#also just a reminder to anyone reading: i'm pretty behind in my asks lol and i post them thru my queue so this ask was sent

[bthump]

Ok so in your about you said miura has an "inability to conceive of someone’s dark side without rape coming into the equation." Now idk if you mean the BOD but if you are, miura didn't do that out of an inability. He did that to show just how truly screwed Guts is because in that moment the beast is trying to break Guts's spirit by making him act like the person he hates the most so it can eventually ware him down enough to take over completely but it backfired because then his companions joined

That was an exasperated exaggeration, there are plenty examples of characters doing evil things that aren't rape.

However I completely disagree with your take on the Beast of Darkness. It's Guts' own dark impulses, not an outside entity forcing him to assault people.

Here are some more thorough explanations for why that's the case.

[yumeka-sxf]

I'm finally home from my vacation and able to discuss the latest SxF chapter...all I can say is, I have a lot to say! I'll start with funny stuff first before I move on to analyzing...

Anya was especially hilarious in this chapter - where do I even start with her gremlin-ness? 😂 First off, there's her calling the butlers "henchlings' henchlings" (in the Japanese version, I believe she's using some mispronunciation of 弟子, which means "follower")

Then she calls out Twilight for being, well, Twilight, even giving his behavior its own acronym 🤣

She feels bad for George because his family isn't important enough for Twilight's aforementioned Twilighting 😅

And this doozy of a nickname for Bill!

In the Japanese version, she calls him something like "old man bully who hits people with balls" 😆

But joking aside, we get these profound words from Jeeves that seem to resonate with Twilight.

His words remind Twilight of the hypocrisy of his position: on the one hand, he agrees with Jeeves and wants the children to be able to grow up as they wish, without being burdened by the expectations of their parents. But that's exactly what he's been corralling Anya towards this whole time...doing whatever's best for Operation Strix, regardless of what may be best for her.

This scene reminded me of his musings when they first took Bond to the dog park; another case where he's aware that the morals he believes in are the opposite of his actions and yet...he continues with the mission.

I also think it's great that the other parents thank Anya for her bravery during the bus hijacking. Even if their kids don't act grateful, the parents should be on their behalf. Perhaps seeing this praise for Anya right before his eyes is what made Twilight feel even more guilt upon hearing Jeeves' words - he's seeing more and more what an exceptional girl she is despite not having the perfect traits for his mission, and yet he's still manipulating her (not realizing she's aware of the mission and wants to help).

But on that note, it's nice to see that George's dad and Becky's mom somewhat agree with Jeeves. As of now, I'd say out of all the Eden kids we've gotten to know, George and Becky seem to have the most decent families. I especially like how Becky's dad is adorably doting, to the point where he gets crushed when Becky asks Yor for help instead of him 😅 Also Martha having to reel him in, lol.

But despite being an overbearing dad, at least he isn't quick to jump on Loid supposedly "seducing" Becky 😂 He seems to not take it seriously, which is good since Becky is the one making the moves with her silly little girl crush.

Also Emile thinking Yor is pretty~ I'm surprised he had something nice to say about anyone connected to Anya, lol. I really want a chapter where Yor takes all the Eden kids on a playdate and they start thinking she's awesome like Becky does, even Damian.

Speaking of Yor, just when I thought she would be demoted to "background character" for whatever arc is coming, the last few panels give the impression that she'll have her next moment in the spotlight soon! Is she just destined to always catch Melinda when she falls? 😅

Not only are we getting more Yor/Melinda interactions next time, but also (hopefully) more of Anya reading Melinda's mind. I know there's theories floating around of how Donovan may be able to read minds and is possibly the one behind the experiments done on Anya, and that Melinda may have some psychic abilities too. Also some relation to that Arnold Crowley character introduced several chapters ago. I'm not good at theorizing, so I'll leave it to fans who are better with that kind of stuff 😅 But I think they're all good theories and I'm keeping my fingers crossed we'll get more insight into Desmond secrets very soon!

...but unfortunately the next new chapter won't be until November 25th, so we'll have to be satisfied with theories for now!

[seraphtrevs]

Hi!

Idk if anyone asked this before, but I really wanna know you opinion on Lalo's tattoo? I thought why they kept it? Is it just because it looks cool or Is it because it fits Lalo? Or no reason behind it all?

I think meaning fits Lalo quite well, but dying to know what do you think!

So this has been sitting in my inbox for months - sorry! 😅 I decided this ask was a great excuse to finally read the Tao Te Ching, which I'd been meaning to do for a long time, so I did that, and then I realized that it will probably take a lifetime to understand it, and maybe it should be less than a lifetime before I answered this ask.

Anyway. I think the real reason they didn't conceal the tattoo was because that would take time and effort better spent elsewhere. It's complete in character for a cartel operative to have a tattoo, so why bother to cover it up?

But that's a boring answer, and I think we can have more fun with it. Because I think you can make a case for this being Lalo's tattoo, not just Tony's. Come, take my hand, and let us indulge in some headcanons~

So let's take a look at it: (I found this on pinterest here, but no artist was credited. If anyone knows who it is, lmk!) ETA - art is by Artmetica - ty @reztruck!

The most prominent aspect is the yin-yang symbol. When he holds his arm palm up, it's staring him straight in the face. That makes it easy for him to look at, maybe as a reminder. So why would Lalo, violent cartel don, get a tattoo of a yin-yang?

My headcanon is that Lalo is a reader. He canonically only gets a couple hours of sleep a night (like - this is literally impossible, but he's kind of an impossible person. maybe it's really a couple more, but let's just say that he gets by on much less sleep than the average joe.) So what's he doing with all that time? There's only so much slithering around you can do in the dead of night. We know he likes to use his quiet time to think, and what better way to come up with stuff to think about than to read?

He's a curious and intelligent person - I'm sure he likes to read on a wide variety of subjects. Maybe when he was a young man, he had some questions about the meaning of it all and went looking for it in books. And maybe he came across a copy of the Tao Te Ching and took it to heart. (Well, not all of it - he is, after all, a violent drug dealer who kills without remorse lol)

I've always attributed Lalo's lack of fear to his psychopathy, which it is for the most part. But psychopathy doesn't entirely explain him, does it? Psychopaths aren't known for their emotional stability, but Lalo rarely loses his cool and seems in a good mood most of the time. It's not that he doesn't ever lose his temper, but he's able to calm down quickly. He's such a go-with-the-flow guy that he even laughed off his own death.

Wu wei is an important concept in Taoism. It's active non-action, or effortless action - instead of forcing your will on the universe, be in tune with it. Go with the flow. And that's pretty much how Lalo operates. Unlike Gus, who has many meticulous plots and never leaves anything up to chance, Lalo jumps in head first and figures things out as he goes. This makes him a good detective - he goes where his leads take him (all the way to Germany sometimes). It also means he's able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

For example, when he's spying on the chicken farm in 4x10, he springs into action when he realizes something's up and is almost able to catch Werner. When his house comes under fire in the middle of the night in 5x10, he immediately switches gears and is able to beat a team of assassins single-handedly by going with the flow, effortlessly taking every opportunity as it arises (using the frying pan of hot oil to blind an attacker, using Ciro's body as a shield, doubling back on his attackers to take them by surprise, etc.) When he learns that Gus bugged the phone at the nursing home, he loses his shit for a minute, pulls himself together, and then spots a cockroach, thinks of Jimmy, and he's off on a completely new path, wasting no time second-guessing himself. There's no reason to get too worked up when things don't go your way, because a new way is bound to open itself up to you if you pay attention.

(That's not to say he never plans - for example, he set up his body double in case he ever needed to fake his death. But I think that was probably also a product of wu wei - by random chance he meets a guy who looks a lot like him, and so he thinks "hey this could be useful later.")

So yeah, I definitely think this could be Lalo's tattoo, not just Tony's! It actually explains a lot about his approach to life.

[fandomscraziness22]

ok this is mostly a list for @tangledstarlight who asked for bellarke fic recs, but is also for anyone who wants them!

alrighty im gonna kinda put these in some semblance of an order-ish lol, we shall see how it goes

vengeance is a dish best served cold -- slight au from 1x09, ANGST YESSSSS i love this fic so much we love to see early bellarke The meeting with the Grounders didn't go quite as planned. Now they're torturing Clarke, and hell hath no fury like Bellamy scorned.

Tears of August -- au from s2 ending, very long and not finished fic but i remember it being very good. accidental baby acquisition! and bellarke cuteness! this one is kinda famous i think?? i don't think i ever fully read it all lol She grabbed his hand and held it tight, checking over her shoulder. “Listen, okay. I’m his mother now, and I always will be, but he wasn’t always mine, Bellamy. I found him.”

who's taking care of you? -- s2finale au where bellarke are stuck in a cave and clarke has to reckon with what mount weather did to bellamy I thought about how the show never acknowledged Bellamy's torture in Mount Weather once it was over and it made me so mad that I wrote 7000 words about it.

so this is how rumors get started -- s2au where bellarke gets mistaken for being married lol, i enjoyed this one a lot! (is rated E for steamy stuff so if that's not your jam then no worries) Or: Bellamy is not as fluent in Trig as he thinks he is

then the ice runs through her veins -- 3x04 divergent, bellamy captured/tortured and clarke to the rescue GOD I LOVE ANGSTY BELLARKE The Ice Nation takes Bellamy hostage in an effort to learn Clarke’s secrets. Or — Azgeda tries to get at Wanheda through her greatest weakness, but Clarke’s not about to just let the Ice Queen send her Bellamy’s head in a box.

Common Ground -- season 4 speculation fic, INCREDIBLE i have reread this one multiple times Or: Earth is the Titanic, and there aren't enough lifeboats. Bellamy doesn't think he deserves to be on one. listne i know that's the description but that STICKS WITH ME!!!!!

you still have hope? -- s4 THE LIST SCENE i'm pretty sure i have a bunch of these ones saved lol because how can you not??? Clarke is no Titan, but in the rare quiet moments when Bellamy brings up ancient myths, she can’t help but empathize with Atlas. Except instead of the weight of the world on her shoulders, it is in the palm of her hand, millions of pounds weighing down her pen as she marks the page, each swoop of her handwriting taking strength Clarke isn’t sure she has. It’s not a burden she chose to carry, but now it’s one she must. If she doesn’t bear this weight, who will?

Bites, Bites -- another s4 List scene!! “The new hundred,” Bellamy observes from over her shoulder. She hadn’t realised he was standing right behind her. “Why is it always a hundred?” “The universe must have a taste for irony," she says, tapping the pen on the desk. She's getting very tired of the universe's antics of late.

you were clearly meant for more, than a life lost in the war --post s4, the Ring hears Clarke once a year. unfinished but soooooooo good and sad!!!! (They hear from Clarke once a year, and this is how it happens, but first: first, they mourn.)

is he alright, all alone? -- another post s4 sad bellamy fic because that's who i am as a person They’ve all tried different ways to get him to open up, so to speak.

The Wall Between Us -- 5x10 au clarke goes back to fight for bellamy, i don't remember this one as well but i do know it was good!! Clarke goes back to the bunker to fight for Bellamy's life, even though his words from the day before echo in her mind, reminding her where she really stands.

Come Get A Hold Of Me -- s6 touchstarved Clarke my absolute beloved, this fic i have also reread multiple times and i love it Clarke is overwhelmed by the intensity of being around a civilization after six years of solitude with Madi. She is also very touch-starved. Bellamy notices.

and it goes like this -- s6 clarke thoughts about bellamy! Clarke has always known Bellamy loved her. She’s just never thought she was good enough for it.

Forfeit -- 6x12 speculation, feat. bellarke kissinggggggg to throw off the suspicions we love to see it When Russell captures Bellamy and demands proof of her identity, Clarke is forced to think fast.

We shall not cross into an unfamiliar land -- clarke can see ghosts and this fic is so good! (AU where Clarke see ghosts and is the Commander of Death in more than one way)

now for some AU fics!

It's something sinister to love (without regard for dear tomorrow) -- met on the ark/ghosts au, by our wonderful friend @pink-flame (who probs also has some good bellarke recs!!) When the ghost of the Alpha Station Princess turns up in his quarters, Bellamy knows he has enough on his plate without getting involved in her problems. He just wants her to figure out her unfinished business and move on. As things start to unravel on the Ark their relationship begins to change until he would follow her anywhere. Even hell.

Passing of the Skye Boat -- ok this is an outlander au that's pretty epic!! i know very little about outlander but i enjoyed this one! (s2 and on becomes au) After returning from war as an army nurse, Clarke and her fiancé are exploring Washington D.C. as a way to relearn each other due to their time apart. But when Clarke stumbles across a NASA exhibit about ways to prevent the human race from dying from nuclear war – by way of livable space ship they are calling the ‘Ark’ – Clarke is transported elsewhere, and into another war.

If the Right One Came Along -- modern au where Clarke works at a library and Bellamy comes back home. it's really long but also really good!!!! The fact that it’s with her former best friend-slash-crush isn’t a big deal. After all, their arrangement is only for the few weeks he’s in town before he returns to his celebrity life. That’s definitely not enough time for her to fall for him again…

I Found Peace in Your Violence -- THIS IS THE COOLEST FIC I HAVE EVER READ!!! it's a very unique modern au where a "kill gene" has been found and they send everyone to a special school for it. i think of this one every time i hear that song, but also this is just such a good one. another long one, but man alive it's real good Clarke Griffin has it all. She’s popular, an artistic prodigy and has a wealthy family to boot. So when her perfect world comes crashing down around her, it’s time to sink or swim. She tests positive for the Homicidal Tendency Syndrome gene, also known as the kill gene. Clarke is plucked from her comfortable life and placed into a school with people just like her - carriers, delinquents.

What's A Little Quaffle Between Friends? -- hp au where Clarke has to patch up quidditch player bellamy a bunch, i remember this one being very witty and banter-y? (haven't read it in a while so don't quote me on that lol) Bellamy gets injured in a Quidditch game and gets sent to the hospital wing, where Clarke volunteers during her free periods. She checks up on him during the night, and the next time he gets injured, she happens to be there again. Then it keeps happening.

Your words on my skin -- modern soulmate au that's pretty cute! Clarke is nine when she realises she has a soulmate.

in grief, Demeter circles the earth -- super unique au, mashing s3 and s5 in a really cool way!! havne't read this one in a while but i remember it being amazing. also very long "Not a ship from the sea," Indra snaps, a split second before Monty draws in a sharp, shocked breath. "A ship from the sky." Clarke understands before the others do. "You think Skaikru did it," she says softly.

ok we gotta give @pawprinterfanfic props for coming up with such good au fics for them because ahhhhhhh these last ones are all by them!!!!

a castle in the clouds -- star wars au because why the heck not?? it's soooooo good i do love this one or: a princess falls in love with a criminal over the course of a week and a day

starry eyes and galaxy minds -- spiderman au that i remember being super cute and fun!!! Five times Clarke Griffin met Spider-Man and the one time she met Bellamy Blake.

Simple Pleasures -- hunger games au MY BELOVED this fic is long but soooooo good!!!! Clarke is a medic from District 6. More importantly, she’s a dangerous criminal in the eyes of the Capitol. It isn’t a surprise when she is reaped for the 45th Hunger Games; it’s the only way for the Capitol to silence her. Bellamy spent his life protecting his younger sister. When Octavia volunteers for the Games to honour their district, he knows it’s his responsibility to follow her into the arena. He would give anything for her to become the Victor, even his safety. When they meet in the Capitol, Clarke can’t deny the connection she feels to him. He makes her feel more than a sacrifice. He makes her feel hope. She knows it’s dangerous to trust others, especially when in the arena, but why deny herself some final few simple pleasures?

Paint me in Trust -- MY OTHER FAV FIC OF ALL TIME this is an hp au but like, set during the war where they're on the run AND IT'S SO GOOD!! very long and also rated E but that doesn't come in for a while and you could easily skip if wanted Somehow, she finds her way to a safe house where she meets with other wizards and witches on the run.

[inverted-flowers]

So... Those Secret Life tarot predictions I've been doing huh? Well it's Grian's turn! Reminder that you don't really need to know anything about Tarot Cards. If you're curious though it's just a simple 5 card spread I made specifically for this. Also I did this on November 2nd of 2023 (it's a Thursday) cuz I'll probably decide to schedule this as to not spam the tags lol.

First Card - Start

So this card was rough because while I was placing it I turned it without thinking about it (which I like never do). I had to debate whether to interpret it upright (how it would've been had I not turned it) or reversed (how it was when flipped it over). As I said in the very first post, I'm doing these as practice so this is also just a 'well wtf do I do in this situation' sort of milestone. In the end I've decided to interpret it as upright with a kind of side note of reversal... if that makes sense... I'm gonna combine the meanings a little bit!

I drew the Ace of Wands... uh... funky style. (Sure that makes sense right? /silly) This card is describing Grian's start of Secret Life as involving a lot of hard work. There could be some minor setbacks but he'll likely work through them fine enough. He'll probably have a great time, honestly, if this card has any truth to it.

Second Card - Individual

This card is describing how Grian does in the game basically. For it I drew the reversed 8 of Swords. He survives through the more difficult first part of starting in a new life series world. So far he's doing very well too so this is supported! If you've seen his episodes you'll know he's not exactly down a whole lot of hearts yet. This card also talks about being open to change and new opportunities. What new opportunities? I'm so glad you asked. To the next card!

Third Card - Social

This card is meant to describe how Secret Life goes for Grian on the social end of this series. I drew the Death card which made me laugh. The death card is about change, rebirth, and transitioning from one phase to another. My brain immediately went to how everyone and their grandma were drawing comparisons between his first ep with Scar on the camel and third life. This makes me think he's either not going to team up with anyone or if he does it'll be someone he hasn't yet and well... So far it's looking like the former! It makes that lil' comparison extra fun cuz this is saying he'll be putting the past expirences behind for something new.

Fourth Card - Big Impact

I drew the reversed Page of Pentacles which is wild cuz I drew that for Joel too but as his season end. Here I drew it for Grian's 4th card which is describing what makes the greatest impact for him this season. This card talks about a lack of progress and getting lost in the details. He might get too caught up in something and forget about his task.

Fifth Card - End

I drew the 3 of Pentacles for how Grian'll end Secret Life. This card talks about collaboration and learning. He's probably very secure in his beliefs... except that those beliefs might be a strict adherence to the rules which could ultimately cause him more problems than necessary. It also means he could take the advice and criticisms of his fellow players pretty well.

So do I think this reading is predicting Grian to win? Not in the slightest. 3 of pentacles really feeling like a participation trophy here lol. Like 'yay you learned things and got to make content with all these lovely people!' Not exactly something screaming he's gonna win. If I had to take a gander as to how it goes down, I'd reckon he gets distracted and fails a hard task or fails his normal tasks multiple times (based on the 4th card). That would then somehow push him to be more strict with rule following (based on the 5th card). If that is what happens, the fail would probably happen either soon and then affect the majority of his season or later when he's low. Maybe it's what turns him red.

[masterwords]

Hello, do you mind if I ask for a lot at once for the OTPs one? They're just too good to resist 💙

(20) Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

(22) What reminds each of their partner?

(42) What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

(51) What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

(48) Who's the better driver? - I feel like having to preface this by saying I mean it ordinarily and not when they're after unsubs probably means it's not Hotch, but...

Also #59 made me lol given the many many conversations had about that particular question and Hotchgan already

Do I mind the chance to go fully feral about them? No, sir, I do not mind at all. <3

20. Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

Oh...oh no. There are so many! ONE SONG?! Okay I'm gonna do two, because there is one that screams them on-screen, and one that screams them in my head. And so you get two.

On screen, I always think about "Trust" by The Cure.

There's no-one left in the world That I can hold onto There is really no-one left at all There is only you And if you leave me now You leave all that we were Undone There is really no-one left You are the only one And still the hardest part for you To put your trust in me I love you more than I can say Why won't you just believe?

And then the Them in my head, their theme song is "Restless Heart" by Peter Cetera. For all the reasons.

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Well, first of all they are both sentimental fools. That's a fact. Sunrises and coffee breath, the sensations of an early morning run. Gunpowder and shredded paper at the firing range. Popcorn and icy condensation pooling on a sticky bar table. The smell of hotel shampoo and dusty air conditioning and the echo of walking down a new yet always the same carpeted hallway every day/week/month. I think they travel so often together that anything has potential to be a reminder - when you do so much life with a person, they are woven into every aspect of it.

42. What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

I'm going to speak to their older years, when the adrenaline junkies settle down a little and learn how to enjoy moments. LOL While I do think they can find a way to enjoy almost anything together, I think a heat wave has to be it for them. Grilling in the backyard, gardening, drinking iced tea by the gallon. Derek can walk around naked if he's so inclined (and there isn't anyone around to see), Hotch can nap in the hammock, and life is good. But a good snowstorm in Chicago, the kind where you have to dig yourself out of your doorway just to go get your mail, the kind where you drag your kid's sled behind you down to the corner store to haul your groceries home because no one can drive...is a nice way of forcing them to settle down a bit. To just sit quietly in their snow-insulated home, curled up beneath blankets and watching movies or reading books, cooking and sleeping.

51. What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

Oh you know I'm a sucker for this one. So much of what they do is nonverbal. The things these two can say to one another with just a look. Derek learns how to make coffee the way Hotch likes it, he learns the exact measurements because he might not care that much (coffee is coffee), Hotch does. He would never turn his nose up at caffeine, even terrible police station slop, but there are just certain things that he enjoys and it's a pretty small sacrifice to pull out the measuring spoons in order to see that look of bliss when it's exactly right. And Hotch, touch-starved king, loves to rub Derek's shoulders. And back and feet and whatever else he's tweaked by running full speed into danger.

48. Who's the better driver?

Uh...sorry Hotch. Just because you do most of the driving thanks to your need to control (or your intense car sickness) doesn't mean you're the better driver, it just means you're the boss. LOL I do imagine Derek is actually a pretty good driver. He learned to drive in the congested streets of Chicago, he worked as a cop which meant a lot of driving time, he rides a motorcycle, I bet he's got some very good driving music intuition...I just think he's probably got a very good sense of direction (hello vibing it) and he's comfortable behind the wheel. When boiled down, I just don't think Hotch likes to drive as much as Derek does, like the simple act of driving doesn't bring him pleasure like it does Derek, he simply needs to. And therein lies the difference to me.

AHAHAHAA. Oh...59. That's a hard no from me, dawg.

want me to talk about hotchgan? i will...at length...and hey, if you don't vibe with those questions, ask some of your own. i'll talk about them all day.

[dragonsoftheeast]

For the directors cut ask: do you remember writing not born, but raised? You captured Guzman‘s feelings after Marina‘s death so vividly. Chapter 8 was heartbreaking to me and I’d love to hear anything you have to say about it. Bonus: how you would have written Guzman‘s thoughts/feelings towards Lu at the beginning of season two (you know me 😅)

Man, I'm so glad you asked me about this- it was so fun to write that! If anyone wants to check it out, you can find it here: not born but raised. And if anyone else wants some behind the scenes looks at my fics, just send me the ask!

Apologies for the essay response, but if there's anyone I can respond with loads of words about Elite to, it's you.

I've always used novelizations as a writing practice (it really helps me with body language since I can't visualize), but this was the first time I ever showed anyone. Getting into Guzman's head was everything for me, and I knew if there's anything this boy does, it's deny, deny, deny. And Miguel did such a perfect denial in his first reaction to Marina's death, that I just had to extend it. Listening to the cast reading of the finale was also incredible help, the actors were so attached to their characters! Maria's reaction to Guzman's line of "Because you know if something happens to them, maybe they had it coming.” made me know that had to be such an important line for him. It had to haunt him.

The trickiest thing to me was actually piecing together those interrogation scenes into something reasonable, like an actual flow of conversation. Cause I had transcribed that the whole season long and I rearranged that conversation so many ways to try and make it make sense.

And I do know you! And just to answer your question, I'll give you the opening lines I wrote for the season 2 novelization.

In the rules of geometry, the strongest structures have three sides. In the realm of grief, however, it seems that these rules don’t apply. His parents find support in each other, if not comfort. None of them will ever find comfort again. But the balance of their family, two parents, two children, is disrupted, and they don’t know how to support him.  Lu tries. They have sex that’s supposed to remind him that he’s alive, or at the very least wants to be. She holds him when he ultimately breaks down in his sleep, the thought of Marina’s misshapen head too much for him to bear. For most of the summer, he drinks, though Lu pulls the bottle away from him whenever she can. For that, he loves and hates her hands in equal measure.

So there you have it! Lu and Guzman's relationship is really messy in that I think they are very complacent when they are with each other. Lu is very complicated and smart (I know you know that), but when it comes to trying to get someone to not do something, she tends to stick to her one strategy, verbally lashing out. And while I love the zingers, it's not the best way to get into Guzman's head (since that is also his strategy). So to me, he's grateful to her, he owes his life to her, but I think he ends up resenting her on two opposing fronts- on the one hand, keeping him from the self-destruction he desires, on the other, not being effective enough to actually keep him from that self-destruction.

I actually have episodes/chapters 1 and 2 written out, but I wasn't sure whether I should post it when I'm not sure I can finish the season and the fandom seems pretty dead (let me know if you're still interested lol). But if you wanna see more of Guzman grieving Marina, I have some tearjerkers in there, if I do say so myself.

[trillscienceofficer]

First Sentence Tag Game

Rules: Share the first lines of your ten most recent fics and tag ten people.

Many thanks to @thegreatbajoranschismof2369 for tagging me!!

My most recent fic is technically one I can't talk about publicly yet (still unrevealed in a fanwork exchange event), but here are the first sentences of the other nine, from most to least recent:

Erano accampate da tre giorni su di un lastrone di roccia, poco sotto il Passo Ratosha. (Sotto il Passo Ratosha) this is a Kira/Dax fic I wrote in Italian, in which Kira and Jadzia are camped in the Dahkur Hills, among Kira's recollections of the Resistance. I've been meaning to write an English version of it for months; this sentence can be read as “They'd been camped for three days on a rock sheet, just under the Ratosha Pass.”

There is something not quite right with B’Elanna. (Even when I'm not, I am) a B'Elanna/Seven fic + established B'Elanna/Harry/Tom, my take on the aftermath of the shared consciousness plot from the Voyager novel “String Theory - Cohesion” by Jeffrey Lang (the first chapter is a quote from said novel, so I'm not counting it for the meme).

2230 hours is a good time as any to leave Quark’s, Kira figures. (Mistaken for Strangers) The latest entry in my longstanding Kira/Cretak series of fic that I started five years ago (damn does the time pass). In this one, Kira and Cretak have a secret affair on the station, and Kira is reminded of her old resistance cell.

The doorbell chimes and B’Elanna shoots up from the couch, her body as tense as a compressed spring. (Doing The Unstuck) This is from the 4.5k of B'Elanna/Seven smut I wrote last December—I do love coming up with physics-related images eheh

B’Elanna wakes up with a start, heart-rate spiking as her conscious mind informs her that what she’s hearing is the klaxon of a yellow alert and she needs to get up, get dressed and be out of her quarters. (Let's go back, let's go back and start again) This is from my ongoing B'Elanna/Seven + B'Elanna&Harry time loop fic which... I haven't updated in months but I haven't forgotten it either, I promise!

Harry lifts his mug up to his nose, brows furrowing. (Projecting) A mostly humorous B'Elanna/Seven fic, in which B'Elanna is dared to ask Seven to go bouldering together... they get into climbing (and into each other) more than B'Elanna could ever imagine.

“Did anyone see you getting here?” (Reset) The first B'Elanna/Seven fic I ever posted on AO3! Loved getting to write Seven's POV here, and exploring the messiness inherent in such a (secret) relationship.

Ezri’s first attempt to talk to Seven of Nine had every right to be in Dax’s top ten most awkward experiences. (Patterns of Interference) This is an Ezri/Seven fic set at Starfleet Academy immediately post-Voyager canon, and the first line is pretty indicative of what happens in the fic lol. I loved exploring how these two characters would cope with endings and the messiness of seeing their own 'found families' slowly disintegrate in front of their eyes.

The crew scatters in Discovery’s hallways in small groups, laughter and chatter echoing behind them. (Possession) A Star Trek: Discovery Keyla/Joann fic, a sort of 'episode aftermath' of 3x04 “Forget Me Not”, about the way the Keyla can't seem to cope with failure.

I tag @nebulouscoffee @worflesbian @cordrazine-official @mylittleredgirl @bumblingbabooshka and anyone else who feels like doing this meme (tag me in it so I can see it in that case—but also no pressure whatsoever about doing this!)

[liiilyevans]

What's your top 10 Harry Potter favorite characters?

Literally the most difficult questions in the world! AHHHH!

1. Ginny/George Weasley

We've got the Weasleys battling it out for the top spot because I honestly could not choose between them. I love Ginny's fire and her charisma. @harryissuchalittleshit and I discuss all the time the complexities to her character and her storyline. (This is a reminder to myself to write more Ginny in the future. Hold me accountable, Becky!) And then there's George, whose voice will be forever burned into my brain. I love a good healing arc and no one has a better healing arc than George Weasley, imo. Plus, he's the epitome of angst, and ya'll know I can never say no to angst.

2. James Potter

The man who brought me to the fandom. I love James. He's undeniably brave and unwaveringly loyal and terribly charismatic. I think leadership comes easily to him, and I love writing that. I think he's one of those people that others look up to, and that serves him well throughout his days at Hogwarts and the war. He's also not afraid to show his vulnerable side. You cannot tell me this man did not cry when Sirius Black turned up at his doorstep covered in bruises and with no where to go or when he married the love of his life because he absolutely did. Also, he's the president of the hot dads club so he's got to be pretty high up on my list.

3. Lily Evans

Can you tell I'm a fan of redheads lol? Anyways, Lily comes in third because of her compassion and her belief that others can be good. I think she's a very forgiving, but that doesn't mean you can walk all over her. You can see that in her friendship with Snape. There's a line in the sand and once you cross that line, she's done with you. Lily is great and wonderful. The only reason she's not number two is because I find her harder to write than James. James wears his heart on his sleeve, and Lily is more reserved, not closed off, just more reserved, and sometimes I have trouble with that. (And it's funny because most of my Jily fics are written from her POV.)

4. Angelina Johnson

This woman has me in a death grip. I think she's bold and blunt and caring all rolled into one and she's just fucking amazing. She takes absolutely no shit from anyone. I think she's the kind of person that I aspire to be but am too nice to be. So, if you ever read any of my fics and she's telling someone off, know that I am behind the scenes screaming 'YAS QUEEN' at my computer screen. I also think she cares deeply about those close to her. She doesn't show those emotions outwardly - only to certain people - but if you need someone to come bail you out of jail at 2 in the morning, no questions asked, Angelina is the person you call.

5. Ron Weasley

Are you surprised to see another redhead in the top five? Because you shouldn't be. I fucking love Ron Weasley, and I love to write from his POV. I think he's hilarious and his humor is very underrated. If you want to see prime Ron humor, go read Decision Making. He's doing the most in that fic and giving so much sass. Also, can we talk about how this guy is smart? Like super smart. Not book smart though, like street smart/strategic. Ron is the reason that Harry doesn't end up with his arm blown off when they first become Aurors, and you cannot convince me otherwise.

6. Astoria Greengrass

I have sadly not put out enough fics with this woman in them. I think she's such a spitfire, and she pushes Draco's buttons so well. Personal headcanon time! She was one of the few Slytherin purebloods who advocated for Muggleborns during her years at Hogwarts. She also helped any Muggleborns who were sorted into Slytherin (don't tell me there weren't any because there were), and did her best to make them feel at home. She wanted to join the DA, but knew that they would never trust her because of her house. She goes on to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and actually develops a good working relationship with Harry. I could write a book on this woman. (And don't tell me she died because we do not stan CC in this house.)

7. Katie Bell

Another lovely lady who I have put out very little about, but have written quite a bit. I think she's one of the kindest people in the series besides Lily Evans. She goes on to be a Healer and run St. Mungo's after she saw how much they did for her when she was cursed. I think she's an incredibly for forgiving person and also incredibly loyal. She and George have an older brother/younger sister relationship, which is another reason why I love her.

8. Hermione Granger

Hermione is a little harder for me to write because sometimes I find her annoying and roll my eyes at her (much like Ron does). But I still love her and her character and her smarts. I think she's very book smart, but lacks streets smarts. (which is why Romione works so well, imo) But I love her, and Harry and Ron would not have made it without her. She kept their heads above water for sure. I feel like she uses a lot of big fancy words when she thinks so I've always got a thesaurus and dictionary pulled up when I write from her POV.

9. Draco Malfoy

It's the redemption arc for me. I think Draco grows so much after the war and writing that is always fun for me. He's definitely still a snob, but it's more general and less directed than before. Also, I love his banter with Astoria. Like I don't particularly care for writing him pre-HBP so that's why he's this far down on this list.

10. Harry Potter

Are you surprised by this lol? There is a reason Harry is number ten though. And that is because I struggle to write him A LOT. For being the main character, I have a very difficult time writing his POV. (Any recommendations on writing him would be greatly appreciated because I'm currently working on a hinny multi chapter fic.) But I love his sense of humor and his sarcasm. (I mean, 'there's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor,' how can you beat that?)

Hope you enjoyed this!

[thedawningofthehour]

I really don't want chapter 33 to come, thanks to a certain birthday present, I can more or less get an idea of what will happen and ARRGG!!! no fair!!!! Why the heck are you giving us hope if you're going to close the door on us at the last minute and break our noses in the process!!!!

I'm still firm in my opinion that Doth is more painful than lemonade leak, because you really don't know what's going on until the middle of the fic and when you finally realize it there are only like ten chapters left for the pain to end, here you know perfectly well what's going on and you have to wait until DOUBLE the angst to get to the comfort part, and I know for others it's not like that but I really can't enjoy the galois parts because of all that's behind the curtain.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that there is a happy ending and that donnie will be reunited with his siblings, but sometimes they are hard.

So much so that I've been tempted to ask you for a look at the outline just to ease my worries, but I haven't gotten to that point yet, and I emphasize yet.

Seriously, if the author wasn't so fucking charismatic I would have paused and waited for book three to be complete. But no~ my desire to hear this person talk about her bird is beyond me.

Fuck, now I want a birdie too!

I was actually thinking of posting today, but then I remembered that school is back in session. I want to try to post on the weekend so you high school fucks don't read in class. Also September 20th is kind of a bad day for me. I dunno, it just felt like bad luck to post a big deal chapter on that day.

I have redone a lot of what I sent you, so it doesn't really sound like that anymore? It's slightly more comical now, but that was never the angsty part lol.

My outline would be incomprehensible to anyone other than myself-hell, it's incomprehensible to me half the time. The siblings will be reunited, they'll heal, and the world doesn't end. I'm not pulling a Game of Thrones here. I believe in happy endings.

DO NOOOOOT GET A BIRD. Especially just because you see something cute online! They are extremely loud, messy, and require a ton of work and attention. Many of them are ridiculously smart too, and will get bored as such. They need to be out of their cages most of the day-Angel spends probably 8-10 hours out with me, and he actually spends more time in his sleeping cage now because he's old. They need to be constantly entertained and are always in your face, especially if you're doing anything with food. Like, half the time I have to imprison Angel in the bathroom while I eat, because despite giving him his own portion he will climb onto my plate and eat off it. Or sit on my shoulder and steal bites as I bring it to my mouth. It's like having a flighted toddler with a can opener on its face. They're incredibly destructive-I made a joke earlier about him eating my mom's plants but we seriously have tons of furniture with little beak marks in them.

And Angel is a cockatiel. They're fairly small, considered relatively low-maintenance birds. Sun conures are the loudest things you'll ever hear. A cockatoo is smart enough to open their own cage and speak using human words. A macaw once reached over a plucked a button from my mother's sweater, snapping in clean in half in a flat second. That was over forty years ago and that macaw is probably still alive, many big birds have lifespans that rival or even exceed a human's. If you get one of those birds you are putting that bird in your will.

I say all this because neglect and abuse is a huge issue with pet birds. People get them thinking they're a pretty decoration and many end up shoved in a room somewhere not getting what they need, and many of them start doing stuff like plucking their own feathers out of boredom. (had one feather-plucker myself, it's absolutely heart-breaking) If anyone here is thinking about getting a bird, do your research. Hang out at a bird rescue, talk to birb owners about what you can expect. There's tons and tons of birds who have been surrendered because they were more work than their owners thought they'd be. (and they can't be released back into the wild because they're all bred in captivity) I love birds and I think they can make great companions-for some people. They are not for everyone.

[domesticated-whores]

Hate when I'm reminded of a stupid little trigger, lol. Story time because writing things out calms me a bit.

I was hanging out with my guy last night and when he was walking me home late we saw his buddies (one of which is like a mutual work friend, I know and like all these people, he just knows them better) standing outside their place smoking so we stopped for a bit. They were talking about going to see a movie today and our work friend jokingly asked for permission to have my guy for the day so that the group could go to the movies and I was like "lol, sure, I guess I'll let you have him for a day" or whatever. At this point I was cool with the fact that it looked like I wasn't invited. I don't know these people as well, some of them I've never even directly spoken to, I know I would very much be tagging along with my guy. I'm cool with not being invited, I'd probably go if directly asked but I'm also not going to insert myself into my guy's friend group. Probably never, but ESPECIALLY not when we aren't even really together yet. And frankly I've been hanging out with my guy most days and I have shit to do at home that I've been neglecting and my cats miss me, so I could use a catch-up day.

But then work friend accidentally said the phrase that unleashes every fucking ounce of anxiety in me. "I would invite you, but..."

He said he'd invite me, but I work early so he assumed I'd not want to go to a movie on 5 hours of sleep, kind of with the implication that they'd all be hanging out late after the movie too. I probably go to bed WAY earlier than anyone else there. I wouldn't be one to ask my guy to leave early because I'm getting kinda sleepy or some shit, but fair enough line of thought. It's not a rare phrase, I know. Maybe it's a bit rude to assume literally right in front of the person instead of asking if i wanted to go, but it's usually more of a wording issue than anything else. And maybe you're suppose to correct people when they have the wrong assumption, maybe my anxiety is the problem there too. I don't know.

But growing up autistic and (later) pretty severely mentally ill, I was always in friend groups out of pity or as some kind of joke. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was really bullied growing up in that subtle little way that goes over a kid's head when they're just do gullible and honest and literal. That's all I fucking knew, those were the only "friends" I've ever had. Ever. All my life people have made decisions for me like that, but with double meaning and bad intention. "You should come to this (for entertainment value, so we can make fun of you)!!" and "I would have invited you, but (we don't want you there) it doesn't seem like something you'd be into..." After being told over and fucking over again how stupid I am for taking this shit at face value and not seeing that it was "obvious" lies, I finally had it imprinted into me to see the worst meaning behind it. And now I can't even see another meaning with people that I really do trust.

But I KNOW it isn't logical. Even if I don't trust the guy that said it enough to know for sure that that's not what he meant (and I don't think he'd be one to do that honestly, I just have trust issues and I'm not super close to him) I really honest to god trust my guy and I don't think his friend would slight me in front of him, nor do I think he'd not say anything at all if it was meant to be read like that. Even if it was a dismissive response, I think he would have acknowledged it (with like an "lol, rude" or smth) at least. So I'm pretty sure that, outside of my own anxiety and trauma, it didn't mean anything.

But, fuck, did it hit. It hit hard. I think I masked fine, hopefully? But now it's getting to me a little bit. I'm wondering if the first actual friends I've ever had actually ARE my friends. But what the fuck can I even do about it?

Again, I know it's just that it triggered a little response in me and it isn't actually like that, so I guess I'll just try to talk myself out of it. I could ask my guy about it and request a bit of validation or something, but I really would rather not do that. I don't think he'd be terrible about it, he knows I struggle with that stuff a lot and he'd probably be totally willing to reassure me. But I wouldn't even know how to word it, and then he'd probably end up telling me to come and I think that would make my anxiety worse because EVEN WITH REASSURANCE I would have a creeping anxiety that I was only invited because I caught onto what they were doing and they felt obligated to cover it up by letting me go along. Again, not logical, but anxiety rarely is. And it's over SUCH a little thing that it's fucking embarrassing as hell. This man has heard me vent and seen me have full on meltdowns over being overstimulated or stressed, but that's usually over an accumulation of several very real and actively stressful things. I feel comfortable enough with him, but I do not feel comfortable enough with myself to explain how a very basic phrase hit me so hard because of shit that's happened years ago now.

[girltomboy]

Having a pretty sweet and relaxing time at my parents' house. Taking some time off to visit them was a good idea. Their new house looks and feels lovely, although the yard/fence/general exterior are not yet totally finished (obviously the interior was a priority so they can move in lol) which was a bit disappointing because I expected to spend a lot of time sitting outside in the sun 😭 but those are just my own selfish delusions, the weather is gloomy anyway so the best option is to sit inside and revel in the comfort and safety of the house. I thrifted a cute Sailor Moon hoodie (I've never watched Sailor Moon lmao) and a sweatshirt in the exact shade of blue I've been looking for. I also got a pretty & comfy wind jacket in a sky blue shade, a Minolta vintage film camera that only cost me 6 euros, and some modelling clay (been wanting to make a little hamster for my coworker 😁). I miss hanging out with my boyfriend for hours - lack of privacy is preventing me from doing that, but I'm having a nice time with my parents too.

I've been having these super weird dreams ever since I got here, literally every night. And not to sound weird, but hear me out: I think it's because of the mirror that's facing the bed in my parents' new extra bedroom. Like, I did read a lot about room arrangement and how the mirror placement will influence the mood of the room, but that didn't really apply to me much, because there was also a mirror hanging on the wall facing my bed in my childhood bedroom, AND one "behind" the bed, and that hasn't caused me any weird sleep experiences. Maybe the two mirrors facing each other and sandwiching the bed cancel out the bad feng shui? BUT I also have a mirror facing my bed at my apartment, and generally I'm fine, save for a few weird dreams every now and then. That's just me and my brain. But here my dreams have been wild and weird ever since I arrived lol. And a lot of them are related to the things I see and read during the day - unusual for me. Normally my dreams are super random.

Anyway, enough about sleep and dreams. Today in my waking hours I will be reading, maybe doodling a bit, rummaging through some boxes and bags for my old college stuff - books, notebooks, and other objects, and also going outside to chill. I realized I barely went outside ever since I got here (the absence of a fence will do that) and I briefly walked to the back of my parents' yard this morning while on a call with my bf, and it was pretty pleasant, especially thanks to the walnut tree that shed a lot of leaves and basically created this bed of leaves curtained by the bare branches hanging low. It was so cozy and fresh.

Btw my parents went to church and returned saying my aunt asked about me, so I told them she should come over (no one came to visit ever since they finished the house, which is bizarre; apparently my stepdad's brother and his wife - my aunt - were taken aback by how similar it looks to their own house, which is true to an extent, but it feels like such a petty reason to refuse a visit to your BROTHER'S NEW HOUSE, considering you are supposedly on good terms no beef? 💀) and my parents were like "No, you should come to church this afternoon". I reminded them that I don't have any "nice" (AKA acceptable by the church's unspoken & unwritten superficial standards 😛) clothes here, to which they (my mom) replied "then wear your jeans"??? Lmao I mean in any other context this would be reasonable, I've seen people come to church in casual clothing and it's a normal thing for someone who just wants to go to church, it should be common practice. But unfortunately the people in this church turn attendance into a fashion show & contest, gossip fuel, and ego stroking party. And I really don't want to gather like any attention whatsoever from anyone there tbh. And there's also this tiny detail called ummm I don't want to go 👁️👄👁️ so yeah terrible idea. I told them I don't feel comfortable with that suggestion, so they dropped it for now. So I'm just gonna go about my day.

[buckysmith]

hi, are you still doing matchups? if so, could i ask for one with one of the cod guys please? sorry im horribly bad at this lol..

im 20, go by she/her, INTP, autistic (if it's worth mentioning..) and i'm from France.

hmm what i look like, i'm 5'2, pretty fit because of the gym, with medium black hair. my eyes are a really dark brown and i always wear a thick eyeliner or just bold black makeup. i have two tattoos, one is a dragon on the bottom of my back and the other one is a cartoonish ghost of a dog on my arm to represent my dog who passed away.

i guess i'm pretty quiet, i like listening to people more than talking, even though i physically can't stop myself from talking if I'm comfortable enough with the person. i'm also really honest, if i need to say something i will.i'm quite hardworking too, if i have a goal in mind i will achieve no matter what.

i love rock and alt music, my favorite bands are TNBHD and BMTH. i also really enjoy reading and drawing, especially when it's raining outside it feels so cozy.

i don't really know how to show my emotions, i've never been in a relationship before so it's kind of a foreign land to me, but i guess i would show my affection trough acts of services. i've been told my eyes say a lot to what i'm feeling so i guess people can read when i care deeply about them. i like biting too.

alright, think that's all. thank you for reading me, and i hope you have an amazing day/night! <3

You’re so sweet, thank you I hope you had a great day too luv!

Let me think about, Mhm, I guess I’m gonna match you with Rodolfo.

I think you both would harmony pretty well. He loves when you speak in French to him and he would definitely call you some nicknames in his language like Cariño or Mi Vida and he would definitely try to lean French as well so he can connect with you even better.

He absolutely adores your personality, especially that your hardworking and that nothing can stop you from achieving your goals, but on the same time he would have an eye on you so that you do it on a healthy way, he knows from Alejandro that you sometimes need a break to achieve anything.

He would ask you to cuddle with him on a rainy day, he doesn’t quite like the rain especially since rain means he’s getting wet and he doesn’t like that. If you don’t want that he totally accept it cause he wouldn’t do anything that you don’t want.

He knows your quite so whenever you start talking he’s there, listing to whatever you talk about

He loves reading, but most of the time he doesn’t have the time or energy to read his books.

For music taste, he listen to your favorite songs but I think except that he would only listen to typical Mexican songs such like Cumbia Morena by Control.

He’s afraid of ghost, but the meaning behind that little ghost on your arm would make that grown man cry. He loves dogs and he would definitely never say anything bad about ghost after that, for him ghosts now reminds him of your best friend, of that cute little fella that means so much to you.

He knows that you have your difficulties in showing emotions but believe me this man would always know what he has to do, he can read humans better than anyone else and to read you would be the easiest for him.

He would love to show you his love language (physical touch) but if you don’t want that well- you get a ton of gifts, he would do it anyways but- yk

[anischa22]

Met the Prince! Nokto Klein 🦊

After Yves, here's the next released suitor :

The 7th Prince of Rhodolite Kingdom, member of Diplomatic Affair, Licht's youngest twin

Arm of coat : fox

First of impression : playboy? ... Hmm, maybe later he will be as popular among players like Arthot---i mean Arthur?

His voice actor is Eguchi Takuya

I have to say, actually playboy characters are not my type😅 sometimes i can like them saying wise words, in cool style or hot ... Like usual! But imagining having a serious relationship with them, I can never get it😅 So I'm sorry if Nokto's explanation lacks detail cuz I'm not too deep into his character. His relationship with Licht was the biggest reason I read his route.

His appearance is very eye-catching. I don't remember who said it was either Licht or Nokto, but he said that their gray hair and red eyes were something that was rarely seen, make it easy to get people's attention. At first, I feel that Nokto and Licht don't look alike, especially with hairstyles like that, but if they're in the same frame with the same expression, they will look similar! It's very cute for me! 🤣

But, the Nokto way of dressing ._. Why is he dressed in such a style (?・・)σ?

And the nails on his left hand, only 3 fingers are dyed black by him ... (later I found out that he intentionally dyed his nails like that to make a fox pose)

Nokto is famous for his flirty behavior. Night at woman's home, morning appears at the palace gates 😅 Licht also describe him as 'Good-for-Nothing Womanizer'. but he is very good at his job, which is to socialize and negotiate. Chevalier, who lacks of that things, always leave this task to Nokto and Clavis. Nokto also a source of information, which of course must pay him first (if someone else asks for him ... Wait, he reminds me of one of the otome characters... Gosh, I don't remember😅). Well, approaching women is one of Nokto's easiest ways to get information

That's why Nokto rarely uses his sword, his main weapon is talking, provoking the opponent to buy time. It's harder to see him wielding a sword than seeing Yves use his sword, i think.

Like most of the suitors, Nokto hiding a deep scars behind his behavior. He has the same tragedy as Licht, one incident that changed their relationship and shook their souls. Let alone superstition about twins, as we know in the past, twins were considered a bad sign. In this case, if one of them is good, then the other twin is bad

Nokto not recommended to anyone who doesn't like playboy type. But Nokto's route is closely related to Licht's route, so maybe after reading his route, you'd be wondering how the story would be from Licht's perspective.

Nokto was rarely seen in the court, whether he was on duty or doing his 'things'. If MC meets him, Nokto will always tease her. But if he's serious, Nokto can explain at length about kingdom's external state to MC. Plus, Nokto is the right choice if MC want to learn socialization among nobles, so in his route, MC is often attending parties with Nokto. Btw, even though Nokto is popular among women, most of their relationships are not ended well by Nokto. So not surprising anymore if a woman suddenly appears and then slaps Nokto😅

Bonus! In his route, ofc Licht is an important character here. They do keep their distance and haven't even talk in a very long time, but that doesn't mean they don't care about each other. They have their own way of communicating, just by eye contact! Very twins thing, isn't it? (I also have friends who are twins and every time they meet, they just staring and poking until we said "what are you guys talking about!? Just talk! We won't listen!"🤣)

Bonus! Bc Nokto's activities are mostly outside the court, i don't see him having any particular closeness with other princes, except Yves .... Hmm, Nokto likes Yves, but Yves doesn't, can we say they are close?😂 Fights between Yves and Nokto are pretty usual in court, so let's just say they're close lol. I think its cute to see the Klein twins actually liked Yves, maybe it's because they are a year apart in age too. Other Yves, Nokto seems to match Jin and Clavis as fellow female body lovers 😂

Next will be the anti-social prince, Licht!

[byliever]

Tbh, I kinda want you to answer all 20 questions 🤪 fellow writer always fascinate me

This has been sitting in my inbox for a while lmao

TJ, I love you, but there is no way in hell I'm answering every question. That's a LOT.

So, here's how I'll do this: I'll use an online random number generator to choose seven (cuz Byler) at random.

Let's begin.

What's a fic that took you to an emotional/dark/hard place? (#2)

I've had a couple. I've already talked about Snapshots in another ask. Desiderium was another. I wrote it and posted it on my dad's birthday, and so a lot of Mike's feelings and struggles with grieving Ted in that fic was self-projection (as are most of my fics lol). I even gave Ted the same birthday as him.

What fic are you emotionally attached to? (#3)

That's like asking a parent to choose their favorite child lmao. When you create something, you leave a piece of yourself behind in it. That's why there's so much you can tell about a person based on their creations.

Choosing one is physically painful lol

But if I had to choose one...

Orientation. It's the fic I wrote for Mike's birthday (which is also mine. How cool is that?!), so it's very Mike-focused. It's also marked by two significant (to me) "firsts."

It's the first time I included an appearance by Hopper, my favorite of the adult characters. I was so anxious to write him. What if I messed it up??!! But I seemed to have done an okay job, based on peoples' reactions.

It was also the first time I fully acknowledged to myself that if I wanted to continue telling the stories I wanted to tell, I had to alter canon. Up until Orientation, I had always had the thought in my mind that, in order for this to continue, I had to make a decision when it came to how I dealt with the ramifications of Season 3, namely the Byers moving and Hopper's "death".

So I just decided to say, "to hell with that." So, Hopper didn't "die" and the Byers didn't move. The Battle of Starcourt is still a pivotal event, trust me, without having the effect of essentially tearing the group asunder.

Orientation was the first time I dived into the directly post-Season 3 era, and I'm happy with it.

What fic of your own won't you read? (#5)

Ghosts. It's my second story and it's an absolute piece of shit. If I could delete one of my stories, it would be that one. I keep it up to remind myself of what happens when I try to work myself past burnout.

If you feel like suffering through an absolute literary abomination, give it a glance over.

What’s the best engagement/interaction/feedback you’ve received from someone who’s read your work? (#17)

I love and adore and want to frame every comment I ever get on a story. Every time someone goes out of their way to say that they liked a certain part or that reading a fic brightened up their day, I feel extremely happy.

I received an anonymous ask a while back from someone who told me that they were in a dark place and were feeling down that night, so they decided to read a couple of my stories, which made them feel a lot better.

That's the type of interactions I love. Writing my fics have gotten me through some really bad times, so if reading stuff I made helps someone through a struggle, that's the highest compliment.

Does anyone in your personal life know you write fics? if not, would you tell anyone? (#8)

Outside my family, nobody knows I write fics. By family, I mean my younger sister and my mother. Of the two of them, only my sister knows that it's specifically Byler fanfiction that I write, and neither of them have read any of my stories (and if I have anything to say about it, they never will lol).

What fic of your own do you read for comfort? (#4)

Rainbows and Revelations. That fic is pretty much pure fluff from start to finish, and it holds a very special place in my heart.

If you could write an ideal fic, what would it include? (#19)

See, this is an interesting question for me, but at the same time, I feel like it doesn't really apply to me.

All of the stories I've written are "ideal fics" for me.

That being said, there are two criteria that every fic I've written (and will write) must fit.

1.) It must have a happy ending. Call me a sissy, a sap, whatever. I don't care. I write married Byler. Part of that package is that you're acknowledging that, despite all the shit the characters have gone through or are going through at the moment, eventually, it ends. Eventually, there is peace. These characters do someday get to live out their lives undisturbed by supernatural bullshit. And so I always end on a happy note. I feel like lots of people (myself included) forget it too often, despite the fact that history (which is a collection of stories that remind us who we are) is always reminding us, but I want my stories to illustrate that basic truth: in the end, light/good always triumphs over darkness/evil. It may take a while to get there, but it will happen eventually.

2.) People need to learn something. If nobody is learning something and changing, there's no point to the fic at all. Whether that's Jonas and Maia learning how to word the ideal apology, or Max learning how to open up to and rely on people, somebody has to be learning and changing and growing. There has to be growth.

Whew! That was a lot of typing!

Thanks for the ask, TJ! You're the best!

[itsclydebitches]

Hi! I was just watching good omens and I came up with some questions, but I didn't know whom to ask, so I was digging around for go analysis blogs and found you. *takes a breath* So, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on why Heaven's camera angles are the way they are. I noticed that, in heaven, the camera tends to focus on the characters' heads specifically, so they fill most of the screen. Either it's a meta reason or a reference to something (like Newt with the Office) that I'm not getting. That's the main thing, but I've also wondered why exactly Aziraphale uses the verb "fraternize" in the 19th century. It seemed an odd pivot from caring about Crowley's safety to Heaven's rules. Thanks so much!

Hello! Omg yes, let's talk Good Omens cinematography.

First, the obligatory Analysis Disclaimer: I doubt there's a specific interpretation that you're just not getting, some singular, "correct" reading of the scene(s). Two years past release, I'm positive the fandom as a whole has come up with plenty of ideas (I mostly hang on the periphery. I'm far from up to date with GO meta), but any and all of it will, by nature, be subjective. Thus, all I can offer is my own, personal interpretation.

So for me? It's about intimacy.

Not intimacy in the sense of friendship, but rather the broad idea of closeness. Confidentiality. Emotion. Knowledge. Understanding by means of literally getting into the thick of these conversations. I love the camerawork in Heaven (and elsewhere) because the camera itself acts like a person — an additional party to these interactions. And, since we're the ones watching this show via the camera, it makes it feel as if we're peeking into scenes that are otherwise private. Obviously all cinematography does this to a certain extent, the camera is always watching someone or something without acknowledging that we're doing the watching (outside of documentary-esque filmmaking), but GO uses angles and closeups to mimic another person observing these scenes, someone other than the characters involved.

The easiest example I can give here is when Michael makes their call to Ligur. Here, the camera is positioned up on the next landing of the staircase, as if we're sneaking a look down at this otherwise secret call. There's even a moment when the camera pans to the right to look at them through the gap in the railing, briefly obscuring Michael from our view.

Here, a standard expectation of any scene — keep your character in focus — is done away with to instead mimic the movements of someone actually hiding in the stairwell, listening in on the conversation. It creates that feeling of intimacy, as if we're really there with Michael, not just watching Michael through a screen. The camerawork acts like a person overhearing an illicit conversation prior to falling back on mid/closeup shots. We're spying on them.

To give a non-Heaven example, the camera helps us connect with Aziraphale during Gabriel's jogging scene. It's hard to show through screenshots, but if you re-watch you'll see that the camera initially keeps them both in the frame with full body shots, allowing us to compare things like Gabriel's unadorned gray workout clothes with Aziraphale's more stylish outfit; one's good jogging form and the other's awkward shuffle. However, this distance also creates the sense that we're jogging with them, we're keeping pace.

That is, until Aziraphale begins to lag. Then the camera lags too, giving them both the chance to catch up, so to speak.

Until, finally, Aziraphale has to stop completely and the camera, of course, stops with him. We're emotionally attuned to Aziraphale, not Gabriel, and the camerawork reflects that. Even more-so when we cut to a low shot of Gabriel's annoyed huff at having to stop at all, making him appear larger and more imposing. Because to Aziraphale, he is.

This work carries over into Heaven's other scenes. The closeups are pretty much a given since, whether it's Gabriel realizing Aziraphale has been "fraternizing" with Crowley (more on that below!), or Aziraphale choosing to go back to Earth, the scenes in Heaven are incredibly important to the narrative. Closeups allow the viewer to get a good read on each character's emotional state — focusing on minute facial changes as opposed to overall body language — and that fly-on-the-wall feeling is increased as we literally get an up close and personal look at these pivotal moments.

Compare a shot like this one of Gabriel to the line of angels ready for battle. We don't get closeups on any of their faces because their emotions aren't important. Yes, that's in part because they're background characters, not main characters, but a lack of emotion — their willingness to enter this war without question — is also the point of their presence in this scene. So they remain a semi-identical, nearly faceless mass that runs off into infinity down that hallway, not any individual whose inner life we get a peek at via a closeup.

I particularly like Aziraphale's conversation with the angel... general? Idk what to call this guy. He's just gonna be Mustache Angel. But, getting back on track, his scene has a lot of over the shoulder shots which, admittedly, are pretty common. From a practical perspective they're used to help the audience situate both characters in the scene — you're here, you're there, this is how you're spaced during this conversation — but it can also help emphasize that closeness between them. Keeping both characters in the shot connects them and though Aziraphale and Mustache Angel definitely aren't on the same page here, those shots help cue us in to the unwanted intimacy of this moment. They're both angels... even though Aziraphale no longer aligns himself with them. They're both soldiers in a war... but Aziraphale will not fight. This angel has a list of Aziraphale's secrets, including that he once had a flaming sword and lost it... but Aziraphale doesn't want to admit those circumstances to him. This angel wouldn't understand, even if he did. Intimacy here, connection and closeness, is something discomforting because Aziraphale can no longer embrace those similarities. They put him (and us) out of sorts, so when we get them both in frame, that connection creates tension, not relief.

And many of those over the shoulder shots are given sharp angels, or the camera is placed too close to the "off screen" party. Compare a shot like Luke and Rey to Aziraphale and Mustache Angel. Here, Luke is a clean, solid line on the left side of the screen, just enough there to cue us in to where he is in relationship to Ray, In contrast, Mustache Angel's mustache is Too Close and proves rather distracting. Rey and Luke are connecting here over being Jedi with responsibilities to uphold (or at least, Luke will acknowledge that connection later lol); Mustache Angel is forcing a connection with Aziraphale that makes everyone uncomfortable.

We are too close to him here. He feels too close to Aziraphale too. This whole conversation is upsetting and discomforting, pushing Aziraphale to finally choose which side he's on (his own with Crowley). The shots aren't meant to subtly keep the audience from getting lost and then otherwise be unobtrusive, we're supposed to be Very Aware of this angel's body and how close he's getting to the character we've come to identify with — both literally (he's leaning in) and in terms of forcing Aziraphale to finally make his choice.

When Mustache Angel marches forward and gets all up in Aziraphale's face, the camera positions itself behind Aziraphale in a way that makes it feel like we're hiding behind him, with Aziraphale taking up far more of the screen than Luke does. Like the scene with Michael or running with Gabriel, the camera often likes to mimic a "realistic" response to these events. This angry, shouty angel is getting closer, best take a step back and stay out of sight behind Aziraphale, holding his ground.

These closeups also serve as a nice contrast to the wide and longshots we get of Heaven. It's an imposing place with skyscrapers in the distance, lots of steel, immaculate floors, and endless white. It's overwhelming and it's cold. But then we cut to those mid-shots of Gabriel and Michael, telling us that they're in control of it all.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale is not in control. Not now, anyway. When he appears in Heaven we get a longshot to show off this endless void and he's just another, tiny speck in it. If he weren't flailing around — an acting move that likewise helps sell how out of his depth he is — it's unlikely you'd even notice him. Aziraphale's clothing and hair blends in perfectly with the background. He's forgettable. Easily overlooked. Someone to underestimate. And when he moves, he has to come to the camera. We don't cut to Aziraphale to establish control like we do with Gabriel. He's left to awkwardly shuffle up to Mustache Angel until he's finally come into view.

Yet when Aziraphale makes his decision, he aligns himself with the brightest, most colorful, most interesting thing in the room: Earth. Earth, with all its messy individuality, is the antithesis to Heaven's controlled uniformity and a bright blue orb hanging in the midst of all this white helps remind us of that. Aziraphale rejects becoming one of the identical soldiers and instead literally reaches out for the one thing in Heaven that doesn't fit in.

When he leaves, we get an extreme closeup for the first time. Mustache Angel is pissed and as such we not only get a good look at his face in the aftermath of Aziraphale's choice, but that extreme closeup on his mouth as he's shouting too. It's like he's shouting directly at us, the viewer who is currently cheering on Aziraphale's decision. There's a war, dammit... but we don't care. Not in the way he cares, anyway.

So there's a lot! And I could probably go on, but apparently I'm only allowed to add 10 images per post now (tumblr what the actual fuck if anyone knows a way around this please share!) and I've already had to merge a bunch of images like an animal. So let's awkwardly finish up with the duck pond scene.

...without a GIF because they apparently count as images too 🙃

Simply put, I don't think Aziraphale bringing up fraternizing is a pivot from one to the other — from caring about Crowley to caring about Heaven's rules. I mean yes, Aziraphale is lagging behind Crowley in terms of rebellion and a part of him is, at this point, absolutely concerned with how he'll come across to the higherups, but that worry doesn't stem solely from a (now very shaky) desire to obey for the sake of obeying. The thing is, Aziraphale's disobedience is, by default, also Crowley's disobedience. If they're friends and they're ever found out, they'll both get in trouble. Which, we know from the end of Season One, basically means being wiped from existence. That's horrifying! And it's a horror that threatens them both. I don't think Aziraphale cares about rules for the sake of rules; after all, he started off by giving away his sword, lying to God, is currently meeting with Crowley anyway... this angel has always ignored/bent the rules — established and implied — that don't suit him. Rather, he cares about the rules if he thinks they have a chance of being enforced. If there will be consequences for breaking and bending them. This is still about caring for Crowley (as well as saving his own, angelic skin). If they're found out, Crowley dies. And, as we the viewer learn, Heaven was indeed observing them that whole time. There was always legitimate risk attached to this relationship. Aziraphale's fear, hesitance, and at times forceful pleas to stop this stem as much from Aziraphale worrying about Crowley's safety as they do a learned instinct to obey the rules without question. He pushes to end the relationship because the relationship threatens the only thing Aziraphale cares about more than that: Crowley himself.

As for the term "fraternizing," that's a loaded one! I won't go into a whole history lesson here, but suffice to say it has military roots: to sympathize as brothers with an opponent. That is literally what Crowley and Aziraphale are doing. They are an angel and a demon, supposedly innate enemies, supposedly poised for an inevitable war... yet they've formed an incredibly strong kinship. They've both learned to love their enemy, the thing every army fears because, well, then your army won't fight (just as Aziraphale won't). However, beyond the enemy implications, "to fraternize" eventually took on a sexual meaning: to not merely love as a brother, but to lay with the enemy too, usually women from enemy countries (because, you know, heteronormativity). Nowadays, "to fraternize" often implies a sexual component. I've been rewatching The Good Wife lately and in one subplot, the State's Attorney cracks down on fraternization in his office. He doesn't mean his employees are forming bonds with assumed enemies, he means his employees are having sex on his office couch. So Aziraphale's phrasing here carries a LOT of weight. He's both reminding Crowley of their stations in the world — you are a demon, I am an angel, us meeting like this can have formal, irrevocable consequences for us both — as well as, given the fact that this is a love story, drawing attention to the depth of this relationship. They love one another, as more than just friends. Though whether Crowley's scathing "Fraternizing?" is a response to Aziraphale falling back on the technicalities of their positions, or acknowledging a love he's yet to overtly admit and commit to — or both! — is definitely up for debate.