#It's softening him

[hellsdogs]

❝ it’s so painful to…see you weighed down by sadness. ❞ from Hanako

The past few days have been a blur of exhaustion for Kimura. They are in his hotel room now, the one his clan pays for in the city. It's quite a spacious and luxury one and a practical spot, too—perfect for late-night missions when going home isn’t an option or for bringing back hostesses to fuck without revealing where he actually lives. But this time, the room serves a different purpose. It’s been days since he gave the keycard to Hanako. After killing Watanabe right in front of her, he told her to hide here, knowing she had nowhere else to go. In the meantime he's cleaning his mess, found the right lies for his clan not to find out about the truth, or about her. Kimura visits only at night and staying longer than he should. There’s something strange about the connection between them—they didn't know about each other no less than a few days ago, yet they've seen each other at their most vulnerable. She, broken and weeping for the man who scammed her out of everything, and him, ending a life with his bare hands for her sake. Kimura stands by the window, staring out at the city lights when Hanako speaks. She asks if he’s sad. "I’m not sad, Doll" he replies, though the words feel hollow. Isn’t he? Hanako’s presence stirs memories of his sister—the one he couldn’t save, the way he saved Hanako. He turns to look at her, the dim lighting casting shadows across the suite. The nightclothes she’s wearing—he bought those for her too. She had nothing when she came here. "I just find myself with a lot on my mind since you and I met," he admits, his voice low. He’s never told her about his sister, hasn’t told anyone really, but the memories have been haunting him, especially at night. He takes a long drag on his cigarette, his eyes lingering on her. Maybe it’s Hanako's presence that’s awakening all these thoughts, things he’d rather not confront. But there’s something comforting about her words, as if she can feel his pain. No one’s ever acknowledged his emotions before—it feels strange, unsettling, but also... good. "I just need a drink," he says, trying to shake off the weight of it all. "Or two. Or five. You want one?" Alcohol has always been his way to numb the thoughts, to keep the memories at bay. It’s easier that way, isn’t it? "I see you're wearing the gown I got you. It looks nice."

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael Afton draws Vanny’s FNAF fursona,,

[robintherobiner]

Superman meets Batman for the first time and, because of his superhearing, he can tell that the man’s heart is pounding. Gosh, the poor man must be terrified, after all he does have a rule about no metas. For a human superhero, knowing other people are much stronger must be so scary! So Superman tries his best to seem small and less overwhelming, but Batmans heart rate just keeps going up! Luckily, the man seems to be speaking normally, so maybe its not a big deal? How brave of him, ignoring his fears to help people.

After the Justice League is formed, Clark finds out about Bruce’s contingency plans, and unlike the others, he’s not surprised. He’s already such a paranoid man, but being on a team full of metas, well, Clarks shocked he’s not shaking in his boots. Bruce hides his fear so well! If it wasn’t for his super hearing, he’d never know that Bruce takes a sharp inhale every time he uses his super strength, or that the mans heart starts beating like a million times a minute whenever he enters the room.

Then one day, they’re all in the Watchtower, Bruce drops the pen he was using to write out the plan for their mission, and Clark happily picks it up. As soon as he bends down, Bruce’s heart starts beating rapidly. When he straightens back up, Clarks face is bright red and he can’t meet Bruce’s eye. Is his butt scary?!?!??!

[plutoons]

sammy boy for the soul

[nittroy]

When space whale design so good you can't just steal it to your own cosmoopera story so you have to draw your first fanart in years and revive your tumblr art blog to post it

[other version and image description under the cut!]

Ezra version ♡

[ID: A horizontal artwork showing Exra Bridger from season 2 of Star Wars: Rebels and the group of space whales, Purgil. The purgil are floating in space and one of them, closest to the viewing point, is positioned so that its eye coincides with one of Ezra's eyes. Their eyes are shining teal blue. Ezra is depicted in a somewhat abstract way, he stands waist high and the space behind him, but behind the whales.

In the second version of the image, Ezra is in the foreground, while the Purgil is only in the background. He is standing and holding his lightsaber, looking somewhat lost in thought. ]

[cloudwisp]

Arranged marriage with Jing Yuan where weeks before the ceremony officiates the union of two souls coming together, you were curious about your betrothed husband and wanted to see for yourself who you’re marrying instead of hearing any more perceptions made about him. You decide the best method to go about this situation is to drop by unannounced where there’s not much room for formalities. Of course, you come bearing gifts in the form of premium dried tea leaves and snacks to make up for the reason of your visit, and you’re met with an endearing sight of the general dozing off with his fist gently resting against his cheek in his loosely cross-legged position. Your gaze falls on the precious little bird perched on his shoulder as he breathes in a steady rhythm and your heart melts just a tad.

At the sound of Yanqing greeting you and slightly bowing his head where he was off to the side practicing his swordsmanship, Jing Yuan’s ear immediately perked up at your sudden arrival and he forces himself to straighten up. You had caught him at a rather vulnerable moment and with a sheepish smile, he apologizes if he came across as lazy as he was merely taking a well-deserved break. Your doubts about him begin to slowly fade away when he invites you to join him, and you learn that he’s just a simple man loved by animals outside of his intimidating presence as the Divine Foresight.

[kissingwookiees]

"what is the old dalish curse? 'may the dread wolf take you'?"

[lazylittledragon]

Ok but would Astarion have ACTUALLY been a good partner when kit was born or would he just be a flailing mess

i was going to do something silly for this but honestly?? i think he'd be completely fine

like we know from durge that he's very capable of being there when his love is going through something awful (and he would be Very loud about dorian being respected)

also he's definitely experienced being in pain and having nobody for comfort so i think he would want to be that as best he could even if he's not warm and fuzzy about it

[puppyeared]

Alex and my farmer Cosmo (he/him)

[madeofjules]

Katniss and Haymitch have such a love/hate relationship and people always idealize the love aspect but I absolutely adore the hate. This is a teenage girl acting like a teenager and a grown ass man also acting like a teenager. He is hardly a father figure to her; they are both immature children who bicker constantly but protect each other like family when it comes down to it. They love each other but do not like each other because they're the same person and neither of them likes themselves. They are downright nasty to one another but the trust between them is strong because they know the other will never hold back how they really feel. I just love their relationship, even the ugly parts.

[confused-dreamer-wolf]

I saw someone's idea that Wukong keeps Macaques cape as his own. And I tought what if the smell of it made remember his friend and comfort him.

[chandralia]

actually need bkdk to get into counseling where they’re advised to impersonate each other

Deku: ‘I’m kacchan and I’m so perfect and amazing and more blinding than the sun and—‘

Counselor: you’re supposed to act out things that you don’t like…

Deku:

Katsuki: well ‘I’m Izuku and I know everything about everything, about heroes, about kacchan. kacchan kacchan kacchan!’

Counselor: again… it’s supposed to be things you don’t like…

Katsuki: *lunges across the room*

[fortjester]

really gets my goat when i go looking for fic abt fucked up little bastards of characters only to find everyone going "but what if they were nice? :)" like. whoa. did you see that? crazy. my interest just left the building. THATS NOT WHY IM HERE. if im looking for fic abt a sicko id damn well better find fic abt a sicko or god fucking help you

[srnileforme]

“All of this was done by Joke. He said he wanted to make amends for making you sad.”

JACK & JOKER (2024) | EPISODE 4

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

The improvement in alhaitham and kaveh’s relationship post-parade of providence is TANGIBLE!!! I’ll talk about things of note from cyno's story quest 2 before posting my deep diving into what this all means for them <3

Firstly, kaveh’s appearance in the tavern being to pick up his order of wine, only to show his parting from the traveller, to ask lambad whether his order includes ‘the coffee beans’ – which is a direct reference to his 2023 bday letter in which he and alhaitham test coffee beans together for his birthday, and now, canonically, this can be observed as a common practice for the two of them – this is symbolic of domesticity, as the two only do this outside of the player’s sight, confined to the privacy of their home.

Alhaitham’s introduction within this quest is waking the traveller up (to which they ignore haikaveh and honestly, valid) due to their discovery of the temple of silence – and I think this is a little self-indulgent on my part, but I think it’s Interesting that tighnari mentions that the tent paimon picks is prone to being stumbled into by ‘sleepwalking fungi’, which prompts cyno to encourage the traveller to safeguard their tent with a weapon. Paimon comments on the improbability they will be attacked or woken up by uninvited guests, and lo and behold, haikaveh turn up – implying they are the sleepwalking fungi? it’s reminiscent of alhaitham’s story quest where alhaitham questions if kaveh would devolve into a fungus, to which kaveh replies he would be a fungus with empathy… if this is at all deliberate, it’s a really cute parallel!!

The completely unnecessary flashback scene in haikaveh’s house, it’s purely there to showcase the development of their relationship - there was no need to animate something that could have been exposition?

(The scene is established with alhaitham reading a book with kaveh offscreen preparing snacks and wine for the two of them, and when kaveh enters, alhaitham puts the book down and directly engages with kaveh’s conversation with a CRIMINAL smile on his face. Kaveh continues the conversation whilst sitting on the table, which shows his comfort and familiarity within the house? With alhaitham? This is also heightened when he leans back on the table during the conversation. Alhaitham is shown thinking about the case and kaveh offers to draw the emblem on the paper of the extortion letter – when kaveh turns his back to do so, their conversation is halted, and only then does alhaitham bring out the book again, but there is a deliberate still on his face as he looks UP from his book to look at kaveh sketching? There was no need for this.!!.>!!!

When kaveh returns to show alhaitham the sketch, the book is gone again, and the previous distance between them is closed – kaveh sits on the table in front of alhaitham, and this creates an intimacy as the two directly face each other. this couldn’t have been established solely by sitting next to each other on the divan. Alhaitham smiles at the sketch and notes that he recognises it, to which kaveh smiles(!!!) at and questions this. Alhaitham recognises the ARCHITECTURAL signets within the symbol, which not only relates back to their joint thesis but also their character concepts as mirrors, as alhaitham appropriates kaveh’s architecture, and kaveh has appropriated alhaitham’s language – which suggests a balance between the two.)

Alhaitham and kaveh working together to identify the emblem to be that of the temple of silence acts as the catalyst for the chain of events within the story quest

Kaveh quipping at alhaitham keeping the salary of the acting grand sage – but with no animosity behind it!??? his last expression during this dialogue honestly looks exasperated but in a fond way…. Im ill….

Alhaitham and kaveh looking at each other when discussing how the case doesn’t make sense… just alhaitham and kaveh looking at each other and deliberating over the other’s thoughts… finally… listening to each other and working together…

The additional (HIDDEN) scene in the house of daena where they begin researching, with alhaitham commenting that he will look for texts pertaining to the temple of silence, to which kaveh says it will take too long, and then agreeing to help alhaitham, without alhaitham having to ask, which demonstrates their improved synergy. Kaveh asks alhaitham how to teach him in gaining information on the sly, to which alhaitham DOES but teases him about it at the same time, but so fondly... I would say this scene mirrors the additional scene in the archon quest, with kaveh talking to alhaitham by the bookshelves and accusing him of stirring trouble in sumeru, while alhaitham appears bitter that kaveh was in the desert during the overturning of the sages. There is a distinct shift in their relationship here – in the past, the two missed an opportunity to work together, whereas here they are voluntarily banding together (which ive discussed here)

COFFEE MENTION 2! Alhaitham mentions how he wants to drink coffee, to which kaveh laments that he wasn’t able to bring any from home. When using nahida’s skill on them, alhaitham can be seen thinking about wanting coffee,,, and then kaveh is thinking about how to get to coffee to them by using mehrak. Even their thoughts are working in tandem??? This contrasts with their individual thoughts in alhaitham’s story quest, where kaveh is thinking about how alhaitham was being vindictive towards kaveh drunkenly writing on the bulletin boards, and labelling alhaitham as having ‘terrible thoughts’, all the while alhaitham is thinking about how dusty the bookshelves are… the progress is STARTLING

When the group reconvene in the house of daena, alhaitham and kaveh have progressed their research on their own accord and based on what naphis has told them. When explaining, the two complete each other’s sentences, and this rounds off with alhaitham conjecturing that the goal of the assailant was to get cyrus to see the letter, which makes kaveh realise cyno’s motivations, and for alhaitham then to ascertain cyrus’s whereabouts. Naphis then assigns alhaitham and kaveh to be in charge of the house of daena, to which they both agree, and alhaitham… smiles? With so much pride? WE GET IT YOU’RE WORKING TOGETHER!!!! SHUT!!!

Cyno and tighnari mention TWICE how essential it is that kaveh and alhaitham worked together, with mentioning how imperative it was that kaveh spotted the emblem and that alhaitham connected it to the temple of silence, and then how alhaitham gave tighnari advice on desert cultural traditions, which aligned with kaveh’s experiences with desert tribes, which gives tighnari the idea to turn the tables on the temple of silence

Returning to the house of daena, cyno highlights that it is STRANGE that kaveh and alhaitham are working together, in that he is surprised to see them studying together? This draws further attention to the unlikeliness of the situation, and that this MEANS something in regard to their relationship!

Kaveh stressing about having to pack away their copious research materials, only for alhaitham to reassure him that there’s ‘no rush’… so gentle

Cyno and tighnari thanking alhaitham and kaveh for WORKING TOGETHER as it allowed them to find a swift and good outcome

COFFEE MENTION 3! Cyno offering to take everyone for coffee, which alhaitham agrees to, and kaveh agreeing to, although he says that because of the last few days, he’ll order something different (confirming that alhaitham has the caffeine tolerance of a tank and kaveh gets caffeine jitters thank u @ hoyo). On the table the two were studying, two trays of a pair of coffee cups and coffee brewers can be seen… the same that can be seen in their house??? Meaning they brought their domesticity to the library with them… and they also sat across from each other, which reminds me of how kaveh sat in front of alhaitham in their house, rather than next to him…

Kaveh and alhaitham sitting next to each other in the café <333

KAVEH CALLING THE HOUSE ‘HOME’ TO ALHAITHAM??? IN FRONT OF THEIR FRIENDS?? This is a big contrast to kaveh in a parade of providence and alhaitham’s story quest who hated to having admit such a thing. And then alhaitham AGREEING that the house is ‘HOME’, and again their thoughts align with ‘my thoughts exactly’. Alhaitham and kaveh leaving together, to the house of daena (where they met, where it ended, and where they have been shown to bond together in this quest) and then back to their shared ‘home’... oh......

from this, kaveh no longer seems defensive or reserved in front of alhaitham, and makes no notion of criticising alhaitham, offering to help alhaitham into researching, and even asking alhaitham to teach him something he deems as a useful skill which he lacks. he openly takes onboard alhaitham's views on the case and responds in kind in order to come to a resolution. he actively makes time in his day to spend with alhaitham, seen in them enjoying snacks/wine/coffee together and talking about his day. he describes the house they share as a 'home', which, for kaveh, is imperative to his character due to his loss of family (which ive posted about here)

alhaitham, similarly, is less critical of kaveh, and this is because a seemingly resolved miscommunication between them. he is receptive to, and encourages, kaveh to communicate with him when it comes to things that kaveh believes to be noteworthy, actively focussing solely on kaveh, rather than his book, when kaveh initiates conversation. he equally seems to enjoy this time spent with kaveh, as he is seen nowhere else but by kaveh's side during this story quest, wanting (kaveh's) coffee within the library which would establish a familiar and domestic setting elsewhere outside of their home. when leaving his group of friends at puspa's, saying that it's him 'done for the day', he retreats with kaveh, back to their shared 'home'

overall, alhaitham and kaveh's relationship has improved VASTLY since their first interaction in the archon quest. there seems to be an understanding between them now and this results in comfort and familiarity where they used to be miscommunication and snipes, and there appears to be a balancing of their viewpoints as they appreciate in the other what was once viewed as mirror opposites never to align, being that of language and architecture. a sense of harmony(?) balance(?) has been established here, and this is shown to be the ideal course of their reconciliation. im so weak......

[stuck-in-jelly]

The difference between seasons for Corvus will never not be funny to me