#like he's her prince charming

[softquietsteadylove]

Pleaseeeee we need more from the ghost file AU! It’s underrated and funny!

(as always, credit must be shared with @taran-chan who co-authored the first entry and shares custody of this AU with me)

"Hey, Thena?"

"Yes?"

"Why do I do this to myself?"

She smiled into her walkie-talkie. Gil was camping out upstairs while she was on the ground floor. He had initially said that he should be on the ground floor in case someone broke into the house. Then she said that the upper floor was likely more haunted and then he had fallen on that sword instead.

He was very protective, for a giant walking fraidy-cat.

"I wouldn't know the answer to that," she answered back, the click of the walkie's signal punctuating each sentence for her.

"Are you, um," he paused, and she heard the rustling of his sleeping bag. "Are you okay, down there?"

Ah, sweet Gilgamesh. Every hunt, she volunteered to come with him, and every hunt, he worried about her endlessly. She shifted in her own sleeping bag, "I'm fine Gil--are you?"

There was a bit of a silence on his end, because of course he was terrified. He hated doing solo investigations, even though that was always when he got his best evidence (when she wasn't there to corroborate the story).

"I know it's just an old house," he muttered, clearly sharing with her what he had been telling himself endlessly. "It makes...sounds."

"All old buildings do," she agreed, turning onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. Gil was up there, curled up on the carpet in the old bedroom of the woman who had died suddenly in full health on halloween night two hundred years earlier.

"The door's locked, right?"

"Yes," Thena laughed faintly, and he heard him grumbling about how lightly she took things on their hunts. "Gil, I'm safe."

"I just," he sighed and even clicked the walkie in the middle of his strenuous sentence. "I would feel a lot better if I could see you."

Thena shook her head on her pillow. Sweet, sweet Gilgamesh, with his charming words; and he wondered how she kept agreeing to late night ghost hunts with him. "I know, me too."

"What if-"

Thena looked at the walkie, but he never continued his statement. She clicked in, "Gil?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

She pursed her lips, sitting up now. It wasn't as if it wasn't creepy in the old, boarded up house she had broken them into for the night. But she didn't quite see things in the shadows and hear voices in the wind the way Gil did. "Gil?"

"It's okay, I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Thena reached for her phone and maglight, already shimmying out of her sleeping bag. "Do you want me to come up?"

She could practically imagine the look on his adorable face, lips all pouted and big brown eyes. He clicked in, "you don't have to."

"I'm coming up, Gil," she laughed, pulling her boots on again. "It's pretty late anyway. If you don't have much evidence by now I think the rest of the night will be quiet."

"Okay."

He sounded so excited.

Thena walked up the stairs, listening to every creek and moan. Gil was so expressive, always wearing his heart on his sleeve. She adored that about him. "Almost there."

She walked towards the first bedroom on the right, her feet creaking the floorboards. She knocked on the door, hearing a wobbly, "Thena?"

Gil was wrapped up in his sleeping bag, his flashlight on and pointed at the ceiling like a kid scared to go to sleep at camp. She shook her head, "what happened to lights off, hm?"

"Not tonight," he rustled around, emerging from the sleeping bag enough to look at her. He sighed, "you're a sight for sore eyes."

Thena rolled her eyes, "you're just saying that because you're scared that woman is going to appear at the foot of your sleeping bag."

"Well, I am now!"

She laughed as he unzipped the side of it and sat up properly, "I'm kidding Gil."

He pouted at her, holding the unzipped flap open, "just get in here."

Thena blushed. She had left her sleeping bag downstairs. She hadn't even thought about it--maybe she had just thought she would just come up and calm him down. Or maybe she imagined he would be so ready to leave that he would pack up and leave immediately.

"Come on," he urged, even moving the flashlight to beckon her closer. "It's chilly!"

Thena crept closer, tucking herself against his back at first to take off her boots again. "Gil, don't you-"

"Eep!"

A moan ran through the old house and that was all the excuse Gil needed to pull her into the sleeping bag with him, curling his arms around her and even tucking her smaller feet between his own.

"We've been in a lot of houses, but this one really takes the cake," he muttered against her hair, holding her against him like a full sized comfort toy.

Thena blinked, completely pressed into his chest as his hands rubbed circles in the back of her shirt. His sleeping bag was so much warmer than hers.

Gil settled himself more comfortably, finally turning the flashlight off and nestling his cheek against the top of her hair. "Okay, I'm beat. Wake me up if that ghost lady comes by."

"'Kay," Thena just barely managed to squeak out, and her voice was high and squeaky as she said, much to her own horror. She couldn't possibly sleep with her heart beating like this. It was the most adrenaline she'd had in her system all night.

"Hey," he whispered, and it was not helping her forget how close they were.

"Y-Yeah?" she whispered back, only because he couldn't see her face and how terribly flustered she felt.

"You know I couldn't do this without you, right?"

His arms tightened around her, and her hands gripped the back of his flannel in reflex. He was so warm, and he felt so strong, but also soft. Her eyes fluttered, "I know."

"Good," he sounded like he was smiling. He nuzzled her forehead until he could press his lips to it. "I just want you to know how happy I am that you're here."

Thena pressed herself even deeper into his chest, as if he and the ghosts could all see her falling even harder for him in real time. Her hands clung to him as she straightened out her curled spine, really cuddling against him. "I'm happy to be with you, too."

She heard him chuckle in the dark, and her blush intensified. That wasn't what he meant.

"Good," he sufficed to say. "Get some sleep."

She nodded against him, done trying to talk and formulate words with him saying such bone-meltingly sweet things. "Night."

[ayakashiz]

Reposting this from my twitter thread because it hasn't left my head (and adding a tiny bit more).

Seen so many questionable takes lately about the ivantill kiss, and I know everyone is allowed to have different opinions and interpretations but.

No, Ivan didn’t just pretend to kiss Till for the show. And no, he wasn't trying to make Till hate him either or trying to trigger him over his implied SA to snap him into action.

I think the whole point of the scene (confirmed by the creators) is Ivan finally breaking his mask of perfection and control and giving in to his messy, all consuming feelings, being selfish for once.

Yes, by the end before the strangling starts, he appears more clear headed and now focused on the objective of manipulating the score. But he doesn't really look at it until AFTER he starts strangling Till.

The kiss itself wasn't part of the strategy, or at least not entirely something calculated. Ivan could have skipped the kiss and strangled Till right away and gotten the same result.

The fact that he kissed him AGAIN after he started strangling him, more softly and 'personal', almost like a goodbye or an apology (whether for his selfishness or for their past), tells me he wanted it.

I think a last selfish act doesn't diminish the love he had for Till, it just shows the tragedy of ALNST. Ivan is only human after all. And no matter what kind of mask he built for himself and what illusion of control he had over his life, when faced with the real, imminent possibility of losing Till, he crumbled and did something unexpected.

I have more to say about the Ivan and Sua parallels and how he finally understands her in the Confession comic etc etc but I think I've yapped enough.

I just don't like it when people try to mold the narrative because they're uncomfortable with an unconsensual kiss. It's meant to be painful and heartwrenching, a reflection on Ivan's one sided-feelings and his desperation at the moment —to be seen for the first (and last) time, to not be left behind, to convey his emotions in the only way he could when being seconds away from death.

After all the team confirmed that Ivan is clumsy with emotions and only knows to convey them in 'childish' ways (the nuzzling against his face, the picking fights with Till and teasing him).

I think some people like to think of the kiss as something purely calculated and selfless because it makes it more 'palatable', but in my opinion this take washes out Ivan's character and the flaws that make him just as human, vulnerable and complex as the rest of the cast. He was willing to throw away his life and his perfect image because he wanted something that badly.

[thelilylav]

I’ve gotta admit as much as I know Darabella is a flawed ship (and some of the ppl who are anti for it have legit criticisms I love y’all for pointing it out cause it frustrates the hell out of me too trust) they’ll always just kind of be it for me.

Because as much as it was an “I can fix him” trope, as much as Rosabella could be selfish and Daring’s flaws got cranked up to 1000, she was also the first person to look at him after his destiny, the thing he dedicated his life to, failed, when people were questioning him as a prince and putting pressure on his and Apple’s relationship and tell him that, like, maybe it would be alright? Maybe this wasn’t his destiny, and maybe that was okay.

And the part that really gets me? She’s the first person after this happens to tell him that it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, which as much as you can like other Daring ships or him whatever he desperately needed to hear. Not even cause he was selfish, that’s not what I’m saying, but bc he placed his whole identity on this image that people concocted for him based on him appearing the perfect prince. He was handsome, he was talented, and he was handsome! So who cares about him as a person?

Idk man. You spend four seasons (I watch the specials on Netflix so that’s why four idk if it’s three to some ppl or whatever tho) watching him be praised for his looks, watching girls fawn over him, and of course he enjoys it so nobody really questions how much he enjoys it. And then you get this girl, this girl who owes him nothing, this girl who (contrary to popular belief apparently) has a life of her own and people she cares about outside of him, and she’s nice to him. And she’s the first person after everything happens to just be nice to him, for the sake of being nice. Something about that will always hit different for me

[moonilit]

This is all about Jote now

[class-of-classic-blog]

Do you think the Good King had friends who were not royalty? Because I honestly see him capable of having hit it off with Badwolf (Not necessarily a friendship but they do get along well) I also see the Evil Queen getting jealous of anyone who is with the Good King.

yeah. he was definetly friends with Badwolf, Pinocchio and Mad Hatter. I think that he had quiet a lot friends who were royal growing up becuse of his status, but then when he got disowned due to his destiny he was slowly going low contact with royals and starting to spend more time with commoners.

He still has a very close friendship with Mad Hatter and Pinocchio

[eahwidow]

Quite late, but here are the characters I liked the most in 'Descendants: The Rise of Red' after watching it:

I just wish we could've had more time in the movie, SPECIALLY with that sudden ending, but I hope the next movie is much longer and has a better constructed plot + some new AKs and VKs to join Red and Chloe in the present time (maybe a new Core Four with two new boys?)

[catalvarezs]

love that rachel zegler is shitting on the original snow white movie as if it isn't the highest grossing animated film, ever. as if walt disney didn't use his own fucking house as collateral to finance it. as if a feature length colour animation wasn't revolutionary at the time and people didn't work overtime, invented animating mechanisms for the movie. as if it didn't win walt an oscar and make disney what it is today. as if snow white and the seven dwarfs (1937) wasn't a cultural milestone in hollywood history. as if snow white isn't worth anything today because she isn't Girlboss™. as if once upon a time, mirror mirror and red shoes didn't already make snow white an independent leader or whatever. as if it isn't the reason she's currently employed —

[marinettenoirfan]

I love “Never Met” Ladynoir AU’s. The reveal is always so so sweet.

Marinette: Wait a second, you’re telling me the goofy cat boy I’ve been dating is an incredibly wealthy, drop dead gorgeous supermodel?

Adrien: Wow it’s you, the girl I’ve seen so much at my favorite bakery. You’re amazing-

Marinette: I’m not done. There is no way I just happened to fall for Paris’ number 1 eligible bachelor, who is also a superhero by the way, and didn’t notice. You can’t be serious!

Adrien: …

Adrien: I’m also technically royalty too.

Marinette: Ugh!

❤️

[ghostbird-7]

MI brainrot

Ethan comes out of the therapist office looking effortlessly cool. This is not a good sign. He’s got his mission face on, wearing something that could be conceived as a smile if you haven’t seen his proper one, which is crooked and a bit too wide, unleashed when he’s being brutally mocked by a dear friend or has one of his signature puns turned around on him. When mission face is off he’s intense, makes an amount of eye contact that on paper is around average, but feels interrogative when you’re under it. He’s moving smoothly, too. Benji knows for a fact that with his ribs and knee he should be walking in his usual lope, but he’s walking like he’s in a poker game at gun point. Benji takes him home. In the kitchen, after small talk and tea, Ethan’s still got his game face on but he’s icing his leg and Benji’s given him a pamphlet so they don’t have to look at each other. Ethan tells him after 10 minutes, on the dot. “I’ve been jittery after missions where I didn’t use to be. The shrink says it’s because I’m not passively suicidal anymore,. Says I probably have been for a while, didn’t know.” He’s talking like he’s conserving money on a telegram. He hasn’t looked up from the pamphlet. Benji makes him another cup of tea, and after the next mission holds him by his uninjured body part (right shoulder seems okay) with enough pressure for him to feel it until he settles a little. Ethan thanks him with a foot rub the next week, long enough later that most people wouldn’t have connected it. Benji loves him, chooses to. It’s always been a choice for him, when he’s not in physical danger he can stack feelings around the corners of the problem till he’s looking straight through it. It’s what made him such a good technician, and it’s one of the things that made him decide to love Ethan at first. He can’t. He’ll buckle down and work through it, but always as a person. Benji will stay while Ethan works out how to feel like a person again.

[butchgeorgefayne]

Naja’s team is CAND! (Candy)

C - Candy Wick (romanneo daughter, sugarplum fairy from the nutcracker ballet)

A - Adrian Cotta-Arc (jaunes nephew, prince arjuna from the mahabharata)

N - Naja Sustrai (emercury, snake from Antony & Cleopatra)

D - Daiyu Ren (renora’s eldest daughter, Daiyu from dream of the red chamber)

[fumifooms]

Chilchuck you’re so fucking funny wtf do you mean with Izu it’s "byeee" and with Marcille it’s "if you die I die". You ass

Chapter 69 vs chapter 92 Results:

Be so serious my guy

[titsthedamnseason]

so anyway i saw the little mermaid and it was absolutely incredible. in my opinion it blew the original out of the water AND was superior to all of the other disney live actions

[puppyeared]

Ouhhhh friendship I love friendship……..

[fategoflatass]

And here I am, laying in bed, thinking about how fire seems to not be Alice's bloodline specialty????????

[thaliasthunder]

guys im reading the cruel prince for the first time and cardan is such a bitch i wanna stab him

[softquietsteadylove]

During the show the tightrope breaks and Thena falls. Luckily Gil catches her but gets injured. The whole crew protects both of them when kro is very angry that Gil touches Thena. Some drama for the circus one

"Thena!"

It felt as if it happened in slow motion. Thena was in the middle of the routine as usual, and things were going well. She and Angus were both strong and ready for the show.

But something wasn't right. Gil had watched as Thena froze on the tightrope, her whole body locking up on the spot. He had looked to where her eyes were anchored, running out from behind the scenes. Something was wrong with the joint where the line was attached.

Then it snapped.

"Thena!" He ran as fast as he could. There were no nets, as per a certain ringleader's demand (because it didn't instill the right excitement in the crowds). There was no protecting Thena from a bone shattering fall.

He plowed into her, just barely managing to catch her as they both rolled and skidded from his momentum. He somehow managed to keep a hold of her within his arms. His shoulder was most certainly jostled from where it was supposed to be, and he wouldn't be surprised if he had a number of bruises along his ribs and arms.

The crowd was up on its feet, women and children screaming. Kro was already trying to assure them and tell them there was no need to panic (no need to ask for their money back).

"Gil?"

He opened his eyes, scared to look at what happened. But he grunted as Thena leaned over him, her hair pooling on his chest as he lay on his back. Her hand trailed over his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Oh Gil," she whispered, her hand sliding down his cheek and neck and over his chest.

Gil looked around them. It was chaos, and this was definitely a worst case scenario. At least Thena wasn't hurt, but the repercussions would ripple through the whole crew. They had to check the equipment, they would have a meeting with everyone from every department. And Kro would be furious.

"Hey!"

Gil saw from somewhat upside down as Kro caught sight of them. He didn't know why the guy was anywhere but by his wife's side, but he was too tired to think about that now. He watched as Kro began the process of storming over to them.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!"

Oh, he was talking to him. Gil blinked, feeling as if he were hearing everything underwater, and his head hurt something fierce. But Thena was unharmed, that was all that mattered to him.

"Gil," Thena whispered to him. There was a flurry of motion around them, the crew rushing to talk to Kro about what to do about the broken highwire. They would serve as a barricade for them. "Can you see me?"

He could only ever see her. He nodded, groaning as he tried to sit up.

"It's okay, easy," she cooed to him as she helped pull him up. "We're going to get you some help."

Gil tried to hold himself up, but damn it felt hard. He didn't think he was really this heavy, but he couldn't keep his feet straight. He was like a newborn colt trying to walk for the first time.

"Come on, big fella," some of his friends from the crew got on either side of him. Of course Thena couldn't be the one to help try to walk him to the medical tent. But she smelled nicer than these guys.

"Gil," she called to him again, dragging his eyes up to hers. "Just look at me. You can't fall asleep."

Why not? He was dead tired and he felt like he'd been wrestling with the elephants.

"Just keep looking at me," she whispered, leading him with the sweet lyricism of her voice. Like a damn angel, that woman.

Gil sighed as they finally got him to the medical tent and seated on a bale of hay. He really was ready to lie down, but he let Thena drag his head upright again. Although he did whine a little as she shined some kinda light in his eyes.

"You can't sleep like this," she sighed, and then put something cold on the top of his head. His eyes naturally rolled upward, not that he could see whatever it was. She smiled, "it's just from the icebox. We have to keep the swelling down."

Oh, it was his head. That made sense why his ears were ringing, at least. "Are you okay?"

Thena looked at him in a way that made his heart melt. She sat beside him, even letting her knees in her sparkly stockings brush against his in his regular, ratty old trousers. "Thanks to you."

Gil looked at her, now that the chaos from the main tent was behind them. She did look fine, which was a relief. "Couldn't just let you fall."

It was almost not within his control, that was to say. But Thena took his hand in hers. "I know you couldn't. But I owe my life to you, all the same."

His mind was a few steps behind his mouth as he blurted out, "where's your husband?"

Normally he wouldn't bring him up, even just so as to not upset the lady.

But Thena didn't even blink, rubbing her thumb against his, "don't worry about him, for now."

"I wish you didn't have to worry about him," Gil mumbled out. He really was saying whatever was on his mind, huh?

Thena sighed, though, looking at him with those stunning green eyes. "I know. I wish so, too."

Gil closed his eyes as she adjusted the cloth bundle of ice on top of his head. It did feel nice, but it also gave him the chills. "He's gonna blow his top if we can't get the highwire restrung."

"That man would blow his top at the sky if it were the only thing around."

Gil chuckled, although it made his head hurt something awful. He groaned.

"Sorry." Thena brushed the backs of her knuckles over his temple, soothing the ache from the outside in.

Gil looked at the cloth walls of the tent. It was just some canvas, and it was far from impenetrable. But he looked at Thena, feeling like he really did have this moment to keep just to themselves. "Thena...if he ever hurts you, I swear-"

His eyes slid closed as she leaned forward to kiss him. Her lips were as soft as the light of first dawn. If he never believed in heaven before, maybe he did now.

Thena leaned back, her thumbs on his cheeks, "don't worry about me, Gil."

But he did. Every second of every day, he thought of her.

He was painfully in love with someone else's wife. "But-"

She kissed him again, more softly, and more chastely too, leaning back even quicker. "No buts, just try to rest. I can handle Kro."

Gil tried to protest again but Thena stood, leaving him alone on his little hay bale island. He blinked as she exited the tent, the warm glow inside contrasting the cold, blue light outside.

"Is he in there?"

"He's resting. Leave him be, Kro."

"Like hell I will. Bastard thinks he can put his hands on my wife?!"

Gil tried to get to his feet, stumbling to his knees at first. He tried again as the crack of a palm against a cheek sliced through the air. "Th-Thena?"

"He saved my life! More than you've ever done, and if I see you bothering him, I'll give the crowd something that will really scare them away and right out of your greedy hands."

He had never heard Thena raise her voice. He had seen her stand her ground with Kro, and he had no doubt she was as tough as a lady got, even with that brute of a husband. Maybe because of that brute of a husband.

"Ungrateful little whore."

"Call me whatever you want. Gilgamesh is not to leave his own sleeper car until he's healed."

She only ever called him Gil when they were alone.

"Fine, but the show goes on, even if the vet starts bleeding from the eyes."

Gil tried to stand again. He had to say that he would be fine. He couldn't let Thena be left alone with that devil. He groaned, managing to stand and take a few steps.

He only made it out of the tent in time to see Kro all but dragging Thena away, probably to berate her for talking back to him in front of the crew like that. But she turned and waved to him, assuring him of her well being.

Gil stood there, watching the woman he loved get dragged away by her husband. He couldn't make out any of the words his fellow crewmen and friends were chattering at him. All he was thinking about was how Thena had kissed him, and in such a way that could only mean that she loved him too.