#maybe my standards are just low but I think this show does well by its side characters

[napneeders]

Hazel and Stuart relationship is so important to me

[ravengards-rogue]

im sure everyone is familar but i just noticed this and Man...when you're romancing astarion and you've already slept w him before the tiefling party (and u have high approval i think) - you can get this line where you can basically goad him into shooting pickup lines at you. and through the different dialogue options, at one point - he'll say i love you insincerely.

you have like several ways of going about this dialogue, and my tav (this time) chose the option to say "having fun are you?" it was really... interesting... astarion in general has a really tonal way of speaking. and he has a line after you ask this of him, where he says he is and its hard not to with you. and he sounds... genuine.

when astarion is trying to get something out of you, he's always really theatrical but when he's being sincere that quality really Mellows. the pitch in his voice is higher and he speaks less smoothly. ike its hard to get the words out almost. he still has the same like delicate quality in his voice, the same airiness but its noticeably sounds more touched.

but its. interesting. that by that point (in act one before anything happens) that astarion knows really little about you other than you tend to look out for him and that you're capable. but when i consider it from astarions perspective, being with you even in (im)mortal peril and the connection you share is probably the first genuine, tangible connection with another being that he's had in his life or at least for 200 years. completely and entirely his outside of being a spawn.

its by a truthfully fucked up metric, but. he really does have fun with you. like he means that part. something about that is So devastating. because at that point, im sure astarion considers it temporary. he's manipulating you and he's trying to take advantage of you and its not real (so he tells himself over and over.)

except. sometimes it is. and sometimes you tell astarion you'll have each others backs. and sometimes you come back to camp covered in blood and you'll laugh with karlach trying to get it out of your hair and the fireplace is nice and crackling and it smells like smoke.

sometimes you'll trek through the forest and mountains and gale will say something and maybe you'll tease him. and you'll laugh. and so briefly he forgets what he's running from.

astarion will offer you his body because he's hoping you don't realize that's all he has to offer, but you're not expecting anything. there's no price to pay for laying under you except maybe his own guilt.

and even still. even with all the caveats. well its fun. maybe his standards are low, but its fun to be with you in some way. and its masked with so much of his usual poetry but maybe that is more meaningful than an i love you. you make him remember so basic, fun. genuine, silly fun.

he doesn't love you there. not yet. but maybe it is more meaningful for astarion at that stage, to simply admit that he doesn't want to be surrounded by unpleasantness forever. that there is more to getting his freedom than survival being easier. maybe he wants to have fun in ways that aren't drinking himself sick even when he can't taste the alcohol.

you're fun for him to be with..that means more than anything for him there. how do you teach someone who's suffered so much anything other than teeth-gritted, matted fur survival is unfamiliar? except trying to show them that it is fun, and good to be alive?

even if its all a sham. a mirage. well it was fun for astarion. he couldn't even forget that. you have so many of his firsts.

[mauesartetc]

While we're waiting for Millie's shine in later episodes, how would you develop Millie and how would you write her?

PFFF uhh I expect we'll be waiting indefinitely tbh. But I guess the first step would be to ask a lot of questions and figure out which pieces are missing from the puzzle. Here's a list of what's on my mind about Millie, in no particular order:

In "The Harvest Moon Festival", she hugged her dad upon seeing him, but not her mom. Was she closer to her dad growing up? Why?

What first attracted her to knives and axes, and who taught her to use them as weapons?

What was her favorite job on the farm growing up?

Who was her first love?

How did she meet Blitzo and Moxxie?

What occupations did she have before joining IMP?

Does she ever hang out with anyone other than her coworkers and her husband? What are her friends like? How did they meet?

Does she want to have kids someday?

What's her educational background? If she went to college, which subject/s did she major in?

What hobbies does she have outside of killing people?

Millie's aggressive, violent side is emblematic of Wrath ring culture, but does she have any traits that clash with it?

What's her favorite location in all of Hell, and why?

Standard job interview fare: Where does she see herself in five years?

Why doesn't she ever stand up to Blitzo when he berates her husband? (I mean, in a meta sense, we know why, but what's the reason inside the narrative?)

What does her extended family look like? Do they all live in Wrath, or are they spread out across other rings?

What does she love most about Moxxie?

What did she and Moxxie do on their first date?

What's her most prized possession?

Most of these questions are fairly surface-level, like the kind of thing you'd ask someone you just met at a party. But the thing is, we've barely been introduced to Millie through this entire series. It'd help if she spent an episode or two away from Moxxie so we can see her personality as an individual rather than part of a set. These writers seem to think true love = being attached at the hip, but that's not how strong relationships work. You need a balance of the partners spending time together and having time to themselves. If a relationship leaves no room for independence, it'll get stifling pretty damn quick.

Maybe at some point, Millie gets burnt out from work and decides she needs a solo vacation for her mental health. This would separate her from Moxxie and provide an opportunity to glimpse parts of her life that don't revolve around him and IMP, as well as delve into the fractured mental state of a character who's usually a pillar of strength. To co-opt and rephrase a meme real quick: Everyone asks "What can Millie do for me?", not "How is Millie doing?"

Ideally, the whole episode would focus on her, with no B- or C-plots. She could meet her friends for coffee, or maybe visit extended family members. Perhaps learn some things about herself she never knew before. This all sounds very low-key and lacking in spectacle for this show, but any plot can crackle with deft storytelling. It'd be preferable if the episode answered multiple questions (not too many, but multiple) about the character at its center.

But when all's said and done, it seems the most important question is: What does this character currently struggle with the most? What do they want, and what's preventing them from getting it?

One major problem Millie and the other IMP employees have is that they don't seem to want anything. There's not much driving their actions.

Blitzo presumably wants his business to succeed, but what does that look like to him? What specific goal is he trying to reach? The Goetia family has a bit more direction: Stolas wants a deeper emotional connection with Blitzo (God only knows why, but that's what's presented to us), Octavia obviously wants her parents to stop fighting (though we have no idea how she plans to achieve this), and Stella wants Stolas dead (though she didn't think the consequences through, somehow) but everyone else is a big ol' question mark.

Anyway, that's just a basic overview of how I'd approach it.

[celestialholz]

Welcome to Art (7).

Thank you for meeting me here today, friends, for our special extra credit class, 'The Art of Gay Lore'! Now, if you'll all follow me to the art room...

Now, Professor Hassel may or may not know we're here, so everyone keep this on the down-low k? It's a weekend, we'll be fine... everyone participating today will be wired some totally legitimate LP in thanks, which... well, maybe don't mention that to Professor Hassel either? He does work for the League after all...

Anyway, I'm Professor Mini Holz, and today's special class is on the topic of the classroom itself! Now, would anyone like to hazard a guess as to why this classroom is particularly important on our journey into deeper homosexual lore?

A) Art is especially gay in Paldea

B) There's some interesting shit going on here

C) Everything Hassel does and is connects to his own homosexual love story and general softness

Correct, random guy at the back there! That's right folks, there's no true answer, because the answer is yes. (Though you can have extra extra credit for C, you've clearly read my metas.)

Now, let's start over on the left, shall we? Your eyeballs are mine, caught in my meta web...

We start with several colour charts, which is fairly standard for an art room.

What's fun here is that this is the RGB colour wheel, which is not used really in art theory, but more to determine how colour is viewed in digital mediums. If you mix blue and yellow paint, you get green, not cyan. Likewise, the triple diagram beside it is for printing colours - cyan, magenta, and yellow. It's also the exact colour scheme of one of The Harvests in Artazon.

... Now, imagine a world where colour is used on a digital platform to create alternate meanings to those in standard colour theory, such as, oh I don't know, POKEMON TYPES. And then, imagine a scenario where a local and well-known artist does exactly that in his sculptures. What a wild world that would be, right? Insane...

Also, these are rainbow colours. Professor Hassel has two rainbow posters in his classroom. Let's carry on, it's too early in the class to lose my mind...

And as we move to the centre of our classroom, I need you to all just stand back for a second. That's right, against that wall over there...

The seats, guys. Those seats we sit on for every class are Grass, Dragon and Electric-coloured, much like that one Harvest that symbolises the unity between Professor Hassel, gym leader Brassius, and an Arboliva.

If you look closely and count, friends, you'll see that there's also six of each of them if we count the two Electric ones off to the left, which is how many olives orbit The Harvest. Fascinating isn't it, that there's such a clear reference to the harmony of Professor Hassel and his husband in the middle of our classroom, specifically where we're meant to relax? Almost as though he finds deep comfort in his marriage...

It's not the only thing evocative of those types in this room, though. If you turn to your right for me, and check out that curious little piece in the corner...

Mmm. A very familiar colour palette, I think we can all agree. Thank you to my colleague @spiritofstars for showing me this - she's already taken extra credit. This appears to be a kabocha, a certain type of squash, which a little research explains nicely:

... Well. Now, who could we possibly know who has been 'deathly ill', and who Professor Hassel might wish to see safely through the winter? Ah yes, that's right - Brassius, that same one who told us that very thing in Art (4). This is reinforced by the presence of blue cineraria flowers beneath the painting, which as my other colleague @someguynamededdie pointed out in its recent flower meta, mean something super cute:

You see how the Dragon blue is the background colour, the 'protector' of the kabocha? We live in a society, and that society is so gay dear Arceus. My dear little bro also notes that orange poppies, the flowers next to the blue cinerarias, symbolise health and regeneration, so...

So, what does all of that together mean?

A) Professor Hassel is a goddamn sap

B) Professor Hassel is soft and protective and he makes me want to sob

C) Professor Hassel is completely enamoured with his windmill-jumping husband

Mmm, yes, correct! It's any and all of them, thank you for listening. We have this concept of 'protector' also summed up nicely in the top right corner of the room:

Here we find a Jigglypuff - a Fairy type, something Professor Hassel's Pokemon are weak to. And in the middle, we find a mannequin - a model, directly in front of a piece about a man being haunted by his past - look very closely, and you'll see the ghost in the distant window, looming over the more confident man at the forefront. And it's beside the Grass-type seats. But you'll note the Dragon-type coloured lamp on the same desk.

Here, we see a man who could be weakened, who could allow himself to fall victim to the ghosts of his past, the family he ran from - but because of the Grass, because of his own light, he doesn't. He stays here, and teaches us, and loves his husband.

Perhaps Professor Hassel isn't the only protective one, and perhaps Brassius isn't the only one who finds hope and salvation in his love. It's very interesting, isn't it class?

And Brassius, despite being a very prominent figure in the narrative of this room, isn't the only person being referenced here. If we move to the centre of the room, we of course find this:

There's a whole narrative here about 'flying free' - if we look at Professor's Jacq's Pokedex entry for Staraptor, we see that:

That's exactly what Professor Hassel did, left his family because they were terrible! It's crazy, really, because as a protector, he must also be very sturdy! Trust me, I've defeated him in the Elite Test - he calls himself 'the dragon guarding the final fortess', and he means it. We also see Brassius fly free - quite literally as he jumps off windmills, but he's been freed from his own awful past, too... by Professor Hassel.

And who must a Staraptor remind us of? Well, gym leader Larry of course, Professor Hassel's friend and fellow Elite Four member... much like those poppies over there, which bring to mind our good little Steel-type sister in Arceus, Poppy. In fact, I think she might well be responsible for some of these drawings...

Note the Phanpy, there, which could represent Rika as a little Ground-type cutie. But what's fascinating about this wall is the selection of Pokemon here.

Gyrados is a big, scary Water type which people often confuse for a dragon... Ditto can be anything, but adapts to its surroundings, always keeping its own stats intact... Eevee can one be one of eight different Pokemon one day, and its evolution is a joint decision between trainer and Pokemon... Cacnea is a small, cheerful, spikey Grass-type, which reminds me an awful lot of a certain gym leader, and Dedenne - well, Dedenne doesn't evolve, and yet we have a larger, rounder one, and a littler, happier one.

... Huh. They're all relevant, aren't they? Dragons being confused by their own paths; Eevee, its own fate undecided as a youngster; Ditto, who shows us that however much we change, we're still the same within; our pair of Dedennes, representing size and shape and happiness, and a little Grass guy who looks like Brassius, all smiles and victory - he even has a little crown!

... Wow. Even I wasn't expecting to discover this much! I hope you're taking notes... now, I don't know if Poppy did draw these lovely pictures, but there's one here that show a pair of Rookidee, and she has a Corviknight. I reckon that if nothing else, she definitely is responsible for this one, and that's adorable. The one on the right even looks unimpressed, which might have had something to do with it worrying about the future of that Tinkatink she also used to have...

But I'd like to leave you today, class, with a final painting, this one right here in fact, with the colourful squares.

Now, this is right next to the colour charts we looked at earlier, but - well, when someone has no colour, all they are is white. And from nothing grows identity - Grass, Electric, Fire, Steel, Water, Dragon, if we follow the colours of types. And so we have Brassius - from a small boy who doesn't yet know himself, to a Grass-type trainer, to one bursting with the creative sparks of Electric and the passion of Fire, to one who must 'steel' himself against the hardships of life... through Water-y tears, and to Dragon. And if we do a little more research into squares...

... Well, class. Isn't that enlightening. A journey to trust and stability, showcased in art. You could even view it the other way around - if this is about Professor Hassel, he starts as a Dragon, and he dissolves into tears... he 'steels' himself to live alone, away from a family who doesn't understand him... he embraces passion in Fire, makes music and art... until he finds his 'spark' in teaching, in the Elite Four, through the Grass-type trainer. And white, of course, is not just absence - white is what happens when all the colours blend together.

Well, I do hope you've enjoyed extra credit! Expect that LP as soon as I can get hold of Pen - wait, Sir?

How long have you been standing here? Have you been here the whole time? What do you mean I ignored you because I was too obsessed with lore?!

Look, I can explain - guys, book it!

[animehouse-moe]

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 3: Hidden Inventory 3

I'll be the first to say it, this episode is markedly better than the prior two. It's better in quite a few different ways, though is still peppered with quite a few complaints. Would I say that things are looking up? Probably not, no. Would I say there's a chance at this adaptation getting better as we go on? Quite possibly, yes. It's a very weird spot, but this episode does well almost because it doesn't try to be Jujutsu Kaisen, rather it tries to move as far away from it as it can, and it's in the pieces that are central to JJK that you understand something is wrong. Confusing yes, but hopefully I can break down my thoughts into more detail with this post.

I like to call what I've just described the "Tanya The Evil Effect". It's an aspect where the depiction of a story and its events ends up so far deviated in tone and experience, that when under good direction and work you can still value and appreciate it as something disparate from the source material.

The episode director isn't in over their head this episode, Gosso isn't hamfisting excessive and incoherent direction into the content at large, there's just a lot of stuff that greatly divorces this episode from Gosso's vision at large, and is part of why it remains successful.

I still think there's things that are silly and pointless changes for the sake of cutting corners, like this sequence of Kuroi and Geto talking where they're static in the anime vs in motion in the manga. It's just one of those simple things that provides context and agency to the situation. Why would Geto and Kuroi be standing still if Amanai is in danger?

If you take a closer look at the episode, it's actually quite odd. There's a lot of direction that's bog standard, just characters in frame standing still. But then you get random bursts of direction that are surprisingly solid, like this piece of Amanai behind the fence/bars, symbolizing her isolation and feeling of being prisoner to her role as the Star Plasma Vessel. Arguably one of the only scenes that makes proper use of the change of scenery from the rooftop rendezvous of the manga.

Anyways, onto Okinawa. I'm disappointed, but also surprised. Incredibly sad to not see Gojo's summer hairstyle on display, but I also feel like with a lot of these scenes, this is the closest we'll manage to S1/manga humor parity.

Alright, back into disappointment mode. Very sad that they didn't include this pose/panel for Haibara and Nanami. Why don't we just continue to strip the characterization and style of this cast more, MAPPA? Also, poor Haibara man. Nanami's already a lost cause sadly, but I at least had a bit of hope for Haibara in spite of the early showings of their character design. Even worse than I was expecting to be honest. The energy and slightly goofy nature just does not exist within him in the anime.

Have to shout out my boy Asta/Tadano though. Love seeing Gakuto Kajiawara getting more and more VA roles.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Okinawa. This is now a drama anime, plain and simple. The framing/layouts/etc are all very much drama leaning, and it's well done. It's just that compared to what the manga offers.... it's, well, decidedly not it. Also, unsure why, but random scenes in the episode are very low-res? I know Tumblr compression does not help at all, but this scene in particular is incredibly grainy and odd. There's also something wrong here in how dull Gojo and Geto's colors are in the shade compared to how vibrant the scene is in the light. I wouldn't call it bad compositing, but the color design doesn't feel quite right. I mean, the second image is of them in the exact same spot under the shade, but it looks so much better? The environment art is sharper in their vicinity, the character designs are more detailed, there's proper shading, and the colors seem way more accurate/realistic.

Maybe I've just gotten used to the poor compositing/coloring of the series to be honest, because at first glance I didn't actually think it was as inconsistent as I'm finding it to be.

Also, shoutout MAPPA hating on Geto again man. This dude is just stepped all over through these episodes and it hurts me so much. His expressiveness is totally stripped away from him and replaced with some hollow smile that I'm sure anime onlies can even tell carries no weight. Like please tell me, who are these two people in the anime??? It just hurts, and it's the tip of the iceberg for the issues with faces and expressions.

Personally speaking, I think this one is the biggest failure from MAPPA. They literally did this exact defeated smile Geto loves to wear in JJK 0, and they can't repeat it for S2? It's just so painful to see them totally mismanage the characters despite having simpler designs so they can "be more expressive".

That's enough bemoaning what's happened to poor Geto, allow me to return to why this episode is actually better (though it only really borders on good) than the prior ones: that drama feel. They extend what's displayed in the manga of Amanai and co's Okinawa trip, and it's pretty well done. I'd say as a manga reader though? I don't really care, and I don't think it adds a great deal to the experience in the first place with how they chose to add things. The scenes are pretty and some of the best displayed in the episode though, of course. The good old MAPPA special of placing insane effort into original pieces while giving the source material the cold shoulder.

Okay, one little piece of criticism (though it's actually sorta big). MAPPA just can't keep their little paws off of messing up characters for some reason. It's a simple thing, I know, but it's also why I'm complaining about it. There was no need. No need to have Amanai place her hands behind her back, to do something that her character never did even once in the manga. But they do, and it changes the tone of Amanai simply walking through an aquarium, to Amanai placing more thought in the experience. A very frustrating and needless change that weighs down the actual potential displayed in the sequence at large.

Anyways, what makes this piece of the original adaptation good? Well, the use of the symbolism of fish was already strong in the manga thanks to Gege, as its used to further show Amanai's isolation and the lack of a group that she can exist alongside/be with. That part remains clear in the anime thankfully. The piece that adds to it though is the parallel between the aquarium and its customers. They place the idea of Amanai's isolation compared to the fish on top of the people visiting the aquarium. Sounds a little odd maybe but I'm bad at explaining, but the point is to show the isolation Amanai feels from seeing the fish (and whales) in the aquarium as a palpable and noticeable thing that she actively experiences.

Of course, I'm not without complaints, but I feel like it's easier to let it slide if you don't look deeply at this sequence. If you see it as something untethered to Amanai's character, the weird extra cuts of the fish swimming freely in the aquarium is fine, but putting it alongside the context of Amanai's character it's pretty confusing and excessive. Why spend all that time fixating on the movements of the fish trapped in an aquarium, relegated to their current fate? Feels like a tone deaf movement for some odd pursuit of artistry that neglects the function of the sequence.

Alright, on to the next butchered character/sequence! Toji and Gojo. Man, I knew what to expect considering they showed viewers as much of the "good" stuff as they could, but I didn't think it was going to get this weak.

I knew Toji was going to suffer, but I mean, how different can you really get and still call it the same character? What a weird shit-eating grin in the anime versus the far more creepy and naturally twisted smirk that rests on Toji's face. It's just incredibly bothersome to see them fail so miserably with reactions that are so important to characters.

And I mean, they do it again, and again, and again. The whole flashback sequence is meant to be played off like horror, and up until the reveal is well done. It's got tension, a cheesy horror soundtrack. It's got the potential to actually do something with the appeal it's aiming for, but it ultimately fails because what is Toji's reaction here? It's supposed to be the thing that he fears/despises/disgusts, but all that shows on his face is plain surprise? Compare that to the manga, and you see how flat and lifeless this reaction is.

Okay okay last one before I move on. What kind of pose is this? He's so relaxed and standing like he's already superior to Gojo, like he knows he could win effortlessly. It is absolutely not the pose and expression of a man set to go up against arguably the most feared sorcerer of his time.

Anyways, action and stuff. I don't think it's terrible. As I'd already established though it's not JJK action. It takes well done choreography and layouts, and reduces it to flashy cuts that viewers can barely piece together in time. What's more worth talking about is how dim and over processed the sequences are. They just end up looking so out of place no matter what MAPPA tries to do. Also man, the S2 OST really does stink. Even in a tense action sequence there's just zero heart in it. Such a massive flop compared to the electric work on S1 and 0.

Okay, yes, Keiichirou Watanabe's animation for Gojo's Blue is well done. But, if the camera wasn't having a seizure I'm sure it would be better received. Of course, same issues in regards to the prior statement about action with the dimming and over processing too. Wastes a lot of potential that the cut had to be a genuinely great piece of animation in the context of JJK. It still undeniably is, beneath all of the additional oddities that bury it, but it's pretty far removed from JJK.

If you want to understand what I'm saying, take a look at Hanami vs Yuji and Todo (Watanabe did the cut of Hanami's massive branch attack). Yes, the compositing is better for Gojo's blue, but take a look at the camera work. How much effort it places into keeping the duo in frame, how hard it tries to keep things cohesive and easy to follow. It's a night and day difference that shows the importance of a director in delivering the best version of someone's animation.

Anyways, here's Gojo's Blue sequence, as a video. Too long to make into a reasonable quality gif, and also insanely flashy and all over the place so nicer than having seizure material auto-play in two places at once.

Alright, so uh, Gojo dies, Toji pulls up with the gat and domes Amanai right in front of Geto, following it up by announcing that he killed Gojo. And then the episode ends. Honestly? I loved the ending just cause I know it'll cause so much chaos for viewers.

The episode overall though? It's weird that I think it noticeably better than the prior two when I've complained about so much, but maybe it's one of those things where the closer you get to being correct, the more faults you find in the thing being examined. Regardless, it feels like Toji's been incredibly nerfed from a viewer's perspective compared to the manga (alongside Geto and plenty of others), and honestly I had next to no hype for their actual sequence because it all felt so disjointed. The pacing of it felt off, and the action just didn't grab me with it's super flashy, highly processed, up close and personal so you can't quite tell what's going on combat. I'd say it's still a flop compared to what S1 would offer in comparison for big moments, but it's also done better on average when compared to the prior two episodes.

Pacing is of massive concern now though. We're three episodes in, with a total of five. It took us three episodes to make 8 chapters total, and we've got 6 though more likely 7 chapters of content left to cover for this arc, with only 2 episodes remaining. "Oh that's not too bad", except for the fact that there's the massive upcoming fight alongside us still having to get through Toji vs Geto. Even with the 6 instead of 7 chapters, even if they don't add any original content, they're speed-running at a minimum of 3 chapters for the last two episodes, which is pretty damn bold.

Is Hidden Inventory/Gojo's Past going to hold on and make it to the end in its current state, or will it rush itself to an early grave? Next episode will certainly be the deciding factor, but whatever it is, I'm not exactly hopeful of where we're going to be left.

[spectralscathath]

do you have any voice headcanons for Antares? how they talk, stuff like that?

Okay well here’s the characters that I think would keep the voices similar to what they have in show, because the performances given were excellent and really defined the character to me. The cadence, the tone, all that, these ones work well.

Winter, Ironwood, Tyrian, Watts, Salem, Hazel, Oscar, Ozpin, the Ace Ops are all solid, Robyn, Whitley, Sienna, Raven, Mercury, Vernal.

So here's the ones I'd mess with:

Ruby: I’d want to still have her sound light and innocent, but I’d definitely make her way less squeaky then she was in the show. A voice that can still have a bit of grit, if she needs it. I’m picturing something like Dani Phantom in Danny Phantom, or X-23 in x-men evolution (Andrea Libman’s version). Childish but able to get dangerous.

Weiss: definitely something posh but not necessarily snooty. She should have a very clear voice, one that’s clearly been through a million dictation lessons and speaks quite musically at that. Pick a soprano broadway singer, go from there.

Blake: I think she’d probably have the deepest voice of the main four girls? Not raspy, but resonant. Able to soften up, I picture something like Vi from Arcane or Korra from Legend of Korra.

Yang: Not as deep as Blake’s voice, but definitely with a bit of grit to it that gives her that tough vibe. Where Blake has resonance, Yang does have rasp. Sorta Ryuko Matoi-esque, or like Amethyst from Steven Universe.

Qrow: as much as I like Jason Liebrecht’s work I don’t think he works quite as well for Qrow, which is not anything against him just the voice doesn’t fit as much as I’d prefer. I’ve always felt Qrow should have a voice with a deeper register anyway, so I’d be picking a performance like Wolverine from X-Men Evolution, or Ghazan, Legend of Korra.

Sun: I really like Lego Monkie Kid and all the voice actors are great, I just can’t decide if Sun gets MK’s voice (younger, peppy, excited, also Sokka) or Monkey King’s (equally peppy, a little more deep, a bit tricksy, also Goku).

Ilia: I think Cherami Leigh’s voice acting is great (maybe she can be Blake?) but my Ilia is a bit younger and a lot softer so I’d want her to have more of a higher voice, to contrast Antares-Blake’s lower register. Something that still cracks, a bit like Luz from Owl House, mayhaps, or Marcy from Amphibia.

Summer: if any of you have watched Critical Role 3 Bells Hells and have listened to Ashley Johnson’s voice for Fearne, that’s it exactly. Really soft and breathy and gentle, really distinctive from the rest of the cast.

Tortuga: Tortuga had a very deep voice compared to the other Ace Ops, but not gravelly. Not quite on the levels of like, James Earl Jones, but more like Keith Davids in his Dr Facilier role, able to be quick but with gravitas.

Cinder: needs to be huskier, definitely able to have charisma behind it rather than risking sounding childish, or whiny. I picture something like Meg from Hades or Lust from FMA.

Jaune: I think he’d have one of the higher pitched voices of the male cast? Definitely a tenor, speaks fast and nervously, I picture kinda like Martin Blackwood’s voice from the Magnus Archives (I have no idea what anyone’s accents are and I don’t want to think about it), or Rocky from Lackadaisy.

Nora: super high pitched and nasally, but really sweet and cute nonetheless. I’d say kinda like, Molly from Epithet Erased, or Ivy, Lackadaisy again.

Pyrrha: I think she should have the most standard teenager voice? She deserves it, she deserves normal and not exceptional. I picture, like Gwen Stacy from Spiderverse, or Wendy from Gravity Falls?

Ren: a very subdued, almost monotone voice, its not necessarily particularly low or high, but could totally drop down to something very menacing if pushed. I’m thinking, like, a chilled out version of Percy from Vox Machina, with that same ability to go right down into a danger zone.

Emerald: what if we took Cherami Leigh's Ilia voice and just moved it here what then? Other options I think would suit her would be something like Miriam from Dragon Age (Kimberly Brooks is always a win)

Penny: If Nora was high pitched I think Penny should sound like a literal child, on account of Pietro really leaning into the 'innocent little girl' thing when he was downloading voice clips to make into her synthesizer- or, hear me out: Penny voiced by a vocaloid.

[gamergirlboy]

January 2024 Game Diary

Dredge

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare

Fishing Vacation 

Quantum Break 

Nightmare Frames

Dredge

Dredge is a game I picked up in the winter sale of last year as part of the indie game kick that I’ve been on. I saw “horror” and “fishing” and was like yeah, that’s for me. I did like it quite a bit but I found the story bits a little… underwhelming. It wasn’t bad, just pretty typical for anyone who likes “ocean is full of horrors” type media. The NPCs are all foreboding with their talk of “things happening at night” and whatnot, and I was like cool, stuff happens, yeah it’s a horror game (I’ve played so much survival horror over the past few hours so I may be a bit desensitized). I did like the ship customizing a lot, and the drawings of all the fish I found were delightful. I also enjoyed plundering shipwrecks for treasure, although most of what I found was the same junk over and over. That did make the relics I found that much more exciting, so maybe that’s not a terrible thing. Stellar Basin was easily my favorite section, although it took me some time to figure out what I was meant to do, mostly because I didn’t figure out how ship upgrades worked until I had spent a few hours wandering around with the standard engine. The glowing fish and algae combined with the large creature looming underneath kept me intrigued enough to power through until I figured out how to keep the creature from attacking me. Overall I would say I liked it! It’s a neat little game that could’ve used more content, but for the price I would say it’s worth it if you’re looking for cozy horror. 7/10 

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare 

I became a bit of an Alan Wake superfan last year around February when I decided to play the first Alan Wake game on the assumption that the game was kind of bad but funny. I streamed it in discord to my friends and we enjoyed the dated expressions of the characters and the low budget Twin Peaks experience that the town of Bright Falls provided. It ended up having more points in its favor than I expected - it takes place in the Pacific Northwest - which works so well for me in terms of horror -, the characters are genuinely lovable and funny (Barry, not Alan really he is a bit of an asshole), and exploding the darkness with the flashlight was satisfying if not a bit tedious after a few hours. So I played this game, then Alan Wake 2, then Control… and now I love the Remedyverse, the universe that connects all these games. 

THIS game kind of sucks, but because this company apparently owns my ass now I played it anyway. It is short, and the premise of the game is you’re basically playing a monster of the week groundhog’s day episode. As someone who has watched X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural, I consider this trope tried and true. Alan Wake wakes up in Arizona and has to figure out how to defeat Mr. Scratch and escape the loop. Every character in the loop is a conventionally hot woman, one of which is hypnotized and actually tries to fuck Alan. It’s pretty crude and sexist, but unsurprising from an older game. It does manage to encapsulate the Remedy charm despite its shortcomings, with television sets and projectors spread out throughout the levels showing snuff films of Mr. Scratch himself committing evil deeds while negging Alan. This was easily my favorite part, and you can see how Remedy had begun experimenting with live-action film in video games long before Control and Alan Wake 2 came out. I think if you absolutely love the Remedyverse this game is worth playing, especially because you can pick it up for a few bucks in a sale. Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not, but I don’t regret playing it. 5/10 

Fishing Vacation 

I bought this game for the same reason I bought Dredge - it was tagged as fishing and horror on steam. It was also $1.99, and somehow even shorter than AWAN. I had a good time playing this for the 2 hours it took me to get 4 out of 5 of the endings, but it really is a bite-sized game. In the style of a very simple gameboy advance game, you and a childhood friend of yours go to visit a fishing cabin that you used to visit as children. You go fishing. Weird things happen. Whether you find the three keys hidden in the lake and open the basement up or not changes the ending. It’s cute, it’s an alright game. If you feel like playing something a little weird for 20 minutes to an hour I’d say go for it. I don’t even feel comfortable giving it a rating because of its shortness, but I will say playing shorter games has been nice because it allows me to appreciate the tiny studios that produce them. There is a special type of creativity behind these microgames that I can appreciate. I played Iron Lung last year and while this game isn’t quite as good, I did enjoy the creepiness in the same medium I experienced games in as a young child. 

Nightmare Frames

I am new to point & click games. Last year I finished my very first p&c game, “The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow”, and I bought this game immediately after because I was craving more. This one did not disappoint me - the second time around anyway. I started playing it immediately after Hob’s but lost interest due to how different it was. A few months later I picked it up again when I was bored and found that it was actually a pretty solid game. I like p&c puzzles and these did not disappoint. The story is better than I expected, the character development is solid, and the visuals work well for me. It takes place in 1980s Hollywood, and funny enough you are playing as a writer named Alan who has become disillusioned with his career as a horror writer and craves fame. He resents the work he has done despite being beloved by many of the people he encounters. He wants more, and that desire ultimately leads him down a dark path. Would recommend to horror p&c fans, 8/10! 

Quantum Break 

This game is also kind of sort of in the Remedyverse (Remedy no longer owns the rights). I realized I had a code for it on my Humble account and figured if I already own it, I might as well give it a shot. It is an action game, with episodes of a real TV show slotted between each chapter. It’s kind of fun! It is very weird! I like the parkour, I like the romance between Jack and Beth, and the fact that it is a video game that feels exactly like a 2010s cop drama (I’m thinking of Bones) is neat. The episodes were well done for a video game for sure, but they did not especially capture me. I wanted to keep playing the game! The shooting and time powers Jack has were what I was enjoying, and I didn’t want to stop doing that to watch what was happening in the background. Also the graphics are more impressive than you’d expect. It really feels like Xbox put more stock into this than they should’ve (I could not get over how expensive looking this game is), because I really cannot fathom who this game was actually made for besides freaks like me who want to soak up every drop of the Remedyverse, but I liked it for what it is. I think because it’s so weird - the random Night Springs episodes for example, or the fact that it feels so much like you’re in a tv show - feels like it would not really appeal to the average gamer. It seems like a game that wants to be a lot of things. 

I would not spend $40 on it, but I would say it’s worth playing if you love all things Remedy. 6.5/10 

[marciabrady]

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3 (bring it on!)

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3:

my all-time ultimate fave character: we all know it's ariel lbr but...again not to be too predictable, andrina! she's SO much funny in every incarnation i read of her and she's the only character that seems to make it with a semblance of character integrity (even more so than ariel who does NOT fare well with these sequels)

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: king triton maybe? i still think he has abusive tendencies and certain things frustrate me about him to no end but i think he's realistic and there's a weight to him that's intriguing to me

a character I used to like but now don’t: queen athena. i thought she was pretty as a kid and i liked her whole voice/singing to the kids plot thing but i just think she's so uninspired and lazy and her voice isn't even that good, her design is blah, and i don't think ariel's mom is that lady lol sorry

a character I’m indifferent about: hm. benjamin??? i guess it's fine that they kinda gay-coded him and it's some representation but he's marina's sidekick, and marina is the ultimate ick, and idk he's just so bland anyway that it's hard to feel anything for him outside of what he is

a character who deserved better: andrina! she deserved WAY more lines and screentime. i wish they got the original andrina back but tara did her best, i guess

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: carlotta and grimsby. like i get they're both side characters that are a man and a woman but obligatory hetero ships that have no chemistry aren't my thing (this is directed at the fandom, the movie doesn't really put them together)

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: i think aquata and that boy they put her with in the third movie are cute i guess? again i'm actively trying not to say ariel/eric

a cute, low-key ship: um. melody and that blonde boy??? i guess

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: ??? there aren't really any other ships in these movies, they honestly don't offer much

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: melody and that guy she danced with in the beginning of the second movie, but that was the point so

my favourite storyline/moment: hm...uh. um. uhhh OH WAIT i do love ariel singing in that hazy room in the beginning of the second movie. the animation is like rugrats level bad BUT jodi's singing carries it

a storyline that never should have been written: THE THIRD MOVIE. i will go to my grave standing by the fact that i think the banishment of music is the DUMBEST plot i've ever heard of/seen in all of hollywood and the fact that disney is SUCH a difficult company to break into and it's so competitive and it's supposed to hold the highest standards for its craft and THAT plot wasn't ridiculed in its initial pitch in the writer's room and how that plot not only contradicts THE FIRST SCENE we see of ariel missing the concert in her original movie but doesn't even make any sense, given that she gives her voice up to be human so clearly she doesn't care about music THAT much is baffling like the minimum wage character performers in the parks get better training on integrity than the writers from that movie

my first thoughts on the show: i honestly never cared about either movie but i think i disliked the third movie less when i first saw it because tlm2 made melody the main character and that really irritated me as a child because i didn't want to see her and her walrus and penguin, i wanted more ariel who was delegated as a side character bc i guess older women or moms just aren't interesting/worthy of being main characters???

my thoughts now: for as much as i personally dislike the second movie, i'm still glad we have it because i think some of jodi benson's singing is superior to any of her other recordings and i'm genuinely astounded by her talent in some songs. the third movie though is painful and i hate it and it makes me resent disney lol

[sketch-shepherd]

rambling some RWBY stuff

I said I needed a hiatus for a while because March has been a terrible month for me but I gotta get this off my chest. I’m gonna be talking stuff about RWBY ship discourse and a new direction I’m taking in regards to enjoying the show. 

I know I said I moved on from openly talking about RWBY ship discourse since like 2020 so I’m only gonna make an exception this once because the events of V9E6 are too big for me to ignore (spoiler warning I guess cuz the episode is still super new at the time I’m writing this)

So if you’re not interested in hearing me reflect on my fandom experience and where I’m currently docked in terms of my RWBY ships then don’t read the rest of the cut. 

Those who know me know that I really, really don’t like B/umbleby. Both in terms of actual writing because I find it forced with poor buildup and the toxic fanbase ruined any appeal the ship had for me literally since my early days of being in the fandom. So it should come to no surprise I’m not happy with it officially becoming canon in this episode

Though... frankly I normally wouldn’t have put much thought into how well B/umbleby is written or not because I generally just have low standards for ships in general (ffs I’ve gushed over ships from other shows that had like overall two minutes of buildup), but it’s mainly the toxic fans who really destroyed the appeal the ship had for me which is why I started to care about it way more than I should have. But I’m getting off topic, the point of this wasn’t to write an essay about my thoughts on B/umbleby. 

Likewise, those who know me also know I’ve always had a strong preference for its rival ship B/lacksun. Things are little complicated with that right now, but after some careful consideration I think I’m ready to dip out of the B/lacksun community too. 

Now, I’m not saying I no longer support B/lacksun, far from it. I still like B/S as a ship itself since I consider it way better written than B/B and it has more actual communication and chemistry. But frankly from my experience I just haven’t had any fun in the B/S community for a really long time. While not as bad as the toxic B/umbleby fanbase, I’ve dealt with too many B/S shippers being so outright toxic and overwhelmingly negative... I’m at the point where I’d rather just not contribute altogether. 

So yeah, being in the crossfire of both of these ships, dealing with stupid toxic fans/antis alike and giving myself more paranoia and anxiety than I asked for for five whole years straight really hasn’t done favors for my mental health. So at this point I just think my enjoyment of RWBY will be easier if between the two I just don’t add anything to either community. 

So what does this mean for me? Like I said, I definitely don’t hate B/lacksun as a ship itself. I might just ship it silently and maybe still include it in my AU’s or something. I’m just not gonna openly contribute to the B/lacksun community anymore

Sorry for anyone who’s liked my B/lacksun content back when I was really passionate about it in my earlier days of the fandom (if any of said people are somehow even reading this since I’ve disbanded from the fandom so much over the years).. but for anyone who cares I guess, you’re just gonna have to get used to me just straight up not engaging in B/lacksun publicly anymore. No longer drawing fanart (probably not even for a commission), liking/reblogging any posts related to the ship, writing about it, just overall making actual content. 

I still like the ship for what it is, but I’m not gonna openly invest in it anymore. Definitely not compared my other RWBY ships I casually talk about like R/osegarden, L/adybug, F/reezerburn, M/onochrome, etc... That’s basically what’s become of B/lacksun for me. B/umbleby on the other hand... yeah I still dislike it like I always have. 

Sigh... but I digress. This weekend has basically given me a reason to reset. Half a fucking decade is not a good period of time to worry so damn much about ship discourse to the point it came at the expense of the real reason I enjoy RWBY... which is the plot and characters. 

That’s all. THAT was the real reason I became drawn to RWBY when I first started watching it back in 2018. Not the stupid fucking shipping. Shipping was never going through my mind when I first bingewatched Volumes 1-5. Hell, my interest in shipping didn’t come until way later as like a second thought until I started looking at fan content more. 

And now that I’ve seen what worrying over shipping so much did for me for five years straight... I’m turning a new leaf. A “stop giving a fuck” leaf. My experience of loving RWBY in the past five years would have been so much different if I didn’t prioritize ship wars over everything. 

But, like I said. I’m undoing all that now. Going back to the mindset I had when I was new to the show before I learned of ship discourse and fandom drama. And I’m gonna see if it works for the rest of V9, as well as the rest of the show. 

This is also NOT an invitation to talk about ship discourse or r/wde shit in my dm’s (something I unfortunately HAVE to say based on past experiences of people taking my words as r/wde or criticism shit). I wrote this ramble as a means of explaining that I still truly love RWBY despite some of the narrative choices I don’t like and cutting the fandom drama out. 

To conclude in words of moistcr1tikal, that’s about it. See ya. 

[336863]

I didn't had too much expectations in any way but the GZ trip with C and her family turned out to be pretty decent trip. I got to go to a new country and all-in-all was pleasantly surprised - the local chinese there were warm, service standards were pretty high and I actually liked most of the food that we had. I also got to know some of C's family a bit better - K, Uncle L, DG and even C's mum. Taking the time to have one-on-one chats with them was nice and less tiring than I had imagined it to be. Maybe a lot of time the inertia is in my head and its a mental block more than anything else. Penning this down reminds me of the conversation I had with Jef where he said he tries his very best to "say yes" whenever he has the opportunity and maybe I should start embracing this "yes theory of everything" hah. I digress a little but I guess as with any travel groups of size, there's also a fair bit of friction but I think it all went pretty smoothly (at least for the parts that C and I were there for) C also had the foresight to leave a couple days at the end just for the both of us and I thought it was a really cute way to end off the trip. As per usual we had our short/heated bust-ups... but according to C, seeing as we're both "fire signs", I should pay more attention to walking around her trigger points and she does mine. I have to say she does manage me plenty better than I do her. Plenty for me to work on here. And writing it out over here does indeed help as a reminder

Ora's passing during my time away from home was a low point for me this past week. I can't say that it's a complete surprise given that she's increasingly looked frail for a couple months but it still hit pretty deeply. During the trip I was trying very hard to avoid processing the news and was not allowing myself to grief. It could be that I didn't want to be a distraction to others or perhaps I just didn't want to appear too vulnerable in front of C. But she showed that she was there for me and made me feel comfortable enough to cry

Ora -- you were such an important part in our lives and you were my very first bun and have been with me through the entirety of my adult life. I keep replaying back to to our first/last shower I took you to on the Sunday before I left for GZ - you were so good and well-behaved. I'd thought that you'd be gassed at being washed but maybe you just had too little energy to resist by then. Regardless, I'm glad that we will always have that. 11 years is a long time even in human years so at least I'm glad you lived a very healthy life till a ripe old bunny age. Although you're not the most affectionate little bun, you were the least fussy with your food. And! You mothered 6 beautiful babies and I hope you'll be binkying with 5 of them now as well as enjoying all the nanas there is wherever you are. I'm glad you came into our family and I'll forever be grateful for it. Hop free now darling Ora, you've been as beautiful a bunny as you are a blessing. I'll miss you dearly

This extra week off for reservist is doing real good to my mental health and work-life balance. I feel like it's helping me recalibrate my headspace and realign what's important in my personal life outside of work, where the alternative scenario would be a breathless dive straight back into work... That'd leave me with little time/chance to introspect -- so this is good timing in the grand scheme of things. Seeing the army buds again was pleasant and every time we meet, it reminds me of how we've grown a little older and experiencing a little bit more of adulthood in our own ways

In trying to keep to my newly made 2024 resolutions, I hope I've made a decent start with this entry, cheers and let's hope 2024 kicks on in a good way buddy. You got this

[ladytauria]

chapter vi. a little bit of spoiling

i meant to get this chapter out last week, however i ended up wanting to edit/rewrite more than i expected, as well as add in some new stuff <3

there may be another slight break in-between updates as i finish adjusting future chapters to match the changes i made to this one, and then also so i can maybe finish another chapter or two ahead xD

chapter preview and content warnings under the cut!

cw: non-graphic panic attacks, non-graphic flashbacks, non-sexual intimacy

Tim pulls Jason aside before they go into the den supplies store. “Can we talk for a second?” he asks.

“Yeah, sure,” Jason says, fidgeting with his sleeves slightly.

“Let me spoil you today?” He tucks a curl behind Jason’s ear, his touch lingering. Jason leans into it. “I know… I don’t want to overwhelm you, Jay, and you can always tell me if I am, but… Like I told you yesterday, it makes me happy to see you happy. Please don’t worry about the prices.”

Jason bites his lip. Just two days ago he’d told himself that he would let Tim buy him things, as long as it wasn’t anything outrageous.

Blankets… They’re not a necessity, not really but…

That Tim wants their conjoined nest to be half made up of things Jason picked out specifically… It makes him feel soft.

Jason grabs Tim’s wrist before his hand can slip away, turning it to press a kiss into his palm. It… it pleases him to see Tim flush at the simple gesture; butterflies fluttering against his ribs, the gentle brush of their wings making his skin tingle.

“Okay,” he whispers. “I— It would be easier if— Can I have a budget?”

Tim tilts his head. “A budget is a good idea. We… We can sit down and work one out sometime this week,” he says. “For now… Hm. There are eight blankets in my nest. So, you should have eight as well.” His smile softens a little. “We can count the one you like so much, if you want. So that’s seven blankets. Exceptions can be made if any really jump out at you. Does that sound fair?”

Jason considers.

Yes. That sounds fair. He nods, nuzzling Tim’s palm again before letting go of his wrist.

Tim tugs him forward, kissing his forehead. Then he wraps his arm around him again, tucking Jason against his side as they finally go in.

Jason has never been inside of a nesting store before. Most of his nesting supplies growing up had been hand-me-downs from his parents’ nest—and the occasional gift. After that… Well. It had been whatever he could scrounge up. So he’s only ever seen them in advertisements.

It’s less crowded than the grocery store was. Jason still stays tucked under Tim’s arm, at least until they get to the blanket section. The selection on offer is daunting—multiple aisles filled with blankets in varying color, fabric, and thickness.

Most of the blankets are wrapped in plastic, to keep them from collecting unfamiliar and unwanted smells. Each stack has a display blanket, though, meant for testing its weight and feel. Jason slips out from under Tim’s arm, walking slowly down the aisle. He doesn’t touch every blanket—only the ones that stand out to him.

Jason didn’t think he would be so picky, yet… He finds himself dismissing most of them. This one is too plush. That one isn’t plush enough. One is too thick. Another is too thin. This one feels scratchy. That one is soft, but too soft.

Down the second aisle, he finds one that’s perfect… but the patterns weren’t right.

He’s being ridiculous. But—

If he doesn’t find anything else he likes, he can come back for the ones he turned down.

Jason keeps half an eye on Tim as he shops, ready to drop his standards the second his alpha shows any sign of discontent. But… Tim seems almost pleased by his pickiness, smiling each time Jason turns his nose up at a blanket.

Such a weird alpha.

Halfway down the third aisle, Jason finally finds one he likes. He picks a pattern, turning and presenting it to Tim. The smile Tim gives him causes a low, pleasant buzz to vibrate under his skin. He takes it from Jason, adding it to their basket.

Jason makes it to six blankets with only two aisles left to go. He scans the next aisle, dismissing over half of the blankets out of hand. Maybe he ought to just go back for one of the ones he’d dismissed earlier.

He wanders down the aisle anyway.

It can’t hurt to at least look. He doesn’t… really want to go back for one of the ones before.

Jason spots it near the end of the aisle.

He couldn’t say what it is that draws his attention. The display blanket nearly blends in to the others around it; all of them similar shades of cream. But… something sticks out to him, and he finds himself walking straight toward it and taking it in his hands.

The faux fur—mink, the label says—is silky soft against his skin. Jason raises it to his cheek.

A near inaudible purr vibrates through his chest.

It’s perfect.

the sweetness of honey

Pairing: Tim Drake/Jason Todd Rating: Explicit Words: 43,464 Chapters: 5/?

Content Warnings: Underage, Age Gap, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Reverse Robins, Unhealthy Relationships Portrayed Positively, Explicit Sexual Content

Jason tries to sell off his first heat to make ends meet for the upcoming winter. When he’s taken by traffickers instead, he’s sure that’s the end of him—until he’s rescued by a mysterious alpha. That “rescue” comes with a price: Jason’s heat hits shortly after, and… one thing leads to another, and now Jason and Tim are bound together by a fledgling mate bond. It’s not the first time Jason’s had to make the best of things, but… he finds it a little bit easier this time, especially as he grows to genuinely like Tim. Unfortunately, just as Jason is starting to settle into mated life, Tim’s ex-pack starts getting involved, and they don’t exactly approve of Tim’s choice in mate...

My first longfic for DC! This is a highly self-indulgent Reverse Robins AOB AU. It started as a 15k one-shot, but after some encouragement, turned into... this: the slow exploration of a developing relationship.

A list of posted chapters & a summary of them is below the cut. Each chapter has content warnings in the Top Notes <3 Please mind them, and the fic tags!

I hope you guys enjoy—or keep enjoying xD—this fic as much as I do! <3

chapter list

i. a five hundred dollar lure

Jason intends to trade his first heat for enough money to survive Gotham's upcoming winter. He's picked up by traffickers instead.

ii. a gift, pretty and bruised

The leader of the trafficking group decides to give Jason as a gift to a mysterious alpha. Jason is strangely drawn to him.

iii. dousing the flame

Jason's heat comes. Tim's willpower is tested--and fails.

iv. the dawn of a new normal

Three days later, Jason's heat fog dissipates. He finds himself sporting a brand-new mate bite on his neck.

v. prescription: communication

Tim takes Jason to see Leslie, and then the two finally have a much needed talk.

vi. a little bit of spoiling

Jason and Tim have a pleasant day out... and then a less than pleasant night in.

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

can't stop thinking of this op danny/guardian spirit/young justice crossover that I can't write because I don't have the DC universe background knowledge for it so I'm gonna just dump the concept here

be prepared for a lot of rambling

so the JL consider Amity Park a Safe Zone in case of dire emergencies

but nobody is told why, only the top members of the Justice League know anything about the place, Robin probably breaks into Batsy's computer and finds something about some hero there named Phantom but he can't find any other info about him or the town other than that he's trustworthy

and maybe the Young Justice crew get fucked up and the JL are indisposed or being distracted or something and the safe houses are compromised so Robin has to be like 'alright team I know this One Place that's supposed to be like a last resort safe space' so they all end up in Amity Park, and their pursuers are right on their tail until they hit the edge of town and then some fucking force of nature comes down on the bad guys following them out of nowhere and fucks them up

they would just be like 'holy shit who is this guy how come we never heard of him??'

and Robin is like 'oh hey so you're Phantom? Batman said this was a safe place to go when we're in trouble'

and he's expecting Danny to know some shit or have a plan or a safehouse to take them to

but Danny's just all 'uhhh this place gets attacked by inter-dimensional monsters every other day why would he send you here for safety? also Batman knows who I am???'

Robin is just confused as all hell because apparently Batman has this town listed as the Ultimate Safehouse and its hero is listed as Trusted but he's never even spoken to the guy?

real sus

but Danny takes them in and finds some abandoned house for them to stay in, and promises that whoever is chasing them will not set foot in this town, like they might have to deal with some ghosts popping up but human threats are no problem

and they're in this empty house that's, okay well it isn't dilapidated or anything but it has no power or water or even security, Phantom just tells them he's got their backs while they recover and don't worry about it

but Robin wants answers so he's quizzing Danny on who he is and why Batman trusts him

but Danny's got no idea, he's surprised the JL even know who he is because nobody has ever come to see him, nobody has ever given him any indication that they even know he's here, which he was kinda peeved about because he had to tackle every ghost attack by himself

but the Justice League not only knew he was here but apparently volunteered him to look after them?

he's a little bit pissy about that, Robin cannot entirely blame him, Robin thinks this whole thing is weird, like there has to be a reason, the JL don't just ignore kids fighting crime on their own, they would have invited him into their team, offered him help and training, not left him to figure it all out alone

although the kid was pretty powerful, he took out a whole crew of bad guys in one breath, literally

true to Danny's word, nobody finds them, the guys who had been hunting them down and chasing them everywhere can't seem to track them here, either that or Phantom just keeps getting in their way when they try, they feel so safe here, safer than they've ever felt before

Megan picks up that there's something unusual about the place, it's like the town itself is telling them that they're safe here, the air is full of love and warmth and comfort, somebody here wants them to feel at ease, somebody here wants them to feel safe

Robin still thinks it's sus

he starts to wonder if Batman was coerced by this psychic force to mark the town as a safe space, but he's pretty sure Batman's too savvy for that, besides, Megan was certain that there was no coercion or ill intent plaguing their minds, it's just a general atmosphere of safety

and she's pretty sure it's coming from Phantom

they witness a ghost fight or two and are amazed that the JL have been ignoring these pretty significant threats and just let some kid handle it alone, sure he has the same powerset as the enemies plus some, but he's still a kid and he's alone

none of them would ever have been allowed this much freedom or this little assistance

super super sus

after the JL finally get out of whatever issue they've been stuck with, they come pick up the kids and Danny is there like 'oh hey I think I need an explanation because what the fuck guys'

and Batman in all his blunt glory just tells him 'we were advised not to interfere unless absolutely necessary'

Danny obviously Does Not Like this answer and wants to know who this guy is that's ordering Batman around, then low and behold, Constantine shows up, immediately balling out Batman because 'why the fuck are you in Amity Park rn I made it VERY CLEAR that this place is a delicate fucking ecosystem if Superman gets god damn overshadowed we are all gonna have problems'

aaaaaand suddenly it all makes sense

Danny realises that any hero who's powerful enough to take on a ghost literally cannot risk that power in the hands of creatures that can just take over their bodies at any time, especially when this is a standard ability in all of Danny's enemies

but he's still shitty because like 'y'all could still have called me or something it would be nice to know I wasn't totally alone out here ya know'

and Constantine is all 'kiddo I literally had the god of time show up in my bedroom at 3am to tell me to make sure none of these fucks tried to adopt you as a side kick, one of them has a track record with this kinda thing it's a legit problem, I couldn't give these fuckers an inch, this town was off limits. so WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE RN'

aaaand Batman has to explain them a thing, basically Phantom is considered so fucking OP and has such an omniscient connection to the town itself that it makes for the perfect hiding place and defence for anyone in dire straights, and it really is only supposed to be a last resort, the side kicks had absolutely nowhere else to go with all of their safe houses compromised

aaaand that's how Danny learns that he is kind of more powerful than most of the god damn Justice League

hope you enjoyed this because I am never gonna be able to actually write it, have a nice day ✨

[impyssadobsessions]

(YJ Anon) Okay so, first off, I just finished Young Justice... the bad news is they screwed over Slo-bo and stuck him with a fate worse than death and no way out. Which I'm not jazzed about. BUT! This blog is mostly centered on Danny Phantom, and the way they ended Secret's arc has some implications: First off, I've mentioned in previous asks that Secret was kidnapped by the government and painfully experimented on before the rest of her team broke her out and the Justice League put pressure on the U.S. to get her specifically rights to exist. After that, Secret developed this unhealthy obsession with Robin (III, Tim Drake's version) and started holding him to an impossible standard and generally expecting him to always be there for her. He was like, 14-15 maybe? Absolutely not prepared for that kind of responsibility. When he inevitably let her down, she started to spiral. It didn't help that in teleporting them away once she ended up showing them the edge of death- causing all of her friends to be low-key afraid of her.

She started worrying about herself being inherently, secretly evil. She, along with Slo-bo, broke her dad out of death row (he killed her brother, who was a serial killer himself and also her murderer, but the court didn't know or believe that). The break out was streamed live on the internet. As a result, she was no longer welcome with Young Justice and they were about to apprehend her when Darkseid, a big bad of the DC universe with godlike power, took advantage of her insecurity and self-obsession with her own inner darkness to turn her fully over to the dark side (heh). She left with him for a bit, and returned later to lay waste to huge swathes of people. Everyone who had every wronged her, including Young Justice, was on the menu. Robin eventually talked her down, and she was turned human by Darkseid for betraying him.

This is what she wanted, and is very much the good ending for her, but as far as public opinion goes? Secret was a ghost who the Justice League trusted and backed 100% despite everyone telling them she was dangerous. She betrayed them, and she started hurting a lot (hundreds) of people before being stopped by her former team. As the first ghost to really stand in the public eye in the DC universe (possibly, I don't know enough about Spector or Deadman to say that with 100% certainty) she probably set maybe the worst possible precedent for ghost rights. Danny is SCREWED public opinion wise.

Oh my gawd yes... Danny has no chance, because the ppl won't even believe the Justice League anymore. And then Danny knowing full well he could cause just as much a damage if not more if he ever allowed himself to become Dan. So Danny struggling with his own issues of wondering if some part of him is inherently bad. But unlike secret, he's determined to prove it wrong/and naturally does so because he wants to protect ppl and ghosts alike. But yeah, Danny getting any help to defend him from the public is going to be a bust. Either something where the world has to see Danny being the hero he is or maybe the fact of him being half-human put them in some ease... though Danny himself would hate it if it was the later. Not wanting to think he's good just because he's half human. Because he knows plenty of good ghosts.. but it is a step forward in allowing ppl to accept ghosts. But he be bitter if it was the broadcast saving world thing.. oo or if it was both. Danny just be bitter by the public regardless, so even after being accepted the most he sticks around for is a wave and let others handle the rest. Only on public display when its absolutely necessary. Though can catch him correcting ppl randomly like "Not evil."

[thenightshadeyaksha]

The Genshin Boys: Their type

what i think genshin boys type would be... y'all this is rushed asf and was written in like 10 mins on a bus so don’t think this chicken-scratch even matches  my actual writing, I was the English valedictorian after all.

Xiao (my beloved emo yaksha)

I personally think he doesn’t give a shit how you look, the man is 2000+ years old he’s above that, I think its more personality for him. someone quiet, calm and preferably not clingy is all he wants, someone he can bask in the presence of without having them talking and bothering him 24/7 so he is still able to attend to his duties as a yaksha (same here bestie)

Albedo (my beloved mad scientist)

He also isn’t one to care about looks, he wants someone smart, calm, quiet and confident. I think smarts is probably the biggest factor he wants someone to ramble about alchemy and have them understand and get into deep conversation with and maybe even double as his lab partner. I don’t see him being able to deal with an airhead considering he doesn’t have the greatest attention span.

Scaramouche (Will he do the fandango?)

He isn’t picky about looks but you HAVE to be shorter than him, he loves being taller than you it makes him feel powerful. as for personality I think he would like someone that is either a really smart sadist like him or a masochistic airhead that he can use to his liking. 

Xingqiu (my beloved book twink)

Looks don’t matter but he’d prefer if you were shorter so he could tease the living shit out of you for it (i know from experience), as for personality and other shit you better be smart otherwise he probably won’t even pay you any attention, as for books it would be easy to win him over if you were also a bookworm but if not it doesn’t matter I guess you just have to be good at pulling pranks.

Chongyun (the Hotter Jack Frost)

TBH I think he would be grateful for anyone to be looking at him romantically...or sexually. I’m sorry but this mans ego is so low from Xingqiu’s pranks that it doesn’t matter if your looks are akin to a deformed hillichurl and your an absolute airhead he would love you no matter what. (i bet your really pretty/handsome tho)

Kaeya (Sexy Snowman)

OK so i originally wrote this differently but someone was kind enough to point out a few things in his voice lines and story that contradict what my dumb ass wrote and i also sorta hated the old nickname i gave him so heres the edited version:

Kaeya does care about looks and prefers attractive people that he can show off  for looks but he also admires smart and outgoing people.i feel like he wouldn't care as much about looks if you were very well educated and spoken person.

old version:

This man is super picky i’m sorry bestie, he wants one of those (very obviously photo shopped) Instagram models, but at the same time he want someone flirtatious, funny and extroverted. hes got really high standards...sorry Kaeya but i don’t think your going to get  much from a %50 plastic %50 Photoshop guy/gal with the personality and intellect of a brick wall. (this ain’t Kaeya slander i love him but you can’t tell me this isn’t accurate)

Diluc (Flame daddy)

Poor bby, he just wants someone that loves him for who he really is and isn’t a knight of Favonious other than that he can’t ask for much more.

Child(e)

Hey girlie hold still ;) honestly I cant decide weather he’s similar to Kaeya with the whole Instagram model thing or he just has this sorta love at first sight thing going on other than that i have no idea. oh also i guess it pays to be a horny mf in this situation.

Bennett (pure bby)

he is grateful for anyone that even wants to hang around with him due to everyone avoiding him because of his bad luck, he would love you no matter what well as long as your not evil.

Razor (rawr XD)

he was raised by wolves so he’s not really picky as long as his Lupical like you, although he would probably refer to you as his mate...

Venti (tone-deaf bard)

he want a sugar mummy/daddy/glucose guardian to buy him wine jk, jokes aside i think he’d probably like someone carefree, friendly and with the same views on freedom as he does.

Zhongli (Geo Daddy)

as much as i hate this earth-bending grandpa i shall put up with him to appease the simps, he probably wants someone with a lot of money so he can stop freeloading off Childe or a person with a similar intellect to himself so then you both can freeload of Childe :)

ok bestie that concludes this please send requests in my ask box because im bored asf and need prompts.

[rumblelibrary]

*whispers* oh, hi!

can I request a little thing with Niki Lauda and his beautiful curls? Maybe Niki and the reader going on a roadtrip together and stoping somewhere for the night? 🥺👀

Bouncy Road Trip [Niki Lauda x Reader]

Words Count: 1.6k

Author’s note: It is my first time venturing into Niki’s mind, I hope I did him and your request right ❤️

“Well, it seems a bit late to think again” he remarked, as always his character would strike, even with you.

You chuckled, too used to his antics to really get mad about it.The two of you decided to go to the next race by car, something easy, a road trip to get there directly, enjoy the city, the food, have time to study the car and the track while others are still enjoying the whole set of parties and interviews that followed the race that just ended.

“You were happy to miss Hunt’s drunk hugs” you told him and he responded with a little shake of his shoulders, a parody of a shiver.You came to the idea that he enjoyed to play this rivalry thing way more than he admitted. 

It was something that gave him an edge, something to joke about easily in order to keep his focus on the cars and the changes he wanted to do.You got into the car, you’d drive first because he was just out of the race and wasn’t up to do it again.You were hyped to do the road trip, to be together in such a small space, to be allowed to be so close for such a long time.

You put on your favourite radio station, settled comfortably your seat and wore your sunglasses.

Road trip mood: on.

The sad part was how Niki road trip mood was: nap.

He was rightfully tired after the race, after the nervous days that came before it, but you couldn’t help to feel a bit upset about it.It was typical Niki, reasonable priorities over feelings, he probably didn’t even suspect all those expectations you set up for such a small event.So you drove quality, enjoyed the music and the soft breeze, you looked at him from time to time as he snored lightly, his soft curls unruly moving over his face.

Focus, the road is ahead.

After a couple of hours you felt a warm hand cover yours changing the gear.

“If you want to kill this car you could just run into a tree and make it quicker” Niki grumbled sleepily straightening his posture cracking his neck from side to side.

“Where are we?” He asked as he picked the map rubbing his eyes with his hand as you pointed at it on the map and you smirked

“Good morning anyway sleepyhead” you said shaking your head lightly.Usual Niki.He studied the map silently picking a bottle of water you stacked on side to have a sip, his unruly curls bouncing lightly catching your eyes once more.

“You have seen the race, didn’t you?”You were surprised by the question “of course”

“Do you think he deserved it? Honest to God, I just need an honest opinion of somebody that is utterly deficient of keeping a car for good”

You let out a breathy chuckle staring ahead, it was a compliment and you knew it, it was just his way of complimenting you, to tell you that he knows you have no bias.

“I think he didn’t, but around the beginning he did got the best of your attention” you say after a moment “I mean, he provokes you always and your starts are always a bit off, you’re not in the right mind, I can see how you change along the race and then you show your true colours”

He listens and doesn’t add anything.Maybe you have offended him, maybe not, he rarely lets you know.“At the next gas station let’s stretch our legs a bit, I am hungry” he says and you nod quietly.

When at the station you went to the bathroom first as Niki brought a couple of sandwiches and some snack, along with more water.

“Liquorice, for real?” You ask him looking inside of the bag

 “So you can avoid smoking and pestering the car and your lungs” he groans back as he ate quietly looking at you.You look at him as there’s no aggression from him, it is just Niki worrying for your health, in Niki’s way.He is still upset about coming second, again. It was starting to rub him in the wrong way.

“You know, I have seen there’s this exhibition in the local museum, we should see that, on a free afternoon while the mechanics apply the changes you like, I read that the museums here are open until 10 pm in summer”

He looks at you and nods slowly  “Only if you play the guide”

“Sounds like a deal then” you smirk and he makes half of a smile, he is content.You move close to him as your hand moves toward those unruly curls that scream to be touched, but he stands up throwing the trash in the closest bin.

The second half of the drive before your stop at the motel is on Niki, but you can’t sleep. Sure you put on your sunglasses and got nuzzled on the passenger seat but you couldn’t look away from him, everything was perfect: from the relaxation of driving at a comfort speed to the engine singing for him, the smoothness of the drive made it feel unreal, like you weren’t even moving but you were only still. You moved up taking your book, you opened it up, it was a poetry book but one of your favourite female authors, you leaned your back comfortably as you started reading. Niki looked at you moving his beautiful long fingers over the radio lowering the volume.

“Read out loud”

You were surprised by such a request, but you did.He listened, he was passive but focused on those words letting those unroll over him.You could see his mind was feeling guilty, anger for losing soon turning into that quiet silence he pulled himself into, the guilty one.He had high standard for himself and for others, but on himself he was the hardest and, most of the times, the cruelest. 

The sun was going down and you put the book away staring at him once more, you leaned in, his eyes showing that sad frustration and your hand moved on its own mean over an action you have been craving throughout the day slowly reaching for his head and digging your fingers into his hair. A soft breath of relaxation left his lips, your fingers trailing through the bottom of his head just above his neck and up again.

He rolls lightly his shoulders not commenting your action, but he is clearly enjoying it. So you keep going, you brush your fingers slow and nice, you pull the curls a bit only to make more room to your fingers, you move your hand up on his temple and slowly scratch on the side of his temple going back into the curls.He licks his lips lightly relaxing over your attentions. The radio is still low, nobody is letting out a sound.

“Fuck”

He curses as he yanks the wheel suddenly and you almost get thrown on the back of the car by the sudden motion.He almost missed the exit to go to your motel.You settle yourself back in place quietly, bend down to recollect your book that flew on the car floor.

Once he parked Niki was the first to leave the car to collect your bags, you leaned your back on the seat staring in front of you nibbling on the bottom of your lip. Maybe it wasn’t the right moment, you never knew with Niki. Maybe you fucked it up.

Once you settled into your room you got some room service, the tv was on some old 50’s film in black and white, Niki digging on some chicken salad finally in his comfortable night clothes and a night vest.You were used to the silences, you were used to share those with him, but sometimes it was gutting, you kept wondering if you messed up. If you did something wrong or what was the thing you did wrong. Your own insecurities eating you alive. Once he finished his dinner you showered putting on some night clothing and resting on the big bed beside him as you watched the movie.Then he slowly moved down resting his head on your lap.He looked up at you from that position, the blue light of the screen the only source of illumination.You stare back at his eyes moving your head on side with a little smirk, it looks like somebody enjoyed it back in the car.

But you don’t tease him, you learned not to, and you just go back to that process. He closes his eyes enjoying it. Your hands also enjoying to be back to unruly those wild curls he always tamed, the freedom to be able to do something so simple and so intimate.

“You know I need you right?” He says softly, not even opening one eye, you keep touching his curls, but this time you let him be the one without confirms.He opened his eyes as he slowly looked up at you raising onto his arms.

“You’re my soft side, you’re the art and the beauty and the poetry. I cannot be that, I am not that, but you are, and you, you do me good, you do me better, make me better”

You smile, because he never speaks up, but when he does, he just blows you away.You lean in for a well earned kiss, your hand slowly slipping behind his neck as he pushes you down on the bed.

Tags: @cazzyimagines @that-stupid-head-tilt-thing

Let me know if anybody wants to be added and I will 💕

[jingyismom]

Thoughts on Lan Wangji’s uncomfortable position during Sunshot

Rated T, pre-relationship wangxian, cw for harrassment, suggestive language, no other warnings, canon compliant

~

During the Sunshot campaign, Lan Wangji only had the reputation of being peerless and pure before the fighting began. It is entirely possible that this, plus his position and appearance, could have resulted in jumped-up heirs from lesser sects thinking him easy prey.

He came into it late, too, after leading the Wei Wuxian-finding mission with the Jiangs.

Imagine this beautiful young cultivator in spotless white appearing in a city filled with men primed for war.

Worse, imagine the fragile state of Gusu Lan and their dependence on these alliances.

Lan Wangji is politically aware, even though he's not held to the same standard as his brother. And when these men loom out of dark corners spewing lewd remarks and making even lewder requests, he wants to kill them. If the situation were different, they would come away at least maimed.

But he cannot afford to be rash. Not when the Cloud Recesses is not yet rebuilt. And he is in no real danger - if one of them tried to touch him he would feel no qualms taking a hand in recompense. So he...lives with it. For months.

Lan Xichen has other, more important troubles on his mind, there is no need to make him aware. It is just men indulging their baser instincts. It is nothing.

Except. Over time. It begins to wear on him. Its true he's only the second master of Gusu Lan, an ornament, a bargaining chip. A thing. He begins to feel like a thing. And after weeks, then months, of bloody fighting and unceasing, unseemly comments on his body, his face, his mouth - he begins to feel like a dirty one.

One night, Wei Wuxian is walking between tents during the push for Nightless City. He hears gruff voices, liquor-proud, making obscene offers not far away. He tenses and strides over, resentment rising beneath his skin. How dare anybody in this army treat a fellow soldier this way?

He comes around a corner and freezes. Lan Wangji is there, practically glowing in the black of night. Is he already taking care of the problem?

The voices continue to jeer. Lan Wangji doesn't move.

Is he...with them? It can't be possible that Lan Wangji would...hang around...anyone like this.

Wei Wuxian peers closer at him, still hidden in shadow. His face looks. It looks...weird. Wei Wuxian still has trouble reading Lan Wangji, but he knows this is...not his normal face. It's tense. Like he's angry. That, he's seen before, maybe too often. But there is the slightest furrow to his brow.

Like he's torn. Or...helpless. Which is, well. It's ridiculous. Lan Wangji is incapable of helplessness.

Still, the strangeness of it kicks him into action. He comes out into the firelight ready for a fight.

And pauses once more.

There are four men Wei Wuxian doesn't recognize facing Lan Wangji.

Blocking his path. They're saying things...the things they are saying. Are. Are far worse than any of the hushed, private joking Wei Wuxian has been privy to among friends. The things they are saying are forceful. Joyfully violent.

And they're saying them to Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji's eyes snap to him immediately and go wide, but Wei Wuxian doesn't see it. His vision is bleeding out to tones of red and gray, Chenqing clutched tight in one shaking hand. He points it at the men. They laugh. They don't yet know what he is, what he can do. He's happy to show them.

He raises his flute to his lips, only for a hand to catch his elbow, to drag it back. He shakes it off. He's going to rip these sorry excuses for men into small pieces, and then make their ghosts thank him for it. He's going to--

"Wei Ying."

He looks at Lan Wangji's face, right beside him now. It isn't stern, or reprimanding. It only looks tired.

He stops. Looks back at the men. 

"I was just speaking with Nie-zongzhu right over there," he lies, bringing up the only name he can think might strike fear into these animals. "Shall I go and get him, and let him hear what trash is fighting alongside him in his righteous war?"

The men scowl and leave. He turns to Lan Wangji.

"Lan Zhan," he says, confused and still unsteady with rage. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Lan Wangji says. He lets go of Wei Wuxian's arm and turns to go. Wei Wuxian catches his in turn.

"Nothing? Nothing? Lan Zhan, why did they think...why did they think they could say such things to you?" He knows Lan Wangji could have ended their lives with one strike. "Why were you letting them?"

Lan Wangji does not look at him.

"Because they can," he says. He tries to break away, but Wei Wuxian holds on.

"No," he says firmly. "They can't."

Lan Wangji turns to face him at last. "Why not? They may speak as they please to the second son of a broken clan."

Wei Wuxian bridles. "A broken - Lan Zhan-"

"If Gusu Lan is to recover, it cannot afford animosity from any who might give it aid." His voice is hard and sharp as steel. "Their words are of no consequence. Their coin is a different matter."

"No consequence?" Wei Wuxian asks. "Lan Zhan. They were saying..."

"I know very well what they were saying," Lan Wangji says, and pulls away at last. He leaves Wei Wuxian staring after him in open shock. 

Lan Wangji is mortified. He tells himself he is merely concerned about what he almost witnessed Wei Wuxian do to those men, but in truth is he is shaken. Scared, and tired, and very much ashamed. That Wei Wuxian has witnessed the way mere strangers could reduce Lan Wangji so easily to nothing. For the first time in his life, Lan Wangji feels uncomfortable in his own skin. And now it is as if Wei Wuxian knows. As if he knows that Lan Wangji is just...just a blank canvas for any passing uncouth fantasy. He both is and isn't the Second Jade of Lan - He is not untouchable, not in mind, in spirit. He is neither peerless nor pure. But he is not human, either. Not real in any way that counts.

And now Wei Wuxian, almost the only person that counts, can see it.

They do not speak of it. The war rages on. They fight, side by side, and protect each other.

Wei Wuxian does his best to protect Lan Wangji off the battlefield, too. Tries to make sure he never walks past strange tents alone at night, without being too obvious about it. He knows Lan Wangji wouldn't thank him for it, and their friendship is tenuous as it is. Still, the expression he'd seen on him that night haunts Wei Wuxian. He doesn't want it to make a home on his beloved face.

After Nightless City, though, things change.

Wei Wuxian isn't respected, exactly. But he is feared. When he speaks, cultivators at least pretend to listen. They've seen now what he's capable of.

He hasn't forgotten those men. Hasn't forgotten the lurid, barbaric pictures they dared to paint over Lan Wangji's undeniable impeccability, nor the unforgivably horrible way they'd managed to make Lan Wangji feel.

But there have been other things to take care of.

Until the banquet.

After the battle, after Wen Ruohan has been killed, liquor is bountiful as cultivators and foot soldiers alike make merry, preparing to feast. Jin Guangshan, now that things are over, has opened his purse to the victors, and none of them intend to waste it.

Once Wei Wuxian has recovered, once Lan Wangji has deemed him well enough not to need healing music any longer, they lose track of each other in the busy work of cleaning out the city, of preparing to celebrate a job well done.

But when the night arrives, Wei Wuxian is hurrying back to the Jiang quarters alone to join their contingent and head to the banquet. He's late, partially because he's him, and partially because he does not want to go. But Lan Wangji will be there, and he hasn't seen him in days.

He hears voices down a parallel street. Rough and loud. Familiar.

He turns and is halfway down the connecting alley before consciously deciding to change course. Dozens of voices whisper in his ears of vengeance, of justice, and black smoke licks his skin.

He sees them, lit harshly by the bright moon, washed out, pale and ugly, leering. He doesn't care what they're doing, who they're talking to. They have to pay.

"Wei Ying."

Lan Wangji's face swims into view, suddenly close. He looks nearly wild with concern. Wei Wuxian realizes Chenqing is already pressed to his lips, the first notes of a fierce melody dying on the air. Lan Wangji is gripping his wrist.

"They are not worth your life," he says."

Wei Wuxian opens his mouth to disagree. Lan Wangji's fingers tighten. Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, and looks away from his steady, grounding eyes.

The men are still there, daring to look at them. Brazen.

"You have nothing better to do than lower the value of this entire street by merely standing on it?" Wei Wuxian calls to them.

They shift uneasily. But one of them lifts his chin, defiant.

"Who are you to discipline us? We're not Jiang or Lan, you can't speak to us this way."

Wei Wuxian angles away from Lan Wangji, faces them fully. Lets the shadows grow longer all around him. Pitches his voice low and calm. "Oh? Can't I?"

Three of them begin to back away, but the mouthy bastard stands firm. "You've no claim on us nor that one. What, is ruining our celebration your idea of fun? He's been acting all high and mighty all the while we've been down in the mud. It's high time he takes a turn on his knees."

Wei Wuxian flinches as if he's been hit. He doesn't look at Lan Wangji. He can't manage it, can't believe he's allowed this to happen again.

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji pleads beside him. "The banquet. Your shidi and shijie are waiting for you. Lotus Pier needs you."

Wei Wuxian's breaths have gone erratic and shallow. He cannot kill these men. He should not. It would be...there's a reason. Lan Wangji doesn't want him to. He cannot kill them.

But he cannot leave it be, either. Something dark and animal rears up inside him.

"No claim?" He repeats. "What claim could I or my sect have on miserable refuse such as you? What claim could I possibly need in order to teach you a lesson? Cutting your throats would be

counted as a service to the world. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

The man crosses his arms. One of his companions is pulling frantically at his shoulder. "Give me one good reason why I can't bend that pretty thing over my knee."

A vicious snarl rips out of Wei Wuxian's throat and he lunges forward, but he's held back. Lan Wangji is holding him back.

"Why are you stopping me?" He bites out at him. "Why aren't you ending them yourself?"

Lan Wangji is angry now, enraged, Wei Wuxian can see. Why is he still letting these men breathe?

"Because my duty to my family comes first. As does yours. Wei Ying, think. Alive, they are nothing. Dead, they are an excuse to deal a killing blow to both our sects."

Wei Wuxian clenches his teeth and rips his arm out of Lan Wangji's grasp. He's right. Wei Wuxian hates that he's right.

The resentment is burning him up from the inside with no outlet. But Lan Wangji is looking at him, holding him steady with just his righteously angry gaze. 

"Well?" Calls the man, who apparently has a deathwish. "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Wei Wuxian bites out, not looking at him. "Leave if you value your life."

"Waiting for you to give me a reason we can't have him. It's just one night. Who's to know? Who's to care?"

It's a ridiculous question. Beyond ridiculous. There is no single reason - the best one is that Lan Wangji would have the perfect excuse to kill them if they did indeed try. But Wei Wuxian is past thinking clearly. He sees only the worn, tired anger in Lan Wangji's eyes. 

The dark, animal thing in his chest strains against his hold, bucking and shaking, trying to get free. Trying to curl around Lan Wangji and protect him from anything that could dream of making him feel so exposed.

"One reason?" Wei Wuxian asks, then turns to look at them again. He lets the resentment free, lets it seep out into the night in curling, questing tendrils. Entirely without thinking, guided by some deep-seated, abhorrent instinct, he wraps his arm around Lan Wangji's waist. "He's mine."

He lets the thick wisps of shadows flick at the cultivators' faces, cold and burning. They claw at their own skin, crying out, and finally, finally, turn and run. The resentment chases them out of the street, and then returns to him, preening.

Once their screams have died out, and the resentment has settled back beneath his skin, Wei Wuxian comes back to himself. With a sickening start he realizes that he is still holding Lan Wangji firmly against his side. He lets go and steps away, heart pounding.

"Sorry," he says. "I'm - sorry."

Lan Wangji is staring at him, expression unreadable. Wei Wuxian cannot believe he's managed to do something so thoughtless, so stupid, so...horrifyingly revealing.

"That was stupid. I didn't mean to...I was just trying to speak a language he'd understand. I'm sorry. You're not - you don't-"

"I understand," Lan Wangji says quietly. His gaze has shifted to Wei Wuxian's shoulder. He looks strangely fragile. Tall, straight, and graceful still, but...

"No," say Wei Wuxian, "no, that was uncalled for. I should have left when you told me to. I'm sorry I made things worse."

The shake of Lan Wangji's head is slight. "No more apologies. I will see you at the banquet."

He leaves then, sword in hand, one arm neatly folded behind his back. Wei Wuxian watches him go, and can't help but feel he's made yet another fatal mistake he can't take back.

He's mine.

Lan Wangji cannot get those words out of his mind. He cannot forget the sound of Wei Wuxian's voice, the certainty in it, the firm, inarguable tone. They echo in his ears almost palpably, an illicit caress that won't let the shiver in his spine die.

He feels the ghosts of Wei Wuxian's fingers on his waist for a week. He finds himself, at random intervals, placing his own hand over them, trying to exert the exact same pressure, to feel - but it is not the same. Not without the warm, hard length of Wei Wuxian's side against him.

The alien mixture of emotions from that moment twist and mix and become ugly parodies of themselves in his dreams. He does not know what he felt, then, anymore. Does not know what he feels now.

The only thing he knows with any confidence is that every time he sees Wei Wuxian thereafter, he aches, and aches.

Aches to simply tell him that he was right.