#also the way people adopt this “he's a precious cinnamon roll who can do no wrong” rhetoric and actually MEAN it is problematic

[floatingonapaintedsky]

People's reaction to Maya absolutely reeks of misogyny. And a refusal to engage with the fact her behavior is absolutely a result of the ways that able-bodied people treat disabled people. Which is absolutely wild for a show centered around the fact that what drew one of the MLs to the other is that he was one of the only people that treated him like a whole person instead of someone to be pitied, infantilized and made a spectacle of because of their disability. Like it's made very clear that ableism from others is a near constant and that a lot of people interact with you not because they actually want to know you as a person but because they want to feel good about themselves for being nice to the "poor helpless disabled person" The girl that told Kohei carrying the trash must be too difficult for him because he can't hear, the guys that let him score a basket because it would've been "pitiful" to defend against him, Yoko's cousin and her weird romance fantasy etc etc.

So Maya, as a disabled person who also deals with that bs on the daily, being stand-offish and critical or suspicious of an able-bodied man? Makes sense actually. Right now her character is there as conflict between the characters, it makes sense to not like her but hop off of all that "uwu this character is perfect sunshine baby and anyone who is mean or critical of them is a heartless bitch" bullshit

[thegoldenavenger]

About... 7k of reverse tropes "nursing home" au inspired by the bingliu server as always. Minor warnings for themes of mortality, elder abuse, controlling behavior, cults (???), and uh less than canon typical violence. Mostly it's funny I hope. Not betad and an outline fic.

LBH volunteers at the nursing home in homage to his adoptive mother who was a nurse there. He's seen as a sweet boy, dedicated and hard working. He is 100% the "statistic that caregivers exert undue influence unto their charge in order to be included as a beneficiary in their will is an error. Luo Binghe who gets included in over three digits of wills and inheritance clauses is an outlier adn should not have been counted."

Mostly bc the folks he volunteers for genuinely like him, but also bc after his mom died, only being in some random grandmother's will helped him survive and start going to college so now he games the system by being sweet and maybe a little manipulative.

Shen Qingqiu is an older gentleman who has been in and out of hospitals and is now recovering in the assisted living center (or something idk). Shen Qingqiu is rich and aloof looking, can be extremely acerbic so a lot of the nurses avoid him when they can. His family, if he has any, do not visit.

Luo Binghe has time and holes in his schedule so he starts feeling out how receptive sqq is. His other target is the old palace master, who is also very rich and old, but less acerbic. Lbh has already started on OPM and he's very friendly but he also has like a billion grandkids who lbh low key has to compete with. OPM seems to favor lbh anyway, but lbh doesn't see any harm in befriending someone a little lonelier just in case.

LQG only meets sqq by mistake. Maybe he's looking for somewhere to house one of his relatives, or maybe he's tagging along to visit a friend's relative. Maybe he has to do volunteer hours for a course he's taking. Whatever it is, he and sqq come into contact. Sqq finds out lqg is [doing something badly that sqq has experience in. Like, idk getting a relatively low grade in literature] sqq immediately picks on this bc he is a terrible gremlin who likes being mean. Lqg, not really beholden to etiquette or respect for old people, fires back.

They get in a very, retroactively, embarrassing verbal spar. Sqq is very haughty and clever, teases out what parts lqg is struggling most with, gives backhanded advice, and mostly enjoys winding lqg up.

Lqg, for his part, is never really challenged in this specific way ever. A) He respects the older people actually in his life bc they deserve it (hmm do they haha) so he just like. Nods when they scold him. B) He usually excels at what he does so he doesn't get chastised often. C) when he doesn't excel he's eager for pointers which are given to him bc he is a martial prodigy everyone wants to nurture except for D) when he's underperforming in the soft arts. He isn't stupid, but no one expects him to be good at poetry or reading, so when he struggles with dyslexia or too literal thinking no one really bothers to help him. So this is like amazing for him.

LBH walks in on the tail-end of the fight, is APALLED, and physically escorts lqg off the premises. Literally picks him up and yeets him out the door. (It's a double KO for lqg who wanders off dazedly) LBH has been trying to get sqq to open up for like weeks now, and he didn't know sqq cared so much for that particular topic, which LBH knows a lot about. So LBH tries to engage with sqq that way. Sqq is perhaps a little more receptive but still taciturn and kind of mean about it.

LBH's endless well of patience finally runs dry, he calls sqq a mean old man, and sqq finally laughs at him. Lbh storms off, upset he got upset and ruined his image and chances of getting into sqq's inheritance probably. The staff and other residents are furious at sqq bc NOONE has ever made lbh upset before, how dare he singe their precious cinnamon roll of a white lotus binghe.

Turns out, the meaner lbh gets, the more crotchety old sqq actaully likes him.  He sees right through lbh's sheep act, is pretty wary that lbh is cozy-ing up to him bc he's about to die and his money and estate might as well go somewhere, and also hates that lbh just lies down and lets anyone walk all over him to seem mild and tender. He's a human person, not a chicken nugget, sqq thinks he should grow a spine and take what he wants and also stop hanging out with literal Cult Leader OPM.

Lqg mulls over sqq's advice, such as it is, applies it, and does a little better then expected. Everyone is shocked and congratulates him (as if the miniscule amount he's improved deserves that) and then tells him to relax and not over exert himself in areas he's not suited towards / doesn't need in life. He is increasingly upset with the people he has around him and goes back to the assisted living center, figures out that they really dont let just anyone walk in and starts a commotion at the front desk.

He can't even say he's there to visit sqq bc he doesn't know his name and saying he wants to visit "the shameless, underhanded, mean old man in green" was probably not the best way to get a visitor's badge...

Lbh is helping sqq take a walk around the center for exercise, sqq bitching the whole time, so they come across lqg making a fuss. Lbh squares up to Remove The Problem, but sqq elbows him out of the way and power walks over to lqg like he wasn't just complaining of a bum hip three seconds ago. He stops half way and switches smoothly into Refined Older Gentleman Strolling mode, with his hands primly behind his back.

LBH is so mad, and also curious so he just watches.

When LQG finally clocks that sqq is approaching he points a very rude finger at him and says "that guy! I'm visiting him!" To the receptionist.

Everyone shuts up, even sqq pauses. He wanted to get in a fight again (lbh has loosened up a tad and will verbally spar with him but he doesn't lose his temper and the sparring is more complicated and maybe a bit more bitter than the uncomplicated win sqq is assured he'd get over lqg) (yes. This man is mad he can't bully lbh more effectively, he's an awful dude ajakskdkdldl) but he wasn't expecting lqg to come back for him. He thought lqg might be here for whatever reason he was here last time.

The receptionist glances at sqq, like... "him? Really?" And sqq sniffs and imperiously waves his hand. "It took you long enough" he says "hurry up and check him in" he orders the receptionist who thinks very hard about calling security before deciding sqq deserves whatever mess he's getting into and hands lqg a visitor badge.

Lbh awkwardly follows them, unwilling to leave them alone when he JUST got sqq to regularly (yell) talk to him. For some reason, sqq's verbal acidity and berating is... well, lbh likes it more than OPM's friendly smiles and incessant little gifts. Like hell he's gonna let some random guy piggy back off his hard work.

Lqg doesn't waste time. He slams his [idk. Test. Essay? Reading report????] Down in front if sqq and crosses his arms.

Sqq stares at it and then at lqg. Lbh sneaks a glance too and makes a face. Sqq says "It was clear at first glance that you were an idiot but I did not know it ran this deep." He reluctantly picks up the paper and flips through, with a face like he's watching a train wreck.

Lqg growls, tense. He hasn't sat down and his hands are white knuckled against the table between them. He leans over sqq almost threatengly, steely gaze watching sqq's every minute change. "Is it hopeless, then?" 

Sqq's expression twitches as he keeps going through, line by line. He recognizes a lot of the mistakes LQG has made, diagnosis him with dyslexia almost immediately, frowns bc he can see the underlying structure lqg is going for but can't execute.

Lbh comes around sqq's side and reads over his shoulder. He's sure sqq is going to throw the papers back in lqg's face, which will serve him right. The paper header catches his attention. Maybe it's the teacher's name, or even lqg's name that he recognizes, but he puts two and two together, realizes lqg would be a Very Beneficial Friend to make, and decides when SQQ throws him out lbh will pick up the pieces. LQG is sure to have richer more influential friends that lbh can use... this will be perfect. He can't stay loitering around this place forever, at some point he has to grow up and be successful and honor his mother's efforts to raise him up...

"It's terrible." Sqq finally says, his voice heavy.

Lqg, who has been told to give up trying by everyone around him and has stubbornly insisted on trying to push through, actually slumps down in his seat. If this random old man thinks it's not worth it, if even he, who doesn't know lqg at all, thinks he's too stupid to improve, maybe he really should stop trying.

LBH cannot help his smug smile. Trust in sqq to tear down anyone's walls, now lbh can just follow after lqg, discarded papers in hand, and offer to go over them with him. It's bad but not hopeless, and anyways, lbh is a great ghostwriter. Lqg looks like a dumb athlete, so even if lbh can't improve his brain he can still improve his grades—

"Whoever tutors you needs to be fired," sqq interrupts lbh's fantasy, and takes a red pen out of his pocket. (He carries it around to correct typos in the books people leave lying around. He also writes scathing reviews on newspapers, magazines, charts that nurses accidentally leave unattended. He's a terror. It is policy to confiscated pens from him.) He starts marking the paper up, saturating it in red.

He actually pinches lqg's ear to pull him closer, pointing at a section to ask for clarification. Lqg halting gives it, sqq expands on it, lqg looks confused and extremely out of his depth.

"Make yourself useful and get my notebook!" Sqq orders lbh, waving his hand in lbh's face.

Lbh grimaces but runs to sqq's bedroom and gets the notebook (he hasn't completely fallen out of his white lotus persona just yet). When he hands it to sqq, sqq pulls lqg in for the Lecture of All Time. Lqg goes from looking wary and confused to determined, all furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips.

Lbh stands around and then wanders off to make snacks, determined to insert himself into this (he wants to be useful so badly! He wants someone to expend that much effort on him!! Isn't sqq supposed to be mean? And yeah, he's yelling at lqg and hitting him with his pen or his notebook to make sure he's paying attention, but sqq is supposed to be making him cry! Not helping him!!!) when he comes back he sets a plate of light finger foods down by sqq's elbow.

Sqq's hand automatically reaches for one and eats it. He pauses his whole lecture to chew. Lbh is unaccountably nervous for sqq's reaction. Sqq's reaction is rather a non reaction. He doesn't comment on lbh's food. But he eats more of it when he continues lecturing lqg and when lqg fails to come up with an answer he points his pen at lbh instead.

Lbh immediately replies, answering perfectly (of course) and sqq nods decisively, awarding him a point. Lbh grins, and lqg hisses "show off" decidedly not under his breath. Lbh responds in kind and the two start in on each other, lqg itching to do something he's confident in and lbh riding high on the one (two!! In sqq's book not taking the moment to spit vitriol is practically praise!) Bit of affirmation sqq had bestowed

Sqq gets tired of them yammering and kicks them both out, telling lqg to stop by again if he's up for getting his brain wrung out like sponge.

Lbh has never been kicked out before so he doesn't really know what to do and ends up wandering after lqg. So what, his plan to comfort lqg kind of... never got off the water, and also the guy keeps shooting wary glances at him, lbh will just annoy him into letting him around lqg's friends and connections. Also, seeing lqg riled up is really making lbh's chest glow. There's no reason to split ways now.

Lqg finds suggestions written in bold all throughout his papers. "Request materials reprinted / displayed in different font" "get a line reader" one note is just a web address. His watch buzzes, and it's time to go to the gym.

Lbh is STILL following him, so lqg tells him to buzz off. Lbh, who isn't blind and can see the gym bag lqg is holding says he is also going to the gym. Lqg points out lbh's lack of gym bag and gym clothes. Lbh says it's lqg's fault for getting him kicked out of his volunteer job early.

Lgq maybe feels a little bad about that so he lets lbh tag along after him. He has to make a stop at his apartment instead of going straight to the gym like he wanted to, in order to throw some spare clothes at lbh, and then they both go to the gym where lqg gets to vent [gestures to all of it]. He's actually feeling pretty damn good! He's got things kind of worked out! Sqq is mean, but he's forcing things into lqg's head that no one has bothered to do before. Lqg isn't like... going to pursue the arts or anything, his family has his future lined up for him already and he isn't particularly interested in the arts. It's just that he wants to prove, if only to himself, that he isn't Just a dumb strong guy.

Meanwhile, lbh's jaw is on the ground. How high can lqg kick? How flexible is he????? How much can he dead lift????????? That's more than lbh weighs!

Lbh is strong but not especially trained. So like, yeah he can throw lqg over his shoulder when the guy is distracted but he's suddenly hyper aware that he might not be able to if lqg was actually fighting him.

He asks for a spar and he learns Very Quickly that, yes, that was indeed an exception... lbh holds his own surprisingly well for someone who isn't trained, lqg is very reluctantly impressed. Lbh ends up flat on his back gripping a Sports Drink(tm) for dear life reconsidering all his plans

So this is how it goes: lqg visits sqq three times a week for the most violent cram school imaginable. Lbh volunteers daily still, spends less time with OPM and more time nagging sqq and following after lqg's gym visits. Sqq is surprisingly content beating knowledge into such a meat head kid, and smug that lbh is dropping more and more of his goody two-shoe act in favor of getting into fights with lqg and debates with sqq.

Lbh enjoys figuring out what snack foods both sqq and lqg will eat; They are both surprisingly picky over food. Sqq likes things that are clean, light, delicate. Lqg eats things that are protein heavy,  clean, and healthy. It's more of a challenge than lbh thought it would be, and a little frustrating when he finds something that one of them likes but the other won't eat.

(Lbh spends an inordinate amount of time on some tanghulu and tea cakes to go along with a high quality tea... sqq practically inhales his portion, praising lbh's tea with more genuine words than he usually does. Lqg makes a face and tells lbh he doesn't eat that much sugar, but they look very nice. The face he makes is sort of resigned)

Lqg keeps improving in his classes. Enough so that one classmates (Mu Qingfang) asks him if he wants to go on a field research trip with him. It's mostly a camping trip, Mqf would deal with all the fiddly bits, but it seems like something lqg would like, mqf says offhandedly.

Lqg mulls it over, brings it up to sqq and lbh the next time he sees them. Sqq is interested in mqf's topic of research and sort of encourages him to go just so sqq can also get in on it. (Lbh watches like 80 year old sqq try and teach lqg how to use the video call function on lqg's drastically unsexy phone)

Lqg goes on the trip.

Sqq and lbh both adjust fairly badly to not seeing lqg like they're used to.  Sqq is surprisingly lonely and takes it out lbh.  Lbh relishes sqq interacting with him more but misses lqg anyways. Without lqg's tutoring lbh goes back to his regular volunteering routine, which means he's back to spoon-feeding OPM

Opm has Not been Happy about lbh spending less time with him. Opm is like, a literal Cult Leader and has been trying to snare lbh for himself this whole time. At first, sqq's abrasiveness seemed perfect, like he'd drive lbh deeper into opm's clutches, but somehow that did not work out. With the addition of lqg helping bridge that gap, lbh seems to be getting further away

Opm pulls some strings, has his dear grand daughter (LPM) start flirting with lbh, and GYX try and take up sqq's time. He also makes a few calls bc he recognizes lqg's family name at least.

It all comes to a head very suddenly.

LQG's family find out he's spending a lot of time is SQQ's care, ducking out on his other responsibilities (he has just rescheduled his time... lqg would never disrespect his family by ditching his other classes and what have yous, but it's all the same to them) that he went on mqf's  camping trip without consulting them, potentially putting himself at risk for injury or sickness or whatever. They're pissed.

Lqg tries arguing that he's literally just getting tutored for his grades and he should be supported for that. He's trying to balance his mind and body, and they should respect that. Instead he gets told that he's undermining their plans for him, being disobedient and willful when he should be grateful he has the chance and privilege to be training for his martial dreams (blah blah blah)

He's thoroughly dressed down and forbidden from visiting the home

Lqg gets increasingly angry and has no idea why he's being punished, because he hasn't dropped any skill he has, and is only trying to improve himself. Honestly, it's starting to feel more and more like committing to the nebulous martial arts / professional athlete career his family is grooming him for is increasingly like stepping into a gilded cage. He enjoys honing his body and competing and it is absolutely killing him that he's getting so torn up about it now.

Literally his only respite is hiding in his baby sister's room and reading stories to her. She loves when he reads to her and she thinks her brother is the smartest person in the whole world.

Unfortunately for sqq and lbh, lqg seems like he drops off the face of the planet. He just stops making video calls with sqq (phone is confiscated) he doesn't show up to his next scheduled cram session (grounded) he just disappears. Sqq idly thinks that he broke him and ran him off.

Lbh is a little suspicious. The man he spars with wouldn't run from anything! He'd definitely tell them to their face when he was done. Probably. Unless lbh scared him off some how? Maybe lqg got tired of lbh stalking him (dropping in on him at the gym, figuring out where his classes were so he can stop by and walk to the assisted living place together, etc) all the time? Maybe... lqg found out lbh was trying to use him to social climb? (Lbh mostly stopped planning to do that the moment lqg laid him flat at the gym but!!! Maybe lqg picked up on something anyway)

Meanwhile, lbh keeps having to fend off LPM, sqq is getting a little annoyed with GYX, and lqg is not sure how he's grounded when he is a whole ass adult... sure he doesn't actually have a job bc he has literally never needed one in his life, but he shouldn't Have to sit quietly and listen to a lecture that boils down to "You're whole life is planned out for you, don't even worry your pretty little head about it."

The OPM is getting anxious bc even without lqg, sqq and lbh seem to be commiserating together. He's in the middle of another Grande Plan to separate the two when they get in a shouting match in the middle of the rec room.  It blew up so quickly no one really got an earful except gyx who was nearby and respectful declines to share, but LBH storms out determined and angry.

OPM is very pleased bc surely that young man will be running to opm now, for comfort and guidance! And opm can guide him straight into his cult's clutches!

Lbh does Not run into OPM's open arms.

He cools off and the next day is back to following behind sqq like a lamb, reflexively making enough finger sandwiches for three and then making sad eyes until sqq eats one more. So OPM plays his cards.

A dapper young man in a suit and a young woman dressed just as nicely show up one day and just, check sqq out of the home.

LBH shows up as the young man is pressing sqq into a wheel chair to cart him off. The woman is holding sqq's coat and is smiling at him, obviously happy to see sqq. Sqq is very Not Happy.

He keeps trying to get out of the chair, keeps telling them to go away and leave him alone, etc etc.

Lbh interrupts them inserting himself in between them and sqq in the chair, creating space. He demands to know who they are and what they're doing, but approaches it cautiously and from the angle that he is oh so concerned with sqq. 

They introduce themselves and Qiu Haitang and Qiu Jianluo (obviously ahsjdk) who are sqq's only living relatives and they've been looking for their grand uncle for months now after he disappeared from his estate. They are oh so glad he's been well taken care of but it's time for him to come home and have the best care money can buy!

Sqq shakes his fist and accuses them of just wanting his inheritance. QHT is offended by the idea, obviously just misses sqq and worried about him, but lbh sees QJL's calculating gaze before qjl waves off sqq's accusation and says sqq must be going stir crazy cooped up in this little home

Lbh can't really do anything to stop sqq from leaving, but he gives his business card to qjl and has to just stand there and watch sqq get dragged away.

OPM edges up to lbh like "look! I am old and in need of attention!" And lbh reluctantly and kind of mechanically goes through his volunteer checklist now that sqq is gone.  Opm takes his chances and tries edging closer to lbh, taking advantage of his obvious poor state.

Meanwhile lqg is starting to chafe under his new restrictions.  He usually likes his routine but it turns out not having any choices really saps the enjoyment out of everything. He takes to bothering his little sister more and more often, growing much closer to her as he isolates himself from the rest of his family. He is just so tired of everyone telling him how great at this one thing in his life he is. Like there's no other choices for him.

It's not like he wants to abandon the life plan his family has laid out for him; he doesn't want to be a scholar, or a scientist, or a poet. He just doesn't like the one dimension everyone has cast on him. He is so, so close to believing he's only good for the one thing and nothing else matters and he really doesn't want to fall into that mindset.

He misses how hard sqq pushed him, and how teasing lbh is. They're both good for him, he thinks. He's known no one else like them in his entire life. Elders are meant to be respected and listened to, and peers, if he had any, were for him to defeat.. he was never encouraged to talk back or think quickly enough to parry one of sqq's spearing little snipes, and has never been allowed to take pride in something as simple as a clever turn of phrase. And no one can keep up with him, so having LBH repeatedly dog his footsteps, improving leaps and bounds just to match him is exhilarating and he misses it.

He thinks about skipping out on leg day to make a visit.

OPM is definitely taking advantage of lbh's sudden unstable headspace. Unfortunately for lbh, he never really processed the grief of his mother passing. He kind of has been low key retraumatising himself by getting old people to love him enough to include him in their wills and then Die on him, but it's totally fine because he has SUCH a tight hold on his emotions that these deaths don't really affect him. Really! There's nothing triggering about being repeatedly left behind. :)

And now he's formed genuine bonds with lqg and sqq against all expectations and they've both left him! And he can't do anything about sqq bc sqq isn't his family or legally bound to him in anyway that he could stake a claim against blood ties, even if he suspects qjl at least of ill intent. And lqg just abandoned both lbh and sqq, so. So.

Opm kind of takes the opportunity to feed into these paranoias and pent up emotions, definitely trying to get lbh to associate opm with some kind of stability. Lbh even goes with opm on a home visit to [Huan Hua Palace analogue] where he's very briefly tempted to join an actual Cult so his problems go away

Luckily someone says something—maybe omp says something a little too reveling, or lpm let's something go that she's not supposed to, or gyx (who genuinely grew to like sqq for some inexplicable reason) gives lbh a stealth hint—and lbh realises that maybe he can't do anything about sqq (yet) but he can definitely track down and wring answers from lqg.

Lbh runs to the gym lqg frequents. Lqg is not there, so lbh tracks him down. (Boy has Stalker in his blood unfortunately)

He finally runs into lqg at a different fancy training gym lbh has to sneak inside of.  He confronts lqg, who seems surprised but not upset to see him. Mostly confused bc lbh is so upset. (His family didn't know? About lbh? So he's not grounded from lbh or even sqq specifically, just the assisted living place.)

Lbh comes off hot, demanding a lot of answers from lqg, who honestly tries to give them, but lbh really isn't in a great headspace and lqg isn't either so it turns into a graceless fight pretty quickly. Lbh is not dressed for a spar, but they tumble across the mats anyways. Lqg doesn't hold back and neither does lbh, who has been learning startlingly fast from lqg so they both end up in terrible condition.

Lqg is finding it kind of cathartic, bc lbh isn't caring about pulling punches or making sure lqg is in top form, and he sure as hell isnt above baiting him with words either.

Lbh is just finding it very nice to actually let lose and not act like a starry eyed little lamb to keep everyone on his good side. Obviously, lqg doesn't like him as much as he thought or he wouldn't have left so it's fine to let everything go

They kind of beat each other into the ground and they're both lying down staring at the ceiling, catching their breath, when lqg finally manages to explain his phone got confiscated and he hasn't been allowed to visit and he bombed that test he was supposed to take, but he did grab a copy of mqf's essay for sqq

And then lbh just bursts into tears

Lqg is frozen, completely unsure of what he said that caused that reaction.

Haltingly, lbh explains that after lqg stopped showing up, sqq's grand niece and nephew took him away probably to get their grubby little hands on his estate or whatever (as if they even care about his extensive historical scroll collections!) and that he's pretty sure he's halfway to joining a Cult even and everything sucks now!!!

Lqg sits up and like. Pats. Awkwardly at lbh's shoulder.

Apparently, since lbh visited Huan Hua Palace he recognized some faces that have been low key following him around and bumping into him all coincidental like. Like. The cult-recrution is very serious and lbh is kind of just realizing it now and freaking out more.

Lqg grabs a first aid kit, tenderly helps clean lbh up, drags him to a store to buy some decent clothes that aren't covered in sweat and blood, and then beings him home.

Can't let him go back to an apartment that's being stalked probably.

He introduces lbh to his family as a novice with potential, and lbh's manners are impeccable so they take a liking to him pretty quickly, even if they are a bit stoic about it. Lqg makes up some acceptable excuse to have lbh have dinner and stay over so they can talk more seriously about everything going on. (Lbh noticed that lqg's dinner is different than the rest of the family's)

Liu mingyan is also there, and adorable, and she likes lbh because he makes her brother frown less.

Anyways, lqg leads lbh to a guest room and then sneaks in from like a side window idk, and starts dissecting lbh's rambling again, this time with focus. He comes to the conclusion that there's two major problems here. One, opm's weird obsession with lbh and that Cult. Lbh can just stop volunteering at the center, but since people already know where he lives and have been low key stalking him that is not the only step they'd have to take.

Second, sqq's nefarious relatives trying to take advantage of him probably. They'd have to ascertain that they really are taking advantage and it's not just sqq protesting too much.

Out of the two, lqg decides the whole. Cult thing. Is more important right now. Sqq's relatives probably aren't planning on, like. Killing him early.

(He spares a moment to lament how weird his life has gotten)

Anyways defeating opm just amounts to getting evidence of tax fraud from the cult, which lqg recruits his acquaintance from school for (that's sqh. Sqh is having his own whole side adventure involving mbj, lgj, madam meiyin, wqw dealing with inheritance rights and accounting. He is not having fun.) which at least results in mbj princess carrying sqh away from lqg and lbh when sqh throws them all the paperwork for proof of money mishandling.

Opm goes to jail, the Cult is dismantled, lbh and lqg aren't even involved so risk of retaliation is very low.

During this lbh gets to come to terms a little more with his unresolved grief and the mortality of those he loves. He has several conversations with lqg about it, in oblique and acute ways. Lqg is straightforward, and hasn't encountered death as much as lbh, so his opinion is mostly that things happen when they happen. You can't avoid it, you just have to avoid having regrets. Which in turn makes him seriously reconsider just going along with his family's plans for him.  Yeah he was fine with it, but he'd been incredibly lonely and unfulfilled. He thought all he needed was improving himself, but with how close he is now with lbh, he realises  that he was seriously close to never having a friend other than his little sister.

He decides to take his own advice and not let others dictate his life.

This causes a fight with his family, of course, a huge blow out. Lqg insists that he's capable of doing the things he wants to do and handle his own schedule. His family cuts him off as like, a lesson in self sufficiency. If he doesn't appreciate them and their guidance then he can go it alone. They obviously think he'll come crawling back when he realises he has to work or something.

He can't afford his apartment (his family owns it but they tell him to fork up rent or figure it out)

Lbh graciously offers his apartment.

There's a mini arc where lqg adjusts to peasanthood. Lbh helps him get a job, lqg struggles to balance that AND training AND school, but he's always been a hard worker so he figures it out. Lbh insists on doing all the cooking when lqg reveals he knows how to make like three meals, and they don't even taste good. (They're calorie efficient and high protein)

Lbh goes back to volunteering bc that's... kind of a huge chunk of his time. It's his hobby. But he spends a lot more time with lqg which helps him regulate his emotions and stuff surrounding. You know. Dying.

Anyways, it's thanks to this that they get a lead on sqq! An older gentleman tries checking in at the visitor center and lbh would ignore him but he overhears sqq's name and comes wandering over.

"I just wanted to visit shen qingqiu. If possible."

"Oh, he's been checked out by his family for a few weeks now."

The man turns away, dejected, and lbh pounces on him, offering to escort him out of the building. Lbh asks him how the man knows sqq, why he wanted to visit, etc etc.

The man's name is Yue qingyuan. He was a childhood friend of sqq's. They were separated and he's been trying to get back in contact. He doesn't want any regrets. Lbh has a very nice and long conversation with the man, and they exchange numbers.

Lbh is excited to tell lqg the news and they both end up calling yqy to set up a coffee date later on.

They tell yqy about the qius and he corroborates their ill feelings and that sqq was never really close with the qiu branch of the family. Yqy knows where sqq's estate is and the qiu's family home, so he and lqg and lbh decide to make a visit.

Sqq, predictably, is pissed at yqy. (Do we get sqq and yqy's backstory here? No. Sqq herds yqq to a private room to yell and cry at him. That's for them. Idk if it's very obvious but sqq here is a mix of shen yuan and shen jiu so hes terrible but like in different ways)

Lqg and lbh awkwardly kind of stand around while that reunion is happening when they over hear qjl's conversation over phone with someone. They decide, you know, fuck it, might as well eaves drop. QJL definitely says something super suspicious and incriminating.

They go back to interrupt sqq and yqy when it becomes clear qjl is headed in sqq's direction. They give sqq the heads up, sqq admonishes them both but is CLEARLY touched  that they both were concerned about him and came after him. 

Qjl's plan is to get sqq ruled unfit and appoint qjl or qht as the trustee or whatever which means the qius will basically have all the access to sqq's money and estate before he even dies.

Sqq tries to outmaneuver him by preemptively disowning the qius from his heritance, but things do get tied up legally speaking. QJL and QHT say that sqq is unfit and old and obviously being taken advantage of by one of his caregivers from when he was recovering from a hospital visit. (They still have lbh's card and try to slander him Liberally)

Lbh does have to face and acknowledge his manipulative ways, at least in private to lqg and sqq and yqy. Sqq laughs, saying he KNEW lbh wasn't the sheep he pretended to be. That's fine, sqq likes wolves better anyways.

Lqg, after all their conversations about lbh coming to terms with his grief and trauma kind of assumes it's a little more nuanced than trying to just dig gold out of old people. Like, it was more of a coping mechanism where lbh was receiving tangible rewards for being in someone's life, assuring that even if he kept being left behind he was being rewarded as well?

Yqy decides that at the very least lbh cares genuinely for sqq so the rest doesn't matter, but his track record is maybe not the best to be involved with advocating for sqq Not Being manipulated and also probably shouldn't be in the lime light anyhow as he might get in trouble if any of his uh inheritances are questioned

Lqg on the other hand, is like. Best boy. Tutored by sqq, obviously hanging a genuine mentor/student relationship that can be backed with his grades improving (if sqq can still tutor someone he probably still mentally competant) with a wealthy family of his own, there's very little reason for anyone to suspect lqg of manipulating anyone in any capacity. (Him being cut off isn't like, a formal thing at all. And it's doubtful his family would make a fuss about it if it would harm their reputation as well, but it never comes up)

So LQG goes head to head with QJL about sqq's capacity for self governance. qjl is charming and clever, but lqg is earnest and captivating. Lqg definitely puts to use some of the rhetoric sqq tried beating into his head and is fairly pleased when he comes off as articulate and well spoken instead of awkward.

lqg and lbh eventually convince qht that qjl is not seeing sqq's best interests and she takes their side and qjl's quest to get his hands on sqq's money is squashed.

Sqq decides he wants to travel, hires lbh as an attendant, mostly so he has someone else to yell at besides yqy who insists on following sqq around like a duckling. Sqq hates ducklings more than lambs.  (The trip is for yqy to make various contact with his connections and businesses now that he's found sqq.)

It's lqg's family that begs lqg to stop being so self sufficient and independent. They say they'll give him a bigger allowance, a bigger apartment. He can have cheat days for his diet as long as it's within certain limits! Lmy misses him!

Lqg figures he's made his point and sort of goes back to the family. He still keeps living in lbh's apartment bc someone needs to feed lbh's stupid birds and pay the rent and what not, but he mostly eases back into his previous routine.

Lbh and sqq give him shit about it, like he's backsliding, but what is he supposed to do? There's only so much time he can spend listening to sqq lecture with the time difference, and with lbh gone there's not really anything to do but train like normal.

It's only when lmy comes crying to him bc she's feeling so pressured that lqg realises that probably things aren't ever going to change. His family won't stop pressuring him or trying to control his life and it won't stop with him. He doesn't want lmy to grow up feeling like she can only be good at what their family wants from her.

So he tells his family in no uncertain terms that he is going on a vacation. And he's taking lmy. When he comes back, he won't stand for them pigeon holing mingyan like they did him, and if they want him to keep being such a successful Liu child, and not disown them all outright, then they better get comfortable with lmy chosing her own path.

He ends up calling yqy, who arranges for lqg and lmy to join them in a layover surprising lbh and sqq.

(Sqh and mbj are babysitting lbh's birds and apartment)

Lmy delights sqq, who starts early in teaching her the joys of literature and teasing her big brother.

Lbh is also ecstatic, he really missed lqg. Lqg explains to them the ultimatum he gave regarding lmy, and lbh is displeased lqg is basically bargaining his own future for lmy's.  Lqg shrugs it off, he does enjoy his projected career and he's good at it. It's really enough for him if he family stops meddling in the rest of his life. He's pleased to choose who and what he gets to spend his free time on, and it's doubly worth it if that means lmy gets to be who she wants to be right out of the gate.

Lbh reluctantly agrees with him.

Anyways, they spend like two months traveling around having a great time on sqq and yqy's dime.

Yqy introduces lqg and lbh to a BUNCH of acquaintances, a large amount of which are established coaches and martial artists who take a liking to lqg and lbh.

Sqq spends so much time writing, probably memoirs or something.

Lmy is adorable and starts her own journals AND insists lqg start teach her some moves.

Lbh picks up so many recipes. Since lqg is on vacation that means lbh gets to feed him whatever he wants!!! It turns out, lqg just hasn't tried a lot of things and actually enjoys most of lbh makes. (Lbh is going to riot if lqg goes back on a diet.)

They make a cute family.

So, sqq is free, lbh is a little more grown, and lqg isn't just putting one foot in front of the other any more.

There's still some conflict in their lives... lqg's family is hard to work with but he sticks to his guns. It's a little embarrassing when lmy decides she wants to follow in lqg's footsteps and he wants to give her the freedom to do that but also wouldn't she rather do literally anything else. (She would. She would also like to write). Lbh gets very over protective of sqq and yqy bc they are getting older and more delicate, which ruffles sqq's feathers so much he threatens to write lbh out of the will!

Lbh is like "I'm in the will?"

And sqq is like, "don't be stupid, I paid you on our vacation as a caregiver, that disqualifies you from being a beneficiary."

Lqg is in sqq's will. Sqq figures lbh will marry him anyways at some point (lbh is a hopeless romantic) so it's basically the same thing.

(Yqy did NOT know sqq didn't put lbh in his will. He put lqg in his too! So he wouldn't feel left out!!! And he wouldnt feel pressured to rely on his family forever! Now he's got to get it rewritten for binghe!!!! )

I'm not going to write about sqq and yqy dying I'll cry. So it ends there. Happily.

[savrenim]

I’ve decided to try something new with my patreon, as I both currently (a) am in a tighter spot financially and currently need to be taking up extra work, and (b) would really like some of that work to be creative writing, so that I do not lose all time for writing in my life. So I will begin my patreon like a monthly writing commission: I will write [monthly earnings] x 10 words for whatever current work of mine the $5 tier or above votes for in a monthly poll.

I will continue to work on all other writing projects as the inspiration strikes me; this simply acts as a guarantee that I will produce a certain number of words for the chosen project in addition to that.

This means both fanfictions — ifmlam, ttbotr, wriu, aiimbp, abbabf — and the drafts that I am working on for both original short stories and novels. The full description of all of the options will be posted on each poll. I will post all words written from the previous month’s poll in the access to everything tag. Maximum possible words per month will cap at 10k, because that is the amount that I amount that I can reasonably do while still working my day job.

Full descriptions of the options below the cut.

Fanfiction: it feels more like a memory: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/5456225/chapters/12613484] fandom: Hamilton. Aaron Burr is the Seer — a figure of religious and political importance, due to his ability to see how someone dies the first time he touches their bare skin. An extremely detailed series of eight different alternate histories emerge from there. This probably has at least 200k to go, with an existing outline of plot points to hit and scattered scenes written amongst that.

as if it must be pure: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/43954528/chapters/110519095] fandom: Boku no Hero Academia: I am gonchposting my way through a canon retelling healer! Izuku fic. featuring All For One having an existential crisis about a Yoichi-shaped child turning up out of the blue and sure is doing something with this ‘second chance’, big brother Tomura, the entire League of Villains’ original founding tenet being the Izuku Protection Squad, Aizawa is so tired of all these extra Problem Children he has accidentally adopted, All Might did not realize what he was getting into choosing this successor, Class 1-A unanimously deciding that their precious cinnamon roll must be shielded from this world and if the HPSC needs to go down to do it that is an acceptable price, and an incredibly tired hacker! Hitoshi who is not being paid enough to deal with the insanity and also terrible opsec of said Class 1-A conspiracy and almost certainly going to get a spinoff fic of his own.

we raise it up: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/23608963/chapters/56655328] fandom: the Magnus Archives. Jonathan Sims reads a Leitner, gains foreknowledge about the course of canon through the end of season 4, and everyone proceeds to run around like headless chickens with the playing in the background fixing everything. The five remaining chapters + four epilogues are painstakingly outlined and/or partially written, probably tentatively around 50k remaining with 20k of that already written.

to the bottom of the river: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/11066571/chapters/24678171] fandom: Yuri! on Ice. A retelling of the anime with a twist on the world background: people can lease their souls to demons in return for making various supernatural deals. There is a single chapter mostly written remaining that better emotionally wraps up and concludes the whole thing, then some additional content already ready to post as a patreon exclusive.

a buried and a burning flame: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/32158693/chapters/79679947] fandom: Victoria Goddard’s The Hands of the Emperor. A retelling of the canon universe with the twist of two different sorts of culturally specific soulmates.  

Unpublished Fanfiction: the wind, the wind, the wind: lesbian Hadestown in space. need I say anything more.

shade of the morning sun: a crossover of my unpublished novel Opus (characters appearing in a beating heart of stone) with the Star Wars prequels. possibly the most insane and indulgent thing I’ve ever written.

Original Works: Opus I: incredibly tired diplomat is annoyed that his assigned assassin-pretending-very-poorly-to-a-bodyguard’s murderous love polygon drama is going to have political ramifications that will in fact be his problem. featuring: Seers, except this Seer can only see 10 seconds into the future and uses it to be Extremely Good At Punching Things, the red/blue/gold relationship system, a magic system based around hiveminds, and an incredibly complicated and fucked-up language with plot-relevant linguistics. some characters and draft 0 concepts appear in a beating heart of stone to get an idea of the Vibes. This is the first in a series of, like, 15 books that will eventually become a multiverse-spanning space opera.

The Numanok Files: Murderbot Diaries crossed with non-sexist Dresden Files crossed with that TV show that was a psychic and a home inspector investigating supposed hauntings, but like, in space, and sometimes the hauntings are real. Valryka Numanok is a bounty hunter who specializes in dealing with ghosts, except while half of the time, a haunting is a haunting, the other half it is poorly covered wiring being affected by solar flares / an alien fungus / hi welcome to me infodumping about everything that might possibly go wrong in exoplanetary settlements. This is a series of novellas each following an individual case.

Strangeside 7: this is Redline but in the aesthetics of a Miyazaki movie; a civilization that spans a galaxy is constrained by the existence of the ‘Strange’ — think sci-fi Fae Wilds. Every year the Strangeside7 race runs through seven unannounced segments of the edges of the Strange. We follow the motley cast of characters as they attempt to qualify and run in this year’s race in a stand-alone novel.

The Heart And The Heartless: shounen anime of ‘kids going to sorcery-warrior school to learn how to wield their innate sorcerous abilities to hunt down and seal revenants’ except told from the perspective of the Incredibly Tired and Perpetually Overworked teachers. Also a stand-alone novel.  

Link to my patreon is here: https://www.patreon.com/savrenim

[snakeboistan]

3-E + KARASUNO + 1-A FRIENDSHIP GROUPS

Just a heads up that I don't really know that much about BNHA. Most of my knowledge comes from fanfics, tumblr posts and my bestie so some of these headcanons might be a bit OOC

Nagisa + Hinata + Midoriya

So I’ve already made posts about Nagisa, Hinata and Mido being the ultimate cinnamon roll trio who are the loves of my life, my sons and if anything happens to them I will kill everyone and then myself

Let me adopt them, please let me adopt them 

I mean it is canon that Mama Midoriya is single right?...jk jk ... unless 👀

These precious babies are literally the sweetest guys ever and everyone’s ultimate hype men

They have their own protection squads and at least five people who have a crush on them (these bois be making people question their sexuality like it’s a past time)

They can also turn feral at any given moment and revert back to normal in a second

They act like its no big deal but they have legit traumatised people before

I know that Nagisa and Midoriya are ✨ notebook buddies ✨ but I like to think that Hinata keeps a volleyball journal like Kageyama (like the adorable boyfriend he is) and shows it off proudly to them and Nagisa and Mido are so proud of their tangerine bestie and they teach him how to make notes and analyse like they do and are just so pure (ILOVETHEMSOMUCHYOUHAVENOIDEA)

It’s a legit hazard to have them in the same place because the intensity of the combined smiles of a baby sunshine crow, baby sunshine snake and baby sunshine bunny can wipe out anyone in a 10 km radius

But what a way to go, am I right?

Also, I’m adding Yamaguchi here because he’s a sweetie who can and will end someone if they try to mess with Tsukki the people he cares about 

Do not under any circumstances try to mess with the trio that is Nagi, Yama and Mido because they know all of your secrets and are not afraid to use that to their benefit 

 Isogai + Daichi + Iida 

Did you mean: Dad Friends

Someone help them

It aint easy being a teen parent but they make it work

Also I’m a total simp for all three of them like Iida is everything I want IDKY I’m not saying its the glasses but its totally the glasses

Can and will do the disappointed dad stare. It is effective.

These three meet up to despair about their schoolmates and within five minutes one (or all) of them is getting a phone call because someone needs to be bailed out of jail

Isogai and Iida are class rep goals just saying

They love their classmates but why are they like this

Daichi: *watching Noya and Tanaka egg on the Terasaka gang to let them connect sleds on Yoshida’s motorbikes and go speed racing down the mountain* I ask myself that everyday

Just...someone give them a vacation and some aspirin because they need it

But not for too long because they are the few responsible ones 

Midoriya: *mumbling* That’s funny considering that Iida tried to murder someone in cold blood 

1-A members not aware of the Hosu Incident (so basically everyone except for Mido, Todo and Glasses Sonic): WHAT?!

Karma: Really? That’s weird. Nagisa tried to do that as well

3-E members that didn’t confront Takaoka: WAIT WHAT?!

Karasuno: *paling* who the f*ck are these people…

 Fuwa + Nakamura + Kiyoko + Ashido + Aoyama

The ultimate shippers

Listen, look me in the eyes and tell me that Shimizu Kiyoko doesn’t ship her team and that she does not have a group chat with all of the other managers where they gossip about who’s dating who. Look me right in the eyes and tell me that does not happen.

These people know all of the gossip 

Well actually Nagisa knows all of the tea in 3-E but Fuwa is a close second

Ultimate wingpeople 

 Kataoka + Ennoshita + Momo

I don’t want to say mum friend but they are the most responsible ones if Isogai, Daichi and Iida aren’t around

They are beings to be feared, you dont wanna cross them

There was once a time when all three of them are angered and everyone still has emotional scars to this day

The only ones who can control the chaos

Can also smack talk people like a pro

Have soft spots for the cinnamon rolls

Just imagine the three of them sitting around one of those circular umbrella tables outside of a cafe wearing matching sunglasses and drinking smoothies out of a straw as they judge everyone

 Kimura + Hinata + Kageyama + Kirishima

GYM BUDDIES

Listen, there are athletes and there are athletes™

These boys are the latter 

They race all of the time

I’m not kidding

Everything is a race

Arm wrestles galore

 Hazama + Tsukishima + Tokoyami

Masters of snark

Looks like they can kill you, can actually kill you

Hang out with each other to get away from the stupidity of everyone around them

Hazama and Tokoyami are just chillin’ talking about demonic sacrifice and Tsukki’s like ‘you guys are more tolerable than the feral children I’ll stay here’

Literally have no cares at all

If you approach them they will make you cry

 Chiba + Hayami + Kageyama + Todoroki 

The chill kids

All they do is vibe in the background

They’re entire friendship is just *blank stare* *eye contact* *small nod*

And you know what? That’s valid

Are also totally willing to hide a body 24/7

Todo convinces the other three that his theories are legit

 Terasaka Squad + Nishinoya + Tanaka + Bakusquad

CHAOS

That is it

Do I need to go on?

 Kurahashi + Kouda 

Soft bbys

Would die for them

Go on bug hunting expeditions

Hang out at petting zoos

Kurahashi has fallen in love with Kouda's bunnies as she should 

Are proud parents of every single furry and crawlie critter on the E-Class mountain

Dont worry Nagisa gets to keep his snakes

Go to pet stores and animal shelters

pure cinnamon rolls

 Maehara + Tanaka + Nishinoya + Kaminari

Best hype men

Praise each other like no other

Maehara and Calamari keep on getting annoyed because everyone keeps on pretending to not be able to tell the two apart

They can it's just that it's fun to mess with them

 Karasuma + Ukai + Aizawa

The ‘I came here determined not to get attached and now I’ve adopted a gang of teenagers’

Are literally one second away from becoming alcoholics

Are constantly ready to ‘subtly’ brag about how their students are improving in training 

Karasuma and Aizawa go over sparring procedures and Ukai is just like ‘your students have WEAPONS?!?’

Tsundere but parents

Best Dads

They love their kids 

But dont tell anyone that

It’s okay they know anyway

Will deck anyone that hurts their chaos children in any way

 Koro-Sensei + Takeda + Yagi 

PROUD PAPAS

THEY LOVE THEIR KIDS SO MUCH

THEY CAN SPEND 1284720 HOURS BRAGGING ABOUT HOW AWESOME THEIR KIDS STUDENTS ARE

HAVE WALLETS WITH THEIR PHOTOS IN THEM Yagi’s is just 20+ pictures of Midoriya but shhhh

*Todoroki’s conspiracy theory senses tingle*

They could be at the groceries but they’ll still find a way to brag about their kids

[corvus--rex]

Way back after I had just spent an entire weekend burning through the first 14k words of Dormiveglia, I decided that I wanted to do something of a foil to that, and this one came about. It's semi-abandoned rn, but I do want to come back to it. I inverted the boys' dynamics (Omega Keith and Alpha Lance), but - and no spoilers! - that's not the only part that's changed-but-not. Standing rule still applies - it's ok to skip the Omegaverses if they're not your thing! :)

~*~*~*~

Betas never could understand. Betas kept to their own dynamic. Keith supposed he envied them in a way. Never having to worry about Alphas making lewd comments, at the very least, on one end of the scale, or treating them like fine china on the other. And Omegas themselves were either just as submissive on one end, or more like Keith, not having any patience for typical Alpha behavior on the other. It’s what nearly got him kicked out of the Garrison. His propensity for getting in fights. If it wasn’t Griffin, it was another Alpha making obnoxious comments.

And then it’s what had gotten him stuck with the world’s most annoying co-pilot. In the interest of “diversity” and “balance”, his irritating co-pilot was an Alpha, and the other two crew members were an Alpha and Omega. Keith felt a sort of kinship with the other Omega. Pidge didn’t have time for anyone’s shit. He got it. He knew what it was like to be an Omega with a short fuse. It’s what made Keith like the tech genius when they first met.

He did have to, grudgingly, admit that, as annoying as his co-pilot was, as an Alpha, he was one of the better ones. Lance knew that Keith was the better pilot, and that’s why he’d started some imagined rivalry between them. Which didn’t help him, in Keith’s opinion. The other Alpha, flight engineer Hunk, was a cinnamon roll made of sunshine, and unlike any Alpha Keith had ever met. Even Shiro and Adam. Shiro saved him, in a way, and he and his boyfriend – fiancé, by then – basically adopted him. Shiro may have been missing, but Adam still loved him, despite the fight they had before Shiro left.

But none of this explained why he was on the roof of the Garrison barracks in the middle of the night with Pidge, Hunk, and, unfortunately, Lance. Pidge had been looking for his brother and father, lost on the same mission as Shiro. But something a little closer to home was messing with his computer. Either way, this whole night had been a shitshow. It started with Lance dragging Hunk along to sneak off campus. Something Keith could have told them how to do far more effectively if they’d asked. He didn’t need half his flight crew getting themselves in trouble, so he’d gone after them. And then they started following Pidge to see where he was going. And then they were all on the roof.

“Lately, all the alien chatter has been about something they're calling ‘Voltron’. But that’s been interrupted by whatever this is,” Pidge said, gesturing at his laptop screen.

Hunk crowded in beside him. “Oh, oh, wait. This looks like Fraunhofer lines. For elements, y’know? But this doesn’t look like any I've ever seen. Maybe we can reconfigure your scanner to pick up on it and we can trace where it’s coming from.”

“How long would that take?” Lance whined from where he was sprawled on the floor of the roof.

“Not long. Maybe half an hour.”

Keith just sighed and leaned back. At least he could see space from there.

Reconfiguring Pidge’s scanner took the half hour Hunk said it would. In the interest of not getting caught, Keith redirected them when trying to sneak out so they wouldn’t. Finding the source of the readings the scanner was picking up took a little longer than a half an hour. More like an hour and a half. But when they found the cave and its odd carvings it made things better. Then the carvings on the walls and floor lit up when Lance touched them and suddenly they found themselves falling down a waterfall and directly in front of a massive blue cat-robot-something.

Standing in front of it, they all saw the same thing, an even larger humanoid-shaped robot that looked like it was made of the blue cat in front of them and four others, all different colors. They all knew that it was Voltron, and that the cat in front of them was a piece of it. The vision dissipated quickly, leaving them all wondering if they really saw it. But they did, and then were wondering how to get past the force field the cat had around it.

Without warning, Lance walked up to the energy shield. “Maybe all you have to do is knock,” he said, doing just that.

The force field dropped, and the cat’s head lowered, allowing him in. Lance, being Lance, rushed in without hesitation. He found out quickly that it wasn’t a robot, it was a ship. He threw himself into the pilot’s seat and the controls came to life under his hands. Hunk, Pidge, and Keith made it on board seconds before the cat broke through the rock wall and out into the night.

Lying in his bed onboard the Castle, that night felt like a lifetime ago but also like it could have been yesterday. Keith stared at the ceiling, insomnia doing its best to ruin his sleep cycle. He kept thinking about what had happened that night – finding Blue, rescuing Shiro, and then Blue taking them through the wormhole. It wasn’t the thoughts themselves that kept him up, but he found that insomnia made his mind spin out of control. Well, if he couldn’t sleep, he might as well train. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with thinking about things he couldn’t change.

Finding out that he was half Galra solved one mystery about Keith’s past. But something still felt off. Something he couldn’t figure out. He had asked Allura and Coran if the Castle’s medical technology could determine DNA origins. He wanted to know if they could figure out his biology. But they both told him that it would take a trained medic to be able to properly accomplish that. So the rest of the mystery remained.

He heard sounds of drones and gladiator training robots as he approached the training deck. It was the middle of the night, who could possibly be up at this hour besides him? That question was answered before he got to the door and heard the distinct sound of laser fire. Lance was all about his precious beauty sleep, what the hell was he doing up – and training – at this hour? Keith walked into the training deck just as the last gladiator fell, a floor panel opening to drop the drone into the automated repair sub-floor.

“Pause training sequence,” Lance panted, sinking to one of the benches at the edge of the room.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Keith asked, walking over.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I couldn’t sleep, and insomnia fucks with my head. I figured training was better than letting it.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah, same.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “I – I never meant to be such a dick back on Earth. Or out here. It wasn’t even anything to do with you being an Omega; you were just the better pilot and it made me feel like I had something to prove. Probably sounds as stupid as I think it does.”

“No?” Keith questioned, sitting beside the Alpha, “I don’t think it sounds stupid, but I don’t think like that, so I don’t really get it. I don’t think you have anything to prove. I just thought you were annoying.”

Lance snorted and leaned back against the wall. “Thanks,” he said, “Some people have a way with words, while Keith just decks them in the face.”

“I can be a little too blunt sometimes, huh?”

Lance rolled his head to face the Omega beside him. “Sometimes? Try, like, all the time. Dude, you nearly punched Iverson for some bullshit he said. I’m not denying it was bullshit, just saying that maybe punching him wasn’t the best choice. And the only reason he said what he did was because you have no filter.”

“Hey. I have a filter. I just choose to ignore it,” Keith defended himself.

Lance burst out laughing. “Ok, fair,” he said, laughter subsiding. “I don’t want to be rivals. I never really did. But we’re a team now. All of us. And we should act like it.”

“Yeah, we should,” Keith agreed, “I don’t mean for this to be the thing I lead with, but are you ok? I mean, I know we all miss Earth, home, but something’s been feeling off with you lately.”

The Alpha sighed heavily. “Yeah – I don’t know. Ever since we got out here, there’s been this weird nostalgic feeling. And I don’t know why or where it’s coming from. Like, sometimes I’ll see something here on the castle, or it will be something Allura or Coran says, or, like, the way they say it, and I get this weird feeling. Like it’s familiar somehow.”

“Well, we found out that I’m not all human. Maybe it’s possible that you’re not either. We have no idea how many races or species found Earth separately. Maybe there’s someone in your family who wasn’t human.”

Lance had never even considered that. But Keith had a point. Maybe somewhere in his family was someone who wasn’t from Earth. He didn’t think it was anyone recent, but then again, Keith was only three months younger than him, and he wasn’t fully human. Who knew, maybe one of his parents wasn’t as human as they claimed.

“Yeah, maybe there is,” Lance finally agreed.

Keith realized that he was actually tired. He didn’t want to stay up and train, he just wanted to go to bed. And it looked like Lance felt the same way. Was his insomnia cured? Probably not. But maybe late-night talks with friends could help with it.

“I think I'm gonna head to bed,” the Omega said.

“Yeah,” Lance yawned, “Me too.”

They walked back to their rooms together, brushing against one another occasionally, but that was just because it was late and they were tired. There was nothing more to that. There couldn’t be. They had only just agreed that butting heads all the time was a bad idea. Keith couldn’t bring himself to admit that there was something about Lance’s earthy, woodsy scent that called to him. There wasn’t. Was there? The Alpha’s scent had the musky note common to Alphas, but it wasn’t overbearing like so many were. It was soft, comforting. But that still didn’t mean that there was something else there. Lance just had a slightly unusual scent, that’s all.

Alphas usually only went into a rut when they were involved with an Omega, or mated to one. But being in such close quarters with three Omegas made it more likely to happen, relationship or not. But Keith wasn’t at all thinking about how Lance’s scent changed the one time said Alpha found himself in a rut when the last half of his own heat had coincided with the first half Allura’s. How it had become richer and deeper and how Keith had found himself instinctively attracted to it. Nope. Not going there.

Keith didn’t know that Lance was thinking the same thing. He didn’t want to keep going with some stupid, pointless rivalry that he’d made up. So he’d done something about it. But now that he had, Lance was trying not to think about the Omega walking beside him. The one with the herbal, incense-sweet scent. The scent that wasn’t anywhere near as sweet as other Omegas. Lance loved Pidge like a little sister, but she smelled like buttered toffee, and it only got worse when her heats hit. Keith’s scent intensified when he went into heat, but he didn’t smell like a candy shop.

So, no. Lance was not thinking about the boy beside him. Not at all. Or his scent. Or why he was suddenly thinking about how his scent changed during heats. Especially not that last one. Very especially not that last one. Not that it mattered. This was neither the time nor place for it. They had far more important things like winning a 10,000-year-old war to worry about. So Lance was just going to put that thought in the box of things to worry about later.

The two separated at their doors, going to bed alone. Neither would admit that the other’s scent permeated their dreams.

The next morning, Allura called a meeting after breakfast. When the paladins gathered on the bridge, they found the projected star map up, focused on an area of space they had never seen. It was a little farther out of the way, and, as Pidge noticed, not too far from Olkarion. But that didn’t answer the question of what the system was or why it was of interest to Voltron.

“I will admit,” Allura said, “The planet in this system is not one that requires Voltron. But it is one that may be of help to us.” She zoomed in on the map, showing the planet in question. “This is the planet Tas. They have an innate knowledge and understanding of biology. While they could be a great asset to the Coalition, this is more personal. A question about the capabilities of our medical technology here aboard the castle was raised recently. The Tasians may be able to help with the answer to that question better than we can here.”

“Getting better functionality from our medical equipment would be a huge help,” Pidge said.

Everyone agreed on that point, and that their next stop would be planet Tas. Everyone took their stations, Allura plotted the course, and opened a wormhole. A lush, green world came into view on the screen. The castle was very shortly hailed by the planet.

“Greetings and welcome to Tas. I am Ael, head of the planetary council. To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from Voltron and the Castle of Lions?”

Ael appeared human, only the intensity of their bright emerald green eyes gave any indication that they were not. Their primary sex was difficult to discern, and no one wanted to assume, especially with an alien species. Likewise, their clothing didn’t appear gendered in any way. It was simple, with clean lines, and flowed for ease of movement.

“Greetings, Ael. I am Princess Allura of Altea and the Voltron Coalition. We have come here to Tas because of your people’s innate understanding of biology. We do not have the training or knowledge to make full use of our medical equipment and were hoping you and your people could assist us with that.”

Ael brightened. “Of course. We would be happy to assist the Voltron Coalition. Especially with something as vital as the care of those sick or injured. Please, you are welcome to land.” The gently smiling face of the Tasian disappeared from the screen.

Coran received the landing site coordinates, and Allura guided the Castle to the planet’s surface. The planet Tas was just as green on the surface as it was from space. Had they not seen it on the descent, team Voltron might never have known the city was there. While controlled, every building was dripping in plant life, whether from climbing vines, hanging planters, or window boxes. It felt as though the planet itself was alive.

The team quickly came to realize that primary sexes were of no social importance. The other Tasians were as androgynous as Ael, and everyone filled whatever role they were best suited to, regardless of primary or secondary sexes. Primary sex played a role to an extent even in Altean culture, and this was something unlike anything they’d seen.

“What is it about this place that feels so familiar?” Lance asked himself.

Keith was standing beside him, hearing his question. The Omega had had the same thought. “I don’t know, but something is definitely familiar about it.”

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19*

[iturbide]

More character meme stuff for you. Since Lyon is back on my mind thanks to the new banner, can I hear your thoughts on him please?

Also Ashe please.

You know, with him as the 4-star focus this was not what I was expecting this morning:

So I am all on board with Lyon

How do I feel about this character?

Lyon gets me right in the heart.  Just...his whole story is tragic, when you really think about it.  This young man who is himself intelligent, talented, and capable, but who feels inadequate next to his dearest friends that he loves with all his heart, who feels the crushing pressure of responsibility for his people and his country in the wake of his father’s death and knowing that disaster will soon strike, who falls specifically because he was trying to find a way to prove his worth and save everyone and ended up being manipulated by an unfathomable power.  His kindness and compassion, both admirable traits in and of themselves, ended up becoming a fatal weakness when they allowed Fomortiis the foothold he needed to take hold of Lyon, and from there every good and kind and noble aspect of him ended up twisted beyond recognition.

There’s something about characters with crippling inferiority complexes that draws me in.  I end up feeling deeply for them, wanting the best for them, hoping they’ll succeed and cheering when they’re able to acknowledge and accept their own personal worth...or mourning when they’re not only unable to overcome their self-doubt, but end up becoming victims when it’s exploited by outside forces.  Takumi hits me in very similar ways, especially for Conquest, but Lyon’s story is really heartbreaking for how we see the monster Fomortiis makes of him specifically through the eyes of his dearest friends.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

I...don’t know actually.  I’m not super familiar with Sacred Stones on the whole, so I’m not really familiar with who would be possible or reasonable.  I know that Eirika and Ephraim are both popular partners for him, and there’s definitely an appeal to both of those options, but I don’t know if I prefer one or the other, if there might be someone else out there who’d be good for him, or if I even want to ship him at all so much as give him a chance to find his own happiness for himself.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Eirika and Ephraim, definitely.  Regardless of the romantic side, his friendship with those two is absolutely integral to him and I love the idea of their friendship and how multifaceted it is, fueling both his love for them and his jealousy of them in equal measure.  I’m also really keen on the idea of him being friends with Knoll, since Knoll wants to restore Grado specifically because he wants it to become the nation Lyon truly wanted to make; that says a lot to me personally about the relationship they had, and how much Knoll admired Lyon (especially since he canonically disappears as soon as that work is finished).

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Are there popular Lyon opinions?  I haven’t played Sacred Stones in years at this point: I vaguely recall borrowing it from a friend and I’m reasonably sure I played it through, but the only record I have of it is in some old unfinished fic bits living on an old computer that are directly related to that playthrough. 

How popular is the opinion that Lyon’s story is pretty much perfect?  Because from everything I’ve seen and read it honestly sounds like they handled his arc perfectly, from his motivations to his downfall.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

This is kind of a tough one because I don’t really know Sacred Stones all that well as a game.  My memories are very fuzzy and mostly involve realizing that Myrrh’s dragonstone had limited durability which meant I couldn’t use her in every battle and I was sad about it because dragon girl.  I guess if there’s anything...from what I understand, Lyon is recruitable in some side dungeon if you manage to beat this outrageous hardmode three times?  And yet he has no supports or dialogue.  Like.  What’s even the point if the party doesn’t get to talk to him?  Either don’t make him recruitable or put in dialogue because after everything that happened it’s a crime not to have him say a word.

And also Ashe because I love him

How do I feel about this character?

Ashe is absolutely one of the stand-out characters in the Blue Lions roster and the game on the whole, in my opinion.  His story is honestly fascinating: from a normal commoner kid with siblings and loving parents to an orphan stealing to ensure that he and his siblings could survive on the streets to the adopted child of a minor Kingdom noble with aspirations to be a knight and then back to an orphan thanks to Rhea who’s forced to fight for the Empire depending on your route.  That’s an absolutely wild ride.

Ashe could have been a really tragic character who leans heavy on the sympathy, but he doesn’t.  While there are undeniably tragic elements to his story, especially in the Academy Phase as we’re forced to fight his adoptive father on Rhea’s orders and steal the only parental figure he has (you find him in the cathedral a lot after that, for understandable reasons -- his crisis of faith must be monumental), he never gives up his aspirations to the kind of knight they write stories about.  This is a kid who has resorted to thievery frequently in the past, and his goal in life is to rise up from that low point in his life and become a shining paragon of chivalry and virtue helping the people.  And he puts his money where his mouth is, too: call him gullible, call him naive, but when he sees someone in a bind -- even a thief, claiming he’s been reduced to that to buy medicine for an ailing child -- he always helps out as best he can.  He doesn’t look down on people for their worst moments: he tries to lift them up so they can reach better ones, the same way he was lifted up by Lonato.  With his kindness and his compassion and his earnest ambition, I think he has an excellent chance of succeeding and becoming a knight of story and song.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

TRICK QUESTION once again, I do not have any ships for Ashe.  I don’t have ships for most of the Three Houses kids, and while I love Ashe dearly, none of his supports really grabbed me romantically.  If I had to pick anyone, it would probably be Caspar, because their Supports are stellar: despite how rough the C is, the B turns it all around on its head and makes both of them realize that they were both being way too serious about the whole thing, and the A is sheer perfection as they realize they’ve both been spoiling the cat silly.  The idea of them going on endless adventures together, balancing each other and bringing out the best in one another, is so charming to me, and I could easily see them as lifelong partners.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

PETRA.  I love their Support chain so much and the fact that in their paired endcard she literally creates a whole order of knights in Brigid specifically to help him fulfill his lifelong ambition?  Get yourself a friend like that wow.  Also Annette: I love their Support chain and how even though the both of them are so scared of that very unsettling tower, he still goes and braves it a second time for just to find a treasure that she dropped in their initial flight.  That’s just so sweet okay I love how they get along and how close they are as friends and how they’ll pull out all the stops for one another.  Also, I have a major soft spot for his supports with Dedue because Ashe and Dedue cooking together is excellent (and also his supports with Felix are so charming and definitely show Felix in a better light once the B rolls around).

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Okay so I think I got this one from @anankos but Ashe is really skilled with a knife.  Sure, everybody loves to gush about the precious cinnamon roll, but he can and will cut you if he has to; old habits die hard and he probably has a knife on him at all times just in case he gets in a tight spot, either where he can’t use or doesn’t have his bow.  Ordinarily he would use it for things like hunting and cooking as required, but he’s definitely used it as a cutpurse, and under pressure he will use it to stab someone if it will give him a chance at survival he otherwise wouldn’t have.  Don’t mess with the kid basically.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

This is so small and so minor but I wish we could have seen more of his emotional journey after the loss of Lonato.  I know it’s a really early game event, but given that certain supports can be locked until certain narrative points (like Leonie and Byleth’s B, which focuses directly on the aftermath of Jeralt’s death), I think it would have been beneficial to have shown the impact that death made on him, especially in regards to his view on the church.  Having supports with Seteth could have been great, too, especially given some of his views on the Church as a whole.

Give Me a Character  

[caffeinetheory]

Can I humbly request some fake dating Jasonette?

Okay fair warning I kinda went ham and this is long, it’s like ten pages but for you it was worth it, I hope you enjoy it <3<3<3 now without further adieu:

///

Jason was in dire need of a date for the upcoming Gala, why you might ask? Well someone wasn’t thinking and said they had a secret girlfriend, which didn’t exist. Now the whole family was happy he had finally found someone. Dick was the most persistent, the hopeless romantic he was. 

 Telling Diana about over lunch a 2 months before the big annual charity gala was either the best decision he made or one he would regret, only time would tell. 

 She laughed in his face at his stupidity, but was willing to help. She sent a text and rolled her eyes when she got a response a few minutes later, “My sister will do it, be prepared to meet her next week at your place,” and that was that. He wasn’t expecting to actually get a date from her but hey, if it worked then he’ll go with it. He had about 2 months to make it believable, but god why did it have to be an Amazon.

 A knock on his apartment door at 3 a.m. was now how Jason would be meeting who ever Diana had convinced to do this “fake date” thing with him, so a 5”6’ women pushing herself into his apartment when the door was opened certainly woke him up.

 “And who might you be?” the door closed behind him with a soft click, the woman was surveying the room with a judgemental look, ‘lovely’. She turned sharply to him, her distaste clear on her face, “Someone who lost a bet so I owe Diana a favor,” she visibly sighed and relaxed slightly, “I’m sorry, my name is Marinette Prince, but you can call me Mari, nice to meet you.” Mari held her hand to the bewildered Jason who hesitantly shook it, “Jason Todd but I'm going to assume you already knew that.”

 And that was the rocky start to their relationship. Mari had been living on Themyscira for the last few years so she needed some time to get used to living in the rest of the world. To say she was ecstatic to be able to wear more modern fashion would be an understatement. Their first ‘date’ was in the fashion district a few days after she made herself at home in his apartment. Six hours after they started Mari was finally satisfied, and Jason could no longer feel his arms. They decided to eat dinner at one of the hole-in-the-walls on their way back to Jason’s place. 

 Neither knew how the conversation had gotten on the different costumes of the various heroes and villains but it had sent Mari off on a rant. Despite himself Jason was enjoying every word she said, every critique and every praise. To be fair there wasn’t as much praise was there was critique, but to say his ego wasn’t inflated when “one of the rare acceptable ones” was the Red Hood would be a straight up lie. It was the first time Mari was acting with little to no filter, and granted they hadn’t known each other long he could tell this was rare for her. He was finding himself proud that he was the one to get her to be open like that, why he couldn’t tell you but it did nonetheless.

-------------------------

The two had fallen into domestic life pretty quickly, maybe to quickly, but that didn’t matter. When Jason came home to a clean apartment and dinner being made by his ‘girlfriend’ he was surprisingly okay with it.

 “How was your day?” Mari was placing two plates of something heavenly on the small table just outside of the kitchen. Was that table always there? “It was decent, yours?” he began to dig in while a drink was placed next to him and Mari took her seat across from him. “It was nice, I finally got around to cleaning this place up,” her hair was put in a pair of double buns as she wore some shorts and a tank top clearly having changed recently. 

 “You know you didn’t have to right?” 

 “I enjoy organizing and consider it a small thanks for helping me with shopping the other day and dealing with my rants,” she had a small smile on her face.

 The rest of the night was spent showing Jason where she put everything. The number of guns didn't faze her but living surrounded by weapons he supposed that made sense. The organized first-aid kit was a god send though, on more ruined towels to stop the bleeding. 

------------------------------

The next date Jason planned was a movie, it was Diana’s idea. He couldn’t figure out why taking Mari to an anniversary replaying of an animated superhero movie from almost ten years ago would be in her words “comedy gold”. That was until Mari saw the opening theme and let out a loud groan.

 An hour and fifteen minutes later the credits start to roll and Mari is practically dragging him out of the theater. “This was Diana’s idea wasn’t it?!” Jason couldn’t help the chuckle escaping him, Diana was right this was golden, the only thing she got this heated about what the costumes but this felt more personal. “I swear to the gods, I hate that movie! Nothing was right, He’s like my brother! And I may have been young but I wasn’t STUPID?!” Mari realizes her misstep and quickly covered her mouth dropping Jason’s wrist making him stumble, “Well, M’Lady,” he got punched for that, “I am inclined to believe the totally historically accurate animated film,” she rolled her eyes at him, “It does explain a lot though, and lets just say you're not the only one with red suits in their past,” a wink and another punch in the arm and they left the theater a laughing mess leaning on each other so they wouldn’t fall over. “Oh you arse,” “You know you love me,” another light punch, this one with very little behind it, “Worth it!”

------------------------------

Their third date was more impulsive than the last one. It had been a tough week. For Jason his family was hounding him for details about his girl and the last case he helped with took more effort than he thought it would. Mari on the other hand had been working all week on commission (how Bruce Wayne found out about her she didn't want to know) sketches, she had to make close to ten outfits for the Gala in a month and a half, sure she could do it but the perfectionist in her meant very little sleep. She still had hers and Jason’s to make, not that he knew that yet. 

 That Saturday they found themselves at a small coffee shop Tim liked to rave about. It was homey place, and they both needed to get out of the house. 

 “You know if the replacement sees us you’re gonna have to talk about how we met-” a finger shushed him, Mari looked more dead than Tim did, she needed her coffee fix, anything else could wait.

“Shhhhh Coffee now, annoying family later,” her words were slightly slurred, she hadn’t slept in two days but she finished the sketches to be approved so that was a positive. 

 Once the once the vanilla and cinnamon coffee hit her system she was her joyful self again. Jason had gotten himself a honey chamomile tea, it always helped with the stress. What was originally supposed to be a quick in and out ended up with them spending most of the morning just chatting. 

 They talked about anything and everything. They had been living together for about 3 weeks now so they were leaning the other’s quirks. She finally told him what she was working on, and laughed as his face scrunched up hearing his adoptive fathers name, she had to admit it was kinda cute. Mari also came clean about needed his measurements so they could have matching outfits, she showed him the designs. Jason had to admit he was impressed, and noticing how they looked like something MDC would make he learned another thing about the girl with him. She sure was full of secrets.

 The rest of the day after their lovely coffee ‘date’ was spent going to fabric stores getting the stuff she needed to make everyone's outfits. Each one had elements that hinted subtly to their alter egos and pasts while still have a consistent color scheme and accents that paired the couples. 

 Jason gained yet another layer of appreciation for the girl, what couldn't she do?

--------------------------------

Turns out taking her to the Gotham Botanical Gardens was a way better idea than Jason had originally thought it would be. The plants seemed to grow and perk up as she walked by. Her smile brighten up the whole room; as she twirled in a pale green sundress inspired by the keeper of the gardens Jason couldn’t help but smile as well. She really looked like a goddess in this light. He couldn’t be happier he helped bring that smile and joy to her face, she deserved the world. When he started thinking like that he couldn’t tell you but the idea this would end soon was one he avoided thinking about. Maybe there wouldn’t be an end, but only time would tell wouldn’t it?

 Ivy sensed something was different in her precious gardens and went to investigate, her girlfriend followed to make sure on one got overly hurt. Both of them were shocked to see the plants blooming more than usual and just two people walking the gardens. The girl seemed to be making the pants so happy Ivy just had to talk with her, so she quietly made her was over to the young women hoping to not scare her. Harley made her way over to the former Robin, a little teasing was in order. 

 Yet another surprise from the former Ladybug he probably should have seen coming, Ivy adored the woman, insisting that she come more often to which Mari eagerly agreed complementing Ivy’s botanical knowledge the whole time. Suprisong himself he didn’t deny Harley’s tasing about his feelings for her, she really was something special wasn’t she?

-----------

When Mari found out Jason hadn’t seen all of the Star Wars movies she made him sit with her all weekend to watch them, he only agreed if they would watch all of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogy the next weeked. 

 Their next two weekends were now booked and snack runs were made. Jason made the Living room into a palace of blankets and pillows while Mari prepared snacks and drinks. They wouldn’t be getting up for awhile.

 When episode 3’s credits were rolling Mari made an offhand comment about how hot Anakin was and how she felt bad for his fate, well Jason felt a little envious. Something about misunderstood, dark haired boys was Mari’s type apparently. The subtle hints were lost on him but they enjoyed the rest of the films. They skipped the newer trilogy for time and so they had something to watch in theaters.

 Mari fell asleep on his arm mid way through episode 6 and Jason couldn’t bring himself to wake her, he fell asleep as the end credits rolled. Both had a content smile on their faces as they dreamed of fantasy worlds long ago and far far away.

--------

Mari had a surprise for Jason, “Come on Jay, get out of bed already,” she was pulling him out of bed on a tuesday, TUESDAY! 

 With much prodding and poking Mari was able to get them out of the apartment by 8, she had a surprise for him and refused to tell him what it was. “Just trust me it will be worth it,” she handed him his helmet and got on his bike. He found himself not minding someone else driving his bike for once.

 The wind was blowing fast as they left the center of the city, they were in the outskirts in a more smalltown area of the city. It was like a whole different world like they had gone to a place untouched by the corruption of Gotham propper. They finally slowed down and parked in front of an older building. Secret Cave the sign read, no way, did she really go out of her way to take him here. 

 Taking off her helmet she shook her head to loosen her ponytail, he took this chance to really look at her. She was wearing a red v-neck under one of his older leather jackets and some dark blue jeans. She had a small black bag what went with her combat boots, both had flowers embroidered on them, he had to admit she was beautiful. 

 “Come on Jay, I got a surprise for you,” she was pulling his hand now as they entered the spacious store, books covered every surface and there were rows upon rows of selves. It was almost hard to move, not wanting to disturb the books but they had made it to one of the small sitting areas, “Wait here I’ll be right back.” Jaso found himself obeying and looking at the books in the area, lots of classic literature in fancy leather bound editions and some of the quintessential plays everyone had to read at some point in their original language, this was heaven for a book nerd like him.

 20 Minutes later a hand covered his eyes, “Guess who,” her laugh melted his heart, “I don’t know, maybe… one Mari” he scooped her up in a hug, “I love you so much,” before he could realize what he had said, “I know you big nerd, I love you too.”

 When he finally put her down, the blush was on both of their faces at their confessions, ‘they didn’t really mean that did they’ she gave him a thick parcel. “Open it later big guy, but consider it a thank you for everything.” her blush seemed to get worse but so was his, maybe it was the room, yeah it had to be right? “I should be the one thanking you but okay…” he trailed off not quite knowing where to go with this conversation, there was so many things he wanted to say to her but he couldn’t get the words out of his throat. Unknown to him Mari was in the same boat, after a beat of silence, “Want to go to the café next door than browse some more?” “Absolutely.”

 They left the shop, hand in hand, and spent the rest of the afternoon together exploring the surrounding area and exploring the store, the gift still untouched for now.

 When he would eventually open it a few days later he found red leather bound copies of all his favorites with a J engraved into the cover. These were something he’d treasure for as long as he lived.

-----------

It was the last weekend before the Gala, all the outfits were done and fitted so mari had free time, and Jason had cleared the day to spend with his ‘girlfriend’, were the quotes still there? Were they something more now? Hopefully he’d find out tonight.

 It was Roy and Diana’s idea. A dinner at an upscale restaurant, the Ocelot came to mind so he got reservations for the two of them. Diana insisted on covering it, and Roy made sure he had the perfect suit. To say Jason was nervous would be an understatement but it only got worse when Mari stepped out of her room in a floor length dress that made her look like a straight up greek goddess, she was stunning and that felt like an understatement. Her hair was lightly curled and was flowing down her back, a small golden flowers rested atop her head in a crown shape, he was glad Roy had helped him get a suite that made him look mature but he felt he still paled in comparison to her beauty. 

 They had a lovely dinner, they had gotten a table secluded in the back. It started with nervous and awkward conversation that quickly melted away into the easy conversation they usually shared, it was one of the nicest dates they had ever been on. It felt like a real date with no pressures to fake something, somehow this fake relationship had turned into a real true and meaningful one. 

 The ‘couple’ was so engrossed with each other they hadn’t noticed the spying eyes that watched from different areas of the restaurant. There were at least 16 different people watching their date if not more but if they noticed they didn’t care. The only thing on their mind was the person in front of them. 

 As they were leaving the dining room they had eaten in, Jason finally found the courage to ask, “Does this mean-” Mari cut him off with a kiss on the cheek and a tighter grip on his hand, “Absolutely Jay, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.” 

 Small cheers could be heard in the room as they had left, it had been a success!

-----------

It was finally the night of the gala, Jason and his official girlfriend Marientte would be making their debut to the public. To say it was stressful would be putting it lightly, all the other outfits had been dropped off at the Wayne Manor the day before so that was at least taken care of. They had two hours before the Gala would start, so just over an hour to get ready. The apartment was a mess, making sure they had everything.

 Jason’s suit was a dark crimson color with a midnight blue tie to tie it in with the rest of his family. The intricate beading and embroidery shined and became seen when the light hit it right, his hair was fluffy as usual but more kept than usual, the white streak pushed to the side with the rest of his hair. He looked like a proper gentleman thanks to his lady. She had a floor length ball gown that made her look like a princess.  The bodice was the same midnight blue as his tie and had off the shoulder sleeves that were see through. The skirt that flowed from her his was made with the same crimson red with balck beading and embroidery in a variety of patterns. The apple blossoms were the most obvious and they traveled up her bodices in a blood red color that was made more clear in the right light, she wore black greek sandless underneath her dress and her hair was pinned to the side, a golden flower crown that Diana insisted she wore atop her head, if she looked like a goddess when they went to dinner, she was simply ethereal now, words could do no justice for how stunning she looked right now. To think she made this all by hand was beyond him.

 Hand in hand they entered the ballroom, all eyes were on them. The camera flashes made them sparkle as they made their way down the carpet. Every reporter wanted to know everything about them and their outfits, this was the first time Jason had been seen at one of these actually looking happy and not coming with his family. It was the talk of everyone there.

 “Thank the gods we finally made it inside,” Mari was already pulling him to a place she could get a drink. “You still need to introduce me properly to your family you know.” 

 “Thanks for reminding me, you know I’m sure you  have met them all already.”

 “That’s not the point Jay!” she hit his arm softly then picked up two glasses of champagne, “Cheers?”

 “Cheers” they clinked their glasses and chugged them down. It was going to be quite the night.

 They had finally made the rounds to  all of his family and the important people of the gala and 2 hours in they had a moment to themselves. 

 “This is why I avoided these for so long.”

 “I know right, to many fake pleasantries if you ask me.” 

 “At least we are in this together,” both said at the same time, causing them to burst into a fit of giggles.

 “God I could kiss you right now.”

 “Then why don’t you,” without giving Jason a chance to backtrack Marientte pulled him down to her and locked their lips in a passionate kiss. It was pure bliss, something they both needed and longed for and finally had. It felt right, like home. “Took you long enough,” Jason had a smirk as they pulled away, the applause didn't reach their ears as they pulled each other into another one this time less needy but soft, they felt whole in each others arms, this was what they had been missing for so long and now that they had it, they wouldn’t give it up for the world.

 ///

Asks are still open, don’t hesitate to ask!!

[qqueenofhades]

i have been loving your responses to questions about the movie (so much!!!) and was wondering if you had any thoughts on the movie's depictions of faith & religion? i loved what they did with andy and nile, and am wondering where the others fall between the two? idk if i'm making sense, haha--i just find discussions of faith & religion fascinating and found their inclusion in a movie like this one really refreshing :D (ok back to trawling your blog and then onto the fic! whoo!)

...you know this is going to lead to me spiraling over Nile, a character of faith and a precious cinnamon roll, getting adopted by two veterans of the crusades who met in the middle of literal religious wars and fell in love with each other, right? Right? Okay, good.

As you will see when you get to the fic, exploring Joe and Nicky’s religious backgrounds/views on their faith/development and growth with it over time was something that I really worked on doing in DVLA, and which is consequential for their character development and their approaches both to each other and to the overall progression of the crusades. There’s certainly room there for people to headcanon Joe and Nicky’s current views on their religion in different ways; it’s obviously been something both that drove them apart and that drew them together, and I think they both still have an affinity for it in some fashion, though living as an immortal mercenary and running around the world kicking bad guys’ asses means that they have to deal with it in evolving ways. I do love that being a Cynical Jaded Atheist was not a prerequisite for any of the characters; Andy comes closest, but for obvious reasons, and her viewpoint isn’t held to be Better than Nile having faith. In fact, Andy explicitly tells Nile in the conversation in the penthouse, right before they kill Merrick, that NILE was right -- if perhaps not about faith in God, since that’s still something Andy might not feel, then about faith per se, and that there are things and people to believe in and causes to fight for, even now 6,000 years later when Andy has seen absolutely goddamn everything and burned out because of it. That that idealism and that belief that it DOES matter (which is again validated by Copley’s conspiracy wall) tells us that we can do the same.

I think Booker is probably culturally French Catholic, but has had a similar struggle to Andy’s, in terms of losing faith/wondering what it all means/viewing things through the lens of a particularly French nihilism, and it was likely very hard for him after losing his family. So it’s there and it shapes how he sees things, but I think it’s probably a source of pain to him more than anything. I feel like he WISHES that he could believe in it more, and it’s also possible that he’s clinging onto the idea of heaven/an afterlife: if Merrick can figure out how to make their immortality end, he can see his family once he dies. I think he NEEDS that to be true, otherwise this is really all for nothing, and that hurts me.

And as mentioned, catch me Emoting over the fact that Nile lost her dad at an early age (now she has two dads), she is a precious bean who also has the kind of faith that both Joe and Nicky can understand and support in the desire to do the right thing and to be kind, and she is named (at least for my background DVLA story for Joe that has him from Egypt) for the river that runs through Joe’s homeland. She helps Andy have faith in something, and it just seems right that her new dads (shhh it’s canon we all know it’s canon) have been through the worst of what religion can throw at the world, but have chosen to keep believing in something and to keep loving each other as a result. So they will be sympathetic to Nile on that topic, no matter what their personal faith journeys may currently look like, and I love it.

[supercasey]

What your RvB OTP says about you

((I saw a similar list, but it didn't include a lot of my favorite ships and also I thought this would be fun. Sorry if any of this offends anyone: it’s all in good fun and just some observations I’ve noticed over the years about certain shippers. Let me know if I missed any other big ones!))

FUCK I FORGOT SISTER AND DR GREY

Tuckington: Chorus crew is best crew. Wash and Tucker are your all-time favorites and you're so proud of how far Tucker has come. You probably hate/love Felix, there is no in-between.

Mainewash: You like to suffer; you have an addiction to fics that involve one of these two dying. You live for the Meta and Antagonist!Wash team-up. You probably ship Doc with them if you’re into polyam. Cat person.

Yorkalina: You adore York to the moon and back, and are honestly a sucker for “goofy person meets strict person and teaches them to have fun” pairings. You have a replica of York’s lighter that you’ve never used.

Grimmons: You deserve a Fandom Grandma/Grandpa mug, buddy. You’re so tired, and you’ve probably been here since at least season 6. One day it’ll be canon, you just know it. In the meantime, you’re suffering.

Churboose: My mom ships this so here we are. Caboose is the most perfect of good bois and you’re only watching rvb for him at this point. You’ve cried over Church every day of your life. You named a pet Freckles, probably.

Washlina: You are the most chill/sweet person in the entire goddamn fandom. Seriously, you’re so nice. You don’t care either way if it ends up canon, but the latest content is still very satisfying. You’re so kind, I love you.

Sargington: You’re having the time of your life and I’m so happy for you. Sarge is probably your favorite character, but Wash is a close second. You’re chill about other ships but this is the guilty fav; don’t feel guilty, you’re amazing.

Docnut: Precious cinnamon roll who is too good for this world, too pure. Doc when he’s doing the O’Malley voice is way too hot for you. You probably have written/daydreamed about these two having a farm together.

Pastrytrain: Congratulations for being a good person. The pinnacle of “I’m staying in my fucking lane” when it comes to fandom drama. I know you downloaded the Pastrytrain dating sim, don’t try to deny it.

Kimbalina: Never mind, you guys are the actual diehards for the Chorus trilogy. Carolina is your queen and she deserves the love that Kimball can bring into her life. That hand-holding scene is now your desktop background. Probably wlw.

Tucknut: Trans with an amazing sense of humor. You swear a lot and make more dirty jokes than you should, but people love that about you. Donut is your favorite but Tucker is funnier.

Churnut: Donut is your favorite. You hate that Church is dead and pray every single day that he’ll come back somehow. The Donut arc this season had you fucking THRIVING and I’m so happy for you.

Norkington: You’re either gay or trans or both, and that’s the tea. You’re still obsessed with the PFL seasons, despite how long it’s been. Your favorite version of Wash is the PFL rookie version.

Nork: Yeah, you’re gay, sis.

Flowarge: Where are y’all??? I know I’m not the only one. You want a sitcom of rvb that’s just Parks and Recreation but with power armor. Sarge is best dad and Flowers is your other, more dead dad.

Flyoming: You literally don’t need any canon evidence to ship something; if they breathe they’re in love. Florida is your fav, and tbh Wyoming isn’t even in the top ten, but you’re too into older men to care. Daddy issues.

WashCT: People claim you’re boring but tbh you have really good taste, everyone else just isn’t interested. Knives are one of your favorite things but odds are you don’t know how to throw them. You really miss CT.

SouthCT: The wlw energy is literally so powerful in your bones, congratulations. Team #SouthDidNothingWrong, as well as Team #CTDeservedBetter; you are correct on both accounts. South is best girl.

Southlina: Not sure where y’all are at, but you’re all about that powerful lesbian energy. You probably hate York; if not I’m sorry for saying that. On that note you probably hate the PFL seasons but you’re too desperate for content to complain.

Fucker: You little shit. You are 100% involved in fandom drama but you’re thriving regardless; it’s impossible for you to be affected by everyone telling you that you’re problematic. Tucker is your favorite, but Felix is hot af.

Locington: You say “Unfortunate” way too often but I love you nonetheless. You spent the entire hiatus between seasons 11 and 12 writing porn, and you damn well know. Hell, you’re probably proud of it. Locus is your fav.

Murdersandwich: Are you still here??? If you are, you’re braver than any us marine. Modern AUs where these three get together are your bread and butter. Tuckington is your second favorite ship.

Murdersandwich+Sharkface: You unapologetic, horny motherfucker. You’re living your best life while simultaneously sobbing into your pillow every night over Felix and Sharkface. Locington is your default fav, but this ship still rocks.

Lolix: Fandom veterans from the “Felix is problematic” wars and I salute you for your service. Here to have a good time, and ain’t nobody gonna stop you. You’ve probably written/thought about a “Felix lives” AU at extreme length.

Sharklina: Season 13 was so good in your opinion and you refuse to ever shut up about it. #SharkfaceDeservedBetter. You’re probably into punk aesthetics and you’ve made at least one playlist for these two.

Chex: #ChurchGetsPegged. Tex is your diehard fav and you will never in your life let RT forget that she exists. You’ll drag her out of her grave yourself if you fucking have to. You memorized Church’s speech from the end of rvb5.

Chucker: You cry each and every day about Church being dead. You’ve rewatched the BGC no less than twelve times, and that’s just this year. Everytime you see That Post, you reblog it. You know the one.

Sheipez: If Sheila were real you’d ask her to adopt you. Lopez is your current fav by default and you live for every moment he’s on screen. Caboose is your precious son and you’re willing to die for him.

Sex: You ship this purely because of the ship name. STFU, yes you fucking do. Tex is hot af and you love that one fancomic of sister without a bra on flirting with Tex.

Sucker: Despite popular opinion, you're not as horny as everyone thinks you are. Sister is your favorite and Tucker isn't even close but you love him regardless and think he fits well with Sister.

Suckington: I know you bastards are still here. Wash is your favorite but you love him being surrounded by these energetic shitheads who fill his life with energy and fun. Sister is best girl.

Greyington: I know for a fucking fact that this was a thing. Fucking sadist when it comes to your brand of porn, and Dr. Grey is your favorite character to ever exist.

Kimbones: You knew fuck all about Ladybones but you shipped her with Kimball anyways because you're a thirsty wlw. You've probably moved onto Kimbalina by now, but we will not forget the season 11-12 horniness you unleashed on this fandom.

[jukeboxjulian]

( TOM HOLLAND / CIS MALE / TWENTY FOUR / HE/HIM/HIS ) i always seem to run into JULIAN EVANS at jukebox records. i’ve heard that if the REGULAR CUSTOMER had to choose one go-to record, it’d be SAVES THE WORLD by MUNA and that they can be CARING but also kind of SHY. for some reason, they always make me think of FINGERS CALLUSED FROM GUITAR STRINGS, TOO MANY SCARS TO COUNT, and THE TOO GOOD TOO PURE FOR THIS WORLD CINNAMON ROLL MEME. — ( alyssa, 27, pst, she/her/hers )

hi everyone!! I’m alyssa and I am super super new to tumblr rp... as in, this is my first time ever roleplaying on here in a group (eek)! I’ve been roleplaying for over 15 years now (seriously) and am usually used to forums and 1x1, so I’m excited to try something new :) I tend to write a LOT - as in if you don’t shut me up, I will give you thousands and thousands of words for replies hehe. anywho, julian is one of my favorite muses ever and I’m so excited to bring him here!! without further ado, here is my sweet baby angel precious baby panda, julian!

TW: child abuse, domestic violence, and alcoholism.

background | past & present

julian was born julian tyler evans on march 28, 1996, in santa barbara, california, to claire evans and dylan porter. if you ask him, he’ll tell you he has one parent - his biggest inspiration and his role model, claire. julian inherited all his best traits from claire: his kindness, his determination, his passion, and his ability to care for everyone and anyone. as a pediatric nurse, claire worked long hours throughout the majority of julian’s childhood, but still managed to stay exceptionally present in her son’s life and parent him through a tumultuous relationship.

dylan is out of the picture. julian has a few happy memories with his dad prior to the age of six, but the majority of their relationship is mired in trauma. dylan always had problems with alcohol, even prior to having julian, but those issues worsened when he lost his job in the early 2000s. seemingly overnight, the dad that julian once knew vanished. what started as a loving father-son relationship turned into a twisted game of cat and mouse, and julian found himself walking on eggshells in his own home. more often than not, julian spent his nights covering the bruises and scratches dylan gave him earlier in the day. julian and claire quickly became ER regulars, and he learned to sew his own stitches before his fourteenth birthday.

the abuse julian endured forced him to turn his pain and doubts inward. the overly happy and energetic child version of julian disappeared, replaced by a cautious and quiet boy who didn’t dare rock the boat for fear of retaliation. throughout his difficult childhood, julian found solace in one thing - music. as the son of two musicians, julian learned guitar and piano before he learned to form proper sentences. a natural knack for the craft led julian to pick up bass, drums, and production at an early age (though guitar and piano are still his first loves). the majority of julian’s high school years were spent locked in his room, perfecting one beat for several hours or layering vocals late into the night.

his best friend, danny, is perhaps the only thing that kept julian’s head above water throughout his childhood. julian and danny met in the orchestra room in middle school when neither of them had friends to sit with at lunch. the two boys became best friends instantly and helped each other through their childhood struggles - danny helped julian survive his dad’s abuse and julian provided danny with a safe space after coming out to his homophobic parents.

julian and danny moved to san francisco for college. it was there that they met zoe and kevin through an on-campus a cappella group. the four bonded immediately through a cappella and now play together in a band (and live together as roommates). you can catch them playing gigs around town, and you’ll probably catch julian outside the venue two hours later having in-depth conversations with every person who showed up for their show. the stage is the one place where julian comes alive - he’s a natural performer and sheds his shy persona easily when he’s in his element.

outside of the band, julian works as a second grade teacher, and occasionally works in the stacks at the local library during the summers to make extra money. he adores children and spends most of his free time coming up with lesson plans and songs to teach his kids in an engaging way. adorable elementary school teacher by day, hot musician by night: the julian evans story.

personality

julian is the definition of the “beautiful cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world” meme. he cares deeply and intensely about the people he loves, and he’s the most loyal friend you’ll ever have. julian is the friend who will hold your hair back while you puke. he leaves granola bars in his roommates’ cars when he knows they’re not eating enough. he goes out of his way to care for everyone he meets without expecting anything in return.

with that being said, julian is a bit of a doormat. this largely stems from his history of abuse - he’s used to thinking that things are his fault, and that it’s easiest to accept the blame and not rock the boat, even when he’s in the right. he’s the guy who won’t mention that the waiter got his order wrong at a restaurant because he doesn’t want to make them uncomfortable. you could shoot julian in the heart and he would apologize for bleeding on your clothes.

julian prefers lyrics to discussions. he’s a producer and a songwriter above all else, and he finds it much easier to express his feelings through music than through conversation. when his back’s against the wall - when he’s experiencing intense ptsd or anxiety or sadness or anger - he locks himself in his room and writes music.

as someone who craves deep, lasting connections, he isn’t one to have lots of acquaintances or fair-weather friends. he can count the number of close friends he has on one hand and he likes it that way. it’s hard for julian to open up to people initially, but once you get through his quiet exterior, he’ll let his guard down and stick with you no matter what.

in terms of romantic relationships, julian is tragically heterosexual. like in his friendships, julian is the type of person who wants a long-term, stable relationship. since his childhood, julian has always been a hopeless romantic, constantly searching for the girl who will finally make him understand the love songs he’s listened to his whole life. he’s painfully shy, which means he has a hard time approaching girls he’s interested in, and most girls don’t take the time to crack through his quiet exterior. with that being said, the girl who does end up with him for the long haul is in for a very loving relationship.

headcanons

around his friends, julian is the quintessential chaotic aries. he WILL set the kitchen on fire because he moves too quickly while cooking and will try to do backflips in the living room just to prove he can.

julian is a fantastic cook and a terrible baker, because he gets too distracted to properly follow directions. he’s also been a vegetarian since he was 13. his favorite food is his mom’s eggplant parmesan.

he has a small garden on the balcony of his apartment, where he’s trying to grow vegetables and flowers. he says hi to the bees that show up every morning and has names for all of them, even though he can’t tell them apart.

julian loves his music more than anything and tries to form deep, lasting connections with the fans of his band. he remembers every person he’s met and always tries to connect with people, even though it’s a bit draining for him as an introvert. he’s terrible at social media and has no idea how to work instagram live, but tries to do it anyway to connect with the fans.

julian will listen to anything and everything - kpop, death metal, folk, rap, the works. he drives his roommates up the wall by blaring music at all hours of the day.

he has a pit bull named belle that he adopted from the shelter. she’s his best friend. he also has four aunts, and was basically raised in an intersectionally feminist sex-positive witch coven. yep.

producing is julian’s biggest passion, followed closely by songwriting. he produces all of his band’s songs and enjoys collaborating with others on production. it’s the one area where he feels confident enough to be himself.

for someone so shy, julian is super comfortable with his sexuality and won’t stand for toxic masculinity. he and danny used to do drag, but he hasn’t had a ton of time for it recently. he is also very confident in the bedroom, which surprises a lot of people. hehe.

julian is a boxer. what stemmed from a need to defend himself turned into a genuine passion - it’s easy for him to turn his brain off and focus when he’s working out. that being said, you’ll only find him at the gym in the wee hours of the morning, when he doesn’t have to be around too many people. he is an introvert, after all :)

julian is dyslexic and has pretty terrible vision, so he needs glasses. he usually wears contacts, but the first girl to tell him she thinks he looks cute in his glasses will steal his heart.

[sage-nebula]

It completely and utterly boggles my mind whenever anyone accuses Alan of being anything other than (emotionally) soft and loving.

I once jokingly applied the “burned cinnamon roll, been through Hell and back, slightly charred” descriptor to Alan, but it’s true. Alan keeps a certain amount of distance between himself and others (except Lizardon, and later on Ash), mostly for their own safety, but though he’s quiet and intense when it comes to getting stronger (which he does legitimately and also primarily for the protection of others), he cares so much. Everything about his character is wrapped up in how much he cares, and how much he wants to protect others. Setting aside how soft he is with Lizardon:

The entire reason why Alan enters Lysandre’s service in the first place is because Lysandre says that they’ll use the mega evolution energy for peaceful purposes that will benefit the world. The entire reason why Alan cuts himself off from Sycamore is because Lysandre---a man who, remember, is implied to have stalked Alan, and then goes on to manipulate him, and then goes on to treat him in such a way that Alan is the isolated and somewhat closed off person we meet at the start of The Strongest Mega Evolution---told him that Sycamore would be in danger if Alan talked about any of what they were doing with him. Lysandre made Alan fear for Sycamore’s safety, and considering it’s also pretty strongly implied that Sycamore is Alan’s (unofficially?) adoptive parent, that’s obviously a pretty big deal to him!

Alan doesn’t want Manon tagging along with him for several reasons, but he takes time out of what he’s doing to help her catch a pokémon, and to make sure she makes it to the PokéCenter safely so she can heal her newly caught Flabébé. He’s obviously stressed when Lysandre shows up, but he still takes time out of listening to Lysandre to go help Manon when she gets herself stuck in the bramble again, and later injures himself diving to protect her from one of Rayquaza’s blasts. He risks his life without one second of hesitation to go out on the ice in the middle of a primal legendary fight to save Lizardon, and almost dies for it. After all that, he realizes that the things he gets into are in no way suitable for a ten-year-old with no battling experience to be involved in, so he tries to keep Manon at bay to keep her safe, and throws himself into training even though he injured his left shoulder twice in the span of one day and likely got a concussion thanks to Primal Groundon throwing Primal Kyogre at him. He feels so guilty over hurting Manon’s feelings that it transfers into guilt over Hari-san’s coma, which he then throws everything into trying to fix, and he steps in without even knowing the full situation to protect Ash from Team Rocket’s attack and rescue Pikachu when Team Rocket tried stealing Pikachu at the crack of dawn. He immediately rushes into action when he sees the roots attacking the city, and though he understandably has something of an emotional breakdown when he realizes that the actions he specifically took to help and protect people led to Lysandre’s genocide attempt, once Ash manages to snap him out of it, Alan once again risks life and limb to fight back against Lysandre, save Hari-san, and save the world. After, he still feels guilty for what he did, to the point of depression so bad the entire conversation between him and Ash in the garden is coded as a suicide talk, and even then, he’s still thinking about what he should do, because to Alan, simply resting and recovering isn’t good enough.

Alan cares so much. He cares with his entire being. The love he has for Lizardon is seen in every single scene they have together. In the first special, he tells Siebold that the bond between him and Lizardon “will overcome reason.” In the fourth special, when Malva presses him about why his pokémon partner has to be Lizardon, he says that they have “walked the same path together, and aimed for the same goal together,” and that he believes in Lizardon, to which Lizardon agrees. As he’s remembering the humans most precious to him in the fourth special, he remembers both Sycamore and Manon and thinks about how much he wants to protect them. And we see through all of his actions that his desire to protect others and fight against injustice can extend to complete strangers as well, as seen when he jumped into action without a second thought to protect Ash and save Pikachu in their first meeting.

Alan is quiet. He’s not exuberant or super emotional like Ash and other non-traumatized central characters on the show, save for in those instances when he’s battling Ash and gets really fired up about it. It’s implied he has been with Lysandre for years, and given how depressed Alan is even at the start of the specials, in contrast to how cheerful and excited he is in the flashbacks of said specials, it’s not at all hard to see what being in Lysandre’s service has done to him. But that has not changed the core of him, that’s not changed who he really is. All it’s really changed is his presentation, particularly since we see (especially in instances like The Strongest Mega Evolution: Act II, when Lysandre first shows up) that in Lysandre’s presence, Alan tends to not really speak until spoken to.

So to see people say that he’s cold, that he’s emotionless, that he’s hard, that he’s comparable to characters like Paul---it boggles my mind at best and infuriates me at worst. It makes me think that whoever says this never bothered to watch The Strongest Mega Evolution, and also never bothered to pay attention to his character in any other instances. With the exception of striving to battle Ash at the League, everything Alan ever did was for the sake of protecting others. And even though, though his surface motivation for battling Ash at the League was because battling and spending time with Ash made him happy and helped distract him from the misery spiral his life had been for so long for just a little while, it was also about proving to himself that he did have the strength to protect those he cared about, as we were reminded by Alan’s internal monologue near the end of the match. Even then, protecting others was still on Alan’s mind. He still wanted to use the strength he had to protect. That, as Alan tells Lysandre on Prism Tower, is what having strength is actually about.

Characters---and people, for that matter---don’t need to be effervescent in order to be warm, or soft. And just because someone has been through trauma and shows signs of that doesn’t mean that they’ve lost that core. Alan is protective, he’s loving, he’s gentle, he’s respectful of others and their boundaries even when they’re his platonic soulmate (see the above gif where Alan pets Lizardon after the League win; watch closely and you’ll see him hesitate and wait for Lizardon to lean forward before he pets, making sure that he has Lizardon’s permission first). He’s so good, and everything a Pokémon protagonist should be, and anyone who says or even implies otherwise is just flat out wrong.

[mimzy-writing-online]

10/10/10 Tag Game

Thank you to @emdop for tagging me in this. This is their tag game here

How it works, answer ten questions your tagger gave you, make ten new questions and tag ten new people to answer.

1. For any of your OCs: What’s their favorite drink?

Ulric: black coffee or cappuccino for a treat

Anna: Earl Grey tea

Felix: English Breakfast tea

2. What very specific thing do you like to write the most?

The scene when two characters sit down and talk, opening up to each other

3. Favorite Tropes?

Friends to lovers, slow burn friendship, slow burn romance, found family, 

4. Least Favorite Tropes?

Enemies to Lovers with no friend stage, 

5. What is something you’ve always wanted to write?

A Witch’s Memory is something I’ve wanted to write for the longest time, but other projects I think about a lot:

A whimsical magic in a completely different world. A Witch’s Memory is only a different version of our modern world, one where magic is normalized like science and technology. I want to write something in a fantasy world that completely turns everything we know upside down, with climates and natural environments only from our wildest dreams and an era that is only partially recognizable in its fashion and technology, pulling from every era into a wonderful cluster of confusion and fascination.

Soft-fantasy novel set in the 1990′s with 90′s era technology, libraries and librarian aesthetic, dragons, witches, 

Most recently I’ve also been playing with the idea of a steampunk royalty story with a romance plot.

6. Do you make playlists for your WIP ideas?

Yes, and they usually either a “if this book was a movie this would be its soundtrack with this song for this specific scene” or it’s a “this would be this character’s personal playlist of favorite songs”. Anna, Ulric, and Felix have their own playlists.

7. When you’re having trouble writing, how do you inspire yourself?

I also make a pinterest folder for my WIP ideas, and A Witch’s Memory has its own board for its world building as well as a board for Anna, Ulric, and Felix. I look at that when I’m stuck and don’t know how to start or continue a scene.

If I’m drafting, I look back at my outline and work through what I have planned. Sometimes I have to deviate from the outline a little and figure out a way to reconnect back, or alter it altogether. 

If I’m very stuck I go back to other works of fiction that have inspired me in the past, specific for that story. That includes rewatching them, rereading them, listening to soundtracks or looking at fan art.

I get out of the house and spend some time with a friend. My friend (A) and I usually work through a story problem by talking it out. (K) usually distracts me and takes me to random places. Sometimes I call or message (C) because she lives far away and we talk. They all help.

8. Where do your WIP ideas typically come from?

“I really like this story, but I kind of wish it went differently, involved these tropes, had this world building, had these characters, etc.”

Nothing is really original, no matter how far back in fiction you go. Everything is inspired from something else, so for me what I do is find the aspects of fiction I love most and see what I would do with them personally.

Example: witches are cool, but if it takes place in the modern world then it has to be a secret and humans can never know, but if it takes place in a hard-fantasy historical world then everyone knows about magic and has access to it somehow. - - - > And it becomes the whole premise for this world I built

Example: why do werewolves hate being werewolves? And why must they blackout during a full moon and go total beast? And they’re either always alone or there’s this whole alpha pack thing which isn’t technically true of real wolves - - - > and it becomes a thing that werewolves are proud of being werewolves, they easily form bonds and friendships with other people, even non-werewolves, and when the full moon comes around werewolves run in a group as a fun activity, something they enjoy

Example: Amnesia makes for an interesting story, but it’s not very realistic when you know actual medical stuff, and it’s always one-sided so people are always trying to make their loved one remember or trying to “reconnect” in the exact same way they did before - - - > Which lead me to amnesia through magic curse and mutual loss of memory, forgetting the entire friendship, so now they genuinely start from scratch

Example: Long distant pen-pals is a popular trope, especially since the invention of the internet, but every time I see it, it involves people who have met in real life even if it was only for a moment and they never knew it / didn’t give each other enough information to figure it out. - - - > It turns into, they couldn’t possibly have known each other before, they live in different parts of the world, but they want to meet one day, and then by a twist of fate (or meddling) they do meet

9. If your OC was a breakfast food, what would they be?

Felix: unsweetend English Breakfast tea and jam toast: When I say jam toast, I mean his humor is a little dry like toast, but he’s still enjoyable company, sweet if he wants to be. He can also be a little bitter sometimes, the kind of person you need to know a little bit before you develop a taste for it

Anna: Earl Grey tea and honey on an English Muffin: she’s calming company but complex like the flavor of earl grey tea. As for the English Muffin, it’s a joke that she’s English-adjacent, not actually British. She spent her first eight years in America and then lived in the U.K. with Felix’s family for the next eight until their family moved to America. Her accent is slightly changed and she uses some U.K. English vocab instead of American English, so most people think she’s British. English muffins aren’t actually English. They’re an American breakfast food based on crumpets. 

Ulric: A cinnamon roll and cold butter. This is a weird one. I think if you met Ulric and got to know him, he’d be someone you’d want to protect. He’s polite, kind, and shy. Life keeps throwing him lemons (literally throwing, between his emotionally abusive father and suddenly being blind, dealing with new anxiety/depression after going blind, etc) but Ulric’s just trying to do his best. Absolute cinnamon roll. But that’s not a something he’d let you see. Most people don’t know about that part of his life, so he’s like cold butter. He’s friendly but it takes a while for him to warm up and soften those walls to let you in.

Mason (Ulric’s best friend, who I must add): sweetened coffee - very energetic and hyper, a sweetheart of a friend. There’s no coffee-bitterness, by this I mean that it’s easy to enjoy his friendship, you don’t need to develop a taste for it like you do with black coffee. (Mason is also a precious cinnamon roll if you ask me)

10. Explain one of your WIP ideas in the most ridiculous way possible?

I’m going to do this AO3 tagging system style

A Witch’s Memory

Multi, T, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Anna St. Claire & Ulric Matthews, Anna St. Claire & Felix Robbins, Felix Robbins & Ulric Matthews, Felix Robbins/Hayden Watson

Anna St. Claire, Ulric Matthews, Felix Robbins, Mason Shepherd, Elmsley St. Claire, Veronica St. Claire, Hayden Watson, Katarina Matthews, Tobias Matthews, 

Memory Curse, Amnesia, Pen-Pals, Found Family, Adoptive Family, Slow Burn Friendship, Enemies to Friends, Platonic Soulmates, M/M Slow Burn Romance

Disability, Blind Character, Bisexual Character, Three Bi Disasters, Trans Character, Elmsley is trans, Elmsley is a Good Uncle, Tobias Matthew’s Terrible Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Emotional Abuse

Magic, Witches, Werewolves, Werewolf Ulric, Witch Anna, Witch Felix,

Graphic Violence is only in two scenes, two different characters get punched, and there’s some blood

Tagging: @snowblossim @thephantomofwriting @novel-scribe @the-moving-finger-writes @sapphoopages @owlsofstarlight  @mayvinwrites @belles-library @maggie-wolff-writes @thewritingpirate

Your Ten Questions:

1. What’s your favorite trope to read but not to write? Or vice versa, to write but not read?

2. Some of your favorite aesthetics?

3. Ideal writing environment? (Time, place, sound, drink/snacks)

4. What’s your favorite side character in your WIP?

5. How would your OCs interact with your favorite characters from other works?

6. An embarrassing fact about your OC that they would never tell anyone?

7. What book do you think should be made into a movie?

8. What’s the last mean thing you did to your OCs?

9. Write an Incorrect Quotes post between your OCs

10. I’m stealing from emdop too! Explain one of your WIPs in the most ridiculous way possible?

[reliquiaen]

@p-o-n-i   Omg have you actually played the game?!! If you have, how is it?    

tl;dr: YOU ARE DAMN RIGHT I PLAYED IT AND LOVED IT???? it gets my vote for game of the year okay it’s 12/10, will play again many times and recommend to everyone i know. i have already talked at least two people into if not buying and playing it themselves at LEAST watching a playthrough of it okay this game is fantastic.

long rambling review (but it could’ve been much longer ur welcome), enjoy:

(not perfect, we could have some poc up in here thanks)

that’s like. my only nitpick though. listen. LISTEN. these kids are amazing and wonderful i would DIE for them. amicia de rune? badass. dorky. absolutely useless for someone who learns how to survive in a world out to kill her all on her own. she’s trying SO HARD to be a good big sister and i LOVE that. hugo de rune? precious cinnamon roll boy. i will protect him with my life. Pure™ Adorable™ the only boy i love with my whole entire heart. just let him play with frogs and butterflies forever thanks. arthur and melie? i mean cmon. what’s not to love about them? arthur makes things BLOW UP. pair of idiots and i support them. lucas? absolute nerd lad. gets SO excited about books alright he’s super relatable.

good story, we get plot twists and information with amicia and it’s all portioned out at just the right rate that you’re there going huh what’s happening but you’re not excluded from the narrative so you feel lost and frustrated. A+ character development for all of them. they none of them know each other at the start and they’re like well okay i guess it’s safety in numbers? and then they start to hang out more and it’s so nice to watch them move from strangers to friends like just. a lot of the really good interactions are a bit spoilery so i won’t mention any just trust me okay. melie turns into this ride or die kinda pal and it’s awesome. lucas has been adopted he’s now an honourary de rune no i’m not accepting criticism.

villains with solid logic behind their actions? got you covered. (also nicholas has some SUPER COOL armour like dang son he was asked what he wanted to wear to abduct children and he said THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES he’s a go hard kinda guy and i respect that) it’s character focused, narrative driven and you CAN play quite a significant portion of the game without killing anyone. that gets harder/impossible towards the end but by that point i was out here like listen fuck you french bastards you lay ONE STINKING HAND on my precious brother and i will FUCK YOU UP SO HARD. JUST TRY IT PAL. so it wasn’t so bad really like i felt justified and alright about making a 15 yr old kill a bunch of dudes bc fuck them. (you will end up emotionally invested in hugo well before the end i mean this kid is now in control of your emotions there’s no escaping that good luck also you can play hide and seek with him askjdf;alskjdg)

there are also some really cool little puzzles/optional ways to play certain sections re: murder hoboing your way through the french inquisition and it’s awesome. like DO you have amicia kill these dudes just bc? does she sacrifice all of her humanity and become just like them? does she have it in her to show mercy to these assholes who DID murder their way through her house and family? WHAT TOLL DOES THIS HAVE ON ACTUAL CHILD AMICIA DE RUNE AND HER INFANT BROTHER? CONSIDER THE TRAUMA. it’s good. so good ;u;

there are a bunch of collectibles, but they’re not like assassin’s creed feather collectibles, these are. omg these are so good. one of them provides actual useful resources, another appears in the castle and they all come with cute lil comments from amicia about who would like them and why she’s picking them up. some she DOESNT pick up thank god, but have lil bits of info about the world and what’s going on (which is mad good) and the other characters often have smth to add (the book at the end and melie’s all ‘they have a MANUAL for this shit’ god i love that girl sm). and then there’s the flowers. omg the flowers. ;u; hugo puts them in amicia’s hair and it’s the PUREST animation i’ve EVER seen. just. a single clip of them picking up a flower right there that’s it that alone wins best game award for me like omg.

one warning: the dog does die. and so do A LOT of other animals. including an entire field of slaughtered pigs??? it’s a bit gross. no sorry it’s A LOT gross. but it’s omg so worth it. i’m a squeamish person but man. MAN. SO WORTH IT. i should be here talking about how grotesque some places are (walls made of rat slime and skeletons?? ick RATNADO?) but listen. it’s FINE. it’s like. you get these really picturesque french landscapes and gorgeous overgrown ruins and then there are areas a lot like that but with slime slapped over the top and also intestines. pack some tissues, brace your stomachs and go explore rat infested France!

[hope-faith-love-abide]

Random thoughts and impressions about Fire Emblem Three Houses by me, a person who’s never played an FE game before this one:

(there will be some spoilers below the cut)

First of all, the worldbuilding/lore/backstory? A++++++++ 

As someone who loves fantasy and wants to write fantasy stories but who also has a love/hate relationship with the actual worldbuilding part (the struggle is so real), I am looooving everything about this. This is such an interesting world they’ve created, and I’m only ~10 or so hours into the game. Can’t wait to see how the worldbuilding continues to unfold.

Plus the fact that the library has actual sections you can read about the history of their world? I haven’t actually read all of it yet but just the fact that it’s THERE and available is GREAT.

And the characters aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

I picked the Blue Lion house so most of my focus is on them, but even what little I have seen from characters in the other two houses I already love them and can’t wait to try the game from their perspectives too at some point.

But for now my BLUE LIONS CHILDREN

Dimitri: Precious boy. Precious serious boy who is trying to be a good leader but also wants genuine friends and people he can trust and he feels so lonely and ;__; But also might be a little sketchy? Might’ve done some bad things a couple years ago? It remains to be seen but I love my complex lil baby house leader

Dedue: Also precious and so serious and MY CHILD. I want to protec him just as much as he wants to protec Dimitri and I want to fight every single person who looks down on him because he’s from Duscur and I also want to fight him whenever he’s like “You shouldn’t be around me, people will talk if you hang out with someone from Duscur” like boi LET ‘EM TALK I don’t care what they say I WILL FIGHT THEM. Also he loves gardening and cooking??? Absolutely adorable man

Felix: Broody boy who loves to fight and hates Dimitri but I still love him. Might’ve participated in the possible bad things Dimitri did two years ago??? V curious and interesting. Jury’s still out on how much I like him but I DO like him. Also he’s always kicking the enemy’s butts in every battle, what a strong boi

Ashe: ACTUAL cinnamon roll too good for this world. I love him so much. He’s so eager to do well and the Support scene between him and Dimitri where he’s helping Dimitri with something and Dimitri wants to thank him and give him a present in return, but Ashe gets so freaked out by the idea of the Prince getting something for him, it’s hilarious and relatable bc that’s how I would be too. Also we had to fight his adoptive father in a battle and I still feel so sad for him :( My poor bby

Mercedes: NOT pronounced like the car name but is ALSO a cinnamon roll. She’s so sweet and compassionate and I love her design tbh. Always looking out for everyone else and the very definition of the mom friend. Almost killed the Prince on accident when he was trying to help her with her sword fighting. Absolutely adorable and precious

Annette: Super cute and spunky and passionate and goofy. She kinda reminds me of Marinette from Miraculous tbh. Which isn’t a bad thing because I love Marinette and I love Annette.

Sylvain: Was a little worried about his character at first because he’s The Flirt but he’s actually pretty great. He’s got some hidden depth and nuance in him, which I particularly noticed in his Support scene with Dedue. He was so wonderful there in reassuring Dedue and also showing his support for Dedue’s homeland and that he believes there’s more to the story of the tragedy between Faerghus and Duscur than meets the eye. I also really like his character design.

Ingrid: Love her so much. She’s so fierce but also so kind but also won’t take anyone’s crap. I love how strongly she holds to her ideals and beliefs, even if I don’t currently agree with her view on Duscur though I understand why she thinks the way she does, and I’m SO HAPPY she wants to become a Pegasus Knight because I really wanted someone to be and I thought she might do well in that role and then she came up and actually said that was what she wanted to be and I was like YES. Her character design is also one of my favorites too.

And outside of the Blue Lions characters, a few more thoughts on others that stick out:

Rhea & Seteth: Super sketchy, not sure I trust either one of them tbh. Especially Rhea. I feel like she is up to something

Manuela: It’s absolutely hilarious to me that she looks like she puts so much effort into her appearance, but it turns out her room is apparently a mess lol. And Hanneman not understanding the “three second rule” lol

Edelgard: Also fantastic character design. She seems so interesting.

Claude: Also very interesting. He seems like such a joke-ster, or maybe a trickster? Both? Remains to be seen.

Jeritza: I want to be his friend.

Sothis: Very interested in seeing what’s up with her and her connection to our character.

Aaaand I think that’s all I’ve got for now? This was so messy and all over the place but I did say it was going to be just random thoughts and stuff. I just wanted to put my thoughts somewhere because I’m having so much fun with this game already lol. Plus I thought it might be fun if I get some initial thoughts down and see how my opinions change and develop as the story goes on. 

[medea10]

My Review of The Promised Neverland

[camspam]

(1) Heya, Amici!

Heya, amici! My writblr blog is just getting started. My name’s Aron, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram and my Author’s Website. On this blog, you’ll find a whole load of goodies, from writing advice and articles to quotes and rare words to writing prompts and book reviews- which you yourselves can suggest! We might even delve into some fandom stuff here and there.

But more importantly, this is a platform where my main goal is to interact with you guys! If you’ve got an opinion on anything I post, whether it be writing prompts, an article or an update, feel free to shoot me an Ask, a DM, whatever! You can do this on any of my platforms. I’d love to hear from you!

Bookie Reads

I’m currently in the process of reading The Survival Game by Nicky Singer and so far it’s been a blast. The writing style isn’t something I’ve really seen before; everything is short, direct and to-the-point, much in the way you’d write a fight scene or an intense scene. Except in this book, everything is written like that (at least so far). I love this. It highlights the fact that they’re in an incredibly dangerous situation and that anything bad could happen at any point.

Even better, it’s my all-time favourite Old Grump Adopts Precious Cinnamon Roll trope. Except the ‘Old Grump’ is a fourteen year old, traumatised girl just trying to make it to her grandmother after something happens to her parents. And if it couldn’t get any better, the five year old ‘Precious Cinnamon Roll’ could either be selectively mute or even nonverbally autistic.

I’ve also been listening to the audiobook for The Savior’s Champion by Jenna Moreci. I’ve been looking forward to this for ages, especially considering Jenna Moreci is, without a doubt, one of my favourite people, and especially authors, ever. So far, The Savior’s Champion has been a thrilling, suspenseful adventure full of blood and gore and tragedy. I binged-listened to this book and finished it within two days.

There’s also romance in it- as it’s, like, the main plot and all- and as someone who has never ever been whatsoever interested in romance, it kinda says a lot about how much I love the author and her YouTube channel when I’m super hyped for it. Plus, I love gore, so that’s another reason to overlook my lack of interest in the romance.

This book was bloody, it was suspenseful, and I have full plans on getting a physical copy just for the sake of having a physical copy.

My WIP

My current Work-in-Progress is currently somewhere between the stages of Outline and First Draft. I’ve written a few chapters, but I’m still figuring out the Outline. For said Outline, I’m using the Jenna Moreci Method (Part One and Part Two) of Thought Dumping and Puzzle Phase-ing. We’re still in the Thought Dumping phase.

For those interested, my book is about children and the monsters that lurk underneath their bed, the corruption of a government and society as a whole, the significance of one's own identity and just what a family will do for each other.

Find Out More

How’s Life?

Being ridiculously overqualified for the level your college put you into because your Maths grade apparently wasn’t high enough (turns out it was, so what the fudge) makes everything a bit boring but an absolute breeze, and hey! Spare time, I guess. Plus they gave me an extra week off for the Easter Holidays since I already had everything done and dusted.

This lovely boy is Django, my four year old Golden Labrador; he’ll be turning five this September. He’s got a tendency to rummage through the trash when no one’s in, and he’s technically not allowed on the bed, but he’s a good boi never the less. If a little butt at times.

And this tiny demon is Skittles, our six year old Egyptian Mau (at least, that’s what we think she might be). If you just so happen to be eating a ham sandwich or if it’s rather cold outside, you’re her best friend. She’s tiny, and she’s cute, and she can actually be rather sweet sometimes, but those claws are certainly sharp.

In Case You Missed It

This Week’s Writing Prompt (from writing-prompt-s)

This Week’s Writing Article

Crooked Clockwork Ch 4, a Ninjago fanfiction (FanFiction.net, Archive of Our Own, Wattpad).

Aron Hansen’s Author Website

Recommend a Book

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