#all i know is i love them dearly with all my heart

[ariiadnes]

ㅤ╭ ⿻ ･ beneath the universe ( part ii. )

AT THE END AS AT THE START , & THROUGH ALL THE IN-BETWEENS , I LOVE YOU

ଓ.° ・ kaveh ･ dehya ･ cyno ･ ayato ･ diluc. genshin impact. quote cr : amal el-mohtar & max gladstone. repost. each character's parts are limited to 150 words! ・ ・ ・ pt i.

❀ ⋆˚࿔ kaveh

"of all the creations i've made, none can compare to your beauty."

kaveh has always been a romantic, love language born from touch and fervor. you blink, disoriented expression meeting your lover's through the mirror. it is barely morning. you've just woken up, head out of sorts as you brush your teeth. you wouldn't say you're the epitome of beauty at this moment, but he thinks otherwise.

how can someone be so radiant in the most mundane of things? he leans against the doorway, watches as you get ready for the day. you toss a reluctant glance in his direction, but he simply smiles.

"already hitting on me, huh?"

he hums, beckons you closer.

"what can i say? i'm an honest man."

his hands rest on your hips as if that's where they have always belonged and he presses a gentle kiss to your temple in greeting.

"good morning, dearest."

❀ ⋆˚࿔ dehya

"sunshine, you're not blushing, are you?"

dehya is not one to be trifled with, strength and skill in combat unmatched. she is not as intimidating as she lets on, altruism in her nature.

no, dehya isn't one to be messed with, but you do it anyway. with one hand in hers, the other pressed against her cheek, you grin, almost think it might have grown warmer after your words. she has yet to become accustomed to these nicknames, and in truth, she does not think she ever will.

"sunshine? you..."

she sighs, knows this is already defeat. she has fought many battles, none of them this difficult.

"not a fan? should i call you something else?"

she blinks furiously, tries to hide her flustered visage. she clears her throat, fails to maintain eye contact, but squeezes your hand all the more.

"i'll only let you call me that, you know."

❀ ⋆˚࿔ cyno

the first time cyno made you laugh is the most memorable, he decides. his jokes, while quite humorous, often miss the mark, so he vividly recalls that moment, knows it to be one he cherishes ever so dearly.

the flow of time is one that cannot be changed, days gone by as he seeks out those who taunt justice. it is an arduous role, but one he carries with pride.

it's when he finally comes home to you that he feels at ease, heart lightened, and so he is once more reminded that the passage of time is not one to be taken for granted.

"did you know," cyno begins, "that your laughter is one of my favorite things to hear?"

"are you saying that because i laugh at your jokes?"

cyno grins, loves the way you naturally place your hand in his when he reaches out for you.

"maybe."

❀ ⋆˚࿔ ayato

the role as the head of the kamisato clan is seldom easy, ayato's past filled with hardships paving the road to a masterful deception, fabricated smiles shown with ease despite a quiet suffering.

how warm you are, he thinks, so he relaxes in your hold, allows a rare vulnerability in the presence of the one he's sworn devotion to.

"what a special occasion." he comments, wavering between consciousness. "you're hardly this kind to me."

you've always been used to his banter, but there is something dispiriting in his teasing tone, so your fingertips lightly trace circles into his skin, your lips against his forehead in reverie.

"what can i do for you, ayato?"

he leans into your touch, and you know the smile that blossoms on his lips is one of genuine happiness.

"you've done enough. so long as you remain by my side, i could ask for nothing more."

❀ ⋆˚࿔ diluc

diluc does not know when the right moment is for declarations of adoration; although you've already exchanged confessions, it has always been a challenge.

maybe it's the way you weave cecilias into crimson locks, tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. maybe it's how you smile, look at him wordlessly yet announce your love for him. diluc is uncertain, but he recognizes this feeling that takes over and makes the echoes of a heartbeat terribly known.

it is instinct, the way he draws closer to you when your fingers trace his jawline with utmost reverence. you still at the little space that exists between two lovers, and perhaps the silence is louder than ever.

i love you is spoken in the way diluc kisses you, and in the way he pulls you closer, there is a i love you, i will gladly give all of myself to you.

[catboydreamer]

venti x reader fluff / confession

he woke up and chose you. 

you had held your breath all night, barely sleeping because what if he didn’t? 

you remember telling him with tears rolling down your cheeks , how you felt. 

you were a bit tipsy but this was the only way. you didn’t even know if he heard you correctly as he was ready to pass out when you said it.

you had told him, “did you even hear me?” your voice was so shaky it barely came through. 

his answer was cold, “I did.” and then, he was gone.

for the first time in months you slept on your own. actually, you didn’t go home. it’s too awkward stumbling into a house you haven’t been in for two whole months. plus, it’s three am. you made a warm spot in this dark alley that he left you in. 

maybe it wasn’t the best idea but you were so tired and so fucking sad too.

all you wanted was him and he couldn’t accept that. you remember a sob erupting out of your mouth before you passed out. 

you wake up with the warmth of a soft mattress. so warm and you turn over… wait a minute?! you fell asleep in an alley. in fact, as you wake up you’re greeted by the site of… venti? the one who left you last night. stranded. 

actually you huff. it’s annoying how cute it is that he carried you here and made sure you were safe. 

slowly, you get up and feel sort of out of it. your limbs ache a bit, and you wonder how long you were there. 

venti bites his lip. “I was coming back for you. I stupidly left in a panic. I sobered up after that and went to find you.” 

“okay? so what? what do you have to say then,” quickly, you sit up, throwing the blanket off you. 

venti gently pulls on your fingers with his own to clasp them between his own. he’s warm. 

“okay. I deserve that. /but/ I do know something good here. you mean more to me than anything else in this world. it scares me. “

you take ur hands away from his. he sucks in a sharp breath. he’s losing you, he’s losing you. you can see that look in his eyes. 

“I need more than just a ‘I care about you’. that much is obvious and you know that’s not what I was asking. “

venti sighs. he doesn’t even need to, but he does anyway. 

“okay. you want the full thing? here it goes. y/n. I love you so dearly and so much. I don’t want to be without you. I left to clear my head for one moment and was coming right back for you. I carried you by hand all the way here, selfishly. I wanted to know what it felt like to carry you in my arms. the way I feel about you makes me feel incapable emotions. things a god cannot feel,” he smiles sadly, “and yet, I feel so proud of how I feel about you.”

you don’t know what to say. your heart is beating so fast against your chest. you cannot make it stop. a smile breaks across your face unknowingly. 

You did the only thing that you know how to: you place your hands in a tender embrace onto his cheeks and pull him towards you. your lips meet and it’s better than life itself. 

he smiles against your lips and grips your waist like it’s his life force. he keeps kissing you over and over and over again.

[bailaconox]

excited as hell to reread aftg so i can remind myself of the entire plot before digging into the sunshine court 🤧🥰🙏 i love being LITERATE and i love BOOKS and READING!

[viserya-firstofhername]

So do you reckon, did he first lay his hand upon her knee when she declared she fancies him just the way he is, or did she draw his hand in hers to compel him to listen attentively?

[possamble]

What are your headcanons about Marcille's mom if you have any? It's interesting that what drew Donato to her was cause she lived the history he studied, or that was said somewhere at least. She must've had an interesting life.

so this was going to be just a normal answer but then I realized I have a Lot of Things To Say. so here goes, a compilation of what we know for a fact from the canon, what I've extrapolated from the visual cues and details, and my theories based on all of that.

Things we know for a fact about Marcille's mother because they were explicitly stated in the manga and supplemental materials:

She was a court mage for a Tall-man kingdom at the southern part of the Northern Continent

Donato, a court historian, fell in love with her because she had lived through the history he was studying, and he courted her for 17 years (age 15 to 32) before getting married

She was a cheerful person who rarely showed extreme emotion and took things as they came

She always cooked a huge meal for Marcille on her birthdays

She remarried a gnome after Donato's death and a short distance away from Marcille's childhood home

Pipi, Marcille's pet bird, was actually older than Marcille and originally belonged to her mother (bird died at 62)

She was extremely heartbroken when Donato died and ultimately ended up instilling a deep fear of mortality in Marcille with her words

the only time she showed extreme emotion in front of her family was when Donato could no longer eat his favourite dish near the end of his life.

She scolded Marcille for being cruel to ants (implying she can have a stern side when needed)

Things that are explicitly shown but mostly through visual cues

She has a very distinctive style of dress always involving a ribbon choker (mirroring Marcille's habit of always wearing a matching choker with any of her outfits that don't cover her neck)

She was almost stereotypically good at housekeeping and traditionally "wifely" things (very frequently depicted wearing an apron or doing some domestic chore when not at work, seems to have been an avid cook).

She knits? (also, note the affectionate smile as she's looking at Donato and Marcille reading a book together in the full panel)

She was as excited for Marcille's milestones as Donato was.

She didn't tell Marcille much about elven food

(there are a couple things that this panel in particular implies:

She lived a good deal of her life (if not being born and raised) in a mainly elven country in the West, implied by her knowing enough of an elven region's cuisine to prefer Tall-man food over it

seems to have a pretty carefree and casual demeanour overall, if this is how she replied to Marcille asking her about it (sounds like she never gave her culinary preferences that much thought to begin with)

slightly related to number 2, it seems like she and Marcille had a fairly casual parent-child dynamic (especially in comparison to the Toudens' memory of their father)

(local elf tastes Italian food once and never goes back))

However, she seems a lot more... serious in most of the other times we see her? Almost like the very stereotypical archetype of a graceful elf.

Subsequent conclusions about her personality:

Usually pretty carefree and cheerful at home, has been a loving and attentive parent throughout Marcille's childhood (while not being so doting that she didn't discipline Marcille).

Slightly more conjectural theories on her personality:

Had a much more graceful and professional personality at work, which would explain the more serious portraits we see of her.

Given that both she and Donato had positions at the royal court, it seems a little odd that she'd go out of her way to do all the housework herself, so maybe she just enjoyed doing it?

Now taping all the evidence together and toeing the line between analysis and fanfiction:

It's clear that she loved Donato very much and was utterly devastated by losing him. But there's one thing that really stuck out to me in what little we see of her:

Doesn't she seem... angry? The way she's gritting her teeth, clutching the tablecloth, and how this is the first and only time we see her eyes opened that wide. In the following panel, you see her being quiet and dejected after her initial outburst. She's still crying very intensely, but her brows are furrowed, and she's not really responding to Donato's affection in her body language.

We're not told the details of how she felt about losing Donato other than that it upset her. But this, to me, implies that she was angry and resented that he was aging, that the end of his life was approaching. An "it's not fair" type of preemptive grief. And if this was the first and last time she cried like this in front of her family, she was either very good at coping in private... or very bad at letting herself feel unpleasant emotions until they become unavoidable and end up overwhelming her.

It's not too remarkable a detail on the surface. It's even reminiscent of what the audience has seen of Marcille. But... when it comes to the big picture, you'd think an elf who voluntarily chose to marry a tall-man and have a half-elf child would have been better prepared for this.

It kind of recontextualizes her cheerfulness to me.

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!" (or some variation thereof, depending on what translation you have).

And this is stated to contrast her extreme grief when finally confronting Donato's failing body and eventual death. But I'm wondering if... maybe this optimism was why she was so upset. What if she went into all of it thinking "everything's gonna be okay"? What if she was a little young by elven standards, and just followed her heart thinking that her own resilience would get her through anything?

Of course, only to get completely overwhelmed when she actually loses Donato. She turns into a completely different person. And that's heartbreaking on its own-- but what the audience sees is the effect it had on Marcille. Can you imagine being her, watching your invincible and upbeat mother suddenly lose all the light in her eyes in one go?

I've already made a huge post about how I think Marcille models her "work persona" off her mother, but another thing that stuck with me as I was looking for more details in the manga was this:

copy pasting from the other post i made about it lmao it's like... the second she resigns herself to lifelong pain and terror, there's another portrait of her mother facing her like this. with their heads bowed, in mirrored body language of resignation and despair and sorrow. Except it's posed like Marcille is still looking at her mother but her mother is looking away.

It took me a second to realize, but I think that it's a visual metaphor for the fact that Marcille's mother was the only long-lived role model she had-- and she failed to model healthy grief for her daughter. I don't say this as an accusation or to disparage her as a character, but just as a matter of fact. In her, Marcille was seeing herself older and losing a short-lived spouse or loved one of her own, and all she saw was hopelessness.

But her mother didn't mean to instill hopelessness and terror in her. She wasn't really thinking of how it would truly affect Marcille at all (at least, that's how I'm interpreting her looking down and away from Marcille in the metaphor), she was just sad. And she, in her own way, was trying to protect her daughter and help her prepare for future losses.

What she meant was "loss is inevitable, and you have to learn how to be in pain but live on anyway." What Marcille heard was "loss is inevitable, and you will be scared and hurt for the rest of your life."

Again. Marcille's mother doesn't feature explicitly in the story the way her father does -- but in so many ways, her shadow, her silhouette, her reflection is always hanging over Marcille.

All that to say... headcanon-wise (everything from here on is 100% without evidence lmao), I'd like to think that she matured and realized that she failed Marcille. I imagine her being regretful about it, wanting a chance to fix it but never finding a way to insert herself back into Marcille's life when Marcille is so so so busy becoming the most accomplished mage possible. I imagine her being herself again, now, so many years after her loss and after remarrying -- but with her cheerfulness tempered with a lot more wisdom and the pain of having gone through loss like that. I think the second Marcille actually tells her what happened in the dungeon, she'd want to go running to her daughter again -- if Marcille tells her the full truth instead of just being embarrassed she let things get that far. (oh, the tragedy of her wanting to be more like her mother and an accomplished adult who doesn't need to be babied... being embarrassed to actually tell her mother how much she fucked up...)

There's also the tension of her having remarried -- I know that there's at least a little bit of resentment that Marcille harbours about that, because she's childish like that at heart even if she makes an effort not to externalize it. I think that her mother would be aware of that, potentially adding to her sense of guilt and apprehension at trying to reappear/intrude on Marcille's life. I honestly don't think Marcille has met her stepfather -- or even considers him a stepfather rather than "mama's new husband" and kind of a total stranger. I think she and her mother actively don't talk about it in their correspondence, like an elephant in the room.

but, ultimately, I think her mother is on her side no matter what. Ancient magic? Dark necromancy? Sure, she'll feel guilty and like she was partially responsible for setting Marcille down such a painful path, but she wouldn't care. that's her daughter!! she would've moved back west and been petitioning for her at the court, buying a house right next to the Canaries barracks and visiting her every day that she wasn't on a mission. And if her husband had opinions on Marcille becoming a "dark arts user," he either gets over it or it's divorce with him. Yes, she might have had her optimism completely humbled by losing Donato like that -- but she's still headstrong and self-assured and she doesn't care what people think of her. It's her way or the highway and she's always going to be in Marcille's corner.

(She also needs a name lol. I went with Juno, just to be cute about "Marcille"s closest real life equivalent being Marcella, which is the female version of Marcellus, which in turn is a diminutive of Marcus, which was derived from Mars. Absolutely in love with Marcille potentially being named after Ares/Mars the fucking god of war btw)

[artifeast]

some more telesphore :3

[kitsunecrows]

"you know, on my first day here, if you asked me what i wanted, i would have said adventure, mystery, true friends - but looking here at all of you, i realized that every wish came true."

happy (belated) birthday mystery twins!

[eyrieofsynapses]

good evening, all. it is May the 25th. our lilacs are blooming, just as the ones at the Watch House did. and I am thinking about remembrance of the fallen, and GNU, and the love in commemoration.

y'know, I read Night Watch… oh, maybe a year ago and some months ago. and the lilac symbolism, the remembrance of the Watch, has always struck me with the depth of the emotion of it, the tangibility of it in the flowers. but I wasn't aware that today was the day until I saw commemorative posts, all that gorgeous artwork and more, on my dash.

I was also not aware, until now, that fans commemorated the day not only because of the book reference, but in support of Terry Pratchett and of those with Alzheimer's. which knocked me over a bit because of course, of course the group that would use GNU to honor him would do that. and… I've been thinking about GNU a lot, lately, and this caught me again.

I read Going Postal a bit ago, and reread it recently. both times, the parts about GNU made me tear up. this idea of the names, the memories, the lives of the clacks workers who dedicated themselves to ensuring that people heard each other's voices—all those names spoken again and again and again by that which they poured their souls into, winging along in the air as they could not, an eternal reminder that they were loved—how could that not touch a person's heart?

when I found out that fans online used it to memorialize him, I damn well cried. hell, I still tear up just thinking about it. do you know, there's a code for an HTTP header "X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett" written by Reddit users to put in webpages, where it goes unseen by the average user? and in 2015, when Netcraft took a survey, there were eighty-four thousand websites using it? it's eight years later—how many thousands upon thousands of websites have this now, do you think? how many little cables of light has his name flown along, now? how many times?

that alone is absurdly and unimaginably lovely in its own right, but… there's something else to it. there's something about remembering with the lilac sprigs every year, just as Vimes and those who were there remembered their dead. something about how, when we take up our lilac sprigs, we carry a little piece of the characters in our hearts, too. I kept trying to put my finger on why that makes me tear up the way it does. the conclusion I came to is this:

what greater way to honor a writer is there, but to honor them the way they did the characters they poured their heart and soul into? what better way to say we know you and you are not forgotten and your work and words and gifts to the world are held in our hearts forever than to remember them by their own words, their own vision? how else could we say you embodied all the good you believed in and wished to see in the world, but to memorialize them after the little pieces of their soul they wrapped in ink and put upon the page?

it is a knowing of the writer, to remember them in their way. it is not a worn-out faceless platitude, but a reminder that their work has been read and will continue to be, that the characters and world they loved enough to bring to life last just as their name does. such remembrance is warm and loving and delights in their memory even as it grieves.

and now Pratchett's name has been written in his tradition, over and over and over, across the vast plane of the Internet, where it will—with any luck—continue to fly for generations to come.

there is no way to truly express the beauty of that… but perhaps we can catch a glimpse of it in the lilacs, both ours and the Watch's.

[faaun]

procrastination is starting to have its consequences finally

[serenuum]

can you believe they just. they just filmed it and then kept it a secret for four years. do you think they have more. do they have more plans

[potatoesandsunshine]

i get why not everybody loves it as much as i do but i love oblivion so so much. easily on my list of top ten favorite video games of all time

[bas-rouge]

I don't mean to sound bitter (I am, but I recognise that there is no one at fault and I cannot change the past), but it's a little frustrating to see people do everything they can for juniors at shows and kick young adults to the curb. I'm happy there are so many opportunities for juniors. I'm happy so many breeders are willing to gift juniors puppies. I'm happy for them, but I'm bitter that I never got to have those opportunities because my parents didn't support me and now I have to fight for that support. It's frustrating!

[arolesbianism]

Breakcore may not be a super strictly defined genre but I swear ppl will call anything that has noises at all like y'know music has like just normal ass music from any other genre breakcore with a straight face and I just have to sit there and try to not reveal I'm a pretentious fuck when it comes to this stuff

[ghostboyjules]

@burnt-scone tagged me!! thank you beloved!!

Rules: Tag 10 (or less) people you want to get to know better

relationship status: physically single but I'm in love with so many people and only one them knows, I think, so. idk what to call that? complicated?

favourite colour: black, aesthetically, but I also really really enjoy phthalo green

song stuck in my head: I Am My Own Muse - FOB. I am. so obsessed with this song. the way I've been blasting it on my way home from work the past two days..

three favourite foods:  pizza.. brownies... sushi rice.

last song I listened to: Jumper - Third Eye Blind

dream trip: aahh there's so many things i wanna see and do... aahhh uuuhh... okay imma just say I wanna go to Canada. I wanna see the snow and be in the mountains and see the sights.. it looks so absolutely gorgeous.. I'd just really like to go hang out up there and chill for a while.

last thing(s) i googled: coltsfoot!! Tussilago farfara. it's a plant!

I'm gonna tag: @n3bulas-and-satelites @thatboysgotwoah @mothmanns @balasha7sanbardo @queen-eevee @rooftopwreck @howlittleweare @softest-punk @queerofthedagger

if you've already been tagged, sowwy, this is me just saying hi then 🥰 hi ily I hope you are having a wonderful day or night, wherever you are 💕✨

[navree]

What about the Baratheons in the book?

Renly - Renly's fine, he's just not someone that compels me in any way and he does kinda tend to come off as more of a wannabe-Jaime to me than anyone who's interesting in his own right. Plus he's a dick and it takes a lot for me to get fond of characters who are deliberate assholes, and that generally involves them being self aware and having a purpose to it than Renly, who's just a bored pretty boy with too much time on his hands. Best way I can describe Renly is he's the Brucie Wayne personal of Bruce Wayne without any of the hidden depths or complexities, and also if he lived in medieval times. There's elements of Renly I can get behind, like Stannis says, the boy he once was seems to have been very sweet and bright and that does sometimes make me Sad, not to mention his relationship with his brothers holds a wealth of drama that makes him interesting enough.

Robert - I hate Robert. Like, I really, really hate Robert Baratheon, with the burning passion of the sun. I find him to be such an unimaginable asshole and I'm glad his death was slow and long suffering. I think it's entirely valid of Lyanna to not want to marry him for being a philanderer and an ass of a person (even though I don't approve of the 24 year old grown married man with two kids swooping in and taking advantage of that and starting a war in the process) and I think it's very very valid of Cersei to want him dead and to not miss him after he raped and abused her for years. Not to mention, perhaps it's just me, but if you keep sending assassins after innocent children (Viserys and Dany were innocent and clearly were in real danger) and condoning the absolute butchery of Elia and her children because they were "dragonspawn", then you deserve to get beaned in the head with a chair forever. Fuck him, he sucks.

Stannis - Stannis 👏 the 👏 mannis 👏👏👏 I love him. He's another top character in ASOIAF for me, I do adore him. For one, he's a character archetype that I love, I love the outwardly emotionless, cold characters with a good mind and a firm belief in themselves who have hidden depths that very few see (and there's not a lot I approve of what the show did with Stannis but the scenes with him and Shireen, minus the last one, were top tier), so I'm incredibly predisposed to liking him on that alone. For two, as a character he's so wonderful. I can't find the post but someone said that Stannis's arc is just "what if an account was mistake as a world saving fire sword wielding hero of ancient prophecy" which is what it is and that's very funny. But Stannis as someone who feels shoved into this role not because he wanted it, because Stannis has never wanted anything of what he's had to deal with, not the dead parents or the issues with his family or having to settle for Dragonstone and certainly not being Robert's legitimate heir, but because he has to, because he has an ironclad sense of justice and wants to do what's right even if it's against his own wishes? That fucks. That fucks really hard. Stannis has a very strong sense of right and wrong, it's why what happens to Renly tears him up so much, not just because of the love he had for his brother but because it goes directly against his moral code, and considering all the grey morality of ASOIAF, that's very fun to watch. There's also this great element of Stannis in that we are never in his head, we only ever see him through the eyes of others, primarily Davos. So we see and hear about his bad qualities, his intransigence and stunning lack of charisma, from peoople who don't care for him and are on opposite sides of him, but we also see him through the eyes of someone who really loves him. Someone who views Stannis as the best there is, in spite of those qualities, and through that we can see Stannis in that light too. We can see the boy who was tenderhearted enough to nurse Proudwing, who clung to his atheism not due to any beliefs but just because of how upset he was when his parents died, the seventeen year old who had to fight against his own morals ("my king or my brother, my blood or my liege" GOD) for the sake of family, who starved himself in the service of his brother's war and was probably giving as much of his food as he could to his little brother, who accepted Davos into his service with a minor punishment and who clearly relied on him and loved him in turn just as much as Davos did. The complexities and the layers to Stannis are amazing, I love him so much. And his claim is the most legitimate one besides, even if he's not gonna get the throne in the end. Also, Stannis and Davos. Just read any of the chapters where they share scenes, they're gay as Hell.

[noxtivagus]

DEATH UNTO DAWN ON SPOTIFY 🥹🫶🏼