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fushigurro · 1 day

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𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙈 / 𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙐𝙈.

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗨 𝗚𝗢𝗝𝗢 𝗫 𝗚𝗡!𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥. ⌇ sfw, but minors dni (potential for nsfw continuations) / jjk manga spoilers / this is my version of "came back wrong" gojo inspired by recent events, but it turned out somewhat softer than i expected / what happens when satoru is brought back and suddenly finds himself deeply attached to you of all people?

yandere!gojo / he's also slightly higher-needs disabled coded… idk i tried to approach it as best as i could. it's an unfamiliar thing for reader and they're trying to process it / i very well may try to continue this because it is rotting my brain!! / 1.7k words

“Satoru… you need to eat.”

A full bowl of soup sits on the table before him untouched, his hands resting unoccupied in his lap and eyes trained on your figure as you circle around to stand near him. That piercing blue gaze is ridden with innocence, lips parted like those of a quizzical child, but they turn upwards into a pleased grin when you take a seat in the chair next to him.

You’d prepared a rather simple dish, something you figured might be easy for him to consume and digest given his… peculiar state, but Satoru apparently had yet to pay any interest to it. He instead sat obediently in his chair just as you had commanded several minutes ago, unable to initiate the task of feeding himself, for he was much more intrigued from afar by your every move as you tidied the kitchen. It was as though he couldn’t find the drive to function unless you were within an overwhelmingly short distance of him.

Satoru’s heart thumps now that you’re close, a burst of satisfaction rushing through his brain. Dopey yet stimulating chemicals. You are Pavlov’s ringing bell.

He is reminiscent of a child picked up from school by their beloved parent, or a puppy being reunited with its owner after a day at the vet, overcome with joy and unable to properly contain it. He leans forward and presses his lips to your neck as though that is the appropriate response to his elation, the crossed wires in his brain telling him that this is the sort of affection that will please you and is therefore the sort of affection he most desperately wants to give.

His condition was difficult to understand, and you wouldn’t call yourself properly equipped to deal with it, but there was simply no other option but to try; Gojo wouldn’t let anyone else try, the horrible rattling in his skull consuming him when deprived of your presence for too long. Yuuta had described the look in his eyes as “frenzied and lost.” You were told that the infirmary still needed repairs.

Once he returned to this world, Satoru had been stripped down to his essence, bare bones, a creature of instinct, reduced to something quite simple yet difficult for the average person to understand. But you had to understand, or try at the very least. This was the new burden placed upon your shoulders; it was either soothe this new version of Satoru Gojo for the sake of the world, or find a way to send him back into the icy arms of death. You were often caught between which option sounded worse.

However, when met with the sweetest and most earnest of his smiles, your bones were frosted with guilt, and you regretted ever entertaining the idea of letting him go again.

You stumble over getting him to perform necessary tasks and be further than 5 feet away from you at any given time, because it seems that, upon his revival, Satoru equates you and only you with everything of importance in his life. It’s more than a little unnerving given the fact that you’d never so much as even kissed prior to the loss of him, and now his neurons only fire off every happy memory he’s ever had of you, every positive thing he’s ever felt, no matter how stifled. You are his entire world now, and he can’t even verbalize it, but as each day passes following his awakening, you’re starting to gather that much on your own. You can’t be frustrated for long, however, because his cheerfulness is contagious, his enthusiasm making you feel loved even if it is somewhat smothering.

Is this selfish of you?

The man's lips travel slowly across your skin, pacified by your presence, your taste, and ignoring the grumble in his stomach. How does one differentiate the types of hunger? You don’t attempt to fight him off, but rather exhale a defeated sigh in response. It hasn’t been long since you’ve been tasked with this responsibility, but it feels as though you’re frequently fighting a losing battle and failing him all the same. It’s so peculiar, so very unnatural… but still, you have to try.

“Satoru, please…” you beg, voice light in his ear and a hand settling at his nape. His nerve endings come alive every time his name leaves your lips. The bell. “Just one bite? For me?”

That seems to do the trick, as you’ve gathered. Satoru pulls himself back, hyper-aware of the tone in your voice and suddenly willing to comply. He’s more than eager to accept the spoon into his mouth when you offer it, placing your fingers beneath his chin and carefully bringing the soup up to his lips. He swallows it with ease, the task literally more palatable now that you’ve reminded him of how badly you would like him to complete it. Anything for you.

“There,” you say, satisfied and offering a faint, exhausted smile. He grins widely in response and hums, no longer capable of words of his own, but his simple noise expresses his glee with efficacy. Satoru decides to punctuate it by pressing the tip of his nose to yours for good measure.

It feels wrong to enjoy these subtle moments of intimacy with someone who doesn’t appear to be in his right mind, but who are you to say whether he is or not? There’s still an agency he possesses, a heart full of emotions, and a mind teeming with thoughts that you wish you could be privy to. He might be different now, but part of you wants to say with certainty that the old Satoru is still here with you somehow—you can sense it. He chuckles at particular images that flash across the TV and still gets a kick out of teasing you to some degree. To diminish that seems like a disservice to him.

You’re unable to deprive him of the happiness your closeness provides nonetheless; in fact, it’s obviously rather dangerous for you to even try and do so. Satoru’s conscious recollections are filled primarily with you, but his body is still more or less the same as it always was—the vessel of his clan’s power, the strongest sorcerer on earth. You’re not sure to what extent he remembers how to control these abilities, but part of you doesn’t wish to find out. For now, you care for him, placate him, re-learn him. Nothing is certain about the situation other than the fact that he apparently needs you now more than ever.

Your eyes soften at the warmth he exudes, and you wonder if he really remembers who you even are—or were—to him. It’s not worth pondering over for now, however. He needs to eat.

“Another?” you ask, testing to see how willing he is to fulfill your wishes. Satoru often easily complies once you’ve expressed satisfaction in him doing so, but all of this is still so new and experimental; you never know when he might decide to switch gears.

However, still smiling, he nods, and you bring another spoonful of soup up to his lips for him to swallow. It pleases you to see him finally getting something into his stomach, and he can sense it, taking it upon himself to further your agenda and simultaneously realizing just how gratifying it is to fill his belly.

“Good,” you say, and he feels rewarded. He is crowned by your praise. Exalted. You take him to the greatest heights with the simplest of words.

You place the spoon back in the bowl and Satoru takes it in his grasp, feeding himself without quarrel while you observe. Most of his motor skills appear to be intact as far as you’ve seen despite the cognitive and behavioral changes, and if someone were to look upon him from afar, you’re fairly certain they would never know the difference. But you’re still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together little by little, deciphering each bit of information and also determining just how deep his severe attachment to you really goes.

Why did it end up being you? Why do you suddenly seem to be the only thing that makes sense to him in this entire universe?

You can’t answer that, he can’t answer that, it’s just the way it is. Satoru doesn’t need to know why you nearly consume his every thought, he just knows that you make him happy, and that’s truly all that counts in his version of the world. He’ll chase it on instinct until death decides to take him again; he’ll tear down anything that stands in his or your way, for you alone are all that he thinks he has left to cling to. Never matter the others that show concern for him—they’re nice enough, earning a small smile or even the privilege to touch before he shakes them off and seeks you out again. It’s nothing personal. It’s simply pathological.

Leaning an elbow on the table, you turn the possibilities over in your mind as you silently watch him eat. A life has been restored, but yours has been turned upside down, and you have to figure out just exactly what you’re going to do about it. You suppose that taking baby steps ought to be the best way to make progress, but how do you make space for someone like this out of the blue? You’ll have to give it your best shot.

Satoru finishes drinking down the remaining broth of his soup, and you pose a question. “Would you like to go for a walk with me today?”

He sits the bowl down and looks over at you, eyes assessing your features and mind processing what you’ve asked. He hasn’t been out much in the days following his return, but you don’t see any reason to keep him cooped up inside if he happens to respond well to a casual outing with you. Taking him for a stroll outside seems like a decent way to test the waters.

Satoru smiles and nods, recalling memories of how your hair looked when touched by the wind. He’d be glad to accompany you outside if it meant he could see you glow in the sun, radiant and warm. The center of his universe.

“I think it’ll be nice,” you remark with a grin, an ounce or two of weight being lifted from your shoulders at the positive shift in outlook. Baby steps.

Reaching out to take your hand, Satoru squeezes it in his own to convey his agreement. It’s as if he’s trying to say, “everything is nice when I’m with you.”

#satoru gojo x reader #gojo x reader #jjk x reader #dividers by @saradika #my writing.#re: satoru gojo

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devastatinglygreen · 2 days

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Why do you think they're waiting for the Lady Whistledown reveal?

aside from drama? and i mean that seriously. i know everyone had headcanons and wants for years here but they're building tension. there was no real tension in part one outside of sexual and the stakes need to be higher for the penultimate episode.

the next bit is spoilers we know have been pretty much seen by too many people for ep 5 at least so wander under the cut at your own risk:

i think, and i know a lot of people aren't going to be thrilled about colin not knowing before some things happen, that they need to do two things: solidify their relationship a bit and basically send penelope into a spiral to take the stakes higher.

they have plot armor, they're not going to behead penelope right there in the queen's garden with the peacocks once she gets caught. the only thing truly up for grabs is polin. and not even that, not really, but it's the thing the audience is going to care about.

the spoilers have penelope trying to tell him but failing because she keeps getting interrupted. every time she fails, the clock ticks further. it's a pressure build. eloise is on her back. colin is just wandering along, deliriously happy and penelope knows she's carrying this bomb she's gonna blow up in his face.

she lost eloise to it. colin is the love of her life. i think we can all do that math. she's so stressed out by eloise's timeline she can barely breathe and then comes cressida.

you've got cressida taking credit for LW, colin's happiness sitting on her shoulders (tho i do think it's also so smart of them to have him defend penelope to portia before he finds out, it might give him some insight to how penelope is treated and feels when the right time comes), eloise is assuming things and giving her hell.

i mean, wouldn't you be a mess too? like, give the girl some grace her entire life is imploding right after getting what she's always wanted and never thought she'd get and losing the two most important people in the world to her only a few months before. would you want to blow that up again? yes, yes, i'm sure everyone who says "but she has to!" is very morally outraged and perfectly righteous in their own lives scoffs at the idea that penelope might struggle with a secret she doesn't know what to do with.

it's not like we've never seen how that eats her up before, right? oh. we totally have. nvm.

anyways. cressida. i kind of hope it's the turning point for peneloise because i think even eloise knows she's not a good person to have in a position of power like that. say what you want but penelope doesn't lie in LW.

add in they seem to be bringing in book scenes and i'm going to guess colin catches her after she takes off to print something saying cressida is a whole ass lie. fight ensues. angst! stakes are ridiculously high. the wedding is planned. the pedestals are knocked over and now colin will know everything. does he love her after that? can he? does he trust her ever again? (clearly yes or they're gonna need to change up that family tree thing they released lol).

this will give way to colin having to come to terms with penelope's legacy and how it affects his own estimation of himself and his writing. jealousy like the book. it's a colin issue and he knows it but he still has to deal with it.

colin very much thinks penelope is his purpose, right? the book says it. LN said it about show colin. he's gotta reconcile that LW and penelope are two halves of the same person. he can't put them both in boxes.

anyways what i mean is that the stakes need to be high and her blurting it out then having 2.5 episodes of them moping around about their LW fight isn't really the thing that gets your heart racing when you've got 8 episodes to tell the whole story.

(also as an aside, i think it's going to lead to us getting second "firsts" in a way. it's not going to be a first kiss or anything but i feel like the energy of it all will be different and i, personally, think that could be very fun)

#asks #anon #polin #bridgerton #bridgerton spoilers #bridgerton speculation #penelope featherington #colin bridgerton

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painted-bees · 21 hours

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I love it when you dive into the psyche stuff with Margie and Raf. I swear I learn something new about myself every time I read a post about them. It's nice that they're both very patient and supportive with each other and that their struggles overlap in a way that grants them more empathy than they might have had otherwise. That said I'm curious to know how they clash, if at all. Does either of them have symptoms that triggers or exasperates the other's symptoms? How do they manage it?

that makes me so happy, thank you ; 0; <3

aaa so, chiefly, the relationship between these two is built on a pretty fundamental feature of "'winning' a situation/conflict is not more important than my partner's well being"--In that, like, they're both very proactive in looking at their situation and assessing if they're responsible for aggravating the situation/provoking a response, and to what extent. So typically, once they realize a situation has gotten away on them, they're both able to take a pause and even physically separate for a hot moment if need be--and then try and figure out what happened, what can be done, and apologize in earnest for any misinterpretation or disproportionate responses, etc. It's usually both of them apologizing to each other after identifying out loud out their own missteps/contributions, and it's usually fine. So a 'big' emotionally charged conflict between them might last like...an hour at most before before it deescalates into more co-operative conversation. Because neither of them want to "win" the fight, they just wanna not be mad at each other and see the other person comfortable--which requires understanding why they're mad rather than leveraging the other's angry response as against them, etc.

Funnily enough, this kind of...conflict resolution style wasn't Raf's initiative (he tends to be a lot more reticent to admit wrongdoing and apologize, lest it be used against him...and he's got a really bad habit of tallying up transgressions in his head and letting those grudges inform him on how much leeway he's willing to give someone before he decides they're straight-up unlikable)--but rather, it's always been Margie's way of negotiating conflict. Probably because she grew up with a very autistic brother, and being able to step away/leave the situation, calm down, and then reconvene to communicate their exact feelings and what provoked those feelings (in a weirdly dispassionate/objective manner of collaborative analysis) was a pretty critical part of her good relationship with him--a solution that evolved organically between them. And, since it worked so well with her brother (and frequently with her parents as well, wherein she'd often be applauded for her show of 'emotional maturity' or whatever lmao), she tries to employ this method with everyone close to her. It doesn't always work out... Earlier in her relationship with Raf, she'd always be first to apologize for provoking certain reactions out of him. As well, she just...never gets angry in response to someone being angry with her. She's also maybe a little too quick to apologize sometimes, which initially would have rubbed Raf the wrong way as being kinda manipulative/insincere (which, it kind of is...but not in a manner employed to gain any kind of upper hand over him)--to which he would deliberately avoid apologizing in response. He'd drop it instead, and act like nothing was wrong in the first place...which (whether consciously or not) is a manipulation tactic of his own, designed to provoke some variation of a "well wait, you were wrong and you need to give me apology" response from her. Which, of course, never came lmao. If Raf says "whatever, it's fine", unless she is also frustrated with herself, she'll take his word at face value. (the same way she does for everyone). Eventually, this leads him to to carefully admit when he feels his reactions are disproportionate. And, after while of that consistently leading to no further aggravation, his short hand to her "Sorry, I didn't mean to/I didn't mean it like that!" becomes a simple "I know. Sorry I barked at you." The gradual comfort of being 'wrong' in those very tiny, low-stake situations is what gives him the confidence to risk admitting he may be "wrong" in bigger conflicts. If, at any point--even once, Margie had taken this vulnerability and wielded it against him in any situation, he'd never let himself 'fall for it' again. But that's yet to happen. Still, it feels disproportionately risky for him to admit out loud, in earnest, that he had any part to play in a misunderstanding or in the construction of a bad situation--Like turning your back on an enemy who is poised to stab you with a knife.

Raf generally tends to be agreeable in most situations, he's a well practiced diplomat despite his disordered outlook and interpretations of things. But--he is stubbornly unapologetic. He'll drop the topic, insist it's no big deal to him anyway, tell you it's fine, to never mind, do what you want, etc. But he won't tell you it's 'his bad' or that he's sorry about anything. And if you don't meet him where's he's at with that then, in his mind, you've become The Problem. Forever. However, his care for Margie and her wellbeing bolsters his conscious efforts to treat her well, even at risk to himself. He'd rather end up in a situation where she's proven to him beyond a shadow of doubt that she never really cared about him and has been using him this whole time--than end up in a situation where he becomes a traumatic ex; someone that hurts her to think about. Therapy helped him determine that, at least in this situation, misplacing his trust is marginally less injurious to him than misplacing his suspicions. But sometimes, it takes him a hot moment to remember this and respond accordingly. Sometimes, it takes him more than a hot moment. Margie's there when he does come around to it though. She has her clear lines in the sand and--though I don't doubt that he's come close in his most fearful moments--he's never crossed them. With that said, yeah--I dunno LOL Raf is clinically predisposed to believe that he is being taken advantage of, or that he will be taken advantage of by anyone, at any given time. Margie can become pretty careless when she is very enthusiastic/eager for something, and her forward momentum does sometimes steamroll right over his toes. It can be more than a little challenging for Raf to stay grounded and respond reasonably when Margie lets excited desire drive her blindly forward at mach speeds when he feels like he's being dragged behind her. Other times, she'll try to dig into why he responded a certain way before he's had time to process and compartmentalize it for himself, all because she feels badly and wants to figure things out with him so that they can both feel better about it. He's learned that this is easily resolved with a terse "I love you, but holy shit, give me some fucking space, please." Which--usually warrants its own apology but, yanno...she gets it. Margie can be very "go go go, this is exciting, this is so fun, this is all that matters right now!! Oof--ow, shit, I hit something, was that a speed bump??" and Raf is often very "wait, what? Wait what!? Wait, that's all that matters?! Wait, what??? Hit the fucking breaks, that speed bump was me and now I am fucking dying." and that's usually where most of their conflict/clashing occurs. Margie will feel disproportionately ashamed/embarrassed/rejected, Raf will feel disproportionately slighted/put upon/mistreated. And if they didn't agree to talk to each other about it, with a shared, genuine desire to see each other in a state of comfort, their relationship probably couldn't thrive.

#Hi-Note #Magritte #Rafael #I feel like variations of this gets asked a lot #but I will answer every time lmao

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miguel-manbemel · 2 days

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There's one thought that came to me today about Sanders Sides, and specifically the nature of the Sides. So many people have missed one important, crucial point about the Sides. They're not human, and I don't mean that they can shapeshift, appear and disappear and all that stuff. I mean that each of the Sides represents just one limited zone of c!Thomas' psyche, and therefore they're only confined to that zone of Thomas.

What does it mean to judge them as humans? It means many people demand of them the complexity of action humans have, the same capacity to grow and evolve as if they were a fully fledged human, and that, my friends, just cannot happen, because it's not in their nature. I'll try to explain my point. We've seen the Sides learn and grow from different situations they went through in the past, and I say "have we?"

Don't mean they didn't go through the situations, I mean, did they really get a long term growth? In some cases they did, in others, the growth was incomplete or null, because the Sides are only able to grow in their own area of action in Thomas' psyche, and will remain, not oblivious, but, like that student that simply doesn't get how to solve a problem at school, and tries and tries to solve it right, but it just doesn't stick in their head. They will only learn the part of the solution in their area of expertise, and the rest will simply not stick at all.

For instance, Virgil knows if he causes a panic attack, Thomas will suffer and that will help no one, but he just can't help it, it's in his nature to cause panic attacks if the conditions are met. Other example, Roman knows that too much fantasy can be harmful, it can disconnect you from reality and that can break Thomas' heart. He knows, he's been told, but he can't help it. He's literally Thomas' dreams. Same way, Patton cannot escape the morality he was created with during Thomas' growth, Janus can't help making Thomas deceitful, Remus will show his creative thoughts at all cost no matter how it makes Thomas suffer, and Logan will always have problems to put feelings in the equation when trying to find solutions to an issue.

Does that mean that the whole show is a lie and the Sides are hopeless beings that can't learn from their mistakes? Not entirely, because when they face issues, they all face them together as a team, they go through them together and find a global solution that can help Thomas grow.

Then why do they revert back after learning so much about Thomas in the past? As I said, any item the Sides are not capable to learn according to their nature will not fully stick and they'll be prone to repeat problematic attitudes, even if they try not to.

What can be done then? The solution comes from Thomas. The Sides are Thomas and Thomas is all of them, and most important, he knows, or is learning, how to combine the different aspects of himself. In another analogy, the Sides and Thomas are like an orchestra and the orchestra conductor. Each instrument has only access to their partiture and can only play their own sound, even if they know how they're all supposed to sound together, only Thomas has the full information of the song, and only he can tell any of the Sides when to play and when to stand back.

To be fair, Thomas still doesn't have the full partiture ready, he's still writing on the fly, that's why the song is incomplete and both the Sides and Thomas are still struggling, but as the series goes on, the song keeps writing itself, slowly but surely and when it's complete, Thomas will have the full song and will learn how to make their Sides sound perfect in harmony...

Well, most probably, the song will never be fully complete or perfect, but eventually it will reach a grade of completion enough to make Thomas and his Side harmonious enough to make good, melodious songs. That is, eventually, Thomas will know how to be the best of a person he can be, because no one is perfect, but he will learn how to feel good enough, and how to be happy with himself and get as best as he can be.

That means the Sides will learn how each can help the other Sides in the areas they lack expertise so they don't repeat the same mistakes from the past. But they must learn to work together to reach that goal, they can't do it each on their own. When they learn this ultimate lesson, everything will get better for Thomas and the Sides.

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides essay #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #character thomas sanders

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quitealotofsodapop · 2 days

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Imagine this for post jttw.

There's a really, really important festival coming up for FFM. Soemthing similar to Qingming, specifically to remember and celebrate those lost to the Great Burning and the War, and it's something that's SUPER stressful for Wukong because, well, he feels that he has to get this right no matter what! It was HIS foolishness that led to the War and the Burning, so the least he can do is try to make sure it's perfect for the monkeya who make a pilgrimage line to participate in the festival. Normally, he has Macaque there to keep him in check and help him out.

But this time, Macaque isn't there! He's still missing!

MK knows this is a very stressful time for his mom, especially since this is the first time he had to go through the ceremony and festival without his dad. He wants to help! He asks Pigsy for vacation time, about a week or two off so he can help his mom with preparations. This is the first time MK has ever asked for time off, he never asks for it off even when he gets hurt doing his Monkie Kid thing! So, of course, Pigsy is concerned and asks.

MK: It's just... there's this important festival going on up on the mountain soon, and it's really stressing Mom out. It's supposed to be a remembrance of those we've lost and the celebration of how our ancestral hone has healed from near destruction. Mom is trying to put it together all by himself since Dad is gone, and I'm worried about him, so I just want to help him out! Do my part as the Prince of Flower Fruit Mountain."

Of course, the group decided to get involved. Both because they don't want Wukong getting stressed out and also because they really wanna see the festival! When they head up the mountain, they find that MK was right to worry. Poor Wukong is a mess as he tries to juggle getting the bonfires ready, getting his ceremonial robes cleaned and refitted, writing a speech that isn't a rehash of what he did the last 100 years, dealing with his anxiety over said speech because of his stage fright, caring for the cubs and making sure they're not gonna cause chaos, figuring out travel routes for those who live away from the mountain, etc.

+a similar ask from @soniclozdplove;

Had to do some thinkings for this one;

Qingming is a Spring festival (April 4th this year), so I can imagine the "Memorial Day" for the Burning taking place between then and New Years.

Wukong has hosted the Memorial Day just fine in the previous years... but then again, Macaque was always at his side in those years. Without his mate beside him, Wukong starts feeling the pressure of organising such an important yearly event (not to mention him missing Mac so much he feels sick, but that could also just be pregnancy nausea).

MK has goofed around a lot in terms of his responsibilities as Prince - it comes with the casual nature of FFM. This year he wants to step up and help his mom with stuff he's worried about. Wukong tells MK he really doesn't have to, but is clearly delighted to have someone step in to help.

MK immediately runs to Mei, breathlessly explaining that he needs help organising the Memorial Festival since he has no idea what he's doing!

With a touch of her phone, Mei organises the crack team of party planners;

Mei: "Ok, what's Monkey King most worried about?" MK, counting off his fingers: "One, the festival tends to have bonfires on the beach that get doused at the end of the night to symbolise the fires on the mountain being quenched (mom really doesn't like fire). There's a lot of music and dancing involved." Mei, points to the line-up: "Red Boy! You're on pyrotechnics! I'll man the tunes! Jin and Yin will organise the dance floor!" Red, grumbling: "Stop calling me Red Boy." Jin & Yin: "Yea!" "We've helped out before!" "Course normally big brother supervised, but we can do it with our eyes closed!" MK: "Two; Transport for monkeys living on the mainland so that they can attend the festival." Sandy: "Oh I can do that! I ferry people across all the time!" MK: "Great! Next is someone to man the food stations. A lot of it is fresh fruit and vegetables, but there's normally a pot luck table with grills and soup pots going. Pigsy, can you pretty please help manage that?" Pigsy, determined look in his eyes: "If you insist." MK: "Fourth; Mom gets super nervous about the yearly speech he does to the subjects, so he'll need someone to help him out with that." Tang, hands shoots up: "OH OH! I can help! I do lectures and presentations all the time at work!" MK: "Ok, phew! That's a lot of the heavy work sorted out. The major one, and this is a doozy cus baba normally does it; someone to keep an eye on the cubs during the festival." Noodle Gang: (*look confusedly between themselves*) DBK, sudden booming voice: "I will be honoured to care for my xiandi's young for the durration of the Festival!" MK: "Wait, really? But aren't you nervous about people still being mad about the whole "Tried to Take Over the City"-thing?" DBK: "Boy, my wife and I tended to you in the years following your birth! Your parents were still busy rebuilding, and you were quite a troublemaker for someone not able to walk yet!" MK, embarrassed: "Guess that answers that question. Thank you guys." (*getting emotional*) Mei: "Aww, come here little monkey man." MK: (*gets group hugged*)

The day comes and... literally, almost everything doesn't go as planned.

Red Son misjudged the amount of fuel needed to start a bonfire and accidentally sets the whole beach alight before the party even starts. PIF (wind powers) and the others (extinguishers) help put it out, but the sand is noticibly scorched. Red insists on spending half the day trying to start bonfires "the old fashioned way" with flint, to avoid similar accidents. Red panics cus he's worried that his magic fire could trigger the monkeys who survived the Burning.

Sandy has to make multiple trips to and from the mainland to FFM, and hits a rough patch of rain as he's coming in. PIF sees the rain clouds ahead and uses her powers to blow them away for now. Hopefully that wont come back to bite them (lie). Each of are the Four Stalwarts arrive on different trips, and try their best to help out.

Mei is used to high-energy dance and rock music, and has no idea how to groove to the more traditional island tunes.

Multiple mishaps with Jin & Yin setting up the eating areas and dance floor. A few benches break cus the twins either got pinched by a crab or their feet stuck in a sand trap.

Pigsy managed to set a beautiful spread of fresh fruits and vegetables, and has the grills and cookers prepared. He is however, currently at war with the ungodly amount of pests attracted to the spread.

Tang is upfront with Wukong in helping him with his speech and the Monkey King is super grateful. Accidentally turns into an improv/therapy session as Wukong rambles to Tang about how he's feeling + the times previous festivals went badly. No actual speech prep ends up taking place.

DBK starts out fine with taking care of the cubs. But he's a complete pushover, especially towards his godcalves; the twins aptly nicknamed Rumble & Savage. The twins quickly have Uncle Bull allowing them to run off and fight eachother with weapons, and take food from Pigsy's table before the party even starts. PIF steps in to corral the misbehavior, but is distracted by little Luzhen running off and making hair clones of himself. Yuebei spends most of the initial drama asleep.

MK is supervising everything and is getting a little control-freaky. Calls up his clones to supervise different sectors of the party (Delivery for Food, Artist for Decor, Porty for music) and keeps running to and from characters to keep an eye on them.

All the guests arrive and things are going ok until- WHOOPS! The rain cloud PIF blew away came back with a vengance and turns into a tropical storm! PIF can't help rn either - Luzhen stole her fan and she's trying to catch him before he knocks over half the island.

The whole party has to be moved inside, much to the dismay of those who prepared it. Red's efforts in making the bonfires were for naught. Pigsy's beloved food spread has to be dismantled and moved inside. Mei's dj equipment nearly gets soaked. Jin & Yin nearly get lost in quicksand. MK's cloned went a bit haywire and have to be wrangled up.

Just as things look like they couldn't get any worse... the rain wakes up Yuebei. As she registers that she's wet and see can't see her Mama or Baba; an ungodly scream and two massive eye lazers shoot from her. DBK takes HP damage. All the babies/cubs attending the festival have to be rushed inside cus there's so much crying.

Wukong exits his office in the Stone Palace to see Water Curtain Cave packed to the gills with his subjects and freezes. He did not expect them all to be here now! Stage fright activated. Tang thankfully manages to encourage Wukong to take his place. The Stalwarts cheer for their little brother as he stammers through his few lines of well wishes and recap of the year. The room gets really quiet when he mentions the missing Warrior... The subjects take a moment to pray, not only for those lost all thoee centuries ago, but also those who could not be there that day.

The subjects then applaud not only their Kibg for his guidence, but MK and his friends for their effort! They all did wonderfully! To bring the decendants of the Pilgrims, and dear Brother Bull and Sister Iron Fan to them was an amazing feat! The praise is unprompted and MK, the Noodle gang, Jin & Yin, and the Bull family can't help but smile.

Rumble and Savage cut Uncle Bull and Auntie Iron Fab a break, and show that they used their portals to finally catch little Luzhen (fan included). The bull couple are immensely grateful and tired.

As the party officialy begins, within the walls of the caves rather tan the open beaches, Wukong brings his son aside to talk. Tipped off by four certain Stalwarts about the Prince and his friends' troubles organising everything;

Wukong: "Wait, you got all your friends, including my older siblings involved just to make sure I wasn't worried about the Festival?" MK, sheepish: "Yeah..." (*Wukong pulls MK in to a tight hug*) Wukong: "Thanks kiddo. But it's not the Festival itself I was worried about. I was just..." MK: "You really miss dad." Wukong, sadly: "I do. I really, really do. I haven't spent a holiday without him since before you were born. It's just with the Memorial Festival, I just kept thinking back to him. How he'd help me proofread my speech. How he'd direct plays for the subjects. How he'd keep your or your siblings in line so you wouldn't cause Havoc..." (*turns head away and sniffs*) Wukong, crying lightly: "You're so much like me and your dad, bud. I bet he would have loved to see your first planned Festival." MK: "Thanks mama." (*hugs back more*) Wukong, wiping his tears: "OK! Enough weeping! There's a whole festival to celebrate out there! Plus, we have to make sure the cubs haven't broken your Aunt and Uncle." MK: "I doubt it." (*Meanwhile with the Bull couple and the cubs*) DBK & PIF: (*covered in laser burns and bits of fruit as the four younger cubs + MK's clones sleep in a baby pile*) PIF, whispering: "And I thought our little firelily was a handful." DBK, happy but exhausted: "They are certainly Brother Wukong's children." PIF: "The playfulness, yes. But using shadow portals to toss fruit at each other from multiple dimensions? Using hair clones to steal my fan? That's Macaque."

Realms away; Macaque allows tears to fall to as his ears pick up what joyfull celebration he's missing. But he needs to ensure there's a way LBD doesn't make this Memorial Festival their last...

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polyamorousmood · 2 days

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Hey there :)

So I have no problem with my bf dating other people, and recently hes started having sth with someone else. Good for them! Legit, no problem with that by itself

But.. now I'm being left on read a lot, like majority of the time it feels like, no matter the topic or time. I just feel.. forgotten, I think, or replaced idk. But it feels pretty bad.

I dont want them to think I'm jealous or mad, I just wish he would still show me the same attention/care as before. Ive talked about how left on read makes me very insecure, due to fake friends and person past experiences before so I dont want to bring it up again.. but it hurts. Idk what to do?

Bad news, babe. You're gonna have to say something again. The good news though is that you can productively procrastinate it, because there's some stuff I want you to do first.

But before I get into that, I let having a cool opening distract me from very important other things that need said: That sucks, and I'm really sorry, but you can make it through this.

Now then. Time to productively procrastinate a difficult conversation. Look, I'm procrastinating it more by making it a read more! (It, um, it is A Lot. I took "blogging platform" literally on this one😅)

It sucks. Believe me, it bothers me too when I can't hear from my partner📵📴 because they're with my meta. It has been A Problem I've had to work through, so I think I'm actually pretty qualified to give advice on this.

Some of what I have to say is going to smart (old-timey word for sting) a bit, so I want to make it clear that I understand where you're coming from, so you can trust the part that stings is necessary. I imagine its something like this:

You relationship with your boyfriend is great! So great, you're happy for him to have someone else to love! That's. That's so rare and incredible, its a love beyond what most will know. And then he takes that love and wads it up and throws it in the back seat to make room for this new schmuck. The love is still there, it's just... in the back seat. And you never thought that would happen, because the relationship is so good! And you already said something, so you worry you're being a nag, which you don't want, because you ARE happy for them, you're so happy for them... except when you're not because you can't be happy when he can't be bothered to text you back. Its not really so much to ask, and you EXPLAINED why its important to you, so why doesn't he seem to care? You communicated, you did your part, and it was hard and scary! Surely harder than texting you back would be! And you don't want to feel like this, but. There's this anxiety that... shouldn't he want to text you back? Isn't that how he would act if he really did still care about you just as much?

Any of that resonate? I don't know you, so maybe some of it was way off base🎯, I don't know. But I hope enough of it was close enough to right that you know I get it when I say:

This isn't just your boyfriend fucking it up. This is, in part, probably you asking something unreasonable. To give you the exact same level of time an energy as when it was just you too is a big ask. To be able to supercede his time with the other person any time you want is a big ask. If you're only okay with your boyfriend having someone else if it doesn't cut into your time at all, how okay with it are you actually?

So before you talk to him about it, you gotta step back. Its not that you're wrong for feeling sidelined. But a poly relationship just isn't going to be the exact same as a monogamous one. It it were, I wouldn't have bothered making a blog, and I wouldn't have needed to because I wouldn't have a trail of loving, wonderful, burnt to ashes monogamous relationships behind me. Let's take a deep breath together. Pause here if you need.

Now, there are some questions here that do affect what I think would be fair. For example, if you're living with your boyfriend, and he's taking you for granted, always texting the other person when he's with you, you don't have any special time with him anymore, and then when he goes out its radio silence. That's a very different situation from you being in a long distance relationship so texting is your main form of communication/bonding and now he's got a new person that lives near him so he's with them constantly and now, what are you, chopped liver? for example. I'm going to give a list of things you might be doing that's unfair, and I want you to take a minute and evaluate as honestly as you can where you fall on that. This is a self-reflection, not an accusation, so please resist any temptations to get defensive (if you even feel them). I recommend taking out a pad of paper and committing to an answer for each. Some you may not be doing at all! Some okay maybe a little. And some now that you think about it, yeah actually, you're doing a lot. That's okay. You not handling it perfectly is okay, and doesn't mean we can't ask the boyfriend for accommodations still.

Are you valuing 1:1 time with your boyfriend as much as you're valuing (negatively) the time he spends 1:1 (not texting you) with his partner? IE, are you more bothered by him not texting you than you are appreciative when he takes time for you?

Are you texting him compulsively out of anxiety instead of because you have something more important to discuss?

Are you accidentally infringing on his other partner's time?

Are you trying to infringe on his other partner's time to reassure yourself that you're important to him?

Are you texting him to "test" him?

When you communicated that you didn't like being left on read, did you properly convey how big of a problem it is for you and what your expectations were?

When you communicated, did you allow space for negotiation and to work on the problem, or was it more like a list of demands?

Are you misplacing your feelings somehow? Is there something else that's bothering you that you don't feel comfortable bringing up?

Are you letting your anxieties run you? Is there something you could be doing to address your feelings?

Are you forgetting to weigh other allocations or shows of love he's making or you?

Is there anything else internally you might be overlooking in regards to this?

Whew! Heavy stuff. But you made it!🎉 Now, we'll dig into how his actions are making you feel. That last set was about what you could be doing better, and this one will help determine he could be doing better. But just like we weren't making accusations about you, we aren't making accusations about him either. We are assuming good faith on your boyfriend's part. This is still ultimately about your feelings and what reasonable accommodations could be made for them.

Do you feel the time allocation for you vs his other partner is fair? Why?

Does he seem to text them back more than you?

Does it seem like he's not taking your concerns seriously enough?

Does this issue look like a larger pattern? If so, what? How will that look long-term?

Has he made specific promises he hasn't kept to you in regards to this? If so, what were they and how hasn't he lived up to them?

Do you feel he's made adequate time for you to discuss concerns, or do you feel like he tries to rush through them?

Do you think he gave you a reasonably clear expectation of what him dating someone else would look like (or did he make it seem "nothing will change")?

Has he not responded to something critical?

Is there anything else he's done in regards to this that doesn't sit right with you?

You did it! 🎉Now we can officially start working on problem-solving. I imagine that was a lot more than you bargained for, for such a simple problem as "I want a text back," but its important to get everything laid out. This helps in a lot of ways. It helps guard against striking on a "solution" that isn't actually sustainable. It makes sure you're starting a discussion in good faith. And hopefully, it will help minimize having to return to the issue.

For the sake of formatting, we're going to address the questions for you first, then the questions about him, then how to have the hard conversation, then workarounds that you may not have considered that aren't really your or his problem. I actually think that third group has some of the better "quick fixes", if you can find one that works.

Starting with the questions about what you could be doing better, in order, skip any that don't apply:

Re: valuing 1:1 time -- Make active efforts to appreciate the time you do have more. Use this time as a guard against negative thoughts when he is unable to respond ("We spent all day together yesterday, a few hours today without hearing from him is fine")

Re: texting compulsively -- Be more vigilant about self-soothing. I find self-talk to be most effective for me. I cannot possibly cover everything here, but it sounds like it stirs up fears you're losing your partner. Since you cannot guarantee that will never happen, I find it most helpful to reassure myself I will be okay even if I do lose them. Another option is to make a reassurance bank, where you can store and see evidence of his affection without asking it from him. Your mileage may vary. If you really struggle with this, there's always therapy.

Re: accidental infringing -- Be more mindful of what you send. Save things that are non-urgent to discuss later, when you have his attention anyway.

Re: deliberate infringing -- Stop it. It will only strain things and make the outcomes you don't want more likely. See self-soothing. Find something else to distract you that you can put energy into.

Re: "testing" him -- See above. I know, its easier said than done. Do the hard work. That shit can ruin your life.

Re: didn't adequately express importance -- Well, its a good thing we're about to talk about it anyway! Really think through how you can explain how badly it makes you feel. We'll get into that more when we discuss How To Have the Conversation

Re: list of demands -- Well, its a good thing we're going to talk about it anyway! This time, see it as a negotiation. Ask him if that's feasible, or if its too much. But open to trying alternate solutions.

Re: misplaced feelings -- Take the advice on How To Have a Conversation and apply it to the thing that's actually the problem.

Re: managing anxieties -- Again, you'll have to find a way to self-soothe somewhat. That's not to say your partner shouldn't meet you halfway, but you do have to do your half.

Re: forgetting other expressions of love -- Literally make a list of all the things he's done/is doing for you. As many as you can think of. Add to it often. Pick a couple and do a deep dive on why that mattered so much to you and how you felt. Tell him, too. You gotta be grateful consciously, bro. This applies to all of life

Re: anything else -- Take that into account. Work on that, too, however you can. Be honest with him about your shortcomings when you address it.

A lot of these will require upkeep on your part (kind of mirrors🪞how texting you back consistently requires upkeep on his, huh?). Be prepared to discuss the changing you're going to make and have an actionable plan for them. Okay, his turn, same as before:

Re: fair time allocation -- does he need to make more time for you? Do he need to make protected time that is only for you? You said you feel forgotten, replaced, so maybe this is part of it.

Re: unequal texting -- first, consider why. If he lives with you, he's probably going to have to text the other person in front of you sometimes. If you still think its too much, again, protected time for you may be appropriate, he may need to do a better job keeping his New Relationship Energy (NRE) in check. Be prepared to discuss this, possibly including him defending himself!

Re: not taking concerns seriously -- Well, its a good thing we're discussing this again! Make sure you have an actionable, measurable metric he can do to show you progress here. (IE ❌"I need you to care more" ❌ but ✅"When you're unable to respond, I need you to say that you're busy so I know you thought of my needs" ✅)

Re: bigger patterns -- You will have to tell him you're concerned about those too. If it could become untenable for you, this will probably be a recurring discussion. Consider scheduling check-ins where you say one thing you think is going well and one thing you're worried about, for example.

Re: unkept promises -- here, you are super justified in being mad. Try not to be anyway. Try to be curious and interested in addressing the root problem. Ask him what got in his way, what middle ground he's confident he can manage. It is you and him vs the problem, even here, not you vs him.

Re: inadequate room to discuss -- Set expectations before the talk, and remind him of them if he forgets. (IE "I know this isn't nice to hear, but I need you to let me say my piece and talk through solutions, even if it takes awhile." and "I said I needed to talk through the solution. This sounds nice, but I'm concerned about X. How can we make sure that doesn't happen?") Consider reserving specific time to discuss it, consider reserving recurring time to discuss any problem, if you need it.

Re: didn't set expectations appropriately -- ask. Ask what this would ideally look like to him. If he's having trouble getting started, point out some differences you've already noticed, and ask if he thinks those are the new norm.

Re: didn't respond to something critical -- Establish a way he can see what is critical and what isn't. This might be texting something that can wait, but calling for something important, for example.

Re: anything else -- address that too. Give him a chance to explain himself. etc.

Okay, you've done everything up to this point alone. You're prepped. Now How Do You Have The Conversation?

For this type of stuff, I recommend the WIBS format. That is, "When [something happens], I feel [feelings] Because [explanation] So could you please [change]". But of course, it can't be that simple either. Critically you CANNOT say "you" before the "so could you please". The example I'm about to give is going to use the texting issue specifically, but if you've done the soul searching and found there's a bigger problem you want to address (which ngl, sounds like there might be something bigger based on what you sent), adjust accordingly! This is good general advice for any tough conversation. Anyway, here's what that might look like on the texting thing:

"When I am left on read, I feel anxious and betrayed, because I've had a lot of friendships completely fall apart, and that's always how it started. So could you please make a point to text me something when you read my message, even if its just 'lol' or you saying you want to discuss it later."

But wait a minute! That doesn't include any of the bullshit I just made you do. What the hell am I trying to pull? Okay okay, so we have to modify this a bit. Our new format is going to be something more like this: "When [something happens], I feel [feelings and impact], because [explanation]. I have tried [things you've tried], and I am still struggling because [reason why that hasn't helped, including what you could do better]. So I was hoping to look at some more solutions, like, would you be willing to try [change]." Which might in practice look something like

"When I am left on read, I feel so anxious and betrayed I start spiraling thinking the relationship is doomed, because I've had a lot of friendships completely fall apart, and that's always how it started. I have tried dropping some hints and self soothing, and I'm still struggling because this is a really bad anxiety that I didn't have to deal with before recently and even with the hints I'm not getting the response rate I would like. So I wanted to talk about it and see if you'd be willing to try making a point to text me something when you read my message, even if its just 'lol' or you saying you want to discuss it later."

And then! The discussion continues. Maybe he says "oh my god, yeah, I didn't realize it was bothering you that much, absolutely I can do that" and maybe he says "I'm with you all the time how is this still a problem?" or maybe its "actually, [other partner] gets really anxious when I text, which is why I don't respond unless its important. I figured I could talk to you about dinner plans any time" and whatever the case is, you keep talking until you've set on clear goalposts and have reassurance they feel okay to all parties. So in order, your responses might be something like "are you sure you can manage that? I was really worried by my hints not being picked up on that that was the reason", "I know its a problem. That's why I'm talking to you about it. If that's not a good solution to you, let's come up with something else, because the way things are is really hard on me," and "okay. I don't want to make [other partner] anxious either, but this isn't working for me, can we find something else to try?"

Allow him to explain, be prepared to explain more yourself, and be willing to try a variety of solutions. Acknowledge

Is this my longest post yet? Maybe! Wild. Let's top it off with something easier: The Hack Solutions🧑‍💻. Sometimes, anxiety isn't logical, and goofy workarounds can be super helpful! Here are some off the top of my head, but feel free to get creative, too! Not all of these may be feasible, not all of them may help. But a lot less work than some other solutions so worth mentioning!

You said being "left on read" is what bothers you. Can you just... turn off read receipts? Or switch to a messaging app that doesn't have them? Can he just not read your texts until he has the time to respond?

A lot of phones have a driving mode, that will send an automated reply to texts. Can he turn that on when he's with his other partner so you get a reply like "hey I'm busy rn, but I'll text back later!" and would that help?

If you just want to feel more involved, maybe it would help if he just like, took a picture of his pizza to send to you. Reminds you you're thought of, doesn't require conversation.

Something that I've done with friends is write like, a dozen short affirmations/reassurances, and have them keep them in a special spot. When they need to feel loved, they can take one out to read. This has worked PHENOMENALLY for them, and still protects your partner's time away while allowing you to get love direct from your partner WHENEVER you want.

Can he just kick it with you both concurrently?

Can you have a friendship with your meta where you text THEM like "tell [bf] to text me back real quick" and then your bf doesn't feel bad about texting in front of the other partner because they're telling him to do it?

Classically condition yourself. Like, every time he leaves you on read, eat a chocolate. And then sometimes instead of it being "boyfriend won't text me :(((" it'll be "oooo! candy time!"

ai yai yai! That's all I have, though! Come back if you need help working through some specifics. I'm very happy to help however I can. Its not your fault you're struggling with this. Most polyam relationships have to deal with this to some extent, but with a little effort, you can make it through. Best of luck to you, friend. 💙💖🖤

#poly relationship advice #ask box is always open #long post #polyamory #jealousy

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queer-ragnelle · 1 day

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Hi! I was wondering if you had any advice on how to craft a well-written, compelling Arthurian OC that isn't obnoxious or out of place but is still unique. I recognize the difficulty in doing so with so many different source texts (I'm most familiar with Le Morte, so that's usually my go-to) and the vast list of already existing characters. I'm just curious about your thoughts on the matter, since you're an author and also very knowledgeable about Arthuriana 💖

Hello there!

This is a tough question to answer! I think it's important to note that everyone will have a different opinion on this, but that shouldn't alter you writing your story how you want to. Some think adding any characters at all is too big of a change, while others write a full cast of original characters and then Merlin shows up randomly and makes the story "Arthurian."

I'm going to say something controversial.

Every Arthurian character is an OC.

Even King Arthur himself is an OC.

I'm going to elaborate on this quite a bit, as it's very important to me. But the TL;DR is that reading more will definitely help you conceptualize the boundaries of what's possible. Le Morte d'Arthur is a great start, but there's so much out there, both medieval and modern, that'll undoubtedly aid in your Arthuriana writing journey! :^)

While I do say things like "I love Arthurian OCs" as a means to convey that I view everyone's new creations as valid and interesting, I actually don't believe in a strong differentiation between Chretien de Troyes' Sir Lancelot or Marie of France's Sir Lanval and what you or I are writing today. We're participating in a tradition which can, at times, necessitate the creation of a new character or repurposing of an existing one. I think as soon as you create a character for your Arthurian story, they're an Arthurian character. Some refer to Lancelot or Galahad as "French OCs" or call Knight of the Cart or the Vulgate "fanfiction" as a means to degrade it's validity. Some seem to have an arbitrary timeline on which the full body of Arthurian works is measured, and the more recently something was written, the less authentic it becomes. I think they're wrong. I believe that whether or not we enjoy an installment in the ever expanding Arthurian tradition is irrelevant; it's all equally entitled to a measure of respect, even the new characters. No character or story is lesser than another by virtue of its age or language of origin or target audience or medium. I disdain the excess of scrutiny put upon certain arbitrary groupings of Arthurian tradition. Each story is full of original characters and building on the foundations of what came before. That's the nature of creative influence. Whether or not Arthur was a real person at some point in history is moot. The guy in the Mabinogion or the Vulgate or Le Morte d'Arthur or BBC Merlin is a character. He's a tool to tell a story. Such as your creation will be! Your brand new Arthurian character stands equally with all the rest who preceded them. :^)

Now, it can be helpful to distinguish between a medieval character and a modern one, sure, as they may represent different things depending on what point in history (or part of the world) they were created in. But Arthuriana isn't a franchise one must obtain express permission to contribute to, and it doesn't have a "canon," so therefore differentiating a character as "other" can be counter productive when developing a story. I don't believe Sir Robin from Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) or Brian from The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-1957) are any less valuable as characters, even if they do draw on traits of existing Arthurian motifs in order to commentate on them or otherwise expand. In fact I think they're great characters and serve their narrative roles beautifully. One simple and one complex. I recommend watching those to see how it's done well and that may help you develop your own characters. But I'll delve into it a bit here to illustrate what I mean.

Sir Robin carries the coat of arms of a chicken, he's a cowardly knight followed around by a troupe of musicians that sing songs about all of his exploits. That is, the things he's run away from. Rather than use an existing Arthurian character and degrading them, Monty Python developed Sir Robin in order to tell their joke.

The flipside is Brian, a bona fide kitchen boy, who attaches himself to Sir Lancelot and desires to squire for him. Brian's narrative purpose is to deconstruct the nobility in a way that Gareth Beaumains, whom Brian is plainly inspired by, could not. Brian begins as a true serf forced to endear himself to Sir Lancelot to elevate his station. Merlin forges papers of nobility to convince King Arthur that Brian is worthy of this privilege. Even after that, Brian must face the brutality of his fellows while living in the barracks with them, as they don't take kindly to a "smelly kitchen boy" in their midst, plotting to get Brian to incriminate himself as a thief and get evicted from Camelot by Sir Kay. This role is incongruous with Gareth as Sir Gawain's brother, who was always noble, always a prince, and merely cloaked himself in the guise of poverty to prove a point. Gareth could return to the comforts of wealth whenever it suited him and his reason for going stealth was to intentionally distance himself from that privilege. The character Brian exists in order to commentate on the injustice of the upper class's oppression and dehumanization of the lower class in a way Gareth, or even Tor, could not, as they are of noble blood, even if it came by way of reveal. That's why Brian is a great addition to the Arthurian tradition.

Really, it comes down to treating the creation of your new Arthurian character like you would developing one for any other work, one entirely separate from the tradition. If they're a good character, they're a good character! Try not to get hung up too much on whether or not they're going to mesh well with the rest of the cast. For centuries, writers have transformed historical figures into Arthurian characters. (See: King Mark of Kernow better known as the Cuckhold King from the Prose Tristan, Owain mab Urien better known as Sir Yvain from Knight of the Lion by Chretien de Troyes, Saint Derfel better known as Derfel Gadarn from The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, etc.)

Speaking of Prose Tristan, would anyone consider Sir Dinadan an OC? Or Sir Palomides? They're characters added to a story drawing from a much, much older tradition, and I think they enrich the story. I feel likewise about the many Perceval Continuations, including the German Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, which adds a half brother named Sir Feirefiz, or names Chretien's anonymous haughty maiden Orgeluse. What about Sir Aglovale's son Moriaen in the Dutch tradition? Amurfina in German Diu Krone by Heinrich von dem Türlin? Morgan le Fay's daughter Puzella Gaia in Italian La Tavola Ritonda? Not to mention the countless Middle English additions. The Green Knight and his wife? Dame Ragnelle and Sir Gromer? Or how about everyone's favorite Savage Damsel, Lynette of Castle Perilous? Is she not a late-era addition to the tradition courtesy of the man, the myth, the legend, Sir Thomas Malory himself? And then here comes Tennyson, who read Le Morte d'Arthur, and got to the end of dear Gareth Beaumains' story and had the same reaction we all did: "What the hell? He marries her sister?" And then he went about changing that in Idylls of the King. Speaking of Lynette, what's up with her niece Laurel? She's just a name on a page, the vast majority of retellings choose to ignore her, even if they do keep Lynette and Lyonesse. Laurel can scarcely be called a character, after all. She doesn't even have dialogue. So as I've gone out of my way to make her a prominent, fully developed character, with her own culture and back story and motivations, does that make her an OC of mine? And Henry Newbolt who included Laurel in his play Mordred: A Tragedy. And Sarah Zettel, who wrote from Laurel's point of view in Camelot's Blood. We did all the work, but we threw an Arthurian name on the character, so therefore, she isn't ours? But if we changed her name, she would be? Who gets to decide?

All of the Arthurian characters belong to all of us. That's the beauty of writing in a long-standing tradition, which exists apart from all other forms of writing. We have complete creative liberty to do what we want and refer to it how we want and no person or corporation or anyone can dictate otherwise. The intellectual property of Arthuriana belongs to the people. So invent a brand new wife for Gawain, and well, you're only the millionth author to do it! Just make sure she's an interesting character and that's literally the only requirement. Can't wait to meet her. (And all others you create!)

Have a great day!

#arthurian legend #arthurian legends #arthuriana #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #writing #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writeblr #ask #merilles

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rowanwithaz · 3 days

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Shared Admiration

So,MHA's end is approaching,and this last chapter has the bkdks brainstorming at the moment,so I wanted to share some of my thoughts on a bkdk (and tgch) ending.

(Chapter 423 spoilers,season 7 spoilers)

Childhood Hero:

I think a lot of people are forgetting about an important factor of Izuku and Katsuki's relationship when analyzing this chapter (and just recent chapters/events in general).

All Might and OFA.

All Might has played one of-if not the biggest-roles in Katsuki and Izuku's characters and relationship.

This is no secret,since the manga and Horikoshi like to spell this out for us as much as possible. Though somehow I feel this gets overlooked pretty often unless it's flat out said. Let me explain what I mean by this.

Most of the time when I see people analyzing Katsuki and Izuku's relationship,they leave out All Might,unless he's specifically in the scene or mentioned,for instance,when Izuku says this:

people see this and they're like, "Izuku admires Katsuki even more than All Might," then kinda just leave it at that. But it's a lot deeper than that,and All Might plays a much larger role in this altogether.

This scene is MUCH more impactful once we consider Katsuki and his feelings for All Might and Izuku. Which at the time were conflicting.

(Which can have a lot of different interpretations,I guess. I kinda see a little bit of a bittersweet double meaning behind this. Katsuki is Izuku's symbol of victory,and All Might is Katsuki's symbol of victory,and All Might is Izuku's symbol of saving,and Izuku is Katsuki's symbol of saving . But the reason Izuku kinda admitting this is a little bittersweet is because Katsuki "caused" their smybol's downfall. So,that's probably why Katsuki saw this as Izuku saying he surpassed him-cuz Izuku has All Might's power,Izuku has the potential over him,and Katsuki took that away from the real deal,which is why I feel the comparison is negative/positive. Yes,Izuku admires All Might and Katsuki,but this is also the downfall of All Might,and in a way Katsuki,since he does have some significant growth after this).

But,All Might has been playing a large role in their relationship for a long while,and considering this doesn't lessen their bond,it only makes it STRONGER. Like,when Katsuki died and Izuku spotted the All Might card right next to his limp body.

it just hits different knowing Izuku held that card in great regard, (or recard-heheheh)

and to figure that Katsuki felt the same way,that Katsuki treasured their moment just as much as Izuku? that's even more fucking tragic. But the point is; they both have a shared love for All Might that keeps them together. I know many people don't like to see it that way,since it might take away from the soul mate factor a tad,but it's true. It kinda makes me think of Togachako,in a sense.

Just because Izuku is the reason Ochako and Toga bond doesn't take away from their relationship,it only adds more layers (especially considering the interesting take on bisexuality) and that explains the All Might key chain Ochako has. It kinda symbolizes how Izuku is Togachako's All Might. For example,when Toga confesses her love to Izuku,he brings up All Might and his admiration for him.

Therefore brining Toga/Ochako's feelings for Izuku on a shared admiration that brings them together in this case.

Why is this even important considering the new chapter? Well,because the ending of it parallels the ending of heroes rising. Like,Izuku falling out of the sky while embers of OFA fade from him,

and not to mention the heroes rising cameos we've gotten thus far,

and what All Might said in chapter 422,

We have to consider the ending to Heroes Rising and how All Might plays a part in their relationship to determine if there's going to be a bkdk (and or tgck) ending.

Katsuki and Izuku still haven't had their real hand hold yet,and Izuku being quirkless while All Might,the leading force of their relationship watches and approves of them as the heroes who win and save once and for all? That's the bkdk ending I think we're getting. I have hope Horikoshi will be very vocal about it being romantic,well mainly because of this bullshit. (I do still believe we're gonna get a talk,mainly because for a lot of their deep conversations earlier in the series had All Might there).

It's cannon dudes

what do you mean these gay bitches got a cherry blossom cover with heart advertisement from the official accounts?? (Also Hori said they were smiling because of All Might complementing them,foreshadowing maybe??)

(This is barely any of it and we're three fucking episodes in)

What do you mean the director starting editing scenes to be more gay after Hori shared the ending with him??? I'm no longer even SLIGHTLY skeptical of the bkdk ending.

#Bkdk #Dkbk #GreeNade #Tgck #bloodbubbles #mha season 7 spoilers #mha 423 spoilers #Bnha #Mha #yagi toshinori #Midoriya Izuku #Bakugou Kacchan

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slackerlifewhere · 15 hours

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What Kim Rok Soo probably thinks about Cale Henituse

Okay, so I mentioned that I'm rereading the first part now so I can finally read the second part of the novel.

While reading, I noticed how calm and normal Kim Rok Soo is about Cale. Like yeah, he finds him amusing and interesting, but coming from a man who has read five volumes and notices (and remembers) every little detail about it, it makes me wonder what he truly thinks about Cale Henituse.

[✋Possible SPOILERS for the first part of TCF ✋]

As I reread the story in the first few chapters, despite how little Cale Henituse's importance is in The Birth of a Hero or how few his appearances are since it focuses on Choi Han's adventure, Kim Rok Soo somehow describes moments that make Cale look like trash but it's like he understands why the noble was like that before they switched bodies (except for the Harris village since he didn't know about that until OG Cale mentions it).

Like think about it. We all know KRS grew up with his abusive uncle. He knows how bad it is to live with an alcoholic but he doesn't judge Cale's antics when he's "drunk". We also know that he's been alone most of his life so he probably thinks that Cale is just a lonely person because of his reputation.

Guessing that there are some assholes during the apocalypse (I haven't read the side stories yet but I can guess), he probably thinks that Cale is more complex than what he shows in the books because he has seen the worst kind of people that makes Cale look like a normal person. After switching bodies, Venion, White Star, Arm, and Adin are definitely 1000% worse than Cale.

Kim Rok Soo is very sharp when it comes to understanding people. He understands Choi Han and Alberu's problems and understands the trauma the kids went through. He also understands how corrupt nobles and priests are and doesn't judge Mary and the Dark Elves all because of a stupid religion. He understands how hard it was for Lock during the war and was comforting about it his own weird way.

He's a perceptive and understanding person.

Although he's incredibly bad at judging himself, he's good at judging a person through their motives and actions. It's why he somehow befriends Toonka and Bud. It's why he became allies with Hannah and Fredo. It's why he quietly listens to DHB later on. He understands people and it's why people like and trust him.

In short, he knows that there's something more than what the books say about Cale Henituse.

It's kind of the reason why it made me pause a bit when he finally meets OG Cale.

Their conversation was so calm, it's as if they knew each other for a very long time instead of just literally a few minutes ago. He easily accepted what OG Cale has to say about his mother and his new life as Kim Rok Soo and he trusts him with his former team. Like I've mentioned before in my other post, he's happy for both of them because they're both content with their new lives despite their regrets in their last lives.

Cale looked at Kim Rok Soo, who was laughing and making gestures that he would never have made, and nonchalantly added on.

“I guess you’ve really been happy.”

He recalled the moment he met with Lee Soo Hyuk and got the ‘Embrace’ ability.

Lee Soo Hyuk had handed Cale the ability and told him about the real Cale Henituse as he disappeared.

‘Oh, by the way, the original owner of your body is living well too. He’s happy. That is why Jung Soo, I, and everybody is happy.’

Kim Rok Soo had a bright smile that suited a twenty-year-old person and not someone in his mid-thirties.

- Chapter 656: Everything can be connected

I'm guessing that when he read the parts about Cale throwing bottles at a random asshole in the books, he probably thought that he might do the same thing. Remember how badly he reacted when he learned about the slaves being sent to the Empire? He basically used the same tactic but instead of throwing the bottle at someone, he drank a lot because of how pissed he was and made it look like the "trash" he is while waiting for everyone's signal.

He even has some thoughts about how annoyed he is whenever the knights or butlers would flinch away since he knows Cale never tried to actually harm them. And he knows about Cale's troubles with the staff back home in the Henituse territory.

So yeah, it's pretty sweet in a way that Cale Henituse has someone who kind of understands him and won't judge him for his actions even though Kim Rok Soo doesn't know everything about him because of the books (like his conversation with Basen).

“It looks like you will need to struggle a little longer, but anyway, live well. Please take care of my family.”

“Please take care of my team members.”

Both men let go of each other’s hand with a small amount of sorrow visible in their eyes.

- Chapter 657: Everything can be connected

#tcf #tcf cale #tcf manhwa #tcf novel #cale henituse #lcf cale #tcf cale henituse #lcf #lcf manhwa #lout of the count’s family #trash of the count's family #kim rok soo #kim roksu #lcf novel #tcf spoilers

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anti-lies · 1 day

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Real Fact: The only way to be plural is by suffering severe childhood trauma according to the theory of structural dissociation

The theory of structural dissociation is currently the most accepted theory for how DID forms. Children naturally have less integrated personalities, and when someone undergoes severe trauma during childhood, it prevents their personality from fully integrating.

This theory is clearly explained in this Carrd.

As this Carrd says, there is no other way one could possibly be a system according to science.

This theory was created in 2006 by Onno van der Hart, Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele in the book The Haunted Self, and has remained the main theory for how traumatic dissociation forms for close to 20 years.

These authors are top experts in their field, and this theory clearly proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only possible way to form dissociative parts of the personality is through trauma.

Any endos who say otherwise are faking and lying. All their so-called sources are outdated or written by themselves or are ableist.

Please, trust the science. Trust the doctors. And trust the Carrd about what those scientists and doctors say.

Anyone who would argue with the doctors who wrote made the Theory of Structural Dissociation are science deniers, no better than flat-earthers or anti-vaxxers.

Now that you've been properly informed, please reblog and share this accurate and true information so you can inform others.

And don't bother clicking underneath the cut. There's nothing important there.

Oh, you're still here?

I thought I told you to leave?

Go on. Get.

There's nothing to see here!

Oh... That.

What's that doing here?

Yeah, don't worry about that. That's just some article written by pro-endos to make it look like you can form dissociative parts of the personality without trauma.

Don't trust the pro-endos and their sources!

Oh... You saw that too, didn't you?

That the source for that happens to be the same exact people I told you to trust earlier.

Fine. Let's deal with that.

First, this says "may." That means that it isn't definitely true. And by rearranging those words, you'll realize that means it definitely isn't true according to the theory of structural dissociation.

Trust me when I say that this still supports us and that these doctors are on our side.

Second...

Endos are stupid

There. I said it.

Endos are what I call half-thinkers.

Endos will try to tell you that if someone is a valid source in one context then they need to be a valid source in all contexts to be consistent. That if you're using the theory of structural dissociation as evidence that the only way to have multiple dissociative parts with their own consciousness is through trauma or a disorder, you should acknowledge that the creators of that theory have entertained other possibilities.

But you who are reading this are smarter than any of those half-thinking endos. You're 4 times as smart as these half-thinkers. You can think double what any endo can at least. That makes you, at minimum, a double-thinker.

And as intelligent and critical double thinkers, you can understand how important context is.

In the first context, the Carrd that referenced the theory by Onno van der Hart and Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis is supporting True Science.

In the second, their actual words from their paper are going against True Science. They're stating something may exist that we know is scientifically impossible. Something we know is scientifically impossible because of what we've heard other people say about the Theory of Structural Dissociation. And that proves the creators of the theory of structural dissociation wrong!

So don't let endos use quotes like this to brainwash you. Remember that you are an intelligent and critical double thinker.

Stay smart and hold firm in your beliefs and values, and never stop double thinking!

#syscourse #anti endogenic #anti endo #did #did osdd #osdd #cdd #plural #plurality #sysblr #multiplicity #actually a system #psychiatry #actually dissociative #dissociative identity disorder #dissociative system #system stuff

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galadrieljones · 2 days

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Family Units and Foreshadowing in "Too Far Gone" (TD)

I'm not entirely sure what is happening, symbolically, in episode 4.8 "Too Far Gone," but looking back on it now, it is providing a lot of very interesting foreshadowing for the remainder of the series. What happens in 4.8 essentially symbolizes a massive schism in the prior established "family unit," ie: the patriarch, Hershel Greene, is beheaded, and all of his children, devoid of home and purpose, scatter to the wind, forming smaller, separate family units. The "way" in which they scatter is important, as is everything in Scott Gimple's first season as showrunner, and that's what I want to talk about today.

The family units we see escaping the prison foreshadow in many ways the formation of similar units and dynamics going forward, mostly. That "mostly" is important. Here are the groups, exactly as they leave the prison:

Maggie, Sasha, and Bob

Tyreese, Judith, Lizzy, and Mica

Daryl and Beth

Rick and Carl

Michonne

Glenn and Tara

Carol is not at the prison during the showdown with the Governor or when it falls. She has been driven away and exiled by Rick. Though she will quickly converge with Tyreese and the girls, it's important that, at the time of the prison's fall, she is not there.

(Note that in this post, I'm ONLY going to discuss the original main characters who lived at the prison with Rick, under Hershel's guidance, and who lost their home in 4.8. I will not NOT be discussing the new characters who show up between 4.8 and 5.8, ie: Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, or Father Gabriel. I also won't really be discussing Tara, as even though she groups immediately with Glenn, she is not a part of the original family unit.)

We know that Gimple had very specific plans and choices for these groupings, or what I'm referring to as family units. In terms of the situations they encounter, symbolically, let's see what happened and what's still going on, with particular attention to the characters that we know are still alive:

Maggie: Maggie tries to leave Bob and Sasha continuously during her search for Glenn after the prison falls. She searches for Glenn to the detriment of whatever connections she has left, and not once does she consider that her sister may also still be alive. She has a hard time relying on other people and doesn't want anyone else to feel responsible for her burden. Maggie's tendency to isolate herself from and even actively fight those who want to help, and her persistence at going it alone has only worsened over the seasons. Further, and perhaps most importantly, Maggie and Glenn each have a difficult time existing independently of one another in 4b. Maggie refuses to accept that Glenn could possibly be dead, and her lack of acceptance of the current situation, though it is romantic in some sense, foreshadows her current lack of acceptance and ability to move on. The entire fact that they're separated at all is foreshadowing for Maggie's entire future arc. She gets lucky in 4b, finding Glenn again, but she knows now that this is no longer a possibility, as she watched him die, and so her inability to move on, to move forward with her life and to let go of the past has become perhaps her most glaring flaw.

Judith: Judith was just an infant in 4b; however, her situation, basically right up until the final moments of The Ones Who Live 1.6, has stayed almost exactly the same. Raised by surrogates, with surrogate siblings, missing mother, missing father, setting down, then uprooted again and again and again. AND YET, she is somehow immune to mortal danger. Everyone around her is basically willing to die for her. Even when she IS in danger, she is saved and saved again, sometimes without even knowing it. A blessed and well-loved child.

Rick: In "Too Far Gone," Carl saves Rick's life. When the two escape together, Rick is horribly injured and seems to "die." He is dreaming. Carl as Rick's savior, and Rick as the sort of sleeper king is a theme that crops up in both AOW and again in TOWL, when we learn that it was Rick's dreams of Carl that kept him sane and alive for so long while held captive by the CRM. Carl's encounter with the dead canary in "After," I believe, foreshadows his death. The dead canary is a nod to the old adage "a canary in a coal mine," meant to warn coal miners of the deadly presence of carbon monoxide. Carl's death in season 8 is a grave warning for Rick. Losing his dreams of Carl while at the CRM is also one of the main precursors to Rick's most suicidal moments.

Michonne: Michonne escapes the prison alone, because Michonne, though she is a romantic, maternal character, defaults to an intense, very guarded form of safetyism when she loses someone she loves. She shuts down, eschews socialization and all alliances. We see this pattern repeat itself after Rick dies in season 9, and she cuts off Alexandria from both Hilltop and the Kingdom as a means of staying safe. She also initially eschews socialization after she leaves Alexandria and begins her search for Rick, once again, alone. But every single time, Michonne comes around at the behest of her children. After the prison, Michonne finds Rick by tracking Carl in the final scene of 4.9 "After." She then finds Rick again in The Ones Who Live, but only after she decides it's finally time to return home. Michonne, from the first time she shows up at the prison with the basket of formula, is the eternal mother character.

Carol: Carol being outside the fray during the confrontation with the Governor, and seeming to come in from the cold at the perfect moment, is hugely formative for her characterization. Carol finds Lizzy, Mica, and Judith just in time in "Inmates." She also shows up at Terminus just in time in "No Sanctuary." After 4.4 "Indifference," Carol continuously tries to leave the family unit, but it's precisely her tendency toward the fray that often presents her with opportunities to help. In fact, it's precisely because Carol is trying to leave at the end of "Strangers" that Daryl sees the Grady car go by and is able to grab a lead on Beth. Carol also leaves at the end of season 6, which causes her to miss the second major confrontation of the series, with Negan, but it also drives Morgan and Rick to the Kingdom, where they are able to find help with their ensuing war. Carol has come a long way since these old and toxic tendencies toward self-preservation; however, we see now, once again, how she leaves home to go searching for Daryl. She still communicates as a kind of lone wolf, much more so than Daryl does, which is who I will be talking about next.

Daryl: Why have I saved Daryl for last? Well, because of all the characters who are still certainly left from the fall of the prison in season 4, Daryl's characterization has been the least intuitive in terms of how it relates to his prison escape scenario. Though Daryl fights most of the battle alone at the prison, in the end, he is found by Beth. Daryl is rarely found. In fact, he's never found. Usually, it's him doing the finding, which is why I believe that his core desire as a character is, actually, to be found again, ie: I belong with you. Find Me, calling back to the original story he tells to Andrea in "Bloodletting" about the time he got lost in the woods as the child. This has yet to take place.

"Find Me" is actually a great episode to look at in terms of how Daryl's character has unfolded over the course of many seasons. "Find Me" communicates Daryl in a similar time in his life to what happened after the fall of the prison. He's lost a major member of his family, blames himself, and has lost his home because of it. He is wandering around, searching for some sign of Rick, with zero luck at all. HOWEVER, in "Find Me," Daryl is alone. This lasts, of course, until he finds Leah, a poor replacement for Beth, even though, as we learn in season 11, she does kind of look like her. After the Commonwealth situation, Daryl leaves home, once again, alone. Many people thought that he was going to leave with Carol; however, he didn't.

Daryl has never had sustained sexual tension with another character since Beth, and if we count Leah, we should consider that main themes communicated in "Find Me" are confusion, disorientation, and memory loss. The episode also lacks the innocence and Edenic beauty of "Still" and "Alone." It is not about finding love or some light in the darkness. It's entirely about loss.

This could be traced back to season 4, in which Daryl does lose Beth. However, the exact circumstances for him running away from the burning prison with Beth and going on a sacred quest for her at a country club, then going to the backcountry moonshine shack, ending in a screaming match and a physical embrace, a warm, tipsy conversation on the porch, and literally lighting the past on fire does not track with any future situation he goes on to encounter. What I'm saying is, whatever all that was foreshadowing, it hasn't happened yet. The warmth, intimacy, and innocence has been gone from Daryl's life since he lost Beth in "Alone."

To use Norman's own words, there was a "taste" of romance "in the air" from the moment they escaped together, for as long as they were together on the road, and even when they part. The rabbit and the strawberries in the aptly titled "Us," keep the feeling of love and possession and the romantic tension alive between them.

I often think of "Alone" as a love episode. Sasha and Bob, who more obviously kindle a romance and kiss on the train tracks, while Maggie and Glenn search for each other with desperate abandon, are obvious foils for Beth and Daryl. It would not make sense to create an entire episode surrounding finding, losing, and searching for love, and to have only one of those stories be about platonic love. It makes sense because they are all different stories of romantic love.

(For the record, I don't acknowledge people who argue that Bethyl is platonic, or sibling-coded. I don't care how loud they are. There is zero evidence for that sort of dynamic in the actual show, while the evidence to the contrary, re: holding hands using the soulmate grip, Daryl's bridal carry, how he looks at her while he lies in the coffin, his confession, her confused and subtle "Oh"...regardless of how it might make some people feel, is overwhelmingly obvious. Sorry, haters.)

Anyway, on a more "meta" note: Season 4 ends with Beth off-screen, in another dimension. She is out of sight, and nobody knows whether she's dead or alive. Meanwhile, in "A," Rick reunites with his family, and they are at the precipice of a war with the Termites, a group that seems to, in many ways, foreshadow the CRM. This looks a lot like what's going on now, or what's just happened. Daryl is alone, about to reunite with Carol. Rick just reunited with his family. Major General Beale, a nice Gareth proxy, has been defeated.

Many speculated at the time of 4.16's release that Beth might have been taken by the Termites, just as we all speculate now that Beth may be, somehow, with CRM. I believe this means there's something much more complicated going on in season 5, in terms of the Termites, Grady, and their possible connection to the CRM. Since many TDers do actually believe that Grady was a covert research initiative started or at least sustained by the CRM, the foreshadowing, which holds that, while all this other stuff is going on with Rick's group, Beth is somewhere hidden over the rainbow, feels very much in waiting.

So much of season 4b-5a has been rehashed and repeated over the years and was most recently repeated via Rick and Michonne's reunion in TOWL, that it's bizarre to also look back and say, Hey, how the hell does Daryl fit into all this? Daryl, who actually isn't alone in 4b? Daryl, who actually finds and chooses potential for a relationship? Daryl has, over the course of the series, made friends with compatible women. I am talking about Denise, Connie, Leah, Isabelle. However, not a single one has ever maintained sustained romantic or sexual tension with Daryl. Not one has yet to change his mind about the goodness of people. Each of them, he either leaves or loses, and even if he decides to stay (re: in France), it's due to obligation and inertia, not choice. Daryl has not once consciously chosen to settle down or to make a. home, specifically with a woman, since Beth. He has never run away with a woman into a time of innocence and tabula rasa, starting over for the sake of moving forward, finding peace, and burning the past. He has never found peace. He has never let go of the past.

All of this is to predict that he will, of course. He will get his happy ending, which we've basically been told is the thesis for his spin-off, amidst a flurry of hints that this is related to finding a wife and having a family of his own. Not Rick's family. His own family. And when Carol arrives, fresh from her latest escape attempt, and self-destructing via whatever it is she's running from, she will help him get there, just as he will help her find her faith again. So much like what happens in "Consumed" and, to an inverse degree, "Find Me." In both episodes, it's Carol's attempt and desire to run away which drives Daryl to the mysterious location of a missing blond with whom he once shared a dalliance in the woods.

#the walking dead #bethyl #team delusional #beth is alive #beth is coming #beth greene lives

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soloorganaas · 2 days

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I'm leaving you a nice ask about Remus because I'm such a good friend: okay, Remadora doesn't happen, and Sirius comes back from the Veil after DH with amnesia. How much amnesia, and how do Remus and Harry deal with it? How does Wolfstar get their happy ending?

i cannot believe how lovely this is 🥺 i think this is one of the nicest things you've ever said to me. I've been mulling over this all morning and i have MANY THOUGHTS

I really like the idea of selective amnesia, but in a really haphazard way, as if part of Sirius is still behind the veil. so maybe he just has a sense of things, but can't remember specifics. someone brings up a name or a place and he knows how he feels, but not what happened. so he knows he loved James in some amorphous sense, but feels agonisingly grief-stricken and guilty when he thinks about him without knowing why.

obviously the most heartbreaking part is having to relive all of this as people explain it to him or he remembers, but especially with Remus. they spent all that time working through the betrayal and trying to understand it and come to terms with it, and they've got to go all through that again - except it's worse, because Sirius doesn't have any context and he's so confused by the mess in his mind. Remus talks through Azkaban with him and Sirius is furious in a way he never was before, because now he's not on the run or trying to save Harry or trapped in Grimmauld Place, all of which I think made him push past the anger because he needed to focus on other things and he needed Remus.

so I think at the start Remus takes him back to his cottage. I reckon Harry would be staying with the Weasleys immediately after the war, but he'd move in with Remus to take care of Sirius. they're obviously just overjoyed and in shock that Sirius is back, and also worried about his health. they're both probably a bit overbearing (mama bear Harry) which starts to get on Sirius's nerves pretty quickly. then I think there would be lots of little moments of grief as they realise these incredibly important things Sirius doesn't remember - maybe the two of them reference something and Sirius has no idea what they're talking about, or maybe it's bigger things like Sirius not understanding the trauma and burden Remus carries from being a werewolf. Sirius picks up on this and starts to feel really guilty, which makes him even crabbier, and things start to get really difficult.

Sirius and Harry would definitely have an easier time together because Sirius isn't personally angry at him the way he is at Remus, and because he still has the instinct to protect Harry so he really tries to hold back his general frustration and volatility. I reckon after he really gets mad at Remus for Azkaban he moves out and Harry comes with him to live in a new place somewhere. Sirius starts to get better after that, because his life becomes about building something new rather than trying to reclaim the past. especially as Harry is also kinda lost post-DH, so they're just muddling along together, trying new things.

Harry talks about Remus all the time - everything he taught him at school, what he and Sirius did during the war. Sirius starts to ask more questions and remembers more things. and Harry is so forgiving, despite the horrors that he's gone through and the people that failed him, and it starts to rub off on Sirius. so slowly he starts spending time with Remus again - maybe with Harry at the beginning, and then just the two of them talking a lot out. Sirius starts spending the full moons with him and they build up their trust again. and then they just start hanging out, small things like walking around the countryside together or watching a Quidditch match. but also bigger things where they work as a team - maybe supporting Harry in something, or throwing a birthday party for him, or Sirius yelling at the Ministry for harassing Remus, or Remus being there for Sirius when he still has really bad days. and then they start to fall in love again, and even though Sirius can't remember everything from the past it's okay because they love each other and they love Harry and they have a beautiful life together now, so that's enough.

#wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #hp #otp: i'm mental about you #fam: christmas gift #asks #imp tag #you are SUCH a good friend #truly what did this cost you

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