#Gil is totally the type to be like

[vaile-elenya]

Look I may be completely wrong, I don't cliff jump into bodies of water on the regular so forgive me if I'm wrong, but how is Elrond not injured by the fall?? The pan down from the waterfall to the cliff made the cliff look incredibly high. Not to mention the possibility of rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. My first reaction to it was “YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!” (let’s pretend that we don't know he lives)

How afraid of Galadriel and Gil-galad was he to think that was his best option? Especially if he didn't know if he'd survive.

People do cliff jump for sport but the difference is how they land in the water. I don't know if Elrond is a seasoned cliff jumper because the surface tension could kill you. Yes, he is a half-elf but I don't gravity or the water cares that much.

Can someone smarter than me figure out how tall that cliff was and see if it was survivable? If it wasn't, then he really parallels Elwing, she didn't know that she'd survive. It was Ulmo that saved her. It was a suicide attempt to keep the silmaril away from Maedhors and Maglor.

If I am right about the cliff being high enough to kill him, then maybe Ulmo saves Elrond too. In my brief-as-hell research, Ulmo knew Eärendil’s father so maybe he's fond of the family. Ulmo is said to dwell in deep rivers, so it could be possible that he saved Elrond. What a parallel if I'm right

This is just a headcanon and massive speculation on my end, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Like this me screaming at the sky type of headcanon, I’m not expecting to by right 😂

Ohhh, I had the same thought when Elrond made that jump! To me, it looked deadly. But what struck me the most was how the other Elves seemed so... unbothered? It might not be the perfect word to use here, but neither Galadriel nor Gil-galad seemed very concerned that Elrond might have been killed by that jump. I can’t tell if it's because they have this unwavering hope and goodness in their nature, or if they just knew the jump wasn’t as fatal as it appeared, but something about Gil-galad stationing guards at every crossing and Galadriel almost immediately assuming Elrond had gone somewhere else, rather than imagining him at the bottom of the ocean, makes me think the jump might not have been that dangerous—at least not for someone with Elven heritage 🤔

(Also, it did make me a little sad we didn’t get a moment where Gil-galad or Galadriel expressed concern, like “I hope he’s alright,” or even better, “We’ll deal with the rings after we find Elrond. First, let’s make sure he’s safe.” 💔)

But! With that said, I totally see the parallel to Elwing here. Elrond might know this waterfall by heart, but in a situation like this, you just can’t help but wonder if things might not go as smoothly as planned. I think you can see that fear on his face—his eyes show so much pain:

This is the look of someone painfully hurt, painfully scared, and painfully disappointed��knowing it's either give up the jewels or, possibly, face death. You can almost feel the pain of this realization in his expression, especially in the first two shots 💔

The moment we see Elrond from behind, with Gil-estel on his cloak, it feels like we're meant to draw a mental comparison to Elwing and the Silmarils. I can only imagine what that must have felt like for him 😭 I’m seriously tempted to write a fic exploring everything going through his mind in that moment. If this was a book, I'd want an entire chapter from Elrond's POV, just to know what he was thinking 😭

And! I love the idea of Ulmo saving Elrond!!! I was going to say that when I read your tags on my last answer. There’s something so beautiful about Ulmo quietly watching over Eärendil's family centuries later 🥺 It honestly makes so much sense!!!

[silmarillaure]

Non-Canon Silm Friendships that I love

Ok, not really completely non-canon but I love Fingon, Maedhros, Maglor, & Finrod as a quartet.

Eldest son trio + Noldorin bard trio = Logical friend group.

Even though I don’t see Finrod as super close to any of them except Fingon (who I HC was like an older brother to him & is his 2nd closest cousin after Turgon), I feel like he still adds balance to what would otherwise be a trio where someone is definitely 3rd wheeling.

I can see Maemags as a duo, Russingon as a duo, & even Kano² as a duo, but the 3 of them together? That feels awkward. Unless Finrod is there, he fixes that & definitely vibes with all of them.

Fingon, Aredhel, Celegorm, Curufin, Angrod, & Aegnor as a chaotic hunting squad

They would probably also go on a lot of fun camping trips together.

Again, not really totally non-canon but still adds some friendships who aren’t canonically friends like Fingon + C&C and Aredhel + A&A. Actually to be fair, I’m not sure I can see Fingon + C&C as close, but I think Fingon & Celegorm at least could vibe decently.

Angrod, Aegnor, & Aredhel though? I see them as super close. She’s like a second little sister to them except she’s way more similar in personality to them than their actual little sister. She’d love to join them on their adventures and they’re all close to C&C.

Edhellos & Galadriel. They’re shitting on a certain someone together & using the “s” whenever they get the chance (which is literally every single conversation).

Gil-Galad & Celebrian. Second age Arafinweans. The dynamic is even better if it’s Celebrian & Fin-Galad because Arafinwean girlies 🔛🔝, but if not I still see Gil-Galad as an older sibling figure to her regardless.

Orodreth & Celeborn. Let Celeborn be friends with the one person in Galadriel’s family who is normal. Orodreth & Celeborn are in Valinor having tea and chatting about their precious daughters together because they’re the most wholesome girldads.

Argon & Orodreth purely because they’d be funny together. Argon is too fearless for his own good & Orodreth is the type of person who panics over everything. It’s said in one of the drafts that all the sons of Fingolfin & Finarfin were close so… point for me I guess, but I personally see Orodreth as a generation younger but they’re still close in age.

[edream93]

Thoughts on The Rise of Red

Okay, these are just my thoughts that I wrote down in my note app as I watched the movie.

SPOILERS if you haven't watched "Descendants: The Rise of Red" yet:

Uma crying talking about Carlos is definitely China crying for real. It’s definitely a plot inconsistency because as far as we know Uma and Carlos didn’t have any type of relationship outside of Mal but for China and the audience, I thought it was a touching nod to Cam.

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like over the past three movies we had gotten better with the wig situations and this movie felt like a bit of a step back for some of these wigs

The special effects in Red’s first song were pretty neat for a DCOM-adjacent movie 

Maddox is kinda cute…This man is 44!?!?! 😍

Paolo Montalbano 😍 My first crush! Honestly he and Brandy and China are the only reason why I’m watching this.

Still not a total fan of Cinderella’s dress. It’s giving royal moo-moo 

Brandy and Paolo are still cute together. Like not even in a romantic way but they are definitely co-actors that have great chemistry on screen together. Like it feels like they slipped back into their characters effortless.

I’m sorry Brandy but those shoes are ugly

OMG! Chad is their son!!! They really was like, the Prince Charming had a White dad and a Black mom so of course he and Cindy can have a White son 🤣

Is it me or are there already more songs in this movie than the previous? 

Maybe it’s because it’s the only second song but I definitely expected that they would have given Rita and Brandy more to work with

I know Dylan and Thomas probably have grown out of working with Disney but I at least wish they gave a throw away line about where Harry and Gil are. Like we know at least where Mal and the others are and that Carlos apparently died. Idk, the lack of Harry’s line in Uma’s song made me miss them.

You know, for all of the fuss they made about the magic wand, the fact that the Queen of Hearts can easily cut it in half is funny to me

Is this Aladdin and Jasmin they keep cutting back to? I didn’t keep up with the movie production before it came out so maybe them being in this movie shouldn’t be surprising 

“Now make me proud, for once,” is such a hard comment to hear from a parent.

Not Chloe’s wig changing randomly 🤣

The actress playing young Fairy G definitely looks like a younger actress of the original one. Good casting.

I feel like a lot of these songs are just sing talking. Like not really singing but just them talking and like I know they did that sometimes in the previous movies but it just feels…odd

….did Chloe’s wig change…again…???

It did….

Did both of their wigs change???

Honestly, I’m underwhelmed by the costumes. I know the same designer wasn’t on this movie but eh

Ella is like… “Mom? Who you calling mom?!??!” 🤣

I forgot that since this was before Auradon they probably would take classes about magic 

Bridget’s and Red’s outfits are so far my faves

Jaladdin 🤣

“If you wanna roll together we can be a vibe” 🤣

…..Chloe’s hair changed again….Is this just her face hair or something because it’s not the hair she had in the previous scene

Morganna’s son!?!? Didn’t expect that. Again, I have been so far removed from keeping up-to-date about the production of this movie

Oh I forgot Maleficent and Hades were together at some point. Guess I just thought that was an Isle boredom fling thing

I love how this movie totally negates anything that has happened in the original movies, at least in terms of how they happened. I honestly like to think of the OG movies as royal propaganda 🤣

Okay so I think there’s three wigs that Chloe has had, a regular, a slightly more volumized one, and then what my friend calls the “chia pet” one 😅

Chloe…NO! 😫

Honestly, this portrayal of Cinderella is kinda my fave. She’s been through a lot

Okay, should have known the VK songs would be a bop

Maybe it’s just me but every time I see Hades in this, I think he looks like Chris Colfer

I feel like this movie has so many special effects which isn’t bad, it’s just interesting because I feel like big special effects were saved until the last half/battle

WIG CHANGE AGAIN!

Paolo acting his butt off to the pay the bills

Oooo that was too far Red…

Wig change

Yeah, this movie definitely has a lot more songs…😬

Also…why is her wig longer when they’re gardening? 

Are there…are there FOUR wigs?!?!?!?!

Me snorting at the captions reading -hero music playing-

Morganna’s son is missing a few brain cells. Love him.

There’s 7 minutes left….what are they gonna do in 7 minutes!

Not the Queen of Heart’s hair blowing in the wind! 😊

I know it’s not that serious in this movie, but I wonder what’s the reasoning for Red never going to Auradon now that things have changed

I’m glad the Queen of Hearts is nice and all but there should definitely be a fanfic about how Red is trying to distinguish her old reality with her new. And no, it won’t be from me. I wipe my hands clean of this series. I mean it! I’m so serious! I totally don’t have any plot bunnies in my head now! Nope! None. At. All!

Wait! Uma! Are you implying there’s going to be some - GASPS- ramifications to the time traveling!?!?!?

Final thoughts:

Maybe it’s because I’m OFFICIALLY not part of the target demographic anymore but I kind of felt underwhelmed. Like the last three movies had things I wasn’t a fan of but there were at least songs, aspects, characters, that I was a fan of. Honestly, the only person I LOVED in this one was Maddox. If you liked this movie, that’s totally fine and I hope my thoughts don’t stop you from enjoying it. I hope you have all the head cannons and fanfic ideas and amazing energizing conversations with others in the fan. If they come up with more stuff with this series (which they probably will) I might tune in but I think this, plus that Pt.2 outline of WLTF that I still owe folks will probably be my last active contribution to this particular fandom. 

Anyway, my faves of Descendants: The Rise of Red:

Uma, even if she was just serving the purpose of narrator/handing the torch from one generation to the next

The nod to Cameron

Brandy and Paolo. I LOVE them on screen together.

I actually really liked Ella and hope to see the actress, Morgan Dudley in more things

Maddox was cute but I honestly always seem to have a thing for movie/TV mad hatters (points to OUAT and the SyFy mini series Alice) 

Things I’m “eh” about:

The WIGS!!!! And the costumes but the WIGS!!! Like, if this series continues they need to fix stat!

The songs were kinda forgettable. Uliana’s song at her hideout was kinda a bop and Red’s intro song is good too but everything else was kinda “bleh”

I also feel like we didn’t really get to know Red that well or maybe I was just too distracted by Chloe’s wig.

The plot and pacing. I mean, the OG Descendants movies weren’t perfect but I feel like they typically hit certain plot beats where, as much as you can with these type of movies, it feels like the stakes are high. I guess Merlin’s office being the scene of the last “battle” and then going back to their time just felt a little anti-climatic for me.

But anywho, those are my thoughts. If you don’t agree, that’s fine, just be polite, okay? 

[council-of-beetroot]

Thoughts on soviet bloc hetalia (mostly interested in lithuania and prussia)?

Okay so I have some controversial opinions on Gil here

1. I don't think he's the rebellious suave spanner in the works people think he is. IRL DDR actually distrusted Poland because they thought the Poles were always up to something breaking the rules.

Here's an article about Polish East German relations

Gil is quite fine with having people having authority over him as long as it plays into his ego or suits him for the time being in some other way.

Gil is the type to mock someone else for not standing up to Ivan then go and do everything Ivan tells him to.

Sure he dislikes Ivan but given that he gets to be a nuisance to people like Tolys is always a plus. Unfortunately Tolys is in a rough place at the moment so he's not as fun to poke at. Gil will bring out that old fierce Lithuania he knew at Grunwald somehow. Until then he can mock lithuania and be an ass, along with the occasional act of kindness because he's the type.

And no, this doesn't mean he can't engage in the debauchery that he usually does in canon in fanon, it means he is simply like letting a dog run wild in a yard for a few hours before calling it back inside for the evening.

2. I don't think Gilbert deserves the amount of sympathy he gets for this period of his life.

He's Prussia, and I, like Tolys, know the history and call bullshit to his tale garnering sympathy.

If anything it's poetic irony that the person who betrayed and double-crossed in the name of power and divided the commonwealth putting Tolys at the mercy of Ivan, has ended up right in Ivan's hands, his country divided in half.

Moving on

Okay anyway I think if it weren't for Ivan's personality, Gilbert would be far more accepting of this situation. Ivan's just weird and canonically Gil is uncomfortable with him. Ivan also likes seeing Gilbert submit to him.

I think Gil mainly just is the type that tries to mold situations to his benefit rather than fighting against the situation.

This delights someone like Ivan though as Gilbert is like a new toy to him.

I've never seen this image before but I love it

Speaking of Ivan

Oooh Ivan is the one holding the red strings of fate that brought Tolys and Gilbert into this predicament and it's perfect for him, now between that an the purges surely ivan's delusions dreams of having a wonderful family will be realised.

So naturally it's fun to keep these two together and watch them interact, making sure they know that they need to get along as they are are all equals here beneath Ivan and family. I totally see him doing things to force Gilbert and Tolys to bond. In a way though this backfires because Tolys is reminded of who he used to be when he sees Gilbert and the urge to break free from the restraints his current situation holds him in, and just beat the shit out of Gilbert just because is almost greater than the hold Ivan has on him. Gil likes it more when Tolys is more of a challenge so I think he weirdly lifts Tolys up slowly, both emotionally and mentally. Gilbert is a reminder to Liet that the current Tolys doesn't have to be permanent.

I can see Ivan doing that thing they do in sitcoms where someone "accidentally" locks two people in a storage closet to get them to figure out together how to get out and bond in the process.

It's fun for Ivan to watch them bicker only to remind the two of them that they belong to him.

See image: The face of someone who will never forgive you for being the reason you had to become a Catholic

I'm going to get into lithuania's psyche around this time a bit more in the next ask

[thedragonemperess]

TELL ME ABT UR DESCENDANTS OCS NOW DJSKSJJSKSJS

ALRIGHT SO THERE'S A LONG LIST BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL FULLY DEVELOPED YET

(The cut-off name there is 'Mammon.')

In order, we've got:

The child of the Snow Queen (based largely on Lev Atamanov's 1957 film. I am well-aware of the fact that this isn't Disney but neither is Morgana so like I can do whatever the hell I want). He/They

The daughter of Tinker Bell. She/Her

The son of Scar. He/She/They/It

The granddaughter of Madam Mim (and sister of Mad Maddy!). She/Her

The child of Oogie Boogie. He/She

The daughter of Kristoff and Anna. She/Her

The son of Anna and Kristoff. He/Him

The son of Hans. He/Him

The son of Turbo/King Candy. It/Its

Soren is my main and most developed OC. I love the idea that disgraced and ex-royals and nobility have their own little social circle on the Isle, and Soren tends to float around that. He is the Snow Prince, after all. However, he also frequents the pirates and acts as a sort-of spy for Uma. Has a complicated, blurred relationship with Gil but they sort themselves out post-D3. Their whole inner complex is pretty run-of-the-mill for the Descendants characters: What they want to be for their parent is entirely against what they want for themselves. Their mother, before resorting to essentially total neglect, wanted them to be just like her: Cold and emotionless. But without access to her magic, that was a pretty hard feat and essentially didn't work. They then internalize the idea that, in order to gain their mother's praise, they just need to do better at being immune to all emotions and emotional ties. If my previous comment about Gil doesn't say enough, then let me be perfectly clear in saying that it doesn't work. He feels more connected and at home with the pirates than anywhere else, even after he gets into Auradon, and it continues to fuck with their sense of identity until post-D2.

(With Soren being my main, first, and most developed Descendants OC, he's the one I ended up forcing into the movies. If I ever end up writing a fic for him, like, all of D2 is gonna end up different XD)

Tamara is someone I came up with for my own AU of the fic Regime Change by Link_Heights (I love that fic so much holy shit I HIGHLY recommend it), but have since turned them into a background friend for Jane and Lonnie. I keep going back-and-forth on making her a fast flying fairy because I thought it'd be really funny if she was the same fairy type as Vidia and a fauna fairy because that's the type of fairy the IRL I loosely based her off of says she would want to be. I'm leaning towards fast flying, though, because I love the idea of her doing track and having to train herself not to use her wings while running. It also creates an interesting clash between Auradon tradition and Pixie Hollow tradition - in Auradon, people tend to dress according to their family's colors, but in Pixie Hollow, they dress according to the colors of the type of fairy they are. A love-interest for Harry within the AU, but definitely not a peromanent one since she was really just using him to rebel against her mom.

(Don't ask me how Tinker Bell has a kid when I'm going by Tinker Bel movies canon. It's Descendants, half of the characters' parents should be dead and none of the time periods of the original stories match up despite all of the technology being modern. Nothing makes sense, anyway. Once again, I can do whatever the hell I want.)

Sika, Mimi, and Oscar are all the main (and only) musicians on the Isle. If I had to base their personalities on any musicians, I honestly wouldn't have a comparison for Sika but he is very chillaxed and laid back, Mimi would be Avril Lavigne, and Oscar would Will Wood. They all dabble in different types of music, but Sika mains alternative and hard rock, Mimi mains pop-punk and pop, and Oscar mains jazz fusion and folk punk. Sika doesn't have very high goals and is content to live out the rest of his life on the Isle. As long as he can play music, he tells himself he's fine. In reality, he's definitely really depressed, but that's a conversation for when he leaves the Isle. He doesn't have a stage name. Mimi wants to tour the world one day, and is essentially the family disappointment for it. She wants nothing to do with witch craft and her grades in school (she goes to the witch school on the isle) reflect that. This affects her more than she lets on. Her stage name is Mammon. Oscar has a wonderful relationship with his father(s)* and all he really wants to do is live in a world where he's not constantly ridiculed or made into an easy target by other kids on the Isle. As much as he loves music, it's not something he can see himself doing forever and really just wants to see Halloween Town where he knows, deep down, he truly belongs. He'd also love to join - not take over, join - his father on Boogie Man business when he gets older! His stage name is OzRock.

*See: The other ask I got about my OCs (that I tagged you in!).

I got like nothing on Kira and Adrien 😭 I swear to God it's not because they're AKs, I just really don't have anything to go on with them. I feel like they'd be very basic characters, overall! Adrien is being raised to claim the throne, since he's a year older, but neither he nor Kira really want that responsibility. They both idolize Jane Porter and Milo Thatch (and, although this is something neither of them would ever dare to say out loud, Captain Hook), as they would love to explore the different corners of the world. Adrien wants to do so in the name of science, while Kira wants to do so in the name of fun. Personality-wise, though, Kira takes more after both Anna and Kristoff, while Adrien takes more after his aunt Elsa. Like I said, they're very basic.

Hansen is literally just A Guy. He also tends to frequent the royal/noble circles on the Isle and is quite literally the only person to consistently break through Soren's 'I Must Be Like My Mother' complex. He dated Evie for a hot second there but he's very gay and very down bad for Anthony Tremaine so it didn't last long. He tends to blend into the crowd on the Isle, and he is perfectly fine with that. Unlike most kids on the Isle, he is very vocal about wanting to be nothing like his father, but he means that in more ways than one. While, yes, he doesn't want to be a villain, he also doesn't want to carry the title and pressure of being royalty. He literally just wants to be A Guy. His dream is to open a bar or bakery or pottery or any other small shop where he can live a relaxed, content life. (Of course, in the case of Anthony, since he knows how dead-set Anthony is on carrying on his family's legacy, Hansen also wouldn't mind being a house-husband).

Tobias is arguably even less thought-out than Kira and Adrien because at least I have a basic foundation for them set in stone. Tobias is essentially all up in the air. I'd like to imagine that King Candy has a candy store on the Isle but also uses it as a cover-up for like. Making and selling drugs. He's a pretty decent father, and likes to make sure Toby is always okay and included in his work (for better or for worse) and is doing well and school and he's okay overall. However, he's told Toby stories of his glory days since it was young, and that has definitely had an impact on it. Toby is a fantastic mechanic and has gotten itself out of a good amount of trouble due to promising to figure out generators or small vehicles for people on the Isle. (It has also, somehow, ended up on Cruella de Vil's good side due to its ability to maintain her car, which is a nice bonus to his minimal reputation.) Toby's dream, though, is to be an even better racer than its father, Vanellope von Schweetz, or any of the Sugar Rush racers. It understands where its father went wrong, but is still mad at his enemies for never giving him a second chance. Couldn't they have just saw that he was hurting? Well, being on the Isle has given it a life-time of hurting, so when it finally gets off the Isle, it's gonna show everybody what that can lead to. Also, uh, slight side-note, it and Soren are twins. I just thought it would be really funny if those two had kids together because of royalty reasons and then got really attached to the concept after thinking about how that would impact Tobias and Soren's relationship.

(Once again, don't ask me how Wreck-It Ralph is canon. See: My previous two defenses.)

I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get to! I'm also gonna answer an ask that @angelwiththeblue-box sent me about these guys with some other miscellaneous stuff that's probably just gonna end up being me rambling a bunch about whatever train of thought I latch onto first. Thank you so, so, so, so, SO much for the ask!! :DDD

[direwolfrules]

You see, now I’m hyper-fixated on G1 Monster High and Ever After High, mostly Ever After High, so now I want to start a rewrite AU thing of my own and use the disappearance of Hexiciah Steam’s team as a catalyst for the crossover. Like, the Evil Queen returning is Act 2 or 3 of the crossover, secret final boss type thing. Act 1 focuses on the missing steampunk dilf. I’d also reorder or cut somethings entirely from both series.

Like, the Catacombs under Monster High are a eldritch nightmare realm constructed by an ancient monster race known as the Builders. They’re near impossible to map out due to their impossible size, full of impossible illusions and tech, just random weirdness. Well, what if the impossible stuff that monster kind doesn’t understand or can’t make sense out of is the result of magic not native to monster kind? What if the Builders used some Ever After and Wonderland magic in their creations in addition to monster magic and tech? What if it spanned several realms?

And like, we’d get the ghouls investigating because Ghoulia finally made progress on her research into what happened to Professor Steam and discovered that the last report of this mad scientist was he was going to go down into the Catacombs with his team to finally prove his Builders theory correct. Cleo is extra interested and invested because the name of one of the listed team members? Her long missing mom. Also Lagoona actually comes along on an adventure for once.

On the Ever After side let’s let Darling be the one to be doing research on magical locations for a school project and figure out where the lost entrance to the Labyrinth is. Idk, some of the girls go with. Definitely Blondie for her Mirrorcast, which means Dexter’s going too because camera man. Cedar goes because of all the fantastic art that’s said to be within the Labyrinth and also “I cannot tell a lie, so if we do find the Labyrinth my word will be proof that this isn’t us pulling a hoax-us-pocus”. Apple and Raven cause we need them, they’re the main characters (and Apple and Darling need to develop together so the Dragon Games payoff is like, a payoff). I also need Briar to come because I love her and this is my self-indulgent rewrite AU thing. Also I can totally picture her telling Lagoona that Gil’s family ain’t shit, love is love, make out with that boy in front of their house while flipping them the bird. Ramona and Cerise because I want a “Werewolf? No, wolfwere” interaction and also for this whole thing to end with Ramona getting Clawdeen’s number. Enemies to lovers arc, annoying little sisters in full force, all that.

I also would want Cupid to come because I just want them all to look at her like “Cupid, you have some explaining to do”.

Idk, I could have it that later when the Evil Queen escapes via something in the Catacombs/Labyrinth it’s revealed that she manipulated things by causing the exact right people to find the exact right documentation at the exact right time. Casting spells from her mirror prison like the villainous queen she literally is.

[caffedrine]

Did Gil go through any type of physical abuse?

Hello Anonymous!

Unfortunately getting information on his past out of Gilbert is like trying to pry open a steel trap, so I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I can make some assumptions with what I do know.

Short answer: Other than all the times he was poisoned, probably not.

Long answer: I’m pretty sure Gilbert was the baby of the family, and especially weak and sickly. He was protected by his mother and older brother Albert while they were alive, and I am positive nothing physical happened to him then.

Things start to get interesting after they are killed and Gilbert returns from Rhodolite.

This is where I think his status as the sickly baby prince comes into play: everyone, including his remaining brothers and father discounted him from the succession.

If he did suffer physical abuse, it would have been this time period I would guess, but I am doubtful that it happened. Gilbert’s remaining brothers seemed more focused on subterfuge and plausible deniability with their abuse than outright physical attacks.

They, their faction members, friends, and servants definitely did poison Gilbert a bunch, so if you count that then yes, they totally physically abused him.

Which leaves Gilbert’s father, who legally killed his mother and older brother for disagreeing with his succession policy. He would be the one I would think could and would physically abuse him.

I don’t think Gilbert’s father initially cared enough about him enough to physically abuse him. Again, Gilbert was the weakly prince who the emperor probably ignored at first, but when he started rising in the succession war and becoming the emperor’s chief military strategist, Gilbert was too precious (militarily, not in a familiar sense) to risk directly hurting.

But oh boy, Gilbert was emotionally abused out the wazoo.

[benjaycaptain]

Wonders all around you

written for @descendantsgiftexchange for @fifthnormani . hope you had a lovely holiday, and sorry for the wait!

Jay stared at his rucksack, going over his mental checklist to see what he had missed.

He hadn't expected Gil to actually agree to a trip, but now that it was happening, Jay figured why not. Gil definitely wanted to experience the wonders of Auradon, and Jay could use a breather after a busy year.

"So," Mal drawled as she came up beside him, "all set for the honeymoon?"

Rolling his eyes, Jay said, "For the last time, it isn't a honeymoon."

"It's totally a honeymoon," she practically sing-songed, "you're doing exactly what Ben and me are doing. In fact, you're doing it for longer."

Because a king can't exactly be away for longer, Jay thought, knowing that they both knew that. "Except the whole marriage thing," he said instead, questioning why he was even entertaining the conversation yet again.

"Don't sweat the small stuff."

"Oh, so now marriage is small stuff?"

"You decided to take a gap year to travel the world with Gil, how is that not like a whirlwind marriage?"

Jay sighed. "Do I need to throw you out?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I distracting you from something important?"

"Nah, you're just being annoying, as usual."

She swatted his shoulder. "Rude, I am a delight."

Raising an eyebrow to hide his amusement, he said, "That's not the word I'd use."

Mal gasped, moving her hand to her chest in mock-shock. "How dare you, sir! Just for that I'm leaving." She made a show of huffing as she stomped toward the door.

"Oh no, what will I do now," Jay said, deadpan, focused once more on his rucksack.

"Just for that, I won't give you any romantic advice," she warned as she crossed the doorway, her hand on the doorknob, as if she was waiting for the perfect time to slam it shut.

Her threat pulled a laugh out from him, despite himself. "As if I'd ever ask you for that."

Mal opened her mouth but paused. She blinked. "You know what, that's fair," she said, but a grin formed as she began to close the door. "But I'll take that as admission that you need some. Bye, Jay, have fun!" The rush of her words were punctuated by the door clicking closed.

Jay stared at the door.

He then sighed.

Mal's really harping on this, he thought, wondering why she was so fixated on the idea. Though, in the grand scheme of things, he supposed it wouldn't hurt anything if he just let her continue thinking the trip had a deeper meaning than just an excuse to go exploring.

After all, he'd been in Auradon for some time now, but he hadn't actually seen anything. Why shouldn't he take the opportunity that Gil had presented?

Never mind that it had been his own idea.

Sighing again, Jay continued packing, trying not to let Mal's words get under his skin.

—

They hadn't been on their hike long, their pace leisurely if excited, when Gil stopped short, a gasp leaving him.

"The leaves are different colors!" Gil said, practically bouncing on the heels of his feet.

Jay blinked, and he looked around. "Yeah, the colors change with the season. We're in Fall now."

"Amazing," Gil said, voice soft as he stared out at the different trees. "Do they become, like, every color?"

Jay opened his mouth, but he paused, glancing from the different types of trees to the awe on Gil's face. "You know what, I don't know," he said, truthful and unashamed. He hadn't been outside in forests all that often, and he certainly hadn't been everywhere.

Maybe trees could be every color.

"I wanna see every color possible," Gil said, eyes gleaming as he continued staring, determination now dancing across his features, mixing with his excitement so much that he almost glowed.

"We'll keep our eyes open," Jay said even as his gaze stayed on Gil.

Even when he first arrived in Auradon, he hadn't been half as excited as Gil currently was.

When Gil turned to smile at him, Jay found himself smiling back.

—

They had decided to each keep a journal of their findings — the different colored leaves, types of animals, flowers, plants, rocks, anything and everything new and interesting — so Jay was writing about a funky type of mushroom when Gil grabbed his wrist.

Alarmed, Jay looked up, and his nerves braced for a threat until he took in the astonishment on Gil's face. Blinking, he followed Gil's gaze until he landed on a blue-gray and white bird perched on a tree's upper branch.

Brow creasing, Jay asked, "Gil?"

"Shh!" Gil squeezed Jay's wrist briefly. "I think—" He gasped as the bird spread its wings and took to the sky.

The both of them watched the bird fly for as long as they could before it disappeared completely in the foliage.

"That was an actual bird," Gil said at length, tone soft even as he squeezed Jay's wrist again, "and it was actually flying!"

A small laugh left Jay, unbidden. "Yeah, man. I think it was a hawk," he said, but the longer he watched Gil stare after the bird, the more he realized that the island had very little birds, let alone ones healthy enough to actually fly. "Maybe we'll see more. Like an owl or something."

"An owl?" Gil asked as he finally tore his eyes away from the canopy.

"Yeah, but they probably come out after dark."

"Dude, why are we sleeping after dark instead of exploring more!"

"Because we want to stay alive, dude," Jay reminded him.

Gil pouted. "Fine."

Amused, Jay said, "Maybe one night we can just chill outside our tents by the fire. See if we can see anything."

Instantly, Gil brightened. He pulled Jay close — and it was then that Jay realized that Gil had never released his wrist — and said, "Deal!"

Jay collided with Gil with a small grunt, the one arm hug a little awkward because Gil still held his wrist, but Jay simply let Gil manhandle him as he said, "Deal."

Gil hadn't released him right away, but when he did, he was smiling wide.

Despite the chill in the air, Jay felt warm.

—

"It's getting colder," Gil said one day after he had climbed up and down yet another tree.

"Yeah," Jay agreed absently, focusing on building a fire; the sun would be setting soon, and they hadn't properly set up camp yet.

"And it's usually even colder at night," Gil continued, playing with the bit of bark in his hands.

"Yup," Jay agreed again as he got up, satisfied with the fire enough that he decided to start on pitching up their tents.

"So why don't we just sleep together?"

Jay nearly tripped over his own two feet as he spread one of the footprints down on the ground. He stood straight, staring at Gil. "What?"

"I mean," Gil began, tilting his head to the side, "why use two tents when one is big enough for both of us?"

"Ah," Jay said lamely, and he glanced down at the tent he was currently setting up and then glanced at the other still packed away. They weren't huge tents, but one could definitely fit the both of them; though, it wouldn't be roomy. "I guess that's fine," he said when he realized Gil was still waiting on his answer.

"And we'll be warmer!" Gil said triumphantly.

"Seeing as we'll nearly be on top of each other, definitely," Jay said, amused, as he continued setting up.

"That's fine," Gil said pleasantly, sitting by the fire and watching Jay work. "I like to cuddle anyway."

Feeling himself grow warm, Jay did his best to focus on the task at hand. "Lucky me…" His cheeks grew warmer as Gil laughed.

Luckily for him, Gil busied himself with his journal, so Jay was able to pitch up the tent and ready the inside without any more distractions. Even dinner came and went without anything remarkable happening.

It was only as they cleaned up to get ready for bed that Jay began to grow nervous. Which was silly. What did he have to be nervous about?

He stretched lightly, trying to calm himself, and as he did, he found himself looking up at the night sky. For a moment, he forgot himself, taken by the vastness above and the multitude of stars. He remembered the first time he saw stars in Auradon; they had taken his breath away then as they did now.

Had they taken Gil's breath away yet?

"Jay, what're you— whoa!"

Jay blinked.

Gil had knocked into him, and they had both tumbled to the ground, Gil on his back and Jay on top of him, with Gil's hands on Jay's hips to steady him as Jay braced his hands on either side of Gil's head. They stared at each other.

Before Jay could say anything, Gil's breath hitched, a glint to his eyes. "Beautiful…"

Jay blinked again, his stomach fluttering before he remembered the stars above him. He tried to will away the warmth he had felt. "The stars?" he guessed lamely.

Gil blinked, his gaze flickering past Jay for a few seconds before settling back on him. "Yeah, they're pretty, but I meant you."

Jay stared, heart skipping a beat. "Me?"

With a soft smile settling on his lips, Gil nodded. "Yeah, you." And with that, he leaned up and placed a chaste kiss to Jay's lips.

And though it was chaste, it sent a spark through Jay, and he found himself leaning into the kiss.

Well, crap. Mal had been right.

He was so not looking forward to her gloating.

Still, as Gil pulled back, looking up at him with that soft smile, Jay figured he could endure Mal's smugness.

Gil was worth it.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello darling, can you give us your headcanons of the Mermaid Au pettry please 😊🩷

Mermaid time!!!

Thena and Ikaris were the kids who were always getting into fights. Like, alarming fights--parents would worry about ripped fins and torn scales. But when some big sharp tooth was giving Thena a hard time, Ikaris tackled him and dragged him all the way down to the bottom of a completely dark chasm. He held him down there and dared him to ever hit his sister again.

Thena does love Ikaris, deep (deep, deep, deep down). He's an annoying big brother, but she knows he cares. But she still doesn't let him near Gil; she took the drowning incident very personally.

Thena makes a point to go and visit Makkari more often after having been accused of being the type of mer to only spend time with her mate and forget her friends. She was completely mortified and offended by this, and now swims out to see her once a week. She does not make a point to see Ikaris before she goes home again--if it happens, it happens.

Thena has taken Gil exploring a few times. She holds his hand while they swim around little reefs and such. He explained snorkeling to her but she doesn't like the idea that he could explode. She just stays with him, passing air from her lungs into his as he needs (not that this can be carried on for an especially long time).

Sersi loves Thena. She doesn't care at all that Thena is a mermaid, she's just so happy to finally have a sister after dreaming of one for years. And Thena is so curious about everything, she's happy to let Sersi take her shopping and try on makeup and different hairstyles on her. Gil thinks it's sweet they get along so well.

Thena has tried asking Sersi questions about intercourse and Sersi refuses to even broach the subject, no matter how curious she is about the biological systems of mer reproduction. Thena gave her a loose 'birds and the bees' type explanation of it, although Sersi isn't totally clear on the logistics.

Gil hasn't told Thena about any of his ex-girlfriends. Not that there are many, but he just doesn't think she really needs to know.

Gil has asked about mer reproduction solely out of concern. He managed to kind of explain condoms and what they're for. Thena told him there was no need to worry, since she had no plan of laying eggs at any point in time. Gil - having not known literal eggs were involved - nearly spat out his coffee, and now he can't enjoy boba.

Thena is obsessed with boba.

Gil is still a little overprotective, but he lets Thena go out by herself sometimes. If he's going to be late, he'll radio the house. She can swim to the mainland and get changed in a secret spot. She likes going to the grocery store so she can see all the different foods.

She doesn't like shoes, but Gil is determined to find her as many pairs as possible, because she keeps managing to destroy them. She has no concept of being careful with them so she'll do things like sprint across rocky terrain in delicate sandals and break them.

Gil has asked if mers have mating tokens. She brings up her necklace but he means more like engagement rings or some such. She says they don't, although really if one were to find something incredibly rare and precious, like a fancy pearl or something, one would only give it to their mate.

Thena bites him sometimes. Not hard, but it's kind of an instinct for her. And she still hisses at things that are too loud or smell bad.

Thena with her legs on is a few inches shorter than Gil, but with her tail on, her total length is roughly two metres.

[spacehostilityy]

My NNT rewatch s1ep19-24

Ps these are backlogged lol I watched fast but then ran out of time for work. Posting this now bc I'm going to Appalachia to visit family and will have very little wifi lol

I know Elaine is pretty underdeveloped (nothing a little fanfic can't fix), but I do love how even in flashbacks, she's more serious and responsible than king

Why was Diane still like 6 after hundreds of years ?? Like why wouldn't they just show her aging?

ITS BEEN 500 YEARS? Meaning only a couple centuries before present?? WHY IS DIANE SO SMALL? HOW BAD WAS HER GROWTH SPURT???

Damn king rlly said mercy kill

The Druids having the technique Enslavement of the Dead is actually really cool because it shows us that the goddess race really was that fucked up from the very beginning. Like the characters realize that Ludociel and Nerobasta are not all there made out to be eventually, but we can see just from the types of abilities the druids (aka those closest to and led by the goddess race) possess

Hendrickson saying "bien, princesa" or EVEN BETTER "THAT'S A GOOD GIRL" LIKE ASDJSKFJSL hes evil and a little annoying but so fcking hot

Ban telling Meliodas he loves him and then trying to kill him while meliodas is just like bitch I'm busy we can do this later is so funny

this man gives zero fucks

Ban being the first to realize (after merlin obvi, but she always knew) that Meliodas is a demon and also being the first to accept him means so much to me. This is why I love their relationship. No matter how horrible the other seems to be (or is lol), they stand by each other. I mean not in this specific scenario, but Ban only cares bc the horn of cernunos told him to, so I don't think it really counts. (im delusional)

also I'm typing this on my laptop now and I forgot that I can type this fast ehehe AND i found a way to screenshot so no more taking pics of my laptop for meee

Something about characters begging for death (ban and meliodas) makes me become obsessed with them (i am mentally ill)

MELIODAS BEING WILLING TO LET BAN KILL HIM (if he can do so successfully lol)😭 I know he would just come back, but he would be stuck in Purgatory ASJDKFJSL I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCHHH

every day, i find out just how i much i am capable of shipping them and every day that limit is surpassed

straight besties that would literally die for each other is the ideal fictional relationship

esp bc melizabeth (my actual main ship) doesn't get rlly good until she regains her memories/is a flashback

AJSHDFKSDB FNFKS BAN PICKING UP GIL WHILE MARGARET AND VIVIAN SOB AND JUST TELLING THEM "im borrowing this"

bro i totally forgot dreyfus fucking dies how does he come back??

ok ban is having his MOMENT after finding out hendy has been using the corpse of the red demon HE killed 20 yrs ago

also I know ban is like 43 and the whole twilight argument is edward is basically just a 100 year old man so following that logic, Ban is middle aged BUT as someone who is close in age to Ban from before he became immortal, that man is the most 23 year old man to ever 23 year old man. He is chronically in his early 20s frfr

king realizing in that moment judt how wrong he was abt the destruction of the fairykings' forest is the biggest oh fuck moment lol

also i may have 🏴‍☠️ed the bandit ban ova to hurt my own feelings

hendy taunting ban by saying his demonic powers are all thanks to him and ban just saying he's "always happy to help" is such a mood honestly

hendy gets hotter with every demon transformation😔

Meliodas and Ban mourning hawk actually makes me so sad wtf

elizabeth is such a bad bitch when she awakens her power i love her

also hendy being like wow such a powerful druid as if he himself is not a druid and should know this power (and her eyes) is goddess level 🤨

i bet meliodas was shitting himself trying to see whether or not re reawakened her memories tho like damn he was actually probably so scared he would lose her in 3 days without the chance to break their curses

Diane and Ban having the exact same expression is actually rlly funny to me

LAST EP OF SEASON 1!!!!!

WAIT OMG IS HE GOING TO REVENGE COUNTER👀👀

wow i remember so little of season 1 lol

them all just beating the everloving shit out of meliodas is entirely too funny to me

HAHA i was RIGHT about revenge counter im literally a genius

😏 face down ass up babygorl

this is one of the cutest frames in the whole show fr fr😌

Diane: "Sorry we didnt come for you sooner!☺️" King: "Yeah we've never kidnapped a princess before haha :}"

so in the very last after credits scene, gil, howzer, and griamore are all standing around Dreyfus's work table staring at the drawing of meliodas's demon mark as. But as we know from other characrers later on, can have lots of different marks. Meliodas, Zeldris, and Estarossa all have the same one, but maybe this is a family thing? But if it is, why would demon!Hendy have it?? is the grey denon somehow a relatuve of the demon bros lol

anyway I FINISHED SEASON ONEEEEE

ill do a mini ramble over the ovas that netflix likes to call season 2 then move on to the read deal

[hqmillioncorn]

Fun in the Sun (or the Shade!)

“Here ya go miss!”  Babycorn stepped aside to let Cherrypit deliver a bag full of millioncorn to the woman who had hired them to gather them. “We got as many as you told us to get and then we got lots more too!”  It had been almost too easy. Especially with Babycorn’s newfound skill of actually being good at botany.  “Lotsa corn! We go lots!” Cherrypit cheered. He was always happy to help.  The woman nodded, thanking them and giving them the gil she had promised. “If you’d like–you can join me inside for some stew as well.” It had been so long since she and Al had had guests. A part of her missed it. “It might be a while though so I understand if you adventuering types don’t have the patience for-” “YIPPEE FOOD!” Babycorn ran in with Cherrypit right behind her. Both of them hopping up and down in excitement.  There was something about them that was so familiar to Meeth. Too familiar. 

ffxiv write day 21: shade

aleria and lalatov go vegetable picking for some millioncorns but also its really hot oh no :(

The sun relentlessly shined down on almost all of eastern Thanalan. Today was a particularly strange weather day. The sky was almost covered entirely in clouds, making the possibility of the sun making it through near impossible. 

Yet of course, fate always found a way to make Aleria’s life just a little harder. 

Aleria moved her hand slightly above her eyes to try and block out the sun. She let out a small growl while considering the ramifications of what destroying the sun would do to the local ecosystem. 

Both her and Lalatov were currently hard at work collecting millioncorn as a favor for Meeth. 

Meeth hadn’t seen either of them out into the sun without any protection. Meeth had sent them both out into the wild with two of the biggest sun hats she owned. “Make sure to bring them back in one piece and bring yourselves back in one piece too!” Then she laughed loudly at her own joke before sending them off. 

But even with the added buff of having a sunhat, Aleria was still getting the sun in her eyes. 

Aleria noticed that Lalatov was having just as much trouble as her. Either the millioncorns were stronger than they looked or Lalatov had little to no strength in those skinny arms of his. Something told Aleria it was probably the latter. No matter how hard he seemed to pull, the millioncorns wouldn’t budge. “Do you need some help?” Aleria cried out.

“Huah?” Lalatov turned his head over to look over to her, “No! No! I’m fine! Totally fine!” 

Aleria was less than convinced. “Are you sure?” While her basket was already filled to the brim with millioncorns, Lalatov was struggling to even get halfway. Aleria grabbed a millioncorn from her basket and looked at it.  Was it worth it to work this hard just for this little thing? “What are these even for anyway?” 

Lalatov took a step back from trying to harvest a millioncorn to catch his breath. “They’re for Meeth’s stew!” She had told them that they could get as many helpings as they wanted in exchange for helping her gather ingredients. 

A stew in such hot weather wasn’t exactly the kind of thing Aleria was dying to try. Not only that but she preferred eating at home, alone. “Sorry but I think I’ll pass on the stew.” 

It’s better for her not to get close to people. 

“What?!” Lalatov fell on his back in surprise, scrambling to his feet in record time. “I promise it’s like the best thing you’ve ever tasted!” 

If Aleria learned anything about Lalatov by now it was that he never gave up easily. 

“Really?” Of course there was skepticism on her part. One didn’t just declare something being the best thing you’ve ever tasted without some proof. There was only one way for Aleria to test this. “...Could you survive being buried up to your head in it?!”

Lalatov didn’t miss a beat. “I would eat myself out of the stew in a flash!” 

“Damn. That must be some stew.” 

Lalatov nodded excitedly, “You don’t know the half of it!” He turned his back to her and looked at the millioncorn with more determination than ever. “And once we finish here we can go and eat with everyone!!” Though he had more determination, his strength sadly had not increased at all between then and now. 

Unbeknownst that Lalatov was doing all of that to impress Aleria, she decided to step in. “Here let me help!” Alaria walked up behind him, wrapping her hands around his own. “Alright-! On the count of three we pull together! Okay?” 

Lalatov’s face blushed a light pink. “O-O-O-Okayyyy…!”

Aleria was confused. Why did it sound like Lalatov was suddenly shivering? In this hot weather? Oh well, probably nothing to worry about. He was a weird guy. He had to be–if he wanted to befriend her. 

Lalatov had almost been too flustered to do anything on three, having just been quick enough to help Aleria once the number left her mouth. It was a shock to him how easy it had turned out to be. 

The millioncorn landed in Lalatov’s palm and he hurried to drop it into his basket as if he were holding a hot popoto instead. 

“Wow! You’re a natural!” Lalatov grinned, “You made it look so easy!”

“Hey don’t forget you helped too.” Even if it wasn��t by much.  

“I-I guess so…!” 

Lalatov looked around nervously. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel and admit he just wasn’t cut out for farm work. ���Could you…Maybe help get the rest too…?” No doubt Aleria had already seen his poor attempt to harvest millioncorns already. Why would she offer her help otherwise? 

Aleria looked surprised, if only for a second. Then she gave Lalatov a sympathetic smile. “Alright! But only if you carry the basket behind me.” She didn’t want him to feel too left out now.

“Of course!” 

Lalatov grabbed the basket, happily carrying it while running behind Aleria. 

With the millioncorn that Meeth had asked Aleria and Lalatov to harvest all collected, both started on the journey home. It wasn’t a particularly long trip back home but the heat was making it feel like it would never end. 

Even with the help of Meeth’s sun hats the sun was relentless. 

For Aleria the heat wasn’t much of a problem, it was the sun getting in her eyes that she couldn't stand for much longer. Aleria set down the basket of millioncorn to adjust her sun hat for the umpteenth time. “Sorry Lalatov.” She sighed and picked the basket back up, “I just don’t like having my eyes hurt so much. You know?” 

That and the idea of not being able to see where she was going. It was making her nervous. 

Though she would never admit that part. 

Lalatov nodded, “We’re almost there! Don’t worry!” He assured her. 

Ever the optimist. Aleria liked that about him. A little too nice for his own preservation but that’s what she was here for, wasn’t it? 

As they continued to walk suddenly, the sun disappeared from Aleria’s eyes. “Hmm?” Instead now there was what looked like a shadow of something over her, completely blocking the sun from hitting her. “That feels nice…” Aleria hummed. A nice cool shade was just the right thing she needed on such a hot day like this. 

It was so nice that, for a moment, she never considered where the shade itself might be coming from.  

Aleria let out a sharp gasp and looked up. Afraid of what she would find.

Instead of the worst she could imagine, she was staring right at the wing of a dragon. A wing she had seen not too long ago. “Jeepers…” Aleria’s mouth hung open. That being said, it still was quite a sight to behold for her. 

Lalatov leaned in, a smirk on his face. “Is this any better?” He flapped his dragon wing a bit, trying to create a slight breeze. 

His wand, the limiter that his parents had given him, was broken now. 

With it gone he was free to do whatever he wanted to do with his inheritance. The dragon blood from his mother was never anything he was scared of showing people, unlike what his parents believed. The day he used it to its full potential to save Aleria was one of the best days of his life so far. 

Aleria thought otherwise. “Are you crazy?!” She dropped her basket and grabbed Lalatov by the collar of his robe. “If someone sees you with that wing out or anything they’ll…they’ll…” Her hands were shaking, she knew what the consequences of standing out were. 

The idea of losing Lalatov–of losing the one person who could come close to understanding her. It would be too much to bear. 

Lalatov gently held Aleria’s hands with his own, giving her the chance to let him go. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere!” He took his wing and wrapped it around Aleria. Shielding her from the outside. “Besides I'm already hanging out with you! I don’t think my social standing could get any lower!”

“You’re so…” Aleria wiped some tears from her eyes and laughed,  “...You’re so stupid you know that?”

“I’ve been told once or twice.” 

Sometimes even thrice. 

With the Lalatov’s wing protecting her from the sun, Aleria picked her basket back up and sighed. “Sorry I can’t shade you with my own...” 

“Don’t worry about it!” Lalatov gave her a warm smile. The same one that Aleria loved seeing.  “Until you can and even if you never do, I’ll stay right by your side.”

[propertyofkylar]

Hiii it’s me from yesterday lol, but thank you for taking the time to type out your backlog ah! Piofiore is very long but I believe in you, you can push through. I’m split on Helvetica because I think you might like him but also not…

I think playing CxM next is a great idea, if only because I know for a fact that you’ll really love Shiraishi <3 And maybe Okazaki too but especially Shiraishi. I’m very confident in this fact lmao

Also! Birushana! Since you’re a red flag enjoyer I’m legally obligated to say that you’d love Tomomori. He’s a total degenerate in pretty much every route and very open about it lol. Maybe also Noritsune because he’s kind of tsun in a high school anime rival way

This all just jumped out at me so I wanted to tell you ^^ I’m still trying to figure out what to play next myself (I did just get Hanakare and it’s tempting though because there’s an oniichan childhood friend type character and I tend to absolutely love those…so maybe perhaps…)

i really like piofiore so im excited for gil and orlok!! its just like…being forced through nicola showing me the torture chamber again…lol. i played blind the first time and got his bad end so i have to get his good end to continue and tbh i do love nicola but sitting through his front facing sprite 😫😫😫

idk how ill feel about helvetica either…im excited for mozu though dhejdjekke

ooo ok maybe will do cxm next then. bc i was already interested in both of those guys ajdjdkdkskd i am so predictable….

and we are definitely the same bc are you talking about makoto furukawa’s character…he’s one of my fav VAs (plus i love yuuya’s art!) which is why i had to get hanakare. because purple furumako guy with a pink mc designed by yuuya…close enough welcome back allan melville and lynette mirror

[philtstone]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thank you so much to the lovely @tllgrrl for tagging me! without further ado ...

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

as of this one, 197! i have been on these fanfic streets for roughly ten years, it all tends to accumulate

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,056,672 ..... do with that what u will

3. What fandoms do you write for?

yall, this is a prolonged list. i dont think theres been a source material ive written for once that i dont randomly write for again every so often. i have 1-2 big phases per year, usually. just go look at my ao3 dashboard sdlkfjldskf

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

to the surprise of absolutely no one, all five are from the age old skywalker happy trash family au. thanks for being so consistent star wars fandom, ur all real ones <3 but also my writing has improved so much since then that occasionally the hingeless urge to go back and re-write every fic in that verse is real

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i try my best to! every so often life gets in the way, but especially in the last few years, i really try to engage with comments as much as i can. ive also been lucky enough to write in pretty small fandoms for the last couple years (ironically, given ive been in my second m*rvel era) so replying to comments has been a lot more intimate and friendly anyway

6. What is a fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

i was going to say "i dont know" because for the most part -- and especially my more recent fics -- everything ends up pretty consistently bittersweet. then i remembered vintage phil: "we want to live by each other's happiness", or the b99 captain america au

7. What’s a fic you've written with the happiest ending?

i tend to very consistently write things with shades of happy and sad. that said, some of my favourite purely "happy ending" fics include:

"easy, easy (my man and me)"

"i found a dream"

"hark the bluebells"

"i believe in you and in our hearts"

8. Do you get hate on fics?

eh, not really. i dont generally write chapter fic with controversial enough plot points and the unresolved nature of updating chapters to generate true "hate". i have gotten some really bizarre comments where one has to wonder what was going through the commenter's head when typing it all out, but most of those are not things that stick.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

not me feeling emotional abt my ao3 tenure .... 15 yr old me would have such a different answer ...

i write often and (i hope) as authentically as possible about lived-in romantic relationships, and as ive gotten older it has felt more and more organic to include scenes in and around sexual intimacy where appropriate. i dont think most people would classify that as "smut", though.

10. Do you write crossovers?

if i am writing an au, it is a true au, with the single and sole exception of the force sensitive claire au, which is, on a technicality, a crossover

it also is, on much less of a technicality, unfinished ...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of and i certainly hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my memory

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

the closest ive ever come to this was, actually, writing the b99 cap au with maya Back In The Day. our tumblr messages used to just be draft upon draft of scenes evolving in real time. but never formally. friends are an integral part of the fic writing process tho

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

the world should know i am an anne-gil truther. blueprint if there ever was one

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

sadly, probably "happiness, like those palaces in fairy tales"; my beloved small time constance-centered parks-flavoured musketeers au .... my writing style has just changed so much since, and it was such a huge undertaking. i still have half of the unpublished anne/aramis flashback chapter saved in my google docs though.

16. What are your writing strengths.

ive been told im good at prose! and writing from childrens' pov, which i am fond of doing, though in a tragic turn of events i havent done much of it recently

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

as i see it, sometimes i dont know when less is needed for a fic to be more. often, this comes from a lack of clarity on my end re: what the fic is trying to be -- OR when im trying to write about something i dont really know. at the end of the day, though, this problem recurs because fanfic is supposed to be fun, so something being a bit too messy and a bit too long is not a huge deal to me. hopefully its also not a huge deal to my readers!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic.

u can pry doing this from my cold dead hands. & are also always free to criticize my phrasing and translations, lol, except for that one time i made bucky barnes speak farsi, which is a language i actually know

19. First fandom you wrote for?

star trek aos, baybeeeee

20. Favorite fic you’ve written.

IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION. i love many of my children equally!

here are some all-timers from those fics which i have not mentioned yet:

hopeful./summertime

and there's a keepsake my mother gave me

then she'll be a true love of mine

just to hear the nightbird singin'

my daddy was a prominent frogman

**

thank u so much for the tag my friend! i had heaps of fun. tagging @firstelevens, @sesamestreep, @sennenrose and @flyinghome-againstthewind as well as anyone else interested!

[captainkurosolaire]

Profile ~ Sinbad the Young

☼ Roots ☼

話 "Never again, will I fail her or anyone." 話 - Full Name: Van Gah'd Sinbad - Namesday: 4th Astral Moon of the 7th Sun - Blood Type: B - Patron Sign: Byergot, The Builder. - Gender: Male - Nationality: Ala Mhigan - Age: 22 Summers - Height: 6 Fulms 9 Ilms - Weight: 289 Ponze - Build: Bodybuilder Muscular, Defined. - Voice: ~ (Ref) - Debut Chapter: Parley of the Oceans - Ancestry: Orphaned - Race: Highlander - Clan: City-Born - Crew Role: Second Mate

✯ Core✯

- Alignment: Story-Dependent - Sexuality: Hetero - Marital Status: Engaged - (10) - Personality Traits: Aggressive, Imposing, Dominant, Straight-Edge, Tough, Blockhead, Egotistical, Fighter, Champion, Macho. - (0-6) - Most Potent Qualities: Soldier, Bodyguard, Fighter, Tough, Young, Caring. - Quirks: Hard-shell softest interior. Cannot refuse cute animals. He'll practically melt when alone with an animal. He's a soft-heart when away from others. One of those people who wear sunglasses indoors. If you get through the density, that is not just the overcompensating body, but stubborn mind as well. You'll have a valuable-endearing friend who'll listen to any plight and beat-up any problem you've got. Is a straight-up soldier dog. He's wearing unusual shoes always, that are so painfully-deterring from his outfit or attire. Instead of combat-boots, he'll wear rain-boots. - Weaknesses: Like most alpha-believed man, the moment things go array, they crumble harder than any other. Feeling completely vulnerable and useless. One duty failed is worth thousands. He puts himself on a pedestal pressured, not just by his society, but all. He cannot afford to appear weak by any sense. He must be an example; a cut above. Internally he's soft like jelly with his true-friends, and animals or critters. - Appearance: Meat upon meat, burly and masculine and chiseled by granite putting the Twelve to shame. Sinbad carries himself in high-regard, otherwise it'd be piss-poor reflection to his lass. Often cologne with the most top of the line, highest-quality. Clean with the right rugged-edges and groom, he atypically sports-shades to give off that 'big deal' touch. Carrying himself like a Legend in the Making in presentation. An absolute-total-package and unit. To thrive in this sea-world, he's still got to be more and command an even more vast presence. - Scars: The Brand of Y. - Tattoos: None. - Piercings: None. - Primary Residence: Worldly Finder - Wealth: Has piles of troves and claimed multiple from other low-rate pirates, but a great sum. - Achievements: Is Undefeated against rival Pirate Captains in parleys. Defeating even his longest idol and current Captain, he watched in the stands take on a Noble of Ishgard and cried seeing that Order's Shield can be broken, an orphan teen grew up into a man that day from inspiration. The Youngest Pirate in history to survive Six-Layers of Hell and be victorious even unconsciously. Sinbad stands for everything all other kinsman don't. Self-controlled, Disciplined. He's Straight-Edge. Doesn't have any vices, bad indulgences. Is set on paving his own path. To become the next role-model of the seas. Has a work-relationship with sponsorships from Aethertap (All Natural Purified Water) to Gruff & Rough (Razor company) - Influence: Has an admirable wanted bounty for 27,000,000 Gil actively at an early-age. Hence has attained the title "The Young" Lifetime-highest-ranking in the 5 Star HVSTC/SN Top 1000 Wanted List, #485 / D Rank. - 5 Foods: Meat, Meat, Meat, Meat, Icecream. - 5 Drinks: Meatshake, Chocolate, Banana, Water, Aethertap - Profession: Rigging, Boatswain, Lifting, Hauling, Dueling, Wrestling, Brawling, Pit-fighting, Street-Fighting. Fencing, Delinquency, Mercenary. Thievery. Plundering. Pillaging, Diplomatic. Breaking Necks, Changing Lives, Lifting Weights. Bodybuilding, Skirmishes. - Hobbies: Animal Fundraising, Kennel Caretaker, Wildlife Rescuing, Making Stuffies. Kid Toymaker, Building Miniature-Replicas. - Experiences: Brawling. Wrestling. Rigging, Fencing, Ship Pillaging, Plundering, Battling, Parley, Skirmishes, Fighting. - Favorite Color: None - Language: Eorzean Fluent - Prior Mentors: Self-Made.

❤ Relations❤

Crewmate’s Dream & Loyalty Mission: Avenge his woman's pride alongside himself, survive the impending bloodiest War. Dismantle, conqueror, burn down the entire Nation of Omonga. Relationship w/ Captain: (OOC Commentary) Sinbad idolizes the grizzly-older Seeker sharing their scrapper backgrounds. Dedication to spit and spew against what's ethical, to stand unconventionally and stand up for not just yourself but hoist loudly your freedom's flag. He held no mentor, or parental guidance to teach him how to be a man. But by just looking at the Sun. He was inspired and basked and came into his own. It started with that littlest bit of confidence. Then... The Sun dissipated, lost and thought gone forever when needed. Hurt and abandoned there is nothing like a scorned-fan, they go from the greatest admirer; to the most venomous hater. He lashed and antagonized when it peaked the glimpse of resurfaced. How dare that Sun hide masked behind the shadow's cloud! A claimed victory became his own he crushed that incomplete Sun. Yet he too was incomplete, unsatisfied, not dazzling or burning and felt truly high in the orbit, lacking experience at being the victorious, the moment you are held-high, you're merely the ultimate target to the giant's who were meant to eclipse the skies, those which; tower and stand above all lifeforms. ☝ Allies - (Major Supporters / Family / Friends) Unlimited Stoneworks Trade Captain: Biological Brother who's was slain by Klethera who was more wicked, cowardly. He distanced himself from that. Mendi Flowers: His Fiance Wild Crew ☟ Antagonists - (Rivals - Enemies) YORE & The Bloodbrand Mount: N/A Pets: Several fostered-puppies and wolves, all nursed back from neglect or injuries by himself.

❀ Prowess❀

Job: Underground Boss

"Sinbad's" Move-Set

Self-Explanatory: Punch, Kick, Gouge, Groin Hits, Elbow Strikes. Judo Throw: Uses an opponent's momentum against them. Guillotine Choke: Why did you let him get that close? Rear Naked Choke: There's no referee. Sumo: Becomes nearly unmovable in stance. Powder-Keg Punch: A strong-arm punch that feels like you were in-proximity of an explosion. Wrestling: Pins his opponent's or disarms them, controls the battle. Brawling: Stands his ground, and just one, two, combo's, until the other person isn't moving. Heavy-Grappling: Throws his opponent's around like they're trash bags; which they typically are. Adrenaline-Fighting: Classical when is busted-open, fights with no qualms of most injuries until it's too late. Tough Skin: Many equate Sinbad's skin to be like that of a shark especially when his muscles are tensed. Enhancer: Sinbad fortifies his muscles and manipulate the testosterone with his aether, becoming an unnatural monstrosity with zero-regard of proportions, hellbent to crush, doing so will mess with his nerves, joints, increase his risk of heart attacks. Afterwards his muscles and body deflate severely gaining more flab, suffering body tremors. Everything that has to be physically reconditioned. This requires an insane work-ethic, dedication an utter-drive. At any reason he were to lose that mental-resolve, fortitude, he'd begin suffering. Therefore Sinbad even if wheel-chair bound will curl a dumb-bell and push limits, lifting away his problems and slam down protein. Proficiency: Revolvers, Shotguns, Hand to Hand, Grappling. Signature: Hulking Tackle: Charges at his opponent with full-velocity, and sheer power, to absolutely break his opponents in half. Typically breaks their spine on contact, or knocks them into a new timezone from their concussion. ~ Finishers ~ Limit Break: N/A

⚝ Equipment ⚝

Main Arms: Bare Fist' Giving Dem Hands. Person's Container: Brass Knuckles, Small-Wrist-Rope, Gil Sack (15k) Switch-Knife, Luxurious Watch, Shades, Eye-patch, Bubble-gum. Athletic-tape.

[prismaticpichu]

Alright Tumblr ate my ask the first time so this is Take 2.

I had this idea that I thought was Right up your alley: Zack explaining to Sephiroth that m&ms and mini m&ms are in fact different and there is Absolutely a superior one! Complete with Sephiroth forcibly trying each type because Zack came prepared!

Ok, ok. First off-

Heck YEAHHHH!!!! Mini m&ms are SO different than the normal ones!!! I’ve been fighting for this cause for so, so long…. ;-; Ohhhhhhh the beautiful, chocolatey, Willy-Wonkity validation!!!

*mops self off floor, reapplies glasses.* Uh huh… uh huh. I see. Yes ma’am this is 110% Zack Fair territory! Phenomenal scenario xD xD

It all starts as Zack is taking a stroll down ShinRa HQ, heading to the training grounds for some morning stretches, when he stumbles across something shiny.

Well bowl him over with a popsicle stick! It’s a lucky Gil!

Trajectory is immediately changed upon finding this lucky gil. The pupper starts thinking about where in his pocket he could keep it, somewhere where it could be a golden charm no matter where he went—wait, no! He can’t keep this lucky Gil to himself! That would be so selfish. He already was blessed with the luck, and now it is time to pass the treasure on to someone who deserved it even more. That was what lucky Gil were placed on the floor for!

And what better than to spend it on his bestest buddy?

Seph’s office is just a jump, skip, and elevator away, and a sitcom guitar riff later and Zack is bouncing inside. He asks his buddy what’d he like from the vending machine—no exceptions! Ofc there is the predictable “it’s 7:45 in the morning why would I eat candy…” and yadyayadya SHUDDUP, MAN! YOU ARE THE WORST.

The truth though? The truth is that Sephiroth’s diet was forcefully meddled with long long ago, and he is very pleased at the offer—especially when chocolate comes into the equation. The big bad General loves his chocolate <3 <3

A decent amount of time passes as Sephiroth muses over which candy to choose… for it really is a long, painful endeavor of forked decision… until finally, Wii Party applause erupting in the background, the man makes up his mind.

“Would you get those… chocolate fish bowl pebbles?”

“M&Ms?” Zack immediately translates. “Sure! Mini or regular?”

There’s a pause. A serious one. “What’s the difference?”

Oh. OH. Oh no. Oh NO NO NO. He did NOT. Zack’s world is crushed, all from the single, careless, uneducated sentence that left his friend’s lips. All his life… all his life people said he was, like, deranged for thinking m&m’s baby brother had a different taste—his parents, his school friends, his SOLDIER friends… not Seph too!

“You’re joking, right? RIGHT?”

“No, Zack. They would taste exactly the same.”

“But they’re different! I’m telling you!”

“It’s all in your head.”

“No it’s NOT!”!

“It’s a marketing technique; they have to make people think they’re different.”

Who put this guy on the PLANET???

This goes back and forth for quite some time, until finally, Zack just smushes his head into Sephiroth desk. Boom. Slam. The pupper’s heart cannot take any more of this. Is he really gonna have to become a missionary? Really? REALLY?? Is he really gonna have to travel across the land on a camel and awaken everyone by himself…?!

Meanwhile, Sephiroth doesn’t even see this as a pathetic display over candy. Not even for a lick of a second. The man is sitting there now, and feeling totally and utterly ashamed at himself. Look at how betrayed Zack feels—look at how hurt. And he is the cause of this. He long promised Zack he would never have to feel the sting of betrayal again; he was supposed to protect him. He needs to fix this.

“…Would you like me to try them?”

Zack’s head snaps up. “Yes plz!”

Ifrit. He’s been duped.

So as Sephiroth is scanning over his life choices (again), Zack zooms out of the office and returns with two—count ‘em TWO—types of m&ms (on the bright side, lucky Gil lives another day! This was just nibbled from the paycheck). Then chocolate is poured into both of Sephiroth’s palms, because remember kids, a bit of added glove flavor really does wonders.

“Alright, bud! Eat both of them and tell me there’s a difference.”

Not wanting to hurt Zack’s feelings (again), and also because chocolate, Sephiroth relents and pops an ordinary m&m into his mouth. It’s tasty. It’s gone much too quickly. He’s kinda sad now.

“Now the mini one!”

Sephiroth plucks up the baby candy too, but he wants to make it very clear from his glazed kitty eyes that he is purely indulging Zack (and also bc chocolate). Under no circumstances is he actually going to sit there and believe that just because something is 3/8 inches in diameter compared to its normal size that it will EVER ta—

…Oh. Oh my.

Now, the thing about being a superhuman, DNA-tampered-celestial cat-man-guy-thing, is that you are born with very KEEN… well, very keen everything, but mostly very keen taste. You will be tasting the rainbow, and Sephiroth… Sephiroth does taste that itty-bitty, wondrous, milky thread of a divergence in flavor. And it is… it is GOOD. And that wasn’t even his epiphany!

Of course! How could he be so foolish?? The surface area:volume ratio would ofc make it taste sweeter!

It is that day that Krakatoa re-erupted, right as Sephiroth is given the tightest and squeeziest squeeze Zack has ever squeezed (don’t worry, don’t worry, he finished chewing!). It is also from that day forward that Zack would always have someone to phone up whenever science is challenged. It is from that day forward that ShinRa entered a true, metaphysical state of awakening <3

I mean no one disagrees with Sephiroth’s opinion that’s really it.

[villagerain]

@steeleidolon --

It is as public as a public venue can be -- more or less. Not precisely the highest class of bars, End of the Line resides in the sliver between the transit station and the corkscrew tunnel vehicle access, and serves grounders who may need to wait for the train until last call as much as it serves Plate-dwellers looking for a taste of the underbelly without the grime of Wall Market.

It may as well be a speakeasy lifted from fifty years ago and deposited three hundred meters above the ground. Nicotine-stained brick and amber lights, wrought iron cup-stools, plush leather benches worn to a patina, a dark hardwood bar, real wood and brass in an age of synthetics, all paint a picture of run-down opulence.

And then there's the karaoke setup. Kunsel descends to whistles, the odd catcall, a tossed-crumpled gil note (with a phone number, it looks like), and then jeers as he cedes the stage and the microphone to an unsteady salaryman who is ruddy-faced and eager for the next song. Must be a regular. It's early yet as these places go and the crowd isn't that large.

Kunsel is mostly out of regs, not that over-knee boots and fitted trousers are terribly uncommon. The hug of long-sleeved mesh and angle-patterned dark fabric draw attention away from the lambent gleam of eyes in the dark. Not to say he did not bring the other half of his uniform--it's within sight in the clear-paneled gun cabinet behind the bar. Swords and coat, right next to someone's shotgun. Maybe the barkeep's. Maybe not.

Playing by the rules and all.

Kunsel helps himself to a perch on a stool right nearby with an air of sprezzatura he may not feel at the eerily familiar face.

"Oof. Why are you looking at me in that tone of voice?" He manages wry as he orders something strong and citrus-forward. Maybe he'll even get to finish it. "Was it that bad?"

A Turk outside of uniform is still a Turk. Balto has eschewed the usual suit jacket and white shirt for a satin, navy blue shirt buttoned up to his collarbone and white slacks, but he is not here without purpose. That delineation between profession and personal does not exist for him anymore. The higher you climb, the older you get, the smaller the view out that window becomes. 

SOLDIER First Class, Kunsel. Newly promoted. Not his usual type, but that hardly matters. 

Balto keeps his head bowed, providing his undivided attention as his companion’s rich baritenor shares space with the warmth from old-fashioned, power hungry incandescents and exposed brickwork walls. 

He's already nursing a drink by the time Kunsel snakes his way back through the rounded tables with their glossy, vinyl black marble finish. The ball of ice in his glass bobs on its amber bed as he sets it down and leans against the bartop on one elbow with his body angled towards Kunsel.

"You could benefit from vocal training." There's something resembling a grin on his face, more in his eyes than the line of his mouth as he meets Kunsel’s gaze over the top of his glasses. "It wasn't bad, objectively speaking."

Good enough to impress the crowd, although the reception of most any performance always improves with a pretty face.  

“I can’t complain anyway.” If not for a direct invitation to attend, he’d be sitting out in the cold on the rooftop right about now, half-asleep with a headset on. Good to know the brutal honesty approach isn’t a total wash. “So, why the change of heart?”

Balto breaks eye contact briefly to glance at the bartender as she slides an eye wateringly bright, orange cocktail across the way.

“Sector Eight Cocktail.” She looks between the two men beneath a fringe of brown bangs, guessing at their association perhaps, before the curiosity drowns somewhere in the need to address the demands of the bar’s other patrons. Attractive in the conventional sense, despite the fake lashes and dramatic winged liner. Balto catches her attention before she can turn away by wiggling his fingers ‘hello.’ 

“Hey pretty miss, I’ll have one too, please.”