#honestly i could write some long ass meta about this conversation alone and how he's being genuinely sincere

[sigurdjarlson]

this bastard’s adorable facial expressions are giving me heart palpitations 

[south-park-meta]

I must say, you must be one of my favorite South Park meta bloggers! I also think Stan is best boy, and I relate to him so much. I just can’t get enough of your analysis. I’m curious though, why do you ship Style, and what are your thoughts on how the fandom portrays the ship? Style is a ship that means dearly to me. I’ve always found the evolution of their friendship in-canon so fascinating, and I remember how back in the day, Style was literally booming with so much content, but there are definitely some portrayals of the pairing in fan-content that has me feeling “weird”.

Aw thanks!

I do disagree with a lot of Stan (and Style) portrayals. I think the big thing is that Stan or Kyle are probably going to be the two most people relate to, especially if they ship Style. So when they relate to one or the other it comes with inherent biases. Like I relate to Stan much more than I relate to Kyle, so it's easier for me to see his perspective, so it's easier for me to be biased in his direction. I think writing them neutrally is pretty hard for a lot of people, especially when Stan and Kyle have caused each other pain. Because of that I think it's pretty common to veer into one or the other just constantly being a huge dick no one should ever put up with. Instead of what they both are which is just, dicks the way most normal people are dicks. Good people, but fallible.

Stan and Kyle have the potential to be genuinely good for each other. With them fighting/not relying on each other as much, it's easier to forget that they make a good team. And with South Park being as it is, it's also easy to forget they probably haven't been fighting for that long, even if it feels like forever.

I think a lot of their problems come down to the fact that they actually love each other so much that they have a hard time communicating. Stan's been more closed off and telling Kyle less than other friends post-Ass Burgers. Kyle's been more critical of Stan's behavior post-Ass Burgers. And it'd be easy to chalk that up to them just not liking each other anymore, but that's not it. When it comes to Stan being depressed:

Stan's not bringing it up because he's scared if he does, it will make Kyle hate him again, the way he thinks Kyle started to when he said everything was shit. Kyle's not bringing it up because he's scared that if Stan's still cynical, it means Stan (still) hates him the way he seemed to the whole time he was saying everything was shit, because he was one of the things Stan saw as shit. There's a lot of hurt that they haven't brought up with each other. They're kids and they love each other, and they hope that not-talking about it will make it go away like the little rifts they had before did. The problem is that those smaller fights are things that, maybe, they actually could get over on their own without needing to have a whole conversation about it. This isn't. They're pushing each other away, involving each other less, trusting each other less, because they actually don't want to lose each other.

This is the kind of thing I think can get healthier with age, with experience, and even with time apart-- I don't necessarily think that taking a break after the Vaccination Special is bad for them. They're both too close and have too much invested to keep digging at the issue while it's fresh. It's a way for them to grow while apart, but HOPEFULLY come back together in a way that's healthier, after they've really worked out who they are alone.

I like a lot about Stan and Kyle's relationship. When they're operating at their absolute peak, they love each other but still call each other on their bullshit. Or they even don't call it out, and instead let the other figure out that they disapprove without even saying one word about it, and that's enough to set them back on the right moral path. They aren't the same person, they have different goals, different motivations, different flaws and strengths. But they get each other. They love each other. When one's trying to do something and it makes sense, they'll support it even if they wouldn't do it on their own. Because it matters to their best friend.

When one's struggling, they'll try their best to fix the problem, even if it's a problem they wouldn't have, either. They've supported each other through good times and terrible times. They've even in a marriage cliche been there through sickness and health-- Stan's depression has thrown a curve ball due to the toll it took on both of them, but when Kyle needed a kidney, Stan was there. When Stan was struggling with his freemium game addiction, Kyle was there (even AFTER them not being as close as they were before). They can and have helped each other through terrible times that could have put a strain on relationships before.

They want the other person to be the best person he can be, and they in turn want to be a better person for him. They have plenty of things both together and apart that they need to overcome, but they honestly have a very strong foundation. I think as they get older, more aware of their feelings and how to discuss them, and more secure in their individuality as they prepare to leave South Park, their relationship has the potential to be very low drama and very happy.

[hedgiwithapen]

How about the Leverage Crew arriving in Central City in time for the that time Barry got accused of murdering DeVoe. Basically, Leverage Crew (Classic or Redeption is your choice) meddling in that plan. Because screw DeVoe. Can be in the same universe as The Central City job, or a brand new AU; your choice.

this one Long The courthouse was packed when a sleek black van pulled up to a loading zone. Nathan Ford turned from the passenger seat. “You all know the play?” “Mm, yup,” Parker said, clipping a badge to her blazer pocket. “The Boston skip.” “It’s not the Boston Skip,” Hardison snapped, fussing with his tie.. “You’re just grumpy because you have to play the lawyer again.” Eliot smirked. “Hey, you said only if it comes to a cross examine, I did my job, if you all do your jobs right and it doesn’t come to that,” Hardison’s voice pitched upwards. “If?” Sophie put on the emergency break. “If? Hardison, I’m hurt.” “Soph,” Nate sighed. “Let it go.” “For now. We’re having words later,” Sophie insisted. “Can we just get this over with?” Eliot asked, maneuvering to take the driver’s seat. “ you know I don’t like us splitting up like this.” “It’ll only be for a bit,” Parker said, squeezing his hand. “ We’ll be fine.” They left the van in twos, first Parker and hardison, briefcase and extraneous computer in hand, and a minute or two later Sophie and Nate followed-- and Nate with a plain folder tucked under his arm. Eliot drove in the direction of the police station, ready for the next phase of the plan. They hadn’t exactly called ahead, but that wasn’t going to be much of a problem. Cisco Ramon was the first to spot them. He goggled a bit. “What are you doing here?” he asked as Hardison approached the bench where Team Flash had congregated. Hardison smiled, knowing the prosecutor was watching. “I came to offer my services,” he said, sending a quick text with a thought. “ Where is Ms Horton?” “Here,” the short woman said, her eyes cutting between the two as Cisco checked his phone. “ Who are you? Cisco, who is--” Cisco looked up from the message--you didn’t see us coming?-- and relaxed slightly for the first time in weeks. “I’m part of Mr. Allen’s legal team,” Hardison smiled wide. “He’s ok, Cecile,” Cisco vouched. “ He and his, uh, coworkers have helped us in the past. With Z--wait, that was before you. Um.” “My firm helped get Henry Allen some money, after that unfortunate mess. And we’re here to see justice through again.” He hesitated. “ Or pick up where it leaves off,” he said under his breath. Cecile took in a sharp breath. “When did we hire you?” “Uh--” “Cecile, it’s really ok,” Caitlin joined the cluster. “They know about STAR. And apparently about the recent… developments.” “You think we don’t keep tabs on your crazy city? Now, Ms. Horton, as your co-lawyer, we need to discuss strategy. I’ve got some character witnesses I’d like to introduce, some crucial evidence that needs to be submitted, is there an office we might use?” He steered her away, nodding to Parker, deep in conversation with the prosecutor.

“You let that jerk stick around?” Iris jumped when she heard the voice in her ear. Turning she sighed with recognition. “ Lilli--Sophie?” “In the flesh.” She smiled. “I can’t stay long, but Eliot wanted me to ask.” Iris sighed. “If it’s Eliot asking, I guess you mean Harry. He’s been a lot better since Eliot kicked his ass, that’s for sure. And he has been helpful.” “I’m sure,” Sophie sounded anything but sure. “Listen, we’ve got this pretty well handled, but you and your friends may wish to be ready in case of reprisals. Have you upgraded security lately?” “Cisco’s worked on it,” Iris confirmed. “Good. Hardison would love to take a look, later. We’re probably going to be in the area, we’ve had word something’s fishy at that prison of yours.” When Iris opened her mouth Sophie shook her head. “Iron Heights. Point is, we’ll be around should you need anything.” “Thank you for the offer,” Iris said. She shook her head. “ These people are smart, Sophie. Dangerous.” “Not compared to my team,” Sophie smiled. “Save your worry. Look, see? Hardison’s in place, and Parker’s in the wings. I’ve got to go take care of my part. If you see your husband, let him know, will you?” “I-- sure,” Iris said, and she watched as Sophie stood and walked into a crowd. An entirely different person made her way past a bailiff and into the Juror’s box, leaning over to the man beside her and nodding in the direction of the door Barry Allen had just been escorted through. As Iris stood to take his hand across the gap between his seat and the benches, Sophie gave a little nod to the two of them. “It is strange,” the man said. “But I don’t think we’re meant to discuss the case until we’re in the back.” “Of course not,” Sophie said. “I was just thinking about it, is all. If it were a scene in a mystery novel, I’d call it too obvious.” “You do have a point,” the man agreed. “I’m actually a novelist myself.” “You don’t say,” Sophie smiled. “Classic red herring, am I right? And what a story. Two men in the same family accused of nearly identical murders…” She tapped her com, giving a quick signal. Nate was up. “Ah, a quick word?” Nate stepped away from the wall, flagging down Mrs. DeVoe and her companion. “No,” she snapped, putting on what Nate could see was a reasonably convincing mask of Grieving Widow. Convincing to a mark, maybe. But the Mako was right--you can’t con a conman. “Vultures, all of you.” “Oh, I’m not a reporter.” Nate said easily. He nodded to the tall man at Marlize’s Elbow. “Mr. DeVoe, I’m sure you’ll want to hear what I have to say.” He was pleased to see shock cross the face of Dominic Lanse. The man grabbed him by the arm, yanking him into an empty room. Mrs. DeVoe followed, locking it behind her. “Just so you are aware, there is video footage of you dragging me in here,” Nate said in his most helpful voice. “In case you decide to kill me here, probably not your smartest move.” he glanced around. “Private, though. Good.” He gave his signature infuriating grin. “Make this quick,” Clifford said in Dominic’s voice. “Court begins soon.” “Right, well, that’s going to be your problem.” Nate shrugged. “ Let’s skip the pleasantries. I know everything, about your plan at least. Your computer banks! Normal people couldn’t even find them, so you’ve got that going for you, though the security is lacking once you get past that, so B+. I am not Normal People. I have the best hacker in the multiverse, though, so,” he clicked his tongue in mock dismay, “like I said, my team and I --I’m sure you’re trying to think of who we are right now--know everything.” Marlize glanced at her silent watch, frowning. “Oh, no, no, I’m not a meta.” Nate shook his head. “But the thing is, I don’t have to be to destroy you.” “What--” “Again. I know everything, Thinker. Your basement prison, your hidden files, what you want with that satellite… you really shouldn’t have written everything down… twice even.” He fished a small book out of his pocket, and let them see the plain cover. Clifford’s eyes darkened. “That’s mine.” “Yeah, well, I also have the

multiverse’s greatest thief.” “Our home is under police protection and surveillance. There are officers--” “There right now, I’m aware.” Eliot Spencer, clutching a cup of coffee in one hand, flashed a badge at the pair of officers standing by a door. “Any trouble?” “Nope. She just left for the courthouse. Some work, huh? Just standing here.” “Hmm.“ Eliot agreed. “Though I guess if something did happen, the Flash would swoop in.” “Nine times out of ten,” the first officer agreed. “Or one of his buddies. “ “Maybe 8 times,” the second officer shrugged. “ You new?” “Just transferred from Keystone.” Eliot said. “Not so much nonsense there.” “I hear that. Good to have the backup though.” Eliot nodded. “ You do a walk through?” “Uh, no…. Like I said, no trouble, officer-- “Ted Crichton,” Eliot interrupted. “You haven’t walked through? What if someone’s in there, waiting to assault Mrs. DeVoe when she gets back?” “Well, uh, we don’t have a warrant--” “For crying out loud--” Eliot pulled a paper from his pocket. “See? Now let's go. You stay out here. Who has the back-- does no one have the back door? “ The officers hurried inside. “Don’t forget to check the closets,” Eliot called. -- “ Like I said. Best thief. Best hacker. Now, honestly--and you can run the numbers-- your best bet would be to cut your losses right here, right now. You’re already lying on the stand, so say you were coerced into implicating Mr. Allen--if you need someone to blame I do have a list of patsys that really need the jail time. You do that, put your little plan,” he waggled the book “ back in the box or write it up as the next dystopian best seller for High School English classes to dissect for decades to come, and you can walk away from this.” A laugh. “No one will believe anything you say. That book can’t be traced to me, and even if it could be, it doesn’t prove anything. So someone thinks I’m a supervillain. I’m dead. You have nothing that proves Mr. Allen innocent. You’re out of your mind, Mr. Ford.” “Oh good, you know who I am. Think a little harder.” “As threats go, it’s half baked,” Marlize challenged. “What are you going to do if we refuse? Break Allen out of jail so he can be a fugitive? He’d never go along with it. And the Flash can’t stop us.” “I’d run those numbers again, you’ve left out quite a few variables. But no.” “No?” “If you refuse, if you keep up your little game, lie on the stand, sell that sob story, maybe you're right and the Flash can’t stop you. But he doesn’t need to. I’ll destroy you.” “You.” It was not a question. “For someone claiming to be the smartest man in the world, I’m a bit worried about your memory. I said it already--I’m not here alone. But be my guest. Tell your lies. Right about now the Jury is thinking about what an embarrassment to the city Henry Allen’s trial was and how closely this resembles it… the similarities, the way the timelines don’t quite match up… “ “Really? You’re trying to convince the jury to ignore evidence and go with their hearts? A pathos appeal? That’s not going to work. There’s less than a 3% chance of that even ending in a mistrial, much less acquittal.” “I’m sure that’s what your numbers said,” Nate smiled yet again, this time sharklike. “Cute. I bet you think it’s difficult to get assigned jury duty. “ “It-- we checked all the names. We know--” “You know who they are, yes, yes. But you don’t know who we are. Another sloppy mistake. Now, the jury’s, you're right, not a total slam dunk. So, right now the prosecutor is getting word of some new evidence from a very well respected FBI agent about how helpful the Flash and Mr Allen have both been in assisting with a case against a known human trafficker--you know her, Ammunet Black. The one you bought your puppet from. FBI picked her up…mmm, ten minutes ago? And she had some very interesting things to say. You can guess what they were. Add to that the evidence--” “What evidence?” “The wire transfers between you and Ms. Black. In December and a few days ago. We didn’t even have to fake that first one, but even if the second

one looks a little fishy, the fact that--” “Nate, we got him,” crackled Eliot’s voice in his ear. “--the police just found a metahuman locked in your hall closet--Weeper, I think is what Ms. Black called him-- should make things clear. He wasn’t thrilled about having to stick around much longer but your basement is pretty hard for normal people to find so we had to nudge that a bit. But hey, you’re all for planting evidence. Anyways, court’s in ten minutes…. but the police will be arresting you in about three, if my math’s right-- care to check?-- so I can make this very quick. We have video of you threatening the Flash, holding him prisoner the same night as that wire transfer, proof of Dominic’s powers and sale--my hacker thanks you for all those cameras and bugs, by the way, made his job much easier-- and you add that all up and it sure looks like you got upset at the Flash and Allen for poking into your meta trafficking and decided a frame up was in order.” Nate hefted the folder, “and then there’s this.” “And what,” Marlize asked, shaking with rage, “ is that?” “A copy of files that will be delivered to the FBI, NSA and Dean of Husdson University if you don’t admit to the frame up.” Nate said, thumbing through them. “Proof that you, Mrs. DeVoe, fed information to certain entities across Africa and the Middle East where you were doing your research and aid work to assist in their terror attacks and human trafficking--ties in quite nicely to your work with Ammunet, if I do say so myself. And proof that the “late” Mr. DeVoe plagiarized his thesis, his dissertation, even the syllabi for his classes.” “Lies. No one will believe any of--” “Oh, it’s all very well forged. Except for the bit about the Syllabi. For shame.” Nate tutted. “And part of the dissertation. Can they take away a PH.d posthumously? Anyways, even if it wasn’t, do you really think that no one would believe a man who thinks that giving everyone on the planet late stage Alzheimer’s is going to solve famine and illness? What kind of legitimate history teacher doesn’t know about cholera or the effects of the agricultural revolution? Every lie has a kernel of truth to it.” Nate glanced at the clock on the wall. “Well, that certainly was enlightening. And before you decide to simply kill me, run your little calculations with one more variable: Eliot Spencer.” DeVoe’s brow furrowed and what little color he had drained from his face. “ That’s what I thought. Three.. Two.. one.” Nate raised his voice. “ Help! I’m in here!” The door crashed from its hinges. “The Gloat is the best part,” Parker, FBI badge swinging, put an arm over Barry’s shoulders. He stood with Iris next to her and Eliot as the DeVoes were hauled away. “You know, I think I might have to agree,” Iris said, squeezing Barry’s hand. “Or second best, at least,” she added meaningfully. “So… what now?” Joe asked. “I mean, there’s still… the red tape, but… do we need to be worried? Don’t they still have--” “Oh, that sick chair and computer set up?” Hardison asked with a smirk. “I want it.” Harry announced. “When did you get here?” Hardison asked, affronted. -- Parker held up her badge as she pushed the crate up a ramp into Lucille. “Special Agent Hagen! Let me help you with that,” Agent McSweeten said, taking the dolley handle from her. Parker beamed, patting the side, careful not to dislodge the panel on the side. “Thanks!” -- “Anyways, you can’t just call dibs. You’re too late,” Hardison added, giving Parker a fistbump. “We stole it.”

[trashcatsnark]

Oh, let me continue the subject of the jealousy of these two. You're saying that Johnny isn't the type to hold back when it comes to emotions. And it really is. But... there is a moment in the game when V talks about his exes or about stupid compliments in a conversation with River. And Johnny doesn't say anything. I would write it off as a scenario move, so as not to shift the focus from the River. But this isn't the only time Johnny ignores events in this quest line. See the second question

Part 2 for context:  So... I continue. Do you remember the moment when you watched brain damage and lost consciousness, when you and River were searching for clues about the mayor's murder? Johnny never ignored the moments when V passed out. Here River comes to the rescue, and you would think that he knows that there is someone to help and nothing to worry about ...But in similar situations with Judy and Panam, he would appear and deliver his moralizing remarks or make snide comments. 🤔

Personally, I do believe this is sort of a meta issue. I’ve talked about it a little bit before in a general post; how given his characterization, Johnny does not in my opinion talk as much as he should. In a more comedic example, I mentioned how could anyone honestly look me in the eye and say that Johnny wouldn’t have a comment on the guy with the exploding penis implant????  Like Johnny is majorly characterized as a guy who can’t leave well enough alone and always has something to say; yet theres a fairly large percentage of gigs and missions and moments where you’d think Johnny would have something to say and he doesn’t. There’s also times where lines are blatantly reused and in a jarring way.

Like, I could be wrong, but I think they reuse him saying “There it is” with both V getting Nibbles and a man committing suicide in a gig. Like????? 

Meta wise, I do think it’s partially a fear of over incorporating Johnny to the point players found him annoying. Because even now, some people find him irritating and wish he’d talk less. So, that could be a factor. The idea of not sidelining love interests is a factor of course. While, he has commentary through out each love interests questlines. He always does mostly bugger off during the romantic lead up and the actual kiss then sex. Because well, it might be a bit of a buzzkill and if you’re trying to get laid and Methed Out Future Keanu Reeves is yelling at you from the corner of the room. I mean, it’d probably enhance my experience but some people aren’t into that. 

As for why stuff like, him ignoring V getting zapped by the braindance in River’s quest. I’ve always thought that was ooc. Like, short of potentially the bd having fried him up for a bit, kinda like the emp blast does when V and Panam take down the AV. But overall, over and over again, Johnny is shown to be the first one there when V gets hurt. Even if its to yell at them for going into the toxic water or he waits a beat to appear once Panam is done looking over V. 

And that could be because they potentially again wanted to give more attention to River or... and I always hate to get into this sort of discourse, cause I know it aggravates some people. It was an oversight, something not caught, something not thought of, just because to be fair...River has the least polished questline of the love interests. The male love interests in general imo were sidelined more. But, River A) has the least amount of quests to build up to his romance, B) is the most easily missable love interest since he’s not even required to meet for the secret ending the way Kerry is. and C) this could just be my own personal experience, maybe cyberpunk 2077 provides unique bugs for everyone, but his quests are the buggiest for me.

And to be perfectly clear, this is not me being a dick to River. Do, I think some aspects of his character are kinda tone deaf, sure, but I like River. I think he’s a sweetheart, who’s usually pretty stiff, but has his cuter jokey moments and is a puppy dog underneath.  I love doing his quests because they’re truly very emotional, being able to help his family. Like, being able to save Randy is one of the best feelings in the game to me, knowing you saved him and so many other young boys. That’s why it honestly breaks my heart to see how little polish and attention his quests were given. From the calls glitching, him not staying on comms in the first quest, Johnny in my game doesn’t even give the dialogue warning my V about River wanting to sleep with her, like it just does not show up for me, The cobbled together family photo. The weird pacing of the romance that goes from 0 to a 100. Randy’s face glitches and clips through the mask when you’re saving him. Like the concept, the investigation, the intense stakes, and the emotional impact of his quest are all so good; but CDPR just did not in my opinion take enough time with it. 

So, maybe they didn’t bother to script and put Johnny in that scene despite it being something he’d most definitely pop in for; cause they just didn’t take their time with it like they could have/should have. 

And in regard to Johnny in universe and talking; while like I said he’s more upfront and direct with his anger and side comments that he uses to hide his real feelings. I do think, especially if its post oils field convo, a part of him tries desperately to bite his tongue and just sit with his feelings if he think its best for V. In the more love dovey romance moment with River, I could see him being like, “okay, V wants this, as much as it pisses me off, V deserves to have some good in their life” and tries to hold back and be good and then five seconds later “CANT BELIEVE YOU’RE GONNA MAKE ME FUCK A COP” cause he can only behave for so long. 

And I do wanna note; I am by no means consider myself a Johnny Silverhand expert. I’ve said this before, his characterization and just him as a person can be very messy, very all over the place, and contradictory at times. He can try to kill V and then the next day pop up to chat with them in a diner and be like “why aren’t you happy to see me?????? you still mad?????? its been a whole ass 5 hrs since I told you to kill yourself and bashed your head into a window, gotta learn to let shit go dude.” So, sometimes I worry I’m making him ooc, but its fun nontheless, so. 

[guardiandae]

Meta/Commentary Part 1: A Little ‘XO’ Wouldn’t Go Amiss

(Spoilers below)

Wade finally learned his roomie's real name on day two, when the proposed nickname of 'Priscilla' was rejected via stabbing.

"Y'know- I usually know a guy's name before I let him penetrate me," Wade joked, gritting through the pain.

"My name is Nathan Summers. You can call me Nate. Or you can shut your whore mouth."

I’m gonna say this right now so when I finally finish the sequel of this fic, nobody can cry foul or anything or pretend that I didn’t plan everything all along from the very start of this journey: There’s a reason why Nate stabbed Wade and it’s not just to be an edgelord. This fic starts written in Wade’s POV and then switches to Nate’s, and there is so much more info revealed from Nate’s perspective that changes how interactions are colored. In the sequel, it’s not written in that style but eventually you will understand Nate’s POV and be able to look back on this (and other moments) and be like, Ah. I spent a few months just agonizing over this fic planning. The levels of depth going on here, you don’t know.

Also it’s hilarious because, the movie never really establishes Cable’s real name so hi, it’s Nathan Summers. Scott Summers’ (Cyclops)’s son, but like... older than him because future and time traveling hijinks or whatever. This is only important because like, daddy issues.

-

technically they were even sleeping together, even if Nate slept in the only bedroom because he'd called dibs and Wade slept on the couch in a pile of fast food wrappers.

Denial.

Living with Nate was weird after living with Vanessa for so long. No more kisses -- not like he wanted any.

Denial!

-

Usually when Wade got home, Nate was never there.  Hours later when Nate did come back, he'd just go to bed. Other times, Wade was hired for jobs that took days of travel to complete. There was little interaction between them and they barely saw each other, so Wade took to leaving little notes behind.

[Went to get milk. And also to put a cap in someone's ass. He's a bad guy though, so don't worry. I'll be home late. xoxo] [Forgot the milk. Also didn't cap the guy so I didn't get paid. Can you pick some up while you're out? xoxo]

So much info in one little spot. Nate only sees them as roommates, as a living arrangement and tenuous partnership to serve as an end to both of their needs. Nate has a place to live, and his only responsibility, as we learn in his POV, is to pay the rent on Wade’s behalf, with Wade’s money, because Wade is a disaster and his memory is getting worse. Not only is Wade just an annoying person who can’t take anything seriously, in his incorrect opinion, but there’s that level of guilt for feeling like a freeloader when Nate is the kind of person who’s had to fight just to survive his entire life. Wade’s little notes are so sweet, but to Nate, 1. weird 2. is this a joke? 3. stop reminding me of how much you care and meanwhile i can barely bring myself to write a note back, aaaaaa

I need to remember to revive the note-leaving between them in the sequel. It’s too cute, I can’t stand it.

-

Mercenary jobs had become harder to come by, and then work dried up. It was almost like nobody wanted to pay a guy to kill people anymore. As if there could ever be a shortage of people in the world who needed to die. But when one door closes, another opens -- everywhere he went, he suddenly saw slews of missing persons flyers. Wade had never noticed how many there were before, but he took it as a sign. He'd always wanted to try his hand at being a P.I. and Wade hadn't realized that the market was booming with families desperate to find loved ones. He offered his services as a private dick to several different people, but every single case was unsolvable. It was like they'd just vanished into thin air, but he knew that wasn't possible. It was frustrating to realize he was such a lousy dick.

Spoilers, but this is when the Thanos snap happens, and Wade is completely oblivious. Could someone who can be so devastatingly observant really be so obtuse? Or is his mind just protecting itself from such an incomprehensible reality that everyone else is suddenly saddled with? These are things Nate wonders later as well. Even I don’t know for sure. (I haven’t watched End Game and there’s still more plotline to tackle during the Snap, don’t @ me about how Marvel did it, I don’t know and I don’t care, I have my own plans)  (By the way, characters will either be snapped or inexplicably alive, and that’s not a plot hole, that’s the joke. Welcome to Marvel, the writers never fucking make sense and I don’t have to either, YEET)

[Someone tried to sell a metal arm on the black market????!! It better be Bucky's and not yours. Not like I care.] [It was Bucky's.]

Rip Buckkyyyyyy lmaooo

But also, cryyyy because Nate is busy trying to help deal with absolute fucking chaos and he didn’t really stop to consider whether Wade would be wondering what happened to him. Ow. Yeah, I think Wade definitely subconsciously registered what happened and is in total denial of reality. It’s better that way. Nobody fucking tell him.

-

There was nothing that he hated more than being ignored. Might as well just talk to himself. Which he did a lot of lately.

Foreshadowing.

-

All of the warmth left his body at once, leaving him a little breathless and dizzy. He was vaguely aware of Nate looking at him, but it was less of a 'you're home' and more of a ' why are you here?'

This whole area of the fic hurts so good because I’m gay and I love drama.

Wade coming home, literally bleeding to death on the inside and in shock because, once again, everything went to shit for him, story of his life. And he sees Nate just there, dressed down, relaxed, and has this little flash of domestic happiness because he so desperately wishes that the domestic happiness was real and that Nate actually was waiting for him and happy to see him come home, and the hard snap back to reality where Nate doesn’t even like him is soooo fucking painful lol end me. And on top of that, he misread Nate’s concern as hate/disgust for him bc that’s what he’s used to, and then he passes out on the floor and wakes up with Nate over him because I’m gay and I love drama!!!!

-

"Wade, you died for a second," Nate told him. Wade couldn't quite tell if Nate was concerned for him or just annoyed. "I had to pull a piece of metal pipe from your chest. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I got a… pipe in my chest," Wade said, pausing for breath. His lungs felt wet and heavy. He should've left the pipe in.

"Very illuminating," Nate deadpanned, letting go. "Anything else I should know?"

This moment where Nate is so very fucking concerned for Wade, but then Wade cracks a weak joke, because that’s how he copes, and Nate is like, wow, fuck it, so much for being worried about you.

[[SCREAMS IN GAY.]]

-

These thoughts didn't feel like his own, even though they had his voice. His mind was always scattered, full of thoughts that flowed nonstop like a babbling brook. Sometimes it took a lot of conscious effort to reign himself in and make sense of his own head. But these just popped out of nowhere, in bold print, in boxes that were separate from everything else.

"Am I going nuts?" he wondered aloud, whispering to himself, because honestly, he was a little afraid of his own head right now.

(A little late to be asking that.)

And this is when the ‘boxes’ manifest for Wade. But in this fic, the voices that manifest in his head are his own intrusive, negative thoughts. The depression, the loneliness, the self-hatred, the belief and fear that Nate hates him too.

-

I’m gonna recap vs a full copy and paste because the next bit is long:

-Wade is coughing up blood clots from his lungs in the morning, or trying to. -Nate is disgusted but also sympathetic and offers to help Wade out. -A really layered conversation occurs.

“Maybe if I drown myself in the bathtub, the blood clots will rinse out. What d'you think?"

Wade’s exhausted. Joking, but also dead serious. Nate is concerned about Wade making such a dark joke, but he also can tell that Wade really is struggling.

“I’ll help you.”

“Really?” Wade is relieved Nate wants to help him, at first, but then remembers he just said he wanted to drown himself in a bathtub, and becomes disheartened again because he remembers Nate doesn’t like him. “Oh. Yeah.”

From Wade’s point of view: Nate just offered to help Wade kill himself, because of course someone would get a kick out of drowning him, he’s annoying, yadda yadda.

From Nate’s point of view: Wade isn’t okay and he offered to help him with his problem, because he sounds desperate and Nate doesn’t think that jokes will help Wade with his mental state, nor will the drowning actually do anything to solve the problem (the blood clots festering in his lungs).

"I bet you'd love to hold me down and watch me struggle," he said, still thinking about the drowning idea. Then, in a flirtatious tone, "I'll make it good for you, baby. Just promise me we'll do it face to face."

From Wade’s POV: He’s making a joke about Nate drowning him, but also making a sex joke to make it funny, to mock Nate if he really does want to drown Wade, so maybe he wouldn’t do it, or maybe it’d be weird and interesting.

From Nate’s POV: Wade is flirting with him, and his humor and still really dark and Nate really shouldn’t laugh at it or encourage that kind of thing.

From Wade’s POV, seeing Nate trying not smile: ah holy fuck he really wants to drown me.

"I don't want to watch you struggle," Nate said. If he did, he'd just leave Wade alone to keep coughing up blood.

"Ah. Consensual," Wade nodded. "Okay, well, I'd be open to some over-the-clothes stuff, and whatever happens while I'm still dead doesn't count."

Nate couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think we're having the same conversation."

Wade is continuing the joke, because from his POV he’s like, whelp, this might as well be what happens.

But they really aren’t having the same conversation. There’s more like, four different conversations happening at once. Wade’s very sincere idea of drowning himself as a solution to his problems, and Wade joking about Nate drowning him as a sexual innuendo.  Nate interpreting Wade’s dark humor as a shitty attempt at flirting that he neither wants to encourage nor outright shoot down, and Nate offering to give Wade a better solution to fix his actual problem.

And Nate’s solution is to use his telekinesis to just... remove all the shit from Wade’s lungs. But he didn’t communicate that idea with Wade before just doing it, even if he did ask permission, so that’s pretty shitty and hence why we had to add the ‘Nonconsensual Telekinetic Heimlich Maneuver’ tag. smh

"That was dubious at best and now we have to add a warning in the tags," Wade sighed. "Non-consensual telekinetic Heimlich maneuver…. This is problematic now. People aren't gonna click on this."

-

This is a good spot to stop for now and continue in another post.

[officialthiamlibrary]

Welcome to another profile on Behind the Screens, giving you personal insight on who your favorite creators are and what they do when they aren’t wowing you with their creative ability.

This week, I’m excited to bring to you our first artist, Dalyane, or Da-Smiley99. Although, in her case, a more appropriate title would be jack-of-all-trades. As our resident fic writer, song-inspired pic spam creator, and incorrect quote aficionado, she shares her inspiration behind incorrect quotes, her writing persona, her meta-author plans to dictate Thiam’s relationship, and much more! Take a look :)

So, Dalyane, let’s ease our way into things. Tell us about yourself. The catch: the word count should be equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf characters’ name. 

Stiles Stilinski + Theodore Raeken = 25 : My name’s Dalyane, I’m a ray of sunshine in human form. What I want the most is to make people happy with what I do.

And, how did you find the Thiam pack? What about Theo x Liam drew you in?

To be honest, I don’t have the slightest idea. It just came smoothly to me. When I saw Theo and Liam interacting, I was just drawn into it. I was drawn by the silent conversations in their eyes, every word that came out of their mouths that sometimes meant something else or something they haven’t said, their mutual violence towards each other. (I absolutely hate violence, but I don’t know why I’m deeply hypnotized by their banter and their complicated Like/Hate relationship). 

I’m like the most oblivious person ever, I wouldn’t even know if somebody is hitting on me, but there’s something romance-worthy (Is that even a word?) about their complicated relationship that drew me in the Thiam fandom. 

Not mentioning Theo’s past, Liam eventually learned to trust him at some point even if he was still a little hostile towards Theo. A little part of himself learned to forgive him, so he could fight alongside him. In the entire sixth season, I felt like they developed a whole new relationship based on building trust. Apart, Liam and Theo are quite strong alone, but together they cooperate, fight and act like they were a “whole”. Liam may not trust Theo yet, but I felt like his body, his own being told the opposite. I was extremely glad to see their relationship grow with their characters. So long story short, I just basically just dived into it. And it’s without a damn shame that I can say that I don’t even regret liking them together. And it’s also not because of the amazing, beautiful and breathtaking gifsets on Tumblr...Not at all.

Yes!! That sums up their relationship perfectly and worded so well. Let’s keep that going for a moment. Say this was a ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ situation and you could alter their relationship, their lives with your writing. How would they live through the following scenarios:

a. Their First Date: 

Oh, they would know for sure they’re on a date, even if it’s not a date. Theo and Liam would hear my annoying voice every five minutes. Like Liam would ask Theo to hang out at his place, it’s just two dudes hanging out, nothing extraordinary really. But I would still break the nice atmosphere by saying random things that comes from their heads. Like -Wow, Theo’s ass looks great in those Jeans, Liam thought- or -Had Liam’s lips always been that pink?- and God, they would be as red as tomatoes. Awkward much.

b. Their child’s first boyfriend/girlfriend

Theo would absolutely refuse to admit or say out loud that he doesn’t like his child’s significant other. It would hurt his pride, but he doesn’t want to hurt his small bean and his husband, Liam. Of course it’s my job! Theo would be outraged, but it would be so worth it.

c. Their first conflict as an official couple

Because of me, their fight would last for 5 minutes maximum. They would be in a situation where Theo would get jealous because he thought some random guy was flirting with Liam, when in fact he was just being super friendly. So Theo was being an asshole out of jealousy. Liam would start getting angry at him, asking what was his problem but Theo wouldn’t respond. I would just whisper in the air: “Hey, he was jealous you dummy.“ Then they would apologize to each other, followed quickly by a make out session. Yeah, you’re welcome Thiam. 

Haha, honestly, they’d be lucky to have you running the show! Piggy-backing off the craziness you’d put them through, sometimes, characters  find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get out of. In your life, is there a time you found yourself in a situation like that and what did you do?

Oh god. Almost nothing happened to me in my life. But I will share this particularly embarrassing moment of me. So one day I was going to my high school, I was inside the school bus. But suddenly the bus stopped at my old middle school, then our chauffeur turned to us saying our high school was closed because of the snow. 

So we went inside the middle school to call our parents so they can pick us up. But that day my mom was working, so she wasn’t available. My grandma didn’t pick up the phone either. So I was like “I can’t stay here anyway, what should I do?” Then my stupid old self just got out of the school, walking all the way to my home. Yeah, I was pretty stupid back then.

 I was freezing and couldn’t see a damn thing in front of me because I was in the middle of a snowstorm. A random guy slowed his car close to me and asked me if I want to get in. Then I remembered what my mom said about getting in a car with a stranger, Oh hell no. I lied saying I was close to home, so he would leave me alone. It worked. 

30 minutes later I think, another car stopped close to me and a woman speaks to me, “Get in, I won’t let you freeze on the road.” I hesitated, obviously. Until I saw my friend in the passenger seat. Finally, I got home safely! I was incredibly embarrassed and horrified; I felt like an idiot. I never thought that I would get home. Holy molly, that was terrifying. When my mom asked why I was home early, I lied to her saying that the chauffeur brought all the students home in the morning. Well, I’ll never ever do that again.

Oh my goodness! Girl, I’m glad you got home ok and didn’t freeze to death! Before we jump into your work, who would be on your ultimate paintball/laser tag team. Any five characters from Teen Wolf. Also, Why?

I would have Stiles on my team, because he’s extremely smart and no doubt he would make up an excellent strategy on the field. I would have Theo, he’s also smart, but he’s a bit reckless and surely takes risks a lot so it can come in handy. I would have Malia, she’s a badass and would dominate the field with some girl power! (You go girl!) I would have Corey, he’s very subtle, doesn’t make a sound and he definitely would blend in the background and that is definitely handy for sure. What a great sneaky sniper. 

For the last member of my team, I would take Mason, he will probably use his charm and his charisma to lure the opposite team’s members. Or just make jokes and references to his favorite Tv shows. That kinda does the job too.

Perfect! And now your work! *Rubbing my hands together in anticipation*

You do a little bit of it all when it comes to creating for Thiam: fanfiction, fanart, edits, incorrect quotes. Which would you say is your favorite art form? And how do you balance creating them all? 

I guess my favorite form of art is writing. I had a talent for writing since I was a kid. I could express myself better on paper than with my voice. Many people had a hard time to believe that everything I wrote came from my mind, because I can’t express myself properly when I talk. For me, writing is an art and fanfics are masterpieces. Writing has been a way for me to escape the real world, my problems and my worries. Writing is a way for me to talk indirectly to readers and expressing my feelings to them through my writing. 

It’s kinda hard to balance my creativity in my posts, because I always do something different. If I see something I like on Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter, I tried to include it in them. I always try to get better. I’m trying to find my own style and keep it. I’m saying it again, I want to make people happy with what I do and when I get positive comments on my works, that makes me want to get  better. A part of me does all of this for my followers, to put a smile on their faces or make them laugh. Seeing them happy makes me happy too.

And, if your process was a person, describe them. What do they do? Wear? Listen to?

Well, she’s pretty thoughtful. She always paces back and forth in her room, trying to find a title to her work. She bases her work mostly on the title, that is most of the time based on a song. She’s always in PJ’s and some good old crocs. She just sit on her bed, listening to her favorite songs, TV shows, movies or her favorite YouTubers. She’s a little lazy girl, I guess. I can’t really blame her, it’s how she is. :)

What would you say is both your (and her) Writing Kryptonite, haha? How do you fight it?

It’s really strange, but I can’t write anything if I don’t listen to some music. Music always has been the source of my imagination, I just didn’t realize it until a few months ago. If I don’t have my phone and headphones on me, I can’t do anything. I need music to write. Depending to the meaning, the lyrics and the beat of the songs I listen to, my works change. If I write something sad, I listen to songs about heartbreak, death, breakups, etc. If I write something fluffy and happy, I will listen to songs about happy endings, falling in love, weddings,etc. 

When I know exactly what to write (theme, feeling expressed in it and other minimal things), I know instantly what song to listen to. Every time there’s music in my ears, I get in my own writing world and my hands just start tapping on my keyboard on their own. This is pretty unique, huh? Music gets me really emotional and I can’t do anything about it. It’s very strange. Since Music is the source of my creativity and imagination, it’s very rare that I have writer’s block.                  

To get rid of my writer’s block, I simply sit back on my couch and close my eyes, listening to some soft music. I take a break, because I can’t write something for a whole day, I would get a huge migraine. I would just relax and let everything come to me.

Your love for writing with music. Is that what inspires your song edits, like this one? What makes a song shout Thiam to you? How do you choose images that embody both the song, their relationship, and your writing for it?

I always choose a song that reflects their complicated relationship and what they’ve been through. I choose songs that are very specific for them, that express their banter, their problems and their backstories. Depending on the songs I choose for my edits, the colors, the pictures and themes are different with each one. For example, for a sad song, the colors and pictures of my edits will be darker, the theme of the edit will likely be sadness, sorrow, breakups,etc. For a more happy-go-lucky song, the colors and pictures will be clearer and brighter, and the theme of the edit will be happiness, calmness, comfort, etc. 

Everything I do in my edits will change with the song I choose. I chose pictures very carefully, they have to call to me (my creative style, I mean). When I find something perfect for my edits, I just know it. It’s hard to explain it, but I can feel it in my gut when I got something good. I’m a weird phenomenon.

And, incorrect quotes. How do those come to you too? Are they inspired by things you see of hear in everyday life? 

Most of them are inspired by my favorite YouTubers: Game Grumps. It’s a gaming channel, where two grown men play some video games while sassing each other, telling semi-bad jokes, swearing 95% of the time and saying perfect incorrect quotes material. Most of them came from the mouth of these awesome guys. Is it the time when I say you should check their channel out? Yeah, go check it, please. :)

Oh wow, one of my roommates watches their channel religiously!! I’ll have to join her sometimes, when I hear them blaring from her room haha. You’ve recently started a new multi-chapter fic, Catch & Release. Can you give us a quick summary, for anyone unfamiliar. 

The story happens one year after the events of season 6. A mysterious girl come knocking on Liam and Theo’s door, seeking their help. Her name is Skye Andrews.She’s a true Alpha who’s fighting against an hostile pack that plans to take Canada. When they saw that she wasn’t a threat and saying the truth, Liam and Theo accepted to help her, also accepting coming to Canada.

And did something inspire the concept?

I don’t even know. It just weirdly came to me just like that, while I was listening to the song “Catch & Release” by Matt Simons.The story made itself when I listened to the lyrics of the song. Now you know where the title came from.

Finally, you know I have to ask. Are there any spoilers you can slip us? 

Eventually you’ll get to know all of my original characters I included in the story. I can’t give any spoilers, because I still don’t know where this story is going. But here’s something I know for sure: Nolan/Alec and Thiam will be canon at some point in the story, I just don’t know when exactly. But if you want some precise informations, my ask box is always open.

Hahaha, fair enough. I guess we’ll have to read along and see. Ooh--perfect question segway. Bonus Question-if you could read only one author/fanfic writer for a whole year, who would you read? And what story of theirs would you horde?

Without hesitation, I say Captainmintyfresh (@Thiamfresh on Tumblr). I just adore her writing so much. It calls to me and her writing style absolutely hypnotized me. She’s incredibly talented and I just can’t stop reading her works. “Airplanes” is by far her best work. I think everyone should read it; it’s a piece of art, a masterpiece. I’m not even exaggerating. Her writing is truly amazing; it gives me the chills. I really wish I could write like that. She can capture the personality and the dynamic of the characters in the Teen Wolf universe. The way she writes their interactions is truly a treat. Seriously, If I could read her works forever, I would. She’s incredibly talented.

I share that sentiment, wholeheartedly. You’re not alone! Before we wrap, I want to ask about advice because I think it’s amazing when we’re given the opportunity to learn from one another. What’s the best writing/drawing/edit-creating advice you’ve ever gotten? Is there any wisdom you could gift us?

I didn’t get any advice in writing, but I would like to give some. If you are struggling with your writing, just take a breath and lean back to look at your work. If nothing comes out, it’s useless to work endlessly and working your brains out. Just take a break and work on it later. There’s no need to be rushed, take the time you need. Writing can be hard and demands a lot of concentration and creativity. Just take the time you need, take breaks and write everything you like. You are the creator of your story.

What’s next for you? Both in life and the creation world?

Well, I’m taking a year off of college. It was becoming too much for my brain to handle so much anxiety every day. In this year, I will eventually think about where I want to go and what I want to do. Maybe it will shorten my time for writing, but I want to do the most I can. I guess there’s nothing next in the creating segment, I’m just going to continue writing and drawing. But there’s nothing huge specifically.  

Any creating is always a perfect amount, so I’m sending you all the luck and inspiration juice in the world! Anything else you’d like to share, in general. The floor is all yours! :)

This concerns anybody reading this. I’m saying this for the third time now, but I’m writing fanfictions, doing edits, drawing fanarts and writing some incorrect quotes for you (all of you). I’m doing this to bring a smile on your faces, make you laugh and make you feel so many different emotions with my work. Seeing you guys happy, makes me incredibly happy. On everything that I do, don’t be shy and comment on my works. If you like my writing style, if you like how I make aesthetics, if you like my incorrect quotes or just quotes in general and if you like my fanarts, go ahead and tell me about those things. I probably won’t respond, because I have a social life outside of Tumblr and I’m actually pretty busy.I want to get better not just for myself, but for all of you. I don’t want to let anybody down and I don’t want to disappoint anybody. I really hope that I meet your expectations. I love each one of you (I’m definitely not crying right now).

Awww! And so with that, BTS presents Dalyane, Da-Smiley99! As always, you can keep the conversation going; respond to any of her thoughts, ask more questions, send a prompt, or simply swing by for a chat with Dalyane anytime. To quote her, she would be “absolutely thrilled” to receive your thoughts! If you’d like to dive into her works, check out both her AO3 and Tumblr.

Tumblr: Da-smiley99

AO3: Dasmiley99

Ask Box: Da-Smiley ask

A huge thank you to her for being so excited about our chat and sharing us piece of her life with us! 

Have a Thiam Creator you fan over, from any platform (AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, Instagram, FFN, etc). Definitely drop us their names. Bonus points if you include any questions you’re dying to ask them. 

Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

Mic drop!

[mintflavoredwindows]

A Really Long “Shinon/Gatrie Is at Least a Little Real and I Really Like It” Meta Post Thing

I just wanna talk about my Big Tellius Ship that I have trouble finding content for lmao, sorry to anyone who's seeing this post on mobile.  I got carried away!!!

So Shinon and Gatrie.  In PoR they get introduced together, they first leave the party together, they have a Really Good support, and just generally they have a lot of good interactions and are really tight.  I also have a hard time finding shippy content for them, I'm not 100% sure why??  There's some good shit out there for them but it feels like they would be more popular?  I mean, it's not like I don't have my own fic in the works for them, but I'm a lot better at just talkin shit like this than doing Serious Writing so this is gonna be Publishable WAY earlier, despite being way longer.

I was originally gonna go through a bunch of their interactions (especially their PoR supports) through the lens of Someone Who Ships Them and talk about why I like their dynamic and I think they work romantically, but this kinda turned into... a HUGE fuckin meta about both of them as characters and how they relate to each other + other characters.  I mean, it's hard to do the ship talk without the character talk.  I haven't actually played RD yet and I only know a few things about Shinon and Gatrie in that game, so if there's anything big to talk about there, I'm probably gonna miss it!  Thankfully, there's A Lot just in their PoR stuff.

So starting with their introduction at the end of Chapter 2, we're off to A Start. Shinon gets a really cool entrance where he fires some ridiculous shot and saves Rolf's life and then brags about it and demands that people thank him for it (spoiler: They don't), while Gatrie just kinda... barely arrives while sweating his ass off, complains that Titania and Shinon almost left him behind when they KNOW his armor is MASSIVE and impossible to run in (everyone ignores him), and claims that his running and sweating qualifies as hard work.  Now that I'm looking back at it, these are actually really effective introductions to their characters: Shinon as a guy who's real fuckin good at what he does but is a Raging Douche, and Gatrie as a generally good guy who gets memed on a bit and you feel bad for him buuut at the same time, he... manages to come across as a little bit of a tool too, even if he seems more pleasant than Shinon does.

We haven't even seen him try to flirt yet.

So in their first appearance, Shinon and Gatrie don't really interact with each other, you don't really directly get the sense that they're friends beyond the fact that they're introduced at the same time.  Actually, everyone just kind of ignores both of them??  Really in hindsight, I don't blame Shinon for feeling kinda underappreciated.  It's not until Chapter 3 that we find out that they work jobs together a lot, often enough that they have a name for their teamed fighting style:

Gatrie: “Ho, Deputy Commander! You want standard thunder and lightning maneuvers here?”Ike: “Er…Thunder and lightning?” Gatrie: “Yeah! I crash into ’em like thunder, and Shinon rains arrows down on ’em like lightning!”

Or Gatrie does anyway.  No one else makes reference "thunder and lightning" ever (Titania just says the plan "sounds good") and honestly I can picture him coming up with that and thinking it sounds So Cool and trying to make it A Thing.

After the chapter is completed, we see that Shinon and Gatrie are either 1.) definitely closer to each other than they are to the other Greil Mercenaries and that they have some priorities in common or 2.) really close friends and that Titania at least is really aware of this.  I'm gonna start with the first one because that's the scenario most people are gonna get (it's a little early in the game to be losing units).

So after clearing the pirates out of town, the mayor thanks the Greil Mercenaries, but suggests that they could make better pay in other positions.  They're really competent for a bunch of rando mercenaries defending a town from rando pirates.  Titania gets a little defensive over it, but it prompts this conversation if Shinon and Gatrie are both alive:

Shinon: “Pah! Jobs like this barely make a dent in my incurable boredom! It’s like that old buzzard said, there’s better work out there. Something with a bit of challenge.” Titania: “Shinon!” Shinon: “I’m joking. J-O-K-ing.” Gatrie: “Come, Titania. Be honest. Don’t you find the work we do to be a bit…disheartening? Unglamorous?” Titania: “What? You too, Gatrie? What’s gotten into you?” Gatrie: “Please! Look, we’re not a band of money-hungry recruits. We’re professionals, and we’re very good at what we do. Shinon and I have discussed this at length. All of this mundane mercenary work is unworthy of us. We’re wasting our talents.” Titania: “I see. You’re telling me that you think Commander Greil is mismanaging us. Do I have that right?” Gatrie: “Whoa! Hold it right there! That’s not what I’m saying at all!” Ike: “What is it, Titania?” Titania: “What’s what?” Ike: “You seem so angry. It’s not like you.” Titania: “Hmph…” Gatrie: “Exactly! Ike’s got the right of it!” Titania: “It’s just that I…Look, we do good work, and we help people. I want you to be proud of that. I felt like you were saying work that doesn’t bring fame and fortune isn’t worth doing, that’s all. Sorry.” Gatrie: “No…you’re right. We are the ones who ought to apologize.”

So there's a bit going on here.  This is obvious foreshadowing for Shinon and Gatrie being the ones who bail on the Greil Mercenaries after Greil's death to look for better work.  We also have Shinon starting some shit and Gatrie being the one to finish it, mostly by panicking at Titania's pushback and apologizing (not that Shinon doesn't do his own immediate backpedaling by brushing his comment off as a joke before Gatrie starts arguing on his behalf).  We can see that Shinon and Gatrie have similar priorities, ranking fame and fortune higher than the other Greil Mercenaries seem to, and Gatrie's mention of them discussing the subject at length (which Titania doesn't seem to have been aware of) makes it seem like they're definitely closer to each other than they are with the rest of the company.  I'd say that this exchange, plus the thunder and lightning thing, are really what establish Shinon and Gatrie as sort of a unit within the Greil Mercenaries.  After apologizing for stepping out of line, Gatrie is perfectly willing to concede the point to Titania and move on to a celebratory meal.  Shinon, on the other hand...

Shinon: “Pah. I’m surrounded by idealistic fools. What’s so wrong with fame? What’s wrong with having money to live well?”

He doesn't actually apologize for his "joke" and was, as it turns out, a little more serious about what he was saying than Gatrie was. Also, for all that somebody has Provoke as a default skill and is known to be foul-tempered and ready to fight, somebody sure does back down quickly when he's mildly rebuked/challenged!  Especially considering he wasn't joking at all!  There's probably another meta out there that interprets this as evidence that Shinon has a romantic thing for Titania and like, Okay Fair Enough, but that's not what this meta is, so I'm just gonna say it indicates that Shinon does care about Titania's opinion/Titania in general (as most of their few interactions do; they def respect each other and like each other as people) and that when he seriously steps on someone's toes who he really does care about, he's pretty quick to try to patch things up or change the subject.  Effective?  Maybe not so much. Anyway, Shinon and Gatrie are more in sync with each other than they are with the rest of the squad, but they're def not totally in sync!! (Which is good tbh, the world couldn't take more than one Shinon or more than one Gatrie I think)  This is reflected further down the line when Gatrie returns as an Other Unit before being re-recruited and expresses regret over abandoning his old company so quickly if Ike talks to him after he's back, while Shinon shows up as a straight-up enemy who taunts most of his old companions in battle conversations and needs to be defeated under really specific circumstances in order to not go down fighting, and even then, he demands that Ike duel him for leadership of the Greil Mercenaries if he's gonna come back to the company. But I'm getting ahead of myself, I gotta talk about the Sad Versions of this chapter end:

Shinon: “Hey, Captain. I’m gonna take off for a while.” Titania: “That’s no problem. We have nothing scheduled until tomorrow afternoon. Take what time you need.” Shinon: “Yeah. I’ll do that.” Ike: “Where’s Shinon going?” Titania: “He needs some time alone. Usually, I make everyone report in, but…with what happened to Gatrie today…” Ike: “I see.” Titania: “No matter how many times it happens, you never get used to losing a friend. Ike, this is…This is the world we mercenaries live in. Never lose sight of that one, cold truth.”

Gatrie: “Titania? I’d…um…like to take off for a while. Is that a problem?” Titania: “No. No problem. There’s nothing scheduled until tomorrow afternoon. Take your time.” Gatrie: “Thanks.” Ike: “Where’s Gatrie going?” Titania: “He needs some time alone. Usually, I make everyone report in, but…with what happened to Shinon…” Ike: “I see.” Titania: “No matter how many times it happens, you never get used to losing a friend. Ike, this is…this is the world we mercenaries live in. Never lose sight of that one, cold truth.”

Okay, so it admittedly doesn't take much to make me upset but this Makes Me Upset.  Shinon and Gatrie are close enough that if one dies, the other feels that they need to request some time off to grieve... and Titania recognizes that they def need it.  Shinon does this kind of posturing where he basically tells Titania he's taking the time off whether it's okay or not, but her convo with Ike makes it obvious that she sees through it.  He's actually pretty distraught about losing Gatrie?  Gatrie, as usual, is a little more upfront about his actual emotional state (the "um" kills me fsr??) and seems pretty subdued compared to most of his other dialogue.  Still, he doesn't actually have to say what's up for it to be obvious (to Titania, who definitely knows both of them better than Ike does) that he's broken up about Shinon dying.  Even though these conversations p much signal the end of any Shinon-Gatrie interactions for the playthrough they show up in, they make it obvious that they're really close friends who definitely care about each other on a level beyond "guy whose priorities are kinda similar to mine and we chill sometimes."  This also establishes that even though Gatrie is definitely more open with his feelings than Shinon is, neither of them is really... good with discussing deep stuff. Granted, it's hard to get deeper/harder to talk about than coping with the death of someone you really care about, but it's an indication that either of them might gloss over what they're really feeling when things get emotionally dicey.

There's not a whole lot to comment on in Chapter 4, but after pulling Shinon to be part of Ike's squad, Greil immediately picks Gatrie too.  I'm gonna quote it, not really because it's significant to anything, but just because I love it when Shinon gets memed on like this:

Shinon: “Commander, you must be joking! He’s just a boy, and he’s had barely more than a taste of battle. What do you expect a whelp like him to accomplish?” Greil: “Ah, Shinon. Since you’re so concerned, you can go as well.” Shinon: “Wait, that’s not what I… Blast.” Greil: “Who else…Gatrie, Rhys, and Soren. That should do.”

Shinon really really hates having Ike in charge of anything, huh.  Granted, if I kept getting passed over for recognition and stuff for a 17-year-old, I'd probably be pretty miffed too??

Another note, I'm probably gonna get on Gatrie's case for being sort of oblivious later on, but he's not totally unobservant.  He's the default character to notice Daein troops approaching in this chapter if all units are still alive.  He's also the one who notices the affilation of the dead soldiers if Rhys isn't around to  do it:

Titania: “Are they Crimean?” Gatrie: “I don’t think so. Look at that black armor, Ike. The vast majority of the dead are Daein soldiers.”

After the battle, he's also the only one who's paying attention to what Shinon's up to.

Gatrie: “I don’t know…Taking out these Daein soldiers may have been a bad move. Um…Hey, Shinon? What are you doing?” Shinon: “This swine’s got some nice weapons. Besides, he ain’t gonna complain. He won’t need them where he’s going.”

Shinon's a catch, huh.  Also, he calls Soren judgmental when he tells to him to "steal from the dead on [his] own time."  Yeah, Shinon, that's definitely being judgmental.

Moving on to Chapter 5, Shinon and Gatrie come down on different sides of the Elincia debate... kind of:

Greil: “Shinon? Gatrie?” Shinon: “Soren’s a pompous, superior whelp, but he’s got the right idea. Besides, the destination’s Gallia, so it’s a moot question. I don’t care how much we get paid; there’s no way under the sun I’m going to stinking beast country.” Gatrie: “Princess Elincia…She does possess a certain regal beauty… There’s a lot to be said for that, you know. However I do prefer country girls…A bit cuter, and not quite so standoffish…Oh! Forget I said that.Whatever you decide is good for me, Commander. Yep, uh-huh, yep…”

Again, they end up paired together when Greil asks for their opinions.  They really are kind of a unit within the group? Also, I'm surprised it's even this deep into the game before we get our first reference to Gatrie being kind of a womanizer, considering that becomes his Primary Character Quirk.  I'll talk more about how Gatrie flirts (It's Bad) and how I think that plays out in his relationship with Shinon later when I talk about their support conversations. For now, I'll say that Gatrie just... says whatever he's thinking sometimes, huh. Like he seems to know that the stuff he's saying is irrelevant to the issue at hand and also that it's stuff that the others probably aren't particularly interested in hearing, but he just... keeps on goin.  I will admit that "cute" and "not quite so standoffish" aren't really things I'd describe Shinon as, but Shinon is definitely less standoffish with people he's close to.  He's not particular nice in this scene, but Gatrie really really does not seem to mind:

Greil: “Open your ears and listen. Listen! All of you.” Boyd:“Huh?…What is it?” Gatrie: “Uh…I don’t hear a thing…” Shinon: “Idiot! That’s the problem. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd? Complete silence, in all four directions.” Gatrie: “Oh, so that’s what you’re talking about!”

Really, Gatrie seems to have no problem brushing it off most of the time when Shinon's being p damn harsh.  I'd argue that Shinon doesn't really mean the vast majority of the rude shit he says, especially jumping all the way to his PoR epilogue dialogue, after the war is over and everything is said and done:

Shinon: “…Bah. I suppose you want some kind of congratulations now, right? Well, too bad. You’re a snot-nosed whelp, and I’m still better than you. Don’t ever forget that.”

Awww, how sweet.  Seriously though, he's smiling when he says this and it's in the middle of a whole bunch of people congratulating Ike on ending a fucking war and affirming how much he means to them.  There is absolutely no way in hell he actually means this, he just can't bring himself to tell Ike that he did a good job.  He's too caught up in his fucking jackass persona to have a nice moment with anyone who isn't Rolf or Gatrie, as we'll get to, and even there he has some trouble.

At the end of the chapter, Shinon and Gatrie get paired together on another mission:

Greil: “Titania! Take Shinon and Gatrie and make sure we have a secure road from here to the great forest. We’ll make our way to Gallia through the sea of trees.”

Ditto with the intro to the next chapter:

Greil: “All right, let’s split up. The diversionary team will be Gatrie, Shinon, and me. The rest of you guard Princess Elincia and proceed to Gallia straightaway. Got it?” Ike: “Are you sure you’re taking enough men?” Shinon: “Idiot pup. Smaller numbers mean better mobility. Your time would be better spent worrying about yourself than about us.” Ike: “…”

Greil has Shinon and Gatrie working together A LOT near the beginning of the game.  I'm not skipping over anything where they get sent on different assignments??  They do work well together combat-wise (in theory, at least, because in my experience, enemies CONSTANTLY ignore Gatrie and his good good Def stat in favor of mobbing Shinon who can't take it as well because he has Provoke on him and I can't bring myself to take it off) and they're good at dealing with each other's personalities and quirks, but holy shit Greil Does Not Separate Them.  We even see some more of this in Rhys and Titania's C-support a little later on, which also gives us another example of how Shinon tries really really hard to pretend like he doesn't care about anyone when that is def not the case:

Titania: "Yeah, those bandits were a rough lot... Their stomping ground was right near your village, actually. It's all coming back to me now... They were tougher than I'd thought. We took most of them out with ease, but one fled into the woods and I gave chase. Big mistake. My horse got hung up in the undergrowth, and that bandit got the drop on me... At least Shinon hit him before I was killed." Rhys: "Gatrie and Shinon were both really worried when they brought you back to my parents' house." Titania: "Really? I didn't know that. Hmm... I didn't think Shinon ever worried about anyone... But they stayed with me until my wounds were healed, I remember that.”

Before splitting off from the group though, Shinon arguably calls Gatrie delicate (in a sympathetic way):

Gatrie: “Blazes, why does it have to be so blamed humid? If we weren’t being chased, I’d strip off this armor here and now!” Titania: “Then I’m almost glad that we ARE being pursued. I suppose you’ll have to grin and bear it, won’t you?” Gatrie: “Hm, I suppose I will.” Titania: “Right. So enough of your griping. You’re merely wasting energy. Still, this heat is appalling.” Shinon: “Dense forests such as these are not made for us delicate humans. The sub-humans love ’em, though.”

Granted, EVERYONE is complaining about the humidity (sidenote, I love Titania and I love her comeback to Gatrie saying he wants to Disrobe, it's iconic), but it does come across as Shinon backing Gatrie up on this one.

When Greil's party meets up with Ike's, Shinon and Gatrie have a little lore convo and then immediately get sent off on another assignment together:

Gatrie: “Shinon… What are these 'twisted games' the boss is talking about?” Shinon: “There’s rumor that King Daein gathers strong men from around the continent and sets them to fight one another. Those who live, regardless of their birth, are given influential positions. Don’t know if it’s true, though.” Gatrie: “Oh…So that weird dame’s got her eye on the boss now, does she?” Greil: “Shinon! Gatrie! I’ll distract the woman. You two grab Ike and the others and get out of here now!” Shinon: “Got it!” Gatrie: “But, Commander! We can’t leave you here on your own!” Shinon: “Idiot! That woman’s no threat to the commander. All right, come on! Let’s go!”

Gatrie's phrasing re: Petrine is so surreal to me... "That weird dame"... "Got her eye on the boss"... Like Shinon just told him about this fucked-up-if-true thing and it almost sounds like all he got out of it is that Petrine is like... interested in Greil??  Like I definitely think he's bi, but heteronormativity is one hell of a thing, especially where Gatrie's concerned.

Reuniting with Ike, Gatrie is happy to see him and gets emotional, while Shinon is... Shinon interacting with Ike.

Ike: “Gatrie!” Gatrie: “Hey, is that you, Ike? I heard you got the princess to Gallia. Nice work! You’re quite the hero. …But wait! So what in blazes are you doing back here?” Ike: “You’ll think it foolish, but I was worried about all of you.” Gatrie: “Aww…You’re going to make me cry, you silly pup! All right…sniff… Get it together, Gatrie. Tonight, you and I will share a meal sing a song or two!”

Ike: “Well met, Shinon. Are you unharmed?” Shinon: “Do I look injured? I’m as fit as ever. You must be disappointed Daein hasn’t stuck me full of holes yet.” Ike: “…” Shinon: “Guess it’s time to tighten our belts and move on. Now that I’m gonna be dragging your worthless carcass around again, I'll have to work twice as hard.”

"..." is about right, Ike. Shinon is really REALLY sure that the dislike is totally mutual (or wants it to be fsr?) when it really, really isn't.  Like, the whole rivalry thing between them is super one-sided.  Gatrie, on the other hand, doesn't have that weird animosity going on with Ike, so he's just touched that Ike cares. He even cries a lil bit.

The reunion doesn't last long though.  After this chapter, Greil is killed by the Black Knight and Shinon and Gatrie leave the company.  Together, incidentally.

Soren: “Shinon and Gatrie have left us.” Boyd: “Soren!” Soren: “What? There’s nothing to hide, is there?” Ike: “They left? Both of them? Why did they–Oh, I see. They left because of me, didn’t they?" Titania: “Ike…” Boyd: “Titania told us you were going to be the new commander. Shinon just about exploded…He and Gatrie left not long ago.” Oscar: “We went after them. We tried to talk things out, but it was a waste of time.”

Incidentally, Gatrie makes the decision to leave independently if Shinon is dead at this point because he doesn't want to serve under anyone other than Greil. But as long as Shinon's alive, his issues with Ike take center stage for this conversation.  They apparently stick together long enough that the rest of the group seems to talk to them both?  Eventually they go their separate ways though, with Gatrie finding a job as Astrid's bodyguard and Shinon enlisting in the Daein army.  I'm really curious at what point they split up tbh?  It's never really addressed and Gatrie's surprised to see Shinon fighting with Daein later on, so they pretty much definitely parted ways before that.  It's possible that it really wasn't long after this, although I like to think they stuck together for at least a little while.  This is getting into headcanon territory, but I think that Gatrie probably got pretty emotional when they were saying their goodbyes but probably bounced back pretty quickly afterward.  Shinon seems to me like he'd pretend it didn't really affect him at all, but other than possibly Rolf, Gatrie's definitely the one he's closest to in the Greil Mercenaries (and probably beyond that even?), so he's def feeling something.  He tries to brush off his emotional reactions when it comes to his work though, as we'll see a little later, and he usually tries to convince others to do the same.

We don't see either of them again until Ike's squad just happens to run into Gatrie on his new job in Chapter 13.  He's pretty damn flirty with Astrid and has a whole support of him trying to impress her, but please Astrid, you can do better.

Gatrie: "Lady Astrid! Allow me to serve as your shield!" Astrid: "Gatrie...I'm so sorry that I've gotten you involved in this, too..." Gatrie: "Oh, please! This is nothing. I'm fine!! Before I was hired as your bodyguard, I was a top-notch mercenary! I can handle this many opponents all by myself. This is nothing." Astrid: "Is that so? Your confidence is impressive, to say the least..." Gatrie: "Tee hee! Well...trust me, my confidence is backed with my blade! I'm ready to fight!"

As most of the other Greil Mercenaries note, Gatrie is thrilled to be working for a cute girl and really wants to impress her.  He also giggles a lot when that comes up, which is another thing I'm surprised hasn't come up before now? He's a giggler.

Titania: "My...I've never seen you so serious before. Whoever your new employer is, he must be quite special...or...would I be safe in saying 'she'?" Gatrie: "Tee hee! You know me too well! But I do love the work she gives me. I'm so happy, I don't know what to do! Well, it is nice seeing you again!"

Gatrie also gets a quick base conversation with Ike in the next chapter, where he tries to get Ike to join him in Some Straight Dude Bullshit and fails miserably:

Gatrie: "No, I'm here for different reasons. I'm just...admiring the flowers." Ike: "Oh, right. Yes, they all seem to be in bloom this time of year. The large yellow ones are especially pretty." Gatrie: "Not those flowers...THOSE flowers!" Ike: "...Gatrie, we're inside. There's nothing here but the temple handmaidens." Gatrie: "Exactly! It's like a whole new species of girl lives in Begnion! Everyone in this palace is drop-dead gorgeous!" Ike: "..." Gatrie: "You know what I mean, Ike? Tee hee! Say, which one strikes your fancy? That buxom lass with the chestnut hair is... Hey, Ike? Ike? Bah! He's still just a boy!"

First off, there is absolutely no way in hell Ike is a heterosexual.  Also I'm so sure that this wasn't intentional, especially since the rest of the conversation is focused on girls, but Gatrie does say that everyone in the palace is drop-dead gorgeous, which I didn't notice until now and I think I'm just gonna... call Death of the Author on this one, Gatrie is mega impressed by the dudes too.

Another thing to talk about here is Gatrie phrasing something weirdly (again) with the "whole new species of girl" thing.  Gatrie... What the fuck.  Honestly, I was gonna try to analyze that line but all I can come up with is "What the fuck, Gatrie" so I'm just gonna let it serve as a segueway to talking about Gatrie's non-Shinon support conversations and how he approaches relationships with women and how it's... honestly not great.  Like I think he's well-intentioned with all of it?  Like he wants to be romantic and do nice things, but he's suuuper forward with the flirting and gets kind of pedestal-y from time to time.  Eugh, fair warning, some of this stuff gets kind of uncomfortable:

Gatrie: "Marcia! How are you doing, beautiful?" Marcia: "Huh? How do you know my name?" Gatrie: "Why wouldn't I know the name of a cute girl like you?! You know, there was a time when Titania was the only woman in this mercenary group. Things have really started to shape up while I was away. Mmm... Not bad at all." Marcia: "Oh, nice line, chump. I'm swooning."

You tell him, Marcia.

Gatrie: "Ilyana!" Ilyana: "Oh, hello..." Gatrie: "I picked these beautiful flowers just for you!" Ilyana: "Oh..." Gatrie: "W-what? You don't like them?" Ilyana: "Well..." Gatrie: "Oh, good! So you DO like them!" Ilyana: "It's just that... Um..." Gatrie: "...No good, eh? Then what about this broach? Isn't it fashionable? I picked it up at a quaint little curio shop I stumbled upon." Ilyana: "Oh..."

You've barely talked to her Gatrie, slow down.

Gatrie: "That's nice of you to say, but having someone as gorgeous and talented as you join us is payment enough. I need nothing more!" Marcia: "Whoa...that's a lot of pressure. I had no idea people depended on me so much. In any case, I'll keep doing my best! Wish me luck!" Gatrie: "She's so adorable! She will be mine... Oh, yes. She...will...be...mine."

Gatrie, please chill out just a little.  On that note, Gatrie does tend to push boundaries farther than anyone really should when he's trying to flirt.

Gatrie: "That's no good, either? Are you sure you won't take it?" Ilyana: "Well... It's nice, but..." Gatrie: "... Oh! So you love it, right? Just like you love big, strong knights?" Ilyana: "Excuse me..." Gatrie: "Hmmm. She's a tough one to swoon. I'll just have to pour it on even thicker! There's no way I'm going to let such a gorgeous girl slip away!"

He does quit eventually though, even though all of his PoR supports with girls end with him deciding not to give up.  He's not total garbage when it comes to boundaries, just somewhat.

Gatrie: "Not interested, are you?" Ilyana: "It's not that--" Gatrie: "You don't want it, do you?" Ilyana: "Not really..." Gatrie: "Hmm, this tactic isn't working. To be honest, I was thinking that if I gave you something you liked, you might come out to dinner with me sometime."

Astrid: "I don't have a boyfriend. But... I do have a fiance." Gatrie: "What?! A fiance?!" Astrid: "Yes." Gatrie: "Well, er... Congratulations!" Astrid: "Gatrie! Do you have something in your eye?" Gatrie: "Oh... Don't worry about me. ...Sniff... Sniff... As long as you're happy... ...Sniiiifff..." Astrid: "Gatrie! Where are you going?" Gatrie: "I screwed up again! I thought I had a chance this time, too. Hmmm... Wait... She said she had a fiance, didn't she? Going out of her way to tell me that... She must want me to swoon her off her feet and steal her away! That's it! She should have just said so! Wait for me, Astrid!"

And thus the cycle continues.  I mean, Astrid literally ran away from home and needed to hire a bodyguard because she wanted to get away from Lekain so badly (as would most people), so it's not like Gatrie was completely misreading the mood there.  But he doesn't want to disrupt a hypothetical happy relationship and, in his support with Ilyana, he eventually gets the hint and I really don't think I'm overromanticizing him by saying that if he hadn't mentioned dinner and Ilyana hadn't jumped on that free food opportunity, he would have excused himself and had a good cry and that would have been the end of it.

Another thing about Gatrie's flirting attempts is that he tries really, really hard to seem cool.  He does a little bit of this with everyone, like when he arrives as a reinforcement in Chapter 17:

Gatrie: "...Puff... Puff... Whew!  There you are!  Hold on, everyone!  Your knight in shining armor has arrived!"

Man, he just keeps sweatin in that armor, huh.  He lays it on super thick when he's flirting though.

Gatrie: "I'm Gatrie. But I'm sure you already knew that." Ilyana: "Um...well, actually..." Gatrie: "Of course, I'm sure you've heard all about my victories on the battlefield. Oh, there was that business with the dragon..."

Gatrie: "Marcia! Good to see you. Actually, I was just about to meet up with Ike for a little sparring session." Marcia: "W-what!? You're going to fight the commander?!" Gatrie: "You bet I am! That's why I asked you to stop by. I wanted to invite you along so you could check me out in action. Now, don't get my wrong... Ike is a strong commander. But he doesn't have a chance to match my overwhelming physical power! It's breathtaking, really." Marcia: "Breathtaking? Really... I can't wait to see this, Gatrie." Gatrie: "Ha ha ha! Well, what can I say? Why don't you just kick back and watch me unleash the raw fury of these mighty arms! Hhhrraaaawwww!"

Gatrie: "Oh, I get it! That's very admirable, Astrid! Er... But now isn't the best time for that. I'm a little sore from... uh...lifting heavy things... Blast! Where's Titania when you need her? I don't know the first thing about training people..." Astrid: "Sorry? I didn't catch that." Gatrie: "Ha ha! No, nothing at all! Let's train some other day! I want to make sure I'm totally prepared!"

"Lifting heavy things."  Right.  He also gets pretty damn upset when he completely fails to look cool in front of someone he's interested in, as best shown in his supports with Marcia:

Marcia: "What's the matter, big fella? You're looking down." Gatrie: "It's better if you don't talk to me at all, Marcia. Don't even give me a second look. I'm nothing but dirt. I'm worse than dirt... I'm...sludge!" Marcia: "Oh, boy... This is about the other day, isn't it? When you got beaten down by--" Gatrie: "Don't remind me! I was such a fool! I can't believe I let you see me get smacked around like that. I might as well throw in the towel now. I'm just a big loser..."

So in summary, Gatrie tries to impress people by faking being cooler and tougher than he is and aiming for Big Romantic Gestures, usually without checking to see if they'd be appreciated first.  Like I said, I think he's well-intentioned and genuinely wants to pursue these relationships??  But he's a goddamn mess.  I'm about to blow your mind though with something I found out by combing through the RD support lines:

Shinon's even worse at flirting.

Shinon doesn't flirt nearly as often??  There is literally one totally unambiguous example of Shinon flirting with someone and... It Sure Is A Thing.

Shinon: "You know, I try to stay out of relationships. And I’m not saying I want a relationship. But, Princess Leanne, I do hope you live."

I hope somebody read that and is haunted by it for as long as I've been.  He's like?? negging her???  He's literally negging her, he's negging Leanne of all people, I don't know how else to describe it.  Most of the A-supports in RD take on some vaguely romantic undertones (Leanne herself basically proposes to anyone she has an A-support with-- Leanne is canon bi, u heard it here folks), so naturally most of Shinon's have him saying that it's not like he gets attached to other soldiers, he doesn't have friends or anything, by the way Apostle Sanaki, his mom never hugged him, you know.  No, really, that line is real and Sanaki-exclusive:

Shinon: "You know, I’m not very sentimental. My mother never hugged me. Anyway… Apostle Sanaki, you’re kinda key. You should live. I hope we both make it ’til the bitter end!"

Just a few other highlights of Shinon making an ass out of himself:

Shinon: "You know, I never thought I’d say this, but… King Naesala, I’m thinkin’ you should live. Don’t ask me why! Just a crazy notion. Maybe I like you?"

Shinon: "You know, I’m not one for making friends and being nice. But, Caineghis, I gotta say, you are one bad laguz. In a good way! Hang in there."

Of course, if Shinon is responding to someone else's encouragements to stay alive or declaration of some form of affection, he's still a massive tool about it:

Shinon: "Don’t try to tie me down with that. But I’ll think about it. Maybe."

ANYWAY, Shinon is BAD at letting people know they matter to him and is just as bad at responding to people letting him know that he matters to them!  Like, he's obviously attached to Gatrie and Rolf even if he doesn't care for most of the Greil Mercenaries, Gatrie at least is very obviously his friend, as is whoever he gets an A-support in RD with. It really seems like he just isn't really sure how to... say that. We also see a little bit of him having trouble processing other people caring about him in PoR support with Rolf too:

Rolf: "The first time I went into battle, my feet were shaking because I was so scared. But then I held the bow that you made for me, and it gave me strength. And I said, 'Rolf! You can do this!' I learned absolutely everything from you! That's how I've stayed alive this whole time." Shinon: "...But why on earth... Why would you depend on me like that? I mean, I just I taught you how to fire the bow on a whim."

Just a quick note on Gatrie's RD supports before I move on: Because all of the support dialogue is generic fill-in-the-name, it's really tough to figure out who's being talked to unless they have a unique title, so I can't say for sure what Shinon and Gatrie's supports look like or who Gatrie's supposed to be talking to at all in most of his.  I don't??? see a clear gender distinction with his more generic lines??  Like he has a few variations that don't involve calling someone a king or Apostle, but they pretty much all follow  the same pattern of acting like he had no idea the other person would be there, What A Coincidence, for the C-support, showboating a bit and telling them that he'll protect them (so long as they're okay with that) for the B-support, and saying that he'd never let anything happen to them If They Could Please Survive for the A-support.  No clear romantic cues in any of them, which is a little strange given his continuing characterization as a Big Flirt With The Ladies.  Arguably he's sorta flirting with everyone, since, like I said, a lot of the RD supports come across as romantic??  He's just finally being low-key about it for once.

When Shinon finally comes back as an enemy in PoR, he doesn't give a shit that he used to work with the Greil Mercenaries, he'll fight em no problem... or so he says.  The more I look at his dialogue for this chapter, the more I think that he was really hoping it wouldn't happen.  He gives some of them pep talks, tries to write the whole thing off as business, but he also encourages some of them to just... avoid him?  Like he'll still attack them after the conversation, but he clearly doesn't want to.  Some examples:

Rhys: "Shinon!" Shinon: "...Oh, Rhys. Great. I can't believe I've run into you." Rhys: "It is great, isn't it? Oh, it's good to have you back. When you left us, I was really worried about what would happen, but--" Shinon: "Hey, Rhys? Shut up. In case you hadn't noticed...we're enemies out here." Rhys: "What? You can't... You're not serious, are you?" Shinon: "You honestly never thought this could happen? You're beyond good natured. You're a fool." Rhys: "Shinon... What are you saying? You've always been gruff, but...Are you serious?" Shinon: "It's not like this is the first time I've called you out. You've never considered that people may not like you, have you? Know what? We were companions once, but if I'm getting paid, I'll gladly put an arrow through your eye." Rhys: "Shinon... Is there something you can't tell us that's forcing you to do this? Are you protecting someone? Has someone you love been taken hostage? If so, we could--" Shinon: "No! There's nothing! Nothing but the right price, at least... You're overestimating me. Get going, pretty boy. Stick around any longer, and I'll start earning my pay with you!"

Mist: "Shi-Shinon? Ohmigosh...Why are you with the Daein army?!" Shinon: "...Tsk. None of your business, kid." Mist: "But that's... Oh, what should I do? You used to be one of us. I can't fight you!" Shinon: "Stop whining. Didn't you ever think what it means to be a mercenary? We're enemies, kid. Get it? I'm ready to fight when you are. So what's it going to be?" Mist: "...Um..." Shinon: "...Yeah?" Mist: "No! I won't fight you!" Shinon: "Gah! What ARE you going to do then?" Mist: "Come back to the Greil Mercenaries!" Shinon: "What?" Mist: "If you won't do that, then come work for the Crimean army! Please?" Shinon: "Don't be stupid. Either way, Ike's in charge, right?" Mist: "Yes, but I don't--" Shinon: "I won't work for him. Get it? We used to be friends, so I'm going to let you go. Now get your naive little butt out of here!" Mist: "Shinon... Sniff...sniff...Wh-wh-why...? Sniff... Whaaaaaaaaa!" Shinon: "Crying's not going to help. Look, it doesn't matter who you send to talk to me. My answer's the same." Mist: "Even Rolf?" Shinon: "...Yeah. Even Rolf. Get out of here. The next time I see you, I'll stick an arrow in you. Count on it."

Boyd: "Shinon! I couldn’t care less who you decide to work for… Heck, I’d hoped you were dead! But even so, Daein? You couldn’t find anything better than this? What were you thinking?" Shinon: "Haven’t changed a bit, have you? You’re still a mouthy piece of work. Listen up! Daein’s a great place to work right now. The pay’s great, and strength at arms is the only thing that determines class standing. You want to join me?"

Of course, you could definitely argue that Shinon knows that there's no way Boyd will take him up on that offer (he's more or less civil with Oscar but I can't imagine Shinon actually cares about Boyd, given his feelings toward Ike and Soren and how Boyd is also an Annoying Teen), but it's still an out to this fight that doesn't involve Shinon surrendering.  He also basically just tells Mist to steer clear of him instead of fighting her initially and asbolutely does not seem happy to see Rhys and I don't think that's just because Rhys is too much of an angel for Shinon to stomach (although it's that too).  Like instead of starting the fight, he just tells him to scram.  Also I love how Rhys jumps to the conclusion that Daein is holding one of Shinon's loved ones hostage and that's why he's working with them.  Pretty sure that the details of Shinon's personal life are just a mystery to everyone else??  I also love that Shinon calls Rhys "pretty boy" in this conversation, but I don't think there's a whole lot to glean from that.  Of course, Shinon also has some dialogue with Gatrie in this chapter:

Gatrie: "Shi-Shinon? SHINON?! Oh, this can’t be happening! I mean, fighting you… That’s going to be tough." Shinon: "Come on, Gatrie. You can’t be worried about me forever. You’re a mercenary. All you need to do is worry about your own skin. You got it?" Gatrie: "Well, yeah… Heh heh heh… Ahh… Still…this will be a sad day…"

God...  So clearly, Gatrie doesn't want to go through with this, but Shinon gives him a little pep talk that covers roughly the same ground as his conversations with Rolf on this stage.  Gatrie does seem to try to cover up how surprised and upset he is, although it doesn't work too well imo.  Also there's the implication that Gatrie worries about Shinon on a semi-regular basis?  It's not really reflected anywhere else but I'm glad he apparently does because Shinon could probably use someone worrying about him lmao.  Again, Shinon tries to play it off like he doesn't care that he's fighting his old comrades, but honestly I get the vibe that his pep talks to Gatrie and Rolf are self-talk almost as much as he's trying to get them to be okay fighting him.  It's just... a mess tbh.

Once the stage is over, Shinon is FINALLY back and ready for support conversations.  Can u believe that I was pretty much just going to talk about Shinon and Gatrie's support convos in this meta... I can't believe it took me like 7k words to get here, I am so sorry.  Anyway, the number of stages Shinon and Gatrie both need to be deployed in to unlock their C-support is pretty low and is p much automatically met before they leave the Greil Mercenaries.  So Shinon comes back and is immediately ready to start shooting the shit with Gatrie again. And right away, we start with the flirting tbh:

Shinon: "Whatever. See you around." Gatrie: "W-wait! I'm just joking! Stop being so mean and listen for a second!" Shinon: "I will if you buy dinner tonight." Gatrie: "Mmmm... Oh, all right. But you better give me good advice!"

Remember how Gatrie gave Ilyana like a million presents as a prelude to asking if he could buy her dinner?  He's just gotta talk to Shinon for like five seconds and there Shinon is, asking him to buy him dinner, and Gatrie's like "Okay sure."  Shinon's dialogue also suggests that the two of them eat dinner together by themselves pretty regularly. We also see that, even tho Shinon acts annoyed with Gatrie a lot of the time, the negative feedback he's giving here is... honestly pretty fair and probably legit intended to be helpful??:

Gatrie: "But every time I spend money, you give me a hard time!" Shinon: "I do? How?" Gatrie: "What about the other day, when I bought the Ultimate Shield?!" Shinon: "Gatrie, that was a castle gate. Hey, did you ever give that back? That guard thought you were a thief." Gatrie: "And remember the SpeedBring 4000? That secret elixir that boosts speed just by sprinkling it over your body--" Shinon: "You mean that putrid snake oil? You dumped the whole bottle on your head without smelling it first." Gatrie: "But that wonderful little potion worked! I DID move faster!" Shinon: "You moved faster because thirty stray dogs were chasing you."

WOW Gatrie's gullible.  Shinon is definitely a jackass but it really does seem like he's trying to look out for Gatrie on this front.  Maybe Shinon's line about Gatrie worrying about him was more self-talk?

Gatrie's not totally afraid to call Shinon out on his being a jackass though, which is good.  He also apologizes when he thinks he's actually made Shinon upset:

Gatrie: "See! You're giving me a hard time again!" Shinon: "Oh, did I hurt your feelings? Wow, it sure is fun to tell you the truth and have you grumble at me in return." Gatrie: "No, no! I didn't mean to... Er... Sorry..." Shinon: "Hmm... You're too honest sometimes..." Gatrie: "Hee hee! You're embarrassing me!" Shinon: "All right, let's go eat! Now that's spending wisely!" Gatrie: "Yeah, let's... Wait a minute, Shinon! You didn't help me at all! This isn't part of the deal!"

Okay, I have to take a second to roast Shinon for almost exactly saying "Did I hurt your precious feelings?"  Jfc, he's talking like some shitty anti-SJ blogger... Red and black blog theme... Logic and rationality are the arrows in his quiver... Pictures of anime titty girls... Welcome to his twisted mind...  Chill the fuck out, dude.  He's messing with Gatrie though and doesn't let it go on too long. Honestly, it feels like flirty teasing to me?  As has been established, Shinon is Extremely Bad at flirting.  And Gatrie reacts to this Possible Bad Flirting by... giggling and telling Shinon that he's embarrassing him.  Like that's just a gay line of dialogue and nothing about the context makes it less gay tbh.  Gatrie has been Flirted With and seems to be responding positively.  The rest of the support takes a step back from that, though, and focuses on Gatrie's efforts to Woo A Lady.

Gatrie: "I really want to ask you something. Right now!" Shinon: "No, Gatrie." Gatrie: "I'll pay for dinner again." Shinon: "Get lost." Gatrie: "We'll eat somewhere more expensive tonight." Shinon: "Appetizers?" Gatrie: "Sure! You can order anything you want!" Shinon: "All right, then. I think I can spare some time for my brother-in-arms." Gatrie: "Aw, thanks Shinon! I owe you one!"

A couple things here.  One, Gatrie obviously respects Shinon's opinion/advice even tho it's unnecessarily harsh.  Two, he's totally aware that the way to get Shinon to answer his question is to offer to take him somewhere nicer.  I mean, free food is a Powerful Motivator, but I'm so sure there's something else going on on Shinon's end here.  Three, Gatrie, you're buying him dinner...  I don't think you really owe him anything else.  Gatrie's sleazy as hell, but he somehow manages to be innocent and sweet at the same time, idk how he does it.

Gatrie has a hell of a time actually asking his question though.

Shinon: "...Well? What do you want?" Gatrie: "Well, actually... What I need to ask you is..." Shinon: "Spit it out!" Gatrie: "Well, it's... Oh, I don't know. Do you really want to hear it?" Shinon: "Do that one more time, and I'll put an arrow through your eye!" Gatrie: "W-wait! Just a minute! I'll tell you now... Are you ready?" Shinon: "Aaaaaarrrgh!" Gatrie: "Ihaveanewgirlfriend!!!!" Shinon: "A new girlfriend? Is she blind or something?"

Aaaand he immediately gets negged for his efforts.  Shinon is definitely not immediately happy that Gatrie's seeing someone and Gatrie seems to know that that's going to be the case.  I chalk this up to jealousy on Shinon's part and Gatrie having some dim awareness of how Shinon feels.  Shinon cleans his act up pretty quickly though, thank fuck.  Gatrie's his friend first and given how much time Gatrie spends flirting with ladies, I doubt Shinon thinks this is going anywhere anyway.

Shinon: "Well, I'm happy for you. Oh, I see. You want to ask me what kind of gift to give her, right?" Gatrie: "Tee hee hee! Yeah, that's right! What should I give her?" Shinon: "I know everything there is to know about gift giving, my friend. I'll tell you all about it over a fine meal." Gatrie: "Please do, romance master!"

Romance master. Wow.  So Gatrie thinks that Shinon is like... good at this stuff. I mean, it's totally possible that if Shinon finds himself in a relationship, he does romantic stuff and is actually good at it.  I can see that.  He'd keep a closely guarded secret though, I think, considering his idea of flirting seems to include telling someone that he's not interested in relationships in general and he's not looking for a relationship with THEM, he just doesn't want them to die. Like, my dude... wanting someone to not die doesn't even vaguely imply u wanna date or anything, like when I hear "I do you hope you live," my mind doesn't go anywhere near any type of attraction.  I doubt that Gatrie got his entire ""technique"" from Shinon though, since he's really heavy on the compliments and upfront about his intentions, which is basically the opposite of what Shinon does in practice.  Still, Gatrie seems to dig it!! Someone has to, I guess!!

Of course, this relationship doesn't pan out for Gatrie.  Actually, none of them do?  Skipping ahead to the semi-tragic ending, Shinon and Gatrie never get it together, and for all his efforts at wooing, Gatrie never gets it together with anyone:

Perpetual Guardian (護る盾, Mamoru tate, lit. Protective Shield) Gatrie became a famous mercenary and a household name. Fate led him to find many women but never true love.

Shinon doesn't either, although his RD epilogue reads a bit more sad to me?

Deadly Adept (百の手, Crack Shot in the Japanese version) Shinon lazes the days away in his old haunts. An expert at all he put his hand to, he chose none as his calling.

I mean, if he's content, he's content, and the driving force behind his ambition in PoR is being able to live comfortably, which it sounds like he's doing??  But, predictably I guess since the dude has a definite habit of pushing people away, Shinon's ending sounds p damn lonely.  The reference to "old haunts" especially makes me feel like this isn't really supposed to be a good ending for him?  Still, I do hope he's happy with how things worked out for him.  Anyway, on to their PoR A-support to end on a high note.

Gatrie: "..." Shinon: "What the...?" Gatrie: "..." Shinon: "Why are you standing out here like a scarecrow?" Gatrie: "Hey, Shinon. I'm just waiting for my girlfriend." Shinon: "Oh. Her. Right. You're still dating?"

For the record, Shinon is smiling for that last line, so it's not SO blatantly him being jealous of Nameless Girl like I first thought it was when I was just reading the text.  He ends up being the one to hear out Gatrie's story about how he got engaged to her and then gave her all of his money but she's late to their meeting tonight.  So he also ends up being the one to express concern that Gatrie rushed this relationship and the one to break the news that she conned him.

Gatrie: "She knows I'm with this army, and... And..." Shinon: "Gatrie? She's not coming. You've been conned." Gatrie: "Whaaat!? No, I don't believe it! She's such a fine girl! So pure and kind! She'd never hornswoggle ol' Gatrie!" Shinon: "How can someone with only days left to live manage to walk the streets looking for a knight with lots of money?" Gatrie: "Because... Because she needed to meet me! It's fate! Remember?" Shinon: "Then why isn't she here?" Gatrie: "B-because... Um... Wolves?" Shinon: "No, Gatrie. It's not wolves."

He's a LOT gentler about this than he was about Gatrie's other bad deals. Like he knows this is gonna hurt Gatrie, so he's not gonna mess around about it. Gatrie takes it pretty damn well though.  Shinon is madder than Gatrie is?

Gatrie: "Oh... Hee hee! Hee hee hee! I guess ol' Gatrie... Whaa ha ha! I guess I got taken again! Whaa ha ha ha... Whooo! Oh man, I'll never learn." Shinon: "Tell me what she looks like." Gatrie: "Huh? Why?" Shinon: "All your money? That's going too far. I'll find her and...get it back."

Shinon's willing to Go To Bat for Gatrie when it comes down to it.  Of course, Gatrie is arguably too nice about this and says he's fine with it, Shinon doesn't need to do all that.

Shinon: "Sigh... You're hopeless, Gatrie. You know that?" Gatrie: "Yeah, I know. But I don't mind so much. It makes me kinda charming, right?" Shinon: "Well, I guess you don't have to worry about what to do with your money anymore." Gatrie: "Yeah, that's right. Hey, if you look at it that way, it's a blessing in disguise!"

Check it out: That fucking instant subject change when Gatrie asks if his gullibility makes him charming.  Shinon neither confirms nor denies that shit!! Like I said, I don't think Shinon expects this to actually go anywhere and even if he did, now would Not be the time.  Shinon's not about to make a move or anything, but he does make an effort to cheer Gatrie up:

Shinon: "Let's go find a watering hole with some cute waitresses. What do you say?" Gatrie: "Hey, that's a great idea! Oh, but... I don't have any money. Sorry, Shinon. Maybe some other time." Shinon: "Forget it. It's my treat." Gatrie: "Are...are you sure?" Shinon: "Yep." Gatrie: "Hee hee hee!" Shinon: "What's so funny?" Gatrie: "Supper on your gold piece? This is my lucky day!" Shinon: "Hopeless."

So FINALLY Shinon takes Gatrie out for dinner for once.  He's smiling fondly when he calls Gatrie hopeless that last time, he's very obviously feeling some sort of affection.  I think you can make a case that he's talking to himself a little bit too... Like Gatrie is a Disaster and yet... This is who Shinon likes... They're both hopeless tbh.  They definitely don't have the healthiest romantic dynamic, I have to admit that, but??? There is Something there.  Like Shinon is too flirty with Gatrie (he gets the guy to buy him dinner HOW OFTEN, like that is a Fake Date, Shinon is making an organized effort to Fake Date Gatrie as a substitute for Real Dating him) and Gatrie is honestly pretty receptive to it??  My personal headcanon for the situation is that Shinon has A Thing for Gatrie that he kind of tries to ignore but he also cares about Gatrie as a person and wants to be there for him when shit's rough and is enough of a decent person deep down that he wants to be happy for Gatrie a little bit, like he's probably Considered ruining Gatrie's fucking life all the time just because he's jealous but he always talks himself down from that shit because like... Bad, while Gatrie is??? sorta into this, he definitely likes Shinon and even Like likes him a bit, but he's too bogged down in heteronormativity to connect the dots about the feelings on either side (I say this sympathetically, I have Been There once upon a time).  I believe in him tho... He'll figure his shit out eventually...

Like I said way earlier, they can handle each other's personalities, like Gatrie doesn't even to seem to CARE that Shinon is massive dick, he p much just manages to brush it off.  And for all that Shinon complains about Gatrie being gullible and annoying, he's sure not going anywhere.  So when Shinon tries to neg Gatrie or w/e, Gatrie barely notices the insult part and sticks around.  And Gatrie basically can't do his typical Big Flirt because that depends on the person he's flirting with thinking he's cool and suave and Shinon already KNOWS that Gatrie's not really either of those things (at least not by the definition that Gatrie is going for), like he knows whatever incident Gatrie is referring to when he talks about "that business with the dragon" and I am so so sure it's not nearly as impressive as that summary makes it sounds (like if it wasn't something he was Completely making up, he probably just... got rid of a big lizard from someone's tent or something) and Shinon would def call that shit out.  Gatrie goes to him for advice a lot and is p much just himself around Shinon??  So like, not that he'd never try and not that Shinon wouldn't probably just laugh at him (which isn't strictly a negative response), but Gatrie kinda dug himself into the hole of Being Genuine with Shinon at some point, which I think is a much more stable starting point for a romantic relationship than how he approaches the women he's interested in.  Basically I don't... see them having a successful long-term romantic relationship with anyone else??  GOD I really did not want to end this meta like that, but I'm finally running out of stuff I wanted to say lmao.  Anyway, basically all of this was just to say that I love their dynamic even tho it's a lil messed up and there's def a Something going on there in canon imo altho I doubt it's an Official Relationship.  Hoooly fuck if you read all of that, thank u.

[incorrectkingkillerquotes]

Q and A. . . Finally!!!

@druggeddraccus said: Favorite kkc character?  Favorite kkc storyline?  Favorite book/series that isn't kkc?  What made you all decide to do this blog?  

@halfthealphabet speaking!

Favorite character: Toss up between Denna and Auri. I will protect them at all cost.

Favorite kkc story line: I have a soft spot for the plum bob storyline.

Other favorite book/series: My list of favorite books is here. Happy reading!!

So I started this blog at like one in the morning because I kept comparing Hamilton to Kvothe and created a list of lines in Hamilton that are applicable to KKC. And then I thought, maybe I should make an incorrect quotes blog. Checked to make sure there wasn’t one, threw together a quick format, and posted the quote. I woke up with followers and notes and that’s the beginning!!

@frei-rancken:  well she ^^^ just invited me and i jumped in cause it’s fun. tho i’m rarely active as a mod on this blog which is shitty of me.

@logarithmicpanda: Elodin is my fave, followed closely by Auri (I was delighted when the slow regard of silent things was announced) 

In terms of storyline, I love when Kvothe gets back to the university, after adem. But also the begining of the university arc :D and so many other parts lol. 

I definitely recommend Uprooted by Naomi Novik and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, there are probably the best books I’ve read this year.

@halfthealphabet asked if I wanted to do it and I said hell yes. Then I proceeded not to be very active at all as a mod which makes me really sorry.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : My fav is probably... Kote or Devi. Yeah sounds about right! Um, as for joining I was just asked one day, and said sure! While I don’t post too much, I’m glad I was considered and asked <3

Story line wise, I really enjoyed too many of the arcs. Oh man one after another; all of them just so captivating and wonderful! But, I will admit, some were better than others. I really did enjoy Kvothe’s time with the Adem, and the arc where he screwed over Ambrose!

@kvothe-kingkiller : My favorite is Elodin. I love him so much. My favorite storyline is probably anything to do with sympathy or the magic in the books I love how pat actually describes how the *science* behind it works, unlike so many other fantasy series. Other than kkc I dont really know what my favorite series is... I really like anything by tamora pierce and I love game of thrones. Most other things I read are single books. I decided to do this since I loved what was being posted already and had a wealth of cabin pressure quotes that would fit perfectly.

@shineecandy said: wow congrats on your milestone! here’s a question for you: how do you deal with the wait???? it has been years. pat, please, i’m dying   

@halfthealphabet I read a lot and watch a lot of Netflix and check Pat’s blog obsessively. And write meta about it. And read more theories about it.

@frei-rancken: I just wait, and entertain myself with other things. Uni is stressing so i can’t focus on many other things. 

@logarithmicpanda We don’t. We are slowly going mad.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : I answered this in a much more long winded manner, so TL;DR I just want it to be wonderful and perfect so I will wait the best I can.

@kvothe-kingkiller : I watch waaaay too many shows and procrastinate on schoolwork so much that I dont often think about it. I’ve been waiting almost since WMF came out, gotten used to it a bit.

@dirty-n-evil said: Hi, huge fan of the KKC as well (obviously), but for the question I would ask the mods of this blog... what were each of your favorite moments through the books?  Not simply 'Name of the Wind' and 'Wise Man's Fear', but also 'Lightning Tree' and 'Slow Regard of Silent Things'? 

Hey, @halfthealphabet here

So I don’t think I can give just one favorite scene, but I will tell you that I thought The Lightning Tree was not a good addition to the Kingkiller Chronicle and that The Slow Regard of Silent Things is possibly the only flawless piece of writing I have ever read.

@kvothbloodless: Every moment is my favorite, but that being said, the scene in which Kvothe’s parents die never fails to make me cry.

@frei-rancken: It gets kind of difficult but maybe the Eolian’s pipes audition, or mostly when Kvothe tells stories about the Edema Ruh.   

@logarithmicpanda: all the scenes with Elodin crack me up! In the lightning tree, my favorite part was the ending, when you understand what happened. I love every single bit of the slow regard of silent things, but especially when Auri notices the child watching her and makes  a cartwheel. For Notw and Wmf, it’s a bit more complicated. Generally, I love worldbuilding scenes, and whenever a relationship progress in an interesting direction.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : I’m really swept away by all of it. From the characterization and the world building; mostly the building of languages. While there isn’t very MUCH, it’s still there. But, in NOTW I think my fav part was the boys trying to explain Bisexuality without quite having the proper words for it (assuming int he universe sexuality doesn’t quite fit into clear categories for words to be made). In WMF I think my fav part…. oh man this one is hard… but I think my favorite portion of this book was either his interaction with The Maer’s manservant or his time with the Adem and getting his ass handed to him by a small child. Both were very wonderful to me and well written. I can’t say anything about LT, since I have yet to have time to read it, nor more than the first page of SRST due to a lot of life issues and conflicts coming up. But, in retribution for such, I will do a ‘live’ read through of both like I did with NOTW and WMF where I took notes and shared them with you guys.

@kvothe-kingkiller: Honestly, anything to do with elodin. (tiny bit obsessed.) And in slow regard I really love when Auri find the gear and get’s it back to where she lives, (it’s been a while since I read it so I forget some of the names) and I haven’t read lightning tree in ages so while I remember the basic plot I dont really remember any favorite moment.

@freudcallsmedaddy said: What sort of theories do you have about the Cthaeh?

@halfthealphabet speaking. I think that the Ctaeth is more of Bast’s villain than Kvothe’s. So it might come back in other books, but not in Kvothe’s story. He didn’t know what power the Ctaeth even had. It could come into play in Kote's story . . .

@frei-rancken: While i read tons of theories i’m mostly a factual kind of person, so i go with it’s a fae it does not care about shackshit but it’self and its rules, it has a grudge against cinder so it sent kvothe to collide with him, but i’m totally lost on how is it going to happen.

@kvothe-kingkiller: My personal theory is that it’s a bit hyped as far as how much power it actually has. This may be just me being a science geek but the amount of decisions a person can make in the future are infinite. So infinite that even if you could see all of them, you could not possibly choose the course of a person’s life based on one conversation. You might be able to choose a basic-ish path but I honestly dont think its at all as powerful and scary as it’s made out to be.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : cRACKS KNUCKLES MMMMM BOY HOWDY AM I GONNA TRY AND KEEP THIS SHORT! Okay, so there are so many theories out there and I’ve read a few just to collect my own thoughts and ideas from. 

Now, the Cthaeh is a fae and a fae being. We know this because of Bast. It is a prominent and guarded fae due to its ability to tell the future and see the past; making it something VERY valuable and very tempting to try and encounter[NOTE: I am saying it only because we do not know (??) if the Cthaeh has an actual form and or even has a preferred gender really, or is a sentient being instead of a collision of other shit]. As, I believe, Bast said to Kote, it is actually guarded by the fae in the realm so that people don’t go to seek what it has to offer.

This leads to the automatic assumption that people had been seeking it and had been very upset and or disturbed by it’s tales of what was to come. The fae are taught to keep away, knowing that such information is already bad enough to know, let alone ask about. But that probably didn’t stop a few humans...[kVOTHE] or perhaps a few higher beings. Such as the Chandrian? I’m not saying that the Chandrian were able to go to the Cthaeh, but it is a possibility. It would explain some on how they knew where specific people would be and possibly what they would become. 

The Cthaeh also MIGHT not have started off as selfish and enjoyment seeking as we saw with Kvothe, but that also may be just a bit of a stretch. But, say it wasn’t. Say it was just trying to tell people like ‘Oh, hey, yeah in like 5 years your wife is gonna leave you for some hot headed dude who looks like this, so be careful!’ and that spiraled quickly out of control for obvious reasons. One would turn rather sadistic with the power, knowing it would just do more harm than good no matter how it was worded. But, that is just a very small half baked theory on the creature itself! But, going with such a creature or being was always in such a manner sadistic and rude, it would make sense of the fae to HEAVILY guard it. Bast did say people who got too close were killed, right? If I’m remembering that right at all. I remember something like that being said though.

To bring this sadistic being into play with the story for later and Kvothe, I’m going to nod to what was said above slightly; the Cthaeh wanted Cinder and Kvothe to butt heads and probably do SOMETHING to the course of the future. Also bringing back part of my theory of the Cthaeh not always being properly guarded, it may have accidentally sent Cinder on his strange mission and pillage at a more high hostility rate, depending on what was said, so the Cthaeh is sending Kvothe in to stop as much as he can before it’s too late.

TL;DR: Cthaeh fucked up when not guarded by the fae and sent the Chandrian on a brutal rampage to hide themselves and then told Kvothe his specific future to try and get him to steer towards stopping them.

So yeah, that’s what I got in a shorter version... I haven’t read LT, so if there was anything about the creature and Bast in it, I am not aware of it and hopefully will be soon when I get a chance to read

Anonymous said: how do you pronounce "Auri"

@halfthealphabet here I pronounce it like “aura” but with an “ee” sound at the end. Like, “or-ie” (Pat pronounces it like the others, I pronounce it incorrectly).

@kvothbloodless: I always pronounced it are-ee. Pretty much “sorry” without the ‘s’.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : “Ah-ri” OR “Auh-ree” OR “Are-ee”. Well, I guess theya re all the same now that I’m looking at them. Looking up now, I def say it like mod kvothebloodless. 

@kvothe-kingkiller: same as kote-the-inn-keeper and kvothbloodless

@displeasign said: What are you most looking forward to in book 3?         

@halfthealphabet: Closure

@kvothbloodless: Finding out how many of our half-baked theories were right.

@frei-rancken: answers. I really need to know how much of what it is said about kvothe is true and how much is just stories tell by people. 

@logarithmicpanda disaster. I want to know how Kote came to be

@kote-the-inn-keeper : Closure, answers, and an explanation as to why he chose to be an innkeeper to lay low instead of something else... i want my boy to be happy,,,,, le t kOTE BE HAPPY HHHHHHHHHHH

@kvothe-kingkiller: As others said, closure. on so many things I couldnt possibly list them all here. Also more Elodin. He’s really not a big character but he’s honestly my favorite, out of every book ive read and every show/movie ive seen. 

@octarine-ash said: For the q and a: What's your favourite actual kingkiller quote?                               

@halfthealphabet It’s such a quotable book but I use the quote, “You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way” very often. And I plan to get “Beautiful, seen” on the back of my neck. Also, I love the passage where Fela starts to fall in love with Sim.

@frei-rancken i cannot quote the entire book sadly. but... the kvothe quit grabbing at my boobs passage, the secrets as seen by Teccam, and like a shit ton of other ones.  

@logarithmicpanda the quote about loving something despite its flaws and because of them. It sums up my feelings towards the series actually.

@kote-the-inn-keeper : This one is super hard. There are WAY to many good ones and ones that i find really deep meaning in. And of course, some funny ones. The only one that comes ti mind this very second is a funny one: “You are the horseshit frosting on this horseshit cake.”

@kvothe-kingkiller: I cant find the actual quote through google and I dont really want to re-read both books on the spot to find it but I love when he’s being salty about math and poetry. Saying words for the sake of words and numbers for the sake of numbers are stupid. That quote got me through pre-calculus lol

Anonymous said: How did y'all create this blog? Is it like a side-blog or its own account?            

@halfthealphabet It’s a side blog. And it’s origin story is explained in the first answer :)

@princessmarysea said: This has probably already been asked but...what are your ships in kkc?? I love your blog btw it's really funny :D        

@halfthealphabet speaking: I have to say the only romantic ship I really care about being endgame is Sim and Fela (guys, their ship name should be Selas!!). They really are so sweet and wonderful. I want confirmation that Devi is into girls and guys (which is kind of a ship thing?). And I suppose this is a good time to mention that (although I love Denna), she and Kvothe would only have a disaster of a relationship at the point in their lives. Also, I ship everyone platonically. Especially with Denna because she needs more friends. And Mola and Auri could have such an awesome friendship as well.

@frei-rancken: Yeah mainly Sim and Fela. but if i have to come up with other ships Devi, Mola and Fela being in a happy poly relationship would be like... way too perfect. 

@logarithmicpanda Sim and Fela forever. I’m not a huge shipper though... Like if you throw any cute headcanon at me I’ll start low key shipping it.

@kvothe-kingkiller: Might be because I literally never ship anything, but... none. I mean I like sim and fela but as far as one that don’t already exist, none.

@kote-the-inn-keeper: so maaaaaaaaaany.... So many.... 

So: Kote and Bast, Kvothe and Devi, Kvothe and HAPPINESS, Sim and Fela, Wil and Mola, Wil and Sim (fite me..........), Fela and Mola (more soft/platonic), Devi and Fela, Hespea and Dedan, Tempi and Kvothe, Kote and JOY IN LIFE, Mola and Auri (PLATONIC ONLY!!!!!!!), Auri and PEACE IN LIFE (sobbing my bby let her be happy and safe pat i s2g), Kvothe and Auri (PLATONIC 100%), Kvothe and Denna, Denna and Fela (lOOK IT’D BE SO NICE JUST L I STEN), Denna and Devi (more friends than romance tho), Devi and Mola and Fela, and I think that’s all for now.

@jordantresser What do you think about Cameron Monaghan from Shameless as a young adult Kvothe? 

So @halfthealphabet speaking. I think he looks great and would act great, but also I hope they cast a man of color from Kvothe/Kote.

Hey @frei-rancken here. Well... yes and no. Like i love how he acts in general he is awesome but he looks a tad too devilish for me. Tho i would not be distressed if he were to be cast, it’d be awesome. And yes i concur with halfthealphabet it’d be great if the actor was a person of colour.  

@kote-the-inn-keeper : I didn’t even know who that was, so I looked them up. I’m going to say no, tbh. I just don’t think they fit with my headcanon face for Kvothe OR Kote.... I’d prefer someone who is of rromani origin to play Kvothe tbh; or of color. [EsPECIALLY BAST HAMILTON GUY DONT LET ME DOWN ]

@kvothe-kingkiller Again, it would be great for an actor of color to play him but I kind of think he was written to be at least very pale so that is probably not going to happen. And I think he has the right look, I’d say he would do a good job. (also yes, bast is not white, and neither are the cealdish. whoever casts this show, pls.)