#and it is very much a part of my interpretation of HMS now

[randaccidents]

I Am Me

Hey I Actually got Motivation to attempt fanart! I'm really proud that I managed to draw humanoids without tracing this time.

Anyways, a tiny tiny peek at my designs of HMS! And someone else.

I'll make a separate post explaining who the shadow is, but all you need to know right now is that that is Whole, but Not Whole. (His name is Me!)

EDIT: I wrote the explanation post! Its very conceptual tho rip

[infernalantics]

qifrey witch hat atelier is really interesting bc i feel like with the type of character archetype he is (ie the mentor/teacher type who seemingly isn’t like most other adults who accept some kind of status quo) his personality traits are … fascinating. like granted there’s some stuff we don’t know that much about so a lot of this is speculation and me kind of spewing out my thoughts…!

but anyways somethign thats so fascinating to me about the small little glimpses of qifrey we get as a child is very different to the present day one we see now. which i don’t really know how else to describe other than putting these two side by side

he feels a lot more..? expressive now. which imo is a combination of a lot of things. young qifrey genuinely makes sense to be someone who’s quite uh.. confused & afraid. a young kid not really knowing his past but only knowing what took it away from him and a feeling of hard-focused anger towards them.. while at the same time having all of that taken away from him means he kinda doesn’t know who he was…? a emptiness from something they took out of him that he can’t really even place what’s missing..

which is realllyyy evident in this panel + these lines. i think that qifrey as a young kid being obsessive about his whole past was probably not super expressive or talkative and prob didn’t have that many friends aside from olruggio. being a kinda weird case of a witch learning magic and all…

(hm. sound familiar? i mean like. coco was in a horrible situation/circumstance regarding forbidden magic that caused her mom to turn to crystals and instead of having her memories wiped qifrey took her in and taught her magic. while qifrey was in a horrible situation regarding forbidden magic that took away his past, left him without his eye, but instead of having his memories wiped beldarut took him in and taught him magic. but that’s beside my point. for now)

but his search kind of abruptly gets cut off after going to the tower + learning it was a new type of magic. and he can’t tell anyone about this so i think he basically just sits with it for a while, his leads fizzle out for a while and in that time he starts the atelier and gets some apprentices and within that time is a lot happier and more content .

n then coco appears, he gets another lead, the grudge bubbles back up, yada yada youve read the manga. (probably)but all of that to say i think such a lovely part of his character is his ANGER!

i think this scene can be interpreted a lot of different ways since we kinda just don’t have the resolution to it yet and i think it may uh. be a minute until we do… but qifrey does absolutely care very much for the people around him. that much is evident. and i don’t think his anger is always in spite of him caring, i think it also works in tandem with it.

qifrey wants to keep being a teacher, he wants to be fulfilled and he wants a future. but essentially he’s been put on a time limit. (or at least he sees it that way) this happy present he has is temporary and slipping through his fingers so he’s working really desperately to settle everything with the brimhats to try and keep his future.. they took away his past, he didn’t know who he was or what he came from, and his future is being lost too… the combination of knowing his secret could super get him in BIG MASSIVE TROUBLE + that he seems pretty damn insistent on dealing with this on his own… makes his decision to wipe olruggios memories in ch40 REALLY COMPELLING!!! the line “from the pursuit of hope, comes the cost which is despair itself” really ties the whole scene together for me…

and even aside from his own backstory i think he has an anger to him that comes from his care for the girls + olruggio exactly too. you can see this in the way he immediately fuckign snaps when coco gets hurt

but god this is wayyy longer than intended but all of this to say. qifrey has a tendency when something isn’t fair, it’s hard for him to just sit by and let it go. it’s why i think he’s a rlly good mentor figure for the themes of witch hat atelier. his anger resonates with the viewer, because it makes you think: fuck, man, isn’t it unfair he just got his past ripped away from him? isn’t it unfair that coco just got hurt in a battle she shouldn’t have to be fighting? isn’t it unfair that the law tells you that there’s so much you can’t do about all of it, too?

where i think qifrey is going, or where i hope he his, is letting himself truly realize that he doesn’t have to feel all of this alone.

which i think he knows that, logically, but again he’s committed to dealing with things on his own and is kind of a hypocrite lol. which is something he kind of just literally says here in the fact he’s extremely reckless with his own well-being (also likely due to the fact he sees his future as slipping away from him too and well. probably illness in his brain) but tells coco not to do what he does…. god bless❤️

because also i mean.. coco understands. she might understand better than most! to have your whole world changed and not understand why everything has to be unfair! to be wronged by forbidden magic but still have to sit with the hurt of knowing it could be used to help so many people! (notably coco’s mom… qifrey himself…)

which she literally says herself!!!

and olruggio, who keeps reaching out, who wants to be someone he can rely on and trust.. and who probably helped him a lot in his search, too, even if he thought it might be bad for him, he cared about him..! in a lot of his most reckless moments, olruggio is there to help him (eg “whats your top priority right now?!”) and i think that was probably true for a younger version of them, too.

and overall for coco… magic is hope. magic is seeing a problem and finding a solution. magic is wanting to help people. magic is so many beautiful things bundled into one.

qifrey DOES have a future. because as long as coco is around, she will find a solution and she will find hope in the darkest of moments. because as long as olruggio is around there will be someone who cares about him and will try to reach out. because magic is hope, right?

isn’t all of that so much of what qifrey taught her himself?

because i do think qifrey still has hope. i mean.. so much of his conflict COMES from having hope and chasing it and the agonizing feeling of that. (again, “from the pursuit of hope comes the cost that is despair itself”) but even if it hurts to live in a world that is unfair and feeling like you’re powerless, even if it is a hard and difficult battle to hold onto that hope despite everything, it’s always worth it. even a tiny little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is enough to run towards it.

i think that in the end what qifrey has left to do is let other people use that hope towards him.

(….although it might be a bit of a rocky road getting there AHAHAH i don’t know how many more epic qifrey moments like ch40 we’re getting….)

anyways this got really long i didn’t expect this to turn into a whole rant abt qifreys character HAHA but thank u if anyone reads this witch hat fandom is pretty small so i might actually tag all of this. i would love more witch hat mutuals ehe.. ❤️ have a good one

[riririnnnn]

So, do you guys remember what exactly Sae said about Isagi to Rin after the U-20 match was over?

Yeah:

The instinct part to be exact.

I never looked into that too deep, y'know. Yes, I thought it was sweet that Sae mentioned it, but other than that, I always thought, "Um, was that necessary? Hm?" I then used to brush it off by thinking, "Eh, it's just the usual anime-esque speech, nothing else."

HOWEVER.

The recent chapter (271) changed my whole thought process and when I had finally thought that I had seen everything the Itoshi brothers had to offer, I got whiplashed again.

Rin's 'instinct' can be interpreted as his berserk mode (yeah, that crazy drooling one) and Sae knew about it for the longest time:

And that's exactly what happened a few minutes before the U-20 match ended, right? Rin went into his destruction/berserk mode and went head-on against Sae, right? And he won, he WON against Sae in their 1V1, right?

So, guess who was the one who pushed Rin into that state.

Guess, guess.

Yep:

Exactly. Yep.

Exactly.

EXACTLY!?

It was that very moment when Rin was like, "I want to fight on my own!" And realised that Isagi and the whole team just didn't let him be alone!

I understand that he included the whole team in his inner monologue later, but the start of the spark was Isagi! It was Isagi who slid into Rin's blind spot and sparked the start of his berserk mode!

You getting me where I'm going with this one?

Even before Rin's goal, it was Isagi who low-key and unintentionally riled him up:

It was after this small chit-chat that we saw Rin going straight to lock horns with his Nii-chan and then scored a goal!

You getting me?

YOU GETTING ME!?

And this panel has always stood out to me:

The above happened after the the first half was over and he was ready to leave with a reasoning roughly saying, "I saw what I had to see." And then we see the above—the rather soft gaze—I thought maybe he was just thinking about Rin celebrating his goal?

But now that we know more about them, I can say that it meant much more.

Please say that you are getting me.

And if we were to take everything I said with a grain of salt, then we can say that Sae was subconsciously also looking for the one who can bring out Rin's true potential, and Shidou happened to be just the right person—I don't think I need to elaborate on this; no wonder Sae changed his mind and hopped back into the game once the demon was taken out of the reserve.

So, if you were to look into things through my perspective, Sae acknowledging/praising Isagi makes so much sense now—he is still trying to keep his promise after all.

And this idiot.

You dumbass. You buffoon. You absolute donkey. Have you learnt nothing!? Your Nii-chan still cares for you! Open your goddamn eyes, you stupid Itoshi!

[lxmelle]

Gojo’s letters & the implied parting message (Part 2)

I came across a view on Twitter (now X) that was interesting that I probably would have never thought of myself. While I may not agree with it 100% on its own, I can totally see the value in it and I wanted to share it here, seeing as how others may appreciate the perspective too. I’ve added my own thoughts which you’re welcome to read… Then you can make up your own mind about your personal interpretation 😊

So the sentiment is as follows:

At the end of HI, past-Gojo casually went up to Megumi to tell him that he killed his father, showing us that he is a little tactless. But, upon being told what Megumi wanted, he respected that Megumi didn’t want to know and accepted this for 10 years.

Despite that; however, we can infer from things we have been shown that he has always wanted Megumi to know. He was probably waiting for a good time. (As we know, Gojo doesn’t really impose his view onto others.)

Knowing there had to be a time where this message was delivered, he prepped the letter that would only be delivered if he (Gojo) died.

And what better timing & purpose, if it could help Megumi absolve any guilt he might have over (his body) killing Gojo? (Because him being dead meant Megumi likely killed him, thanks to Sukuna.)

According to the person whose Twt I read, they felt that Megumi’s laughing reaction was due to Gojo’s uncharacteristic consideration for him.

In other words, he was relaying it after he died to Megumi as a way to say: You got this cuz I’m dead. “And if you think your father is out there somewhere, he isn’t. It was me who killed him. Soz!” So don’t feel guilty.

Hm. Well, this was kind of echoed in at least another tweet and there were a few who made it out as if this was a fitting interpretation.

I also gathered from my last post on this subject, that Megumi was chuckling out of fondness, like “Geez, that’s so typical of you, sensei.”

But I do personally think it’s important to underline the fact that Gojo has always put in the effort to understand people even if he struggled to show it, or showed it clumsily. (Just like, “have you had too much somen?” - as said to Geto, back in the day.) So maybe it seemed uncharacteristic to Megumi, but I hope as a reader, we understand that Gojo had his own ways of being kind.

After all who can blame him if he didn’t quite fully understand what it meant to have blood family, being separated from his own? Born as an anomaly - a mutant amongst mutants. Who felt like others (flowers) couldn’t never comprehend a creature — and who could, unless they were bestowed with some monstrous skill themselves? (Like Geto, and Gojo had hoped, Sukuna... but the latter clung onto his stubborn self-protective belief of not needing “love” (compassion) until the very end, choosing to die instead of taking Yuji’s hand - another post on this another time).

And Gojo, after having been told last words from Toji and Geto about the importance of family, he may have gathered that it was better for Nobara and Megumi to know, than to have it concealed from them. Hence, the letters.

Know your family. Then decide who your family really is.

My own thoughts about the theory are as such: Gojo may have really wanted to tell Megumi that it was he who killed his father, because this was the only person he killed without a reason. (…that we know of: Gojo was canonically shown to have only killed two humans - Toji & Geto).

After Geto left, the parting message was: “don’t kill anyone other than me” - in other words, don’t do what I did, because that will make you lonely. If you need to kill, kill if there is a clear purpose or meaning in it.

This was his last lesson delivered to Gojo. We know his parting phrase was imbued with meaning due to everything we saw in HI and the draft words that Gege released from chapter (78) - important enough to make it to the exhibition and Gojo’s JUMP GIGA Character Book.

Geto played a significant role in him smartening up, how to connect with others, how to empathise with people, to think about what his responsibilities were as someone with strength.

So Gojo telling Megumi this was almost as if to say: you can stop wondering about him now; you weren’t left behind. I killed your father. You don’t have to feel responsible for it because there was meaning in it too.

In words Gojo might use: I killed him, you killed me. We’re even!

I guess it’s not only because Megumi couldn’t help it being Sukuna’s vessel. But also that he avenged his father’s death. All of Megumi’s thoughts relating to his father and Tsumiki as above: Retribution, karma, discipline… fairness and Megumi deserved happiness too.

And he chose to live again, starting by living for Yuji. A new purpose… he didn’t want Yuji to be lonely.

A loneliness I think he knew all too well.

He can add on more family after that. Nobara. Etc.

That’s it I guess. Thoughts?

[pokegalla]

Heeeey.

Surpriiiiise!!!✨

Yes I finally made some headcanons.

I know a lot of people have been wanting some headcanons but please read my pinned post before requesting? I will also put a link to it on this post. Thank you and enjoy the headcanons!

Trade/Request by @tryslogic

I owe them this one✨

Warning: Slight nsfw? Also it can be masc or fem with the ecto body. It’s up to your personal preference/interpretation honestly-

How would these skellies react to their S/o using their chest for hand warmers?

Killer:

* At first he was like, “Babe. I’m all bones. It ain’t gonna work silly~✨” but then he realized you meant his Ecto chest. To which he immediately teases you for being a little perv (the irony and AUDACITY of this man-)

* But ok ok he honestly doesn’t mind and summons it anyway! Well….while still being a tease with that shit eating grin. He even lifted his shirt just a tiiiiny bit to show off his Ecto. “Come warm yourself up cutie~” please bonk his head. He deserves it-

* But his red Ecto looks quite pretty! Like a shiny ruby! Kinda hard to stay mad when he’s flaunting off that waist. (He’s pretty and he knows it-)

* Once you do put those freezing hands there, he does jump a little as he didn’t expect you to be THAT cold. Ooooo but it was too warm to ignore✨ you had to give the booba a squeeze and for a bonus revenge. Which hilariously makes him squeak a little-

* Oop but now he’s giggling and looking back at you with a look of pure mischief. Better run because he’s putting those ice cold Skellie hands on YOUR chest now. And cold bones feel like death💦

* At least you both get a good laugh in! It’s always expected when you’re with Killer!

Lust:

* The offer was actually something he suggested as a joke. A flirty joke but he didn’t think you’d follow through with it. He’ll be pleasantly surprised and tease you for being so bold in trying to cop a feel~✨

* All jokes aside, he summons his Ecto for you! “Must be that cold hm~? No worries….I’ll warm you right up~” makes you question if he’s flirting or joking. Might be both if you’re lucky~

* His ecto is a lovely shade of lavender and quite curvy in general. It’s quite the attention grabber without him even trying. Will be very flattered if you praise him!

* Ah but he has the cutest reactions when he feels your cold hands. He’d do a little squeal and giggle from the surprise coldness. And squeezing the chest makes him laugh even more. He knew you were messing with him but dammit it was working.

* He’s not used to being held though without uh….yknow. “Favors” in return. But you being all cuddled up to him just unlocked him to a world of affection✨

* He couldn’t stop smiling even when you both dozed off.

Blue:

* Honestly at first he had no idea what the hell you asked him for- buuuut when shown an example? A blushing lil blueberry. Sure you didn’t mean TOO much harm in saying that but gosh how bold of you to ask this of him!

* But huh?! No he’s not scared! The magnificent Blue will not back down! Just….give him a minute to hype himself up💦 and try not to die of embarrassment-

* His Ecto is like a blue ocean in a tropical climate. It’s quite the sight to see. Best part? He had the perfect mix of muscle and a little fluff. Extremely comfy-

* He is just cute to begin with. But look at him now, getting all flustered✨ though he was more worried about how cold you were and poor thing was ready to buy you gloves and everything. But he lets out a loud “MWEH?!” Upon feeling you give him a few squeezes.

* He’d giggle just to turn around and give you a big ol hug! “Oh you tease! Come on….lets cuddle on the couch and drink hot chocolate together!”

* Ah what would you do without him?

Fell:

* Deadass he thought you was joking. He even laughed and went to see if you were laughing. Wait….seriously? You wanna do THAT??? “Well damn shouldn’t yah take me tah dinner first-?”

* He was stalling at this point but enough begging will finally make him crumble and give in. You are so lucky he likes you and so on with his grumbling and mumbling.

* His ecto reminds you of a garnet due to the much darker tones along the edges (*Ahem* Fits him because he’s a edgelord *Ahem-*) plus he’s a lil chunky. He’s so soft 🥹

* Oh man but as tough as he tries to act, he immediately shrieks feeling your hands- “ARE YAH FUCKING DYING?! WHY ARE YAH SO DAMN COLD?!” Then you squeezing him just makes him blush all over-

* Yeah he’s definitely getting you a scarf, gloves, and extra jackets and sweaters. Buuuuut…..he still said his chest was still an option if that’s not enough.

* Ah he’s a sucker….and a sucker only to you.

[fantomette22]

GIRL HELP, now we are both in the club of people whose caring for Miquella reached its FULL form because of the DLC hfgfjgdbh I think what I've lacked this whole time was a coherent idea on what his imperfections and flaws were! Because "well you see Bewitching Branch is kinda fucked up concept" didn't give me enough. And I feel like I've struck gold with the whole thing of him not being able to accept Radahn's character development and nature as a warrior. It is soooooo wrong and reminded me of one of the ways to look at Gehrman.

It took me a few weeks but finally me 🤝 you at having the time of our fandom lives with Miquella now

I KNOW RIGHT?!?!?! Yeah it's quite crazy. We took our sweet time but here we are! 🤝

I mean maybe I wasn't way too much invest in elden ring because of the huge bloodborne brain rot taking all my time too 😂 But also Elden Ring is really a lot to digest! You and I really like details and to care about every lil guys! In Bloodborne even if there's lot of characters it stays limited while in Elden Ring it's just SO enormous O_O there's too much and yeah I didn't got that savage brain rot yet while just playing the game a year ago+

And I knew dlc was coming so I guess I didn't get too much invested either? Or at least it was inconsciently.

So yes during and after the dlc and after digesting everything I somehow really learn like Miquella! We know way more now and idk but it's even more interesting now!

Before dlc I saw him like : poor lil guy tried smt to become a god (pls don't it's gonna be bad) screw up really big time & he's dead now 😔 you tried your best... he was too good for this world rip

But now it's more develop! there's actually a following to that! he didn't just fail big time! for now😰

I said a few weeks ago I was gonna wait to finish the dlc and then speak about Miquella and what I think of everything. Well maybe I will do a separate post later but I think it's finally time.

So let's dive in (warning spoilers shadow of the Erdtree DLC)

I know it's a bit of mess between people thinking "I was right he's the ultimate evil!!! He's like Griffith!" (what 💀)"and people being very mad at other or distraught by it bc now this get shown into their face while they were just happy with Miquella being a kind lil guy, to good or pure for this world... I want to believe many people are actually very middle ground on this but hm yeah smt it's not good and quite extreme.

But if that can help (at least I will try here ) with everything we got I might have an interpretation that I hope, could help out a few people. I can't say I'm right, I'm probably far from it but I appreciate what I deduced and put together a lot! (in my head but still) It made me really like and invest more in Miquella character now! And it make me at peace with what the dlc brought to the table. I can accept that more well now. That made everything have more sense and made Miquella really have a bittersweet/tragic path & ending. And I am ok with that and I think others could be as well.

I like Miquella I think he was mostly good, the kindest between this darker lands. But he needed to changed, to grow to succeed in his goals right? Because he got stuck. But by growing up, discarding parts of himself to be a "better version" of himself that would succeed & become a god is what eventually doomed him in the end :

Miquella discarding part of himself tragedy.

This is just so sad and tragic. But it might be oblivious. He wasn't "strong enough" in his current position/eternal childhood etc So he probably thought that make the sacrifice to become a god would succeed in the end. A necessary sacrifice...that he would be stronger able to finally obtain his goals... But by doing that he loose everything that made him himself... without realising it... he abandoned everything. And the more he abandoned, the more he didn't realised he was loosing himself what he cared about... and how it was a mistake. (I suppose that Marika might have gone through the same thing now...)

Trina realised it at some point. That it was wrong,t hat it wouldn't work anyway perhaps. Is it really worth it? Is it really gonna work? Probably not... But it's too late to go back now. She knew Miquella before everything would probably not approve of what he became... of the dangerosity of what he could be...

That just... sorry it's just so tragic I don't know how to express it sadden me so much...

Bewitching people :

We already knew that he somehow "bewitch people" but it wasn't very explained in base game and really up to interpretations. Now we know more. And it sparks a lot of things...

I completely agree that you know, half mind control people and changed people thoughts and individuality, personality etc hm it's bad. it's no good to control masses. BUT but, I can kinda understand why Miquella did it! And I'm gonna try to explain that now.

Ok, imagine you're Miquella. You're trying to get people to join your cause. Of course like for exemple the crab hunter or farmer have other things to do than join your cause so sure you let them be. But then imagine you talk with smn and then they just hate you and is going to say shit to everyone about you and then they're gonna try kick your ass. Wouldn't it be better, even if that's bad on paper, to bewitching them? make allies your enemies?

You can't reason with some people at time even if you try everything, sadly. You can either go away or fight or ask a competent authority to stop them. But if you had a way for them to magically stop wanting to harm you and become more friendly / on your side wouldn't you use it?

Like it's bad but I can understand why Miq did it. But of course forcing people who were neutral bc you think "you're better" is hm... not great too... but it's not clear how much it happened and what went though he's mind. He probably thought it was a good thing. But no but can we blame him for trying to have better world?

And it's still not clear how his mind age but I do think he still have lot of quality/default of what any child mind have. He probably didn't see the wrong of everyone becoming allies and use kindness not violence to it. A child mind (mostly) is innocence, optimistic etc I do think he lost a lot by discarding parts but it has it's backsides. An adult would be more incline to find solution and act accordingly to treat but loose a lot of "childhood good sides" as well. it's quite complicated but nothing is perfect in this. You wanna agin smt you loose another you can't have everything and life's not black & white.

Also about Mogh. Yes he's not fuck up like that! But I understand why Miq bewitching him. Hm Mohg, maybe would have just kill Miquella to get his amazing blood for whatever purpose with the formless mother anyway. So of course Miquella did that to try to gain a potential ally that in other case is very dangerous for him. But still I think Miquella had to improvise after Mogh took him and then when the cocoon didn't work. Yeah I still think Mogh has a LOT of issues. He's not a saint and I don't think it went well with Miquella's plan to have been taken by him.

Radahn thoughts:

I mean I'm still a bit like : wu wut what but why??!!?!? confusion

But it's a bit better now XD I swear if the devs originally had another idea I'm gonna be mad! But it can maybe made a bit of sense. I don't really have much thoughts bc I'm still confuse about it but I think understand the point.

Radahn, when younger, was probably all the noble qualities that had Godfrey.

And Miq was probably like : When Godfrey was Elden Lord it was the golden age everything was great! Nothing was wrong! The lands between had stability. Radahn have the potentiel to be like Godfrey!

Also Radahn : Let's conquer and make war like lord Godrey!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean yeah everything was great between stability and war 😅 so jkefjf help like I can understand ou need smn to fight of ennemies just in case but Miquella that's not gonna work. Like at some point there's pb. Like who you consider anomy.. should you reprimand everyone?? Like Marika and her cycle of violence?! dzbkdsfbhkbhkld

Also I wonder if the great runes didn't made many demigods "change" as well. It gave them more power and maybe it screw their mind too. (And when Miquella great runes break the bewitching spells stop so..... before he got the runes maybe he never used that. And maybe that's why Radahn changed so much too) Power really does change people hm?

So anyway sorry idk if I succeed to organise everything coherently XD I tried. So yes I think Miquella is nuanced but was mostly good because of many conditions and he tried to fix everything but loses everything in the end... by discarding who he really was... a necessary sacrifice, that would ultimately fail...

I got very emotional after beating the final boss and going one last time to Trina. I really cried a lot. Because it's freaking sad. All the sacrifices in vain... they deserved so much but the world was cruel.

And even if we did nothing. What change? Nothing. He never came back in the lands between if we finish the main game. Did you abandoned everything Miquella? Did it not work out? Or like should we blame the poor devs. Idk it's very confusing now. The lands between still a mess, the lands of shadow too. He never came back...

The only ray of hope is us, the tarnished to try to make a better world for everyone. The one they couldn't make themselves...

(Ok so hope make sense 😅 and maybe it will put everything in a new light for people and give them a hand! I got way more invested and happy! Even if that's sad. I started to imaging little story and headcanons about his childhood I would never have before... it's confusing but if I am right the devs succeed! good job)

[fangirleaconmigo]

On the topic of book scenes that were changed, one of them that interests me is the scene where it seems Geralt and Yen have died in The Last Wish. In the book, the mayor of the town starts to go on about how it’s so sad that Geralt died but don’t worry they’ll build him a statue. This greatly angers Dandelion and he yells at the mayor. In the show, Jaskier is the one who’s like “This is so sad, but don’t worry I’ll write the greatest ballad for Geralt!”. The complete change of the personality of the same character is what interests me. I love reading your analysis, so I was wondering if you have any thoughts on this. I know the change was probably for comedy purposes and that this is pretty insignificant, but to me, Dandelion’s reaction in the book just really screamed such a deep love for Geralt so I found the change a bit disappointing.

The Last Wish vs Bottle Appetites - Dandelion's reaction to Geralt's 'death'

Hi Nonny! Thanks for the ask. You sent this to me so very long ago, you may have completely moved on. BUT I figure if you aren't still interested, someone who follows me might be, so here I go:

Your ask is about a compare/contrast the book vs TWN scene where Geralt is presumed dead, and we’re comparing how Jaskier(Dandelion) react to his possible death, and how much emotional weight the scene is given.

I'll start by summarizing, but just a note: Dandelion does something in the books that I don't know how to interpret and maybe you (or anyone reading) can give their thoughts.

Ok, we’ll start with the show.

Bottled Appetites

In the show, the mayor and town dignitaries are not in the scene where Jaskier thinks Geralt is dead. It is just him and Chireadan looking at the building. Things are quiet, and Jaskier assumes they are dead.

"Are you sure they were up there? This can't be happening. This can't be happening."

I gotta say, Joey Batey, sells the emotion here. He has the most expressive eyes. He could do just about anything with any material, I think.

"Why did Geralt go in there, it doesn't make any sense...to save a mad fucking witch, why?"

It cuts away to Geralt and Yen. When it comes back to Jaskier, he is on his knees, assuming they are dead. Here is what he says:

"What am I supposed to do now, hm? It wasn't supposed to go this way. I'm going to write you the best song, so that everyone remembers who you were, what we did, everything we saw. And I will sing it, for the rest of my days. "

That is what you means as far as it seeming like he's giving up rather quickly. As he speaks, most of the camera work is on Chireadan, who goes to actually look whether they are dead. Chireadan stands in front of the window. At the end of his speaking part, the camera is back on Jaskier for the punchline.

"He always said I had the most wonderful singing voice."

And that’s the jokey joke. It references the b plot of Geralt feeling bad that he called Jaskier’s voice a ‘pie with no filling’. When Jaskier is hurt, Geralt says that he doesn’t want that to be the last thing Jaskier remembers.

Clearly, that would not be the last thing Jaskier remembers, because he will just change it to suit himself. It's a little of the ol’ Dandelion impenetrable ego performance.

And that is the 'piercing' of the dramatic moment you referenced.

But then Chireadan comes back.

"They're alive."

And Jaskier is like...

"Bollocks."

They go look in the window together, and see them having sex. Chireadan pulls Jaskier away.

The Last Wish

In the books, it's quite a different set up. 

Dandelion is with the Mayor (Neville) and Priest of Rinde (Krepp), while Geralt fights with Yen in the building. 

The reason for this reflects what I think is the biggest difference between the two stories-Yen.

Much like in the show, Yen did send Geralt to beat up the townspeople who are against her. (the tone is quite different, and the show doesn’t show it, but the basics are the same)

However, Yen does not want Geralt to get into legal trouble on her account, so she sends Dandelion back through a portal, and asks him to use his last wish to help Geralt.

Dandelion drops back through the portal.

“Innocent!” yelled the poet in a clear melodious tenor, sitting on the floor and looking around, his eyes vague. “Innocent! The witcher is innocent! I wish you to believe it!”

So now Dandelion is with the mayor and the priest, and Geralt goes to help Yen against Dandelion’s advice. Like in the show, Dandelion advises against it.

“Geralt,” said Dandelion, ‘you’ve gone stark raving mad! Keep away from that bloody strangler!”

And look, he has a point. He’s basically like, she is choosing this. She wants to do this. She used us both against our will. She is powerful and terrifying (the subtext being, why would she need you. If she’s dead set on this shit, then let her do it)

But of course Geralt goes. He is already falling for Yen. I think in the books it’s more clear as to why. But that’s sort of beside the point of this post. (At some point I want to do a compare/contrast Yenralt.) 

But anywho. In the books, Dandelion is with the mayor, the priest, and Chireadan and they are watching the building from a safe distance.

Dandelion is distraught.

“What’s happening there!” Dandelion, clinging to the wall, strained his neck, trying to see in the downpour. “Tell me what is happening there, damnit!”

Then as the house begins to fall, 

“Why did Geralt have to go in there?” groaned Dandelion. What the hell for? Why did he insist on saving that witch? Why? Chireadan, do you understand?”

Of course, Chireadan is in love with Yen, so he understand perfectly.

Then, Dandelion is terrified Geralt will die. He is upset, he is wailing.

“Are they both going to die?” wailed Dandelion. “How come, Krepp why? After all, the witcher--Why by all perfidious and unexpected plagues, isn’t he escaping? Why? What’s keeping him? Why doesn’t he leave the bloody witch to her fate and run away? It’s senseless...It’s suicide. And plain idiocy!”

The mayor is not so distraught.

“It’s his job, after all,” interrupted Neville. “The witcher is saving my town...if he chases the demon away, I’ll reward him handsomely...”

Then Dandelion cuts him off. 

Dandelion snatched the hat decorated with the heron feather from his head, spat into it, threw it in the mud and trampled it, spitting out words in various languages as he did.

Now, I believe that spitting in one’s hat is considered something for good luck, and in some cultures is meant to ward off evil spirits. Dandelion looks down on superstition as is quite explicitly atheist, yet he resorts to it the minute he’s desperate on Geralt’s behalf.

(If I am reading that correctly. It could also be an expression of antipathy for Neville for all I know. Maybe someone else can comment, I'm just guessing)

And then Dandelion realizes something. They explained to him that Geralt actually has the wishes, but then it dawns on him that Geralt could use it to save himself.

“But he’s...” he groaned suddenly, “still got one wish in reserve. He could save both her, and himself! Mr. Krepp!”

The priest explains how difficult that would be. Then the house ‘explodes’ and the djinn escapes. The mayor and the owner of the house rejoice. The owner of the house has previously said that he has good insurance, so he says ‘what a wonderful ruin’. Dandelion is not so happy. In fact he is distraught, understandably. He sees that the house has fallen and he is afraid they are dead.

“Dammit, dammit!” hollered Dandelion...”it’s shattered the entire house! Nobody could survive that! Nobody I tell you!”

The mayor jumps straight to the same conclusion, but it significantly happier about it.

The witcher, Geralt of Rivia, has sacrificed himself for the town,” mayor Nevills said ceremoniously. “We won’t forget him. We’ll revere him. We’ll think of a statue...”

Dandelion does not react well to this. This is the part you were referencing.

Dandelion shook a piece of wicker matting bound with clay from his shoulder, brushed his jerkin free of lumps of rain-dampened plaster, looked at the mayor and, in a few well-chosen words, expressed his opinion about sacrifice, reverence, memory, and all the statues in the world.

I kind of wish the book had spelled out exactly what he said because I think it would have been amazing. But Dandelion tears him a new asshole and tells him where he can put the statue. We just don't get to hear the exact words.

Then it grows quiet. Dandelion is still afraid they are dead, but decides to go look to make sure.

By all the gods,” muttered Dandelion, “what silence...they’re dead I tell you. Either they’ve killed each other, or my djinn’s finished them off.”

Notice he still calls it 'my djinn', I think because he found it. He clearly is ready to blame himself. But then they go take a look at the ruins. They start to hear noises.

“Yennefer’s alive,” said Dandelion suddenly, straining his musical ear. “I heard her moan. There, she moaned again.”

And like in the show, Chireadan looks through a broken window, seeing Geralt and Yen having sex.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said quietly. “Let’s not disturb them.” 

Chireadan is heartbroken, because he loves Yen.

Of course Dandelion is curious and doesn’t want to be put off (as always).

“What are they doing,” Dandelion was curious. “Tell me damnit!” The elf smiled very, very sadly. “I don’t like grand words,” he said. “And it is impossible to give it a name without using grand words.”

I think because of the involvement of the mayor, showing the way they see the witcher (useful, but highly expendable) next to Dandelion (that’s my friend, motherfucker) is interesting. I like that Dandelion tears him a new one.

The moment is definitely moved past much more quickly in the show, though to be fair they have a lot less time.

But what does everyone else think? If you’ve got this far, please share your thoughts! Which version of the story do you prefer? And what was the hat spitting all about?

[scaranation]

Hey I ADORE UR WRITING...SENDING ALL LOVES TO U... btw can u write a headcanon about how alhaitham or zhongli or wanderer would react to a really short fiesty y/n?

THIS IS V LATE IM SO SORRY HAHA anyway im alive now so I finally finished the prompt ! i interpreted it romantically by accident but I hope you like it anyway ehehe

༊*·˚ 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑

ft. Alhaitham, Zhongli, Wanderer

Content: Fluff, headcannons, it's all enemies to lovers, Scara's part is a little short but so is he 🤭

a/n - ignore the spam e's at the end tumblr kept deleting my last paragraph whenever i tried to edit so i got mad and made sure the only thing i'd lose were the 3847394 e's i typed

ALHAITHAM

At first, he couldn’t ever see himself falling for someone like you. And if he were to date you, he’d definitely have to fall quite far - after all, you were so short, he practically had to trip over himself in squatting to talk to you. What you lacked in height, however, was made up by temper.

The first time Alhaitham had met you, he was very much taken aback by your personality. Instantly, he categorised you as the irritating, distracting type, filing away your existence in his brain as he droned out the sound of your voice.

“Grand Sage! I’m here to get approval for my research paper, and-”

“Acting Grand Sage.” Alhaitham corrected you without even looking up from his desk. Your words didn’t even register to him, as he left the interaction to his subconscious as to save his own energy.

“Acting Grand Scribe, whatever. Anyway, here’s my thesis, can you look over it now?”

“The approval process takes a few days, you can leave it here.”

“Oh, okay! Thank you, Grand Sage!” You chirped, scurrying off before Alhaitham could point out your error again. He spared a cursory glance towards the paper you’d left on his desk, raising an eyebrow.

“Height: an in-depth study into the role of genetics versus upbringing in contributing to an individual’s vertical stature.”

Alhaitham tutted. The title wasn’t concise, and the premise of your project lacked nuance. He idly flipped through the pages, already preparing to reject it.

"This project will feature an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban who struggles with height in order to establish a deeper understanding... Hm. Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We've seen countless projects like this before." Alhaitham mused, stamping the front cover with bright red rejection and putting the paper aside.

It wasn’t long before Alhaitham found you at his office once again. However, you’d shed any semblance of politeness you’d had before, only fuming as you marched right up to his desk and demanded an explanation for the rejection of your research project.

“Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a thesis like this. The Akademiya needs not waste its resources on previously covered topics, hence I suggest you find a scholarly pursuit more worthy of your time.” You clenched your hands into fists at the irritating way the Acting Grand Sage didn’t even glance at you, his eyes still darting over the paper he was currently reading.

“What’s so interesting about what you’re reading now, then?” You snapped, slamming both hands on the hard wood of the desk. Your arms faltered a little as pain shot up from the impact. You tried to bite back a wince, but Alhaitham noticed. He had to fight to keep an amused smirk down as he finally looked up at you.

“This? It’s a study into the applicability of natural selection in society. Of course, it fuels some questionable - and incorrect - ideals, but it has piqued my interest. Rest assured that it will also be rejected.” Alhaitham’s tone was condescending, and it only made you more frustrated.

“Why are you invalidating my experiment?”

“Don’t take this so personally, I have nothing against you as an individual.” The Acting Grand Sage chuckled. Your demeanour reminded him of a fiery chipmunk, and he tuned out the sound of your incessant rambling.

Even your cheeks looked like a chipmunk’s. How fun it would be, to squish them…

“Hey, what are you doing?” You were jerked out of your spiel by the touch of Alhaitham’s hand on your cheek. Some fingers were gloved, others bare - it made a curious contrast, the rough leather juxtaposing smooth skin.

“My apologies, you had something on your cheek. You may continue your futile self justification now.” Alhaitham retracted his hand to go back to studying the paper.

“This… this won’t be the end!” You exclaimed. You sounded rather like a villain one would find in a children’s novel, except Alhaitham doubted there was a villain as small and as harmless as you.

“I look forward to your future endeavours.” Alhaitham quirked a wry smile at seeing you scuttle off furiously.

You were right - this wasn’t the end. You’d unfortunately piqued the Acting Grand Sage’s interest, and once that happened, there was no way out.

You’d find yourself bumping into Alhaitham more often after that incident. Who knew the Acting Sage even left his office? Wherever you went, he’d be there, presumably to make your life harder.

It sounds cliche, but he would definitely help you out with reaching books just beyond the range of your flailing hands. Of course, he’d read the title and criticise your choice of literature before handing it to you, but Alhaitham would be of aid nonetheless.

He’d make blunt remarks to rile you up, enjoying the sight of you flushing in anger. You were so short, yet so energetic - he often wondered how it was possible for you to be so endearing and irritating at the same time.

Sometimes, your brutish comments would get through to Alhaitham, and you’d have the pleasure of seeing his jaw flex in discomfort before he snapped back with something equally personal. Neither of you were ever willing to let the other have the last word.

You often wondered how you’d gotten close to the cold Acting Sage. He was feared amongst all other scholars for his meticulousness, and yet he seemed fine with engaging in banter with you. It was a shocking but typical sight to see you with him in the halls of the Akademiya, the almost comical height difference drawing scoffs from witnesses. A quick glare from Alhaitham would be enough to silence those snickers, however. After all, he was the only one who could tease you, and you, him.

ZHONGLI

You’d first meet Zhongli through attempting to scam him. Most people would wonder why you were trying to swindle the god of contracts himself, but to be fair, you didn’t know who he was - and you were an absolute genius at robbing people with honeyed lies. How were you supposed to know you’d bitten off more than you could chew?

The day had begun normally, with you merely making your normal (fraudulent) sales. You’d make glorious promises of a newly discovered vein of ores in the Chasm, painting pictures of abundant wealth. Then, you’d convince those poor customers to buy stakes in the mine for a ridiculous price, although they were really only buying a shoddy patch of dirt you owned in the Sumeru-Liyue border. You’d managed to slip under the radar as you technically hadn’t done anything illegal, only omitted some key details.

After all, you only said that there was a “strong possibility” that there would be valuable ores there. And you were right - there were iron chunks. And they were valuable… in some perspectives. Either way, you didn’t know much about what was legal and what wasn’t (your only knowledge came from your time attending school with Yanfei) but it was good, not-so-honest work. The devil’s in the details, as they say, and nobody reads the poorly written fine print on the contracts you made anyway.

Until Zhongli came along.

“May I ask the whereabouts of this place?” The man exuded wealth, from his deep voice to his elegantly refined attire. Your eyes sparkled. If you could pull this off, the rewards would be great.

“It’s in the Chasm.”

“Ah, you already mentioned that, but where exactly in the Chasm?”

“Around the Western side, near the Sumeru border.”

“Hm, how fascinating. I don’t recall any developments being made in that area.” Zhongli murmured.

“It’s being kept a secret, because of how valuable it is… Of course you understand how important confidentiality is to such a project, right?”

“What confidentiality is there to uphold if you’re blandly advertising it in the middle of Liyue Harbour?”

You were stunned into silence, mouth hanging open. It was there that you noticed the knowing gleam in his eyes, the quirk of his lips in a shrewd smirk.

“… Please don’t report me. I will atone for my sins, and worship the lord of geo with great reverence.” You immediately switched attitudes, letting out a nervous laugh. For a seasoned businessperson like yourself, you had to know when to stop attacking and when to start defending. This was one of those times where it was best to defend - or, better yet, to just run away.

“Well then, you may begin now.” Zhongli crossed his arms.

“You’re not the lord of geo.” You retorted. The man had introduced himself as Zhongli, after all.

“Oh?” Zhongli smiled, and you felt your stomach churn. If this man truly was Rex Lapis, then you’d just made a very big mistake.

Zhongli turned and walked away, and you breathed out a sigh of relief - before he glanced back at you, expecting you to follow.

“Where… where are we going…?” You asked.

“Aren’t you going to atone? We’ll start by returning every cent of the mora you took.” Zhongli took your hand in his. A stupid, out of place warmth bloomed at the contact, but you quickly squashed it as you continued to fume at the man who’d dismantled your thriving business.

“What? The Tianquan was onto you already, would you rather face more extreme persecution from her?” Zhongli smiled.

“… No.” You snapped.

This ‘atonement’ was going to take a while.

Surprisingly, your victims - wait, *customers* - were scattered far and wide around Teyvat, so you found yourself going on many trips with the former lord of geo.

At first, you’d constantly snap at him, viewing him as a suspiciously pleasant millelith member, or an overly patronising supervisor. However, as the two of you got closer, he wasn’t as insufferable as you thought.

It was comforting to hear Zhongli share his past experiences, narrating first-hand stories like the ones in the history classes you never paid attention to. He was also the perfect height for you to grab his ponytail, yanking it particularly hard whenever you were bored.

To be honest, Zhongli often did appear as your guardian. He’d stop you from picking fights with strangers, easily holding you back (or slinging you over his shoulder if you were being particularly disagreeable), doing his best to maintain peace in an environment you were in.

On colder days, you’d borrow Zhongli’s coat, although it was so long it dragged along the floor. The sleeves hung over your hands, the cuffs flopping around whenever you excitedly pointed out something. Zhongli would chuckle at your mannerisms, resting a comforting hand on your head to keep you still.

Zhongli was calm, and you definitely were not. He was tall, but you most certainly weren’t. But you know what they say - opposites attract. And you made quite a pair with the former Geo Archon.

WANDERER

Two vertically challenged, feisty individuals with an attitude problem. Both you and the Wanderer were Sumeru city’s worst nightmare, although you undeniably despised each other.

You’d match his energy with unfaltering confidence as he hurled every insult in your direction upon seeing you. Honestly, neither of you were sure when this rivalry started - perhaps it’d just began when you two wanted to see who could be the best short angry person in the region.

“Looking as useless as ever, Wanderer.” You sneered upon seeing the familiar jellyfish cut from the back, snickering as the figure turned to glare at you.

“Has anyone ever told you about your severe temper issues?” The Wanderer snapped back.

“Speak for yourself - I heard you massacred some poor Fatui skirmishers while roaming in the jungle.”

“They were in the way, and you would’ve done the same if you were in my position.”

Those that were passing by watched your bickering with an amused trepidation. You really were perfect for each other, if you’d somehow set your hatred aside.

You and the Wanderer would be seen prowling the city streets or wrecking havoc in the wilderness in the name of some vague competition, both your tempers equally matched. In candid moments you two would almost understand each other perfectly, almost opening your mouths to say something vulnerable.

Of course, your egos wouldn’t allow for that. And so, you and the Wanderer would dance along the edge of whatever strange relationship you had.

Despite you both being short, the Wanderer possessed an Anemo vision. Hence, as you struggled to climb a tree to obtain some bird eggs, the Wanderer would float above you, cackling as he snatched them out of your reach.

“What on earth do you plan to do with these, anyway? I never knew you cooked.”

“Give them to me!”

“How sad life must be, having your head so close to the ground.” The Wanderer wove to the side to dodge your flailing arms, failing to notice the dangerous creaking of the branch you were clinging to.

“You’d better come back here right now-” The branch snapped and you went hurtling down, squeezing your eyes shut. You heard a crack, and felt yourself land against something.

“Gosh, you’re so heavy.” The Wanderer scoffed. He’d caught you mid-air, lowering you to the ground in mocking gentleness.

“Did I break a bone…?” You gasped, feeling something sticky on your back. Perhaps it was all your organs spilling out.

“No, you’re fine. Stop being so dramatic.”

“Then what was that cracking sound?”

“Uh, those eggs you were trying to get.”

You kept out of the Wanderer’s arms hurriedly, the almost tender moment broken - much like the eggs broken over your back and your companion’s hands.

“Archons, you’re so infuriating. Couldn’t you have put them down before saving me?” You scowled.

“Be grateful I did it in the first place.” The Wanderer rolled his eyes.

He wasn’t sure if it was you or the sticky egg debris, but he felt a lingering warmth in his hands.

You and the Wanderer understood each other better than anyone, and let’s be honest - the whole of Sumeru was just waiting for the two of you to get together.

(pls ignore this)

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“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

blah

STOP DELETING MY SHIT

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

Th

I HATE TUMBLR UGHHHH

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

I HATE TUMBLR

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

“Hm, an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban to inquire into the difficulties of growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve had countless projects covering similar areas.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front page and putting it aside.

Alhaitham tutted. The title wasn’t concise nor succinct, and there was a clear lack of nuance within the premise of your project. He idly flipped through the rest of the pages, already preparing to reject it.

“For research… there will be an interview held with a member of the Shuumatsuban who experiences difficulties growing tall… Interesting, but not groundbreaking. We’ve already had similar projects.” Alhaitham muttered, stamping the front cover and putting it aside.

The former Scribe tutted. Even the title wasn’t concise, nor did it provide much nuance. He was just flipping through the rest, already preparing to reject it.

“This project will… involve an interview with a member of the Shuumatsuban, who experiences stunted growth… Interesting, but not groundbreaking.” Alhaitham stamped the front cover in red and put it aside.

[valeskawhore]

SHERIFF! BIGBY WOLF!? X fem! Reader!

A/n: “So literally just finished my own interpretation of the telltales game, “The wolf among us” and I swear. I am Inlove with this man/hybrid, thingy.” So I figured why not write about it?

Here’s what it would be like for the one and only sheriff of Fable town to meet you..

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Arightly, we ALL know. This is pretty much basic information if you know anything about this man.

He doesn’t give a shit. Honest.

I mean, he cares. But especially with his “friendship” with snow in the series we all can already tell that this man has some serious authority issues.

He’s not used to people telling him what to do, and what to say or how to act. Bigby gets very offended in the series when one of the options for a response when beginning to talk to TJ about what he saw when Lilly died, snow asks bigby to be more “less like himself” he did not respond well..

He came from being the “big bad wolf” once upon a time. Nobody trusts him, and honestly, I think he prefers it that way.

All he’s ever done, or known for that matter is hurt. Pain. Being the one to always inflict it.

And because of this power of control, he was elected sheriff of fable town. Perhaps others in the higher power thought that it would be beneficial to work some of that natural rage out.

To wrap up, he’ll do things his way.. pretty often.

Depending on the circumstances always. Now if his way would put anyone in danger that he “cared” about on some kind of level, he’d avoid all conflict. He wants to change..

He just doesn’t know how. And he won’t trust anyone enough to show him.

Though.. when YOU came along..

You weren’t a fable, you weren’t rich.. you weren’t special.. you couldn’t turn into a troll or a fairy or even a wolf.

You were a mundy. A normie.

Ofcourse growing up in the “real” world your entire life, fairy tales were strictly “fairy tales” and that’s all there was to it.

On the way home one night from driving home, you drove into an unrecognizable neighborhood. But something about this place felt strange, almost like de ja vu..

Had you been here before..?

You saw a sign for the only sheriffs office in town and decided to stop their for directions.

The place was like a fucking motel..?

On the way to the elevator to find this office yourself, (since the fucking security guard was passed out cold) you bumped into a strong figure on the way in the elevator as he was coming out.

“Shit.. that was my last one,” the figure mumbled, his voice scratchy yet light.. familiar. The man took a step back and crossed his arms. His stair formed into one of disgust and annoyance.

The stranger took a step back and even.. EXAMINED you. He was tall.. stone cold even just by looking at him could you tell. His sniffed lightly, his nostrils expanding a little bit, with a wince, he finally spoke.

“A mundy huh?” He coughed out some smoke. A annoyed look on his face.

I stared at the man, confused and desperate for some sleep.. ‘did he say mundy? Or did I miss my medication today?.’ I questioned myself silently.

“Sir.. can you please repeat that?” I asked kindly, (or tried) I kept a smile on my face but even a dumbass like the tweedle twins could tell it was fake.

“Hm.” He scoffed a little. He pulled his hand up to his face and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “What can I help you with?” He grumbled, finally releasing his nose and crossing his arms once more. Trying to keep a smile, his was tense like my own.

Just two strangers staring at one-another, both tired and annoyed— trying to be polite.

I finally put my fake smile down and realized why I was even here to begin with. I tried to smile genuinely this time, “yes! Please I need to see the sheriff, or anyone honesty who can tell me where I am and why these roads are so confusing” I said that last part with a laugh, a shitty joke erupted from my nervousness. I mentally smacked myself.

This guy doesn’t wanna hear my shitty jokes.

The man tilted his head slightly and let out a loud sigh, “that’s me.. sheriff wolf.” I reached out my hand instantly for manners and mutual respect for the fact that we both obviously needed some good sleep and quiet.

He hesitantly shook my hand with a firm grip. His bottom lip puckered slightly, his jaw tense, though he didn’t let go my hand, just held it with quite the grip.

I stared at him and then down at our hands intertwined with eachothers. I let out a nervous laugh.. “hey Uhm—“

He cut me off, “well? Eh? You gonna tell me your fucking name or not.” His voice got stern, I felt myself shrinking under his gaze.

“Y/n” I laughed, but I felt a surge of sudden confidence take over me, my gaze locked on his, I squeezed his hand back just as hard, something about this seemed right.. our hands together.

“What’s your name sheriff?” I smiled,

The man stared me down, his eyes went to our hands then back to my eyes. I felt him shake in my grasp, whether with anger or fear, I didn’t know.. but I wasn’t some cute little girl.

“Bigby— sheriff bigby.” And he ripped his hand out of mine. His hands tensed, curling up into fists at his sides. “You’re in fable town, you must have taken a wrong turn missy. Cause this is NOT where you’re supposed to be.”

He warned, I laughed.

“I’d love an escort sheriff.”

“I don’t have a car”

“Big guy like you walks around eh?”

He growled, obviously not finding me amusing whatsoever. “Here” he took out a little note pad, he gave me the address for somewhere else.

“Follow the signs sweetheart” and with that, he walked away. The crumbled up piece of paper laid on the ground near my feet, I snatched it up with a scowl on my face.

“Fucking asshole.”

You didn’t know what to think of this guy, and that bothered you because you were the typa girl to always have a plan and analyze everything and everyone. You couldn’t read this guy, something about him.. felt so primal.. so inhuman.

His eyes, his canines, the facial hair even. The way he smelled for jimminy Christmas. He wasn’t normal,

Then again who was nowadays?

He was an asshole, stubborn and irritable over the smallest thing.. but.. why ..

Why couldn’t you stay away from him…?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You were annoyingly pretty. Almost suspicious.

Faith was dead, now Lilly, fables running around town causing shit with nothing better to do.. and now you?

He wouldn’t buy that ‘just got lost’ bullshit. Something was weird about this girl.. too eye catchy and doll like. Fragile and confident all the more. He needed to find out more about you.

You owed him a new pack of smokes too.

[intuitive-revelations]

Legend of Ruby Sunday live notes

Obviously spoilers below, recorded as I watched. Definitely gonna watch again though. I think I might do a seperate write up about 'what to take away' because oh my god does this episode throw a lot at you!

"Uncle"!!

We're definitiely getting a UNIT spin-off aren't we? I recognised the soldier guy straight away (tbh, when I first saw the 60th trailers he looked so odd in the shots used I thought he was cgi/deepfaked). If we do get it, I do hope they go for the military vs science conflict like I imagine - he'd be a good 'antagonist' for Kate in that regard.

Ooh... just pointing out the anagram in-universe....huh.

"TARDIS technology." Oh she's doomed this episode, I can feel it coming.

Oh! And we're doing the Susan mention?! Ok?!

AND THAT'S THE END OF THE PRE-TITLES WHAT? WHY?

Must be a redirect, though, surely? 'Susan' is not much to go off. It's silly they're jumping to this straight away in-universe, even with the TARDIS anagram.

"Well, except the obvious." "We'll get him." Is that a Musk slam?

Mel!

"Call me Sue" that's a bit of evidence against. Though if it is somehow Susan, her actually being 'really nice' would be cute.

Ruby Rose besties! Ruby Rose besties!

Hm. If this is somehow Susan, we are so going to dissect that thing about Sue Triad's parents.

Donna mention. :)

Oh my god, I've just realised. The TARDIS is a central part of this mystery, and that's exactly what Mrs Flood claimed to recognise...

Uhh.... what's up with Flood?

"HE WAITS NO MORE."

We're really settling on the Susan thing, huh.

"He never mentioned a granddaughter." Five Doctors fans keep losing.

"If you've got a granddaughter, that means you've got kids." "Well, not quite. Not yet." OMG WE'RE DOING THIS?

(Also...he definitely HAS had kids before - and not just Jenny and Miranda. But wild that we're implying Susan isn't the child of one of them.)

"I bring disaster. What if I go back and ruin her?" Hmm... so far kinda compatible with To the Death?

"Especially the Prime Minister." lol.

"N-dimenionsal time", thanks, I'll absorb that into my interpretation of time, time tracks etc. in the whoniverse.

Mel lost her family. Is that a reference? Doesn't immediately bring something to mind.

I like the way the lights are fading up and down, very TARDIS-y.

Ooh, the VHS-y environment.

"The greatest power of all: memory. Time is remembered. Memory is time." MEMORY TARDIS MEMORY TARDIS.

"What is the memory of a time machine?" No way.

Ok, getting ready for a twist. RTD said where people were is important.

...or not?

The one who waits?!

Well there goes the colonel. No surprise.

Hmm... the description "it's everything" sounds a lot like the Void ship from Doomsday.

"It's the Beast." Not that 'Beast' surely?

"It's so old. It's been waiting. It's been waiting for so long." So those "one"s are the same, confirmed?

"It's the TARDIS" AHHHH.

It's groaning again! "It's made that noise before."

"What if it exists around the TARDIS now and we just can't see it?"

I don't think this is our Susan, but if she somehow is I'm really enjoying her dorkiness.

...that's two "no more" drops so far. Hmm...

"AND I THINK WE CAN SUCCEED" Hello?!

It's woven into the TARDIS? Some sort of parasite maybe? Didn't RTD say something about the splitting in The Giggle being important?

"He has hidden in the Howling Void. He has hidden within the tempest." WAIT I WAS RIGHT?! It's Void related. The Eternals called it the Howling didn't they?!

"All this time, he whispered and delighted and seduced, and the vessel did obey. For none should be more mighty and none should be more wise than the King himself." UHHHHH.

HARRIET F*CKING ARBINGER (and she said she was born for this... of course)

WAIT THAT'S SAXON'S THEME WTF

"I dream of worlds with orange skies." HUH? I guess that could be from Boom, but you know what I'm thinking

"There is the Toymaker: the God of Games. There is Trickster: the God of traps." I f*cking knew it. The 'Pantheon' is the Pantheon of Discord!

"There is Maestro: the God of Music. There is Reprobate: of Spite. There is the Mara, the God of Beasts, and the three-fold deity of malice and mischeif and misery." Ok Mara mention... BUT also, "three-fold" that's deliberate right?! Like the Six-Fold God?

"The mother and father and other of them all."

SUTEKH!

"Did you think I was family, Doctor?" Phew...

And it's Gabriel Woolf voicing him! That's good.

Wait... he also voiced the Beast... huh. What does that mean with the reference this episode?

[satureja13]

After their picknick, they called the horses and showed Ji Ho the surroundings. What a stunning landscape!

Noxee and Greg took a walk at the beach together. Greg drew a heart in the sand and they shared a steamy kiss. After Ji Ho woke up again, Noxee will leave soon and they are making the most of their time together. (The steamy kiss is one of the new romantic interactions from the Lovestruck EP)

Poor Jack wishes he could unsee it. He hates Greg. And he hates that this beast kisses his precious Noxee. Ach - he feels like he's cursed. There's no love for him and Noxee, no love for him and Kiyoshi and neither for him and Lou... It had started so promising with Lou, though. Two of his painful spots had already vanished - and then he's together with Caleb?! Gods! Did Jack interpret the signs from Lou all wrong? Plus: Lou 'only' was an NPC in a game - his therapy game, at that. Sai never gets tired of telling him this. But what was the lesson for him to learn then? That there's no love for him? That he should start a new life after his ingame death and do better? And now he isn't even allowed to be 'just mates' with Kiyoshi... Jack sighed.

The moon was rising above the ocean when they returned to Verdantis. They cared for the animals and went over to the Screaming Mandrake, since Jeb needed to talk to them.

Jeb told them how much he worries about Kiyoshi and how hard it had been to keep him by his side - and from going back into the tree again - during the time Jack left and lived at the beach house. And how much Kiyoshi prospered after Jack came back. That the periods where he was able to be in the here-and-now prolonged. And that he even started to talk. Saiwa still can't believe that Jack - for once - is not causing trouble but even is of a greater use ^^': "Do you really think it's because of Jack?" But Vlad also agreed. He'd seen first hand how far Kiyoshi drifted away again after Jack had left.

Noxee knows how much Sai worries about Jack, he's like a younger brother to him and they'd been to hell and back together. And she still remembers how broken Jack was when he decided to finally end his relationhip with Kiyoshi. But is it fair to sacrifice the wellbeing of Kiyoshi to protect Jack from a potential harm? Jeb: "I don't want to push it on you, Jack. You're all grown up, but still vulnerable and I don't want you to fall back again." Poor Saiwa feels like he's caught in a very unpleasant dream. Between protecting Jack and letting him go living his own life and making his own decisions...

Jack: "I mean, it's not like I want to go back where we've been. Like, never. I just really like Kiyoshi and I want him to feel better - I want to help him. I did my part too to ruin our relationship. I see that. But Sai, you can't protect me from everything out there in this wild world. Where will it end? I know I have my issues, but I think I also proofed that I evolved and learned, hm?" Saiwa is still not convinced: "You wanted a relationship with a non-existant person, Jack." Jack: "Who says Lou doesn't exist? He was aware, intelligent and sensitive. All this and more. And this makes him a person. He just wasn't in our reality." Jack, our little philosopher, might even be right. (If you want to dive deeper, check this article -> here)

Noxee is bringing them back to topic again: "If you think it's ok for you, Jack, I will talk to Rita. We could at least try to confirm that you really have a good influence on Kiyoshi. Even she must see that it's of no help for anyone when he's in a state like this. Jeb is right. He's surely not happy. And when he has one of his brighter days again, he can go meet her and speak for himself, hm?"

Isn't it funny that in our reality, Kiyoshi would be considered even more crazy than Jack? ^^' A guy who isn't responsive most of the time and claims to be a demon/minor diety o.o

It's already late and Noxee took them to the yard for their Yoga/Tantra practise. And to teach them a few more poses before she leaves.

Jack and Sai are stunned how flexible Noxee is ö.Ö' But they are all doing so well after practising for so many months now.

'You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do And it's breaking my heart in two Because I never want to see you sad, girl Don't be a bad girl But if you want to leave, take good care Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware Beware

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world It's hard to get by just upon a smile Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world And I'll always remember you like a child, girl'

Cat Stevens - Wild World (Live 1971)

Outtakes

As soon as they returned from their ride-out and dismounted, the horses immediately fell asleep ö.ö (Yang Mal sleeps standing ^^') Why are they so tired all the time? They live in another household and they can sleep whenever they want to. But no. Sometimes they even force the rider to dismount because they want to sleep - in the middle of the day -.-

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[skeleton-mischief]

Y/N who can see Dust!Sans papyrus. Papyrus, aiming to fix Dusts loneliness, lures her to him. (This can take place in a bad sans trio universe where dust just hops AU’s for funsies)

Ohohoho I appreciate the specifics, it helps me with knowing what you want. This'll be fun :-]‼️💥

Be warned, my silly ass actually has a fun interpretation for Papyrus when it comes to Dust and him. And for the sake of some plot hole answers, I'll give you a little treat when it comes to soulmates being involved. So, hopefully you'll like this take on it!

Hm. Something is wrong, very wrong. Where is he? Where is he where is he where is he where- no. no. This is normal. Paps always had a strange way of disappearing occasionally. His magic must be low, he hasn't dusted anyone in awhile. He has Saint and Killer, which keeps him company at least. Sure, Killer is a pain in the ass, but it's better than being alone. It's not like he needed to constantly hear his brother scolding him, but he feels a little emptier now. That's a whole part of his soul. One speck of his dust leaving his soul is a rare occurrence, a rare one indeed. Pap wouldn't use this to disappear somewhere though, right?

...

Where the fuck is he? It's getting awfully more uncomfortable for him when it's time to sleep, he can't focus on anything other than him. His one true companion, the one last remains of his own universe. For fucks sake he's been even confronted by Nightmare about what has been bothering him. Saint knows. Of course he does. Saint can tell that the absence of-...someone is affecting him. It's not like Paps doesn't appear every now and again, when his magic is strong. It's a small perk for his brother, especially since Dust is usually the only one who can see him. Killer asked him about his brother too, but he couldn't stop himself from walking off when he did.

Where is he? Why has he been gone for so long? Why? Why why why why why wh-

.....

He wants him to come back.

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

Lately, you've been having strange dreams. Or... hallucinations?? It always happens at night, and you swear that it's not a normal thing for you to see a floating skull talking to you. Papyrus was his name. Ah- yes. That's a name that you haven't heard before, but it's pleasant. He's pleasant. Right now, he is talking to you about what used to be his favorite hobbies.

"Truly, I actually never could master how to cook spaghetti! It's not like it's my favorite food- that's dinosaur oatmeal- but everyone else likes it!! I always ruined it, but somehow my brother would eat it-"

"Brother?" You chipped in, interrupting his ramblings. He didn't seem to mind, his empty eye sockets seemed to somehow gleam when you asked. You were sitting up in bed, and he floated across from you with his gloved hands moving theatrically as he waved away an invisible line of thought. His mandibles opened as he grinned. He always had such a charming yet slightly off-putting smile.

"Yes, of course!! He's my older brother. He's still alive, actually! He goes by a different name nowadays, and he's...changed over time. But-!" Papyrus' skull leaned forward, his hands leaving a strange cold sensation that felt like icy air embracing your hands. You don't know why your chest made a strange feeling bubble up. "He's still a very kind skeleton. I wish you could meet him," He finished, his voice slightly softening from his usual boisterous tone. You smiled at this, tilting your head to the side as you humoured this idea. You wanted to know more about this skeleton and his apparent brother, but it's not like you didn't believe him. It's just that a part of you still clung onto the idea that you just happen to be having multiple strange dreams of the same skeleton with different conversations.

"Yeah? Well...what is he like? How much has he apparently changed?" You inquired, which seemed to cause Papyrus to hesitate. "Ah-...well. He used to be laid-back, happy. I remember how he happened to be quite popular and loved by others, with his charm and all. I found it irritating when he would prank me, spew nothing but lame puns, but nowadays I-....I miss those times. He's more...-"

One gloved hand waved slightly, as if he was trying to conjure up a description.

"Reserved now. He struggles with taking care of himself and connecting with others. He did something really...bad, a long time ago. He hasn't been the same sense, and sometimes it worries me. I think that someone like you could get through to him though!" "Why's that?"

Papyrus didn't answer quickly, and you didn't miss the slight spark of delight in his eyes. "I can just tell." He quipped, the hand that hasn't held yours now placed atop your head. If you were honest, it felt more physically present than before, as if his body started to solidify some more as his appearance becomes less hazy. "You're a good person, I think he needs someone to show him some of the good in things."

You felt your tongue click behind your teeth, a huff of laughter escaping your parted lips. Your ears tingled slightly, his words leaving your chest quivering for a moment as your grip became looser. "Well, thank you Papyrus," You let go of his ghostly hand after not saying anything for a minute, before you leaned back against the safety of your pillows. You rolled over on your side but still facing him as he adjusted himself to the side of the bed. "I haven't...I haven't heard someone tell me that in a long time." You finally settled on saying. Your eyes were hazy, and it seemed to click for Papyrus that you didn't want to explore that part of the conversation any longer.

He also noted the way your soul hummed through your ribcage, a special sight only he could see without complications. Who would've thought that you were his brother's soulmate? It was such a pleasant find, an accidental incident that not even Dust noticed. Thankfully, he caught it, saw the glowing of your soul from so far away. You were truly someone he found delightful to be around, and he knows that Dust would think the same thing, even if he would be stubborn about it at first.

He patted your head as your eyes started to close, his voice now a whisper. "Well, I'm glad that I was able to share my thoughts with you. Get some rest now, okay? I'll be back tomorrow, if that's alright with you?" "Mnh...yeah, that sounds...that sounds nice. Thank you again, Papyrus....Goodnight..."

"Goodnight,"

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

"Where have you been?!?" Dust couldn't help but shout, his hands gripping onto Papyrus' scarf and aggressively twisting it around. He had been collecting LV to try and get Papyrus back, only for him to now show up after a few weeks. "Do you know how confused I was? Worried?"

Papyrus didn't answer immediately, instead tapping his fingers against where his arms would be if he had any. Right now, he was still mostly transparent. He wasn't the only one though, with how Dust was trembling as his voice cracked slightly. He always fidgeted with his scarf when nervous. "I was spending time with a friend!!" He claimed with conviction. "A friend?" "Yes! And I think you'd love to meet them!"

Dust couldn't believe what he was hearing. A friend? From so far away? He was traveling multiple timelines, AU's, all to find Paps. And yet apparently that's where he has been this whole time? With a friend? He tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows squished together. He quickly tried to look indifferent, or at least more mad than he actually was. Papyrus wasn't falling for it though, he never did. "How did you even meet someone?" "Simple: I met them when I decided to travel back to where our timeline would be!" Papyrus was quick to dismiss, but Dust only frowned further.

"Why would I even want to? For one, we're always traveling, Pap. We're told not to get attached to anyone, you know this." Dust tried to rationalize, pacing now in his room as his hands kept fidgeting with the scarf. He's now resorted to pacing because he has too much on his mind, but he feels a cold touch to his head and it pulls him back momentarily. Papyrus has now drained some energy from Dust, his physical form more solid, visible to him.

"Brother. Please, I am aware. But trust me, this is for your own good. I really think that you simply must meet them, at least once." Dust felt Papyrus placing his other hand on his shoulder, his upper body slightly bent down to be more at eye level. Papyrus knows what will happen if Dust does meet you, but he wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. With the years passing of living with Sans, with who he is now, he's learned how to speak to him. He's no longer the easily swayed skeleton who would do anything on a whim. But, Papyrus isn't the same either.

"...Please?"

"....Pap,"

"....Do they really mean this much to you?"

"Sans."

Dust winced at the name.

"Yes, they do. I really think you'll like them."

"...Fine, fine."

Dust felt the cold touch of Papyrus when he wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight with a giddy laugh. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!"

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

Regret is not the right word he would use. No, regret would imply that he wishes that he never met you or something along those lines. No, he just wishes that he didn't meet you at this point in time when he's who he is now. When he entered an old timeline of his, he found that his soul felt instantly off. Not a bad feeling per say, but more...calm? He's never been too calm ever since the human fell all those years ago. But as his brother spoke, a white noise at the moment, he felt that he couldn't focus. His attention was pulled somewhere else, but Papyrus was able to help him with this.

You were prettier than he expected, but of course he couldn't say anything when you were at the moment losing your shit. Papyrus told him to teleport, a big mistake honestly since he's never been here, but Papyrus has. Papyrus, however, is not of this physical world. So when he teleported, guess what?? He fell straight from the ceiling, mid air. Thanks Papyrus, you're so much help. You had so gracefully been awake already, but you were in a separate room. You had run straight from the bathroom, your hair disheveled and your toothbrush hanging sideways from your opened jaw.

Sadly he couldn't admire you for too long before he had a toothbrush flung straight at his face and directly messing with his vision. Papyrus had to immediately drain him of his magic in order to become more translucent of reflected light and full bodied. Heourgh, he felt less energetic immediately, but at least the floor was quite comfortable. He didn't bother straightening up, not if it meant you'd throw something else at him. It's not a great first greeting with his soulmate, he'd apologize if he wasn't so tired. Papyrus was right, he would like you.

His soul was pumping, singing practically as he was able to feel the wavelengths of your soul. You didn't seem to fully notice, but he did. He noticed since his soul felt calmer, happier, and much more....in love? What a strange feeling, his soul is so used to the LV he has, the motivation, the constant distress and guilt. He's never felt so light, but maybe that's because he's lightheaded from teleporting and falling. You seemed to be calming down since Papyrus was there and easing your panic. Thank the stars he's here. He wishes he met you sooner, or maybe in a different timeline where he was...normal. Would the others accept this? Would they be considered your soulmates too? He's never been great at sharing. He doesn't want to drag you in the multiverse mess that is his life, but leaving you alone after this isn't an option.

Stars above you were so pretty. Your voice sounds like the pluck of strings tied to a harp, or a guitar. Filled with emotion, a world of thoughts and history behind them. He hopes you'll like him too. He doesn't want to be scary to you, but he knows that he is. He could be less mean? Maybe you like things that he likes, he can like things you like. He can try to be better if it means you won't find him scary, if you can trust him. Right now you were coming over to him, apologizing but clearly weary. Hey, at least you weren't dumb enough to get too close, he is a stranger after all.

He is so happy that his brother convinced him to meet you. Yeah, regret isn't the word he'd use. It's just going to be complicated. That's okay, he can wait, patience is a skill on his part. Even if things don't work because you don't end up liking him, he at least met you. This quiet in your presence has been so pleasant, still as a pond and soothing. He's thankful for at least this moment of tranquility deep within his soul. His brother already told him your name, but he doesn't want to be weird.

"...The name is Dust, I didn't mean to fall in your bedroom. Not a great introduction, huh?"

Oh would you look at that, he was talking! He doesn't do that often. He is suddenly insecure about the rasp in his voice. You don't seem to mind though, and in fact you smile. Oh wow. Your smile. You seem less scared, that's great. He'd do anything to keep that smile on your lips, anything at all... Too bad he passes out before you can respond. Great job, Dust.

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

Closing Notes: This took forever to type but I think I'm happy with it! I was busy, and a little unsure of how I wanted to type this. I hope you like this, vamp, you're so cool and this was fun. Don't be shy to ask for more stuff! I just wanted to write you a little more plot since you asked such a specific request for a skeleton hehe. Thank you :-)

[charles-simmons-fanfiction]

Rehearsing - Todd Anderson / Neil Perry

Description: It's raining, Todd is almost falling asleep, and Neil is reading his lines for his next play for the millionth time. [Fluff, 600 words]

It's canon that Todd helps Neil with practicing for his plays, so I wanted to write one these times in a warm/soft vibe. Wrote this one purely for comfort. Might write more fics like this. Just small moments of their lifes y'know. Feel free to make requests if you have any idea. Anyway, hope you enjoy it <3

Neil was rehearsing lines for his next play, again.

Todd could swear he knew all those lines back and forth by now. He didn't complain though, it was always nice to help with rehearsing. There was something special in seeing Neil this genuinely happy and excited with something. His happiness was contagious in a way.

"Parting is such a sweet sorrow..." He stamped his feet on the floor as he read the lines, something he always did whenever he was too excited or anxious.

"...that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow" Todd completed in his head, without saying anything. Sometimes, he would help by saying another's character's lines, so Neil could practice dialogues how they are. But for the most part, his "helping" was pretty much just keeping him company, listening to the lines and correcting him if needed.

If it wasn't raining, they would've done this outside. Next to the lake, probably. It's where they usually go. Not that it was all that bad staying inside for once. Todd was tired and their room could be small, but it could also be very cozy. The sound of the rain, slightly muffled by the window, just added to the feeling.

The clock showed 11:02. "It's not that late" Todd thought as he yawned, "There's still time to rehearse this scene at least five more times".

Outside it was already very dark, and the rain made it even harder to see anything. Todd watched as the drops of water on the window fell. Hugging his knees and leaned against the wall as he listened to Romeo and Juliet attentively, as if he hadn't already millions of times.

"Todd?"

"Hm?" He looked at his friend. His eyes obviously sleepy, while Neil's were wide awake.

"We can do this tomorrow if you're too tired," He suggested.

"No, there's no need to"

"You look like you'll fall asleep any second now" That was probably true. "I'm sure I can manage on my own"

"I know you can," Todd laid down, keeping his eyes open. He wasn't quite sure why he cared so much. He could simply go to sleep and let Neil keep practicing on his own, but for some reason he wanted to be awake with him. Everything felt so nice to just sleep it through.

Neil looked at him for a few moments, then got up from the desk he was sitting at. "Move over"

Todd sat up with a groan, giving space for Neil to sit next to him. After that, Neil lightly pulled him down, so Todd's head was laying on his lap.

"Hm?" His tone could be interpreted as either confusion or exhaustion. Or both of them.

"Sleep. I'll keep rehearsing" Neil said softly. And he did go back to what he was doing, repeating the lines quieter this time.

Todd took a few moments to process what he said and how comfortable he was. He let out a content sigh as he gave in to the tiredness.

He took one last glance at the actor close to him before closing his eyes. Neil's smile was so bright and Todd couldn't help but smile too as he tried to focus on Romeo and Juliet coming from the sweetest voice he had ever heard. The warm atmosphere making him even more comfortable and everything simply felt a bit better.

And as Neil's hands gently stroked his hair, soothing him, Todd started to fall asleep.

[desceros]

Hi, you probably don't remember me, but I'm the 🪻 anon that sent asks once or twice. Still very much a nervous fan! Your work and the way you write about your experiences and feelings still positively stun me every time I read your posts.

I've been thinking about writing for the tmnt and rottmnt universes for a while now, but I'm still very uncertain about my own interpretation of these characters. If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like to know how you do it??

Your work has such fluidity and... sense?? I don't really quite know how to put it into words, but it inspires me very much! Anyway, I guess I'm asking for writing tips?? I know each interpretation is unique and our own, but I can't help but adore yours! I hope you're having a good day/night, Ms. Desceros!

Ps: English is not my first language, so sorry if my rambling aren't really coherent. (〒 u 〒⁠)

– 🪻

i do very much remember! and i'm so sorry i had this sitting in my inbox for forever and a day lmfaoooo i didn't want to rush the answer and instead give it proper thought/answer for you! :D

so it sounds like you're asking two different things here, which is 1) how do i establish strong characters, and 2) how do i construct flow in a fic.

characterization

for characters, it starts pretty simply with just consuming a lot of the character. for example, with the turtles, i've watched rise and bayverse both a lot. like, a lot a lot. enough that i can hear their voices in my head when i'm writing, because i've heard them so much.

specifically, i've watched it not just casually, but also with the ears of a writer. what words do each of the turtles use? how do they phrase things? when one of them gets annoyed, how does he communicate it? when they're scared, what do they say? how do they move their bodies? what do they do in the background of scenes where they aren't the focus?

once you feel like you kind of know the answers to those questions, the next step is just to write! i probably have about... hm... 30-50k of fic in my icloud that i wrote before i started posting things. the purpose of it was just to figure out how i liked the turtles to sound. because i write them as older adults, they sound just a little different than they do in the show. i inject my headcanons into their voices. these things change how they act, and i fiddled with it until i was happy with it. knowing i wasn't going to publish these made it really easy for me to get creative and push things, until i found the boundaries that i like and that feel good for me.

flow

so good flow is something that really comes with a lot of experience writing. it's one of those things you... pick up as you write a lot, so this part is going to be a bit more. hm. disconnected. nuanced. how you like things paced, how things feel good under your fingers; these are things you'll get better at as you go on. that said, it's something i've very consciously worked on myself, so i do have a few tips for you that'll hopefully speed up that process for you!

my biggest tip is to READ. find authors (fiction and fanfiction!) you like, and READ them. but again, we're not doing it recreationally, we're doing it as a writer.

read your favorite authors and think. think about the things they include and what they don't. what information do they convey in great detail? what information do they convey in exposition? what information do they leave for you to garner on your own? why do you like how they include things? why do you like what they don't? do you miss certain things? do you wish they wouldn't bother with others?

for example, i really love brining in the emotions of a scene. how something makes a character feel. basking in that is something i really love reading, so i have a lot of it in my writing. and i enjoy doing it without Telling you how someone feels. i don't say "donnie is sad." i tell you how his shoulders slump. how he gazes off to the side with a listless expression. how his eyes cloud over with uncertainty. these are things i've enjoyed reading, and so i've incorporated into my writing. i will slow down the flow of my fic, putting a bit of rubato on these moments, because i like how it feels.

i personally enjoy things to be very fluid, connecting from one scene to the next with as little a break as possible. think of french vs english. french is very fluid, english is very percussive. they're both languages, both good, they just sound different to the ear. part of constructing that, for me, means i write from beginning to end without skipping around. it's a style that has its pros and cons, but it allows me to have a single thread, unbroken, though the entire work.

ultimately, your writing is a stained glass of everything you love. the words you think are pretty, the turns of phrase that catch your eye, the verbs that bring action to life. this is the foundation of what people will call your "voice," and a large part of that is your flow, or pacing. i can't really... tell you how to create your stained glass. but this is how you can create your own, and make it something you find beautiful.

[punkeropercyjackson]

HM How do i put this.So people often think 'punk' and 'asshole' are synomyous and this causes problems when it comes to character interpretations(and irl too ofc but that's for a future post).Now i'm not saying you can't be punk and an asshole because that would be absolutely stupid and just incorrect but the latter does not make the former and you shouldn't force anyone to when they're not even if they're fictional since how you treat characters who're part of a group reflects how you think of the irl one

I'm gonna use the example that prompted this post:Spiderpunk aka Hobie Brown.Hobie is often characterized as mean-spirited and perverted because he's explicitly meant as the embodiment of black punks but the thing is,in the actual movie and og comics,Hobs is an incredibly sweet and gentle person and if you think i'm being ridicilous for saying that about the dude who kills fascists and runs his mouth all the time,consider that direct action is not an act of cruelty but kindness towards oppressed people by helping them have a safer world and that Hobie's only actually rude to authority figures and with everyone else he's just goofy.He's also pretty open with how much he loves his friends and always has their backs and i find it very odd how often he gets assumed to be an extremely sexual person when there were never even any under the radar adult jokes about or by him and the smoker headcanon for him is baseless too and pretty obviously only happens for sex appeal

And that's a general problem with both canonical and popularly headcanon punk characters-Most fandom members think punk is 1.Exclusively male and 2.Inherently made to make yourself attractive.There's nothing wrong with finding punk men super hot but there IS a lot wrong is assigning punkhood to them with that intention alone,especially often the characters are not only just EdgyTM but also straight up fascists(Hp and Marauders Flop Era 'kinnies',please touch grass)

This leads to defanging of punk female characters.Katara is a classic example and Zuko is a rich boy with weird biases he's very open about that didn't fade until adulthood while Katara is an eco-terrorist who reclaims girlhood for herself by being anti-traditionalist and feminine in her own way yet Zuko is always the punk of the Gaang in aus.Stephanie Brown and not a girl but Duke Thomas are a poor woman who grew up friendless and abused by her dad and had a drug addict mom so she became a vigilante at 14 to help people like her and is implied to be a metalhead and a black boy who grew up getting kicked out schools and in and out of foster homes and joined a gang of crime fighters respectively but Stephanie is called scene instead(cause pastel punks don't exist right /s)and Duke is turned a meek black boyloser stereotype so that Jason Todd can be the punk Batkid instead,which is certainly......a choice seeing as Under The Red Hood is basically about him doing freestyle death penalty and is not actively an activist even if he does enjoy helping people and does whenever he has the opportunity to by narrative.Very important sidenote is that Stephanie and Duke are often entierly erased from Batman fan content despite being Jason's Batgirl and Robin and i think you can guess why(that obviously the coolest Batkid has to be the fan favorite white boy /s x2)

And i feel the need to include this one due to my url and that is Percy Jackson.Percy is representation for audhd and dyslexic people who can never mask and got bullied and abused for it but remained kind against all world's cruelty and choose to help others since they wanted the world to be like that to them as a kid instead but they ALSO aren't a pussy about it so they openly stand up to corrupted people and refuse to be like them no matter how hard they try to get them to and they openly hate them for what they're like and they act like a parental figure to younger minorities.Their creator stated he never inteded Percy as being bisexual and has no interest in it but he also said he'd be happy and supportive of Percy being played by a poc one day and within the books Percy is extremely transfem-coded so obviously the fandom pops several blood vessels when literally any of this is aknowledged because they read the wrong books and wanted a white male power fantasy in ancient greek gays flavor

You can be super nice and punk because punk is a subculture,not an entire personality type.And i hate to break it to edgecases on here but being super mean to people without a justified reason because you think it's cool or finding irresistibly hot on others is one of the most normal things you can do

[cantstoplovingjude]

Underneath the Black Veil: Alfons Sylvatica Ch.2

This is from Ikemen Villains EN, Cybird owns everything.

Alfons: "Why do you think people want to have weddings, anyway?"

Kate: "Hmm?"

Alfons: "If they truly love each other, why go to all the trouble?"

Alfons: "It's expensive, takes a lot of work and causes all manners of frustration, so why bother with it?"

Kate: "That's awfully blunt, isn't it?"

(Still, he's got a point. I've never really thought about the point of having a wedding.)

Kate: "I'm sure there are various reasons."

Kate: "Like wanting to look your best in front of each other, or wanting to share your special day with family and friends."

Kate: "But probably the most important reason is to create happy memories."

Alfons: "What do you mean by that?"

Kate: "Well, there's always sad and painful times in life. No one can avoid that."

Kate: "But when you go through tough times, if you have happy memories to think back on, it can help you move forward."

Kate: "So maybe that's part of it."

Alfons: "Perhaps, but I personally believe that humans are forgetful creatures."

Alfons: "And you know what they say. Sometimes people can only live by forgetting."

It was true that it was difficult to live while carrying around sad and painful things.

That's why time robbed people of their memories. Sometimes gently, and sometimes cruelly.

(But...)

Kate: "I don't think I'd forget something I want to remember forever."

His gaze focused on me, his ash-grey eyes narrowing slightly.

Kate: "Alfons?"

Alfons: "Ah, that's right. There's something I wanted to ask you."

Alfons: "What color was the candy you just wrapped?"

Kate: "Huh? Um..."

Kate: "Red? Or no, maybe it was yellow..."

Alfons: "Ahha!"

Alfons: "You're not very convincing talking about remembering things forever when you forget something that happened just now."

Kate: "That's not..."

Follower: "Ahem."

Kate: "Oh..."

==========

Instead of showing the followers how much we loved each other, we just ended up bickering.

Alfons: "I'm so excited to have our first sleepover, Miss Robin!"

(I never thought we'd be staying overnight...)

(That means they're still suspicious of us.)

I felt bad that things weren't going as smoothly as I expected.

Alfons: "There's only one bed for a loving couple to share. Just what are we to do?"

With a smirk, he pushed my shoulders, making me stumble backwards onto the bed.

Kate: "W-wait a second!"

He brought his lips to my ear as he climbed on top of me.

Alfons: "Hush. There's still someone outside."

(Oh, the followers are still listening...)

Alfons: "Come on and get to work, my dear."

The moment he whispered that to me, I felt a sweet stimulation running down my neck.

The proximity of him and his warmth had my thoughts wandering elsewhere...

Alfons: "Aww, are you feeling nervous because we're not in our usual bed at home? Or does it feel more thrilling?"

Alfons: "You're so cute, my shy little lover."

He wedged his knee between my legs.

Kate: "A-ahh...!"

Alfons: "Yes, that's right... Moan for me like you always do."

Alfons: "And let's love each other as much as we possibly can, hm?"

Despite my better judgment, my body grew hot.

I wondered how long he was going to tease me, because if he kept this up much longer, I might just-

Alfons: "...They're gone."

He let go of me as I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

Alfons: "Ahha. Look at that needy look on your face. How divine... Don't worry, you don't have to act anymore."

Alfons: "Unless you want to continue, of course?"

Kate: "I-I didn't say that-"

Alfons: "I'd like to live up to your expectations, but unfortunately I have other things to do."

Kate: "Like what?"

Alfons: "Like looking for the hidden bodies. Her Majesty told me to make sure to check for evidence."

Alfons: "And although I may not look it, I always do my job properly."

(That means...)

Kate: "...You intentionally did all that so that we'd have to stay overnight, didn't you?"

Alfons: "You can interpret things however you'd like. Tata for now!"

I let out a sigh as Alfons disappeared again.

(He's so ridiculous and dishonest.)

(But...)

-Flashback-

Kate: "I don't think I'd forget something I want to remember forever."

Alfons: "....."

-Flashback Ends-

For some reason, it felt like I caught a glimpse of his true feelings in that moment.

(Or maybe it was just my imagination. Why am I thinking about him so much anyway?)

==========

Alfons: "Kate, Kate. It's time to wake up."

Kate: "Mmm..."

Alfons: "I can't believe you fell asleep just waiting for your lover to come back."

Kate: "Oh, I guess I did fall asleep..."

It was already light outside and a new day had begun.

Alfons: "Well. Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"

Kate: "The bad news."

Alfons: "I found the bodies in a hidden room in the basement."

(Well, I can't say that's surprising.)

Alfons: "Some of them were already skeletons, but when I examined the ones that had recently died, I realized something."

Alfons: "The wounds were clean stab wounds. That must mean they were put to sleep or drugged, and then stabbed to death."

Alfons: "I think it's safe to assume that the followers are helping, but the actual murders are being done by the leader acting alone."

Alfons: "But now, let me tell you the good news."

He took something out of a box next to him.

Kate: "A black dress?"

Alfons: "Thanks to our naughty behavior last night, they've allowed us to get married today."

Alfons: "You'll have to hurry, because our wedding will start in a few hours."

Kate: "A few hours?!"

Alfons: "Yes. Would you like me to help you get ready? I will gladly undress you and all that."

Kate: "N-no, thank you!"

Alfons: "Aw, that's a shame."

==========

I quickly put on my wedding dress and rushed out to Alfons, who was waiting on me.

Kate: "Thanks for waiting."

Alfons: "Hm. That looks rather lovely on you."

Alfons: "Well, that's no surprise given that Victor chose the dress."

Kate: "I was wondering if that was the case."

Alfons: "Haha. Now, let's open the door and start the condemnation. Your hand?"

He put my hand through his arm to escort me inside.

(Even though I know it's just a mission, I'm nervous about the idea of getting married.)

Alfons: "Ah, you might remember today on your real wedding day."

I blinked, looking at him with mild surprise.

Alfons: "But I'm sure I'm the only one who could give you such a thrilling experience."

Alfons: "Shall we go?"

There were no guests in the chapel. Just me and Alfons.

And before we knew it, the person we were waiting for finally appeared at the altar...

End Ch.2