#and that's when Imo tells her to call her Imo

[space-blue]

Fixing Vander and Silco's story (a bit)

Using canon events! Sadly we can't actually fix it, but I hope this makes it a little better. I make my own edit proposal at the end that changes the bar scene to include Felicia without issues.

They meet in the mines, and meet Felicia and her partner there too. They end up together somehow (I think we can put the brotherly allegations to rest now, eh?) and one of them (or both) inherit/buy a bar.

Although Vander is the barman, there is no indication Silco doesn't own or co-own the place. After all he comes to take it eventually as his own, and he's still not bartending. That's just not his gig.

It's implied that Vander and Silco made it, as in, got away from the mines, while Felicia clearly didn't, as she comes home to both her daughters with mining gear and gloves.

So despite Vander and Silco building the Lanes together, the mines aren't closed, and the work "isn't done".

Felicia says they've done it, and Vander is happy to celebrate their success. Meanwhile, Silco has his "NoZ" Nation of Zaun book in which he's scribbling, still planning.

Vander's first memory that Viktor sees even has Silco holding that book.

Later, in season 1 episode 3, we see that Vander tells Silco that he had Vander's respect, the Lanes' respect, but it "was never enough".

There's also this fakeout moment in the memory at the bar, where Vander says they're done, and Silco replies with "You're gravely mistaken". And I thought he was going to go all zealous and say "We'll only be done when we have the Nation of Zaun", but no, he claims he's Bozo 1.

And imo, he is probably right. He calls out Vander in act 1 saying "I trusted you and you betrayed me", and Vander does not contest this. It makes the most in character sense as well that Silco is the brains of the operation while Vander is the brawn.

And we can conclude that Silco's goals were always "bigger" and that the Lanes were indeed not enough.

Years pass, during which we can only assume Silco keeps building his Nation of Zaun and Vander happily bartends and manages the Lanes with Silco. Felicia keeps working the mines and raises Vi, then Powder.

Vi is at least 11, if not more, by the time she's on the bridge. This is just consistent with her model, but also to make her 18+ by the time of act 2.

It's a long ass time for Vander and Silco to be running a bar and the Lanes together. Even assuming Vi is more 8 or 9yo, Vander and Silco spend all that time being together.

Sadly, their models aren't aged very well.

We are also forced here to make some unfortunate assumptions.

It's not a problem, IMO, for Silco to know Felicia and be close to her. It's a problem for him to not be close to Vi and Powder too. Close enough to recognise them at least.

It's easy to say, "Well, Felicia went back to the mines and raised her kids and wasn't super involved with Vander and Silco, who lived much higher up in their bar." Adult friendships and all that.

IT MAKES SENSE, but then it makes zero sense that Vander would murder his life's partner, a man he's been with 10 years at MINIMUM (fuck knows how long they were together while in the mines), over the death of a friend in a revolt they allegedly BOTH participated in.

The memories also imply that Silco is responsible somehow, for throwing a molotov. And yet the molotov doesn't kill the enforcer.

But Vander is shown in the opening of Act 1 season 1 pummeling one to death himself, long after the rest of the revolt has died down. That enforcer wasn't getting back up lol

So whatever we pick, because the writers made Felicia and Silco close, they create a plot hole either way.

Either Vander is whacko and murders his husband over a dead friend at a revolt he set up (since he repeatedly apologises for what he did, and claims he "lost his head after she died" and had that guilt on his hands too)

Or Silco and Vi and Powder spend ALL of season 1 acting like they don't know each other at all. Then Silco takes in Powder and somehow never comments on the fact he was friends with her mom.

Everything being triggered by Felicia's death also means that Vander's emotional thematic moment dropping the gauntlets after seeing what his violence led to is then followed up by a horrible attempted murder on the love of his life, which is... you know. Bad writing.

So I propose that they indeed drift apart. Silco knows of Felicia's kids, and they hangout a bit, but they aren't that close. She's busy mining and being a mom, and Silco is busy making the safe Zaun he promised to deliver.

The creation of that Zaun leads them to act out revolts and uprisings. Vander is happy to follow. He's angry, like he tells Vi. And this manifests in violence. Silco points his violence. It's how they create the Lanes and the moniker of Hound of the Underground. A hound usually has a master, after all.

Vander is Silco's hound, and I think, in Vander's mind this absolves him of some of the consequences of his actions.

So when his friend dies on the Bridge, even if they haven't been that close in a while, well, it's easy to put the blame on Silco.

Since we're following the new canon timeline... we'll have to have him go back with the girls, ready to turn a new leaf.

I think the best way here is to have him either dropping them at an orphanage, or back at their home (trusting Vi to look after Powder for a while) or with friends.

That way, Vi and Powder aren't immediately in Silco's legs back at the drop.

Then Vander and Silco take part in the "clean up" at the bridge. They go get bodies, and since they have no real estate in the fissures, they commit them to the sea (we have canon monsters in there, so I'm sure it all gets gobbled up).

That way, we explain why Vander is weirdly shaved, and why Silco and him are at in the Pilt: they just commited the bodies of the fallen to the waters.

There may have been many others, but Silco and Vander stay there, in the shallows, as they talk.

Vander is done. He doesn't want more of this. He thinks Silco went too far with pushing this one to the bridge. Piltover got defensive and they lost too many people.

Silco doesn't get it. Where he goes, so does Vander, but Vander is his own man, he decided to come too, and he killed enforcers too. Felicia's death is tragic, but as he later will tell Renni about the death of her son: at least she died fighting for the cause, and not some petty infighting, or worse, an accident at the shitty mines.

Vander, the Hound, is not only mad with grief, he refuses to carry the blame of his own actions. It's a character flaw and that's fine! The angry man channels that anger with violence, the only way he knows how.

Silco is probably shocked, and may not say the right things to calm Vander down.

Silco is under the assumption that Vander BELIEVES IN HIS DREAM. That he's a true believer of the Nation of Zaun, like Sevika turns out to be. A true believer would understand sacrifice. A true believer would understand too, that stopping now, after Felicia's death, would make THAT VERY DEATH POINTLESS.

So maybe he screams at Vander! What do you MEAN abandoning the fight? What do you mean, being content with the Lanes? How dare you? You'd make her sacrifice meaningless! You'd make Felicia die a pointless death!

And Vander would bellow that it's over. No more death. No more bloodshed. He rescued her kids from that bridge, and they don't deserve to die too, they don't deserve to see more death.

And Silco screams back that it's their job to create Zaun so these children won't have to see more death. Vander is just delaying the struggle.

And then, perhaps, Silco may even mock him. Say that Vander can't change like that. That he's not that sort of person, to just hang up his gauntlets and go peaceful. That Felicia's blood is on his hands too, and that the only way out is through more blood, more sacrifice.

It would be a horrible point to make, if then Vander truly loses it. Silco runs, and Vander's hound comes out, just grabbing Silco and trying to drown him.

It would be poetic, because then Vander goes home in shame. Gets his arm patched up, hides the scar under a brace, collects the kids and tries to pretend like HE CAN BE THAT MAN. Even though he surrendered his gauntlets and metaphorical violence, and tries to lean into the bartender chill persona, there's what he did to Silco.

And later he'll tell Vander "I'll show you what you really are". Because Silco knows that Vander's promises of being a peaceful good dad are flimsy at best.

Anyway, Vander goes home, and eventually the impact of what he's done really hits him. He's single now, and with kids, and the Lanes to run, and nobody knows where Silco is.

Vander slowly realises Silco was right about one thing. Just because Vander followed, doesn't mean he wasn't behind that event on the bridge. Becoming the solo leader of the Lanes has to have hammered that home for him. Suddenly so much responsibility thrust on him.

So Felicia's death was on him too, and his actions against Silco are the proof that he is indeed the sort of man Silco said he was. At any rate, surrendering violence as his first reaction to any trigger will take a lot of work.

He goes to their old hideout and leaves a letter for Silco.

In the happy AU, Silco finds it, and returns to Vander BEFORE ever meeting Singed. There is no glowing eye, no shimmer, and no cannery.

In our AU, Silco never finds the letter. He finds Singed instead. Starts helping him develop shimmer.

I've been thinking that since the goal of shimmer is a form of "keeping alive" and also "bringing back to life", then it's possible that Silco's glowing eye is a byproduct of shimmer experimentation.

And that the only way to keep it alive and function is more shimmer injections. It would otherwise be grey and dead like in the Nice AU.

So Singed is also a factor here. He gives our Silco a real way to deal scary violence to Piltover. And this changes our Silco. He's more radicalised, and more opposed to Vander, having discovered that Vander works with Grayson to keep Zaun under Piltover's boot (basically making sure the boot stays, but doesn't press down too hard).

Vander is, as always, the enforcer of the status quo.

And though this works for them timeline wise, it sadly doesn't change the fact that Silco should know who Vander's kids are.

Vi and Jinx can be excused for not recognising him, what with him being one of their mom's adult friends, and scarred. But Silco doesn't have that luxury. His great friend Felicia had two very distinctive kids, ONE OF WHICH VANDER FUCKING NAMED! And her death triggered his husband so badly he tried to kill Silco over it. If anything, Silco would be hyper-aware of Felicia's kids.

And no amount of alternate fix-its changes that. It's permanent damage to season 1's Silco.

I feel like we can fix Vander's side of things by inventing an entire scene at the Pilt as I did above, but we can't fix 10 years of knowing your friend's kids and then a lifetime of acting like you don't know them.

I think it also cheapens the found family aspect of both Vander and Silco's adoption. You're left to wonder if they took in the girls only because they were friends with the mom.

Silco's adoption of Jinx and co-dependence with her was great because it spoke of the similar shape of their traumas, and how unexpected their bond seemed.

But now it's redolent of friendly obligation. And lies.

How would I fix it by keeping Felicia in the picture?

I would fully remove Felicia's one-on-one with the boys. That night at the bar? It's a party. Young Sevika is here too!

Felicia and many others are there, all congratulating Vander and Silco over the creation of the Lanes. Eventually Silco tires of the social niceties and goes to write in his notebook at the bar. Or maybe there's a montage of the night as the crowds thin.

In the end, Silco is writing, and Vander is still socialising. He talks to 3 people--Felicia, her husband, and a random person. They thank him for all his work. They've done it! And the conditions in the mines are so much better now thanks to XYZ!

Vander is beaming, he's just so pleased. It's clear for him this is the end goal. Felicia asks him, pointing to Silco, if he's okay.

Vander laughs, says Silco is fine, but he's already got his head back in the clouds. You see, Silco doesn't just want the Lanes, he dreams of a free Nation of Zaun.

The other 2 laugh, but Felicia sobers up. She rubs her belly, thoughtful. Then she says "Sounds like a dream worth fighting for."

I don't think she even needs to say anything about being pregnant, but she could go on with something like "I'm expecting. A girl, I think. I know. And I would love if she could grow in a safe city. I'm so scared she'll have to live the way I did, growing up.'

And Vander smiles sadly and tells her, 'We've gotten this far, and we're not going back. We'll make Zaun safe for your kiddo, I promise you that.'

And that's it.

Vander knows OF Felicia. She is a community member. He knows her enough, maybe from Lanes meetings, that eventually he can recognise her children. But they're not friends, and SILCO definitely isn't friends.

And the disagreement after the bridge is fully about where to go from then on, and Vander deciding he wants to run the Lanes and keep them safe, that what they have now is good enough, while Silco wants "more".

That disagreement can turn nasty, and the fact Vander tried to drown Silco becomes a statement about how violent and temperamental he is as "The Hound of the Underground". Something he'll regret soon enough and spend the next few years working hard to try and change.

What do you think?

[showsandstuff]

Am I the only one who is disappointed with Caitvi in season two? When I watched the first season I had the biggest caitvi brain rot because they actually gave me SUCH a fun dynamic with them. Buddy cop Caitvi was hilarious, I loved that so so much!

And season 2 started of strong imo but then it rushed through everything. I loved the scene in the cell, obviously, but it was misplaced. Your sister is about to kill herself girl what are you doing this is not the time!! And other than romantic and sexual tension there wasn't all that much left of their previous dynamic aside from the brief scene in episode six...

Idk, I think I'm just annoyed. Usually when I see a non canon gay ship get more traction than the Canon lesbian couple, I just assume it's misogyny or lesbophobia, and move on with my life. But I can't even do that here because Caitvi was WAY more popular in season 1 (as they should).

Jayvik isn't getting somewhat more popular in season 2 because people don't like lesbians, but because their arcs are connected so strongly to each other. (Also I'm not saying that Jayvik is now more popular than Caitvi, but it's like a graph where the super high stocks caitvi are still even while Jayvik is skyrocketing rn)

Wanna know why Jayvik wasn't all that popular in season 1? Because (after act 1) their arcs were mostly separate, safe for a couple of moments. Viktor worked on his body and Jayce was doing politics.

Caitlyn and Vis arcs intertwined more, they actually did shit together and it was beautiful, funny, romantic, EVERYTHING!

Also a fun opposites attract buddy cop dynamic is also just more fun than men who do science together (in my personal opinion)

Now let's look at Caitlyn and Vis relationship in season two.

It starts of strong. I momentarily thought that Caitlyn was uncharacteristically mean to Vi when she refused to become an enforcer, but she apologized for it later and I recognized the fact that Caitlyn was grieving. Then once we get to episode two and three I could already feel their relationship being a bit more odd. The kiss (though I cheered) didn't feel right. I felt like something was missing, and that was their chemistry from season one. Also I feel like we glossed over too many decisions that Caitlyn made, and I think Vi should've put a stop to it sooner. But overall I was okay with them in act 1.

Then we had a timeskip and the two were fully separated. Act 2 literally started with Caitlyn in bed with another woman, like we can see they're not together anymore. Caitlyn has obviously changed, there is not much of the sweet cupcake left that we had come to love in season 1, and Vi is boxing and getting drunk.

Then they meet and like... Vi calls Cait cupcake, and Cait switches sides IMMEDIATELY? GIRL WTF?!

I get that Caitlyn wasn't entirely on Ambessas side the entire time, but I had hoped for more drama first. So you're telling me the very next interaction the two have after their heart wrenching falling out is them making up again? Come on.

Then we had act 3 and overall it was better I think but the timing of their hot scene in the cell was just odd, like what about your sister about to kill herself? I was very happy and hyped in the moment but then I realized how rushed this was. Why? Why make em fuck right here? And in the final act, the two weren't together because again, their arcs were not as connected. And that's actually pretty cool to have a couple who do their own things! But it doesn't help their relationship when they, in turn, aren't given enough time to develop as a pair!

I feel like season 1 did this incredible job of setting these characters up, showing us why they work so well together and why they would fall for one another. And season 2 gave us pay off for it but with very little set up, which was needed because of how Cait changed throughout the season. I don't mention Vi here because she did not change. She had her drunk boxing phase, which we got nothing but a montage off, but everything else is basically season 1 Vi aside from very few things here and there. Like her becoming an enforcer wasn't a character change for Vi, her finally letting go of powder and calling her sister Jinx, wasn't a big character moment for Vi, they were pay off for a set up we didn't get enough of.

SO TO GET TO MY POINT:

S2 was rushed. We should've AT LEAST gotten 3 seasons, like minimum, because there was a whole lot of plot and very little moments in between for characterization. Especially for Caitlyn and Vi and their relationship to each other.

I still generally prefer Caitvi to Jayvik, but only because of season 1. Season 2 gave me the two things I wanted most (a sexy scene and a kiss) but forgot to give me the things that made me fall in love with this ship in the first place.

Which was the hilarious buddy cop dynamic of rich girl cop Cait, and broke butch prisoner Vi.

[mimikyuno]

🫧🎀🎨 ENA5 WISHES AND PREDICTIONS🎀🎨🫧

ena meets yuuki. I genuinely always found it a bit strange how in the latest New Year’s event yuuki meets kanade and mafuyu and not ena. when ena has been the person closest to mizuki in niigo (as she’s the one who is waiting for mizuki to open up, while knmf have no idea mizuki is even hiding anything). so like. i genuinely think yuuki will be involved, to an extent. maybe she comes back bc mizuki’s parents are worried and call her back to japan and she meets ena, or maybe ena somehow manages to contact her and the two have a chat. idk. anyway i think yuuki will be involved in ena5, or at least in the resolution of mizuki’s struggles.

ena goes absolutely insane. i rly want to see ena lose her mind lol. like we know she’s obsesses with mizuki and loves her so so much. she saw her looking sad one (1) time and has been on her ass since. as established in the escape room, she knows her so well. when they were going up the roof, she kept making jokes trying to ease mizuki’s anxiety. she loves her so so so much. and she probably currently hates herself for not being able to stop her. so yeah, i cant wait to see her go on a one woman mission to get her mizuki back. i want to see her desperate. sorry not sorry

kanamafu struggle in the dark. this is connected to above, but i feel like ena would be too scared to ask anyone for help. mizuki was outed to her, she wouldnt do the same. and while ena has asked for help about mizuki in the past (for example, asked shizuairi and meiko), i feel like this time she’ll keep quiet, or ask just meiko. and kanamafu will know something is very, very wrong. and so they’ll try to reach out and understand what’s wrong and meet walls of silence. i want them to finally see that mizuena have had this secret hanging between them for so long, and i want them to also be there for mizuki after the main resolution. i want cozy niigo loving and accepting each other 🥺.

meiko is a key figure. i ena knows meiko suspects/knows about mizuki. so meiko is literally the only person (outside of yuuki) that ena can go to for advice. i want meiko and ena and kaito to talk and maybe even fight a bit and try to find a way to reach mizuki and fix the situation.

mizuki is acknowledged as a girl. this is more of a hope than a prediction but i hope that mizuki’s transness will keep being handled with care. i would be happy to see them avoiding cliches such as “i care about you no matter what gender you are” bc mizuki’s crux is the fear of change, change in niigo’s perception of her as just a girl, and not a “trans girl” or “not rly a girl”. so i want ena to acknowledge this directly. somehow. idk how but i need her to tell mizuki nothing’s changed in her perception of her. she’ll always be mizuki.

DATE. okay like. i know many think that SEGA is gonna drag this out for storytelling + financial reasons. for example, i saw ppl speculating that kanade5 might happen before ena5, so that kanade and mafuyu can learn what is happening. at first i lowkey agreed but tbh i dont think they’re gonna drag it out this much. like, not only is mizuki is a fan favourite and keeping her in this state for so long is… a bit questionable, but also there’s concerts coming up? and they cant keep her depressed much longer when that means they won’t be able to use her or ena AT ALL in any mixed event, which doesn’t make much sense imo. i genuinely think they might wrap this up before the movie drops tbh. it probably wont be wrapped up super neatly and there will still be stuff to discuss (maybe in kana5 or in the niigo 6th rotation) BUT things will be fixed enough that mizuki can go back to smile and appear in the real world and have a spark in her eyes BEFORE the movie (january 17th, 2025). i genuinely thought we would have ena5 BEFORE the 4th colorful live (bc like. how can mizuena be so depressed in game and sing on stage together? like yeah the lives are not rly canon but the VIBES. the VIBES!) which will be held december 13-15 and again january 24-26 (2025) but uhmm. i feel like we would have gotten an announcement by now if ena5 was rly coming in the first half of december idk. still possible since there’s an upcoming livestream in like 19 hours but. uhm. idk. sega PLEAS-

CARDS. I remember someone pointed out how mizuki has had zero 4* cards in any ena focus event, to show how she's keeping her distance. as such, i really think that ena5 will be The Event in which mizuki will finally feature as a 4* card. honestly im hoping for a very gay matching card (anhane style in an4... pls sega...) but that's just me coping lol. anyway my card prediction is ena 4*, mizuki 4*, meiko 4*, kanade 3* and mafuyu 2*. though tbh there was already a VS 4* in mizu5 (kaito), so maybe they'll make meiko a 3* and have a 4* of kanade or mafuyu. honestly, even luka might appear in the lineup. haven't seen anyone mention her but she and meiko have been the two VS closest to mizuki when it comes to her secret and her tendency to run away. so maybe a luka 3* or something.

COMM. okay i have no idea about this imma be honest but. i am hoping for a producer who can put forward heartfelf lyrics and melody. lowkey hoping for mafumafu (as he has already proven he understands mizuki and ena's relationship with cellphone lovestory). copium in immense quantities but niigo has covered quite a few pinocchiop's songs but have no comms by him... he's one of my favourite producers and his lyrics always kill me so i know his ena5 comm would be devastating. but honestly both mafumafu and pinocchiop feel quite unlikely, so maybe TOA (who already composed IDsmile and twilight light and has made tweets during mizu5) or wotaku (since gehenna is so intrinsically connected with the mizuena storyline). or imagine maretu... iyowa... eight... teniwoha... aaah... endless possibilities... but yeah it could be anyone lol, the names i mentioned are more hopes than predictions, i'll be fine with anyone as long as the song fully captures mizuena's relationship.

[softquietsteadylove]

For the Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU:

Thena and Gil visit the grave of his mother before the wedding.

An emotional and soft moment between them :)

"I used to come here with Dad and Imo when I was little."

Thena looked at him, curiosity piqued by the first words he'd spoken since getting in the car. She held onto his arm as they walked, his hands in his pockets.

"Dad always used it as an excuse to bitch and moan about shit, especially about how I was the reason she was here in the first place."

Thena frowned, holding onto him just a little bit tighter. She leaned her head against his arm, "hm...I could kill him."

Gil smiled, leaning his head against hers, "nah, it's okay, Sweetness. Success is the only revenge that actually works in this family."

She had asked if this was even a good idea--her coming with him to visit his mother (in a sense of the word). She had worried that it was more of a family affair--even asked his aunt if it would be disrespectful for her to come.

Imo had told her that she was a part of the family, now, so what did that matter? She also told Thena to call her Imo, from now on.

Gil had grinned from ear to ear.

"When did you come here last?" she asked him gently, not letting him sit in silence but not chatting just for the sake of it, either.

"I guess it was with Imo, last time I was home," Gil shrugged beside her as they turned down another walkway. "I come when I can, but I can't really leave business just to visit."

Thena nodded with full understanding; it wasn't safe to, whether his mother was already passed or not.

Gil looked at her with a smile, pulling his hand out of his pocket just to link their fingers together, "I have a lot to tell her this time around."

Thena stopped beside him as they arrived at a particular grave marker and grassy knoll behind it. She bowed with him, offered her prayers and respects with him, in Korean and everything.

"Hey, Ma."

Gil took in a breath. "Sorry it's been a while. It's been a crazy year and some, so I think you'd understand. I got shot!"

"Gilgamesh," Thena scolded beside him. She squeezed his hand, "give your mother a proper explanation."

He smiled; that was his Ice Queen. "So...this is Thena."

"I know I've talked about her before. It was probably as just--oh, we had a meeting today and the Ice Queen is doing well, sort of thing. I was in denial back then, but you probably knew. You would have told me how obvious it was that I was already head over heels for her."

Gil peeked sideways at Thena, who rolled her eyes at what she definitely thought was embellishment on his part. He chuckled.

"You'd love her though, Ma," he continued, smiling at the stone with just a name in Hangul carved into it. He had long become accustomed to speaking with it as if he could picture his mother's face--it was one of the things that pissed his father off the most when they would visit her together.

Imo never minded.

"You'd love her because I do," he raised Thena's hand to his lips, moving his thumb over her ring. "But you'd also love how tough she is. You'd love how she doesn't let anything intimidate her and how smart she is. You'd love that I have her to keep my head on straight over there while I'm doing business."

"You'd love her because she's perfect," Gil whispered, squeezing Thena's hand as he felt his throat tighten. "You'd love how perfect she is for me. She's smooth and calculated, but there's one hell of a heart under that porcelain shell of hers. And I'm lucky that she gave it to me. I...I haven't always been the most careful with it."

Thena finally snuck her eyes over to him, but stayed silent.

"I know, and you and Imo would both kick my ass if you knew the whole story, too," Gil sighed. The look in Thena's eyes when she accused him of lying about loving her; he would never forget it. "But I righted my wrong--I took responsibility, just like you taught me. And you were right; good things come to those who stand for what's right."

"And she's the best damn thing I've ever found," Gil swallowed, blinking a few times. "I'm sure you would just kill Dad if you knew what he had tried to pull with the daughter of that business partner of his. You and Imo always were talking about how he was going to run your hard earned business into the ground. Imo's still got a handle on things, though."

"And hey," Gil sniffed, finding a smile again, "Imo loves her too!"

Thena looked at him again, about to accuse him of exaggerating.

"I've never seen Imo like anyone," Gil chuckled, finally tearing his eyes away from his 'mother' and to the woman beside him. "But I think she took one look at you and knew that you were right for me."

Thena shook her head at him.

"Really," he whispered, looking forward again. "You know how Imo is, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified to find out she was in America to see us. But I was shocked when she accepted that I wanted to stay with Thena instead of coming home. I mean, it was basically giving us her blessing. She even told Thena to call her Imo--that she's part of the family!"

Thena smiled.

"Dad doesn't know yet," Gil said in a quieter voice, his face drawing down again. "And he won't. He's never getting anywhere near the woman I love. I think you'd support me in that."

The grave marker didn't have a reply, but he really got the feeling of agreement.

"He doesn't need to be in my life, he doesn't have to know my business," Gil stated more for himself than anyone else, present or not. He squeezed Thena's hand again, "he doesn't have to meet my wife."

"Gil," Thena squeezed his hand back.

He looked up again, some lightness returning again. "We're not married yet. Well, not officially, I guess. Far as I'm concerned, we've been married since the very first time we-"

"Gil!"

"Sorry, Princess," he chuckled, turning and kissing Thena's warm, pink cheek. "But you already know I've been down bad for you since before then."

She chose to roll her eyes at him again instead of dignifying his claim with a response (whether denial or confirmation).

"But yeah," Gil looked at his mother's grave again, "this is the woman I love, Ma. She wanted to meet you--and I wanted her to meet you, too, even if it meant coming over here. Even if Dad knew we were here, even if our enemies knew we were flying over."

He looked at Thena beside him, in a simple white sundress with her hair loose around her shoulders. She wasn't here as the Ice Queen, just Thena: his fiancee and the woman he loved.

"Some things are worth the risk," he concluded, feeling he had told his mother the most crucial parts he wanted to. He had neglected to discuss the poisoning and the shooting and such, but that was business. They were here for a family matter. He looked at Thena again, "anything you wanna add, sweetheart?"

Thena took a long look at the stone before them before stating very plainly, "I love Gilgamesh."

Concise, his Ice Queen.

"I love your son," she elaborated in a whisper-soft tone. "I certainly hadn't expected to. But I'm sure you knew better than anyone that not loving him is...just impossible."

Gil blinked away a few tears again.

"There isn't much I can promise," Thena confessed in a surprising admission of fragility. "Imo may like me, but I doubt anyone else will. And my family...doesn't exist anymore. I don't have much to offer."

Thena very literally controlled the global diamond market--was one of the riches human beings on the planet (off the record). And only she could see that as 'just business' and set it aside from herself enough to think she had nothing to offer in a marriage.

"But I'll love him," she said with conviction, gripping his hand. She was shaking. "I will love him every second of every minute we have. I already do--I love him so much I can't breathe. It rewrote the world I knew and every cell in my body. But against all odds...I suppose I find it worth the risk."

"I know how special you will always be to Gilgamesh. And I promise that I will take care of him. I will stand by him through every decision and every consequence. I was willing to go through with a ceremony here with your family, actually...not that I had mentioned it."

Gil grinned; he already knew that, but still.

"He worries about me meeting his father," Thena peeked over at him before addressing his mother again. "I am not so fragile as to fear someone as cowardly as someone like him."

Gil held in a laugh. His Dad would shit a brick if he knew this woman - a powerful business mogul whom he had never met - had called him a coward to his late wife.

"I would rather face down his father and his whole empire than have to meet Imo for the first time again," Thena let out a breath at just the thought. She smiled, though, "I can see why Gilgamesh turned out to be such a good man. He had such wonderful women raising him, it was never in question."

Gil's eyes watered again.

"So, I suppose I would like to thank you," Thena mumbled, some shyness coming over her. "I don't remember my own mother, but...I promise I will do my best to honour you all the same."

Gil watched Thena clutch at her lace shawl laid in the crooks of her elbows and dangling around her legs.

"Thank you for having me," Thena bowed again before looking at Gil, holding her hair back against a breeze, "are you okay?"

He nodded, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "thanks for coming with me, baby."

"Hm," she sufficed to say as they slowly came away from his mother's grave and made their way back to the entrance to the cemetery again. "I did want to meet her."

Gil moved his hand from hers, only to unfold her shawl and pull it over her shoulders so it could drape over her arms, which were only partially covered by billowing linen sleeves attached to her dress. "I don't want you to burn, Ice."

Thena held onto his arm, leaning her head against him again as they made their way back to the car. "It would be worth it."

[oceanwithouthermoon]

unpopular opinion for this area of tumblr, beware+also abuse talk warning

admittedly, all the super casual bashing of saikis dad makes me really uncomfortable, like i dont totally disagree but i wish we didnt just all do it in the middle of other completely innocent headcanoning 😭 its never tagged or warned..

my personal opinions on kuniharu are not as extreme as some are on here, like i think he sucks but i dont think hes a genuinely bad person, he was just thrown into a situation he didnt know how to handle.. he reminds me of those parents who prepare to have a baby and get pregnant on purpose, but then the baby has a disability and suddenly, everything changes.. because they didnt prepare for this unlikely scenario, but it happened anyway, and now they have to figure out where to go from here.. kurumi and kuniharu BOTH made mistakes and didnt handle their genius/psychic kids in ways they shouldve, but its because they werent prepared for it

[hassianlovebot]

like on one hand i understand why people don't like subira at first, but i'm also getting tired of seeing people shit on her without actually getting to know her. and i know how that sounds, but she's literally fine. like yes death to cops but the in game order lady isn't the evil witch come to kill zeki and reth that everyone thinks she is. and they would know that,, if they did her quests,, or at least spoiled themselves and looked at the wiki,,,

it's getting embarrassing honestly

[randomnameless]

how would have Rhea raised Billy if Jeralt failed to take them from the monastery? Aside from actually giving a shit about them and not letting them starve on a semi regular basis I mean

See their enlightened one outfit?

They would have gotten tacky outfits in the same style from age 3 onwards, all "made" by the Archbishop herself.

More seriously, I think the plot would change?

Maybe Seteth wouldn't have been "summoned" at the Monastery, if Billy had been there, or he would and would have acted as Billy's caretaker ?

If Billy was raised by Rhea since day 5, I'm pretty sure they would have told her about the gremlin in their head, and that plot would have been solved way earlier, but as to what happens with Supreme Leader's war... idk.

I personally see Billy, in this verse, as someone raised like Sitri, maybe being a monk/random ward in the Monastery, but Billy likes to help people (and smiles at least in the jp!version!) so maybe they would have became some sort of kickass cleric, or a member of the knights of Seiros (Rhea'd disagree at first, she doesn't want them to be hurt and would have prefered if they became a fisherman or something that would keep them away from the battlefield, but Billy makes their own decisions, and wishes to protect the monastery and the people they cares about, maybe being triggered by another assassination attempt targetted at Rhea, maybe Christophe's or someone's else).

Billy'd be good friends with knighs and members of the CoS, maybe take Cyril under their wing (as much as they can) and have wednesday evening sessions of sitting with their "like" family eating Zanado fruits, or even fishing. When they want to become a knight or know how to use weapons "to protect", they could spare with Seteth'n'Rhea and end the "training" sessions with some of Rhea's cookies and Zanado fruit juice.

If Billy's still a teacher in this verse - well, I don't think the entire "crust + church BaD" spiel affects them, hell, they might be a bit more pissed at this entire nonsense and voice their annoyance, why are those nobles blaming the church for their own failings in ruling their lands?

(that's where Seteth has to remind them about this thing called "tongue in check")

Maybe they can decide to travel through Fodlan to make up for the regional branches' failings (but only after Rhea got from the gremlin the promise that Gremlin will keep Billy safe!) - when Supreme Leader comes crashing down with her army?

If Rhea survives, Billy hangs out in Faerghus, but if Rhea is caught, Billy leads a resistance force (like SS) - granted, in this AU, Sothis is around and less of a gremlin that in her canon appearances, so Rhea's freed from her Enbarr jail way earlier than in the game, the Agarthans are toasted and everything's well that ends well.

[franeridan]

I understand why everyone who read dunmeshi instantly shipped marci and falin but tbh the fact that it's just treated as canon by the fandom cuts on a lot of interesting analysis that could be done on their relationship outside of the romantic reading, which is kind of a shame

[faaun]

she's so arrogant and annoying and hot it pisses me off !!!

[saturnniidae]

Jlaire (or just Claire as a character, tbh) wouldn't be any be anywhere near as popular as it is if Claire was chubby like she is in the book.

Anyways, I love both book and show Claire with my entire heart, but I'm still kinda salty with how much they slimmed her down in the show

[fideidefenswhore]

so, i just read a review of BSR where the primary critique seemed to be that the series ‘airbrushed’ anne, that it was a version that ‘took away all her pettiness and cruelty”, airbrushed all her flaws, etc...

now, my primary critique of BSR would probably be that the series lacked texture, and this i would attribute to the limited screen time, made even smaller by the interruptions to the flow of the story (it felt more like that and less like elaboration for those that were not neophytes to the subject matter, was my takeaway from the online response). but i mean...really? i don’t find this to be a salient critique at all, especially considering that it was only three episodes. one of her most unsympathetic moments of the series was her response to her sister’s arrival at court, and that’s just one among many: included was her threat to cromwell as reported by chapuys, the fuller’s account of her ripping the locket off her rival’s neck (embellished with her chasing her as she tries to leave, even, for good measure, calling her a bitch later), and towards the end, she’s very cruel and biting towards elizabeth somerset once she reaches the limit of her patience wrt loaning her money. as for pettiness, she is so to her sister-in-law and vice versa, she’s insensitive to her sister when she scoffs at the role of royal mistress in her presence, and during the period that she’s in that nebulous status, she fully plays footsie under the table with henry in front of his wife, by implication unto ‘bundling’, until catherine leaves the table.

i’m just puzzled, ig, because the online response to AB2021 (very different show tonally, straight drama besides, i know, but just that these are the two most recent centered on AB) as far as i could gauge was that anne was too ‘petty and cruel’. i mean, tbh, i’ve always been confused by this response, because i thought all her moments of vindictiveness or pettiness or cruelty, once contextualized, on balance with her other moments were, well...understandable, even if not excusable (and if anyone wants to elaborate i’m willing to discuss, genuinely curious), borne clearly of frustration and fear for the most part, at worst you could say impatience and short temper on some of the others (even the truly ‘petty’, like the scene with the peacocks, was presaged by another woman being giggly with her husband, so...?)

what is this perfect AB portrayal that is sought, exactly? the straw AB? because to me, it seems like no matter what the depiction portrays, it cannot win. for some it is not ‘authentic’ unless we see every single aspect of her flaws amplified to the utmost, including her treatment of her stepdaughter. for others it is not ‘authentic’ if we do see that and all of the above. 

[lilac-melody]

Not to be mean but can people not send me asks, asking if they can "liph//yo beam" me?

[lecliss]

I think a 10yo just got attached to me in genshin and if this keeps up its gonna make me not wanna play cuz I don't wanna come off as mean if I have to tell her to give me some space, but I wanna play in peace ya know?

[skitskatdacat63]

I realized I have the right clothes to dress like young Oppenheimer, so I drew my oc in my suit 🤭

I draw her in suits a lot, so the top drawing is her typical suit! But then the second one is based off my irl one 🤭

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH MY BELOVED WIFE RÜßIE <3 SHE IS SO HANDSOMEEEE <3

I think every time I draw, I just feel more deranged about her(if that's even possible) 🥺 I love drawing her face sm

[larnax]

oh yea i never did post that therion/temenos analysis bc it refused to get under 2k words but the crux of it was that therion is a very passive character to the point that not killing people is about the only choice he personally makes(even in their final argument, darius is the one who starts it and therion is just defending himself for the majority of it), otherwise he's always following someone else's orders, whether it be heathcote or barham and he fucking hates his job. temenos on the other hand is an intj empath with a savior complex who is extremely active, refuses to listen to anyone he doesn't respect which is all but one person who dies before the first chapter is over, and his job is his life's calling.

[atsu-i]

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