#i know this is not at all the intent but it feels so often like they're telling me 'you should just give up now and get a boring job'

[aroboxfolio]

the first thing i feel is my legs crumpling beneath me, the blade, vile thing, falls from my bloody grip. this is new.

I can't remember the last time my hand was free of the blade, the pain of uncurling my fingers shoots through my arm, and I breathe- sharp shallow gulps of musty air, dust spinning around you as the library ___ your intrusion. Archmage Glavia of the Frosts, the youngest archmage coronated in the last thousand years, stands braced against one of many bookshelves in her newly inherited, ancient library-spire.

Her eyes are wide, and breath shallow, but she is unharmed save the red line i put in her cheek. she might even survive, If I can tell her about the poison. (one of many moments I wish I was still with tongue)

I tap my face, mirrored to her wound, and watch her flinch.

"Hells teeth and Horns, you were under that spell?" she groans, disgust framing her face. puppeteering, one of the three most forbidden dark magics. some may argue it the worst. (I would) but she's running out off time. I owe her this much.

I jab my face in the same spot and grit my teeth at her, her brows knit together as she chews her lip, confused.

I jab again and then mime breaking my own neck, it pops loudly as I twist it to the side, and for a splitting second I fear I've actually broke it.

She glowers, brows pinched together to tight to see where one stars and the other ends.

"...Flint shards." she growls, summoning a perfect sheet of ice to check her face with. she prods at the wound, and I realize she hadn't noticed the cut at all. a numbing agent, hum.

"I'm guessing I can't feel this, because there's a way to treat whatever other poison is part of... it." she deducts. I nod slowly, trying not to further aggravate my aching neck.

"well, I appreciate the effort." she smiles, it's crooked, tired smile. The kind one gives to troublesome children, when they do something well- intentioned for once. when was the last time someone smiled at you, tired or not? I don't remember. the chill of her magic moves again and I shudder, magic usually means trouble. my fingers grasp nothing, painfully, thankfully.

she's freezing it, the blood and poison both, using the numbness to her advantage, pulling blackened ice out in chunks, glaring accusingly at her own reflection as she takes her left cheek apart, piece by piece. I shudder again, there's a reason she made it to coronation at 36, and that clearly changes things. mages are so often frivolous or timid, unaware of how to face real challenges, but she might have a shot, In another ten years, of taking them down.

she stops pulling the piece she currently has pinched tween' her fingers with a wince, and breaks it off instead. she looks mauled. she looks at me, and dismisses her ice mirror, turning her focus to my eyes.

her eyes are slightly different shades of grey, the left, above her wound, is darker and bluer. the right is silverish. you can't quite place the color. she looks years more tired. her hand is cold, but I take it anyway and she helps me to my feet. I shake like a new lamb, and my hand refuses to let go, finally holding something, a strange new shape that doesn't fit my crooked fingers. it doesn't have to.

I try to smile, but trying brings tears, and I'm relived when she turns her eyes from me to lead us somewhere. I don't know where. her hair is half in her other had, the one untrapped by mine, and half on her head, covering any glimpse of her face from behind. no cut on her neck, but of course there isn't! she would be dead if that was the case. you know when you've missed or not... but still the relief bubbles up, there's even a curl at her back uncut by that blade. It was thicker than others hair, fleecy, almost, made of tight ringlets of curls. mages take great care with their dress, and archmages are no exception to such truth, but I can only feel glad it was her hair, and not her life, lost to the blade. maybe she can put it back somehow?

she leads me to a room. small, with a hammock and a considerable lack of things besides. "rest here, I need to get this mess fixed" she gestures at her face, but I can't let go. she looks at me, at the tears, until I do let go. the shame burns and my hand weeps, but I am good at doing what I'm told, If nothing else.

"I'll be back..." she sighs, holding her marred cheek, her halved hair, and I wonder why she would bother, for answers, likely. "later." she decides.

I sit in the hammock, and wait. my hand grips nothing.

Trained from birth as an assassin, your mind was bound by a powerful control spell. Sent to kill an archmage, they cast Dispel to weaken you—accidentally freeing your mind instead. For the first time, your dagger points wherever you choose.

[daylightstring]

a message to all the maladaptive dreamers out there who say the law “doesn’t work” because they’ve “felt it real” for years but never saw results:

you weren’t living in the end, you were fantasizing about the end. there’s a difference. daydreaming, dissociating, and creating elaborate mental movies won’t change your reality unless you identify as the version of you who already has it. the law isn’t activated by desperation or escapism. it’s activated by conviction, embodiment, and self-concept.

you can spend hours feeling it in a dream, but if you wake up and still believe you’re not that person, you’re reaffirming lack. fantasizing is not assuming. pretending is not becoming.

and that’s the real core of it, it will always come back to identity. if you keep calling yourself a “maladaptive dreamer,” someone who escapes into fantasy to cope with a reality you don’t like, you’re reaffirming the exact version of you that doesn’t have what you want. it’s not just a habit, it’s a self-concept. and as long as you stay attached to that identity, you’re choosing to live in a faraway lalaland where the desire always feels close… but never quite yours.

you didn’t “do it wrong,” you just weren’t doing the law. the law of assumption is not maladaptive dreaming. maladaptive dreaming is a legitimate condition, a compulsive, often isolating cycle that has deeply affected so many people’s lives. and i say this with so much love, because i’ve been there too. i know what it’s like to get lost in your mind for hours, to feel safer in a fantasy than in your own body, to cling to imagined realities because the present felt unbearable. but you have to stop. no one is going to save you. you are the only one who can decide to come home to yourself.

the law asks you to assume the identity of the version of you who has it. maladaptive dreaming keeps you stuck in the identity of someone who’s always trying to get there. it’s not about cutting off your imagination, it’s about using it consciously, with discipline, with intention, with love. not to escape your life, but to create it.

stop calling yourself a maladaptive dreamer. stop diagnosing yourself with an identity that keeps your desires far away. before you ask “how do i do that?” remember what the law of assumption is about: identity creates. if you keep identifying as a maladaptive dreamer, someone who escapes or dissociates, that’s exactly what reality will reflect back.

but you have to break that loop. you can’t sit and stare at your wounds forever. i’ve shifted both physical and mental conditions just by changing my self-concept and choosing new assumptions. it’s possible. the only thing standing in your way is the story you keep telling yourself.

[homemadesterekpie]

im still such an og Hale pack enjoyer for real. i think about them all the time these days. Derek, Boyd, Erica, Isaac and Stiles just chilling together.

it starts awkwardly because they’re not used to eachother yet but the sheer instincts they all have to bond together is so strong the awkwardness feels just like background noise.

Scott having chosen the Argents while Stiles chose the wolves there’s this inevitable rift that forms between them. Stiles having been devoted to Scott for so long it’s obviously painful for him for a while and the wolves senses it.

especially Derek with his new Alpha powers, he can smell it on Stiles, his grief at losing his best friend. but he can also smell resignation and insistent determination.

Stiles does nothing in halves, when he’s in, he’s all in.

they start hanging out almost every day. not doing anything special most days. The betas train, Derek guides them, Stiles watches, he reads. Derek started going through the burnt out shell of his home and found some books and other things to salvage and let Stiles read through them.

and somehow that small thing almost moves Stiles to tears. Derek trusting him with the painful remains of his past life. Stiles is barely just starting to understand just how painful it’s all been for Derek up until now. and how it still tortures him. so having Derek casually show him the smoke smelling books and telling him he can read them if he wants to makes Stiles want to do something stupid like kiss Derek on the cheek and hug him. instead he fights tears and he thanks Derek sincerely as Derek just watches him intently.

It feels weird for Derek to have a pack now. It had been him and Laura for so long that his wolf had been content with that fact. but becoming an Alpha changed everything and he doesn’t know how Laura had been able to keep from changing people to add to their pack for all those years in New York because the drive to do so was almost impossible to resist. but Laura had always been the strong one, she had been raised to be the Alpha while Derek had been raised to become her beta. but he hopes he can make her proud. he hopes he can be half the Alpha she was.

its a relief to have numbers though. it feels safer and it’s easier to breath. he has people to take care of now. he has people to protect and provide for. he has people to patrol his territory with. he can secure his territory’s borders. he can start parley with the hunters occupying his territory.

it’s Stiles who brings it up. they’ve been a pack for a while now. almost a year. summer vacation is around the corner. the betas are strong now, they know how to fight, they know how to kill. meanwhile, Stiles has been going through Derek’s books obsessively. He started taking notes on loose paper but then started transcribing them more neatly into notebooks.

one late afternoon, when the pack is spending the day at the small lake deep in the preserve, Stiles sitting on the bank and reading, he asks Derek if they should consider dealing with the hunters.

ever since the pack has started growing stronger and more confident: patrolling the borders every night, contacting neighbouring packs to tekindle old alliances, Derek finally having his burnt out house torn down. the hunters have been making themselves known more insistently.

Chris Argent has been showing up with his daughter in the preserve hiking, more than once, both of them armed to the teeth. Strangers smelling of gunpowder and wolfsbane have been spotted in town a lot more often. actually, Stiles is pretty sure they’re being followed.

even Stiles who doesn’t have enhanced senses, spotted them all over town. once when out with his dad for dinner, a duo of them had come into the diner and sat at a booth not far from them. Stiles was certain he had seen them before. yes, he could swear he had seen them when he drove back home a few days ago after spending the day with the betas.

Stiles had watched as his dad had tensed when he also noticed the hunters sitting at their booth, ordering food. it was only after, when they were leaving the diner that his dad had asked Stiles if everything was good.

Stiles has told his father about werewolves a few months prior. he hadn’t gone into too much details but the sheriff knew about the pack and that Stiles was part of it. so Stiles shared to his dad his suspicions about the hunters. the next day, the sheriff gave Stiles a gun and took him to the gun range a few towns over. Stiles already knew how to use a gun but it had been a while since handling one so he made sure Stiles reacquainted himself. he also told Stiles that he would start keeping an eye on the Argents and waved away Stiles’ protests about not being worth endangering his job.

so this is why Stiles had to let Derek know they should definitely consider making a move. Derek just says yeah they should. he also confesses having been following the hunters’ movements for a while now. Stiles is taken aback because he had no idea of this??? and the betas hadn’t either from their reactions. they all stopped their swimming to look at Derek with various looks of surprise and betrayal. especially Boyd, whom had naturally worked his way to the second in command spot at Derek’s side.

so they decide to have an impromptu pack meeting right there on the bank of the small lake. they have a picnic and they talk things through as a pack, together. it feels so right to do so. this is what things are all about, Stiles distantly thinks as he watches and listens to Derek explain the hunters’ patterns of movement. a wolf pack, deep in the wilderness of their territory, ensuring the survival of their own.

they decide that Stiles will be sent with Boyd to the main Argent house and deliver the date and time and place for a parley meeting. Stiles recites the words he prepared beforehand , making sure to use the terms he learned from all the books he read.

there will be no violence. but if the hunters were to break that rule, the pack would be forced to take measures to protect themselves.

Chris’ face stays hard and impassive as he listens to Stiles but Allison isn’t as good at hiding her emotions, her face betraying her disdain and hatred. Stiles can’t help thinking those emotions don’t suit her, it makes her look a lot like her mother. the entire time Stiles speaks, she keeps her eyes on Boyd but the imposing beta doesn’t even bat an eyelash. It’s only when Allison’s eyes move to Stiles with the same animosity, that Boyd takes a step closer to Stiles, almost moving in front on him. a soft rumble growing louder the longer Allison looks at Stiles.

Chris’ eyes snap to Boyd for a second before falling to Allison and he stares her down until she has no choice but to lower her eyes, whole body shaking in anger. Boyd stops growling but he doesn’t step down or away from Stiles.

when they finally leave, Boyd walks with Stiles at his back and keeps his eyes the two hunters until they’re both back inside the house and Stiles is safe in the jeep.

Boyd and Stiles share a look when they’re both sat in the jeep. words aren’t necessary here. Boyd has done more than words could ever express so Stiles just pats Boyd’s shoulder, smiling and then he grips it for a few seconds. he’d prefer to hug him but in the jeep it would be too awkward so this would have to do for now.

not long after, the meeting happens. Derek, Boyd and Stiles arrive early. it’s happening at the outskirts of town, almost at the border of the territory. Erica and Isaac are stationed close by and they howl in warning when the hunters approach.

when Scott gets out of the SUV along with Chris, Allison and two other unfamiliar hunters, he’s the only one who reacts. he gasps and his jaw falls open in indignation but he immediately shuts it and rage courses through his veins. he never thought he would ever be feeling like this when it came to Scott but here he is. the gun in the waistband of his jeans at his back burns as his hand itches with the urge to take it out. he could shoot Scott, just to show him a lesson, he doesn’t even have wolfsbane bullets, he’d recover. but this meeting is more important than his ex best friend’s idiotic decisions.

he’s seething in it when Derek’s big hand falls to his shoulder and squeezes for a moment. Stiles calms down almost instantly. his breathing calms and he touches Derek’s hand softly with his fingers in acknowledgment, in thanks and Derek lets go. Scott’s eyes follows the movements and vague disgust blooms on his face.

Derek openly stares at Scott as he walks up along with Chris and his daughter. his stare is hard and unforgiving and he stares until Scott lowers his own gaze to the ground, fidgeting.

Derek leads the meeting and he’s surprised when Chris is the one to lead his own party. he was certain Allison was the one in charge now. She turned 18 and had finished her training months prior. that meant Chris and his men didn’t consider her ready for some reason. it must be because of the way she can’t seem to be able to keep her feelings in check. her hatred and discomfort at being in their presence is so palpable, Derek couldn’t avoid the smell even if he wanted to.

the terms of the Hale pack are brought forward. Hunters have a month to leave Hale territory or face repercussions. if they want to parley in the future, after leaving the territory, they will reach out to the pack for a meeting, the proper way. any other manner of ways used to reach out to the pack, will be considered a breach of the terms and the pack will be forced to take action.

Derek is implacable, his word is law. Stiles feels it in his bones, the skin at the back of his neck prickles with goosebumps. the wind picks up, the trees trashing with it and it becomes undeniable just how powerful Derek truly is at this moment.

the nematon is alive. Stiles has been working tirelessly for months with Deaton to purify it and then secure it’s connection to the Hale bloodline. tonight was the first test in checking the connection and the result is more than promising and Stiles can’t help giving a little smirk.

Chris looks around them furtively, feigning calm but there’s beads of sweat forming at his forehead. he watches Derek for a long time as the trees trash and creak under the force of the wind around them. the ground starts to shake slightly, pebbles and gravel rattling about.

it goes on until Chris finally extends a hand toward Derek and accepts the terms. Derek simply grips Chris’ hand in his own and they shake on it. the ground stops shaking and the the wind slowly die down to a gentle breeze.

Erica and Isaac show up at that moment, making themselves known and the entire pack watch as Chris, Allison, Scott and the two other hunters walk back to the SUV and drive away.

Stiles knows they’re out of earshot once the betas’ tense postures finally relaxes. Derek stays tense for much longer but that’s only before his senses are sharper than the betas.

Stiles and the betas celebrate by sharing hugs and a few nuzzles to cheeks. then Stiles walks over to his Alpha and just has to wait him out a few more seconds before Derek’s posture also relaxes.

he reaches out to place a hand around the back of Stiles’ neck and pulls him into his personal space. he pushes his forehead to Stiles’ own and they breath the same air for a few moments. Stiles lets his eyes fall shut and he grips Derek’s henley at his side.

eventually, they separate and Derek’s hand shifts to lay to the side of his neck, thumb brushing back forth. Stiles can’t look away from Derek’s gorgeous face, his heart pounding in his chest. emotions surge up inside of him and the next thing you know Stiles is kissing Derek on the lips, arms around those broad, strong shoulders.

his uncontrollable emotions seem to burst inside of him and tears prickle at his eyes behind his tightly shut eyelids. he wants to give Derek everything. everything he has, everything he is. he wants Derek to own it all.

the Alpha must feel it all because when he puts his arms around Stiles he squeezes him so tight it borders on painful but Stiles doesn’t even notice it.

when they finally let go of eachother, the betas are gone. they probably left pretty quickly, giving them privacy. they probably went ahead to wait for them at the diner where they said they would regroup after the meeting.

Derek entwines his fingers with Stiles’ before pulling him gently towards the waiting camaro. Stiles steps up quickly and lets go of his fingers to instead hug Derek’s entire arm, smiling brightly. he may let out a few giggles, he’s so giddy he can’t help it.

after the diner, Stiles invites Derek over and they end up watching a movie in the living room since his dad is out pulling a double shift but Stiles can’t seem to concentrate on any of it. after the movie, Stiles asks Derek if he wants to sleep over. he can’t look at Derek in the eyes when he asks because it’s actually the first time Stiles does and there’s arousal thrumming in his veins that he knows for a fact Derek can smell.

he slowly makes his way up the stairs, knowing Derek will follow. at the landing he takes off his t-shirt and drops it to the floor. his jeans, underwear and socks are next, then he hears the creaking of the stairs and he knows Derek is almost at the landing.

he enters his bedroom, still keeping it slow but he chances a look back from under his lashes to watch Derek enter his bedroom with all the grace of the apex predator he truly is.

a shiver runs up Stiles’ spine and goosebumps spreads over his entire body. Derek’s eyes are glowing blood red and he’s fixated on Stiles so intently, it’s like he can feel the gaze on his skin like a physical touch.

heart pounding in his chest, he breaks eye contact to climb into his bed and settle comfortably onto his back. their eyes meet again and he watches as the Alpha stalks stalks deeper into his bedroom. their eye contact break again when Derek pulls off his henley and then Stiles’ eyes are naturally pulled down to watch Derek undo his belt.

he’s panting as Derek pushes down his jeans and underwear at the same time and he spreads his legs almost on instincts. slowly oh so slowly, Derek climbs into bed to settle onto top of Stiles and in between his spread thighs.

Stiles rummage under his pillow until his hand finds the bottle of lube he left there earlier in the day exactly for this. he presses it to Derek’s hand. he doesn’t want to wait anymore. he needs it, he needs it so bad.

Derek doesn’t use the lube right away though, instead he folds Stiles almost in half and opens him up with his mouth and tongue for a long time. Stiles squirms and moans, his dick so hard it hurts but he won’t come. he knows he won’t and he doesn’t want to, he wants to come on Derek’s dick, like he should but he’s already close so fucking close.

when Derek finally pushes two fingers into him Stiles is whinny and he’s panting hard. he knows he’s babbling but he’s not sure what he’s saying. when the third finger goes in his ass it starts making an obscene squelching sound as Derek’s fingers thrusts in and out of him. there’s no discomfort at all and he knows he’s ready, he’s so ready. he tells Derek as much and Derek who’s also panting at this point, takes out his fingers and strokes the lube onto his dick before moving his knees up a little for better leverage and lines himself up.

he kisses Stiles as he breaches him and continues to kiss him as he slowly pushes until he’s balls deep. Stiles can only moan and grip Derek’s shoulders hard as the stretch borders on painful for a moment until his body adjusts.

he doesn’t even have to say anything for Derek to know exactly when the discomfort of the stretch abates because the second it does Derek starts moving. slow steady thrusts that leaves Stiles whining into Derek’s kisses.

slowly but steadily, Derek picks up the pace and then they’re both panting too hard to kiss so they pant into eachother’s mouth for a while, Stiles sometimes babbling unintelligibly. Derek then moves his kisses to Stiles’ cheek, down his throat and settling there. he lavishes Stiles’s throat in open mouthed kisses and starts making a constant rumbling sound in his chest that Stiles can feel under his own skin.

with a hand in Derek’s hair holding him in place at his throat, he slides his other hand down to Derek’s ass to edge him on and he starts begging his Alpha to go harder. Derek doesn’t need to be told twice, on the next thrust he slams back in so hard Stiles screams.

after that, Derek fucks him so hard it’s hard to make any sound. the wolf is growling on top of him, leaving bite marks at his throat and Stiles arches into the thrusts, pleasure climbing until he’s on the edge.

then Derek’s thrusts go erratic and he’s growling louder before he pierces the soft skin of Stiles’ neck at his shoulder with his sharp teeth and Stiles is coming. spurts after spurts of come painting the length of his stomach and torso while Derek spills deep inside of him.

there’s a moment of stillness, Stiles breathing really hard and Derek twitching with aftershocks. the moment passes and Derek lowers himself gently to rest his weight completely on top of Stiles. Stiles lets out a small contented sigh. he’s so happy. he’s so sated. he’s done it. he gave Derek everything. he’s Derek’s now. he’s so happy.

when they’ve both regained their breathing and Stiles starts to doze off, Derek nuzzles his cheek and whispers “you’re mine, i love you so much.” in Stiles’ ear.

Stiles’ heart flutters and warmth spreads in his chest.

“yes, God yes, i love you too.” Stiles whispers back.

[rockingbytheseaside]

Hey 👋 there just wanted to say I really like your art and how you flesh out the characters of the fatui.

Especially pierro

I was wondering if you’re taking requests, if you could make one about how reader is deeply injured to the near point of death and the fatui (separate)

Have different reactions to seeing their beloved almost dying and find the culprit or culprits involved and have them tortured or whatever their reaction is. And they later on stay by their side making sure they return to full health not knowing what they did for them.

(but in way I like seeing their cruelty for their reader getting hurt come to light and how they would feel.)

You don’t have to acknowledge this ask but it’s just something I think about

This request was asked by several anons and @ghost3029 ages ago. Apologies if I can’t tag all the lovelies here

✦ Someone hurt you, and how they take care of the matter

(Pierro, Capitano, Dottore, Pantalone, Tartaglia) 

(Slight tw: mention of injuries, blood, violence.) 

To be the enigmatic beloved of a Harbinger means to have eyes on you - some in awe, while others with ill intent. Luckily for you and your dear Harbinger, privacy is paramount no matter what his job entails. However, what happens when you venture too close to harm’s grasp, whether by accident or by someone’s design?

✧ When Pierro saw the dangerous glint in your eyes, he knew two things were happening: you had just been embroiled in a lethal fight, and you would faint in any second due to immense fatigue. He doesn’t call out your name or contort his expression into shock or trepidation. Because in split seconds, he sprints towards you, catching your collapsed form right into his arms. 

Limp and marred with wounds, even your unconscious state looks worn out as The Jester swiftly lifts you in his arms. He was undeterred by the sight of your blood slowly seeping out onto his immaculate white suit. No, the Fatui Director is a calm but unfazed man. 

“You always took matters into your own hands, my divine. Ever so willful, always overexerting yourself.” - Pierro murmured to himself, before turning to face the monstrous culprit who dared to harm you, a remnant of Abyssal Corruption. “However, for someone to raise their hand at you is a sin. My beloved might be merciful when granting death, but I – don't.” 

You didn't hear or register anything; the last thing you remember is Pierro's hand shaking as he held you tightly. When you woke up groggy, wrapped in the ache of healing wounds, you weren't shocked to see yourself clad in clean clothes, resting by a spacious, comfortable bed. Beside you was Pierro; unmoving, sitting. He never once left your room.

“For… How long was I out?”

“For a whole day, dear. Do not fret, the best doctors and healers in Snezhnaya worked swiftly to patch you up.” – his palm gently rested on your forehead, brushing your hair aside as he ensured your temperature was stable. Even his gaze, so often sharp with command, had softened, devotion etched into every touch or glance.

“A-and the Abyssal monster I fought? Is everyone safe…?”

“Hm? You still concern yourself with that? This dread is not yours to bear, my divine. How many times must I remind you that it is not your duty to dirty your hands? Rest easy instead. No filth will tarnish the peace I have built for us.”

✧ Il Capitano is aware you can defend yourself. He respects your might; he doesn't doubt your cunning strength. However, can he stand idle when the clash of steel begins and the threat of violence dares to draw near you? Can his heart bear witness as you endure blow after blow, even in triumph?

No, he cannot, and this is his weakness. His body cries out to quickly shield you whenever an enemy gets too close. Even when you're amidst the roaring chaos of a battle, he intercepts those who venture too close with relentless force. You were expecting that, but you groan in frustration either way:

“Capitano, this is not your battle. I can manage myself!”

“I will not let you barge into danger recklessly,” – he retorted. The Antumbra held steadily in his hands. “You're moving too fast.” 

He refused to move between you and the onslaught of corrupted abyssal monsters. For a man who often reprimanded you about being reckless, your beloved hypocritically used his body as a shield whenever you were in danger. 

“Thrain-!” 

He rarely hears your stern voice. But the call of his true name rendered him motionless for a minute, a tense silence riveting between you. Before either of you could add another word, an abyssal mimic wielding the form of a Ruin Guard aimed straight at Capitano’s back. However, you were quicker in blocking the massive creature, taking the blow instead.

After the waves of monsters dissipated, the battlefield was left in ashes. A few of the Harbinger's soldiers scavenged the aftermath in search of any injured. You, however, clutched your disheveled wounds. Turning to face Capitano, you were met with his eerily silent and pitch-black expression. 

“Listen, Capi,” - you began quietly, voice laced with guilt. “I'm sorry for… raising my voice like that. I only meant t-”

Before you could finish your mumbles, Capitano hoisted you up onto his broad shoulders and started moving away. 

“Hey, hey! Put me back! I was in the middle of an apology,” - you thrashed, wiggling against his back while he kept a very resolute grip on you. Being slung like a sack of potatoes after a harsh battle only doubled your shame. Especially when he gave you a tap on your hip to keep you still. 

“Shush. I've heard enough. I am dragging you to the infirmary myself,” – he added sternly, one hand holding you while the other carrying his sword. “And if it means throwing you over my shoulders and reminding you how to be inert, then so be it. Either your recklessness will kill you, or my heartache will end me instead.” 

✧ For a man like Il Dottore, dissecting near-lifeless forms beneath sterile light was a ritual long devoid of novelty. But when fate laid his beloved upon that same table, the clinical detachment in his gaze curdled into something far more lethal.

Your cuts were sutured and your bleeding staunched by the deft encirclement of his bandages. As your shallow breathing mellowed down, teetering on and off your consciousness, you scarcely perceived the taut silence in the lab, or the meek voice of the Fatui soldiers that brought you back: 

“We have delivered them safely, Lord Harbinger. As per orders.” 

“Brought them you did, indeed. But safely…?” – his gloved grip retracted from your bandaged limbs, like a coiled snake slithering back. “Spare me your excuses, this is nothing but a horrendous job done. One command, and you botched it: return them to me unharmed.” 

The Fatui soldier stood rigid, hands clasped behind his back, though his head hung low. The Harbinger's eyes remained hidden behind the gleam of his mask, but the venom in his voice alone was enough to conjure the hell that would follow should any wretch dare to utter defiance.

“Tell me, if I shattered one of your bones for every drop of their blood spilled, would that seem just? Or maybe,” – he drawled, each syllable an iron weight, “For every stitch I had to use on their skin, and every roll of bandage used, you compensate by skinning your own limbs-”

The murderous tension was interrupted when your coughing echoed in the room – “... D-dottore?”

A single word, a call of his name, yet one that made The 2nd drop all his threats in an instant, kneeling on the cold stone floor beside your medical cot. “Yes, my dear, yes. Shh, I am here now. You're safe.” 

Your eyes fluttered toward him, the weight of exhaustion rendering your limbs motionless. Yet even then, you smiled faintly, reassuring him to keep his anger at bay, your fingers meekly reaching for his hand. You didn't say much, too drained to squander air that your body so dearly needed for healing. And Dottore didn't mind. Holding your single palm in both hands, he clasped it close and brought it to his lips. 

Like a heretic clutching an unworldly relic, he stayed there and held your wrist close to himself in a reverent prayer. As long as he could feel the quiet thrum of your pulse beneath his fingers, he would call down ruin upon Teyvat itself for every wound carved into you.

✧ Pantalone leaned closer in his seat, hand deftly reaching for the vial of saline as he pressed a dampened cloth to your wounds with deliberate tenderness. The Harbinger, ever composed in his peculiar cheer, wore his usual merry smile, opting to dismiss the servants and tend to your injuries with his own hands.

“Walk me through it again, darling, how ever did you end up with such dreadful scrapes?”

“Well, I'm telling you!” – you began with animated exasperation. “I was on my daily expeditions, doing my usual exploration around Jueyun Karst. A nice farmer on the way pointed me to where to harvest fresh Qingxin flowers. So I went on, but a group of Treasure Hoarder bandits ambushed me.”  

As Pantalone listened patiently, he continued to clean your wounds, ensuring even the smallest cuts were secured underneath a band-aid, his thumbs softly gliding over the bandages to ensure they seal onto your skin tenderly.  

“And- And then…! I went Pow! And then slash! I defended myself because they tried to steal all of my Mora. Thankfully, some local heard the ruckus and came to my aid. So, all in all, I got out of it with barely a scratch, in my humble opinion.”

The Harbinger shook his head, tidying up the bandage wraps before reaching to pat your hair – “Tsk, tsk, tsk. This won't do, you silly. You must be more careful when adventuring in the wild like that. No matter how minor the danger may seem.”

You could only exhale a sigh of reluctant surrender. You knew he had a point, and you did feel the fatigue catching up on you now that you were back home safely. Thus, with a loving embrace and a goodnight kiss, you decided to retire for the night. Pantalone waved a cheerful goodbye, watching your personal servants following dutifully in tow as you left his study room. 

You’d sit and sulk, like a child reminded for the tenth time to be careful when playing outside. Even when you reminded Pantalone of the time you'd bested a Stonehide Lawachurl single-handedly, he'd merely sigh wistfully and kiss your cheek.  

“Oh, I know, I know, my love. But still, take it slow for a couple of days, will you?” - he kept his thumb gently running down your cheek, his smile imbued with quiet reassurance. “I’ve no desire to see you crossing paths with bandits again. Rest easy, darling.”

And the moment you departed? His charming smile immediately vanished. 

Without turning to face the bowing servant, he ordered courtly, his voice lacking the usual innocent warmth he used with you – “Report. Now.” 

“The intel came in from the operatives we stationed on route. The treasure hoarders they spoke of are being tracked as we speak, Lord Harbinger.” 

Pantalone drew in a measured breath, quelling the fire rising in his veins. Before you even made it back home to his arms, he had already received news of the attack. How was he informed so quickly? Simply because he stationed the best spies to blend into the backgrounds and keep track of your safety, so-called invincible bodyguards all bound by oath and coin to the Regrator himself.

The nice farmer you met in Jueyun Karst? The kind local who noticed the commotion when Treasure Hoarders dared to attack you? All Fatui Agents, steeped in stealth, honed in combat, disguised perfectly to serve as his eyes while you kept living the best of your life. Even the personal maids who help you with your usual nightly routines – the best of Fatui Operatives from the House of the Hearth, ordered personally to function as your closest bodyguards by the 9th.

Pantalone was no fool. He would never let his suffocating devotion eclipse your freedom, especially when you sought nothing from the Fatui. You deserved joy, unshackled and luminous, filled with wild adventures and quiet victories of your own making. He would never command the course of your life, instead, he would love you as you are, unperturbed by his status as a Harbinger.

But you don't deserve this worry. He would shoulder this dirty burden on his own.

“The Agents acted sufficiently,” – he noted dully, his ringed fingers intertwined elegantly. “Instruct them to continue tracking the Hoarders. It's clear they tried to use my beloved as leverage to get to me. Ensure each and every single one of them disappears. Make it quick and make it clean.” 

✧ Smash. Tartaglia raised his arms up, the club-like piece of wood was but a crude piece of a fence he grabbed on the go. Smash. He didn't even register when he picked it up instead of his Hydro Riptide swords. No, his set of weaponry would've been much more precise. Too clean for this job. Smash. This club is slow and would deliver a much messier message. Smash.    

When did blood get on his face? 

The Harbinger had already forgotten the face of the person he had just clubbed to the ground, their limbs broken; crimson blooming in grotesque contrast against the pristine white of snow. The cries and pleas went unheard, like a static buzz behind his temples, drowning out everything but the pounding pulse of rage. All he could think about was how warm the vivid red looked against white.

That is until your voice pulled him out of his haze – “Childe… Childe!”

He turned to face you, disoriented as to why you're looking at him in exasperated horror, your eyes widened, and your voice breathless. Ah, he remembered now. Someone called you the 11th’s lapdog, had dared to treat you like a gutter-born wretch, and seized your wrist with rough, presumptuous fingers. That's why he chose a random piece of a wooden log. And that's why he delivered a slow, painful message to this person over a merciful end. 

“... Oh.” – Harbinger stated simply, leaving the club to sink into the snow with a dull thud. “I'm sorry, sweetie. Did I take too long?”

Walking away, as if the whimpers of a bleeding man on the snow did not reach him, Tartaglia smiled at you. The luster in his eyes is still absent. 

“I apologize, sweetheart, you shouldn't have seen most of that. I got too distracted.” 

You remained speechless. Your silence clung to you like frost, your body still trembling not only from what happened, but from the visceral sight of it. Even when your beloved noticed that, trying to soothe you by wrapping his arms around your shoulders, he failed to realize you were probably shaken from the blood around his hands. 

“Come here, let's go home for now. I'm sorry, dearie, I'm sorry.”

Red, he thought again, warm like you against his cool skin. 

[casvnny]

saw a post (i don't know who op is sorry!!) about how armand calls daniel a black hole while being the most black hole-coded character in existence and i can’t stop thinking about it because YES. everyone latches onto the innuendo of “not much more to you than a hole” (and sure, it’s iconic i love some devils minion), but armand being a literal black hole metaphor across the vampire chronicles is so intense and weirdly consistent that it stops being subtle and starts feeling like a cosmic joke

lestat in tvl straight up talks about armand pulling him into his orbit. like, not metaphorically—he literally describes being caught in armand’s gravitational pull, like he’s circling something ancient and destructive and beautiful and terrifying. he feels like armand wants to consume him, strip him down to nothing. that's not just magnetic energy. that's black hole behavior

then in iwtv, louis tells armand (in the most devastating breakup scene ever) that being with him drained all the life out of him. that he was interesting because he was different, but armand pulled him in and now he’s empty too. literally tells him he made him just like him. that’s the event horizon! you cross the threshold and there’s no going back!

qotd really hammers it home—daniel talks about how armand has this bizarre magnetic pull that draws people in. it’s not even intentional. he just exists and people fall into him. and by being with him, daniel starts getting drained too. again. same cycle. same gravity well. armand doesn’t even mean to destroy people—he just does, because that’s what he is

and the creepiest part is how often older men project their obsession onto him. “i don’t know what it is about you, armand, you’re just so... captivating.” like okay. maybe take a moment and examine your own weird fixation before blaming the literal 17-year-old-looking vampire. but no. it’s always framed like armand has some unnatural power when really they’re just falling into their own desire and blaming the gravity on him

oh and let’s talk about how he hunts. armand doesn’t chase. he doesn’t go looking. he just hangs out in public being beautiful and unreadable and lets people come to him. and they always do. they throw themselves at him. it’s terrifying when you realize he doesn’t need to do anything except exist and wait for people to offer themselves up

so yeah. the line is a banger. it’s brutal. it’s layered. but it’s also projection in real time. armand isn’t talking about a black hole—he is the black hole. he pulls people in, drains them dry, and leaves them hollow. the vampire chronicles don’t even try to be subtle about it. and i love that for him. horrifying little cosmic void of a man

[ghelullu]

I have tried to sort my thoughts about Skeletá and mostly failed, but still wanted to talk about it because it’s such an interesting little big album already after only a handful of listens

tl;dr: I like it alot, it has some certified bangers on it, some songs didn’t fully land for me personally, I love the variety and his voice is amazing.

I think what stood out to me the most – apart from the very obvious and super cool 80s vibe going on (80s lovers WIN) – is the sheer variety of songs on it and how most of them did not sound the way I expected them to sound at all: Cenotaph was so much groovier and uplifting than I thought (looking back and knowing it’s about his brother, I feel like I should’ve seen that coming), De Profundis Borealis is less heavy than I thought (and hoped; insert the "I know it's not a black metal song" clip), Marks of the Evil one is just so much etc! And I do mean this as an absolute positive in a time where most successful music does not surprise us often anymore.

I totally applaud and respect him for not doing the easy thing: Making an album that follows directly down Impera’s path sound wise – that would have been safe, considering the commercial and critical success it had. Instead he took some of Impera’s (and Phantomime’s) sound, threw in some things from the old albums and a ton of stuff out of his Very Normal brilliant brain to mix something… well. Different.

It is not an album aimed to please people, it’s not targeted at his „old“ fans, not at his new fans from the last album, not at critics or whatever; it’s not a people pleaser album, in my opinion (I’ve seen people say it’s too „commercial“, gotta disagree; I think they just heard it's more „pop", not understanding how 80s Rock worked), but rather Tobias doing what *he* thinks fits, what he thinks needs to be done, what he thinks would be cool, interesting, fun.

While doing that he’s once again not afraid of things that are bordering on too cringe, too corny, too whatever. We’ve all seen that one Reddit review of Missilia Amori – but one thing about his music I really respect is how he can take stuff that wouldn’t work with other artists, would be painfully cringe, and make it work. Because with him it is (and comes across as such) intentional and well handled, often with a wink; he’s been doing that literally from the beginning, because he, unlike some people on Reddit, is capable of not taking himself and things *so* fucking seriously all the time.

He knows that things, art, music, yes, even Big Serious Metal, can just be fucking FUN. (Plus, have these people never listened to any bit of 80s Rock? Like, really?)

And there is so much going on in this album. Lyrics wise, yes, some absolute gold (the 3rd rider "looking cool" absolutely took me out, though), I won’t even touch on that here, because I haven’t studied them enough. But every song is very different: Different vibe, different themes, different *things* that make them stand out (something I LOVE about his music is how every song has at least 1-2 thingies, special, interesting melodies, intrument bits, vocal moments, whatever, that just scratch the brain right and make you come back again and again).

While there are many callbacks to his previous works (and obviously even way more to other artists; it's once again a loveletter of his to his favourite artists growing up), in my opinion it’s also the least „typical Ghost“ album to date; in a way it’s more a Tobias album, which is fine to me, and fitting, considering how incredibly personal it is – and a fun coincidence with the other Tobias album, Passiflora, having finally blessed our ears earlier this year. I think there are surprisingly many similarities? Obviously he has developed all of his skills enormously since, but… It was fun listening to both of these very personal albums back to back, highly recommended.

Lots of high praise, is it my new fave? It doesn’t beat Prequelle, my #1, at this moment in time, and I don’t think it will, even after multiple listens. It’s an album that definitely requires being listened to at least a dozen times. Many songs on it – on Tobias’ work in general – are absolutely required to be listened to multiple times before you can fully appreciate and connect with it (which is, i may add, a GOOD thing. He puts in so much stuff to discover!).

First of all, for me the ballads didn’t land. And this is mostly a personal preference, I am not a ballads person, they rarely hit for me (Life Eternal taking me out almost immediately was an outlier and to this day the Helvetesfönster – Life Eternal combo is the only music that ever made me bawl my eyes out). Both Guiding Lights (his vocals are so, so good) and Excelsis are objectively fantastic songs and I understand why people love them so much, but especially Excelsis is musically just a bit too much...I don’t have the right word...; the end however is wonderful (and circles nicely back to Life Eternal (and also Respite!))

I would have very, very, VERY much preferred a heavy song instead of one of these two. A Faith, a Mummy Dust, a Twenties, you know, some growls? The heavy riff in Lachryma gave me hope there’d be more in another song, but it’s fine, it’s his baby! I expected De Profundis to be the heavier song, but it turned out softer than i thought, but it’s still super fun and I think it will do a bit of a Watcher in the Sky, where it’s cool on the album and then FUCK live!

Speaking of live, many of these songs will shine live, as the 4 already played prove. The vocals on the album – SO good, so much variety! Sometimes he sounds like Ozzy, sometimes like Phil Collins, sometimes very Phantomime, the high notes but also more lower register, bless him (that was one of my big wishes), just great! – show that he’s experimented with his voice (despite talking shit about it all the time) a lot and that he has much more trust into his abilities to perform them live (with the reduced mask; and he’s already proven that; I cannot stress enough how incredible he sounds live now).

The instrumentals are fantastic, such nice guitar solos, the synths, the keyboard-guitar sex in Umbra is just 👌🏽, but really, they shine in all songs. And you cannot forget the Cowbell, bless him.

My favourite is Lachryma with the heavy guitars and the catchy pop-y chorus, followed by Peacefield (esp live) and Umbra; honorable mention Marks of the Evil one and Missilia Amori, and De Profundis

There is so much to love about this album; how personal it is for him, how much it feels like a big hug (and punch in the gut, followed by another hug tbh and of course some horny) from him to the world. How much growth both as a singer, instrumentalist, producer etc but also in his...presentation of himself and his art he has shown.

He doesn’t hide behind a full latex mask on stage anymore, but he also doesn’t hide his messages behind a mask of 3 layers of satanic lyrics anymore.

It’s in every way such a vulnerable, wonderful work and I’m very grateful he shared this with us

[asoiaf-source]

Not just this, but also personality types affect how a character should respond, how GRRM has written them prior can give us clues to how they would 'typically' respond in the past, and make it when they display change. This is why their individual POVs are important! GRRM let's us know what they are thinking in the moment and why they act, we can see how different characters react in similar situations.

It really isn't good enough to say how you would feel, not everyone reacts the same way. Cat 'stuck' in a tree, some might just ignore it or not even notice the cat, some might be mean and throw rocks at it, some might ask others for help cause they can't help it themselves, others might try and help the cat themselves by climbing the tree... all are possible options for someone to take, depends on their personality and perhaps their relationship to the cat. Add that this is a fictional cat in a story, well then this situation might be used by the author to inform the reader what kind of personality and/or character they have and how they might react later in the narrative.

You have to factor in a lot of different options when analyzing a written work, author's intent, what the narrative is trying to accomplish with the scene or story line, and why the author chose to write this character with a certain personality in order to make their actions believable. I often think many in this fandom like to think these character are 'real' and not narrative constructions being crafted for a specific purpose in the author's narrative. The characters were created a specific way for a reason, when he has them grow and change, it is in the text, nothing important is left out or will happen off page... this is why each relevant character has a POV, so we can understand their way of thinking and so that the author can show us their changes in attitude and thinking.

It is a mistake to only use your own ideas on what you might do, you have to 'try' can place yourself in their shoes (not the other way around) to try and understand why they might act this way, especially if it differs from how you might act.

I think the biggest problem with people "theorizing" about ASOIAF is that most of them are basing their "theories" on their own beliefs while completely ignoring the author and what he's writing. Like this essay length post I just saw claiming that the most prominent prophecy in the novel series can't be real because if it was true, it wouldn't align with the morals and beliefs of the OP, nor would it align with the worldview that the OP has projected onto the series. It should go without saying that this isn't how theorizing works.

But what's difficult is that this isn't new. Some YouTube channels I've been recced do the same thing. If something in the novel series doesn't fit their view, they'll twist it into something that does. They'll even invite viewers to do the same with phrases like, "Put yourself in the characters' shoes. What would you do in this situation? How would you feel? Well, how you or I feel about this is 100% what the characters feel, regardless of all evidence to the contrary." Yes, that's hyperbolic, but it's basically what they're saying.

This is why the fandom implodes whenever GRRM releases new content. In those rare moments, these people have to contend with the fact that their worldview and preferences (which they've spent years projecting onto the text) don't align with the author's worldview and preferences.

I understand being critical of GRRM's choices in storytelling. That's where the worldview of the reader should come in. But pretending that he feels the same as you do about the text he's written and theorizing through that angle is delusional.

[phoenixeclipse-lmkau]

How would the duo react before and after to a reader who has curly, fluffy hair? It would be a great way to cover the duo during the curse. Also, we have to remember that she's in a time where certain physical characteristics weren't common. I like to imagine that Spirit would help style her hair, just like Reader does for her.

Wukong and Macaque

Before they fall in love –

- They won’t care thinking it looks odd. Simply because they haven’t seen any human with such hair before.

- They do find the look interesting though (Even though they refuse to admit it)

- So basically they find it cool but don’t give it much attention because you are human a mortal they plan to kill… that plan didn’t last too long though.

After they fall in love (During the curse) –

- Oh at this point they LOVE your hair and the way it looks, along with everything about you.

- They can and will growl or bit someone if they attempt to talk ill of your appearance.

- They adore you and your hair, and yes they totally would hide under it to help you get through town safely.

- Snuggling into you as they do so.

- These two would try as best they can to help you detangle and take care of it. Though with their size they have a hard time actually helping you.

- They will get jealous that Spirit is the main one who cares for your ‘fur’

After the curse breaks

- Oh they still love it!

- They love how it looks, in styles, down or decorated in jewels. They will give you absolutely everything that you need to care for your hair. All you have to do is ask! Or not, if they know you want it then they’ll get it for you regardless.

- They will make you let them care for your hair.

“Grooming is essential for couples!” Wukong would explain, his claws raking though your hair easily detangling it.

Macaque would also do the same, helping his mate comb through your fur or caring for Wukong’s fur while he works on your hair and of course vise versa. The duo will encourage you to help them with their own fur but will take no for an answer.

You might pout or shiver in fear but they will care for your hair. It is one of the things they won’t let you refuse. They want you used to their touch and they want you to know they have no intentions of hurting you so they’ll comb through your hair each night and help you care for it.

Spirit

- Oh hell yeah! She would LOVE your hair!

- I don’t mention this often but she loves doing hair! (In modern aus this girl is a hair stylist)

- She would help you take care of your hair without a second thought.

- Got dry hair? She’ll help you get the right oils.

- Got tangled hair? She will help detangle it and groom through it if you want or need.

- She loves how it looks and feels.

- Though she may act annoyed about having to take care of it, but secretly she loves it!

[everythingisamazing]

I really feel like we, as jayvik shippers, need to talk about this shot more:

Like, I have seen it mentioned here and there, but I actually think it's one of the most glaringly obvious hints (its not even a hint tbh) that what is going on between Jayce and Viktor is undeniably framed as romantic. As it was stated by one of the animators: Every detail in animation is intentional. This shot was chosen and it was chosen for a reason.

First of: The timing. This happens after Viktor leaves Jayce. We all know the scene - it often gets (jokingly) called the breakup scene, leading up the "divorce era". So what do we typically see in movies or whatever media after the big breakup? What's the cliche? We see the protagonist, reminiscing and yearning for what has been lost. Often in a montage. Overlaid with some music. Well, it's exactly what we get with Jayce. And while we hear Heimerdingers song in the background going "Go and make some mistakes. You live and you learn", we see Jayce sitting in the rain looking at those two very much male looking figures looking like they are leaning in for a kiss. If that's not enough, I will add more: Jayces scenes are altering with Ekkos in the AU, where he developes his romantic relationship with Jinx. Arcane in general relies heavily on parallels to tell the parts of the story that are not directly shown on screen. And they will very often do it in this manner, were they cut back and forth between scenes, that are thematically relevant to eachother. I will let you decide for yourself, what the thematic relevance could be. Also, speaking of heartbreak - I actually could not remember this shot from watching the show, so I always believed it was edited when I saw it posted as an image, but it's real? Like, you can see the heart, broken in half by the ravine Jayce just climbed out of? The ravine in which he hallucinated Viktor in the fire? Yeah, okay. I am sure whichever highly skilled artist who drew this blatant symbolism (in red and pink, mind you), did it completely by accident. Or maybe they just thought that would be the best way to show their platonic brotherly relationship *shrugs*

Here is something else: As a few people pointed out before, the shot reminded them of the "Lovers of pompeii" - two human remains that were initially thought to be women, but then later discovered to be men. I say, if the people watching made that connection, there is no way in hell that the artists, who work on these shots for months, would not think of this comparison. Especially because the way the corpses are hardened but retain their shape in the AU, is very much like an Arcane-corrupted version of Pompeii. So yeah. I get kind of annoyed when I read comments complaining why people can't accept that Jayce and Viktor are just brothers (I'm talking about the "why does everything have to be sexual/gay" comments). I get annoyed, because if you have a quantum of media literacy, you will CLOCK all the tricks they pulled in the show, that are frequently used in media when portraying romantic relationships. And again, I am talking about a single shot here. As we all know, there is SO MUCH MORE.

[arschbiene]

My super long headcanon on my flavor of Brandenburg below (heavy emphasis on no right or wrong on a very colorful german state with a complex history, this is just how I like to do it).

This is autistically long but I don't care, I am have a personal emergency and this has been keeping me occupied. This is for me but just sharing on my blog. Subject to change xoxoxoxo

Relationship to the Empire:

Begrudgingly obedient when he must be. He understands this is a dance between being bold and meek. Deeply aware that upward mobility is a game of social graces and military posturing.

Manipulates the system, can be very audacious with his demands and maneuvering.

Careful that the Empire and it's representative children always see him in an ideal light. Wants to seem the toothless dog, Gilbert does not understand this is intentional.

After repeated insults from the Emperor, he realizes good behavior brings no real reward and quickly abandons the effort.

Under the influence of his electors/Gilbert he learns to quickly discard any alliance/relationship/document/etc that no longer benefits him.

Eventually he only ever bends the knee to gain favor or stall his enemies.

His self-interest is a matter of survival, not choice. Does things with a grim necessity, including hurting his brother wife.

Power:

He knows power is perceived, not absolute so he obsesses over his image in public. Gilbert's behavior (especially all his attempts to undermine his authority) feels like an assault on all his efforts.

Does not believe power should be shared, wants to own it entirely.

Resists being equals with Gilbert due to a lack of trust, often asserting dominance with tyranny.

Selfish and overbearing in his need for control.

The more politically helpless or stressed he feels, the more pressure he puts on Gilbert.

At his worst: nitpicking, overly critical, and obsessed with perfection when it's unachievable for someone like him. Can be difficult for Gilbert to be around because this gets suffocating fast.

Appearance:

Tall with a leaner build, shows his muscles in the broadness of his shoulders. Think swimmer or ballet athlete type builds. About 17-20 years old in this era. Gilbert is about 15-18.

Breaks the mold with the other german brothers, has a ton of recessive/foriegn traits but shares some bone structure with Gilbert.

Finds it exhausting to dress in full court regalia, but he refuses to be seen without it. Without the hair, the makeup, the polished veneer, he feels plain and forgettable against his golden siblings.

Vain in an insecure way. Deeply invested in appearances. He fixates on how he looks but can’t see his own beauty. Years of jeering from his brothers have left him doubting it.

For war/home/downtime/small meetings: he braids his hair tightly in different styles. Otherwise a small army of servants curls his hair every morning, only for it to unravel into loose waves as the day goes on which infuriates him. Abusive to his staff and then sorry about it.

In public, he tries to impress with the finest clothing and jewelry. In private, he dresses more modestly. He prefers dark colors to look more mature and composed. Gilbert gets dressed in soft colors and youthful/childish styles. He is obsessive about Gilbert's appearance and grows angry if he refuses to conform to his expectations.

Public Face:

His mask is calm, collected, always pleasant, always charming. He is deliberate in his words and movements. He's soft spoken (in a forced way). Gilbert mocks the difference between his public voice and his rougher tones in private.

He does his best to mask his weaknesses and teaches Gilbert to carry himself with a smile, a pleasant and charming attitude, but Gilbert can't really ever soften himself like Dietrich can. Dietrich’s smile rarely reaches his eyes. His eyes are sad and anxious. His resting expressions are weary and drawn, while Gilbert’s are angry and impatient.

Socially competent, but not likable; Lacks an obvious sincerity and warmth, especially to those with more natural charm or confidence. HRE/Austria mistake this as submission, they like this customer service type engagement. His likability improves with time as he grows less guarded.

Loves beautiful and gentle things. Loves nature, animals. Big on music, philosophy, literature, tries to broaden Gilbert’s mind but he remains a boy of sciences,medicine math and politics. Often in conversation, he finds Gilbert boring and boorish and Gilbert finds him effeminate and preachy. Arts boy married to STEM boy. INSANE jealous when Gilbert is more open and receptive to these topics from others.

Psychological Strain:

He’s has some narc traits but without pathologizing him too much. He acts this way because of extreme strain, desperation, stress, and exhaustion.

He is spread thin and constantly tired, always in some level of pain. Thirty years of war have left damage that manifests as a torso/chest burn that weeps and bleeds.

He is always hiding fatigue and pain, which frays his nerves and temper. He can often be in a bad mood when he is really a gentler spirit underneath it all.

Has an irresponsible streak due to being overwhelmed. Loses things constantly, a big excessive spender due to financial trauma. Always late, always in a rush. Forgetful of appointments and promises. Improves with age and peace.

He’s resilient, but cracking under the extreme stress of being at the mercy of others. War is constant, and the pressure to be perfect wears him down. He is not very suited for the leadership role he’s forced himself into nor the dire circumstances of the era. Prone to depressive Howl like tantrums of despair. Catastrophizes, thinks everything Gilbert does independently is their doom.

He represses everything until he explodes, usually in private. Can be very verbally abusive with the truth, especially with Gilbert. We owe some curing of Gilbert's more stubborn evils due to him.

Self-Perception:

A bit of a Martyr Complex but honestly, valid.

Pragmatic survivor who still tries to lead with values in his opinion. Deeply strategic; Reads the room and reshapes himself as needed. Survival comes before pride. Believes in suffering indignity for the greater good.

Lacks self awareness but thinks he is extremely self aware. Gilbert is in his bitchy teenage years so he is constantly being rocked by the kid's one liners. Contemplates insults for hours in his room and maybe sheds a tear or two when his feelings are hurt before deciding that Gilbert is a nasty feral brat who is wrong and doesn't know anything at all.

Righteous, chosen due to his inherent goodness to ‘save’ Gilbert from himself. Deluded about his own worth/valor, cannot face his faults. Tries to ignore his shame as he crosses his own boundaries and eats shit politically.

Conflict and Lies:

Can fight and defend himself but avoids it when he can. Bold and risky with his military endeavors but personally if it's just him thinks it's a bigger shame to lose a fight than run from it.

Considers Gilbert VERY dangerous to engage with due to his capacity for violence but also feels the need to assert himself physically. Sometimes finds himself feeling frightened in confrontations with the child especially when the power balance isn't in his favor, doesn't like how it makes it feel.

Works on a policy of minimizing damage/losses until he realizes he has to defend himself.

Not the most skilled in battle though he has good training from Netherlands, he is competent, but not talented like Gilbert is. In a 1:1 fight, he will be more defensive/trying to end the conflict/restrain his opponent to reason/bargain with them. Only violent when he must be and then he does not hesitate, does not take pleasure in it. Gilbert's delight in it makes him very upset.

While he is at first careful with his words, he grows more and more vocal and openly critical about the Empire and its dogs as time goes by and he's dissatisfied with his growth.

He tends to lie often and lie well. Strategic with lying and often believable as he is so careful with it, hard to catch him in a lie; avoids confrontation with partial truths or omissions. Tries to keep Gilbert out of the loop, wants him to be innocent, in his mind to stunt his growth and influence, but it’s an impossible endeavor. The more you hide from Gilbert, the more insistent he is in his search.

My era specific Gilbert Headcanon:

Dietrich coveted the calm, stabilized and rehabilitated verison of his brother Tolys and Feliks worked so painstakingly to accomplish. Also deeply coveted his economic vibrancy, land mass, fertile land, food sources, and access to the sea.

Did not understand the grand coordinated effort it took to get Gilbert to this level and how early into recovery he was still. He thinks it's a miracle and overestimates his ability to keep the progress going.

Goes broke to get his brother, this financial desperation plus the rigors of war forces him to begin to strip away foundational privileges that Ducal Prussia has enjoyed under the Polish Crown to loads of protests/resistance/etc.

Personal relationship not much better, wants Gilbert to be in a subordinate position under him when he promised him equality under marriage. Not at all a smooth transition, leaves them both sick and struggling, fighting so bad HRE has to get involved at times as well.

Gilbert immediately rebels and regresses into worrisome and difficult behavior. Defiant and disobedient, he is hyperactive and hard to control. Unpredictable in his behavior, behaves erratically and violently. Extremely troubled, depressed and feeling caged. Worried about Dietrich's intentions for him, worried about being consumed.

Worried about the situation, feeling vulnerable and unprotected. Wants to be involved but Dietrich keeps him out, here is where he really matures his skills to sneak around, lock pick etc.

Dietrich tries to keep him in his lessons, gives him a busy/packed schedule but Gilbert refuses to comply. He has this vision of what he wants Gilbert to be: a doll like young N.Italy that can entertain guests with intelligent conversation and music and make him look so competent and better at raising him into manhood than filthy feliks but nope.

Dietrich's View of Gilbert:

Loves Gilbert like one would a pet or a child, struggles to respect his personhood. Deeply enmeshed in their dynamic and bonded by trauma.

Sees him as a child/subordinate to be guided and suppressed; resents his desire for independence, thinks it ungrateful and childish of him. Dietrich has immense abandonment issues from his childhood and this is just a big trigger for him. Does not understand Gilbert as well as he thinks he does, this improves with time.

Feels threatened/hurt/rejected by Gilbert’s growing belligerent and defiance. Does not want him to grow. Ideally wants him to stay a boy of 15, easy to physically over-power, easy to control. Immature in his cognition and emotion. Easy to manipulate. 

When Gilbert is more trouble than he anticipated, he stops seeing him so much as an asset but as a liability. Cannot control him so escalates in his attempts to: it’s an explosive relationship, lots of fighting/hitting/whipping/etc.

He doesn’t want to beat Gilbert, but he doesn't know what else to do. Yet every punishment only makes Gilbert wilder, which spirals Dietrich deeper into despair, and feeds his self-loathing. Only stops when Gilbert begins to win more of the fights then everything becomes more psychological and emotionally abusive from Dietrich.

The physicality of the german bro family is extremely triggering for Gilbert and difficult for him to deal with, makes him more volatile and dangerous.

The Marriage:

Unwilling husband when he is told it is to be a marriage and not a conservatorship but ultimately settles as the benefits are sold to him. Dietrich sees the marriage as a sacred, stabilizing force: a political and emotional alliance meant to make them both stronger but with him as protector/dominant identity. 

Goes out of his way to prevent the marriage from feeling legitimate out of fear of Gilbert feeling equal to him and growing in power/age.  Will not consummate it, boots Gilbert out of the marriage bed/room. He refuses intimacy, both out of a desire for control and because he infantilizes Gilbert. Wants to keep him a child, malleable, easy to dominate and control. He is not attracted to Gilbert at all but is possessive of him. Evades kissing/touch but does not want him kissed or touched. Tolerates it more when Gilbert is older/more mature but is still standoffish. He is not faithful in marriage, prefers women and other transactional transient relationships, finds the burdens of relationships stressful, but big ol' ugly crush on Ned and France.

Gilbert is attracted to Dietrich at first : Tall dark drink of a young man with beautiful eyes and a beautiful body. Falls for the facade because he’s a dumb 15 year old. His desire for attention/affection/etc is quickly abused by Dietrich as a means of control before he realizes he is being led along.

Feeds Gilbert his own insecurities, constantly in his ear about how he is being perceived by others. Has a tendency to paint everything in a negative light to Gilbert to make him doubt himself, inherently jealous of his relationships with others.

Dietrich denies Gilbert affection/warmth/kindness when he is not listening to him. They ebb back and forth between Gilbert doing without and caving in and trying to be more cooperative because he's just a kid and he needs physical touch/affection he has never been without it before before giving up as he begins to understand he is being manipulated. Makes Gilbert hate the part of himself that yearns and needs even more than he did before.

Makes Gil more attention seeking/hyper-sexual/hedonistic in a toxic maladaptive way by accident by denying him affection. How Gilbert behaves as a Kingdom is a direct reaction to Dietrich’s deprivation.

Conflicted and confused in his role: feels a need to be an Authority but fails at establishing himself as one.

Takes Gilbert’s rebellion and later independence very personally, even when he knows it was inevitable. He equates obedience with love. If Gilbert won't behave, he believes he must not love nor respect him. Hurtful because he does not understand why he is so undeserving of it. He loves Gilbert  and yet does not respect him as an equal. He wants loyalty, obedience, and peace  but he’s miserable when he gets it through force.

Puts all the blame on Gilbert for their dynamic, will not accept any responsibility.

 His responses to Gilbert are rooted in fear: fear that both of their houses are vulnerable, that their union will collapse, that it’ll mean ruin for both of them. Does not believe in Gilbert’s ability to be a stable identity, thinks he is fated for subjugation and erasure by others.  Believes he is protecting, never admits to the harm he has done.

Later: Feels diminished, usurped; union meant to stabilize and empower but instead undermines him. Disillusions him, upset at his leaders. Throws a big messy depressive tantrum about it. Abandons Gilbert to all administrative tasks, rots in his bed and prepares for death that does not arrive.

Eventually they figure it out and have a strained but functional relationship but it's a very destructive one, Gilbert's main trauma is realizing how vulnerable he is to real life long hurt if he allows someone so intimately close to him.

[lapwinghosty]

it's not exactly misgendering either in intention, but if you don't like it you don't like it and that's very understandable, especially if you are trans.

I get what you're referring to overall wrt playful and casual de-gendering especially in queer and gender minority spaces, just want to point out that ime it can be quite difficult or not actually practically possible to parse whether it's even intended as playful or a threat. since it's just the norm to not give a shit about trans womens feelings about this, (or even really think of us as having an internal life/thoughts and feelings at all) when you're inundated constantly by dude/bro/man/buddy/brah/etc. as the default and usually can't escape it with any degree of explanation or signification, and you know from experience that even gently correcting someone (yes including a lot of tme people who will tell you to your face while you are clearly very upset "it's no big deal bro") as politely, acceptably and inoffensively as you can, you literally risk losing jobs, getting ghosted, entire friendships, being cast out of a room or social scene (yes including queer spaces), risk a romantic partner burning your whole life down, being once again cast as The Hysterical Tranny, etc. it takes on a radically different quality. it's not just preference. it doesn't feel like a preference to me. it feels like one of the bare minimum costs-you-literally-nothing things that people can do to make spaces that trans women feel a little more comfortable in and not just temporarily tolerated or unsafe. It's so simple, just ask first, and respect the answer, there's no need to assume and nothing is lost in asking first.

also worth noting that while tme people do use this as playful de-gendering with each other, a lot of times that is not actually applied the same way with tma people in practice. with each other they will use it sometimes, like a little playful accentuation but typically not all the time, and if another tme person ask them to not use masc terms for them usually that's respected without any issue, let alone throwing a whole tantrum. with dolls it's often noticeably wayyy more frequently and when heaven forbid one of us dares mentions it, all the sudden it's a whole Thing. not infrequently they will exclusively use masc or gender neutral terms for tma people, especially if the person is both trans fem and nonbinary, no matter what we say or do <- more specifically the gender power hierarchy determines a priori who is granted self determination to alter and articulate how they are referred to, and whether they are gendered/de-gendered and the subtleties of that, and ultimately who is or is not even allowed to speak about it at all [then to protect itself, as profoundly effective power does, dips into the void of obscurity and inarticulation, upon any attempt to illuminate, illustrate, or grasp it; see agamben's analysis of Law in homo saccer for more detail]

idk all of this is just speaking from my own experience and convos here and there, this got pretty rambly ig

saw a useful post about this that's unrebloggable for me but yeah, cis women do use dude/bro/man/guys and other masculine-leaning terms for one another regularly and some conversations that have happened online about this have missed the mark.

My mom and I have called one another "dawg" since I was in middle school. the people I am most likely to use dude/bro for are cis women that I have known since my teen years and we all called one another those things all our lives as "girls." When I am called dude or bro by a woman (either cis or trans) it has a distinctly different impact than when a guy does it --the former reflects a relaxed closeness that allows for the standard gender performativity among us to drop, whereas the latter reflects those boundaries being continually maintained.

I do not think it is fair to call this a gender neutral usage, I think it is more similar to the gay use of "girl" and she/her pronouns. It is a recognition of the gendered complexity inside of a person that you also share things in common with, as a show of casual intimacy. it is a release from the bonds of performing femininity when women do it to one another. and it can be used in a similarly familiar way with some gay men and other gender minorities.

all that said, i know that i still personally felt some time of way about being referred to with she/her pronouns by my fellow gay men when i was early into transition. intellectually i understood that what it signified was familiarity, but in practice i did not at the time want the words applied to me. now i am rooted firmly enough in my queer manhood and live as a queer man so completely that it's second nature for me to refer to other men as "girl" or use she/her for them and i like it when the same is done to me. but you know, far be it for me to tell a woman that she has to be okay with being called dude. it isn't gender neutral. it's not exactly misgendering either in intention, but if you don't like it you don't like it and that's very understandable, especially if you are trans.

[halo-stylinson]

I often see antis claim that larries are projecting their fantasies onto the situation. As if watching two young people fall in love, only to be torn apart by powerful men in suits who are driven by money, is somehow a power trip. However, isn't that a bit too devastating to be considered a fantasy?

(sorry this took me so long to answer, i wanted to give a lengthy response and i havent had the energy till now)

(editing note: i got sooooo off topic from your original ask, i totally used this as an excuse to ramble)

i think there are larries who project their fantasies onto harry and louis, and i think part of that is natural with being a fan- you see other fans doing the same with projecting their fantasies onto louis and zara, to bring up a recent example. part of being a fan to this degree is filling in the blanks with educated guesses- or, sometimes, not-so-educated guesses. a lot of that can become wish fulfillment and headcanon, if you don't intentionally check yourself and keep the facts in line.

which isnt to say that projecting a fantasy or headcanon is always bad; id wager its usually harmless, to think of something positive as true with no evidence, about 2 people you dont personally know. in the long run, having that small personal truth in your heart isnt hurting anybody.

however, clarification aside, i do agree with your main point. larry's story isnt an easy one to live, and i cant imagine its always been fun to watch for the longtime fans who've had to see them forced into stunting, forced to stay in the closet, forced to do things that they dont want to do. i think a core thing ive noticed in larries is that we want harry and louis to be happy, supported, safe, and free. i dont think the average larrie behaves in a "power trip" sort of way.

however, i see a lot of solo fans and antis who act on power trips. recently, seeing the occasional solo louie acting holier-than-thou for believing the mcdumblinson slop. acting like they're "winning" fan-hood by believing what the media is telling them is true. being the "best" at louie-ing by licking the propaganda boots sparkly clean.

its concerning to watch sometimes, knowing that their feeling of superiority is based on the severity to which they are being a follower and refusing to critically think or question things. and that brings me to another point- there's this strange phenomenon ive noticed across my entire life (prior to being a larrie or directioner) of people feeling threatened by those who question the system. and because i think its relevant to the discussions around larry, im gonna explain what i mean:

the average everyday person has been groomed by society to obey the system and obey the media narrative they're being fed. the average person has been trained not to question authority, such as the tabloids, and has likely never attempted to unpack that blind follower behavior. this conditioned loyalty creates a sense of fear when others around them DO question things, like the media, or the government for example. they get defensive in an attempt to repair their blissfully ignorant peace, defensive of the system theyve been groomed into feeling loyal to.

i think most of the GP is capable of thinking critically, understanding the signs and clues when it comes to larry, but i think its a choice for most of them to stay ignorant to it and believe the media narrative. its more comfortable to simply obey. critical thinking, making a habit of questioning your information sources, are very intentional behaviors that society has done its best to minimize our utilization of in daily life. so of course, it feels difficult to start unpacking all of that, to start training your brain to pick up on propaganda, pick it apart, and find the truth within biased narratives.

so, many people simply choose not to do all that. but they still want to feel smart. we as a society have also been groomed into feeling like we need to "win" and be the "best" in every situation we can. capitalism, blah blah blah. so how can the average fan feel powerful and "better" than us larries without doing all the same mental work to understand the things we understand? well, they point to their precious media slop. "see? the dailymail said they're dating, and there's photos of them kissing, so it must be true! you're delusional for even questioning this!"

this technique;

- gives the willfully ignorant fan a sense of power and superiority over larries, without any of the hard mental work being done.

- discourages others from thinking critically. if everyone is just as ignorant as me, i wont feel so bad about it!

- whether consciously or unconsciously, it supports the system and helps it keep running. theres less need for people in power to police the GP's reaction when they're policing each other into the desired reaction.

there's a reason i bring up george orwell's 1984 a lot when discussing larries vs. antis or tabloid narratives in general. when i see surface level fans blindly believing one narrative, and then blindly believing the next contradicting narrative, simply because the tabloids they follow posted it, i immediately think of 1984; specifically the country they're meant to be warring against changing at random, and everyone simply... going along with it. "we were always fighting this country!" and despite knowing it's not true, most of the characters go along with it, because it's easier. it's what they've been conditioned to do since they were born into that system.

so, to try and tie this ramble back into your original ask; yeah. the truth is too devastating to be a fantasy. thats why its so much easier for the average fan to dismiss it as fantasy- if its fantasy, or conspiracy, they dont have to unpack the weight of just how fucked up the music industry is and how horribly their favourite artists have been treated. those truths are uncomfortable, and as we know, people in today's society don't like being uncomfortable. they're dangerously averse to it.

[fictionalsimp09]

No - Wolfstar - @taylorswiftmicrofic - 327 words - AO3

Dead Poets Society AU

Sitting on his bed, Remus scribbles out words almost as often as he writes them down. This assignment is stupid; he’s the least creative person he knows, how can McGonagall expect him to write a poem? 

His roommate, Sirius, has been unusually quiet for a while. He’s clearly been thinking about this carefully. “Do you ever get stirred up by things?” he asks. “About poetry. The society.” 

“I guess so.” 

“You guess so? Remus, that’s not…” 

“You want me out,” he states matter-of-factly. Of course he does, who would want awkward, pathetic Remus around? Who would want him in their club? 

“No, I want you in,” Sirius protests, “but being in means you’ve got to do something, not just say you’re in.” 

“I- I mean, I appreciate this concern, but I'm not like you, Sirius. You say things and people listen. I'm not like that.” 

“Don't you think you could be?” 

“Oh, I don’t know, but that’s not the point. The point is that there’s nothing you can do about it, so you can just butt out. I can take care of myself just fine, all right?” 

Sirius stares intently at him. “No.” 

“What do you mean?” 

He smiles, “No.” 

Sirius snatches the paper he was failing to write a poem on and jumps on his bed out of reach. Remus gets up and just as he stands on Sirius’ bed, he jumps over to his own one. Laughing, Remus follows his friend around the room. They’re being so loud that James and Peter hear from their dorm next to theirs and join them jumping on the beds. 

Remus is astounded by the fact that he made such wonderful friends at Hogwarts. He doesn’t deserve them, these people who have accepted him wholeheartedly as himself. As Sirius throws his head back, his laugh sounding more like a bark, Remus feels such longing for his roommate. But right now, he takes in the utter joy of this moment. 

[ak0bt]

Just a small rant that migt not make any sense other than "Talia bad" shut up it isn't no matter how you see it, also no drawings today but I'm gonna attempt Selina or Superman (that bastard is so hard to draw) but I HATE Talia Al Ghul as a character, not even as a joke.

Yes, I'm a BatCat fan, I used to be a Brutalia fan, but not anymore, I'd ship Bruce and Diana before ever shipping him with Talia because:

I never understood the need the push the relationship, there's no positives, only negatives. They're literally nothing alike, Bruce and Selina however... well... Read all of the Earth-2 run.

I feel like whenever they are in a relationship it's often forced and when in a relationship they always argue. Their "love" feels manufactured, I dunno about you but I can't see it!

Not to mention Talia is well... THE DAUGHTER OF A LITERAL CULT (League of Assasains are a cult I just can't prove it...) still I have a hard time Bruce would court with Talia. Also why Bruce immediately trust Bruce? He always second guesses and yet when Talia arrives he trusts her. Bruce should always second guess, it's what he does! Also how does Bruce know if Talia's intentions are pure and it's not Ra's spitting words in Talia's head?

Don't get me started on Damian, I have a hatred towards him so deep it's deeper than the ocean. Like I enjoy when Bruce and Talia do argue as long as it develops Damian's character but it doesn't help Damian is a child of grape, that isn't... that's not a good thing ._.

Look in short: I do not like Talia and Bruce because she has 0 redeeming qualities. Compare to Catwoman, who is a criminal who doesn't necessarily cause harm to innocents unless it's revenge I.E Black Mask. She doesn't hurt people without reason. She isn't an awful character. She has good and redeeming qualities, and her love for Bruce?! None of that is on Talia, I love Selina because of who she is, she uses her confidence and when that suit goes on she dials her personality and tries to cover anything that she considered a weakness. Talia, however, is just bad, bad guy bad things for her view of greater good. What Bruce sees in Talia is beyond me.

And you know what I say? Come closer, and I shall say it! So wanna know what it is? It's bad writing. She never feels like a character and more like a pawn. She is ALWAYS Bruce's lover and never her own character. She's always the plus-one. Compared to other ships, all the women have a character. Talia? The only good time I shipped it was with Arkham City. Everything else? Nope. Still, I do see it as just bad writing.

So that's that. Don't come after my throat it's an opinion. If you can't handle other opinions, that's your problem.

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

hi hi hi! this is @syslut :3 i just recently followed your lovely blog and i’ve always loved how passionately you talk about our dear loverboi.

on to the point: do you have any theories sylus’s upcoming main story branch?! 👀👀👀 saw your tags here :3

i am so excited and lowkey anxious; i smell angst 😭🤚

Aaaa thank you so much for your kind words ❤️ It means so much to me that you guys enjoy my yapping 💞 (love the @/syslut username btw!)

Ok so re: the main story and angst, these lines from Sylus' birthday event have been stuck on my mind for days and made me more and more anxious the longer I mull them over

(And there's also these lines from Greedy Heart)

I've consumed works of fiction since I was a wee thing and in my experience lines like these never herald sunshine or rainbows. On the contrary they often foreshadow that one or both characters are pretty much cooked... same as when a character in a show says that today is their last day before retirement. You know the dude will be dead by the end of the episode ;-; I get a similar feeling of dread here.

That is not to say that I believe that Sylus or MC will (perma) die or anything, especially not in the upcoming branch. The game is still very fresh with lots more content to come, not to mention that you can't really kill off main characters in an otome gacha (thank god). However, I do believe that the angst we will get will still be extremely painful. Paperfold are masters at the art of twisting the knife and giving us all PTSD.

My prediction is that something bad will happen to MC — she'll be abducted, injured, maybe even temporarily killed, or all three — and we will get to witness Sylus be properly enraged and afraid. We haven't seen him in either state yet, since very few things truly get under his skin. Most of the time he is nonchalant or even bored in the face of threats. He projects nigh invincibility to his opponents and even to MC. He has no discernible weaknesses... or at least, as far as his enemies are aware (for now).

But we know better. The only times we've ever seen Sylus approaching a state of anger or fear have involved MC. He gets upset at himself in battle mode if MCs health is low by the end of it, and he also yells out in alarm for her to "look out!" if he sees her about to get hit by Wanderers. And recently in his birthday card he was visibly worried for her when she fell. The writers have made the fact that MC is Sylus' weakness clear even before Sylus himself stated it outright. And now that he has, I am 99.9% certain that it will be utilized in the plot at some point. Like I've said before, the LADS writers seldom include stuff like this without some sort of intent. It's not just meant to be wholesome fluff imo. Maybe it will even lead to Sylus actually being (temporarily) defeated in order to save MC?

However, whether this will happen in the upcoming branch I am less certain about. It might be too premature for that. But I'm not ruling it out completely.

What is basically 100% certain though is that something angsty will happen, and that we will be in pain. My reasons for believing this are

The main branches for the OG3 were all angsty.

We have been fed a suspicious amount of fluff and sunshine lately. Which will make the angst hit even harder. Which, knowing Paperfold, is exactly the plan. They're lulling us into a false sense of security.

Angst or an intense situation of some sort would be a great vehicle for character development for both Sylus and MC, as well as for furher deepening their relationship.

The main story and branches have involved lore. And you know what LADS lore means right? Exactly. Emotional suffering. For both the characters and us.

It's a bit tricky to guess what said angst or lore will be though since for one we don't know at which point in time the branch will take place. Will MC still have the same opinions and feelings re: Sylus as when she left him in the main story? Or will enough time have passed that they are more intimate? Weren't the latter the case with the OG3? Or am I misremembering?

Furthermore, in the case of the OG3 their branches were based off the third anecdotes. And seeing as Sylus still doesn't have that... well, his will clearly have to be based off of something else. Unless they decide to drop the anecdotes at the same time? Please God let that be the case! We are so lore starved over here... not to mention free companion starved... 😓

My best guess right now is that the Beyond Cloudfall myth will come into play somehow. Maybe MC will regain some memories, or maybe Sylus will finally reveal his dragon form?

As for theories outside angst, I think it's pretty safe to say that we will learn more about EVER and the Eye of Aether, or at least aether cores in general. Most of all I want answers regarding what is up with Sylus' right eye. Who put the aether core there and when? His eye has clearly been special for a long time, as far back as in Beyond Cloudfall. I'm doubting we'll be getting a definitive answer for that here though. LADS likes drip-feeding its info and lore after all.

Anyway, that's really as far as I feel comfortable going with my theories and speculations rn. I apologize for the extremely long and rambling answer dhdjdfj I always get super carried away with topics like these 😅 if you guys have any theories, then please don't hesitate to add on to this ♡

[cococubess]

Sofia the First Pre-Canon Headcanons

because i guarantee royal magic won’t touch on the characters pasts

The Village

• Miranda had a bad relationship with her parents and ran away in her teenage years. This is why Sofia’s maternal grandparents are never mentioned.

• Miranda didn’t intend to stay in Dunnwitty long, but met Birk while passing through and eventually they decided to settle down there together. Neither had great childhoods, and committed to making Sofia’s the best they possibly could.

• Miranda and Birk’s wedding was the cheapest option in a dingy little church, but it felt infinitely more special to the extravagant one she had with Roland.

• Jades mother died in childbirth and her father is constantly busy with work to support himself and his daughter. This is why Jade is always alone, even on her birthday. Miranda and Helen would almost always have her staying at their homes because of this.

• Jade has a fear of abandonment because of how often her dad is gone, causing her to act out when she thinks someone is leaving her (A Tale of Two Teams, for example).

• Ruby is the only one in her trio of friends that has both biological parents still alive. Even though her dad is never mentioned, I like to think that he helps to provide for the family meaning that Helen has extra time to be a Buttercup troop leader.

• When Birk died at sea, half of Miranda’s income was gone, causing her to severely struggle with money even more. She didn’t tell Sofia that Birk actually died, just that he got lost at sea. In reality, he was confirmed dead, but she didn’t have the heart to break it to Sofia, who figured it out on her own anyway.

• Sofia was 4-6 years old when Birk died so her memories of him are sparse. They were very close when he was alive though.

• When she got called to the palace to make Roland new shoes, Miranda didn’t intend to pursue him romantically, but took the opportunity to try and get more money out of it by talking to him kindly and humanizing herself so he’d feel sympathetic and pay her more for the job.

• This is why she brought Sofia to the appointment despite not needing her help- she figured that the king would be more likely to pay better if he saw that Miranda had a child.

• Roland, however, thought it was love at first sight. Realizing that she could get more than just donations out of him, Miranda, despite not immediately feeling much attraction to him, did everything she could in order to woo him.

• Miranda did eventually end up loving Roland as well, but it was never the same way she felt about Birk.

• While doing something morally wrong in using Roland for his money, Miranda had good intentions, only wanting to be able to provide a good life for Sofia.

• When Roland insisted he buy her anything she wanted as a wedding gift, Miranda only asked he buy the village shoe shop in order to preserve Sofia and her old life. This is why it hasn’t changed at all, as Sofia says, when they visit it in Forever Royal.

The Castle

• Roland and Lorelei’s marriage was arranged by his father. While they did love each other, Roland felt more strongly towards Miranda.

• Amber was always told by the castle staff that she looked like her mother growing up. This stopped when Roland remarried, but left a lasting impression on her.

• Roland never destroyed the wishing well because he still had some hope that he could use it to bring Lorelei back.

• All portraits of Lorelei but one were destroyed after her death, which Roland keeps hidden in one of the castles secret passages.

• Roland chose the amulet for Sofia for the reason he told her, but also because he knew how much Tilly loved it at Sofia’s age. He told Sofia that it’s “very special,” since Tilly told him the same thing when they were kids.

• Tilly was very close to being the one to save Elena, but Elena worried that she was a little too scatterbrained to pull it off and waited for Sofia instead.

• Tilly and Cedric never got to know each other all that well as children, but had sympathy for one another as they were both the least favorite child of their respective families.

• Tilly was bullied at Royal Prep (I assume that’s where she and Roland went) because of the way she acted- she never let it get to her though.

• The secret passages in the castle (as seen in the Secret Library, for example) were made as ways for the servants to get around, but were forgotten about overtime. Some of them are still used for the same purpose, but other ones were blocked off.

• Cedric has scars across his body from failed spells and experiments. He feels that they make him a failure, hence wearing several layers of clothes to hide them constantly. The worst of the scars are on his hands.

• Cordelia had Calista out of wedlock, something extremely frowned upon at the time. Despite their bad blood, Cedric never looked down on his sister for it, sparking an agreement that they would get along for the sake of Calista.

• Calista’s only male role model growing up was Cedric which is why she fixated on him so much. Cedric is so uncomfortable with the attention because of how his other family members look down on him. He is scared that Calista’s love for him will one day fade like his sisters did, and is afraid to get attached to her because of it.

there is infinite material to work with, i swear. i think i’ll try to make a timeline of all the episodes at some point too. and who had the amulet when…hmm…