#bc i thought maybe if i avoided his canon people would be open to his blog

[narrativedoomed]

that time of year again (obsessed w cl.ay jen.sen)

[erosjournal]

‧₊˚໒꒱ simply some argos 2 headcanons in my "au"

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"to be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself--avoid trying to be something your not." - rick riordan

i believe that the majority of people on that ship are not straight

let start here with the lost trio

leo is bisexual, and on the aroace spectrum (i would say abroromantic/sexual? look em up!)

also i think he could be trans (ftm) or just genderqueer

jasons definitely demiromantic/sexual, even tho he and piper ended up quickly together, it was forced feelings and they had bonded closely. also i hc him as bi

for me, pipers a non-binary/demigirl queer person! she uses she/they, and i'd say is also probably on the aroace spectrum. VERY COMPHET

ok now for percy and annie

percy's bi. aint no way he isn't. the way he describes specific guys like bro

like i imagine the luke thing to sorta be like nico to percy, yk?

and annabeth.

i think she's very comphet too (look it up :D) and so she thinks shes straight and struggles with it, since percy's the only person she'd be with and he's a guy, making her 'straight'.

but i personally think she's pan, and attracted to percy bc of his personality vs his gender. plus, i think there r some other people at camp she's probably "liked", like not cheating, but thought 'oh, i would date them' yk?

lowkey, frank and hazel are token straight, but both are demiromantic and i think they just don't talk abt sexuality in their relationship BC THEY ARE CHILDREN? like they talk abt attraction, just not... yk.

i imagine frank getting very flustered abt it, and hazel gets awkward but more open to talk abt it

nico, obviously i know he's gay. i love that we had beautiful rep in the books, they could never make me hate u nico

also i wouldn't be apposed to trans/nb nico (same w/ will)

and for reyna, i hc her as an ace lesbian, with a lot of comphet. like, she thought she liked guys, especially guys who she was supposed to like (percy, jason, people in equal positions of power and such) but realized 'nah' and yeah.

also def hc as genderqueer/non-binary and also uses they/them

also i totally head canon that percy and annabeth were everyones gay awakenings, like percy for jason, leo, and nico, while annabeth for piper (maybe reyna)

relationships!

so in my "au", we got valgrace (jason and leo) pipeyna (piper and reyna) frazel (frank and hazel) and ofc, percabeth (percy and annabeth). i am fine with other ships, i just dislike specific ones that are uncomfortable for me, but idrc. also, pls dont hate on me

some random headcanons is that (i like to talk abt this a lot in my stories) but jason bought leo a fidget spinner as a gift, and leo has kept it since. he occasionally has to repair it, but it's his favorite thing ever

piper has short hair. i think she'd rock it, and i feel like it's more her style, but idk. either that, or braids 24/7

also, i wanna (project) say that frank's body doesn't change from ares/mars' gift, and he has body dysmorphia. like first of all, they talk abt how he never feels right in his body, as a shape shifter. and i feel like his bodily description implies that.

idk if this is just me projecting and shit, but i feel like that could cause an eating disorder for him? like, he just worries abt his weight and shit, and hazels all like "istg, frank, eat or else" and such. like ik we see him eating normally in the books, but i feel like that could make it more realistic. also, (hc) one time he passed out during battle and jason was like "frank tf, you need to talk to me man" and thats how he started talking abt it

jason and leo are alive! i will not ignore the importance of jasons death, but i also forever will wish it didn't happen, and i can do that in my au

bc of this, i'd say jason has a scar in his torso from being stabbed (twice, yikes) and (i talk abt this in a drabble, so go check that out) he has a bad lightning scar from his shoulder down his body.

and leo has a scar along the most of his body (chest, torso, shoulders, neck, hips) from his explosion.

also, i hc that he has a hearing aid. i read this in another fanfic, but i thought it'd be a really good idea. he has one, but only bc he is mildy deaf in one ear. his other ear is eh, but better

hazel refuses to wear jewelry with jewels on them. like, gold is ok ish (reminds her of arion) but gems freak her out still

percy and annabeth both have their stripes in their hair, and dye it blue!

also, since ik hoo is a middle grade book, but i think all the characters curse, especially in their native language/other languages. like in spanish, latin, greek, french, morse code, itaian, sign language, etc. sure, english too, but wheres the fun in that? and i imagine that frank is the only one who doesn't and just "oh golly!" all the time

also, seperate thing, but i do wanna talk abt the races + ethnicities i imagine the characters. i would appreciate no hate, and if u have thoughts on it, feel free to say such.

percy is either token white, or wasian (korean rep. actually, i might imagine him wasian, so look for that in the future)

annabeth, i think of her usually as blonde white, but i also imagine her as black w/ blonde braids, so either one works. lowkey, i wont specify unless its relevant, so idrc. (i dont have any specific country, so reccomend one!)

leo is mexican, ofc, and i will keep him that way

pipers cherokee, and i would say, for all characters, they are FULLY that ethnicity. if they are half/half, i would say its bc the god chose to be a different race. we know gods can change apperance, and while it doesn't change ethnicity, we know that not all the demigods are greek, so annabeth, leo, and piper are full, not half

so, ik jasons probably gonna be cast similarly to thalia, but i imagine him as this all american white boy. ik this will bring up controversy, but thats just my opinions, but i dont mind jason being other races. also, i imagine he could also be wasian, i saw a drawing and i was like: omg

frank is chinese and canadian! aint no way we gonna forget abt that boy.

hazel is also african-american :D same as book hazel

also, if the demigods took a dna test, would part of it come back like, unanswered? bc gods dont rlly have dna, but what would be in that spot? greek? i need answers

im just gonna say, most characters stay book ver. unless specified differently, like annie or jase or percy

omg now im just so happy, imaging percy speaking korean oml oml oml

and growing up w/ racism? "hey, can you sing k-pop?"

"eating cats?" "i'm korean man" etc

annabeth and percy bonding over racist experiences is peak man

so yea, thx for listening to my rant and yap. love u all :D

[carpisuns]

Now that you are no longer avoiding miraculous ladybug spoilers, can I say that it is absolutely bonkers the way the sentimonster theory started out with just Adrien, but then spread to Felix, and now apparently kagami??? And I've heard there might be another person who is one as well?? Like at this point I think we might as well say that every rich kid in paris (or vaguely related to paris) is probably a sentimonster. I bet it was a top secret Agreste collection back in the day, and all of Paris' wealthiest got a slice of it

OHOOEHEHEHE YES AND IM LIVING FOR IT!! honestly I never thought we would get confirmation of the senti theory that is this clear—like I thought it would be hinted but left open enough for the average child viewer to totally miss and for deniers to be able to deny if they want to. And I guess they could still deny? But man I didn’t expect it to become so central!! the felix eps were insane i was yelling !!

A while back I saw this theory that was basically what you said—that all the rich kids in Paris were sentis. Because of that fancy weird cult party from the episode Gabriel Agreste. Which was so fascinating to me back then and now it feels not unlikely?

It’s so interesting bc we know sentis are created from a specific emotion. It would seem appropriate that Emily created adrien out of love, and that’s why he’s such a kind boy who gives undeserving people second chances and who loves people with all his heart. Im not sure what emotion felix would be?? he’s a pretty complex character but his sense of personal justice is strong, wanting to free himself first and then the other sentikids, and using morally questionable means to reach his mission. So maybe something along those lines. And for kagami, idk, is perfection an emotion? Desire for perfection? That idea is brought up more and more surrounding her and her mother is very concerned with kagami’s perfection.

This gets even more interesting to me when you consider Chloe. Admittedly, she makes less sense as a senti bc the other sentikids have a missing parent (presumably the one who wielded the broken peacock and then eventually died from it??). But im just considering the concept of Audrey making Chloe from her own emotions….which seem to consist solely of selfishness and superiority. So if Chloe was made with such ugly emotions, no wonder she is the way she is. And no wonder that every time she seemed to make a little progress, she backslid into her old behavior. Bc any display of self-awareness and kindness and genuine care for someone else goes against her emotional core—her very essence. Is it even possible for a senti to change their emotional core? that would be an insane display of self-control and sheer force of will that would challenge the very concept of sentis as creatures who are made to be commanded. if it’s possible for a senti to break the bounds of their emotional core, is it also possible to break the bond between them and their amok holder and disobey a direct order? Could they even break their link to their amok entirely? This is all crazy talk bc it doesn’t even make sense in context and I doubt Chloe would end up having that big of a role anyway lol but the implications are interesting to think about! It’s even interesting to think about XY and the possibility of him being a senti—emotional core of greed, maybe? or, like, shallowness? lol. his dad definitely controls him and his image pretty carefully so. Hmm!

anyway insane musings aside I am really enjoying this arc with the senti focus!! felix’s Argo fit is so cool. his villain song. Girl help!!! when he had to kill his sentimoon and cried…oh that got me. That was his SISTER !! and FELIGAMI HELLO???? FELIGAMI PRACTICALLY CANON AFTER 2 EPISODES??? i did NOT have that on my bingo card lol but you know what?? Hell yeah!!!!!! Kagami said if Adrien doesn’t love me I’ll simply fall for his more intense and moody twin who rapidly and rightfully became obsessed with me

[welcometoteyvat]

random but have you thought abt gaming and hutao?

funny story anon, when I was writing ga-ming's fake voicelines and needed to give him more characters to talk about, I was considering adding a hu tao voiceline, but decided against it because I didn't really see a reason for them to meet (besides via friends (new liyue 6ang addition?!?!?!)). lowkey I now feel validated bc they don't have any in-game voicelines abt each other, but this would be a very boring ask if it just stopped here lol.

there's something to be said about gaming and hu tao's family baggage vs their cheerful external demeanor vs both doing a job that isn't super well received (?) by people in liyue harbor. but hu tao leans into her eccentricities a lot more while gaming is on the 'likeable by everyone' grind LOL also the dad similarities might increase if we ever get 76th funeral parlor director lore: hu tao's parents have been conspicuously missing forever, where did genshin put them? an interesting possibility would be if the 76th somehow split off from the family trade and subsequently got wiped from the family tree bc of ideological diffs (like ht's beef with baizhu), which could increase gaming and hu tao's possible shared father(?) troubles. but besides that I feel like there's not too much similarity there. They're both enthusiastic outward facing individuals, but idk if they'd have an interesting dynamic if they met.*

Although, you know that voiceline where hu tao does a magic trick and makes a butterfly of fire? and also how she plays with those lion statues outside the ministry of civil affairs? those two things would be straight up gamings alley ngl like he'd be so down for that kind of whimsy and playfulness. also hu tao would be a good candidate for a 2nd lion dance partner. she'd be completely down for doing odd jobs and this is absolutely a fun odd job, at least until she gets tired of it or has to focus on official business lol. idt she's the type to work hard at it; she's just there to try it out because it looked cool but gaming appreciates the enthusiasm regardless. would request to be the lions head in order to lunge at people and also pick greens. also there's potential for a gaming yun jin xingqiu hu tao tea appreciation club

oh also i think smth underrated abt hu tao is how shes like cheery and eccentric but takes her job seriously and has unidentifiable but occasionally present baggage .... which i already mentioned before is similar to how 75% of gm's voicelines are cheery, and then the other 25% is emotional conflict. idk! maybe under the right conditions, they could open up to each other and sympathize

*addendum: imo, hu tao has mostly moved on from her grief over her grandfather's death, and she doesn't have any regrets about the state of their relationship when he passed away, since they were pretty close and never on bad terms. My personal hc is that she still has some things she wished she said, ie. sincere thoughts and feelings from the heart that she usually avoids talking about (she would say "nice speech, but that kind of killed the mood" if someone made one of those anime protag power of friendship monologues). in my head, her grandpa taught her everything about death and funeral customs, played with her/listened to her poetry, pretended to go along w her pranks, and was in general a very loving person, but I don't think hu tao ever explicitly told him "I love you" before he died. she canonically tried to find him right after he passed away but knew that he wouldn't be there. by now i think she's made peace with his death, but still has a certain wistfulness about things she didn't think of saying. and then on the flip side, if ga-ming could see his mom again, he'd probably spend a whole day talking to her i think. he's also not someone to get drunk on grief or regrets, but i don't think he's quite gotten over it completely, and his rocky relationship with his father (before lantern rite 2024) makes this more emotional idk. not sure where I'm going with this, but maybe hu tao would be able to talk him through a bit of this messiness and urge him to simply continue with his own life. or show him that his mother was not at the border, perhaps never lingered there, because she didnt think there was any unfinished business with him or his father that she needed to worry about. the annoying thing about death is that even if the dead person was free of regrets, those who are still living will still miss them. maybe both gaming and hu tao would be able to understand that and/or sympathize with it. or maybe they'd just be silly together who knows, up to you

edit: it'd also be so funny to have gaming call hu tao "boss hu" 胡老板～～～～～～～

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

I saw @arlathen's post about making a speculation post and revisitng it later so...here are my thoughts. Some spoilers regarding some of the leaked footage released after the journalists' embargo was lifted. Avoid this if you don't want any spoilers that were dropped until 10/28 with the reviews bc that's when I started avoiding them as well.

I think the general plot of the game will follow like this:

Prologue stuff (which we've seen); stopping Solas, (presumably) getting that initial interaction with Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan (since parts of the cutscene have been snipped out of all the footage we've seen thus far), Rook wounded, seeing Varric okay and reassessing at the Lighthouse to figure out the course of action.

Companion recruitment (uncertain whether this is dictated in a certain order or not but I think it will be since we get dropped into Arlathan Forest to find Bellara, then the first memory of Solas' we see in the Crossroads is on the way to Treviso to get Lucanis, etc.), which seems to correlate to faction recruitment as well—this may all be wrapped up in locational missions and exploration as well since they're purported to be streamlined and revolving around stories pertaining to the areas themselves rather than open-world.

Reputation building. Other side missions if any? Like exterior stuff.

Probably meeting the Inquisitor at the end of Act One, maybe before Weisshaupt's fall. I can see Varric right after the prologue going "oh shit I need to call in backup" so he sends word out but maybe the Inquisitor doesn't get to them until then?

I think Act Two is focused on recovery in certain places, like Hossburg since it's upper level combat. One of the devs said it's more "bridging" Act One and Act Three, so I think this will be the point where we get all our ducks in a row, power up, find a way to free Solas from the Fade prison (which I think will happen in the middle towards the end of Act Two; partly because I really want him and Lavellan to have some time to mend old wounds before The Big Bad Battle that is apparently in Act Three).

Act Three is when Shit Goes Wrong. Idk exactly what but apparently Minrathous gets Blighted. All the clips in the most recent trailer with all the factions gearing up to fight (plus Solas present with the lyrium dagger and in Dread Wolf form) have that same red sky/eclipse effect. At first I thought this would be the end of Act One since the devs also said all the footage they've shown is Act One to avoid spoilers for late-game but I'm not so sure. That feels very end-gamey to me. However! I will gladly welcome being proven wrong if that is actually end of Act One and there is much more to do for Acts Two and Three. But based on the spoiler-free reviews I've seen so far the ending is very emotional and impactful, so I think the "high stakes" to which they've referred probably are directly related to it.

Of course I could be totally wrong about any and all of this. I have mostly concepts on the broader plot strokes rather than finite points, so I'm not particularly deadset on any order of the story.

As far as the companions go, I don't have a lot of ideas. I'm really curious to see what their individual storylines will be.

For Varric, I am so scared they'll sacrifice him in the end (since it has been confirmed that he survives his little "accident"), but unfortunately I think it might be very likely. He's the heart of Thedas in a lot of ways to a lot of people irl and in canon, and the reviewers have said the ending feels like a goodbye to the Thedas we know and love with the opportunity for new narratives and exploration later. I don't want to speak it into existence but I can hear Varric's last narration of how stories must come to an end or smth. I don't want this to happen, for the record, because I tend to be very anti-character death in general even if it is written well just for personal preference of sunset endings, but I acknowledge it's a possibility.

Solas' fate is hanging in Rooks' hands, I feel. I personally cannot find it within myself to antagonize him beyond in-character initial friction, so idk what the "bad" or "evil" ending might look like for him, but it would be naive of me to assume that they wouldn't include an ending where his views are reaffirmed with "bad" Rooks/Inquisitors. I worry that he's going to have to go through a "rebirth" process as a spirit, if he is a spirit, but as long as some aspect of him survives I'll be okay with it. But I just really don't want them to kill him off to "atone" or whatever; a lot of care needs to be taken with where he ends up, and the reviewers seem satisfied with it, as well as how Solavellan resolves itself. This gives me hope that he'll turn out to be okay, and they'll move forward together. However! This isn't to say that I wouldn't mind a little drama of him getting wounded and/or having to rely on the others (Rook, Inquisitor, Varric, the Veilguard, any DAI companion cameos, etc.). Near-death experiences can do a lot to help one adjust his worldview.

Speaking of near-death experiences! I want to see the Inquisitor get put into danger. I want to see Solas react to it, especially in the case of Solavellan (bc even if the Inquisitor is antagonistic/low approval, they are a weak point for Solas that Elgar'nan/Ghilan'nain could use to their advantage). I want to see the drama. I want to see Solas get emotional and lose his shit and maybe perhaps go full Dread Wolf to protect his vhen'an. Overall I think the Inquisitor will have a presence like Varric's (presumably) in the Lighthouse, and I can see them getting more involved near the end (like come on, they're definitely at the big bad final battle—at least I hope so). I want to see their interactions with Varric. I want to see them interact with the Veilguard. I want to see them interact with Rook, unwitting hero to unwitting hero! As well as the apparent cameos that happen (I've heard there are some DAO and DA2 ones, so I'm thinking Zevran is most likely out of those, maybe Fenris, not sure about any others though). (Oh, Sibyl, how I have missed you so...)

I'm really intrigued to see Rook's development as well, just by themselves. I know a lot of that will be determined by the player's choices, but the Inquisitor had a certain feeling (as well as the Warden and the Champion), so I can't wait to hear all the banter and dialogue and such. New protag! I'm so ready to meet you for real, Fenalan! (And Khalida!)

Other random thoughts:

I. Cannot. Wait. For. The. Crossroads. I want to see it all. I want to see Solas' memories. (And the achievement names? I want to figure out the side missions associated there! I'll probably spend waayyyy too much time there in the beginning tbh haha, so I'll try not to rush it!)

I'm so excited to see how the Lighthouse (and the Crossroads) will change as the plot progresses! We got a little bit of that with Skyhold, but I hope this will be more fleshed out! I want Solas' house to be restored into a home! (And I want to find all the mysteries and codices and puzzles and UGH!)

Elvhen lore! Elvhen language! Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain's POV on all this! The memories with the other gods (hopefully)! There are so many questions we've had for so long about Arlathan in general, and I want to see whatever answers given!

Cameos. We know they're there. I'm so fascinated to see who they're pulling in and involving. I have a couple of suspicions (like c'mon please tell me Dorian is in Minrathous), but!!! Not knowing is killing me!!!

Worldbuilding in general! The armors! The CC! Dialogue choices! It's all new and fresh and there are so many options! The romances seem so cool!

I am so ready to plunge into the combat even though I know I'll be slow on the uptake; it reminds me of Assassin's Creed Origins' style so I hope I won't do terribly! (It's just the primers/detonators that intimidate me lol)

There's probably tons more but I have so many thoughts it's difficult for me to articulate them all. I'm so scared and so excited and this will be such a unique experience for me bc I've sort of been a fan of Inquisition since it came out (but I was too young at the time to wrap my mind around it, so I didn't get into it truly until '20) and it has been my favorite ever since. These characters are so important and precious to me and I hope they're treated with the love and respect they deserve to get satisfactory endings. I'm not particularly attached to any one Inquisitor (since my canon one is basically a self-insert tbh) but Varric? Solas? Both so so so special to me. I already feel so connected to my Rook and I am so invested to see how Solavellan will turn out even though it's not technically my canon worldstate. Just. I get so overwhelmed when I think about it. I will never be able to experience it the same as this first time. I don't know most of what happens and the consequences terrify me, yet I want that unique experience of being in the dark bc I've almost always been spoiled on what happens in games I play since I usually learn about them via fanfiction or see clips online. I've been having trouble sleeping and I get so jittery when I think about the fact that my measly little four year wait (compared to the OGs who have waited for the full ten) is almost over. Inquisition will have an ending. My headcanons will either have to be scrapped, modified, or affirmed. My endings may turn into AUs. It's such an emotional time for me to get to do this because Thedas has been my escape for a long time; I got into the series during COVID and it has since been my most favored media. I think about it almost constantly; even during the lull of my oscillations I had it on the back burner in my mind. Now we're here, two days from release, and forty-something hours has never felt longer in my life. I get to go home. I get to see my family. (And I have to balance schoolwork on top of it all lol.) The reviews have soothed many of my fears, and I am fully ready to see what lies in store for me.

[curiosity-killed]

Would love to hear your thoughts on atfots… the plot really surprised me given how the last book ended but overall it felt like a mixed bag to me

*cradles ur face tenderly in my hands* babycakes u have opened a can of worms

I'm not even going to pretend that this will be short or coherent so tl;dr: if I'm looking for a fun AU, I turn to ATFOTS; if I'm looking for canon compliant, meaningful sequels to HOTE, I turn to fanfiction.

General disclaimer that here be spoilers for ATFOTS and that while I don't intend this to be lambasting ATFOTS by any means, it's not the most positive review. So like, don't read below if you a) want to avoid spoilers or b) enjoyed the book, probably?

I think there are roughly 2 main categories of critique I have for ATFOTS, with a third just being the catchall for anything I miss and/or me yelling about the things that matter most to me lol so:

I. Sequel Sins

I am generally not a fan of sequels primarily because I think they tend to fall into a lot of similar traps such as overexplaining, inconsistent characterization, and undermining their own themes. This may be a product of growing up in love with sprawling series that all wound up basically having the same formula. ANYWAY.

Overexplaining: ATFOTS starts off by reintroducing Cliopher Mdang. My good sir. The POV character for the other doorstopper novel that came before (& which I love). I get the desire to make a sequel accessible to people who haven't read the first book but ATFOTS feels consistently like it's holding your hand very gently and bending down to make sure you're getting its full sincere eye contact and talking very slowly. I don't have a copy of the book on me to pull quotes, but it's especially flagrant in the first couple chapters.

Inconsistent characterization: WHOO BOY. Cliopher is so old! No he's young again! Now he's middle-aged! I have mixed feelings on the characterization overall—Rodin, for instance, came a bit out of left field—and most of it comes down to the way I loved the characters in HOTE and then in ATFOTS they all felt...a bit flatter and a bit caricaturized and a bit less true.

Undermining themes: The character thing comes in hard here IMO. One of the major threads of HOTE is Kip shaping his own path of success and receiving acknowledgment from his loved ones for his unique, uncommon route. And then ATFOTS comes in and is like ACTUALLY we're going to overwrite that with this GRAND and MYTHOLOGICAL story that also conveniently follows closely the story that will be familiar to your family. This isn't to say there isn't value in that type of story, but it definitely cheapens (imo) the thematic value of HOTE. And this is true for...kind of a lot of the stories' themes. ATFOTS seems to want to be "HOTE themes but bigger and better" and in doing so, kind of falls flat in delivery imo.

II. ATFOTS-Specific Pro/Con

Alright now onto a little more specific issues. This will be brief bc I think they're pretty self-explanatory lol

Con: Overall, I think ATFOTS tries to do too many things. I love a good book with many plotlines (see: erha my beloved) but ATFOTS' structure felt borderline episodic rather than building together into a satisfying reveal/culmination.

Pro: I'll get into Kip's sexuality below but do love the concept of fanoa

Con: It felt like a lot of tidbits of "oh ACTUALLY this was happening all along in HOTE I just didn't mention it"—see the comment that started this all around humming Aurora—in a way that felt less like a delightful little revelation and more like VG retroactively trying to incorporate things she hadn't decided on till that moment. Also feel this way about Ludvic's fam reveal but I'll get into that below.

Pro/Con: While I think the writing structure was a little tighter than HOTE (I'm sorry, I love Kip and I love HOTE but there were like 200 pages of having the same conversation over again) (maybe not actually 200. possibly 20. still.), girlie REALLY needed a copy edit. Like. I will copy edit ur book Ms. Goddard for u (I am cheap) but please let me fix the errors.

III. Getting My Grubby Little Gay Hands All Over this Book

aka personal preference shit that is entirely my opinion without critique for the writing quality but nonetheless are part of my critique

I love HOTE and I love HOTE principally for three four main categories: The Household (and Them), civil service, being The One Who Left, and ASEXUALITY BABEY. There are other aspects I love, of course, but these are kind of the big non-negotiables for me and four that ATFOTS kinda...did dirty imo.

In terms of the Household, HOTE gave us these middle-aged dudes who are pretty much defined and fulfilled by their dedication to their job to the exclusion of most other things. Kip has family but it's not family that really understands him most of the time and it's family that is very far away (*this will come up again). The rest of them don't have family outside of the household. They are very sincerely found/forced thru work family in a way that feels both very natural and blessedly free of nuclearization. They love each other and understand each other** in a way that none of them really have access to outside of this group.

And then ATFOTS (and admittedly RPA) comes along and is like "Ludvic has a dad! Conju's sister and boytoy are alive! Rodin has a devoted penpal!" in a way that feels a BIT like pairing off everyone so that the main couple can be together. Which like. I love Kip/Fitzroy, don't get me wrong, but I love the household and their weirdly intimate and formal and seemingly smooth as clockwork but internally messy vibe. I was so looking forward to reading about the retirement house and how that unspools (or at least thinking a lot about it in the way of the blorbo in the microwave) before ATFOTS.

So much of the heart of HOTE is the idea of community and connection (or isolation) and ATFOTS mostly veers away from that both thru the pairing off and through the things like Kip's solo adventures. It also, in some ways, sort of undermines some of the characters' core traits, such as Ludvic's devotion. Ludvic being a stout, unflinching companion for HR because he believes in him and sees the true man behind the Serenity is imo very different from Ludvic being an unflagging companion because he views HR as his uncle. Idk about y'all but family duty and personal devotion from choice are two different things in my experience.

On their own, they aren't bad but they are disappointing when compared to the aspects of HOTE I loved and would have hoped to see expanded upon in the sequel.

Kip's experience in civil service is also really important to me (literally made me more patient and cheerful at work when I was actively envisioning setting a plague of frogs loose upon my supervisor's house so like. Significant Importance to Me.)! This will not be articulate (I've legit been starting and deleting this sentence for like 5 min) bc it's very near and dear to my heart but the ideas of a) choosing to take a harder path, that is outside your community/family's conception of "normal" because you believe it is good and worthy, b) trying to improve a shitty system because you believe it can be made to better serve the people, and c) learning from both systems—are! just! very important to me okay. And not something I see a lot in fiction, but especially not in my most beloved of monstrously large fantasy novels.

And then ATFOTS is just JK time for an epic fantasy romp! and that's cool but that's not why I loved the first book! that's not the right tone at all!!! if i wanted an epic fantasy romp I would pick up Iron Widow but I wanted the bureaucracy D: (shoutout to ao3 user alfgifu for giving me the bureaucracy and also sorry for all the nonsense comments)

This is also super closely tied to Being the One Who Left tbh because well. Me. But one of the core elements of HOTE—the part that actually first snagged me and pulled my attention in—is that Kip is the one who left his community behind for no good reason to chase a weird dream instead of settling down and following the normal path to success.

*eyeing my high school classmates who are all settled down with 2.5 kids and starting photography businesses on the side while living within 20 minutes of where they grew up* Huh I Wonder Why This is Relatable

At the heart of being the one who left is this tug between guilt and desire/love/duty/curiosity/whatever pull factor. In HOTE, Kip is pushed to stay home by his duty to his community, his love of his family, and his family's own pressure. He's pulled to stay in the service by his duty to the world/government, his love of his found family, and by the urge to do more, to make things better as much as he can. In both places, he's not fully understood and when he's in either location, he misses the other. The importance is the tug, the dual identity, the sense of always being partially understood and partially misunderstood in different ways depending on the ground you're standing on. I could...very literally, write essays on each of these last items but I am trying to wrap it up bc I should actually be coding rn whoops

ATFOTS blots this out by transforming his Solaara experience into, basically, Just A Job. A job he cares about and can be proud of, sure, but just the job. It really...kind of aggressively, ignores the relationships and life Kip has made there in favor of focusing solely on this glorious return to home while conveniently giving everyone else people to be with instead of the household. which I'm sure my mom would like but ANYWAY

and now, last but decidedly not least OR clearest *drum roll pls* ASEXUALITY BABEY

okay so I will caveat this by saying different rep serves different people, there are infinitely many ways to be asexual, etc etc that all being said ATFOTS' handling of Kip's sexuality just left me a little...dissatisfied? And tbh I struggle to articulate it because I feel like it probably comes down to "this isn't the rep I would like but I can see where it's meaningful to others."

Like I can justify it—a lifelong commitment as fanoa is described is different than a romantic or sexual relationship, it's entirely fair to have a character want that commitment without risking it by mixing in romance/etc., it's good to have a devoted and platonic relationship at the core where normally a (straight) romantic/sexual relationship would be

and yet. I caught myself making faces at the book half the time when dealing with their relationship. Some of it feels a little like trying to Do All The Rep in one go—Kip's tingly fuzzy feelings and (mostly) lack of romantic attraction, neutrality around sex and aversion to sex in this relationship—in a way that almost definitely describes actual humans out in the world but feels a little...off in a fictional character? My general wish for asexual characters is getting to be in devoted relationships where the allosexual partner(s) is willing to not have sex and still be committed but I caught myself being like "y'all just fuck already" in ATFOTS which is uhhhh not the norm

tbf my ideal Kip/Fitzroy retirement relationship is basically just them (and the household) all living together and everyone on the outside kind of being ???? is it a sex thing???? while they contentedly carve out their own life yet again but this time with more touch and laughter and song.

Actually having gotten to this point, I feel like my main sticking point with ATFOTS sexuality is that Sex Is A Big Thing in the book while never being super effectively resolved imo and also not actually being a big thing to the characters in HOTE. Like one of these dudes has been celibate for 1000 years or so and another one has had like 3 brief lovers across the same amount of time. I think there are some other things we could focus on here

[tilin-forever]

Yay this is my confession!! In hindsight, I wish I submitted this under my username, but this is a sideblog not my main (and at the time I submitted this, dream fans were still being a bit mean to quackity fans, so I wimped out and put it on anon haha).

I would like to add an addition to this confession that while this was focused on the missed opportunities for BBH (bc he was paying for the server), I would like to add that another main frustration, for me, was that Quackity was not able to give his character a proper ending with Slimecicle or Wilbur (or even with Sapnap and Karl) due to communication issues in the DSMP (BBHSMP) discord in terms of when multiplayer lore events could happen.

I suspect that part of the reason why Dream did the nuke ending with only Tommy was to “simplify” the ending of the server (and avoid these communication issues) for season one in order to get a fresh slate (and maybe a smaller cast) for season 2 (which never ended up happening lmaooo). I think that this decision showed a lack of respect for the other players, who at the time, was contributing way more lore to the server than Dream was. I personally did not get a chance to feel a personal connection to the new players (outside of Aimsey) bc their lore did not get sufficient time to be explored within the world or interacted with by other players.

Also to amend to the improv point: I can appreciate that improv made the lore difficult especially during multiplayer events (such as Ranboo deciding that his character was going to die a hour before the prison break which contradicted with the lore of ho16), but i think that open improv and having multiple pov’s to follow made the server so fun to watch despite the slight inconsistencies (especially as a quackity watcher, it was so fun to see how his character evolved in reaction to the wider events of the server).

The point is that the main reason why I really dislike the nuke ending was bc it was one person deciding how all these diverse povs was going to end, with no regard for the cc plans for their characters, and that to me sucked all the fun out of having been invested in it (I still have not rewatched anything past Quackity’s last lore stream bc of that). I felt like the way the DSMP ended was very similar to the way Game of Thrones ended, as they were both culturally significant shows (in that so many people were talking about it) that had a badly written ending that resulted in people almost immediately not talking about either show in the way they used to when the ending happened (which was fascinating to observe in a way).

The only good thing with the nuke end was that the resolution of the eggpire arc was supposed to occur in a post-apocalyptic world (please correct me if wrong, it’s been a while since I heard this). So it does give me comfort that BBH (bc his life force is connected to Skeppy’s) and the Badlands survived the nuke, which truly makes the DSMP now canonically the BBHSMP to me hahaha.

anyways sorry for the long amendment, been a while since I really thought about the BBHSMP ending haha. At least we can now enjoy the BBH and Quackity lore on the QSMP now <3

Ever since I heard that BadBoyHalo was paying for the DSMP server, I’ve been calling the DSMP server the BSMP (or BBHSMP) in my head. It does infuriate me how much Dream cut short the interesting plots of everyone’s stories (especially BBH’s eggpire arc) with the nuke end on a server that Dream wasn’t even paying for. It truly goes against the #1 improv rule of “yes and” (not trying to be too neg about cc!dream bc it’s against your rules, just my honest opinion about what cc!BBH had to do that isn’t talked about much).

[m-jelly]

Hey Jelly!! omg so i need some post war levi angst (like an argument or whatever u want) bc i’m in love with post war levi and i love ur writing so much!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

Post-war Levi is so popular <3 I'm glad everyone likes how I write him! Makes me so happy. I'll go with your suggestion of an argument.

I never meant to hurt you.

Pairing: Levi x Reader

Genre and tags: post-war Levi, canon world, romance, angst, you argue, emotional hurt, possessive Levi, jealous Levi, Levi hurts your feelings, Levi's sorry, making up, Levi loves you, a married couple, happy ending.

Concept: You've recently gotten your husband back after the war and he's very clingy with you. You adore your husband to death and only love him. While Levi is resting at home, he hears you coming closer and talking to a man. He watches you out the window chatting to a tall handsome guy who is blushing and clearly likes you. When you finally get into the house, Levi's negative thoughts about himself and being possessive of you gets the better of him and you argue. Levi makes you cry and regrets his words and actions. He chases you to the bedroom, then you both have a heart-to-heart.

Post-war Levi below, so avoid if you don't want some spoilers

Levi sat by the window waiting for you to come home from the shops. You'd gone out for some treats, as well as his medicine. He had only come home to you two weeks ago. You'd been taking great care of him and loved him dearly. You hadn't changed the way you were around him. When his knee was okay, the two of you were intimate and physical. So, things had not changed. However, Levi was a lot more clingy with you and possessive.

He flinched when he heard you laughing with someone. He pulled back the curtain and saw you walking with a tall, young and handsome lad. He felt anger fill him when you stopped outside the house and chatted to the young lad. Levi could tell this man liked you because he was blushing, acting a little nervous and rubbing the back of his neck.

Levi got angrier when you didn't come right into the house to see him, you were just with that man. He glared at the man and felt and take him over. He thought that maybe your eye was wandering because Levi was a mess of a man now when it came to his knee, face and hand.

You opened the front door, then juggled your bag and locked the door. "I'm back!"

Levi gritted his teeth. "Tch took your fucking time."

You jumped at Levi's voice, then looked over at him in the window. "Oh! There you are!" You walked over and kissed his cheek. "Lovely to see you."

"Is it?"

You walked away. "Huh?"

He limped and followed you into the kitchen. "I said, is it? Is it really lovely to see me?"

You laughed a little and put everything away. "Of course! I love seeing you. You're so cute when you want reassurance. You flirting?"

Levi slammed his hand on the counter making you jump and face him. "This isn't me fucking flirting."

You clutched your chest. "Is everything okay?"

"Who the fuck was that guy?"

You frowned. "What?"

"Don't play fucking dumb sweet brat with me. I'm not fucking falling for it. Who the fuck was that guy outside?"

You stared at Levi and felt confused. "Guy? Oh, he was the young lad who's been helping me while you were at war."

He walked right up to you making you back up. "Oh, so while I was freeing our people and you, you were getting close and fucking some young pretty boy?"

You welled up and gasped. "No! No, I'd never cheat."

"I saw how he looked at you! He was eye fucking you!"

You shook a little as you felt confused. "He was nervous because he was off to propose to his girlfriend. I was giving him advice. He's just a nice kid."

He punched the wall making you jump. "Don't lie to me! Damn it brat. I give you everything! I've done everything with you in mind."

You rubbed your tears. "I know, Levi, I know. You're wonderful to me."

He threw his arms out. "So why lie?"

"I'm not!"

He gripped his fists. "There's no fucking way! Just take one fucking look at me! No woman in their right mind would find this shit attractive! You're with me due to pity. You've got a lover somewhere! I don't deserve a Goddess like you as my wife!"

You sniffed and cried to control your cries. "I-I love you. I-I love you, s-so much" You rubbed your tears away. "I've n-never cheated. I would rather d-die than cheat. You're m-my world! I l-love you, Levi. I'm s-sorry it d-doesn't seem that w-way. I'm s-sorry. I've failed y-you. I'm s-sorry."

Levi watched you run off upstairs. He panted, then started shaking. He put his head in his hands and kept seeing your crying face and you begging for forgiveness. He welled up and groaned. "Fuck! I'm an idiot!" He limped after you and shouted your name. He heard your cries coming from upstairs. He climbed up the steps carefully, then went to the bedroom. He slowly opened the door and saw you sitting on the bed with your head in your hands as you cried. "My sweet." He approached you slowly. "Don't cry."

You sniffed. "I'm sorry."

He sat next to you, then rubbed your back. "Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I snapped at you for no fucking reason. I got jealous over some kid who is in love with another woman."

You rubbed your tears. "He's a nice kid, but a little on the Connie side with his thoughts."

Levi smirked and laughed. "I remember that kid. He's working with Armin and the others to create peace."

"They're doing so well, all of them."

Levi held your hand with his right one making him and you look at his missing fingers. "So, he has a lover?"

You nodded. "Nice girl, she's a bit like Sasha with her energy."

"Sounds like a good match. So, you've been helping?"

"I have." You played with Levi's hand. "Seeing them flirting and being in love reminded me of us. It was something that kept me going while you were gone."

Levi kissed the top of your head. "I'm so fucking sorry I shouted at you and called you names. I'm sorry I made you cry. I got stupidly jealous over nothing."

You kissed his right hand. "Levi, I love you more than words can describe. I don't love you any less. I love you endlessly. You could lose a limb, you could lose your dick." You smiled when he laughed. "You could lose so much and I would love you forever. You're my world, my whole fucking world. I've never once thought or looked at another man. It's you, it's always been you."

Levi cupped your face and kissed you. "I'm so very sorry I hurt you. I love you more than life itself. You're my everything. I love you so fucking much." He covered your face in kisses making you giggle. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know you're not a cheater. I just think I'm so unlovable as I am now."

You hugged Levi tightly. "You are lovable. I love you. I mean it when I say I love you. I won't lie to you. We promised each other we wouldn't lie and tell the truth always, no matter how ugly it is."

He smiled and nodded. "I need to ignore the bad thoughts in my head and just listen to you always."

You nodded. "That's right."

He squeezed you. "I love you and I'm sorry."

You held him tightly. "There's nothing to forgive. You had a self-doubt moment, it happens to the best of us. We all have that wicked voice in our heads. We just have to turn its volume down. Plus, we do the most important thing in our relationship."

Levi smiled and hummed a laugh. "Communication."

You winked at him, then played with his hair. "Look at my husband being so smart and growing emotionally and socially. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you." Levi hugged you, then pulled you down onto the bed. "Can we cuddle for a while?"

You lay partly on Levi's chest. "Please. We both need this."

Levi smiled, then kissed the top of your head. "I love you."

"I love you too." You kissed his jawline. "Always will."

[kazewhara]

Hii, May I request something? :0 Soooo...Y/n being Kazuha,Aether(bc this boy si so underrated)and Childe's little sister, and she is in those teenage age you know, and she gets hurt badly. What would they do to comfort her?If requests are not open feel free to ignore it! :D. <33

"ohana" means family...

# — characters: fem!reader, aether, lumine, paimon, childe

# — summary: ...and family means nobody gets left behind.

# — warnings: blood/violence mention

# — tags: hc/drabble format, canon divergent, platonic/familial hurt/comfort, fluff, sibling bonding, heartbreak (reader)

# — notes: y'know, i don't see much sibling!reader content! maybe that's just me, but even when i look, i don't see much.. so this is refreshing, thank you for the req, anon! i did spin the request a bit and only did two characters, though. as always, reblogs are appreciated, and i hope you enjoy!

✧ — 𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 — ✧

since you are the youngest -- born a year or two after the twins -- he and lumine treat you like you are the only star in their sky

you were too young to remember your parents, and after traveling so much, you all but forgot about them. your siblings were the only family you needed -- the only family you wanted.

(also, you don't mind them doting on you, but you wish they would stop babying you from time to time.)

before being stranded in teyvat, the three of you would travel between worlds together, experiencing all kinds of people and cultures and traditions, having all sorts of fun

the three of you only have each other, so you cherish one another very deeply. fights between you were actually rather rare

mostly because of your unstable lifestyle; if you fought and separated from each other, what were you supposed to do? all of you tried to avoid trouble with others and each other out of caution.

but then you encountered the unknown god and lumine went missing.

you and aether were stuck in an unfamiliar land with your new travel companion paimon, basically forced to help solve the problems of the people of this world until you get answers leading to lumine's whereabouts.

it wasn't all that bad at first; being gifted with the elements of both anemo and geo alongside your brother was exhilarating, and in your down time, you two would train and play around, keeping your spirits high

you and aether grew increasingly frustrated by your lack of clues, but you held each other up as best you could, trying to keep pushing forward

and then, with the help of dainsleif, you finally, finally got to see lumine

but... she refused to come home with you.

she left you.

a tense silence suffocates you as you and aether look over liyue harbor. not even paimon knows what to say after what just happened. you try to think of something to say -- something, anything -- but each time you open your mouth, you feel your throat tighten. now that you were in a quieter place, you felt like the sheer amount of thoughts that flooded your mind would start spilling out of your ears.

what were you supposed to say, anyways? were you even going to talk about it? what did any of that even mean? why were you still doing this? why couldn't you go home?

why did she leave you behind?

aether finally breaks the silence, his voice strained. "we need to keep moving," he says. his fists are trembling and his eyes are teary, but he tilts his chin up and takes a steadying breath. "if we want to understand what lumine was talking about, then we have to do what she says."

you frown at your brother. lumine was always the more stern sibling -- she was like a leader of sorts. without thinking, you and aether did what she said; she had very good judgement, so it wasn't much of a problem. but after all this--

"you still want to follow her?!" you cry. you didn't mean for your voice to come out so shrill and watery, but you can't help it. normally, it'd take you longer to get to this point -- to get to your breaking point -- but aether's attempt to put on a brave face makes your poorly built walls come crashing down. "you still want to do what she says? she's given up on us, aether, why would you still want to be in her good graces?!"

aether's glare is stony for all of two seconds before it smooths out, a glimmer of sunshine returning to them again. he calls your name as softly as he can muster. "that's not what i mean, and you know that."

you know he's right. a rational part of you agrees with him; if you want to have any hope of getting out of this world that has literally been forsaken by its gods, you were going to have to persevere. maybe at some point, lumine would return -- maybe she would keep her word and join you once more -- but until then, you were distraught, your heart shattered into near irreparable pieces over your sister's absence.

you sit yourself on the grass and grab a fistful of it, hoping the feeling will ground you. "what if she doesn't come back, ae'? w-what if she changes her mind and attacks us? you saw what she was capable of! she's a stranger now, aether, she--" you don't blink back the tears this time. "she had her sword. we don't have ours anymore. why is she doing this?"

aether doesn't move for a while. he watches silently as you break down, your frame shaking as sobs start to pour out of you. he doesn't know what to do either. as the eldest, the responsibility of caring for you and finding his twin sister fell on his shoulders, but he hadn't expected for lumine to just... refuse. the sight of you begging and pleading with lumine to come home replays in his mind, forcing his eyes shut.

the vow you three made all those years ago has been broken. you were never supposed to hurt each other like this; you were supposed to be each other's foundations. that hasn't changed one bit -- when lumine came back, he would be there for her as he always has been, and so would you. until then, he was going to protect the family he had left.

aether opens his eyes again and brushes any stray tears from his face before sitting next to you. he pulls you into a tight embrace and you return it immediately, burying your face in his shoulder.

you feel terrible; he should be the one crying, not you. sure, lumine is just as much your sister as she is his, but she's his twin; his other half. you tighten your hold on your brother. he's shaking like a leaf in the wind. he must be trying to carry the world on his shoulders right now. but as long as you were here, you'd never allow him to do that alone. "you're doing it again," you sniff after a while, your voice muffled by his shoulder. "you can let it out."

aether puts his hand on the back of your head. he's pulling you closer, if that was even possible. it's as if he's afraid you'll slip through his fingers too. "you need a shoulder to cry on, not me." he mutters. "just--"

"aether."

your brother flinches at your tone. he chuckles tightly. "who's older here, me or you?"

you return the gesture, burying your fingers in his blonde hair. he probably won't let it out yet; he's never been the type to do so. he and lumine were far better at controlling their emotions than you were. for now, you suppose you'll let it slide. "whatever," you sigh. "you can stop squeezing me, you know. i'm not gonna go anywhere. promise."

aether loosens his grip on you, but he doesn't let go. that must have been exactly what he needed to hear. "me neither." his voice is small, but his words are affirming. the two of you sigh in unison, making you giggle. "i'm not going anywhere. i swear."

it was you and your brother against this world. you wouldn't have it any other way.

✧— 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞 — ✧

absolute pain in the ass older brother. the worst. horrible. annoying.

i'm kidding... sorta.

childe is the older brother who smushes your face with his hand just because he can

the brother who puts his entire body weight on you and challenges you to push him off

the brother who will literally fight you for the last snack in the pantry

but he's also the older brother who sits there and lets you play connect the dots with the freckles that barely exist on his face

the brother who does his best not to embarrass you when you're around friends or potential suitors

he's the best wingman in the world and the coolest older brother ever

his harbinger status means nothing to you

you're a big girl! you know what that means!

you don't brag about it; you show off your brother in a very different way

childe is prepared for many things. one could even say that he's prepared for anything.

monster ambush? no problem. an ancient deity threatening to sink all of liyue harbor? simple!

but childe... ajax was not prepared to see you sobbing in his office at northland bank.

when he arrived a few minutes earlier, every agent went on their guard. it's normal for them to do that since he's their boss, but something about their alertness was suspicious to him. he approached ekaterina and demanded to know what was going on.

"lord harbinger, it's..." the receptionist trailed off. her eyes were hidden by her mask, but childe could feel her looking away. he started to tap his finger on the wood; a sign of his growing impatience. not wanting to upset him further, ekaterina came clean. "it's your sister, sir."

childe's finger froze. "what about them?"

"they arrived not too long ago looking for you, but..."

"if you're doing this for dramatic effect, i will inform you right now that you're doing a terrible job. that," childe's finger began tapping again, faster this time, "and my patience is wearing very thin. what happened to my sister? tell me; that's an order."

though she was frightened, ekaterina couldn't bring herself to say any more. "she's in your office, sir. she wouldn't talk to any of us, so i feel that you should see the mess for yourself."

the mess? childe nodded briefly in thanks and sped to his office. it wasn't a far walk, but it felt like an eternity. were you okay? did someone hurt you? he grimaced as his hand hovered over the door to his office.

if someone did hurt you, was it because of him? it was no secret that he was a part of the fatui, and you'd been seen with him on multiple occasions. after the osial incident, people became particularly hostile towards the fatui, and even though you weren't a member yourself, you received the same foul treatment they did. probably even worse since you were childe's sister.

childe could handle the heat and he knew you could as well, but if someone touched you...

fueled by a sudden wave of anger, he swung open the door to the office and saw you hunched over in a chair, your face in your hands. you were trying to muffle your sobs from the sound of it, and--

was that blood on your shirt?

ajax is crouching in front of you in an instant. he's always been good at consoling you and your siblings. to the others, he's the perfect older brother; the one who sends trinkets and souvenirs from his travels; the one who's always kind and considerate, even when he's upset. but when he tugs your hands away from your face, he's anything but gentle.

he confirms what he saw before getting closer. there's splotches of blood your shirt, and when he inspects your hands closely and sees your knucles cut and bruised, he puts the pieces together. "you got in a fight." he says tersely. "whose blood is this?"

"s'not mine," you sniff. you try to pry your hands away, but ajax's grip is unrelenting. you don't know why you bothered in the first place. you look away from your brother, feeling like a scolded child under his harsh gaze. ajax always, always told you never to fight unless absolutely necessary. he was very clear about why you shouldn't.

"there's strength in numbers," he told you quietly. he was almost whispering, as though he was telling you something he shouldn't. "people won't stand up for you in a fight -- they would gang up on you instead."

you wrinkled your nose at him. "but you always fight people in groups."

ajax flashed you a cocky grin and squeezed your nose, chuckling when you fought him off. "yeah, but that's because i'm stronger than you, kid." his grin dropped off his face as fast as it came. "now pay attention. do you know why else you shouldn't get into fights here?"

you thought for a second and pointed at the electro vision on your hip questioningly, but ajax shook his head at you.

"close, but no. the second reason," he started, "is because of this." without warning, he pulls a small dagger out his back pocket and holds it to your neck. you don't waste a second, moving to disarm him as quickly as he taught you. almost in the blink of an eye, you've taken the blade from your brother and pressed it against his neck. his smile came back, this time full of pride.

"now, do you know why i don't want you fighting others?" he asked. "it's because you're my sister."

call him a bad influence, but ajax feels a familiar sense of pride swell in his chest when you tell him the blood isn't yours. there's also relief mixed in there somewhere, but it's overshadowed by the satisfaction. he doesn’t smile at you though; he's got to keep up the act. he wants to praise you for doing a good job, but you were a wreck before he came in, and you obviously wouldn't be covered in someone's blood for no reason. he keeps 'big brother mode' turned on and lets you go. "well? what happened?"

you find a clean part of your sleeve and wipe your face free of tears. you're trying to stall for time, but ajax can tell. you sigh and recount the story to him.

it wasn't your fault.

you were minding your business, taking a stroll down by the docks when some large fishermen recognized you and began to shout for you to leave. you ignored them; this happened every so often, so it was easy to tune them out. you kept on your stroll, walking down by the water.

you've always been fascinated by the water, even when you were still in snezhnaya. you envied your brother's hydro vision once, but after giving it some thought, you figured that there was no one better suited for it than him. that, and it made sparring with him all the more interesting. after basking in the sun for a little while longer, you decided to head back to northland bank to wait for ajax to return. but as soon as you turned to leave, you found yourself blocked by four boys, each one taller than you.

"do you guys need something?" you asked.

their scathing words went in one ear and out the other. each of them had something to rude say about you; they must have been trying to get a rise out of you.

enraged by your nonchalance, one of the boys shoved you, hard. you caught yourself just before you could fall into the water and gave them an icy glare -- it was the one you've seen ajax give his opponents every now and again. it obviously didn't have the same effect, because the boys decided to rush you.

after that...

"after that?" ajax prompts you to continue, but you shake your head. "then, why were you crying? did they hurt you? do i have to intervene? talk to me."

man, if only the fatui knew ajax could look like this. the stern look has long since faded and been replaced by concern. he's pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping your face and hands with such tenderness, you almost forget that he's a harbinger. you tell him the truth. "some locals saw me fighting." you mumble. "they called the millelith and said i just went beserk and started punching them, but they touched me first, ajax! what else was i supposed to do? none of them believed me -- no one helped me, no one stood up for me, i-- i was so alone, and--"

your brother balls up his handkerchief and sits in the chair beside you. his arm wraps around your shoulders and he shushes you as tears begin to fall again. for a while, he just lets you cry. if there's anyone on teyvat who knows what you're feeling, it's ajax.

he sees so much of himself in you. it terrifies him; breaks what's left of his heart into smaller pieces.

a large part of ajax wants to resort to his usual methods. he wants nothing more than to press you for details so he can find the people who hurt you and teach them a lesson, but when he glances at you again, he figures that now is as good a time as any to give it a rest. this isn't a mess he'd ever be able to clean up, and you've been hurt enough; he doesn't want to make it worse.

instead, he drops a gloved hand on your head. "you did a good job," he says with a serene smile. for a split second, you see some light in ajax's eyes. it always happens whenever he speaks to you or your other siblings -- it's one of your favorite sights in the world. "i'm so proud of you."

"but," you frown, "i beat people up."

ajax laughs heartily. "you think i'm gonna be mad at you for fighting someone? me? really? c'mon."

he has a point. he did advise you not to fight, but if it can't be helped, then it can't be helped. you lean your head on his shoulder. "i still made those people hate me."

ajax hums. "well, they're gonna hate you -- hate us -- regardless of what we do. that's just life. i wish i could send you home, kid; i'm sorry you have to go through this because of me."

his voice goes soft at the end. he must be beating himself up about all this. you flex your fingers, hissing when the cuts begin to sting. "i don't wanna go home, ajax. not without you. i can handle this! i guess i just need more practice."

your brother tilts his head down at you, an incredulous smile on his face. "you were just crying because you got in a fight and you're already trying to start another one?" he asks. he nudges you gently off his shoulder and makes his way across the room. he comes back with a first aid kit and kneels in front of you again, taking your hand and starts to treat the wounds. "if i didn't know any better, i'd say you were trying to take my job."

you wince when an alcohol pad swipes over your knuckles. "who knows, maybe i'll become the new eleventh harbinger some day."

ajax looks up at you, his eyes flashing. you know that look very well. "is that a challenge?"

"you bet your ass it is!"

"that's my girl. as soon as i'm done with your hands, it's on. clear?"

you nod sharply. "crystal."

✧ (i've never felt so alive <(￣︶￣)> i hope you enjoyed it!!)

[sixstepsaway]

Im having a lot of fun thinking about how Izzy is open with his thoughts to Ed, but Ed doesn't reciprocate, and then Ed is open with his thoughts to Stede who ALSO doesn't reciprocate and how this is what fucks up both their relationships. If either of these relationships was more secure they'd have avoided so much trouble we wouldn't have the story, which is why they aren't secure. They're all a mess!

Very fun to ship steddyhands and think about closing this circle. Stede being open with Izzy while on the outs with Ed and Izzy not sharing absolutely anything bc after the finale he doesn't trust anyone anymore much less Stede.

Fuuuuuuuuck yes.

I know that logically the show is not going down a Steddyhands or Blackhands route. I know that. We're not going to get that. I doubt we'll even be indulged in getting some Blackhands love triangle content or, like, flashbacks or a chunk of time where it is canon before we get endgame Blackbonnet (and, honestly, after what Ed did to Izzy in 1x10, any post-s1 canon Blackhands would need a lot of work to make go without it being deeply concerning).

But the more I analyze what the show gives us and how the characters act right now (and I acknowledge that growth could easily nullify a lot of this? Characters developing is important, and that's how we'll get our Blackbonnet endgame and it'll be good, but) I can't see a lot of ways for Blackbonnet to end up together in a good place without the inclusion of Izzy.

Ed and Stede have, up until this point, seen each other through rose-tinted glasses, to the point Ed didn't give a fuck Stede had left his family, and Stede didn't give a fuck Ed had killed a bunch of people including his own father.

Now Stede is going to have to see Ed as someone who tried to kill seven of the nine people Stede cares about most (seven of eleven, if we say Stede also cares for Ivan and Fang now, which I like to think he does) and willingly maimed his most loyal companion.

Ed is going to have to see Stede as someone who ran away and abandoned him and clearly has a habit of doing this, and Ed being Special and someone Stede Actually Loves did not change that he did the same to Ed as he did to Mary. Mary having his children didn't change he did it to Mary, either. Nor did the fact he loves his kids stop him doing it to them. Loving them does not stop Stede running away from that person like his ass is on fire. Nor does any semblance of commitment (marriage and children).

This relationship will, because of this, need a lot of work, and most of that work is going to require communication. Ed will need to talk about why he did what he did (Izzy's words, how he was feeling etc) and Stede will have to talk about why he did what he did (ruined Blackbeard, the guilt over leaving Mary and the kids that he's been carrying this whole time, probably a splattering of maybe not gay panic (he didn't seem to be panicking he was kissing a man) but definitely a bit of kissing someone I am not married to while I still technically have a wife panic, especially considering he was not super thrilled Mary was sleeping with Doug, even after he fucked off on her).

Closing that loop with Steddyhands is galaxy brain because Stede is open to hearing whatever people want to say about and to him, unlike Edward "You know we speak our minds on this ship until you say something I don't like and then I call you a dog and chokeslam you" Teach, and Stede is also a lot less reserved around Izzy in so far as he's willing to seem like a complete cunt when talking to Izzy ("oh it's you" "iGGy" "tell your boss he can suck eggs in hell!"), whereas he seems to rein his more abrasive sides in around Ed, and the most bitchy he really gets is that sideways comment of, "In hindsight I kinda shoulda known," about Jack being mutinied on and his, "Ed, do you know this guy, he's a real dick!", but that could be assumed by Ed to be Stede pretending to be Blackbeard (which, I do not think he was. Ed embodied Stede, but Stede just chilled in his clothes and remained being Stede).

(Relatedly: I find it very funny that the thing Ed was most fascinated by and attracted to in regards to Stede early on is that Stede told him to go suck eggs in hell, but really Stede was saying that to Izzy, it's Izzy's face he snarled those words into, about some boss he had never met and had no desire to meet, and it was Izzy he was calling Iggy and telling to fuck off. I imagine if Stede had told Ed to go suck eggs in hell to his face, Ed would've come in his pants on the spot, and I also imagine that if Ed found out/realized Stede was actually mostly saying that to Izzy, he'd be utterly baffled that Izzy hated Stede rather than wanting him for himself, idk.)

It's especially fascinating to imagine closing the loop with Stede actually letting himself be bitchy and a bit abrasive around Ed, because judging by the fact Ed readily lets Izzy be abrasive as fuck and rude as hell to him and all he does is pull these faces:

the first of which is downright fond

the second is "you called him a ponce, do you really think he's gay? i'm hoping he's gay"

and this one which is my personal favorite because it's just "idk where those fingers have been, iz" and his eyes sweep back and forth between each finger like "are you going to jam these up my nose next" it's so funny, i love this scene so much it lives rent free in my brain it really does

and after izzy storms off to grab stede he just does this

and it just reads like "hm, we were overdue a shitfit weren't we mate but the fingers were surprising"

(also, related to the conversation about timelines in another meta, though idk if i'd call this post a meta per se, i noticed that stede's bruise from the hanging goes right up under his chin, so the cravat definitely isn't covering it up in 1x05, it's just gone, and presumably completely healed

six weeks my ass)

anyway, Ed's expression when Izzy does his lil tizzy at him tells me that this is something that Izzy does. he broods and eventually blows up and tells Ed how he's feeling and he's mean and grumpy and Ed often finds him being a lil bitch to the crew or to hostages or whatever and it's just. normal.

and that also implies, since Ed kept him around, that Ed likes that about him.

in fact i think the fact that when izzy starts his tirade Ed is just like "*points* that's blackbeard" kind of proves it's something he finds more down the realm of playful than offensive, and actually izzy even smiles a little when he says that, like he's finding it amusing and he'd be playing if the situation wasn't so god damn dire and they werent all probably about to die and if they hadnt lost a bunch of their guys to this

(and i mean, this could be that con struggled to keep a straight face after either something taika did between takes or just the way taika delivered the line "I'm Stede, remember?" but I prefer Watsonian analysis of scenes that make it into the show for my metas)

So, conclusions: Ed finds Izzy's temper and abrasive attitude and temper very endearing and downright amusing. Izzy enjoys the way Ed plays with him (because he's Ed's to play with) and this scene might have gone differently if Ed wasn't actively not-really-leading them into their deaths.

We don't have any canon confirmation of whether Izzy and Ed were ever in any kind of relationship before, if they've ever been sexually intimate etc. All we know is David Jenkins says Izzy is in love with Ed, and that when Ed slammed Izzy into the wall, Izzy reached out to cup his cheek and say, "There you are."

I don't, for the record, think they've ever fucked or even kissed in the past. I do, however, think they've been surprisingly intimate, judging by the way Izzy felt comfortable cupping his cheek, and we already know that Edward's fucked Jack--

(and I know some people think maybe Jack was lying to rile Stede up, but I don't think he was. Ed and Jack are very handsy with one another, they sit very close together, they have excellent chemistry when they're fucking around together. Jack's an ass, but Ed talks at length about how he saved Ed's life in the past and how Jack is his old friend, and they talk about serving together under Hornigold in a way that makes me think they spent a lot of time in close quarters. However, I do think Jack probably fucked Ed because there was no one else around to fuck and they wouldn't make berth somewhere with prostitutes any time soon so he might as well pretend Ed's a girl, whereas Ed fucked Jack because he was hot and he'd saved his life and he wanted to because he's into men. Which is two very different vibes, and if Ed's used to that kind of treatment (him liking a guy sexually or romantically or intimately, and the guy being his bud but either not being gay/bi/etc or simply refusing to admit he might be so putting it down to "it doesn't count at sea"), then it makes sense he wouldn't really feel comfortable leaning into any relationships with anyone, even Izzy and Stede (who he didn't admit to feelings for until 1x09 because it was the first time he thought maybe, if he was lucky, Stede might be feeling the same?) and so for him it's just sex and maybe he wouldn't want to go there with Izzy because being cast off like that by Izzy would just be far, far too much?)

--and the way he flirts with Stede is a guy who knows how to get other guys into bed when he wants to (when they're not oblivious blondes and sporting fine fabrics), so he clearly has experience etc, and I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that he's attracted to Izzy, and that Izzy's attitude and personality is, actually, something Ed is and has always been into (which would also make the intimacy of the toe scene even more chilling but let's not go too deep about that here).

To dig into the idea of that further, it wouldn't surprise me if the "Izzy, I want you to handle this yourself," "Oh, Edward, can't I just send the boys? 🥺" and the "you are an insane shell of a man posing as blackbeard!" "😏 i'm not blackbeard, he is. I'm stede, remember~?" could actually be their idea of flirting, something they've always done. Except, as I've said up there already, Izzy was genuinely riled up because Ed had sacrificed multiple of their crew to this insanity and was highly likely about to get everyone killed by the Spanish, so although the flirting was familiar and slightly pleasant, it couldn't continue.

Which brings us back to the actual topic at hand, which is that if Ed is into the guy who told Blackbeard to go suck eggs in hell, and Ed is into Izzy's attitude, it stands to reason that if Stede actually let his bitchy side out around Ed and where Ed can see it, and actually allowed the guy to see him be "go suck eggs in hell"!Stede, Ed would be fucking losing his shit over how into Stede he is.

(There's a lot of chemistry between Ed and Stede, but in season 1 it's very sweet and gentle? I love Blackbonnet, but there's not a lot of crackle between them. I don't feel like they'll be ripping each other's clothes off in desperation, which is something I'd really like to see lmao. It's sweet, it's a cute first love that feels like it's between thirteen year olds, which makes sense because they're both experiencing love for the first time! Again, this isn't a bad thing, and I like it as an establishing moment for them, but they are grown men, and Ed has been flirting his ass off with Stede since the moment he met him trying to get that man to fuck him, and I hope that in season 2 the tension between them from Ed going Kraken and trying to kill Stede's crew, and Stede having bailed off on him, will allow in a sort of almost-lovers-to-adversaries-to-lovers pipeline that'll let them be crackly and show a physical and sexual side of their excellent chemistry.)

But Stede doesn't want to let Ed see that side of him because I imagine it never went down very well with Mary or the rest of the society he was meant to be a part of. Stede literally had two modes at the party, one was "tries to fit in, fails horribly" and the other was "goes full bitch and everything burns because of it", so I don't think his full bitch mode went well in the years before he met Ed, and also Ed was completely enamored with Stede just from knowing he 'passive aggression'-d the party guests into self-immolation.

So, I just imagine Izzy getting in a tizzy and he's yelling at Stede and Stede just lets rip and bitches right back, and Ed is looking between the two of them like "what." and afterwards, when Stede has established Ed was very turned on by him being an abrasive shit, he's just like, "You like it when I... act like Izzy?"

and the bottom falls out of Ed's entire world

Because I mean, yeah? You're telling me that Izzy wouldn't tell some pompous pirate who thinks he owns the place to tell his boss to go suck eggs in hell if some dude came along to demand Izzy go to his boss's ship? He absolutely would!

So then you have Stede realizing it's actually okay to not spend his entire life trying to be Sweet and Kind and Caring and Placid and Even-Tempered and Nice, that there's more to him than being nice.

And I would argue that a big downfall of Stede on that beach with Ed is that he thinks he has to be nice all the god damn time. You rewatch that scene as Ed is gushing about running away to China and how he'll go get a dinghy and they'll go and they'll be together. Stede's holding himself really tiny, almost childlike actually, and he's quiet and distracted and the best he can offer Ed in return to the idea of China is, "I think so?"

and to me that reads as someone who is not comfortable being honest about what he wants, needs and feels. Which ties right back in to your message in this ask about how Stede isn't honest with Ed, because it's true. I don't think it's Ed's fault Stede doesn't feel comfortable being honest about how he's feeling, mind, I think Stede is just... very used to being carried away by the currents? The biggest thing he ever did that wasn't that is something that hurt his family and nearly got him and half his crew killed (running away). In the flashbacks when he offers his hope of running away to sea up to Mary and she gets upset with him, his instinct is, "I'll get it stopped," and he may not have actually done that, but he said what he thought she wanted to hear, which was that he'd give that idea up.

Stede said he'd run away to China with Ed because he didn't feel comfortable admitting he didn't want that. Stede wants to be a pirate! He doesn't want to give the life up, he only just got the life he's been dreaming of and how he feels about Ed doesn't change that. More than that, he was already feeling fucked up over hurting so many people, including his family, and he already was thinking he should probably go home and try and fix the damage he caused. He loves Ed, I truly believe that, but he didn't want to run away to China. He wanted to sit on that beach with Ed for a while longer, then escape Privateering Academy and go back to the Revenge, or maybe go back to Barbados and fix his mistakes. He didn't want to go to China but he said he would anyway.

He's not dishonest, he doesn't seem to lie to Ed (or anyone, I've talked about this before), but he does put on a placid smile and stay nice and try not to hurt people with his words, probably because he's been hurt by words so much in his life, he doesn't want to perpetuate that further, and because he was raised to be placid and nice. His "I think so?" is probably him trying so fucking hard to be honest, but instead of his doubts coming out, all he manages is, "I think so?"

So Stede should be able to learn to not always be nice all the time, and then you have Ed realizing that ah, shit, he is into abrasiveness which, ah, is Izzy's calling card, and Izzy still just blinking because Stede met his fire and anger with his own (which must be quite something considering how rough Izzy can get, you tell me he wasn't getting a bit of something sizzly out of his encounters with Stede in 1x02 and 1x03. The way he growls out, "It's Izzy," is just. Mwah.) and that was kinda hot too.

and then there's just; communication time. Because Stede might not feel comfortable telling Ed what he's feeling, but he might just yell it at Izzy, who will happily also yell back, and yell his feelings at Ed, who often tells Stede his feelings.

So yes, that's quite a closed loop and I am into it anon. And also the way you framed it as Stede being on the outs with Ed and letting Izzy in because of it.

But also:

Izzy not sharing absolutely anything bc after the finale he doesn't trust anyone anymore much less Stede.

mm, yes, good soup. Someone in the tags of one of my posts said if they were Izzy they'd never speak again and that really stuck with me.

This response turned a bit rambly, I apologize for that, I just got talking I guess 😂

[ottiliere]

do u ever think about aloha dave being a shitty parent bc i do. I think about him outright hating dirk when he actually gets to meet him and belittling him for whatever accomplishments he manages. I think itd just be very fun for Dirk to finally feel at peace with his brother via dave only for that to be ripped away from him and for dirk to feel worthless again. And it just leads to Dirk taking like 12 steps back with getting comfortable in his own skin and isolating himself because alpha dave has just made his little brother feel so absolutely unworthy of love or affection. Anyways hows your week.

my hands slapped over my mouth reading this ask and I genuinely thought you were one of my friends anonyme because alpha dave's propensities as a guardian are basically all I talk about, but in a different vein... here we go

finding a place to jump right into this is very hard because I have spent, like, dozens of hours discussing this with a few different people... i guess one thing I'll mention is that in general i tend to be a fan of most depictions of alpha dave ("good" or "bad"), but something that has fascinated me ever since reading part 6 has been the concept of universal karma. specifically, the concept of "if beta dirk fucked up raising a child so egregiously, how is it fair that alpha dave would be a good guardian to dirk, given an AU where they meet/live together/etc?" so I've been playing with that in my head for weeks now.

it is very important to me that the way characters behave in non-canon situations (like this) is reasonably within the realm of possibility of their natural dispositions and temperaments. in this way i spend a lot of time thinking about "splinter selves" and nature vs. nurture and the like, how deviations early on can lead to slight differences between the canon character and au versions of that character given the constraints OF canonical parameters. and this is what is very magical to me about alpha dave: he doesn't have any of this. his everything was entirely mythologized and he essentially only has beta dave as the blueprint for his "self". he is a playground.

so, looking at beta dave: he has a capacity for a lot of neediness. he wants to be liked so bad. Similar to this

I won't get into the extremely convoluted au I spend all of my free time thinking about but the tl;dr of it is that dave and dirk did not grow up together, dave is ~20 years older than dirk, and both were raised by Bro displaying very different mannerisms leading to very different attachment styles (dave's ambivalent to dirk's avoidant). dirk enters dave's custody when bro dies.

basically the way I see Dave manifesting as a guardian is that dave likes Dirk because Dirk loves him — it's for the attention, because of his own issues stemming from not getting any from bro. He's emotionally childish in this way, and he selfishly absolves himself of responsibility because of this. He's NEEDY, and does not properly fit in the caretaker role (think: emotional incest).

example:

if dave ever did something that dirk (early in childhood) interpreted as him abandoning him dirk would probably shut down, regress back to older, isolationist tendencies. That's how I imagine he behaved with bro (never interacting, not stepping on his toes, never acting out never expressing himself since being needy with bro never worked). If dave ever, idk, forgot about something that was important to dirk (maybe promised to watch TV with him one night but had to work late, for example) he'd revert back to this behavior. begins to avoid dave, is less open with him (not that he was that open in the first place, but). dave would have to seek him out to get him comfortable in his presence again. which he obviously does. I think he's just as anxious about dirk hating him and he has a drive to "make it better" like dirk NEEDS to like him. the stoicism and avoidance is unbearable it makes him feel awful, makes him feel equally abandoned. abandoned by his charge lol.

obviously this would mess dirk up to a serious extent. I won't get into that becauz this answer has already gone on much longer than I anticipated... I won't extend this answer further by commenting on the actual scenario IN the ask because anon came off anon and now we're buds heh. really good angst scenario regardless

[amimimi]

joe and cherry taking care of their drunk s/o

synopsis: in which joe and cherry take care of your drunk ass

pairings: joe x reader, cherry x reader

warnings: drinking, getting sick, suggestive themes, swearing, slight spoilers in joe’s part

notes: i separated the joe and cherry head canons from the langa and reki ones because I thought I was gonna make these a lot more suggestive,,,but i did not 🤥 i apologize in advance for any grammatical/spelling errors!

JOE

will laugh at you

in a good natured way, of course

he just thinks you’re so cute, he can’t get enough of you

joe and you go bar hopping for date night this week, which y’all have done in the past so it’s nothing too crazy

except this time around, you overdo it 😗

and joe thinks it’s the most endearing thing as you cling onto his biceps as you sway on your feet

he holds you by your elbows, grinning down at you as you blearily smile up at him

you both are standing near the dance floor, as you struggle to maintain your footing

“you good?” he calls over the music and you nod slowly, grinning even harder

“yea! you’re a great dancer!” you shout back at him and joe chuckles

“we aren’t dancing, baby cakes” he says, giving your elbows a squeeze

you frown

“oh...i knew that! i meant in general...” you murmur, eyes struggling to stay open.

joe purses his lip at you, before wrapping his arms around your waist. “i think you need some air, babe” he suggests and you nod sluggishly

guides you outside the bar and takes you across the street

the crisp night air doesn’t help you out all that much

you get sick and joe can’t even hold your hair back because he has to hold you to keep you from falling face forward

“okay, babe, let’s get you home” joe chuckles,

not even one bit worried

has a lot of experience with drinking/drunk people up his sleeve

honestly maybe the best person to care for you while you’re drunk

joe doesn’t panic or even if he IS concerned, he’s good at keeping a straight face (i’m thinking of the episode when ad*m hits cherry in the face and he’s the only one who doesn’t flinch)

he takes you in his swole arms (that man is built like an ox 😩) and carries you bridal style all the way home

entertains your babbling and carries a conversation with you no matter how nonsensical it is

if you think you see someone even looking at joe, you try cussing them out msnxjshwdghd

and joe’s like “haha, darling, my sweet dove, ☺️” and then turns to whoever you’re cussing out and says “they’re drunk, sorry about that!”

joe definitely takes you to his place

makes you take a shower! but he showers with you because he doesn’t want you to fall and break your nose or something

stands behind you, with his arms wrapped around you for support

rubs a loofah down your arms and torso

every now and then he’ll press a kiss against the side of your neck <3

joe wraps you in a towel and gently dries you with another towel

he makes you sit on his closed toilet seat and kneels before you to dry your legs with a smaller towel

he glances up at you to see you staring at him, slightly swaying and wrapped in a towel

“you like watching me work, don’t you?” he smirks

“i like watching your back” you reply, the alcohol numbing your shame and joe laughs at you

makes you brush your teeth

he places a hand over your forehead and holds you up by your arm as you brush

joe: “are you...are you swallowing the tooth paste??”

you: “...no...not on purpose”

okay, joe maybe slightly concerned

pulls one of his shirts over your head and laughs when your hair gets messed up

when you finally get in bed, you sleep in between joe’s legs with your head resting on his naked chest, arms wrapped around you

doesn’t mind if you drool on him <3 he just fondly smiles at you

CHERRY

HE IS NOT HERE FOR IT SKDUSKSJDJD

does not like being around drunk people—like he avoids it with a passion

someone he knows could be drunk as helll and he’d just be like “...and what the f*ck does that gotta do with me?”

obviously he won’t let anyone DIE, but prefers to take preventative action such as cutting someone off from having any more drinks than to deal with their drunk asses

and obviously, he’ll make an exception for you 😙

he’s not impressed tho 😗

like if your tipsy, he may find that endearing

but if you’re like—DRUNK DRUNK, like belligerently so...he’s gonna be like “*sigh*”

you probably don’t get drunk in public when you’re out with him to preserve his the respect of his business

so he’s probably having a night in, no S, no dinner with joe

he’s catching up on reading when his doorbell rings and he’s like “??”

cherry goes to peek out the peephole and — holy shit is that you? and who’s standing next to you??

he opens the door to see you, drunk off your ass, and barely standing on your own as you friend wraps their arm around you for support

when you see cherry, you perk up and smile “kaoru!”

“does this belong to you?” your friend grins at cherry, who’s just staring at you wobble on your feet like a newborn deer

“yes” he says slowly, a little surprised at how drunk you are

he reaches out for you and you all but collapse in his arm, cherry slightly straining under the weight

“okay, then! my taxi’s waiting, bye babe!” your friend calls to you and you sluggishly wave at them while hanging off of cherry’s waist

cherry makes sure you friend gets in the taxi safely before turning to you

“what have you gotten yourself into?” he sighs, hoisting you up and carrying you into his house

“just had a few drinks!” you chirp, wrapping your arms around cherry’s neck

“a few...” cherry echoes you flatly

“ maybe a couple!”

“...”

“ okay, maybe a lot”

doesn’t even wait for you tell him if you feel nauseous, he just carries you to the bathroom and sits you down in front of the toilet

ties your hair back as you babble nonsensically about how dangerous it is that he rides a skateboard

if you get sick, he gently rubs your back and murmurs soothingly to you

makes you wash your mouth out and brushes your teeth for you (he’s grumbling as he does it, BUT HE’S STILL DOIN IT)

he’s gonna save the lecturing for tomorrow so he just resorts to muttering under his breath, but he’s still very gentle with you

he bathes you! but then you tell him that he looks like your mother as he does it and he’s just like “😐 okay bath time over”

get’s you a silk robe and guides you into his bed

he runs to get you a class of water and when he comes back, he hears you sniffling as you lay with your back to him

“what’s the matter, love?” he asks gently, sitting down the bed next to you

he brushes your hair back to see you are, in fact, crying

you take a shaky breath as you struggle to sit up and look directly at him

“are you cheating on me with carla??” you ask wobbly, stealing yourself for his answer

cherry: “😐😑😐”

he just hands the glass of water to you and doesn’t say anything bc he’s TIRED

when you finish your glass, he places it on his bedside table as you sink into the sheets

“you didn’t answer” you murmur glumly, staring straight ahead

cherry looks down at you and tilts his head, brushing your hair back from your face, kinda smiling for that first time that night

“no. how would cheat on you with a skateboard?” cherry asks, slightly teasing.

“you literally make heart eyes with it...don’t laugh!” your lower lip begins to wobble as cherry slightly chuckles

“you’re so drunk” he smiles at you softly

you weakly nod in agreement as cherry continues brushing your hair back

“yea, ‘won’t do it again tho...thank you kaoru, i love you” you garble out, sleep overtaking you

cherry waits until you fall asleep to give you a kiss on the forehead,

he stays up a to watch you before he slides in next to you and sleeps facing you with your hand in his

notes: i’m gonna do langa, reki, joe, and cherry all in one post for the sequel (?) to this where reader takes care of them when they get drunk!

[lunaslovelyrambles]

It's canon that Levi is very self conscious about his handwriting since he came from Underground. BUT it's also canon that his handwriting is neat. So how about Levi writing his crush a letter but then decides not to give the letter last minute but too late! His crush saw the letter in his hand and they basically have a tug of war over the letter 💀 I hope this is okay. Thank you ❤️

of course it’s okay!! sorry for the long ass wait.. but thank you for sending this in! it’s such a cute request :)

went w a scenario bc i’m rusty with them! as always feedback + reblogs are appreciated :3

——

levi ackerman

He was screwed, wasn’t he? Yeah, he was totally, and wholeheartedly screwed. The second he felt the wavering in his heart and fluttering in his stomach he knew he was screwed.

Because Levi Ackerman - Humanity’s Strongest Soldier - has a crush.

Levi wasn’t one to focus too heavily on his emotions. Oftentimes he’d dismiss any unusual feelings without any second thought. He didn’t have time for that: any sappy, mushy feelings. He was a soldier first and foremost. That was his duty, and that was his priority above all. He should focus on the fight for humanity and that solely.

So why, why was he so hellbent on getting your attention?

Because he liked you, that’s why. But he didn’t want to admit it. He could die at any second and so could you. Like hell he’d want to form a relationship under those conditions.

Still, pushing his feelings toward you aside didn’t help in the slightest. Every day as he watched you laugh with some of the other cadets he felt his hand clench around his cup. He wanted to sit by your side, hear your beautiful laughs and be with you goddamnit.

Why was this so hard? Why was liking someone romantically so hard?

These thoughts permeated his mind as he stared at his paperwork. His pen had been sitting on the table for quite a while now as he thought, once again, about you. He had long forgotten about what he needed to get done for the night and was purely lost in his thoughts.

Should he tell you? No- what if you rejected him? He’d be crushed and not only that but things would be awkward then.. but what if you said yes? Then he could finally get this off his chest and-

He groaned heavily as he laid his head on his desk, causing some of the papers to crinkle underneath. He couldn’t stop the thoughts from growing louder and louder in his mind. They were all too loud and distracting for him to do anything.

But he couldn’t just go and confess! That wasn’t the kind of person he was! He wasn’t the type to just do something like that.. To him, it was way too embarrassing.

As he laid with his head on his desk an idea suddenly entered his mind. One that would save him some embarrassment while also conveying his feelings perfectly. Well, less embarrassing than directly confessing that is.

A letter.

He could write you a letter. The perfect way to confess his feelings. He could write exactly what he wanted and completely avoid the awkwardness of him telling you. It was only an added plus thay writing a letter was seen as sweet and romantic to most people.

Levi finally picked up his pen and started writing on a new, clean sheet of paper.

-x-

It had been several days since he initially came up with the idea to write you a letter and Levi still hadn’t written one that he liked.

Several balled up sheets of paper could be found stacked in his garbage can, and even more burned in the fireplace.

For some reason he just couldn’t get the wording right. Every time he wrote it it just didn’t seem... right. It didn’t feel good enough, it was too blunt, it was too wordy. Every draft he was just unhappy with. And he kept trying only to be continuously dissatisfied.

He sighed as he set his pen down another time. He looked at the singular sheet of paper and began to reread it.

“Dear (Y/N),

I just wanted to say that - ”

“Whatcha got there?”

Levi nearly fell out of his seat. Standing in the doorway was none other than you. And you were very curious to know what he was holding. For a split second he thought about balling it up and chucking it at you, but his body reacted quicker and shoved it into his desk drawer.

“Why didn’t you knock? Didn’t you learn any manners?” he quickly retorted, but he was still caught off guard by your entry thus causing his words to come out quicker than he would have liked.

You rose an eyebrow and walked further into the room, closing the door behind you.

“I did. Several times actually,” you responded, “What was that paper you shoved into your drawer?”

He swallowed thickly. It would be hard for him to maneuver his way out of this one.

“Why are you here? Do you have something to report?”

“...no. But you haven’t really been out of your office all day. Now answer my question.” As you spoke you inched closer to his desk before standing on the side - the one closest to the drawer with the paper in it.

He didn’t answer. Shit. You were not gonna let this go.

He half expected you to keep harassing him with questions until he either forced you out or gave in. But you chose a third option, which was one he wasn’t expecting.

Which was shoving yourself between him in the drawer, effectively blocking him as you grabbed the letter out. Luckily for him, he regained some sort of mind to fight with you for the paper as it left the drawer.

You tugged on one end and he grabbed the other, neither of you showing any sign of letting go. He really started to begin to regret training you to be so strong.

As he gave one harsh tug, and you doing the same, the letter finally ripped in half from the tension. He had the top half and you had the bottom.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Do you always go through other people’s stuff without permission?” he looked down at the paper and back up at you. Naturally he was angry with you for taking out the letter without asking, but when he looked up at you his anger slowly dissipated.

Your mouth was slightly parted and your cheeks were slowly heating up as you finished the letter. Your eyes then flickered from the letter up to him. You turned around the letter to face him and pointed at the words on the bottom.

“I really like you, (Y/N), and I’d love to go out with you sometime.”

“Is this... for me?” you softly asked. His mouth formed a thin line as he avoided your gaze, his cheeks now dusted with a faint pink. There was no way he could say no, it wasn’t for you, because your name was literally on the note.

He was beyond embarrassed. He was mortified. His feelings were out in the open now and there was no going back.

Just as he was about to leave the room to avoid the uncomfortable sting of rejection, he heard you giggle. The noise made him glare back at you, and it was that that made you full on laugh.

Now he really felt humiliated.

“I just can’t believe that you fought me tug of war style for this,” your laughing died down a little, “Did you convince yourself that hard that I’d reject you?”

Levi didn’t know what to think anymore.

“I mean.. kind of, yeah,” he still spoke softly, still not looking at you.

“You’d be wrong, then.”

He finally stopped looking at the floor and back at you. You were smiling at him, a big toothy smile and one that he loved seeing every day.

“I thought that letter was, like, you kicking me off your squad. So I thought ‘hey I’ll bite the bullet and take it out even if he’ll hate me for it’ or something I don’t know. I’m sorry for going through your stuff-”

Before you could finish your apology Levi had uncharacteristically pulled you into his chest. He had felt like someone crushed a building on him when you stole that letter out but now? He feels like he just got the best night sleep.

“Don’t. Don’t even worry about it. I’m.. glad you took it. It’s okay,” he smiled into your shoulder as you returned the hug.

Maybe he’ll write you letters more often.

——

masterlist || rules page

[redrobin-detective]

I went on an illegal run (IE I told myself I wouldn’t run tonight, showered and got in my PJs then got the Zoomies, changed into running clothes and went out) and had a fun time with a timey whimey AU which would be a fun fic if I had the time and inclination.

Ok so it opens with No Watch Ben (who for the purposes of this Au knows nothing of the alt Bens, omnitrix, aliens etc) doing his thing. He’s started having weird visions, random bits of info he shouldn’t know pop into his head, unexplained pains. Little by little reality around them starts to warp and decay.  That’s when Paradox arrives with Prime Rook and Gwen in tow. They immediately cry out and grab onto NW!Ben in tears of grief and joy.

Ben Prime (who will be Prime from here on out) is in the midst of a death loop that, the longer it continues, it tearing apart the fabric of time and reality. He’d been battling Maltruant (maybe Maltruant/Malware hybrid, idk up for debate) and was pinned with his Omnitrix being mined for its data and power. Ben, unable to escape and knowing Maltruant with the Omnitrix’s power would be unstoppable grabs a piece of broken debris and slits his own throat. Azmuth had told him years ago that, as a failsafe, if the wielder dies the Omnitrix will also shut down and be rendered unusable by anyone trying to take control of it. Ben may be impervious to most forms of attack but the Omnitrix can’t prevent suicide. But neither Ben nor Azmuth knew that the Omnitrix had grown beyond it’s programming and would do anything to save it’s host. Before the last of Ben’s light goes out, the Omnitrix uses Maltruant’s time power (since it’s hooked up to the Omnitrix) to force a loop in which Ben dies and is revived over and over again. But the loop shows no sign of stopping and is destroying time. 

Every other Ben in the multiverse who is connected to their own Omnitrix felt the backlash of Prime’s Omnitrix trapping them in the loop as well. Only the Ben without a watch, while still feeling some of the effects but is overall okay, can help. Also, outsiders can’t interfere in the loop, only another Ben can enter and break it up. But this Ben has no training, no experience. Paradox reveals he brought a third passenger from the Prime universe, Prime Azmuth who was dropped off with NW! Azmuth. It turns out this version HAD created an Omnitrix, just avoided the final touches bc he was afraid of what he’d made and worried about finding the correct host. Theoretically NW! Ben should be fine with the watch since its out of sync with the loop.

We switch back and forth between Prime Azmuth convincing NW! Azmuth not only to complete his Omnitrix but to pass it onto a young human. Prime Azmuth tells not only of Ben’s heroism and accomplishments but lets some of his genuine grief and personal connection to the boy leech through at the thought of him forced to die on repeat. They debate as they work to finish the device. Meanwhile Rook and Gwen are trying to bring NW!Ben up to speed on him being a universal hero and aliens and whatever. It’s a lot to handle and NW! thinks he can’t do it. He privately tells himself that Prime has got to be someone amazing, someone not like Ben. He wonders if he can stop the loop by switching places with Prime who’s clearly way more important.

They get to the two Azmuths and the Omnitrix is complete but NW!Azmuth refuses to hand it over. He’s seen too many people abuse power to willingly hand it over to a child he’s never met. He’s ready to let the multiverse burn but Prime Azmuth convinced him to at least let NW!Ben try to break the loop. Rook and Gwen are trying to stress that NW!Ben needs to break the loop before Prime slits his throat. NW!Ben nods, perfectly ready to die to save his ‘better’ counterpart. They are able to link Ben up to the loop using the completed Omnitrix and soon he’s in the midst of battle in the loop. NW!Ben tries and fails a couple of times to break the loop and it just keeps happening as time around them falls apart.

At the point where Maltraunt goes to pin down Prime, the beginning of the end, NW!Ben steps in the way. This puts him directly in the path of danger and would kill him. But he doesn’t realize that the Omnitrix loves Ben Tennyson, was tearing time and space apart to save him. And it loves all versions of Ben, including the version where the watch never existed. To save NW!Ben, the Omnitrix flares out power which throws back Maltruant. This breaks the loops bc it’s no longer the same pattern over and over. Together, Prime and NW!Ben stop Maltruant and yey, the day is saved. Paradox shows up all smug, he knew NW!Ben would try and pull a sacrifice play and the Omnitrix, which has already demonstrated what its willing to do for Ben, would break apart the loop to help. Prime and NW! talk like they did in the canon episode (blah blah its just a gadget, only you can make yourself a hero) and NW!Ben feels spurned on to be his own hero.

NW!Azmuth had seen the battle play out and despite his anger and fear and bitterness, he finds himself intrigued. A young boy was willing to sacrifice it all to preserve universes’ he’s never heard of. A boy without training, or powers or anything special had a heart made fullmetal of gold. He watched Prime Azmuth fuss and frantically lecture Prime about the whole suicide thing. He thinks it might be nice to have a young one of his own to worry over. He’s not there yet but maybe with some meetings and some official Plumbers training for NW!Ben, maybe there will be another Omnitrix Ben in the future. Or not, perhaps the multiverse could see what a Ben Tennyson is capable of without the device. It’s not like he needs it to be a hero.

[auroracalisto]

lotus flower

summary: escaping an abusive relationship was difficult.  rushing to a camp in the middle of nowhere to escape your husband shouldn’t have been as terrifying as it turned out to be.

pairing: xavier plympton x reader x chet clancy, reader x abusive husband named roger

word count: 1.5k words

warnings: abuse, physical abuse and mental abuse, mentions of abuse and physical depictions of what happened, ahs 1984, canon typical situations 

a/n: idk if i’ll actually continue this bc idk if it will do well.  however, i wanted to see the response i would get and i really liked writing this in general soooo.  also, for the title, just look up the meaning of a lotus flower :) you’ll understand if you don’t already.  

You were running.  From him.  From your past.  From the nakedness that now adorned your ring finger.  And that’s how you ended up at Camp Redwood, as a counselor.  It was a job, far away from Roger.  As much as you had wished you could have stayed and not uproot your entire life, you knew that staying there was dangerous.

The fading bruises on your stomach were proof of that.

You had heard about the position through the newspaper—the only survivor of the 70′s massacre wanted to open it up to try and create some good memories there.

Miles away and deep in the forest was your best bet of avoiding your abusive husband.

So you called and inquired about the job—you weren’t even interviewed hardly.  The woman asked your name and said you were accepted.  All you had to do was show up the day before the kids were supposed to be there.  It would be you and a couple other counselors, but there weren’t that many kids—you wouldn’t be bombarded by everything.

You had hardly been out of your car for five minutes when Margaret led you over to Bertie.

“While we wait for the others to arrive, maybe you can help Bertie,” she said, giving you a smile.  “I’ll be back.”

She didn’t wait long before she rushed off, leaving you alone with the chef.  You gave her an awkward smile.

“Hi...”

“Hi, sweetheart,” she said, balancing her cigarette between her teeth as she talked.  “Here,” she moved to grab a crate full of bread.  “Take this inside for me?”

You immediately did as you were asked, taking the crate as soon as she handed it to you.  She took notice of your shakiness, but she didn’t comment on it, much like she didn’t comment on the multiple scars you had lining your bare arms.

Bertie took in a couple more things with you, only taking a break to light another cigarette.

"And this is Chef Bertie," Margaret said, walking up alongside of quite a few other people. You stood by her truck, looking at the people as they all came around. "A Camp Redwood veteran."

"Dibs," a man with blonde hair and a blue shirt quickly spoke. He smiled over at his friends, clearly joking.

"You wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it, handsome," Bertie spoke, smirking over at the man.

You couldn't help but laugh at Bertie, quickly placing a hand over your mouth.

"And who are you?" the blonde quickly asked, raising an eyebrow.

You averted your gaze.

"She's another counselor. She got here earlier in the day. [Your name]'s car was the one you parked beside of," Margaret said.

"Oh, so the one Xavier here almost hit with his door?" a blonde girl grinned, crossed her arms over her chest.

Xavier's eyes widened and he looked back at her. "I did not!"

Bertie rolled her eyes, holding up a crate of eggs. "Put those scrawny arms to work and help a lady fill her pantry. All of you, grab a crate. This heat is a killer," she spoke, sighing softly as she removed her cigarette. "You don't have to carry anymore, [Your name]—"

"—I can," you smiled over at the woman. You moved to take a crate which looked as though it had been filled with bottles of spices, sugars, and flour.

The man beside of Xavier had taken the crate of eggs.

A guy with brown hair came up beside of you, his arm brushing against yours as he grabbed a crate himself. He blushed but couldn't help himself from smiling at you.

"Sorry," he said.

You gave a hesitant smile, moving to walk back into the dining hall when Margaret began to speak again.

"Chef Bertie here worked here when I was a counselor. We are so blessed to have her with us."

Bertie continued to talk while everyone else carried in crates. You stayed inside, putting things where they needed to go—it wasn't that hard to figure out things. Of course, you avoided putting up things like spices. You didn't know if she liked them organized a certain way. As you walked back out, you couldn't help but overhear Bertie.

"I'm sorry that one bad apple ruined it for everyone. Minute I heard Margaret was reopening this place," she said, waving her hand, "I was the first to volunteer."

Margaret looked at everyone and breathed through her nose. "Alright. Let's continue with our tour. [Your name], come along with us. You haven't seen everything yet."

You gave a small nod and hesitantly followed along, looking at the group of people. They all seemed pretty friendly with each other.

The lot of you walked along towards the showers. Margaret was set on showing you all everything.

"Girls shower in the AM, boys in the PM. Same goes for counselors, too."

Eventually, your walk lead you to the cabins.

Margaret eventually left you all alone, and you stayed in the girls cabin.  The boys ended up sticking around, talking with the girls that they clearly knew.  You sat on your claimed bed, looking through your suitcase.  You purse your lips, half-listening to their conversation, half-not even paying attention to what you were looking for.  

“Hey,” the same boy who bumped into you earlier spoke.  “[Your name], right?”

You looked up, seeing him standing right in front of you.  Your eyes widened but you nodded.  

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m Chet,” he grinned.  “Mind if I?” he pointed to the spot beside of you.  

You nodded in response.  Chet sat down beside of you on your bed, handing you an unopened can of beer.  

“Uh, no thank you,” you said, shaking your head.  “I’ve... seen enough alcohol to last me a lifetime.”

“Seen—“ he stopped himself, nodding slightly as he watched you.  “Alright.  Well, why don’t you come join us?  I promise, we don’t bite,” he chuckled softly.  “We’re gonna turn on the TV.  Don’t be a loner,” he said.  “We’ll be here all summer anyway.  Might as well get to know each other now.”

You nodded, knowing he was right.  “Uh, okay,” you said, nervously biting the inside of your cheek.  

Chet continued to smile in your direction.  He stood up, holding his hand out to you.  “Come on,” he said.  

A feeling in your gut was screaming at you to just stay put.  But you reached out to take his hand, knowing that for the first time in several years, you could do so without someone waiting to ridicule you for it.  

Chet smiled even more once you took his hand and he lead you over to the couch.  

Everyone introduced themselves to you, making sure they knew your name correctly as well.  

The flirtatious blonde looked over at you, his eyes set in a glare.  

“You better not think about stealing Bertie from me.”

Your eyes widened and you felt your cheeks burn.  “I would never—”

“Mhm,” Xavier rolled his eyes.  “I saw how you looked at her.  If I were her, I would have looked at you the same way.”

“Wow, Xavier,” scoffed Ray.  “Give it a rest, will you?”

“What?” Xavier laughed, keeping his eyes on you.  “I mean it, though.  You’re like super fucking hot,” he said.

You averted your gaze, guilt swelling in your chest.  This was wrong.  You were married.  To a piece of shit asshole, after all.  Your marriage to him didn’t matter.  Especially now that you were so far away.  You didn’t have to feel guilty.  You didn’t have to feel like you were going to get in trouble.  No one here knew of your past, and they would never know as long as you never said anything.  

After a moment of thinking of what to say, you looked back up at Xavier with a smile.  

“You’re not too bad, yourself,” you said.  

Xavier let out a triumphant laugh, grinning.  “Sweet,” he breathed out, looking you up and down.  Montana slapped his arm and he leaned back where he sat, rolling his eyes at her.  “Can you not hit me again?  Please?  That kind of hurt.”

Chet cleared his throat as he looked at you.  You quickly turned to face him, hoping that he didn’t think it was wrong of you to say so.

“He’s definitely not lying,” Chet spoke.  “You’re super fucking pretty.  I, uh, don’t want you to settle on him just yet,” he grinned, leaning against his hand as his elbow rested against the couch.  

You couldn’t help from your own laugh escaping you.  “Don’t worry, Chet.  He’s not the only cute guy here,” you said, locking eyes with his.  You noticed his blush right off the bat, but you didn’t say anything about it.  

You were glad you were here.  This was good.  It would be good.  It had to be good.  But what you didn’t know was that your hopeful thoughts were far too good to be true.  

[srapsodia]

Sorry for jumping in, hope you don't mind, otherwise ignore this.

But I think that (more) canon Vesemir wouldn't be accepting of Jaskier (making Geralt to soft for a Witcher) and Aiden (Cat Witcher).

But I also understand that lost of fic writers don't wanna leave conflict/things unresolved, and getting into the whole complex relationship dynamic between the wolves with histories of abuse and ptsd and maybe character development would take so much longer to wrap up (than wanted for a short fluff oneshot)

((Just do it, life not always packagedable with a neat bow))

I am also of the opinion, bcs this queer fool loves reading about Canon-Typical Homophobia in Witcher Fics that normally gets ignored, that Witcher Keeps were full of toxic masculinity mindsets, and that Vesemir wouldn't be (at least before working it out) okay with his "son" Geralt being one of the Gays

I think if we're talking BC (Before Ciri), then yeah. I don't think Vesemir would respond well to it at first. But I think there's space for him to grow as a character, even then, and become more accepting. And then I think accepting Aiden would take longer than Jaskier.

If this was After Ciri though, like meeting Aiden after Ciri, which means already having gone through the process of meeting Jask and Yennefer (and I think Triss too?), he'd be more open to it. Still reluctant, but already he'd come with a slightly more open frame of mind.

But honestly, yeah I understand why a lot of people would rather not dive into this! It's a LOT. It's so much to unpack, if I wanted to write a story about healing and acceptance and moving past CENTURIES of pain I wouldn't even know where to begin!

And sometimes you really do just want a fluffy one shot, and I don't see a problem with that! I don't think it's fair to tell people to just do it, sometimes you really dont have the energy (or the interest!) to focus on that part of the narrative, and that's ok.

How much one decides to engage with it thought WILL obviously affect how the characters are written and the tone of the story. I personally prefer it when their history is kept in mind and it reflects in their dynamics, even if it isn't a central part of the story.

The last bit is definitely a ymmv situation. In my case I hate reading about homophobia in fantasy settings and avoid it whenever i can. But if you want to engage with that, that's totally fine.