#like him having people finally be like 'no' to him. And it reframing the way he thought about how his actions effected others goddddddddd

[psychomusic]

oc time again! + her town & culture (heavily inspired by pre-roman italic populations)

she is suri sauthon. her story is linked to my swtor imperial agent, tar'x, but most of her life except for the one year away where she meets him, is spent in a town in the mountains of mirial.

despite mirial being cold and desert, and many cities developing underground, her town flourishes thanks to a force nexus, venerated in the form of an ancient, sacred, alive crystal. the ecosystem of that mountain depended on what "the horned crystal" was capable of giving them, but mirialans couldn't live off of that alone, so they developed trade and some rudimental technology, even if oftentimes it was bought thanks to the highly profitable trade of a plant used to make medicines that slowed down aging and had overall healing properties.

note: everything that's generated by this nexus has these healing properties BUT they have to be processed, except for those who bathed in the waters of the cavity under the crystal - the "real" nexus, but not the worshipped one. the waters were sacred but they were not thought to be miraculous, unlike the crystal, who instead was thought of as the keystone of the ecosystem: without it, everything would fall apart (and that is partially true: the cavity was the "real" nexus but thanks to the crystal, also strong in the force, the properties were spread all over the mountains). those who bathed in the cavity's waters - so, all of the town, who had a sort of baptism there - could eat the plant, make whatever food with it, and not only that plant, but everything generated by the nexus, that, again, had similar properties. this allowed people to live up to normal life-spans without advanced medicines or, much, really. to those who didn't live there, though, after the processing, had incredible effects, slowing down aging - for those who took it regularly - and making people able to live up to half a century more than the average]

originally, there were four tribes of nomads that lived thanks to horned farm animals that decided to settle down into one bigger town and other smaller settlements, to live off of transhumance. this division of the tribes stayed into the political and social organization: every person belonged to one tribe specifically, and had slightly different rituals and culture. for examples, each tribe had their own priests and healers, with different techniques and traditions. the town, tho, was guided by a group of people in the high priesthood, a position you could reach only by having earned the trust of all tribes. those high priests had many roles: they guided the people into sacred processions common to all the tribes, they managed the trading with outsiders, they did the maintenance of the temple of the summit (the one that functioned as casket to the crystal) and created a special liquid to offer the crystal that helps it grow.

this particular temple was important because 1. it was very visible, from every angle of the town, and it became an important identity symbol; 2. it stored the venerated horned crystal; 3. it had the altar where sacrifices were made for the crystals. that altar had a hole connected to the cavity, that allowed the liquids to reach the underground; 4. it had various symbols: statues representing each tribe + the high priesthood, and typical mirialan tattoos carved into the wood of the trees that served as columns for the temple, symbolizing 8 values that who dared to enter HAD to have; 5. it was on the way to an important lake (called "mother lake" because the lake the town was built around to depended on the waters of that other lake) where they traveled to in important processions; 6. it was said that a the wizard who unified the tribes made it with its magic, making the plant grow to hold the temple's roof. this wizard was, actually, a force user, obv.

BACK TO HER THOUGH: she's daughter of one of the high priests, who was in charge of managing the trades with outsiders, and lives in a house on the mountains with her mother and him. her parents are from different tribes (that's one of the things that earned him trust from the 4 tribes): when a child is born from two different tribes, they don't pick one to allign to, but they're usually linked automatically to the one with more relatives in it (in her case, the father's tribe: she had many uncles and aunts on his side while her mom only had one sister).

later, though, she got quite tied to her mother's tribe due to a mysterious illness that only her mother's tribe healer was able to cure. she spent 4 years (from 10 to 14 years old) living with the healer and learned her secrets. to better study, she wrote them down. when she returned home, she studied to become a priestess with her father. at 22 (the average age: you can't become priest before your 20s), she was supposed to take a test and become a priestess, but the healer of her mother's tribe died and the tribe asked her to take her place. she couldn't technically do that, but both tribes estimated both her and her parents and she was allowed to become both. she then decided to try to become a high priestess, and became one at 25 (a quite young age). being part of the council, she tried to convince the various tribe healers to unite their knowledges and write them down, and eventually made it. healers still remained tribe based but they now had an "upper, inter-tribe level" similar to high priesthood.

years later, the sacred horned crystal is stolen from the temple by some Hutt mercenaries looking for a profit. given the trust she has earned from all the tribes and the fact that her father is the high priest that deals with outsiders (and she's been hearing stories and advice about it since she was little), she is the one tasked with getting it back. without the growing crystal, the keystone to their ecosystem, the village would have lasted only a few years. in hrr quest, she meets imperial intelligence agent tar'x laran and, as they "solve the mystery" and fight to have it back, they get closer. they'll get married and have a daughter, Vegoia (who's the only one who actually will get to the plot of my story. this was all background)

[harrytheehottie]

harry talking about how moving in with the winston's was the most transformative 18 months of his life that he cherishes :')

[wannaeatramyeon]

Meeting Student!Gun Park for the First Time: Part 2

Please read Part 1 first! G/N. 4.6k. Remember when Gun wanted to get his GED? Well. Stranger to~ Masterlists

As far as first impressions go, yours went terribly. Gun can count on no hands the amount of people that have spoken to him like you did and lived to tell the tale.

Make no mistake, the sum total of which is zero. Zero spoke to him like that and lived to tell the tale.

It's like you have no manners and absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

But, he figures, he's finally doing his GED after the whole murderous stint and juvie and light dabbling in gang wars. Maiming a fellow classmate on the first day would leave an even worse first impression with the rest of the class than yours with him, therefore he should really try to behave himself.

Besides, he would never hear the end of it from Goo if he dropped out, or worse got kicked out, so he picked his battles and took your insults as best he could. 

Somehow miraculously managed to hold back from reaching across the screen to give you a well deserved ass whooping when you asked him if he was on the verge of a mid-life crisis. He schooled his face and took a drag of his cigarette instead.

At least, if nothing else, you're entertaining.

You also reminded him that small talk was a thing when you asked what he liked to do for fun. He couldn't remember the last time anyone asked, if anyone even did, although you don't really make this sort of conversation in his line of work and it is hard for Gun to find time to make chit chat with someone as he's usually the one brutally assaulting them in a fight.

And he had such good intentions with enrolling in school again so why not tell you he likes gaming. 

That's a perfectly Normal hobby, right? 

Even as he says those words, they stick in his throat like he's confessing something shameful and it comes out strangled and strange.

He moves on to more familiar territory by reframing his bloodlust as training and martial arts, which also sounds very Normal to Gun's ears.

A few more things that he can barely remember are mentioned to present himself as a very Normal individual and he isn't embarrassed to admit to himself he's pleased with how this has gone.

After all, the majority of his working day is spent with Goo and Goo is, to put it politely, an unhinged dipshit, and their conversations usually also have that kind of vibe. Gun is aware enough to watch his tongue in this conversation with you, and the fact you haven't looked terrified or called the police can only work in his favour.

What piqued his curiosity most of all though, is your threat to kick his ass.

(On Tekken, but still.)

So much confidence in your own ability, so much faith in your skills.

(On Tekken, but still.)

Alas, that night he finds out it's misplaced and you have severely overestimated himself and/or underestimated him.

But still. 

He remains curious about you.

You show absolutely no fear, no ulterior motive, no nothing, in the way you speak to him and seem to have latched on to him rather than anyone else in the class, and Gun is... 

Charmed.

He finds you oddly endearing.

Then when he sees the back of your head as he makes his way into the classroom for the first time and decides to sit next to you, the way you blatantly check him out doesn't hurt either.

People ogling Gun isn't anything new, but what is new is how much he likes it from you.

He makes up his mind to keep his seat next to you. Even if your gaze does linger a moment too long on his hair and makes him wonder if he used enough gel on it when he styled it that morning.

And although you caught him doodling and insult his masterpieces repeatedly - you also balanced it out by helping him with Literature, which truth be told, he is extremely grateful for. He forgives your missteps and your teasing.

Over time, Gun finds that he likes your company. Traits that would be annoying as shit with other people he finds sweet with you, including your unrefined taste in coffee.

As a bonus, you also don't balk at the tidbits of his life he shares. In fact it should really be a little troubling how grey your morals are, how easily you take it in stride for someone that seems like a normal well-adjusted(ish) civilian.

All in all, this never happens. Ever.

Never has anyone held his attention like you do, and for him to test the waters like he has done.

Gun likes to think he has good judgement, takes very calculated risks. This, he decides, is worth pursuing. Exploring.

With not so much a leap of faith but maybe just a tiny hop, Gun opens up his home to you.

.

.

.

.

You think you're in love with Gun Park.

This realisation hits you at 5am, when you're lying in his bed and he has done the gentlemanly thing of taking the sofa. It hits you because only a few hours ago, he had pulled you into his lap, looked at you and held you so tenderly then didn't kiss you.

The fact that he hadn't kissed you, and you're in love with a very questionable person sends you into a mental crisis.

Fuck.

He's secretive enough, letting you in on various elements of his life and you manage to piece together that he can only be up to no good.

There's no shades of grey in his life, only copious amounts of crimson from bloodshed, and a twisted sense of morals and principles he lives by.

You know by now he hangs around far too much with someone called Goo, who sounds like the personification of a headache and annoys him to no end but also seems to be the only friend he has. Speaks too highly of a Charles that you know is shady despite never having met the guy. There's also an Eli that he mentions like he's the one that got away.

You can live with all of that and the questionable amount of hair product he uses.

What you are in fact struggling to get to grips with is:

This man lives in a junkyard. Like some kind of violent, sexy raccoon.

A voice in your head that sounds scarily like your mother, lectures you about prospects and picking a man with no future.

Well, for one - he's back in school.

See mom, you're wrong.

He also seems to do very well for himself despite literally living amongst trash (you handwave away his blood money and unscrupulous methods to earn said money) so that's another point for Gun.

And what sort of person, who lives between piles of scrap metal and discarded appliances, has such a luxurious bed.

You're sure the bedding thread count is in the thousands. Instead of researching the cure to cancer or how to travel faster than light, scientists have researched the comfiest mattress known to man and has created this that you're currently lying on.

So maybe this violent sexy raccoon is actually a prize.

Regardless.

You seem to have hitched yourself quite willingly to this wagon and now your biggest issue, that leaves you tossing and turning into the early hours of the morning, is still-

Why the fuck didn't he kiss you.

And how could he, after sharing such a sweet moment, push you off his lap and kick your ass on Tekken for 5 straight rounds.

What a bastard.

.

.

At some point you must have drifted off to sleep and you awake to the smell of deliciousness.

Something is being fried and you melt thinking your raccoon king is cooking breakfast for you. Who knew he was this sweet and thoughtful.

What is even better though, somewhat masked by the sizzling, is if you listen hard enough, you think Gun might even be humming. Even the perfect bed can't keep you from pressing your ear up against the bedroom door when you connect the dots that he is humming a popular K-Pop song that you have listened to on loop 50 times the week prior.

You yank open the door with force, "A-ha!" and point in his direction, gleeful at catching him doing something so un-Gun like.

Gun, in the middle of plating 2 omelettes, whips his head to you and stills, looking like a deer caught in headlights or a raccoon caught in headlights, rather.

You ask him, with a shit eating grin,  if he's a big fan of the K-Pop group but it drops at his lack of reaction when he just shrugs and responds simply with a yes.

Damnit.

Of course you know it's not really anything to be ashamed of but it's so unexpected from Gun, that would it kill him to blush a little or act a little abashed? You expected something at least a little entertaining from his initial surprise, but you suppose anyone would act like that if a deranged house guest accosted them first thing in the morning after they so kindly made breakfast too.

As a consolation, after the let-down, you double take when you realise Gun had been cooking topless and remains topless this entire time.

In all his muscled glory. Pecs and abs and everything. Delicious broad shoulders and an enticing light trail of hair from below his belly button and stretching down, down, down into his sweatpants.

You gulp, trying to calm yourself down. You know you are staring so so obviously but you can't find it in yourself to look away.

Gun clears his throat as if to say my eyes are up here, and hands you a plate.

.

.

While you still have self control and before you outstay your welcome, you say bye to Gun after breakfast mentioning you have some errands to run.

It's a poor excuse but you didn't taste a bite of that omelette, brain too fixated on the man seated opposite and wondering if what he's hiding in his trousers matches the energy he gives off.

He offers to take you home and you insist on walking by yourself. You reason to yourself the fresh air after such a heady night and all the over excitement from this morning would do you good.

You say your goodbyes at his door, him leaning against the doorway, still unbearably tantalisingly shirtless and enough to distract you from the junkyard setting, with his arms folded and a smirk on his face as you stand there-

Standing and waiting and expecting.

You're pretty sure Gun wants to kiss you. There's a challenge in his eyes and you know he is teasing you.

The fact that you stared at him before like a slack-jawed moron also indicates full well what you would like him to do.

A goodbye kiss isn't too much to ask for (not that you're going to ask) but he continues to also lean and wait and smirk shirtlessly and god, this is the most awful hair-pulling frustrating game of chicken you have played.

For a moment you consider yanking him down and kissing him, hard and desperate, and making your way back inside to the most comfortable bed that has ever existed. For an even briefer moment you consider biting his pec and leaving a ring of teeth marks.

In the end, you can only muster "bye then," and to your dismay, your voice comes out whiny.

There's no hiding your disappointment.

Gun’s smirk grows wider at your tone and he relents and gives a peace offering in the form of a kiss on your cheek.

He pulls you into his body, arm wrapped around your waist and he dips down, grazes his lips featherlight to your cheek.

It's chaste. Impossibly tender and surprisingly sweet.

Damn.

You forget how to breathe and you feel like you're on fire as he murmurs bye into your ear. Later, you'll chastise yourself for letting Gun affect you like this with something so innocent.

You untangle from him and feel your legs wobble when you step off the porch and make your way back home.

Gun chuckles but you don't hear it.

You don't form a coherent thought again until that evening, when Gun beats you on Tekken and in a fit of rage and frustration, you finally break your controller.

.

.

To make things fair, Gun’s dislike of Literature is offset by how knowledgeable he is with Biology.

The human body, to be precise, and alarmingly so. Maybe serial killer levels of knowledge, with how much he knows about organs and muscles and tissues and everything in between.

He explains that it's useful for training, as if that's any explanation at all for his extensive knowledge. However, you've seen his body and heard enough about his past and yes, including his actual training, to realise that it does make sense in a way and you let it go.

Well.

Maybe you would have fought it a bit harder if you yourself was any good with biology but you're not. If he's great at it because he's a serial killer, then fortune favours the bold and you might as well take advantage of it.

Gun is a very very good teacher, which you did not predict and in a way you didn't expect.

His jaw is tense and the grip on the textbook tightens after you get the answer wrong for the 15th time and when you think he's about to whack you with said textbook, he closes his eyes and counts to ten.

When he opens them again, he tries another method with you. Then another. And another.

Truly, you did not think he had this sort of tolerance or patience.

He explains things simply and calmly (though you've noticed he has started to grit out his words). Unfortunately you still find all this theory hard to wrap your head around.

"Are you going to hit me?" You ask.

"Yes," Gun says though he doesn't. He looks more like he's going to ram his head through a wall. Neither happens and he continues to work through the textbook with you.

Hours later, it clicks.

You feel something of a genius even if Gun’s hair resembles a bird nest from the amount of time he has ran his fingers through in exasperation.

.

.

After finding out that you broke your controller, Gun buys you a new one immediately.

He's very generous and kind, you think, and it may be the first time in existence anyone has considered Gun as kind. 

Until you realise he has other reasons for doing so.

That night, and for several nights after too, Gun is merciless when he KOs you. Each match is shorter than the previous.

You register this is payback for the biology stint. It's got to be.

.

.

Nevertheless, because you're the bigger person and you take the defeats on the chin, as thanks and in an almost mirror image of Gun repaying your Literature help, you suggest taking him out for a coffee.

Getting a coffee to-go and hand delivering it would be much easier, but you can't bring yourself to order an espresso for someone even if it is their drink of choice.

You take him to one of your favourite coffeehouses. Somewhere much less lavish than the one he frequents and much more agreeable to your meagre pockets although the coffee is just as good.

"Two espressos," Gun says at the counter.

"One," you cut in firmly, holding yourself back from gagging. If you have to pay for it, you won't be drinking that bitter sludge. You rattle off your usual: a monstrosity made with double-digit syrup pumps and whipped cream and Gun flinches in your periphery.

Despite your insistence, he beats you to the punch and pays for the order anyway. Not before adding a jab that your coffee, if you can even call it a coffee, is the worst thing he has ever had the misfortune to spend money on.

"Try it," you offer, when your drink is in your hand and Gun watches every sip with mounting horror.

"No," His mouth is pressed into a thin line and he looks like he has half a mind to knock the cup out of your hand. He refrains, clenches his knuckles and rests them on his knee.

He closes his eyes and counts to ten.

You watch him, heartily enjoying your sugary drink and sucking noisily on the straw. He twitches and starts counting from one again. You feel a surge of affection.

.

.

Without any other plans, both of you amble together through the quiet streets. You window-shop as Gun smokes next to you and attempts to buy everything that you set your eye on.

You tell him thanks but no thanks and continue to look at pretty trinkets and funky decor. In the glass reflection, you notice Gun fondly looking at you.

"Hi," you smile, turning towards him. He looks more handsome than ever in the sunlight. You don't even mind the amount of gel in his hair.

"Hey," he says, low and hushed. He steps towards you, leaving only a hairbreadth of air in between and tips your chin up to face him with his fingers.

You notice his pupils are blown wide, flickering down to your lips. Gun dips down at the same time you press up onto your tiptoes, and you feel his chest against yours, his other arm winding around your waist, breath fanning over your skin-

This is it, you think, finally.

This, sadly, is not it.

"GUN!" you hear a voice screeching. You both tear your attention from each other to the shrill noise.

A blonde guy in the loudest suit you have ever cast your eyes upon is waving manically in your direction.

"Do you know him?" you ask and Gun's lips are thinner than you have ever seen.

"No."

"GUN!"  The blonde yells again and you raise an eyebrow at your companion.

His face looks pained as he tells you that is Goo Kim and when you ask if you both should go over and say hi, he snaps back absolutely not with a frown.

"Let's go," he says, lacing his fingers with yours and pulling you in the opposite direction. Behind you, you hear cackling and Gun hastens his footsteps as if being chased by a deranged spirit.

You don't see the blonde again for the rest of the day although Gun’s phone seems to be going off every other minute. 

The moment you had is never quite recaptured. You can't bring yourself to mind too much though, as Gun never lets go of your hand.

And everytime he catches you smiling at your hand in his, he gives you a light squeeze and returns the smile.

.

.

If you thought school would be all cutesy and you would take turns in helping each other with topics you're stuck on, you're wrong.

Turns out, both you and Gun are equally bad at math.

You watch, face blank, at your screen as the teacher explains algebra. At least, you think that’s what the jumble of numbers and letters are because your ears refuse to make sense of the words.

You search the monitor for Gun to see how well he is faring and find him staring dead-eyed.

Not very, then.

In class, you see Gun's textbook with some attempt at notes in the margin before devolving into his lewd stick men doodles that he still insists are fighting stances.

"You shouldn't cover your page in smut. No wonder you're bad at this." You tease.

He doesn't look at you, doesn't rise to the bait. Simply rebukes, "Your book is blank and you're still shit."

"Asshole," you hiss and his dead eyed stare is replaced with a smirk.

.

.

As it happens, Gun can be very convincing when he wants to be.

A fellow student trails behind Gun in the library, and offers to help you and him out with your lack of mathematical comprehension.

You ignore that the student seems absolutely terrified and keeps giving fearful glances to Gun as he peers at them menacingly.

So what if the convincing involves some light threats of bodily harm or whatever Gun has so charmingly offered if that means you will pass. Didn’t you already establish that you have questionable morals? You’re too set in your ways and there's no point fighting it now.

Neither of you get any further after a few hours, and it doesn't help that the student gets more and more nervous each time you and Gun get a question wrong.

Explanations devolve into stammering and barely strung together sentences as if their life depends on you both understanding basic algebra.

They let out a petrified squeak when Gun snaps his fifth pen in half, noticing he has no more pens and may very well come for their neck.

Maybe he will.

"Leave." Gun commands, pinching his nose bridge when he realises this is futile and the student scarpers off.

"I hate this," You say, dejected, and you watch Gun close his eyes and quietly count to ten.

.

.

As it happens, Gun can be very resourceful too when he wants to be.

The following week, the teacher trails behind Gun to the library and offers to help you both out.

He seems equally afraid, eyes flickering over to Gun, and you choose not to focus on that, instead smiling brightly at his kindness.

The teacher, gripping the textbook white knuckled, breathes a sigh of relief hours later when both you and Gun start to answer the questions correctly and with accurate workings too.

In your mind, you have both learnt something and he has avoided an ass kicking so you're all winners here.

Nevermind the fact that Gun would have been the one handing out the ass kicking. There's no need to focus on such details.

.

.

From this distance, you find a figure chain smoking again. You’re now so familiar with his body language, with his mannerisms, that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s Gun and clearly there’s also something playing on his mind.

He sucks a cigarette down to the filter and lights up another one immediately after.

You worry about the poor state of his lungs and if he looks like this when he’s only 20, then mid-life will actually hit him hard. His body must be running on fumes. He really should cut down on the cigarettes and the caffeine and get a better night's sleep instead of staying up all night gaming. 

Not that you’re one to talk.

Perhaps it’s due to how he’s on alert for your presence like you are to him, his eyes snap to yours the moment you start to make your way over.

“You ok?” you ask and he gives you a funny look. It’s the same look whenever you express interest in his well being, or any general interest in him at all, and you think poor guy.

“Fine,” he responds, finishing off another cigarette and flicking it onto the floor.

And another thing, he really shouldn’t litter.

You don’t hesitate to tell him so, and as your tongue unravels, you start to also mention the smoking and his health and how you’re worried about him. Yes he clearly works out but all the cigarettes and lack of sleep will take a toll on him eventually.

Gun’s eyebrows climb into his hairline at your words. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you notice that what was supposed to come across as caring is very much coming across as a lecture though you can’t seem to stop.

As you begin to mention the obscene amount of gel he wears in his hair, his expression turns from bemused to sour and he cuts you off.

“You can nag me at mine over Tekken.”

“I’m not nagging-” you start, and then you abruptly stop as your brain kicks into gear and it sinks in that he has invited you over to his again.

Oh right. His.

The junkyard. 

At some point, you’ve forgotten that you’re in love with the King of Raccoons. That this guy willingly lives in a shack in the middle of, what you can only politely describe as, garbage, and you wonder how your life has come to this.

Gun is patient as he waits for your answer and his eyes are warm. It doesn’t sway you though. You want to counter with No. Why don’t you come to mine then you remember his beautiful bed. Yes you’re getting ahead of yourself but if there’s a chance you get to experience it again, sure. You will come to his raccoon den.

You agree and he gives you the softest smile you have ever seen.

.

.

“Shit,” you say, crestfallen and hanging limply.

“Shouldn’t you be used to losing by now?” comes Gun’s voice and you want to bounce the controller off his head.

“Shut up.”

“Your combinations are weak and poorly timed. You don’t understand how to use your characters or their advantages and you have no idea how to counter my moves.”

As the killing blow to your ego and pride, he adds, "You won that time because I let you."

A part of you already knew that yet you still stare at him agape at his audacity. Sitting, manspreading, on his armchair while he casually assassinates your skills.

“I’m not wrong.” He says with a smirk.

“Shut up,” you repeat, standing up.

“I can train you.”

“Shut up,” you stalk over to him.

“Or what?” He sits back to look up at you as you hover over him. Chin lifted defiantly and his eyes daring.

“This,” you snap, gripping him by the front of his shirt and pulling him towards you. You’re sick of losing and you’re sick of waiting. 

You clash your lips together and feel Gun exhale sharply in surprise at your actions. He tenses, for a split second, before he tugs you into his lap and your legs straddle his thighs. His hand reaches under your top, sliding their way across your skin as you grind down. 

“Wait,” he murmurs, pulling away, lips glossy and gazing at you half-lidded. 

He leans back to look at you properly, removing his hand as you subconsciously chase his touch, then with gentle hands, he cups your face and grazes his thumb over your cheek.

The TV screen illuminates his features, light reflecting in his eyes and you find something you only saw an inkling of during that first night, but has grown strong and steady since.

Gun looks at you like he did then -  soft, like you might break. Holds you the same way he had done - tender and precious. 

Only this time, there’s a steeled resolve in his face as he presses your bodies together, capturing your lips against his once more and you melt into his embrace. He’s much more gentle than you were but there’s a hunger and quiet desperation as his tongue swipes over your lips and slips in your mouth.

Your fingers run through his hair, and you’re pleasantly surprised to find it soft. All this time there wasn’t too much gel at all.

.

.

Gun wakes up the next morning with you drooling into his collar bone.

You wake up after the best night sleep of your life - wrapped in Gun’s arms and in the most comfortable bed known to man.

[lenaellsi]

if you take "I can make a difference" at face value you simply must also consider "you're the bad guys.” like they are both vital aspects of aziraphale's decision. the problem is not just aziraphale's attempt to lead a corrupt system, it is also his continued belief in the superiority of heaven and angels over hell and demons. that's why crowley was so hurt. it's not just a miscommunication, or a disagreement on the practicalities of changing hearts and minds in heaven--it is a fundamental misunderstanding of morality and of crowley as a person. if crowley had asked aziraphale to come to hell to help fix it and protect the earth, he would not have gone. he says so. it’s not just about safety, or reform. it is about being Good.

and all of this happens because aziraphale is not just motivated by fear and love: he is also motivated by shame. he is insecure in his identity as an angel and a Good Guy, and both his alienation from heaven and his relationship with crowley have always aggravated this insecurity. it’s why shax’s mockery hit him so hard, and why he’s so susceptible to manipulation from the metatron. he desperately wants to be taken seriously and treated with respect and to have power and be an uncomplicated Good Guy, and that is just as much of a motivating factor in his decision as his desire to protect humanity and crowley.

and re: “appoint you to be an angel”: I know people want to insist that aziraphale has never wanted to change anything about crowley, but I’m sorry, I just don’t think that’s true. over and over in season 2 aziraphale demonstrates a desire to sand the rough edges off people and things for the sake of the Greater Good, without consideration for the free will or complex emotions of others. obviously this tendency culminates in the ball, where he exerts control over all of the humans to make everything perfect for maggie and nina, and in doing so, infringes on their autonomy and nina’s (crowley’s narrative mirror!) capacity to feel her own anger and sadness. and he has never liked that crowley is a demon. in his mind, the problem has always been that crowley was put in the wrong category, not that the entire system of dividing people and angels into Good and Bad is ridiculous. that’s the exact lesson he needs to learn.

and yes, his intentions are good, absolutely. I don’t think aziraphale ever acts out of malice, and I do think he genuinely wants the best for the people around him, particularly crowley. after all, if crowley is accepted as an angel again, as aziraphale has always secretly considered him to be, their relationship can (in his mind) finally stop being so fraught with danger and conflict. (the other side of that, of course, is that aziraphale can also stop being so ashamed for loving someone who is supposed to be Bad, and everything in his life will make sense again, the way it hasn’t since he met that star maker who got so upset about god’s plan.)

but that’s not who crowley is, and it never has been. even before he fell, crowley’s recklessness and relentless questions made aziraphale uncomfortable. their relationship has never been safe or easy, and in wanting to make it so, aziraphale is demonstrating a desire to change the parts of crowley that led to his fall, whether he intends to or not.

I’m rambling, but the point is: the insistence on reframing this moment as a purely selfless, calculated, self-sacrificing decision by aziraphale to protect crowley and the world ignores the uglier parts of the things he said in order to make their eventual reconciliation less complicated, and it’s really frustrating to me. crowley is in fact right to be upset by what he said, and it’s not just a misunderstanding that can be fixed with aziraphale saying “I was only trying to protect you!” and another kiss. it’s a culmination of all of the double think aziraphale has been doing in order to preserve his vision of heaven as The Source Of Truth And Light And Good since before the beginning of time, and it’s time for him to finally unpack it.

(and because every post on the final fifteen needs a disclaimer: aziraphale is trying his best and has an incredible amount of love in his heart and wants so badly to do good and ALSO the things he says, does, and believes can be incredibly hurtful and destructive. all of these things can be true.)

[writersblockedx]

Sparks

Pairing - Jeremiah Fisher x Fem!Reader Summary - Jeremiah goes to you for everything, and when you give him a vital piece of love advice, it dawns on him that he is, in fact, in love with you. Warnings - None? Slight mention of underage drinking. Words - 2K

Masterlist

As was common, Jeremiah was at a loss for his several hookups. And, as was even more common, he went to you to debrief and to ask for advice. While he had hookups and situation-ships way more than you did (or anyone in Cousins for that matter), he struggled with how to manage them. At least he did until he started asking you for advice.

He threw himself onto your bed, forcing you to shut the book you had been deep inside. There, staring up at the ceiling, he let out a huff. "What, or should I say who, is it this time?" You raised your brow at him, watching as Jere's wide pupils stared up to the ceiling as if he were replaying some memory over and over.

"Luke." He let the name out in a sigh. "And, And!" He suddenly added as if he had almost forgotten in his daydreaming gaze, "Abi."

He finally sat up, staring at you with them puppy eyes you could never resist. "Two?" You questioned.

"Yes." He said, barely embarrassed by such fact; at this point, it was to be expected. "Reframe from any criticism please."

"I'm not gonna criticise you, Jere." You told him, a sweet smile gracing your lips. "If anything, I don't see what the problem is here."

He took a second before shrugging, "I just- I feel wrong, you know? Guilty." He explained. "Like I'm going behind their backs."

"Okay then, well you either need to tell them both the truth or pick one."

Jeremiah thought about the options for a moment and ran both scenarios through his head until making his decision. "I have to pick one." He said before looking at you, uncertain, "Right?"

"If that's what you want." You comforted him.

At that, he let himself fall once more. This time, right into your lap as he made a dramatic sigh as if this decision was a life-changing one. "What if I don't know what I want?" He questioned, gazing up at you, his sea-blue eyes catching you into his trap.

You let a sniffle of a laugh as you looked down at him, "Oh, trust me Jere, you've no idea what you want. But, that's okay too, sometimes you have to experiment with different people until you know what you want." You went on.

That seemed to spark another question for him, one of which wouldn't leave his head for the next few weeks: "How do I know? Like, how do I know that this is someone who I want a relationship with? A proper relationship, not just a hookup."

For that, you needed to think. As much as you gave Jereimah advice after advice, that was a question he had never asked. "I suppose it has to be someone you feel that spark with. But not just a sexual spark." As you were certain Jere sometimes mistook it for. "A spark that reaches to a deeper, emotional level. Where you feel safe but excited at the same time. A balance, I guess." That was what you assumed anyway. You hadn't had many successful relationships yourself.

But your words had seemed to prompt something for Jere. His eyes washed away, his mind sucking him into his thoughts. Until, after a long moment, he sat back up and with furrowed brows, asked, "How do you know all this? It's not as if you're happily married."

"No need to remind me." You giggled, slapping the side of his forearm.

Of which he chuckled at and defended himself, "I'm serious! You talk all this wise shit and can't even get yourself a date."

You could have scoffed, "I can get myself a date, thank you."

"Really? When was the last time you went on one?"

Then you did scoff, grasping the pillow from behind you and chucking it at Jeremiah's head, only erupting more laughter from the both of you. "You are so rude!"

Only once your mini pillow fight died down and Jeremiah returned home, did that question take over his whole mind. He strolled into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of milk as he thought over it: how did he know? The only time he felt a spark that wasn't sexual- well, he couldn't quite remember. Everything you had described, the safety but excitement, the emotional connection (and the sexual), well the only person he could ever even suggest he had felt that for was you.

"What's up with you?" His brother's voice broke him from the glare he had been giving the countertop.

His eyes widened, "Huh?"

Conrad and Belly, who had been trailing behind him, both giggled. "You're just a bit...out of it, you know?"

"Thinking."

"That's a first." Conrad laughed.

Jeremiah snapped, "Hey!"

"Go on then," Belly pushed, "What is it you're thinking about?"

The boy sighed, replaying your words once more. "A spark."

"Why's a hookup causing you an existential crisis?" Questioned Conrad, watching his brother in such a focused state that it was becoming a concern.

"It's not a hookup." Jere admitted. "It's Y/n."

Suddenly, that name peaked Belly's interest. She leaned closing, placing her elbows on the kitchen island as she watched the boy carefully, "What about her?" She prompted.

"I went to her for advice, as I always do, and now I can't get it out of my head. She was explaining how for love, you need a spark, an emotional connection, safety..." He stopped there, ever so stunned by his recent realisation.

"And?" Belly pushed on, one brow raised.

Jeremiah sucked in a breath, not making eye contact with either of them as he said, "She basically just described everything I feel for her."

He looked at his brother and his best friend. It was silent. At least for a moment as he took in their unreadable expressions; were they stunned? Embarrassed? Futile? Then, breaking the silence came Conrad's laugh. "You have a crush on Y/n, great." He shook his head. "It took you long enough."

Jere's brows instantly furrowed as he straightened his back, "What? How did you-" He couldn't get his words out.

Conrad looked to Belly, "Come on, back me up. It was obvious."

Jeremiah looked to his friend and Belly could only shrug. "It sort of was." She agreed. "But, now you know, you can ask her out!" Excitement was painted on her words. Belly had been waiting for this for almost longer than yourself.

"I can't do that. She's- She's Y/n. She's my best friend. It'd be weird." The idea was so foreign that it was unbelievable.

"She's your best friend who you're in love with!" Belly argued. "Think about it, please."

With that, she and Conrad left Jeremiah to his thoughts. Once more, you never left his mind. He had been trapped.

For weeks, it was all he could think about. He'd gaze across the other side of the pool at you. Shades covering your eyes as you bathed in the sunlight. There he was daydreaming of everything you would do as a couple. Granted, it was pretty much the same as how things were now, only littered with kisses and hugs and greater smiles than either of you had ever made before.

It came to the point where he was just bursting to tell you. But he waited. He had to wait until the right moment. He couldn't do it by the pool, with Steven and Belly watching. He would wait for the perfect moment. And when the group of you arrived at a local party, he knew maybe tonight would be the night.

A few drinks down, he caught you by yourself. You had wandered to the backyard, sitting on the stairs that led to the porch. He lingered by the patio door, watching you as you sat alone for a moment. Your curious expression was emphasised by the fairy lights which tangled over the wooden fencing, flashing pinks and purples across your cheeks.

You didn't even know Jeremiah was there until he came and sat next to you, your shoulders nudged up against the others. "Enjoying the party?" A smooth smile hung from his lips as he grasped the red solo cup in his hand.

You nodded and glanced over at him, "Yeah, yeah, just needed a break." You excused.

Jere smiled, looking back through the patio doors and the booming party he could still overhear. "That's understandable." He gazed back at you and fell, once more, into your eyes.

"What about you?" You nudged his shoulder playfully. "You're never one to miss a moment from a party. Shouldn't you be looking for Luke? Or, or Abi!" You spat out their names as they flooded back into your memory. You had lost count of all the people Jere had hooked up with.

His smile faulted at the mention of their names, "Erm, no, no. I actually ended things with both of them." He admitted.

"Oh, why?" You raised a brow. "Ended up telling them the truth?"

"No, no." He answered before he looked to the ground, licked his lips and questioned if this was the moment. Something in his mind said fuck it, and he did. "But it was actually because of something you said." Jeremiah couldn't tear his eyes away from you as that curiosity built on your expression once again. "When you were explaining it to me, everything that love made you feel, all the sparks and the connections. That you should feel safe with them but it should be exciting all the same. Well," He took a breath and ran with it. "You're the only person that makes me feel that way."

The air soon became thick with Jeremiah's words as they floated around your mind. This was Jere, your friend, your best friend. The one who had talked non-stop about her and him all while you were nothing but a bystander. Yet, here you were, sitting away from the party the boy was usually the centre of as he professed his love. And you could never deny your feelings in that it wasn't reciprocated.

This time, it was your turn to look to the ground, lick your lips and say: Fuck it. "Jere, I can't deny that you aren't utterly brilliant. I mean, you're incredibly beautiful, and you know it. You're charming and comedic, you bring a room to life. And I love being at your side for all of that, I want to be there in the future too." You took a breath, wondering if your next words were about to ruin that smile that was glued to his lips. "But, it's because I want that, that I want to be your friend. Just your friend." Like that, the smile dissipated. "I can't be some other hookup that you start complaining about because they get too attached, or too clingy. I won't let that be me."

He jumped to take your hands in his. What used to be a simple gesture between the two of you, had suddenly become complicated and you questioned if you should let go. "That's not what you are to me. I would have already tried that on you if that was what I wanted, trust me." He admitted. "This isn't me asking you to kiss me, or to have sex with me or whatever I do nowadays. I'm sat here asking you to be my girlfriend."

The word had been said. It was in the air and it was up to you what you did with it.

And so, you tightened your grip on his fingers and said, "I want you Jere and I trust that you want me to." From there, you leaned in before he could respond, securing a yes with a kiss.

[rafesveryrealgf]

Lavender Sunflower - Inseparable pt.2

a/n: a couple of people asked for a part 2 to Inseparable … sooo yk I had to deliver!! This is short but anyway.. I wanted a happy ending this time

Warnings: none I think!! Just a little bit of fluff

“Rafe.. he’ll be okay.”

You placed a reassuring hand to his thigh as he drove away from Topper’s house.

He nodded, keeping one hand on the steering wheel as his other arm rested against the car door, refusing to make eye contact with you, knowing he’d break down if he did.

Rafe had a soft spot for two things — that was it. You being one and the other being his babies. He hated seeing Nathan like that, and he felt bad for leaving his best friend and girlfriend to deal with it. You and Rafe both knew they didn’t mind it but Rafe didn’t care. He still felt like shit leaving his son.

“Yeah,” he replied softly.

Although he knew he was a better father than his dad ever was to him, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering — Wondering if maybe he was a shitty dad for not talking to his son longer than he did, for not attempting to soothe Nathan’s mind a little bit more before leaving. Or maybe even just holding him in his arms for a few more minutes just so Nathan knew Rafe truly didn’t want to leave him, just as much as he didn’t want Rafe to leave.

You reframed from replying, you just patted his thigh and gave it a tiny reassuring squeeze to silently let him know he can talk to you when he’s ready.

The doctors appointment went by smoothly, not many questions were asked considering it was your third pregnancy — you felt like a pro at this point.

And on the way to Topper’s house — to pick up the boys, you thought about Nathan and how he probably got over his tantrum fairly quickly after you both left. You could tell Rafe wasn’t thinking the same though.

“We should take the boys to do something later, the park, maybe?” You suggested, hoping Rafe would finally talk in full sentences now that he’s had time to ease his mind a little.

He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by your suggestion. “Uh, yeah.” He replied. “We should probably get Nathan some ice cream too for the inconvenience.” He joked.

You laughed at that and nodded, but didn’t say anything, you were just happy that he seemed to have stopped beating himself up so much.

He briefly looked away from the road and onto you, taking in your beautiful, pregnant figure — he gave you a slight grin before speaking again. “You’re so beautiful, baby.” He placed his hand on your inner thigh, now looking back at the road.

“You’re so random,” You laughed at his spontaneous words. “..But thank you, baby.” Your arm was now extended as you slowly slid your hand up his arm, eventually reaching around to the back of his neck.

Rafe soon pulled into Topper’s driveway and began to walk around the car to let you out of the passenger seat. You couldn’t lie, you felt a bit rushed, but you knew he was just happy to get inside — curious to see if his son had forgotten all about his meltdown.

Neither of you cared to knock this time, knowing Topper nor Alex cared.

As soon as you made your way inside, there sat Nathan, on the floor, playing with Kai — whilst Alex and Topper sat on the couch, watching them play. Nathan immediately turned his attention over to the front door. His face lit up when he saw you and Rafe — jumping instantly to his feet to run over to you both.

Rafe extended his arms out to his son and bent down, with a big toothy smile. “Hi, buddy. Missed you so much while we were gone.”

Alex and Topper watched from the couch with smiles on their faces. Nathan’s arms wrapped around Rafe’s neck as Rafe’s arms wrapped around Nathan’s waist, lifting him up. “I missed you, daddy.” He rested his head on Rafe’s shoulder.

“Hey! what about me?” You frowned, jokingly, placing your hands on your hips.

He lifted his head up and gave a big grin. “Missed you too, mommy.” He then extended his arms out towards you, taking you a little by surprise, but you instantly pulled him into a hug once Rafe let go of him and made his way over to his other son.

Kai was in his own little world, not caring much about what was going on around him, as per usual.

“We gave Nathan a little talk, yeah?” Topper said with a grin across his face as he stood from the couch and made his way over to you.

Nathan nodded quickly against the crook of your neck. “Uh-huh.” He replied.

Alex finally stood up a few seconds after and began walking towards you and Topper. “Well.. what did we talk about, Nate?”

Rafe was now in Kai’s world, sitting on the living room floor, playing with him — not listening to the conversation going on by the front door.

He removed his head from your neck to look at you before speaking. “That I should be nicer…because…you go through a lot with…” he was struggling to remember the entire conversation so he attempted to stick with the main point. “…The baby…and that I shouldn’t give daddy a hard time when he leaves,”

You looked over to Topper and Alex, silently thanking them for what they had done.

You rubbed Nathan’s back with a small smile, trying to hold back tears. “I love you, buddy.”

If you had said any more to him, the waterworks would have came flooding due to your hormones, so you stuck with those four words.

Rafe finally acknowledged the conversation, picking up Kai and making his way over to everyone. “What’s up?”

“You just missed the cutest thing ever, that’s what’s up.” You reframed from telling him everything, wanting to wait until you got back in the car so you could both talk to Nathan some more about it.

When you and Rafe were on your way out you thanked Alex and Topper once more. They truly had no idea how thankful you were they talked to Nathan. Truthfully if they hadn’t, no one would’ve. Rafe would never admit it, but his biggest fear was becoming his father so leaving the disciplining to you was something he did quite a bit. You loved Rafe for not being anything like his dad, but it came with a downside too. You couldn’t fully blame him for the way he was, but you already planned on having a talk about it when you both got home.

[mxtxfanatic]

Why do people call the fight in the cave staged? It seemed pretty genuine to me Jiang Cheng stabbed Wei WuXian.

Folks call it staged because they are conflating two separate definitions of "staged:" one being to fake something and the other being to plan something. The narration says that the duel was "arranged" not "staged," so it was planned but not faked. There are also a lot of moving parts in that scene that are missed by just calling it a "staged" fight.

Wei WuXian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects the YunmengJiang Sect in the future.” Or else, he really couldn’t make any guarantees on what he’d do in the future. “...” Jiang Cheng murmured, “My mom said that you do nothing but bring our sect trouble. It’s true indeed.” He laughed coldly, talking to himself, “‘To attempt the impossible’? Fine. You understand the YunmengJiang Sect’s motto. Better than I do. Better than all of us do.” He sheathed Sandu. The sword returned to its sheath with a clang. Jiang Cheng’s tone was indifferent, “Then let’s arrange for a duel.” Three days later, the leader of the YunmengJiang Sect, Jiang Cheng, arranged for a duel with Wei WuXian. They fought quite a fight in Yiling. Negotiations failed. Both resorted to violence. Under Wei WuXian’s command, the fierce corpse Wen Ning struck Jiang Cheng once, breaking one of his arms. Jiang Cheng stabbed Wei WuXian once. Both sides suffered losses. Each spat out a mouthful of blood and left cursing the other. They had finally fallen out with each other. After the fight, Jiang Cheng told the outside that Wei WuXian defected from the sect and was an enemy to the entire cultivation world. The YunmengJiang Sect had already cast him out. From then on, no ties remained between them —a clear line was drawn. Henceforth, no matter what he did, they’d have nothing to do with the YunmengJiang Sect!

—Chapt. 73: Recklessness, exr

Focus your attention on the "Three days later..." paragraph and onwards: everything above that paragraph is a live retelling of Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's meeting in the Burial Mounds. Everything from there after is a zoomed-out retelling from the perspective of an outsider gossiping or relaying a story. How do we know that? Well, that second half of this excerpt rehashes what we've already seen from the first half, except in a very misleading light, as if the narrator is someone who didn't actually witness it, despite the narrator above that section being privy to how, exactly, the two men settled on a duel. We are also missing details that are filled in by the narration later on, such as the fact that Wei Wuxian was not merely "stabbed;" he was gutted with his insides spilling out, something that an outsider could not have known due to there being no witnesses nor would Jiang Cheng likely tell the details, thus it is omitted. The narration at this part feels "staged" because that is how Jiang Cheng presented it to the other clans to show that he would no longer be responsible for Wei Wuxian's actions.

Now let's see the first half of the excerpt: Wei Wuxian is the one who says they should just go their separate ways. Jiang Cheng reframes this as they must duel. The fact that nobody else but those two (if we are not counting the unconscious Wen Ning) witness the duel as shown by the abrupt switch in narration style suggests that the duel was not actually necessary to the defection, as Jiang Cheng could have just lied about it if need be. But Jiang Cheng wanted to get his aggression out on Wei Wuxian one last time for this "betrayal." Upset that Wei Wuxian is a better man that he would ever be willing to be, Jiang Cheng proposes the duel and then guts Wei Wuxian during it.

Thus, while the duel was definitely a planned event, it was in no way fake, nor was the intention of arranging one to be so that Jiang Cheng could "fake" cutting ties with Wei Wuxian. His resentment during the conversation was real. His aggression during their duel was real. Jiang Cheng meant that stab and shows no regrets for having done it.

[sepublic]

And can I also add what a relief it was that when they did the finale, the writers didn’t go the easy route and reframe Luz’s story as just an extension/resolution of the Wittebanes’? They specified it was her story, that Luz had her own wholly independent narrative and life starting with her parents that sometimes intersected with those white guys’, but in the end they were here to serve Luz’s narrative, not the other way around!

And having her meet the Titan instead of a Caleb flashback makes so much more sense because that’s her fellow MC’s father, that’s the setting, that’s a character Luz has been learning from since S1! And by emphasizing the Titan as existing well before the Wittebanes, and the conflict with the intergalactic Archivists, it just reiterates that there’s so much more to this world and story than those white guys.

This is relevant when one of them believes it’s all about him, only for Luz to say with silence she’s not here for him, wants nothing to do with him! Especially when you remember how the first special of S3 had two students talk to Luz and dismiss the constant focus on crusty white guys and suggest a focus on women instead. How nice is it to say that while those white dudes factor on some level into her story, that Luz can be fully appreciated and complete without them!

Like sorry Hunter didn’t really play a role in this finale but this isn’t about him, and given the fandom’s obnoxious obsession with those Wittebanes (this includes Hunter, he’s still related too), it’s refreshing to say the least. Because Wittebane fans like to treat Luz as just another Evelyn, a female character meant to show their white boy the way; They push for Lunter so they can talk about parallels to those white colonizers while ignoring and devaluing Willow over that cardboard cutout. Luz and Hunter intersect but in the end they’re not that important to each other, Luz’s arc works without Hunter!!!

And I’m grateful S3 was about Luz’s relationship with her actual parents and friends who she knows and cares about, not these dead white people. She’s not just here to discuss Caleb or Evelyn’s baggage, Luz doesn’t need to be Evelyn when Edalyn is there and takes over during that white guy’s death scene! Like it’s just SO good that Luz can maintain this independence and distance and even choose it on an in-universe level.

[flightfoot]

Honestly i would say the backlash is more due to how the fandom (more especifically the saltdom) built this image of Marinette being this saintly figure who is so mistreated by everybody in the show while the rest get relegated either into her sheep or her enemies So seeing her making this decision seems like the perfect opportunity to turn the tables and knock off the pedestal so many people put her in.

And trust me, I also get annoyed at people who act like Marinette is this flawless character no never does anything wrong, but there's better ways to criticize her character and call out the people who do so guys.

Eh... that might be a factor, but I think it's a minor one. I'm seeing these complaints even in places that haven't been continually swamped with Chameleon salt (also did people think the Chameleon salt ever went away? It's still popular on AO3), like on reddit.

I don't think most of the calling out of Marinette's character and her decisions is just to even the scales or anything like that. The complaints I've seen are legitimate, even if I think the vitriol is sometimes a little too much.

Chat Noir HAS emphasized since Season 2, with Syren, that he wants to be brought into the loop on information. Ladybug HAS repeatedly kept things from him that she should have told him about, like that she told someone else her identity, and that she gave Rena Rouge her Miraculous fulltime and was having her help them secretly. She HAS lied to Chat Noir before in order to manipulate him into unknowingly giving his identity away to a third party. Not out of malice towards him, but because she was afraid that he would make a decision that could lead to Su Han taking his Miraculous away. But still taking that decision, and the capacity to know that there WAS a decision, out of his hands.

And then in the finale, she told him a major lie, because she was afraid of how he'd react to the truth. Not out of malice, mind you, but it's still taking away the ability to decide how to feel for himself. And with the lie she told, she ended up having the same effect as gaslighting on him (reframing the horrible way Gabriel's been treating him lately, that Adrien had identified as being horrible, as being either not Gabriel's fault or actively being evidence of Gabriel being a good father), whether or not you think that Marinette's positive intentions with her lie takes it out of that category.

These ARE legitimate complaints, and not trying to just like, do to Marinette what the Chameleon saltdom tried to do to Adrien and Alya (especially Alya, that girl has been dragged through so much racist bullshit). The criticism I've seen because of this is based in some sort of recognizable form of reality. There's a lot of negativity towards Marinette, but it's not absurd.

[david-talks-sw]

George Lucas & Karen Traviss' visions of Star Wars are NOT the same...

So whenever I come across this image:

I keep in mind that it's from a book written by Karen Traviss, who is a brilliant author (I adored Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines and Sacrifice) but whose stance on Anakin, Yoda & the Jedi and Star Wars morality is this:

As opposed to George Lucas' stance on Anakin, Yoda & the Jedi and Star Wars' morality, which is this:

In a children's story about Light and Dark, good and evil, selflessness vs selfishness, George Lucas marks the Empire as absolutely evil and the Rebels as absolutely good, in the Original Trilogy.

In the Prequels, the situation is more complex (the Jedi are drafted into a war and forced to do things they know they shouldn't be doing, but have to for the greater good; the Sith bring about order to a corrupt government) but the morality stays the same... the selfish, greedy Sith are absolutely evil and the selfless, compassionate Jedi are absolutely good.

That's George's thesis.

And, as a character, Yoda's function is to deliver that thesis. It's no wonder why Lucas treats Yoda's words as absolutely correct:

Yoda is Lucas' mouthpiece in the Prequels, his self-insert.

George Lucas' narrative frames Yoda as objectively right.

So when Karen Traviss questions the Jedi, particularly Yoda's character and wisdom, she's disagreeing with George Lucas' thesis.

Which is fair. Traviss, is a different person than Lucas, she's an ex-journalist with a more "grey" view of the world and a different philosophy re: fiction aimed at children. "Death of the author" and all that. Again, fair enough.

And if you like Travis' interpretation and philosophy more than George's, if her read resonates with you more... also fair enough.

But the EU is not a reliable source on Lucas' vision.

I've talked about this in MUCH more detail here, but if you do care about George Lucas' vision, then maybe don't draw from the Expanded Universe, which includes content written by authors who expressly disagree with him, like Traviss.

Sounds logical, but for some reason people will read the above-posted Dooku quote and treat it as reflective of Lucas' vision, when it's not the case.

George Lucas' Dooku doesn't have an issue with Yoda or the Jedi (at least not openly, as Darth Tyranus, the Sith Lord he wants them all dead). Dooku's issue is with the Senate and the Republic.

George Lucas specifically added that most Jedi share Dooku's concerns. Before he's revealed to be a mass-murdering, Sith who enslaves neutral systems, the Jedi think he makes a good point and are even reluctant to consider him a murder suspect.

But let's not start saying that Lucas' Prequels are meant to be about "the Jedi's failure" and "Dooku being right that the Jedi are corrupt.

Because that's not the case.

If that's how you see them, great. It's certainly how Traviss saw them. To each their own, authorial intent be damned.

But it's not what they were about, to Lucas. Stating the contrary is... I dunno, lying? Rewriting history?

It's as if I got hired to write a Lord of the Rings prequel seen from Gandalf's POV. And y'know what, maybe I don't like Gandalf. So I write him as a scheming asshole going “myahahahah, fuck hobbits! I’m gonna let them keep the One Ring so a bunch Nazgûl will swoop through the Shire and murder them!” and suddenly, everyone starts writing posts about the notion that “Growing up is realizing that Tolkien always intended for Gandalf to be the secret villain of LOTR!” as if that had always been the case and I didn't just reframe him that way retroactively.

Finally, I'd also encourage you to read @rendar-writes' well-made point here about the fact that, while claiming she "doesn't give the answers", Traviss nonetheless shows a clear anti-Jedi bias.

[aho-dapa]

Tbh there's something about the way Ichigo, Kisuke, and Sōsuke are all reflecting off of each other in canon

Like this is sooooo influenced by my random uraichizen thoughts but

Like, considering Kisuke's Bodhisattva allegory with Guanyin/Kannon and his knowledge of the world, the idea that he preserves the status quo of the worlds by not actively doing anything in comparison to Sōsuke (from what we can see). He is a Bodhisattva in this sense. He's seen the truth, he teaches others the truth or hints at it because true Enlightenment can only be with the self. But.

Then there's the actual consequence of SS and what shinigami have to do to maintain the balance. Kisuke opposes Sōsuke and his views not because he believes it's right, but because he believes that the destruction of the worlds is not acceptable. It's a necessary evil.

Sōsuke has an ego with him wanting to become God, but there's also something almost tragic about his arc with reframing it from his perspective of Soul Society.

Soul Society is not a good place. Honestly horrible to live in. Especially when we find out that they sacrifice souls to hollows and vice versa in the name of balance.

Tbh, I ended up asking myself, from this viewpoint, is the Soul Society really worth protecting? Because it's goal is not about protecting people, but protecting the balance. Can the shinigami claim ignorance? Should they even be allowed to when they are complicit in destruction of lives? What would 'life' actually be considered in this universe? Do hollows deserve life as humans do? Except the SS ultimately sees both as a means to an end, hollows are just more of an obstacle.

Effwctively, shinigami are content sleeping on a bed of ground bones. I can see Sōsuke thinking this from a biased perspective.

But he's also not some savior either. He's arrogant and has a callousness to him that conflicts with this more sympathetic view of him.

His anger at Kisuke for knowing the truth of the world and not trying to change it seems genuine. There's an air of hypocrisy to his character I can't shake and it makes me wanna know more about why. Like the question of the greater evil vs the lesser evil.

Except Ichigo. He steps forward, finally knowing himself in full, to defeat Sōsuke, to defeat Yhwach, yet I can't help but feel like he's still so ignorant of the world he lives in. If he learned about their horrors, could he truly stand by in shadows waiting as Kisuke does, or would he become like another Sōsuke, for whatever reason. Or would he become a different path?

Sōsuke is also related to illusion and water, a reflection. We never see his bankai and I would even go so far as to think that he own powers don't work as they do in canon. There's still too many unknowns about him for me to be confident in them. But Ichigo’s own insights about Sōsuke's loneliness is just... it's so tempting to build off of that.

Because those feelings are likely a reflection of Ichigo from when he was a young age and his own confusing powers may have brought only more loneliness instead of understanding or connection.

I can't help but think that Kisuke represents Stagnation and Sōsuke represents Progess. Except poth come with an unsavory taste in the mouth. Kisuke waits, likely works towards a goal, bit it's far too slow for the people that have already suffered because of the world. Sōsuke steps forward, also hiding until he's sure of his strike, and he probably would have won if not for Ichigo. What is Ichigo then?

The only part of the Soul King that's named is his heart, which can bring about miracles, things unexplained due to emotions and desires. It acts similar to the Hōgyoku. Ichigo speculates that Sōsuke may have actually wanted to lose to him and that's... also a lot of implication about Sōsuke's character. There's also the idea that Sōsuke may have built Ichigo up. To what? Defeat him? Stand by his side? To make him less lonely? Or are these Ichigo’s unreliable feelings, are they simply Ichigo’s own reflected onto Sōsuke?

Both of Kisuke and Sōsuke's plans and views come with a price. And Ichigo remains ignorant, but he stills fights for everyone to not pay that price, even his enemies.

In a way, it's like Sōsuke decided to pay a huge price upfront to pay back later, Kisuke is frugal and making sure to balance everything while moving forward but that means people can't attain true wealth within their lifetime. Yhwach decided to destroy the concept itself despite that it means everyone will then have to pay that price.

Ichigo, is just, bursting through all of that. But he's also only one person. And idk, that feels important to how change must be made collectively when it's about a whole society. All Ichigo does is step forward, with other people, like the beginning of a wave.

Like, this is the end of the post but SŌSUKE AND KANAME??????? That alone needs a whole thesis and how it informs both of their characters since the only person Sōsuke actually trusts out of everyone is Kaname

[kathleenkatmary]

I remember back when episode 4 aired, the way people were interpreting that moment between Agatha and Rio that screeches to a halt when Rio tells her "that boy isn't yours" was that Agatha actually thought Billy might be Nicky, that Rio was giving Agatha her son back, that her seemingly sudden openness to Rio was because of that and then her walking away was because Rio shattered that idea.

But I think it's pretty clear from what we got in the finale that this probably isn't the case. I really don't think that Agatha ever actually thought that Billy was Nicky. She might have had a little irrational flicker of "maybe" in her mind, but it does seem that from the moment she saw that door to the Road appear that she was pretty sure it was Billy, even if she wasn't 100% certain.

So I think that really reframes what was happening between Agatha and Rio in episode 4, and in that moment in particular. It wasn't that she thought that Rio was making amends by bringing Nicky back, it was that even though she knew it almost certainly wasn't Nicky and that as such none of what Rio had done that she was so upset about had changed. It was the fact that the situation, walking the road with this kid (that she'd already had some interaction/connection with), teaching him magic, felt familiar enough that she could sort of imagine. It wasn't her son, it wasn't the road they'd walked in their trials, but it was close enough that, probably without her even realizing it, she allowed herself to slip into this sort of fantasy mindset of what things could have looked like for her if it all hadn't happened the way it did. A headspace that maybe alleviated the pain, temporarily, just enough for her to let her emotional guard down with Rio for a while. To maybe not necessarily forget her pain and anger, but to put her mind back into a space and time when she didn't feel it.

So when Rio said "that boy isn't yours" and Agatha sort of snapped back to her anger and her walls slammed back up, it was because Rio saying that was like her saying "I can see what you're doing". Having the little fantasy she probably didn't even know she was leaning into so much called to attention by Rio shattered that mindset she'd been able to get into that allowed her to let her walls down a bit. And it probably embarrassed her a bit, having Rio see so easily what was going on in her head.

And I think that it's really interesting that Rio saw what Agatha was doing, and even though it was the first time during the whole thing, and probably in centuries, that Agatha started to let her in at all, she shut it down. That's something that episode 8 kind of reframes, too. Because we see in episode 8 that this whole thing, Rio's continued pursuit of Agatha, is just because she loves Agatha, and she wants Agatha to want her again. She almost had that, could have had that, during episode 4. Agatha was finally letting her in. But she shut it down, because it wasn't real, and it wasn't good for Agatha. She didn't want her that way.

I just think that's so interesting, and helps to create such an interesting dynamic between them, that Rio wants Agatha so badly that she pursued her for centuries, sicced the Salem Seven on her, waited for her at the end of the road to torture her, but when this moment came where she could have maybe had her, she didn't take it because she didn't want her that way.

I feel like it also maybe comes from the way Rio sees what happened with Nicky. I think her reaction when Agatha calls her evil when casting the protection spell says a lot about this. She seems offended and even upset that Agatha thinks she's evil, and she knows that Agatha thinks she did something wrong in taking Nicky. I also think the expression that she makes when Agatha says that she gave her nothing, only took, says a lot. It bothers and confuses her that Agatha thinks that because she knows it's not true, she knows that death is just the natural order of things and that she doesn't choose to take anyone, it just happens. So I feel like when you take that with the fact that she did shut down Agatha in that moment, it speaks to the possibility that it's not just that she wants Agatha, but that she doesn't want Agatha to think those things about her. She doesn't want Agatha to think that she did anything wrong in taking Nicky. If Agatha will only be with her when she's in a situation that's put her in this headspace where she's viewing the situation as "fixed" or where her feelings about the blame she's placed on Rio are simply being stifled, then Rio doesn't want that. She wants the reason that Agatha wants her back to be because she recognizes and accepts that Rio didn't do anything wrong.

And I think a part of that does come from what an act of love, in Rio's eyes, giving Agatha more time with Nicky was. As Death, Rio is just a part of nature. She doesn't get to choose when people die how they die, or whether or not she gets to take them. It just happens. She tells Agatha that no other person in history has received special treatment, so she obviously saw bending the rules like she did as an act of love. So to have Agatha turn the whole thing around as some terrible thing that she chose to do probably hurt Rio a lot, and continues to hurt her.

So I think it would make a lot of sense that Rio wouldn't want Agatha in the way it would have happened in episode 4. She wants Agatha to recognize that she didn't do anything wrong and that what she did was an act of love, even if it was a miscalculation.

Which is something that I think adds a really interesting layer to Rio's character and to her dynamic with Agatha.

[thekingofwinterblog]

To me the best sign of the fact that MHA kinda went down hill in the second half is that all the stupid, delusional, trolltheories not coming true... Is disapointing.

Because of course AFO being Deku's dad would be stupid and cliche and contrived - of course introducing time travel to make the "Bak U Go" theorie work would be parody levels of crazy, even Eri turning Shigaraki back into a child Tenko would be an obvious asspull to fix a difficult situation in the most deus ex machina way.

But in retrospect, compared to what we got, that all would be more satisfieng. Cause thats the problem - the real thing we got was just boring, so nothing, just a wimper that seemingly went out of its way to be as unfulfilling as possible.

And the final chapter is the culmination - ofcourse shipping all the charachters together just for the hell of it and giving them kids is self indulgent and formulaic - yet atleast that would give something, make people debate about wacky relationships that make no sense or whatever - but this "wow everyone just went on, vaguely continuing their one dimmensional arcs, solving racism etc" Hell, even just making quirks disapear would be cool, especially if heros lived on, showing that truely being a hero doesnt mean having a flashy power but doing the right thing, with the costumes being reframed from stupid consumer crap into a comitment to do whats right no mater how one looks

One of my buddies descrived the MHA ending as a "no risk one", and honestly, he is absolutely right.

The BIG problem with the final chapter, the reason i describe it time and again as a "Nothing ending" is that it is painfully afraid of committing to ANYTHING as far as how the heroes ended up.

Izuku endes up in a bad outcome ending, where ended up quirkless, and became a teacher at Yuei? Okay, that could work just fine, so long as you emphasise both his regrets but also how much he is fullfilled at his new school... Whatsthat? We never really get a sense that he truly does have regrets? Also we get only the briefest of glimpses into his life as a teacher?

Okay, so who did he end up with? Showing Izuku's partner and maybe q kid or two would go a long way to show that Izuku did not end up like All Might, a man who sacrificed any chance of a normal human companionship to a frankly unhealthy degree the manga critiqued. Also wheter or not he ultimately ended up eith her, Uraraka confessing her feelings is ctitical to her character arc ending on a high note, so jow did that end?

...okay so we get no suggestions that he ended up with anyone? That he seemingpy just resigned himself to be alone forever, just like all might?

All right then, but at least we're committing to an ending where Izuku no longer is a Hero, right?

No wait the twist at the end is that his friends swoop in to finance it all.

...okay? So... Why wasnt the chapter about this? If 1-A loved Izuku so much they were willing to save 5 years worth of Gathered funds to help Izuku, why did we get nothing else in this entire chapter to remind us that they actuqlly loved him still, and instead the entire chapter emphasized how distant Izuku had become?

These two things, Izuku slowly growing distant from his friends in a realistic manner, and them ultimately going all in on helping him out to let him live his dreams, are completely at odds with each other.

In the question, the idea of MHA ending on a "Realistic" is described as by default Boring, but it didnt have to be, so long as it focused on the right things, and actually committed to it to the hilt.

It was more than poasible to Have Izuku ending up as a teacher at Yuei withouth a quirk, teaching the new generation work as an ending, if you actually committed to telling that ending all the way. Realistic does not have to mean boring or unsatisfying.

Similarily, there was absolutely a good way to tell an ending where Izuku lost his quirk and ended up a Tech based Hero as well. So long as you committed to that, and didnt relegate it to the last three pages as a twist ending joke that still wants you to take it seriously.

Ultimately, the ending was a failure because it failed to commit to anything, or to put it another way, it was afraid to take any risks at the very end.

Any shipping resolution in any way? Well, that would absolutely go a long way to hammer in the feel of a realistic ending, because that is how Human beings' work... But that would have been a risk, as someone would have been pissed off by it.

Izuku and ochako getting together? Would have pissed off the bakudeku shippers, the uraraka x toga shippers, and Uraraka x Bakugo shippers.

Him getting together with anyone else? Would have pissed off the Izuku x uraraka shippers, and most certainly the Bakudeku shippers as well.

And on it goes.

Kirishima getting together with Mina? Eould have pissed of the Kirishima x bakugo shippers or the people who headcanon him as gay.

Him getting together with Bakugo? Would have pissed off the ones who shipped him with Ashido.

Aizawa finishing his character arc of growing to actually love teaching and his students by going back to miss joke and finally reconciling with her, and addmitting she was right all along, that he really did want a "household where the laughter never ended" as she put it?

Would have pissed off those who shipped him with Present Mic.

Now im not saying the lack of shipping was THE thing that ruined this ending(other than Izuku x ochako whose lack of resolution one way or another is a massive structural weakness), but it is absolutely a sympthom of how this ending was absolutely terrified of actually committing to any risks.

It is the thing that defines this entire chapter, and honestly the final arc as a whole.

Just to give one example, the reason why Bakugo has NO thematic climax or satisfying ending at the end, is because it is painfully clear that His story was absolutely going to end back on the platform.

Before Hori's editor made him change it, and demand he got a bigger role, Bakugo's thematic ending was going to be that he was murdered while stalling Shigaraki.

He was not going to get to be the Hero who defeated AFO, or even come close to becoming number 1... But he WAS going to get to die a hero.

That was a bold, and very much not safe direction to end one of MHA's most popular characters.

It would also have been a great thematic ending where Bakugo actually did get to be a Hero like he always wanted... while at the same time NOT ultimately rewarding him for the horrible he treats Izuku through the Manga.

You know, like what happened to Endeavor.

There were no happy endings there, with one of his sons rejecting him once and for all, while leaving his firstborn's thoughts on him on a note where we ultimately didnt know how it went, while at the same time ending up crippled in a wheelchair.

Enji was a terrible man who ultimately did become a true hero... But he was not rewarded for it. And that's why it actually works so well.

And it certainly was not the safe way to end it either.

This is also why the villains in MHA ended up on amuch stronger thematic note than any of the heroes.

None of them got safe, nothing endings.

With all of them, Hori one way or another committed himself to have an actual ending that said soemthing, as opposed to the wishy washy final chapter that had no spine to go in either direction.

Dabi burnt himself out, and now has to deal with the consequences of trying to kill himself and everyone else, only to fail at it.

Spinner and compress gave everything for the cause, only for his side to lose, and him ending up in jail, and now has to deal with that.

Toga spent her entire life searching for someone who didnt reject her, and wanted to understand her, and ultimetely though she did not get a relationship with thay person, she went out on her own terms.

Shigaraki tried to destroy the world, having decided to commit himself all the way to becomign the greatest supervillain of all time... Only to in the end, be defeated and being killed, like he himself did to so many others.

None of these were safe options to end these characters on, and there are plenty who werent happy with it... But they are endings where Hori actually committed to going through with it all, wheter to succeed, or fail.

The Heroes by contrast get none of these.

Izuku does not get an ending where it actually commits to... ANYTHING because by doing so, he would piss off some part of his audience.

Bakugo couldnt die at the platform, because he's popular, no matter how much sense ending his story there might make.

Uraraka couldnt confess her feelings and either hook up with, or be rejected by Izuku because that would piss someone off.

Mina and Kirishima couldnt hook up because it too would piss someone off.

We could not get deep, important looks into the Heroes family lives 8 years later, because it would piss people off.

MHA's ending(as far as the heroes are concerned) would have been so much better if the manga was willing to end on an ending that actually take real risks that would have had the possibility to fall on their face.

Or as Wit from Stormlight Archive puts this kinda thinking oh so well:

“All great art is hated. It is obscenely difficult - if not impossible - to make something that nobody hates. Conversely, it is incredibly easy - if not expected - to make something that nobody loves.

This makes sense, if you think about it. Art is about emotion, examination, and going places prople have never gone before to discover and investigate new things. The only way to create something that nobody hates is to ensure that it can't be loved either. Remove enough spice from a soup, and you'll just end up with water.

Human taste is as varied as human fingerprints. Nobody will like everything, everybody dislikes something, someone loves that thing you hate - but at least being hated is better than nothing. To risk metaphor, a grand painting is often about contrast: brightest brights, darkest darks. Not grey mush. That a thing is hated is not proof that it's great art, but the lack of hatred is certainly proof that it is not."

[amuseoffyre]

Feeling so many things after my full rewatch. Especially realising that Ed has spent his life trying to act like people want/expect him to act while secretly privately believing "people can't change", not daring to be himself because he doesn't believe he can be.

"People can't change" is one of his ways of deflecting focus from himself, but he means he doesn't believe he can change. He's spent his entire life convinced that he's this monster, this terrible thing, because of the trauma of his dad's death around his neck like an albatross.

In the Gravy Basket, Hornighost gave voice to Ed's biggest internalised fear: that Stede left him because of what he did to his dad. "You told someone and he left you". This is the wall Ed has never been able to get over, the conviction he can't be more than that.

He was so wary and guarded and yearning when Stede started speaking about loving everything about him. He wants so badly to be loved but is so afraid of it and still doesn't believe he can have/deserve it. "People don't change" he tries to insist right until Buttons does.

Look at the wide-eyed wonder on his face.

Yes, some shock, but also realising Buttons was right. Change is possible. He needed to know that, to see it, to believe it. So much so that when Stede comes back for him, he's a bit tearful and has to wipe his eye.

This is the start of Ed's journey of rediscovery and of change. The sack and bell are an active demonstration. He's figuring things out a bit at a time and has that conversation with Fang that reframes his past behaviour and learns to apologise. He chooses to pause and think.

As Fang observed, he never really took the time to sit with himself and at the beginning of 2x06, he's doing just that and he's struggling. He even admits he's worrying about it, but again, he talks in metaphors - "a storm coming but I just can't see it" - so no one realises.

He's constantly been moving. "You got to move on or blow your brains out", Hornighost said in the basket and even then, he asked "and those are the only options?" He's been moving on his whole life and it didn't work. He tried the blow-the-brains-out-by-proxy and it didn't work.

Now, he's trying to change and he's doing something different and it's a lot. It's so much to be processing and then to have Ned Low show up and knowing it's his fault for shattering Ned's record and almost getting them all killed. A new layer in the guilt cake.

I've said before that his conversation with Jackie in the bar serves a similar function as Stede and Chauncey's in the forest: pointing out that his presence has led to his lover changing to be more like him (ie. ruined), triggering a panic-spiral and flight without warning.

They came so close to having the conversation they needed to have. Stede has been learning to be better about talking about stuff, but Ed had been steadily spiralling all day and those metaphors happened again, leading to a lot of miscommunication.

Ed doesn't want to be a fisherman. "I just know I don't want to be a pirate anymore". He's just grabbing onto the first safe thing that came along. He's dressing in Buttons' clothes and he's making it an active change out of desperation because he's panicking so much.

He throws off his old life and runs because he thinks that's his only choice. Stede is "blowing up" in the Republic & Ed can't be in that life anymore, but can't imagine Stede would give it up when he's just described it as "a great day". He can't imagine Stede would choose him.

When Ed comes back to the Republic and reclaims his leathers, he's not doing it for piracy or to be Blackbeard again. He's doing it to find the man he loves. He's fighting, standing his ground. He is finally able to be himself and say his feelings directly and out loud. He is Ed.

[writing-blog-iguess]

“What did you say?”

You hadn’t meant to say it, not now in the middle of enemy territory. Not while in the middle of an assignment. You hadn’t meant to say at all, it was supposed to be your secret until you died. Because you knew in this line of work, love doesn’t work. You’ve seen it happen first hand, experienced it yourself.

But you let three words slip out of your mouth like you say it everyday. Three words that could ruin everything. Either the assignment or your friendship with Ethan, you weren’t sure.

So, you closed your eyes for a minute to collect yourself before facing him head on. “It’s not important,” you said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. To the people around you, it looked like an innocent kiss, to you it was goodbye. “Come on, we need to finish this before anything else can happen.”

“Hey,” Ethan started, but you shook your head and turned around, leaving the room as quickly as you could.

“So that happened,” Benji said in your ear. “I thought you weren’t going to tell him.”

“I wasn’t,” you hissed, slipping through the door and turning left when Benji told her to turn. “It slipped out, Benji. And now I don’t know what to do.”

“Talk to him is what you do,” Benji suggested, “Only thing you can do at that point. Oh, next door to the right, and then keep walking until you reach the last door. That should be where the servers are.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” you said, following Benji’s directions. Looking around, you made sure the coast was clear before slipping through the door. “I’d rather die than confront Ethan and the love I have for him.”

“I think he might,” Luther said, startling both you and Benji. “Ethan deserves that much.”

“I second that,” Ethan said next and you wanted the floor to open up a hole to swallow you whole. Reframing from smashing your head against the wall, you pulled out the USB that Benji gave you, and started looking for the right server.

“Benji,” you hissed. You heard him sigh, and imagined him hanging his head. “I thought this was a private line?”

“Yeah, oops. Now you’re gonna say you’re gonna kill me, I know,” he said, sounding resigned to his fate. Good, he knew what he did wrong, wasn’t the first time you threatened his life. Makes the next thing to say easier.

“And I’m going to make sure it’s nice and slow,” you said, and ignored both Ethan and Luther’s chuckles. And Benji’s that’s new. “Now which server do I need?”

A few hours later, with the assignment completed and the world saved, you found yourself in your hotel room, changing into something more comfortable. You tried not to think of Ethan’s surprised face as you said them, tried not to think about what happens now. You’ll just have to request not to work with Ethan again. There’s no way you could face Ethan now, you don’t think you want to.

A rapping against your door brought you back from your thoughts as you turned towards the door. Scrunching your eyebrows, you wondered who it was this late. Moving to open the door, you didn’t check to see who it was until you were face to face with Ethan

“So, you love me huh?” Ethan asked, smiling. You puffed out your cheeks and went back into the room Ethan followed behind.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” you mumbled, picking up the pile of dirty clothes and stuffed them in a bag. “It was a slip of the tongue, it was nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing,” he pointed out, you only shrugged. “Didn’t sound like nothing. How long?” You didn’t answer right aways, not wanting to but Ethan wasn’t having it. He walked towards you and reached out to lift your face so you were looking at him. “How long have you felt like that?”

“Mm, a year or two,” you finally answered. He raised an eyebrow, and you could see him thinking.

“And you weren’t going to tell me?”

“Relationships don’t really work in what we do, you know that,” you answered with a shrug. “Why bother saying anything when it’s just going to end in failure.”

“So, you were just going to keep it to yourself and not even give me a chance to decide?” Ethan questioned, moving his hands to cup your face. All you could do was stay there, staring at him. You were stuck and you didn’t want to move.

“Yup.”

He shook his head, and leaned in closely that your noses brushed against each other. “Not fair when I love you too.”

You blinked at him, trying to process what he said. “Huh,” was all that could come out. He smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips on yours. He pulled away, and you pouted at the lost.

“I said, I love you too,” he repeated, “and I’m sure we could work something out if you want to.” You thought about it, maybe it could work. Maybe you could have your happy ending. Maybe.

“Okay Hunt,” you finally replied, “if you think this could work, I’m in.”

He gave you a big smile that made your heart dance in your chest, and he leaned forward and gave you a proper kiss. One that held everything he was feeling for you and more. You returned it, and knew that this could work.

[pseudopigeons]

I came up with maybe not a theory but more of just an observation that the east blue 5 seem to parallel the 5 love languages and it's kinda reframed all of their actions and behaviours towards each other so much for me on my watchthrough. Got brainworms from that one oda interview where he said zoro doesn't like verbally expressing gratitude and prefers to show appreciation through actions and it got me thinking

The 5 languages:

Physical touch - Luffy

Acts of service - Zoro

Quality time - Usopp

Receiving / giving gifts - Nami

Words of affirmation - Sanji

Funnily enough in OPLA we definitely see a lot of physical touch Luffy. He's always playfully punching or hugging crewmates, despite having known the crew for such a short time he's just instantly clingy and physically present around them in east blue.

Zoro is very much an actions person. He's a little emotionally constipated and doesn't verbalise his feelings very much, in fact that seems like the last thing he wants to do, but he will always be looking out for any member of the crew silently, and is almost always the first to spring into action when it's called for. He shows he cares through acts of service and being there for his captain and crew.

Usopps language being quality time is shown pretty well in syrup village with his relationship with Kaya. Kaya is a girl who has everything she could wish for financially, but ussop provides her with a much needed friend, someone to support her and just physically be present and talk to her. He risks so much just to make her smile because being there for his friends is such a crucial and important thing for him.

Nami's love language being giving/recieving gifts means so much to me because it is so often seen as the most shallow of the love languages and I have seen so many poor analysis and digs at Nami's character, reducing her to just being greedy and money hungry. Did they watch Arlong park with their eyes closed??? For Nami, gold or money is a means for her to provide for the people she cares about, to ensure their financial stability and freedom and to keep her crewmates fed and afloat. She spent so long scorned and alone and (believed she was) hated because she created this money hungry persona to save her village and to best Arlong. Every piece of gold she bled to get was meant for that end goal. Nami deserves the financial freedom and gold that being a strawhat pirate could give because for years and years every bit she earned was tucked away for the well-being of others and was then stolen from under her nose. (This paragraph got very long but I'm not sorry I am the captain of the Nami defense squad.)

And finally Sanji reflects words of praise as a love language. I think it's the most clear to see with how Sanji is so quick to praise any female character he comes into contact with, especially Nami, but I think it also reflects his strained relationship with zef while working at the baratie. Zeff is always verbally critical of Sanji as a way to rile him up and to encourage him to leave the restaurant. Zef weaponises what makes Sanji tick to antagonise him and tries to get him to leave that way, but Sanji is far too stubborn and feels too great a debt to leave.

I think east blue definitely shows the 5 dynamics in a pretty clear way and kinda helped me understand what makes the characters tick. Also why some of the characters end up butting heads or getting into arguments. They all show and recieve love in different way, sometimes there are misunderstandings or clashes but at the end of the day they all trust each other with their lives and it's such a strong bond.

Anyways I'll eventually draw some more OP but I'd love to hear any thoughts or other people's ideas if they have any on the matter. Sometimes I get analysis brainworms, and I first shared the idea on discord, but figured why not post it to Tumblr too

ALSO please if anyone has examples from the series that fit the love languages PLEASE share it, makes my heart oougggghhghg.