#❝ we might be a little complicated ❞ || CHARACTER STUDY

[narcjsistx]

𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 | sae, kaiser, rin, reo and isagi

𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!

plot: domestic shit because I love fluff stuff 🌷 the characters chosen seem to me to be the most "visible" with little girls... so yeah. I'm actually not very sure of the result, maybe I'll delete it sooner or later to do it again

— sae itoshi

If there was one thing Sae had understood since becoming a parent, it was that having two children was complicated. On one hand he was now understanding all of his mother's concerns when, as children, Rin was unmanageable

We know however that males, if brothers, are somehow a little more manageable. Females, if sisters, are not. He was the father of two girls

As much as he loved them, he agreed with you when you said it would have been better to wait a few more years. But then he looks at his girls in the face, he regrets even thinking about it a little, because he loves them too much

In his eyes he sees him and Rin when they were kids: Sayami, the eldest, looks awfully like him because of her reddish hair, but in character she is like you. Semika, the youngest, is different from him in appearance but identical in character. Sayami brings out Semika's very hidden, but existing, sociable side. The only trait that makes girls similar are those damned undereyelashes that have marked the Itoshi family for generations

“Love, when are you going to let them go?”

"No."

"Sae, we've already talked about this..."

"I said no"

"Sae."

"I already said no, Y/n.”

"Y'know, they're already 7 years old. Sooner or later it will happen..."

"Not as long as I'm alive"

...a simple child had asked Sayami if she and her sister wanted to go play with him. Sae took their hand and walked out of the park as fast as he could with his treasures

✶ Sae tries hard to talk with her little girls. In a relationship not talking, or in any case having some communication problems, can be understood... with little girls no, because they would take it as a rejection. He ALWAYS goes out of his way to talk to them as much as possible, also because he loves the moments when they come home from school and, together, they chat about what happened during the day

✶ Let's be honest, Sae doesn't have much other knowledge or passions apart soccer, which was probably imposed on him as a child. He has not the slightest intention of making any of his girls leave school: if like him they end up having to change country to follow a sport, Sae will have to be absolutely sure that they are studying at the same time. He doesn't want them to be like him, because he knows how difficult is that life

Favorite father-daughter(s) activity: resting with them. Sae is often busy with his career, training and of course with his beautiful wife, but he always tries to make time in the evenings (if he's not out of town for a match) with his daughters. He likes to lie down on the bed or on the sofa, before dinner, with the girls who tell him everything exciting they did that day

When you and your little girl(s) show up at one of his games: he hides it well but LOVES when you come to watch him play. If he is normally a prodigy, in front of his daughters he must seem even better. When he scores a goal the first thing he would do is turn towards you, no celebration because it's not his style, but he would wave to his daughters who are cheering for him from the stands. Once the game is over he would ignore the interviewers, as he normally does, and simply come to you to claim his victory kiss

— kaiser micheal

Having children, whether boys or girls, was NOT in Michael's plan. I mean, how can someone who had such a complicated childhood have children? Even if he hides it, he has an enormous fear of being able to make someone of his own blood suffer, voluntarily or not, what he has experienced. He just knows that if something has to happen, it happens. And he doesn't know what fate has in store for his possible heir. He might hate his kid and disown him or her like his parents, if they can be called in that way, did with him

When he found out that he was going to become a father, and with a daughter, he seriously thought for a few moments about simply walking away. Not that he hated you, he couldn't, but it was really strange for him to think that someone of his own blood, his kid, was about to born

Kaiser can't explain how all the worries he had collapsed the moment he held Anneliese, his daughter, in his arms for the first time. Just by seeing and hearing her, he wondered how he could even remotely think that he could hypothetically hurt such a wonderful being

Anneliese quickly became the center of Kaiser's world, along of course with the beautiful mother of his little girl. It can be said that his daughter is a shameless copy of him, both in appearance and character: long, blonde hair, proud and always challenging temperament. One might doubt that she is your daughter but not that she is not Kaiser's. She is liteeerally him

...Sitting on the sofa, Anneliese is watching one of her father's old match. The assist with a teammate ends badly, but the ball returns to Kaiser's possession again and he scores a goal

“Dad, the next time you pass the ball to someone unworthy, I will be even more angry than I am now!”

"I understand, don't worry. I can't make my little girl angry again, can I?"

"Mihya, on the field you have to do what you feel, don't listen to her..."

"How can I not listen to our little girl, Schatz?"

✶ Kaiser loves to take his daughter with him everywhere: whether it's to an interview, to training or to a match, Anneliese is almost certainly with him or next to you. He loves when you and your little girl cheer for him during a match, even more if he knows that if he scores there will be your lips kissing him and the little girl's little arms hugging him. He shows a lot his family and his being a fantastic father (you tell him too, he's a little insecure about this) in front of his teammates. The emperor's family!

✶ Ness is practically the little girl's uncle. He never stopped idolizing Micheal, even more so when he discovered that now there was no longer just one Kaiser but two. Micheal is slightly jealous, he doesn't like that his daughter spends so much time with Ness... he hates seeing his Anneliese so happy with an adult other than him or her mother

Favorite father-daughter(s) activity: he loves when his daughter plays with his hair, especially with the blue parts. Seeing the cerulean blue on his little girl's pale hands, as she braids it or whatever it is, makes him tender. He once dreamed of Anneliese with the exact same hair as him and he admits he wouldn't mind seeing her that way. Maybe blue tipped hair could be the Kaiser's new trademark

When you and your little girl(s) show up at one of his games: whenever you and Anneliese come to a game, the first thing he makes sure to do is that you have a seat in the VIP section. He loves seeing the stadium celebrate for him because his family is there to see him, it's something that feeds his ego. As soon as the match was over he would have you go down onto the field with him, the little girl in his arm and his other arm around your waist as he holds you close to him

— rin itoshi

In his mind Rin, the few times he imagined himself, he always saw himself as the father of a son, and nothing more. Not brothers, as much as he actually liked the idea, just a child and above all a boy. He would have been happy like that

As much as he liked the idea of ​​a possible second child, with his job he wouldn't be able to dedicate the time he knows children deserve. At the same time he doesn't want to leave all the work to you, because parenting is something that is usually done by two. One child would have been enough

He doesn't know how but at a certain point in his life, he found himself with three daughters, all of whom were no more than two years apart. At first it was just a child, your beautiful Ayaka, then suddenly Homura also appeared and finally Rika

The idea of ​​just one boy dematerialized pretty quickly. But he loves his girls so much that, when sometimes he thinks of his original idea, he curses himself: how could he deprive himself of the presence and love of his girls?

All the girls resemble him tremendously, both in character (the one before the incident with Sae) and in appearance, obviously talking about the undereyelashes signed 'Itoshi'. Ayaka, only, is the female version of her father. Homura and Rika have taken something from their mother, but Ayaka could almost resemble Sae too... well, he is her uncle after all, right?

"Dad, Rika doesn't pass the ball when she plays!"

"You can't handle it either, Homura! You can't even pass me games at home!"

"Girls, calm down"

"Learn to score on goal first, before complaining"

...The situation seemed to be calm under Rin's control, but Ayaka broke the calm by scoring a perfect goal into the net of the private home soccer field. New prodigy?

✶ Rin often thinks about what might happen if, in the future, he ever does something that could divide her daughters. He has no preference between them, but he is always terrified that he might do something wrong that could create inequalities that he doesn't want, because in a certain sense, what happened between him and Sae must not happen in another generation of the Itoshi. He bond and love between his daughters must exist forever, not deteriorate as happened with his Nii Chan

✶ He would try to get his daughters to try as many sports as possible. As much as Rin loves soccer, his choice was influenced by the fact that Sae played it... what if he was now a world champion in, idk, volleyball? NO OKAY. He simply likes to make all 3 try new things, looking for something that maybe they could dedicate themselves with passion

Favorite father-daughter(s) activity: when his little girls organize themselves to do makeup on him. He's got a pretty mysterious look to maintain, but if Homura has decided that he's going to show up at practice tomorrow wearing orange nail polish, he'll show up that way. Not that he has any problem fighting anyone who has something to say against him, but no one dares. Rin loves to see them concentrate while putting on mascara or a completely disgusting shade of lipstick

When you and your little girl(s) show up at one of his games: if he knows that you are there to see him play, he will do everything to score as many goals as possible and, above all, quickly: he wants to keep his girls' expectations high. Once he scored a goal he would raise his hand to the sky, waiting for his girls to do the same thing because it has now become a gesture that only each other understands. At the end of the game the first thing he would do is go up to the stands to be with you, fuck his lukewarm teammates

— reo mikage

Looking after Nagi was like taking a pre parenting course. Nagi essentially has the needs of a child if you ignore the fact that he is 17 years old and 1.90cm tall, so Reo knows quite well what a child needs. Then, he always saw the maids in his house bring their young children to work when possible: Reo loved playing with them or picking them up, or just generally spending time with them. The idea of ​​having children, sooner or later and with a special person, has actually always interested him. He always said to himself, but in reality he hoped, that he would find the person who would love him for simply being Reo and not for his money... and then you came along!

His idea has always been of only one child because he is afraid that, sooner or later, two possible children could fight over the money of the Mikage company. Everything is unpredictable, right? So he doesn't want to risk anything

His original idea was respected. When he held Hikari for the first time he simply understood that he wouldn't be able to create, obviously with you, such a cute and perfect being again

The only similarity that links Hikari to her father is the same hair color, that strong purple. For the rest she is completely her mother, and Reo loves this even more: it's cute to see a mini version of you, but with some of his features, walking around the house. His new sweet treasure!!

"So, this... this, yes, also this... that... this"

"Reo, honey, what are you doing with that newspaper?"

"Nothing dangerous. Don't worry"

"What are you doing though? You make me curious"

"I told you not to worry, honey. Trust me."

...Reo was marking all the objects, approximately 300, in a catalog of toys and children's products. If he has money, why can't he spend it if he knows it will make his daughter happy?

✶ The first person Reo told that he was going to be a father was obviously Nagi. Let's say that at first Seishiro wasn't really believing it, but when he saw that pregnancy test... oh... yes, he definitely believed it. It often happens that Hikari stays with Nagi for days at a time, as the little girl sees him as a giant she can annoy. Reo often tells his daughter not to bother Nagi too much, but it secretly makes him laugh to see Seishiro so awkward with Hikari because he doesn't know how to handle children (himself??)

✶ If there's one thing he would never do, it would be to push Hikari into running the Mikage company once she grows up. Reo hated living his childhood with the knowledge that he already had a predetermined destiny, and he doesn't want Hikari to have the same treatment. She want to become a doctor? It will become one. She want to become a farmer? It will become one. She want to become president of the world? It will become one. He simply wants her to do what she loves

Favorite father-daughter(s) activity: travel the world with his daughter or of course with you too. The money is there, and what better way is there to spend it than learning and traveling? Hikari, at less than 5 years old, had already visited half the world. Reo loves taking her to different places and seeing her reactions so amazed. His favorite will remain forever when they arrived in New York, where Hikari didn't stop smiling for a second

When you and your little girl(s) show up at one of his games: it is obvious to say that he would pay to let you have the VIP of the VIP, his girls deserve the best, right?. He would feel amazing among all his teammates knowing that his family is there for him while there is no one for them. At the end of the game he would let the cameras record him hugging you and Hikari, why would he hide all the love he has for you from the cameras?

— isagi yoichi

Isagi was relatively happy as a child: his parents loved him, he played the sport he loved, he didn't do badly at school. Everything was happy for him in his early life. The only thing he often noticed were his classmates with older or younger siblings, who yeah argued with each other, but at the same time loved each other very much. He didn't suffer from loneliness from being the only child, not that, but he was always intrigued by the concept of not being the only child in the family

Since you've been dating seriously, and even before actually, he's always thought that his future family would model what he had: loving parents, one child, two if they had the chance

When Fujiko was born there was this plan in his mind: okay, now we dedicate ourselves to her, we give her everything she needs... then, if we want, we will have another child. Both you and Yoichi were very convinced that a max of 5 years after the birth of the kid you would try again, but Fujiko filled your lives so much that you decided that only she was good for the whole life

Fujiko's appearance bears little resemblance to her father's, maybe just a few facial features. If we talk about character, however, everything changes completely: it's a kind of Isagi 2.0, the same determination coupled with a lot of kindness. We will find out later if she also has bipolar disorder on and off the field like her dad- WHO SAID THAT??

"Fujiko, why aren't there any more pencil in your pencilcase?"

"Mom, I had to give them to some friends. Otherwise they couldn't write what the teacher said"

"This kindness reminds me of someone"

"Who? Who? Who?"

"Think about it: who do you consider to be the kindest person in the world?"

"My dad!"

...doing homework with your daughter, you noticed that some things were missing. Isagi is kind, one of the kindest in the world; when you told him about it he was perplexed, because he too would have done the exact same thing... just like his little girl

✶ Having now become a professional striker, he often does not have the opportunity to spend long periods at home due to champions or special training sessions. When this happens he is happy to leave because soccer is his passion anyway, on the other hand he dies inside every time he hugs his daughter or you for the last time. He loves his family, he would like to always be with you and Fujiko because you give him courage, but he understands that always moving with him from city to city, or even from country to country, is complicated and, above all, tiring

✶ He would like to direct Fujiko towards soccer, but at the same time he knows that he cannot choose something that is actually up to her. He has the belief that Fujiko would probably be good as him, unlocking her own version of the meta vision, but he prefers to see her little girl happy with the things she has chosen and loves

Favorite father-daughter(s) activity: he likes when they watch the games Isagi has already played. Television often replays reruns of recent or even old matches, and whenever Isagi is present on the field, Fujiko is the first to ask to watch them together. Yoichi enjoys seeing her so amazed by the actions on the field, commenting on anything that she doesn't understand because she rightfully doesn't know the rules of soccer. The thing that amuses him most is explaining to her who are the people he passes the ball, whether they are his friends or not, but now for Fujiko there is only Bachira with the title of dad's friend

When you and your little girl(s) show up at one of his games: the mere fact that you come to see him play is a lot for him, but since you and Fujiko once showed up wearing a jacket that said "biggest fan of number 11" on the back, he understood that he didn't it would matter if he were to be burned alive if he did it for you. Unfortunately the insults would always be there, but he would try to contain himself in front of his little girl. At the end of the game the first thing he would do is come to you and let you onto the field, making you celebrate with him

[binomech]

some opinions on fanfic trends for Disco Elysium on AO3 for the past 2-ish years; i address racism, ableism, jean and kim tropes, accesorization of harry and the way the game themes appear to have warped.

some of you may know i've been reading every fic published on the disco AO3 tag chronologically since 2019 for a little over a year and jotting down some trends (not a proper statistical study, just some tracking of when certain tropes are introduced and when and how they reproduce because i like observing that kind of thing.) there's been an uptick in trans(masc) Kim and Jean character studies since late 2022-early 2023, among many others, but these ones were like overwhelmingly prolific once they were introduced.

harry, kim and jean are overwhelmingly the characters with most fanworks in the tag. and having read a little over 4k works it turns out that people engage in a very distinct way with them for the most part that tracks with the growth of the trans Kim and Jean character studies as a trend.

the disco elysium fandom's english-language writers are, according to my cursory snooping, overwhelmingly trans, some flavor of gay, white and from north america and western europe. given personal anecdotes, i also suspect they are upper middle class (though not as statistically huge as the previous things) and struggle with mental health. in the past decade or so a lot of fanworks have followed a trend of exploration focused on catharsis and personal relatability.

now, kim and harry appear so much in the text with so much detail that there's plenty of personal details to pull from to write them, where as jean's total presence in the game (rarely achieved in one run but i'm taking into account all his mentions and lines) is smaller so it follows that people need to fill in some gaps and there's more characterization freedom. jean is white, younger than both harry and kim, canonically depressed, non-canonically confirmed by his character player an amphetamine addict but presented as a functional person during the game, and covers a very specific narrative hinge that i understand as relevant: he's a bridge between pre-Martinaise Harry and his Martinaise self.

he's objectively a very comfortable character to play with because he's mostly a blank slate except for his relation to Harry and his vitriolic grief towards him. so logistically i understand why people who struggle with mental health, are white, are anywhere between 17 and 35, are functional and able-bodied and may or may not have a complicated relationship with a close person who struggles with addiction or other health issues might go "YES, GOOD CATHARSIS NARRATIVE FOR ME". but the sheer amount of works that value Relatability over engaging with the characters or the themes has resulted in a very strong ripple. which leads to trans kim.

the game paints a deep and vivid image of kim, both from within harry's own perspectives and the objective things he says out loud. he's a walking contradiction, he's alienated from his body and selfhood, he beat himself into submission to stay alive. he's a walking reminder of his assasinated communist parents, the people who killed them paid his salary, his body (racialized, disabled) is both a hindrance to his assimilation and a tangible proof that he could have belonged somewhere but doesn't, that no matter what he does it will be considered first. so he watches his words, his movements, his appearance. so he partakes in hypermasculinity. he's canonically gay, mixed race, diasporic seolite, and disabled. and somehow, the only one of this that is recurringly explored in most fanworks is his homosexuality, usually in the form of being a guiding figure to harry or as a Fellow Gay Cop to jean, or eyes, or someone else.

now, we have the trans kim trope. my opinion on the trope isn't relevant to the point i'm trying to make, but i will say i think transmasc kim is something i enjoy in theory, i think it's a worthy exploration that works very well with the hauntings of embodiment and perception that exist in kim's canon self. but it's very jarring when all of these tales of gay trans kim refuse to engage with race, or with physical disability. like, after you've read 800 trans kim fics you start noticing how solid that avoidance is, how big the elephant in the room is, and i can't help but think that, coupled with the explorations of Jean, the issue is: the white ablebodied writer is unwilling to engage with race and disability.

my charitable reading of this is that the white ablebodied writer doesn't want to write about what they don't know, they don't want to overstep. my neutral reading of this is that the white ablebodied writer doesn't consider how sexuality and gender's material realities are tied to race and ablebodiedness in the real world because they are the Default Categories and it didn't occur to them that kim's experience of them might overlap. my least charitable reading of this without directly falling into the assumption of ill intent is that the white ablebodied writer is uncomfortable with the idea of the fact that their experience of gender and sexuality isn't universal and it's not as emotionally cathartic to think about how they might be racist and ableist because they put on horse blinders and they're trying to write things they like, and understanding this is unpleasant and doesn't belong in their feel-good hobbies.

people love to talk about kim's body without acknowledging the way asian masculinity and femininity exist in relation to whiteness when it's harry or jean in the room. people love to talk about kim's body without engaging with the power relations that exist in many disabled people's sexuality.

the tropes' strength lies in the relatability factor (very high) and the willingness of both author and audience to engage with the canon material for the characters they are writing (very low). and so you end up with a lot of jean character studies about his feelings towards harry (when everyone but kim in the game also knows both harries, but jean is prioritized consistently) and a lot of character studies about kim (that ignore most of the lived experiences of him because they're directly tied to his and his parents' race and alienation that are not particularly cathartic for the white author and reader)

one of the big themes of the game, if not the biggest, is failure. specifically it asks the player to think about what to do when you have failed and you know there are no blank slates, and asks you to empathize not only with harry, whose every thought you're privy to, but to everyone you talk to that has the same rich landscape beyond your brief interaction. when relatability is prioritized in fanworks, this question falls apart, the purpose becomes to find ways in which these characters are like you (the author, the reader) so you can afford them the level of humanity needed to feel emotions about them.

harry's tropification follows four large trends: self-loathing, aggressive addict, psychic omniscient prophet, overwhelmingly emotional and adoring puppy. some authors sometimes are capable of depicting both, usually as if they are unrelated and it's a harry-esque contradiction, but it's truly baffling how rare it is to find stories that engage with all of them or with multiple of them as inextricably bound together like canon material does. harry needs to be relatably lovable (heartbroken, self-loathing, fixable by love, fixable by the universe, capable of change that gets exponentially better) or relatably hateable (physically and emotionally abusive, manipulative, unreasonably needy).

most fics in the relatable lovability fall on the kim/harry ship, most fics in the relatable hateability fall on the jean/harry ship. here's where it ties into the big tropes for kim and jean: the fanworks about a game that asks a question about failure and questioning certainty become stories about inevitability.

jean's vitriol in the game comes from the same place as harry's self loathing: a visceral response to decades of failure. they're not objective truths (i'm thinking about the mirror reveal being intended as a way to make the viewer realize harry isn't a reliable narrator at all, but especially about himself: you see a regular guy, conventionally handsome but clearly in pain and growing old and sick. he calls himself horrible shit, however).

playing up jean's part as the Bridge is comfortable because it allows the player to separate Harry's failures from their agency as a player (something that greatly drives the point of the game home, emotionally speaking -- you're not that different from Harry. Harry's not that different from anyone else he meets. the irreversible failures exist for all of us, as do the chances to try again.) if jean is right in resenting harry, and moreover, he's objectively describing harry's behavior, harry's failures become logical and inevitable consequences of his Way of Being. if Harry calls kim a slur, or threatens children, or scares civilians, that's just because that's how Harry is (according to Jean and Harry's own brain), so the possibility that one of your tries might be meaningfully good becomes... less weighty. it's a fluke, and you'll fail again, so don't get your hopes up. it's almost an excuse to believe that there's nothing new under the sun and going back to old habits is inevitable, but the conclusion becomes "so nothing i do really matters" instead of "it's hard and painful to try again when you've failed so many times before. what does this say about the person who tries?". and in that way jean is an interesting character because understanding why he resents harry for being able to try more freely than him without the weight of memory is important to the theme. what has to click to start climbing out of the grave? can anyone do it? will i ever do it? why now, and why not when i tried to pull him out?

and similarly, when we write about kim, we have to confront what makes him who he is and not another generic character to write, and the fact of the matter is that being a cop, being visibly of seolite heritage, having PTSD, having a visual impairment on record that interferes with his cophood, his cophood being the only identity he appears to have had a choice over, how he treats harry because he's a cop vs. other harry parallels who aren't, how he treats harry whether harry respects him or not... they're important. and trans kim could be a way to approach these themes but it's currently existing in a vacuum of authorial catharsis, and the refusal to address the real politics that give emotional weight to disco elysium is becoming a worrying, overwhelming trend. i urge you all to think about these things a little.

[ladybyakuya]

are we still friends? + (ren kaji, hayate suo, umemiye hajime, sakura haruka)

cws. | gn!reader, headcanon + scenarios format, sorta character study, fluff, angst, comfort. | redirect to blog navigation.

syn. | How do they react to confession when the feelings are mutual?

notes. | Will there be part two? who knows? but for now please have these. I forgot how to write smut so I'm writing fluff. 

☆ Ren Kaji: Ren does not like talking or listening so he pretends that he can not hear and with his headphones on it's easier to convince but when you specifically ask him to take it off so that you could talk it annoys him. He rarely takes his headphones off since it was a gift from someone. So all he does is to take the lollipop out of his mouth and say, "You can talk. I am not listening to anything," It really irritates you but you do not wish to act on it right now. He has started to grow a little too comfortable with your presence around him and maybe. . .just maybe it's time to create a ripple in his stagnant heart. At the rooftop of the school, where gentle breeze and sunlight prevails you say you like him and watch his eyes go bigger. He takes off his headphones with utmost haste demanding, "Say that again," but now it is your turn to annoy him. All your comebacks are full of: "no." , "Did you not listen when i said once?" , "This is why i told you to take your headphones off," and so on. You are so engrossed in conversing with him that you fail to notice his swift motion of leaning and planting a kiss on your cheek. Your lips cease to move for a while yet it is ever so quick and swift that it happens within a blink of your eyes. "Okay, I'll say it for you then," Ren says. Gulping and continuing, "Y/n likes Ren Kaji. and I like you too." in one breath and just vanishes out of your sight. The next few days he is spotted sleeping at unusual times because he has spent sleepless nights regretting why he did not take his headphones off.

★ Hayate Suo: Suo has known for a while that you like him. Well, he is not too sure but he always had a pretty good idea when it comes to emotions. He has probably known even before you that you could harbor feelings for him so when he hears the rumors from other students he does not react much except with some snarky comments to shut those rumors with his sickly sweet saccharine smile. But hearing it from you, at some secluded place near the bike stand of the school is certainly is out of the syllabus for him. At first, he does not know what to say, what to do, or how to react but when your eyes slowly look up to meet him the first thing he thinks if you did it because of rumors or some sort of dare. If so, then both are wrong. He thinks confession should come when it's time not when it is influenced by others. So, all he says is: "I know." eyes blinking a little too much, unable to consider you as his focal point. " I've known for a while." And then, he asks for some time to think about it which is unexpected because from what you have heard he has rejected every other proposal that came his way. You came prepared to be rejected when you decided to confess but this goes out of the syllabus for you too. So, you end up thinking if this is his new way of tormenting people who like him but he really needs time to properly think because he thought there is no way he thought you would like him back. He does not want to hurt you. That goes against his morals. He could feel his cheeks being warm, ears too, palms tucked behind his back cold, and rapid heart rate. "So, this is how it feels to be confessed."

☆ Umemiya Hajime: Being an older brother to everyone has never been a bother until he developed a gut wrenching crush on you or that is how he would like to put it. Not only that, you have developed quite a friendship with Kotoha ever since you started helping her out in her resturant. You are probabaly same age as her which makes things a little more complicated. Was it not enough that you might be under the impression that Kotoha is his girlfriend? Like most other people; But thanks to Sakura for clearing that confusion up. Still. . .still he feels his heart twist whenever he visits the resturant. All he does is to silently watch you. He could have easily creeped you out if you had not developed a crush on him. When Umemiya's visits became you became a little bold, like talking to him, asking about his day, exchanging numbers but never have been alone with him. He always comes with his band of boys. It denifitely nice to hear him laugh, talk and sometimes steal sneaky glances but it does not help with the wave of emotions he makes you feel. So, one day when the door bell chimed and as usual you said, "Welcome" looking in the direction of entrance ceasing your chores all you could do is stare for a moment since the customer is none other than Umemiya Hajime and he is all alone. So, you repeat again, "Welcome Umemiya-san." tearing your gaze away from him. "Kotoha is busy. Should I let her know that - he cuts you off with," i'm not here for her today." sipping water ever so slowly from the glass you just served on the coaster. Is he nuts? is he really doing this? Right now? why is he not freaking out? or maybe he is, internally, just like you. "I'm here for you today." And, when he confirms you turn around to get a proper look. 

"I see," you say.

"You didn't answer my call so i had to come here," Umemiya remarks. 

"so, you are here to scold me?" Umemiya's heart drops in some bottomless pit. He did not mean it to come out this harshly. He is just tensed, especilly after how you texted last night : "I like you Umemiya-san." 

"did you check your phone after last night?" and to that you just nod. You do not want to and who honestly would after confessing to the brightest star. You are so out of league from him. Umemiya smiles. "I see," he speak softly. He gets up and then he is about to leave but just before exting the door he says, "Please, check you phone."

★ Sakura Haruka: Sakura has a habit of talking, and going on and on about it unless someone interrupts. If possible, he would talk in one breath. So, when you say that you like him he dismisses it as a joke. "quit kidding. Nobody likes me. y'know that. . ." And there goes your probably hundred-and-fifth confession. He never takes it seriously no matter how serious you try to be Sakura manages to bungle up your intentions so quick yet you can not seem to blame him. If anything he is too honest, so often he comes as rude and obnoxious but his intentions are so pure that sometimes it makes you think can a person be this stupid? But this time when you confessed you thought this would go in the usual direction; him dismissing it as a joke but this time when he looks at you he is faced with something new, something he is not good at handling. "you. . . are you crying?" And it dawns on you how heavy your heart has become with his oblivious nature. all those "I like you-s." never reached his heart, only his head. You quickly wipe away your tears and try to cover it up with the most brilliant lie ever to exist. "It's just dirt." given his oblivious nature he is supposed to buy but he is asking questions again. "You. . . all these time. . . were serious?" Yes, you absolute dimwit. You can not even nod to confirm his thinking. You swallow hard trembling lips parting to speak and you are met with his chest with his arms wrapped around you. " I-I ... was told that if you like someone...you can hug them... y'know when they ...say they ...like you," he starts to stammer and it creates a swarm of laughter arises from your stomach. "Whoever told you that must know a lot about dating," you say having a fair idea who it might be.

[flowerandblood]

The First Impression (Drabble)

[ coffee maker • Aemond x student • female ]

[ warnings: angst, him being a mean bitch ]

[ description: He hates his job and she makes him hate it even more. Or maybe not entirely? A very old request from the anon. ]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Word count: 700

My other works chapters: Masterlist

_____

He hated his job. He couldn't think of anything worse and more boring than pouring coffee, cutting fucking cheesecakes and signing cups for little hipster girls who then took pictures of themselves with them, grinning like idiots.

However, nothing annoyed him more than those momentary, watchful glances as if someone was under the impression that he was just imagining things, looking at him more closely to make sure that in fact one of his eyes was prosthetic.

He felt like pouring hot coffee in their faces then and asking: anything else?

Of course, he couldn't do that, and that vision remained only in the realm of his dreams. He wanted to support his mother and pay his own rent while studying at the University, and few employers were willing to go along with him when it came to working hours.

He had no choice but to endure it somehow.

He was devastated when it turned out that, according to the fashion, they were supposed to learn how to make different patterns on coffee so that they resembled different shapes or characters. He felt like an idiot when, for the tenth time, he had to repeat the movements that would allow him to create a heart shape out of the liquid, and then he had to do the same thing, only that for the female customers.

For them it was romantic, for him it was pathetic.

One day he saw a girl bending over a cup he handed her – she was sitting at a table taking a picture of the design she had ordered, which was a flower.

He thought she was probably some kind of influencer and rolled his eyes, thinking that at a time when someone had to work hard like he did, others were simply putting their pictures on social media, making a product of their lives.

She surprised him when she approached him, undeterred by his stony face expressing boredom and disapproval.

"Could I ask for that most complicated pattern, with the dragon's head?" She said, and he closed his eyes thinking that this was the worst day of his life.

Why, why did it have to be him?

"You don't like doing this." She muttered finally, trying to make out his answer from his face. He turned involuntarily over his shoulder, not wanting his manager to hear him.

"Not really." He admitted reluctantly, thinking after a moment that he was a moron, that she would write about him on her blog and he would lose his job because of her.

"We study at the same university, so I have to warn you." She finally confessed.

"Your boss hired me as a secret client. This is my last day of work. He wants to know how you talk to your clients. But I won't tell him about it. Just be careful because he might do it again. I wouldn't want you to lose your job over such stupidity." She said quietly, leaning towards him, and he froze, feeling the cold sweat on his back.

"– fuck – I –"

"Don't say anything or he'll see it on the cameras later. Just make me that coffee. By the way, you're very good at it. I even sent a picture of your creation to my mum." She said with amusement and he swallowed hard, tense and nodded, taking a clean mug from the counter.

"Right."

He figured he'd put his whole heart of stone into the design on her coffee as a thank you for warning him, and made out his boss's face with his big glasses and moustache. When he placed her cup in front of her she burst into loud, warm laughter.

"Beautiful. This is better than the previous one. He's even similar. So sad to drink." She sneered, pulling her wallet out of her bag, taking out her credit card.

"Thank you. You know." He said, tapping the amount she should pay into the terminal, handing it to her so she could put her card close to it.

"It's okay. I'm just glad I had the chance to meet you and talk to you for at least a moment. See you at the University?" She asked lightly and he nodded, embarrassed.

"See you."

[cinnahoons]

visions of gideon - (n. riki) 𖤓

— to love, is to trust.

p. criminal!nishimura riki x criminal!reader w. 2.8k

genres & warnings. angst, partners in crime, established relationship, guns, blood, death & killing, very slight character study, riki is complicated but reader gets it, tears and more tears, cussing, did i mention angst, this has been stuck in my pea brain for so long pls bear with me

“I won’t let anything happen.”

Rain pelts against the windows of the dark cabin. It cracks against glass like shards of ice, sharp and stabbing; a staccato of impending doom.

“Stop—acting like everything’s fine,” you snap, agitated. You’re cradling a pistol in your arms, huddled on the wooden floor with your knees up like they might shield you from your current predicament. It’s dark, dark enough that you can barely make out the ashen metal against your skin.

Riki turns around, silvery moonlight glistening across his black hair. It shimmers like a frozen lake; crystalline. He fixes you with an authoritative glare, one you can only outline by the grace of the moon.

“I need you to trust me, Y/N.”

Your eyes flutter shut, a deep breath coursing through your lungs in an attempt to quell the anger that simmers just below your collarbones.

“I do. That’s all I’ve been doing. Trusting you.” You toss your arms out, suddenly gesturing wildly around the dark cabin. “But this is different, Riki. This time, they have us. They fucking have us.”

Something like guilt flashes in his eyes for a passing moment, and then it’s gone. His jaw hardens.

“By the skin of their teeth,” he retorts, crossing the room to squat in front of you. His boots crack against the wood. “Listen. They have us surrounded, but we’re smarter than them. We have a straight shot from the cabin door to the trees. The lake isn’t much farther. We’ll swim it.”

You shake your head, tears welling in your eyes. The anger in your chest has given way to something heavier, sharper. Pure, unadulterated fear.

“It’s too dangerous. They’ll shoot us.”

Riki frowns, a marvelous thing. His arms come down to your shoulders, giving you a little shake. 

“You can’t cry now,” he scolds. “I told you, I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

You draw your lips into a line, hot tears slipping past the chapped skin. It’s infuriating. In all your years of skirting around danger with Riki; pulling off heists, sprinting down guarded alleys, gunfights with gangs looking to score the bounty on your heads…nothing has ever shaken you like this. You’ve never been compromised in this way, and it’s terrifying.

“But—what about you?”

A flash of white. Riki’s teeth; he’s smiling. He reaches behind his back, pulling out a dark, heavy pistol. 

“Nothing we haven’t handled before.”

You stare at it, eyes wet, before nodding slowly. He’s right. You’re not thinking straight. Youve done this before.

You reach a shaky hand down to your lap, wrapping your fingers around your own pistol. It’s cold and solid against your palm. Riki watches you with something careful in his eyes. It’s almost like he’s relieved that you’ve finally snapped into your usual resolve.

He stands up, beckoning you with his gun. The floor creaks as you both make your way to the door, guided by the light that flushes through the window. He signals you to stop.

“Remember, as soon as we step outside this door, they’ll close in. We need to move fast.”

You nod. Your neck feels stiff; cold. The rain outside has slowed. It sounds like a gentle drizzle now, taps against the window that are hardly noticeable. Your fingers flex  in anticipation.

You catch Riki’s eye as he leans into the door. He’s all sharp angles and deep shadows, but there’s a curiosity that seeps through him like sticky pine sap. He’s an enigma, really. Quietly self-assured but with a wide-eyed innocence all the same. It’s exactly why you fell in love with him. Why all those years ago; you followed him. Why you’ll follow him today.

“I love you,” you tell him, because you can. His brows soften.

“You can say that when we make it to the lake.”

You don’t say anything else. He’s said I love you back.

It’s what’s most important to him. To love, is to trust. There is no greater gift.

The door swings open.

The moonlight is odd now. Sickly. There’s an incessant buzz that you imagine the drizzle might sound like; a thousand roaring droplets. Run, they chant. Run for your life. 

Soil crunches beneath your feet. Are you running? You’re running. Riki is running.  

There’s a splintering to your left. No, to your right. Or was that behind you? 

Everything blurs around you. Shadowy forms lurk on your periphery, slinking around like in your particularly awful nightmares. A chill runs through your veins. And suddenly, there’s yelling. Loud, horrid sounds; a chorus of angry commands, and then—gunfire? A bullet whizzes past your ear. You duck, hissing.

“A thousand times, Y/N,” Riki yells over his shoulder. His gun fires loudly as he lifts his arm up and pulls the trigger. You think you see a body crumple to the ground. 

There he is. So sure. So trusting.

You lift your own gun, firing it at an agent that’s been popping up in your line of sight often enough to piss you off. He grunts, shoulder flying back as he stumbles, wounded. 

There’s a commotion to your left, a cluster of agents that have broken off together and are firing in your direction. Their bullets crack like dynamite in the night air, loud and bright. 

A searing pain shoots through your leg as one of the bullets grazes your skin. You stumble, but Riki is there, grabbing your arm and pulling you forward. 

“Keep moving!” He shouts, his voice laced with urgency. 

You grit your teeth. There’s a feeling blooming in your chest, a sort of technicolor that winds and oozes around your bones. It tells you to push through the pain.

There’s a spattering of trees not too far ahead. They offer some semblance of cover, but the agents are relentless. One lunges from the side, giving you a hair's-breadth of a second to react. You twist, slamming the butt of your gun into his face. He drops with a groan, but the others are quick to follow.

Your grip tightens. Together, you and Riki press forward, firing off bullets in quick succession. Each shot is calculated, deliberate. Another agent falls, then another.  

There’s a dark blur, and then suddenly Riki is being tackled to the floor. He hits the ground hard, gun flying out of his hand. An agent has him pinned.

“Riki,” you gasp.

You try to fire at the agent, but the shot goes wide. He grins, pressing his advantage, but Riki manages to get an arm free, grabbing a rock and smashing it to his temple. The agent slumps immediately, unconscious, and Riki shoves him off with a groan.

You grab him by the arm after he grabs his gun, pulling him along while bullets zip past. He curses loudly, turning to you with bright, clear eyes.

“We need to split up,” he says, breathless. “They won’t follow us both.”

“No fucking way,” you argue, but he’s already breaking away, squeezing your hand before he’s yelling loudly at a group of agents. They charge at him, guns aimed.

You take a short, squeezing breath. With Riki distracting them, you have a chance to make it to the grove of trees just before the lake. You press on, a dull ache spreading through your leg with every sharp jolt of boot to soil. Wind whips across your face. The rain is gone now, but the darkness still makes it difficult to see where you’re going. 

You lose count of how long you’ve been running when your surroundings change from practically barren, vast land to the dense forest that Riki had mentioned earlier. There’s a whirring sound in your ears, damp air escaping your mouth when you collapse against a large tree trunk. It’s even darker here, pale moonlight barely reaching through the dense foliage overhead. A cold sweat drips down your back; you can feel your heartbeat in your leg.

Looking down, you finally catch sight of what damage the bullet inflicted. There’s a fleshy pink hole visible through the fabric of your pants from where the bullet grazed you, dark red blood pooling over it. You dart your eyes up to the sky, stomach turning. The pain is dull, probably from the adrenaline. It’s going to be a real bitch later.

Now, sitting here, the forest is quiet—alarmingly so. You belatedly realize that maybe you should be pushing on towards the lake, but you can’t bring yourself to strain upwards onto your feet. Your head falls back against the tree trunk, willing yourself to take steady breaths as your head swims with exhaustion. 

A rustle in the underbrush snaps you to attention. Your heart flips, fear flooding your senses. You reach silently for your gun, aiming it shakily at the source of the noise. There’s a shifting in the shadows, and then a figure emerges—it’s Riki. Your arm falls, relief washing over you in waves.

“Riki,” you whisper. “You’re okay.”

His eyes widen when he sees you, and he rushes over, boots crunching as he crouches beside you. He lays his gun on the ground, hands ghosting over your extended leg.

“I lost them,” he mutters distractedly. “Damn it, Y/N.”

His eyes are dark and narrowed, glazed over with concern. You let a little shiver wrack over your body before hardening your jaw.

“It’s just a graze,” you say, trying to sound more convinced than you are. “I can still walk.”

He chews on the inside of his cheek for a moment before his eyes flick up to meet yours.

“We still need to swim the lake. Can you do it?”

You pause, and then you try to smile at him. It comes off more like a grimace.

“That should clean it out,” you joke.

Riki frowns, eyes dropping to your leg again.

“Funny,” he deadpans. 

His next movements are swift. He reaches into his back pocket, pulling out a pocket knife. He grabs the bottom hem of his shirt, slicing a long piece of fabric. The knife falls, and he moves toward your leg. Gingerly, he lifts it up, his eyes scanning your face for any signs of distress. When he’s met with nothing, he wraps the fabric around your leg, above your wound. Tying it, he pulls it tight enough to act as a tourniquet. 

“This won’t help for long, but it’s something,” he murmurs, voice low. “We’ll get you to the medical contact I have as soon as we’re out of here, okay?”

You nod, slightly sluggish. Riki moves closer to you, reaching his arm around your back and using his shoulder to hoist you up so that you’re finally standing again. You breathe evenly, focusing on the feeling of your boots on the ground.

“We need to keep moving,” he tells you, his voice apologetic. You sigh.

“I know. Let’s get on with it.” 

Immediately, Riki tries to wrap an arm around your shoulders to have you lean on him, but you shake your head.

“Just—let me do this,” you tell him, putting a little distance between the two of you. “I don’t fall down that easy.”

He raises a speculative brow, but seems to think better of trying to argue with you. Instead, he turns around silently, keeping his gun close at his side. 

The two of you walk in silence for a while, the only audible sounds being the various chirps and buzzing of whatever insects live in the forest. It’s colder now, too, the type of cold that comes after a bountiful rain. It’s sharp and biting. You pull the jacket you’ve been wearing a little tighter to your chest.

There’s something bothering you. It’s like an itch, maybe. A senseless, baseless thing. It crawls up the length of your spine and sends a rigid, uneasy feeling to lodge itself at the bottom of your throat. You wonder—is it your leg? The blood loss must be causing ghost sensations to travel all around your body. You feel them, but they’re not there. That must be it.

But then there’s the chill. The knowing.

How long have you and Riki been walking?

How long have you and Riki been walking towards the lake?

How long have you and Riki been walking towards the lake, without looking back?

A gun clicks. Your blood runs cold.

When you turn around, nothing feels real. There’s a man; an agent. He’s alone. He steps out from behind a large tree, his gun trained directly on you. The forest seems to hold its breath. The agent’s eyes are shadowy, a cruel smirk playing upon his lips. He cocks his head at you, mocking.

“Riki,” you choke out. You can barely hear your own voice through the sound of blood roaring in your ears.

Riki’s boots scuff from behind you as he comes to what you assume to be a languid stop. You can hear a trickle of fondness in his voice when he speaks.

“Are you finally coming to your senses and letting me—”

A terrible, screeching halt. You blink, but your eyes feel numb. Trust, trust, trust. To love is to trust. You trusted him, he trusted you. You’ve tiptoed to the eleventh hour, and now the axe must fall.

“Don’t do this,” you rasp.

A deafening blast sends a flurry of birds up through the canopy. 

There’s a lily. 

It’s dripping rainwater. You try to reach out and touch it, but you have three-thousand arms and two-thirds of your fingers. A pale halo of light caresses its milky petals, illuminating a spattering of iridescent droplets.

No.

Are you allowed to touch it? Or must good things stay unaltered?

No, please.

It’s okay, you think, to just be content with watching it from where you are. There’s no sense in disturbing what has been or what could have been.

Three perfect droplets roll right off the beautiful lily, plopping earnestly on your cheek. How did they get there? They’re salty, your skin says.

A dark shadow engulfs your vision.

When your eyes flutter open, Riki is crouched over you. 

His hands fly uselessly over your abdomen, fingers stained scarlet. You can feel his frame against your body, shaking. And when you take a wheezing breath, his eyes fly up to yours. There are wet marks on his cheeks, like tears had had their way with him. 

“Jesus fuck,” he moves fast, cupping his trembling hands against either side of your face. They leave bloody prints on your skin. “Just—stay with me,” he pleads, his voice cracking.

You swallow in your throat, your eyes moving sluggishly to the area in front of you. The agent who shot you is crumpled in an awkward pile on the ground, a gory hole drilled into the center of his forehead. You have to fight the urge to smile. It hurts too much to move more than your eyes, anyway. 

Riki brushes hair off your face, causing your gaze to snap back over. His eyes look so different to what you remember. Where there was once a somber serenity, there is now an ocean of uncertainty; glistening with more unshed tears. You make a sound in the back of your throat.

Riki’s hands tremble harder against your skin. They slip and slide as he tries to caress your cheek. It’s almost pathetic.

“I know it—I know it hurts, Y/N. Just…” he pauses, cursing under his breath. “You can’t leave, okay? You’re not ready. I’m not ready.”

You can see it now—the boy inside him. He’s only eighteen, burdened by a life he chose with you years ago; a choice, which was made under bitter loneliness, and disguised by ardor. 

Trust is his vice, because it’s all he’s never known.

Slowly, and with all the strength you can muster, you bring a cold, shaky hand up towards your face, cupping the back of his own and leaning your head towards it as much as you can. He lets a quiet sob wrack through his body. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers fiercely. “I’m so sorry. You trusted me.”

I don’t blame you, is what you wish you could say. Instead, your eyelids droop with a heaviness so extreme that they fall shut. Riki jolts immediately, his futile hands scrabbling for purchase against your face, trying desperately to keep you awake.

“Stop trying to die on me,” his voice is barely a whisper. Your eyes flicker open.

But then his face falls more, if that’s even possible. Guilt will eat him alive.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I love you. All you did was love me back.”

You try to shake your head, but nothing moves. Riki’s eyes fall shut for a brief moment.

“You can rest.” The words ring muffled in your ears. “It’s going to be okay.”

You think you can feel a kiss pressed against your cheek, but, oh, the lily is back, and you think you’d like to go off after it. It holds you close to its chest.

And, even in death, there is nobody you trust more.

copyright ©cinnahoons

tags! @vousty @hittoki @neos127 @junityy

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Unmortricken" was a lot. In fact, it might have been a little too much.

To start, I loved the glimpse of what exists outside the Central Finite Curve. The visuals were stunning and reminded me of M.C. Escher's drawings. The Jetson-like family was a nice touch--if anything can happen, who says they can't have different animation styles? All those colorful portals make me wonder what's lurking just out of sight.

It's also funny that the space outside the Curve is full of Rick's favorite thing: crystals. If he took a trip there, he'd come back with his pockets stuffed with gemstones.

Evil Morty's reappearance gave us a decent character study. Since he wasn't the antagonist, we saw him interact with the C-137s as a regular person. Morty's a little impressed, and Rick has a grudging respect for him. Others have called Evil Morty the Rickest Morty, and I agree: similar intelligence, similar technology and similar bloodthirst.

I was glad that he left in the end because that's what his character arc is about anyway. He doesn't want to be part of anyone else's story, not even another Morty's.

However, that's also part of the issue that I had with this episode. Seeing Evil Morty was great, but it was also a little...pointless? You could've had the same story without him. He's not working with Prime, and he has no ties to C-137 after "Rickmurai Jack," so it felt like the writers just said "Hey, you know what would be cool?"

I'm not against writers having fun and giving the audience what they want. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (yeah, groan at me, Marvel haters) is fan service in blockbuster form, and it was one of the best theater experiences I've ever had.

Still, if Evil Morty came back, I think he should've had a separate episode. The episode juggled C-137 Rick, Morty, Evil Morty and Prime Rick pretty well, giving them satisfying interactions with each other, but no Evil Morty would've meant more relationship development for the C-137s.

Evil Morty's backstory also didn't reveal much about him. I mean--yeah, we all figured that he had an abusive Rick and got fed up. The fact that he had a "regular" Rick instead of a deranged lunatic does make a point about the banality of abuse. Monsters aren't always raving maniacs who torture people in their basements. Ordinary people can wear you down with a slow drip of toxicity and neglect.

I enjoyed this episode, and Evil Morty's return was exciting, but cramming the series' two biggest antagonists and storylines into twenty minutes was a little overwhelming. New plot developments kept showing up, too: Rick found Prime! Prime's various lairs! Omega device! I would've preferred a two-parter.

I'll admit that if you told me that we'd see Evil Morty and Rick Prime in the same shot, I never would have believed you, but here we are.

On that note, Prime's characterization was perfect. No attempt at a cutesy, sad backstory; he's a laughing monster until the end. And is it really the end? He has regeneration abilities, but C-137 acts like he's dead and even gives up the search. This leaves us with a few options:

C-137 killed him.

Prime fooled C-137 into thinking that he's dead when he isn't.

C-137's keeping him alive for later use.

Hopefully, this is more complicated than it looks because I'll be disappointed if this is the end of Prime. He's a brilliant reflection of C-137: the Rick he'd be without his tiny shred of humanity.

And Prime's a maniac, but he tells C-137 the truth. Rick broke into Prime's house. He pretended he belonged with this group of strangers. He latched on to Prime's grandson because he never had his own. His brutal, violent streak never went away no matter how long he tried to play house.

Prime says "Admit it! You would have been me!" In season three and parts of season four, Rick was close. His love for his family--love that he pretended he didn't have--and desire for their approval just barely pulled him back. But what kept that spark alive? How close was he to becoming a cold, unfeeling shell?

In the end, C-137's not satisfied after he destroys Prime--and weirdly, I'm not satisfied, either. Beating Prime to an unrecognizable pulp doesn't bring Rick's original family back. It doesn't erase the atrocities that Rick's committed. It doesn't make his grief go away. It doesn't change the fact that Rick teetered on the edge of turning into the monster that he despised.

What's more satisfying is that Rick didn't turn out like Prime. His Morty doesn't give two shits about Prime, but he loves him. He hugs him in relief (come on, Rick, hug him back already!), cries out "Rick? Rick!" and shakes his body when he thinks he's dead, and talks excitedly as they return home.

Rick's going to therapy, which Prime would have mocked. He went from having nobody to living with FIVE kids if you count Morty and Summer. Even he and his Jerry are pretty tight.

Rick knows this, but he still feels empty all the time. Vengeance doesn't work, drinking doesn't work...wouldn't it be easier if he just switched off his humanity and laughed at everything, even his own death?

But now that he knows how it feels to be loved, especially by his hypothetical grandson, I think he'll always find himself at the Smiths' doorstep.

[zluty-spendlik]

WAKFU REDESIGN SERIES PART 3 - ADAMAÏ

Hiya, Im back lmaooo - took me long enough

I have been struggling with Ad's and Am's design so much. I dont know why. With Amalia, Im going to have to start over- again- 4th times the charm Im sure - but I finally finished this little guy!

ADAMAÏ IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER GUYS IM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS I LOVE HIM SM

But anyway, here is the final (human form) design:

Im aware he has multiple forms since hes, you know, a shapeshifter, and Im going to add them i promise but im like super tired and burnt out from the rest of my mortal life rn

Anyway, to the DESIGN.

Honestly, Adamais og design kinda sucks. Im sorry (not rlly). He doesnt look similar to Yugo at all - YES I KNOW HES A DRAGON - which bothers me a lot, even his color scheme is a lot different from his literal twin...

In my version, I wanted Ad to look deer-like at first, since I gave Yugo deer features, but then I drew him over and over again until I got this fusion of a moth and a lamb or smthing..

I don't know, but I really like it!

The outfit he's wearing is actually what I plan to be an official eliatrope/dragon robe? Both Grougal and Qilby will be wearing it and - potentially - Yugo in season 3. It has some portal imagery (the spiral on the back), and I don't know I just think it's neat!

ALSO WAKFU FRECKLES-

Season 1

Ad has been raised by Grougaloragran (least complicated name ever, wtf Ankama :3) and with Eliatrope/Dragon traditions, so hes very knowledgable of the now dead culture and values it very much. He loves talking to Yugo about it (he gets almost bored sometimes, but he would never admit it to Adamaï).

He, just like Yugo, is extremely curious and loves studying the way Wakfu works and its limits.

And mainly, he loves Grougal, whom he sees as an idol and a father figure. Which is why hes so hurt when he gets killed by Nox.

It feels like the whole world is collapsing on him. His mentor, care-taker, father, LITERALLY THE ONLY OTHER "PERSON" HE EVER INTERACTED WITH AND THE ONLY OTHER DRAGON ALIVE, is gone.

Adamaï has noone. Well- almost noone. Theres this little 12 year old Eliatrope, his only hope, his only anchor.

And he asks you: "Uh, sorry, whats your name again?"

Season 2

HAHSHA LETS TRAUMATIZE THE BOY!! (Even more than he is) Like I said, Adamaï values his culture and people very much, so I assume he would get very, I mean extremely attached to Yugo. However, Yugo is not actually interested in the same things Adamaï is interested in, which makes him a little bit more avoidable of Ad than he should be, given his emotional state.

Not that we blame him. So instead Ad seeks out a new anchor, a new mentor, a new... idol. Who is that you may ask?

Well, it's Qilby of course. Now here's where the funny trauma part happens, because Adamaï starts blurring the line between Grougal and Qilby.

Qilby's mistakes suddenly don't matter as much because Adamaï cares about him as much as he cared about Grougaloragran even though they don't know each other that long (which is the core of the problem).

Anything he'll be does that is morally questionable suddenly isn't bad, because that's not the mentor that Adamaï was raised with ‐ he trust Grougal completely, so why should Qilby be aby different?

So when Qilby betrays him, Adamaï is all the more surprised and hurt. It doesn't help that he really doesn't want to hurt Qilby: Even though he finally realizes that Qilby is a bad person, Adamaï still sees him as an anchor. He might be bad, but other than Yugo he's the only other person Adamaï has.

So of course he loses the fight, of course he gets captured – he doesn't actually want Qilby to get hurt.

Season 3-4 (5?)

Okay let's make one thing clear, I'm a bit of a hater.

Like I genuinely really dislike season 3 and what it has going on with making Adamaï a villain? I really don't think it fits his character, and I would much prefer for the story to have Yugo and Ad grow closer and revive their culture despite all the horrors and terrible things that have been bestowed up on them - But the writers have decided to go the obvious evil twin route which honestly makes my blood boil..

so I don't think I will be even considering rewriting season 3? I think to make it likeable for myself - as this is a self-indulgent project - I would just have to make my own season 3?

If that makes sense?

Art dump!! (Seriously my sketchbook is filled w this lil guy, these r hand picked) And- woah, is that Cleophée redesign? Maybeee~

@saturnyukaa i was looking forward to ur reaction 👉👈

[gojoonsaturn]

Let's talk about love?

pairing: Satoru Gojo x fem reader

wc: 1992

a/n: When Satoru Gojo appeared at your doorstep with two little children five years ago, you were stunned. The smug, cheeky and selfish Gojo, who was a narcissist (in fact, there are many other adjectives that could be used to describe him), decided to take care of other people's children. At first, you were skeptical, but over time, the four of you became close, and they have become an integral part of your life.

warnings: dialogues, because i love them; fluff, a bit angst, mentioning the death of the reader's parents, grumpy Megumi, cute Tsumiki, loving Satoru, you are parents of Fushiguro! and something more that you'll find (yes, i hate writing warnings)

english is not my first language, nor even second, so there may be mistakes, but i really spent a lot of time proofreading and improving my works.

“What is love?”

Tsumiki was lying next to you late at night, you were reading books together, and at some point, the girl put hers aside and turned to you with a question.

“Love? It depends on the type of love you are talking about. For example, we both love to read, so in that case, love could be seen as a hobby. It’s about enjoying the process of getting lost in another world and getting to know the characters. Or you love Megumi, that’s a different kind of love - a love for a family member.”

“Or how you and Gojo love us, right?”

“That’s right.” You nodded and smiled at Tsumiki.

“And what about the love between two people?”

“Ugh, that’s more complicated, I think. I guess it’s like a friendship that takes on a special level.”

“And how to distinguish a strong friendship from love?”

“Well…” You said, scratching your head and thinking about it. Tsumiki gave you some time to gather your thoughts and waited silently for you to continue the conversation. “I think that, apart from the emotional connection, love is mostly based on physical interactions. When you hug, kiss, or do even more intimate things, it creates a strong bond between you. It’s like there’s something inside us that makes us feel special when we’re with the person we love.

“Like butterflies fluttering in our stomachs?” Fushiguro suggested.

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“And how do you understand that a person loves you, and not just friends with you?”

“I guess it’s hard to tell sometimes, but I think it’s important to listen to your heart. If you feel a strong connection and a deep love for someone, then that’s probably how they feel about you too. To be honest, I’m not sure. People say that if someone loves you, they want to be close to you. When they’re laughing, they’ll look at you. Sometimes, you look at people in love, especially if they try to hide their feelings. They might act awkwardly, but it’s still fun to watch. Of course, caring is also important. Friends care for you, but when you’re in love... It’s a deeper level of caring you feel instinctively. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Not yet, but I think I’ll figure it out in time, don’t you think?”

“Of course! You have your whole life ahead of you. You will definitely find someone who will bring you true love.”

“And you? Have you ever been in love?” Miki asked thoughtfully.

You sighed and fell silent.

“Probably, yes.” You said after a brief pause.

“Is it Gojo?” Tsumiki jumped up and approached you.

“What makes you think so?” You frowned and tried to hide your smile.

“I think he’s in love with you!”

“Miki, unfortunately, love isn’t always mutual. Sometimes, one person loves another, but the other doesn’t feel the same way.”

“You don’t like Gojo?!”

“No, I like him as a friend. Like your dad.” You made air quotes. “I like him as a sorcerer. He’s incredibly powerful, and during our studies, he helped me more than once with my techniques. But sometimes, he can be unbearable!”

Tsumiki laughed and looked at you with a barely suppressed smile on her face.

After a few weeks of busy schedule and constant work, Gojo and you had a few days off. Satoru suggested everyone go to Okinawa, and the children happily accepted, while you seemed slightly tense.

“Is something wrong?” Satoru asked casually.

You rubbed your forehead and forced a smile.

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s actually a good idea. We’ve all been working hard lately, so it would be good to take a break.”

The next day, the four of you boarded the plane and waited for takeoff. You tried to avoid looking out the window, instead of listening to music with your eyes closed. Suddenly, you felt a gentle touch on your arm and opened one eye to see Megumi encouragingly smiling at you. He winked, quickly realizing that you were scared of flying. You smiled gratefully at him and intertwined your fingers with his, closing your eyes again. This time, the fear inside you partially eased.

Once you arrived in Okinawa, you checked into the hotel and headed to the beach. While the children played in the water, you read a book, with Satoru resting on your lap. Gojo lay there, sipping a cocktail.

“Are you okay?” You asked, putting down the book and sensing that he was lost in thought.

“Yes, it’s just a place…” He got up from your lap and sat next to you, watching Miki and Megumi play in the sea. “By the way, I noticed Fushiguro comforting you during the flight… You never mentioned that you were afraid of flying.”

“I don’t think that’s information that needs to be shared.” You scratched your forehead.

“Why not?”

“My parents died in a plane crash.” You overcame the lump in your throat and managed to say the words in a calm tone. “I was 8.”

Gojo took a deep breath and moved closer to you.

“Do you understand that it’s okay to grieve? You don’t have to act like an adult and pretend that you’re not worried about it.”

You felt tears welling up and buried your face in your knees. When you thought the tears had stopped, you looked up to see Satoru smiling softly. You wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come, so you simply looked at him.

“I’m so grateful to have you. I guess for me, you are the family that I have never had.” You said, and Satoru took your hand and kissed the back of your palm.

Miki watched this interaction and smiled at herself.

A couple of hours later, Satoru was playing in the sea with the children. He picked Tsumiki up on his shoulders and chased after Megumi, who was splashing water at him. As you watched this scene, you felt all the tension in your body melt away. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, Satoru and the joy of the children brought a sense of calm to your heart. You stood up from the deck chair and walked towards the group. Megumi ran towards you and hid behind you from Gojo and Miki. You waved your hand, and a small wave washed over Satoru and Tsumiki, causing both of them to squeal.

“That’s not fair!” Satoru removed Tsumiki from around his neck and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest in a show of displeasure.

“Come on, it’s fun!” You patted the guy’s head as you approached him, brushing the sand from his shoulders.

After a few minutes, you noticed that the children were starting to get tired. You led them to their rooms, tucked them into bed and decided to return to the beach for the sunset.

As the sun was setting, Gojo took you to the sea. The water was quite cool, but Gojo’s warmth kept you comfortable. Satoru refused to let go of your hand until you were up to your chest in the water. The sun had nearly set when the man pulled you towards him and gently kissed your lips. He felt you both needed it, but was still afraid you would push him away. Instead, you snuggled closer and returned the kiss with equal intensity.

The next morning, the four of you were sitting at breakfast. Your smiles were subtle, but Tsumiki noticed something had changed. Gojo was rambling, and you smiled at every word he said. Later, at the beach, you were all playing in the water. Satoru kept touching you, and you responded eagerly.

“Something has changed between them.” Miki said to her brother, as they relaxed on the deck chairs, watching you sit by the sea.

“What do you mean?” Megumi replied, frowning in confusion.

“Their smiles, their touches... they weren’t like they were before.” The girl said with confidence.

Fushiguro turned his gaze towards his parents and looked at them for a long time. Previously, you avoided unnecessary touching, but now you were sitting with your shoulders leaning against each other and your back relaxed, while Gojo’s hand was still holding onto your waist. Megumi watched this, not noticing how you and Gojo approached him.

“Would you like to try riding a banana-boat?” Satoru suggested.

“A banana?” Fushiguro was still lost in his thoughts, so he didn’t immediately understand what the guy was talking about.

“Or we could look for a kiwi or a watermelon!” Gojo said and laughed.

Megumi rolled his eyes at the joke, but you laughed loudly and put your hand on his shoulder. Miki looked at her brother pointedly, but he turned away, muttering something under his breath in displeasure. You noticed it quickly and took your hand away from Satoru, stopping your smile.

“Why don’t you go first, just the two of you, then Megs and I?” You said, raising your eyebrows and pointing at the boy.

Gojo immediately understood what was going on and took Tsumiki on the water attraction.

“Is everything okay?” You plopped down on the blanket next to Megumi and gently nudged him on the shoulder.

“You and Gojo are together now?” The boy deliberately emphasized the last word.

“I think so.” You realized it was pointless to hide it from him, so you decided to just admit it.

“I see.” Megumi tried to avoid eye contact with you.

“Is something wrong?” You placed your hand on Fushiguro’s shoulder.

“I just thought that... Gojo is not good enough for you.”

“Wow!” You even pulled away from Megumi and frowned. “It seemed to me that everyone should decide for themselves who is suitable for them and who is not. Besides, you know, sometimes you can’t control love. Your body reacts to a person physically, while your brain isn’t even aware of it.”

Megumi turned to you and saw a smile on your face. He could tell from the look in your eyes that you were partly in your thoughts and probably thinking about Gojo.

“Do you really love him?”

“I’ve known him for five years. During that time, he has been by my side 80% of the time and has always supported me. I think what I feel for him could be described as love. I don’t know what he feels, but I feel comfortable with him. In general, I am calm around you. You are like a family to me, which I have never had before.

Megumi went through a complex thought process in his head. After thinking for a while, he nodded to himself.

“Where is your banana-boat?”

The next morning, Megumi knocked on Gojo’s door. After a long wait, Satoru opened it, but he seemed annoyed and wanted to slam it in Megumi’s face. The man quickly left the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

“Has something happened?” Gojo asked, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up.

“Do you love her?” Fushiguro asked suddenly, taking Satoru by surprise.

“Yes, I have loved her since she came to Tokyo Jujutsu High.” Gojo answered.

He realized that he did not want to deny his feelings and confessed immediately.

“It’s good that you weren’t hesitant. But if she gets hurt because of you, I will kill you.” Megumi replied.

If Gojo had heard this from another nine-year-old boy, he might have laughed and patted him on the cheek. But looking at the serious expression on Fushiguro’s face, he didn’t move a muscle and simply nodded in agreement. The man knelt down in front of Megumi and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Listen, Megumi, she is not going to suffer because of me or because of anything else. I promise you."

“What is it?” You mumbled sleepily, pulling Satoru back to bed.

“It’s just that... The staff wanted to check if we need any extra cleaning.”

You smiled through your sleep and hugged Gojo, pulling him closer to you.

[ckret2]

I believe I remember a post you wrote once, as an answer to an ask maybe, where you mentioned that you forgot not everyone has a clear mental map of the Mystery Shack's layout as you do, and some people were confused about what floors existed and how you were writing characters coming from where. I wanted to check the post again since iirc you explained or described some stuff in there, but I can't find it >_< I was mostly wondering, does the Mystery Shack have a basement that isn't connected to the elevator, and is this where Ford's room is, or is it in the ground floor? I feel like I see people treat the shack like it has 3 floors completely separate from everything the elevator leads to but I might also just be confused

i'm not gonna put the effort into digging that post back up but you're in luck because the basements weren't addressed in that post so it wouldn't have helped anyway!!!

Yes, the Mystery Shack DOES have another room that appears to be a basement, separate from THE basement with the elevator where the portal is! We see it in Bottomless Pit:

We never see how this room connects to the rest of the shack so we can't guarantee that it's underground. But the concrete-looking floor, plain cracked walls, bare bulb, exposed pipes, utilitarian hot water heater & washing machine, and very high window all scream "basement."

I personally call this room "the cellar" to distinguish it from THE basement.

We never fully see the wall that would be to Soos's left, so we aren't SURE that there's no additional doors down there, but there's no evidence of any.

As to where Ford's room is, it depends on which of Ford's rooms you mean. If you mean Ford's room as in the one that was revealed in The Last Mabelcorn, it's part of the elevator basement levels:

But you probably don't mean that one since we see them taking the elevator down to it.

If you mean the one revealed in Carpet Diem, it's somewhere in the main house:

Both the room itself and the hallway outside the room have normal large windows, preventing the room from being underground; and the room has a tilted ceiling with sunbeams coming through, indicating it's directly under the roof.

A complication: we don't know where the staircase on the left goes and there's no sensible place to put it based on what we do know about the house's layout. But that's the case with several locations in the house.

Based on the map we have of the house, this room is likely the "study." Notice that the shape of the hall leading to the room (dead ending against an outer wall) and the fact that there's a hall on the side of it lines up with the study's location; even if the staircase doesn't lol.

The reason a lot of people headcanon the shack has three stories is because the first floor's fully accounted for with these blueprints, (the three unlabeled rooms are the entryway, kitchen, and office), there's nothing in the attic but an open floor and the kids' room, and yet there's multiple rooms we have no location for (Stan's bedroom, the storage room the wax figures were found in, ANY of the bathrooms). The doylist explanation is that the showrunners wanted the shack to be a little magical with a confusing layout (up until they dropped these blueprints) so it doesn't always make internal sense; but if you want a watsonian explanation for where those rooms were, "second floor" is the easiest.

[selfship-confession-void]

Explaining Nonsharing (FROM MY EXPERIENCE)

Proship/comship/darkfic/neutral DNI!! This post is NOT for you. Stay out of my blog

To note: this is for fun! I've seen a lot of people confused by their own feelings of ickiness/jealousy/discomfort when it comes to nonsharing, so I thought diving into it might help people feel better about how they feel! And also to help explain to those who aren't Nonsharers where the feelings come from. I may make a sequel post to this tying in ficto identities, depending.

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, professional, or in any way a beacon of all-knowing truth or complete fact. This dissection is largely based off of my own feelings as a Nonsharer to some F/Os myself, and my personal understanding of the matter. I apologize if it doesn't make complete sense, but if it doesn't fit your experience, keep in mind that these things tend to be a complex topic that cannot be narrowed down into one post or theory, because every Nonsharer is different. I'm just attempting to maybe help a few people understand it a bit better.

Ramblings under the cut:

Now: where does nonsharing come from? To be simplistic, it stems from affection. To understand why someone would be unwilling to share their F/Os, you'd have to understand the science behind affection itself, and sometimes jealousy as well. Firstly though, remember that they're both complex emotions. Emotions themself are complicated, but love especially, as it can come in several different forms and for several different reasons. And everyone experiences it differently. There's entire extensive articles and studies you could look into about love and how it works, but let's be honest: it hardly ever makes sense.

How does this tie back? Well, when you're very close to someone, it's natural to want to protect them. It goes into every relationship, even animals experience it. Platonically, familially, romantically, every version of deep affection carries a desire to protect. I won't keep dancing around the explanations, so the easiest way to put it is everyone experiences that protective instinct differently. And sometimes it can be really intense, just as well as it can be minimal. Hence, nonsharing.

Now I know how that sounds, so let me specify: this does not mean Nonsharers see others as a threat or something to guard against. It just means they naturally feel how others do, in a more intense way. That's why it may make you feel uncomfortable to see someone else with your F/O. Because that's your partner, and it's a very natural emotion to want to keep your partner close. But, and this is where jealousy comes in— you gotta be respectful.

Just because it's normal to feel protective of a partner doesn't give anyone the right to harass or antagonize people with the same F/O. Remember— though your love for your F/O is real and extremely valid, you cannot stuff them in a box and let no one else see them ever. They're from free and open media. I know that may sound a little harsh, but you have to be reasonable here. Do not ever harass or bully someone just because they share an F/O you don't wanna share. This is why we have the block button. It's 110% okay to set up a "doubles DNI" rule or block whoever makes you uncomfortable. This is your online experience after all! I'm merely saying no one should shove their ideas onto someone else and judge them accordingly.

This goes for Sharers, too. You're not "better" than someone who doesn't share F/Os. I've seen way too many super aggressive anons and backhanded posts in this community about Nonsharers. Just because you personally don't understand it, or you don't feel upset with someone else selfshipping with a character you like, doesn't mean Nonsharers are any less valid.

There is no excuse for trying to harm a Nonsharer just because they don't share. Any time that's said, the most common response I see is "but sometimes they're toxic!". Guess what? Sharers can be toxic as hell too. Especially when picking on people in their own community over a preference. Just because SOME of them can be rude and damaging doesn't mean you can suddenly act like everyone who doesn't share an F/O is the same bad egg. Yes this goes in vice versa too. But Sharers are particularly prone to picking on Nonsharers more than the other way around in my experience, so yes it is important for me to hammer this point home for so long.

But back on track: you may be wondering— "okay, so you said not wanting to share comes from natural feelings of affection. But why do some people have it more intense than others?". Simple answer is, everyone is different. Yes I know that sounds lame and cheesy, but in several scientific aspects, it's true! There's not always an exact reason why something is different for some than others. It's just how things are. Expecting everyone to conform to one idea is unrealistic. Expecting everyone to experience something the same is unrealistic. As stated before: just because your experience is different, doesn't make anyone else's lesser.

So now that I've established where it may come from and what that means, let's get a little more into how to handle it. Lemme make this abundantly clear— whether you share or not, your relationship with your F/O(s) is valid. Because it is your own unique perception of them, it will always be wholly yours. Your feelings being as strong as they are is proof that it's real. And even if you don't feel them that strongly, considering a character an F/O at all is a testament to genuine care. So what do you do when you care for them so much that seeing other people express care for them is harmful to you?

As I mentioned before— the age old block method is always a good one. If you don't want to see someone's content, you can always use the button that let's you not ever see it again. Don't worry, it doesn't make you "sensitive", "a baby", or anything negative. The function exists for a reason, and if it helps your mental health, absolutely go for it! Your wellbeing is always important above all else.

But if you're like me, you may still feel bad after the block, simply because seeing the content in it of itself was distressing. Unfortunately, there's no single solution to that. I know it's not helpful to read that, but it is true. The best advice I can think to give is find a way to really connect with your F/O. If you can find something that establishes a strong sense of connection, it could be comforting to revisit it whenever you're feeling down. A plush, drawing, song, scent, item, anything like that which you can relate to your beloved. Indulge in it when you're feeling down, and remember: they do love you, your feelings are valid, and as long as you're not hurting yourself or others, there's absolutely nothing wrong with not sharing.

If that doesn't help, try and find what works for you! Remember that your F/O would comfort, love, and support you no matter what. And there is no "this is true for me and no one else" in this community. Everyone is deserving of love. Cope however you need to, but remember that at the end of the day it's never right to take your feelings out on someone else and tear others down over something harmless. In your universe with your F/O, your love is endless and solely yours, but everyone is allowed their own pocket of comfort.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, that's all! I hope this comes across clearly, but a reminder just in case: this is not a professional report, objective fact, or statements that is meant to try and say everyone experiences this. This is a theory from someone who is partially nonsharing attempting to make a connection as to why these things occur, as well as some general good PSAs. If this doesn't match your experience, remember that everyone feels these feelings uniquely, and yours are totally normal and valid. This isn't meant to be a perfect explanation, merely a guess that might help it make some sense to those who don't understand it. As I've stated countless times, no matter what, be kind to each other. Harassment is never okay from either side. Thank you for reading

[cosplayproblemsposts]

Dysfunctional as always

Summary: Your family was not the greatest by all means, but it doesn't mean there wasn't any form of warmth.

Warning: Angst, comfort, and words of encouragement.

Male characters x Male reader

A/N: Written by phone and not proofread.

"I don't remember you," the man who has embraced his son frowns while he pulls away. The two men stood in a parking lot of a recently closed fast food restaurant with the intention of reconciliation. Nothing came of this due to the much older man false promises and impulsive disappearances.

The Cullens filled the void of the lack of family, your father leaving you with an ill grandmother to care for. Running and cutting you loose for anything that did not include you. Now, here you are dealing with the loss of the only mortal figure who truly cared for you.

Crimson eyes watch the man grow confused with an uneven smile. "I'm your father. Of course you remember me," the man who claims to be your maker stood here before you for one thing inheritance. The leech himself knew his mother in law must have left something behind for her one and only surviving grandchild.

A level-headed vampire out stretched arm prevents his platinum haired coven mate from departing the slimy leech head from his shoulders. "Leave him. We can not reveal ourselves. " A low growl comes from an equally angry vampire.

"You weren't there," your voice low barely a whisper. Your so-called father's staggers back at the somewhat light impact of a shove, a shove you delivered with uncertainty. Uncertain if you could bring yourself to truly turn away from him, the man you known half of your life before he became unbearable.

"What? Of course I was there, " a habit you had developed due to his absence. A habit where you insert the man face, voice, body, and once adrimible smile.

Replacing certain people who were present, Carlisle and Esme were the people who would suffer the swap. Your grandmother was Carlisle patient, always coming and going.

Made sure to answer her calls and never complain. Carlisle took notice of the newfound shoes at the front door. "It seems you have a shadow," the ill womam points out as a little face peeks out from the safety of the stairwell.

Carlisle knew you knew there, your little heart giving you away and your breathing. You were twelve years old, always watching and always imagining your father stood in his place. Your father false figure stood instead of the kind gentle blonde who made sure to leave his wife's homemade meals in the kitchen for you and the sick woman.

"Does he have any distant relatives who could take care of him?". A trip to the hospital turns into a nightmare, a nightmare the woman tried to avoid. "No, they are either far too busy to juggle anymore kids, or they are located across the country." Carlisle nods, striken with sadness at the thought of the boy who stood outside of the room.

Far too scared of the pale doctor and how the said doctor might say or do something to ruin the child's illusion. A lie, a lie where his father is a doctor who studied medicine to aid his mother in law and possibly save her from her fate. "He has been passed from relatives to relative, but he always comes back to me."

Alice has already foresee this at the request of Carlisle. He has already made up his mind. It'll be hard to convince certain individuals, but he is not turning this child down because of his nature.

"No, I don't see why he can't live with his father or mother." Rosalie is about to regret mentioning the boys' parents."What do you mean?," Rosalie undead, heart breaks alongside the many others present. "I agreed to take care of him while his grandmother spends a few weeks in the hospital. Waiting for an answer. " "I didn't know, " Emmet leans into his once unmovable mate.

"It took me by surprise too, the boys mother scummb to birth complications." Esme set a hand upon Carlisles clothed chest "and the infant. " Carlisle shook his head. "She never made it to see her fifth birthday," Alice squeezes Jasper hand.

"All he has is his grandmother and the hope of a foster family or distant relative. I doubt they'll take him in. So I ask each of you to consider a new member. " It didn't take long for the Cullens to adjust to the small boy and his oddities.

"You weren't there when she was born," the overwhelming memories of the Cullens took over your sense. Slowly, stickers peel off, revealing the true people present in your major and minor memories. From the ice rink of your first game of the season to the last.

To the time you fell sick, to your first ever big win to the moment your grandmother passed a few weeks back. To the time you acknowledged Bella as a sister and how you brought Edward back to reality. How you drill both Bella and Edward when they become unbearable and how they don't think before they do.

The man lets out a grunt as a fist breaks his once correct nose. The man falls back as you begin pulling and shaking the man. A struggle of somesort breaks out in the parking lot concert grounds.

"You weren't when she died!" You let out a long, drawn-out groan as you laid a hard blow to the man's face. "Alright, stop it!" But you didn't want to stop. You wanted him to feel the pain you had endured from the funeral arrangements of your fallen grandmother to the funeral of your little sister.

"Where were you!?" You hadn't taken notice of the blood that painted your knuckles. You never took into account how you could have handled this situation. How the sudden phone call made you claw at the skin of your forearm until Bella enclosed you in a hug.

A cold, gloved hand held your wrist in a gentle grip. "That's enough, I believe he understands," Stefan blood eyes meets yours, unaware you began to shed tears. "You have done enough little one." Stefan effortlessly pulls you to your feet.

You didn't protest or deny his embrace. "I'm sorry." Stefan made a tsk sound. "Don't apologize. You have every right to act out, " Vladimir watches as he keeps the third party from escaping. Trapping him underneath the albino boot, "Stefan is right. He should be the one apologizing, not you. "

"Blood, my hands," you pull away from the ancient ruler. "We have self-control, don't we? Vladimir, " the blonde nods with a little smile. "Let him go. Where will he go? Who will he turn to?" Your words shook the two vampires, but they obliged.

"You are lucky you have an understanding, son," Once Vlaimir lifts his foot from the man, he scrambles away. "He may come back?" You said while watching your once present father run away. "A risk a fool like him will take." You shook your head at Vladimir, who can see beyond your vision of the dark.

The texture of a handkerchief took you by surprise, "Don't want the Cullens to believe we are bad a influence." Stefan wasn't the only one who began cleaning your hands.

Vladimir was soft and slow, just like his coven mate, who took your left hand while he coddled your right hand. Once white handkerchiefs grew, Crimson red. You didn't make it easy either you were fidgety and anxious.

The adrenaline washed away from your once flaming body. Warmth seeping away at the thought, your father may report you to the police. A cold kiss to your palm brought you back. "You must remain still," Vladimir spoke against the palm of your skin.

You cast your gaze down "sorry" another pair of cold lips meets your wrist. Stefan freezing lips peppers small, slow, comforting, pecks upon the veins of your wrist. The sound of blood flow and the touch of your warmth engraved a smile on Stefan face "you done well, can't imagine what you will be capable of once you turn."

Vladimir agrees with another lingering kiss to your palm, "Your speed and strength are hard not to imagine." The two vampires will never let you down, nor will they ever leave you despite the Cullens' threats.

[veeaxx]

— EXAMS ★ their s/o pushes themself to study for the upcoming exams, but it might be getting out of hand.

note: this is a no overworking zone, rest if you need rest!! m.list is here characters: various haikyuu boys x reader

— SUGAWARA KOSHI

⋆ seeing as suga does tutor the first years sometimes, this isn't something new to him.

⋆ in fact, this is quite the common sight. he sees the first/second years stress over their exams all the time.

⋆ yet, he does get overall concerned for them.

⋆ if i know one thing, exams are important but YOU definitely come first!

⋆ what if they get too stressed and pass out? what if they prioritize studies over their own well-being?

⋆ suga's mom instincts kicking in: 🏃💨

⋆ so when he sees you studying for the exams yourself, he can't help but think how determined you are.

⋆ his cute, adorable s/o set on one goal, passing the exams..he finds it cute.

⋆ he does joke about it quite a bit. poking your cheek from time to time all while he softly coos at you. "determined, aren't we? hehe."

⋆ he does understand your concentration though, he will leave you be to avoid distracting you of course!

⋆ he doesn't think much of it at first, studying is a normal sight, obviously. it's even more normal with you, because you two have study dates all the time.

⋆ still cautious about you stressing yourself though. he'll brush it off in the meantime, but he won't forget.

⋆ a few hours pass by. he's gone to volleyball practice, done a few school-works, etc. he can't wait to relax.

⋆ he hums softly before taking out his phone to check the time, it nearly being evening.

⋆ slowly opening the classroom door "time to go home sugar,” he says softly.

⋆ his eyes widen in slight surprise as he sees you there, multiple empty cans of energy drinks, cluttered papers, and notes around your desk.

⋆ your eyes snapping open from time to time as you try to avoid snoozing off.

⋆ as cute as it may sound, he's genuinely concerned. like 😥

⋆ he walks over to you, slowly tapping your shoulder as your eyes flinch open. you rub your eyes before looking up, seeing the concerned smile of your boyfriend.

⋆ "oh, hey suga.." he chuckles quietly. "you look exhausted, sugar. maybe you should rest."

⋆ you whine, "but i need to stud—" he softly shushes you, helping you get up from your chair. "baby, exams are still in a few days. yet here you are worrying your pretty little head." he says.

⋆ "take a break, love. we can get some snacks before we go home, okay?" suga hand in marriage now 💳💥💥💥💳💥💥

⋆ there's no over-studying when suga's around.

⋆ baby would literally pamper you till all the stress goes away!

⋆ no doubt has beef with the subjects you're studying for, like how dare you make my bby stress out 😤

⋆ very good boyfriend, 11/10!

— DAICHI SAWAMURA

⋆ he also knows how it feels, studying for a complicated exam.

⋆ not that daichi has bad grades, but because he also sees his underclassmen having quite a hard time.

⋆ he's also fairly concerned, not only because you're his partner, but because he cares about you. he can't forgive himself if something happens to you :((

⋆ although, seeing you study does motivate him to as well.

⋆ his baby's so determined to pass the examinations..how cute!

⋆ that doesn't stop him from trying to prevent anything from happening to you though.

⋆ "hey, make sure to take a break, alright?" he murmurs, rubbing your shoulders gently. "yes i will, daichi, love." you reply, smiling.

⋆ will leave you alone if you ask him to! he doesn't want to distract anyone here. he might as well attend volleyball practice—and come back for you later.

⋆ and so, he does. as soon as he finishes practice, he sends you a text saying he'll walk you home.

⋆ however, his message remains unseen despite being sent. which is quite odd, as you always would reply immediately.

⋆ "maybe they're busy.." is what he thinks.

⋆ but when he opens the door, oh boy, he's in for a surprise.

⋆ his s/o, knocked out on the desk, nearly snoring. papers and a few notebooks clattered around.

⋆ his eyes are wide, because this is exactly what he had thought of happening. walking over to you, he tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear, sighing in concern.

⋆ "i thought i told you to rest, sweetheart.." he mumbles quietly, not wanting to wake you up.

⋆ as if on cue, you slowly open your eyes before locking contact with your boyfriend. "oh, hi daichi..what time is it?" you ask, rubbing your eyes.

⋆ he sighs once again, ruffling your hair. "enough studying, baby. you better rest." he replies.

⋆ if you try saying no, it's quite useless. he'll keep saying no to over-studying again.

⋆ will get you anything to make sure you feel better and less-stressed.

⋆ he'll ask the teacher to excuse you if needed.

⋆ once you finally get the rest you need (most likely a nap), he'll be the happiest person alive.

⋆ "sleep well, babe." he mutters as he kisses your forehead.

— TSUKISHIMA KEI

⋆ quite annoyed how you insist you're fine, yet you're clearly tired.

⋆ "tch..stop insisting you're alright, idiot." bakugo vibes frfr ����

⋆ but if you really insist, then sure, he'll leave you be.

⋆ he's really concerned though, trust me.

⋆ he just won't show it much because he's being tsukki.

⋆ tsukishima is no doubt smart, which earns him loads of people asking for help on studying.

⋆ with his sour demeanor however, he turns them down as yamaguchi apologizes on his behalf. or he'll snicker with tsukki, lol

⋆ but if you ask, oh, that's a different story. he'll oblige on one condition, buy him some strawberry shortcake.

⋆ anywhooo—while studying, he keeps an eye on you, especially if he can see you're tired.

⋆ if he needs to go to practice, he'll politely ask one of your classmates (or his, if you're both in the same class) to watch over you until he comes back.

⋆ tsukki being kind since when?!! 🫢

⋆ "hey, watch over y/n for me. leave them and you're dead, got it?" nvm he's still rude as ever 🫠

⋆ also sends you a text as soon as he finishes, but if there's no reply he's sour and worried af lol

⋆ imagine, he opens the door calmly, and sees you passed out.

⋆ if the classmate assigned to watch you was still there, he'll actually be kind and thank them all while quietly ushering them out.

⋆ once he's alone with you, he'll sigh softly before sitting down to you.

⋆ "i thought i told you to rest, stupid." he says before taking another look at your sleeping face.

⋆ you looking all pretty sleeping brings a slight tinge of red to his cheeks. kissing your forehead, his blush only turns redder, oh you'd be teasing him all the time if you were awake.

⋆ when you do wake up, he'll be back to his normal self.

⋆ no excuses, you're taking a break from studying. no ifs and no buts either!

⋆ what'll the teacher say? don't worry, he's taken care of that. hungry? he's got your favorite snacks at the ready. cuddles? sure, just this once.

⋆ ask and you'll receive ;)

⋆ will always accompany you to study after that.

⋆ he's really the the sweetest boyfriend, but just for you.

⋆ and by the way, when he kissed you—you weren't even sleeping 🤫

— SATORI TENDOU

⋆ this goofy lil mf !!!

⋆ will tease you on purpose to mess with you, and he gets you everytime.

⋆ i mean, since you're studying he might as well tag along and study too.

⋆ can't leave his precious baby studying alone, can he?

⋆ while it may seem like tendou does not take anything seriously, he knows when someone may have pushed boundaries a lil too far.

⋆ in this case, you pushing your own boundaries by overworking yourself to study.

⋆ satori's pretty smart, in and out of volleyball. don't think you can fool him that easily, dear 😞

⋆ "oh y/n my love~~ don't overwork yourself too much!" "awe.. you're such a sweetie, tendou." "only for you, my sunshine~!" 🥹💕

⋆ he literally needs to go to practice but is still clinging onto you like a koala.

⋆ if you do happen to convince him to attend practice, he will be thinking about you the whole time. he might even mess up a bit because he already misses you that much.

⋆ "oi, tendou! get your head out of the clouds and play well!" semi shouts from the other side of the court, earning a teasing broken-hearted look from the middle blocker. "ouch, semisemi's so harsh!"

⋆ when on the way back after practice, he can't help but have quite the happy mood.

⋆ yknow, you guys could ask each other questions to review, or take down notes together, or—

⋆ his thoughts come to a halt when he sees his lover, in their desk with a look of pure exhaustion on their face. "oh, you're back, babe." you say, before yawning.

⋆ "could you wait just a lil bit more? i gotta tackle this last part—" you mumble, before closing your mouth in your boyfriend's presence.

⋆ "enough studying, baby! look at you, so stressed out and tired." he continues, "how could you do this to yourself?!" your eyes widen in slight surprise as your boyfriend exaggerated nearly every detail of your actions, it's actually quite cute seeing him ramble.

⋆ "t-tendou, i'm fine, baby." you reply, holding his face softly. "you're so cute when you're worried."

⋆ a blush makes it's way onto tendou's face. "i know you think you're fine, y/n-chan. but the way i see it, you're tired, my love." he continues, "rest, sunshine! it'll refresh you a lot, promise."

⋆ tendou touching our hearts fr 💘

⋆ long story short, he's very mindful about studying now. he's gotta be there with you!

⋆ also, he will always let you take breaks if needed! tendou's got snacks, cuddles and anything you'd like at the ready~

⋆ "take good care of yourself, my love!" he exclaims before kissing you, making you giggle.

⋆ "yes, tendou, my love. i won't forget this time." you reply, holding his hand.

⋆ oh man, he really loves you.

— KENMA KOZUME

⋆ kenma himself is quite smart. some may think he only prioritizes video games—but in reality, studies are something he maintains.

⋆ and besides, to complete some of his games, you're required to solve puzzles to move onto a level !!

⋆ so technically, he never lacked smarts in the first place.

⋆ kenma also hates being burnt out, and due to that, he usually requires a study partner to be able to check on him.

⋆ back then, it would always be kuroo—and it remained the same, until he started studying with you.

⋆ i am not implying he replaced rooster head btw 😢

⋆ and throughout time, he started to notice how you'd stay up quite late just to study.

⋆ on one point, staying up late is something he does all the time. but he's aware it could have negative health benefits.

⋆ and so, he'd try his absolute best to remind you that you should take breaks once in awhile.

⋆ "rest, babe." he whispered. "hm? what was that, kenma?" you say, turning your head to face him. "i said you should rest, i don't like seeing you tired.." he replied, blushing softly.

⋆ you always give him the same "i will!" which makes him think you're lying.

⋆ he does trust you, but do you really think he believes that 🤨

⋆ anywho, he does understand that you need to study, so he'll leave you be.

⋆ is lowkey the type to send someone to spy on you/j

⋆ i mean, he'll see you after anyway, not much of a big deal.

⋆ atleast, that's what he thinks. but the moment he sees you again, oh boy..

⋆ it's as if a tornado came and wrecked everything.

⋆ i'm exaggerating ofc, but yk what i mean 👍

⋆ letting out a soft sigh, he walks over to your cluttered desk, crouching to be able to see your exhausted expression.

⋆ "hey, kenma...what's up?" you ask, straightening your form as you look at your partner lovingly, albeit visibly tired.

⋆ "you look tired, bunny." he mutters, being careful not to raise his voice too much to avoid making you surprised.

⋆ "haha..yeah, math's taking a toll on me, hun." you reply, yawning while stretching your arms in the air.

⋆ "i promise, i'm almost done, maybe 5 more minutes?" you continue, looking at the clock on the wall, which makes kenma look at you in disbelief.

⋆ he softly grabs your hand, blushing a bit due to embarrassment. "kenma?" you ask, "is something wrong?" you ask. "bunny, don't overwork yourself. you look exhausted, let's take a break." he replies, rubbing your hand softly.

⋆ surprised at the little gesture of affection, your eyes widen, as if it's the first day you saw kenma. such a sweetheart.

⋆ giving up the act, you smile and nod. "sure, let's take a break, love." which in return, makes him smile as you stood up from your chair.

⋆ if the message wasn't already clear, you're not sneaking off to study, that's a nono!!

⋆ if you need anything, kenma will literally go out of his way to get it for you (that is, if it is obtainable in the first place).

⋆ most importantly, if you just want to rest with him, he'll oblige to that too!

⋆ he's really just concerned, so don't get him worried again, or else he might as well drag you to play a game with him on his psp, heheh.

⋆ "you did well, y/n. i'm proud of you." he mumbles, stroking your hair.

⋆ boyfriend material !!!!

HAIKYUU TAGLIST: @millenialfanfictionaddiction, @queen-aria-things

© ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO @VEEAXX, DO NOT COPY, TRANSLATE, OR REPOST MY WORK.

[burningcheese-merchant]

Its the cycle of History. Civilizations rise up. He watches them thrive. They eventually fall. Witnessing an expected event over and over with no Change can be desensitizating. After all, there's no reason in madness! (Timekeeper being in a similar boat of boredom only satiated by causing problems on purpose in roundabout ways for lols)

One might say that all he does with Destruction gives him a sense of control. Finally he can play HIS way. Speeding up things so he doesn't end up getting attached. Even better if he can be destroyed in turn some day. The combo of adrenaline and spices make for quite the addiction :3 If it turns out he sent spiced out cookies to Mystic then not even his supposed friend is safe from bull

It's rather interesting with what we've seen in Mystic Flour as the first Beast release. Girlie cared too much til she had no more f to give. BS destroys everything before he could prolly care. Can't wait to see Smilk spiraling into silly[tm] from knowing too much! Time to crave tragedy!!

I know, brother. Trust me. I've made a post addressing this before, and... Well. What I work on and study irl has an awful lot to do with history as a subject lol. I really need you wll to believe me when I say I understand the cycle of history. I know it so well, it hurts. It's part of why I'm such a cynic irl. I know exactly how awful history and people are. I really, truly do.

And you have a point, yeah. It could be a play for control. For things to be the way Burning Spice wants them to be, if only once. Sort of like what I suggested in that post: just cut out the middleman and end it all yourself. Be the "solution" to the "problem", before the problem even actually happens. It's a valid theory. Certainly an interesting one.

It's still bullshit at the end, though. Same with Mystic Flour's reasons for turning bad. Same as all the others' reasons probably will be.

Idk I think I'm just... tired at this point. History is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart for many reasons, and has been my whole life. In studying history, you learn a lot about people and life and the human condition. And part of that is hearing every single excuse for doing evil deeds possible. And in hearing Mystic Flour's backstory, and even Burning Spice's (how little we actually see), all I heard were all those same excuses all over again. And I got sick of hearing them a long time ago.

I'm not sure I necessarily see what Mystic Flour did as "caring too much until she had nothing left to give". I see it, I see what you're saying and it's valid, I just... it reads more as outright naivety to me. Girlie acts like she's never heard of greedy people before. "There were people who wished for selfish things and wanted my powers for themselves" uh yeah lol. That happens. There are people like that out there. You should know better than to think otherwise. You should also know better than to just go ahead and grant every single person's wishes. It inevitably leads to greed and entitlement. But regardless, that's no fucking reason to want to wipe out all of man/cookiekind. That's fucking stupid. Some shitty people took advantage of me, therefore every single person on earth should lose their individuality and die. Fuck you, you miserable bitch (I know it's more complicated than that, I'm just distilling it because MF legitimately does irritate me as a character lol)

"I'm bored" oh man. Oh jeez. That's the worst thing that could ever happen to someone, now isn't it. You're so bored, it seems, that you can't even be bothered to explain why or how. Are you tired of building something up and caring about it, only for it to be destroyed, over and over again? Did you lose someone important to you while enforcing that cycle? Are you overwhelmed by the burden of the responsibility you were given without choice, and thus slowly driven to madness? All of the above? None? It doesn't matter because those are stupid, too. And they're rendered stupid because you use them as an excuse to hurt people that have nothing to do with anything. "I destroy things to regain a semblance of control over my life and to prevent attachment" cool motive, still murder. If you (and MF, too) are that bothered by the way things are then just fucking kill yourself. Why not? End your oh so terrible suffering instead of inflicting it on everyone else. But they won't, and neither did the other Beasts, because they are all fundamentally dumb, selfish, hypocritical cowards.

Or, how about this: ABDICATE. You don't want the power and responsibility? Give it to somebody else. You don't want to help uphold balance? Fine, that's fair. LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT, THEN. Have the humility and integrity to admit you're not cut out for the job instead of doing this heinous shit. The Ancients worked for the power and accepted the responsibility that came with it. That's why they're better than you and always will be. They're not bummed out by immortality or the cycle of history or whatever else you want to cry about. They live their lives and do right by others and get the job done. It's obvious you can't, so just man up and step down. Or don't. Hoard the power and neglect the responsibility and be a blight on society instead of coming to terms with your own shortcomings. Because that's easier, isn't it? Being evil is the easy way out. That's why so many people are. Because they're too weak to try anything else.

That's all the Beasts were and continue to me, to me. Weak. They are right to be unhappy with whatever unfortunate circumstances befell them. They are right to resent their creators and the burden they bestowed upon them. But they are wrong to punish everyone else for it. It's selfishness. Weak moral and spiritual fiber. Congratulations, Mystic Flour, you've proven that your apathy is fake by trying so hard to get the Soul Jam back and wanting to steamroll everyone else's rights, thoughts and feelings with your own. Congratulations, Burning Spice, you're still perpetuating the cycle of history by being the exact same bloodthirsty tyrant as every single one before and after you. I've seen these clowns before, history is full of them. And they all start grating on you after a while lol.

Idk if any of this made sense. I think I'm just irritated with the Beasts (and with villains in general, maybe, to a degree) and your ask gave me an excuse to ramble semi-coherently about it lol. I nevertheless appreciate you telling me your thoughts. You have good and interesting ones. I wish you a wonderful New Year and a big basket full of delicious bonbons

[critter-genfic-events]

Character Studies

This week, we have ten character studies recs - deep dives into main characters and side characters alike. Check them out beneath the cut, and let the authors know if you like them!

the beauty and the mess by batyatoon (2887,Not Rated) Warnings: None Pairings:

A long day at Whitestone Castle, waiting for Scanlan to wake up or for his friends to come back.

Reccer says: A great look at Kaylie in episodes 84 and 85, brutal and truthful and excellent in all the ways that hurt. (one of the tags is "everything's funny until it isn't" and it and this story live in my head rent-free.)

let's pick the truth we believe in by burningdarkfire (28108,Teen) Warnings: Implied/Referenced Abuse Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Astrid Beck & Eadwulf Grieve & Caleb Widogast

Astrid kills Trent while the Nein are in Aeor. Caleb returns to Rexxentrum to make some peace with his past and make some sense of his future.

Reccer says: Very emotionally complex and beautiful writing

that i live (and you are gone) by DesertLily (2183,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Keyleth/Vax’ildan, Keyleth & Vox Machina, Keyleth & Essek Thelyss

Keyleth’s perspective on the deaths of each member of Vox Machina as she outlives them all.

Reccer says: I liked it

afterimage by saturdaysky (2858,Teen) Warnings: Pairings: Deirta Thelyss & Essek Thelyss

The Umavi receives an unexpected petitioner seeking solace from grief. As ever, Deirta provides clarity. As ever, Essek chafes at the impossible.

Reccer says: It shows both Essek and his mother as extremely complicated characters, and is a fun dive into what living several lifetimes might do to a person

A single lonesome toll by dadrielle (snappilier) (3715,Teen) Warnings: very vague reference to suicidal ideation (in line with imogen's reference to it in canon) Pairings:

Character study of Bells Hells centered around their relationships with loneliness and how coming together changes that

Reccer says: I liked it

Eadwulf Grieve Is Dead! by tangereen (1112,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: listed gen first, but also Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss, Clarabelle Clay & Eadwulf Grieve, Astrid Beck & Eadwulf Grieve

Eadwulf Grieve is legally declared dead and struggles to figure out what that means for his future and life.

Reccer says: Wulf gets to stick it to Ickythong.

The Cut of His Jib by Nenia458 (6544,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to Warn, PTSD Pairings: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Vax'ildan, Vax'ildan & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)

Along the treacherous route to a job, Vax (1) does not stab Percy for flirting with his sister (2) successfully stabs a pirate (3) learns something about their gunslinger that fundamentally changes his opinion of the man.

Reccer says: This is the perfect Percy, to me

With no Lapidary by Operafloozy (960,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Ashton's hair requires a little extra work to take care of - much like the genasi himself

Reccer says: It takes a simple fact about Ashton - that their hair is a rock, and then thinks through what that might mean for them throughout their life.

Tenderness to You is Only Talk About a Bruise by thetickingclock (1439,Teen) Warnings: body dysphoria Pairings: Kingsley Tealeaf & The Mighty Nein

Mollymauk had woken up empty, but Kingsley is full to the bursting. It is so easy to be alive. It is hard, sometimes, to understand how much they love him. It is harder still, to let them.

Reccer says: The language is amazing, and the view of an Kingsley's extremely early days - learning who he might be among the nein is extremely evocative

Caesura by kinosternon (1486,Mature) Warnings: anxiety, alcohol/drug mention, canon-typical violence Pairings:

Scanlan dreams that one of Vox Machina has died.

Reccer says: The fic was written around episode 73 of the Vox Machina campaign and perfectly encapsulates Scanlan's state of mind in those late Chroma Conclave episodes. You can feel the break coming. Insightful and heartbreaking.

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

We'll be starting off the next year with Vax! Maybe something celebrating his de-orbing?

Then, it'll be Reunions, Nott/Veth and Sendings!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[watchingblsnowandforever]

Hello!!

The crack post saga continues... =D

Warning: long, long post 😊😅

To be very honest though, for today's ep I will be getting serious more than usual, because it was quite significant in the flow of the plot, and also had moments of communication (this emotional constipation is what makes me yearn for Cherry Magic ah) that need to be studied a little closely.

HOWEVER, there will most definitely be crack because this group of friends is (unapologetically) batshit crazy and my brain refuses to not make comments at the most inappropriate times.

Peem: NO ONE SAW ME CUDDLING MY CRUSH TO SLEEP RIGHT?!

The sheer panic in his movements, oh my gods. It should not be as hilarious as it is 😭😂

To be very honest though, I would've panicked a bit in his place too, with friends like those, they'd never let him live it down

Peem is so cute 😭

Nothing to see here, just a guy getting shy over how his prince charming hom-ed him, and they kissed through his hand and cuddled all night hehe

Phum: here he comes again :) *eye twitch*

Peem's expression, how he's still holding his hands as if he has the cup, Kluen's disbelief, and Phum's smug af face-

I'm wheezing 😭🤣

Kluen, I'm kinda starting to like you, but no.

You don't stand half a chance against them and their situationship.

Hope you find another boyfriend to fall in love at first sight with (and leave my boys alone please, they don't need any more complications) <3

Oh, Fang knows too. Of course he does, that's his little brother right there

We all know how protective of his brother he is, there's no way he'd let anybody else take care of him... unless, he knew Phum liked that person

les voila

Poor Tan, his theerak just ignoring him T-T

*looks between them* yeah, pretty much the same pic 👀

And here it is. The root of all his fears.

See, in this camp, almost all of them are paired up in the sense that they usually stick to that person. Even Beer has MIck. But then comes wild card Kluen, who's hogging all of Peem's attention as much as he can and that leaves Phum. Alone.

I will be getting back to this running motif of Phum being alone and how it changes through the ep in later scenes as well

Also, after they went back, both Mick and Beer asked if he really was okay, which made me smile, because maybe, Phum isn't as alone as he thinks himself to be. There are people who care for him, who are concerned, who'll support him, and of course, he always has Fang, his beloved phi

My poor babie Tan 🥺🥺

Also, notice how the shot is taken in such a way that they're the only ones in the frame, and are also standing within one specific part of the wall? (Ignore Kluen's head and hands please). It reflects how they're in their own world with each other, especially Tan

The nosy peeps gang strikes again!

Jokes aside, the synchronised strides, the background music together set the perfect levels of suspense and comedy

Peem, smug: yes! that emotionally constipated dumbass is finally getting out of De Nile

Pun: wait... is my plan actually working? Ah, of course it is

Toey: head empty, no thoughts, but... DOES P'Q ACTUALLY LIKE ME OMG I'LL DIE

Oh gods, FINALLY. I wish them a happily ever after. Sadhu 😌🙏🏼

Pun forgetting all about being quiet when Toey finally confesses is so on character 😭👍🏼

Also... what's even the point of being quiet? Q and Chain have been friends with these idiots since high school, of course they know they're peeking

Toey: *shooketh*

Gays in thai bl and staring off into the distance 😭

This scene was so, so beautiful and also quite important for both Q and Toey

Q knew what was up, more or less, but his confusion stemmed from his knowledge of Toey

Would Toey really go to these lengths? For him?

"Why? Are you the only one who can tease me?" <- Q says this to tell Toey that he might have been angry, but now he understands that Toey didn't really have any bad intentions

Hugs always get bonus points from me, and this was pretty up there

Pun hiding behind Chain is so on point

His friends: you're an idiot so we had no choice but to intervene 😭😭

Matt's (JJ) comedic timing is >>>>>>

Toey and Matt's friendship is also given weight in the series, and I'm happier for it.

Also revenge is sweet ehehe *coughs*

Moving on.

If there's no live singing dedicated to your One True Love, is it even Thai BL??

We Are making generous use of MSP songs 😭👍🏼

This scene.

The apology. It is at this point that they're leaving all the past pain, grief and anger in the past

Q makes sure to tell Toey that yes, he may have loved Milk Frappe Boy, but now, in the present, all his love was for Toey, his lovable annoying mentee

This apology is not only to Toey, or Milk Frappe Boy, but to himself as well, because by causing pain to a person he loves twice, he'd caused himself pain too

The perfect sweet and romantic moment, but also with a teeny bit of teasing, because that's who they are

No joke, I gasped and nearly stopped breathing when he said this

Peem's reply, his soft but kind of hurt voice were just so painful to hear

But it's also this moment that Peem gives Phum a reality check – if he really didn't want to, he wouldn't be doing any of this, and Phum had no business trying to control his life

The conversation outside with Q was significant, but also a diluted reflection of Peem's earlier (in ep. 7) talk with Q

Even a few episodes earlier, Q would have gone ballistic on Phum for treating his bestie like this, but now, he asks Peem how he feels for Phum, tries to understand exactly what their relationship is

It was at this point that he knew, he fucked up

Beer is a godsent. I love him <3

I think Toey says "I asked hia Tan to blow it up for me."

Also, Tiw and his rubber duck floater from MSP anyone? 👀

And, we are back to square one where Phum is left alone again

As I'd said before, this a repeating motif throughout the series, but especially the last two episodes

This is how it has always been in Phum's life: he has been left behind. He does have Fang, but now even Fang has a boyfriend. And while this does not affect his brother's affection towards him in anyway, it does introduce a new strand of lonliness for Phum because 1. no matter what, he loves his brother a lot, and knows how much he loves Tan, so he definitely will try to stay out of their way at least sometimes and 2. he wants a boyfriend too. Further, he wants Peem, but there's a push and pull there, and after what he said, in his mind he had pretty much ruined his chances with his crush

This is the moment Phum starts to hope that maybe, just maybe, his feelings aren't as unrequited as he'd thought.

On the other hand, Peem is the one afraid here. What if the deal is all that's holding them together? What if without it, Phum will have no reason to be as close to him?

Peem, baby, for one, your groups are already merged, and secondly, this guy is head over heels for you, no way he'd stop following you like a lost puppy

(Apparently, it's not Peem's turn with the communal braincell this week 😭)

Here, Phum is technically alone, but he's surrounded with friends, and he's smiling

He isn't left behind here, for once, he's sitting there by choice (to shamelessly ogle his crush, but shh we don't talk about that) with the comforting knowledge that when/if he jumps in, he won't be left out, Kluen be damned

Once the floodgates of affection have been opened to Q, there's no going back <3

(Also, notice how Tan is already asleep on Fang's shoulder? 👀)

FINALLY

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT SINCE PEEM KICKED PHUM'S BALLS

Jokes apart, this moment is so, so beautiful. The kiss, the soft question "are you ready for my answer now?" (maybe Peem isn't, but hell if he denies this man his kissies).

Everything leading up to this point is also so very delightful

Phum helping them out in the cafe, despite probably having never worked a day in his life, discovering how Peem still kept the roses and finally, finally, the completed painting. This sight, above all, is what convinces Phum that Peem might have feelings for him after all; because which fool would lie about not having completed something that would free them from being a slave to someone? A fool in love, that's who

ALSO,

if they don't get together and have the fluffiest moments in the next ep, I swear to god, hands will be thrown *grumbles* they're already making me wait a whole damn week

Anyways, that's all for this week, see you next ep! (I cannot promise I won't be jumping around and screaming, but then again, this is supposed to be a crack post so-)

And if you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! 😊

Here, have a bubble tea and a sandwich 🧋🥪

[If you'd like, here are my previous posts: Ep 8 and Ep 9.]

[inbarfink]

The answer to the question of ‘is Manfred von Karma German?’ Is actually a surprisingly complicated one. 

Because in the original version of ‘Ace Attorney’ he is supposed to be a local. That is to say, Japanese. He has a Japanese name (Gō Karuma), he has Implied Off-Screen Japanese Ancestors implied in TGAA2, we pretty much exclusively see him prosecuting cases in Japan, and official media created by official Japanese creatives primarily shows him living in Japan (eg. the Anime).

And then you have Mei/Franziska. Who, in the original Japanese version, was born, raised and studied law in the USA. (And yes, both the Japanese and Localized version say born, I checked).  And she does occasionally refer to herself as Separate and Different from the ‘local’ Japanese characters, there’s this little piece of official art riffing on how much she differs from Larry/Yahari’s idea of an American Woman.

 But she also still has a Japanese name (although I’ve seen some speculation that ‘Mei’ was chosen for the character because it’ll be an easy name to Englishize as ‘May’) and is, you know… still the daughter of the guy we exclusively see running around Japan. The only scene they have together in Game-Canon is when Mei is visiting Japan for vacation in ‘Turnabout Reminiscence’. So while the implication is that Mei did spend most of her time growing up in the US, we don't know how much time Gō spent there. 

And then the American Localization came along, switched Japan to America and America to Germany and then also added the extra wrinkle of giving Gou Karuma the decidedly German-sounding name ‘Manfred von Karma’. Thereby giving him a much bigger implied connection with the country-where-his-daughter-was-born-and-raised then the original, even though every other piece of textual evidence remained the same. He is STILL only seen prosecuting cases in 'America' and, if you add in the Anime narrative and TGAA2 espacially, the plot really doesn't make sense if you assume he lives for any significant amount of time in Germany.

Sure, with the name and all it's hard to deny that he probably has some relation to Germany, but with how the actual text of the game work it's easier to say he's a German expatriate or just an American of German ancestry, then how the Fandom often depicts him - as a man who lives and work in Germany and only occasionally jumps over to also do some work in Japanifornia.

But.... then there's the whole thing with Franziska/Mei being born and raised in Germarica. And I would like to say something like, ‘well, considering this fact, obviously regardless of version Manfred still did actually do lot of business in both Japanifornia and Germarica and spent a lot of time in both countries. It's really just a matter of us not seeing his Amerigerman cases cause they are all obviously Off-Screen for our manin characters. And while Gou Karuma might come across more as a Japanese man who occasionally also works in the US, the changed implications of the name means that Manfred von Karma is probably meant to be read as a German man who occusionally does work in the US. Because OBVIOUSLY he must have spent many years in Germarica considering his own daughter was born and raised there.’

But I can’t.

Because if there is one character who would watch his wife give birth in whatever country has the best law schools and then fuck off back to his homeland while leaving his baby to fend to herself across the the Pacifitlantic ocean - it would be fucking Manfred von Karma!