#and stupidly in love with each other

[softquietsteadylove]

Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU

Gil falls asleep on Thenas Couch while waiting for her to finish her paperwork. Let’s do some soft Thena moment :)

Thena sat back with a sigh, finally done with her paperwork for the day. There were some rather big deals coming through and she had a little extra workload for it. But it would be a very lucrative investment for her business once they were done with it.

Gil had been patiently waiting for her to be done with her work so they could spend some time together.

She still didn't think it was good for his business - or his image - to always be hovering around her. But she had, at least, stopped trying to argue him out of it. It didn't do any good, anyway.

"Gil?" she called softly, standing from her desk chair, "I'm done."

No response.

"Gil?" she asked again, a faint clench in her chest as she wondered if maybe he was a little mad at her for making him wait around so long. She wasn't the one who asked him to!

Gil was asleep, stretched out on her work couch and so out of it he was drooling a little.

Thena rolled her eyes at her terrifying Tyrant King--sleeping like a baby. She walked over to him, pulling his pocket square from his suit jacket to wipe off the corner of his mouth. "Helpless thing."

Gil barely even stirred as she lifted his head to place it in her lap.

The Ice Queen settled herself on the couch next to him, running her fingers through his hair and pulling out a book she only ever read in solitude. She was working on her Korean.

She hadn't exactly told Gil explicitly that she was learning it, nor did she have any desire. And most certainly she hadn't spoken any to or even around him, yet. But she thought it was important to have some in her vocabulary. It was good business, of course.

It wasn't in case she ever had to meet his family for herself--certainly not so that if she ever saw the Little Heiress again she could tell her off in her own language.

It certainly wasn't because she had assumed that Gil's family would demand to have a traditional Korean wedding ceremony, regardless of what their own plans were.

If she had ever considered things like that, which she wasn't, really.

Thena's eyes left her vocabulary book and drifted down to the Tyrant King himself. He was blissfully asleep with his head on her thighs. She looked down to the open collar of his white shirt, allowing the edges of his tattoo sleeves to peek out. She looked down at his hand resting on his chest, rising and falling slowly and steadily.

Thena slid her hand under his and lifted it gently, careful not to wake him. She held the hand, turning it faintly under the light to examine the tattoo on his ring finger. It was visibly newer than the rest of the sleeve encroaching down the back of his hand. It was also fairly intricate, featuring some kind of design rather than being a solid band of ink. She pulled it closer.

It was the pattern that was woven into her lace shawl.

He must have drawn it out for his tattoo artist to render it--and in such a small form.

Gil turned over and Thena gently laid his hand down again, brushing her hand over his forehead to keep him in his state of slumbering. It seemed to work as he shifted, only so he could snuggle his face into her dress.

Thena sighed, allowing him the indulgence only while he was asleep and they were alone.

"Boss?"

Thena paused for a moment. She could debate not answering, which would send Kingo away without a second thought to why she hadn't responded. And if it were truly important, the information would get to her one way or another.

"Come in."

"Hey, I--oh," Kingo blinked and yet didn't seem particularly surprised by the body of the Tyrant King himself residing in her lap. "Sorry to interrupt."

Thena just glared at him, her hand on Gil's forehead, "what is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you that the deal in Seychelles went through," Kingo said softly, kneeling down to the armrest of the couch with the file. "I'm putting the paperwork through and we'll see our turn of the profit within the week."

"Thank you."

Kingo looked up at the Ice Queen and then down to the man in her lap and back up again. "You smile more when he's around."

"Shut up."

"I mean it," Kingo smiled at his boss and frankly one of his oldest friends. This wasn't his teasing grin or a shit-eating smirk he got when he was proven right about something. This was Kingo and Thena. "You're happier with him."

Thena looked down at Gil, sighing as she smoothed over his hair again, "maybe."

"it's a good thing," Kingo patted the sofa armrest before standing again, "all I'm saying."

Thena smiled at him before he saw himself out to complete the work day. He was right, and she was entirely too aware of it. She was happier with Gil--she was a little too happy, maybe frighteningly happy. But she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about that when he did things like this.

Or when he started keeping lilies on his desk because he said they reminded him of her perfume. Or when he took care of her when she was bedridden or even when he was naming fish he'd bought after her. How was she supposed to resist loving him like that?

Thena set her book aside. Her mind wasn't geared for learning at the moment anyway. She continued to pet his hair idly, both for his comfort and hers. The other hand undid one more shirt button and slipped inside so she could feel his heartbeat against her palm.

That steady rhythm was a promise, and a comfort, and a vow, and her favourite song. It was the same beat of her own silly little heart.

"Hey."

"Hey," she smiled in an unusually soft way--in an unusually soft moment. She tilted her head, her hair pooling around him on her lap. "Enjoy your little nap?"

"I am now," he grinned up at her, happily shimmying his shoulders against her legs. "How long was I out?"

"Not long." Not that she would have told him even if he had been asleep for ages. "I just sat down."

"Then maybe you should lie down too," he suggested eagerly, his eyes brightening at the very notion.

"Some of us know better than to nap on stiff work furniture."

"It's comfortable enough for us to-"

Thena leaned down, pressing her lips to his before he could complete that thought. He happily abandoned it in favour of kissing her.

[dynahops]

Watch out! Sniper x Scout

[pastelpaperplanes]

KOBD for the soul

[akirathedramaqueen]

There's one piece of concept art that made me see the entire Apology Tour disaster in a different light.

So, we've been talking with @warblogs17282 about Stolitz and how their break-up ended up playing out in the 'Apology Tour' episode.

Why ended up? Well, there's a collection of concept art which, to my limited understanding of this craft, is one of the first steps in the production process of animation. This post by @birdy-babe includes a great chunk of it, shared by artists after the episodes aired (like storyboards, but much more stylised, showing how different some original ideas were). Long story short, one of the concept arts from the 'Apology Tour' episode suggests their quarrel was originally meant to be much harsher.

A short summary of the concept art to see what we are dealing with

In the background, you see a lot of apology postcards and silly cutesy stationery, suggesting Blitzø is in the middle of his Apology Tour.

The contact name isn't 'Stols' but 'Bird Dick,' implying their relationship is at an earlier stage, with less respect—at least on Blitzø's part.

There's a photo partially cut by the edge of the messages screen. From the signature gloves and boots, cowboy hat covering Blitzø's private parts, and visible nipples, it appears to be a nude image—replaced in later stages of development with stupid gay affirmation memes (as hard as it is to believe, I couldn't imagine there could be anything worse than the Striker horse gay jokes... well, it could, my dudes, it fucking COULD).

There are three messages, one of which is unsent:

"Stolas, cum awwwwwwn, u no u want it :)"—likely attached to the nude;

"Dude just talk to me"—desperation crawls in; he finally realises the shit has hit the fan;

"Im sowwy :("—an apology, but the text remains unsent, perhaps because it seems pointless, given that the 'Not Delivered' notifications and warning signs indicate Stolas has blocked his number.

Why do I find this fascinating, and why does it fill me with immense hope?

Because they still fucking care so much, and neither has completely closed the door on the other. By comparing the concept art to the final product, you can see how many intentional choices were made in dialogue, visuals, and behaviour to make it clear that these two idiots still want things to continue. Stolitz is meant to fucking live.

Now, if you want to see some comparisons—evidence, really—let's dive into each other's changes, focusing on what we can gather from the concept art.

Blitzø's side

Change 1—thank gods, no nudes. The gay memes are sillier and a bit lighter. Of course, they still showcase utter disrespect, a horrible prejudice against sexuality, and a poor understanding of how deeply Stolas was hurt, but I find them... less bad.

Change 2—no more 'Bird Dick.' Blitzø has actually come up with a real nickname for Stolas! Feelings are boring for you, huh, Blitzø? I can almost hear the song’s lines: "O-oh, hooked, addicted you might say, conflicted in a way…"

Change 3—Blitzø's attempts to apologize now show much more contemplation. Since Stolas hasn’t blocked him, Blitzø knows his words aren’t just being thrown into the void. Although the 'unsent' detail remains, it now carries real weight and impact.

All three changes are seen in these two GIFs.

He knows he did wrong. He knows he wants to salvage it. He might not yet know how to do it healthily, but he tries—he tries so fucking hard!

Look at the range of raw, cutting emotions as he speaks to Stolas and finally delivers his apology—probably the only one he genuinely meant. Well, maybe except for Verosika, a bit later.

It's not that it's hard for Blitzø to say 'sorry'—we've seen him do it a lot lately. He's actually quick to apologise and take responsibility, so Stolas's remark about him not feeling any remorse couldn’t be further from the truth. But the fact that he isn't running away this time—chasing after Stolas and trying his best to mend things—is drastically different from how he treated Verosika back then.

Stolas's side

Here’s the moment that struck me deep. It’s the only change, since the concept art shows Blitzø’s POV, but it’s such a significant one.

Do you think Stolas has moved on? Do you think he’s done with Blitzø? Not convinced, even when he’s literally singing about still wanting Blitzø?

Well, here’s your proof—he didn’t block Blitzø. They scrapped that.

More than that, the entire interaction emphasizes that Stolas isn’t pushing Blitzø away for good.

How do I know this? Stolas is very insistent on using phrases like 'for now,' 'right now,' and 'now' throughout his attempts to tell Blitzø off.

Here are some citations:

"I was hoping my lack of 'ha-ha's' in response to the photos you sent me would be an indicator I didn't want to talk right now."

"Seeing you right now is hard!"

"I'm tired of this! I'm uncomfortable with how you're speaking to me now!"

Why is this so important? Because he isn’t asking Blitzø to leave him forever. All he’s asking for is time.

Even while hurt, Stolas gives Blitzø plenty of chances to explain himself civilly. Look at the hopeful glances each time Blitzø shows any glimpse of genuineness.

Stolas fucking hopes Blitzø will take back all the cruel things said and brash actions done.

You know, Stolas... I've spent the entirety of this morning listening to love ballads, and that was...

For what?! You want me to be like, "Oh sorry, this entire time I assumed the worst because I was convinced a prince could never love someone like me and I've let my self-hatred stop me from apologising to anyone I could ever care about!"

You see the furrowed brows and the sad look? Stolas hopes for the best... but gets the worst because Blitzø isn’t there yet.

I’d even go so far as to say Stolas is acutely aware that Blitzø uses his brashness as a shield to protect himself. He literally sang about it in 'Just Look My Way.'

Unless it's me? And no matter what in this world I could give, it's not enough to get through these walls you've conjured up to live.

So, what gives?

Is this the behaviour of people who want to give up on a relationship they still clearly hold dear?

No. Even when they’re angry, aggressive, hurt, or drunk, they still seek understanding and forgiveness. They continue to listen and try.

They might lack the skills and may choose the wrong time, place, or words to express what truly matters...

One person, scared of being rejected so much that he unconsciously conveys this message by saying, "You don’t have to stay here with me," and carrying it throughout the whole conversation...

The other, coming to terms with his feelings, admits them, and his fears, a bit too late—when his romantic interest is too drunk to comprehend anything…

And in both cases—self-loathing, self-hatred, doubts, scars, trauma… and a lack of hope.

But there is hope. No, this is reassurance, my folks.

You know when it's hardest to stay in a relationship? When it’s hardest to come and say, "I am sorry," when it’s hardest to still love the person?

When you’re hurt. When they’ve hurt you.

And, despite that, you still come to them and still want to talk to them.

If this isn’t ironclad evidence that this is more than just a fling or a couple of fun sex dates, I don’t know what is.

And the 'Apology Tour' fucking proves it, rather than ruins it. It only strengthens the point. It’s easy to live in happiness, but it’s so hard to go through it while you’re in pain. When you see them doing that, you realise it means everything to them.

Stolitz is to live.

[volivolition]

part of that "raising a kid au" i was working on, this is almost definitely not how skill checks work and i don't even know if i'll include this, but for now i think it's. so funny kjkgj

[khickuwa]

to more tomorrows.

[bloodanna]

I think my favourite thing about the DJ Qualls/Ty Olsson engagement announcement/reactions is the way they have been obviously and openly in a relationship for years and yet I have literally never seen any of the tweets or interview answers all y'all are screencaping and posting until now. XD

[1ncend1ary]

inconsolable.

au where after the netherbrain fight, durge demands to go back for gortash's body (and uses a scroll of revival bc idc its d&d)

[renecdote]

I would like any and all prompts you choose to fill please and thank you. but also this one:

look at your face!

congratulations allison you have unlocked a surprise BTHB square: bloody nose [Read on AO3]

Buck feels the impact all through his body. For a moment, he’s dazed, his brain taking an extra few seconds to catch up with what it already knows just happened. Swooping bird, uneven sidewalk, Evan Buckley’s famously shitty luck. Eddie’s distractingly attractive smile, too, which technically didn’t contribute to the face planting, but didn’t exactly help either. Buck might have been paying more attention to where he was going if it wasn’t for that smile.

“Ow,” he mutters into the concrete. It comes out thick and nasally.

“Buck?” Eddie’s worry is, somehow, also attractive. Buck wonders why he never noticed the before. “Are you okay?”

Buck starts to push himself up—nope, ouch—then he gives up and rolls onto his back instead. The bright, cloudless LA sky is mostly blocked out by Eddie’s face hovering above him when he squints his eyes open. He looks just as worried as he sounded.

“Please tell me my leg isn’t broken again,” Buck says, even though he’s pretty sure it isn’t. That’s the kind of thing he would have noticed immediately, he thinks. Or maybe not, since his whole body is kind of… throbbing. A little. Mostly his face.

Eddie’s head dips out of his field of vision for a moment, then pops back up to report, “Your legs are fine. Can you sit up?”

“Yes,” Buck says confidently, then has to take a deep breath to brace himself before he actually tries. Eddie offers him a helping hand and Buck holds onto it even though he tells himself it’s not really necessary. He just thinks holding Eddie’s hand would be nice right now. It would be nice to do it some day when one or both of them aren’t injured, too.

Something tickles his lip. Buck wipes at the irritation, expecting dirt, and pain explodes through his nose and out through the rest of his face.

“Fuck,” he gasps, automatically clutching at it. Unsurprisingly, that just makes another wave of pain crash through him. Buck blinks back the reflective tears, biting his lip hard. He might be embarrassed by the pathetic noise of pain pulled out of him if it didn’t hurt so much.

“Here, let me look,” Eddie says, gently prying Buck’s hands away from his face.

It’s not a surprise to look down and find blood on his hands, but it still makes Buck’s stomach swoop, an automatic vagal response that his stupid brain only seems to get when it’s his own blood he’s dealing with. Or Eddie’s, but. There were extenuating circumstances there.

“Jesus,” Eddie mutters, fingers at Buck’s jaw gently tiling his head. It’s probably just a coincidence that it takes his eye off his hands. “Look at your face. Maddie is going to be pissed.”

“‘M good,” Buck tries. “Really.”

The reassurance is immediately ruined when the blood running over his lip gets in his mouth and he has to spit it back out, bright red and bubbly with saliva on the pavement. Gross. Buck tries to grimace without wrinkling his nose, but he’s pretty sure he just looks like he some weird lip spasm thing going on.

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Your nose is broken, Buck.”

Buck shakes his head in denial, but that just makes the pain in his face pulse. Eddie is quick to hold his head still.

“Stop moving,” he scolds. “You’re worse than Chris.”

Buck sticks his tongue out at him, then instantly regrets it when he has to spit out more blood. Eddie gently nudges his head forward so the blood drips down between his bent legs instead of down his throat. His hand stays on Buck’s back, warm and solid even though Buck’s shirt is probably gross and sweaty, and it’s kinda nice. Comforting.

“I don’t even know why you’re arguing with me,” Eddie says. “I’m the one who can see your nose and I don’t even need my EMT training to see that it’s definitely broken.”

“It can’t be broken,” Buck protests, more to the universe in general than Eddie. “The wedding is in a week, Eds. Maddie is going to kill me.”

“At least it wasn’t really your fault,” Eddie offers, sounding like he doesn’t think that will help Buck’s case at all.

“I’m so fucked,” Buck sighs around more blood. “Please avenge me when I’m gone.”

Eddie rolls his eyes again. “Why don’t we work on minimising the damage first, then we can plan out your revenge fantasy later?”

“Ice pack?” Buck asks hopefully.

“Uh.” Eddie looks around, like maybe one might magically appear in the middle of the park they were running through. “You might have to wait until we get to urgent care for that.”

Buck groans. Somehow, that makes fresh blood gush from his nose because the human body hates him personally. He pinches his nostrils gingerly, trying to find the sweet spot between stopping the bleeding and not making it hurt more. He doesn’t really succeed, but if there’s one thing he’s good at it, it’s being in pain, so Buck just gives up and takes it. It’s not like it’s his first broken nose. Or his second.

“Don’t even try,” Eddie says, pre-empting him before he can speak. “Your options are urgent care or the ER.”

“They’re probably just going to tell me to take painkillers and not bump it until it heals.”

Eddie has pulled out his phone, one-handed, probably to google where the closest urgent care is.

“I’m not listening to you,” he says.

“Not even if I have ice packs in my car?”

Eddie pauses, looking up from his phone. “Of course you do.” Like he’s kicking himself for not thinking of that before. “This doesn’t get you out of urgent care, though.”

Buck sighs. “Yeah, I know.”

He crosses his eyes trying to look at his nose, closing one eye and then the other, but he still can’t see how bad the break might be. He’s pretty sure it can’t be worse than when he took a hockey stick to the face in high school, at least. Between the broken nose and the orbital blowout, his face was swollen for weeks. That one has got to be in the top ten worst injuries he’s had, Buck thinks, and then wonders whether he should be worried that he has been injured enough times to have a top ten.

“Come on.” Eddie stands, not asking this time before he reaches out and takes Buck’s hand to pull him to his feet as well. “The sooner we go, the sooner we get out of there.”

And then they can go home. Buck doesn’t need to ask to know that they’ll be going together, probably back to Eddie’s house, and they’ll cook dinner, and exaggerate the broken nose story for Chris, and maybe, if Buck is lucky, he’ll fall asleep with his head on Eddie’s shoulder while they all watch a movie together. He’ll wake up bleary and content, probably with a blanket thrown over him, and when he makes half-hearted noises about going home, Eddie will just roll his eyes and say, “Don’t be ridiculous, Buck, you’re staying.”

So Buck will stay.

In the face of all that, even hours waiting in the uncomfortable plastic chairs at urgent care doesn’t seem so bad. Especially when Buck starts tapping his fingers on his thigh, waiting anxiously for this name to be called, and Eddie reaches out and takes his hand. He squeezes gently, a silent reassurance, and Buck lets himself daydream, for a moment, that the injury isn’t there at all.

[introspectivememories]

I FORGOT I EVEN SENT THAT ASK AND YOUR RESPONSE HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK OHMSYGODDFJDJ

I seriously love your writing so much you always put a heap of emotion into it 😭😭

also adore the idea of TIM being the one who's obsessed with bear and going to such lengths just to keep seeing him, I tend to prefer happy endings so I like to think they work it out after a while but like also the angst is amazing

god the amount of yearning in this au makes me so mmmpfhhhf

god im just so sorry that it took me soo long to reply!!! you sent just as i was taking my break from tumblr and other social media :(((

i remember reading it and thinking to myself "god if i had the timbern brainworms, i could write smth for this" but then recently they've been coming back and i was a church bored out of my mind when i was like "hmmm maybe i should respond?"

and ohhh my god, when i first got it, i immediately thought about how toxic it could get and like, personally, i feel like i can't write complicated characters? if that makes sense? to me, im not very good at writing multi-dimensional characters. which to be fair, i never set out to become like a pulitzer prize winning author. i just do this for fun haha.

and like i knew that my answer to your ask was always gonna be toxic timbern but i didn't know if i could write it? ig??? bc like tim is a good person. he is!!! he just wants bear so badly. and it's past the initial physical attraction now.

he and bear are all grown up. he likes bear's wit and humor, well the wit and humor he gets to hear when bear doesn't know he's around. but bear wont let him in!!!! bear wont open himself up and tim's apologized!!!! he did!!! he doesn't even know what he did and he still apologized!!!!! and it changed nothing. bear doesn't talk to him or look at him or anything. nothing but polite professionalism.

and then one day, he sees bear on his balcony as he's swinging through the streets of gotham. and bear isn't doing anything special, he's just sitting there in sweats and no shirt and the moonlight hits his pecs just right and his shoulders are so broad and-

well he cant be blamed for stopping to take a peek, right? and maybe when he has has time he swings by more and more. just watching for longer and longer, until one day bear catches him. and as they stare at each other from opposite sides of the street, tim thinks this is it. the cold glances and frosty words are going to come back. bear's never gonna just sit on his balcony again. he's lost this too. but then-

oh.

bear sends him a hesitant wave and tim raises a trembling hand to wave back. and bear- well bear's mouth splits into a smile brilliant enough to rival the sun. beautiful like the sunrise. the promise of a new beginning. if he closes his eyes, tim thinks he can feel the sunlight's warm rays on him.

hes' hooked after that. he comes around again and again. one day bear lets him on the balcony. weeks later, bear's hugging him. weeks after that, tim's in bear's lap. and he knows it's not right. that bear thinks he's someone else. that bear doesnt want anything to do with him but how is he supposed to let this go? how is he supposed disentangle himself from bear's arms?

so he lies and he lies and he prays to any and every god he can think of, that he'll get to keep this. plus he's not really lying to bear, he's just... not talking about it! if bear asks, he'll tell him point blank. he swears it. but that's a problem for another day. things are looking up! bear said more than 5 sentences to him the other day and yesterday? he even got a small smile. it'll all work out. he'll be fine.

[prapais]

LOVE IN THE AIR ⋮ SPECIAL EPISODE. you’d better stick to the rules. oh? did you just smile?

[jadesarerocks]

What about “When He Sees Me” from Waitress for Zosan. It works for both of their perspectives.

For the beginning of the song where she’s just listing things that could go wrong or that would be bad about her future partner. The saying stuff about the other person to project and get nitpicky fits Zoro and Sanji talking about each other:

Sanji’s—“he’s just a moss head” / “he sleeps and does nothing all day”

and Zoro’s— “oh he’s just a stupid cook” / “all he does is dote on women”

But the real emotions revealed in the song being “what if he just doesn’t like me for me”. Especially paired with their abandonment and self worth issues (all their issues really). And they’re stupidly and clearly in love with each other, but don’t know how to work past their fear of that love.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Pretending to sleep?

[heytheredeann]

“Yes, there is a place where someone loves you both before and after they learn what you are.” ― Neil Hilborn

[misteria247]

Lum and Ataru really are soulmates I mean this man loves wrestling stuff, he literally held a whole ass competition to see who was the best girl, and Lum was all over that shit. She loved every moment of it cuz she's a fighter as much as a lover and she found Ataru's wrestling match to be incredibly fun and even wants to schedule another one.

Like these two are born for each other you don't understand-

[sunburstkisser]

My Beloved Sunburst,

It's been a little while, I know, and I'm truly sorry for it. I just haven't had the time to pick up a pen or a quill lately. My shop gets flooded during the month of Nightmare Night, you know how it is. Ponies come in looking for decorations (In a curio shop? Strange, I know!) and other oddities to show off, or they bring along an artifact they think is haunted or something. It's fun to see them learn that it isn't, or that it is! Both reactions are part of what makes owning this place fun. I'd love to show you sometime ♡

But that's not why I'm writing to you, I just want to tell you how much I miss you. How much I long to be in your vicinity, we don't even have to be talking or cuddling. I just want to be near you, that's how much I miss you. I want to hear your cute little snorts when something interests you within that book you've read for the umpteenth time. I want to see your eyes light up when you finally realize how to put two, or three, unrelated spells together to make a brand new one. I want to watch your ears flick when you hear a teeny tiny sound that takes you out of your own little bookbound world.

If you'd like to cuddle, that'd be nice too. Your steady breathing and your heartbeat are like music to me. I'd give anything in all of Equestria to be beside you right now. You always smell like an old book, it's one of my favorite smells and I'm glad I get to experience it all the time when we're together. The way your soft, love-filled chuckles hum in your chest, and how your voice softens when it's just the two of us. I don't think there'd ever be a better sound to hear than you speaking to me like I'm the most precious thing in your life. SADLY I'm running out of scroll space, though, maybe I'll follow this one up with another here soon. I love you with all of my everything, Sunburst. I'll see you when I can, okay?

Patiently and forever yours, Morbid Curiosity ♡