#but - and this is also important - cry if you need to

[gothriotgrrl]

People have every right to be upset about the lack of disability representation. That's not what upsets me about this post, what upsets me is the misrepresentation of the Ba Sing Se quote, she didn't proudly say that like it was some declaration, she was crying and saying it in response to being bullied. Before the bullies started insulting them, Toph was shown happily saying that she kind of felt girly, it didn't have any negative connotations until others tore her down. For those of you who lack media literacy, that scene where she said she knew who she was and she didn't care what she looked like while she had tears streaming down her face, was to show her trying to put up a tough front because being tough is how she protects herself. She doesn't hate girly things but indulging in them makes her vulnerable, and she hates feeling vulnerable. That's literally part of her character arc! As someone who was the disabled girl who had to work with the special education department at school who also hid behind a tough exterior, throwing hands while secretly liking girly stuff like Sailor Moon, make-up and fashion, and watching cheerleading competitions on ESPN, I loved that part of Toph's storyline. When you're disabled, people equate your vulnerabilities to your disability, and infantilize you, which is what Toph's parents did. Toph needed to learn that they were people in the world she could trust to not infantilize her vulnerabilities and instead humanize them. That was the importance of that scene, she could trust Katara, so she didn't hide her vulnerability behind toughness, and Katara responded with humanizing Toph, not infantalizing her. And using the fact that they hired an actress who is not visually impaired as the header of this post and then spending the majority of the post misrepresenting Toph's scene of vulnerability is incredibly ableisit. You used her disability to draw people into the post and then spent the majority of the post complaining about how her being feminine doesn't make her more human when the point of the scene you mentioned is showing that her enjoyment of feminine things is a vulnerability of hers, which in turn humanizes her! This is the problem with so many of the people who hate the live action, there are legitimate things wrong with the series, but none of you actually acknowledge what they are. During the first season, everyone complained about them removing things from the show that were not only racist tropes, but were so ingrained in Western media, they didn't even realize they were racist tropes. Or if they did, they didn't care because they didn't want the reality that they liked a show full of racist tropes to ruin their nostalgia. And now it's happening this season with Toph and disability. Should they have hired an actress that was visually impaired, yes. But that's not why you're really upset, you're upset that you took parts of a storyline about a disabled girl and applied them to your own life and growth (which is fine, that's part of what consuming media is about) and are now getting mad that they're expanding on parts of that storyline that either don't apply to you or that you don't want to apply to you. And for you and anyone else who's doing this, maybe you should take something else from Toph's storyline and learn to deal with those emotions and vulnerabilities, instead of using a disabled character being played by an actress who doesn't have that disability as a terrible segue for your own emotional hang-ups.

this is the worst fucking day of my life, and yet i am not surprised in the slightest.

toph is an icon for disabled people. she’s one of so few blind characters who is a hero and whose disability is not her weakness or fatal flaw. while it does make her life harder, as any disability does, it also gives her strength. she is the greatest earthbender of her generation. she invented a whole new subsection of bending. the people behind the live action production had a chance to make history just by doing the bare minimum: casting a blind actress to play a blind character. they couldn’t even do that.

not only that, but they’re making her “slightly more feminine” to “humanize” her. as if there weren’t so many young girls out there who looked up to toph because she was weird and didn’t fit the mold. in “tales of ba sing se” she tells katara, “i don’t care what i look like. i’m not looking for anyone’s approval. i know who i am.” to have a female character who doesn’t conform to beauty standards is so important especially right now with the prevalent beauty influencer culture.

while the original cartoon’s representation of women wasn’t perfect, it was diverse. katara and ty lee were both feminine. they liked to dress up and look pretty. toph is not feminine. she grew up forced to dress in formal clothes and style herself a certain way and decided to liberate herself from that. all three of these women are incredibly strong and incredibly talented at what they do, and none of that is impacted by their appearance or gender presentation.

every day, my hatred for the netflix version of avatar grows.

[dantes-jacket]

I’m so happy you were born

Dante x fem reader

Author notes: your birthday is coming up! But Dante has a mission he has to do, will he miss your birthday completely? Hurt/comfort, Dante is a great bf, so much fluff

You’re listening to some music while cleaning up Dante’s bedroom. He always tells you not to and he will “do it later” but later never comes. Plus you enjoy cleaning especially since you’ve been staying with him more recently.

Just as you’re finishing up making the bed you hear a crash and yelling coming from the office. You’re praying it’s not a wild demon wanting to attack Devil May Cry or someone wanting Dante to do a job and trying to trash the place because they didn’t like his answer.

You slowly make your way downstairs not wanting to get in the middle of anything but wanting to make sure everything is okay. When you’re at the bottom of the stairs you peek your head around the corner to look at the office. You don’t see anyone new there and don’t see the place torn up indicating there was no fight. You look down on the ground and see a pile of Dante’s work related stuff and him standing at his desk seething while on the phone.

You come to the conclusion that Dante’s mad at the person on the phone and threw the stuff that was on his desk to the ground. He normally is super chill about jobs whether accepting or declining so this is a bit out of the blue. You decide to stay in your hiding spot and listen in.

“I don’t give a damn if I’m the only one you got. I’m not taking the job!” Dante yells into the phone.

He’s growls at whatever the person on the phone said, “Find someone else.”

Dante then slams his hand not holding the phone on the desk, “I’m not doing a long mission! It’s her birthday next week and I’m not fucking missing it. I’m not doing that to her.”

Oh so he got assigned another long mission. You two have been together for about seven months but most of it you two actually haven’t spent much time together. He’s been sent out on many long missions which keeps you two apart for weeks sometimes even a month. You were so excited when you found out he didn’t have a mission on your birthday. Once you brought it up Dante made a lot of plans for your special day.

Hearing that he might miss the birthday celebration he planned shatters your heart. He has been so excited and kept most of the plans secret to surprise you. You get why he’s so upset and mad now.

A part of you also gets the other side. His job is very important and he is the best. Longer missions normally means a stronger demon. If there is a stronger demon out there causing trouble and pain to innocent people you want Dante to take it. But there is a selfish part of you that just wants you to yourself especially on your birthday.

You focus your attention back onto Dante and whatever the person on the phone made him stiffen. “You can’t cut my pay. You know I need the money…” he says while running a hand through his messy white hair. He’s obviously stressed so you decide to walk over and make your presence known.

You place a hand on his back and rub it up and down. He isn’t wearing his signature leather jacket so you feel all his muscles. He turns to you while wearing a frown. You don’t return the expression, you opt to give him a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. “It’s okay Dante.”

His eyes widen and you can see the conflict behind them. You know he wants to be with you but he can’t turn down the job especially not when he’s getting threatened with a lower pay.

“Fine I’ll do it,” he murmurs while slamming the phone down. He places both hands on the desk and hangs his head. In his movement your hand disconnected from his back. You hold it in their air not knowing if you should comfort him or let him have a moment.

Dante lightly calls your name, “I’m so sorry. Fuck I’m so sorry.”

“Dante.” He doesn’t look at you. “Dante, please look at me.” He turns to look at you and you see just how exhausted he is. He’s been working so much recently and was suppose to have a couple weeks off to rest.

You walk over and place your hands on his cheeks trying to bring as much comfort to him as you can. “Dante it’s not your fault. I get it. Your job is important and you’re so good at it that you can take on anything. You’re helping so many people continue to live in peace, and I’m so proud of you.”

“But you’re so important. You’re the most important part of my life. I promised you and now I can’t even celebrate your birthday. You were so excited-“

You cut him off, “I’m not going to lie yeah I was excited and I’m upset now because of how everything played out. But again you’re needed.”

“Yeah by you.”

“Dante, we can always celebrate when you’re back-“

Now he cuts you off, “No it’s not the same. It’s doesn’t have the same spark and it feels off.”

You bite your lip, “Dante I don’t want to fight about this. The last thing I ever want to do is fight with you before you go on a mission. So let’s just forget about it? There’s always next year and your birthday.”

“Wait but-“

You give him a pleading look to not fight you on this. He closes his mouth and sighs. You rub your thumbs against his cheeks to soothe him. Dante leans down to connects your foreheads.

“I hate this,” he whispers.

“I know.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” You know there isn’t much to say back but he isn’t holding it against you.

You decided to spent the rest of the day in bed cuddling. Dante has a vice grip on you. He doesn’t want to think how he won’t be holding you like this at this time tomorrow. He’s so mad. You’re sacrificing so much to be with him. He has so much planned and now he can’t do it.

You can tell Dante is not in the moment but you don’t want to bring it up. You don’t want to fight and you’d probably start crying because now it is really hitting you. You’re not going to be spending your birthday with the person you love the most. The day you and him (well mostly him) planned isn’t going to be happening.

You two mostly stay quiet besides some small conversations here and there. As you’re about to fall asleep Dante whispers in your ear, “I promise I’ll make this up to you.” And presses a kiss to your cheek.

You know he will but you also won’t be holding him to it. Anytime you get to spend time with him is special and great. So you don’t need a grand special day, you just need him.

You’re standing by the front door watching Dante finishing getting all his weapons onto his body. After he’s done he walks over to you.

“Please be safe Dante.”

He puts a hand on the back of your head and pulls you into a quick kiss. “I promise. I’ll be home soon. I love you.”

“I love you too.” You place another quick kiss to his lips. Once you pull back he gives you a quick hug and heads out. Knowing if he looks back or stays a second longer, he won’t leave.

You quickly lock the door when he leaves and lean your back against it. You then let the tears you didn’t know you were holding in fall. You honestly didn’t think it was going to bug you this much. But you were so excited. He saved up so much money to be able to get a reservation to a fancy restaurant and even bought you a new dress to wear to the dinner. He also had the rest of the night planned after.

You wanted it. You want it so bad. It’s so unfair. Maybe you should have been selfish, you should have agreed with him and just let him not go. You should have begged him not to go. You knew he would have if you asked. He’d do anything you asked and you don’t want to take advantage of it.

You stay there sobbing until you drag yourself off the door and do random tasks. Cleaning, showering, cooking, and other things to keep your mind off of this situation.

You follow that schedule for the next couple days. It’s hard because it means you have to accept the truth and the truth hurts so bad. Especially when your birthday is tomorrow. You don’t even know what you’re going to do. You don’t even want to celebrate it anymore. You don’t want a cake, you don’t want presents, you don’t want birthday wishes, you just want Dante.

You walk into your shared room and head to your closet. You go right for some of Dante’s clothes since this is the closest you’re going to get to him at the moment. You then go lay on Dante’s side of the bed trying to soak up every scent of him you can. You bury yourself under the blankets and just hope tomorrow will pass quickly.

You wake up on your birthday really early. Today is definitely trying to play with you. Shouldn’t you have good karma since you weren’t selfish and had Dante go? You stare at the ceiling and contemplate what you should do. You feel like if you stay in Devil May Cry today you’re going to be so depressed all day. You end up deciding to treat yourself to the cafe down the street.

You get ready and head out. The walk is only about five minutes so you get there quickly. You decide to get a tea and muffin. You sit at a seat by the window watching people walk by. A worker brings out your order and you thank her. She nods and head off. You enjoy your muffin while you slowly sip on your tea.

The world really must be after you because all you’ve seen today is couples. In the cafe or walking by the window. The world really wants to remind you that you were suppose to be like that today but you aren’t.

You decide you can’t take any more of this so you knock back the rest of your tea and leave. You can barely hold your tears back as you walk back to Devil May Cry. You can’t wait until you can bury yourself under the blankets again and hide from this awful day.

Little did you know while you were out Dante bursted into Devil May Cry. He’s huffing and puffing with a bouquet of roses in his hand. He calls out to you but doesn’t hear you respond. He quickly strips himself of his weapons and places the roses on the table.

He goes to look around but doesn’t see you anywhere. You must have went out. That makes him a little happy because now he can surprise you more. Dante goes to take a quick shower then set everything up.

He got decorations earlier this week. He starts by hangs up a big “happy birthday” sign. He then blows some balloons and tie them to little weights he got. He is thankful he has extra stamina due to his demon side after blowing up all those balloons.

He then goes and grabs your gifts he hid in his armory. Dante got you a necklace with a red gem stone to match his own. He then got you a camera because you’ve been talking about how upset you were because your old one broke. He topped it all off with getting you some of your favorite treats and snacks.

Dante sets those up on the table in front of the sign then quickly runs to put the roses in a vase. He grabs the confetti he got and throws it on the table to add a little more birthday flare.

He takes a step back and looks at the setup. He is super happy with all it has turned out and he is so happy he finished the mission extra fast. There was no way he was going to miss this. Especially after he heard you crying after he left. He stood outside the door for a couple minutes hoping you’d stop crying. Sometimes he really curses his skillful hearing because hearing you cry shattered him. He told himself he was going to make this quick and celebrate your birthday.

Now he just waits for you to get back.

You’re almost back and you are barely holding it together. You feel some tears slip out. You keep your head down until you get back.

You get back to Devil May Cry and go to open the door. You realized it’s unlocked. You mentally slapped yourself for forgetting to lock it. You open the door and are greeted with a decorated room with your boyfriend standing in the middle.

Dante’s smile widens when he sees you. “Happy birthday!!” He excitedly says.

You stare at him with your jaw dropped. “Dante, is that really you?”

He smiles lightly and nods his head, “Yeah it’s me baby. I’m here.”

Dante opens up his arms and you drop your purse and run over to him. You jump into his arms wrapping your arms tightly around his neck and legs around his waist.

He quickly returns the tight hug. He places a hand on the back of your head to place yours into his neck. You cry into his neck, “You’re really here,” you choke out.

“Yeah I’m here baby. I couldn’t just miss your birthday.”

You squeeze him tighter, “Thank you but how?? I thought the mission was suppose to be long?”

“Yeah it was but I got rid of the demon quickly,” he said all cocky. “Wanna open your presents before you get ready for our reservation?”

You pull your head out of his neck, “You got me gifts!?”

He looks offended by your question, “Of course I did! Why wouldn’t I?” He lets you down but grabs your hand and walks you over to the table.

Dante stands behind you and wraps his arms around you, “Go ahead, open them.”

You start with the biggest bag and pull out a bunch of snacks and treats. “Ohh!! We have snacks for a movie night!”

He laughs at your reaction but guides you to the next gift. You then unwrap the rectangular shaped box and see a camera. Your eyes widen, you’ve been talking about getting one but only brought it up once or twice. He’s been really paying attention. That warms your heart, “We are going to try this out tonight.”

“Whatever you say baby,” he says after kissing the top of your head.

You go to the little box and unwrap it. You see it’s a little jewelry box. You open the box and see a beautiful silver necklace with a red gem stone. It reminds you a lot of his, did he get you this so you two can match? This also must have been so expensive.

“Dante this is all amazing and I can’t thank you enough. But wasn’t this all expensive?”

“Nothing is too expensive for you. I don’t mind, I want to spoil you.”

You spin around in his hold and pull him down into a soft and slow kiss. He tightens his grip on your waist and keeps you close to him. You break and smile up at him, “Thank you Dante. I love you so much.”

He smiles back down at you, “I love you so much too baby. But now it’s time to get ready!”

You laugh at his excitement. You grab your new necklace and head to your shared room. You go to put on the new dress Dante also got you. It’s a long red dress with a slit going up your right leg. You’re having a hard time zipping up the dress so you call Dante.

He walks in and whistles, “Hot damn. You look gorgeous.”

You flush at his comment, “Thank you, but can you help me? I can’t get the zipper.”

Dante walks over and stands behind you. You feel his warm hands on your lower back. You got some of the zipper but couldn’t get all of it. You feel the zipper going down and you roll your eyes, “Dante, up not down.”

He lets out a deep laugh, “Right I knew that.” He then zips up the dress and kiss your bare shoulder. “There you go,” he lightly whispers.

He goes to walk away but you stop him, “Can you help me put the necklace on too?”

He nods and holds out his hand to grab the necklace. You place it in his hand and he goes to stand behind you again. You pull your hair out of way so he can easily clip the necklace. Once he’s done he moves your hair back.

You step away from him to go look in the mirror. You are so glad your little cry session didn’t mess up your makeup too much earlier. You just need to touch up your mascara. You quickly do that and then get a good look at yourself. You look great! You can’t wait for Dante’s reaction to the final look.

You walk back downstairs and see Dante sitting on the couch. “Dante.”

He looks up and stares. He gets up and slowly walks over to you. He holds out his hand and you take it, he has you do a little spin. This has you beaming up at him.

“God baby, you look so fucking breathtaking. I can’t take my eyes off of you.”

You squeeze his hand tightly, “Thank you! You look very handsome too.”

He laughs again at your compliment, “I’m not wearing anything different or new.”

“I know but you’re always handsome, especially when you have that smile on your face.”

He brings up your hand to kiss your knuckle, “Well thank you. You ready to go?”

You just give him a simple nod. He leads you out of Devil May Cry and to a car parked in front. “Uh Dante where did you get this?”

“Oh Enzo let me borrow it. It’s the least he can do for almost making me miss today.”

You two get into the car and he takes off to the restaurant. He places his hand on your thigh rubbing it and down your leg.

The drive was pretty short. Dante quickly finds a spot to park then gets out to lead you inside. When you get to worker they ask for the name and Dante says his name. You two then get lead to your table.

While you two ate, you and Dante talk about his mission and what you “did” while he was gone. When you’re almost done you ask Dante, “So what are we doing the rest of the night? You had this big plan.”

Dante smirks, “Now why would I tell you? That ruins the fun.”

You roll your eyes but decide to go with the flow. He’s been doing great so far, you bet it’s going to stay this way. When you two finish eating Dante pays then leads you back to the car.

Dante pulls out of the parking spot and heads in the opposite direction of Devil May Cry. He drives to the edge of the town and up this uphill terrain. Once he’s at the top he makes sure the back of the car is facing the view.

He parks the car then turns to you, “Stay right here and don’t look back. I’ll come get you in a minute.”

“Okay.” He leans over and kisses your cheek then hops out of the car.

Dante opens the trunk then flattens the back seats down. He then sets up the blankets and pillows he brought in the back. After he gets it perfect he then focuses on the cake box that was back there too. He lights the candles then goes to grab you.

He opens your door and holds out his hand, “Take my hand but close your eyes until I tell you to open them.”

“Okay but you better not let me fall.”

“The only falling I’d let you do is falling for me,” he smirks.

You smack his arm and he just laughs. You take his hand and close your eyes and let him guide you. You walk to the back of the car. He stops you for a second then grabs your hips and lifts you up. You quickly grab his shoulders and hold onto him tightly. He places you in the truck then lets go of you. Dante then grabs the cake and stands in front of you.

“Okay open your eyes.”

You open your eyes to see him standing there with a cake in hand with a bunch of candles. The cake has a cute design with your name and “happy birthday” written on it.

You look back up at him and he’s smiling at your reaction, “Happy birthday baby, make a wish.”

You think for a second about what you want. You then realize what you want. You want this every birthday. Just you and him doing whatever. You say your wish then blow out the candles.

Dante then hops in the trunk beside you and hands you a fork. You two dig into the cake and enjoy the night sky.

“Dante,” you call out to him.

He is stuffing his face full of cake so he makes a humming noise to let you know to continue.

“Thank you for making this birthday so special. It means a lot to me you worked quick so you could surprise me and celebrate my birthday. Thank you for all the incredible gifts and memories. I’ll cherish these always. I love you beyond words Dante.”

“No need to thank me this much. I’m just happy I could make this day so special for you. Seeing you so happy makes me so happy. I’m so happy you enjoyed your birthday with me. I love you so much, you don’t understand.”

You two both lean in to share another kiss. This kiss is messy and not in a heated way. You both have frosting on your lips which is smearing over the both of your lips and chins but you couldn’t care less. You have your favorite person with you and that’s all that matters.

After you two had your fair share of cake and watching the stars you two pack up and head back home. The car ride back you’re almost falling asleep. You force yourself to stay up though so you can spend all the time you can with Dante. You know he’s not going anywhere any time soon but you still have a little fear that this was just a dream and he’s not actually going to be here when you wake up.

Once you’re back you head straight to your shared bedroom and get ready for bed. You get done at record speed because you just want to go to sleep.

Dante is already in bed curled up under the blankets. When he sees you coming to bed he lifts the blankets for you and you dive right in. You cuddle up next to him and instantly fall asleep.

He chuckles a bit and kisses your forehead, “Goodnight and sleep well.”

After a few minutes of silence and he knows for sure you’re asleep he murmurs out, “I’m so happy you were born.”

[doctoralangrants]

Wanted to create a post with some of my favorite excerpts and quotes from this stellar Lou Ferrigno Jr interview. In other words, like 85% of it! If you haven't already read the interview, I urge you to click that link and give the interview some much-deserved traffic! Has some excellent questions, answers, and insight.

Anyway. A mere plot device what? Not a part of the family, huh? The cast and crew hate Ferrigno Jr, hmm? Tommy's on his way out, say wha'?

I think it's extremely telling that the moment where Tommy watches Buck through the monitor in 8x15 was not scripted and was added last minute. Very interesting, indeed. And, you know, it's even more interesting that they added a moment that specifically highlights not only the Buck and Tommy pairing, but also Tommy as an individual. Almost like those with power, or, at least, Tim Minear, really see the value and importance in what Lou and Tommy have to offer. Imagine that.

--

"It’s hard sometimes because when I was looking at the monitor and watching Buck, right after the cut…and I had to cry. I had to fully cry because I was in such a committed state of watching the love of my life in that circumstance."

--

"And I think it’s a calcification of his soul and he never needs to open up. Until this person, he’s in a situation with, there is a spark, and there is something special. So he’s learning how to deal with this, and it’s not something you learn in school, and it’s not something you learn after your first second relationship. It’s something you learn with mileage."

--

"Well, I think Tommy’s trying to do a good deflecting at the top, but I think he’s coming to grips with the fact that he doesn’t need to put this shit on. I think historically, Tommy would just blow it off and just be like, 'Whatever.' I don’t think he’s ever necessarily met someone that he’s been as enthralled by as he is with Buck. I think he finds him adorable, and I think he doesn’t know what he’s feeling, but he’s feeling something that’s really leveling him in the sense where he’s figuring things out as long as it’s taken."

--

"... I can’t imagine that Tommy’s not thinking like, 'What if that happened to Buck? What if it was Buck?' Tommy couldn’t have known what was happening to Bobby when he was dying. So when I was watching him or when Tommy was watching him, in my mind there’s a thought of… Not fear. At that moment, I think he was just so crushed. And it hurts when you see someone going through something that you love …

But it’s also, like, scared that this could be the guy that breaks him. There’s always that consideration. Because I don’t know how sure-footed Tommy really is as much as he appears to be. And then I don’t know the repercussions of what that would mean if that was his soulmate or his love of his life, and then something happened to him ..."

--

"Sometimes you don’t know what to do, and sometimes you don’t… But it’s being okay with not knowing what to do and just being there for the person that you love. I think that was playing a part of it. I think he was just overwhelmed with the fact that he’s watching because he watches screens. He’s technical. He’s an air pilot. He’s a fighter pilot. This guy is a high-functioning, highly calibrated human being. So, throwing in emotions, it does not work well with his processing. But I think in that moment, he was ready to go in after him.

These are the feelings that he’s never really been confronted with, I think, in terms of this human being is all I care about. And it was tough. It was tough because everyone handled it. And when they delivered the news, it was just like… And I’m even luckier that I was able to get in for that one second. I love that they let Tommy have his moment to feel all this. Yeah, I think Tommy’s just, in his mind, in love."

--

"Because I didn’t get any word on that scene. Right on the day, they’re like, “We’re going to add this scene.” And then I was like, “Oh my God. Oh my God.” But it was nonverbal, but then it was like Tommy is watching Buck."

--

"That’s a step. That’s a step in growth. And with Bobby, he was inspired by him. He wanted to hang out with him. And he wanted to become a pilot, but he was right there when the 118 needed him, Tommy."

--

"Tommy doesn’t want to go back to a place where he was. I think Tommy likes the man he is now. And I think that through the spirit, he’ll remember Bobby, and he’s become this new man. And I think that with Buck, I mean, that’s another phase to his growth as a human being in terms of committing or even just being vulnerable with someone and having something that’s true."

--

"So moving forward, I think Tommy’s really good at compartmentalization. But I also do think that he will, for the first time in his life, feel it’s safe to emote and open up to his fellow 118ers, to others in his life about how important Bobby was. So it’s bittersweet."

--

"I mean, I don’t know necessarily how the dynamics work if a captain dies. Are we getting Gerrard back? I don’t think Tommy’s going back to who he was, like I mentioned before, but at the same time, I’m going to have to deal with Gerrard. It’s a huge, profound loss."

[rafesorchid]

STRAWBERRIES ON THE SIDEWALK

how ditzy!reader and rafe met <3

plot: a bubbly, accident-prone girl catches the attention of Rafe, who quietly falls for her while she remains unaware. Through awkward moments and growing affection, they begin to navigate the start of something special.

CONTENT: Anxiety, mild swearing, slow-burn romance, accidental chaos, awkwardness, fluff.

have fun! <3

it all started because you dropped your ice cream.

not once.

not twice.

three times.

first time, the cone just slipped right out of your hand, like your fingers forgot how to work. you bent down to grab it, but your purse swung over your shoulder and smacked you in the face, so you stumbled back a few steps, flailing like a baby deer. the second you straightened up again — splat. your backup scoop, somehow, had also slid out of the little paper cup.

you just stood there blinking at it. two sad little puddles of pink and vanilla melting on the sidewalk.

“aw, man,” you mumbled to yourself, poking your lip out in a pout, twisting the hem of your dress in your fingers. “i really wanted that.”

rafe saw the whole thing from across the street.

he wasn’t supposed to be here — he’d gotten roped into running errands for rose, something about picking up dry cleaning — but the second his eyes landed on you, all clumsy and messy and heartbreakingly pretty under the sun, he stopped dead in his tracks.

he didn’t even think. he just crossed the street, barely looking for traffic, like something in his chest pulled him toward you.

and right as he got close enough to hear the little frustrated huff you made, you dropped your phone, too.

“shit,” you whined softly, crouching down to grab it. you missed it the first try. and the second.

third time’s the charm. you finally scooped it up, holding it like it might grow legs and run away again.

rafe watched, completely fucking entranced.

“you uh… you need some help, sweet girl?” he said finally, voice all low and easy, a little amused but mostly fond.

you jumped like you hadn’t even noticed him coming up, clutching your phone to your chest like it was a teddy bear.

you blinked up at him, wide-eyed. and oh, fuck, rafe thought. you were… jesus christ, you were beautiful. a little scuffed up, hair all mussed, shoes slightly askew, looking at him like you couldn’t tell if he was real.

“oh,” you said, breathless. “um. no, i’m good.” you paused. “wait. no. i mean, yes. i do need help. i dropped my ice cream.”

you looked so serious about it that rafe almost laughed. almost. but something about the way you were frowning down at the sidewalk, like the universe had personally wronged you, made his chest ache.

“i see that,” he said, nodding solemnly, like you were discussing something real important. “that’s a tragedy, honestly.”

your face lit up — so quick, so bright — like you were thrilled he understood the gravity of the situation.

“right??” you said, throwing your hands up. “i was so excited, too. it was supposed to be, like, my treat for getting through my shift without crying.”

rafe’s heart twisted.

he didn’t even know you. didn’t even know your name.

but he wanted to kiss you stupid right there on the sidewalk.

“what kinda ice cream was it?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and brushing the hair out of your eyes.

“strawberry and vanilla swirl,” you said immediately. then you made a face, nose scrunching up a little. “was.” you sighed. “now it’s just soup.”

he smiled, slow and lazy.

you were killing him. absolutely wrecking him without even trying.

“c’mon,” he said, jerking his chin toward the little ice cream truck still parked down the block. “let’s get you a new one.”

you blinked again.

“…you don’t even know me,” you said after a second, voice all soft and confused, like it was genuinely blowing your mind that a stranger might be nice to you.

“not yet,” rafe said easily. “but i’m fixin’ that.”

you stared at him. he stared right back, letting you look, letting you see that he wasn’t kidding, that he wasn’t going anywhere.

after a moment, your face broke into a bashful little smile, and you nodded.

“okay,” you said. “but only if they still have sprinkles. i really wanted sprinkles.”

rafe laughed, warm and rough.

“baby,” he said, slinging an arm around your shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world, “i’ll buy you the whole damn truck if they’re outta sprinkles.”

you just giggled, letting him steer you toward the curb, trusting him like you’d known him forever.

you didn’t even notice the way his hand tightened on your arm, protective, possessive, like he already knew he was never letting you go.

and rafe didn’t mind one bit that you didn’t notice.

he had time.

he had all the time in the world for you.

the ice cream truck was still there, thank god.

rafe kept his hand draped over your shoulders the whole walk over, steering you without even thinking about it, like he was afraid you’d trip over a crack in the sidewalk or wander into traffic if he let go.

which, honestly, wasn’t the craziest idea, considering the way you kept getting distracted.

you gasped halfway there, tugging on rafe’s sleeve.

“look! a puppy!” you said, pointing at a golden retriever snoozing under a bench.

rafe followed your finger.

“yeah, i see him,” he said, smiling down at you.

you were looking at the dog like it was a literal angel sent from heaven.

“he’s so cute,” you whispered, like it was a secret.

you stopped walking entirely to wave at it.

the dog didn’t even open its eyes.

you still waved like it might.

rafe watched you, absolutely floored.

how the fuck were you real?

he’d never seen anything like you.

“c’mon, sweetheart,” he murmured, nudging you forward gently. “ice cream’s waitin’.”

you tore your gaze away from the dog with some visible effort, your bottom lip sticking out in a little pout.

but the second you looked back at him — all big bright eyes and messy hair and sunshine — rafe forgot what the hell he was even doing.

all he could think was mine mine mine mine mine.

you finally made it to the truck.

rafe kept you tucked against him while you looked at the menu like it was the hardest math test you’d ever seen.

“wait,” you said, brow furrowing. “should i get sprinkles or gummy bears?”

“both,” rafe said immediately.

you lit up.

“i can do that?” you asked, genuinely shocked.

“you can do whatever you want, baby,” rafe said, deadly serious. “anything you want.”

you smiled so wide rafe thought he might actually drop dead on the spot.

he ordered for you without even asking, like he could already guess what you’d want — strawberry-vanilla swirl, sprinkles and gummy bears, and a second cone just in case.

you beamed up at him like he hung the damn moon.

he had to look away for a second, just to keep it together.

you sat on the curb together, your knees bumping against his while you licked your ice cream, humming happily to yourself.

rafe didn’t even bother with his own.

he was too busy watching you.

you kept dropping gummy bears onto your lap and scrambling to pick them up before they melted.

at one point, you tried to balance your cone in the crook of your elbow while you used both hands to scoop a whole pile of sprinkles off your jeans.

it did not go well.

“shit,” you muttered, frantically catching the cone right before it fell. “i’m so bad at this.”

rafe chuckled low in his throat.

“you’re perfect,” he said without thinking.

you froze for half a second, blinking at him.

then you just smiled, all sweet and unbothered, like you thought he was just being nice.

“thanks!” you said brightly, like he hadn’t just fucking confessed his soul to you.

then you went right back to eating your ice cream, kicking your feet idly in the air.

rafe scrubbed a hand over his face.

he was so screwed.

“what’s your name, sweet girl?” he asked after a minute, voice a little rough.

you looked up at him again, nose scrunching a little like you had to think about it, which nearly made him laugh again.

finally, you told him — soft and shy and sing-song, like it was a secret just for him.

rafe repeated it under his breath, tasting it, filing it away in the safest part of his mind.

“pretty,” he said, grinning when you blushed.

“yours is pretty too,” you said without missing a beat. “like… like a soap opera guy or something.”

rafe barked out a laugh.

“you think i sound like a soap opera?”

you nodded seriously, licking a drip off your wrist.

“yeah. like, rafe cameron… heart surgeon,” you said dramatically, flinging your hand out.

you almost smacked him in the face.

he caught your wrist easily, holding it between his fingers like it was the most precious thing he’d ever touched.

he didn’t let go right away.

“nah, baby,” he said, voice low and sweet. “ain’t no doctor. but i’d fix up that pretty little heart of yours anytime you want.”

you just tilted your head at him, chewing thoughtfully on your straw.

“i think my heart’s okay,” you said finally.

you sounded genuinely puzzled.

rafe laughed again, scrubbing his thumb across your knuckles.

“it is,” he agreed. for now, he didn’t say. til you give it to me.

you went quiet for a second, then gasped so loud he jumped.

“wait!” you said, bouncing a little on the curb. “i forgot to ask — what’s your favorite ice cream?”

rafe blinked.

you were worried about him?

he didn’t know whether to kiss you or put you in his pocket and carry you around like a lucky charm.

“whatever you’re havin’,” he said honestly.

your mouth dropped open.

“no way,” you said, scandalized. “you can’t copy me! that’s, like, illegal!”

he leaned closer, until you could feel his breath on your cheek.

“guess you’ll have to arrest me, then,” he murmured.

your cheeks went pink again, and you ducked your head, pretending to focus very hard on your ice cream cone.

rafe just grinned, absolutely fucking smitten.

he had no idea how he got so lucky, but he knew one thing for damn sure — he wasn’t letting you slip away.

not now.

not ever.

the sun was starting to sink lower behind the rooftops, throwing everything in gold and pink.

you had ice cream all over your fingers, little smudges of strawberry on your mouth, and you still hadn’t noticed the way rafe was staring at you like you were the only thing in the whole damn world.

he was sitting close enough that his knee bumped yours every time you shifted.

you didn’t seem to notice.

you just kept swinging your legs and babbling about the dumbest, cutest shit he’d ever heard.

“—and one time i tried to bake a cake but i forgot to put flour in it,” you were saying, eyebrows scrunched. “it was just, like, soup. cake soup.”

rafe laughed, low and real.

he couldn’t help it.

you were too much.

too sweet. too soft. too good.

“you’re dangerous, aren’t you, baby?” he teased, nudging your knee with his.

you looked scandalized.

“no!” you said quickly. “i’m a really good driver. and i only set the fire alarm off, like, twice!”

he laughed harder this time, full-bodied, tilting his head back.

you just smiled at him like you didn’t even realize you were funny.

rafe swiped a thumb over your mouth, wiping away a little drip of melted ice cream before it could run down your chin.

you froze.

“gotcha,” he murmured, his thumb dragging slow across your bottom lip.

he didn’t even mean to — he just couldn’t not touch you.

you blinked up at him, all wide-eyed and pink-cheeked, like you didn’t know what to do.

like no one had ever touched you so gently before.

“th-thanks,” you stuttered.

then you immediately dropped your cone again.

it landed right in your lap.

sprinkles everywhere.

you let out a tiny, devastated whimper.

rafe didn’t even think.

he grabbed a handful of napkins from his pocket and crouched in front of you, swiping carefully at the mess.

“easy, sweet girl,” he murmured, brushing sprinkles off your dress. “s’okay. we’ll get you a new one.”

“but i dropped two,” you mumbled miserably.

“then we’ll get three next time,” rafe said easily.

you sniffled, and for a horrifying second, rafe thought you might actually cry over it.

he reached for you on instinct, tilting your chin up so you had to look at him.

“hey,” he said, soft and low. “don’t be sad, alright? i got you. ‘m not goin’ anywhere.”

you stared at him, all shiny-eyed and trusting.

it made something break wide open inside his chest.

he needed your number.

he needed everything.

“you got a phone, baby?” he asked, brushing your hair back behind your ear.

you nodded, still a little dazed.

“yeah, but it’s kinda stupid,” you said solemnly. “it always dies at, like, thirty percent. like, just… boom. dead.”

rafe smiled, thumbing at your cheek.

“then lemme put my number in it real quick,” he said. “just in case you need someone to come rescue you from evil ice cream cones or… exploding phones or whatever else you get yourself into.”

you giggled, handing it over without a second thought.

rafe took it, entering his number so fast his hands shook a little.

he added a little heart after his name without even meaning to.

then he took a picture of himself and set it as his contact photo — just in case.

when he handed it back, you were looking at him all starry-eyed.

like he’d just handed you the damn moon.

“thanks, rafe,” you said, soft and sweet.

“anytime, baby,” he said.

and he meant it.

he watched you carefully tuck your phone back into your bag — then immediately watched you miss the bag entirely and just drop it on the ground.

you both stared at it for a second.

“i’m so dumb,” you said, laughing helplessly, clapping a hand over your mouth.

rafe’s heart squeezed so hard he thought it might actually stop.

he bent down, picking up your bag, and slipped the strap gently over your shoulder for you.

“nah,” he murmured, letting his fingers trail down your arm. “you’re perfect.”

you went still again, staring up at him with those huge pretty eyes.

and this time, for a split second, rafe thought maybe you did feel it too — the heat, the pull, the way the whole world had narrowed down to just you and him.

but then you smiled, all sunshine and cluelessness, and said,

“you’re really good at picking up purses. you should do that for a living.”

rafe laughed, low and breathless.

he was so, so fucked.

and he didn’t even care.

author's note

this one is like reeeaally long, but nonetheless, hope you had fun reading, my sweet beautiful people <3

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

finally reblogging with the tags they need to be kept! #hello i am sitting in a coffeeshop crying!!!!!!!!!#liveblogging woh#or liveblogging being beaten to death by woh anyway lmao#look! look!! this is good and important!!! an important part of this story!!!!!!!#first use of ''zhiji'' comes when wen kexing understands that zhou zishu is sunbathing not begging#i'm gonna die a death#look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#zhou zishu was like ''there is one thing that is good to experience and that is drinking yourself to death''#and wen kexing was like ''i see you and also isn't saying each other's names the absolute height of being alive''#and zhou zishu said ''...damn. you're right''

zhou zishu first falling in love with wen kexing's capacity for joy!! with his ability and willingness to enjoy being alive!!! with how he seeks pleasure in the mundane!!!! something zhou zishu needed so desperately!!!!!

[theredcuyo]

After the little emotional moment i wrote, here's some fun for the demonic Bros au

This is, Lwj and Sqq disguising as middle court officials to go with Xie Lian whenever he gets called to heaven, because if you think you're bullying their A-Lian on their watch you better think twice

"Are You sure about coming with me?" Xie Lian really doesn't want them to be harassed for association with him.

"But of course, what would you do if you need some spiritual energy? Chengzu can't come up here to help out and they could spot the... origin of the energy on you, we don't want you to get into trouble" Sqq explained simply, not that he was lying, but it certainly wasn't his biggest reason. "But..."

"His highness should not worry" Lan Wangji assured, because well, of course he was the one to come, they really didn't want to get Xie Lian into trouble and Wwx had also already been posing as a middle court official before, they weren't taking their chances. "I'll take your word then, but please don't take it to heart if i'm too careful"

Sqq, of course knew why he was so hesitant, ah, really, he was too kind for his own good. "It's alright, let us go then"

Lwj and Sqq walked side by side to Xie Lian, unlike it had been in the past when other two walked behind him, they seemed happy to stand on the same place, part of their reasoning for this was, of course, that they had to shield him for whatever could come, Lwj had been particularly focused on this topic, since Xie Lian had been called about his encounter with Qi Rong, the same one he had helped to calm him from.

Xie Lian was lightly concerned as to why it seemed so quiet, that was, of course, until he noticed the barrier around him, only him. He didn't know wheter to laugh or cry, what was being said out there that they couldn't let him hear? He appreciated the effort, tho.

The murmurs had started as soon as the trio came into view with others, who were this two with his highness? Where did they come from? Surely not another fake skin from the generals...? And why so handsome?

Of course, Sqq couldn't put them at fault for the last one, Lan Wangji was, after all, the most elegible bachelor back in his home and he was also a main lead, of course he was handsome! Not as much as his Binghe, of course, but that could never be a fair comparisson. "Senior Shen"

Now, he wasn't as good at reading Lan Wangji, but if some of the tips he had gotten from Airplane-bro about Mobei-Jun were to be belived then... Sqq shaked his head. "Not for now, keep listening"

"Eavesdropping is forbidden"

Sqq opened his fan, a light smile, full of disdain hidden behind. "Is not eavesdropping when they're not trying to hide that they're talking about you, Hanguang-Jun"

"... Gossiping is also forbidden"

"Ah, i take there's a severe punshiment for that?" Lwj nodded. "We'll have to make sure to use it, then, since it's such an important rule. Don't worry i'll make sure everyone who dares talk about his highness receives what is worth."

"Undeserved violence is forbidden"

"What is undeserving, anyway?"

After all, to Sqq, all the people who were laughing at Xie Lian's third ascension, because of the whole Banyue incident, all that were making assumptions about the prescense of both of them and making judges of character so far from the truth, everyone wondering ill about their friendship, they deserved what he was planning for them. "Shen-Ge?"

Xie Lian calling for him got him out of his thoughts, he had just recently convinced to call him by a more familiar term of address, thanks to Hua Cheng. They both walked closer. "Yes, your highness?"

"I... It's okay not to address me like that"

"His highness is his highness"

"Hanguang-Jun, i appreciate it, but i haven't been a crown prince since long ago"

"Ah, that's true, that's true, it should be his majesty now, after all he's a king's-"

"No, no! I-I didn't mean it like that either, we're not even... We're not even that close!" Xie Lian didn't need Sqq also teasing him about being 'Hua Cheng's sworn brother', and Sqq sighed, it was enough teasing for the day. "i'll stop, i'll stop, A-Lian"

"... Thank you"

"However, you are still a god, A-Lian, how can you imagine our Hanguang-Jun here being anything but respectful?"

Lan Wangji nodded. "Ah, then... Gongzi is just fine?"

"Xianle-gongzi?"

"Hanguang-Jun please don't use the tittle" Sqq corrected, Xie Lian was actually always a bit hurt whenever he heard it, not a nice reminder, and usually he wouldn't voice that but in this case, there was no point on trying to deny it, somehow, Sqq always knew, because of course he did. "Xie-gongzi?"

"That is fine, thank you Hanguang-Jun, ah, should we also change how we address you?"

"Hanguang-Jun, would you like to match Wuxian?" Maybe Lan Wangji would've had more qualms about this, but one of them was a god and the other definitely older than him, and Sqq's offering just sealed the deal. He nodded. "Alright, Wangji it is then, that's also how Zewu-jun calls you, isn't it?"

"Mn"

"Then, Wangji, Shen-Ge, would either of you be so kind to lift the barrier?"

They looked at each other guiltily, but with a movement of his hand, Lan Wangji lifted it, all it did was prevent Xie Lian form hearing anything within certain range, hence, he hadn't heard them before they came closer. "Thank you"

Before Xie Lian had time to question either of them, Sqq's eyes catched the stares from a pair of generals just up ahead of them, still far away but with their kin senses, he was sure they were hearing and seeing them, see, this are the things he actually came for. While he knows the story, he holds both generals to a similar standar to that of the original goods, they may have their reasons, but he doesn't particularly like them. So, off to his favorite thing to do, be a hater with class, he started with a warm and soft smile directed to the god. "A-Lian, there's nothing to thank for, but i'm rather sorry about doing it, i just didn't want you to feel unfomfortable around here"

"Ah, but, Shen-Ge, this isn't my first time coming over? I'm used to it" If Xie Lian had catched anything in those malevolent eyes of his, he didn't tell. "Nonsense! You shouldn't have to become used to such thing, A-Lian! You are a god deserving of respect, not only for status but has no one taught manners to those around here? You are older than them!"

"Shen-Ge..."

"Xie-gongzi shouldn't be treated in such impolite way" Lan Wangji contributed, although mostly unaware of Sqq's plan. "See? Even Wangji agrees! You are far too forgiving with this people, A-Lian. They do not deserve your kindness"

"Everyone deserves kindness, Shen-Ge" Sqq huffed, as he opened his fan. "Some more than others, and some openly less than what You give, trust this Master on that"

Xie Lian, however didn't really agree to that, after all, sometimes all it took was one person, and he decided to be that person whenever possible. "Don't give me that look, ah, really, our A-Lian is far too kind for his own good, what shall i do with You?"

Xie Lian only had a moment to akwardly laugh before Shen Yuan patted his head, usually, he has far more self restraint, however right now, he was not only moved by his fondness for the god, but also by spite, and boy was spite a powerful motive indeed, specially when he could see the stupified looks on two of the three faces for the people said spite was directed at. "I..."

"It's alright, that is what we're here for, be as kind as you want, we'll make sure it doesn't go to waste however necessary. We'll be with you for whatever it is to happen"

Lan Wangji put a supporting hand on his shoulder. "Mn"

Xie Lian nodded, truly, the kind one here was Shen Qingqiu. "Thank You..."

Sqq snapped his fan closed, as he made them walk ahead again. "Now, let us go, we'll be late at this rate, and i don't want to miss on dinner"

"Ah, Luo-ge would get upset if we're late for cooking, i promised to help tonight"

"Promised as well"

The mention only added fuel to the fire that Sqq was slowly burning, domesticity was good to make jelousy "A-Lian will be on the kitchen today? We should hurry then, can't miss out on that! But take no offense, A-Lian, you still have a long way to reach my Binghe"

Xie Lian nodded, a light smile on his face. "I know, but San Lang said the last time was pretty good"

Neither Sqq nor Lwj addressed that because Hua Cheng's imput on Xie Lian's cooking was not only biased, but not to be trusted since he was the only person capable of eating it without getting sick, who knew even ghosts could get sick?, Wwx surely didn't. Hell, who knew that Xie Lian's cooking was so bad that it beat up Binghe's protagonist halo and heavenly demon blood making him sick? "A-Lian should try sticking to Binghe's instructions next time, and ignore Wuxian when he talks about spice"

"Ah, San Lang did say it was quite spicy"

"See? I think we should also have another class about condimentation herbs, i fear you might've used some that weren't for cooking"

"Really?"

"Yes, why else would it have made noise?" In reality, Sqq was pretty sure Xie Lian used only edible things, but he could not bring himself to be directly mean to him, it was like telling a kid that proudly showed you their drawing that you didn't know what it was, well, to him it was, Xie Lian perfectly knew what he was doing. "Oh, that would make sense"

"It does, it does, and we don't want to accidentally make another cake to bite Wuxian, do we? He might deserve it"- Lan Wangji stared at Sqq with a murderous aura that he rarely exhibited, so he backtracked-"When he misheaves, but not most of the time"

That made Lwj go back to normal, and Sqq sigh with relief internally, yes, sometimes he forgot that this is the same man that took Wwx out of nightless city and fought a murderous giant tourtle as a teenager. "Ah but he did eat it afterwards..."

At that, Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh a bit, a genuine although tiny, laugh. It just was a funny memory. "Wei-gongzi did eat it, while saying it was revenge in every bite"

Ah, there it was! Sqq had been trying to get a laugh out of Xie Lian this entire time, not just to spite the idiots who disguised themselves to hang out with him like the cowards they were, and not just to try and give Jun Wu a Qi deviation, but he really wanted him to feel better, ah, really, old age was making him more and more sentimental. "Wei Ying got sick and blamed the cake"

Xie Lian turned to Lwj, still a soft smile on his face. "Ah, he did?"

Lwj nodded. "Mn, said it became a vengeful spirit"

Another small but honest laugh came from the god. Meanwhile, Sqq put on his best bitch fake smile on and directly shielded Xie Lian's right side, as they were passing by two generals that couldn't utter a word but that were surely drilling holes into him with disdain and disbelief. One of them was dumb enough to try and talk tho, but Sqq was having none of that. "Your highn-"

"A-Lian, have you thought of where to go when the meeting is over?"

"Scrap collecting as usual, Shen-ge" Xie Lian's expression didn't betray anything. "Is it alright if i accompany you? We can get things for dinner on the way back"

Mu Qing and Feng Xin were far more interesed in the answer than they'd like to admit, just who was this man and why did he think that Xie Lian would let him accom- "Surely, if Shen-Ge doesn't mind, ah, Wangji would you like to come too?"

They turned to stare to the other misterious man that was by Xie Lian's side, he nodded politely and slowly. "Will do, Wei Ying asked before"

Both of them sighed fondly, of course that's why. They couldn't put him at fault tho, the other day they had found a few things that Wwx reused for some inventions, including some glass that he used to make something very akin to a modern lamp with a few talismans.

-----

Was i too mean to Feng Xin and Mu Qing by not letting them talk to Xie Lian? Maybe, but Sqq won't let them until they prove themselves to him, you're not hurting Xie Lian on his watch, you're also, not allowed to be an idiot on his watch

Lwj is just being nice, he likes his in laws and he is being supportive on his own way, while Sqq was busy being petty, he was silencing people left and right with he Lan technique

On the other hand, Jun Wu is this close to having an anneurism, excuse you who are this two???? Why doesn't he know anything about them and why can't he track them down either? How did they meet his Xianle?! Most importantly, who dares do good to his mental health?!

[sha-brytols]

bethany and esther's relationship is also incredibly fucking arduous for. very good reason LOL esther's so cold to her. absent father but she's your older sister. when carver died there was this moment where bethany tried to talk to esther about it, and esther. emotionally closed off and of the belief she has to be the Strong One. just said "carver's dead. he won't come back if we just cry hard enough." and walked away.

esther also wouldn't let bethany do ANYTHING for those first couple years in kirkwall. in the red iron, esther's biggest rule was bethany waits outside while esther goes in and handles the business. business in hightown? too many templars. bethany stays home. esther does everything alone, but bethany has to do everything with esther. there's a point in a fic i never finished where bethany's just shopping for food across the street, and she realizes esther's tailing her. like she wasn't even being subtle about it LOL.

buuut come the expedition, bethany starts taking on a more independent role and that's partly because everyone around them was actually treating her like a person and not "hawke's charge". varric's a big part of this, because he recognizes how smart she is and how esther's stifling her and deliberately nudges situations so bethany's more involved. so esther sees how capable she is and also that she needs bethany just as much as bethany needs her. and this actually works. bethany's the one that does almost all the talking when they're tracking anders because it turns out "nice and polite" is way better for information-gathering than esther's whole "threaten everything that moves" routine. and not only that, but bethany demonstrating that she's a mage too is what convinced the darktown refugees to trust her and tell them about the healer.

and it's because of bethany's contribution that they're even able to get the money for the expedition. and throughout this whole process, bethany and esther finally get a chance to be sisters. esther stops treating bethany like she's fragile or a child and lets her make her own choices and bethany stops being so desperate for approval that she lets esther make all her decisions for her. they're finally friends. esther's proud of her and bethany's proud of herself and it's soooo great, and you know what? mother's wrong, you SHOULD come with us! you've done just as much work for this expedition as we have! for ONCE esther gives bethany her own agency instead of just dictating what she can or can't do.

and then bethany gets blighted ❤️ and she's dying. and she looks just like father did on his deathbed. and esther's whole brain is going a thousand miles an hour because bethany's dying and it's her fault. she let bethany get involved, she encouraged her to jump headfirst into danger, she wasn't ready. and she's so desperate to fix this mistake that she takes anders' suggestion without even considering bethany's input. it was a mistake letting bethany go with her. she has to make this right. so once again bethany has no say over her own future, esther just decides to hand her off to the wardens without even a second of thought and bethany. can't say no. because how selfish would it be to choose death when there's a way to avoid hurting your family?

and it's in the wardens that all of this slowly begins to sink in for bethany. this wasn't what she wanted. esther was so eager to be rid of her that she sent her away to the first solution she could think of. she wasn't even important enough to actually fight for. and she allowed this for years, always telling herself never to add to the burden her family carried by having a mage in their house. and for years esther made her feel like she was a liability. like her existence was a constant problem that esther had to manage and solve. she spent so much of her life in constant petrified fear of the templars that she didn't even realize her own sister was just a templar without the armor. a cage with a loving warden is still a cage. and in the end it didn't even matter because she was taken from that gilded prison anyways, only now she was alone in a much darker one where her life must now be spent in the pursuit of killing and being killed. and she's ANGRY.

bethany only writes to esther once (☝️) just to tell her she survived and nothing more. and then there's that moment, in the middle of the qunari invasion, when esther and bethany reunite. and esther's so relieved to see her and she's talking a mile a minute because so much has happened since she left.

"i need to tell you about mother—"

"i know."

"...you don't care?"

"mother's dead. she won't come back if we just cry hard enough."

and then bethany just leaves her standing in the street and walks away without saying goodbye and esther is. stunned. and it hurts because she knows bethany's all she has left and she's so cold, she's never been this cold. she's the one that's supposed to be strong in the face of hardship, but bethany doesn't even look sad. she's changed. it's all her fault for letting her get hurt. she's failed her. just like carver and mother. she can't even be there for the last family she has left.

[terraswallows]

Diary of an Awkward trans-girl : Day 16 - A Friend Like No Other.

You know how you sometimes have that one friend—the one who's just always there, no matter what? For me, that friend is Francis.

He's a cis white dude, and honestly? I can say without hesitation he’s had my back more fiercely and more consistently than almost anyone else.

For some context: Francis was the very first person I came out to when I began my transition.

He looked me dead in the eyes and asked—serious as anything—if this was truly what I wanted. If it was something I needed. And when I told him yes, he didn’t hesitate. He just nodded, calm and steady, pulled me into the biggest bear hug, and said, "If you ever back out, I’m gonna bitchslap you... then hug you all over again."

Because that's what real support looks like��someone who's ready to fight for you and hold you when you need it most.

He didn’t just support me—he showed up for me. He drove me to my first endocrinologist appointment, refused to let me pay for gas or breakfast, and even celebrated with me afterward. And because he had experience working in the medical field, he helped me navigate a system I was absolutely lost in—guiding me to where I needed to go for bloodwork, for meetings, for everything. I would’ve been a terrified little lost sheep without him.

When I told him the name I wanted to go by, he just smiled, asked for my pronouns, and promised that whatever changed, he'd be there—no hesitation. From that day on, he has never called me anything but my name. Not once. Even better, he corrects people when they slip up, without making a scene but making it very clear. He's fought for my name and my identity in rooms I wasn’t even in.

Beyond that, he’s just… Francis. He buys me little drinks and snacks for no reason other than vibes. He hands me Magic: The Gathering cards just because he knows they’ll make me smile. He gives me lifts home when things are tight without even blinking. He talks to me. Confides in me. Listens when I need to scream or cry or just exist.

Today was no different—but also, it kind of was.

He’d seen my posts online about how rough things had been lately. So he showed up at my work, unannounced, just to hang out and keep me company, casually doing his usual thing—buying me little drinks, joking, handing me random nerdy treasures because that’s just who he is.

Later, as he was driving me home, he glanced over and said, "Hey Terra, what meds do you still need this month? I noticed you’ve been stressing about money." I tried to brush it off, tried to tell him it was fine. But he pressed, gentle but firm: "Okay, what’s the important one? What do you need to top up next?"

I told him it was my blockers. He just nodded and said, "Done. Don’t even stress about it. I’ll buy your blockers this month, no questions. You need them. Consider it your birthday present from me, since your birthday’s next month anyway and I suck at gifts."

I tried to protest. He cut me off, voice soft but steady: "Terra, you need this. This is your life. And if it helps you get where you need to be, even a little bit faster, then it’s not even a question. I got you, girl. Always."

I cried a little when I got home, not gonna lie.

I guess I just needed to say it somewhere: I’m so fucking lucky to have someone like Francis in my life. Someone who doesn’t just say they support me, but proves it, over and over again. Someone who sees me—the real me—and never flinches.

I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like that. But, am I grateful. More than I could ever put into words.

[wigglesdtuff]

do you have any favorite one piece panels? or robin panels? from the manga :)

Sorry I took so long, I just have SO much I want to talk about. Since I have another ask about Robin panels, this one will focus on my favorite panels in general and I'll focus on Robin ones on that ask! These also aren't all just panels, some of them are pages/spreads. Some are emotional, some are aesthetic, and some are just funny. These are ones that impacted me specifically, and not all of them are like. Super iconic moments or ones I see a lot maybe? Some of them are. I'm rambling, this is a really long post. Sorry. I just love One Piece...

This is one of the first panels that hooked me in when I saw spoilers for Gear 5. It stuck with me SO much when I finally started the journey. There's so much joy and light in it, and intrigue with why Robin is sitting to the side. This panel will live in my heart forever.

I don't need to explain the emotional impact of the Summit War Saga, but I cannot applaud Oda enough for having the end of it being our hero weeping that he has his crew that he loves and that they're a light to the darkness he just went through.

I have a lot of attachment to characters who are young and have to grow up early, and Momo is like an insanely good example of this. But ALSO the way Luffy encourages his autonomy and his choice and hypes him up to fight for his own freedom alongside him. I just love these brothers.

It's a similar story with Bonney for me. The way he encourages her to fight for herself and what she's lost for her freedom - something SO important for her and Kuma - makes me cry. The faith she has in the future because of Luffy is just. So. Good. The things this manga has to say about joy in laughter, freedom, and creativity means SO MUCH TO ME. There's also something so special about the way she says she's been looking for him, and he responds that he's been with her the whole time. It's so.

I just think this is one of the best pages in the manga. Genuinely.

More Kuma, but I find this panel from the chapter that's technically "unfinished" to be so fucking gutwrenching. I know a lot of it was due to time constraints and Oda's a busy guy, but the way he couldn't finish THIS particular chapter honestly? Added to the emotional impact for me? I could totally be wrong, but to me it felt like he got too emotional working on it and combining that with the time constraints he had to turn it in as it was, and I personally love seeing an artist's hand in their work.

The whole Roger flashback shook me to my fucking core. This part and when he finds the poneglyph on Skypiea specifically.... Ugh. Ough. I can't wait to see this story come to an end, but I don't want it to end.

I can't not talk about Brook, but his encounter with Big Mom is so incredible for him as a character. We once again see how unshakable his loyalty is, and calling an emperor "young lady?" Oh my God the balls on this skeleton. Also, I adore Big Mom, she's my favorite villain. I'll have to gush about her sometime too.

I have a very special connection with Toko and Hiyori specifically. I also lost my dad (though I have a complicated relationship with him, he ultimately did what he could for me and I will always love and miss him deeply in a way that it's hard to express) a few years ago. The horror of losing a loved one and only being able to laugh is. So powerful, Oda was insane for SMILE. However, there's also something I'm attached to 'cause I remember very distinctly the day he passed, I went to lunch with some friends to have company, and I remember my friend telling me later that she knew I would be okay because I was laughing. It didn't really stick with her the same way it did with me, but for some reason that thought stuck in the back of my mind. IDK I'm rambling, but I find the message of laughter in One Piece being tied to freedom very very important to me.

Speaking of Hiyori, I gotta say, 1044 is what got me into One Piece, but I didn't see ANYONE talking about Hiyori's role in that chapter when I saw the spoilers, so I didn't even think about it until I read it myself. When I tell you her entire scene with Orochi gave me goosebumps I am being so fucking serious. She did not, and I repeat, she did NOT "interrupt" Gear 5. She fucking HERALDED IT.

(Here's two that I just find so incredibly funny with or without context) I feel like I'm missing some and I'll come back and edit them if I think of them, but these are the non Robin centric ones that have really stuck with me. I know there's some in Arlong Park and all that that I'm missing, but yeah. It feels wrong to cut it off here but if you made it this far, thank you for reading!!

There's also the Mural, but that one is like. Fucking crazy and we don't know the FULL significance yet so I'll leave my thoughts on that until later.

[angelshizuka]

The argument I see when fans try to explain that Stolas acted impulsively in Mastermind because it was a split second before Blitz got executed and he had little time to think of a better plan was “So he had time to get dressed but he didn’t have time to text his daughter goodbye?”

And the argument I have seen for why Stolas trying to save Blitz was selfish on Octavia’s part was because, “His job is to his kid first and he was gonna leave her behind to die for his ex.”

Which like, I won’t deny the validity in Octavia being hurt that he was killing to die and leave her with Stella, but also if Stolas had LET Blitz take the fall for something that was BOTH their faults, not only would that be a massively OOC cruel for him for him to do, and it would be a major blow to the integrity of his writing, but it would also NOT achieve the effect his critics would want.

Because if we were to keep the writing of his character consistent, if Stolas let that happen, he would be DROWNING in guilt to the point where he might not be able to be there for Octavia the way she needs ANYWAY.

And it would decisively kill any chances of him having a community because Millie, Moxxie, and Loona would NEVER forgive him if Blitz had died for real, which would give him more isolation, more depression, and more chances of him being a not-so-great parent to Octavia.

Octavia will heal from her hurt eventually. Stolas will right his wrongs with her one day. But Blitz cannot come back to life.

Either way, while the way he went about it was not well thought out or sensitive to Octavia’s feelings, what he did for Blitz yielded the best outcomes for all involved long term, because the consequences of letting Blitz die are way more permanent.

Before I start, Octavia's feelings are 100% valid, but that doesn't magically invalidate the split-second decisions Stolas made when a literal life was on the line. These things can co-exist!

I think the way Bryce worded it at a recent panel best sums it up;

"What I think good writing is, is putting characters in situations where they have to make impossible decisions fast. And I feel like the decision to step in in Mastermind was, you know, if somebody offered you the chance to save the life of someone you loved, you would do it, and then you would deal with the consequences of it afterwards."

(He says more about it in the video down here.)

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At the end of the day literally every single person who gives Stolas shit for "choosing Blitz over Via" (which is a braindead way to look at this situation) needs to admit they are okay with Blitz dying, because literally what other outcome do they think there was? If Stolas hadn't stepped in, Blitz would've been executed. Simple as that.

I will die on the hill that Stolas' heat of the moment decision was "my life or Blitz's life" and no amount of crying and bitching from "critics" will change that when even the creators are on that hill.

Also, it's kinda funny how much importance they put on "how fast" Stolas got dressed (we see him starting to get dressed when he runs off, so it really wouldn't have taken that long). Visual storytelling-wise that is literally nothing different from how quickly characters get clean/dry despite that realistically making no sense.

[lilangeldeath]

Manifestation tip #1

"if I can pause you, I can turn you off" - using your commanding power to harness your anger/frustration and start kicking Wavering in the face until it runs away crying

A little storytime. Once I was in the middle of a task i needed to finish before bed, and was trying to hurry it along because I was tired. I began having deep wavering feelings and felt like my entire manifestation was falling off the rails even though the entire day i had been experiencing lots of movement. I, with my inner voice, got frustrated and for some reason the first thing that popped up in my head was imagining the Wavering as it's own character, i'm sure you can tell what that sounds like. it's all very interesting to me, the links between so many religions, always has been.

Anyhow, if it's helpful, give your wavering a name or a "character"/persona, hopefully one you're not fond of. or if that's too extra for you, just try imagining those thoughts in the voice of someone you think is a giant, annoying asshole. it immediately makes you go "wait a damn minute, shut the fuck up!!"

the other thing that popped up in my head when i imagined the Wavering as a sort of asshole character was saying "wait! hold on! let me finish this first. pause. time out. if you're gonna test me, at least test me on a level playing field when i'm not in the middle of something." yes, i am an extreme yapper, even in my own thoughts lmao. and then right after that thought was over, i realized how silly it was.

i said inwardly "if i can pause you, i can turn you off. i can get rid of you." and called my power back to myself. it feels good to laugh at yourself now and then and i think that's really important during all of this. yes, you should want to take your creations seriously and not be lazy and expect good results, but taking them seriously in my opinion also has to have its silly moments. it's just the way life is, really. forrest gump, box of chocolates, you know the deal. sometimes even when you're manifesting really serious stuff, you have to be able to laugh at yourself.

you really can turn the wavering off whenever you feel like it, if you allow yourself to feel the strength and the power of commanding. don't be afraid to command the universe, your subconscious, whatever you want to think it comes from. not in an evil way like "oh i get to control everybody" but in a way that you refuse to let anyone, or anything, including your own ingrained negative beliefs, take your power away from you, the real you, the 4D you/soul

our bodies are just mech suits we use as the creator observing and experiencing itself, experiencing a new method of creation. if you feel drawn to do it, take your wavering by the horns and tell it to shut the fuck up. if it helps, beat the shit out of it mentally. not beating yourself up, that just compounds it. not like "oh i had a negative thought, i'm so bad at this". like "i command all negative thought patterns to leave my subconscious forever. i am a creator/manifester and i am so grateful to wield such power." things like that.

if you work on your self concept (in whatever way that feels best to you) enough that you really feel that power, that fire inside, you will really start locking in. you have to ASSUME the ROLE of being in charge around here (your reality). i'm the type of person that my anger management issues in the past used to make me isolate and be bitter towards others or lash out at them to push them away. now i funnel my anger into a sword that i use to cut off quantum timelines i do not wish to experience. that's how i personally see it.

[mangaloversolar2000]

Enemies to Lovers or Red Flags in Pastels? — A Critical Look at Lumity’s Foundations

Lumity is iconic. It gave us one of the first queer WLW couples in Western animation with actual screen time. But sometimes, people forget that just being queer doesn’t make a relationship automatically healthy—or narratively sound. And when you actually look at the foundation of Lumity, it’s kind of… full of red flags that get painted over in soft lighting and cute banter. (Not hating on Lumity btw, this is completely opinion based with reasons why Lumity seems kinda...complicated in my eyes.)

1. Amity Didn’t Bully Luz—But She Did Try to Get Her Dissected

Yeah. Let’s not sugarcoat that one.

In Season 1, Amity literally tries to have Luz dissected by Principal Bump. All because Luz embarrassed her in front of her Abomination class. That’s not petty teen drama—that’s dangerous.

Sure, it’s played for laughs, but if the roles were reversed, people would be furious. This moment is brushed aside because Luz is so endlessly forgiving and the tone is whimsical. But realistically? That’s not just “tsundere behavior.” That’s genuinely disturbing.

2. Amity Bullied Willow for Years and Never Properly Apologized

Let’s talk about Willow. Sweet, awkward Willow who was Amity’s best friend until Amity cut her off to climb the social ladder (with pressure from her parents but still...). Amity not only abandoned her, she actively bullied her. (though for some reason it seemed like this retconned even though in one of the first episodes we see Amity bully Willow) She let Boscha and the others mock Willow constantly while standing by—or even participating.

Later in the show, the story implies that Amity feels guilty and is trying to reconnect. But the apology scene? It never happens. She gives a vague “I wasn’t strong back then,” and we move on.

Meanwhile, Willow is just… okay with it. Like years of emotional damage can be patched over because Amity looks sad. It’s not fair to Willow, and it reflects a pattern in the show where Amity’s emotional arcs are prioritized over the pain she caused others.

3. Luz Never Challenges This Behavior

This is where it gets extra complicated.

Luz, bless her, is a people-pleaser. She just wants friends and adventure and sparkly magic. But that also means she never actually calls Amity out—not for bullying Willow, not for trying to get her dissected, not for anything. She just rolls with it.

Luz’s entire relationship with Amity is built on her always giving grace, always understanding, and never asking for real accountability. In a way, that makes their romance feel unbalanced. Amity gets the space to grow and cry and be soft. Luz? Luz becomes a side character in her own emotional arc.

4. Trauma Bonding Is Not a Love Story

Another point worth mentioning: a lot of Lumity’s deeper moments come from shared trauma. Whether it’s dealing with their families, Belos, or the Collector, they get closer through chaos. But trauma bonding isn’t inherently romantic—it’s survival. And the show leans on it to create intimacy, instead of giving us scenes where they talk about what they want, what they need, or what they like outside of danger.

What do they have in common, really? Aside from magic and angst? The relationship often feels more like a narrative reward than a fully developed emotional connection.

Conclusion: Cute, Important, but Narratively Messy

Look—Lumity matters. It opened doors. It showed queer girls being brave and awkward and in love. But that doesn’t mean we can’t critique how messy it is under the surface.

Amity hurt people. Luz never processes it. Willow gets sidelined. And somehow, it’s all swept under the rug for the sake of a shippable couple. Queer rep shouldn’t mean excusing harmful behavior just because it’s pastel-coded and soft-spoken.

We deserve better storytelling, not just representation.

tbh I kinda prefered Willuz but I don't hate Lumity, I'm fine with the ship but I felt like it was rushed and could have been better developed.

[janecafe]

saw a post on my "fyp" today about this tarot reader talking about "God is just yandere?".

here's my personal opinion about it.

so, here's the story---back in my high school days, we used to study the diversity of religions and their practices. it is a very important factor for teenagers who are starting to deal with the real challenges, obstacles and struggles to build a stronger foundation of belief. at this case of subject, i learned that everyone have their own religion beliefs, values and practices. it allow me as a student myself that not everyone have the same beliefs as you but it allows me to be broad minded about everyone else faith and principle.

it taught me to be open-minded, flexible and innovative. it taught me that it was not religion that will save you to have an eternal and eternity after life but the faith you have. so why there're many assumptions of beliefs on today's, it was because of humans with their three factors of needs: (1) cultural adaptation (2) personal meaning and (3) connection.

but here's the another real deal, why does God allow you to suffer?

let me summarize this and make it personally as human fabricated. in my personal opinion, how can you learn from something if you won't suffer? you know why because it was for your own growth and development character. i take myself as an example, when i was a child it's hard for me to write my name because sister it was so long, imagine writing the whole name "elora jane marie". who would name your child like that? of course my parents! that was the first struggle and suffered i ever experienced as a child whose at learning phase, i even got used to crying and hit up at the hand with my mother. another example, you as a kid learning on how to walk--- why you need to get suffered from bruises and wounds before you can master walking, it was because for your growth support.

without learning = no personal growth.

in this kind of community it's very important for oneself to undertake their personal faith rather than being influenced by someone's opinion, that's how a spiritual journey must be. personal and factual.

why don't you let others opinions take a chance to take over your faith, principle and beliefs?

setting aside the religious beliefs and values, let the human actions and thoughts explore itself.

what factors influence what you desire? that is all beyond your control. your wishes, cravings, and choices to appear a quiet individual, yet you didn't select any of them on your own. it's not about God, it's about you as an individual in the society.

your choices = your consequences.

perhaps, exercising free will is simply like taking on the accountability for your choices. that's how essentially of what it is and technically speaking. therefore, as a human you can select the outcomes you wish to face. you can decide the price you will pay, but you can never avoid paying a price. all of your actions — and your apathy — have repercussions. therefore, it's not just about having the freedom to do what you desire; it's about being mature enough to accept responsibility for your actions. however, that post is about in spiritual language, that can also talk about "prove yourself to God" — or in another side, what's your own inner moral sense/feeling of purpose. whichever one you choose. it's the identical concepts. it's not about proving yourself to God rather i take it as proving myself to a better level of myself.

that’s the reason, in the biblical narrative, God granted humans free will, resulting in adam and eve's expulsion from the garden of eden. it was the initial result. the first ever sin in the bible.

thus, free will does not equal freedom from consequence. grasp this concept, and you'll soon realize that taking responsibility for your actions and deliberately opting to do what is right and what's the good forms foundation of morality that is gonna leads to a meaningful life.

otherwise, i don't care if you make fun and criticize me or this post as long as i know myself better than anyone else. i won't let someone's beliefs and opinion to be changed from someone else's post in the internet to lead my personal behavior and morals. my life, my decisions. this post is not proving that "God is yandere" nor proving a point why "God is not yandere" rather it was an enlightenment that your spiritual journey is one's own and true-to-life.

good day and spread positivity! 🍀

[thatkoiboi]

Part 4

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Casey's learning the meaning of family

This is a fan comic inspired by Cass' Apocalyptic Series and is just my own little fan art of how Donnie and Casey could have gotten closer!

[kristalijah]

HE'S CHECKING OUT GARY!!!! I REPEAT, HE'S CHECKING OUT GARY!!!!

[kaddyssammlung]

when you look at his face you can see all of his emotions coming through

"call me when you have the time I just need to leave this part of me behind"