#I just want to shout about my dumb characters in their dumb world doing their deeply dumb things

[centaurianthropology]

Writing an original work is simultaneous exhilarating and sort of lonely. It's like being in a fandom of one. I'm so very excited about all my characters and what's happening to them and the terrible decisions they're making, but I have no one to shout at about it, because absolutely no one would have any idea what I was talking about.

[adoregojo]

secret admirer.

hihihihihihihihi, i cannot believe i actually slept for two days in a row? wth? and also that i never did this kind of posts? im such a lazy bum mb yall, I promise I'll write a real fic soon. summary: bllk characters as your secret admirers: isagi, bachira, chigiri, reo. how they fell, what do they do, how did they confess.

isagi.y

him. just him.

you once held his shirt collar to stop him from planting flatly on the floor.

and when you walked away, you walked with his heart in your palms.

yea, just like that

but honestly, isagi himself didn't knew he was such a big sap inside

and the moment he realised you two shared a few classes was the second he almost kneeled and thanked the sky itself for this.

an absolute swoon from looking at your side profile.

he once was long gone within the abyss of daydreaming about you, he genuinely just couldn't look away.

then got called out by the teacher for being too distracted.

definitely prayed that you didn't see that.

writes your name unintentionally in his notebook.

gets so embarrassed about it later and rips the paper.

still dose it again the next day and almost ripped the whole book apart form cringing at himself.

he once was musing over you too much to the point that your name slipped out unwittingly on the dinner table.

his parents couldn't stop teasing him about it, wondering when they would see you walking down their house door.

leaves love notes in your locker almost everyday.

it's something short and simple like: "you look pretty today."

then when he goes home he'll realize how dumb that was because you literally look the prettiest everyday.

dumb, dumby.

takes time to make the first move though.

he just feels like you're way, farther away from his reach.

it's okay, he still considers himself lucky to be one of those who got admire you.

he just hoped you saw him behind all of them, even if it was a glance.

chigiri.h

omgg pretty boyyy

despite chigiri being a confident and self-reliant, the trigger words of his old injury was like a pulling a pin of a grenade to his still-raw sorrowness. something that'll always haunt him.

and what dose he dare to say when they were nothing but truthful? like a salt to his wounds, he tends to just take it and suck it up, or at least try to ignore it for his sake.

but everything flipped when you stood up for him.

from that moment on. chigiri knew that he was far a goner.

out of everyone here he's definitely the most romantic one.

reads all your favourite books and analysis it.

probably named a cat after you.

like isagi he writes love letters for you.

just a little too poetic..

it it's short then it's something like: "loving you is like breathing." or "i hope your days are filled with the same joy you give me with your existence only."

but mostly is: "my definition of love, i see the true meaning of living behind your hue of life. you shall lighten my soul with your existence alone, i was born to see you shin each day, witnessing you is a blessing from heaven itself. the day that i stop seeing you as the owner of the stars is the day my body shall vanish, yet my soul will know it way back to you. from your only and one your admirer."

what a lovesick clown.

he might be a smooth talker on the outside, but trust me the butterflies of sentimental keeps on swirling in his stomach on the sight of you.

told his mother and sister about you.

it was his biggest regrets.

because the next day his sister shouted your name in a demand for you to spend the night for the 'meeting of the future in law'.

he had to physically drag her back to the car, freaking embarrassing.

couldn't meet your eyes for a while after that.

wants to hold your hand.

like, really badly.

it's just that feeling your skin against his cold, pristine hands must've feel like the loveliest, cosiest thing.

the thoughts alone are making him go crazy.

he confessed first, just couldn't help himself.

he just hoped if you would go to the end of the world alongside with him.

bachira.m

the sunshine boy himself.

the definition of fell first AND fell harder.

it all started when the class was ordered to work as duo for a project, something he always despised.

you may say that because bachira was definitely not having the word 'smart' in his book, you'd be right actually.

but mainly since no one really wanted to group up with him.

it was embarrassing, to just sit there and wait to be picked was putting him under the lights that pointed him out as the most pitiful creature in the room.

then you pocked him on the shoulder, and asked him if he wanted to be your partner.

and when he didn't see the sarcasm reeking from you, he knew he tripped hard, and couldn't find it anywhere in his feet to back him up.

it was strange, bachira never had a company, let alone a crush.

but the signs were there, and were painfully vulnerable.

painted you in art class multiple times; you with a smile, you reading a book, you sniffing a sunflower.

maybe also you and him... holding hands or hugging...

stares at your face a way, way too long.

he tells himself it's to crave your features better and detailed.

even he doesn't believe that however.

he draws your eyes a lot.

his second favourite colour is your eyes hue.

he was never the best at writing romantic poems, and his hand writing is just........

so he insisted gets you a gift!

which is a rock.

yes you heard me, rock.

he would even paint a little face with a smile on it and leave it on your desk by the end of the day.

almost went bald from joy when you had it hanging as a small march on your bag.

and when you had a bad day, that goes unnoticed by him.

so imagine your surprise when you would find two pairs of rocks, one kissing the other who had a sad expression on it face.

that somehow that foster a blissful smile on your face. like that little action extinct any remains of the past negative you carried.

and bachira was more than happy to be the reason for your happiness.

definitely rambles about you to his mom.

and his monster.

he once ha a dream about you two smooching.

cried when he woke up because he wanted it to be real more than anything.

you two confessed first, at the same time.

and boy was he dancing on cloud nine at it.

he almost smooch you that moment and then.

reo.m

it's mister perfect everyone, cheer.

you fell first, he fell harder.

no, literally. you fell. tripped flat on the floor.

and somehow, that made the reo mikage heart move.

?????????

love at first (fall??) sight.

he definitely leaves a trail of gifts for you everywhere.

your chair, desk, locker, bag.

he switches between chocolate and flowers to letters and perfumes, necklaces, etc..

you say how he picked them?

easy, see something that reminds him of you, he buys.

and it's pretty foolish since he sees you in almost everything.

reo is convinced that you're within everything that shins beautifully.

he actually paid the teachers to let him be in the same classroom as you.

paid even more to get a seat next to you.

rip to whoever was sitting next to you.

he once heard that a guy was bothering you.

the next day the guy was the talking of school because he suddenly moved out of town due to his dad losing his job.

hm, must be karma then.

has a shrine of you.

but you didn't hear that from me.

talks about you none stop to nagi and ba-ya.

genuinely sobbed when he imagined you with someone else.

has a flight under your name.

made a makeshift doll of you so he can practice his confessions on.

had a mental breakdown of the idea of you rejecting him.

reo can the most horrible, miserable day to a human kind to live.

then he sees you smiling

BOOM

he's all happy and smiling again, also a little giddy.

you once greeted him good morning, the next day he was planing what ring would suit you the most.

had two planes to write on the sky: 'will you go out with me?' and your name next to it in a shade of a heart.

now, you definitely cannot reject that. (Please don't)

have a nice day everyone.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Top 10 Things I Love About the QL Tumblr Community 2023

I'm loving everyone's end of year lists, and decided to make up one of my own.

I haven't been on Tumblr for very long and was originally just lurking. 2023 marks the year where I finally started posting, after I read a take that made me feel compelled to come to a fictional character's defense. (Saengtai, my poor little blorbo).

So in commemoration of my first proper year of active tumblring, I present what I love about this community (in no particular order).

(Side note - Technically I know this is still primarily a BL community, but I like to say QL because I am trying to manifest more lesbians for us.)

1) The Gifmakers

Y'all are a good 70% of the reason I joined Tumblr in the first place. There are so many show moments that I want to relive, but without having to search through videos. Sometimes I want to appreciate the aesthetics. Sometimes I want to remember adorable or goofy moments. Sometimes I just want to see cute boys eating each other's faces. Our gifmakers give all of that to us, with the addition of so much creativity and style.

There's too many amazing ones to mention everyone, but I have to shout out @sparklyeyedhimbo, because the way your brain works makes me so happy.

2) The expertise

The other part of why I joined Tumblr was to learn more about what BLs were out there and what I might be missing. And holy hell. Y'all are putting in the work. Not only lists and resources for finding all kinds of QLs, like these fabulous monthly breakdowns by @gunsatthaphan, but also amazing posts that add additional context, like @absolutebl's incredibly helpful breakdown of Asian honorifics. There is so much research people do, for fun! And then they share it!

3) The meta analysis

I frickin love reading people's takes and analyses on series. I love learning, I love seeing perspectives from people with different cultural backgrounds to my own, it's all so fascinating! There's so much context we can miss due to our own privileges, or lack of knowing about various cultures, or due to whatever bubbles we've been living in. People here are just so smart, and nuanced, and willing to reflect and think about things, and also push back at each other, but generally with respect (except when you call out the dumb shit you see, usually on Twitter or TikTok, where people are being reductive and dumb about gender and sexuality).

And I've seen a few takes where people complain about analyses, and say that the director/production doesn't do everything deliberately, and we're all reading too much into it. To which I say, eh, lighten up. How people connect to and relate to media has relevance beyond what was intended. The point is we get to think and discuss and learn and grow. That doesn't happen if we don't analyze.

Special shout out here to @respectthepetty because colors mean things!

4) The wild theories

The other side of the analysis coin, the clown cars y'all drive around in with the wildest of theories. I have happily climbed into an occasional clown car, and usually I am utterly wrong (*cough* Saifah *cough*). But it's a super fun ride. I love seeing how people's brains work. I love it when y'all are wrong. I love it when y'all are right. It's beautiful.

5) Immediate acceptance

I am one of those people who knows that I have a lot of good qualities, and also, always kind of expect rejection. Blame the childhood bullies, I guess. Anyway, whenever I delve into a new space, I still feel like a total dork that no one will want to talk to. It's kind of a fraught way to move through the world, but I manage.

Anyway, I started posting my thoughts as they came up, and people are just totally cool with it. People even follow me sometimes. Even my silliest thoughts and dumbest jokes get at least a couple likes. It's so validating.

And my very silly joke about gay mafia in Kiseki has over 800 likes. I feel very seen.

6) Mutuals

I still kind of can't believe I have any. This ties in to the dork feeling above, but seriously - they are soooo cooooool. They're smart and awesome and funny, and they somehow find me worth following back, which is baffling yet wonderful. I want to squish their faces and give them many kisses (if they're into that kind of thing).

7) The self-exploration

I really appreciate how it's become more talked about how a lot of people are discovering queerness through BL, because that is so the case for me. I think it's both that I was in a bit of a hetero bubble before, and also that I'm evolving a bit as I age. I had figured out I was demi, and maybe a little bit gay, before getting in to BL, but being in this community, and seeing so many of you share so openly and freely, has made me realize it might be more than a little bit.

Either it was a new realization, or being around y'all has made me more gay. Win win, either way.

8) The weirdness

I'm weird. Y'all are weird. I love it.

9) The thirst

So many in this community are thirsty as fuck, and as someone who is in that same condition, I love that it's not just me. There are not many places where I can freely admit how horny I am as a part of my general existence.

Here? I could post about wanting to lick some random BL actor's face, and it would get a bunch of likes and some tags like #lickable, and it's just not remotely a big deal.

Also the gifmakers understand this, and give us beautiful cuts of our spicy scenes. They are genuinely too good for us.

10) The communal watching experience

There is absolutely nothing like watching along with people in the community. It is so worth the torture of having to wait week to week for new episodes. Seeing the show trend, watching the theories fly fast and furious, or the way everyone collectively loses their minds over particular moments. In a world that can feel very isolating, it's a very warm experience.

So there you go. Thank you all for being you. Here's to another year of QL shenanigans and losing our collective minds!

[dialecticaldimensions]

Hello to any x files fans out there, I think I am finally ready to start my season 8 journey. Had to pause because I knew what was coming and as someone that was freshly experiencing grief about a year ago, I could not bring myself to continue… 

But!!! After a year of religiously consuming fanfic and reading many many msr/x files think pieces (shout out to @randomfoggytiger @thursdayinspace & @deathsbestgirl, I love scrolling your blogs & reading all of your thoughts!!) and also living vicariously through juni’s (mulders-too-large-shirt, not gonna tag her in case this is spoils something about s8) live blogging, I think I am finally ready to jump back in. 

I am so looking forward to the episodes I haven’t watched (despite already being irked with some plot lines), but I do like to watch source material for myself!! And the x files is truly some source material!!

For a show that was written in the 90s, the way I am sooooo drawn to Scully as a complex,well-rounded female character that I think even the more modern shows sometimes fail to fully capture. Because she’s just so complex and layered and multi dimensional in a way that I relate to and in the way that I see so many of the women in my own life. 

The way Scully is determined and strong and wants to be a boss-ass bitch, but is still sooo kind and empathetic and soft and girly (even though I think she wouldn’t really like to be associated with that term). 

Ugh, just ugh!!! As someone who also constantly struggles with wanting to be feminine and also wanting to be taken seriously!! I get it!! I get her!!! And gillian played this really well imo. There is so much depth to the way scully is portrayed even in times of shitty writing or less than compelling plot points. I have never been so drawn into a female character the way I have with her! 

And Mulder, my beloved. Definitely one of my all-time favourite male characters. He really is very kind and always willing to empathize with the victim. And the way he carries everything that happened with samantha and wraps it in layers and layers of dumb-ass humour, collapsing into his work and falling into his need to save everyone and everything around him. 

What I really like is how he is sooo determined to make the world better in the ways he knows how. And god, the way he claims the need to not trust anyone and be suspicious and question everything but never actually does that at some critical moments!! Because he so badly wants to believe in the goodness of people and wants to believe that he is worth the help, that they see what he’s fighting for and are willing to fight that fight. I want to scream about this so often. There is so much beauty in the subtle vulnerabilities of Mulder’s character and the way that he carries all that!! Again shout out to david for really playing to that in how he acts as Mulder. 

And then you put these two complex, flawed, unhinged individuals together and I have never known peace since!!! In the absolute best way. I have to say in the 15 years of being involved in a whole range of fandoms, I have never been quite as taken with a ship as I have been with msr. The way they fall into each other truly has me clutching at my heart. 

Because it really really is a meeting of minds and values and essences and an inherent understanding of what it means to exist in this world. They both have their own journey with that last one, but I think the way they move through that journey is soooo complementary to each other and that they could have only undertaken that journey once they met. 

… did not mean for this to be an essay haha, but this is what happens when I get started. This was mostly just a post to say if anyone wants to keep me company as I navigate s8 onwards, it would be v v welcomed! Periodic thought posts on the episodes will show up eventually ✨👽🛸

[hollowed-theory-hall]

ok so what are some of the changes you would want in the upcoming harry potter hbo series. and since your blog is Harry centric so I'll ask how do you want him to be portrayed in the series ? what traits of him do you think the series makers should shine more light on ?

Okay, I have, like, a list of things I didn't like in the movies and could be improved upon by the show. The list I have here isn't just about things the show could improve, but also things I want to see in the show in general. I think most of my opinions are pretty common, though.

(Also I'm not sure how good the show will be, like, I'm somewhat hopeful, but also very cautious with my expectations. We should start getting casting announcements around in a few months, which could help indicate where this show is going)

Regardless, here's my list of top concerns for the upcoming show:

Harry's character

This is the one you questioned specifically and one that could make or break the show for me. I want Harry's sass and anger, I don't want him to be a self-insert for the audience the way he was in the movies. I want his actual character. The sass, anger, and tenacity that is Harry Potter combined with his kindness, compassion, and sometimes clueless awkwardness. Let him be smart, clever, and talented.

Harry in the books is so much more than "just Expeliarmos" and the fact people could think that about Harry is a legitimate crime against his character the movies committed. Truly character assassination that Harry isn't an exceptional wizard with the world's lowest self-esteem and cheeky attitude.

(Also, for the love of god, give him green eyes, please. Contacts exist for a reason and it'll be a good way to differentiate the new actor from Radcliffe)

2. Ron & Hermione's characters

I could probably just put a "make all characters like in the books" category since this is true for a lot of them.

Specifically for the other two members of the Golden Trio, I want Hermione to have her flaws, and Ron to be smart. He is talented and smart and just as skilled as Harry and Hermione. He isn't the dumb comic relief and I'm so mad the movies made him such. And Hermione isn't a perfect Mary Sue who can do no wrong. Let her put Rita in a jar. Let her show how much she actually appreciates Ron and Harry and their approach to problems, different as it is to hers.

3. Voldemort's everything

I didn't like Voldemort's design, I didn't like his characterization, I didn't like how he spoke, how he walked — none of it felt like Voldemort to me.

I want Voldemort to be scary, not some odd caricature of himself. Give me a Voldemort design that looks scary. Give him the red eyes, and make him look actually skeletal. And let him move elegantly, talk softly. He isn't shouting and throwing tantrums, usually, he is very deliberate in what he says and does.

Also, give him his weird sense of humor. In the books, he makes bad puns ("Wormtail is here to lend a hand"), I like my villains a little campy with bad puns but also terrifying.

4. Dumbledore's everything

Well, honestly, I have no complaints about Dumbledore in the first movie, my problems started after he was recast.

I want Dumbledore to speak softly. I need an actor who could say "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" and make it work. I want an actor who'd smile like he knows things you don't as his eyes fucking twinkle, but could still look intense and even intimidating for the later seasons. I also want him to look whimsical and dress in the most absurd eye-catching robes you've ever seen.

5. On the matter of robes — wizard fashion

I want wizarding fashion. I want long robes, silly hats, colors, and patterns. I want the costume designers on the show to have fun with it. I want them to go wild.

The wizarding world should look whimsical and campy — that's part of the magic. I want it to look like a foreign world. Even the most purebloods of purebloods (like the Blacks) are more like the Addams Family than any serious drama. They have a sense of campiness and whimsy. Let wizards be weird as shit and show it in their dress and interior design (I mean, the Blacks hang house elf heads and have a troll leg umbrella stand, the Ministry of Magic has paper airplanes flying all around, they're weird).

6. About the more filler-y sections of the books

I want all the silly little plots that were removed from the movies. I think some of the more filer-y things add a lot to the books and to the whimsy of being a student at Hogwarts. I want the trio to sneak out Norbert, I want to see Peeves, the deathday party, all of these things that make Hogwarts truly feel like a magic school.

7. Hogwarts Castle

I love the castle of the movies and that of Hogwarts Legacy. Honestly, I think Hogwarts Legacy did a good job of capturing the feeling of the movies castle while making it its own new unique thing. I think the TV show should do something similar and kinda create a Hogwarts castle amalgamation of all previous iterations that would feel familiar and allow them to still use some of the same merchandise but also be new and unique at the same time.

8. Time period

I think this is a pretty common opinion, but I want the muggle clothes and sets to clearly be set in the 1990s. I want the show to be a period piece. I don't want to see smartphones, or modern fashion, or modern cars — none of that.

9. Age-appropriate casting

I'm not the only one who says this, but as great as Allen Rickman was, he was too old for the role. Part of the tragedy of Snape and the Marauders is how young they actually are. I think it'll just be much more heartbreaking if the actors looked as young as they're supposed to be.

(Including James and Lily in the flashbacks!)

10. Worldbuilding & extra scenes

Since it's a TV show and not a book, which opens up more perspective options, I would like to get, maybe, some extended Pottermore facts into the show. Like, to flash out the world in a way the movies didn't.

Additionally, I wouldn't mind if some extra scenes were added to build up characters we don't get as much of in the books and it could serve the plot. Like, as long as the scenes are added in a way which is like 'they might've happened in the books, we just didn't see them cause Harry wasn't there', that sort of thing without subtracting from anything else and without retconning or contradicting anything. Like, with good writers, this could be really well done, I'm just worried about them adding anything because I don't know how much faith I have in the whole project. But it could be cool if done well.

[starburts-addict]

Two of a Kind (part 1)

Note: Hi! I know this took a while to be posted. I had an AO3 moment. I'm doing better now just had a bunch of crazy things happen and whatnot. Now here is part 1 of my AU

CW: Mentions of death, reality shit, story changed drastically, I'm pretty sure the characters are OOC just because it's a yandere au, Shit starts changing immediately

@melon14

The light doesn't get any more blinding, even after a while when Grim opens the coffin. You rubbed your eyes and were ready to get chased once more, but you heard something completely different from the game. "What the- Hey! you're from my dream!" That sentence caught you off guard. You didn't expect him to dream of you. What if it isn't a dream? You needed to find out. “What… happened in this dream of yours?” Grim looked at you weirdly, like he felt guilty somehow. “Why are you asking? Why should I tell you?!” Of course, he wouldn’t outright tell you, if he had common sense, he would have tried to figure out why someone he dreamt of and never met was in front of him.

“Just tell me, I need to be sure about something. If you tell me, I’ll share it with you. You have my word.” Grim contemplated if he should, but he gave in to his curiosity. “Fine. We were friends, but towards the end, I ended up killing you. Happy now?” Your eyes widened. He remembers. He remembered the previous loop. It made you so happy, but you needed to be serious. You looked at Grim with an intense stare, well. intense for the cat anyways. “Grim. Listen to me. That wasn’t a dream. We’re running out of time before the upperclassmen walk in, but we need to find a way for me to leave. I’m not from here. I’ll explain once this ceremony ends.” Grim was a bit disturbed by how you looked at him, but even more by your words. You knew his name, you knew what was going to happen next in this situation that seemed so familiar to his dream.

“You can leave, you just have to walk out.” He rolled his eyes, trying to keep a tough front. "That's not what I meant and you know that. I meant to leave this world. It'll make more sense later." You remarked. Upon speaking, you hear the doors to the mirror chamber open, you curse under your breath as you and Grim turn your heads to see who entered. It was the headmaster and the upperclassmen. Luckily, your coffin was a bit out of sight, but your luck ran out the closer they got. The Headmaster looked at you in confusion and astonishment. "Oh my! A student got out! How peculiar!" You quietly groaned upon being caught. You knew the drill. Although, now that Grim is in the same situation as you, you can try something different.

"I'm not sure how I ended up here… Where am I?" You decided to play dumb. Grim was about to say something until you ended up grabbing him into a hug, which in turn would turn his speech into nothing but mumbles. The Headmaster raised an eyebrow at this, but simply ignored it. "My, it seems you have been severely disoriented by the ride here! It is okay, I'll explain everything for I am so gracious." This was similar to the dialogue in the game, but you just simply had to get the sentence out that you had no magic. You just had to play innocent. "You are at Night Raven College, an elite school to hone your magic! I am-" You interrupted. "E-excuse me… I don't mean to be rude… I don't have magic…" You said awkwardly.

The headmaster looked shocked. The students began to talk as you held Grim tighter the more he fought your grip."Well, how can this be! The process never made such a mistake before! If you don't have magic then who is that raccoon with you?" Grim bit you as he said that. You let go in pain and he shouted. "I ain't no raccoon! I'm a monster and I'll be the greatest magician around!" Great, Grim couldn't just play along. It made sense, but you had hoped he would at least listen for once. "He wants to be a student here! I think it would be worth it! He can replace me!" You said. Maybe, you don't really need Grim, maybe if you completely remove yourself from the school, you could finally go back once the story finishes, you've never tried that!

"Preposterous! No such thing has been heard!" Grim had an angry expression and then jumped away from your coffin. "I'll prove to you I can join!" He then commenced the prologue. Fire was everywhere and people were too busy panicking or trying to catch Grim, you decided to take this as your chance to run away and go to the Rival school.

As you ran, no one seemed to have noticed your disappearance, you mentally thanked Grim for the distraction and ran out, that was until you bumped into someone. "Sorry!" You automatically apologized. Then you realized, no one was really supposed to be out here. Who did you end up bumping into? As you looked up, you found an annoyed yet calm Malleus. What was he doing out here? He's supposed to be in Diasomnia! "It is alright." He spoke calmly. "I have to get going! Have a nice evening! Again, sorry for bumping into you!" As you were to run off, Malleus grabbed you by the hood. "Why are you wearing your ceremonial robes?" He asked. You were a tad bit scared, but decided not to show it. "There's some event in the mirror room! I'm not supposed to be here, but here I am wearing these robes." You said trying to stay calm.

Malleus stayed quiet before he picked you up. You were about to say something about it until he spoke. "That must mean the entrance ceremony is today…" He pouted. "I'm not sure if I should trust you, so I'm bringing you with me…" You sighed in defeat. You can't fight a strong magician. Especially one of the top five magicians in Twisted Wonderland. As you were brought back with Malleus, it seemed everything was back to normal before the fire, but everyone seemed to be surprised to see Malleus come, especially with you in hand. "There you both are!" The Headmaster said. "This one says they're not supposed to be here." Malleus said. "Oh yes! They have told me they hold no magic! If that is true, the Magic Mirror will tell us!" There was no need for an order as Malleus walked towards the mirror and placed you in front of it. And once again the game repeats. The reveal that not only do you not have magic, but you cannot be sent back home. You sighed heavily as you heard the shocked chattering.

"Oh my… I can't let you leave since you do not have a home…" You shook your hands in the air. "It's alright! I'll find a way back home on my own! Besides, Where would I stay?" You said in hopes that you would be let go. Your stomach dropped when you heard, not one, but two voices speak up. "They can stay at Diasomnia!" One seemed cheerful, who was easily recognized as Lilia's and the second one Seemed to be Malleus'. "I'm not sure… They're not a student here…" The Headmaster said. You chimed in hopes they would agree. "I couldn't possibly intrude in such a prestigious school! I'll only be dead weight!" Much to your dismay and surprise, Leona spoke up. "We'll teach you to be useful here at Savannaclaw." It was obvious he only offered to one up Malleus, but it was still a bit odd. "They can stay with us! It'll be absolutely no burden!" Kalim chimed in. Jamil tries to hush Kalim, but soon enough the rest of the dorm leaders had wanted to invite you to their dorm. All but Idia, who was against it, but Ortho insisted that you join Ignihyde.

Scratch the bit odd comment, this was very much more than just odd. You turned to the Headmaster defeated. "If I must stay, is there anywhere else I can stay? I wouldn't want to feel like a burden to the people around me!" Students with dorm authority all glared at you, but you didn't care. As long as you stayed quiet and didn't involve yourself with the main cast, you would be fine. The Headmaster thought to himself. "Well there is one dorm, but it's been abando-" Before he finished you interrupted him once more. "I'll take it!" Just like last time, he raised a brown in suspicion, but didn't really question anything. "Dorm Leaders! Take your students to your respective dorms!" All of them listened, albeit some begrudgingly did so.

You sighed as you were taken to Ramshackle and explained everything you have heard before. How you aren't a student, and you'll need to work to earn your keep and all that. You said your goodbyes before you turned to the dark off the form and looked annoyed. "Come out Grim." He came out quietly and looked a bit weirded out. "My dream wasn't really a dream was it?..." You smiled at him sadly and petted his head. "No… Know that I hold no grudge." He normally would have swatted your hand, but instead he looked at you and spoke. "For how long have you been stuck like this?..." You turned away and then looked back after taking a deep breath. "I don't know, I lost track after the 5th death…" Grim was saddened by your response, but he then swatted your hand and looked at you confidently. "I'll help you get back!" You smiled and thanked him for his contribution.

"Welp, let's get you recognized as another employee of the school. It's the only way to keep you here with me." Just as you said that, the fight with the ghosts had begun. You and Grim, like many times before, have coordinated Grim's attacks. And history repeated itself as the headmaster came in and had tested Grim's and your skills before deeming Grim worthy of staying as an employee alongside you. Once the Headmaster left you sighed. "This doesn't get any less tiring. Let's clean our bedroom a bit." You picked up Grim, who didn't seem to mind, but was startled as you both walked to the bedroom. You put him down as walked out only to come back with cleaning supplies such as brooms and such after a few minutes.

While you were cleaning, Grim had asked questions, which you answered with no hesitation. "Did you manage to change the story?" Hey asked. When he did, you remembered the strange interaction you had. "Yes actually. Normally, I just get offered to stay in Ramshackle, but this time, all the dorms offered me their dorm." Grim stopped cleaning and tilted his towards you. "I've never been there to finish the ceremony, that's not normal?" You nodded. "They never offer. It was strange, not only that Tsunotaro ended up being away from where was supposed to be and before I could escape, I bumped into him." Even Grim knew that wasn't normal. "We should get some rest, we need to plan for tomorrow in the morning." You said as you got into bed. "Why not now?" Grim asked. "It's late and we need our energy. Grim crawled up next to you without questioning anything else.

The next day, The only time you had to plan was the walk to the statues. Everything went according to the story. The ghosts woke you and Grim up, the headmaster came in and explained your duties, and now you're on your way to the great seven statues. "Alright Grim, I did come up with something. When Ace comes up to us, we let the conversation flow until he starts to be an asshole, after that we ignore him." Grim groaned. "Do we have to?" "Yes, Grim. We need to play it as cool as possible." You said as you both arrived.

Without hesitation you started to clean. It wasn't bad, Until you heard more than one voice approach. You and Grim turned around to find, not the person you were looking for, but the vice dorm leaders, plus Ruggie and Ortho. You turned to Grim with a surprised look on your face. Trey spoke up first. "Riddle, the Dorm leader of Heartslabyul has invited you for a dorm Dinner tonight." You and Grim looked at each other with surprise. That was until Ruggie spoke up. "Hey! Leona had the same idea! Back off!" The only leech twin at the scene spoke. "Pardon me, both of your requests cannot be met as Azul had invited them to a free VIP meal at the mostro lounge tonight." A fourth voice interrupted. "Kalim wants to throw a party with the guest of honor, I wouldn't make Kalim cry, now would I?" And a fifth. "Non! Non! Vil wishes to assess our dear trickster!" "I want my big brother to have a new friend!" A last voice chimes in. "Oh dear, none of the rest are honest. Malleus simply requests that I convince them to reconsider their choice to stay at Diasomnia!" All hell broke loose as the group that approached you and Grim argued.

You looked at Grim utterly confused as he whispered to you loudly, but only loud enough for you to hear. "This didn't happen last time." You whispered back. "This never happened."

[breadpanda1]

Support Indie Animation

I haven't done a longer post like this, but here goes nothing. Hi, I, like many, have found more enjoyment in the heart and soul put into indie animations than the usual corporate cartoons on regular broadcasting. Stories that matter, that grip the audience instead of splashing colors and screeching out noises to 'tune off our brains.' Animation, among other mediums, should push us to think, to be inspired, corrected, taught or bring something to attention. But it isn't easy. As this video below will explain, funding is increasingly difficult for smaller studios who put in such hard work, not to mention oversaturation of lesser quality indie animations which can damage the reputation of the industry as a whole. I want stories that matter again. I don't want to turn my brain off; I want to exercise it. Children's animation, especially, has been dumbed down to bright colors and sensory overload just to keep the little ones distracted instead of teaching and preparing them for the world. Do you remember the lessons of friendship and how to view life from a more positive light from Spongebob? How about the lessons on not giving in to pressure or feelings of inadequacy, or appreciating everything and everyone around you? No? Well you can thank the decisions of Nickelodeon for what they've done to modern Spongebob. You don't get any nuance, no character flaws, biases or lessons, just a bunch of sea creatures shouting, laughing and contorting their faces. If you cannot directly support indie studios with money, then spread the word at least. Be respectfully vocal and spread a positive message of encouragement and importance. We are all people and we are a community, as such we ought to be there to support one another. In any way. As for me, I would like to share this indie gem. Monkey Wrench, a story about two goofballs just trying to work to make ends meet in a difficult galaxy with an underlying chaos from a prior conflict ages ago that threatens to expand further. If you want good action, good voice acting, and a story that feeds you breadcrumbs of mystery, give this a consideration, at least. I think that's all. I'm sure I haven't conveyed all that I wish to nor have I done it the most eloquently, but I wanted to give this a try. Thank you for reading. =]

[raggedyflowers]

Op man reacting to you being mean to yourself

okay so… maybe this is a little self indulgent because i used to be so mean to myself and I wanted someone to be gentle with me (and now I’m my biggest fan, even if there still are some bad days!)

character: sanji, law x reader

cw: a little of angst, but mostly fluff

world count: 453

Sanji:

You were never good with the kitchen stuff, but Sanji asked you to help him and – really, you could never say no to him. Even if your boyfriend was guiding you and telling you what to do, you felt a little nervous about messing up all of his recipes. and then, maybe for the anxiety, you did really mixed up salt and sugar. “Y/n, wait —!” Sanji tried to stop you, but the mistake was already done. You looked at him and then at the plate now ruined. You shook your head “Sorry, Sanji” you cried. “I am so dumb”. Sanji looked at you for a moment and then he grabbed your hands. “Love, you are not dumb” he told you, fixing your hair behind your ear. “Do you know how many recipes I have ruined in the years? It’s not a big deal. So do not talk about your self like that, you are the greatest”. You nodded lowering your eyes for hiding him your tears. “Thank you, Sanji” you said shyly. “You are my perfect angel”.

Law:

It was so fascinating hearing Law talking about all the things he knew. He knew so much about so many things and even he was a little nerd, you loved him every more when he started rambling on about all the stuff he liked and he was interested in. It was already late night in the Polar Tang, but you couldn’t just go away, not when Law was talking you about the last book the read. You were smiling and – maybe – staring at him a little too much. Of course he noticed, stopping talking to look at you back. “What?” he asked you. “Nothing, Traffy” you smirked to him. “I was just thinking that… I don’t know, sometime I wish I was smart like you”. Law tilted his head. “Why you always say things like that?” he asked you again. “Like what?” you didn’t understand. “Like you think you’re not smart enough, or less smart than us”. You didn’t know what to say. You never noticed you do that. “I — I don’t know” you said. Law shook his head before grabbing your waist and making you sat on his laps. “You are so smart, y/n-ya. Maybe not in the same way as me, but in so many different ways”. You could just nod to him, trying not to actually cry in front of him. “You are so bright, I’d like you to see me the way a see you”. Now you were legit crying, so you hid your face in the crease of his neck. “Shout up, Traffy” you blabbed and he hugged you tighter.

[eras-mus]

I'M BACK BECAUSE YOU NEED ASK

So just, hear me out. M or GN!Reader that is biologically Hades and Maleficent son/child, Aurora is his little sister (he's in second year at NRC and Aurora in first year in a girl school).

How Platonic!Crowley, and any character’s you want, will react at the family days when they come to school for Reader ? (It's bad explained, i know.)

Ignore it if you don't want to write it.

Have a good day and night.

PS : The Alice Yuu was perfect.

Maleficent! ± Hades! Male! Reader

×You are Malleus's cousin

×Asra is your adopted sister and unknown to everyone, Silvers actual sister

×You and Idia are childhood friends (I don't think he's related to Hades, correct me if I'm wrong)

×You're not Yuu

×You're and third year Ignihyde student

Sorry I haven't been posting, I didn't have any motivation!

-

There were many things that were well known about Y/n, most people considered him an open book, but his family life stayed a mystery.

There were a few things that people could gather by just talking to him; his mom died, his dad remarried (Persephone), and he had known the shroud brothers for a long time.

The reason Y/n kept his family a secret was because he saw how people would avoid Malleus, leaving him alone and unwelcomed, but for some ungodly reason, nothing could be left a secret in this school.

Family day.

A day that Y/n had managed to avoid in the past thanks to either Idias hacking or a quick excuse that only makes sense because Crowley is an idiot.

But this year he forgot all about the dreaded day.

The day started as any other, he straightened out his uniform, found something to drink, and started making his way to the cafeteria.

But then he saw those gargoyles from the underworld waiting for him in the second he stepped out of his dorm mirror.

"He he- see I told you he'd be here if we waited long enough!" The shorter one spoke.

"Well, excuse me for hoping the boy had learned to get up earlier for once!" Panic shouted back.

"What are you two doing here?" Y/n asked, stunned.

"Well, we just missed ya and your horrible attitude soooo much!" Pain started. "NO! Its family day dumb-fuck."

"Does that mean dads here!"

"Of course, he is, he wasn't going to miss is first AND only chance to see you at your school." The taller one said in a tone most wouldn't dare have with the son of a god.

"FUCK! I gotta go!"

And just like that, the teenager was off like his head was going to be cut off.

"Not even a 'How are you?' or 'How's the Underworld?' Typical."

The cafeteria was filled with people in awe of one of the most recognizable people in the world. No one had the nerve to approach him as he tried to find his son and instead just circled around him, entranced by his existence.

"Have any of you seen my son?" The god asked the crowd, "He's about this tall, Ingihyde, of course, and always half asleep."

"Uncle! So good to see you." A familiar pair of horns made its way through the crowd.

"Ah, Malleus, have you seen Y/n? It appears no one else here as." Hades asked as he brought the younger boy in for a hug.

Malleus chuckled, "Unfortunately, not today, he normally sleeps in quite late."

"I assume he got that habit from that Shroud boy?"

"Probably."

"DAD!"

Everyone turned to see the boy whose father left everyone so stunned and audible gasps were heard as students quickly realized the similarities between their magic.

"Y/n! My boy! How have you been? Have you finally made some new friends?"

"What do you mean new friends! I have plenty of friends-"

"Name three other than Idia and Ortho."

"Well, there's Silver, and..." He thought for a moment "Well how have you been?"

"Well busy with the Underworld and ACTUAL responsibilities, unlike Zeus and the other gods."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go talk about that outside." Y/n said trying to rush his dad outside.

As they entered the courtyard Y/n noticed Deuce showing his mom around and Ace getting bullied by his brother. As Hades rambled on to his son about how unfair his job was Crowely took notice of the god and quickly made his way over in hope of some positive publicity.

"Y/n! I'm so happy to see you and your father enjoying yourselves!"

"Well, everything would be perfect but we're waiting on a couple more people." Hades started. "Do you think you could tell them where we are?"

"Who else did you invite!?" Y/n could already feel the eyebags start to form under his eyes as he wished he'd stayed in bed.

"Asra and Persephone!" Hades smiled.

"Stay here I'll go find them."

"Stay here and do what? I'll be bored out of my mind."

"Talk to Crowley or something! I don't care, just stay here!"

Y/n made his way back to the Ingihyde dorm, if he was going to do this, he was going to make Idia suffer with him.

"Get your ass up! It's family day!" The boy just barged into the others dorm, as he often did.

"What does that have to do with me!?"

After a couple minutes of arguing, Idia was now walking close behind Y/n with his tablet in hand. The loud environment was Idias worst nightmare, and he will never know how he was talked into this.

"Y/N!"

That was all the two heard before said boy was tackled to the ground by a familiar head of long white hair. A few looks a shock were shot their way making Idia jump.

"Asra! GET OFF OF ME!"

"So whiney!" She stuck her togue out. "Are you mad cause I interrupted your time with you boyfriend!"

Once again Idia jumped from something the girl did. This has been an ongoing joke that was only funny to one girl and very annoying to the brother and his friend.

"He wishes!" Y/n said, shoving his sister lightly.

"Now kids," a voice so graceful that it could only belong to one person spoke. "We're in public, act like it."

Soon the four made it back to the courtyard where Malleus, Pain, and Panic had joined Hades and Crowley.

"So, you started the Gargoyle club in our honor, right?" Panic asked, nudging Malleus.

Malleus laughed in response, "No but you two did he with my interest in gargoyles."

As soon as the four joined the crowed Crowely insisted he get a picture.

"It will be perfect for the school Magicam! Now say 'family!'"

[halogenwarrior]

This is somewhat of a continuation of the post I made recently: but I think Marco and Cassie’s relationship dynamic is a very interesting one. They are on the surface of it the advocates of opposing ideologies, and the closest emotionally to Jake so that he is always feeling the contrasting pull of both. And by connection they are the resident “smart ones” of the group, the ones that tend to notice things others don’t and make the most cogent intellectual arguments. Except that (in a running theme of the series of the contrast of how each character is viewed by others vs. reality, and how those roles they are stereotyped into in the pressure cooker of war affect them) only Marco is really acknowledged and named by the others as “the smart one”, as an appellation constantly referred to them when they are being introduced (Rachel is the brave one, Jake is the leader, Tobias is the one who is a hawk, etc.). Yes Cassie will sometimes get a shout out as being deep or emotionally understanding, but never “smart”, even if she has about as many moments of finding the intelligent solution or realizing something as Marco does. And I think this speaks to how Cassie’s ideas seem too out-of-left field, she thinks “differently” and is likely to be dogpiled by everyone as a result, while as noted in one of the books (can’t remember which) Marco’s complaining and cautiousness (and by extension his ruthlessness) says what everybody thinks but doesn’t want to say, just on a more intelligent and insightful level, it’s the same “genre” but with more insight. Even Cassie herself internalizes it, referring to Marco as the smartest one and herself as a dumb tree-hugger.

Interestingly, the only time I can think of she is referred to as “the smartest one” the way Marco often is by Marco himself in #45. In this book, Marco wants to rescue his mother but, from his position of logical ruthlessness, thinks it would only harm others for his own personal benefit. And then Cassie is the one who is able to come up with an objective reason why saving her would benefit them and their cause, and Marco responds by thinking that “I just wouldn’t again forget that, in some ways, Cassie is the bravest and smartest of my friends”. He appreciates Cassie and her intelligence because when someone else, like Jake, tries to tell him do act with his heart, there’s not much of an argument to it and it is something he can easily debunk, it’s all just foolish and not pragmatic. But Cassie is smart enough to actually make him believe, by his own logic, that he can dare to hope for himself.

There’s also the dynamic between them of selfishness/personal gain vs. selflessness, where it quickly becomes unclear who is supposed to represent what. But just a recap if you haven’t read that: I talked in my earlier post about how Cassie’s fundamental drive/motivation is that the animal world is cold, running on just survival, of oneself and those genetically close to oneself (as she realizes in #9 and has a bit of a breakdown about), and to prove there is something more and the world is not senseless, every sapient being has to use their ability to morally reason (as she articulates in Megamorphs #2) to do whatever an animal wouldn’t. Marco starts out as the opposite, the one out of all the Animorphs who is most associated with personal “survive and protect one’s family” goals. In the early books, he is the most concerned about the risk of death they run, for himself and how it would emotionally crush his father, and often points out that the people they are helping are not people he personally knows or is related to, so why should he risk his life for them? When he decides to fully commit himself to the war, it’s not out of some far-reaching altruism but because he now knows his mother is a Controller and he might be able to rescue her. Contrasting Cassie’s desire to transcend the reasoning of an animal, the ruthlessness that Marco desires is “animal-coded” in #15, where he loves the shark morph for giving him the simple and ruthless animal instinct that allows him to escape his uncertainties and insecurities. 

But something strange happens along the way. Step by step, Marco transitions from using the shark’s logic, the animal ruthlessness, for its typical purpose of survival of one’s genes to expanding it to the whole planet, being willing to appropriate that animal instinct for the benefit of all of humanity even at the expense of his personal benefit (being willing to sacrifice his mother no matter how much it emotionally destroys him) – appropriating the logic of selfishness for a selfless cause, and taking the same risks even though he’s given up on saving what personally matters to him from it. And Cassie’s fundamental driving principle of avoiding that self-serving logic also means avoiding the “animal’s action” even when it would have a great utilitarian benefit, which gradually starts to look an awful lot like selfishness. In #19, Cassie is willing to risk her friends’ torture and death, and in the long run the enslavement of humanity, so she can convince Aftran that there is another way besides parasitism. This makes perfect sense with her convictions, as the animal logic would say the Yeerks are biologically forced to be humans’ enemies, and humans for their own survival must see them as enemies to kill, but her beliefs means she must try to find a way that they can use their sapience to transcend that, otherwise what would be the point of living and winning in the first place? But it’s still a different kind of selfishness; not a selfishness for one’s own preservation, but that of potentially causing much suffering of others so one can personally feel morally sound and avoid despair. And I just love that dynamic where it quickly becomes unclear within the character foil relationship who is supposed to be the selfish or personally driven one and who is supposed to be the selfless, caring for everyone person. Just a fascinating dynamic.

[beanghostprincess]

i would care if you talked about luffy's issues please talk please tell me all your takes, genuinely (< anon who enjoys your takes)

I am so thankful you asked me this because Luffy is genuinely one of my favorite characters of all time, especially when it comes to shonen protagonists. I'm always saying I don't like shonens (says the one that watches a lot of shonens) but that's mainly because the main characters never feel... Well-written enough for me to like them. But, well, One Piece is different. With all characters, really. It's one of the first shonens I watch that I genuinely love and enjoy because of the characters (shout out to Mob Psycho 100 being one of my favorite animes of all time too because of that same reason).

Luffy is a very complex character and I think that's why he gets mischaracterized most of the time when it comes to the fandom. Some people make him too dumb. Others make him too childish. Others make him way darker and more depressed than he truly is. And I'd say that's weird, having in mind how much the show talks about Luffy and is focused on Luffy's POV, but I kind of understand because people aren't used to characters that are both optimistic and realistic at the same time. Most of the time people consider an optimistic character to be completely idealistic (a good example here is Uta. She is idealistic because she's been sheltered for so long and thinks something as complex as the corruption in the world can be solved with a few songs and love) and refuse to acknowledge the fact that somebody with hopes and dreams can also understand (first-hand, even) the suffering within the world. People like extremes. They like to make both Law and Zoro extremely edgy. They like to babify Sanji and Koby. They forget about Nami's character depth to make her only "the mean lesbian" of the group (that term makes me so fucking furious you don't even know). Etc. Etc. Etc. The thing is: Luffy has layers. His personality varies. He's optimistic. He's realistic. He's stupid. He's emotionally intelligent. He's impulsive. He cares about the safety of the people around him. He's careless. He feels guilt. He's confident. He's so damn insecure. He's playful. He's the most serious character too. Etc. Etc. Etc.

What I want to say with all of this is that Luffy, despite being always perceived as this childish, dumb, and careless character within the fandom, has so much depth and trauma he deals with every fucking day. I once saw somebody saying Luffy is "not smart enough to understand the feeling of sadness" and I started laughing because what the fuck does that even mean. And... Is that person watching the same thing as me? Because the guy has suffered the injustice of the world so many times and so many losses that I can't even count them.

Basically: People portray Luffy as if he hadn't gone through any type of trauma when OP has shown countless times that he has been through a lot. A fucking lot. Perhaps it's the fact that he's the one hiding it all the time in the show, always replacing sadness with the need to be stronger so he doesn't feel like that ever again (aka protecting everyone so he doesn't lose anybody again. And not even in a selfish way to not be alone, although we could say that he does feel like that to some extent. But because his loved ones do not deserve to disappear or die in those ways and he feels guilty whenever it happens because every time, he says it's because he wasn't strong enough to protect them) and that's why most people don't realize how much pain he has gone through. But that's not a very valid argument because we have a lot of arcs that prove it otherwise (Sabaody, Marineford, Film Red, Wano...). So, yeah, I guess people just don't know how to read.

Starting through chronological order, I want to talk about his abandonment issues and savior complex that always seem to go hand in hand.

Luffy doesn't like to be alone. He's a very empathetic and extroverted person. He doesn't like to be bored, always loving the company of somebody else. But, sadly, he has always been kind of alone? People come and go for him all the time, and you can't tell me that doesn't affect him psychologically. He's 7 when he meets Uta and Shanks and the kid has never been more excited! That's when his dream of being a pirate begins and it's the first time he has a friend. A real friend, not just random animals he manages to find or older people that sometimes take care of him. Luffy gets bored easily, so of course, Shanks and Uta, being something new, make his life brighter. With dreams and new experiences and hope for a newer, better life outside his village. And then Uta and Shanks have to go, of course, and he stays all alone again. From what we've seen, the only thing Luffy did when they weren't around was just... Waiting for them to come back to him. That's it. Luffy's joy basically comes from being with people, and especially when he's fixated on somebody in particular, he doesn't let them go. Then they come back... But Uta is not with them anymore. That's Luffy's first heartbreak, in my opinion. It's when he decides that he has to be stronger. He loved Uta so damn much. She meant the world to him. And suddenly she isn't there, giving him no time to say goodbye, and... He only has Shanks. But Shanks refuses to tell him the truth about what happened with her. So here you go! It's the first time Luffy loses somebody this dear to him and the first time Shanks betrays him enough for him to get angry at his hero. He ends up accepting it, of course, but not because he has moved on, but because both Uta and Shanks told him to be stronger. More mature. And he forces himself to grow up faster because he wants something. He wants to know where his friend is, and if Shanks refuses to tell him because he's just a kid, then he'll just have to grow up and become stronger. To become a pirate and to keep the promise he made with Uta. The movies aren't canon so I just keep thinking about Luffy wondering where Uta is, and it breaks my heart every time.

Then Ace and Sabo appear in his life and... They are literally everything to him. I like Garp. He did what he could do. Kind of. But he leaves Luffy on his own with Ace under the care of some bandits (Dadan we love you, queen). So he can't really blame Luffy for the way he turned out to be, honestly. The thing is: Ace and Sabo are, again, something new to Luffy. They are not just friends. They are his brothers, now. We don't talk enough about Luffy's maturity and respect for other people's dreams even when he's just a kid. Luffy literally was kidnapped and beaten up and he didn't dare to say a word about Ace and Sabo's treasure because he respected their dream. He's loyal and understands other people's feelings and hopes perfectly. His empathy and emotional intelligence are just perfect. Then, well, you all know the story, but these two become the most important thing in Luffy's life, not only because they are his brothers, but because they are the representation of their dreams and future. And then it crashes into a million fucking pieces because of Celestial Dragons and classism and rich people quite literally saying "We are burning down the poor because they don't deserve to live! Woohoo!". And it's Luffy's first time realizing that the world is unfair and fucked up and that there are people that believe to be superior to others, a thing that Luffy fights against all the time.

So, Luffy learns that the world is extremely fucked up at a very young age. He has first-hand contact with the abuse rich people inflict on others, in every way. He suffers from the torture that is fighting for your life in the world of pirating and thieves when he's not even a pirate yet. He's just a kid. What the fuck. And then he loses Sabo. His older brother literally is killed by a celestial dragon and he can't do anything about it. He can only cry, of course, he's just a kid. What is he going to do? So he decides to become stronger. Because he feels weak in the hands of what is the injustice of the world. He feels trapped by that injustice, in my opinion, and wanting to be stronger is just the path to freedom. Because freedom means being able to save the people he cares about.

And here's the thing: Luffy's need to become stronger always comes from the guilt he feels after losing somebody, blaming himself even though he literally could have done nothing at the time to save Uta or Sabo. He has a severe savior complex, not to feel better about himself (although you could say that it would certainly fix his fear of being weak) but to not lose anybody else. For some reason he always feels responsible for the faith of the people he loves, he's constantly putting others first and sacrificing himself and then feeling guilty and weak when he can't save them when it wasn't even in his hands to save them in the first place.

Kid Luffy goes through a ton of stuff in his early years and the fear of being alone... Of losing somebody he cares about... It haunts him. He sees Shanks and piracy as the meaning of freedom and strength. It's just that simple for him: If he becomes a pirate, he'll be strong. If he's strong, he'll be free. If he's free, he'll never lose anybody again.

And yet, even if he's confident he'll manage to do this... He's still a kid. He's still a little brother. Ace's little brother. He depends on Ace, too, because that's the one person he has left. Ace promises him he won't die because he's just as confident, and says this as if Luffy was stupid for thinking something could happen to him. Not to get too into Ace's character right now, but the fact that he's constantly wondering if he should be alive to then realize Luffy needs him to stay alive... Is so damn beautiful.

And then he literally dies in front of Luffy. Protecting Luffy. And Oh, boy if that doesn't kill him... But that comes after Sabaody! After losing literally all of his crew! God, stop hurting this guy already for fuck's sake-

Long story short, Luffy manages to get a family. Not a crew. A family. He's not alone anymore, and he proves constantly that he won't let any of them go or die on him the way it happened with Uta and Sabo.

Water 7 is... Rough for Luffy, to say the least. Because it's the first time he sees everything he has built crumbling down. Robin is taken by the Marines. Usopp wants to leave the crew because he doesn't feel like he fits in, even though Luffy knows he is perfect for the family (Usopp just can't believe him because, you know, insecurities suck). And he has to learn how to be a captain. A true captain. He has to make the harsh decision of fighting his best friend and letting him go (his worst fucking fear) at the age of 17 because he's the captain. He has to be mature. And strong. And he definitely doesn't feel like those now. Not when Robin is also on her way to be executed.

Usopp is leaving. Robin might die. And it's just like Uta and Sabo all over again.

So, basically, Luffy grows up too fast. He grows up too fast, with the fear of abandonment and being weak, and the weight of being the captain of a whole crew resting on his shoulders. Besides, he fights against the world government for Robin because he refuses to let her die thinking she doesn't deserve/want to live, and it reminds me a lot of Ace's story. Ace doesn't think he deserves to live but then stays because he realizes that Luffy loves him and needs him. Robin, thanks to Luffy, realizes that she wants to live and that she has a new family to fight for.

Nobody dies and Usopp comes back this time, so everything ends up turning out fine after all! Yay!

Then Sabaody happens and I swear my guy can't have a fucking break.

Who has suffered more, Jesus Christ or Monkey D. Luffy from Sabaody to Marineford? I think we already know the answer.

He loses all of his crew. All at once. His worst fucking fear. They vanish right in front of his eyes and he can't do anything. He feels weak. He's shattered. Completely broken. But he's optimistic, still, because he believes in his crew and he knows they'll find a way to be together again! They've ben through a lot together, and they can find each other in a few days in Sabaody again. It's fine. But he has to delay it, of course, because his other biggest fucking fear is happening right now: Ace might die. His older brother might die.

So if you mix the trauma that caused him to have abandonment issues and a savior complex with the fact that Ace is the only sibling he has left and he is completely alone because his crew isn't by his side anymore... You get the most heartbreaking arc of the show! Awesome.

He does everything he can to save Ace. Ace complains about it, begging him to stay away from danger. And he refuses because he's his brother. He has to fight for him. And he does. And Ace dies anyway. Ace dies protecting him, too, and the hope that was left within him dies completely at that moment. Everything is shattered. His whole world is crumbling down. And I think that Luffy dies too at that moment.

For Luffy, losing Ace is not like losing a limb. Losing Ace is losing his everything. Ace meant the world to him. He was the representation of their dreams and hopes and past and future. He was the only person who knew Sabo like the back of his hand, too. And now Luffy is the only one carrying their souls. All alone.

That's probably Luffy's rock bottom. He doesn't think he deserves to be a pirate (or alive, either, but I don't want to get too deep into his suicidal thoughts I definitely think are a real thing because then this becomes too dark. But yeah. I think he does think about that too). He doesn't think he's strong enough. And he's completely broken.

There's this line from Fleabag that I absolutely adore: "I don't know what to do with it." / "With what?" / "With all the love I have for her. I don't know where to put it now."

Because Ace is gone. He's completely gone. And all the love Luffy has for him turns into grief and he doesn't know what to do anymore if Ace's soul isn't in the world to look after him. He doesn't know what to do if all the love and feelings he has for his brother go to waste. And it's his fault. Because he wasn't strong enough to protect him. Because he wasn't able to protect himself, Ace having to sacrifice himself for him. (And we know he feels guilty about this because he tells Sabo the second they meet again. He apologizes for not protecting Ace. He feels guilty about what happened still. And Sabo is just glad Luffy is okay because he knows his brothers too well to know already what happened).

Then our beloved Jinbe comes along (I love you. Please adopt me) and, following that quote of Fleabag: "I'll take it. No, I'm serious. It sounds lovely. I'll have it. You have to give it to me." / "Okay." / "It's got to go somewhere."

Jinbe reminds Luffy that he still has his crew. That he still has people who need him alive. People that love him and care for him. That he can't be weak if he has helped so many people already. That they're willing to take both the love and pain Ace makes him feel. And it's such a great character development for Luffy... It makes me go insane. He remembers his crew one by one and realizes that he's not alone anymore. That he has to be stronger for them and for Ace. And for Uta. And Sabo. Jinbe is there with him when the others couldn't, and it has nothing to do with Luffy's issues but I just want to mention how much I love Jinbe for this.

But he still feels the need to be stronger and the fear of losing his crew and the people he loves still haunts him. He tells the straw hats to meet after 2 years (that's a long fucking time. Like. Longer than the time they've spent together. Imagine the loyalty, damn). And it's... It's so beautifully written. The 3D2Y scene is one of my favorites because it shows the loyalty and love they have for each other, and how Luffy is willing to become stronger for the people he loves and the ones he has lost along the way. I literally have the tattoo. I am obsessed with the whole concept.

As I said, Luffy's abandonment issues and the fact that he wants to become stronger to never lose anybody again (Savior complex much?) still remain even after his character development. Because that's not something you get rid of. That's just how he is. And I think that, as long as he is with the straw hats, it won't be a problem.

Also I wanted to mention his reunion with Sabo! The guilt he feels for losing Ace? The way he clings onto his older brother as if they were going to take Sabo away from him? They're extremely codependent and I am here for it, honestly. Sabo would die for Luffy and Luffy would kill him if he did that. Also, I don't know where the fuck Sabo is now because I'm only watching Wano but I swear to God if something happens to him I will murder somebody with my bare hands. :)

Oh! And then it comes my favorite arc of all the show: Whole Cake Island (to the surprise of literally no one!). Luffy, in the beginning, is extremely optimistic when it comes to rescuing Sanji. He's simple like that. "If he doesn't want to get married, we rescue him. If he wants to get married, he just brings his wife with us!". And if Sanji didn't want to come back to them (truly not wanting to) he would accept it. But Sanji wants to. Luffy knows Sanji wants to go back to the Sunny with them. He knows Sanji isn't being true to himself. And God, he's desperate. Because Sanji is stubborn and his self-sacrificing and deprecating thoughts are even stronger than Luffy's, and he won't give up until Luffy lets him go. But Luffy doesn't want to fight him, he just wants his cook back. Because he knows that, no matter how much harm he does to him, Sanji is only doing it to himself (one of my favorite quotes from OP). So, Luffy goes again through the desperation of not losing a crewmate, but losing one of his wings. Without Sanji, Luffy can't become the king of the pirates. He's willing to die from starvation for him. Are you- Are you all aware that he almost fucking dies from starvation? I don't think we talk about that enough because what the actual fuck. There's this thing they tell Luffy (I don't remember exactly when or the exact phrasing) about him wanting Sanji back out of selfishness and not because of Sanji's well-being and... I partially agree? Don't get me wrong, Luffy does everything here for Sanji because he knows Sanji is suffering and lying to himself. But Luffy is selfish, too. Luffy doesn't want Sanji to go away because he loves him. That's his cook. He doesn't want to lose anybody else, even less knowing that they're going to be unhappy. That's kind of for me the confirmation of Luffy's abandonment issues. Like- He does everything for his crew, of course, but he's so scared of losing them. Then Sanji comes back to them, of course, and they have their own Pride and Prejudice moment. Not even Jane Austen can write shit like this.

I kind of want to talk about Wano but I haven't finished it yet (I'm like, on episode 1056) but I would like to mention how beautiful it is for Luffy to carry Ace's soul and promises like that. And also the responsibility he carries during the whole arc to save Wano? That's so- It's so fucked up. He's such a good leader and captain and everything I said in this post and all the things he does in Wano show that he will become the king of the pirates. I love him so damn much. I can't even write it down properly.

Anyway, summarizing everything: Luffy has a lot of abandonment issues and a savior complex that becomes unhealthy to the point of sacrificing himself and always carrying the burdens of everyone else. Because he fears he might lose his loved ones if he isn't strong enough. So. You know. It would be great if people stopped saying he's just childish and fun and that he doesn't have any character depth because he's probably the most complex shonen protagonist I've ever seen! He has suffered so damn much it hurts! Live Laugh Love Luffy! <3

[takibikaen]

Gifts Exchanged, One Sternritter to Another

Author’s Notes: Merry Christmas guys, I wrote up this little Bleach Christmas one-shot last year and thought it would be fitting to post it this time of the year. While watching the TYBW anime, many Quincy characters had quirks and traits I was invested and wanted to explore in a non-battle setting, thus a Christmas gift exchange!

Ao3 link - The fic is also on Ao3 and has a list of references from TYBW that I enjoyed adding to the story!

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Bambietta Basterbine peeked through the window of the ice-covered Quincy-building in apprehension. "Is he gone?" She asked hopefully to Askin Nakk Le Vaar who was looking through his binoculars nonchalantly without a care in the world.

"Seems so, Bambi-chan."

"Good, that damn Grandmaster ruined my hopes of getting a bonus last year for the New Year. This year, this Christmas party we're doing will make up for it!" Bambietta huffed sourly.

"What were you even going to spend the bonus on?" Askin's mouth contorted into a lazy smirk, his stylized eyebrows raised in a mildly curious manner.

"Hmph, I haven't really thought of what to buy, but that bonus would still have been nice considering how all we do is training or fighting with each other in the Wandenreich."

Sitting on a chair with the other Femritter, Giselle giggled loudly while wearing a red-white Christmas hat instead of her Sternritter cap. "Bambi-chan can be so dumb sometimes hehe."

That earned the annoyance of the self-proclaimed leader of the Femritter as she started firing back insults at the Zombie Sternritter.

Askin took a sip of his cafe au lait, wondering why he even went along with this semi-entertaining idea in the first place. It had been a breather from the repetitive training and fighting with the other colorful personalties of his fellow Sternritter, yet considering how the Wandenreich Quincy's only goal was to fight for his Majesty and completely decimate the Soul Society....this Christmas party was just unfit for their lot.

A tap on Askin's shoulder shook him out of his desolate thoughts. A giant mouth was in front of him, looking hungry. "Liltotto-chan, that appetite of yours never ceases to amuse me." chuckled the easy-going Quincy sardonically. He handed over a cup of his cafe au lait to Sternritter G, watching the short blond Quincy consume the steamed liquid.

"Their bickering was making me hungry....anyways, the gift exchange is about to start. I'm heading for Gremmy's cell, you guys can waste your time with this holiday idiocy." Liltotto said apathetically.

"What a shame, you didn't put your name in the gift exchange name bowl? Your friends will be so disappointed." Askin remarked, despite inwardly agreeing with her on the pointlessness of it all.

Besides that, mentioning that monster Gremmy filled Askin with a fatal sensation, more effective than whatever mental horrors As Nodt could conceive. "Still, it's none of my business concerning Liltotto and what she sees in Gremmy to ever spend time with him willingly."

Then, Bazz-B walked in as he held a white-green box in his hands softly, before seeing what was going on. "Oi, oi, oi! What's with this ugly red-green shit all over Silbern? Even the Soldat are wearing this crap!" He shouted, looking bewildered and annoyed with the sudden change to the Wandenreich's bland look.

"They're doing a Christmas party, rooster head. Exchanging gifts and other human customs." snarked Liltotto as she left the room before Bazz-B could shoot a fire blast at her.

"Jugo really signed off on this crap? Also, are you mocking my awesome mohawk, bitch?!"

Meninas wrapped up her gift before answering. "He doesn't know about what we're doing. There's some sort of Quincy ritual involving his Majesty so his successor left with him."

"Hmph, bastard always follows his Majesty..."

A gloved hand gripped Bazz-B's shoulder with a tight grip, earning the fiery-mannered Quincy's ire before seeing who gripped his shoulder.

"An irritating, garden-variety gnat like you should learn a valuable lesson from his Majesty's successor." Sternritter X, known as Lille Barro calmly stated heavily, accompanied by his overwhelming Reiatsu that effectively made Bazz-B back down and leave the room with his green-white box.

"Quite the harsh words to say to our inferiors, eh Barro? Your commitment to his Majesty is endless even towards these little children like them!" guffawed Sternritter M, known as Gerald Valkyrie boisterously, the volume of the massive Schutzstaffel member's voice made the nearby Sternritter wince in annoyance.

Their hooded comrade of the Schutzstaffel, Sternritter C, named Pernida Parnkgjas made a sound of incoherence.

"Agreed, Pernida. We only have a year left until his Majesty is back to full strength. Getting these Sternritter prepared for their duties towards his Majesty's dream is what's expected of us." nodded Barro stoically.

While those three were secluded from the other Sternritter, Bambietta pinched her forehead in frustration and checked with Meninas, Candice, and Askin to make sure things went smoothly. In the background, Giselle kept trying to convince Mask De Masculine's #1 fan, James, to be part of her zombie entourage.

"PePe is still incapacitated by your death-dealing, Nakk Le Vaar?"

Askin yawned as he nodded, it was a simple increasing the lethal amount of oxygen in Sternritter L's respiratory system to the point of being unable to move.

"Driscoll and Quilge are still entangled in a super-long fight ordered by his Majesty?"

Candice rolled her eyes at how serious Bambietta was taking this whole thing, yet still gave the confirmation that she tricked the two Sternritter into a fight outside of the Wandenreich buildings. It was easy to arrange, involving Quilge's stringent, orderly demeanor and Driscoll's bloodthirsty, violent personality.

"Sternritter Q and Sternritter R...I don't bother to know their names but they're taken care of?"

Meninas didn't remember their names either, although it was grating to everyone's ears whenever Sternritter Q started questioning everything, leading to her knocking him out for their semi-sane peace of mind. She had also challenged Sternritter R to an arm-wrestling contest, knocking him out too after she won before he could pull off a mind-scrambling roar.

"Good, most of the problematic idiots and weirdos can't ruin this party now." sighed Bambietta in relief.

"Talk about a lack of self-awareness. Still, I preferably don't want to be on the receiving end of her explosions." To call Bambietta out on her compulsive behavior of killing numerous soldiers she slept with, was begging for retribution, Askin always had a fatal feeling from her despite how intriguing he found her compared to the other Sternritter.

For the gift exchange, most of them placed their names randomly in a Reishi bowl and had gotten a partner to get a gift for.

"Gigi, you're one of the most irritating Quincy I ever met, considering how much you mock me and Candi. Always whining to us about how you don't have enough zombies, therefore I got you these so you can shut up for once." stated Bambietta as Giselle unwrapped a bag full of dead corpses of guys Bambietta slept with.

"Awww, Bambi-chan!! You do care about me, only you could give me a perfect gift! I'll put off turning you into a zombie for later!"

The violet-haired Sternritter blinked in confusion at Giselle's foreboding words, only to be enraged at her subordinate suddenly leaving the party to go 'play' with her new playtoys. "Wait, you're supposed to give me a gift as well, Gigi! You didn't bother to get me one?!"

Next, it was Meninas and Candice's turn to exchange gifts that were normal this time, to the relief of the two Sternritter ladies.

".....What is this exactly?" Candice held a device that had a cord, while reading the packaging.

"You get up before everyone to do your hair and get mad when it gets ruined. I decided to get you this hair styling tool from the human world. You can power it with your electricity....I think" Meninas explained simply.

"Thanks Meni, this is gonna save me a lot of grief and time! I also got you something from the human world! Your ridiculous Volstandig gave me the inspiration for your gift." Candice's words piqued the pink-haired Sternritter as she took out a dumb-bell set weighing hundreds of pounds.

Near the two, BG9 observed them through his sensors, being confused about the usefulness of the gifts given. "Quite senseless....how would these items given benefit them in combat, Sternritter P's calculated physical strength from her last fight greatly exceeds the combined weight in that dumb-bell set."

Cang Du stoically handed a martial arts book to the android Quincy. "Don't waste your time trying to understand them. Here. This book has detailed breakdowns of the various marital arts that would likely be used by that Squad 2 shinigami captain, her Bankai won't be her only asset."

"Sternritter I, this information will prove very useful to me in the coming battle. It'll absolutely be utilized to the fullest extent. In return, I procured this skin ointment for you to assist with your uncomfortableness with your Schrift's effect-"

A Reishi claw was placed near BG9's throat to make it clear about stoping that sentence. "I told you not to mention it near the other Sternritter. They'll doubt my combat ability against the Shinigami." Cang Du reminded while he grabbed the ointment, desiring to hide the unsettling sensation of cold iron whenever he used his Schrift to coat his body in iron.

The pairs of Sternritter exchanging gifts with one another, whether they were of utility, enjoyment, or indicative of what could pass off as camaraderie. To the experienced eyes of Sternritter N, known as Robert Accutrone, it was the frivolous use of the precious time they had left before Yhwach deem the majority of them fuel for the Auswählen.

"Aren't they having a joyous time?" spoke Askin who noticed Robert's grim demeanor beneath his usual stoic composure.

"Hmph, the fact that this is being done instead of training or anything productive is quite defiant of his Majesty's wishes." Robert's words contradicted the gift picnic basket that was given to Askin.

"Yet you still decided to get me this picnic basket as a gift. Our upcoming invasion of the Soul Society will provide an ample opportunity for me to make use of it."

Robert clicked his tongue in disapproval, showing how he currently felt, even if it looked like Askin's words had caused that reaction. "Geez, this spectacled old man is tough and fun-hating as he looks. Too bad he isn't easy to set off or distract with jokes like the others are...."Askin then cut to what was bothering Robert.

"I say you do care about us in some less-than enthusiastic way, old man. Especially the newbies who recently joined. Most of them won't be chosen, but at least they served his Majesty well considering how devoted you are to the guy."

A long silence followed with no signs of Robert change his mind or discussing the matter further

Askin gave up on trying to continue the conversation, finding it tedious and simply handed Robert a bottle of glasses cleaning fluid. A good marksman needed a clear vision in order to get they wanted after all.

*In Gremmy's cell under the Wandenreich*

"I'm hungry....Bambi and the others kept pestering me to help out with their Christmas party setup that I only got to have some of Nakk Le Vaar's drink before I came down here."

Sternritter V's tranquil voice rang out throughout his heavily confined and fortified cell. "You're always hungry just as I always imagine you to be whenever you come here."

Liltotto wondered if Gremmy was being honest about his claims in accordance to what he imagines. Yhwach's Reika Garasu cell (Soul-Made Glass) had incantations to limit the effect of Gremmy's power, also depriving Gremmy of any freedom for an unknown amount of years.

"How about you imagine some more cookies and a Popsicle for me? You're the Strongest Quincy, aren't you?"

The treats appeared on command in Liltotto's hands to her satisfaction, making sure to share some with Gremmy. Even if these creations of Gremmy’s restrained imagination would stop existing after some time, the two Quincy still found them to be a respite from the bleakness of their world in the shadows of the Soul Society.

"You said the other Sternritter were doing a gift exchange with each other.....I can't really imagine what you would give me if I was freed and took part in it. It would just be a product of my own will, not yours." Gremmy said with a tone of pride yet it sounded like it wasn't something he could truly enjoy.

Liltotto shrugged, not giving any notions that she could fathom a gift for the Sternritter who commanded Imagination like it was a toy.

"Still....what we're doing right now....that you decided to spend time with me and continue to do so.....it makes me feel something I have a hard time....imagining."

The two blond child-like Quincy continued chatting like this until Liltotto brought up the plans for their invasion of the Soul Society.

"I don't know how shinigami taste like but it'll probably be gross either way with how much fighting and the zombies that Giselle will gain from that..."

"Perhaps, your favorite foods can make it more bearable for you when you're at the Soul Society?" To the diminutive girl's surprise, Gremmy created a whole variety of snacks and treats ranging from burgers, cookies, popcorn, cookies, and bread. “These will last a lot longer than the previous ones I imagined.”

"Are your powers getting stronger or....the cell you're in...the security measures on it must be getting weak." Liltotto then deduced "Thus, allowing your power of imagination to last longer with it's creations, even when you're locked up.....well you won't be locked up anymore once the invasion plan starts being executed."

"I see....you don't plan on telling his Majesty . I'm glad I imagined....someone like you for someone like me to know."

*As the gift exchange neared it's end*

"You missed out on a lot of stuff, Lil." scowled Bambietta as she saw Liltotto return to the main room.

"Huh, the room isn't wrecked or completely destroyed. Guess you and the others really pulled it off....who grew new brain cells for this? I already know it wouldn't be you."

Bambietta grunted in frustration, having enough of the disrespect by her own subordinates and going to her room to drag some unfortunate Quincy soldier to a sensual, but fatal end.

In the middle of the room, Liltotto saw Sternritter W, known as Nianzol Weizol licking a tub of ice cream with his two tongues. Next to him was Sternritter U, known as NaNaNa Najahkoop who was playing around some new bracelets on his wrists.

"Huh....that ice cream looks good, if I ignore the saliva and drool all over it...."

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mask De Masculine's exuberant shouts of zealous urging towards As Nodt to accept his gift. "Why won't you take a superstar's present?! How will you be a hero against the villainous shinigami without it?" Mask's little helper, James, also cheered on Mask in this pointless endeavor.

"I don't require anything, especially a purposeless luchador mask from a thoughtless oaf. Go read the copy of his Majesty's Daten I sent you unless you prefer to be introduced to your true fear as a present." As Nodt's raspy voice sent chills down everyone's spines, refusal to change his spiked mask for one of Mask's.

All of these clashes of personalities made Liltotto sigh as she helped take down the Christmas decorations of the room by eating them even with the taste of them. "Whatever the Wandenreich is with these morons and freaks, it's unsuited for this."

"Agreed. Probably, the most mundane gift exchange of all was the Lloyd brothers giving each other the same book. Still....even his Majesty's Royal Guard were participating in this. The big Nordic one was fulfilling our desires randomly while the mute, hooded figure had compressed any stains into nothing on the huge rifle belonging to his Majesty's most ardent devotee." Askin narrated this to no end which made Liltotto narrow her bright yellow eyes at what Askin was getting at.

"Why are you telling me all of this? A recap of what transpired here isn't what I'm interested in." This made the eccentric Sternritter shake his head in disappointment.

"Out of all of the Bambis, you're the smartest one, Liltotto but then again, intelligence often brings about a bland streak of realism in one's demeanor. Quite pessimistic." Liltotto scoffed at that as she ate a popsicle.

She brought up how he wasn't one to talk with how wary he was with most of the Sternritter and accepted his current position of where they stood. What Askin said next made her current emotions come to a halt.

"The world that his Majesty Yhwach wants to make is supposed to be a better world than what we currently have. I'm interested to see what he'll create. " Askin alluded to their ultimate goal before chasing his tone to a more curious inflection. "Whatever happened here today....perhaps a miracle or rare desire for these guys to act like comrades outside of fighting for his Majesty. Usually, I feel it's fatal to do these things considering what we signed up for, why go through the heartbreak? Is it so valuable they did this outside what his Majesty wishes for?"

".....and now he walks away after saying that treasonous crap....what a misfit in this group. First, he goes along with what Bambi wants cowardly and then says that?....Today's events don't change anything at all or our goals." Liltotto shook off the seeds of what Askin implied, making plans for training with the other Bambis.

*In Bazz-B's quarters*

Squinting his green eyes at the white-light green box that he found this morning in his room, Bazz-B scowled deeply, feeling mixed emotions that he tried to push away. "Jugo...you...of all the Sternritter...after all this time that I kept goading and taunting you."

He decided to get it over with and opened the gift from Jugram.

It was a pair of black armbands with skull and crossbones designs on them.

*"The Great Bazz needs the final touch to show all of the other Quincies whose the Ultimate Quincy! I need something that shows how dangerous and subtlely awesome I am!" exclaimed a young Bazz-B as he put on his helmet and gloves while he and Jugram were hunting near Bazz's village 1000 years ago.*

*"Maybe.....I could find an accessory that you like....would it really make that happy, Bazz?" A young Jugram unsurely asked as he wrapped up the rabbit they hunted. Bazz-B's cheeks had a tint of red at hearing that.*

*"I-I don't need it that badly! It's just those stupid grown-ups are blind to my prodigious awesomeness, sometimes what we have on the outside is what matters usually....Jugo, just focus on what you have to do alright?" *

Bazz-B grabbed the black armbands with the imposing design, and wore them around his biceps. "You bastard...damnit....you still remember that crap...you won't fight me no matter what but instead you do this?”

[faejilly]

so the reason I didn’t watch #ACOFAF as soon as I fell into D20 was because I knew that the combination of GM Aabria Iyengar’s Everything and Good! Society! Regency! Game! plus Brennan Lee Mulligan’s deeply feral approach to fictional devotion (especially in a genre explicitly about service) was probably going to kill me

which it did in fact do, god damn

so now I have to put my brain back together and figure out what I think apparently?

(and this despite the fact that besides their GM they are clearly not Regency Nerds; they absolutely all bought in to the "terrible ways to constrain your character" premise, and got very excited by the gloved vs ungloved hand touch, (which was delightful), so that's kind of irrelevant beyond my occasional urge to shout dumb trivia at them, but it was a thing I noticed! And it's kind of what started this, thinking about what was and wasn't Regency vs what was and wasn't Fey)

This is mostly via RueHob because of the aforementioned Levels Of Devotion™️

//hvfdu K.P. Hob

*

To begin with, in a turn of quality fandom phrasing, there is the Shrek of it all. Here are two people who have lived their lives thinking they’re monsters surrounded by the impossible beauty of archfey elves and nobility. A couple who find each other and relish in everything about each other that the rest of the world told them was wrong.

I definitely think Oscar recognized that at the character introductions as at least a possibility, so he leaned into it, though he was waiting to see if it would click in game.

Which it did, and I have to think, logistically, that happened in ep 2 largely because Gwyndolin was nice to Andhera and the Lords of the Wings are always a team, and he initiated a scene with Brennan because they were what was left… but they were what was left for a reason. (Cheers for how often the dice help tell a story, this time via initiative order?)

Because Andhera and Gwyndolin | BINX are nice, and want to be good, which are not things that necessarily overlap. They both value compassion and kindness and justice, have lived through the lack of it and felt the cost. Even so, they still believe in better. They are young and powerful enough to believe in their ideals, to hope they can make them real, can do something about it.

I adore their relationship beyond rhyme or reason and it is! in fact! both healthy and well-communicated and between people of equal status; their quality of understanding is more important than rank, though rank is not a thing that can be ignored in this setting.

Andhera and BINX have a very Austen relationship, in fact. About finding someone who protects you from your old family, (or the loss of it), and offers to help you build a new one, who is of similar station not because of any sort of aristocratic arrogance, but because that means they understand both the power and the responsibility you live with.

Theirs is a relationship explicitly about what partnership truly is and how to choose to value someone who helps you be better than you were, while always remaining true to who you want to be.

Which is my favorite thing in the world! But I don't have much articulate to say about them, I mostly make happy noises and flap my hands when they're on screen, so there’s that.

*

Hob and Rue are not an Austen couple. Well. She might write them as a warning? Still not really her jam. They are indeed Romantic! (Capitalization to emphasize distinct genre as well as enthusiasm.)

But they are the aftermath of Gothic rather than Regency, feel more of Brontë and melodrama rather than Austen’s lighter touch.

As a side note, Chirp and Squak are absolutely a Wodehouse comedy which is I’m aware 100 years later and a completely different genre but this is fantasy fey nonsense so that’s fine. Everything’s fine. But Also. Advisor as Jeeves. Sorry, I just. Had to. Because Andhera as Wooster whenever he’s around Chirp and Squak is also. Just. I’m crying it’s hilarious #hlep.

uh. right, where was I?

*

Rue and Hob are people who have been so constrained by rules and expectations that they no longer believe in a nebulous better; this is a relationship about how to fight for freedom, because you’ve never had the leverage to indulge overmuch in compassion, never received nor been able to offer justice, have seldom dared to be more than briefly kind.

Rue can offer patronage, and Hob has granted mercy, but there is only so much either could dare risk; until there’s someone else to risk it for. They are about realizing that you can choose someone else, a person rather than a duty, can place them first because keeping them happy is more important than anything else.

Especially because you know, somewhere deep inside, that the only thing that will ever truly make them happy is you, so to keep them happy you must choose yourself as well.

(I despised everyone in Wuthering Heights and adored Jane Eyre, but I have to admit there is a little bit of both Rochester and Heathcliff in Rue, both Jane and Catherine in Hob. Which is to be fair a fun inversion of tropes right off the bat, as Hob is the soldier (who thus ought to have more options than Jane or Catherine ever did and YET DOES NOT) while Rue is the jewel of their Court in a gilded cage but still so very willful and powerful. Rue and Hob are of course much better people and way more likable, but there is a tinge there, despising the social order, relishing the very things they were told were flaws, devotion to a single person to the exclusion of all else.

*

Hob has been forced into a station where he does not naturally fit… but it's still better than no station at all.

His attempt at goblin mischief is generally violence. His nightmare pride is devouring something, his reputation and influence are all a combination of martial prowess and explicitly obvious self-restraint from same.

His Court put him on a leash, and every time he pulls against it they take it as evidence that they were right to do so. Look at their poor Hob, a goblin who can't even play, he cannot do rumpus but only ruin; he flat-out punches a tree and stabs a guy when he’s ordered to relax.

And sure, that is goblin-like enough, their King eats his subjects, kills a goblin for blood to mark his dog before he sends him off to hunt, but Hob doesn’t do so out of instinct, doesn’t feel his way into chaos like a goblin is supposed to, he plans his way into it, calculated and determined and focused.

He is fundamentally opposed to the nature of his Court, even as he excels at the execution of it. They order him to do what is required for their reputation amongst other Courts because he cannot disobey, because then he has neither the nature nor the execution, then he is no longer a goblin at all, despite the fact that other goblins would be applauded for their rebellion.

Thus why they want to use him the way they do as well, because while his manners are clearly studied and steady rather than the quick instinct of a goblin or the exquisite charm of an elf, that study does in fact make him courtly.

A terrible goblin (in their opinion), but a wonderful weapon.

Brennan plays it as a joke, of course, because he’s hilarious, but Hob is still fae, and goblin, and old, kills easily, plans ruthlessly, is completely aware of the ways in which his Court controls him, (though he does not, pre-Rue, begrudge them that authority, it simply is, inescapable and eternal) and just about the only freedom he has is to literally eat what he loves. (The only things he ever keeps, the only things that are his.

Besides perhaps his horse.)

And I think, much like Rue explicitly states they hate to see around him later, Hob recognizes a cage when he sees it around another.

Thus he does not kill Andhera when it would be easy in war, despite the fact that Andhera is a Prince and should be more free than anyone else on the battlefield.

Hob risks speaking clearly to Gwyndolin that very first evening partly because she feels more free, less caged, than a Fey of her rank ought to be, and he is goblin enough to want to understand that hint of sneakery, to seek out the potential of her impossibility.

He escorts Rue into the Hunt with him rather than bowing away due to their status like he ought, cannot resist that impossible hint of sympathy, of familiarity, of recognition.

And then he meets BINX, who uses their power to help, which is something archfey do not do, and he cannot resist the desire to see how many cages she might break.

Cannot help but wonder: if someone like BINX had held his leash, would he have learned to be brave rather than simply obedient?

Maybe he can be brave enough, even now, that she will let him help, let his well-practiced violence break a cage instead of those within it.

*

Rue is, when introduced, terrifying. Poised and powerful and even other archfey are careful around them. (Emily comments on how much she likes when Rue is mean, and for all the devotion in the back end is remarkable enough to make it easy to forget, they have no tolerance for fools or upstarts; they just always aim their claws out, and our party has found a way inside their regard, behind their walls.) They have made themself literally and metaphorically untouchable amongst myriad fae of power and sensuality, and no one dares breach that.

Theodore flees when Rue looks at him, and half the reason Rue keeps an eye on Gwyndolin could be this: she is supposed to be in the Court of Wonder, and yet she doesn’t know enough to flinch. That isn’t how things work. Hob catching their eye as suddenly as he does must in part be that he does know enough to flinch, but doesn’t.

Not until Rue is surprised enough by him to try and be kind.

Wuvvy is the only one close enough to breach Rue’s walls; and yet she does not live there with her, does she? There’s a lot that’s very compelling (and sweet) with their relationship with Wuvvy, but I think it’s important to remember:

Rue has lived in a cage for thousands of years and the only person outside their captors who knew it joined the enemy and became another bar of the cage, because she had put Rue on a pedestal as an ideal to try and mirror, as something beautiful she wanted to join, and thought those things were friendship, were love.

(Complicated, of course, by the fact that there is friendship and love between them, there is just also... more. And less.)

Rue quite clearly thought the same, they both thought that it was a kindness for Wuvvy to join them in a cage that neither knew how to break.

But I think it never felt right to either of them, not really, not deep down, and when Hob’s first instinct was to pull Rue out of their usual role, they recognized the difference.

And Rue never saw Wuvvy as an equal either. She was always a servant, Rue condescending to be her mentor even as Wuvvy was, technically, also one of their jailers.

Wuvvy was free in a way her friend was not, and yet was always a step below her, also her second, her servant, her aide.

Was this in fact part of why Wuvvy always always bent to Rue’s opinion, bent until she broke against it, because there was guilt there, as well as deference? (Why Rue always let her bend, pushed until she broke, because there was anger there, as well as gratitude?)

Hob was something else entirely.

*

Rue never saw Hob as a servant, could never have fallen in love with him if they did, if they could not respect him as someone equally powerful and dangerous and real.

Hob is dangerous and real, because Hob agrees to escort Rue through the woods partly because he needs to know what Rue knows, needs to find out about the Court of Wonder, about the machinations behind the failed engagement.

And then he's distracted by sincerity, as is Rue, and they both recognized their cages more explicitly… which of course helped lead to the duel:

Rue strains against their cage and Wuvvy tells them they can ignore the bars, but Rue can never, and isn’t that in fact why Rue flinches when Wuvvy encourages them with that first letter, because Rue is trapped, and how dare Wuvvy pretend otherwise?

Rue breaks Wuvvy’s heart via Command, proof if it were needed that the two of them are not really equals in any way that matters, for all they do sincerely love each other;

And Hob knows down to his bones that he is just a servant who can be struck down for thinking otherwise, for wanting to care, much less daring to imagine he might be cared for in return.

Wuvvy knows that Hob is a fellow servant, which must burn, once she thinks Hob is untrue, once Rue stops confiding in her, once everything goes wrong and she doesn’t know what’s happening, what everyone is doing, that somehow Rue doesn’t recognize Hob’s station, but never once forgot Wuvvy’s.

Rue would never risk a Command on him, would they?

*

That is the thing that none of the rest of the party ever understands. Andhera and BINX, even Chirp and Squak, all of them, think Rue’s interest so very obvious. They are close enough to believe it sincerely romance.

(Rue thinks themself so obvious, has been a literal dancing bear in a cage but never a servant from the lesser fey, so they do not understand how anyone could not know what they mean.)

The rest of the archfey, the entirety of the Bloom, are equally aware of Rue’s attentions, though perhaps for them, instead, it is a case of watching the so-called Master of Ceremonies be aware that they should choose the only other palatable monster, to make it clear they know precisely where they belong, and why.

Perhaps Society assumes that is why the Mistrex revealed themself at last: they found a palatable match. Hob is restrained and reputable (in public at least, and that is of course the most important thing) and that is as good as such things get, is it not?

Rue may have been at the pinnacle of Society, but now the archfey all know that Rue was placed there, that they are a prize, a display, a show of strength by their Court. Above the lesser fey, of course, too good at their magic and tending to the Bloom to be otherwise, (well above the touch of a low-born goblin, regardless of the impression he may have left on Society this Bloom) and yet, and still…

There are the rumors that this is the Last Bloom, and what would the Master of the Bloom be, if that was no more?

Perhaps, they wonder and whisper, the Mistrex is aware they need a… contingency? A secure place to land that is, of course, a fall from their current place, but better by far than having no place to land at all.

Because they are not, and have never, will never, truly be one of them. (I cannot help believe that Delloso de la Rue the True is not quite a compliment, because most archfey are not remotely interested in being true. But they can admire it in their Mistrex, can they not?)

Which is much closer to what the lesser fey and Hob are all acutely aware of, that whether well-meant or not, (and some might be charitable enough to think it is meant in condescension rather than disgust), Rue’s behavior is still and forever part of the archfey’s game. Rue may not truly be one of the nobility, but at least they are a respectable and powerful treasure worthy of display, while Hob can only ever be the victim.

Because he is much further away from them, far too useful to also be valuable. (He is simply a tool, to be used and discarded as needed.) The entire point of him is that he is the Goblin Court’s Soldier. He is not nobility, born to his rank; he clawed his way into it, survived long enough to be granted it, and there is very little worse than earning one’s place.

He exists exclusively for his Court to use against outsiders, to kill them or placate them, to spill blood (theirs or his own) and then apologize for it.

(That is, perhaps, Rue’s saving grace in Society’s eyes; their Court placed them in their gilded cage above them all, it could not, would never, be something such a creature could claim to do on their own.)

There is absolutely no reason for Hob to suspect any partiality on Rue’s part, not in this world, not with these politics, and it makes Rue’s previous isolation even clearer, that they cannot see that.

*

I think, prior to Hob and Andhera and Gwyn/BINX, most of the fey aren’t real to Rue, not anymore, not as people or individuals, only pieces of an endless game that moves around them, too far away to touch, a game they can never win but can’t. stop. playing. (They do love Wuvvy, but still. But still.

She is part of the game. She thinks a life in a gilded cage is better than no life at all, and she’s not wrong.

But still.

Rue is so tired.)

So if people are not, can never be touched, can never feel real, all Rue has left are ideals, concepts, something, anything, that will help them get up each day. They will build ideals to romance and honesty and connection and everything The Courts are not, everything that they know will never be theirs, and they will make it enough.

But even that won't last forever.

*

I don’t think much of anything felt real to Rue anymore. There’s something to be said about the rumors of the Bloom ending at the same time the Bloom Master wanted to stop doing it.

This was the Bloom when Rue was considering breaking their glamour and stepping down, even before Hob and conspiracies and consequences.

The Bloom with a bet wherein, despite their reputations and performative selfishness, Rue wanted to gift their connection to the Bloom to the only archfey of rank they'd ever met who believed in the possibility of joy and pleasure as something separate from authority and control.

(There’s a reason Andhera’s rumor that they saved the Bloom was so easy to spread.)

The Lords of the Wing might be fickle, but at least they know how to play without always being cruel.

Because Rue is in a cage, but Rue does also have power, is closer to the tides of the Bloom than anyone else, (senses it coming first, can ease the crest and support it, knows how to lay the scene for the archfey to benefit from it); they're a conduit for power who never gets to keep it for themself.

But perhaps they can, for once, choose where it goes?

The Lords of the Wing also once forsook power for something they thought more important, stayed a House and never a Court.

Perhaps, perhaps that will be enough to make the next Bloom something else. Something better than anything Rue managed.

They only have to finish this, finish a Bloom, one last time. If they can. But they’ve been alone so long, frozen and despairing and stuck, which must have consequences in a world where magic is so closely tied to desire and emotion and all they want is for it all to end.

And so it almost does, even beyond the damage done by Suntar and Apollo and Courts dying and Portals closing and magic being hoarded away.

Except there is Hob, and Andhera, and BINX, and maybe, maybe they can keep going.

Just long enough.

*

Everything is always painfully, unavoidably, real to Hob. He understands politics and consequences, war and violence, and is aware of how much they all exist at the whims of the powerful, knows exactly what it means to be a lesser fey.

He approaches them during the Bloom, and they are in fact how he verifies that Rue interfered with the marriage that would have raised the Goblin Court into a less precarious position. (The Goblins are, I am sure, quite aware of the fate of the Court of Craft, unlike the average members of the larger Courts like Wonder and Seelie and Unseelie.) They trust him, and he trusts them, because they know, they know, despite his so-called status as a military officer, he is more one of them than one of the nobility.

They trust him, as much as they do, as much as they can, even though they know he’s dangerous.

Hob has assuredly killed people, both in and out of battle, judging by how easily the order to kill Apollo is issued and accepted, despite the difference in rank.

If a Prince is so easily condemned, a lesser fey is nothing to note at all.

But while Hob is the Goblin Court’s Weapon, the lesser fey all know he does not choose where he is aimed.

None of them get to choose.

Hob is also, as much as he can be, honorable, and that is impossible not to notice amongst the fey who usually revel so much in being misleading, amongst the goblins who attack each other and laugh about it.

He is honest and sincere when he befriends Andhera after the duel… but also he would have killed him if Blemish and Boil had required it.

He would have regretted it.

But the only way he can protect any of his responsibilities is if he knows precisely when he can't, when he has to acquiesce instead.

And he hates himself for it, because if he hated Court and King he'd never be able to bow to them again, and everyone he'd ever tried to save would be dead.

(Or worse.)

As would he.

*

Rue despises their Court and most other archfey, even if they don’t admit it to anyone until BINX gives them an explicit reason, and their position is elevated enough they've never had to acquiesce, never had to blame themself for the things they cannot change.

But neither have they ever been able to change anything, too constrained within their role to even begin to try.

So why is this Bloom different?

I have to think what may finally have pushed them over the edge, past their ability to pretend and finesse and try and build something better, Bloom after Bloom, was in fact Grabalba and Apollo’s engagement.

Not because it was any worse than any other arrangement. It was just one more power move, politics and petty spite hidden behind pretty words, was another example of everything they hate about their cage.

Something that keeps happening, century after century, Bloom after Bloom, despite all their attempts to shift the Courts, to show them something else.

And they would have to watch another cage be built, would have to witness how the Court of Wonder would treat a goblin under their power. That might have been that final, delicate straw, a breath, barely anything at all, yet enough to push them over the edge, to make it all, at last, too much.

They just fucking couldn’t take it anymore.

So they did something about it.

And continued to, even when directly facing The Chorus and their disapproval, just flat out asking them about The Court of Craft and Wonder’s greed without a blink, without a flinch, without offering them a single softening note of their usual grace or manners. Because the Chorus hadn't earned that.

(None of the Courts had earned their grace, and wasn't it exhilarating to realize that? To know that they'd met people who did, and it was so very easy to see the difference.)

I don’t think they will ever regret it either, since it did in fact free Grabalba and leave Apollo out where they could kill him, since it brought them a Hob whose need for answers meant he had to participate in the Bloom, could not let decorum keep him from engaging with even the Bloom Master themself.

How could they regret anything that brought them Hob?

*

And then of course the best part is that, as soon as Hob knows how Rue feels, he doesn't regret it either.

While Hob is aware of consequences and power dynamics in a way that Rue is not, even he can choose, at last, to decide that sometimes it doesn’t matter. That you can reach for something you want, and that’s not a flaw, not a weakness.

Not once he realizes that Rue honestly truly never saw him as lesser.

He recontextualized the entire Bloom in that moment, and realized he did, in fact, for the first time ever, have a way out.

There’s never a way out.

It’s been thousands of years and no one ever has a way out, and yet, with Rue there is.

There is.

And not only is it a way out, it’s a way out that he wants, in a way he’s never let himself want anything before in his entire damn life. Of course he takes it.

He loves Rue.

Nothing else matters, beyond what he needs to know to keep Rue safe.

And of course, that Rue loves him, too.

*

They are, quite possibly, the reason the Court of Craft survives as the Fey so slowly begin to change, because BINX can anchor her magic in a Portal that can no longer be closed, can build a home that’s hidden from enemies somewhere in that liminal space between the Feywild and the Material Plane, is a Weaver of Fate who has the Prince of the Unseelie himself as their paladin…

And even if someone had a plan for all of that, no one is stupid enough to risk a move that Rue or Hob might see, because Rue will not hesitate and Hob will not stop, and neither of them will have a single line that is too far to cross to protect each other.

Which is in fact an excellent end to a fairy tale, however they got there.

[yaut-jaknowit]

Really just all around interested in the background to some of your characters. How Vic and Uihoy came to know each other or a story of how they got together. Which one of those dummies confessed first, etc.

Chance of Fate

Pairing: Uihoy (Male Yautja) x Vic'tao (Male Yautja)

Warnings: racism (BUT it works out in the end)

Word Count: 2070

Summary: These two met longer before meeting you. Their meeting themselves was really rough around the edges. Who doesn't like an enemies to lovers trope.

Author Note: I just realized I wrote this slightly like enemies to lovers... that's my favorite trope too. Welp, dug my grave now I'm gonna lay in it.

Masterlist

Ao3

These two are dumbasses. I assure you. It was dumb luck their lives were intertwined with each other.

First off, there are two major differences between Yautjas (in my world). Those home world born and those born off world (mostly on motherships). I believe there’s a little bit of racism between these groups. Each believing they are better than the other.

I’ll let the story below reveal who is who.

As for Uihoy, he wasn’t always our sweet baby boy. Maybe his older years have softened his hide and heart to Vic’tao and you. Vic’tao… hasn’t changed much. Dynamic and static characters.

Hate to say it, but Uihoy acts a tad bit racist in this. BUT we all know he loves Vic’tao in the end. He overcomes these thoughts he was raised with after learning more about Vic’tao.

In the bustling crowd, Uihoy stalked his way through. Smaller than the average male, he’s able to slip between others to make his way through. No pays him any mind. In this city, he wasn’t known for being a big shot back in his home village. Here, he was just a random male, surfing the crowd.

Not that he minded. Uihoy wasn’t going to be showboating in the city of Kov. Mating season was far out. All he needed was a few items of interest before taking his ship back home.

A city like this had his scales itching. Far too many people, too many smells that forced a headache to rouse behind his eyes. It wasn’t a place he wanted to be but a necessary evil for him. Unfortunately. He needed fabrics from the clans of the coast. Kov was the closest city to sell them, being one of the larger cities on Yautja Prime.

As a male at seven hundred years old and higher status within his clan, his coin pouch was heavy on his side. His shorter, yet bulky build was able to move along the crowds with ease. He came to a halt before a known vendor he’s dealt with a few times before.

Ke’nt, a lanky, tall Yautja with light blue accented with white stood in his mediocre booth. Before Ke’nt stood an obvious young blood arguing with the vendor. Uihoy couldn’t help the roll of his bright eyes at the display.

Young bloods. They always thought they were the shit until someone came in and shoved their head into the pile of stink they created. The purple Yautja has done it countless times. A sight he loved to create.

The yellow and blue, unnamed male slammed his fist down on the table keeping the two from tearing into each other’s throats. “This price for these damned fabrics isn’t what you told me!” he shouted at Ke’nt, fury flashing in yellow irises. “You cannot change them in the time it takes me to grab the coins.”

Uihoy deals with Ke’nt occasionally. What the yellow Yautja accused Ke’nt of was an action he’s been known to do with Uihoy. After time, Uihoy has learned how to ensure this middle aged Yautja knows his place with a nearing elder. Violence is always the answer. Words are never enough.

The shoes Uihoy wears make next to no noise as he struts over to the arguing pair and saddling up next to the unnamed Yautja. Before either of them could vaguely tell him to either bug off or just simply ignore him, Uihoy released a bellow of his dominance. Both younger Yautjas paused their dealings and snapped their heads to find Uihoy at the table.

His piercing eyes were locked onto the older Yautja of the two. “Ke’nt,” Uihoy growled the name in a low tone. “Are you pulling the tactic that has failed on me?” The purple Yautja had his chin level, not showing off his throat nor bowing his head while staring Ke’nt with fire.

Said Yautja grunted his displeasure and stepped back from the table. His mainly white arms spread out. “Come on, Uihoy. You are ruining the fun. A male’s gotta make a living,” Ke’nt explained his reasonings while attempting to calm the situation. Uihoy was a male he loved the money but hated how smart he was. Nothing passed those sharp orange eyes of his. Damn him!

Despite the height difference, Uihoy glared from underneath his brows at the taller male. The other Yautja at his side stayed silent for the time being. But the shifting of his impatient body was growing tiresome. Young bloods.

“Your tricks have failed in the past. I can always find another for fabrics. I come here for mere convenience but I’m not below finding another vendor for what I need.” Uihoy ensured his words were stern, letting Ke’nt he wasn’t fooling around with his tomfoolery. “Now, finish up the deal with original price with him.” Uihoy jerked his head to the taller Yautja next to him. “Then, you know what I require.”

Next to Uihoy, the yellow and blue male bristled. He didn’t need help. He could’ve handle this all by himself! From the corner of his bright yellow eyes, he glowered at this short… elder. Wait, not yet. Close though.

“I can handle this myself,” the young blood snarled to Uihoy. The latter just tweaked a brow up before snorting his annoyance. His clanmates wondered why he never offered to train the unblooded or newly bloodeds. The attitude they snarked at him was top of the list.

A huff surpassed Uihoy’s mandibles. But, Uihoy never paid the young Yautja any mind. His gaze was kept on the blue Yautja before him, a glare making the process speed up.

Another long moment passed before the exchange for currency and fabrics had completed. Now, it was Uihoy’s turn. Said male passed over the same amount of credits he’s paid for in the past. Ke’nt never made a peep about any inflation of prices. He’s learned his lesson over the years.

When a few hundred Nok’s away from the vendor’s booth, Uihoy inspected the fabric in his hand… only to realize this was from the coast. The short, thick whiskers along his jaw bristled as his body tensed.

On the verge of about-facing and marching back to Ke’nt, his keen eyes spot through the crowd a form he saw less than a few moments before. In lanky, well built arms held the coastal fabric he was meant to buy. Great, he thought to himself. Uihoy began his path, picking up the young blood’s scent, and beginning an impromptu hunt. The day becoming longer than he’s wanting.

.

Like the hunter he’s grown up to be, Uihoy found his way through nearly the entire city of Kov. The young blood’s scent bringing him to the public transport off world. His brows raised. Where was he going? But, Uihoy had to stop him before he left or else he’ll never get the fabrics he paid for.

Through shortcuts and alleys, Uihoy ended up towards the end of the transport station. These were for transports back to motherships. An off world born? He’s come across them in passing times but to speak with one… He huffed and hurried his pace before his items were lost among the many motherships that circulate across the universe.

The same flash of yellow had him jogging, dodging bodies. Before the young blood had a chance to slip onto the ship, Uihoy slapped a hand on his shoulder and yanked him back down the ramp. The yellow male snarled and reacted within a fair time. There was always room for improvement.

Claws swiped along the barrel chest of Uihoy. A firm grip encased the offending wrist and prevented said attack. Uihoy kept pushing until this Yautja was trapped to the landing gear of the ship. Chest to chest, swapping body heat. Uihoy forced to look up at the height advantage Yautja snarled at him. “You have something of mine,” he rumbled at the young blood. His hands tightened when he attempted to squirm his way free. Uihoy wasn’t letting him go. Not until he had his fabrics.

Trapped against the stronger male, he grunted while attempting to make his escape. It was futile. With a huff, the young blood settled down and glowered at the male he recognizes. He’s the one who he saw only moments before leaving Yautja Prime; at least, tried to. “What are you pauk-de talking about?” he snarked and raised his upper mandibles.

Uihoy’s hands increased their strength in retaliation for respect from this young blood. His own mandibles twitching as he did his best not to challenge this little gnat and shove his face into the ground.

A jerk of Uihoy’s head led the young blood to glance at the fabric in his hands. This wasn’t what he paid for. Something he couldn’t even afford! “That. That is what I’m talking about,” Uihoy snapped.

Similar to a Xy and a full moon, the trapped male peered down at Uihoy with wide eyes. The latter mentioned Yautja gave a deadpanned expression to him before letting his hands fall away. Uihoy stepped backwards to offer a respectful space between them.

In one hand, Uihoy offered what he had been given back to the yellow Yautja. The other limb held out a free palm, awaiting the item he had paid for. “Give.”

The young blood grunted and placed the silky fabric into Uihoy’s waiting palm. He grabbed what he emptied his coin pouch for and stared down the male before him. “Must have been a mixup,” he tried to ease the conflict after the problem had been solved.

A fight was the last he wanted to deal with. He didn’t want to nurse unnecessary wounds on the ride back to his mothership.

Uihoy snorted and rolled his bright orange eyes at the small comment. “Of course, an off world born wouldn’t have noticed,” he retorted, adding bit into his words.

From the depths of his chest, the young blood snarled and lowered his head, body drawn taunt. “Say that again. I’ll show you how much better we off world borns are compared to the same old, same old borns of this planet.” Now, the fight became necessary.

At his sides, Uihoy’s hands twitched, ready for the fight. “You have no danger while living freely on those ships. We have to fight to survive out in the wilds of our home planet. You have no planet to call home,” Uihoy growled and puffed up his chest.

Despite his smaller size yet bulky build, Uihoy has proven time and time again he’s capable to hold off his own against someone either larger in height or build.

As the offending Yautja goes to open his mouth, the ship’s captain announces its last call. It was the last one for the cycle. He couldn’t miss it.

Standing back up straight, the young blood flexed the muscles in his legs to launch himself back onto the ramp he was shoved off of. Uihoy followed his every move the whole time. The other male pointed at finger down at him. “Remember this face and name: Vic’tao of Loloor Mothership. I can’t wait to wipe my feet on you.” This ‘Vic’tao’ entered the ship, on the safety of a difference territory.

If Vic’tao hadn’t been so lucky, Uihoy would’ve dragged the male back out and teach him a harsh lesson. He’d rather not deal with the authorities if he fought on mothership grounds. Different rules and laws.

He snorted to himself before turning on his heels and following a path back to the private docks he parked his ship at. It was an event he would forget… but the name he would look up once back home in Qav’f. Only to satisfy his curiosity.

These two would keep meeting in passing times before their anger melted. It seems harsh but these are Yautjas we are talking about.

Once the two forgave their rage for another, the two decided to hunt together. When hunt brothers grow close… things could get messy. Feelings are spilt, miscommunication may happen, untruthful words are said but in the end, they figure it out.

During a night of boiling anger that two hurricanes fed into each other, Vic’tao spat out his confession to Uihoy, surprising himself….

Uihoy had known for a long time. Before even Vic’tao had known for himself.

It was Uihoy who fell first but Vic’tao fell the hardest.

[axolotlonamelon]

In my opinion, SvtFoE should’ve ended with Cornonation/ The Coronation of Queen Eclipsa. 

It makes a lot of sense when it comes to Star’s character arc as she was originally sent away because she was being disruptive/ destructive and needed to learn to be a better and more responsible princess. She’s only sent to Earth because it's seen as a backwater dimension that is both convenient timeline wise and they wouldn’t care if it was damaged in some way.

She grows to love Earth and see its flaws and strengths, learning to look at Mewni with this newfound perspective

The end to her character arc should be that, after her time on Earth, growing and becoming more mature, she should become Queen in a time of crisis. The thing is that she realizes that this job and life isn't what she wants and she's honestly bad at it. The most responsible decision that she can make after getting everything that she thought her future would be and realizing that she doesn't want it, is to give up the throne and wand to someone that both shares her newfound hopes for a better world and is more suited to leadership. (While Eclipsa isn’t in canon, I think she would be here, just ahead of her time and too liberal and outspoken for her own good.)

Star would end up becoming a knight and/or magic teacher to Meteora, where she can do everything she loves without the social pressures inflicted on her based off of her previous status.

I know I’m shouting into the void and everyone and their mom has complained about the romance but Star and Marco should’ve either gotten together in early season 3 (since Marco finds out that Star likes him at the end of season 2) or not at all. I really like season 3's Tomstar and Marco with either Jackie or Kelly. Given that the only one of Star’s long standing character arcs to not be resolved by the end of season 3 was the romantic one, forcing the show to end would force this arc to be shorter as well.

My preference is for Tomstar and Jarco with Janna being the supportive aro friend we all deserve. Also, I love Trans!Marco and am throwing the name ‘Luna’ into the ring as both symbolizing the now sibling-like relationship between Star and Marco and her cheek marks.

(They would already know about the crescent moon cheek marks because there is no way that these two dumb teenagers live in the same house for a year and a half and not at least test whether or not Marco can use the wand.)

[bookofmirth]

Did you like cc3 or love? Neither?

oh hello, why don't you pull up a chair because I have finished this book and I have Thoughts. I was thinking for a good chunk of this book that I would give it 2 stars. I still might. It depends on how it sits with me over the next couple of weeks. I ended up giving it 3 because I did enjoy some parts.

I will start with the more positive thoughts.

I am glad that the crossover was limited. One of my fears was that the series be unavoidably intertwined from here on out, so that pleases me.

I really did like seeing how Nesta has grown, her friendship with Azriel, and seeing more interesting things with his powers! That was really neat.

I did laugh out loud a couple of times, at points where I was supposed to laugh out loud. I think Tharion is dumb as hell but he made me chuckle.

The scene with Ithan and Sabine towards the end was good, I was like Gordon Ramsay, finally, some delicious fucking consequences.

Ummm... I like Ruhn and Lidia still. They had some silly moments, but overall they are the only characters in this book that I still have a shred of respect for. Maybe Perry and Sathia. Everyone else is on thin fucking ice.

Shout out to the one (1) line Bryce said that I liked: “I’m sick and tired of people using 'girl' as an insult.”

Unfortunately, the list of things I didn't like is far longer. I'm actually going to put it under the cut if people don't want their enjoyment spoiled or simply don't care.

In my opinion, sjm is a good storyteller, and an okay writer. This book really, really highlighted that for me. The plotting was a mess, I was constantly going back a page because I was confused about what was going on, there were weird inconsistencies that only made sense if you stepped back from the book and thought "well, the author needed that to happen, I guess."

There were some typos and word choice errors that should have been caught - "every muscle in Bryce's body went taught" and then a missing quotation mark (But it was Aidas who answered, pride flaring on his face. Apollion slew her with his Helfire when she attacked him—he pulled her burning heart from her chest and ate it.”). Not to mention the 255 "could have sworns" and 50-something "as if". I noticed a few similar phrases to this. If I'm feeling spicy one day maybe I will go back and find them.

The number of times she says "by whatever power" or "somehow" in a book where she has spent a lot of time explaining the power, and we should know what the "somehow" is???

Who in the ever loving fuck thinks that splitting up two tense scenes by cutting them into bite sized pieces and then interspersing them together is a good idea???

There were multiple times when I laughed out loud at scenes that were not meant to be funny, because they just seemed so dumb. Like... Ithan "accidentally" beheading Sigrid. Excuse me?? lmao (I edited this one because in my annoyance I misrepresented that a bit)

The tone was so, so off. That was a big source of my inappropriate laughing. Like, Hunt thanking Urd that he had such a loyal, fierce badass mate. Or a chapter starting with Ruhn saying "nah". I think this is because the genre could not decided what it wanted to be. SJM was still writing like this was high fantasy, but then used the word "like" in the way that I use the word "like". I do get that this is urban fantasy and she tried to smush it with a high fantasy (a high fantasy with very little world building, but still), but I really do not think that this genre serves sjm's style of storytelling. At all.

Dear powers that be in whatever heaven that exists, please stop letting sjm describe every single character as the most strongest beautiful fiercest loyal badass tough unflenching etc etc etc. I fucking beg. One of the big reasons that I dislike pretty much every character in this series is that they ALL HAVE THE SAME PERSONALITY.

Bryce is annoying as hell. I could write a whole essay on her but she is easily my least favorite sjm character EVER.

I am bitter at feeling like I needed to read this book when, after hosab, I would have given up on this series if not for the crossover.

The crossover really did feel like a "teehee I can do this because I want to" with very, very little thought as to how it would actually make sense. A crossover like this should NOT be done by someone who doesn't outline, and who pantses their writing. Pantsing is fine in itself! Pantsers should be barred from writing this kind of book.

Hunt's dick is too big for his underwear.