#instead of doing hw oops

[c0zyrainfall]

I was thinking about it, and I started wondering what exactly is so appealing about damianya.

Twiyor is equally well written, I think, but I actually prefer the former (though I love both!). That's just because of preference and my appreciation for enemies to lovers. HOWEVER I have decided to draft up an analysis pinpointing why damianya is so enticing, because I write my own original material, and I think you can gain a lot of valuable insight by reverse engineering good writing.

First of all: What is the definition of a good romantic relationship?

I will use the following guidelines:

1) Based off of genuine friendship

2) Both are willing to sacrifice for the other and

3) Both parties make the other a better person.

The first guideline I outlined is big here. Because they are kids, they obviously should not be in a full on romantic relationship now. As a matter of fact, they will probably be waiting AT LEAST eight years. At least.

This means they have eight years to develop a true and wholesome friendship. A friendship with no romantic ulterior motives. They just get to enjoy being kids and growing up with one another. Because of this, they will see each other's high AND low points, rather than viewing the other with rose tinted lenses. Yes, maybe one of them (cough Damian) gets butterflies and feels flustered every time they see the other. But for now, it is very innocent and immature, a childish crush. By framing the goal for this relationship as FRIENDSHIP rather than ROMANCE, the two are able to develop a deeper understanding and a more complete picture of each other before they take anything to the next level.

Does the second point even need to be addressed? Anya is willing to take a tonitrus bolt for him. She is willing to stand up for him (well, technically for the "mission" but we'll get to that later). Damian is willing to take a hit for her, whether it be a dodgeball or a literal bomb. He gives her his share of the macaron (which he believes could help him with his intelligence.) He spends time he could be using to study to locate the finest teacakes in the world so he can give them to her.

Now to the third point.

When we first meet Damian, we don't like him. He is a classist jerk. So karma hits him (literally) in the form of Cupid's arrow. By developing a crush on Anya, he is learning that he should not treat others differently because they have less money. He becomes a better person by learning that "commoners" are the same as all the rich students at Eden.

Side tangent: while I relate more to Damian academic wise, aka pushing myself probably too far to get good grades, I'm sure we can all personally relate to Anya. She tries a lot of things. She fails at almost all of them. Thus, by seeing someone who is academically accomplished and rich be infatuated with her just for being herself, we start to realize that those things don't matter as much as we sometimes feel. Therefore, we want Damian to like her, because it is sweet. It is sweet that someone who places value on things like high academics is able to see past that and appreciate someone else for different good qualities, rather than the ones society deems most important. ~

When Anya first meets Damian, we cannot fault her for disliking him. He is rude to her because she is in a lower social class than him. She is rude to him because he is mean to her. This is perfectly reasonable. In the beginning, it would not make her a better person to be friends with him; as a matter of fact, avoiding him would probably be the high road in this situation. If I were her, I would not have wanted to be friends with him at all.

Side tangent 2:

If you like damianya, you are probably fond of Anya. And of Damian. This is true for me. He's my favorite sxf character. The reason WHY we are fond of him is because we know his backstory. We know he is actually a sweet little guy who just wants to be loved. So we also want him to succeed in his friendship with Anya.

However, though she may have picked up bits and pieces through her mind reading, Anya does not know this. And even if she did, she likely wouldn't understand the levity of it. She's only 4 or 5. ~

Damian and Anya have developed since they first met. They ARE friends (or close to it, anyways). So while at first it wouldn't have made Anya a better person to genuinely care about Damian, now it would.

Because we know Damian and care about him, we also want Anya to care about him. We want her to understand why he acts the way he does. We want her to understand that he actually cares about her.

While Damian is terrible at proving he cares through his words, he is really good at SHOWING her. If she understands he has a different method for showing care, Anya grows. She is able to develop a greater understanding of other people, rather than shaping the world through her own perspective. Framing Damian as the mission makes a lot of sense. She wants her parents to stay together and not get rid of her, and she wants world peace. Of course Anya is not bad for wanting these things. But she will be BETTER when she learns to see things from Damian's pov. She will see the world is not all black and white. She will see that he is not just a mission, and that he is actually as important to her as Yor is to Twilight.

So, conclusively, those are some reasons Damianya is a well written and popular ship. I could also go into detail about how it subverts expectations, likely has future plot relevance (in relation to the story as a whole rather than just a side plot), and is a generally unique and well executed idea. However, for now, I'll leave it at this. I tried to nail down the psychology of what makes it appealing to us, but if anyone has further insights, please feel free to let me know :) Hope you all have a great day

[mercury-lynx]

Has anyone done this yet

[marblerose-rue]

new lioden king except ive had him for a couple weeks :-)

[rhys-writes-some-shit]

A Long-Awaited Conversation

Alastor x Reader (QP)

A/N: This was initially a very different fic, but I'm not upset with how it turned out. A little bit of angst to make the day better, right?

It was a slow day. Neither you nor Alastor had much to do, so the two of you were sitting in your room, just enjoying each other’s presence. Jazz was playing quietly from an old radio by Alastor, who was doing some paperwork. You were typing away on your laptop, much to Alastor’s dismay. At least it wasn’t VoxTek, he had to give you that. 

“Do tell me, my dear: when is a door not a door?” Alastor asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence. 

“Oh dear,” you sighed, knowing exactly what was coming. 

“Oh deer is right!” Alastor replied brightly. “Now then, when is a door not a door?”

Playfully rolling your eyes, you humored him. “I don’t know, Al. Do tell.”

“When it’s a jar!” 

You couldn’t deny the snort that the corny joke elicited. Alastor knew you enjoyed his jokes, but it had been a while since he’d gone out of his way to tell you any. 

“Well, maybe you know why the cemetery was so popular.” Alastor’s grin was bright and genuine. Setting your laptop aside, you focused on him, smiling fondly. 

“I’m afraid I don’t.”

“What a surprise! Didn’t you know people were just dying to get in?” Alastor proceeded to laugh at his own joke. 

“I missed this,” you said after a moment. “You were gone for seven years. I really missed this.”

The lighthearted mood turned serious. Alastor’s smile lost some of its light. “My sabbatical was… necessary, dearest. I do regret that you were unable to accompany me.” 

You noticed how the music was turned up a bit, masking the sound of your conversation. While it was doubtful anyone was listening in, you knew that Alastor wanted to cover his bases. 

“You didn’t even tell me you were leaving.” There was a clear edge in your voice. “I had no idea where you were or how long you’d be gone…” The anger, frustration, and sadness started bubbling in your chest, ready to overflow, out of control. “Seven years, Alastor! Seven fucking years, I didn’t know where you were! I thought you’d left me, Al! Or worse, you died!”

“Dearest,” Alastor tried, but you cut him off. 

“No, you don’t get to ‘dearest’ me,” you snapped. “I was alone for seven years. We’re partners, Al. We’re supposed to communicate with each other. I don’t even care what you were doing, I just wanted to know you were alright.” You paused. “Did it have to do with your deal?”

Alastor’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”

You matched his gaze. “Husk told me. He used to check on me weekly, you know. Thought I deserved to know. Which I did.”

“You don’t get to decide what I should and shouldn’t tell you,” Alastor said sharply. 

“No, but you should tell me when you’re going to abandon me!” You were shouting now, standing and staring him down. “You have no idea how much I struggled while you were gone, how much I suffered! You are everything to me, Al! You are my fucking world, and what the hell was I supposed to do when my world up and vanishes?!”

The sound of static filled the room, Alastor gripping the armrests of his chair, leaving deep claw marks. 

“I was a fucking mess! All your souls, all your territory, went to me! I’m not an Overlord, Al! I don’t want to be one! Having all that power scared the shit out of me! I was forced to do your job for you, a job I didn’t want to do!” Tears pricked at your eyes as the memories came back in full force. “And then you return suddenly, take up an impossible project, and just expect me to be okay with it? Well, I’m not okay with it! You haven’t been the same since you returned and you won’t fucking talk to me!”

You were gasping for breath when the tears started to fall. You messily wiped them away, still fuming with anger that had built up over the seven years you’d been alone. 

“Are you quite finished?” Alastor asked, his smile forced. Standing, his papers vanished, and tucked his arms behind his back. “Clean yourself up. I refuse to talk while you’re being hysterical.”

“Hysterical?! Hysterical?! What the fuck, Al?!” You yelled. “You are such a selfish, pretentious piece of shit!”

With a hum, Alastor disappeared into the shadows, causing you to scream in frustration. 

The jazz music had stopped. You were standing, alone, in your room, gasping for air as you stifled sobs. 

The day had been going so well. You had to go and fuck it up. 

Ten minutes later, you wandered to the lobby, still pissed off, but feeling a little better after crying the most you had in years. Silently, you took a seat at the bar. Husk was there, like always, and immediately started to make you your favorite drink

“Finally give him a piece of your mind?” Husk asked.

“That obvious?” Your voice was hoarse from the shouting.

“I could hear the screaming.” Husk gestured up. “Also, you look like shit, and the last time I saw you like this, it was also about him.”

The drink was placed in front of you, but you just massaged your temples. “I don’t know why I put up with him.”

Husk grabbed a bottle and drank it straight, whatever it was. “Love fucking sucks.”

You sighed, “Husk, we’ve been over this, I don’t love people like that.”

“Sure, maybe not romantically. But you still love him. And it still fucking sucks.”

“That's something, coming from you.” You took a drink, reveling in how the alcohol warmed your body. “Don't think I don't see how you look at Angel.” 

Husk glared deeply at you, not denying it. You smirked, taking another drink. 

“How do I get him to understand?” You asked quietly, half to yourself. “He’s so fucking narcissistic, I bet he didn’t even think twice about leaving me behind.”

“I couldn’t tell ya’.” Husk shrugged. “I will say, though, that you’re the only person who can actually get through to him. You have that power over him.”

You scoffed. “Like Hell I do.”

“If anyone else speaks to him like you do, they’re dead before they get a chance to think.” Shelving his drink, Husk began to busy himself behind the counter, cleaning some glasses. “Last I checked, you were still kicking.”

Silent, you contemplated Husk’s words. He had a point. If Alastor cared about anyone, it was you. Finishing your drink with another sigh, you stood. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You had to finish this. 

“Stick to your guns, kid,” Husk assured. You didn’t have the heart to tell him you’re probably older than him. 

“Thanks, Husk. See you soon.” 

You remained quiet as you walked up to Alastor’s radio booth. Out of respect for his boundaries, you hardly ever went up there, but this was important. Radio static filled the air the closer you got, confirming that he was indeed in his booth, but the lack of his voice told you he wasn’t recording. 

Before you even got the chance to knock, Alastor’s shadow opened the door for you. 

“You can come in.”

Alastor was hunched over his desk, writing notes on what was likely a script for an upcoming radio show. His recording booth was a mess, with papers scattered all over the place and claw marks littering every piece of furniture that wasn’t nailed down. The feeling of Alastor’s radio static was heavy, but barely audible as Alastor wrote.

“I would apologize for shouting, but I don’t really feel sorry,” you opened with, arms crossed. 

“As you shouldn’t,” Alastor agreed, not even turning towards you. “I will say, I’m surprised you stopped when you did. I’d expected you to go on for much longer.”

You couldn’t help but snort at that remark. “Oh, trust me, there were many versions of that conversation where I went on for about half an hour.” You left out saying that you had seven years to formulate them, thinking that would only make the situation worse.

“I don’t doubt you.” After a moment, Alastor sighed, setting down his pen and sitting back in his chair. You can see the reflection of his face in the glass. His smile is still there, but barely, and his eyes seem tired. Husk was right, you did make an impression.

Alastor turned towards you, leaning his head into one hand while he tapped his fingers along his microphone staff. He still never met your eyes. “You… are correct.”

Silent, you waited for Alastor to continue, watching him closely. 

“I should not have left you without saying anything. I regret not speaking with you before I left.” You could tell he was struggling to get his words out. Emotions were hard for him, be it by nature or by choice, so you remained patient. “I left… to keep you safe.”

Hoping your surprise wasn’t evident on your face, you found a chair and pulled it up in front of him. The tension in your shoulders lessened when Alastor took your hand, holding it gently. 

“Had I not taken my absence, you would’ve been in danger. Danger I’d be unable to protect you from. I could not take that chance.” Alastor finally looked up at you. He was still guarded, still holding himself back, but there was something warm in the way he looked at you. A soft side, that only you had the privilege to see. “If something happened to you, I would be unable to live with myself. So I left, because it was the only way to ensure you would remain safe.”

A hand reached up and grazed your cheek, wiping away a tear you hadn’t even realized was on your face. 

“It was the only way, my darling. I wish it hadn’t come to that. And I am ashamed that I hurt you so much in my absence.”

You were at a loss for words. Alastor had never, never, opened himself up like that. It was a little scary. Part of you wished he’d just brushed off the argument and pretended it had never happened. At least that would’ve matched what you’d expected. This… this was not at all what you’d expected. 

Blinking, your heart rate picked up against your will. “Al, I… Th-thank you for the apology, I… This… is scaring me, Al. You’re scaring me. Are you okay? This isn’t like you.”

Alastor’s hand left your face. “You are correct in saying that I am not the same man I once was. I continue to hope I will revert back to who I was, but I can see now that that’s impossible. You, dearest, are the only thing making that revelation bearable.” 

As your heart beat against your chest, you struggled to evaluate your next move. You wanted to scramble away, to beg for the old Alastor back, but you knew that wasn’t the right move. You knew this was the actual, real Alastor in front of you and not some sort of imposter. The idea that the old Alastor had vanished the day you were left on your own did not sit well with you. Frankly, it made you sick. 

But now was not the time. Right now, Alastor needed you, as fucked up as it seemed. 

Exhaling forcefully, you took hold of Alastor’s hands this time. “Thank you for coming back. Whatever it is that’s going on, we’ll deal with it together. Like always. I’m your partner, Al, and I’m not leaving anytime soon, got it?”

Alastor nodded, closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, his spark had returned. His smile grew once more and he stood, pulling you to his chest. 

“Well! Now that that’s settled, how about a dance, my dear? It has been quite a while since we’ve had the chance to cut a rug together.”

With the snap of Alastor’s fingers, some jazz filled the room and the disheveled furniture was shoved against the ways to make room. Mustering your own smile, you placed your hand in his and allowed him to lead you around the room in time with the music.

It was nice to dance, you had to admit, but the abrupt change left a bad feeling in your stomach. Something was not right. In fact, something felt wrong. But now was not the time for that. Hiding behind your smile as skillfully as Alastor himself, you went along with his antics. 

But the sinking feeling of dread remained.

[high-quality-assorted-chaos]

me when oops my hand slipped and i accidentally wrote 2500 words of challenger fanfic instead of doing my hw

[mayoiayasep]

IT WAS GOOD im gna go to an anime con tmr and im v excited abt that AND i got like all my schoolwork done that i need to so !!!!! unfortunately i made a few decisions i am unhappy with (doing stuff on my phone instead of going to sleep) and i am trying to stop myself from metaphorically beating myself over the head with a bat ovwr it and just letting myself go to sleep. oops sorry im oversharing. anyway it was good how was ur day

im glad your day went well!! rn im switching between finishing days of the antique legend tour and doing my hw and i was gonna go to bed eventually. the anime con sounds super cool i hope you have fun while youre there!!

[sheepispink]

u see i was gonna do a xiao birthday art but then i remembered my hw and i kept seeing kaz edits so i had to watch shadow and bone and i swear it was only meant to be for half an hour but then i ended up watching it for an hour and then i finally opened medibang but i had to finish some stuff on my diluc sketch and then i had to go onto pinterest for a ref for xiao and there was only one good one so i started sketching it and i realised it would take too long and im tired so i read fanfics instead oops

[flyingcookierambles]

oh yeah some silly gpose i guess

under the cut

i have to learn how to screen record tomorrow when the game is back up bc static pictures cannot do the nirvana zeta (replica) justice. the thing changes colors! the gems are rainbow!!! its so pretty. my pride and my joy and my source of pain and suffering for about 1 year lol.

the above were in my Off gshade setting. that is to say, my own setting. which is why it sucks and is so so crunchy. like. i really am envious of Pint (former WoW player, now a ffxiv lalafell streamer and machinima/animator/comedy guy/femboy kinda lol) and his gshade settings are so so pretty and cinematic and the DoF auto setting is good i really have to find the vod or something where he sets it up or answers a question abt it so i can copy. he’s only adjusted it a few times in his vods and i think the names of the settings were just like “Pint ____” so its custom i guess and everything uuugh will he release his settings publicly i need to knowwwwwwww ugh

anyways BLUE TONGUE AAAAAAAA RAEN ARE SO CUTE i can never fantasia to be a xaela or non-au ra race now im sorry the blue tongue is just so so cute and such a dumb little detail i love it lolgruhago

on a shadowbringers train last night (im in a hunt linkshell for Jenova called Hunt VIOLENCE II but is 128/128/full so idk if the ppl running it will make a VIOLENCE III or what lol). someone sniped the grassman :( monke gone

bonus silly adventurer plates

played the piano for francel at the firmament and unlocked charlemend’s custom deliveries finally. loved this scene. on one hand i get that they’re just reusing npcs bc it probably costs money to make new ones or whatever the push of the randomization button is, on the other hand i love that they reuse npcs bc i can name ppl and ishgard feels lived in with your familiar neighbors :)

tbh pre-hw, i accidentally spoiled myself via the subreddit and twt, not on the plot stuff for hw, but the ishgardian restoration. and also a bit of dark knight. so. my impression was the gross communal salt rocks, the squishy beds of mysterious substance, the murder of the innocent orl tribe. so. my first impression, pre-hw, was...not great.....but now that it really seems like they’re trying to make it a better more inclusive place and moving more towards living with the dragons like letting ehll tol and her dragon friends live in the city, plus the machinist questline of the great equalizer power of gun uhhh i mean hilda and her hounds providing the brume and common folk safety in the streets instead of just the corrupt temple knights - ishgard just feels like home now. :) there’s also the crystarium on the first.

anyways, visited another world after seeing a shb hunt ad on the centurio hunts discord.

also, my crappy apartment in-game in the empyreum / the ishgardian housing apartments. im finally decorating it.

saw a concert in gridania aetheryte plaza and there was a portgas d ace cosplayer lol.

anyways i loved my co-healer cajun lettice here lol we all had brain fog. thankfully no full raid wipes, just...our team. lol

slightly outdated, but heres my suffering inventory and relic grind. im on the stupid atma books rn, so kinda disregard the atma shown here rn.

edit: realized i forgor to add the pics of the artemis atma oops. the colorful one is the gshade neneko x eorzea collection natural vanilla settings. the drab boring one is just the vanilla base game. literally. so. drab. even on my regular ps4 and whenever i borrow my sister’s ps5 to play, our tvs have built-in shader/color adjusting settings to make it look not. dirt. ugh. gshade really helps this game i swear idk how vanilla ppl do it anymore lol. its not even like cheating modding fluid aura type game mods like in world of warcraft, its literally just a built in instagram filter lol.

just putting these here bc. uh. i was thinking of helping out that tracking site that’s been helping me not go absolutely bonkers doing these dang relics. they need a picture of it or something i guess. idk. its this website, it saves me so much time and hassle. > https://ffxivrelictracker.com/

ok and maybe the zodiac buddy dalamund add-on*winks*

[owlf45]

wips that hurt my brain.jpeg 

[astarriscus]

i have so much IDEAS bcs smh im such a hopeless romantic but also unfortunately i have a not-so-good attention span, have so many things i want and need to do, and am just kind of. burnt out or lazy.

[bellamyblakru]

How about a fanfiction like that:

Merlin Battle of Camlann canon AU

—

We all know the scene, were Merlin appears as dragoon and fights the Saxons, right? But in my opinion, the scene would have been so much more powerful if it was not dragoon that appears, but Merlin as himself! That’s what this fic is gonna be about. Merlin saving everyone from the Saxons with his magic, as himself. And to make it even more powerful, he’s not gonna do it alone. He’s not going to appear out of the blue with just a magic staff, no, he appears as Merlin, the dragon lord. On the back of Kilgarrah, Merlin arrives on the battle field. Everyone is wondering why the dragon is helping them, but then they see a man riding the dragon and fighting with them. One moment, Arthur is about to get attacked, but doesn’t notice. But Merlin appears right in front of him, on the back of Kilgarrah and shows just how powerful he really is. Arthur is shocked. Merlin then gets down from Kilgarrahs back and fights next to Arthur and everyone. With his magic. In the heat of the battle, Arthur doesn’t care. Of course, they win. But it’s not Arthur who gets wounded, but Merlin, while he fights Morgana, and kills her with Arthur’s sword. (You can decide what happens to Mordered) Arthur is angry. Feeling betrayed. He sends Gaius to take care of Merlin, but shortly after he’s not in danger of dying anymore, sends him in the vaults. He doesn’t know what to do. He knows, that Merlin saved them all, but he’s so angry. In the mean time, Merlin refuses to eat, drink or do anything else. Arthur has no clue about that. Soon as Arthur finds out, he gets even more angry, bc Merlin is reacting this way. So he goes and talks to him, or rather shout at him. Merlin is devastated.

Yes, I love angst.

iskakakakqak YESYESYES. man, we were so fucked out of a good ass magical battle in the finale😩god, merlin being incredibly bamf on the field as himself is such a powerful image. like i read a post the other day that said what if he came to the battle and like nature was on his side too. you have like unicorns, wolves, bears, other creatures, the wind, and the dragons just behind him as his army and he just fucking destroys everything because no one is hurting arthur on his watch.

i wrote a fic once where arthur found out and put him in prison where merlin then refused to eat or drink (lemme go find it LOL okay i found it, its this one)!! and its so in character that arthur would be mad about merlin refusing to eat/drink bc “he has no reason to hurt himself when he betrayed me so deeply” and the idea that merlin just fucking refuses to do absolutely anything because everything he stood for (arthur) is gone and his will to live just narrows down to fucking nothing. god, it makes my heart hurt thinking about it. i wish there are more fics exploring how fundamental arthur is to merlin’s entire being, you feel? like merlin is so fucking dependent on arthur’s well-being that by season five, merlin’s morals were “if it keeps arthur alive, fuck anything else” and that is so incredibly fascinating. this kid who was so against killing people at the beginning grew up into someone he never wanted to be—to save arthur, his friends, and for camelot. he is so selfless to a horrid degree where his own self-preservation is nonexistent at this point (which is a Bad Thing). our protagonist became more depressed as time went on and this morally-gray attitude is one of my favorite things about merlin (the reason why he is my fucking favoriteeee). its not common you see the hero get darker as time continues (but every time i read this trope its 😩👌🏻), and its so fun to explore how potential fucked his thought process is (fun to me because im legit becoming a clinical psychologist and minds are vvv interesting and complex and incredible).

this would be hella angst akakakak man, you and i should collaborate on a future fic...what do you think?👀👀👀👀👀👀

[washymylifeaway]

me: i hate coding

also me: *relearns css and html so i can modify code in a theme to my liking*

I just changed my theme but idk, it might change (again) in a bit,,, we’ll see :))))) but this is bc @sweetmotherof and I talked about themes and then i was like why not but there are many reasons why not

[icks4van]

i’ve seen this tiktok trend with other bands so i made one for catfish 🤪

[mlchaelwheeler]

i am so annoyed

[itsmiyamore]

I'm feeling remarkably lonely right now damn

[mel-pomene]

One sincere and pure smile from this man would send me into cardiac arrest

Bonus MC: