#I don't expect them to but I do think the things others say about him needn't be taken as hard truth all of the time

[dante-mightdie]

long awaited part three of lowselfesteem!reader and simon

part two

invisible clothes

that’s what you called them, the rags you don when you have to integrate with the general population but you would much rather not be noticed. clothing that is so bland that it isn’t nice enough catch an eye but not hideous enough to catch any negative attention

you had told simon about them once, when he called you out on wearing them every time you stepped out in public, including your dates with him. especially since he knew you had a very elaborate wardrobe with a tailored sense of style

clearly they aren’t invisible enough to hide you from johnny’s guilty eyes from across the store aisle. you sigh when he comes up to you, tapping your shoulder to get your attention. he shifts uncomfortably on his feet

“I know ye probably hate ma guts, lass but ye should ken that simon shut down all of that bet talk after your first date. Ah just bring et up to annoy ‘im.” johnny says, with a nervous chuckles at the end. you don’t laugh alongside him

“okay, fair enough. look, he’s miserable without ye! he comes to the pub just to get pished and mope about how he fucked it all up with ye.” johnny continues, a pleading look in his eyes, “he’s supposed to he coming by to drop off some things of yours tomorrow. just hear him out, please, lass.”

you roll your eyes at him, continuing to grab what you need from the shelves in front of you. not even bothering to look him in the eyes when you finally begin to speak

"why should I? why am I always expected to think of other people even when they hurt me? you and simon didn't think about me or my feelings when you made your stupid bet. neither of you stopped to consider that I was just a person who simply wanted to be left alone." you say with a scoff, "he'll be lucky if I don't slam the door in his face."

johnny shifts on his feet, looking down at the floor since he feels too uncomfortable to look directly at you, "fair enough. take care've yerself, hen."

you bite back tears as you watch him skulk off in the corner of your eye. you stand there for a few more minutes, staring at the stacked shelves in front of you to distract you from the war raging inside of your head

-

it's late at night, nearly midnight, when there's a knock at your door. you let out a sigh, already knowing who was disturbing your doomscrolling at this hour. and when you open the door, you see him. you’re brooding prick of an ex-boyfriend. he at least has the decency to look guilty, like a dog caught ripping up the couch cushions

except he wasn’t a dog, he was the love of your life. and your heart isn’t so easily replaced like a cushion. though he definitely treated it like somewhere to rest his head

“hey.”

you scoff, you’re not sure why. there isn’t anything inherently wrong with what he said but it still annoyed you. he annoyed you. with his stupid stormy eyes and his stupid jokes and freckled shoulders that you used to connect like dots late at night

“just give me my stuff and go, simon. don’t have time for this bullshit.”

he doesn’t flinch. he saw that hit coming, and sometimes you gotta let them swing at you especially when you know that you deserve much worse

the exchange is quick, a box with small memories passed over to you. a couple items of clothing, a book and some toiletries. before you can slam the door in his face, he jams his heavy boot into it

“wait… love, I… there’s somethin’ else. I never gave it to you but it’s yours. got it for you and I’ll never give it to anyone else.”

the glare you give him only falters when he places a small velvet box in your hand, he pauses the speech you can definitely feel coming on. looking at you expectantly to open it. you do, waiting for him to laugh at you when you find nothing in there. ridicule you for even thinking he would consider making you his wife

but all he does it look on solemn, the beautiful ring twinkling as a devastating reminder of what could have been

“I kno’ I ‘ave no right to ask. I wouldn’t insult you like tha’ lovie. you can hate me, I deserve it. but you don’t deserve it. I won’t let you hurt yourself over what I did. you deserve to know the real extent of how bad I fucked up. maybe it’ll help to look at tha’ ring and know that I’ll spend the rest of my life having to know I lost the woman who should be my wife.”

there’s no chance to respond, not like you’d know what to say anyway,

“I’m sorry.”

and then he’s gone.

[leeeedith]

SEVENTEEN reaction to their S/O falling asleep on them

S.Coups 🍒

Seungcheol would immediately go into protective boyfriend mode. The second he notices you dozing off against him, he'd adjust ihs positions so you're comfortable, wrapping an arm around you securely. He might chuckle softly and whisper, "Tired, baby?" before stroking your back gently. If the other members notice and tease him, he'd just shrug, "What can I do? They're adorable."

Jeonghan 😇

Jeonghan would smirk to himself, feeling victorious. He wouldn't move at all, letting you sleep peacefully, but expect him to tease you about it later. "Wow, I must be really comfortable, huh?" He might even pretend to be asleep too just to mess with you when you wake up. But deep down, he's be really soft about it, enjoying the quiet moment with you.

Joshua 🐰

Shua would smile sweetly, his heart melting at how cute you look while sleeping. He'd carefully tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and make sure you're comfortable. If he's playing guitar, he might start strumming softly, humming a lullaby just for you. "Sleep well, angel." He'd be so soft and gentle, making sure nothing disturbes you.

Jun 🐱

Jun would be super amused but also really soft about it. He'd freeze for a second, then slowly adjust his posture so you can rest better. He might take out his phone and snap a sneaky picture, smiling to himself. If you wake up and apologize, he'd just laugh, "It's okay, you looked adorable. Want to go back to sleep?"

Hoshi ��

Soonyoung would try so hard not to freak out from how cute it is. His hands would hover over you for a second, unsure if he should move or stay still. Eventually, he'd relax and let you sleep, but expect him to excitedly tell the members later, "They fell asleep on me! I think I'm their favorite pillow now." If you wake up, he'd pout, "Nooo, go back to sleep! I liked it."

Wonwoo 🦊

Wonwoo would pause his book or game the moment he realizes you're asleep on him. He'd glance down at you, a small, fond smile forming as he watches you breathe softly. He wouldn't move an inch, making sure you stay comfortable. If the members tease him, he'd just say, "They were tired. Let them rest." But inside? He's secretly loving it.

Woozi 🍚

Woozi would freeze up at first, not sure what to do. He'd feel his heart flutter but act completely indifferent on the outside. He might pretend it doesn't affect him, but the tiny smile on his lips would say otherwise. If you wake up and apologize, he'd just shake his head, "It's fine. You can do it anytime." If you fall asleep while he's working on music, he might even whisper, "I'll write you a lullaby next time."

DK 🍕

Dokyeom would be so flustered but so happy. He'd try to hold in his giggles, but his excitement would be obvious. He'd look down at you with the biggest smile, resisting the urge to squish your cheeks. He'd probably tell the members later, "They fell asleep on me! Does this mean I'm comforting?" If you wake up, he'd give you his brigtest grin, "You looked so peaceful! Want to nap longer?"

Mingyu 🐶

Mingyu would absolutely melt on the spot. He'd carefully adjust so you're even more confortable, probably pulling his jacket over you to keep you warm. He'd be too scared to move, worried about waking you up, so he'd just sit there and admire how cute you look. If you wake up and apologize, he'd say quickly, "No, no! Keep sleeping, I don't mind at all."

The8 🐸

Minghao would be so soft but act chill about it. He'd glance down at you and sigh lightly, adjusting his posture to make sure you're comfortable. He'd probably stroke your hair absentmindedly while continuing whatever he was doing. Later, he'd tease you, "Guess I'm your favorite pillow now." But deep down, he'd really love it.

Seungkwan 🍊

Seungkwan would be so dramatic about it. He'd gasp softly, cover his mouth, and whisper to himself, "Oh my gosh, this is the cutest thing ever." He'd be super careful not to wake you, but later on, he'd absolutely bring it up. "You fell asleep on me! Do you know how adorable that was? I almost cried." If you apologize, he'd pout, "No, do it again next time."

Vernon 🐢

Vernon would just sit there like, "...Oh." He'd be totally chill about it but secretly loving it. He might put his phone away and just sit still, enjoying the peaceful moment. If you wake up and apologize, he'd just blink at you and say, "It's cool. You can use me as a pillow whenever." Then he'd go right back to whatever he was doing, but with a small smile.

Dino 🦖

Chan would be so soft but also so shy. He'd stare at you for a moment, not sure what to do, before finally relaxing and letting you sleep. If the members see and tease him, he'd get all flustered, "Shh! Don't wake them up!" But secretly, he'd be so happy. If you wake up and apologize, he'd interrrupt you quickly, "No, no" I liked it..."

[solxamber]

Deuce, Romantic, "Again/I wanna be your lover, I don't wanna be your friend" by Noah Cyrus.

"I wanna be your lover" || Deuce Spade

��𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠: Again by Noah Cyrus

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 730

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Mutual Pining, Friends to lovers

Deuce is your best friend. He always has been. Through thick and thin, through the chaos of life, through every scuffle, every test, every late-night cram session—he’s been there. Steadfast, reliable, a comforting constant in your life.

And maybe that’s what terrifies you the most.

Because if he’s always been there, what happens if you break this? If you take a step too far, cross that fragile boundary, and realize you were better off as friends? What if you ruin the best thing you have?

But Deuce—Deuce loves you. He doesn’t just like you, doesn’t just think you’re fun to be around. No, he loves you in that stupidly obvious way that makes Ace roll his eyes, in that devoted, borderline puppy-eyed way that makes Riddle sigh in exasperation.

He doesn’t say it, but he doesn’t have to.

It’s in the way he always walks on the outer side of the sidewalk, subtly shielding you from passing vehicles.

It’s in the way he keeps extra snacks in his bag, always offering them to you first, even if it means going hungry himself. It’s in the way he watches you—like you’re something too precious for this world, something he’s terrified of losing.

But you’re scared. So you pretend you don’t see it.

One evening, you’re sitting outside, eating snacks on the dorm steps. The sun is dipping beneath the horizon, the sky painted in streaks of orange and lilac. It’s peaceful, the kind of quiet that settles between two people who have known each other forever.

Deuce is sitting close, his knee bumping against yours. He’s laughing at something you said, eyes crinkled, dimples showing, and it’s so easy. This has always been easy.

You think about how much you love him—about how warm he makes you feel, about how you never feel lonely when he’s around. And that terrifies you more than anything.

So you look away.

And then, as if he’s been holding it back for years, Deuce speaks. His voice is quiet, hesitant, but firm.

"I wanna be your lover. I don’t wanna be just your friend."

Your breath catches.

You turn to him, wide-eyed, unsure if you heard correctly. But the way he looks at you—raw, vulnerable, so painfully honest—leaves no room for misinterpretation.

"Deuce—"

"I mean it." His hands curl into fists, his heart beating out of his chest. "I—I don’t want to just be the guy you call when you need help, or the guy who’s always there, waiting in the background. I love being your friend, but I want more than that. I need more than that."

You’re frozen.

Because you do love him. You love him so much it scares you. But what if you mess this up? What if you say yes, and it ruins everything? What if—

"Please," he says, voice barely above a whisper. "Just tell me if there’s a chance. I don’t need anything else—just tell me if there’s a chance."

You stare at him.

And suddenly, all the fear, all the uncertainty, all the worries screaming in your head—none of them matter.

Because this is Deuce.

Your Deuce.

The boy who has been by your side since day one. The boy who holds his heart in his hands, offering it to you without hesitation, without expectation—just hoping you’ll take it.

You don’t answer. Not with words.

Instead, you reach forward, cupping his face with trembling hands, and pull him in.

His breath hitches, but he doesn’t hesitate. The moment your lips meet, he melts—like he’s been waiting for this, dreaming of this, for so long.

And maybe you have been, too.

His hands find yours , pulling you closer, holding you like you might disappear. You feel his heart pounding against yours, fast and desperate, and you realize—he’s just as scared as you are.

But he still took the leap.

So maybe you can, too.

When you finally pull away, he looks at you like you just handed him the world.

"You—" He swallows, breathless. "You mean it?"

You smile, cheeks burning. "I wanna hear you say it again."

His eyes widen—then he grins, so purely happy that it makes your chest ache.

"I love you."

And you know—this is it.

This is home.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll be hearing him say it again, and again, and again, for the rest of your life.

Masterlist ; Valentine's Event

[wonderhomeland]

You know

Simon doesn't talk about how he feels. Like nothing. Even things like being hungry. Not even in a friendly conversation with his teammats.

he just deals with whatever it is.

And that's inspiring for other. In his line of work, there's no such thing as relying on someone.

rookies like it, want to be like him.

Independent, strong, capable, reliable, with a cool aura.

But little does they know, that when their big, scary Lieutenant is with his girl, he acts like a little baby. turns to her for the smallest things and stares at her as if she can read his mind.

It was hard for you at first, whatever happends he doesn't say anything.

He just... Stares.

And not with a frown or anger in his eyes or anyting to let you know that he is mad, happy or sad.

It took a long time for both of you to figure out how to get along. Well actually, you were the one who was trying cus appareantly simon doesn't think that he might be the problem. He expected you to underestand every singel meaning of... whatever he does.

You learned them tho, after years. Read him like a book. Like a mother who is aware of all her child's reactions.

He doesn't want to talk about them, ... but he enjoys that you understand everything. He loves the feeling of you being so close to him and understanding him. and you do. you enjoy the fact that he trusts you so much. That you are the only one who understands the reason and meaning of his actions.

So people don't think for a moment that they were doing something wrong when Simon's head turned quickly towards you and stared into your eyes.

Aww... look how much he loves her.

And his calm experession tells you that he whants to kill them.

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

Always imagine Simon to be the perfect man, but lately he is just... too perfect, the man he is, its just nah his charactar is problematic. He is a man after all (I want this man to crawl under my skin), so I tried to think of what toxic behaviors he might have. Must be closer to reallity for me but you do you, its the only place we can be delusional😔

Forgive me if there's any problem , it's 1am here ,english is not my first language and I haven't studied anything for my tomorrow's test HAHAHA.

Tnx for reading my shitty thoughts<333.

[froggiequarium]

1k words; rafayel making nail art... for you (working on this when i'm supposed to be working on a new fic for main oops.... raf invaded my mind what can i say?)

-

rafayel noticed your little habit of constantly switching out your press-on nails every couple of weeks. infact, you often began asking him his opinions on which to use next after catching his curious eyes glued to you as you prepped your nails for the newly decided set, and he'd confidently point out the one he thought would suit the season or occasion better.

one day, after showing him the new sets you'd bought during a sale and oogling at the cute art and charms they were decorated with, he offhandedly asked if they were difficult to make.

"hm? well, i've seen videos that make it easy, but usually things look easier than when you actually try it yourself, so i just stick to buying them," you sheepishly point out with a little laugh.

and suddenly, rafayel has an idea.

in the next week or so, when its around the time to switch out your nails once more, rafayel calls you and tells you to meet him at his studio, that he has a surprise waiting for you.

curious and excited, you immediately make your way there, having no other plans for the day, mentally going through special days to make sure you're not forgetting any occasion.

though, it wasn't likely, given rafayel's nature of spoiling you with surprise gifts for no particular reason.

you make your way inside of his studio and find him in the living area, just finishing arranging some things before his gaze flits up to yours.

"well hello, miss bodyguard. you got here quick."

you take slow steps towards him, grinning.

"a certain fishy said they had something for me, i couldn't just keep him waiting."

he grins back.

when you close the distance and are standing right before him, he holds his hands out, palms facing up.

"give me your hands," he coaxes.

you do as you're told, sliding your hands over his, and he grips them gently, inspecting your hands— you don't have a new set on yet, just as he expected.

perfect.

"why don't i do your nails for you this time?"

you tilt your head.

"is this your surprise?"

"part of it."

"are you sure? i didn't think you'd be interested, and i'm used to doing it myself...."

"nonsense, let me decorate your hands for you this time, cutie."

you raise an eyebrow, suspicious at his insistence, but allow yourself to be dragged to the couch and seated next to him as he reaches for the utensils that you use to prep your nails.

"why did you have everything ready? were you that confident i'd let you do my nails for me?"

he holds up the nail clippers, moving close to begin snipping down your nails.

"its already been a couple of weeks since your last set, so i knew you'd be working on another one sooner or later."

something about the attention to detail rafayel pays when it comes to you makes your heart thump a little faster in your chest.

"right..."

he's finished trimming and filing your nails quickly before he grabs a spikier tool to push your cuticles back, trimming some as he sees fit. afterward, he's grabbing another tool and begins gently buffing the surface of each nail. when he reaches for a small alcohol wipe to drag over each nail bed, you speak up again, realizing something.

"wait, what set are you even going to put on? did you decide without me?"

he cleans the last finger, setting the wipe down beside him before reaching for the nail glue to have ready.

"give me a second."

he reaches for a little box that was hidden in plain sight behind a cup of paintbrushes on the nearby table. its a pretty blue and wrapped in a little purple ribbon. he hands it to you, and you slowly take it from him.

"this is the real surprise," he smiles, gesturing for you to open it.

you look up at him before pulling at one of the ends of the ribbon, gently unraveling it and popping the lid off of the box. you can't help the little gasp that escapes you at the sight within.

it's a new set of nails, pristine and pretty, looking like the ones that are on the pricier end of the websites you buy from.

they're a mix of pearly white and ocean blue, different images from seashells and little fish to a seahorse being painted on a few of them, embellished with small colored-pearl looking charms and some shiny gold glitter for highlight. even more, the shape of them is exactly your preference.

you're looking at them for a long time in silence due to the awe of the detail and beauty of them. rafayel watches you marvel at them, but grows too eager to hear your thoughts.

"do you like them?"

rafayel's voice breaks you from your trance and you finally manage to tear your gaze away from the nails to meet his eyes.

"did you.... make these?"

rafayel only shrugs in response.

"i decided to try it out. it wasn't the easiest thing, but it was simple enough, and i got the hang of it easily. still, i think my back is still hurting from the weird angle i had to be at to paint on such a tiny canvas," he whines, rubbing his lower back for emphasis.

you breathe out a laugh, pushing yourself forward and kissing the pout off of his lips.

"these are the prettiest nails i've ever had, raf. thank you," you beam.

his ears are bright red.

"its not that big a deal," he looks to the side, shy. the volume of his voice is lower at his next words. "besides, there's more where that came from, so its nothing..."

you nod, making a note to ask to watch him at work later. for now, you hold the box out to him, gaze expectant.

"well, i'm ready for my new nails, mister nail artist~"

he's back to his normal self at your words, pleased expression crossing his face as he snatches the box from you before picking up the glue.

"leave it to me!"

needless to say, you received the most compliments on this set than you had from the other sets you wore, everyone hounding you for which new nail place you went to this time for such a beautifully effortless result.

you were all too satisfied to turn to each of them and proudly reveal the secret nail tech, the curious gazes immediately growing stunned.

"my boyfriend!"

-

you cant convince me he wouldn't be good at nail art.... inspired by the next press-on set im going to use looking cutely painted (not ocean themed though) & it made me think ab how rafayel would definitely make you your own sets.... nail tech raf anyone???

-

[yuzu-kiku]

This is a really interesting take, I can definitely see how a lot of Fulgrim's arc have some overlap with the feelings that queer people go through in accepting themselves (I've gone through it, too). There are some things, however, that I would like to point out.

You mentioned that you are looking at the general narrative arc that shapes Fulgrim's story without considering the in-universe specifics. But in doing this, there comes a lot of misunderstandings and misinterpretations in your analysis of his actions and way of thinking. There's some points where the story has to bend and stretch in order to fit the queer-coded narrative.

For example- I agree with your analogy of Fulgrim's experience with the Laer blade. He didn't need to pick it up, but he did give into his temptations. And through the Laer blade's impact on his mind, he did encounter a sort of liberation, where he acts according to his own will without consideration to what is wrong or right.

But I disagree with your analysis on the nature of his tragedy, particularly with Ferrus Manus. This is where looking at Fulgrim's arc in a general sense, particularly if we're looking at it through a queer-coded lens, mischaracterises both Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim himself. More under the cut, because I, too, cannot stop yapping.

(Before I cut, I do want to emphasise that I don't think you're wrong, I definitely agree with some points. I'm just a huge fan of Fulgrim and the complicated nature of his tragedy.)

Fulgrim's Nature

To start off, I want to talk about Fulgrim's perfectionism. It's important to understand that Fulgrim was not always a perfectionist. This mentality came from after his discovery, when he was introduced to his sons for the first time and learning that his legion was in a bad state, with barely 200 members, as compared to every other legion who numbered thousands, even tens of thousands. He needed to pick them up and rebuild them into a Legion that would not look weak compared to the others.

And I want to emphasise in particular, not looking weak. Yes, there was a lot of pressure on him as the Emperor had a lot of expectations for his sons. But his main driving force has always been pride. It is from pride that he drilled perfectionism into both himself and his sons. After all, for centuries, he had to be babysitted by another Legion because they just didn't have the manpower to undertake a crusade of their own. For someone as proud as him, a person who singlehandedly developed his home planet from a mining world to a civilised and cultured society, that had to be a huge blow. He was desperate to prove to everyone that his was not a legion that needed to be coddled all the time; this much is evident in his book, the Palatine Phoenix, where he admits that his desire to prove himself had led him to make many mistakes.

You are definitely right when you say his frustrations were self-imposed; he set the bar high for both him and his sons, and even after they succeeded and became a legion that was well-respected (albeit kind of mocked for their arrogance). He even made perfection the motto for his own legion.

But I don't think he was ever resentful about the strive for perfection in itself, because it is in his nature to do anything to be the best. And when he put that same expectation on his sons, it wasn't out of a desire to break them; it was because he cared for them. He wanted to lift them up to the best version of themselves, just like how he raised his home planet from a mining world, to a civilised, culturally rich society. Pre-Heresy Fulgrim was, honestly, a great guy who advocated for raising the masses.

(In addition, throughout my read of Fulgrim, I've not come across a part where he begins to doubt his own abilities- only his thoughts and actions through the Laer Blade's influence.)

The Laer Blade

It's a common misconception that the Laer Blade controlled Fulgrim, and it's not entirely wrong. But in the books, we can see that rather than controlling him, per se, the Laer Blade more manipulated him. Every action Fulgrim was tempted to do and every thought he had was his own. All the Laer Blade had to do was give him a little push, to lessen his inhibitions and make him act on them.

To give an example: Fulgrim was pretty pissed off at Ferrus Manus when he acted on his own. He considered it a blatant lack of disrespect, because it threw off their plans. It was the Laer Blade who actually put the thought in his head, quote, "the plan had been perfect and Ferrus was ruining everything".

And it's not as if Fulgrim didn't have those thoughts. But without the Laer Blade's influence, he would have been able to shove that negativity away, because he loved Ferrus, and in the end understood that yeah, maybe he should have suspected that his brother's rage would make him do this.

Rereading the book, actually, Fulgrim even knew that the Laer Blade's voice was dragging out a venom from his subconsciousness, and accepted it. To quote the book Fulgrim:

"Ever since the victory on Laeran, Fulgrim's thoughts had turned inwards to claw the furthest depth of his consciousness, dragging out an acid resentment he had not known existed. [...] At last he had come to accept that the voice was in fact a manifestation of his subconscious, a facet of his own mindscape that articulated the things he could not, and stripped away deceits the conscious mind created to protect it from the barriers society placed on it. How many others could lay claim to such an honest councellor as their own mind?"

(That last sentence is interesting, because that's certainly something that a person who thinks highly of himself would say.)

This is part is where looking at his actions through the lens of accepting yourself in a queer perspective starts to get wobbly. Fulgrim is prideful, and he sees the strive for perfection to be just another part of bettering himself and his legion. It's true that he had his frustrations, but that was far back in the past, during the time where he was proving himself as a competent legion capable of standing by itself (which the book the Palatine Phoenix is about).

However, after the Great Crusade and in the beginning of the Horus Heresy timeline, we can see that his frustration doesn't come from within himself; it comes from people directly challenging him, as seen above with Ferrus. In fact- I would argue that here, his pride has turned to arrogance, as he sees himself as perfect and always in the right. He still blamed Ferrus, even without the influence of the Laer Blade.

In other words, by this point, he is no longer unhappy with himself, and has fully accepted himself to be the definition of perfection. I would even go so far as to say he never cared about how society saw him. Why? Because on his ship, he is the Primarch. The definition of perfect. He couldn't have deviated from the rules of society, because he's the one who wrote those rules in the first place. And if any other Primarch disagreed? Well, this is his ship, not theirs. Not even the Emperor could dictate how he treated his sons, unless it actively affected their crusade.

Ferrus Manus

This part is where you might have stretched your analogy a bit too hard. I assume that using the term 'deviant', you mean to say how Fulgrim has come to accept himself and accept that he does not conform to Imperium standards (or 'normalcy').

This is not at all how his and Ferrus Manus' relationship began, or developed into.

Firstly- Imperium standards are simply the law by which citizens have to comply with. Praise the emperor, don't commit heresy, and you will be fine. Ironically, the Imperium really doesn't seem to care a lot about a person's character, whether it be personality or sexuality; that's up to the laws and cultures that you were born with in your own home world. And, as we know, all the Primarchs are long detached from their home world. Not even Imperium society could influence them, as they never even grew up there.

All this to say- 'normalcy' and 'deviant' is equal to 'loyalist' and 'traitor' in this world. It has absolutely nothing to do with a person's character.

In the context of your post, you use these terms to make an analogy for being rejected because a person is queer- but it's impossible to make a direct comparison with Ferrus and Fulgrim, not just because those 'normalcy' and 'deviation' in the context of Imperium society does not apply to them, but because they had always respected each other's character, no matter their flaws. They were one of the closest pairs of siblings out of their brothers. The only reason why Ferrus starts to reject Fulgrim is in fact, because he knew his brother that well.

Fulgrim was changing to be more venomous, more petty, more angry at everyone when things didn't go his way. Yeah, his brother's pride could be a bit too easily wounded sometimes, but Fulgrim was never a bad person. In fact, he was all for raising the masses, educating them and improving society- that's exactly what he did on Chemos. How could he accept what Fulgrim was becoming?

This is where the characterisation of Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus in your post becomes inaccurate. I understand that you were talking about the concept of one rejecting the other, but there is no direct comparison that can be made without mischaracterising the both of them.

And to say Ferrus would rather see his brother dead is completely wrong. He never said anything about wanting Fulgrim dead- he only broke their bonds after seeing what Fulgrim turned into.

The Tragedy

In your post, you made the implication that Fulgrim's transformation into the Daemon prince, shedding his old self, was a positive thing. In the context of a generalised, queer-coded narrative arc completely removed from this series, then yes, perhaps. We all want to shed our old selves and become who we truly are, and be accepted for it.

But in the context of this universe, how could anyone see his fall to Chaos as a positive outcome? The Chaos gods are extreme representations of humanity's worst parts; Slaanesh is the personification of hedonism, perfectionism and pride in its worst form. For all his flaws, Fulgrim was a good person. His whole motto was to rule through love, not war. We lost a charismatic, kind man who was wholly dedicated to helping the masses live better lives. Out of all his brothers, Fulgrim was one of the only who actually cared about humans as people, and immersed himself in culture. Perhaps he was not Vulkan, whose altruism and warm heart was what he was known for, but he still cared. And I think the most tragic thing about it, is that at the end, he saw what he did and regretted it, before being fully bound to Slaanesh; he realised he lost himself.

His losses were not sacrifices , but consequences of his actions- tragic ones, at that. Well, unless you ask the entity in the Laer Blade, who would probably say it was a tribute to Slaanesh. When you ask the questions, did he regret it? Was it worth it? Would he have been happier if he denied that part of himself?

Actually, Fulgrim would say yes and agree with you. Because he wasn't Fulgrim anymore. He was a Daemon prince, with Fulgrim's real soul is trapped inside a portrait, forever lamenting his mistakes until GW decides to let him out.

I can't see this as a positive for anyone, except for the Chaos gods. And I would rather not compare falling to Chaos to accepting yourself as a queer person.

Conclusion

You can certainly interpret Fulgrim's story as queer-coded, but it only applies to certain parts. When you try to stretch the comparison, even if you only take it very generally, it doesn't work anymore, at least, not without completely breaking the canon and making the characters completely different.

I agree that more pieces of media should show the messier side of coming out. It's painful, and it does require sacrifice- you're absolutely right. But Fulgrim's story didn't end with freedom and liberation. He slowly started to lose control of himself, until finally, the Daemon took over, and he was forever imprisoned. And this, I think, is the biggest reason why trying to bend his story to fit a queer-coded narrative doesn't work.

Fulgrim's HH character arc is a heavily queer coded liberation narrative that is ultimately a positive arc for him despite its tragic elements, in this essay I will

[forgotteneffigy]

Promise

⋆ kento nanami x coworker!reader - the prologue!? ⋆

word count : 1k+ ⋆₊˚⊹

before you read : mentions of character death, spoilers for jjk inventory arc. you have been warned. enjoy this little piece of teen!nanami x reader angst! ^_^

“What did you do with your first paycheck, Nanami?”

Your words drown out the liveliness around you, the sounds of children laughing as they played with their food and the worries of the doting mothers next to them deafened by your question.

The way you looked at him with those eyes of yours. The way you said his name like you've known him for years, years that exceeded your recent transfer to Tokyo's jujutsu high.

The smell of baked goods and hot coffee wafts through the air as Nanami considers your question.

“I can't remember.” He initially replies, looking off to the side.

With some thought behind it, he adds in, “I put it into my savings account, I think.”

The way you tilted your head at his answer makes him believe you wanted to hear him say something more interesting. What else was there to say?

You half-expected his answer, but you said what you were thinking anyway.

Your eyebrows knit together as you reply. “That's so boring, Nanami.”

You place your hand under your chin. With your other hand, you stir the spoon in your cup of morning caffeine.

“Wanna know what I'm going to get with mine, Nanam?”

You don't bother to hear his confirmation. You smile wide as you speak, Nanami looks at you as if trying to commit the way you looked to memory.

“Once I get my first paycheck,” you continue to smile, looking down at the table. “I'm getting us a cake to celebrate. Savarin cake!” You declare loudly, sounding quite sure of yourself and your success on your first independent mission.

You look back with a spark of determination in your eyes.

“A big one.”

You point the silverware at him, his reflection warbled in the spoon.

“A big one, hm?” He repeats.

“Just for you and me.” You add with a sure nod, pointing at yourself before dropping the utensil into your cup.

“It's a little too early to be thinking about sweets, isn't it?” He asks, chuckling quietly at your determination.

Even when you pointed a spoon at him to prove your promise to him, vowing with the silverware to share a slice of cake bought with your first paycheck.

“It's never too early to be thinking about sweets, Nanami.” You reply, the side of your shoe grazing against his own. The casual show of affection makes him look down, your shoe next to his under the table. “Gojo's not the one making you say that, I hope.”

You laugh at his words, your hand migrating from your cheek to your mouth to muffle your chuckles.

“Gojo can't make me do shit, Nanami.”

The boldness in your reply makes Nanami question his own doubts and worries about you coming back from your mission safely.

“Just come back to me in one piece, please.” He says, tone almost pleading as he places his hand on the table.

Close enough to touch yours, but far enough to only feel your warmth.

“That's all I ask of you, (L/N). Come back alive.”

He doesn't want to acknowledge it, but there's more than just care meant for a fellow sorcerer behind his words.

You were his partner. And he didn't want to lose you.

He didn't want you to become another face in a pile of corpses in an abandoned strip of Tokyo's city.

“Just..” Nanami pauses, trailing off. He had to tread carefully now, knowing that if he said the wrong thing, you'd leave thinking about what he said.

“Promise me you won't do anything stupid.” He wasn't asking you to. He was telling you to.

Nanami hopes you had enough common sense in that head of yours to know that.

“People die in our line of work all the time. You know, they say sorcerers…” He doesn't hear the rest of what you said after, his mind focusing on how you brushed off his concern.

Nanami stiffens in his chair. He didn't like how flippant your response was, and he didn't like the carefree smile you put on after.

“Even though. Despite that fact. Please, (L/N).”

His eyes soften when they land on you again. The lively surroundings around him blur when he focuses on you.

He didn't want to see you on a mortuary table, your body dressed in white with a towel covering your face. He hated how vividly he could imagine it in his head.

He didn't want you to end up like Haibara. Taken away from him too soon. It all happened so fast.

In a blink of an eye, you could be taken away from him.

One wrong step. One miscalculation in the usage of your abilities, and you'd be taken away from him in an instant.

He was more attached to you than he thought.

Nanami's too deep in his own head to notice the way you casually brushed the hair out of his face. Blond strands no longer hiding the softness in his eyes.

He only registers your touch when you pull away, your finger pointed at him with a reassuring smile.

You smile widely at him.

“You worry too much, Nanami.”

He still remembers the way your lips moved as the unassuming black sedan pulled away from the bakery parking, a piece of you in between his fingers.

He sits there quietly, looking at the uniform button in his hand. You told him not to worry, even joked about it to make him feel better. You gave him your uniform button without thinking much about the implications behind it.

You were an idiot. His idiot.

His grip on the button tightens, the pad of his thumb pressing into the circular indent in the middle.

“You cocky idiot..” He murmurs in between his teeth,

“You better not die on me.”

You're already gone, far away. The car you went in probably on the highway by now.

Nanami doesn't know what he's doing. He slips the button into his pocket, feeling its shape to make sure it's still there.

He doesn't know why he has this... feeling in his chest that he can't quite place.

He can't imagine a world without you, and he doesn't want to.

⋆ part two is coming soon to bakeries near you !!

[taruruchi]

𝐃𝐚𝐲 2: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 3

Post-overblot Azul

I got a sudden vision of an unseen scene that happened in the main story, and in this essay, I will entertain the question:

What happened after Azul's overblot?

This is mainly reliant on the fact that the overblot students have to recover after their overblot. Because it took a lot out of them, right? So they're stuck in the infirmary for a few days and can't go about their regular duties (If they didn't and I'm remembering wrong, idc they have to stay in the infirmary now bc I say so)

I imagine that after each overblot, the prefect has to bring homework and stuff to whoever just overblotted, like Riddle in Chapter 1, Leona in Chapter 2, etc. because they're the resident Errand Runner

Azul has a bigger workload since he's running Mostro Lounge too. Now, Jade and Floyd and the other Octavinelle students can take over, sure, but it's not like he can just put it aside while he's recovering in the infirmary. He gets restless and bothered that he's not there to look after his business. So the prefect has to bring both his schoolwork and those Mostro Lounge documents he looks over

And this is where I start talking about this in terms of the version in my head, aka the version with Taruchi

The first day after The Incident, Taruchi heads to the infirmary after class to give Azul all his stuff. She's already done this for the previous overblot students

"Hii... How are you doing? Are you doing okay?"

Azul looks up from the papers he's holding—the financial losses of the other day—and finds the prefect peeking from behind the curtains separating the beds

"Prefect? I wasn't expecting you here. I'm doing fine, thank you."

"Just dropping off your stuff. ...Are you working???"

She spots the papers scattered on his bed.

"Ah— Yes, I was calculating the amount of losses Mostro Lounge experienced yesterday."

Taruchi gets closer and looks at all the papers. "...Need any help?"

"I couldn't possibly ask you to do that. It's all right," he declines.

"No, you're not feeling well. You should rest. And I'm decent at math, I'm sure it won't be too hard."

"No, seriously, it's fine."

Taruchi frowns at his insistence to keep working despite needing to recover. "...Fine. Just... don't overwork yourself, okay? You haven't completely recovered yet."

"Sure. Thank you, prefect."

"No problem. I'll, uh, I'll go back to my dorm now. Hope you get well soon."

She comes back the next day on her second round of "errands."

"Helloo, I'm back." This time she has a small smile on her face as she greets him.

"Ah, hello, prefect." Azul naturally smiles in return.

"What are you doing today?" He's got papers around him again.

"It's for Mostro Lounge again." He rubs his temple as he looks at the papers. "I need to think of a way to make up for our losses."

"Ohh... How are you gonna do that?" she asks curiously, and half as a way to make it less awkward.

He ends up talking about Mostro Lounge for a while and his plans, so she just listens and asks questions. Her mind wanders a bit to the realization that he's very dedicated to and passionate about his business. She tries not to smile.

Then he stops for a bit and inquires of her, "I meant to ask, why are you here? For longer than yesterday, I mean. You dropped off my things already, so did you need my assistance with something?" Was he trying to fish for a deal right now? Even after his lesson about taking advantage of people's problems and luring them into contracts?

"Oh, n-no. I didn't need any help. I was just visiting." No chance to rope her into a deal.

"...I see."

"I'm sorry, do the visits disturb you? I know you should be recovering and resting up..." She's never felt this nervous about her post-overblot infirmary visits before. (Well... Maybe. Leona was pretty intimidating to bring homework to... He kept trying to get her to keep it.)

"Not at all. I don't mind." He gives his charming smile. In his mind, he's just trying to get her to like him and lower her guard so she doesn't hold these errands and visits against him or something. As if he was the one who forced her to do this. (It was Crowley. And partially Grim because he left her alone for the reason of wanting to go back to the dorm early to "do homework.")

"Oh, okay." She checks the time on her phone. "Ahh, I need to go back to my dorm now. Grim's waiting for me and I've actually got homework to do..."

A light bulb lights up in Azul's head. This would be his way of making it up to her. (Making what up to her? His reasoning is the trouble of helping during his overblot and sending over his schoolwork and Mostro Lounge work.)

"I could help you, if you'd like."

She smiles and tries to decline. She just wants to go to her dorm. "Oh, no, it's all right, I can do it by myself—"

"I insist. I offer my services all the time. See this as my way of repaying you for all the trouble I put you through."

Now she felt guilty and couldn't say no. "Really...?" she asks hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then..." She sits back down on his bed and takes out her homework.

After an hour or somewhere around that, she packs up. "Huh, I actually got a lot done today." She smiles. "Thank you so much, Azul."

And he smiles back. Only to be polite, of course. "It was no problem. Feel free to see me tomorrow as well."

"All right. Thank you." She keeps smiling and finishes packing up her things. "So I'll go now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

See you tomorrow... Azul found himself smiling at that one phrase, but stopped as soon as he realized it. Why was he smiling anyway?

Taglist: @solxima @angelwishess @scint1llat3 @distant-velleity @twtysevapr @cynthinesia @h0neybane @viperbunnies @linabirb @thehollowwriter @wafflethewitchboy @siphoklansan @jewelulu @skibidibabygirl @jadelover69 (ask me if you wanna be added/removed!)

Divider credits: @/cafekitsune and @/roseraris

[flightnight]

I need help understanding Sunday.

I feel that there's a rift between how the game expects me to see him and how I actually see him. Would anybody be so kind as to help me clarify these two points?

1. What did he ever say or do that would indicate that he realizes that he ever did something wrong? Bonus points for addressing his core harmful misconception that led him to become a villain to begin with.

2. Which of his actions do you consider admirable?

Explanation of why exactly I have problems with these points below the cut:

1. His whole thing during the Penacony arc was that, in his opinion, people shouldn't be trusted to live their miserable lives by themself; they'll only hurt themself. Everybody (including Robin) is too weak, and he's the only one who's strong. So they should be forever imprisoned in the perfect boring dream their benevolent lord and savior Sunday created for them. From what I understand, he was going to start with Penacony and then imprison the whole universe under his absolute control. Okay, great, typical "morally grey" villain motivation, very well explained, no problem here.

Most of the characters, as well as, hopefully, the player, understand that it's the wrong thing to do. Nice motive, still evil.

My question is: what are the things he said or did since we defeated him that indicate that he's changed? Does he ever admit or imply that he did anything wrong? That human lives are precious no matter how miserable and flawed they are in his opinion? and how valuable freedom is? How strong can people be?

Because so far I only see the opposite: instead of indicating that he was wrong, he doubled down. He literally told us that he's going to do some research and try again.

I don't know, maybe I blinked and missed him getting in a situation where he has to confront his misconceptions.

I had very low expectations. I expected "I might have done something bad, but I might be persuaded to forgive myself," or "it wasn't me, it was my evil past self," or "it was somebody else's fault," or "I might have tried to take over the world, but look, I helped a grandma cross the road, so that's okay now.". All of these would be bad. And we kind of get a tiny bit of all of these, but only as vague vibes.

I saw people saying that he helped Tingyun for free, and it shows that he's changed. Are people implying that he was so morally repugnant that he wouldn't have helped somebody for free before? Even I don't think so. Is basic human decency an achievement for him now?

His problem wasn't that he didn't care about fixing other people's lives. It was exactly the opposite!

That's exactly the kind of thing he shouldn't be doing as a show of how much he changed.

A moment of growth for him would be if he realized that another person is strong enough to solve their problems by themselves, without his involvement.

Let's look at other antagonists turned playable characters.

Bronya's main motivation is to save her people. Her misconception—she has faith in her mother. She faces the fact that her mother isn't the person she came to love and respect.

Topaz's main motivation is to help Jarilo-VI survive. Her misconception—she thinks that being owned by the IPC is the only way for them to survive. She faces the fact that the people of Jarilo-VI are strong enough to survive by themselves.

Sunday's main motivation is to save people from suffering. His misconception—it's only possible if he imprisons them in a dream controlled by him. Does he ever face the realization that he was wrong? I don't care how many Tingyuns he helped, his problem wasn't that he was unwilling to help people. IT WAS KIND OF THE OPPOSITE!!!

And later on, when he kind of helps us, it does nothing to address his core misconception, the thing his whole personality is built around.

He's not a generic bad guy who can redeem himself by becoming a generic good guy! You can't write a complex character and then completely neuter him in his supposed "redemption arc!"

2. What did he do that's worth admiring?

And I think DH's "about Sunday" line indicates how we are supposed to see his return:

"Whether he can achieve his dream or not, being able to let go of everything and start again is already admirable enough."

(btw I'd like to remind you that his dream was to imprison the whole universe. And he wasn't "able" to bravely let go of everything. He was forced to. By being defeated by us. Hello!!!)

What did Sunday even do? Nearly turned Penacony back into a prison again. Got hit by a train. Lost a boss fight (as a boss). Got saved by Robin. Got what he deserved and what he tried to do to others—imprisonment. Threw a hissy fit, got immediately saved by Robin again, and was freed by Jade. Got accidentally split in two. Told Robin to touch the grass. Graciously allowed us to give him a lift.

DH, which of those do you find admirable???? How bravely did he overcome being a villain?

What would we expect a lesser, not so "admirable" person to do in his place? And he hardly even had any agency in most of these events.

Let's look at other characters again. Firefly apologized for lying to us. Topaz and Bronya admitted that they were wrong and backed off. They made a conscious decision to stop what they were doing after realizing they were wrong. They weren't forced to stop by just being defeated in a boss fight and imprisoned. That's admirable. What did Sunday do that's admirable?

And what about Welt's "about Sunday":

"Having an ideal and pursuing it is not rare, but being able to start anew after that ideal is shattered—this kind of willpower will carry him far."

Gramps, the last time we had to hit him with a train several times to stop his willpower from "carrying him far", wdym?

And I'm sure the game's writers are planning to give him more to do later, maybe dragging him through some long overdue character development (I mean, why else are we carrying this piece of cardboard they turned him into with us to Amphoreus?) Because 15 hours of monologue during Pencaony, plus 5 more hours during his triumphant return, clearly wasn't enough. All these new upcoming characters will move over to give Sunday 10 more hours of pretentious monologue.

But on the brighter side, things like this make me appreciate the previous instances of bad writing. At least Firefly apologized. At least Topaz admitted that she was wrong.

And there is one thing that tells me that I'm not the only one having problems with this. It's the fact that in most dialogues there are options to be mean and distrustful of him.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think if Harry met a younger version of Tom Riddle before he became a murderer He would save him? Do you think you would feel empathetic for him? like Sure, he's kind of a little s***, but he's just a little kid that, at the age of 4, probably just wants somebody to adopt him and feel loved. He definitely doesn't get that at Wool's orphanage, and I think Harry would understand that. I think Harry would see another hungy orphan who gets hurt for having magic they don't even know about. I think he might see another kid that the world failed.

P.S. I FUCKING LOVE YOU'RE WRITING it helped me get out of art block 😭

Anyway, have a lovely day❤️

First off, can you please not censor yourself, tumblr lets you say whatever you want, if you want to say "shit" say "shit" like you said "fucking" later in the ask. Or any other word for that matter. There is no reason to censor yourself on tumblr (this isn't tiktok or youtube) so please do yourself a favor and don't censor yourself. Just say what you mean.

Second, thank you very much 💕 glad I could be of help!

Third, as to your questions, well, I talked about tommary/harrymort here. I like the concept of time travel tommary when Harry goes to Hogwarts with Tom. it's a trope I used to enjoy immensely and I still like it as a concept. But again, I'm talking about when they're both at Hogwarts. I'm not the biggest fan of Harry going back in time to raise Tom (including the not romantic iterations of this trope). It just, never really vibed with me and I have no interest in exploring it personally.

But, could Harry show empathy to a young Tom? 100%. Harry is willing to show empathy and forgive a Lord Voldemort in his 70s after all the murders, so a 4-year-old Tom who's still innocent would be no problem.

I think Harry would struggle, though, to look at the innocent child and envision the dark lord in his head. It's not that he'd be mean to Tom, I don't think so, but he'd constantly be on the lookout for Tom turning evil. He'd expect it to happen — which is not great for a parental figure, all in all. I just, don't think the balance of that dynamic is going to be amazing, even if Harry is willing to show empathy and forgive Tom, it doesn't erase everything that happened from his mind. (Which is why I prefer them when Tom is older and maybe already murdered Myrtle, he isn't innocent, but Harry doesn't feel innocent either and it's a more equal, push-and-pull dynamic that is very explosive. Tommary/Harrymort is a pairing I like only in very specific flavors. Even when it's platonic/familial and not romantic I'm quite picky about it, lol).

Like, I think Tom would turn out better with a time-traveling Harry as a caregiver, but it depends a lot on how old Harry is when he goes back in time, what was the state of the world he left behind, why he went back in time, how he did it, etc. Becouse all these things could really make a difference in how Harry interacts with a young Tom and how he goes about raising him.

[madelynhimegami]

Arle Nadja Guide

I've heard a couple people say that they feel like they don't really get a good feel for who Arle is. Dunno if this will change their minds any, but I hope it helps.

Arle Nadja is freewheeling and easy come, easy go girl.

She loves adventure and exploring. Especially when that prominantly involves dungeon crawling.

Helps that she's been doing it from age 4.

Arle is, in fact, so hooked on dungeon crawling that Ringo and Amitie had to actively prevent her from entering what she already knew was a trap made to look like a dungeon entrance.

In addition to the adventuring, Arle likes travel as a means to meet new people with different ways of living.

She's well aware that most of her friends (especially from her own world) are insane. But she loves them regardless.

Arle isn't materialistic. As long as she has a way to get her basic needs met, her interest in wealth is, at most, transient.

Similarly, she's not particularly interested in becoming powerful.

I think she still likes learning new stuff about magic, including new spells, but the power of the magic in question is inconsequential to her.

Arle acts and speaks very casually, regardless of where she is or who she's talking to. She doesn't really care for formality and dislikes being expected to act a certain way.

Consequently, she has no reason to really ever acknowledge or respect authority without them earning it.

She made fun of brick jesus and his decisions to his face (at least before learning she was dealing with a small child).

I feel like Arle tends to be pretty good at reading vibes of others. As in, she can generally tell if someone is dangerous, stupid, struggling, being forced to act a certain way, sincere, or manipulative.

If so, she doesn't use that skill very often, because she's encountered too many people she will never understand she prefers to live and let live.

Arle is always willing to lend a hand to those in need of one. In fact, she's not very good at refusing to help, if asked.

Arle doesn't plan ahead very much. She just goes with the flow of things and assume that it'll all end up working out for the better.

She's not particularly inclined to strategic thinking (though she is perfectly capable of it). Her preferred method of handling obstacles is to face them head-on.

Satan doing something stupid? Beat him up. Door blocking the way? Tear it off its hinges.

That said, Arle is quite flexible, able to work with rapidly-changing circumstances, plus she's good at imrovising solutions.

She also probably has plenty of survivalist skills. You don't survive 12+ years of dungeon crawling without having a good sense of knowing what will or won't kill you, and how to protect yourself from the latter.

(I hate that I have to say this, but that does include bathing. Not washing dungeon gunk off is how you get fun and exciting new diseases.)

Her spells reflect those priorities, as well. Most of her combat-oriented spells aren't for dealing direct damage, but for self-defense.

Even then, she's has a blasé attitude towards danger, and doesn't get threatened easily in the slightest.

This is a girl that got into multiple fights with an owlbear and won before she started kindergarten.

She's not reckless, however. She's very aware that she's not invincible or unstoppable, and has reliable risk assessment.

Tight situations where she's in more trouble than she was prepared for is where a lot of her improvisation skills shine.

Arle's really forgiving. She doesn't hold grudges or resentment, even if someone has reduced her to her last frazzled nerve.

Case in point, she became friends with a man that abducted her and subsequently tried to kill her. Despite his protests.

Her gregariousness tends to grow on people, making her pretty good at making friends (albeit not as good as Amitie).

However, her forgiving nature only extends to herself. Threaten or annoy her all you want, she'll let it slide. But if a friend of hers has a problem with you, so does Arle.

Arle has a very dry sense of humor. She can snark with the best of them.

She mostly employs sarcasm to tease her friends (mostly the ones from her world), but she'll use it in full force if something annoys her enough.

(These often overlap, especially when Satan's involved)

She also can and will verbally destroy you for your nonsense if pushed far enough.

While known to get annoyed, frustrated, or agitated, Arle very rarely (if ever) gets truly angry. I firmly believe attacking a friend with intent to seriously harm is one way to do it, however.

She tends to have more patience with anybody younger than her. Doubly so if she has reason to believe they're relying on her.

Arle is very stubborn. She dies hard and never gives up.

It also makes her strong-willed enough to resist possession. She's actually on the record for forcibly expelling Ecolo from her body by attacking herself.

Both the above tie into Arle's greatest fear: helplessness. She is terrified of being trapped in a situation where there is absolutely nothing she can do to affect it, even superficially.

Much like Ringo, I think Arle is, in theory, a perfectly capable cook. But unlike Ringo, where Arle goes off the deep end is her obsession with curry. She'd pretty much always prefer making that.

Although not a powerhouse, Arle isn't your typical squishy mage. She's fit and resilient enough to get by a lot of her situations. And she can throw a good punch if needed.

We don't see it very often anymore (which is a shame imo), but Arle is a capable staff wielder, and will use one as a magic focus if it's available.

I think Arle used to be more self-centered and interested in magic for her own gain, but changed after a certain incident while she was at magic school.

Because of the incident, she's decided that there is no knowledge, possession, or power that is more important than the lives of other people, especially those you care about.

That being said, she actually doesn't remember the incident very clearly.

Of note, even before this personal epiphany, Arle was against fighting lethally and made it a point to only leave those she fights unconscious. She's even begged her friends to not kill someone even if it would help her.

The epiphany is another reason why she's less materialistic, however.

Arle is a believer in the idea that it's the journey, not the destination, that matters. Several of her adventures end in disappointment or anti-climax, but she gets over it quickly.

No matter how an adventure ends, there's bound to be another one over the horizon.

Because of the above, and her aforementioned penchance for flexibility and adaptability, Arle doesn't let setbacks bother her. If she can stand back up, she can always keep going. And she will.

Although Arle isn't at all shy, she doesn't like to be made the center of attention or put on a pedastal. She's just a girl doing her thing, y'know? To her, that's not something she needs to be lauded for.

She's also doesn't really show signs of physical or romantic attraction of any kind. She can recognize a person as being handsome or beautiful, but only does so as a neutral descriptor.

Arle is the only one that can truly understand Carbuncle. She's fully fluent in gu, as well.

Somehow that lets her understand other mascot-like critters, on the rare occasions she comes across them.

[selfinflictedgunshotwound]

men are so disappointing in so many ways i know i shouldn't expect most of them to be dignified humans but it's crazy. i need to get over this guy he's making my sense of self crumble even faster than it usually does. like he's just so unlike my usual type and i'm pretty convinced he's stupid and slutty and not discerning whatsoever. not to mention boring like i know even if i did have a chance with him he wouldn't Get Me at all so it's a bigger waste of time that usual and i'm actually pretty tired of men in general and definitely tired of parasocial relationships because they drive me insane for months typically. thankfully it's only been like 2 weeks if that at this point. idk. sigh. i know literally virtually nothing abt him as a person and ofc liking any public figure who you know nothing about is only setting yourself for heartbreak and disappointment to begin with bc you already know nothing is gonna come from it but. in a way it's almost addictive to become obsessed with someone and not be looked at with the same level of scrutiny. i don't think anyone in real life would ever try to get to know me as much as i try to get to know people who i'll never even meet. lmao! but that's the thing... idk... i have a lot of love in my heart and it consumes me and i reject my pride usually when i'm into someone. i want to know more... like VORACIOUSLY consuming anything with information about them involved simply because i think knowing someone is a very deep form of love but of course you can never truly know anyone. not completely. and that scares me i think which is why it's always probably been easier for me to never really TRY to be with anyone or have anything real. idk. this turned into me psychoanalyzing myself real quick but SOMEONE needs to bc i need to understand what the fuck is wrong w me.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Of my 2% capacity to be attracted to anyone, my type is like 90% women, 5% pretty men and 5% men you would swear are super fucking manly, and never questioned being straight and cis, but are now suddenly *stressed* that they can't figure out why their attraction to me [fully socially interpreted as a woman and labelled that way up until relatively recently] feels incredibly fucking gay

[humandisorderincarnatedean]

you know what, revisiting an episode like 6.11 has elucidated to me that cosmic figures really don't understand dean

[naga-raja-suresh]

Suresh's nose had fixed itself, there had been nothing to stop it from going back to what it was supposed to look like so it straightened itself without any further interference. The Naga grinned, "I was keeping you prone. You kicked me in the face. Slightly different... -what do the children say these days- Vibes? But you're right. Even is even." It wasn't something to stay on. He could move past it for the time being. He listened to the laugh. Interested in the sound. He knew that Callum hadn't been telling the whole truth but Suresh was not about to wholesale believe the witch. Not now, not ever. He simply nodded, "That is what he told me." Because it had been. He leaned his head on the couch and listened to whatever semblance of the truth poured from Corvinus' lips. The relationships with the Lightless was contentious at best but they had found a common ground until the man sitting across from him had appeared. Suresh nodded his head. The way Corvinus told it was a bit different than how the Hellhound had painted the circumstances. And somewhere in the middle was what had actually had happened. Suesh nodded again and said, "Yes, I believe he called you a walking abomination." But that was between Loughty and his god. His need to right the scales. True believers had their place in all orders. Suresh's golden talons clicked against each other as he folded his hand over his chest. At the string of mostly rhetorical questions Suresh shrugged, "Why do any of us hide anything? Because we do not trust." The comment about nagas and Callum made Suresh's eyes narrow and he shook his head, "Naga's are natural. Old or not. Just because no one knows what our life expectancy actually is... we are natural." Well, they were natural. Whatever he'd done to augment himself... that was something else.

Suresh considered what Corvinus thought would be the things that he would reject outright. He wasn't going to give Corvinus a blank check. The Naga let out a soft amused noise when the witch said he didn't mind getting his own hands dirty. Of course. "If you are disliked that is entirely up to you." But whatever the witch chose to do he would do. A favor that he could reject was fine with Suresh.

He glanced down at his hands. Looking at his talons. Then back back up at Corvinus. "The talons are what bother you? Really? Alright then." He cracked his neck and drew in a breath and a soft shimmer on his hands, talons gone like they had never been. "Standing in the rubble looking across at each other... No. There is no rush. Though the next time I think neither of us will be holding back like we were..." A soft acknowledgement that what had happened between them was a mere skirmish. "Most people that know what I can do either crave it or are repulsed by it. I'm not fond of either reaction." Suresh reached his right hand out across the space between them, palm up, offering it to the witch. "You don't have to pretend." He held it there waiting, just to see what he would do.

An elemental witch... It didn't feel right. But wanted a face to the Nameless. Something with no face and no real intentions were difficult to guard against. And there was always the possibility that the leader could be trapped and then killed. However Suresh was not in a rush to gather all the important people in the city into one spot for the Nameless to possibly act against. "I will reach out along the channels I am able to use. And give you a location when appropriate. But why offer him up? You could have given him one of us couldn't you?" Suresh agreed that others feared power. It's why he hid so much of his. His eyes drifted over Corvinus' face as he spoke about being erased from living and written memory. "We've seen our share of Ozymandias' I think. But for us, it goes in cycles. We are the gods and we are the monsters. It just depends on the age and who writes the histories. But we are the myths and legends. Things that the others can only hope to aspire to."

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the mention of being slapped, as if they both hadn't taken their fair share of blows for the night. At least Corvinus had wrapped up his fairly quickly. Torture nonetheless but it had been fairly quick and not so...invasive. Or at least in his own eyes. "And you broke several of my bones. What's a little kick in the nose for that?" A nose could gush blood easily, that was true, but it allowed him a glimpse of the healing in Suresh as well. Not as quick, but effective either way. He did wonder if it would automatically set properly like his own body or if it would fuse into whatever position it was left in. But at the mention of Callum, oh, that earned a whole laugh. "A territory dispute? That's what he told you? Oh, he is quite the liar then. There was no territory dispute. Just because our countries aren't far from each other doesn't mean mean anything. I've never once claimed all of bloody Ireland and certainly not Scotland. I have an estate and property around it, that's all I ask others to not step into."

Clearly the man was trying to keep things under wraps, to hide his history from the others. Corvinus knew better, had come face to face with what the Lightless leader now tried to hide. It did make Corvinus all the more curious what else the renowned Hellhound was trying to keep hidden. What was one blood witch the others were aware of? Who else had he gone after. "I call him the cú sídhe. Hellhound, not too much of a thing to us Irish. I'd never even heard of him before but apparently he had a name amongst others. It just wasn't important enough to reach me so there couldn't have been any territory dispute to begin with. I was happily minding my own business at the time." Well, not exactly. He had been meddling around in political affairs at the time but that wasn't important. "He found me. He hunted me. All because my lifespan defies 'natural order' as he put it and I had blood on my hands. That's what he did. He sought out those that were alive for too long and snuffed them out, or if they committed any sort of egregious crime that justice had not been served. Judge, jury, executioner." Of course, Corvinus had learned all of that after the fact, when he had become aware of Callum and had temporarily been on his radar. Corvinus had simply gotten bored of tracking him across Europe and a few other continents.

Though a thought did occur to him. "It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Why hide it? What else has he killed for sins or for simply living longer than others?" He was staring into space for a moment, as if considering, before his gaze returned to Suresh. "What do you think he would do if another very old naga had crossed his path? Perhaps that's why he hid it from you."

The scale was a reach, he knew that. Especially after he had just been caught with naga blood; it meant it would most certainly not be used for mere decoration and would simply go into spellwork. Likely against Suresh himself. But he took the rejection in stride, giving only a small shrug though certainly a face of disappointment at the potential to deny a favour. "Oh, don't worry. I won't ask you to kill anyone or anything like that. Or any pieces of you. I have no issue getting my own hands dirty. Think of it as more insurance down the road. Especially if I'm so disliked within this city and want to enjoy my time here." Hopefully enough of a reassurance that whatever the favour was shouldn't be too gruesome though Corvinus couldn't say for sure. He merely liked the idea of being owed.

How quick the other was to retreat. He rose an eyebrow, gaze drifting down the other's long form and eyes particularly on the talons. Those were his main concerns for the moment. "Put the claws away and I certainly wouldn't mind if you did. The thing with us ancient beings is...we don't have to rush to kill each other. I could wait another thousand years and still have every chance to come back and end you if I wanted. The mortals, their lives are so fleeting. If they don't kill now, they may not have another chance. There have been surprisingly few that have upset me enough to warrant me murdering them right away." Though those that did...well, he always went beyond simply attacking them and killing them. Even killing was a game. Wipe out the family, leave them for last, let them know they were being hunted and let them live in fear of it.

At least he was getting somewhere, one step closer into settling in officially as the leader of the Nameless. An order here and there didn't mean much while he was still pulling the strings from the shadows. There was clearly a dislike for the actions so far, but no real admiration for how far he could get just yet. That would come with the meeting. "An elemental, I believe. He didn't want to talk too much about his powers." But he would invite the others. Gather them all. There was a brief though it would be the perfect setting to destroy them at once but that was hardly any fun and would only descend into chaos so quickly. "Simply tell me where to be and I'll make sure he's there. You finally get the meeting he's been avoiding and thankfully I'm quite good at luring. As for being so disliked....people just don't appreciate power. They fear it instead. But it's better than damnatio memoriae." Something he'd ensured for his predecessors.

[meyerlansky]

I have successfully boiled my problem with most of the izzy reads that i hate down to a sentence:

he's not sexually repressed, he's emotionally repressed.