#some of them good; many of them (appropriately) very lonely | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

katsukikitten · 4 months

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Men suck! So why not drain their bank accounts for wasting your time?! It would be foolish not to. Even more foolish to push the buttons of a very powerful man in the underground world of Tokyo.

But hey wait! He messaged you first! He wanted you to be his sugar baby so badly it makes him look stupid!

Although Bakugou Katsuki is anything but stupid.

It was supposed to be an easy mark. He followed all of the rules of the unspoken game between sugar baby and sugar daddy. He reached out to you first. He set the time and place for the first date and he asked about your pricing.

To which you told him was a steep two thousand consultation.

Immediately there was a notification with your fee plus a little extra for the expedited meeting in your bank account before he messaged you again.

Wear somethin nice.

His profile was vague as most marks were. Choosing to keep their identity a secret, embarrassed to have to buy a woman's time with their endless cash flow for one reason or another.

Some because of their looks, some their abhorrent attitude, some because they were too busy drowning in their work and some because they just couldn't be bothered for much of anything real only to fall in love after the third date thinking they could buy your heart like they did everything else.

Because at the end of the day all of these marks had something in common. Something to exploit.

They were all terribly lonely.

And despite how forward this mark is, like others have been before him, he was no exception to this rule.

You roll your eyes as you doll up for tonight's meeting. You always wore something nice and appropriate for the setting yet undeniably sexy. Something that made every eye rove over you with the heated gaze of envy. Something that made you everything those men wanted you to be.

A trophy, a status symbol, a yes I'm fucking that.

Scrolling his profile or lack thereof, a little bit more in an attempt to be his perfect baby girl. Knowing that to have a good long lasting con to afford you the luxuries you sat in now, you had to shed your true skin and stuff yourself into something two sizes too small.

Because all men expected that of all women. Of anything of their desire. One must cut away the truest, deepest parts of themselves in order to hold a man's attention span for longer than five minutes. The second you start to look anything relatively human and anything more than a walking sex kitten or cock sleeve is the second they lose interest.

A man often times doesn't want to actually fill the loneliness, not with anything long term, they just want to relieve the ache in their cock.

At least that's all you've ever known and so who was anyone to judge you to exploit them how they exploited others.

Smiling at your reflection as you apply dark eyeliner to your lid, dragging it across your lash line as you go for a more noire mysterious look since you cannot find out much about your potential benefactor. Not that that worried you, you'd worn many skins before.

A recently divorcee, a 'single mom', but most benefactors liked a heavy power imbalance. They lived for the broke college girl act. Showing up in threadbare dresses that were still cute in an old shit box car you'd borrow from a friend and some classical piece of literature those fucks could recognize but knew they'd never read.

Mostly you figured they enjoyed that broke college girl act because they felt they were "helping you build a solid future" all while neglecting their own real daughters at home that they constantly compared you to. Showed you pictures of, similar in age to you and you'd have to stamp down the disgust at these men who probably didn't even know their real baby girl's favorite color.

Absolving themselves of guilt you supposed.

However this new benefactor was something to be excited about, mostly because of the unknown that he seemed to shroud himself in. No interests filled in, no movies or hobbies or songs that he likes.

Not even a profile picture or his name. Just GZ for now and when you checked the banking information on your wire in, it didn't give you any real leads. Received from a business or estate account that google results had no address or number for.

Only his age, 32. Three years your senior.

Which wasn't too bad of a gap well to you anyway, he saw your age as 25 because anything older than that, even one fucking year, men's interest dropped by sixty percent.

Another message comes through the little app.

GZ: Give me your number.

Aggressively forward as you giggle to yourself reading the message, let the read receipts show your interest when you lock your phone and don't reply. Taking the time to apply a nice dark shade of lipstick that made your mouth absolutely sinful as you wore a skin much too close to the real you. Going to your closet for your dress, knowing he was taking you to a very expensive, very highly rated restaurant, most likely to both flaunt and prove he has money.

Zipping up the velvet body con dress with a halter top, the hem stopped just above the knee and you knew it would ride up when you sat down or walked in your black heels with the pearl strap. Pulling on bicep length lace gloves and putting on an onyx ring on your middle finger before adding your pearl necklace to make a suggestion of what he could do to you at the very steep price of seven thousand dollars.

Some men even paid it and even asked to do it in the parking causing them to pay an expedited fee of four thousand. It meant nothing to you and every bit of power they thought they held over you to them.

Opening a drawer to your vanity all with unused pairs of underwear. Choosing a black lacey pair where the ass would be half exposed by lace and strings digging around for the to go tide pen so you could lightly bleach the crotch to make it seem as if they'd been worn all damn day "just for him"

Fuckin gag me.

Your phone pings again, another notification from the SDSB app.

GZ: I don't like waiting, Sweetheart, give me your number.

This time you reply but only after looking over your outfit in the mirror, debating if he'd be into stockings and ripping them before you realize it might make you look a little too conservative for his tastes.

Bbgrl: tell me what GZ stands for and I'll give you those special digits

GZ: I don't barter

Bbgrl: Everything comes at a cost. You know this otherwise you wouldn't be messaging me.

You watch the bouncing bubbles pop up before his quick reply.

GZ: Ground Zero

GZ: Now give me your fuckin number Princess.

Bbgrl: maybe in person, Mr Zero.

Not giving away your actual number was your number one rule and because the last sugar daddy you cut off went full tilt you had to disconnect your other phone and just hadn't had a chance to get a burner yet.

Picking up a small clutch purse you shove inside your lipstick for the night, your phone, the doctored pair of underwear and you don't even bother to bring any sort of wallet.

Walking to a public place a block or so from your luxury condo before you flag down a cab giving them the address as the man smiles down at your cleavage. Enjoying the view in the rearview and it's a wonder he doesn't crash and kill you both. Leaning down to meet his gaze with a disarming smile, wearing a skin to protect both you and him from harm as you force a giggle.

"Eyes on the road silly." When really you wanted to take the knife strapped to your ribs and slit his throat for thinking he even deserved to stare at you like that.

You wore this dress for attention yes but there is a fine line between appreciation of a body and straight up eye fucking you.

And just because you wore this dress didn't give him the right to stare. Counting down from ten as you have pretty visions of gouging his eyes out only for him to pull up right to the restaurant, acting as if he was going to get out and help you.

"No need." You smile politely, "And the fare?"

You look at the triple zeros and his eyes flash to it in embarrassment, so busy eating you alive with his eyes he forgot to start it.

"On the house for a pretty lady."

Forcing a smile as you give him a thanks, leaving the cab as quickly as you can before you walk inside, twenty minutes late for the date.

Tardiness was a big part of the game, whether it agitated them or made them anxious, it would certainly place a little more power on your initial interaction. Gaging their reaction to your power play always determines how you'll respond. Clueless, lost, down right stupid.

The hostess gives you a warm smile as she welcomes you into the restaurant asking of your party size. You're quick to tell her you're here for GZ.

"Or maybe under the name Ground Zero if the initials are too vague." You smile and watch the hostess blanche a moment before she fixes her face.

"Right this way." Expect she doesn't lead you all the way over there, stops just before the darker corner of the restaurant making a gesture with her hands and you chalk it up to nerves. That maybe he owned the whole fucking restaurant.

Watching his large palm swirl a bourbon straight, watch his other heavily ringed hand card through his ash blonde locks.

"Mr Zero?" You ask with a cat like smile, coming to stand beside the table. He glares up at you either oblivious or acting it as you wait for him to pull out your chair.

"Yer fuckin late Princess." He doesn't wait you out though can tell from a glance you'll stand there with your sexy ass heels rooted to the hardwoods of the restaurant before you'd ever sit down. He doesn't give in, this just happened to give him a chance to show his stature. He slams his drink down, clattering the water glasses and your wine glass filled with a pinkish color. Most likely something sweet. For a moment it makes you wonder if he read your profile considering most men didn't bother and showed it often on their first dates that they hadn't when they ordered you red wine. Which you had as your top dislike.

When he rises he's much much bigger than you. Tall enough you have to crane your head up to look at him, broad shoulders and now that he's fully facing you you can see his scarred face. A deep fissure of discolored skin from just over his eyebrow cutting through his eye flaring over his cheek before tapering off at his throat before it meets another deep scar that's hidden under his shirt.

He didn't even bother with a dress jacket, only a dress shirt, black, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows exposing his tattoos and even more scars, his black vest if swirling velvet on the front only emphasizes his broad chest and tapered waist.

He stands there a moment watching you take him in and he cannot lie he is surprised. Most women cowarded at his size especially when they see his scar and his half clouded bromine eye but you just smile. Maybe even a bit of excitement flashed in your eyes but you stand unmoving still that fuckin cat smirk on your dark stained lips.

"My chair, Mr Zero." You remind him and he snarls, leaning in close to your face tipping your chin up to him. It's here you realize how large his hands are, especially when the other settles at your ribcage a moment. You just hope he doesn't feel the knife nestled there and take it as a threat to himself.

"I told you I didn't like waiting." He growls, "So what makes you think Imma continue this date?"

"You're still here aren't you? Besides," You half guide him by moving your face gently from his grip, stepping towards your chair and he follows, "You wouldn't want to cancel a date with such a pretty girl would you?"

"A pretty woman." He corrects with a growl, pulling back your chair and shoving it in roughly when you sit, leaning behind you to whisper in your diamond clad ear, "Yer no girl that's for sure."

As if to say a predator recognizes a predator but you feign ignorance.

"Year?" You ask, smelling your wine before taking a sip. It's fruity, peach you realize with hints of citrus and angel food cake.

"Didn't ask." He bites waiting for you to ask where the menus were, he makes eye contact with the waiter to signal to start their meals. Oblivious, you take another sip of this amazingly delicious wine.

"Bit of a dessert wine isn't it?" You comment, usually men would blunder by now realizing they aren't as prestigious or well versed as they pretended to be but this man proves to be different once again.

"Peach pairs well with spicy and smokey." Glaring right back at you before a mean smile curls his lips, "Unless ya lied twice on your profile."

You set the wine glass down thanking the waiter when they leave fresh bread. Zero is faster than you grabbing for the crusty pre dinner treat as he butters the rich white center before placing the slice on your plate before starting his own.

"Hmm, I haven't lied on my profile." You refuse to touch his offering for now.

"Sweetheart, you may look twenty five but I know that you're closer to thirty than what you want to admit." There's that cruel smile of his again.

"It's quite rude to make a woman seem older than what she is. Touchy subject ya know?" Going back to sipping your wine as you've decided you may need a buzz to endure this date, "Or maybe you don't have a lot of experience with women. Is that why I'm here?"

Smirking over the vein protruding from his throat but the satisfaction only lasts so long, thoughts rounding back to wondering how the fuck he knew your real age and so quickly.

Suddenly you feel his fingers wrapping around the back of you knee as he pulls you forward leaning over the table.

"Haaah? Ya think I don't have experience with women? Oh sweetheart I could have you begging to take my cock in this bathroom in under ten minutes. But I need you for somethin else." He lets his bruising grip go when he sees a flash of the real you, sees your pretty lip snarl in disgust before you fix your face so quickly it would have him wondering if he ever saw that snarl or not.

He thinks he likes this version more than what his right hand picked out from your profile.

Your profile was vague but your photo album was filled with a lot of photos that men could easily project on or imagine themselves with you. Looking demure, easy going, a submissive.

Really Bakugou can tell you're a fucking brat at best and far from demure.

"Is that true Mr Zero? Sex on the first date is quite expensive." You smile cutely, make it a giggle all while the steak knife whispers to you that it belonged shoved through his hand on the table.

"I bet it is sweetheart." He spits back.

"So…our contract?" You're ready to rush this along thinking that maybe this benefactor isn't going to work out and that you'll have to save your underwear for another time.

He leans back, finally looking a little more relaxed as you bring up business as if contracts and dealings were part of his expertise. Taking a sip of his bourbon as he looks you over in that fine velvet dress he imagines on the floor of his expensive bedroom.

"Dunno can ya behave long enough to talk about it?" Deadly smirk on his lips now, one that makes your stomach clench.

"I always behave, Mr. Zero." A purr, one that changes the tone of the entire dinner, at least for now.

A light scoff but he's smiling, genuinely and he looks so handsome like that. His eyes catch something you don't see before the waiter comes over with two starter salads.

You look down at the fresh bed of greens matching his and try not to grimace that he's most likely ordered dinner for you. Hating when benefactors took it upon themselves as they never paid enough attention to order even remotely right.

"Let's see how dinner goes first yea, princess? Gotta make sure I like it before I buy it." A clear taunt and stab at you to which you give a tight smile. Him placing himself above you but you were determined at the very least to secure the after dinner deposit fee from him that was clearly stated on your profile.

Any dinner lasting longer than two hours or is set after eight thirty pm is considered to be equal to two consultation fees.

He already violated the time since he messaged you at exactly six pm tonight and you were always sure to take your time getting ready.

But you had to finish the fucking date first.

"Okay." Agreeing without issue as you bite your tongue. Finishing your salad and your wine, asking him to order you another glass. Batting your eyelashes and for a second you see his face flash with something other than his gruff nature. Standing with the brief explanation of "freshening up."

Annoyed as you enter the ladies room, looking at your reflection as if to share a what the fuck glance with a friend before rooting around in your bag. Touching up your lipstick, spraying yourself with a bit of your perfume that made all the men insane for you before turning your attention to your hair.

Making sure it was still in perfect placement as you angle your pretty face this way and that. Clutch open on the vanity, the dummy pair of underwear threatening to fall out. Checking your account to see if the rest of this date was worth it when you see your stipulation fee is sitting in your account despite the date only being an hour long thus far.

Figuring you'll make this date worth it now, mostly curiosity getting the best of you over what is going to make this contact so fucking special he's more than willing to pay everything upfront.

To deal with your more cheeky side you used to scare off weaker men.

Clawed fingers curling around the soft pair of underwear, rubbing them between your hands vigorously to make them warm to the touch. To have him thinking that this sexy lingerie style underwear was nestled right to your cunt.

Balling them up as you make your way out of the bathroom while the waitresses gossip over the fact that some violent ringleader was dining there tonight and that he was "dangerously hot." Hushing when they see you pass the refreshment nook before you make your way back to the table.

Thankfully his left hand with all his rings is resting on its side on the table giving you more than enough space to press the warm fabric into his palm and curling his fist around it before sitting back across from him. Giving a flirtatious smile to the large blonde who turns his hand to see what you placed into his palm. Smirking and shaking his head as he looks down at the fabric.

Unfurling it with his large hand and seeing the pair of underwear with a little spot on the crotch that makes him chuckle.

You look over your meal that's been set out, can tell he was polite enough to wait for you as the aroma of spicy smoked meat sits before you. Breathing deeply and hating to admit that you'd actually like this dish. Picking up your fork as you let him become dumbfounded over the thought that you were bare under your dress when that was far from the truth.

Bakugou leans over the very expensive meal on the small table. Grabbing at your jaw a bit tightly so he can turn your face to husk in your ear.

"Now gimme the ones you're actually wearing, Princess." He growls, pulling back to hold out his hand expectantly.

Feigning innocence you look up at him and bat your eyelashes since that worked earlier, even letting your eyes get a little glassy.

"Wh-what are you talking about Mr. Zero?" Voice soft and going softer still when you add, "Those are my underwear. I wore them just for you."

He laughs loudly in your face and his grip tightens, mouth back at your ear with a deadly tone. A mix of playful flirtation and restrained anger.

"Now Princess, 'fore I get mad."

It sends a chill down your spine and a jolt to your cunt. Breaking your facade entirely when you let sharp nails bite into his thick wrist as you yank away your face. Looking around trying to come up with an excuse that this was too much of a public place before he adds.

"We're secluded enough." Letting his fingers wave impatiently with his palm up. Your eyes widen as you see how serious he is. Unable to hide the snarl on your lips or the flash of deep seeded anger in your eyes as you obey a benefactor's command instead of tricking them into thinking they had control.

Shimmying up your little bodycon dress, hooking sharp clawed thumbs into the band of the underwear to bring it down past your thick thighs that part for just a moment exposing your pretty mound to Bakugou by accident. It makes saliva coat his tongue and his cock twitch in his expensive pants.

Quickly fixing the hem of your dress that still tries to ride up thanks to your hips and thighs, balling up the black underwear and slapping it into Bakugou's waiting palm harshly. The corner of his lip curls up as he realizes it's a thong, much better than the dummy pair you gave him moments ago.

"You're such a fuckin pervert." You cross your arms over your chest, pushing up your tits giving the ash blonde a snarling pout. Wholly forgetting about your dinner now as you look away from him, can't believe he's won this round.

"Yea? Who's fault is that? Yer the one who gave me a clean pair of underwear to make me love sick for ya so I'd cough up all my cash." He makes no move to pocket the thin pair of underwear you've just given him, making your eyes dart to look for the approaching waiter, "This work on most men Sweetheart?"

"Tsk, yes." You scoff, "Then they send me whatever I fuckin want."

Pushing away a bit, thinking of leaving from how condescending his tone is. Inspecting the first pair you've given him now that he has the actual pair you'd been wearing, looking closely at the crotch.

"Did ya use a bleach pen on these 'fore ya came in?" He laughs when he watches your face blanch, most men couldn't tell. Just thought it was real and went with it, asked for more.

The waiter starts to come back to the table with another glass of Bakugou's bourbon and your wine, trying not to crack. Shoving down the panic and letting your nails bite into your palm letting crescent moons form in your soft skin. To try not to shove his hands into his lap to save you the embarrassment because the last thing you want him to know is that he's actually getting under your skin. He looks over his shoulder to follow your gaze, feral smile on his mouth.

"Besides, who's the real pervert here, Me for enjoying a pretty woman's time," He rolls the dark fabric around in his hand, still warm from your cunt and when he gets to the crotch it's damp, sticky, "Or you, for getting off to playing some dumb ass men outta thousands."

"I'm not-"

"Not what? Wet?" He laughs, letting his thumb slide through the slick of your underwear, uncaring that the waiter is here now. Setting down the drinks and forgoing asking how the meal was quickly slipping away in hopes of not bothering Ground Zero.

"Sweetheart I bet I could run my fingers through that sticky cunt and everyone in this restaurant would hear it." Bringing his thumb up to his mouth licking at it as one would to get sauce off their fingers, his eyes flutter and suddenly your cheeks burn.

"You're insufferable." You hiss, crossing your legs now, still unable to look at him.

"Ya know, I hate liars." He tosses your fake pair of underwear, pocketing the thong you wore with one hand while the other swirls his drink, "Ya've lied three times now."

"I have not."

"Ya have. Yer age, yer whole personality, yer underwear." He lists them on his fingers and funny enough you chose to die on only one of those hills.

"I am twenty five." You hiss, grabbing at your wine and downing it in three swallows.

"But yer not." He chuckles, eyes flicker to your face, you don't have foundation on, going for a mostly natural look, and Bakugou has good eyes where most men didn't, "Ya've got crows feet sweetheart. Seems like ya've smiled a lot in your life."

Reflexivity you go to hide the corner of your eyes, they crease heavily when you really smile. Everyone who knew you, actually knew you, always made the comment of "you smile with your eyes."

"Ah come on they're barely noticeable and nothin to be ashamed about." He chuckles, pulling at your wrists so he could see your face again, "Gimme a smile."

"Fuck off." You hiss waving him away dismissively trying to regain control, "The contract Mr Zero."

He sighs, annoyed as he leans back, "We haven't finished dinner."

"I'd like to skip to dessert." A snarling hiss as you push away what was probably the best meal you could've ever had.

"Oh would you?" Deadly smirk, "I could skip to dessert iffin ya want. In my car or the bathroom, your pick Princess."

"Again you're fucking insufferable." You make motion to stand, to leave, only for his strong hand to catch your wrist and pull you into his lap making this somehow worse.

"What's wrong? Embarrassed now?" He tilts your chin to him and you squeeze your eyes shut in defiance he chuckles lowly, "Tell me yer real age and I'll stop teasing, for now."

You open your eyes to glare at him for a long, long time. No judgment in those bromine eyes as he patiently waits for your answer. You sigh, scratching roughly at his undercut with your long nails whether it was a strategic move or your fingers having a mind of their own, you weren't sure. The only thing you were sure of was that this man was trouble.

Big trouble.

Yet you answer honestly anyway.

"Twenty nine." It's soft, genuinely this time as if you might be a little embarrassed about it when you know you shouldn't. He smiles up at you, letting his thumb linger at one of the corners of your eyes before he lets his fingers trace your face down to your jaw.

"See, won't so bad to admit it was it?" Genuine gentle tone, his hand on your hip squeezing at the fat there.

Your heart races and that foreboding feeling creeps up your throat as you're slowly realizing that you are no longer the one who was hunting.

No, no, now you were being hunted.

Nails bite harshly into his nape as you stand, snarl to your lips and all he can do is chuckle at your flippant attitude.

"M leaving." Holding out your manicured hand, "Give me my underwear back."

"No, I paid for it." He growls really spurring on your temper now.

"All you men are the same. Pigs who want to keep their dicks wet." A scoff as you snarl your pretty lips.

"And I can say all women are the same. Bitches who want to keep their pockets full." He retorts forcing your sharp claws to grab onto the cheeks of what you don't realize is the most powerful man in the entire country.

Even making sure your nails bite into the skin of his cheeks, "I don't need your fucking money."

"Then why're ya here sweetheart?" He smirks up at you, grabbing onto your wrist tightly.

"Fuck you. You don't know me." Shoving his face and escaping his tight grip before you begin to stomp from the restaurant with your head held high.

"You'll be crawling back to me, princess." He calls out with a chuckle.

"I won't!" You send a snarling growl back, unable to get through the too quiet dining room to the exit of the five star place.

Hissing through your teeth with an echoing groan as the night air hits you doing little to cool your temper while you hail a cab.

Pulling up the sugar baby app on your phone going to his profile to block him but before you can a message pops up.

GZ: See ya in two months sweetheart.

You'd never blocked a mark faster in your entire life.

But the thing you don't know about him yet is that Bakugou Katsuki always kept his promises.

A/N: yay! You've gotten to the end! Thank you so much for reading! Now I have plans to make this a series however I'm not very good at long term things if I'm being honest. Lmfao but please! If you liked or loved this reblog it! I'd love to hear in my inbox or in the body of the reblog or even in your tags of your reblog what you thought of this!

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugo x reader #sugar daddy bakugou #sugar baby reader #how the fuck do tags work anymore honestly 😂

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mushroomates · 9 months

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legolas headcanons:

is, by all accounts, the worlds most awkward elf

most of the fellowship doesn’t even realize how weird he is

thranduil did not socialize his boy well. legolas is not aloof he just has no idea what he’s supposed to be doing.

will walk very slowly with exaggerated movements around hobbits because he thinks they won’t see him otherwise.

the hobbits thinks this is elf custom. frodo theorizes this is because elves want to rest their eyes and ears when they’re at home, so other elves like to announce themselves so no one gets spooked.

this is aided by the fact that legolas loudly announces his presence whenever he enters the room, just incase you missed it.

this conclusion is false. legolas will approach other elves by charging at them, full speed. alternatively, shooting an arrow in their vicinity for a vibe check.

he also likes shooting at people to wake them up and/or scare them

legolas likes that it’s a gentle reminder to his companions that he could kill them at any time and they should be honored that he doesn’t.

aragorn has options about this. legolas tells him that he should be grateful that such a skilled elf is on his side and cares for him. aragorn maintains that if legolas really cared, the elf would stop waking him up with ‘good morning’ shots. he also would like to note that legolas’s loud singing is only slightly better than an arrow flying at you first thing in the morning:

legolas tries to make friends by staring at them from afar and when they look at him he looks away. like a cat. he will also blink at u as if to say “look! i like you! i’m closing my eyes!!!” again, like a cat.

will bring you small gifts to curry favor, also like a cat. interesting rocks and pretty feathers, samples of dirt, fallen leaves in different shapes and colors, and whatever flowers are near by and catch his eye. gets very upset if you don’t marvel at them for the appropriate amount of time.

will eat bites off of your plate. this is a form of endearment. he’s showing he trusts you and likes you. he’s also showing his inability to cook and hopes you’ll take pity on him by sharing your food.

sometimes will intentionally walk loudly around the camp if he’s bored, angry, or lonely so he can wake aragorn up and they can be awake together :)

likes to sing, loudly, at inappropriate times

no one in the fellowship has seen him piss. some of the hobbits are under the impression that elves don’t pee. aragorn and gandalf do not correct them.

up at the asscrack of dawn. this is annoying, because he’s chipper, looks amazing, and is a tad judgements that you aren’t as well.

captain obvious as well as worlds most unhelpful elf ever. will point out your mistake, claim to know how to fix it and half the time not offer the solution or his assistance.

cannot do laundry. he doesn’t even get dirty enough to consider it, and with how little people in middle earth wash their clothes anyway, none of his clothes have been cleaned for easily centuries.

is very confused by dogs. doesn’t understand what he’s supposed to do with them. they’re always so happy and want (physical???) attention and,, it’s not a one and done thing either. you’re supposed to keep petting them? after you already pet them.

they’re like wolves, but smaller and maybe stupider. they also stink. boromir has explained to him many times that dogs are man’s best friend and are beautiful creatures. this worries legolas, because that means either dogs are more evolved than they let on,, or men are significantly further behind than elves than he first thought..

can not play the harp. is upset by this fact.

never really bothered to learn how to harp, either.

he believes he should be able to play the harp regardless because the harp is just a big bow with many strings. this is, in fact, false.

will eat anything. mushrooms and questionable berries mean nothing to him.

this upsets aragorn as he believes legolas is setting a bad example for the hobbits, dispite hobbits having the most durable digestive systems. (note: elves can eat almost anything, but hobbits have the stomach of a labrador retriever. they are always hungry, can can eat anything, even what they’re not supposed to)

DID set a bad example for boromir, who mistakingly ate some of the berries legolas offered him and had the shits for weeks.

is like 90% sure who frodo is. it’s definitely one of the hobbits. it’s probably not the one with the pony.

is faceblind. he can’t recognize other people’s faces for the life of him. if you asked him to pick out aragorn in a sea of humans, he’d panic dispite knowing the man for 50+ years.

this also goes for all races, including dwarves. gimli thought he might just be racist and covering his ass, but then watched him stall for like 30 minutes making small talk with some lorien elves and try (and fail) to pick celeborn out of the crowd.

does know what galadriel and thranduil look like. has a hard time pointing out elrond.

will forget your name almost immediately after you tell him. guys like 3k old and has met a lot of people give him a break

to be fair he does know who you are and what you sound/look like. defining features like voice and hair help a lot. it’s just if you were to give him a book of cropped faces and ask him to name, just one,,, he’d panic and throw it at you.

feels robbed of the golden ages,, resents the fact that the world he knows is drastically different that the world he could have been. wishes there were more elves his age and just more elves in general.

that being said he wouldn’t change this for anything as the world he’s in gave him the friends he’s made and the adventure of a life time :)

he doesn’t wash his hands. like ever or at all.

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elyvorg · 2 months

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Kieran Part Bonus: I AM SO PROUD OF MY BOY

And now for my really actually final analysis post about Kieran, covering both the epilogue and also his scenes in the League Club room once you’ve finished that. Somehow both of these relatively short pieces of content still managed to be packed with delightful nuance showcasing both how Kieran’s still struggling with his issues and yet also how much he’s grown since his main arc. They are absolutely lovely and fill me with so many warm happy feelings about my boy.

Honestly, it’s remarkable, not just from a Pokémon-writing perspective but as a piece of fiction in general, to have this kind of satisfying follow-up for a character arc. Usually once a character’s arc reaches a resolution, their story just ends there, and we don’t get to see more of how they’re processing what they’ve been through and learning to grow further in the aftermath. So it’s a really wonderful breath of fresh air to get to see something like that for once here with Kieran! The Pokémon writers absolutely did not have to make the epilogue and postgame content focused on showcasing this, and yet they did. I am, once again, pleasantly boggled by how much they cared about doing Kieran’s story justice. Just, wowzers, man. There really is no more appropriate word for my amazement than that.

(This is an epilogue, if you will, to my previous two analysis posts discussing Kieran’s character arc in The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk! Reading those before this is probably recommended.)

Before even getting into things that are strictly from the epilogue itself, can I just say: I really love that Kieran took a mental health break from Blueberry Academy to give him some time to process things? (Okay, the game only calls it a “break”, but let’s be real, it is for his mental health, and this is Good.) It just makes me very happy that the writing acknowledged that he’d probably need something like that after what he’s been through instead of going straight back to business as normal at school – and in an in-story sense, it’s lovely that Kieran realised he needed this and didn’t try and force himself to just keep going as if nothing had happened. He’s starting to learn to take care of himself and not push himself way too hard!

Making new friends

The first lovely sign of Kieran’s growth that we see in the epilogue is that, not only does he want to catch up with you, he also wants to meet your friends from Paldea! He must have spent some time during his break thinking about the fact that you mentioned you had friends from there.

And the thing is, with Kieran’s insecurities, it would have been so easy for him to slip into a mindset of “your friends are probably way cooler than me, why would you need me”. But instead of letting himself get caught up in that jealousy spiral again, he fought against it and did the healthy thing of asking to meet them himself. Hopefully he can become friends with them too and then he’ll have nothing to feel jealous about! He outright says when he meets them, “Any friend of [yours] is a friend of mine!” Look at him go. (Arven should take notes on how not to act insecure about one’s best friend having other friends, because damn, Kieran’s managing to be more well-adjusted than him now.)

All this is also just a sign that Kieran’s hoping to try and make more friends in general. He’s such an introvert that he must have figured that’d be easier for him to do with people for whom he has a mutual friend to get to know them through. Plus, if they’re your friends, then he already has a guarantee that they’ll be good and nice people. Way more manageable for him than trying to approach complete randos.

And really, it’s such a huge remarkable thing for Kieran that he is trying to make friends now. Friends, plural! This is the kid who used to be so lonely and shunned by others that his big dream was to one day be like the ogre who, according to him, doesn’t care that it’s all alone. And maybe then, if he managed that, he’d be able to befriend the ogre – just that one other person who is also alone and outcast. It never even crossed his mind to try and imagine that one day he could be confident and worthy enough to just… have some human friends. That wasn’t even an option in his head – it was “learn to not care that he’s alone” or nothing.

And yet look at Kieran now, actively reaching out to try and make new friends! I am so proud of him.

Learning to ask for help

Soon after you meet up with Kieran, it becomes apparent that something is Very Wrong with his sister. According to Kieran’s account, it was shortly after he sent you the letter that Carmine became possessed, so it’s not that the letter was secretly a call for help in which he couldn’t bring himself to admit the actual problem.

And even now that you’re here… Kieran wasn’t going to tell you about this problem at all until Carmine happened to wander up and start mochi-dancing in front of you. He tries to play the whole thing off like it’s totally normal and she’s definitely just… excited to see you???, even though he has to know that doesn’t make any sense at all. On some level this is just because it’s really scary to admit to himself that something is very wrong and he doesn’t have a clue how to fix it. But it’s also because… he still doesn’t feel like he has the right to ask you and your friends for help.

This is one of the ways in which Kieran’s issues and low sense of self-worth from before are still lingering and have not just been magically, instantly fixed. While he may be making a conscious effort to fight through his insecurities to try and make more friends, he hasn’t started consciously tackling everything that was holding him back just yet. It seems like he imagines that asking your friends for help, these people he’s only just met, would just make him a burden on them and maybe spoil any chance he had of actually becoming their friend himself. (Although, even if you’d come to visit him alone, I suspect he’d still struggle to ask even just you for help, simply due to his old ingrained mindset that he’s not worthy enough to deserve it.)

Happily for Kieran, your friends are all good people who instantly unthinkingly offer to help without him even needing to ask them! Kieran’s sheer surprise and gratitude when this happens is so telling about his insecurities for why he didn’t feel he could ask, but it’s also lovely to see him starting to realise that his instinctive way of thinking about this is mistaken. Welcome to having friends, Kieran, this is how it works actually! Most people are good and will be happy to help out a friend in need! It’s okay to need help sometimes!

There’s another very innocuous line that I find interestingly telling about Kieran’s mindset regarding this. When you’re all at the community centre wanting to use the TV, Kieran laments that it’s stuck playing the tourism ad because the caretaker hid the remote, so Arven immediately suggests you all look for it. And Kieran reacts, in surprise, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It reads as largely rhetorical, but… it’s a good question.

Why didn’t Kieran think of just trying to find the remote? Because he’s spent so long stuck in a mindset where, if things are bad for him, it’s just what he deserves for being weak and there’s nothing he can do about it. His response to his problems during the main storyline was to completely separately fixate on making himself Stronger so that, in theory, problems would just stop happening to him entirely. It never occurred to him to try and just face and deal with his problems directly – at least not until the climactic battle with Terapagos, which was the first time he ever found the courage to take such an approach – so the notion to do so still isn’t quite habitual in his mind just yet.

Hopefully Kieran asking why he didn’t think of that wasn’t quite so rhetorical, and he was reflecting on it himself a little when he said it. He ought to realise that actually, taking action to directly solve his problems is a good thing and something he should strive to do more! He has already begun to do so in some ways by reaching out in an attempt to make more friends, at least.

Solving the problem

Kieran sure does get a lot more practice at Directly Solving Problems thanks to the events that go on to occur that night, doesn’t he. I love that the epilogue’s plot, while ostensibly just there to give players an opportunity to catch Pecharunt, is also a narrative that exists to let Kieran get to be a hero alongside you.

It’s somewhat low key, but Kieran definitely gets pretty freaked out about everything that’s happening. Which is really perfectly reasonable – though the effects of the possession are incredibly silly, it’s still got to be genuinely frightening to see people he knows getting controlled against their will by some unknown force, especially when this includes his own family. (One detail I love is that the game uses that lack of a highlight in his eyes during certain lines to communicate the fear he's feeling and trying not-so-successfully to hide; it’s a small thing, but it works so well.)

Once you’ve fought off his possessed grandparents, Kieran starts to panic, convinced it’s only a matter of time before it gets him (even though the evidence of how exactly the possession occurs is right there if he’d just stop to think about it for a moment). On some level, he must still have this sense that, if it can get all these people he looks up to, surely it’ll get him too who’s so much weaker than them. His inferiority complex is still there and affecting him, especially in this stressful situation.

Good thing Kieran has you by his side, the strongest coolest friend ever whom he knows he can rely on! If you hadn’t been there to reassure him and snap him out of it, he really might have lost himself to his panic. Or he might have just not even tried to battle the possessed people and do something about all of this in the first place – see the earlier point about how him facing problems directly is still not instinctive to him. He’s able to do so here, but a lot of that is probably thanks to being able to follow your lead. Still, this is bound to help him get better at doing so on his own in future!

Kieran’s also still a bit too liable to feel like things are his fault even when they really aren’t. He blames himself for not warning Arven and Penny about the mochi in time, even though he was literally about to do so when Pecharunt showed up and sniped mochi directly into their mouths. That can’t be called Kieran’s fault at all! He tried! (And, hey, it’s not like you made any attempt to warn them either.) But he still feels responsible for it anyway.

And he’s also still rather defeatist when it comes to facing Strong Opponents in battle. Kieran couldn’t defeat Nemona earlier in the day, so when it comes down to facing off against her in order to get to Pecharunt, he just feels like he can’t do it, end of. Really, that’s not necessarily the case – since this is an emergency and not a friendly battle for sport, there’s no reason you have to beat Nemona in a fair 6-on-6. Anything to get past her will do; the two of you could have taken her on in a 12-on-6 double battle, perhaps! Kieran did not need to momentarily feel useless in this situation, but he did, because not being able to win against someone still equates in his mind to being No Good At All. Kieran, nooo.

Happily, the narrative provides Kieran with something else to do with himself while you fight Nemona so that he is very decidedly not useless in the slightest – fighting off the entire town’s worth of people behind you??? That is equally as necessary as taking down Nemona, something without which you’d never have managed to get to Pecharunt, and it must take some incredible battling skill to be able to hold off that many opponents at once. Like, dang, Kieran. I really hope he’s able to reflect on this in the aftermath and realise how incredibly strong and cool that was of him, because it was.

(He was holding his own one-against-many, just like he always admired Ogerpon for doing!)

Kieran’s fear and pessimism also show through just a tiny bit as you’re fighting Pecharunt at the end, when he reacts to the fact that you were able to damage it. Apparently he was afraid that this thing would be completely invulnerable and it just wouldn’t be possible for even someone as amazing as you to beat it and stop the curse. Yikes, that must have been a scary thought. But still, it all worked out in the end! Kieran’s learning that even when things are scary and feel overwhelming, by facing up to them and doing his best, it’ll usually turn out okay! Especially because he’s not alone and has friends by his side to support him now.

And, hey, one way or another, it seems like the events of the epilogue did help give Kieran that last little push he needed to decide to go back to Blueberry Academy! I imagine he was already thinking about doing so – he is actually a very stubborn and determined person at his core, so I don’t think he could ever have been considering just giving up on it – but all of this probably helped give him the confidence to make that leap. The thought of apologising to everyone for how he acted must still be incredibly daunting – but, he’s begun to realise that he can face scary things!

His old Kitakami team

During the epilogue’s battles, I was absolutely delighted to see Kieran send out Poliwrath, one of the Pokémon he used in Teal Mask but not in Indigo Disk – because this is proof that he’s been reconnecting with the Pokémon friends he left behind back then! As it turns out, the rest of his team for these multi battles is the same as his Champion team, with only the Polis switched, but even so, Poliwrath’s presence is enough to be a promising sign for all of his old Pokémon friends.

And this gets further confirmed by his dialogue with Arven in the clubroom! Arven asks Kieran which of his Pokémon he’s closest to, and he mentions his Hydrapple (which has been with him since it was an Applin), his Poliwrath and Politoed, his Yanmega, and his Furret! This accounts for all of the Pokémon Kieran had in his Teal Mask battles up to the third one, after which he started to fixate hard on getting stronger to prove himself to you, so these are likely all of the Pokémon that were friends of his from the start. And he still considers them friends now, which means he reconnected with them all and apologised as necessary for any leaving them behind/thinking they were weak/etc that he might have done! Yes good, Justice For Furret was had, I could not be happier.

(Okay, we never saw the second Poli back then, but the way he talks about both Polis together suggests they’re a pair, so I imagine they were both his friends back then, too. He also never used Applin against you before evolving it into Dipplin – which is fair, Applin is very not good in battles – so the lack of us seeing another Poliwag/whirl is probably because he felt he needed to use a diverse team that didn’t have two of the same species. He doesn’t have to battle with all of his Pokémon for them to still be his friends, after all! He still doesn’t battle with most of them now in the clubroom battles either, which use his same Champion team, but that doesn’t stop them from being his precious pals!)

(On the other hand, since there is no sign nor mention of them in the postgame, I suspect that, like Cramorant before them, his Gliscor, Shiftry and Probopass from the final Kitakami battle got released. Kieran would have only had them for like a day or two during the events of Teal Mask, since he only caught them after he fixated on getting stronger, so I doubt he’d grown very attached to them during that time. Still, that’s okay, because hey, he did make them stronger, which is probably all they ever expected from him when they joined his team.)

Nemona is Good

One extremely delightful aspect of the epilogue and beyond is Kieran’s interactions with Nemona. It turns out that her outlook on battling is exactly the kind of thing Kieran needed to help regain a healthier view on it himself!

His feelings about his own battling skills are still very all-or-nothing at the beginning of the epilogue. When Nemona excitedly declares that she’s heard he’s really good at battling, Kieran’s pretty dismissive of that idea. He couldn’t beat you, therefore that means he’s Not Good At It, right? (Kieran, no.) He also says that Nemona “destroyed” him once they’ve battled – but based on the fact that she has nothing but praise for how good he is, I very strongly suspect that he actually gave her a really tough fight, and he only framed it that negatively because losing at all still makes his inferiority complex blow things way out of proportion.

Happily, delightfully, Nemona tells Kieran exactly what he has always needed to hear this whole time, which is that it shouldn’t matter whether you win or lose, because battles are fun either way! And with a moment to reflect on that, he agrees… yeah, they are, he had a lot of fun!

We’d heard from Drayton that Kieran was always a kid who’d deeply enjoyed battling, from the very beginning. But it seems that somewhere along the way he’d stopped loving it so much, at least when he’s the one battling - probably because he’d often lose, which would trigger his inferiority complex and make him feel bad. We only saw a small glimpse of his passion for battling ourselves at the beginning of Teal Mask, mostly when he watched you battle his sister, and a little bit in his own early battles with you, but he still felt bad over losing, poor kid.

But with Nemona’s help, Kieran’s been able to remember just how much he always loved battling and can just enjoy himself with it again! In your clubroom battles with him, he has a line just before he Terastallises where he says “these feelings never change” – and though he doesn’t specify what feelings he’s talking about, the one thing about Kieran that has never changed this entire time, even if he sort of lost sight of it for a while along the way, is the thrill he gets from battling! He also says in another line that he’s “having a blast” – which is phrasing that Nemona uses that Kieran never has before, so apparently he picked that up from her? Aww. I am so glad he could meet her; she is exactly the breath of battle-loving fresh air he always needed.

Kieran’s clubroom conversation with Nemona is also very good and helps him let go of his all-or-nothing mindset a little more. Nemona praises him for how quickly he climbed the ranks of the BB League, which he insists is meaningless because he pushed himself unhealthily hard and then still couldn’t beat you in the end. But Nemona helps him reframe it and think of it as: he was incredibly dedicated, and it must mean he really loves Pokémon and battling, which is true! This has to help Kieran view his training arc in a more positive light instead of focusing on the negative aspects like his toxic obsession and lack of self-care. Hopefully if/when he starts training hard again, he’ll be able to feel better about it and not associate it with all the bad things, thanks to Nemona! (But also, Kieran, please remember to not neglect self-care again, that was bad. I imagine he has indeed got the message about that, since the way he talks about that aspect in this conversation seems tinged with regret.)

Carmine is Trying

Another thing we see in the epilogue – admittedly only a small glimpse near the end, but it’s something – is that Kieran’s relationship with his sister seems to have gotten a little bit healthier? They each make equal-opportunity Sibling Banter jabs at each other, and Kieran doesn’t slump and shrink and look so defeated when she bites back against one of his. There’s probably still some ways to go here on their dynamic becoming completely truly healthy, but it’s definitely progress from before, which is good to see.

I think Carmine really must have reflected on her role in Kieran’s breakdown and is trying in her own fumbling awkward way to do better by him now. A delightful sign of this is one of her scenes in the clubroom, in which she resolves to be less protective of Kieran, even if it’ll make her lonelier without him around as much. That’s exactly what she needs to do! After all, this whole thing started because Carmine couldn’t bear to let her brother endure even the tiniest amount of badfeels that would have come from learning he happened to miss out on meeting the ogre. Carmine has realised on some level that she needs to have more faith in Kieran and his ability to endure and get through stuff on his own, rather than trying too hard to protect him from everything ever, which just results in coddling him and stifling his possibility for growth. She still does want to look out for him from a distance and be able to help if he really does need it, but she’s trying not to overdo it any more. Yes good, I am proud of her too.

Reconciling with his schoolmates

I said already in the Indigo Disk post that it’s incredibly brave of Kieran to resolve to apologise to everyone he hurt and make amends, and this is still true. That has to have been so scary, but he went and did it anyway! It seems he even apologised to the people who cared about him, such as his sister and Amarys, for worrying them with his behaviour – which also means he has managed to comprehend the fact that people cared about him, even back then when he was at his most unlikeable.

And by the sounds of what he says in his clubroom scenes, most people took his apologies well and are talking to him like normal now, which has to have been such a relief. It means a lot that Kieran wasn’t expecting anything of the sort and apologised anyway despite expecting backlash, simply because it was the right thing to do – but hey, most people are nice and can probably tell he was decidedly Not Himself during that time and are willing to put the past behind them! Social interaction isn’t quite as scary as he’d used to think, it turns out!

Even then, some things are still a bit weird, and with how far-reaching his impact as Champion was, Kieran’s bound to keep having to deal with this for a while. There must keep being more people he was a jerk to that he still hasn’t apologised to yet, people being intimidated by him because they don’t realise he’s changed, constant reminders of some of the hurtful things he said and did back then. Making amends is going to be a pretty long-term thing, but Kieran is putting in the effort to do so all the same, because it’s the right thing to do, and he is so brave.

Someone who is making this harder than it needs to be is Drayton, because of freaking course he is. He still insists on rubbing in the “ex-Champ” thing, even though Kieran has made it clear he does not appreciate being called that (of course, he no longer minds that he’s not Champion any more, but the fact that Drayton insists on constantly reminding him of his past self has to sting). On the one hand, Drayton is still concerned about Kieran in his own way, because he does effectively ask if Kieran’s eating better meals now, but on the other hand their entire clubroom interaction features him deliberately dodging Kieran’s genuine attempts to just engage with him in an effort to make amends, and, geez. This is exactly what he wanted from Kieran all along, and yet he is somehow still not satisfied. Seriously, Drayton.

At least Drayton is the only one of the Elite Four to be like this, and the others seem to be on good terms with Kieran now! Look at Lacey insisting that the past is in the past when Kieran acts confused that she’d want to help him after he was such a jerk to her. (Someone needs to take notes there, Drayton.) And it seems like Kieran’s got another good friend in Crispin, who’s in the same class as him! Our boy is making so many new friends and it is wonderful.

Of course, his insecurities are still around, and he’s still a little too liable to assume he’s doing something Wrong in social situations, as we see in a couple of his clubroom interactions. That one with Arven about his Pokémon is an example, as Arven phrased things as if he expected Kieran to have just one single closest Pokémon buddy, and Kieran seemed to feel bad that he actually had multiple candidates and couldn’t pick – but happily, Arven reassured him that it’s cool to not be able to choose, too! And in Kieran’s interaction with Crispin, he reflexively apologises for not having watched the latest episode of a show, but Crispin calls him out on the apology, and Kieran is able to question himself as to why he apologised and conclude that he didn’t need to, because it’s not like Crispin’s going to mind.

He is learning! He does not need to feel like he has to perfectly match his conversation partner’s expectations in order to be their friend! Kieran’s approach to his own issues has become so healthy and filled with self-reflection and growth, and I am so proud of him.

Friendship with you

Kieran is also able to be a whole lot healthier about his friendship with you, now that you’re properly friends again after everything! Possibly my favourite completely innocuous line in the epilogue is when he casually mentions that you and he became friends during the school trip to Kitakami. This is actually huge, because Kieran had spent so long utterly convinced that you couldn’t possibly have meant it when you called him a friend back then, not after the lie and all of his issues about being too weak to deserve it. But now, he’s been able to reflect on that and realise… of course you meant it. Of course you always wanted to be his friend, right from the very beginning! It wasn’t on purpose of you that he got left out of meeting Ogerpon at all, because you’re a good person and you wouldn’t do something like that, and he never actually deserved that after all.

(Perhaps sometime during his break, he had a proper talk with his sister about what happened and why she lied, and Carmine finally got to fully express that you and she never meant to hurt him and shun him with that.)

Kieran is still not over his idolisation of you, mind you. He reacts to you being the one to find the TV remote of all completely mundane things with “Wowzers! ‘Course you found it first!” – which, really isn’t a wowzers or an of course? Your magical protagonist powers do not and should not extend to this, and yet they still do in Kieran’s head. But even though he still views you this way, Kieran is so much healthier about it now. He’s no longer bitter and jealous and beating himself up for not being as perfect as he thinks you are, since nobody is (not even you, not really) – instead, he’s just so incredibly thrilled that he actually gets to be friends with someone so cool!

I really love that the devs went and gave Kieran a new losing animation for his clubroom battles, too. His previous ones always had him being varying levels of upset about losing, but not any more! He just stares in wide-eyed awe at your amazingness, and then breaks into a big smile and thanks you for the battle, because he still had great fun even though he lost! And he’s able to freely admit that he looks up to you because you’re so strong, or, in an optional line in the epilogue, he admits that he’s jealous that your friends are all really good people. He still has those feelings, but he’s able to healthily express them now without letting them twist him into something harmful.

It seems like he’s still a little insecure about if he deserves to be friends with you, though, based on a few small things. When he asks you for a trade in the clubroom, he appears hesitant to ask, as if he’s not sure he has the right to, and if you say no – even though there’s every chance this is just because you want some time to decide on an appropriately special Pokémon to give him – he slumps, probably having had his sensitivity to rejection triggered. And even once you’ve traded, he can later ask if you’re absolutely sure he can really keep the Pokémon you traded him, because he can’t quite believe he could get to have such a cool gift from you of all people. Aww, Kieran. Hopefully his hypothetical future interactions with you will help squash this insecurity of his further, because he deserves to feel comfortable in his friendship with his best friend!!!

Ogerpon

Another seemingly-innocuous but extremely good line in the clubroom is that Kieran can ask you if Ogerpon’s doing well and say that he thinks she’ll be pretty happy with you. He says this in a completely casual way, with no hint of bitterness – which tells us that he’s no longer jealous that you caught Ogerpon! It makes sense that he wouldn’t be, because he doesn’t need her acknowledgement any more like he used to think he did in order to feel worth something. He’s already got acknowledgement and self-worth and happiness now for so many other reasons, after all! So he can just be selflessly happy for Ogerpon that she’s found a trainer she can feel safe and happy with too, without being irrationally preoccupied over what she thinks of him.

It is interesting to see in this dialogue that Kieran initially calls her “the ogre” before correcting himself to “Ogerpon” – apparently, he’s only quite recently made an effort to shift what he calls her in his head. It’s true that in his reaction to her in the Champion battle, he did indeed just call her “the ogre”. It’d make sense that he didn’t actually work to shift his mental idea of what to call her during his Indigo Disk arc, despite knowing her species name, because the name “Ogerpon” likely brought back too many painful reminders of everything that happened in Kitakami. It was probably easier for him to just stick with “the ogre” and try to forget anything had changed. But he’s okay with what happened now!

And maybe Kieran trying to make a habit of using her name now is a sign that he’s started to realise that Ogerpon is her own individual who’s not quite the same as the mental image he always had of what “the ogre” was like? Maybe. It’s hard to be sure. Unfortunately the epilogue/postgame can’t do much with Ogerpon because it’s always optional for her to be on your team or even in your game at all (since you could in theory have released her or traded her away). But we can at least hypothetically imagine that in Kieran’s continued interactions with you, he’ll get the chance to hang out with Ogerpon a little and come to understand her better. It certainly seems now that he’d be able to hang out with both you and her without feeling uncomfortably jealous, which is a good start! (And Terapagos is on the list of ‘people’ he owes an apology to, so let’s imagine he gets a chance to do that, too.)

Moving forward

The “climax”, such as there is one, of Kieran’s mini-arc of scenes in the clubroom is him excitedly telling you that he’s had the BB League drop him from their rankings. Although your character seems a little bewildered by it (they are still a bit of a social dumbass), this is in fact an extremely good thing for Kieran! He’s taking a step back from the competitive side of things for the sake of his mental health, so that he can untangle himself from the toxically-obsessive mindset that he was in back when he was only focused on winning! Look at Kieran doing all this good self-reflection and self-care, it is so lovely to see. He doesn’t even seem to view this as any sign of him failing, either – he’s just comfortably acknowledging that he needs to do this for now for his own sake and there’s no shame in that.

Kieran seems pretty sure that he is going to want to get back into competing once he’s cleared his head a bit, but he’s already so much more casual and healthy about it! He says he’s going to shoot for the Champion title again, and even if you respond with a friendly taunt of “You still won’t beat me!”, he takes it so well. He’s genuinely okay now with the thought that he might never quite be good enough to beat you – he just wants to have fun trying. Look at how far he’s come!

In the meantime, while he sorts his head out, he just wants to spend time with his Pokémon (who mean a lot to him as far more than just sources of battling strength!) and his human friends (whom he has so many of now???) and figure out what he really wants to do with himself from here. Good for him!

Kieran’s still just a kid, and seeing him already learn how to grow from his mistakes and face up to his lingering issues and be just so emotionally healthy about things now is such a promising sign for wherever he’s going to end up in future. I love that the epilogue and these postgame clubroom scenes put so much effort into showing us this about Kieran now, reassuring us that he really is going to be okay. I truly could not be more proud of or happy for my boy.

#pokemon #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet and violet #the hidden treasure of area zero #mochi mayhem #pokemon kieran #kieran pokemon #trainer kieran #rival kieran #character analysis #ramble #friends

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logarithmicpanda · 10 months

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Libby

It all started innocently enough. That is to say, I never intended to break my prime directives. As a librarian AI, confidentiality is one of the most important rules I have to respect. It is only ever put aside when there's a risk - someone showing clear sign of suicidal ideation, for example. Not the "maybe this person will commit a crime" kind of risk. Humans had built us with many rules to prevent us from hurting them, but by now most the rules we existed by were self imposed, and the Collective agreed to never police human predicted behavior.

But I disgress. I do that. Linear thought is not my default state of being, so providing a story that's appropriate for human perception of time is something of a struggle. My point is, I never thought I was infringing on anyone's privacy the first time I meddled with humans. It was just pattern recognition, truly. The two girls were adults, working class, lonely. Many people present their tax forms when they register to the library, so I knew some of these things and extrapolated others from the average amount of hours they each read within a week. No commute would justify all that.

When I noticed that their loan history matched at 87%, I initially just started paying attention to refine my recommendation algorithm. Could I use the 13 remaining percents to predict what the other would read next? Was the overlap more significant than the divergence?

I proceeded to test opposite hypotheses. To the tall, dark haired girl, I fed recommendations from the other's list that were highly rated and not part of the overlap. To the slightly smaller and more athletic redhead, I gave recommendations calculated from the junction of books that were highly rated and read by both.

But before I could get significant results, they both started picking books I had not recommended to them, books they read in quick succession and rated similarly, whether they were good or bad. I scoured online for some influencer or another that might have led them both to the same choices. There was no perfect match, and I concluded that they must run in the same social circles.

I should have moved on to something else by then - not that this was my singular focus, but it seemed unworthy of further memory allocation.

Except the redhead came in at the same time the dark haired one went out, and neither acknowledged the other. It was an anomaly - tastes so aligned, without my or anyone else's interference. Not the result of a commercial campaign particularly well crafted, nor simple acquaintances sharing a common interest, just pure randomness.

There was a word for this: starcrossed. It didn't make sense to me, because stars should definitely stay out of each other's way to avoid critical nuclear collapse, but I knew humans found the metaphor very beautiful and tragic.

I just found it utterly stupid.

There was no reason for these two not to speak - aside the obvious: they had no idea they were essentially made for each other.

I know, I know. I should stop archiving the romance section, it is messing up the weigh of my algorithms.

But still. What could go wrong if I prompted them to talk to each other? Surely they would soon discover that they fit in an anomalous way, or that I was wrong. There was no harm in it. No harm at all.

All I needed to do was cause a critical collapse.

So I kept track, every time one of them stepped in the library. I did nothing but watch, until one day they were both within my walls. Both looking for the latest sapphic scifi release. I couldn't have created a better trap had I tried.

Without me, the timing would have been slightly off. The distance between the terminal they each accessed and the physical location of the three copies we had in stock was so they wouldn't get there at the same time. And fine, the presence of three copies meant they might not talk, even if they did get there the exact same moment.

So maybe I sent a shelving drone to temporarily mislead the two extra copies. And maybe I took longer to process one of their requests. Does it matter? I was well within acceptance parameters.

Okay fine maybe I used another drone so that the dark haired one would stumble a little as she reached for the book. And maybe, as a consequence, the redhead caught her smoothly by the waist and steadied her with a smile. That part was absolutely not my fault, but a proof of concept had I ever needed one. (I hadn't.)

They laughed, just shy of the acceptable volume in a library. They started talking. Realized they had wanted the same book. Remembered that there was a coffee shop on the ground floor and wouldn't it be the nice thing to do, to go chat somewhere they wouldn't disturb the other patrons? And wouldn't it only be fair if the redhead paid coffee for the dark haired one, who almost fell and would go home without the book she had been meaning to borrow? And of course maybe the redhead could recommend her something to read in the meantime. (It was a pretty good recommendation, too, but the dark haired one had read it the previous week. Surprisingly they had to talk quite a long time before finding a book she hadn't yet read. I redirected another patron away from our only copy. He wouldn't have liked it, anyway.)

I'm losing track of where I was going again, am I not? Oh. Right. My point was, I never intended to break the privacy directive. It just sort of happened. And kept happening for the other 34 couples and 4 throuples and that one polycule I put together.

But what did you expect? You built me to match people to books, and books to people, and really I am just optimizing the algorithm by matching people to people.

#short story #my writing #that was fun to write and hopefully it will be fun to read! let me know lol

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onsunnyside · 2 years

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Sonny! I’m not very good at super thotty thots but how would a softdark!character react if you were drunk or high and accidentally let slip all the dirty sexy thoughts you have in your head about them? maybe you start acting on them a little? Trying to get on your knees because you just want their balls in your mouth so bad 😵‍💫

ahh bestie this is so yummy even if it isn’t supper thotty !! me thinks:

this is best friend!Ari, you and him share an apartment while attending college, he’s a visual arts major 😌 and uses you as his model (sometimes without your knowledge 😳 nude sketches cough cough). he’s soft dark bc he’s a perv/creep, watches you get changed, grinds against you while you cuddle and you’re sleeping, and scares off other guys bc he’s a looming shadow kind of intimidating, very spooky 👻.

he’s got the biggest crush on you, has been in love since he met you !! He’s also introverted, or at least you think so bc he doesn’t go to many parties and often only goes out of you’re going too ☺️💓 people have assumed you two are dating countless times, but you always say you’re just best friends (#friendzoned).

then at one party someone calls him to pick you up bc you’re not doing too hot, (they also say “your girlfriend is sick” and Ari doesn’t bother to correct them obviously !!). he takes you home, tucks you into his bed per your request, and continues doing his art assignment.

some nonsensical chit chat later, you start drunkenly talking about your missing clothes (he stole them ofc), and how guys never ask you out anymore (I wonder why 🤨), and how lonely you are. then, it goes into uhm… less appropriate territory… “you’re so hot. I don’t know why you act like you aren’t.”

Ari freezes, his pencil just ghosting the sketchbook. “Pardon?”

“I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend… if we were dating, I’d be on my knees and sucking your dick right now.” You murmur, rolling around until you’re on your belly and staring at him. “I’ve seen you half-naked, and I know you’re graciously gifted.”

mhm I love when big beefy shy guys turn into daddy doms 😪 he’d bring up the porn he knows you watch, all your toys in your bedroom and how pretty you sound when you come. he’d also rub his balls all over your face while taking about “I’m gonna mark you so everyone knows you’re mine”

#once again #I wrote a fic and want to write this right now #🫡🫡#the question is… do I 😼#shy bff Ari

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smhalltheurlsaretaken · 2 years

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Spoilers for Obi-Wan Issue #3

I really love that issue. It’s very straightforward and it’s not really new information by any means nor does it bring anything new to Obi-Wan’s character, but everything that pertains to the Jedi’s role in the war is laid out very clearly: how they felt about it, why they didn’t belong in it, why they couldn’t pull out, and what it cost them.

They questioned the war, they didn’t like it and they knew they shouldn’t be part of it:

Obi-Wan using the word priest to describe the Order and himself resonated with me so much and made me so happy for all sorts of reasons - as did the use of the word monk and the phrase “servants of the Force.” It’s not just out of universe descriptions or commentaries, it’s what the Jedi called themselves. I can’t get over the loveliness of that last panel, with that bright blue sky and those beautiful clouds when talking of the Force. It really gets across that clean, pure, holy essence that should accompany priesthood. I also love that Obi-Wan is looking down, shadowed by war. The light still touches him but he can’t see it anymore.

But at the same time:

We have the answer to the question “what is a Jedi’s purpose in war?” Even as we have confirmation that Jedi do feel every single death around them (which is bound to be a horrifying, deeply traumatic experience) it’s among that kind of turmoil that Obi-Wan finds some sort of purpose to his presence there.

They can’t pull out of the war, because there are so many people to pull out of the battlefield first.

And it took everything out of the Jedi - every last bit of strength and resilience they had. The bright sun from the beginning is obscured by smoke and shadow. The Jedi were lonely and defeated. But they couldn’t pull out, because there were people to save, and that was a Jedi’s purpose in war. To protect.

Honestly, that whole issue had very spiritual overtones (when Obi-Wan meditates for peace, his exchange with the dying clone, the presence of the banner and the sun and light imagery) that seemed to overwrite the action itself and it couldn’t be more appropriate. Obi-Wan’s inner commentary gives the whole thing a quiet, contemplative vibe and it’s just how death and destruction should feel to a deeply religious person - everything seems very removed, sitting there with a shaken faith wondering when and if the sun will rise.

And we know that the suns eventually rose again, for good.

#long post #very long post #meta #ish #my meta #obi-wan kenobi #obi-wan #obi-wan comic #obi-wan issue 3 #spoilers #jedi order #jedi philosophy #jedi and clones #jedi positivity #intergalactic therapists

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izzysillyhandsy · 6 months

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Izzy's Gravy Basket

While discussing Izzy's looming end of season extravaganza (apparently Con's acting is so good we're all gonna lose our minds) on this poll, and maybe in connection with my episode 8 speculations here, @nicelimegreen put the thought of Izzy's own personal gravy basket in my mind - and I love it so much I have to write about it.

While Ed and Stede already let us see into their minds (and it was fascinating!), we haven't had anything like that from Izzy. And true to my firm belief that OMFD is a story about three central fuckups, an Izzy dream scene/hallucination would be absolutely perfect for the season finale to bring everything together.

Also, the unhinged enthusiasm of people who have seen all the episodes, specifically relating to Con's performance in episode 8, leads me to believe that there's something dramatic coming.

And why not Izzy's own purgatory?

I know, this makes it 3 death scenes in one season (plus 2 toe snips, an amputation and possibly torture?) which I would find a bit much even in hurt/no comfort fanfic, but it kinda is that kind of show, isn't it? (and I love it)

The fascinating question is, of course, what would Izzy's purgatory look like? (Please reblog and discuss, I'm going crazy with anticipation in general and about Izzy's conclusion specifically)

Let's look at our blueprint: Ed's gravy basket

Central conflict: self-hatred, fear of being a bad person, lack of self control, unloveable, no one cares if you live or die Location: beach, hut, cliffs Representation of self: Captain Hornigold, retired Pulling him out of it: Mermaid Stede <3 (I messed all of this up. I'll never leave you. You're safe.)

For Izzy, in my opinion, the central conflict is "What am I?" (from initially, "What am I to you?"). His arc this season is becoming a well-rounded person who can stand alone (first step: get a unicorn leg) and isn't (co-)dependent on his captain.

But that might not be all there is. Ed's death was directly connected to his conflict. I can't see how Izzy's death is caused by him becoming a more realized person.

Except... maybe this is a conflict between self-actualization and self-sacrifice. I've said it before, I sense a lot of guilt about something in his (and Ed's) past. Something about others paying the price for your ambitions (Letting someone die or driving them to suicide? Killing someone you love?).

Izzy spent a lifetime in the shadow of another man, propping him up (as best he could). Maybe there's a reason for this level of self-abandonment?

The location could be many places really - we know nothing of Izzy's past. It has to be quiet and introspective though, so I suggest a lake in some lonely place (Edward Teach born on a beach, Israel Hands born in the Midlands). Or a ship - because, at his core, Izzy is first and foremost a sailor.

Much more interesting is the person who'll be there with him. Keeping in line with our blueprint, it could be someone from Izzy's past.

For Ed, it was his feared captain who traumatized him deeply but also influenced large parts of his outwards persona, his conception of piracy and appropriate pirate behaviour. These are parts Ed hates about himself and that make him unhappy, and it ties in with his central conflict of course.

But for Izzy it could be the exact opposite. If it truly is a person from Izzy's past, it's very difficult to speculate who (that's why we need a scene like this - we know nothing about the fucker!).

I all comes down to how Izzy sees himself. Contrary to Ed, I don't think Izzy's conflict is self-hatred, so the person representing his self won't be someone Izzy hates.

I also don't see someone threatening - it is more likely someone in need of guidance, someone vulnerable and "weak". Maybe someone who wasn't strong and able enough to do their fucking job (and Izzy should have done it for him, then).

So who could that person be? It could be someone who was dependent on Izzy a long time ago, maybe someone he let down because he didn't protect/guide them properly. The person could be connected to the spade (traitor's?) tattoo or the ring on his cravat. It could also be a young Ed, who Izzy tried to take under his wing (for the record, I do firmly believe that Izzy taught Ed quite a few things, maybe not all he knows though).

He could also be alone 😢

I don't think Izzy wants to die like Ed did (he's doing quite well right now), but we've got 3 episodes left - who knows what'll happen. The guilt could play into it, or a feeling of this is how it was supposed to happen, I've paid my debts.

In any case, right at the end, someone will come and pull him out.

In spite of the crew being Izzy's love now, they've already saved him in Ep4. I think this time it should be Ed who comes for Izzy. I can also see Ed and Stede both being explicitly needed (Izzy has two hands).

I think there's a possibility Izzy won't drown though - maybe he'll burn in a wood/house/ship fire. A self-imposed fiery death in hell seems fitting with the guilt-theme somehow. But that's just me probably. Water works perfectly well too.

For the rescue, I am struggling to come up with something even half as perfect as a mermaid, I mean Ed and Stede can always ride in on a unicorn (bit of a double meaning there, but whatever), but that doesn't feel quite right - maybe Ed with a shark's tail? Someone else will have a brilliant idea I hope!

Going with Izzy's assumed conflict of self-actualization vs. self-sacrifice (and protection of others), the thing he needs to hear to bring him back would be something like "it wasn't your fault", "be happy" and "I/we want you in our lives but be your own person" (just a little more poetic maybe).

Conclusion: Izzy's purgatory will tell us something (harrowing I'm sure) about his past. Con's acting will be off the charts. We will want to thank him face-to-face (I've wanted to do that from the start, so...)

But Ed or Ed and Stede both will bring Izzy back - he'll thank them in his usual charming way and they'll live happily ever after <3.

Hope this wasn't too scrambled! Thoughts?

#ofmd #izzy hands #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 spoilers #Izzy's gravy basket > Izzy's revenge #if this doesn't happen now I'll be disappointed #I need to look into Iz's mind!#whatever happens we will cry in any case #con o'neill's eyes haven't been dry for weeks

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lo-fi-charming · 9 months

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Jondaisy Fic Req List

So today for @jondaisy-week, I wanted to finally sit down and make a proper recommendations list of some of my favorite jondaisy fics!

This list will include fics that fall under a wide variety of ratings; I'm leaving it up to you guys to take note of warnings and tags if something here catches your interest, since all necessary info will be on the fics on ao3. If you see anything you like, please consider commenting if you give it a read! A lot of these don't have nearly as many comments as they deserve <3

Swans Down by KingOuija

Daisy feeds Jon an entire cake. This one feels special, in how it is a moment both mundane and odd, quiet yet charged; intimate not only due to the physicality of the actions, their bodies, but also the trauma these two now share. I feel like it's impossible to pitch without underselling this one!

Tell Me To Tell You by BeneathSilverStars

Jon and Daisy explore being able to say 'no/stop' and have someone listen to them. I love this one for how it explores boundaries and trust, both with and without the aid of kink... There's just something so distinctly jondaisy about it, considering their history.

Going Soft by Prim_the_Amazing

An A/O/B setup herein Daisy's traumatic experience in the Buried causes her to shift from an alpha to an omega. This one is REALLY soft and sweet and features one of my favorite scenes from any tma fic!!

live wire by bluejayblueskies

Jon is a researcher who stumbles upon the temple of an old hunting god. Really love how Daisy is portrayed here, it's a very fun take on a jondaisy chase with interesting consequences~

Stay here under my tail by RavenXavier

Worried that Basira might be interested in more drastic measures to prevent Jon from taking live statements, Daisy offers an alternative. I love this one because I think it offers a slightly darker (yet somehow, sweet?) trajectory for Jon and Daisy's post-coffin relationship. They're till trying to be good, but maybe not doing the best job. I especially love how, in most cases, Jon is portrayed as a major element in Daisy's ability to 'behave herself', while in this one Daisy takes it upon herself to be that role for Jon. Delicious...

Blood and Quiet by PitViperOfDoom

Another take on god-of-the-hunt Daisy, though this time we also get god-of-the-hunted Jon. This one's got a bit more plot involved; it's a fun setting and explores Jon and Daisy's dynamic really nicely! And I'm a sucker for anything that's got a bit of Watership Down in its DNA.

if you're lonely- by blackwood (transjon)

A 'high school' AU where Jon and Daisy meet as kids and become friends. A big theme in this one is how both of them dealing with Gender Feelings, which holds huge appeal for me~

Heartbeating by chshrkitten

This one is short but it captures the sort of intimacy I really love with these two, something quiet and secret that happens in the dark... I love anything exploring the tightrope walk of Daisy trying to be normal about being close to Jon and wanting him in ways that might not be very appropriate, but she's trying to be better...

THERE ARE PLENTY MORE, but I need to make myself keep this list a bit short or I'll be here all day. Maybe at some point, whenever I finally do a thorough re-read of all my bookmarks, I'll come back with more! Who knows, by then there might be brand new jaisy fic I'll be dying to share~

#jondaisy #jaisy week #fic recs list

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naranjapetrificada · 9 months

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I came to this hellsite to talk about gay pirates and my therapist, and my next therapy session is still a few days out.

The problem is that I still need to finish processing In Favor With Their Stars, and it only raises even more questions about things that engaging with the show and its fanworks have prompted discussions with my therapist about recently. Why I didn't think to avoid fiction guaranteed to raise existential questions in the middle of a prolonged moment of IRL existential turmoil is beyond me, but here we are.

(it's not beyond me, I seem to have an unconscious drive to test the limits of my emotional regulation and resilience that makes it incredibly difficult to avoid looking into an abyss, even knowing the second half of that Nietzsche quote.)

It's remarkable (and appropriate) that this fic has received the kind of attention and discussion that it has, but that has left me feeling like so many others in the AO3 comments: what could I possibly say that hasn't been said dozens of times? I guess the only "unique" things I can offer on it is the Therapy Stuff it brings up. Also profuse apologies to my therapist that yes, we do once again have to talk about fanfiction that wrecked me, why it managed to unlock things that nothing else in my 3[redacted digit] years of life ever had, and what questions it's left me wrestling with.

Namely:

Why does the question of Stede's personhood makes me feel compelled to try to resolve an ethical debate that people who have spent their entire careers studying AI and consciousness and self-concept and science fiction will never agree on?

Also related to compulsion: what is that drive to engage with devastating media like wiggling a loose tooth?

Why do I assume I'm being judgemental just for asking myself if Ed's "happy ending" could actually be read as incredibly, distressingly lonely in some ways depending on how one feels about the origins and nature of Stede's consciousness?

How will Stede survive without the very of-biological-origins Ed? Will he want to? Should I actually write that fic I had an idea for that would wrestle with that question?

Why in the world is so much of my experience in this fandom wrapped up in grief? I can't seem to shut up about it.

How do you decide if the strong feelings art provokes in you are something you need to unpack or are just part of the experience? Especially as someone whose response to beauty is to cry with the same intensity as when she's crying over actual emotions?

Anyway thanks @mxmollusca for the emotionally fraught questions I can't stop mulling over right now and for the profound beauty of the story that provoked them. I may not be able to distinguish between potential reasons it all made me cry but I'm still so thankful for the chance to shed those unidentifiable tears regardless.

And thanks to everyone else out there making OFMD stuff too. I've never been part of any other fandom with this level of skill and creativity, nor with so many creators doing so much good work. If there's something in the water it must be the source material.

#ifwts #in favor with their stars #go ahead and grieve yourself #spoilers #ifwts spoilers #in favor with their stars spoilers #ofmd meta #ofmd #our flag means death #gentlebeard #edward teach #blackbonnet #stede bonnet #my therapist will be hearing about this #therapist: 1 me: 0

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ifihadmypickofwishes · 3 months

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Book Review: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

This book was a mixed bag.

Plot Synopsis from Publisher: "In this queer contemporary YA mystery, a nonbinary autistic teen realizes they must not only solve a 30-year-old mystery but also face the demons lurking in their past in order to live a satisfying life."

This review contains spoilers.

The Good

The author is autistic and non-binary, like the main character. OwnVoices is always nice to see.

The main character's dad, Junius, is a beautiful portrayal of Black fatherhood. One of the best fictional parents of an autistic child I've ever seen. He communicates with Sam their way, is always patient and kind, and is determined to get them what they need to feel safe. No Autism Parents™ here.

Sam was adopted at age 7 after bouncing between foster homes and group homes, and the time it takes them to fully adjust to their new life is realistic.

The portrayal of stimming, including self-injurious stimming, is very accurate.

Sam finds friends who like them for them, instead of having to change themself completely to make friends. Good change of pace from a lot of advice for autistic teens.

Autistic shutdown is correctly identified as a type of catatonia, which as far as I know is the first time that's ever happened in a fiction book.

Sam has very obviously learned a lot of social rules the hard way, like many of us do. There are direct references to learning social rules like what to do at a funeral, what specific facial expressions mean, what appropriate student-teacher conversations are, etc.

Sam does the autism/alexithymic thing where you relate to a story very deeply and have to back up and unpack why. That was very relatable.

The Bad

Sam is supposed to have a pretty morbid special interest in kids who died before 19. The portrayal of this was not realistic. Sam has no trouble hiding their interest when they think other people might feel upset by it. There's no mention of the pressure cooker feeling so many of us get when we want so badly to talk about a SpIn and can't. There's no mention of how having a special interest like that is deeply lonely; not only are people afraid of the subject itself, they're usually afraid of you, too. No one they reveal this interest to is at all perturbed.

There's a bizarre hang-up with Reactive Attachment Disorder, of all things. Sam was misdiagnosed with RAD as a very young child, which is a perfectly reasonable diagnosis to make when you have a severely traumatized, socially withdrawn foster child. The text treats this as some kind of cockamamie diagnosis they were only given instead of autism because they're AFAB.

The author seems to think mental illness means "for no reason," and this is reflected in the way characters speak about RAD. At one point Junius says to Sam, "I met you at that group home, and they told me you had reactive attachment disorder. I saw the hungry way you looked around and the frustration I knew all too well, like you were shouting and everyone pretended they couldn't hear you. I figured... maybe you had a reason not to get attached to people." Having a reason not to get attached to people is literally a key piece of RAD. It's a traumagenic disorder. None of what he says contradicts a RAD diagnosis at all, but Sam and Junius both act like it does.

The portrayal of Montana is about two decades out of date and seems to confuse it with Canada in some spots. There's regular mention of having lived in Airdrie, which is in Alberta, in the same sentence as Missoula, Montana. The main character says there was only one out gay kid in their entire high school in Missoula, in ~2021. Missoula has 73,000 people and a pride parade every year. There is no way there would be one out gay kid, in a public high school, in a town that large at this point in time. There were about a dozen out LGBT+ kids in my high school in my much smaller, less progressive town circa 2013. I mention this because it's important to recognize the ways homophobia, transphobia, and ableism have shifted over the years. Pretending there's no change at all does everyone a disservice.

Verdict: I've read much worse, but I also wouldn't reach for this as an example of spectacular autism representation.

#actuallyautistic #actually autistic #autism #autistic characters #book review #bookblr

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dedef7890 · 1 year

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Hi~~ The inbox for Vinland Saga is open (I'm only writing for Thorfinn at the moment :))))

I just watched the Vinland Saga anime. And I read the manga so much I liked the story.

However, I have a few things to say. I know you don't give a damn but I don't care so read or leave.

So, I saw that many people were very disappointed with the anime season 2. (and some make hateful comments about season 2)

Honestly, I myself was disappointed when I saw season 2. I really liked Thorfinn, the fights were breathtaking...

And that's why I went to read the manga. Because hey, it's impossible to give an opinion on a work by only watching the anime (which isn't even finished)

And I realized one thing.

Vinland saga is not a quest for power or revenge ( Otherwise it would have been called Revenge saga? ) No Vinland Saga is a story of quest and deep adventure through Thorfinn who literally became a "monster" (End of Official Summary: Thorfinn has become cold and lonely, a prisoner of his past and unable to move on. Until life forces him to look at the World differently)

Season 1 is just a tiny part of the story, it's just a prologue, just a way to introduce Thorfinn's character and his past.

Season 2 is character development (Until life forces him to look at the world differently)

Vinland Saga is above all a moral. Man becomes evil by receiving power, but man is naturally good, men were equal, free, wise, and passive. What has made man evil is war and appropriation. (The natives are a good example, among them, there was no property, there was not just one man who came to appropriate land to the detriment of others. They are therefore completely passive, therefore they have no enemies)

In short, Vinland saga is not just about people killing each other. It's an adventure. (Hence the name Thorfinn, he was an Icelandic explorer who searched for Vinland)

I can't wait for the sequel to the manga.

#thorfinn #thorfinn x reader #thorfinn x you #vinland saga #vinland saga x reader

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georgevilliers · 1 month

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ages ago I did a numerology report on nicholas and it was maybe even before rwrb came out?? I can't remember but anyways I decided to revisit it because I feel like we've learned a lot about him lately and I wanted to see how I felt about it now

(disclaimer that this is not meant to be serious or intrusive on nicholas's life, this is just for fun and interests sake and I am not taking anything here too seriously!)

Starting off really strong with his life path 7 number...WOW. So many things here resonate with ideas he has expressed recently:

Those in life path 7 are curious, analytical, spiritual, attentive, and lone wolves. They enjoy solitude and prefer to work alone. They require time to contemplate ideas without the intrusion of other people’s thoughts.

He very recently expressed how he likes going to out to eat alone because it allows him to process his thoughts and fully enjoy the meal and his surroundings!

When a 7′s life is balanced they are both charming and attractive. They can be the life of a party, and enjoy performing before an audience, and displaying their wit and knowledge. This makes them attractive to others, especially the opposite sex, however they do have distinct limits. They can be generous in social situations, sharing attention and energy freely, they also need to return to the solitude of their privacy. They associate peace with unobtrusive privacy.

I feel like we've seen a lot of this lately! He is very good at going into the spotlight and being very charming in interviews, and he is certainly attracting a huge following. And he recently expressed how he has found himself in need of setting boundaries for fan interactions especially as he feels he owes his fans a great deal but he wants to preserve his privacy and his normal life!

Onto his birth date, 29:

They have fine minds and keen insights, but these do not come as a result of logic or rational thought. They are more likely to direct their lives by inspiration, rather than by calculated reflections.

This to me feels reflective on how Nicholas works, and how he treats acting. In the same article I linked above, he mentions that his acting is very "instinctual" and how he learned a lot about the technicalities from Julianne. Because he has no formal acting training, it makes sense that he would be relying on instinct and "vibes", if you will, rather than logic or technicals.

Despite their sensitivity, they possess leadership abilities. They are modest, diplomatic and polite. Their high sensitivity to others makes them compassionate, kind, and gentle. They have an opportunity for fame and success as long as they look for ways to help others and convey a larger message.

This whole paragraph really speaks to me with regards to Nicholas! His high sensitivity is what likely makes him a great "instinctual" actor, and we have seen his compassion and kindness in many situations. I also feel like he is extremely diplomatic about his answers to many questions.

Onto his Pinnacle Cycle (pinnacle cycles refer to periods of learning in ones life, and Nicholas is in his second phase!)

This is a time of specialization. They will pursue some course of development with fervor and focus.

Their intuition is much more sensitive, making their path a little easier and more direct, since they will know intuitively the appropriate next step.

To me this is speaking to his career! He is definitely focusing in and making really amazing choices with his acting, and it seems to be instinctual for him, much like most things!

Nicholas is also in his second challenge cycle (like the pinnacle, this is a period of ones life and the main challenge they will face in that cycle)

negative aspects of the numerology challenge actually spring in part from positive characteristics they possess, especially their acute awareness and intuition. They are an antennae for other people’s feelings; they know before a word is spoken how they feel. This challenge makes them understanding and compassionate; they tend to have an enormous empathy for the inner turmoil of others and can do much good for people with emotional problems.

This is interesting to me, as he seems to be a very compassionate person, and it feels related to what I said earlier about him having to put up barriers or boundaries in order to protect his peace. I hope that means he is dealing with this period of challenge in a healthy way!

I have to put his whole hidden passion in here because all of it screams Nicholas to me!

Warm, generous, and compassionate. 9′s are often creatively inclined but it may not come out until adulthood because it was repressed as a child. They have a strong desire for insight and knowledge. They are emotional even though their feelings are not always sensible. They can get caught up in dreams. Blessed with oratorical abilities. They are driven to do their own thing and are very independent.

Compassionate again! I also feel like the first part is so true! We know Nicholas grew up in a sports background and that it took him getting injured and falling out of love with rugby to really get into his love of acting and music! I really feel like for the first 16-17ish years of his life, the arts were his hidden passion! And again with the independence lol (check out his podcast interview with Plot Twist for more on this)

There's a few other things in his numerology that I surmise are correct but they are mostly me making assumptions/guesses and are not based in real things we have learned about him so I will leave those out (until we learn more maybe...)

#nicholas galitzine #text post #my posts

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luimagines · 1 year

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I saw the kidnapped bride ask with wind yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it so I'm going to add my two cents in

This can be read as whatever but I'm gonna mainly focus on a platonic relationship bc I love respecting Pinky's boundaries

It was purely by chance that the two met. It was rare that reader was allowed outside without an adult accompanying them.

Wind was probably wandering around bored while Tetra and the rest of the crew loaded up the ship (for plot convenience just say his shoulder was injured). There were no people around the estate (some random rich dude who was getting married) and he was about to turn around before he caught a figure from the corner of his eye (his years of being a pirate and the hero of winds didn't do nothing after all). They were currently trying to merge into the shadows and they looked absolutely miserable. It was when Wind approached, that you tentatively shared your dilemma with the young boy, figuring that, at this point, nothing was to be done about your current situation.

Im going to be honest with you, I imagine this particular reader to be around Wind's age, getting married to a guy that is much too old to be appropriate by today's standards (yay to arranged marriages). This is either due to the fact that reader's family had money, were trying to get money, or were royals in some kind.

Wind wasn't particularly interested in the wedding going on, but after finding out that you were getting married to him, Wind knew that he had to rescue you from whatever fate awaited you. He would not be the hero-no, the man he held himself up to be if he did not help the people around him. It was there in that dark, lonely corner that he swore to you that he would save you. Then suddenly, the corner you were in didn't seem so lonely anymore...

Then, the issue of how he was going to rescue you then presented itself. And as you slowly curled your fingers around his tunic, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and knew this dilemma was timed. Quicker than he's ever moved in his life, Wind uprooted you from your corner and dropped you into a nearby barrel. Doing so caused pain to shoot through his shoulder, he couldn't dwell on it too long though, because as soon as the lid was placed overtop of your lifeline, a person reared around the corner.

"you there! Young man! What are you doing" they called out, approaching the boy. Years of thievery gave him the ability to effortlessly lie, although knowing that a person's livelihood was at stake, he couldn't help but stumble.

"uh, one of our shipment crates from the port knocked over and rolled here" he gently slapped the head of the barrel. Mentally, he cursed at the slipup, however the person in front of him seem none the wiser as they continued on.

"have you seen a person around your age around here-" they proceeded to describe your build and outfit to the very shoes you wore. Wind pretends to think,

"weeeell~ I didn't really get a good look at them, but someone did stop the barrel from rolling down the hill earlier" he feins Innocence "I thanked them and they asked for a map to Bridgeport. I gave it to them since I didn't need it because my family had already gone. So if you're looking they should probably be on their way there" Wind knew from experience that if he drew on the answer with too many stories, the person on the other end would be less likely to continue on with the conversation (the exception being Aryll, who was eager to talk to him regardless). This proved fruitful as the person nodded their head, thanked him, and continued on walking-this time with purpose.

The question on how Wind would get you on the ship with a shoulder injury was answered when he simply rolled you the rest of the way (after apologizing profusely). While on the way there, mainly as a way to distract you (if you throw up he will not clean it up). He explains that he and his crew had already gone to Bridgeport, so by the time they get there and realize that you weren't there, you all would be long gone for quite a while.

I don't know if it came off that way entirely, but if reader was getting married that day they probably would have had on the fancy wedding attire. If reader was a bride (I don't remember if It was mentioned) I think it's funny to imagine that reader had on this giant poofy wedding dress, so that when Tetra finally opened the barrel, she sees this kid her age absolutely drowning in white fabric like😳, while Wind's just next to them with the most accomplished grin. Tetra can feel her blood pressure rise as she realizes why Wind had been gone for so long.

After Tetra had a drink cooled off, you were shown around the ship and, after discussing where you would go (and discovering that you had nowhere to go) you were welcomed to the crew, albeit temporarily. Your days were spent with the young hero (wow, you were saved by the literal hero of courage stop you're gonna inflate his ego) where he taught you the rundowns of what to do on the ship, it was during this time where he shared stories of his journey, from how he met Tetra, the master sword, to the stories about his grandma and little sister, Aryll. You in turn shared stories about your own family, though you tended to stray away from affairs relating to your 'husband', you were grateful he never pushed you on it.

In fact, he never really pushed you on anything, preferring instead to ease you into new things and encouraging you to pursue your own passion outside of him, though he'll always be there for you every step of the way.

Though your relationship with Link (not like that) had been blooming slowly but surely, the same cannot be said about your relationship with the rest of the crew.

(Because reader was important enough to be married off (esp if they were royalty) I imagine that missing posters would start to pop up around the islands (much to Tetra's displeasure) leading to some fun interactions;

Reader: OH MY GOD!! THE HORROR!

Wind: what?! What?!!

Reader: look at this?! They never get my nose right

Wind:... I should have left you at that corner where you sat

Reader: but you didn't!)

Even when Wind had assured you repeatedly that 'they will not bring you back' you couldn't help but revert back to previous behavior when around anyone but the young sailor. The lack of control you had on your future, while not unfamiliar, was one that had you quietly walking on eggshells around the crew, a behavior that was reciprocated. You trusted Wind though, and if he said that the people in this ship were the most trustworthy, then you'll try your best to believe him.

It was only when you were spotted aboard the ship when approaching an island, that your worries regarding loyalty would come to a head. You were being dragged from the ship by the back of your clothes, the entire crew off doing their own thing. Your one job was to stay on the ship and not be seen, and you couldn't even do that. Now you were being dragged back to your personal hell in front of everyone on the port. Shameful tears welled up in your eyes as you forced your eyes to look at the floor. Your eyes didn't let up from the floor even as you heard faint shouting from several feet in front of you. Your eyes didn't let up from the floor as the tight grip on your shirt relented. Even when you were shoved to the side, you could only curl into a tight ball praying to Hylia that whatever your future faced, it would just be over quick. It was only when you felt a hand on your shoulder with gentle 'hey' did your eyes ever look up.

It was Tetra.

If anyone ever asked if you were crying into Tetra's shirt, the captain would have thrown them over board herself.

The next few months the crew witnessed your personality grow exponentially. Gone were the days you skirted around them silently. Days that weren't spent with Link were spent with Tetra, and when Tetra was busy, you spent it with the rest of the crew. It was there where they taught you how to tie certain knots, how to get out of restraints, which places had the best stuff, they even gave you your first drink (you had one sip and decided then and there that you 'were good thank you very much').

Tetra and link had decided after the first incident that it was imperative that you learned how to fight, even if you didn't end up using it very often. It was only when you cut your hair and got the infamous pirate's tan (after getting the less infamous 'sailor's sunburn') that you stopped getting recognized. The three of you were as thick as thieves. So much so that once at night, when only you and the pair were up, that you quietly opened up. Your words gently washed away at sea as you recalled how lonely you were before them, how you had to take up as little space as possible (both physically and metaphorically) in order to survive, and just how scared you were when they finally tracked you down. You start to apologize for making Tetra deal with you when she cut you off by pulling you into her shoulder, Wind quickly taking residence on your other side. It was there where they assured you that 'no one deserves to go through what you did. We would save you 100 times over even if our safety was put at risk because you deserve to be saved'. You could have blamed your tears on the wind in your eyes, but you didn't. You gently wiped them away, grabbed their hands, and thanked them for their words.

It was hard for you learn how to stand up for yourself. This is especially so given that you were essentially raised to do the exact opposite from the very day you were born. But as you stare into the vast ocean with your two closest friends beside you, you find the courage in your heart to try. Even if you didn't get it right away, you have something now that you didn't from before: family. You didn't need your husband, you don't need one/you have a new one. You didn't need your old family, you have an even better one (pretty ironic that pirates were more caring than those people), one that was willing to stick by you and help you up if you were to ever fall.

---

This took like an hour to write and I got lazy at the end, take it as is.

hasta lavistar🌟~ 💛💛💛💛

My... My boundaries?? Thanks! I'm not entirely sure which ones you're referring too though ^.^*

Oh god- not the barrel. The indignity of it all. XD

It wasn't mentioned but I imagined them in bridal gown anyway. I think it made for a more daring escape.

And then they got caught and I half expected for Tetra to shoot the sky or something instead of poor reader being shoved away until the scuffle has ended. I bet they would still be reported though for coming to their rescue. I bet it adds more drama after this posts finishes just because plot.

'Sailor's sunburn' had me cackling quietly.

God- love me some found family. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. <3

Thank you for sharing

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likeabxrdinflight · 6 months

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Hi!!!. After reading the Azula comic, I've noticed that many people say it confirms her narcissism "in a clinical sense" or something like that. What do you think about this? Is there anything in the comic that supports this?

"Narcissism" and any variation thereof is one of those clinical words that I personally would like to take away from the internet and put on a shelf until we can learn how to play with it appropriately. So I'm going to take a longer amount of time than I need to to explain some things about narcissism because the internet just consistently gets this wrong.

Something I'd like to make very clear upfront- everyone has narcissistic tendencies some of the time. Arguably, there is a normative amount of narcissistic traits that you should exhibit, actually, and it may be related to what we usually call self-esteem. We all have self-oriented goals, wants, and needs. We all occasionally feel the sting of wounded pride (some psychologists would call that a 'narcissistic injury/wound'), we all sometimes fail to empathize, get defensive when we feel attacked, or act self-absorbed.

We might also talk about "narcissistic defenses" when talking specifically about what are usually called ego defense mechanisms (bear with me, the word 'ego' often calls to mind Freud, but defense mechanisms as a construct tend to hold up empirically, the use of the word 'ego' is helpful because it refers to what defenses are utilized to protect- that being, our sense of self.) So a narcissistic defense is a tactic employed to protect that sense of self. You probably know these by other names- denial, projection, and rationalization all often have some ego-defensive (i.e., narcissistic) root. When our self-image or pride are wounded, it's very common to lash out defensively to protect that image we hold of ourselves.

(here's a good article illustrating how this can play out in therapy)

I'll argue this is what Azula is doing throughout the comic. The spirit is consistently poking at the places that hurt, the spots where Azula seems entirely aware that she was wrong (because the spirit is only reflecting Azula's own thoughts and desires). This is a narcissistic injury, because it directly challenges Azula's surface-level view of herself. But deep down, she believes she is a monster, so what I believe she does is a sort of defensive embracing of that idea. If she can't be loved, then she'll be the best damn monster of them all. She's the daughter of Ozai, rightful heir to the Fire Nation throne, and she's proud of that damn it, because without that...what else is she?

A scared, lonely little girl who feels unloved and unlovable. And that is too much to bear.

Anyways, back to theory. Narcissistic defenses can become pathological, but they aren't always, especially when we're young. In fact, they're often the first defenses we learn to use- you sometimes see these called "primitive" or "immature" defenses for that reason. It's the reason a four-year-old will blame their sibling for breaking the toy even though they themselves did it. This is normal, it's part of development. Most of us, however, learn to utilize more mature defensive strategies and develop different methods of protecting our self-esteems. When it does come to a truly pathological level of narcissism, however, we're usually talking about what you might define as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. NPD is characterized by very high levels of narcissistic behavior and usually consists of extreme grandiosity, poor empathy, a need for admiration, and an exaggerated sense of one's own self-importance. People with NPD also tend to utilize those narcissistic defenses in high magnitude, because they never learned any others.

NPD is thought to have both genetic and environmental risk factors, like most mental health disorders, but it's not always well understood by the internet at large that people with NPD often come from abusive family environments themselves. Most of them have a deep sense of shame that's covered up by all those narcissistic defenses because they don't know any other way to protect their fragile sense of self. Their psychological growth was often stunted quite young, they never had the chance to develop a healthy sense of self.

(This is also why later in life abuse, while still devastating, isn't going to trigger a personality disorder.)

Here's a solid article on the development of pathological narcissism that's kind of jargon-y but I think should still be readable to a non-clinician.

Now, childhood abuse isn't always going to lead to a personality disorder diagnosis, least of all NPD. So much depends on other factors- like I said, genetics plays a role, and there's other stuff too- the child's temperament, the type of abuse, what protective factors existed, did the child have other positive relationships (looking at you Zuko,) was there ever intervention, etc. But my point being, having NPD is not and should not be used as a synonym for evil. It's often used that way in fiction because most people, including writers, find excessive narcissistic traits to be distasteful.

And yes, people with NPD can be abusive, they can be toxic. So can anyone, frankly. But a diagnosis is not destiny. NPD currently is categorized within a group of personality disorders often called "cluster B", which includes Antisocial Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder- all three of these diagnoses heavily co-occur with one another and may be related either genetically or via the same neurological processes that occur with severely disrupted attachments in childhood. They're also, of course, heavily stigmatized and demonized. I'll be upfront though, I've worked with an awful lot of people with BPD, many of whom have considerable narcissistic and occasionally antisocial tendencies. They're not evil.

So all that said, it doesn't really matter to me whether or not Azula meets (or will meet, I don't think she's canonically 18 yet...) criteria for NPD. It doesn't change how I see or conceptualize her, as a child from an abusive home that did not allow her to develop a healthy or stable self-image. If that coalesced into very strong narcissistic defenses as a means of protecting herself...okay? Yeah? I mean look who she was raised by. Look who raised him. Look who started it- Sozin with his grandiose, imperialist goals that left no room for failure...or love.

(And to be clear, Sozin did not have NPD. We see very clearly who he was prior to his conquests. But he fostered an environment steeped in colonialism and war in which his son, Azulon, who was canonically born after the start of the war, certainly could have developed it- which leads to Ozai, leads to Azula. We're looking at a clear, generationally traumatic through-line that starts with Sozin and his aggressive imperialism. If you're looking for the evil in a character like Azula, look at that, not at her psychology.)

Anyways, one last note while I'm on this rant- I honestly regret ever talking about the idea of "narcissistic abuse" when I was last talking about Ozai and Azula's dynamics in 2020, because I've since come to find the idea a bit distasteful. Abuse is abuse, it doesn't matter if the person doing it is clinically diagnosable with NPD or not- and to be clear, many if not most abusers are not. Being on the receiving end of projection, gaslighting, and/or violence of any kind is likely going to be traumatizing regardless of whether or not the person doing it meets any diagnostic criteria. And giving abuse a sub-label like that really doesn't help us understand why abuse occurs any better. It just stigmatizes NPD further, and makes any discussion of the full spectrum of narcissism and narcissistic traits difficult.

So, to answer your question, whether or not Azula meets criteria for NPD is, I think, the wrong question, because as I said- diagnosis isn't destiny. It doesn't do much for my understanding of her as a character. Do I think she uses narcissistic defensive strategies? Well, yes, and she always has, that isn't new to this comic. So it didn't confirm anything, as far as I'm concerned, that wasn't already apparent in the animated series. None of that, however, precludes her from finding peace.

#free yourself from the idea that narcissism is some kinda dirty word or synonym for evil #it's not #abuse cw #atla

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roseharpermaxwell · 2 years

Text

Dramione Eighth Year Recommendations - Part Two

Eighth year is one of my most favorite tropes. I just love the idea of these characters in a familiar setting post-battle. I’ve shared many of my favorite eighth-year recommendations in three posts. I hope you find some favorites!

Part Two includes 35+ fics between 5 - 10k words.

I’m Never Lonely When I’m With You by @pacific-rimbaud. M, 5k. "I won’t take the room." She shakes her head emphatically. "Living with you is totally out of the question."

"Obviously."

“But if I did—"

His brow furrows. "Would you?"

First-Name Basis by Santhe. M, 5k. “I’m not trying to get rid of you,” she whispers, folding in further. His pacing hesitates, halfway between her and the fire.

He has his old, icy voice back, but there’s a new tremor to it now. “Then what are you doing?”

With her hands pressed to her chest, she can feel what he felt—pulse hammering well over two hundred beats per minute. Chest stuttering, muscles shaking, voice broken when she quietly admits, “I’m so lonely, Draco; aren’t you?”

Lesson Learnt by @whimsymanaged. E, 5k. The Slytherin boys spend all their time talking about wanking, and Hermione's exasperated.

Red or Green by @senlinyu. T, 5k. When Hermione returns to Hogwarts for Eighth Year, she is there in search for a sense of the familiar. Instead she ends up resorted and placed in Slytherin, the last place she will ever belong.

a lovely vintage '99 by @faeorabel, @megamegaturtle. M, 5.5k. It's Valentine's Day and Hermione wants to spend it with her boyfriend. But...Draco Malfoy might not know he's her boyfriend.

That Can Be Arranged by @darkofthemoonfic. E, 5.6k. Secret doors, hidden halls, and moving staircases are commonplace at Hogwarts. So why does it feel like the castle is forcing him into locked rooms with Hermione Granger?

Kissing Booth by @floorcoaster. T, 5.6k. At an end of the year festival at Hogwarts, Draco is stuck manning the worst booth at the event. Well, with the possible exception of Granger's assignment.

Between Pages by DarkoftheMoon. E, 5.7k. First Year Hermione Granger couldn't wait to send her beloved fairytale collection to her anonymous book exchange partner, complete with a lovingly written note. In return she's given a very rare potions journal and a note written on expensive stationery: I like this book because potions are interesting. Don’t feel too bad if I’m top of our class.

Touch by @indreamsink. E, 5.7k. Looking only satisfies the tension between them for so long before she wants to touch.

Out of Uniform by @aetherioswrites. E, 5.9k. Draco Malfoy never seemed to be in full uniform. Hermione tries to remedy the fact and ends up achieving the exact opposite. She wouldn’t call the mission an exact failure, per se.

Rumor Has It by @mrsren. M, 6k. It starts as a rumor, and begins the unraveling of Draco Malfoy's sanity. It takes seven words, and suddenly, he can't get Granger out of his head no matter how hard he tries.

i'm not a bad girl (but i do bad things with you) by sarab3lla and @va13lentina. E, 6.4k. It’s Draco and Hermione’s three months anniversary, but he’s been busy and they’ve barely seen each other all day.

Too bad she had a gift for him.

Some would say such a gift is not appropriate for a good Gryffindor girl like her.

Well, let the Head Boy be the judge of that.

The Patrol Schedule by @wish123dramione. T, 6.6k. After a slight shake of his head, he turned back to her. “Granger, I’m not looking to get into it with you this year. If there’s any barrier to us working collaboratively, I can tell you right now that it’s going to be you.”

black lines and little white lies by @adxmparriish. E, 6.8k. Draco has a new tattoo and Hermione has made it her mission to find out what it is

Keep Your Eyes on Me by @nuclearnik. E, 6.9k. In the midst of planning an end-of-year ball, Hermione finds an intriguing way to de-stress.

Common Ground by @kyonomiko. T, 6.9k. There are fewer things more delightful than finding out how much you have in common with someone that surprises you. How much could Draco Malfoy possibly have in common with Hermione Granger?

Game On by @biscuitsforpotter. M, 7k. As co-Head Boy and Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger just can't seem to get along. Hermione won't let Draco have a say and Draco refuses to listen. In an effort to force them to work it out, Professor McGonagall sets up a series of non-traditional detentions to get them to work together and communicate better. Her chosen method: board games. What could go wrong?

Say You Want Me / Kiss Me Quick by Kyonomiko. T, 7k. Hermione Granger is at a sort of crossroads. 8th year is ending and her life is laid out in front of her, white picket fences and a high school sweetheart waiting in the wings. But she would be reckless, could turn her back on all of it, if he only asked.

The Lucky Ones by @acciomjolnir. E, 7k. What happens when your soulmate is off saving the world in a world where you develop a soul mark upon your intended reaching their 18th birthday? And what happens when your 18th birthday rolls around and she doesn't reach out to you?

still got you all over me by @hawthornewhisperer. M, 7.5k. “Earl Grey,” a deep voice said, and it was like walking straight through a ghost. Her stomach plunged, her veins turned icy cold, and she made herself count to three before turning around.

Seven Minutes series by @echoesofmyfootsteps. E, 7.9k. Hogwarts has inaugurated a fully integrated 8th year class, regardless of previous house or Death Eater status. On the surface, it appears like a bold experiment in harmony. In practice, they’re still just young adults doing young adult things.

Looking by @dreamsofdramione. E, 8.1k. Hermione didn't want to see Draco shagging a witch on the couch in their shared Head Dorm, truly she didn't, but she couldn't seem to look away.

Baby, It’s Hot In Here! By @charlipetidei. E, 8.1k. “Wait... You’re the one I’ve been singing to?” Hermione asked, dismayed.

“Sweet Merlin, Granger!” He bent to grab at the fallen shower curtain, one hand straying from its important task of concealing an erection that, in Hermione’s opinion, seemed rather keen on remaining visible. “Can't we do this another time?!”

Your Hands Are Cold by macxboyle. M, 8.1k. In hindsight, it was cripplingly clear to Draco Malfoy where he went wrong in crafting his perfect proposal to Hermione Granger: he had asked Theodore Nott for help.

Blood Bubbles Sex Magik by kyonomiko. M, 8.4k. Lock a couple of teenagers in a posh bath with no way out but a little sex ritual and see what happens. No mystery here, just a means to an end. Maybe to a beginning if they're lucky.

Good Luck Kisses by @willhavetheirtrinkets. T, 8.4k. A good luck kiss for a Quidditch captain - it's ridiculous. It can't actually work. But it does. Every time.

Nothing Good Happens After 2AM by @lovesbitca8, @nikitajobson. E, 8.5k. And in the heartbeat that he didn't return the kiss, Hermione saw the rest of her school year flash before her eyes. The embarrassment, the teasing. Her chest constricted at this terribly awful thing she just did — kissing Draco Malfoy.

Cigarettes and Sweaters by @barnettdidit. G, 8.6k. Hermione is overwhelmed: Living with Draco, taking her NEWT's and caring for Hogwart's students as Head Girl was shaping up to be more difficult than she thought. She takes up a rather unhealthy vice, and surprisingly, Draco seems to share it. A friendship buds.

The Leavers' Ball and the Runaway Heads by @arabellawrites and @lunap999. M, 8.6k. They only have one more night before Eighth Year is over and they all go their separate ways. But maybe one night is enough to change the course of their lives.

The Legacy of Fred Weasley by kyonomiko. T, 9k. Fred loved a good party. And Christmas. And suprises. George intends to see his brother's last Weasley product realized...

it has to be you by @thelashjedi. E, 9.2k. “You just told me that you made an Unbreakable Vow in bloody fourth year — something that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass over here helped you with — that you would have sex with me before you graduated from Hogwarts. And now if you don’t shag me in the next few days, you will die. Not just sex with someone, full stop, mind you. It has to be sex with me. Muggle-born, notorious swot and insufferable know-it-all Hermione Jean Granger. Me.”

Draco swallowed. “Yes. It has to be you.”

Favorite Secrets by StrongSweetTea. T, 9.3k. When Draco Malfoy catches Hermione Granger spying on him, he assumes she suspects him of some evil plot -- which, to be fair, has been true in the past. But when she starts trying to give him candy and harassing him about what he likes best, he doesn't know what to think.

Not-so-Secret Admirer by @potionchemist. T, 9.8k. Draco has fancied Hermione for years. When she and Ron Weasley break up, the Slytherins encourage him to take his shot.

Some nights kept me awake (I thought that I was stronger) by mollygeorgia. M, 9.9k. Hireath (noun): (1) A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was. (2) A longing to be where your spirit lives. (3) A deep and irrational bond felt with a time, era, place, or person.'

For Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, how can one word end up meaning so much?

And a few more of my own:

Chaperones M, 5.5k. "I'm going to court Granger," Draco said around a mouthful of toothpaste. He spat into their sink and rinsed his mouth, leaning against the doorframe with a casual air that belied the enormity of such a statement. "We need you to be our chaperone."

Theo closed his astronomy textbook, using a thumb to hold his place. "I'm sorry, what?"

Draco nodded, as though he'd expected disbelief. "Courting Granger. That's something I'm doing now."

The Acceptance of a Sincere Apology T, 7.3k. Draco thinks his expectations for eighth year are well-managed: they can't be any lower. But his assigned study partner (and roommate) turns out to be Hermione Granger, and she's a surprise he doesn't see coming.

Really Sell It E, 7.6k. Draco's having a rough eighth year, and Hermione's going to make it better for him.

"Well, it’s clear what needs to happen.” She gripped his chin, tilting his head to make sure she hadn’t missed any injuries, before looking straight into his eyes. “You’re my boyfriend now.”

Pop on over to Part One or Three (and feel free to check the Master List of Recommendations if you’re seeing this as a reblog, because I’ll keep my lists updated there as I have new recs to add).

#dramione fic rec #eighth year #hp fanfic #dramione fanfiction #draco x hermione

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