#but based on his behaviour i assume he doesn't like me

[nereidaa]

i feel like he doesn't like me

[suskz]

reader x hyunjin based on the last skz code where they went camping - he looked so hot working on that tent 😯💨 - , going with the boys since it was all minho idea, reader doesn't like camping but she likes him so, building tension up bc that's hot too, and maybe he could switch places with reader's bff and sneak into their's tent? 🖤

pairing: Hyunjin x Fem!Reader

t/w: friends to lovers ; Hyunjin is a flirt ; fluff ; a little suggestive.

w/c: 2.1k

a/n: it was fun to write! And yeah, Hyunjin really looked hot (I mean, he always is). The way he rolled his sleeves up omg, I couldn’t not write this. Hope you like this, anon!

↳ Reader has with the members the same friendship they have with each other.

"I hate this." Jiwoo complains as she drops the bag she was holding to the ground.

"Come on!" You try to cheer her up, "It's nice to be out in nature sometimes!"

She shoots you a glare, "That's easy to say," she says bitterly, "You hate camping more than I— hey!" she exclaims when you nudge her arm with your elbow, silencing her.

"I love camping." You lie loudly, with the boys just a few meters away from you.

"I can't say the same." Changbin comments, slapping his arm to kill a mosquito.

And suddenly, an arm falls around your shoulders. You turn towards the person who has come up next to you and see Hyunjin, unconsciously shrinking under his close presence, "I agree with Y/nie, a bit of fresh air away from the city is nice."

A small smile forms on your lips.

"You say that because you have no intention to help with anything." Chan chimes in, opening one of the bags he carried.

"Clever of you to assume that." Hyunjin responds, smiling.

"That's why Hyunjin will help set up the tent." Minho states, biting back a smile.

"Huh? I don't know how!" Hyunjin complains, taking his arm off your shoulders and moving closer to the older guy.

You regret that the contact was so short, but you maintain your composure and watch him walk away.

"You'll learn." Minho closes the conversation in a tone that allows no reply.

—

“You need to pump it?” Hyunjin asks, looking for the pump to inflate the tent.

You watch him curiously, seeing him search non-stop for a while.

“Did you find it?” Minho asks him, watching in disbelief. There are only 5 bags, how can he not have found it yet?

He starts to approach him, but you are quicker.

“They have accessories here.” Hyunjin says in a pouty, hopeless voice, closing a bag. He turns to continue searching but almost falls to the ground from the jump he makes when you suddenly stand up in front of him, very, perhaps too, close.

You hand him the pump that you found in a few seconds, “You suck at finding things.”

He puts a hand on his heart, opening his mouth and sighing slowly with closed eyes, as if he has just seen a ghost, “You scared me.”

You roll your eyes at his dramatic behaviour, “Don’t thank me.” You say sarcastically.

He smiles, his front teeth slightly showing behind his slightly parted lips, “Thank you, Y/nie.” He blows you a kiss for show. You are used to this, yet you blush, while he bends down to attach the pump nozzle to the tent opening.

“Do you need help with that too?” you tease, smirking, trying to hide the visible blush coloring your cheeks from yourself, since he can't even see you.

“Huh?!” He stands up and rolls up the sleeves of the baggy t-shirt he’s wearing, showing his muscles, “I don’t need your help, these are enough for me.” He flexes his biceps.

You like them, don’t you? You think he’s cool, right? Hyunjin hopes so.

You chuckle at his words while he gets to work to really show what he’s capable of as you return to Jiwoo, who needs help with setting up your tent.

You don’t even realise you've been distracted watching him the whole time, as his muscles contract with the effort of pushing the pump handle, and soon small drops of sweat start to trickle down them.

Your eyes are fixed on the way his hands roll up the sleeves each time they unroll and on the way he lifts his head and pulls his hair back with one hand when it bothers him too much and prevents him from seeing. It almost seems like he does it on purpose so your eyes never leave him.

But someone's hand rests on your shoulder, waking you up. “He’s really handsome, isn’t he?” Minho smirks and holds back a laugh when you turn to look at him, blushing and trying to stammer out a response, but he stops you right away, “Wipe off all the drool you’ve spilled first.” He chuckles and walks away with your eyes on him, shaking his head slowly, amused.

Just then, you hear the sound of someone falling to the ground, and when you turn, you see Hyunjin sitting from exhaustion. His breathing is heavy, and pained sounds and light groans leave his lips, the heat of the sun making everything worse, while Jisung takes his place to finish inflating.

His friend hands him a black tank top to wear instead of the sweat-soaked shirt he has on, and that's what Hyunjin does.

He takes off the white t-shirt and uses it to wipe off the sweat covering his body. And once again, it seems like he does it to show off so that you watch and can’t take your burning eyes off him, off his body. But deep down, you know it’s not like that, and this thought forces you to immediately look away when his eyes meet yours, amused. It’s a quick contact, it lasts little but says a lot.

And you have to use all the self-control you have in your body not to set your eyes on that tight black fabric that perfectly hugs his body, making his muscles appear more tense and defined.

“That’s better.” he sighs with relief, soon returning to work and starting to add the stakes.

The silence is filled with the sounds of hammers, and you don't notice when he moves away from the group.

When you stand up after finishing setting up the tent, you look around, confused by his absence. “Where's Hyunjin?” you ask Jiwoo, who is taking out lights from a bag to use as decoration.

“He went for a walk over there; there's a river a bit further from here.” She points in a direction with the index finger of her free hand.

“Oh.” you nod in understanding.

Only a few seconds of silence pass before she speaks again, “Go to him, he's alone; I'll take care of decorating the tent.” It's written all over your face, what you want to do. She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes and winks at you instead.

And you don't need to be told twice.

When you arrive at the spot, you search for him with quick, darting glances. “Hyunjin?” you call out before finding him lying on a large rock with his hands on his belly and his eyes closed.

He didn't answer, so you gather that he's sleeping. You slowly approach him, trying not to make any noise, and sit down next to his sleeping body.

You look at his serene face and can almost hear his calm breath and sense the steady beats of his heart.

The place itself is very quiet. It's cozy, isolated from everyone else, and intimate.

You glance around a couple of times with furtive eyes, but you end up realising that you're alone. Then you look at him, his slightly parted inviting plump lips. You bring your face close to his almost instinctively, faces so close that you can feel his warm breath on your own lips, but then you pull away.

What are you trying to do? It's wrong and stupid. If someone saw you, it would be a mess.

And if you had done it, he would have noticed, because he's awake.

Your ears burn, your cheeks flushed with shame and guilt when his eyes open.

He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, looking at you with distant irises, wrapped in thoughts, then he sits up, raising his torso.

"I heard you calling me but I didn't feel like answering.” he tries to smile to tease you, but what comes out is more of a grimace. You pretend not to notice though, lying to him as well as to yourself.

"I knew it, that's why I've been sitting in silence." You smirk, trying to push away the shame and alleviate the strange tension that has arisen.

However, the situation changes so quickly. There is still tension between the two of you, but it is different with his hand holding your chin and his thumb slowly, intensely stroking your lower lip. Intense, too, is the look his burning eyes give to your rosy lips.

When your eyes meet, his movements stop, and it’s difficult for you to tell what he is thinking. The eyes are the reflection of the soul, he likes to say, but at the moment his do not reflect much.

And then, he pulls away from you. His gaze, his hand, a moment later are no longer on you.

He stands up, "You had something on your lips." He looks around, normal, apparently enjoying the scenery.

You touch your lips, embarrassed, "Oh."

He looks at you and chuckles softly, sitting back next to you with a now more serene air.

One of his arms rests on your shoulder in a friendly gesture, trying to get as close to you as possible.

"I like this place, it's quiet and relaxing," he says. "I want to paint it."

"Hey lovebirds!" You hear someone say from just a bit further away from you. You immediately recognize it's Jisung's voice, who has joined you. "Get a room."

Hyunjin chuckles, and you try to do the same, but your mind is clouded by the memory of his gesture.

The fact that he didn't stop you when you tried to get closer to his lips, the way he touched yours with his thumb.

These images still flash in your mind while everyone else sleeps. You touch your lips with two fingers almost unconsciously, smiling sadly.

But apparently, you're not the only one lost in thought, as the entrance to the tent is opened and the little lamp in between you and Jiwoo is turned on. The latter gets up and leaves, letting someone else in.

And how could you not recognize that head of dark hair making its way inside, closing the entrance zipper after murmuring a 'thank you' and receiving a nod in response.

"Hyunjin? What are you doing here? It's late." you ask him, but receive no answer.

You receive no answer because instead, his lips crash against yours in a needy gesture.

Your eyes widen at the sudden gesture, but you don't push him away, not even when his lips start moving on yours shortly after. Instead, you reciprocate.

It's desperate. Your movements aren't even in sync, but it's okay. It's perfect like this; you couldn't ask for anything better.

One of his hands rests above your ear, caressing it so delicately that you barely even notice, as if you’re made of porcelain.

You break the kiss with quick breaths and uncontrollable heartbeats, emotions finally laid bare.

"I've wanted to kiss you for so long." he admits in a whisper, looking into your eyes.

You find the strength to speak, albeit lightly, "Today by the river… I didn't just watch you." You admit, and you can't help the hint of embarrassment you feel in saying those words to him.

"I know, and I hoped so much that you'd do what you were about to do, but you stopped." His smile doesn't falter for a moment. "You didn't have anything on your lip; I just used it as an excuse to touch you. I actually wanted to kiss you, but when I looked into your eyes, I didn't have the courage." He confesses.

"And here you are now." You chuckle.

He huffs a chuckle, "It wouldn't have been like this if you hadn't tried to kiss me first."

“Now I wish I hadn’t stopped earlier today, by the river.” you say, lowering your eyes to his lips and then back to his, licking your own lips. “I’ve always thought you have nice lips and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to kiss you, you know?”

“Now you know,” he says happily. “Or do you need to explore a little more?”

You don’t even need to answer; he already knows the response. And once again, your lips are on each other’s, in a kiss that quickly becomes fast and hungry.

Your hands roam over each other’s bodies, fingers tangled in hair, hands gripping cheeks, hips, ending up on thighs.

Your breaths are fast, and the tent heats up. You’re so lost in each other that you don’t realise you’re not being very quiet anymore.

It’s Changbin’s voice that wakes you up and makes you pull away. “Could you guys keep it down a bit?” he shouts from a couple of tents away from yours.

“If you two don’t let me sleep or wake me up at any hour of the night, I’ll put you in the air fryer.” Minho’s voice intervenes right after, annoyed.

You and Hyunjin lock eyes and then laugh silently.

“At least we’ll be put together.”

[junos-jrabbles]

Authors note, PT 2 to this ask, because it took me SO long and I feel like I need to do a lil more LOL, sorry if these are a lil unimaginative I do be frying

How would the mercs react to a new member with some questionable behaviour?

Scout

There's GOTTA be somethin’ up with you.

He's sure of it, absolutely COVINCED that someone as maniacal as you can't just be a good person.

He gets the whole “well, the respawn machine!” But he doesn't, he wouldn't go crazy like that, why would anyone?

He's a little nervy around you, gives you a funny look once in a while when you're kind to him, assumes there's some really blatant motive that he just isn't picking up on (there is none).

Shows up outside your room once at night, standing there with that ‘mom I threwed up’ stance just like. “Okay. So. What da hell is wrong with ya?” Hands on his hips, STARING.

“Whaddaya mean it's just a game to ya- pal, look at me, I'm the best player here, y’don’t see me rippin’ their arms off!”

Eventually gets over it, but it takes a while, he's just stubborn. You guys end up best buds and he shares his radioactive ass bonk with you sometimes, usually resulting in a ceasefire as the entire enemy line is annihilated, or you slam into a wall so hard you knock yourself clean out.

~~~

Soldier

Insert the Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme here

First impressions? Is absolutely enamoured by you. You are on the field what he is when in his crazy naked honeyed up state. A force of violence and INSANE destruction.

Definitely tries to assist you by letting you rocket surf directly into the enemies on pretty much every respawn, much to the chagrin on your Medic, who really does just eventually stop trying to follow you.

He's SO ecstatic to find someone that's loco like him when in the heat of battle, but can be Normal outside of it! He's amazed, definitely asks you if you're American every five minutes, just to make sure you're not one of those nice Canadians (shudder).

“YOU. YOU ARE THE BEST SOLDIER IN THIS HERE PLATOON, MAGGOT! I HAVE NEVER SEEN A DRIVE AS HIGH AS YOURS, I THINK SUN TZU WOULD BE VERY PROUD.”

Sometimes he'll have a rough experience in a fight, and after it's all over, he'll come to you for reassurance and to talk!!! He definitely talks about you with Zhanna often, and you guys all hang out often for little chats over food n drink :)

~~

Pyro

You are one of the few people, who in their eyes, is always very vibrant and exciting to be near.

They absolutely LOVE your energy, your kindness is more than welcome at base, and they love being near you and showing you things they've created (upgrades for their flamethrowers, new melees they've concocted, etc.), and on the battlefield, they're following at your heels lighting the world around ablaze, watching the carnage bloom!

Really, really enjoys baking with you, they love baking and cooking generally, but usually it goes kinda poorly, because they can't smell too well under the mask, and tend to space out and lose track of time. Plus the burnt cookies are always really pretty.

You keep them on track with stuff without being pushy, and they appreciate it!! And sometimes you'll find pictures of really cute animals in library books and photocopy them to show them. :)

~~~

Demo

He's not sure if it's because he's seeing double, that the carnage seems a lot crazier than normal, at first.

Eventually realises that the mayhem in the battlefield is at your hands, and makes a mental note to stay out of your way.

That mental note is tossed away the second you come up to him, giddy with some terrible glee asking him to launch you directly into their front lines.

(He obliges, and is amazed at how well you stick the landing.)

Doesn't really register the difference too well, too off his tits to know if you're even talking to him half the time.

You'll pass him his dinner, lovingly crafted with all the food meticulously placed to create a little scene (probably bangers n mash gravy volcano, absolute scran) and he just takes it like. “Oooh, thank you lass/lad! Looks…” Swaying, trying not to drop the tray. “Looks some braw scran, ta!” Then he totters away <3.

Probably invites you to play golf on his slightly more sober days, goes very well of course! You drive the caddy, he hoots and hollers for you to run someone over (Soldier is on the back egging him on).

~~~

Heavy

Somewhat protective, but in a very physical way, where he'll try to body block the enemy from getting at you (and occasionally you from getting at them).

Asks you how you're doing… often, it's like when your elders are concerned but aren't gonna ask if you like, need therapy, he'll just go “Are you alright, дикий?” and when you go yeah what why he's just got his arms crossed, nodding, then walks away.

Is VERY impressed by you on the battlefield, even he's sure he wouldn't be able to tank some of the hits that you do. Your handle on adrenaline is completely spectacular in his eyes.

Would call you wild one, animal, beast, terror, but also throw in little sun when a fight has gone particularly well, proving your fiery fury!!

~~~

Engineer

Probably the closest to you, a little crazy himself, but sane enough off the field.

Highly appreciates your input on anything he's scrapping together, especially when he's tinkering with his turrets. Usually you drive the enemy into them like cattle, so polite questions and curious advice is always treasured.

“Now… I already got the wrangler shield, but that is an awfully good idea there…” Followed by various skeewiff utterances as he works out the kinks of the massive thing he's just haphazardly welded with a folding mechanism onto his sentry.

You'd bring him fresh baked goods sometimes and he wouldn't stop thinking about you for at least a week after, the way to his heart is through food and dear god you give him an arrhythmia <3.

~~~

Medic

Sick of chasing after you after about a week of battles, and eventually begins wondering if he can legally sedate you and/or poke around in your brain to see what makes you tick.

Finds it endearing, how anarchic you are in the heat of war, compared to how civil and polite you are outside of it.

His birds peck at their barred enclosures when they hear your name like they've been accidentally conditioned, knowing they'll be let out for the duration of his usual pacing and rambling session in his office.

“Oh mein Gott, das ist verdammt nochmal unmöglich.” He would absolutely SEETHE over you sometimes, but then you'd come into his office with tea or coffee and biscuits and bird seed and he'd be like oh. Oh you're just nice, huh?

You're the only person willing to listen to his excited rambles about human physiology and general biology, he'd show you vivisection research images, organs, all the sorts until he can see that you're a little offput, then he'll be like,

“Oh, sorry freund! Archimedes tell them it is fine, please. Zhe bird knows these things better than I!” And little mister ‘medes comes and settles down on you for a snug, probably nipping at ya if you don't pet him.

~~~

Sniper

Likes it, LOVES it in fact, he won't show it, but having someone who keeps the enemy's attention long enough for him to get a few picks has him giggling and kicking his feet (metaphorically, of course).

“Oh that one? Aye well… They're about as ruthless as a dunny rat, I'd say, bites like a blue ‘n all.” He'd mutter to anyone who asks what he thinks about you, a strange question, but he's an honest man.

Being a particularly distant man, you don't get very close, but sometimes on late nights when it's too cold for him to be in the camper, he'll settle down in the common room with some knitting going for a few hours before he feels tired enough to head to his room. If you get up for a drink and spot him, he's more than happy for a little chat when you come over and start asking him about what he's doing.

He tries to teach you knitting, which goes alright, eventually offers to teach you some marksmanship but you politely decline.

“More of a hands-on approach, ey? Well, can't knock it mate, seen you take down those blokes like they're nothing but jumbucks.”

~~~

Spy

Is always wearing his cloak and dagger watch for the first while of you arriving, hides in the choke points of certain stations and watches the carnage upclose, trying to stay as still as possible so as not to be seen.

Finds you very amusing, but like Scout, is incredibly sceptical. His curious stalking is not limited only to the battlefield, he often lingers in the shadows of the base just watching you. Mostly when you're cooking, making sure you won't slip anything nefarious into their food.

Does NOT buy any of the stuff you tell them. It's all a little on the nose, all this about working at puppy shelters, saving cats from trees, talking down burglars? Unbelievable, and he will not be convinced.

Does some incredibly invasive snooping, probably literally going through your stuff when you're out of the room, and never really truly comes around to see eye to eye with you.

~~~

General

After a while of you being amongst them, and everyone's settled, Christmas would come up, and much as it would usually be a very casual thing between the lads, everyone would be so enamored with the thoughtful gifts you'd get them.

Miss Pauling would be genuinely so frightened by you, she'd only really see or hear about you on the battlements, not so much when you're at your times of peak kindness. She would also probably not be very convinced by your alleged acts of kindness, but wouldn't be too bothered either way.

[mrs-monaghan]

Claiming you are a OT7 army but pushing and promoting the hate towards taehyung makes you a hypocrite.

Jkkrs are slowly becoming the vermin by pushing false narratives to match their perception of taehyung. It has come to a point whereby we are also starting to base reality of Jikook around villainizing Taehyung. It disappointing honestly to undermine a 10+ year relationship that vmin publicly claimed as soulmates just becuz of social media posts. Dubbing words such as envious to a person Jimin deems important to him is utterly disrespectful.

At the end of the day... WE DO NOT KNOW THEM... so we should believe in their words rather than conspiracies that lead to outrageous conclusions. We jkkrs always preach about how we should only believe in what Jimin and Jungkook say but here we are disrespecting Jimin's words. Words that was just spoken in last week's Sapporo episode.

The truth of the matter is that Jimin and Taehyung are still very close. It justifiable hating Taehyung's subfandoms but hating him is not becuz it based off baseless theories.

More and more each day we jkkrs are starting to resemble the vermin. So fuckin disappointed.

I know you need a Jikooker to yell at, but I take issues when people accuse me of things I haven't personally done. Just because other Jikookers are acting a certain way, if I haven't done what they're doing, I resent being accused of it.

I. Shaz. Love. V. I wouldn't say that if I didnt. Trust me. Or don't. Either way, read this

I had this talk with some friends on discord but here is the thing. I may still care about V but I can understand why some people have washed their hands off of him. I've said this 1000 times but as long as Jikook keep loving V, so will I. But that doesn't have anything to do with holding V accountable for his actions. Jimin and JK may be okay with him, but us as fans are still allowed to question his behaviour.

Jikookers will complain that during FACE everyone and their dog made posts supporting the album except V. Then people like u will say, you don't know them personally, V probably praised him privately. And I would counter with the fact that V posted about Dday and TXT's album. Does that mean he didn't praise them privately???

Same thing happened with MUSE even though the guy finds a way to still be online all the time even while enlisted.

When Jikook were enlisting he posted that shirtless facetime screenshot of JK. Was Jimin not enlisting too?? Why didn't he post about him?

JK himself has come online to correct things that V said. Pointing out that, that's not how it happened. So if JK himself feels the need to correct misinformation, why are we being side eyed?

V promotes everyone except for Jimin, the vermin notice this just like we do and do you know what happens? They go to town on Jimin talking about how V only promotes good music. That Jimin makes garbage music and that's why V can't support it.

I assume you're here due to that post I just made about them not knowing eo as well as they used to. Bro, I ain't making this up. We have seen this with our own eyes. Them trying to guess things about eo and ending up being wrong. That wouldn't have happened way back when. I could talk about the many, many times he has gone quiet only to finally post when the fandom is focused on Jimin.

You say that we don't listen to members, except that's all I do. I watch Vmin chronologically and they're not the same. U would see it too if u did the same. Jimin seems tighter with Jungkook Jhope and V seems tighter with the Wooga Squad. And like I mentioned before, we've seen on original content JK come online to ammend something V said so... how is that me not listening to members? RM saying that V is not very good at self awareness, how is that not me listening to members?

Anon, Vmin aren't the same. U wanna live in denial thats fine. But don't be mad when those of us confident enough to talk about it, do.

.

.

.

Tkkrs hate Jimin because of his bond with JK. But Jimin has never done anything to V. Additionally he does things that makes those morons come for Jimin everyday. That's why jkkrs get upset with him. We don't have an issue with him just because he hangs out with JK or is the closest to JK (he not) And that is why angry anon, we will never be like the vermin.

[ishaslife]

Astarion has been breaking my poor heart.

This post will contain spoilers for the game and Astarion's romance/backstory. Before anyone comes at me, I want to say that you are the main character, you are supposed to change the fates and behaviours of your characters, especially if you are romancing them. It's a video game, that's kind of the point.

This post is extremely long and I apologise.

This analysis is based off my playthrough.

(*) means check notes at the bottom of the post.

I wasn't expecting to like him as much as I do. Don't get me wrong, I really liked him during EA and I thought he was funny, charming, flirty with a dark past and all that was just a means to cover his trauma but since the full game has come out and we've gotten to know more of him, it truly breaks my heart to see and know what he has been through. My sister and I were watching his reactions to be being rejected, being told that Tav only wants sex and forcing him to do things he doesn't want to do, it is truly heart-wrenching.

Many people expected Astarion to be this "I am so sexual and my romance will mostly be sex, also I will betray you the first chance I get." and it couldn't be further from the truth. Astarion is extremely loyal, and yes he has that air of flambouncy to him, will often make japes and say evil things but most of the time, it is just a facade. It's his shield in a way, he has been treated with utter cruelty for two hundred years of his life and now that he finally has some control over himself, he doesn't wish to be hurt again.

I don't think Astarion is ever completely evil, even in the beginning. He just wants to have fun and enjoy life after so many years of slavery. He likes it when you are snarky, say mean shit to people for fun but, he doesn't like to see innocents get hurt, and he doesn't support fighting for people who don't fight for themselves. Yes, he will support some of your evil decisions but they will lead to a bad ending, for you and your characters. It'll make Astarion wallow more in his greed and he'll lose the little humanity he has left. He doesn't really have a clear sense of direction in the beginning of the game as he's just found freedom and obviously wants to live life to the fullest, being evil comes naturally to him, it's instinct as its what he's been doing for two centuries.

This is my assumption since we don't know his actual age but since he's an elf who was well-respected in society, had a pretty prestigious job and was rich enough to be corrupt. I'd assume he was at least 70-100 years old before he was turned into a spawn. (EDIT - in a recent post by @deluxetrashqueen I saw the translation of the dates of birth and death on his tombstone:

"Astarion Ancunin

229-268 DR" to which he adds, "458DR - "

which shows that he was only 39 at the time of his death, which explains his emotional immaturity for an elf.) My point being, I believe he has been a spawn for longer than he's ever been a regular person. He has spent the longer part of his life doing evil things for an evil man, that was what his life was on a daily basis with Cazador. And his former work experience probably helped, he likely learnt pretty quick how much he took for granted as a living person and the harshness of his master, peers and people he seduced made him harsh and unforgiving in return.

Once you start getting close to him, you start to learn that he is only mean to people because of how life has treated him. In his romance, he says "no one ever looked out for me, no one ever said a kind word to me. You're the only one, no one is like that." Astarion starts to see, because of you that there is kindness in the world, and he finds kindness in you. Especially after his quest, as much as he'd hate to admit it, he also sees friends in your other companions as they do in him. By the end of Act 2, he starts to get more soft towards you and the decisions you make, often even disapproving of evil decisions. People often tend to forget that a lot of Astarion's evil personality is a front, it is not who he truly is.

These points will be better explained individually so I will talk about some themes.

Power: power plays a big part in his entire storyline. In the beginning, he wants to harness the powers of the tadpole to become powerful and at first, you think that it's simply because he's an evil character and he wants power for the sake of having it. Then later, he wishes to take over the power of the ascendant but mostly only to spite Cazador and take something important from him, not fully realising the true power of the rite.

As he slowly starts opening up to you, he tells you "the mind flayers tore me from that place" and you realise that its the tadpole that let's him walk in the sun, do things a vampire or spawn would never be able to, you learn that he hates being a vampire because he can't even remember what he looks like. He seeks power outside because he has had no power over himself for about two centuries, he thinks that having this power will fulfill his needs but it won't, we know it won't because in truth he only needs to reclaim his autonomy, physical and mental. Of course Astarion would never truly admit to this for a long while, even when he's romanced. I personally really love his good romance arc where he doesn't have sex with you, not because he dislikes you or doesn't want you but because, as he says "any kind of intimacy was something I performed to lure people back for him. While I know things between us are different... being with someone still feels tainted. It brings up all those feelings of disgust and loathing." He has spent 200 years or so bowing to Cazador's whims, done things to people he didn't want to do and I assume since it's heavily hinted at, were very sexual in nature. In a relationship, he simply wants to be seen as a person and I think that's really sad because that's how low the bar is for him.

In the ending of his quest, you can persuade him and tell him that going forth with the ritual won't set him free even if he thinks it will and I agree. If he's a slave to Cazador now, later he'd be a slave to power and greed. Just look at Cazador, despite being one of the most powerful beings in existence, he still wanted more power. That kind of greed and hunger never ends and Astarion would lose himself and who he has become while he was with us. Yes, it makes him walk in the sun again and do things a regular vampire can't but at what cost? 7,000 lives and his humanity. He would never be able to enjoy this "freedom" because he'll only strive to seek more power. In his ascendant ending, he becomes everything he's ever hated about Cazador, the cycle repeats itself, from Vellioth to Cazador and from Cazador to Astarion. And it will never end. Astarion even refuses to turn you into a vampire and wishes to keep you only as a spawn. With an insight check, you can learn that he thinks you're degrading yourself and he doesn't care. He now sees you as something to own, something to possess, not love. All his good qualities, wants and needs get twisted. Astarion truly only needs to feel like a person again but he doesn't fully realise this until you show it to him, through good deeds and actions, through simple acts of kindness. As he says in his "good" ending "I've been dead in the ground enough. It's time to try living again. With all that life has to offer."

Safety: Astarion wants to feel safe. He is so scared of being found by Cazador, he knows he's looking for him and the only thing giving him some form of safety from Cazador is the tadpole so of course he wants to harness its powers that is until he finds out it'll turn him into another kind of monster, a mind flayer. He doesn't wish to lose himself and his freedom again hence is vehemently against taking on the tadpole's powers but he doesn't stop you because that is of course, your decision to make. He says "if such power would please you, darling, I won't stop you. But do be careful, I want you to remain you." Now the only thing left that can properly give him his freedom is Cazador's death and he wants to kill him himself which I think is perfectly acceptable, Cazador deserves to die and if it is by Astarion's hands, all the better. But, in his romance, he makes it clear that he's doing it for safety, and he tells himself that he wants to take the power of the rite for safety as well because in truth, he is terrified of being powerless again. He does want revenge yes, but he also wants to keep you and himself safe from Cazador, even in the dungeon, if you run an insight check, the narrator tells you that he is losing his mind because of the power that's on offer and the smell of blood in the air. It's almost as if to say "he's losing his mind, please stop him before he forgets who he is." Astarion NEEDS your guidance*, eventually he even thanks you for 'saving him from himself.' In his good ending, he sees that in taking the power, he would be no better than Cazador and would become everything he's ever hated about him, and inflict on others what his former master inflicted on him, starting with you. His ascendant ending is honestly a very sad ending for his character, all that growth, change and development you bring to him throughout your journey just gone down the drain as he becomes an unfeeling, evil, narcissistic arsehole who only craves for more power. In his good ending, he will be safe, with you and with the friends he has made along the way. He is proud of himself and so is everyone else, it offers him a kind of friendship that's afforded to very few in the D&D world, especially a vampire/spawn whose very existence is hated. It is a bond based on trust, loyalty and to a degree, even love instead of fear like in the ascendant ending.

Abandonment and Fear: Astarion is driven by fear but he also knows facing Cazador is inevitable and something he needs to face rather than avoid. Even if he isn't outright seeking it (but he does seek it) I think he is braver than he likes to think and he definitely has some anti-hero traits. He likes the tadpole because it helped him get away from Cazador's authority and he enjoys bending others to his will since it makes him feel more powerful compared to how he's felt the past two centuries. But if you choose to not do the same, he doesn't really care. He doesn't except it of you nor is he disappointed (since he neither approves or disapproves. He only disapproves helping people who didn't ask or didn't want to be helped) he only gives a snarky comment or two about what he would've done instead and follows you anyway. He realises you're a good person. If you indulge too much however, I would argue that he agrees simply because he doesn't want you to turn against him. Perhaps he believes that you can turn on him and kill him as easily as you killed the tieflings or other innocents. He probably thinks it's easier to turn a good person evil than an evil person, good (tbh he wouldn't be entirely wrong.) And making bad choices does negatively affect his character of course but I just thought I'd put that out there as I think it's very likely for him to do so. He is definitely extremely paranoid, he hardly ever says how he truly feels out loud but when you break up with him (it's so heartbreaking omg) he says "I was beginning to think someone truly wanted me. I shouldn't have deluded myself." and "From the start, I was rather counting the hours until it was going to end. Midnight chimes, eh?" As heartbreaking as it is, the latter line shows how terrified he was of being abandoned or only be used for his body, he kept obessesively worrying that Tav would leave him after he bore his heart out to them. There's another bit of dialogue in Act 1 where he is trying his lines with you to get you to sleep with him a second time and you can say no which he is fine with but if you outright reject him there, meaning "I never want to see you like that again" he gets extremely sad: "Well, excuse me while I die of a broken heart. [slight chuckle] In all honesty, it's a shame. That time was special to me. I've gotten on my back 10,000 times or more and forgotten half of them. But you, I'll remember. [long pause] Have a fine evening... dear." Mind you, this is after you've only slept with him once. His dialogue makes it seem like he was already catching feelings for you, and not realising that himself until this happens. Seeing this made me realise that you're the first person he's slept with of his own volition, even if it was to seduce you. For the longest time, I think Astarion doesn't even want to believe you'll like him as something more than someone to sleep with, he hopes you might as his rejection line says so but astarion is nothing if not careful and well, paranoid.

That's why he's so shocked when you choose to not let him bite Araj at Moonrise even if it gave you something powerful in return. He sees that you chose his comfort over a genuinely useful commodity. Biting people or using his vampire, well, anything makes him extremely uncomfortable since it reminds him of things he needed to do for Cazador. If he bites her, it makes him feel like being a slave again, but bending to your will and wishes instead of his former master's. He realises he doesn't know how to say no. Which is another thing he says if you wish to pursue only a sexual relationship with him. He feels played.

Freedom: this is probably the main theme to his character arc. He wants to be free, not only from his master but also free to make right decisions and make decisions for himself, something he hasn't been able to do for years. This is why respecting his decision to not sleep with you is important to him, he doesn't feel comfortable being physically close to someone in a sexual way as it makes him doubt the person's true intentions and feelings and of course, makes him feel loathsome and disgusted with himself. He needs that time where you just connect as people to really see that you are in fact genuine and he wouldn't be hurt if he trusted you or gave you his heart. Towards the end of the game, he is still quite ruthless, but mostly only towards people who do wrong and are criminals. Astarion has a very strong set of ideals, he believes that people who do wrong deserve to die no matter the crime. I don't think this is entirely true, every crime deserves a different punishment but most criminals, those who do severe wrong and still get away with it, do deserve to die but this is just my opinion of course. He is ruthless towards bad people because that's how people have been to him, at least Cazador and I wouldn't be surprised if he was treated badly during his sexual encounters with strangers while working for him.

Why I think the Ascendant ending is a tragic ending for Astarion's character and for you.

I won't lie, there are some aspects of ascended Astarion that are pretty hot and I'm a sucker for (pun absolutely intended) powerful, gothic vampires but this ending comes at the cost of way too much. One simply being: Astarion isn't Astarion anymore. All his snarkiness, playful nature and strange innocence is gone. In his ascendant ending, that is, when he takes the power of the Rite of Ascension for himself by carving the same rune on Cazador's back that's on his own, Astarion loses himself. In D&D lore, full vampires are unfeeling, ruthless and have all their good traits twisted into something more malignant and evil. If Astarion loved you, that love turns into possession, if he cared for you, it turns into obsession. He doesn't truly care anymore... as a vampire, he is manipulating you and telling you things you want to hear instead of what he's actually feeling. He never truly got that moment of catharsis by killing Cazador as he does in his spawn ending. That simple bliss of killing the man that enslaved him and worse all these years; he never gets to experience that because he ends up using Cazador for the same power Cazador killed Vellioth for in the past, albeit worse. It's a never-ending cycle. And if he turns you into his spawn, you will go through the same fate Astarion went through and probably turn on him the same way he turned on Cazador. He has absolutely no sympathy for you or for anyone that is not him, in fact he feels almost disgusted by you because he thinks you're degrading yourself in front of him. There is a conversation between him and if you refuse to become his spawn, and I think it sums up his character perfectly as a vampire, it goes like this:

(choosing different options will have different dialogues but they more or less lead to him saying the same thing.)

ASTARION: Just so you know, I have everything I've ever wanted. Everything lies ahead. I can see my path to a waking dream. From the Crimson Palace, I will govern day and night. Create a city of spawn who bow before me, cast a fog over the world for my children.

TAV: But the Palace halls will be lonely.

ASTARION: You'll be lonelier than I. Very soon I will discover how to call my legions of wolves, become a sea of mist, run wrongside-up on roofs. [laughs] Everything vampires do best.

You could have, too. [sniggers] What a waste.

TAV: You don't really have anything at all.

ASTARION: I can take anything I want. I should've made you a spawn just to teach you that.

And there we have it, that last bit of dialogue shows how Astarion is now everything he hated about his own master. He is Cazador's literal and spiritual successor, he thinks you need to be punished for rejecting him. He doesn't feel for you anymore, at least not in a human way. He has become someone else entirely, for the worst. His drive for taking the power of the rite was to be able to walk in the sun again but as a full vampire, he wants to "dominate it (the world) until the sun melts and give ourselves over to the night."

Astarion NEEDS change, he needs to see that the world can be a kinder place than the one he's lived in this whole time. Just a bit of care and love with him goes a long way. In his spawn ending, he comes to realise that you gave him his life back even if it was as a spawn because that is true freedom. He is free from his master, and greed & power which was in the disguise of safety. He may never be able to walk in the sun, but he is free to make his own decisions that are driven by his choices. One of them being; wanting and loving you, living a full life with you, whatever that may entail.

If you went into the game thinking that Astarion will betray you no matter what then giving him the ascendant ending brings your fears to life. Astarion doesn't learn anything, by making him a full vampire, you basically tell him that he can only be powerful and worth something if he has super vampire powers, and in turn, you lose everything too. Astarion may have gained unparralled strength but now he has no need of you, you gave him everything he wanted and nothing he needed so now he can do whatever he wants with you because you are lesser than him, literally, he is much stronger than you are and his power will only grow as he discovers more of it. He tries to manipulate you into turning you into a spawn. A dialogue being:

TAV: After everything you went through with Cazador, you're going to make me a spawn?

ASTARION: Oh that was completely different, I'd never hurt you. I love you. That's what you've been waiting to hear, isn't it? That's what you want?

Which just shows you how he's only saying "I love you" because that's what you want to hear, so you agree to becoming his spawn. He doesn't mean it, it doesn't really have any feeling behind it whatsoever. And if he turns you into a spawn, you have basically lost everything. Because he is obsessive over you, he'll never let you go and since now he is properly evil, he likely won't turn you into a vampire either, even if he says he will.

This is just my take on the ending though, I think we can all agree the ascendant ending is the evil ending for his character, even if it is an ending you prefer. I'm not trying to hate on anyone who does like this ending, only stating that I think it is meant to be evil and I personally don't like it.

CONCLUSION

Once you get to truly know Astarion, he's a pretty decent guy. I can't speak much for people who didn't romance him, I'm not entirely sure how his non-romance route plays out. The good conclusion of his quest is so wholesome, where he says he feels "truly, honestly free" and tells you "you saved me from myself. This is a gift, you know, thank you. I won't forget it." getting full circle to the first time you let him bite you (the only time in my case.) It shows so much character development and pure joy in the way he thanks you (it doesn't need to be said but props to Neil Newbon for bringing the character to life.) He will always be a spawn and yet, he feels like "anything and everything is possible" because of you and the choices you made with him, you believed in him when he didn't believe in himself, you showed him that he is enough just the way he is and he doesn't need to become a full vampire to be strong and powerful. Astarion comes out of his finale, a much more positive person, who actually cares even if he won't show it and the best part is, he always keeps that tiny streak of evil and mischief within him. He hasn't lost sight of himself, he's just less spiteful now and feels free to actually enjoy life rather than constantly being scared of what might happen to him. He finds trust and happiness in you and it makes him happy that you find the same within him. You are his home and he hopes he is yours.

I understand that my analysis may not be perfect and my interpretation of the character may be different from someone else's but that's fine, he is a video game character that can be played so many ways and people can go around it however they like, interpret his character however they wish. This is just what I think.

NOTES

'Astarion needs your guidance.' - no, this is not gaslight-y. Astarion is a deeply troubled character and clearly finds it hard to differentiate between right and wrong. He often asks for your input and what you think by Act 2 which isn't a bad thing, he's asking for help and I think that shows how far he's come. In the final scene of his quest, he is overcome by the promise of power and the safety it would've provided which would've consumed him as it did Cazador, Astarion admits to this himself too later on once he can think clearly and is in a more positive mindset. There is nothing wrong with guiding your partner towards something that will eventually be better for their growth as a person in the long run.

[warblogs17282]

What was Stolas' relationship like towards the servant imps when Stolas was growing up as a child?

So we know that Stolas' current relationship with his imp servants isn't really positive, Stolas isn't doing it on purpose but the fact he's nearly squeezing the poor imp to death would imply that this sort of thing is learned behaviour, which would track as Paimon quite literally beat the racism/classism into Stolas. On the full moon episode it's kinda implied that Stolas doesn't treat his servant imps too well as much as Stolas tries to be respectful to them, we can see this in the fact that when Stolas hides in the fridge, the servant imp just looks fed up with everything, and Blitz's specific comment saying 'treat me like one of your butler imps', could possibly imply that Blitz has seen Stolas unintentionally treating his servant imps badly, not as badly as s2 e2 obviously but it wouldn't suprise me if Blitz actually did note some mistreatment of the servant imps, because that rant Blitz had in the full moon was, while quite exaggerated, based on some level of truth in Blitz's perspective.

Again, we know that Paimon quite literally beat the racism/classism into Stolas at a very young age, and Stolas' mother is nowhere to be seen, and Paimon basically doesn't give a single fuck about his children, so it's safe to assume that Stolas was practically raised by imps, which creates this weird dynamic of imps being somewhat like your parental figures, but at the same time being told to look down on the people raising you, like you're better than them. Like what did Stolas think of the imps raising him, while Paimon reminded him that he's above them constantly, it's rather interesting and if we get another flashback of child Stolas I want it to be about exploring this dynamic because it could very much be on the table considering, again, Blitz specifically made that butler imps comment in the full moon episode.

[diagonal-queen]

omg what if i requested...

okay okay imagine: [character] taking a bath with you and its all cute but GOD DAMN WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY RUBBER DUCKS? like yalls are taking a bath and you just pull out the rubber ducks and dump them in the bath djfbdjdj YES SFW I WE DONT TOLERATE NSFW HERE

characters: ranpo, dazai, chuuya, poe, atsushi, [your favorites] SEPARATE! if you dont wanna do em all you can just do poe and ranpo lol also you can insert blue lock characters if you want to 👍

i want isagi so bad frfr ALSO HONKAI STAR RAIL CAELUS WHY ISNT ANYONE TALKING ABOUT HIM LIKE HELLO??? TRASH CAN BOYFRIEND??? HES SO HOT TOO? I WANT HIM TOO FRFR

i hope youre having a good day i am indeed alive!!

- nia

A NIA REQUESTTTTTTTTTTTT OMG YES

Rubber duckie, you're the one~

♡ pairing: Ranpo Edogawa, Dazai Osamu, Chuuya Nakahara, Edgar Allan Poe, Atsushi Nakajima, Mykola Hohol, Tecchou Suehiro x gn!Reader

♡ synopsis: You bring rubber ducks into the bath.

♡ cw: Swearing, nudity I guess??? It's not NSFW lmao but gotta cover my bases

note: HELLO NIA. I want you to know that I AM gonna be doing a BLLK version of this some time after I've finished this one. Also I don't know much about Honkai Star Rail but isn't Caelus basically like that game's equivalent of Aether from Genshin? I'm uncultured T-T These are just crack hcs lol uh yeah apologies for errors and I hope you enjoy x

Ranpo:

Bold of you to assume this mf didn't bring his own rubber ducks

The bathtub is overcome with your shared aquatic fowl. You two are having an absolute field day in there (and not like a regular field day, but like a Magic School Bus field day)

Maybe they have a war or something. Or maybe they establish a peace agreement and the two leaders of your different duck nations get married to form a union

You guys end up staying in the tub until the water is freezing

Honestly though, you probably benefitted from having a little while to both just indulge in childish behaviour without any judgement or consequences. And it was super fun so no regrets

After the first time you guys decide to start having shared baths every now and then when things get too stressful at work, so you could blow off steam in a harmless and fun way

But you two don't tell anybody. I mean Ranpo still brings rubber ducks to public bathhouses because he's just like that but nobody else ever finds out the true extent of your duck-related shenanigans

10/10 would recommend bubble bath rubber duck therapy w/ autistic manchild 👍

Dazai:

He didn't expect it, but he likes it!

Dazai probably never washes himself ever so he was already quite on board with the idea of having a bath with you (he gets to see you nakey and have clean hair for once? Like what a win)

Also I reckon he's the kinda guy who really enjoys bubble baths and plays with them and gets the bathroom all messy with the bubbles (me too Dazai)

So he was pretty hyped for this. But then you dump like fifty rubber ducks into the bath and NOW IT'S TIME TO GET FUNKY

Dazai has definitely never played with them before. He's amused with the way they float, with the fact that they make noise when you squeeze them, their big stupid eyes and everything about them

He initially wants to question why you have so many of them or where you got them from but then he just as quickly decides that he doesn't really wanna know the answer

Is he as invested in the ducks as you are? No, but he's very curious about them and finds it nice that you enjoy them so much

Probably wraps one in bandages and gives it to you so you're always thinking of him or smth 💀 (it's cute though)

Chuuya:

If Chuuya has run you a bath he probably intended for it to be romantic and relaxing

And then you bringed in the duckies

After a quick discussion you two do compromise on a romantic bath. With rubber ducks. And it honestly ends up being more perfect than either of you expected

He'd have been willing to just let you do your thing though because he just wants you to be happy but mans works too hard to pass up an opportunity to relax in the bath with you

So what ends up happening is you two just cuddle in the bath and talk about life and romance and stuff, and there's also ducks floating there, entirely out of place

Like Chuuya would have pulled out all the stops. Candles and wine and stuff, so like a pretty mature scene that does not accommodate for rubber ducks, and yet there they are

But he thinks it's really cute how into the ducks you are so he lets you keep them around

He would definitely buy you more rubber ducks in the future just to see you smile. Chuuya is down so bad for you 😌

Poe:

He's probably never even seen a rubber duck in his 1800s gothic anxietycore life

You might honestly have to explain what they are. He's like 'and they don't do anything? You just have them there for company?' and you're like 'yeah!' and he's just like

Poe would find one singular duck of yours and latch onto it. That one is his duck now and he would keep it nearby because it reminds him of you

Overall though he doesn't really get on board with it. Like after the first two minutes when the novelty fades he's like '...can we please remove them' lol

If you say yes then the bath then continues on exactly as expected. It's nice but Poe's a little insecure and shy (cuddle him pls)

If you say no then he's just gonna learn to deal with them. This man doesn't have the balls to set boundaries with you (ME TOO POE)

That being said, if Karl likes the ducks? ...oh boy he's straight up going to purchase an avalanche of them

It's really up to you whether or not the ducks catch on or not, Poe's just along for the ride whether or not he wants to be

Atsushi:

Help him

They didn't have rubber ducks in the orphanage, and Atsushi probably hasn't had a proper nice long bath in years. He did not want nor expect a horde of rubber ducks

But Atsushi loves you so much that he's willing to look past it. And the duckies actually grow on him by the time you guys get out the bath

He's always seen bathing as just that. A way to clean. But you're determined to introduce him to the wonders of bathtime and make up for the childhood he wasn't allowed to have

He mostly just goes along with you and doesn't really match your energy, but he absolutely loves seeing you so excited about the ducks

He would definitely like the idea of baths being a cute couply thing for you guys to do though so whether or not you got your ducks with you is honestly irrelevant

But you do. And so he accepts them as a part of being with you. In sickness and health or whatever idk nobody loves me lmao

Just make sure that you give Atsushi as much attention as you give to the ducks okay?

Mykola:

Mykola has literally never been happier in his entire life

This was the moment when he realised that you were the one for him. His soulmate, his one and only

He doesn't care how many ducks there are, he just cares that there's ducks. And that you're the one who bought them into the bathtub.

The pair of you wreak havoc on the bathroom. Like with Ranpo, y'all were just being a little playful. You and Mykola straight up destroy the whole room

You two spend hours in there coming up with names, extended backstories and lore of each rubber duck and it gets so complicated so fast

He would also give each one of them a different voice while you guys are messing around. Theatre kid moment

You've now given him the idea to just randomly present you with rubber ducks at any time, regardless of the scenario. Your collection grows tenfold due to this bastard and Fyodor is not pleased about it. Not when Mykola is interrupting DOA meetings with fucking ducks

The poor repair guys you hire to fix the bathroom...they're so confused T-T

Tecchou:

Straight up just does not react. This shit is a regular Tuesday for him

LET'S NOT PRETEND THAT HE DOESN'T OWN RUBBER DUCKS BECAUSE HE LITERALLY DOES I SAID SO

And he just lets them float there in the bath and pays no mind to them. Doesn't play with them, talk to them or whatever. It's just nice to have some silent, non-judgemental company sometimes

Tecchou doesn't strike me as someone who would suggest that you two take a bath together, so it was most likely your idea. He went along with it because relaxing in a steamy room with you sounded nice, but in reality you just wanted to show him the ducks

And though he might have seemed disinterested he was so happy to know that you and him had a similar interest

You two are so good for each other that way <3 (good = autistic I guess, because Tecchou is canon autism I decided)

So while you play with the ducks or whatever he just sits there content and watches you do so with a little smile. Probably calls you cute at some point entirely catching you offguard

You two make it a regular thing, but Jouno probably finds out somehow and it's just a whole other can of worms I won't go into rn

Taglist~ ♡ @gettinshiggywithit, @fedyushka, @flower-of-darkness, @bejeweledgirl

[sequinsmile-x]

Instincts - The One Time She Does Yell

Five times Emily doesn't yell at her mother-in-law, and one time she does.

Part 6/6

-x-

Hi besties <3

Thank you so much for the love on this version of them! This chapter is based on a prompt that inspired this whole fic- so I really hope you enjoy this <3

Please let me know what you think!

-x-

Warnings: Full list of tags can be found on the Master List

Words: 3.9k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

When she yells at Caroline, it feels like nothing short of a relief. Years of everything she’d wanted to say washing over her like a wave as she finally snaps. 

She’s pacing the living room, unease itching under her skin that stops her from staying still, every instinct she’d ignored screaming at her as she crosses her arms over her chest in an attempt to keep herself calm. 

“They’re on their way home, sweetheart,” Aaron says, his smile annoyingly charming and sweet when she looks up at him, “You won’t have to wait too much longer to have your babies back.” 

She hums and turns to look out the window, her thumbnail in between her teeth as she keeps her eyes fixed on the driveway, ready to pounce and open the front door before Caroline even starts to get the kids out of the car.

“I don’t know why I agreed to this in the first place,” she mumbles, the sharp sting of her teeth against her cuticle a much needed distraction from the anxiety rolling in her gut, “I’m still not entirely sure I trust her.” 

Aaron slips in behind her and wraps his arm around her waist whilst his other hand gently tugs hers away from her mouth, he kisses her thumb and then her cheek, smiling when she leans into him, seeking out the comfort he’d always have in abundance for her. 

“I know,” he says, kissing her cheek again, “But she wanted to spend some time with them and she rarely sees them alone,” he smiles against her temple when she mutters well who’s fault is that under her breath, “And, she’s only ever seen Willa twice before.” 

Emily sighs as she turns in his arms and she wraps her arms around him, “I know. And I know you think I’m overreacting-”

“I don’t think you’re overreacting,” he says, smiling softly as he tucks some hair behind her ear, “I think you have plenty of reasons to be wary of my mother, but I love you for giving her a chance anyway,” he kisses her, and she can taste the appreciation he’s stamping against her lips and it makes her ache, “They’ve only gone to the mall so Jack can show her that toy store he and Hugo love and so they can eat lunch.” 

She blows out a breath and nods before she leans forward and presses her cheek against her husband’s shoulder, “I’m assuming I didn’t need to explain why a 6-month-old baby girl shouldn’t be eating food from the mall food court,” she swallows thickly and murmurs the rest of her sentence under her breath, “Or formula.” 

He smiles, something she feels pressed against her hairline, and clears his throat, “No, you didn’t,” he pulls back and looks at her, his eyebrow raised in amusement, “Besides, I think the very stern way you explained when Willa will need feeding as you passed over the milk you pumped this morning will have done the job.” 

She knows he isn’t making fun of her, that he never would over something so important to her, so she smiles and kisses him before she pulls back and mutters, “I hope so.” 

They hear a car pull onto the driveway, and Emily steps away from Aaron, the anxiety he’d helped dampen coming back in full force as she walks toward the front door, the need to see her children almost overwhelming. She pulls the door open and smiles at Jack as he runs up towards her, her focus partly on him and partly on Caroline as she helps Hugo out of the car.

“Did you have fun with Grandma, sweetie?” She asks Jack as he runs up the porch steps. He offers her a shrug in return and a half smile she doesn’t have time to question before he’s in the house behind her. She furrows her brow as she turns to look at him, his behaviour causing concern to spark in her gut, but is stopped by the sound of her youngest son’s voice. 

“Mama!”

She smiles as Hugo runs towards her, his arms open and his smile wide. She meets him at the bottom of the stairs and lifts him into her arms, stamping kisses against his cheeks as if it had been days since she’d seen him not just a matter of hours. 

“Hi sweet boy,” she says, kissing his cheek again, “Did you have fun?” 

He nods, “Gram’ma bought toys.” 

Emily hums, her lips pressed together as she suppresses an of course she did, and she looks over at Caroline, and smiles at the sight of Willa in her car seat in her grandmother’s hands. 

“That’s kind of Grandma, huh?” She says, adjusting her hold on Hugo and carrying him up the stairs, “I hope you said thank you.” 

“I did.” 

She smiles and kisses his forehead, “Good boy,” she replies, and Hugo wriggles in her arms the moment they are in the house and she lets him down, “Go say hi to Daddy, okay?” 

“‘Kay.” 

She watches him go as he calls out for Aaron, running further into the house as he seeks out his father, and then she turns to look at Caroline. She takes the car seat from her and the familiar weight of her daughter, along with the babbling chatter she was always doing when she was awake, calms her down.

“You really didn’t have to buy the kids anything,” Emily says, smiling as they walk into the kitchen, “Thank you.” 

“Oh it’s no problem,” she says, waving her off, “You know I love to spoil the boys.”

Emily falters as she places the car seat on the counter, “Just the boys?” She asks, unclipping her daughter from the car seat, “Not Willa?” 

Caroline smiles, and there is a nervous edge to it that makes Emily narrow her eyes, “Well, she’s still young, so she won’t get as much out of the toys as they will, but I did get her something, so she wasn’t left out.” 

Emily smiles tightly as she lifts Willa into her arms, holding back everything she’d ever told her mother-in-law about child development knowing it wouldn’t do anything other than be ignored. She kisses the side of her daughter’s head and hums curiously.

“She smells different,” she says, smelling her again, “Like disinfectant almost. Did she need changing because of a blowout or something?” 

Aaron walks in before Caroline can reply, or before Emily can really think about the sheepish look on the other woman’s face, “Hi Mom.”

“Hi, Aaron.”

“Jack told me about the toy store, you really didn’t have to get them anything.” 

Emily furrows her brow and tilts her head to look down at Willa, her eyes drawn to two shining dots on her ear lobes, and the slightly red skin around them, and she cuts off the conversation between mother and son, “Are those earrings?” 

Caroline clears her throat, “Well, people kept asking if she was a boy, and you refused to let me put a bow on her head. Her name doesn’t help-”

“How many times do we have to explain she’s named after Emily’s dad, Mom?” Aaron says, furrowing his brows, focusing on his wife’s impending fury rather than his own, desperate to try and diffuse the situation before it got worse, “And that doesn’t give you the right to stick fake earrings on-”

“These aren’t fake,” Emily says, cutting him off, her stomach rolling as she gently pulls Willa’s ear forward to see the earring sticking out the back, and the thought of someone pushing a needle through her 6-month-old’s ears makes her feel nauseous. Willa cries out, her face screwing up at the soreness in her ears, and Emily’s nausea turns to fury. She stamps a kiss on Willa’s temple, “I’m sorry, baby. Mama’s sorry,” she soothes, and she looks up at Aaron, ignoring her mother-in-law’s presence for a moment, and she clenches her jaw so tightly she’s surprised it doesn’t shatter, “She had her ears pierced.” 

Aaron looks sharply at his mother, “Mom? Please say you didn’t.” 

Caroline huffs, her defences rising as she crosses her arms over her chest, “I just thought-”

Emily feels her last bit of resolve snap, any patience she’d had for her mother-in-law and her behaviour disappearing in a second as she briefly tightens her hold on her daughter. 

“Aaron,” she says, turning to look at her husband, “Take the baby.” 

He sighs, disappointment and hurt she’ll comfort him for later flashing in his eyes, “Em-”

“Take the baby,” she says, handing Willa over as she looks at Caroline, “Your Mom and I are going to have a little chat.” 

He nods, his lack of argument making her love him even more and he leans in to kiss her temple, throwing his mom a look before he leaves the room, “Let's go see what your brothers are up to, princess.” 

The silence is almost suffocating, thick and heavy in the air as Emily just stares at Caroline, almost daring her to say something first. “How dare you have that done to my little girl.” 

Caroline sighs and swallows thickly, “Emily, I think you’re being-”

“Don’t you dare tell me I’m being overdramatic,” Emily replies, her voice raised as the anger pushes at her teeth whilst it works up her throat, burning her from the inside out, “You paid someone to pierce my baby’s ears. I didn’t want you feeding her or Hugo formula why on earth did you think I’d be happy with you having someone push needles through her ears?” 

Caroline rolls her eyes, pouring gasoline on the fire of Emily’s anger, “You have your ears pierced, Emily I didn’t think it was going to be a problem.”

“You didn’t think…” she shakes her head and breathes out a disbelieving laugh, her tongue sticking out to wet her lips, “I had my ears pierced when I was 10, and it was my choice. If Willa wants them done when she’s old enough to understand I’ll take her but she’s an infant,” she clears her throat in an attempt to try to calm herself down but it fails, and she shakes her head, “I have let you get away with so much. I haven’t said anything when you treat Aaron the way you do, I didn’t say anything when you showed him a photo of my fucking wedding dress,” she laughs humourlessly, “I don’t even say anything when you continually undermine me and my parenting choices but this…this is too far.” 

Caroline sighs, “Emily-”

“No,” she seethes, shaking her head “You need to leave.” 

Caroline furrows her brow, “You’re kicking me out?” 

“Yes.” 

She chuckles, “What do you think Aaron will think of that?” 

“I think he’ll thank me for it,” Emily replies, sounding more sure than she felt, a flash of uncertainty thrumming under her skin as she crosses her arms over her chest, “You need to leave.” 

Caroline swallows thickly and grabs her purse from the counter, “I am sorry, Emily, I didn’t think-”

“You never do, Caroline,” she says, disregarding the apology, sure she wouldn’t accept it even if it was genuine, “You never do. Whether it’s because of this, or when you’re comparing Aaron to his father. You never think,” she walks past her and down the hallway towards the front door, “And I will no longer allow you to put him or my children through it.” 

Caroline pauses as she walks towards her, “You’re not going to let me see my grandchildren anymore?” 

“No,” she replies, her hand tight on the door handle, the cool metal of it against her skin helping her vaguely keep it together, “I’m not.” 

“You can’t do that.” 

Emily pulls the door open, “Yes I can,” she says firmly, nodding towards the front porch to indicate that Caroline should leave, “I am their mother, and whilst they are young I decide what’s best for them.” 

“Jack isn’t even yours,” Caroline replies, and her eyes go wide as if she hadn’t meant to say it, as if she knew as soon as she had that it was the death blow to her relationship with her son and his wife. 

It’s the final straw, the final fracture in a relationship that was already beyond repair, the bits of it shattering into a thousand pieces on the ground between them. Emily steps towards Caroline, her teeth bared as she gets close, her finger against her chest as she stops herself from slapping her across the face. 

“Don’t you ever say that again,” she hisses, tears she won’t shed making her eyes blur, forcing her to miss the way Caroline swallows thickly, “I love him just as much as I love Hugo and Willa. He is my son,” she steps back and holds the door open again, “You should go.”

Caroline sighs and steps out onto the porch, “I’m sorry, Emily. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Emily replies, standing so she’s blocking Caroline’s view of inside the house, “You shouldn’t have done so many things.”

“Maybe when things have calmed down a little-”

“Goodbye Caroline,” Emily says, cutting her off, not wanting to hear any more from her as she closes the door in her face. She locks it and sighs, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against the wood as she takes a deep breath and turns to face her home.

She had Hotchners to comfort.

___

They can’t talk about it in any depth whilst the kids are still awake. Jack apologises to them, his eyes wide and sad as he explains he tried to stop Caroline, that he’d told her they wouldn’t like it, but that she’d told him to be quiet. It makes Emily angrier, if that’s possible, and she does her best to make sure Jack knows they aren’t mad at him. 

Aaron tells her that he’ll put Willa to bed, and she doesn’t argue with him. She’d watched as he’d held their daughter close all day, his cheek against the top of her head as she took her afternoon nap on his chest, guilt he did not need to feel seeping into the air around them. Emily had taken the earrings out of Willa���s ears as soon as Caroline left and she’d thrown them away, not wanting any reminders of what had happened. She’d looked it up online and was assured that the holes would heal quickly, and that Willa’s precious ears would have little to no trace of the piercings.

It takes longer than usual to get Hugo to sleep, his clinginess to her made worse by the tension in the house that he’d picked up on. She slips out of his room and leaves his door slightly open like she always did, sure he’d sneak into her and Aaron’s room in the night anyway. She’s about to head to the bedroom, sure she’ll find Aaron in there with Willa, when she’s stopped by Jack’s bedroom door opening. She smiles softly as she turns to look at him.

“You okay, honey?” 

He shrugs, his eyebrows furrowed as he questions whether he should say what he wants to say, “Can you tuck me in Mom?” 

He so rarely asks for it these days that it makes her ache, and she nods immediately, her hand on his back as she guides him into his room.

“Of course,” she replies, and she watches as he scrambles under the covers, the stuffed animal he always claimed he didn’t need any more tucked up in his arms. She sits on the edge of his bed and rearranges the covers around him, making sure he’s comfortable. He sighs like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and she runs her fingers through his hair, something that had always comforted her husband and her children, “Are you okay, sweet boy?” 

He sighs again, his lower lip trembling as he tries to stop himself from crying. “I really am sorry.” 

“For what?” She asks, shifting closer as she wipes a tear away from his cheek. 

“For not stopping Grandma,” he replies, his chin wobbling with the force of his emotions, “I really tried.” 

“Hey, I know,” she says, leaning down to kiss his forehead, “And it’s not your fault, okay? Grandma was the adult in the situation. She’s the one who should have known better.” 

He wipes his face against his stuffed animal, “And you’re not mad at me?” 

She shakes her head, “No, sweetheart. Why would I be mad?”

He sniffs, “Because Willa is your baby and I’m not.” 

The anger she’d felt earlier returns with a vengeance, and for a moment it’s overwhelming. She wants to go find Caroline, face the wrath of the friend she’s staying with who Emily is sure thinks she’s the villain in the situation, and yell at her some more, but she swallows it down, knowing her son needs her love, not her anger. 

“You heard what Grandma said?” She asks, and he nods, confirming what she already knows, and she lays down, tugging him against her chest, the vice around her heart tightening as he holds her back as tightly, “She was wrong, baby.” She says, kissing the top of his head, “You’re just as much mine as Hugo and Willa are.” 

He pulls back and looks at her, “But I didn’t grow inside of you like they did.”

She wipes his tears away and runs her knuckles up and down his cheek, “That doesn’t matter to me, okay?” She assures him, “I love you exactly the same as I love them,” she says, and her chest feels hollowed out when he still doesn’t look like he believes her, “You don’t love Mommy or Daddy any differently to how you love me, right?” 

He shakes his head, “No,” he says, furrowing his brows as if he’d never even considered it, “I love you the same.” 

“Exactly,” she replies, pulling him closer again, “And I love you the same as I love your brother and sister, okay?” She runs her fingers through his hair as he nods against her, “And you were my first baby, which is special.”

“Hugo was your first baby,” Jack says as he tilts his head to look up at her, and she smiles, shaking her head as she pushes his hair off his forehead. 

“No, you were,” she says, “And you know what’s really special?” She asks, and he shakes his head again, “You were the one who taught me I could be a mom.”

“You’re an amazing mom!” He insists and she chuckles, leaning in to kiss his forehead. 

“Thanks, sweetie,” she says, “But it’s true. I fell in love with your dad and with you, and that’s what taught me I could do all of this,” she wipes his cheeks and his nose with the sleeve of her shirt, getting rid of the sticky residue of his tears and his stuffy nose, “Without you, Hugo and Willa wouldn’t exist.” 

He gasps as if the thought of the world without his brother and sister was too much to bear, and he tucks himself back against her, “I love you, Mom.”

She kisses the top of his head, “I love you too,” she says, “Want me to stay until you fall asleep?” 

He nods against her and she sings quietly to him, her hand rubbing soothing circles on his back until he gets heavy against her. She sneaks out of his room and pulls the door most of the way closed, again sure that he’d end up in the big bed by morning too. 

When she walks into the master bedroom, she’s not surprised to find Willa sleeping in the bassinet on her side of the bed. They’d moved her to the nursery just a couple of weeks ago, but she understands Aaron’s desire to have the little girl as close to them as possible.  Emily’s heart clenches in her chest when she sees Aaron sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He almost looks like a little boy, like the kid who never got the love he needed from his mother, and it makes her ache. She sits next to him and places her hand on his thigh, guilt for yelling at his mother finally settling in. 

“Honey-”

“I’m so sorry, Em,” he chokes out, turning his head to look at her, tears that threaten to burn her from the inside out shining in his eyes, “I’m…I’m so sorry.” 

She shifts closer and wraps her arms around his shoulders, “Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for.” 

He laughs humourlessly, “I’m the one who told you everything would be fine,” he shakes his head at himself, “I told you to trust her even though I knew we shouldn’t-”

“Hey, no,” she says, cupping his cheek and making him look at her, “You have nothing to be sorry for. Of all the things I was worried about, your mother pulling this didn’t even cross my mind.”

He turns his head and kisses her palm, “She’s unbelievable. Just when I think she can’t outdo herself she always does.” 

They fall into silence for a moment and she leans forward, pressing her forehead against his, “I’m sorry for yelling at her.” 

He shakes his head and pulls back, “No, you have nothing to apologise for. She deserved everything you said and more,” he smiles sadly at her, “And you kept your promise. I did say you could yell at her if it was something to do with the kids.” 

She chuckles dryly, “Who would have known it was because of this,” her smile fades, “I really don’t want her to see them again, Aaron. I don’t think that will fade with time.”

He nods, “I know. Me neither.” 

“I know she’s your mom, and that it’s complicated.”

He shakes his head, “It isn’t complicated, sweetheart. You and the kids are the most important thing to me and I can’t let her carry on acting like her actions don’t have consequences.” 

She wipes a stray tear from his cheek, “She’s still your mom, though.”

“Yeah,” he chokes, his throat tight as more tears spill down onto his cheeks, “She’s still my mom.”

She hugs his head to her chest and runs her fingers through his hair, holding him close as he cries for the relationship he had with his mom and the one he’d never really had, “I love you.” 

“I love you too, Em,” he replies, pulling back just enough to look at her, “I’m sorry.”

She pushes his hair from his forehead, “Me too,” she stamps her lips against his, “Do you want to go downstairs? I think there's some ice cream in the freezer,” she smiles at him, “It’s the perfect post ‘my mother did something sociopathic’ food. I should know, before I met your mom I was the expert on dysfunctional maternal relationships.” 

He laughs, his actual laugh that makes her heart soar, and he rests his head back against her chest, “Yes, but let's stay here for a little while?”

She kisses the top of his head twice, once for him, her Aaron, and once for the little boy inside of him whose heart had been broken yet again by his mother, “We can stay here as long as you need, honey.” 

[stormoflina]

Because of common decency I will not answer the asks you sent anon, as it contained its fair share of problematic thoughts, but I just can't stay silent.

Let me be very clear: the idea of 'domitrent' is NOT REAL. I can comfortably say this in just not my own, but in all my mutuals name who post about the two of them being a thing, that none of us truly believe that they are together or have any kind of romantic or sexual relationship. It's a joke, okay? Something that entertains us, with keeping normal and healthy boundaries as we engage in conversations that are fiction. We don't know any of them, but it's more than likely that neither of them are bisexual/gay, and even if they are, it's none of our business. Please don't assume their sexuality based on a few photos and clips and then treat them as factual!

Now, I always try to be respectful, but I'm having a very hard time doing so right now, because I can't believe I even have to say this, that Dominik has every right in the damn world to have a girlfriend?! To say that he led Trent on and that he lied in that one interview?! Sorry to break it to you, but he's an actual living, breathing person with his own life. His life doesn't revolve around Trent! They are friends ffs, good friends, work friends, close friends, we don't even know that!

And I'm sorry, but to comfortably say something that Dominik is using his current girlfriend as a beard, because he could get into legal trouble for being in a same sex relationship? What on Earth are you even talking about? As someone who was born and still lives in Hungary, I will be the first person to say that homophobia sadly is still a major concern in this country, but it's not illegal?! Gay people are not being haunted down and physically or legally abused in the matter you are implying?! And leave that poor woman alone ffs!

Some of you really need to get a grip and go outside and socialise, because this is not normal behaviour.

[goldenharmony]

Mem-Cho's Realization about Aqua's Feelings: Unambiguous and Correct

I don't believe the chapter 83 conversation in Mem-Cho's apartment is as ambiguous as some people may believe, or that its incorrect. Yes, Mem-Cho is unaware of Aqua's trauma, but that doesn't change the fact regarding what she realized about Aqua's feelings. Additionally, Mem-Cho is also an idol so if Aqua's reasons for avoiding Kana were purely motivated by PTSD, then he should be avoiding Mem at all costs too, rather than going to her apartment at night.

Almost like a part of him does understand that being near Mem isn't going to immediately throw them both into a scandal but still takes extreme measures for Kana.

To me, this was the one of the 2 explicit confirmations (as of ch125) that Aqua had romantic feelings for Kana - the other being Akane's monologue in ch87. It's especially obvious when you realize it parallels with Mem-Cho's realization about Kana's Feelings for Aqua.

Mem-Cho with Kana's Feelings for Aqua

During the First Concert arc, Mem-Cho hasn't ever seen Kana and Aqua interact on a normal basis, so seeing Kana constantly put Aqua down makes her come to a logical assumption that Kana must hate him for some reason.

After the concert, Kana starts talking to Aqua again, but their interaction is still stiff since the misunderstanding about Akane isn't cleared yet, which further supports Mem-Cho's incorrect assessment.

But as soon as Kana starts being happy that Aqua isn't dating Akane, Mem-Cho immediately notices and realizes the truth.

Mem-Cho doesn't actually complete her thought below even if most, if not all translations, have her clearly think that Kana likes Aqua, since she cuts herself off and based on phrasing structures in Japanese, the verb isn't spoken.

The literal translation would actually be 'Arima-chan ____s Aqu-tan'.

But it's obvious on what Mem-Cho realized about Kana.

Going forward, Mem-Cho is usually the character used when Kana's feelings are brought up with another character.

Mem-Cho with Aqua's Feelings for Kana

In the Main Stage arc, Mem-Cho confronts Aqua regarding him avoiding Kana. She believes Aqua's unaware of how his behaviour towards Kana could be perceived, which may have contributed towards Kana's "obsession" over Aqua.

But Aqua rebutted this, and opens up about how he actually feels regarding the situation, revealing that he only is doing this to protect Kana even if it hurts both of them.

From this, Mem-Cho realizes that its not Kana who is obsessed between the two, but its Aqua.

Mem-Cho realizes that Aqua cares for Kana much more than she initially assumed, seeing that the idea of Kana being put in danger is making Aqua have a meltdown.

'For Aqu-tan, Kana-chan is...'. : The direct translation of this line from Japanese would be 'Aqu-tan is the one who ___s Kana-chan', and it's easy to fill in the verb based on the context.

After their conversation, we see Mem-Cho bring up Kana more often to Aqua, even teasing him about "Ah-kun".

Parallels

Both situations involve Mem-Cho initially misunderstanding the situation when one of the two act distant/cold towards the other. Not because Mem-Cho's bad at reading situations (she's actually great at it), but because she was working off of minimal information.

Once she saw Aqua/Kana let their true feelings slip out, she immediately pieced together that her initial assumption was incorrect and came to the correct conclusion: That the person in-question actually loved the other romantically.

In both situations, her thoughts are cut off from the audience:

'Arima-chan ____s Aqu-tan'

'Aqu-tan is the one who ___s Kana-chan'

Finally, this isn't the only example of Aqua and Kana paralleling one another during the First Concert/Main Stage arc, as another example are the scenes where they push one another away.

It would not make sense to parallel these scenes if they both weren't based off of romantic feelings.

[apurpledust]

Junot crying for Napoléon in Montbard

This excerpt is from the Narrator’s POV . He was visiting Junot shortly after he was sent back home to “recuperate”. Narrator's name is Pierre.. based on the Monsieur Vial i assume.

— I see him decline too quickly my poor Alexandre*, and I am not wrong on the real cause of his unhappiness... At night I barely sleep i hear him sobbing during hours muffling his cries on his pillow. Sometimes he says « He doesn't love me anymore ! Its certain he doesn't love me anymore ! Everything is over between us! ... » « Toulon! my god, what a memory ! ... How could he forget Toulon! ...» I asked him about one of his meeting with the emperor, he told me : « The emperor told me : but I still love you my poor Junot ! » and this break me more than anything , because this sentence ....he told this in such a fake tone! » But what power have this man on him , he can kill or heal as he likes? It was like one of those wizards in Martinique that the empress Joséphine told us about.... *Alexandre was also a name Junot used

just a few pages after this, the author continues to write that due to Junot's deteriorating mental state, he had "believed himself to be the wife of Bonaparte" and says to Pierre "He loves me no more, because I am no longer beautiful…"

i skipped through the part about Albert de Permon being annoyed at his behaviour but seeing that nothing can console Junot, Pierre basically plays along and tells him:

— Patience, your husband will be back soon.

Junot proceeds to ask if there had been a courier from the Emperor yet but the answer is always no. This is one S-tier fic :)) reminder this was written way back in 1926 Naps is the top confirmed /jk

~~

In real life , i believe Junot has indeed uttered the line "He doesn't love me anymore" but in different variations. It’s a possibility that this line isn't completely fiction

in Laure's memoirs, Duroc had to yell to convince Junot that Naps still loves him after Russia:

in the book Wellington Against Junot by David Buttery he also mentions this anecdote:

*sobbing* see you guys in my next napjuno post🥲

[yanxidarlings]

Just wanted to say i love ur characterisations for latin america!! On that note, since mexico was colonised forcibly adopted by spain, do you think he would share any behaviour traits with him?

you have no idea how much this ask excited me someone shares my interest in latin america yAY

absolutely.

my earliest thought of how spanish "little brothers" might adopt and trace their yandere traits back to him came from these headcanons, specifically the line "any sons probably would be". man, you just KNOW the latin american countries probably saw how antonio treated his darling, romano, maybe a shared obsession (a concept i've been dipping my feet in) and would have grown up assuming spain's behaviour was totally normal.

this would definately be at different degree's and depend on how deep spain got his claws into each latin american nation; for example, former colonies like the philippines and mexico, who i headcanon grew up around spain, would probably behave most similarly to spain, without even realising it really.

then there are nations like peru and argentina who i don't believe were raised as closely to spain as mexico might have been (i feel like colonial spain was all over the place, played favourites and favourites meant the most resource rich, obediant, catholic colonies), who would unconsciously develop more of his violent traits / scare tactics (especially argentina in this regard), or use their history with spain as a way to gain sympathy from their darling whilst also emulating the same manipulation tactics spain used on them as colonies (case in point; peru).

mexico is definately the most similar to spain as a yandere, at face value, he uses many of spain's favourite tactics, like manipulating his darling by crafting a them vs us dynamic, and fully buying into it himself as well; that's what makes spain so dangerous, he cannot see any fault in his actions.

i've been binge watching the handmaid's tale and as icky as the comparison might be, yandere spain is alot like fred waterford in this regard. but spain is much smarter than that sad sack of shit, and kind of knows what he's doing is manipulative, he just doesn't care or think it's wrong.

mexico on the other hand doesn't believe his actions are at all manipulative, he buys into what he says as much as he wants his darling to.

i haven't touched much on spain's 'darker' side as a yandere, but it is very much there, and unlike england or even germany, antonio is more than happy to harm his darling if they don't comply. the other two are serious and strict when 'forced' to punish their darling, but antonio is lighthearted, joking around as he causes them 'righteous' pain, which is what can make him such an unnerving yandere.

josé definately retains a more calm, lighthearted demeanor when upset with his darling, definately inherited from spain, but is less jolly and more 'matter-of-fact' about it; he definately wants to avoid harming his darling, and is more willing to let things slide that antonio wouldn't.

i've actually been thinking of starting a headcanon 'series' kind of based around yandere latin america/spain/portugal/romano for a while now, it's mostly centered around a specific character so i would probably write it on a themed sideblog, but i would probably also alter whatever i write there to be more 'reader insert' friendly and post it here!.

anyways hello again hetalia fandom, i live, until the next sporadic burst of inspiration *tips fedora*

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Hello! I just wanted to share a few thoughts after seeing the Takeomi hate come back once more. Feel free to ignore it :)

The whole Takeomi debacle is kind of fascinating to me because on the one hand, it's definitely in part because he never really got to shine in the manga (I do wonder if Wakui was rushed to finish the story and chose to make him worse in the character book to more or less wrap things up).

On the other hand, however, I often wonder if it isn't a case of the fandom getting attached to their initial expectations, only to get sorely disappointed down the line. I remember the rain bringer chapter, when he was introduced: at the time the fandom was getting really excited to see new (and older) characters and it gave birth to a lot of theories, based only on these few lines and his design. It might be a bit caricatural to put it like this but it seemed at the time that many people expected him to be some kind of sexy mafia boss with a complicated backstory, so when he was revealed to be kind of a ''loser'' / mostly a normal dude with a different kind of complicated backstory, the expectations took a serious blow.

Anyway, this is just my two cents on the whole thing. I remember I was also disappointed to see him (and Sanzu) pushed to the corner and never brought back again, I would have loved to explore their characters a bit more.

And obviously, everyone's free to like or dislike any character (to each their own after all) for any reason. Takeomi's example just periodically invites itself in my mind 😅

I think the main reason is as you said, he never got a chance to sign or any kind or redemption for what he did. Even in the good timeline, it's shown he works with his siblings so must be on good terms with them but we don't get to see him actually interact with them and we don't know what exactly changed or how it changed for that to happen.

I remember the hype of when he showed up and thinking he was going to be a really cool character but he just never had his moment and his character suffers a lot from the whole telling and not showing thing. Like we know he was very important to the first gen black dragons but we don't get to see him in action or know what he did besides come up with good strategies. The rest of the first gen black dragons don't have this problem because we either see them fighting or they have loveable personalities/ have done a lot of good. Unfortunately Takeomi doesn't really get this, instead we get told he's important, have a panel or two of people cheering for him, see how he got corrupted then see how bad he was towards his siblings.

Speaking of his behaviour towards his siblings, the other issue he faces is that we never get to see the other people at fault. His dad and seemingly his grandmother are arguably a lot more at fault for what happened since they forced a child to raise his siblings. Takeomi didn't want to be "like a father" and he shouldn't have been forced into taking responsibility for them. This 100% doesn't excuse Takeomi's actions and he is still at fault, but I think the adults in situations, who should've been the responsible ones deserve some blame too. But because we never see them, it's harder to really hold them accountable.

Then we have the character book, Takeomi was already hated before that released but that's what really cemented him as being bad. Most of the character book profiles are light hearted, they either give us some funny moments or they show a softer side of the characters. Or they just give some basic info that we kinda already knew. But Takeomi's? (And somewhat the other black dragons) it just paints him as being so much worse then I assumed.

So I don't think it matters if anyone likes or dislikes him, as long as they don't harass anyone over it or be rude to anyone with the opposite opinion.

[zealctry]

JJK verse: hidan as a ᴄᴜʀsᴇ.

while I value the idea of hidan making a possibly interesting ( and unhinged ) curse-user, I think it thematically makes more sense for him to be a curse(d spirit). I mean, not only has his whole character been entrapped and shaped by religious violence & trauma,  but idk, maybe it’s just me….but I think that there’s something so very narratively appropriate about hidan becoming ( quite literally! ) the embodiment of everything he propagated / obsessed over in his canon ( i.e. religious zealotry to the point of lowkey insanity, and the pain associated with it, both to himself and to others ). it's poetic justice~

in a nutshell, the embodiment of the terror, hatred, despair, betrayal, conflict, and agony associated with religious discrimination and persecution perpetuated ( either willingly or by coercion ) by humans upon their own kind, for centuries upon centuries. religious persecution and its outcomes are strongly interwoven throughout human history and have caused an immeasurable amount of human suffering across cultures. assume an extrapolation of it into the jjk world  — yeah, horrific stuff, and the associated reservoir of cursed energy is proportional to the horrors.

the unresolved pain of those being hunted, being tortured, being killed. the hunted and dehumanized in the name of a specific faith. the orphaned and the terrorized. the quivering voices pleading to a silent god. the hating eyes of the inquisitors and the trembling of the accusing finger of it's them, better them than having the blade turned upon me. the doubtful, silencing their doubts and strengthening their position by blood. the horror and disgust of the mute onlookers. perpetuator, idleman, victim; all of it, all of them.

brief physical description.  177 cm. humanoid (male). silver hair, magenta irises, overall similar in appearance to his canon curse form. in terms of garb,  wears nondescript (black) monastic robes, which are often, but not always, paired with a takuhatsugasa ( a wide, bowl-shaped hat that partially obscures the wearer's face ). generally holds onto a long string of charred beads ( unclear if representing a rosary or mala beads ).

notable psychological characteristics.  wrathful, vengeful, chaotic, hypocritical*, prejudiced, fanatical. somewhat unhinged. easily (albeit more often than not sadistically ) entertained/amused. can play surprisingly well with others, if he feels like it. ( if. if. )

* i have to put a special emphasis on this one because it's so, so important. Hidan will often play judge, jury, & executioner with someone, and bring upon them 'godly judgement' for their beliefs, morals, and behaviours, acting holier than thou and superior... only to behave in the same exact manner (thereby contradicting the very doctrine he supposedly seeks to 'uphold', while supposedly implementing its ideals; something something yeah, it's a not at all subtle & direct parallel / critique of some present-day happenstances. )

sidenote, but as a human-based curse ( of important note is that he isn’t a curse based on the fear of god; he really is a curse based on fear of the horrific actions perpetuated by humans in the name of a specific faith ), he has a particular interest in humans, and would happily interact with them, although if said interactions are positive or negative is tba ( he honestly doesn’t care, as long as they’re entertaining ). normal humans, sorcerers, curse-users... it doesn't really make much of a difference to him.

cursed techniques, grade, etc. tba on an as-needed basis. ( might be thread-dependent for funsies. )

[dragonworshippersblog]

Otto: if rhaenyra succeeds viserys, she will put your [alicent’s] children to the sword

The only person in the show who want to kill innocent children was otto himself “it is unsavory, yes but a sacrifice we must make to secure aegon's ascension […] lord commander Westerling, take your knights to dragonstone, be quick and be clean”. Otto wanted to make a massacre of a whole family, and the council agreed with him; on the other hand rhaenyra, nor in the book or in the show, never wanted or proposed the death of her half brothers and half sister.

Alicent: The prince Lucerys brought a blade to the ambush, he meant to kill my son

Meanwhile aemond picked up a rock and hit jace on the head, when he was on the ground bleeding he said “you will die screaming just as your father did, bastards”.

(disclaimer: I am not saying aemond deserves to lose his eye or that he really wants to kill jace, just that alicent’s accusation is nonsense since luke pulled out the knife only after aemond threatened he and his brother with death. Surely aemond didn't mean it but luke was sure,and it is understandable since he is the younger among those present, so acted accordingly by defending his brother, before this he never took the knife)

Alicent: the emblems of the seven serve only to guide us on an uncertain path to remind us of a higher authority.

The faith of the seven consider incest as a monstruos and vile sin, so it condemns incestuous marriages calling them an abomination. Yet alicent betrothal aegon and haelena because it was convenient to her; since she is so religious, with her actions she would condemn her children to damnation, but she doesn't seem to care much about that

Alicent: At the green council she said “Am I to understand that members of the small council have been secretly planning to install my son without me?” pretending to be completely uninvolved, but here is an evolution of older alicent from ep 6 to 8 (not including ep 9 because it show the green council and ep 10 because it is all based on rhaenyra and the black)

ep 6: she said to aegon “you are the king’s firstborn son. And what they know, what everyone in the realm knows in their blood and in their bones is that one day, you will be our king”. She also speak with viserys about rhaenyra’s children in the hope for him to change his mind, and in the council she alway discredit rhaenyra’s position

ep 7: it is the episode when aemond lost his eye otto said to her that she had the determination to win the game and now vaghar was at their side, then he conclude by saying that they will prevail

ep 8: she agreed to give driftmark to vaemond before the petition start, because it was safe “in the case of a war” have a more experienced men at the head of velaryon’s fleet.

If you still believe that she was not aware, or at least not expect that the council was scheming, then you are totally delusional (it's worth mentioning that rhaenyra had told alicent that the council was plotting to replace her and this was even before aegon was born, and that alicent admitted to otto that he was implacable in the idea of having aegon on the throne; so it was unthinkable to assume that he wasn't plotting especially at a time like this where viserys was ill and he had all the power. If you continue to assert that Alicent was in the dark, then you are consequently asserting that she is stupid)

Alicent: "We [woman] do not rule, but we may guide the men that do. Gently, away from violence"

Friendly reminder that aegon, alicent's son, rape the maids in the red keep. I find this this behaviour very far from being kind and being against violence; and if alicent is not capable of controlling her son as a prince, imagine once she has placed a crown on his head (in fact in fire and blood otto and alicent were convinced that once aegon was crowned king they would be the true rulers, and this is revealed to be false since he relieved otto of his position and act, most of the time, without listen to alicent)

Otto: “Queen Alicent has not forgotten the love you once have for each other”

Alicent did not forget the love she and rhaenyra shared when the latter might make decisions that harm her children, because when alicent abused rhaenyra then that love for her had never existed

Context: Alicent demanded that the baby rhaenyra had just given birth to be brought to her, not even having the decency to leave them alone for a few minutes after rhaenyra's painful delivery to bring the child into the world. In the second picture alicent and otto agreed to grant vaemond a petition for the wooden throne despite the fact that the succession had already been decided by corlys himself subjecting rhaenyra to great stress while she was pregnant. In the third rhaenyra had an abortion because her body could not cope with the pain after her father had died and his death was hidden from her, and consequently she could not say goodbye to him and take the ring he was wearing (a ring that belonged to aemma, the mother rhaenyra lost at a young age, photo 4), to this pain was also added the fact that her throne had been usurped by her childhood friend who a few days earlier had praised how good a queen rhaenyra would be. Of course, I have not included all the times where Alicent discredited rhaenyra and her opinions, and spread gossip about her children, calling them 'threats' and 'savages'. If this is love I can't think what would have happened if there was antipathy between the two.

[seriousbrat]

Never said she hated James or that she was a gold digger. I do believe she loved him. But I also believe that part of the reason she was attracted to him and to the prospect of marrying James was the fact he was a rich pureblood and through him she could gain a more stable identity/community in a world where she probably felt like she didn't belong. This attraction and class appeal of James also probably made her downplay or ignore his faults and his previous actions towards Snape and others - that's why I called her pretty shallow and a social climber. She saw Snape being miserable for years, yet she still married James and why? Because he didn't use dark magic, appealed to her ego and a desire for safety and stability. She justified her attraction with her black and white morals, selfish interest and grew to like James more - despite him being an entitled arrogant asshole who she saw tormenting her ex friend for years. That tells me a lot about her. There simply must have been a reason why she married such a jerk with a bullying history. And I'm not calling James evil btw. And no not all 20 year olds have babies during a war. She jumped straight to a relationship, got married after a year - reckless, and had a baby year later - immature. And no you cannot be a kind saint while surrounding yourself with shitty people. I believe all the characters in this era were shitty, some more, some less. Most of them had good intentions for sure, Lily included, but she was not like the way you talk about her. Because she was close to pretty nasty people. James was a dick, Sirius was a less evil Bellatrix, Remus was an enabler and I don't even like talking about Peter. Snape had such a shit life that it's impossible to not be shitty in his situation, Petunia was a complete jerk and you actually think that Lily - the person that was moving in circles with these people - was a kind, feminist, role model? That's why I do not like this potrayal. Not only it doesn't make sense with the knowledge we have about her but it is also kind of sexist to reduce her to a kindred spirit who can do no wrong and has the best of intentions. Btw I'm not saying you are completely wrong, after all we do not know her canon personality, I'm just arguing with how I see her and why. I prefer this more negative perception because it makes her more human in my mind. I also do read and enjoy your fic, because even if I do not agree with the way you see these characters, I can enjoy different versions of them from time to time.

Okay, I debated whether to respond to this, honestly-- the thing is you're just not going to convince me that this is a fair and good-faith assessment of Lily's character and not generally quite callous and unforgiving.

You didn't literally use the term 'gold digger,' but you assumed (and have now doubled down on that assumption) that there could be no other primary reason other than money and status for why she was attracted to James and married him. Sorry girl but that is calling her a gold digger even if you didn't use the actual term.

This attraction and class appeal of James also probably made her downplay or ignore his faults and his previous actions towards Snape and others

"probably" based on what lmao. Look sorry but I just think it's so obvious that this is rooted in your own beliefs about women, subconscious though they may be. Even if we say for argument's sake that James never improved his behaviour and had no redeeming qualities that might make him attractive to a woman, women marry dickheads all the time lmao. And not all or even most of those dickheads are wealthy. Like this is such a ridiculous and ungenerous assumption, on many levels.

Snape had such a shit life that it's impossible to not be shitty in his situation

I already posted this bit (because it's very funny) but I'll say it clearly: LMAO. This is absolutely so indicative of your biases and I don't think you can even see it. Wah wah wah, what a poor misunderstood baby 🥺🥺🥺Yeah Snape was so tragic and tortured that he just couldn't help joining a fascist organisation bent on the destruction of people like Lily. But Lily can only have married a man who was a bully in school because she was shallow and opportunistic. Give me a break lmfao

Petunia was a complete jerk and you actually think that Lily - the person that was moving in circles with these people - was a kind, feminist, role model?

If Lily is at fault for the actions of everyone around her, what on earth is Snape for 'moving in circles' with murderers and sadists and racists and fascists etc etc? Oh, I forgot, Snape can't help it bc everyone was so mean to him 🥺 so it makes him just a 'less evil Bellatrix' not in control of his own shittiness, whereas Lily is for some reason even at fault for the actions of her SISTER even though people can't choose who they're related to. hahahaa. Can't you see how this is wildly unfair???

I've never said Lily was a 'saint' or a 'feminist role model.' Lmao. If you can't see how a woman can be generally a kind and good person without being some sort of unrealistic flawless saint, that's honestly your own issue. If you prefer a 'negative' portrayal of a woman because that makes her more 'human' (read: realistic) to you, idk what to tell you. People just thinking a woman is a good person isn't an inferior read on a character than yours haha, (nor is it 'kind of sexist' LOL but nice try) like have you never met a kind woman irl? Sorry about that, but it's not my problem.

Look, I'm glad you've read my fic, thank you, and that you're at least open to other interpretations of Lily. However I honestly think that yours needs some serious self-reflection. Ordinarily I'd say that you know, it might not be my business nor is it productive to get on people's cases for simply disagreeing with my interpretations of a character, but you did bring this ridiculous and misogynistic take into my inbox. Like feel free to continue unfairly hating Lily on your own blog basically lol.