#like ideally this could have been built up better where he is like no one understands you except me

[antiqua-lugar]

The Emperor : I know you. I know everything about you. Your thoughts, your feelings, your weaknesses.

I'm sorry if I sound like a broken disc but this line will haunt me till the end of my days because I'm unfortunately a Gale girlie and you'd think that "Hey if you eat this tadpole then your boyfriend doesn't have to kill himself" would be a VERY OBVIOUS thing for him to say to manipulate you and he just. never does. Like I know Act 3 is very rushed and Gale's arc is also rushed but like, bestie, you did manage to keep his character arc somewhat consistent regarding his sacrificial/suicidal tendencies to the point that you have to keep talking Gale down from blowing himself up until the last moment. The sense of foreboding is very present and very real. But the Emperor just... never thinks to use Gale as motivation? He'll throw his favourite soup at you and take his shirt off and tell you you are the specialest thrall of all and the tadpole will make you super beautiful and powerful but he'll never go "Maybe if you are super powerful your boyfriend won't have to kill himself"?

Like I know there (kind of is) a theme in Act 3 where the Emperor is clearly trying to separate you from the group as he wants you exclusively under his own influence, but if he is at the stage where he is trying everything, from being nice and sympathetic to outright threats and whatnot, you would think he would start using your love for others against you. But no. To be clear, Emperor is not the only one to make very baffling manipulative decisions (Orin you had all the time in the world to plan your very super special kidnapping and you picked the companion I care less about?! You got an army of shapeshifters and you couldn't figure out a plan to kidnap my love interest?!) but all this needed was like, three lines of dialogue. But instead he never does something that would be very obvious for him to do and then he says shit like this.

[onelittlespiral]

FML: Urged

I think this was the photo that got me in. Of course I get the appeal now. But at the time I thought I was just messaging some other random torso on the apps. I was supposed to just be in and out, no strings attached. After all, he wasn’t my usual type. Looked like a roided out gym rat: bit of a gut; dark, wiry hair; and thick muscles. But muscles weren’t the thickest thing about him, and who was I to pass up a good time?

So I went over to his place. I wasn’t surprised when it was a loft above a small gym. Seemed like the ideal spot for the kind of guy. What I was not expecting was the apartment itself to be so…nice? Normal? I was prepared to get fucked on a twin-sized mattress on the floor, no frame, with sweaty clothes rotting around me. But the apartment had some character. He even offered me something to drink before we got started, in an actual glass. Maybe I needed to raise my standards. We chatted, flirted a bit as I finished my water and let things get hot from there. We kissed in the kitchen, made out in the living room, and worked our way back to his bedroom as sweatshirts, belts, shirts, pants, and straps trailed behind us.

As I positioned a pillow under myself, he took off his wife beater, the last barrier between us. The shirtless torso that seduced me was on full display as I rubbed his chest. As he leaned in to kiss me, I felt engulfed by this bear of a man, skin electric where I felt his hair ticking my bare chest. My senses felt heightened as I tasted cheap beer on his breath and smelled a deep musk of sweat, cum, and Old Spice, more in line with what I had expected from him. He ran his calloused hands over my chest and abs before finally taking up position over my trembling body. I wanted him in a way I hadn’t felt since I was a teen. Normally I would want to talk a bit more, at least give a safe word. But as he surrounded me and I felt his presence, my brain flipped a switch as my body instinctively relaxed for him. There were no thoughts to be had as my mind was consumed by his rich scent, the pleasure of his cock slowly stretching out my ass, and his intense gaze set on my fluttering eyes. At last I felt his bush pressed against my clenching ass. He lingered for just a moment, every throb of his member sending shivers through my body. He leaned in and whispered, “You feeling good, baby?”

I could only moan a bit in response. Feeling his weight bear down on me and his cock in my ass left no room for words. He shoved his pit in my face and I instinctively took a deep huff. Any resistance and tension left in my body released. I felt filled by him, just a vessel for his use. I was about to stick out my tongue when he pulled back and repositioned himself. He held my shoulders as he began moving his hips.

As he slowly began to fuck me, I felt him reach new depths within myself.

“There you go, much better. Let yourself just float”

I couldn’t resist him even if I wanted to. His cock methodically jackhammering my hole had my body riding wave after wave of pleasure. Then, I felt him tense up a bit as his cock swelled just a bit more telling me what was to come. He buried it deep as a pressure built within myself. A few more thrust from him and I shot my load over his furry chest. My mind could no longer handle it. I slipped off into a void of pure bliss, as this stranger collapsed on top of me, feeling his damp fur against my body and filling my senses once again with his musk.

I woke up the next day back in my own bedroom. No one else around. No signs of trouble. No clue how I got back. If the whole experience hadn’t been so vivid, I would have thought I dreamt the whole thing. But as I rolled myself out of bed and into the bathroom, one change became very clear.

Seemingly overnight I had lost my smooth skin and dirty blonde curls. In its place was hair. Thick, dark, course hair. It covered my chest, my arms, my back, even my crotch. I was shocked but, also, something else began to tickle at my brain. I took off my tank to get a better look at the forest. I flexed my muscles and admired the way it coated my chest and seemed to exaggerate its size. I hit a double bicep pose and smelled a familiar scent. The scent of sweat and heat and masculinity. My mind flooded with images of that night as my cock stood at attention. I shoved my face into my own pit as I bagan jacking off in front of the mirror, admiring my new body. It felt strange but satisfying, watching this stranger in the mirror mimic my every move as I lusted for him. I didn’t realize how far I had gone until I saw the stream hitting the mirror. It was hot, but something still didn’t feel right. As I cleaned up the restroom, I picked up my razor and considered cleaning myself up a bit. But as I lifted it to my face, I noticed my newly hairy pits. Exposing them, the scent of last night invaded my mind again and I couldn’t follow through. I finished getting dressed and I left for the day. With a busy schedule, maybe I could get some answers tomorrow. I think that was the last chance I had to do something, divert from the path laid out for me. But looking back, I don’t know if I would have changed a thing.

No day was as sharp a change as the first, but each morning as I looked myself in the mirror, something was a bit different. Maybe it was the sharpness of my jaw. Or were my pecs always this swoll? One week I swore my feet were growing larger. There is no way that they always slapped the ground like that. But my shoes always fit perfectly. Heck I may even need a new pair soon. My joggers were beat up as hell and reeked when I took them off after my Saturday runs. But soon it was the days that I couldn’t find anything that looked different that began to worry me most. Had I always thought so much about the bodies of the men around me? Did people always talk so fast? But as life slipped back into routine. Soon I began to question myself. Why had I worried so much about any changes? Things never actually seemed out of place, and I worked out hard to get these gains. I had been going to the gym for years and had spent years perfecting my splits. After about two months, I stopped worrying at all. Until finally, one day I woke up and looked myself in the mirror, I saw the same man who greeted me for years.

I was a sweaty gym rat. Always had been. Always would be. I took a deep huff of my own funk, and rubbed my muscles. But everything fell into place, something felt missing. I shouldn’t have to keep this godly body and musk to myself. For the first time in a while, I hopped onto the apps and started scanning through. God, all these old matches were terrible. Why did I used to have such a thing for those muscled-up college boys? They couldn’t grow a beard if their lives depended on it. Besides, I think I wanted someone a little more…submissive. Scrolling through, my eyes caught on this young 20-something twink. Something about him reminded me of someone…someone I used to know. His lithe body, tight curls, and skimpy clothes told me he was a bottom before I clicked on his profile. A few messages back and forth, and he was on his way.

He walked in the door and it was all I could do to contain myself. Something deep within me wanted my seed deep in his ass. I needed him to worship me. I wanted him to become just like me. I had no patience as my body acted on instinct. I stripped my shirt and calmly approached, placing my hand against the wall behind him. As my masculinity and musk washed over the twink, I watched as his eyes fluttered a bit and knew his mind was submitting.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” I asked plainly.

“Ye-yes, sir.”

I grinned as I understood fully now just what had happened to me, and the power I held. But watching this twink practically trembling in front of me, maybe I was even better than my captor had been.

I gave him a quick kiss as I lead him to my bedroom. I couldn’t wait to make another man in my image.

[battlekidx2]

Alastor Episodes 7 and 8 Thoughts

These two episodes really gave us a lot in regards to Alastor and I cannot wait to see where they go with him in season 2. What I find most fascinating about what they established with him in these episodes is how I think this perfectly sets up Alastor to directly challenge the show’s main themes of redemption.

Alastor is the only character in the main cast that I think could effectively challenge Charlie’s idea of redemption by making her face the question of “where the line for who can be redeemed and who is too far gone is?” 

Even Vaggie and her past as an exorcist couldn’t challenge Charlie’s ideals in the same way because Vaggie so clearly wants to be better and is trying to be better. She could only challenge Charlie’s idea of who could be redeemed. She couldn’t truly challenge the line of when someone is too far gone unlike Alastor. 

And to explain this I'll just jump right in.

It’s clear these two episodes were meant to show a shift in Alastor and Charlie’s relationship in some capacity. It’s a bit more of a subtle shift than with the other characters, but I think it’s setting up this future conflict well for the limited time the show has. 

At the start Charlie doesn’t think Alastor cares and calls him out on this. She directly states that she believes he enjoys the suffering. He refutes her idea of him by stating she doesn’t know what he feels. He purposefully hides his feelings behind a smile as a sign of control. (The first shift. It tells her there’s more beneath the surface)

Then Alastor helps Charlie enlist cannibal town and says he wants to mentor her in the song. This is more than the initial indifference and humor he got out of Charlie at the beginning. There’s an interest in seeing Charlie grow and being a part of it that wasn't there before. And, with Alastor helping Charlie here, trust is being built (at least on Charlie's end).

Then Alastor talks to Niffty (who he is clearly fond of) and admits he finds the group enjoyable to be around. He says he could grow accustomed to them after Niffty says she really likes them almost in agreement with her. He's very candid with Niffty and doesn't seem to feel the need to hide his emotions around her. They appear to be on the same wavelength.

And finally, Charlie is upset when she thinks that Alastor died against Adam and hugs him happily when he returns. In Charlie’s eyes Alastor has been helpful and risked himself and his power to protect the hotel. This is a true shift in their relationship on Charlie's end.

This bond is necessary because if (at the very least) Charlie doesn't care about Alastor then he won't be able to truly challenge her idea of redemption and the show implies it doesn't just go one way. It's just obscured.

To explain what I mean I want to look at Alastor's role in the final battle and that moment when he is alone after he escapes.

At the beginning of the battle he felt like the trump card he should have been. He makes the exorcists, before Adam destroys his shield, look like a joke. And he gives Adam a run for his money before he becomes overconfident and lets his guard down. He didn’t expect Adam to bounce back and have that much power left to show. He was caught completely off guard and paid the price. 

And instead of staying to face the end with the rest of the people in the hotel Alastor opts to save himself. He places himself first. When he leaves he seems almost smug, spouting off a one liner and smiling as he sinks into the shadows. It seems calculated and calm, but alone is a completely different story. This moment shakes Alastor and that moment alone puts his fight against Adam and decision to flee in a different light.

In this moment when he's alone he starts to lose it, saying there has to be a way out. This isn’t where things end. He will come out on top. 

He can feel his control over the situation slipping. His power and notoriety has been challenged left and right this season. First Vox, then Lucifer, then the loan sharks, now Adam. It’s one right after the other. And Adam almost killed him.

He’s struggling to grasp onto what little control he has left by forcing himself to keep on his smile and it calls back to the beginning of episode 7 when he says to Charlie that just because she sees a smile doesn't mean she knows how he really feels. His smile is a sign of control. And even in this moment you can see that last bit of control slipping. And it’s left him even more desperate for his freedom than before.

The Radio Demon was introduced almost as if he was an all powerful entity and now he is being brought back down to earth and he’s raging against it, barely keeping it just below the surface. 

But there’s even more to his breakdown than just his pride. The lines “Great Alastor, altruist, died for his friends. Sorry to disappoint that is not where this ends. I’m hungry for freedom like never before. The constraints of my deal surely have a backdoor.” strongly imply that he really does care for the residents of the hotel more than he wants to admit even to himself.

He is freaking out because he got too close to dying trying to protect and help people that he never thought he would care at all about and he’s doubling down on his plans from before. 

His immediate desperation to be free implies he is at the hotel because he is forced to be there, but he’s desperate to get out of the contract because he doesn’t like how it’s changing him. Alastor has always put himself first and here he is almost dying trying to protect this hotel and it's rattled him even more deeply than the blow to his pride.

I feel like they know exactly what Alastor can mean thematically and they want you to know he’s a villain while seeding hints there could be change under the surface (ones that Alastor himself is afraid of and wants to double down against). There’s a balancing act going on with him and it seems they really do want to challenge the idea of redemption with him. Not just Charlie’s, but his own as well.

Alastor is still in my opinion the best written character in the series. There’s just so much to unravel with him and he’s the most fun to try and dissect to me. I can’t wait to see what they have planned for him in season 2.

[strwberri-milk]

good day, author! Can I request an angst to fluff lads x reader ff where the reader was so inlove with the but they thought they love someone else. Until one day, the reader stopped and that's when they realized that it's her that they love not someone else. Sorry I know it's common and cringe but I want an angst fic 😭

ngl i really struggled to understand what was wanted here but!! i think i figured it out LMAO - i did put them all into 1 bc i just didnt see the dialogue shifting too much w what i had in my head i hope you dont mind <3

You'd never known that he was in love with you because he never acted like he was. You thought that the kindness he showed you was because he simply was that - kind. You'd never entertain the idea that he might actually have feelings for you. Sometimes you'd ask him if he was seeing anybody and he'd get a little quiet before telling you no. You don't really believe him though because whenever you'd ask him who his ideal partner is he'd get this look in his eyes you could never place before telling you that it's not something you need to worry about.

You thought that was his way of telling you he knows how you feel about him and that's how he's choosing to let you down easily. You decide that it's too difficult to be around him, telling him one day that you need to distance yourself from him. You can't admit the reason why, feeling a little humiliated by the childish way you're reacting but a big part of you simply can't help it.

You decide to push your feelings down for him, knowing that this was the only way that you could cope with the burden that is your emotions. You feel better, deciding that keeping your feelings to yourself would be the best thing to do to avoid ruining the friendship that the two of you built up so carefully. You'd never forgive yourself for losing him, telling yourself that just being beside him like this was more than enough for you.

"Why did you do that?"

You stare at the man standing on your doorstep, soaked from the rain as he stares at you intently.

"What do you mean?"

Your phone is still in hand, the message you sent him sitting on delivered.

"You can't seriously mean that, can you?"

You've never seen him like this before. You thought you'd spent enough time with him to know every emotion he's felt, to see the weight of them on his face. You could scarcely recognise the look in his eyes and your hands twitch with the need to hold his face.

"I didn't think you'd ever say something like that. Do you not know how I feel about you?"

Now his words are desperate, something you've definitely never heard from him before.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," you mumble, averting his gaze.

"I just...I know that you have feelings for someone. I don't want to get in the way of your happiness but I'm scared that if I stay by your side I'll end up doing so by accident. I just want you to be happy."

His eyes widen slightly, shaking his head as he laughs a little bitterly.

"You really think I could feel this way about anybody but you?"

Your brain takes a moment to process what he says, staring at him.

You're about to question him, asking if he's actually serious when he leans down to press a kiss to your lips, holding you in his arms tightly.

"It's you," he mutters softly against your lips.

"It's always been you."

[dragcnbreak]

AHHH THE AGE REGRESSION ONES R SO CUTE I NEED MORE!!!!! maybe one where reader is having like a breakdown/ptsd flashback which results in them regressing involuntarily and mike comforts them? could be headcanons or a fic idrc :3

IM SO GLAD PEOPLE GET THE CG MIKE VISION… here is my attempt at writing something along those lines!!! I hope u enjoy nonnie <3

◞♡࿐

The Schmidt household was practically a second home to you. You crashed on the couch more often than not and even had a drawer full of your things in Mike’s room for easy access. Your living situation was less than ideal and you felt more comfortable with Mike and Abby than anyone else so it just worked out.

That’s how you found yourself outside their door one morning, knowing it would be just Mike at the house as Abby had already left for school. You used your key and offered a shaky smile to the sleepy man on the couch. “Hey.” He says at first, taking a few seconds to look up at you. When he finally does, his eyes widen at the tears running down your cheeks and he rushes towards you.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Mike asks, using his thumb to wipe under your eyes. You don’t answer but instead, you start to sob loudly. He’s definitely awake now, all his attention on you. He helps you the best he can to the couch so you can sit down. The second he sits down with you, you fling yourself into his arms and continue your breakdown.

Mike is quick to hold you, rubbing your back softly and whispering soothing things like “it’ll be okay” and “I’ve got you”. It helps more than he knows and the both of you sit there for what seems like hours.

When you begin to quiet down, you detach yourself from him and rub at your eyes. “Are you feeling any better?” Mike asks you and you nod lazily, a sudden tiredness washing over you. “T’ank you, Mikey.” The slurring and the nickname alerts Mike to the fact that sometime during your crying session, you slipped into littlespace.

You didn’t age regress too often, specifically around Abby. But Mike was always more than happy to take care of you when you did, especially when you were sad. “Of course, baby,” he uses his favorite nickname for you when you’re in that headspace, “how about we get you something to eat and drink and then you go take a nap?” He continues.

You nod again, “m’kay.” The idea of eating doesn’t sound too bad and you know you need to stay hydrated, even more so after crying. Mike grabs the television remote and turns on Abby’s favorite channel with all the cartoons. He gives you a kiss on your forehead and then hurries to the kitchen.

He and Abby had just had breakfast so he heats up the remaining pancakes and bacon, periodically checking on you. He slathers the pancakes with butter like he knows you like it and also cuts them up. Mike then delivers them to you on a plate.

You lighten up a bit at the food, starting to dig in as he goes to get you a glass of water. He comes back and sets it on the table in front of you. Before too long, you’ve finished your food and water and are back rubbing your eyes tiredly again.

“How about that nap?” Mike offers with a knowing smile. You nod and make grabby hands, indicating you want to be picked up. The man isn’t the most built but he works out enough to easily pick you up, knowing how much you like it when he does. You wrap your arms around his neck while he holds your thighs not too tight.

In a few seconds, you’re in Mike’s room and he deposits you carefully on his bed. He tucks you in so you’re nice and safe and comfortable. He’s about to turn away when you stop him. “Can we cuddle, please?” You ask and he already knows he’s not going to say no. He hums and slips into the bed, fortunately already in comfortable wear.

In the bed, you turn to face the wall opposite the door and Mike catches on, wrapping you up in his arms. Before he knows it, you and him fall asleep even with the sun peeking through the blinds at you both.

◞♡࿐

this was kinda therapeutic to write because ive been going through a tough time myself :( tysm for the request <3

[newbiespud]

I'm sure it's been said before but I'll say it myself because why not

The game In Stars and Time makes for a revealing contrast to the movie Groundhog Day in how they treat their final time loop and how that reflects on the main character. (Even though, if I remember right, the dev largely wasn't aware of Groundhog Day when they came up with ISAT.)

Spoilers for both after the break, I guess.

In Groundhog Day, Phil starts out narcissistic and self-centered, has the realization that he can live life without consequences, gets depressed after having tried and done everything that he's got everyone and everything memorized so that nothing can delight and surprise him anymore, and finally escapes when he performs a loop that proves that a better, happier world is within his grasp to make, not something owed to him, and that he is happy with the life he has today, not always pining for his ambitions for the future.

In... In Stars and Time, Siffrin starts out deflecting and aloof, has the realization that they can do this perfectly - 'this' being not only the impossible challenge of defeating the King but navigating their relationships with their party - gets depressed after hitting wall after wall and repeatedly fumbling into faux pas after faux pas with their party, and finally escapes when they perform a loop where their true feelings come out, no matter how ugly, and they're honest about their own desires and wishes rather than trying to keep up an ideal façade.

Plenty of people have pointed out that In Stars and Time subverts the 'escaping on the perfect loop' time-loop trope that Groundhog Day largely codifies. Not only does the 'perfect' loop completely fail, Siffrin escapes on arguably the 'worst' loop, the one where they rightfully worry that they've hurt and alienated their loves ones forever and cannot escape those consequences anymore.

But I don't think this contrast is as direct as it seems, even though one could say that Phil got away scot-free compared to Siffrin and that In Stars and Time is the superior story for portraying a harsher outcome. (I do think that exploration and advancement of tropes is just inevitable and even healthy over time, and Groundhog Day came out in 1993 so of course it and the tropes it spawned deserve modern critique, but I digress.) I actually think that it reflects how both stories and the mechanics of their time loops are built around their main characters. (There's also something to be said about how genre shapes narrative since GD is an existential comedy and ISAT is an action-adventure focusing on interpersonal drama, but that's another digression.)

ISAT makes an impact on the whole time loop genre with its clever subversion, but like all the best subversive stories, it's couched in strong characters that embody its themes.

And to take a broader perspective, the best time loop stories are allegories for the real-life situation of making the same mistakes over and over again caused by your own deep-seated personality flaws, and being forced to finally confront your inner demons and overcome them and become a better, healthier person. (Relatable, much?)

Phil is a man who's never happy with his lot in life, so he needs to learn to find the eternal richness and beauty of what he has within his grasp, and that a better, happier life is something he can make for himself. Thus, he escapes on the 'best' loop.

Siffrin is a person who refuses to share their true feelings and problems with others to the point of self-destruction (and complete reinvention in one aspect), so they need to learn that no matter how ugly and twisted they think they are, being open and honest doesn't mean their loved ones will care about them any less, even when Siffrin is seen at their lowest point possible. Thus, they escape on the 'worst' loop.

It's not just clever subversion, it's holistic circular story structure!

...Though maybe I'm just drawn to these stories because I, too, would like some extra time to Figure Some Shit Out and have that time come with some superpowers along the way, even if it nearly destroys me in the process.

[reblogandlikes]

No allies UTM, Rhysand? None? (Ramble)

I genuinely want to know, but seriously, Rhysand didn't make one alliance with the other HL's or anyone during the years of Amarantha? Not a single side plan that would have me think, "Yeah, he's done fucked up things for her, but he's also been actively working against her the entire time with proven plans, proven things gone wrong and right. Proven anything but weak his say."

Not to mention, please don't make someone the most powerful mind reader if they won't capitalise on that power. A very useful power, yet criminally under utilised in this series. There would have been ample time to create an alliance, and for his own safety/self preservation, occasionally ensure they would not spill the plan or fuck them up before they ever could. That would then play into his grey morality for the betterment of everyone further down the line even if it means cutting people loose. Hard, but necessary. I mean, unless that forever unknown daemati made it hard. Though this unknown other figure couldn't have been that good when the other HL's rebelled. Yeah, they failed and died doing it, but they still made a plan and tried. Rhysand hasn't don't anything off the sort.

But, he must of had a hint of an alliance because why would he and Helion be so buddy buddy in the later books? He saw all that Rhysand had done during those years. Saw his "Mask" presented as "him" and yet Helion no qualms or think to be standoffish afterwards? Like, "Damn, you went a little hard core, don't you think?"

Unless his friendship curated with Helion was just a way for sjm to try to absolve Rhysand from receiving too much heat and generalised, consistent hate from everyone outside of Velaris. "See, look. This fun, cool HL guy loves Rhysand! He's also POC, Bi, sex positive, with progressive ideals. His judgment can't be wrong." It felt like sjm was using Helion as a tool to enforce Rhysand’s greatness than having built a genuine friendship we could read; so instead rely heavily on Helions traits when knowing Helion embodies a lot of the characteristics her target audience wants to see more in books, yet for me, made my guy Helion feel like a token. I don't like it. (Side note, I'm still pissed they stole from my sweetheart Tarquin when he was so open. They still have not apologised, either!)

Anywho, where was this so-called friendship UTM? A union between the solar courts, at least. Something!

50 years. He should have come with some receipts of his efforts. Anything on Hybern since he was already suspected of them making a move in the later books. To me, these books are the best example of just making shit up as you go along. SJM just writes, and we simply consume. Nah, mate. You can catch these critiques.

Crazy, you'd think acotar was her first series, not her second.

[locomoqo]

I love your writing girlie 🫶. Can I request Jake Kim x ex-gf reader who visits him in prison and she catches feelings again. Thank you

maybe this time

— jake kim x gn!reader

details: kind of angstyyy?

A/N: jake can act nonchalant all he wants, it won't work !!

It had been months since Jake last saw you. The first time you visited him in juvie, you fought—angry words exchanged, both too stubborn to back down. You broke up that day. Jake convinced himself it was for the best, that you didn’t belong in his world. But deep down, the memory of you walking away still stung.

Now, as he sat in the visitation room waiting, a familiar unease crept in. He wasn’t expecting you today. In fact, he hadn’t expected to see you ever again. Jerry had asked you to come, but Jake didn’t think you actually would.

Then the door opened, and there you were.

For a moment, neither of you said anything. You stood there, looking at him with the same eyes he remembered so well—the ones that used to light up whenever you two spent even a second together. But now, there was something different, more hesitant. You sat down across from him, and both of you just… stared.

“Jerry told me you… needed someone,” you began, breaking the silence. Your voice was softer than he remembered, tugging at something inside him.

“I didn’t ask him to do that,” Jake replied, his voice low and guarded, though he couldn’t deny the way his heart tightened at the sight of you. He hadn’t realized how much he missed you until now.

“I know,” you murmured. “But I came anyway.”

The weight of your past hung between you like a heavy curtain. You’d both been through so much—fights, mistakes, misunderstandings. Yet here you were, sitting across from him in this cold, sterile room.

Jake leaned back in his chair, trying to keep his emotions in check. He had changed since the last time you saw each other—he was harder, more distant. The old Jake, who cared about fairness and ideals, was buried under the weight of revenge and survival. But seeing you again... it stirred something inside him.

“Why?” he asked quietly. “After everything, why would you come?” The words felt tight in his throat.

You hesitated, looking down at your hands. “I don’t know, Jake. Maybe because I thought... I thought there was still something left.”

He studied your face, those familiar features that still made his chest ache. There was a vulnerability in your eyes that hadn’t been there the last time you spoke. You weren’t angry like before. This time, it felt like you were searching for something—for him.

“I don’t want you in this life,” Jake said after a long pause. “You deserve better.” The words felt heavy, as though he was pushing them out with all his strength.

“And what if I don’t want better? What if I want you?” Your voice cracked slightly, catching him off guard. The walls he’d built around himself began to crumble, piece by piece.

He didn’t have an answer. All the anger and resentment from your last fight seemed so distant now. What remained was the raw, undeniable pull he still felt toward you.

You sighed softly, running a hand through your hair. “I’m not saying we can fix everything, Jake. I just… I just needed to see you. I thought I’d moved on, but...” Your voice trailed off as your eyes met his.

Jake clenched his jaw, torn between the hardened version of himself and the part that longed to reach out to you, to pull you back into his life.

“I never stopped thinking about you,” he finally admitted, the words rough and honest. “But I didn’t think you’d ever come back.”

“..I didn’t think I would either.” You gave him a small, sad smile.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Jake felt a flicker of hope. It wasn’t much, and he wasn’t sure where your relationship could go from here...but seeing you sitting there, still willing to give him a chance, made the world feel a little less dark.

You both sat in silence for a moment longer before you reached across the table, your fingers pressing against the glass. “Maybe we can figure this out together,” you said softly, your eyes filled with a warmth that made his chest tighten.

Jake’s calloused fingers came up to line up with yours on the glass. Despite the glass being a barrier, it still felt like he was really touching you. The simple act reminded him of everything he had missed. He didn’t know if things could be fixed, but for the first time in a long while, he felt like he didn’t have to face everything alone.

“Maybe,” he whispered, his voice low and rough, but there was a glimmer of something new in his eyes.

Maybe. Just maybe, you two could give it one more shot.

[xxepherr]

.ೃ࿐CHRISTMAS EVE | CB

summary — in which a berzatto christmas gone wrong is the perfect excuse for carmen and his girlfriend to spend christmas eve back at their hotel room.

pairings — carmen berzatto x fem!reader

pronouns — not stated explicitly, looks more like she/her though

word count — 1886

note — first time writing in second person woahhh. this is slop btw. enjoy

DATING CARMEN BERZATTO HAD its ups and downs. there were days where he was up, where he was more loving than usual, wanting to cook a romantic dinner under dim lights, and flitting around the kitchen getting new recipes right. he was so gentle, so softspoken, in dire need to find you to satiate the neediness built around his soul. but there were his downs, where he tried to isolate himself, threw himself into the craft of cooking without an ounce of love, and he’d rather stay in bed with the lights off until he could regulate his emotions again. 

either way, you couldn’t blame him. he’d had it rough growing up, and because he still had ties to his family, being back in chicago was not a walk in the park. chicago was a place you’d never been before, having being raised in an entirely different walk of life in copenhagen, the place you’d met carmen six months ago. you just so happened to be walking past an old boat when carmen had been calling out to a cat that you knew for a fact didn’t exist. between carmen only just beginning staging at noma and you a qualified pastry chef elsewhere, it was only fitting things kicked off they way they did.

until now, where you’d gotten stuck between carmen and his mother donna, who was currently screaming across the couple at her daughter natalie. it had been carmen’s idea in the first place to leave you back at the hotel so that you didn’t have to endure his family, but you had insisted that maybe he’d feel a little better if you were there. you were right – he did feel better, but squeezing your hand tightly in his own was not his ideal plan for the night. you meeting his mother had been a bust because she was screaming the kitchen down over fish, but otherwise steve, michelle, natalie, tiff and the faks were quite enjoyable to meet, and they had all been extremely welcoming which was lovely.

the alcohol on donna’s breath was so strong that you could taste it every time you forced yourself to breathe through her screaming. it was a pungent red wine, smelling of rotten blackberries and blackcurrants that only cheap cabernet sauvignon was capable of, laced obscenely with tobacco that clearly had been an effect of her chainsmoking rather than the barrel ageing process. 

“fuck you!” the repetition was mind-numbing, and though you could manage to blink and stare straight ahead to make eye contact with steve ( because you both were outsiders in this insane family ), the same couldn’t be said for carmen, who had turned to dissociation as his only saving grace.  “fuck you!” donna struggled to get up from the table, and though she was practically leaning on top of you to yell in natalie’s face, you didn’t dare move, not wanting to set her off further. only when she’d managed to get up and stumble out of the room shouting obscenities still did things settle. for just a moment. 

the argument prior to donna entering the room had started because michael was telling the same story over and over again in his clearly intoxicated state ( intoxicated probably by drugs, you were convinced. you’d seen what after hours looked like back home in side alleys, this was clearly a drug-inducing state that you didn’t want to overstep in ), and it had led to forks being thrown and natalie begging her brother to stop. one wrong move now from a family member you couldn’t remember the name of and michael had lobbed another fork, and a fight broke out. 

“carmen,” you squeezed his hand, trying to see through the fog coating his eyes as he stared down at the table unmoving. “carm . . .”

“it’s okay,” carmen mumbled under his breath, barely audible from the shouts and glasses smashing across the table from them. “just . . . don’t move, yeah? it’ll— it’ll be over in a sec.” sat still and waiting, them and natalie waited it out, shout after shout as irritation flared, and just as natalie’s bottom lip began to tremble, a car came ploughing through the side of the house. the fighting stopped, it all fell silent.

what the fuck. what the fuck. what the fuck. it was like a broken record, and not even upon seeing his mother’s car smashing through the wall did carmen move, rooted to the spot while michael ran over and tried to bash the window in with his hand to get a laughing donna out. it was fucking insanity, and you’d never witnessed something to this extreme before. it felt like it was straight out of an episode of gotham, where people like the joker ran free inciting chaos on civillians. you weren’t sure what to do as the berzatto family tried to get donna out of the car, and so you sat there, your hand losing circulation the longer carmen squeezed, and waited for him to come back to reality.

“can we go home?” carmen asked, and you were up out of your seat in an instant while everyone else seemed too distracted by the state of donna berzatto. home as in the hotel that they had only spent two nights in so far, most of that sleeping because of the jetlag. home as in not the place that he had grown up in that now conveniently had a car-sized hole in the wall. you supposed any place that wasn’t this house was home, and he knew for a fact that home was anywhere you currently were residing.

“yeah, yeah,” you nodded instantly, pulling him up with you. on the way around the table, you said a quick goodbye to natalie, while carmen didn’t, and made it through to the front door around the mess of trampled food and broken ceramics before anyone could make a move in acknowledging the sudden disappearance. “i’m sorry about tonight.”

“don’t do that,” carmen shook his head, his shoes scuffing against the pavement once they made it down the stairs. “i knew they were gonna . . . i knew this was gonna be fucked up. i’m sorry you were treated like shit.”

you just shrugged, what else was there to do? “your mum was drunk and stressed, it’s whatever,” though you were definitely going to overthink it later, “but natalie was super nice.”

“mhm,” he grunted in annoyance either way, letting go of your hand and instead wrapping his arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side to bask in the warmth of him and his coat on the way down the street to his car. you could tell he felt terrible about the whole thing, but it had been your decision to go. it didn’t matter if his family were dysfunctional as fuck because you probably wouldn’t be back anytime soon when you and him went back to your apartment in copenhagen in a few days. 

THERE WAS NO CONVERSATION as you drove back to the hotel. even as you parked, walked over to the elevator, and made it to the floor you were staying on — nothing. not until he unlocked the door and walked in with you in tow, and that was when he deflated. 

“let me make it up to you,” he mumbled against the bare skin of your neck, his arms tight around your waist as the room keys and his coat dropped to a heap on the floor. “you hungry?”

“always for your cooking,” you sighed softly, delightfully at the thought. “but you look so tired, carm, let me cook.”

a noise of protest immediately bubbled in his throat, lifting his head up to meet your gaze. “not happening,” he said, entirely deadpan, and you laughed. “i’m serious. we’re not having pastry for dinner again.”

you weren’t the best normal cook: you weren’t terrible, but there was a reason you were the pastry chef while carmen was the good-at-everything chef. you had to devote your full attention to processes he could probably do in his sleep, so it was always better to just let him cook. still, you shook your head and decided otherwise. if he wouldn’t let you cook, then he wasn’t, either. “okay, fine, we get takeaway,” you decided, tearing yourself out of his strong arms and falling down onto the couch, kicking your feet up on the coffee table in front. “what do you want?”

it took him a second, but carmen crumbled and moved to sit beside you on the couch, picking up your legs and putting them over his lap, moving his hand up to squeeze at your thigh. “uh . . . chinese,” he shrugged, taking your phone from your hands and opening up safari to google the number of the popular chinese restaurant in the area. “you okay with that?”

“i trust you,” you copied his shrug, throwing your head back until it hit the pillows propped up against the armrest. he mindlessly scrolled until he found the number, clicked on it and held the phone up to his ear as it dialled. as he ordered his usual plus whatever he knew you would like, he traced patterns into your skin, matching it to the level tone he was using to speak with. it was a tone you personally were familiar with, unlike how you’d heard him try talk to be heard in his mother’s anxiety-inducing house earlier. that on its own had been a shock to go from quiet to loud every time he was spoken over by his own brother or the faks. 

his fingers weren’t soft with the bandaids that covered them, but you would rather than over soft because that was who carmen was. his hands were rough from how often he washed his hands at work, but it showed how passionate he was, and you loved that about him more than anything else in the world. this was the carmen berzatto you’d fallen so deeply in love with, and no terrible christmas eve was going to damage that like his anxiety was telling him.

the second he hung up the phone, you shuffled a little closer to him, barely giving him time to think before you were peppering kisses all over his face, ones that he couldn’t stop you from because he relished in it. it relaxed him, it made him feel loved, it helped him forget, and that was all he could really love you. “i love you,” you murmured against his skin, the first time the phrase had fallen from your lips so effortlessly, sweeter than honey.

“i love you,” he repeated, words breathy but eyes filled so adoringly with love as you continued the attack on his face until he finally broke and start chuckling. “dinner’ll get here in about half an hour,” he managed to stop you for all of two seconds, his hands gripping your thighs a little harder than before. “just a heads up.”

“that’s great,” you pretended to care very little even though you were hungry enough to eat a horse. “can you tell me you love me again? pretty please?” your eyes sparkled with so much delight that he couldn’t possibly say no.

“i love you,” and though playful, he meant it to the most sincerest degree. “i love you so fucking much.”

[percyluvr]

heyyyy, so i was wondering if you were feeling up to it if you could write a jason grace x poseidon!reader. it’s basically like a scene from where they just began the journey on the argo and percy, being the slow and loveble older brother he is, finds out jason is dating his little sister and some silly chaos ensues at the dinner table

jason grace x daughter of poseidon!reader summary: your boyfriend and your brother have issues at first, but bond over the fact that they both love you with all their hearts wc: 1199

You and Jason had been dating since he'd appeared randomly at camp with Leo and Piper. You had been so devastated over the disappearance of your brother, and Jason had been struck by your beauty. He did everything in his power to help you feel better, and during the process, the two of you had fallen deeply in love.

Every now and then you thought about Percy and what he would think of your new boyfriend, and you would be sad all over again, but Jason never failed to make you feel better. Jason Grace was the ideal boyfriend, you thought, and he proved it more and more every single day that the two of you were together.

When the Argo II was built, and the lost trio was ready to head off to New Rome, Jason was the one that suggested you come with to see if your brother was there. The suggestion just further proved what a wonderful person and boyfriend he was, and you accepted the offer.

Your voyage to New Rome held lots of good memories and fun, but the closer the ship got to New Rome, the more worried you were that your brother wouldn't be there, even if it was almost 100% guaranteed that he would be. You didn't think you could handle it if you lost another person, especially your brother who'd been there for you your entire life. He protected you when the two of you first arrived to camp, even though he was scared out of his mind, and he protected you and comforted you when your mother had gotten turned into dust by the minotaur, even though he was just as devastated by the loss of her. The two of you shared so many memories together and thinking of them only made you sadder when you realized how long it had been since you last saw him.

The Argo II arrived in New Rome, and you all had a peculiar interaction with a certain talking limbless statue. Once the situation was handled, the Argo II hovered over Camp Jupiter, and everyone other than Coach Hedge warily got out of the ship, not quite sure what the Romans' reactions would be, even Jason who was a Roman himself.

When you reached the ground, your eyes searched the crowd for the familiar green eyes and black hair of your brother, and when you finally found him, you saw Annabeth rushing over to him. When she flipped him onto the ground, it brought a smile to your face. Their relationship was the most beautiful thing you'd seen in your life, and it made you so proud to see your brother happy.

With Jason's arm around your waist, you waited until Annabeth and Percy parted, before sprinting over to Percy and jumping into his arms. To say he was surprised was an understatement. You and Annabeth had been the only people he remembered when Hera wiped his memories, and seeing you after so long made him beyond happy.

His arms gripped you tightly as he whispered in your ear. "I can't even explain how happy I am to see you. How is mom?" He asks almost immediately.

"Mom is good, she's really good. So is Paul. But how are you?"

"I'm good, now that I've got two of my favorite girls with me again," he jokes, earning a smack on each arm from you and Annabeth.

It felt good to be able to joke around with your older brother again, almost too good to be true. Apparently it was too good to be true, because after an attack is fired from the Argo II, all of you have to rush up the ladder and get out of there as quick as possible. You grab Percy's hand tightly, his gripping yours impossibly tighter. Neither of you could stand to lose each other again.

Aboard the ship, tensions were high. Even if you weren't Percy's sister and hadn't been around him your whole life, you would still be able to tell how pissed off he was that this happened. When Leo confessed to him firing the attack, you and Annabeth had to hold Percy from pouncing on Leo. You understood where he was coming from, though. Imagine working this hard to make the Romans see that the Greeks weren't so bad, and then some guy you don't even know fires an attack on the camp and you're back at zero. You'd be pissed off too.

When dinner time rolled around, Percy had been much calmer. The atmosphere had lightened up, at least until both your brother and your boyfriend went to sit in the same seat at the head of the table. They stared intensely at each other until everyone decided that Annabeth should sit at the head of the table.

You thought the problem had ended there, but both of them tried to sit on the chair to your left. Percy looked at him with a strange expression, probably a mix of confusion and annoyance at this point.

"Dude, really? What's your problem?" Percy asks, crossing his arms.

"I just want to sit here, not a big deal," Jason replies.

Percy raises his eyebrow. "Well, I want to sit next to my sister, and there's only one chair open next to her."

You looked at Piper, who was sitting to your right, and she took the hint. She got up and moved to the other side of the table.

"Guys, please. Just sit down already, it's not a big deal," you say exasperatedly.

Percy eyes you and Jason skeptically, but takes the chair to your right anyway. He seemed to lighten up due to the fact that he was now sitting between his girlfriend and his sister.

Dinner was going fine, until Percy spots your hand intertwined with Jason's under the table.

"Soo, anything new in your life you want to tell me about?" He asks you, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Um, no. I mean other than Jason, Leo, and Piper showing up, not really."

"So, no new guys that like you? No new crushes?"

You finally understand what he's trying to do, and sigh loudly.

"Yes, Percy. Jason and I are dating, is there a point to this?"

He just grins in response and moves his gaze to Jason. "You better treat her right man, or I'll have to whoop you," he semi-jokes.

Jason raises his eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. You could whoop me if we were on a beach, maybe," he jokes back.

"Nah, I could take you any day of the week, beach or no beach. I'd whoop your ass with just my fists."

This makes everyone at the table laugh.

"Nah, but seriously man. I'll take care of her. I really like her, and I'd never even think about treating her wrong," Jason says seriously.

Percy smiles at him. "I'll hold you to that."

Jason brings your hand to his lips and gently kisses it, making everyone at the table fake gag.

"Oh shut up, you're all just jealous," you say, smiling the widest you had in a while.

You finally had your brother back, and he seemed to like your boyfriend.

a/n: y'all i am so sorry for not posting anything in almost a week lmfao i got my tooth pulled and i've been suffering all week

[deathbxnny]

☆《A letter away. (Neuvillette x Reader x Ex-husband!Zhonghli)》☆

-----♡

A/N: Hello everyone! This is me officially coming back through a very special request! I was thinking of a good way to get back into writing and so I asked my best friend, my ride or die, my literal everything to give me something to write about. And since I know she loves Neuvillette alot, this is my official thank you to her for being a phenomenal friend and waif. Also, HSR requests will come in due time, after I get used to writing again. So without further ado, please enjoy and thank you again to my bestie for helping me with my comeback!<33 Summary: Zhongli wanted to embrace his new life as a human to the fullest, which also meant that his dragonic wife couldn't be in it. Heartbroken and hopeless, you feel abandoned as you wonder what you should even do now, after eons of being with him... until one day, you receive a letter from an old friend, that finally showed you the way forward again. Content: Female reader, some angst, hurt/comfort, mentions of divorce (kind of), reader has some physical descriptions that hint to them being a dragon hybird, Zhongli being horrible, some hints of possible emotional abuse (no detailed descriptions), happy ending, somewhat of a healing journey, writing warm up, sfw

Reader has she/her pronouns! (Not really proofread)

-----♡

The summer came to an end early this year and not because of the seasons changing, but rather your husband doing so. Despite the scorching heat that left the usually busy streets of Liyue mostly empty, you felt the cold seep through your skin, whenever he came back from work. You'd shiver, nearly imagining the cold puffs of air whenever he passed you by wordlessly. You only barely remember the days of happy greetings and warm welcomes, but perhaps you were only imagining those too. You felt like a simple shadow in your own home, always disappearing from the presence of the light that was Zhongli's intimidating figure.

And today was no different.

He walked in, took off his coat, then his shoes. He paid no mind to you hiding in the doorway to the kitchen, slitted eyes flickering between him and the food he brought with him, despite you telling him that you were going to cook for him earlier that day. You should've known better, than to think that he was listening to you after all. You opened your mouth to greet him, but your voice was missing. You didn't want him to snap at you again for making him awknowledge you. Slowly retreating back into the dim room, you shivered when you felt his dark gaze on you. You made too much noise for someone who was just a ghost in his home now.

It couldn't always have been like this, you concluded, as you stood over the now cold food on the table. No, there was a time where you two were happy, mates for life. He built a home for you in Liyue, kept you protected during the archon wars, practically laid out the world down at your feet... until he didn't. Until he became this. A god who wanted to pretend to be a human for a reason nor you or any other adepti could ever understand. You weren't able to hide most of your dragonic features like he could and therefore you were mostly stuck in the home. Human men usually didn't have dragons as wifes, you figured bitterly. But he was no human, no matter how much he wanted to pretend he was.

He gave up his Gnosis and decided that faking his death would get him closer to living his ideal life amongst his people as nothing more than Zhongli. And you hated that name. That wasn't your husband. Maybe he had died years ago and you simply didn't notice. Whatever it was, you felt empty as the last warm sun rays of the day hit your face and you slumped into the nearest chair with a weak sigh. Deep down, you knew you were a hindrance to him. Something that kept him from becoming fully human. And it hurt, that he was willing to give you up so easily over this.

Weren't dragons supposed to mate for life?

You pressed your face against the cold surface of the table, your eyes catching the sight of a white envelope resting on the kitchen counter. Your tail swished once in recognition, before stilling. You knew who it was from, your heart clenching nervously at the idea of Zhongli seeing it. He wouldn't like who it was from, surely. But then again, he didn't seem to care anymore either. If you left tommorow, what would he say? Would he stop you? Beg for you to come home with him again? You pressed your lips into a thin line. He would have maybe once eons ago... but not anymore.

It was proven to you, when your zoned out gaze on the letter was blocked off by a certain man's torso. You didn't bother raising your head or looking up at him. If he was finally awknowledging you now, then it was only for one reason you were afraid of. Your time with him was up. He began a speech, one you could barely hear through the foggy haze of your mind, until he stilled too. There was no point to sugarcoat it. "... I want you gone by morning." He simply said, knowing that you at least caught those words. He turned, deciding to leave for the house whilst you were still there, when you enacted your final attempt at revenge. It was weak, nothing in comparison to what he had done. But it was enough to enrage him deep down.

"Very well, Morax." You made sure, that his old name rolled off your tongue perfectly, cutting him deep with the knowledge, that you will never see him as a human. He paused in his step and you could imagine the way he clenched his jaw when you closed your eyes with a bitter chuckle. Your keen ears heard the leather straining as he closed his fists tightly. You felt his head turn to look at you, his breath hitching to say something... before he simply left, the door slamming behind himon his way out. It was hard to make him lose his composure, but you knew him all too well. He was too prideful even now.

When you opened your eyes again, it was late into the night. You lit a candle, your eyes flickering to the letter again. You had yet to open it. perhaps you were afraid of it's contents, despite having no need to. You always knew, that you should've chosen him instead anyways. You weakly pushed yourself up onto your feet, your hand reaching for the letter. You turned it, a shadow of a smile on your lips, when you see your old nickname on the back of it. Neuvillette remembered it even all these years later.

'To my dear Water Lily.'

You opened it with shaking hands, your eyes looking over it's contents with a worried gaze, that melted away the more you read. It was an invitation to come visit him all the way in Fountaine. He had hoped you were still wiling to speak to him despite your marriage to Morax- no, Zhongli. You were childhood friend's once, two dragons that kept to themselves in the depth of the oceans, until the wars came along. You should've married him when you had the chance, but Zhongli got to you first. Would you have married him instead, if he hadn't hesistated?

You shook your head, your hands pressing the letter to your chest. To your heart. You might as well go. You had nothing to lose anymore. slipping off the ring on your finger and placing it onto the table, you packed some simple things for the trip, before stepping out of the once warm home. You walked quickly, your head low to not attract any attention. You'll never come back to Liyue, you decided then. But you couldn't help but stop for a moment to look back at your home city with a deep, heartbroken sigh. Mainly because you felt a certain Adepti's gaze on you. You looked up, meeting his eyes with a sad, pained frown. Xiao's face was unreadable, but you knew, that he knew that this might be the last time you saw eachother. And so, all he could do was bow deeply, before disappearing. You nod in understanding.

There was no need for goodbye's, as they hurt more.

You went on to travel for a good month straight, seeing sights you could never have been able to witness at Zhongli's side. You met new people, even friends, as you traversed through the thick forest of Sumeru, no one giving your inhuman features a second look. Sumeru city was a sight to behold, the Archon of wisdom being kind enough to point you towards the direction of your destination. The vast desert was an experience you never thought you'd appreciate either. And by the time you finally stood at the port to Fountaine's entrance, you couldn't help but look back at Sumeru with a fond gaze, lost in thought, until a something pulled at your sleeve.

Looking down, you saw a Melusine tilt her head up at you. "Hello... Do you need help getting somewhere, miss? You've been standing here for about an hour now." She said bluntly, making you blink, before fishing out the letter with a hum. "I... need to meet the Chief of Justice." You mutter, the small creature nodding in understanding, as though this was a normal request for her. "That's easy. You just have to take the Aquabus to the city first." "Oh..." Your eyes looks up at the large wall of waterfalls with a confused gaze. "... Do you know what an Aquabus is?" "I... no." You say after a moment of hesistation, making the Melusine nod again. "Follow me then. I'll get you to your destination, miss." She said.

And as promised, you soon enough nervously sat in this so-called Aquabus, waving the helpful Melusine a thankful goodbye. the ride was long, yet far from boring for your curious eyes. You had become near addicted to the thrill of adventure, to the thrill of seeing things you could never have been able to before. Perhaps you've just been trapped for way too long. An excited smile crossed your face, when you finally arrived in the busy capital city of Fountaine. You felt out of place, but couldn't care for it through the glee you felt. He was so close, you could feel it. And it made you wonder if he felt it too. You entered the large building that he was the leader of, a Chief of Justice, something you never expected him to ever become. But then again, you never expected to end up like this either, although you should've perhaps known better.

You were let through quicker than you anticipated, after you showed them the ticket that came with the letter. A Melusine led you to a grand balcony that oversaw the entire city, before telling you that he'd be there soon. You leaned against the marble railing, eyes sparkling at the breathtaking sight before you. Your heart fluttered with an odd sense of belonging, memories of a childhood spend in vast oceans coming to mind and filling you with painful nostalgia.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A deep voice hummed, a soft gasp leaving your lips, as you looked up at the familiar tall man beside you. You were so deep in thought, that you hadn't noticed his presence approaching you. You gulped, so many emotions and thoughts running through your head. There was so much you wanted so say. But ultimately, you could only turn to look back at the vast ocean with a small smile, when you felt his pinky finger touch yours. A silent promsie of being here for you. Always.

"Yes... Yes, it is."

-----♡

A/N: Alrightttt! This was a very nice warm up for me and quite the long one too... I hope you guys liked this one! And a special thank you to my bestie once more for being my favourite person ever and giving me this great idea.

It's great to be back!<33

[brittany-and-lewis]

one day on from monza

it’s been one day since monza and…

charles still drove an incredible fucking race. i mean, mclaren drama aside, he EARNED that race and every bit of that sweet victory. i honestly still can’t believe what i was watching-i only joined f1 this year, around like miami? so spa was the first race i watched where charles truly like WOWED me, and he’s just been absolutely DEMOLISHING AND COOKING ever since.

oscar still did NOTHING wrong!! if anything? that overtake was one of the best this year, committed, risky and CLEAN af, IF the mclarens are allowed to race each other that’s a pretty great and entertaining (from a racing standpoint) way to do it. he also showed pretty much everyone he won’t be relegated to “teammate of the wd champion” as easily as they think, that he’s still an absolute FORCE to be reckoned with.

lando is still wdc material. he gained 8 points over max. could it have been more? yes but with 8 points a race he’ll still beat max, especially with some tracks redbull have historically struggled on coming up. this might, i repeat MIGHT because i don’t actually know him! take a toll on him, but the man has been dealing with this pressure pretty much since the start of the season!! he’s built for the pressure-he wouldnt have been nearly as successful if he hadn’t been. 

lando and oscar are STILL. OKAY. they know each other a LOT better than we do. they flew back to monaco together (which for some reason, seems to be their method for teammate therapy). they know how competitive the other driver is. they’ll be fine.

and finally, mclaren still have GOT TO GET THEIR FUCKING ACT TOGETHER. “you’re gonna need oscar, and you’re gonna need the team” WELL HE NEEDS THE TEAM. the time to start prioritizing lando is FAST FAST FAST approaching!! papaya rules is one thing, and great as a philosophy, and as a genuis has said one here, if lando wins the wdc then they should make papaya the colour of idealism. but f1 is cutthroat and brutal-you don’t win with ideals.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[nipuni]

Time for an old school blog post, Hello!

Just various updates about life and shows and clothes and some photos! Adding a read more cut because I talk too much 😊

Happy equinox everyone!! The mild weather has been wonderful for daily park walks. We have been taking our meals outside as often as we can to make the most of it before summer scorches the land and all life. The longer days allow for a lot more wandering too but the imminent return of the heat is also making the longing to move up north worse by the day. We miss the choppy ocean and seaside cliffs 😭 We love the silence and the rain and the nippy sea breeze!! it's like being suspended in early spring for half the year and a rainy autumn the other half, Ideal if you don't mind humidity, but that's what wellies and flat caps are for. We have been looking for properties to rent to show up everyday so for now we lie in wait.

Speaking of nature, a few months ago we discovered a free app called Plantnet that you use to take and upload photos of plants, trees, flowers and it will identify them for you. You keep a log with their locations and can share them too to help contribute to each local biodiversity database. It feels like a pokedex for plants. There are many apps like this one to choose from too. It's been so fun learning what all these plants are called and memorizing them! I recommend it, is like a little educational side quest to take on while stretching your legs and getting some fresh air. This is not an ad I promise lmao I just think it's neat! kind of sad feeling the need to clarify that.

This weather is also making me want to start making outfit posts again! It's been so long since I made any!! my winter wardrobe is mostly long wool coats or capes and boots so the inspiration wasn't there but now I'm ready to pull out all my stuff back from under my bed storage and experiment again 👏 I've also been meaning to share some of Nicolas outfits for ages too so there is more variety, could be fun!

Speaking of clothes, lately I've grown more and more frustrated with how poorly most clothes fit me to the point where I'm considering learning how to make them from scratch. I usually have to take in the tops and hem the bottoms but most things I try on are just built weird even if I fix the size, or maybe I'm built weird! I think it may be both. Nicolas also said he would love to learn along with me so we will probably embark on that adventure soon. OH and on a short tangent, I got myself a sort of binder-like top that flattens the chest a bit and I'm loving it! I'm very flat already but what little bust I do have has always bothered me when I dress and I've found I feel a lot more comfortable in this type of top. I'm glad I tried it out so if you feel similarly you may want to give it a go too, see how it feels!

On the media side of things we have also been watching more of David Tennant's work. We are still very much in love with him to an embarrassing degree, you can probably tell if you follow me anywhere, my likes on twitter alone give me away alksjdf and Nicolas isn't any better! if he used social media his would look the same lmao.

Since my last report we have watched and absolutely LOVED "There She Goes" we already want to watch it again honestly. The family dynamics for all his characters are always so real and refreshing!! Their relationship with their wives especially are always so believable in every series we've seen, the comfort and camaraderie, the banter and just friendship! You can tell they enjoy each other's company, it feels true. I love it so much!!

We also watched "Inside man" which was..a very stressful mess but David was incredible as always, also very hot and very pitiful which is always great, and Stanley Tucci was on it! so that's also fun.

Then we rewatched season one of Good Omens and the first 4 seasons of Doctor Who, with all the extra content like the Confidentials, deleted scenes, video diaries and more, they are just so good!! our list of favourite episodes keeps growing, season four is incredible, we are loving all these seasons even more the second time around!! Now we are probably going to start watching either Classic Who or Torchwood, along with more of David's work. We were trying to pick what to watch during dinner the other day and Nicolas was like 'damn, David is not in this though, I miss him' and lmao same so now we just watch one show without him and one with him right after to cope 😂

OH we have also been doing more historical reenactment! Since the last one in the 20's we jumped back to Regency times. We have been putting our outfits together for a ball soon and hopefully another one in autumn in the UK 😊 1800 is the farthest back in time we've been yet so it's been fun doing research, finding pieces and learning the dances in class but also very hectic. I'll share more about this soon!

Then we also have a couple of 1900 events coming soon, so I'll be sharing more Edwardian looks as well, our favourite era!!

Anyway I think that's all for now, thanks for reading to whoever is doing so!! I know this is long and not a popular blogging format anymore but I enjoy it a lot, maybe some of you do too 🥰 I will reply to some messages soon, I'm so sorry I'm so bad at keeping up with those!! I've read them all and cherish every word 🥺 Thank you for supporting my art and shenanigans as always!! I hope you have a great week!!

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Hey

Want to know your opinion, how would you improve some arcs of toh characters, like Amity, Hunter, Lilith, Willow, Gus and probably anyone whose arcs you think are bad-written?

good question! let's see,

luz: i have mostly no complaints about her character but i wish they made it clear that her running off to the boiling isles was not ideal. i don't entirely blame her because she was a child and she was looking for a way to avoid going to camp, but the show starts off implying that luz's escapism was a bad thing, but then they kinda contradict that in the end, by letting her have access to the boiling isles forever.

also her s3 arc with her palisman was just overall poorly written. it was supposed to be an emotional and wholesome moment but it didn't have that impact on me. if luz's greatest wish was to be understood, they should have built on that more. i mean, it's not like no one understood her, all of her friends and found family in the boiling isles seem to understand and empathize with her. it just felt like the writers pulled this revelation out of their asses, and the fact that stringbean was inexplicably a shapeshifter didn't help their case.

amity: i would keep some parts of her initial characterization, like her ambitious nature and her resting bitch face energy. even if the idea was to make amity grow into a more cheerful person, it doesn't make sense that it happened so quickly. imo her characterization was at its best when she was warming up to luz but not entirely nice to other people (like during the grom episode). i really liked her cold, standoffish behaviour and i think it would have been nice if she had kept some of that, while still being a better person than she was in the beginning.

also, like i said in another post, she should definitely have goals of her own. her character shouldn't have been reduced to "luz's girlfriend". i would definitely show more of her interacting with the other characters (and these interactions and conversations aren't about luz) and pursuing her own dreams. i think steven universe did this best where connie liked steven a lot and she did hang out with him, but she also had her own life and her own dreams to chase.

hunter: i wouldn't put him in a relationship with willow, or anyone, for that matter. the poor boy has a lot of trauma he needs to work through and based on the stuff that he's said, it's clear that he doesn't know how healthy human interactions work, let alone a romantic relationship.

i would make his arc about slowly healing through his trauma or at least being able to express his emotions, instead of suppressing them for willow's sake. i think it could have been done, despite the time crunch. he needed time to grieve flapjack, to grieve himself after being possessed and almost killed by his abuser, and to slowly start his healing journey.

the others would definitely support him through it, but that's what he needs at the time, not a badass girlfriend.

lilith: i think her redemption arc started off okay but then everyone forgave her too quickly. it wasn't as bad as catra's because lilith did put a little effort into trying to be better, but she still needed to do more before she could have been forgiven.

so either i would extent her redemption arc and let the other characters, especially eda, stay mad at her a little longer before she gets forgiven. or i would just keep her as an antagonist.

they didn't even explore her trauma of being in a cult and the emperor's coven never chased her down after she left. not to mention, her experience of being in the emperor's coven is never relevant to the plot. she could have given luz inside information or talked about belos' potential weaknesses, it was such a missed opportunity.

willow: her arc with amity was not terrible and i like that she was allowed to take her time to trust amity. this is more about amity than willow but i think it would have been nice if we saw amity making more efforts to gain willow's trust. her apology in understanding willow was good but they kinda glossed over the fact that amity wasn't just "letting her friends bully willow", she was also bullying willow.

i think we needed more of willow and amity trying to mend their friendship, instead of lumity being the main focus after that one episode.

and in general, willow deserved a bigger role in the series. for the longest time, she was just luz's friend and then they forced her into a relationship with hunter, which did not work at all.

if her intended arc was to work on her insecurities and get more confident over time, they should have shown more of that process. even Any Sport In A Storm was mostly about huntlow (and hunter, to some extent) then willow. and let's be honest, the whole "half a witch" thing was dragged out more than it needed to be.

gus: okay, buckle up because i think i have the most grievances with gus. i need to make this clear. GUS WAS SO UNDERUSED.

i'm sorry. this guy is a child prodigy who can create illusions and use illusion spells to look into people's minds and force them to relive their worst memories?? why was this not more relevant to the plot? gus is such an insanely skilled witch and yet he's always pushed to the back for some reason. he has the most versatile and useful skillset but he never gets to use it, it makes me so mad!

even him looking into belos' mind was only used for that brief moment where he admits that he knew hunter was a grimwalker, but didn't want to force hunter to talk about it. that's it. we get no further conversation about it, gus never addresses the other stuff he saw in belos' memories like him MURDERING his brother and creating all the grimwalkers and god knows what else??

also just the fact that he's able to psychologically torment people with illusions is such an OP move that the series just kinda glossed over. it was used in a few episodes, but it could have been used to a greater extent. i just think that gus could have been such an interesting and powerful character, if he was given enough spotlight.

he also had a good thing going with mattholomule but instead of making that canon, they went for huntlow. i'm not saying that gus has to be in a relationship (or any of them, for that matter) but why create a new rushed ship when you already have a perfectly good one to work with?

i also find it weird that gus and willow were supposedly best friends but we got very few moments between them. i would have loved to see more of their friendship, and more focus on platonic relationships in general.

so yeah, if i were to rewrite gus, i would definitely give him a lot more spotlight. heck, given his powerset, he has the potential to be the main character even!

belos: i've mentioned it a lot before but belos deserved a more climatic end to his arc. all of the implications of religious trauma and puritan culture was thrown in the trash in s3.

he was actually such a compelling villain, genuinely intimidating and with an interesting motive and backstory. what was the point of crafting such an interesting character, just to be like "lol he's evil murder his ass"?

i'm not even mad that he died, i'm just mad that THAT'S how he died. i was expecting his death to be something ironic and self-inflicted, like the people from the human realm being horrified by him and killing him. maybe even burning him to death, the same way witches were burned at the stake. buuuut no, we get king, raine and eda stomping on his corpse because haha that's funny. hunter didn't even get to be a part of all this, and he was the one who deserved closure, he was the one who deserved to see his abuser face consequences of their actions, not fucking eda and raine.

and that part where he tries to convince luz that he was just under a terrible curse was just.. so childish. and not in-character childish, but just childish writing. it was just so ooc for belos, he is a manipulator but this wasn't how he manipulated people. i guess you could argue that he was just too desperate to survive but eh. i think it could have been written better.

eda: i don't have too many complaints here, i think she was probably the most well-rounded and compelling character in this show. her arc about the owl curse was interesting and very relatable to me, as someone who is epileptic. her relationship with raine was the best in the series imo.

the only thing i would change is, as I mentioned earlier, i wouldn't make eda forgive lilith so easily. i also think that she kind of lost her "morally grey parental figure" edge by the end of the series, and i honestly liked that part of her a lot, so i would keep it. but that's just a personal preference.

raine: they were definitely a very interesting character, i just think they deserved more screentime. most of their role in the story was surrounding their relationship with eda, which was very compelling, but we could have gotten more of their character outside their relationship.

the members of the emperor's coven, as a whole, could have been used better in the series. but for a side character with medium relevance to the plot, i'd say raine was written pretty well.

[poppitron360]

I’d like to dive deeper into my thoughts on Caleo, bc they have been taking up most of my brainpower rn:

I get where Rick was going with it. I really do. They started off hating each other, Calypso thinking Leo was really annoying and just generally being like “why is this tiny human talking to me?”, but then they grew closer, realised they misunderstood each other, and bonded over common ground. It’s sweet. But the thing is, Rick? You’ve already got a character that did all that with Leo in the previous book!

And his name is Frank.

1. You’ve already set up that dynamic! Why not spend more time focusing on fleshing out that existing arc instead of creating a new one?

2. There’s SO MUCH more potential with angst- Frank being afraid of Leo bc of his fire, Leo being afraid of Frank because he’s twice his size and could easily crush his tiny body under his foot. Leo’s had to learn to survive on his brains and quick-wits in order to protect himself from bullies, and instantly gets defensive when he sees Frank. Frank is very insecure and sensitive, so immediately falls victim to Leo’s jokes. It takes a while for both of them to take those walls down, put aside their differences, and learn to trust each other.

3. It’s just hilarious how got-off-on-the-wrong-foot they were. A reminder that when Frank first met Leo, Leo had just destroyed half of New Rome. They both immediately judged each other completely based on looks- like it’s seriously funny how much you could compare these two to “Pride and Prejudice”. Also, the awkward misunderstanding that was the whole Sammy thing-

4. But they also have a lot more in common that Leo and Calypso ever did- similar trauma with losing their moms, and actually Leo is just as afraid of fire as Frank is. Both are incredibly insecure, and they both feel like they don’t belong among the other Seven.

5. You’ve also got that fun opposites-attract thing- Frank is big and muscular, Leo is built like a twig. Frank is big soft pookie bear, Leo is an absolute menace to society. Frank can turn into animals, Leo is a machines guy. Frank is Roman, Leo is Greek. You get the idea. They were written to juxtapose each other beautifully. They are the Yin to each other’s Yang.

6. They get so much more time together to establish a meaningful relationship. Their arc carries over three books, and we get to form connections as a reader to BOTH Leo AND Frank separately beforehand, so the payoff is a lot more satisfying. It takes time for them to open up to each other, and when they do it feels like they earned it. Calypso and Leo got a couple of chapters, that’s it.

It doesn’t have to be romantic! Leo can heal his trauma with friends and found family, learning to love and accept himself, learning that he doesn’t actually need the attention of a hot girl to be valid. He can find his place among his brethren with the help of all his friends, even Frank- the most unlikely of friends.

I wish Rick had put more effort into fleshing out the platonic relationships instead of just conforming to romance-centric ideals of “love fixes everything!” It’s lazy, and boring, and has been done to death. Platonic friendships make up 95% of our relationships, yet they are SERIOUSLY underrepresented in media. I’m calling for more interesting platonic dynamics. Leo and Frank could’ve been so much more, if Rick had actually taken the time to build on their relationship, and focused less on “Leo Needs a Girlfriend”!

So, when I say “Everything Caleo did, Valzhang could do better”- THAT is what I meant.

Also, Jason is so much better for Leo than Calypso, but that’s a whole other post.

[Edit: And I have made that post! You can find it here]

[amiya-shirou]

Spoilers about Miquella and Marika's DLC Lore

Hate how there's so much black and white perspective in the Elden Ring community, especially regarding Miquella and Marika. Sorry if this sounds too much like an aggressive rant, it's not really my intention

"Miquella did fucked up shit which clearly clashes with his previous lore about being kind and compassionate, SOTE has bad writing" even in the base game he was already said to be the most fearsome of the demigods and it was kinda implied that he made kindness his weapon as he knew well how to make others love him, perfectly consistent with Ansbach's speech

"Miquella is manipulative so obviously he never really cared about Malenia" with all the things he did for her? is it so hard to believe he truly cared about his twin sister for the sake of which he went so far as to find ways to protect her from an Outer God's influence? with Malenia seemingly knowing about Miquella's plan and everything?

"Radahn loved his horse and protected people so he was obviously a perfectly good gigachad who could never ever agree with Miquella" he was among the forces attacking Leyndell. his ideal was Godrey - a conqueror, and the first Elden Lord. having an obsession with battle and war certainly doesn't sound like someone who could never do anything wrong, no matter how honorable he might be in battle.

"Marika did a lot of bad things and was a tyrant so obviously she never held any real love for poor Messmer or even Godwin and all she cared about was power." she made blessings to help Messmer specifically, something unique enough it's specified she never did such a thing again. 2 of these are dropped by Tree Sentinels protecting her home village which she bathed with Grace and clearly held deep love for. She went to great lengths to help him with his curse when she could have just killed him or imprisoned him where he coulnd't be of harm like she did with the Omen twins. she smashed the Elden Ring, literally sacrificing her position as queen as that action put her against the Greater Will and resulted in her shackling, which definitely doesn't sound like someone who cares about power and herself alone. And about that, if she's been imprisoned ever since before the start of the game with no one knowing about it, why are most people so easily assuming she voluntarily abandoned and ignored Messmer? she physically couldn't contact him if she wanted to. Like, it's debatable, maybe she did abandon him since before the Shattering, but it definitely doesn't feel that obvious to me, and Messmer misinterpreting her disappearance feels more in tune with the FromSoft style tragedy

all this sounds like those who insisted that since Ranni caused the Shattering then of course she can only be evil and manipulative all the time and clearly holds no real affection for the Tarnished and is only manipulating us as well. Which I feel completely clashes with her questline, narrative and characterization.

Kind people can still do evil, especially if they don't fully realize how bad what they're doing is, or if they think they're making a necessary sacrifice. Cruel, fucked up people can still love, and love might be the very reason why they ended up being so cruel. This is something the whole game is built on, and even before Elden Ring, a constant of the Souls series has been about fighting tragic individuals who ended up in antagonistic positions despite their originally good intentions.

imho Marika and Miquella are both better, more complex character than they would have been otherwise, and leave more to discuss about the game's themes and narratives, specifically because they have multiple facets to them. The hated Queen of the Golden Order was originally a victim. Her kind son who tried to fix his family's wrongdoings discarded so much of himself and did so many things to achieve his dream of compassion that he ended up being just as wrong as his mother. Isn't this much more interesting than putting out an entire game-sized DLC just to say "manipulative evil queen girlboss truly didn't care about anything and just wanted power!!" and "Kindly Miquella is so perfect!!! this surely fits our 'nothing is perfect or eternal and everything is ambiguous' narrative"?