#but there’s never any in-depth opinion about it anywhere

[sleepdepravity]

I got an idea of doing a YouTube channel that is just “reviews” where I say a short sentence about a movie and then give a rating, like:

Glass Onion - “five old people play among us in it” 10/10

Pinocchio - “SpongeBob voices Mussolini” 9.5/10

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - “there is buttplug-activated fighting skills” 10/10

[sundrop-writes]

Hi! I hope this is okay to send because I’ve sent this type of request to others (and I know that’s normally bad) BUT it’s because I enjoy the different opinions of all the amazing writers!!! It’s not a fic request but just a request for your top headcanons for Spencer Reid.

The things that you’re like “this is canon and I’ll fight you over it” - smut, nsfw, tame, domestic, anything - just your opinions/rants!

(If it’s not okay to ask though please accept my apology!!! I’m still learning the social etiquette of tumblr requests! ) - 🌑

I definitely think this is okay to send to different writers, because you will usually get very different results - usually writers don't like it when you send a request that can only get similar results (asking for a narrative fic with a detailed, similar plot). But I love giving my random headcanons about characters.

Random Spencer Reid Headcanons

And okay, the first one I have in mind for Spencer is so weird.

One of the headliners that I always have in mind for Spencer - he wears tighty whities.

Like - the only kind of underwear that he wears are the classic hanes briefs (usually white, maybe heather grey, never black or any other 'fun' colour) - he doesn't wear boxer briefs, he doesn't wear boxers. Whenever I see a fic saying 'and then Spencer took off his boxer briefs', I'm like: "no, you don't know him like I do".

Spencer is a fucking nerd. Spencer is the type of fucking nerd who would insist on wearing the nerdiest underwear - tighty whities. And people probably write about him wearing boxer briefs because those are the sexy men's underwear and briefs are not like 'hot' to picture men in - but that is exactly why I HC him as wearing them and exactly why I mention that he wears them in every single one of my fics.

Spencer would wear the dorkiest underwear in expectation that he's not going into a sexual situation. He wears his underwear thinking that he's not going to fuck - he's not going to have to 'impress' anyone. Also, over time, of writing several fics about him and thinking about Spencer for 100s of hours a week - I have come to develop this kind of kink for picturing his giant nine inch cock trapped inside the crotch of a pair of briefs, hard and struggling to fit in there. It would be hot in its own way. (Which, Spencer always is.)

Speaking of his cock - you may notice that with a lot of my fics, I take the time to describe in depth what a male character's dick looks like. This is because I take the time to picture and think about what a characters dick looks like and how it is different from other characters (because no, not every characters dick is nine inches, thick and veiny. no) - I call it the Dickscription. And I think it's a very important part of characterization.

Spencer is eight to nine inches (when fully hard) - but he is skinny. His cock is a bean pole, just like he is. You would look at his dick and call it a snake. His cock is very smooth - the skin on it is baby soft and smooth, rather than veiny, and Spencer does not shave his pubes. Spencer is a full bush kind of guy - because he is terrified of putting a razor anywhere near his dick. He would only shave if you helped him and if he trusted you a lot. And he had a very thick, dark bush of hair near the top, around the base of his cock, but it gets more sparse around his balls, which even get soft and fuzzy in some places. (I have thought about this way. too. much.)

He is uncut, and when he gets really needy and teased or if you don't let him cum, then his cock turns a really bright shade of pink or even red, and the colour goes across his whole cock so his cock becomes like this beautiful bright pink rocket - and he leaks. Spencer is a very leaky guy, to the point where he gets everything so wet before he can even cum.

(These headcanons are getting out of control, lets get back to something more wholesome, shall we?)

Spencer is the kind of person to take himself on dates. On the rare occasion that he gets a day off, Spencer indulges in going out alone. It's not necessarily that he likes the solitude, but he's used to it because he spent his entire childhood pretty much alone, and there are a lot of activities that he likes that he thinks no one else he knows will enjoy. So he tries to enjoy treating himself to a day out alone.

He will bring a few good books to a cafe and drink a few expensive lattes (and probably eat a few pastries) and simply enjoy the peace and quiet of reading by himself for a while. He'll go to a book store and browse for hours before finally picking something. He'll go to a naturally history museum and walk around by himself, not tied to the whims of what someone else wants to see.

Hmmm

Maybe some relationship headcanons?

(Because we all love Spencer, lets face it.)

This is something I bring up in Careful (as you guys will see) - but I genuinely believe that Spencer Reid would treat his partner like royalty. He is someone who has spent years reading about romance - especially with his mother reading him so much classic literature, he regards the classics as the bar for romance (and he just hopes that his life doesn't become one of the tragedies where one or both partners die in the end). So he's not the 'Netflix and Chill' type - and he definitely doesn't bring you to the movies to sit in silence on a date.

He is the type of person to hire a violinist to play your favourite song by the table on a date, he will open doors for you, help you with your coat, pull out chairs for you, recite poetry to you (probably in other languages just because it sounds beautiful).

He will always think of the most unique dates to take you on. He'll take you to museums, to an observatory, to the orchestra - he'll take you to a large, elegant library that has rare books and recite lines from those classic books to you while you're there. He would take you to plays or a midnight picnic by a lake. Dates with him would never be boring or typical - it would be like living in a romantic movie.

A lot of people HC that Spencer would not be into PDA because he's too shy, but I don't think that's the case. Early seasons Spencer maybe, but I think that even he would get to a point where he's just so enamoured with you that he needs to touch you in public. But his PDA wouldn't be steamy or smutty, it would be romantic and soft and passionate.

He would keep a hand on your lower back while walking around, a sign that he's right there with you, a gentle signal to anyone around that you're with him. He would lean in close to speak right in your ear - showing that his words are only for you, that nobody else in the vicinity deserves to hear what he has to say, only you do.

He would graze his fingertips right across your arm, causing goosebumps on your skin. He would stare into your eyes with such intense, burning passion. And he would kiss you in public - lingering only long enough to leave you wanting more. And on occasion, he would lean in to kiss your neck or bring your hand up to kiss the back of it - gentle things to show his appreciation of you without giving away too much for prying eyes to see.

Dating Spencer would be like dating a prince from a hallmark movie, I swear to god.

(That's all I have for now, because if I keep thinking about this too much, I may explode because Spencer is not real and I can't actually date him.)

[heliads]

i don't want to keep secrets just to keep you

Ever since you were a kid, your older brother Charles Leclerc has made you promise that you'd never date one of his teammates. Carlos Sainz, however, may be a fiercer test of your willpower than any of you imagined.

masterlist

Charles Leclerc is going to be late to the first race of the season, and it’s so his fault. He’s usually so distracted in trying to make sure that you’re going to be on time that he forgets to check in with himself. That’s why you’re currently watching him scramble around the hotel room, desperately shoving stuff in his pockets and trying to regain some semblance of dignity.

“It’s only Bahrain,” you tease him, “how are you this behind already?”

Charles shoots you an infuriated glare, halfway through trying to tug both shoes on at once. “I’m sure this is your fault somehow.”

You roll your eyes. “I trust you to find a reason for that to make sense.”

You’re not fazed by his irritation. Charles is your elder brother of exactly one year, two months, and three weeks, which is, in his decided opinion, more than enough to give him an advantage over you in age and responsibility. Charles has taken it upon himself to watch out for you and Arthur in every way possible, including when either of you visit him at the racetrack.

However, Charles really only has enough room in his brain to worry about one person. In micromanaging you, he’s forgotten to get himself ready in time, thus causing the chaos before you now. You’re not the one to stress this morning, as you won’t be shooting around a track at ungodly speeds, so it’s well within your rights to sit back and laugh as Charles trips over himself in an attempt to still make it to the paddock on time. 

First race and he’s already behind schedule. If only he could use some of that nervous energy to actually be on time the first attempt. He’ll still make it to the race with enough time to spare, but you wouldn’t know that from the way Charles is buzzing behind the wheel, tapping his fingers and mumbling swears whenever the cars in front of him dare to dip below the speed limit.

Eventually, you find yourself in the Ferrari section of the paddock, guided to Charles’ assigned room so he can drop off a bag and grab whatever he needs before heading out again. He adjusts his shirt collar in the mirror, fixing his hair much to your joking derision, and finally declares himself ready to go.

At last, Charles turns to you in the depths of the Ferrari complex, placing his hands on your shoulders like a sports coach about to deliver some life-changing advice. “Y/N, before we go out there, I need you to remember a promise. You swore this to me years ago and I need your word that it isn’t going to change.”

You groan loudly. “Charles, I thought you’d forgotten about that.”

Charles temporarily breaks his stress grip on your shoulders to swat you on the bicep with his right hand. “Absolutely not, are you mad? I want you to promise again. I need to hear it.”

You stare at him. He stares back. “You’re insane,” you tell him.

“Say it,” he replies.

Unfortunately, you kind of knew this was coming. Charles made you promise something like this for the first time back when he was still getting the hang of karting. You’d done something silly like hold hands with one of his friends from his karting team when you were a kid and Charles had flown off the handle. That’s when he’d first come up with the teammate pledge. If you wanted to be there at the race, you had to swear you’d never go out with any of his driving partners, past or present. 

It’s a promise he’d made you continually repeat all throughout Formulas Three and Two, but it’s been a while since you were able to make it to a race due to various life interferences, so you thought he’d forgotten about it or something. It appears that’s far from the case, though. Leave it to Charles to remember something like this.

When it becomes increasingly apparent that neither of you will be going anywhere unless you say the words Charles is yearning to hear, you sigh and give in. “Fine. I solemnly swear that I’m not going to date any of your teammates. I won’t even look at them. I’ll run the second anyone with a Ferrari shirt enters the room.”

Charles rolls his eyes. “Be serious.”

“I am serious!” You protest. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m not going to seduce any of your coworkers.”

Charles gives you a pronounced glare. “I’m quoting you on that.”

Your brother looks as if he’d like nothing more than to lecture you for a little longer on the importance of keeping this promise, but luckily, you’re saved by someone rapping on the door. Charles gives you a cautionary look before calling to the visitor that they can come in.

And what a visitor it is. All thoughts of the previous dispute are erased from your head in a matter of moments. Seeing as you’ve been away from the races for so long, you’ve never gotten a chance to actually meet Charles’ teammate at Ferrari. You’ve seen photos, of course, and certainly stared at them for longer than Charles would approve of, if he ever knew, but something about Carlos Sainz is even better in person.

He peers inside the room and a smile instantly crosses his face at the sight of you. “You must be Charles’ sister, Y/N. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while.”

You grin back at him without even thinking of it. “It was the same with me. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Carlos reaches out to shake your hand, and it might just be your imagination, but you swear he holds it perhaps a little longer than he would Arthur’s or Enzo’s. “Only good things, I hope. If not, I hope to convince you otherwise.”

Charles coughs pointedly from beside the two of you, causing Carlos to drop your hand in a flash. “Are you here for a reason, mate, other than to talk to my sister?”

Carlos nods a little too quickly. “Yes, yes. You’re late, cabrón. PR’s been tearing hospitality apart looking for you. We were supposed to head out twenty minutes ago.”

Charles swears under his breath. “You should have told me that at the start, you asshole. Save whatever that was for later, we have to get out there.”

Charles exasperatedly rushes to the table behind him to grab his phone and a fresh Ferrari cap out of his bag. While he’s distracted, Carlos winks at you, whispering something about how he hadn’t minded the delay. Charles can’t hear it, but he must be able to tell from the expression on your face that something is happening.

“Out of my room,” Charles tells Carlos, “we need to get going. Y/N, you remember how to get to hospitality, right? You can meet up with Arthur and the others.”

You nod and he heads to the door, his teammate already shepherded out into the hall by the sheer force of Charles’ indignant stress. Your brother doubles back a moment later, leaning back into the room to give you one last vexed look.

“You promised,” Charles urges you, raising his finger in warning before hurrying out at last.

You’ve never had a problem keeping the teammate promise before. That being said, you think you might have to fight to maintain your word a little harder than you had before. Carlos is– well, his eyes, his hair, the way that red shirt looks against his skin–

Promises!

You’ll never make one again. Silently, you send up a prayer to anyone inclined to listen. You really don’t want to disappoint your brother, but you might need all the moral strength you can get.

You dutifully make your way to Ferrari hospitality as told, and you make it approximately six minutes through listening to your brother’s friends talk about the strategy and the track and the tire compounds before you cave and ask them what you really want to know. And what about his teammate? What’s Carlos like?

They’re not as paranoid as Charles, so they don’t suspect you. You listen carefully, quietly, to how Carlos has really been improving as of late, how he’s been nothing but a gentleman to all of them, what they wouldn’t give to see him more often than just around the paddock.

In short, it’s everything you’d want to hear. When the lights go out and the cars start streaking around the first corner, you realize that the red flash of engine and machinery you’re watching isn’t your brother, but Carlos instead. And, when the Spaniard ends up on the podium, your heart leaps as if it was someone you had known all your life up there, laughing and shouting and spraying champagne.

He still smells sweet when he visits you later. Carlos should know better. So should you. You smile and congratulate him and he thanks you, says that he knew you were watching the whole time and that’s why the race went so well. He waits until your smile is so warm that you could hardly speak and then he asks you to get a drink or two with him later. Just to talk, you know. Unless, of course, you wanted more.

More is exactly what you want with Carlos, but you’re still here in this room with him because you’re here to cheer on your brother, and your brother is the one who’ll be watching you like a hawk until the end of the night. Alright, Carlos says when you admit this to him, You know, I didn’t take you for someone who just wanted to follow the rules.

He’s going to get you killed. You’re delighted with every bit of him. You tell him as much when you give him your phone number. Carlos grins, presses a kiss to your forehead, and tells you when and where he’ll pick you up. You can still feel the ghost of his lips on your skin even after he leaves, even after your brother takes his place and starts rambling about every lap. You don’t hear a word. All you can think about is the new contact in your phone, the one who texts you as you’re leaving the building:

You looked beautiful today, by the way. In case I forgot to tell you.

So you do have a death wish, then. So does he. You text Carlos all throughout that night and the next, making sure that you are able to tell him how imperative that this remains secret from Charles even as you fall endlessly through compliments and charm and glory. 

You meet up with him relatively soon afterwards, even though to you, it feels like centuries have passed since that first meeting. You are absolutely terrified walking to meet him for the first time, certain that it won’t be half of what you imagined. There is a moment of fear, and then you round the corner and he’s there, holding out flowers for you, and the burden of Atlas himself falls from your shoulders.

And– it’s good. Fuck, it’s good. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if it wasn’t, but this is something unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. You want to call it love from the first date alone, but you manage to wait a little longer, pushing off the declaration until a few weeks have gone by and he’s kissing you in the shadows of buildings, always running the razor-fine line of being adventurous and getting caught. 

This, you decide, one room down from your brother, Carlos’ hands on your waist, is why you would break the rules. It is all worth stealing; every word, every touch, every moment. You never want it to stop, which of course, means that it must.

You have three glorious months before your golden paradise comes crashing down around you. As time goes on, the two of you feel more and more certain that you won’t get caught. How could you, after all? How could Charles possibly guess? You sneak out of hospitality to meet with Carlos, and he laughs and calls you his little rebel, and everything makes sense in a way it never has before. You trust him to keep you out of trouble even as you drag him further into it. There is no way you could possibly be seen.

And then, when you’re in Carlos’ room and he’s kissing you to say hello and I missed you and you look lovely today, just as always, the door opens. You thought it was locked. You might not even have checked.

It is enough, though. Enough that your brother would be able to walk in and see. Enough that you would feel a terrible fear run like ice water through your veins. Enough for you to know that there would be no chance that he’d let this happen, that Charles would do anything but hate you forever for this.

The look on your brother’s face alone convinces you of that. You’ve had arguments before, in the past, both of you doing things to mess with each other, but never in your life have you ever seen Charles as angry as he is right now. Fury does not even come close to the war radiating from his eyes.

Carlos puts his hands up, tries to step in front of you to deflect some of the blame. “Charles, look, this is my fault. I–”

Charles cuts him off. Carlos usually doesn’t back down to anyone, but you think a raging bull would step aside if Charles was in his path right now. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. Y/N, I asked one thing of you. What is this?”

You feel like your heart has stopped beating. A thousand thoughts whir in your head, excuses, pleas for forgiveness, apologies, but nothing comes out. Charles lunges forward, grabbing your arm, pulling you out of the room. Carlos tries to stop the two of you from leaving, but Charles looks him dead in the eyes and tells Carlos he’ll move if he knows what’s good for him. You nod once, mumble that it’s okay, and Carlos steps away at last, watching with a haunted stare as you disappear down the hall.

Charles slams the door of his driver’s room closed behind you. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, breathing heavy as he tries and fails to get himself under control. “I made you promise this a hundred times, Y/N. Don’t date my fucking teammates.”

You’ve never been scared of your brother, but today– Today, you are. You shrink away from him, trying to think of anything to say to make this end. “I’m sorry, Charles. So, so sorry.”

“You’re not,” Charles spits. “If you were, you never would have done this in the first place. I want so little from you, and you can’t even do this?”

Hot tears threaten to choke you out, but when you finally manage to get your breath back, the sadness starts to creep away, replaced instead by embittered fury. Who is he to speak to you like this? No brother should treat his family with the hatred he throws at you now.

“You never should have asked me that in the first place. I can do what I want, I’m an adult.”

Charles scoffs. “You’re not acting like one right now. There are so many other men in the world, but no, you had to go behind my back like this. You’ll stay away from him, you understand?”

You feel like screaming. “Stop trying to police what I do! You can’t tell me what to do with my life, you’re not my father!”

“I know!” Charles says, furious, “I know, none of us are. He’s not here anymore, it’s just me trying to look out for you and you won’t even let me do that. Every time I try to do something, you find a way to get around it. God, you make knowing you so damned difficult.”

The room becomes icily silent. Charles’ eyes are wide and scared. You don’t think he meant to say that, but he did, and there is no going back from it now.

“Alright, then,” you reply as calmly as you can, “I’ll fix that for you, then. You don’t have to handle me anymore.”

Charles sucks in a breath. “Wait, Y/N–”

You don’t let him finish, already to the door before he can even complete the last syllable of your name. It slams behind you, making you flinch. You don’t know what you’d say if you saw him again, but you still walk slowly to the elevator, then wait five minutes by the button, just in case he comes after you. He doesn’t. The hall is dark and cold, just like the streets outside when you finally gather up the last pitiful scraps of your pride and leave.

You don’t go to any more races after that. You stay at home and go about your normal business and pretend that nothing is the matter even though everything is. You don’t answer when Charles texts you later, or when he calls, or when the attempts to reach you eventually fall away to nothingness. Carlos tries to contact you as well, but you doubt he wants to stay with you after that explosion with Charles, so you do him a favor and ignore him too. 

He’ll thank you for it later, maybe, if he even remembers you at all. Formula One drivers are a big deal around the world. You wouldn’t be surprised if Carlos forgets you over a supermodel or twelve, even if it would stab you through the heart to see a paparazzi photo of him with any other girl.

You don’t talk to anyone, actually, no one except your friends, and they know enough to not ask a single question. You don’t see any of your family, certain that they’d be on Charles’ side. You don’t want any more lectures, so it’s easier to just pretend like it’s just you against the world. That’s what you tell yourself, at least. You have been known to lie before.

You last a few months before your facade starts to crack. No matter how well luck runs in your favor, how many new friends you make, nothing compares to what you’d had before. You find yourself staying up at night just waiting for a call so you can ignore it, or wake from a dream in which someone was there, talking to you, when you’d never dare so much as look at them now.

It’s not enough. Of course it isn’t. You had everything you could have possibly wanted— boyfriend and brother, both Ferrari drivers, your family happy that you were showing up to more races and the love of your life thrilled to see you each and every time— so how could none of that ever be enough? It never will be. You could spend a thousand lifetimes in this terrible empty resolution and still not be satisfied, not when you remember how you used to have it all not so long ago. 

You’re not sure how long you could have lasted like this. Perhaps you could have stuck to it forever, a grudge grown inside you like the roots of an evergreen, but it would have choked you out before long. Something intervenes, though. Someone, to be specific. Someone like your other brother, the younger one.

Arthur calls you. Frames it under the guise of wanting advice for an upcoming trip, but he finds a way to sneak discussion of Charles in there when your guard is down. He says Charles regrets it. You don’t believe him until an envelope shows up on your doorstep four days later containing plane tickets to the city of the next Formula One race. Addressed from your estranged brother. Including a note that says, Sorry. And, C.L.

Nothing more. The paper practically tears from the weight of you folding it and unfolding it in your hands. It seems to have aged centuries by the time you get off of the plane, stepping down in foreign territory both in terms of the new stamp you’ll get to add to your passport and the uneasy feeling resting in your chest when Charles texts you the number of the hotel room he bought you and his as well. Just in case, you know, you maybe wanted to talk.

You take the flight and you go to the hotel and you bring all of your suitcases and misguided hopes to sit along with you. It’s dark out when you finally manage to get up the courage to lock your door and go to Charles’ room instead. He gets back from media duties around this time, you’re sure he would be there if you just knocked. If you just tried.

The problem is how to make it last. You stand in front of his door, shaking, and then you raise your hand and rap once against the wood. It’s quiet enough that you could leave if he didn’t hear you, having done your job of attempting to reach him.

Charles hears you, though. The unhappy thought occurs to you that he’s probably been waiting for this and dreading it just as much as you. Your knuckles have barely left the smooth surface of the door before you hear the sound of footsteps on carpet, and then he’s undoing the latch and your brother is there again.

You hover for a moment, not sure what to do. Is he mad still? Couldn’t be, if he went to the expense of flying you out here. Does he expect you to apologize?

Instead of anything like that, Charles surges forward, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. He hasn’t hugged you like this in a while, even before the fight. It’s like you’re kids again, and Charles has just won a karting round and he’s still small enough that having his sister there isn’t an embarrassment but a source of pride.

Something hot spikes through your throat, but you swallow it back and hug him, too. This is your brother. Even after a fight, he’s your family. The two of you have been trying your hardest to forget that, but he is.

Charles disengages himself soon enough to gesture you into the room. You take a careful seat on one of the available chairs and Charles sinks down onto a sofa, head propped up on hands on knees.

“I’m not sorry,” you blurt out. It’s stupid, you probably should have at least said something to clear the air before starting with that, but you want him to know what he’s getting himself into.

Even weeks after the incident, when the anger burned off and you just felt sad and alone, you still never felt regret for dating Carlos. You loved him. Still do, actually. You would have done it all over again if given the chance. If your temporary surrender with Charles is based on the lie that you’ll repent for having the audacity to fall in love, it would never last long anyway. Better to get it over with now.

Charles chuckles. “Yes, I had guessed that. Joris told me I was being stupid.”

You snort in disbelief before you can stop yourself. “You told Joris?”

Charles shrugs wildly. “Who else was I supposed to complain to, Carlos? Both Arthur and Enzo told me it was my fault and I wanted someone to agree with me.”

You fold your arms across your chest. “Maybe you should have taken that as a sign that I was right and you weren’t.”

Charles groans, but he’s not mad. Not anymore. Neither of you are, actually. “Well, that’s why you’re here, obviously. I was– I was stupid. I can’t control you. You’re not a kid anymore. Just, Y/N– Carlos?”

He says the last part in a desperate plea, practically beseeching you to come to your senses. You laugh, unable to stay serious when Charles looks so horrified. “Let me live, Charles. He was worth it.”

“I assumed,” Charles says darkly, then, “Does this mean I get to date one of your friends? If you say no, you are a hypocrite.”

You roll your eyes. “They wouldn’t want you. I’ve warned them off of drivers.”

Charles protests that, but weakly. The two of you are giggling like nothing had happened, which, although infinitely preferable to fighting, confuses you more than anything. Is this it, then? Is the fight over? So many months of separation, and it’s done without hardly even being debated?

You eye your brother cautiously once his laughter subsides. “You’re really okay with it, then? I mean, you were so mad when you found out.”

Charles winces at the memory. “I was caught by surprise. I was angry, yes, but it shouldn’t have been that much. I knew I fucked up when you left. I told myself that it was more important that you come back.”

It’s what you had felt as well. After your father died– well, there are only so many of us. You learn that family is worth more than argument. Charles has been quick to forgive ever since then. It is easy to be lonely when you are far from home and there is nobody left who knows you.

You nod, accepting this. If Charles has made his peace, then– well, you would be lying if you said you had come to this race just to see your brother. “And– Carlos, is he–”

“I don’t know,” Charles answers evenly. “I haven’t seen a lot of him. I have no idea if he is angry or unhappy or anything. We’re nice on camera because PR makes us, but we’ve avoided each other a lot.”

Your face must betray your apprehension, because Charles waves a hand at you. “Don’t worry about it, though. I’m sure he still thinks you’re sweet. He did tell me off for a long time when you left. He would not have done that if it was nothing. If you want to see him again, I am sure he would be okay with it.”

You laugh bitterly. “It’s been months, Charles. I don’t know if he even wants to look at me anymore, let alone date me again.”

Charles shakes his head. “What do you lose by going? Besides, now that I am invested in it, I want this to pay off. I did not spend money for your flight over here just for you to get ghosted.”

You toss a pillow at his head. Charles deflects it with ease and points towards his door. “He is out there, target him and not me! Now go already, I want to stop moping around. Maman says it is terrible for the constitution.”

You laugh and head for the door, pausing slightly over the threshold when you realize that you actually have no idea where Carlos is at all. You could, of course, just wait until the next day when you can see him at Ferrari hospitality, but you do not want to waste another moment when you’ve already gone so long without him.

A voice over your shoulder quells your worrying. “He’s in room 519.”

You shoot Charles a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

He nods, and you’re off, barely stopping long enough to close the door behind you before hurrying down the corridor once more.

You’re already on the fifth floor, which makes sense; Ferrari puts their drivers somewhat close to each other so they can help each other back if they’ve gotten a little too hammered after a long night out. You take two turns and then you’re there, 519. The end of the line. Your own personal fate.

You thought you would be more afraid to face Charles than Carlos, but for some reason now you feel as if you can hardly move at all. You have to force your hand to form a fist and rap against the wood, but your heart is hammering in your chest all the while.

For a brief, terrible moment, you entertain the notion that Carlos will not come to the door but someone else, a woman perhaps, halfway undressed or something horrendous like that. Instead, it’s him, just him, and you feel like your heart might burst out of your chest.

Carlos looks at you, dark eyes wide. He hasn’t seen you since the fight, and you were so afraid of everything that you didn’t respond to a single message or call. Still, you are standing in front of him now, so surely that must count for something.

“I forgave him,” you say, voice echoing in the stillness between you, “Charles.”

Carlos lets out this slow breath, and you’re debating whether it’s laced with disappointment or indifference or maybe something else, something better, the thoughts racing through your head at record time right up until he kisses you. And then– well, then you don’t have to worry anymore. You know. You know everything.

“I was waiting,” he murmurs against the top of your head, unwilling to pull away more than a centimeter or two even for a lack of breath, “I thought you might have thought we weren’t worth the risk.”

You shake your head indignantly. “No, never. I was scared, that’s all. I’m sorry.”

Carlos leans away just slightly, enough that you can see the playful smile on his face as he traces the curve of your cheekbone. “My little rulebreaker, scared? Couldn’t be.”

You laugh, let him pull you into his room and shut the door. No one in the world needs to know the thousand ways you make it up to each other, how you make a new promise to him as a crescent moon snakes further up the sky:  you will never let a single thing get in between the two of you again. The stars soften, dawn colors the morning sky, and you, you have happiness beyond compare.

f1 tag list: @j-brielmalfoy

[steviebbboi]

Hi! Me again 😅 I have another request for Good For It Ari ❤️ Was wondering if you could do a proposal/marriage moment between them too? Wondering if there would be any angst/push back from the town at all/or like how’s the town feeling about now later down the road? Do they still like them or not? Thanks again ❤️

Hi hi again~ thank you for sending this in <3 i love this prompt too! it definitely made me think hard about how Lumberjack!Ari would propose given that his language is comprised of well-placed, intentioned grunts lol but i hope that i did it justice.

Pairing: Lumberjack!Recluse!Ari x F!Reader (Good For It)

Word Count: 1.6k~

Summary: How would Lumberjack!Ari propose to you?

You could read the original fic here.

Disclaimer: ***I don't give any permission for this to be reposted anywhere! Pls do not steal work, plagiarism isn't demureeee***

Reblogs help writers reach more readers who may also enjoy our work. As you like, kindly reblog~ <3

Warnings/Triggers: explicit detailed depiction of smut in a memory, lovie dovie softness, protective and mild possessive Ari showin’ up to wreck you. this isn't beta read, and most likely will read it over again to edit but wanted to put it out for ya'll to enjoy!

The cart wheels rattled along the road pavement as you walked into the store. You could feel some of the speculative stares already as you perused the vegetable aisle. 

Looking at some of the fresh veggie options, you could feel your heart thundering heavily and could feel the heat start to envelop your body underneath your clammy palms. Instinctively, you inhaled deeply to alleviate the tension building in your shoulders when you also start to hear the whispers. 

You were staring way too long as two identical pieces of squash when you felt the relief come in, “Should I give you three a moment alone?” 

Broken out of your dissociative gaze, you scoffed out a laugh while you turned and looked up to find Ari smirking at you. His frame towered over your significantly smaller one as your narrowed eyes met his affectionate glint. “No, you brute– we have concluded our meeting, thank you very much.” You teased back at him with a mocking smile. 

Ari only chuckled and put his burly hands on both of your shoulders and squeezed lightly. You could feel the tension slightly leave your body at his touch as you put your best pick of squash in the cart. 

Ari did his best to cheer you up whenever the both of you were out together. Even in the most mundane tasks, people seemed to still enjoy torturing you with their prying stares and gossiped whispers. Even though it's been two whole years since you started dating Ari, people still seemed to carry their weighted opinions about your relationship. 

The guilt that Ari carried for what happened at the mill has dissipated throughout the years– his feelings no longer diminishing your relationship together as you both worked it out a year ago. You tried to remind yourself that other people had no say or merit in the security of your relationship together. In all honesty, their judging natures have only helped you both grow closer together, never doubting each other’s feelings for the other. 

Classically, Ari’s protective nature only grew the more that he noticed the town’s critical disposition towards you in particular. He didn’t much care about their opinions of him, but when it came to you, he felt a heightened sense of defensiveness. 

You carried a light in his world that was unfamiliar to his own–he knew the significance of your presence in his life, he felt better and just good with you in his life. He would happily follow you to the depths of any sense of darkness. He understood that your sensitive nature has taken others’ criticisms more personally, but he also knew that he would never let anything come too close, or at least, close enough to jeopardize your relationship. 

You were a softness to protect, he cherished you, and utterly adored you. Ari would do anything to preserve that with you and in your shared life together. 

Not ignorant to the glances that people were extending towards your direction, he used his commanding physique to his advantage to narrow his gaze directly at those who were brave enough to send stares in the first place. Once they noticed his directive blaze, people would flush and scurry their grocery carts away in a masked hurry. 

Satisfied, Ari turned back to you and put an arm over your shoulder casually while placing a kiss on your hairline as you looked at him curiously. “Now, what’s next?”

Surprise bloomed in your thoughts as you noticed that the further you walked into the store, people seemed to deviate their intrusive stares away from you and Ari. Either you were getting good at avoiding them, or you were missing some sudden piece of information. 

Your thoughts were curious as you glanced over at Ari from the passenger seat. The breeze from the open windows graced soft wind through his locks, he looked so effortlessly relaxed and handsome. 

Eyes still pensive, you couldn’t help the small smile that grew upon your lips. 

Ari sensed your stare as he took a glance over at you before looking back at the road. Catching the inquiring glint in your eyes, he glanced back at you, “Everything okay, baby?”

Humming out an affirmative yes, you said simply, “You’re pretty.” A full smile graced your face at his typical responding grunt. 

You didn’t forget your earlier thoughts though and continued, “And you’re sneaky.”

Ari released his own slow hum this time that you quickly mimicked. “I don’t know what happened, but something did.”

He didn’t say anything even though you made your speculative tone obvious. He only gave you a soft smile and merely took his right hand off the wheel to extend an open palm. You narrowed your eyes at him again but took his invitation and put your hand in his. Once your palm met his, he gave you a gentle tug to pull you closer to him and you tucked yourself all small underneath his arm while resting your head on his shoulder. Ari’s calloused fingers stroked your exposed skin on your arm intimately while you both sat in silence the rest of the drive home. 

You knew how Ari oriented himself to shield you from the nosy outsiders scrutinizing your relationship. While you liked to think that you could handle it all on your own, you secretly enjoyed it when Ari protected you like this. There was just something about his guardedness that made you feel worshipped and cared for– on the flip side, it was also assertive and dominating. It was definitely dangerous, but that's what made him so alluring and even more attractive in your eyes.

Something told you that Ari knew that too. Your mind suddenly flashed back to last night– the room barely lit by the moonlight shining exposed through the curtain. Your legs bent over Ari’s broad shoulders which forced your legs open wider to accommodate for his weighted stature as he held you down for his gluttonous tongue that lapped and sucked at your soaking wet pussy eagerly, over and over again until you felt the day’s stress leave your body with each mind-numbing orgasm that he gave you. 

You cleared your throat as you felt your breathing shift momentarily, your body instinctively reacting to the memory as you fidget closer to him. It was like he knew what you were thinking as he released what sounded like a knowing hum at your movement and kissed your temple tenderly.

Finally reaching your shared house, you giggled as Ari took most of the grocery bags from the back of the car and ducked his head as he entered. The rest of the evening was spent cooking dinner together, a favorite pastime that the both of you loved to do. 

It was later when you were resting on the couch, both of you stretched out leisurely. You were unwinding from the day, already in your night clothes (you in your camisole and underwear and Ari wearing only sweatpants as you bullied him into being shirtless for the remainder of the night). Your legs entangled together with your head resting on Ari’s naked chest while he held you closer on top of him. He had one long arm wrapped around your waist while his other hand stroked and played with the back of your hair lazily. A calming and grounding feeling overtook your body at the sensation. Your favorite movie was on, but with Ari’s soothing touch and his soft heartbeat thudding underneath your ear, you could feel your eyelids getting heavier. 

A frown settled on your face when you felt a sudden weight and cooling feeling on your hand that was resting on Ari’s shoulder. Your sleepy eyes glanced up towards the limb and widened. 

There, resting on your left hand on your ring finger, was a simple silver band with a round stone just glimmering at you with how it shined underneath the warm light from the living room lamp. 

Not really registering what you were looking at, you rose up from your lazed position on Ari’s chest suddenly to pull your hand closer to your face. Almost as if you couldn’t get closer to it, you inspected the jewelry on your hand as if it was magic. Your shocked eyes met Ari’s equally sleepy and rested gaze as he took in your reaction humoredly. 

“Ari…what–,” you started with awe in your voice. Ari took your left hand away from your stunned face to bring it to his soft lips. Your breath hitched as he kissed the ring on your finger solidly.

“From the first day that I met you, I knew that I wanted you. To this day, even though I already have you, I still want you. But, I also need you.” Your eyes glittered with tears at listening to his affection-coated words. He would never really admit it, but his blue eyes also glittered with his own. 

“I love you. And, I think that you may need me too,” his deep-toned voice was rasp with desire as he continued, “if you’ll have me.” He placed another sincerely soft kiss on your ring finger and continued placing kisses up all over the inside of your wrist. 

His other hand wiped at the tear that fell and you grabbed his large hand before he could pull it away. There were so many things that you wanted to say but your voice locked in your throat. You took his large hand in your own to kiss his own ring finger softly with a whispered “yes.”

Ari’s mouth opened with his own gasp at the feeling of your plush lips on his skin. Hearing your tender response, Ari allowed his own gentle smile to grace his content faced expression as he pulled you down to clutch you desperately close to him. Pressing soft kisses on each other’s exposed skin periodically, you held each other for some time, your newly sparkled hand intertwined with his. 

A/N: AHHHH, their softness really just kills me. And the NEED argh, i wrote it and also dyin' from the sweetness of this drabble. pls let me know your thoughts, they are so welcome. <3 hope you enjoyed!

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[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

There's something I don't see talked about enough in the SVSSS fandom.

The System.

I just received a comment on one of my fics - which has post-canon SQQ and SQH able to still use social media - suggesting that it would be very easy for people in the real world to point out that these characters using fake accounts to post on real life social media sites would easily be doxxed and the System would have no ability to do anything about that.

Something I have noticed among a lot of people who read this particular book is that not a lot of consideration is given to the very thing orchestrating everything. We often think of the system as a ridiculous guide or rule book that exists solely to give the protagonist what he wants/deserves. We don't really approach it for what it is.

This was my reply to that comment:

Doubt it. The System is able to kidnap people from their worlds and place them in other worlds and bodies in those worlds as punishment. And if you don't do as it wants, to the specification it doesn't directly detail, it can send your soul to an alternate version of the present world to be tortured in another body. I sincerely doubt an abstract, otherworldly being like that, which never receives consequences for anything it does because there is apparently nothing that can canonically challenge it, is going to be threatened by doxxing. If it can create things, link universes together, steal souls, and can be anywhere at any time, I wouldn't expect it to be incapable of manipulating people's perception. I even mentioned how in this fic, it WILL erase SQQ's sister's memories if he chooses to reveal his identity to her, but it becomes too much for her to handle. This suggests it has power anywhere and can do whatever it wants. So, in my mind, if someone actually tried to doxx their accounts, it's either going to lead nowhere, lead to somewhere fake, or the info will be stripped from their lives entirely the moment they find anything/nothing.

It was a very nitpicky kind of comment in my opinion, which warranted this response, but my response just made me realize that the System is effectively an amortal, omnipresent, and omnipotent Entity. It literally doesn't go away. We even think it's over and the Extras tell us, via SQH, that it's still there and still in control.

Think about it.

Think about every single thing that happened because of the System's actions or demands. It literally never faces consequences because there is nothing that could hope to punish it. I've only read 1 fic where higher beings step in to punish the System for kidnapping, coercing, and torturing innocent people for its amusement.

Because that IS something it can do. With ease. And seems all too happy to do.

The System is very dangerous and it's weird how this is something people forget when reading fanfics. SVSSS is the kind of book where crack ideas can work in the frame of the canon story because a character like SQH exists. Because he wrote PIDW with every single plothole and contrived story beat for the sake of money and survival, we can have the weirdest shit happen and blame it on his lack of imagination when writing PIDW. It doesn't need in-depth nitpicking to make it make sense. MXTX gave us a very large and generous sandbox to play in.

You don't need to rationalize a crack plot. And you should always keep in mind that canonically, the System is a terrifying Entity capable of outrageous things. It shouldn't be the deal-breaker that the Entity that kidnaps, gaslights, coerces, tortures, and manipulates people is capable of fantastical feats in a fanfic.

[lathbora-virann]

I know other people will probably have made more in-depth posts about "those across the sea", but after reading this brilliant old post by @felassan about the Executors and possible Ghilan'nain/Mythal and even Andraste connections, my sleep-deprived brain is wondering:

1) Were the kossith originally ancient elves? And

2) Are the Executors kossith (or possibly working for them)?

This got longer than I intended, so under the cut!

We don't have confirmation yet if the kossith were one specific race that became the Qunari race of horned giants, or instead a cultural group of different races that largely became followers of the Qun, and I think you could make arguments for either of those that would still fit this idea.

We all know the theories about the origins of the Qunari race being a merging of elves and dragons - potentially through excessively drinking their blood, potentially a Ghilan'nain experiment, potentially something else. If some of the ancient elves changed or evolved into kossith/Qunari, that would tie in with why concept art Abelas has horns (multiple like the Qunari in DA2) and very scaly armor:

The first time both kossith and Qunari were seen in Thedas is when they landed from across the sea - at complete opposite ends of the known world. The kossith landed in the southern Korcari Wilds (the southern-most part of the current map) and (a millennium later) the Qunari landed on Par Vollen (the northern-most part of the current map) from the north.

The Qunari are said to have come from an eastern land across the Boeric Ocean which was likely the land of the kossith as well, and according to Iron Bull the stories suggest they left their homeland because they had to - but no one knows why. He also says that whoever they were, he doesn't think that the kossith looked much like modern day Qunari (which is obviously just stated as his opinion, but they added it in for a reason).

The Executors are representatives who speak "on behalf of powers across the sea", presumably from beyond the Amaranthine and Boeric Oceans. Varric wrote in Hard in Hightown that they were behind the assassination of Queen Madrigal in 5:99 - but with no clear indication where he got the idea from as it's never mentioned anywhere else. If this has any basis in truth, however, it means that they have been operating for at least hundreds of years (and Felassan's post goes into lots more fun detail).

The symbol of the Executors is an inverted triangle with two horizontal wavy lines across it. Both symbols are heavily used in Solas' murals - with the upside down triangles appearing to represent the Veil and the wavy lines lyrium, though in this context probably the sea (the direction of the lines seems to maybe changes what they represent). It makes me wonder if the kossith were a group physically distant and cut off from the rest of Elvhenan and Arlathan, and thus impacted differently by the Veil going up. Maybe they weren't devastated by it and were able to survive and form their own society.

In our real world the inverted triangle symbol has historically represented the element of water, as well as feminine energy and *the womb* which have all been associated with Ghilan'nain (as well as those wavy lines). Additionally, an inverted triangle with a single line through it is the real world symbol for the element of earth - and also feminine energy.

As noted in Felassan's post above, in Tevinter Nights it's stated that the Executor attending the meeting smelled of the ocean which should not have escaped the notice of anyone who also read Horror of Hormak in the same book as being *probably brought up for a reason*. They also take great pains to hide their appearance and their voice - or maybe they just naturally sound incredibly ambiguous and unknowable...

So if the Executors are (or are working for) the kossith, and if the kossith were indeed the result of Ghilan'nain's experimentation on ancient elves, does that mean that they are her creations that she spared because (we assume) Solas stopped her?

"On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand."

If those creations were indeed sentient beings, it makes sense that Mr believes in the "inherent right of all free-willed people to exist" would stop her from exterminating them so that they could live free. And if many of those people later went on to join a religion and culture that pigeonholes people in a very rigid, unforgiving, unquestioning way, it would add an extra layer as to why he's so opposed to that religion in present day.

If this is in fact the connection, does that mean that the Executors work for Ghilan'nain? Or do they hate and oppose her for what she did to them?

They clearly know things that Solas doesn't want shared, and he thinks that they're dangerous enough to petrify one before they can do so. But was this because they're on Ghilan'nain's side, or because they thought he was going to release her again and they absolutely wanted to stop him from doing that? The Executors apparently don't care about Solas' true nature, only about his goals and means of accomplishing them.

Finally, if the Inquisitor sides with Cullen and chooses to ignore the symbols being left all over their outposts by agents of the Executors, three of those outposts are found abandoned with the following message:

"Thedas's present troubles are great, but you have the strength to meet and conquer them. More will come. We prepare for the day and hold vigil. Do not look for your men; do not mourn them. They have given themselves of their own free will to a higher cause."

The last line of that quote opens up a lot of new questions. It certainly sounds very evanuris-y, but it could arguably also sound very Qunari. Given everything we know of Ghilan'nain and the evanuris though, I'm leaning more to that side and a potential perversion or manipulation of that free will. Or maybe they're all Cekorax creatures and all of this is moot.

There's no way the Executors don't show up in Veilguard, especially after the line if you side with Leliana: "for the moment, we are not your enemy". However they do I assume we'll have to fight them in some capacity, so I just hope to god they're given some complexity and nuance.

This is all just throwing spaghetti at the wall and I have no clear conclusion, but I want to know what other people think! I am but a caterpillar on a leaf that does not know there is a forest about her.

[museum-of-dreams]

A lot of people have been speculating who the character thats going to die is, and I have done some Long, Hard, Thinking, with what has been presented to us in the show and the information that has been given to us.

❗️Potential Spoilers ahead as I give my thoughts!❗️ (also a warning that this is long)

(Also, please be nice. These are just my opinions. Please tell me what you think!)

Some of this is also just me assuming, don't take my word for fact unless proven otherwise.

So I am going to jump right in and say that, while Vivzipop DID state that a major character death may possibly occur in the show, that doesn't necessarily mean the end of season one.

However I will also take into account that they didnt realize a season 2 was happening untill halfway through production of season 1, so they tried to cram A LOT into 8 episodes (and that's why it's so fast paced)

So if a character death IS to happen soon, here are my thoughts, by process of elimination of course 😊

I am first going to start out with Nifty. I know many people are rooting for her to die instead of their favorites. However, that's why I don't think they would kill her off.

To put Nifty in the original main 6 cast just to never touch up on her character, give her depth, or give us her full backstory that lets us connect to her character more. Unlike the rest of the main 6 casters, where we are exploring their personalitys and connecting with them, we don't really get that with Nifty just yet. Her episode is still to come. So, to put her in the main cast just for the purpose of never touching up on her character and killing her off would be very bad writing, why put her in the main cast at all, then?

I don't even think I need to talk about Charlie. She's supposed to be the main character (but that's a talk about that for another day)

Third, I am able to most likely cross off the list is Vaggie. Much like Nifty, she has not gotten her episode yet (however for both Nifty and Vaggie's cases, at the time of writing this the last 4 episodes of Hazbin are yet to realease), however we do know that vaggies story is supposed to be a deep one and there is still a lot to go when it comes to building her character up to the audience and just building in general. So I dont believe it would be her neither.

Fourth that I can pretty much cross off the list is Alastor. With the whole suggested connections to Lilith, there is definitely a much larger plot that surrounds Alastor that will keep the series moving forward. He is too much of an important character to kill off right away.

I will not be talking about Cherri Bomb just yet (however, sence 2 episodes ARE about to release with one apparently being the one she is introduced in, I may edit this later and share my thoughts)

Our last three options would be Angel Dust, Husk, and Sir Pentious.

I am going to talk about Sir Pentious first. Sence, they sped up the pace of the show quite significantly, his character progression has also been a little fast. Sir Pentious wasn't even supposed to be in the main series. He was supposed to be a one-off character for the pilot. However, people just loved him so much, but the idea of his character being anywhere near some sort of impulsive "I must save my friends" moment during an extermination or something similar, would just be bad writing and wayyy to fast even for the paceing the show is currently at. they would have to do it just right.

I do know that Vivzi wants to go somewhere with his character, though, the idea of Sir pentious developing a crush on someone in the show (suggested to be a woman, but not confirmed) is somthing that has been brought up multiple times. So I do think they actually plan on going places with his character. Also, this is NOT by any means confirmed, and just something that I have heard a couple of times, is that the potential major character death announcement was made BEFORE Sir pentious was even planned on being in the offical show (remember one-off character). So, a character was planned to die before he was officially a part of the show. With all of this, I dont think it would be him either.

WHICH LEAVES OUR LAST TWO.

Husk and Angel Dust are both very impulsive and very attached to one another. However, there is a certain character building that goes into stuff like this. And I don't think Angel Dust has this character building.

I dont think it will be Angel Dust because

1. I dont think Vivzie would want to let him go so soon

2. While he is a fan favourite and people do connect with Angel Dust, I don't think his character has been built up for dying just yet. He still has a lot of stuff set up for his character.

3. I think his character is supposed to be all about being in a cycle of abuse, and his character development is getting out of it and healing over time until eventually his soul gets redeemed and he goes to heaven. Yes, he has husk, but that doesn't mean that anything with Valentino (or in Husks case Alastor) has stopped by any means.

When it comes down to Husk vs. Angel Dust, I would say it depends on the next couple of episodes, really. You can argue with husk that he still has not gotten out of his thing with Alastor.

However, I still lean towards it being Husk that dies because 1. I really don't think Vivzi would want to let go of Angel so soon

And 2. His character is kinda built up for it? I can't explain this one all too well, and most of it is personal opinion.

While they have angel dusts character set up to go through rough times trying to escape Valentino. They don't really show this with husk and Alastor. Sure Angel and Husk relate to each other's situations, but most of Husk and Angel in episode 4 (the last 4 episodes are yet to be released at the time of writing this) was mostly Husk comforting angel, he talks about how he regrets his decisions and how he related to Angel Dust, but unlike angel dust, they never really build his character up for any kind of potential attempt to escape from Alastor. While Angel dust has that character buildup, Husks just isn't there.

They also painted husk in a way that was very likeable to a lot of people. For example, if you were to ask someone who their favourite Hazbin Hotel character is, saying Husk is a VERY safe choice. A lot of people are very sympathetic for him. They buttered him up just for us. If anybody is theoretically going to die at the end of the season, it would be Husk.

There are still some unanswered questions of mine, though. My opinion can be changed A LOT by how the next couple of episodes go. Thank you for reading this much!

I will probably keep you guys posted. :]

[kismetconstellations]

I loved your post on Shiro and there's so much I agree on with it. Now I'm interested in seeing your take on Keith for the character game plz!!! ❤❤❤

Aww, bless your heart. Thank you! I'm glad you found something to enjoy in all of my heavily biased, opinionated, and probably unhinged rambling. ^///^'

I'll give it a go, but, just a small warning/disclaimer in advance:

I have not watched Seasons Three through Six in their entirety. I am vaguely aware of certain developments from these seasons, thanks to my interaction with fanworks incorporating them, but I cannot offer any sort of detailed analyses based on events exclusive to them. For example, I can't comment on Keith's relationships with the Blades in any meaningful way, as I'm only familiar with his interactions with them in Seasons Two, Seven, and Eight.

My answers for Keith are not going to be anywhere near as in-depth as they were for Shiro, since I watched this show for Shiro. But, I will respond to every question to the best of my ability.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I like Keith because of the hidden depths to his character. Superficially, he's the hot-headed loner stereotype. He's a "discipline case". He stole the car of a renowned ace pilot sent to recruit students for the local military academy. He spent a number of years in the foster care system after being orphaned at a relatively young age, carries a knife on his person at all times, and doesn't take well to being challenged or having his abilities called into question. He's prone to rash decision-making and acting on impulse, and will lash out and say callous, hurtful things that he doesn't truly mean in the heat of the moment. ("Are we even friends?")

But, he craves love and acceptance from the people around him, even when his instinct is to push them away for self-preservation's sake. He scarfs down his food like he's never going to get another chance to eat, again. He can be a bit slow to pick up on the meanings of certain concepts or ideas, and some aspects of socialization are completely lost on him (not comprehending Lance's "Voltron" cheer). He likes cute things in a reserved, understated sort of way. He likes hugs.

Though he'd never admit it.

He's rash and quick-tempered, but it comes from a place of passion; from a strong sense of justice, and desire to protect the ones he cares about at any cost.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That he's very much a semi-feral cat in human form. Shiro is his Person, the one who earned his trust and unwavering devotion, and he's slowly learned to open himself up to trusting others, but he'll still bite someone's finger off if they're not Shiro and have the misfortune of making him angry.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

He seems to have lost some of his internal fire in an effort on the part of the writers to turn him into Discount Shiro.

Shiro is "retired" from his position as Black Paladin and head of Voltron, and sidelined completely through no choice of his own because Keith has taken over his role on the team.

Keith gets to kill Shiro's personal tormentor after Shiro couldn't so much as best Sendak in combat.

Season Eight has Keith retreading ground that Shiro already tread, laying into Zarkon about his being unworthy of piloting the Black Lion and Paladinship. Even though that exact confrontation between current and former Black Paladin had already been handled in a much more impactful manner back in Season Two, when it was Shiro engaging Zarkon in a hand-to-hand fight inside of the Black Lion's inner quintessence while the Black Lion, herself, spectated and had the final say in who was the victor.

Not only did Shiro and Zarkon's conflict have higher stakes, both narratively and for the characters, as Zarkon was actually still alive and an active threat to the universe, rather than existing inside of Haggar/Honerva's head, Shiro and Zarkon had history. Shiro was imprisoned and held captive, forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena, on Zarkon's ship. Zarkon was able to wrest control of the Black Lion out from under Shiro mid-battle on multiple occasions, and used his persisting connection to the Black Lion to track Voltron down across multiple galaxies.

These two finally getting to face one another on the battlefield was a longtime coming. It had proper build-up, felt completely earned, and provided all parties involved (Shiro, Zarkon, the Black Lion, and the viewer) ample reason to be invested in the outcome.

It was also a visual treat, with dynamic, impressively animated choreography and physics highly reminiscent of Saiyan battles in Dragonball Z, against a gorgeous backdrop.

Contrast that with Keith yelling at a Mega Zarkon inside of Haggar/Honerva's head, because the showrunners had to artificially up the ante somehow, while standing stock still against a backdrop that isn't nearly as stunning.

And, the Black Lion immediately coming to his aid when Mega Zarkon decides to strike,

instead of watching as her Paladin is slowly strangled until he says the right thing that convinces her that he is worthy.

Keith had Shiro's essence teach him how to "see through the Lion's eyes" in order to unlock the Black Lion's wings,

something Shiro, himself, had to fight to figure out with no one other than the Black Lion guiding him.

Despite Shiro's bond with the Black Lion being the strongest bond between human Paladin and Lion, indisputably and unquestionably, Post-Resurrection Shiro has no connection to her at all. He's a silent passenger in her cockpit, or the cockpit of whichever other Paladin-Lion pair chose to carry him. He might as well not be present at all for all of the acknowledgement and deference he's given by both his found family, and the show, itself.

None of this is Keith's fault. But, it's difficult not to feel some measure of anger, watching him usurp Shiro's role entirely, while Shiro is sequestered off on his own ship to be nerfed and disrespected for a full thirteen episode season. Especially when Keith is younger and able-bodied and easily achieves or has handed to him things that Shiro fought with all of his might only to either fall short of (defeating Sendak), or barely scrape by on the skin of his teeth (cementing his bond with the Black Lion to unlock her ultimate power). Keith's success at Shiro's expense only serves to further fuel the noxious ageism and disgusting ableism perpetuated by this show and its fanbase.

And, Keith's own personality seemed to suffer for it. Perhaps it's meant to be character growth, but he seems so flat, void of the traits that made him distinctly Keith, throughout Seasons Seven and Eight, following Season Seven's opener. I'm positive there are passionate fans who could and have elaborated on this with the detail and insight necessary to fully illustrate the dearth of Keithness. But, I think it says something that even someone like me, who watched this show for Shiro and skipped over nearly four entire seasons due to the absence of him, picked up on the less-than-satisfactory change.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

A shonen anime series, either Sci-Fi or Isekai, where he can be the hero who reluctantly heeds the call of Destiny and pull off risky, reckless maneuvers on a futuristic vehicle, and/or masterfully take down foes with a great big sword, to his hearts' content.

5. What’s the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

"Hold On", by Chord Overstreet; only because of this Keith/Shiro video.

6. What’s something you have in common with this character?

I, too, love dogs and would die for Takashi Shirogane.

7. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Treating him like the competent adult he actually is. The one who lived on his own in a shack in the middle of the desert for a year, and set off bombs to distract Garrison security personnel while he snuck inside of the quarantine zone to figure out what they were up to. Before even realizing they had a miraculously alive Shiro sedated and strapped to a table.

8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Feminizing and infantilizing him, always in service of a ship. Keith has moments of emotional vulnerability, because he's meant to be a multi-faceted human/alien hybrid. That does not make him a weepy blushing "uwu" uke who sobs, wails, and cries while being choked and split open on Lance or Shiro's intimate parts and calling them "daddy".

He's a semi-feral cat in human form. He'd more than likely use his teeth, inflicting serious damage on those very sensitive parts, should someone try to make him choke on them, and I can't see him ever wanting to be sexually dominated by anyone. Putting aside that Shiro is a bottom and would never, Keith would sock Lance or any other man square on the jaw, or drive his knee or foot into an even more vulnerable area, for so much as trying to pin him down and make him "take it".

And, I know this is a popular headcanon and the show, itself, tried to lend credence to it by having Krolia thank "Kuron" for looking after Keith for her, but Shiro did not "raise" Keith. Shiro was an ambitious ace pilot in his very early twenties, contemplating the prospect of engagement and marriage to his long-term partner while their relationship began to unravel, battling a terminal degenerative illness, and planning to pilot a voyage into deep space. When was he meant to have found the time amidst all of this to have adopted or parented a preteen/early adolescent?

He and Keith were close, as a mentor/protege and friends typically would be, but Keith certainly didn't look to Shiro to be a stand-in or surrogate for his father. Nor did Shiro view Keith as his son. Keith confronting Shiro over Shiro's attempt to conceal his illness from him plays out exactly the way a confrontation between two peers who view each other as equals would.

Keith marches up to Shiro without so much as a greeting, very abrupt, direct, and upfront, unafraid of castigation or reprisal. The opposite of what one would expect from a cadet approaching his senior officer, or any kid confronting an adult authority figure about a perceived deception.

Likewise, Shiro steps down to put himself on the same level as Keith.

While maintaining a respectful physical distance, Keith leans forward into Shiro's space, resolutely standing his ground and refusing to let Shiro hide or deflect.

And, Shiro ultimately gives in and chooses to be honest with him, rather than pulling rank and brushing Keith off, telling him that everything's fine, or it's none of Keith's business, and treating him like a child.

Their relationship can't be so simply and neatly classified. Though Keith does refer to Shiro as his "brother", there's enough ambiguity there to be threatening (see Keith tenderly touching Shiro's face

and pausing over Shiro as if he intended to kiss him

), and I think that's why very specific shippers dilute Shiro into Keith's parental figure, even going as far as interpreting Shiro and Keith as, or outright making them biologically related. It's a transparent attempt to rule out any possibility of a romance between them while pretending to pay perfunctory tribute to their bond.

As if these shippers actually care about it or Shiro in any way, shape, or form.

And, it's sincerely grating to have to scroll past.

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

I see no reason why I couldn't be. Though, I don't think my cat would get along with Kosmo very well.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Once again, I would be too nervous to approach him.

11. Would you date this character?

No. He's way too young for me.

12. What’s a headcanon you have for this character?

I have to go with the fairly popular(?) fanon reading that Keith falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum. Canon seems to back this by some degree, with the aforementioned "I say 'Vol', you say--" "Vol-tron?", and showing Keith covering his ears and closing his eyes on the carnival ride he and Hunk get stuck on, as if suffering from overstimulation.

13. What’s an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Probably cliche and expected, but... Biker Aesthetic. Leather jacket in black or red, fingerless gloves on his hands, of course, tight jeans, perhaps with a tear or two in the legs, and heeled boots.

He'd also definitely wear hoodies and hooded jackets with drawstrings, so he can pull the hood over his head and secure it tightly when he's feeling overstimulated and wants to shut out the world.

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

Keith/Shiro. Their love for each other is legitimately, canonically death-defying.

"Keith, I was dreaming. Keith... you saved me." "We saved each other."

I get emotional every time.

16. What’s your least favorite ship for this character?

The portmanteau starts with a 'K', and rhymes with pants.

17. What’s a ship for this character you don’t hate but it’s not your favorite that you’re fine with?

I think Keith/Acxa is interesting and has potential, and I kind of wish the show would have done more with Keith/Allura than the brief ship tease we got in The Ark of Taujeer.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I think Keith and Hunk's friendship is very sweet, Keith and Kosmo are adorable, and in a purely platonic sense, Keith and Lance do have their moments (that I don't reflexively tune out because the fandom has caused me to dread any interaction between them.)

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don’t like?

Nothing comes to mind.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

I think Keith has some pretty solid friendships as is.

21. If you’re a fic writer and have written for this character, what’s your favorite thing to do when you’re writing for this character? What’s something you don’t like?

I like how concise, direct, and to the point Keith is. He doesn't meander, or waffle, or embellish, or put on airs. He says exactly what he means to say the first time, and doesn't put up a facade for anyone.

I've yet to find something I dislike about writing for him.

22. If you’re a fic reader, what’s something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don’t like?

I like when he's actually written faithfully to his canon characterization, scrappy and slightly rough around the edges, but fiercely loving and possessing a strong- if sometimes somewhat misguided- sense of justice.

I hate when he's infantilized and portrayed as a soft, weepy, fragile child in fics that are meant to take place during the show's main timeline. It comes across as borderline fetishistic, and kind of creeps me out. Especially when he's being paired with Shiro and the author continues to emphasize how "delicate" and "small" he is in contrast to Shiro's strength and size.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Just as Shiro reminds me very much of the 2003 iteration of Leonardo, Keith invokes 2003 TMNT's Raphael. Short-tempered, always ready and raring to deliver a well-deserved beatdown, prone to acting rashly, strong sense of justice, intense, unbreakable bond with his team leader.

The major difference is, aside from Keith and Shiro not butting heads like Raph and Leo frequently do (and obviously not being siblings), Raphael never lost his internal fire over the course of the series, no matter what trauma he endured.

The same cannot be said for Keith.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I can't recall my first impression of him, truth be told. Now... Admittedly, I'm not quite as taken with his character as I sort of hoped I would be, given how he's portrayed in well-written fanfiction. I like him just fine, but...

Maybe it's the product of me being overexposed to him by a fandom that is utterly obsessed with shoving the milquetoast pairing of him and his "rival" down everyone's throats. Or the fact that he's made to usurp Shiro's role, to the point that some of his fans openly wish that Shiro would have remained dead in service of Keith's character arc.

Regardless of the reason, Keith kind of doesn't do much for me. Strange for someone who happily ships him with their favorite to say, but that's the reality of it.

----

Thank you so much for the submission! I hope my answers were somewhat satisfactory, and not completely incendiary. (I'm not really equipped to handle torches and pitchforks.)

[scatterbrainedart]

I’m sure being aroace spec has given me a somewhat unique view of what love is and should be, but like. I feel like I need to articulate it, because I will probably never publicly do it again lmao. Bear with me, if you’d be so inclined :)

I am a firm believer in that love is a decision you make, as well as an emotion. I also firmly believe that liking something is not the same as loving something. I am an artist, yes? I love art. I do not like every single piece of art I see or make, nor do I always like making art. But even in the deepest depths of my worst burnout periods, I do not love it any less. I love my mother utterly and throughly, more than anyone. And even though I also like her for the overwhelming majority of the time, that is not always the case. It does not mean I love her any less.

I believe that you have little control over Love the Emotion. Sometimes it sneaks up on you, sometimes you grow into it, but you decide whether you nurture it or not. That is a decision you remake every single day. I doubt my love for things all the time. It’s healthy, to an extent, I think. I reevaluate frequently, still I’ve rarely realise that I no longer love something. It happens, but it is rare. Love, for me, rarely dies. It can falter and fall into the background, but it rarely seizes to be. In fact, thinking about it, I’m not sure it ever has. I want to say it can sizzle away, but,,,, maybe that is wrong. Maybe it is simply dormant, or maybe it never existed at all.

The people I have loved and no longer do, is that only because I loved the idea of them I created in my own head and when the idea got disproven, the love lost its foundation? Very possibly. And the others, those who I drifted away from? I think the love I have for them may very well be dormant. If I were to meet them again, I’m sure one of two things would happen: The love would either resurface, or I’d meet them a stranger.

This also begs a relatively interesting question in my opinion. What is the difference between love and hate? If loving isn’t the same as liking, but it still a stubbornly strong feeling, could they not be confused for each other? I think so. I do not, however, think love is enough for a relationship to be healthy. Obviously. Things hurt more when it comes to something or someone you love, I’ve come to realise. And those hurt feelings can be easily associated with your beloved object, which confuses things. You can love someone while being mad at them, this much I know. You can love someone/something in the long run which you dislike in the moment. On this note, I do not believe every loving emotion needs or should go anywhere, or lead to something else. For that matter, love and a relationship are two very different things, which is important to note. One can exist without the other, and “relationship” is a very broad term. Not gonna get into that right now tho I don’t think.

I do think it’s fucking dumb to say that “love is born from hate” or “love starts with fighting” or whatever the fuck. I believe those people are bad at expressing and analysing their feelings, and that is all I have to say about that.

But back to the point. Me (likely) being aroace, I struggle to see the clear divide between different kinds of love. From my view, I’m not sure there are different ones. Different attractions, yes. Different goals and wants for different dynamics, yes. I do not want to exorcise or express my love the same way for every person, thing or concept in my life. Different kinds of love entirely? I don’t know. I’m not saying there aren’t a difference for you, just that there don’t seem to be a difference for me. Maybe you love people entirely different. Maybe it feels entirely differently. This little self analysis is just that: a self analysis. That doesn’t diminish your love, nor does it diminish mine. I am, as well, a firm believer in the fact that those two realities can coexist in different people.

I think I love people the same way I love the forests or science. Sometimes even for the same reasons, although those obviously also differ drastically.

I’d love to hear someone else’s view on this. Like, do I sound like I’ve lost the plot entirely or is this relatable. And if not, what does your world look like?? I’m genuinely curious

[miseries-mistress]

THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT | COMMANDER CODY

This fic is for the @cloneficgiftexchange , my story is too @chicknstripz based of the prompt "Do you think they saw us sneak off?"

Synopsis: Galas have never interested you. Dressing up, smothering makeup on, and entertaining people who attended for appearances alone is pitiful as well as painful, but an unexpected guest turns the dreadful night around. 

Warnings: female reader, fluff, kissing, no spice, happy fucking ending bc he deserves one. W/C: 1225

Notes: i know you said fluff, but i had to add a pinch of sadness. i actually can't help myself! I hope you like it!

star wars masterlist

You'd rather be anywhere but here. No matter how the senators framed this gala, it was nothing but an excuse to garner support for the Republic and funds despite the invite plastering "charity" over the heading. Being an advisor to the Republic, you often attend such events in a dress worth more than most Corosants residents' paychecks. It's a requirement for someone working so in-depth with Jedi and clones alike, no matter how entitled you feel and far from the comfort of your uniform when you step into the building.

Soft classical music floats out the grand doors, and the troopers you pass by nod respectfully after noticing you from your many appearances through different battalions. You could easily be picked out among the rest, whether it was how uncomfortable you looked or the dress that didn't fit quite right, you didn't know. You offer them a smile before turning back to polite chatter barely above the melody. Maybe you would have enjoyed this more and soaked in these rare pleasantries if tomorrow's work hadn't hung over your head so dauntingly. Working with the 501st never bothered you. In fact, you got along well with Rex and his men, but pursuing any diplomacy with Anakin present is nothing short of exasperating, so much so that you find it hard to believe he holds the rank of a Jedi.

"Well, don't you look lonely?" the man behind you asks. An unmistakable husk to the teasing lilt in his voice prompts your head to jerk in surprise. You turn, caught in Cody's gaze, while the confidence slowly drains from his eyes the longer you hold it, finally noticing the front of your dress dripping down your curves. There's something inexplicable in his stare, the way it slowly slides down your body, an emotion you could only compare to ravenous enlarging his pupils. 

"You look…" he trails off, his Adam's apple bobbing as his irises find their way back to yours in an attempt to formulate the words congealed in his throat. "Really nice."

He bites back a wince. That's not what he wanted to say. 

Your chuckle does little to settle him, his mind rushing with possibilities of how you interpreted his complement as your hands run down his suit lapel, and he tries to straighten himself, maybe to seem presentable in front of you. Even after all the battles you've witnessed together, Cody still makes an effort to look like what he feels is a "real man." As if there was such a thing. 

"And you cleaned up nicely." He did. He really did. Cody looked almost...regal in the tailored black suit, rippling with lean muscle accentuated by the hugging fabric. Heat rises to your cheeks the longer you stare, and you clear your throat, forcing yourself to concentrate on what you're saying. "Well, I didn't expect you to show up tonight, not that it's unwelcome." 

You offer him a smile, understanding his flushed expression as thinly veiled embarrassment, removing your hands from his chest. A look of longing flashes across his honeyed irises before he clears his throat, his hand rubbing sheepishly at his nape. 

"Yeah, well, I usually see you before you're sent elsewhere. Besides, certain clone commanders were invited to showcase ourselves to members of the Senate…something about seeing us in person." He huffs, clearly disgruntled. "Not that it matters. It won't change their opinions of us."

You nodded. You've been around your fair share of senators throughout your career. But, being one of many ambassadors in the military and traveling across star systems to quell conflict in the people, senators often discarded them. Tossing their opinions forged from many years of training aside from the preconception that comes with the name. Seeing the hatred clones face is one thing, but witnessing how deeply it affects them is another. 

Cody avoids your regard, searching for anything else to latch onto besides the raw emotions crackling in the air. 

"Hey." A finger taps against his prominent jawbone, drawing him away from his thoughts. "Not right now. Let's just make the most of this time."

You reach for his hand, lacing your fingers and giving the rough skin a squeeze, calluses digging into yours. Loud laughter slices through the air, and your attention shifts to the group of aristocrats loudly talking among themselves, glasses of alcohol swinging loosely in their hands. You wince, the environment you created fleeting from your grasp just as Cody leans in, his mouth a hairsbreadth away from your ear, and a raspy breath accompanied by a hum is enough to have you hanging off every single word. "Let's get out of here, yeah? Make the most of our time?"

You can only nod, the words caught in your throat as the familiar warmth ignites in your stomach, spreading throughout your limbs until you're giddy with the implications of what comes next.

Knowing the layout better than you, he leads you by hand down the hall, passing guards in a hazy blur, your head reeling at the point of contact. The mysteriousness, the longing, the desire to be closer than you could have ever imagined has your breaths coming in shallow pants, desperate for some reprieve from the shared ache between you two. 

Finally, the door slides open, the night air kissing your cheeks with a chilliness you feel under your skin. The soft shut of the door behind you and his face in front of yours allows an unprompted giggle to slide past your lips, stealing a glimpse of the door before peeking back at him. 

"Do you think they saw us sneak off?" His lips twitch into a ghost of a grin, stepping towards you. You feel like teenagers, too wrapped in the moment to consider the consequences and everything that could crush what you've constructed into thousands of pieces, absorbed in the thrill of secrecy to consider your lives outside this instance. Not Republic members fighting for a better tomorrow, just lovers.

"You worry too much for your own good." Cody slides a hand up your cheek, and you can feel the pulse in his fingertips, the quickness of his breath. He seems nervous, debating the action before pressing his lips to yours in a tender cling. It's cliché the way it steals your breath away as you melt into him, and the hands that shift from your cheeks to shoulders and then slide painstakingly down your back are filled with tender warmth. You feel aware of everything at once, the pressure of his mouth, the taste of your kiss, the ardor of his hand cascading down the knobs of your spine, and the texture of his slightly cracked lips.

He holds your mouth captive so he can feel every place where they touch and every place when they pull away. You can't help but savor the air you share in seconds afterwards as you slip your nose across his, the instant too intimate to be painted by words. Even your breaths sync together while you stand there. 

Cody's fingers drift to your hips, pulling you flush to his chest in a swift movement. Gentle hands draw circles along your covered skin, pressing a kiss next to your ear. His voice is husker than usual, mysterious, and inviting. 

"But I wouldn't have it any other way." 

[valstarsandgalaxies]

This is so old, but i think the start had potential and that it was written quite beautifully, so i decided to finish this little thing. It's mostly just a conversation between the Buckies, nothing serious. The only thing that awaits you here is fluff :) Chose some random prompt for inspiration and here it is! I've been struggling with a writing block, but since this only needed the ending, it wasn't that hard. Hope I'll be able to deliver more fics in the near future! Now enjoy this little piece, please<3

[ irresistable ] sender taunts receiver by easing closer, promising a kiss, and then backing away, making receiver chase their lips.

"Do you think that somewhere else we haven't gone to war?"

John asks curiously and Gale just sighs. John gets like this sometimes. Asking questions that don't really make sense or more like don't matter at all. Because they aren't somewhere else and they never will be. This is all they got.

But John likes to think beyond that. He likes to think about the what ifs. Because they absolutely couldn't do that while there was a war on, there wasn't time for any what ifs, but now they have all the time in the world and sometimes Gale feels like John doesn't know what to do with it.

Thoughts like this surface from the depths of John's mind, because now's the time to actually acknowledge them. And for one, he's not afraid to word them out loud.

"What do you mean, John? Do you think there was somewhere in the world where we wouldn't have to go fight?"

"No. No, i didn't mean it like that. I meant, you know, maybe some other universe or just totally different world. Like do you think there's some reality where we were safe? Where we didn't have to go through all this shit?"

For Gale this is a useless conversation. He doesn't believe in all this stuff of alternative universes and life beyond their life they're currently living. But John had really clung to those ideas lately.

And Gale gets it a bit, he supposes. He really tries to understand it, for his Bucky. He thinks that maybe things are easier for John, when he thinks about the fact that somewhere else they can be together without the judgement of others. That they can get married. And that they didn't have to go through the terrors of this goddamn war. That somewhere else things have been better for them.

If he should speak for himself, he thinks things would suck anywhere else too. They would suck in a different way, but there's no way of getting a perfect life.

He lost his train of thoughts as John sits next to him on the couch. Thighs touching, but John turns his upper body to Gale to study his face.

"You're thinking about this more than i thought you would. But unfortunately i can't hear your thoughts, Buck. Mind sharing them with me?"

He tilts his head and asks in a teasing voice.

"I don't want to ruin your good mood."

The grin faded from his face, but was quickly restored by a smile. A smaller one, but it was there.

"So you think there isn't?"

"I just think that wherever we'd be, there would be some different stuff we'd need to fight with. I mean sure, there are only a few things worse than war, but I don't know."

"Tell me more."

Gale turns his head exaggeratedly with an annoyed expression, but it quickly changes, when he sees John's face.

"Please?"

He just wanted to have a conversation, he's probably just curious and wants to hear Gale's opinion about it and so Gale obliges, as he always does with Bucky.

"It's just that- I think sometimes you get lost in all those possibilities and you think that somewhere else we could have a perfect life. But I don't think that's possible. There will always be problems and maybe something else would happen to us. I'm not saying that there aren't places, where things weren't so rough, but there'll always be something."

Bucky is looking at him like he put the moon in the sky himself. Like he just said something incredible.

"I think i get what you're saying. Another idea popped up in my head after you said that."

He doesn't make his sentence into a question, but he hopes Gale would ask.

"What were you thinking, Bucky?"

"If there's always something bad everywhere, there has to be a reward, if we get through it, right? Like right now, us, being together, this is our reward for surviving the war. And then i guess somewhere else with different problems, we'd get a different reward. Something to make it worth going through that shit."

John says, his expression still kind of contemplative. Then Gale turns to him to catch his eyes and says:

"I am your reward?"

Bucky smiles.

"Of course, you are. Am i not your reward?"

He says, insulted at the implication that he isn't.

"Well, depends. Define the word reward for me, please."

John scoffs and turns his head away. It looked like he was actually sulking, so Gale turns off his teasing mode and turns on the serious mode.

"Hey."

He said as he took Bucky's face in his hands to make him look at him again.

"Of course, you're my reward after all this. You're all i ever wanted."

John melted at the words and leaned in to kiss Gale. It was soft and sweet. John licked gently into his mouth and made a sound, when Gale hands found their way to his waist and shoved him half on top of him.

"You're all I've ever wanted, doll. If there wasn't you, there would be no purpose for me. There's only you and no one else."

It makes Gale giggle and smile shyly. And he also blushed. John can always make his blush so easily, it's quite annoying sometimes.

They lean close to each other again, John brushing his nose against Gale's, going for his lips, but Gale pulled away. Which made John chase his lips and fall right on top of him.

"Hey, what was that? Where are you going?"

"We should go up and do something. Remember how we should go buy groceries, cause we literally ate plain bread with a tomato this morni-"

John doesn't let him finish as he kisses him again. More chaste this time, like the only purpose really was to shut him up.

"Okay, okay. We'll go grocery shopping later. But now let me enjoy my reward."

He grins as strangles Gale's hips with his thighs and puts his hands on his shoulders. He grinds his hips down on Gale's and Gale makes a sound he didn't want to escape past his mouth.

"Or we can go right now."

"It can wait."

Gale says hurriedly, puts his palms on John's waist and looks at him with hungry eyes. But there was also adoration, something sweet. Like he can never get enough of this man. And it's painfully true. He doesn't know what he'd do without John. He doesn't even wanna think about it. There's definitely no other universe, no other place, where they aren't together in some way. There can't be.

Before he can think about it even more, Bucky brings him back to reality by saying:

"Do you wanna go to the bedroom, love?"

He just shakes his head, doesn't need to answer, because the question was answered before it even left Bucky's mouth.

"Now, show me how you treat your reward."

Gale finally says and John kisses him like it's the end of the world.

[seafoamreadings]

revisiting domicile/exaltation/etc

the system(s) of which planet is exalted in which sign or finds its joy in whichever house is/are pretty old. i really find there's something to it, like of COURSE venus loves to be taurus or libra or pisces.

but by at least the dominant system, she's neutral in leo... and who in their right mind?!?!? leo is so glamorous and aesthetic. it's my view that venus LOVES to be in leo even if she isn't classically in domicile or exaltation there.

similarly some systems (not all) have mercury neutral in aquarius and i've never understood that. aquarius isn't always as chatty or social as the other air signs but it's every bit as intellectual, thoughtful, and cerebral - sometimes moreso. mercury loves aquarius!

here's a list of some underappreciated placements in my opinion.

venus loves leo

mercury loves aquarius

mars loves taurus. it may be in old school astrology in a bad placement there but the tenacity and vigor is similar to mars in capricorn.

mars doesn't necessarily LOVE virgo but it does really well there.

the sun is underestimatedly powerful in cancer, especially in the northern hemisphere for the summer solstice. in the south it should have a similar but slightly smaller influence when it's in capricorn. i would love to hear from people in the southern half of the earth as to how they feel about this.

i posit that the moon loves all the water signs, although not as much as she loves cancer, and earthy taurus. people who invoke the tides as part of the moon's power and the emotions of water should see this connection. she takes a different tone in each, but is fairly at home in all of them.

ceres in my opinion as you may know is the real/modern ruler of virgo. but she also seems to love cancer (having much in common with the moon) and taurus (being so very much about food. it's a taurus stereotype but admit it, it got that way for a reason.)

jupiter loves leo, being that they are both kingly, regal, kindly, generous, etc. indeed when i was first learning astrology many years ago it took weirdly long to get it into my head that jupiter neither ruled nor was exalted in leo classically. it just makes so much intuitive sense to me.

saturn loves virgo. they both have harvest associations, and tarot-hermit associations. they both do details, discipline, and the sacred mundane really well. both tax/accounting experts, weirdly.

for the outer planets, i can't base this on any real life experience but only theory due to the slow movement. i don't think uranus is particularly comfortable anywhere but aquarius, but may do well in unpredictable gemini as well.

i cannot imagine that neptune doesn't like being in the depths of scorpio at least a bit. pisces and scorpio and neptune and the 12th house and even jupiter a little bit all share this profound desire/urge to return to unity.

this is practically impossible to study from experience, although some historical digging could provide some insight, but just based on themes i suspect pluto loves aries and vice versa. perhaps also pisces would be a good outlet for alchemical and destructive tendencies.

juno has no traditional domicile or exaltation but i think she would do great in libra.

likewise for chiron, who as a centaur should have some affinity with sagittarius.

any you would add?

[freedomaddict]

my own personal opinion on the rottmnt turtles in hogwarts houses:

Miguel: Ravenclaw. Mikey is SUPER creative, it's kind of his thing. Ravenclaws also value wit, and all of Mikey's jokes are well-timed, he's got a mental sharpness and has an inventive way to make a joke. He's also really smart - the episode with the mystic metal? he says to raph "we're not saying you never have good ideas, we're just saying that sometimes we do to!" he's got street smarts and creative smarts, and strategic smarts. (he could really be any house, i think

Ravenclaw would be the best fit tho) he's the ravenclaw who you think doesn't belong there, but once you get to know the house you'd never be able to imagine him anywhere else.

Big Red: Hufflepuff! Raph is like ... the definition of Hufflepuff. Loyalty, patience, trust, strong sense of justice, hard-working. Literally Raph. I think he could be in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff would suit him best (in my opinion.) Plus, he's always trying to better the team by doing team building exercises (at least i think he does that often, seems like something he'd do) and teamwork is a big part of the hufflepuff house. he's the stereotype of the house - looks open and friendly, who's hugs are warm and safe.

Von Ryan: Slytherin. Before anyone yells, I'm both a donnie kinnie and a slytherin. Donnie belongs here lmao. The way he always tries to improve himself and is extremely goal-oriented. Slytherins value resourcefulness, and Donnie has had to learn to be resourceful when living in the sewers. He gets all of his stuff from a junkyard. Plus, dry humor? perfectionist? big on cost/benefit analysis? donnie fr. he seems like the stereotypical slytherin, the one who's quiet and everyone thinks is evil. (he'd also excel at potions.)

Leon: Tbh, he's pretty hard. I think he could either be gryffindor or slytherin, but also ravenclaw and fit almost perfectly in those houses, but I think he belongs in slytherin. im also a leo kinnie (heh) and honestly? Sarcastic humor, confident (or pretends to be,) competitive and charismatic? literally both signs of gryffindor and slytherin? it's so hard but he has a practical eye and the ability to quickly adapt when needed. he also has a lot of common sense, instead of taking on things he knows he can't do he results in something achievable (paper theives) and he's incredibly persuasive, a trait valued by slytherins. he seems like the slytherin who thinks they're better than everyone else, and once you get to know them you realize they actually are.

April: Hard one! She's so spunky and full pf personality (i love her so much) but i think she belongs in gryffindor. The first episode alone shows me that. Gryffindor traits are bravery, honor, loyalty, boldness and have strong moral centers. I think this is mostly shown in her interactions with the boys. (which is like the only interactions she has ok i know) She's willing to dive head-first into a conflict if it meant she could help her family somehow. There's no doubt that she would go to the ends of the earth for them, and if you think she'd turn her back her boys, you're crazy.

Cassandra: Gryffindor. Don't argue. When reading her wiki (it describes the characters way more in depth than i could) it talks about how much she values being loyal to the foot clan and how energetic/enthusiastic she is. She's courageous and stands up for what she believes is right, just like a gryffindor. She's always wanting to better herself and is quite stubborn.

Casey Jr: I know what house he's in, but i almost didn't want to sort him because it meant someone would be alone...he's a hufflepuff, through and through (i feel bad for leaving mikey alone, but he'll make friends soon enough.) Casey is hard-working and loyal, as we can see in the movie - taking on the mission leo told him to, and not once complaining, just worried about how he could complete it. He is honest the whole way through, not sugar coating anything to beating around the bush. and unafraid of being direct. He's also very polite and kind (i love him guys) and listens to other's input and ideas.

[greensaplinggrace]

darling for the ask game obv let's get the important one out of the way

😭 idk if this was meant to say darkling but I'm doing him anyway

how I feel about this character: I love him. he's an interesting character that usually gets misinterpreted by the majority of fandom. I like that he has so much potential as a concept, but it makes me sad that that potential is rarely actually realized canonically. all in all, he's a character I really relate to for many reasons: his isolation and loneliness, his depersonalization and dehumanization, his high levels of empathy, his relationship with oppression and repression, and his drive to help others at the cost of his future and his sanity. I also really love his complex relationship with rage and apathy at the injustices of the world, which gives fascinating insight into his existence as an immortal and as a naturally idealistic person who lost faith in others

all the people I ship romantically with this character: mostly alina and mal! I also like him and nikolai together sometimes, and I can see the appeal of luda. plus of course any poly combination of any of these.

my non-romantic OTP for this character: aleksander & ivan is a hilarious friendship tbh. also I'm so in love with the ways genya parallels him and is so similar to him that I adore seeing them together on screen or in fics or basically anywhere, even if just for the horribly tragic tension that really brings out the depth of both their characters.

my unpopular opinion about this character: I have a lot lol. he was right about most things, but I don't think alina was wrong to leave him. I think he's a good character in the book, less so in the show, but in both he suffers from such bad writing that he ends up acting ooc half the time anyway. he's clearly empathetic and caring, and he is obviously able to feel love - but this has no bearing on his morality or any justification for his actions whatsoever. tbh I have so many unpopular opinions of him that it doesn't bear repeating them all lol.

one thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: that he died better in the show (and that he was written better overall with actual real depth). that he was never resurrected in the books (or at least that his second ending wasn't what it was)

my OTP: malarklina! 💖💕

my cross over ship: none

a headcanon fact: he's still afraid of the dark to this day. he's always cold and alina's always hot. he's very good with kids. he speaks so softly because his mother is abusive garbage and his experiences with men all suck. he's demisexual and biromantic and agender. he dissociates regularly due to both trauma and regular dehumanization, and this affects the way he views his personhood as well as his gender. he always knows the time of day because he can feel the shadows around him. he operates at some level on inhuman instincts tied to the nature of shadows & light.

give me a character (x)

[mists-reading-nook]

The anon who mentioned the depth perception has the right idea, fluff is running thin in the lore and we gotta get two naked sheep to eat some wheat.

Any activities Kaeya and Reader do with one another?

What about Earth does Kaeya like or love?

anything about this world he prefers over Teyvat, and how much did the learning curve of going from ✨fantastical magical medieval-ish setting✨ to Plain Planet Earth with only science and technologies but significantly more advanced challenge him in addition to pretending to be someone else?

What are his opinions of Planet Earth?

Does he use the internet? Has he made his own accounts for social media or other sites, or did he create new and separate ones? If so, what does he think of the Genshin Impact fandom or community? HoYoVerse the devs of Genshin Impact? It certainly gotta solidify his belief in Teyvat being fake that's for sure.

Does Kaeya ever get curious and explore the Genshin Fandom? From AO3 to Twitter or Tumblr or Reddit or YouTube or anywhere else? Does he avoid any and all Genshin Content, blocking every Genshin creator or account he can? A mixture of both?

Speaking of fandoms, is he in any fandoms by chance?

This is for my fluff loving people <3 have a lil break before we deep dive back into the soul crushing angst <3

-Kaeya and reader like watching TV or playing cards or board games

-occasionally (depending on readers cooking level) reader will help Kaeya make dinner

-Keaya avoided the internet for a solid couple months,mostly because all of it was pretty new

-He's a fast learner though,so he managed to get some help to figure out how everything worked

-Luckily he's very good at social situations,or else figuring out how to both work modern technology and figuring out how to talk to readers freinds and family would be too much

-He thinks Earth is pretty nice. He mostly likes it because he finally feels free. A freedom he hasn't felt in a long while

-He does use the internet,but only a little. He has an Instagram,and a twitter,maybe even tiktok,but that's about it (would he have tumblr?? Idk...)

-he is terrified of the Fandom. He stumbled onto an R34 site and he's never been the same since...

-Ships highly confuse him. Like him? With albedo? What?

-Oh and Kaeluc made him genuinely sick.

-He does like reading fics,but avoids the genshin Fandom like the plague.

-he does block almost every creator he can find,no matter the content. He doesn't want to stumble on anything else.

-I think he's in a couple fandoms,some for shows and some for games. Which fandoms exactly? I'm not too sure,but he strikes me as someone who might enjoy dnd :]

****

That's all I got!!

[archtroop]

So, how do we feel about the fact that for decades, Holocaust survivors and their descendants call what Israel is doing to Palestine a genocide? Or, are we just supposed to ignore that?

So, how we feel about the fact that Holocaust survivors were declined refuge en masses globally, some left to rot in "liberated" concentration camps for 3 more years, the lucky ones managed to board a ship to what will be known as Israel, to fight for it, die for it, and if fortunate enough - to survive yet again and see it established, and witness a state that it's soul purpose is to protect Jewish lives at all costs when no one else would - made reality?

Face it.

Whatever is happening in Gaza is not a Genocide by very, very long shot. In fact, what it is, is a Suicide, a slow, decades old Suicide, a culture of martyrdom.

It's an identity built upon a negative. A culture created for one thing and one thing only: to oppose the existence of Israel and Jews in the region. And then anywhere else.

You reap what you saw. And you do not get to tokenize a fringe collective of some of the most traumatized people on the planet to fuel your propoganda.

Never again is now. Then - Jews could not defend themselves. Now they can. And you DON'T LIKE IT.

You don't know what a Genocide is. You are following a trend. And that's about it to the quality and depth of your opinion on the matter.

You have no skin in this.

If the dream of statehood and self determination was real on the Palestinian side, then it would have worked towards it. Not against it.

October 7th was pretty much the best this identity could muster: a mass suicide by proxy.

I don't have much hope for this identity. I pity them, to an extent. Pity can go only so far. Those people were forcefully put into a loop of misery, as tools. Existing on aid and "granted" an eternal status of "refugees" and never allowed to escape this cycle of pipe dreams and unreality and resettle (like any other refugees for the last 100 years).

As of now, the only "allies" they have in the world are the most useless people out there: you.

No army came forth. No Arab nation. No one. No parade and no protest can undo what happened on the 7th of October.

As long as there are hostages held in Gaza, as long as HAMAS exists in Gaza or anywhere, Israel will operate.

It is what it is. You come with Genocidal intent at Jews. At Israel. You think they'll lie down and take it?

If on the 8th of October UN had called for immediate release of the hostages and for the dismantling of the HAMAS regime, maybe things would have looked differently. You can't expect a nation, a stare, to not act on its own behalf and do what needs to be done for its survival.

UN and UNRWA are complicit in the situation up to their gills.

Israel isn't going anywhere. And each time someone tries to erase it, it will rain fire and brimstone on them.

So just stop trying.

Accept Israel exists.

Releas the hostages.

Denounce HAMAS and Islamist Jihad.

And peace be upon all.

That's it.