#and i realized how opposite that seems (and is; to some extent) while thinking about this

[cl0udy3]

Shinjiro aragaki X reader slow burn, reader fell first but shinjiro fell harder

𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆

shinjiro aragaki x fem!reader fluff, angst?? a/n: literally dont know how to feel about this one cause its a little rushed but i really hope you enjoy it :D

The first time you saw him, it wasn’t some earth-shattering moment, no fireworks or music swelling in the background. It was just a normal afternoon, a cool breeze drifting through the air as students milled around the school gate. You were waiting for a friend when you noticed him—Shinjiro Aragaki, the upperclassman with a reputation that followed him like the scent of cigarette smoke.  

He leaned against the gate, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. He didn’t seem to be waiting for anyone, nor did he seem in a hurry to be anywhere. Something about that quiet solitude, about the way he carried himself like he was bracing for the world to throw the next punch, caught your attention.  

You told yourself it was just curiosity. But curiosity had a way of turning into something deeper before you even realized it.  

---  

The first real conversation you had with him was an accident.  

It was late, the kind of late where the dorms had settled into silence, the only sound the faint hum of the vending machine in the common room. You had come downstairs for a drink, not expecting to find anyone else awake. But there he was, sitting on the couch, a can of coffee in his hand, an old book resting on his knee.  

You hesitated. He wasn’t the type to invite company, but something about the way he stared at the pages without really reading them made you linger. Finally, you sat on the opposite couch, cracking open your own drink with a soft hiss.  

He didn’t acknowledge you at first, but after a few moments, he sighed, setting the book down. “You’re always up late.”

“So are you,” you countered.  

A huff of amusement. He didn’t argue.  

That was the first night you spent in companionable silence with him, each of you nursing your respective drinks, the television flickering quietly in the background. You didn’t know it then, but that was how it started.  

Then came the night everything changed.  

It was raining, the city wrapped in the kind of cold that seeped into your bones. You found him outside, sitting on the dorm’s back steps, rain soaking through his coat.  

“Shinjiro,” you called, stepping closer. “You’re gonna get sick.”

He didn’t look at you. Just exhaled slowly, the cigarette between his fingers burning low. “I don’t care.”

Something in his voice made you pause. It wasn’t the usual gruffness, the irritation he sometimes used as a shield. It was something raw, something heavy.  

You sat beside him without a word. For a while, the only sound was the rain. Then, softly—

“You ever think some people don’t deserve happiness?”  

You turned to him, frowning. “What?”

His gaze was distant, unreadable. “Some people… they just screw up too much. Hurt too many people. Doesn’t matter what they do after that. It’s already too late.”

Your heart ached. You didn’t know the full extent of what haunted him, but you knew he carried something heavy. You wanted to reach for him, but you didn’t. Instead, you said, “That’s not true.”

He let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you,” you countered. “And I know you’re not a bad person, Shinjiro.”

He shook his head, exhaling sharply. “You don’t get it. You—” He stopped, fingers digging into his palm. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

Anger and frustration flashed across his face, but beneath it, there was something else—fear. Fear of what you’d say, fear of how you’d look at him if you knew the whole truth. 

The rain fell harder, drumming against the pavement, against your skin. You reached out, your hand wrapping around his wrist. He flinched at first, but you didn’t let go. 

“I don’t care,” you whispered. “Whatever it is, whatever you think makes you unworthy of happiness—it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

Shinjiro’s breath hitched. He turned to you then, really looking at you, his eyes stormy with emotions you couldn’t quite name. 

“Why?” His voice was hoarse, almost desperate. “Why do you care so much?”

“Because I love you,” you admitted, the words slipping from your lips before you could second-guess them. “And I know you love me, too.”

For a moment, the world stood still. Then, before you could process it, he was kissing you.  

It wasn’t gentle—it was rough, urgent, desperate, like he was trying to memorize the shape of you against him, like he was afraid this moment would slip through his fingers if he didn’t hold on tight enough. His hands cupped your face, rain mixing with the heat of his touch.  

When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against yours, breath uneven. “You’re an idiot,” he murmured, voice raw with emotion. “You should’ve given up on me a long time ago.”

You smiled, brushing wet strands of hair from his face. “Too late for that.”

A shaky chuckle escaped him. Then, quieter, “I love you, too.”

The words were hesitant, like he wasn’t used to saying them, but they were real. And for the first time, Shinjiro didn’t try to push you away. He let himself fall. 

And this time, he didn’t fight it.

[amerricanartwork]

What's up with 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids?

Just wanted to share something interesting I noticed in Metropolis while looking at the room names on the interactive map! I doubt I'm not the first person to discover or take interest in this, but nonetheless now that I'm into the worldbuilding for this game, both canon and headcanon, I hope to at least encourage a discussion about what the rooms I found could possibly be for!

*Oh and by the way, spoilers for Artificer campaign, just in case.

Alright, so I was originally looking for how to get to a specific room for an Artificer expedition, but decided to browse around on the map just to refresh my memory on the region overall. Right off the bat I think it's interesting how this region's rooms are denoted mostly with lexical names rather than the more common "Capital letter + 2-digit number" formula. But scrolling to the right is where my interest really got piqued when I saw this name for the room right before that long corridor on the way to the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids, labeled "LC_templegate":

And the next room after that, "LC_templeentrance" confirmed my realization that this was a temple of sorts:

Now don't get me wrong, Rain World has always had a fair amount of religious associations, and even just the name "12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids" gave me the impression from the first time traversing it that it was once some high-esteemed, holy location of sorts. But I guess that never really sank in and captured my greater interest until now.

Part of that's because earlier I was focused more on just completing the campaigns from a basic playthrough perspective, not yet as big on uncovering every little lore detail, and another reason I didn't really take it in was that, at the time of my first Artificer playthrough, I wasn't as big on headcanon worldbuilding and trying to uncover/imagine Ancient culture and society outside of very general ideas. But now I think about it, another major part of this lack of realization was because of how the main rooms of this subregion that stuck out in my mind were the low-gravity iterator-esque zones. Many of which are explicitly labeled with "LAB", like this one, and they even have the same neurons, inspectors, and/or those gravity-distorting spheres:

I mean, that cube at the bottom even very strongly resembles an iterator puppet chamber!

But then the questions become: what are these rooms for, why are they so similar to the interior of the iterator they sit atop, and why put them in what seems like it was supposed to be a temple? And by extent, is this something unique to Five Pebbles, or do other iterators have similar temple-labs somewhere in their cities?

I guess the reason these parts stuck out to me more than the actual temple association was because 1.) we don't see this low-gravity mechanic and these features anywhere else in the game besides inside the iterators, so it already gets points for uniqueness, and 2.) they're such a great contrast to everything else within Metropolis; even the "temple" rooms still look very similar to the rest of the region in their general aesthetic.

Seriously, what's up with all this "lab" stuff? It's not that I haven't seen these things before at this point, but why are they here, in a temple, of all places?

However, I do really like this idea so far, as I believe it speaks to a theme of Rain World I really enjoy: the seamless blend of science and spirituality. I enjoy seeing fictional worlds where "magical" things are not only objectively real, but have a scientific in-universe explanation, and/or are employed to create magical technology, yet in a way where these two ideas can exist in harmony rather than seeming like opposites. And the Ancients seem to have been very big on that, not only having a very strong cultural sense of spirituality but also being very technologically advanced, and incorporating those spiritual ideas and even elements of the world into their tech (ex: mass rarefaction tech derived from Void Fluid, an objectively real and "magical" substance with direct connections to their religious beliefs).

I have yet to come up with an explanation for what these iterator-esque lab rooms are (and on that note why they so strongly resemble iterator interiors, to the point they even contain their neurons and inspectors, which are supposed to directly aid in their functions). But as of now, just going mostly of basic gut instincts, my current theories are: A.) they exist in the temple so that whatever scientific endeavors carried out within were blessed with a sense of "holiness" in a similar manner to the holy ash Pebbles talks about, and B.) whatever tasks they were used for was one entrusted to the clergy class of this city, probably because the tasks were seen as something very important and connected to the Ancients' spiritual beliefs.

However, as I said I'm hoping to invite discussion with this post. Figuring out the Ancients' design philosophies and intentions for their creations has been a passion of mine when it comes to my headcanons, so I really do want to see if I can find a more concrete, or at least reasonable answer as to what the overall purpose of the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids was. Therefore if anyone has any extra details or theories as to what it was, I'd love to hear them!

And if you made it to the end, thanks for listening to my little spur-of-the-moment ramble!

[fayewoodss]

hello I am here to ask what art movements you relate to the dream team

Okay, let's do this! LONG POST! *cracks knuckles* 😤

George

I'm starting with George bc I'm a shameless Golo and he lives in my head like a worm.

I immediately associate George with expressionism. Now, this may seem strange considering his personal aesthetics are very designer streetwear and techwear, which in many way is the opposite of expressionism. However, in a lot of his wardrobe and overall personal tastes, he does have small bits of appreciation for expressionism.

For example, this Supreme shirt of his displays the piece "Reaper" by artist Josh Smith. Josh Smith is a contemporary post-modern artist and not from the original expressionist movement, but his work holds a lot of traits to expressionist artist Edvard Munch. Though I do have criticisms of Supreme and their foundation being in appropriation of Barbara Krueger, taking her anti-consumerist work and messaging to create a consumerism giant, I do admire that they've grown to collaborate, credit, and pay artists through their clothes.

(Josh Smith with Supreme and Edvard Munch)

Expressionism is very broad in style and artistry because it was the movement all about expressing personal taste and emotions through art, rather than capturing scenes as close to reality as possible (impressionism). I shared a post a few days ago about George's precious Discord profile pictures and both of them displayed a broad and vibrant spectrum of color, one being a palette knife piece and the other being a splatter piece. Now, these aren't necessarily expressionism. Like Josh Smith's work, they are post-modernist and abstract contemporary, but the usage of color and freedom in strokes puts them in a similar category.

Now, my final reasoning for George being expressionism is purely just Vincent Van Gogh. I am biased as George is my fave and Van Gogh is my fave, but recently a theory emerged about Van Gogh that he was likely red-green colorblind. When we look at Van Gogh's color palettes. He heavily relies on blues and yellows that fall within the protanopia color spectrum, whereas when he uses greens, reds, and oranges, they are often used as shading for blue and yellow. There are instances where he uses red and green with intention (his self portraits and the painting of his room), but even then when he uses red-green, it is not in a way that follows usual color theory.

It is impossible to know if Van Gogh was actually colorblind or had a color deficiency, but I do think it is a strong theory that supports his art and adds a new layer of perspective to it. Especially considering he was very unsuccessful in his lifetime and his artwork was often considered jarring and not appreciated.

George's color blindness is also fascinating to me, as per his own on stream tests, he has tested both as severe and mild, so unless we had George's vision, we don't realize exactly how much color he truly can see. But in the parasocial box in my mind, I think he would enjoy Van Gogh and expressionism as a whole.

(Vincent Van Gogh, original work left, work with protanopia filter right)

Dream

In my collage post, I mentioned impressionism for Dream, and while I do believe that to an extent, I personally think Dream might fit more into illustration and outsider art.

Illustration is an easy one to talk about because so much of his brand is simplistic and stylized in a very graphic and illustrative way. His very icon, the black and white Microsost paint smiley on the eye straining neon green, is playful, memorable, and recognizable. It's easy to replicate and remember, and through the artists and designers on his merch team, it's able to be reimagined and expanded upon.

For some context, I originally went to school for illustration, but very quickly switched into fine arts, so my knowledge of illustration as an industry is not as deep as it could be, but I know that reproduction and recognition are definitely pushed as important.

Stepping away from Dream's own branding with illustration, I think there is a strong connection from Dream to outsider art as well.

I am a huge fan of outsider art. I took multiple classes on it.I love outsider music and poetry. It is overall a movement I greatly enjoy. However, as a disclaimer, the origins of outsider art as a movement and category for art are very dubious and unethical. I won't get into all of it here, but when outsider art was initially coined, it was very exploitative of the mentally ill, disabled people, people of color, etc. I think as time has gone on and outsider art and artists alike gained audiences that were more appreciative and good faith, it has transformed into something more wholesome and celebratory.

Dream is a self-made individual. He didn't go into YouTube, content creation, and merchandising with previous learned knowledge. He's very open about being self-taught in most of his skills and endeavors. Outsider art at its core is about the uninitiated and the self-taught pursuing artistic endeavors without the fear or stress of the institution of art.

Daniel Johnston is the most notable artist within outsider music, but he was also a visual artist as well. His work is naive and honest, even when it is hamfisted and fumbled. He is genuine and truthful, but often to a fault. But he grew a cult audience that loved and appreciated him, even through his worst moments.

A little personal interjection, but I am a huge fan of Daniel and his work spoke to me through high school as someone who spent most of my life with undiagnosed autism. His death genuinely shook me and I remember the day he died so vividly that in some ways I'm still grieving. I recommend exploring his music with my whole chest, even if it may not be to your taste.

I do think in the modern world, a lot of people drawn to outsider art and the act of being self-taught in fields of interest are neurodivergent. Dream has been very open about having ADHD, and even mentioned possibly being on the [autism] spectrum (though that question was asked in a very invasive way, so I take Dream's answer with a grain of salt). I think that adds another level of connection/relation to outsider art.

I could go on and on about outsider art and how amorphous it's definitions have become, but I'll stop there for now.

(Works of Daniel Johnston)

Sapnap

In my opinion, I think Sapnap is the most open about his interests and personal aesthetics. Even if it's not a direct comment on it, he has the most furnished and decorated office, he has a clear and consistent sense of style with favored brands and imagery, and he's a big fan of anime and adult animation. He also advertises the most out of the Dream Team, so, like, get the bag, but also I'm going to tease him with art movements that directly comment on consumerism and advertisement.

Right away, I think appropriation and pop art.

Appropriation can be a scary word as we often hear it in the context of theft or bigotry. Even within the world of art, appropriation is a touchy subject as we try to define what is transformative appropriation and what is plagiarism, reference back to Supreme and Barabara Krueger.

I actually saw a Barbara Krueger show in real life, and it was nothing short of breathtaking. It was overwhelming and in your face. It was uncomfortable and eye-opening. It both meant nothing and everything as you were faced with false advertisements, bold statements, and consumerist culture.

(Barbara Krueger at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021)

The biggest name in pop art is Andy Warhol, and when it comes to Warhol, you either hate him or you love him. The man is surrounded by controversies, both good and bad, but I won't deny his influence on contemporary art. I think his bold colors, high contrast, and play on reproduction in art all fit Sapnap's personal aesthetics, similar to Dream with illustration. But in more modern pop art, I think a lot about my friend and colleague David Hernandez. David's art is provocative and at times uncomfortable, but he uses a lot of ideas and concepts from pop art and appropriation to appeal to a more modern audience, playing into nostalgia growing up in the age of the internet in a way that is reactionary. His work can be very NSFW and outright gooner brained, so if you do seek out his art, be warned of that nature. Still, his skill is insane because he uses acrylic, oil, and spray paint to make pieces that feel as if they were done digitally.

(David Hernandez)

I hope these make sense, and maybe you even found a new artist/art movement to enjoy! I do think there is flexibility within these and plenty of other movements and artists that fit these creators (like impressionism with Dream even though I didn't include it), but these stand out to me the most as fitting their identities and personal aesthetics and interests.

If anyone has more they want to add or discuss, please reblog and/or comment because I would love to hear from others on this!

[ofmonticello]

For oneshot requests, maybe some Jamilton from an outsiders' pov?

sorry this took literal ages!! i was halfway done and i think i accidentally deleted the original, so i had to start over. but even then i was slacking beforehand 😔 also i couldn't come up with a cheesy title im sorry 😭

The volume of a house party was never something that James particularly enjoyed. He was a man of simple pleasures, and he greatly appreciated things like calm silence and alone time. But of course, his wife was not the same as him, and in fact was a social butterfly. James didn't mind it, even if it meant that the couple was more often the hosts of parties rather than guests.

Once upon a time, James would socialize with Thomas, who was single and had an exceptionally small social battery. It would always go about the same—James would sit in his corner and people watch while Thomas made his rounds before joining him. Thomas was always a man that people just had to see. His looks and charm, while oftentimes accidental, pulled people right in. James always listened to people when Thomas walked away, calling him a sweetheart and the like. That part always made him laugh—he knew Thomas to be a huge pain in the ass.

Similarly, James would watch Alexander. He wasn't entirely sure why Dolley still invited him. James had been acquaintances with Hamilton for some time, but that ended when Alex became too focused on everything but his personal life. James was beginning to wonder if Dolley had seen something he hadn't yet, because it turned out well. Thomas and Alexander had been dating for two years, and definitely seemed to be headed down the right path.

Now James watched the two together, after Thomas made his rounds, and made sure to sit with James like he used to. Thomas was a good friend, even if James knew he didn't believe it himself. They'd been through literally everything together, and James couldn't even think of a time where they went more than a few days without speaking. He truly wouldn't mind if Thomas spent time elsewhere, but he appreciated the sentiment.

Whenever James spent actual time observing the two together, he noticed something new. The way Thomas was sure to include Alexander in conversations with people that he might not know, how Alexander leans into Thomas' every (very frequent) touch. James also noticed how, when someone called Thomas a sweetheart after he'd walked away, Alexander would smile to himself as if he won some kind of argument. And when Alexander talked someone's ear off, Thomas would make a point to listen to every single word.

James could only be glad that the two finally got their shit together and realized that they were supposed to be together, in some way or another. Even though he admired their relationship from afar now, he could remember their so-called hatred of one another that started it all.

James met Alexander well before Thomas did. All he could think when they first met was that Hamilton was the single most fiery person he'd ever met. For someone to be so outspoken at all of the wrong times was genuinely entertaining, and James had been certain that Thomas would get a real kick out of it. That, and he assumed the two would butt heads as soon as they spoke to one another. Unfortunately, they were like some phenomenon where opposites could be identical.

Both men were so opinionated, and so firm in their beliefs, but Thomas somehow managed to be strategic while Alexander assumed everyone would follow his logic. James had expected their disagreements, but he had underestimated the extent they'd reach. He listened to Thomas complain about Alexander for months, and sat alongside the rest of the office as the two spatted embarrassingly in front of everyone.

Eventually, James came to the realization that Thomas and Alexander had a simple solution to their issue with one another. All they needed to do was sit down and talk, and they'd realize that they actually had a lot in common. At least, work wise. Thomas had hobbies that James couldn't imagine Alexander ever participating in, but that didn't matter. He and Dolley didn't have completely aligned interests, and he couldn't imagine a life without her in it.

Besides, the strange little ‘rivalry’ between Alexander and Thomas had James wanting to shout, ‘kiss! kiss! kiss!’ like he was watching a hockey game. Not that he watched hockey often, but there was no way those players never thought differently than expected when he had another pinned against the glass. Alexander and Thomas were just about the same, except in an office fighting over paperwork rather than..whatever hockey players fight over.

Then, they had the audacity to start dating in secret. James wasn't sure when they finally got their heads out of their asses, but it became evident to him when their fights didn't include personal insults or anything nearly as demeaning as it usually was. Everyone else thought that the two had finally matured, but James knew better.

James began to notice the little things, too. Thomas would leave the office just before Alexander, and they'd show up right after each other as well. Far enough apart where it very well could have been a coincidence, but close enough to realize they were arriving and leaving together. Thomas was less likely to invite James over at random, and seemed weirdly on edge even when it was just the usual times they spent time together. It all felt very obvious to James.

Despite this, James acted surprised when Thomas and Alexander finally revealed their big secret to everyone. For the sake of his friend, and himself. He did wonder if Thomas knew that James was aware, however. Anyone knew that Thomas had brains to him, but it seemed that the extent of his intelligence was often underestimated. James didn't mind, he got to be called the smart one (which he is, don't get confused).

Now, James is simply blessed to go out on double dates with them. Alexander was around more often than he wasn't, and James didn't mind. Dolley was better at socializing, at least in a “kind” way that James tended to fail with. He couldn't help it if he always came off as sarcastic and dry.

Regardless, he was just glad to see Thomas finally have someone that genuinely seemed to make him happy. James wasn't going to make any assumptions about their relationship, as it was always hard to guess with Thomas, but it seemed that they were the type to make it if they wanted to.

---

i hope this is remotely enjoyable! i'm not used to writing from james' perspective, but i thought he was perfect for the prompt based on my personal portrayal idk

thanks for the request!!

[heartkaji]

[ ★ ⸻ @gojoracle ]

★ OVERVIEW

hi maru !! your ask was such a good read, your oc’s personality is rlly interesting. i was also surprised to see you asked for loki ?? he’s so underrated omg 💔 anyways, i feel like sakura and loki are pretty similar in the sense that they’d give off nearly the same first impression : distant & reserved. tbh if you ask me i can imagine them being rivals to an extent. not exactly, but i feel like sakura would be distrustful and really cautious about loki at first. she doesn’t buy his kind facade and is convinced he’s wearing some sort of mask. loki can sense how sakura is always trying to get a read on him and i can imagine him being almost playful about it, doing things to mislead her perception of him (think of how suo from winbre might do that cuz that’s exactly what i’m imagining). either way, they both find each other very interesting and make for an unexpected couple💘

Q1 — WHO FELL FIRST, WHO FELL HARDER ?

sakura fell first. it’s something she never saw coming too. like i said she’s not too fond of loki, she’s usually good at reading people but to her loki is just different. it’s like when she thinks he’ll do one thing, he does the exact opposite. i can imagine sakura getting to a point where she’s almost obsessed with getting a read on him—she begins to fixate on his habits and mannerisms, and soon starts to pick up on little things about him : the way he absolutely refuses to drink from a teacup without a saucer, or how he carries those mini tissue packs in his short pockets, or how he seems to squint whenever he’s on his phone. after some more observing, she finds herself growing almost fond of him, though his nearly teasing comments never fail to snap her out of it . sakura doesn’t even realize when she’s fallen in love with loki. all she knows is that when loki accuses her of staring with a knowing grin on his face, she find herself almost struggling to say no

julian falls harder. at the beginning of your relationship i can imagine sakura being the avoidant type. she leaves him on delivered for hours simply because her chest aches at the idea of responding. she has no idea why either. even though at this point the two have warmed up to each other, sakura remains somewhat distant to a degree. that, combined with how sakura seeems to show a strange warmth to certain people like shidou never fails to confuse loki. he wonders why she won’t look at him with that soft and familiar gaze either, despite them being a couple. its impossible to notice, but it makes loki go crazy. he turns into a full fledged simp. buying her flowers and expensive jewelry, showering her with affection in all sorts of love languages, etc. julian does all this with the hope that he can get sakura to open up to him a little bit faster, but fortunately for him it’s slowly but surely working 💘

Q2 — AT WHAT MOMENT DID THEY FALL IN LOVE ?

the first time he saw sakura laugh !! she’s asked him this question and that’s what he said, he’s so cheesy my god 😭 at this point in time the two already have some sort of affection towards each other. feelings if you will, though both of them would deny that if you asked 🤦‍♀️ like i said, i can imagine loki being a tease suo style and please bear with me when i say that as a flirt this man is the BIGGEST cornball 😭😭 he thinks he’s so slick and suave with his one liners but whenever karasu and the other members overhear him they side eye each other 🚶‍♂️also trust me when i say that shidou and charles mock him behind his back 😭 they call him the rizzlèr (notice the french) and everything. ANYWAYS, loki hardly flirts. it’s mostly subtle teasing, but as the two sort of grow on each other he (sadly) becomes more comfortable using pick up lines on her. sakura was practicing dribbling one day when julian walked in. he watched her play for a while until she mis-kicked the ball and it rolled straight towards him. he picked up the ball and with his whole chest he said,

“do you play soccer ? because you’re a keeper.”

sakura grabbed another soccer ball lying on the pitch and promptly shot it at his face.

!! it was worth it though. his nose was aching from the shot and he was rubbing at his eyes but his ears perked up at the sound of her laugh. it’s a quiet giggle accompanied by a few snorts, but julian thought it was the prettiest thing he’d ever heard. at that moment his chest felt warm and suddenly the ache of his nose couldn’t compare to the ache in his heart 💓

Q3 — AT WHAT MOMENT DID YOU FALL IN LOVE ?

like i said, sakura fell first. it was definitely a gradual thing though; i can imagine her slowly becoming swayed by julian’s subtle teasing and witty remarks. at first she shoots all sorts of sharp comebacks at him but soon her comebacks become flustered stammers 💔 poor thing, she’s frustrated and wants to rip his head off and loki’s subtle grin isn’t helping matters at all ☹️ he’s such a bastard and sakura should hate him but for some reason her chest feels warm ?? and her cheeks too ?? she definitely panics at the feeling and tells shidou and charles about it and they tell her she’s in love but she’s so quick to deny it 🤦‍♀️ she’s in denial for DAYS and shidou and charles hate it. like she can’t be this dense ?? they make it a point to tease her by calling loki her boyfriend and lover but when she doesn’t deny it they know they’ve caught her red handed 🤞 shidou also makes sakura say that she likes julian out loud or else he’ll call him and tell loki himself but hey that’s between you and me !!

>> 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 <<

© ─ heartkaji ; do not steal, copy, edit, translate or reupload

[666writingcafe]

The Adventure Begins

Levi's overacting. Again. The only reason it wasn't obvious during the school play was because Simeon kept him reined in. Levi gets excited quite easily, and it causes him to get lost in whatever role he's playing.

I'll have to ask Simeon, but I don't think he intended the Lord of Shadow to act so...dramatically? badly? I don't know how to describe it, really. It just isn't very good.

Unlike MC. I'm not sure why I like their acting better, especially since they're currently matching Levi's energy. Maybe it's because they're intentionally hamming it up. They did mumble an apology to me before they started talking to him, after all, so they must know that Levi's acting isn't the best.

Satan's isn't much better, either. He's not as over-the-top as Levi, but I don't find him convincing as the "villain" of this story. If anything, he'd make a good anti-hero, but Solomon probably didn't want to make things too complicated.

Solomon's not a very good author.

However, I'm choosing to keep all this to myself, because the point of all this is to help MC get their first star. Lucifer, on the other hand, is having a hard time suspending his disbelief. So, I understand why MC told him to shut up. I just hope they're prepared to get their ass handed to them once Lucifer's back to normal size, because while he has a soft spot for MC, he doesn't like being silenced. Messes with his pride.

Speaking of which...the stars.

They represent the seven virtues, which are direct opposites of our sins. For me, that virtue is temperance. Solomon probably knows this, but he may not realize the full extent of my relationship with temperance.

Once upon a time, I was able to control myself and my urges. Until I wasn't. For my brothers, their sin was triggered by specific events; that wasn't the case for me. It just...happened. And I didn't realize it until it was too late.

Now, it's what most people know me for. They think I'm a meathead that only thinks about food. Even my brothers.

Which isn't fair.

Why are they allowed to have complex personalities, but not me? Why can they participate in mentally stimulating activities, while I'm cast off to the side and dismissed as too dumb to understand any of it? It's never made sense to me.

I think that's part of why I like MC so much. They're the first person in a really, really long time that sees me beyond my sin. They actually listen to what I have to say and seem to value my opinion, even if it's not related to food or sports.

Yet somehow, deep inside, I don't fully trust them. I think it's coming from my subconscious. Somewhere in there lives a hurt angel that feels like everyone he cares about will die and leave him behind. And in a way, it's true.

Lilith may have been the only person in our little family that actually lost their life, but my brothers barely resemble what they were in the Celestial Realm. It's weird. They wear the same faces, but they're completely different people. Sometimes, I feel like they're complete strangers, or perhaps taken over by aliens.

Oddly, the one person I can rely on to stay the same is Satan. Then again, he didn't have his own form until we arrived in the Devildom, so this version of him is all I've ever known.

"Beel?"

Shit.

I missed a lot, didn't I?

"Are you okay? You seem out of it."

"I could say the same to you." Why is that the first thing that comes out of my mouth? I sound like a jerk.

MC merely sighs as they sit next to me on the...bed? I take a proper look at my surroundings and realize that we're in a hotel room of some kind. Lucifer appears to be sleeping on the nightstand, using tissues as both pillow and blanket.

"Wanna go first, or shall I?" Interesting question. They don't seem upset at me.

"Your call." MC rests their head on my shoulder.

"Simeon needs my help making an important decision." Their tone indicates something serious.

"With what?" MC sighs again.

"His future." Huh? Why would an angel need a human's help with that? I know that the two of them are fairly close, but still.

"But that's neither here nor there," they quickly add, sighing. "It's not like I can do anything about it now." They glance up at me. "What's on your mind?"

"My past."

"As an angel?" I nod.

"Back then, the only thing that mattered to people was that I was strong. I wanted to be useful, so I decided to become a soldier and fight for the Celestial Realm. Problem was, I had trouble controlling my powers."

"Like I did before receiving the Ring?"

"You know, I hadn't really thought about it until you said it, but yeah. I suppose we have that in common. In your case, everyone had your back, which is good, because I wouldn't have wanted you to go through that experience the way I did." MC sits up and properly looks at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I would destroy something--even though most of the time it was a complete accident--Raphael would make some sort of sarcastic remark about it. I think he started calling me the Hulk at one point, but it was meant as an insult." I pause.

"At least he had the decency to do it to my face. Lots of angels would talk shit about me behind my back. They thought I was too stupid to pick up on it, but I knew. They acted overly sweet towards me whenever I would walk in the room. Condescending, even. It was like I was a dumb kid to them." MC places a hand on my thigh and pats it.

"Sounds depressing," they remark.

"It was. Oddly enough, the one person in authority that didn't treat me that way was Lucifer. I initially thought he was too busy with his duties to really care about much else, but then one day he approached me and started talking to me. We had a legitimate conversation."

"About?"

"He told me to keep in mind that being a Celestial Realm soldier wasn't about attacking--"

"--but protecting." We must have woken Lucifer up. "You had the power to protect everyone--to keep them safe--and that you shouldn't feel bad because you were special. If you learned to control your powers, I'd recommend you to the cherubim and have you serve as a Celestial Realm gatekeeper. You did, and so I kept my promise." Lucifer beckons MC to pick him up and bring him closer to me.

"MC and I may be connected by the Ring of Light, but the two of you have a strong connection as well," he continues. "You're both motivated by the need to protect the ones you love, even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process. Drawing on that similarity is going to be the key to pass Solomon's test."

"Are you saying Solomon knew we had that in common?" MC asks incredulously.

"No. I did. I simply passed the knowledge along to him."

"How long--"

"The rooftop."

"Of Dogi Magi?" I'm glad MC understands what he's referring to, because I'm completely lost. Must have been something I wasn't involved with.

"You knew that Belphie would hurt you if you went against his order to reject me, but you did it anyway."

"I didn't want to lie to you."

"Because that would have meant hurting his feelings." Asmo may have used his powers to pick up on Lucifer's crush on MC early on, but I knew pretty much from the moment they set eyes on each other. Granted, he was more attracted to their soul initially, but who could blame him? It was bright and shiny, even back then. If we weren't under orders to not eat them, then they wouldn't have made it out of the assembly hall alive. Even Diavolo was struggling to contain himself.

Anyway, the point is MC cared enough about Lucifer in that moment to feel the need to protect him.

Just like I felt the need to protect Lucifer after I became a cherub.

MC's going to get their star.

[lumitytakes]

AMITY'S WARMING UP TO LUZ ISN'T RUSHED OR FORCED AT ALL. (Part 1)

At first, I used to think that Amity warms up to Luz so quickly because it happens after 2 episodes, but later, I think the opposite. The focus isn't the time length, it is what Luz does for Amity in that short time.

1. Amity doesn't outright hate or despise Luz.

People think Amity stops hating Luz is rushed because they think Amity truly hates Luz and Amity is a vindictive and spiteful person at that time.

In fact, Amity's feelings are more complex than that, not to mention her encounter with Luz at that time has 2 big misunderstandings: the cheating accident at the Covention and the diary incident..

- Furthermore, Amity has had a high opinion of Luz since the Covention. Luz and Amity aren't magic prodigies, and they have to try hard to learn magic, so Amity can relate to her to some extents.

- Amity looks a bit remorseful when she tells Luz to go away. She even reaches her hand out a little.

- Amity says that she has been trying to figure out what Luz's real intention was since the misunderstandings make her feel mixed. Amity doesn't know whether Luz wants to be her friend or embarass her. Amity acknowledges that Luz has good intentions like trying to comfort her at the Covention and apologizes, but at the same time, Amity's trouble is involved with Luz's presence. Amity's feelings are complex, she feels annoyed with Luz, but at the same time she doesn't hate Luz to bits.

- Once the misunderstanding is resolved, it's logical Amity won't hate Luz as much as before.

2. Covention.

- During the duel, Luz could choose to let Amity continue to step on the spikes so she could win and continue to learn magic. However, she doesn't care about winning, she just doesn't want Amity to get hurt, even though Amity is her biggest rival at that time.

- Everyone, including the so-called Amity's number-one fans even believe that she really cheats on purpose. Only Luz trusts Amity, and only Luz reaches out to Amity while no one does.

- Luz can just leave Amity alone and believe that Amity cheated like anyone else but she chooses to follow Amity and comfort her, something no one does, not even her mentor Lilith who guides and knows her longer than Luz or her number-one fans.

- Luz is passionate with magic, she's adamant with her opinion that humans can do magic and humans can be witches. She stands with this opinion so strongly that she even challenges Amity to a witches’ duel for this. But when Amity seems to have a breakdown, Luz willingly admits that she isn't a witch. Maybe she just wants Amity to feel better, along with how Luz finally realizes that being a witch as a human isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

[dualityvn]

If it isn't too much could we get a little story about the boys being jealous from Mc bumping into their ex (Mc ex that is)

All His (GN!MC x Keith)

You and Keith are walking home hand in hand. You stopped by his workplace after running an errand around the time his shift would end. And now you get to return together.

The weather is nice, which makes the walk pleasant. And you get to listen to Keith telling you about his day. Apparently, he got a fun order today.

As he's about to tell you which flowers he picked for the center of the arrangement, you notice someone familiar walking towards you from the opposite direction. You try not to visibly cringe at the realization. You want to think of an attempt to go unrecognized, but it's already too late. He saw you.

"Y/N! It's been so long!" your ex says as he stops in front of you, forcing you and Keith to a stop as well.

"Oh, hi," you say a bit awkwardly.

"You haven't been answering my texts."

Oh no. He'd always been the insistent type. Part of you had hoped he'd notice you're holding hands with someone, take a hint and go on his way.

"Excuse me," Keith cuts in before you can respond, probably having noticed that you're not very happy to see this person. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Right. This is Keith, my boyfriend. Keith, this is Andy, my ex." The word "ex" comes out as if it's painful to pronounce.

Neither of them seem to take the information well. Andy's eyes go wide, while Keith's features subtly harden.

"Oh, you got a boyfriend." There's a poor attempt at sounding casual and not at all disappointed. It fails miserably at convincing Keith.

"They did."

Keith slips an arm around your waist, pulling you towards him. "Now that you know this, perhaps you'll stop texting them."

The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. The normally timid and sweet florist is doing a pretty good job at intimidating the other guy.

"Chill, man. I wasn't trying-"

"You weren't? Then what business do you have texting them multiple times?"

Keith regular soft and gentle features are now held in a stern gaze that could make the sea freeze over. Andy doesn't enjoy it much. He holds his hands up.

"If you're gonna be like this, I'll go. It was nice seeing you, Y/N."

Keith doesn't take his eyes off him as he walks around you two and goes on his way. You feel like you can breathe again now that he's gone.

The rest of the walk isn't as pleasant as it started. Keith doesn't continue his story about flowers. His grip on your hand is a little tighter, though not enough to hurt you or feel uncomfortable. His features have softened, too, but a small frown remains as he stares at his own feet.

"Has he been bothering you for long?" he asks, just as the two of you reach the door to the apartment complex.

"Huh? Oh, he sent a few messages a few weeks ago, but I ignored him."

"Why didn't you tell him you're seeing someone?"

"I didn't really want to talk to him. I just hoped he'd give up. If he didn't, I would've just blocked him."

Keith doesn't say anything else as you two make your way to your apartment. Once inside,  you both busy yourselves with different tasks. You know by now that it's better to leave Keith alone for some time when he is angry, even if not with you.

Half an hour later, you notice he is still quieter than normal, so you join him in the kitchen, where he's started making dinner.

"Are you still upset?" you ask.

"What? I'm not upset." He looks at you with mild offense.

"Yes, you are. You still have your jealous face on."

"I- I have a jealous face?"

The fact that he can stutter and sound surprised means he's at least calmed down to a great extent.

You laugh. "Keith, you're the only one for me. Andy is just some idiot that I couldn't care less about."

He sets down a spoon as you walk up to him and place a hand on his cheek. The frown on his face relaxes and a tiny smile replaces it. Only to return a moment later. 

"I don't like how he talks to you, like he still has a chance."

"He doesn't."

You pull him in for a kiss. As soon as he notices what you're trying to do, his slips his arms around your back and attacks your mouth with his. Most of his kisses are gentle, but this one is desperate and possessive, like an angry cry towards anyone and anything that might want to take you from him.

He presses his forehead to yours when you break away from the kiss. Greed glistens in those blue eyes.

"Will you block him? And tell me if you run into him again."

"Alright, I will. But you have nothing to worry about. I'm all yours."

He kisses you again, softer this time and lingers there for a moment before speaking. "I'll never get tired of hearing that." More kisses trail down your neck.

"Hey. Weren't we going to make dinner?" you remind him.

The attack on your neck stops, followed by a small sigh. "I suppose we shouldn't skip a meal. Alright, let's do that first. But afterward..."

You give him a sly smile in response to his unvoiced question. It satisfies him, because he turns back to the counter.

[chronicbeans]

I'm currently looking at Lucifer and wondering how exactly he's going to develop in the whole plot of Hazbin. Not necessarily PLOT development (example: getting past Lilith, getting closer to Charlie, etc.), more like personality traits that are either going to be revealed or developed overtime.

(Okay this got a lot longer than I expected, so um... here's a read more lol. I guess this is a sort of character development inference...?)

I really like the idea that every character in Hazbin has good and bad traits, despite being in Heaven or Hell. For example, we have Angel Dust. He's a nice person, but he does have problems opening up to people (understandable given his past), as well as giving into bad vices and pushing people away. So, we've seen Lucifer's tendencies of neglecting to connect with others, but being a good person and genuinely wanting connections, especially with his daughter.

HOWEVER, I am interested in whether or not they are going to do anything with the fact that he is the Sin of Pride. I've seen a few mention how the other Sins we've seen are a bit of the opposite of their sin. Ozzie is the Sin of Lust, but unlike how a lot of people would probably view the embodiment of lust, he values consent and can make genuine romantic connections. Queen Bee is Gluttony, but does care that people at her party do not overindulge to the point that they get hurt.

However, for many of the Sins so far, they do engage with their sins in their own way. Ozzie still does indulge in lust, just while caring for every party's consent (thank God he's not a Valentino. We love that for Ozzie). Queen Bee does indulge in vices like drinking and partying to what could be seen as a negative extent, with what seems to be her limit being that no one gets hurt. Otherwise, it seems to be fair game for her.

So, for Lucifer, I'm loving how we all see him as a total Smol Bean. So far, he is a total Smol Bean. However, I'm totally anticipating SOMETHING that might be like... a bombshell for our depressed blorbo's character. Specifically, that something may be a few prideful/narcissistic tendencies coming through. Like him trying to get more attention on himself, now that he's finally taken a step out of his workshop and gotten some attention from not only his daughter, but her friends.

He may not be like "YO I'M FUCKING AWESOME GUYS LOOK AT ME" sorta prideful, but maybe more of a "Guys I'm so awful and I feel horrible and I have so many problems give me comfort" sorta... well, not really prideful, but more so manipulative and attention seeking. Possibly without even knowing it, either, considering how him and Charlie seem similar in being well meaning so far. So, if he does development a sort of manipulative tendency in order to get attention towards him, he may not even realize that's what is happening. He might just think "I feel bad and have to complain. After all, I know my family and her friends can help cheer me up!"

I think it'd be pretty interesting, at least. Like, so far, Lucifer is the complete opposite of what you'd expect the Sin of Pride to be. He's depressed, self-conscious, and has probably been isolating himself from everybody that COULD give him attention for years. However, much like the other Sins are still the embodiment of what they represent, he's still the Sin of Pride. He probably still engages, or will develop ways to engage in traits you'd see in pride. So, him using his pre-existing traits, whether unintentionally or not, to get attention would be interesting to see. It'd still keep a lot of his character together while showing that he can still have flaws that are unlikeable. (It'd probably also put into perspective Charlie's line about him only really when he's bored or needs Charlie to do something. Like, it could be that he just isn't good at talking to people, including Charlie, but it could also be linked to his identity as the Sin of Pride if his personality does go this route).

[unma]

I Love Philip (LOR) And Feel so Painfully Bad for Him

Every time I think about Philip I cannot help but be reminded of how dirty he gets done in Library of Ruina. My little boy does not catch a break. He gets beat into submission at least 4 different times. He unwillingly gets saved from certain death in the library, and with the hindsight we get at the true ending of the game, that would have been a preferable fate.

But no, he gets thrown into Oswald's clutches. He doesn't get a chance to properly mull over his feelings and emotions like Xiao did, he doesn't get to actually work through it in a healthy manner, and much like Yan, gives in and becomes the Crying Children.

He still doesn't die. And then Argalia gets a hold of him and he loses all sense of who he once was, until now he's just Philip again. But he isn't Philip: everything that once made him up is gone, replaced by only the cinders, the ashes of what was once his burning flame.

And now he fights, burning once more. Much like Xiao, his fuel was those he cared about, but now that's all gone. Now he just fights for the Ensemble. And really, for what? He's truly and wholly apathetic now; any semblance of emotions is muted and grey, dulled to the point of returning to apathy.

It's a wonderful parallel that Malkuth continues to burn while all her efforts seem to have been hopeless, with the hope that it all, in time, will be worth it, while Philip burns in spite of said hope: he burns to destroy all, and reduce it all to sad, depressing soot.

In the end, it's a sad fate for him, and every time I return to the song "And There Is Heard No More" I feel horrible for him. He really didn't deserve all he'd gone through. Most members of the ensemble are horrible, or dislikeable in their own ways. You don't feel bad for their deaths, even if you do realize that some of them got here simply because of how twisted the city is. But we've spent a lot of time with Philip and got to see how he really was just trying his best for those he cared about, only for him to burn out until there was nothing left of him.

In the direct opposite manner of how Xiao goes out in a triumphant blaze of glory and will now get to see those she cares about once more, satisfied that she took action and never stopped burning till the end, Philip goes out the same way a small candle fire does. Silently and weak, the wisps of smoke that remained of him gone in the wind.

Xiao is the raging forest fire that scars the land irreparably for years, maybe even decades to come. Philip is the small candle flame that never got to spread before it slowly died off. And 'Philip', his remains, is that melted wax candle, being forcibly set aflame in an attempt to reduce everything to that same, sad puddle of apathy.

But this is just how I see it. Something I didn't point out here is the importance of isolation and the ability to define oneself to Philip's story, and how losing those close to him and being driven to Isolation was what got him here, and he was further not allowed the chance to grow or define himself like Xiao was, or how Angela could in the floor realization. Hod's Realization is all about Angela realizing that only she could truly define herself, and this floor's theme is an excellent parallel in that Philip wants the same: the ability to define oneself in isolation. The difference is, in part, in the extent.

Malkuth does not think that one is completely defined in the absence of others. While letting other's criticism and opinions define you is, frankly, a horrible idea, it does not mean it is all to be discarded. And while the clashing of opinions will inevitably lead to conflict and hard times, one can choose to take it all and use it yourself: to decide if and how to use one's experiences to define yourself. You define yourself, and you are not limited to your environment, but that does not make it a waste. You can grow and become better because of your enviornment.

'Philip' does not believe in this. He doesn't see the point, seeing where his hardships brought his previous self, which is why he wants complete isolation. In truth, he believes the same: You define yourself. But their beliefs are fundamentally incompatible as soon as the topic of oneself in relation to other people comes up, which is why they must disagree.

This final bit is a bit of a headcanon, more headcanon-y than my previous interpretation of events anyway.

I like to think that since Philip still has those little bits of what he once was, those come out in battle. When he's burning, when he's overheated, that previously dead flame is back, at least in part, and he can more vividly recall things and remember why and how he's gotten here. It would be a nice touch, but maybe that's just me.

Anyway, that's enough ranting about my poor boy. I have a fic to finish, and then maybe I'll go beat up Oswald and Argalia for doing this to Philip. And then I'll solo Roland with a different floor, probably.

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} Just some random headcanons thrown at you here... Having just watched Legends of the Fall again and now I'm sitting here considering Tristan's wildness (or "the bear's voice deep inside him" as One Stab put it), it occurs to me that my version of Noah might also have this. I know I usually use Tristan's wildness as an example for Nuada's "croí fiáin" (wild heart) condition, but I think Noah may have his own version of it. There's just two quick things I wanna say about this...

One is that it's interesting that Nuada and Nuala are twins, and he's got this wild heart and she's so calm, cool, and collected. I feel like, however unintentionally, I've been writing Basch and Noah the same way. Well, canonically speaking Basch is quieter, more reserved, kinder, more gentle, etc. than Noah, but my version of Noah has this volatility inside him at all times that is complete opposition with Basch's centeredness.

In canon, we see it most pointedly at the Pharos, and most attribute his outburst to mental decline as a result of nethicite poisoning, but I've always headcanoned back to when he and Basch were boys that Noah was always volatile to some extent. And not just volatile but chaotic and not given to falling in line or conforming. He marched to the beat of his own drum and always has. It's just interesting that this wildness or emotional volatility whatever you wanna call it, this chaotic sense of needing to emotion when, how, and why he needs to or he goes a bit batty, functions the same way in two sets of twins.

It's that whole concept of twins being one soul split apart, so if one is calm and gentle, the other must be wild and impulsive. And I do write Basch and Noah as having a twin bond, not as pronounced as Nuada and Nuala, but they do sometimes share physical conditions and ailments, and sometimes something affects one because it affects the other. For example, Ashelia curing Basch of his nethicite poisoning, and Noah's improves enough such that he's able to live 20 years with it without succumbing.

The second thing I wanna sat about this realization... is that the first thing you're probably thinking is, but Noah is very calm, collected, measured, and controlled in the game, he's not volatile at all until the Pharos. Fair enough, but that's canon, and on this blog we disregard canon, hahaha. But no, haha, I just... write him as having a fire in him that he has never been able to put out or to fully control, and that fire has been made all the more dangerous and unpredictable with each trauma stacked upon him over the years. Yes, out of necessity, he is calm and collected within the Archadian government, because the consequences would be dire if he wasn't. But that fire never goes out, and he can only ignore it for so long.

That's why my version of him needs to release tension in the form of physical aggression either in his own quarters or while training. Or... crying while drinking to excess. The heights of rage and aggression or the lows of sadness, fear, and grief... those are the only things that douse the fire....... or... a trusted lover can also do it. The fire burns, the tension builds, the sense of being contained under pressure will only get worse and worse until and unless he releases it somehow. And the second that fire is doused, it starts building again. It's something that's always with him and never really goes away.

I will say though, one more thing, heh... that for Tristan, the "bear's voice" was quieted after his outbursts (for him it took the form of leaving home for years and engaging in dangerous and self-destructive behavior to work out sadness, grief, guilt, etc.) and it seemed to leave him entirely when he finally did settle down with Isabel Two and have two children. Then when Tristan played the game too hard and lost control of the situation (for him it was criminal bootlegging during prohibition) and she's murdered in an attempt to intimidate him, that chaotic violence and rage returns and he becomes his wild self again. The same thing, I feel, happened with Noah. He was his calmest when he had Drace with him, and when he felt he was in control of everything he was managing within the realm of politics. But when Vayne attempted to disrupt Noah's authority by ordering him to execute Drace, she ended up dead because of him, he lost control of the situation, however temporarily, and this caused him to mentally spiral. For both Tristan and Noah, feeling guilty about causing the death of a loved one is a big trigger for that wildness inside them.

No real point or conclusion to this, I just... watched that movie and had so many thoughts. I was wondering why Tristan's behavior reminded me of how I write Noah, and even sometimes the way Susannah or Isabel Two would comfort and manage Tristan reminded me of how Drace would do so for Noah. *shrugs* Just felt like sharing this ball of headcanons! =)

[hoshibait]

i'd love to hear those drake headcanons of yours :^)!

alright anon i warned you

quick warning for obsessive love and idk bro toxic angst i guess

also another warning i’m projecting a lot, specifically onto drew.

i’m a strong believer of drew being one of those gay people that just really represses their sexuality to the point of just not realizing for a while. he eventually figures out his gender but he doesn’t really talk about it much and cringes when he thinks about it too much. he’s a transfem agender, no big deal.

i know a lot of people hc drew as hispanic and that makes me very happy. you wanna know why i made him peruvian though, i’ll tell you why, i’m projecting, suck it nerd.

drew began being friends with jake during freshman year, in my head i feel like part of it was out of pity, drew didn’t think too much of jake at the time, just a new cool guy to hang out with.

idk how canon this is but in my interpretation the two of them the two of them got close to the point of being best friends, the two of them just jived together so well, he felt so understood, jake was an amazing guy, he was so fun to hang out with. it felt like things were perfect. however we know it wasn’t always great for the opposite party.

i’m a firm believer of neurodivergent jake, i don’t know what he has exactly but he’s def peculiar LMAO.

because of this, he’s always struggled socially and generally just being able to be his true self, of course he has a passion for singing and music and i wouldn’t be surprised if his neurodivergence impacted that at all.

think about it though, you’ve been bullied and outcasted your whole life, and all of the sudden a group of cool dudes want to take you in just because you seem cool to them?

jake finally felt a sense of belonging, right?

except those people were also judgmental to an extent, they put other people down, they put down your passion indirectly. you don’t want to lose them, because they seem to care for you, so you hide and lie, you mask.

i wouldn’t put it past jake to have some identity issues with how much he lies even to himself. ngl the more i write this the more i realize i said all the important things in my little chart. oh yeah my drew bpd hc this is def just me projecting btw, also i called it developing/undiagnosed in the chart since it's very rare for people his age to get diagnosed with it, plus he def goes around untreated. i guess the best way i can describe the two of them in my hc is this weird complicated love-hate thing. they're definitely not healthy, not at this rate, but it's like there's this slight chance, this sliver of hope that maybe things can work. i don't think that would happen though. i still need to think of how jake would even turn down drew, but i just know he'd be, more torn, lmao. you guys think a little bit of tyler the creator could've saved drew //slap

[eneiryu]

Hi! would you ever write a fic about theo that's more focused on his mental health? a lot of fics I read are more about his relationships with the pack, and while those are awesome i would love to see more about theo overcoming all the trauma the dread doctors and being in hell gave him. a lot of people see that in the show he seems fine and confident and write him that way, but i think there's a lot that could be written about his mental health.

Hmmm. So this ask was interesting to me and I spent some time thinking about how I’d want to answer, because the answer is “yes,” but also: my hope is that I’ve been doing this all along? That was certainly my intention, anyway.

To me, Theo is a profoundly traumatized individual, but a large part of his trauma is that he isn’t going to make it obvious, because in the circumstances that traumatized him, making it obvious either would have gone ignored (at best) or would have resulted in additional trauma (at worst). Put more bluntly, if he’d acted like anything other than a supremely competent spy and their errand-boy, the Dread Doctors would have killed him, and/or experimented on him more to make him more “successful.”

So in my fics, he acts supremely competent and like an errand-boy, even though his “masters” have changed, and Scott and the rest of the pack would be horrified to realize that Theo has mentally replaced the Doctors with the pack (possibly without knowing it). This is the whole core of i know all sorts: that Theo is only allowed a place as long as he’s useful, and Liam and Scott and the others finally, explicitly telling him that the opposite is true, is the resolution. Or in all waves, where he is both (1) homeless, and (2) making himself actually, physically ill to try and help the pack, and hiding all of it from everyone because his self-worth and trust issues are so firmly ingrained.

I also see him as someone with supremely screwed-up body and physical intimacy issues, because first and foremost he was an experiment, let alone a spy. If the Dread Doctors wanted to strap him down and cut him open, they not only could, but (I assume, and write into my fics) did. And at a certain point, I think (and write) that he realized that there could be a more subtle way of fulfilling his orders, namely: using himself and his body as a bait, or as payment. That’s showed up in a lot of my fics, including the knock at the door, called to the shepherd, long time coming, etc. And more recently, I think has started showing up in how Theo ends up defaulting to his wolf-form a lot of the time, so he can give and receive genuine, healthy physical intimacy in a way removed and distinct from how it used to traumatize him (listen, that’s where language ends, the only other sound’s the break, to an extent).

Probably the most explicit fic series I’ve written in this vein is trade the hollow and trade wind divination, where Theo not only flat out flees Beacon Hills and ends up living this half-life (until Liam finds him), but fully expects and is prepared to let Argent kill him when Argent tracks him down later.

As for the healing, I hope that’s been coming through as well, primarily in how he’s reacted to, rather than how he reacts. Namely: Liam, and Scott, and the rest of the pack giving him the space, and the patience, and the coaxing, to realize that he’s safe, that he can finally relax, and doesn’t have to be “on” or perfect all the time. That they know something is wrong, but try to wait for Theo to be ready to address it rather than forcing it (knock at the door, all waves); that they not only positively respond to him spending time in his wolf-form, but act like it’s completely normal and in fact encourage him to do it when they can tell it’s needed (listen, that’s where language ends).

Anyway, all of this is not to say that I wouldn’t write a fic more focused on his mental health, but that I’ve been doing my best to do that all along, by weaving it in and making it, at heart, the core of most/all of my stories. And if nothing else, that I appreciate the opportunity your ask provided to think through it and write it all out.

But! If you have an idea for a specific fic, or aspect of his mental health to explore, I’m always open to prompts. 😊

[acourtofthought]

I left that anon about Elain and choice, because it’s a genuine barrier for me in getting on board with the elucien ship (when I’d otherwise want to), and I was genuinely interested in your insight, and wasn’t going to reply further.

But, your own reply (and the other anon) kinda reminded me why I don’t really engage with this sort of thing. I never said I was an elriel, or that I’m rooting for Elain and Az - because I’m not. People in these ship wars seem to jump to such extremes… idk how you all endure it for so long, it’s exhausting.

My point is; I personally believe that so much of Elain’s character arc is about choice and agency (echoed by the Blodeuwedd mythology). I’m sure many of you would also agree. Because of this, it just doesn’t seem thematically fitting that Elain would then end up with Lucien. As I said, even if Elain believes she is choosing Lucien - how much of that is of her own free will, or because the Cauldron is telling her to? Fate is the opposite of choice. If everything we do is influenced by fate - or some higher power - that’s not choice.

And sure, it worked for other characters - but those characters seemingly didn’t have the same themes of choice and agency that Elain does (or at least not to the same extent). They weren’t stuck in a love triangle between their mate and another man (with that man asking “what is the Cauldron is wrong?” - quite literally questioning fate), as well as introducing the implications of rejecting the mating bond, the Blood Duel etc. And again, those characters had already established their relationships before the mating bond came into play; it was already clear they had chosen each other - or were soon about to - so the mating bond wasn’t forcing anything.

Which leads me to another point I have; if SJM plans for Elain and Lucien to be endgame, why reveal that they are mates so early on? Why introduce Az as a rival love interest - one of the most popular male characters in the series, beloved by the fandom (so it’s not like a Tamlin vs Rhys situation)? And most of all - Elain is a seer. If she can see into the future, then she’d be able to see her happily ever after with Lucien. So, then why does she avoid him? Why does Elain kiss and pursue Azriel, knowing full well that she’ll end up mated and married to the man who sleeps a mere couple of metres away from her? It just doesn’t add up.

I could potentially see it working if Lucien or Elain reject the bond, and are then sent on some sort of mission together, where they’d start from scratch, form a friendship (without the influence of the mating bond), and realise they truly love each other. Then you’d have an interesting story line about trying to get the mating bond back - or deciding you don’t need it at all. But that’s just my take on it.

It's interesting that you're making comments about others engaging in ship wars but you're doing the exact same thing with your Anons. Being anti a ship for whatever reason is still engaging in ship wars because you've taken quite a bit of time and put quite a bit a thought into why you don't think a ship will happen.

It's also interesting that you claim you have no interest in ship wars yet you come to a page that you know is 100% Pro Elucien and try to start a debate.

I'm open to debate that's not the problem. But don't climb up on that high horse and act like you're above it all while doing the exact opposite.

And you say you're not Pro E/riel but you realize Elain is ending up with someone right? These are romance books, it is confirmed Elain will get a book and that it will be a traditional romance so if you're not Pro E/riel or Pro Elucien then I'm a bit confused. Maybe you want a new love interest for her? I'm sorry if I assumed you're Pro E/riel but I have to say your Anons seem like you lean that way. And I definitely didn't get the impression you were interested in my insight regarding Elain and choice since you have to know how much I believe Lucien is still a choice whereas it's clear you don't.

Also, Elain's powers don't work the way you're claiming. She doesn't have clear visions and she doesn't decide what she gets to see. Otherwise she would have been able to tell Feyre and Nesta, "be prepared because you're going to be attacked in the library" or she could have easily looked into the future and seen whether they would win the war. Or she could have insisted her vision tell her where Koschei hides his soul. So no, I don't think she knows with any sort of certainty what her future with Lucien holds. If anything, she's had a flash of a vision that remains unclear.

I disagree that Elain's character is any more about choice or agency than any other FMC of an SJM novel. They all start fighting against what fate had in store for them and they grew into what was always meant to be but after the heroine accepted it because it's what she decided she wanted. Not because she was forced into it.

And Elain isn't stuck in a love triangle. She wanted Graysen and was rejected by Graysen but not yet over him. He is who she loved and had not yet recovered from when she fell into a minor crush with Az.

It is canon that Elain was not over Graysen in ACOFAS. She still silently mourned him and wanted a HUMAN MAN. Cue Az who she doesn't have a bond with, therefore has no strings attached. Az who looks decidedly HUMAN without his shadows and rounded ears (which Feyre notes) and whose shadows tend to disappear around Elain. I mean, I'm not a rocket scientist or anything but that math seems to math to me.

She developed a crush on Az because it's a distraction to the real things she's still not over.

That's not a love triangle, that's Elain not being ready to face the hard truths and really let go of her past.

Not to mention whatever she was willing to start with Az (which is not love, they had barely spoken and only shared a few glances as of late and were about to have a first kiss - again, not love) she walked away from considering he told her they were a mistake and she made the decision to return his gift to him versus her refusal to return her ring to Graysen.

Whatever was going on with Az was for the wrong reasons but that's ok because she's getting used to this new world and trying to decide what she wants and where she belongs.

But there's no love triangle right now because Lucien isn't involved. She hasn't been ready to truly get to know him but that doesn't mean it can't change in her book. And that statement right there PROVES she's had a choice. She has made the choice to ignore the bond right now. She could continue making the choice to ignore the bond for the rest of her life. However, she could also MAKE THE CHOICE to try and get to know Lucien to see what she thinks of him. Right now, the bond has no sway over her decisions which means if she gets to know Lucien, it's not going to be because the bond made her. I can be physically attracted to another person (without making the conscious decision to be) but I still have a choice in whether I actually hook up with them or get to know them. As I'm married, I'm obviously not going to do that but being drawn to something, whether through basic chemistry and biology or a mother blessed mating bond doesn't take away my ability to make decisions for myself. And that seems to be the problem with anyone who wants to cry that the bond takes away Elain's choice. She may not necessarily be able to help being physically drawn to Lucien but her mind is still her own. She can still choose what to do with that draw and right now she's proving to herself that she does have control over not giving into it. Which means if / when she gets to know Lucien it will be her brain making that decision.

"Which leads me to another point I have; if SJM plans for Elain and Lucien to be endgame, why reveal that they are mates so early on? Why introduce Az as a rival love interest - one of the most popular male characters in the series, beloved by the fandom (so it’s not like a Tamlin vs Rhys situation)"

A. I hate to tell you but Az is acting toward Elain exactly like Tamlin initially did with Feyre so you mentioning that to me wasn't helping your case. And he's not questioning Fate because he loves Elain. He's questioning Fate because he's jealous Lucien is breaking up the "brothers." His two brothers got sister mates and he got left out. That's ALL Azriel is focusing on. If it was love, he wouldn't care if he had a mating bond with Elain, his POV would have been spent talking about how charming Elain is (which he said about Gwyn), how much different she is since he first met her after her trauma (which he said about Gwyn), how proud he is of her standing up to Nesta or how she makes him laugh, maybe something about how Elain saved his best friend in the war. But there's none of that. He's put out because he can't understand why Lucien got something and he didn't. It has NOTHING to do with Elain as an individual and everything to do with Az being salty he was the last kid picked for dodgeball.

B. Az is not a rival love interest, he's a rebound, as I've stated above. Az and Elain aren't real with one another, they aren't open, they don't have the difficult conversations. He can't even confirm that he's over Mor to his friend of 500 years so I think it's pretty obvious Elain and Az are in denial and they just naturally used one another to avoid their problems. And it doesn't matter what near kiss they almost shared (between two main characters) because it will never be the thing Az needs to really move forward from. Az and Elain are a blip compared to his past with Mor and Elain is probably not even staying in the NC so there's no lasting drama there. An almost kiss means they can still revert to a friendship, no harm done. If Cassian can sleep with Mor than later say she's like a sister, I'm not worried about a lasting conflict between Elain and Az.

C. If SJM planned for Elucien to be endgame, why reveal they're mates so early on?

2016:

2017:

When did Silver Flames come out again? Oh that's right, 2021.

SJM announced all the way back in 2016 that the moment Nesta and Cassian sat down together, she knew they were endgame, even decided where they'd vacation yet in ACOFAS, she wrote this:

I mean gosh, why would SJM have ever told us Nessian was a sure thing so early on only to have her sleep with other males and tell Cassian she wants no part of him, his friends, or his life?

I'm sorry but every point you bring up has a valid counter argument considering she confirmed Elucien and Nessian all the way back in 2016 yet both sisters had a "thing" with other males after that and the one that got a book still ended up with Cassian as SJM originally planned. Elain and Nesta may handle things differently because of their personalities but it boils down to the same thing. Fate placed them in the paths of their Mates and they fought like hell against it. But that doesn't mean they can't decide it's what they do want in the end (for the right reasons which is WHO their Mate is as an individual and not JUST because they're Mates).

It doesn't matter how early SJM told us they were Mates because she was still planning on creating obstacles that led to a "will they, won't they?" Because she has half the fandom wondering if she changed her mind and the other half seeing the clues as to how they'll work out and why E/riel isn't a real love possibility.

Fate is not the opposite of choice. Fate is where life leads you and you decide what you're going to do with it.

I don't even live in New York but I met my husband there on New Years Eve, the busiest time of the year, while I was dating someone else.

Within an hour, I knew what a real relationship was supposed to feel like, went home and immediately broke up with my ex.

My husband and I have now been together since January, 2011.

I believe that was Fated. Had I been too scared to take a chance on someone who lived out of state, I may have missed out on this wonderful life I have.

It was still MY choice to accept where Fate led me just as it is still Elain's choice to accept or not accept the person Fate placed in front of her.

She's not ready because she lost something immeasurable when she was Made but when / if she is, it will be because SHE decides to accept Lucien. Not because anyone says she has to, not even Fate. Fate is not saying "I demand you be with Lucien else I will rain destruction upon your family!" All Fate did was say, "I believe this person is your match, do with it what you will". It's no different than a friend trying to set you up with someone they feel would be perfect for you.

Elain experienced some serious traumas and any reader who wants to focus on why she's not making decisions on her bond right now or thinking she's in any place to fall in love with Az is not allowing her to heal in a healthy way. She needs to grow into herself before getting to know Lucien and sure, maybe that growing includes nearly making out with a broody bat boy who isn't remotely close to having his shit together but, that's ok. It's all leading to her finally finding where she belongs and what she wants once she's in the right frame of mind to make those decisions.

SJM is a Fated Mates author so if you dislike the trope, that's your prerogitive, but you may want to look elsewhere for your reading material.

I personally think knowing Lucien is her Mate creates more of a choice than Feyre had with Rhys. Sure Feyre became friends with him but she tells us she was drawn to him even while with Tamlin. She had no idea why that was which means she fell for Rhys without the full picture of what was driving that. At least Elain will have the opportunity to really sift through what she's feeling and decide how much of it comes from instinct over her own heart.

[lightcreators]

@tiimecrash continue from here (Legacy Post during that time)

Sola looked to her partner with a thoughtful expression, soaking up all she could muster from him. He had a lot of extra emotional baggage to him ( as he always had ) and she could only partly sympathize with Koschei in that way. She was not driven to extremes like he was, nor did she openly enjoy harming people. She was quite his opposite in that regard. Even opposite to Theta in a way. She was more gracious, kind, and a tiny bit submissive. However, she could hold her own. She had been for many many years during her travels without both the Master and the Doctor about. She was her own being and could move about freely. Yet something about her didn’t like being parted with Koschei ( in any regenerations ). Something always called her to him, like a ticking clock. A reminder that he was there in her own timestream. At first, she didn’t realize it and it took her a long while to put everything in place with the old war relic’s plan all along. She prided herself on being his chosen assistant. That the old man picked her out of all the beings known to the universe that she alone would help him. How? That part she wasn’t so sure of. All in due time, would she extract Koschei’s plans ( knowing it would take a very long time ). For know, best to play the fool.

Featherine Augustus was a different subject. She only was scratching the surface of that being within her beloved Koschei and Theta ( and to a lesser extent, another very dear companion ). That witch as everyone called her. Sola on the other hand thought of her as stranger. A stranger watching and lurking around her without actually influencing her directly. A bystander in a sense to the Professor’s timestream. Yes, Koschei had done what he had promised to the Time Lady all along: keep her safe. The old war relic had done so for a long long time while they were stuck as a married human couple. Even before that, he protected her in his own way. She knew of his travels as her beloved Maxil as well. a secret she would keep him from knowing. Yet, was the witch aware of that as well? Was this Featherine observing her through her connections to Theta and Koschei? She could sense something was off and knew it was that witch.

“I do know that one of your strongest traits is patience, Koschei. You boast about it and I’ve seen it plenty of times. I on the other hand �� I’m not so patient. I wait and wait, but just get irritated with uncertainty. Suppose I’m more the worrier.” a soft frown grew on her lips. She was more human than she realized and something about losing her identity as a Time Lord scared her. She never wanted to forget her race, her culture, herself to the humans she had been living amongst for so long. She knew he would hate for her to be oblivious to her true self. Solasudordax of Gallifrey. She thought he’d find her not useful anymore if she wasn’t her true self. The one her ( as Maxil ) knew. Ah, the subject of Maxil was such a secretive thing. Was this blonde regeneration aware of him? She didn’t think he was and did not really speak about him.

Sola took a breath and tilted her head, thinking long and hard over everything. It seemed like there were a million thoughts ( and mixed memories ) being jarred around inside her head. “Oh? I am?” Another long pause as he explained himself. A small smile was exposed, now glancing to the ground before back up to him. Her confidence seemed to have came back once again. Headstrong but cautious is what Sola was. Outgoing – but quiet. An enigma wrapped up in an awkward body. “You’ve proved enough to me from the beginning, you know. I think I am the one that needs to prove how helpful and needed I am to you. I don’t want to bore any of you. I know some of you think I’m rather — what’s the word — odd.” She was determined to prove to Koschei ( in all forms ) that she was an anchor to him. That he needed her. Sola knew from the old war relic’s meddling with her personal timeline that she was needed ( at-least by him ) and this variant – was wanting to prove to her that she was. It was a match.

“The old man has patients – but it runs very thin with himself.” she half joked. It was true,  the ( War ) Master didn’t care much for any of his other variants. Sola had heard him complain once or twice about them. Shaking her head, she snickered softly. “Then you run the business. Sell the wine. Make the money and let the old man have his agriculture and happy retirement. Let me tend to the gardens and to everything else. The old man can keep our illusion of our peaceful, calm, and protected space. All while you make it even better.” Yes, she was feeding his ego. She knew Koschei ( in any forms she met ) liked that. Though, the old man would probably be upset with her over enjoying his younger blonde variant being here. It was a needed change of pace and for some reason, Sola figured the Master knew it from the begining. She assumed he was always three steps ahead of her in thinking. Yet, the old man was so — cold and asserted over his blonde self. She didn’t understand why. Maybe that was because she was still in her original form? She never experience regenerating before. She came close once or twice, but change was something that confused ( and scared her ).

That  incarnation,  in  front  of  Sola,  always  had  that  terrible  flaw  to  ended  up  thoughtful  in  one  way  or  another.  He  had  been  the  one  most  likely  pulling  her  behind,  partially  bring  her  within  his  emotional  struggles  back  in  the  Valiant  ---  when  he  was  playing  another  game  each  day  inside  that  chessboard,  when  he  was  an  unwanted  player  of  something  he  didn't  have  neither  the  knoweldge  neither  the  control,  associated  to  that  dreadful  bad  sentiment  in  middle  of  an  paradox  he  did  started  to  begin  with.  When  he  had  been  unable,  with  the  remnant  of  an  future  humanity  within  his  hands,  totally  dehumanized  and  totally  within  his  control,  to  facing  otherwise  dehumanized  beings  who  admired  every  one  of  his  moves  with  mockery  !  Back  into  an  time  when  he  had  made  another  kind  of  arrangement,  inside  another  period  when  he  eventually  sold  his  own  survival  towards  an  particular  price  ---  Long  before  losing  every  degree  of  his  sanity  for  the  monster  who  had  becoming  Theta.  Long  before  finding  himself  disillusioned  in  front  of  that  tenth  incarnation  of  his  old  friend  who  wasn't  the  Time  Lord  he  had  been.  Long  before  he  faced  himself  the  witches  realm  with  dear  Lady  Bernkastel,  an  detestable  presence  which  continually  made  fun  of  his  place  as  amateur  in  this  horrible  world.  Long  before  been  trapped  within  an  closed  room  ---  when  he  might  lose  it  an  second  time  when  Theta  would  have  to  explain  to  Sola  that  one  period  when  his  incarnation  had  been  inexplicably  away  for  a  long  time,  considering  he  had  been  beautifully  trapped  within  an  room,  when  he  had  desperately  trying  to  get  out  with  this  damn  chain  that  had  haunted  him  for  hours  !  ---  when  on  that  one,  he  didn't  even  controlled  the  moment  he  had  managed  to  get  out,  for  be  all  part  of  the  experience,  for  be  all  part  of  the  importance  of  logic,  for  be  all  part  of  how  nice  that  punishement  was  !  Even  meanwhile  he  was  slowly  embracing  his  new  alias,  he  noticed  at  once  when  such  features  born  upon  his  wife  face.  If  with  the  old  relic  she  had  been  an  prized  assistant  in  which  the  Doctor  on  that  time  had  desired  protecting  her  though  his  comfort  ---  maybe  the  poor  incarnation  of  the  Doctor  could  blaming  himself  on  that  part,  since  they  will  cross  path  but  not  in  an  kind  and  friendly  way  since  the  Time  War  had  been  an  veil  of  opportunities  until  he  had  that  survival  instinct  to  run  for  survive  !  ---  she  had  been  an  partner  with  his  incarnation.  He  migth  let  her  on  the  dark  over  some  particular  issues  related  to  Theta  mostly  or  even  how  he  got  little  chat  with  Philip  Butler  for  his  biggest  misfortune  or  even  how  he  had  been  trying  to  hope  something  with  that  tenth  Doctor's  incarnation  ---  she  had  been  the  person  besides  Theta  to  welcoming  his  emotions  and  his  aspirations,  and  let  him  be  influenced.  He  would  love  priding  Theta  about  how  much  he  had  been  an  influence  in  middle  of  the  Academy  so  much  he  had  been  troublesome  ---  and  learned  fast---  nevertheless  he  was  the  one,  tragically,  would  have  to influence  an  witch  !

Featherine  Augustus  Aurora  was  another  topic  in  which  Sola  would  have  to  embracing  reality.  He  won't  have  beliving  it  if  someone  would  have  bring  the  memo  than  someday  generous  Time  Lord  called  the  Doctor  would  simply  stole  the  title  of  an  best  friend  he  left  die  within  consciousness  and  be  an  wonderful  monster  deciding  what  he  wanted  with  the  timelines.  Interfering  in  a  much  more  threatened  way  than  even  his  lack  of  interferences  had  immediate  consequences  !  Considering  his  own  species  had  people  who  had  learn  nothing  of  Time  !  Featherine  desired  the  same  protection  he  had  been  offering  to  Sola  ---  hence  she  was  manipulating  him  to  get  what  she  wanted,  for  be  truthfully  honest  over  how  it  happened,  since  he  let  that  eight  incarnation  doing  that  move,  he  let  moments  of  that  tenth  incarnation  HAPPENING,  even  let  him  temporary  win  for  better  taking  over  everything  in  an  higher  scale  ---  nevertheless  remained  in  the  shadows  and  claimed  her  differently.  Right  now,  how  she  claimed  her  differing  of  the  pleasant  prison  inside  his  timeline  was  pretty  much  relative.  Sola  was  allowed  to  be  free,  to  exploring  all  timeline  she  wanted,  to  pass  all  her  time  as  she  desired.  He  was  controlled,  he  could  be  pulled  inside  an  metaphoric  prison  any  time  when  no  one  would  heard  him,  he  was  observed  unless  when  he  found  manners  to  escape  it,  and  as  much  he  could  considering  himself  free  of  moves  thanks  to  his  TARDIS  given  by  his  best  enemy,  he  stayed  tracked.  If  he  was  showing  off  too  much  he  was  the  Master,  he  was  in  trouble.  If  he  was  waiting  alone  for  an  miracle  for  have  the  Doctor  back,  nothing  at  all  will  happened  for  that  wish.  Annoying  Theta  had  turned  something  important  to  his  being,  regardless  how  Theta  returned  the  feelings,  at  least,  that  blonde  fifth  incarnation,  by  trapping  him  somewhere.  He  could  do  something  on  the  tenth,  but  for  that,  he  would  need  to  be  SAW.  As  the  presence  who  remained  at  his  side,  as  the  remnant  of  an  past  ---  forced  to  be  the  one  doing  what  the tenth begged …

Inside  that  bubble  timeline,  Featherine  was  the  person  he  wanted  to  think  the  less.  Removing  fully  Theta  on  his  head  ---  something  he  never  managed  to  do  in  centuries  of  existence,  countless  incarnations  in  which  of  course  he  had  to  bring  his  presence  to  Theta  ---  was  an  difficult  exercice,  as  in  some  manner,  he  was  give  up  something  to  become  stronger  later.  Inside  another  possibility,  he  could  get  Theta  ---  as  the  Doctor  ---  and  Sola  together.  Current  reality  pushed  him  to  pick  Sola  as  his  good  happy  ending,  and  concerning  Theta,  their  galactic  fight  would  take  on  another  meaning,  another  level,  and  another  degree  of  disagreement.  He  coudn't  blaming  his  old  friend  concerning  an  old  promise  though  ---  he  got  to  walking  around  the  stars  with  an  witch,  even  though  his  position  in  the  universe  had  been  pretty  much  stolen.  Some  possibilities  didn't  wanted  to  be  thought  about.  The  Doctor  crossed  path  with  old  friends  of  the  Deca  before,  and  since  his  life  was  threatened  by  influence  on  the  Time  War,  he  wondered  what  kind  of  things  he  could  do  to  his  other  friends.  Using  the  Rani  within  her  experiments  by  becoming  another  experiment,  when  pleasant  MIB  would  touching  delicate  points  in  same  manner  than  him  ?  Offering  to  the  Monk  an  proposition  he  couldn't  refuse  ?  Becoming  an  somber  presence  behind  the  War  Chief,  for  influencing  him  in  another  manner  ?  It  was  on  his  fault  to  never  pondered  too  much  about  positions  of  his  old  friends  since  Theta  becoming  pretty  much  his  single  obsessionby  fucking  up  his  life  !  He  wouldn't  never  imagined  Theta  would  pretty  much  USING  his  friends  as  temporal  experiences as  they  were  toys  !

Compliment  was  really  appreciated.  ❝  Patience  had  been  something  I  have  to  learn  quite  early.  ❞  Built  entire  medding  around  the  Doctor,  since  the  beginning,  since  their  first  reunion,  had  been  something  taking  time,  and  he  rarely  enjoyed  the  Doctor's  presence  as  much  as  he  wanted.  Body  he  had  during  that  blonde  fifth  face  had  been  the  worst  concerning  his  patience.  Every  time,  he  had  to  escaping  an  prison.  Every  time,  he  had  been  fooled  around.  Every  time,  he  had  to  found  an  way  out  of  the  place  he  had  been  brought,  minus  than  one  time  when  Featherine  did  nothing  to  removing  him  of  that  fire  when  all  time  before  he  always  had  been  an  helpful  presence.  He  expressed  Featherine  because  it  had  been  Featherine  ---  aware  of  the  gesture.  Letting  the  script  of  the  timeline  happening.  Letting  his  inexistence  within  that  timeline.  ❝  It  wasn't  like  I  had  a  choice  by  moments.  Without  patience,  nothing  would  have  change.  I  could  have  been  frustrated  I  wanted,  nothing  will  change  of  circumstances  I  was  trapped  in.  ❞  Quality  he  had  been  forced  to  expanding  beyond  anything  else.  If  he  wanted  found  back  the  Doctor  one  day,  he  better  have  to  be  patient.  If  he  wanted  his  miracle  happening,  he  better  have  to  be  patient.  If  he  wanted  showed  his  worth  to  Philip  Butler,  he  better  have  to  be  patient.  ❝  Mh.  You  have  been  spared  a  lot  by  the  travels  you  had  been  doing.  When  everything  is  gentle  with  you,  you  are  used  to  that  kind  of  peaceful  run  of  circumstances.  ❞  He  noticed  slowly  playfully.  She  had  been  human  for  too  long  she  probably  thought  herself  human.  It  was  something  he  understood,  regardless  if  he  was  too  much  Time  Lord  for  get  it  all  ---  since  he  didn't  care  about  them,  compared  to  Theta  and  Sola  ---  though  was  respecteful  over  how  she  needed  landmarks.  Theta  was  beyond  an  Time  Lord  now  since  an  witch,  and  him  represented the  meaning of  an  Time  Lord.

He  nodded  as  she  asked  an  confirmation.  She  had  been  influencing  his  path  more  he  could  tell.  She  had  been  the  meaning  of  an  happiness  he  never  thought  he  would  get  one  day  or  never  imagined  he  was  able  to  care  so  much  over  someone  regardless  how  horrible  he  was.  ❝  It  would  be  tragic  if  the  Master  would  have  to  prove  something  to  the  world.  ❞  He  commented  slowly.  For  little  seconds,  he  preferred  pushed  behind  he  had  to  prove  himself  in  front  of  an  witch.  For  little  seconds,  he  preferred  pushed  behind  how  he  had  to  show  to  timelines  altogether,  to  universes,  to  everyone,  the  Master  was  an  title  meaning  something  when  hold  by  him.  ❝  You  met  me  when  I  had  enough  showing  my  abilities,  and  these  abilities  were  needed.  ❞  He  recalled  slowly,  though  following  laugh  welcomed  the  rest  of  her  sentences.  ❝  You're  not  boring~  I  have  yet  to  prove  myself  as  how,  as  Baxter Lloyd,  simple  man  in  holidays,  I  can  be  amazing~  I  know  with  me  at  your  side,  showing  off  is  quite  difficult  since  it's  my  thing,  but  for  sure,  you  showed  how  competent  you  are  and  will  surely  inscreasing  that  as  time  move  on.  ❞  He  reassured.  There  was  another  laugh.  ❝  Odd  isn't  the  word  I  would  use.  Human,  as  an  reproach.  Human,  as  an  compliment.  ❞  He  nuanced  slowly.  ❝  An  notion  you  know  my  mind  quite  don't  know.  ❞  He  despised  his  former  incarnation  for  quite  that  notion  to  had  touched  human  layers,  regardless  if  in  exchange,  he  became  that  charming  and  emotional  Time  Lord  he  had  becoming.  Extremist  in  every  way  but  clearly  sentimental,  where  he  could  still  laugh  at  the  irony  that  he  was  the  more  humanized  compared  to  Featherine  !  Within  his  expression,  he  understood  her  need  to  prove  herself.  He  understood  her  need  to  showing  how  much  he  neded  her.  He  needed  her.  It  was  an  statement.  He  needed  her,  so  she  could  do  whatever  she  wanted, he will support her.

Another  laugh  followed.  ❝  A  family  reunion  with  myself  would  end  in  massacre.  I'm  very  lucky  that  this  old  crouton  has  put  up  with  me  for  a  long  time  now.  ❞  He  joked  back.  Insults  naturally  showing  up  when  it  was  about  other  incarnations  concerning  himself,  hence  he  had  no  doubts  the  old  man  cannot  resist  one  or  two  during  his  absence.  He  couldn't  handle  himself.  It  was  just  the  way  it  was.  Maybe  that  rule  could  be  broke  for  the  poor  boy  he  had  been  at  the  Academy,  unaware  about  how  eventful  and  difficult  the  rest  of  his  life  will  be  but  well  ---  even  to  that  version  of  himself,  he  wanted  proving  a  miracle  could  be  made,  past  moments  could  be  relived.  As  nothing  happened  between  him  and  Theta,  as  nothing  happened  when  an  murder  happened,  as  nothing  happened  when  Theta  left  him  behind  afterwards  be  reason  of  murders  of  two  of  their  friends  already  with  the  Celestial  Toymaker,  as  nothing  will  broke  their  closeness  …  Hence,  his  expression  reached  another  dimension  of  interest  in  front  of  Sola  sentences.  How  an  amazing  flattered  smile  born  within  his  expression.  ❝  You're  right.  ❞  He  expressed  with  an  smirk  as  it  could  making  it  an  pure  reality.  ❝  Without  me,  the  business  isn't  going  to  get  far,  so  I  have  just  to  embrace  everything  as  much  I  wanted  to  do  since  the  beginning.  Be  the  one  ruling  and  let  the  old  man  enjoying  the  tranquility.  ❞  It  was  also  part  of  his  plans.  The  old  man  needed  to  remain  protected  and  ignorant  of  his  problems  with  Featherine  for  get  things  done.  ❝  Though  I  will  enjoy  the  tranquility  too,  on  my  own  manner,  with  more  dynamism.  I  have  handled  other  matters  heavier  than  that  so  everyone  will  worship  us~  Do  you  know  how  much  I  love  you~  ?  ❞  He  smirked  as  watching  her.

[redhatmeg]

If you don’t mind me asking, how do you feel about all the straw hats individually? (Truth is, I got a lot of one piece antis on tiktok and I genuinely like all the straw hats and to that extent most of the characters so I just wanted to make sure)

I should point out that I've stopped watching One Piece sometime after Sabody Archipelago Arc, while with manga I stopped few chapters after Ace's execution. Therefore the last Straw Hat Pirate I've known was Brook and I don't have opinion about later members yet.

I can say that some Straw Hats I liked quickly, others grew on me over time, and I'm indifferent about others.

My absolute favorites:

Luffy - yes, some of his shenningans are annoying and he can be a little dumb at times, but you get the idea that this is a man with principles. There's a lot of admirable things about him, like the fact that he has a strong will and sense of justice, and he's willing to fight for people he knows only a little (Mountblanc Cricket for example). Many of his nakama were first such people.

Sanji - Sanji seems very cool, with his swagger, aloofness and chain-smoking, but you quickly realize there's something more to him. He is a magnificent cook and treats his craft very seriously, however, his exepriences on the island gave him a unique insight into someone who suffers from starvation, which first couple of episodes on Baratie showcase (his anger over Fullbody meddling with the dish, him offering Gin, Don Krieg and Don Krieg's men food, because they're starving for days) and I wish it'd popped up more often in later arcs. His perverted ways are kind of tiring but I would say that I've seen more annoying perverts in fiction.

Chopper - oh, Chopper is just the cutest and frankly, I like his default form the most. He's a child at heart and it is a good heart, he's very smart and capable, but he also takes a lot of risks and had a life marked with tragedy.

Not gonna lie, part of what makes me like these characters, is their backstories that feature fatherly figures and moved me in different ways. Episode with Shanks stole my heart and hooked me on this anime, because it's such a simple story and yet it gives so much insight into Luffy's moral code and way of thinking. Episode with Sanji and Zeff on the island is horrific on many different levels, but there is so much to unpack in this "limited situation" (Sanji dreaming of leftovers that were put in the trash, him cutting Zeff's sack thinking there is food, but there's just gold which is useless in their position; the realization that Zeff lost a leg because of him). And episodes with Chopper and Hiruluk are bittersweet, because Chopper found someone who loved and accepted him and gave him purpose, but then this whole situation with Hiruluk's disease and mushroom complicates things, and it plays out like a one big tragedy. For me personally these three stories are just the most interesting and I used to rewatch them a lot.

Now let's move to characters that grew on me over time:

Zoro - for a long time I was indifferent about him. He had good scenes, but I didn't think much about him or his dream. It was only when in Thriller Bark Saga he volunteered to take Luffy's pain and said: "Luffy will become the Pirate King.", that he gained 100+ respect in my eyes and suddenly I started to see him in different light. What I find most interesting about him is this relationship he shares with Luffy - they are polar opposites character-wise, but I have no doubt that they are kindred spirits and Zoro respects his captain the most.

Usopp - at first he might be a Miles Glorious kind of character, not to mention a scaredly cat at times, but I would say he's a work in progress in a best possible way. He wants to be Brave Warrior of the Sea, he's full of self-doubts and he's limited by his own fear, especially because he's surrounded by superhumans and monsters... but you can see that he often wins with his fear and gradually becomes the man he wants to become. I can kinda relate to this dude.

Robin - at first Robin comes off as a cold killer and femme fatale and then she joins Straw Hats and you suddenly realize that she's a fun character to have around. She's a stoic, often unphased by her nakama's weird shenningans, but at the same time she laughs and is really good with younger (or younger-at-heart) characters, like Chopper. I also like that she's a scholar and there are times when her archeology background comes up.

And finally characters I'm indifferent about:

Nami - for a long time Nami fell into an archetype of an anime female lead I really disliked back in a day: a character that was mean or violent towards the main character (frankly, she never reached Haruno Sakura's level, because Oda was gratious enough to not give her a love interest she would fawn over; or make her a girl Luffy is hopelessly in love with). Her greed, although understandable given her backstory, can be tiresome at times, however, she also has some good moments in the show and she was one of the four core members of the crew, alonside with Zoro, Usopp and Sanji.

Vivi - I hated Vivi during the first watch of the anime, but this rewatch opened my eyes to the fact that she's not so bad. Still, as I said earlier, I wouldn't put her back on the team, because I don't feel like she has the Big Dream that requires her to travel through the Grand Line, like the rest of Straw Hats. Her Big Dream is Arabasta being safe and prosperous, and she can achieve it in her homeland.

Franky - he's just... Franky. Yes, his backstory about seeing his creations hurting his mentor and causing destruction is sad and poignient, he becomes Straw Hats' ally really quick after this whole thing with Usopp, and he seems very proud of Thausand Sunny, but he's my least favorite Straw Hat, I'm sorry.

And finally, Brook. I put him separately from others because I didn't spend much time with him, so I didn't get the full grasp of his character. I will say that he has one of the most beautiful scenes in whole series and probably during this rewatch I will be talking about it extensively when the time comes. He also seems fun, most of the time. Still, I don't know him as much as i would like to.

Now, the crew as a whole is great and I love how they grow to care for one another. It's also very unconventional crew, since they are very much like: "Well, our captain is an idiot, but he's our idiot." You get me?

I don't know if later episodes will change how i look at some of those characters or if I find the new Straw Hat members more interesting, but for now it looks like this.