#But is absolutely fitting of the character

[meanbossart]

Woah, woah, woah! DU Drow finds Jaheira *hot*? Do tell! Does DU Drow have a particular type when it comes to men and women?

Well, let us take inventory of the characters DU drow finds show-stoppingly attractive, shall we!

(Isobel doesn't make this list by a hair. She looks a little too grungy and he finds her attitude off-putting.)

Pretty much every other companion of note - Gale, Halsin, Karlach, etc - doesn't even register in his radar. I'm sure a couple more NPCs could fit the bill too (shouts out to the crazy Umberlee lady who could absolutely get it)

He likes the same things regardless of gender: People who are already naturally attractive, and, despite clearly putting thought and effort into their presentation, do not overuse cosmetics or flashy fashion. Bonus points if whatever it is you're doing is a little unique to you without going over the arbitrary line he's set for something becoming "too much". He also exclusively likes people who lean sightly more feminine in both presentation and behavior.

Naturally, DU drow thinks his standards are incredibly reasonable; I would say they're a little high. But In his defense, personality does ultimately come first: being overly sensitive, overly serious, snobby, and especially lacking a sense of humor or a willingness to get your hands dirty will put him off even the prettiest, pointiest, blondest of damsels.

[creamflix]

MAKE SOME NOISE FOR THE DESI BOYS! — featuring gojo, nanami, sukuna, toji, choso, geto content warnings: writing this as a way to cope with my horrible first draft of a oneshot. south asian & desi settings/culture/reference(s), certain non-english phrases or words have been written in italics. established relationship, more of character headcannons than x reader moments. lots of fluff and crack and very self indulgent.

what’s this? it’s spicy? — every time. gojo’s arrogance would be no match for a plate of golgappa with the most fiery paani. he’d insist he could handle it, only to down half a bottle of milk and dramatically flail about. would wear a kurta to your cousin’s wedding but would make it somehow... scandalous? the kurta would be slightly unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up, showing his forearms, earning him several aunties’ stares (and jibes). absolutely insists on dancing during wedding processions. he’d make it his moment, hyping everyone up, and yes he'll even sit on your uncle’s shoulders, long limbs flailing around. if he accompanies you to a relative's house, he'd out-chat the most talkative aunty. someone needs to remind him he’s not the center of attention during mid-afternoon snack time. insists he doesn’t need or drink tea but still sips yours every single time, claiming it “just tastes better” when it’s from your hands. decides to help your mom in the kitchen one day, only to create a disaster. your mom bans him after he burns roti and mixes sugar instead of salt into daal. everytime he goes with the aunties to shop at the local markets, he always gets a few knick-knacks for you, even without asking. expect you to wear them on your dates together, duh.

nanami would be in awe of your mom's cooking. he'd sit quietly, savoring every bite, occasionally muttering, “this is exquisite.” he’d be polite to the point where he wouldn’t admit his stomach was done at a family dinner. your uncles would keep piling food on his plate, and he’d silently soldier through, sweating a little but never complaining. he’d be fascinated by your family's love for cricket and would learn the rules just to engage in conversation. next thing you know, he’s analyzing the team's batting order at 3 a.m. you’d catch him sneaking sweets from the fridge at odd hours, eyes lighting up like a kid when he discovers them stashed away. learns exactly how you like your tea and makes it for you without asking every morning. he even knows to add extra ginger when you’re sick. helps you set up lamps during diwali and insists on doing the rangoli with you, though he’s oddly meticulous and wants symmetry everywhere. tries helping you drape your saree during a family event and somehow manages to get it perfect after watching one youtube tutorial. after work, he picks up paani puri from the stall near your house because he knows it’s your favorite, even though it’s been a long day for him.

geto would become every single kid’s favorite at family gatherings. he’d let them braid his hair, play charades, and act as the mediator when they start fighting over who goes first. he’s the kind who’d sit with your grandma for hours, listening to her stories about her youth and nodding thoughtfully as if committing everything to memory. would absolutely insist on wearing a sherwani to a wedding because he respects the tradition, and he looks like he just walked off a vogue india cover. notices every detail — your earrings, your bangles, even that small bindi you put on. always manages to say something that makes you feel seen and cherished. loves watching old shahrukh khan movies with you and mimics the dramatic hand gestures, leaving you in fits of laughter. makes a mess of eating sev puri, getting imli chutney all over his fingers, but enjoys it so much that he insists on taking you for chaat every week.

sukuna refuses to admit he likes your mom’s parathas but will eat five in one sitting. he’d grumble about “why does this butter smell so good?” while scooping another bite. at first, he’d scoff at cultural events, calling them “pointless human traditions,” but eventually, you’d catch him laughing at your cousin’s bad singing or mouthing the words to a song. bhindi fry or aloo gobi would become his favorite dish. he’d demand you learn your mom’s recipe exactly as is. and god forbid, you forget the pickle. hates most people but inexplicably bonds with your uncle, the one who’s slightly tipsy at every function and making inappropriate jokes. makes you explain the 10 different kinds of pickles your mom keeps in the pantry. ends up liking lemon pickle the best but hates admitting it. accidentally steps on the edge of your saree while passing by and tries to play it cool when you glare at him, muttering, “how was i supposed to know it’s this long?” initially says, “i don’t get what’s so special about biriyani,” but after tasting your mom’s, demands she teach you exactly how to make it “or else.” always insists on driving you home from family events, saying, “your uncles are insane drivers, and i don’t trust their shortcuts.”

choso’s sweet, quiet nature would win over your aunties almost instantly. they'd call him little one and pinch his cheeks every chance they got. he’d be a sucker for gulab jamun. you’d leave him alone with a bowl, and suddenly half of it would disappear. he’d give you that guilty but adorable "did i do something wrong?" look. would love watching bollywood movies with you, but he’d always side with the villains because “they’re misunderstood.” his favorite movie is don 2. lowkey obsessed with mehndi. he’d insist you draw some on his hand for fun, sitting patiently while you doodle a peacock and floral designs. takes notes as your mom explains how to make dal tadka. later surprises you by making it, though it’s slightly too salty. gets genuinely emotional watching kabhi khushi kabhie gham, especially during the family reunion scene. refuses to admit he cried. helps you untangle strings of lights before diwali and insists on hanging them up himself so you don’t climb any ladders. sneaks sweets from the fridge at night, only to leave a sticky trail of crumbs everywhere. when confronted, he sheepishly blames the cat.

toji would absolutely love the chaos of a desi wedding. the dancing, the food, the random uncle fighting with the DJ — he’d thrive in it. shamelessly asks your mom to pack leftovers. he has zero shame about taking home an entire packet of biryani. the man can handle spice, but even he’d flinch at a particularly deadly pepper. he’d recover quickly, though, saying, “it’s good. just clears out the sinuses, ya know?” absolute menace during garba. no rhythm, no technique — just a wild flailing of arms and a massive grin. he's suprisingly good at bhangra and now everyone wants to dance with him. fixes random things around the house for your parents, like the fan or the jammed door, all while your aunties try (and fail) not to ogle him.

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[skyenish]

Mr. Loverman | Scarabia animatic 🐍☀️

——

Something something happy pride month

(Ramble under the cut)

Since I’m drawing Jamil and Kalim to like every romance song in existence, of course I had to draw them to mr. Lovernan; its only natural! And this song fits them so well too… the ways that Kalim talks to Jamil are so sickenly sweet and loving, they make Jamil wish he was gone. I think it’s so perfect to have that one voiceline where Kalim says Jamil’s name, but not with his usual trust or love or kindness, but rather with disbelief, fear, and confusion. That way the song can have a double meaning for them! Kalim’s sweet words make Jamil sick, but when Jamil’s plans fell apart and Kalim called out for him, confused and refusing to believe that his closest companion would betray him, it still makes Jamil’s stomach churn. I bet that sometimes Jamil wishes Kalim could just shut up.

But Jamil still cares about Kalim, still remembers when they were friends. Their relationship is complex, and though he hates it, I think he still does love and care deeply about Kalim, but all those feelings are just in a very weird and difficult place. I absolutely adore that double meaning! The ways in which Kalim talks to Jamil makes Jamil feel a lot of things, negative, positive, and he hates it. But “wishing i were gone” and “running on and on” can apply to both his negative feelings of desperation, hatred, loathing and disgust, and also those feelings that deep inside make him wish their situations were different, that things didn’t end up like this. Jamil lies a lot, also to himself, and all his feelings are so tangled and stuck (dude is super emotionally constipated and needs therapy fr). I LOVE the character development Jamil and Kalim got in book 6 and 7, because they’re slowly making their way towards building a healthier, mutual relationship, and I’m so happy for them! I will be eagerly awaiting the day their relationship is fixed, and they’re happy with themselves, eachother, and life

As always, please remember that these are just MY interpretations of and takes on these characters! If you disagree or want to share your own interpretations, thats valid, and please do share! I love to read analysises and rambles! :)

——

Drawing has been really difficult again; im busy with school and I can’t get myself motivated to draw. Social Media has also been bumming me out. I’m really sensitive, and there’s been a lot of negativity on my fyps and timelines, which has just killed my mood. Good news also though- the twst anime finally got a release date??! I have been waiting for this for YEARS, and I can’t wait to see our boys animated and for the fandom to grow and for new merch! There’ll be so much more cool fanart, new character discussions and analysises, new people who get to experience twst for the first time!

Kalim is such a cutie, he’s so fun to draw! (Until suddenly my hands decide they don’t know how to draw him anymore).

(GUYS HAVE YOU SEEN THE UPCOMING CATER CARD??? IM NOT OKAY HE LOOKS SO GOOD AFHAGSGDHJ)

[wheeboo]

KIMCHI !!!!!! my favourite resident 8star fr 😭 and it's completely ok omg!!!! school is a priority my fics are going nowhere dont worry <3

AND YESSS like U WERE LITERALLY ONE THAT SPARKED THE IDEA I CNA NEVER THANK U ENOUGH FOR IT 😭😭😭 stopp youre so so sweet i'm flattered :(((

i'm telling u hao fr FELL IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. he doesnt give off that kind of vibes in general but i swear here it FITS ‼️‼️ my dude was caught in a daze right away like an angel walked into his life fr

i absolutely loved doing the whole analogy of people being like flowers 🥺 and i'm certain this is a thought process that minghao would have because ur SO right he's SO SO insightful 🤧🤧

"i love how he doesn't deny comparing people to flowers in general cuz somehow that is exactly what minghao is? like a guy who sometimes is a little on the sidelines simply because he enjoys perceiving other people a bit too much" - UGH U JUST DESCRIBED HIM SO PERFECTLY !!!! i cant ughhdfjdsf

i've never tried lotus omg ??? now i'm curioous and it's such a beautiful flower 🫶🫶

rania and her lovely writing style of putting unsaid words in italics in between 🤩🤩 i love how distinctive it makes your writing - im glad it makes it distinctive omg 😭🫶 i've always loved doing that idk there's just something that hits diff abt writing dialogue and writing thoughts of the character within it...

UR ROMAN EMPIRE 🥺 and what if sobbed rn

holy shit. this line touched a part of me so raw that i didn't even know existed - i'm so happy i was able to evoke such feelings 🤧🤧

caught in bloom, caught on you | xu minghao

SYNOPSIS. in which you find yourself becoming a regular𑁋or perhaps more than that𑁋at minghao's flower shop. PAIRING. florist!xu minghao x gn!reader GENRE. fluff, a pinch of angst, hurt/comfort, strangers to friends to lovers WARNINGS. hao basically falls in love at first sight HAHA, mild cursing, implied that yn lost someone close to them, a lot of yearning n pining, kissing WORD COUNT. 8.3k

notes: wheeboo is NOT in their short-ish fic era anymore and is in their long-ish fic era rn 😭 anyway,, i didnt have a title for the fic until hao posted his song on his birthday so... I hope u all enjoy?? this might be one of my faves haha

Minghao likes these kinds of days.

Thin, irregular shapes of cotton drift lazily across the endless blue embrace of the skies. The afternoon sun carries warmth in its hands that he could feel right through the glass windows of his flower shop. It's almost as if the season of summer itself is breathing through his shop, softly encouraging his little garden to reach for the light.

Minghao runs his slender fingers through the cool edges of a hydrangea, its soft petals a deep shade of prismarine.

Ever since he was younger, his mother had told him that flowers weren't just things to be cared for. They were companions, your friends if you'd let them be, each blooming with all different kinds of personalities.

He likes how the flowers didn't ask for much; they simply needed patience and care, and in return, they gave him a sense of peace that he couldn't find anywhere else.

The sudden chime of the bell pulls him from his thoughts. He straightens up, wiping his hands on the apron tied loosely around his waist, and glances toward the door.

The figure the walks through the door is unfamiliar, yet it's easy to catch the way the sunlight highlights the edges of your silhouette, almost like a halo as you step inside the shop. For a moment, Minghao is simply taken aback by the quiet grace of your entrance, the way the afternoon light seems to favour you.

Your gaze circles around the shop, taking in the rows of flowers with a soft curiosity. There's some sort of quiet hesitation in your movements when you take a few more tentative steps inside, as if you're trying to find the right place to be in this space, just as much as you're trying to find the right flower.

Minghao finds himself clearing his throat, drawing a polite smile across his lips and catching your attention right away.

"Good afternoon," he greets calmly. "Can I help you with something today?"

You glance up at him, a slight surprise in your eyes before they soften.

"Hi, um... Yeah, I was actually looking to see if I could buy some flowers. The shop I went to before closed down, so I've been searching for a new place. It was a bit of a drive." Then you hesitate briefly, before continuing, "I'm not sure what to look for exactly, but something for a first date would be nice."

Minghao's heart stirs a bit disappointingly at that, though he quickly suppresses the feeling away. After all, it's just flowers, and you're simply here to buy them for someone else.

He nods thoughtfully, giving a soft, understanding look.

"Ah, well. Congratulations first of all on the date," he says calmly, though the nerves itches his fingers. "A first date is always special, isn't it?"

"They are," You reply sheepishly, and the hint of a blush to your cheeks nearly resembles the colour of the roses displayed near the window.

"Is there a specific kind of vibe you're going for?" Minghao asks. "I can help you pick something that feels right."

You pause for a moment, eyes lingering on a beautifully-painted vase. "Hmm, I think... something romantic, but not too traditional, if that makes sense? Not something too cliché, you know, but I also want it to feel special."

Minghao simply hums in response, his mind sifting through the variety of options he could think of. There's this odd sense of responsibility within him to make your choice is beyond perfect.

"Roses are always a classic," he begins. "but they're quite conventional, so..."

He can sense you following closely to him as he walks toward another part of the shop.

"These are tulips," Minghao explains, gesturing to a row of soft, voluminous blooms in shades of pale pink and coral. "They're not commonly picked like roses, but there's a nice charm about it. They're meant to represent long-lasting love."

You take a good look of the flowers, and you're amazed by how bright they appear.

"Wow, they're so beautiful." Then you take a small glance up at Minghao, before back down at the flowers. "You must really take care of these flowers to make them look this vibrant."

"I try my best," he mutters quietly, watching as you continue to take in their beauty. "Each flower has its own needs, but with patience, they show their beauty. Much like people, I suppose."

Your eyes flicker back up at him, and for a moment, there's a quiet stillness between you, as if the space between you two is holding its breath. Then you let out a warm, somewhat nervous chuckle.

"I think I understand," You say, taking a step closer towards the tulips  and carefully running a finger over its petals. "It's about giving them space to grow, right? Not forcing them to be something they're not."

There's something about the way you speak, something thoughtful, almost as if you also understand the language of patience he's grown so accustomed to.

"Exactly." He smiles faintly. "That's what I like about flowers𑁋they don't rush. They just exist, and somehow, they slowly become what they're meant to be."

You lift your gaze to meet his, and in your eyes, Minghao sees something more than just curiosity. There's a softness there, a sincerity that draws him in. At his sides, he feels his fingers twitch slightly, but he quickly smooths his hands down his apron.

It's strange how a simple conversation about flowers can make him feel so... connected to someone.

"I think these are perfect," You tell him, eyes brightening with confidence.

A wave of satisfaction washes over Minghao, who nods in agreement.

"Would you like me to wrap them up for you?" he asks.

"That would be great, thank you," You respond with that cute grin of yours𑁋it seems more relaxed now. The thought makes his heart flutter.

Minghao begins to wrap the delicate stems with some brown wrapping paper, carefully arranging them so they're secure. As he ties a ribbon around the bouquet, he can't help but sneak up a glance at you. You're wandering around the shop with your hands clasped in front of you, looking at the other arrangements on display, and he smiles to himself.

He finishes the bouquet and smooths out any remaining creases with his fingertips. When you make your way back over to him, he offers it to you.

"Do you want to write your name on a gift tag?" Minghao asks, holding up a small card and a pen. He doesn’t know why his heart's beating faster𑁋perhaps it's the subtle hopefulness in his voice that will make your name linger longer, even after you leave.

You glance at the pen in his hand, considering it for a moment before nodding.

"Sure, I'd love to," You tell him with a faint smile, snatching the pen from his grasp, giving it a quick click before writing something down, the tip of your tongue just barely peeking out in concentration.

When you finish, you hand the card back to him. He takes it from you carefully, inspecting your neat, intricate handwriting. It's simple, yet there's a certain elegance to it it. Minghao reads it under his breath: For someone special, who I hope feels the same - Y/N.

Y/N, he repeats in his mind.

"I'll finish it up for you now," he says, placing the card with the bouquet. He arranges the flowers once more, making sure everything is perfect before handing it to you.

You find yourself fishing into your bag for your wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

Minghao hesitates for a moment, his fingers hovering over the register, but there's something about the way your features soften and how your eyes meet his that makes him pause.

"It's on the house."

You stop your hands, peering back up at him with a surprised look. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course," he assures calmly. "It's the least I can do."

You just blink at him a few times, a soft chuckle escaping your lips.

"Thank you," You let out sheepishly as you take the bouquet in your hands, the ribbon slipping through your fingers as you carefully adjust it. There's a split second that passes where you sneak a glance at the nametag on his chest. "I really appreciate it. I'm sure they'll love them."

Something in his chest tightens at that𑁋they'll love them. Minghao tries not to overthink it, tries to ignore the brief twinge of something unsettling in his chest.

But you're smiling, so he smiles back.

"I hope so," he replies gently, and with a polite bow of his head, he adds, "I'm sure they'll appreciate the thought behind it."

As you walk towards the exit, you take a final look around the shop, eyes lingering on the shelves of flowers, before turning back to Minghao.

"I'll be sure to come back," You say brightly, and the way the afternoon sunlight pours down all around you in the doorway makes you appear almost angelic. "Thank you for everything."

"I'll be here," Minghao responds, offering a small, timid wave of his hand. "Take care."

The chime of the bell above the door announces your departure, and a sigh leaves him.

It's just flowers, he tells himself again. Just flowers.

And flowers𑁋like people𑁋don't rush.

Minghao finds himself wiping away some spilled soil on the counter, the soft hum of piano music drifting throughout the quiet flower shop. He had just gotten done cleaning up after a busy morning of rearranging a few displays around the shop to tie into the slow seasonal changes that were beginning to take shape outside.

The shift from the warm tones of summer to the cool shades of autumn had arrived, bringing a new, fresh palette for him to play with. Chrysanthemums, petunias, dahlias, and marigolds were beginning to make their way into the shop, taking their place next to the peonies and roses that had been so meticulously cared for.

When the last bits of soil are wiped away, Minghao steps back to admire the beauty of the shop around him, he takes in a deep inhale, letting in the earthy scent of the fresh blooms fill his lungs.

After storing away a few extra vases in the backroom, the chime of the door hits his ears, and Minghao finds himself straightening back up to greet whoever had come inside.

When looks up, however, he freezes for a moment. He catches you standing in the doorway, and Minghao has to blink a few times to make sure his mind wasn't playing any tricks on him.

"Hi, again," You're the first to greet this time, and then that grin spreads across your face once again, one that seems all-too familiar.

Minghao leans against the counter. "Back so soon?"

"I was just in the area, couldn't help myself, you know..." You drawl with a playful shrug. "I actually just officially moved into the city just last week, hopefully to be closer for this new job and well... The drive here isn't as long as before."

Minghao smiles softly. It's an unexpected but pleasant surprise for you to admit all that to him, and for some reason, it makes him feel a little lighter.

"That's great," he responds, pushing himself off the counter as he straightens up. "I imagine that must be a relief. How do you like it so far?"

You step further into the shop, your eyes eagerly scanning the new arrangements he's set up.

"It's been great, actually," You say with a relieved look. "Life has been... good, honestly. I think the city suits me. It's different, but in a positive way, and I'm already surrounded by a lot of nice people."

This warm and genuine feeling tugs at Minghao's lips as he listens to you, adjusting the stems of a vase full of a plethora of zinnias.

"I'm assuming that date from before went well then?"

His words makes the smile on your face flicker, and the change is subtle but noticeable enough for Minghao to catch it, even when he's not directly looking at you. You shift your weight between your two feet, and the way you glance around the shop seems almost like you're trying to distract yourself from something.

"The date didn't go well at all, actually."

Minghao's fingertips pause on the cold surface of the vase, brows furrowing in a bit of surprise.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologises gently, regretting for the sudden change in mood. "I didn't mean to bring up anything uncomfortable."

You let out a small, rueful chuckle, shaking your head. "No, no, it's okay. Really."

The air seems to thicken a little. You could only stand and watch for a few long moments as Minghao moves gracefully around, tending to all the flowers with his usual care.

After a long pause, you finally break the silence.

"It was good at first, I think, then it just became... awkward. Like really awkward. I thought I had everything planned out𑁋good place, nice flowers, all that jazz... but I guess it just didn't click. I think we both kind of felt it." You feel your shoulders deflate in a pit of defeat, a soft sigh escaping your lips as you run a hand through your hair. "I don't know why I just rambled all that. Sorry about that."

Minghao doesn't say anything at first, simply giving you some space, but he feels his heart tighten in his chest. He casts his eyes on you, also unsure why you're telling him this or why it feels important to him, but he knows it's a moment of vulnerability𑁋a rare one𑁋and he wants to handle it with care.

"No need to say sorry," he reaffirms, tone soothing. "Sometimes things don't go as expected, and that's okay. It doesn't mean it wasn't meaningful."

You glance towards him, catching the sincerity dripping down from his words. It catches you by surprise at how almost... comfortable it feels to be open right now, with him. The atmosphere here doesn't demand anything of you.

"As people, we try so hard to make things go right that we forget to just... let them unfold naturally," he says softly, as if thinking aloud. "I think sometimes things don't work out because we're not ready for them yet, or maybe they're not the right kind of flower at the right time. You can spend so much time trying to arrange them, placing them in the perfect spot, hoping they'll just fit… but sometimes they don't. And that's okay."

You can't help but quirk a playful lip at that, but you can't resist the way his words appear to tug right at your heartstrings. "Are you comparing me to a flower?"

"Not just you, no," Minghao replies amusedly. "But I think you could be. A flower, I mean. You're just someone who's figuring out what kind you want to be."

The thought about being a flower𑁋in another life, perhaps𑁋is a bit silly. But you also wonder about other things too𑁋if you're being treated with the same care and attention that Minghao gives to his flowers, or if you're wilting like one that hasn't found the right light yet. And as you gaze around the shop, taking in the beauty of the blooms around you, you find yourself smiling.

"I think I'd like to try and take care of a flower," You announce, determination weaving around your voice and words. "I'm not sure if I'd be good at it, but I'd like to try."

Minghao crosses his arms together, letting out a thoughtful hum while studying you for a few seconds. "I think you'd do well."

For some reason, those few words were enough to send heat crawling up your body and into your face.

"Thank you," You breathe out sheepishly, the corners of your mouth tugging upwards. "Can you give me a few recommendations?"

Minghao just nods. "Sure."

From there, he leads you toward a small display near the front of the shop where a few different pots and seedlings are carefully arranged. He describes a few of them to you. You're immediately drawn to the passion dripping from his tone, and the way he appears to light up when he speaks.

"These might be a good start," he suggests, gesturing to a small seedling. "Marigolds are pretty low maintenance. They need light, of course, but they're easy to grow and care for."

You take a moment to study over the baby plant with sweet curiosity.

"I think I'll start with these, then," You say, glancing back at Minghao. "Something easy."

Minghao's eyes don't stray away from how you admire the tiny plant, how you cradle the pot in your hands to take a closer look at it as if you're already imagining yourself taking care of it.

"Taking care of them can be a good reminder to take care of yourself too," he points out. "They need patience, consistency… and a little bit of trust, just like people do."

You look up at him, a smile tugging at your lips once more, feeling something warm bloom in your chest. His words settle into you in a way that's hard to describe, but they feel right𑁋like they're exactly what you need to hear.

"That's true," You reply, the weight of the sentiment settling comfortably within you. "I guess I could use a reminder like that."

"Shall I wrap it up for you?" he offers.

"Yes, please. Thank you."

After mulling over some options, he chooses the perfect wrapping paper and adds a small note about caring for marigolds. You watch him, mesmerised by the ease in his movements, the care he pours into something so simple. For a moment, you forget about all the bustling noise outside the shop, and all that exists is Minghao and the flowers, his flowers.

As Minghao ties the final knot around the marigold pot, he hands it to you, and his fingertips briefly brush against yours.

"Thank you," You tell him softly. "For everything, really. It's very calming in here."

Minghao's smile widens, almost like he's heard those same words before, and perhaps he has; maybe many people find themselves drawn to his calm presence and the haven he's created in this little shop.

There's a strange warmth that spreads throughout your chest as you cradle the small plant in your hands. "I'll be sure to take good care of it."

A few moments of comfortable silence pass as you both stand there, your eyes drifting around the shop to take in the palette of autumn that colours the space. Yet it's almost instinctive in the way your gaze finds Minghao.

"I hope you won't mind me coming back, you know... to make sure I'm doing a good job with this little one." You gesture to the plant in your hands, a playful tone to your words.

Minghao chuckles, a sound as gentle as the petals surrounding him. "Of course. I'll be here."

"Do you mind if I take another look around with the place? It looks great, by the way."

"Take all the time you need."

And for the first time in a long while, Minghao felt like he wasn't just waiting for the next flower to bloom.

He was blooming, too.

"Do you have a favourite flower?"

The question rests upon Minghao's shoulders while he waters a cluster of orchids in the back corner of the shop. You're hovering near him, aimlessly trudging your fingertips over, but instead lets the question settle in between the quiet moments.

"I imagine it's hard to pick as a florist, right?" You let out a meek laugh. "It's kind of like asking a painter to pick their favourite colour."

The corners of Minghao's lips curl up slightly, his eyes fixed on the glistening leaves under the faint droplets of water. You can tell he's contemplating the question from the quiet hums leaving his mouth, and for some reason, you find comfort in his patience.

"Not exactly," he says after a pause, his voice steady, thoughtful. "A painter might have a favourite colour, but they don't use it all the time. It's about balance. Knowing when to bring it forward and when to hold it back."

"Ah, so you do have a favourite flower," You tease lightly, nudging him playfully with your shoulder. "You just don't want to admit it."

The brief touch seems to linger in the air, a soft warmth that you both let pass without acknowledging. Minghao gently sets the watering can down and looks at you for a moment, his gaze a little deeper than before.

"In China, we have a lot of flowers that hold meaning," Minghao continues. "It's hard to pick one specifically, but... I've been liking the liánhuā lately𑁋the lotus. It grows in muddy water and blooms above the surface, even despite those circumstances. It also represents purity, resilience, and growth."

You tilt your head as you take in his words. You already knew yourself that you didn't know much about flowers, but there's a certain curiosity that washes over you from how Minghao speaks so fondly about them. Even something as simple as a flower has layers of meaning for him.

"That's really beautiful, I..." You trail off, trying to find the right words. "I've always looked at things really surface-level, you know, like I've always found daisies beautiful because they're so simple and bright, but I never really thought much about their deeper meanings. It's kind of like... I never thought about why I liked them. It's just easy to see them and appreciate them, I guess."

Minghao blinks at you, before lowering his gaze down to the floor. "Daisies suit you."

You turn to him, dazed. "Really?"

Minghao takes a contemplative pause. "Well, they're not only... beautiful to look at, but they brighten up any space they're in."

You feel your feet seep into the floor, sinking deeper as your cheeks warm, suddenly hyper-aware of how close you were standing next to him. And it's the way he acts like he didn't fucking say anything out of the ordinary almost makes you lose it.

"Are you flirting with me right now?"

However, Minghao doesn't seem fazed by the question. Instead, his lips twitch into a small, almost imperceptible smile, and then a few seconds later, your phone rings.

Minghao just offers you a little wave of his soil-painted hand. "Have fun at work, Y/N."

"Minghao! Can you teach me how to wrap these flowers?"

Minghao casts his attention up from displaying a new set of hyacinths, catching you behind the counter with a bouquet in your hands, along with a small old lady on the other side with a cheerful grin.

There's a subtle tug at the corners of his mouth when he hears you holler for him again, and he brushes his hands against his apron, before marching his way toward you. He steps up to you, taking the flowers from your hand while you beam happily towards the old lady.

"What's the occasion for the flowers, ma'am?" You ask curiously. Th elderly woman lets out a soft laugh, resting her wrinkled hands on the counter.

"It's for my grandson! He's graduating from high school today. Time flies by, doesn't it?"

"Wow, that's such a milestone! Congratulations to him," You exclaim enthusiastically, softly clapping your hands together as Minghao deftly arranges the flowers within the wrapping paper, before sliding it over to you.

He leans in a bit more, almost too close you feel the way his arm brushes against yours and the way his breath fans against your skin.

"Fold the edges like this," Minghao instructs softly, his hands hovering right over yours. "Make sure the paper covers the stems. Too much pressure could break them; too loose could make them fall apart."

You watch as his hands follow yours while you nervously, yet carefully trace the frail edge of the paper, showing you how to make each fold with a care that's almost tender. His close proximity sends strange flutters to your stomach, but you do your best to ignore it.

"Okay, like this?" You question, pulling the paper slightly tighter around the bouquet.

Minghao hums approvingly, letting you hold the flowers while he circles a ribbon around it with ease. His hands brush against yours as he neatly ties it, and the two of you pull back to watch how it delicately falls over the bouquet.

The old lady glances between the two of you with a knowing smile.

"The two of you make such a cute couple! Do you run the shop together?"

You feel your face fire up at that, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Then you instinctively glance over at Minghao, who surprisingly doesn't seem as flustered as you are.

"Oh, um, we're not𑁋"

"They like to help out here once in a while," Minghao adds in smoothly, though you aren't sure if that entirely helps or not. However you know what he's saying is true, because whenever your break for work comes or on your free time, you find yourself naturally walking towards the flower shop to help out at times.

The lady just beams up even more, scooping up the bouquet in her grasp. "Well, it's nice to see young faces working together! You two sure do have a lot of chemistry."

You offer a wave of your hand. "I hope your grandson enjoys the flowers. Congratulations to him once again!"

With that, the old woman offers a small wink before turning to head out of the shop. "Thank you, dear! Take care, both of you." Her delighted steps echo off the walls as she exits the shop.

The shop grows quiet again. You let out a sigh, cracking your knuckles as you turn to Minghao, who was already wiping over the surface of the counter, making quick work of putting things back in order, and for some reason, it still doesn't wipe away the pit of awkwardness you're feeling. You wonder if he feels the same too.

"So," Minghao starts, still continuing to clean without batting a glance at you. "You're taking over my shop, it seems."

You let out a haughty scoff. "I just wanted to try wrapping some flowers for someone. Don't let it get to your head."

Minghao only chuckles lightly, though he keeps his focus on the counter, yet you could only focus on him. You can't help but admire the way his hair falls effortlessly over his forehead, the slight endearing tilt of his head as he works, and how his movements are so meticulously unique to only him. There's a certain aura he exudes that makes you feel strangely at peace, a magic that only seems to reside within the walls of the shop.

"Why didn't you say no?" You suddenly ask, the question slipping out before you could shut your mouth.

Minghao pauses mid-swipe, looking back up at you. "Say no to what?"

"To, uh... the lady back there," You stammer, feeling the heat creep back at your neck. "About us, you know... being a couple."

Minghao remains silent as he tosses the dirty wipe away. For a moment, he seems to be contemplating something𑁋whether the question, the idea, or something more.

Then he just simply shrugs. "I guess I didn't mind it," he replies lowly, and meets your eyes warily. "Does it bother you?"

Your mind goes completely blank at his question. Does it bother you? The simple truth is that you didn't expect him to answer so casually. You were expecting him to probably correct her humbly, in all honesty. After all, it was just a passing comment from a lady who didn't mean any harm behind it.

But... does it bother you?

"No, it... it doesn't bother me. Really," You respond after a pause, voice coming out a bit forced. Your heart is beating super fast right now. "I guess I just didn't expect you to go along with it since we're not𑁋"

"𑁋not a couple," Minghao finishes for you. "I know."

You feel like you're melting into a pile of goo, your thoughts scattering like ants running out of their pile.

"I'm sorry, I'm overthinking," You mumble out, trying to brush everything off with an airy laugh.

Minghao shakes his head. "I should be sorry. I made you uncomfortable."

"You-You didn't, trust me!" You wave your hands dismissively, albeit a bit dramatic. "I was just caught off-guard and didn't know how to respond."

This seems to relax Minghao's shoulders a bit, but not entirely.

"Okay," he says, and his voice is as light as a  wisp getting caught in the wind. "But you'd tell me if you were uncomfortable, right?"

You give him an easy nod, maybe even confident. "I would. I promise. And you'd... tell me too?"

Minghao meets your eyes with a steady gaze, his expression soft but thoughtful. For a moment, there's a subtle shift in the air, and you can feel the weight of his words before he speaks again.

"Yeah," he answers firmly, sincerely. "I would."

When you open your mouth to speak again, your phone dings in your pocket. You squint your eyes to read over the message in your notifications, before closing up your phone.

"My meeting got cancelled." Then you blink up towards Minghao, as if trying to convey an unspoken question to him.

As if the answer wasn't already obvious, Minghao gives you a small, almost teasing smile.

"I don't mind the company," he tells you, then quirks up a brow. "Unless you do."

"I don't mind either," I like being in this place... with you. "Not at all."

Flowers bloom when the time is right. And you don't mind waiting for it.

When a flower dies, there's a certain routine that comes after it. Trim away the wilted petals, dispose of the stems, recycle them as compost, and plant the next set of blooms.

Minghao hates seeing flowers die.

The sound of crumbling petals tie a knot in his chest, the stillness that follows afterwards is almost deafening. But he knows it's an inevitable part of life. Every flower has its chance to bloom and thrive, and eventually, it will fade.

The flowers don't belong to him, after all𑁋they are simply passing through his care briefly before going to someone else or withering away, like everything else in life. Minghao knows it's unnecessary to hold onto these flowers so tightly, but after being surrounded by them his entire life, it's merely impossible to let go.

The bell chimes as he's composting a few camellias that had sadly wilted, and he gazes up to find a gust of snow following your footsteps as you step inside. A large, black fluffy coat hugs your body and a scarf is wrapped snugly around your neck. However this time, Minghao doesn't notice any ounce of a smile to your face.

He sets the compost bin down and wipes his hands on his apron.

"Y/N?"

There's a very subtle twitch to your expression when he calls out your name.

"Hey," You croak out, voice a bit strained. "Um... is it fine if I buy some flowers?"

Minghao feels something in his chest clench at your tone, but he pushes the feeling away with his usual calm composure, masking away any concern simmering on the surface.

"Sure," he replies, focusing on the shadows that plague over your features. "Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

Your eyes drift away from to look around the flower shop, taking note of the bright, usual blooms that surround you, yet none of them appear are what you're looking for.

"Do you have, um..." You feel like you're already going to regret this. "...anything for a funeral?"

The words float in the air between you both. Minghao's expression falters for just a moment, the calmness that he usually carries slipping as his eyes soften toward you.

"Of course," he says softly. "I have a few options."

With that, he leads you to a particular spot in the shop, where it houses all sorts of flowers with muted colours𑁋white roses and lilies, pale chrysanthemums, and pink and purple orchids all arranged neatly. Minghao watches as you gaze over each flower, but he doesn't speak yet, simply allowing you the moment to breathe.

"These are the traditional flowers for a funeral," he explains finally. "White roses for remembrance, lilies for peace, chrysanthemums for mourning, and orchids for everlasting love."

Minghao has picked flowers for funerals before. He's also seen people hold onto flowers that are long past their bloom, clinging to them as if their presence alone could bring someone back. He's been there too.

It's bit a different when it's you though, and he doesn't exactly know how to explain it.

You plod slowly throughout the display, picking up a stem here and there, but each time, you set it back down as if it didn't feel right. But when you come across the orchids, you linger a little longer on them, tenderly caressing the petals as if you were scared to break them.

"I think I'll choose these ones. The orchids," You murmur, picking up a few stems and showing it to him.

Minghao just nods, taking the ones from your hands and grabbing a few more to finish the rest of the bouquet, moving with careful precision.

"I'll handle the rest, don't worry," he assures you as he gracefully works to arrange the orchids.

None of you choose to say anything more, only letting the diffident silence stretch. For some reason, the shop feels a little more cooler, the air heavier than usual. The only sound is the rustling of Minghao's hands moving carefully over the flowers, the quiet snap of a stem as he trims it with his shears. Outside, the snow continues to fall.

Minghao doesn't press for any details, yet even in the quiet, you have a feeling that he knows. Maybe that's why he's just letting his hands speak for him.

"Here you go." He offers you a neat bouquet of pale lavender orchids.

You step up to him to retrieve it from his grasp, bringing it close to your chest. "Thank you."

Minghao knows he shouldn't let his feelings get in the way, but as he takes note of the slight glassiness to your eyes and small tremble of your hands holding the bouquet, he isn't sure how much longer he can hold it in. He feels guilty when he lets his eyes drift down to your lips for a second, before averting it back up quickly.

The smile you give him is nothing short of fragile, faint, but it's there. And then, with a sudden leap, you find yourself leaning into Minghao's embrace without thinking, wrapping your arms around his body as if he was the only thing in the world that was preventing you from falling down. And in a way, he is.

His arms catch you instinctively, gentle yet steady, embracing around you like flowers petals folding inward for protection. His warmth seeps into you as if he were the sun reaching a flower in the early hours of dawn, and his hand comes up to cradle the back of your head, encouraging you to press closer into his warmth.

You don't cry𑁋not entirely. A single tear slips past your lashes, landing silently against his shoulder. He feels it, but he doesn't move, doesn't say anything, and just lets you... be.

"I'm sorry," You mumble into his shoulder. "I didn't mean to𑁋"

"Don't be," Minghao interrupts softly. "It's okay."

You pull away for a moment to look up at him. He's still holding you. His hands have fallen down to your sides, resting there as if he's held you like this before. The way you're looking at him has Minghao nearly forgetting how to breathe; it nearly urges to him to lean down and close the distance between the two of you.

His gaze lingers on your lips, and for a split second, Minghao almost allows himself to follow the instinct to lean in.

But then he stops himself.

He's not sure what this is, what the right thing to do is. His thoughts are tangled mess of roots𑁋he's always been careful with holding himself back, with promising to wait, yet something about the way you look at him makes it feel like the only right thing to do is to give in.

But he can't. Not yet. Not when you're so fragile and baring yourself raw to him.

Yet he sees the way your eyes flutter at him, the way a crease of question forms in between your brows as if you're also unsure of what this moment is, but there's a longing there too. It's almost pleading. And you lean in a little more towards him.

"Y/N," he breathes out your name, and it's the first time you ever heard his voice shake like that. "We... We shouldn't."

You don't say anything at first, your eyes searching his face like you're trying to read something. You open your mouth, close it, and then, with a slight exhale, you step back, only a little, but enough to let the cool air seep in between you.

"I'm sorry, I..." You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, letting out a sniffle. "Fuck, I'm sorry..."

Minghao feels his chest tighten. "It's okay𑁋"

"I-I just wanted to feel something for a moment, you know? Everything is such a mess right now and the first person I thought of was you, because I like... the way you make me feel. I like it way more than I should. And that... that it's okay if you don't feel that way too."

Minghao's heart stutters at that, and perhaps the world even pauses too. All words that want to leave him become stuck in his throat, because he knows deep down𑁋from as far back as the moment you walked into the flower shop𑁋that he's felt the same way for far too long.

So, he settles with taking one hand from your side and slowly reaching up to trace your warm cheek with his thumb, his touch delicate as if he's afraid he might cause your petals to fall down. He brushes away a lingering tear that had been drying up on your skin and lets his hand stay there.

"You... deserve way more than just comfort in a moment like this," Minghao starts quietly. "But you're grieving right now, and I don't want to take advantage of that. I don't want to just be someone who's here for a moment, because... you mean so much to me more than that."

Your lips form into a tight, thin line, and you flicker your gaze towards the floor, the heaviness in the air still weighing down on your shoulders.

"Minghao..."

"And if I act on what I feel, it wouldn't be fair to you," Minghao continues, voice trembling slightly as he speaks. "I want it to be because you know what you want. And if you ever give me that chance, I promise I'll be here for you. Not just now, not just in this moment, but... for everything. When you're ready; when you're healed; when it feels right, I'll be here𑁋I always have been."

There's a lump in your throat that you swallow down. For a while, you could only simply stand there, feeling as if you're teetering on the edge of something you can't quite reach. But even as you stand in this stillness, there's something in his words that echoes off the walls of your mind𑁋it's understanding, and it's care, and it feels like a promise.

"I... I know. I just... I'm sorry for putting all this on you. I think I need space to... heal and think." Then you look back up at him, wonder tainting your features. "Will you wait for me?"

The question feels a bit silly to ask, and it makes Minghao's features soften as he looks at you, a warmth in his chest that spreads like the first rays of sunlight breaking through a cold morning.

"I've already been waiting for you," he says, almost cheekily, and it seems to lighten the moment a little. "I haven't planned on stopping anytime soon."

The chuckle that leaves you isn't forced; in fact, it's quite relieving. It feels like the start of something, and Minghao feels a flicker of hope at the sound.

You reluctantly separate yourself away from him, cradling the bouquet of orchids to your chest, and let out an exhale you hardly realise you were holding in.

"I'll be okay, you know," You tell him, even if it's a bit of lie, or half the truth. You can't tell which.

Minghao glances down to your hands, as if you're holding a piece of your heart wrapped up within the petals, before back up to your eyes.

"I know," is all he says.

The world doesn't stop for grief, but it's okay to pause for a little while.

Minghao wonders if flowers ever feel the same bittersweet pull when their petals fall𑁋the ache of letting go, but the quiet hope of something new taking root.

You haven't stepped foot in the flower shop in a while. At least, not as often as you used to come.

The absence is especially daunting, and Minghao can't help but feel it every time the bell chimes and it isn't you that walks through the door. On rare occasion you'd swing by to say hello during your breaks at work and sometimes, a pretty, shy smile from you before you disappear back into the world outside.

It's strange how easily your presence had come to be a part of the rhythm of his days. He used to wonder how someone like you would be drawn to the boring stillness of a flower shop. But now the place feels more emptier than before you came into his life, the petals around him somehow less vibrant, the air colder, even when the sun streams through the windows.

He tries not to dwell on it, but he can't help the nagging feeling that maybe you've drifted away, maybe things have changed. Maybe he was just a moment for you. And now, that moment has passed.

So he simply spends his days in the shop, moving between shelves of blossoms and arranging bouquets, but his thoughts always return to you. To the quiet moments when your voice would fill the space between the flowers, to the way you cared and tended the blooms even when you had no reason to.

It makes him think that if flowers could speak for us, then what might they say about you? Would they say you were someone who saw beauty in the smallest things? Minghao often found himself wishing that flowers could speak just so he can hear what they would say about you.

But flowers don't speak, of course. They just bloom and stretch toward the light, growing in places where they are tended to, and even in those that have been forgotten.

Maybe that's what Minghao was𑁋a forgotten flower of his own waiting to be seen, to be noticed.

Luckily, he was able to distract himself a bit today with a few deliveries for a couple of upcoming weddings and a new arrangement for the store he was preparing to do in the next few days, along with piles of orders for days. But it still wasn't enough.

As he flips the sign on the window to display Closed, he fumbles for his keys to lock the door. However, the sound of the bell rings through the shop, stopping him mid-motion. Minghao lifts a brow up, not expecting for anyone to show up right as he's about to close up.

And when he looks up, he freezes.

"I'm not late, aren't I?"

It's you.

The way your voice comes out all shaky like you're out of breath, yet soft has Minghao feeling as if he's sinking into quicksand. The sight of you standing at the doorway is a dream he never dares to wake up from.

"You're not," Minghao manages to say, somehow. "You're just in time."

Your lips tug into a small, relieved smile, and it's enough to make the air feel lighter in the shop. You take a few hesitant steps so that you're fully inside, letting the door shut behind you with a faint click.

Your lips tug into a small, relieved smile, and it's enough to make the air feel lighter in the shop. You take a few hesitant steps so that you're fully inside, letting the door shut behind you with a faint click. You take in the familiar, fresh scent of all the blooms and greenery around you, and it hits you in the heart just how much you've missed this place.

"I had, uh… a late shift at work," You explain unsurely. "so I thought about stopping by, but I wasn't sure if you'd still be here."

Minghao just shakes his head, watching as you brush your fingertips over some lilies and baby's breaths that were displayed on a small table near the window. Gosh, he'd do anything to flat out say how much he missed you, how much he'd been thinking about you, but he doesn't.

"Have you been busy?" You ask him.

"A little," he responds. "but manageable, I would say."

"Ah… that's good," You mumble, voice trailing off as you start to make your way in his direction, catching eye on a particular bouquet sitting on the counter behind him. "No-show again?"

Minghao lets out a sigh, and he feels you following behind as he walks towards the counter. He picks up the bouquet in his hand, letting his gaze fall over it.

"Mhm," he hums. "But it's alright, really. Happens more often than you think."

You quirk a brow as your eyes roam over the bouquet, and a particular, almost knowing look stretches across your lips.

"That's funny," You huff, taking the bouquet from his grasp. It held a colourful variety of hydrangeas. "It looks a lot like an order I placed a few days ago."

Minghao's heart skips a beat as he watches you carefully examine the bouquet, his breath caught in his throat.

"This… was yours?" he questions in surprise.

"Yeah, I…" You bite your lips sheepishly. "It was sort of an impulsive thing, I guess."

Minghao only continues to watch as you admire the bouquet, caressing over the delicate wrapping paper and the all-too familiar bow that he would tie all of his other arrangements.

"Impulsive, huh?" Minghao teases lightly, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. "Well, you certainly picked a good one."

You look up at him, a small, tentative smile forming on your face. "I guess I just wanted to get something special. For someone."

Minghao feels his heart sink at that, a flutter of hope and uncertainty colliding in his chest. Someone.

He opens his mouth to say something, but the words get caught in his throat, unsure if it's his place to ask, or if he even wants to hear the answer.

"I see," he says instead, trying to keep his tone relaxed, though there's a hint of sadness to his voice that he silently hopes you don't notice.

You take note of his unreadable expression, over the way his eyes appear downcast and a subtle tension to his posture.

However, this doesn't make you stop from gripping the bouquet tighter in your grasp, and then in the next moment, you're stepping closer and offering it over to him.

"I hope you like them," You state, holding out the bouquet thing as if was the most natural thing in the world.

Minghao glances at the bouquet quizzically, the same one he had just been holding, then back at you. His face shifts between a million different expressions𑁋confusion, surprise, hope, and everything in between𑁋before the tension in his chest eases just slightly as he finally registers what you're doing.

He's a florist, for crying out loud. He's usually the one to be giving flowers to people. Never in his years of practically living in the shop has anyone offered flowers to him. The gesture is practically foreign, yet in this moment, it feels so right.

His fingers graze against yours as he hesitantly takes it from your hands, but you fully let go. Instead, you cover his hand with yours, warmth spreading between you as you gently press your palm against his. His heart is beating in his throat, in his ears, everywhere in his body, and he wonders if you can feel it too.

"I missed you," You declare softly, yet a pinch of urgency behind your words. "I missed you so fucking much."

His chest tightens, and it's as if the weight of everything crushes him in the best possible way. All the time he had spent wondering if you had forgotten about him, if maybe you had moved on, it all melts away in an instant. Because you're here. And you're saying everything he's been craving to hear.

And gosh, does he want to kiss you right now.

This time, Minghao doesn't waste a second. He brings a hand up to cradle the side of your neck as he presses his lips to yours. It's perhaps a bit desperate first, making him swallow down a faint sigh you let out but it quickly settles into something softer, deeper, like two people who've been waiting for this moment for far too long.

He can feel the slight tremble in your breath as your lips move against his, and he pulls back slightly, just to make sure you were still with him.

Minghao lets his thumb lightly caress over your cheek as if trying to memorise the feeling of your skin under his touch, as if he'd been starved for this closeness.

"I missed you too," he whispers, a breath away from your lips. "The flowers did too."

A light, airy chuckle escapes from you. "Oh, did they?"

"Of course," Minghao murmurs, his lips curling upwards against your skin. "They've been waiting for you to come back."

"Well, I better not keep them waiting anymore then, right?" You jest playfully, leaning in back once again.

Minghao doesn't hesitate to meet you halfway. "Nope," he says firmly against your mouth. "I think they've waited long enough."

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[nninoxasaur]

Genius, Madness and Connection

I love it when shows incorporates cultural signals and interfamily gestures because I feel like it really expands on the setting and makes the characters feel more involved, it is a mark of where they come from and the people they have loved through something as simple as the way they move or the phrases they say so let’s talk about the little bunny signal or ‘genius and madness.’

We first get introduced to this symbol in s1 ep7 in the fight scene between Ekko and Jinx. (if anyone knows other places it shows up before this pls let me know.)

At first it seems like an endearing behaviour displayed by Powder specifically, another character trait to help us recognise her softness and playfulness in childhood in contrast to Jinx however, during season 2 we find that this symbol has a meaning.

In s2 ep7 when Ekko travels to an alternate reality Jinx says this: “You know those ugly twins, genius and madness.” And for the sake of this post we are going to assume it means the same thing in our main universe.

So now this symbol means something – represents two sides of the same coin as Viktor puts it. The idea that with great ingenuity comes a bit of crazy, which honestly fits Jinx pretty well. I’d also like to note that genius and madness are twins, already injecting a familial aspect to the phrase.

The other place we see this symbol appear is with Felicia in s2 ep 6. Felicia uses this symbol as a greeting and in doing so it takes on another meaning. It is “hello, I see you.”

We can guess that this is how Powder uses this action towards little Ekko in their fight in season 1; “Hello!”

So, if the symbol both works as a greeting and has a literal meaning (genius and madness being bound together) then what does it become when these things are combined?  

Like genius and madness are two sides of the same coin, you are a side of my coin. From mother to child, between childhood friends, we are connected, and I recognise that connection. You are a piece of me, for both the goodness and the grief that brings.

And the fact that alternate universe Powder doesn’t do it to Ekko but for him, reaching over his shoulder to do the symbol adds a whole other layer of connectivity to the gesture that is just so sweet and absolutely confirms to me that they are already dating by the time our Ekko gets there (along with Ekko literally saying “pretend it’s the first time” and that fucking adorable blue rose necklace.)

I just think it’s so beautiful that Felicia’s unique way of saying “I love you, you are with me always” has outlived her in this way and I hope this gesture continues to get handed down, possibly through Ekko if we ever see him again.  

[glamourscat]

Sorry for disturbing 🩷 would it be possible a one shot with either Bachira or reo (or any character that fits the vibes) based on the sentence “don’t give me space. That’s the last thing I want from you” or “why are you so stubborn?”. Looking for some angst not gonna lie😖😶‍🌫️

𐙚 “Don’t give me space, that’s the last thing I want.” BLLK oneshot 𐙚

CW: angst. Nakedness innuendos but nothing explicit, mention of breakup.

ᯓ★ Ryusei Shidou

“Damn it, Y/N,” Shidou snapped. It wasn’t loud enough to make you flinch, but it was loud enough to make your eyes widen in surprise.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, you are more than aware of how he is—the type of person he is. He’s not so rough in private as he is on the field, sure, but his bruising personality still carries over into his personal life. The signs, the warnings were there all along. Big, bold, and yet, they still managed to get lost.

“Why are you so stubborn?” he continued. “I have told you once, and I have told you twice, I don’t—I just don’t. I don’t want to open up, I am fine. I do not need help—“

“Fine.” You cut him off, trying to avoid another argument—the third of that morning alone.

“Fine. I am sorry for pushing. I am sorry for insisting. I just know something is wrong. I can tell from the way you haven’t closed an eye in the last few days. From the way you have been on edge constantly. I shouldn’t have pried, I am sorry. Just know that I am here if you do need me. Because that’s what I am here for, right?” Your words linger in the air for a moment, the silence thick between the two of you as both stare at the pavement. The silence is broken as you turn around to leave the living room, your slippers squeaking on the parquet floor.

“Wait—Y/N,” Shidou sighed, his voice calmer than earlier. His shoulders had dropped, his eyes slightly softer, although there was still that wall present.

“Wait. Please—don’t go. Don’t give me space. That’s the last thing I want from you. Please… I… can’t,” he mumbled, his words coming out quietly and quickly, enough to understand them and the message he was trying to send.

Stay. I need you. Please. Don’t leave me alone. I can’t talk about it, not yet. But please stay.

Your eyes soften as you move back close to him, step after step, slowly. Unsure movements, trying to see how he would react. Will he flinch away? Will he move back? But he doesn’t. He doesn’t move. He keeps his eyes on you. And your eyes are on him. You stop right in front of him, giving him the opportunity to move back, to move away if he needs to. But he doesn’t move. And so, you take one more step, and your arms are around him. His head comes to rest against your neck, his breathing hitting your soft skin, making it warmer.

“I’m sorry,” your words come out quieter than intended, a whisper of some sort.

“It’s fine, stop apologising,” he whispers back, moving his mouth against your neck, leaving a soft, slightly humid kiss on the now warm skin. “Just hold me for a little longer.”

ᯓ★ Bachira Meguru

“Don’t give me space. That’s the last thing I want from you, Y/N-chan,” Bachira screamed while crying—no, while sobbing his eyes out. The scene felt so familiar. The yellow bedsheets, the softness of his mattress where he was sat on. The artwork from his mother or the little sketches he made, scattered across the study table and some glued to the wall. Right beside the Polaroids of you two. You two laughing, you two kissing. You two smiling.

And now, it felt like everything was crumbling away slowly.

“Y/N-chan… please,” he sobbed as he tried to step closer, but you took a step back. He couldn’t—there was just something wrong with your eyes. The way they were so… dark. So empty. You never looked at him with such disdain. Disgust even. Why now?

“Don’t leave me, please—” you cut him off.

“Bachira, we are done. D-O-N-E. Done. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to talk to you. You’re absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Bachira, Bachira… Bachira… Bachira? Bachira, are you listening? Bachira, can you hear me…?

He wakes up gasping. His eyes still blurred with tears he didn’t know he had shed while he was sleeping. His heart was beating so fast that he could feel his heartbeat in his ears. His body was shaking as he tightened his grip on a hand… a hand? He turns his face, meeting your worried eyes. Your mouth opens, probably calling his name, that’s what it looked like. But he was in such a discombobulated state that he didn’t even hear your words. His eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost, while they desperately tried to read any of the emotions he had seen previously on your face. Your eyes were kind, sweet as ever. There was no disgust, no fear, no hatred. And yet��

It felt so real. So damn real. He was no stranger to self-doubt. He was no stranger to feeling—like he wasn’t good enough. And maybe a little voice at the back of his head was waiting for the right moment to lash out all of these insecurities onto him, right when the moment was nothing more than peaceful, and destroy everything once again.

That wasn’t you. You never looked at him in such way, and he was sure you never would. That was a conjure of his brain, of his deepest insecurities. Of you leaving him. Of you abandoning him like he has been abandoned before in his past.

But you are here. Right beside him. Still holding his hand while your worried eyes and furrowed eyebrows look at his face, trying to determine how to work the situation.

“Bee? I’m here. You feel me? Feel my heart. I’m here,” you whisper softly, bringing the hand you were holding right up to your chest, to your beating, steady heart.

Right. You’re here. We are here. Together. You didn’t leave. We are in my bed. Our pictures are still up on that same wall staring back at us. And I can feel your soft, warm, bare body against mine under the covers. We are here. We are together. And I love you. Oh, how I love you. Please, never leave me. I love you.

ᯓ★ Reo Mikage

“For the love of— again? Really, Reo? Again? Why are you so stubborn, I swear—” you say to your best friend, Reo. Your voice is slightly harsher than intended, but the tiredness and maybe a tinge of anger are starting to seep out.

Again, it happened again.

Reo getting dumped by Nagi. And consequently, the purple-haired guy runs into hiding, sobbing his eyes out while spiraling out of control. And you were tired. Tired of seeing him hurt. Tired of seeing the person you loved, cared for and cherished getting used and discarded when he wasn’t needed anymore.

Reo wasn’t perfect, and neither are you. But then again, who is? Despite his flaws, he is kind, oh so ever kind. He is gentle even, and his smile—his laugh, is so beautiful. So full of life, it’s the little giggles turning into a belly laugh, a small snort in between as he laughs his heart out. And you miss it as tears and sobs replace his usual smile and laugh.

You sigh, moving to sit by his side on the floor. Your arms move automatically like they have done in the past, to hold him tightly against your chest. To give him a sense of security despite the darkness he is feeling inside.

“I am so tired,” he whispers shakily between sniffles and tears. “I—is it too much? To ask to be loved? Is it too much to love me? Am I too much?” he says in a quiet, timid voice.

He is not speaking to you, well, not directly. The question is more or less said out loud as he is starting to open up.

“No. It’s not too much. You’re not too much, you’re not a burden to love, Reo. You’re the biggest gift anyone could ever receive.” Your words are soft as silk, caressing him, holding him metaphorically and literally in a warm embrace.

You’re not too much, Reo. You’re just enough.

“But then—” he sniffles. “Why is it… he keeps leaving? Why is it that no matter how hard I try, he always ends up leaving?”

Good question. Why does Nagi leave? Well, you certainly have some words, strong ones at that, but it’s not the time nor place to use them.

“Because sometimes we aren’t meant to stay with that person, Reo. I know, it’s an oxymoron. It doesn’t make sense, it’s ridiculous even. How and why? If you love someone so hard, so much, why do they leave? Why can’t they stay? Well—because it doesn’t matter how hard you love someone, sometimes that love is not enough to make them stay. Sometimes, too, you’re misplacing your love with the wrong person. In your case, I feel it’s a mix of both. I know you care for him, so deeply. That’s who you are, after all. But—who cares for you, Reo?” you say in a low, soft tone, as your hand goes to cup his cheek.

“Who cares for you when the lights are out and you’re alone with your thoughts? And I’m not talking about the physical intimacy kind. I’m talking about the mental one. Who’s there, giving you advice? Who’s there, helping you? Who’s there supporting you?”

Reo’s eyes meet yours, filled with tears but also a glimmer of understanding. He knows you’re right, but it’s hard to let go of something you’ve held onto so tightly.

“I just—I think sometimes it’s better to let go. I can’t make the choice for you, and I won’t. It has to come from you. But just know, whatever you decide, I’m here. I’ll always be here,” you continue, your voice firm yet gentle.

Reo takes a deep breath, his body still trembling slightly but starting to calm down in your embrace. He nods slowly, resting his head on your shoulder.

“I don’t know if I can do it alone,” he admits, his voice barely above a whisper. “I— don’t want to do it alone. Don’t give me space. Don’t leave. That’s the last thing I want from you. Please… help me” his eyes meet yours in a quiet understanding.

“You’re not alone, Reo. You have me, and you have so many people who care about you. You just have to see it. And maybe, it’s time to start caring for yourself as much as you care for others,” you say softly, rubbing his back in soothing circles.

He pulls back slightly to look at you, a small, grateful smile forming on his lips. It’s a start, at least.

“Thank you. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you,” he whispers, his voice full of emotion, hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

Your cold lips touch his cheek, leaving a soft, reassuring kiss

“Anytime silly” you reply, holding onto a soft, almost teasing smile. Your noses touch, while sharing a soft, quiet chuckle together.

In that moment, as his purple eyes mix into yours, you both understand that while the journey ahead might be tough, he has you and you have him. And maybe, just maybe, Reo will finally find the strength to let go and find someone who truly deserves his love.

© GLAMOROUSCAT (All rights reserved, do not share, modify or repost my work outside of tumblr)

[eerna]

Finally watched the last episode of Arcane (bad sign that I struggled to get myself to watch it) and I agree with all the thoughts said here. It was quite insane how I felt next to nothing the whole episode! But I'm going to complain specifically about JayVik because I wanted to like their conclusion so much and I just don't :(

So it's been talked about here already but I saw spoilers before watching it about what happens to them and what Jayce says and I was like ??? This doesn't make sense to me but maybe it will when I watch the episode. Surpise surprise, it didn't help at all! My biggest issue is that I never got the sense that Viktor looked down on himself because of his disabilities?? Like he was very confident in his intelligence and his abilities, he just wanted to relish being able to RUN for the first time ever and just wanted to NOT DIE?? So the whole time it was building to him being the big baddie I was like why is he doing this?? He died and came back and just started doing things the plot needed him to and I never knew why?? And then Jayce saying what he does at the end about imperfections being beautiful I'm just like?? That's what all this was about?? Like everyone's been saying, it doesn't work for me I don't think it fits Viktor's character at all.

Another thing that bothers me is the time travel element of it all. I think it's cheap that Jayce got yoinked to a future where everything went bad so he's like oh yeah this is bad we're doing bad we gotta stop. And then Viktor sees the bad future too is like oh yeah well I guess this is bad so we gotta stop. Idk it's just not compelling to me at all and that was the issue of everything, nothing was compelling to me by the end. Things just happened in front of my eyes and I was like sure this might as well be what happens. Everything still looked absolutely stunning but what a bummer.

Welcome to the other side! And YEAH, Viktor was shown to be a totally capable and successful character. He was a genius in his career, he was depicted as attractive to a potential love interest, he had a good friendship with Jayce. The scene in which he runs for the first time is impressive not only because we love Viktor and want him to be healthy, but because that is the moment he finally achieves what he'd set out to do as a child - he healed a Zaunite-specific sort of suffering and found a way to save his people (REPRESENTED BY THE BOAT IN THE BG CALLING BACK TO HIS CHILDHOOD IN THE SLUMS). I never felt like it was his personal vanity project. I'm right there with you on the time travel, time travel my beloathed, everything could have been achieved without it. Thank god for the beautiful visuals keeping us afloat!

[winchesterwild78]

An Unexpected Friendship pt 10

Master List

Characters: Jensen Ackles x Reader, Reader’s daughter, Jensen’s children

Warnings/Trigger Warnings: FLUF, Smut!

A/N: This is a short story written in collaboration with @cheekygirl2309.

This chapter is the FINAL chapter. I’ve loved creating this story with @cheekygirl2309. I’ve had so much fun and enjoyed reading all of the love and support for this story. 

No disrespect to Jensen or his family. This is a work of fiction and does not depict real life. Written and edited fast-please overlook any errors. 

Minors DNI 18+

The next few months were so amazing. Jensen was true to his word and invited Josh’s parents to every big event we had. I was grateful they came and felt like they were family. Jazzy was also so proud of her new last name. 

When we went to the school to change her name, she proudly announced she was an Ackles. The secretaries smiled and congratulated her. In public she would introduce Jensen as her daddy. Since our engagement and the adoption, social media had exploded with stories and pictures of all of us. 

Jensen and I officially went public and most of the fans were supportive. I did my best to tune out the negative and focus on the positive ones. It was hard at times, but I knew I had Jensen to help navigate me through it. 

Jensen and I talked about the wedding and we both agreed we wanted a small, intimate ceremony with just our children, close family and friends. Since Jensen officiated his wedding, Jensen reached out to Jeffery Dean Morgan to officiate ours. He was thrilled to do it. I was excited to meet him and his family. We had FaceTimed, but never met in person. 

Jensen and I also wanted to write our own vows. It took me by surprise when he mentioned it. I was nervous, because how do you really put into words how someone saved you when you thought you weren’t worth saving. I love Jensen, and I only hoped I could put it into words good enough to show him how much he means to me. 

Our wedding date was set, we were going to have a Spring wedding. Mid-April, at dusk, and hopefully under a tent. I of course told Jensen we needed a backup plan in the event of rain. “It’s Texas sweetheart, I don’t think it’s going to rain.” “Still, I’d like a backup plan.” I chuckled.

“Okay, how about we have it at The Allan House, right here in Austin? It has space inside and out. So if we have to move it inside we can still have it in the same place. The ceremony and reception can all be there.” He pulled it up on the computer and the photos were breathtaking. I smiled, “Jensen, it’s beautiful. Do you really think we can book it?”

“Absolutely, I know the owner, so I’ll give them a call.” I playfully rolled my eyes, “Of course you do.” Jensen laughed and called. When he got off the phone he smiled, “We’re all set, sweetheart. Are you ready to start planning our wedding?” 

I smiled and pulled him in my arms, “Yes, Jensen! I’m more than ready.”

*Time Jump 3 days before the Wedding*

“Jensen, I need to go with Gen and Nichole to pick up my dress. When is Jeff coming in again?” “He should be here today. His wife and the kids will be coming in tomorrow I believe. He’s going with me today to get fitted for his tux. I gave the tailor his measurements, so I hope it fits.” “Me too, Jens. Okay, I’ll be back later. I love you.” “I love you too, the kids are going with mom and dad for the afternoon, so when you get back they won’t be here.” 

I grabbed my stuff and nodded. As I got to the door I heard Jensen clear his throat. “Did you forget something, darlin’?” I turned on my heels and chuckled, “Nope.” I said, popping the “p” as I leaned in and kissed him goodbye. “How could I ever forget kissing you. It’s one of my favorite things to do.” 

Jensen chuckled, “Oh and what are some of your other favorite things to do?” I smirked, got really close to his lips again and said, “you”. Then kissed him again. He grabbed my hand as I tried to pull away, “Then what’s stopping you?” Jensen pulled me flush to his strong body and I felt his arousal straining against his jeans. 

“Baby I have an appointment at the dress shop. I don’t want to miss it, unless you want me to get married naked.” Jensen wiggled his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and playfully hit his chest, “Jens, I’m not getting married naked. Sorry to disappoint you.” Jensen threw his head back and laughed. 

He kissed me again and we said our goodbyes. 

I arrived at the dress shop with a few minutes to spare. Gen and Nichole were waiting outside for me. They hugged me and we walked in. “Y/N! So happy to see you. Your dress is ready. Are you ready to try it on one last time?” I smiled and nodded. 

Gen and Nichole sat on the couches and waited for me. When I came around the corner both of them gasped and I saw tears in their eyes. Sally, the owner, walked behind me and fluffed the dress as I stood on the platform. “Okay, Y/N, one last touch.” She placed a veil on my head. I took a deep steady breath looking in the mirror. I looked over my shoulder at Nichole and Gen with tears in my eyes.

“You’re so beautiful, Y/N. Jensen isn’t going to know what hit him.” I stood there looking in the mirror and the realization hit me. I was about to get married to Jensen and I had nobody to walk me down the aisle. 

Tears started to fall. My mother had passed away not long after Josh, and my father left us when I was two. Nichole rushed to my side and pulled me close, “Shh, it’s okay sweetie. You have me, Gen, Jared and the kids.” “I know, and I love you all so much. I just don’t know how I’m going to walk down that aisle alone. My mom walked me to Josh.” 

She pulled me tight, “I can do it if you want me to.” I smiled, “I know, but I need you standing up there with me and making sure Jensen doesn’t pass out.” We all three laughed. Gen was by my side too, “Honey, you’re one of the strongest people I know. You can do this. Jensen, all of your babies and all of us are there with you and for you. You know Jared would walk you down the aisle if you wanted him to.” 

I nodded, “Yeah, he offered, but I don’t want to take him away from Jensen. He needs his brother by his side. Okay, enough of this crying. Let’s get me out of this gorgeous dress and you two into yours.”

I changed into my regular clothes, while Gen and Nichole got into their dresses. When they came out they were absolutely breathtaking. “You two are so beautiful.” Nichole squealed when she realized the dress had pockets, “Y/N! Look! It has pockets.” We all laughed, “Yep, I made sure they did, and so does mine.” 

With our dresses in hand we headed out to get some last minute things for the wedding. Gen was keeping my dress at her house so Jensen wouldn’t see it, and I already had the kids’ outfits for the wedding. The girls were wearing matching dresses and Zeppelin was wearing a tuxedo that matched Jensen’s.

Jensen and I selected Navy blue, white, and gold as our wedding colors. The main colors being blue and gold. My dress was white, and the back opened into a beautiful navy blue that ran the length of the dress, and around the top of the bodice was blue. The girls’ dresses were navy blue, with white flowers on the skirts. Jensen and Zeppelin were wearing navy blue tuxedos, and his groomsmen were wearing grey. 

As the day approached, my nerves were starting to get the better of me. I thought about my wedding with Josh and how I was so nervous before, I actually threw up in the bridal suite. I really hoped this one would be different.

*Wedding Day*

I woke up early, stretched and reached for Jensen out of habit. My heart faltered a little when my hand hit the empty bed. He stayed with Jared last night. We decided we wouldn’t see each other until the ceremony. I was so excited to see his reaction when he turned around and saw me at the other end of the aisle.

I got out of bed, showered and went downstairs to a note on the counter and an artificial rose. I knew that handwriting from anywhere, it was Jensen. I smiled because I knew he snuck in last night after I went to bed to leave this for me. 

I opened the note and smiled as I read it.

My love,

Today is the day we promise before our family and God to be together forever. The road that led us here was bumpy, but we got through it together. I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’re going to look in your dress. I know you’re going to take my breath away, like you have since the day I met you. I love you, darlin’, until that rose I left you dies. I’ll see you later, beautiful.

Love,

J

I felt the sting of tears in my eyes. I grabbed my phone and sent him a text.

Me: Thank you for my wonderful surprise this morning. I’ll love you until the rose dies too. 

Jensen: I’m glad you liked it. I love you so much baby.

Me: I love you too, handsome. I can’t wait to see you in your tux. You know what it does to me, and wait until your fans see it. They are gonna go feral. 😘 🤤

Jensen: Ha! They go feral over everything.

Me: Of course they do, have you seen you?!

Jensen: Every single day in the shower. 😉

Me: Oh you’re so mean. Now I can’t stop thinking about you naked.

Jensen: Then mission accomplished. 😂 

Me: Okay, Mr. Ackles, you’re going to pay. 

Jensen: Ooo how?

Me: *1 image sent* this is what I’m wearing under my dress

Jensen: Damn baby. Now that’s mean. I can’t wait to take that off of you. 

Me: Patience my love. Just think the whole time I’m standing next to you, dancing, we’re walking around, that is what is under my dress. Just waiting for you.

Jensen growled and adjusted his pants when he read what I wrote. 

Jensen: You’re killing me.

Me: Oops, sorry baby. 😘 I love you, I need to get ready to leave or Gen and Nichole are going to drag me out of here. 

Jensen: Yeah, Jared is banging on the door. I love you too baby. See you soon.

Gen, Nichole and I arrived at the Allan House to get ready for the wedding. Jensen’s mom had the kids, and Josh’s parents were there to help with them too. My hair and makeup was done. I wore my hair half up and half down, with ringlets cascading over my shoulders. 

Jensen was across the property in the groom’s suite when there was a knock at the door. Jared opened it and saw Bill. “May I come in?” Jared stepped to the side. Jensen was in his tux and turned to shake Bill’s hand. “Bill, thank you for being here with us today. It means so much to Y/N and I.” 

“You’re welcome. Jensen I wonder if I could talk to you in private for a minute?” “Of course. Jared, can you give us a minute?” Jared nodded and left the room. “Bill, you wanted to speak to me? Is everything okay?” “Oh yeah, everything is perfect. Y/N is like a daughter to me, us. Even before she married Josh she was part of our family. When she married Josh and had Jazzy we felt on top of the world. After Josh died, a part of her died with him, but she kept that sweet, caring heart we all loved so much. We were so thankful when she met you and fell in love again, and even more thankful you were willing to have us in your lives. We can never repay you for that, son. Jensen, Margaret and I would like you to have this. I wore them when I married Margaret, and Josh wore them when he married Y/N. We want you to have them so when Jazzy gets old enough you can give them to her to use in her wedding.” 

Bill handed Jensen a small box, when he opened it there were beautiful gold, sapphire and diamond cufflinks. “Bill, these are beautiful, I can’t take them. They belong in your family.” Bill placed a hand on Jensen’s shoulder, “Son, you are family. They belong with you and Y/N.” “Bill, I’d be honored to wear them, thank you, sir.” Jensen and Bill exchanged a hug as he took the box. 

I was standing in the bridal suite taking deep breaths, looking at myself in the mirror when there was a knock on the door. Nichole answered it and when I looked up I saw Margaret and Bill. “Wow, sweetie, you’re stunning.” Margaret said as she pulled me into a hug. 

Bill stood to the side and just looked at me. I took a deep breath, “Do I look okay?” I asked him. He stepped forward, “Sweetheart, you’re even more beautiful than the day you married Joshua. Jensen is a lucky man.” He hugged me and I felt the tears burn the back of my eyes. 

It was a few minutes until the ceremony started and I still felt a pang of sadness about walking down the aisle alone. Jensen’s mom and Margaret got the kids in place, Gen and Nichole got in place and I took one last look in the mirror. 

Bill was standing at the door waiting for me. “You okay, kiddo?” My eyes flicked to him and he saw the tears in mine. He pulled me in a hug, “Shh, you’ve got this sweetie. That man out there is in love with you and I know you two are going to be incredibly happy.” I nodded. Then it hit me. I might not have grown up with a father, but I had a dad and he was standing right there with me. 

“Bill?” “Yes, sweetie?” “If you say no it’s okay. I completely understand, but would you do me the honor of walking me down the aisle?” “It would be my honor to do that.” I nodded, he took my arm and we walked outside. 

The sun was just starting to set, so the twinkle lights under the tent were sparkling with the orange glow from the setting sun. It was breathtaking. 

I heard the music start for the kids, Gen and Nichole. Then came my music. Bill took my arm and we walked out and around the corner. Jeff motioned for everyone to stand. 

Jensen turned around and locked eyes with me. I saw tears in his eyes. I walked down the aisle, my eyes never leaving his. Trying to steady my breath, because damn did he look amazing in his tux. 

At the end of the aisle, Bill hugged me, and gave my hand to Jensen. He shook Jensen’s hand and then hugged me again. Nichole fluffed my dress and I handed her my flowers, taking both of Jensen’s hands. 

He leaned over and whispered, “God you’re so beautiful.” I smiled. 

Jeff began the ceremony and it was time for our vows. Jensen went first. "The day I met you, I knew I had found something special. You were hurting, scared, and alone. I vowed to protect you, to love you, and to give you the happiness you deserve. I promise to always be your rock, your confidant, and your love. I'm grateful for the chance to be a part of your life. You've brought light into my world. You've shown me the meaning of unconditional love. I promise to be the best husband and father I can be. I'll always be there to support you, to encourage you, and to love you. Together, we'll build a future filled with love, laughter, and happiness. I'm so grateful for the chance to love you and our daughter. You've given me a reason to live, and a purpose. I promise to always be there for you, to provide for you, and to protect you. I'll cherish every moment we share, forever. I love you, Y/N."

My breath hitched, as the tears pricked my eyes. Then it was my turn. "When I first met you, I was lost in a storm. You were the lighthouse, steady and strong, guiding me to safety. You didn't just take me in; you welcomed me and my daughter into your heart. I promise to love you, cherish you, and honor you always. Thank you for being my hero. You saw me when I couldn't see myself. You loved me when I thought love was a distant memory. You're not just my partner, you're my protector, my provider, and my best friend. I promise to be the best wife and mother I can be, to love you unconditionally, and to build a beautiful future together. I've found in you a love that's rare and true. You've shown me what it means to be loved and cared for. I promise to be your constant, your support, and your joy. Together, we'll face whatever life throws our way, hand in hand. I love you, Jensen.”

Jeff smiled and Jensen nodded at him, “Jensen and Y/N have also written vows to their children, which they will say now. 

Jensen began, "Jazmyne, I promise to always be here for you, to love you unconditionally, and to guide you on your journey. I promise to be a loving and supportive dad, and to always be there to listen and to help. When you came into my life I had no idea what was missing. You and your mom were the missing pieces in my life. I will spend the rest of my life being the dad you deserve, and helping guide you through life’s trials, and love you until all the stars fall from the sky.” Jazzy leaped in his arms and held him tight. “I love you too, daddy.”

I took a deep breath and looked at JJ, Arrow and Zeppelin. “JJ, Arrow and Zeppy, I promise to always be a source of love, laughter, and support for you three. I'll be there for your triumphs, your setbacks, and everything in between. We will tackle it all together. I vow to honor the bond you share with your dad, and the love and bond you had with your mom. I am extremely honored to be a part of your lives, and to watch you grow. I’ve loved you three since the beginning and I’ll love you three until all the stars fall. Together the six of us will be a family and will always be there to take care of each other. I love you three so much.” They hugged me tightly, “We love you too.”

When I stood up, Jeff smiled. “Jensen, do you take Y/N to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?” 

Jensen looked at me and smiled, “I do.” Then Jeff turned to me, “Y/N, do you take Jensen to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?” I looked at Jensen and smiled, “I do.” 

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Jensen, you may kiss your bride.” Jensen pulled me flush to him, leaned me back and kissed me deeply. Cheers and applause erupted. When Jensen pulled me back up we turned to face everyone. “It is my honor to announce for the first time, Mr and Mrs Jensen and Y/N Ackles.” 

Jensen, and I took each other’s hands and walked down the aisle together. We walked into the bridal suite to wait for photos. Inside Jensen closed and locked the door. 

He walked over to me and pulled me in for another deep kiss. He pulled away and looked at me, “You are absolutely breathtaking, darlin’. Are you wearing that thing you sent me under this?” He tried to pull my dress to the side and I giggled. “Yes I am, but you’re going to have to wait to see it. If you mess up my hair before pictures, Gen and Nichole are going to kick your ass.” 

He pulled me flush to his body, “Worth it.” I giggled as he started to kiss down my neck. I moaned as his hands started running up and down my body. Jensen’s hands slid down to the bottom of my dress and lifted up my skirt, revealing the dark blue lingerie I was wearing. 

Jensen bit his lip and growled. “Damn baby, this is beautiful, but definitely in the way.” I grabbed his hand, and that’s when I felt the cufflinks. “Jens, where did you get these?” “Bill and Margaret gave them to me. They wanted me to wear them when I married you, because you’re like a daughter to them.” I nodded, “That’s so sweet, Jens. These look like the ones Josh wore.” “That’s because they are, sweetheart.” I gasped, “Oh wow.” 

There was a knock on the door. It was Gen telling us it was time to get pictures taken. After pictures, it was time to enjoy the reception. We danced, ate, drank and had so much fun. 

As the night wore on the kids were starting to get sleepy. Jensen’s parents were keeping the kids for the night so Jensen and I could be alone. We had decided instead of a honeymoon with just the two of us, we were going on a family moon and taking the kids with us. We were leaving in two days, so Jensen and I had two days alone.

It was time for Jensen and I to leave the reception. Everyone lined up with sparklers and created an arch for us to walk under. When we got to the end, I turned around and hugged all of the kids and told them good night. Jensen helped me into Baby, and then walked around and slid in the driver’s seat. 

He took my hand in his and kissed it. “Ready to go home, Mr. Ackles?” “You better believe it, Mrs. Ackles. I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.” 

I chuckled and bit my lip. My body tingled with anticipation of what was to come. 

Jensen pulled into the driveway and walked around to my door. He opened it and offered me his hand. When he pulled me out of the car he pulled me flush to his body. His lips hovered over mine. I could feel his hot breath on my lips. I swallowed hard, my heart beating wildly in my chest. 

Jensen kissed me softly and took my hand, leading me to the door. Opening the door, Jensen looked at me, scooped me up and carried me over the threshold. “Welcome home, Mrs. Ackles.” He gently put me down and closed and locked the door. 

As soon as the door was locked, Jensen’s lips and hands were back on me. He kissed down my neck and to my cleavage. I tilted my head back and let out a moan. “Jens, please.” 

Jensen took my hand and led me upstairs to our room. He moved my hair to the side and started to unzip my dress. I shivered when his fingers brushed against my skin. When my dress was unzipped I let it fall at my feet. 

Standing before my husband in the navy blue lingerie I had on under my dress. Jensen bit his lip, “God this looks better in person. I am one lucky man.” I blushed.   

Jensen started to take off his tuxedo. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching him strip. My thighs clenched together when he was down to his boxers. My hands ran up his toned chest and into his hair as I stood to kiss his lips. 

I could feel his arousal through the thin material of his boxers, and my arousal soaking my panties. 

Jensen laid me back on the bed, pulled me down to the side and threw my legs over his shoulders. He unsnapped the bottom of the lingerie, exposing my dripping core. “Damn baby, you’re soaked.” I bit my lip and nodded. He kissed up my thighs and when he got to my pussy he slid his fingers inside. I gasped at the sudden feeling of fullness. Jensen hooked his fingers up, and his mouth attached to my clit. He sucked and licked, pushing me closer to the edge. My hands gripping the sheets and then his hair. I threw my head back, moaning and begging him not to stop. 

“Oh fuck, Jensen! That feels so good. Don’t stop.” This encouraged him to go faster. I bucked my hips into his mouth. He sucked my swollen clit as his fingers continued pumping in and out of me, deeper and deeper. 

“Jens..I’m…gonna…cum..oh fuck!” I moaned and pulled his head into my pussy. I felt the sting of his beard rubbing on my sensitive skin. I came hard with a loud scream of his name. Jensen kept going, and as my legs tried to close, he held them apart. I came again without warning. My body is sensitive and overstimulated. I screamed his name again. 

Jensen finally leaned up, my release covering his face. He hovered over me and placed a kiss on my lips. I tasted my release and deepened the kiss. Jensen leaned up and removed his boxers, his cock pink and wet with precum. I leaned forward and took his cock in my hand. Guiding it to my mouth. I began to suck him down deep into my throat. Jensen hissed when I sucked him into his balls. 

“Oh fuck, baby! Just like that.” I continued to suck him. My hands gripped his thighs as I took every inch of him in my mouth. Jensen’s hands went into my hair and began to push my head onto his cock. 

“Yes, baby. Let me fuck that pretty mouth of yours. God, you feel so good.” The sounds of his moans and me sucking filled the room. Jensen’s breath ragged. Then he pulled me off of him.

“Jens, what happened? Did I hurt you?” Jensen cupped my face, “No darlin’ that was amazing, but if you kept it up I would have cum down your throat and I want to make love to my wife tonight.” 

I smiled and nodded. He laid me back and crawled up between my legs. “You ready baby?” I nodded. Jensen took his length in his hand and lined himself up. With one thrust he bottomed out. Both of us were moaning as he filled me up. He stopped and allowed my body to adjust to his size. 

He always stretched me in ways that had my head reeling. He began to move. His movements, slow and deliberate. He was making love to me, without hurrying through to get to his release. 

His lips trailed over my body, our fingers finding each other and interlocking as he held my hands down on the bed. Our bodies moved together in slow, deliberate motions. My body was filled with desire, love and bliss. 

“I love you, Jensen.” I whispered. “I love you too, Y/N. So much.” 

“I want you on top, baby. I want to see your beautiful body.” I nodded, Jensen pulled out and laid down. I climbed on top, lined him back up and took him back inside. I placed my hands on his chest to steady myself. I began to rock my hips back and forth. 

Jensen’s hands held onto my breasts as I continued to ride him. He was in so deep I could feel his cockhead hitting my cervix with each thrust. I rocked my hips and bounced faster. Something ignited in Jensen, because he lifted his legs up, held onto my hips and began to thrust up in me. His thrusts grew faster as his moans became louder. “Oh fuck, Y/N. You feel so good. I’m gonna cum, baby.” 

“Yes, Jensen! Cum in me, fill me up with your seed.” A few more thrusts and Jensen was grunting, spilling his hot seed inside me. I could feel his cock twitch inside me. When I felt him stop, I climbed off, went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. I came back with a washcloth and started to clean Jensen. Since he was extra sensitive he took the cloth and cleaned himself. 

When he was done he threw it to the side and pulled me close to him. Jensen cupped my face and kissed me deeply. “Thank you, Y/N. Thank you for coming into our lives, loving us and becoming my wife. I love you so much baby and I promise you I will love you until the end of time.” 

I smiled softly and looked into his green eyes so full of love, “I love you too, Jensen. Thank you for loving me and Jazzy and becoming my husband. I’ll love you until the end of time.” 

Jensen pulled me close to him, grabbed the blanket and put it over us. “Good night, darlin’.” I laid my head on his chest, “Good night, baby.” The two of us drifted off to sleep thinking about how an unexpected friendship could lead to this beautiful family and incredible love we created together.

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[ledesaid]

Seeking a Father for Saturday ►○◙◄ #2

“Are you sure this is necessary?”

“Absolutely!”

“But I don’t recognize myself in the mirror... I feel like one of the kids who used to tease me in school...”

“Wrong, if you dress with style, nobody is going to bother you.”

Billy tried to undo his styled hair back to its classic natural fall, but Guy stopped him and added even more gel.

Billy just sighed. Defeated, what he did for a double gift and a mountain of sweets...

In addition to his hair, he now had an American football jacket that fit him, luckily in a yellow tone... A Green Lantern t-shirt and some bulky sneakers. Oh, and some red glasses to complete the "style."

It was almost time, and Billy had butterflies in his stomach. He was so nervous that he didn’t want anyone to discover him, but he wanted to go!

“Courage and willpower, Cheeky!”

“Billy.”

“Is that your name, kid?”

“Something like that.”

“Great, because it sounds just like what I’d call my fake son. You can call me whatever you want, kid, just remember it will haunt you forever.”

“I don’t understand...”

“Remember” —Guy placed his fingers behind his ears and a pair of black pointy protrusions came to mind. Right, Batman.

“No fear of success, Cheeky. Remember, stand straight, puff out your chest, and laugh loudly. You’re a Gardner for the next eight hours!”

“I’m Billy...”

“Gardner! Cheeky! Visualize it and go for it!”

“Eat me, mother earth,” his magic common sense was telling him.

The welcome committee was headed by Superman and Wonder Woman, the dream of every kid if you were going to meet your superheroes...

Well, Billy wasn’t going to admit that seeing his companions in his kid form, without the height and confidence of Captain Marvel, made him feel like a fan boy. And no, he wasn’t jumping for joy as he approached the other heroes... Well, maybe he was...

“H-hi!”

Billy awkwardly extended a hand to Superman.

It was exhilarating. This meet and greet was the best thing in his life as Billy!

“Hello, little one. Guy surprised us a lot when he told us you were coming. What’s your name?”

“Billy, sir Superman, sir!” He spoke loudly, not on purpose or because of Guy’s advice, but... he was shaking Superman’s hand as Billy Batson!

No, wait, wait, Billy Gardner, yes, yes, remember to stay in character.

“He’s quite the fan,” Guy started laughing openly, but Billy didn’t blame him...

“I am, sir!”

Superman, cheerful as he was, sat him on his shoulder and carried him to the cafeteria.

“Are you also a fan of Wonder Woman, Billy?”

Diana accompanied them, walking behind along with Guy.

“Of course, Miss Wonder Woman, you are very amazing and powerful!”

The walk to the cafeteria felt so short when Superman put him down. Billy was going to remember this, it was the dream of his life! Billy with the League without repercussions of being handed over to social services!

“Go ahead, Billy, the program will start shortly, you can take whatever you want from the dessert bar.” This time Wonder Woman tried to ruffle his hair, but the gel made it impossible.

“Behave badly, Cheeky!”

Billy didn’t see the disapproving looks they gave Guy, because hearing that he had free pass was the only thing that mattered as he darted towards the goodies. Finally, he could have the feast he had dreamed of. His champion form couldn’t taste, and taking food to his hideout made him feel uncomfortable.

Everything tasted so delicious!

He didn’t stop until the second cake and the third slice of pizza when he noticed sharp eyes on his back. There were only children aged four to ten who were studying him... He supposed it was part of being one of the older ones in the room and, yes, maybe the floating plates around him.

“Are you magical?”

And Billy coughed his spirit out.

“Are you okay?”

He didn’t expect to be confronted so soon by this blond kid...

“N-no... Not that...”

Billy darted towards the door in a desperate attempt to avoid more questions he wasn’t going to answer. He didn’t expect someone with such sharp eyes; a bit of air would give him more ideas... As he supposed, the door wouldn’t open and in his five-minute crisis he practically fried the circuits of the entrance console. It was an accident, his magic occasionally played tricks on him...

But everything went out of control when two blurs shot out of the cafeteria followed by a small legion of superpowered kids...

Did it count as a breakout? Did Billy just cause a breakout?

The sound of Black Canary’s screams in the distance said yes.

And the small champion of magic hoped to grab a juice and sit to wait for his scolding, but two arms grabbed him by surprise...

Was it the blond kid? Were those gelatinous magic arms?!

“Super Sons, attack!”

Someone shouted, and yes, Billy was dragged as the ringleader of the breakout and he wasn’t laughing, just awkwardly enjoying... Well, he was laughing; he had just seen Hawkman unconscious on the ground and Elastic Man tied in a knot. The chaos was unbelievable, yet Billy couldn’t help but find the situation both hilarious and surreal.

Was that Black Canary stuck to the ceiling?

Oh, holy moly! He’s in big trouble...

How much damage could a group of excited and unsupervised kids do?

“So, you are magical?”

“Yes, something like that...”

“Arthur Curry Junior, nice to meet you.”

“Billy B-Gardner, nice to meet you too, Arthur.”

-------------------------------

Parte 1

[glitter-stained]

Sense the current state of jason as character is stagnant do you think dc will ever purplish a good story of him, maybe he even kills of his red hood persona and goes on to be something else that would be something I would like to see but I don’t think it will happen. Dc will forever shoehorn him in to the batfamily. At least in his anti-villian era he was actually fun now his character is in a pitiful state

do u think theirs a chance of reinvent him as character anytime soon ?

Well first of all through spite everything is possible, so jot that down.

Like seriously, remember when it was so so incredibly over like Spiderman's Uncle Ben levels of over and then Under the Hood happened? Hell yeah I think dc will publish a good Jason story

Second I may not be the best person for this ask because I like my blorbos pitiful and miserable. Like yeah defiance is awesome but exhaustion -in characters who have been angry and alone for so long, beaten dog who got electrocuted too often to bite back- has a special place in my heart. But I also agree this has to be a transitional part of a story, the arc can't be "well he was hurt and then he was angry and then he was tired and he was miserable the whole time". Unless of course he ends up perma-dying in a really meaningful arc centered around his character but I'm not sure that'd be what I want for him, and we all know how lame dc is with permadeath nowadays. I'm also very mitigated with his villain side because yeah sometimes it's very fun and cathartic to see the angry/bad victim trope, but also the classismXpsychophobia of villain Red Hood sometimes are just too much; and also I'm a jaybin fan and sometimes I feel betrayed on jaybin's behalf by elements of his villainous characterization. (One day I'll write that damned UTH rewrite, I will).

With that being said!!! I love Jason because of his potential, he has so so much of it, that's what's exhausting about his many bad comics is that yeah. Yeah, dc can absolutely publish something more than good. They don't understand the goldmine they're sitting on in terms of potential.

What I'd love to see explored in hypothetical upcoming good comics (i'll talk more about it later with malfiora but for now)/how dc could go about reinventing his character :

1) addressing Jason's suicidality and getting him a functional support system (seriously, something's gotta give)

2) Get that boy a dog. Ik he had one at some point in N52 idc give him more dogs. Big ass rescue dog that's loyal and similar to him.

2) we need to figure out a way to let Jason keep being a Crime Alley/Park Row vigilant without being dependent on Batman. Like yeah he should explore the world away from him and heal but also i'm very uncomfortable with the idea that healing, for Jason, has to mean leaving the city and neighbourhood he grew up in and protected, has to mean be shoved out of his home by a guy who doesn't live there and, at least when Jason was a kid, only visited the place one time a year because of the anniversary of his parents' death- it's not fair and I won't accept it.

3) I so so agree about the "killing the red hood persona" or at the very least changing his vigilant name. Like I get the point, I understand the use he had for him, but his story can't be centered around the Joker forever (I keep thinking about the Joker's attitude to him in The Man who stopped Laughing and god, I can see a driving force to find himself as something else than what Batman and the Joker made him). At some point his name has to become something that is his and turned towards the future.

4) art + story that acknowledges how young he is (someone please let Jason take college class please please he deserves it)

5) perhaps most importantly: batman writers often sound like hardcore deontology or hardcore utilitarianism (and the occasional egoism) are the only acceptable moral philosophies. And for characters, it works! Like I can see Batman as a Kantian, sure. But for others, it doesn't fit as well.*

The cool thing about Jason's character right now is that he's a utilitarian, but a utilitarian that often isn't guided by his values. He can and will compromise on his philosophy in the name of love and being loved ( @bestangelofall called that a morality leash) and that already sets him as an interesting character in his own right. But in terms of redefining himself as a person after decades of defining himself through his pain (which, at 20-23 years old, he should get to do) I'd love to see an evolution of his morals based on love. Specifically, I'd love from his morals to shift from mathematical utilitarianism to agape, an ancient greek concept of platonic love for everything human, a movement towards the other that can be thought of as close to some conceptualisations of empathy. Mind you, that doesn't mean that he would stop killing! I can believe in a Jason who kills because or against of agape, the pain or relief that could be so good to explore in relation to that, how he would go on to define himself as a person... I feel like Jason has a certain tendency to kinda dehumanize the worst criminals as he kills them (a lesson from Judy, love her sm) which I love, but would also love to see him grow out of - learn to see and love everyone as human and what it means, a re-exploration of his empathy.

Imagine: a scene where he kills a guy because a kid victim begged him to. The focus on the image is on the kid's big wide tearstruck eyes, and then Jason's uncertain face, the kid begging him to kill the bad guy. And then Jason kills him and they're standing so close to eachother, and he's look him in the eyes and seeing the image of the kid's eyes, and then turning back to the kid while wiping the blood on his face and seeing the kid's wide eyes looking in disbelieving awe. And then kneeling and hugging the kid as he cries his heart out. And Jason's inner monologue during all that being something like "I could say that I killed him because I'm a bad guy; I probably am. Or argue the world is better off without scum like him; I could pretend I did it so he wouldn't hurt [x] again, or that I was thinking about all the other children he wouldn't be able to hurt anymore. But the truth is, I didn't. I killed him because [x] asked me to; because I could tell that he needed it. I can live with that."

Idk, that's the direction I would love to see it going, but simply "becoming even more open, louder and unapologetic about prioritising his love over his values, and being angry when it causes him dilemma" is something I'd love with as way. Very "Odysseus knows what he's going to choose the moment the gods tell him to throw the baby off the wall to see Penelope and Telemachus, but fuck if he's angry at the gods for making him make that choice" kind of vibe if you like Epic the musical.

*i'm not saying there aren't any characters in dc that fall out of this deontological/utilitarian false dilemma, it's just a vibe I get from batman writers at times, and as a consequence of specializing in one character I don't feel legitimate in exploring the intricacies of other characters because I feel like I'm lacking information and would be making uneducated guesses (that being said, I would fuck heavily with an exploration of Cass' morals VS Levinas' concept of ethics). If anybody has recommendations of dc characters that are neither utilitarian nor deontological (or are at least an interesting twist to it) I would love them so much please don't hesitate!!!

So yeah, idk if that answers your question, I don't pretend to know the intricate working of dc editorial. But imo there are wonderful possibilities for dc to reinvent Jason and write him into good comics -call me a blue lantern cause baby I got hope.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

ok for real though i go so insane for the fact that Lucanis owns a pet snake. i'm a real life snake owner and soooo few characters in media have snakes... like i went through some Elaborate headcanons to justify giving Dorian a pet snake in DAI... and veilguard then just dumped a man who canonically has one straight into my lap!!!!! i was doomed from the start

kicking my feet twirling my hair imagining what types of snakes the various crows all own... it really is the standard assassin pet apparently. Viago obviously has venomous snakes that he keeps for their venom (for poisons, making antivenin, and to build his own tolerance). i don't think he'd consider them Precious Pets but i think he would enjoy that this is an animal where interactions are very clearly transactional and build to trust. like a snake will never Love you the way a pet mammal will (their brains simply do not produce/uptake oxytocin) but you can still form bonds with them and i think he would appreciate that this process happens in a very logical way you can predict. And he keeps them in absolutely PRISTINE care (his quote in Eight Little Talons about the one he picks up there is "He deserves my respect. And a good home—with all the mice he can eat”).

Lucanis on the other hand, I think would understand the snake does not love him but still be more attached to his emotionally anyway. maybe because he's used to loving people who don't actually care about his well-being 😭 But I think he'd appreciate a pet he can actually freehandle more. House Dellamorte is not known for poisons the way the de Rivas are, and they might still have an adder on hand for venom reasons but it's more likely they just borrow some of Viago's if needed... poison's just not their niche. If Lucanis was the one picking out a pet I think he would go for a non venomous or rear-fanged variety (aka, some venom but unlikely to bite a human) so he can actually hold it without being on high alert (i mean, in our world, you should never freehandle hots, but people do anyway & would in fiction too. but its a very fuck around/find out scenario). I feel like he and Illario would probably have the same type of snake since they grew up as brothers--Illario also clearly had an emotional attachment to his own pet snake since he got mad at Lucanis irl for a dream he had where Lucanis threw the snake out the window [EDIT: I misremembered this part, it was Viago's dream. Though I think I do remember an in-game reference to Illario also having a snake..?]. So i think both of them having a pet they play with/dote on a little more than is actually needed for a reptile fits really well here.

now as for specific pet snake species headcanons. We have VERY little detail in the snake lore in Dragon Age, despite Tevinter using it as a symbol of the country alongside dragons. i PRESUME there's many kinds of species around but who knows what... the only one we ever get mentioned by name* is in Eight Little Talons, where the writer refers to the snake Viago picks up there as an "adder" or a "death adder" but never anything more specific. Unclear if this is just writers thinking an adder is a specific species and not a class of snake or if there's only one type of adder in Antiva. I mean there's like 200 species of snake in North America and 100 or so in Europe and SOOOO MANY MORE in the tropics/asia (to be fair, there's only like 3 species in England and none in Ireland, but that's sad and those countries are tiny islands and exterminated wildlife/wildlands on purpose so we're not applying that to Thedas). Antiva has coastline and is warmer and I'd roughly classify it as similar to the Mediterranean in terms of climate, with colder winters farther inland and more humidity/closer to subtropical up north. Without the benefits of modern electricity they'd probably be keeping animals that can do well at ambient temperatures for the region. Treviso is on the coast of a bay (not full oceanic) and not too far south of Rivain, so I think we can guess at fairly mild winters & hot summers, probably tending towards drier but with monsoon-influenced humidity.

(*technically an earlier character in Tevinter Nights refers to a "venomous drake-adder" but he was lying about it being there, and we have no way to tell if he picked a real snake to pretend was around OR just made up a scary sounding snake name. alas.)

Now... given the Crow's general penchant for aesthetics I think both Dellamorte boys would be drawn to a dramatic looking variety, like a mexican black kingsnake or white-lipped python. sadly both of these absolutely stunning species are both a bit outside the climate preferences I specified (mbk live closer to true desert, wlp true tropical). I also am charmed by the idea that they caught the snakes themselves in the wild vs purchasing them, becuase that's such a childhood animal-lover thing to do (my grandma used to tell horrified stories of my dad/uncles bringing home "wagons full of snakes" they found playing outside). SO i think my top choices are either the European Thedosian cat snake (Telescopus fallax), which is a rear-fanged beauty with a grey and white checkerboard pattern. OR a Mediterranean Antivan Grass Snake (Natrix natrix, astreptophora, or helvetica), which has the added bonus of badass keeled scales . While the grass snakes come in many beautiful color morphs due to the aforementioned crow drama I am inclined to give them the melanistic color variant, for the beautiful dark black appearance. Although I am also happy with the greener varieties :) All of the above average a little over 3ft in length as adults, so reasonable pet sized. Some of the Natrix genus are more aquatic than others so would be fed on frogs rather than (or in addition to) mice, and I do enjoy the mental image of Lucanis & Illario going out once a week to hunt for dinner for their pampered pets, falling into ponds on whatever estates they're currently being trained at :) as a lighthearted contrast to, you know. every other aspect of being raised as a Crow.

Left to right: Telescopus fallax, melanistic Natrix natrix, and Natrix astreptophora)

[fazedlight]

I’m frustrated by how F/F fandoms seem to hyperconsolidate female characters.

And I will say upfront, I 100% support people deviating from canon (including in ways that don’t personally resonate with me!). Deviating from canon in your art/fic is a perfectly valid way to have fun. And it’s also a perfectly valid way to pour yourself into a character when you don’t see much representation. I particularly enjoy butch re-interpretations of characters, because butches are so fucking rare in media. 

So I just want to be super clear, I see absolutely nothing wrong with deviating from canon. In fact, one of my favorite reinterpretations is getting a lot of steam right now - Wicked musical, my beloved.

But when talking about canon itself, I often see people reference how different characters from different shows are “the same character”, in ways that I feel flatten them. Sometimes it feels like F/F ships have to try to fit the two boxes of “sunshine golden retriever butch service top” and “grumpy black cat femme bratty bottom”. People will describe a character as butch who isn’t, describe a character as sunny who isn’t, etc.

Again, this isn’t about fanworks, but analysis of the original source material. If someone watched the Wizard of Oz, the message isn’t about how the Wicked Witch is a misunderstood freedom fighter - that’s a reinvention for Wicked.

This isn’t something I’ve noticed happening with male characters. I’ve never seen anyone say that Mulder and House were the same character, merely because they were snarky/closed off/clever about piecing clues together. Heck, even House and Sherlock Holmes feel allowed to be distinct, despite the very direct line between them.

Maybe I’m just not seeing where this is done to male characters. But from where I sit, it feels like male characters are allowed to be unique and iconic - allowed to embrace all the little quirks and decisions that make them them, giving men a wide array of characters to resonate with.

I just want to embrace that for women too.

[yukitoopretty4yhuu]

JJK (jujutsu kaisen) HEAD-CANNONS !!!

| well, hello. Welcome to my world ! (pretty cringe, but whatever) Today I thought of some head-cannons about JJK characters. I thought long and hard on this, so I hope this gets to other people ! Not all of these are from my imagination. Some of these are from tiktokers i weally like (like trin and erika. I hope you guys know them T_T) but anyways, I’ll try to make more of these when I have time. Anyways, enough of me talking, let’s get started ! |

note: this is my first time making something like this. Let me know if you have any tips for me ! (^^)

TM (things mentioned) & WARNINGS: dating, smoking mentioned in suguru’s, guns mentioned in toji’s, mentions of killing in sukuna, mentions of family members dying in sukuna, mentions of irl crimes in toji & sukuna’s, drinking mentioned, getting drunk mentioned, roblox game “da hood” mentioned, one night stand/hook ups mentioned in toji, sukuna, and suguru’s, pregnancy mentioned in sukuna’s, cheating mentioned in suguru’s, satoru not being loyal head-cannon, spoilers in nanami’s and a little bit in toji’s, homeless & stank mentioned in toji’s, road rage mentioned in toji’s, disrespect mentioned in sukuna’s.

• Satoru Gojo:

• Hmm. Have you ever thought how Gojo would be if he had a phone? Yes. He’s the type to use emojis a-lot. He’s also a type to use them face icons like ( ˘ω˘ ). I feel like it’s so him. :3

• Gojo is NEVER serious. Though, He can be very serious. If you see THE Satoru Gojo mad or with a serious face, you KNOW it’s serious. (You see how Satoru was mostly in a cutesy and non-serious mode throughout the show unless it was something really serious? That’s why I thought of this head cannon.)

• Gojo is definitely not the type of person to be loyal. He can pull anybody for his unique features, and for his stunning look. Any girl be coming at him, and he knows exactly how to entertain them. If you actually dated THE Satoru Gojo, you would definitely be jealous with all of the girls coming up to him, and how he interacts with them.

• Gojo is the type to be the yapper in the friend group. He would yap about anything I feel like. I feel like while he yaps his butt off to Suguru AND Nanami, Suguru would often question, “what is he on about?” And as you know, Nanami would be tired of him yapping. I guarantee you.

• Gojo is definitely a kpop Stan. He’s a girl group listener. He’s the type to be a true Stan or iz*one. He would absolutely LOVE YENA. Her songs are written with a glitter pen with a puff ball at the top. Nemo-Nemo, Sugar, Smiley, and more are more likely to be his favorites. He loves songs that are written with a glittery pen with a nice poof ball at the top. Me too, Satoru, me too.

• His style? Hm. Idk. I think he would wear a Barbie like style. Pink, white, yeah. Or, something more cutesy. A cutesy style would fit him :3

• If Gojo drank alcohol, and if he got drunk, he’s a crazy drunk. He would yap about so many things, sometimes it don’t even make sense. If your at a karaoke, drunk or not, he’s singing. It will be literal gibberish if he’s drunk.

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• Suguru Geto:

• Ive been waiting for this one. I thought about these alot, so prepare ( ◠‿◠ )

• Suguru is the type of person to LOVE music (like me hehe) I feel like he would listen to rock n roll of whatever you call it, or just music bands. ( like weezer, or maybe mother mother. Maybe also tv girl. He would probably choose one of them bands. :3) and if he wants to listen to any k-rock bands, it would probably be xdinary heros. (A k-rock band under jyp entertainment.)

• Baggy clothes are definitely his thing. Especially with his long luxurious black hair out and down, beautiful. His style in this world would definitely be grunge, or harajuku I think how you spell it. (I said both because I searched up both of them on Pinterest and the same photos popped up. I got so confused so I just chose both.)

• He is the type of person to smoke. When he’s mad or something, “I need a smoke break” or if he needs/wants to smoke, “I need a smoke break.”. When he’s with a friend, he’ll ask if they smoke, and if they do and if they want to smoke at the moment, he will give them a lighter, and maybe a cigarette. (Only if they forgot their lighter and need one.)

• He is definitely the type to manspread. (Basically when they sit with their legs open, and sometimes they slouch.) or, he sits with his elbows on his knees.

• Hes the type to be in a “friends with benefits” trope. He can get touchy and clingy, even though you guys are just friends. Even if you have a boyfriend, does he look like he care? No. He tends to get jealous of your boyfriend too. In the end, (hopefully) you break up with your boyfriend for something like he cheated on you or something serious like that, and you vent to Suguru about it, and then BOOM. You guys are dating <3 (based on a fanfic I read. I reblogged it a while ago and I forgot the creators user.)

• He’s definitely the type to play an instrument. Either an electric guitar, or a regular guitar. He can also be the type to play the drums. Imagine how attractive he’ll look while drumming with a band, on stage, with his long black luxurious hair down, and with some sweat on his face. Automatically my dream man.

• He’s definitely the type to have TATTOOS AND PIERCINGS😍 nose piercings and ear piercings are definitely his thing. Maybe even eyebrow piercings. Imagine how he would look with tattoos and piercings + a muscular body.

• small note: he’s not the type to have a billion of piercings. (just a exaggeration.) he would think there’s no need. He’ll probably have double of triple piercings on his ears (including that big circle piercing he has. I don’t know what it’s called.)

•He’s the type to drive with one hand on the steering wheel, and his other arm on the arm rest. (If he has a girlfriend in the passenger seat, his hand will be on her thigh, or sometimes gently petting your hair.)

• This one is from my friend : Geto would call you a monkey and see that it hurt you feelings, then he would console you with a hug and kisses

• small note: this one is actually so cutesy awwwwww

• Suguru is also the guy to drink. I feel like he would handle it well. If he gets drunk, then he will definitely text some random stuff to people. You will definitely see a message like this, “hryzzz hie sre ypu dpinh” and you know Suguru is drunk. That man knows how to spell, so it will be obvious when he’s drunk. Sometimes, if he has a girlfriend he would try to text them “o muss ypu” but unfortunately, they accidentally texted their ex.

• side note: ouch.

• Suguru can really just take your girl, or just take you away from your man, even if he doesn’t try to. If your cheating on your man, and you hook up with him, yeah your definitely going to get addicted to doing the boombayah with him, and then your going to end up dating Suguru. Cheated on your ex boyfriend with him or not, he is still loyal to you, and you better be loyal to him back.

• side note: don’t even ask why I thought of this.

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• Kento Nanami :

• I wish they had the yellow color, but they don’t. 🥲

• Hm. Nanami is the sweetest man in jujutsu kaisen I feel like. Every time I watch moms look at Kento Nanami, they are always falling in love with him. I don’t blame them.

• Nanami is definitely a foodie. He’s not really the type to eat unhealthy food like fried food and fast food. He’s a type to be a more fancy foodie. Restaurants are definitely his thing. The fancy restaurants with foods that are the most hardest name to pronounce, I feel like he would somehow know how to pronounce them. When I try to pronounce them, I’m speaking a whole different language at that point. It’s too hard T.T

•He is the type to ADORE time with you. Things such as movie nights, or date nights, his favorite thing. His date ideas either be restaurant nights, walks around the city, or sometimes going to the movies.

• His style is more basic, but fancy. His colors are any shade of brown, not orangish brown though, white, sometimes gray, and black. His style is like academia. Light or dark academia, it fits him.

• He’s the type to be on that mewing streak, and hitting the gym every other day. Did y’all see his jawline and body in season 2? It’s like bro had a glow up. (He was always fine.) He’s also the type to use that one toy where it’s like a ball, but you bite it to strengthen your jawline. I hope y’all know what I’m talking about😭 (I saw an add on it on TikTok, I forgot what it was called.)

• small note: he’s definitely the type to mew everywhere, and everyday😭. He’s been mewing until he died in season two ._.

• He is the type to help old people cross the street, and help people with groceries like carrying them into their car. If he’s feeling generous enough, he’s also the type to pay for their groceries if they don’t have enough money for it. He is also the type of person to stand up for women and men, but mainly women. He definitely believes the rule, “men don’t hit women”

• He’s the type to listen to classical music, or jazz on the radio. He’s not really the type to listen to artists like nowadays. If he’s feels like it, he’ll listen to music like flowers by miley cyrus I think her name is, or that one song that goes like “someone put me on the double shot of whiskey”. Other than that, he’s the type to listen to classical and jazz music. Maybe opera too… opera is beautiful and calm. Hehe.

• small note: and, he’s the type to marry me. Heh.😋

• He’s also the type to handle alcohol well. The only time he will get drunk is if he’s in the comfort of his home. If he’s out drinking in public, he will be careful enough to drink 1 or 2 glasses of any alcohol. Even if Gojo convinced him to drink more, you are NOT catching that man drunk in public.

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• Kamo Choso :

• Hmm… I didn’t think of this one alot. Him and Suguru give off the same vibe to me kind of… so some of it might be the same from his.

• Choso has two sides. Cutesy, and kawaii, and horror and scary. Like art the clown. He gives off the cute vibes (sometimes…) and then he gets a little scary and horror. Also like Russian roulette. Cute song, but meaning is crazy.

• He’s definitely the type to have a creepy pasta phase before. He’s also the type to love scary games and horror movies. Five nights at Freddy’s, sonic exe, creepy pasta, ect is his stuff.

• small note: sonic exe used to be in my old childhood. I was scared of it because of the music, but it prepared me to not be scared of the horror movies now. I’m still scared of terrifier and art the clown though.

• His music taste is similar to Sugurus, but his is more…. Heavy metal. Xdinary heros, baby metal, mother mother, Sleeping with Sirens (especially a trophy father’s trophy son) is his stuff. If he feels like it, he’s the type to listen to enhypens songs like fatal trouble, given taken, and criminal love.

• His style? Grunge, or what people would call “emo” like scene, and goth. Mostly goth though, especially with the make up and stuff and the outfits, and the hairstyles, it would fit him.

• On his cutesy side, he’s definitely clingy. He enjoys being the little spoon. Especially while you play with his hair, 💋. He’s also the type to lay his head on your chest, or stomach. He would be so cute ;3

• small note: his theme song for his cutesy side would be “yachin ga hanbun?!” which is one of nana’s osts. :3

• Emojis are also his thing. He’s not the type to fit everybody else’s use of emoji. Instead of “😭” when they laugh, it’s “😅” and “😂” for him. He is also not the type of person to use short cuts when he types. Like for example, instead of “idk” he says “I don’t know” instead of “wayd” he says “what are you doing.” I mean, he was born in a different generation, he’s 150 years old😧

• hmmm…. I feel like choso isn’t the type to drink. If he was the type to drink, he would definitely get drunk easily.

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• Toji Fushiguro :

• I was waiting for this one, heh.😼 half of these are habits that I’ll do. We’re both broke after all, and I feel like we can bond if I was his age. (BROKIESSSSSSS)

• Toji is the type to road rage. Like literally. If you sit at a green light for 2 seconds, you hear loud beeping behind you. Like dang the light just turned green😭

side note: • but if you do that to him, he would either yell at you, or if he’s really mad, he’ll grab his gun, pull down his window, and shoot at you. And I promise you, bro does NOT miss.

• While he drives, he’s definitely the type to listen to that rap music. Some of it is sooooo bad, some of it is actually good. Lil mabu, sexy redd, ddosama and his friends who are also rappers I think (idk bro😭) is his type of music that you would hear BLASTING every time toji drove past you. (Before y’all start with the broke comments, shiu probably gave bro his check , and he used it for a car. He’s still homeless and stinky though.)

• If toji has a house, he’s the type to live in da hood. There will always be shootings where he live (he’s the reason for it) peoples money missing (he took your money) and music ALWAYS blasting (which is mostly from his house.)

• if toji finds the right lover, he’s the type to literally change. Suddenly, he’s caring, he’s clingy, and he’s alot nicer to you.

• small note: if somebody hurts you or do anything to you, your never seeing them again.

• Toji is the type to be a BIG curser. It can be around kids, or parents, or even random strangers in public, he’s cursing any chance he gets.

• He’s a different version of the spare change dude on TikTok. (Y’all remember him) begging people for money walking by.

• if you tell toji to do the “give me my money” trend, I guarantee you after the video, he’ll be like “where my money” like erm, it was a trend.

• I hear this so much times every time I read a fanfic of him. Nicknames like “doll” “sweets” or “pretty little thing” is definitely what he’s calling you. Dating or not, stranger or not, he’s calling you that. (If he feels like it.) if you make him mad, he’s definitely calling you woman.

• invite this man to a part with alcohol, he is definitely coming and drinking. Sometimes he would get drunk, sometimes he wouldn’t. Can he handle alcohol? Hmmmm… yes.

• Every party you invite this man to, he is ALWAYS leaving with a one night stand. After they hook up, he’s leaving her on the hotel bed, and he is OUT.

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last one :

• Ryomen Sukuna :

• Sukuna is a big and grumpy man. I’ve been thinking about this alot, so let’s get into it !

• Sukuna definitely has the “I do NOT give a flip” mindset. You see the last item of something in the store, you go and grab it, it’s gone. You look to your left, and you see ryomen sukuna having the exact same item in your hand. “Erm, I was ge”- “I do not care.” oh. He then walks away with the item.

• Sukuna does NOT know the word “permission.” He’s the type to make you his slave or girlfriend without even asking you. Like dang (＾ｰ^)

• You are NOT catching bro calling you cute names like “sweetheart” “doll” not even “love” no. You’re getting “woman” or “human” or, maybe just your name if he even knows your name.

• if he actually loves you, he’s really possessive. Somebody looks at you too hard? Gone. Somebody tries to hit you up? Gone. Somebody cat calls you? Gone. Somebody gets a little too close to you? You guessed it. Gone.

• He’s the type to hide what he actually wants. If he wants to cuddle with you, he is not telling you that. If he wants to kiss you, he is NOT telling you that. Even such a tough man is a little shy at some things.

• He is over 1000 years old, he is from the ancient times. So, he does NOT know how to do things in this century. He doesn’t know how to work a phone. It’s not like he gives a crap about that.

• Trust me. He does NOT have a soft heart. He’s cold hearted. Very cold hearted. You tell him your mom died? He’s bursting out in laughter. Oh no! Your boyfriend broke up with you? He’s bursting out in laughter.

• Is he loyal? Hm. If your not who he reallllyyyyyyy wants, then no. Does he care? No.

• Have you ever seen them tiktok lives where they all take turns roasting eachother? Sukuna would COOK at that. Everybody would be flabbergasted.

• small note: nobody can clock sukunas tea. (well, maybe if you bring up his true true form which is a pou.)

• He can definitely handle alcohol. 2 giant bottles, and he’s still sober. He’ll definitely make fun of you for getting drunk after a couple of glasses.

• hook ups? Yes. He’s not as crazy as toji though. He’ll probably focus on 1-3 girls. He might get you pregnant, but that man does NOT care. Sad, but true.

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hehehe guys I’m done. I spent the whole afternoon on this. My hands are sweating… but yeah. Thank you for reading !

(remember. Some of this is inspired by trin and erika on TikTok, and the rest is mostly made up in my head.)

I might make more head-cannons like the jujutsu students, and WOMEN😍 let me stop acting gay. But anyways, try to look forward to them guys ! Byeeeee

😋🎀🎻💝🦢🪞

random note: I used to play in orchestra, now I play in the band since my school doesn’t do orchestra no more. I miss orchestra so much, and my clarinet keeps screeching😒

[itsbeenliketenyearsitsprettywild]

on tag responses and reply trains or: "click the readmore for my analysis of the the (mostly) Greek love terms that sum up jayvik and jaymel and also at some point i forget how to shut the fuck up and turn this into what might as well be a thesis paper on jaymel as a duo and How Mel Is Dedicated To Jayce Her Own Way"

starting from op @aurieeeeeenyx's tags that got me thinking:

#you mightve guessed that ive been listening to the hadestown soundtrack again recently#but anyways. jayce going back over and over and failing in timeline after timeline in the hopes that maybe this time. maybe just this once#he'll succeed and get his partner back#viktor putting the whole of his faith and trust in jayce that jayce will come back for him even though he fails again and again#but still viktor cannot imagine not believing in jayce one more time#the way the entire universe hangs in the balance of their bond oh man#i feel like jayvik is beyond categorization they're like the peak of classical romance which is not necessarily kisses and dating etc#but like the purest form of intimacy and affection. or something#i should write a fic abt this#anyways . idk . im a big fan of meljayvik so mel fits in here SOMEWHERE i just havent figured it out yet#if you made it to the bottom of this wall of tags here's a pie 🥧

(the last tag isn't exactly relevant, but hey. free pie 🥧) my response in the replies (with a few spelling edits):

moreso than calling what Jayce and Viktor have 'classical romance' (as such a phrase feel like it could be confused with the Romantic movement in the arts, which doesn't have much to do with love directly), I feel like it would almost be more accurate to describe it using the ancient (and a just few more modern) Greek terms for love. They already exist as a way to delineate the many types of love that can exist either combined or singular that can be part of a relationship between two people. (there's like eight or nine different Greek/Greek-derived words to categorize love at this point depending on who you ask, feel free to look 'em up yourself - there are six ancient Greek ones in there too. the Greeks have been dissecting love for a *very* long time) Of the types of love exhibited between Jayce and Viktor specifically, I think what you're getting at is that it's a bond which involves this incredibly beautiful blend of philia and agape, with a bit of mutual meraki as well. In actual English - their bond is made of deep personal affection on a mental/personality level (philia literally translates to 'soul connection') which isn't hurt by their shared love of creating/inventing new technology together. All of this being further boosted by the fact that they would anything for each other, even if it means damning themselves or other reallities in the process. I'd love to go into meljay as contrast, in large part because their relationship feels pretty unique in terms of what we see in media, but there's only so many characters allowed in a reply lol. feel free to ping me if you want me to put the rest of the deets on this or another post, though (and clarify you want it on a reblog instead of a reply if that's the case, as i default to replies otherwise)!

op's reply:

actually it's funny you say this because the romantic movement in the arts is pretty much what i had in mind just because of the like...aesthetic? i feel like it comes with a certain mood of sublime beauty and some mix of nature/humanity/passion/nostalgia while being both subdued and Not, which the jayvik finale sort of embodies to me if that makes sense (but then again i'm not an art connoisseur so i could be spouting total bullshit) i do agree with your analysis of their bond in the framework of greek terms for love and think that funnily enough it goes back to the orpheus and eurydice thing again (arcane when i come for you and your greek tragedies WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU--) sooo i guess i'll have to do some more research on that and i'd love to hear about your thoughts on meljay! if you feel comfortable i think a reblog might help more people see it (in which case you might need to put my notes and/or your comment as context to this admittedly very short post) but i don't mind either way :D

And, since the notes and comments have been placed, time to continue (I've been using this website for reference and been extrapolating best i can, but I'm no expert on the subject so feel free to correct me on it)

I honestly find JayMel really interesting to analyze from this perspective, because I feel like media doesn't show many relationships with this unique blend of loves, and especially not presented in a way where it's actually given some weight and value to both people within it. So, to start:

This list is very, very long, so let me this for the sake of everyone's sanity...

TL; DR - While Jaymel absolutely involves sexual attraction between the two of them (and is sometimes connected to these more casual, playful moments between the duo), those aren't nearly all the facets of their love. Some of the other types include: how they both enjoy working on Hextech (from the angles of technology and politics respectively), even if they sometimes have to make deals and do things with it they personally don't like; the surprisingly tentative yet compelling nature of their friendship together; the practical ways they (read; mostly Mel) are willing to help and support each other on a much more functional level, and how that in turn plays a very large part in letting them further emotionally connect with one another and deepen their bonds as people.

First (and most obviously), Mel and Jayce's dynamic obviously has a fair amount of eros in it. Eros can best be described as 'sexual love' or 'physical desire for each other' - the kind of love most people (largely allosexuals) assume are a part of "romantic" relationships by default, though one doesn't have to be a couple to act upon mutual eros. Either way, it's absolutely a part of their dynamic that deserves to mentioned and recognized - pretty sure none of us are going to forget the Sextech scene any time soon, and all. But that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their dynamic.

In a fair few scenes where eros between them is evident, there's also pretty obviously some ludus going on. Ludus is one of the more modern categorizations love types, and describes 'playful love' - something more casual or carefree, no strings inherently attached, but a noted expression of affection all the same. You know that forge scene in season 1, where Mel sarcastically calls Jayce's smithing 'a delicate art' and she watches him sexily hammer out some metal, or at the end of that same scene, where she leans into him seductively... only to smack him in the tiddies with his own forge bolt and adds the one-liner, "Hold onto your nuts?" That absolutely reads as ludus following up on the eros within their dynamic. After all, ludus is the kind of love found in booty calls and one night stands, but could also just be enjoying a night out drinking with your pals. Which makes jaymel really interesting, considering the fact that it's also steeped in the opposite type of love....

....Which, in all honestly, I feel like I'll only be able to talk about once I've described meraki. You see, this and the next type of love seem pretty deeply entwined with one another when it comes to my categorizing and understanding of jaymel, but it feels like this is the one best needed to help describe the context of the other. Now, meraki one of the terms coined after the ancient Greeks, being a modern word that most people who don't speak Greek down know about. Essentially (and i could be wrong about the best term to use - but honestly i legitimately feel like this a type of love that shapes them, and don't know a better word to use), meraki is the love of creation, the love one pours into the act of making art or writing poetry or skillfully setting a table - or, best as i can sum all that up, a love of your work/what you do. And, lest we forget, the thing that brought them (alongside Viktor, though he's not the focus of this post) together is... well, Hextech. It's just that the work Jayce and Mel happen to be doing in relation to creating Hextech happen to be quite different in nature. Nonetheless they're both quite necessary for its creation to come to fruition. For Jayce, this 'love of creation' he has for hextech is quite literal - he's one of the two geniuses who invents, designs and very directly builds machines and technology that utilize Hextech within them, and it's obviously from the get go that he loves the idea of it so much that he dedicated his life to it (something something what that means in terms of what he said in the finale-). Mel, meanwhile, also loves Hextech and how she goes about creating it - but, in her case, she creates far less literally than how Jayce and Viktor do, though still plenty important. Because, for all the boys physically create the technology, it wouldn't be able to have nearly as much of an impact as it does if there wasn't someone politically advocating for its use and working for it to become societally integral. For all Viktor and Jayce may love making their gadgets and gizmos that utilize it, she's the one who loves it enough to build it up as A Brand and help get Jayce into top enough form that Hextech can even have its own seat on the council (no matter how much she regrets that decision almost immediately afterwards. But, it's this difference in terms of how they precisely they go about creating Hextech that can lead to a divide in how much they enjoy particular parts of shaping that leads to struggle in staying dedicated to specific parts of the process, which really comes down to their comfort with....

Pragma, or 'practical/dedicated love'. Pragma is the final love term coined after the time of Ancient Greece, and essentially acts as the complete opposite of ludus. While ludus is all about fun and in-the-moment playfulness, pragma is the love shown by doing what needs to be done to keep things functional, even if said actions are not particularly fun or enjoyable themselves. It's not the same thing as agape/'sacrificial' love, because it's not a case of being willing to throw everything just to keep this one person happy. These things are being done because they have to be done to make sure everything stays okay, not because the thing they love comes before absolutely anything else. Though it might seem boring (or maybe even selfish, if you compare it to agape in particular), it's a huge part of all kinds of relationships you can find between people, and says as much about nature of a dynamic as anything else. But, as stated, this type of love between Jayce and Mel is seen very specifically when it comes to their mutual love for Hextech and less directly for each other. In making Hextech and allowing it to flourish as a technology, steps have to be taken to ensure sponsors and investments, so that they never lose access to the resources required to continue working on it. As such, deals have to be cut and made, as seen in the concert scene, and continuing to make sure Jayce and Viktor's projects are properly funded is something they have to do over and over again just to keep things moving. In this sense, the main difference between the two of them in this context is the nuance of their meraki - for all they both enjoy creating Hextech in some way, the types of work they enjoy dedicating themselves to contrast quite a bit. For Jayce, politics and lobbying for funding are only a small part of what he does for Hextech - and not what he gravitate towards naturally, charismatic as he can be. To him, his love of is for the literal process - the one that Viktor both enjoy creating as a team moreso than they'll ever enjoy doing it alone. Meanwhile politicking and dedication to Hextech's social and financial success (which is where a lot of the pragma comes to the forefront) is what Mel enjoys doing - alone if necessary, but preferably with one of the creators of Hextech at her side, to have another hand on deck and a more direct face to associate with it. As such, it *does* make its own kind of sense that the duo (jayvik) whose meraki is almost identical have an time easier time bonding personality-wise (tho i do think Mel and Vik would have an easier time of it- *shoves my melvik-in-the-polycule headcanons in a box for later*), in comparison to the fascinatingly tentative nature of Jayce and Mel's....

Philia, or 'soul connection'. For all it sounds like a term for soulmates or such, what it really just means is that two people get along well with each other when it comes to general socializing and interaction. This is the type of love that underpins deep friendships, but also romantic couples that go beyond just being sexually compatible (or queerplatonic couples - sadly, the terms for love never developed in such a way to make it *easy* to differentiate aspec couples from other kinds of dynamics, but we work with what we got), or even just coworker who get along pretty well. And it's here in particular that I find jaymel compelling as we see them in the show, because, for all we see them work together well on Hextech and be playful with each other and Do The Fuck, their philia seems... surprisingly awkward, or at least not nearly as natural as it is for jayvik (or how i headcanon it would be for melvik). To be clear: you're allowed to headcanon jaymel as more naturally friendly than this, like how many people like to extrapolate jayvik out to include some level of eros (which, once again, not disparaging, just noting as not being shown in Arcane directly). But in terms of what we actually see in the show... jaymel has a bit of a hard time with getting close on an emotional level. Which i honestly really appreciate; the show doesn't invalidate the love that is there simply due to this fact, after all. All the other parts of their relationship exist and are recognized in the narrative while still letting the philia between them not come as naturally as everything else. People's personalities may end up with them clashing fairly often, but they can still be close anyways. (well, as long as they work at it - but I'll segue into that subcategory in a little bit.) And because of this, they're able to take a very fun option: showing some of these moments of tension or awkwardness between them, and letting us as the audience watch how the two navigate and end up resolving these moments. Though some of these moments do end up getting interrupted by a third party, which can end up impacting how these moments of tension end up getting resolved. (I'm looking at you, Viktor, for how you interrupted that moment between jaymel and instigated the season 2 council room fight. go to ur eldritch jesus shame corner /lh/j) Speaking of reaction: Mel and Jayce each have distinct ways of expressing emotional distress (at least most of the time - Mel lets herself get a lot more angry with her mother than she would otherwise). For Jayce, his reactions are what he's infamous for in fandom - impulsively jumping into action based on his current feelings without considering what consequences. (read: almost always not what he wanted.) Meanwhile, Mel tends to withdraw into herself and act more emotionally unaffected than she actually is - for example, how her reaction to Jayce leaving in the middle of the night after Sextech is to... well, paint, and respond relatively neutrally up until Jayce justifies his actions. But it's in resolving of these conflicts that the two of them are able to start building up their philia and comfort with each other (beyond their mutual focus on hextech or sex) into a deeper level of companionship. The reason why their philia is able to end up further developing is due to the active usage of...

Pragma, not within the framework of Hextech. You see, Hextech-focused pragma can quite often lead to added tension between them instead of anything getting resolved, as seen when Mel gets Jayce voted onto the council without asking him first. In comparison, many of the moments of pragma between them that aren't focused on Hextech itself often lead to to bonding moments between the two of them as individuals. (Which makes sense as talking about work, even if you like doing it, doesn't tend to lead to much personal emotional intimacy.) Alongside that, there's one other thing that differentiates these moments of pragma from those focused on Hextech directly: in those situations where willingly taking action leads to them getting closer, it's almost always Mel who takes the initiative. For Jayce, the vulnerability he shows to her is never from a place of willingly dropped guard or conscious intent, but instead due to being absolutely overwhelmed by his emotions. As such, it's Mel who consistently dedicates herself to their relationship by reacting in ways that only really serve to benefit or support Jayce, such as: -> accepting her suddenly-given role as emotional after the discovery Viktor is dying -> voting Heimerdinger out of the council on Jayce's inferred behest -> comforting Jayce over said vote that he pushed through -> stalling while he's supposed to be leading the council so he has time to find Viktor -> implicitly supporting Jayce's decision to bring Viktor back from at least the brink of death, if not death itself, at the beginning of season 2 Even past the ones I listed, there's so many moments Mel has which speak to her own brand of love for Jayce, especially in season 1. Times where she very much chooses to act in favor of his interests, even though it in no way benefits her, can be readily pointed to as cases of pragma. For all they might not be big and noticeable, they help keep the dynamic functional and healthy. Though, that's not to say Jayce doesn't have a moment of pragma outside of working on Hextech. Though, unless I'm missing something, it is just. A singular moment for him. Which is after his implicit apology for the argument the two had in the council room before the Viktor fight in season 2. After the apology, Mel goes on to open up to him about how she unlocked her abilities as a mage, that he comforts her by saying that Mel could never be just a passenger in her body - this is a moment that, while it does nothing to help him personally, still speaks to him caring about Mel. But... that's pretty much we only case we have of him directly engaging in pragma in relation to Mel. (...But then again, we see a lot of him and his active cases of pragma in those situations in season 1 focused on Hextech in particular, so in that regard it evens out if you consider pragma a whole without those specific contexts in mind. But I digress.)

There's potentially one other type of love i was tempted to add to all this, but this post has gotten very, very long, so i think I leave it here. If you somehow got this far down: holy shit what the fuck (impressed). For the sake of the sane people. I think I'll be putting my TL;DR at the top of the list.

oh yeah also jayvik are extremely orpheus and eurydice coded i don't make the rules

[bibibbon]

Hello. I have notice something in MHA for the series having idea about reverting the tropes of classic hero comics trope it actually have very less morally ambiguous characters who don't side with hero and villain faction of the MHA world and even less having impact on the story narration and its core theme and let alone characters who the story don't paint as character who infact a good points but are not too violent or even self sacrificing. I genuinely wish there were more morally ambiguous characters who either are not hero or villain. For example, Lady Nagant is one of my favourite characters for the same reason. A pro hero who was got disillusioned due to the HPSC and saw the truth of the society and kill the HSPC president. More characters like her who don't fit in any of the MHA worlds morals alignment or how society fit people or hell even characters who actively reject the title of hero and villain and the very definition of it, the MHA society put in and the traditional morality. There's very few moments where fluidity in morality for characters dynamic is allow but the narrative don't give it more appropriate focus. Morally ambiguous characters whose personality, ideology and how they act don't fit in any way possible in the box of hero and villain definition the story put in. Morally ambiguous characters who don't need saving or need to save others narratives wise but make both Izuku and Tomura questions their own goal and why they are taking action. Scenes of lady nagant where she was talking about hero society real truth with Izuku was my favourite from my series. And I actually wish the story has more moments like these with Tomura where someone probe him why destruction is his ideology. Because Destruction is equal to Creation. Where Tomura draw line in destroying every thing? Is it because he personally want it or AFO influence?

What I want to say I actually wish there was more characters whose morals alignment were in the line of neutrality and impact the narration. Because these kind of characters truly make what meant to be a hero and saving someone question even brightly. Make Izuku character as hero more unique, make Tomura 'Villains need their own Hero' more profound and impacting.

But it is just my own opinion and preferences.

Oh I absolutely agree with this!!

For a series that actively tries to show itself subverting the classical superhero trope, it doesn't particularly do it well in the sense of introducing nuance and fulditiy into character morality and fully showing a proper grey space.

MHA does well in presenting morally grey or morally ambiguous situations, but it struggles in presenting morally ambiguous characters that are relevant to the plot.

I say a proper grey space because while the manga claims that vigilantes are morally grey we honestly don't see enough of them in the main manga and the vigilantes manga frames them in a way where there is a clear divide of good and bad vigilante so it just makes the whole point of vigilantes being grey null.

The main cast is all divided into either heroes or villains, with neither one really trying to reject that role and move past it. Ultimately, the heroes within the series try and develop a deeper understanding of heroics, some acknowledging that villains and heroes are the same or that villains also need saving. However, we don't get heroes truly acknowledging the corruption of the society they live in to a full extent. We get some crumbs here and there, for example, ochako realising how bad the quirk counselling system is, Iida realising that to be a true hero, he can not kill a villain because of personal issues and mina realising that both heroes and villains are humans on different sides with the same emotions.

The worldbulding of mha and its flaws aren't at all acknowledged, especially the hpsc side of things. This is why lady nagant stands our so much because she is one of the only character that sees and directly calls out the hpsc and we are shown by her entire character just how damaging and cruel the hpsc and how they harm everyone in the process whether that be heroes, villains and citizens alike by tucking them into a false sense of safety and comfort and indirectly upholding a man who will so soon crumble (all might).

I have already talked about Lady nagant, and it also seems like you acknowledged her character, but truly aside from Lady nagant, there isn't a relevant character who shows morally ambiguity. You can argue that yes, Nedzu is a character who is morally ambiguous, but is he relevant?

The criticisms you hold for izuku and shigaraki's characters are so incredibly valid and are previous criticisms I have mentioned before. How and when will shigaraki stop in this path of destruction? What can be made from nothing?

The same applies to izuku, who holds up the same very system that hurts him and seems to try and climb the system to prove himself to the people while ultimately destroying himself for the hope of better. Izuku never ends up breaking the cycle. Actually, he and mirio (who is now the number one hero) end up fueling the cycle and upholding it ironically enough it looks like history is bound to repeat itself here.

Mha was supposed to subvert the typical superhero narrative that afo and ofa presented and the two main characters who were supposed to be the obvious leaders of this were izuku and shigaraki.

Due to this, its a whole lot more worse when you realise that all of this and the parallels shigaraki and izuku have fall apart due to horikoshi choosing to do what he did in chapter 419 revealing that shigaraki tomura was a puppet all along and that AFO was somehow the big mastermind. This just makes the world feel small and removes all the worldbulding that shigarakis backstory and actions have added to the world of MHA. Pinning the faults all on one man when the world is so much more complex and nuanced than that ultimately removes so much from the story that's supposed to tackle societal issues.

[foggysirens]

If Destiel (yes the ship) got tossed into the Star Wars universe, which one of them is naive enough to accidentally join the dark side and why is it Cas?

love how you had to specify the ship ajdhdhdkjf that absolutely made me laugh so hard

but okay so this set my brain on fire because you’re so very right in the respect that if we were to plop spn characters into the star wars verse it does, from a narrative point of view make the most sense for cas to be part of the dark side - the only thing is that i don’t think it would be because he naively joined, cas would been conscripted

castiels arc in supernatural of being an angel of the lord who falls from the armies of heaven and grace after finding himself embroiled in with humanity is none too dissimilar from the character arc that finn goes on in the last jedi - they have both found themselves raised to be soldiers, to take orders and to not ask questions and fight in the name of the order they serve. this is all they have ever know but suddenly in the midst of the battle between good and evil they are suddenly unsure if what they’re fighting for is right anymore. and once they know, once they see things for what they truly are, they fall. crossing lines to try and take a stand for what they believe they must, even if it takes them a while to get there. because they both see the good in what they were told to destroy, want to save and protect and love instead. this arc also follows a lot of the same beats as agent kallus from star wars rebels!! thinking on it i would say in a lot of ways cas is a lot more like kallus - what with their the military rankings and training experience and overall demeanour - and i can see him having a similar career in/path out of the empire as him. the arc still stands. cause yeah, the ‘imperial officer turned rebel’ is a reoccurring theme in star wars!

so if we look at that and then we look at castiel, a character who is, admittedly, naive at times, his character fits so perfectly into star wars into that role as someone who was brought up and trained under this regime but ultimately rebels once that illusion is shattered and the free will to change has been realized and (while not diminishing the internal character work that this entails) a lot of the time there is that one focal person who extended the hand in the first place - who gave them that wake up that acts as the foil in this arc (think poe and rey and zeb) and in this au’s case it absolutely would be dean because he’s who it is in spn canon for cas as well !!! (and like, come on, dean fits the han solo bill of being the scruffy hero with a soft heart so well, and he absolutely joined the rebellion with his ancient but pristine pre-empire ship that they use to run jobs and spy on the empire while posing as different officials)

like, im so sure that there already must be so many amazing fics out there that are about just this because the spn/cas/destiel beats parallel so perfectly with star wars that i could talk about it forever !!! they would find each other in every universe !!!

anyways yeah sorry that was so long but TLDR; yeah cas starts out apart of the empire but then he sees dean winchesters pathetic face and joins the rebellion