackerman x y/n #captain levi x you #levi shingeki no kyojin #levi x you #aot #attack on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titans #levi x reader smut #levi ackerman snk #levi ackerman x female!reader #abo dynamics #omegaverse #levi x reader omega

[jeon-s-sins]

HEAT | JK

Synopsis : You're in your mating season, but you can't tell Jungkook, your mate, because he's busy with more important things, and you don't want to disturb him. His uncle has just declared war on him, and Jungkook is busy finding allies and developing a reliable strategy to save his skin and his pack. You told him you'll go to your parents, who live in another pack. But what will happen when Jungkook finds out the truth?

Heat : A period during the reproductive cycle when female animals become sexually receptive, signaling they are ready for mating.

Word count : 2.5k

Warning : Smut ahead

n.a : English is not my first language, so it’s possible that there are some mistakes that I missed while proofreading. This is a story I wrote when I was younger. I wrote it in the first person, which has changed over time. But I didn't want to rewrite it out of sheer laziness. So here it is as it is. Enjoy reading it.

YN's point of view

A beautiful sunny spring day after several snowy months. And another day I could not enjoy. The reason? I'm in heat.

I know another person who can't enjoy this beautiful day either: my mate Jeon Jungkook.

It's been three months since his uncle, an Alpha from another pack, challenged us. Jungkook's uncle is his father's younger brother. After his father became the pack's Alpha, his younger brother didn't like the idea and challenged his older brother, Jungkook's father, to a duel.

The goal of the duel was a fight to the death where the winner would become the Alpha. Of course, Jungkook's father won, and because he loved his little brother too much, even after what he had done, he spared his life but punished him by banishing him from the pack.

The uncle then used the opportunity to create his pack with only rogues. Still unable to accept his defeat, he always found a way to provoke his older brother.

After Jungkook took the reins of the pack by becoming Alpha in his turn a few months ago, his uncle offered to unite the two packs and let him take Alpha's place.

Jungkook refused. His uncle continued to insist until one day, he got fed up and finally defied Jungkook.

For three months now, Jungkook has been running around without taking a second to rest. We don't even have time to meet and spend time together as we used to.

He is always traveling, meeting with our allies, dealing with other Alphas, trying to expand our ranks, and signing an alliance.

As the Luna of this pack and his mate, it is my duty to attend every one of his meetings and take control of the pack in his absence, but since two days ago, I have been unable to do so.

My heat prevents me from doing so. A female's heat varies from five to ten days, depending on many things, including her rank and whether she is about to be "taken care of" by her mate.

Today is my third day of heat, and I can say that it is by far the worst of all. On the first day, the heat is uncomfortable but bearable. On the second day, the heat gets stronger and almost unbearable.

On the third day, the heat is unbearable and a little painful. I need him terribly, but I don't ask for him. He is swamped, and I can't afford to bother him with such a small thing. I have to do it myself.

I had to make an excuse on the first day of my heat. I told him I was visiting my parents, who, unfortunately, are from another pack, and that I would stay with them for a few days.

The truth is that I am staying in a second home that belongs to Jungkook's family, which is specially built for the Alpha couple's privacy during the heat, allowing them to have some privacy and not be disturbed by other pack members.

Jungkook doesn't know I'm in heat, which is good. Far be it from me to distract him from his priorities. First, the pack, then the couple.

I can't afford to be selfish and want him to do this for me when the time is critical, and the fate of many wolves is in his hands. One wrong step, and it's the end for all of us.

So here I am for three days, locked up in this big house alone. Feverish with desires, needs, and longing for my man, who knows nothing about my current situation.

Which, on the one hand, is very dangerous, I admit. If ever a wolf who still has no mate comes by and sniffs my scent, his wild side would take over, and he would be able to break into the house and take what does not belong to him.

And I would be unable to defend myself, weakened by my need. The second their hands lands on my skin, I will only want one thing: for them to shorten my suffering. Unfortunately, this is how things work with wolves, which I do not like. 

No one knows about my situation, so I'm in trouble if something like that happens. I've built a barrier between Jungkook and me so he doesn't feel anything.

I don't know if he's tried to contact me since I left - probably - and if he has, I'm definitely in big trouble. For the moment, it didn't matter because I needed to relieve myself before my body exploded like an overheated pressure cooker.

Caressing my body, I stopped at my chest and grabbed my boobs. Brushing my nipples with the tip of my thumb made me lose my mind. My moans clashed with the room's silence, hitting the walls with full force. 

Usually, my moans are immediately followed by grunts from Jungkook. The sounds blend together to form a beautiful symphony forbidden to anyone who is not us. 

Through the delicate, silky material of my red satin nightgown, I take my hard, sensitive nipples between my fingers and squeeze them hard. I arch my back and moan loudly, filling the room.

I writhe on the bed with pleasure. I run a hand through my hair, grab a good handful and pull my head back, imagining it was Jungkook doing it.

Unbearable, I slid my hand from my chest to my stomach and lifted my dress a little towards inside my panties.

As soon as I touched my clit, a scream came out of my mouth, and I bent over entirely on the bed. When I lowered my finger a little further - between my lower lips - I was not surprised to find my juice dripping from my slit.

I stroked a little, spreading my wetness on my crack before lubricating my fingers with my cum, and pushing two fingers right into my pussy.

Jungkook's name leaves my mouth, and I close my eyes tightly, continuing to please myself, thinking very strongly about my man.

Jungkook's point of view.

It's been three days since I haven't heard from YN, and I'm getting worried. It is unlike her to go more than a day without contacting me.

I've tried contacting her several times, but it's the same every time I encounter a barrier.

What the hell is she up to?

I'm very patient, but I don't know how long I can be patient. If I don't hear from her in half an hour, I will see her myself at her parents' place.

Fortunately, the meetings and other things I had to take care of a few days ago are over, finishing earlier than predicted, and I can finally rest and take care of my mate.

I want to make the most of my time and enjoy my YN before the battle with my uncle.

In order not to count the seconds and to give YN the thirty minutes I had given myself to contact me, I decided to shower, hoping to think about other things and not let the worry take over. 

The water was pleasantly warm. My tense muscles relaxed as soon as the first drops touched my skin. 

I was in the shower, soaping my body, overwhelmed by a strong feeling of pleasure. The intensity was so great that my legs could not support my weight, and I collapsed on the floor.

What's happening to me?

My eyes close, and I see a pair of naked legs spread apart with a hand between them.

I frown in incomprehension. I felt myself being pulled by my hair, and a moan escaped my lips.

My body heats up and becomes painful at the same time. Pleasure settles in the pit of my stomach, and I am not far from cumming.

It didn't take me long to ejaculate on the floor. When I caught my breath, I understood what had happened.

She had lied to me and kept me in the dark the whole time. Furious, I left the bathroom and didn't even get dressed.

I ran towards the woods before taking animal form when I left the house. When I was still in the bathroom and had a brief vision of her body lying on the mattress, I immediately recognized where YN was. And that's where I'm going. 

She had better have a good explanation for this. 

YN's point of view

My breathing was jerky, and all my limbs were shaking. Nothing beats Jungkook's touch and care, but the orgasm was still intense. Much stronger than when I enjoyed myself.

It was as if my pleasure wasn't just mine, as if someone else's was added to mine. This is impossible because I put up a barrier between Jungkook and myself.

While lying on the bed, trying to come to my senses despite the thick fog, I jumped when the bedroom door suddenly opened and slammed into the wall.

For a moment, I thought a male of the pack, or worse, a rogue, had entered the house to ease my suffering. But relief washed over me when I saw that it was none other than my man. 

Relief. Well, not really. Because I knew from the dark look Jungkook gave me that I was in trouble.

Shocked, I sat down on the bed and looked at him. The saliva I was about to swallow had difficulty moving down my esophagus, making the borderline process painful.

There he was, in front of me, naked, showing his beautiful, muscular body, steel, and well-defined abs.

Goddess, I want to run my tongue all over him.

Although I was happy and eager to feel him touch me, I could only be surprised to find him here.

How did he find me?

"So, Luna, is there something you're not telling me?" His voice was hoarse, and his look was deep.

His eyes were crimson, and he was angry. His chest lifted erratically and jerkily, and I imagine that was because he had run up here, but not only that, he was also mad about something.

Jungkook approached the bed before climbing up and crawling on top of me. I tried to sit up, but his hand went to my stomach and pinned me to the mattress. 

While one hand supports his weight and prevents him from falling on me, his other hand runs over my body without touching me. Even though he didn't feel me, the heat from his hand made me lose my head.

"Jungkook," I moaned, arching my chest and making our skin touch.

"Answer me!" He uses his alpha voice to get what he wants.

"I... I didn't want you..." I have difficulty expressing myself. Seeing him above me, naked, drove me crazy.

"You didn't want me what, YN?" he pressed me.

"I didn't want to bother you." Oops... I shouldn't have said that. His face hardened, and he stood on the bed on his knees.

Surprisingly, he grabbed my red satin nightgown and tore it, exposing my body. He did the same with my panties, now in a thousand pieces.

"Bullshit! I am your man." He takes my breasts in his big hands and massages them. "Your fucking mate," he pinches my nipples, "and your heat belongs to me!" He takes his member - already hard - lines it up against my crack and inserts it into me.

I screamed his name, clinging to him as if my life depended on it. My eyes closed, surrendering to the pleasure his cock was giving me mixed with the pain his sudden entry had caused. 

Fuck, that's good. 

He withdraws entirely before coming again even harder. He repeats the process again and again. My pleasure is not far away. With one more thrust, I could easily touch the clouds with my fingertips.

But Jungkook disagrees with me. He stops all movement and withdraws from me, leaving me in the most significant misunderstanding.

He was about to leave the bed when I told him to stay in a loud and firm voice.

"JEON JUNGKOOOK, don't you dare leave the damn bed." My strong desire and a great need for him made me do something I'd never dared to do before. I used my Alpha female voice on him.

I was born to alpha parents, which makes me an alpha female. 

Jungkook stops all movement and doesn't move anymore.

A smile appears on my lips, happy and satisfied to see that I have some control over him, the big Alpha.

"Good boy, now you're going to rest your pretty little ass a little higher on the mattress, and we're going to finish what we started." If he thinks he can take me to the edge and then walk away, he's sorely mistaken.

He does what I tell him to do, sitting in the middle of the bed. I sit on his lap, straddling his lap, and cling to his hair.

I pull on it a little to make him turn his head to the side and give me a clear view and access to the space between his neck and shoulder before I plant my canines on his pulpit, where a mark resides. My mark.

Jungkook growls and digs his claws into my ribs. His hard cock erected between us twitches and comes up against our stomachs.

Now it's his turn to want me. I will make him lose his mind and beg him to push me inside.

It's funny how I'm the one in heat and desperate, and he's the one being dominated. 

Teasing and always with my canines in his pulpit, I pump his member.

Occasionally, I stand up a little and tease him by bringing his cock in front of my entrance, teasing the both of us before sometimes sitting down, just pushing the tip of his thick dick inside me, which takes a complaint out of both of us.

Jungkook tries to make me impale myself on him more than once, but I growl at him and forbid him to carry out his idea.

"So now you want to be inside me again, hum?" I whisper into his ear. "If I remember correctly, it was you who ended our mutual pleasure," I lick his earlobe, and he moans, "now bear the consequences, Alpha."

I attack his neck with wet kisses before kissing his full mouth. He surrounds my body with his muscular and veiny arms that, God knows how much, drive me crazy.

Against all odds, he turns us around in the bed and is on top of me again. I try to get us to change positions, to be back on top of him, but I don't have the strength. He is too strong.  

"Don't try to turn the tables, baby. You're the one who should be punished for not telling me. So just be happy I'm here with you and didn't let you go through this alone like you planned."

He jerks his dick into me, and this time he takes me to our orgasms.

As I cum around his cock, he sinks his fangs into my neck and marks me again. My orgasm was triple exquisite. Our pleasure was shared, and we felt each other's pleasure.

This is one of the countless reasons why I love being a she-wolf. I would not have changed it for anything in the world.

n.a : I hope you enjoy this short story as much as I do. To make sure you don't miss the progress of the chapters as well as their release, don't forget to check out the Working on and Updates section, where you'll find not only updates on "HEAT", but also other stories and "One Shots" that you'll probably enjoy as well. Also, don't forget to check out the Masterlist, you'll probably find something for you among my other stories in progress and those to come.

If you enjoyed the story, please consider buying me a coffee.

As with all my other stories, TRANSLATIONS will not be tolerated. Thanks for your consideration.

#Heat | only part #yaya #jeon s sins #bts fanfic #bts smut #jungkook x reader #bts #werewolf #jk werewolf #heat #smut #jk smut

[tobiasdrake]

As much as I loved DBS: Super Hero, it did also serve as a reminder for why modern Dragon Ball gives Gohan so little to do.

What it boils down to is that Dragon Ball writers seem to have difficulty finding new ways for Gohan to develop or evolve as a fighter. This is because Gohan himself isn't interested in developing or evolving as a fighter.

By contrast to the proactive Goku, Gohan is a reactive character. He doesn't want to be a big martial arts super-warrior. He has no ambition to become Next-Gen Son Goku. That doesn't mean he won't Do The Things. He's been Doing The Things since he was four. But he needs to have a reason. Something he's doing it for.

"To be stronger/better, to push myself, to become more than I am now," is Goku's driving motive. Goku is a martial artist driven to surpass his own limits, and this drives him to keep finding new mountains to climb.

Gohan's driving motive is, "To protect my family from that asshole." He needs a reason. Self-improvement for its own sake (or, as some have offered, "to be strong enough to deal with the next guy") isn't his passion. Plus, he's already one of the strongest people in the entire universe. How much stronger should he reasonably need to be?

There are all kinds of stories you can tell with a reactive character like Gohan. He's basically a superhero archetype. Spider-Man doesn't constantly train to make himself a better fighter with every waking moment. He doesn't need to; His genre isn't one of progressive escalation.

The problem is, Dragon Ball is dedicated to progressive escalation, arguably to its detriment as Modern Dragon Ball is well past the point where escalation no longer holds any weight. The powers of the characters are so abstract by this point that they have to be defined solely in relation to each other. "Bob is STRONGER than Alex." "Yeah, well now we're fighting John, who's way stronger than Bob and Alex combined." "Yeah well Mark is 100x stronger than John!" "Frank could flex Mark into oblivion with his pinky finger."

This isn't a problem for Gohan, so much as it is a problem for the mindset people have when writing for Dragon Ball. Whether it's Toei or Toyotaro or even Toriyama himself, nobody ever knows what to do with Gohan.

Even when Gohan's in the driver's seat, he's being written by writers who don't know how to write the kinds of stories that Gohan, as a protagonist, is suited for. So they always wind up going back and rehashing things from the well of past Gohan things.

Goku gets to move forward and do new things, but Gohan is trapped in an endless cycle of doing the same three things and nothing else.

1 - Piccolo's sacrifice. Piccolo throwing himself in front of an attack for Gohan or maybe Gohan throws himself in front of an attack for Piccolo if we're being spicy today. REMEMBER THAT TIME. DO YOU REMEMBER? 2 - Gohan gets a rage boost or turns Super Saiyan 2, and then things get real. Everyone loved his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. They loved it so much they're still finding excuses to have him turn Super Saiyan 2 for the very first time again. 3 - Gohan has the power within him to win but he can't unleash it so Goku appears out of nowhere to save him and give him a pep talk, and then he gains confidence in himself and becomes strong enough to win.

To my knowledge, I don't think #3 has appeared in DBS as of yet but it was all over post-Cell Games. After everyone went nuts for Father-Son Kamehameha, we had "Goku gives Gohan a pep talk so he can win" as the resolution for both Broly: Second Coming and Bojack. Then in the actual manga, Goku made the save on Gohan during the Super Buu fight and then got sick of having to do this and fired him from protag slot entirely, which is worse.

Most of Super Hero was a lot of fun. But that final fight turning into "Let's literally bring Cell back so that we can do 'Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2 and defeat Cell' again but it's actually Cell again for maximum uncreativity"? I see you, writers. I see your total lack of ideas for this character.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #dbs super hero #son gohan

[lazlolullaby]

Where is the Moon Knight AU where Marc and Layla's patron Gods are swapped? and now my brain can't work because it extended into a full roleswap AU?

Layla's father came back from a successful dig with a trove of information and a lovely little ushabti of Khonshu. However, Abdullah is acting strange, talking to thin air, going out at night, researching further into obscure things. The lights are also flickering no matter how much she checks the generator and the wind keeps blowing despite the doors being shut.

Abdullah El-Faouly is the Eye of Khonshu: being banished for so long from the world, the God needs some time to adjust before going forward with his plan of punishing evildoers. (this was Khonshu trying so hard to be like the Ennead, but he could not abandon his nature to protect.) Abdullah ends up breaking the contract and Khonshu leaves the ushabti behind as a token of protection.

(then there is Arthur Harrow, the Talons of Khonshu. While his willingness to perform violence is a boon, sometimes he is too eager.)

Everything is fine for a while, then mercenaries break in to find the artifact. Bushman threatens them. Layla fights and takes down most of them, but her father is still hurt. One of the remaining mercenaries turns on Bushman. (He starts the mission as Marc - but since he can't handle another innocent death on his hands, backs out and swaps with Jake.)

During the struggle, Layla gets shot. Jake gets things done and then scatters. (he believes that he killed her. this has. repercussions on the system.)

Khonshu at first just wanted to revive Abdullah, but at his insistence he gives up being an Avatar so Layla can be revived. "she is going to be angry. You won't be there to see it." "she would have gone after them anyway."

(Khonshu abandons Harrow for this, not sure if it was worth it.)

Abdullah is right. Layla does go on a hunt, now as the Wings of Khonshu. Moon Scarab, to the underworld and the rumor mill.

She's mad about everything. Mad that her father presumed she needed saving, mad that she has to listen to an angry bird. (Rage, though it burns hot, always burns out. It's better than the cold certainty of Harrow's punish before wrongdoing. It is worth it.)

(Layla isn't unhinged, she's just gripping very tight to the hinges, thank you for asking.)

Weeks pass and she finds the last person of the mercenary group. A man cuffed to a wheelchair in a psych ward, sedated.

"His mind is fractured. Broken." Khonshu says. "It could be a fitting punishment, to keep him here. His body rotting while his mind spins in fruitless cycles."

"or he could be very good at hiding. One way to find out."

Layla is an excellent forger - a release for the merc, a small flat and money to keep him in town while he recovers from treatment. She feeds him a lie about being a family friend. There's a flicker of distrust.

"I've got a condition - blacking out, memory issues, insomnia - I'll be up reading all night." He says his name is Steven, but she knows better. "Are you sure you want to be flatmates?"

"I have places to be at night." Khonshu flickers the lights.

"Oh. Fine. Night owl, that's...fine."

"Don't worry about the lights, the landlord never answers the calls." don't mind that she's the landlord.

Her coming home with bruises and cuts. Steven flinches, insisting they go out to get bandages because they don't have a proper first aid kit. The awkward stare off with a hurt lady and a nervous guy VS the night shift cashier that's Seen it All. "bar fight. I won." Layla grins, blood on her teeth.

(The little moment where they're close as he's putting a bandage on her nose and being. so. tender. to someone who's never been more than 'distractedly polite' to him. His face changing to something new, something strange and lovely.)

When she finds him hitting himself, it's not that hard for him to explain. "I don't - I don't know if this is real. Jake is very sure you're dead!"

It turns out after the night of the attack, Jake got them far away as possible. He resolved to become a night driver and Steven to keep house in the day. Marc woke up and realized an alter was trying to build a life and just...let them. Better than mercenary work.

Steven gets worried about his missing time and gets therapy...and the therapist realizes, tells them and pushes them too hard to "come together as one whole"...Jake snaps and he's forced into a psych ward.

They cribbed together some form of communication on the psych ward thanks to a different therapist and the other patients. Marc's immense guilt wanted them to stay. But Jake and Steven wanted the body out. If they spent more time in the ward, they might reveal some crimes and the system doubts that they'll be allowed this level of help in a prison.

When Layla arrived to take them, it was an opportunity they didn't want to refuse.

"We don't want to be one person. We want to be ourselves." Steven fully introduces them after that. "We are the Hippo system! Like the Hippocampus of the brain that works with memory - that's Marc - and navigation - that's Jake!" He spells it out, "He Isn't a People Person Otherwise!"

"Who's he?"

Steven shrugs. "I dunno. I'm just here for general life, Jake is here for protection and gossip and Marc...he's well. Not as social as he'd like to be. I'm not supposed to know about it, that's not my "function", as the doc would say but...whatever happened that made us us was too much for one person to bear. It happened before we met you, so it's not your fault."

Layla shrugs. "What can you tell me about that night?"

"I can't tell you. That's part of the point, us being separate and all."

She eventually gets an answer out of them. Layla also lies and says she wasn't as badly hurt as they saw and shows off her Moon Scarab suit with the healing. (Jake accepts that answer at face value. Steven is a little concerned but willing to let it slide. Marc is suspicious.)

Now with their first round of secrets gone, they feel more at home. The Hippo System settles in as a decent partner in her artifact retrieval - he can put his mercenary skills to a good cause and she doesn't have to hide that burning rage as much. (the rage dims, is soothed and that's not good for vengeance.)

Khonshu starts to intrude, making noises about using the Hippo System as his next Avatar. Layla pulls away, tries to keep them apart because she Knows any more pressure on that mind is going to break them apart.

Wendy Spector dies and the Hippo system is thrown out of balance.

(The rage ignites. She's always held it together - her family after her mother died, her composure when people talked over her and her knowledge of Egypt, her home, now the Hippo system. It's always been up to her and she's resigned and vicious and not holding back.)

Layla makes a judgement call and goes after Harrow alone.

The system recovers. Steven now knows why he exists. He does not flinch from Layla's rage, does not fall for Harrow's twisted philosophy, not like Marc or Jake would. He rallies the system to action, to save the world.

Harrow was able to get dirt on Marc's past and tries to kill him with Judgement, but it doesn't work. He reveals about Khonshu, that his partner is lying to him and it does strain the relationship.

Things follow canon. Khonshu gets sealed into stone. Layla dies and Marc blends in as a follower.

Tawaret tries to ask him to be her Avatar, but he refuses. "Do you know what I did as a child to my brother? What my mother did to me over and over for it? Why would you even want me to defend women and children?"

And he releases Khonshu. "Ah. Big pigeon! No wonder Layla was so bloody ready to be rid of you! Get back to her then! Go on!"

And Tawaret comes back. "Temporary Avatar. I don't want any more voices in my head than I started with."

And he becomes Hippo Knight, because why not?

And they win against Harrow and the cult of Ammit. The system helps Layla stop giving into her rage to kill Harrow. Everyone should be able to choose good or evil.

(Steven kept in contact with the patients and nurses in the psych ward. Harrow is preaching violence again and well. He made his choice. Jake drives Layla over to meet with him. Marc holds her tight.)

#moon knight #layla el faouly #marc spector #steven grant #jake lockley #steven grant x layla el faouly #khonshu #marc spector x layla el faouly #lazlo's lulls #roleswap au #something about layla gets some mental illness and the system gets some stability #idk i kind of liked the thought of Layla's first impression of the system being him at his worst in the psych ward #then her learning about the different alters when they're ready #and the hippo acronym is VERY steven so #Inaccurate did system much like the show

[misteria247]

Reincarnation was a strange phenomenon. Being reborn into different lives, changing faces and backstories, it was all a strange yet twisted affair.

At least that's what Mikey has come to the conclusion of.

The box turtle wasn't a stranger to reincarnation. Having lived so many lives, and being the only one to remember those lives, he'd seen many things that weren't normal. But despite those abnormal occurrences, he'd gotten used to them. Had gotten used to the unsettling twists and turns that was thrown at him since his first lifetime. And for several lifetimes, he'd kept it to himself, becoming an even better actor than his brothers. Who would pretend everything was okay, in order to protect him from their issues they were dealing with in that particular life cycle. Unaware that they had had done this song and dance before, and that their beloved baby brother was a master at it. That their baby brother was a witness to horrors and madness, that he knew more than he let on, that the reality was that Mikey was protecting them from something much bigger and catastrophic.

Yes, Mikey was familiar with reincarnation. Was familiar with its sick, twisted humor that had become his life. A neverending groundhog day, a neverending nightmare that of which at this point Mikey was sure was an eldritch type of intervention. He was used to the surprises, and had mentally prepared himself for the worst case scenario. Fate could pull her tricks and schemes but Michelangelo was determined to meet them head on. But Fate wasn't always a kind mistress, especially when you decided to try to be one step ahead of her plans. Mikey had thought he'd seen everything, had thought that the insanity couldn't get worst than it already was. That nothing could be worst than what he was currently experiencing, an isolation that would forever suffocate him and slowly eat away at him.

But he was wrong.

The lair was in chaos. He could see the Shredder pressing his steel boot on his older brother Raph's shell. In an attempt to try and crush him and Donnie who was being shielded by the red clad turtle. Mikey was beneath Leo, his blue clad brother having made the baby of the family his first priority during this horrific situation. Mikey gripped Leo's forearm, desperately trying to get out from beneath him because he had to save Raph and Donnie, he couldn't lose his brothers. Not now, not when they'd barely lived life yet. Refused to let their lights be snuffed out so quickly. But Mikey had forgotten how actually strong Leo was, a fact he seemed to forget in every lifetime.

"NO STOP LEAVE THEM ALONE-!"

Mikey yowled, desperately trying to stop what was happening. His voice managed to get the Shredder to turn his gaze onto him and Leo, his soulless gaze fixating onto him. Light brown hues met the stare dead on, a livid yet terrified glare baring straight into the ninjutsu master. Shredder's eyes narrowed, before something flashed in his eyes. A look of pure disdain and hatred, a look of a man who had a personal vendetta against Michelangelo Hamato.

"You.........you're the one........the one who....."

Shredder's voice rattled into the room, low and venomous and filled with a deep rooted recognition that made Mikey's blood freeze. Light brown eyes widened, as he saw Shredder's look. The same look he himself had whenever he looked into the mirror.

'No......'

He couldn't breathe.

'He can't.....! There's no way-!'

Mikey felt Leo's arms tightened, his body pressing closer to the youngest turtle to keep him from the insane lunatic who's gaze fixated on him. What happened next was a blur for Mikey. He barely remembered having Raph grab him, Leo, Donnie and April. Barely remembered Karai's brutal death or Splinter's scream for them to run. A eerie, dreadful sense of deja vu hitting him. Barely remembered Draxum's shouting. All that he remembered was the last moments. Where he and his family were in the turtle tank, and he heard Shredder's bone chilling, animalistic roar of rage echoing from within the ruins of their home.

"YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE ME HAMATO, NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE END OF ME."

Mikey's family didn't stick around longer before their friend took the wheel and sped away, leaving its occupants shaken. As Mikey watched the lair grow smaller and smaller, the foreboding feeling of knowing began to set in. A knowing that he'd never asked for.

He wasn't the only one who remembered.

#oli talks #ooc #muns ramblings #mindless ramblings of a madman #my writing #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt/rottmnt crossover #turtles forever #turtles forever crossover #tmnt mikey #rottmnt mikey #tmnt shredder #rottmnt shredder #tmnt raph #rottmnt raph #tmnt leo #rottmnt leo #tmnt donnie #rottmnt donnie #tmnt april #rottmnt april #tmnt splinter #rottmnt splinter #reincarnated au #reincarnated Mikey au #what's this?? idk you tell me lmfao

[peculiarbluerose]

Tips I wish I knew for my first RE4R Hardcore playthrough (Original Campaign)

Notes:

-This can also be applied to lower difficulties to make it 10x easier

-This does not include tips for the Separate Ways DLC, but some of them can be applied, I suppose

-All of these are picked up from personal playthroughs as well as YouTube videos (Neon Slice influences the majority of these)

-I've also just played this game on the hardest difficulties too many times lol

1. FLASH GRENADES - They WILL be your best friend, I promise you. Why? They stun enemies for at least 5 to 10 seconds and you can melee them. Alternatively, you have a window to stab them (always a critical hit, perfect for mini bosses like the Brutes)

2. Keep at least one first aid spray on you at all times; this has saved me on several occasions, and not doing it has killed me

3. Ashley's armor is worth the hassle if you are trying to get the S+ rank on Professional (if it's your first run, professional will only be unlocked after you beat the game at least once)

4. If you are in a spot where you are overwhelmed, just RUN. Run if you can, especially if you're out of bullets and you're on your last knife. This is another situation where flash grenades are useful.

5. Speaking of flash grenades, if it is your first playthrough (or you just lack attention to detail), Plagas hate light and die when flashed by a flash grenade. If you have too many Plagas in the area, don't hesitate to throw a flash grenade. This is especially useful against the knights in Salazar's castle.

6. The only way you're gonna get infinite ammo is through an S+ rank on Professional, so don't even worry about that until later.

7. Yes, there are limits on saves and the number of hours it takes to complete the game in order to get certain ranks. If you don't know the rules to a rank, Google them. The game, if it does tell you, doesn't like to make those rules obvious.

8. Ashley is a pain in the rear end even with the armor. In areas like the Water Hall, she's immune to enemy attacks and Leon's bullets, yes, but she will still crouch down when surrounded, or get picked up (they can't carry her anywhere though since the armor makes her heavy, so she'll be in a constant cycle of screaming until you get rid of the zealots). Added this because I don't know how many people address this part of Ashley's armor.

9. On the flip side, the armor makes Ashley immune to attacks even during her segment of the game where you play as her, so you can walk through the knight room and be hit 45 times and be just fine. It makes that part of the game much easier.

10. One hit in Ashley's segment without armor, however, (yes, even just one) will result in a game over. Keep moving, know your paths before triggering things, and be quick about it.

11. Saddler is pathetic, even on hardcore mode. At the start of his battle, just shoot him with a rocket launcher and you'll be good to go, no time wasted

12. Two golden eggs thrown at Salazar (start of his battle, preferably. Much easier from there) will easily get his battle out of the way.

13. You know the room with the 4 Regeneradors in the test tube things? Yeah, those. Don't bother killing all of them, just get the wrench from the one and you'll be fine.

14. Speaking of Regeneradors, they're a pain. A big one. Keep your distance, they're slinky's. Keep your distance.

15. If the Regenerador is asleep (like the 4 test tube ones in the lab), line up two of the parasites (if you can, all three would be awesome, though) and shoot. It will make your job MUCH easier

16. Use the rocket launcher on Krauser when you're in the final battle with him. He's a tough one, and it's much easier to skip the fight. You also get his knife once he's dead, and it's better than Leon's. That's nice, I guess.

17. There's nothing you can do about Leon's slowness when approaching Luis's lab. That's meant to happen, and no, you can't skip it. On the bright side, you won't get hurt, either.

18. You may or may not have heard about the heavy grenade trick when Ashley is using the wrecking ball. Two heavy grenades will do the trick. If you don't have those, several normal grenades will suffice, but it will add a little extra time to your run.

19. Use flash grenade right as one of the two Giants (with Luis) are approaching the center of the room. It takes a second for the flash to go off, and it stops them just enough to open the trap door to incinerate one of them. Nice.

20. Take out the lamp guys ASAP. You know, the ones with the red lamps that make the zealots turn into Plagas? Those things. I hate 'em. Flash them with a flash grenade, then knife them. Best way to go, just like Brutes.

I hope this was of SOME use to you. I racked my memory for this info, it's a long game. If you want more, let me know. Should I do Separate Ways next?

#leon kennedy #resident evil 4 #re4 remake #re4 leon #re4make #re4 #ada wong #leon s kennedy #ashley graham #resident evil #residentevil #albert wesker #las plagas #tips #video games #gaming #i was bored #don't mind me #re4 tips #tips and tricks #tips and advice #advice #video game thoughts #regenerador #zealot #los illuminados #osmund saddler #lord saddler #luis serra #jack krauser

[sparklingbluerose]

TWST x Raiden Shogun! Reader

You are a God, one who rules over one of the nations of Teyvat: Inazuma. But a little mishap happens and apparently, you've been summoned to another world.

A/N: ANOTHER THING I'VE THOUGHT OF FOR DAYS

☆

TW: Slight Angst, Implied Loosing Control! Reader

Fem! (Y/N) 《Other Genders Will Also Be Made》

☆

Headcannons + Oneshot:

Aight, well first of all...

It all started during the entrance ceremony, as usual you were taken there by the dumb bird. Oh wait, it's Crowley.

The Mirror somehow already knew you didn't come from here. How you ask? He felf the aura around was very different than what he feels of.

And while arranging your dorm, of course it went like...

"The shape of thy soul is...suited for no dorm. This woman is no ordinary magic user, i sense her power to be stronger than anyone's itself."

Everyone visibly gasped at that explanation. Like lmao, yOu? PoWerFul? This a villain's school, stop joking around.

Well, until Grim started bitching around ignoring the power part and causing the chaos.

The reaction between the elements electro and pyro is basically overload. And pyro is fire, so Grim's blue fire works the same i guess.

Ooh man...the amount of shockwaves and elemental reactions during that day...nobody would forget it.

You literally got so pissed off at Grim you ELECTROCUTED him then wham bam have a roasted & toasted Grim ma'am. Now everyone knew not to mess with you.

After all of that, you apologized to Grim the next day. Of course, also gave him his can of tuna he requested.

It would be fair for an apology, right? Anyways, soon after, you meet Ace and Deuce. God forbid them be so casual at you, they could never.

They were both the first to know of your identity. Ace though asked for proof, and you two dueled right in front of Heartslabyul one morning. Guess he didn't learn his lesson.

You demolished him. Well, it was really easy to defeat him quicker than the duel with Riddle, but where's the fun on it?

Right after, time skip to all that shit and we move onto overblots. Riddle saw himself in you. Not just tyrant sweet lover wise, but beneath all that and the past.

You opened up to him first, then the rest, then Leona, then Ruggie and so on. It's just a cycle with the dorms.

Seeing his past during after you defeat him was a bit expected already. Trey told you everything after the duel occured and you could understand his feelings.

So you didn't end being a therapist, but more likely a protector.

Night Raven College knew of your doings, and though the timeline back in Teyvat was when the Vision Hunt Decree waa still going on, you were still...a tyrant.

But they loved you nonetheless because you took that side of you off and you are usually known as '(Y/N)'.

And they won't admit you pulling a sword out of your chest was both surprising and hot. The dorm leaders were traumatized after witnessing your strength. LMAO SMH–

Since you're the dorm leader of Ramshackle, you get invited to events and meetings a lot. Riddle often does homework with you and brings you some tea.

Leona usually asks you when you're free, so you guys could nap together and...just laze around from time to time.

Azul isn't the type to be so close with you, knowing well and all your power and actually feels intimidated. But he asks you to come and try their food sometimes in Monstro.

Please help Kalim. He's literally attached to you and can't stop asking to see your God Form– he like, loves you man.

Vil literally beautifies you. Your hair is well kept, and should be pampered to death. Take care of yourself or he will.

Idia barely speaks to you. Why? Because he's literally fangirling. You're like a cool anime character. Ortho always has to save him from burning into crisp when he sees you.

Malleus...you guys are seriously the scariest together. He once thought of challenging you but that didn't end well.

Of course, didn't end well for HIM that is.

Overall, people adore your strength and will to protect your country for eternity. Maybe you'll change more, too.

☆

"(Y/N)-sama!" A student runs to your side. A normal day, just a fun thing to look forward. Because of the overwhelming tasks in NRC given to you by your status, you couldn't really relax as much this month.

However, seeing everyone who grew close to you just like your friends back then...made you stop walking, not of the student. "May i have advice? I want to get better at studies but.."

Your images of the past flash before your eyes, and you almosy stopped breathing. In fear, you gasp as it all turns to dust, the voices screaming fading away...

"...(Y/N)-sama? Are you alright?" You clench your fists in an attempt to focus into reality once again. It's alright. It's not real, everything is over and you are safe. The student slowly puts a hand on your own, hoping to snap you out of it.

...

Eventually, you flung your head back up, a small sigh. "Yes, i...one step at a time, do not rush." And with that, you leave with the student giving a sound of thanks and rushing off.

Your feet end you back up at your dorm, with a heavy heart. It's not as if they'll last long either...you'll have to leave soon too. "Heavens..i'm overthinking it all." You rub your head.

"Raiden-san..?" The voice you longed to hear. You badly had turned around, wishing to see the faces you needed to see.

There they were, looking so concerned and genuine. It was something you loved so much, what you wished to keep always.

You grip the doorknob with a soft face. "It's not her." Was all you said, and it was understood. "Ah! Sorry (Y/N)." Deuce smiles, and your heart clenched at the feeling. How...nice.

"What do you need?" Asking the duo with a simple smile, Ace had long snorted with your question. "You, duh." He said half jokingly. You give a nervous laugh. Him and his flirtyness...

"..I see? Anyways, there is something i would like to tell you." You shuffle, trying to ignore your churning stomach. It was day to be remembered always. The duo listens carefully to you, yet...they couldn't understand it's meaning at all.

There was something hidden and laced behind your words, the feeling of bittersweet aching beneath your sentence.

"No matter when the day comes, i believe you'd still trust me whether or not i will make a wrong move. Please remember that i'll always take care of the overblots, okay?"

Deuce was confused, and in doubt. What did you mean? Was it a red flag or what? He didn't know, but his heart did. The feeling of sad happiness flows through his blood.

He felt what you were, and Ace did too. As if you three were connected, you send them one wave before going into the dorm.

Even if they understood what you meant, there would be of no means. You were THE (Y/N) Shogun, God of Eternity and the ruler of Inazuma. So whatever choice you're hinting them to make, they will not only trust you, but your own abilities.

(Hope you enjoyed this! Kinda wanted to make slight angst..)

#genshin impact #fanfic #twisted wonderland #raiden baal #x reader #crossover #twst imagines

[shewritesallnight]

AND THE PLOT FUCKING THICKENS!!!

I just finished volume 11 (only 1 left 😭)

Time for some spoilers 😏

FIRST OF ALL

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!! Owner does love Sasaki and 1000000% confessed his feelings. Aaahhhhshdjfkrkdhshqkskdjf

You read it here first

We get to see Owner in a female form which is always fun. They always slay no matter what form they are in.

Anyways to the juicy part 🧃🧃🧃

(Unknown incarnation) Sasaki to Owner: "I don't know what to think... you can't just tell me you love me outta the blue like that..."

And: "spouses... usually call each other by name, don't they?"

🤩 AAAAHHHHHHHHH

and thennnn BOOM 💣 💥

OWNER KISSES HIM

🤌💋

(then we learn that Owner can only come out at night? I never really noticed that Owner showed up only during the night. What do they do during the day??)

Also can we talk about this cover?

🗣📣 GORGEOUS

I am OBSESSED with the colors and the stained glass. Did you notice that the glass represents Owner's companions?

cherry blossoms 🌸

spider 🕷 and butterflies 🦋

maple leaves 🍁

bones ☠️

and I believe the scrolls that Owner is laying on are most likely Sasaki's old writings. Not to mention their kimono...

You can't tell me that the design doesn't make it look like a ribcage. I wonder who that could represent 🤔 😏

⊱⋅─────────────────────⋅⊰

There is a lot to unpack with Rei so I'll save that for another day. I can't wait for the next volume but I am terrified of it at the same time.

Freedom for baby Rei? Starting the cycle all over again? Ending the cycle?

Will Owner get their happy ending?

And what is Owner's secret? It's not them being in love with Sasaki since we established they already confessed. So WTF is it?!?!

wait Wait WAIT A DAMN MINUTE‼️

I just had a thought-

SASAKI NEVER HAD A SECRET TO GIVE OWNER

THEY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT OUR RESIDENT SKELETON BOI FOR CENTURIES

.

.

.

Are they breaking their rules just to spend time with him?

so does this mean that Owner does not have to have a true secret- instead it just needs to be something that the being/creature believes to be a secret?

I want answers but I'm not ready for it to be over 😫 💔

#ptotn #owner #ptotn owner #sasaki #ptotn sasaki #phantom tales of the night #spoilers #ptotn spoilers

[inevitably-johnlocked]

so are you on hiatus or still posting or...? what's the deal w/that

Hey Anon...

I'm not sure if you're just joshing me or being silly, or are being serious or whatever but your ask comes off as rude, especially since I try to have a post every half hour or so from 8 AM EST until noon DAILY (since I discovered those are my peak hours), unless I have no content, which y'all provide me with through asks and suggestions. I have posted fic recs EVERY Friday for over 3 years and curate a fic rec list nearly every Sunday unless I take a break / holiday. My blog tags are specifically designed to show me where in the cycle a post is, and, a lot of the "selling" point to this blog is its interactivity (where I check the replies and additions on every post that reblogs each day and I tack it onto the main post).

Granted, I don't post nearly as much as I used to (because it was affecting my mental health, and I have a day job I work between 40 and 60 hours a week with very little free time, and I'm back at the office so I can't post during work hours anymore) so I had to cut my queue back to auto-post 3 posts a day so I don't run out of posts before month's end. I also prep my blog the night before the next day, so I spend anywhere between 2 and 4 hours NIGHTLY, AFTER my day job, to file, answer asks, and schedule posts so that my blog LOOKS active.

AND if no one sends me asks or asks I'm not ready to answer (bad headspace, too long to reply so I save it for another day, etc), then the queue the next day is, admittedly, smaller and instead is about 1 post an hour up until 3 PM EST. All my new posts from asks get answered and posted between 8 AM and 11 AM, unless I have no content / next-day-reblogs, then I slot other asks into the 11 AM until 2 PM slots. I try not to do that on first posting, though, 'cause as I said, my peak hours are early morning so I'd rather have people see those ones first.

When I'm on hiatus, I pin a post to my blog. My Lovelies and Lurkers™ know when I am on Hiatus and are very understanding and know that I am a human being who needs a break once in awhile. I'm sorry I'm not posting up to your standards, Anon, I truly am, but I just physically can't anymore, since like, 90% of my free time is dedicated to either sorting fics or answering asks. And I don't really have the energy to do it at the rate I was doing it when I was working from home. I rarely take a break from this blog as it is.

Perhaps Tumblr has unfollowed you from my blog, which is why you don't see my posts anymore (it has happened, I've had to re-follow people before), but I can assure you, I have new content DAILY unless I have no asks I'm ready to answer. Some days are less than others, because, again, I am only human, and I have no obligation to provide content daily. I do it because I LOVE doing it. But asks like this make me feel like all my work is for naught. *shrugs*

Less is more, Anon. 💜🖤

#steph replies #chatting with nonnies #my blog #tumblr things #i want to give anon benefit of the doubt and is just asking a genuine question #but please know anon that your ask came off EXTREMELY rude and entitled #i spend hours on my lists #and these kind of asks make me feel like shit quite honestly #because i was proud of being 'the fic reccer' in the fandom #so i dunno #anyway #shitposting steph

[lialox]

Character analysis: Kratos and Lloyd

Why give Lloyd the locket? Why send Kratos to Derris-Kharlan?

At first I thought it was weird that Kratos gives Lloyd his locket in the Kratos-route in game. Like imagine if your dad gave you the baby photos he kept in his wallet? Like wtf would a kid do with that, it’s a dad thing to keep around. That thing would would do more good for Kratos, all alone in Derris Kharlan anyways. His office being plain and having no decorations is canon. He deserves a family picture up there.

But writing and trying to understand what goes on in his head made me get it. Kratos in game has a habit of giving Lloyd literally everything. Spoiled kid. He doesn’t question the “why”, he either shows Lloyd how to get it, or gives it to Lloyd on a silver platter. He’s fuelled by immense guilt and is doing everything to make up for it.

Early on in game Lloyd voices his frustrations to Kratos more than once about not knowing anything about his parents. I think Kratos was trying to give Lloyd a memory of his family, before all the bloodshed and trauma, since Lloyd wanted to remember so badly. Parents was the topic of the day in their Flanoir scene. Their relationship was good enough at that point that Kratos was comfortable enough to allow Lloyd to acknowledge Kratos as family. Lloyd goes easy on him at the fight before Origin, because he understands how much Kratos actually cares when he sees that Kratos kept that locket with him the whole time.

In every other route, Kratos would still be sulking, and give Lloyd everything EXCEPT a memory of them as a family so that Lloyd can move on without his shitty father. Lloyd does not hold back and severely injures him with all of his pent up frustration. I’m a fan of Kratos’ character but I truly believe he is a terrible father during ToS. He’s only doing what he does to make himself feel better, it’s not really about Lloyd, it’s really about his feelings and his guilt. 

Lloyd understands people pretty well. He gets that from Dirk for sure. Maybe Anna.

So while Dirk is right that some part of Lloyd wanted to go with him, there’s an even bigger part that knows Kratos needs to work on himself. “He’s got his own things to do.”

Because if anyone else in his party were to go to a different planet to save a race, he wouldn’t let them go by themselves right? If it was Colette, or anyone else he had a high affection with he would go on that journey together. The entire plot of ToS begins because Lloyd is NOT the type of person to let the people he cares about journey alone to save people.

Does he realize this means he may never see his dad again? Absolutely.

Is there a possibility Kratos was looking for a place to die out in space? Lloyd knows this.

Why does Lloyd still send him off? Lloyd trusts him enough to understand that “there’s no meaning in dying”. Getting sent to Derris Kharlan is literally serving a lifetime sentence in solitary. Kratos needs this for himself, to ease the immense guilt that he has. If it was about Lloyd, he would have stayed and made up for lost time and done everything he can to help him in his goals. He is the only human who knows all the secrets of the world and has the most experience in leadership, diplomacy, and guiding the masses when the planet itself changes. He is the most powerful ally Lloyd will ever have in the regenerated world. The option to let Derris Kharlan complete a 100 year cycle on its own is also there since it’s not like the angels will die, nor would the lifeless beings do anything other than ordered. (What, like they’re going to die of hunger or old age with those Cruxis Crystals?) And he's forgetting that the Desians ALSO need to atone and he can't atone for them. Kratos has the option to just dump everyone there and procrastinate finding a place for the half-elves of Cruxis until the comet completes its orbit and returns to Aselia. 

But he doesn’t stay. Because it’s not about helping Lloyd.

He’s a weak man who pushes everything on his child, including the absolution of 4000 years worth of guilt and disregards how his child feels. He’s so used to lying that he’s disguised his selfishness under “I’m doing this for my son” but it’s not. He loves his kid for sure, but Kratos’ one and only motivation is guilt.

Guilt for failing to take care of Mithos as he promised Martel. Guilt for making a mess of the world. Guilt for killing Anna. Guilt for being Lloyd’s father, because that fact alone almost got him killed several times. 

He tends to make the wrong decisions because his focus isn’t actually on morality or to a certain extent, family. There’s a scene in Tales of Fandom where he tells Mithos he’s ok with Lloyd living out his days as a monster and it doesn’t matter as long as he’s alive so pretty please spare his life. Disgusting. The foundations of his actions are all about how to make himself feel better, and acting on that selfishness often times makes things worse.

TLDR; Kratos sucks. Lloyd understands Kratos better than Kratos does.

#tales of symphonia #kratos aurion #lloyd irving #character analysis #Anna needs a divorce #I hate Kratos only as much as Kratos hates himself