#i never would have guessed that they'd take that route with their relationship even if i know it's not sincere on alastor's part

[a-garden-of-worlds]

Oh wow... charlastor shippers y'all okay?

[slotumn]

A lot of people remember Golden Deer and their route for "defeating racism," and I think a lot of people think other minority characters in Fódlan should join them to further this goal.

What people completely forget though, is that a lot of those perceptions are from the perspective of the audience who finished the game and know about the characters' secrets and personal views (and the evolution thereof)

But from the perspective of other characters in-universe, I actually think it's very possible that Golden Deer comes across as the xenophobic house, especially pre-timeskip. After all, others in the universe don't know that Claude is half Almyran, so from their perspective, that actually makes Golden Deer the only house without any non-Fódlani students.

Not only that, they have two nobles from border territories that are explicitly said to fight the foreigners. Goneril is obvious, and flavor text on Edmund's battalions state that they were trained to repel foreign threats (and they're archers on top of that). Hilda, as many would predict, do hold casual prejudices on Almyrans because of this, and while Marianne never really weighs in on the issue herself, I think it's fairly reasonable that others in-universe would assume "border territory = not great sentiments on foreigners" (even if Edmund probably trades with Almyra, but then again you can trade with places you distrust and hate lol).

As for Lorenz, while he's not from a border territory, he is interested in furthering his house's standing, and talking about strengthening the border security would be a good way to do that; not to mention it's shown in canon that he respects/wants to gain points from Holst. He's also one of the Deer who would loudly give his takes and opinions about issues like this, so other students will hear him talk about how to better fend Leicester from the invaders or whatever, and they'd probably think once again that Leicesterians are fucking xenophobic. (Regardless of Lorenz's actual personal tendencies, which I don't see as being that prejudiced, but personal tendencies =/= political rhetoric and policy lines)

So yeah, you have kids from three of the prominent Leicester houses being either 1. actually personally prejudiced/racist 2. easily presumed to be racist or complacent in racism by others (like it's unfair to Marianne but that's probably what the default perception would be) 3. someone who'd loudly support/suggest border policies that at best could be easily construed as xenophobic due to pre-existing prejudices of the audience, or at worst is explicitly xenophobic.

And most importantly, Claude. The thing about Claude is that while his goal is in fact Ending Racism, pre-timeskip he never actually outright states that he is against all the xenophobia in Leicester and will to pursue policies to curb it. Yeah he implies things, and he says stuff like "never underestimate an outsider," so some might guess he has a less hardline stance on things overall compared to others of Leicester nobility, and they'd be right.

But it's all ambiguous enough that he always has plausible deniability; the stuff about "outsiders" could very well apply to, say, class instead of ethnicity. He never explicitly states anything that would make other people realize his real opinion is "actually I want to make peace with Almyra so people stop screaming slurs at each other at the border before dying." Look at his B support with Lorenz where they talk about border security; he never says anything that implies he'd rather not fight Almyra in the first place.

And as far as personal relationships go, Claude is on decent terms with a Goneril, is at least neutral on an Edmund, and okay he doesn't get along with the Gloucester but that has more to do with Leicester's internal power struggle than foreign policy.

Now, it makes sense why Claude does all this pre-TS: his standing as next leader isn't the most solid and some are suspicious of him, so he needs to stay on good terms with the people he can. But from the perspective of in-universe third parties who don't know the intricacies of Leicester politics, Claude's secrets, or the Deer's future development where they kill the CEO of Racism, I think it's totally plausible that the Golden Deer come across as pretty fucking racist.

I don't think any of this detracts from the themes of VW or the development of Golden Deer; in fact I think this strengthens it even more, because you get to see the development they go through— including on Claude's part, where he'd far more vocal and explicit about his real goals post-TS.

But I don't think it makes much sense in-universe for all the non-Fódlani characters (Petra, Dedue, Cyril, Shamir, etc) to drift towards the Golden Deer on the basis of the faction as a whole being "more accepting or understanding/less xenophobic," especially pre-timeskip. As a matter of fact, for someone like Cyril I think it's very possible that Golden Deer would be the house he's the least comfortable around. There are other reasons why these characters might like or want to join the Deer, but I very strongly doubt "lack of xenophobia" would be one.

So yeah, audience perception =/= in-universe perception and Golden Deer =/= anti-racist house to others in-universe, especially pre-timeskip.

[which-hospital]

Take the Strain (03/02/24)

Melty brain week. Staying on top of my reading but at what cost?

This episode review ended up incredibly unbalanced with three paragraphs about the same topic and then I ran out of energy by the time I got to the rest of it. Normally, I'd try and give myself some time to try to balance it out but I really don't feel like for this episode.

I’m just going to unpack all of my Teddy Thoughts at the start.

An even more frustrating episode than I bargained for because there were actually some things I liked. Just, separated entirely from their context. Things I liked: Jan. Jan's so underrated. I am so desperate for them to actually continue from Switzerland that I will take anything at this point and I did really like that it felt like Teddy still wants/appreciates Jan’s approval, even now. Very Character of him. Extremely Character. In my head, Teddy has never and will never get over needing Jan’s approval and that’s just emblematic of the deeper issues going on with him. Those moments were good. I just don’t think Jan being upset at Teddy had to come from her noticing the Jodie stuff, he was already up to objectionable stuff without that. 

Similarly, I thought Teddy and Paige’s conversation in the lift had potential. The big problem I have with how this relationship has ended is that it feels like the writers are somehow convinced that they're breaking up because Teddy and Jodie happened, when Teddy and Paige would absolutely have broken up even if that didn't happen. They've been headed this way since Dog Days, at least. I just think the whole thing would've been better if they'd have leant into the fundamental issues the relationship has, instead of putting all the focus on this stuff with Jodie which is not the most interesting or even biggest problem they have. The Sah/Paige kiss created so many interesting routes they could've taken but they lost track of what they were doing with it very quickly and then kept losing track of every new opportunity they created. In my heart, they are to Casualty what tomshiv is to Succession. In reality, they're a mess.

I wish I could give a real, proper reason why I don’t like Teddy and Jodie together but I just don’t. It’s so bad that I can barely their scenes together. I guess we’re heading towards more of them, potentially even a proper romance plot? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. As I type, I am grimacing at the thought. Whenever I get a romance plot and I don’t like any of the potential outcomes I just start thinking of more unlikely outcomes. Anyway, Paige/Jodie when? When Jodie also figures out that Teddy is probably best left single right now, she and Paige can commiserate together and then get together. It wouldn't make sense but has any of this made sense?

Otherwise, it was a heavy one. Are they just making the most of always being on after the watershed or something?

My incredibly unpopular (at least, unpopular in other areas of the CAS fandom) opinion is that Iain is my least favourite paramedic. Don't dislike him at all, I like him but I just don't understand why the show chooses to only remember plot that has happened to him and often chooses to pretend things that happened to the other paramedics never happened. Maybe I associate him with Faith a bit right now, too.

The music sequence or whatever was so out of nowhere that it was more amusing than dramatic.

I’m glad Rash and Rida have worked it out for now.

The way Casualty has been dealing with disabilities lately has been uncharacteristically uncomfortable. I don’t really have the brain space to expand on that right now but certain choices sure have been made.

Nothing in next week’s spoilers that I feel like I need to comment on, except for Max finally agreeing to take Jodie’s kidney. I would really, really hope it’s mainly an episode of Jodie and Max stuff.

[alitgblog]

"live" blogging s7, vol 1 (some analysis, some jokes lol)

first off, I totally forgot there were other casa amor girls so opening the app to see them on the banner I was like oooo

the S7 MC isn't too bad art wise, like it's definitely better than I thought with the preview, but

I do think the skinnier size MC is super skinny and the bigger one is not that much bigger, which is a little disappointing (always appreciate more size inclusion). ideally I think there would be one more size up i think but I do understand that means they'd have to fix all the clothes 3 times.

speaking of clothes they've always been bad at the beginning of the season since like s4 and this is no exception. I wish we got more options in the beginning and then the others they tack on later

the skin tones really are only three shades with each having one warmer variation, which is kind of nice to have people get that option in tone, but I do still wish there were more shades variation in between (and darker ones in general)

for absolutely no reason I have decided that my MC is also gonna be the S5 MC from my first playthrough getting a second chance after a second failed relationship with Suresh (let's just pretend she didn't win her season lol) and she's cute in this style (but again i wish we had the right skin tone for her). I guess if fusebox is backing out of bringing back Eddie then I'm bringing my MC

Her name is Junie and she's doing a lot better now mentally and has gained a little bit of healthy weight and finally loves herself now so fusebox better not make an embarrassment out of her again.

this actually works out pretty well bc usually the casa amor girls on the show arrive at the same time unless something is special about one of them who can show up separately like MC does here (ok fine I've only seen that happen in LI USA S5 and I guess s6 of the game)

Ep 1

Bonnie being an LI feels solely like penance for me thinking Iona was hot but sad she wasn't even a friend really let alone an LI in s3 so thank you but for narrative purposes I'm making Junie straight

Uma is gorgeous

also fusebox is not beating the reused assets allegations even those poses are just too eerily familiar

"I wanna try the slow burn" *has war flashbacks to the Ozzy route I never finished*

short king raf

ok Alex picking MC when Summer was flirting so hard is actually very funny to me

I understand bc it's a gem choice i didn't pick that we didn't get the last card but very funny that they were like we're just not gonna give Summer a chance at all actually

Let's goooo confirmed Joyo is Indonesian (I'm filipino so i was hoping filipino so I could draw him singing karaoke but I am here for any southeast Asian representation at all 🥳)

however I am upset with the use of "rizz" again. maybe once or twice but if they do it again I'm rioting

Alex nerding out is so cute. also who wouldn't want a bob the builder boyfriend for home improvement projects lol

am i too old to understand what normcore is?? like I barely understand e-girl aesthetic but there's more??

Bryson and his sister Jess have the most realistic sibling relationship from the last two seasons bc I also would mess with my brother's partners. and I once again am mourning the idea of a protective brother slow burn storyline in s6 instead of whatever Amelia was doing

"I won't bore you with the details" no pls do it I wanna know and I don't wanna pay the gems

all the guys have great personalities so far and idk if it's because I'm paying attention more this time or it's just better but oh no I'm falling for all of them

the drama set up with the guys and their partners is promising writing (namely the triangle with Geri, Bryson, and Joyo but maybe just because im torn between those two anyway) I'm shocked but cautious it's episode 1 lol

ep 2

early doors?

the gem party outfit is so 2013 disney channel, I actually will be taking the free outfit

wait why is it not night time for truth or dare why did they change clothes lol

joyo, get out of here with the graphic tee and blazer combo. Maybe this is why Bryson doesn't like you, and it'd be justified (tbf him being a bad dresser has been established already though)

oh God I didn't see his pants too jfc let him borrow some clothes

I'm into the frenemy relationship with Summer, like there's always a female villain in the game and they're almost always entertaining to me at the beginning (minus maybe Kat and Ivy)

I'm warming up to the all the guys like how can you pick

I'm starting to realize I personally have a problem because I always go, at least initially, for the chefs/foodies (Jake, Bobby, Camilo, Roberto) and I like Bryson rn and I think my MC would go for Bryson based on how I played her in s5 but I'm slowly inching over to Joyo and honestly i see the vision for Bobby clone I mean Raf and it is absolutely bc they've mentioned cooking

stop talking about feet pls not again

I expect this from Summer but Uma coming over to try to steal my man?? I appreciate her boldness though and at least she's not going behind anyone's back

ep 3

as someone who doesn't have the modded app and will not pay real money for gems, I feel very happy with choosing to eavesdrop on the guys' conversation. I feel like usually a lot of the gem scenes aren't worth it but this one is fun

Joyo does skincare but can't dress and Bryson is a fashion expert but makes fun of skincare. If they joined forces they'd be unstoppable, thank God they hate each other

hey what the fuck happened to cassius

so in summary im pleasantly surprised and hyped for this season at the moment. and lastly, pls don't drop the ball on stick or twist again please please pleaseeee

[sunshineandviolets]

3, 4, 5 and 13 for the lt please!!! i love hearing about others lt detectives 👀👀👀👀

oooh going for the angsty route first i see? hehehe

3 Did your detective start a relationship with N? If yes, why do they think they did so? If no, what was going through their head when they said they couldn’t/wanted to take it slow at the end of Book 2?

Akira did not. They are not one for relationships in general, doesn't mind the flirt - but tries to keep it at that. So when Nat did ask the question and they saw how forward she's being, I guess you can say it scared them a bit (not that they'd ever admit ) hence leaned back. But also, after the whole trapper situation and when Aki chose to save Ava and the aftermath of that, the reason why is still rather confusing in their mind. So that plagues their thoughts and uses the excuse of 'need to analyse these thoughts and run an experiment to decipher what the possible conclusion on why they did that'. So even if Nat is being bold and asked the question first, Avas face is still the first one that plagues their mind.

4 Who did your detective choose to go to the house of mirrors with? Why do you think they did so?

So originally I had them choose Nat, but the more I think about it and understand them as a character - it makes more sense for Aki to chose Ava. Aki is a logical person and so at that time would think that with Ava's strength and their smarts it would be the best combination for a successful mission. They would consider Nat's boldness / emotions could be a distraction and that Ava is better fitting for the role. Not for any other reasons, obviously - just purely for the logic and plan. mhm yup. thats all.

5 What do you think is keeping your detective in the LT in the first place? Are they truly conflicted with the two of them, or if there is a heavy lean toward one side, what’s stopping them from letting their feelings for the other person go?

So the reason that's keeping them in the LT in the first place is that they do not like having feelings nor do they want to deal with romance in the first place. Hence not ever admitting what they can have with someone can be romance or acknowledging romantic moments - besides some just light flirts. Even if they do reciprocate Nat's flirts at times (it doesn't bother them cause they know it will never go further as that), they are starting to lean more towards Ava. Even if they do argue and she does infuriate them - for some unknown reason to them... they can't get her out of their head. Basically, it's their own self issues and denial that is the main cause on why they are still stuck in this triangle lmaooo.

13.  What is your detective’s relationship with Rebecca like? If they saw the conversation that she has with A before the end of Book 2, what would they think?  

 Akira and Rebecca's relationship are that of business associates. That family aspect had died out a long time ago and Aki has no need to want that back. Treats Rebecca as a colleague / boss and not interested in going deeper than that. If Aki saw/heard that conversation between the two, would feel a sense of frustration towards Rebecca for her concerns. Because it's their life, she has no say in that anymore. But hearing Ava's words after, Aki would feel a sense of confliction and confusion. Esp the whole " - could do no better", would have a small pain in the chest but not understanding why.

Wayhaven Route Questions !!!

[dmclemblems]

Did you know, when Hopes was just nothing but trailers, I actually thought Dimitri would join forces with Edgeguard. It's going to be up to Claude to save the Church and Fodlan from them. D1m1gard Team Up has so much more build up from the story because they had history. They are stepsiblings! Why the devs didn't take advantage of that, I would never know. Instead of allowing Claude shine, they threw him and Almyra under the bus.

Tbh that's a totally new one I've heard. Most people thought it was going to be a golden route, but I never expected everyone to be on the same side because the devs previously said it would never happen.

The thing is even though Dimtiri cared about Edelgard, I think even that only goes so far (in that he can't agree with what she does). There's definitely more possibility between them that we could've gotten though, but I guess maybe for AG they wanted to focus less on Edelgard since AM did a lot of that and give us more insight into Duscur.

I guess the reason they didn't go so much into Dimitri and Edelgard's relationship is because there isn't too much new content to explore. There are things they could've done with them in the present, but like I said, since they focused a lot of AM on them I can see why there's a change in AG. Also, AG is more fulfilling imo as a character arc in a way?

Even though the war ends in AM, such a huge part of Dimitri's backstory gets left unfinished. Only his relationship with Edelgard gets closure, but there's a such big hole in the overall Lions' story. AG kind of tells the other side of things that we didn't get in AM, so it's kinda like each story had more of one thing than the other and both of them complete the whole story. It's unfortunate that we have to play two different games to get a "complete" story where everything is answered and settled, but I guess combining the two is really the most fulfilling thing we'll get lol. It just sucks that the real story for Dimitri and the other Lions is basically incomplete because the real story didn't address so many things the characters wanted to address. I guess it's possible we could just say "oh, they figured all that post game" or something, but that feels like what CF went through with TWS. OTL

Meanwhile poor Claude got thrown under the bus again. I was really hoping for a lot more stuff about his background. Apparently they wanted to use Shahid in Houses but they couldn't make for him, so he ended up in Hopes instead? Which like, that's fine, I just wish they went more into detail about their relationship and exactly why Shahid hated Claude so much. Hell, we should've seen more of his siblings seeing as he apparently had a good bunch of them...

Focusing on just Fodlan just feels weird to me, when it comes to Claude's story. You'd think they'd do something more like half about Fodlan and half about Almyra to address his story both where he grew up and where he is now, but we just get minimal content about Almyra. In a way it's also a little awkward, because when you think about it... Shahid was planned for Houses but didn't make the cut, and yet he died in Hopes... so... wouldn't he still technically be alive in Houses? How does Claude becoming king work with Shahid still alive in Houses? How does Claude becoming Leicester's king in Hopes even work or make sense when he's supposed to be Almyra's king?

I feel like Claude just got the big ol' writing yikes in both games. Dimitri's story was very thorough in both games, because even if they did kinda only half complete certain aspects of a whole, full story in each respective game, they at least went in depth and delved very deeply into the parts of the story we did get. In CF we more or less got everything for Edelgard except the TWS battle which they made up for in Hopes, and since the devs consider her overall happier in SB, she still kinda walks out of both games having had a full story. With Claude they kind of just... give us some little crumbs about him and his homeland and then go right back to the Fodlan war.

Makes me sad because it feels like they just don't really care about Claude as much as the other two?

When will Claude's justice come back from the Fodlan war? :'(

[smiletimeisrunningout]

"While I am a terrible liar when asked things directly... my parents don't know I have been wounded in battle. Just think about that." Didn't speak well of her honesty, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "I fear my mother's heart would stop every time I left home if she actually knew just how dangerous it is... that Regina is still that present or that my grandfather is now after me. Thank you for hiding my troubles too, by the way..." He had seen how scarred her body was, knew how intensely she trained every morning and how easily she had fought others before, and yet she was sure her parents had no seen any trace of surprise or uncertainty on Ben's face when talking about her behavior. A spy, after all.

are their standards really so low that all I need to be is not a pirate?

She visibly held back a burst of laughter, waiting for a moment before pointing out in a small voice full of amusement: "Actually they'd let me marry a pirate, my mother is ready." Her poor, poor mother. "Their only real requirement for my future husband is that we truly love each other, they want to hear nothing about arranging a marriage for the good of the kingdom nor care about nobility, they want me to have what they have. Which is... quite inconvenient," she shrugged, with the ease of a conversation that had been had a thousand times before in her life, "Considering I'd likely be married by now, just like they wanted, if they let me pick someone who would be a good husband regardless of love. I know the right person too, but he's eighty years old. Which is the point: he's at peace, wants to retire and enjoy his last years, I want to rule by myself. But they'd never let me make a practical choice like that, so... guess we are picking the romantic route and they have to wait." There was, still, a bit of amusement in her voice even if the situation was frustrating, but speaking of that specific topic with Ben for the first time had her thinking of him in that role for a moment. A silly thought. She'd never torture him subjecting him to such a life.

I'm curious how you would've reacted to my university notes

"No, it's not that you take notes, it's that you were so adorably organized even when on a dinner with me! You are supposed to do it when studying," she giggled, "And you found me a poem, Ben. That was just so sweet... I can't resist sweet."

"And here I was, assuming you'd leap at the 'rub off on' joke I made, rather than...well...literally leaping

"I was!" she piped up, bouncing on her feet from the enthusiasm because of course she was going to make a joke - and it was hilarious that he had brought it up now as if she was Caleb and not a lady - but his other words had been too distracting. "But you brought up being my prisoner, and I'm not joking at all when I say I can do that."

Still, she rubbed his arm in an almost comforting way when he called his attempts bumbling, "I like the way you speak." She did - any man could learn how to be smooth, but to be so honest and to be embarrassed the way he could be? That was a lot more attractive to her, made him so much more real.

"I don't know what you mean by 'less creative, but still very lovely things,' but I'm beginning to realize I would do anything for you...which was probably a very stupid thing to confess."

Her teasing smile faded into a touched look at that, her heart nearly missing a beat. That was... different. She brought her hand back to his cheek, stroking it tenderly as she wondered how she could possibly react to something that made her feel so many emotions, and whether that realization of his would go away once the novelty of their new relationship would pass, but then chose to silence the thoughts and silently thank him by pulling him to her for a soft kiss. Wasn't that too sweet? Shouldn't she put a stop to it? But no, Ben was a sweet person and there was no harm in allowing him to be himself, to take what she could before he'd grow tired of it. "Please, you know I'm in your hands," she murmured, "I promise I'll use that knowledge only for good... or try to."

Emma wrinkled her nose at him, which only accentuated the bright, shimmery starshine within her eyes. "What, you couldn't say I almost fainted because of my womanly emotions and you held me up? Now now, how is that good lying?"

Benjamin scoffed, though he was smiling. "I'm beginning to think you've done this before," he teased. "If you keep this up, we'll be acting out our very own Shakespearean comedy, and we both know how much you love those."

"Worry not, I will make sure you have time and space to avoid my father's inevitable attempt to stab you," Emma quipped, cupping his cheeks between her palms.

"A very noble endeavor. Thank you," Benjamin agreed, fondly encircling her wrists with his hands.

Emma hummed. "Or worse, my mother's inevitable attempts to marry us since my father may actually help her if it means having a son in law who reads. And isn't a pirate. Poor you, it would be easier to be stabbed."

Unbidden, Benjamin's heart leapt in his chest, a lopsided smile filling his face as he breathed a soft, self-conscious laugh. "I've heard horror stories of how mothers are quite eager to marry off their daughters, but say true: are their standards really so low that all I need to be is not a pirate?"

With a pout, Emma giggled and leaned into his touch. "Any man can be ruggedly handsome, provided the correct clothing and potentially an unkept stubble," she reassured, "but handsome and cute, like you? No, that's rarer and therefore more precious. Cute is also what makes me want to kiss you, together with your lists."

Benjamin flushed, unmistakable pleasure warming his features. "There's no need for the flattery -- you've already won me over," he promised. "Still, I never thought that lists would be so provocatively alluring to you. If this is your response to my preparation, I'm curious how you would've reacted to my university notes..."

Unbidden, the light in Emma's eyes melded into something darker, more sultry as she purred, "Oh, sweetheart, if you wish to be tied for me, you only need to take a night off. I'll be happy to have my way with you for as long as you can take it. Maybe, if you ask nicely, even a bit more than that."

Her hands trailed down Benjamin's chest and his face burned impossibly hotter, his mouth opening and closing as they locked eyes. "Uh...I-I'll admit I didn't think...er...I-I didn't realize..."

"You should come back tonight, when people are asleep," she cut in. "We can't do that here, but we could do... less creative but still very lovely things?"

With a sheepish laugh, Benjamin confessed, "And here I was, assuming you'd leap at the 'rub off on' joke I made, rather than...well...literally leaping." Taking her hand on his chest, he drew her fingers up to his lips with shy smile. "I'm pleased that my earlier, albeit bumbling attempts are forgiven, and that you're willing to let me...um..." Goodness, how was Emma able to speak so shamelessly? Any time he thought of, or even alluded to intimacy, his face grew hot and he started stammering like some world class nincompoop.

Bashful, he ducked his eyes and splayed her hand across his heart. "I don't know what you mean by 'less creative, but still very lovely things,' but I'm beginning to realize I would do anything for you...which was probably a very stupid thing to confess."

[saving-people-haunting-things]

I'm not one of the people who really hates late seasons, but like I definitely think there's been a downgrade in s12 and s13 (haven't watched s14 or s15 yet). Idk quite how to articulate why I feel this way, but I think it has something to do with how the story and the characters are presented. Like s12 and s13 have more stuff happening while also having far less substance.

In s1 it was mostly MOTW episodes, but every single episode you learned something new about the brothers and how it affected their relationship. That stays true for most of the early seasons. Then there started to be far more complex overarching plots like the Apocalypse in s4 and s5 or the MoC stuff in s9 and s10 and other things. I think the main thing that distinguishes them from s12 and s13 is how those arcs all contribute to Sam and Dean's characters and their relationship with each other.

Some people may dislike Carver era (I don't), but it did a really good job at having all of the conflicts (except for some of the angel stuff that was Cas' problem) circle back to the characters. The Trials were deeply interconnected with both Sam and Dean's mental states, and the MoC explored Dean's relationship with helplessness and anger and violence. That plot culminated in Sam letting the Darkness be released which proved Sam was lying in s9 when he claimed he wouldn't do extremely questionable things to save Dean. These seasons had more overarching plot but they all fit into building up the brothers' relationship.

S12 has three main plot lines: Mary, BMoL, and Lucifer/Lucifer's baby. The frustrating thing with s12 is that those plots all have potential. Lucifer being back was a great time to explore Sam's headspace, especially since they'd been forced to ally with Lucifer at the end of s11. They could've had personal moments, but instead they went for the grand "the devil possesses the president and sires a super powerful mindcontrolling baby" route which, yeah, is more dramatic, I guess, but it doesn't tell us anything new about Sam or build his relationships further. s5 had this through line about Sam's deep inner anger and resentment and how that connected to Lucifer. While possessed at the end of the season, Lucifer makes him kill a bunch of demons who've been helping him be controlled his entire life and he was scared but he also enjoyed it. That's what made his relationship with Lucifer interesting. s7 has a thing about Sam "letting him in" and s11 dances around that before he refuses to be his vessel again. In s12 Sam is much less angry with the world and in a far more stable place in his life, there's a lot to say about how he'd react to Lucifer now and what do they do with it? Pretty much nothing. He looks scared when he's around him. Yes, it's very good acting on Jared's part and I'm glad for the crumbs, but there just isn't the actual integral-to-the-plot substance that there was in earlier seasons.

And then the brought back Mary! I may be in the minority, but I actually really liked the whole actually Mary kinda sucked too thing. There were hints of it in earlier episodes (mostly 5x16), but it was interesting to see how the boys reacted to her. There was a lot of characterization information in their relationship with her. How Sam tended to get along with her better, but Dean seemed more inclined to reach out. Dean's childish dreams that maybe if his mom was around his life would be better were crushed as he realized that Mary wasn't anything like he thought he remembered her to be (and that she was actually far more like him, even in some less positive ways). Sam trying to play family peacekeeper, a position he'd never had to take before. It culminates in Dean realizing that he blamed Mary for everything that had gone wrong in his life (even if it wasn't totally her fault) then forgiving her for making the deal to save John because he understands her (anyone else think of the moment in s5 when Sam tells young John that he forgave his father for everything because he now understands what it's like to go through a loss that breaks you?).

That's the sort of stuff that I fell in love with Supernatural for. It tells you about the brothers and their relationship with each other and with other people. Their relationship with Mary could've been one of the most interesting things the show did, except they bungled it by mashing it together with the BMoL plot. Instead of developing more of Sam and Mary's relationship or making it so that Dean's confrontation at the end of the season seemed less abrupt, they focused far more on the increasingly-cartoonish BMoL enemies. And it's not like there was nothing there with that plot. There was potential for commentary on the good of the many vs the good of the few and the existence of good monsters and shades of gray, but instead they made them be evil British people who brainwash people and torture them for no fucking reason. They establish that most of the operatives were abused and manipulated only to kill them all anyway (a really bad look when your good guys are supposed to save people and believe that some "monsters" can be changed). What does "evil British people" tell you about Sam and Dean? It's briefly mentioned that Sam wanted to just follow orders and not lead sometimes but only in one conversation and it's never explored again. They just go "oh we can help people" then "whoopsie we were right and they actually were totally evil lets go kill them!"

And s13 has the whole Jack thing which could be an exploration of nature vs nurture but instead they try so hard to make the audience like Jack that the subject is just barely touched on. Sam is projecting onto him but never has any self-awareness of it, and Dean gets over his rational if very harsh reservations within a few episodes. What does that tell us about them? It could say a lot, but instead they're making a man in his late twenties act like a toddler for sympathy points. I actually like Jack, but I kinda wish he'd earned it more. Idk I still have a ways to go with s13, maybe they do start engaging with the themes they've hinted at more. I've liked how they've discussed Dean's depression which has been present in the show for a long time (s7 dealt with it a lot), and I also liked how in 13x04 Sam blew up with his feelings about how he felt that he didn't have a connection with Mary and his desperation for that is part of why he (rightly) has hope that Mary's still alive. The alternate universe where they don't exist also gives room to explore their places in their own world.

Idk I think there's lots of room to build on their characters even after thirteen seasons. I just hope that they go with what they have and stay grounded in how things inform their relationships instead of going for the flashy "wow look how cool/grand in scale this is!" choices like they did in s12.

[lilac-5ky]

hi!! could u do married life with gintoki plz?? hcs or scenario whichever u prefer i just want to think about what its like to be miss sakata >////< thx!

I was going to make it into pure married life, but I really wanted to include how the whole proposal and wedding happened. So yay for freebies ^^

Being Gintoki's Wife Headcanons

Warning: slight nsfw towards the end.

Congratulations, you married the protagonist of the anime. That's the equivalent of hitting the jackpot, except you wouldn't be so broke after guessing the winning numbers to the lottery. Hey, no one said that being Yorozuya Gin's wife wouldn't have its disadvantages!

Proposal

The way he proposed to you was... quite interesting. He was a nervous mess and tried to calm down by going down the booze route, which led to him being both inebriated and awkward. You'd been dating for quite a while and he was certain that he could finally tie the knot with you (Thank Kagura, Shinpachi and Otose for pushing him to it). With you he felt comfortable to be who he is, knowing that you loved him despite his flaws. He was always at home whenever you were around, though actually proposing was nerve wracking.

If he was left alone to do it, perhaps he'd just toss you a ring and leave it at that. But, because communism exists, his marital business is Yorozuya's marital business and they'd sit him down and explain that unless he tries to at least be a bit romantic, you'd be disappointed. In reality, Kagura said that you'd leave with another man if you did that, a fact that managed to get him all stressed up in the first place.

And so, Gin really did his best planning a memorable proposal. He took you out to a fancy restaurant, wore his *rented* tuxedo, bought a ring worth of 10 rents which he placed into the champagne glass (courtesy of Otae). It was the perfect night! Or... so it was, until he started chugging glass after glass, eventually forgetting that a ring was placed in one of them and... yes. He swallowed the ring.

I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't noticed and went along with his proposal, voicing the little speech he had prepared with the guys the previous night, though be it half slurring and messing up halfway. It was a wonder you said yes, but it was a bigger wonder that he had managed to swallow a wedding ring without even being aware of it. Of course, that was something he kept hidden from you, and will probably keep it hidden even until after your children have children of their own. It's embarrassing, don't blame him!

At the end, he admitted leaving it at home, a far less shameful option. You parted ways and no one really asked why he spent the next 6-8 hours in the bathroom. The next day, you had a gorgeous shining ring around your finger, and an exhausted Gintoki by your side.

The wedding

Most likely Gintoki wished for a simple ceremony with those closest to you. Mainly because it would cost less but also because he isn’t one for extravagant parties. A wedding is a union and while he never hid your relationship, he’d be a bit flustered about saying such important words in public.

He did tell Kagura and Shinpachi, as those closest to him. And of course, Shinpachi told Otae, who told Kyuubei and then the entire Yagyuu clan had to pay their respects. Perhaps Gin also let Katsura know, not actually expecting him to show up, though he did and so did the Shinshengumi. At the end of the day, the entire cast was standing before you, some arguing and throwing bombs at one another, while others were too busy stuffing food in bento boxes. The quiet wedding you dreamt off turned into a bit of a fiasco, but everyone enjoyed themselves and so did you and Gin.

Honeymoon Period

I doubt that Gin could afford a proper honeymoon vacation, but perhaps Otose chimed in a bit, giving him enough money to take you somewhere decent as a wedding gift. Don’t think Hawaii or Paris or anything, but he did take you to an idyllic little fishing village or to a lovely mountain settlement.

The time you spent there was quiet and peaceful, unlike your everyday life in the city. It was a welcoming change and for once, you found yourself wishing that it would last more than a few days. Before you knew it, vacation time was over and you were back at Kabukicho.

Married Life

During the first few months, Gintoki would probably put on his good face. He'd be sweeter than usually to you, even going as far as to plan "romantic pizza nights in front of the tv" with candles all around. That would be his basic idea for a date night, but don't worry, he'll keep it up in the future too, minus the candles.

Another type of date time would probably be board game nights, either with just the two of you or his friends. If you end up winning too much, I wouldn't be surprised if Gin decided to flip the table or go as far as to cheat. If you catch onto him and scold him about his behavior, then he'd try to use other means to "win" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) He is shameless, after all.

Surprisingly enough, Gin isn't bad at doing chores, though he does complain about it. Considering the nature of his job, it's not too uncommon for him to have days off, and so, if you are the one with a more stable 9 to 5 kinda job, he doesn't mind taking over the housework. Mostly to keep cockroaches at bay ;-;

If he is the only one to do chores, he'll start nagging about how you married him just to turn him into a housewife. Bribing him with something tasty, whether that is food or you, is bound to make him forget about it, for the time at least.

Speaking of food, a fun activity Gin would enjoy, is cooking with you. He mostly enjoys eating whatever it is that you make for him (supposing it's not burnt tamagoyaki or rice with egg on a daily basis), but if you suggest making something together, he'll find it just as fun and exciting. He doesn't always follow the recipes and a lot of the time he ends up slacking off, tossing ingredients such as flour on your bare face just to get a laugh out of it. In no time, such a notion would lead to an all out kitchen war. Just make sure that he cleans the mess afterwards, considering it's his fault.

Despite Gin picking up on chores, he can be very messy, turning your house into a dorm. Half finished ramen, jump magazines scattered around, tissues and cans, he leaves disaster in his trail. He will clean when he realizes you need a boat to pass through each room, or, if you order him to.

Perhaps at one point, you both tried to better yourself and engage into some more sophisticated hobbies, such as wine tasting or museum touring. Every couple gets to a point when they look at other couples and wonder if they are doing things wrong. But neither expensive wines or impressionism did it for you, and so you went back to your old habits in no time. It's better when you don't have to pretend around each other.

After a quick detour, back to Gin's messiness we go. He is the type to spend an awful long time in the bathroom, not because he is doing anything weird, but because he takes his jump with him. He can sit on the toilet for hours on end, not even realizing how long it's been.

Whenever he showers or baths, you will definitely know because of the endless stream of water and hot steam following after him. It looks as if someone copy-pasted Venice in your house and Gin isn't apologetic in the slightest over it. The main cause of it, is because he refuses to dry himself up, choosing to wander around the rooms with just a towel. Now if you scold him, he has no issue jumping on top of you with the sole intention of drying his body against your clothes.

Naturally, it doesn't take long for things to get heated, and I can definitely imagine him smirking while saying "Now I'm not the only one who's wet". Shameless, I told you. Besides, he is also the one who jumps into the shower with you if he is in a hurry, without even bothering to ask if it's fine.

Gin isn't against self care. He doesn't admit it, but in order to keep his hair tamable, he uses A LOT of products. Could have an entire shelve dedicated to hair products only, no surprises here. He might tease you if he sees you using a face mask sheet, though if you offer him one, he'll allow you to pamper him, asking you to check how soft his skin is 24/7.

A nice thing Gin does from time to time, is massages. If you come back tired from work, he'll have no issue rubbing your feet, your shoulders, and anywhere else you need him to *wink wink*. Again he'll bring up the "housewife" argument, but he is more than happy to take care of you.

On the contrary, a nasty thing Gin most definitely does, is start calling you old hag. Even changes your contact name to that and acts as if you are some old lady, despite being of similar age to him. Don't, just... don't ask.

Generally, you don't argue a lot and your fights consist of really petty and childish arguments, such as who gets to watch what on the tv. Usually it ends with him sitting on the remote to prevent you from touching it. Or, on cold winter nights, he ends up hoarding the blanket, leaving you to shiver alone while playing tug war with his sleepy self.

At times, Gin experiences severe nightmares about his past. It's something he can't let go off completely, and although he chooses to ignore it in his daily life, he can't control his subconscious. There isn't much for you to do, as he won't be willing to talk about it. However, wrapping your arms around him, assuring him that it's fine, that you are there and that he did his best, will definitely help.

His sex drive does die a bit after you get married, but it's not much of an issue. If you initiate things, he'll almost always be up for it, and he definitely has his "hornball" moments. If you are doing the dishes, he'll be doing you. If you are in it for a relaxing bath time, he'll have you sit between his legs. If he sees you all dressed up for a work event or an outing with a friend, he'll most likely undress you first.

Randomly slaps your butt from time to time whenever you pass before him. If you scold him, he chuckles while giving you the look to know that if you are up for it, he is also up for it. Lots of heated times on the couch, considering he is sometimes too lazy to move things to the bedroom.

Finally, kids is not something in his immediate plans. In fact, he'll try to postpone such talks until you enter the second year of marriage, if not more. He'll always go "La la la la la" at the mention of such things, but if you sit him down and ask him to have a family, he'll groan and take you to bed right away. After all, how can he say no to you?

[everything-laito]

Do you think Laito’s and Ritcher’s relationship could be fixed? I feel like they would have a good relationship if that’s whole “love triangle” thing didn’t happen

Oh man that's a really interesting question! Thanks for stopping by!

akl;sflsdkf omg yeah I would use the "love triangle" statement very lightly because oh my god alsdkjflkdsf why is it technically a love triangle oh noooooooo I didn't realize that until you said it

(More under the cut––this was longer than I thought this was going to be alsdkjf)

Uhhhhh I don't think there's anything there to salvage it. Both people are incredibly egotistical, and well... Richter and Cordelia did kinda have sex/did sexual things in front of Laito, so,,, I would imagine a situation like that wouldn't really escape Laito's head, whether Laito ever forgave Richter for that or not. When it comes to Laito forgiving Richter, I would say no, absolutely not––in Dark Fate, Laito ends up forgiving Cordelia at the end of his route, but he doesn't mention Richter at all. I agree that their relationship would be very interesting if they didn't have a weird "rivalry" going on, but I feel like Laito being the foil to Richter is extremely effective as a character dynamic.

If it didn't happen, I don't even know if Richter would really be involved with Laito at all, or even the brother's. It's really his ties to Cordelia (not Karl) which makes him involved in the family and is the reason why Yui was able to make it through the Sakamaki's situations in HDB in the first place.

There's a few scenes that we see Laito and Richter in. One of them is Maniac 07 (if you're interested in seeing my breakdown of that scene you can read it here) and a handful more in Dark Fate. But Laito's pissed. He's so pissed off that his facade comes off, and he has said that he would want to kill Richter. The fact that Laito was able to forgive Cordelia (which I have my personal reservations of) was already an incredible feat, but I feel like forgiving Richter would be a stretch.

Honestly, you brought up something I never really thought of before. If we were to simplify this to a normal "cheating" situation (assuming Cordelia ""cheated"" on Laito with Richter PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM USING "CHEATING" VERY LIGHTLY, Laito was in a nonconsensual and coerced relaitonship with Cordelia no matter how you look at it), it would make sense that Laito is more mad at Richter than Cordelia. In many cheating cases, the "cheatee" doesn't get mad at the "cheater/their partner," but rather the person the cheater had the affair with. This usually is because they don't see the person in the affair as human because they don't know them as well in comparison to their partner. It's just taking the blame off of the cheater and putting it onto the other party. So I guess that may be why Laito wasn't as mad at Cordelia for having an affair with Richter??? But also, let's put it in context: Laito was most definitely coerced and pretty much brainwashed and manipulated and abused and conditioned. He kept believing he loves Cordelia when in actuality, it is not love. It is a bit different than using my simplified """cheating""" situation. So with the addition of "cheating psychology" and Laito's very complicated emotions with Cordelia (being pained by her and also trying to convince himself that he loves her etc), it makes sense why Laito was more angry at Richter than he was with Cordelia.

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe Laito does have it in him to forgive Richter. I personally cannot see it at this time, and even if he does, I don't think something like this can be fixed to the point where they'd be "chill" with each other. However, if you have headcanons about their relationship dynamic if the Cordelia thing never happened/if this was magically fixed, I would love to hear!

Thanks for coming in and asking!! As always if you need any clarifications or have any questions etc, let me know! -Corn

—————————————————————————————-

KO-FI | ANALYSES MASTERPOST | ANALYSIS TAG | FAQ

[treflev]

This got long, oops

I like Abel too, though more because of the fear to grow up, it's so relatable and interesting!

(And I would never wear Ame's horror outfit, but while we're talking fashion, off topic: Peri and Amelie's leggings are cute, that they both have them makes me smile, #justiceforpatternleggings #COVERTHEGIRLS)

My favs are definitely JJ and Shinjiro, they're!! JJ I just love because he's so normal, lil video games guy ("gameplay brain go brr" SAYS VN PROTAGONIST), I just want him to be happy! The route with Yukari shows such difference between when he's himself and not, it just makes me so happy to see people so bright and better? Also he has a cool sister and I love relationship ("We weren't close, my sister didn't exist and I barely know JJ" conversation rent free in my head)

And Shinji aaaaaaa standards high as the sky, humble, he judges so hard and I love it, it taps directly into what I like (aka confident person possibly secretly worried they're not as good as they'd like (possibly like dangranrompa Togami?)).

And that conversation about "THAT'S why did this happen to me?" makes me SO MAD on his behalf because I get it!! It's unfair, there IS a difference. And I like that he does not and will not, ever, forgive The man (my turn to project, I guess).

I find the severe sets of values so interesting, it's (badly explained) a bit like seeing an alternate universe through his eyes. Like I want to listen to him talk.

Also I know the game is about being Nice, but tbh sometimes he's mean and he's RIGHT (not saying the others have to take it). He knows what he wants and doesn't want and I love that and him.

Also lately I learned to appreciate Jazz (even) more, her backstory is maybe the most interesting? But maybe that's because sociology and explicitly stated themes ahah

Hello, I am a normal person with a normal amount of enthusiasm wondering with normal innocence: what entropic float character did you get unreasonably attached to?

Oooh that’s a good question!

OK, so basically all of them, but I think my favourite is probably Ame: Just the character of all time honestly (like I was nearly crying at some parts in the backstory stuff arc: I was totally projecting not going to lie there). The whole idea of feeling worthless without work? Feeling disconnected from yourself? aaaaaah the themes the themes (also I genuinely think he has a great sense of style, because I have a similarly bad sense of style: I would totally wear those mismatched patterns.)

OK I also love Abel though: I think what really secured that for me was going through the Memory Collection Route! The whole idea of being raised for a specific purpose really got to me, and I hope that in the next game, we can get an indication of how he’s doing!

True’s an absolute gem of a character, and all of his dialogue is just amazing (The fact that he said ‘group chat’ with quotation marks nearly got to me: He’s totally an old lady, absolute boomer, and it’s great)! He’s the epitome of “mysterious knowledge seeker that’s also extremely silly” which is one of my favourite tropes honestly...

Malcom’s absolutely great too! I was reading part of his backstory on the subway and I swear, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. Also he has a bird pet on his shoulder. What’s not to be happy about?

How about you? Sorry for the huge rant

[sinnersandsaints-linwrites]

100. For Arie/Sage poly route

100. “Once you said you’d never love another, would you say that again, now?”

The situation was more complicated than any of you would like. Ariel and Sage had a shaky relationship, that much was certain. They had some history, romantic history, but whenever you tried to push, they pulled away. Ariel said 'it ended badly' and Sage used snarky remarks to avoid the topic entirely.

However, you would be a poor detective if you didn't notice the intensity of their every interaction. How they seemed to communicate with nothing but a gaze, how Ariel was the only one who would dare to stop or interrupt Sage, and Sage was one of the rare few who managed to pull Phares into playful banter.

Ariel was terrified to love you, because they believed they'd lose you. That it was something as certain as death. Sage was terrified, too. Of being vulnerable with you, allowing you behind their defences.

For polar opposites, they could be awfully similar. Perhaps that is why you loved them both, equally.

They loved you too. They didn't have to say it for you to know it.

You knew, because Sage flew into a blind rage every time someone dared to threaten you, and their mask cracked whenever you were around. You knew, because Ariel put you above their mission, because when it came to you -- they were ready to set fire to the world.

You were laying in Sage's bed, currently. Dressed in your nightclothes, face pressed into the satin pillow. You pretended to be still asleep for just a few minutes, when you heard movement in the room.

Familiar hands pulled a new, smooth blanket over your body. Even with your eyes closed, you recognised Ariel, by the touch of their fingers.

"They just collapsed?" The low voice asked, hushed, as to not wake you. Sage likely nodded, as Ariel hummed.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say our dear detective forgot to take care of themselves. Again," Rennis' voice was a perfect balance between annoyance and worry. You heard that tone too often, nowadays.

Ariel sighed, moving away from the bed. "Will they ever learn?" They asked quietly.

Sage let out an unhappy chuckle. "You know the answer to that, so why do you ask?" A hum from Phares followed, and then a silence set in the room.

Surprisingly, Sage was the one to disturb it. "Once you said you’d never love another," they started. You were so shocked by how raw and unsure they sounded, that you almost opened your eyes. Only by sheer luck the two did not notice the slight movement from you. "Would you say that again, now?"

The silence was so heavy you could almost feel it press against your skin.

"No," there was a sharp intake of air, "I wouldn't. I would... I could love another." Ariel sounded just as unsure as Sage did before. "And, I could love the one I did before."

You froze on the bed. Rennis likely did too, as you heard nothing, not even a breath from them. This could've continued for seconds, minutes or even hours, it was impossible to tell.

Sage cleared their throat, eventually. "My answer would be similar, I suppose," they said, shifting in their place. "I'll be in the study, if you'd need me."

______

thank you for the prompt! <3

[diabolikpersonals]

Could we please have Shu x Reiji x Yuma poly headcanons :)

oh boy the Arson Recovery Trio!!! one of my favorite ot3s! let's get ready for some hurt/comfort babyyyyy

(pls understand there will be no romantic shu/reiji in my house thank u. when I say they love each other I mean like brothers) (also there's shu LE spoilers here, like v serious ending spoilers)

Lately, I like this ship post-Shu LE route a whole lot. I think it's an excellent starting point for them. If you're not familiar, Shu is the struggling vampire king, Yuma puts himself in a 99%-chance-of-death situation to help him, and Reiji saves Yuma in the end by taking an attack that was meant for him and almost dying. The air is thick with shu/yuma/reiji my friends. The conditions are perfect

Reiji (thinking he's going to die) tells Yuma that this is the only way he can atone. Yuma (also thinking Reiji is going to die) is like "idiot, I've already forgiven you for everything!! ;-;"

There's so much that all three of them regretted. Shu regretted not being a better king, Yuma regretted not being able to do more to help, Reiji regretted the ways he wronged them in the past...

...but they all come out of it alive, somehow. Hurt, but alive. They're all given a second chance. (maybe, at this point, it's more like a 3rd chance?)

I'm so fucking PUMPED about the three of them being the representative vampire demon politics team. Shu as the king, Reiji and Yuma as his right and left hands. Shu with the physical (magical) power, Reiji with the political know-how, and Yuma with the burning passion for social justice to push them both in the right direction. the dream team <3

After everything they've been through, they're very consciously aware of how much the other two mean to them, and so they can be fiercely defensive. Like, if somebody is talking shit about Shu then Yuma & Reiji will not stand for it at all, etc. Very "I will never let him get hurt again" energy

If Shu/Yuma and Reiji/Yuma are both slow burn by themselves, you'll never fucking guess how slowly Shu/Yuma/Reiji burns. It's so slow. It's so fucking slow. Because both Shu and Reiji are thinking, "I shouldn't like Yuma. My brother clearly likes him, and for good reason, and I've got all this guilt towards my brother, so I should just let him be with Yuma. I should back off." THEN NOBODY MOVES

And honestly, as for this "who is going to confess first" standoff, I literally think it's nobody. I don't think there's a confession scene here. It's just too hard for these guys. I think Yuma starts using the word "love," but not in a romantic confession sort of way. Stuff like "I love being here with you guys; who knows what my life would be like right now if I didn't have you." Then Shu and Reiji are able to answer, yes, I feel the same way. I also love being here, doing this, with both of you.

Then there's just this tacit understanding between them over time. When I say "I love you" I really mean it, actually. I mean that I love you in so many different ways. For once I feel comfortable loving somebody, instead of feeling scared or guilty. This feeling is precious to me; both of you are precious to me, I love you.

I bet they'd have to keep their "relationship" (or, yknow, their great big pile of mostly unspoken feelings) a secret, on account of being, well, public figures in the demon world. I don't think that's much of a problem for them, but it could be a fun source of drama if someone were to find out.

I like to imagine Shu still struggling with his powers, especially while he's feeling negative emotions, but Yuma and Reiji calm him down just by being around ^^

Reiji would never admit it but he actually Really adores validation and praise from them. Even if it's just an off-hand comment, it makes him happy because Shu and Yuma aren't people who lie or flatter others, so Reiji knows they really mean it. After complimenting Reiji, Shu and Yuma get to see Reiji's genuine smile, and they're both like "whoa, have you seen this before...?"

You know what's better than a Sakamaki boyfriend?? TWO Sakamaki boyfriends! >:D

anyway they're really good. I want them to take a nap in a pile together after working hard at demon politics.

they've just been through a lot ok I want them to HEAL and HUG ABOUT IT and be there for each other forever. is that that too much to ASK???

[acespec-ed]

I've seen a few posts going around lately about how it's problematic for straight girls to do romantic or sexual things with other straight girls and I had a sort of epiphany.

I think it's possible that some of those 'straight girls' could be a-spec.

I mean, if you're 'straight' and you kiss a girl, there's no expectation to sleep with her, right? I mean, you'd be surprised by how many girls kiss each other at events without sleeping with anyone at the end (because society is sexist, they get called teases, but that's still better than getting pressured into something). Then there's the split attraction model, and how some people might feel romantic attraction to multiple genders but only sexual for one gender.

You can hold hands and cuddle with your very close female friend without having to hear aphobic rhetoric about how you should be doing other things with them.

And, honestly, having the defense of what you're doing being 'fake' or 'performative' takes the pressure off. I'm an ace-spec wlw and I've certainly had some close relationships with girls that seemed gay to some and not to others, and certain things felt 'safe' while others felt like I'd be putting myself in a situation I couldn't get out of without sounding like I hate girls or sex. Although, I'm a shy introvert so I definitely wouldn't do anything that might make me the center of attention for a few minutes 😅

Idk it's just something I've been thinking about

It does sound possible! Though I think other factors come into play, like location and generation. I don't get out much nowadays to know how things are among younger generations, but "back in my day," if someone kissed someone of the same gender, people would assume they were gay- even if the person said they weren't. They'd at the very least be called bicurious. 

Unless you're talking about quick cheek kisses. I guess those are more okay for straight people to do, but I never see anyone giving cheek kisses with the exception of couples. If I saw someone give someone of the same gender a cheek kiss, I would assume that person is from another country where that's common.

That aside, I can agree that out of all gender combinations, two women cuddling/holding hands/kissing would have the least amount of pressure to do anything beyond that. And I can see it being a thing of women being aspec engaging in that behavior. Some people do crave physical contact that isn't sexual. Being touch-starved is a thing. I'm one of those people who doesn't care for physical contact unless I'm attracted to the person in some way, so I don't understand it at all. But it does make sense for a woman aspec who wants physical contact, to go the safest route and get that from a friend of the same gender. 

[kanansdume]

Someone asked me a little while ago if I felt like certain problems with Ahsoka as a character were due to sexism, and I ended up coming to the conclusion that, well, yes, they were. Because many of the issues I find with Ahsoka are replicated in the issues we find with Satine and Padme. They want these characters to be these beacons of perfection, these Strong Female Characters TM who can fight and be witty and morally correct, and it's.... awful. All of them end up weird and contradictory and flat as a result of trying to force them into this mold. They're not written like normal people, they're not allowed to have flaws. Even when they're doing wrong things, the narrative supports them in doing it. We're supposed to agree with them no matter what, so their flaws are no longer flaws. You said it was important to try to see WHY the writing sucks so badly, and for me, this is at least part of why. They're trying to create a character that's pure perfection based on an ideal for a female audience that nobody asked for instead of trying to just write their female characters as well as they write their male characters. Their female characters then remain as bland and uninteresting as they were before, but now they're allowed to kick ass I guess and spew one-liners I guess.

"Personally, I feel that Obi-Wan as a monk who fulfilled his duties and took care of and mentored Luke and Leia was a foil for Anakin and Padme all by himself starting from ANH."

This is entirely true because, well, he's written that way. Less so for Padme, but Lucas has said that he intentionally wrote Obi-Wan to be the Good Father to Anakin's Bad Father. Obi-Wan has ALWAYS been a foil for Anakin, he's always been someone who makes the choices Anakin never does, that's a large part of the point of his character. I can understand why they'd want to try to take that a step further and see how Obi-Wan would then manage romantic feelings for someone else in comparison to Anakin, to showcase what Anakin SHOULD'VE done. Unfortunately for Satine, this leaves her as just the knock-off Padme rather than a character they really cared to explore in any real way. Which is made extremely obvious in the episode in which Satine and Padme work together and they manage to get along PERFECTLY in a way Satine and Obi-Wan never managed. So you're right that Obi-Wan doesn't need a romantic relationship to be Anakin's foil, but I can at least understand why they might've been tempted to go that route, even if I think they bungled the fuck out of it.

I don't know if I think Satine is supposed to be a foil for Obi-Wan truly, even though she's expressing opposing opinions to him. There's no real thematic element to their narrative that really showcases her foiling Obi-Wan in any meaningful way. I think she's intended to be seen as his MATCH, his EQUAL, in a way few others are. But my personal opinion is that that's not what I would have wanted from an Obi-Wan romance if they had to give him one. Or perhaps, just that the way they chose to go about it was really terrible.

I think they do this with several other characters in TCW in a way that DOES work. Namely, Quinlan Vos and Hondo Ohnaka. Both of these characters are foils for Obi-Wan in the most low stakes possible way. They can match him in wit, but Quinlan is also (ostensibly) more reckless than Obi-Wan is and Hondo is obviously a pirate. But what makes them work for me is that we see how they're SIMILAR, too. Quinlan and Obi-Wan work together SO WELL, they're able to take their differences and really utilize them in a way that keeps getting them what they want on the mission. They're completely in sync more than they're not and they trust each other to both have each other's backs and to handle themselves, too. Hondo has his code of honor that he explicitly compares to Obi-Wan's own and the Jedi's in general, something that allows Obi-Wan and the Jedi to keep asking for his help even though Hondo is mercurial and occasionally an antagonist.

I think with Satine, there aren't enough moments where I see how they're SIMILAR or that they trust and respect each other on a fundamental level even if they disagree on other things. There isn't that element that exists with Quinlan and Hondo where I honestly believe that they genuinely like each other even if they might say otherwise (Obi-Wan's final "I never did enjoy hanging out with you" pun and Quinlan's little smile afterwards gives their ENTIRE relationship such context, that no matter how much Obi-Wan complains it's mostly just an act and Quinlan knows it and isn't bothered by it). With Satine, they just keep yelling at each other, I never get the sense that they ACTUALLY like spending time together. They can work together, sure, when their focus is on not dying then they're capable of doing what has to be done, but once the danger's gone and they have to just... be civil in the same place at the same time, that seems to be completely impossible.

As you said, Obi-Wan should be feeling relieved that he dodged a bullet rather than remorseful of a life he didn't choose. Which, in some ways, really fucks up Obi-Wan being a foil to Anakin in this regard, because if he's REMORSEFUL about it, if he kinda wishes he'd chosen Satine instead on some level, doesn't it just prove Anakin right? It starts feeling like Anakin was RIGHT to choose to secretly be with Padme, because the only other Jedi we see in a more serious romantic situation seems to regret having not chosen her. I do think the intended message is "this is what Anakin should've done" but making Obi-Wan as remorseful of the lost opportunity as he is and claiming that Satine was his first choice the way that he does counteracts that whole message. They do a little better with Lux and Ahsoka later on in season 5, but the situation's also a little different.

It also feeds into my frustration that TCW, in its effort to make Obi-Wan and Anakin more palatable to an audience, basically melded Obi-Wan and Anakin into the same character with two different faces. Anakin becomes wittier and more charming than he is in the films, far less awkward in general and much less focused on his fear than his anger. Obi-Wan becomes more inclined towards romance with the addition of Satine than he ever is in the films, more similar to Anakin in how he wishes he could have that even as he keeps choosing to remain a Jedi instead. Anakin and Obi-Wan become SO SIMILAR that it starts being hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and not in a cute way.

I love the idea of SATINE paralleling Anakin with her fear leading her into becoming a tyrant with the excuse of bringing peace, justice, and security to her people. I think the problem is that these female love interests (and it's not just love interests, since I'd say Ahsoka counts in this category, too, but for the sake of simplicity I'll stick to the love interest label) is that they never seem to get treated as characters in their own right outside of their relationship to their respective male counterparts. Padme's only purpose is to be a catalyst for Anakin's fall and her own story is basically irrelevant in the face of that. Ahsoka's only real purpose is to be Filoni's idea of the Perfect Jedi by taking everything he thinks is good about Anakin and lifting Ahsoka up as "what Anakin should've been." Her entire story revolves around trying to make her significant to Anakin's story even when she's never going to be. And Satine's only purpose is to make Obi-Wan palatable by giving him a romance, regardless of whether she dies or not, her purpose is to make Obi-Wan an easier character to relate to by making him less monk-like.

In many ways, when I think up alternatives for these three characters, I usually come up with ways to make them WORSE, because the narrative tries to push them as perfect people and it's so off-putting. I want Satine's violent tyrannical tendencies to be more important and something she has to actively fight against, I want Ahsoka's relationship to Anakin to be what turns her almost completely dark, I want Padme to be more corrupt politically since we know she prioritizes her relationship with Anakin above just about anything else. They're NOT perfect, and if the stories about them would just recognize that, they'd be so much more interesting. I'm so done with perfect Strong Female Characters TM.

Of course, thinking about how Bo-Katan and Satine's father's treatment of them influenced Bo-Katan's terrible choices actually starts to shed some light on SATINE'S terrible choices, too.

Because as much as Bo-Katan would've dug her heels in and refused to compromise on her beliefs regarding traditional Mandalorian values and what their father would've wanted, Satine would've dug her heels in just the same and refused to compromise on her OWN opposite beliefs.

Which leads us to how Satine treats Obi-Wan and her disregard and dismissal of the Jedi and the situation they're in. There is nothing Obi-Wan could ever say that would convince Satine that the Jedi fighting in the war is a necessary evil. Nothing. He'll NEVER be able to convince her otherwise because Satine likely got completely dismissed by her father for her choice to be a pacifist or her arguments that Mandalorian infighting was supremely stupid. She was her father's EMBARRASSMENT and she likely knew it just as well as Bo-Katan did. I imagine she was asked to change her mind a lot or to just give up and compromise because she was the heir or something to that effect and she never ever allowed herself to because she knew that she was RIGHT.

But this leads to her refusing to see any kind of nuance in the Jedi's situation. It leads to a VERY limited definition of what it means to be a "peacekeeper" that doesn't take into account what you do what someone else attacks YOU. She claims she's not against the idea of defending herself, but cannot wrap her head around the idea that the Jedi fighting on behalf of the Republic IS them defending themselves and their people. Obi-Wan TRIES to argue his side of it, tries to make her see that refusing to fight would do nothing but allow the Separatists to kill and enslave and oppress everyone in the Republic, and Satine will hear NONE of it. She's completely and entirely convinced that she's right and refuses to budge on the topic to the point that she's willing to get into a screaming match with Obi-Wan about it in public.

This doesn't excuse or condone her arrogance and refusal to compromise or understand someone else's situation, but it at least adds some context to it to help make that unfortunate aspect of her personality make more SENSE. I know where it comes from now, and that lets me see it in a different light even if I still don't agree with her. Because while she was right about the Mandalorians (mostly), she was WRONG about the Jedi. She was wrong about the Separatists.

[eryiss]

Summary: Freed and Gajeel were total opposites in every way, only connected by the guild. When they were forced to train together under Makarov's orders, they expected antagonism and mistrust. Instead, they were given a lesson in how quickly opposition can turn to attraction. The issue: let the budding relationship simmer away, or let it explode. [Freed x Gajeel Multi-chapter]

Notes: Hey everyone. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Get ready for some conflict, and two stubborn men refusing to admit their faults. Hope you enjoy it.

Links: FFN, Ao3, Chapter List

Chapter Two - Teething Trouble

Day One: Monday

The further they trudged into the forest, the more Freed understood what Gajeel was going to put him through. In a word: Survival.

He should have guessed by the way Gajeel had treated him before they'd left magnolia that the antagonism shared between them would be a factor in the week. Gajeel had immediately told him to leave his bags at home - "You're only gonna need the clothes on yer back, city boy." - and had taken every opportunity to call Freed 'fragile' and 'spoiled'. Clearly, he thought that Freed was a man unused to roughing it, and who had spent his life in luxury.

To put it simply, Gajeel hadn't planned a training exercise. He had planned three days of pushing Freed to his limits, trying to break him and expose his supposed weakness. No doubt the following three days would be filled with pointless physical labour and an excess of exaggerated survivalist exercises,

Freed found it oddly exciting; he would enjoy proving the idiot wrong.

"Heads up," Gajeel grunted, letting go of a branch he'd pushed aside, clearly intending to let it hit Freed. Freed, being a trained mage with refined reflexes, caught the branch before it struck him. Gajeel saw, his lips twitched down slightly. "Hm."

"Are you intending to be obnoxious," Freed asked, boot squelching in the mud. "Or is that just your personality?"

"Not enjoying yourself, city-boy?"

"You've hardly proven yourself to be a conversationalist, have you?" Freed mused, climbing the small verge of grass that Gajeel was guiding him to. "And so far, rather than training of any kind, you've decided to take me on a walk around the forest and not much else."

"We're nearly there," Gajeel grunted. "And maybe if ya shut yer trap I'd be better company."

"You're quite defensive, I do hope I didn't strike a nerve," Freed hummed, wanting to annoy the man. "If simply insulting your plans has gotten your hackles raisen so quickly, then you've got thinner skin than I had expected."

"I've got thin skin?" Gajeel scoffed. "Sure."

That was the entirety of the conversation shared between the two men for the morning. The forest Gajeel had chosen for them to walk through was one unfamiliar to Freed, and as such he couldn't be sure if he was being taken a direct route to wherever Gajeel was taking him, or if he had been walking in circles for Gajeel to test his stamina and ability to cross a wooded area. They'd seen the same stream a few times, at different places, so Freed was fairly sure that they weren't going the most direct route.

Only when the sun was high in the sky did Gajeel decide to stop walking. Though he wouldn't say it, Freed's as thankful for the rest, as his legs were starting to complain. He looked around where they had paused to see what Gajeel considered a good stopping point,

Gajeel was obnoxious, but he clearly knew what he was doing.

He'd found a small clearing in the trees, with a break in the canopy that gave them direct sunlight and dryer grass. They were a close walk from the stream, so had both a water and food source, if the fish were safe to eat. They weren't so far from the trees that it would be a trial to find shelter if the rain began. Freed was impressed, and looked to Gajeel for further instructions; if he wanted to beat him at his own game, he needed to know what this game was.

"You might have figured out what this is," Gajeel began, looking towards Freed. He was clearly proud of himself. "For the next three days, we're camping out here, living off the land. No help, no magic, no luxury."

He had emphasised the word luxury, as if the lack of it might make Freed cry. Gods, it would be sweet to wipe that smile off his face.

"You act like I've never camped before," Freed commented.

"Not like this you ain't," Gajeel stated. Technically it was true, Freed usually had a flimsy tent at least, but it was hardly a worrying prospect. "We need food, shelter, heat. Since we have to work together, we split duties. I'll get some fish, you make a fire and get us some shelter made," He crossed his arms and smirked, "if you can handle it, of course."

"I'm sure I can cope," Freed drawled. "Though I might fall to pieces if I chip one of my nails."

Gajeel grunted and turned around. Apparently he wasn't happy that his clear assumptions about Freed had been thrown back at him. That only made Freed more enthusiastic about showing just how capable a man he was, and how wrong Gajeel was in his ideas.

With his teammate walking towards the shallow stream, Freed looked around to see what he had to use. Clearly Gajeel didn't want him using his magic for his time in the forest, so the shelter wouldn't be so easy as making a rune barrier to keep them warm and protected, but that wasn't too difficult to contend with. As they'd walked, Freed had been taking note of the wildlife, and suspected that wolves, bears and other hostile creatures would not cause a problem. The main cause for shelter would be the weather, both protection from the sun and the rain if the clouds rolled in. Perfectly easy.

Using his sword, which had been considered as part of the clothes on his back, Freed began ripping large sheets of bark from nearby trees. He then began hacking away at the lower branches, those wide enough to support some weight but thin enough to be cut away fairly easily.

With enough supplies, he walked back to the clearing. Gajeel was still in the stream, with the water up to his ankles. On the rocks by the shore, four fish were sat dead, wirh Gajeel seemingly attempting to catch them some more. It was an impressive sight to see, he was picking them out from the water without a second thought, and Freed was reluctantly grateful. Catching fish on his own was not something he would be proficient in.

Not without his magic, anyway.

He refocused his attention on the task at hand. He was intending to make a small hut for them both to shelter under. It wouldn't be complicated: four of the branches would hold up the sheets of bark. It wouldn't be particularly large, and the protection of the wind would be non-existent, but it would do what was needed to protect them from either sunstroke, or a cold, depending on the weather.

Freed quickly put his plans into action. The four strongest branches were dug into the dirt, propped up in place by the weaker branches. He tied the pieces of bark together using weeds and some of the longer leaves, making it into a single sheets that would protect them from the elements. It didn't take long for him to affix the bark to the branches, and he made sure to test the structural integrity of the hut by kicking each of the branches. With each kick, the hut held, and Freed considered it to be a success.

"Ain't too bad," Gajeel said, suddenly behind Freed. Freed only allowed a small twitch of surprise. "Don't see a fire, though."

"I expect that's because I haven't made one yet," Freed retorted, shaking the hut again to be sure the bark would hold. "I'm afraid there's not much space under it, so we'll have to sleep close to one another. I might have made it larger, but you seem averse to luxury and I didn't wish to scare you."

"You ain't funny," Gajeel grunted. "Make a fire, city-boy."

Ah, so 'city-boy' was going to stay? That was unfortunate.

Still, as much as Freed would have liked to explain how incorrect the nickname was, Gajeel would prefer actions over words. If he wanted a fire, Freed was happy to make a fire.

This was child's play for him, he was a mage after all. He made a bed of rocks to protect the grass from burning, then began laying thicker logs into a pile. Next, the thin and dried out twigs that would quickly set alight without much complaint. Finally, dry leaves that would take a spark and turn into fire.

It took a few moments for Freed to find a piece of flint, but he did. Once he had, he rested his sword in the middle of the unlit fire. He struck the blade with the flint, sparks flying from it.

Gajeel didn't once stop watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake. He didn't, and the fire was soon burning.

"Is that satisfactory," Freed asked, placing the sword in the scabbard as the fire grew beside him. "Or do you wish for me to trek into the forest and tame a wolf so that it can protect us?"

"I said you ain't funny," Gajeel muttered. He handed Freed one of the many fish he had caught. "Gut this. Hope you ain't squeamish."

Freed openly laughed, having him gut a fish was Gajeel's trump card?

This would be easier than he thought.

——

Everything about the day had worked out in Freed's favour, and it was delightful to watch Gajeel get more and more angry about it. He clearly wanted Freed to blanch at the idea of working to survive, and Freed had proven himself a capable man under every task he had been given. This was a competition, and so far Freed was dominating it.

"Stand up," Gajeel demanded suddenly, and Freed raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to train right? Let's train."

"Very well," Freed said, standing up. "What did you have in mind?"

It was late in the evening now, and the fire was the only source of light. Clouds were obstructing the moon, thankfully, meaning Freed didn't have to worry about the demon burning away inside of him. Whatever Gajeel had in store, Freed wanted complete focus so he could finally end this ridiculous test he'd been put through.

Following his teammate, he was taken a short ways away from the hut he'd created. They were close to the stream, but not so far that they couldn't see one another in the darkness. Gajeel stopped, turned towards Freed, and spread his arms.

"You rely on yer magic too much," Gajeel stated, despite the fact Freed has spent the day disproving that fact. "And I'm willing to bet you hang back in a fight and let Sparky and the Acrobat do most of the physical shit. If you go against someone who cancels your magic then you're shit out of luck, and I ain't gonna fight with a guy who can only toss spells at a guy and hope it works."

"I can't decide if you're wilfully ignoring everything I've done today, or if you're too stupid to have a short term memory," Freed commented with a patronising grin.

"Keep talking shit, it'll only make this worse," Gajeel grinned, his fangs poking through his lips.

Freed went to retort, but Gajeel did the most peculiar thing, and removed his shirt. The suddenness of the action stopped Freed's words before they came.

"We're gonna wrestle. No magic, no weapons, no holds barred. Just gotta rely on our own strength. We keep going until one of us gives us or loses consciousness."

"Very well," Freed shrugged, reaching up to remove his cravat. "Once you've given up, you can perhaps lose this idea that I'm incapable."

"Doubt it," Gajeel grunted.

Freed, to keep in step with Gajeel, removed his own shirt and threw it to the side. As he did, he assessed his opponent. Gajeel was objectively a broader and more muscular man, and despite how intentionally toned he was - nobody got a six pack accidentally - Gajeel's muscles weren't just a result of vanity. The man was physically stronger than him, and had the advantage. But Freed had succeeded in situations worse than this, and Gajeel's cockiness would be his downfall.

With both men stripped to the waist, they assumed a battle ready stance. Gajeel counted down from three, and they lurched towards one another the moment the fight began. The bartering of a muscular form against his own took the wind out of Freed, but he grappled the man around the waist without hesitation.

They struggled like that for a moment, both pushing to wrong foot the other man, neither succeeding.

Freed felt his feet stumbling slightly, and knew that Gajeel's strength was greater than his own. He needed to be smart about this: he would exhaust his target, and take what opportunities presented to throw Gajeel off. One such opportunity had just shown up - if Gajeel wanted to push him back, he would give him what he wanted.

With fast movements, he removed his arms from around Gajeel's waist and shunted back. Too late to adjust his momentum, Gajeel stumbled forward, landing face first in the ground where Freed had just been.

"I'm embarrassed for you that that worked," Freed commented before he could stop himself.

Just as Gajeel pushed himself up off the ground, Freed tackled him again. He was successful this time, flipping him so his back was flush against the grass. When Gajeel's right hand came to push Freed off, he quickly took hold and pinned it above his head. He pressed a foot into Gajeel's stomach to hold him down, smirking as he went to further taunt the man. Just before the words could leave his mouth, a splitting pain filled Freed.

The bastard had kicked him in the stomach.

Gajeel had meant it when he'd said no holds barred. Freed could work with that.

Pushing himself up before Freed could recover, Gajeel crashed into Freed with his full body weight, and the press of the man's strong form was pinning Freed to the ground immediately. One hand was pressing Freed's hands to the ground, his foot was pinning Freed's right leg in place, and his other hand was pressing against Freed's throat with strength behind it. He also meant it when he'd said until one of them was unconscious.

But Freed was not a man to go down without a fight. With only his left leg unpinned, he did something he wasn't particularly proud of, but worked in the situation. He slammed his knee into Gajeel's groin, and the pressure went away as Gajeel staggered to the side.

"Fucking bastard," Gajeel roared, voice a little higher than normal. "What the hell?"

Freed didn't waste the opportunity, and pushed his foot to Gajeel's spine and pressed him face first into the ground. He'd cupped his balls on instinct, meaning his hands were essentially pinned below him when Freed asserted more pressure.

"No holds barred," Freed taunted. "A word of advice. If you set a rule around me, I tend to remember-"

He was cut off when Gajeel suddenly lurched back, throwing Freed's leg off him and making him scramble for balance. He grabbed Freed by the calve and pulled down with strength, taking Freed to the ground beside him. Freed found his arms yanked behind him, and grunted a little at the pain as they were pinned against his lower back. He didn't struggle, it would only exhaust him.

"Givin' up so quickly, huh?" Gajeel purred. "Ain't surprised. Knew you couldn't handle it."

Gajeel had meant to taunt him, but all he had done was show where he was. The words had been right beside Freed's ear, and so Gajeel's face was right behind his ear too. With a jerk, Freed rammed his head back, feeling the crack of the other man's jaw against his skull. The grip on his hands loosened, and he managed to push the man off him.

The following few moments followed a pattern. Freed would get the better of Gajeel, Gajeel would push him off and pin Freed down. Freed in turn would get Gajeel off him, and push him down. The pattern would repeat itself, with neither man gaining the upper hand for too long.

"Ah," Freed panted at the sudden cold on his back as he was pushed to the ground again. Water, they were at the stream now.

"Cold ain't a bother, right?" Gajeel smirked, kicking Freed in the chest when he tried to sit up.

"You're determined to think me weak, aren't you?" Freed rasped slightly, winded from the kick. "Which is a brave thing to say, given you were rolling around the floor cupping your balls just moments ago."

An exaggeration, but the snarl of anger he got was worth it.

Suddenly, one of Gajeel's large hands was wrapped up in Freed's hair, and a kick to the gut had Freed turning. A foot was pressed against this back, forcing him to lie face down in the cold water. Gajeel made sure to hold his face towards the flow of the stream, and the feeling of it rushing into his partially split lips and nose was a horrid burning. A nasty trick.

Freed tried to push himself up, but the fight was lasting longer than he hoped and after a day of labour, Freed's muscles were starting to protest. He tried to raise his head, but Gajeel wouldn't allow it.

Above all, Freed was a strategist. Sometimes, a retreat was the logical choice.

He knew he could get out of this hold. With the right angle, he could take hold of Gajeel's leg and pull it in the same way Gajeel had done to him to knock him off balance. But what then? They would fall back into the spiral of pinning one another, hitting one another, and achieving nothing.

This entire exercise was an act of futility. Gajeel was trying to prove Freed was weak willed and impractical, despite the fact it was clearly untrue. Freed was trying to prove Gajeel wrong, but the man was too pigheaded to accept it.

"I give," Freed grunted, voice warped by the water.

"What was that?" Gajeel taunted.

"I said I give," Freed spat.

The hand keeping his head partially underwater was gone, and the foot holding him down soon followed. Freed spat out the water as he turned, body aching as he sat in the stream. Gajeel was looking down at him as if he were dirt, and it took a lot of self restraint not to attack the man where he stood.

"You think yer hot shit, but you ain't," Gajeel grunted, "You're a spineless ass with some spells you rely on too much."

"You know damn well I only stopped that because it was pointless," Freed snarled, standing up, water dripping from him. "And you didn't ban magic because you want to see me fight without it. You were just scared of me showing my power because you know it dwarves yours."

"The hell did you say?" Gajeel growled, and magic energy filled the space as Gajeel's hands turned to a blade.

"You heard me," Freed's voice was distorted - demonic - and he didn't care. "You are in the presence of a powerful wizard and terrified."

For a moment, neither man spoke. Tense magical energy flowed form them both, ready to lurche should they need it. Gajeel relented, walking towards the fire, murmuring that he couldn't wait for the week to be over.

That, at least, was something they could agree upon.