#THERE WAS NO WAY I'M NOT POSTING AT LEAST ONE OKAY

[muffinlance]

Consider: Post-canon Zuko wakes up in the body of his childhood self, the morning of That War Meeting. Would he still speak against the plans, knowing his fate? What do you think he would do differently the second time around?

"Turned away at the doors, Zuzu?"

"Shut up, Azula," her brother sulked. But sulked weirdly, after staring at her too long and too wide-eyed, not like she'd surprised him but--

But like he hadn't expected her to be there. At all.

He turned away. ...He turned back. "Hey, Lala? Do you think you could help me practice that one set?"

He didn't meet her eyes.

She narrowed hers. "Which set?"

"The one I'm bad at."

She scoffed. Pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning against. "That's all of them, Dum-Dum."

He didn't shout or stomp or yell about the nickname. His lips twitched.

"It's okay," he said. "If you're afraid you won't be a better teacher that my instructor..."

It was the most obvious manipulation ever.

Perhaps if he proved an adequate firebending student, she'd work on his courtly survival skills next. Honestly, it was good that not even Uncle Gets-Cousins-Killed had been fool enough to take Zuko into that war meeting. She could only imagine how terribly that could have gone.

"Keep up," she said, and turned her steps towards the training grounds.

He did. There, and during the katas she ran him through.

Azula kept her eyes narrowed.

"Hey," he asked, "do you know how to bend lightning yet?"

As if he could have missed it, if she'd been able to get more than sparks. "I will soon," she said.

"You will," he agreed, and flowed through his next set. The one she'd only just mastered.

Father didn't notice how weird Zuzu was being. Uncle never noticed anything. Zuko ate dinner and asked a servant for seconds and didn't stutter or flinch or lose his appetite when father asked, coolly, what he'd done with his day. Azula's shoulders tensed, because one mention of how she'd squandered her own training time teaching him--

"Azula hogged the training grounds. For hours," Zuzu scowled, exactly like a petulant thirteen year old.

Exactly like he hadn't been acting all day.

By the time Father was looking her way, Azula had her usual smirk in place. "I'm sure there would be room for both of us," she said, "you're not afraid of a little friendly fire, are you, brother?"

Zuko sulked. And ate his seconds, like he was enjoying each bite. There was something in his eyes, like a joke no one else was getting.

---

Father died that night. A heart attack. There were the faintest of burns to either side of the treacherous organ; the royal physician hypothesized that he'd grabbed at his chest, fingers burning hot in his final moments; so hot they'd only exacerbated the problem.

The royal physician would never have been brought any victims of lighting strikes. Those that occurred in the capital did not generally require a doctor in the aftermath.

Zuzu ate a hearty breakfast.

He didn't order seconds. Azula gave him points, at least, for not being tacky.

---

The sages named Iroh as regent.

They named Zuko as Fire Lord.

"No," the tiny Fire Lord in his perfectly miniaturized Fire Lord robes said, sitting at the head of his war council. "We're not doing that. And I'll be reviewing all recent battle plans, as well. What's this I hear about a division of new recruits being deployed to the front?"

He did not mention how he'd heard of the 41st Division. No one asked.

"Prince Iroh, surely--" one of the generals tried to appeal.

The young Fire Lord's regent was looking as startled as the rest of them, for a moment. Then he sipped his tea, and smiled.

"Your Fire Lord is correct, of course. A change in our leadership--a change the other nations may mistakenly view as weakness--will necessitate a change in our strategy."

"Now," said their lord, "what, exactly, is our overall objective in this war?"

War, the new Fire Lord decreed, was not an end unto itself.

---

The new Fire Lord continued to have time, to pretend to be trained by her. Azula watched him. Adjusted her footwork. Did not tolerate, and was not offered, any commentary on who was teaching who.

"What did you do with my brother?" she asked, as they flowed from one set to the next. As her hands, poised to throw fire, just so happened to be pointed his way.

He missed a step. It didn't look like an act.

"I'm, uh. Right here?"

She didn't bother to dignify that.

He didn't bother to look worried about her hands, one movement off from a true attack.

He looked around, then grabbed her sleeve, and tugged her further from any walls that may hide ears. The royal family's private training grounds were wonderfully large, and wonderfully open.

"It's me," he said. "It's still me. Just. More of me? Longer of me?"

She narrowed her eyes. A familiar expression, by this point. "Explain."

"...I found the Avatar," he said. "And this is definitely his fault, but--but I guess it started at a war meeting, when I was thirteen."

Azula listened. It was a very Dum-Dum story.

[jeonginsleftcheek]

Heart shaped

pairing: lee felix x gn!reader

genre: fluff, roommates to lovers au

warning/s: just disgusting fluff

a/n: this is an old drabble that has been in my drafts for like half a year. i wanted to post dolly today but since i got delayed here's a little something, happy valentine's day my babies🩷

You're slowly waking up. Your eyes flutter before you finally open them and they land on the window.

It's still dark out. 3am. That's what it says on your clock.

Great. This is the third night in a row that your roommate woke you up with strange noises in the kitchen. The last two nights you tried to ignore it.

Felix isn't the type of person to do stuff like that on purpose, so you let him be. Whatever he's doing won't be long, right?

Well, here you are, proven to be wrong.

You sigh, deciding you really need to get up and check what he's doing.

"Felix?" your voice startles him and he turns from the stove abruptly. He looks like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up? I'm sorry!" he panics, scrambling around the kitchen and moving stuff.

But you can see what he's trying to hide. There is at least five trays of well- kind of heart shaped cookies, some of them are burnt, some were crushed into pieces, some had icing on them.

"Are you nervous baking?" you chuckle, coming closer and you can see redness forming on his freckled cheeks.

"Yeah, something like that." he nods, avoiding your eyes.

"Are you making heart shaped cookies?" you try again.

"I'm trying to make heart shaped cookies." he corrects you, finally looking up at you. "I accidentally burned the first batch. And the second one, they started falling apart. And then this third one just wasn't the right taste. And the fourth one, the icing looks weird. And-"

"Why don't you breathe?" you place your hands on his shoulders as he almost starts hyperventilating.

"Yeah, yeah, that's like important." Felix says and you chuckle at his 3am brain.

"Can you tell me why you're doing this?" you ask when you think he's calmed down a little.

"I'm..." he swallows, "I'm trying to confess to someone."

"Oh." you nod. "And you wanna bring them cookies?"

"Yeah, exactly." he says, biting on his lip nervously.

"Since I'm not sleeping anymore, I could help you?" you suggest and he chuckles.

"Now that would be ironic." he says.

"What? Why would it be ironic?" you ask.

"No, no reason." Felix smirks at your 3am brain.

"Okay, you can help me."

Both of you get to work, to make perfectly heart shaped cookies that are also delicious and don't crumble the moment you grab them.

You wonder who the recipient is, but you don't want to pry, if Felix wanted to tell you he would.

-

"Alright, let's do a taste test." you nod confidently once they're done.

The two of you grab a cookie each and count down to one before biting into it.

"Mm, these are perfect!" you exclaim, eyes wide.

"They're so good!" Felix matches your excitement.

"Hey, thanks for helping me." he adds, smiling at you fondly.

"No problem, good luck with your confession." you say.

"Thank you." Felix chuckles.

-

When you walk into the kitchen the next morning, you see something covered up on the table.

You walk over to it slowly and realize there's a little paper with your name on it.

Your brows furrow in confusion as you pick up the note and reveal what was covered up.

"Oh." you gasp when you see the cookies you worked hard on last night with Felix, all nicely rounded in a cute basket with decorative flowers.

You take a look at the note but there's nothing on it except your name.

"See, this is why I said it's ironic you're helping me." Felix's voice startles you and you turn around and look at him.

He's leaning on the fridge, arms crossed on his chest as he smirks at you.

"W-what?" you ask like you're dumbfounded because there is no way.

"They're for you. I'm confessing to you." his smirk turns into a shy smile, his demeanor changing into something softer.

"Oh."

"Is that a good 'oh'? Or a bad 'oh'?" he asks.

"It's a good 'oh'." you chuckle and Felix comes closer to you.

"I like you. I have for a while. And I was wondering if you feel the same. And if you do, maybe we can take this basket of cookies on a picnic date with us." Felix says and you chuckle at him, your heart rate picking up speed.

"I'd love to take the cookies on a picnic date."

Both of you laugh, and Felix is leaning closer into you.

"Does that mean you like me? Or you just like the cookies?" he asks, his breath hitting your cheek and making your heart flutter.

"Both." you whisper with a smile and Felix presses his lips on yours gently.

Your eyes flutter shut as you stay still for a few moments before both of you lean away sheepishly.

"You know..." you start and Felix looks at you expectantly.

"I would've said yes even if the cookies were burnt or crumbling into pieces." you say and he blushes, fidgeting with his hands.

"Good to know."

taglist: @moonchild9350 @janepg @velvetmoonlght @hwanghyunjinismybae @jehhskz @porangporangmeong @laylasbunbunny @laughatdanger @jeonginslefthand @sapphirewaves @s3ungm1nxxl0ve @painterhyunjin @moon-ttokki-x @saintcosette @ooshyana @frehyun @scarlet789 @skzdust @schniti-is-in-the-house @eastjonowhere @sona1800 @channiesrightasscheek @justwonder113 @yvettemint @inaribu00 @httpdwaekki @possum-playground @ria-april @yn-x-them @mariahxrrera @0omillo0 @halfwinterhalfuniverse @cooldeermagazine @delulkpopstan143 @todorokiskitten @compersian @azxulskz @stayp1eceposts

[nqueso-emergency]

Okay so I must know your opinion because you are a voice of a reason in our BT purgatory: what do you think the chances are of BuckTommy getting back together? I’ve been convinced up until just recently that it was a no-go and now I’m not sure sure 🤔

Ngl I put off answering these asks because I'm well aware at how "passionately" my blog is devoured by some fans but, I'm a member of this fandom like anyone else, so, whatever.

There are three ways to view the chances of Bucktommy getting back together and I think it's important to approach from each different view.

There's the BoB view: stating we're all fucking delusional and Tommy was a plot device the entire time.

This view can easily be debunked for one major reason, which is... THEY'VE BEEN WRONG ABOUT BUDDIE FOR SEVEN FUCKING YEARS.

There's the bucktommy view: This one is where my actual doubt does start to sink in. I see the doubt among other bucktommy fans, the weird ass manipulation done by the BoBs (they can literally make you question reality. Am I as delusional as they are???) And then, of course, you have that "exit" review done by a professional BoB who found a keyboard.

This view can also be debunked because, in fandom, we read into shit waaaaay too much and being influenced by fellow fans can really skew your thought process, not to mention, it really isn't all that healthy.

The third view is the General Audience view, and it's the most important (and really the only way you should view the chances of things happening).

The General Audience is who the writers write this show for (besides Tim himself). They don't see couch theory. They see characters sitting on a couch. They don't read articles from publications called "fangirlish." They don't scroll through years of an actor's social media posts to make sure that person has the same views as they do (which is funny because I guarantee you at least half of the GA voted for Trump). But, I digress.

When you look at their comments or even talk to real general audience members, they believe Tommy will be back. The Halloween episode, along with Josh's speech (and the text bubbling from Tommy), solidified that. They expect to see Tommy again, OR for there to be an onscreen conversation about closure. Maybe Buck mentions that they talked and decided to just be friends.

But, no matter what happens in this next section of season 8, there has to be something in the storylines that involves Tommy in some way. It's left too unresolved for the general audience to accept the way things were left.

So, anon, I think the chances of bucktommy getting back together are extremely promising ❤️

[krshitsuji]

why i firmly believe o!ciel's name shouldn't be revealed

i really wanted to make my pov in this topic public in a way, which is why i'm making this post.

i see a lot of people wishing his name would be revealed sooner, or creating theories over what it is - but i personally believe us finding it out would be poor writing and also inconvenient for pretty much everyone, even for kuroshitsuji's team marketing wise.

- plot weakening

he said it himself: "Earl Ciel Phantomhive is me".

O!Ciel might not truly be Ciel Phantomhive, but he is the man Ciel was supposed to become. At the very least, that was his goal. The Earl, the Queen's Watchdog, brave, strong, respected.

In the story, Ciel Phantomhive is not just a name - it is an identity, a concept, and more specially, a ROLE, in which R!Ciel did not live to take. Him being called that name is much more symbolic than one may think. In a storytelling point of view, his name being revealed would only make sense if he no longer fulfilled said role, but his win over R!Ciel is definitely implied.

To O!Ciel, his name is more like a deadname that represents the person he left behind the day he decided to become earl and live to get his vengeance.

To reveal his true identity would more to break a beautiful, poetic and philosophically background that has been created for almost two decades now. You know what's also been happening for two decades? People calling O!Ciel... Ciel.

- From a fan POV

Ciel is our main protagonist. We have been knowing him for quite a while now and we have always called him that name. Now, imagine what it would be like if 90% of kuro related media, posts and even art became outdated because now we found out his name is, like... Bobbert.

O!Ciel is Ciel. He has been Ciel. He should keep being Ciel. A name is obviously a big part of a brand, and losing the brand of the main protagonist is not acceptable. It would honestly just be confusing and overall inconvenient for everyone. Me, personally, I will keep calling him Ciel until I can't call him anything anymore because I am dead and buried.

Your post talking about your Ciel cosplay? No babe that's wrong. That's your Bobbert costume.

That would be okay with a side character, but he's our protagonist. As I've mentioned before, it's even bad for Yana and the series marketing in general, since merchandise and official products and campaigns would also become outdated. It's not a Ciel nendoroid, it's a Bobbert nendoroid. Like, what do you mean by that? And she can't say his name without expecting people to call him that. Most moderate case scenario we have a confusing situation of him having two different names.

But like... How can we even dodge that?

Problem is, I have NO IDEA how Yana could dodge having someone, especially his family, call him by his real identity. They know he's not Ciel - the world does. Why would they ever keep calling him that?

I honestly don't think she's going to reveal his name, but I also have no idea how she's escaping that. I fear it may need a plot twist or really big event in order to happen.

I don't even know how to finish this. I don't think anyone will read. get cieled i guess

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I saw what you said about the dreams being nothing and useless to the story, and I was curious about something, do you think the characters that never got closure or development from their book should have stayed like that or do you think a new book should have been made to tie up the initial stories?

Heartslabyul for example had a lot of loose ends on their book that never got resolved, Cater never had focus or allowed development, the others too didnt get true closure, and I thought the heartslabyul dreams was the perfect way to finish their arc in a fulfilling way.

But you hold the opinion the dream arcs shoudnt have focused on them too much right? Do you think It was okay for the characters development to end in their book, or do you think their closure should have been in a different moment or way?

[Referencing this post!]

While I realize that the original post was very critical of the dream hopping segments, I did not mean to call them "nothing" and "useless" as a whole. I'm unhappy with how the dreams were executed, especially the lack of urgency present in them. My main gripe is how the characters know that they're on a time crunch, yet they hardly ever act like it. Instead, they stand around for multiple segments eating fake food or casually sharing stories about their families. This is time-wasting nonsense and it does nothing to help their situation. We quickly started to stray from Diasomnia and the urgency of the conflict at hand in favor of fanservice (like dorm leader Cater, despite Cater expressing he never wanted the position) and trying to explain away that fanservice with contrived dialogue.

Please do not misunderstand me. I never said that I don't want any non-Ignihyde or non-Diasomnia character to get development in book 7. It's true that many characters, especially the non-OB boys, never got the spotlight in previous books or that we never got the satisfaction of seeing their growth this far into the school year. If any of them were going to get attention, it makes sense to do it now as one last hurrah in book 7. It might not have been very obvious due to the critical nature of that original post, but I actually thought some of the later dreams (namely the Savanaclaw and Heartslabyul ones) were good and wrapped things up nicely. I will, however, still lampoon them for having the characters standing around and eating/talking for way too long.

It's not that I wished the game didn't focus on the non-OB boys, it's that I wished the execution of them wasn't so meandering. If the devs wanted to keep the dream segments in, they should have trimmed the fat out. Get rid of all (or most of) the idle parts, or at least trim down on the idle dialogue by a lot. Or maybe just make the OB boys mandatory and the others optional. Like, still part of book 7 but you can read the non-OB boys at your leisure, similar to collecting individual students' wishes in the Wish Upon a Star event, and you only need to clear the OB boys to advance in the story. Have short scenes where dorm members reunite (sort of like at the end of book 6, when everyone regrouped with their respective OB boy) and gear up + strategize with each other. Cut back briefly to Malleus and Lilia's brawl between each dorm, just to keep them relevant and/or remind us of that clock ticking down as Lilia gets more and more worn down. Maybe standardize how many parts are dedicated to every character too… Not have a spread of 4 to 46. That would at least speed us along a little faster or at least give a better sense of rushing to prepare for the fight against Malleus.

That being said, characters don’t just magically stop developing the instant their book ends. They’re changing on their own, outside of the purview of the player or off-screen (like when Riddle talks with his mom over winter break), all the time. A lot of this happens through self-reflection/internal thoughts, so we the players don’t get to see it. It doesn’t mean the characters haven’t changed or wouldn’t change without us viewing it ourselves. Even now, the characters are still growing and changing. Some of them might have more concrete “closure” now (like Kalim finally getting to punch Jamil), but the truth of the matter is that character development never truly “ends” (ie Kalim and Jamil still have their complicated relationship to sort through). It is a continuous thing we consciously work at. There’s truly no end in sight for it. Regardless of whether we got those dream sequences or not or how that development was delivered to us, this still would have been true.

[binomech]

I keep thinking about the simplicity and kindness with which Severance treats grief, and death. That you can express your pain in a million different ways but ultimately, what it always amounts to is: This person was alive, and I loved them, and now they aren't, and I still love them. Love is the only thing pulling us forward, even as it forces us to look back.

There's a few quotes from the show under the cut. There's not much else to this post, just like there isn't much else to someone you love dying. It hurts, and you miss them. It will always hurt a little bit, and that's okay. That's what remembering does.

Ms. Casey about Mark Scout:

Your outie can parallel park in less than 20 seconds. Your outie can roller-skate with grace. Your outie pays all of his gas and electric bills within three business days. Your outie listens to music while shaving, but not while showering. Your outie prefers two scoops of ice cream in a serving, but they must be the same flavor. Your outie once captured a butterfly.

Mark Scout about Gemma:

My wife was extraordinary. My wife was allergic to nutmeg. And when she sneezed, she always sneezed twice. My wife liked other people's dogs. My wife thought cardigans looked ridiculous. I loved all these things about her... Equally.

Dylan and Irving about Burt:

Irving: The last time I was happy was when all I knew was MDR. When I was good at my job and not trying to be happy. I'm going to leave, Dylan. Dylan: It is not leaving. So stop fucking calling it that. I know, you want... I know... Just fucking try. Irving: You're a good friend, Dylan. (...) I wanted you to know before I left. Dylan: Okay. Well, you're not. You... No. Stop it. Stop it. Listen to me. Look, I'm sorry that outie Burt has a hot husband or whatever. But he is not the point. Innie Burt is the guy you fell for, and I know because I encouraged the courtship. Irving: I... I want it to be over. I want the pain to be over. If he's gone and I'm gone... Dylan: Stop saying that. Irving: ...then somehow, we'll be together. Dylan: He wouldn't want that. Irving: How do you know? Dylan: Because I don't want that. Because I would be sad, and I would be less productive, and I'm really good at what I do here, whatever it is. And you're part of what makes me good at it. So please, do not go. Irving: Dylan... I'm your favorite perk. Dylan: Don't bring them into this. All I'm saying is, if Burt was still here, he would be telling you to stick around and figure out what the fuck this is.

Felicia and Irving about Burt:

Irving: I can't... My God, he was... he was fearless! Felicia: I worked with Burt for six years. And I only ever saw him scared of one thing: He spent two hours on his hair the first time he went to visit you. Irving: Really? I should... I should show you something. I'd draw [one portrait of him] every day I couldn't see him. My numbers went down, but I didn't even care.

Dylan about Irving:

It's hard to pinpoint a favorite Irving story. For the least fun guy in the world, he was really fun. He put the "dick" in contradiction. One time, he was pissed at me for watering down the toner, so he put toner in my water cup. He stopped me before I drank it, though. He just wanted to make a point, not harm me physically. But I did accidentally take a sip of it later, 'cause I forgot he said that. He asked me for help with something near the end, and I didn't listen. And in his final moments, he would have been totally justified in telling me to suck my own fuck. But he didn't. He was awesome, and I miss him.

[softxsuki]

Hellooo!! For your valentines letter event, can I please request Sabo, one piece, with fem!reader? Any pet name is okay except for baby/bae/babe etc. As for the relationship I just want it to be mutual pining where the reader is a pirate (straw hats or unspecified, i don't mind) and because he is in the revolutionary army, it's not often they see eachother. For the tone it's comfort from being so far away and adoration, he's just too afraid to actually confess when he can't physically be with reader. I'd prefer angst with comfort :). Location is long distance. Other info: they've known each other since they were children, and Sabo has just always had feelings for reader + she has always had feelings for him too, which they always got teased for by Ace and Luffy🙈 I hope this is specific enough! Thank you so much in advance!!! I'm gonna be giggling and kicking my feet as I wait in patience 🫡

Adoring Letter from Sabo to His Crush

This event is now CLOSED, but you can view the masterlist for the other letters here.

| Pairing: Sabo x Fem!Reader| Genre: angst | Post-Type: Letter | Word Count: 515 |

Warnings: long distance love, forbidden love??? Idk man

Note: HI! Fed my soul by requesting something for one piece, thank you! I took this as him not directly confessing to her, but kinda hinting at it…hopefully I got that right, bc girl I would have made Y/N jump into a row boat and row her way to Sabo’s side if he actually confessed heheh.

It was a beautiful day on the Thousand Sunny, the sun was shining, the waves were calm, and the crew was absorbed in their own activities for the day.

You glanced out at the waves, leaning your head on the deck rails, sighing. You missed Sabo…

“Y/N, you have a letter from Sabo, he had one of the news coo birds drop it off,” Nami grins, a knowing smirk on her face. “Perhaps a love letter~?” She teases. 

Of course she knew how you felt about the second in command of the Revolutionary Army.

“Stop it…it’s not like that,” you grumble, taking the envelope from her.

Though the mention of Sabo makes Luffy’s ears raise and he runs over in excitement.

“A letter from Sabo! I wanna read it too! Y/N let me read it!!” He whines, his rubber arms stretching out towards you, in which you gently push them away.

“No…he wrote this for me,” you could feel your cheeks reddening, as Luffy and Nami began teasing you again.

It takes a while to shoo them away, going back to your shared cabin with Nami and Robin which was thankfully empty as you open the letter to begin reading it;

Y/N,

Hey lovely. Hope Luffy and the rest of the crew are doing a great job taking care of you over there. Can’t have you getting hurt now can we? 

Since we reunited a few months ago, I couldn’t help but think of you and miss you…though I shouldn’t. 

You’re great, you know that? Beautiful, caring, hilarious, I realized in that moment, when all my memories came back to me how much I missed those moments. How much I missed you. So many years have passed, all time I missed without you, and yet…distance continues to grow between us even now that you’re in my mind. 

I want- no…i can’t. I hope one day things are different. When this world is safe again, when my job here is over. But I can’t ask you to wait for me, just know that you’re in my heart. Always. No matter how much ocean lies between us, you’ll always have my heart. So be happy and be free, and know that I’ll always be here to support you.

Yours,

Sabo.

The letter was short, but weighed heavily on your heart. 

Idiot, you thought to yourself.

As if you could just forget him and move on. You’d wait for him for as long as you’d need to. At least now you knew he felt something towards you, yet pushed you away just because he couldn’t be by your side. How stupid. 

“I’d rather call you mine, then not be yours, despite the distance. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again,” you huff to yourself, getting a pen and paper ready. 

Maybe this letter will get lost at sea, or hopefully it’ll make its way back to Sabo. You hold his letter to your heart as you begin writing one yourself, pouring out your heart to the man it belonged to. It always belonged to him.

Posted: 2/14/2025

[beneathsilverstars]

okay the loop pronoun thing its like its like the splinter in my mind that sticks out just enough to get caught on stuff and irriatate the stuff further in.

because they start off with the royal we before going oh wait thats a personal thing not how other people refer to you. so that with the masking literally everything i am genuinely completely undecided on if the pronouns are like they actually just dont associate any with themselves anymore, their lying and covering it up so siffrin wont suspect anything or if its like they just need some time to be around people again and then itll be like ohhhhhh thats why i like these right.

and from there it goes into we literally have no idea how they act around people. okay they were siffrin but now have been so completely transformed by the looping that they are different enough to qualify as someone else.

they get called shy by the party but is that because they realize talking to them will have permanet consequences? is it because they remind them of who theyve lost? is it because they just havent talked to anyone aside from siffrin?

if they got comfortable around others would they be sassy like they are around siffrin?

loops everything is so wrapped up in the timeloops that its like there is almost nothing that can be said for sure about how they would act outside them at this point its like yeah they were siffrin but theyve forgotten all that and are different at least somewhat from everything.

the looping time really has utterly crushed them and then remolded them into something new and it is shown so so well through what is and isnt there about them and its so irritating they are literally a puzzle begging to be solved and the pieces are all blackened from fire and some are a bit out of shape and its like this used to be a solvable puzzle but at this point who knows!

yesss i do think the they/them was just the quickest default that they at least knew they didn't hate, and they're no longer Siffrin Enough to share siffrin's preference for he/him or they/them, though they may now (or one day) have their own preference for they/them. sometimes i give loop more pronouns later because there's no way they won't change a lot post-loops! (or in aus where they've otherwise had more time to think about it and try things out.) i'm fond of she/they/it loop but i may be biased lol

WE JUST KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT THEM!!!

we know they were siffrin, a long long time ago.

we know how they act with siffrin, who doesn't yet know who they are, during the timeloops -- which are all three very big and specific criteria.

and then we know how they acted in acts 5 and 6, which are also super unique and unreplicable situations! obviously in act 6 they were just faced with the fact that a happy ending was possible all along but it can now never be theirs, on top of this being the first interaction in which siffrin knew loop's identity and loop knew siffrin knew. and then in act 5, this was their first interaction with the party as loop, which only happened because of desperate circumstances, and started off on the very wrong foot of utter devastation at not being recognized, which meant they abandoned their plans and improvised, all while everyone is super worried about siffrin and then trying to navigate the fucked up house. very weird and overwhelming situations!!

you can draw clues about how loop might act post-canon from all of these things we know, but you can't just straight up extrapolate, yknow? their in-game feelings and motivations just will never again apply in the same way, post-canon. and on top of the new contexts in which they'll be living, their trajectory will surely be strongly affected by their immediate post-canon circumstances, to the point that even putting them back into more-familiar contexts somehow would now provoke new responses. they could go in so many directions!! we just don't know!!!

sometimes people are talking about how loop would act post-canon and they say things so definitively and im like. man i think it depends 😭 we know so little about them and they know so little about themself.

[redux-iterum]

this might be silly to ask here, but i think you guys give neat advice! i don't know if either of you have experienced this yourselves, but if you have, how do you get over writing anxiety? i find that i place too much value in validation and will sometimes talk myself out of writing something because i fear it's imperfect. is this something either of you have dealt with? if so, how did you get over it?

Perfectionist anxiety is a bitch, and this very much sounds like it! The main piece of advice I can give here is to embrace the truth that things you make sometimes won’t be amazing, and will never be perfect. Perfection is a lie creatives tell themselves is achievable. It simply isn’t. All perfectionism can do is keep you from being happy during the process of making art. It will never do anything else. The concept of “perfect” is your enemy. It’s just going to make you miserable the whole time you’re writing or painting or whatever, because you know what you’ll get isn’t perfect, and you’re striving for it anyway, so you aren’t having fun. And really, that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it? Fun?

The main thing that’s saved me from reworking stuff over and over again is a lesson I’ve learned, which is being able to say to yourself, “Well, it’s not exactly how I wanted it to be. I don’t know if I like this one. Oh well. Moving on.” There is an immense power in “oh well, moving on” that will keep you creating even when you make something you actively hate. That’s not to say you shouldn’t strive for improvement, nor should you not attempt to do your best. What the goal here is, is the ability to step back from your need for perfection, look over what you’ve made, and be able to both critique it and accept its flaws, and then head off to the next thing. “Fuck it” is your greatest tool here. Ain’t the next Lord of the Rings? Fuck it. Next story.

Take it this way: you’ve learned something new every time you catch a flaw in your writing, which means you’ll do better next time. You are always scaling up in quality as long as you’re seeking to improve. Again, you will never be perfect, but you will be better than you were before. That’s something to celebrate, not scold yourself for! And the only way to do that is to say “fuck it” and keep writing. You can’t think yourself into greatness. You have to create okay stuff first and learn from those mistakes.

As for validation: attention from strangers is nice, but there’s a good exposure therapy in posting something and receiving crickets over and over. You get used to it and gradually learn to lessen its value in your head. I’ve personally been able to adjust to not getting much attention on my personal projects and art that I love so dearly, and just moving forward anyways, because I’m excited to do it, and that’s whose opinion I should care about. It’s the love of the game at this point for me. Importantly, it’s been able to teach me to find the true value in art, which is the process of creation, not the creation itself. I utterly adore making things, to the point that I don’t even really care about the end product anymore or the attention it may or may not get. Sure, I want it to be good and get notes, but what’s the point if I’m not enjoying myself while making it? What’s the value in perfection and attention when I’m miserable because that's all I'm doing this for? I’m the one that loves these characters and this setting the most, right? What else can I do but serve them as best as I can, and keep going as long as I need to? It's no loss if the entire internet doesn't love it the way I do. I'm creating it, and that makes me happy. What else need there be?

That’s how I think of it, at least. I hope this helped a little.

[rottenzombrainz]

I know you literally just posted it but would you do a part 2 of the like dove showing up but it showed up bc of the ghouls feelings, not MC. I really liked it :)

I gotchu anon!!! I'm really sorry it's taken so long for me to post this!! At least I'm getting it out just in time for Valentine's Day?

Let's say you, the beloved reader, are hanging out with the ghoul of your dreams when a precious little pink bird comes along and chirps at you!

Frostheim:

Jin Kamurai - Jin would completely play it off as the Ice King he is. "What? It's just an annoying bird...Stop trying to look for some deeper meaning." He'd roll his eyes and take a long drag from his cigarette before sending you off to do another task for him, trying to push you away and convince you (as well as himself) you're not anything to him.

Tohma Ishibashi - Tohma... I have the hardest time writing for Tohma... but I feel like he'd tease you in a somewhat sinister(?) way. "Oh? What's that little bird got you all flustered for?"

Lucas Errant - Luca would just straight up confess his love like the straightforward gentleman he is. "Ah! A like dove! They appear when someone else is thinking of you fondly, correct? It must have showed because I was thinking of you-"

Kaito Fuji - Kaito would try and convince you it's the other way around. That you're the one who likes him! Or- or maybe there's someone else thinking of him? But even so, he'd want you! So- you should go for him now since he's in such high demand!

Vagastorm:

Alan Mido - I feel like Alan would try and tell you how he feels before you pick up on it through the Like Dove's presence. Of course, he'd be extremely blunt about it, probably giving you a flower and saying that he wanted to tell you how he feels before you hear it (or see it) from anyone else.

Shohei Haizono - If you saw a Like Dove while with Sho and asked him about it, he'd scoff and ask if you really believe superstitious things like that. "It's just a bird. It shows up whenever it wants to go." "-Still.... they're kinda nice to look at. I got some sesame seeds if you wanna try feeding it"

Leo Kurosagi - Kinda similar to Kaito, Leo would try to convince you the dove showed because someone (or you) likes him. One of his millions of fans, probably. Except Leo does it in more if a... Leo way as opposed to Kaito's desperate goofball methods.

Jabberwock:

Haru Sagara - Haru would explain the dove like the cheery zookeeper he is while vaguely admitting his feelings for you " See that pink dove over there? They only show up when one person really likes another! I was hoping to show you one! Gyahahaha!"

Towa Otonashi - I feel like Towa would just hand you the dove as if it was a flower. He's not shy about admitting his love for you, after all! If you don't get it, he'd give you a tight hug with a kiss on the cheek.

Ren Shiranami - Ren would grumpily jeer at you trying to find meaning in the dove's presence. But deep down- he knows why it's here and he's super embarrassed about it. "Why do you keep staring at that stupid bird? It doesn't mean anything..."

Sinostra:

Taiga Hoshibami - If you tried to bring up the dove with Taiga, he'd just.... eat it. "What dove? Like Dove? What's that? Oh! You mean this little birdie? It wasn't your pet, was it? Sorry~!!"

Romeo Lucci - Romeo would berate you for even thinking that he'd like you of all people. "Stop gawking and catch that anomaly! Do you have any idea how valuable they are?"

Ritsu Shinjo - Ritsu would notice the dove distracting you and ask about it. "Is there something interesting about that bird? I need your undivided attention - what we're discussing is quite important"

Hotarubi:

Subaru Kagami - Poor Subaru would break down on the spot. He'd get so anxious over seeing the dove. it's giving him away! Are you going to notice? Have you already noticed? Maybe you don't know what it means? And when you ask him "Are you okay?", he simply responds with "I'm fine!"

Haku Kusanagi - There is one line and one line only that comes to mind.... "Aw look! Even the birds can see how much I like you~." He'd say before caressing your cheek and smiling at you with mischievous eyes.

Zenji Kotodama - Screw the Like Dove- If Zenji likes you, he's already singing you a ballad with a flock of doves happily singing along!

Obscuary:

Edward Hart - Ed would keep eyeing the dove as if trying to get you to notice it and bring it up. But then once you do, in typical Ed fashion, He'd probably just ask you if you like Rui or Lyca more.

Rui Mizuki - I wanted to write a cute little situation where Rui kisses the dove and then the dove kisses you like in Snow White but that would kill the little bird.... Regardless, Rui wouldn't be shy about admitting to liking you. "A Like Dove? Someone must be thinking about you~!! Seems like I got some competition~!!"

Lyca Colt - I feel like Lyca would get jealous of the dove and try and chase it away. You're supposed to be paying attention to him! Not some stupid bird!

Mortkranken:

Yuri Isami - Once he sees the dove, Yuri would try and gloat about his knowledge on the little creature- entirely missing why it's shown up until/if you mention that someone must be thinking about one of you two. To which he'd backtrack and say that it's all just rumour or speculation or something else that brushed off his self-incrimination.

Jiro Kirisaki - Like Luca, Jiro would just straight up tell you in the most clinical way possible that he's in love with you. "Like Doves are said to represent one person's feelings for another. I'd say the rumours are accurate, seeing as it's here now and my fondness towards you."

[galaxymagitech]

❤️✏️ for the writing ask game??

Thank you for the ask!!!!! I'm gonna stick this in two posts, because I have many, many WIPs.

For ❤️"what are your favorite scenes from your WIPs?" Here are three of my favorite scene fragments. It was difficult to restrict myself to three, so I focused on the scenes least likely to make it onto AO3.

fool me twice (which may never see the light of day...) (Warning for Referenced Child Abuse)

“Tim, I—I don’t—”

Tim’s heart sinks right down into his stomach. He can feel it there, bouncing against the fleshy walls and failing its desperate mission to keep a steady beat. The acid’s eating away at the smooth muscle, burrowing into his heart and filtering into his blood vessels. Tim is burning. “You’re right,” he says, pulling his lips into an empty smile like he’s on Joker venom. Tim clasps his hands together and lowers his head. “It’s not—it’s not a big deal, I shouldn’t have bothered you about this. I know you’re very busy.”

Suddenly, the air is knocked out of his lungs as he’s pulled into a hug. Tim is hyperaware of Dick’s warm arms wrapping around him, holding him tightly like Dick’s afraid Tim will disappear. “No,” Dick says. “No, I—I’m so glad you told me about this, okay? You did the right thing. I just—” He steps back, holding Tim by the shoulders. Tim can see the tears pooling in Dick’s eyes, the way his expression keeps shaking like his face isn’t sure which one to display. “Tim, he already crossed that line.”

“Okay,” Tim whispers, and his heart returns to his chest but it can’t seem to beat right because everything just seems so quiet. Like the world is dulled, blunted. “Should I talk to him?”

Dick bites his lip. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to go there right now.”

And Tim steps back, letting Dick’s hands fall off his shoulders. “This isn’t about safety,” Tim clarifies. “I’m fine, I’m barely hurt, I’m not even hurt at all.”

“Okay,” Dick says, raising his hands placatingly, patronizingly.

Tim takes another step back. “Don’t treat me like a child,” he warns. “I came to you for advice, not because I was in danger, or, or scared or something!”

“Okay,” Dick says again.

This time, Tim takes a step forward. “I’m Robin, I’ve been Robin for a year. I’m not one of your victims!”

“Okay,” Dick says, in that same infuriating tone and something just bursts inside of Tim.

Tim takes another step forward, clenches his fists, and screams right into Dick’s face.

“STOP SAYING THAT WORD!”

There’s the moment where Tim can feel his heart pounding against his ribcage and the sting of tears in his eyes and the strain in his clenched fists and the breath hot on his face and—

And then there’s the moment where panic shoots through him and Tim stumbles back, hands moving to a defensive position and his mind completely blank except for fear.

And then there’s the moment where the surroundings kick in and he realizes he’s standing across from Dick and the man’s hands aren’t anywhere near raised and—

Tim locks eyes with Dick.

“I’m sorry,” Dick whispers. “I’m so sorry, Tim.”

Tim looks down to his side. “It’s not your fault.”

Dick swallows. “I’ll talk to him.”

“I don’t think you can get him to—to not do that again. I already talked to him about it.”

“That’s not what I’m going to say to him,” Dick says. “He’s shown he can’t be trusted. I’ll tell him that you’re quitting and that you’re staying with me now. And if he doesn’t like it, I’ll just call the Justice League and he’ll have to take it up with them.”

“Batman needs a Robin.”

“Robin needs to be safe.”

From Better Than Batman

“Do you know how many assassinations the League does in a week?” Tim asks, voice almost conversational. Jason knows better, though. Because the glint in Tim’s eyes from the Tower has returned, and he almost, almost looks like the boy in the Batman suit who attacked with the ruthlessness of Lady Shiva. “On average, it’s 23.42. I had access to everything, and I did nothing.”

And that—Jason laughs aloud with glee. “That’s just too perfect.” He never would’ve thought Tim had it in him. And he has the guts to call Jason a psychopath. “Does Brucie know?”

Instead of answering Jason’s question, Tim steps forward and poses a question of his own. “Are you better than Batman?”

Jason meets his eyes. It’s strange, he realizes. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Tim without a mask. Not conscious, anyway. “Yeah,” he says.

Tim smirks. “That’s what you’re always saying. Well, here it is. Do what Batman never could. Compromise. You’re better than Batman?” He leans in close, inches away. “Prove it.”

Of course. Of course that’s what it comes down to. Because no matter what unhinged creature Red Robin could be, he’s still a Robin. Still Batman’s protegee ‘til the bitter end. And here he is, trying to convince Jason to abandon his morals and cower in fear of his former mentor.

In a sudden movement, Jason throws himself forward. The chains go taught, forcing the cuffs roughly against Jason’s wrists, but Tim’s flinch is worth it. Jason lets himself laugh, laugh like he did in the Tower, like he did when dragging Tim’s pulseless body through the caves.

Tim’s eyes flicker down to the folder that lies strewn on the floor, then back up to Jason. “Think about it,” he says, and then turns tail and leaves.

Good riddance.

it beckons me to stay (Warning for Referenced Character Death)

Damian could phrase it like a proof—he’d written plenty of those, before he dropped out of high school at sixteen (just like Timothy did, the first time Father died). All of his nightmares feature his family. In all of his nightmares, his family die. All of his dreams are nightmares. When Damian sleeps, he dreams. Therefore, Damian watches his family die every time he sleeps.

Tonight, it is Todd. Damian grabs Brown’s hand and runs. He runs and he runs and he runs, but he always ends up in the same location. Take it, Brown says. There’s a gun in his hand.  

This isn’t real, Damian tries to say, but his mouth won’t move. 

Help me, Todd screams, fingers wrapped around Gordon’s throat.

Help me, Gordon screams, as she tumbles to the ground, still.

Help me, Brown screams, scrambling away from Damian.

Help me, Damian screams, but the sound doesn’t come out. His finger twitches on the trigger.

When he wakes up, Todd is still dead.

Damian hadn’t had a choice, he tells himself. Todd was under the influence of a potent toxin with no antidote. He had already killed Gordon. He would have killed Brown. He hadn’t had a choice.

Brown had promised to take the secret to the grave, and she had.It’s only Damian who knows, now, that he killed his brother.

[hawkstincan]

my rewatch got to season 8

[mobius-m-mobius]

#happy anniversary to remembering this actually happened 😘✌️

Loki S2 Anniversary x Episode 5 - “Science/Fiction”

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

I'm kind of obsessed with Blackwall's idealized ideas about the Wardens. He was once picked up by a Warden and lulled by the promise of atoning for his crimes and turning his life around, only for that opportunity to slip away when the Warden not only saved him, but sacrificed his own life to do it. This whole experience makes our Blackwall become a Warden in heart, if not in blood, but with his own ideas of what a Grey Warden should be - noble, brave, inspiring, heroic, self-sacrificial. Everything he now wants to embody. He knows well that he's not there, but he wants nothing more than to start from scratch and be that.

In his beliefs, he reminds me a bit of Wynne in Origins who tells the Warden at some point that the Grey Wardens are supposed to be more than killing machines and weapons against the blight.

“There’s more to being a Grey Warden than killing darkspawn and saving the world from the Blight. Ultimately, being a Grey Warden is about serving others, about serving all people, whether elves or dwarves or men. As a Grey Warden, you are a guardian of men. And you guard them because their continued existence is more important than you are.”

However, we know that's not exactly how it works. That's what they want the Wardens to be. The light against darkness. The shield against monsters.

Although it's not entirely wrong, either, I suppose, all things considered. The more darkspawn they obliterate and push back, the more people are protected from them. Of course, sacrificing their lives to fight literal monsters, which means those same monsters don't eat everybody's kids, ultimately is heroic, and it's something that must have been born out of the need to protect the world and its inhabitants (from the Blight). But to have idealized opinions of the Wardens to this degree, you have to ignore all the other shady stuff and the mentality we, as players, also know the Wardens for. The fact that the Wardens are primarily weapons to slay darkspawn, prevent and end Blights, by any means necessary. The last part is important. After all, they are the Grey Wardens, not the White Wardens. They recruit from all walks of life and are famous for taking in criminals. Not to redeem themselves and get a second chance at life, but because they usually have nowhere to go and nothing left to lose. It's not a coincidence that each of the Origins gets chosen by Duncan, not only because he sees them as capable, but also because they are in a situation they can't escape from. Either they join the Wardens, or they're done for.

We know the Wardens from a few games now, but does the public in the setting even know? Does the average person have any idea how far the Wardens are willing to go? Besides grand stories of slaying monsters in the dark and preventing the end of the world? Probably not. The order is very secretive. And it explains a lot. The Wardens end up sounding almost romantic, when being a Warden is anything but. Is it ignorance talking out of these characters? Perhaps.

It once again shows us this aspect of Dragon Age where you can't take everything a character says as a fact, because the setting is full of people who have no idea what they're talking about, but who are absolutely convinced that they do.

And yet, I can't help but also like Wynne's and Blackwall's romantic ideas about what the Wardens are or should be, almost knights in shining armour and all that. They're fairy tales, but they're beautiful fairy tales. And I can't fault the characters for wanting to believe it or even live it. Especially in case of Blackwall, who sees it as a way to make up for the crimes he committed, somewhat. In the end, this might actually be a bigger draw to join the Wardens than, "Got nowhere to go? Come suffer horribly and probably die gruesomely with us!" It all sounds great on paper, though. I can't fault Davrin for trying to find purpose in life by becoming a monster hunter, either.

And maybe a little bit of idealism doesn't hurt. Not only it's good motivation, but in the end, doing things by "any means necessary" doesn't always pay off, either. It led the Wardens into all kinds of trouble, like getting tricked into employing dangerous forms of blood magic and demon summoning, basically into doing their enemy's work for them. In their determination to win at any cost, they helped trigger a cataclysmic event. Maybe having some principles isn't so bad after all.

In the end, I can appreciate that we get to see the clash of the old and new blood in Veilguard, where there's hope for the order to transform into an organization that's less secretive, less exclusive, and hopefully less prone to letting corruption spread through its ranks and make other devastating mistakes. Duncan once said that letting people join the Wardens isn't an "act of charity", and I like how Evka and Antoine go, "Yeah, you know what? Fuck that." And that likely inspires more loyalty. I imagine Blackwall would like that.

[secriden]

*cracks knuckles* Okay lets talk about the elephant in the room: Style going to the support group for those who've suffered loss and telling what appears to be a fake story about losing his pet dog.

I'm going to point out a few things that I think provide a framework for Style's actions here. Not because I think it excuses what he did, but because I think a nuanced read is what the character deserves.

Point 1: An irresistible opportunity

The subs put the "Support Group for Loss" on the image in the notebook, but I'm not sure there's anything to suggest that Style would've known that was what this image represents until he showed up and saw the sign on top of the door.

In episode 2, Bison says, "He plans everything down from years, months, weeks to days" and then tells Kant:

So Style is literally just going to addresses/locations at given days and times, potentially not knowing what to expect. And as much as Fadel is certainly attending this meeting as a response to having that heartbreaking flashback (😭), this is also something he attends regularly and has planned to attend way in advance. So Style has no reason to think Fadel is attending this meeting because of a recent resurfacing of his pain.

What we, the audience, and what the characters know are very different things.

Now, should Style have turned his cute ass right around once he realised what this meeting was? Of course he should. But that wouldn't have been true to Style's character. We've been told by his best friend that he is "crazy" and been shown repeatedly that he lives right up to that description.

Style is impulsive. He's all base instinct and he acts on his desires without thought or contemplation. And by this point he is desperate for a deeper connection with Fadel. He's fascinated, captivated by the mystery that is Fadel and this is an excellent opportunity to finally see behind the wall Fadel so carefully maintains.

When Style sees the sign above the door, Style looks at the notebook (which, again, shows nothing but people sitting in a circle with the words RISE UP) like he's just realising what it means. He then gets this amused, almost rueful look on his face (like he's thinking "am I really going to do this?") before it shifts to determination and he walks through the door.

(My soul for the ability to once again gif something because FUCK Dunk is doing SO MUCH in this show!!)

To Style, this is just too good of an opportunity to give up.

Because let's be real, Fadel is so clearly lying and hiding something:

Fadel is shady as FUCK. He is simultaneously actually a really good cook (Style finally tries his burger so he knows, now), and also has the skills to work at a strip host club, and also can take on 3 guys in a fight, and also can break a man's arm with his thighs. Can you honestly blame Style for losing his mind just a little bit about wanting to get his hands on something, anything, to figure this man out?

Style is being absolutely consistent in his persistence to understand Fadel. This isn't about the car or about finally 'winning' the fight (thank you @airenyah for giving such a detailed framework to understand what Style's been doing until this point) anymore. This is about Style wanting to know Fadel himself.

Point 2: The potential implications of the setting

Now, what might give us a bit of insight as to why Style is this way? I have a theory (albeit one that could prove to be very wrong, but hear me out). I think this whole entire show is set in what could potentially be quite a small town/suburb.

There's a few things that make this theory plausible:

(1) Fadel and Bison are in hiding after Bison blew their previous cover. They're probably on the run from some section of the authorities and so it makes sense to settle in a quiet/out of the way place.

(2) Style seems to be really familiar with the people in the area. Like he grew up there and its the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone is in everyone else's business.

(3) Style is clearly the darling of the market aunties and uncles.

Style just lost her a sale and potentially a loyal customer, and she's still rooting for him? In episode 2, when Style asks the uncle to let him borrow his cart, it takes nothing but his word for the uncle to give Style his entire cart of produce for his ridiculous scheme.

Style is so clearly someone they all know well and have great affection for, and a very plausible explanation for this is that they all watched him grow up and the entire market (town/village) is fond of him.

And honestly?? Yeah, we see the way Style is actually quite sweet in that careless, guileless, thoughtless way. He goes the extra mile to fix his mistake with Fadel by replacing his car parts for free in episode 1. He helps out by taking orders in episode 2 without being asked and takes it seriously. In episode 3, he tries to drive more business to Fadel's store (bless him, he so clearly does NOT understand how restaurants work, but he MEANS well!!), and can we all acknowledge that it works?? He understands how to appeal to potential customers in the area because he knows the people there. It's not (entirely) his fault that Fadel wasn't remotely prepared for an actual rush crowd and Bison was off getting kinky with Kant and not doing his (fake) job. He is so clear about not judging Fadel's host job and tries his hardest to help him (to absolutely NO effect, but still) when the 3 guys gang up on Fadel.

Style is so loved and more importantly so very loveable.

Point 3: What this could mean for Style's character

So, potentially, Style is someone who grew up in a small town, who has been well loved, potentially spoiled and coddled, but also very much kept within the confines of the narrow viewpoint that a quiet, country town places on you.

It's in the way his dad scolds him as if he was still a child when he's at least in his mid to late 20s. It's in the way Style was so mad at Fadel for scolding him ("thanks for the lecture, dad"), like that hit a sore point for Style. It's in the way no one in the market takes him seriously; they're fond, but he's still a kid in their eyes. It's in the way he has an abundance of free time like he doesn't REALLY need to work at his dad's shop. It's in the way he sees Fadel beat 3 guys up with ease, starts wondering if Fadel is an assassin or a hitman, and is completely unfazed like he doesn't quite have a handle on reality.

It's in the way his best friend is a man who has no qualms about lying to him and putting his life in danger, and how Style seems to have no other friends or people (aside from his dad) in his life.

@wuxian-vs-wangji made a comment to me about Style being desperate for a meaningful connection, and I think she hit the nail on the head. Because along comes Fadel, a mysterious stranger with a suspiciously versatile set of skills who is also very hot and keeps giving Style these wonderfully complex reactions? Who sometimes wants nothing to do with Style, but at other times seems to be at war within himself about desperately wanting him? Who treats Style with anything but apathy?

This is catnip to Style; he never had any hope of resisting this.

Breaking news: Style is a complex and imperfect character...

Here's the thing, though: he was never going to try. The show has been incredibly upfront about who Style is as a person. Regardless of whether I'm correct about why he is this way (ie. that he is very much the product of the environment that didn't know how to handle a kid with Style's personality), episode 3 shouldn't have surprised anyone about Style. He's been incredibly consistent and true to himself.

He wants Fadel and he's "crazy" enough to go all in, no holds barred about it, and the Support Group was the biggest doorway to finally discovering something REAL about Fadel.

And its not just about sex or to prove his superiority anymore. Because if it was just that, then Style would have reacted very differently to their first time.

In this scene, Style is pleased and evidently enjoying himself, but he isn't exuberant. He isn't overcome with joy. If anything, he was more happy and excited when Fadel let him help out in the diner (I mentioned this in the tags in this post too) than he was when Fadel is literally fucking him. He lets Fadel set the pace; barely moves to touch Fadel except to hold him close. Almost like he doesn't want to accidentally mess this up, like he's worried he'll take too much, so he'll take what Fadel gives him and no more (please appreciate @braceletofteeth's amazing tags on this post). For a character that has been so aggressively on the offensive, this is shocking until you realise that sleeping with Fadel - while it's a step in the right direction - isn't Style's end goal anymore.

And he makes that abundantly clear in this episode:

Does Style even fully realise the weight of this desire? I doubt it. But I do believe that Style is in earnest. He doesn't fully understand his own feelings, but he also doesn't really care to either. All he knows is that he wants Fadel, wants his attention and his passion and his focus and his heart.

...but Style is also kind of, sort of, perfect.

Because he's exactly, precisely, breathtakingly exactly what Fadel needs.

Because Fadel is hurt and broken and bleeding inside. Because Fadel is barely holding it all together for Bison's sake, but has already given up hope for any true happiness for himself. Because Fadel can't trust anyone or anything in his life, when he's been used and used and used by the family who should've loved and cared and protected him.

Because it's going to take nothing short of this kind of unwavering, unshakable, uncomplicated determination to give Fadel even a chance of healing and opening his heart to love again.

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 22

Geralt rides into a town only to see a small family fumbling around in the street in a panic. Apparently they're a family business of fishermen who are worried that something much bigger than a fish has swam into a trap of theirs. Geralt gets a promise of money for getting rid of it and goes off to kill whatever water monster it is. But he gets to where they describe the beast and he finds... A mermaid? It's trapped and tied around in a net, facing away from Geralt, and clearly in pain, though he doesn't know why, yet. The webbed ear of the mer flicks and it turns to face him, hissing. Geralt holds his hands out in a placating gesture and sloowly walks closer, only for the mer to slam the full weight of it's tail into Geralt's legs and sweep him off his feet. Gods damn it. It can never be easy. Geralt draws his sword, and begins cutting the trap off the mer, even as it hisses, flails, and tries it's absolute damnedest to claw his face off. He ends up straddling it like it's a fucking gator, and when he frees it of it's restraints, it's only then that he can finally make out the giant wound on the mer's side. Too big and nasty a wound to just release it into the water. Oh great. It's gonna LOVE this. But it's not like he has to DO anything about it. He's a cold, emotionless witcher. He doesn't care of the mer lives or dies. If the wound is infected or kills the mer, he couldn't give less of a damn. So Geralt is currently walking up to his room at the inn, with a very angry hissing mer thrown over his shoulder, clawing the shit out of his armor. When he asks for the bath to be filled, blessedly nobody asks any further questions. The mer stops struggling as soon as it's in the bath, but it sure is still hissing at him. Geralt puts his sword away and takes off his armor and the hissing lessens. Now it's just whenever he gets too close. Big problem. He needs to get close in order to patch up it's wounds. The mer has the biggest, brightest, inhumanly blue eyes, with slitted pupils. It has sharp teeth, and twinkling iridescent blue scales dusting across the edge of it's face and it's cheeks. It stops hissing at him to listen to the bard perform downstairs. It stops attacking him, even as he pokes and prods at their wound. This is great! Except for when the bard stops and the mermaid goes back to thrashing and screaming- So Geralt is forced to hum songs under his breath to calm it. It's pupils expand and it stares at him in awe, with a slightly parted mouth. Geralt's just happy it stopped flopping around like a- w- Well... Like a fish. He fixes it all up, and shares his food, and softly hums to it the whole night, before it curls up a bit more and starts nodding off. He stops humming and steps to the inn's bed, only to be surprised when hearing a voice behind him murmur "Thank you." Oh shit-