#I swear I love the show I just wish that aspect of it was better

[hms-tardimpala]

I'm watching season 2 of Interview with the vampire and having a stroke because french actors were not hired to play these first-language-french vampires and I as a French cannot understand what they're saying 😭

[keyotos]

swear to be overdramatic and true

summary ⎯ different wedding scenarios w/ the hsr men. like they are all different. none of you are getting married in this tho. modern!au

includes ⎯ dan heng, gepard, blade, sampo, & jing yuan

notes ⎯ i want to go to a wedding so bad after tiktok kept on showing me crazy rich asians-esque venues (i love crazy rich asians)

dan heng

⎯ you promised him you’d go for the food (dan heng is not one for parties), you ended up staying for everything else.

⎯ a close friend of yours was getting married and invited you to their wedding. you were so excited and ready while dan heng was like ehhhggggg

⎯ dude is not a party-goer. but you really put your all into convincing him to go. you brought out puppy dog eyes (didn’t work), pros and cons list (didn’t work), 15 slide google slideshow (didn’t work), and finally: begging on your knees (worked).

⎯ so now, you guys are here: sitting at a table by yourselves (everyone else was dancing/mingling) and sharing a slice of wedding cake.

⎯ secretly, dan heng loved weddings. he loved the joy everyone felt and he really did enjoy the food.

⎯ he would never tell anyone this, but he was taking notes for his future wedding (preferably with you). he takes note of the theme, the food, the venues. he’s very observant of these things.

⎯ the one thing he did not like about weddings was the partying afterwards. call him boring, but after sitting in a cathedral for two hours got him exhausted.

⎯ but he could make exceptions for you. you seemed to love the party aspect of weddings: you bounced to the music and you waved your fork around like a microphone when there was a song you liked.

⎯ dan heng wished he could have your loud and exciting spirit and love for after parties, but he found himself done for the day. so now, the two of you were eating cake while most people were on the dance floor

⎯ dan heng felt bad about it; he felt like he was holding you down from your happiness because he was not the party type. he didn’t want to burden your enjoyment.

“if you want to dance, you should dance,” dan heng let go of the arm he had wrapped around you.

“what?” you furrowed your eyebrows. you took another bite out of the shared cake.

“you don’t have to worry about me. i’ll be fine. you have go have fun,” dan heng repeated himself with utmost seriousness. you almost burst out with laughter.

“i don’t need to dance to be happy,” you chuckled and interlocked your fingers with dan heng’s, “as long as i have you around, i’m perfectly content,” you grinned.

⎯ yeah. dan heng definitely enjoys weddings.

dan heng returns your smile and wraps his other arm around you once more. he pulled you closer to place a kiss on your temple. as long as you’re around, dan heng is more than perfectly content. he is overjoyed.

gepard

⎯ you two are executives for a wedding planning company; it’s not your company, it’s pela’s. you two are friends of hers and just so happen to work there together.

⎯ you two are the best in the wedding planning game. you two are also rivals.

⎯ you guys are practically trying to outdo each other with every plan. the theme, the decorations, the music: whatever it is, one of you is striving to be better than the other.

⎯ you and gepard bicker so much that some of the maintenance people think YOU GUYS are the married couple.

⎯ gepard blushes so hard that you would think he just had a heat stroke. he quickly brushes of the comment and gets back to work.

⎯ you two are just so… different. but you’re the SAME. whoever’s idea it was to put you two together on an assignment needs to be fired bc most of the time you two are bickering 😭

“why would you make that the theme?” you questioned gepard, “that doesn’t match the wedding venue at all.”

“technically it is apart of the venue. they have two,” gepard corrected you. smartass

and also, “don’t you dare move that. it’s perfect where it belongs,” you ordered.

“it’s actually not,” gepard counters, “it’s not centered.”

⎯ you end up getting so frustrated that you have to walk off the scene and run to starbucks.

⎯ but there are some points where you see gepard in a different light. like when he helps you set up the fairy lights. also when he helps you lift heavy things.

⎯ oh yeah and the fact that he caught you when you fell from a ladder.

you didn’t know how you managed to slip from a ladder, but you did. you thought you were about to face imminent death until you felt strong arms wrap around your thighs.

“what were you thinking?!” gepard exasperatedly asked.

“uhh, that i could reach it?” you brushed him off, trying not to acknowledge the position that you were in at the moment. you were also trying to ignore how fast your heart was beating, but that was blamed on adrenaline.

⎯ even though you and gepard argued for half of the time, there were a few (many) accidents, and someone spilled punch on the ground; the wedding venue ends up looking nice thanks to you and gepard!

⎯ at the end of this tiring and long day, you sat down at one of the tables and ate a few bites of leftover cake. that is until gepard randomly comes up to your table.

gepard extends his hand to you, “would you like to dance? as a way to celebrate the happy couple?”

you raise an eyebrow and give him a sly smirk, “you deign to touch the hand of your opposition?” you joked.

“i’m full of surprises,” gepard looks away from you to scan the venue, “just like this venue. it's beautiful by the way. you did well.”

you take his hand into yours; gepard’s hand is calloused and warm. “give yourself some credit,” you pull him out to the dance floor, then you pull him closer to you, “shall we?”

blade

⎯ you two are some WEDDING CRASHERS

⎯ you first suggested the idea as a joke; you’ve been wanting to go to a wedding after your tiktok kept showing you wedding venues.

⎯ you never expected to actually be wrecking a wedding so soon. you didn’t even know how blade found a wedding to crash.

“are there apps for these things?”

“um… no????”

��� you two sneak in undetected and you arrive just in time for the after party!!

⎯ you guys end up sitting in some randos’ seats that never showed up. so for the time being you two were the married couple mr and mx anderson.

⎯ luckily, the people you sat by had no idea what the andersons looked like. they had questions, and surely they will be confused by the end of this night, but you will never see these people ever again!! so you guys answered their questions

“how’s your newborn? we heard you guys just had a baby,” the couple next to you pointed.

⎯ psa for my gn!readers or male!readers, you guys just had a surrogate

⎯ BABY??????? you nearly choked on your food. chivalrously, blade took the opportunity to answer for you.

"we did," blade smiled and rubbed your stomach, "we're hoping for another one soon," he smirked when he looked at you.

⎯ your eyes popped out of your skull and you turned to him. you took the rest of your food down with a gulp and you turned to face the couple across from you.

⎯ once they left, you elbowed blade in his ribcage. or, you tried to anyway, you doubt he felt anything from it.

"what was that?" your eyes went wide. you tried to hide your embarrassment.

"what was what?" blade asked. his tone with filled with mock-confusion. the bastard knew what he was doing.

"please, don't make me say it out loud," you hide your face in your hands, trying not to smile. to say you haven't thought of a domestic life with blade would be a lie.

blade rubbed your shoulder and then slid his arm over your waist, pulling you closer, "it was funny," he chuckled.

you unmasked your face to punch him in the shoulder, "it was mortifying," you laughed.

blade planted a kiss near your ear, "'m sorry," he was not, "let's go dance. enjoy yourself. before the next one comes," he added. you almost shoved him off of you after that.

⎯ blade is NOT funny.

sampo

⎯ here you were surrounded by so many couples, yet you are alone. you are alone at the bar and you've had waaaaay too many margaritas to be thinking straight.

⎯ you were almost about to leave when a mysterious blue-haired man slid into the seat next to yours.

⎯ sampo had been watching you for the entire wedding. maybe watching wasn't the right word: he had been observing you. that is not the right word either. simply put, he was entranced by you. you were stunning; you lit up the entire room. it's strange how someone like you had no one by your side.

"care if i bought you a drink?" sampo asked, leaning towards you.

"i think i'm too drunk to drink," you slurred. you were tired and single and lonely. not even this random man could console you.

⎯ when you laid your head down and groaned, sampo was a little concerned. he was concerned for two reasons: for your wellbeing and for what he might've accidentally gotten himself into.

⎯ sampo has fallen victim to hangovers multiple times and, judging by how wasted you are right now, you are about to be the next victim.

⎯ he asked the bartender to get you a glass of water. now, he just had to wake you up. or cheer you up.

“hey, you might wanna drink think,” sampo pushed the drink towards you.

you raised your head up, surveyed the drink, and then pushed it away. “nice try buddy. i know you put something in that.”

⎯ sampo’s jaw went agape. he completely forgot about that possibility. of course you wouldn’t take a drink from a stranger that randomly came up to you.

“uh, how about we just get you another glass of water,” he grabbed the cup back and ordered another one, this time with you watching. once you made sure nothing happened to your drink, you gulped it down.

“thanks,” you set the glass down. “i’ll be needing that in the morning,” you groaned.

⎯ even when you’re miserable you’re beautiful, sampo thought

“i get it,” sampo laughed. you two exchanged names and you started to tell the story of why you were so drunk in the first place

⎯ when you finished, sampo remembered every detail of your story. he wanted the sound of your voice to be imprinted into his brain; he wanted the sight of you burned into his eyes.

⎯ and by the end of that night, after you two exchanged phone numbers, sampo was sure to make his dream a reality.

jing yuan

⎯ best couple alert??? you guys are just there for fun and relaxation

⎯ everyone knows you two are the couple that’s getting married next. just the love that you two have for each other is enough evidence to prove their theory.

⎯ you two are there for the reception, the actual wedding, the after party. like you guys EAT WEDDINGS UP.

⎯ it’s a sweet and silent love. it doesn’t overshadow the wedding couple, but everyone can tell that it’s prevalent and it’s most definitely there.

⎯ everyone can also see the immense love jing yuan has for you just by looking at his expression. as a general, most would think his mind is preoccupied on strategy and tactics. that is not true though; jing yuan would argue that, half of the time, his mind is on you. he wonders about you, thinks about you, wishes about you.

⎯ and his actions?? the way he always pulls out a chair for you so you can sit before him. the way he carefully tugs you to the side if someone were about to hit you. the way his hand rests coyly on your thigh.

⎯ don't get me started on when you two start dancing.

cliche as it is, sometimes i does feel like the world is shining it's light on the two of you when you two dance. you two aren't master dancers or anything. with jing yuan's lifestyle, there is no time for trivial activities such as dancing, but for you he'd always make an exception.

⎯ you two are both awful. omfg you guys actually suck at dancing. like get off of the dance floor LMAO. since you two probably have very busy lives, there isn't much time for fun like weddings. that's why the two of you try to embrace weddings and other fun activities as much as possible

"you keep stepping on my feet," jing yuan laughs. he tries to guide the two of you to an empty slot on the floor, but fails.

"i'd be able to dance properly if someone stopped knocking me into others," you jokingly retorted. even though jing yuan was a general, all his poise and prosperities was washed away on the dance floor.

"i highly doubt that," he twirled you. you leaned closer into his chest this time, melting into his body. he was warm; a good contrast to the chill of the room. even with his shitty dancing skills, you think that you could never be sick of him.

⎯ yeah u two are definitely getting married in the near future. jing yuan is sure of it. after all, he's already gotten a ring.

[thelesbianluthor]

My issue with TUA s4 is that I don't mind the concept of it all. Jennifer and Ben being intertwined and somehow destined to bring the cleanse or die to avoid that.

I feel like there was some potential there to be explored and I enjoyed certain aspects if I look at it in isolation.

But maybe it's because they didn't feel like they had enough time to develop any idea so they did nothing for most of those 6 episodes.

Separating the characters in groups/duos/alone before reuniting at the end is the usual formula. But they did nothing of value for the whole time ?

I enjoyed what I enjoyed bc I like the cast and the vibe of the show, even when they have clearly no idea on what they wanted to do.

It was mediocre when it wasn't bad just because the actors are good at their job.

Now the Lila and Five thing. I can understand from a human standpoint that spending seven years alone with someone you care for and you connect with bc of your very similar life experience and past can push you to find comfort in each other and blurring the lines.

Was it completely unnecessary? It was. Especially with how they treated Diego's character this season honestly.

If they really had wanted it to happen they should not have leaned into the romanticism like I really do not think that they would actually fall for each other. Finding comfort in the only other person who is also someone you know is one thing but actually falling for them? That's something that really doesn't make sense to me for those characters.

Well either way it was unnecessary and could have easily never have happened because it legit did not add anything to a season where nothing happened and that's saying much.

Side note is that I hate how they turned Luther's body dysmorphia into a joke. I didn't even like Luther in s1 but they leaned so heavily into making him the comedic relief for the wrong reasons and I hate that. They did it a lot with Diego too this season and Klaus ofc.

I swear the characters were either used as laughing stock because of their trauma or not doing much? And then they just disappeared from existence. It made the ending not hit all from even though in another circumstance I would have been bawling at seeing them gone.

Viktor and Allison got the best end of the deal by at least having Reginald and Claire as their counterparts to talk to and explore a bit of their relationships.

It's sad to see a show that I have loved since its first season go down like this honestly. I wish we had the chance of a better farewell. The cast also deserved better storylines and a better goodbye to something that was a big a part of their life for years.

[flutteringphalanges]

Protostar

Adam Warlock x Star Lord!Sister Reader

Prompt: You’re pregnant. The very thought of it is so surreal. And more importantly, it’s Adam’s. Now not only do you have to break the news to the man you love, uncertain of how he will react, but then there are the rest of the Guardians too. And more importantly, your brother, Peter. 

Word Count: 3,878

A/N: Hello! I am back again with another Adam Warlock x Reader baby themed one shot! I will add a link to this one to the post that has all of my one shots to this series so far. Requests are open! I’m currently working on one at the moment! Any thoughts of any kind, my comments and mailbox are open! I hope you enjoy! -Jen

                                                     Protostar

Pregnant. A word that had seemed so foreign to you up until now. An aspect you hadn’t even begun to fathom would happen to you. And yet here you were, sitting far off from the hustle and bustle of Knowhere’s square trying to clear your mind. Trying to think through haze and churning from your own stomach as you processed it all. Wondering how you would announce it to Adam. So lost in your head you didn’t even notice when Kraglin took a seat beside you. 

“Y/N? Are you okay?” 

Kraglin had been like an older brother to both you and Peter. Though, your relationship was a little better at the time because, growing up, he felt as if he needed to compete with the boy from Terra for Yondu’s approval. That had changed though. Now the three of you were equally close. You looked over to him, not too sure what to say. In all honesty, he was the last person you’d imagined to break the news to first. 

“I don’t know.” You responded softly with a shrug. “I haven’t decided, I guess.” 

“What’s wrong?” Kraglin asked, his tone slightly concerned. “Did something happen? Is it Adam?” He paused, his expression more serious than you’re used to. “Did he do something?” 

He did, but technically so did you. You exhaled, wondering why you didn’t stay cooped up in the confinement of your room. That way you could’ve at least hid from it all a little longer. Pretend that everything was as it should be. You wished Adam was here, he had a way of making you feel better. Then again, maybe it was better that he wasn’t. 

“Y/N?” Kraglin’s voice snapped you back into reality. You turned and looked at him as he placed a hand on your knee. “Uh, you want me to get Pete?” 

“NO!” The word came out much sharper than you meant it to causing Kraglin to visibly flinch. “Sorry, I mean, no…that’s okay.” 

The last thing you needed was your brother. Peter was overprotective, he had always been. Even though you two were adults, he was still annoying when it came to you and relationships. When you and Adam first got together, he made it clear to you that he wasn’t exactly supportive of it all. Sure, the guy had saved him from literally turning into a human icicle in space, but he was still wary from the Rocket fiasco. That was something that you knew would take a long time to repair. At this point you were lucky he was tolerating it all and not getting on your case. If he knew you were expecting…well, you didn’t know how he’d take the news. 

“Can I trust you, Kraglin?” You asked, knowing full well there was no turning back after saying something like that. “Swear on Yondu you won’t say anything? Especially to Peter?” 

Kraglin looked at you with such uncertainty it was almost comical. Almost. “Yeah…” He replied with hesitation. “Cross a Ravanger’s heart.” 

You nodded, looking at the ground. “I’m pregnant.” 

“...Oh.” He said after a moment, shifting awkwardly where he sat. “...Is it Adam’s?” You threw him a dark look that caused him to hold up his hands defensively. “I’m sorry! It’s just well…congratulations? I mean, this is good, right?” 

You let out a loud groan and covered your face. “I don’t know!” The words came out muffled from behind your hands. “You’re the only one who knows.” 

“I’m honored! Thanks!” 

“Only because you showed up here.” You didn’t mean to sound so harsh. Kraglin didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry, Kraglin, I’m…I’m not trying to take this out on you. Maybe it’s the stupid hormones, I don’t know. I found out today and I’m not processing it well, I guess.” 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” He offered, and you felt his hand rest on your shoulder. “I don’t know nothing about having babies, but if there is something you like, maybe a glass of water, or a blanket? Wait, that may be for shock…” 

For the first time that day, you actually smiled. Sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder what Kraglin might’ve become if he hadn’t ever joined the Ravangers. You leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“Just your support is nice.” You told him, inhaling deeply. “Thanks.” 

“Well sure, we may be Guardians now, but we'll always be Ravangers at heart.” Kraglin grinned at you when you pulled back. “And Ravangers take care of our own. Well, except when we don’t, but you know what I mean. We’re family. All of us here. I guess what I’m tryin’ to get at is we’ve got your back. Adam’s a great guy, I mean, he did almost wreck all of Knowhere--”

“Kraglin.” 

“Yeah, yeah, what’s in the past, is in the past. He turned out to be a great guy, right? Saved Pete, helped fix up a mess, managed to even join the Guardians. That’s somethin’, right?” He took a deep breath. “I don’t need to be able to read minds or do that emotion thingy that Mantis does to know Adam loves you. Like a whole lot.”

“I know he does.” Your smile was soft. “It’s more than mutual.” 

“So it’s gonna be alright, okay? When have I ever lied to you?” Kraglin asked with a grin.

You gave him a look. There were not enough fingers on each hand for you to count the number of times both he and your brother had pulled some stunt on you. All relatively harmless, but you had learned not to be so gullible since. 

“I need to go find Adam.” You told him, dusting off what little dirt had gotten on your pants. “He’s probably worried. Last thing I need for him is to go hunt Peter down. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to approach that one.” 

“No matter what, Pete’ll come around. He always does.” Kraglin tried to assure you. “He got used to you and Adam. This is just another thing added on.” A big thing. 

It was becoming apparent that, for the time being, you needed to focus on one thing--telling Adam. The rest you could try to get yourself to stop worrying about until later. You pulled Kraglin one last time for a quick squeeze. 

“Thank you, Kraglin. For everything.” 

“That’s what family’s for.” He said with a smile. “Even if we ain’t exactly a normal bunch.” 

                                                         XXX

The nausea you felt the moment you stepped over the threshold and into your room was not from the baby. Part of you wanted nothing more than to just turn back and find a new spot to hide in, somewhere where no one could find you. But Blurp, Adam’s beloved furry F’saki, immediately bounded over and pounced excitedly at your legs. 

“Hey, buddy.” You said, giving the animal a half smile as you reached down to scratch it behind one of its ears. “It’s good to see you too.” 

“Y/N!” 

Adam came bounding in with a mixed look of concern and relief at your arrival. You straightened up as he walked over to you, his hands immediately reaching and cupping your face as he studied you carefully. You felt as if you were a piece of fruit being checked for bruises by a potential customer. 

“Are you alright? I was worried. You weren’t here when I returned and I kept waiting, but you didn’t leave a note--and I know that you can take care of yourself, as you’ve said before--”

“Adam.” You said, cutting him off. “I’m fine.” 

He beamed at your response and looked down at Blurp. “See, I told you everything was fine. No need to get anyone else involved or form a search party.” The creature gurgled and nudged your leg. 

“But, Adam, we do need to talk…” His expression changed to one of confusion as you took a step back. “It’s important.” 

“Oh?” He responded, following you as you took a seat on the edge of your bed. “What do you want to talk about? Should I be worried?” And his laugh was nervous--making your own anxiety that much worse. 

“I don’t know.” Probably not the best answer to give him. “I mean…I don’t know how you will feel about this.”

Gods, if you could have any power in all the universes, invisibility would’ve been great. You couldn’t even bring yourself to look at Adam as you feel his hand take yours. Tears started to well up in your eyes and suddenly you found yourself flooded with emotions. Damn hormones. 

“Y/N, my love, what’s the matter? Don’t cry! Tell me what I must do!” Adam was cupping your face once more, searching your eyes for answers. “Have I done something wrong? If I have, please tell me and I will make amends. Please, say something, you’re scaring me.” 

You shook your head and hiccuped. “You didn’t…you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m…” The deep breath you took was shaky, and you could only hope you didn’t look as gross as you sounded. “Adam, I’m pregnant.”

The silence that blanketed the room made you want to crawl over into a corner and die. This was it. Adam was going to get up and leave you and everything would fall apart. The Guardians would banish you from the team. From your family. Knowhere was exile you. You would have no one and nothing and Thanos might as well have snapped you for good. 

“I’m going to be a father?” 

The words snapped you back into reality. Through tears, you looked and saw Adam gazing at you with such glee and adoration it sort of caught you by surprise. You sniffed, wiping your face with your sleeve--nevermind how unattractive it must’ve looked, and nodded.

“Yeah.” You answered him softly. “You’re going to be a dad.” 

He was quiet for a moment. “I never had a father.”

The corners of your mouth twitched into a small smile at his statement. “...I don’t remember my mom.” 

“...Do you think I could be a good father?” Adam asked slowly, his gaze burning into yours. He sounded hopeful. 

“Yeah.” You said with a smile. “I know you’d be a wonderful dad. There is not a doubt in my mind that says otherwise.” There was hesitation in your voice as you asked the next question. “Do you think I’d be a good mom?”

Adam chuckled warmly. “You already are to good, old Blurp right here.” Blurp trotted over and jumped into your lap, licking excitedly at your face. “See? Even he approves, and he is very particular too.” 

“I can see that.” You laughed, carefully moving the dog onto the mattress. Sighing, you gazed into Adam’s eyes, getting lost in their golden pools. “Are you happy then? Are you…okay with this?” 

Adam said nothing as he leaned forward and kissed you. You allowed your arms to wind around his neck as one of his arms hooked around your waist and pulled you close. Nothing sounded better than staying in that moment for all eternity. The warmth and gentleness of it all. You almost had to fight the urge to pull him back in when he stopped.

“I have never been more certain of something in my entire life.” Adam said with so much pride your heart swelled. “And I will love this child as I do you, Y/N. You are--well, now it is two of you I suppose, the most important things in my eternal life. I will do better than my best to be the very best! I swear it.” 

You chuckled, sniffing as you beamed back at him. “That was quite the speech.”

“Was it what you wanted?” Adam inquired, wiping away at a stray tear that’d begun to slide down your cheek. “Are you okay? Perhaps I should’ve asked that first.” 

Even though it would be months until you felt anything, you rested your hand on your stomach. You began to imagine the sensation, what little movements, kicks, flutters your baby would give you. Your baby. Adam’s baby. Gods, it sounded so surreal and yet, so right. 

“Yeah.” You inhaled, your gaze deep as it met Adam’s. “I’ve never felt happier.”

                                                           XXX

“We need to tell them.” 

Adam’s voice was soft as his hand gently rubbed your back from where he knelt beside you on the floor. Your head hung over the toilet as you tried to fight back the wave of nausea that stirred in your stomach. Morning sickness, more like ‘all day sickness’. It had been a week since you had broken the news to Adam--and technically Kraglin--about the baby. From the get go, he had wanted to tell the others but you had sworn him to secrecy. You still were avoiding sharing the unexpected pregnancy announcement with your brother. But now, with how violently ill your body had decided to start becoming, you weren’t really left with any options. 

“Maybe we can just wait until they’re born.” You mumbled weakly, the bitter taste of bile coating the inside of your mouth. “Spring it on them then.” 

“I don’t think that would be the best idea--or even possible.” Adam responded, frowning softly when you waved away at the glass of water he tried to coax in your hand. “They’re starting to worry about how sick you’ve been. And you already told Kraglin.”

“That wasn’t in my original plans.” You answered somewhat defensively. “Besides, there’s a big difference between him and Peter knowing. The others I’m not as worried about. I’m his little sister, but he forgets I’m not so little anymore. Like a lot.” Your stomach gurgled and you heaved a big sigh. “I can take care of my damn self.”

“I know.” And the palm of his hand began to knead between your shoulder blades. “But the sooner we get it over with, the better you will feel about it. And you aren’t alone in this. I’m right with you. We’ll tell them together and it will go over well, I promise.” 

                                                    XXX

The last time you saw a look like the one Peter was giving you now was when you accidentally dropped his Walkman as a kid and it fell between the grates of Yondu’s ship. How he managed to get it back out before it slipped to its eternal demise, you were unsure--or cared. But this look was not about any sort of music box. Oh no, this was something much greater. 

“...You’re pregnant?” Peter asked slowly, eyes flashing from you to Adam. “As in having a baby? Together?” 

“Yes, I am.” Before anyone could speak up, you quickly added. “And we’re happy too. Really happy.” Adam’s arm found its way around your waist offering a sense of comfort that you needed. “And since we’re family, we were hoping that maybe you all would feel the same way.” 

The silence was killing you. The way they were all watching, Peter especially, you almost wanted to curl up into a ball and beg Adam to fly you back to your room. Try again on another day. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around, followed by a squeal. 

“I am VERY happy for you!” Mantis gushed, beaming at you. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Adam nervously watching, probably concerned with how tight she was hugging you. “Oh this is such good news!” 

Drax broke into one of his deep fits of laughter. “Quill! That means your sister had sex!” Of all the anti-social things he could’ve said, he had to go with that one. How wonderfully mortifying. “But I am also happy for you!” 

One of Groot’s branches reached out and touched your stomach. “I am Groot.” Or, as you had grown to understand. “I like babies.” 

Nebula gave you a rare smile from where she stood beside Rocket. She had come so far since you first met her those many years back. Gone from enemy to a true member of the Guardians. The late Gamora, your Gamora, would’ve been proud to see what she had become. 

“Congratulations,” Nebula said with a nod. 

“I agree with the others!” The canine yipped, her tail wildly wagging when she trotted over to you. “I will protect the baby like a good dog!” She licked your hand leaving you secretly grateful she didn’t try to jump up. “This is good news!” 

Rocket, who had been at Peter’s side, made his way over. “Yeah, yeah, what they all said.” He said with a half smile, arms folded. “Guess we better get one of those sign things to hang on the ship that says Baby On Board or something.”

“So no one else sees a problem with this?!”

Peter’s voice popped you out of that blissful bubble you had found yourself in. Everyone was looking at him now, the good mood immediately snuffed out. Your stomach began to churn, only this time, it wasn’t from the pregnancy symptoms. 

“We just got our team back together and everything was fine! Now you had to go along and get pregnant!” He jabbed a finger in your direction. “I dunno, did you not consider how this might impact the rest of us?!” 

Where the hell was this coming from? “You know, just a ‘Wow, congratulations, Y/N’ would have easily sufficed!” You were fuming. Of course you knew he would be a dick when you needed him most. “This was a surprise to us! I’m sorry I didn’t take you into consideration!”

“You know you can’t come on any missions, right, Y/N?” His eyes then landed on Adam, his new target. “You know she is basically out of commission. She’s a risk! Now we’re down a teammate!”

“Peter, leave him alone!” You snapped, moving protectively in front of Adam. “He didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“Oh, really, he didn’t now?” Shit, you led him right into that. “Did you forget that whole thing when Goldilocks over there busted through our home and almost killed Rocket, not to mention trying to take the rest of us out with him?!” 

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Pete.” Rocket cut in with a frown. “You’ve said it yourself before, and it’s clear that Adam has. I’ve forgiven him, why haven’t you?” 

You weren’t sure if Rocket’s words struck a chord with Peter or not. In reality, you really could’ve cared less at that point. Tears of frustration and sadness had already begun to well up in your eyes, you didn’t want to give him the courtesy of seeing. 

“Thanks, everyone.” You said, stare fixed on the ground. “Your support means a lot.” 

Adam’s hand caught your wrist as you started walking away from the group. “Y/N?” 

“I’m fine.” You told him, pulling your hand out of his grasp. “I just need some space. I’ll meet you back in the room. I love you.” And you made sure that you said the last part loud enough for Peter to hear.

                                                   XXX

You had practically built yourself a nest out of pillows and blankets on the top of your bed. Adam’s pillow was stained with your tears because you had chosen it to be the one you cried into. He smelled nice. Honestly, your fight with Peter could’ve gone a hell of a lot worse. You could think of several things you might’ve spat out at him that would’ve hit him hard and good. There was enough that you didn’t need to add onto. 

Suddenly, you heard a knock on your bedroom door--which was odd considering Adam always chose to waltz in without first announcing himself. Whatever, it had been a weird day as it was. Who were you to dictate how your partner came and went?

“Adam, the door isn’t locked. Just come in.”

But the person who opened the door wasn’t Adam. Peter. You watched quietly as your brother made his way over to your bed, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. After the fallout, why exactly had he decided to show up? Was he going to give you another earful? 

“Before mom died, she made me promise that I would always protect you. Even before that, I felt like I always needed to because it was just the three of us. Well, four if you wanted to include grandpa, but three.” 

You chose not to respond, deciding to see where he was going with this. 

“You may be grown, Y/N, but you will always be my little sister.” Peter said, his voice no longer harsh as it had been. “But that isn’t an excuse to lash out when you get into a relationship or, well, get pregnant. You’re tough. Quills have to be. And if you love Adam and this is what you want, you have my full support.” From his spot, he smiled at you. “Besides, I think I’d make a pretty damn good uncle.”

Finally, you looked up to meet his gaze. “That was a dick move you pulled back there.” 

Peter sighed. “I know, I’m really sorry about that.” 

“And you owe Adam an apology for trying to make him feel like shit.” He watched you, probably trying to figure out your next words. Inhaling, you continued on. “But I forgive you. I know you mean well, but I can take care of myself. Adam is a really great guy and he has changed. I really want you two to get along, especially with this baby coming. I need my big brother. I need you.” 

“Y/N, you couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.” He replied, lightly throwing one of your pillows in your direction. You dodged it with a smile. “Call it a talent.”

You snorted, shaking your head as you beamed the pillow straight back. “You’re such a dork.” The imense amount of relief you felt now was so welcoming. “This baby will be lucky to have you as an uncle. I wish Yondu was here.” Though, you weren’t quite sure how your adoptive father of sorts would feel about a baby. “...I wish mom was too.” 

Peter moved and pulled you into a hug--one that you didn’t realize you needed so badly. “Me too.” He admitted with a sigh. “She’d be so excited. She was the best mom, and I know she’d make an even better grandma. And I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be just as great at it as she was.” 

You gave Peter a watery smile, only this time your tears were happy. “You think so?” 

He chuckled. “When have I ever lied to you?” And you couldn’t help but think back to Kraglin at that. 

You rested your hand on your stomach, something you had a gut feeling would become more natural as time went on. Your mind wandered to the little life inside of you. What would they look like? Adam? You? Growing something inside of you that was the product of your shared love. Even though you had only known about this baby for such a short amount of time, they were already so adored. A smile crossed your face at it all. The new chapter in your life, his life, everyone’s that had only just begun. 

[trev0rc0re]

Dad! Trevor would be so adorable.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ Like OK LISTEN we saw the way he was with Tracey, who isn’t even his OWN BLOOD in story mode. You know, when he literally went full on attack mode after finding out she was gonna exploit herself on Fame or Shame. Bro went actually BALLISTIC, grabbed a guy by the neck, publicly embarrassed an asshole producer after chasing his ass in a car for miles, and it was all for someone he considered his niece, whom he had not seen in 10+ years. Not even Michael seemed that upset or angry at the guy, and she's his kid. Trevor though…? Good lord, imagine him with his own kids.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ Would most definitely be the type of guy to say:“Fuck that, I don’t ever want kids,” then literally be the best with them. The people around him are literally shocked to see a usually rude, crass, violent man transform into a huge softy the minute a child skips into the room, instantly pulling cash out of his pocket so they can go get themselves candy, or giving out fist bumps and bear hugs at the drop of a hat. He’s so naturally good with kids that it’s scary and unnerving to those who know him. “Seriously, how is that the same guy that has massacred multiple people?”

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ Girl dad, obviously. She would take after him completely; huge, light amber eyes with flecks of yellowish gold, dark wavy hair, mischievous toothy grin… I can totally see him allowing his daughter to paint his nails in shades of bright pink, wearing the polish with pride despite his rugged appearance. God forbid anyone say anything about it, or attempt to make fun of it. Doing so would be an instant death wish— nobody is gonna make his daughter feel bad for her “craftsmanship.” She would probably try to style his thinning hair too, attempting to tie the surviving strands into a ponytail/braid and he would just let her LOLLLL. No matter how hard she pulled, or how much she kept brushing his forehead instead of his actual hair.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆Or he would take her to ballet class in his beat-up truck, but not before a detour to McDonald’s. “Better not tell mommy how you pregame for ballet, kiddo. She’ll kill the both of us,” as they’re literally both fucking up a McDouble and large fries, smearing ketchup all over her leotard LOLL. He’s such a rule breaker when it comes to his kid. Skipping half the school day to hang out at the park together? he’s down. Ice cream for breakfast? Sounds good. Driving an hour in traffic into Los Santos to see whatever pop-star she’s obsessed with at the moment? He’ll hate every second of it, but he’ll do it. He would do anything for her.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ For someone who used to care for nothing, for nobody, not even himself, he’s so involved in every aspect of her life. He cares so much about her in a way he never knew he could.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆+++ I headcannon that he would be a girl dad, but he would only have one girl. One child. He remembers what it was like to have a sibling—how he was constantly overshadowed in his youth, competing for his mother’s already-sparse attention. He would never want his kid to feel the way he did growing up, ever.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆definitely taught her how to shoot a gun, use a switchblade, drive, and swing a bat/throw a punch properly. Young too. Needs her to be able to defend herself in any situation just in case, especially with his criminal involvement. Probably bought her a mini pink switchblade for one of her birthdays, much to his s/o’s dismay. She loved it though. Also taught her how to swear, accidentally. Her first word was probably fuck.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆Looooooooves showing his kid off. Would probably wear one of those huge baby slings around Sandy Shores when she’s young, proudly displaying her any chance he gets. Bouncing her on his bony hip as he parades around the bar, a beer sloshing around in his offhand as the local drunks and crackheads look up from their own. “That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, I made this! fuck you!” Got a tattoo of her name too.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆Would Trevor be the perfect dad? With his history, probably not. Would constantly question if he’s doing enough for his child, teaching her the right values, keeping her safe from his dangerous criminal lifestyle… the thought alone of her ever getting hurt because of his work leaves his throat dry, palms sweaty with terror. Would definitely struggle with drinking or his meth addiction as an escape, attempting to cope with the thoughts of being the reason she gets hurt. Some unresolved stuff from his own shitty childhood would probably come up at some point as well, but again, he would try his absolute hardest to give her the best, safest childhood he possibly could despite his negative thoughts. He’d get clean and push through for her. He has to.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆She definitely has “my dad will kick your ass” privileges at school. Nobody ever dares to mess with her, bully her, or so much as look at her the wrong way, cuz they know he actually will LMAOOO. OR WORSE.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆…And when she gets old enough to date? Good luck. I can totally see his daughter being picked up for her first date, already nervous enough without Trevor shadowing her when her poor boyfriend knocks on their door. “Accidentally” leaves his blood-splattered bat visible in the kitchen, pistol tucked obviously in his front pocket as he rests a heavy hand on his daughter’s shoulder, staring daggers into the poor guy. “I uhh… trust that you’ll have her back on this doorstep before 8, right bud?”

Her poor date looks petrified, sweat beading on his forehead, and not from the desert heat. “Y-y-yes sir, I can even have her home before then, sir. Anything you want.”

“Perfect. Anything happens to her, or you’re even a minute late, I’ll hang you by your tiny, freshly dropped balls, got it?”

[felixisourayofsunshine]

Okay so I really wanted to talk about emonette's character plus Shadybug and Clawnoir's relationship......... Well this is gonna be a long one so sorry in advance

Okay let's go!!!

So as we saw in the special emonette said that she was constantly bullied by Chloe(guess she doesn't change in any universe 😔 that damn brat I hate her.... not more than Lila though) and considering how broken she sounded that was not the same bullying that Chloe of this universe did to Mari that shit must've been extreme. However, I donot think that the bullying alone there must've been more aspects which lead her to the path of evil.

Well, while we're at it let's talk about this scene.. God this was so heart wrenching....

When she said that-

"I'm sorry mommy dear, I fine I just- just dropped my sewing kit it's A BIT DAMAGED"

When she said the above line while glancing at her face which reflected on those broken pieces of mirror.... I swear I wanted to cry. Don't you see how poetic this was, while she seemed to be taking about the broken mirror we can clearly see that the one who is broken Is her some one once said

"But that's the irony, broken people, are not fragile....."

So while emonette is completely broken inside she never lets show on her face, no matter how sad, how broken, how miserable she is she keeps moving forward, you wonder why? Well, because it's MARINETTE for crying out loud.... no matter what universe it is our Mari puts on a brave face in front of other, she tends to hide her scars and crying silently not letting others know. Even in the original universe she would have broken much sooner if it was not for Alya finding out her identity. But as emonette said herself she doesn't have loving parents, a best friend and a supportive boyfriend, she was left all alone to suffer without anyone by her side

I still wonder what her wish really was though, knowing her it certainly not power. Could it be something else which she yearns for. Okay so hear me out do you remember what she said to Mari? She said:

"Do you think that it'd be any different from how it is now? Guess what, I don't have your nice little life. The world where I'm from there are no awesome girlfriends to inspire me everyday, no amazing bff, lovable, calm and gentle mom or a boyfriend who doesn't think I'm a total loser...."

These lines broke me though 😭...

So my theory is that in that universe Tom is dead and Sabine is abusive( I totally can't imagine that tho) that would explain why she behaved like that with Sabine and she works in her dad's bakery to keep his name.

Oh well I have a worse on........ Both Tom and Sabine are dead and she was adopted by someome who were very abusive(let's consider that after she graduated junior high she moved out of that school and is probably out of Chloe's grasp) they even intended to sell the bakery, the only belonging of her late parents she was left with. That was when she met supreme and he offered her that in exchange of killing her abusive guardian she will have to work with him. So maybe her wish could be returning to those happy times with her parents without Chloe or any suffering. Well I guess it was a bit far fetched but anywaaaays.... 😅

Okay let's analyse another scene..... The one where she was reading Mari's diary.

What's interesting about her in Mari's room was that she certainly recognised her room and we can see that she does live in the bakery after all. The reason why she acted that way was to save her identity getting exposed to Claw Noir(which I don't think she cares that much about) or she really wanted to find out if this version of her had a better and happier life than hers.while she pretended that she wanted to look for clues, she went through Mari's personal stuff life her computer, her diary and her other things not because she was looking for clues but because she wanted know what kind of life this MARINETTE had.

Look, she was crying while reading that diary. She wants this life.

Just look at her... Looking into the life of a version of herself she wishes she could be. A world where "THERE ARE AMAZING GIRLFRIENDS TO INSPIRE HER EVERYDAY, AN AMAZING BFF, LOVABLE AND CALM MOM AND A BOYFRIEND WHO DOESN'T THINK THAT SHE IS A TOTAL LOOSER".

You see.. behind that evil mask there is a broken girl who longs to be loved. she wants a shoulder to cry on, hands who would embrace her tight when she is crying. She may look like a total badass who doesn't need anyone but no! that's not the case at all.

Aaaand I think she does have someone like that in her life already, and that person is the one and only CLAW NOIR. ........Even if she refuses to acknowledge it.

So, while she was shutted down, abandoned, bullied and absused her whole life and had no one to helf her up, Claw Noir was there for her,even though he is a total dork who teases her all the time.

Well yeah he is hella rude and disrespects her A LOT, it may look like she may never fall for him normally, but lets consider emonette's circumstances...... As much as we know she doesn't have anyone to rely on, no friends and probably no family. She never had anyone to inspire her. In a life like this...... After she got her miraculous and met Claw Noir, she finally had a reason to live, a reason to fight and a person, she could work together with and trust just a little bit yeah not totally cuz well he does let her fall head on..

In Mari's room when she reads the diary and learns about Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship, their friendship, their partnership. She does look like she wants that too. (Also this may not apply to everyone but sometimes two people who like each other tease each other a lot....... )

They may fight eachother and not consider each other as partners, but they do make an amazing team. They may not be partners but they've got eachother's back at time of need. Just how Shadybug needs Clawnoir's strength while fighting and how Clawnoir relies on Shadybug's plans.

Also this scene...... While you can say that he is acting this way because he now knows that she is Marinette, the girl he likes.., but we know he is Adrien afterall he may care about Shadybug deep down without realising it and with him now knowing who she really is has realised it.

Just look at him he looks sad when he sees her cry too. He may act like he doesn't care but he actually does. He is like "I am the only one who can hurt her, anyone else who dares to do that must pay....." .

And the scene where she opens up to Mari was just so emotional, I literally started crying. There was pain, sorrow and grief in her eyes. She was suffering and was jealous of Mari,'cuz she thought that she had everything for granted, she thought that she never knew what suffering was like. Her words were so sad. But after Mari made her feel that they really are alike and changed her for better I felt so happy......

And after that when she met (now improved) Claw Noir they felt like they were more to each other and I loved it..

All I want now is a ShadyClaw series.. we need to know what happened after that.... And before they landed in the multiverse.

Well aren't they the cutest.

I wish they become a couple in future.....

Oh well that was a long one.....

Well I had it in mind for quite a long time but couldn't write it because I have exams coming 😭. But wanted to finish it before I forgot it. So here I am. I hope y'all liked it though.

Okay let's end it with a quote:.

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

I hope this becomes true for our beloved emoadrinette.

Bug out!🐞🐾

[girl4music]

Once you are aware that Xena and Gabrielle are soulmates and that their karmas are intertwined for eternity (past, present and future), a lot of the episodes that you get before learning that information make much more sense. Like it’s not even funny how much more significant and profound the earlier episodes become once you know they’re soulmates.

For example the episode ‘Prometheus’ and the soulmate story Gabrielle tells Iolas as he is dying.

It’s supposed to be a Xena/Hercules and Gabrielle/Iolas double love story of sorts where at the end of the episode they both feel like they’ve met their soulmate in each other. But like… you go back and watch that episode after you’ve watched the show and especially the episode ‘Between The Lines’ and it’s just like 😲

It makes so much more sense and it’s much deeper than it initially comes across without all that insight.

And it’s not just that… like there’s so many episodes…

‘Chariots Of War’ is a huge one for this revelation as I’ve written about several times now. Like… the male love interests that they both have in that episode suddenly have a greater significance to what’s going on in the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.

Just like… watch the whole show and pay attention to the episodes revolving around the soulmates aspect…

Then watch all the earlier episodes back over. It will blow your fucking mind how much deeper they are in context of Xena and Gabrielle’s soulmate connection.

Maybe the creators themselves didn’t recognize that they were actually creating an epic WLW love story about soulmates that find each other over and over and grow together over and over and it’s just EPIC.

I’m always in awe of just how deep and intense it is.

The Callisto episodes. My God… everything about her character, her motivations in her tormenting Xena and Gabrielle and just the whole point to her character at all becomes far more significant due to this insight.

It’s like she’s their foil - their great burden.

Then she’s their happiness - their great blessing.

And it’s just.. You’re MIND-BLOWN by realizing all this.

Viewing the show as a romance or an epic love story all about soulmates… it just takes Xena to WHOLE other levels of quality art/entertainment. It really does. You don’t get anywhere near that depth if you don’t view it that way because it all seems less important.

Yeah, Xena’s redemption is still there and Gabrielle’s evolution is still there. But it’s nowhere near as deep. Nothing that happens in their individual arcs looks or sounds or even feels all that substantial without the knowing and understanding that they’re soulmates or even just as best friends evolving into lovers. It doesn’t. It’s like as soon as the romantic perspective is embedded in your brain with every episode you watch… That’s it. The show has just QUADRUPLED its watch value and you won’t see it the same ever again. I wish I could articulate how excited I get to watch the earlier episodes interpreting Xena the way that I do. Everything is just experienced better on many levels. Everything about it just makes so much more sense.

So I recommend everybody go back and watch the show and keep focused on the romantic perspective. View Xena and Gabrielle as lovers all the way through.

It will absolutely BLOW your fucking mind. I swear it.

[justmystyles]

Hi!!! Just saw your requests are open and I couldn’t help but jump on this bc I love your writing so much!!!

Not sure if you do these but could you write something angsty loosely based off All I Ask by Adele with Harry and reader? Maybe with a happy ending that could be down the line after coming back together after maturing/time apart? :)

thank you so much for this ask! i really hope i gave you what you were looking for! 🖤

All I Ask

pairing: Harry Styles x plus size reader

word count: 3.5k

summary: you're finally starting to get over harry, what happens when fate brings you back together?

warnings: 18+ only NSFW, smut, oral (f & m receiving)

a/n: my first request AND my first smut. let's do this!

*i say it's a plus size reader, while i don't focus a lot on that aspect (because your size should not define you), it will come up, so i just wanted to be upfront about it.

tags: @allthelovehes @ameerakane20 @ash-craze @bethanysnow @blue-ballad @brightlightsinlife @cute-as-ducks420 @gem1712 @golden-hoax @groovychaosavenue @hillzrry @iceebabies @indierockgirrl @jerseygirlinca @jooniesbabie @kaverichauhan @n0vaj3an @stylesfeverr @superchrystaldrug @tenaciousperfectionunknown @thechaoticjoy @theekyliepage @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @youknowwhaaat

Harry kept his hood up and head down as he walked the late night streets of New York. He didn’t have a destination in mind. If anything, he was trying to get away from his thoughts. Trying to find something to distract him. 

New York was where he fell in love with you, and then a few months later where you planned your future together. It had been nearly a year, but he could swear his sheets smelled like you. He had spent countless nights in that bed thinking of the nights you shared together, the feeling of the two of you wrapped up in one another. Your smile, your laugh. 

Your laugh. It had become one of his favorite sounds on the planet. He could sell out the biggest arenas, but nothing made him feel better than hearing you laugh, and knowing it was because of him. Sometimes, he could still hear it. 

Harry froze in his spot. It sounded too real that time. And then he heard it again. Like the siren sound of a mermaid calling to a sailor, his eyes followed the melodic laughter, and he found you almost immediately. 

You were surrounded by a large group, he recognized a couple of your friends, and there were a few people he hadn’t seen before. He was at a loss for what to do, so he just stayed rooted in place. Watching you. And then he saw something that he wished he hadn’t. 

A man came out of a nearby bar and approached your group. His arm went around your shoulder, and as if it were second nature, both of your arms snaked around his waist, your head resting on his chest. It was as if his heart was breaking all over again. 

You were having a great time, your friends had just finished a hilarious comedy show. You kept telling them it was their best one yet. But the laughs didn’t end there, as with every show, the after party spilled out onto the sidewalk, and into the bar next door. It was the first time you’d been able to actually enjoy New York since things ended between you and Harry. You were finally starting to feel like yourself again. 

Then you heard those whispers and hished gasps that you hadn’t heard in ages, and you immediately tensed. 

“Y/N, you good?” Lou looked down at you with a concerned glance, but you didn’t hear him. All you could hear were the whispers. 

“Oh my gosh, is that Harry Styles?” 

“It’s him! Quick get your phone out!” 

At that point, your friends had heard the whispers too. They knew about your history with him, they had done everything they could to get you out of your funk post-breakup, they saw what a mess you were. They were all trying to get your attention, asking if you were okay, trying to guide you into the bar for a much needed shot of anything. None of it registered. 

You pulled yourself out of Lou’s arms, your eyes darting around the street until they locked on his. You silently walked away from your group, you saw Harry begin to move as well. Once you were in front of each other, you stopped. 

“Harry,” you whispered. 

“Y/N.” 

You closed your eyes, trying to compose yourself. You forgot how beautiful your name sounded coming out of his mouth. When you opened them, you saw him moving closer with his arms outstretched. You immediately stepped into the embrace, as if you were a magnet. You both sighed instantly on contact. 

You weren’t sure how long you stayed like that, but when he began to pull away, you knew it wasn’t long enough. 

“So… uh, what are you doing here?” Harry asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Dan and Jay had a thing,” you nod your head over to your group of friends, who had been watching the entire interaction. “You?” 

“Recording, and a couple of meetings.” You nod in understanding. “How was the show?” He asked.

“Good, really funny. How is the–” 

“Excuse me,” you were interrupted by two women holding out their phones. “Harry, do you think we could get a picture?” 

Harry smiled at you apologetically, and you nodded in response signaling that it was okay. He took the photos, and a small crowd started to surround you. 

“I’m going to take off,” you whisper in his ear as he finishes another photo op.

As if out of instinct, his hand reaches out and grabs yours, you gasp quietly as that familiar jolt of electricity shoots through you at his touch. 

“Wait,” he pulls you closer. “Do you want to go grab a drink and catch up? I know a place.” 

“Sure,” you respond before he can even finish his sentence. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to him again. Not yet. “Let me just go tell my friends.” 

Harry nods, and watches as you walk down the street to your friends. You had said yes, but he was afraid that if he let you out of his sight, you would disappear.

When you returned, he took a few more pictures, said goodnight to everyone there, and placed his hand on the small of your back, leading you away. The second his hand was on you, the concerns of your friends replayed in your head. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“We’re just starting to get you back.”

You shook it off. If anything, this would be good, it would be the closure you never got. Things between you and Harry ended while you were on opposite sides of the world, so you never got the chance to really talk things out. Maybe this was that chance. 

After walking a few blocks, you arrived at a bar and were seated in a back corner booth. You both ordered drinks immediately, hoping to clear out some of the awkwardness. The conversation started off simple enough, you caught each other up on work, your families, typical topics. Then, feeling emboldened by the alcohol, Harry asked the question he was dreading. 

“So your boyfriend didn’t mind you coming out with me?”

“Boyfriend?” You ask, unsure where that was coming from. 

“That guy you were hugging when I saw you.” 

You’re silent for a moment, trying to remember what was happening right before you saw Harry. “Oh, that was Lou,” you wave your hand dismissively. “He’s an affectionate drunk.” You chuckle through the butterflies. Was he jealous that you may have been with someone else?

He nodded his head in understanding. “So you’re not…” 

“I’m single. I’ve been on a couple of dates, but none of them really clicked.” You shrugged. Your mind went back to the last date you went on. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” 

You turn to your left, smiling softly at the man in the drivers seat. “Me too, thank you for dinner.”

“Anytime,” he continued talking, but his words faded away as those familiar notes started ringing through the speakers. You looked at the screen to confirm, when you saw Harry’s name, you immediately reached over and turned off the radio. You looked over to your date, who eyed you curiously. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” he chuckled. “Not a Harry Styles fan?” 

“I, uh… I went through a phase.” It wasn’t a lie. The phase just happened to be more than making playlists and going to concerts. 

“My little sister is obsessed,” he continued. “She was going on and on about how excited she is that he got back with his ex.” 

“He… what?” You choked out the words. For about a month after you broke up, you were keeping tabs on gossip and fan blogs, but your family and friends reminded you that doing that would only make moving on harder. 

“Yeah, I guess he and Taylor Swift are a thing again? I dunno, they’re probably just trying to get inspiration for their albums or something. Celebrities are all so fucked.” 

Your chest tightened at the memory. He wasn’t single. 

“Speaking of, I heard you and Taylor are a thing again.” 

His brow crinkled, it was the same face he always made when he thought you said something crazy. “We’re not.” He said simply. 

“Oh, sorry. I just heard that...”

“You should know better than to believe all that gossip rubbish. I’m single too.” 

“Oh,” was all you were able to say. 

A silence fell over the two of you as you took in all the information. You were both single, you both got the impression that the other was happy about that. What next?

“Do you have any regrets about us?” Harry broke the silence. 

“I… what?” 

“Because I do,” he didn’t even let you process his question before continuing. “I regret not getting one more night with you.” Your eyes went wide, but he continued, wanting to get it out before he lost the nerve. “I keep thinking about our last time together, and I think about all the things I would have done differently if I had known that was going to be it.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” you reply, tossing your head back and finishing your drink in one gulp.

“What if we… I mean we could,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “Do you want to go back to my place?”

“Absolutely.” You answer without hesitation. 

Harry finished his drink, slamming his glass down on the table. He then pulled out his wallet and dropped some cash to cover the bill. “Let’s go.” He stood, offering you his hand which you took immediately. 

The taxi back to Harry’s apartment was silent. You were both weighing out the pros and cons of what you were about to do. Your friends were right, you were just starting to come back around, starting to heal. Would this destroy all of the work you’ve put in? 

Truthfully, you didn’t care. 

Harry opened the door and held it for you, allowing you to enter first. As you did, you felt his eyes on you causing a chill up your spine. You heard the door latch, and before you knew it, Harry’s hands were on your waist, and his lips were on your neck. 

He spun you around so you were facing him and crashed his lips against yours, swallowing your moans. He walked you backwards, pinning you between the wall and his body. While one hand traveled up to tangle in your hair, the other slid down your thigh, lifting it to hook around his waist. 

He pressed into you further and you could feel his hard cock pressing against your core. “Do you feel that, Y/N? You feel what you do to me?”

“Yes,” you gasp against his lips as you lift your hips, desperate for more friction. 

“Mmm… so eager. Did you miss my cock? Miss how well I fill your sweet pussy?” He latched onto your neck with a series of biting kisses that would most definitely leave marks. 

“God yes.” 

Harry growled at your response, lifting your other leg so they were now both wrapped around him and began walking toward the bedroom. As he moved, you could feel his cock rubbing against you, you tightened your legs trying to get as close to him as possible.

Once you were in the bedroom, he threw you down on the bed, immediately crawling on top of you. His hands traveled up your body, grabbing the hem of your shirt as he did and lifting it over your head. He pressed his lips to yours in a dizzying kiss, he quickly moved down your body, kissing across your collarbone and down your chest as he reached behind you and unclasped your bra. 

He pulled back for a moment, admiring your topless form. His hands cupped your breasts, squeezing gently before he came back down, taking one of your nipples in his mouth. Your back arched as you gasped in pleasure. He kissed across your chest, paying the same attention to your other breast. Your hand came up, cradling the back of his head as your fingers ran through his curls. 

His hands slid down your body, pausing to unbutton your pants before pulling them down with your panties. As soon as your pants were on the floor, his lips began traveling the same path his hands just had until he was settled between your legs. 

“I swear, you’re even more beautiful than I remember.” His husky tone went straight through you. 

He gave you a wolfish grin before lowering his head, running his tongue slowly through your folds, moaning at his first taste of you. “Still so sweet.” He commented before he refocused, circling your clit with his tongue. 

“Oh god,” you moan as your hands fall to his head gripping onto his hair trying to move him exactly where you need him most. 

Harry pulls his mouth away, littering your inner thighs with kisses as he slides his hand up and slowly starts inserting a finger. “Fuck, you’re so tight darling.”

You look down at Harry bashfully. “There hasn’t been… I haven’t…” 

Harry growled at your response. “Good girl,” he praised, causing a small whimper to escape you. “Have you touched yourself?” 

“Mmhmm,” you were so lost in the feeling of his fingers pumping in and out of you that you were unable to form words. 

He arched a brow at your response. “And were you able to make yourself feel as good as I did?” You shake your head in response, still unable to speak. “Use your words, sweetheart. I want to hear you.” He crooked his fingers just right, hitting that spot deep in side of you. 

“No!” You scream.  

“That’s right,” he responded. “Because nobody will ever make you feel as good as I can.” To prove his point, he lowered his mouth once again and started working his tongue in time with his hand. 

“Oh fuck, Harry please.” You pleaded for your release. 

“That’s it Y/N, give me everything.” 

At his words, your back arched off the bed and Harry’s name fell off your lips like a mantra. He worked you through your climax, holding your thighs open as he lapped up every last drop of you. 

As you were coming down from your high, he began kissing back up your body. When he got to your face he kissed you deeply, allowing you to taste yourself on his tongue. 

He stood from the bed, pulling his shirt over his head. You watched with rapt attention, your eyes traveling every inch of his torso. You shifted, crawling to the end of the bed where he stood. When you got to him, you reached out, pulling his sweatpants to the ground, allowing his hard length to spring free. 

You wrapped your hand around his base, his hips instantly bucking into your touch. You pumped your hand twice before leaning down and swirling your tongue around the tip. As you opened your mouth and began taking him inch by inch, his hand gathered your hair and rested on the base of your neck, helping to guide you down further. 

“Mmm, just like that. Such a perfect little mouth.” Harry kept his eyes locked on you, memorizing every possible moment. 

When you gagged on his length, he instinctively thrust his hips. He was close, you could tell. You felt him tug on your hair. Picking up on his signal, you slowly remove him from your mouth and sit back on the bed, giving Harry a questioning look. 

“I need to be inside you.” He grabbed your face, pulling you into another kiss. “Do I need a…”

“I’m still covered.” You answer, confirming that you’re stll on birth control. 

“Such a good girl. Lay back for me, beautiful.” He commanded in a tender tone. 

You complied, and Harry was immediately on top of you, the head of his cock positioned at your entrance. “Are you ready for me?” 

“Yes Harry, please.” You begged. 

He entered you slowly, desperate to feel every inch of you. Once he was buried to the hilt, he paused allowing you a moment to adjust. When Harry felt you shift underneath him, he knew you were ready and pulled out to the tip before plunging back in quickly causing you to gasp. 

He continued to move at a torturous pace, his hands moving all over your body, as if he were trying to memorize every curve. His mouth traveled your neck and chest, marking you as his, even if it was only for tonight. 

“I’m close angel, I need you to come again for me, can you do that?” 

“Yes Harry, please yes.” you were desperate for another release. 

His hand dropped between your legs, circling your clit in time with his thrusts. The sounds of your shared moans and skin against skin filling the room. 

“Harry, yes… fuck… oh!” You screamed as you covered his cock, your breathing rapid. 

His thrusts sped up, becoming more erratic as he chased his own release. “Fuck!” He groaned, dropping his head to the crook of your neck as he filled you. 

You stayed like that for a moment as you both recovered. Before long, Harry dropped to your side. He instinctively lifted his arm to pull you close but stopped himself, remembering the situation you two were in. 

The room was silent as the two of you laid there, minds racing over what just happened, and what it meant. 

And how much it would hurt to say goodbye. 

The reality of the decision hit you, and you began to panic internally. You had to get out of there before you completely lost it. 

“I… uh, I should probably take off.” You clutch the sheet to your chest, suddenly feeling more self-conscious than you ever had around Harry, as you begin to sit up.

“Oh,” he was surprised by your abrupt decision. “Are you sure? It’s late, you could stay if you…”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Harry.” 

“No, of course not. I’m sorry.” He threw his legs over the side of the bed and slid his sweatpants back on. “Let me walk you out?” 

You nod as you pull your shirt on. You confirm that you have everything and make your way out of the bedroom, Harry following behind. 

You got to the door and let out a sigh before turning around to face Harry. “It was really good to see you.” 

“You too,” he responded, his eyes never leaving yours. 

You stood there in silence for a moment, neither able to believe that this was really it. This was the final goodbye. “Take care of yourself, Harry.” 

“You too, Y/N.” He pulled you into a hug, holding you so tight that it felt like he was never going to let go. You didn’t want him to let go. 

Unfortunately, he did, and it was time to go. Time to finally close this chapter of your life. With a sad smile and a wave, you stepped out the door, and out of Harry’s life forever. 

The next morning, you were in your hotel packing the last of your things when you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Your eyes were bloodshot and puffy thanks to the combination of the uncontrollable sobbing and inability to sleep. The second you heard Harry flip the lock on his door, your tears fell, and they hadn’t stopped. You grabbed your sunglasses off the desk and slid them on before grabbing your bags and exiting the room. 

When the elevator doors opened, you trudged into the hotel lobby. You were tired and hurting, you were so focused on holding back your tears that you didn’t hear your name being called. When you felt a hand on your shoulder, you jumped and snapped your head around, your breath catching in your throat when you saw him. 

“Harry?” 

“I have more regrets.” He lowered his sunglasses, and his eyes looked just as bad as yours did. “I regret not fighting harder for us, I regret not making you feel special and important. I regret letting you walk out the door last night without telling you that I still love you. I never stopped.” 

You removed your sunglasses, your way of showing him that you had been struggling just as much. You were trying to come up with something to say, you had to say something. 

“I…”

Nothing came out, so you did the only thing you could think of, you dropped your bags and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a kiss that you hoped said everything you were unable to. When you felt his arms wrap around your waist and pull you flush to him, you knew you had succeeded. 

You finally broke apart to catch your breath, your foreheads pressed together, your eyes searching his. 

“Do you have to go back today?” He asked through a whisper. 

“I could probably stay another day or two.” 

“Good,” he kissed you again before taking your hand and leading you out of the hotel. 

He took you back to his place, you had a lot to talk through, a lot to figure out. But for the first time in a long time, you felt a sense of peace wash over you, like you were whole again. 

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

GMMTV QL PLAN

Given the recent string of BLs that have dissapointed me narratively (missing or rushed character arcs, set ups for things that go nowhere, stringing plots along even past the point they were needed, incomplete or dropped or rushed story arcs etc...) I have decided to change to try and figure out in advance which shows I will watch and how (both in attitude and if I watch live).

---

Peaceful Property = Read that the director said it was a bromance. No thank you. I will also keep my feelings on this being specifically a "bromance" to myself. Whatever. Watching Schrodingers BL Live since ep 3.

Thame - Po Heart That Skips a Beat = No thank you. I already don't love idol bls. But one thing I realized with Only Boo is that there is nothing GMMTV can do with this specific genre that isn't going to be massively hypocritical.

---

Pluto & Us = Binging at the end both. Sorry both stories use tropes I don't love.

My Love Mix Up = Only current show in the post. Binging this one when it's done too.

Ossan Love = I still haven't gotten to watching the original. Binging this.

---

For the ones that I will watch live I will try going on with my older attitude towards bls. As in I am here for the romance and the relationships (platonic and romantic) and litterally not caring about narrative or plot inconsistency and not expecting anything from them

[total side note: some of the shows that I have complaints about also made this attidude super difficult due to them messing up characters and relationships but whatever that's not the point]

Also for the following ones I am probably going to be a very passive watcher, back to occasional tag commentary if I have anything to say and that's it.

My Golden Blood = I mean this in the nicest possible way I can, I swear I am not hating, but I am expecting this one to be highly enjoyable trashy fun and nothing else.

Kidnap = I am going in expecting/wishing that the story will treat the problematic aspect with the care they deserve but that's it.

The Ex Morning = I am mostly just curious. I have no skin in this game nor any particular emotional attachement to KristSingto (no hate at all, in fact I do plan to rewatch Sotus and try again with Be My Favorite. I haven't always been able to connect with Krist's acting but I have seen a lot of posts about him and I want to do better at that)

Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist = Watching for Mark Pakin.

The Heart Killers = Mostly here for JoongDunk. Honestly low-key scared of FirstKhao fans to say anything more.

Perfect 10Liners = Honestly I am most excited about Santa and Perth then anything else (If it wasn't for the cast change I might have binged this too I wasn't a huge fan of the chimon and perth chemestry - no hate to Chimon on this post or anywhere around me I will be blocking you if you do that). Still dissapointed ForceBook didn't get anything different.

Exception (Sorry not sorry):

Revamp = This one is different for me, I have higher expectations and I am definetely the most exicted for this. I will probably be engaging more in meta and fandom in a way I won't bother for the other ones. This one is also only being released by GMMTV but still produced by Studio Wabi Sabi. And Boun is writing the script something I am very curious about.

[onemillionfurries]

Binged Hazbin Hotel with my husband last night. I was going in expecting to hate it, but had a surprisingly good time. It absolutely has its issues, but there is enough meat there for me to get hooked and go "Oh GOD I wish this was better."

Rosie is my fave character and my fave episode was ep 7

I think a lot of the enjoyment came from having my husband with me and being able to pause the show and talk about it with him. If I watched this alone I would not have had nearly as good of a time or even been able to get through it. Also there are some jokes that really made me laugh.

Definitely my biggest issue with the show is how it tells instead of shows. I distinctly remember in episode 7 there was a moment where a character starts beating someone else up and I was like "Oh, she's helping her by training her." but before I could even compliment the show for having a rare "show don't tell" moment, the character just straight-up says that she's beating her up to help her 🤦‍♂️ I was so fucking pissed. We're not BABIES. I can understand character motivations without being explicitly told them!!

About the swearing. I will say that it is not nearly AS bad as I thought it would be, but it was definitely distracting. There are so many moments where a cuss was just thrown in for what feels like NO reason, and I really think Charlie should have been a character that rarely swore.

Also Adam... fucking Adam.

Adam is the most obnoxious character I have ever seen put on screen and I hope to god he doesn't return in season 2. I hope he stays dead.

I wouldn't be surprised if the show got its bad rap around swearing because of Adam. It felt like 90% of it came from him.

I love Rosie so much and I hope she gets more screen time in the future seasons. She was so kind and helpful to Charlie and I would die for her. 10/10 best character in the entire show.

The songs were ok. A lot of them just came out of absolutely nowhere though. Like characters would be talking casually and then a song would just start.

My favorite song is Charlie's from episode 7. It didn't come out of nowhere, actually furthered the plot, and was a genre that I liked.

There's probably a lot more I could say, but overall I'd give the show a 6/10. I really, REALLY hope the creators take all the constructive criticism towards this show at heart and improve in the future seasons. ESPECIALLY in the "show don't tell" aspect. I am begging you. Please. We're not 5 years old.

Also I aint touching the fandom with a 12 foot pole. I might occasionally rb fanart or something but I am NOT looking to engage with the fans.

[puellaphantasia]

Oddity found this JCA meme on Deviantart, time to cringe like it's 2010. Elaborations on some of the questions under the cut

2). It would literally be easier to list the characters I don't like than my favorites, I do genuinely love most of the cast, they're all really fun and bounce off each other so well.

3). I appreciate that the Ice Crew has fans, but I just couldn't stand them, they were poor replacements for the Enforcers.

Oddity and I both are both of the opinion that the Ben-Shui monks are kinda creepy, not sure I can elaborate they just...ew

I don't remember liking Paco when I watched this as a kid, he didn't grow on me on a rewatch as an adult, and I'm not sure I'll learn to like him in my reboot fanfic- but my god I'm going to try.

Viper...I genuinely forgot she existed. Even when I did a second rewatch with Oddity there was a whole episode that I remembered seeing in my initial rewatch that I completely forgot Viper was in. I wish I liked her more than I do, but she's just really boring.

4) Again, it'd be much easier to list characters I don't like than ones I do. I would have put Tarakudo on the favorites list, because I remember really liking him as a kid, but when I did my rewatch he didn't hold up as well as I remembered so he didn't quite make it to the favorites list even though I still like him.

6) Seasons 2-4 are the whole reason to watch JCA, honestly. S1 was a good foundation, but it didn't really start to shine until s2, but even then, I have to admit the Demon Sorcerers arc got pretty reputative and the non plot episodes sort of dragged on. There's very few episodes outside of s5 I didn't like, so I wouldn't say skip 'em but I think they could have been interlaced in the Demon arc a little better

S3 gets a bad rep in the fandom, and I get the complaint of it just being the Talisman Hunt 2.0 but honestly the character interactions are at their best in this season, several of the Nobel animals themselves have such fun personalities. I wish that s3 had it's own Mcguffin to collect that I could buy replicas of on Etsy, but it's not a big complaint to me compared to just how fun s3 is

S4 had the best individual episodes. I think more could have been done with Tarakudo interacting with the other characters, he was a little passive until the final episode and that's why he didn't make the favorites list, but the new types of Shadow Khan, their powers and the different situations the masks created were some of the best scenarios in the whole series.

8) Mei Xing and a cast of other OCs will be appearing in my fanfic Jackie Chan Adventures ↺ -wink wink-

9) I didn't actually create Mei Xing to ship with Tso Lan, it's just something that ended up happening while I was planning out her part in the story. It's just really funny to me that after I decided this aspect I looked to see if there was other Tso Lan/OC pairings, and saw two others who were also named Mei- I swear this wasn't done on purpose.

10) Just for the record, I also considered drawing the scene where Daolon and Uncle froze each other while Big Jade was fighting the Ogre, that scene just sticks out to me as one of the funniest in the show because of how they were both that stupid. I love them. They need to kiss.

[pruneunfair]

"My feelings on" part 4: into the light once again and how it only takes a few gross tropes to taint what could've been a perfect piece of work.

I remember seeing the trailer for it so many times back in 2018 but I never got to read all of it since Tappytoons has a 30 ad policy just to get enough to buy on chapter. It's really good, wholesome families, sibling dynamics, a smart villain, and a magic system so the fantasy aspect wont be abandoned for cheap fanservice.

The protagonist used to be known as Alisa, 4th princess of Edenverre and was mistreated by family and servants with the exception of her younger sister, the golden child Marianne who is later revealed to be the mastermind behind the false accusations of poisoning Marianne Alisa faces. She is executed by her own family and comes back as the princess of the enemy empire Elmire, now known as Aisha she swears to one day get justice on her sister.

The revenge plot may be overrated but Into the light does it well enough that I could look past it. The politics and world building are fantastic and the element spirits low-key reminded me of gacha studio or genshin impact characters, and characters like Ashley and Mina aren't enemies for Aisha to defeat, they are people who make mistakes and are allowed to grow.

My favorite part of course is the villainess Marianne, she geninuely scares the hell out of me with her uncanny valley vibe she emits, there's always something so off about her and she reminds be almost of a monster who would star in the conjuring. Marianne has the ability to brainwash others and while I can't tell which, she either steals Alisas body or she causes an illusion affect to alter her and Alisas forms to the family of Edenverre (Really confusing but i like it) and while Marianne doesn't have as much screen time as I wished I enjoyed her while I could, because into the light treats Marianne with respect as an antagonist.

Marianne barely showing up may not even be a bad thing entirely, because while revenge is part of it, the story is built more on healing from your trauma and surrounding yourself with positive influences so it's reasonable that most chapters would center around Aishas powers and her family.

My only small gripe is a petty one but I'm pretty sure the author is an only child 😭. I'm not saying that Aisha and Ysis should be full on murdering eachother but their so unbelievably protective of eachothers feelings to the point of Ysis disliking the idea of any man wanting to marry his sister in the future, ive even seen some fans get concerned that it was going into a brothe-sister thing (especially when he was included as an option for men for Aisha to be attracted to ick)

As someone who has lived with 3 siblings, the excitement for a new baby sibling dies after 3 weeks at most. But hey, they do got a large palace, maybe Ysis just had the luxury of not needing to listen to his baby sister cry at night. I also don't understand why Ysis would immediately believe that Aisha was a reincarnated soul that could remember her past. Like I know he loves her but if my sister started to tell me she was the executed princess in a past life I'd be more concerned.

I wish I could say that was the only thing I didn't like.. unfortunately as much as I love into the light once again, it doesn't stay great for very long. That was my only small gripe because I have a lot of large problems with the love interests

Aisha is 14 and turns 15 at some point but for most of the series, she's a young teen and all her love interests are leaps and bounds older then her. Starting with the big one, Luminas, a 2000 year old king of light who meets Aisha WHEN SHES STILL A BABY!

"Damn, too early, ill give it 13 more years."

Not even the second male lead is safe, Veon is the youngest of the male leads and he's basically watched Aisha grow up since he was Ysis's friend. I can't remember his exact age but I know he is at least 20 which is just... that doesn't make it any better!. There's also apparently some dude named Arsen who's also at least 25 years old and one of Alisas childhood friends, I've heard people say he's another love interest but I haven't seen anything confirmed myself so I'll just hope my 2nd favorite character isn't going to be going after minors.

I'm starring to think the author has an age-gap fetish at this point.

Quick thing I wanted to bring up, a lot of the comments on this chapter have been uncomfortable not just with the age gap and pedophilic weirdness but also this dress. It doesn't look bad but it's built like a maternity dress and for some reason she looks pregnant in a lot of shots which just.. I'm gonna hope we're all just overthinking that one because the last thing this manhwa needs is implications that Aisha will get pregnant young.

While there is a lot of people who are rightfully uncomfortable with the 2000 year age gap, there is also a lot of people justifying it. "He treats Aisha well though!" "It was normal in that time!" "Your just being too soft! Let Aisha be happy!!"

Let me bring up some real history for minute.

This is Isabella of Valois during her wedding with Richard II, she is the youngest bride currently known about in the medieval era

Isabella was only 6 years old when she married her 29 year old husband.

This is Margaret Beaufort.

She was 12 when she got married to her 24 year old husband and 13 years old when she gave birth to Henry VII

And probably one of the more well known examples, Catherine Howard.

She could have been as young as 15 and as old as 17 when she married Henry VIII who was 49.

Now did these examples make your skin crawl? Did they make you feel disgusted? Well they should, just because it was normal in that era, doesn't mean it's all of a sudden fine. There isn't even the cheap excuse that Aisha is technically over 20 given her mental age since Alisa died at 14 and Aisha is very clearly still mentally a young teenager.

Luminas and Veon are definitely nowhere near the personalities of men like Henry VIII but that also doesn't make it okay either. Especially when Veon basically watched Aisha grow up and she's his friends little sister! and Luminas knew her since she was an infant. Would it be that hard for Aisha to at least be a young adult and not a 14 year old. Because it really feels like Luminas is waiting for her to be legal since he already tells her she's his ideal woman when she's still a 14 year old.

Conclusion: Into the light once again is a beautiful story about healing from your trauma and the writting and the characters are just amazing. But it all feels like it's backpeddled when it's so heavily romanticizing or just straight up ignoring the fact that Aisha is basically a grooming victim, the relationship is practically covered in glitter to make it look better, "Sure Luminas is 2000 years old and Aisha isn't even an adult but at least he's so nice to her and he teachers her how to summon spirits! He'll always protect her!" Because while Luminas will (hopefully) never hurt her. Real groomers absolutely will. It pushes the message that as long as the man who is old enough to be your dad is sweet to you and protects you, then it's fine if he has feelings for you. Intentional or not. A story about healing from trauma supporting relationship where ones a child and ones a god with a mature mental age to boot is kind of like when movie producers fucked up the original meaning of Lolita.

Coming up on the next "My feelings on":

[paracosmicparadox]

So I finished FFXV ages ago, but I've been thinking about it lately bc you know, I elaborated the chocobros' story far further than it was meant to go and got way more attached to them than I should have. So here're some things that the game did really well and some of the things it didn't. (you don't have to agree w anything here; I'm not trying to corrupt y'all w my opinions; I just feel like talking)

Let's start with the bad to get it out of the way:

CINDY. I swear to everything holy her character had the potential to be So Cool if she hadn't been so overtly over-sexualized. Like, I'm a woman-liker too and I get it, lady mechanics are hot af, but you know what else is attractive? Safety in the workplace. Cindy's outfit was not something any mechanic would be caught dead wearing. Yeah, it was designed to be sexy, but do you know how many burns she would've accumulated from the hot oil and metal she works with? There's a reason mechanics typically wear clothing zipped up when they're actually working on something. If anything, Cindy's character design just made me uncomfortable. Her character itself? Great. No qualms there. Her design? Please acquire more than two square feet of fabric I'm begging you. I just feel like Cindy deserved to be so much more than fan service.

Luna's brief time on-screen. Yet another potentially incredible and deep female protagonist who got short change from this game. People joke a lot that Luna wasn't at all an important character because the game never really treated her like one. She was MEANT to be important, clearly, but it felt like she existed just for her tearjerking death scene? Like there was SO MUCH overlooked potential to bring her into the storyline as more than Tragic Love Interest In White, and yet?? Idk it frustrated me.

The emotional aspect of the game felt rushed. There were a lot of emotional scenes covered throughout the plotline ranging from King Regis's death to the deal with Prompto at Zegnautus Keep. I feel like the game TRIED to cover them realistically and show the characters' grief, but it didn't quite get there. It was just sort of an "Oh, how sad. I'm so upset and angry. Hm, what's that? My friends believe in me without truly understanding and I can kill someone to ease my pain? Oh okay I'm better now." I get that realistic healing cycles are kinda hard to portray within a set timeframe, but having some lingering effects of the blatant trauma inflicted would've been nice. You don't recover from shit like that in a week's time.

Character personalities tended to be one-sided. Noctis was edgy, Prompto was happy-go-lucky, Gladio was tough-guy, and Ignis was... nevermind, Iggy was great--- HE had some on-screen depth. Personally, I've developed these characters myself far more than what the game gave us, but I wish we'd gotten more canon depth beyond their surface-level traits. I love them with my whole heart and they deserve genuine complexity.

Now the things I actually really enjoyed:

The graphics were on-point. The amount of detail put into character design and into monsters was insane. You could zoom in and see individual textures on skin and hair and feathers, bringing a level of realism to the game that I personally enjoyed.

All of the Latin and Norse mythological references!! As a Latin nerd, I found little gems everywhere in this game. Esp in the names--- (Noctis Lucis Caelum = Of-the-night Sky-of-light (the genitives in there make the literal translation kinda a mouthful ik) Gladiolus Amicitia = Sword-flower Friendship (the gladiolus is an actual flower that gets its name from the Latin word gladius, meaning sword, for its sword-like shape) Ignis Scientia = Fire Knowledge; Prompto Argentum = Ready Silver (the word prompto is actually in the dative (possibly ablative), making the literal translation nonsense, but if they'd made his name Promptus, it would've sounded awkward, so I can see why they picked the dative/ablative form of the adjective for stylistic reasons and I put the rough translation instead)) WOW THAT WAS A LOT OF PARENTHETICAL INFO WHOOPS

Ardyn's character. I'm not saying this bc I'm one of the fans who fawn over him---Ardyn is DEFINITELY NOT MY PREFERRED FLAVOR OF MAN, but character-wise, he made an excellent antagonist. He was witty, slick, and classy in an I'm-gonna-outstep-you-like-it's-hopscotch sorta way. He was a poetic villain done well, which made him an antagonist you could both sympathize for and absolutely detest given the situation. He was both the master manipulator and the pawn one space away from the edge of the board. He can sway a crowd, but you know deep in your gut just by the cunning greed in his eyes that You Cannot Trust The Man. He was definitely Not a good person (tragic backstory isn't an excuse), but he was a good villain.

I loved the bond between the chocobros?? This is probably bc I'm a sucker for the found family trope, but their interactions were so amazing to me?? Like, not even the cutscene stuff. Just their little sidebar conversations during fights or while you're walking around or driving the Regalia. They're Roadtrip Buddies™ and I think that's excellent.

THE FOOD. By god, the food in this game looked absolutely scrumptious and I would like to partake. The Daggerquill Soup? Give it to me I'll pay you. The Creamy Crustacean Omelet? Stop it right now I'll eat that so fast it'll be a criminal offense. Like I know I touched on the graphics earlier, but broski I was not kidding. I guess I know why the game took so long to make it to the market bc the detail that went into these recipes is absolutely mouthwatering.

[fortheloveofwonderland]

Congratulations on hitting 3k!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

So, as much as I initially thought this would fit Spencer x Reader.... I would love to request a RALVEZ angsty (little fluff) fic to these lyrics please?!

🎵 Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk? I didn’t mean to call you that. I can’t remember what was said or what you threw at me, please tell me - My Own Worst Enemy by Lit

Thank you for giving me an excuse to write Ralvez! I love you and I loved writing this. I realise after I wrote this the fluff is non existent. Sorry I tried but the angst took over. Ambiguous ending- you can decide if you think they made it through this or not. Italics are flashbacks to their fight.

My Own Worst Enemy

Spencer Reid x Luke Alvez

Summary - Spencer’s insecurities have always been a hurdle for Luke to overcome. And then the younger man gets drunk and a fight ensues, one they may never come back from.

CW - super angst, not necessarily a happy ending, depends on how you want to look at it, Spencer is very insecure, bisexual Luke, jealous Spencer, drunk Spencer, fighting, arguing, swearing, very brief mention of past drug addiction, Spencer calls Luke a “whore”.

WC - 2.6k

Luke Alvez was well aware that his boyfriends insecurities ran deep to the bone. As hard as Spencer tried to come across otherwise, he was incredibly self conscious in just about every aspect of his life. 

Due to his lack of confidence, it wasn’t unheard of for Spencer to get jealous. He’d never felt worthy of Luke’s love and affection and it showed through his envy when any person Spencer deemed to be attractive spoke to Luke. 

To his credit, he was good at hiding it. But Luke knew Spencer well enough to see it in the smallest gestures. It was the way his jaw set, the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides. It was how his perpetual lip chewing got even more frantic and he stuttered more than usual. 

It didn’t help matters that Luke was attracted to both men and women. In Spencer’s mind that left double the amount of people that Luke could leave him for. 

Spencer’s insecurities were always worse when it came to a pretty woman talking to his boyfriend. He didn’t blame them, Luke was utterly ravishing, charming and drop dead gorgeous. But Spencer’s anxiety when it came to Luke was always heightened by women.

Sometimes Luke wished he hadn’t told Spencer that before he’d met him he had categorically only dated women. Spencer wasn’t the first guy he’d been with but he was the first man Luke had a serious relationship with. 

In Spencer’s mind, it was only a matter of time before Luke broke up with him for a woman. If Luke had a dime for every time Spencer said as much, he would be a very rich man. 

But he endured Spencer’s self doubt because he loved him. Luke loved Spencer like he’d never loved another human being before he just wished Spencer would see that. 

Luke had gotten used to it by now, he thought he had a handle on things. But that was before Garcia’s leaving party. 

Luke had never witnessed his boyfriend drinking before. He knew all about Spencer’s history with dilaudid and how the younger man didn’t tend to consume alcohol because of it. 

But upon arrival at Rossi’s when the old man had poured Luke a glass of champagne and offered Spencer a water, Spencer shook his head and opted for the sparkling alcohol instead. 

Luke and Rossi exchanged a slightly concerned look but Luke thought better of questioning it. Spencer was a grown man and Luke trusted that if Spencer thought he could handle a drink then he could. 

Only it wasn’t just a drink. 

Spencer managed to hide his consumption from Luke for the most part, never quite finishing a drink and simply topping up his glass when his partner wasn’t looking. 

Spencer was not a drinker. It had been several years since he’d made the decision to give up alcohol and even before he had, he’d never been drunk to excess. 

So it was no surprise at all that after only three glasses of champagne he felt wobbly on his feet. His brain started to grow hazy and his eyes blurred even if only slightly. 

But that didn’t stop him from having a fourth. 

And ultimately he wouldn’t remember most of the night after Emily’s speech, which was a strange feeling for Spencer who remembered everything. 

When he woke up the following morning he found himself on top of the sheets, fully dressed and even had his shoes on still. 

His head was pounding and his mouth was so dry it felt like his tongue was made of sandpaper. 

But the worst part? The bed he usually shared with Luke was empty on his side and the sheets were cold. 

He forced himself to sit up, his head spinning and stomach turning as he did so. He exhaled through his nose and swept his hair back off of his forehead. 

Closing his eyes and rubbing them with his palms, he tried to grasp at any little memory from the previous night. 

“I’m sick of this Spencer! Either you trust me or you don’t.”

“What if I don’t?” 

“Then I don’t know why we’re even together.” 

His eyes shot open and his hands fell to his sides on the mattress. Yelling. There had been a lot of yelling. Screaming. Slamming. Smashing. 

What the hell happened last night? 

He forced himself off the bed, his legs shaking like a newborn calf. His satchel was on the floor in the middle of the room, tossed there and its contents spilling out. 

He walked past it towards the bathroom, slowly and carefully as his legs were struggling to cooperate. He made it to the sink and ran the facet, splashing cold water on his face. 

“Are you really this insecure? Do I really need to coddle you this much?”

“Coddle me? Oh is that what you do? I’m a grown ass man, I don’t need you to coddle me, Luke!”

“Yes, you do! Fuck, I’m having to constantly reassure you that I love you and want to be with you.” 

“I’m sorry you don’t know what it’s like to have self doubts. But not all of us can be perfect like you!” 

He was momentarily overwhelmed by the sound of him and Luke’s raised voices in his head. 

Seriously, what happened last night? 

He dried his face with a towel before brushing his teeth in an attempt to bring some moisture back to it. 

Everything after that fourth glass of champagne was a blur of red raging anger. It had probably been bubbling beneath the surface for a while, he’d tried to suppress it like he did everything else but the alcohol had caused it to all spill out. 

“Get in the car.” 

“No.”

“Get in the fucking car, right now.” 

“No!” 

“You wanna go back in there? You wanna make more of a scene than you’ve already made? Get in the car, Spencer.” 

Had he completely destroyed his relationship in the space of one night? Had the alcohol caused him to push away the best thing in his life? 

He needed to call Luke. Where would he even be? Since they moved in together eight months ago they had never spent a night apart. Even before that they rarely did. 

He needed to call him and try to salvage their relationship in the wreckage of whatever happened last night. 

Legs still wobbling, Spencer ambled back to the bedroom and found his cell phone on the floor by his bag. He grabbed it, trying to ignore the way the world spun when he stood back up too fast.

He had unread texts from JJ, Rossi and Garcia but they could wait. He had more pressing issues to attend to. 

He located Luke’s number and hit the call button before putting the device to his ear. It started ringing but it also promoted another sound from beyond his bedroom door. 

He frowned, lowering the phone from his ear and focusing on the noise from his living room. 

The distinctive sound of a phone ringing. He cancelled the call and tentatively walked towards the door. 

His hand was trembling when he reached for the handle, heart racing as he had no idea what to expect when he opened the door. 

“You know what, fine. I am insecure! But you knew that about me when we met!”

“I had no idea how bad it was, Spencer. I can’t even talk to a woman without you freaking out. I have done nothing wrong here, I was simply talking to a friend.” 

“Talking, huh? So you’re saying you wouldn’t have fucked her given half a chance?”

“No! Oh my god I can’t keep having this same fight. When have I ever given you reason to believe I would cheat on you?” 

“Past behaviour says a lot about someone. You weren’t exactly a saint before we met, Luke.”

“I wasn’t? What was I then, Spencer? Enlighten me.” 

“You were a goddamn whore and you know it!” 

Oh boy, this was going to be bad. 

He pushed down the handle, knowing he was going to have to face this sooner or later and he may as well get it over with. 

Luke was on the couch where he’d clearly slept given the blanket folded neatly over the arm. The expression on his face was a combination of exhaustion and frustration and Spencer knew that was his fault. 

He sheepishly stepped across the threshold, stuffing his hands in his pockets as Luke watched him move. He stayed on the couch and Spencer slowly moved closer until he was dropping down at the other end of it. 

He noticed shards of glass on the floor by the wall and the remains of what used to be a lamp. 

“Why don’t you go back to Rossi’s and take her home instead? We both know it’s what you want!” 

“God fucking damnit Spencer how many times do I need to tell you I do not have a crush on Penelope Garcia!” 

“You’re a liar! You’re a goddamn fucking liar!” 

A crash followed the yelling. The ripping of a cord as the lamp was pulled from its socket and then a crash as it was launched at the wall. 

“How you feeling?” Luke spoke, his voice horse and cracked. 

“My head hurts.” Spencer rolled his lips between his teeth, staring down at his hands now in his lap. 

“I’ve never seen you drink like that. I’ve never seen you drink at all.” 

“Certainly not a shining moment in the Spencer Reid chronicles.” Spencer exhaled. “Is there any chance we can just forget about the things I said when I was drunk? I didn’t mean to call you that. I can’t exactly remember everything that was said or what was thrown. I don’t want to remember.” 

“You think I can just forget that you called me a whore and threw a freaking lamp at me?” Luke shook his head. 

“Technically I threw it at the wall.” He shrugged dumbly, focusing his attention on cracking his knuckles. 

“Spencer,” Luke’s tone was haggard, shattered into as many pieces as the lamp lying forgotten on the floor. “I love you so much, but your insecurities are going to be the death of me.” 

“If you’re never going to believe me when I say I love you I’m gonna just stop saying it. I can’t spend my whole life having to convince you that you’re the person I want to be with. At a certain point you’ve got to either believe me or walk away.” 

“I wish I knew how to stop feeling this way, Luke. I wish I could just shut it off. But I’m never going to feel good enough for you. And that shouldn’t be your problem.” Spencer croaked, still looking at his hands. 

“But it has become my problem, Spencer. You made it my problem. You made a complete fool out of yourself last night. You made a fool out of me.” Luke huffed with a shake of his head. “And you owe Garcia like a thousand apologies.” 

Spencer’s eyes snapped up now, landing on Luke. He swallowed thickly at the mention of the bubbly tech analyst as another hazy memory flooded over him. 

“What are you doing?”

“It’s called ‘talking’, boy wonder.” 

“Oh sure, ‘talking’. Do you think I was born yesterday?” 

“Is he…has he been drinking? Should you be drinking, Spencer?” 

“Spencer, just leave it, ok? Penelope and I were just-”

“Oh I know exactly what you were doing. You wanna sleep with my boyfriend, huh Garcia?”

“Exsqueeze me?” 

“Don’t play dumb.” 

“Spencer just walk away.” 

“You know what? You’re welcome to him. He always did like women better.” 

“I have never once said that, you’re putting words in my mouth again.” 

“Reid, I think you need to have some water, nurture that giant brain and in the morning everything will seem so much clearer.” 

“Fuck you, Garcia. Fuck you both.” 

“I, uh…it wasn’t my proudest moment, that’s for sure.” 

“Something has to give, Spencer. I know you don’t mean to be like this and last night was a fluke but…I can’t live like this. I’m exhausted. It physically and mentally exhausts me constantly having to prove my love for you.” Luke sounded just as tired as he felt. He sounded utterly shattered. 

And Spencer was responsible for that. 

“I have spent so many years trying to work on my self esteem and I thought I was getting better until I met you. I’ve never felt this way about someone before and the thought of losing you is a very real fear to me. I don’t know how to just shut off these thoughts that keep telling me I’m not good enough for you.” Spencer felt the tears burning the backs of his eyes, felt Luke slipping away. 

He didn’t see a happy ending on their horizon. 

He knew Luke was right, something had to give but it was impossible for him to just switch off all these insecurities that had plagued him for so many years. 

“And I can’t keep telling you that you are good enough.” Luke shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. 

Spencer watched him from the couch as he started aimlessly wandering the room. 

“You’ve got to let this go, Spencer. I’m allowed to talk to women, hell I’m allowed to talk to anyone I want!” 

“If it were just talking I wouldn’t be so annoyed!” 

“You’re paranoid. Your self doubt has made you paranoid, Spencer. I don’t want to be with Penelope or anyone else for that matter. But right now I’m also not sure that I want to be with you either.” 

“We’re not gonna be ok, are we?” Spencer’s voice betrayed him as a few tears leaked from his eyes. 

“I really don’t know.” Luke replied honestly. 

“I’d love to sit here and promise I'm never going to get jealous again, but I can’t do that.” 

“I know you can’t.” Luke ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “I don’t want to lose you but I also don’t see this getting any better.” 

“I can’t lose you, Luke! I just can’t!”

“The only reason you’re going to lose me is because you’re acting like a freaking child, Spencer! This jealousy is out of hand. I can’t handle it. It’s too much. You’re too much.” 

“Then what are we going to do?” Spencer whispered, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. 

Luke huffed out a deep breath as he flopped back down to the couch. 

“I really have no idea.” He shook his head. 

Both men stared straight ahead at the wall, not daring to look at the other. Keeping his eyes forward, Luke found himself blindly reaching across the expanse of couch that separated them and took hold of Spencer’s hand. 

Neither of them had any more words, none that would help matters anyway. They’d reached a fork in the road and had to decide which way they would go. 

One path would lead them to work on their relationship, to try to salvage what little was left. But who’s to say they wouldn’t end up right back here, navigating the same bumps in the road all over again. 

If they chose the other path they would have to traverse it alone. In choosing the second path they were giving up on each other, throwing away a love that was maybe always destined to fail. 

They had to decide if their relationship was worth fighting for one more time or if this really was the end of the road. 

Spencer laced his fingers in Luke, trying to commit to memory the exact way his hand felt in case he never got the chance to hold it again. 

He wished it was more of a surprise that they’d ended up here. But ultimately Spencer Reid was his own worst enemy and his insecurities may end up being his and Luke's untimely demise. 

[vv-ispy]

For the ask meme, Yun Jin! And Venti too, why not

Yun Jin

How I feel about this character: Isn't she cute? Isn't she sweet? So graceful and dignified and well-read, and... I like the detail put into her. I like how beijing opera inspired she is, how she has the flags in her skill and burst, how she does acrobatic moves (bc beijing opera is very acrobatic — and done wearing those big heavy costomes too, insane), how she kicks the spear like jianzi/chinese hackysack in her idle, how the finishing of her attack sequence is flourished with a gong sound and pose, how they got an actual beijing opera singer to sing for her, how her signature dish is one of my favourite foods! I love her! She got me into the game! I enjoy that she plays with the idea of tradition vs change, she participates in a very traditional art form, one that is very much seen as 'stuff my grandparents listen to', but also listens to rock and roll! Thinks the traditions and the elders are outdated! She works hard but she also has fun! That's about it to her though rip

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Shenhe :) Also Xinyan

My non-romantic OTP for this character: With the rest of the liyue gang, xinyan + xiangling + xingqiu + hutao + chongyun! Also I love that she calls Morax '岩王爷' "stong king grandpa" affectionately, it's so cute and almost humanizing-but-also-old-school respectful-of-your-elders kinda sense. Would love to see her interact with Gaming as the two main Cultural Representatives pfft

My unpopular opinion about this character: I haven't even seen enough opinions on her to know whether this opinion is unpopular, but she works better as a side character. Yun jin's story has been told in the jade chamber chamber quest, and her written backstory. There's not much to expand on.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Sure, she can show up as a side character in events more. I don't have strong feelings about it though. In a world with bigger stakes, with themes of gods and control and change, I think her aspect of the story's been told. Though I guess if you really want to make an argument for it there's compare and contrast you can do with her and Venti bc they're both story tellers with a focus on humanity. Yet at the same time, they're still in such different worlds, it feels forced to use her for such big themes, I think she belongs in having-fun-with-the-liyue-gang

Venti

How I feel about this character: Stares into the void. I swear I became a Venti Fan by accident. Why did I start liking him again? Ah right nameless bard. Anyway, about Venti... By being the most human of the gods, also makes him the most multifacetted of the gods, in my opinion. The bulk of Ei and Zhongli focuses such big, almost abstract concepts, like eternity and change and what they should mean. Quite frankly, things that are detached from the average person's (or, maybe just me lol) life, at the scale they talk about it. Not to say they're unrelatable to humans, I'm sure many can relate to Ei's response to losing Makoto or Zhongli's letting past and tradition go, but not at the scale they do, where it affects a whole nation. Furina and Nahida have their own very personal battles with growing into themselves and feeling trapped, but neither of them have had enough influence over their nation's development for their struggles to intertwine on a larger scale Venti straddles this gap. As a god, one of the original gods even, he has already shaped a nation and their understanding of 'freedom', is burdened by this 'freedom' and how it contradicts with his role as a god — a god should be leading his nation, a god is trapped under Celestia. He allows one to explore the grand overarching themes of the game, of destiny and fate and order and principles. But he's also. Just a guy. He sings songs making fun of himself and gets drunk and makes mistakes and is a jerk sometimes, he doesn't take himself seriously and his actions as Venti are of no consequence. He gets to know his people personally, he makes connections on a human level, and so even his god struggles have a personal note to them

I joke that he's hard but fun to write, and he is! Both! I'm genuinely itching to write another Venti POV piece some day because he gives me an excuse to do wordplay and not take everything too seriously — this guy overthrew a god losing his closest friend in the process, then made a mistake in governing so bad in resulted in tyranny taking over again for him (with Venessa) to fix, then particpated in The Cataclysm whatever that entailed, probably knows a bunch of terrible godly secrets, and then woke up to another dear friend corrupted to the dark side for him to fix (with The Traveller + friends). Again. Yet through all that he remains silly — in Animorphs there's a quote by Marco "You have to decide whether you think life is tragedy or comedy. I long ago decided to look for the joke in life […] See, it was my mom who taught me that the world was funny" and sometimes I get the same vibes about Venti. He could easily look at his life and decide it's a tragedy, but instead he decides that no! Life is fun and life is whimsy and there's things to laugh about and experience in life despite everything terrible about the world that he's seen first hand, taught by the bard who couldn't experience the joys. And sure I think at least a part of his alcoholism is drink-the-trauma-away, and I do think a big part of him living life to its fullest enjoyment is a promise he made to his bard friend but I also don't think either of that takes away from him having seen the worst of existance and deciding to choose love and care and hedonism. But because he's had the experiences of the best and the worst and everything in between, and is good with words, he works so well bouncing off other characters. You can use him to talk about loss (he's experienced so much), of masks (he wears one too), of inferiority (self proclaimed weakest archon, started life as a weak wind sprite), of power (he's a god amongst humans), of connection (he's the one that reached out to zhongli first, makes an effort to talk to his people), of forgiveness (doesn't hate signora, possibly understands her), of change (does Mondstadt change?), of legacy (still wears his friend's face), of....... he's such a flexible character because of his scope and contradictions. You can use him for anything, he fits anywhere. And man, in the wack case he doesn't fit a theme? He'll know a song that fits the theme. This guy knows too much. And GOD I didn't even get to talking about how I have emotions about how the bard and his early life shaped him Uh also trans Venti good

All the people I ship romantically with this character: hmmm ZhongVenXiao is the one that comes to mind first, because of the way all three of them push and pull and challenge each other. Venti relieves the heaviness of the subservant dynamic ZhongXiao has going on, Xiao alleviates the heaviness of the Old Gods then ZhongVen has going on, Zhongli alleviates some of the overfocus on Xiao I see in a lot of VenXiao works, I love the three together! Zhongxiao challenges Venti's idea of freedom, ZhongVen challenges Xiao's ideas of loyalty, VenXiao challenges Zhongli's overseer responsibleness Bardven. God. First friend. First love. Understanding each other's soul. Carrying on each other's legacy. Unable to move on. Must move on for the other. Learning your own very ideal from another, and now being the bearer of that ideal. They cannot be separated, I think Venti still caries a bit of the bard into everything about him, whether conciously or not. I don't think Venti would be a bard without the bard, and I wonder if his friend didn't die, if he still would have lived his own life to its fullest to live on for his friend. Sometimes, I play with the idea of Venti not telling the bard's story out of selfishness — it's the only way he can still keep his friend to himself, untouched by history. A shinning memory that no one else can ruin. I love the angst of other Venti ships, that any ship with Venti almost has the ghost of the bard still there — the other is looking at Venti and the bard because Venti is like a white cloth that got dyed by the bard. The colour may fade, he may get dyed with others, but he was loved and changed by the bard first and there will always be a mark of that. Venti looks at the other and he's reminded of the bard constantly— he's held by his new lover and he's reminded of how safe he felt in the bard's hands, he laughs at his new lover's joke and he remembers the first time he felt joy with the bard, they talk about their future together and he's nolstogic for the times he talked about the future of Mondstadt with the bard. Not that it's constant, of course — I think he's very much moved on too. But he'll also never forget about the bard and those happier days with his soulmate, before he lost his innocence

I know I said Diluc/Venti in my answer to Diluc, but my affinity towards that is generally the silliness of I'm-kicking-god-out-of-my-tavern. Venti is such a character-focused character to me I prefer ships with a bit more potential for substance such as....... Stares at a KaeVen wip I've yet to finish because I have plot and character to iron out. God I need to finish it. It will be the culmulation of all my thoughts about this ship, probably

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Venti/everyone in Mondstadt. He is the core of the theme of Freedom that everyone in Mondstadt. Everyone in Mondstadt has their own idea and experience with freedom and the city He Made, so perfect jumping off point to explore variations on freedom Venti + Venessa. The aristocracy is Venti's first big mistake, his first second big trauma. He thought he had given his people freedom only for his own people to reinvent oppression. The themes to explore there! And Vanessa, she fought for her freedom but she's also an outsider to Mondstadt. She challenged his idea of freedom, he challenged her self-reliance. I think Venessa is the second largest affect on his life and yes this is including the other archons, because Venti is a god who is concerned with humans on a personal level. They're both saviours in a way, Venti to his people and Venessa to her people, but she's also taken up the role of looking after Mondstadt in general after being welcomed in Mondstadt. I think it also set the presidence for why Mondstadt is so welcoming to everyone from everywhere, the fact Venessa decended from another nation created Mondstadt's backbone of the KoF to care for not just her people but everyone in Mondstadt. If the bard planted the seed of what freedom means to Venti personally, then Venessa helped grow those ideas into what freedom means for Venti's nation and how his ideas of freedom affects his people Inserts Bardven here again but god this ask answer is getting long enough

My unpopular opinion about this character: This is a sideways answer to this entry, but for me Venti content is like candy. It's good and fun and I love seeking it out, but I have to keep it in moderation or else I get tired of him. For me, sometimes people are too......idk how to describe it. Too reverent of him? I liken my reaction to him with my reaction to Portal 2's Wheatley back in 2014: great character in the source material but as a consequence of being a popular character, there's a portion of fanworks that talks of him in a way, erases his flaws, that irks me. Like, in the source material Venti is a high quality chocolate, the perfect mix of has his own character + comedic relief + contributes to other's characterizations + intriguing relationships + cares about others + a divine man + wise + childish whimsy + has his own issues + kinda a jerk sometimes + just a fun guy + not a perfect god + doing his best. But fanworks, either out of wanting to explore one aspect or not fully understanding him, it's easy to fall into One Aspect (alcoholic Venti, or only-there-to-develop-someone-else's-character/others-are-only-there-to-develop-him Venti, or doesn't-take-anything-seriously Venti, or ...). And then I come out of the mirad of Venti content feeling like I ate a spoonful of sugar, or a spoonful of cocoa. Or, sometimes I just want to take a break from eating chocolate ya know? But then again there are times when I just want to eat a spoonful of sugar so ya know. Moderation, etc etc But hey that's just a me problem. It just means for things like Venti Birthday I need to take a step back from the Venti Insanity and stick to my trusted mutuals' takes on him :P

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: windblume when :(

[juniperhillpatient]

I didn’t want to share this with the link but my one & only criticism of that video I shared is super specific & it’s that the video essayist doesn’t like Dennis trying to kill Dee in the castle. In my opinion that was a beautifully hilarious scene / culmination of a hysterically entertaining subplot & I strongly disagree with her that it fell into the same category as other cases of the show becoming too mean spirited & neglecting to show that these characters care about each other in the latest seasons. I do agree that this is a huge issue & literally everything else in the almost 3 hour video I fully agreed with though so please still know I loved the critique. I just really liked the castle episodes & this is an excuse to talk about it lol -

I actually found the sibling dynamic weirdly sweet in the Covid episodes. The joke was funny because it wasn’t that Dennis literally wants to kill Dee, it was that he was delirious with Covid & thought he was communicating with a ghostly castle which is so funny cmon. And before that they were renting a castle together & she was teasing him while also taking care of him & in a giant castle they still chose to share a room like they’re so cute. It’s my favorite plot we’ve had in so many seasons & I must defend it with my life.

To me it was mean in classic sunny fashion which is VERY very notably different to the way new sunny is mean. It called back to such iconic scenes as “Dee? I swear you would be of more use to me if I skinned you and turned your skin into a lampshade. Or fashioned you into a piece of high-end luggage. I can even add you to my collection” followed by a hilariously horrified expression from Kaitlin Olson.

Dennis rushing at Dee in a deranged attempt to behead her only to pass out & she has to take him to the hospital is great. It’s the above mentioned scene with talk of skin luggage - or Dennis & Dee’s talk of murder & Dee’s confusion and about what the “actual plan” is in “Mac is a serial killer” amped up to 100 to me. It’s “Dennis is a serial killer” jokes done right much like “making Dennis Reynolds: a murderer” & NOT like “The Gang Gets Cursed.” That last one takes the joke way too far by leaving the implication that Dennis might actually be a killer which completely ruins the joke both by explaining it & botching the punchline which should always be that Dennis is a pathetic bitch who WISHES he was a serial killer (side note - other than that, I mostly enjoy “The Gang Gets Cursed” btw).

This became an essay but I wanted to share that extremely good & insightful video without my huge block of text commentary on something extremely specific. However I did want to rant about how much i LOVE the siblings in the castle episode imo that is pure classic sunny dynamics shining through the fog of late seasons overall crappiness lmao I’d actually categorize that specific sub plot as one of my favorites in the whole show which is insane given that it’s from season 15. I just really really love the Reynolds siblings being fucked up but in a funny way that has almost sweet aspects hehe

I also think this is an opportunity for me to discuss WHAT the notable difference is between the “mean” aspect of sunny here & why it works SO much better than the other mostly uncomfortable humor of later seasons. The joke’s punchline is on Dennis - something that’s desperately been needed in the sibling dynamic & the way it’s narratively framed for a LONG fucking time. As discussed in that amazing & super insightful video, new sunny punches down & it’s frankly cringe more often than not. Old Sunny knew who it’s jokes were on & it was always the person just asking for comeuppance by being awful. I’m not saying Dee isn’t awful because that would defeat the purpose of her character but she does suffer from what I call “the Meg Griffin effect.” It also hurts such characters as Britta Perry from Community, Jerry Gergich from Parks & Rec, & Toby Flenderson from The Office. It becomes more uncomfortable & off putting than funny as an audience member after a while to see everyone being consistently awful to one specific character who is not inherently worse than the others but is always the butt of the joke. It’s a trope I will simply never enjoy, personally.

But the castle plot works because it’s certainly deranged & mean (it’s literally not even always sunny if it’s not deranged & dark & mean you might as well give up & watch a different show if you don’t like your dynamics fucked up) but the joke is not -

A. Dennis is a serial killer ooooh edgy! - tired, contrived, Reddit core, unfunny, defeats the point of sunny which is that these guys are all incompetent losers

B. Haha dee is gonna die! She sucks lol! - that is one way to interpret the joke I guess but it’s so clearly actually that Dennis is in a fucking fever infused hallucination about ghosts & dee ultimately has to take his passed out ass the ER because this stupid bitch didn’t get vaccinated

Like it redeems so much or the awful dynamic they’ve built (which they unfortunately double down on anyway later. *cough* the gang goes bowling *cough*) where it’s like…. Isn’t it hilarious that Dennis constantly abuses his sister guys? Haha what if dee literally killed herself lol? Isn’t this so funny aren’t you having fun?

Classic sunny is mean. I’m not trying to say I dislike mean punchlines. But……. Dennis passing out & almost dying Covid IS mean? Dee having to deal with her brother almost beheading her & listening to his deranged conversations with “the castle” IS mean? It’s just that it’s mean in a FUNNY way. Like Charlie getting rejected by the waitress in the musical episode. Like Dee realizing how disgusting her schemes are in “PTSDee” & feeling sickened by herself. Like Frank getting told to fuck himself in his fat fucking ass in the Christmas episode. Or Mac shitting his pants in “Mac Day.” These are all examples of times I’ve found the meanness of sunny funny because it’s about showing what happens when you’re a horrible person who never learns.

Anyway in conclusion I love the Reynolds siblings & the castle plot is the only good part of new sunny goodbye