#and POTENTIALLY a chance for them to be on the same page once more to do good for others? like their thesis allowed them to do

[imogen-rhitt]

"Toast would be perfect, and tea would be perfect." Imogen held tightly to Theo's hand as they headed back into the kitchen/living area, head head against their shoulder. She was exhausted again all of a sudden which was likely the combination of feeling ill and the emotional rollercoaster the two seemed to be hurtling down at all times, but there was every chance that would start to calm down now they knew where they stood with each other. Still there was the small matter of calling off her engagement and working out what the fuck she was going to do with her life, how...if possible, she could potentially move to this town so Theo could continue kicking ass. Imogen hadn't mentioned anything about that, the thought had only just come to her mind and the last thing she wanted to do was freak Theo out. So she just pressed a kiss to their cheek before sitting down on the sofa, legs tucked underneath her always.

Watching Theo move around the kitchen with her arms wrapped around herself, sunk into the couch cushions, she felt a small smile playing on her lips. Tentative, but it was there. The invisible wall between the two of them had been knocked down and despite having to navigate their way through how they were going to do this, they were both on the same page, they were going to do it. Five years and more heartache than was needed (Imogen's fault) they could finally start getting on with their lives. Back on the right track. Heading in the right direction. She let out a huge audible sige as her head fell back against the back of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you think maybe your colleagues will eventually like me?" She finally spoke, only to sit back up her eyes opening once more as the music changed. The song they always used to dance around the kitchen together playing through the speakers as if it had been perfectly timed, and imogen laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed, looking over at Theo and giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I mean....if that isn't perfect timing." @theoxkent

“Never, I swear to you.” She whispered a split second before they were kissing and she was melting back against the sink from how good it felt. How much of a relief it was to be here, with Theo, and that she was getting this monumental gift of a second chance. Her arms snaking around their waist as she held onto them tightly slightly scared that if didn’t she might wake up all over again and none of this would have been real. But it was. They were. Her fingers played with the fabric of their shirt as she hummed softly against their lips, feeling the tears she’d been holding back finally coming from her eyes silently. Except they weren’t fearful anymore they were just from pure fucking relief. It felt like she’d just arrived home after five years. 

At the welcome back a tearful laugh bubbled out of her lips, sniffing as she smiled right back at them. “Thank you. I’ve missed home.” She was still smiling as their lips locked once more, hands sliding up their back as the salt of her tears mingled with the embrace but the woman didn’t even notice. She was on cloud nine, ten, eleven, twelve…and then they were teasing her about missing months in Italy and she was laughing. Actually laughing like she hadn’t in months, head falling against their chest as she laughed and cried all at the same time, finally able to breath normally again. Wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands she carried on chuckling, shaking her head a little as she looked back up at Theo. “Touchè.” Because that was a fair fucking point right there. It wasn’t until breakfast was mentioned that she remembered they were in the bathroom because she’d thrown up - damn…so easily forgotten when their relationship was hanging in the balance. A relationship that was now miraculously back on. “Yeah, tea sounds perfect. Thank you. You’re fucking perfect.” She breathed, thumb brushing along their jawline as she gazed at them, eyes full of love. @theoxkent

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

Alhaitham and Kaveh as each other's 'home'

(This is a reworked excerpt taken from my Haikaveh essay! If you're interested you can check it out here or as a pdf <3)

Family is an important theme, particularly in regard to Kaveh, as the reason for his guilt is based upon his belief that he destroyed his own family. For Kaveh, family – home – is a place in which “words [are] not necessary” since companionship is valued above all:

Family is also important for Alhaitham, however, as there is a particular focus on the relationship between him and his late grandmother within his character stories, as her influence over him incentivised him to pursue the “peaceful” way of life he seeks to maintain:

After the death of his grandmother, Alhaitham lived alone and attended the Akademiya, just as Kaveh did as his mother left for Fontaine after his enrolment. Kaveh’s loss of family leads directly into him meeting Alhaitham. This establishes a direct correlation between Alhaitham and family, indicating that Alhaitham filled a role recently lacking in Kaveh’s life. This is relevant to Alhaitham, as he had enrolled in the Akademiya after the passing of his grandmother, meaning that, similar to Kaveh, he, too, had no family.

The idea of found family, as in, a tightly knit support network built with mutual sentiment between unrelated people, is introduced in Sumeru as the joint-thesis. Academic family is highly valued amongst scholars and comes into fruition through the working together on projects. This can be observed within the dynamic between Tighnari, Cyno, and Collei, as during the Windblume event, they describe themselves as a family formed outside of academia, even assigning themselves titles akin to a real biological family.

Alhaitham and Kaveh then established this found family in each other upon working together on a joint thesis, although additional scholars initially worked with them before dropping out. Their argument culminated in Kaveh ripping up their thesis, which effectively ended their friendship, and familial bond, made mutual by Alhaitham removing his name from the project. Kaveh, however,  is described to have pieced the thesis cover back together with “deep regret”, and placed it in his old sketchbook.

In this, Kaveh regrets the loss of his connection with Alhaitham, and the family that their joint thesis established. Although he has pieced together the thesis cover, their family remains severed as reconciliation is perceived as implausible due to their differences:

Most notably, it is the building which serves as Alhaitham’s house which is crucial to the motif of home. Due to their combined efforts in their joint thesis, the Akademiya gifted the two a research centre, as the results of their thesis had significant impact despite not being completed. When Alhaitham took up the property after graduation, he heard through a third-party, sent by Kaveh, that Kaveh was relinquishing rights of the property due to him not being in need of a house. It was after this that Alhaitham invested in the property, converting it into a house, where he took up residence, and then invited Kaveh to live with him, after the two met in the tavern. Although it is understood to be Alhaitham’s property, since Kaveh relinquished his right to it, Alhaitham considers Kaveh to be his “roommate” rather than a tenant, despite Kaveh paying rent.

Kaveh and Alhaitham split the chores according to Alhaitham’s Character Story, although they mostly fall to Kaveh; they both make attempts to decorate the house; presumably they eat dinner together, according to Alhaitham’s Story Quest where he excuses himself in order to have dinner, only to talk to Kaveh; the two can be seen to share a study; when ordering out, Kaveh orders extra for Alhaitham – a common enough occurrence for Alhaitham to be confident in relying on this. Rather than “cold” and “lonely” this conjures the image of warmth and familiarity. In this, it can be inferred that the two have created a home together.

Referring back to Kaveh’s understanding of “home”, as in a place in which words are not necessary, and linking it to the idea of companionship being more important than understanding introduced in his hangout. The latter idea consists of supporting a person, regardless of the ability to empathise with and relate to their particular struggles, should be valued over attempting to be wholly understood by people who are not willing to listen.

In this, Alhaitham is offered as a companion to Kaveh, where he cannot empathise with Kaveh’s artistic and idealistic struggles, but he is willing to listen to him, rather than offering words which cannot solve Kaveh’s particular problems.

By Kaveh’s understanding of “home” as a place in which people are at ease with each other and support another regardless, this can be seen within his relationship with Alhaitham. As Kaveh has pieced together their ripped up thesis cover with “deep regret” of what it symbolises, the severance of his and Alhaitham’s relationship, Alhaitham inviting Kaveh to live with him serves as mirroring actions of reconciliation.

Kaveh's idea of 'home' in encapsulated in both the building and the company Alhaitham provides. The building that had initially served as a physical representation of their severed harmony of ideals, aborted friendship and dissolved found family, has been transformed into a house, and now a home for the two to share.

[rose-maidenn]

Pac : Let's get insights on your purpose for the next 5 months !

nov-dec-jan-feb-mar

using safe passage tarot from "Agatha all along"

Pile 1-2-3

Hey guys hope you're doing well , chose the Pile that calls to you intuitively, know that I'm not gonna sugarcoat things because I want your best . Hope you enjoy this

For more see masterlist and paid readings

Pile 1 :

You are represented by the king of wands a very charismatic person , you attract people who are looking for growth and you are someone who always wins in all fields you exactly know where to play the cards right to win . Alternatively for the other part of the group king of wands can mean someone who's nose is kind of everywhere they're at too many different things not giving one thing the change to reach the full potential.

What's missing is an ending !!! Ending to certain things relationships, people , in order to reach something new you have to let the old things go which is something you have to learn . You need stronger boundaries , more self worth and less attachment issues .

The lessons you have learnt is represented by the queen of wands it is about social settings I feel like you're someone who easily becomes friends with everyone and that's a good networking skill. You could also be someone who is very creative and starts at everything their heart calls for .

Your path ahead is represented by death , it calls for an ending ending of doubts , bad thought patters , old beliefs and relationships let shit go and see what happens .

Your Obstacles is represented by chariot I feel in this case it's about you staying in the same zone and resisting change it's like an ouroburos moving but in the wrong places and wrong circles , cut the string , your comfort zone is killing you honey

O of wands in this case is like don't wait around for anyone not even about being ready yourself just do what you need to do end the things that you need to you can't drag this anymore dear, this could also be about drug addiction or addiction in general .

Your destination is magician yay ! You know how if you just let shit go the magic happens so will it happen for you. Just let it go let people be , only work for yourself, give yourself all, heal and you will know you're powerful, you don't need a guru you're the star itself.

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

Pile 2 :

You are represented by four of cups , you are someone who wants what they want and won't settle for anything. I sense a stern energy . Alternatively you might be someone who is extremely bored these days and just wants to lay .

What is missing is justice , you need to work hard rn for your dreams , but in the write direction I won't say you never worked hard but somehow in the wrong way , you might have a retrograde Saturn. You need to find what can do justice to yourself as you owe yourself everything and you are worth everything.

The path behind is represented by page of wands , your reading is like you were a very enthusiastic person once but now you have lost the zing for life . You have a great influx of ideas why don't you use them dear.

Path ahead is represented by the empress , clearly you are to start working on these ideas start the creative project take the leap. Focus on letting your creativity flow , your intuition knows , your soul knows.

The Obstacles is represented by eight of coins is that you need to learn dedication and working on something even if it takes time be it studying , art or relationships you are called to enjoy the journey and not just the victory.

Represented by ace of wands in this case I think you should avoid working on something new until you finish the old , you need to give one thing commitment and mastery then you will reach your destination

Represented by the king of cups. Mature and passionate about what they do . This infact represents a chance that you might become the best at what you wanna do . You might become a professor a teacher or a guide to people if you choose to follow this path .

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

Pile 3 :

You are represented by six of coins a very beautiful earthy loving energy of gratitude and kindness , you give without thinking anything part of why you are blessed with more .

Ten of swords is what is missing in my deck it's literally a person cutting off a hand honey someone is using you , the awareness and discernment on who deserves your time money and energy is the thing that is missing .

You have learnt that people will be who they are despite giving your all so why don't you apply that in new relationships keep the knowledge but also use it . Alternatively this could be about relationship and someone leaving you in the past who was toxic.

The path ahead is represented by the fool , you're in the start of a new journey you have endless possibilities you can now leap into new and have faith that universe will do the best for you.

Your Obstacles are represented by death , you're ruminating on a past relationship too much which is making you work extra even for the bare minimum you have to work to stay in your queen energy don't do too much it's not worth it .

You must overcome the queen of wands I think this is a toxic person who was in your life you said you stupid shit that didn't align with you and now you have taken their words literally , recognize who this is maybe a family member a friend or a youtuber guru idk they have flowery energy but they're unhealed

Your destination is represented by the two of cups yay a union this can be the union of your logic and intuition. Masculine and feminine energie or a new relationship:) all in all an energy of balance and love .

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

[circeyoru]

Collection of Overlords _ Part 13 = Requested

[Alastor x Soul Owner of All Overlords!Reader]

Part 1 — Part 1.5 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9  — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 (here)

The moment has come. Everything, from the moment you’ve return to now, has been for this very entertaining event. A legendary event where the biggest change in your collection will be announced to the entirety of Hell by the end of it, a show of the approved Overlords

Of course, your existent was never announced. The Sinners were all under the impression that to gain the title of ‘Overlord’ the previous Overlords that are still in power must approve of them, that was how the Overlords grow, decrease, or change from time to time. That was also the reason why during Carmilla’s Overlord gatherings, some self-proclaimed Overlords would show up to prove themselves

In the past, because such an event was announced to all of Hell, some daring souls made their way to the meeting to showcase their potential. The first few times it happened was amusing so you allowed it and let your Overlords have free rein over the consequences of such trespassers. Soon, it annoyed you how your Collection fell for bribes and selfish deal makers, so you put an end to it

The only few that survived your wipe out was Zestial, Carmilla, and Rosie. They were also the only ones of your current collection to have attended this meeting. You knew for a fact that Zeezi heard about it from them, as did Alastor hence why he had the guts and knowledge to ask you about it

You figured the next time this meeting would be held was for some interesting matters. You’ll be thoroughly entertained for sure. A name Zestial suggested for such an occasion stuck with you and you’ve come to call this ‘Feast of the Unwanted’

An idea click in your mind and a paper and quill formed beside you, your finger twirled as the quill moved along the blank sheet of paper, ink marking the page at your command and thoughts. A smile spread, yes, let’s make this day as entertaining and dramatic as possible

“My, my, looking rather dashing if I do say so myself.” Alastor grinned while his head tilted to the side, his eyes narrowed at the appearance of the winged cat demon before him. “Dressed to impress I see.”

“Well, I gotta.” Husk grinned back. The training and support from Alastor made him turn over his impression of his soul’s owner. A second chance granted to him with something he desired on the line for his success. While your presence wasn’t always there to guide him, Alastor was and did more than he expected. It wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it was perfect for him to hone his skills once more and build his strength. Still, it was unnerving that Alastor was treat him like an equal. “Can’t put this chance to waste.”

Alastor’s form turned sinister as voodoo symbols appeared around him, “Disappoint My Liege under any circumstances and you will regret having wasted by time catering to you.”

“Understood.”

Alastor snapped back to his usual form, “Lovely.” He raised his card that glowed with an aura, his powers seeped into it and turned into an Aconite flower to which he placed in his chest pocket. It glowed and a vortex appeared before him. “See you on the otherside.”

Bells chimed, signaling the arrival of another participant. The seated individuals looked up from their refreshments to the direction where the entrance they appeared through were. Alastor paid his respect to you with a bow before greeting his fellow Overlords seated around you in their little booth that hovered over the ‘floor’

You gave Alastor a knowing smile and directed to his booth that was near to your throne. He took his time walking to his place, his shoes clicking the surface he walked over. The said surface was just a transparent floor that encased screaming and crying souls you have no time to care for and discarded them to endless limbo

The room seemed endless and confined at the same time. With the booths all designed to their seater’s theme, it all made a circle before you to see everyone. Within their little booth was their own chair and a table of refreshment that would refill everytime something was consumed

Noticably, there was one dull looking booth amongst the ten booths. Those that were present before knew of its meaning and those that are certaintly not dumb would also be able to guess its meaning. Yet, there were two familiar themes that some would expect to sit in the same booth but was now separated

And the one theme that no one expected would make a comeback

Another chime of the bells made everyone look to the entrance with interest and eagerness. Who was it? Who would be the last to make their appearance?

The vortex appeared and a figure stepped out of it. While Alastor’s grin grew, the rest gasped and their eyes widened. As surprised and shocked as they were none dared to open their mouths in question after they eyes landed on the flower peeking out of the coat pocket. A lotus flower. The first time in history, a discarded soul is returning to the collection

Husk approached your throne and kneeled before you, bowing his head low. You hummed in delight, Alastor has taught his alleycat well, it was as if this Husk was different from the one you’ve found. You dismissed the changed demon to his booth while everyone watched with piercing gaze

Now there was one demon missing from the grand play

Soon enough, the bell chimed its last ring. Everyone perked up as another vortex materialized before the star of the feast appeared. Everyone’s eyes honed in on the flower on their person. A singular Appleyard London

Zestial, Carmilla, and Rosie all shared glances behind their cup of beverage, knowing full well the meaning behind all the flowers you picked out for your invited souls. While Zeezi and Alastor could guess from their prior knowledge in the language of flowers. Velvette and Vox, however, felt like they both dodged a bullet when they instinctively eyed their flowers

Valentino gave you a bow as he stood in front of you, after being directed to his lonely booth, he turned his heel and made his way there. Not even hiding the anger and betrayal he felt when he saw Velvette next to Carmilla’s booth and Vox’s place next to Zestial. Valentino’s booth was right between Rosie and Zeezi

But there was another detail that didn’t escape even Valentino

“What?! What the flying f*** is this sh*th*le doing here!?” Valentino pointed an accused finger at Husk who merely took a sip from his glass. 

“I was invited. Just like you.” Husk answered with a grin. “Say, are you lonely without your buddies?”

“You definitely sneaked in here…” Valentino growled, he smirked as he pulled out his smoke pipe, inhaling a puff of smoke, “Let me deal with you.”

Before the exhaled gas could even do its damage, Husk’s wings expanded as he got up from his seat, his wings made a powerful flap that diffused the coloured gas within seconds. “Gotta do better than that. Loser.”

Valentino growled, “You piece of—”

Clapping sounds halted the little spat. You continued to clap your hands together slowly while everyone’s attention turned to you, and they immediately noticed the smile on your face. “Not even a word from me to signal the start of today’s gathering and there’s already an immature argument happening.” Your head tilted toward Husk, “I’ll forgive you since it’s been a while, but…” Your face turned in Valentino’s direction, your tone dropped to a chilling danger, “Have you learned nothing from the last time?”

“Mmm!” Valentino was pressed into the ground like the insect he was, his wings spread open while his entire body was forced down. He choked out as best he could, “I’m s- I mean… My deepest… Apologies…!”

Husk bowed with his wings lowered around him, “I apologise for lowering to Valentino’s level.”

With the wave of your hand, they were wordlessly made to return to where they were assigned. When everything finally calmed down, you clapped your hand just once. All refreshments disappeared and luxurious silverware replaced them, everyone was sitting on the longer side of a long table in their custom chairs

Your line of knight puppets appeared, all holding onto a dish with a mouthwatering aroma. The knights’ clanking armours were the only thing making any form of noise, they stopped between everyone’s seats and placed their respective dishes in the empty space on the table. Your doll puppets appeared next and placed an assortment of drinks on the table by the dishes

You held up your glass and proposed a toast, everyone hastily following suit. You officially started the “Feast of Desire”, ommiting the name of the gathering and just calling it a feast. Then you welcomed everyone to partake in the dishes before them

You made sure to have everyone’s prefernce on the table, including Rosie’s cannibal meals and Alastor’s deer dishes. As time went on, more dishes were placed on the table and the cleaned plates were removed to make more space

The former participants of your feast started making conversation, showing the new members what was allowed and what wasn’t. Soon, small talk was all around. You’ve inputted your thoughts and responses here and there, but it was mostly your Overlords that did the talking

This session used to be put to the end when all your matters were resolved and there was a number for this particular gathering. But you thought it would be more amusing to watch who was included in conversation and what was excluded. There was a reason why you’ve placed Husk, Velvette, and Vox in the middle and next to one of the more favoured souls, while Valentino was casted off to the far end

It was obvious that Valentino tried to join in or be involved, but it was all for not since none of your wise souls were falling for the obvious pity route that could put them in a bad position

This gathering was more than a meeting, chat, and meal together, it was a gathering where the biggest change is set. Those with a poor position is at risk of a fall out, but it doesn’t mean those of favour can stay indefinitely. Since this is where your judgement is passed without delay or mercy

Once the meal was done, all hell breaks lose

You hummed with a cruel smile. At the llight ring from the contact your spoon made to the glass, all whispers and conversations were put to a halt, and all attention was on you while your puppets cleared the table. “Now, let this little… Judgement Day begin.”

Flower Meanings: Aconite flowers are highly toxic and have been historically associated with death and danger, symbolizing the pain of toxicity or harm The Lotus flower is immensely spiritual and can represent rebirth and resurrection. It can subsequently be used to celebrate a range of new chapters and journeys Their colour may chiefly be associated with sunny optimism, but in the language of flowers, yellow carnations represent disdain, disappointment and rejection. The striped variety signifies refusal

Note: The meeting's underway!! This series is reaching its end cause there's not much left now. I think it'll end at 15/16, plus an Epilogue. Then idk about the continuation after Hazbin Hotel's second season cause this series' ending changed a lot of stuff. Anyways, what you think of this one?

Part 14 is done, but I'll give this part some time to become more known before I update again.

Circe Y. 

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (those that don't specify to being in all the works' taglist will automatically be assumed to be in whichever series they comment on)

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala @snowy-violet @charlottesskiss @plutobots @ray-rook @thealienartist @serenity-songbird @galaxydreamer468 @raynerrold @wen01203 @hikari-michiko @colecreo @myromanempiree @xsamkuro @yourdoorisunlocked @clavelina @jono723 @cursedcattalastor @an-idyllic-novelist @flamiohotman2024 @rea-grace @myromanempiree @veroneverleft @lousypotatoes @crazysuityouth @jellyedkazoo @wat4r @kiraisastay @thealienartist @chefysawesomeideas @wtvbabes @patronizingbitch @koshi-kazu @craftyperfectiontragedy @scr4luv @chrollobb @mysterypotatoink @callmefe @dokukg69 @ratchetprime211 @freejayde @prettyprincess-ily @cgmajor @mook14 @ace-spades-1 @yuuandtheghost @abbiesxox @martinys-world @kiraisastay @umbreon-worshipper @crimsonflameproxy @the-gay-trash-gremlin @ratchetprime211 @soggyb0nes @newkatzkafe2023

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 12/8

@williamjakespeare asked: One of the recent posts concludes that the circumstances around Vriska's god tiering were "so much worse than anything I thought was going to happen" and I'm curious. What exactly did you think was going to happen?

Back before I knew how God Tier ascension worked, my theory was that Vriska's Quest Bed might grant her access to a special dream moon, and that Tavros's presence there might throw some sort of spanner into the works. I wasn't sure what kind of spanner, and my theories were very vague.

Vriska's a huge taskmaster, and I thought she might have given him an instruction that he was unwilling or unable to carry out. Like, maybe she told him to leave her God Tier Moon, and he was unwilling to abandon her to a fate he didn't understand.

I guess I was right. In the end, she did give him an instruction he couldn't carry out.

Anonymous asked: For the kid who was the most vocal about her 'distaste' for their guardian, having Mom be the reason that Rose snaps is actually very sweet, in a sad way. ~DJ

The above line from Rose implies that she had a lot more affection for her mother than she was letting on.

Their relationship was complicated, but if Rose viewed her as a sister, I think there had to have been some camaraderie between the two. We just never saw it on-panel, because the narrative began on the most stressful day of Mom Lalonde's life.

@elkian asked: So, fun fact about that time John joked about rescuing Rose from the Broodfesther Throes and you were going "yes it's a joke BUT IT'S ALSO SERIOUS JOHN!!!": Hussie's author note for that page is almost verbatim your reaction. Homestuck is as serious as it is silly and typically both at once.

Every time Hussie and I share the same thought, a subtle chill runs down my spine.

@gl1tchypyr0 asked: In regards to the thing about LOWAA potentially corrupting Eridan, itd be a little smart to remember what Sollux said in his conversation with Terezi about a prophet has to go blind to earn their stripes or how an angel earns its wings, Sollux states that 'angels are terrible feathery demons that paradox space uses to usher in the end' and Eridan was actually killing them even if he wasn't Supposed to. If you really think about it I actually kinda find it sad? If he was already a troubled individual Before Sgrub and then was on a planet of 'terrible feathery demons' that whisper prophecies in his earfins for an entire month that he was made to feel he Had to kill, honestly it makes me nervous imagining just how many doomed timelines there are where Eridan snapped far earlier. Not to mention the fact he's also on the Blue Team ie Derse players ie most susceptible to waking up in his sleep and seeing tentacles and eyeballs staring back at him (not that he wouldn't be /used to that/ back on alternia with his job of feeding glybgolyb so Feferi wouldn't have to). Not really defending eridan but just, food for thought kinda? About how LOWAA might have affected him enough for Doc Scratch to bring up such a hypothetical. The idea that Eridan was already pretty bad before the inevitable Sgrub trauma and then LOWAA made thinks /worse/.

Oh, don't get it twisted - Eridan's just as much of tragedy as any of the other trolls. He's certainly written to be less sympathetic, but he didn't deserve to be raised in the Alternian Empire. Just like Vriska and Equius, he could have been a much better person, if only he was raised in a less violent and oppressive culture.

Of course, he could still be an asshole if he was born on Earth - but at least he'd have a chance to be better. Alternia stacks the deck against you in ways that simply aren't fair.

@galaxa-13 asked: It is very satisfying watching you pick apart everything Doc Scratch says without playing his game. Rose wishes she could, but unfortunately she is a child and not as smart as she pretends to be. Usually it's fun to watch people theorize because of what they don't know, so it's extra fun when someone as smart as you doesn't have the pieces I already do. Just chortling to myself, "Oh ho ho, just you wait!" @elkian asked: I may have sent this before but I ADORE your Doc Scratch dissertations. What few liveblogs (and fandom during/after the run) I've followed have other strengths and focuses, so these moments where you stop everything to shred his dialogue to see if fhere's even a GRAIN of truth are novel and absolutely fascinating. I think you've done the most thorough analyses of any 1 of his convos let alone all of them and I'm here for it. Rip that shady motherfucker apart! :D

Despite myself, I am enjoying puzzling out the true meaning of what he says. I've just got to remember that he is fully capable of lying.

I do think, on balance, that there is some hidden meaning to his words - it's just hard to find. His '50% chance of ascending' statement is definitely foreshadowing something, I just can't figure out what. I think it has something to do with the reboot session, but I'm waiting to learn more about the reboot before I really start theorizing about it.

Anonymous asked: In case the 7 Gates haven’t been fully explained yet — the Gates over a player’s house are all either entry (transport to somewhere on their planet) or exit (destination of a gate on the planet of the previous player in the chain). Using John as example: Build to gate 1, which takes him somewhere on LOWAS. Find gate 2 elsewhere on LOWAS, this will take him to the matching gate over Rose’s house — build up to her gate 3, which will lead to somewhere on LOLAR, then find the planet’s gate 4, etc.

Here's my old interpretation of the Gate system, from way back in Act 4. I'm fully in agreement with you about John's path here - the problem is that when you use it to extrapolate Rose's path, things start to fall apart.

See, this ordering method implies that in a four-player chain, your own Seventh Gate is located on the Land preceding yours, rather than your own. This means that Rose's Seventh Gate is the one that got John killed on LOWAS - the one which leads to his Denizen. It additionally implies that John's Seventh Gate should have been on Jade's Land instead. It's all very confusing.

Anonymous asked: Something I love about how this god-tier immortality system is described, however it works, is that "remaining neutral" will PROBABLY keep you alive… but when you think about it, remaining neutral means not making a REAL DIFFERENCE. As a God, if you want to make a difference in the world around you -- good or bad -- you have to be willing to stake your life on it.

True! It's an interesting balancing mechanism, where each God Tier has to decide whether their life is more valuable than their personal agency. Gods who avoid Heroic and Just situations are almost invincible, but they're also completely ineffectual.

I'd obviously try to game the system somehow, but the vague, subjective definitions of Heroic and Just make this a difficult system to game.

@spyril4132 asked: with the reveal of the heroic-just system, there's now a reason you might not want to god tier immediately: sacrificing one of your selves for a heroic cause and then doing what aradia did (but intentionally)

Good point. Although, I'm not sure I'd want to rely on the Quest Slab for my resurrection - at least, not yet. We don't really know the rules are, and how they differ from normal Quest Bed rules.

Anonymous asked: "I don't really care if Paradox Space sanctions his actions - he needs to be taken down, and if that upsets the natural order, then it's time for a new natural order." i think you for sure lean more lifeways on the life/doom player axis lol. oh, the laws of the multiverse say death is inevitable? well, that fucking sucks and i hate it, so i'm gonna wedge myself into the cracks and loopholes and *make* it evitable one day at a goddamn time, life finds a way motherfucker.

Life finds a way, motherfucker!

I actually find both Life and Doom fairly interesting, as Aspects go. I think, at this point, I'm committed to giving one to my kidsona, and the other to my trollsona.

If another Aspect ends up catching my eye, we'll have to start workshopping a Carapaciansona!

Anonymous asked: I think you got it kinda twisted what's going on with Rose. Yes she is slightly corrupted by the Horrorterrors powers/boons and Scratch's… Sheer Existence. But in her mind, she's doing this to Save her session, so if she does go God Tier and gets killed, her death wouldn't be Just, it would probably be Heroic. As she probably would've died tryong to save her session, which would cancel out the corruption from Scratch and Horrorterrors. Either way she still dies, but it's the difference in Why she dies that's important. […]

See, this is the whole problem, isn't it? These terms are incredibly subjective.

I personally think Rose's attempt to save her session is extremely Heroic - but Skaia couldn't possibly approve of her assault on the game, so I don't think it would cancel out her Horrorterror corruption. Sburb itself is probably the last word on what qualifies as a Just death, so I think that's what she'd get tagged as, if she died as a God Tier in the Green Sun's explosion.

I'm also not sure if getting tagged as Heroic would cancel out a Just tag. They're not necessarily opposites - Vriska, for example, is designed to have a controversial alignment, and could easily die in a way that counts as both.

@ben-guy asked: Small correction, you referred to the Alternian empire as "intergalactic" when it only exists within one galaxy as far as I'm aware. Yes, kind of a silly nitpick, and one that I could be wrong about, but I happen to enjoy thinking about the comparative scale of space faring societies lol. If there is a quote contradicting that, I'd like to see it! Pretty sure it's merely a galactic empire tho :)

Nah, that's fair - that's the kind of nitpick I'd point out, too.

Galaxy, singular. I think I parsed the Empire as intergalactic because massively faster-than-light travel is clearly possible in this setting, via time manipulation. We don't actually know if Alternia had access to time manipulation before Sgrub - but Earth seemingly did, so who knows?

@abacusdictator asked: Found your liveblog a few days ago and furiously binged it. Happy to find another Homestuck liveblog! Especially one I can see happen in-progress! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Thanks - and you're certainly coming in at an interesting time!

Anonymous asked: Scratch "chooses not to lie," but he also has the privileged position of knowing in advance that Rose will misunderstand what the Scratch is, leading to her doing what he wants. If he knew that not lying wouldn't get him what he wants, or even if he didn't know for certain that it would, would he lie? If so, that basically means it's pointless to try to figure out his true meanings, because if you succeed, he'll have retroactively lied about it anyway.

Yeah, this is pretty much my take.

Does it really matter if he 'doesn't lie' if he can foresee all the truths that will mislead you? When you're playing at his level, the actual truth of your statements barely matters.

@skelekingfeddy asked: to my knowledge this has never been commented on by hussie, but i feel like doc scratch doesnt lie in part because he was made from the cueball. its a fortune telling device that predicts the future with remarkable precision and accuracy. you wouldnt expect it to lie, would you? its just that the difference between scratch and the cueball is that he can pick and choose WHICH truths to reveal at which moments. (his penchant for jokes thus probably comes from cal (‘haa haa hee hee hoo hoo’) i feel like him never lying is also a way to feed his own ego. its a self-imposed(!!!!) restriction, and yet despite it he effortlessly plays everyone like fiddles. and he KNOWS it. he CHOOSES never to lie. he VOLUNTARILY hands the people he manipulates an advantage on a goddamn silver platter, and he STILL wins. ‘Isn't it funny how during our various matches, I can tell you what my moves will be in advance, and still win?’ hes so fucking smug. what a pompous dipshit. i love him Anonymous asked: I think that when Scratch say he don't lie, he mean it, and not because of some vilainous valor but out of sheer ego. Scratch is prideful, he love beating other by "playing with cards face up" and tricking them with exact word, he doesn't tell the truth because it's "honorable", he tell the truth because he doesn't need to lie to win.

Also, this. He's just a smug fuck.

Do we know for sure if the cueball is always truthful, actually? Scratch heavily implies it here, but he's only stating it as a hypothetical.

Anonymous asked: Scratch is like a fae, he doesn't lie but you better watch out how he word what he say.

I'd be so screwed against the fae. Not because I couldn't parse their statements, but because I'm only halfway competent with human social customs, let alone weird alien ones.

@manorinthewoods asked: Honestly, I think it's great for his character if Scratch is actually completely dead of emotion inside, possibly even thoughts, and is just near-mindlessly carrying out the necessary parts of his role in the story so that his desired outcome is achieved. He's omniscient, he doesn't need to think. On the other hand, he does seem to have experienced genuine emotion, on occasions… ~LOSS (24/7/24)

A pseudo-omniscient character, mindlessly following the optimal path to their ultimate goal? This smells suspiciously like a Certified Contessa Moment...

Anonymous asked: In the trolls game all the trolls got to see and speak to their lusi after they died because they put them in the sprites. Meaning Gamzees dad coming back wouldn’t get him sober. Ideally Gamzee would be able to interact with his dad way more then he ever had in the past because his dad now had to guid him as his sprite.

Fair point. Although, we know that prototyping tends to affect your personality, and shifts your priorities towards guiding your Player through the game.

Goatsprite's sprite knowledge might have informed him that Gamzee needed to be on Sopor Slime, or game would become unwinnable.

@heliotropopause asked: "Well, no! That’s the problem! The cueball’s omniscience is completely redundant, because the MEOW code already contains an omniscience gene! According to the Scratch loredump, any ‘intelligent’ host for the MEOW code will be granted near-omniscience. Scratch didn’t need the cueball," I think it's worth considering the what exactly he meant with that- it seems perfectly plausible that the teleportation-based powerset established for bequerel would make an intelligent agent very good at observation, either by physically hopping around, or by teleporting light around to see distant places, or by sending out telekinetic "feelers"; we know bec has the capability to separately manipulate individual objects in physical contact from afar. None of this would give him knowledge of the future, or of physically disjoint spaces like the human session, so the cueball is not at all redundant.

It's possible. See, this is another situation where we're really being hampered by our small sample size. We've only seen two First Guardians, and only one of them has been a 'standard' First Guardian, unaltered by HONK. As such, we don't really know how First Guardian clairvoyance is supposed to function.

Another Guardian with human-level intelligence is desperately needed, for science. It's almost enough to make me want the Scratched Guardian of Earth to be made from a human...

@manorinthewoods asked: As an alternative explanation for the double-omniscience problem, one could say that the cueball, in being used to create Scratch, retroactively and conceptually gained his omniscience - so effectively, any use of a cueball allows you to attune to Scratch's awareness (as long as he's alive, perhaps?). This would subsequently imply that First Guardians are all linked to their components - for instance, there would be some link between Bec and all dogs, or specifically Halley. ~LOSS (23/7/24)

As this ask points out, I might just be drawing the causal arrows in the wrong direction. If the cueball is omniscient because of Scratch, rather than the other way round, then there's really only one root cause for his clairvoyance.

I'm not sure why it would work like that, but I do like the idea of Colonel Sassacre running around the early 1900s with a suspiciously powerful dog.

@manorinthewoods asked: The link between 'Skaia's final gate of defense' and 'first to find Alternia' is something I just didn't notice (because I didn't really pay attention to the words and botched my experience by not watching the Flashes), but it would imply, to me, that the gates run in reverse order, Skaia to World - first meteor in, last meteor out. This would mean that the moon which dropped on Jade was the last meteor to hit […]Skaia. ~LOSS (23/7/24)

Hey, good catch!

Jade's meteor was the last to arrive on Earth. By this logic, wouldn't it have been the first thing to leave the session, rather than the last?

That makes a sort of sense, actually. A meteor this enormous would dwarf the entire Incipisphere, so the game would probably want it out of the picture as soon as possible.

@manorinthewoods asked: You seem to have run with the interpretation that all First Guardians run on the same fundamental genetic code, identical to MEOW but using different letters. Not really how I thought of it - I interpret that every FG's code is different, although I also didn't think too hard about the FGs. No reason that they'd necessarily all have to have the same genetic code - after all, Bec's a dog and Scratch's a Scratch. You'd only really need a single gene to code for Green Sun powers… ~LOSS (23/7/24)

It does say they share a genetic sequence, rather than an entire genome. Becquerel presumably contains some dog DNA - the 'host' - which is absent in Scratch, so their genome can't be identical.

Unlike Becquerel, Scratch's hosts were entirely synthetic. They didn't have DNA - which, to me, implies that his entire genome is just an amalgamation of the BR8K H34DS T1CK T0CK HONK sequences. His DNA is just the First Guardian sequence, plus whatever is in HONK.

...what the hell is in HONK, then? If it's DNA, it has to come from some living thing, and I have a horrible feeling that Gamzee spliced his own DNA into the sequence. Why else would he call it HONK?

@skelekingfeddy asked: ‘…the fucking bow-tie! He’s wearing Cal’s Alternian clothes! The proof’s been staring us in the face this entire time, and we were none the wiser!’ look at what regular cal is wearing underneath his blue ‘CAL’ shirt :)

My guy's been pulling the long con.

@morganwick asked: "#but now that i have an antimatter pellet I can feed it to my bees. they can create nuclear waste honey without all the fission rigmarole" Minecraft, Sollux style. (Or maybe Minecraft, Problem Sleuth style?)

Sollux would be a Productive Bees specialist, wouldn't he? That, alongside every computer mod in existence.

@elkian asked: Sorry if I'm the 80th person to mention this but Vriska's 8r8k could also refer to the act of shooting the cue ball at the group of pool balls at the start of a game, known as a "break". @ben-guy asked: Fun fact: In pool terms, the "8r8k" actually refers to the opening shot that sends all the balls flying everywhere. Additional fun fact: The game of pool has a history of being used as a metaphor for causality, which lends some interesting metaphorical weight to Doc Scratch as a cue ball.

Oh, that's true - pool balls are often used as an analogy when talking about causality. Surprising that that's never occurred to me before.

I like to think that when the Felt storm a rival gang's lair as a group, they call their maneuver The Break.

@manorinthewoods asked: Oh my god, Aradia uses Jack to go to the Green Sun. That's such a cool detail. It's so fast, I didn't even see it. To be fair, although the timing is ridiculously impressive, Aradia is both a god and specifically a god of time. Although it's never stated, perfect timing is an obvious power for Time God Tiers to have, which does mean that Aradia would be a half-Flechette. ~LOSS (18/7/24)

And Kanaya's a fashion designer, too. Aradia x Kanaya when?

Anonymous asked: Hey, unfortunately the reqs list link seems to be janked out on my mobile client so I hope this is ok but if you haven't already heard of it I highly highly reccomend Jon Bois' 17776: What Football Will Look Like In the Future It's about football in the same sort of way that homestuck is about video games

Love that story - and I still have to read the sequel, actually!

Anonymous asked: Forwarding another question from the person without a Tumblr account: ~DJ. [I think the change in Equis and Nepeta's behavior is explained by "being together and solving problems together for a long time was great for Equius' and Nepeta's relationship" and "the destruction of Alternia helped Equius realize some facets of Alternian culture he believed where false" (because unlike Eridan he is able to change his mind about stuff like this). - RM]

I really want to see what Equius and Nepeta got up to for a month, as well as all the other trolls. It'd be great to get an 'untold stories of Homestuck' anthology at some point - and hopefully, that's something we'll see in some of Homestuck's tie-in media.

Anonymous asked: I’ve been thinking about Bec prototyping himself and I think I’ve got an answer that works for me - not necessarily the whole answer or the only answer, but I think it’s got something. Basically, Bec knows he can’t / shouldn’t get rid of the meteor entirely (he came down in a meteor that built the frog ruins, so even if we’re just going off what he’s experienced we can say that he probably on some level understands that these meteors landing is important) but he also understands he doesn’t have the type of power or the finesse with that power to only delay it until Jade can take the shot. After all, he could’ve just teleported the living room junk to a different part of the house, but he sent it into deep space because his doggy brain can only deal in absolutes when it comes to perceived danger to his best friend, and the only power we’ve seen First Guardians use (to my recollection) that would in any way help with slowing the meteor is teleportation. He can’t reliably teleport it back only far enough that it will keep falling, but won’t yet land, and he doesn’t have anything else at his disposal - except becoming a sprite, who we’ve seen use beam attacks, which allows Bec to push the meteor back as a delaying measure. Don’t know if he knew it would help so specifically, but even so, I can see Bec understanding it as the only option he has that isn’t either ‘send thing as far away as possible’ or ‘let thing squish most beloved person’. I do think the weakest parts of this theory are What Bec Understands, but puzzling through that devilbeast’s thoughts is hardly a new impossibility. If nothing else, we can all understand that he did this to save Jade, because he loves her, and we love him for that. -Megido (am a new anon, just spent the past couple days catching up and have enjoyed this liveblog immensely)

I think this theory is a good one, and Hussie's comments support it.

The meteor needed to be destroyed in a very specific way for the timeline to retain its integrity, and Bec should instinctively know that, born from Sburb as he is.

Anonymous asked: There are three lenses I think you can view troll romance through: the Xenopsychology lens, the Propaganda lens, and the Parody lens. The Xenopsychology lens is that trolls do in fact experience alien emotions which cannot be felt by humans. It's not just that troll society chooses to categorize the same types of feelings and relationships that humans have differently; these are genuinely unique and original emotions, like a new color that a human couldn't imagine. Describing kismesissitude as hatemance or rivalry or abuse, or moirallegiance as bromance or besties or queer platonic partnership, or auspisticism as third wheeling or mom friending or refereeing are all fundamentally incorrect, because there is no human analogue. You can take this a step further and say that matespritship is also fundamentally different from human romance, even if it appears similar. Therefore all attempts to analyze or write troll romance should be forays into xenofiction, attempting to understand things within a nonhuman framework. The Propaganda lens is that actually troll emotions aren't really any different than human ones, but the quadrant system benefits the hemocasteist militaristic empire by keeping trolls divided enough to become either fucked up killers or submissive victims by the time they reach maturity, but have the minimum support structure needed to actually reach maturity. Kismesissitude is fundamentally unhealthy, auspisticism serves as a counterbalance to keep everyone from killing each other, and moirallegiance serves to prevent trolls from having multiple close friendships or from being fully open with their matesprit by arbitrarily sequestering who it’s appropriate to have certain positive interactions with. None of this is really romance except the one that’s analogous to human romance, but trolls are raised to buy into the system under threat of death. It’s hard to form community and contemplate uprising if everyone confines the meaningful relationships in their life to like 4-5 other people, half of which are based on negative interactions. Also it’s a commentary on how human rules about love and relationships and where the platonic ends and romantic or sexual starts are socially enforced rather than wholly natural and can be arbitrary and unhealthy. Anonymous asked: The Parody lens is that this is all Hussie making fun of fandom shipping tropes. All sufficiently devoted rivalries are actually romantic love. All sufficiently strong friendships are actually romantic love. These two are so hopelessly oblivious to the fact that they actually want to get with the guy they hate, or that the other person they think just wants to be friends actually feels the same way, they need a third party to push them together. (Okay this one doesn’t work because auspisticism seems to basically be the opposite of that? Maybe auspisticism is supposed to be like, contrived elimination of competing romantic options to assure an OTP. Idk if anyone really knows what auspisticism is supposed to be, least of all Hussie.) Also because this was early 2010’s Hussie, there’s maybe a certain level on which trolls being societally obliged to polyamory and bisexuality is also making fun of shippers, although if it was I think Hussie turned around pretty quickly to actually being cool about it. Much like how light is a wave, and a particle, and a ray, all of these are true at different times. This is because the nature of Hussie's writing is that even when things are serious business, they are also jokes. And this is also why the Homestuck fandom will never agree on the correct way to understand and depict the quadrants.

Great breakdown. As you could probably predict, I lean a lot more towards the Propaganda lens, with a healthy dose of Parody mixed in.

The Xenopsychology lens isn't necessarily untrue - it's just that, as I've discussed before, the trolls read as extremely human to me. I honestly believe that if you raised a human on Alternia, they'd probably be compelled to form the same quadrants as everyone else.

I once got an ask stating that, according to Hussie, each of the quadrants are meant to be exaggerated versions of human relationship dynamics. I'd really like to check out that full quote, so if anyone's got a link, send it my way!

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I'd like to run a game that's Jane Austen-esque or a political/social drama with fantasy elements. Think A Court of Fey and Flowers, except I don't want to subscribe to their channel so I haven't actually seen it. Fairy settings in particular would be appreciated! Thank you in advance

THEME: Political and Social Drama

Hello, I think I have a really fun collection of options for you to take a peek at. We’ve got fairies, we’ve got secrets, and we’ve got drama!

Fey Court Chaos, by Mabbly.

Fey aristocrats party the equinox away. You have been invited by the most prestigious monarchs of this wild magical land. Parlay with potential allies, humiliate your enemies, & impress those worth impressing–but avoid getting kicked out yourself!

Fey Court Chaos is a party-based tabletop role-playing game designed to let you escalate a royal ball into dramatic highs and lows. You will need a pool of dice or coins to play. Any kind will do, but the fancier the better!

This is a game about trying to make a name for yourself while possibly ruining the status of your companions. You’ll wager points of Reputation every time you do something risky, with the risks rising depending on the status of the person you’re interacting with. Success means a rise in reputation or learning a juicy secret. Failure means losing someone’s favour, or even giving one of your own secrets away! If you love fantasy faerie settings, this game gives you all the basics, and has advice for the game runner as well. You should definitely check it out!

The 147th Annual Necromancer’s Ball, by Meghan Cross.

You are cordially invited…

The 147th Necromancer's Ball is a one page TTRPG about necromancy and feeling fancy for a GM and 3-6 players played with a single d6.

You are necromancers attending The 147th Necromancer's Ball, dressed to the nines with your familiars in tow. You are ready to have a wonderful time, but more than that you are ready to show your rival once and for all that you are better than them by displaying your social prowess (and maybe even winning Necromancer of the Year.)

But not everything goes according to plan when a party crasher shows up to ruin the evening for everyone - and it is up to you to stop them and save the party!

This is a game all about being dramatic as fuck and also petty as fuck. You can roll Necromancy when you want to do magic or command the undead, and you roll Feeling Fancy when you engage in social entanglements or navigate the ball. Showing that you’re the Necromancer of the Year won’t be easy, especially once a party crasher shows up to complicate things - and possibly steal your chances of winning!

If you love silly games, as well as taking time to describe just how drop-dead (pardon the pun) gorgeous you look, this might be your game.

Avalon Society, by Martian Machinery.

Avalon Society is a game about courtly love and intrigue, and the conflict between passion and duty. You'll play knights, lords, ladies, upstarts, pretenders, unknowns, or possibly a changeling or a sorcerer. Pull swords out of stones, break curses, ascend to the round table, duel your rivals, or even fall in love with them. It’s up to you.

Avalon Society is a setting created for Good Society, which is the game of social intrigue, and in fact, the game that helped build A Court of Fae and Flowers! Good Society takes place in the same time as Jane Austen’s novels, but Avalon Society replaces character roles and family backgrounds in order to represent an Arthurian story. The court also shifts seasonally, which feels very reminiscent of a fairy court. The biggest downside - you also have to buy Good Society in order to use this supplement.

Townhouse Dracula, by Tenbear.

You have the opportunity to attend a dinner party at the one and only Townhouse Dracula. Here you will vie for Dracula’s favour, which includes eternal life and power beyond your imagination.

To decide who gains this power Dracula puts party guests through a gauntlet of past memories. Guests do their best to impress Dracula and convince them that they would be an asset to have in the Dracula lineage. 

Townhouse Dracula presents the players with scenarios that their characters will have to navigate, trying to piece together Dracula’s memories when they might not have all the answers.

This is first and foremost an improv game, so it’s good for people who like coming up with pieces of a story on the fly. You’ll get tokens as rewards for being funny, clever, bold, kind, etc. At the end of the game, you’ll tally your score and determine whether or not you become part of Dracula’s lineage. If you like the mysterious allure of vampires and want to stretch your storytelling muscles, you might want to check out this game.

Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust, by Weird Blue Yonder.

The home of a sordid assortment of terrible woodland spirits doing terrible things in a desperate bid to sit atop the Fairy Throne.

You are those woodland spirits, and election season is just around the corner…

Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust is probably the most political game on this list. It uses pretty standard faerie tropes - you can be an elf, a leprechaun, a banshee… even a giant! All of you are supposed to be part of the same party, but you all secretly want the throne!

This is a game about dirty politicians, with the humour and camp turned up to allow you to get really ridiculous with it. The resolution system involves building small dice pools of d6’s, tallying successes to see how you fared. The GM is responsible for presenting scenarios and complications, which are present in a few roll tables. At the end of elections you vote on each player’s position in the new court, and that’s game!

Butterfly Court, by mishagw.

In Butterfly Court, you will play as a member of the titular Butterfly Court, the court of the monarchy of the kingdom Praecia. This is a court intrigue game that uses the No Dice No Masters system, based on Avery Alder's Belonging Outside Belonging games.

This is a storytelling, roleplaying game, where players portray members of a court, but not necessarily the monarch or the heir. Instead, the game focuses on everyday lives, intrigue, relationships, obligations, and myriad other concerns of the regular people in the court: nobles, but also staff, servants, artists, and other people that make court life possible.

Butterfly Court doesn’t dictate who you are exactly, but it leaves a broad space for different kinds of supernatural beings. So if you want faeries, this game is certainly able to take place in a faerie court. The game is designed to pit your characters into situations that are difficult for the country at large: rebellions, scandals, famine, crime, etc. You also create factions that have different methods and priorities.

Everything that you create together is shared communally, because Butterfly Court uses a GM-less, diceless game system. This means that you’ll each have shared authority over where the story goes next, although there is a cycle of play that helps you move from one scene to the next. I think that the idea of this being a game about different factions navigating political turmoil has the potential to be represented really well through a collaborative system like this.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

If you want something more like Jane Austen, you might like Le Bon Ton! If you like equal parts adventure and social intrigue, then Household might be for you.

[ticklinglady]

The Guild's actions during the story are so insane, when you think about them properly, you know? When I first read the arc with them, this moment hasn't really occurred to me, as I was too busy going nuts over finally seeing the names of the familiar writers, but now when I think of that... I am not sure, I comprehend how they managed to achieve such a ferocious reputation. I have already made a little post about how extremely dysfunctional the DOA members are, but at least those guys have a plan, which actually makes sense more or less, even despite the gang using cheatcodes/the Book. The same cannot be said of the Guild however archghhjkn. Like, what the hell were these guys even doing??? XD

So here are just some moments, which weirded me out the most

At first I'd like to address the entire story with everyone's favorite tsundere, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Her introduction leaves quuuuite an impression in the best way and nothing makes me happier than the fact, that she gets a chance to find happiness in the following chapters and actually becomes a reoccurring character! HOWEVER, her entire involvement with the Guild is super odd... I still can't wrap my head around her getting fired. She is a girl with a hella powerful ability, who got taken to the Guild from a terrible, terrible orphanage in order to fight for them in the war for the Book, so not only is she very strong, but she's also immensely dependant on the organisation and wouldn't do anything outside of its interests. Yet Lucy is also put under extreme pressure. As she herself puts it, the Guild doesn't tolerate failures and will kick her out the moment she screws something up.

Later we see that this is exactly what happens, when she messes up her first mission. Fitzgerald himself confirms that, since she failed and revealed her ability to the enemies, she's no longer useful, so now a powerful esper, like Lucy works for free as a... laundress?

EXCUSE ME??? WHEN HAVE THE GUILD MEMBERS EVER DONE ANYTHING, BUT FAIL AND REVEAL THEIR ABILITIES?

Let's be real, these dudes were successful like only once or twice...

This fact not only makes Fitzgerald look like an idiot for wasting such a talented and useful worker, because of one mistake, but also as one hell of a hypocrite, cause he is more than fine with everyone else fucking up. And in case of Lovecraft and Steinbeck: fucking up twice. To add to the oddity, we later learn, that Louisa genuinely cares for Lucy and despite her social anxiety actually stood up for her during the entire story, but even that wasn't enough to change Fitzgerald's mind on the issue, though Louisa is one of the few people, whose opinion he respects. Honestly, this is such a waste of a truly useful subordinate. And speaking of which....

The Guild has never even tried to implement Edgar Allan Poe during the war...

This man is actually rather op when you think of it. He can capture and neutralise literally any ability user in Yokohama (besides Dazai, Mori and Ranpo ofc) just by throwing a book at them. Seriously, as we see with Chuuya, they don't even have to read it, they just need to see the pages. Plus the book can be actually sent via email!!! So why has there been an absolute zero amount of strategies with the use of this ability??? They could actually try to catch Atsushi by sending him such email containing any of Poe's mystery stories and then safely carry him back to their base. And it doesn't have to be just Atsushi, it could be literally any of their enemies. Non-combatant, like Ranpo could use this pretty damn well to his advantage and it doesn't take a genius to understand the potential of the "Black Cat in Rue Morgue". But nooooo, it seems like everyone has just forgotten of Poe!!! (Tho to be honest, I can actually see this situation in a funny extra awfgbfggfjj. Not the main story however) The agency would never even learn of his existence, if he didn't personally decide to try to fuck Ranpo's life up. Like, what does Poe even do in the Guild? He's the master architect and, according to him, the third ranking man in the organization, but we never see him be of any use, so Idk. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Lucy at least got to do something, unlike this poor man.

Then there's the entire drama with the Guild's decision to destroy Yokohama. Where do I even begin...

First of all, Fitzgerald has no way of knowing that Atsushi is going to come to Moby-Dick to fight him. Poor guy is the Guild's primary goal and has already gotten himself captured once, so it would have been safe to assume that the ADA decided to hide him somewhere and not send him on any dangerous missions for the time being. That basically means Fitzgerald could have burned down not just Yokohama, but also the only person, who could actually help him find his precious Book.

But if we're to ignore this, let's also go with Wikipedia then~

"Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. Yokohama is also the major economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area along the Keihin Industrial Zone."

..........................

Good luck making up for the destruction of THIS, Fitzgerald 🖕

And if this in itself wasn't bad enough, most people, including me, tend to forget that all Guild members are actually big shots in the American government, which I think is very sad. Because first of all, can you imagine any of the Guild members actually working as politicians?!! The sheer idea makes me hysterical avshbgj. Like, just consider Lovecraft working as a senator or something. This eldritch horror of a man leaves the ocean once in three years at best LMAO. Second of all, I have a feeling, that the destruction of Yokohama at the hands of influential politicians from a foreign country would have resulted in an international conflict or two~ Like as if random deranged rich Americans arriving in Japan, wreaking havoc over there and destroying the second largest city in the country wasn't bad enough, these Americans just HAD to be super influential businessmen and politicians. Louisa, my dear, I understand that it wasn't your intention, but it's as close to a declaration of war as it can get, you know? Fitzgerald may be ready to do anything to resurrect his dead daughter, but I'm not sure, that the execution of himself and the rest of the Guild at the hands of the Hunting Dogs is something he'd like.

(And here's another funny thing that stems from them being politicians 🤭 As @originalartblog wittily pointed out, Fitzgerald wasting all his money fighting sskk has probably resulted in a market crash and recession over in the USA)

I also have some other questions in regards to this entire plan, such as why did they have to waste Moby-Dick just to destroy Yokohama? Yes, it works in the short term, but in the long term they loose a super powerful fortress with the stealth mode and as the practice shows, you better have a safe base, unless you want another lemon freak to blow it all up. I mean, you could just ask Lovecraft to destroy everything for free. Or, if the device is the only way to stop the giant whale from crashing, why didn't Fitzgerald just take it to a far away bunker or something and waited things out there without the need to spend millions of dollars just to survive the explosion? (And it would have been extremely funny, if during the fight with sskk he just threw the device overboard) But I think I have already rambled for long enough already atxhghbgv XD

The Guild is an even bigger mess than the DOA and I think that's glorious 🙌

[thesweetestdevotion]

Hii can you please do the same reading for BTS taehyung future spouse as you were planned to do for jimin and jungkook. Thank you.

hey!

BTS Taehyung Future Spouse:

Dice: Mercury, Virgo, 5th House

Tarot:

Personality: Page of Cups, Ace of Coins Reversed, The World, Temperance Reversed, The Devil, The Wheel of Fortune, King of Swords Reversed, Page of Wands

They could be younger than him. They seem very fulfilled though, like they have it all even if I'm getting they could be struggling with financial abundance now. Theres a very strong sense of inner abundance in them, even when the material world isn't reflecting that. They could have dealt with or experienced poverty or have lacked the opportunities that many others have been afforded. They could also struggle with direction and picking one path to go down on. They seem to have seen lots of ups and downs so they could feel like any choice they've made hasn't worked out no matter what they did, so now they detached from the material world a bit. Which is why i think they've had the time to cultivate such a rich inner abundance, this reminds me of cinderella lol. A person who has struggled a lot but maintained a deep understanding of kindness and inner beauty, but their material world doesn't match it as of yet. I think they could've dealt with many dark energies before, lots of negative events and people. They seem like theyre able to look past them, they dont hold any grudges tbh, they could be highly spiritual to be honest. Maybe religious in some way, I’m not getting organized religion vibes though, more like a belief in some higher power. They’ve could’ve struggled with overindulgence or overspending at some point, maybe they’ve been too unbalanced with the energy they give to others vs the energy they give to themselves and their own growth, elder sibling vibes lol. Right now they could be trying to manifest or wish for better opportunities so that they can move on to something else more outwardly abundant. The Cinderella vibes are so strong here, i keep thinking of JTs City Cinderella album and also Cardi B, both women struggled a lot before they got the chance to make something out of their innate talents. Very humble and could be a strong creative force if they want to, they seem so sweet hehe.

Career: Six of Cups, The Star, Ten of Swords Reversed, Ten of Cups, Six of Coins, Queen of Coins Reversed, The Chariot

I think this person could work with children? or families I'm hearing, something about nurture and family structures. Family therapist, professional nanny, caregiver, even a children's book writer. Im honestly getting they're a jack of all trades. I just keep seeing barbie and all her jobs hehe so maybe this person doesn't have one specific career field. They could work at a nonprofit, or even be a teacher. Im also getting they have the potential to be in the public eye in the future, i just heard "they would make a good celebrity" lol maybe they will get notoriety once they establish themselves more, or maybe after their marriage to taehyung. This could push them into the public eye, and I'm seeing they could be very good at handling it, even if they aren't used to it at all as of now. They like to take opportunities as they come and they sort of collect skills for fun! they just love to explore the world to be honest, they might have many different dream careers that they could definitely be good at, but as of now they're not going after any of them. They have a very childlike spirit, and they feel full of potential and energy. like i said they could be younger than taehyung, which makes sense with this energy. They don't easily get bogged down by struggle or stress, so I'm seeing they're fit to do so many different jobs and be successful. I think they’ve had stressful jobs in the past so they’re kinda good at handling it, it would take a lot to stress them. As of now though they could be in between jobs or just trying to see what their next steps could be. They seem chill about it though, not much can get this person down hehe.

Their Relationship: Five of Wands, Judgement Reversed, Eight of Coins, King of Cups, Death, Knight of Wands, Queen of Swords, Ten of Coins

I feel like their relationship will cause so much drama 😭. People will want to insert their opinions on taehyungs FS and i see a mixed bag of public perception of them. I honestly feel like a lot of fights will happen, people will have many different sides and some will fight in support of them and others opposed to them. Honestly this kinda gives me the impression that his partner does not fit into Korean culture in some way, and this will cause some tumultuous backlash. However in private their relationship will be very grounded, I honestly think neither of them gaf lolll. They’re focused on building a life together. This part of the reading reminds me of the other reading i did on taehyung here. I think their relationship will look exactly like the ‘as a husband’ part of the reading lol so cute. Honestly teahyung gives me the vibe that he’d look for someone who could fulfill that role and nothing else so this makes a lot of sense. It’s very romantic and also intimate and fiery hehe. They could both have very apparent tempers and could be that one couple that’s always arguing but i dont see it being bad lol just that they tend to butt heads. I honestly think they’d tussle just for fun hehe, they like the adrenaline and the excitement. They seem excited to build a life together and they may spend a lot of time strategizing and planning things. They honestly seem like such a good couple, they sort of work as one unit. Sorta traditional as well, and very family oriented so they may plan for children very early on. This relationship is not going to fit people's expectations tbh, idk why im getting so much info on that part of their relationship but it feels very relevant here. at first it will not be easy to navigate for them, but their both stubborn and driven as hell lmaoo they could be cardinal sign heavy in their synastry. They want to make it work no matter what comes at them.

How They’d Meet: Two of Swords Reversed, Five of Swords, The High Priestess, Five of Coins, Two of Wands, Seven of Wands, Knight of Coins Reversed, Six of Swords, Page of Swords, King of Wands, Nine of Cups

I don’t think they’ve met yet, but maybe they have connected spiritually, they could be unknowingly manifesting each other at the moment. Swang by JT(her again??) just came up. I also just heard “he ain’t my type…” LOL 😭 i think this person might not expect this meeting to happen, It could happen while they’re working or just busy dealing with other things and they’re like ‘ugh… not something else occurring’. One or both of them could have travelled to a different place, maybe for work. There’s a foreign energy here, so they could not be from Korea tbh. Not sure from where but they both seem ‘foreign’ to each other in some way. They could be wary of each other at first but i see someone, probably taehyung, saying something. This person is not feeling him though 😭 they’re busyyy, Idk if they could’ve started a new job and are focused on that, but they seem to want to recuperate some losses. They chasing that bag lol they think they don’t have time for romance. They could be a little stressed about it, or worried about another situation simultaneously. They seem kinda sad to be honest!! Im seeing there is a little interest though but they seem indecisive about it, taehyung was wary at first but then was driven to start communicating with them. They might not be each other’s current type but something will draw them to each other, especially taehyung he’s like a moth to a flame hehe. I think his person will eventually give in lol, but they’re not easy to get!! They sizing him up the moment he approaches, rip taehyung good luck cause they don’t play around!!!

These two are such a roller coaster ride, they the messiest couple I’ve read for so far 😭. Im rooting for them all the way though!! Hope you guys like this one hehe.

[everlasting-rainfall]

Ok so we seen Shanks vs Akainu in pages au but what if it was pirates vs pirates or marines vs marines;)

shanks vs Buggy maybe even Shanks vs Kaido

Akainu vs Garp maybe even Akainu vs Koby since we all know how that went when Koby yelled at him that one time 😈

but if you want another pirate vs Marine pairing who has potential working well together then I would suggest Garp and Roger or Luffy and Koby 👀

Those are some pretty interesting match ups that you have there, dearie! I’m kind of imagining like an old Mortal Kombat styled scene with like pixelated graphics and health bars with you being tied to a post in the background as the prize for the winner

It’s honestly kind of a funny thought to me in all honesty but enough wasting time, let’s get into it! I’m sorry if some of these aren’t that good by the way, I kinda struggled with this a bit

!-MINORS DO NOT INTERACT FOR ANY REASON-!

!-POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS-!

Yandere, Violence, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Stalking, Blood Mention, Fighting, Getting Locked Up

!-POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS-

!-MINORS DO NOT INTERACT FOR ANY REASON-!

So Shanks vs Buggy, I can’t see Shanks actively hurting Buggy even in a Yandere situation so I feel like how a fight between them would go down is probably like Buggy trying to fight Shanks and his crew

Maybe doing a bit well but it’s Shanks so without a doubt, he isn’t going to be able to do anything in the end so I feel like once Buggy has tired himself out that’s probably when Shanks offers him a proposition

He doesn’t want to hurt Buggy and Buggy wants you just like he does so why don’t they just share you?

I can only imagine Buggy’s reaction like this man shouts up a storm about how “No way, no deal! They’re mine! Not yours, keep your hands off of them!”

So Shanks just lets Buggy keep trying to steal you from them like no matter how complex the plan, Shanks just basically snags you back nearly every single time and probably leaves behind a note like “Offer is still in the air! 😁 -Shanks”

Eventually chances are that no matter how many times Buggy thinks that he has you, he keeps telling himself that he won’t give in and that you’ll be his and only his someday

However everyone has to break eventually so after Buggy puts his biggest plan to steal you and keep you with him forever in place only for Shanks to take you back a day later with the same note left behind, that’s when he’s probably surrender

He’d probably go walking off to Shanks and just be like “I’ll take you up on your offer now but only because I want to!! And I get her all to myself for an entire week!!” which Shanks agrees to

So all in all being fought over by Shanks and Buggy is basically just Buggy taking you then Shanks taking you until they agree to kind of share you

———————————

Shanks vs Kaido? Oh dear fucking lord… That can only go so horribly if they’re both chasing after the same person as if I remember then Kaido was actually on his way to Marineford when Shanks showed up during that arc

If they both have a crush on the same person then I pray for your well-being as I can imagine that Kaido probably had you first like he probably decided to make your island specifically part of his territory like man picked up your island and brought it closer to where his base is

Oh so graciously allowed the people of the island to live in exchange for you which caused you to become his tiny S/O who could fit in the palm of his hand and still have room to stretch themselves out and then some

Once Shanks found out about you though like let’s say that someone let information about Kaido’s S/O slip and that information spread until it reached Shanks, he was pretty interested and when he saw a picture of you that’s when he decided that he wanted you

And like what I’ve said before if one member of a crew is Yandere then expect all of them to be like Shanks’s crew were more than happy to go along with this idea of heading to Wano and snagging Kaido’s S/O as clearly you rightfully belong to Shanks as he loves you far more than Kaido does and more than the giant blue lizard (his words, not mine) ever could

And this is going to be one hell of a fight, Kaido is going to keep you with him or die horribly trying to like there has been quite a few attempts at taking you but they get you as far as almost on the ship before you’re stolen back

It’s terrifying, it’s loud, it’s bloody, and neither side is willing to give up until they have you

They’ll take breaks of course to rest and recover as they can’t fight forever and during that time, you better hope that you’re a master negotiator as otherwise this fight will either last forever or until one/both of them dies

This is kinda starting to sound like Broggy and Dorry to be honest but hey, whatever

In conclusion, Kaido and Shanks fighting over you kinda feels like a tower defense game as people are constantly coming from Shanks side to try and capture you while Kaido and the Beast Pirates defend you

The only problem comes from the fact that Kaido is more than likely at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting Shanks as I feel like Shanks is stronger

————————————

So Garp vs. Akainu as well? I’m sorry to say it but prepare to be married to Garp, Akainu doesn’t stand a chance against Garp as if Sengoku didn’t hold Garp down at Marineford then he would have killed Akainu plus we all see the feats that this man has accomplished

Let’s say that you were already Akainu’s Darling like he was a fairly alright Yandere to you if not terrifying as all hell like this man probably kidnapped you to keep you safe from the Pirate scum like “You’re pure and I won’t let a pirate taint you, you’re coming with me”

He doesn’t let you out of the house unless he’s with you as he knows he can protect you and that’s how you meet Garp, Garp is irritating to Akainu but he is a marine so he allows Garp to get close and look but not touch as if Garp tries to offer you a rice cracker or shake your hand then he’s smacking it away

Garp leaves you two alone with one thought in his head and it’s “How did a person as sweet as that wind up with Akainu of all people?” but regardless he continues on with his life with his mind very often drifting to you

Like he keeps imagining things with you and spacing out to random thoughts like he imagines going on dates with you and treating you far better than he thinks Akainu is doing as he envisions Akainu as this big scary lava monster that will burn you alive

At first, he doesn’t want to be a home wrecker by getting you to cheat with him but over time he starts to care less and less as he really wants you but alas he’s a marine and he can’t just go wrecking households for no reason other than “I love her” so he holds himself back reluctantly although he is very nice to you whenever he sees you with Akainu

Cut to Marineford and Marineford things happen, Garp is held down by Sengoku and Akainu lives albeit having been beaten down pretty bad

Garp is devastated by what happened and he tries to deal with things but as he’s dealing with things, his mind goes to you at one point albeit briefly and he realizes that you’re still married to Akainu and after what happened at Marineford. There’s no telling what could happen now

He’s going to save you so while Akainu is at Punk Hazard battling Aokiji, Garp breaks into your home and spirits you away with him to where he knows that he can keep you safe

Akainu will be pissed when he gets home and finds you gone especially with the clear signs that you were kidnapped, one of his first orders of business as Fleet Admiral will be tracking you down and getting you back

Your new husband isn’t worried at all though as if Akainu gets anywhere near you now then he’ll take care of it, Akainu can think all that he wants that he’ll have you back someday but while Garp is alive then nothing of the sort is happening

You’ll be staying right there with him and he’ll hear nothing about returning to Akainu like man’s expression visibly darkens if you bring up Akainu so it’s best to keep conversation topics about other things

At least you have more freedom with Garp, I guess? He’s definitely more protective and will join you if you go anywhere but he says you shouldn’t talk to anyone and let him do all the talking

It’s safe to just accept that Garp is your husband now, not Akainu and if Akainu ever tries to come for you then well it’s time to make the worlds hottest donut if you get what I mean

In conclusion, Garp vs. Akainu when it comes to you is just him stealing you and killing Akainu if he ever gets too close

————————————————

Ok so Akainu vs. Koby, huh? Yeah, we all did see what happened when Koby shouted at Akainu that one time and if I was writing this before the latest chapter then I would honestly say that Koby is someone who needs to back down and adore from afar while hoping that Akainu maybe dies an awful death

But after the latest chapter and also remembering that he was trained by Garp, I’d say that Koby would be able to give Akainu one hell of a fight if they were to fight over you and the odds would be against Koby

I feel like Koby’s best bet at keeping you with him would probably be to do what Garp did like grab you and run as I can’t see him willing to take Akainu on head on if Akainu wanted you as well like don’t get me wrong as if push came to shove then he’s going in

Luckily Akainu and Koby are somewhat reasonable people with Koby being way more reasonable than Akainu so you might be able to negotiate with them briefly to not get them to fight each other but that’s a small briefly because of Akainu as Koby will listen but Akainu will let you say like two words before it’s back to firing lava at Koby

Honestly I can’t see Koby being a Yandere that would actively kidnap you like he’d be the kind of Yandere where once you’re in a relationship with him, he’s clingy as fuck and barely leaves you alone especially if you live together but beyond putting you under prolonged house arrest for trying to leave, I can’t see it

So chances are that Akainu might actually kidnap you first over Koby and put you under permanent house arrest but maybe not so much house arrest as it is bedroom arrest until he can trust you to not run away from him

I can imagine though that Koby takes immediate notice of your disappearance and gets worried about you so he’ll probably go seeking you out and trying to figure out where you went

And if he finds out that Akainu has you then he’s not above putting a plan into motion that he calls Plan *Insert First Initial of Your Name*RFA which stands for *Your Name* Rescue From Akainu, it’s some pretty complex stuff too as he doesn’t want to just smash a window with a brick

When Koby has you though, he’s getting out of there and taking you with him so he can keep you safe and love you but eventually Akainu will probably find you and Koby. He’s not mad at you, well he sort of is but that’s besides the point

Koby probably will get a few new scars as Akainu steals you back and brings you home where you’re under serious lockdown like we’re talking ankle monitor more than likely and probably not being allowed to leave the bed except for basic necessities

Don’t expect to be there long though as Koby does intend to have you back eventually, it’s just that now he needs to a second edition of the plan with a better place to hide you and he’s not going to stop like even if you tell him to

He all but sees you as the princess in a tower with Akainu as a fire breathing dragon and him as the brave knight whose coming to save you

Chances are that he doesn’t even give a shit if he gets a few burn scars on the way out as it’ll be worth it when the drago- I mean, Akainu stops stealing you back

In conclusion, Akainu vs. Koby would probably boil down to a game of hide and seek until either Koby gets himself killed or Koby manages to either kill Akainu or hide you somewhere where Akainu legitimately can’t find you

—————————————

Garp and Roger fighting over you? I can personally see that fight lasting forever or at least until Roger dies, I think it would be pretty funny though if you just had no clue what was going the whole time so let’s go with that for this one

So imagine that you’re basically some kind of traveler and every island that you wind up going to if you stay there long enough then you will run into Gol D. Roger himself or Monkey D. Garp like you’ve been keeping record of how long it takes for one of them to show up on every island, it happens so much

Roger typically just throws his arm around your shoulders and greets you as if you were an old friend, he offers you to join his crew for a party and asks about any new adventures that you may have had recently while Garp just finds you and starts up a conversation with you like he’s pretty loud about it and maybe even offers you a rice cracker or two as he offers you to come with him to visit a marine base

Both situations would cause you to never be separated from them again if you agreed by the way but anyways, I can imagine that they always just have this serious look of disappointing on their faces whenever you decline

I can’t imagine the two of them immediately just jumping into a fight over you like it wouldn’t take long but it wouldn’t be just like greet each other then fight

Both of them are incredibly tough so I can imagine that any fight between them goes on without a winner like Yandere or not, Roger is going to put the needs of his crew first a lot of the time which I can see Garp accepting and saying he’ll let Roger go for the time being but maybe also throwing a few canon balls his way when Roger is leaving

Meanwhile as these fights are happening, you’re just like listening to music in the background being completely oblivious like it’s that one Spider-Man meme of like Spider-Man and the enemy fighting in the background while Stan Lee listens to music

Anyways enough jokes, my apologies…

Eventually one of them is likely going to capture you and bring you with them, I can imagine that because of how their fights for you are at a stalemate constantly then chances are that you’re never going to be leaving that person

The only reason why I can see Garp finally getting you is when Roger is executed and you’re in tears because Stockholm syndrome or maybe you actually fell in love with him then Garp will be there as a shoulder for you to cry on

He’ll comfort you through your grief and make you smile again eventually managing to get you to enter a relationship with him and boom, you’re stuck with another Yandere

The only way that I could see that scenario not being the case is if Roger asked one of his trusted crew members to keep an eye on you like Rayleigh or Gaban, hell I can even see you being entrusted to Shanks or Buggy when they get old enough like “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of Mom/Dad! No one will lay a hand on them!” because without a doubt they do see you as one

It doesn’t mean that Garp is going to stop trying though as he’ll always be there just watching and waiting for the perfect chance for him to get close and take you away

As for if Garp is the winner who eventually got you then you’re definitely saddened by Roger’s death as you were close but I can’t see any of Roger’s old crew trying to come after you, he definitely spoke about you but I can’t see him asking them to steal you from Garp as there’s no real point now that he’s dead

As for if you were present during Ace’s birth or his childhood? I feel like you weren’t there for Ace’s birth but you may have been occasionally with Garp when he went to visit Ace, Luffy, and Sabo but I don’t think enough to where they would actively remember you

In conclusion, Garp vs Roger feels like it boils down to a game of capture the flag but both parties are too busy fighting to actually capture the flag

———————————————

Now then Luffy vs Koby? I can personally see the two of them honestly deciding to ultimately share you at first to some extent as the two of them appear to be on somewhat good terms despite the fact that Luffy is a Pirate and Koby is a Marine

You know if you don’t count anything that involves the two of them fighting or Koby trying to catch Luffy as he’s a pirate and all but regardless, Koby is a good Marine and Luffy is a good Pirate so to an extent, I feel like they might decide to share you

This extent being that although they share you, sometimes Luffy won’t hand you off to Koby for his time with you and will try to make you stay with him while Koby does the same as he attempts to subtly convince you to stay with him

I’d recommend for either of their sake but mostly Koby’s sake to not pick either of them and just continue this life of being periodically passed between them and if you don’t want to see bloodshed or fighting then I’d recommend doing your best to convince Luffy and Koby to stick to the rules that were put in place

Koby would be easy to convince but Luffy, not so much as that man is as stubborn as a mule so you will have to make him one hell of a deal so you prevent a fight breaking out but then again even that might not work so a fight may be inevitable

And when they do fight against each other over you then I would say that Koby could put up a good fight against Luffy but I think that we all know who is winning this and walking away with you in the end and it isn’t Koby

I couldn’t see Luffy ever killing Koby but beating him so bad that he’s black and blue? Especially considering that Luffy is Yandere for you then he’ll gladly do it as many times as he needs to until Koby gets the message to stay away

But seeing as Koby is a Yandere for you as well then I don’t think that’s going to be any time soon, you can try to ask him to just stay away for his own sake if you run into him while alone but he won’t listen and will simply take you and get moving

Don’t expect to get too far though as soon enough, you’ll see an angry rubber man chasing the two of you or if you made off of the island then the Thousand Sunny chasing after the ship that Koby has you on

Either way, Luffy isn’t going to pull an Akainu and potentially kill Koby but he will get more and more irritated each time that Koby does show up to try and steal you away from him

Sometimes you probably do miss the days where Koby and Luffy would sort of share you between one another

In conclusion, Luffy vs. Koby probably feels like a game of keep away in all honesty where Luffy is keeping you away from Koby

[concert-bflat]

I need to rant about Ivan guys guys I neeed to rant about Ivan (<--- keeps trying to write fics of him but Never finishes him) like God this man is so gay and so in love it genuinely hurts it Hurts and I am Injured by it and the imagrey is Sooo Good (and Yes this is probably me just parroting stuff Everyone has already said before but shut up it's my turn now!! (aka please I've been holding in these thoughts for Months now I must let them out of their cage before one of them Dies)) [Edit I am Not fucking proofreading this I spent 2 hours on it if there is a mistake you Imagined it </3]

Just like,

You can see it in the way he sees the stars in Till. His own hopes for freedom and the only real light in this world that he lost sight of in Till. He is the hope and wish for freedom that he has shut away and repressed and it makes him fall So Hard

Or how you only really see that red in his eyes (after. Almost Dying) when he's with or singing/thinking about how Till has Inspired him, like a fire has been lit inside him. A fire lit in the darkness. . hmm...

even at the end of the song, where he knows full well that he absolutely Crushed his opponent and also knows full well that Till is his next one. I'm sick. I'm so sick.

Or like. When he frees Till and everything is just Engulfed in that red now. How Till has that same fire in his eyes, he and Ivan are on the same page now. They see that same hope for freedom and they both share it. They're running towards the light (like the sky's lighter there, more on that in a sec), hell, the corners of the right side of the screen are literally tinted in LIGHT GREEN. Till's color. God dammit the whole scene is tinted in red and green. They are literally Complementary Colors. I'mmm soooooooo (God these scenes are soo pretty too I was genuinely Stunned when I first saw this)

DID YOU EVEN NOTICE I ONLY NOTICED NOW the Stars are fucking green. You can see it better in some of the Later Images but they are Literally Green because Ivan sees the stars in Till and uuuughsdfbshb

OR LIKE WHEN TILL TURNS BACK?? AND. And that red is no longer in his eyes and before The Realization hits Ivan his eyes are just Glowing with red. Because he was just Filled with that hope. Freedom was, potentially, Right There

Did you guys even notice in that like. 5 frames in the half-second animation of Till turning away he's totally engulfed in his shade of green. Like of Course. That's such a Till thing to do because of Course he's running back he never actually liked Ivan that way in the first place.

And also the lighting of the sky Flips. Because the light has always been with Till. And Ivan's left in the darkness. In the. Haha. Ha. Black Sorrow. Aha *sits down cries*

And Again with this mf's stupid eyes how they revert to just black because that hope's been stripped away again, how it's even reflected in his present self singing as he reminisces on it. Fucking. Ivan's Expression when Till runs away.T here's so fucking much like the irony. Like did he even see Till hesitate or did he just see him turn and run away.

Like the irony that the guy who's always breaking the rules and fighting and defying and clearly hating living in a world like this won't run away with him, who has always been passive and obeying the rules and just accepting captivity and has been repressing his desire for freedom is so Bitter and Awful but also he always Knew this would happen what the Hell was he thinking this was such a stupid idea like

this man gets No Breaks No Breaks Ever oh yeah btw they're facing off against each other in a literal Death Match. That they might've had a Chance of avoiding if they ran away. Ahah. Hh *sob*

Also this art brings me so much Joy as much as it hurts me on a visceral level like. Ivan Always has his eyes on Till but it goes from a fond smile. Like So Fond flat out lovestruck affectionate gaze because he loves this man and loves spending time with him to a grimace once they're on stage. How Till never really changes or really Has Changed, and that's why Ivan loves him as much as he is resentful towards him. How that's what brought them here, to the stage. How Ivan changed for Till and Because of Till but still Till is like a god damn immovable object with how he stubbornly sticks to his ways. There's such resentment but isn't he himself also stubborn for always sticking to Till anyways? Hell, he's singing all about him in Round 3 and loses control over his own emotions and expressions during it I'mmm Guhhh

Also the first image is titled Observation while the second one is titled Decision(? I think). Like mf What are you deciding. What happened Last Time you decided to do something I'm going to punt you into the next planet

Speaking of observing,

Just. How Ivan's Always Observing. I saw one person point out he's like a background character and it's like he sees himself as one too. He is a passive observer in his Own Life. How he watches all the other children in Anakt garden play. How his childhood leading him to Anakt Garden just kind of. Happens around him while he watches indifferently.

How he's always trailing behind Till. Or how he tends to just. Observe quietly and is portrayed as such.

Not to mention how he doesn't appear in the memories of Anyone else's rounds, not even Till's, even when he literally (temporarily) freed him from the city. He doesn't even appear At All in Luka's round even though we get a clear shot of Till getting his hopes and dreams shattered (though it Does parallel another shot of him from Round 2)

And then the One Times he tries to take action. Or start something. It gets rejected and he's resigned to just. Trailing behind again. Because of Course he'll always follow after Till. And of Course he's fucking bitter about it and bitter about himself because he Knew this would happen and Till is Always looking at someone else and that Never Changes but. He just thought for a moment that he could change something. Man.

Oh I forgot to talk about the competitions themselves huh? Wellll, (and I'll Attempt to keep it brief because I've been writing this post for Much too long but)

Till spends his first round singing completely devotedly to Mizi. Hell, his song wasn't even in the program, it's likely- no, almost definitely something he wrote entirely for her, and Ivan has no part in it, just watches bitterly as he passes out after his, er, stunt at the end

And continues to be passed out for almost the entirety of Ivan's song

Oh but he woke up for the emotional/musical climax at least, going over Ivan's most important memory of them together, that's cool at least right?! Surely Till felt something from that

Maybe they can talk something out, or at least acknowledge their relationship in Some way. Maybe Ivan could at least be seen by Till-

Aaand Till's Actual love interest Supposedly gets shot and now he probably thinks she's dead. His attention is turned to her once again, like it's always been from the start. He never really changes huh?

Better luck next time Ivan--

Just. This mf Never Wins and it makes me Laugh as much as it makes me So Sad

Gets hopes and dreams and future crushed by aliens (standard stuff). Sold off in an auction. Put in prestigious singing school and up to that point he hasn't really cared about Anything and has simply been going through the motions.

Meets boy that basically embodies the freedom and hope he used to have. Falls badly in love. Boy loves someone else. Tries to free him and give him the thing he'd surely want most. Rejected. Back to school you go loser.

Oh btw this school is to train you for a competition to the death. Btw you're facing off against that boy you love in the semi-finals of said death competition. And you might kill him or he'll kill you. Because you didn't run away when you had the chance.

Also he didn't sing or think about you at all during his round. In fact I'm pretty sure he wrote a whole ass song that wasn't even registered in the Alien Queue or whatever for someone else. Also he probably has hardly looked at you. Also he was unconscious for almost the entirety of your song. Except for the part where you lost control of your emotions.

Oh but that doesn't matter now because now he thinks the person He likes was just killed. So he's kiiinda gonna be distracted by that. And that might fuck up your round with him. Sorry man

This was Originally a rant about how much I love Black Sorrow's imagery and the portrayal of Ivan's love because this man clearly has Complex Emotions and then Kinda derailed into me just ranting about how many L's he's being handed before getting the executioner's blade. Uhhhhh oops. Congrats on sticking to the end though?

I just love Ivan very much. He is So Bitter and so Horribly In Love and looks up to and is inspired by Till So Much and I wish people explored him on a deeper level/more personally.

I wish I saw more deep looks at Ivan/Till, there's clearly Complicated Things going on there. Hell, we don't even know what Till's pov on the whole thing is aside from that One scene of him hesitating before running away from Ivan. As much as I love fluffy interpretations of them, I (did I mention that I'm an angst addict btw. Could You Tell) wish all their Complexities could be acknowledged. Like how Ivan Clearly puts Till on such a spotlight and it is Such a downfall for him through and through and he Kinda knows it but also What Else does he Have and he really looks up to him Sooo Much (just. Look at them in that official art of them in Anakt Garden !!!) and deep down just wants to run away from this horrible place and wants to run with Till, the Light of his life the fire in the darkness the fucking stars the universe his black sorrow just. Oh My God I need to end this post already I was supposed to be studying but spent those 2 hours Writing instead

But anyways yeah uuhhh long story short? This guy is a gay loser. He tries to look sooo cool and smooth but he is suuuch a gay lovestruck loser and his rose tinted glasses are so thick he can't see shit (I'm pretty sure I quoted that from something (but also no genuinely when I first got into alnst after just watching the first 3 rounds videos and saw Ivan in official art I was So Surprised like "Oh he's actually That kind of mf that tries to look Cool and Hot but is actually just Pathetic and Sad and Gay I thought he was Just Sad and Gay")) he's probably also touchstarved as hell idk and his love is doomed by the narrative (unless Hyuna saves his and Till's asses. Buuut we'll see </333)

Love ya Ivan keep taking L's <3333 mwah

[sebstanaddict]

Too Good To Be True

Sebastian Stan x Reader Story

Summary: A romantic comedy story where Sebastian Stan falls in love with reader but she is not who he thinks she is.

Despite Sebastian's insistence in coming back with her, reader reluctantly had to break up with Sebastian in order to fulfill Aurora's obligation to her parents to marry Adam. But what Adam said during dinner with Aurora's parents sparks and idea in her head and she might just find a way out of this nightmare.

Pairings : Sebastian Stan x Female!Reader

Chapters : 23/28 (Might add more)

Chapter list >

Warning : just some sexual reference a litlle, nothing vulgar

Word count : 4.9k words

---

Chapter 23 - A Heart Worn Thin

That morning, Y/n woke up feeling a spark of hope, a small light flickering at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Last night's conversation with Aurora's father had planted a seed—a chance to escape this twisted arrangement with Adam if she could prove herself worthy of running his company. It was a daunting task, but it was also her lifeline. If she succeeded, she could end the engagement, walk away, and perhaps... just maybe... find her way back to Sebastian.

Yet that hope was tempered by a gnawing sadness. The last encounter with Sebastian lingered in her mind, the hurt in his eyes haunting her. She wanted so badly to tell him about her plan, about the potential way out. But there was no guarantee she'd succeed, and she didn't want to risk raising his hopes—only to dash them if she failed.

That morning they were scheduled to shoot another scene for Pumping Black. One that happened before the horrible stabbing to Aurora's character, Celeste, happened.

When she arrived on set, her heart skipped as she spotted Sebastian across the room. But the moment he looked at her, her stomach sank. His expression was cold, his posture distant, a wall firmly in place where warmth had once been. He didn't say a word, didn't ask questions or attempt to break the tension. For the first time, it seemed as though he'd stopped fighting for her, resigned to letting her go. The realization hurt more than she'd expected.

They took their positions for the scene, a climactic argument between their characters. It was intense, full of betrayal and anger—exactly the kind of tension that mirrored what simmered between them. But neither of them could focus, and each take was worse than the last.

"Cut!" Maya's voice rang out, frustration lacing her tone. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Guys, I need more than this. There's too much tension, but it's the wrong kind. If you can't get on the same page, we're going to be here all day."

Y/n felt Sebastian's eyes on her, his gaze as cold as ever. They both knew they had to get past whatever was holding them back if they were going to get through the day. He gestured for her to follow him, and they stepped off to a quiet corner away from the others.

He crossed his arms, his face a mixture of bitterness and disappointment. "If we're going to keep doing this, we have to put whatever's between us aside," he said, voice flat. "I'm not here to drag things out any longer."

His tone was harsh, but she knew he was right. Fighting back tears, she nodded. "You're right. I don't want to keep holding you back."

For a long moment, they stared at each other, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Whatever they'd had was slipping further away, and it felt like sand slipping through her fingers, but she had no choice. Not yet. She had to stay focused on her plan.

"Alright," she whispered. "Let's do this."

They returned to set, and this time, as the camera rolled, they poured everything into the scene. The anger, the hurt, the betrayal—it all flowed into their characters, heightening each line and glance. When Maya finally called "cut," the crew erupted into applause, the scene charged with a raw energy that felt as real as anything they'd shared off-camera.

But the moment the applause faded, Sebastian turned away, grabbing his things without a word and walking off set. Y/n watched him leave, her heart breaking all over again. This time, it felt final—as if she was truly losing him, inch by inch, with every secret and every lie.

As she stood there alone, she couldn't help but wonder if her plan would be enough. Because even if she escaped Adam, there was no guarantee she hadn't already lost the one person she was doing it all for.

—

The next morning, Y/n found herself sitting in Aurora's office at the hedge fund company, staring at a sea of financial data on the screen in front of her. She didn't have any shoot scheduled for that day so she planned to maximize the day to work at the hedge fund company.

Despite the plush, luxurious surroundings, the pressure of the task at hand weighed heavily on her. Aurora's father had given her a small but crucial project, one that could prove her competence — or see her thrown back into the clutches of an unwanted marriage with Adam.

The project was no small task. Aurora's father had asked her to create an algorithm that would optimize their stock trading strategy. The hedge fund was heavily invested in technology, and Y/n's background as a software engineer was going to be the key to unlocking its potential.

She had to create an automated trading algorithm that could analyze large volumes of data — historical prices, market trends, and real-time news — to make predictions and execute trades with minimal human intervention. It was a high-stakes task, but one she was surprisingly excited about.

Aurora's father was skeptical at first that she could do it, knowing Aurora had no background at all in software engineering, but she assured him that she would be working closely with her personal assistant to create the algorithm. She even gave him her CV so he could see her background. Once he studied her CV he was more confident and allowed her to start working to create the algorithm.

As she worked, her fingers flew across the keyboard, the familiarity of coding bringing her a sense of calm amidst the storm of her life. This was something she could control, something she could solve. Her mind raced with logic and numbers, allowing her to momentarily escape the chaotic mess of pretending to be Aurora and dealing with Adam and Sebastian's emotions.

She spent two weeks coding, testing and refining the algorithm. When she was scheduled for a shoot, she spent the day doing shooting and the night working at home until dawn. When she had no shoot scheduled she would come to the office and work from morning until night. It was taxing and she was exhausted.

Each day, Y/n felt like she was being pulled in a hundred directions at once, struggling to keep everything from unraveling. Between the long hours of shooting Pumping Black and the sleepless nights spent working on Aurora's father's algorithm, she was running on little more than sheer will. But it wasn't just exhaustion that weighed on her. It was Sebastian—the growing distance between them that left an ache she couldn't seem to shake.

She often caught him watching her, his gaze soft yet searching, as if he was silently begging her to open up. She longed to tell him everything, to ease the tension between them, but the stakes were too high. If she couldn't pull off this plan with Aurora's father, she risked not only disappointing Sebastian but keeping herself trapped in the unwanted future looming over her. So she kept it to herself, even as she felt the space between them widening with each day.

One evening on set, Y/n sat with her script, exhaustion weighing down her every movement. Footsteps approached, and she didn't need to look up to know it was him. The air shifted in a way it only ever did when he was close. "Aurora..are you okay?" Sebastian's voice was a soft brush of concern, and hearing it nearly unraveled her.

She managed a tired smile. "I'm fine, Sebastian. Just...a lot going on." She tried to sound casual, to reassure him with words she barely believed herself.

But his expression remained unconvinced. There was a deep worry in his blue eyes as he studied her. "Fine?" he repeated, skepticism coloring his tone. "You look exhausted. You don't have to push yourself this hard...whatever it is, it can wait."

Y/n's heart clenched. She wanted so badly to tell him why she was doing this, to let him understand the reason behind her late nights and weary mornings. But instead, she shook her head. "I can handle it, Sebastian. Really."

His gaze hardened, disappointment crossing his face as he looked away, jaw tight. "I just don't understand why you won't tell me what's really going on," he said, his voice laced with hurt. "Why can't you be honest with me?"

Her own gaze dropped, the weight of his words pressing on her. How she wanted to be honest, to confide in him and ease the guilt gnawing at her. But she couldn't bring herself to risk it. "It's...complicated, Sebastian," she whispered, wishing he could somehow read the apology in her eyes. "I wish I could explain, but it's just...something I have to figure out on my own."

He nodded slowly, but the distance was already etched into his features. "Alright. Just...take care of yourself," he murmured, his tone colder, more distant than she'd ever heard it. And as he turned to walk away, a hollow ache settled in her chest.

The sadness lingered in his eyes whenever their paths crossed after that, mirroring her own guilt and regret. Each look, each silence, seemed to carve the chasm between them a little deeper, until she feared she'd never be able to bridge it again.

Despite the situation with Sebastian and everything else, somehow, she felt an invisible power and energy pushing her through it all. The motivation to escape Adam's clutches became her fuel and she knew she couldn't rest until she succeeded.

Every day, Aurora's father would check in on her progress, though always from a distance. He didn't hover or micromanage — it seemed that once he had given her the project, he trusted her to handle it. But she knew he was watching closely, waiting for her to either rise to the challenge or fail spectacularly.

By the end of the second week, Y/n had developed the algorithm's core structure. It could sift through mountains of data in seconds, analyze market trends, and predict which stocks would rise or fall. She was confident it would work — but she still needed to prove it in action.

With her final tests done, she scheduled a meeting with Aurora's father for a demonstration.

---

The day of the presentation arrived, and Y/n felt a mixture of excitement and nerves. This was it — her chance to prove to Aurora's father that she was capable of running the company, that she didn't need Adam, or anyone else, to succeed.

Aurora's father sat across from her in the sleek, modern conference room, his expression neutral but his eyes sharp. He hadn't been one to give away much during their interactions, but Y/n could sense that he was deeply invested in the outcome of this project.

"Let's see what you've come up with," Aurora's father said, gesturing to the screen where Y/n had her algorithm ready for the demonstration.

Y/n took a deep breath and began walking him through the system. She explained how the algorithm processed data, its predictive model, and how it was capable of identifying high-potential stocks with impressive accuracy. Then she showed him a live demonstration, running the algorithm in real-time as it made a series of small trades.

Aurora's father leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he watched the results flash on the screen. For several minutes, he said nothing, simply observing the algorithm's performance. Y/n's heart raced, but she kept her composure, explaining each step in detail.

When the demo was over, there was a long pause. Aurora's father sat back in his chair, his hands steepled as he considered what he had just seen.

"You've done well," he said finally, his voice steady. "This could be a real asset to the firm."

Relief flooded through Y/n, but she kept her expression neutral. She wasn't done yet.

"Thank you," she said. "But there's something more I want to discuss."

Aurora's father raised an eyebrow, but nodded for her to continue.

"I know you want Adam to take over the company," Y/n began, choosing her words carefully. "But as you have known from our last dinner with him, he doesn't fully understand the intricacies of the business. His lack of knowledge could be dangerous, especially in such a volatile market. I know this company means a lot to you — it's your legacy. And I believe I'm capable of preserving that legacy without the need for this marriage."

Aurora's father's expression remained impassive, but Y/n could see the gears turning in his mind.

"I'm not just saying this as your daughter," she continued, knowing she had to speak as Aurora in this moment. "I've proven myself capable of handling complex challenges, and I want to be the one to lead the company into the future. If you give me a chance, I believe I can do it — and you won't need to tie me to Adam to secure the company's future. And.." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully, then finally said, "I know you want the best for me, and I respect that. But... Adam isn't the right person for me. He forced himself on me. I managed to push him away, but... I don't think a man like that should be a part of this family."

As Aurora's father processed Y/n's revelation, his usually stern face softened just slightly. He looked at her with an intensity that spoke of both concern and re-evaluation.

"Adam forced himself on you?" he asked quietly, anger simmering beneath his controlled tone. His voice softened only to let her speak, but she could see the fury in his gaze.

Y/n swallowed hard and nodded, willing herself to stay composed. "Yes. I...I managed to push him away, but the way he acted, his anger..." She trailed off, feeling the weight of the moment as Aurora's father looked away, jaw clenched.

For a long moment, he said nothing, his expression hardening as he stared into the distance. Finally, he turned back to her, his voice resolute. "I had no idea Adam was capable of something like that. I thought he was... well, clearly I was wrong. I don't want a man like him in this family. No daughter of mine should be forced into a marriage like that."

Y/n exhaled, a profound sense of relief washing over her. "Thank you. I never wanted to disappoint you, but I know this isn't the life I want."

Aurora's father nodded, his gaze steady as he looked at her. "I appreciate your honesty, Aurora. And for that, I'm willing to give you a chance. You've impressed me today." He gestured at the screen, his expression softening, albeit slightly. "That program is the kind of work I'd expect from someone serious about running the company."

Y/n felt her heart lift. Here was her opportunity—not only to escape the marriage but to build something meaningful, something she could truly call her own. "I'm ready to prove myself, Dad. Just give me the chance."

He sighed, giving her a rare, approving look. "I will. I'll call off the engagement, effective immediately. But my expectations remain. This program was a good start, but if you're serious about the company, you need to come back once your filming is done. I want you working directly under me, handling real accounts and projects. If you prove yourself capable, the company is yours." He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "If not, I'll hand it over to Edith."

Y/n nodded, determination coursing through her veins. "Understood. I won't let you down."

He smiled, a hint of pride in his gaze. "Good. Show me that I haven't misplaced my faith."

As she gathered her things, she took one last look at Aurora's father, who was watching her with an intensity she hadn't seen before. The hard lines of his face softened ever so slightly, and for the first time, she thought she saw something almost close to admiration.

"I'll make arrangements to cut Adam out as quickly as possible," Aurora's father added, his tone businesslike once more. "But, Aurora... don't make me regret this."

Y/n smiled, a genuine smile, feeling like she could finally breathe. "I won't. I promise."

Aurora's father gave a single nod, his expression shifting back to his usual stoicism. "Very well. You're dismissed."

Y/n walked out of his office, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. There was still a long road ahead, but for the first time, she had real hope. And she can't wait to tell Sebastian about it. But first she needed to tell Aurora and so she did that just as she arrived home.

"Aurora, you won't believe what just happened!" She said enthusiastically into her cellphone.

*What?" Aurora's voice, well, her voice, drawled at the other end.

"I got us out of the arranged marriage with Adam!" She gushed.

"What?! How?" Aurora asked, surprise in her voice.

She proceeded to tell her about what has been happening and how her father offered her to work closely with him to manage the company. She expected Aurora to be happy about it but her response was not what she expected.

"Are you stupid?" Aurora protested.

Her heart felt like it has been stabbed as she heard Aurora. "What?!"

"I know nothing about running a hedge fund company, I know nothing about software engineering. I'm just going to look so stupid when we switch back. You should resign. Tell my dad that you changed your mind and would like to just marry Adam or anyone else my dad deems worthy."

She knew Aurora had a point but she couldn't give up. "Aurora, there is no way I'm marrying Adam or anyone else for that matter.. I mean.. I love Sebastian, okay? I can't marry someone else."

"I know you do but I don't. I know he's kind and all that but he's not the man my mom or my dad wants me to be with. It's not just about the company." Aurora sighed.

"Then what is it about, Aurora?" She asked.

"I just.. I just want to make them happy. My parents. Especially my mom. She.. she sees Edith as a better daughter than me. If I don't marry Adam like she wants, I'm just going to disappoint her even further and I don't want that."

She took a deep breath as she listened to Aurora and tried to see her point of view. "Okay, okay, I get it. But can't you see that if you.. I mean me.. succeed in doing this, it would make your mom proud? She can see you as someone capable like Edith. Isn't that what you want?"

Aurora didn't respond immediately, it seemed like she was deep in thought.

"Besides, Adam forced himself on me but I managed to get away and he was so angry. You wouldn't want to be stuck in a marriage like that, Aurora. I told your father too and he agreed, he doesn't want someone like Adam to be his son in law."

"My dad said that?" Aurora asked slowly.

"Yeah, he did. He called off the engagement immediately." She replied.

For a while Aurora didn't say anything but she could hear her breathing at the other end.

"Aurora, are you still there?" She asked.

"Yeah.. yeah. You know I can't believe I'm saying this but, you're right, if you succeed it could make my mother proud." Aurora finally said and she couldn't believe her ears.

"Yeah, exactly." She replied.

"And I know Adam has been a jerk so I'm glad you managed to cut him out of our lives. But if we switch back, I don't know if I can run the company.." Aurora trailed.

"I'll help you. I'll continue to help you. You can call or text me anytime." She offered.

Aurora took a deep breath and she waited patiently for her response. "Okay. Thank you." Aurora finally said and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're welcome. How is my mom by the way?" She asked carefully, her heart ached at not being able to be with her.

"She's.. managing.." Aurora trailed.

"Aurora, is she okay? Tell me everything." She insisted as her stomach twisted in knots.

"Well, she started her new treatment yesterday with new drugs. She has become weaker and more lethargic after that. But the doctors are still monitoring her closely. They say it's a normal effect of the new drugs. We won't know for sure how it would affect her until the whole series of the treatment is done. Which will take about a month." Aurora explained and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Oh.. is she able to be at home or is she staying at the clinic?" She asked, worry gnawed in her heart.

"She's staying at the clinic. The doctors need to monitor her very closely. Your father and I, we take turns sleeping at the clinic to accompany her. You don't need to worry about that." Aurora said and she sighed.

"Thank you, Aurora. I really appreciate what you have done for us so far."

"Yeah, no problem. I like your mom and dad. They're really cool." Aurora said and she smiled.

"Yeah, they.. they are cool." She chuckled.

"By the way, I know I'm supposed to be back to LA before you leave for Paris. But, if you want, I can stay here longer. I.. I want to make sure she's okay throughout this new treatment session." Aurora said and her jaw dropped.

"Really? You would do that for me?" She asked, touched that Aurora would think that way.

"I'm doing this for your mom. She needs her daughter close by throughout this whole ordeal. I don't have the heart to leave when she needs me.. I mean.. you.. most."

She felt tears slipping from her eyes as she heard Aurora. "Wow, that's really thoughtful of you, Aurora. I really appreciate it. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They ended the call with a much better understanding of each other. She never thought Aurora could change so much but apparently, with the right people and circumstances, they could change. And she was glad that Aurora could change and become a much better person. As for her, she had spent her life thinking that having physical beauty is an advantage in life. But her experiences so far proved otherwise and now she knew that what was most important was what was on the inside. She just wished that someday, maybe, she could find out if Sebastian feels the same way. She couldn't wait to tell him the good news. But she felt she couldn't just straight up tell him. The distance and coldness between them needed to be bridged and she made plans to do just that.

—

Y/n's heart pounded in her chest as she parked her car in Sebastian's building later that week. She took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that he would still forgive her and accept her back into his life.

She picked up the picnic basket she had prepared earlier, containing all his favorite food and drinks and walked towards the entrance. She put a wide smile as she approached the security desk.

"Oh hey Miss Watson, long time no see. How are you?" Michael the security officer greeted her.

"I'm good, Michael, how are you?" She asked, placing the picnic basket on the desk in front of him.

"I'm good as well, thank you Miss for asking." He smiled and she smiled back.

"Is he home?" She asked, gesturing her head up.

"Yes, he is. Come, follow me." Michael said as he picked up the picnic basket and guided her to the special elevator that would take her straight into Sebastian's penthouse. He scanned his access key card and the elevator opened and she immediately went in as Michael handed her the picnic basket.

"Thank you, Michael." She said as she accepted the picnic basket from him and he saluted then winked at her.

The elevator closed leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her heart beat faster and faster as the elevator ascended, her mind rehearsing the words she was going to say to him.

When the elevator finally stopped at the topmost floor and opened Y/n felt a surge of anticipation, hope flickering in her heart as she walked in with her picnic basket. The living room was dimly lit, and she found him stretched out on the couch, watching Blue Valentine. The melancholy glow from the screen cast shadows across his face, mirroring the sadness she'd left behind.

When he looked up and saw her, surprise flashed across his face, quickly replaced by something unreadable. For a fleeting moment, his eyes softened with what looked like relief, but the hurt she'd caused was evident as he quickly reined in his expression, letting his guard return. "Aurora," he said, his voice low and guarded as he stood up and cautiously approached her. "What are you doing here?"

She took a steadying breath, put the picnic basket down near her feet then pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket. Without preamble, she began to read:

"I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)

I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)

I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you."

Her voice trembled, her heart in every word. When she reached the end, she met his gaze, her eyes pleading. His expression softened, his guarded exterior cracking as he walked closer to her. His hand reached out, brushing his thumb gently across her cheek.

"Do you mean that?" he asked, his voice a barely-there whisper, as if he was afraid to hope.

"More than anything," she replied, her voice catching. "Sebastian, I...I came to tell you that I'm free. The engagement with Adam...it's over. I went to my father and convinced him to call off the engagement. I convinced him that I can run his company without Adam and I told him how Adam.. how he tried to force himself on me.." Her voice wavered with relief as she finally released the burden she'd been carrying.

Sebastian's expression turned dark, his eyes flashing with anger. "He what?" His fists clenched, and he took a sharp breath, struggling to control the anger simmering just beneath the surface. "If he ever comes near you again..." His voice was tight with fury, but his hand on her cheek remained gentle. "I should have been there. If I'd known, I'd never have let him near you."

"It's over, Sebastian," she said softly, her hand resting atop his. "It's okay, it's finally over."

He exhaled deeply, his gaze softening as he looked at her with a mixture of relief and admiration. "You...you really went to your father and convinced him?" His voice was filled with awe, as if seeing her in a new light. "I always knew you were strong, but this...convincing a man like him to break off an engagement and give you a shot at his company... I didn't know you had it in you."

She smiled, a bit shyly. "I think I owe it to Y/n..., you know? She taught me so much about strategy and confidence. She helped me realize that maybe I was capable of more than I thought."

He chuckled softly, his hand brushing back a strand of her hair. "Well, if Y/n was behind all that, remind me to thank her someday. But I'm serious. I'm so proud of you. You're amazing."

A tear slipped down her cheek, her heart swelling as he wrapped her in a tender embrace. For the first time in weeks, she felt the weight lift, his admiration and pride filling the space once occupied by fear.

Then, unable to hold back any longer, he released her and looked down, closing the distance between them, he captured her lips in a kiss filled with longing and relief. She responded in kind, her hands curling into his shirt as they lost themselves in the moment, the barriers between them finally shattered.

When they finally pulled away, they laughed softly, leaning against each other. 

"I love you.." He whispered, making her heart flutter.

"I love you too.." She whispered back, making him smile.

"What do you have for me here?" He asked moments later, releasing her and glancing at the picnic basket at her feet.

"All your favorites." She replied as she picked up the picnic basket and brought it to the table in the living room. She opened the picnic basket, laying out his favorite Rubirosa-like pizza that she baked herself, the peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes, and two smoothies that Rosa had made.

"You really brought all my favorites," he said, his eyes soft as he looked at her, a warmth radiating from him she hadn't seen in so long. "You remembered."

"I remember everything," she replied, her hand reaching for his. "I never stopped thinking about you."

As they shared the food, their conversation was filled with laughter and soft exchanges, both of them slowly letting go of the pain of the past few weeks. When he reached for the remote, he made a face, realizing the screen was still paused on Blue Valentine. "I think we need something a little less heartbreaking," he said, his fingers lacing through hers.

She smiled. "How about something romantic?"

He chose his favorite romcom, Notting Hill, and they settled in, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her as they laughed and exchanged smiles, letting the movie bring them back to a place of pure happiness.

When the credits rolled, he turned to her, his gaze filled with a newfound determination. "Stay with me tonight, mi reina," he whispered.

Her heart fluttered as she heard him call her with the endearing nickname again. She didn't realize how much she missed hearing him call her that.

"I'm not going anywhere, mi rey." She nodded and he smiled.

With that he swept her into his arms, carrying her toward the bedroom with laughter and kisses, each moment a celebration of the love that had endured. Their reunion was tender and filled with joy, each touch and kiss reaffirming the promises they'd made in their hearts.

Later, they lay together, content and entwined, the silence between them one of peace and fulfillment. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his voice soft. "This time, I'm not letting you go."

She smiled but couldn't help feeling a tug in her heart, her fingers tracing his face. Oh how much she wished she would never have to leave him. But if somehow she and Aurora switched bodies again, she wouldn't have a choice but to leave him.

A flicker of sadness passed her eyes and Sebastian noticed.

"Mi reina, what's wrong?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Nothing.. I'm just happy we're together. I.. umm.. I had a flashback now of the nights I spent without you. They were unbearable." She said, her voice shook and his eyes softened.

"Well, I'm here now, mi reina, and like I said, I will never let you go again." He said, reaching up to stroke her cheek gently.

"I'm glad you said that." She smiled, wishing she could say more but for now she thought it was enough. Whatever the future brings, whether or not she would ever switch back to her own body, the most important thing was that she was back in his arms for the moment, and she just wanted to savor the feeling for as long as she could.

Taglist

@dhoruwolfie @kandis-mom

[mdhwrites]

Is Amity a Good Person?

This is not if she's a well written character. A judgement of that is a part of this but the bigger point is just: Is Amity a 'good' person? Does she appear to actually care about others? Does she choose selflessness over selfishness? Etc. etc.

And part of this is going to be subjective. To some people, not being mean is enough to make someone nice. Other people will ask for a bit more, especially out of a fictional character. Hell, you can even see it with most fictional parties. The lancer character who is meant to contrast against the hero is usually a pretty dickish person but you might still call them good because even if they're cursing while doing it, they are still putting their life at risk in order to save a town or the like. Meanwhile, you probably wouldn't call Vegeta a nice person, even by the time of Dragon Ball Super because he is still mostly selfish, even once he's explicitly no longer trying t get stronger regardless of the consequences to others.

So what does Amity do that is actually nice?

...

........

Oh, were you expecting me to start listing things she does? Because I have bad news for you.

See, one hang up I have with going "Amity always wanted to be a good person and so even if she loses her drive, motivation, etc. she gains the personality of a good person," is that Amity doesn't do fucking anything to earn that. She isn't unpleasant. After S1, she isn't trying to murder people or actively bullying people but like... Cool, you upgraded from Mega Bitch to Background character. Why do you claim that's a new personality instead of the death of one?

Because being a 'good person' is actually more complicated than just not being an asshole. Being nice to your friends? Of course you're nice to your friends. You care about them (put a pin in it). Noticing when your partner is in pain and wanting to help them? You supposedly love that person, much like why you might be nice to family, so OF COURSE, you put in a little extra effort.

A good person, at least in a narrative, doesn't need the excuse. They help because it is the right thing to do and then their personality dictates how they go about doing so. Maybe they write wiki pages to share their knowledge in a free way so people can benefit from it. Maybe they help out at a soup kitchen because it gives them a chance to be more directly kind and they have the time for it. Or maybe it's just that when they see someone who is potentially having problems, they risk whatever it may lead to be asking this complete stranger if they're okay.

Amity doesn't do this. In fact, as far as actually giving a shit about anyone other than Luz, she's AWFUL at it. Hunter is her kindest moment to a theoretical stranger in the series but it is still characterized by her being suspicious, judgemental and not giving him a chance until the dude is suicidal and has drawn a dozen parallels between them. Even then, she does it as part of mimicking Luz, at least with the joke she immediately makes of how 'this always works for Luz'. Then you have poor fucking Willow. This is a girl that Amity abused, especially for her powerlessness and helplessness, for YEARS. Amity even knows explicitly why Willow should hate her. What her crimes are. But... Then 'good person' Amity, showing 'care' for her friend, treats her as powerless after having thought she didn't need to do shit to be allowed to come to Willow for advice (Labyrinth Runner and Falls and Follies respectively). That is TOTALLY someone who always just wanted to be a good person and is dedicating themselves to that instead of any of their old dreams and desires.

The only person or thing she puts any effort into post S1 is Luz. She doesn't care about anyone else besides that. Belittle Eda for not focusing on taking of Luz in a tangible way during Eclipse Lake? Check. Feel justified to give marching orders to literally everyone in the house just because she's Luz's girlfriend during that same episode? Check. Including Willow, who she has done NOTHING to make up for at this point? Check. Hell, even further: Not give a fuck about stopping Boscha while Luz could just step out of the splash zone around Willow during Winging it Like Witches? OF COURSE NOT. She only gets involved once Boscha's only focus is going to be on Luz.

That. Is not. A good person. Not if the only people who matter are those she deems are worthy of mattering. Changing from actively crushing those other people to just being entirely indifferent to them and their plights is not as a big of a deal as you all seem to think it is, not for it to become the only defining trait of a character's personalities and motivations.

Are they evil? Bad? No. But anything beyond nice is giving such a character a LOT of credit. A rogue isn't Robin Hood just because they only steal from the rich. If they're still lining only their pockets and the pockets of their friends with their thievery, they're still selfish and self centered, they just have code. That's called Lawful Neutral, or Lawful Evil, in D&D for a reason. Not any form of good.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[tonydaddingham]

Some of the posts you've reblogged lately have clarified some of my thinking about how Gaiman has reworked the characters from the original text. In the novel, Aziraphale and Crowley have at base the /same/ flaw: they evade thinking about the ramifications of their actions by displacing everything onto their "job" requirements. To which the novel says, no can do. Aziraphale has his moral epiphany at the airfield before Crowley does, but it is by and large the same epiphany. Most of the rhetoric about offloading responsibility goes to Crowley, either directly or in free indirect discourse, but he's also the dominant viewpoint character of the two. For that matter, we are told how Crowley /feels/ about where Aziraphale has led him, morally speaking, but we aren't privy to Aziraphale's interiority during this moment. In a sense, though, that doesn't matter, because there's no reason to believe that the sense of liberation is any different.

In the series, though, Gaiman ramps up the tension in S1 and S2 by splitting up their problems. Crowley still has the "but it's not my FAULT" moral flaw, considerably amplified with even more suspiciously unreliable narration, and he still thinks about his work for "head office" as just that, a job. But Gaiman rewrites Aziraphale so that, as other people have pointed out, he thinks about being an angel as an identity (and being a demon, for that matter). I think you can make a good case that unlike in the novel, in the series neither character fully grasps how the other conceptualizes himself. This is one of the reasons that the novel's moral epiphany doesn't happen in S1, and can't happen in the same way in S3. Crowley nudges Aziraphale as though he were nudging him out of a job, not as though he's nudging him into an entirely different sense of personhood. Aziraphale praises Crowley's goodness because he essentializes it, seeing it as a sign that Crowley's demonself is continuous with his former angelself ("you were an angel once"). In S2e1, we have the very telling dialogue in the coffee shop where Crowley knows all of Aziraphale's "voices," but doesn't understand why it ought to set off fire alarms for him that Aziraphale so needs to report to him for praise. This sits alongside the tension in the Job minisode, in which Crowley is openly disaffected with both Heaven and Hell, but doesn't see the situation in the same existential terms as Aziraphale does. The end result is the S2e6 car crash, in which each character proposes to the other in a way that solves their /own/problem.

LWA i’m guessing that this is you - let’s face it, noone else sends me asks like this - but by some chance that it isn’t, congratulations anon you sound just like them (and now i’m slightly terrified that there might be two of you lurking around my blog).

also - apologies that it took such a long while to come back to you; my original response was approaching half a dozen pages just for aziraphale alone (and i wasn’t done by a long shot), and then i remembered to great disappointment that tumblr isn’t exactly the forum for such a long post (future rhi: haha you played yourself, this is still a mammoth response). at which point, i basically had to rewrite it all over again, condensing it (future rhi: you failed) down into what i’m hoping are my key points. i wish i was joking when i say that you’re currently reading what is probably the fourth or fifth version of this response.

i think where a lot of disconnect happens in how we view aziraphale’s journey throughout both seasons stems from thinking that the concept of being an angel is all-encompassing, instead of potentially also being multiple layers that aziraphale has steadily been shedding throughout the story. personally, i think there are three distinct areas around aziraphale’s identity as an angel; heaven, god, and being good. a lot of these overlap and intertwine with each other, for sure, but i think it's too much to ask of aziraphale, as the audience (and crowley), to be able to abandon it altogether in one fell swoop. being an angel is not the whole of what aziraphale is - this much is evident - but to his mind, it's the core. dismantling that, stepping away from that, and finding who he is might be without the overarching expectation and pressure of being an angel is no doubt terrifying... and potentially we're not giving that struggle enough credit.

to my mind, he disconnects from heaven fairly early on in the narrative, as far back as job, and continues through the ages with a sense of fear - or, at best, trepidation - from them. however, this tenuous allegiance carries through to s1 when it severs entirely with the call to the metatron; i truly do not see any instance after this point chronologically where aziraphale has any fondness or loyalty to heaven as the institution, nor the archangels. he is unique in being an angel that has experienced the fullness of earth and humanity, and this has influenced him fundamentally into being an angel that is so 'other' from his peers that he's by default unrecognisable, almost alien, and is deprecated and dismissed as a result. it's the very first modern scene we see of him in s1 - putting him in direct contrast with gabriel (arguably The angel of abrahamic religion; the one that nearly everyone recognises, and considers to be the epitome of What An Angel Should Be). crowley has similarly influenced him through the ages; he's made aziraphale think outside of the dogma that heaven instils as being the irreproachable, righteous, Good Side - as well as encourage him in his hedonism and self-interest (literally the reason why they both endeavour to stop the apocalypse in the first place) because it is important to aziraphale personally, and he takes pleasure and happiness from it. aziraphale "[keeps] up appearances" for the sake of complying with heaven and not raising suspicion, but is ultimately "an angel who goes along with heaven as far as he can".

aziraphale's relationship with god is little more complicated, but again - i think aziraphale reaches the stage where he is shown time and time again that god chooses to be distant, and not to act or intervene*, which is something aziraphale cannot fully reconcile. as he sees it, hell does bad things (as does heaven, as is demonstrated with the apocalypse), and where you have the power to stop it, you should. equally, if you have the power to do something good, you should do it. he takes literal issue with this in job, where he learns that god is resolutely refusing to intervene in whatever hell is cooking up for job and his family, and he instead chooses to defy this and go to crawly to beseech him to not hurt them (obviously not realising that crawly has reached that page already). he holds out hope that god will do the right thing, but the storm comes from hell, starts early even, and god does not stop it - would not have stopped it, even if the children were above, and not in the cellar.

he cannot reach any other conclusion than crawly must be right, and god in fact wants the children to die. when it comes to the lie, and aziraphale resigning himself to falling for it, i do wonder how he reconciles this after he doesn't fall - my thought currently is that aziraphale believes that god has seen his 'transgression', and chosen clemency - to forgive it - but aziraphale fears she may not do so again. it makes sense that aziraphale then is so resistant to the Arrangement later on, and then why he appears so set on not helping thwart the apocalypse because that would be going against the plan (despite, yk, evidently agreeing with crowley and privately wanting to stop it as much as crowley does). this is once again shattered by the call to the metatron; aziraphale holds out hope that the almighty will fix everything, surely this is the time where they would intervene, job and his family is one thing, but destroy the entirety of their creation? but... god won't even get on the call with him. that to me is, once again, where aziraphale lets go that particular strand of what makes him an angel - as far as i can recall, we see no instances in 2023 where aziraphale declares any outright loyalty to god or to heaven*, even going so far as to initially reject heaven (and god, presumably, by extension) - "i don't believe there's anything left to be said, i've made my position quite clear" - until he is given the opportunity to... fix it? improve it? mend it? restore it? semantics, but "make a difference" plainly recognises that how it currently exists, or how it currently functions, is wrong.

*although, ultimately, this is arguably the only moral solution for god as far as humanity is concerned. an omnipotent and omniscient being should not get involved, nor even a vaguely powerful one (i'll take "free will" for 500, alex).

*i've said it before and i'll say it again; where aziraphale says "but heaven! it's the side of truth, of light, of good", this to me is not aziraphale saying that heaven is itself good. that would be in direct conflict with his willingness to "make a difference". if he thought heaven was perfect as it is, 'making a difference' wouldn't even come into it. to that end, he knows it isn't - and instead i see it that aziraphale thinks these are the qualities that heaven stands for, what it ought to be... not what it currently is.

last thing on god: aziraphale even literally steps into god's shoes in ep5, during the ball - it's all very well, admirable even, that he hosts and crafts the ball to be a curated environment where maggie and nina might realise that they have fallen in love with each other, he thinks he's doing the right thing by intervening... by getting involved. but as you say, the book epiphany hasn't happened for them at the end of s1, not even in s2, and aziraphale hasn't learn the lesson of why "messin' about" might actually be the wrong thing to do. in fucking about with the ball, he completely tampers with the free will of not only the girls, but everyone else. nina reflects this back at him, and it visibly unnerves him that she does so; he is removing free will from all present (or, attempting to in nina's case), but is doing what he considers to be right and ergo what he thinks god should do (in his eyes). he doesn't reach the free will realisation, at least not as far as is evident to the audience, and it is clear that when the issues surrounding playing god are highlighted to him (by both nina and crowley), he chooses to dismiss it. he is doing what he thinks is right, but in doing so is literally demonstrating the shortcomings he has in his faith in god.

but aziraphale and the concept of goodness? ah. this, to me, is still the key part of his identity that he is struggling to let go of. aziraphale by the point of s2 accepts that he is not perfect. the first meaningful scene we see of aziraphale in the post-s1 timeline is his interaction with maggie; he forgives the rent, does a kind and compassionate thing, but very readily recognises that he did it for his own self-interested motivations and prioritising himself first (so far as to look uncomfortable when thanked for it by maggie, and referred to as an “angel” as a result - aziraphale knows that his motivation was not angelic at all). a ‘younger’ aziraphale, i do not think, would have so openly admitted to this, and instead would have laboured it as a purely selfless, kind, and benevolent thing on his part... and it would have taken crowley probing further to get it out of him that he did it out of self-interest. this doesn’t preclude that aziraphale was being kind to maggie - kindness is in the perception, not the intention (imo) - but he accepts his shortcomings as far as being an angel is concerned, and the freedom of breaking away from heaven grants him the freedom to do so. but contrast this with his taking-in of gabriel. aziraphale is not stupid, and is evidently frightened, anxious, and suspicious of him turning up at the bookshop, but what becomes clear to him is that this is genuinely someone under threat, in trouble, and lost; yes, he gets frustrated with the situation, but he offers gabriel/jim sanctuary, and is set in this decision before crowley even enters the picture. he makes the clear assessment that the wanker-that-is-gabriel is not the being sat before him, and instead chooses the route of kindness.

aziraphale is not always a good person, and there are multiple instances where this is proven, but there are equally just as many instances that show that he is - and i think he accepts that he is someone that is a mixture of both. that being said, this is still something that he is self-conscious about (if shax's jibes at him in ep6 is anything to go by), but it stems more from a place of aziraphale feeling that he is not enough for heaven, or for god - that even, perhaps, he doesn't deserve to be an angel; i don't think it's out of place to say you can accept the traits that make it so you do not fit in (and in fact be glad that you do not), and yet still feel ashamed and anguished that you have been rejected for the same. there is a case to be made that this in part may be why he accepts the metatron's offer to return to heaven and run it - that it's an offer from the voice of god himself, in acceptance of who aziraphale currently is - but i do wonder how far aziraphale believes this.

now is finally time to start bridging the gap to crowley, because it is clear that being good is paramount to aziraphale. however, the issue is that the sense of being good is paramount, and he still conflates it with what is right. crowley is not to blame for this, but he is undoubtedly a guiding principle in how aziraphale develops this sense; crowley constantly challenges aziraphale on his rigid, often deontological mindset of "the action must be good for it to be the right thing", and instead makes him consider the wider, consequentialist picture; that sometimes, "the action might be a bad thing, but if it results in a good thing, that is the right thing". he reaches, therefore, the conclusion that if crowley ends up doing the right thing, he therefore must be good - and ignores all of the events, all of crowley's behaviour, that point to the contrary. hell, he even ignores all of crowley's own protestations to the contrary. as you say, aziraphale essentialises it.

maybe aziraphale does think that crowley is, at his core, the same person he was as an angel, but... personally, idk how far i currently interpret this to be the case (my thoughts are more along the lines of 'crowley is, regardless of being an angel or a demon, a good person, and that's what counts', but maybe i'm optimistically giving aziraphale more credit than is due). in any case, upon reflection, aziraphale has not learnt from the 'shades of grey' argument... not in relation to crowley. sure, i think aziraphale accepts that he himself is a light shade of grey, but crowley? i don't think he fully comprehends that that same school of thought must apply to crowley too - crowley is not a wholly good person, but arguably is an often dark one who sometimes chooses to do good things/knows when not to cross the line - and therefore lands on the expectation that crowley would return to heaven with him to do good - because that's the right thing for a good person to do. aziraphale has turned to crowley, and holds him to the same ideal to which he previously held in heaven, and arguably in god. these are entities that aziraphale thinks ought to stand, and perhaps originally stood, for "truth, light, and good", and when that went down the shitter in reality, aziraphale has turned to his own reality and found crowley instead. the faith - and comfort that it brings - had to go somewhere. that is not a responsibility crowley should shoulder, under any circumstance, but in not recognising that aziraphale is doing it, aziraphale hasn't been dissuaded from it either.

but hey, let's finally discuss crowley (and if you're still reading... incredible). look, i've made no secret of my... criticism? of crowley, and to reiterate not only what you said in your ask, but also what we've discussed at length; crowley is not a reliable narrator. this, regrettably, makes me reconsider accepting what are posed as core principles of crowley's character. he does not give a consistent account of the fall; whilst what he does say may be, at best, piecemeal snapshots of the events that led to his fall and, at worst, be completely false altogether, the conclusion is the same - there is something missing, and i'd wager that it is something that he doesn't want to admit, confront, and/or reconcile with. add this to his reluctance, or outright refusal, to accept accountability for his actions on a number of occasions, as well as his tendency to skirt around or fudge the truth, and i naturally do not default to taking his word as gospel; that's not to say that i think he has a nefarious, hidden agenda hiding away (obviously not), or is an entirely reprehensible character, but from an audience perspective i think if we're to anticipate some Major Revelations in s3, this is a key place to start.

one quote, from s1, that sticks out to me is, "crowley was all in favour of armageddon in general terms, but it was one thing to bring it about, and another for it to actually happen." this literally is the summary, for me, of all of crowley's ouroboros/boomerang/"this will no doubt come back around to bite me on the ass" characterisation. if i (contrivedly) rephrase this, it reads to me as 'i'm not that bothered about the end of the world and humanity in theory, and happy to add in bits and pieces that would make it happen, but i will have an issue as soon as we start gearing up to press the big red button'. as such, i think we have to contend with the fact that crowley may not be as moral as has been widely accepted. maybe i'm assuming too much, but if you were truly of moral standing, presumably even the notion of setting out plans to destroy the earth would be a big no-no, if you are in fact against the apocalyse because it would mean the destruction of humanity. but of course, this would presume that crowley has any way in which he can viably refuse (which, he doesn't) - to which end, therein lies the dichotomy of the nuremberg argument. is it an immoral action when you don't have the room to consider the moral option? regardless, does that absolve you of consequence?

this would also, presumably, be at odds with AWCW's objections to armageddon as put to us in the pre-fall scene, right? so, to me, the conclusion i reach is this; first, that AWCW obviously does not want the stars, the universe, to disintegrate as a mere bookmark in the wider 'great plan', but this does not come from an altruistic viewpoint; it comes from a more selfish one. and that's totally fair - i probably too would have issues with spending my entire (and at this time, 'entire' is unquantified) existence building and creating, only to see all of my work go down the drain as if it's nothing. but - i do not see it as him having any ulterior, selfless consideration for humanity. second, crowley likes earth, but for the convenient and clever things that exists because of - and in concurrence with - humanity. the reasoning he gives to aziraphale for stopping the apocalypse is just as true for him as it is for aziraphale. there is the line of "you said you would be testing them, but you shouldn't test them to destruction...", an echo of his sentiment at the flood, that gives weight to crowley privately wanting to stop armageddon for humanity's sake. i agree with this assessment on the whole; that crowley holds it as an equally strong and valid reason for thwarting it. but i think it is also fair to at least suggest that this reasoning may also stem from crowley's own personal feelings about the fall - a group of angels that were, presumably, tested to the point of their own destruction - and how god, in his eyes, perhaps should have learnt from that event before planning to do the same to her Ultimate Creation. this, for me, is a little more in line with his characterisation as has been presented so far. 

but then again, crawly seems to be acting selflessly in the job minisode. i, once again, am largely inclined to agree... but for the sake of exploration, i do wonder how far it's entirely selfless, or altruistic, and instead how far it's a projection of thwarting god in the sense of rectifying his own punishment. a case of 'i went through this and it's shit, humanity doesn't deserve the same thing the same thing to happen to them', vs. 'i went through this and it's shit, and now she's up to the same old bollocks because she's awful, so im going to thwart it as a big fuck you to god'. maybe there is no real distinction, or maybe it's a bit of both at the same time, but the former would more strongly suggest to me that, looking at the parallel between job and the fall, crowley was the entirely innocent party in his fall just as humanity is/was, which i don't personally buy. 1827 and preventing elspeth's suicide is a little closer to the mark where selflessness is concerned; "you have sinned very bigly - trying to kill yourself?! it's not on!" strikes me that crowley is now acting out of the interest of keeping elspeth out of hell, where it is pretty clear Bad Things occur. there are other clear instances of good too* - he gets the humans out of bookshop in ep5 and brings back mr brown from hell, he treats jim with kindness once he establishes for his own peace of mind that he's not a threat, and he protects maggie from being accosted by demons (and this is not to mention how he, on the whole, treats aziraphale). suffice to say, crowley is clearly capable of selflessness, and doing both the good and right thing, but i do think that he doesn't necessarily act with selflessness and goodness as his default motivation. there are enough instances to suggest that he isn't a completely moral character.

*now that im thinking about it, it seems that it's largely when the threat of hell specifically looms that crowley is at his most selfless..? hmm.

crowley does centre around the thinking that being an angel/demon as like a job - and tbf to him, it's not an overly out-there conclusion to arrive at. heaven and hell are presented as corporations and they're referred to as "head office", he is given a workload and told to report back, he stretches the truth about what work he is personally responsible for in those reports, and crowley describes himself as a 'former demon' (as if he ever stopped being one - even as a fact of being, he is a demon). so yeah - to him, it is a job. and as you say, he assumes that aziraphale sees it the exact same way which, clearly, he doesn't. crowley states that he never asked to be a demon which may well be true, but it's equally possible that he was given the option to step away from heaven and god, and took it (not knowing that becoming a demon would be the result), to my mind, it's almost like he got sacked from a start-up because he didn't like the direction the company was going and Had Things To Say/actively resisted and denounced it, and then was forced to work in a - in multiple ways - a worse work environment. it's an understatement to say that he's under no illusions that hell is awful, and he too "goes along with [them] as far as he can". however, i'm not entirely sure that we have reached where crowley has his "as far he can" moment like aziraphale has - the fact that he says to aziraphale he said no to hell, when he absolutely didn't, rings alarm bells. 

as explained above, aziraphale doesn't see it in this way at all; what i think crowley finds difficult to understand is that aziraphale's experience of being an angel is very much different to crowley's. aziraphale has existed for millennia on earth as an angel, and aziraphale’s purpose and meaning is wrapped up in being an angel, in everything that it entails, and specifically being an angel that has walked amongst humanity. just as aziraphale is never fully able to empathise with crowley’s position as a demon, and all that occurred to get him there, crowley is just as unlikely to fully empathise with the importance aziraphale places on his own angelhood. in comparison to crowley's situation in being sacked from a start-up, a hypothetical fall for aziraphale would be like being sacked from a business that, whilst you may not agree with them in the majority, has provided you with a career that is the only thing you know how to do, continues to pay for your home and benefits, and without it would leave you stripped of any purpose and meaning, and no idea on what it makes you/where it leaves you without it. and even then this doesn't really scratch the surface - again, aziraphale doesn't see being an angel as being a job.

the final fifteen is where all this comes to the surface. when the two of them individually have their backs against the wall, with no discernible way out, they have very different responses. aziraphale fights, and crowley flees. heaven is a seemingly insurmountable problem that stands in the way of them being left alone (and being together). aziraphale's response is to try to change it, to fight. crowley's response is instead to flee the situation entirely. this is the same with armageddon - another seemingly insurmountable problem - where aziraphale's response is to go above everyone's heads and dial 9-9-god, and crowley's response is to flee. neither of these responses are wrong, both are completely valid, and i genuinely think it is equally possible to see the situation from their individual perspectives. but neither of them understand the other's. aziraphale, who sees crowley as a good person who will do the right thing, doesn't understand why crowley won't fight with him, won't do (as he sees it) the right thing in making heaven what it always should have been, and is instead choosing to flee. crowley, who sees aziraphale as someone who like him as quit his job and wants nothing more to do with either of their former bosses, doesn't understand why aziraphale is choosing to fight, won't prioritise them, and won't go off with him. once again, both are equally valid thought processes to have, but are borne out of being rather significantly off the mark in understanding the other, and instead thinking that the other will act in accordance to what they individually believe the other to be.

[silencefromafar]

So, yeah, this is another resurrection to ramble about some new obssession

The Rings of Power Season 2!

So, first season didn't leave a lasting impression but I was still curious enough to come back for S2, which led me to rewatching S1 and getting more into some aspects of it, like... any Saurondriels in the crowd tonight?

Anyway... I just finished the season finale. And first of all let me say that I enjoyed this season much more than the previous one.

Yet (oh boy, here we go) I feel this show suffers from a chronic problem of pacing and dealing with condensing epic stories in a shorter timeframe (sometimes I had GoT last two seasons feels while watching TROP S2), which are really apparent in this last episode. More than once it felt like there were missing scenes, and I don't think it was merely a problem of editing. Also the dialogue, in more contemporary and direct speech, often feels out of place. Not to mention some that are just bad, altought I will hand it to them that they improved since last season (probs gave someone in that writing room that's a tad more competent a chance to come up with something more inspired here and there). As a result, many moments that were supposed to be poignant just fell flat. It's a shame, because you can say those are mostly good actors that could make memorable scenes with a better text to work with.

But overall I really liked it. Truly. I just wish it could be better, because you can see the gigantic potential in every underdeveloped storyline or sidelined character. Like my girl Galadriel (she reminds me so much of another non conforming blonde *cough*Karen Page*cough*)...

On the other hand, I mostly loved Sauron's arc! His contradictions, his twistedness, the glimpses that there's something that's not wholly evil buried deep down, perhaps the memory of who he once was and the grief of not being able to achieve what he was supposed to be *chef's kiss*. It's a shame that they didn't use more of the mind connection trope. I mean, that moment were he turned into Celebrimbor seemed to confirm that he sent that chilling vision to Galadriel!? So he probably wanted her to come to Eregion? For what? Just to ask for the ring back? Also, why did he want HER ring back? Since he didn't seen to send visions to Gil-Galad and Círdan, at least not with the same intention. Wouldn't him WANT her to use the ring, since that's the whole point of all these rings, having high ups of each race to use them so he can influence/control them when he finally has the One Ring?

Okay, there are many other things I want to talk about, but I will stop here, I have a job to go to.

P.S.: please if you are a lore-evangelist that hates TROP or thinks that I should feel ashamed for enjoying Saurondriel, don't even bother. You'll be blocked and ignored.

[burningvelvet]

analysis on the character of billy bones as depicted in treasure island and black sails, particularly his dynamics with flint & silver:

billy bones is such a tragic character and i think he may be overshadowed by the larger personalities of silver and flint, who we see much more of and are led to sympathize more with. but from billy's perspective he really is a tragic character who initially had a strong sense for right and wrong which was later corrupted as he subconsciously/unwillingly "inherited" flint's worse characteristics. in billy's story, flint

billy is a skeptic and a dissenter, just like his political protester parents were according to his black sails backstory. he believes he is opposed to tyranny and injustice. he is therefore opposed to flint, who he has caught lying and acting unjust, and later on he is opposed to silver, who he sees as having echoed those same qualities.

yet, we learn in treasure island (and see somewhat in black sails toward the end) that billy inherits flint's obsessive tunnel vision, and he is driven to a mad sort of existence because of it, which sometimes leads him to align with those tyrannical qualities he detested from his youth. in black sails we learn he was forcefully conscripted to the navy, and was tortured by them after his disappearance in black sails. for a while he's still willing to align with flint because of how much he hates the english.

yet he ultimately ends up aligning himself once again with the english because of his hatred for flint ultimately wins out; he becomes a totally different person after this, toward the end of black sails we see him shooting his former men in revenge. just like flint, billy has become overwhelmed by his desire for revenge, to the point that it drives him to do immoral things he would have previously shunned.

his friendship with silver doesn't work out because silver is more aligned with his own interests and therefore with flint's interests, knowing that flint is the stronger personality over billy. i think billy and silver possibly could have taken flint down together if they were both truly in it, but silver didn't want to risk that chance because he knew the power of having flint's name. in the beginning of treasure island we see that 20ish year after flint's "retirement" his name is still feared even in england. bones was well-respected as a youth, even by vane in black sails, and had a good trajectory - but ultimately his sense of justice, an initially good characteristic, quickly became his downfall on the walrus as he became obsessed with the injustices of flint, to the point where his own potential for greatness was shattered in trying to overcorrect "the sins of the father." that concept, "the sins of the father," really applies to flint/billy overall.

in contrast, i see silver as flint's "true heir" or "chosen heir," and the better half of his son-duo in this interpretation. where billy inherited the revenge theme, silver has inherited more of the cunning. although as we see from his account books in treasure island, and from his command in black sails, billy is also known for being extremely intelligent, he is not as intelligent in the ways of manipulation/cunning as silver is, precisely because of his sense for justice which later becomes his achilles heel as it morphs into a sense of revenge. billy's attempt at righting flint's wrongs, & ultimately overcorrecting, is also a common type of error for children of neglectful parents irl.

(Below is taken from an earlier draft of this post & is possibly repetitive but not enough to not include it)

the decisions of the black sails creators to adapt billy for us billy as an adorable aspiring youth and show us their interpretation of how he was slowly driven mad from flint because of the trauma induced from the moral dilemma that flint put on his shoulders (the murder of singleton & the blank page, gates, etc. from the beginning), the injustice and guilt of which slowly sucked all the innocence out of him and turned him into (as we're told from others) a bitter captain who has essentially inherited a lot of flint's worse traits, like being hard on his men, being obsessive to the point of delusion about injustice and about the gold, and being a drunk like we're told flint ends up as in treasure island.

billy inherits so much from flint and it's tragic. i love flint in black sails, but in billy's story in the series, flint is his villain. to him, flint is an imposing, king lear esque fucked up father figure (as he told billy "i am your king" after billy said they had no kings).

also marvelling at the black sails creators decisions to make both flint/billy tied to the navy, and to make billy's parents progressives who protested forced conscription - the fact that billy was forcefully conscripted considering his background is just so similar to the injustices faced by flint(mcgraw) and the hamiltons imo.

i think billy coming back into the story after being kidnapped by the royal navy was sort of a wasted opportunity to explore his character & how he became further embittered/mad/disenchanted with life. i also think flint was sort of haunted by billy a little in black sails the way billy is haunted by flint in treasure island.

i also find it so interesting that billy and the other pirates visited flint before he died - i quote-searched the book to re-read passages mentioning flint but whenever the other pirates talk about his death, even when silver is present, i don't think it's ever made explicitly clear if silver was there at flint's death or not, but i think we can possibly assume so from the way he's otherwise certain that flint is dead, and talks about his blue face, referencing how the other pirates who were there said flint's face turned blue before/after he died. but what's really interesting is that above anyone else it was billy that acquired the map and not silver...

so in a way billy is his actual heir in the end and not silver... maybe because billy never went looking for it unlike silver, who he feared til he died? did flint tell billy not to let silver have it, and if so, why? in the end of treasure island silver takes only part of it and disappears, as jim says, presumably to live a quiet life with his wife and parrot, a life all the pirates wanted, whereas billy died alone and more miserable than flint (aside from jim, the closest thing he had to a friend).

i just love thinking of billy and flint's dynamic through billy's eyes. him becoming totally obsessed with this tyrannical captain and then sort of inadvertently becoming like him. god.

but at the same time i marvel at how billy still retains a lot of his fire to the end, like his singing (which we dont see in black sails lol) and his insistence on doing whatever he wants (like drinking himself to death, or in black sails, not giving in to silver's plans/refusing to ever trust flint or align with him). and all this sort of applies to silver and flint too but silver inherited more of flint's entertaining, less tragic aspects like his leadership skills, manipulative skills, charm, etc.

flint brings out different qualities in people. does he make silver stronger and billy weaker - or were they both going those routes anyway? does flint actually lead to various characters to doom or would they have gone that route without him? how much of billy's story is he responsible for and how much is flint responsible for? these are really philosophical questions about free will and what we can and cannot control. billy's story is all about moral dilemma and how sometimes in life there will be difficult questions that have no easy answers, or that we are never capable of answering.

[scribbet]

Hi! I just finished reading your fic and really enjoyed it! I love how perfect wwx was in terms of how i had imagined him being if his creative mind and amazing personality was given a better upbringing which bssr did. Seeing lwj's opinions change and reshape themselves to accommodate wwx and his questioning tendencies, curiosity, kindness and all? spectacular!! If you ever write a continuation, I'll be very happy to see how those dumbasses confess and go all cutesy new relationship with each other because all that blushing on wwx's part and speechlessness on lwj's? yea i feel like its cominggg

Have a great rest of the week :D

This was such a lovely message to find in my inbox, thank you, and thanks for following through to Tumblr to chat fic 🥰 Really glad you enjoyed it - it was a lot of fun to imagine a Wei Wuxian who had the space and was encouraged to thrive, and then to watch him completely up-end Lan Wangji's understanding of the world by simply existing 😁 Things have generally been a bit ridiculous IRL so I haven't really had the chance to properly play around with the rough ideas I had for a sequel. But despite Wangxian having speed-run getting on the same page about a lot of things in this AU, if I do manage to take those drafts further I think they're probably going to continue on in their dumbassery for just a little longer... I feel like despite this Lan Wangji having already gone through a load of realisations that took an awful lot longer/involved a lot more angst in canon, and Wei Wuxian's general unwillingness to capitulate to the cultivation world from the get go (and the power to potentially back that stance up) there's still a few bits they're going to have to work through yet. Aside from the looming Wen threat and the general disapprobation of the sects that is, but it's Wangxian so initially communicating their feelings will be much more challenging for them than those minor issues 😅 But canon Lan Wangji has a spectacularly bad past record when it comes to initiating a confession/relationship between the two of them, and I think Wei Wuxian's got a lot of new stuff to parse and things he's working through in this AU, so despite not being so tied with obligations/expectations I think he's liable to be a bit distracted from his own realisations. But oh yes, once they actually get there their new relationship is likely to be so ridiculously cute that the jianghu is going to be torn between toothache from all the sweetness and persistent fear of the next unprecedented feat of cultivation skill/disruption of the social hierachies they're going to come out with next 😆 Sorry for the late reply to this, above mentioned lRL bits haven't really left me much bandwidth for Tumblr so I'm a bit sporadic getting back but hope you have a great rest of *this* week too :D