#(because I'm a sucker for pretty clouds that's why)

[entitled-fangirl]

I know you made her your riduur.

Din Djarin x reader

Summary: Din finds his little clan held captive by Moff Gideon with the Darksaber. He intends to do anything to get them back.

Warnings: kidnapping, mention of blood, fighting, threatening

Author's note: I'm a huge sucker for protective Din, so any requests of that is more than fine by me...

Masterlist

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The door slid open to a sight Din never wanted to see.

Moff Gideon held the dark saber above the Mandalorian's clan.

Y/N and Grogu.

The two were in cuffs, the child in the woman's lap.

When she saw the familiar beskar, she let out a breath of relief, "…Mando…"

He stepped through the doorway slowly with his blaster pointed at the man. But he knew it did no good.

"Drop the blaster." Moff Gideon commanded.

When Din hesitated, Gideon lowered the blade closer to the woman's head. 

The soft white glow from the saber illuminated the woman and child's faces, only spotlighting their concern gazes on the Mandalorian.

But Din could barely see it through the red anger that was clouding his vision.

"…Slowly."

Din obeyed, setting the blaster on the hard metal floor.

Y/N shifted in her chair, "Don't… please."

But Din didn't care. 

As much as her frail voice made his stomach drop, he would do anything to guarantee that he could keep hearing her voice forever.

Even if that means surrendering.

"Now kick it over to me."

And Din did so. He pointed to his family, "Give me the kid and the girl."

"They are just fine where they are."

Just to tease the beskar-wearing warrior, Moff Gideon menacingly brushed the blade back and forth, mere inches from the girl's head.

She grimaced slightly, looking down at the child.

Moff Gideon didn't care to even look at them, "Mesmerizing, isn't it? Used to belong to Bo-Katan. Oh, yes. I know you've been traveling with Bo-Katan. A friendly piece of advice, assume that I know everything."

Din shifted his weight to his other leg, as he contemplated what to do.

"Like the fact that your wrist launcher has fired its one and only salvo. And that only two weeks ago did you make this pretty girl your riduur."

Din's voice hardened through the modulator, not only tired of the situation, but angered by the mention his weaknesses. "Where is this going?"

"This is where this is going: I'm guessing that Bo-Katan and her boarding party have arrived at the bridge, seeking me or, more accurately, this." He held the saber up. "See, but I'm not there. And I imagine that they've killed everyone on the bridge, the murderous savages they are. And now, they're beginning to panic.

"You see, she wants this. Do you know why? Because it brings power. Whoever wields this sword… has the right to lay claim to the Mandalorian throne."

Y/N's eyes shift up to Din at this information. She takes note of the light glow that reflects from his armor.

"You keep it." Din says immediately, "I just want the girl and the kid."

Moff Gideon tilts his head in consideration, "Very well. I've already got what I want from the kid. His blood. All I wanted was to study his blood. This child is extremely gifted and has been blessed with rare properties that have the potential to bring order back to the galaxy."

Din finally lets his gaze move to the woman and child. He takes notes of the small cut on Y/N's cheek, the unshed tears that sit in her eyes. The child seems unscathed enough, but his eyes are just as saddened as the girls.

"I see your bond with the child," Gideon continues. "Take them."

Din steps forward.

Moff Gideon's voice becomes low, "But you will leave my ship immediately and we will go our separate ways."

Din nodded, moving to his little clan.

Gideon stepped forward to let the Mandalorian do so.

When his gloved hands connected with Y/N's, Gideon ignited the saber, swinging it right into Din's back.

Y/N had never been more thankful that Din wore beskar. 

He grunted at the impact, immediately blocking the next swing with his armored arms.

He managed to get the battle away from the two hostages as he lured Moff Gideon into the hallway. 

As much as Y/N wanted to help, she knew she was in no state to do so. And she could help Din the most by protecting the child.

She stood up with him in her arms, moving towards the sound of the saber hitting beskar.

She stayed in the doorway, watching the two fight.

Finally, Din got the upper hand and kept his spear pointed at the defeated Moff Gideon who slouched on the ground.

The dark saber had been thrown from his hands, and now resided on the floor near Y/N. She hesitantly picked it up and pocketed it.

"You're sparing my life? Well," Moff Gideon smiled, "This should be interesting."

Din took a moment to remember the girl and child. He turned to see them standing in the hall a few feet back. He motioned them towards him.

Y/N immediately walked to him.

Din managed to get the cuffs off both of them, and only then did he relax.

His hand wandered to Y/N's cheek, lightly grazing over the cut there.

She leaned into his touch, "You came for us…"

"Of course I did. I made vows to you, and I intend to keep them." He lets his eyes wander down her frame, "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, hugging the child to her, "We're just fine. Are you… are you alright?"

His helmet moved just barely in a nod, "I'm alright now."

She smiled, reaching into her pocket with the arm that didn't hold the child to retrieve the saber. "Here…"

If only she could've seen his own matching smile under his helmet, "Thank you, cyare."

He turned back to Moff Gideon, letting his voice harden once more to the warrior he was, "Let's go."

And just like that, Y/N felt safe next to the man who would kill anything that stood in his way.

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[idkjustletmescroll]

WHY IT TOOK ME LIKE AN HOUR TO GET THROUGH THE JANAYA WEDDING BECAUSE I WAS BUSY BAWLING:

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-EZRAN AND AANYA REUNION!!!

-Also, thank god Amaya finally got around to telling ezran she was getting married.

-Corvus x sunfire elf duet!!! And humans and elves chilling together in general!

-Amaya looking all nervous for a second as she steps out ughhh she's so cute.

-Kind of random but I love that janai doesn't have her queenly hairstyle (the bun) and just leaves it down? Something something symbolism something she's not the queen right now she's just janai? Also, I just think she looks so pretty with her hair down (she's always gorgeous tho).

-JANAI WINKING. It's so cute. It reminds me of that video of prince harry at the altar with meghan markle telling her she looks beautiful or smth before they say their vows.

-KAZI AND GREN OFFICIATING AND BEING SO HAPPY FOR THEM???

-LIKE YOU CAN HEAR THE EXCITEMENT IN KAZI'S VOICE I CAN PICTURE THEM JUST JUMPING UP AND DOWN FOR JOY.

"When Amaya and i first met, we had our differences." "Specifically, we tried to kill each other." Yes, we know, Amaya, and from that point on we knew you were endgame.

-Love the detail that vows are a human thing, not an elf thing. Cultural details!!! We love to see it.

-Stupid clouds. But it's fine! Tbh when i first saw Kazi's face drop i thought it was going to sol regem coming to crash everything and I panicked and threw my phone down.

"Now, that's poetry!" Kazi never change.

-The audience cheering. I love how it's not just clapping, and you can hear people genuinely excited to be there and see it.

-Gren bawling poor guy.

-Why tf was karim there omg he needs to chillll.

-Ezran really said you are NOT interrupting my aunts' wedding rn on my watch.

"If anyone objects to this marriage...well, what are they going to do, show up with an army?" I would've laughed tbh idc.

-NOT THE VOWS JESUS CHRIST. I'm emotionally unstable.

-I love that amaya apparently went to gren and was like "YOUR JOB IS TO TALK FOR ME WTF DO I SAY" and he was just like "just tell her why you love her! Simple!" and she was like "BITCH-"

"But that's hard to do, because it changes all the time. Every day, I find something new, and my love for you keeps growing...our love will change, but it will endure." Paraphrasing ofc but i just loved it so much.

-Also janai started crying and it was like me too babes me too.

"AND IT WILL BRING MORE LOVE INTO THE WORLD AS IT DOES" yeppp something something humans and elves something something!!!

-Not kazi having to push gren away bc he was crying too much.

-Note about the kiss: I was OBSESSED with janai's hand when i rewatched it like 5 times? Like yes i'm a sucker for tender face touching but the way you can see her thumb stroking amaya's cheek and her hand going down to amaya's shoulder and--

-Also, in the background, the standing ovation! Again, I LOVE that people aren't just clapping, they're cheering and laughing and being all "yeah!" "woo-hoo!" and seem like they actually want to be there.

"HER WIFE!"

"QUEEN AMAYA!"

[deezbignutz]

Redacted characters as musical songs because I'm a sucker for musicals :))) + some lyrics cuz why not 🤷‍♀️

Guy abt Honey - "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me" From Waitress. He is a simp and he makes sure they know it. Kinda yandere coded, but womp womp ig. (yandere Guy? 😳😏) "Such a stubborn man, you'll likely never meet another." "Oh, I'm gonna love you so." "I though it was hilarious to call a cat a kind of fish."

Damien abt Hux - "When He Sees Me" From Waitress. Damien just overthinking about going out Hux even before knowing him all that much. "I stick with real things, usually facts and figures. When information's in its place I minimize the guessing game. Guess what? (What?). I don't like guessing games or when I feel things before I know the feelings." "What scares me the most. Is what if when he sees me, what if he doesn't like it? What if he runs the other way and I can't hide from it? What happens then?." "Or even worse, he could be very nice, have lovely eyes and make me laugh, come out of hiding. What do I do with that?" Also literally the entire song ngl. It's very Damien coded in my opinion.

David & Asher - "For Good" From Wicked. Just wholesome, very platonic love and friendship shared between two friends. (No, I'm not trying to be sarcastic. They're just very good friends) "I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason. Bringing something we must learn." "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good." :')) "You'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart."

Young David & Asher - "For Forever" From Dear Evan Hansen. Just two friends. On a perfect day. :'))) "All we see is sky forever. We let the world pass forever. Feels like we could go on for forever this way, two friends on a perfect day." "He looks around and says to me 'There's nowhere else I'd rather be.' And I say, 'Me too'." "And I see him come to get me. He's come to get me, and everything's okay." witerally the inversion

Imp!Lasko to Imp!Freelancer - "Meant to be Yours" From Heathers. I don't think I need to explain this one, it just speaks for itself. "You chucked me out like I was trash, for that you should be dead." "You were meant to be mine. I am all that you need. You carved open my heart. Can't just leave me to bleed. Veronica, open the, open the door, please. Veronica, open the door. Veronica, can we not fight anymore, please? Can we not fight-" yada yada yada, you know the audio

Freelancer (?) - "The Wizard And I" From Wicked. It's just them being pumped to go to DAMN and to get to learn more abt their weird and foreign powers. "This weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide, is a talent?" "No father is not proud of you, no sister acts ashamed." 🙂 "And this gift or this curse I have inside. Maybe at last, I'll know why."

Asher + werewolf bois - "I Feel Pretty" From West Side Story. Broski is on cloud 9 after meeting Baaabe, and the others are just there to witness his delulu. "It's alarming how charming I feel. And so pretty, that I hardly can believe I'm real." "Have you met my good friend, Maria (Asher)? The craziest girl on the block." "I feel dizzy, I feel sunny, I feel fizzy, and funny, and fine. And so pretty, Miss America can just resign!"

Gavin - "Noel's Lament" From Ride the Cyclone. Just a gay little guy dreamin up his gay little fantasies during work because workin in 7-Eleven is too boring. 👍 "Good girls call me 'The Town Bicycle'. Don't knock it 'til you've tried my life of sin." "He said, 'I think I am in love with you' I've heard that lie a million times before." "'My chils, do you have any final words to the Lord you'd like to say?' 'Oui, tell him that, like him, I coose to burn out rather than fade away!'" get into it, queen.

Avior & Starlight - "What Is This Feeling?" From Wicked. This is how I feel like their first reaction to each other when they're in hell went. "For you see, my roommate is: Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe. Blonde!" "What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame. Does it have a name? Yes. Loathing. Unadulterated loathing." "Ev'ry little trait, however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl."

Caelum to Freelancer - "Popular" From Wicked. Hear me out. He doesn't mean it in a bad way, he just wants to help Freelancer out in their new, scary school. "And even in your case, though it's the toughest case I've yet to face. Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed!" "So let's start, 'cause you've got an awfully long way to go..." "Now that I've chosen to become a pal, a sister and advisor. There's nobody wiser!" he's just way too excited to show the magical world to them

Shaw Pack - "Jet Song" From West Side Story. You could also debate that this is also kinda like the Solaire Clan, but the Shaw Pack suits it better cuz of how laidback and playful the song is. "When you're a Jet, if the spit hits the fan, you got brothers around, you're a family man." "When you're a Jet, you're the swingin'est thing. Little boy, you're a man; Little man, you're a king!" mmmm, Solaire Clan vibes "Someone gets in our way, someone don't feel so well!" Quinn? That u?

Any and all immigrants moving to Dahlia - "America" From West Side Story. Two perspective on how livin in Dahlia is like. "Buying on credit is so nice One look at us and they charge twice." ✨racism✨ "Life can be bright in America (Dahlia) If you can fight in America (Dahlia)" "Here you are free and you have pride Long as you stay on your own side."

Marcus - "Cool" From West Side Story. Anxious little technician anxious about being found out and fired. :)))) "Don't get hot, 'cause man, you've got some high times ahead." "Breeze it, buzz it. Easy does it. Turn off the juice boy. Go man, go. But not like a yo-yo schoolboy." idk with this one, it doesn't really have much lyrics anyways :\

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk :))))

[liiilyevans]

I'm being greedy and going off script here with this prompt:

"He'd get on his knees right now if she asked him to."

Can you tell I want more of that story you just dropped? 😍

How about a prequel? In which James Potter gets on his knees.

"Can you believe that kid?" James asked as he watched the fifth year slink off. "Actually thought we'd buy that bullshit about sleepwalking."

Lily rolled her eyes. "And you could have come up with a better excuse?"

"Of course," James said, tugging at his robes. "And a much more exciting one, too."

He thought she was fighting back a smile at that, but James could never be sure with her. Perhaps, that was what he liked - that she kept him on his toes.

"How's Remus?" she asked.

"Fine," he said, glancing sidesway at her. He had sneaking suspicion she knew about Moony's fury little problem, though she never asked about it outright. "That badger almost did permanent damage, though."

That was the newest story that the Marauders were circulating around school about why Remus was in the hospital wing. Sirius had gotten very colorful with it.

Lily hummed. "Shame that it only got Remus and not anyone else."

"I know. Poor lad has the worst luck."

They both grinned at each other then, and James was once again struck by how pretty Lily Evans was. Her hair was loose tonight and she'd left her top robe in her room, leaving her in only a skirt and a button up. If he squinted just so, he could make out a pink bra under shirt. But James wouldn't do that. His mother had taught him to be a gentleman after all.

James cleared his throat as he looked away from her. "Are you ready for our potions exam?"

Lily blew out a breath. "I suppose. I hate that Slughorn isn't going to tell us who are partners are til the day of."

"Afraid he'll pair you with Snape?" he asked. Lily and the grease bucket had a falling out in fifth year after he'd called her a slur. James could have sucker punched him for that. Until then, Lily and Snape had been Slughorn's star pupils, and he'd paired them together for every assignment.

"Nah," she said. "He knows we don't get on anymore. I'm not worried about that. I'm just stressed."

James nodded. N.E.W.T.s year was tough, and after this they'd be off to the Ministry to find jobs. The thought was terrifying. "Well, you're welcome to come down to the pitch with me and hit a couple of Bludgers any time you want to burn off some stress."

Lily scoffed. "I'd rather not." She glanced sideways at him. "Is that the only way you burn off stress? Because I'm open to other suggestions."

He shrugged as he thought about it. "For the most part yeah, just burn off a lot steam and fly around the pitch-"

"You don't burn off that steam with anyone?"

James' head snapped toward her, confusion clouding his eyes. "No? I mean, I train with the team, but when I'm stressed, I usually fly by myself."

"But you offered to let me fly with you?" she said. That was when James noticed that they'd stopped walking and were standing in the middle of a deserted corridor.

"Well, yeah, we're friends-"

She shoved him then. Right back into a wall. "James," she said evenly. "You're an idiot."

Then she kissed him. His eyes widened. Never in his life had he thought he'd be lucky enough to kiss Lily Evans in a deserted hallway. Yet here he was. The fates were so generous.

Quickly, James grabbed her hips and yanked her fully against him. She was warm and smelled of jasmine. This must a be a dream, he thought. One that felt so real it could mimic life because Lily Evans would not kiss him, not like this.

Her mouth was demanding against his own. He spun her then, pressing her back against the wall. That was when she moaned, and James felt his knees go weak. This couldn't be a dream; he couldn't have dreamed up such a sweet sound. It would be a cruel fate to wake up now.

"We should go back to my dorm," she panted, as James blazed a trail of kisses down her neck. He hummed and pressed his knee between her legs. "I'm not shagging you in the middle of the hallway, James."

James pulled away took at her then. "We're shagging?"

"Are you opposed?"

"Fuck, no."

They somehow managed to make it back to Lily's Head dorm without a teacher spotting them - a miracle really. By the time they were inside, James' tie had been loosened and two buttons on Lily's shirt had been undone.

"Your room," he muttered as he pressed her against the wall, lips against her pulse point.

She waved over his shoulder. "Over there."

James didn't bother to look where she was waving. Lily was much too intoxicating to look away from; he couldn't have even if Dumbledore had burst through the door and started singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs.' So, instead, he dropped to his knees and slid his hands up Lily's thighs.

Her green eyes were burning as she lifted her right foot. His hands grazed satin and tugged. Off came her underwear, over one foot and then the other. His right hand found the crock of her knee and he pressed a quick kiss to the inside of it.

"Lily, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Yes."

That all he needed to hear. James pressed another kiss to her thigh, this time higher up and firmer. Lily's hands found his hair, then, tugging sharply. In that moment, pain had never felt so good.

"Lily," he muttered, as her skirt became more of a belt.

"Stop fucking around and-" She gasped as he latched onto her clit. "Holy shit."

James wasn't going to lie. Her moaning did boost his ego to an unhealthy level.

Her hands tightened in his hair and she made the prettiest noises; he was sure he wouldn't last through this if she kept doing that. As he pressed the flat of his tongue against her, his hand found her entrance. She was soaked. James couldn't help but groan against her.

"Lily, you're so wet."

She just hummed and pressed her hips forward against his hand. James slid a finger inside her and swore. She was so warm and clenched around his finger so sweetly. It made him wonder how she'd feel clenched around other things.

He started slowly at first, dragging his finger softly over her sensitive flesh. When her moans got louder, he began to slowly speed up, though his tongue was a sharp contrast, slow and steady against her. He would never get enough of the taste of her. If she offered, he would gladly go down on her every night for the rest of his life.

"James," she gasped as she grasped his hair again. She clenched around his fingers - once, twice, three times - then she was sagging against the wall as he road her through her orgasm. His left hand came up to grasp her hip and steady her.

Slowly, he stood up, one hand on her hip and the other grasping her waist.

"You . . . taste so good," he muttered.

"And you have a wicked mouth, James Potter," she said. "Are you staying the night?"

"If you want me to."

"Good, because you're going to do that again," she said tugging him down to her. "After you've fucked me."

[vera-deville]

Vera's Hauntober 2023

Day 4 - Candy Apples (Azul Ashengrotto)

09/18/2023

Pairing: Azul Ashengrotto x Reader

Word Count: 1,205

Warnings: None that I can think of!

Gender: AFAB

Taglist: @animusicnerd, @leonistic, @pyroxeene, @savanaclaw1996, @thequeenoffishburrito, @ellssbellss, @reshi-galaxy, @hanafubukki, @hitoshislover

"Y/N? What are you doing?"

Said girl was intently focusing on stabbing apples with wooden dowels. "Oh hey Azul! Right on time! C'mere, I've got a job for you."

Azul could only mentally prepare himself before being shoved an apron, an apple, and a wooden dowel of his own. "And what pray tell, am I to do with these?"

"Here," Y/N grabbed another apple and dowel. "You just stick the dowel into the middle of the apple like this, and then you set it onto this tray over here." Y/N pointed to a grey tray almost full of stabbed apples. "If the tray gets full, just grab another tray from that pile over there, clean it with a towel, and place parchment paper on it."

"Is there anything you'll be doing in particular with the apples after that, or are they just going to be apples on sticks?" Azul asked, trying to stick the dowel into his given apple.

Noticing his struggle, Y/N explained, "You're going to want to shove the dowel and not be afraid of damaging the apple. Like, really get it in there." Finally, Azul got the dowel into the apple. "I'm going to be dipping them in caramel after I finish the rest of these."

Curious to see how this would end up, Azul merely nodded along to what Y/N was saying.

"Actually, I have an even better idea! You stick the rest of the dowels in, while I get started on the caramel! I'll be done with this much sooner that I thought I would be!" Y/N moved the remaining apples and dowels to Azul's side of the table.

Azul simply watched Y/N prepare the caramel she mentioned, all while taking notes to this seemingly simple recipe. It didn't seem to have much to it, just apples and caramel, so how good could it possibly be? Not good enough for Mostro Lounge, he could guarantee that-

Pretty soon enough, Y/N had finished making the caramel, and Azul had finished inserting dowels into apples (which was a tad more arduous than he originally gave it credit for). Taking an apple by the dowel, Y/N gently sunk it into the pot of caramel, and turned it, making sure that the caramel coated all the sides before setting it back onto the tray to cool.

"This part takes the longest, because of a couple extra steps my family does." Y/N voiced with a reminiscent smile on her face. Azul hadn't heard her talk much about her family back from wherever she came from, so he let her continue.

"My grandma and I used to make caramel apples every year during autumn. She used to do it with her grandmother and mother, and her grandmother used to do it with her grandmother and mother, and it's just overall a very generational thing." Y/N pulled a bowl of chopped nuts and coated the apple she'd worked on with them.

"My grandmother and I were suckers for caramel apples. Everyone else in the family loved them too, of course, but no one was as crazy about them as us." Azul noticed Y/N added another layer of caramel to some of the apples.

"Why are you adding more caramel to some of them?"

"Like I said, I'm crazy for caramel apples~" Y/N said with a wink. "My grandmother and I would double a decent chunk of the apples, and then we'd eat absolutely nothing else. Of course, we'd coat some of them with nuts and candy and stuff, but the double-coated caramel apples were our favorites."

Azul could see the sadness in Y/N grin. Though she spoke of her memories happily, nostalgia peppering her face, there was an indescribable sadness that clouded her figure. It could be seen in the way she hunched over the table, making sure the caramel coated her apples just right. It could be seen in the way her eyes were glossed over, and shimmered when the light hit them just right.

He didn't know what brought on the sudden nostalgia, but whatever it was, he would be there for her. He could guarantee that much. Wordlessly grabbing an apple himself, he also joined in on the caramel coating process, finding it rather fun, though that may have mainly been attributed to Y/N's stories of her home.

One that she hadn't seen in so long, at that.

Eventually, the pair finished the caramel process, and Azul found the magicless NRC student beside him practically vibrating with joy, because they would now be tasting the caramel apples. "Since you helped me so much with this whole thing, you get to have first pick!" Seeing the crease in her smile, Azul couldn't help a genuine grin settle on his own face, opting for an nutty caramel apple.

As soon as he sunk his teeth into the gooey apple goodness, Azul did a double-take. What is this sorcery? Why is such a simple dish so ridiculously delicious? Surely there must be something he missed, because there was absolutely no way a mere apple coated with caramel and some nuts can taste this good-

"I take it that you like it?" Y/N asked with a smirk on her face (and caramel on her cheek).

"Ahem. It is...rather nice on the taste buds. Though slightly difficult to bite into, perhaps if they are offered with a plate of some sort to eat it with. Or perhaps they can be cut into slices and then coated with the caramel and toppings! Or..." Azul rambled on and on about different variations of the caramel apples, as Y/N watched with a loving smile on her face. She may not have been able to share this moment with her family, but this was just as nice.

"Y/N! What do you say to an exclusive contract where you supply Mostro Lounge (and only the Mostro Lounge) with caramel apples, and in return, you receive 35% of the profits?"

Y/N shook her head, chuckling to her self. "Make it 65%, and I'll think about it~"

Author's Note: When I first thought of the idea for this fic, I was super excited to write it. But then I actually started writing, and I realized that somehow I suddenly forgot how conversations worked? But eventually, I got into the swing of things, and was able to finish it.

See you in the next fic!

Masterlist Hauntober 2023 Masterlist

[enden-k]

Yeah, same, I never heard the name before nier.

Also og Replicant player? My respect to you.

I couldn't even watch a walkthrough because I'm a sucker for a pretty artstyle, and after automata with beautiful models I simply couldn't look at Replicant, so I just left this game until version 1.22... came out.

points

my beloved world destroyer

idk if its bc i grew up in snes/ps1 times and always have a soft spot for "old" games, anime and overall style but i rlly dont mind this old or unpolished or rusty mechanics or looks and i kinda like the og more in many cases. not that the replicant remaster is bad, im glad they did considering the og is japanese release only (not gestalt, that was western release only). nier looks beautiful still!! but im just so used to the og haha

FF talk but its also the reason why i prefer my bb og squall (and tidus) too btw!!! he was all high quali for dissidia etc and while he didnt look bad (i DO NOT understand why they changed his clothes tho) he was missing this charm from his time. og squall is always the most beautiful of all to me and i prefer him over anything. ik they wont ever give VIII the love theyre blowing up clouds ass but if they ever considered it, i hope they will stick close to that og look ahh...

anw yea automata was v pretty looking and newer modern games do too but ill always b very comfortable and stuck w the older ones i think pff

[featherlumina]

8, 12 and 17 for the ask game 😁

Thank you so much @duttfisch! Apologies for the Genesis spam below, haha. XD

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about.

GENESIS BEING INCLUDED IN THE NIBELHEIM INCIDENT. People treat this like some unholy retcon, the greatest narrative sin Square Enix could've committed via the Compilation. And I for one think that's a complete over-reaction.

Seriously. Sure, Sephiroth's definitely not in a good mental headspace by now, but having Genesis water the freshly planted seeds in Seph's mind in the reactor only serves to drive him further down in a really believable way. I always found it a little odd how quickly Seph seemed to spiral in the OG (admittedly Rebirth handled it better), so I think the addition of Genesis makes the scene more fleshed out and raises even more questions for Sephiroth to investigate in the manor.

And a fun one for good measure that's been disproven by Nomura himself - the fact that everyone is like 'hurr durr Genesis can't come back cause Gackt says no / Square won't pay for his likeness'. Admittedly less people are using this as a 'ew no Genesis is icky he can't come back' now, but it was SUPER annoying for like a decade up till this point.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them.

Feel like I should be putting my clown makeup on at this point because yep, my answer's Genesis! Again! XD Between the rest of the awesome peeps / moots on Tumblr who've argued for why Gen actually is or has the potential to be really interesting, I think it's fairly obvious why, but I'll summarise my view.

Basically, Genesis suffered from poor writing. Between that and the intense LOVELESS quoting making up the majority of his dialogue, I can see why it frustrated people. But if you look beyond that you'll discover some really neat stuff:

Having Genesis (and by extension, Angeal) as prototypes to Sephiroth actually makes boatloads of sense scientifically. You can't expect ShinRa to pop out Sephiroth on the first try, can you?

Genesis can basically go toe-to-toe with Sephiroth for an extended period of time, which is just... insane, when you think about it. Cloud and Zack have both reached similar heights but Sephiroth is just on a whole other level, so the fact there are a select few who can last against him is just really neat.

Bro had his world shattered and understandably lashed out at the company that shaped and controlled his entire existence. We're on Zack's side for Crisis Core, but it's pretty clear the real world-destroyers are ShinRa, and I think Crisis Core could've done a better job at helping us see Gen's perspective a bit more.

His aesthetic is just gorgeous, let's be honest here. That red coat is iconic and I want it. Superb character design (bless you Gackt for choosing red over black or white.)

Canonically he was well-liked and respected by the majority of SOLDIER, given that he convinced so many SOLDIERs to leave with him. People don't just follow you to the ends of the earth willy-nilly. Also, despite being an 'introvert' and averse to large people groups, he displayed kindness and gentleness with his younger comrades. Gillian called him 'such a good boy' for a reason, damn it!

...and I probably have more, but my hands are tired. XD

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art.

Honestly, I'm a sucker for hurt/injured/degrading Genesis and him both going through trauma and then being comforted and cared for by his loved ones. It's a major part of why I started Thing With Feathers after all. XD

I also love seeing how people explore Genesis' relationship with his changing body/his wing. I could read stuff about that for days.

Also would love to see more written redemption arcs for Genesis, whether it's through 'what-if' AUs or post DoC.

Lastly, I'm not hugely into overly sexual stuff, so any of the above fics without anything explicit is just *chef's kiss*. Of course I understand that many folks love the spicy stuff on its own or mixed into a plot, and that's okay! Just not my cup of tea is all.

[invisibleraven]

Imagine your OTP where Person A would like to have a child, but doesn’t want to wait for a spouse and a nice house any longer, so they find Person B to co-parent with them. for the (rare)pair of your choice because you know I'm a sucker for kid!fic. Thank you!

Julie sat on the park bench, catching her breath during a break from her morning jog, downing some water as she watched the families frolicking around.

The kids flying kites, playing tag, rolling down the hill. Shouting and laughing, and making Julie ache to be a mom.

She had a plan once upon a time; find a nice guy, get married, get a nice house, make a baby or two, live a happy life. Only life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. So Julie still lived in her crappy apartment, no partner in sight, and definitely no kids.

Julie was tired of waiting-why did she need a husband or a big house with a yard? Lots of other women did it alone, in apartments smaller than hers, so why couldn't she?

She knew she probably wouldn't get approved to adopt, so she did need a guy for the whole baby making process. But who to ask?

Her first and immediate thought was Reggie. He was her closet, oldest friend who would be involved in the baby's life regardless of it being his biologically. She knew he had also wanted to be a dad for the longest time, so he was perfect.

Of course, he did need some convincing.

"M-me?" he stammered when she asked him over supper that night. "Why me?"

"Who else would I ask?" Julie asked. "We're best friends so I know you're not going anywhere, we both get to be parents like we want, you have good genes. We'd make a pretty cute baby."

"We really would," Reggie agreed with a giggle. "Okay... so do you wanna... like make it the traditional way?"

"I think IVF will be fine," Julie replied, though the thought of the act was exactly unappealing. Reggie was really good looking, but also her friend, so she kept those kinds of thoughts to herself.

During some parts of the pregnancy Julie had no idea what she was thinking. Between the morning sickness (that lasted all day), the weird cravings (that always came in the middle of the night), and the way her body was changing she often regretted the whole thing. However she knew it would be worth it in the end.

Plus Reggie was there every step of the way. He kept snacks in his fridge for her to raid at any hour, held her hair back when she got sick, rubbed her feet when her ankles got swollen. He put together every bit of furniture, helping her make the nursery a thing of beauty.

"You don't have to do all this you know," Julie said as he painted clouds on the wall.

"It's my baby too," Reggie replied. "And even if it wasn't, you know I'd help you anyways-it's why you chose me after all."

"You've gone above and beyond-I couldn't ask for anyone better," Julie stated. "Everyone says I'm crazy to do this alone, but I'm not alone, I have you."

"You always have-always will," Reggie assured her.

It was a few weeks later that Julie woke up, wracked with pain. "Oh dios, the baby is coming!"

She hissed with pain as she got out of bed, clutching her stomach as she gathered her hospital bag, and waddled down the hallway to bang on Reggie's apartment door.

He came to the door, frazzled and bleary. "It time?"

Julie hissed again and nodded, watching as Reggie jumped into shoes and a jacket, uncaring that he was in his pajamas. Driving a little manically to get to the hospital, guiding Julie's breathing in an effort to control his own as they got wheeled into a room.

If Julie regretted the whole thing during her pregnancy, the labour made her regret it even more deeply. "Please tell me why I wanted to do this again," Julie asked Reggie as he offered ice chips and the cramps continued on.

"Because you wanted a baby?" Reggie replied. "You can get the drugs soon, okay?"

Julie nodded, breathing in and out, delighting when the epidural kicked in, even though she still had to wait to dilate fully, then push. It was a long, agonizing process. Reggie was there, letting her squeeze the life out of his hand, promising her that her family was out in the waiting room, offering to get her dad.

"Don't leave me," Julie pleaded, grabbing a hold of him. "I can't do this alone."

"I told you, I'll always be there for you," Reggie stated, touching their foreheads together. "You and the little one."

"Alright Julie, one more big push and you can meet your baby," the doctor instructed, helping her deliver the baby. A mewling, slimy thing that captured Julie's heart the moment she entered the world. "It's a girl."

Julie let the baby rest on her chest the moment after Reggie cut the cord, uncaring about the mess as she took in her daughter. "Hola mija, welcome to the world."

Soon the baby was taken away to be cleaned and weighed, while Julie was cleaned and stitched up, and then she was cradling her daughter once more.

"She's so beautiful," Reggie whispered, sitting next to Julie on the bed, looking down at the baby. "Just like her mom."

Julie looked up at Reggie, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Overcome by her feelings for him, and the way she was so grateful to him for everything he had done for her over the past year. A kiss that Reggie whimpered into, returning it while the baby cooed between them.

"Wow," Reggie whispered as they pulled apart. "That was..."

"Yeah," Julie murmured, then glanced back down at the baby. "Wow."

Reggie held them both, through their family and friends coming in, through the nurses teaching them the basics of baby care, eventually the two of them falling asleep on the hospital bed, never letting each other go.

In fact, Reggie didn't go much of anywhere after they brought Luna home, helping out Julie with everything she needed. Admitting that he didn't want to miss anything, or either of them. It wasn't long before he moved in permanently, since he already owned a place in Julie's heart. Why not share a place in her bed too?

And a few years down the line, when they decided to give Luna a sibling? They made them the old fashioned way.

[rydiathesummoner]

My take on the end of FF7 Rebirth: the Cetra really, REALLY like soap bubbles

When I first finished Rebirth, like everyone else I was like

But now it's time for

Caution: ALL the spoilers

We know Aerith is half Cetra, and does carry at least some of their abilities. But what exactly ARE the Cetra's special abilities? OG FF7 never fully explains this, aside from them having special abilities with the lifestream.

Rebirth however I think gives plenty of hints on their abilities, and I believe their most important ability is blowing soap bubbles. Yes that's correct.

At first I was thinking the Zack parts were alternate timelines, or a multiverse. But I don't think that's entirely correct. An alternate timeline or universe will still have a past, present, and future. That doesn't seem to be what's happening here. Even Biggs and Zack comment their sense of time was messed up. The Zack scenes appear to be a mishmash of time, rather than linear as we perceive it.

So rather than a multiverse, I'm picturing this:

Or if you really want to go ham, this:

The reason I think this is all due to colors and patterns. Bubbles make a very unique moving pattern with the colors when they move. I like to call it the Rainbow Bubble Woo Woo Effect. And this color and pattern effect shows up a LOT in Rebirth. Behold:

Whenever either Sephiroth or Aerith start with their shenanigans, this Bubble Woo Woo color shows up. It's especially strong when Sephiroth explains "reality"

Sephiroth also pretty much spells it out here. "Behold the true nature of reality. Now kiss me already, Cloud."

He says: "When the boundaries of fate are breached, new worlds are born. The planet encompasses a multitude of worlds, ever unfolding. Some quickly perish... while others endure. Blah blah must kill everything blah blah"

So what I believe happened is that by killing the harbinger of fate in Part 1 allowed new "bubbles" in the lifestream to be formed. When someone makes a decision that will change fate, a new bubble is formed as shown when Zack decides which path to take:

They are bubbles because unlike a new timeline, they appear to be pretty static. Just like bubbles in real life, they won't continue to grow on their own. But they will shield what's on the inside (the creator's hopes/dreams/decisions that created the bubble in the first place) from external interference.

Enter Sephiroth/Jenova, a.k.a. External Interference. Sephiroth is absolutely intent on popping or merging all these lifestream bubbles. We see this in the next scene:

Sephiroth merges two spherical objects, and the planet goes "AAAH". He's REALLY into destroying these lifestream bubbles. Why? Apparently Jenova is somehow fragmented into these different bubbles and Sephiroth wants to put her back together again:

On the other hand, Aerith seems intent on either creating or at least maintaining these bubbles. I'm guessing she had something to do with Jenova's fragmenting. Or maybe her ancestors did that? That's unclear. Either way, Jenova is stuck in a bunch of bubbles and Sephiroth wants to merge the bubbles in a big bubble reunion.

So you think I'm a crazy overthnkker about these bubbles? Oh, I'm just getting started! Bubbles are everywhere!

At the end of Remake? Midgar bubble!

Aerith's limit break? BUBBLE!

Even the Weapons have a Tifa-protecting bubble on their chest!

In the Temple of the Ancients the trials were very similar to the Zack-lifestream bubbles - static time focusing around very specific events. Different events were separeted by a fog rather than a linear timeline. I bet this is the full power of the Cetra. They had the ability to manipulate the lifestream to create or bend realities. There were lifestream-sucker machines all over that temple, who knows what else the Cetra used them for?

Toward the end of Rebirth and after the Temple of the Ancients Aerith seems to have a measure of control over the bubbles. She pushed Cloud out of her happy dream-date bubble world before Sephiroth came in and popped it:

(Notice the bubble shape in the first picture, it's very faint on tiny screens)

She seemed to understand that Cloud had created a new bubble with his desire to save Aerith:

(The bubble woo woo here was gorgeous)

Too bad Sephiroth popped that one (but the editing was S tier)

She later makes a safety bubble for Zack:

She also invades Sephiroth's bubble in the last fight against him. The fight arena starts out dark, but once she busts in, it's much lighter. This shows she can influence even Sephiroth's bubbles, which is bad news for him:

This clearly shows that Cetra can manipulate and travel between bubbles. It's unclear how much influence non-cetra have. They can create them, as shown by Zack and Cloud, but it seems only Aerith and Sephiroth can yoink them around between them.

In fact, Aerith even spells this out:

Only a Cetra can defeat Sephiroth because they are the only people who can manipulate these lifestream bubbles. It's not 100% clear what she's doing with all these bubbles, but I bet we find out in Part 3. Meanwhile Zack is running around creating new ones left and right.

This was too long I know, so tl;dr is here:

[thundercrack]

ok joining the club... February reading report! I'm mostly just mouthing off... Read at your own risk!

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

Look, I'm a sucker for a classic. I'd been vaguely meaning to read this since I saw the Timmy Chalemet movie...and I generally have a tolerance for fairly long scifi/fantasy. I enjoyed the first maybe third of this book...and then I got bored (needless to say I will not be reading the next four Dune books although I did finish). Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad I read it. In many ways, Dune still culturally relevant, both within the world of genre fiction, and (especially because of the new film) in debates about orientalism, the Cold War, humanity, etc, etc. I found Herbert's explorations on this future version of Islam and future version of Arabic pretty interesting, but by the end of the book, I was really annoyed by the main character. There's a lot of really interesting discussion and criticism around this book, so I'm glad to be able to understand a little more of those conversations as well. Also, now I retrospectively sort of know what was happening in the movie!

I was too young to read this book. It was good; it was not for me. Revisit in thirty-five years.

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders

Why did I read this? I've never read any other David Mitchell. This book was an exercise in 1960s musical fantasy, where nothing goes wrong and the truest joy is from celebrity encounters, powered by the author's love for the era, rather than having anything to say. This was a book about a rock band going straight to the top, without any real interrogation into the cultural forces and pitfalls of the 1960s, weak characterization, random tie-ins with his larger universe, and next to no tension. I'll probably still read Cloud Atlas at some point, but this one is a hard pass.

This was one of my old roommates favorite books that I gave another go after DNFing in maybe, 2018? Again, I think this might be a book I'd like more if I were older. I thought the structure and format was well-done (I especially liked the history excerpts, of course); the story itself, I was maybe luke-warm on. I thought the prose was good (especially the dialogue) and the characters were interesting. I'm not entirely sure what's making me luke-warm on it, but I liked it enough to be glad I read it.

Human Acts by Han Kang (trans. Deborah Smith)

This was the best book I read this month, hands down. Maybe this year as well. Kang masterfully weaves together a number of stories around the Gwangju massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators. This book was at times, extremely brutal to read (and I would say I have a fairly high tolerance in text). It was clearly well-researched, well-lived, and well-considered. The topics it tackled were both grains of sand and the meaning of humanity itself. I really, really, enjoyed this book; I highly recommend it, and I definitely look forward to reading The Vegetarian in the future. Bonus reading: Han Kang and the Complexity of Translation

All The President's Men by Woodward and Bernstein

I constantly get this one mixed up with All The Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren (also good). One of my college friends had just read this and sent me a number of random updates throughout their reading, mostly focused on Woodward and Bernstein's....tense relationship. Like most Americans, I've been vaguely aware of Watergate my whole life (I even saw that movie The Post!), and I think this book really did a good job laying out the reveal of the story as well as sort of the in-house tensions that were going on. My copy (from the library) was the original 1974 edition, and I sort of wish that I had a more recent version with a little bit more distance on the events, but it's kind of fun to have been "right in there." I generally do like this style of expanded-reportage book (see Ronan Farrow's books, or in another genre, Jon Krakauer), and Watergate still looms so large in the American political imagination, so I'm glad I read this one too.

Beyond Babylon by Igiaba Scego (trans. Aaron Robertson)

This is a book I would have really liked to enjoy. I didn't. I kept saying to myself -- well, maybe it's just the translation that didn't work for me (the whole book was a bit clunky to read). There are a lot of really interesting themes in this novel (fluid identity, colonization, language, coincidence, politics, choice and nature, etc), interesting characters, play with language, a sweep of history that could have been fascinating. However, in practice, it didn't work for me. The different storylines sometimes were confusing, the plot at times eluding me, seemingly unnecessary tangents taking me nowhere. It was a slow read. There was just a lot here (and maybe it's just through my background that I was missing pieces)...and none of it quite fit together.

Murder by the Book by Claire Harman

Totally random book I picked up at the library. It's not really a topic or like...an era (the metropolitan center of Victorian Britain??) that I care about, but I was like, hey, cool cover, I want an easy read this week, etc. I thought it was well written and well researched, and I definitely learned some stuff about the literary scene of the era. It was also amusing how some of the debates around "base literature" are...pretty much the same today as they were in the 1830s.

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Look, you ever read a book and you can just tell it was written by a Harvard/Yale/Princeton grad? Well, this was one. This book was extremely readable. It's got decent characters who are fairly easy to get invested in and a structure that pulls you through the text, all while set across a complex, divided, and rapidly changing backdrop of early 20th-c Korea. However, the narrative itself rung flat, and the book's promised complexity disappeared before I got through the second chapter -- it's almost a completely sanitized view of two very complex worlds: that of high-class courtesans, and that of orphans/gangs who become politically involved. Narratively things go wrong, but it's almost never because the characters make bad decisions -- except perhaps in love -- which collapses the once-promising characters. Also, it jumps from 1945 to 1964 at the end...not very successfully (the opening/closing of the book was extremely trite and not terribly well-done). This book was almost disappointing because it promised more than it could deliver, falling straight into the chasm of mediocre novels by diverse graduates of elite institutions. I didn't do it any favors by reading it so soon after Human Acts either, although they're very different novels.

The Thousand Crimes of Ming by Tsu Tom Lin

The advertising around this book does it poorly (do not go in expecting anything Cormac McCarthy-like LOL). Don't get me wrong, I liked this book -- I do enjoy a modern Western and I think Lin does a great job highlighting the role of Chinese workers on the expansion of the railroad, as well as the curiosities of the era through a fantastical magic troupe. The NPR review of this book highlights how each character plays with genre, which was true and definitely one interesting part of the novel. Thematically, I thought this book was interesting if a bit restrained, and the characters were neat. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed giving this one a read, at the end of the day, it's all a bit forgettable.

Dumb Luck by Vu Trong Phung (trans. Nyuyen Nguyet Cam and Peter Zinoman)

Tumblr bookclub read! Like I said to A and Rhu, I found the introduction "Vu Trong Phung's Dumb Luck and the Nature of Vietnamese Modernism" by Peter Zinoman more interesting than the text itself, but overall, I'm glad I read the book. It's always really interesting to read these sort of big, foundational texts -- even in fairly recent translation. I haven't read a lot of satire and really don't know that much about Vietnam before American involvement, but the thrust of the text was definitely quite interesting (and brutal -- one review described all the characters as antagonists) even if I didn't fully understand all the conversations, it was taking part in.

Heart of Darkness (3rd Norton Critical Edition) by Joseph Conrad (ed. Robert Kimbrough)

Confession: I think I'd read this before and almost entirely forgotten it. I didn't particularly enjoy the book and literarily, I'm not sure that I got what quality elevates it to a "great novel." I especially enjoyed the back-and-forth among several scholars (especially around Achebe) about its relationship to colonialism, inclusion in the canon, and European self-definition against Africa as a "primitive other." I'm glad I read it mostly because I feel like it gives me a better sense of the larger conversation around Leopold in the Congo and the literary/related discourses around the scramble for Africa. So, thematically, glad I read it; literarily, whatever.

The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

The end :) maybe I'll do this again someday!

Another confession: I pick a lot of books by wandering around the library and just grabbing one that looked interesting. I did read Heart of Darkness before this for a reason. I quite liked reading this one -- I thought the narration was really interesting and the narrator's complicity in the brutality of Idi Amin's rule was neat. Certain scenes were very brutal (and the book was certainly well-researched). I felt like at times, the time-skips didn't quite work, but the general disconnect between Garrigan, his identity, and what was happening around him was interesting. I think I had to watch the film that was a loose adaptation of the book in class in high school. I think I could probably have some more interesting thematic and political comments on this one if I sat on it a little longer, but I'm kind of getting tired of writing this and also I finished it like, twelve and a half hours ago or something.

[vrmxlho]

nagi?

SEISHIRO NAGI

birthday: 06/05

☼ taurus

taurus suns are not always hard workers but when they are it's very intense hard work

however their tendency to seek comfort makes them appear lazy at times

they enjoy having some sort of security

and they've been said to actively seek out wealth (when nagi asked reo to pay him 💀)

taurus suns are really stubborn, if they're working they'll work, if they're playing they'll play

you just can't make them budge

i feel like nagi's the type to spend money impulsively on things he doesn't need

so i'm gonna say his sun is in the 2nd house

also can mean he lacks focus and is indecisive

also the type of person who day-dreams about an ideal life because being ordinary is too bland

however, can also be easily led astray by peculiar desires or self-destructive habits (gaming instead of training 😰)

☾ leo

not necessarily outgoing but do enjoy being the centre of attention when they feel comfortable (does that make sense???)

leo moons tend to be rather lazy at times and bossy at other times

can also be selective with friends (that's why he's a fucking loser my god)

they also tend to brood when attention is not forthcoming

not 100% sure about the house but i think 6th house is pretty fitting

only likes working when it's by choice

probably a sucker for a sob story!!

also someone who is very perceptive and is able to psychoanalyse people

strong sense of family not necessarily with blood relatives but anyone he's close to

↑ pisces

HEAR ME THE FUCK OUT!!

pisces risings are the most go with the flow type of people in existence

they move about the world in a vaguely directionless, gentle manner

can go from awfully quiet and shy to being very talkative and passionate

pisces risings have changeable characters and hate having their freedom and agency taken away from them

never schedule things!!! they just see how the day will go

definition of head in the clouds

tend to have graceful feet and foot movements

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

I've always seen Silver Snow as a tragedy of sorts. The fact that one of Byleth's students is revealed to be one of the instigators of the crap that happens in White Clouds and by extension indirectly responsible for the death Byleth's father. Combined with the fact aside from Lorenz and Ashe, anyone from a different house and wasn't recruited to Byleth's side are either dead or missing in action, and the fact that Rhea can potentially die; there's just this underlying feeling of powerlessness and despair where your student is causing trouble, and hurting millions of people, and you're not able to do anything to prevent more tragedy or are too late. And I think "Funeral of Flowers" being the final boss theme of the route really exemplifies that. I think the reason why Engage went with SS is because SS is Byleth's story/route. I know the fandom likes to frame it as the "church" route, but in reality I think it's more of Byleth's route.

I don't disagree! I see it as a tragedy as well. This is referring to a not so recent ask I answered and I'm answering this one late for people who need context. I'm just unfortunately a sucker for happy endings at least to some extent (like ex. I'd consider AM a happy ending for the most part, but maybe even just more bittersweet because they never really got answers about Duscur, and the people who knew those answers (the real ones, like who was truly behind it all) are dead). Dimitri got some answers, but more confusing and vague responses than answers for the most part.

Also, I think it's kind of an unfortunate story for Lorenz, too. Ashe aside since his tragedy happens in WC, Lorenz if not recruited was forced to side with Edelgard because that's what his father did, and his father did that to protect their people from invasion. However, in SS Edelgard loses the war, which means Lorenz was on the losing side. As far as politics go, that's not a good look, and even less so for a country that has leadership problems because the roundtable can't stop bickering.

Tbh, I think SS is, in a sense, the Church route because Byleth kind of represents the Church. Just like you could say AM is Faerghus' route since it's the winner of the war, you could say Byleth is the leader of the Church who Seteth, the second in command, follows. I think when people refer to it as the Church route and don't really include the fact that Byleth is the main representative of the route (non-avatar-wise it's Seteth and probably why people don't realize it's Byleth's route) is because it doesn't really focus on a central lord from the Houses themselves, instead giving the Church group more of the center.

In fact, I see people argue that Byleth's route is CS and that SS is the Church Route. I can see what they mean since it's not really Yuri's route specifically and centers much more around Byleth and also Sitri's backstory. SS focuses heavily on the Church's side of things while all the other Houses are just former students off doing their own thing now if they're not with you.

I think IS' intention was for SS to be the Byleth route, but the way it came across to most people was that it gave us Church-based Byleth (like how AM is Faerghus-based Byleth, but we have a main, central lord in that route whereas we don't in SS, so it's more unclear to people). Also, since SS was the first written route, I figure they wrote it to show Byleth's path if none of the students were selected and Byleth was instead more of a representative of the Sothis-based storyline/Church/Rhea/etc.

Engage did a pretty good job of making it unrelated to a defined route though, because all the lords in the DLC treat Byleth as their House's professor. The only indications come from Byleth, which actually makes sense because the three lords represent their own route, but there's nobody else except Byleth to represent SS.

But like I said, since SS was the very first route they wrote, it's entirely likely that it was intended to be Byleth's solo route, i.e. the non-professor route but a member of the Church instead. That is, no longer a professor and not really one to the people around them because the main characters are typicaly the faculty of the Church/Academy, since the BEs are utilized less in SS (likely because they're utilized fully in CF instead).

[wens-loves-wednesday]

My friends and I are translating the whole RTC musical to Portuguese (Brazil) because we're going to try and direct this thing by ourselves (I'll be Jane!)

I got so many ideas from tumblr already that I'll definitely do, such as:

Jane will be slightly more gothic and will match clothes with her dolly

Jane will have chemistry with everyone, having their own little bonding scenes with her, but mostly Ricky (I'm a sucker for spacedolls)

Ocean and Jane will build a little bond and it'll make Ocean's redemption arc a lot lore deep

Ocean will simp for Constance during Sugar Cloud (I'm not the biggest blackrose shipper, but it's slowly consuming me)

Jane and Ricky in SABM will be... something. Don't ask.

In TBOJD, Jane will not fly (I obv don't have the ka-ching to do that), but she will be a wind-up doll, and Noel will have to wind her up before every single high note.

TBOJD will not be just a tragedy. It will be pure angusty and anger

This Song Is Awesome will not be translated (it's rap, bro. Why will I translate a rap.)

The shipps in our production will be Nischa, Blackrose, and Spacedolls (the basics) — ill also try to add a little PerfectDolls and SpaceRap there

And well, now, The New Birthday Song will happen, but Jane will get angry, and they'd celebrate her death instead. Don't ask, it makes sense to me

That's pretty much it. If anyone wants to give me ideas, reblogs, dms and the comment section is open, of course

I need ideas, tbh.

what if instead of a birthday party for jane they held a funeral for her. is this anything

[fivefriedtofu]

↳ ❝ ahoy there! ❞ | #thoma headcanons ; normal + modern au.

thoma w/ chubby cheeks? his fav petnames?? simp rambling??? & more!

ft. gn reader, the kamisato siblings, +1 bonus childe.

cw: none! completely sfw. only cringe romantic scenerios & maybe lots of mentions of kisses because i'm in love w/ him.

♡. edit: the link to the tiktok i added to the last headcanon (normal au) got deleted oh my god 😭

an: thoma go brrr. had to squeeze my brain like a powdered orange just so i could make this coherent enough to post.

i also wanna apologize if i've written some things that are suspiciously familiar to other works before. i only just noticed. i swear i don't know how it happens!! i've just never had an original thought i think _( ༎ຶ⌑༎ຶゝ∠)_ please forgive my sins.

pics: 🐶 🍡 🌿 (fun fact: the shiba's name is marutaro!!)

NORMAL AU!

we are married.

please consider... thoma with chubby cheeks.

irresistibly cute and soft.

ge ntly h olds... 🤲

the grannies at the market like to pull on them from time to time whenever he goes for groceries.

by the end of those days, he'd come home whining with aching cheeks.

"whining" i.e asking you for healing kisses? 🥺👉👈

he does not know how to swear.

thoma: "gee wilikers...", "oh to heck with it!", "gosh diddly darn it!"

ayato, tears in his eyes: pls,,, ju,,st say fuck,,

"he's a grown man with a job and pays taxes" ok maybe he does and just chooses not to BUT listen—

he says bejeebers in one of his voicelines 😭😭😭.

a cheesy romantic, the type to greet you with hand kisses. however ☝️👀

turn the tables and kiss his hands and he'll be reduced to mush.

secretly it's actually one of his favorite places for smooches. such hardworking hands, they deserve all the loving, don't they?

speaking of favorites, his favorite nicknames!

pretty boy, my prince, handsome — casually, politely, LOVINGLY he will pass away.

to be fair, he's a sucker for any sort of praise you give him but something about being called those just makes him feel so special.

BECAUSE HE IS. MUMUMU BESO MUUUWAH—

he makes me feel so soft and happy, he's like the song 'cloud 9' but personified.

this goes with any genshin character, but i'm a thoma simp. just,,, p,, please just imagine.

let me tell you, as a short person, i started screaming. rolled around my bed even, clutched my phone to my chest. at this age of mine. absolutely no shame, embarrassing ✋.

MODERN AU!

modern! thoma would probably enjoy the waitress musical.

his fav songs are 'what baking can do' and 'you matter to me.'

cried the first time he listened to the latter. cried again the next time he listened to it. they... were emotional days 😔.

enjoys musicals in general.

thoma/kamisato siblings theater kids canon i'm the left shoe of one of hyv's soundtrack artists.

he likes listening to them whenever he does chores and ends up singing along when he gets really into it.

doesn't really have the best singing voice, but he doesn't care. all that matters is that he's having fun 💪 king mentality.

and if you, as his s/o, decide to sing along with him ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A LOVE SONG DUET— shee, he just might propose to you then and there.

idk why but i feel like he'd be a swiftie. loves almost every one of her songs but lives for her 2010 era songs. gets so hyped for sparks fly.

his favorite animal crossing character is goldie and i will die on that.

i think he'd be a horror fan. specifically for spooky folklores and cryptids.

(based on that one voiceline of his - thoma's hobbies. also occasionally, he'll utter 'spooky stories...' if he's in your teapot.)

his youtube feed reccomends stuff like 'creepy urban legends from around the world' or 'inazuma's terrifying monster stories.'

when he's not in the mood to listen to music, he lets those vids play in the background instead.

thoma just vibing in his apron and cleaning gloves, waxing and polishing the floor with earphones in, listening to horror podcasts.

he is ANNOYING if he ever gets in a playful mood before going to bed.

both of you could just be peacefully cuddling, innocently talking about whatever until you fall asleep when he'll suddenly bring up a scary story he just learned. and as a result, ends up scaring you a bit.

too creeped to sleep now, you give his chest a soft smack, whining his name.

but then he just laughs! 😡 he's quick to apologize, but he's still laughing!!

as if pulling you in closer against himself, burying your face in his neck, and nuzzling into you will easily let that slide — nah, scoot away from his mean ass. ignore how he whines for you to come back.

he rolls across the bed and follows you. immediately wraps himself around you once he reaches where you placed yourself by the edge.

"noo, 'm sorry." he mumbles, lips brushing against your skin, you could feel him smile. "i'm sorry."

he sighs then plants a kiss against your temple. "here. this way no monsters will get you."

like an inconvenienced cat, you huff, burying your face into his chest. "cringe."

...

you turn back up and quickly press a kiss on his collarbone, before shoving your face back to where it hid.

ok but on the topic of the waitress musical, 'never ever getting rid of me' gives me huge childe vibes.

sorry if this ain't much, i'm fighting demons (ง｡•╭╮•｡)ง​ plus school just started.

[manchasama]

so i found out about your winged twins AU last night and then read through it all today and i am very 👀

like i'm a sucker for wing AUs (i have several on a roleplay blog for an unrelated character) and oh gosh i see you fellow ffix enjoyer. i see you

anyway as you may have guessed based on the icon, i am, in fact, a Melli fan XD i also roleplay him but uhhhhhhhhhhh. lemme just. see what comes out, okay? i hope this is okay. i just wish i had a single Ingo braincell beyond train puns. unfortunately i only have this asshole (affectionate) to offer

~~~

When Melli had gone out that night, he hadn't expected, well, that. It was entirely unbecoming of his fellow Warden, and he did not approve. The wings had been a startle to see, of course, but the state of them was something Melli could not, would not abide.

So, after helping Ingo to his feet and sending him on his way (he wasn't heartless, he simply liked to project a certain image, though alone in the highlands, they needed to work together somewhat) Melli decided to do some research. It wasn't as if he didn't have resources, and Sabi could be just as cryptic as he was when he felt the need. More so, even. Needless to say, he had practice talking with her, and she wasn't prone to letting secrets loose if he accidentally got too close to the truth. Not that he planned to, of course. It wasn't anyone's business what went on in the highlands so long as no one got hurt.

So it was that a few days later, Melli announced his presence at the entrance to the dwelling of his fellow highlands Warden, carrying a pack of supplies. "Take off your jacket, I'm not letting you bring down the view of this mountain with your poor grooming. The fact that your jacket is in tatters is bad enough."

I swear every time someone brings me such lovely gifts just because they like my idea, I get all emotional. This is fanTAStic<3

First off, glad you found and enjoyed the AU! One day I will actually write ha ha haaaaa (spoons where are you :<). Still, people have been living for it, and have been adding their own great takes on things! I hope you perused my Pokemon writing page and saw all the gift stuff, because CONTENT!

Yes hi hello i love ffix it is my second fav? tho my top three are pretty dang equal. 6, 7, 9 my beloveds. (Fun fact, the first time I beat 9 and went through the ending bit, the moment Zidane did his matrix freeze frame, a full fic bloomed in my brain. One day I might go back to that, because I did love the idea, but it was full of OCs. Now that I am older and wiser, I feel zero shame for this :p)

Do not apologize for your muse!! I co-write a FF7 fic with my bestie, and Cloud is definitely my muse, while Sephiroth is hers, and we suffer trying to write for each other's characters lol.

As for your asshole (affectionate) can I just say yesss, this is exactly my thinking for the scene. Melli probably fought and lost the battle against doing anything with the coat, but this at least he can bully Ingo over. Also having Melli go to Sabi instead of trying to figure out why Ingo would is perfect! I love when things slot into place like that lol~

But the highlander solidarity, the "it's no one's business" mentality... *thumbs up* I love that, so much. He may be an asshole (affectionate), but he's not a snitch! :>

[your-featherbrained-weather-vane]

Hiya, I'm back again like the human boomerang that I am. You've mentioned before that you really like clouds, so I was wondering what your favourite type is?

hiya, human boomerang!

that is a GREAT question, it’s so hard for me to choose a type so I’ve got many kinds I love

in no particular order, I’m just gonna start off with cumulus mediocris

I think they’re the perfect cumulus cloud — wide as they are tall, cute puffy cauliflowers! I wish I could sit on one

cumulonimbus calvus — great, billowing behemoths that I love purely because they are that. there’s nothing quite like watching these mutant cauliflowers sneaking up over trees and cliffs. what’s also fun about seeing them is they’re sorta like signs of what’s to come, and it gets you excited

polar stratospheric clouds — but the good nacreous kind made of ice crystals, not the hazy nitric acid ozone-destroying kind. I’m a sucker for shiny things, especially iridescence 😍🥰 they’re mesmerizing, you’d have to pull me away from staring at them for hours

featuring one of my own pictures, cirrus fibratus! they’re cool because they remind me of the fibers you get from pulling apart wool, they look so soft and gentle

cirrus uncinus — SO cute that they’re also called mares’ tails, very fitting. but they also remind me of ocean waves. I always look forward to a sunny day with mares’ tails in the sky

my own pic again, lenticular clouds! I know there’s three types but I don’t know how these would classify 🤔 part of why I really love them is because folks often think they’re UFOs / flying saucers on their own or disguised as clouds to fool us. they’re also very pretty and odd! I consider myself lucky to have seen these, I was probably a good 40 minutes from home closer to some mountains

mammatus — I got a picture of these once too, but it wasn’t a very good one 😖 one of my weather photography goals is to get a great picture of mamma clouds. next to the silly meaning of their name, I think they’re just cool and bubbly. it’s not every day you see giant bubbly clouds in the sky

thank you for asking, I got so very excited!!! I guess if I really had to choose a genus, it would be either cirrus or cumulus clouds ��