#and she arguably is/has been worse lmao

[ajarofpickledtears]

tfw my sister is chill with our (half-)brother and also texting and whatever

meanwhile I regularly forget he exists, have no sibling connection to him at all, nor am I interest in it, and if I think of him I get upset lmao

[dearhargrove]

thirty feet under

Evan Buckley x reader

summary The last thing you expected to see on the news tonight is Eddie trapped under 30 feet of mud with your husband desperately trying to get him out. Knowing how reckless he could get, you drive there after informing Bobby and have a talk with Buck.

word count 4734

tags basically s3 e15, reader and Buck are married, fluff, and hurt :<

a/n I dunno I was just sad watching that episode like the way Buck was immediately trying to dig Eddie up? I'm crying actually. I love these two fr. Yeah wtv I just needed to write something where Buck isn't suffering lmao 😭

masterlist

You've been following the news ever since you first saw that the 118 was at the scene of the small boy trapped in the well. You had nothing better to do, and if you had the chance to watch your husband work? You took it.

What you weren't expecting almost an hour ago was the drastic changes and complications arising as they tried getting Hayden - the trapped boy - out.

The obnoxious news reporter is talking about the weather and what's happening but you've stopped listening long ago. Your eyes were transfixed onto the background where Eddie was getting ready to go down the second tunnel they'd made in order to reach the boy safely.

However, something wasn't right. You don't know if it's Hen’s nervous expression or the overall unease of the team that carries through the screen, but something feels off.

You bury your hands in your hair as you continue to watch. The rain is pouring hard, the mud seems to be making everything worse and there were more firefighters arriving at the scene by the minute.

You're basically praying when the cameraman zoomes past the news reporter and onto Eddie as he's being let down into the hole. Evan is behind the winch, brows furrowed. You could see it on his face too; noone in the team seemed to be happy with this.

Considering they were letting one of their own down a 30 foot drop without fully knowing how stable the ground was, you understood.

For the first time since the broadcast started the blonde is quiet, microphone held at her chest as she watches and waits to see what's going to happen.

You're quite literally on the edge of your seat, knees pressing into the couch table as your hands press together anxiously. You trusted Bobby. He would never allow a plan to go through if it wasn't thoroughly planned and ensured at least a certain amount of safety to his team.

Nevertheless, your eyes move to Buck. He's clenching the remote control of the winch so tight in his hands you're sure if the material weren't as slippery from the rain he would've broken it. He doesn't just look stressed anymore but anxious.

That's a look you don't see often; he's confident and stubborn (arguably stupid and reckless). If he does something he commits to it and he's sure of it. But right now? He's the opposite. Bobby has a hand on his shoulder and you're thankful for his sensitivity to Buck’s feelings, the silent comforting visibly (to you - who could read Evan like an open book) helping him.

“Come on,” you chant under your breath as minutes pass. How could this be taking so long? Wasn't there a limited amount of time Eddie could be down there? You're sure he was wearing an oxygen tank and you remember Evan talking about the limited time that posed.

“And what is that- the rope has seemingly snapped! Neither the boy or the firefighter of the 118 is back up,” the news reporter is almost yelling now and you're thankful for her awful screeching voice as it had made you listen to what she's saying.

Wait. Did she say the rope snapped?

You frown and stand up, unable to keep sitting as you spot Evan’s devastated look as he discusses something with Chim. Oh goodness. This isn't happening. Why is the rope the only thing coming back up?

“The weather is getting worse as the firefighters decide to send down a second one, hoping this time the rope works. We're expecting a thunderstorm and the rain will continue-” you blend her out again as you see Chimney now in Eddie's spot.

“Jesus,” you mumble. He's down in a second, everyone moving even faster than before. Evan had his fists stemmed on his hip, watching the descent of his friend. Knowing him as well as you did, you're almost one hundred percent sure Buck had discussed going down instead - no doubt being shut down by either Hen or Bobby.

You couldn't help but feel glad he hadn't been the one as you could continue keeping your eyes on him.

It's Bobby's eyes which widen first, jaw dropping. Next follow Hen and lastly Evan. There, secured on the rope is Chim with a tiny boy wrapped in some kind of foil that would help him get his body temperature up again. His mother is crying as she welcomes him back into her arms, your lips quirking into a smile at the wholesome scene.

Now only Eddie was missing.

The 118 was discussing something in the back when you decide to text Bobby, seeing Evan being reprimanded by said man.

I'll come over and stay out of the way - just gotta make sure Buck does nothing too stupid…

You text the captain and receive a thumbs up emoji a moment later. You grab your phone, keys and wallet before hurrying to your car and driving there.

When you arrive your glad for the raincoat you'd picked, pulling it tight around your body as you try finding a spot where you wouldn't be in anyone's way.

You find it soon enough, and the first thing you notice is something akin to an argument breaking out between Hen and your husband. You sigh and hope he wouldn't do anything reckless, because by God that was his specialty. Bobby pats his shoulder more aggressively than necessary and points in your direction.

Buck turns around and when he spots you his face practically melts; excusing himself as he jogs over to the fence you'd decided to stand.

“How is it going? Where is Eddie?” You ask almost immediately and Evan sighs heavily before frowning again. You press your thumb against his forehead and smooth out the worry wrinkles, him already so used to the gesture he barely notices.

“He's- he's trapped. He cut his rope for some reason and we can't reach him over the radio. We're sending someone else down to see what happened down there.”

You curse and slide your hand to rest on his cheek. His skin is cold and wet from the rain and you're certain he caught a cold by now.

“You're not going,” you say. It's a question and demand at the same time; you trust him to do the right thing but he easily becomes reckless. He didn't like when you pointed it out, but it was true. It had gotten you two into an argument more than a handful of times but he never ceased to be stubborn when on a call.

“What do you mean? Of course I'm going, Eddie's down there!” He huffs and stiffens, leaning away from your hand on his face in the same notion. “Evan,” you start and he looks up from his feet and into your eyes, the pleading look in his eyes making you melt a little.

“I know you're capable of doing this but-”

“No! I'm capable so why shouldn't I?” He interrupts and you unhappily note the reporter approaching. You glare at him before putting on a fake smile when the woman stops in front of the two of you.

“Do you have a minute?” She asks and you almost roll your eyes at the flirty tone she regards your husband with.

He smiles shortly and excuses himself, looking at you meaningfully before going back to the rest of his team. She turns to you and before you can escape she starts talking, the camera right in your face. Great. You'd been ready for bed when you decided to drive here (and look accordingly) and now you're on national news.

“How do you know him? What did you talk about? There seemed to be some tension.” She makes an oohing noise and this time you can't contain your eye roll. “I was simply talking to my husband. Now excuse me please,” you see the shocked look on her face and she nervously adjusts her hair before turning back to the camera.

“Evan Buckley!” You say loud enough that not only Bobby but Hen and Chim turn around as well, eyebrows raised in surprise at your presence. The one you actually addressed was currently busy getting into a harness.

You stand behind him, mumbling thanks to Bobby when he steadies you as your feet slip on the mud and wet ground. “What do you think you're doing?”

Buck looks at you over his shoulder, red goggles on his face and similar gear to what Eddie had worn. “My job,” he grunts and you sigh exasperatedly. “I see that, I have two eyes.” Frankly you didn't want to be this upset. He wasn't special as in he should get special treatment; the team risked their lives daily all the same.

But you were scared. You'd seen it many times; he'd get an idea and pull through with it, no matter what anyone says or what the odds are. It simply pisses you off that he never thinks of anyone else.

He acts like no one cares whether he lives or dies and that's what's really bothering you, once again as he is getting ready to go down.

The desperation must be visible on your face because Bobby's comforting hand moves to your shoulder and you exhale and look at him, lips quivering.

“I'm sorry I shouldn't be bothering here, I don't know what came over me.” You apologize and suck up the tears stemming from foreboding fear.

He shakes his head, “It's okay, you know we'll tell you if you're in the way.” You nod and wrap your arms around yourself, ready to at least tell Buck you loved him before he went down.

You flinch at the Crack of the thunder. And then there's white sparks everywhere as the lightning strikes the crane, causing the LED lights to fail and cast everything in darkness. There's screaming and you just barely see Buck unclasping his harness before his arms wrap around your waist and he throws himself backward.

You scream as you cling to his arm, utterly confused until the crane creaks horribly and starts falling. It looks and feels as if it's in slow motion but it gets faster the closer it comes and then it lands on the earth with a loud booming sound.

You heave in shock at the whole thing until Buck let's go of you and runs the few steps to the well.

And that's when you see it. Your face falls and your pulse accelerates when there's not one or two holes but none. Someone to your left yells that the ground collapsed and over the ringing in your ears you see Buck kneeling over the spot as he claws at the mud, screaming in vain.

You whimper when the realization comes that Eddie is still down there. Under pounds if not tons of earth with no way out. You Clasp a hand over your mouth as tears fall down your face. Eddie would make it, you convince yourself in order to calm down enough to think rationally - especially to be there for who needed you most right now.

“Baby, come on, you'll save him but you need to come this isn't safe,” you urge as you tug at Bucks shoulders. He resists, muscles straining as he keeps digging only for every hole he makes to be filled with more mud. “Evan, please,” you cry and he snaps out of it, heavily breathing as he turns around to look at you.

He's crying and you can see the pure desperation and fear replaying on his face. “Inside! We need to discuss plans!” Bobby yells and makes a motion with his hand before all of the remaining 118 hurries after him and into the house.

“Let's go, yeah? They're thinking of a way to find him,” you repeat to your devastated husband. He whimpers and tries to say something as he weakly claws at the earth, you shush him and pull him into your chest, uncaring of the mud and dirt covering you both now.

“He'll be okay. You know Eddie. He would never leave Christopher alone.” he shakily nods and moves his hand to your hips to squeeze them. He knocks his forehead against yours and you can feel his exhaustion as he leans fully onto you.

“Buck you gotta calm down and focus. You can do that, right?” He nods dazedly and you move your hand onto the nape of his neck, cupping it to ground him.

“Eddie needs you. Focus. No stupid or reckless decisions.” He manages a tiny glare at you before he closes his eyes and inhales deeply, opening them when he's ready. There's new determination cursing through him as he stands up and pulls you to stand with him.

The pouring rain sticks his hair onto his forehead and you swear he's the most beautiful person to walk this earth. His blue eyes wander over your face and he seems to find what he was looking for when he presses a tender kiss to your lips, nose and forehead.

“I'm sorry I just- I can't lose him. Chris can't lose him,” he mumbles and you nod in understanding. “Shh, I know.” You keep your hand to cup his face for a moment and then sigh, ushering him towards the house. He frowns and pulls you with him but you smile and shake your head, “I'll go relieve Carla. I haven't seen Chris in a while anyway.”

He nods but is reluctant to let you go, kissing your forehead again and mumbling an ‘I love you�� into your skin. You smile and soothe your thumb over his knuckles, “I love you more. Be careful.” You say the last part with a warning but worried tone and glance at him with a small frown.

He huffs amused and pecks your temple before stepping back and adjusting the hood of your raincoat to sit tightly on your head, “I will be. Tell Chris I said hi and that I want to do a sleepover again.” You laugh and he does too for a second until his eyes and expression dull and the looming threat to Eddie's life moves back to the forefront of his thoughts.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, mumbling something and then looking up again. He begins to say something when a commotion to the side drowns his voice out. Confused you both turn around and his arm slips around your waist to keep you close - a habit you adored.

“What?” You mumble. The huddle of people clears and in the middle is Eddie - his arms are limply slung over two other firefighters’ shoulders and his head is hanging down. His entire gear is dripping wet as if he'd gone for a swim (well technically he probably did… you note mentally as the positive shock wears off). His helmet and goggles are missing, hair sticking to his forehead and most worryingly his eyes are bloodshot and red, earth and mud dirtying his usually clear skin.

“What..?” Evan breathes out and his arm drops from around you as he runs over to his best friend and carelessly pulls him into a hug. You see Eddie's smile as he rests his head in the crook of Evan's neck, sluggishly moving his arms around the others shoulders to hold himself up. The two men who had helped him hover for a second in case their help was needed again but when Evan keeps clinging to the older they retreat.

Then you feel Hen, Bobby and Chimney rush past you - the two paramedics with their first aid bags. You're unsure whether to put your plan from a moment ago into reality or if you could be of help here when Buck starts dragging Eddie along and over to you.

With a stressed sigh you approach them, stopping a foot in front of them with a warning glance, “You both should get in the ambulance and let these two,” you point to Hen and Chim, “do their job. No wandering around, boys.”

Evan pouts and Eddie manages a chuckle that still clearly showcases how tired out and overall done he is but you welcome it nevertheless. “You're like, way too strict. He basically just drowned,” Evan starts, and both you and Eddie roll your eyes - you in fond annoyance and Eddie in amusement.

“Wow. Why do I always get the attitude?” He huffs and side eyes you as he drags Eddie to the ambulance but not before mouthing another ‘I love you’.

Shaking your head you pull down the hood of your coat and nod at Bobby, signaling him you were going to leave now. He nods and turns back to whatever important duties he had now.

After a last glance into the ambulance (where Buck actually sat still for once) you get your keys and drive off. The drive to Chris and Eddie is only about half an hour and when you get there you still see the light in the kitchen on. This was unusual - normally Carla would just watch some TV with the lights off when she waited until early in the morning for Eddie to come back.

You knock on the front door and wait, the older woman opening the door with a wide smile, “Thought I saw you approach. I saw you on the news, you wanna tell me what that's about, girl?”

You laugh and shake your head, reciprocating the warm hug and stepping into the house. “It's pretty boring. Thought I'd spend the night here today, Eddie will probably not be home tonight or tomorrow…” You solemnly explain and she hums.

“Saw it on the news. And.. for some reason he did too,” she sighs heavily and walks you to the living room. And surely there is Christopher perched on the sofa with a worried little frown on his forehead as he watches the news.

You furrow your brows and nod, “Did he see it all?” She nods again and you understand why the little boy wasn't in bed although it was nearing two in the morning when his usual bedtime is nine thirty.

“Chris? Hey, buddy!” You smile and ruffle his hair. He grins at you in that adorable way and you wave at Carla over his shoulder as she grabs her bag and keys. “You wanna explain why you aren't in bed?” He looks a bit guilty but pouts stubbornly. “I saw dad on the news.”

You didn't really need more explanation - you knew Chris worried for his father in the same manner Eddie was probably currently thinking about his son.

“I saw him too. And you know what?” He looks at you with big but tire, dropping eyes. “He's with some nice doctors now and he's gonna be completely fine again very quickly. Doesn't that sound good?”

He ponders for a moment and then slowly nods, “Buck?” A chuckle escapes you and you grin, “He's fine too.”

“Then why were you angry with him?” He asks and it takes you embarrassingly long to connect the dots. The news reporter seemingly had shown your and Evans little dispute earlier. “I wasn't angry with him he was just being stupid,” you shake your head and explain.

Chris hums and looks back at the news report. You bite your lip in thought and then tilt your head, “Do you want to talk to Buck?” Christopher basically lights up and nods eagerly clasping his hands under his chin as you video call Evan - praying he was still with Eddie and that in a few minutes Christopher would be calmed enough to finally go to bed.

“Baby? Don’t worry I’m fine the doctors just checked me out,” he’s slumped in a hospital chair in a way you know will have him complaining about his neck hurting tomorrow and his eyes are just as droopy and tired as the ones of the boy next to you.

“That’s good. There’s someone who really wants to talk to you.” Chris squeezes into the frame and you chuckle before handing him the phone, watching Bucks face light up as he sees him, “Chris! Hi, bud! What are you still doing up?”

Said boy giggles and starts recounting his evening. You start cleaning up a bit meanwhile, getting everything ready for Chris to go to sleep and for Eddie to return home without going straight to cleaning (because he would and that man really needs to rest for once).

The living room gets suspiciously quiet and you put down the kitchen towel and plate to check up on the two boys. “Chris?” Your heart melts when you see him laying down on the sofa with your phone clutched in your hand, still on the call and showing your husband also napping.

You gently take the phone and put it on the table to briskly talk to Evan after putting Chris to bed. Then you put an arm under his back and the other under his knees to carry him to his room. Luckily Christopher doesn’t wake up and you quickly tuck him in before leaving the room with the door opened a bit.

You turn off the lights except for the small lamp next to the sofa and pull a blanket up to your chin with your phone back in your hand.

“Buck?” He grunts in his sleep and the phone slips from his hand until it’s laying on the hospital bed and you huff a quiet laugh.

“Alright, I love you.” You whisper and hang up, quickly texting him to tell you when Eddie would be back.

The next morning you wake up to someone poking your cheek repeatedly and before remembering where you were you almost turn around and continue sleeping.

Then a small but very much insistent voice calls your name.

You squint your eyes at the light streaming in from the sun, the shadow keeping your eyes from being blinded belongs to Chris. “We need to visit Dad.” He decides in a sure voice. You stretch and sit up, reaching out to gently make him sit down as well.

“Visit him? I don’t know if we can yet I’ll have to ask the doctors…” Chris huffs unhappily and you nod in understanding. “I know, but you’ll see him soon.” Reaching for your phone you stop in your tracks when there’s a thump at the door before two voices can be heard throughout the hallway and into the living room.

Christopher looks at you with a confused look and your nervousness evaporates when you hear an exclaimed curse and another voice scolding him after. Well, that could only be your husband and the only one Chris wanted to see right now.

“Dumb and dumber are here,” you whisper to Chris and he giggles. After Bobby had called them that once Chris had picked it up and now it was kind of an inside joke between him and almost all of the 118 - to the displeasure of the two guys.

He holds his arms out and you pick him up, sneaking to the door to watch as one of them seems to try and get the key to fit into the designated spot.

“Let’s let them in?” The boy in your arms nods and you open the door, staring at Eddie and Evan with raised eyebrows. “You guys should never try robbing someone.”

Bucks jaw drops in offense and you can practically see the rebuttal on his face but he keeps it to himself and simply holds up two plastic bags, “We got breakfast.”

Chris is busy reaching for Eddie who seemed a bit unsteady on his feet but other than visible bruises he looked fine. You smile at him and pat his shoulder as he walks inside, kissing his son's head and gently murmuring about something as you focus on Evan.

“Morning,” you finally greet and lean up for a kiss, Evan gratefully giving you one. He grins down at you and then at the boy in your arms, “Chris! Did you protect her all night?” He asks with an exaggerated voice and you laugh and roll your eyes but take the plastic bags with food from him and pass Chris into his arms.

You leave the two to themselves as you look at Eddie and sigh before hugging him, “You scared us half to death yesterday.” He shrugs and grins “What else would I be doing other than stress you guys out?”

Your jaw momentarily drops and he grins with a shrug and fakes sympathy as he pats your shoulder. You two walk into the kitchen to prepare the food onto plates.

“How are you? Be honest,” you warningly add, fully aware of his habit to minimize his worries and pains same as your husband.

“Sore. Probably added some trauma to the collection.” He jokes and you look at him over your shoulder with a glare that makes him laugh. “No really. I’m fine. Just needed some rest and the bruises will go away with time.”

Nodding, you cross your arms over your chest and catch a glimpse of Buck holding Chris up and pretending to be an airplane. “How is he? He was ready to dig the earth up with his own hands when you got trapped.” You sigh.

Eddie nods and shakes his head, “Yeah, no he was pretty worried. I got quite the lecture when I woke up.” You both laugh at that and then you pass him two plates while taking the other two, “Let’s eat breakfast.”

-

When you’re home that evening you both are dead tired and yet Buck insists on carrying you up the stairs and helping you change into your pajamas (though you’re sure that was just for his enjoyment).

“I have tomorrow and the day after off. You know what that means? All day in bed,” he grins as he flops down onto the mattress next to you. With a smile you comb your hand through his hair and smooth your thumb along his temple.

“You definitely need to rest.” You agree and he turns his head to look at you, “Nope. I need you. So you better call in sick as long as I’m off.”

You huff at his demanding tone, raise both eyebrows and lean back on your elbows. The mattress and pillows make you groan in comfort as you concentrate your gaze onto him.

He was halfway laying down on his side with his arm propped up under him. He was wearing some black shorts and a dark blue t-shirt that was too tight around his biceps. His eye bags are worse than usual and you can tell since that night Eddie almost died he hasn't been sleeping well. His hair is an adorable mess and you don't refrain from reaching out and gently carding your hand through it.

He hums and closes his eyes with a small smile tugging on his lips. “I'll call in sick,” he perks up and opens his eyes again, a smirk replacing his earlier smile before you interrupt, “But only because I can actually feel that I'm getting a cold and not because you're asking me to.” He pouts and it goes unsaid by either of you that he played a big part in you taking some sick days.

After all, you usually put your health on the back burner, focusing on your job and other things like grocery shopping. Buck had always had a problem with that, lecturing you whenever he came home to see you passed out on the couch with tissues around you and a mountain of blankets keeping him from being able to throw himself on top of you.

“Alright, baby. I'm gonna be Doctor Buckley!” He grins and sits up, dusting off his shoulders and puffing out his chest. The action makes you burst into laughter and you fall on your back. He takes that as an invitation to lean over you and pretend to check your airways and pulse, pressing his ear over your sternum.

“You're so childish,” you comment and he happily ignores you to convert his checking of your breathing to laying on your chest with an arm wound around your waist.

It grows quiet and there's a comfortable atmosphere as you play with his hair while he snoozes on your abdomen.

Maybe you wouldn't mind being sick for a few days if this is the doctor taking care of you.

[crazylittlejester]

I'd absolutely love to hear what you have to say about Time 🙃 /gen

And, I hope you are feeling well. I think you said you were dizzy? I hope that gets better 🫶

I’m feeling much better, thank you!! I hope you’re going good as well :)

Sorry this took me a whole day to type out, but I finished!! I got it!!

I have a lot more thoughts, I had to cut a lot for the sake of making it readable and not obnoxiously long so I really hope I still get my points across well 😭 , but here we go:

An Abridged Version of My Thoughts on Time (I’m Insane I’m Sorry):

Okay so I’m starting off this whole thing by saying that 100% of this is my opinion and the research I did was done specifically to back my stance (which does not make it canonical fact. You can do research to back any point. You can do research to argue against my point, even). This doesn’t make my perspective or interpretation of a character the correct one by any means, and this definitely leans towards how I personally characterize and view him and is biased in that way because I’m the one who wrote it. All of you are entitled to your own opinions, you don’t have to agree with or listen to a single thing I say. In fact if you do disagree I encourage you to reblog and share your OWN thoughts so I can read YOUR perspective! I like seeing opinions people have and I love to see how differently all of us can view the same character /gen. I just that ask if you do do this, that you be kind and respectful to myself and others :)

This entire yap, analysis, whatever you wanna call it, is my perspective on Time and my thoughts behind why I believe he acts the way he does. At some point in all this I’m specifically going to focus on how he’s acting at the end of the Dawn arc and in the more recent updates. However in order to talk about that I wanna go to the beginning and talk about his past, the environment he grew up in, his relationships with others, and how I believe that has shaped the way he functions as an adult. My apologies now for being insane, unfortunately I have no life and also a lot of thoughts, and full access to a college library full of case studies- My professors would be so proud… Hope y’all enjoy lmao

Loneliness and Isolation:

One of the first things I noticed when I started playing OOT was this divide between Link and the Kokiri. Despite the fact that none of them know he’s actually a hylian, the bullying and teasing and the way they treat him for not having a fairy feels as though they’re making him to be different from them. Even Saria and the Great Deku Tree speak to/about him in ways that make it seem that, even though they care about him, they do see him as different from the others. (Granted, Saria’s treatment of Link is likely fully an unintentional thing. She doesn’t mean to be cruel when she makes her comment about how after Link got his fairy he could be a real Kokiri because she is a child and probably didn’t think about how that would come off to a kid who’s been arguably treated as less than for not having a fairy this entire time. She’s probably aware of how upset he’s been, but they’re children and I doubt she realized her attempt at comfort potentially made Time feel worse. The Great Deku Tree, on the other hand, referring to him as ‘the boy without a fairy’ immediately makes it clear to us as the player that Link is different from the Kokiri. He knows Link is hylian, which is something the player, Link, and the Kokiri do not know at this point)

Not having a fairy like the others certainly separates Time from the Kokiri because having a fairy companion appears to be a huge deal, something everyone has in common except for him. While it isn’t really on the same scale, I imagine this feeling of not having something your friends do could be, to an extent, comparable to how it would feel if all your peers had cell phones or social media access and you did not. (BAD EXAMPLE I KNOW BUT HEAR ME OUT.) The ability to consume media at such a fast pace and share jokes and trends with peers has become something to bond over, and being outside of that ‘world’ would leave someone to feel like they’re missing out on something they couldn’t possibly understand unless they get it for themselves. When your friends all have phones and you don’t, you have to sit there awkwardly when they all pull them out to text people or look things up, even if you’re doing something that doesn’t even require being on your phone, like going to the mall or hanging out. Sure they might show you a meme or two, but you can’t show them your memes, or share things and exist in the online world the way they do. Time could see and interact with the others’ fairies but he didn’t have that for himself, and I imagine it was probably hard for him to bond with the Kokiri because of it. Even if they were just playing a game or messing around and he wasn’t even being teased for not having a fairy of his own, those other fairies were right there as a constant reminder that Time didn’t have his own companion because he was, for a reason he couldn’t understand, different

Having played Skyward Sword and the beginning of Twilight Princess and seeing how both of those Links are treated by the people around them in comparison to how the Kokiri interact with Time, it feels safe to say there’s a good possibility he felt out of place and a little isolated by his own community. The way he was seemingly blamed for the death of the Great Deku Tree after finding out the life altering information that he is different probably did nothing but cause further divide between himself and the Kokiri in his mind, if not completely sever the connection he had between himself and that community

Do I think the Kokiri completely excluded him and intentionally tried to isolate him? No, I do not. However it’s clear that Saria was his best friend and the others weren’t always the nicest to him. It’s not too far a stretch to say he probably felt very lonely at times in his childhood, more so than the average kid

The theme of isolation and loneliness continues when the timeline shenanigans happen at the end of OOT and Time is now the only one who knows what happened to him. He has absolutely nothing to show for what he physically just went through and he can tell people about it all he wants but they’ll never understand because for them it simply never happened. Once again Time is isolated from this community he finds himself a part of because he’s different from them in a way they cannot relate to, driving a wedge between him and the rest of society. And Malon and Zelda are not people who would intentionally drive him further from feeling like he can belong, but they will forever be different from him in a way none of them now have the power to control. He formed relationships with them and with other people that were then erased. He knows a version of them that doesn’t exist anymore (in the timeline he continued to live in), and he’s alone in that. There IS no fix to that problem

Attachment Styles and Development

Relationships are crucial to child development and the connections formed when we’re young impact the way we create and view our relationships in adulthood. Peer relationships are just as important as parental ones because they play a different role. While your friends are the ones who have more of an impact on things like your music tastes, interests, and sense of identity/role within your group of peers, it’s your parents/caregivers who teach you right from wrong (often religion plays a part in that as well though not always), are responsible for feeding you and helping you learn new skills as a young child. Having a secure attachment and good relationship to caregivers when you’re young really impacts how you seek comfort as an adult and how you form relationships with others. Children whose parents or caregivers responded to their distress in unpredictable ways (by offering comfort sometimes and being unable to other at times, for an example) are less likely to seek out those figures for comfort or be soothed by them when the comfort is offered. I have no idea exactly how old Time was when he was placed with the Kokiri or what his mother was like, but I feel it’s fair to say the Great Deku Tree was probably the closest thing to a parental figure/caregiver (while he was living with the Kokiri) that he has any memory of. And I also feel it’s fair to say that as the stationary tree guardian of a bunch of immortal children, it was pretty impossible for him to support all of those kids’ emotional needs

Making this assumption based solely on Navi’s role in the story and what she does for us as players of the game: I feel like the fairy companions might almost be more of a parental/caregiver like figure to the Kokiri children than the Great Deku Tree is, simply because they’re able to be around them more. Navi helps Time (and the player) find things, gives clues, and helps the player with the game controls, so inside the actual game I think it’d be fair to say she (and other fairies) have more of a hands on role in guiding these children than the Great Deku Tree. And again, Time didn’t have that, not until his adventure started. He didn’t have a fairy companion while his friends and peers did, he was on his own. He wasn’t getting that potential comfort from a reliable caregiver the others were, which I believe can be partly responsible for how determined he is to solve his own issues. (Of course personality also has a play in things like this, and as we all know the hero’s spirit is incredibly fucking stubborn.) He was taught through the failures of the ‘adult’ figures in his life that the only one who’d be there to really comfort him was him

Identity and Relationships

Apart from feeling alone and not having the same types of companionship his peers did, I firmly believe Time seriously struggled with identity issues as well. Being told he wasn’t enough for the Master Sword yet, just to then be suddenly physically several years older and expected to operate as an adult despite having less than a decade of life experience, back to being shoved into the body of a child after living through horrors and accumulating scars that are now just gone doesn’t real make for the most confident, mentally stable of people. The message he most likely took from that was “You’re not enough as you are.”

He was a hero who saved a kingdom, then forgotten when everything was set back, and then abandoned by the one person (fairy) who went through it all with him after it was all done. If he’d felt alone or isolated in his youth before all that happened, I can’t imagine how overwhelming all those emotions were after all that. He needed Navi because she’s the only one who can really validate what he went through, she was the only one who could have understood him. She was a guardian and a friend and he couldn’t figure out why she left him, which must’ve just been absolutely devastating.

He was still just a kid, with no one to talk to about these issues. (Though he sort of works through some of them on his own through helping others in Majora’s Mask. Granted that left him with new issues even if it may have helped him work through a few old ones. I think there are quite a lot of similarities between Link and Skull Kid, but that’s a yap for another day.) I can imagine that both his identity and what he was supposed to do with himself were things he questioned constantly, and building relationships with people was probably very difficult for him when he hadn’t fully worked out himself. And he didn’t really have someone to comfort him or help him figure all that out

At a certain point, I think the feeling of being alone became almost a comfort to him. It was the most reliable thing he had, he could handle things on his own and that was something he knew for fact. He learned how to deal with his emotions and issues (maybe not in the healthiest of ways in his youth), and instead of being so suffocating, the isolation became something he could CONTROL. With all the instability throughout his childhood, the fact that he could reliably be on his own without dealing with the unpredictability of others was probably a relief. He didn’t have to worry about people leaving or getting hurt because he couldn’t protect them, but that didn’t really replace the feeling of loneliness so much as sloppily cover it up

Malon and the ranch are things that have been able to give him something he hadn’t had in years, which was stability and companionship. He’s been alone and isolated or dealing with loss his entire life, but she’s able to provide him with something steady, something safe to come back to. That’s been absolutely huge for him in regards to the healing process, because not only is it said in LU that she believes him completely, she’s literally his biggest supporter. And having a sturdy location and person to come back to at the end of whatever little trips he probably continued to go off to gave him comfort while still allowing him to keep that feeling of control over himself and his life. Sure not everything is perfect all the time and relationships are things that you have to put time, effort, and patience into, but he’s allowed to have his support and his much needed feeling of control over his life at the same time while living in that scenario. She loves him, she loves him very much and I have no doubt they worked together to get him to the place of comfort he’s at now. The panels from any of the ‘Malon’ posts are really the most relaxed we’ve seen Time for long stretches of time, it’s clear he’s been able to make a safe space for himself there

And now here’s the part where I actually talk about the recent comic update(s)!!!!!!!! (Yippee!!!)

Time is a very quiet, stoic character in LU especially when compared to the others, which are qualities that pull a lot from the hero’s shade. He’s the unofficial official leader, and he’s at a point in his life where he’s been able to work on himself and form healthy relationships (not perfect ones, but healthy ones built on communication which is clearly a struggle for him still but I cannot afford to get into that this post because that’s way too much. If y’all want a yap about that, ask me later). He puts a lot of stress and pressure onto himself, because he feels as though he’s responsible for these younger heroes, even though some of them have far more experience than he does

But in addition to this, he’s absolutely terrified of caring about people, and he’s not used to working with other people in this area of his life. Because no one sticks around, and if they do, what’s stopping the timeline from resetting somehow and taking their memory of him away? He no longer has the stability and comfort that comes with being alone because he’s forced to work with other people, other heroes who are equal to him in that regard, and people are unpredictable. And with unpredictability comes loss of control

Anger is an easier emotion for a child to process, and express themself through. This is why depression in children often manifests itself as anger. Children dealing with depression have a harder time managing and controlling their anger and can come off as snappier, inattentive, and reckless (obviously this is not the same case for every single child). While he certainly isn’t a child anymore in LU, I think Time is still someone who when overwhelmed is quick to anger, but this does not mean that he’s not kind. He’s incredibly kind and caring, and you can tell he loves everyone around him so deeply even though he’s probably a bit angry at himself for letting them all worm their way into his heart because he’s going to have to let them go some day. But still, some of that snappiness comes through even in his adult years and he’s a lot harsher with the others than I believe he intends to be. He’s not genuinely angry at them, he’s mad at the situation they’re in right now because he’s no longer responsible for just himself. He doesn’t have control anymore, and he’s probably back to feeling like a scared child who might be about to lose everyone again and he hates that

Twilight got hurt and he blames himself for it. He’s in an unfamiliar situation with people he cares a lot about who are all just as reckless and determined as he is, and he has absolutely no idea what to do with himself because in his mind if he lets something happen to one of these boys, that’s on him and he should’ve done better

Ough (A Continuation of ‘Isolation’)

In a way Time exists on a different level of the timeline. He retained memories of things that no longer exist, and he’s witnessed the rewritting of time over and over again. The timeline he was born in may no longer be the one he exists in, though it certainly branched from that original one. He has knowledge and memories of relationships that are real to only him in the timeline where he lives, and I would argue that because of this, he lives outside of society

Now this genuinely has nothing to do with anything I just wanna yap about something because The Voices, and it’s gonna be a fucking reach but if you’ve stayed this long you must find something appealing about my incoherent rambling so allow me to draw a genuinely insane comparison between Time and his existence in society and ‘The Lady of Shallot’, written in 1832 by a poet by the name of Alfred Tennyson. If you have no idea what this is, it’s incredibly short and easy to find with a quick google search, and I encourage you to read it. But for those of you who didn’t sign up for a poetry assignment today I’ll summarize

The Lady of Shallot is cursed to stay in a tower away from the rest of society and she’s unable to look upon Camelot with her own eyes, because something bad will happen if she does though she has no idea what. Day after day she creates these tapestries of what she sees of the society behind her through a mirror. She’s unable to look at it with her own eyes so what she creates is unable to perfectly reflect what it is the world has to offer. And she’s absolutely sick of it, she sees happy people wandering down below, knights riding through, she sees through her mirror what life is like for those within society and she wants to join them. She sees a beautiful man one day (Lancelot) and decides the curse is worth it, just for a chance to leave her tower, so she turns around and sees Camelot with her own eyes. She leaves her tower and goes to join society but by the time she gets there she’s dead

Now one of the meanings hidden within this is how artists are almost outside of society and that is how they are able to so accurately depict it, and that joining society and being ‘normal’ would make them unable to keep their unique perspective that isolation provides. But I’m going to be crazy here and draw parallels to a video game character because I CAN

Time exists outside of society and is isolated from every community he tries to be a part of because the differences between him and the Kokiri/normal hylian are so significant he feels like he doesn’t belong there. Despite having built his sense of identity back up, he still, to an extent, feels like an outsider. The things he’s been through separate him from being able to just be a normal guy, and he craves so badly to be part of a community he’s almost convinced himself he CANNOT join. The chain (and Malon, but mainly the other heroes) help him have something to connect to, because while they may not have the exact same experience they understand him more than anyone else ever could. He then tries to join society, something happens, and he dies a warrior full of regrets

Is it a reach? Yeah. But I like the poem and I can’t stop thinking about the parallels (that I’ve probably completely fucking made up at this point) every time I think too long about Time and it makes me claw at the dry wall and scream. I’m so normal…

Anyways, *weak cough* thanks for reading, if you did. It means a lot that you’ve supported my insanity. I hope this is coherent-

Thanks Emmie for reading through this for me 😭, and special shoutout to every single one of you who sent me asks yesterday to remind me to write this I love you all sm actually:

@trash-aged-like-fine-wine @rebornofstars @blueskybehindtheclouds @captainn-hook @ghosttoasts

[fleurriee]

 Ummm Hi I'm sending in this request before the population of fandom for avatar dies out completely can I ask for something that is so cute. Like shy reader who really likes neteyam but is to nervous to ever say anything about it and she's kind of singled out a lot and has little friends ( but her and neteyam are cordial with each other ) She goes to a gathering and is the only one who notices that neteyams stress and frustrated despite the festives and approaches him shyly with an offer to help “ i just want to be used by you tonight. can i be your personal toy? “ pls considered and thank you for still posting avatar also your a great writer

wooooo to be the one to help nete relieve some stress.... i loved this one, so thank u for sending it in!! hopefully the population of the fandom doesn't die out too much lmao... but, tysm, ily anonie <3

pairing ; neteyam x fem!reader

summary ; you take in into your hands to help neteyam relieve some of his stress and frustration.

themes ; talks of smut, tiniest amount of fluff possible, shy!reader/lonesome!reader

You’ve never been good with friends.

After all the time, you guess there’s just something about you that rubs others the wrong way, causing them to flee in the opposite direction quickly, before you can attempt to cling on to them.

Maybe that was it - maybe you came off too desperate, wanting just one friend who understood you completely, who would be by your side for all the good and bad. Maybe you were seeking it too eagerly; maybe you just needed to let it happen gradually.

The closest you’d got to a friend was arguably Neteyam Sully, Toruk Makto’s eldest son and future Olo’eyktan of the clan. But, the most you’d even really been was cordial with him, smiling and greeting one another in passing. Still, he was the only one who would meet your eye for longer than two seconds.

A part of your brain raged at you that it was just him being nice, just him wanting to make a good reputation for himself, seeing as he would be leading all of you when the time came later on down the line. And, that did make sense, but your optimistic side, the one that won out more often than not, told you he might secretly enjoy your company, that he didn’t just think of you as another random Na’vi.

You kept that particular thought in your head every time you looked in his direction… more so than ever now that the gathering was in full swing.

So much was happening, you weren’t entirely sure where to look - Na’vi were lingering within every corner of the surrounding area, each of them chattering away to their own family and friends, boisterous laughter spilling from them until you couldn’t even hear yourself think.

Making your way around people, trying your best to not bump into anyone and apologising to those that you did, you let your eyes flicker around to whoever they did. Your parents had actively forced you further out into the open, hoping that by doing so, it might help you interact with more Na’vi that were your age. But, looking out at the sea of people now, you couldn’t help but believe there was no worse idea than this one.

And, then, your eyes flew over him - Neteyam Sully. He’s standing towards the edge of the entire crowd, all alone as his own gaze flickers across everyone. His arms are crossed over his chest, and his brows are pinched, eyes slightly lowered. Even from a distance, it’s obvious he’s not enjoying himself.

The stress and frustration is emitting from him, lingering within the air and filtering within your own system, until you feel like it’s your job go to comfort him. Maybe this was the opening your parents had wanted for you - maybe you should take it with both hands and run with it.

So, with your heart on your sleeves as it pounded within its ribcage, excitement pounding within you at the thought of your offer you were going to give him, you made your way over to him.

He hadn’t noticed you coming until you were stood just in front of him, a shaky smile on your lips in spite of your nerves. When he spotted you, you noticed his shoulder had relaxed a little, looking down upon you with a welcoming smile of his own. “Hey…”

“Hi,” you spoke quickly, trying to muster the courage you needed for this next comment of yours, knowing it would definitely help him relax, “you didn’t really looking like you’re enjoying yourself…”

Neteyam chuckled at your words, shaking his head, but still looking fondly at you. “You could say that.”

Swallowing deeply, you sent him another timid smile, fingers beginning to fiddle with one another and stepping closer to him, making sure only he could hear your next words. “Well,” you started, “why don’t you… use… me?” you paused, gauging for a reaction, watching his ears perk up extremely high on his head, his tail starting to flick. “I mean, you can take it out on me… I can be your personal toy…?”

Your last sentence came out as more of a question, swallowing your heart in your throat. Just seconds away from deciding to turn back with your tail between your legs and embarrassment flushing your cheeks, he reached out for one of your arms, licking his lips and putting his fangs on display. There was a new twinkle in his eyes now, one that definitely had your stomach tingling with further desire.

“You gonna let me fuck you, pretty girl?” he asked, voice suddenly rough and low in comparison to the happier one he’d had earlier.

With a tight grip on your wrist, not letting you even think about leaving him now you had him excited and aroused, you knew you’d made the right decision to finally come out of your comfort zone and wrap yourself lovingly around Neteyam Sully.

[cosmos-dot-semicolon]

Act 1, and Leshy's relationships with the other Scrybes

There was a post on here a while ago about Leshy outright hating Magnificus more than P03, and one interesting observation was that he cuts the Wolf's stats, but boosts the Stoat's. I think there's more you can gather from Leshy designing around the other Scrybes, though:

GRIMORA:

Leshy seems to be the most amiable with Grimora. Yes, I think this probably comes a bit from the dev finding their aesthetics and gameplay styles easier to pair up, but I think's its also a little bit because she values fun quite strongly, which meshes well with his focus on lore: both things that aren't purely gameplay based unlike the weirder mechanics of the west-side Scrybes.

Similar to Leshy in act 2, none of her puzzles really cause any harm to her subordinates. It's meant to be some fun flavour plot for the player to engage their brains with before the battles. Honestly, the amount of times she says 'Marvelous!' alone should convince you of her priorities (outside of destroying the world!)

Leshy goes out of his way to design a totally new card for Grimora, which doesn't appear anywhere in act 2 or Kaycee's mod.

It's the only one with a sigil on it - it's a fragile card, but it requires more actual strategy than playing the non-sigil Wolf and Stoat.

One line of dialogue remarks that he wishes he had kept Grimora around, as she was at least a worthy challenger.

He says that the Stinkbug is weak, but other than that accepts you having it in your deck. Compare that to him absolutely hating the Stunted Wolf on sight.

If you look closely in the finale, Grimora has an insect crawling across the table in her campaign. I don't know if it's really a stinkbug, persay, but it's an interesting parallel to his choice of her species.

Someone has said before that there are notably more insect cards than any other species in act 1, which also plays into him being closer to her than the others.

Bones are literally the secondary currency in his campaign, whereas energy doesn't appear at all, and sigils are limited to a single map event.

stinkyyyy

MAGNIFICUS:

Between Leshy actively saying he hates Mag's card once you first get it (versus one line about the Stinkbug being weak), and him literally stabbing the guy's eye out, it's safe to say Leshy fucking hates this guy. I've seen different theories on this, between the clashing gameplay and Leshy being kinder to his subordinates, but the one I've thought was the most interesting was that Magnificus is arguably, the most powerful Scrybe.

He's the only one who does have a plan to get Leshy's takeover back to normal, and the other two Scrybes are desperate for you to find him in act 1 because of it. He has future vision, he writes letters to the others warning about potential takeovers, and you never see him scrounge for the OLD_DATA. correction in reblogs: i think it is mentioned that he has

I've always read Leshy's feelings towards Mag as jealousy, mixed with clashing ideologies. I don't think there's a single moment where the two agree on anything outside of act 3.

I don't have much to say on his card, gameplay-wise, as you get it very late. Honestly most of the Stunted Wolf's design is just foreshadowing that Leshy beat this guy up and stabbed out his eye, lmao, but it's still interesting to note that:

The Stunted Wolf is one of those cards that's a variant of another one (i.e. Wolf Cub/Wolf, Mantis God/Mantis), but it's notably the only one whose stats are worse than its predecessor.

At the same time, it only costs one blood, and it's the only 2-attack card to have that. Gameplay wise, this is to balance things out, but it hints towards Magnificus having been much more powerful in the past. Like it makes you ponder how fucking good it would be to start off with a one-blood 3-2 card.

Magnificus's only other gameplay feature in act 1 is the sacrificial alters (given his association with magic and sigils). These are fucking busted. God I wish I could have four sigils on a card in Kaycee's mod.

P03:

Leshy seems to not think very much of P03 (both in the sense of not acknowledging it and thinking it's not a good designer), but doesn't seem completely unwilling to work with him. I'd argue he's not really hostile towards P03, just very aggressively trying to push it into his own ideal of the world.

In Kaycee's mod, Leshy refers to him as a rival and not an enemy, which I think gives a good basis for interpreting how he views it. P03's breakup speech snapping at Leshy in act 2 is ultimately what gets him to question his intentions at all.

The mention that the stoat's suffering was real during the tutorial isn't really ever brought up again by Leshy. It's interesting to think about in hindsight, given that P03 being a robot means its the least likely to have experienced pain out of the four.

Combined with P03's remark that Leshy keeps him around just to suffer, and the later remark in act 2 that he thinks that it is noble to be a beast card, "even one as lowly as a stoat," this implies that Leshy's at the very least trying to get P03 used to his world, and almost hopes that he'll come to like it.

The unbuffed stoat is a really terrible card. All the 1-2 cards have some sort of gimmick to them to make them playable, but the normal stoat just doesn't at all. The buff to 1-3 is a gift from Leshy to P03, despite everything. It implies he at least thinks there's something that can be salvaged between them, in his own view.

And like. The buffed stoat is so so useful in act 1. The extra HP means it can take a hit from so many more cards and it's a solid foundation for basically any run.

The stoat's the only one of the talking cards without an animal family. Of course it is! Nature and technology are usually thematic opposites, especially compared to magic and death. P03 doesn't fit in here, but Leshy is still clearly trying to make it a foundational card in his campaign.

[spicybylerpolls]

i genuinely think it's the emotional intimacy of a sex scene that makes certain bylers uncomfortable. like, divide sex into two kinds: physical, where its just two naked bodies doing things but with no chemistry or passion. it doesnt inspire much excitement does it, storytelling wise OR as a viewer? but even if you imagine mike and will being intimate together in a way where genitals/naked bodies arent involved, for example dry humping, or just intense eye contact or even conversations where they are both 'into it' but not actually doing or talking about anything sexual... well, it gives you shivers! and thats the frisson creators and writers are hoping to inspire with their intimate stories. after all, a romance or sexual storyline that falls flat is worse than one full of controversy that promotes engagement. they could be talking about a completely unrelated topic but with that frisson present, we feel it as an audience.

heck, this is what s4 was lmao. this is what all innuendo and chemistry is. and it's unresolved right now. it's called sexual tension!

i remember a bit from Sex Education on netflix where a woman was saying she wanted dirty talk from her partner, and in the end it didnt even need to be dirty in content, just in the way they spoke to each other. it was about the tone and the intention, not the act itself.

this is how euphemism has worked in st so far. lucas' 69 sign? objectively, just a spray painted sign above a sleeping teen boy. but subtextually, if you know? well. you know! the same for the hose scene. its a wink and a nod, and its meant to be fun. not shameful.

and arguably its what mike and will have been doing all along, except romantically not yet sexually. crazy together... its so intimate and sweet. AND sweet. because love and sex when together (which is what byler would share, if they did have sex - never JUST sex) often IS sweet, so why would they lose that aspect of it?

let's prepare for plenty of frisson scenes in s5 wherein byler are trying to discuss something normal but keep inserting innuendo by accident or just setting things on fire with their chemistry and eye contact

Yeah! I mean, if there's this much sexual tension just while apologizing, or while talking, or while burying a body, I can't even imagine the level of frisson Byler will have during the apocalypse. Their whole relationship has been a tension-filled dance filled with subtextual allusions and accidental innuendos to their deeper bond/desire, and all of this has to be building to something spicy.

They are really about to be crazy together.

[deathbxnny]

YQ's Mother Requestor Anon here! I see the calling of angst so I am here to give! Can I request Mother!Reader and Baby Lai getting attacked with Reader almost dying bc they tried to protect our beloved baby but somehow survived, just in a coma? Yanqing managed to save them by unaliving the attackers like a madman [then Jing Yuan gets flashbacks about Jingliu's rampage on him] and only regains his humanity bc of his sister, then they run to a hospital!

Reader still lives (bc its fun to watch them slowly be traumatized) and heals, both physically and somewhat mentally!

-----♡

A/N: Hey there! Thank you for this great idea and sorry it took 50000 years for me to get to it. Life genuinely hates me lately and I've been extremely busy even on the weekends rn, so yeah... forgive me.

Content: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, murder, mentions of murder, injuries, child endangerment, violence, near death, good ending

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

You just wanted to take a quick walk around the Luofu with your baby, as you haven't been able to move around much after her birth. You smiled gently down at her, your hands keeping her close under your cloak, a soft hum of a tune leaving your lips, when you looked out into the distance. The sun was starting to set, bathing the world in a warm, orange hue. It was peaceful... until it wasn't.

In an instant, you were suddenly attacked by some Mara-struck soldiers, your body scrambling backwards, as you tightly clutched onto your baby. You had accidentally wandered out of the safe zones, completely distracted by the beauty of the area to really notice where you were going. You should've been more careful and yet, it was too late to regret everything now, when a next attack came swinging at the direction of your child.

You quickly turned away, taking the hit fully, your body skidding across the floor violently. But you still made sure that your child wasn't injured, even when she began to cry. Your head hit the ground, disorienting you, as the injury began to bleed. And whilst you were struggling to lift your head, your hands still so desperately holding your baby close to you, familiar swords suddenly appeared in your blurry vision. You could barely hear anything anymore, but when you saw the rough outline of your son, you let out a relieved sigh and just finally passed out, knowing that you and your baby were saved.

The enemies however stood no chance against Yanqing's wrath, as he practically ripped them all apart, even ditching his swords at one point. He was angry, beyond enraged. The thought of someone hurting his mother and little sibling was making him delirious and it took 5 cloud knights and eventually Jing Yuan to drag him off of whatever was left of the attackers. Jing Yuan was irked by how familiar the sight was, a memory of a distant, dark past flashing through his mind, before he quickly forgot it at the soft cries of his infant child.

It also calmed down Yanqing, who slumped in the cloud knights hold and finally just concluded that he had gotten his revenge, before he allowed himself to be taken away. You were brought to a hospital quickly after as well, having taken the brunt of all attacks, which left you quite injured. But the mental scars were arguably worse. It took you a while to be able to go outside again, the paranoia over something like that happening once more being always on the forefront of your mind. Your child also never left your eye sight, as you kept her in arms reach at all times.

Jing Yuan and Yanqing supported you greatly through your recovery journey, making you heal in no time again, for the most part. The scars and fears would always stay... even if they just lingered now in the back of your mind.

-----♡

A/N: God... I'm so sorry again for how long this took. I hope it's somewhat okay and that you can forgive me lmao-

[thestobingirlie]

interesting thoughts about steve re: the triangle and being the boy that helps nancy relax. i agree completely.

for me, as someone who was very much into stoncy and now leans more stancy (they are so cute holy shit), i have always been fascinated with the similarities and differences between steve and jonathan.

it is so clear to me, that jonathan could never truly take care of her in the way she needs, not on his own. not as a husband (in the future). nancy is very much the caretaker in that relationship, and natalia said so herself. i do love jonathan, and he is a strong caretaker for will and joyce obviously, but when it comes to nancy—he is unfortunately a burden to her in a way that steve will never ever be *or* even let himself be. jonathan has so much emotional baggage. its heartbreaking of course but its baggage that he makes no effort to tame or heal (besides smoking i guess), and i would argue he is absolutely selfish for fostering a committed relationship with nancy and expecting her to deal with that on top of her own issues. (i do get though that teenagers are selfish naturally.) but he knows he isn’t ready to support a girlfriend, he knows that. he also has to know how much heartbreak the inevitable end of his relationship will cost her, especially since she began her relationship with him in what was arguably the most depressed point in her life in the second season. jonathan, god bless him, is self-pitying but not proactive (see: following around your girlfriend with your tail between your legs like a wet sad dog wordlessly begging its owner for food) (but hes my wet sad dog). he is her perpetually passive accomplice and while that may be appealing to nancy when she’s in tunnel vision mode, even she is shown to be resentful of his inability to step up for her. he is malewife in the absolute worse way (i promise i love you jonathan).

then let’s think about nancy’s other dumbass malewife. steve is absolutely her caretaker, and let’s be real that is what she needs, whether or not she knows it (she does deep down). i dont mean that in a “nancy can’t take care of herself” way but in a “he wants her to have fun” way! he’s got to have a ton of shit haunting his dreams at night but like ken in barbie (lmao), does not let her see his pain. he is so selfless, always making sure he can be a light presence for her, a calm easy presence. jonathan doesn’t do that. jonathan doesn’t know how to take control of a “nancy wheeler is so deep into this truth journey she might get herself killed” situation—i see the (bad) “feminist” take often that steve holds her back and jonathan supports her but that is such watered down feminism. nancy is a badass but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t put herself into danger (she does.) and jonathan isn’t a feminist hero for supporting her dangerous endeavors (though ofc most of her endeavors save everyone’s ass).

any way: essay complete. i just really am falling deeper and deeper in love with stancy because i realize that nancy, as my favorite character, needs taking care of! like noooo one takes good care of her! let her bejeweled (taylor swift ref lmfao)!

i think what it comes down to for me, is that jonathan’s priority will always be will, and nancy deserves someone who will prioritise her.

jonathan’s gone through a lot of abuse, he’s been majorly parentified. he doesn’t put his own happiness first, and i think as a result, he doesn’t put nancy’s first. he thinks they’ll both be miserable and hate each other and their kids in the future, but he’s still with her. because that’s what you’re “supposed to do”. and i really, really don’t see him working through that anytime soon. especially not if he’s still in a relationship with nancy.

but steve. he makes her laugh! even in terrible times. we see this calming and happy effect that he has on her in s4. he tries. even if it wasn’t enough when nancy was deep in her grief. he was trying.

like you said, nancy deserves to be swept off her feet and romanced. for someone to want to take care of her. for someone to want a future together, instead of resent one.

i think it’s insane to say it’s anti-feminist to ever question a woman lmao. steve wants nancy to be safe, that means he doesn’t always like her plans. her plans often put herself and others in danger because she gets all in her head. i think she needs someone to stand up, and lay out what might be wrong with the plan. to go toe to toe with her.

(and the irony of people criticising steve for not immediately liking nancy’s plan in s4 when that plan did not work lmao. two people died. and neither of them was vecna.)

obviously all three of them are imperfect. they’re teenagers! they’ll fuck up and do harsh things. but what matters is that they care about each other. steve cares about nancy, so he laid out his feelings, and stepped back. jonathan cares about nancy, and he kept secrets, didn’t explain to her what he was feeling, and allowed this… resentment almost, to fester. he’s an avoider! it doesn’t mean he’s a terrible person, but it does mean he shouldn’t be in a relationship.

[kaiba-cave]

Why did my upstairs neighbour just recently decide the best spot for all her random laundry crap is right at the bottom of the stairs?

Like bitch. Someone is gonna fall on that why would you put it there? Not to mention, a while back our landlord asked us not to leave our laundry stuff in the laundry room anymore… and the laundry room is literally to the left of these stairs lmao. So like, her stuff is still in the laundry room but in an arguably worse spot now. 😂 (Those boxes are also all hers.)

I guess she decided it’s been long enough that she doesn’t have to listen anymore and she can put her stuff back in there again. I don’t think the landlord has done laundry since she left it there and I haven’t tattled on her even though I was tempted lmao. Those boxes are also all her crap. I hope the landlord says something to her next time she does laundry. 😤

[moreespressoformydepresso]

So to get to the soulmate identifying mark and the actual story/fix-it part of the my Treech x Gaius x Festus soulmate AU, it uhm… took me longer than expected to type this. I was a dumbass who decided it was bedtime and then completely forgot to keep working on this draft lmao. Whoopsies.

There are many soulmate identifiers that could work in this AU, but I tend to stick with marks because it gives Treech a good excuse to already be aware of the bond. It adds an extra layer of character that he’d know about it and actively choose not to share this information. Their mark has a floral pattern, symbolizing Festus and Gaius’s positive personality traits. The aspect of the mark that represents Treech is the fact that this floral pattern is actually a wood carving. The wood texture is easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it, but it’s there. It represents not only Treech’s passion for wood carving, but just his creative side in general. He's also not scared to speak his mind, and art is a form of self-expression. Treech is present in the core of the mark, under the surface but undeniably there. Kind of like their eventual dynamic, where Gaius and Festus have power but they’re so in love that Treech is the one calling the shots. Since Capitol elite is a whole lot of social climbing Treech is arguably the first person to ever show outright disdain for them, and even when he starts to like them he’s not afraid to speak his mind. And since he’s their soulmate, they actually care about his opinion.

Alright, with that ramble out of the way, lets get fixing:

So this AU starts on the first day, where Coryo brings Lucy Gray the rose and she mentions it reminds me of her soulmark (part of the mark is a guitar with a white rose motif). Then in the zoo she mentions playing the guitar and the gears start turning in Coryo’s head. After a brief stint of denial he realizes that Sejanus is also his soulmate and from the districts so really it’s not that impossible. One trip to the zoo later confirms that yes they’re a threesome. Coryo goes through his mental gymnastics of “well she’s Covey so it’s fine” until Sejanus smacks down his pitiful grasping at straws. After all, he considers himself district, so Coryo’s logic isn’t logicing very well. He brings it to Tigris, who helps him come to the correct conclusion that maybe the world isn’t black and white. Maybe judging people based on where they were born isn’t good, actually. And also Lucy Gray is gonna be sent into an arena to die soon so really regardless of whether she’s district or not the clock is fucking ticking so he better figure something out and get a move on. Which he does by talking to Gaul, who does not listen to a word he says hammers on about her stupid theory about humanity.

One talk with Sejanus helps Coryo realize that maybe Gaul’s world isn’t gospel and actually she’s kind of crazy? Sejanus, meanwhile, has the realization that his boyfriend isn’t exactly healthy minded and hasn’t been all that upfront with him about how close he is with Gaul. What nonsense she’s been feeding him and all that. So he starts digging, as he does, and over the course of this story he and Lucy Gray slowly help Coryo realize that Gaul is wrong and that while the loss of his parents is sad, the Capitol has done much worse than the districts ever did for far longer. Their treatment of the districts caused the rebellion, so if anyone’s to blame it’s the Capitol. But before they can bring systematic change they need to make sure Lucy Gray doesn’t die next week, and while Coryo is planning to stick with cheating his soulmates aren’t about that. The other tributes deserve to live as well, so hey why not shoot high and try to cancel the games entirely? But Gaul isn’t gonna stop and Highbottom has no say so what can they do?

Expose the bond. That’s what they can do. They get a news crew to the zoo and reveal their shared soulmarks on camera, live so no Capitol censorship can take it down. It causes quite the problem for Gaul, who tries to save her precious games and thus basically “disowns” Coryo as her apprentice. This is the final push that gets Coryo to choose being a good person. However, he has two soulmates that are considered district and the Snow family lost a lot of influence so Gaul is using that to argue that this bond doesn’t “count” as proof that the district people aren’t vile animals. This is where Treech and his bond comes in. Gaius and Festus have been pushed as a power couple for a long while so at some point Treech caught a glimpse of their soulmark and realized it’s his own. It’s in a pretty hidden spot (either on their sides or torsos) so he decides to keep this information to himself. Until he realizes the games may actually at least be postponed if he reveals it.

But he has no idea how to go about it until Gaul’s pushing causes the interviews to come around. It’s the day before the games and it’s not like there’s anything to lose so Treech decides it’s time for a hail mary pass. And on live TV, in front of a massive audience, he reveals the mark. Lucky asks him whether he knows his soulmate and whether they’re waiting for him, so Treech smiles and says he’s never talked to them but he knows who they are, and he’s not sure whether it’s a blessing or a curse. Then when asked what that means, he starts lifting/pulling aside his shirt to show the mark while saying:

“Well, one of them lives in luxury thanks to the pain that me and everyone I’ve ever known has been put through. The other one openly jokes about said pain and clearly thinks it’s funny. I’m not sure if I really want to get to know them.”

Cue gasps all around. Shocked whispers and murmurs floating through the air while Lucky tries to figure out how to salvage this situation before a whole brawl breaks out because guess what? Treech has just irrefutably debunked the only thing that kept the games from being cancelled. Lucy Gray’s bond wasn’t with true capitolites? Well Gaius and Festus have been pushed as the greatest example of a golden capitol bond and now this nobody from the lumber district turns out to be a part of it! There isn’t really any arguing against that. To rub further salt into the wound Treech continues.

“It’s okay, they probably wouldn’t want me anyways. Since they need me dead to win a cash prize and all that. As if they need more money when the shoes they’re wearing right now are already more expensive than my entire existence.” Treech smirks. “And if they do want me, then too bad. I don’t want anything to do with them.”

“Why not?”

“Well again, one of them is the son of the guy behind all of my suffering. The other one… he was mean to Panlo. How dare anyone be mean to Panlo?!”

That accidental display of humanity (dismissing someone entirely because “they were mean to my friend”) is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and finally there’s enough proof for those opposed to the games to grow in numbers and start mass-protesting the day of the games. Some gather in front of the president’s mansion while the rest groups in front of the arena to prevent the games from starting. And it works. I have several snippets of what happens after this but I’ll write those out later. And I’ll write a short post with all the quotes I’ve thought up for this AU. Eventually. For fun.

[atopvisenyashill]

Hi! I loved your speculation on what if Tywin died instead of Joanna. What do you think could've happened if he had died of natural causes or in a freak actual accident weeks after Joanna, and the Lannister Three had lost both parents within approximately a month or so? Do you think Kevan would've been regent? How would he and the remaining Lannister family have influenced baby Tyrion and the increasingly amorous twins?

I do think its likely Kevan steps in as regent yes, and considering we know Genna had a huge hand in raising them, its likely Genna is also de facto Lady of Casterly Rock for a while too. A lot of the problem with this is that neither Kevan nor Genna have Tywin's political and martial mind nor are they as hubristically ruthless as Tywin and they're also not as observant as him or Joanna (clearly, or one of them would have suspected the incest but we have no real indication they ever suspected much of anything).

While I think this probably means Tyrion's life is a little easier - Kevan might force Tyrion to set Tysha aside, for example, and he may even be awful enough to think to put her on a walk of shame but I don't think he has the imagination or evil in him to do *gestures broadly* alla that. Genna seems to be arguably fond of Tyrion so in a household where he's likely either ignored or occasionally talked down to, he's better off emotionally (if still frustrated and longing for similar things). I ALSO think without Tywin and Joanna there, things get real rough for the twins real fast. Jaime is still going to be interested in fighting and likely still participates in the Crakehall thing, which means he comes to Aerys' attention while Kevan is matchmaking. While I don't think Kevan is bold enough to suggest Cersei to Aerys, I dare say Genna is, and she's much more likely to get rejected than Tywin, but while all this is happening, Cersei is more than capable of scheming with Aerys to get Jaime on the Kingsguard - and being able to deprive Tywin of his heir after he's died and can't have any more IS absolutely something that would appeal to Aerys.

So while canon events are likely still more or less happening, the trauma of losing both parents back to back is going to make them cling even harder to each other, and it's going to make the incest worse for everyone. Maybe there's some slight differences - maybe Kevan doesn't send Amory and Gregor to go kill Elia, maybe he joins the rebels a little earlier, maybe he stubbornly DOESN'T join the rebels - but I can see, with Kevan as acting Lord of Casterly Rock, him moving in the same broad way as Tywin during this era and Cersei winding up married to Robert but a Cersei and Jaime that have been even more deeply trauma bonded than before, and potentially a Cersei/Jaime that have been separated a bit less (bc Tywin isn't going to and from court constantly) in my opinion, have REALLY OBVIOUS TREASON rubber stamped on their foreheads lmao. Robert already didn't abuse Cersei as much with Jaime around, but a Jaime that is more psychosexually obsessed with her than he is IN CANON? He's just gonna kill another king, and people are gonna start asking hard questions about Cersei's kids. And Kevan is not brutal enough to give Cersei the cover she needs to flagrantly commit treason the way Tywin did, which means House Lannister is fucked wayyyyy earlier than they are in the books.

[whiskeyswifty]

What if midnights wins aoty what then

lmao i mean personally i'll groan and roll my eyes. but also you need to remember the grammys, like most awards bodies, do not operate on a merit based system. in the past 10 years, grammys have devolved into one of the worst representations of modern music we currently have. latin music is one of the most popular genres in the world right now, and WHERE is it in the big three?? still segregated into it's own separate awards show for extremely bigoted reasons at this point. I don't even have to bitch about rap/hip hop's pitiful representation, arguably america's number one genre of music for the younger generations, as they've always been treated like shit in recent years. the grammys are simply laughable. almost every music critic that covers music covers the grammys like it's a farce nowadays. half of them predict jon batiste to win again because that's how ridiculous the voting body is.

If you weren't aware, the voting body is comprised of an older-skewed male-skewed and white-skewed group of people, as eligibility to vote is based on a musical version of tenure. (which is not to say it's any worse than the oscars eligibility to join the academy which is such that you can't apply. you have to wait until current members vouch for you as a SPONSOR to NOMINATE YOU as a potential academy member and you need board approval to even get an invite, the only exception being that you get an automatic invite if you're nominated. which is why it took taylor so long to get invited. which is all just to say awards bodies are INSANELY stupid and biased but i digress). the very narrow minded voting body, compounded with the Way It Works (campaigning which comprises of shaking hands and kissing babies egregiously between now and voting week) is what has led to the most insane grammy outcomes of the past 10-20 years.

So if she wins, or doesn't win, it means the same thing which is nothing. not to her of course, the grammys number one stan, but in the broader scope of music it means absolutely nothing and is not an indication of meaningful, or quantifiable, success. The only thing a grammy means is that a bunch of old white men like your music and idk if that's the kind of endorsement you want. I've said it before and i'll say it again, the extensive and prolific list of people who have never won AOTY at all are far better company to be in than the winners. it's recently been said by critics and industry people smarter than me that the music world would view a midnights win as more of a win for her myriad of successes all YEAR and less for the album itself. and that really tells you all you need to know about this entire process i think.

[sevenfifteenam]

one last thing before i go to sleep: Storybrooke and Free Will

so, i've been wondering about this for a while now.

apparently, the inhabitants of storybrooke had free will during the dark curse- which i find hard to believe, because they're trapped in this little town and have no memories of their real selves. i mean, how much of it is free will when you're stuck in the confines of a persona that isn't you? mary-margaret may have had free will but was forced to do the same thing over and over again, and had no memories of who she originally was... even jefferson who has his memories, doesn't seem to have much of it, although for different reasons). the notion of free will under the dark curse is completely ridiculous, but for the sake of this, i'll roll with it (or at least, try to)

in my mind, people gained free will as emma came along- that's what makes the most sense, because no one has free will when stuck in a time loop (so of course, when the clock starts moving... shit goes down) + regina's influence on the town decreases when emma arrives imo (with ruby leaving granny, ashley taking back the contract, graham leaving regina, etc etc. these characters finally get to "break out' of the loop, and to which i say good for them!!)

which brings me to my "analysis" of the day: david nolan. i'm highkey obsessed with this little guy in a /neg way because he started out with no cursed memories, therefore giving him more free will than anyone with this show- and i think it initially helped a lot with this decision-making because charming still shined through david nolan. he knew he wanted mary-margaret, and immediately left kathryn to be with her, just like charming has never been afraid to pursue what he actually wants. i guess we could look at the parallels between 1x06 david nolan and charming but we'd be here all day, so i'll just say that it's interesting to see david give up on love for what he deems a "noble reason" in both timelines but in completely different ways with him being 'trapped' by his fake memories and george. especially since in the first case it's because he has his fake memories that he has to... anyway

i understand that the amnesia and suddenly remembering his cursed memories must have not been easy, but that definitely did not warrant the mess that was cursed snowing LMAO

what's interesting is that david has the same problem as anyone else: he technically has free will (solely as his cursed persona, which is a whole other can of worms...), but this town is so under regina's control that in the end, one could say "ah well, regina's curse made me do it!" because i like to think it's everyone's go-to excuse when discussing the fucked up shit they did under the dark curse BUT david doesn't have that. when he woke up, emma was already there, so he didn't have the remnants of regina's influence.

but also the whole time, david was very much going against regina's will, which makes it... arguably worse? i mean, he got his memories as regina was losing control over the storybrooke narrative but damn. he was just doing whatever. regina would try to get him away from mary margaret and he'd show up at the diner at 7:15AM like... hiiiiii

i have some beef with the writing itself because i still don't know if their cursed selves were supposed to be diametrically opposite to their OG selves or if their OG selves were dormant. the latter seems more likely because mary-margaret still has enough snow in her to be able to dropkick jefferson and ashley just straight up pepper sprayed gold- to which i have to say, legend behavior by the way.

what i mean is that it's not a thing for david post 1x06, save for being irrevocably drawn to mary-margaret/snow. like, in 1x16, charming could not believe for one sec that snow would ever do something cruel while david... david went for the (in this case, metaphorical) kill by throwing out all the faith he had in mary margaret. i don't know if it's on purpose or if his cursed memories overrode every charming trait he had (badum tss) but damn... cheater coward liar annoying like pick a struggle babe, you can't have them all </3

i sound like a hater but i'm just cranky because it's almost 1AM and i'm overthinking about free will in a small fictional town under a curse that was broken when i was beginning middle school (i'm almost in my mid twenties)

[ladymorghul]

ngl the claims that have been making rounds on Twitter saying Aegon would make Aemond's bastard heir and marry him to Jaehaera are giving me massive headaches. I just can't believe how the same people are losing their minds at Helaemond theories (which they have every right to disagree with and dislike obviously, but they're harassing people over them) because it would make the Greens look like hypocrites and the Blacks would make fun of us yet at the same time push their even more delusional headcanons about Aemond's bastard on the rest of the Green fandom. My brother, your headcanons are arguably worse and Team Black is going to have a field day with us if they ever become canon or close to it. You can't possibly fight against Rhaenyra's Strong bastards inheriting the throne yet push for Aemond's Strong bastard (made with another Strong bastard) to be legitimised and be Aegon's heir.

For real, even if the boy turns out to be trueborn and Aemond stupidly married his mother, Aegon still wouldn't name him his heir, if anything he would name his own bastard heir. He would never have the support to do it from the remaining green lords and has no dragons left to impose his will on them. For example why should the Baratheons support such a move??? That kid would a reminder to them about Aemond NOT respecting his betrothal and spurning their daughter! It would be a slap in the face to support him, swearing allegiance to the Blacks would be a better move instead. And I'm not even accounting the Black lords who at that point had more military power than Aegon/the remaining Greens and would obviously oppose such a move. Do they really believe that Cregan Stark would stand for this? LMAO. Everyone would've rebelled against the Kinslayer's son with a bastard woman and alleged witch becoming their king. Like it or not, Jaehaera marrying Rhaenyra's son was the best move as it united both Aegon II's claim and Rhaenyra's. Aegon III was always the best choice for her and it also had the support of lords from both sides. Aemond's son would've caused further problems.

Also, like you've already pointed out by using the text from F&B, it's crazy for them to claim Al*s did not care about the Iron Throne when in reality she demanded those knights to bend the knee to her son, calling him trueborn and real king. If she really wanted to raise her kid in peace she would've released her hold onto Harrenhal and disappear with her son somewhere far away, but no, instead she actually put him in danger by claiming he's the real king. Now of course those people would probably argue that fighting for their child's claim was Al*s' way of honoring Aemond and their pure, genuine and tragic love, but let's be real, it's not hard to figure out why she actually did it.

It's simply insane how many Greens believe and are rooting for such a scenario. It's delusional and makes us look like the fandom's biggest fools. That kid will most likely end up dead (best case scenario he disappears and will never be heard from again) in Fire & Blood part 2, even more if Al*s raises him and instills into him the belief that he's the real heir and King and causes problems to King Aegon III, like trying to instigate a rebellion against him (and honestly this is probably why GRRM created him in the first place - to cause future problems to the Iron Throne). In that case the crown would have no option left but to kill him together with his mother and trust me, Daemon's sons would not hesitate to do just that. We also know Harrenhal will eventually be given to the Lothston family in the 150s which only means that Al*s and her son were dealt with one way or another. Now of course those people have further theories about that boy founding House Whent (making him the ancestor of the Stark kids from the main series) but the theory is even more crazy and delusional, has no basis and the timeline doesn't even match given the fact that the Whents were given Harrenhal decades after the Lothstons. Also why, just why would GRRM make Al*smond the Starks' ancestors. It serves no narrative purpose.

i agree with pretty much everything you said

as for the whent theory, idk enough lore to be able to argue if that would be plausible or not, but the only reason i saw people care about this theory beyond the romance of it is that "alicent's bloodline doesn't die out"

personally i'm far more interested in jaehaera, but i do have to wonder why the "we don't care about bloodlines continuing" position has turned into support for this theory. maybe the tb stans got to them, idk

but yeah, beyond the whent theory, which i can't really comment on, i think it was really funny that not only people believe aegon ii would marry his brother's son with a bastard and a witch to his daughter, but that he'd name him his heir and that it would be 100% a smart decision to make

i can tell you this: you dont even have to read f&b to see and foresee how that would be a bad decision beyond it being a fantasy because aegon ii wouldn't do that

and it's even funnier that it comes from fellow "greens", especially when some of them have the audacity to be so loud about other bastards

alys was a bastard and unlike luke and jace, she's unlikely to have a noble mother, and it'd be unlikely that she and aemond would marry, but even if that son would be "true born", he would still be the son of a bastard woman known to be a witch and neither the greens nor team black supporters would stand for this

aegon ii was seeking to make more true born heirs and part of the peace agreement was for jaehaera and aegon iii to wed

and i think funnier still was the idea that aegon would castrare aegon iii and send him to the wall 💀 i think people don't understand the fragile situation that the greens were in at the end of the dance and how keeping aegon iii unharmed was key to appeasing the team black supporters

[alwysnangel]

the cabin almost being a character in itself is really interesting, this thing that protects them, that is haunted in some way (the creaking, the blood seeping from the walls even if you argue thats just mari going crazy, the birds mass suiciding on the roof, lottie getting possessed) this thing that is their only hope to survive the winter without all ending up like jackie, it burning down makes you wonder how they continued surviving without it bc theres not a lot of other options

- they return to the plane and somehow fix it enough to keep them warm

- they find the hideaway(whatever you wanna call the underground hovel thing ben is currently in)

- somehow find another cabin in which i will genuinely believe there is a spirit bc wtf

- construct something of the rubble somehow

there is arguably an infinite amount of possibilities but my best bets are the plane or the hideaway. i think ben will have to pay for what he does bc no doubt nat puts the pieces together. the only person missing who just told her of a place they could survive winter in together and is probably cold and hungry and obviously resents the girls for resorting to eating jackie and now javi. she may not voice it immediately but she’ll know and when she does tell the other i dont know if she’ll go full on hunt him down mode but considering their past behavior when they believe their queen has been wronged (ie the nat v lottie hunt) they will want some kind of retribution. trying to kill them is alot worse than calling their queen crazy lmao, i firmly believe he wont last long in s3 and if he does he will be actively hunted in some capacity the whole time.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Hiiii, I just wanted to say Thank You, legitimately, for all of the very very good shinon posts you've made (you've hit the nail on the head why I like him so much as a character (also I'm playing through por for the first time and gd the growth in RD was so visible to me right away (for him and jill, but seeing soren act as he has legit surprised me and now i am going 'i can fix him' towards soren). Also! I am a big fan of Shinaff as well <3

Do you have any thoughts or posts on Zelgius, Tibarn, or Naesala? I'd love to hear more of your thoughts and with those 3 being....well, themselves, I'm very curious :3

THANK YOU FOR READING THEM ALL. Also THANK YOU for loving him!!! I'm so happy to know someone is seeing his growth from both games.

I actually recently met someone in another fandom who told me they've always been a Shinon fan and grew up around people who were also fans so they never even realized how hated he is in the fandom. I was like DAMN, wish I grew up with you guys lmao. It's so hard being a huge fan of him when people don't bother looking past a single trait, but will excuse it in Soren just because he's the resident gay twink (and idk that he's even gay more than just Ikeromantic LMAO).

I love Soren but he's arguably worse than Shinon in the bad habit department that everyone hates Shinon for, given that his reasons for being kinder to laguz is only for Ike and not for personal growth, whereas Shinon's growth is because he's realized he's been wrong and again, also why I argue his supports with Janaff are so incredibly important to him. It's like the mid development that's missable in a given playthrough, but so important as the bridge between games.

I know I had an ask once about Jeritza and Zelgius that I believe @reneethegreatandpowerful sent, but I can't find it now and I've had so many asks that wading through them, tags and all, was fruitless LOL. Otherwise I might have said some things about Naesala here and there, but not really Tibarn. When it comes to Tellius I don't talk much about the overly beloved characters because other people do it all the time anyway.

I do find both of them interesting in that Tibarn was pretty nasty originally, and when I recently replayed PoR I realized that nowadays, if I'd been playing for the first time, that I would have leaned more toward Naesala's arguments at the laguz gathering. I think because back then, my first time playing, I was basically just a kid (I mean this was in like 2005ish? I was very young) so I kind of was lured in with thinking Naesala was "bad" at first (I came around to him eventually, but little me didn't use her brain in video games as much as I would've liked her to when she was in grade school LOL).

That's a really generalized point overall, but mainly just to give you an idea that yeah, I think about them! I just don't write about them as much because Shinon needs the help more LMAO.

If you have any specific questions though I'm totally fine with answering them!

Also fuck yeah for the Shinaff fans. We are smol in number but we are powerful in brain. >:3