#i cant explain why but these three just had such an impact

[everywishway]

last night I was talking at work and a customer asked "Who is the statue outside?" One of my coworkers responded with Thomas Jefferson so naturally I went (without thinking), "ha, miku binder thomas jefferson" with a shit eating grin. All my coworkers looked at me like I had three heads (I cant tell if it's because I'm a tumblrina or the fact I am like, 3-5 years older then them).

So they were like, WTF did you just say? I was like, "Ya' know, like a binder with Hatsune Miku on it." I swear to god this fifteen year old went "oh, like from genshin impact" and another went "why would you have a picture of a video game character in your binder sleeve?"

So, while in the middle of my body rolling the massive amount of psychic damage I just took, I had to explain what a binder for trans people is, who (my lord and savior) Hatsune Miku is, how she is (infact) not from Genshin Impact (one of them srsly didn't believe me), and explain how all that tied together to the founding father Thomas Jefferson.

On the brightside, I had to drive one of those kids home and we listened to Miku in the car, causing him to go, "this is high key weird but low key a bop."

[eenkleinleven]

Sth ive always wondered about a little life is how Jude was so extremely traumatised but still had good enough social skills to make so many lasting friendships. Like I know not all traumatized people are the same and it is possible for someone to be as severely traumatized as Jude was and still have some social skills, but I think it must be unusual, right? Like I'm just wondering where he learned social cues and how to interact with people his own age and how to behave in relationships and all that. And how he managed to be so different from the people around him - not revealing anything about his past, wearing long-sleeved shirts to the beach - and still got people to accept him easily and not question all these things a lot. It's something I've always wondered. What are your thoughts on this?

It's not something I ever thought about specifically, no. Or, rather, it wasn't something that struck me as particularly unusual or noteworthy. I'll do my best to articulate why.

Hanya discussed, in one interview, why she chose the narrative structure that she did for the book. She initially considered having the book in three parts, with the first two describing two alternative life paths for Jude—one where he was able to overcome his past, for the lack of a better word, and one where he wasn’t—and the third part describing what had happened to him. But she explained why she ultimately disposed of that format, saying:

“I think it establishes this binary that someone who cant function in society is somehow a failure and someone who can is a success, and that's simply not true. I think that's too reductive of a way of thinking about a person.”

I feel like that quote is important to keep in mind when talking about Jude as a character.

Regarding social skills:

I feel that it's worth noting that Jude wasn't unsocialized. I don't think his socialization through age 16 was normal by any means. There is no easy way to say this: people can be sexually abused as children and still be socially and professionally normal as adults. I personally know people who fall into that category, which is partly why it didn’t strike me as strange.

Going into greater detail, however, as to how he was able to learn social skills, there’s a few things that come to mind.

Ana seems to have given him a huge amount of support without which he may not have been able to really interact with others.

Plenty of passages in the book describe him having to learn how to interact with his peers, too.

My impression was that Jude made a concerted effort to learn about how to comport himself, an effort made easier by the fact that he kept quiet when it came to his personal life.

Regarding how he was able to maintain friendships while divulging so little about himself:

People did ask Jude about himself. Fairly often, actually, particularly in the earlier portions of the book. I mean, substantial portions of The Postman—including but not limited to this section touch on the matter outright.

But, really, I think it’s that his friends accepted him for who he was. So, for all of his differences, that was who they knew him to be, and they liked him.

I think, too, that after a certain point, his friends understood that Jude had some good reason for not sharing more about himself. It didn’t impact his ability to be a good friend otherwise, so it seems reasonable to me that they chose not to pry. If they had an issue with him being private, or different in any particular way, they could have simply remained acquaintances.

I hope this makes sense--I had some difficulty in organizing my thoughts here, so if you'd like me to clarify about anything, please feel free to ask.

[transsexualhamlet]

2, 5, 6, 17 for silm :33

my goodness!! asks for me!!

fandom ask game

2- my three favorite characters and why I love them so much

You cant make me do this. This is so incriminating dear fucking lord

I really like I have a lot more favorites than this I promise I appreciate the good hardworking men and elves that don't kill people. But my top three are Sauron, Melkor, and Fëanor, with Túrin and Maedhros tied in fourth.

The reason that I love Melkor first of all is that Tolkien is a Catholic and I feel the need to sympathize with the fantasy devil because his original intentions were extremely relatable and I think he was right to rebel against them, and the reason most of the things turned out the way they did was directly because God Wanted Them That Way. And just as much so, I love seeing him go down that path of destruction and slowly lose more and more of himself to his hunger, anger, and pain. He's also just a fucking pathetic loser and I like to make fun of him.

Liking Sauron obviously goes hand in hand with Melkor, but I must place him in the #1 spot because there is much more material to work from about him. What is compelling about him is not only in the beautiful handcrafted bdsm servant/master relationship he has going on, but the descent of how he slowly becomes Melkor as the ages go on. I could obviously go on about this at length, but in short, seeing the way in which he grieves is endlessly terrifying. He's got everything. He's a tumblr sexyman. He's a furry. He's allergic to women. He's a cult leader. He's a weeping widower. He lost a fight to a dog.

As for Fëanor, he's just a deeply complex and deeply flawed character. The word that always comes to mind with him is catalyst. He is the reason the events of the Silmarillion occcur. He is an anomaly, so horrifically overpowered and overproductive he singlehandedly started a fucking world war. And yet despite the immensity of his hubris you cannot say that the results of his choices have not had profoundly positive impacts on the world. It is unimaginable to see what the landscape would looklike without him. He is insane. He BURSTS INTO FLAMES AND DIES

Little blurbs for Maedhros and Túrin too , just cause I really do care for them. Everyone loves Maedhros, so I can just gesture to the rest of the fandom for that, but there's so little Túrin love. It's very easy to explain why I like him. It's because he's literally Hamlet. Túrin is Hamlet. I'm so sorry.

5- the scene from it that lives in my head rent free

Obviously we all love the dramatic mythical History Moments but I must highlight two of the most stupid ass fucking scenes I will never get over.

Sauron sending out a comedically large number of increasingly ferocious werewolves to fight Luthien's bitch ass dog and then eventually revealing his hot werewolf form only to be immediately curbstomped and made to listen to the most soulcrushing diss track in the world about his relationship with Melkor

Melkor showing up 20 feet tall to Fëanor's doorstep ready to give his extensive presentation on, to summarize, "can i try rizzing you up. pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease", only to be insulted and have the door slammed in his face

6- which is my favorite platonic or familial relationship in this world

Perfect question for the Silmarillion because fucking everyone is related even the people who are married to each other. But seriously the importance of familial relationships in this thang is immense

I believe it would have to be the relationships between the sons of Fëanor, especially Maedhros and Maglor, the power duo of kinslaying bros. The relationship between them and their father as well as between Maedhros, Maglor, and Elrond + Elros is honestly just as important to me. These are evidently a fandom favorite. It's so fucking heartbreaking I can't do it I love doomed siblings so fucking much my fucking god. And the parenting and the generational trauma and the fatal flaws and AAAARGH.

17- the worldbuilding aspect of the story I have greatest admiration for.

You can't not have admiration for the sheer fucking scale of Tolkien's goddamn world. Not just the quantity of it, but in the attention to detail, the decades of work gone unpublished until after his death, the purposeful folkloric and language resources he uses to create it. I don't need to say more about this it's quite evident.

tysm jd you're aweoseome and cool

[neutrallyobsessed]

EPISODE 7!!!!!!!!!! I SAW THE PREVIEW IMAGES

NOW I KNOW WHO MARY IS Y EL ALMA ME VUELVE AL CUERPO!!

sehh el sindrome de abstinencia de topher bus viene con español de mas, asi que deberia ser tobi col, que se yo puta madre DONDE ESTASSSSSSSSSS

but lets see how this revelation comes to them~~

hmm so theres this kinda lack of feelingggg, like now Joan and Abe are literally each other's girl and boy next door,,,, they're doing this taylor swift thing were they speak from the windows....hmm i need more jealousy fits from each other about each other yknowww

BUENO COJAN YAAA A VERRR POR DIOSSSSSS

wait, so if Abe is gonna be like JFK, and JFK is gonna be like Abe.. then wHO'S DRIVING THE VAN???????

oh man, i love that type of joke! in the fic im writting i put it several times like actually lolol

((((~~save me oh, save me topher of the intro~~))))

ohhhhh new clones??? or maybe not, it does sound like a lot of work lmaoo yeahhhhh

without raisins lol

oh damn that epic yo but like, did you fuck harriet at least?

TOPHER!

aghhhughhohgoihjbnjdwieouwhaoaogsghhh hhhhh ok,,, okkk ok we all know that i wanted him back and HE IS BACK FUCK YEAH but i cant really decided if that was a good way or a bad way but lets just say that my ice cold water bottle has completely evaporated!! and imma- imma get a new one...... brb yeah :)

but like- yeah that's 3 (THREE) unfunny yet popular hcs disproven by canon all at once: he DOES shower, he DOES have hair and he DID fuck at least once.......... tbh the balding virgin is kinda funny but i have my reasons~ and come on people! who doesnt love a good cold shower cuaNDO TE ESTAS CAGANDO DE CALOR VIEJA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NO WAIT 4(FOUR) HCS! He doesn't dye his hair either! but like, that's not bad or unfunny is just- Do you know why el Dibu Martinez is nicknamed like that?

NO YEAH VAN GOGH I BELIEVE YOU 100% LIKE ACTUALLY SJKSJSKJSKSKS and can we get a hell yeah for Ivan? hell yeah!!

EL PRIMAS!!! EL JOTA EFE KA ES EL PRIMAS!!!!!! tho i expected that more of topher yaknow? like! like he had the sleepover with abe como no vas a traer a tus primas???

ooooooooooh Erica Rivinojaaaa you wouldnt fuck abe? thats actually super cool and a breath of fresh air. like a lot of writers and producers self insert in their shows to fuck their characters but here Rivinoja is like "nope im not gonna fuck the characters!" and thats actually hella based, we love to see it!!! leaving that to the fans eh ;)

yeah you know all bout cementary film screenings dont you joan? lol

ok i know she means she doesnt like having her picture taken without consent but still, you did sent a titpic to abe soooooo

UUUUGHHHHH FUCKING FINALLY i thought they all knew tho, like especially Cleo? who dated Abe?? eh whatev lol

OMG THATS FUCKING HILARIOUS THOSE FUCKING BLINDERS AMIRITE PEOPLE!!!

YEAHHHH JEALOUSY FIT, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING~~♥!

OH SHIT J- CL- BUT NOW WITH M- IS BACK!!!!!!!!

my fav gags making their appearances once again!

ohohoh they gonna find out~~ NO SHE DIDNT GO BACK~~!!! OOOO- yeah explain that Cleo wasn't invited there.... that she was barely in the show last season.......... LIKE- YKNOW

Ahahaha funny you say that cause before that you were like tHiS SO laMe and now you do want to get invited aaaa

This scene is so aesthetically pleasing.... and ok if it is Bloody Mary, it's ok for an overuse of blood, but still, it could have a lot more impact if y'all DIDN'T overuse blood all those times before!!

people die all the time, yeah ok lmaooo

HI! JSKSJSKSJKSJSKSJKSJJSKSJS

Aww the boys care for her- NOOO UN PINCHE FURRRO AAAAAA

oh what is this? scott pilgrim?

Hmmm didn't understand that reference...

And that's why we all need to stay hydrated and have a nice cold bottle of water near by~!

Hahahah~~! HAHAHAHHHHH!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIRL! you having sex with EVERYONE who DONT MATTER what the fuck

there is SO MUCH jealousy and regret in this screenshot, i love it!!

Rating: Abe still a virgin/10!

Topher Bus has appeared on screen for 8 seconds.

[burchills-ramblings]

Copying this directly from my Letterboxd review cause I wrote a fucking essay inadvertantly and I cant post it in just one place. There are no spoilers as I mostly just talk about the themes and what Kon's work means to me.

My Satoshi Kon obsession over the last week climaxes with his only series, and what a series it was. I'll have to stew on it a bit before i say it definitively, but this very well could be my favorite anime I've ever seen, and a strong contender up with Mr Robot and Sopranos for a favorite series period.

I have a troubled relationship with tv. I think most stuff these days that tries to emulate film (prestige tv so called) fails to capture the clarity of vision of a good film while maintaing the traps that hold tv back (having to structure itself around getting you to watch the next episode for one example). At times I feel like I wish tv never left its episodic phase, at least then you were guaranteed a complete story in 20-40 minutes.

The shows I mentioned before, including this one, all do something that most dramatic tv fails to do; and actually use the episodic format to divert from the core narrative and explore themes and characters in ways that a movie just really cant. You can have an entire episode that follows three characters who never show up again, you can have an episode structured like a play (Mr Robot), you can just have the characters get lost in the fucking woods for an entire episode and have it be one of the most memorable in the series (The Sopranos). Using the medium to experiment and take swings at different ideas and ways of conveying intentions to the audience, imo, is what tv needs to be if it really wants to elevate itself to something akin to or above the best films.

Paranoia Agent, as you can probably surmise from the five star rating, does just that. While the show is complete narrative with a defined beginning and end, the format is mostly episodic, typically following one or two characters, some of whom who never really play a big role in the series again. Kon has said that PA was his way of testing out ideas he had for films that he couldn't work in, and it definitley shows here.

I can see why some may be frustrated with the show taking the scenic route on a lot of things, i think its a testament to Kon's dedication to his own themes and ideas that he is able to explore them in so many different ways within a single series, and still have it all imo add up perfectly at the end. The show manages to cover themes of class and work anxiety, social exclusion, mental health struggles, personal responsiblity, escapist culture, responsibility, generational trauma, the fear and anxiety around the youth, and a littany of other themes that still manage to tie all together in a coherent way.

Kon's playfulness when it comes to the line between reality and imagination is core to this work as well. The central message of the show is explained explcitly, perhaps moreso than id like but the work still has enough elements open for interpretation that I don't think it crosses the line into beating you over the head with it.

Oh and the animation and music are great of course, I think that's a given with a Kon work tho. Having now seen all of Kon's major works I'm of course a bit let down that I'll never seen anything new from him. But if i've learned one thing from all that I've seen in the past week, the last thing Kon would want is for people to wallow in misery and wondering what could have been. Something doesn't have to be forever for it to mean something to you and better your life for having experienced it. I and countless others can say that Satoshi Kon's far too short life on this Earth is one that made an impact on us, and we're certainly better for being able to experience the art of such a thoughtful and creative person.

[detectivemarkiprincess]

Coming back from the dead to chime in.

YOU NEED TO MAKE SOME MOTHERFUCKING NOISE.

Like...

MARKS FANS AS A WHOLE NEED TO MAKE SO MUCH NOISE.

Streaming services are canceling shows right and left these days, and if theyre stooping to this level of petty with Mark? You need to make so much noise.

And like i know i seem like some random person telling you to talk about a show, but i comr from experience. If you want Iron Lung to see the light of the day we HAVE to go above and beyond what the streaming service wants for Edge of Sleep. Top 10? They'll still screw him over.

What is my experience? My absolute favorite show got CANCELED! Just this year too!

And you may say a lot of shows have been cancelled this year but heres the difference.

My favorite show is Our Flag Means Death AND IT GOT CANCELLED BEING IN MAX'S TOP THREE.

So I am once again telling you YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING LOUD.

In an effort to get the show renewed the fandom bought not one but TWO billboards (one in times square), a fly over plane, a boat, several advertising box trucks, we had the show trending on twitter constantly, we posted qr codes and links everywhere to our petition (85k signatures) to keep the show running. And it still got cancelled.

I learned some things from this process and it's that you have to make so much noise, you have to get outsiders involved, you have to be so loud and obnoxious, you have to make the streaming service listen and ALSO get others to watch the show.

Heres some ways you can do that:

1.) MAKE NOISE ON TWITTER

Now you might say you hate twitter, i do too. I laterally hate that place so much, but social media wise it has some of the most impact. Get a hashtag trending, talk about the show, let others know it exists. People will find it. Dont post spoilers but let people know youre enjoying it! Do a live tweet while you watch and KEEP YOUR HASHTAG GOING! You want it to trend, you need to have people see it. Even explain whats going on, that Prime is trying to screw Mark over. Do not let assholes comment on your posts being assholes. Block them and keep making as much noise as you can. Let people know where to watch.

2.) Streaming services look at their online statistics so look up the show!

Dont just google it! Click links! Check the IMDB page! RATE THE SHOW ON BOTH GOOGLE AND IMDB AND PRIME. Interact with the casts IMDB pages! Get clicks, get site traffic going. You want to make sure that the traffic shows generated interest in the show. Check the wikipedia page! Interact with it!

3.) STREAM IT ALL THE TIME!

But you cant just stream a show and not interact with it! INTERACT WITH THE SHOW. Pause it sometimes. Rewatch moments you really enjoyed! BUT WATCH IT ALL THE TIME! If you can? Play it on multiple devices! If you have multiple accounts watch on all of your accounts.

4.) SEARCH FOR IT ON AMAZON!

Even if it's right there, type it into the search bar! Get the search popular, and let Amazon know that you're looking!

5.) LEAVE A REVIEW AND RATE THE SHOW

It's imporant to let people, especially streaming services know that you liked it! Anywhere you can, leave a review! Give the show 5 stars and tell them WHY YOU LIKED IT!

6.) Enjoy it!

Dont forget to watch the show to enjoy it! But if you didnt like it, or it wasnt your cup of tea and you still wanna see iron lung? Dont leave a bad review. That won't help. The goal is to help push Mark's show to the top, to show Amazon and other streaming services that hes not just a "YouTuber" who only knows how to play video games and small projects. Mark is so much more than that and WE know that.

And for the love of everything i need to emphasize point 1.

MAKE AS MUCH NOISE AS YOU CAN!!!

We have to get the show out there! There's no advertising for it whatsoever and thats BULLSHIT! We have our work cut out for us.

Make tik toks, post youtube videos, GET ON TWITTER AND MAKE IT TREND! FIND PEOPLE WHO'S SHOWS WEREN'T GIVEN A CHANCE AND SHOW THEM KINDNESS AND THEY WILL SUPPORT YOU!

But making noise on a website that will cause an impact is so important! If we want the show to get past just Mark's youtube fanbase. We have to make so much noise!

I dont know about you guys but i wanna see Mark succeed! I believe in him so much and so it's extremely importanr to get the buzz going!

If i missed anything that may help, feel free to add.

alright gang, the rumors are true. The Edge of Sleep is now live (US only ig) on Amazon Prime Video. and i get what some of y'all are saying, "there doesn't need to be marketing because of mark's rabid fanbase!"

But guys. Guys. This is not a YouTube project. I hate to say it but even 30+ million Markiplier fans is not enough for what needs to happen here, unfortunately. This is ultimately about breaking out of the YouTube-fanbase sphere and getting this show to mainstream viewership. That's the goal-- this is about showing that a "YouTuber project" (even though Edge of Sleep was made by a professional production company and isn't really that) can have appeal beyond a preexisting audience. It's about, big picture, legitimizing the contributions of online creators in making films and television products for casual viewers.

So yeah, it's time to break out not just The Plan, but The Strategy. What is that, you ask? You'll see--check back tonight. This is a call for all hands on deck.

We ride at sunset-- the edge between day and night when the world starts to go to bed. We ride at the edge of sleep.

[elainiisms]

MY big three

[xylerray]

Wandarer and Reader seeing each other for the first time again

Game: Genshin Impact

Character shown: Traveller, Paimon, Wanderer/Scaramouche, Reader

Authors note: OKAY OKAY HOLD UP SO I JUST READ A FAN FIC AND THE AUTHOR SAID I COULD USE IT FOR SMTH OWN AND I WAS LIKE „FUCK HELL YEAH“ SO IMMA DO THAT NOW. I WILL ALSO REPOST IT SO YOU KNOW WHATS GOING ON LMAO. And if I give you a gender or smth I am very sorry and also very sorry for grammar mistakes.

Inspiration from: @fruityvegetable THANKS A FUCKING LOT FOR THAT I JUST AHHHH CANT RN PLSSSS (can I get ur dc pls?)

„It‘s okay.“ the Traveller said. Then they explained to you in great detail who he was. Your eyes widen with every story they told. But then they said one thing „He is the son of the Raiden Shogun. A failed puppet.“ with just that it hit you. You jumped up from the seat on the bench. „MY LOVE THAT IS MY LOVE“ you screamed, already rushing after him. „Their what now?“ Paimon asked confused and in the next moment all three of you were looking for him. But you sadly couldn’t find him. After a whole day looking for him and not finding him you broke down. „How could I be THAT stupid. I didn’t even remember him. The one that tried to protect my little brother. The one that showed me the world.“ tears running down your face as your voice broke into many pieces. „This is all my fault. I am so sorry Traveller.“ The traveller answered:“it’s okay. He erased himself from the world. It is a wonder you remembered him. And when he finds out he‘ll cherish it I’m sure of that.“

In this night you hardly could fall asleep. Wanderer always crossed your mind and you judged yourself for not remembering him even more. „But I still love him… I will always do so…“ you whispered.

The next morning went sloppy for you. With almost no sleep you tried to get into your clothes somehow but didn’t quite manage to do that. You stepped out of your small apartment. The sun shining directly into you face, the sunshine’s feeling like the sun is screaming for the day to be good but for you nothing was good. You lost your one and only love. You did not remember him. How could you??? Why?????? You went to the meeting spot from yesterday hoping the Wanderer would cross this way once again. And after 2 hours waiting he did. But as soon as the little puppet noticed you he turned around and made a run from it. But this time you won’t let that happen. With the low energy you had you sprinted after him and pushed him down with you landing on him.

„What the hell? What are you thinking?!“ shouted the little man beneath you. You sat up and let him breath a bit. „I wanted to apologise, my love! I was so stupid! You are the most important person in my life and I just forgot you! I am for real a big disappointment. I am very sorry again.“ you stated, staring straight into his eyes. The failed experiment in front of you just sat there not even breathing. He admired you in the moment. „My love“ you still called him that. You…still loved him… „Dear?“ you tilted your head with a worried look on your face.

The next second was blurred out of you memory and your lips were one. Shocked you sat there until you gave in. Even if Scara seems to be bad at a lot he certainly gives the best passionate kisses. When you pulled away you only had eyes for his angry expression. „I thought I had lost you. Don’t give me such a freaking fright again ,understood moron?“ Scara scoffed. „Yeah sure my dear.“ you giggled

The Traveller and Paimon staring from far:“ if they won’t watch out, they will make children on the street.“ „TRAVELLER“

Hehe this is a lil rushed now I hope you still like it! Thanks for reading! Requests open!

Bye<3 Good morning/evening/night/day<333

[meow-sic]

they accidentally hurt you during an argument 𓍢 ᭡

includes : sakusa , atsumu , iwaizumi x !gn reader

warnings : arguing , fighting , cussing , shouting , accidentally hurting the reader , glass breaking , fainting , blood , mention of drinking

a/n : i’m so sorry sakusa’s is so long lol. i got pretty lazy after iwaizumi’s, so sorry that one is written poorly:(

sakusa kiyoomi

he was beyond irritated today. his head was pounding, his body was sore from practice, and he wanted nothing more than to be alone.

but you were the opposite. and he knew once you he stepped through the door.

you were so excited when he got home! you missed him dearly, he’s been gone longer from practices, and other team bonding things. so, you spent all day making dinner, cleaning the house, and planning a nice day for the two of you!

he groaned as you clinged to his arm, “hi yoomi! hope you had a good day.” you kissed his cheek.

“actually, it wasn’t that good,” he replied in a cold tone. you replied with a small ‘oh.’

“well, actually, i made dinner! i think maybe if it’s an us night it can-“

“can you not bother me tonight? i want to be left alone.” he pushed past you into the kitchen. you quickly followed behind him and gave him a glass of water.

“was it atsumu and hinata aga-“ you try to lighten the air as you smile and watch him drink water.

“y/n, can you please shut you mouth? i said it already, i want to be alone.” he went to fill his water up again.

you scoffed, “excuse me? i’ve prepared dinner for you and cleaned the house so that we could spend our time together.”

he glared at you. “i didn’t ask you to. you did that to yourself. i don’t care if you made dinner. i said i wanted to be alone. is your head to dumb to understand that?”

“yoomi, seriously? are you kidding me! you’re being totally selfish! i’m always alone at night, and in the mornings you’re gone too. and on our days off, you go with the team! it’s like i’m living alone!” you cry, surprised you went off like that.

“me? selfish? do you ever shut your fucking mouth?” he set his glass down and it shattered from the impact. you flinched and gasped.

for the first time, you were scared of your boyfriend.

“sakusa please-“

“please what? calm down? you’re the one who started this mess for nothing! you’re all bark, no bite and that’s it.” he slowly walking towards you as you backed up.

he didn’t even notice your tears, or your cries to calm down, or your unsteady breathing. he was focused on yelling at you to get his point across.

“sometimes i wish i never dated you.” he finishes harshly. you fell on your butt. your hands fell behind you, which your palm cut open on the glass that had shattered.

“please stop!” you yelled, though your voice was wobbly. he took a few deep breaths, and realized what had happened.

you looked at your hand, and your breath stopped at the sight of blood. you and sakusa both knew you fainted at the sight of blood. and with that, your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

—

when you woke up your hand was bandaged. you layed on your bed with an ice pack on your head that was throbbing from sakusa’s yelling. you reached over and drank the water sitting on the nightstand.

the door opened, and when you looked, sakusa was there with soup. you looked away and rolled the other way.

“you’re awake. i made you soup.” he set it on the nightstand and bent down to face you. you turned the other way.

“i’m sorry.” he said. there was and eerie, and awkward silence.

“is that all you’re going to say? after everything you say, that’s your apology?” you replied without looking at him.

“i-“

“sakusa, you really messed up this time.” he winced at his last name. you heard sniffles from behind you, he grabbed the back of your shirt gently.

“please. i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have yelled at you, and everything i said was wrong. i appreciate everything you do for me, how you made dinner for me. and even when i’m cold to you, you never give up and always are cheery. i’m sorry for yelling at you, and hurting you.” he was quiet for a second. “i love you.”

you turned towards him and held your arms open. he quickly hugged you back and started to cry. “please don’t leave me.”

“i’m not going to leave you, silly. but yoomi, you can’t treat me like that.”

“i know, i’m so sorry y/n.”

miya atsumu

you were in the bathroom, pulling the shoulder part of your shirt down to see the red mark that atsumu accidentally left. you could barely see it.

you heard three knocks, and a slurred “y/n? please leh-let me in.”

you swallowed the lump in your throat and opened the bathroom door. “tsumu.”

his face was flushed red. his eyes also. you felt bad, leaving him at the bar, but you had to.

“you left me,” his words were slurred you could barely tell what he was saying.

you looked at the floor. “‘tsumu, you started a fight over me. i got hurt,” you showed him the mark.

“i’m sorry baby, here, let me hug you,” he walked towards you but you shook your head.

“no, please ‘tsumu. wanna be alone. i dont- i cant be by you right now,” you tried to push past him.

“let me hug you,” his voice scared you. “no. let me through-“ he wouldn’t listen to anything you said- or tried to say.

he wrapped his arms around you, and lifted you up as he squeezed you. the awful smell of cigarettes and beer made your eyes water. “put me down.”

“all i wanted was a fucking hug from my partner,” his grip tightened as your arms began to weakly punch his arms.

“please let me go, i don’t want to hug you like this,” you cried. but the cries, and pleads were ignored.

“i spend all this time away from you, and when i want a hug-“

“miya, let me go please. i cant breathe,” you sobbed. “you’re scaring me.”

his grip loosened. you stumbled backwards before your teary eyes met his, and pushed past him.

“i’m sorry,” he quickly said.

“i know miya, you said that last time you accidentally hurt me from drinking,” you sniffled.

“are we going to be okay?” he mumbled after a silence.

“not if this keeps up,” he looked up at you. you walked towards him and cupped his cheek. “i love you so so much. but this can’t keep happening tsum.”

he began to cry, “i’m sorry. i’m so sorry. please don’t leave me.”

you gently hugged him and let him sob into your shoulder, “i know addictions are hard. and i’m here for you. but you- you can’t keep hurting me.”

iwaizumi hajime

both of you were frustrated at each other. the heat from the summer getting to the both of you, and this was the day you had asked him to help you decorate.

“i just don’t see why we have to do this today,” he mumbled with a nail in his mouth as he hammered in the shelf.

“because, haji, i explained this,” you wiped the sweat from your forehead. “my family is visiting and i want it to be not boring.”

“i don’t think your family would give a shit about these dumb plants,” he mumbled.

you looked up at him. “you know, nobody can understand you when you’re mumbling. say it louder dear! be proud of it,” you were sarcastic, and he wasn’t dealing with you today.

“i don’t think your family would give a shit about your dumb ass plants,” he repeated, his face in yours.

“you’re a dick,” you spat, putting a plant on the shelf.

he continued to mumble about how dumb, and how frustrated he was with decorating. and you wouldn’t have asked for help, honestly, if you knew he would be like this.

“can you stop being so annoying? you’re acting like a child,” you scoffed at him, he looked down at your sitting figure on the floor that was sorting out some things.

“right, i’m the kid when you couldn’t have decorated by yourself,” he replied.

“hajime you’re being a douche! cant you do one thing? all i asked was for you to put up the shelves and hanging plants!” your eyes watered with frustration and sadness.

“you can’t do one thing without me can’t you? i told you not to bother me then you ask for this, and i help and you do nothing. if you’re going to try to make yourself useful then actually do something!” he shouted, knocking a plant over and the pot falling on your hand.

you repeated, “fuck!” as the pain grew. the plant’s pot was now broken and scattered on the floor with the dirt surrounding it.

iwaizumi got off the step stool he was on, and rushed over to you. “i’m sorry, i didn’t- i didn’t mean to knock it over.”

you tugged your hand away from him and went to get stuff to clean your bloody hand. “i know you didn’t mean to. it’s fine.”

he sat you on the toilet and cleaned your wound. “i didnt me-“

“i know you didn’t mean to. it was an accident.”

once he fully wrapped your hand, he kissed your head. “i’ll finish decorating. i shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me, and i should’ve been more careful.”

you knew he meant best, and that he truly would never hurt you on purpose.

[starrypawz]

So uh this morning was... kind of stressful

Had the manager from another branch in, turns out he was in so we could have a sit down 'you're not actually in trouble but we need to talk about why you've been fucking up at work and what we can do to try and fix it'

tldr: i've got a fairly long spate of till mistakes during my time at work, and had a really bad bout of them recently where i managed to do like three in the space of just over a week

And during this I did mention about probably part of the fact is my dyspraxia and then apparently I'd never really mentioned it at work, when I think I did but apparently I'd only really mentioned the 'I can have issues with balance and stuff' side of it and not like 'btw my brain is an asshole' side of it

And yeah I'm not in trouble apparently, I still have my job, I should be reassured but ngl I'm not and I've basically been like ANXIETY all day since and like my dyspraxia is actually on the record now, I've tried to explain how it can impact my work and maybe explains some of the times i've fucked up on the till but it's also like 'sometimes i cant explain it it just happens my brain just goes nah fuck u' and sure we're gonna apparently work on some stuff to help but it's also like i feel these ideas aren't really going to be that practical to enforce, also where i work is apparently moving into a bigger storefront soon and ngl i feel like bigger store= more chances things will go wrong and i really feel ngl i do just need to get the heck out of this job before too long i should've bailed a long ass time ago

i'm so freaking tired ya'll

[onaliiiiim]

fic is available now on AO3 Cave of Life and Death

This is a fanfic i made of the Linked Universe AU. This fanfic took a lot of inspiration from other fanfics Ive read from this fandom and a random thought i got in the middle of the night.

!TW DEATH! THERE IS DEATH AND BLOOD IN THIS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Cave of Life And Death

That was a night the smallest hero would never forget. The boys had separated into groups of three; Sky, Twi, and Time, Wind, Wars, and Leg, and Four, Rule, and Wild.

The start was nice and slow, each group was given one torch to lead their way through the mysterious cave, Four had nominated himself to hold the torch as he knew what would likely happen if Wild was given the torch, and Hyrule was so unpredictable, he didn’t know what he would do!

The room they found was full of bombs, and crates of what Four could only assume were more bombs. He looked back at the other two, both of them looking astonished at how many bombs were in this room.

“I think we found a storage room or something” Hyrule said as he looked around at the sight. “Why do you think there here, theres so many…”

“You think they maybe-“ Four starts, but his words are cut short when he trips over a unevenly placed stone, and upon making impact with the ground he drops his torch as it flies a few feet in front of him, watching in horror as it lands right next to a bomb

“OH NO NO NO!” Four yells as he runs over to pick up the torch before it ignites the bomb, he grabs it and sighs in relief, turning around to face the others. “Oh goddesses that was a close o-“

Sssssssiizzzzzzzzz….

He turns around to see the bomb ignited, he starts to slowly walk backwards in fear before being pulled to the ground by something behind him, he looks up so see a flash of gold and blue before he’s blinded by the bright light of the bombs explosion…….

There is a loud ringing sound as Four pulls himself up, his vision blurry, he looks around, light has entered the cave and there are burn marks all over the walls. He looks down at himself to see splatters of blood, then to his side to see the champions slate, also covered in blood.

Seeing the slate just lying there alarmed Four, he looked around frantically, only to see Hyrule, sitting directly behind him with the same shocked and confused expression.

“‘Rule…” Four says with fear peaking in his voice “wheres Champion????”

Just by looking at his friends expression he could tell what their champion had done. Thinking about this made Four panic, tears building up under his eyes as he looked at Hyrule, then back at the slate.

“Hyrule- cant you.. cant you bring him back?”

“Not if.. not if theres nothing left for me.. t-to use my life spell on…” Hyrule said, also tearing up, watching as Four bends down to pick up the slate.

the screen has cracked and its covered in a bloody mess. he holds it up in front of him, all his memories with the champion filling in as he bursts out crying, he turns over to Hyrule and they both embrace each other, dropping to the floor.

When it happens

The two in their midst of mourning when Four sees a soft, blue glow out of the corner of his eye, placed right where Wild was standing. Its light blue, almost spiritual, with what looks like a bubble of water surrounding it. Just then, a beautiful zora girl, seemingly a spirit, emerges from the light and circles it, calmly saying “it is my pleasure” before disappearing. As the light disappears they see their champion, standing before them, alive.

The two look at Wild astonished, he had obviously just died but yet here he is, not… dead… they stared at each other awkwardly for a good long second before Hyrule runs up to Wild, hugging him as Wild tries to protest.

Four just stares, flabbergasted at what he just saw, before making eye contact with Wild.

“I’ll… explain later…” Wild said

[kuroken-lovechild]

How haikyuu characters would play genshin impact:

//featuring me nerding out about mbti types 😔

Karasuno

Hinata

As an ESFP he would probably choose his main based on who feels good to use

Quick movements, lots of jumping, strong = XIAO MAIN (probably finds the flashiness and edginess cool and enjoys the button mashing too)

would aggressively compete with kageyama on who can beat spiral abyss the fastest and with the shortest time

unfortunately they’re both not very good (initially because kenma helps him out after)

Would try to follows the plot but dialogue goes over his head

Does not understand stats other than attack at first

Wish impulse is real and never has any primos

would attempt to talk to every npc

Kageyama

META SLAVE

Has no idea what wishing/gacha is at first and builds his starters really well

Then he found out and currently mains Ganyu, Zhongli, Hutao for the big numbers

gloats about his first 5 star to hinata

Does not talk to NPCs at all and barely digs into the story

only there for spiral abyss and to make his characters stronger

Tsukishima

Didn’t wanna play until yamaguchi dragged him in to have someone to co op with

Appreciates the story and lore more than the gameplay aspect

Eula, razor (cv uchiyama kouki) main—easy to build, easy to use

Doesn’t care about wishing either

Got Eula by accident and now holds it over kageyama’s head

Has really good artifact RNG that it infuriates kagehina (gloats about it to fan the flame 😚)

Yamaguchi

he’s infp he chooses based on characters he likes 🥺

Diluc, albedo, ayaka main

(i can’t explain why I think he’d like those three, it just Makes Sense)

Co ops with tsukki and yachi, plays both dps and support

Spiral abyss makes him anxious but he pushes through anyway!!

Daichi

Starter team king 😩

Feels bad about switching his regular team out FJDFJDJJDDJ DAICHI

Probably a casual player though

Plays to coop with suga and tanaka but they carry him through domains

he’s trying his best

Suga

Mains based on whoever’s fun to play too!!

but enjoys more of a challenge

Childe main

Waiting for Scaramouche to drop hAha 🥲 and harbingers in general

Appreciates the plot and is very interested in lore!!

Diligently does spiral abyss

Doesn’t quite wish on impulse, but if theres a character he likes he’ll spend everything on their banner

Asahi

Does not play, got too scared (see: haikyuu ova)

Nishinoya

Rolls VERY much on impulse

Similar to hinata in that he also likes playing playstyles that feel good

Xiao and/or yoimiya main

(xiao because he’s short jk)

Probably raised Rosaria and planned to use her

Plot who???? we only care about world exploration and fighting in this house

Tanaka

wished for all the women, raised all the women, uses all the women

valid

Primarily mains Rosaria, ningguang and Lisa though

sorry beidou you remind him of his sister too much

waiting for signora like many of us are

Coops with noya and has INSANELY bad rng luck

Yachi

Also chooses based on characters’ personalities

gay, mains sucrose and jean

isfj child and probably feels bad about the underrated characters :(

uses amber, xinyan and qiqi too!

Raises all characters but hasn’t raised anyone to 90

Coops with yamaguchi and uses jean (as healer, support, damage dealer)

Talks to NPCs and sympathizes with their sad backstories

Gets too anxious to do spiral floors 9-12 too (mood)

Seijoh

Oikawa

Oh boy

this ENFJ 3w2 guy? you KNOW he’s gonna be the best

As long as it doesn’t clash with volleyball of course

Very VERY competitive in abyss

Has one character hed get attached to but doesn’t limit himself to using them only

Incredibly focused on team synergy, carefully crafts teams to bring out the best in each character

Tests best damage output too

But also he’d probably use meta characters and secretly raise the ones he actually likes?

Current fave: Yoimiya

Uses strong characters for coop but uses his faves for single player domains (or coop with iwaizumi)

Likes characters but surprisingly wouldnt be too invested in the plot

does not whale out of pride

Iwaizumi

Geo user

Uses characters he finds respectable in the storyline + hard hitters

Razor, klee, jean main but unaware of the family relationship

Sometimes uses beidou although her burst takes too long sometimes

Pretty casual player, only started because of Oikawa

Hanamaki

obviously he and matsukawa would make zhongli pillar dick jokes

Kaeya and beidou main (he thinks they’re cool)

Not that impatient to wait for bursts to charge or has a lot of energy recharge

whale

Matsukawa

……. Hutao main

funeral home

Would use qiqi and hutao together for the meme then grows to genuinely like qiqi

Saves up for a really long time then spends it all at once

Kindaichi

Doesn’t play much tbh

Offline for a week, comes back to do commissions for one day, leaves

Kunimi

Hed be pretty good

but lazy and forget to do dailies

then buy welkin moon instead

Focuses more on the story too rather than gameplay and points out loopholes

Mains whoever he has in his team with good synergy (like chongyun xingqiu xiangling)

Kyoutani

Rage quits 5 minutes in after hearing paimon’s voice 😔

Throws his phone at the wall

Yahaba

Simps for jean

Mains jean

Dedicated to dailies and spiral abyss

But doesn’t wish that much

Was the one who tried getting kyoutani into it and suffered the consequences

Nekoma

Kuroo

ENTP king raises a whole arsenal of characters for spiral abyss

I cant see him really getting attached to one in particular ?

makes zhongli pillar dick jokes every chance he can get

but also uses him for utility

Wants to try using a whole bunch of characters and wishes on every banner

But uses the meta ones with good team comps

sparks twitter debates with ….. interesting takes

“_____ is completely shit”

Kenma

OH BOY HES A GAMER GAMER

Whale whale whale whale

He’s tony to

Best synergy teams, understands the value of elemental mastery, REALLY values good supports, calculates possible damage numbers

Kazuha, zhongli, bennett, venti are a staple in his teams

Helps hinata and kuroo until kuroo teases too much by deliberately playing horribly

mildom and youtube streamer like murase ayumu

Appreciates story and lore very much too

Yaku

he’d LOVE the children

Probably would use characters that remind him of family members and friends

Klee, diona, qiqi, chongyun, xingqiu, razor, bennett

does spiral abyss but not obsessively

Lev

KENMA-SAN!!! LETS PLAY TOGETHER!!!

I’m sorry he would not know how the game works

Doesn’t do the ascension quests and gets stuck at AR 26 with 500k extra points

Thinks he’s amazing but it’s because he’s stuck at world level 1

I’m sorry lev ily but ……. its the truth

Tries pulling for everyone too and mains the first 5 star he got

(childe because he’s russian AKSHDKDHSKSHS /j)

Wants diluc and xiao because they look cool but gets Mona instead (doesnt understand how to use her)

Yamamoto

Also raises the women like tanaka but + kaeya

Lev complained to him about getting Mona while he’s wanted Mona for months

Not really a dedicated intense gamer EXCEPT for during those battle events

Fukurodani

Bokuto

WANTS THE STRONG AND COOL LOOKING 5 STARS

Eula, zhongli, diluc, xiao

but doesn’t know how to build either

doesn’t understand stats

would feel really bad for qiqi

Wouldn’t like signora for hurting venti :(

Wouldn’t like childe too :( until he plays the story quest and sees the ruin guard cutscene

then starts sobbing because of what a good brother he is

“AKAAAASSHI I wanna do that too!!!” then he dies

Tries to use childe but doesn’t understand the cool down management

Mispronounces and misspells tartaglia (タルタリア)

for more info on how bokuto plays genshin see Kimura ryohei’s YouTube channel ✨

Akaashi

the true childe main (just like me)

Uses characters based on utility

but mains whoever reminds him of bokuto FJDHFJFJDKSJ

Very good supports but unlike Kenma, he chooses and builds supports around his main

also uses very good supports so people won’t realize he’s using childe for the cv kimura ryohei (everyone knows anyway)

Literature nerd appreciates the plot, writing and deep lore too

Konoha

Tries pulling for everyone but has REALLY bad luck

Has really good characters but never the one he wants

loses all 50/50s and has a c4 qiqi

Ends up maining qiqi as dps

sorry konoha i didn’t mean to slander you

Shiratorizawa

Ushijima

does not know how to play or build

Uses whoever he has (aka starters)

Only plays because tendou downloaded and made an account for him

Doesn’t know how to ascend characters or farm

Forgets about talents (me)

Weirdly good RNG and doesn’t realize it 😩

“Let me look at your account wakatoshi-kun”

“Sure”

“You didn’t tell me you had 6 of jean’s Stella fortuna???”

“What’s that?”

Tendou

this man pulls for the seiyuus

Mains childe, hutao, mona for 5 stars

childe and hutao’s instinct based quickswap playstyle works so well for him!

jokes about cosplaying mona then actually does

Knows how to build, grinds, and manages ushijima’s account for him

Probably whales too

Shirabu

Meta meta meta meta

But f2p meta

Loves setting up reactions

More into the lore too and researches theories

Remembers actual names of boss drops

Semi: so how many of those buttplugs do you have again

Shirabu: 💢stop calling them buttplugs, they have actual names 💢

VERY diligent with battle pass, dailies, achievements and spiral abyss full stars

Until he //SPOILERS gets into med school and has no time for shit

Inarizaki

Atsumu

Would have a crush on a character I just know it

Invests heavily on his faves and is great at utilizing each of them

fussy . complains about a certain unit and how they can improve

or complains about how the game can improve to osamu

Osamu: yer just saying that cuz you couldn’t get a high score

Archons main (already saving for the tsaritsa)

Wouldn’t have a main dps but several hard hitting supports

Whale and falls victim to the weapon banner

Osamu

More casual player than Atsumu but still tries to get higher than him in events and spiral abyss

If atsumu’s a whale, osamu’s a dolphin

Great at dodging

Catalyst user!!

Mains ningguang, klee, yanfei + other catalyst supports

Also uses keqing

Kita

the man appreciates routine aka VERY diligent with dailies, battle pass, farming

“if you do things properly results will follow” or whatever quote he said ✨

Starter team but raises other characters for abyss

Reads dialogue and appreciates the plot

Barely gachas

Aran

will defend TO THE DEATH the underappreciated characters

Has empathy for noelle 🥺🥺

Noelle, Barbara, xinyan, bennett, children user 🥺

Talks to every NPC and loves the backstories and lore

also would feel really bad for qiqi

Suna

Uses the tall men and women and builds them all as dps (childe zhongli diluc kaeya beidou ningguang jean lisa rosaria eula)

He’d probably make a support character a dps tbh

Disregards team synergy for the shits but somehow manages to do domains and abyss

Itachiyama

Sakusa

c6 everyone

leaves

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 5

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Sweater~

Shoves romance to the side and shoves friendship in your face!!!

Ao3

First< Previous > Next

----------

“Marinette,” Adrien whines as she opens the curtain the second they get back, “Sleep,”

“Just a minute, I want to design Damian something,” Marinette takes up residence at the desk, throwing open her sketchbook, “I will be friends with him!”

“Wasn't he kind of a jerk to you?” Adrien flops onto the bed, Plagg rig after him, "I think we should go back to that point, maybe sleep on it,"

“You were a jerk too~” Marinette sing-songs finishing up a rough sketch of a sweater.

“I was trying to get the gum off your seat!” Adrien slams his hands down.

“Sure you were~”

“Mariiiiiii,” Adrien collapses back into the bed covers, muffling his whining.

“Come on you,” Marinette collects her sketchbook, “Come get material with me,”

“No, it’s time to sleep,”

“It’s midday,”

“Your point?”

"Ok, Plagg 2.0 should I get you some camembert while I'm out too?"

"I'm up!" Adrien sits bolt upright, "Never call me that again,"

Marinette ends up dragging Adrien out of the mansion he pouts as Alfred delivers them into the city she thanks him profusely.

“We were just in the city why didn’t you pick up fabric then?” Adrien walks by her side down the street.

“Because I’m stuck between 2 concepts and I need to see the fabric before going forward,” Marinette bounces along looking through the windows there are quite a few craft shops in the area which suits her just fine.

“Please don’t run off,” Adrien gently holds her sleeve, “Marinette this city…”

“It’s filled with a dark energy,” Marinette agrees, even in this nicer area had something ominous hanging over it, “It’s like it’s seeped into the city’s very bones,”

“And the Akuma aren’t helping things,” A child across the street starts crying and they both instinctively lookout.

“On the plus side at least hawkmoth doesn't send Akuma after every little thing,” Marinette forces herself to relax, moving on as the kids parents comfort them.

“On the downside, he sends them after emotions that are a lot worse,” Adrien follows along into a store as Marinette filters through the shelves.

“Maybe but we can handle this,” Marinette absent-mindedly raises her fist, meeting Adreins, “Do you think I should make something for everyone, you know as a thank you?”

“I haven't gotten them anything,” Adrien takes the armful of fabric Marinette passes him as she brings out her sketchbook to select old designs.

“I’ll handle the making,” Marinette ticks off a vest she thinks with be perfect for Bruce, “And you handle the finances,”

“I stole my father's credit card,” Adrien says with a grin, “He’ll probably find out where I am soon anyway so might as well start using it,”

“In that case,” Marinette pulls out a roll of incredibly expensive fabric, “We also need new phones,”

“And we should go out for lunch,”

“Get our hair done?” Marinette adds, looking at her half hacked off hair “I still need to fix mine from this,”

“I was thinking our room could use a chair?”

“And the bookshelf is looking a bit empty,”

“A nice expensive rug would really liven up the room,”

“Would it be completely inappropriate to get a motorcycle?”

“Yes,” Adrien agrees, “Let's do it,”

They stop to get new phones first, having destroyed their old ones when they ran away. Adrien finds the most expensive restaurant in town, but it's on the far end so they stop to get a motorcycle first.

“I didn’t know you could ride,” Adrien gestures for the waiter in their private room, “Yes can I please have the duck?”

“My Nona taught me,” Marinette sips at the most expensive drink she can legally buy, “I thought you hated duck?”

“Oh I do,” Adrien grins, which drops when his phone starts ringing, “How did he even get this number?”

Marinette looks over his shoulder to see Gabriel trying to call. Adrien purposefully hangs up rolling his eyes.

“We should go do our hair next,” Adrien leans over the table with a manic grin, ”I was thinking of dying it hot pink,”

“Love the concept,” Marinette cringes at the very thought, “But the execution is flawed, you need to dye it a color you actually like not one just to spite your father otherwise he's still just controlling your life, just in a different way,”

“You're right,” Adrien sighs leaning back examining his blonde locks, “What do you think?”

“A nice pastel or cherry blossom pink would look amazing,” Adrien perks up at the suggestion he can still keep the pink, “Actually I might do that too- oh wait! Will that affect our transformation?”

“Not unless you really want to deep down,” Tikki explains, her and Plagg gorging themselves on expensive cheese and treats.

“Well deep down I really don't want to give away our identities like this,”

“It’s a plan then,” Adrien smiles, “Now do you want to order anything else?”

“Thanks but I’m full,”

“What's that got to do with anything?”

 ---

 “Looks great Nette,” Adrien gives her a side hug, the hairdresser shooing him away while he does the final touch-ups.

“Are you talking to me or yourself?” Marinette smiles at the new and improved shock of pink hair.

“Well obviously I look fabulous, but you look great too,” Marinette rolls her eyes at him looking back in the mirror. Instead of evening out her hair, they had made it look like her little episode was actually intentional giving it nice layers and even doing an undercut on the other side. Unlike Adrien, she didn't go all pink, instead the tips being white ombre up to pink and then her natural hair color.

“Thanks, you have to send a picture of your hair to Nino he's more invested in your teenage rebellion than you are, he’s probably also hurt you left him out of the running away part,”

“He has suggested, more than once, running away together,”

“Why what's wrong with Nino's family?”

“Nothing at all,” Adrien quickly covers, “I think he just really wanted me to run away, his mum offered to pack us lunches,”

“Well, maybe we could have used the turtle,” Marinette sighs, “But I could do that to Nino, you already had to leave Kagami behind, have you given her a call yet?”

“Oh um, about that-" Adrien points at her tapping his chin thoughtfully, "Never mention it again,”

“Adrien,” Marinette scowls, “Call your girlfriend,”

“She’ll kill me,” Adrien hides partly behind a seat looking meek, “Also you don't get to lecture me, you haven't called your parents,”

“That's different,” Marinette groans sinking into the seat, only to get told off for moving, “They’ll want me to come home, how am I supposed to explain that I can’t,”

“They’re your parents,” Adrien stresses, “I’m sure they’ll be happy enough to know your ok,”

“Maybe,” Marinette hums, the cloth being removed from her shoulders letting her get up, “I just feel so bad for putting them through this,”

“Maybe one day they’ll understand,” Adrien walks with her to the front to pay.

“Maybe,” Marinette looks down at the bill, “Wow this is a lot more expensive than the usual dye job,”

Made sense because they were in the higher income distinct of the city.

“Why Marinette,” Adrien grins swiping the card, “That's the point,”

Ten minutes later they were laughing as calls kept pouring in one after the other. They are only interrupted when they get the distinct feeling of an Akuma.

“Duty calls,” Adrien sighs putting his phone on silent.

“Seems so, at least we can call out skills multiple times," Marinette walks casually into an alley with him, “What are you up to?”

“About three,” Adrien shrugs transforming, “It takes about double the time for the transformation to drop now,”

“Same, wish I could say that gives us the edge but really it only keeps us from falling off the cliff,” Marinette also transforms, her new costume bringing a smile to her face.

“How eloquent my lady,” Marinette playfully pushes him, Chat catches himself catapulting over the building, she quickly follows behind.

The Akuma is standard, Marinette guesses the akumatized item is the wrist watch. The problem comes with their recurring thorn in her side.

“Ladybug-”

“Get out of the city,” She cuts Batman off, “Yeah, yeah let us handle this first,”

Marinette throws her yoyo out just in time to deflect an attack headed at Chat.

“Do you need any help?” Robin asks, Marinette smiles, partly at the aghast face Batman makes.

“Do you think you could tag-team it with me?” She asks formulating a plan, with the extra help she might not need the lucky charm, “Make your attacks big and draw his attention, grab the wristwatch if you can,”

“On it,” Robin gives her a nod jumping into the fray, Ladybug doesn't give batman a chance to object running after.

Robin does a good job they work in perfect sync falling back when the other moves to make an attack. When the Akuma focuses on them too much Chat swoops in and gets their attention giving them the chance to swipe at the wristwatch. It goes on she sees Robin get thrown back after another failed swipe at the wristwatch. Ladybug takes the chance to move forward grabbing for the wrist, she isn't watching out for the other arm, the impact hitting and sending her flying back.

“I got you,” Her momentum is stopped by a hand bracing at her back, saving her from crashing into the adjacent building.

“Thanks, Robin,” He helps steady her as she finds her footing again, “I’ll move in you follow me up,”

“No need,” He smirks brandishing the watch.

“You did it,” Ladybug beams, taking the watch and smashing it to the ground, “Great job!”

“Ah, thanks,” Ladybug doesn't pay attention to how Robin brushes, focusing on purifying the Akuma and fixing the damage.

“We made a pretty good team,” Ladybug turns to Robin when everything is settled, “Pound it,”

Robin meets her fist with some hesitance, which disappears when she smiles at him again.

“Ladybug!” Batman yells heading their way.

“Ops sorry,” Ladybug cringes, “Sorry! Cant stop gotta go, bye bye!”

They run from the scene faster than Batman can hope to catch them. They end up back at her newly brought bike stacked with fabric and protected by a bit of luck. Marinette races home to make everyone's gifts, knowing just who she wanted to start with.

 ---

 “There you are!” Marinette exclaims, having spent the past half hour searching the manor for him.

“What do you want?” Damian snaps as if he wasn't just playing with the cat on the floor half a second ago.

“Nothing, I made something for you~” He continues to scowl but Marinette doesn't let it discourage her, “Here, I didn’t know your size so I made a baggier style, do you like it?”

Damian takes the sweater holding it up to where she put it on him looking down a little shocked. Marinette almost wants to laugh at the expressions trying to shift back from awe to disinterest, it’s cute. She smiles wondering what his face would look like if she made a matching one for the cat, and maybe Titus too.

“.... It’s well made,” Damian eventually allows, folding it over his arm, Marinette notices how his fingers linger on the soft fabric.

“Good to know,” She smiles, bidding him goodbye before the moment can be ruined. She bounces down the hall humming to herself.

“Someone's happy,” Tikki flies out of her bag.

“He liked it, why wouldn't I be happy?”

“Someones really happy,”

“Stop it Tikki,” Marinette giggles, making the kwami laugh in turn.

“Just like adrien~” Tikki sing songs floating down the hall ahead of her.

“Well then, keep Kagami far away from this one,”

“Don’t turn into a stuttering mess and we have a deal,” Tikki agrees.

“Please Tikki I’m not thirteen anymore,” Marinette brushes her off, ready to go make the others gifts, if she spent the whole time humming to herself Tikki wasn't going to explain why to Adrien.

---------

Taglist? nope don’t have one, horrible at keeping track of them sorry~

[littlx-songbxrd]

Chain of Iron:Death theory

As the awaited release date for Chain of Iron approaches and the fandom decends into pure madness, I want to put in my last two cents of overthinking before I stop having coherent thoughts

So we all know this is a second book, and second books bring the absolute pain in the shadowhunter chronicles. There is likely going to be a death from the mains considering the theme of this book, and I am here to throw my theory and reasons as to who I think it might be. Im here to sadly theorize about why I think Christopher Lightwood might not make it past the last hours

1. Tatianas revenge

Right now, Tatiana wants revenge after all our main families: the carstairs, herondales, fairchilds and both branches of the lightwoods. For the lightwood-collins theres barbaras death. For the herondales her daughter has been manipulating their son for over 6 years. Theres a theory that the fairy poison Mathew bought that caused Charlottes misscarriage could be traced back to her. And there are other theories that Elias dissaperance between chog and choi could have something to do with Belial. As of right now the only family who is yet to recieve any permanent damage or tragedy are the lightwood-herondales. Which is really ironic considering its the only family that has two bloodlines Tatiana wants to harm. Not only that, but theyre also the children of who Tatiana blames directly for her fathers death, Gabriel. It seems fishy to me there hasn't been any permanent damage in their family, and I dont think that is gonna last for long

2. The family tree

The family tree states that Grace Cartwright (Aka Grace Blackthorn) marries Christopher Lightwood and theyre the ones who continue the line that leads to Alec and Isabelle. Now Cassandra has said varius times the family tree can be misleading, and I am a firm believer this is one of the misleading ends. Why this lie was created, I'm not sure, but lets analize some things. As of right now there are 5 lightwood children. At least 3 of them can pass down the lightwood name. Of those three, if we take into account that Thomas may not have kids due to being gay, that still leaves two branches of lightwood kids that may continue on. As of present time we only have word of one line, Alec and Isabelles. And Robert isnt said to have any cousins, theres no mention in the future of another lightwood line. So the idea that both Alexander and Christopher have kids is pretty unbelivable considering theres only one lightwood line in the future. Unless Alexander goes on to have only girls and Christopher has only one boy, it seems more likely the family tree is wrong. Isabelle and Alec are confirmed as of the bane chronicles to be decendants of Gabriel lightwood (Isabelle makes a reference to looking up her great great grandfather Gabriel Lightwood and telling magnus he was hot in the last story of the book)

So its already confirmed they're a) the last decendants of the lightwood line and b) that line stems from Gabriel. If we based ourselves solely on the family tree and Christopher being the one carrying the line, that would have been believable enough not to raise any red flags. Christopher IS the son of Grabriel Lightwood, able bodied and seems to have a general attraction to women (I mean, we all know hes aro/ace but lets stick with canon). There isnt anything pointing to him not being able to marry and have kids. Where the red flags raise for me is with Alexander

Alexander wasnt in the original plans for the family tree, he was added when Cassie started writting the last hours. If you take into account his role in chog, there really was no reason to add Alexander Lightwood. He doesnt seem to do anything, hes a 3 year old kid, you can very well delete him from the narrative and nothing would change. So why did Cassandra add him?? Why did she decide to make Cecily and Gabriel have another kid ?

To me, it seems a lot like the baby carstairs situation . The family tree says Alastair carries the carstairs line, Alastair is a gay man so he cant have biological kids, theres another unplaned baby to carry the line. It seems to me Christopher carrying the lightwood line is a lie, and Alexanders role is to carry it in his place. I even found a little info from an ask wayy before chain of gold came out where it said Alexander had green eyes, but in the book she changed it to blue eyes. The exact same shade the modern day lightwoods seem to have. A trait hes more likely to pass down than his lavender eyed brother who supposedly "marries" grey eyed grace

3. Character Arc

Characters in literature need goals, things to work for or work towards through the story in order for them to develop. We call those things character arcs, and it seems we have all ignored how christophers may have indirectly ended. If you read his short story, or just overall analize his character, his main goal is simple. He wants to create something that will help the nephlim through science. His personal character arc is that he wants to prove himself and his skill to the clave using his passion to be a hero.

An arc that could have been expanded all through the series, and ended with him using his skills in the end to defeat belial in some way, proving his passions worth. Through the story we could have had a glimpse at his struggles, how he was put down, the failed attempts, fustrations etc. This all could have rounded christopher as a character, and brought more satisfaction to the end goal of his arc which is proving the value of his science. But instead, his arc in book seemingly already ended? Because he did it, he figured out a way to combine science with his duty and saved the entire enclave from the demon poison. He is now acclaimed a hero for his skills. All the other characters have things to finish going into chain of iron, Christopher doesnt. Why would she end an arc that could have taken through the entire series in just one book? Christopher is the only secondary character with a defined personality and a lack of arc to look foward too in following books. This could all point that his arc was rushed because it was being cut short

4. Lightwood blood

There has been a lot of theories going around about Thomas being the one who gets killed in this book, which is resonable considering the unerving amount of forehsadowing we've had to him getting himself caught up in something. But I raise you this, why would CC be giving us so much assurance that Thomas was going to get hurt if she was going to kill him? Not only would she be reaveling one of her most devastating murders, she would basically be spoiling a very big part of her own book. Thomas death would affect everyone, if she WERE to kill him she wouldnt be indulging us in our Thomas death theory as much as she has. Itd be too expectable, I actually believe that by giving us all the info she has she has more or less confirmed he wont die.

I believe this is all a decoy. Shes giving us foreshadowing towards something bad happening to Thomas, to cover up the very big reality shes planning to kill someone else. Theres a very big chance that for the resurection, theyre gonna need Jesses families blood. Same way Malcom needed blackthorn blood to raise Annabel. As of rightnow there arent any blackthorns (by blood) left alive, the only blood relatives Jesse still had are the lightwoods. So we already know Thomas gets captured by the murderer (referenece to the art), but it is most likely he gets rescued. People speculate he most likely got captured for the resurection Tatianas trying to do, because of his lightwood blood. But if Thomas escapes, Tatiana still needs her families blood. And I'd like to point out this is also where the fact she hasnt taken permanent revenge on the lightwood-herondales would come in. Theres a good chance that if the murders are releated to her, and she cant have Thomas, she wont stop at just Thomas.

5. Story relevance

In all sense of story, Christopher is the perfect candidate to kill. As hard as that is to say: he's a secondary character, who has a well defined personality, loved enough by the fans that there would certainly be a shock factor following his death, important enough to the story that there would be a big impact to the narrative, and interwined enough with the main characters to cause emotional distress in the story. His arc is indirectly done, this author has a history of killing lightwoods, there isnt much to discourage the possibility he might be killed besides the faulty family tree. And as I said, that tree has been stated multiple times to be misleading

Bonus prove

6. Christophers cut-out

Same way were analizing the hell out of a broken spear, why are we not talking about the skull on christophers?

(Sorry couldnt get better quality pics)

The truth is, I hate this theory as much as everyone, Im genuinly hoping chain of iron proves me wrong. But there are 5 deaths comming, and not all of them can be side characters. Cordelia Lucie and James all have main character protection. I already explained why Thomas dying is unlikely. Anna, Ariadne and Alastair have gay protection (and I think some asks about Alastair dying were pretty much answered with a discreet no)

If there are mains dying, Christophers the most likely to go

[tomsrebeleyebrow]

Tom getting kicked in his balls by his child and he tries to act brace but runs inside and you give him an icepack😂

A/N: oh my, I had so much fun writing this! 😂😂😂 and i clearly was in a dad!tom mood today soooo enjoy this one! thanks for the request, nonnie and as always stay safe 💖💗

‘Stay safe, Cheer up’ blurb event

“Alright Nathan, grab firmly onto the bat like this” said Tom behind his four-year-old son, trying to adjust his posture. “Great, now lift your elbow a bit- there you go, buddy!”

Meanwhile you were in the kitchen, preparing lunch and watching your two boys messing around in the backyard of the house. After “teaching” little Nat the basics of soccer, Tom wanted to try baseball as you convinced your husband to put any golf related things aside for a bit (but also for your own sanity).

“Now, imagine someone’s throwing a ball at you” explained Tom, gently holding Nathan’s little arm with both hands.

The little boy stared at his dad, carefully listening to him while sticking his tongue out just like him when he was concentrating. Nathan was the spitting image of Tom but with your eyes, a clever and beautiful mix of wild brown curls with big (e/c) eyes and long eyelashes that made you and Tom (and pretty much anyone else) go soft for the little boy. God you loved your son so much, and now you couldn’t help but be scared about him getting hurt. At least, Tom was there to supervise. Kinda.

“When the ball’s coming at you, you get warmed up to hit it with the bat like this.”

Tom showed Nathan the right motion to do by stepping behind him, gently making the boy swing the bat to the back, before bringing it to the front to hit the imaginary ball. He did the same move a few times, getting it quite fast and winning the approval of his dad. You smiled at how invested your little boy was and so decided to prepare more side dishes to reward him.

“You definitely got the move, Nat!” proudly said Tom, “okay now, show me by yourse-”

As Tom was stepping backward to give his son some more space, Nathan apparently got too excited and didn’t wait enough as the top of the bat made direct contact into Tom’s family jewels. The impact cut Tom’s breath instantly, making him bite his tongue at the same time as every muscles in his body contracted, all nerves sending distress messages to his brain.

“Did I do good, daddy?” Nathan’s soft voice asked, the little boy lowering the bat as he turns towards his father.

Tom’s face was as red as a tomato, his teeth biting into his bottom lips hoping to suppress some pain by creation another one. His eyes screaming pain then focused on his son who was obviously waiting for his answer, and maybe wondering why his dad was making such a funny face.

“Y-You did g-good, b-buddy!” exhaled Tom in one breath, a smile way too wide to be natural but Nathan didn’t seem to notice.

“K-Keep practising a b-bit, d-dad’s comin’ back q-quick!”

Not wasting another second of suffering, the brunette rushed through the garden to then enter the kitchen you were in. Hearing him getting close, you turned to propose him and your son some water but just stopped when you saw your husband’s face.

“Are you alright, Tom?” you asked while approaching him with a confused look as his breathing was getting quite loud and pained, like the unusual redness of his entire face.

Tom raised a hand in front of him, slowly catching his breath as much as possible, before gathering enough strength to talk properly.

“I-I’m… okay, love. I-I think…?”

Then your eyes fell lower and noticed how his other hand was firmly covering his private parts. You frowned, getting even more confused before Tom interrupted your thoughts.

“C-Can you please give me an ice pack, darling? Nat hit me in the balls pretty hard a-and I was not expecting our son to be that strong…”

Then all dots connected. And you couldn’t help the laugh escaping your lips, a loud one that actually brought tears at the corner of your eyes. What a blast.

“D-Darling please, the ice pack!!” whined Tom as he leaned on the wall to rest a little.

You slowly calmed down and went to take an ice pack out of the fridge for your husband, whom modesty had suffered enough. Once you helped him sit on a chair, you remembered Nathan was still outside by himself so you walked to the window to see if he was doing fine. And he definitely was, as you watched your little boy running around the yard still holding the bat, swinging it to chase some monsters or villains like he liked to do.

“I’m glad I’ve got you pregnant before this happens” laughed Tom, still holding the ice pack between his legs, the thump slightly becoming a bit swollen.

You turned to face your husband with a fake shocked expression, hands resting on your hips while you made your way towards him.

“Being cheeky, Holland?” you challenged him, raising an eyebrow followed with a smirk. “Careful, I now know a way to scare your male chauvinism away...”

“Jeez woman, ‘mini Tom’ and my sperm cells suffered enough already” chuckled Tom before sliding his free arm around your waist.

He brought you closer and kissed your belly, well your now three-month pregnant belly that will protect your second child for another six months or so. Tom then nuzzled his face against it like a cat, which made you giggle, content. You slid your fingers through his brown locks, brushing some hair back. Then you heard little footsteps coming your way.

“Mama?”

You saw Nathan appearing from the corner of the room, his hands now free from the bat. Tom didn’t move from his spot but followed the sound of Nathan’s voice.

“Where’s papa?”

“Daddy got a bit hot outside and needed to rest a little” you gently replied, smiling at your son’s understanding expression.

“Dad’s doing super fine” Tom added with a huge smile, trying to hide the ice pack he was still pressing against his crotch. “Alright, taking a break from your baseball training. Time to get some lunch, buddy!”

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[starswornoaths]

To Know Me

This might turn into an AU someday. idk. have Mermaid, the bonus day for wolmeric week, several days after wolmeric week ended, as is on brand of me

Thirty years ago, Ishgard plummeted into the sea. Everyone thought the inhabitants had died.

And then they sent a dignitary to honor the Eorzean Alliance...who also happens to be Serella’s childhood friend, whom she had not seen in decades.

word count: 2,705

Despite having nary a single memory in her childhood that didn’t have Aymeric in it, it was hard to stand at the princely dignitary’s side, after fifteen years, and not feel as though she beheld a complete stranger. For a surety, Serella could see the selfsame image of the mysterious boy by the river she had played with as a child in the visage of the man that now led her gently through the old roads that once led to Ishgard, half reclaimed by nature by now. And yet, even when pressed to explain what she had known about that very same boy, even at the time, she found all of her answers came up far short of satisfactory. Even to her. 

In many ways, especially to her.

He seemed to sense her inner turmoil; for all his secrecy in all the years she had known him, he had an almost preternatural sense for what was on her mind.

“Something weighs on you.” Aymeric noted softly. 

In spite of herself, Serella winced. “Many things weigh on me these days. Warrior of Light business, and all.”

“I could only begin to fathom. But that is not what I mean.”

Electing to study her over elaborating further, he canted his head to better peer into her eyes when she glanced away.

Agitation sparked in her chest. He used to do this when they were children, for gods’ sakes. When she would be upset for whatever childish thing had upset her during play, he would wait patiently, not looking away from her, until she finally felt like she were about to burst, and told him what was bothering her. It had always worked, back when she had nothing to worry about but why he was always so cold when he would come out to play with her and Uthengentle. 

 And again when she snapped her head back to remind him,“We’re not children anymore, you know.”

He seemed unphased, but nodded as if that had decided something for him. “Of course not,” he agreed, and turned his attention back to the road, as she did. “I only hope, in time, you might come to open up to me about—”

“You haven’t.” Serella cut him off before she could stop herself, adamantly not looking at him again.

The sound of his footfalls was always a little heavy— even as children, it felt like he never fully knew the strength of his own legs— so it was immediately obvious when he stopped walking. She stopped walking to turn toward him, and immediately regretted doing so when she saw the flash of pain that crossed his face.

“I have not been...as forthcoming as I might have—”

Ever the diplomat. Something about the tone his voice had taken; that same, cordial tone he had taken with the Alliance at their first meeting. It had that same cautious edge to it, like he were testing out a verbal minefield trying not to trip something that could blow up in his face. It needled at the newly agitated wound she had thought long healed: that for all she owed this man, for how he had saved her village when they were children, even as her dearest friend growing up, even then, he had been as a ghost. Haunting her, long after he had disappeared into the river by their house.

Through the frustration in the moment, an ugly truth pushed itself passed her teeth before she could bite down on it. 

“I thought you dead!” 

Whatever neutral expression Aymeric had been maintaining was gone— he watched her with wide eyes and parted lips, and though the expression might seem slight on anyone else, he looked downright shocked to her.

“You just— it was so sudden,” Serella said miserably, still focusing on the foliage-hemmed cliffs overlooking the sea. “Those animals would have destroyed my village, and gods know how many of us would have died in the process, but you...you spoke to them so strangely...almost like you were singing, and then they left! But—”

“I said I had wanted you to know me.” He supplied, his eyes clouded over in somber remembrance. “You were bleeding so badly— I—”

Swallowing thickly, she nodded hastily, and when he took a moment to clear his throat, she said, “I know. You just vanished into the river so quickly, and after...it was as if you were never there at all. I can’t fault you for needing to leave that day. I can’t even fault you for staying away for a while, but—but at least a letter, something to tell me you were alright— I mourned you for years—”

They had maintained a professional, respectable distance, from the moment that they had reunited at the Alliance meeting. Even after, her arm looped through his was as close as they had been. But when her voice cracked and her vision blurred, Aymeric forewent any reservation he might have had and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, squeezing his arms around her. His hand passed over her hair in wide, warm strokes. “I didn’t...I thought I would not be missed—”

We’re not so different in height, Serella distantly realized when she rested her chin on his shoulder, leaned her head into his neck, and held him just as tightly.

“Ma still asks about you, you know. If I see you in my travels.” Overwhelmed with conflicting emotions— elation warring with irritation, joy clashing with sorrow— she squeezed him back. “You sweet fool, of course you were missed. Are missed. Even if I don’t entirely know who it is I’m missing.”

“You know me.” He said, pulling back suddenly. His palms were as wide as she thought they were, she realized, when he gently cupped her face in them. He implored her, “You always knew me. The only thing I ever hid from you was my home—”

“Only.” 

“I...point taken.” The wild, pleading look in his eyes eased into a wincing smile. “Even were I to tell you, I doubt you would believe me, after all this time.”

“I would try to.” She admitted.

The laugh Aymeric gave as he let go of her felt more like a sigh of resignation. She tried not to think on it, instead pondering why he was beginning to wander closer to the cliff’s edge. 

“When we were young, I never told you of my origin for fear of someone finding out through you that could hurt me.” He said, half to her and half to the sea. Committing his focus to her, he admitted, “Even before now, I hesitated for fear of othering. So I have only three questions, if you would indulge me.”

At her assent, his expression eased into relief. “I thank you. Firstly: if I showed you the truth, would you trust what your eyes see?”

“Of course.” Serella replied, still not sure where this conversation was going.

Something like dread, but not quite so heavy, pulled her stomach down slowly toward the floor, the longer she continued to watch the way he had to lean into the wind, now gusting so loudly she had to step closer to hear his next questions.

“Am I still your friend?” He asked, and that reservation had returned in his gaze.

As if that were ever in doubt. “You’ve always been my friend. It’s as I said when we first reunited: of course I want to know you.”

Even when she was close enough to hear him clearly over the wind, Serella continued her advance, drawn in by the way he beamed at her like the sun at the end of a storm.

“Thank you,” he whispered when she had at last came to his side.

“...You had a third question…?” She gently reminded him when she realized she had been staring at the way his hair caught in the breeze and he had still not said anything.

Aymeric seemed to start at that, but when his eyes refocused on her questioning gaze, he gave her a smile so boyish she was reminded of the few times he had ever pranked her when they were young.

“How’s your swimming, after all these years?” He asked.

A question she was not anticipating. Flustered, she blurted out, “As a fish.”

Aymeric snorted. If she didn’t know better, it was almost derisively.

“I’ll be the judge of that, thank you!” He harrumphed—

—before leaping off the sheer cliff.

For having had no running start, Serella was momentarily shocked by the distance he got out of his jump��� before the rest of her brain caught up with her and she realized what he had just done. It had only been a second’s delay, all told, but it was just long enough for her to miss when she lunged for his hand.

She’d overshot the effort she put behind that lurch; the sudden shift of her weight forward made her stumble those few crucial steps between her and the cliff face, and momentum promptly vaulted her over the side.

The fall was less a concern for her; she had done deep fishing further south off of this coast before. It was the sheer rock wall and the lack of a pulley team to get them out that worried her most as she flipped in freefall to push herself further away from the cliff face once she’d accepted she’d fallen too far to recover without injury. Climbing with Aymeric on her back, worst case scenario, was hardly a situation to look forward to, but in that moment, all she cared about was getting to Aymeric first, to save him from drowning, if that was what it came to. She could worry about the particulars of why he would jump off of a fucking cliff: she thought she heard him crashing through the sea’s surface. She had to be quick. 

Balance righted, she crossed her arms over her chest tightly to protect herself as best she could from the fall, and cast Sentinel upon herself before taking the deepest breath she could manage. The blur of blue and slate made her nauseated. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to mentally parse how far she had plummeted so far. The fall felt like it took eons, but still, she clenched her muscles as tightly as she could the whole way down. 

The impact of the water’s surface still surprised her, but she was glad to keep most of the air she had taken in— and that the water was deep enough where she landed that she was not promptly dashed into the rocks.

“Trust your eyes, and open them, Ellie.” Aymeric said— 

—Said? 

“Look at me.” He pleaded, almost urgently.

Serella’s eyes opened before she had consciously thought of doing so, and even when she furiously blinked away the blur, she found she could not quite comprehend the sight before her.

For before her, was her friend Aymeric, his eyes glimmering like the babbling brooks near Elmvale now with slitted pupils, watched her keenly from beneath inky hair wisping about his head as though he were painted into the sea itself, nearly the same as she had come to know him as...save for the long, broad tail that flared out from his hip bones. It coiled behind him once, almost coquettishly, almost shy of her, even as he drifted close. 

He was reaching for her— and it drew attention to the claws at his fingertips, dark and edged with the same deep blue scales that adorned his tail. They fringed his ears, now flared out at the tips in fins, and highlighted his cheekbones, coated the entirety of his throat like armor. When his full lips parted again, she saw that his teeth had sharpened to blade-sharp points—

His hands were still soft. Still his.

The realization pierced her thoughts when he held her face in his hands again. For all the scales and claws, they still felt like him. Something in that revelation quieted her racing mind. In a flash, those new features settled over her friend’s features.

At last, she knew him.

“Trust me?” He asked— and at her nod, kissed her deep enough her tongue ran along those sharpened teeth.

Logically, Serella should feel cold. She should worry about that tingling feeling in her chest, effervescent and fizzing it’s way up her throat, into her mind, bubbling like a sparkling champagne. But all she could think of was how his face felt beneath her hands when she mirrored his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. Even with the scales, they were smooth, and a rumble left him when she tested their texture beneath her thumbs, further distracting her.

She should also probably ponder how she was being pressed flush to him, when their hands were still very much on each other’s faces, but then her lungs were burning. Then, she gasped while still being underwater, and she had a whole new list of question that all started with:

“How—?” She sputtered, more baffled still that she could.

The tenderness with which he handled her did not abate, though that boyish smile returned— wide enough that it crinkled the corners of his eyes in an endearing way. His eyes gleamed like the sunset on the sea.

“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Aymeric said.

When she opened her mouth to ask why— and the more she was consciously noticing she was actively breathing underwater, the stranger it felt— that grin widened to flash those pointed teeth again. He lightly squished the pads of his thumbs by the corners of her mouth, once. “‘Tis as you said: a fish.”

When she squirmed and started to sink out of his tender grip, she was lifted back into his chest to be held— ah, that tail of his was loosely curled about her thighs, the tapered end near his fins pressing gently into the space between her shoulder blades to adjust her in the waters.

“I only gave you the blessing of water— it permits you breathe water as though it were air.” He explained gently.

She hadn’t been worried about that, not really. Or rather— she hadn’t necessarily thought to, but it was reassuring all the same.

Still, she couldn’t help a chuckle— underwater! May that never lose its novelty!— as she repeated, “Only,” before closing the distance again.

“Ah—” He gasped against her mouth, after a few more moments of drowning in her. “Much as I have dreamt of this…’tis high time I showed you my home.”

Before she could ask what he truly meant— really, what did she even know of the world anymore, after this, Aymeric rearranged her in the gentle embrace of arms and tail alike to gesture with a sweep of his hand to the depth below them. 

At first, Serella could only follow the aim of his outstretched hand, down to the glowing dome jutting out from the seabed. It glittered as a star among the deep blue undercurrents, unmoving. Letting her eyes adjust, she couldn’t help but gasp when she realized what she was looking at.

When Ishgard first sank into the depths, seemingly vanishing overnight, there had been searches, initially. Cursory as they had been at the time, with the threat of the Garlean empire looming and the Calamity that followed not long after, by the time anyone had thought to check any deeper on Ishgard’s fate beyond what the local populace that hadn’t been in the city when it fell had told them, there was little left in resources to properly search. And so, it had fallen into some level of notoriety, almost legend, even only thirty years after its fall.

As a child, she had only seen the very tips of the tallest towers of Coerthas’ city-state from through the treeline, or artful depictions of a dreamlike castle painted in books. It had always looked impossible to her, even so young; a castle, pristine and glittering as a fairytale, somewhere in the real world? Preposterous. And yet...looking at the towering spires, winding, sprialing walkways, and brilliant stonework of that impossible citadel encased in the shield, she knew it at a glance.

Ishgard.