#i just think a lot of claude’s issues would hold him back from a romantic relationship

[edelgardism]

i love academy dimiclaude but i know those idiots have the longest most insane slowburn ever and only even start dating post five year timeskip when claude moves back to almyra

[wraith-caller]

rogier and d twins for ask thing :)

someone asking ME about the d twins and rogier?? as if haha like i talk about them sometimes or something?? ha hahahah

Rogier

favorite thing about them His emotional issues and how they result in this weird kind of duplicity. Yes he's a polite fella, but you're never going to get at much with him besides his academic interests.

least favorite thing about them That he can't die by my blade #sicko

favorite line gotta be the dreambrew line, specifically when offered to him post-blight. I feel like it encapsulates and summarizes him perfectly. Bitter and a bit proud, rejecting attempts at empathy and reading them as insulting instead, but then quickly realizing he's getting a little too 'real'. so he immediately covers it up and reverts back to being polite and gracious.

brOTP Him and Eleonora I think. Their stories just have too much in common for me to not want them to hang out and get shitfaced together.

OTP Rogier/his own demise (or maybe Rogier/Darian, who knows??)

nOTP I dunno if I have one. I don't like Rogier/Devin in romantic terms, but if its vicious hatefucking I'll take it.

random headcanon i'll die before i give up the HC that his family is utterly fucked up and the source of him developing his emotional detachment + his people pleasing ways + the cocktail of misery his set describes him having.

unpopular opinion he's absolutely manipulating the tarnished into helping him. it's often read as him being your genuine friend and growing to trust you, but i feel like everything we know about him would indicate otherwise. he's a good liar, holds others at arms' length, and never talks about himself, only his mission and research. his heaping praise on the PC is less about genuine feelings of kinship and more about him buttering us up to keep us helping him. this is not to say he secretly hates us or something. but he's also not the most emotionally healthy person, and i think it'd take a lot more digging before he'd ever make a deeper connection with someone, certainly more time than the tarnished spends with him. he's not just a 'you have to have this many xp points to unlock my tragic backstory' he's a 'you need those xp points to unlock anything from me that isnt a polite smile and a gracious compliment to keep everything running smoothly'.

song i associate with them

Tongues & Teeth by the Crane Wives Distrust by Aibhe Reddy Wolves of the Revolution by The Arcadian Wild Claude's Girl by Marika Hackman

favorite picture of them

im not here to deny any allegations made against me.

Darian

favorite thing about them That in a land full of liars, cheats, killers, and cutthroats, he's pretty honest and straightforward. When he asks something of us, he does it on our terms, and he doesn't press us.

least favorite thing about them his haters tbh I don't know. this isn't me denying his negative traits like his devotion to the GO blinding him, because I enjoy that about him. I like my favs character flaws, they'd be boring otherwise.

favorite line am i allowed to pick all of them?? his voice is hot. maybe this one where he says "You haven't gone to see Gurranq yet? No rush, you do as you please." It's nice being shown patience lol but also joke about Gurranq starving to death is so corny, and I love him for it.

brOTP Devin feels like the obvious choice, but I'd also like to suggest Juno Hoslow or Nepheli Loux. Juno and Darian feel like that, in spite of their vastly different backgrounds, they'd have something in common being the older brother. He and Nepheli, I've honestly got no canon reason for it other than I like them together. I think they have similar dispositions with their kind of serious and stoic natures, but also a desire for justice(though its debatable whether their senses of justice would mesh completely...depends on Nepheli's perspective on the dead).

OTP Darian/Rogier, no surprises, next

nOTP Hmm hard to say. I guess Darian/Fia is hard to picture, but it doesn't make me feel like I wouldn't read it lol

random headcanon I think that, even after being accepted by the Golden Order, he and Devin are still largely ostracized by other knights and hunters, and mostly still only have each other. He still deeply values the Order for taking them, because it's a far cry from having nothing at all, and now they at least have a purpose and a place.

unpopular opinion the fact that i like him at all is apparently an unpopular opinion lol But really I guess I just don't buy that he's a callous, heartless, empty-headed fascist. I was told the other day that the "whole point" of his character was his fanaticism, and I think this is a pretty big misreading of his story, because there is way more interesting stuff to be said about him and fia specifically than 'he's a fanatic'. That is a piece of who he is, but not the entire point.

song i associate with them Dorian by Agnes Obel Before I Sleep by Marika Hackman

favorite picture of them

probably this pic elden_things took of him.

Devin

favorite thing about them his absolutely unhinged and feral behavior that runs so counter to darian's calmer, stoic demeanor. it's another expression of dualities. they share the same soul, just across two bodies, so there is this weird thing where they are at once distinct entities, but also the same. and i think the contrast in their behavior serves to illustrate that.

least favorite thing about them that we get so very little about him, and nothing of him prior to darian's death. so it is hard to judge much of his character when all we know of him is in this freshly traumatized and disoriented state.

favorite line "Ah, hello. The rotten witch is dead." It just drives me bonkers how you can HEAR the crazed grin in his voice. Very well delivered line.

brOTP It's hard to see Devin befriending much of anyone but Darian, but again, this may be because of how we don't really know what he's like before Darian's death broke him.

OTP Not sure I have one for him.

nOTP Devin/Rogier or Fia/Devin. I think he'd blame the former for Darian's death. And the latter, well lol

random headcanon He resents himself and imagines he's a kind of burden on Darian. Being he is the 'younger', he may have an irrational notion that, had he not existed, and Darian had been born alone, there'd be no curse and Darian could've had a normal life.

unpopular opinion He's not a misogynist and I think it's absurd to make such a claim based off like one minute of character interaction, and fresh off the heels of his brother's murder, no less. I think people try to make it a moral imperative for you to dislike a character rather than it just being a personal preference. Just saying 'I don't like them bc they suck and I hate them' is less a powerful argument than 'he's clearly a misogynist so you should hate him or you're bad and excusing misogyny'. It's ridiculous.

song i associate with them The Friend by Meryem Aboulouafa

favorite picture of them

i liked this action shot i was able to get of him fighting one of the gargoyles.

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

oooh could you do protective headcanons for the golden deer too??🥺

{I most certainly can. Y’all know I love these tropes so keep ‘em coming. Hope it’s to your liking! :3}

Claude: 

6/10

Neutral, with just a tad bit of nerves. 

Look. Claude has bigger fish to fry than what you’re gallivanting on about during the day. The man has a dream to catch with literally a country and 1/3 (woot woot alliance) on his shoulders. 

First, the future. Then, you. Can’t have a life together if there is no place for it to be had, yeah? 

This doesn’t mean that he never worries about you. Quite the contrary, if he begins then he can’t stop. So he doesn’t tinker the thought. 

Instead he has his most trusted allies at your back. During the Academy days you were left under Hilda’s watchful eye, and during the war you are always nearby (courtesy of matchmaker Prof.Byleth) 

Once he puts a ring on it you’ll have guards. No problem. 

He also trusts your own capabilities. One doesn’t train every day to walk out with nothing  

Also

You make me laugh if you think Claude believes you’ll ever cheat on him 

Not that he’s cocky okay, maybe a bit  but no one would dare put the moves on “The Master Tactician’s” s/o

Any suitor coming your way is peasant fodder. If not to him, than to your own personal retaliation. 

Yupp, nothing to worry about. You’ve got it covered. He’ll only step in if you physically come ask him 

and with a bit of teasing he’ll comply 

However, Claude is very sensitive to illness for obvious reasons. This is why he’s listed at a six. He always insists on tasting your food

It was a gimmick at first, and in the beginning he’d make banter to sneak a bite while you remain all unknowing of his true intentions 

He’ll be damned if someone ever poisons you. They won’t ever get the chance

Ignatz: 

9/10

Let us face it. Iggy is a worry-wart.

He freaks out over the most minuscule of situations. The poor lad nearly gets a heart attack at least once a day 

And no, i’m not just referring to his pre-timeskip self. Ignatz may have grown a head taller, got a backbone, fancy harem artist pants--but no, he did not lose his inner anxious zealot. That trait will cling until the day he dies sadly 

Having you at his side only makes things worse (in a good way. The trouble is worth it to him) 

Especially if you’re more of the risky sort. Expect him to mother hen if you cause ruckus around the monastery. He can and will lecture you to death (only to apologize and hide away after)

Now not only does he worry about his own issues, but also yours. I swear Ignatz acts like you are his second being. If someone scolds you, hurts you, etc. he acts like they did it to him 

Can be a bit dramatic, not gonna lie. He gets so worked up that his ears go red. Like, you can just t e l l he’s holding so much back because he doesn’t want to go too far

Don’t even get me started on if someone tries to make a move on you 

He becomes t o r n. It isn’t his place to tell you who to hang around, but ohmygodwhatifyourealizeheisn’tgoodenough 

iggy no, bad iggy. don’t think like that

He feels threatened so easily and not many would peg him the jealous type. He is, but hides it very well. 

If need be he will talk out his feelings with you. That’s something noteworthy of Ignatz: he uses his words. He may find communicating such thoughts aloud difficult, but if he truly is concerned then he will be honest with you.  

Raphael: 

10/10

Raphael believes in trust. He expects you to be honest and to not keep anything important secret. In return he’ll do the same. 

This is why he doesn’t care if someone is flirting. He could give less of a thought on gossip, rumors, or anything really. That effort can go towards training 

He truly, honest to Sothis, trusts you with all his heart. There isn’t any time to spend doing otherwise. Raph just wants to live happily and that means having you by his side 

Nor does he feel intimidated by anyone else either. I’m not saying that he reeks of resolved confidence, but Raph believes that you love him. Love topples any mindless flirting that other people throw your way 

but let’s get one thing straight 

If anybody, and I mean ANYBODY, tries to hurt you 

This guy’s having them for b r e a k f a s t. Pounded, sliced, and Smoked. The same way he liked his bacon. 

You are his family. Raphael protects his family, and those he cares about. 

You will never be alone. Goddess if you cry and someone else is the cause then he will take action. One fault of Raph is that while he’s a sweetie, he doesn’t think before acting a lot. Similar to Caspar, he just goes for it 

It takes a lot to get underneath Raph’s skin. 

In short: do not f*ck with his loved ones. He would take on Nemisis himself mono-e-mono if it meant protecting them 

Lorenz: 

8/10

Y’all going to sit there and try to convince me that Lorenz Hellman Gloucester doesn’t try to establish dominance? 

Key word: try

He’s quickly shut down

“Lorenz if you tell one more person that we’re betrothed, I swear that I’ll shave off your eyebrows” - You, one month post-confession 

Saying that you’re his perfect match is no excuse. Considering all the preaching he does on noble humility, you’d think he would want your private affairs off the notice board? 

It doesn’t take long for your peers to start complaining. Claude finds his behavior entertaining, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t beg you to make him shut up 

Lorenz is also a bit old fashioned. He doesn’t like the idea of you fighting more than necessary

Once again, shut down 

Best way to deal with Lorenz is to let him think he has his way, then just do whatever. He gets upset, pouts, spouts his normal lecture, but then relents. All in due process with him 

Never thought I’d say this, but perhaps requesting not to be in the same troop together is the best option? You’d think he would fight better with an S tier relationship at his side? Nahhh. HE TAKES YOUR KILLS IT IS NOT FAIR 

He gives too much attention to what you’re doing, and not the enemy. Best if you stay separated

Ugh pray no one hits on you in front of him. Just... *screams* I don’t think anyone will, just to avoid him getting defensive. I swear the other deer take extensive preventative measures to avoid it.  

Hilda:

6/10

C’mon. This is Hilda we’re talking about 

You two most likely grew closer because she “asks” you for help so often 

Just like Claude, she has bigger fish to fry. The last type of person she wants to be is Holst (she loves him though don’t misinterpret that)

She does worry though 

Not enough to make her take the front lines, but a smidgen. Just to where you’ll get periodic check in’s 

Nothing obvious. A simple “what’s going on?”  as she inquired about your well-being 

A precarious scan-over as she checks for any new scars

She does get jealous though. There’s an entire castle full of available people and someone chooses to flirt with you? 

That just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the “once something is taken it becomes more desirable,” saying has some truth 

She’s quite the clinger. You’ll just be walking and suddenly, BOOM, bubble-gum pink arm-candy in the corner of your vision

Once you two bypass the ‘puppy-love’ early stages, she changes. 

Despite her negligence beforehand, she does become overprotective   

Will fight if needed. Say you have a paralogue? Just so happens she was nearby and wants to tag along 

She also has to protect you from Holst. My dear, you cannot do that yourself. Brotherly wrath beseeches you, my god. Run dude run 

Marianne: 

3/10

A possessive streak is nonexistent in her blood. Such thing is a personal fear of her’s. Marianne refuses to conform to the stereotypes associated with her crest 

However, she does believe that one day you may leave her side. Marianne isn’t the most confident person. She...doubts 

Often does she wonder if you’re there solely to make her hurt. To love her and then one day disappear without a trace 

Anxieties like so will not go away overnight. She will not seek reassurance, which makes her more uncommunicative than most partners 

but no one is perfect. Neither are you. All you personally can do is politely decline any advances, and do your best to let Marianne know that you love her 

She isn’t particularly protective in any other sense either. She’ll heal you if needed, but special attention isn’t there

Marianne treats being a healer like how an ER doctor operates. On the field, everyone is equal. She is needed everywhere and cannot stay by your side. Otherwise lives will be lost, and that won’t be good for her conscience.

The same goes for all other aspects. If you’re gone, then you’re gone. If you’re sick, then you’re sick. She cannot give you special attention and acts in accordance to severity of the situation. Patients cannot be weighed in value via personal bias 

She has a surprisingly strong sense of self control, let me tell ya.

Lysithea:

7/10

She...does not have much time. Entering a romantic relationship was not a possibility that crossed her mind once before you 

Why bother when the ending is certain? Why leave someone brokenhearted, or a widow? Why give herself that extra stress when she’s already under so much as it is?

You can’t blame her for being extra cautious. While her life may be hanging on a string, that doesn’t mean yours has to end 

After some time she develops a resolve. If needed she would gladly lay her life down if it meant you could live another day 

A problematic conclusion. You two will argue often over how she cannot trade a ‘life for a life,’ just because of her special circumstances. Her mind always enforces that it’s the logical decision, and has trouble recognizing her own value

I suppose that comes with being a know-it-all, huh? Once her mind is set then there is no changing it 

Despite her brain sending all the signals that acting on jealousy is wrong...well, we know Lysithea 

She won’t come out and say she gets protective for your sake. Apparently anyone flirting with you already had business with her

Business that miraculously unfolds once you leave. Then suddenly they no longer have an interest? 

What’d she do? Threaten to shove a thoron up their rectum? No one knows 

Leonie: 

9/10 

She is the mom who’d create a strict morning routine for her kids to follow before school 

Or a thorough itinerary on a vacation 

Not a moment or bullion to be wasted! 

Cannot express enough how much this girl cares. She can become annoying from all the interference, but you’ll never become a bum with her in your life 

You might want to ask her to butt out. Remind her that you’re not one of the kids from her village, and that you can handle yourself 

Sometimes you’ll joke and say “yes mom,” because she gets b o s s y 

Which will earn you either: a) a glare, or b) her playing along and confusing everyone else 

So in a sense, yeah she’s protective. Overbearing in her own Leonie way 

Not the jealous type. Leonie doesn’t look at what other people have, and instead focuses on her own life. If someone wants to shamelessly throw themselves at your feet then that’s their issue. You know better than to cheat on her 

I can see her complaining to the captain or to Byleth though. Why waste time when the issue can easily be solved? Obviously someone with the time to flirt has time to do training drills  

Bonus! Cyril: (because during my first play-through I kept expecting GD to take him under their wing. They did not, and Nintendo missed out.) 

5/10

He personally hates being treated like a child. When someone doesn’t take him seriously Cyril’s self restraint goes b o o m 

So he won’t do that to you. You’re a capable individual and that’s that. Nothing more for him to interfere with 

His only protective streak lies when you’re incapable of doing things yourself. Aka: injured, ill, resting, etc. 

He’ll nag you for not being careful, but it’s not hard to miss the tears pricking his eyes 

He’s also very perceptive towards break-in’s. Many people have tried to kidnap/assassinate people of higher standing. He’s witnessed many attempts towards lady Rhea. I see him taking night shifts for patrol often, and after the war the habit sticks with him.

He takes a lot onto his shoulders often. It’s not bad. Being dedicated is an admirable trait, yet if you’re down someone will have to stop him from picking up the slack. 

He’s no healer, and leaves that job to the professionals. However he doesn’t want anyone to disturb you with the work your missing. So he’ll do it in your stead 

Manuela lets him stay in the infirmary past visitation hours. Mostly because he’s so busy during the day that he can’t come by 

He won’t return to his room those nights. He prefers to be by your side, just in case. 

Other than this type of situation- no, he’s not protective in the slightest.  

[achorusofcleris]

How about Bernadetta, Felix, and/or Hilda? A good kid from each house 😁 (And Constance if you wanna add the ashen wolves too!)

They’re all good kids, and I would be happy to talk about all of them under this “read more.”

Bernie

favorite thing about them: While it could have been executed better, I appreciate that we were given a reason why she is so reclusive. Also she’s a crit machine.

least favorite thing about them: Her supports can be a bit repetitive and her issues could have been handled better.

favorite line: This one about carnivorous plants: “They just sit there, nice and still, and wait for their dinner to come to them! How great is that? And they all look so unique too!” What a mood.

brOTP: Dorothea or Alois. I also like her friendships with Seteth, Petra, and Leonie.

OTP: Probably either Ferdie or Yuri, though she has quite a few good ships.

nOTP: Ingrid? I guess? Idk, I just feel sort of uncomfy when reading their supports, though nowhere near to the degree of certain others that aren’t relevant here.

random headcanon: She writes dirty fanfics in her spare time.

unpopular opinion: I’m kind of okay with her Sylvain support ending at B level since you could argue that Sylvain genuinely appreciates her as a person and doesn’t want to hurt her.

song i associate with them: “Time to Seize the Day” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is pretty much the Bernie anthem imo.

favorite picture of them:

This picture from her Hubert support chain always cracks me up.

Felix

favorite thing about them: His character development in each route is really well done.

least favorite thing about them: He can be a dick sometimes

favorite line: “Fine. I'll help you...in my father's stead. But in return, you must win. You know that, don't you...Dimitri?”

brOTP: Ashe, Mercedes, and Seteth.

OTP: Either Annette or Dimitri. His support with Annette is really cute as it brings out the “dere” side of him that you don’t see often. As for Dimitri, he obviously cares about him more than he would like to admit.

nOTP: Dedue probably. I haven’t seen their entire support chain in a long time, but that c-support is just really uncomfortable.

random headcanon: He often attends choir practice. Not to participate, he just likes the music.

unpopular opinion: This is probably a more recent one, but I don’t think the “go find a husband” line in his Ingrid support was meant to be sexist, though I will admit it definitely comes across that way in execution. Felix’s older brother died fighting for Faerghus, a country that is chivalrous to a fault, and he’s witnessing Ingrid following in Glenn’s footsteps during their B-support when she goes over battle tactics. Felix is a character who sucks at expressing his feelings, and I mean really sucks at it, so rather than telling Ingrid that he doesn’t want her to end up like Glenn, he puts his foot in his mouth and says something he shouldn’t. I’m not going to fault anyone for hating their b-support due to this moment alone, because yeah, it’s definitely uncomfy, but it makes sense given what we know about Felix as a character.

song i associate with them: Any of Annette’s songs.

favorite picture of them:

It’s hard to find cutscene pictures of the expendable units, so here’s a tsundere Santa.

Hilda

favorite thing about them: Her battle quotes are hilarious. Also her friendship with Claude is fantastic.

least favorite thing about them: Her views on Almyrans are uncomfy.

favorite line: “I'm not going to hold back. I can't let down my dear old Claude.”

brOTP: Lysithea, Annette, and Seteth

OTP: Either Claude or Caspar.

nOTP: Cyril, though it’s definitely more in the “disappointment” category than the “dislike” one. Unlike say, Dedue/Ingrid, these two actually had a history together which created a lot of baggage, and the fact that it was never touched upon in their supports is a huge missed opportunity.

random headcanon: The reason she and Caspar had many children in their paired ending is partly that Hilda knew that pregnancy could get her out of work.

unpopular opinion: Despite my least favorite thing about her being her views on Almyrans, I will concede that they don’t bother me as much as they could have due to Hilda being framed as ignorant (she’s friends with Claude, who is half-Almryan, and he’s nothing like the stories she’s heard). Are those views uncomfortable? You bet, but they’re supposed to be. Could they have been handled better? Also yes, but Hilda’s problematic views on Almyrans are nowhere near as bad as some of the other takes I’ve seen in the game.

song i associate with them: I honestly can’t think of anything rn.

favorite picture of them:

Constance

favorite thing about them: Her situation is definitely unique when compared to similar FE characters (like Clair or Maribelle) in that she was born into a noble house, but now she’s trying to restore it. Also, she’s hilarious with her magical inventions and occasional literal-mindedness, but also brilliant in terms of her ability to read people.

least favorite thing about them: Her dual personalities could have been handled better.

favorite line: "Hapi is a dear friend. I won't permit you to call her a ‘stray cat’ or anything so insulting. We shall continue to remain steadfast friends, even after my title is restored!”

brOTP: The rest of the Ashen Wolves (though Hapi is more borderline than the other two in terms of shipping them romantically or platonically). Also Mercedes, I love their sisterly bond.

OTP: Jeritza

nOTP: Aelfric, I guess?

random headcanon: After making the licorice boots, she experimented with making boots out of other food items.

unpopular opinion: I’m not sure if I have one since I don’t really see many takes about her character. Maybe what I have under my “least favorite” thing, but idk.

song i associate with them: “The Shackled Wolves,” though “Funny Footsteps” is another one that makes me think of her.

favorite picture of them:

[nowis-scales]

Pre-Verdant Wind Endgame Update

An Update on the ol’ Three Houses Verdant Wind playthrough, since I’ve been neglecting documenting my journey properly for a bit:

• My current placement is Ch.20, so I’m only a few chapters away from the last one. It’s kind of a weird thought because I feel like I just hit the timeskip, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will feel well-paced out. In terms of writing, I’m known for being a bit of a stickler for good flow. It’s why all of my fanfics take so long to update! I have to make sure my flow is perfect.

• The fact that they have been giving background information on characters has been so amazing. Learning that Raphael’s sister’s name was Maya and getting to hear about her has made me irrationally happy.

• Also, just generally, holy shit people sleep on Raphael and Leonie. Raphael often gets shoved to the side, and Leonie is treated like her only trait is liking Jeralt, and for me it all just culminates in the question of “so did you like... not do their support conversations, or...?” Seriously. I think Leonie might be one of my favourites in the game so far, and I adore Raph. He’s so sweet!

• The Flame Emperor reveal for some reason gave me “and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids” vibes. I liked the venom Cherami Leigh had there as Rhea, too. I think I read from someone that in Japanese, Rhea’s actually super calm in that scene. I don’t think I have a preference towards the anger or the calmness, honestly. I think I just liked how smoothly the emotion came across. Plus, I’m a little biased, I’m fond of Cherami as an actress. I haven’t found a performance from her I haven’t enjoyed yet.

• I was really confused as to why Seteth showed up in my house after Chapter 12ish I think? I wasn’t expecting him to just be there after the paralogue, but I definitely wasn’t unhappy. I do like him! I just never use him, because I recruited Bernadetta and Sylvain, so I kinda have a full roster going... 

• I was also confused in the Gronder Field fight because I couldn’t see what people meant about Bernie getting set on fire. Then I remembered Bernie wasn’t on the hill because she was with me. I recruited her. Whatever this proves about me, I don’t know.

• I did end up beating Marianne’s paralogue! It actually wasn’t as hard once I levelled her up a bit and classed her to a Holy Knight. The big thing with her in that paralogue seems to be that she needs a decent amount of power and movement to really get by, so that’s what I’d recommend for anyone else playing it. Using rescue will also probably help you out, but I tried to avoid using Flayn there because it’s kinda easy to kill her. 

• Admittedly, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the support system. In some ways, I think it’s better that not everybody has that forced S-Support. Oftentimes we were either squeezing a love confession out of two characters who were unlikely to have one, or characters with decent potential might get snubbed because their connection was less apparent to the writers (and unfortunately that still does happen in the case of same sex S-supports in 3H). Having the conversations only go to a certain point is helpful, but at the same time, the inherent romantic undertones of several of the A-supports do make things feel strange. If it weren’t for the fact that I know characters can have only one partner as their paired ending, I would think lots of them were in a polycule. Nothing wrong with that as long as everyone’s comfortable, but because I know they can only have one person in their ending, I find it pretty jarring.

• I think it was interesting that they went to do the fights for breaking into Enbarr and then taking down Edelgard back-to-back. I’m glad they did, honestly, because while I don’t usually like to do two fights next to each other unless I’m grinding, it doesn’t mess with the suspension of disbelief. It would be stupid to break into Enbarr and then just run right back to the Monastery.

• I have still not completed the randomized quest from just after the timeskip. You know, the one I was yelling about with the weeds? Still haven’t gotten any weeds. I think I might just have to give up on it. It’s hilarious that my luck is so good that it’s actually bad.

• The fact that Byleth is praised for having more of a personality than Corrin is the biggest slice of bullshit I have heard from this fanbase in a long time. Byleth is literally designed to be a silent protagonist with nothing going on with them – they even came up with a story reason for why Byleth is such a blank sack of meat! In the kindest way possible, I don’t think most people realize that they are implementing whatever personality they want onto Byleth. Personally, I don’t find anything relatable about being stoic, calm, and not inclined to anyone (until plot happens, of course). I’ve always been the overly enthusiastic and caring type, with a tendency towards nervousness. Trying to relate to Byleth was like trying to relate to the experiences of a cactus. While I definitely don’t think Corrin is the strongest of the modern FE avatars – that award goes to Robin – they still had some things I could understand and relate to. If you’re not the type of person who loves the cool, “I fight for my friends” types like Ike, though, you’re likely to have a hard time relating to Byleth. If you can manage that type of character, then you’re more likely to have present them with a personality of their own.

• Actually, while we’re on the topic of Byleth getting praised for things Corrin got dragged for, the fact that Corrin is still cited as the character who receives the most “player pandering” is ridiculous too. Do a lot of characters like Corrin? Yeah! But most of them who do are deeply traumatized in a way that inclines them specifically towards Corrin. The Nohr siblings cling to each other due to their abusive childhood, the Hoshido siblings all in some capacity seem to suffer from abandonment issues (oldest) and/or attachment issues (youngest), and the official foursome of retainers have also had some sort of abandonment struggle in their past (forced separation from parents, murdered loved ones). While the cast of Three Houses needs therapy and is traumatized too, there is no reason why the inclination moves towards Byleth. Bernadetta feels safe around them just because. Edelgard is obsessed with them just because. Marianne learns to feel better about herself just because. Why are there so many exceptions for Byleth, and so many just without explanation? I don’t hate Byleth by any means, but these two things make my opinion of them lower than it would be otherwise. It kinda sucks that my image of Byleth is tainted by the fanbase’s hypocrisy, but I know I can’t have everything.

• The gameplay overall for 3H has been pretty fun! I love the addition of the Demonic Beasts, as annoying as they are to fight. There’s a charm to having some of your stronger units working to take on the soldiers blocking the path, meanwhile your army’s more intermediate strikeforce works to keep them safe by bringing down the beast. Once you get the hang of it, gameplay with the new additions is fun. The only thing I don’t use is Divine Pulse, but that’s because I’m on Casual and usually when I want to rewind, I want to just plain start over. So I use the old “turn off and start again” trick.

• Edelgard’s death scene was actually pretty good. I must confess that I went out of my way to avoid Edelgard in the academy phase, as I knew how hard the game was going to hit me with the “she’s obessed with you” thing and I wanted to see how wonky it would feel if I didn’t speak to her much. I was right that it’s incredibly awkward in terms of writing when you haven’t spent the time with her, but surprisingly, her death scene still holds up. Good voice acting, animation, and music. My only beef with it is something they have done in FE before, and it’s something I wish they’d stop. If a character is dying, you either let them have a few last breaths after their last lines or you kill them mid-sentence. It’s probably just a personal nitpick, but hearing them get their last word out without struggle and then immediately die just makes me aware of how badly the directors wanted the whole line to be in there. I can totally understand it but I find it so troublesome in the grand scheme of things that I just can’t.

• I also like that in the fight against Edelgard, they tried to make it ambiguous who had the key. Immediately as it told me that, I decided it was Petra and ended up being right. I was kind of sad to kill her though, to be honest. I don’t know her well, but she’s probably one of the Eagles I like more.

• The fight against the Death Knight at Fort Merceus ended up being surprisingly pretty easy. In fact, while I paved the way for most of my army, Nader ended up making it to the Death Knight just as Claude did. He did most of the damage – I’m not kidding, the Death Knight was down to 1 HP – and then Claude took care of the rest. It was a weird fight. They said impregnable a lot leading up to it.

• I understand why they kill Dimitri off-screen at the Gronder Field fight, but I was admittedly a bit disappointed. Again, Salli Saffoti does a good job doing Hilda’s voice for it, but I would have liked to see it animated. It was also nice to have that little rapport with Dedue! If only we could have allied with the Lions a bit more. Everyone always says Claude and Edelgard have similar goals; however, it’s their methods that differ. Claude seems to align himself a bit closer to Dimitri, so I’m usually a bit confused by the idea that Edelgard and Claude would work together. I was spoiled on enough to know her background and story, and even so, I think that her methodology is just a bit too violent for his tastes. But that’s just my two cents.

 Alright. I think that’s about all I can drain out of my brain from the top of my head. With that, I am off to kill the slithers! We’ll see how this goes. Wish me luck!

[fandomsfeelsandfanfics]

The Arrangement, Part X/// Draco Malfoy x Reader

SUMMARY: It was the last day of your trip. It was almost perfect. Almost.

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

WARNING(S): drinking, draco being a dick again lmao, angst angst angst

SERIES MASTERLIST | PLAYLIST

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The last night of your trip brought you to one of the very last places in Paris you’d ever wanted to be at. Draco brought you to one of his favorite night clubs, a magical one. As soon as you entered you saw a crowd of all different species moving on the dance floor.

You were nearly knocked down by a goblin. He issued you an apology in French, that you could barely hear over the music.

Draco’s grip tightened around your waist as he led you further into the club. “Draco, I think maybe we should just head back. We can have a lazy night, rent a movie or something.”

He kissed you on the temple but didn’t stop walking. “We can have all the lazy nights we want once we’re back in England but right now I want to show you all that Paris has to offer.” You didn’t see what this club had to “offer”.

“Draco...”

“It’ll be fine, just a few drinks and then we can turn back.” A few drinks were what you were worried about. You’d managed to keep Draco out of trouble this long. It had been easier than you expected and you didn’t want that to change now. You had a bad feeling about this.

But what was the harm of a few drinks? That was a normal amount, the amount that casual drinkers could typically handle. You looked up at Draco. He looked nothing like the man you’d seen almost two months ago in Narcissa’s ballroom. He looked healthy and happy. And you knew you could trust him. So dispite your uneasiness, you smiled and continued into the noisy club.

-

You kept up with Draco on drinks. You had only had two so far but man were they strong. You weren’t drunk but you were definitely tipsy. Tipsy enough to be giggling and tilting slightly to one side when you walked.

Draco seemed to have a slightly higher tolerance than you but even he laughed at all of the stupid jokes you made. If you were sober, you could tell by the look in his eye that it had less to do with the alcohol and more to do with the fact that he was absolutely enthralled by you. There were a few times when he’d stopped laughing far before you and he just got a chance to look at you.

When you were finally finished laughing, he leaned into you. “How about you get one more drink and then we go?” It was barely past 11 but that was just fine by you.

“Okay.” You stood up a little too quickly and almost came tumbling right back down. Draco’s arms came up to catch you before you did. You giggled slightly as he brought you back down to your seat.

“How about I get a drink and I’ll get you a water?” You nodded, that was probably an excellent idea.

Draco disappeared into the crowd and within a few seconds his seat was filled by some man you didn’t recognize. He smiled at you and you had to admit he was handsome, in a way you couldn’t quite pinpoint. Maybe he was half-Veela.

“Hello,” he said. He had a thick French accent that almost made you laugh. “I’m Claude.”

“(Y/N).” You stuck out your hand for him to shake but instead he brought it up to his mouth and gently kissed your knuckles. You supposed that’s how most people in France did it.

“What brings you to France?” He was sitting close to you but not uncomfortably close. You thought you’d never get used to how “friendly” French people were. It was always kisses on the cheek and standing too close when talking. It was charming but not quite what you were used to.

“Oh just a trip to get away from everything.”

“Well, France is the place to do that, no?” He laughed and you did the same. “Beautiful city, especially when you have someone to share it with.” Your mind drifted to Draco as you murmured in agreement. “How long are you staying?”

“This is my last day actually.” His lips turned down in a frown.

“A shame.” His hand came to rest on your knee and for the first time during the conversation you became actually uncomfortable around him. “But I’m glad to have made your acquaintance and the night is still young, no?” You could feel his hand starting to move and you grabbed it harshly.

You were sure your nails would leave a mark but you couldn’t bring yourself to be too concerned. You were trying to make a point. “No actually, I was just about to go.”

You dropped his hand and watched it retreat to his side. His other hand tried to wrap around your waist and you hopped up in surprise. “Please don’t touch me.” He grabbed your arm and tried to pull you back down.

“Relax.” You tried to pull your hand away but his grip tightened. You felt someone standing right behind you. Before you could turn around, you already knew who it was.

“I’d let go of her if I were you,” Draco said firmly. His voice sounded deeper than usual. Claude immediately dropped your arm. And you turned to look at Draco.

“Thank you, let’s go.” You grabbed his hand but he wasn’t looking at you. He had his eyes fixed on Claude and there was something dangerous in them. Something you hadn’t seen before.

“Just a second.” He stepped past you and let go of your hand. “Who are you?” He was standing so close to Claude, you expected his breath could’ve fluttered the hairs on his head.

“Claude, et toi?” Claude didn’t look afraid. If anything, he looked cocky and unapologetic.

“I’m Draco and I want you to listen very closely Claude.” Draco grabbed the front of his shirt in his fist. “You need to be very careful about touching women who don’t want to be touched. In fact, if you ever do that again, I’ll be sure to curse you from here straight to China. Are we clear?” Claude didn’t reply, he just nodded. Draco smoothed the front of his shirt.

“Have a good night.” Draco returned to your side and wrapped his hand around your hip low enough that anyone looking would perfectly understand that you hadn’t come alone.

Seeing how smoothly Draco handled the situation, made you smirk a little to yourself. You were just glad you had left without making a scene.

You heard Claude mumble something in French. You hoped Draco hadn’t heard it and you hoped even more that if he did he’d either ignore it or wouldn’t understand it.

“Pute.” It was just barely audible over the rest of the noise in the room. But Draco tensed and stopped walking. His grip on your hip tightened slightly. You looked up at him. That look was back in his eyes but now it was more intense. It looked like his eyes were aflame.

He slowly turned over his shoulder. “What was that?”

“Elle est une pute.” Before you could grab him or say anything, Draco was out of your reach. He grabbed Claude so quick you didn’t have time to catch up with him before his fist had already connect with Claude’s jaw. The commotion was so loud, lots of people turned to look.

“Draco,” you screamed. Claude seemed just as surprised as everyone else. He didn’t even have his hands up to shield his face when Draco’s fist came down again.

Now his nose was bleeding. Draco punched him again and there was blood on his fist. You ran to Draco, wrapping an arm around him and trying to hold him back. He allowed you to pull him back a few steps. “Have you had enough?” Claude was how bleeding from his nose as well as his lip. He looked dazed as he looked down at the blood on his hand.

Then he looked up at Draco and spit blood on his shirt. Draco broke free of your arms, knocking you to the ground. He didn’t listen when you yelled his name. He didn’t bother looking back at you.

He pulled Claude forward by his shirt and stuck his wand under Claude’s chin. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t use this.” He was so angry, he was actually tempted to hospitalize this asshole. He deserved it, Draco knew that much.

“Draco.” You tried to call him one more time. Your voice shook slightly. He finally looked over his shoulder at you. You almost flinched when he looked at you that way then his eyes softened. He looked like himself again but you still looked scared. That was all he needed. He let go of Claude and took a step towards you. You retreated from him.

“Love.” You took another step away from him. “Come on, let’s go.” He reached out for you but before he could grab you, you had already apparated.

He cast one last warning look at Claude, who still looked too smug for Draco’s liking but Draco knew it was best not to let his temper get the best of him. His temper and the alcohol. He lifted his wand and apparated.

When his feet touched solid ground again, he was in the hotel room. You were standing in front of him, looking around. There were multiple giant bouquets of roses resting on every solid surface in the main area of the hotel room. “What is this,” you asked.

“Tonight was supposed to be romantic, I kinda messed that up didn’t I?” He chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.

You turned over your shoulder to look at him and there were tears in your eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, you said, “Draco, What the hell was that?” Your voice was quiet but it shook with anger.

Draco’s eyes left yours for a moment. “I got a bit carried away...”

“I bit carried away?!” You yelled so loud he nearly flinched. “You could’ve killed that guy!”

“That asshole’s fine and anyways, he deserved it. You should’ve heard the things he was saying about you. He just wouldn’t shut up, I couldn’t just let him go, could I?”

He looked back at you and your arms were crossed defensively. “Maybe if you weren’t drunk.”

“I wasn’t drunk. I hadn’t even had that many—”

“You’d had enough!” You paused, taking in one slow, shaky breath. “Draco, you don’t know how terrifying that was. When you drink you turn into a completely different person.” You we’re looking at him but there was this far away look in your eyes like you weren’t really seeing him. “I could barely recognize you....You scare me, Draco.”

Draco stepped forward and you took a step back, making sure you kept a distance between you. “Come on, that’s not me. I got a little pissed off and sure I had a few drinks. You know I’m not like that.”

He tried coming closer to you and almost audibly let out a sigh of relief when you let him. He put a hand on your shoulder and leaned down to kiss your forehead. “I’m sorry. It’ll never happen again.” He wrapped his arms around you. You didn’t hug him back.

“I need to think.” You broke free of the hug and walked towards the bedroom. Lucky for you, there was a path of rose petals in case you couldn’t find the way. You tried to ignore them.

“Let’s just go to sleep, we can talk about it in the morning.” He was following but not too close behind.

“No, I want to go home.” There were rose petals on the bed. Charming.

You pulled out your luggage and started dumping your belongings into it. Draco watched you from the doorway. He knew better than to try and stop you.

“I don’t think we should go tonight.” You didn’t stop stuffing your clothes in the suitcase. Draco came to kneel down in front of you. “(Y/N), stop. Listen to me,” you stopped your packing and looked up at him, “you’re angry and tired and still a little drunk. You should rest. I’ll sleep on the couch and we’ll leave first thing tomorrow. Okay?” You looked down at your hands.

Your fist was wrapped around one of Draco’s shirts. How had it gotten there? You hazily remembered wearing it one of the first nights you’d been here. You wondered if it still smelled like him but didn’t quite feel like finding out. You unclenched your fist and let it drop to the ground.

“Yeah, alright.” You closed the suitcase and stood up.

“Goodnight.” You didn’t reply as you drifted to the bathroom. Draco closed the door and drifted out to the little sitting area.

The flowers were hard to look out now. They seemed like a joke now, and not a funny one. He slumped onto the couch, rubbing his eyes. The shower came on.

He felt sober now and really wished he didn’t. His mind was painfully clear. One thought rang through as his hand reached for something in his pocket. He might of just fucked up the best thing that would ever happen to him.

With a sigh, he shut his eyes. A rose petal drifted down from the bouquet resting right above him and landed perfectly on his nose. He opened his eyes angrily and stared at it. One big fucking joke.

[kendrixtermina]

for the ship thing thoughts on claumitri and ingrid/dorothea?

ingrid/dorothea?

General:

Rate the Ship -  Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs - IDK why everyone wants Ingrid to be sapphic when she’s the one (1) character who explicitly says that she’s not sapphic. Or at least, shoots down Dorothea’s flirting in the B support. I think there’s value in having a non traditionally girly character who’s still hetero, many girls who want bfs get told that they will never get one if they don’t act stereotypical and that sucks. Or you could even read her as aspec given that she’s not too interested in pairing up or being attractive, and that the Glenn thing was arranged. She can still admire him and be sad he died without necessarily having the hots for him after all they probably grew up together. Also I don’t really see the particular appeal of those 2 characters together, they don’t have that much in common and Dorothea has a bajillion better options including sapphic ones. 

How long will they last? - As long as it takes Ingrid to say she’s not interested

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I kind of see why Dorothea might think she’s hot or mistakenly assume she’s into girls as the whole tomboyish look is something ppl sometimes do to communicate that, and she probably finds something relatable about their experiences re: slimy jerks. She does indisputably kick butt and have pretty hair

How was their first kiss? - I’ve had the experience before where the other person gives it a nice, proper try but you can tell they’re not really into it

For the rest of this meme I will not be a spoilsport and entertain the thought/ try to think about what it would be like if they DID get together. It’s certainly inconceivable to read it that way, perhaps Ingrid simply wasn’t ready yet at that time/ or it was an internalized thing.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - I’m certain Dorothea explicitly tried that on screen in the paralogue XD

Who is the best man/men? - Ingrid might try bringing Sylvain, Felix or Dimitri if we’re in a timeline where he lived. 

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Petra or Bernie

Who did the most planning? - Dorothea

Who stressed the most? - Ingrid

How fancy was the ceremony? -Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.  Neither would be much for ostentatiousness but I think Dorothea would want a bit of romantic florish

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Their jerkish ex suitors, even if they are important nobles of [winning faction]

Sex:

Who is on top? -  Definitely Ingrid

Who is the one to instigate things? - Dorothea

How healthy is their sex life? -Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now  

How kinky are they? -Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head  - I can’t see Ingrid being very kinky, but Dorothea might ease her into it. 

How long do they normally last? - a while

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Very much so

How rough are they in bed? -Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory. Dorothea really wants to have a relationship so once she gets one she’s gonna want PDA, Ingrid will probably be more stiff and proper - but I can see how a situation where she explores this/eases into it might be interesting to read. It’s not like Ingrid is completely unromantic given all her lofty ideas about honor and how she likes these high fantasy-eque books. It’s somewhere in there

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - Would probably not have babies. 

How many children will they adopt? - Dorothea canonically looks after oprphans at least in Silver Snow so now entirely unlikely like two or three

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Ingrid being the responsible one

Who is the stricter parent? - Ingrid

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Ingrid

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Dorothea

Who is the more loved parent? - Dorothea

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Ingrid

Who cried the most at graduation? - Dorothea

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Dorothea

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Ingrid

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Neither

Who does the grocery shopping? - Ingrid. 

How often do they bake desserts? - Often enough. Gotta appreciate how so many people in this game heartily enjoy their nom stuff, even the girls. I think Lorenz is the only one noted as not having much of an appetite. 

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - This is Ingrid we’re talking about. We’re not partying until there’s a roasted stuffed pugket involved

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Hm. On the one hand Dorothea’s the romantic on the other hand Ingrid takes her obligations & loyalty seriously. But I think Dorothea would be the sort to really enjoy being the surprise-ee so let’s say Ingrid

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Dorothea

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Neither. 

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Both

Who is really against chores? -  Neither. 

Who cleans up after the pets? - Ingrid, mostly cause it’s her pets (Horses & pegasi chiefly)

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Dorothea

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Dorothea

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Ingrid. She has a jar where she collects all the spare change

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Dorothea

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Both, though probably Ingrid more often cause she likes the outdoors

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Dorothea strikes me as the decorating kind so regular

What are their goals for the relationship? - Probably to find their freedom together  and also help the poor. I suppose that is something they might have in common

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Ingrid

Who plays the most pranks? - Dorothea

claumitri

General:

Rate the Ship -  Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs - Sure why not?  There’s nothing in particular that makes me think “Wow those would go super well together” but also nothing to the contrary. I’ve seen good fic for it.  I guess they’re just the two dudes who get the most characterization and also sorta get along/interact, so there’s a lot to work with.

How long will they last? - Hm. Dimitri would strike me as someone would like to be serious and longterm about things. They would need to work out the politics first but there’s no reason why they couldn’t last

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I’d say it wouldn’t take them that long to get started, but somewhat longer to really get to a deep level. Largely because Claude is quick to build surface friendships but slower to really show his real feelings, but also Dimitri wouldn’t necessarily realize that he’s holding something back or press the issue. It helps that they are both just likeable people tho. Dimitri is not going to pass up a chance for a heart-to heart talk. If he got through to that hidden more idealistic side of Claude I think they’d click and get something lasting going. They would definitely always have disagreements about their methods and are fairly different in how they deal with their feelings, but they both have the will to work with ppl with different opinions and build bridges. 

How was their first kiss? - Claude probably quipped something about how it was surprisingly passionate. Dimitri turned into a tomato that same instant. 

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Dimitri

Who is the best man/men? - Dedue and either Nader or Byleth.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Not applicable. But if it were, probably Hilda and Mercedes or Flayn. 

Who did the most planning? - Claude. He likes them feasts. 

Who stressed the most? - Dimitri. Thankfully Claude is chill enough for both of them and knows to distract him

How fancy was the ceremony? -Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.  

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Lorenz’ and Sylvain’s jerk fathers. They might be important nobles but they’re jerks. Edelgard, Arundel and Rufus would already be dead in the AM timeline but if they weren’t they wouldn’t be invited anyways. Claude seems like might actually counteract Dimitri’s tendency to take bad treatment out of politeness. Felix might say that he won’t come but then show up anyways.Or there would be some conspiracy to kidnap him and make sure he comes. Lysithea came up with the plan and recruited Ingrid, Hilda and Sylvain to help her.

Sex:

Who is on top? -  Hm. I could see either doing it. Perhaps Claude would suggest that they switch it up for novelty. But Dimitri is definitely the little spoon, despite his actual size XD

Who is the one to instigate things? - Claude

How healthy is their sex life? -Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now  

How kinky are they? -Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head  -  The discussion would be absolutely hilarious cause Dimitri’s easily embarassed and Claude is a bit of a troll. But he wouldn’t go overboard or make Mitya uncomfortable Claude generally knows when to stop the gremlin act see that one scene with Flayn 

How long do they normally last? - average but it would be pretty intense

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Not necessarily I can get either getting a kick out of just being the one administering the pleasure. 

How rough are they in bed? -Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. - You’ve got one person with super strength and one with super toughness/regeneration. There is potential here. 

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory. Methinks Dimitri would be pretty affectionate while Claude’s certainly flirty but the genuinely vulnerable/emotional stuff would have to be in private behind closed doors

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - Perhaps Claude found some magic mpreg magic right next to where he got the magic cure for Lysithea…

How many children will they adopt? - No jokes aside Dimitri strikes me as the sort to want kids and also to make a point to choose to adopt. The people of Fodlan better get ready to get some adopted Almyran or Duscurian war orphan as their next king. Dimitri would just proudly stand by his adopted kid and Claude would handle the political fallout. 

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Dimitri

Who is the stricter parent? - Dimitri

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Certainly not Claude

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Dimitri

Who is the more loved parent? -  Both but in different ways. Dimitri is the affectionate parent who comforts the kids when they’re upset, and Claude is the designated fun parent that you can openly talk about everything with. 

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - Dimitri

Who cried the most at graduation? - Dimitri cried so much

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Claude

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Claude

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Claude

Who does the grocery shopping? - Claude

How often do they bake desserts? - Probably not that often

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Claude certainly likes a good serving of nom stuff. And Dimitri’s huge, probably needs some fuel to keep functioning

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Claude strikes me as the surprise plans sort

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Claude

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Dimitri

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Not Claude. Dimitri tries but he’s clumsy

Who is really against chores? -  It’d not that Claude’s against it perse he just gets distracted thinking about stiff

Who cleans up after the pets? - Claude

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Claude

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Dimitri

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Dimitri

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Claude

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They do it together. Both like walking out in nature. 

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Dimitri isn’t much for decoration and Claude forgets about the holidays half the time

What are their goals for the relationship? - Just to be happy. Dimitri would want to have some separation between that and the politics - but it’s certainly helpful for the peace between the countries if the Kings are an item and they both care alot about promoting peace perhaps in slightly different but potentially complementary ways. 

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Claude

Who plays the most pranks? - Claude

[duskwitch]

Hey I was wondering : how you think the other post timeskip golden deer and Byleth react when they find that Claude was and still is victim of racism and bullying ?You aren't not obliged to respond but this would make me happy.I'm sorry if I'm bothering you (And for my bad english)

Eh, it’s all fine!^^

I’m not sure I’m good at this kinda thing. I don’t do it very often. But here goes nothing:

Learning that Claude is actually a victim of bullying would come as a shock to anyone who’s ever met him. He seems too easy-going to even be bully-able and the fact that he’s usually the one to make fun of people makes it hard to imagine him as a victim. Plus, he’s very charismatic and likely popular among the students of the Officer’s Academy. Why would anyone bully him in the first place?

Now, the reaction to the fact that the bullying was racially motivated (I think that’s the phrase?) is a whole different thing. And a little complicated. But let’s see how I think the Deer would react in general.

Raphael is a sweet and simple guy. He doesn’t care why the bullying is happening or whom by. If anyone bullies his friends point him at the bully and he’ll give them a fist full of his mind.

Leonie is actually similar. Bullies are just people who want to make others feel small so that they can feel bigger in comparison. Doesn’t matter how or why. So Claude’s from Almyra? Cool. Explains some things. She’s his friend, and if Claude ever needs her, whether to talk or to put some jerks in their place, she’ll be there - Fódlan, Almyra or wherever.

Lysithea would analyze the situation from an objective standpoint. She’s not surprised, actually. It makes sense that Almyrans think Fódlans are weak from all she heard. And Fódlans think Almyrans are savages. It’s obvious why Claude would hide his heritage from everyone. Well, people are ignorant idiots wherever you go, it seems. Nothing to be done. She cannot offer Claude any words of comfort but she’s ready to throw hands fireballs. She may be tsundere about it but she’s even more eager to protect her friends from bully assholes than Raph is. Other than that she’s on board with whatever the alternative plan is. However, she has more personal things to worry about to make any plans of her own.

Hilda is the first one to react with “That’s horrible! I had no idea.” followed by “It explains a lot!“ She would make the connection between the prejudice Almyrans and Fódlans hold towards each other and Claude’s distrustful nature. Further, it would make her aware of her own prejudice towards Almyrans, which she would probably confess and state her regret about. After a while of thinking, she’d suggest that they organize some cultural events. Make people see the nice things about each other! Like food or traditional artisan goods! (Raphael would be totally on board with the former) She’ll pour her heart into organizing these things to show Claude that she’s on his side and to help him realize his dream of mutual understanding among people.

Ignatz is one of the people who never imagined that someone like Claude could get bullied. Personally, I can’t help but see both their supports as Claude making fun of Ignatz. And while Claude is not horrible enough to hang out with somebody just to make fun of them, let’s just say the undertones of those supports brought back some bad memories. As someone who was likely a victim of bullying himself, he can empathize. Despite, or maybe because of that, he struggles to find the right words of encouragement. Like the others, he tells Claude that he’ll be there if he needs him, but he doesn’t feel satisfied with that. Ignatz will definitely ask Claude about Almyra, though. Out of curiosity, obviously, but also as a way of saying “Your heritage, that thing people made fun of, I think that’s pretty neat!” even if just subconsciously. Eventually, he might get the idea to go to Almyra himself and paint the landscape and the people, to bring them to Fódlan, so to speak.

Marianne, similar to Ignatz, never could have pictured Claude as the victim of bullying. She knows the pain of “being different“ very well, so she can empathize, too. She isn’t very good at offering advice but she assures him that she’s always there for him if he needs someone to listen. She would tell him how impressed she is at his positive attitude; how these horrible things didn’t seem to get him down. In their A support they talk about casting aside their respective burdens and working towards changing the world. She would probably remind him of that conversation and affirm once again that she would help him in any of his endeavors. Since she is the heiress to House Edmund, she would probably become more active learning about diplomacy to be able to support Claude.

Lorenz... oh, dear. First of all, the realization that Claude is half Almyran would hit him like a cavalry charge to the face. That’s why he acted nothing like Lorenz would expect from a Fódlan noble! He always knew something was fishy about the guy but he never could have guessed. For a while Lorenz would try to wrap his head around the idea that a foreign prince became the legitimate heir to an Alliance noble house. Is that even okay? Lorenz was brought up to believe that Almyrans are enemies, much like Hilda. Then again, Claude is a prince! Isn’t being the heir to a noble house a step down for him?Only when those thoughts are out of the way, it would dawn on Lorenz that Claude was shunned for his Fódlan heritage. How dare they? The NERVE! He would likely start complaining about Almyrans until someone shuts him up by asking him if he disapproves of Claude’s Almyran heritage then and if that isn’t the same thing. To which he’d be lost for words for a while. He’d have to admit that it is and feel remorse for it.Eventually, Lorenz would come to a similar decision as Marianne, dedicating himself to diplomacy in order to help realize Claude’s dream. Who else was Claude going to depend on if not the heir of one, if not the, most influential noble house in the Alliance? (he’d begrudgingly ask Claude for pointers in how to deal with Almyrans on a diplomatic level, however)

Byleth’s reaction is similar to Leonie’s. They are a mercenary. They have seen shit. People oppressing others is the same everywhere, regardless of the reasons. Claude has their blade no matter where he comes from or where he needs it. A romantically involved Byleth would probably be even more ready to throw hands. But they understand that using their position and influence actually gives them a better tool in helping Claude.

I guess I see everyone trying to support Claude on either a personal or political level. But I do not see them dealing with the issue of racism per se as it is either not in their character or in the writing.

[hopewritcs]

dancing in the kitchen. finale.

pairing: romantic steve x reader, familial dustin x reader

word count: 1.5

summary: without giving too much away: the reader is Hope Henderson, Dustin’s older cousin who’s staying in town, due to some family issues. takes place soon after s2.

note: from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you who have read this.  those of you who have been there from the beginning and those of you who only just recently found the story.  it’s been a great journey and i’m lucky to have had your support.  

other chapters: masterlist

ditc tag list: @stevieboyharrington, ,@thekidsofneibolt, @labgeek, @tyedyedstars,@samisimportant, @madhatterweasley, @pity-mee, @l4life, @restlessmelodrama@darkuserboxes,@princessnancy,@hipsmcgee, @wtf-richarddd @honey-your-bee-puns-sting@whataloadofmalarkey @queenlalybug @im-a-stranger-thing@bilesxbilinskixlahey @ravenclawnerdfromnarnia @trashyemonerd , @theslayingavenger, @addictwithaheavydirtycheetah, @patat-boi  (if you wanna be added to the tag list, let me know!!)

SIX MONTHS LATER ( LATE JUNE )

School was over for the summer.  Everyone was doing their own thing, the mall having opened up not too long before the school days finished.  Steve had gotten a job at the ice cream parlor Scoops Ahoy! and Y/N had gotten a job at the movies.  Dustin was particularly excited about that, claiming that Y/N could get him in to see any of the new films playing over the summer for free.  She’d rolled her eyes at the suggestion, but didn’t actually say no.  She did get a discount on tickets, and he was her favorite ( only ) cousin.  

It was one of Y/N’s days off when she was sitting watching a video she’d rented on the couch, Tews perched in her lap purring contently as Y/N pet the cat.  She had no plans until later in the day when Steve was going to take her to dinner.  So she was surprised when the phone rang, but got up to answer it.  

“Henderson residence!  This is Y/N speaking.”  

“Y/N, darling!  It’s your mother.”  

As if Y/N couldn’t recognize the voice to begin with.  It had been months since she’d gotten to Hawkins and her parents had jetted off to Europe on yet another save their marriage escapade.  The only communication she’d gotten was two or three postcards from different Italian cities.  She didn’t mind, though.  She preferred to be staying with Claudia and Dustin.  Her parents did believe all those awful rumors about her anyway, whereas ever since she got to Hawkins neither Claudia nor Dustin pushed to know her reason for coming to Indiana.  Though, Y/N was sure that Claudia had gotten the skewed story from her mother.  

“Darling, are you there?  The telephone connection is rather poor at the airport, I’m afraid.  Y/N?”  

Y/N shook her head, clearing her thoughts.  “Sorry, mom.  I was just thinking.  Are you back in New York?”  

“We just landed not too long ago, but your father’s having trouble getting us a car.”  Her mother’s voice was filled with disdain.  Which is always the tone either of her parents took when speaking about the other, at least in private.  “How’s small town life?”

“It’s pretty good, actually.  I’ve been doing a lot, I even got a job for the summer until school starts back up.”

“Are you staying?  Sweetheart, did we discuss our daughter staying with Claudia for another year?”  She could tell her mother attempted to pull the phone away from her ear so Y/N couldn’t hear it anymore.  

“Another year?  I think my sister would be alright with that if we asked.  I mean, we’ll send money and the rest of Y/N’s things.”  

“But she can be so troublesome!  I’m sure something’s happened since we’ve been away.”  

“Dear, you’re overthinking this.  Let me speak to Y/N.”  There’s a scoff from her mother, and she could picture the roll of her eyes but the sounds of shuffling objects must mean that her father got the phone.  “Pumpkin, are you still there?”

“Yup.  How was Italy?”  

“Excellent.  We’ll get the film developed and send you some pictures, I got you some souvenirs I’m sure you’ll love too.”  

“Could you stay on topic for once!”  She heard her mother hiss in the background, more than likely hovering behind her father’s shoulder as he spoke into the phone.  

“Yes, apologies.”  He paused, probably holding back a sigh, before speaking again.  “Pumpkin, are you certain you’d like to stay in Hawkins?  I’ll have to speak to Claud about it either way.”  

“I do.  It feels like home, daddy.”  Y/N explained.  She’d never felt more at home, more welcomed, more herself than when she spent time in Hawkins.  And now that she’d been there for months and was making progress with her own friends and had Steve too, she didn’t want to leave.  

“Alright.  Leave a note for your aunt to call me back and I’ll discuss it with her.  I just want you to be happy, Y/N.”  

“I’m writing the note now.  Thanks.  This really means everything to me.”  Y/N scribbled down a note on the pad by the phone before tearing it off and moving to put it with one of the magnets onto the fridge door.  

“Be sure to keep in touch, okay?  I want to hear all about this summer job next time we call.”  

“Of course, dad.  I love you.”  

“Love you too, pumpkin.”  

A few days later, Y/N was getting things set up at home for Dustin’s return from his camp.  Claudia had offered for her to go along to pick him up from the camp, but Y/N declined, opting to get things set up at home.  Dustin’s friends had all called her on the walkie talkie in Dustin’s room the night before to ask if they could come over to surprise him.  And, of course, she said yes.  

She was getting a couple of snacks ready to put on the living room table as she overheard the kids conversation.  El would use Dustin’s robotic toys to draw his attention to bring him out into the living room for the surprise.  They talked about it freely because Y/N knew about her powers now.  

It had come two months earlier back in April on one particularly rainy day.  Steve was dropping Y/N back at home and he refused to come in when asked, “They’re going to want me to stay the night too.”  He had groaned, to which Y/N laughed and kissed her boyfriend goodnight before coming back in the house.  Though she hadn’t been able to find the kids at first, she heard their voices coming from upstairs in Dustin’s room.  The moment that she saw them sitting there on the floor surrounded with a couple of objects floating in the air, she was cut off with his door slamming in her face before she could say anything.  

They had to tell her after that, Y/N was too confused and had definitely seen what she knew she saw.  But she was sworn to secrecy.  All they told her was that El ( Eleven, or Jane now, according to the birth certificate that Hopper had gotten for her ) had been an experiment as a baby and came out with telekinetic powers.  Of course, Y/N thought it was crazy.  And then El had demonstrated the power for her specifically to understand.  

Since then, the kids almost felt like Y/N was more included.  The way she’d reacted to Eleven’s powers wasn’t what they had expected.  They may have expected a bit more of a reaction, but all Y/N had needed was a simple explanation of the powers, a quick show of what they had meant, and then she was quick to believe what it was.  

Not that they thought anything was going to happen again, the gate was closed, but if something did happen, they would figure that Y/N could help them too.  

Then, a couple of days later, Y/N was at the mall having finished her own work for the day at Scoops Ahoy! sitting in the break room with Steve, chatting about nothing in particular, when Dustin had shown up, Y/N had was glad that she’d timed her lunch break accordingly and watched as Steve jumped up from his seat in the back to go and greet her cousin.  She followed behind, opening the window and leaning out to watch the exchange with a smile on her face.  She even giggled as she watched Robin roll her eyes and look at Steve.  

“How many children are you friends with?”  she asked, before turning back to look at Y/N.  “How many kids does this guy know?”

“Technically, this ones my cousin.  Hey Dusty!”  she called with a slight wave from where she stood in the break room and Dustin turned to her shining his bright smile in her direction.  

“Don’t these children have parents of their own or is it you two?”  Robin asked quietly as she leaned back to look at her.  

Y/N stood over with Robin who was cleaning as Steve prepped Dustin his own ice cream boat.  He’d offered to have Y/N sit with them, but she’d kissed his cheek and told him to catch up with her cousin.  They’d had a similar conversation the night before, her and Dustin.  She wondered how Steve would feel about the whole Suzie situation.  Y/N was positive Dustin was telling the truth, simply because she knew her cousin and wanted to believe the best thing for him.  She’d been having a side conversation with Robin, whom she’d grown to consider a friend after spending a lot of her free time ( and lunch breaks ) down at Scoops with Steve.  

When the line at Scoops got busy again, Y/N escaped into the back room.  She wasn’t technically supposed to walk back their freely, or even at all, but no one had stopped her.  

Somehow, she wasn’t exactly surprised when Steve and Dustin came bursting through the door, Dustin sitting down at the table and pulling out a recording and a book.  She grabbed the book quickly and looked between the two of them, “Russian to English translations?  What are you two idiots doing now?”  

[tobenobility]

۞ (time for this dumpster fire)

(For reference, this is an answer to that “send ۞ to get pros and cons to a relationship with my muse” question from a while back, it’s just been FOUR MILLION YEARS because March has been a bit rough)

Pros:

-There should be no doubt that Ferdinand would be very loyal to Edelgard -- while he may have his moments of ego (to say the least), and while her actions do throw him into a lot of internal turmoil, when he’s not recruited, he stays with the Empire even when she’s taken everything from the family and noble lineage that he holds very, very dear. I have to imagine this would translate to him being very faithful in a romantic context.

-The two have a long history to work off of, and while this history certainly hasn’t been always positive, by the time that they’re in a position to be in a relationship, they would have to have worked through a lot of that history and come to better understand it, at least in the Crimson Flower route. While I have to imagine that Edelgard would take a long time to reveal everything to Ferdinand, if she would ever, the two would most definitely know how to work around each other fairly intimately. I also like to think of their A support, where Edelgard says she’s always considered him a friend -- even if they’ve had their negative moments, there’s a lot of things to like about each other to draw off of as well, which I think they’d be capable of doing when they’ve both matured.

-Ferdinand is actually more flexible than he might often seem long-term, and he’s very affectionate as well, which I think means that in the circumstances when they work he would be a lot more tolerable than one might think as a partner, and willing to provide Edelgard with quite a bit of affection at that, something I think she might appreciate -- I get the feeling that given her past and her position, and especially after having really listened to Edge of Dawn, bonds and affection are something that she desperately desires but had assumed she’d lose (which becomes pretty true outside of Crimson Flower).

-Holy hell, talk about a power couple. With their forces combined, I’m pretty sure that there’s absolutely no obstacle that can stand in their way. These two would (well, in Crimson Flower at least) together change the world for the better, far better -- you’d probably be hard-pressed to find as consistent a combination of ambition and the hard work and drive to put that ambition together in any other Three Houses couple, since I think maybe only Claude compares there. Edelgard’s vision would probably take front seat, but I have to imagine as well that Ferdinand would alter it for the better, considering his very consistent dedication to working with Edelgard and honestly (and, as he matures, constructively) criticizing and presenting alternatives to the worse things she comes up with. (Also, They Who Slither in the Dark are super going to get their asses kicked.)

Cons

-Ohhh, boy. Okay, so here’s one that has to be addressed right off, a healthy relationship between the two is only possible at all in the Crimson Flower route, as I’ve repeatedly alluded to here. In any other route, Edelgard is growing increasingly unhinged without any real moderating influence, and Ferdinand is extra lost and confused and conflicted about the situation of his family plus the gaping inferiority complex he has about her. These two instabilities would, when paired, make any relationship between the two inherently horrifically inequal, and I suspect that it would potentially become downright abusive from Edelgard to Ferdinand when you factor in how much agony and heartbreak Ferdinand’s father has caused her, which she’s probably not going to be inclined to forgive on most routes given how vengeful she becomes.

-Taking these other cons from the perspective of Crimson Flower where this is a more palatable concept, I think there would still be some level of issues with secrecy and trust for a long time in the relationship. Edelgard, of course, has some very deep-seated and extraordinarily painful issues she’s been sitting on, and with Ferdinand’s father so prominent a figure in these issues, it’s to be expected that she would be very hesitant to divulge them to him. Now, I do think that the Crimson Flower route ameliorates this -- it involves Ferdinand sacrificing what he’s always known to stick hard by her side and fight for and alongside her for the entirety of the route, and that process pretty much has to build trust between them, but even though it does set them up to fix the most critical points of distrust, there will probably always be at least be some mysteriousness from Edelgard.

-This is a lot more minor than the other two, but I have to imagine that even in the ideal scenario where they’ve really come to adapt to each other and break down the barriers that do exist between them, Ferdinand would still annoy the hell out of Edelgard from time to time, hahaha. I did say that he’d be more tolerable than he might seem, and I’m sure that he’d apologize later, but he’s still Ferdinand, so moments of too much bombast are to be expected, especially because I think he would still want to go out of his way to impress her even after having gotten over some of his insecurities.

Verdict:

I really do like the idea of a Ferdinand/Edelgard couple, and I really do love their A support, but the couple has to be in a VERY specific context -- anything outside of the Crimson Eagles post-skip period is doomed to absolutely nosedive terribly. But in that context I think they really can work out beautifully, since the issues that normally become huge problems have been sanded down and dealt with as each character has matured, leaving their more positive aspects to work together not only for each other’s own good (I had some trouble wording this longform, but I think they could also help reinforce each other in the situations where each would waver) but for everyone’s. It just, uh, it really, really does have to be in that context.

[gascon-en-exil]

Joining the Game Late: S2E7 “A Man Without Honor”

Synopsis

Theon tries to correct his mistake, but fails at it like with everything else. Ygritte and Jon have a cultural exchange that does not end in sex but does end in Jon walking into a trap like an idiot. Arya holds back on stabbing Tywin even though she is Not Like Other Girls (again). Dany concludes that she can’t trust anyone - and then Xaro and the warlock stage a coup, so good judgment there. Sansa has her first period, and this is very bad. Cersei almost feels guilty about something. Jaime bonds with his cousin over the idealization of knighthood and battle, and then kills him. So much for that escape attempt, though. Theon fakes everyone out by burning a pair of RealDolls.

Commentary

I’m going to have to be blunt this time and admit that more than once in this episode I felt hampered by my lack of knowledge of how (cis) women’s bodies work. That’s a strange thing to open on, but it’s true. Ygritte repeatedly trying to prod Jon into having sex with her is predicated on their overnight spooning session, but I don’t really get how his morning wood poking at her ass is meant to be a lead-in to that when men rarely fuck women’s asses as a first choice. If  the vagina is located where the penis is then how does the angling from behind even...work? Gah. Also, the immediate context for the “You know nothing, Jon Snow” line was sex!? Sure, it’s couched in a longer debate on their respective lifestyles and forms of rule, but that was just funny. More seriously, I think Sansa looks too old to be having her first period, but I don’t know enough to be sure. This is an actual plot point, referenced last season as the explanation for why she hasn’t married Joffrey yet, and I think she got aged up in the transition from book to show probably for the same reasons that Daenerys did so this seems to be a consequence of adaptation. 

Let me step onto some slightly more familiar territory with those dysfunctional Lannisters. Tywin is still off in Harrenhal being uncommonly canny about his cupbearer, but Cersei has some strong scenes and more notably Jaime’s finally back. His escape attempt doesn’t lead to anything but a dead cousin (whom Robb had wanted to keep housed and safe in his camp - irony!) and a dead Karstark (...who?), but his exchange with the aforementioned cousin and a later one with Catelyn reveals a lot about how Jaime views knighthood and warfare. The character being a very dark take on the chivalric knight archetype is something that interests me greatly, particularly when he justifies treachery and murder by pointing out that knights are expected to make so many vows to so many people and concepts that they’re inevitably going to come into conflict at some point. Cat’s contrast between Jaime, the man without honor, and her unconventional but virtuous knight Brienne is probably going to become even more loaded and meaningful when the two of them end up romantically entangled.

Over in Qarth Dany’s plotline invented for the show continues with a double cross that’s kind of(?) in her favor, but it’s still stalled before the ominous-sounding House of the Undying. This must be purely coincidental, but to pick up the threads of Fire Emblem: Three Houses parallels I’ve been drawing from this story Xaro in this episode reminds me a lot of Claude from that game. Both men are foreigners and racial minorities who acquire and maintain power through ambition and manipulative schemes, and here Xaro assassinates the rest of the Thirteen in order to pursue his goal of opening up Qarth to the outside world just as Claude’s ultimate goal to acquire as much territory as he can and open the borders. By extension this would make the proposed political marriage between Xaro and Dany a parallel with the relationship between Claude and Edelgard: unemotional and lacking in screentime, but worth considering from an intellectual standpoint on account of their mutual ambition and desire to change the status quo to put themselves in power. However, both of these hypothetical relationships are doomed before they can start by the same thing; neither Edelgard nor Daenerys believe they can trust anyone, a fact that the latter explains in a scene before the coup in a way that allows her to feel legitimately sympathetic for how alone she is with her grand dreams of conquest. Not even Jorah can be trusted (and yes, I remember that bit in the last season about him being an informant for people in Westeros, so Dany has a point), and she brushes off his inappropriate familiarity. GoT doesn’t have a Byleth figure, thank God, so Dany’s emotional arc can actually make some sense without having to accommodate self-insert romance.

Game parallels aside though my favorite scenes of this episode were Cersei’s. As twisted as it may sounds she reminds me a lot of my own mother in some of these, especially when she advises Sansa that love makes a woman weak and that she should love only her own children - with the implicit understanding from Cersei’s example that a woman who loves no one but her own children does not truly love them except insofar as they are a reflection of herself. That’s why she’s willing to repudiate Joffrey to Tyrion because she can’t control him anymore, and perhaps why she has a very rare moment of near-remorse for the incest. See, I may not know the first thing about menstruation or where exactly the vagina is located, but my unresolved issues with my dead mother help me understand exactly where a woman like Cersei is coming from.

[light-of-valentia]

matchup trade with edelgoth

 @edelgoth​ here are your matchups boo!! I have never done a written matchup before, though I have done them quite a lot in my head, so I hope these are good!!! -admin belle

I did two romantic matchups, one romantic/platonic, and I left a list of potential platonic matchups to follow!

matchup under the cut because I use a lot of words and I don’t wanna eat up dashboards

#1-  Mercedes

At first I was sort of questioning on if this would be ideal, but with the more I have thought about this, the more passionate I am about this pairing

You said you wanted someone who is open-minded and genuinely caring who wants to see the world become a better place, and I would struggle to think of anyone better to do this with than Mercie!

Though I did consider Claude for this as well, I ended up choosing Mercedes for #1 because I think that she would be better at consistently giving you the validation and affection that you desire

Not that Claude would not be affectionate as well, but I think that the stronger caring aura that she has would sit better with you

Both of you are open-minded and thoughtful, and you would be able to give e/o the same level of care and attention that you give out to other people

That's positive karma baby!!! you both deserve a lot for what you do for other people, and your philanthropic personalities would be a strong force together

I feel like in a relationship, both you and Mercedes would need someone who is willing and most importantly wants to give back the same level of appreciation and effort that you/she puts in, and you both would far surpass this standard for each other

I also really like here that you each take a different approach to what you do

Mercedes deals more in the emotional side of taking care of people, whereas you take the more insightful and analytical route

This sort of “similar yet different” style of partnership works really well since you have enough in common to form a partnership, but your differing skills would compensate for what the other lacks in

You each care in different ways, but it's clear that both you and Mercie share a common goal of making the world a better place and helping people out

You would be such a sweet, caring, and cheerful couple, and even without doing any sort of philanthropic work, just your presence would be enough to potentially change people’s lives for the better

Your wit and intellect would provide a healthy contrast to Mercedes' constant benevolence and optimism, and she would be able to help you ground yourself when you are catastrophizing and anxious

To compliment that, you would be able to help her set her fear of disappointing others aside and make hard choices when she needs to

Mercedes isn't necessarily as scholarly as Annette and Linhardt (though she did enjoy her time at the Royal Academy of Magic), but she still values her education, and she would enjoy listening to you talk about the things you are interested in and she would enjoy learning from you

Both of you are very patient, and it would provide a relaxing and calm atmosphere

Though, a problem could be presented if you are both too patient- neither of you alone likes to make difficult decisions and risk hurting or disappointing others, but i think that this would be easier to do if you worked together

Magic and fantastical stories!! i could really see you both taking evening dates and telling each other stories, and she would highly appreciate your creativity and encourage your passion for what you do

If you like writing paranormal and ghost stories, she’d love it even more!! She loves spooky stories and an air of fantastical mystery

Career-wise, your interests in anthropology and sociolinguistics combined with her desire to serve and help people would make a dynamic duo

Your understanding of human history and nature would provide a wealth of foundation for her to understand where people come to her from, emotionally and culturally, and the outcome of your combined careers would be stellar!

If you guys got together, I would struggle seeing an outcome where you kept your careers separate- the chemistry you have together concerning your desires for life and the word around you are too magnetic too keep apart

Mercedes would be very welcoming and accepting of your sensitivity and anxiety; she always knows what to say if you're down, and she wouldn't have to tread carefully to avoid offending or hurting you

Awareness of people's sensitivities and how to build healthy relationships without prying at them is second nature to her

Reading people and responding to them to meet them where they are is maybe one of her favorite things to do in life, and doing this with you would bring her a good sense of worth in life

Mercedes has a few opinions of her own, but she is generally soft-spoken and passive, and would be a great listener for when you talk about your opinions

She is very open-minded, and i’d argue that she doesn’t have a single judgemental bone in her body (well, except maybe against uptight nobles cough cough LORENZ)

I wouldn’t call her an agent of chaos, but I think that Mercedes really can appreciate the craziness of life the way that you do, and that she would be great at laughing the silly little things off with you

She has a wonderful knack for appreciating and accepting the world as it is, and I think that this would bring you a lot of peace when you start to over-complicate things mentally, as she would be able to ground you

She would ADORE your curiosity and interest in learning everything that you can, and she would aspire to be this way herself

She spent so much of her life simply trying to survive, especially after fleeing the empire and regretting leaving Emile behind, and having someone around her who is trying to thrive would be invigorating for her

MBTI-wise, this would be a “golden pair”, as IXFJ and XNTP are often listed as being such, especially IXFJ and ENTP, which if I had to type you by your description to me, I’d put you as ENTP over INTP, with an Fi/Fe subtype

The creativity that comes with your Ne would be very well recieved by Mercedes’ Fe, as she would be the perfect listener for everything you have to say, and she would be super interested in it as well!

Though she does use Ti as her tool function, she would be constantly amazed by how you use it so fluently

Her Ti tertiary tool would be able to appreciate your dominant/auxiliary Ti, without encouraging it to the point where you overwhelm yourself

In conclusion, I see you and Mercedes both as a sweet and soft couple but also with the subtleties of a power couple, and I think you would enjoy a long and happy relationship with each other!

2. Claude

As previously mentioned, I still view Mercedes as a more ideal match for you, but I think that you and Claude would have good chemistry as well

He has a lot of that humanistic personality that Mercedes has, but his is far more subtle and jaded from his history

Mainly, this jaded aspect comes from how he was treated in his childhood, although he doesn’t discuss it with just anyone, as one of those effects from being bullied as a kid is him having some serious trust issues

Pre-timeskip Claude would be a struggle in a romantic relationship, as his Fe isn’t very well developed and based on your profile, I think a partner with developed Fe is something you need

Post-timeskip, however, this problem would be eliminated, as by then, his Fe has very clearly developed a lot more (though it is still flawed), as demonstrated with his love-hate relationship for humanity in his A support; he hates the way that people choose to be discriminatory and mean towards each other, but he also sees the possibility for redemption and he has a genuine desire to work harmony back into the world

Some of his interactions with characters such as Cyril and occasionally Hilda show that his Fe even post-timeskip isn’t quite fully developed, but he does value the function, thus displaying a necessary element for compatibility

xNTP-ENTP couples do work out really well, but obviously, some compromises have to be made

Mainly in regards to extraversion/making sure everyone gets to talk enough, and taking care of real-world responsibilities like housework and chores

Both of you are incredibly passionate about what you do, and this would sit well with the other

I struggle to imagine Claude in the long-run with anyone who doesn’t hold a sort of fire in their heart

Your intense curiosity and desire to learn would match his own really well, and I could see you guys doing long dates where you take the full day to sit down in the library and dissect some idea that you had

Your interest in anthropology and sociolinguistics might be one of the best parts of this match! His life goal is to create a more united world, and your wealth of knowledge about history and culture would make having you around an invaluable asset for him

Just like he does with Byleth in the game, he’ll probably pick you up at first for your usefulness, but then he’ll slowly start to actually trust you and he’ll find himself desiring a relationship with you

Both of you would be the king and queen of meme, and it’d be a wonderful sight to anyone around you

Your interactions when you’re memeing would be absolutely off the shits, and your absurdist senses of humor setting off sparks with each other would be legendary to behold

He would adore these interactions with you, and the memories he has of them would be a treasure he keeps close

He can’t stand super uptight people, and you’re fairly laid-back yourself, so this is perfect in this sense

You both have a good sense of when it’s the right time to be carefree and when it’s the right time to take note, though

Although this ratio may seem more skewed towards the laid-back aspect in the perception of people like Lorenz and Lysithea, for you two, it’d be perfect

Normally with an ExxP/ExxP couple, I worry a lot about communication, but I think you two would be better off than most in this aspect

The fact that you have an extraverted side but are also a good listener is the saving grace here

Claude is a listener as well, but more often than not, he has something running in the back of his mind, so while he would be a good listener, he may not be as attentive as you’d like

He would feel bad about this, but as hard as he tries to always listen to you, sometimes he can’t help but letting his mind float back to whatever scheme he’s been plotting

If you’re ok with this, though, the road will be less bumpy- he might even appreciate it if your own mind drifts when he’s talking to you, as he would feel less guilty that way

He would try his best to help you when you are catastrophizing, but it would be a mixed bag of skittles for him

On the positive, he overthinks a lot himself, so he fully understands how you got to where you are

On the negative, he isn’t a very emotional person himself, so he has seldom reached catastrophization himself, so he doesn’t really know the best ways to handle it

He eventually learns what works and what doesn’t, but at first, it’s gonna be the effort that counts

Both of you are giant nerds and this would work rather well

He would love roleplaying and playing games with you given the free time, and you’d always be recommending books to each other to read

As for your sensitivity, Claude may not be the best at handling that, but he certainly tries

He’s generally pretty good at reading people, but with what upsets you, you may have to tell him a bit more directly for him to really understand so that he can avoid it

Claude would, though, be a boo in that he’d make you feel like the queen of the whole damned world

Insecurity??? Nah, you’re too cute/smart/amazing for that

He just loves to shower you in teases and he’d tell you every day that he loves you

If you want a flirt and a himbo, congrats you’ve found one

One other thing that makes me less confident about this pairing than the former is that Claude is a bit more free-spirited than you

He would do his best to anchor himself to you, but it’d be difficult to satisfy his wanderlust if you dislike travel- he doesn’t want to leave you, and he hates making you feel bad

To conclude, I think this has a lot of powerful potential, but it also has a few potential holes that make it somewhat less ideal

He needs someone that can teach him to value his own emotions and not just look at what everyone else wants, and I don’t know if you’d be able to reach him on that

3. Dorothea

Both of you have a lot of opinions, but you’re both careful about sharing them

I could see her as your kickass partner in crime

I am less passionate about this pairing than I am with your matches with Mercie and Claude, but I still think this has a lot of potential as well

Yyou would be able to teach the other how to appreciate the other!!

Lots of "you're pretty/no you" style interactions

Idk how else to explain this but your vibes synergize well???? Like both of you are very humanistic, but you're a bit more open and direct in your approach with it than she is

Both of you are highly creative but in different ways and this would work well

I think she would be like a muse figure for you and vice versa!

Both of you are into classical arts, which is grounds for a lot of fun dates and fun times

I can envision a lot of museum and opera dates

 and painting dates

 Y'all would just have so much fun being creative together

You both have a preppy side, but you'd be the nerd of the two, and she would poke playful fun at you whilst harboring an interest in everything you have to say

Both of you are very thoughtful and you'd find satisfaction in having someone who reciprocates the amount of effort you put into the relationship

Both of you have an enjoyment of fashion, and i could see you both having a fun time picking each other's outfits out and doing the other's hair and makeup

She would really like to flirt with you to try and get a reaction out of you

She would HIGHLY appreciate that you try hard to be an open-minded and understanding person

She wishes she had more of those in her life before she met you

Y'all would be such meme queens like...everyone else would label you guys as goals in terms of keeping a healthy air of humor around you

She is just so doting and passionate with you and she would try so hard every day to melt away your insecurities and worries

As a couple you guys have SO much chemistry; like once you guys sit down for tea and start talking, you find yourselves talking for hours, and Dorothea would fall more in love with your intellect and wealth of knowledge each day

The reason I still put this as lower than Claude and Mercedes is because I feel like it might be more one-sided, with Dorothea more attracted to you than you might be to her

I feel like she would be able to help you with your anxiety in a different way than Mercedes

Like she has gone through a lot of similar stuff with her past in its relationship to her self-esteem, and you'd both have a lot to learn from e/o here

This would work either romantically or platonically

For friendships, I’d consider: Ashe, Annette, Hilda, Ignatz, Marianne, and Bernadetta!

Feel free ofc to respond to me with any thoughts/questions you have on this, and I hope you liked it!! Sorry to keep you waiting for so long- I wanted to ensure quality on this

[stardestroyervigilance]

Kylux ‘No-Smut’ Fic Rec

As we all know, the Kylux fandom has no shortages of smut fics; we’re kind of notorious for it. But it’s not all kinks and fucking. Sometimes you just want a read a fic where there’s no sex and that’s what I’m here for! Below is a list of fics rated anywhere from General (Hux) Audiences to Mature Audiences and they all have one thing in common: they are completely smut scene free.

Canon-verse:

To Be Truly Seen by @theknitterati (G, 3.9k, Fluff, H/C, Self-Esteem Issues)

Kylo wears a helmet because he's extremely anxious about his appearance and thinks he's hideous. Hux finally figures this out and soothes him through a panic attack.

You're Awful by zamwessell (G, 2.3k, Bickering)

“Why are you trying to inspire them with speeches?” Ren asks. “I thought they were programmed from birth to obey.” “And why would I take any advice from you, Mr. I-Inexplicably-Have-A-Black-Bucket-Over-My-Head?” “Careful.” “I’m sorry, Darth I-Inexplicably-Have-A-Black-Bucket-Over-My-Head.”

General Hux and Kylo Ren hate working together. For different reasons.

To Entertain An Idea by @it-wasnt-me-really (T, 6k, Drunk Kylo, Jealousy, Friends to Lovers)

The Supreme Leader and Grand Marshal come to an understanding, which turns into a realization, which turns into a drunk freakout, which turns into something else entirely.

Captivity by @kyluxtrashpit (T, 1.9k, H/C, Aftermath of Torture, Hair Washing)

Against all odds, Kylo is taken captive by the Resistance. When he's finally rescued, he doesn't expect such simple comforts to feel so good.

Inseparable by Kittens (T, 3k, Keep Him Close Tumblr Event, Crack)

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren doesn't trust General Hux not to betray him, so he keeps him close. Really close.

Hold Me Back by @reyisaspacegay (T, 3.2k, H/C, Angst, Fluff, Past Child Abuse)

In which various things go wrong, and Hux learns just how affectionate Ren can be.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Subordinates by @obsessions-and-dreams (T, 1.8k, Crack, Fluff, Phasma Ships It)

Everyone on board the Finalizer can tell that the General doesn't get enough sleep. They decide to take matters into their own hands. What could possibly go wrong?

sunburn by @honeypothux (T, 4.2k, Angst, H/C, Exes)

“You’ve been crying,” Kylo says. The again is unnecessary. They both know its true.

black bacta bandages and other first order love stories by @lady-starkiller (T, 3.7k, H/C, Pining, Kyux Breakup Drama) 

After the battle on Starkiller Base, after Kylo's defeat at the hands of the Resistance, the First Order retrieved him from the imploding planet. And the First Order remained to see him heal.

I Follow Rivers by @bioticnerfherder and @agent-nemesis (M, 14.2k, Dealing With Injuries, Dismemberment) 

Kylo Ren returns to the Finalizer after completing his training to find General Hux missing in action. Determined to prove himself as a leader, he resolves to find the general no matter the cost. The Force, however, has other plans, and Kylo finds out more about the past than he does the future.

Alternate Universe:

Your Visible Soul by @obsessions-and-dreams (T, 6.1k, Modern AU, Enemies to Friends to Implied Lovers, Humour, Fluff, Cats)

Hux’s new neighbor was big, loud and messy.

And so was its owner, Kylo.

FN-1984 by @starhaxa (G, <1K, Addams Family AU, Crack, Outsider POV)

The stormtroopers know better than to say anything or even seem like they might not be minding their own business.

Comfort by @sparrowlicious (T, 2k, High School Au, H/C, Fluff) 

Hux seeks refuge at Kylo's place only to find him in need of support. He gets a chance to repay Kylo for letting him hang out at his place every time he needs to.

Third Time's The Charm by @theweddingofthefoxes (T, 2.6k, College AU, Praise Kink, Touch Starvation) 

Ben and Armie haven't been dating for very long, but maybe things will get more interesting on their third date. Ben's just hoping Armie won't think his praise kink or desire to be touched are weird.

Grounding by @absolutecreed (G, 1.5k, Modern AU, Dissociation, Fluff) 

Hux wakes up to a phone call from Kylo, saying to come pick him up.

What makes that request odd is that it's 4am. And its their day off. And nothing is open.

Hux gets worried.

fathers & sons by @claude-lit (M, 3k, Funerals, H/C, Mentions of Child Abuse)

Han dies. Hux picks up the pieces.

Homecoming by @warlike-god (M, 69k, Modern AU, Family Issues, Slow Burn)

AU in which Kylo has cut off all contact with his parents for the past seven years, but one phone call brings him right back to his dysfunctional family, and away from his hopeful art career. Now he has to deal with Han and Leia's foster daughter Rey, Governor Organa herself, and Armitage Hux, his high school rival who seems to keep showing up at every turn. Worst of all, he has to reconcile with Han, and figure out how to say goodbye.

stet by @acroamatica (M, 17k, Novelist/Editor AU)

Kylo Ren knows how to write a bestseller. All he needs is a good enough monster and a small enough town, a cast of people who are relatable but maybe not very bright, and an editor who will sit back and let him do his thing.

First Order House’s newly-promoted senior editor Hux, however, is not that editor.

Take Me Home, Country Roads by @multi-purpose-tool-guy (G, 8k, Kylux-Adjacent Ship, Clyde Logan/Caleb Smith, Family Drama) 

After the events that occurred at Nathan's home in the mountains, Caleb feels he needs to escape back to the sun-baked and beer-sticky West Virginia where he grew up. Some things have stayed the same but a lot has changed since he's been gone, including Clyde Logan, but thankfully not in any of the ways that matter.

Alternately; in more ways than one, Caleb comes home.

One Song Glory by @bioticnerfherder (T, 33k, Rock Band AU)

Over two years after graduating from Juilliard, Ben decides he wants to reunite the Knights of Ren, a cover band they formed to make rent as college kids in New York City. But two years can be long time, and the band members have moved on - friendships are strained, romantic feelings forgotten. Or are they?

featuring: Ben on vocals and bass, Poe on lead guitar, Finn on rhythm guitar, Phasma on keyboards, Rey on drums, and Hux as their songwriter/kind-of manager.

[tyson-berry-blog]

Evgeni Malkin #3 - Flirting

Anon asked: Oh dear god I love you! ❤️ I was wondering if you could an imagine about Evgeni Malkin? Maybe where (Y/N) plays for the Flyers and she can speak Russian so she flirts with him and he gets distracted? Thank you!!!

Hello anon, I clearly don’t know who you are but I can only assume you’re great and I love you too. This concludes the three Evgeni Malkin requests in a row. The flirting ended up being not as cutesy as intended so I hope that isn't an issue. I enjoyed writing this and the way it ended might result in a part two. I hope you enjoy this! This is also my first imagine under the new username which really means nothing but is something to me. 

You were called up from the Flyers AHL affiliate team the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a devastating case of the flu knocked out a good chunk of the roster. People were skeptical of a woman entering the NHL though you were far from the first. You quickly proved your worth and found yourself with a permanent spot on the roster.

During your time in the AHL you bonded the best with the Russian players both on your team and not. They liked your fiery spirit and can do attitude and while you can’t say for certain, matching them shot for shot after your first win might have helped. In exchange for you helping them with their English, they began teaching you simple Russian phrases. They started off easy with basic chirps and curse words but once it became clear how well you were learning they moved onto harder things.

You enjoyed learning the language because it gave you something to do during travel and the off-season. After a year of constant work, you could hold a passable conversation and used it any chance you got. You weren’t from Russian nor were your parents so there was really no reason you should know how to speak it. This gave you an unlikely advantage.

The Flyers-Penguins rivalry is regarded as one of the most intense rivalries in the history of the NHL. It’s initial beginning is assumed to be a result of location, as it is also nicknamed The Battle of Pennsylvania, and because both teams were introduced during the “Next Six” expansion wave.

As a Flyer yourself you are supposed to hate the Penguins on principle but couldn’t fully bring yourself to do so. They irked you sure, and sometimes they played less than what was ideal but you could admire their work ethic and determination. One player stood out amongst the rest. Evgeni Malkin was a name thrown around often by your Russian teammates both in the AHL and NHL. It didn’t matter if you liked him or hated him; you knew who he was. You admired his skill and the power he put into every shot. He was a force to be reckoned with on the ice but apparently a big softy off of it. Through the various Russians you were acquainted with you found yourself becoming more and more interested in Evgeni. Not necessarily in a romantic way, though he was attractive, but because he seemed like someone you’d get on with. You didn’t dare reveal this to any of your teammates because it would be seen as fraternizing with the enemy. They couldn’t think that you would be too distracted to play anything but your best against the Penguins.

The locker room was tense as everyone finished suiting up for the game. Claude gave a brief but inspiring talk to get everyone fired up as he always did and soon the team filed out to walk to the ice. Ivan Provorov walked up behind you and uttered in Russian, “everything okay?”

“I’m great. Just a bit nervous, it’s a big game.”

“You’ve got this,” he clapped you on the back and walked around you to the entrance to the ice.

You watched him skate off and took a deep breath before doing the same. The crowd roared as you stepped out. The perks of being on home ice meant that your fans were there to support you. Their cheers motivated you to skate faster, shoot harder and just generally be better. The Penguins were already on the ice warming up when the last of your team finally exited. You went through the motions of your warm up and before you knew it, it was time for the puck drop. The puck was a blur of black as it was passed from stick to stick. You tried your hardest to intercept it and weaved in and out around the Penguins. Claude fired it towards you but just before it entered your possession a force knocked you into the boards. Evgeni skated off with the puck so you hurried to pick yourself up and chase after him. 

He kept it just out of your reach so you called out to him, “that was a cheap hit and normally I’d complain but you’re hot when you’re angry.”

He clearly wasn’t expecting those words to come out of your mouth and he fumbled the puck just enough to give you an opening to swoop in a take it. He cursed loudly behind you which caused you to smile. You sped down towards their goal and fired it into the top right corner, just out of their goalie’s reach. The buzzer sounded and you were ambushed by your team in celebration. There was still plenty of time for the Penguins to score but your goal brought the score to 1-0, making it no longer scoreless.

The rest of the game passed with you making remarks towards Evgeni when you had the chance. It was good natured chirping in your opinion but clearly getting to him. Anything from “you’ve got good hands. I wonder what else they’d be good for,” after a nice pass, to, “you’ve got stamina, I admire that in a man,” at the end of the game. The Flyers pulled out the win thanks to your goal in the first so you were in good spirits as you skated down the line to tap gloves with the Penguins. Evgeni was firmly avoiding your gaze and a blush was high on his cheeks though it could be flushed from so much skating.

Once back in the locker room your team ambushed you again with cheers and hugs. The game puck was presented to you by Claude and you gratefully accepted it. The reporters flooded in soon after and surrounded you which wasn’t unusual.

One of them spoke up, “so what was it you said to Evgeni Malkin just before your goal in the first?”

“Oh nothing, just a bit of chirping.”

“It clearly got to him and allowed you to gain possession of the puck. Are you sure you can’t give us more detail?”

You ducked your head to hide the flush on your face, “it really was just about him slamming into the boards.”

“And the other times?”

“Just good natured teasing.”

You kept your answers as vague as you could and hoped your blush didn’t give anything away. When the media finally wrapped up, the locker room had mostly emptied out: there were still a few players milling around. You showered quickly and tucked your wet hair under your Flyers ball cap. The exhaustion of the game finally hit you and you were too tired to bother brushing your hair or putting your suit back on. You waved goodbye to the equipment managers and nodded at the remaining players.

The drive back to your apartment was a quick one and you couldn’t wait to grab some food and climb into bed. You unlocked the door to find the lights on and noise coming from the kitchen. You tossed your keys onto the table by the door and walked into the kitchen. Evgeni was pulling a plate out of the microwave and passed it over, no questions asked when you made grabby hands towards it.

“Was cheap play at game.”

You smiled, “you need to learn to ignore the teasing.”

“Is hard when coming from pretty lady.”

You forced down the flutter in your stomach at his words, “where does the team think you are?”

“I’m pretend be angry. Want be left alone.”

“Eventually they’ll figure it out. You always disappear when you play us.”

He pulled you in for a hug, “they dumb, not know anything.”

“Are you staying the night?”

“Can’t. Early flight. I’m stay late though.”

You put your plate down and grabbed his hands, “well we don’t have much time then. Better make good use of what we can.”

“I’m use my good hands.”

You threw your head back in laughter, “not my best line I’ll admit.”

“Is true though.”

“Yes G, whatever you say.”

Your team would likely kill you if they found out you were involved with the enemy but you found yourself not really caring. Evgeni meant a lot to you and you would make the most of your relationship while it stayed between the two of you. You were a much better liar than him but so far no one had caught on to his mysterious disappearances.

He pulled back from kissing you, “it was a good goal even if it wasn’t fair.”

“You don’t always play fair yourself.”

“Lies. I always play by the rules.”

“Whatever you say ‘Mr. leader in penalty minutes.”

“You like it when I fight.”

“Never said I didn’t.”

[iturbide]

Character Breakdown! - Marianne 💖 and Dorothea

MY GIRLS

How do I feel about this character?

I love her.  I love this gentle girl who has gone through so much pain and hardship, who’s lost her parents to what she believes is a curse that she shares, who is afraid of herself as much as she fears the hatred of those around her.  I can’t tell you how many times I started talking to my screen while going through her supports, because you’re wrong Marianne you do deserve happiness you are good at things I believe in you even if you don’t believe in yourself.  She’s very relatable, honestly, with her shyness coupled with self-deprecation as a defense mechanism to keep people away, not to mention the deep depression; again, mental health issues are generally a taboo thing in media, so I was more than a little shocked when I got her A support and realized just what she’d been praying so fervently to the Goddess for.  But I also love that about her: she held strong, and she made it through to a better place, which is such a wonderfully hopeful story for anyone with similar struggles, showing that things can get better if you just hold on.  

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

I have an answer this time and technically I spoiled it in an earlier character breakdown.  Because it’s Dimitri.  I love these two broken people and the idea of them managing to support each other, using one another as an anchor to keep from falling further and slowly pulling themselves back out of the lonely places they’ve fallen, both with the other’s help and with the other in mind.  I think they would make a wonderful pair since they understand the other’s struggles so deeply, and I’m aiming for their paired endcard in my AM run in progress.

Also, not gonna lie, I do low-key ship her with Hilda because cotton candy girlfriends.  I just think they’re sweet and I love how Marianne laughs in their A support, how bright and open and cheerful it sounds.  It just does my heart good.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Marianne deserves to have so many friends.  Aside from Claude (who is friends with just about everyone, this is non-negotiable with me), I really love her supports with Ignatz, and how he’s so gentle in coaxing her out of her shell and reassuring her that he enjoys sharing time with her.  They’re sweet, and I love their friendship dearly.  Also, surprisingly, Lorenz is another one who comes to mind; their A support was one of those that hit me right in the heart, and the fact that he’s so conscious of her feelings and urges her not to force herself to talk about things that upset her makes me think they would be very close friends, with Lorenz looking out for her and even running casual interference for her when she gets overwhelmed before inviting her to tea so she can calm down.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Okay so I know that Fandom loves the idea that Marianne is Berkut and Rinea’s kid.  And my unpopular opinion is that that is a terrible, terrible thing to do to her.  

It’s not that I don’t find the idea appealing, because in all honesty, I do.  The notion that Berkut and Rinea, or some reinarnations of them, had another chance in Fodlan and fell in love and had a daughter is delightful, and I would love to see it.  But let’s not forget that canonically, Marianne’s parents disappeared and are presumed dead, deeply traumatizing her and leaving her terrified of her own Brand and the monster she might become.  After what happened with Berkut and Rinea in Valentia, having them meet a fate that scars their daughter so utterly in another land and another life is utterly devastating, so I would much, much rather have her parents be anyone else than see these lives destroyed again and in the process destroy their child’s peace of mind.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Okay so this is maybe a weird one but I wish she could appear in every route even if you don’t recruit her.  Because I obsessively collect every student I can recruit in my own runs, I’ve had to do a fairly substantial amount of digging for fic writing purposes, but everywhere I look for non-VW runs...you don’t see Marianne.  She doesn’t appear at Gronder in AM, nor does she appear at Myrddin or Derdriu in CF.  And while it’s entirely possible that her absence has a benign cause...well, if you’ve read her Supports, there’s a far more likely, far more dire explanation -- and that thought breaks my heart like little else.  So I wish she could have appeared somewhere over the course of non-VW routes, just so that we can see she made it through her depression and found something to cling to.  Even if it does open up the possibility that she might fall on the battlefield, the idea that she might have fallen outside it where no one could see or know hurts somehow worse.

and of course the diva herself

How do I feel about this character?

Glorious.  Stunning.  Inspired.  Dorothea is a phenomenal character, someone who I endlessly enjoy seeing and talking to through the game.  She’s cultivated this perfect image of herself for the monastery to see, but as you get to know her the truth is so heartfelt: while she comes across as just a girl looking to find a husband during her time at Garreg Mach, she came from nothing, enduring abuse during her life on the streets of Enbarr before she was found by chance and brought into the Mittelfrank Opera Company; she’s terrified of going back to that when her looks and her voice no longer pass muster, and she’s looking out for her future with a keen and critical eye, even though she has no real expectations of finding love through it.  And this can all come out before the timeskip, no less: afterward it’s...honestly a little heartbreaking, to see how deeply the war has affected her.  

While Marianne has found something to fight for and managed to get her depression in check, Dorothea has gone in the opposite direction, seeming to succumb to depression instead.  The war has had a dire effect on her mentality, such that she feels it’s stripped her of all but the ability to survive (”only thorns left on this rose,”) and so many of her lines and comments just feel bleak and lost.  There aren’t that many characters in 3H who really embody the impact that war can have on people, because so many of the characters are stepping up specifically to fight for what they believe in and holding strong to their resolve for the sake of their loved ones and their homes.  Dorothea is the standout example of someone who’s fighting just to make this all stop, because she can’t take it anymore.  The war affects her so deeply, in ways that it doesn’t seem to hit other students, and I end up feeling like she more than anyone is at risk in the War Phase because of it. 

Her character is just very raw and very powerful in surprising ways and I love her.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

hhhhhh

it’s Lorenz okay

It’s always been Lorenz and you know what I’m already under the cut so just skip to the next header if you don’t want to read my long rambling explanation of where the fuck this comes from.

So in my first playthrough (Golden Deer forever), I spent...roughly 170 hours getting to the end.  This is almost entirely because I played on Normal mode and did an endless number of auxiliary battles grinding supports between all the characters -- and since I did, in fact, go the extra mile of recruiting every single student and professor I could in my first playthrough, I had a lot of characters to work with.  (I actually still missed out on some because I didn’t unlock their C’s soon enough -- Marianne with Ashe and Ingrid with Annette didn’t get unlocked until my next run since I knew what to look out for.)  This is a big part of how I ended up liking Lorenz in the first place: I worked through all his supports this way, and saw the full measure of him rather than just writing him off after how rough his C supports were mostly across the board.

Out of all his different supports, though, there were three in particular that stood out to me: Leonie, Mercedes, and Dorothea.  With Leonie, he learned to relax his strict notions of separation between nobles and commoners and accept the idea of friendship with her as equals.  From Mercedes, he got rightly scolded about treating commoners as beneath his notice and unworthy of consideration where marriage was concerned, and rightly corrected when he floated the idea of marrying her since it continues to fall in line with valuing nobility and Crests over personal character.  And in Dorothea, he absolutely met his match: not only is she someone who has near-identical motives in her quest for a spouse (not necessarily looking for romance so much as the perks that come with an advantageous marriage), but she’s someone capable of playing him directly, playing his emotions to reveal the folly of his mindset.  The way he laughs in their A support...I don’t think he laughs like that anywhere else.  It’s open and it’s earnest and it’s joyous, even as he concedes that she has utterly bested him.

And that, really, is what sold me on them.  Having grown so much over the course of those years, having met so many people who affected him and broadened his view of the world, when Dorothea bested him at his own game, I think he really did fall for her in truth, rather than just admiring her beauty and her craft.  In the end, both of them get everything they wanted and more: Dorothea gets the reassurance that she’ll be taken care of for the rest of her life, Lorenz can boast if he wants about marrying the star diva of the Mittalfrank Opera...but more than that, they’re equally matched as partners, both bringing different strengths to the table to improve conditions in the Alliance for everyone (and especially the commoners), and able to engage in productive back and forth with one another, challenging the other thoughtfully and coming to agreements and compromises on good terms.  I love how well-matched they are and how well their personalities play off each other and I think that they could have an incredibly powerful, productive partnership.

...also I totally ship her with Petra too because their supports are fantastic and also Petra is wonderful and deserves the best.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Ferdinand von Aegir.  I love their supports so much and how he goes out of his way to try to understand her perspective, and changes her understanding of him as a person in the process.  She understandably has things to work through, given their history and her own misconceptions about him back then, but I love the idea of them banding together as dear friends who do their best to support each other as best they can.  Also, Dorothea and Bernie is a delight, and I love the idea of Dorothea keeping in touch and helping to draw Bernie out of her shell bit by tiny bit.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Are.  Are there popular opinions about Dorothea?  I actually don’t see that many character impressions about her: most of what I see is fanart, and it mostly seems to be because she’s pretty.  I guess if I had any unpopular opinion, just based on the way I usually see her on my dash, it’s that she’s a whole heck of a lot more than just a pretty face: she’s cutthroat when she needs to be, incredibly capable as a fighter as much as a singer, and would probably make an excellent spy if the situation called for it.  I don’t think it’s fair that she’s treated mostly as eye candy when the truth is that her character is so much deeper than shallow beauty, both before and after the timeskip.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

This is silly but I wish we could have heard her sing more.  The only real song we hear from her if I’m remembering right is in her supports with Edelgard, where she improvises a few lines about the Empress-to-be.  And her voice is glorious!  I would have loved to hear her sing more, rather than getting so much from Manuela (which was...pretty painful, honestly, I do not care for her singing voice at all).  Especially considering how important singing is to her, not just as a former opera diva but just as a part of her life in general, it feels like a shame that we couldn’t hear her sing more throughout the game, either in her Supports or even in the choir sections at the monastery.

Give Me a Character  

[mrmichaelchadler]

Out of the Past: Noir City: Chicago is Back for 10th Year

This year's Noir City: Chicago seemingly borrows a title from classic of the genre itself: Out of the Past. 

For the 10th anniversary of the Chicago edition of their traveling festival, which runs August 17 to 23 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport, programmers Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode have taken a page from the golden age of Hollywood. Each day of the weeklong event pairs two A and B titles for a double bill of maximum noir. (The term “B movie” of course was used to define films programmed as the lesser half of a double feature.)

“This year’s programming concept does seem really simple,” said Muller, founder and president of the San Francisco-based Film Noir Foundation, which presents the festival, with sponsorship from Turner Classic Movies’ weekly “Noir Alley” showcase (hosted by Muller, a.k.a. “The Czar of Noir” himself). He also will introduce films during the festival’s opening weekend at the Music Box. “The irony is that we’re doing what they were doing 70 years ago.”

Earlier this year, for the San Francisco edition of Noir City, Muller used the same concept, and “it was kind of revelatory,” he said. “It really focused my intros, and by programming this kind of double bills, we could address things that were different from year to year. By 1947-’48, noir was in full flower. It really wasn’t a movement until then. As it went forward, it changed and morphed into something different. It’s also a great way of balancing a well-known film with something more obscure that you couldn’t fit in otherwise.” 

Rode, Muller’s partner in noirdom (and an FNF director-treasurer), reports the concept worked really well when they reprised it in Hollywood in April. “We had to cheat a bit to program ‘The Scarlet Hour’ (pictured below) since it’s a 1956 B-release paired with a 1952 A-title ‘The Turning Point.’” But they couldn’t resist because it’s a rarely seen noir by Hollywood heavyweight Michael Curtiz (the subject of Rode’s latest book, Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, as well as a current retrospective at the Music Box).

“It’s exciting to show ‘The Scarlet Hour’ because it’s a real rarity,” said Rode, who will intro the second half of the Noir City lineup at the Music Box. Other than noir aficionados, “it’s sad that no one is interested in seeing films like this. We’re dealing with a generation who thinks Bill Murray in ‘Ghostbusters’ is a golden-age movie.”

In the past, all Noir City titles were shown in 35mm, but Muller and Rode have bowed to changing times. “If you want to hold out, you’re not going to be able to show certain titles,” Muller said. “‘The Scarlet Hour’ is a 35mm print from the archives. It might be the last one we ever get. In the future, we’re going to get them in digital restorations. That’s the way it is. But I would prefer to show a restored digital version of a film instead of being a stickler and insisting on a print that’s possibly worn out.”

Rode points out that Paramount quit making prints about seven years ago and other studios have followed suit. “I do have to say that some of the DCPs that Paramount has done are gorgeous,” he said. “They have that granular look, it doesn’t look artificial. If you want to see some of these films, DCP is going to be the medium of choice.”

This year’s festival kicks off with two ’90s neo-noirs directed by Carl Franklin, “One False Move” and “Devil in a Blue Dress.” “As much as I’m loyal to hard-core fans who want to see older, classic movies, I want to be able to take advantage of the moment,” Muller said. “It’s important to show that noir is not calcified. I see a natural extension from noir to current cinema. Plus, it’s interesting to see the African-American perspective on this genre.” Though he’s currently making a film in Pittsburgh, Franklin will appear opening night for post-screening discussions. “He’s willing to go the extra mile to be in Chicago for Noir City,” Muller said.  

“For our 10th year in Chicago, it’s a terrific lineup and somewhat of a milestone,” Rode said. “It’s always great to come to the Music Box and continue relationships we’ve developed over the years. Even when the Cubs are playing, the Music Box is the place to be.” 

Here’s the lineup of Noir City: Chicago 2018, with commentary by Muller and Rode:

“Devil in a Blue Dress” (1995), Aug. 17, 7 p.m.: Based on the first book of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series, “Devil” follows a ’40s-era detective (Denzel Washington) assigned to find a society woman hiding out in L.A.’s black neighborhoods. “Modern updates of classic noir typically don’t do well,” Muller said. “Hollywood thought ‘L.A. Confidential’ was a flop. The same with this title. However, it features Denzel at his most sexy and most movie star-ish.”

“One False Move” (1992), Aug. 17, 9:45 p.m.: Muller calls Carl Franklin’s breakthrough movie, about a hayseed cop (Bill Paxton) trying to root out a gang of killers, “one of the great crime films ever made. We’re showing it second, because it’s hard to watch. People might walk out because of the violence, the first scene is really intense. Also, it’s a good way to salute Bill Paxton”—who died last year at age 61. “His death didn’t really register. It’s one thing when it’s Tab Hunter [who died three days shy of his 87th birthday in July] but when it’s someone as young as Bill—that’s tragic. Noir City revives golden-age movies that people have missed, and now that applies to films from the ’80s and ’90s as well. Billy Bob Thornton co-wrote the script, and its race-related themes are still timely 25 years later.”

“Conflict” (1945), Aug. 18, 3 p.m.: Reverting to his heavy roles after his transformation as a romantic hero in “Casablanca” (1942), Humphrey Bogart plays a murderous husband with designs on his wife's sister. Rode regards “Conflict” as “one of Bogie's most overlooked films,” in part because the title was shelved for two years over a rights issue. 

“Bogie hated making the movie, it was too close to his own life,” Muller said, referring to the actor's rocky relationship with third wife Mayo Methot. “‘Conflict’ was Jack Warner’s payback.” Instead of cashing in on the star’s new appeal, the studio chief “wanted to stick it to Bogie” to show him who still remained the boss,” Muller said. “But his plan backfired, because after “Casablanca,” “the public didn’t want Bogie to be a bad guy anymore.”

“Escape in the Fog” (1945), Aug. 18, 5 p.m.: For the watershed noir year of 1945, “we had a lot of movies to choose from,” Muller said of this thriller about an Army nurse (Nina Foch) terrified by a recurring dream in which she witnesses a murder on the Golden Gate Bridge. “But ‘Escape in the Fog”—it’s Budd Boetticher,” referring to the Chicago-born director, best known for his seminal Westerns of the ’50s. “It’s great to see something early from him. I love to show films by directors who are going on to bigger things ... and it’s from Columbia, which always supplies us gorgeous 35mm prints.”

“The Blue Dahlia” (1946), Aug. 18, 7 p.m.: This classic noir, penned by Chicago-born crime-fiction icon Raymond Chandler, gives Alan Ladd one of his signature roles as a returning soldier accused of murdering his unfaithful wife (Doris Dowling). It reteams Ladd with Veronica Lake, after their successes as Paramount’s leading romantic duo in “This Gun for Hire” (1942) and “The Glass Key” (1942). 

Muller finds it mystifying that Ladd has been virtually forgotten by modern audiences, unlike fellow noir heroes Bogart and Robert Mitchum, and that Lake continues to be dismissed as a mere vamp (albeit with a stylin’ hairdo). “People had such a wrong notion of what she was on screen,” he said. “She was not a femme fatale. Lake was brainy and didn’t need the guy. ‘The Blue Dahlia’ is a classic example of that. I don’t like the idea that women were sexy dames just out to corrupt men. Plus, her films projected a very significant image during the war for American women.”

“Strange Impersonation” (1946), Aug. 18, 9:15 p.m.: Beset by blackmail, a scheming assistant, a disfiguring accident and romantic betrayal, a research scientist (Brenda Marshall) plots her revenge. “I have a soft spot for B movies that make absolutely no sense,” Muller said of this pivotal early film by director Anthony Mann. “I love the ones where there's some sort of weird science in a crime film. And this film is right in that sweet spot."

Rode calls “Strange Impersonation” “one of most bizarre movies ever made … it’s 68 minutes of real weirdness absolutely not to be missed.”

“The Unsuspected” (1947), Aug. 19, 2 p.m.: After the secretary of a radio personality (Claude Rains) turns up dead, he hints at murder. “This film marks Michael Curtiz’s first production away from Warner Bros [his longtime studio home],” Rode said. “He was trying to do something similar to ‘Laura,’ but didn’t turn out that way. Claude Rains is great and gives the perspective of the role that radio that played in pop culture back then. Plus, the camera work by Curtiz and cinematographer Woody Bredell is something to behold.”

Muller added, “I’m always on lookout for noir written by women. The Charlotte Armstrong novel [adapted by Bess Meredyth and Ranald MacDougall] is really good. ‘The Unsuspected’ is just juicy, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but with a cast like Claude Rains and Audrey Totter, it doesn’t have to.”

“Blind Spot” (1947), Aug. 19, 4:15 p.m.: Of this fast and furiously paced B, Muller observed: “It’s a very cleverly written film about cleverly written stories … a very smart and savvy commentary on literary vs. genre fiction.” Chester Morris, best known for the “Boston Blackie” series, plays a down-on-his-luck writer who pens a murder mystery to show how easy it is, “and then he blacks out and can’t recall the ending, and he’s the prime suspect.”

Muller also applauds the performance of Constance Dowling (older sister of Doris) as a secretary/dangerous blonde. “Look her up on the internet,” he said. “She became Elia Kazan’s mistress, then her next lover committed suicide over her. She’s quite beguiling on screen.” 

“I Walk Alone” (1948), Aug. 19, 6:15 p.m.: After a 14-year stretch in the slam, a Prohibition-era bootlegger (Burt Lancaster) discovers his former partner (Kirk Douglas) has no intention of sharing the profits of their previous spoils. “It’s a great cast, with Burt and Kirk in the first of the seven films they made together, along with the always amazing Lizabeth Scott—a star fest in a cool Hal Wallis production,” Muller said.

Its source elements once considered lost, “I Walk Alone” has been restored by Paramount and will be shown in DCP format. “I’m happy my relationship with studios leads to these kinds of rediscoveries,” Muller said. “The Film Noir Foundation is the impetus for a studio like Paramount to find the original elements, do a digital scan and then create a new DCP. Kino will release the film in a Blu-ray edition this fall. All of this resulted because of me being a pain in the ass all these years.”

“Bodyguard” (1948), Aug. 19, 8:30 p.m.: After getting bounced for insubordination, a homicide detective (Lawrence Tierney) takes a job in a meat-packing plant where an inspector has been ground up along with the product. “It’s one of [director] Richard Fleischer’s down and dirty noirs,” Rode said. “He didn’t truly move into the noir groove until ‘Narrow Margin,’” referring to the director’s 1952 classic noir on a train. “Plus, it stars Tierney, the meanest man in film noir. And one of the writing credits is by Robert Altman, then just 23.”

“Lawrence Tierney, what can I say?” Muller said. “‘Bodyguard' is great, terrific and so entertaining. I stay in the theater and watch it every time because Tierney is always so intriguing on the screen.”

“All My Sons” (1949), Aug. 20, 7 p.m.: Muller and Rode admit that this film version of Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning drama about an ethically challenged businessman (Edward G. Robinson) and the failure of the American dream is “not really noir but noir-stained.” They both believe in stretching the boundaries of noir when appropriate. “Plus, its theme about a guy profiting from war and the guilt he faces over manufacturing defective parts has resonance to this day.”

Rode observes that “All My Sons” is another completely overlooked film—it’s not on DVD, not available on streaming platforms. Robinson gives one of his great performances opposite Burt Lancaster [as one of Robinson’s sons]. They’re both so good, and the film features lots of great character actors, including Harry Morgan and Lloyd Gough.”

“The Spiritualist” (1949), Aug. 20, 9:15 p.m.: A shady medium (Turhan Bey) persuades a widow that he can communicate with her late husband in what Muller and Rode consider an underappreciated gem from master cinematographer John Alton, who virtually invented the look of film noir in the ’40s. “Again, it’s as good as B movies get,” Muller said of this Eagle-Lion programmer also known as “The Amazing Mr. X.” “John Alton’s one of my faves—it’s more his movie than the director [Bernard Vorhaus]. You can tell that Alton is calling the shots. I showed it years ago, and Bey showed up, and that’s what he said, too. He told story after story about what a genius Alton was, dictating the whole day’s shoots according to his lighting scheme.”

Rode also recalls that 2000 screening in Los Angeles of “The Spiritualist,” when Bey appeared unexpectedly: “No one knew he was. He asked, ‘Where are all the great character actors I used to work with?’ Very sweet guy. The only print we had was a bad one with splices, and the film broke three times.”

“The Man Who Cheated Himself” (1950), Aug. 21, 7 p.m.: A veteran homicide detective (Lee J. Cobb) involved with a married socialite (Jane Wyatt) covers up a murder and then discovers that his rookie brother (John Dall) has been assigned to the case. Muller claims Felix E. Feist’s crime drama has “the weirdest casting ever in a noir.” 

Rode agrees: “Lee J. Cobb finally, just off his breakthrough role on Broadway in ‘Death of a Salesman,’ finally plays someone his own age, this time as a horn-dog detective, opposite Wyatt, usually the paragon of virtue.” Shot on location in San Francisco, “it’s really worthwhile.”

At the Music Box, “The Man Who Cheated Himself” will be shown in a restored 35mm print, funded by the Film Noir Foundation and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 

“I Was a Shoplifter” (1950), Aug. 21, 9 p.m.: This programmer about an undercover cop (Scott Brady) and a five-finger discount ring is a real rarity, and even more remarkable, Muller reports he has never seen it: “We realized in it was in Universal’s archives; Alan swears it’s worthwhile. There are films I consciously don’t watch because I’m saving them. When I’m 75, I want to have films to look forward to.”

Rode confirms the movie’s bona fides. “It stars Scott Brady, the good brother of Tierney family,” he said of the actor, the middle sibling of the Tierney acting clan. “They were on completely different sides of the spectrum in most movies.” Shot on location in Los Angeles and San Diego, “I Was a Shoplifter” features Rock Hudson, Peggie Castle and James Best in bit roles, and Tony Curtis as a sinister sidekick improbably named Pepe.

“The People Against O’Hara” (1951), Aug. 22, 7 p.m.: In his only film noir, Spencer Tracy plays an alcoholic attorney who comes out of retirement to defend a neighbor’s son (James Arness, later of “Gunsmoke” fame) against a homicide charge. “Tracy’s character cuts close to the bone,” Rode said of this film, directed by Oak Park native John Sturges, best known for his epic actioners such as “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and “The Great Escape” (1963).

Muller again lauds the camerawork of John Alton: “one of the many Hungarians who transformed Hollywood. His career completely coincided with the rise of noir. After 1947, he was the go-to guy for the genre.”

“Pickup” (1951), Aug. 22, 9:15 p.m.: Of this lurid potboiler about an older man duped by a femme fatale, Rode said, “the moment this one starts, you know you’re not talking about a truck.” Beverly Michaels, the film’s deadly dame, was married to Russell Rouse, author of the classic noir “D.O.A.” (1949), in real life. Their son is Oscar-winning editor Christopher Rouse (“The Bourne Ultimatum”). “I once asked him how it was like growing up in a noir nuclear family,” Rode said. Meanwhile, “Hugo Haas spent his career making bad remakes of ‘The Postman Rings Twice,’ with an older man being tormented by a younger woman.” And in “Pickup,” Haas plays the beleaguered husband (named Jan “Hunky” Horak) himself.

Once reviled as “the foreign Ed Wood,” Haas deserves more respect. “I find his movies hugely entertaining, and fans go nuts for them,” Muller said. “I love his backstory. He was an esteemed actor in Moravia [now part of the Czech Republic]. When he came to the U.S., his compatriots were embittered by their lower status, but he wasn’t afraid to embrace the low-budget mystique. All of his films made money, and he worked with fabulous actresses. His formula was absolutely flawless. I have nothing but admiration for Hugo Haas.”

“The Turning Point” (1952), Aug. 23, 7 p.m.: When a reporter (William Holden) and a prosecutor (Edmond O’Brien) investigate a crime syndicate, they discover a family member might be on the take. “It’s a great cast, with a panoply of character actors,” Rode said. “When Ted de Corsia [known for his many villainous roles] plays a voice of reason, you know it’s serious.” 

A riff on the Kefauver Commission probe into organized crime in the early ’50s, “The Turning Point” was filmed on location in Los Angeles, with scenes set at iconic spots such as Angel’s Flight and the Bunker Hill neighborhood. It was directed by German emigré William Dieterle, who notched up a few noirs in his extensive filmography. “I think he’s underrated, he was a protege of Curtiz’s,” Rode said. “It’s not just a crime expose, there’s a definite noir element.”

Muller notes that the Film Noir Foundation had pursued this Paramount release for years and finally persuaded the studio to restore the title, which be shown in the DCP format. “It’s much like ‘I Walk Alone.’ I thank Paramount for rescuing it,” he said. “How did this movie slip through the cracks? I think this film will surprise, because it’s much darker and bleak than people realize.”

“The Scarlet Hour” (1956), Aug. 23, 9 p.m.: Michael Curtiz’s thriller pits an adulterous pair (newcomers Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon) against a possessive husband (James Gregory), with a jewel robbery as the lovers’ method of deliverance. “It’s a little over the top, but it’s perfect for what it is in this festival,” Muller said. “This crime drama has so many elements of film noir, but you can see everything changing. It’s such a rarity; I’m so proud finally able to get this film,” which will be shown in an archival 35mm print. “Paramount doesn’t do that anymore—ship an archival print from the vault.”

Rode reminds noir fans that “The Scarlet Hour” is not available on DVD or streaming platforms. “It’s terrible but somehow terrific,” he said. “It was Curtiz’s last chance. He was old and had made several bad movies. This was his opportunity to capitalize on his reputation as a star marker—but Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart? It didn’t work out, but the movie is often compared to ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice.’ Carol comes across as a really feral fatale.” 

Shot all over Los Angeles, “The Scarlet Hour” features a great supporting cast, with E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns and Elaine Stritch in her film debut. Plus, there’s a scene with Nat King Cole singing at Crystal Ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “Curtiz might have been an SOB, but he was ‘Casablanca,’” Rode said. “We always have that.”

Festival passes are $85 apiece ($75 for Music Box members). Opening-night tickets, $12 ($9 for members). Single-feature tickets, $11 ($7, members). Double-feature tickets, $15 ($12, members). For more information about Noir City: Chicago, click here 

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