#it's just that he isn't used to think about himself like a living person with feelings and desires instead of acceptable collateral damage

[crimsoncold]

Have to include prev's tags above in their entirety because it brings up some really relevant points...

Now just to expand a bit on this idea of paralells between characters (specifically the hotly debated one of paralells/connections between Lyanna and any of the stark kids)...

Sometimes to appreciate the full intent of an author one has to analyze the material beyond just what is explicity said by the characters in the story...

Characters often should be seen as unreliable narrators as unlike the author/readers they have limits with what they can know both about events occuring in the story and about the people around them (or even to an extent about themselves).

This is particularly true when considering the opinion/perspective of a character who dies so early on in a series. So I don't think we should decide to take Ned as the ultimate arbitrator of what characters have similarities/paralells to Lyanna.

First, because he died before many major (and in this case relevant) events in the series occured and the lived experience, arcs, or even personality of his rather young children are certainty not going to remain the same as they were before his death and all the other horrible/tragic events of asoiaf (i.e. he's not even around anymore to see or comment on the ways his children's experiences/lives may serve to paralell that of his siblings or even his own... readers will have to use other sources- like the overall story itself- to evaluate these connections)

Secondly, because unlike with Arya, Ned doesn't seem to have much interest in connecting with, understanding, or simply even trying to empathize with his own daughter when it comes to Sansa (i.e. the Lyanna and Rickard of it all when it comes to Ned and Sansa) and he's likely not the best judge of character when it comes to Sansa (beyond the obvious superficial ways she currently had differed from the sons/daughter whose personality and interests Ned can more easily understand).

As well as because, likely due to the unaddressed trauma and grief around their tragic deaths and the dangerous secret Ned harbors related to Jon's parentage, he doesn't seem willing to speak much of or even willingly think about of his late family and thus wouldn't necessarily be a great source for a reader on the ways his children/nephew may resemble his parent's, his siblings, or even himself.

So keeping in mind that...

Parallels between characters can be made apparent and significant in ways other than simply explicit remarks made by someone in the story regarding the similarities between two characters.

That there isn't a limit to the number of characters one can be similar to/parallel or even act as a foil to.

And most importantly that parallels can take on many different forms, including things like physical appearance/description, personality, behaviour, background, symbolism, their lived experiences, their arcs/character development, etc.

...it becomes clear that the story itself supports the idea that readers should see parallels between a character like Lyanna and mutliple of her nieces/nephews or even her son.

There being some differences in certain areas (say physical description or personality) does not negate the ability of an author to make meaningful parallels between characters. Its feels more than fair/accurate to conclude that despite their often commented on differences both stark sisters are meant to have paralells to their Aunt Lyanna as well as to both Ned and Catelyn and most significantly to eachother!!!

Do you think Sansa is connected to the winter rose and lyanna? As in do you think there are meaningful parallels going on ?

I don't think there are intentional parallels between Sansa and Lyanna. Ned flat up says a) that Arya reminds him of Lyanna and b) Arya and Sansa are very different people. Ergo, Sansa and Lyanna are unlikely to have been similar in personality.

But that doesn't mean there isn't anything useful in comparing the two anyway. The intersection of patriarchy, feudalism, and the desire for romantic love obviously features in both their stories. Because the author's built a solid world and explored these themes consistently, there's more to his work and his characters than he might initially have intended. That's the merit of the gardening approach - it grows.

[sanni276]

fic idea (batfam + timkon):

Bruce Wayne is not Batman. In fact, "Batman" doesn't even exist. There are plenty universes that have a Batman, but not this one (or does it?). Of course Bruce considered becoming a vigilante but in the end he scratched that idea and instead decided to help Gotham through other means like for example lots of charity.

Since Bruce never became Batman, the Batfam never formed. Bruce didn't took litte Dick Grayson that just saw his parents fall in as a ward. Bruce didn't adopt Jason Todd because he never tried to steal the tires of the Batmobile. How would he after all, if the the Batmobile never existed in the first place? Similarly to that he never had a reason to meet what in another life perhaps could have been his children. There is a very important thing this brings with it: if Batman isn't a vigilante, so neither are his (should have been) children.

Except one of them.

When Tim Drake was about 9 years old he found an old camera in his attic. After a while he gets bored of photographing his backyard and decides he wants to see something more exciting, which is why he sneaks out at night. In another life he accidentily saw a certain duo of superheroes and became obsessed with them but this is not this life and there are no superheroes in Gotham. Tim witnesses the horrors and cruelty Gotham offers that night and since he is one of the rare people in Gotham that actually have enough money and available ressources, he decides that he has the responsibility to do something against them.

At first he only plans to support Gotham with charity like his neighbour and maybe occasionally send the police tips for cases through his photos but he keeps having this weird dreams that feel weirdly like memories that push him into wanting to do more.

When Tim is almost 11 years old he decides that he needs to become a vigilante.

The first thing he does is look for a martial arts teacher. This somehow leads to him meeting Lady Shiva which later takes him with her to the League of assassins where he trains for a few years.

During his training period he meets Cass and Damian (do not ask me how he exists, he just does). All three of them sometimes have this odd feeling of deja vu when their together but none of them mentions it out loud and so it remains a mystery.

Eventually Tim has to leave the Loa and return to Gotham but not without taking Damian and Cass with him. Cassandra decides that she wants to explore the world to find out who she wants to be and leaves with a promise of returning in a few years. Tim finds out that Bruce is Damian's biological father and drops him of at his doorstep (he obviously gives Damian the means to contact him in emergencies).

Tim, now 13 or 14, finally has everything he needs and starts building his on mainly information (that he gets through a truly impressive spy-system and hacking) based empire and tries to use it to help as many people as possible.

Somewhere during that building process he meets Jason (a small time criminal that is mainly concentrated on theft, which Tim eventually hires as his personal chef and becomes a good friend of Tim (Tim will never admit to himself that the first time he looked at Jason's profile for a case his first thought was "brother?")). Tim also gets to know Dick (maybe he's an Olympi athlete or a police officer or maybe just a very broke gymnastics instructor), Barbara (a local librarian that actually taught him a lot of his hacking skills) and Duke (their friends? maybe there was a competition between their schools where they met?).

Now that we understand this world they all live in abit better let's get to the actual main plot of the fic:

One day, 17-year-old Tim is walking down the street during his lunch break (Tim's parents died when he was 15 so he had to become the CEO of Drake Industries), when he sees a guy about his age do something extremely stupid and Tim thinks "What an idiot". Suddenly the guy looks up and their eyes meet and Tim realises "Wait! That's my idiot!". All off these memories suddenly appear in his head of another life where he was a huge Batman fan and he was Robin and his best friend was the guy he was still staring at. Conner Kent, Superboy, Kon.

Kon also regains all of his memories in that moment which causes them to reconnect / reunite.

Tim, with the sudden knowledge of his past life, obviously wants his family back and the first step to accomplish that is finding out if they can remember their past life too.

All in all imagine this:

A fic where Tim is doing his best to have all the people he loves close to him again while simultaneously keeping a company alive and handling all the struggles being a teenage vigilante brings. There is of course also the little problem that is seeing what used to be his adoptive father at galas and wanting to do nothing more than throwing himself into his arms and getting his Dad back but Bruce doesn't even know who he is at this point. All of this interrupted by sweet Timkon fluff since at first they are the only ones that remember that their reality used to be very different and at some point of all of this they fall in love (or maybe they where from the start?).

[i-am-literally-deranged]

I can't stop thinking about Chuuya's fucking room in the Stormbringer manga. It was NOT described as this fucked up in the novel.

This?!?

Is an INSANE evil room.

In the book, it's described as mostly empty, sparesely decorated. There's only a sentence or two dedicated to it. It leaves no impression. But in the MANGA?? We spend several pages in Chuuya's room, and the more I think about it, the worse it gets. I've become completely obsessed with this fucking nightmare chamber Chuuya apparently lives in. Whoever designed this space is a staunch believer in feng shui and also hates Chuuya and wants him to DIE.

First of all, I measured the room using the bed as a ruler, and it's about 18 x 7 feet. That's. That's a hallway. 18 feet long and seven feet wide, that's a fucking hallway. This room is built like a fucking hallway. It also appears to be constructed almost entirely out of some kind of narrow paneling that goes straight from the floor and up the walls seamlessly.

Then the bed facing AWAY from the door?!?? Just floating in the dead center of the room, touching zero walls, head to the door?! That is the most evil room design imaginable. Imagining trying to sleep in Chuuya's evil demon bed is making my skin crawl. No fucking wonder he's having nightmares in this scene.

Secondly

That lamp is not plugged in. It has a cord, so we know it's not wireless or something, but scroll back up to that first image, there is NO CORD coming away from that table. Which it is, by the way. That's a table. Not a desk. There's no storage space, no drawers, no NOTHING. He doesn't even have any loose pens on his desk. There are no pens to be found here, so I guess he's just reading those papers on his table, because he sure isn't working on them. The table is so far away from the wall that if he DID plug in his lamp, it would be stretched out straight and become a tripping hazard. I cannot imagine where he charges his phone, because it's not sitting on the floor next to an outlet anywhere. I just have to assume that he keeps it in the bathroom or something.

These next two shots show us that some uncertain number of the walls in here are MIRRORED. Full body mirrors. I can't even fully process where in the room these are. It looks like he's walking towards either the head or foot of the bed in that first panel, so this IS in the same room. We can also see the narrow vertical paneling on the wall again from the first page, as well as what looks like more ofnthese big full body mirror panels like you'd find in a dance studio.

So not only is Chuuya in an uncomfortable room shaped like a hallway, bed facing away from the door, but he is doing so in a room at least partially WALLED IN MIRRORS. I cannot overstate how fucked that would feel. This is the kind of room I would build in the sims when trying to drive them insane. I'm imagining trying to lay down in this bed in the dark trying to sleep, bed floating in the center of the room, door behind your head, mirrors on any number of the walls around you. What the fuck. What the fuck???

They have so successfully crafted a room that conveys that Chuuya has no idea how to be a person, because what the fuck is this???? Dazai's shipping container is at least arranged in a way that makes sense. That's essentially just a shitty dorm room. Chuuya's room has forced me to ask questions like "Where does he keep his socks and underwear???" And "Does he own a pen?" "Does Chuuya wash his singular cup in the bathroom sink???" The more I look at it, the more questions I have. Is this some kind of.... punishment? Did they put him in this fucked up mirror hell room because they don't like him? Did Chuuya himself design this awful room? I mean, this is the first time he's been in control of his own space so it makes sense that he didn't know what to do with it, but. Fuck. Why did he land on all furniture in the exact center of the room surrounded in mirrors?!?? Did they give him this room minimally furnished, just set the desk and bed in the middle with the idea that he would arrange it how he likes, and he just didn't kniw that that was an option and has been living in it exactly as it was?? This is horrible. I am haunted. I don't think he has any windows. I can't figure out where the vertical strips of light are coming from besides maybe through those weird narrow slats on the wall?? I CANNOT stop overthinking these three pages. He has a mirrored shoe closet AND a mirrored suit closet and nothing else. The suit closet looks like it's the door at the front of the room, but that makes mo sense because then where is the door in and out of the room itself? I can't tell how much of the wall is actually mirrored and how much just looks exactly the same as the other side of the room. Where is his bathroom actually located??? I have been thinking about this fucking room since this manga dropped like two months ago. It haunts me.

[caffinedragon]

Dante Ingelvar's LI is Emmerich.

Emmerich and his relationship is one of those actual true love relationships that come with knowing someone so completely that they know full well what they are getting into and they are perfectly fine with it.

The romantic and Sexual aspects of their relationship didn't fully developed until later in their lives but ever since they were young the two men loved each other very deeply and became eachother's safe space over the years.

Due to them essentally both becomeing teacher's at teh necropolis, Emmerich being a professot of the necromatic arts and Dante being the Martial Arts trainer, they don't get out on dates very often but when they do, Emmerich is the one who usually who plans it, mostly because DAnte knows how much he loves to go all out in romantic gestures and Dante is not very good at such things. Or at least not grand ones.

He tends to stick to more simple straight forward things, like going to the cafe they both like or spending a night in and cooking dinner, or buying a new book Emmerich was looking forward to reading.

When it comes to romantic gestures, Dante's only frame of reference is Emmerich the grand gestures he pulls and so, due to struggling with such things a.k.a. his attempts never working out, he is always worried that he won't be remoantic enough for Emmerich.

However, Emmerich only sets a high standard of romance for himself when ity come to gestures and often finds that he enjoys Dante's much more accidental and organic version of the same.

Which means, Dante is often romantic by accident.

For example, Dante is a man with his heart on his sleeve and will gush about Emmerich if given the oppurtunity. There isn't a person in or outside the necropolis that doesn't know they are together because of this. Not that Emmerich minds.

Secondary example is that Dante is very crow(as in the bird) like and often is a big gift giver. And so it is not unsual for Dante to come home from shopping, running excitedly up to Emmerich and go, "Hey, Babe, look what i got for you!" and then proceeding to go on a long explanation as to exactly why he bought it, reason inculding but not limited too...

You mentioned it in a conversation two weeks ago.

The color matches your eyes, hair, skintone, etc.

It reminded me of this time when...

And so on.

Every time he does this, despite Dante's own worries, never fails to make Emmerich melt into a puddle.

If they had unlimited time and money and no obligations, i believe the two of them would take a real sabbatical and then just not do a damn thing except each other and maybe go shopping or on a walk for a while.

They are both in their 50's and have lead very busy lives up to this point, they deserve it.

As for saying things, I can't really think of anything because Dante isn't one to hide his feelings unless he has reason. *Cough* Johanna *Cough*. Not too mention, Emmerich pretty much knows everything about Dante's life and he about his so, accept for the insecurities brought up in the game, there isn't anything.

As for family, they already did through Manfred.

My HC is that Dante helped find the pieces Emmerich ultimately built Manfred from and was his biggest hype man through the process. Even thoguh he couldn't help much on the magic side of things, his ability to sing wisps and spirits into bodies helped a great deal in tranfering the little curiosity wisp into the body they built.

Dante love Manfred as if he was his kid, just as Emmerich does and was often the only person Emmerich trusted to look after him when he had to go somewhere Manfred couldn't.

Beyond that, Dante himself is often responsible for more abandoned children to survive and over the years became a surrogate dad in the same way Vorgoth was to him.

So between them and Manfred, they already have one.

My HC for stuff they did that wasn't in the game?

Dante just completely crashing and using Emmerich's lap as a pillow, at every opportunity at the lighthouse.

All the naps. Always cuddled up to Emmerich in one way shape or form. Just all the snoozing.

Dante had very little sleep during the first section of the game due to a near constant state of overstimulation and stress. So, when Emmerich joins, one of the few people he feels safe being that vulnerable around, he constantly falls asleep on him like a cat.

And when he does, Emmerich makes sure that he isn't disturbed and often will not move until he wakes up on his own or there is an emergency.

Manfred is a very dutiful guard when this happens.

This is my Fav shot so far. I call it "Proud Dad's watching their son have the time of his life."

But since you can only see the back of my Rook i give you this one too for reference of what Dante looks like:

Rook Introduction Hour 2/14/25

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone celebrating is having a wonderful time! 💞💖❣️🧑🏾‍❤️‍💋‍🧑🏿👩🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏽👨🏾‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼💌🩵🫶🏼🥰💝💘❣️

How it works: I ask you a question about your Rook(s) and you answer it with as much brevity or verbosity as you desire. You can do this whenever you want, and I’ll reblog it + add some comments! There’s no time limit— if you want to do the older ones, they are collected here! (The post is updated on Fridays!)

🎶 L is for the way you look at me /O is for the only one I see /V is very, very extraordinary /E is even more than anyone that you adore! 🎶

Today's Question(s): NOW it's all about 💕Romantic love💕! Who is/are your Rook's LI(s)? Do they go on dates together frequently? Where do they like to go together? What's the most romantic thing that Rook's ever done for them? That they've ever done for Rook? If they had unlimited time and money, and no obligations, what would they do for each other? Is there anything Rook or their LI(s) want to say to each other that they haven't yet, for some reason? If they were to settle down together, would they want to start a family? Do you have any headcanons about anything they did together during the game that wasn't shown? And lastly, do you have any pictures of Rook and their LI(s) that you want to share?

Hopefully there are enough questions for everyone to find something they're excited about! Have fun, and thanks for sharing!

(Also, if you are looking for more DA themed Valentine's day content, taamlok made a new romance themed ask game, and corvus-frugilegus is sending silly valentines! And those of you playing on PC can also download the Veilguard of Love mod that metamancer-io made, and turn your Veilguard romantic! Hope you have fun!)

[trailstofollow]

Thinking about Gojo losing his mind when he found out that Suguru killed his parents. Thinking about them being normal people, who couldn't see cursed energy or spirits.

People who were just plain.

Do you think Satoru loved them? He's been told he's a weapon all his life. His own clan bred him to be just that. People are either afraid of him, or want to use him.

That's been his entire world.

So enter Suguru Geto's parents. Normal people who know their son is a little bit supernormal, but they love him nonetheless, and treat him like a son. They don't understand everything, but they try to help when they can.

They just want him to be okay. He may be a powerful sorcerer, but he's their son before anything.

And when they first meet Satoru, he is taken aback by how much that love extends to him.

He's so unused to people caring about him, loving him, asking if he's okay. Telling him to be careful. He's rigid and quiet at the dinner table the first few times. It's incredibly awkward, but the Geto's catch on that his brining isn't normal. That he's severely lacking live somewhere in his life.

So they're gentle with him. They do what they can to make him feel at home (and Suguru may've tipped them off that his new crush friend is a boy who comes from a family that majorly fucked him up).

Spare lunches, offering to let him to stay over the night, genuine concern over his wellbeing. Personalized clothes, gifts, and so forth. Whatever Suguru gets, so does Satoru.

Before anyone knows it, a white haired boy becomes the newest member of the Geto family.

And when they find out he's gay? And accept it, he finally lets himself think of what a life outside of a sorcerer would look like. Thinks of running away, dyeing his hair black and changing his last name. Going to normal school, and to college, and living. As long as the Geto's are by his side, he could do it.

And maybe one day, he and Suguru could be happy.

Their home is the one place in the world sorcery cannot touch. Evil cannot touch it. Not with Satoru there. He'll protect all of them.

He just doesn't expect a Geto to be the one to end it all. To take his dream from him, and his freedom.

[shitpostingkats]

Terra Kingdomhearts is literally the story about an oldest son born with something Wrong inside him and his whole family expects him to outgrow it, or ignore it, or defeat it, and then he gets bigger and he is still Wrong. Terra Kingdomhearts is the story of being isolated and sheltered from anyone willing to acknowledge the Wrongness inside you and so when he finally, finally meets someone who treats the Wrongness as no big deal, not a Wrongness at all, it's instantly a lifeline to this poor man and he will do anything to learn more about how he is not Wrong forever, actually. It's a story about how if you live your life with no community for the Wrongness that lives inside you that your very first lifeline can be used to strangle you. Do you understand what I'm saying

[shakingparadigm]

what is the theory that ivan manipulated the event where till and mizi met the wagyein?

It's not a theory, actually! It's confirmed that Ivan orchestrated the whole event. The true reason as to why however is still unknown. The information provides more context to this scene, though:

During the earlier times of ALNST the most rational explanation for this scene was that Till ran after a flower crown (presumably Mizi's) and Ivan followed him in out of curiosity. Now we know that Ivan was conveniently just standing there because he was waiting.

Side note, I find it heartbreaking (and maybe a little funny, sorry) that Till most likely didn't notice Ivan in this scene. That's just like him, isn't it. Always too busy running after Mizi while Ivan trails behind, an ever-present shadow.

I'm not sure how Ivan manipulated the circumstances for both of them to end up there, but it is confirmed that everything was intentional. What strikes me most is how they describe this particular scene:

I can't copy down what they said word-for-word (Patreon info), but they described Ivan watching "creepily" as Till and Mizi are faced with danger. We know that Ivan was familiar with the Cerberus wagyein beforehand, enough to touch its teeth and even to rest himself inside its maw. To Ivan, the wagyein is not dangerous, but to Till and Mizi, it could be. Ivan prepared the wagyein, led them there, and watched "creepily" from afar as Till fell on his knees, seemingly injured.

The closest I can get to making sense of Ivan's "scheme" is that he wanted to see how other children would react in a dangerous situation. Ivan's always been an observer, after all, and he's learned to survive by copying the more "normal" behaviors of his peers. This situation occured when Ivan was still young and had not yet developed his more charming mask, so perhaps he staged this encounter to study a situational response, to learn and mimic the emotion of fear. And what better subjects for the experiment than two of the most expressive and reactive humans of their batch? It helps that he was already fixated on Till beforehand, too. I think Ivan became irreversibly obssessed after this incident, especially since it's framed as a turning point in Ivan's life, comparing Till to the stars.

This is just my attempt at an interpretation, though. It could very well be for another reason. He most likely chose Till and Mizi specifically for personal reasons, not just for reaction. I'm still not sure on the purpose behind the whole thing.

The team wanted to capture Ivan's "dark emotions" through the shot of his stalking, which could relate to his more sinister intentions. His gaze can be read in a few different ways, though. Curiosity, interest, fear, etc. Maybe that's why they decided to redraw the shot in ROUND 6.

I think this better sells the feeling they were trying to convey.

[symphonicsoul]

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ There's a bit of a chuckle at the comment of 'you sound like my doctor' which leads the engineer to smile as he tilts his head to the side, continuing to listen.

"Well I am a doctor, so I would hope so." He chuckles.

Ling says he had a really bad trip and he doesn't want to make assumptions but he's going to assume it has something to do with Amestris considering all Kain has told him and his unwillingness to ever return there again. He can't exactly blame the boy no matter what happened. Even if it wasn't Amestris that he had a "bad trip" to, Wonderland wasn't going to make that any better.

He waits as Ling takes his time to breathe and find his composure even if it doesn't seem like he's found it entirely. In truth though, he doesn't know if anyone who lives in this place truly has - well anyone except for people like him.

Ling has a new question, wondering if he'll be forced to speak even if he doesn't want to and it has the engineer sighing slightly.

"Well no. That would be a bit counter-intuitive, if I were to force you to speak about anything. I do need to check you over though. Just a quick check to make sure you didn't hit your head or get too hurt when you landed in Wonderland. This place is a bit complicated so we'll try to make it better in any way we can. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I would like it if you did. "

He's sighing a little moving from his knees to let himself settle and sit down on the floor fully.

"All of us here have demons and problems. The way most people end up here isn't something any of us want to think about. It's rough and some of us can't even remember how we got here. Kumo, for example, has plenty of things that have happened to him in his time here that he doesn't talk to me about, or anyone really and while I am willing to listen to anything he has to say - he will tell me when he's ready. Same thing goes for you Ling. You are welcome to speak to me about anything, any time you decide.

However, I do need to make sure there is nothing life threatening going on."

He's pausing as his lips stretch out into an awkward smile.

"For a human I mean. I have a few human patients so I can imagine things still might differ from person to person like it does for the Mistericans. If you don't feel comfortable speaking, that's okay. There's a couple others here, from your world - Kain and Edward - and I can imagine you'll be a bit more comfortable speaking to them and that's perfectly alright with me. Just - Kumo said you fell - so I just want to make sure you didn't hit your head or anything like that. Is that okay?"

He can't help but scoff a little when Cid mentions being healthy. He wouldn't consider himself healthy. Not completely. Not with his blood sugar issues that leads to hunger issues and collapsing. Being half paralyzed or more when he wakes up if he didn't eat enough the previous day.

He's grateful the doctor isn't using that disgustingly sweet tone adults, strangers, use when they catch him in the middle of an attack. He isn't telling him "it'll be okay, sweetie" and "it'll be over soon", something he's grateful for.

He does what Cid says and he pauses to try and get his breathing under control. By the time he settles his breathing and his body isn't shaking as hard anymore, however long that takes, he's slumped against the chair with a tired sigh.

"You sound a little bit like my doctor back at home," he finally says. That's putting him on edge a bit. "After I got back from a...really bad trip. He also told me it's normal to feel what I was feeling back then."

That was after his doctor triggered a panic attack by forcing him to talk about Amestris. After he finally accepted how he was really feeling and getting hit with everything all at once. Of course that situation and this are different. Back then it was for issues he didn't understand. This is for...being dropped in a strange world. It feels drastically different and that he shouldn't be freaking out like this.

Ling hesitates for a moment before looking up at Cid. "...Are you going to force me to talk if I don't want to?"

He doesn't even know where to start anyway. Any questions he wants to ask he knows the answers to, like how there's no way out. At least not yet. Or why he was brought here. He doubts anyone has an answer for that one. It's all so confusing.

[sadlynotthevoid]

I want to read a LCF x Assassination Classroom crossover only for the sake of seeing OG!Cale interact with the principal.

They would fight and OG!Cale would win because he's such a little shit and fears exactly one thing— and manipulative assholes aren't that.

Principal Asano (whatever his name was) would have an aneurism trying and failing to intimidate him.

This brat (because any version of OG!Cale would kick his ass, but teenager!OG!Cale would be funnier) not only isn't affected by his bloodlust (he grew up around Ron, that was rather pathetic), he can see through his manipulations and plotting as if he was reading a book— an easy one, at that—, and had been going in circles around him since he entered through the door!

What is worst, he has been switching back and forth between almost calling him out and playing dumb since he tried to use one of his usual tactics with him. He's laughing at him inside— he knows it.

He ends up giving Asano a nervous tick.

So, AU where teenager Og!Cale transmigrates to AssClass world— maybe he appears near Karasuma's colleagues so he has to deal with him (because whatever God that delivered him knows that kid needs a responsible adult around)— and proceeds to take it really well. Can't say the same about some people (cofcof Asano cofcof) who fucked around him and now find out.

Meanwhile, Karasuma is very busy with his job, the supersonic octopus, getting his teaching license, and the strange kid with self-esteem issues that crossed worlds— who's now living with him.

Curiously, helping Cale to accommodate to a whole different world and society is the less difficult task out of all of them. The hardest part so far was explaining him why his happiness and reputation isn't a "good price to pay" for someone else's wellbeing.

(Although the talk about "why exposing yourself to any nocive substance was a bad idea even if you have a great tolerance or immunity to them, and therefore, is forbidden" had been a close one. Seriously, why does he knows how poisoned food tastes like?)

[manescroissant]

The want to be recognized in some way sure is there (he went from angry because they call themselves his children to wanting to join in two pages.) but still not to the point of falsifying history.

That just goes against too big a part of his character:

Goultard Bazar #5 - He's okay with being admired bur for the right reasons. He doesn't like crooks

Dofus Manga - He tells Arty that you can only lives with the choices you made

Les Shushus de Rushu - He tells Algathe the truth : he doesn't care about her village, even through that counter-productive to making her like him. He wants her to know it all before deciding how she feels about him.

He wants to be accepted but for who he is fully, the bad and the ugly included.

On the point that he doesn't let himself be truly known - If it is so it's definitely not consciously. At least for Manga Goultard.

(Maybe I didn't understand it correctly but isn't it the other way around? That if Clustus knew the whole Goultard story he would have more reasons to want Goultard dead. )

Anyway, back to the point of his reputation.

Dofus mmo era Goultard is still considered a menace (he was mentioned by the Méryde of barbarism as an example of ruthlessness) and he did appear during the Goultarminator (not sure what part of that is known by the population 🤷‍♂️) so a little bit more legend than cryptid. But now that I think about it his misdeed aren't explicitly mentioned... Just his bloodlust that he is using as positively as possible. And the equipment description is just the same as in wakfu

BTW thanks @wakfu-weekly for the Goultard gossip in the wakfu era. x)

The one thing where Goultard is admittedly being dishonest is that no one seem to know that he is also Dark Vlad. Who is still being a menace up until the end of the Dofus Era. And here I can agree with you that he wouldn't make a public statement partly because he doesn't want to be feared anymore and partly because people never asked and he is still a Iop. He doesn't think about that.

_

On the convention yes!!! Peasant boy doesn't like being exploited for money without his knowledge. But at the same time he's weirdly ok with it being shops? IDK three cases before he was ready to hit people lol

The gaize sign yes I giggled the first time I saw it!!! Through I can't make out what it is that they are selling there. Jewels? Oranges? No idea

I hope they do <3 What am I saying I know they do. It's the second edition of a convention that sell Goultard cosplay with shops named "the G spot". They have the raunchiest, filthiest Goultard doujin somewhere.

I hope there is this one fan who makes stuff so horny that everyone is too scared to stop them.

Let's be real if Goultard was real and at the con at least one person would pay to get beaten up.

And now I want Goultard badges with 'gaize pow' ._.

Wakfu saying dark vlad destroyed and killed an entire city is good but not enough. I need them to actually acknowledge goultard's - not vlad's - "dark past", the one that got him imprisoned for several centuries until he escaped and then did even worse shit

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

for whom good omens is being written

Hey maggots and the rest of the fandom, it's the Good Omens Mascot here. Today I read a post about this tweet:

The accompanying video genuinely made me cry. And I've been thinking about this for a long while, as far back as February, when I saw a lot of conflicting opinions on what people wanted from the third season. It really is true that no matter what you do, some people will be dissatisfied. But what matters is that Neil is writing this for Terry.

And I was reminded of some paragraphs from the Good Omens TV Companion, which I'd read in Amazon's sample excerpt of the book. I know this is a long post, but I really truly do think you all need to read these, I've done my best to select only the most important parts. Here you go:

'His Alzheimer's started progressing harder and faster than either of us had expected,' says Neil, referring to a period in which Terry recognized that despite everything he could no longer write. 'We had been friends for over thirty years, and during that time he had never asked me for anything. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from him with a special request. It read: “Listen, I know how busy you are. I know you don't have time to do this, but I want you to write the script for Good Omens. You are the only human being on this planet who has the passion, love and understanding for the old girl that I do. You have to do this for me so that I can see it." And I thought, “OK, if you put it like that then I'll do it."

'I had adapted my own work in the past, writing scripts for Death: The High Cost of Living and Sandman, but not a lot else was seen. I'd also written two episodes of Doctor Who, and so I felt like I knew what I was doing. Usually, having written something once I'd rather start something new, but having a very sick co-author saying I had to do this?' Neil spreads his hands as if the answer is clear to see. 'I had to step up to the plate.' A pause, then: 'All this took place in autumn 2014, around the time that the BBC radio adaptation of Good Omens was happening,' he continues, referring to the production scripted and co-directed by Dirk Maggs and starring Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap. ‘Terry had talked me into writing the TV adaptation, and I thought OK, I have a few years. Only I didn't have a few years,' he says. 'Terry was unconscious by December and dead by March.'

He pauses again. 'His passing took all of us by surprise,' Neil remembers. 'About a week later, I started writing, and it was very sad. The moments Terry felt closest to me were the moments I would get stuck during the writing process. In the old days, when we wrote the novel, I would send him what I'd done or phone him up. And he would say, "Aahh, the problem, Grasshopper, is in the way you phrase the question," and I would reply, "Just tell me what to do!" which somehow always started a conversation. 'In writing the script, there were times I'd really want to talk to Terry, and also places where I'd figure something out and do something really clever, and I would want to share it with him. So, instead, I would text Terry's former personal assistant, Rob Wilkins, now his representative on Earth. It was the nearest thing I had.'

(...) As Neil himself recognizes, this is an adaptation built upon the confidence that comes from three decades of writing for page and screen. But for all the wisdom of experience, he found that above all one factor guided him throughout the process. 'Terry isn't here, which leaves me as the guardian of the soul of the story,' he explains. 'It's funny because sometimes I found myself defending Terry's bits harder or more passionately than I would defend my own bits. Take Agnes Nutter,' he says, referring to what has become a key scene in the adaptation in which the seventeenth-century author of the book of prophecies foretelling the coming of the Antichrist is burned at the stake. ‘It was a huge, complicated and incredibly expensive shoot, with bonfires built and primed to explode as well as huge crowds in costume. It had to feel just like an English village in the 1640s, and of course everyone asked if there was a cheap way of doing it. 'One suggestion was that we could tell the story using old-fashioned woodcuts and have the narrator take us through what happened, but I just thought, “No”. Because I had brought aspects of the story like Crowley and the baby swap along to the mix, and Terry created Agnes Nutter. So, if I had cut out Agnes then I wouldn't be doing right by the person who gave me this job. Terry would've rolled over in his grave.'

And, finally, this paragraph:

"Once again, Neil cites the absence of his co-writer as his drive to ensure that Good Omens translated to the screen and remained true to the original vision. 'Terry's last request to me was to make this something he would be proud of. And so that has been my job.'"

I think that's so heartwrenchingly beautiful, and so I wanted you all to read this, too, just in case you (like me) don't have the Good Omens TV Companion. It adds another layer of depth and emotion to this already complex and amazing story that we all know and love.

Share this post, if you can, please, so that more people can read these excerpts :")

Tagging @neil-gaiman, @fuckyeahgoodomens and @orpiknight, even if you've definitely read these before :)

[confuzing]

Ok but what if Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu were the same person.

Little YQY is used to little baby SJ being a little strange. He talks about missing 'the internet' and one night when they almost freeze to death he solemnly informs YQY that "this transmigration experience sucks, 0/10 would not recommend."

As they grow SJ stops talking about odd things, but since he never explained about his past life to YQY he doesn't realize SJ is forcing himself to forget those memories of being warm and safe and happy because they hurt too much now when he is none of those.

The System is still there if course but since LBH isn't even born yet it's in low power mode. But that night locked in Qiu Manor after YQY leaves it pops up with a notification he's finished the 'Sorrowful Parting' quest and he loses it.

He alternates between insisting it doesn't exist and demanding to know why it only shows up when something bad happens to him. The System explains this is all necessary character development before he meets the main character.

SJ rages, not because he's not the main character but because he apparently needs to suffer for them, this person he's never met. Eventually the System turns off all notifications except essential ones, and that at least leaves SJ mostly alone in his own head.

And he takes that buried ache of his past memories and that he was apparently born to suffer and uses them to save himself when YQY fails him. Even though he promised. And he's fine- look, he's a Peak Lord! He's fine.

Until LBH turns up at the peaks, the System lights up for the first time in a decade, and SJ looks at this little boy and hates him. SJ can't see him without thinking about all the hurt he suffered, which the System insists was necessary for this boy's story.

So he does all those horrible things to LBH that he railed about as SY a lifetime ago and doesn't regret it. (PIDW is mostly lost to him, buried under the trauma, he doesn't know who LBH is, or who he is)

Until the qi deviation, which wipes all his memories except the ones he has buried. So he feels like he's a different person. He thinks he's transmigrated in late because he can't remember being 5 and teaching YQY carmeldansen.

A week after the deviation YQY hears SJ mutter something about Google and he relaxes, he does recognize this SJ after all.

Meng Mo pulls the memories out of SY's head after all. For all that SY draws the line between himself and SJ as different people he still remembers SJ's memories. But crucially not the ones from when he was little where his past and current lives overlap the most.

Sometime after the series ends SQQ is humming something modern- my heart says 'Never Gonna Give You Up'- and YQY casually mentioned he's always liked that one most of SJ's songs.

SQQ: What songs?

YQY: The ones only you know. You used to sing them all the time when you were little.

SQQ's head is spinning and he finds some privacy and questions the System which confirms he did in fact transmigrate as a baby like SQH did.

The memories come back slowly after that. He remembers telling LQQ he'll kill him after a bad fight, street kid him trying to explain to YQY what a T-Rex is... exactly what was going through his head when he dumped a cup of hot tea on an orphan he'd just met.

And SY has to deal with the fact that yes actually, that was him. That wasn't some other asshole. It's him, he's the asshole. Maybe that was the worst possible version of himself, maybe he got a second chance and changed for the better - but it was still him, and he's still capable of being that man again if he isn't careful.

[nerdlvr]

not so little is it?

(MDNI)

younger jaemin x older reader , small age gap , jaemin is brothers best friend , ur brother is mark lee , big dick jaem , jaem is bigger than reader , size kink if you squint , kinda public sex (ur both in the kitchen & living room and mark is in his room) , harsh blowjob , cowgirl yeehaw , couch missionary , jaemin is cocky and mean , pet names like a lot , light mocking , degradation kinda , jaemin refers to himself and y/n in third person sometimes idk , jaemin knows how to use his dick damn... , requested here !

it  had been the fifth time that night that you had called jaemin baby. and not baby in a i wanna fuck you type of way, baby in a little boy type of way. If only you could go into his brain and see all the things jaemin would do to shut you up. maybe he’d stuff your mouth with his big, hard-

“babyy, are you listening? The popcorns ready!”

jaemin felt his eye twitch, a small fake smile directed at your pretty face. he shook his head softly, turning his head back to focus on the movie.

“dude you need to stop calling him that, we’re not even that much younger than you.”

jaemin could not agree more with your brother.

he was never one to hold grudges, it was childish, unlike him. but for some reason you had been more annoying than usual tonight, the high pitched ‘baby’ and the sweet toned ‘minnie’ only itching him in all the wrong places.

he turned to the clock in mark’s room, 2:00 AM, well shit. had he really laid here for 3 hours straight thinking about your annoying mouth? his eyes drifted down to his now tented boxers, well double shit. maybe thinking about your mouth right next to your sleeping brother wasn’t the best idea. he needed a walk.

.

the cool air from the fridge numbed his senses, his nipples perking up at the soft breeze.

ice cream, butter, cheese, ew. did mark have anything without milk? wait isn’t mark lactose intoler- “his fridge looks like something out of a horror film right?”jaemin felt the hair on his body rise as he jumped, the fridge shutting loudly behind him, a hand coming up to his chest, “jesus you scared me.”

you giggled as you poked his bare chest, "sorry didn't mean to scare you baby. was just coming out for a snack."

baby, did you like to test his patience? he pushed your hand away as he let out a loud huff, "don't call me that."

your soft giggle continued to ring in his ears, your hands now moving to pinch the fabric of his boxers, "call you what, bunny boy?"

his eyes drifted down to his boxers, small bunnies adorning the fabric. he grabbed your wandering hand, smirking as you let out a pained whine. "does your mouth do anything good besides spout nonsense?"

you ripped your hand away from his tightening grasp, your free hand coming up to massage the sensitive skin,"what's your problem jaemin? i'm being nice to you and you're acting like a brat!"

your eyes widened slightlyy as a scoff left his mouth, lips quirking up into a smirk, "nice? you're treating me like a fucking child y/n. i stopped being little years ago. maybe you've been too busy bitching to even notice!"

your heads turned quickly as you heard shuffling from mark's room, his sleepy groans muffled by the thick walls.

"whatever tough guy, i'm leaving, your attitude ruined my appetite."

his arms were quick to stop you, trapping you against the kitchen counter, "where do you think you're going? where's my apology?"

it was your turn to scoff, eyes rolling at his questions. "apology? grow up na jaemin, you're not getting an apology if i did nothing wrong." you pushed at his chest, muscles firm against your hands. when did he get so strong? you mumbled out a low move embarrassed by your lack of strength against him.

he chuckled, breath fanning against your face, "give it one more go baby, maybe this time you might get it."

you bit your lip, head turning to look anywhere besides his bare chest, "this isn't funny, move or i'll-"

"you'll do what y/n?" he licked his lips, smirking down at you.

damn you na jaemin, damn you and those strong muscles, damn you and those plump lips, damn you and this new attitude that is so so hot. you gulped loudly, looking away as you tried to sneakily squeeze your thighs together, heat building between you legs.

"something wrong?"he leaned in closer to you, lips just one breath away. you turned your head further away from him, edge of the counter pressing deep into your back.

"you think being immature is cute jaemin? get off of me!"

he pressed his forehead against the side of your head, breath fanning against your ear. "no-"

he lifted his leg slightly, using his his knee to gently press against your core. you bit your lip to stifle a moan, head lowering just enough to watch his knuckles turn white against the counter. "but you clearly do. been squeezing these pretty thighs together since i started raising my voice at you."

you kept quiet, eyes squeezing shut as his knee pressed further against your heat, "who's the baby now hm?" you ignored him, brain zoning into to light pressure being applied to your clit, only a light hum being your response.

"answer me when i'm talking to you." your eyes fluttered open as he gripped your chin, moving your face so you'd look at him, "m-me jaem."

he tilted his head, smirk growing wider, "what was that?"

you swallowed your pride. there's no way you're gonna miss this opportunity. "i-i'm the baby jaem." he could help but chuckle, leaning in to plant a wet kiss on your cheek, "good girl, you learn quick. now lets put that bratty little mouth to good use."

you sunk onto your knees like your body was possessed, hands coming up to tug at his boxers. his cock sprung free, slapping his toned stomach. he was big, tip flushed and leaking.

his hand was quicker than yours, grabbing onto the base of his length to slap it against your cheek."not so little huh? call me baby again little brat."

"b-bab-" he chuckled as your words came out gargled, his cock being shoved into your mouth to silence you, "you look better with your mouth full." your eyes squeezed shut as you focused on your breathing, jaw relaxing slightly.

he was heavy on your tongue, smooth skin rubbing against the sides of your mouth. you hollowed your cheeks, sucking him in further. "shit angel, mouth so good, keep doing that."

you bobbed your head against him, spit threatening to spill past your lips. the sight above you was heavenly, pink hair held up with his hands as his mouth hung open. he let out soft pants as he tried his best not to thrust into your mouth. "let me- fuck- let me do it."

his hands moved into your hair to hold your head steady, hips starting to pick up a rhythm. you batted your lashes up at him, soft moans spilling from your mouth as he pressed deeper into your mouth, "look so pretty like this- just wanna-"

you gagged loudly as he pushed the rest of his length into your mouth, tip hitting the back of your throat. he held you there, your nose pressed against his pubic hair as you swallowed around him.

his groans went straight to your core, thighs squeezing impossibly tighter. he pulled you off in one swift motion, laughing as you gasped for air, eyes watery and lips swollen.

"look at you-" he slapped your face lightly, "acting so grown and can't even take my cock- get up and turn around."

but you remained on your knees, whimpering as you wiped at your mouth. you hadn't noticed you were crying until jaemin leaned down, warms hands rubbing your cheeks, "awe you crybaby, minnie's cock got you all worked up hm?"

you pushed his hands away struggling to get up, legs sore from the kitchen tiles. his arms wrapped around your waist pulling you against his chest, "still so stubborn, baby just needs some good dick fucked into her so she'll learn hm?"

he laughed at your weak yelp, his arms lifting you up as he walked towards to living room, "now you're gonna show me how much you need this dick."

he sat on the couch, placing you right on his lap, face to face with you. "go on put it in." your cute pouts did nothing to him as he moved his arms to rest them on the back of the couch, head nodding to urge you to continue.

you whined softly as you hovered your hips over him, hand coming down to push your panties and sleep shorts aside. your cheeks burned as you both looked towards your heat, wetness dripping onto his length. he threw his head back as he let out a soft groan, "fuck baby, what would mark think about me having his big sis dripping all over me hm? like the idea of getting fucked by me that much?"

you nodded quickly shame evaporating from your body as you began to rub his tip along your soaking cunt. he hissed under you, his hands gripping the couch cushions, "don't tease baby, wanna feel you."

you sunk down slightly, hollowly fucking yourself on his tip. your bottom lip was trapped between you teeth, body leaned back as you gripped onto jaemin's thighs. he couldn't help but groan at the sight of you, body covered up by your pjs but your pussy on full display.

he moved his hand to your tummy, fingers slipping under your shirt to pull the fabric over your tits, "fuck, you little minx, look at you dripping on my cock- shit, keep going."

you whined loudly, soft pants leaving your desperate lips as you sunk down on him, the stretch hot against your walls."c-can't jaem, too-"

his hand gripped you breast, rolling your sensitive nipples against his fingers. he pouted up at you, a slight tilt to his head, "can't what baby, hm? minnie's dick to big for my little princess?"

you huffed in embarrassment, cheeks burning red as you threw your head back to hide.

"that's okay angel-" his hands traveled down to your hips, a light chuckle leaving his lips as he lifted his hips to meet yours. the loud slap of your hips vibrated against the living room walls, a soft cry leaving your lips as you leaned forward, stuffing your face into jaemin's neck.

"it's okay-" his hips began to move, your slick making it easy for him to slide against your walls, "you can take it baby see? you're so good for me- fuck"

you whined against his neck, walls tightening around his length as he slapped his hips up. "jaem, jaem, please, oh my- feels so good baby, so deep."

he laughed at your small squeak as he suddenly picked you up, placing you in the corner of the couch, your back pressed against the soft cushion,

"i'm gonna need you to be quiet now okay princess? don't want mark to know how good i'm fucking his big sis hm?"

you nodded quickly, mouth hanging open as he slid back into you without warning, a small moan leaving his lips. "fuck jaem i can't- just please, want it so bad jaem, plea-" your hand flew to your mouth to muffle your loud moans, his hips moving to repeatedly slam into you, his length angled in just the right position.

"fuckkk yes bunny, look at you. pretty pussy sucking me in so good." his pace was relentless, one of your hands having to muffle your moans and the other gripping his arm for stability. you sunk into the couch, cushions bouncing under you from each thrust.

he leaned down close to you, body radiating heat against your chest, "want you to cum baby, i'm so close, so clo- fuck yeah baby just like that, so fucking tight shit."

you squeezed around him your stomach tightening as his words filled your ears. all you could think about was jaemin. his strong arms surrounding you, his warm body enveloping you, his soft moans urging you to cream on him and- oh. he hand flew down to your core, finger pressing gently on your clit, "come on angel, cum for me, wanna feel it, need it baby, please."

you squeezed your eyes shut, teeth clamping around your hand as you arched your hips up. the tight feeling in your stomach radiating throughout you, body shaking as you let go.

he stilled inside you, head pressed into your neck to muffle his own moans as he came inside you, whimpers of your name leaving his lips as he panted against you, "fuck, fuck, fuck, so good, so good for me bunny, you did so good."

he kissed around your neck, lips trailing up onto your lips. the kiss was sweet, soft touch of his lips making your body tingle. his grip was warm against you as he held your trembling body.

"shhh, it's okay, you're okay-" he kissed your cheeks, hands rubbing your sides, "minnie's here baby, i got you, everythings-"

you sunk deeper into the couch as you heard the fridge door slam shut, watching as jaemin's eyes landed on the kitchen entrance, "jaem?" mark's sleepy voice broke the silence, "what are you doing out here?"

jaemin stuttered slightly, pink cheeks still evident against the dim lighting,"i- i was just-" you heard mark take a loud sip of something, clearing his throat after, "if this is about my sister- she's, she's just annoying, all that baby stuff is just her being annoying. you know- sometimes i even kinda feel like she might like you or something."

jaemin bit his lip, only a loud mhm being his response as his now soft length slid out of you, "yeah so, don't let it get to you jaem, get to bed alright?"

jaemin nodded, saying a quick goodnight as mark left his sight. he looked down towards you, a scared look on your face, "so you're into younger guys, huh bunny?"

your giggles filled the small space as you rolled your eyes, hand gently slapping his chest. he leaned down to plant a soft kiss on your lips, a wide grin on his face, "don't worry, i like bratty older women too."

[fanaticalthings]

Most children, once they've grown up and moved out, sometimes come back to visit their parents to use their house as a sort of personal grocery store

And with Bruce being a literal billionaire whose house is always stocked with food and supplies, the batkids (that aren't living in the manor) definitely visit just for the purpose of taking shit for themselves.

---

For Dick, it's just small things, food and maybe some utensils. Bruce is barely in the kitchen so he never notices dishes go missing, and there are like 10 other children in his house so literally any one of the younger kids could've stolen food in the middle of the night, so he doesn't bat an eye at all.

Babs probably steals Bruce's hardware or his tools from the batcave. Sometimes, if she's nice, she'll leave a note.

Steph probably takes shit that no one will notice at the time but will absolutely be annoyed about when they need said thing. Stapler, soap bars, the microwave plate, etc...(Taking after Jason, she steals the hub caps off the batmobile's tires)

However, for Jason, once his relationship with Bruce is somewhat decent, of course he's gonna be petty and start stealing the more expensive shit in the manor for his apartment. Jason's microwave is broken? The next day, the cave's self-made and enhanced microwave made by Bruce for convenience is just gone.

Jason's feeling a coffee maker for his place? The one in Bruce's study disappears, too.

---

At first, Bruce thinks he's just sleep deprived, but then much bigger things start to go missing, like the whole TV and couch set in the living room. He assumes the younger kids are just playing pranks on him (sounds like something Stephanie would do) but then Bruce notices that the thief deliberately avoids stealing things from the kitchen, which is where Alfred is most of the time, and suddenly Bruce has an irritated clue on who the culprit is.

At first, he doesn't say anything, until one day he comes back, tired from a patrol, and is about to log in all the info on the computer only to realize his batchair is gone. That's when he texts Jason a blunt "If you really need things for your place, you can just ask me. I'll buy them for you." (As if Jason himself isn't loaded from his totally legal activities)

---

So now Jason's pettiness levels increase tenfold, and oh, wouldn't you look at it, his bike needs some new tires, and he knows a great place to get some more.

One night, Bruce is just blearily getting up for a late night snack, only to see Damian scamper away with a...lamp? So Bruce immediately follows him into the foyer only to see ALL of his kids (sans the ones not living in the manor), trying to haul two arm chairs out the window, and they just stop dead silent to stare at him until someone whispers a nervous "Crap"

Bruce doesn't even have any energy to fight, he just pinches his nose and is all "What is the meaning of this" in his tired dad voice. And Duke meekly responds with "we wanted more chairs at Jason's place"

And suddenly it all makes sense. Not once did Bruce wonder how the HELL Jason managed to lug a whole 60in TV and a full couch set on his own in one night. Of course, he had accomplices. Bruce just turns right around and goes right the hell back to his room to sleep. He'll deal with this in the morning.

[bi-writes]

I imagine that Johnny's "uncle" instincts are so strong that he would do anything for the MOB and Simon's kids, it doesn't matter that "the kids" are cats. Also i think Simon would have a talk with MOB (and Soap) along the lines "if something happens to me he is the person who would take care of you". ~ i spend to much time daydreaming about this fic

mail-order bride

johnny watches with a careful eye as simon disassembles his rifle. he's methodical about it, very careful. he has a clear desk in front of him, and every piece that comes out has a place on the surface, a special spot that it must go.

"ye called fer me, LT?" johnny asks, knocking on the door gently. simon nods, not looking up from where he's sitting. he motions to the chair in front of the desk, and johnny takes a seat, hooking his thumbs into his tact vest and spreading his legs as he sits there. "what do ye need?"

"'ave somethin' ta say," simon mutters. "'n i'm gonna say it, and y'r gonna keep quiet and not interrupt me. and when i finish, ya aren't gonna say anythin' about it. and we aren't gonna talk about it ever again. say ya understand me, sergeant."

johnny swallows, shuffling in his seat before nodding.

"aye," he says lowly. "roger tha'."

simon sniffs, picking up the barrel and using a microfiber cloth to rub it clean. he leans back in his chair, not meeting johnny's eyes.

"tha' last op got me thinkin'," simon mutters. "thinkin' a lot." he sighs, deep from his chest. "wot would happen to my girls. if somethin' were to happen to me."

johnny purses his lips, his palms getting a little clammy. but he doesn't speak, because he's been ordered not to.

"and if tha' happens," simon continues. "i don't want anyone else lookin' after them except for you, johnny."

their eyes meet finally, and johnny swallows hard. it's a long gaze, and they hold each other there for a few moments to get an understanding of one another, to speak without speaking.

johnny stands, shaking his head. it's hard for him to believe that simon could die. he's unkillable. he's ghost. he's a man too capable of staying alive, too good at crawling out of early graves, that he doesn't understand truly what it is he's seeing in his lieutenant right now.

the thing in his eyes, he's just never seen it before. it's fear.

"simon."

your greeting as he steps through the front door immediately makes his shoulders relax. you're in the living room in nothing but one of his old shirts, standing there with a big smile on your face. his eyes rake down your body, over your bare legs and socked feet. your smile is bright and contagious, and he drops his bag off as you come closer to him. as always, your hands find the hem of his skull mask and slip it up and over your head, and you giggle when he blushes as you look over his face.

"you're so handsome," you whisper, and he clicks his tongue, shaking his head. you lean up on your toes and kiss him warmly, smoothing your hands up his big arms and wrapping them around his neck. simon can't help himself; he slides his hands down your back and slips them up the hem of the shirt you wear, cupping your ass in both gloved hands and squeezing hard. you laugh into the kiss, pulling away slowly, meeting his eyes. he looks tired. he looks...sad. "simon...is everything okay?"

you swipe your thumbs under his eyes, smudging the eye-black there, and he just shrugs. he doesn't lie. it isn't okay, he isn't okay, and you kiss him again to say you're sorry, because you don't know if he would want to hear that.

"i, uhm...ordered a pizza," you say softly. "thought we could watch a really bad movie and eat gross."

simon smirks, leaning his forehead against yours.

"i'd like tha'."

as you're plating up greasy slices of pizza, simon passes a piece of paper to you. it's an index card with a phone number on it and an address. the address is far, really far, and you lick the sauce off your finger before looking up at him.

"what is this?" you ask, taking it from him.

"tha's johnny," simon murmurs. "if anythin' ever happens...if ya ever need me...'n i'm not 'ere--" you open your mouth to say something, but simon shushes you gently. "--if somethin' ever happens to me...you call johnny."

you purse your lips, meeting his eyes for just a second before looking back down at the card.

"nothing's gonna happen to you, simon--"

he cups your face in his hands, shaking his head. he's staring down at you, pleading, asking you to just do this for him, to just say yes, to not fight him on this one thing because he needs this.

you press the index card to your chest gently, nodding finally.

"yeah...okay..." you whisper. "i'll call him, simon. if something happens...i'll call him."

if something happens, if something happens, if something happens--

"simon," you whisper, grabbing his eyes again. he blinks, and you compose yourself when you see that glaze over his eyes, the slight shake of his bottom lip. you have never seen him this way. you have never seen him shake ever before. this was your husband. simon riley, made of nothing but dense rock and steel. but his thoughts are far away. his thoughts are somewhere else, seeing a scenario in his mind that you imagine may not be hard to think about, as if he's lived something like it himself.

the unknown. the despair. the aftermath.

the inevitable.

"simon."

your voice brings him back. he's back in the kitchen. he's back at home. he can hear the cats in the living room, the little bells on their collars ringing as they chase each other in little chaotic circles.

he's back with you. in his little bubble. he's praying to a god he doesn't believe in that it won't burst so easily.

"dont worry, simon. i'll...i promise i'll call."

[senseandaccountability]

HR department romance plots

I just… beyond the surface level of enjoying a new game with new relationship dynamics to explore, I really can’t feel much about the DAV companions or their romances.

They all just seem so disconnected from the story, from Rook (who in turn is entirely disconnected from all kinds of feelings because Rook is just Employee Of the Year), from the world, from themselves. I feel like Cole here, looking at them and saying in my gentle, fleeting voice: even the dwarves don’t really remember dwarves. It really feels like the interpersonal relationships are written by the HR person who sits with you as union rep to tell you that you should use a positive language, that "we are all simply employees here, it doesn't matter what title you have", give a little pep talk about teamwork and how to get the job done. That's what we're here for. Everyone's equal. We all want the same thing here, your boss is your friend. Have you tried talking to this person, see their side of things, mmmm? It's just... yeah, they're cute, all of them. But why do they like each other? Why do they want to be with Rook? Who are they even in relation to the world of Thedas, what do they believe in, what have they overcome, what do they hate, what sort of prejudices do they carry around? I have no idea.

And since I’m also replaying DAI again, I wanted to compare these romances to my canon romances in DAI.  With Blackwall, you immediately get a sense of attraction and a sort of flirting on his part that suggests this is something he falls into quite easily - “you know a lot about girls” to quote Cole - BUT it’s also something he really, really thinks he shouldn’t be doing now. Why? He is tied to the Warden plot, if you bring him along you get a sense of a man hiding shit but you don’t really understand what, and he still comes to see you (flying/climbing up your balcony wall idk) because he can’t step away. You get to tell him he’s a good man even though you know shit about that at this point, like with Anders in DA2 you can give your PC over to this passion/love despite knowing that there’s something off, something potentially harmful or dangerous. There is conflict, there are things that jar, that can even make you uncomfortable. 

Blackwall as a character is open and compassionate. He approves of mercy, shows mercy, he isn't judgmental of others. In sharp and delicious contrast Blackwall’s crime is vile. He isn’t bound by any sort of oath, he can back down, there is no greater good whatsoever in his actions. It’s inexcusable. And yet. YET. You can CONTINUE THE ROMANCE. He killed a wagon full of kids, THEN RAN AWAY AND LET HIS MEN TAKE THE BLAME and hates himself so much that he tries to become someone else by erasing his previous self from the face of the earth. You can still kiss him and tell him you want him to live and redeem himself. It’s fucking incredible to think about this in the light of Veilguard actually. Your LI, the child murdering coward. 

With Iron Bull you have the doubts all spread out on the table. He’s a spy, how could you ever trust him? He also doesn’t respond to your flirting, why the hell not when you hear through ambient dialogue that he’s fucking half the chantry, isn’t he supposed to be a fuckboy? But he’s fun, he’s a mystery, he’s got fascinating banter with everyone, he’s brought his found family along, he’s a Qunari who at least somewhat believes in the Qun - he’s got AMAZING conversations with Solas that characterizes Bull as deeply intelligent (and Solas as much more caring than he’d let on) and knowledgeable about surprising things like architecture. Cole, as always, gives us more insight into Bull’s mind along the way and even before the offer to ride the Bull, the idea of him has been through some adjustments. You change his idea about a lot of things and in return, Bull challenges your idea of him, your idea of the Qun, your idea of the world and possibly, depending on how you react to his romance, your idea of intimate relationships. The game’s writing allowed me to imagine a rather frumpy circle mage in her mid 30s reluctantly forming a friendship with this strange fellow, only to find herself very much attracted to him, only to find herself being cared for in a way she would never have let anyone do before simply because Bull told her that was the only way he’d be with her. This is how we’ll do it, are you in? Your LI, the service top Qunari spy who is terrified he’ll run mad without his belief system to dictate his actions. 

And Solas. I mean mythical love stories culminating in mythical endings aside, what I really fell for in this relationship was the refreshing dynamic not of enemies to lovers but of two souls just sort of connecting instantly during strange events, taking a few hard looks at each other and going oh shit it’s you, you get me HOW is it possible you get me when nobody else does? There’s so much external drama surrounding them, which is why I personally LOVE and ADORE how calm their internal connection actually is. They know, so early in the game, that this is it. You’re my home, you understand the bones of me, you ask questions no one else thinks of asking, you care about the world in a way I haven’t seen anyone else do. He is LITERALLY the only one who understands your Lavellan when they make her the herald, when she protests and they keep pushing and pulling and sing their song after Haven, and Solas is there to be sarcastic about it. If nothing else, I'd fall in love with that. And there’s this sense of impossibility from the very beginning, a sense of it being almost unreal because the first kiss is in the Fade, the second is in a frenzy where Solas goes from 0 to I LOVE YOU, MY HEART and then leaves and you know, you know how this is coded and YET - he seemed so wise and kind and sad, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. And even with this connection of souls, things chafe - he’s an absolute bastard about certain things, he mocks your heritage and you don’t know yet that it’s because a huge guilt blanket rests on top of him since thousands of years back, you can just argue back and receive his disapproval. He says it’s selfish of him to start anything with you yet he does - WHY DO YOU DO THAT, SAD EGG? Your LI, the ancient god of rebellion, treachery and lies, depending on the story. 

Even beyond my favourites, there are conflicts. Sera is A LOT (affectionate) if you're an elf, with Cullen you get a substance abuse story-line tied to his general dismay about his past as a really fucked up templar, Dorian has personal trauma and cultural prejudice he struggles with for the entire game, Vivienne is so complex half the fandom hates her and has very awkward and uncomfortable banters with almost everyone (save for Bull because he treats her like he would a tamassran), Cassandra is constantly challenged in her personal beliefs, very clearly reflected in her conversations with Solas and Cole has a whole personal plotline about deeply existentialist matters. What does it mean to be alive? Who is a person and who gets to decide that? He could have been a person, Varric says. Isn't he already? Does this unit have a soul? Not to mention that Cole functions chiefly as a speaker of truths, bringing a lot of complexity to the others. 

DAI is not perfect by any means but I feel like I know these bastards. I feel like my PC or even I could actively dislike some of them, because they are written to create dynamic conflicts inside and outside of their own arcs. I can write fic about them, I can imagine what they're doing during the events of DAV because I know them.

Because they are written like actual people in a world where some people have power over others and some people have been raised with a certain belief system and some people just have shitty takes on society, may they learn.