#‘​sure we have respect for each other but that’s it’

[prickly-paprikash]

Jinx is an extremely touchy person. She wraps around like a coil around the person she loves, no matter what. It's most evident with Silco and her helping him with his daily injection—no matter what, Silco allows his daughter to curl and coil and wrap around him, giving no thought to her embrace. That's his child, why wouldn't he let her barge into his office while he's balancing books and lean against him whenever she feels like it.

We see this with Isha too. And Vi.

We also see this with Powder and Ekko.

In Benzo's workshop, Powder just wraps around Ekko like she belongs in his space. She leans into him, constantly getting in close because Ekko is the central focus of her affections here.

So when Ekko starts showing signs of discomfort around her, and he acts bizarrely throughout the day, she slowly pulls back. When they enter Vander's bar, she's dragging Ekko around without a care. By the end of that scene and as they enter Powder's place, visiting Vi's shrine, Powder has backed off. She knows something's up.

Even when Ekko apologizes with Vi's mural, Powder still knows something's different with Ekko and keeps a respectful distance. With Isha and Silco, and to an extent Warwick and Vi, she likes being in their spaces. Being all up in their faces.

It's when the episode implies that Powder has figured it out, checking through Ekko and Heimerdinger's notes that this Ekko has been pulled in by the Wild Rune from another dimension that she starts to close in just a bit more. She watches him, drinking in the fact that this Ekko is so much like the one she loves, but also so different. So new.

So she starts slow.

Watching him. Giving him her attention. The first time she finally, truly touches him again is when she plucks off Heimerdinger's hair off his face—and Ekko doesn't shy away this time.

We see this as well in the dance. Ekko and Powder, even as the world melts away around them, still have a respectful yet intimate distance between them. They dance around each other, before slowly but surely dancing into each other.

During their talk, Powder finally reclaims her spot beside him. Leaning into him. Breathing him in. And Ekko lets her.

We finally see this dynamic at play once more when Ekko asks her to "pretend like it's the first time."

She knows. She isn't pretending here. She knows she's giving Ekko his first kiss, their first kiss.

Powder has probably wanted to just touch Ekko these past few days, but she knew something was different. And when she watched Ekko leave for his universe, she felt relieved to have her Ekko back, while still cherishing those precious few moments she had with our Ekko, as seen when she tucks away his necklace.

It's such a subtle thing. Unspoken, but extremely prevalent.

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 12: The One Where We Start Laying the Yellow Brick Road to Italy

I realized the other day that, even though I like to bounce around from place to place in the Lukola timeline, I probably needed to start tightening things up on the ship if I ever wanted to get to the end of the story. And, yes, dammit, this story better have a finale at some point because there’s nothing more annoying than an open-ended ending, particularly in the romance genre.

Today we’re going to take a quick jaunt over to Italy because –

NO! Not because Luke is allegedly filming there. If you’re into real-time stalking, you’re in the wrong blog. But, I’m sure there’s a Discord for that.

It’s because I’ve had several people ask for my opinion about the change in behavior between Luke and Nicola during their Day 1 interviews there. Wait – people are interested in my thoughts? Wow, that’s actually kind of nice. Thank you! Okay, back to what I was saying –

Was there a change in behavior when Luke and Nicola reached Italy? Yeah, actually, there kind of was.

By May 9, we had been gifted with a slew of material from Luke, Nicola, and the Bridgerton cast and, I must admit, those early interviews are some of the most entertaining of the tour. In the very beginning, Nicola appeared as the utmost professional – charming, intelligent, and witty at the right moments – and Luke played her likeable counterpart to “Book Colin” perfection – bouncing between being awkwardly boyish and wickedly roguish, all while looking at Nicola like she had just served him homemade peanut butter crumble.

The two of them together, playing off each other, in my opinion, was better than Bridgerton Season 3 (you cannot beat the World Tour being 99% Luke and Nicola, with only a few random side characters taking up screentime). There was some major “Electric Love” radiating from those two throughout the tour, but it seemed very much heightened in the beginning (probably because they hadn’t yet answered the same question 67 times). By the way, if you haven’t heard that song by Børns, go have a listen. It will, at the very least – hopefully – put you in an upbeat mood for the day.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes – was there a change in behavior between Luke and Nicola when they reached Italy?

Absolutely.

Do I know why?

Absolutely not.

Perhaps Luke was bent because someone spilled his coffee, or Nicola was upset because her stylist made her to wear that little silver bow in her hair. In my opinion, the most intriguing part of Day 1 of the Italy press junket was that Luke and Nicola struggled with answering the question, “What is love?” I swear they both babbled on like two kids in debate class who hadn’t bothered to read the material given to them before taking their respective podiums. They finally seemed to settle on Luke’s “Maybe it’s, like, connection.” Well, they seemed to be missing the “connection” that day.

Honestly, no one can explain their “don’t stand so close to me” vibe during those first day interviews except Luke and Nicola. But, we can at least have some fun and speculate about it with a bird’s eye view. At this point, you should know that I love spreading the puzzle pieces out and seeing how they might all connect. Most people – when putting a puzzle together – start with the side pieces, right? You’ll get my joke in a moment (I hope).

In March 2024 – I don’t know the specific date because my timeline is rather murky going back that far (I was unaware Lukola even existed!) – Luke traveled to Los Angeles for a photo spread with InStyle magazine. I’ve heard two versions of this story. The first being that Luke traveled to Los Angeles with Antonia alone; the second being that he traveled to Los Angeles with his friend group, which included Antonia. I couldn’t tell you which is true, and it really doesn’t matter because it doesn’t necessarily add or take away from today’s story.

Before I get started, I wanted to give a “hurrah” to The-One-Whose-Group-Chat-Fills-in-Lots-of-Missing-Bits-for-Me-Including-the-Part-Where-Video-Footage-of-Antonia-in-Los-Angeles-Seemed-to-Indicate-a-Celebrity-Was-Not-the-Videographer-and-There-Were-So-Many-British-Accents-in-the-Background-One-Would-Fancy-a-Guess-She-was-Traveling-with-a-Group.

Moving along…

On April 7, 2024, Antonia posted a series of photographs and clips to her Instagram grid indicating she had been in Los Angeles, including one where she was laying on a blanket in front of the Griffith Observatory and one where she was sitting at a table marked with the number “95.” On April 14, she posted a second set of photographs, tagging her location as Beverly Hills, California and using “End of Beginning” as her audio (yes, I side-eyed this choice of music so don’t feel bad if you did as well). The second photo dump included her lounging on a rooftop.

I’m not going to delve into posts made by Luke and Nicola during that timeframe. I mean, I’m sure Nicola’s comment, “’Friends’…sure Jan,” on Luke’s April 11 reshared post about Bridgerton Season 3 was only meant to be applicable to Polin. And, if Luke wanted to use yellow and black hearts to represent the colors Nicola and he were wearing in his April 12 post, that’s cool, too. And, I am definitely not going to speculate on Nicola’s April 15 post (for Big Mood) that Luke liked, and she captioned, “I will bite off anything that dangles.”

By April 21, Luke and Nicola were in Australia at the World Premiere of Bridgerton. I am only going to provide a quick overview of Australia instead of a full-fledged recital because, at some point, I will almost certainly dedicate an entry to this country. Let’s start with Luke pulling off the hottest walk-up in Netflix human history (I mean, have you watched it in slow motion?). Then, we had the hard launch of the handholding business (because why again?). And, we had Luke tripping over his words, “We’re very, like, giving…I’m not talking about those scenes…” Oh, and Nicola telling an interviewer that, “[y]ou can’t keep a good girl down,” and, in response, Luke’s lips curling into a wicked-ass Cheshire cat's. We had them in the garden, with Nicola bending down to hug Luke after she had scratched/hit/petted his head. Perhaps I should not mention the possibility of a man’s shirt being visible on a bed behind Nicola (I said possibility not that it was). And, Nicola telling Luke, “You’re the funnier one,” when he was concerned that perhaps Benedict was funnier than Colin. Then we had the “Nicola-in-the-green-dress” day where, as they were going down the steps, Luke seemed to instinctively reach for Nicola’s hand, but she played it cool and took his arm instead. Oh, and that entire “green dress” day in general (I mean, there was so much shit going on that day). And, best we do not forget Nicola saying, “the best foundation for love is friendship,” which mirrored the bracelet “someone…in Australia” gave Luke that read, “Do you believe the best foundation for love is friendship?” Because that’s not suspicious at all. Alright, let’s get the fuck out of Australia – but not before I mention Nicola commenting on Luke’s April 27 Instagram post with “Ready for the next?” and Luke replying, “Absolutely.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, their shenanigans in Australia expanded the USS Lukola tenfold.

Oh, also, let me throw this in here because, if you are a “ring truther,” this fact plays a significant role in the Lukola timeline. If you do not know what a “ring truther” is, that’s perfectly fine. You can catch up by reading Entry 6 (The One Where I Explained the Claddagh Ring to My Dad) of my blog. I mentioned in Entry 6 that some Lukola sleuths have stated the metadata they pulled from the sketches of the Claddagh ring uploaded by Chupi indicate they were done as early as April 26. In other words, it means the Claddagh was likely commissioned between Australia and Italy. In fact, if we are to believe Chupi when it said it took four weeks to make the ring, then it had to have been commissioned by May 9, 2024, at the latest. Oh, lookie there, that’s Day 1 of the Italy interviews.

But, before we get to May 9, let’s pause on April 29. That was the day Luke’s InStyle spread was published – yes, the one I mentioned earlier. Luke has pictures from this photoshoot still on his Instagram grid – in fact, Nicola commented, “Yess dude!!” on them – but those aren’t the pictures I want to talk about. No, I want to talk about the pictures InStyle posted on its Instagram grid that day. These photographs came directly from Luke, which was confirmed by the InStyle article when it said, “…the actor delighted the InStyle team by delivering the polaroid photos he’d taken for this story tucked oh-so-carefully in a little brown bag for safekeeping.” The pictures Luke provided, among others, included one where he was laying on a blanket in front of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles; one where he was sitting at a table marked with the number “95;” and one where he is sitting in a lounge chair on a rooftop. If you want to see the pictures, InStyle still has them available – you just need to go through hundreds of posts to find them. Luke did not like this InStyle post, which was kind of odd because he was tagged in it, and they were reportedly his pictures.

Why did these InStyle polaroids seem so familiar?

Oh, that’s right, because they were.

Remember that April 7 post of Antonia’s I mentioned a bit ago? Yeah, the one where Antonia posted a bunch of random pictures from Los Angeles and – only after InStyle posted Luke’s polaroids – fans realized Antonia had preemptively posted her version of some of Luke’s polaroids.

I am not going to speculate too much about these pictures or their implications in this blog post, but these pictures may resurface in future posts because I find myself side-eyeing the fact they even exist. And, we should probably accept that Luke was aware of them before his pictures came out on April 29 because he threw a like on Antonia’s April 7 post. Could it have been a “blind” like? Sure, I guess, but the logical side of my brain says he probably looked through them at the time she posted. Let’s not worry too much about it right now, though.

After trying to write out my “general” opinion about the pictures several times, I finally decided that the best way I could articulate my thoughts was through the conversation I had with my father. Yes, Dear Dad returns again for another insightful Q&A.

I started by showing Luke and Antonia’s three “matchy” pictures to my dad and then asked him to compare them. To be clear, the pictures were their respective Griffith Observatory, Table 95, and Rooftop Lounging pictures.

Me: “So what do you think?”

Dad: “About what?”

Me: “Ugh! Why did Antonia take those pictures?”

Dad: “Well, to show she’s part of the ‘in’ crowd. The only reason I can see them being taken is if she was going to put them on the Internet.”

Me: “Uhh, as a matter of fact, she did put them on the Internet! Approximately three weeks before Luke’s were published.”

Dad: “See! I’m not as dumb as you think.”

Me: “Whatever. So, you really believe that? She took them to show people that she was, like, there?”

Dad: “Yeah. Why else would she take them? They’re not the kind of photos you’d take normally. What’s she going to do, put them in an album and show her friends in five years and say, ‘Look, I sat in Luke’s chair?’ Who does that? Nobody. Plus, Luke’s pictures look like they were taken with a polaroid camera and Antonia took hers with, I guess, a phone. Why use two different cameras? Again, it doesn’t make sense. Seems to me like she knew what pictures he was taking, and she was trying to copy them so she could put them on the Internet.”

Thanks, Dad.

You do not have to accept my father’s thoughts on the photographs. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I think we can meet in the middle and opine that, at a minimum, Antonia’s pictures caused the weak Lukolas to jump overboard; at most, they gave some people stalker vibes; and somewhere in between, they introduced Antonia's negative influence over the fandom and what some may consider trolling behavior (even if it wasn’t recognized then).

Now, before we land in Italy on May 9, let’s summarize what has happened during the preceding two months.

First, we had Luke traveling to Los Angeles in March with Antonia, either alone or as part of a friend group. Luke had pictures of himself taken while there.

Second, we had Antonia posting pictures in early April that would be linked directly to Luke’s pictures by the end of the month.

Third, throughout the month of April, we had Luke and Nicola traveling together for the World Tour. We have all seen these interviews, and we have all formed independent opinions about them.

Fourth, based on Chupi’s own words, we know the Claddagh ring must have been commissioned no later than May 9.

Okay, now we’ve reached May 9, Day 1 of the Italy press junket.

Besides the press interviews, what happened on that day?

Well, Antonia reposted Luke singing Coldplay’s “Yellow” to her TikTok account.

Uhh… Huh. Interesting.

I mean, it’s possible that this was just a coincidence and she just liked Luke’s version of it. Or, it’s possible Antonia knew that “Yellow” was the Polin wedding song and she anticipated trolling Nicola and/or the fandom with it. But, if we believe she knew “Yellow” was the Polin wedding song, that means either Luke told her, or someone with that knowledge told her (i.e., someone from Luke’s team or family/friend group). We also know that Luke mentioned this song in the May 16, 2022 Netflix Tudum article when Nicola and he were asked about their song choices for Season 3. Luke stated his frontrunner was “Yellow” by Coldplay “because of Penelope’s dresses.” Regardless of why Antonia posted the song, I find it hard to imagine Netflix, Bridgerton, Shondaland, Nicola, or Luke were too impressed by Antonia resharing it on TikTok. I mean, at this point, Netflix & Co. would surely have been aware that Antonia’s “copycat post” went over with the fandom like a wet blanket in December in Canada. I imagine some questions were being asked and Luke may very well have received a hand slap from Corporate – and maybe even from Nicola.

But, that’s not the only thing that happened on May 9.

Luke posted his Homme magazine spread to his Instagram grid on that day, too. He captioned the post, “Chatting through all things S3 with @hommeplusmag [o]ut next week x.” Nicola commented, “Yessss,” and Luke tagged his post with the location of Hackney, London. That last part – about Luke tagging the location in Hackney – apparently sent the fandom into a deep-dive of…Nicola’s backyard. Why? Because Nicola lives in Hackney (Nicola herself confirmed she lived in Hackney in a March 18, 2024 interview with Derry Now), and rumors started to circulate that Luke’s pictures were taken at her home.

Hmm, I didn’t realize May 9 was such a busy day, did you?

So, which came first – the chicken or the egg? Did Antonia repost “Yellow” to her TikTok before Luke posted his Homme in Hackney images to Instagram, or vice versa? I’m sure someone out there has this information. The answer might help shine some light as to why Luke and Nicola seemed “off” in the early part of their Day 1 Italy interviews. But, then again, does the order really matter? Regardless of who posted first, it would seem to me that “Yellow” was a very possible culprit for the different energy on set that day.

That, or Luke really was peeved over someone spilling his coffee.

[readingiskeepingmegoing]

I have thoughts on the relationship of Acacius and Lucilla. 

I have thoughts on the relationship of Acacius and Lucilla. 

!!Spoiler Warning!!

If you haven't seen the movie yet, maybe swerve this one until you have.

I am in no way a writer, and this is essentially just a word jumble that fell out of my brain. Please be gentle with me.  

Massive thanks to @schnarfer and @jessthebaker for listening to me yell and sharing your thoughts with me. Your insights were invaluable.    We see Acacius and Lucilla deeply in love in the movie. But I think they came to this over time.     

In the flashback scene of Lucilla taking Lucius from the arena after Maximus and Commodus have died, it appears to be Acacius who is helping him onto the horse. So from this we can infer that the pair have known each other for a long time, and that Acacius is loyal to Lucilla, just as he was loyal to Maximus. It makes me wonder if Maximus had maybe sent word to him to protect Lucilla and Lucius. A role that Acacius take seriously and sees through to the end. 

  Lucilla is held in high regard by the Roman people and even called Queen, and that gives her power, but it also makes her dangerous to the incumbent Emperor/s, and keeps her in constant personal danger.    Acacius was trained by Maximus. He clearly remains loyal to him even after his death. The Emperor after Commodus would no doubt have been suspicious of him and anyone who had served closely with Maximus. If one General could defeat an Emperor, then why not another?     I see the Emperor initially using Acacius as Lucilla's jailer. "Keep her in line or we will know you are not loyal" sort of thing. While also making sure that Lucilla knew that she was being watched. Not even safe to confide in her maids.    There will no doubt have been a bit of resentment there, especially from Lucilla, who doesn't know what lengths Acacius is going to, to keep them both alive and as free as possible.    Acacius falls in love with Lucilla before she falls in love with him. He may have known about Lucilla and Maxmus's relationship. And it is easy to see why he would have been attracted to her. The Emperor/s probably would have noticed a change in how he is with her, how he looked at her and so the manipulation would have changed. "Do what we say or we will send your wife to you on the battlefield, wouldn't it be terrible if something happened to her on the journey to you?" 

During time away from war, Acacius and Lucilla may have found their relationship to be strained in the beginning. He will have been so much lower in rank that her, the only thing they would have really have had in common at the start would have been their love of Maximus. Over time cordiality will have grown between them, deepening to a mutual respect.    Acacius comes home from battle grievously wounded, and that is when Lucilla realises that she loves him. The Emperor/s send nurses to care for him, and she sends them all away and tends him herself, pouring all of her newly discovered love into healing him, calling on her childhood nurse who is skilled in the arts of wise women. And during this time they get to truly know each other and their passionate love grows in earnest.    

I also feel as though Lucilla will not have wanted more children. She will not have wanted to hand the Emperor/s more leverage over her, nor have wanted to see her children chewed up and spit out by what Rome becomes. So Acacius respects her choice and encourages her to get whatever contraceptive remedies are most effective from her nurse, so that he can be her husband in every way. 

  They clearly have no secrets, he knew that Maximus was Lucius's father. He did not hesitate to try to free Lucius at Lucilla's request. This, to me, makes his sacrifice in the arena more heartbreaking. He is trying to protect his beloved wife from losing her son again, and upholding his loyalty to the man who trained him.  

If you made it all the way to the end, thank you for bearing with the rantings and ramblings of a madwoman.

Tagging because you asked so sweetly: @ghotifishreads @jennaispunk @missredherring

@noisynightmarepoetry @schnarfer @jessthebaker

[theone]

Secret Santa 2024 (Swiftie Edition)

Hello, or should I say, ho-ho-ho! The time has come for another year's Secret Santa (swiftie edition)! Some of you may remember me from last year - I'll try not to get shadowbanned this time lmao.

The idea is for us swifties to send each other festive anonymous asks, get to know one another and have fun during the holiday season! Making gifts is optional but appreciated.

More info below, please sign up by filling out the google form no later than December 1st:

If you want to participate, please fill out this google form no later than December 1st. The age question is so that huge age gaps are avoided, especially when it comes to minors. This is a minor-friendly event!

Please make sure you have a Discord account on which we can send you a friend request/messages. You can also create one, it's easy! Me and Kat @falklore will be your lovely elves, doing Santa's work once again, but we do not want to get shadowbanned again. As the tumblr messaging system is unreliable when it comes to sending a large group of people similar messages, we will be using Discord. Your emails will not be saved when filling out the google form, and we will message you on discord only for your pairing/if there are any issues or questions for the duration of the Secret Santa event.

Our Discord usernames are ithinkheknowss and falkloree respectively.

We will then pair everyone and let you know who you will be messaging, hopefully by December 3rd, at which point you can start sending anonymous asks. You will also be assigned a different person as your secret santa.

Please have your anonymous asks open and check your discord for our message.

Identity reveal will be on December 25th, as mentioned making each other gifts is optional!

Please be consistent in your asks (if not every day, then every two or three days) and keep things polite and civil. Rudeness and bigotry will not be excused and you'll be removed from the exchange of asks. If you receive rude asks from your secret santa, please report them to me.

Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions, or if your secret santa has not messaged you at all / for longer than 3 days. Please make sure you'll have time to participate regularly before signing up, so that the person whose secret santa you end up being is not left hanging.

Signal boosts are much appreciated and happy holidays, love you all! 💚❤️🎁

(Header by the lovely @tolerateit 💚 )

[thrfted]

꩜ DATING MR. SILVAIR .ᐟ

Mix of other + our world headcanons (Italics is in the other world’s language!)

For the anon who requested! Vry glad you liked Mr. Crawling’s, thanks for the trust w Silvair :D Feel like I see him a lot.. nicer..? than most hcs I’ve seen and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for mebjfhdsfhjd

(seen in ending 3) Mr. Silvair loves studying and learning about you, but he still feels bad if you seem upset or get hurt. If or when he doesn’t understand why you’re upset, he’ll ask what he did and apologize. He values learning about these differences in emotions, communication, perspective, etc.

He isn’t naturally physically affectionate, but he doesn’t refuse your requests or affection! He at least pats your head or back, not letting go until you do (unless he’s got things to do). Initially confused, he admits it feels nice when you hug him and that he’s started looking forward to (or at least expecting) it.

^ You can ask him for a forehead kiss or two, even if he doesn’t get why. He understands that it makes you happy and it isn’t like it’s doing him any harm anyway!  You’ll probably have to show him what a kiss is though. Will he find it amusing if you become flustered kissing him first? Say “Cute”? Probably.

You and Mr. Chopped become close friends too, sometimes (playfully) gossiping to each other about Mr. Silvair while he’s off doing experiments. There’s a few times Mr. Silvair seems to get jealous by the amount of time you guys spend together, especially if he catches you laughing at Mr. Chopped’s antics. He takes initiative and tries to have one-on-one time with you after that.

Maybe he does tie his hair back and we don’t know it, but I think he’d appreciate the idea if you brought it up! Sometimes it’s a half-up look, a simple ponytail, or you braid it back if you want. As long as it’s out of his face and not difficult to take out, he doesn’t mind.

If you enjoy/are comfortable with it, he might ask for your help with experiments, or… you? Your blood sometimes, at least. But he respects you if you’d rather stay away, even if he’s disappointed for a while.

Both of you spend quite a bit of time walking and talking while trying to find a new room when need be. You start to teach him your language, and he uses a few words and phrases when possible.

Mr. Silvair is more focused on experiments rather than interior decoration. But whether you ask to decorate his place in the other world or show him your home in ours, he grows a fondness for your taste. He even brings home things that remind him of you to see if you'll enjoy them.

^ In the same branch, if you bring something you think he’ll like, he takes good care of it, making sure its always somewhere safe!

Of course, he can’t really do the same studies in our world, or at least get his subjects in the same way. Be warned that he may or may not want to go out and find test subjects… somewhere…?

But on the bright side, it’s literally a whole new world! With so much available to him, at least he has other ways to learn than capturing and cutting things or people up.

Mr. Silvair as a good cook / kitchen helper? Really good at cutting up food, even if he doesn’t want to eat it.

In general he’s pretty good around the house! He remembers chores and keeps his space tidy for both your sakes, helping out wherever he can.

His hair is already pretty, but imagine how nice it’d look and feel after a shower! You keep running your fingers through his hair and he tilts his head. “You like? Pretty?” You nod and ask “Me pretty?” and Mr. Silvair smiles. “Pretty.” (Subconsciously, he starts paying closer attention to your hair or appearance, and how you take care of yourself.)

^ He isn’t particular about scents (other than preferring subtler ones) and will likely use whatever you use unless asked otherwise. Don’t expect him to pick up a hair or skincare routine though.

The first few days especially, Mr. Silvair is so focused on seeing and learning as much as possible, that he’ll likely be up late. He doesn’t really get the whole day and night thing, so you have to tell him that rest is good, and that you’re worried for him. “You worried?” “Yes. We rest.” “...Okay.”

His understanding of love is still different from yours, but (I think) he does care about you, and loves you in his own way! He makes sure you’re safe, helps you when you’re injured, and enjoys spending time with you. I’m not sure if he’d say “I love you” (since he doesn’t comprehend what that really means) but he’d at least reassure you that he likes you and finds you interesting :3

^ Though I’ll say if you’re a romance genre fan in our world, he picks up on the usage of “I love you” in media and if it matches his emotions, he might try it out and see how you react

[viljily]

why I think meljay has more potential than jayvik (I view them as platonic friends) and my thoughts on season 2

Mel is a strong and developed character, and so is Jayace. They look very good together, people love them and listen to their opinions. While Victor is more closed off and oftenly irritated unlike Jayce.

Jayce shows Mel a love that requires nothing in return and a genuineness that keeps her interested and makes her think about giving herself a chance at love.

Jayce respects Mel, and in turn Mel respects Jayce they have an equal relationship.

Mel is one of the few people Jace looks to for care and support in times of crisis. While Victor and Jayce often share misunderstandings.

Jayce didn't stay with Victor out of great love, but simply out of guilt. I'm sure that if he had been a little selfish, he would have let himself stay with the love of his life.

Jayce and Victor shared a dream, while Mel and Jayce shared a sincere romantic love.

I am very disappointed with the second season, especially the last three episodes, because I thought we would see further development of the Meljay as a couple, I would have liked to see their relationship getting stronger and stronger.

I really expected Jayce to defeat Victor and come back alive to his family, Cait and Mel.

Also I'm really angry at Jayce's behavior towards Mel when he found out she was a mage.

Instead of hugging his girlfriend after being where the fuck she was, asking what happened to her, he blamed her for saving only him and not everyone (especially Victor 🤡).

Mel loves him dearly and saved his ass for the second time and this is how grateful he is?

Okay, he apologized afterwards, but after they didn't even interact in any normal way. Jace just left her alone, and I understand that the war was hard on Jayce, but that didn't stop him from thinking about Victor.

I think the Meljay relationship was thrown under the bus

Jayce, who I loved as a character, would never do that to the girl he loves.

Jayvik is just fanservice for little girls who like to dream about gay relationships. Meljay is a canon couple who were perfect for each other. Well as always we see that true love in the media is constantly being sacrificed for more views and fans.

That's all I have to say.

[lightlycareless]

I was reading your scorned ex husband stories and they made me so sad(especially the second one) then I started thinking about the twin au and like what if the twins parent trap them in a different divorced au? Lol. Naoya is still a dick obviously for splitting up twins(seriously who would do that??) but maybe not completely irredeemable for Y/N to forgive him 🥺 Hehe this is just something silly I thought up and wanted to share

Hellooooooo

Heheh this got me watching the movie again, right in the nostalgia. It had been so long since I last saw it that I actually didn't remember most of it, but I do think however: how the hell did they think that was a good idea 🤣 gee, talk about parent of the year.

Anyways, some liberties were taken to make the story work, though the premise is essentially the same.

Also, these are the works anon is referring to :) Ex-husband 1 & Ex-husband 2. Now onto the warnings:

Warnings: none major. Naoya is an a_hole, as always. Naomi and Naori are adorable, but poor kids seriously :'(.

Happy reading!!

If Naoya does this, you effectively hate him from that point forward.

It is non-negotiable, you never want to see him ever again, especially after the cruel words he used to justify the separation of his children:

“I only ever cared about Naori anyways.”

You made it your life-long purpose to keep Naomi from someone as despicable as her father—though it hurt you to do so, for it also meant you’d be away from your beloved son; just 2 years into his life… you barely got to make any memories with him before he was stripped away from your arms.

But such was the divorce agreement: the two would keep one child, and out of their lives.

Naoya remains in Kyoto with his son at the Zen’in estate, while you move back to Tokyo, close to your family but distant enough to have your own apartment. Just the two of you, the little home you always wanted.

In an unexpected turn of events, Naomi and Naori would go on completely unaware of each other until enrolling in the same elementary school.

It was almost undetectable at the beginning since Naomi now had your last name—but once teachers and students alike began to realize their physical similarities, it became impossible to ignore.

“No… we don’t look alike.” Naori would quietly complain. Out of the two, he was the least enthusiastic about this advancement, doing his best to avoid the limelight due to his reserved nature.

However, that wouldn’t mean anything to Naomi: ever the bubble one, she was nothing but to have a new best friend that looked just like her!

“We’re almost like twins!” she gasped—same hair color, eyes, height… how could they not? “I’ve always wanted a baby brother too.”

“Well, I don’t! And I could be older too, you know? Besides, why would I want a sister that’s weak and ugly…?”

Intended to hurt her, Naomi only laughed at his words, for it would take much more than that to bring her down—one could even say that the two were reflections of their respective parents in that matter: the only contrast between the two, as a matter of fact.

“That’s not true!” she happily refuted, taking hold of his hand and heading to the playground. “Now, come on! I want to go on the swings, and I need someone to push me!”

Though Naori was greatly unwilling at first, he’d soon warm up to her, mainly because she was part of the few, if not the only, kid that didn’t bother him because of his shyness; always rushing to the rescue whenever bullies began to swarm him, as well as reassure him there was nothing wrong with being the way he was.

And if that wasn’t enough, the food Naomi began to share with him (courtesy of you, after much insistence from her part) effectively validated their friendship.

“When will you ever bring him over?” you tease, it’s the happiest you’d ever seen your daughter! And for that, you couldn’t help but feel glad and obligated to repay the favor.

“I don’t know, mama. Nori-kun tells me his papa can be quite strict.”

You chuckle.

“Well, I’m sure I can convince him next time the parents have a meeting at school.”

“His papa doesn’t go to school.” Naomi frowns, her words making you sad for the poor child. “Says he’s too busy.”

“Oh, that’s awful. Well, what about the mama?”

“He doesn’t have one.”

Your heart longs to comfort him.

If they only knew…

And as time went on and their friendship flourished even more, so did their interests for one another; beyond those of their favorite colors and toys, and more into… personal grounds.

Matters that had always quietly hurt Naori one way or the other since he could remember; more so since you had been nothing but sweet and kind to a figuratively unknown kid, which highlighted the fact he never had that one thing he always wished for.

What he might never have, since his father has long given up on it, considering the way he coldly changes the subject, or completely ignores it. Naori simply… doesn’t talk about it.

Until now.

“Why don’t you have a dad?” He dares to ask; it’s no secret that the one to pick him up at school is one of his father’s many subordinates, always changing, not enough to be interesting to the other parents outside of how rich (or a jerk) he must be to have employees pick up his child.

Compared to you, always spoken of fondly for the following reasons:

If it was Valentine’s Day, you’d send Naomi with a big box of candies so she could share with all the class.

Halloween was the same, even hosting small gatherings if the children wished to celebrate in a safe environment.

If it was a classmate’s birthday, you always made sure to send them a personal gift or attend their birthday party. Your gifts might’ve put some parents to shame from time to time, but it didn’t matter, you kind of grew to be some kind of celebrity thus a few always tried to be on your good side—or Naomi’s, so to speak.

Naomi’s birthday… well, some fought to be on the guest list.

In other words,you were an amazing for both kids and parents alike, enough to inspire Naori to daydream about what it would be to have a loving mother like you—to always be at the door once it was time to leave, patiently waiting for the moment your daughter would come into view and subsequently pick her up into a tight, warm hug, followed by a kiss and wide smile as you urged Naomi to tell you all about her day.

Or more importantly, wonder if you were open to adopting him.

“Oh… that—I… don’t know!” Naomi responds truthfully. “Mama never talks about him.”

“Have you asked her?”

“Once or twice, but all she says is that I should focus on my studies!

…

But I can see how sad she gets whenever I mention him.” She continues. “Mama isn’t very good at hiding “adult talk” and neither is my auntie, so I always get to hear how lonely she is when they talk about him! … and how she should try dating other people, or whatever that means, so she wouldn’t feel like that anymore.”

“I think is when you marry someone.” Naori tries to explain, Naomi scowls out of disgust.

She doesn’t like the idea of sharing her mama with someone else, grows somewhat jealous too.

Well, maybe if it was Uncle Nanami, he’s always been nice to her and her mama. Not Geto because she plans on marrying him herself.

And she supposes her papa too… but how could someone you love make you sad?

“I don’t want her marrying anyone.” Naomi shakes her head. “She’s happy with me!”

“But don’t you wonder about your dad?” he asks. “What did he look like? How did he meet your mom?”

Or how they fell in love?

Naturally. Because just as Naori, and even after you tried your hardest to distract her from it… she too longed to have a father. Someone to play with her after finishing all her homework, put her over his shoulders and let her see the world from his height, or protect her from the monsters that lived inside the closet…

There must be an answer to both of their mysteries—people don’t simply disappear.

And such, is how they assigned themselves a new mission; a task of the upmost importance, requiring all their attention and care if they wish to uncover why they only have one parent—and who was such peculiar character.

Anything that could hint such solution is a chance they’d take, however…

To Naomi, this endeavor proved quite fruitless, for any indication of your past relationship was effectively ripped from the evidence. Quite literally: thousands and thousands of pictures cut in half, neatly removing the person that accompanied her mother—whom she assumed to be her father. And that’s without mentioning your consistent disapproval of the matter. Naomi was right where she began.

This lack of advancement both frustrated her and placed more pressure onto Naori’s efforts, which shockingly, turned to be quite more than what they bargained for. Getting results neither could’ve imagined, not even in their wildest dreams…

“Naomi-chan… I’m not sure if you’re ready to see this.” Naori would caution as he placed down a large wooden box before her, filled with his findings.

“Why? Why not, Naori-kun?” she frets, surely it couldn’t be anything too outrageous.

…Could it?

Yes, it could. And it was.

Because beyond the astonishing realization that all the pictures Naori brought were in virtually perfect shape…

The fact they both recognize the people in the photo, Naomi’s mother, wearing that same bright eyed, wide smile look on her face whenever particularly excited. Happy—alongside Naori’s father, with his usual dyed hair, ear piercings, and striking eyes…

Holding two newborn babies—named Naomi and Naori such as the inscription in the back stated, alongside their birth time and date (Naomi is older, at last is known) …

Is what truly shocked them.

…

…

…

You. Naoya.

Naomi and Naori.

Mama and papa.

A family, for all intents and purposes.

What everyone around them proclaimed: siblings.

Naomi and Naori were siblings. Twins.

“Does that mean we—”

Naori nods. If it hadn’t been obvious enough by now.

Nonetheless, as thrilling as this discovery was, for it essentially made their respective dreams come true… another question arose. One that undoubtedly could not proceed unanswered.

“Why aren’t our parents together?”

Or most importantly:

“How can we get them back together?”

“But what if they don’t want to?” Naori frets.

“I told you already! Mama looks very happy wit him, and auntie says she’s very lonely too… besides, if they get back together that means we’ll finally be a happy family! And isn’t that what you wanted?”

Naori presses his lips together, nodding.

“I want a happy family too. I’ve always wanted a papa to play with!” Naomi continues.

“And a mom to hug…” Naori adds. “What do we do?”

First…

Get them together, face to face. In other words, talk. It’s how adults always preached problems got solved.

Since you had given Naomi the impression you’re not interested in anything pertaining to Naori’s dad, she had to get creative. Force you into a position where you wouldn’t be able to ignore her as you’ve done before—and one where Naoya would inevitably have to go to school too.

It had to be a convincing excuse, and since the two were children in need of dire solutions, their innocent minds led them to the most extreme resolution yet.

“I need you to punch me.” Naomi says, determined.

“Why?!” he gasps.

“Because I need to get hurt for mama to come, and if you’re the one in trouble they’ll have to call your papa, and then, the two will be here, just as we planned!”

“Can’t we do something less dangerous…?” Naori doesn’t like the idea of getting in trouble with his strict dad, as if he weren’t insufferable enough…

“No, Naori. It must be this!”

“But I don’t want to punch you…”

“Come on, we have to do it to have a family!!” she insists. “Or do you not want mama to make you food every day? To hug you too??”

He swallows.

“I do.”

“Then do it!”

And… he does. After taking a deep breath, clenching his fist and hitting Naomi in what she could only describe the weakest punch she could’ve ever anticipated. Surely, not enough to make this case convincing.

“Naori! You have to hit harder than that!”

“I—I tried!” he cries.

“No, you didn’t!” she cries back. “You didn’t even try!”

“Ye—yes I did!” Naori frowns. “It’s not my fault I’m not as strong as you!”

“Yeah, right! You’re a boy, you’re supposed to hit harder!” Naomi adds, smirking soon after an idea crosses her mind. “… Then I guess you don’t really want a mama.”

“I do want a mom…”

“No, it’s fine. I should’ve known not to trust you with something so important anyways—” she says, words that brush each and every one of Naori’s insecurities. “You’re just as weak as everyone else says…”

With a frown on his face, and a sour tightness in his chest, little Naori quickly clenched his fist and prepared himself to prove her wrong once and for all. Show that he wanted this just as much as she did—if not more.

Naomi was trying her best to get a rise out of Naori, everything necessary to motivate a genuine hit out of him and get their plan in motion—she never meant any of those words, intended to apologize after all was said and done, though she doubted it would matter once they got what they sought after.

But it was almost comical how it happened, how he miscalculated his steps, how far his hand had to travel to hit Naomi, and how he ended up doing far more than necessary: but convincingly so, in the end. Tripping over her and sending the two tumbling down, loudly hitting the ground in such a motion that had them scraping their skin, and of course, tears following suit.

“Maaaaaaa, I want my mamaaaaa.” Naomi intuitively cried, tightly holding onto the teacher as the two were sent to the infirmary.

Naori didn’t cry much for his father, he rarely did considering his prominent absence, but just one look at his teary face and trembling lip, and it was obvious whom he sought for comfort—the same one the school somehow convinced to come along and deal with this unfortunate incident.

As well as the supposed altercation that made way for all this to happen in the first place.

“No, what do you mean a fight??” You’re the first to arrive, demanding a believable explanation from the teacher. “That’s not—that doesn’t sound like my daughter!”

“I know, I thought the same… but that’s what the kids are saying.” She explains. “That Naomi-chan was inciting Naori-kun to punch her, and that she was even saying awful things to get him to do that. I don’t know what they were doing, if they were playing a game or… I don’t know; all of it is so weird—I’m sorry.”

You sigh.

“It’s fine. There’s no need to stress when it’s already happened.” You explain. “Is the parent of the child here already?”

“Should be soon, but I don’t know if he’s actually coming, Naori’s dad isn’t quite… present.”

You frown at the name.

“Naori? Wasn’t he Naomi’s best friend?”

She nods.

“It just makes everything even more unbelievable… really, what’s gotten to them?”

You hope to figure such when speaking to the poor child your daughter allegedly antagonized, after apologizing for such behavior of course. Which you’d have to deal with after returning home—Naomi… seriously, what could’ve possibly gone through her mind to incite such act? Was she being bullied? Did Naori suddenly decide he no longer wanted to be friends with her?

And why did his name appear to be so… familiar?

You’d figure it out soon enough when entering the infirmary, quickly scanning across the room for your daughter—only to freeze upon locking into Naoya’s; a much smaller, softer version of them, that is.

“Mamaaaaa!!” Naomi quickly cries when seeing you walk past the door, rushing to your side and hugging you tightly, the adrenaline of the whole succession still vivid in her mind. “Mama, it—it hurts a lot!”

Comforting her ought to be your utmost priority, but at the sight of your estranged child, the baby you were forcibly stripped away from… you couldn’t think of anything else but pinching yourself to see if this was a dream—if he was truly there, before you: flesh and bone. After so many years of distance…!

And naturally, hug him. Keep him so, so close to you and never let go; to make up for all the time you’ve spent apart and the things you never got to do because of his undeserving, cruel father…

Who stomped past the door soon after, equally freezing when seeing his estranged child, and ex-wife after 5 years of imposed silence. Startled, as if he hadn’t been the deciding factor behind it all.

Or perhaps, the reason why Naori enrolled in this school in the first place.

“Y/N.”

“Naoya.”

Looks like there’s much to catch up to.

Obviously, part 2 is needed. Essentially where Naoya will disclose more of what the hell was going on in his mind when pulling that stunt, as well as some angst. I have to. hahaha

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little thing I wrote; I do love it when we indulge into domestic au... but not at the expense of the kids 😭😭😭 think of the children!!! lol.

Well, 0nce again, thank you so much for sending in this ask!! Now take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[posting-for-the-void]

So a lot of twins claim to have a sort of twintuition thing where they understand each other easily and often without words, and sometimes have high-level empathetic reactions to things that are happening to the other twin, even if they don’t know what’s happening to the other twin because they are in different locations at the time. There’s obviously not a lot of scientific evidence to back it up, but, eh. It’s a cool concept.

But what if, for the Skywalker twins, the force just ramped that up to 100.

Fic-ish thing below the cut.

Five-year-old Luke is learning the Tatooine slave language. After all, Aunt Beru used to be Beru Whitesun, before she married Uncle Owen, and his mom was Grandma Shmi, who used to be a Skywalker before she married Uncle Owen’s dad. Beru helps the recently-escaped hide in the secret compartment in the wall of their house more often than Owen does, but he claims it’s for plausible deniability, whatever that means. Leia, on Alderaan, begins mixing the harsh, clicking language with Basic subconsciously, but only when talking to herself in private. After all, she is a princess, and they must choose their words carefully in front of others.

Leia at age ten argues with her cousin about whether droids deserve respect, and across the galaxy, Luke is absolutely overcome with the need to thank every single droid he’s ever met for helping him with anything (he did this anyways before but for some reason he has to do it again Right Now).

Luke gets to drive a speeder by himself for the first time at 13 and Leia is practically begging for someone to take her out in a hovercar and go as fast as possible. And if that can’t happen she’s going to get the space equivalent of a Formula One racing sim, goddamnit.

Seventeen-year-old Junior Senator Leia’s heart skips a beat every time someone mentions Tatooine. She isn’t sure why. Obi-Wan lives there, yes, but something in her just knows that isn’t the real reason. Luke, meanwhile, yearns to see the galaxy, and often finds himself outside at night, staring at the sky. His eyes, for as long as he can remember, have always felt drawn towards a specific star. He asked Uncle Owen about it once when he was younger, and he gruffly explained that it was the Alderaan system. He feels like there’s something there, waiting for him. He’s not sure why.

And then they meet in person, and it’s “You’re a little short for a Stormtroope—Luke?”

“Leia?”

“Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so. Can I hug you?”

“Of course, you idiot. You’re my twin brother. You don’t even have to ask.”

“Thanks, Leia. You know, I had the weirdest dreams when I was ten about you and Old Ben.”

“Oh, yeah, that was actually real. I got kidnapped.”

“Cool.”

“Is it true you got nicknamed ‘Wormie’ by your friends?”

“…Yeah.”

And Han is so confused, but it’s fine, and within two hours their conversations are more like, “Hey, Leia, could you pass me the—“

“Yeah, do want the green one or the—“

“No, the blue one, probably. I need it to—“

“Oh, yeah, of course, that makes sense.”

And then Yoda tries to do the whole “Attached, you are,” routine, and Luke is like, “Well, duh. I’m only here so I can teach Leia everything I learn as soon as I get back. I’m just a pilot, which is a lot more replaceable than a princess, so we thought it would be best if I come learn from you instead of her.”

And meanwhile Leia is a lot stronger in the force now, and she meets Vader again and just goes, “Darth Dad, what the actual fuck,” under her breath in the Tatooine slave language, and the hint of Anakin that’s left absolutely freezes. Because Palpatine—Sideous—whatever, he said his kid was dead. He said that Padme died and the kid did too. He lied. And, when he meets Luke later, and he says the same Sithspitting thing, Anakin gets so thrown he accidentally cuts the kid’s hand off. Luke falls, and the shock of it in the force is so strong, and Anakin’s eyes flash blue in grief and love and hope, all at once, and all of the sudden he can think clearly for the first time in years. And his kids’—his kids!—bond in the force is so strong, how did he not notice it before?

And, anyways, I just feel like Skywalker Twintuition would be on a completely other and incomprehensible level.

[alicewrotethis]

𐙚ᣟ݂﹒𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞﹒

ㅤ۫ㅤ ˚ ۪˖𓏲﹒synopsis!! atsumu needed a new roommate, only he didn't know what he was getting himself into. ㅤ ˖ㅤㅤ۫ㅤ ˚౨ cw!! timeskip! a. miya x artist! oblivious! reader, sfw ﹒ ◠ note!!  and they were roommates... atsumu is so hard to write for omg, pt2 soon !! not proofread ౨ wc!! 3k  ˚ ۪˖𓏲 mood!! series playlist

"Tsumu, you need to find a new roommate. My girlfriend and I are getting serious," Atsumu's now ex-roommate explained to him. Atsumu could understand, though not really. He had never gotten too far in the relationship stages. His focus was usually on volleyball, and he couldn’t imagine himself in a serious relationship, so he never really tried.

So here he sat in his living room, on the couch, interviewing the fifth person that day for the new roommate position he’d put out on Craigslist. He was starting to regret the decision, especially since half of the people he met were... well, to put it nicely, extremely shady in his eyes.

Maybe Craigslist wasn’t the best place to post a roommate ad.

His rules were simple: don’t make a mess, be respectful of each other’s belongings, label your food items, and do not be a girl. Most of the rules seemed fair given that it was a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment.

But then there you were, sitting across from him, looking nervous as he stared you down.

"Ya' read the rules, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

It’s not that Atsumu hated women or anything—he loved them, for the most part. He just wasn’t sure he could share the same space with someone of the opposite gender. It was something he’d never done before, and given the way his exes acted, he assumed every girl would be uptight and all up in his business all the time.

"I, uh, yes?" You tried to put on a fake smile, but the truth was, you hadn’t read the rules. You’d just applied to whatever roommate ad you first saw. You’d been kicked out by your last roommate, who refused to tell you the reasons, but you had a pretty good guess why.

You had a bad habit of leaving things out randomly, calling it your organized clutter. But everyone else called it a pigsty.

"Then what was the first rule?" He questioned.

You said the first thing that came to your mind, "Don’t talk about fight club?" Your cheeks were a deep red color.

Atsumu felt a smirk fall onto his face "Ya sure yer applyin' for a roommate and not an underground fightin' ring?" He said, amused.

"It was the first thing that came to my mind!" You shouted, embarrassed about your accidental answer. "No, I didn't read your freak rules," You muttered, crossing your arms and staring at the wooden floor.

Atsumu chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Well, if yer gonna live here, you might wanna start readin' them," he teased, leaning back into the couch.

You directed your attention to him once again, "Wait, I can live here?" You asked, a hopeful expression on your face.

Atsumu’s grin softened as he noticed the hope in your eyes. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "Yeah, ya can," he said, his voice a little more serious now. "But, ya gotta understand, this place ain't some hotel. It's full of my rules,"

Atsumu knew he needed someone to fill the position of his roommate, and truthfully he was tired of interviewing people and having to awkwardly reject them, and you seemed nice enough, plus, he could just kick you out if you weren't nice to live with.

"I'm sure I can make whatever your rules are work!" You beamed, your excitement palpable.

You were overjoyed, and grateful to have found an apartment so quickly, especially with the truck you rented due to be back in six hours.

"First off," he started, but you cut him off by raising your hand. "What?"

"Can we, uh, bring my stuff up? The truck, uh... it needs to be back in six hours..." you said, your voice wavering, as if you were almost afraid he might tell you to unload it yourself.

Atsumu’s expression softened just a little as he processed your request. The nerves were so evident in your voice, and he couldn’t help but wonder if you were just a bit too anxious for such a simple question. But the truth was, he’d been nervous more times than he could count in his life. It was the only thing that kept him from being irritated by your timid tone.

"Sure," he said, his voice dropping to something a bit gentler. "I can help ya bring it up, no problem."

You blinked, taken aback for a moment. You expected some resistance— after all, most people would be irritated by the thought of helping move someone’s stuff after a first meeting. Maybe your original thoughts on Atsumu were wrong, when you first saw him you had assumed he would be rude but so far he seemed to be fairly nice.

"Lead the way," He spoke, standing up, once again reminding you just how tall he really is.

You both stood in front of the truck, it was a fairly small size, really only used for moving a bedroom.

"The boxes might be heavy, I dont pack well," You warned, sliding the door up and revealing your stacks of boxes as well as your bed set, but something caught Atsumu's eye, you had something flat and long covered on bubble wrap.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing his finger.

"Oh! My canvases, I, uh, do art, or well, make it, I guess," You explained, stumbling over your words nervously. "Well, not I guess, I know it, it's my job,"

You hoped he didn't ask any further questions since you weren't one to really talk about your art, most of your pieces never met your standards so therefore never met the light of day despite what everyone else says about them. You always tended to be your own biggest critique.

"Maybe you could paint me like one of your French girls," He teased, a wide grin on his face.

Your face went a deep shade, did he actually want you to paint him like a French girl? It wasn't uncommon for someone to ask you to paint them something but to paint someone was a whole different deal, though, you did find him candidly pretty enough for it.

"Maybe," You said while picking up a box from the truck, the weight almost enough to make you drop it as you struggled to walk.

Atsumu just watched you with amusement, his brow raising, you didn't actually think he was serious. Right? You had determination he'd give you that.

"Ya need help?" He asked wryly.

"Nope," You mustered out before taking another step and almost falling backward, "Okay, yeah," You admitted.

Atsumu quickly replaced your hands on the box, lifting it like it weighed absolutely nothing.

"Just say yes next time, yeah?" He said, making his way towards the entrance, making you mumbling excuses for not lifting it.

After Atsumu sat the last box down in your room he wiped the sweat off his forehead. You told him you'd be back in forty minutes. It took you ten minutes to get to the truck place, twenty minutes to wait for your friend to pick you up, and ten minutes back. It gave Atsumu a chance to spiffy the place up one last time. He didn't want you to think he lived messily, though it would be a different story when he was busy.

Before leaving your room, he caught a glimpse of the familiar bubble-wrapped canvases, curiosity piquing his interest. One look wouldn't hurt, right? And it's like you'd never know. Giving in to his curiosity he carefully unwrapped one from the back, it felt like Christmas all over again.

Lifting the painting up to get a good view his jaw dropped, it was a beautiful scenic view of a lake, the water and grass had been finished but the sky and what he presumed should've been mountains weren't. He wanted to see a finished one, so he declared that one didn't count and therefore he should be entitled to unwrapping another one.

Lifting the second one up he noticed the same thing, it was a moonlight beach piece- or so he thought; only the top part of the canvas hadn't been filled in. Once he rewrapped them he inspected all the canvases from outside the wrap, and despite how blurry it was, he could tell none of them were finished and a confused look strew onto his face, whats with you and not finishing things?

Hearing the doorbell ring he quickly placed everything back where he found it and rushed to the door, opening it slightly after peeking through the peephole and seeing your form.

"Password?" He asked with a grin.

You didn't quite pick up on his joking tone, "Wait what? You didn't tell me the password," You explained anxiously.

He laughed awkwardly when he realized the joke didn't land, you were gonna have to get used to his silly jokes if you were gonna become possible friends with him.

"Just come inside," He opened the door fully, watching as you slipped under the arm that was holding the door open.

"That reminds me," He paused, digging in his shorts pocket, pulling out a silver key, and handing it out to you, "Your key,"

You smiled and took it from his hand, "Why is your fingertip black?" You asked, taking his wrist and examining his hand.

Atsumu's eyes widened as he quickly tried to come up with an excuse, he couldn't just tell you he went snooping through your stuff. Atsumu was a liar, everybody who was even remotely close to him knew this, but to his luck, you had only just met him.

"It's not," He said with the most convincing smile he could put on.

He never said he was a good liar.

You looked up at him, his wrist still in your grasp as your eyes flickered between him and his finger, and your skeptical expression made it clear you didn't believe him.

"It's food dye," He spoke again, praying you'd release your weak grasp.

Narrowing your eyes you seemed content with his more believable answer, "Why didn't you just say that from the start?" You asked, letting go of his arm.

"Oh, ya know, the usual, anyway..." He trailed off, walking towards his bedroom to escape the awkward situation, "I'll be in my room, don't disturb me unless there's a fire,"

You watched his back as he fled and shut the door swiftly, you knew this new living arrangement would be anything other than a dull one.

But one thing didn't add up to you, what food would he willingly want to dye black? Oh well, you had more important matters to attend to, like unpacking your room, your least favorite part of moving.

With a sigh you looked around your room, it was neat, and you wondered how long it'd be till it wasn't. Mentally swatting those thoughts away you shook your head, you had to be clean this time in fear of getting kicked out, again, it's weird that it happened once it'd be even more weird if it happened twice.

The only thing left was to find a spot to put your unfinished paintings, was hanging up unfinished paintings weird to do? You weren't quite sure, but since you had nowhere else to store them you decided it was the only logical thing to do. Unwrapping the first one you noticed little smudges in the black. Once you hung it up you inspected your fingers, only that's when it hit you, Atsumu's fingers, he lied to your face!

Knocking on his bedroom door, you were furious— not because he snooped through your things, but because he lied to your face about doing so.

"Atsumu's not here, try again later," You heard him say from behind the door, feigning innocence.

You rolled your eyes, exasperated. "Why'd you lie to me?"

"As a loyal friend of Atsumu, I can confirm he's a man of integrity and would do no such thing," He shot back, in a mockingly serious tone.

Did he genuinely think you'd fall for this act? You were a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

"I'm not stupid, Atsumu," you said, crossing your arms as the door creaked open.

His face peeked out with a sheepish grin, clearly amused. "Never said ya were, just testin' yer observation skills,"

You glared up at him, refusing to be derailed. "So? Why lie?"

Atsumu leaned casually against the doorframe, shrugging with an air of nonchalance, "Force of habit? Thought it'd be funny?" His grin widened.

Atsumu didn't really have an explanation of why he lied to you, it just came naturally to him, he'd lie even when caught in the act. He'd be more surprised if he told the truth.

You could only muster out a scoff as you turned for your room, you were more annoyed than angry at this point, annoyed that he kept joking about everything– was there a serious bone in this guys body?

Atsumu felt the need to apologize, he knew he shouldn't lie, or well, he should've told a better lie, but he still hurt your feelings and it hadn't even been a whole day since you moved in.

With an exaggerated sigh he knocked on your door. After a few moments you opened it, a scowl evident on your face at the sight of him.

" 'msorry i stretched the truth about a few things," He said, watching as you crossed your arms.

"Stretched the truth?" You repeated annoyed at how he couldn't admit the cold hard truth even in his apologies.

"C'mon don't be like that, i'm sorry, i got carried away 'nd wanted to see yer painting's" He leaned on the door way.

you let a soft smile onto your face at his words, you were glad he apologized finally, and you were happy someone wanted to see your work, though, had he just asked you probably would've shown him. Eventually. Most likely.

"Yeah, well... next time, just don’t lie. It’s not that hard." You say, not wanting to let him off the hook that easily.

Atsumu grins, "No promises," He said amusingly.

You rolled your eyes and smiled at him, "So, what do you think of them?"

Atsumu knew he was going to like invoking reactions out of you, the way you expressed yourself so clearly was adorable to him, and how you didn't quite catch on to his sarcastic tone, taking everything so seriously. It was far too cute.

"Why aren't any of 'em finished?" He asked inquisitively, watching as you leaned on the doorframe opposite to him.

You pondered for a moment, coming up with an answer that actually made sense to anyone but you. You knew why they weren't finished, it was a problem you've always had, you just never had the right motivation to finish the pieces, they were beautiful yes, and they could've been so much more but you never had the right... muse?

Motivation?

Reason?

Of course, you had reason to finish the pieces people paid for, but your personal pieces were and will always remain unfinished.

"I've never had any reason to finish them, I guess," You said, your tone completely changing from the one you've been using toward him, you sounded more collected than you did before.

Atsumu felt your words somewhat, though he couldn't fully understand where you were coming from as he never indulged in hobbies other than volleyball, and with volleyball you can't just not finish the game.

"Well, if ya ever finish one, we're hangin' it up in the living room," He grinned at your flustered face.

"You were saying something about rules earlier?" You changed the subject.

"Ah," He paused, "Respect people's things 'nd label yer food,"

You looked at him with a bemused expression, "Haven't you already broken one of your rules?"

He stood with a wide smirk, "Never said I'd follow the rules, gotta get yer ears checked," He said teasingly.

"My ears are just fine, I swab them every night for your information," You shot back, defensively crossing your arms.

Atsumu chuckled softly at your form, the way you always took him so seriously, it stitched something into him, nothing bad, but he just wasn't sure what the feeling was to what it could lead to, sure your personalities clashed wildly, but that's what made it so exciting to him. You were something new.

"Thanks f'the image,"

"Let me see your ears," You said, arms still crossed.

Atsumu raised his brow in amusement, "Why would I-"

Atsumu got cut off by you grabbing his shirt and tugging him down,.

Atsumu blinked, his lips parting slightly in stunned silence. He wasn’t used to being manhandled like this— especially by someone as small, compared to him, and stubborn as you.

“Y’know,” He finally murmured, his voice low and teasing as a grin tugged at his lips, “If ya wanted t’hold my face, ya just had t’ask.” He said playfully, trying to mask the flush your hold on his face brought.

You ignored his words, squinting at his ear as if it held the answers to the universe.

“It looks clean,” you muttered, releasing his chin with a sharp pat.

Atsumu straightened, rubbing his jaw with exaggerated offense. “Glad I passed yer inspection, doc. Feel free t’give me a heads-up next time, yeah?”

Despite the confident facade he put on, your touch and close proximity sent a flutter through him.

"Well, I did ask beforehand," You placed your hand on his chest to move him backward and out of the doorframe, god, why were you so touchy? It did absolutely nothing to calm the flutter of feelings spinning in his chest.

As you turned on your heel and shut the door, Atsumu stood there, watching you, his hand absently brushing over his chin where your fingers had been moments before.

What exactly had he gotten himself into?

navigation !

© 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 ─ please don't copy, translate, or post any of my work without my permission !

[xxmisukii]

Oh boy…. being a Jayvik shipper is hard (especially on twitter)

I can understand if people see them as platonic, romantic,… but brothers? When I and my sister heard that ppl see them as brothers, we looked at each other with disgust (we’re not the only one). And everytime I see post on tik tok or twitter that is aimed for shippers, there is ALWAYS at least one comment that says “oh but they’re like brothers” (if u see them like that, then ok it’s your opinion idc, but if you proceed to argue about it NON STOP with the shippers, calling them stupid and delusional, then something’s wrong with you, if you can’t even respect someone’s opinion)

AND they always use these same arguments whenever they can:

Argument numero uno: “but Jayce said he’s like his brother”

like yeah we get it, he said it, but what was the last time he called him that ? In season 1.

He stopped calling him that after.

(And it happens in real life too, you can change how you see someone after some time)

Number 2 “but writters said they aren’t canon”

when did they said that? (I’m genuinely asking)

and so what? it’s not illegal to ship characters even when the creators says it’s not canon. go argue about it with some animators, music creators, voice actors,… because they ship it too (btw same thing happened with Luca)

Also did they forgot about concept of “shipping”?? it doesn’t matter if they end up together or not. Ppl shipped Elsa and Jack Frost, FFS

If Jayvik was heterosexual pair, no one would fvcking deny it, everyone would say that they’re romantic and more than friends (I know this argument is used a lot, but it’s the reality)

Argument number 3: “Men nowadays can’t be just friends”

Yeah sure, but girls and boys always have to be something more than friends, right?

(The homophobia is loud)

The reason why many ppl ship it, is because they have good chemistry, dynamic, lore, etc. and not because they’re both dudes

If the creators want them to be just a friends, then they should interpret in the show more

If you can’t live with the fact that ppl ship two male characters, then don’t interact, easy

(Anyway this is all, sorry about this long rant, but I’m tired hearing the same things EVERY.DAMN.TIME😀 these ppl make me feel like shi sometimes)

[suhnandmoon]

chapter twenty three: serious route

please read the chapter 23 nav before you read!!!

disclaimer: don't perceive this. i don't really like to make written chapters but i thought i'd pay tribute to my og queen (2021 starlight) and try to redeem her. i'd rather you read route 2

warnings: kidnapping, forced unconsciousness

you woke up in a daze. it was unlike the last time you woke up in a foreign setting– mark’s guest room at 3am was starting to sound a lot more pleasant than you remembered– but this time you were slumped over, seated on a tree stump in the middle of the forest. the sky was pitch black with only a small fire and a few flashlights illuminating the area.

across the bonfire, you saw three figures talking lowly. you were paralyzed, recognizing one of the people to be eric. 

mind racing, you tried to think of the best possible escape route but upon shifting slightly, the pressure on your ankles indicated that your feet were bound together with rope.

“how long is she out for?” one of the voices asked, causing you to freeze. feigning unconsciousness was probably the best way to keep attention off of you, though you weren’t sure if you could keep the act up due to your full body shaking in fear.

“how the hell would i know. i just found out last week that i could even make people fall asleep.” a slightly deeper voice replied.

“well, let’s just hope she doesn’t wake up. makes things easier for us in negotiation.” you recognized the last voice to be eric, though it wasn’t surprising to you that he brought you there.

“shit- i think she’s awake. i hear her heart rate getting faster.” the first vampire commented. your stomach dropped immediately.

“you can hear fucking heartbeats?” eric asked incredulously, earning a punch on the shoulder from the other vampire.

“we all can if you focus, idiot.”

as they began bickering, you prayed they somehow forgot about you. eyes still closed, you hadn’t realized you shut them tighter as the first boy approached you.

“yn?” he said softly, catching you off guard. there was no malice in his tone. it was a completely different attitude than what you were expecting, especially after the run-in with sunwoo.

you opened an eye slightly to see your captor. he looked to be about your age as well. though knowing he was a vampire, that didn’t do much to help you. his friendly smile and round glasses caused him to look more unassuming than you thought he would, but you kept your guard up.

he let out a genuine chuckle at your attempt to crack your eye open without making it obvious you were awake.

“i know you’re awake.” he took a step closer, instinctively causing you to lean back, though you noticed he kept a respectful distance, “i’m sorry about all this. i’m changmin.”

“i know this looks bad but i promise we’re not gonna hurt you, we just need to,,” changmin paused to chose his words carefully. “use you as leverage for lack of a better explanation.”

you battled with the instinct lingering in your mind to trust him, “why kidnap me again? sunwoo already tried and it didn’t work.”

“because sunwoo’s a dumbass who hasn’t practiced self restraint a single day in his life-” the boy previously bickering with eric yelled from behind changmin.

“juyeon, shut the hell up, would you?” changmin tossed his complaint over his shoulder before turning back to you, “we’re doing what sunwoo should have done. he shouldn’t have taken it as far as he did. but as of right, we believe this is the only way for us to negotiate.”

“you’re a vampire now so i would hope you understand where we’re coming from,” eric’s tone was not as friendly as changmin, yet still sincere, “this deal we have with them- it’s a restriction that doesn’t do us any favor. we’re just trying to get them to let up on how much blood we can take from humans each month. its ridiculous.”

“this animal shit- it’s so fucking stupid. we’re vampires. they can take their moral high ground, but they can’t deny what we actually need.” juyeon added on.

“isn’t the agreement in place mainly so we don’t get found out?” you wish your voice came out stronger than it actually sounded, the slight shake in your voice giving you away.

“so? who cares. anyone who finds us out won’t know for much longer.” eric shrugged casually, sending a chill down your spine. for a moment, hearing them converse and bicker gave them a sense of humanity though they were your captors, but eric’s indifference toward the weight of a human life reminded you just how different you truly were. 

“anyways. yn, your friends are going to be showing up soon,” changmin changed the subject and redirected his focus back on you, “we might make threats toward you, just know we’re not actually going to hurt you. we just need to scare them. no promises about not harming the guys though.”

“now why would you tell her that? she’s gonna tell them she’s okay.” eric retaliated. 

if the adrenaline in your system wasn’t so high, you would’ve found the nerve to actually be annoyed at their constant back and forth. but you didn’t have that much time to think about it before juyeon was muttering some insult at eric and walking over to you.

with one wave over your head, you were back out of it, slumping back down.

_______

it wasn’t long after your short moment of consciousness that the boys had found the location sent to them by juyeon. jeno was the only one to have stayed behind, keeping an eye out for chaeryoung as a precaution.

when they arrived to the scene, they were met with the looming figures of eric, changmin, and juyeon standing over the bonfire. eric held your slumped body close, making it clear that they had the advantage

seeing you like this for the second time caused renjun to step out, calling your name. mark had to reach out his arm to stop him from escalating anything too quickly, as eric made a show of tightening his hold upon renjun’s approach. this was sick.

they slowly approached them, closing the distance so they could talk.

“you brought us here to make compromises.” mark called out, keeping his tone neutral. “where’s your leader then?”

juyeon scoffed, glaring at the six. “this isn’t a compromise. we want this whole thing dropped.” he corrected.

“sangyeon’s the only one of you who can make that call.” the edge on mark’s voice was intimidating, but it didn’t phase the opposing team.

“i think you’re forgetting who we have here.” eric spoke up to defend his friend with a laugh, but it only caused donghyuck to scoff at the act.

“i think you’re forgetting you’re outnumbered, dumbass.” donghyuck mocked, causing eric to step forward in retaliation, briefly forgetting about his grasp on you. 

renjun and jisung quickly took that opportunity catch him off guard. with his grip on you loosened, renjun pulled you away while jisung distracted eric. this action erupted a fight out of the rest of the boys; mark, hyuck, and jaemin moving to keep juyeon and changmin away from you.

it was less of a fight, more of a tussle, when renjun extracted you from the scene. it luckily couldn’t escalate into anything serious when a deep shout could be heard several feet away from the area.

the sound of the voice immediately sent the three boys into a halt, as if they had just been commanded to freeze.

“what the hell do you think you’re doing?” the words grew distinguishable as the owner of the voice emerged from the trees. it was none other than lee sangyeon himself, as mark was smart enough to shoot him the location his own boys had sent them.

eric, juyeon, and changmin all looked at each other, expecting someone to speak up. their previously serious demeanor had a complete 180. they all looked like children caught red-handed.

“helping you?” juyeon was the first to break their silence, “sangyeon, you’ve been working yourself to death these last few months. the least we could do was resolve this issue for you.”

the firm look in sangyeon’s eyes almost dissipated at the sentiment, but he stood his ground with crossed arms.

“and how exactly would kidnapping their friend resolve any kinds of issues with them?” he almost laughed at the stupidity of it all.

“we were never gonna hurt her! we just needed to negotiate-” changmin defended their plan, earning a gasp from jaemin, “anyways, we wanted to alleviate your stress with the negotiation so taking care of it ourselves was our best option” 

their leader sighed. his lips parted, attempting to string together what he wanted to say before finally speaking up, “that's not why i’ve been busy.”

“its not? why do you get so touchy everytime its brought up?” eric pushed back.

“we’re moving. i’ve been trying to find a city without a large vampire presence so we don’t butt heads like this.” he referenced the silent group of boys just observing the dispute; unnecessarily pulled into this shit. “that’s why i’ve been stressed. no other reason.”

he turned to all of you. “i’m sorry about them. you can have my word this time that this will never happen again. i should’ve kept them in the loop.”

sangyeon nodded and guided the boys out of the forest, leaving the rest of you slightly baffled and annoyed in his wake, though you, of course, were still yet to wake up.

“well that was pointless.” chenle barked out a frustrated laugh, almost amused at how unnecessary that all was.

“and they never even apologized.” hyuck rolled his eyes, beginning their own trek out of the forest. “here in the middle of nowhere for nothing. fucking idiots.”

“at least yn’s safe.” mark tried to sympathize to avoid escalating their emotions, “let’s just get the hell out of here.

“don’t have to tell me twice,” hyuck called out, already a few feet ahead of everyone else.

[dredgesnails]

namemc and wild life spoilers under the cut

it's absolutely freaking me out that there is only one person out of everyone who we know survived the next session. like, everyone who changes their skin was on red life at the end of last session (bigb jimmy) or has switched to their red life skin in this session (pearl scott scar). everyone else has kept their default skin so theres really no telling how many of them have died (and how many times). the only one we KNOW is still alive is gem, on her yellow life so she's died once, and the way this series has been going so far that doesn't bode well for everyone else.

if you look at the time stamps on namemc (how accurate are they? i dont know for sure) scott and pearl both switched to their red life skins within a minute of each other which makes me think they were killed in a trap together, and gem and scar went yellow and red respectively before scott and pearl changed, which makes me extra think they were killed in a trap. one that gem and scar made. they got one successful trap kill against 5G (6G?) already...

also, terrified for tango right now. i said i was rooting for him but man... there's gotta be at least half the server looking to kill him. not to mention if mumbo and skizz return from the grave there's no way theyre NOT trying to get him. like i know i should be worried about the red lives more but if anyone's going out before any (current) red lives do its gonna be tango

[rakhalofthestars]

Trust Fall

Synopsis: Boothill loves eagles and wishes to mimic their courting ritual with you <3

Tags: Boothill x gn reader, Boothill's backstory mentioned, Pre-IPC boothill, Fluff, Humor, Light angst, Established relationship, courting rituals, Boothill is native american and latino a/n: This fic also has a bit more heavy usage of cowboy slang than all my other fics

Warnings: None !!

wc: 1 496

The people of Aeragan-Espharshel had many different beliefs, each one spread through word of mouth from parent to child. From the burning hot sun that gave life to the organisms on the planet to the tiny, hard-working ants. There were stories and legends behind each and every single thing, each having their own little tidbit of wisdom to learn from. Nothing was too small or too big for the people believed that we play our own part in the cycle of life, no matter our size or role. These beliefs reflected the tribe that inhabited the planet and the respect and love they held for the land.

Naturally, it’s no surprise that there would be stories and beliefs surrounding the eagle, which was seen as the mightiest of all birds. Its feathers symbolized that which is highest, bravest, strongest and holiest. Eagles were the symbol for a warrior.

It must be why you could find the bird all across Boothill’s person. The eagle feathers in his cowboy hat, which he had once fondly told you to have found one day with his siblings whilst running through the grassy fields. The small eagle on his left shoulder, attached to the burnt red sarape that he had managed to salvage from that fateful night. The small eagle insignia on his favorite 9mm gun, one that he had commissioned to be made from brass. The eagle on the back of his leather jacket which he had carefully painted using bleach, having even added a little cowboy hat to the bird to match him. You can easily remember how eager he had been to show you his more artistic skills, at least when it came to drawing eagles.

Boothill had always admired eagles. It was one of the few aspects of him that remained from who he was before the bombing. Before everything had quite literally turned into ashes.

Him and his fellow gunslinging friends of the past would often sit by a fire at night and yarn the hours away. Boothill would be lying on the soft grass, chewing on a piece of straw, his expression thoughtful for once as he’d stare up at the vast universe up above.

“Bee in yer bonnet, [REDACTED]?” One of them would always ask, having noticed the absence of his voice amongst the crude songs they’d have started singing by then.

“Jus’ thinkin’...”, would be his short reply, followed by one or two or the whole bunch prodding at him to spill the beans.

“Share yer wisdom, why dont’cha, O’ Great [REDACTED]”, they’d all tease and the young cowboy would laugh along good-naturedly.

“Was jus’ thinkin’ that I’d like to be one a’ them eagles up in the sky. Be as brave and courageous as them.”

“See, this is why I tell y’all to keep an eye on him. He’s an odd stick, ain’tcha [REDACTED]?”

But no matter how much his friends would tease him, Boothill’s admiration for eagles would never fade. He’d look to the great birds of the sky whenever he felt at sea. An age old habit that would stick until he fulfilled his role in the cycle of life. It’s what he did when the IPC had first arrived on his planet in their foreign and menacing spaceships, spouting off what he and countless others had thought to be taradiddles. It’s what he had done when trying his damndest to keep the corporation away from disrespecting the soil he had grown up on. It’s what Boothill does now when the weight of carrying out revenge gets too heavy for his shoulders, no matter whether they were flesh and bone or cold, hard metal.

Unsurprisingly, the man knew countless facts about these mighty birds. He had made sure to infodump about them when he took you bird-watching on planets that were similar to his home, thus housing the same or similar species of birds and the like. You were always curious and wishing to know more about your partner and his roots and who was he to deny you?

“See that one right there? That’s a bald eagle”, Boothill murmured softly one time against the shell of your ear once, pointing to the sky.

“How can you tell all the way from down here?” You asked, squinting into the binoculars that you were holding in your hands.

“Well, sugar, it’s because of that white noggin of theirs. No other eagle got that same appearance.”

“Did ya know that the eagle sound you hear in Penacony’s films ain’t actually the sound they make?”, Boothill would continue, ready to tell you the same little factoids and stories that his parents had told him.

You listened while watching the eagle. Well…you weren’t really focused on following the bird’s movements anymore. You were too focused on how the cowboy’s voice had softened its usual gruffness and laced with the aching feeling of nostalgia and homesickness.

During such moments, you usually rarely interrupted the man. It was clear as day to anyone with functioning eyes how much this meant for him.

However, your eyes caught a change in the eagle’s movements and you let out a surprised gasp when you see another bald eagle locking its talons with the one you had been following. To your horror, the birds had begun hurdling down towards the hard ground below, spinning in some form of cartwheel.

“Oh no! Are they fighting?”

Boothill looked questioningly at the sky, looking for what had caught your attention and chuckled fondly.

“Naw, don’t worry darlin’. That right there is what we call a death spiral. It’s like a courting ritual. Think of it as a type of trust fall.”

“What’s the point? Won’t they get hurt?”

*I just said it’s a trust fall, didn’t I?” An exasperated tone which quickly backtracked upon receiving a fierce glare from you.

“As I was sayin’... it’s a trust fall. That pair trusts each other to let go at the last second unless they wanna bite the dust….See?”

You had sighed with relief to see the bald eagles separating just before hitting the ground, quickly flying back up to the sky.

“Thank goodness… You still haven’t explained why they do it though?”

“It’s for courting each other. Eagles are one helluva adrenaline junkie. S’pose they want a partner who can give ‘em that rush.”

The two eagles interlocked their talons once more, spinning once more in the air as they fell. You watched in awe while Boothill watched you carefully, an idea taking root in his mind.

“Say…I reckon we should give it a shot too, sugar”, the man suggested and flashed you a toothy grin.

“Absolutely not. We’re not eagles, Boothill”, you refused almost immediately.

“Oh c’mon sugar, have some faith in yer man!”

The two of you went back and forth on the matter before eventually forgetting about it. At least, that was the case on your part. Boothill on the other hand…

–

“Your bounty is complete. How would you like to land?”

“...Good question.”

In truth, Boothill wasn’t too worried about the landing since he already could see you zooming towards him on an air-hover, ready to catch the cyborg. Oh, you were mad as a march hare alright.

“I’ve told you time and time again to have a better plan for these things!” You nag at him, your pretty face contorted with exasperation.

“Don’t get yer britches in a stir, sugar. I know what I’m doin’ “, Boothill drawls, looking too carefree for someone who was free falling through the air.

“You sure? ‘Cause it sure as hell doesn’t look like it!” You roll your eyes, following him down towards the ground on your hovercraft.

“I do, thank ya kindly. I got trust in you and mahself.”

“Take my hand then, you bag of bolts!”

“Not yet.”

It takes all your strength to not just up and leave the cowboy to fend for himself in such a situation but the thought of him potentially becoming a metal pancake stops you. You decide to trust his judgment, against your own better judgment. This wasn’t your first rodeo after all.

The two of you speed towards the ground, Boothill simply leisurely holding onto his hat while you were locked in completely, waiting for his signal.

Just a few seconds before you two would’ve crashed into the rock-hard ground below, Boothill whistles and with all your strength, you pull him onto your air-hover and promptly speed the vehicle back up into the sky once more.

“This is the last time we’re doing this”, you sigh, wiping the sweat off your brow.

“Come now, lovely. Ya gots to admit that it’s fun!” Boothill grins as he wraps his strong arms around your waist and nuzzles his face against your neck. You grumble at his actions but leave him be, opting to savor his closeness instead.

“Haven’t gotten your fill yet, lil’ eagle?”

“How can I, when I trust ya’ll catch me each time?”

[amnayel]

when i heard Leona sayings his plan of modernization/industrialization for sunset savanna in the bead brawl event I was so glad he wouldn’t become king bc I seemed like a TERRIBLE idea

especially for a country that people live in cooperation with each other and respect with the nature, his idea was bad in itself but in a country with this culture it was even worse

You CANT have progress without respecting nature, this is not progress, it’s trading the future for the present

A good life doesnt means a life full of money, it’s hard to say that considering most of us live in a capitalist country, but humans need food, shelter, art and other humans, not a new iphone. We believe we need money bc in the society where we live, money is the only thing capable of guaranteeing these things

But that’s not true for sunset savanna, they have the resources to guarantee a good life for everyone.

what Farene needs to do (and he apparently IS doing) is slowly working into distributing better the resources among the population to make sure that everyone can live well, without damaging the land

But well, that’s the result of Leona plan: abuse of the land that culminates into lack of resources and ends up with people dying of hunger and fighting to survive

His plan was idealistic and he couldn’t think about the consequences, although I thought it would work in a dream and I’m really interested in why it didn’t

I don’t blame him, he probably never got to understand this bc only farena got the heir education, I wonder if the reason why Leona dream became a nightmare is bc he internalized what people said about he never being able of being a king?

But im also glad that twst showed us how he actually was not fitted to be king, this is not a job he can get just bc he really wants it, people’s lives depend on it

although this was predictable considering book 2 and the lion king movie itself

[gabessquishytum]

(Part 1/2)

For that "defining moment of 2024" picture you posted: Cow Hob! Yes! Please! And some grave, highly serious and methodically considered thoughts about the Cow Hob AU we need - - Is Dream the absolute best, kindest, most humane and knowledgeable stable-hand for Hob? Yes. Yes he is. He knows everything there is to know about cows. How to groom them, how to care for them. What makes them happy, and what makes them feel safe. What kind of treats they can have and what kind they absolutely love, but can have only a very little bit of. - Does Dream milk his cows by hand? Yes. He absolutely does. Milking machines are far too clinical. Cows aren't just lactating machines, they deserve appreciation and respect for all they contribute. Dream milks all his cows by hand, even though it's more time consuming that way. It's much more comfortable for them. His cows are much happier that way. - Plus, milking is like bonding time. It's a reward for all the hard work cows do. They put in so much effort, carrying all that milk. Dream could be efficient and task-oriented, even milking them by hand, but he isn't. He makes sure he's extra gentle with them. He takes his time, making sure they're calm before and throughout. Then he pats and even combs the coat of each one after, so they end the milking session relaxed, shiny and happy. - Because he's so thorough and methodical, approaching milking time like a full on check-over, instead of just going in and getting what he's there for, Dream has caught many an early symptom of illness, strain, or disease, simply by taking his time to observe their coats, eyes and hoofs. Any cow knows that if there's a problem with them, Dream will catch it almost immediately!- Do the cows love Dream? Yes, they definitely do. They're in so much better shape since Dream was hired onto the farm. The other stable boy, Corinthian, is crude and rough and doesn't treat them all that well. Luckily, he's been given some other chores, so Dream works more with the cows. Dream doesn't have much time because he's so busy, running other errands and chores in the stable, but whenever the cows can they'll be bounding up to him, trying to get scratches and pats and treats. Hob is the cow who loves Dream most of all, and is always trying to get him to himself, but honestly, he's kind of a big guy who can't squeeze into small spaces, and that dainty little white cow with a stupid non-cow name, Shakespeare, always gets all of Dream's attention just because he's the smallest and can squeeze between all the farm equipment to follow Dream around easily! What a chore! - Luckily for Hob, he's also the cow on the farm with the shiniest horns, the longest hair, and the largest volume of the creamiest, most magnificent milk. This means that Dream has to spend the most time milking him and grooming him. Unlike dainty Shakespeare, who, alright, doesn't take up much space, but doesn't give very much milk either!

Cow Expert Anon. I am now christening you Cow Expert Anon, I hope you don't mind. This is wonderful and meticulous. I am going to add the other parts that you sent here, as screenshots, because I think everyone should be able to read the whole thing at once. Bear in mind that you may need to zoom in a fair bit to read.

I'm so obsessed with cow Hob just being the goodest, sweet little cutie but also leading the cows on a rebellion because he is NOT a pushover and he wants his Dream back!!! Also the Endless family becoming a cow/animal rehab ranch cooperative is the most wonderful thing and I just KNOW that Death would be the gentlest kindest milkmaid (although Dream is still Hob’s favourite, of course).

Dream is very much in his element, still hyperfixated on his beloved cows, still talking to them - hell he brings them inside the Endless mansion if they ever get sick or under the weather. If Dream ever gets the hints and Hob ever does end up having a calf, Dream practically moves his beloved cow into his own bedroom for the whole process! Hob has never been more spoiled, but he sure does deserve it. He's still trying to figure out how humans sleep in beds, though.

The milk and cheese produced by the Endless cows isn't exactly a huge amount, and they wouldn't turn a profit, but that's not the point. They're part of Dream’s family, now. He loves every one of them, and everything that they give him tastes sweeter than anything he's ever tasted before.

And yes, Hob’s calf is the cutest ever. Not quite as cute as Hob himself, if you ask Dream. Shakespeare is soooo jealous of course, but there's nothing he can do! Dream's heart belongs to Hob’s shiny horns, shaggy hair, and adorable brown eyes. No matter how much his family laughs at him, he'll be Hob’s best friend/beloved forever and ever <3

[bwat5-blog]

In Defense of Caitlyn Kiramman (Spoilers for all of Arcane)

This will be kind of long I apologize- **again spoilers for all of Arcane season 1 and 2**

I'm sure among the various posts this has been discussed and documented already but man people are driving me crazy. Caitlyn's Arc in season 2 while rushed (because the whole season is rushed) just gets better the more I think about it.

Season 1:

When we meet Caitlyn in Act 2, season 1 she is in her early twenties. She is hopeful, idealistic, and bright. Her very first interaction with Jinx is when Jinx detonates the bombs that kill the other enforcers while she steals the hex gem. Then of course we watch her journey with Vi as the two grow closer and learn from each other. Of note during that time:

While clearly nervous and afraid, she never mistreats or disrespects the citizens of the undercity while there

She gives up her prized weapon to save Vi's life

She hugs a shimmer mutated stranger with no sign of disgust or disrespect

She then has her second interaction with Jinx. Jinx is manic and violent, threatening both she and Vi before the brawl with the firelights kicks off. Following this, Caitlyn is cooperative, caring and respectful towards Echo and his people, willing to work with them even after they abduct her and Vi. Leading to her third interaction with jinx, the fight on the bridge in which Jinx kills many enforcers, and almost kills Caitlyn, Vi and Echo. Following this, we still see her try to convince the council of Piltover to make peace with the undercity and help deal with Silco, his shimmer production and his violence. She then has her fourth interaction with Jinx. Being abducted from her own bathroom and made to be a part of jinx's dinner party. This whole incident in the story is extremely intense and frightening for all the characters involved. Keeping in mind again, before this all started, Caitlyn was an idealistic happy young woman in her early twenties who has never had an ounce of negativity toward the undercity. Caitlyn has an opportunity to take the shot at Jinx, and doesn't because of her feelings for Vi. Her mercy, and attempt at understanding is rewarded by her fifth (second half of fourth I suppose) interaction with Jinx in which Jinx murders her mother and two other members of the Council, wounding the rest.

Season 2:

We pick up with season 2. Caitlyn is grieving, trying to hold it together, but is still advocating in defense of the undercity, testifying to the surviving council members that its only Jinx who was responsible. She is actively standing against invasion or occupation of the undercity. It is only after the memorial attack FOR HER MOTHER that she starts to go down that darker path. Leading the strike team, asking Vi to be an enforcer and weaponizing the grey. Of note:

Before asking Vi to put on the uniform Caitlyn states explicitly she is afraid if she does this without Vi, she or Jinx will be killed.

Piltover retaliation is guaranteed before even the memorial attack, even more so afterward. The alternative to the strike team was going to be a full military incursion.

While Jinx did not appear at the memorial attack, Caitlyn had just finished assuring the council that the undercity were still decent folk and this was all the fault of only one person. Only for a group of several undercity assassins to strike almost killing her. There would be no way to keep Jinx separate from the incident mentally, and I would say it would have been reasonable for them to assume Jinx had sent the attackers at that point in the story.

The use of the grey while of course wrong, and a heartbreaking warping of her mother’s good work for the undercity, is not fatal. We see multiple examples of that. And as Vi explains it was primarily used to keep the innocents off of the streets and out of the fighting. This doesn't make it right of course. But all the people talking about her using "Sarin" on the Zaunites and such comparisons are completely full of it.

Of course we come to her fifth interaction with Jinx, the battle in the Chamber of Janna (what I'm calling it). She has a vicious fight with Sevika, sees Jinx trying to kill Vi and her, after hearing Jinx say she plans to do so. This of course ends in that heartbreaking sequence of events ending her saying Vi is no better than jinx due to the blood in her veins and striking her with her rifle stock. This is heartbreaking, and the rage and hate in her eyes when it happens is terrible. But I reiterate that she is still in her early twenties, has lost her mother from a person who has essentially terrorized her. And now the woman she loves (even though it was the right thing to do) has stopped her from satiating that dark, hungry need for revenge that has been growing in her.

And finally we come to the real focal point of her descent. Her becoming "The Commander" under Ambessa's tutelage. As the commander she is culpable in the abuse, imprisonment, and you would have to assume death (probably not personally but certainly through policy and decision) of innocent Zaunites. As well as the full scale occupation with military checkpoints and martial law in place in Piltover and Zaun. These things are all wrong, that is not in dispute. However there is a much deeper conversation here that people are seemingly going out of their way to ignore:

The prevailing ignorance that is being directed toward this character is something to the tune of "Zaunites live in constant oppression, death and fear and Caitlyn gets to lose her mind because one family member died?! Kuklux Kiramman!". This is idiocy of the highest order. Grief and loss are not a competition. Before becoming entangled in these events Caitlyn has grown up in peace, prosperity, and yes privilege. And while she is very wealthy, that’s not what I mean in terms of privilege. She has always had her family. Yes  its horrific what the people of Zaun go through in no small part due to the neglect of the wealthy elite of Piltover. But if you grow up surrounded by death each day, it does not shatter your world in the same way as experiencing it for the first time as a young adult. And at the hands of the woman you love's sister who has terrorized you, and who you may have stopped no less. Again, its not that the suffering of Zaun is irrelevant as a whole, but it is irrelevant to how Caitlyn is processing her suffering and grief. For any of you who have stuck with me this far, I would ask you. The last time you lost someone you loved, did you berate yourself for being devastated because someone somewhere has it worse? No. That is not reasonable. And it’s not human.

Taking all of that into account. You have a young woman in her early twenties, she has been terrorized and nearly killed by the focal point of her rage repeatedly. She feels betrayed by the woman she loves. Her mother is gone. And along comes a smart, ruthless, charismatic WARLORD (A literal leader of men) telling her "Hey, come with me. I'm gonna get you justice, all you must do is follow my lead". And Caitlyn takes the bait. OF COURSE SHE DOES. She's only human.

When we pick back up with her in Season 2 act 2 we are watching her journey to redemption from that point forward. This show is immaculately animated for a reason and its clear from when we see her with Maddie on that she is not happy. She is frequently cast in shadow, her expressions pained and her movement stiff and cold. She questions Ambessa's decisions, and you really get the sense she is aware she is not in charge and that Ambessa is. The first big topic from this point to the end is she and Vi's relationship. I, like all of you would have liked to see an actual conversation between them on her wrong doing and an apology. I suspect the primary reason we did not comes down to how rushed the second season was. But there is also an argument to be made for she and Vi being people of action, not words. And looking at it from that point of view:

She helps to save Vander as soon as she and Vi reunite.

When she sees Jinx, she is clearly angry but makes no move to harm or arrest her

As she explains, she did not arrest Jinx after the battle of the commune. Jinx surrendered herself.

During the conversation with Vi about Jinx's arrest Caitlyn admits she knows she let Ambessa twist her up.

During her conversation with Jinx she says "No good deed can erase OUR CRIMES". She knows she messed up. She also admits how she has hated herself.

She opens the way for Vi to try and break Jinx, the woman who murdered her mother out of jail.

She fights on the frontline of the battle against Ambessa during the last episode. Ambessa is a noted warlord who people fear all over the world. Caitlyn sacrificed her eye to give Mel the opening to take Ambessa out. By the end Caitlyn is who we know her to be, fearless and selfless.

I think the show did itself a disservice with the rushed pacing in terms of fleshing out Caitlyn's redemption, but it was there. It just went too quickly. But all it takes is the slightest effort to see the nuance in this character to see that all of these simplistic stances people are taking are non-sense. To cap it all off, I am not seeing nearly enough conversation about she and Jinx being each other's parallels. And it’s not to say that her losing her mother as a young woman is comparable to the suffering powder went through. But bear with me here:

1. Both suffer an unexpected shifting of their entire reality due to death and loss

2. Both of them are "taken in" by an older cleverer role model filling the same parental role as what they have just lost (Powder loses Vander, gets new dad in Silco, Caitlyn loses her mother, gets new mom in Ambessa) who takes their grief and rage and pain and directs it toward their enemies

3. Both must learn the lesson of "Breaking the Cycle". Jinx of course has the whole vision of Silco, and then realizes the only way she and Vi can know peace is if she leaves Piltover (yes i know its suicide at first but we all know she’s alive at the end and that’s why she didn’t tell Vi). While Caitlyn tells Jinx she doesn't have the energy to keep hating her anymore and it must end. They literally suffer the same sort of altering experience, and have to learn the same sort of lesson to get back on track.

I know this is long and I apologize. If you actually read it I appreciate it. Also, if you just don't like the character I get that to! But I'm afraid if people keep completely missing the mark in terms of media literacy studios will give us even less content with beautiful, nuanced and complex characters.