#anyway sorry for hijacking your ask to ramble anon

[ughgoaway]

i feel like they would say i love you to each other quite fast after getting together in a cute casual domestic setting <3 <3 <3 like the one you described🥰

oooh interesting, see i couldn't decide whether it would be reasonably quick after they got together or a weirdly long time???

obviously, they're in love, but I'm not sure whether that means it's so important they need to say it NOW or whether it's just so obvious it remains unsaid. I am gonna discuss both scenarios so prepare for a ramble lol

okay lets say they say it fast; another cute domestic setting would be saying it after you look after Annie for the night. maybe he comes out to see his girls crashed on the sofa, one of those animated Barbie movies playing on the screen.

you wake up to matty stroking your head softly and just give him a sleepy grin. you strategically untangle from Annie and stand up to give him a hug.

"Hi baby," you mumble into his shoulder

"Hi sweetheart, how are my girls, hmm?" he says softly, hugging you and rubbing your back.

"Good. sleepy, obviously, but we enjoyed our little girl's night." You say, pulling back and wrapping your arms around mattys neck as his make their way to sit on your waist.

"Ah, did Annie do your nails like she wanted to?" matty asks, now fiddling with the hem of your shirt absentmindedly.

you bring one of your hands out from behind his head and flash your nails, "oh yes and I love them, very glittery" your hand goes back behind his neck but now sits at the base of his curls, gently scratching them in the way you know he loves.

matty throws his head back with a groan and shuts his eyes, "hmm well I love them. love you too." matty says, completely distracted by your warm hands massaging his scalp. you freeze briefly, but matty doesn't seem to notice what he's said, so you play along with a big grin in your face

"That's nice to hear baby. I love you too," you say confidently. You thought hearing it out loud would freak you out. especially considering you've only been together a few weeks, but this all felt so natural. and hearing matty say that just felt right.

he gets a dopey smile on his face, clearly not quite back in the world yet, and pulls you in for another hug. this time squeezing you and holding you especially close.

3 seconds into the hug, you feel him jolt, pull back and look at you with wide eyes.

"WAIT WHAT"

now, if it was a weirdly long time, I could see it happening at the studio.

its pretty fucking late and you've been there for a few hours hanging out with the boys but you can see matty and George getting frustrated by this song so you decide to give them some space.

you walk over and drop a kiss into mattys curls, and you feel his hand slip from his arm rest to your thigh, but his eyes stay laser focused on the computer screen.

"You going somewhere, baby?" he asks, still completely lost in the world of producing.

"Yeah, I'm going to leave you boys to it and go get some rest," you say, fiddling with some of Matty's curls, twiddling them around your finger.

"Okay, see you at home sweetheart," matty says, giving your thigh a squeeze before removing his hand and pressing seemingly random buttons on the keyboard.

"Bye, I love you," you say with a yawn, already walking away.

"Love you too!" matty shouts after you slightly turning his head, but his eyes stay fixed on his screen.

as the door clicks, matty nonchalantly goes back to working but sees George freeze out of the corner of his eye.

"Dude, just because y/n got to leave doesn't mean you do, get back to it," matty says, sighing and rubbing his eyes with his closed fists.

"When did that develop then, huh?" George asks, smirking and leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

matty paused and span to look at George with a confused face, "do you mean y/n? because if you do, im very confused about why you think she's been hanging around us for so long." he jokes.

"No, no. not y/n. the whole 'I love you' thing. First time I've heard you guys say it." George says, shrugging his shoulders and spinning back to the computer.

"Huh? we haven't said that yet. What do you mean?" matty says, yawning and stretching as best he can in his cramped chair.

george stops and turns to matty with a confused look on his face. "matty. she literally just left and said, 'i love you', and you said 'love you too'... don't tell me that was the first time you said it??" George is laughing at the absurdity of that idea, expecting matty to join in. but still, after a few seconds, matty stays silent.

george opens his eyes and sees matty blinking rapidly with his mouth open, "oh fuck." he says.

another beat passes before both men burst out laughing. A combination of the absurd situation, how long they've been awake, and the zoot they smoked earlier.

later matty comes home and immediately crawls into bed with you, you wake up and flip over cuddling into his chest and humming happily.

"hey babe, are you awake?" matty whispers, the slight anxiety in his voice woke you right up.

"yeah, is everything okay?" you say your voice heavy with sleep, you rest your chin on mattys chest and look up at him.

"You know earlier when you left?" matty pauses until you nod, indicating for him to continue, "well turns out we both said,'I love you' for the first time... and didn't notice. George pointed it out, " he said sheepishly, he raises his arm and placed his hand under his head whilst his other hand traced your bicep.

you blink hard a few times before simply going, "Oh," both you and matty look at each other before gently smiling.

you turn your head and settle back into his chest, "Well, I do love you, so that's good." You say stifling a yawn. matty feels you drifting off, your breathing evening out, and your eyelids fluttering.

"I love you too, now go to sleep darling," he says softly, feeling himself drift off as well. you nod as best you can into his chest before both of you fall asleep, a tangled mess of limbs under the duvet.

blurb masterlist for this au here :)

[cloudyyangel]

Natsuo with the same hair and quirk as his dad is an interesting concept for sure.

I’ve been dyeing my hair since like age 13 and can I just say the possibility of tenderness of helping someone dye their hair is just *chefs kiss*.

From experimenting with bleach and toner for that gorgeous white color to sitting on the edge of the bath with him bent over the edge so you can help properly rinse the product off from the back of his head. (Also if he does run hot like his father, it could speed up the coloring process in general)

Ohhh the soft smile he’d have as he admires you in the mirror as you help blow dry his hair.

I’ve also thought of dyeing Touya’s hair but Natsuo’s on the brain now. Sorry for rambling (´∀｀)

Please, please never apologize for rambling. I live for it. And I am always happy to talk about the vulnerability that Touya would have allowing you the intimacy of dying his hair.

I want to know if Natsuo grew out of the red or if he dyes it. We’re under the impression that Touya’s hair turned white because of stress/strain but I don’t know if that Natsuo’s case. Neither Fuyumi or Shouto lost their red so I’m inclined to believe that Natsuo dyes it haha.

Anyways...I am very unfamiliar with how you would actually get rid of red hair from white so ignore that but here you go sweetie~

“Can I help?” You ask from the bathroom doorway. Natsuo freezes with a small bowl of something that smells so strongly you wrinkle your nose. You’re not suppose to be here- an impromptu visit to your boyfriend who had been stress studying for finals and just needs a short break at least for dinner you told him firmly when you shut the heavy textbook and plop a bag of takeout on top of it.

You don’t know when the red roots started showing, choosing not to comment on it since he’s been so distracted for the past week. No reason to weigh him down more. He had excused himself to clean up as you laid out the food, but after a few minutes of a growling stomach, you went to find him.

He looks ridiculous- white hair pulled back by a purple headband (you’re 90% sure it’s yours) with the sides of his hair sticking straight out from being pulled, red roots showing slightly. He would look cute, you muse, with the sides of his pure white hair a vibrant red.

He stalls, big hands griping the small plastic bowl. “It’s just-“ he falters as he stares at you, like he’s not a burly man and more like a scared child, “I have to upkeep them every few weeks”. He explains. You nod in encouragement and it’s enough to spur him on. “I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. It’s easier.” He continues.

You stand patient and watch as the worry line between his brows slowly eases away. He doesn’t hear any complaints, any questions, or prodding and it’s enough to soothe his worries. Natsuo gives a short nod and you’re padding down the hallway before he can change his mind.

When you return with a kitchen chair, he silently holds out a pair of gloves and takes a seat. Even sitting down, he’s almost as tall as your shoulders and you giggle at the reflection in the mirror. The sound relaxes him a bit and he slumps against the chair.

“It doesn’t take much.” Natsuo finally speaks softly when he hears the snap of the gloves.

“Tell me what to do big guy.” You tease and give him a grin through the mirror.

It’s really not hard- Natsuo has it down to a tee with the amount of bleach, toner, and conditioner he needs along with the time. It’s easy to massage the concoction into his scalp as he leans into the touch, a quiet hum filling the bathroom. You wonder how long it took him to make this process easy- how often it ended with his hair ruined, or fried. How often he has to do it in order to keep that part of himself concealed. He looked like a kid again when you caught him, as if he’s been doing it alone for so long that he forgot he could let someone in.

You notice how he doesn’t meet his reflection, won’t look at himself as his gaze stays on you. “Behind the ear.” He comments and you grumble at the few stray reds that are hidden.

You don’t know how right your thoughts are as Natsuo slowly sinks under your loving touch. He won’t tell you about his various failed attempts as a child; from cutting it off to using the bleach under the kitchen sink. He won’t mention how his sister never understood, or how he would stare at the picture of his older brother for hours and compare their hair color. He won’t admit that you’re the first person outside of his family to see him- won’t voice how terrified he is of you in this moment. Terrified of your gentle fingers on his scalp, of your slightly swaying form as you examine him closely, of the complete love in your smile as you meet his gaze.

Natsuo watches you through the mirror; the small puff of your cheeks as you throughly check your work, the way your lips purse out at the sight of a stray red before you gently rub your fingers to his temple. He smiles slowly, the feeling creeping up on him as every fiber of his being relaxes at the sight of you taking such care of him, the sight of you taking on this task with such ferocity that he feels like for once- he’s not alone.

[steelycunt]

Hi! Why is it so hard to fancast Remus? Is it because he is just some guy and most fancasts are famous people? Anyway I would like to put fort Levan Gelbakhiani and also recommend the film “And then we danced” cause its beautiful!!!

hey!! for me personally its hard because i can't imagine clear faces when reading/writing--i can imagine facial features, but i can't picture them all on one cohesive face (and the features i do imagine are sort of sketchy/cartoonish rather than that realistic), so its like trying to match a real person to a vague blur of an image in my mind that is incredibly specific but also v hard to pin down. i rambled in the next bit a little so i'll put it under the cut xox

more generally, the reason i find most of the common ones so terrible is because they're usually brown-haired extra conventionally attractive celebrities who are either models or looks like models. and i do not think he was an especially conventionally attractive guy at all i think he looked like a normal guy. in fact i think he was kind of ugly. i don't care that much about canon but sirius is specifically referred to as handsome, where remus isnt, ever, so i just don't really understand where it comes from. i also feel like a lot of these fancasts that are sooo desperate to make every character ridiculously hot as if otherwise they are not convincing love interests / interesting or redeemable characters / of any value as elements of a narrative (as if any deviation from the beauty standard is a sin that renders a literal fictional character unworthy of any further discussion) are just kinda fucking weird lol. idk why average looking people are so frightening to read or write about to some people but yeah :-/ soooo sorry anon to hijack your ask to go off on a tangent like that i know its really not that deep!! i've just massively overthought my answers to your questions xx

in reference to gelbakhiani--i KNEW i recognised that name and i realise now i think another anon way back mentioned him!! he's not QUITE perfect for me but i remember him being a pleasant surprise when i googled him the first time and he was a pleasant surprise this time too xx you understand the assignment!! im not mad about it!! in terms of the individual features i dont have many personal criticisms at all!! ++ also also thank you for the rec!! <3

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Yeah I never understood why people say Allura is racist she's perfectly fine with Keith AND Krolia who is in fact FULL Galra

Hi, anon! Thanks for your note. Yeah, that’s a good point! Honestly, I think some people pick up on the show’s implicit narrative biases, which are largely unsympathetic to genocide survivors while sweeping under the rug the visceral level of brutality that a significant number of Galra enacted point-blank against so many civilizations. The narrative and visual “lens,” if you will, even in s3 flashbacks, focuses more on the instigators and their motives than it does the victims and their traumatic experiences. And the narrative lens throughout the show continuously demands that genocide victims unquestionably forgive and accept oppressors into their lives without said oppressors/groups vocalizing empathy. But we see Allura going above and beyond with accepting Galra!

Regarding specifically season 2′s initial plot twist with Keith—I suppose it helps to look at Allura’s sudden suspicion from the lens of season 3. Galrans and Alteans had a great relationship between them—the official VLD book “Allura’s Story” even calls Zarkon Alfor’s “best friend.” So in this past, you have a strong Galtean alliance, you have Alfor saving the entire Galra people after Zarkon destabilized their planet and endangered the entire solar system with a widening rift, thus forcing Alfor to blow Daibazaal up to save every other civilization too. You have Alfor hosting the Galran people/Zonerva’s allies while giving Zarkon and Honerva an honorable state funeral. But the instant Zarkon wakes up and demands his people massacre the entire solar system (not just Altea—in s3, the Galra extinguished their entire galaxy planet by planet until only Altea was left)….the Galra people at large accept that order? Without question? Despite all the deep friendship and bonds that came before? Literally, a single order from an undead emperor of their own kind overturned this solid interracial alliance and launched an unstoppable, galaxy-level bloodbath?

But of course, we don’t get this history until another season later, so Allura’s initial reactions to even Keith for example, feel left-field to some who hadn’t already emotionally connected to the trauma of genocide/omnicide. Specifically, Allura’s trauma was triggered with Keith because she’s 100% experienced having mass allies and treasured friends suddenly betray you in the name of pure loyalty to someone of their own race. But we don’t get that additional history until later.

So while clearly the racism accusation is not justified and Keith and Allura reconcile anyway in season 2, I think the seeds of “Allura is racist” were planted at large during this time, while waiting for season 3.

And notice as well that in the show, it’s Allura who comes to Keith and apologizes. There is zero narrative attempt to understand the “why” behind Allura’s reaction during this plot twist, and no other character (including Keith) makes an attempt to reach out to her either. They all turn into a bunch of passive aggressives. So narratively, the show champions an imbalance—you feel sympathy for Keith and are asked to join the paladins in demonizing Allura (or seeing her as the “other” for suddenly having suspicions, per her experiences). And the show champions the paladins for such riveting high school diplomacy while Allura takes full responsibility on herself to open up the conversation, make herself vulnerable by explaining her own trauma, and then begging for Keith’s forgiveness and even hugging him. She does all of this, by the way, upon seeing that—unlike the s3 Galra in the past—Keith’s revelation didn’t mean he felt an automatic loyalty-tie to the Galra, and that he was just as true and good as he always had been. And kudos to Keith, he confirms his nature again by accepting her apology and the both of them moving on together, with Allura even ultimately accepting Keith’s authority over her as Black Paladin.

So for all the trauma Allura has from actively experiencing the Galra wipe out her entire galaxy and planet, we see Keith and Allura reconcile—and we see her move onto accepting the Blade of Marmora and Krolia. She admonishes Lotor for not protecting his own Galran subjects from attack. And despite the romance and alliance with Lotor going south over his activities with an Altean colony, she still pursues alliances with other Galrans and even tries to emotionally connect with them. She’s the one who first offers an alliance with Zarkon himself into s8, ultimately resurrecting Daibazaal as equal to her own resurrected Altea. And she does all of this while fighting against an Altean who is the ultimate big bad of the series. So even if someone wanted to totally ignore Allura’s past as an omnicide victim and just wanted to crucify her point-blank for her season 2 actions, we see her acting in incredibly dynamic ways to preserve and obtain peace for the Galran people.

I think, in looking at Allura’s development arc from season 1 to season 8, it becomes clear to me that people holding onto the “Allura is racist” card are doing so for one or several of the following reasons:

They haven’t watched the show entirely to see her interactions with a wide myriad of other Galrans, so they’re cherry-picking based on a few uncontextualized scenes.  

They view Allura as an antagonist to their favored character, so they hate her anyway and are looking for any reason possible to hate her.

They view her as romantic competition for their favored ship (that old fandom internalized misogynism where gosh darn if a female character dare exist to unsettle their own personal romantic headcanons or self-ship needs, which means we gotta find a way to get rid of her and her fans).

And thanks to purity police corruption of fandom, militant antis using the “racism” card recognize that they can inappropriately hijack a social buzz word to manipulate fandom interests and obtain supremacy over other fans by de-legitimizing their voice. Because no one wants to stan a racist, right???

Either way, “Allura is racist” is definitely an inaccurate use of the word, yeah. If people want to hate on Allura, which is their right to do if they so desperately want, they just really need to find other reasons to do it.

Thank you for your note, anon! Sorry, I guess I rambled after I got to thinking about “why,” haha.

[thenickelportrust]

Sorry, it's Finley anon from earlier here. I know I requested a Finley kiss short earlier but like, I'm curious about V now? Sorry to be a nuisance! I'm just so.. I love every love interest in this game so much.

And, anon, this one has also been sitting in my inbox since the beginning of time and I apologize for that as well but, y’know, today may just be your lucky day because I am answering both of these right now!!! (Now that I can get back to actually writing shorts! :D)

And please know- you are not a nuisance at all!! I love all of the asks and request I get because it’s honestly so astounding and amazing to know that someone else also loves these characters like I do and wants to know more about them!! Even beyond that I simply never mind stuff like this- at all! So please know- you are not a nuisance at all and it makes me super super super happy to know that you love these characters, too!! 

Other rambling aside- here’s some V! (Since you didn’t request a specific V I just went ahead and went with Vega- since the last V short was Vincent so I flipped a coin between Vera and Vega- so I hope that’s alright!)

(Also, same deal, an example of a first kiss, but not the first kiss because of spoilery reasons.)

“I just want it on the record that I do not, nor will I ever, condone this idea at all.” The wind brushes over your skin- it’s cool, near freezing, in fact, but you don’t feel the chill wrapped in your jacket. Still, you pull it tighter around yourself, almost habitually, and glance to the side at your wolfishly grinning companion.

“And yet here you are.” They seem to have no apparent problem with your reluctant whining, simply slinging an arm around your shoulder heavily, leaning into your side as they twirl a pair of bright silvery keys around their index finger with lazy accuracy.

“Not entirely by choice.”

“Oh, come now, darling.” You can feel Vega’s bouncing laugh against you. “Let’s not play ourselves. If that were true then you simply would have refused to come along. And yet, I repeat, here you are.” They catch the keys in their gloved palm, letting their wrist drop as they present them to you freely. “So tell me, if you aren’t here for this- then why else would you have followed me so readily?”

“Morbid curiosity.” You deadpan, and for a moment your mind brushes away the ridiculousness of this situation, and focuses instead on something so mundane that it almost seems odd in and of itself. The wind picks up again- and you wonder if Vega is cold- after all, while you brought a warm coat they seem perfectly content to freeze in a green t-shirt and not-very-warm-looking leather jacket- and then you wonder why it is that’s the thing your brain decides to focus on when you’re about to carjack one of Nickelport’s more infamous villains. “But I’m starting to remember what happens to cats when they’re curious.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not a cat, dear.”

“I sure as hell am starting to feel like one, though.”

“More of a fox, if you ask me.”

“Not the time.”

Vega rolls their eyes dramatically, snatching the keys back up in their hand- how the hell did they even get those, anyway? Vega’s hand slips from your shoulders, and they saunter confidently towards the door of the bright red luxury car- a color about as obnoxious as its owner, and the person about to steal it from said owner. “You’re far too cautious, sweetheart, would I really let anything bad happen?”

“No, you’d instigate it.”

Vega laughs again, far too loudly, in fact. Wincing, your eyes skitter about the empty streets with hurried, fearful glances. “Vega, please, can’t we just-…” But they’ve already got the door open, waving one hand forward to the seat with a flourish and that same sly grin. “I’m not driving that thing.”

“Perhaps not,” Vega chuckles again, “But then would you rather I take the wheel?”

“I’d rather we get out of here before anything bad shows up- or anyone.” You turn around, suddenly feeling as if that cold wind were a warm breath on the back of your neck. 

“Then we have quite the suitable getaway car right here, darling.”

“Not funny.”

“I did not mean it to be.” Vega sighs and lets the door fall closed with a thud that feels like a punch to the gut, you take a step back habitually. 

The jacket is already about as tight around you as it possibly could be, yet you still try to pull it even tighter. You eye the shadows that creep along the corners of tall buildings, trailing their sharp edges to the roofs where unseeable things seem to flit in and out of your sight, hiding behind quickly folded curtains, obscuring piercing eyes that send shudders down your spine. “Can we please just leave?”

You nearly jump when you feel warm hands on the side of your face- your head is tilted down from the rooftops to stare at Vega- and you can read the disappointment on their face, but it seems buried under a careful consideration with which they scrutinize you. Finally, Vega releases a breathy laugh, they pat the side of your cheek, “You really needn’t be so dreadfully fearful, dear. I can promise that nothing is to happen to you. Not while I’m around.”

And despite it being Vega, of all people, there’s an assured honesty to their voice that almost makes you believe them. A solemn promise that seems to shave off the sharp edge of fear. But then again, it is Vega.

Another wistful sigh, and after a moment’s hesitation, their hands slip from your face. “But so be it, this was not meant to cause you distress, rather- to alleviate that which you were already feeling, and so I suppose I’ll simply have to come up with some other scheme, now won’t I?” And while you may not have fully believed their previous promise, something about that sly, roguish grin, the cunning shine to their eyes, and the fact that it is, once again, Vega that’s telling you this- you wholeheartedly believe this one.

“Thank you.” But that’s a thing to worry about later, as of right now- you just want to leave. You feel Vega slip their arm through yours, grinning just as proudly as they did while leading you here when they guide you away from the death-trap-waiting-to-happen. “Wait- what about the car?”

“I suppose that’s no longer our problem, is it?” Vega shrugs loosely. “At the very least I must give them some trouble finding it, mustn’t I?”

As long as the chances of you dying are minimal, you suppose you’ll let it be. “Say, Vega… Why did you do all this, anyway? I didn’t exactly ask you to…”

“Hm?” They seem surprised by the very question, “Well, they hurt you- didn’t they? I simply aided where I could- and since you did say you wanted to get back at them, I thought perhaps you might want to partake in a little well-meaning revenge, too!” Well-meaning revenge…? Does such a thing… exist…?

“Yeah, sure, but… I dunno, I thought it was gonna be with my article- not, y’know, hijacking their car.”

“Oh? Is that so? Well, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Uh oh. You don’t like that new smile of theirs.

“Uh,” You try to change the subject, or at least think of something to interrupt whatever it is they’re now scheming, “Ok, but… why do you want to help, anyway?”

This is, apparently, such a shocking question that it requires Vega to stop so suddenly that they nearly yank you back in the process- despite their hands still slipping from where they were linked around your arm and instead placing both hands over their heart as if you’d wounded them there. “Oh dear! You truly can’t tell?”

“I- uh- I mean-” You scratch the back of your neck, did you say something wrong? “No…?”

Vega, just as quickly, turns from an expression of pure shock to barking laughter, at that point your face is cupped once more between their hands- the black felt of their fingerless gloves is soft against your cheeks, while their fingers are warm. “You’re a reporter, darling, you read people for a living- surely you know what it is I feel for you?”

“You’re… you’re really not the easiest to read, Vega.”

Another breathy laugh, this one lower, rumbling and amused- like a cat’s purr. “Well, then, perhaps I should give you a direct quote for the papers.” Vega tilts your head down until, temple-to-temple, they can whisper in your ear, “You see, dear, I am entirely infatuated with you.” 

“You’re-” You’re cut off when Vega slips away from your ear, and in a moment you feel Vega’s lips-

Pressed against the bridge of your nose.

They pull back with that same wolfish grin, while you’re left feeling enough heat pooling in your cheeks to make you forget just about entirely about that cold wind. “Uh… You… Um…”

There’s that purring laughter again, “Yes, darling?”

And just like before, you mind decides to detach itself from reality. Though unlike before- instead of thinking some crazy, or noticing something irrelevant, you find yourself doing something so insane that you’re fairly sure you’ve been spending far too much time around Vega.

You grab the sides of their jacket- and you kiss them.

[alteabellerose]

”*Putting this under a submit since this might be long and I don’t wanna split it up in several asks that Tumblr might eat. Sorry for any inconvenience*”

”I have some thoughts about the latest chapter. I was not expecting the feels to hit me like they did. But I actually understand why MC did what she did. How she did it was harsh and unnecessary, but I do understand the point behind it.”

-This is a fairly long submission but it’s also worth a read bc anon makes a lot of good points about this whole mess but I don’t want to clog your dashes with this super long post so I’m putting the submission and my response under a read more-

”Something I felt hasn’t been addressed a lot in the story is the fact that MC gave up her whole life to be with Altea. She literally left her own world behind to move to an alternate universe. For Altea. Someone who is willing to give up everything to be with you is a big deal and shows a huge amount of trust, especially in the messy situation they’re in with the Witch Queen and an approaching war. Then she learns that Altea, who probably felt like an anchor, has been lying about a lot of things. Even something as trivial as the fact that she’s two years younger than she said/implied she was. From personal experience, I can say that that plants a seed of doubt that is REALLY hard to get over. Suddenly you’re questioning everything and you feel all alone. Even if you aren’t.”

”Even more so if, like MC, if she feels like she literally has no one to turn to. She didn’t just move to a different city, a different state or even a different country, she literally moved into another universe where no one from her past is. Where she has no way to contact them. And we know that Chicago is where she feels safe since Altea told her to think of a safe place and they ended up there. In Chicago, she probably would called Sophie or her parents or anyone else in her life to confide in/vent. In the L&L world, that person would most likely be Altea, but this time she’s also the one right in the middle of a huge mess.”

”MC only spoke to Iseul because he sought her out. The guys had to bring it up because of MCs aggressive behavior during training, MC didn’t go to the courtyard with the intention of talking to them. In fact, the one MC ended up confiding in was Helena (which kinda makes me suspicious btw).”

”Then add the fact that Mireille didn’t make a good first impression by threatening MC. Or the fact that she shoves MC out of conversations by talking to Altea in a language she knows MC doesn’t understand. Or hijacking the day she and Altea should’ve had together. Or the way she seems to have a thing for Altea or at the very least she seems to disapprove of MC and Altea’s relationship. Then, finally, saving Altea right in front of her.”

”I feel like MC probably had Helena’s words echoing in her head about people always being tempted by those who have been with them since the beginning. How Mireille will know Altea’s heart and have memories MC can’t touch. It probably doesn’t help that every other conversations Mireille and Altea has is basically “hey, remember when….” which would make anyone feel left out. Then Altea says she wants Mireille to stay with them in the castle…”

”Basically MC is feeling insecure as all hell and the only who seems to get it is Helena.”

”Sidenote: Considering you literally pick between Altea and Helena and how this chapter ended, I just have to say: If this is the point where Helena’s route starts, I’m gonna be livid! I want a clean beginning, not MC running to Helena because she and Altea are having problems! Not here for breaking Altea’s heart for Helena!”

”Anyway, there’s a distinct lack of communication between everyone, which is turning this into a bigger issue than it should’ve been. MC’s insecurities are very flawed, but also very real. And from her POV, Altea doesn’t seem to want to understand. She feels like Altea doesn’t get it, but really how can Altea get it when MC doesn’t communicate her feelings. Its irrational, but doubts and insecurities will do that unfortunately. ”

”No one is innocent in all this. MC should’ve communicated her feelings/thoughts to Altea. The necklace was an immature lashing out that’ll only cause more hurt. But Altea should been more upfront, should’ve considered how betrayed MC might feel given the trust she had shown Altea and communicated her thoughts instead if just announcing something like the fact that she wants Mireille to stay and expecting MC to be ok with it.”

”I feel like Iseul should take his own advice and tie both Altea and MC to Reiner’s chair until they actually talk to each other… They both have some apologizing to do. And, more importantly, they need to freaking TALK TO EACH OTHER. A real heart-to-heart where they both talk and they both listen.”

Okay so I’m gonna open by saying that I never saw a notification for this so idk how late I am at getting to it and I’m sorry if you sent this yesterday or this morning and I didn’t get to it earlier

But! Yeah honestly I think you’ve made nothing but good points here. I think literally every day about how hard it must be for MC to deal with the knowledge that she left literally everyone and everything she’s ever known behind, like sure she loves Altea and the guys are her friends but she left behind her best friend and who knows how much family all for Altea and this war with the witch queen when she could’ve easily gone back to her old life, not put herself in danger every single day, not left 25 years of her life behind. I wish we’d get more about that in the story, even if it was just in the form of comments from MC sometimes, like when she was talking to the witch queen about her memories of the garden her mother had, except wherein she’s talking to someone who will listen and care

I know that I’ve been making a fair few angry/hurt posts about this and generally siding with Altea, but I don’t want to make it seem like I think MC is completely at fault for things. I can’t say that I’ve been lied to on that scale, but I can say that I can relate to what Altea says about her parents and so I also understand why she would lie about that at the very least. I don’t mean that I approve of it, but I’m not exactly mad. I am, however, pretty much entirely on MC’s side in regards to the jealousy issue with Mireille, I’m secondhand jealous tbh, and it surprises me that Altea was oblivious enough to the issue to suggest that Mireille stay permanently. Definitely was not happy with her about that.

The main thing I’m upset with MC about isn’t necessarily leaving Altea, it’s leaving Altea when she barely addressed the jealousy issue with her. It’s not that I don’t understand MC’s reasoning. I had a similar problem in a relationship when I was 16 and I stewed for like, weeks, but instead of, interestingly enough, returning the necklace he’d given me and I had hardly taken off in the year and a half we were together in a symbolic breakup gesture, we talked it out and lo and behold, we stayed together for a while longer. MC walked off and GOD do I understand the “she saved you when I couldn’t comment” because I kind of have a protectiveness thing going on and christ that’d kill me, and Altea just says “I don’t hold a grudge against you for that, it was just chance” but like, I’d hold a grudge against myself for the rest of my life probably and now I’m rambling so anyway, Altea goes after her and asks what’s wrong you know, and MC is like “I’m jealous” and then hands her the charm???????? When they talked about her feelings for all of two minutes?????????????????????

I’m frustrated with the lack of communication happening, and from the perspective of someone outside the relationship of course it looks easy to solve so I’m trying to avoid judging too harshly but god if they would just talk to each other! I’m also frustrated because I’ve mentioned on this blog that I’ve played/am playing virtually every game I can get my hands on where you can play as a girl and romance a girl, and god only knows how many bi/pan/lesbian LIs I could rattle off right now, but Altea is my all-time favorite. So maybe I’ve been harsh on MC for doing what she did but god I just keep thinking about what my favorite girl ever must’ve been thinking when MC put the charm in her hands and it’s killing me and kind of clouding my fair judgment here

Like. I love MC and I support her always (usually) but TALK TO YOUR GIRL!!!!!!! I’m glad you said that the lack of communication is turning this into a bigger issue than it should’ve been because that’s by far my biggest problem with what’s going on. It just doesn’t need to be this bad.

Re: your sidenote god same. I was happy when Alain’s route started and I assumed they’d do the same thing with Helena, like have it be an AU type deal where MC just happened to get picked up by the generals instead of August and Iseul, but now I’m scared. I wouldn’t be able to play Helena’s route at first. I’d have to emotionally gear myself up for it, lmao. Helena getting a route is literally a dream come true for me, as in literally I wanted it so badly I dreamed about it once before they announced it, but I don’t know if it’s worth the expense of Altea’s heart. That’s a cheesy thing to say about fictional characters but it’d hurt her so much. I couldn’t do it.

Catch me crying like a baby when they have their inevitable heart-to-heart though, I’m a sucker for this stuff

Thanks for sending this in, I could talk forever about L&L lmao & I appreciate your apparently slightly more balanced perspective than my own