#most of them wouldnt care that i did and the ones that do wouldn't saying anything about it (i hope)

[copper-dragon-in-disguise]

.

[mythalism]

You seem to be both a solavellan and mythal fan so maybe I won’t get shot for this question lol

Veilguard was my first game. I kept default settings, which meant solavellan world state.

I genuinely wonder: what makes people think Solas loves Lavellan? Or that if being with Mythal possible, he still would choose Lavellan?

He is so clearly not over Mythal. Last game is filled with references to their connection, she herself confirms that both still love each other. He is very protective of her while arguing with Elgarnan. Statues of them everywhere, him painting and playing songs about her, his very own room having statues of Mythal… In the end he discloses he does it all for her, refuses to stop after Lavellan’s appeals, and only does so after Mythal shows up.

In comparison, Solas describes what he had with Lavellan as “entanglement he selfishly grow close to” he both regrets and cherishes. Most of the romance is carried on Inquisitor’s shoulders, as she both explicitly tells what he means to her, reaches out to him and ultimately shares his burden of atonement.

I couldn’t understand why this ship was so popular, so I watched solavellan romance in DAI. And while it was beautifully done, having the context of Veilguard, I just keep seeing Mythal in every “we shouldn’t”/his face after balcony kiss/ultimately abandoning her in the end. It feels almost unfair and cruel for him to enter another relationship while his heart isn’t free. And to visit Lavellan’s dreams afterwards

What am I missing?

a lot of people would shoot you for this. but dont worry i am not one of them. be careful out there tho

i think the first thing i would say is that instead of watching a video, you would need to do play a full solavellan playthrough of the game if you do want to genuinely understand the relationship and why it is so beloved. im not sure which compilation you watched, but even one that includes all their conversations (rather than just the cutscenes, of which there are very few) cannot do the relationship justice. so much of understanding solas as a character and how he loves people, by extension, is wrapped up in how he reacts to the world at large, its people, its history, its institutions, and its metaphysics. assuming you're new to DA and wouldn't know this, solas's romance in inquisition is the shortest, most sparse romance in the game, and was added later in development. as a result, much of his essential characterization happens outside the bounds of romance content, but still adds deeper meaning, context, and depth to the relationship. even in terms of romance specific content, some of my favorite content occurs in banter that probably was not included in the video you watched. the solas romance is less a standalone love story, in the way many of the romances are, and more of a big juicy delicious cherry on top that helps you better understand the overall dragon age solas plot/cake you're eating.

theres a couple non-romance specific scenes that shed significant light on solas & mythal's dynamic from his perspective that i am not sure if you have seen and honestly i wouldnt recommend watching them because, again, i think you should just play inquisition and experience them in the proper context. but solas's companion personal quest is directly about his corruption at the hands of mythal, though we didn't know that until veilguard came out and contextualized it. and this quest pretty explicitly demonstrates how he feels about what she did to him: rage, beyond forgiveness, deserving of death. he also comments on her at the temple of mythal, and his comments are mostly neutral but verging on judgemental, and do illuminate that while he may have loved her, he certainly did not trust her. it is he who first clarifies that she was a goddess of vengeance, rather than justice. which i cant think about too long or else i'll get angry that they ret-conned it to benevolence -> retribution or whatever the fuck and erased the anders/justice/vengeance parallel... anyway

but i think more telling is his absolute refusal to drink from the well if asked, and most telling; how he fears for an inquisitor who drank.

he specifically calls mythal dangerous, arrogant, and fickle, absolutely refuses to submit to her will once again via the drinking of the well, and begs an inquisitor he loves not to do the same lest she suffer the same fate. he loves mythal, of course, but he also fears her. he is critical of her behavior and wary of her motivations. his love for her exists alongside his recognition of what she was.

another fairly vital bit of information is how according to trespasser (cole banter), solas used to wear mythal vallaslin until he burnt it off his own face when he developed his vallaslin removal spell. its how he got the little scar above his eyebrow. meaning, if vallaslin were slave markings, that solas was effectively enslaved to her. this is... pretty important context, obviously. but we never find out what it might have been like for him. veilguard.... didnt forget but rather deliberately ignored this because it wasnt willing to interrogate the issue of slavery which had been vital to solas as the leader of a slave rebellion. ugh. anyway.

this leads into my next point which is that veilguard really drastically changes solas's motivations to be far more mythal-centric than what was set up in inquisition/trespasser. we always knew something was up with them, and people always wondered if they might have been lovers, but veilguard goes in on this idea in a way that many people would actually call out-of-character compared to how he behaves in inquisition. veilguard itself though does present their relationship as rather complex though, in my opinion its one of the best parts of the game. the two moments that i chew on most frequently are the letter from felassan in mythal's weird little dragon pit that reveals how he made that island for her but locked it away when she was killed. and my ultimate fave is how she reveals that in the literal thousands of years she has been sitting there alone since her murder, many of which he was alive and fighting a rebellion partly in her name, and in the 12 years since he woke up from uthenera, he never went to visit her. not once. its giving jane eyre and i fucking love it. in this same conversation, she also says that when he killed flemeth, he wept. this, i think, is the crux of how he feels about her. he can barely look at her. he resents her. he will use her like he did anyone else. he loves her. he feels lost without her. he will never forgive her. he misses her. all of these things are true at once, and mythal seems to feel similarly; she loathes him. she understands him better than anyone. she resents him for betraying her and abandoning her. she calls him a pathetic little crybaby pussy ass bitch. she loves him.

i dont think anything you said in your message is necessarily wrong. i do think he loves mythal still. i think he always will. i think mythal is valid when she says that they have a bond that no one will ever understand. i agree he is protective over her. i also interpret their relationship as romantic though a lot of people do not. i just love drama. but i think you are misinterpreting his reluctance to be with lavellan as coming from his attachment to mythal as a person, rather than his attachment to his duty to what mythal represents - the world he ruined, everything he's ever done wrong. to say that solas would actually consciously choose mythal over lavellan if they were the final two contestants on the bachelorette is honestly, absurd. sorry. because actually he would choose neither, he would dramatically let the rose fall to the ground and run off to restore the elven people while chris hansen (felassan) dramatically runs after him. both women are secondary to him when it comes to the good of the entire world, and fixing what he broke. he has had plenty of moments to choose mythal and run away with her if he wanted. he has literally had her bertha-ing out in his crossroads attic for 10 years. he also literally does kill her via flemeth. which isnt to say that he wouldn't kill lavellan if forced to, i think he would. but the point here is that its not mythal vs. lavellan. its mythal vs. the world, and lavellan vs. the world. he should have chosen the world over mythal. he didnt. he created the blight instead. he destroyed everything. he cannot make the same mistake again, so he will choose the world every. single. time.

regardless, every time solas turns away from lavellan in the romance, he is not thinking "i wish you were her". he is thinking "if i do this to you, i have become her". prioritizing his own desires over the good of the world, stringing her along, using her as a tool to do his bidding (getting the orb back), are all things mythal did to him. he told her he would follow her anywhere. and when he begins to realize that lavellan would follow him anywhere (as she says in veilguard), he freaks out and has to end it. he knows he will have to continue to kill and cause destruction to bring his world back, so if he did allow her to join him in walking the dinan'shiral, or did anything other than break her heart and leave her, he would be corrupting her the way mythal corrupted him; a weapon to achieve his goal. but he refuses. in his mind, he already destroyed the world for love once; at mythal's behest. if he abandons the world for lavellan, he is destroying the world for love again, and making her an accomplice. so, every time he leaves her it is an act of love.

the way the inquisitor is the driving force of their romance is partly just... gameplay lol but its also consistent with the overarching theme of consent in a relationship that is fundamentally unethical and unequal. lavellan has to be the initiator or else solas becomes a predator. some would say he is anyway lol, but its clear much of the writing was designed to avoid this with the way he is constantly denying himself, backing away, trying not to give in. it might have been juicy, but for him to knowingly romantically and sexually pursue a young woman 10,000 years younger while lying to her about his identity and using her for his plans would make him an entirely different character. a character that would be a hit on romantasy booktok, but not solas. consent and ethics are so central to not only the relationship thematically, but to solas himself, and some of that is because of mythal and the inequality of their own past dynamic. solas is so passive in the romance not because he doesnt like this weird clingy bitch who wont leave him alone, but because he does not want to recreate the same dynamic that corrupted him into pride and uhhhh literally destroyed the world. i'll leave you with another essential quote that you may not have encountered yet:

Cole: It isn’t abuse if I ask! Solas: Not always true.

in trespasser, solas's duty to bring down the veil was more unambiguously to the elven people and the alleviation of his own crushing guilt, while mythal was collateral damage in his way and he used her like he would use anyone else (including lavellan loool) as a tool to achieve his goals. we see this when he kills flemeth and takes mythal's power. in veilguard they had to obscure this slightly to make him "less sympathetic", to use the devs own words. and they did this by shifting the crux of his motivations to mythal. i dont think his lap dog devotion is out of character, i adore it, but i hate that it came at the expense of his more complex and sympathetic motivations of saving the elven people and spirits from the damage of the veil. as a result, when looking at his behavior in the context of inquisition + trespasser + veilguard, i interpret it as mythal being symbolic of the destruction of the world at his hands. and not to toot my own horn but trick's interpretation that they shared on bluesky does support this, when they said that to solas, mythal represents the past and lavellan represents the future. ive written about his statement that it was all for mythal, and the tldr is that i think it is also supposed to be interpreted as symbolic and reflective of his psyche. but even if he did do it all for her, i dont think that necessarily negates his relationship with lavellan. he needs mythal to break the cognitive dissonance, alleviate his guilt, and release him, because she is the source of all of those things in the first place. lavellan could never break them because she is frankly irrelevant to those things. he is so caught up in his sunk-cost fallacy that he feels the only way is through. lavellan may not be able to break the hold the past has on him because she is separate from it, but she can offer him another path once it has been broken, a fork in the road he thought was straight; her, their future.

i think to say solas's heart is not free is a misunderstanding. he denies his heart's desire over and over, we see this clearly in the letter he sends to lavellan in veilguard that expresses how badly he wanted to put down his burden and stay with her. in his expressed reluctance to leave her in crestwood, how he refuses to lie and tell her it meant nothing. in "no matter what happens, i want you to know that what we had was real". his indulgent final kiss in trespasser. in "i will never forget you". its especially apt that you worded it this way and that vhenan means "my heart". if anything, his heart is the most free part of him. it is everything else that belongs to mythal: his body, created at her command. his path of destruction and ruin, which she set him on. his purpose, which she distorted from wisdom to pride. she, then, is the only one who can give it all back to him. and as soon as she does, he is free to prioritize his heart. and he quite literally does.

tldr; play inquisition <3

[zeravmeta]

sometimes im normal and then sometimes i think about how robin had been on the run for 20 years starting at age fucking 8 and when we meet her she's actively aiding in the destabilization of a country and gets so many people killed but one of the first things luffy says about her is that she isnt a bad person. I particularly think about her first appearance and her interactions with crocodile, because crocodile is (much like other OP characters) kind of a ridiculous man in his dramatic overcoat and his giant pets he feeds people to and. do you think robin was emulating him in that way with her own personal giant dramatic coat and cowboy fit. on the run for 20 years ever since she was a child, having to make herself useful to people so that they wouldnt suddenly abandon her, emulating her boss not only to gain his favor but also to try and appear intimidating herself? how many times had she done something like this. robin is a character who presents herself in so many ways, always wrapping herself up in an air of mystery and intrigue but shes also so deeply childish, she constantly makes morbid jokes about her situation because the last lesson one of the only people who cared about her gave her was that what else is there to do but laugh. to never stop laughing. having lived on the run she knows that an assassin is most effective when their weapon is concealed and yet she freely shows off her powers just to gain their trust. to play with luffy and chopper and usopp. how gratifying do you think robin felt when nami called her a sister. in skypiea she's constantly providing tactical assistance in how to survive in the wilderness but she's afraid when luffy and usopp start laughing at her suggestions. lets make a bonfire, robin! we're out camping, this is what you're supposed to do! she freezes in the same way she did when the kids on ohara laughed at her but even when the straw hats happily invite her to party she still stands on the edge, sitting further from the rest. she doesn't know what to do there. she had no will to live after luffy had saved her but one of the truly happiest moments she has is when she's not even cheering, just sitting in awe seeing the ancient city in the sky. was she thinking of her friends then? she never had friends her own age, just scholars multiple times her age and yet they were still her friends, who would never get to see this sight. when aokiji reappears and nearly kills them, shes stonefaced upon waking up that the straw hats even considered having a sleepover in her room. because they were worried about her. she's never had a sleepover, and it's something so simple to the straw hats, that of course they wouldn't see their friend as someone to use. she's never escaped the headspace she was in when she had to run away from the mountains of corpses of a burning ohara. the first and last thing her mother ever said to her was that she didnt know her, no matter how much she wanted to embrace her daughter. she never had the chance to say goodbye. she never had the chance to grow up.

sometimes i think about how nico robin was in many ways raised by her friends in the straw hats with their love for her and hauve covid

[mythicmanuscripts]

Hi,just wanted to ask if you would be able to write about people reacting to Aegon in displaying PDA with either his wife or lover.

Like the touches are not sexual but like lingering and innocent, people can see how in love they are or how deep their connection is.

It can also be a brothel worker (I love your latest piece of work) that he cares deeply for and wouldn't mind showering her with affections as she did him.

Anyway, just saying your writings got me into knowing the dom and sub in a very gentle and comfortable way. Love you!

I'm so glad to hear you enjoy my content!! Also yeah I love when dom/sub dynamics can be so gentle and sweet and very very healthy and communicative. Loads of people tend to think that BDSM is purely slapping people and calling them whores but that's not even close to the truth. In case you guys couldnt tell I am most certainly a certified soft dom and service dom.

Anyway, I love this idea! I think I'm going to write this with Aegon and his wife instead of brothel worker? I'm very happy to do a brothel worker one if you guys would like I just think he concept makes a bit more sense with wife!reader. If you have thoughts about this with brothel worker!reader and how that would work then feel free to let me know!! I'd be happy to explain on it.

Back to the point, there's nothing too explicit in this answer so no cut to hide behind, but it's very clearly sub!aegon so bare that in mind before you decide to read :))

I've said this before and I'll say it again: at first your marriage with Aegon is like any other arranged marriage and you're only seen together when absolutely necessary. But then you start to get to know each other and your dynamic starts to become more dom/sub and from there he is absolutely OBSESSED with his wife and everyone knows it.

So the PDA starts once the dom/sub dynamic has been sorted out.

As we all know, Aegon is very needy. He's a needy, jealous kinda pathetic little thing and he wants nothing more than to watch his wife be so much smarter than him and get to be her little gremlin cheerleader who followers her around and has no thoughts whatsoever. Now obviously he's the actual king so he needs to be seen a little more in control than that, as Allicent is always reminding him, but that's not to say he actually tries to seem that way.

If you're in public with Aegon then you are always next to him. If you get called away and are gone for more than a few minutes then Aegon will start looking for you because where are you??!! You're his wife!! How are you be away from him for more than a few minutes!!

He's been known to come up from behind you and wrap both his arms around your waist, hugging you from behind and resting his head on your shoulder while you're talking to someone else. He won't actually contribute to the conversation and if the people you're talking to try to include him he simply won't respond. He's not there to actually joint the conversation, he's there because his wife is!

When he's holding court, Aegon will never allow you to be standing with all the others below the thrown. Historically that is where the queen consort has always been, standing with the other ladies of the court while the king sits on the iron thrown.

Before you two became closer you wouldnt even attend Aegon's court and he didnt care. But when you start to get closer and you start come to court, he point blank refuses to let you stand with all the other ladies. You're the queen!! What are you doing down there???

The first time this happens, you had spent the night with him and he asks you to come to court with him. You agree of course, and you enter the thrown room together. He walks as he usually does and goes up the stairs to the thrown. He turns around and he's about to sit when he realises you arent with him. He looks around and sees you've moved to the side with the other ladies of the court.

"What are you doing over there?" Aegon asks you. He tilts his head and chuckles because he thinks it's absolutely hilarious that you'd actually think you had to stand there with all of them. He tells you to come up with him, and you do walk up the stairs to the thrown but when you get there you simply speak softy to him, reminding him that there's only the iron thrown and not anything else to sit on so you ask if he wants you to stand next to him for the entire thing.

Obviously this is unacceptable to him. He would never make you do that.

He ends up insisting you sit on the actual thrown and he literally just sits on the stairs besides you. Everyone, including you, doesn't know what to think of this but Aegon has no issues whatsoever. Honestly he's very happy sitting on the stairs and listening to all the different things people come to him about. Very often he'll look up at you, silently asking for your opinion and when you do start speaking, he doesn't look back at the person you're speaking to but instead he keeps his eyes on you. He looks so very clearly in love and in awe of you and pretty quickly everyone gets used to it.

After that court day you try to suggest he gets another chair next to the thrown or something but he actually refuses? He really likes sitting on the stairs, likes that you get the thrown. When you try to tell him that you're not sure if that's even allowed he simply reminds you that he's king.

Pretty soon all the paintings of Aegon during his reign are actually him on the stairs with you on the thrown, many of them show Aegon looking up at you and not even looking straight ahead.

That really shows everyone what your dynamic is. You're always calm and collected and very kind when needed. Aegon, meanwhile, is utterly obsessed with you and is always looking at you like he's in awe you're actually his wife.

Of course you're also always holding hands when walking together, or linking arms.

[drdemonprince]

what was your journey from libertarian to leftest/anarchist like?

well, as a teen i hated authority and society and wanted complete freedom so i was a libertarian. then i realized i was gay and trans and libertarianism weren't gonna do shit for me. when obama won in 2008 i noticed that i felt relieved, even though i had not voted for him. I went away to academia shortly after that, and became surrounded by liberal people, all of them doing research with a liberal point of view, and what do you know, product of my social environment and queer and desperate for acceptance among the group that said they cared about me, I became a liberal too.

over time academia mistreated me and rejected me for who i really was, and i started to transition and realize that i was disabled. i became more left-leaning frankly because it seemed like that was the only way to be able to survive as what i was, identity wise, and find anyone at all who would correctly gender me or tolerate me. if you want to be able to hang out with other trans people and have them treat you right, there are values you basically have to say that you subscribe to. anyone who didn't subscribe to those political values was mistreated, viewed skeptically, talked to like they were dumb, and ostracized. and some of those values did make sense to me, whereas others didn't.

i saw people pushed to the social margins for being libertarians, for instance, as if that is a political ideology that carries any danger when some random trans woman with a very weak social support system says in a support group that she maybe kinda subscribes to it. i was even terrified of people finding out that i used to believe in anything "wrong" according to the social dogma, for a while. but i tried to make the most sense of the confusing tangle of community held beliefs as i could, so that i wouldnt be completely ostracized from both straight and queer society at once. and so I was vaguely leftist, but with a confused understanding of systemic oppression based on identity (among lots of other things, like abolition and anti-colonialism), and a deep terror of ever saying anything that would ever get me criticized/cancelled/viewed as a bad person.

and then the pandemic happened and i wasn't so beholden to mass community scrutiny anymore. i read a ton i looked at how politics actually plays out, and i got a little bit more capable and secure in myself and came to similarly feel awed by how much people are really capable of when they aren't being controlled or dependent upon approval in order to survive. and anarchy basically asserted that it had always been there in me, i just hadn't known the name for it. and by then i felt safe and strong enough and had enough faith in others to decide it was okay to have opinions that others disagreed with, and that i wouldn't starve out in the cold if i gave voice to them.

like a lot of people, i had misconceptions about what anarchism really was and writers like Graeber, Wengrow, Solnit, etc really disabused me of that notion and made me understand that it wasn't a scary worldview at all, it was the most human and accepting one there really was out there.

My political journey has not been especially principled or philosophical, it has been emotional, intuitive, and rooted in a lot of social influences. i think that's what most political ideologies are about for people, ultimately, belonging and safety.

I was originally a political scientist by training and in that field's body of research we see that most people do not have consistent political belief systems, they agree to a mish-mosh of statements and support various policies that don't all add up in a logically explicable way. they also don't tend to have stable views over time. just as i think morality is a pretty bad explanation of why humans do what they do, and why we help eachother and avoid doing harm, it's very evident that political ideology is a piss poor predictor of political behavior or affiliation. the far clearer explanation far more consistent with the evidence is that people politically align themselves based on their social milleu and their feelings.

this is why i always feel myself holding back from dying for a cause, and blanch when MLMs start talking about needing to do all they can to bring about communism with an almost religious fervor (beyond the fact that such thinking also doesn't line up with a lot of communist thought and theory about how capitalism falls anyway). i dont think that any of these ideologies really carry all that much weight or influence people's actions, affiliations, or political behavior on the level we all pretend that they do. i dont think they're "real". anarchy is more of a philosophy of how to relate to other people in daily life, for me, rather than a religion about how the world needs to be or where we specifically need to be heading. it's more big-I Ideological for plenty of other people, and again, i blanch when they start preaching about it as if their whole life is in service to the idea of it. I think we do anarchism by living as if we're free, every day. and that's what i care about, if i'm being honest. feeling free, safe, and cared for by some other people, without conditions, right now.

[river13245]

The Angels Protector

Navigation / Castiel Masterlist

The sun had started to go down as you were driving back to the bunker. You had one job and that was to find a way to bring Jack back. Castiel had a special relationship with Jack he was like his own son and you had noticed the toll it had started to take on him when he died.

You knew about how Jack had killed Mary and had done things because the angels were using him. But the Jack that you knew wouldn't do something like that. So you were determined to find out how to bring him back so you could help him.

Dean would be so pissed with you but you could deal with him later when he did end up finding out. Right now you just wanted to get to the bunker and crawl into bed and just hope that your angel of a boyfriend would get into bed with you.

After an hour you had pulled up in front of the bunker. You grab your bag and throw it over your shoulder and start to walk in. What you heard when you entered made you place your bag by the door and walk into the living room.

You see Dean with his arms crossed looking at Cas and your boyfriend looks frustrated. Dean is looking at him as if he cant stand to look at him. Cas was explaining to him about how he had to do what he did even when he knew it would mess up the plan.

Of course Dean wasn't listening to him since he only cared about what he thought was right. What caught you off guard was when Dean looked straight at Cas and said "you know we do sometimes have plans fail and we have problems. But you always seem to be the cause of all these problems" There's a pause and your boyfriend speaks "what are you saying Dean?"

Dean was predictable he always lashed out at other people when things didnt go his way. You knew where this was headed so you look over at him and shake your head warning him to not finish what he was going to say. It didnt stop him. "You didnt tell us that Jack had been acting strange and then he killed my mom. You didnt stick to the plan and look where its gotten us. You are the problem Cas"

The glare you had on Dean could kill him if looks could kill. Castiel stood there and took it because he knew that what he said was partially true. But wouldn't you want to protect your kid and make sure that you were right before causing everyone to attack them. He also believed that he was the problem. Hell he spent most of the years doing everything he could to help just so he could fight that voice in his head.

A minute or so passes and Castiel just turns around and walks straight past you and to the door. "where are you going?" Dean asks and Cas looks back at him "Jacks gone, everyone is out doing their own things. Its time I leave especially when my time here is done" He leaves it at that and walks out and Dean doesnt try to stop him.

Dean goes to the kitchen and grabs a beer and then asks if you would like one. That sets you off because he just acts as if nothing happened. "are you fucking serious right now?" a scoff escapes you as you try to control yourself. Its not often you let out any anger or snap at people. You and Dean were very similar you just handled your anger better than he did and were more emotional.

He looks at you a little surprised by your outburst. "Yes I'm serious its not my problem he left after screwing us over" This causes you to walk straight up to him and punch him in the face. The skin and bone that hits your knuckles hurt but damn does it satisfy you. Dean doesn't try to even hit back. Not that he has the time too because your already speaking to him in such a tone that would make anyone shiver.

Looking up at him you defend your boyfriend who wouldnt do it himself because he cares to much about what dean and everyone else thinks of him. "Castiel does his best to keep the two of you safe. Yes does he sometimes fail but so have you guys. You have been too late to save Sam and vice versa. Hell other poeple have died to save your asses. Castiel has done so much good for you, for us, for the world. He turned his back on the angels and god himself after he spent who knows how many years he has spent loyal to them. He stays awake for days just to make sure there is always a way that all of this ends well for all of us. So ill be damned if you ever speak that way to him or about him like that again. Next time you ever tell him that he is the cause of all the shit things that have happened you will be on the floor"

Dean who is your best friend just stares at you. As if he is contemplating on what to say but turns out he doesn't have to cause Sam had heard everything and he clears his throat. Turning your head you look over at him and Sam and he is giving you a apologetic look. "y/n Dean he just-" you cut him off by shaking your head and grabbing your bag. "don't try to apologize for him."

When you get to the door you look back "I love you boys. You guys are my family but ill be damned if you talk to someone that i love like that."

-----

When you get your things into the car you start to head home. You could only hope that Castiel would be there. He wasn't home often because he was always out and you were always helping someone with something but you knew he wasn't feeling the greatest right now.

Your angel he wasn't fragile by any means because man did he look good beating the shit out of someone. However that doesn't mean that he doesn't feel things, he's an emotional man and you love that about him because so are you. he's better at keeping them in check than you are but you wanted to spend tonight taking care of him.

As you arrive to your cabin that the both of you had found empty a few months ago during a case you cant help but just hope that he was there somewhere. When you walk in and close the door there's no sign of life anywhere. "damnit Cas"

Walking to your bedroom you put your bag down and then go back down to the kitchen and make a sandwich for you and for Cas. Even with knowing that he didn't have to eat you still liked to include him and he would also always go along with it just to spend time with you. Once you place the sandwiches on a plate you close your eyes and you begin to speak to your boyfriend hoping he would come to you.

Taking a deep breath you begin "Castiel, my angel, come home please. I made food and can put on a movie" You weren't really good with words something in common you had with the Winchester brother but you hoped it was enough.

When you open your eyes to see he hadn't come a sigh leaves you and you go and pick out a movie to watch. One that you have watched hundreds of times but haven't seen in a while. So as you sit down you hear a voice from the door way. "y/n"

Your name that's the only thing you need to hear to know that he isn't doing well. The way his voice is strained as if he had been forcing so many emotions down. Looking over you see how small he looks as if the world is weighing on his shoulders. As you place down your plate of sandwiches you hold out your arms and he walks to you and sits beside you resting his head on your chest. "Castiel I'm so sorry"

He shakes his head and then looks at you and kisses your cheek "its not your fault. He is right I should have found better ways to help instead of-" You place your hands on his and squeeze them "don't think like that. You did everything right you cant control everything. Not even god himself can"

In return he squeezes your hand "I just hate that I cant do more. But I don't know what else to do. I'm so lost" You bring your hands to the sides of his face gently and nods. "well how about we eat and watch this movie. Let us both relax for a little while hm?"

"yeah that would be fine" He sits back and gets comfortable then you yourself get comfortable and play the movie. As it starts to play you hear a small laugh escape from the man behind you. "How to lose a guy in 10 days again really?"

"you love this movie and you know it" The angel smirks at your words and throughout the movie his eyes never leave the screen while your mind runs a thousand miles per minute. Even as you start to fall asleep but before you do you place a soft kiss to his lips. "you know i would do anything for you right?" He nods "i know y/n. Sam told me what you did after i left. You didnt have to"

A scoff escapes you as your hand rests on his side. "i know i didnt have to but Dean had no right coming at you like that"

"Dean means well he just. i dont know. we will figure it out tomorrow. Right now you need sleep" he says and you nod in response and close your eyes.

[redblogavm]

a ramble on ghostie's character

aka: ive inadvertently had a character go from no plan, to an extensive one, + some mini rambles on the ghost arc in itself

what are the odds im starring off the rambles of this blog with ghostie instead of red ? (& yes im intentionally saying ghostie instead of azul here, that'll be a separate one down the line :3) but nonetheless, i have ALOT to say about them !!

so, when i was planning the ghost arc in itself, ive been wanting to do such a thing since around red's cave arc, possessions fun in a story setting, sue me !! and with red, who's been possessed twice (or, three if we count the lucky block orb), i REALLY wanted to explore red's thoughts around that all again

so, i had this idea for, AWHILE, but it was merely just that, an idea, i didnt have a plan yet

until red got the thunderstorm sent to xeir room, and i COULD have just made that go away on its own, it was just a gag anyways.....but i wanted to figure out how could i make it go away ?? first thought was, what if i started the possession arc here ?? have a ghost help get rid of the storm ??

originally i nearly had herobrine come back, that was the idea i had loosely with since february, but because of monster school & herobrine's interpreted redemption (?) i didnt know how to work around that entirely, even though the red blog is arguably canon divergent at this point, i dont want to entirelyyy create something entirely different from canon, moreso just take a hill from canon, and expand on it into a mountain (sorry i love analogies !!) if that makes any sense ??

so that was a no go, i debated on doing something similar to blue's blog of having a minecraft mob, or something from minecraft possess red, but red JUST got back, they wouldn't logically go right back, & they were on the desktop so he wouldn't randomly see minecraft mobs

so with that, i decided to make a ghost character instead

quite honestly, the second i decided on this, 10 minutes later i started making the exact post to introduce them, i wanted to get it done in one night so the next day i could have red be possessed !! :3c

the only loose concept i had of ghostie was "what if i just make them the polar opposite of red ??", so i made them blue (thats actually unintentional to the opposite thing), alongside talking way more 'fancier' and just more calm than red

i nearly built upon red's dilemma with the anons being 'floating hands' and almost made ghostie talk to red via the askbox with myself, but i didnt want that to be TOO confusing

but then....reds been possessed before....and if he can see ghosts, he wouldnt just BLINDLY let one possess him, right ??

so, i had to work around that and CREATE something, some reason for red to have this ghost possess him !!

i almost had ghostie bond more with red at first and having RED open up to them, but because of how i have red's emotional state working on the blog, it would be kind offf ooc for red blog avm to do that

so instead, why not just have ghostie stalk red and just pick up on his insecurities so far ?? it made sense, red just came back, alot happened, i was half worried that 'oh well....the ghost wasnt referenced or hidden in the past posts, why are they here now ??' plothole but it's a tumblr blog, who cares ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌

and with that !! ghostie possesses red by attacking their weak points !! i didnt originally plan this part, but i like to think that by attacking red mentally, it made xem less guarded and easier to possess, as another reason why ghostie did so

so !! around this time i admittedly got nervous, i had ZERO plan for ghostie themself !! i had red be a ghost so i could STILL do things with them as far as interactions, but ghostie ?? they were just a ghost ??

noww, i dont plan ahead 90% of the time on the blog (whats the fun in that ?? for me atleast), most of the time, expecially with joint interactions, i just think 'okay, im gonna assume that this might go this direction, and i have a few stray ideas i could do, but if not that but another direction, i have stray ideas too', hell sometimes i have NO ideas !! and i roll with the first one i get right after an interaction (which is how the wandering off saga started !! ill get into that ALSO more later :3)

so, around this time, i honestly predicted that the ghost thing would last a week maximum, i figured that with blue looking for red & green coming back with purple that it would be like fungus's situation, and i figured if it went down this route, id just eventually make ghostie get too annoyed and leave if nothing else (not a plan, moreso a guesstimate !!)

and, i am SO GLAD it went in this direction instead !!

if anything, the anons are primarily a good chunk of a reason why ghostie even HAS lore !!

the ask that this image comes from, i entirely winged the whole thing, i just typed, thought 'okayy that should be decent ?!' and boom ghostie backstory, right ?? (i WOULD talk more about that post & thought process but, alas i cannot give spoilers yet....except one, instead of retail i nearly had ghostie work at a bakery, but ill explain why i switched to retail way later when i can :3c)

i thought that would be that !! i didnt expect ghostie to really stick around (...stick..stick pun..SORRY sorry), as to why i didnt even give them a proper design until way later

but then.....the ghost beatdown.....

it was honestly a gag !! to you guys it was & to me it was !! and it is still funny to me :3 but OH BOYYY did you anons inadvertently cause so much lore

you DID successfully get ghostie out at the second attempt !! and i got to do alot more with ghostie, outside of just a ghost possessing red (alongside alot of red stuff....dare i say another 'ill get into this more later !!')

now, around this time im pretty sure is when i started to take ghostie seriously in terms of writing them on the blog !! & thus, ghostie finally gets a canon design !!

which, speaking of designs, the night i started the ghost arc, i DID give them a rough concept design, which is the first image, & then the second & third ones are anotherr rough concept i came up with a few days before i finalized their design, but i didnt like the bangs, so i changed them !! & decided to keep the glowy eyes they had from possessing red (which, original concept they used to be ALOT BIGGER i am so glad they arent huge orbs anymore i swear- /j)

but, back to ghostie's characterization, i was honestlyyy winging it at this point

i didnt want ghostie to be all "oooh evil big bad !!" here, if they were gonna be deceptive, i wanted it to be atleast 'believable' and not obvious 'in your face' thing (the only thing i was worried of, is any of the anons falling for it accidentally because i didnt want anyone GENUINELY hurt from any of this !!)

AND OH BOYYYY DID THE ANONS NOT FALL FOR IT !! i did want ghostie to have the point of "well, you KNEW that was reds body why did you hurt them ??" cause storywise, thats TRUE, the only difference is ghostie was SHIFTING THE BLAME off of themself, they did this to red, as to how ghostie had inadvertently turned avtumblr (CHARACTERS!!) against the anons for a good bit once red was upset at them. good job ghostie.

but i got to crack down on ghostie a bit with the anon bullying against them !! this ghost that seemed SO confident and SO sure of themselves this entire time, until its shifted back on them ??? then ghostie panicked, because now they didnt have the control in their hands to mold the situation in their favor !!

annnnd then now........ghostie v. dark........aka probably one of the threads i am most proudest of as far as writing :3c

now i cannot talk about everything here JUST YET !!! theres SOOOO so much i wanna sayyyy augh !!! but its still spoiler territory for ongoing blog stuff, HOWEVER i will work with what i already have out there :3c

nowwww......ill admit im a bit evil :3c i was hoping ghostie WOULD die since the beginning of the 2nd thread, i gave dark's blog the a-okay to kill or hurt ghostie however but i was REALLY hoping they would die and THAT SOUNDS BRUTUAL !! ifffff you dont look at it from a writers standpoint (i promise i love ghostie </3)

ghostie wouldve either lived or die, those were the two ideas i had to work with, so i did come up with a loose plan for both had it gone in either direction

if ghostie lived, they probably wouldve fled after QUITEEE a bit of time, they wouldve been in a void area, and you guys couldve asked them whatever

but.....if they died ??? oh i could work with that, and thus i am !!! basically, you know that theory of, 'when you die, your whole life gets replayed in minutes ??' thats my main concept for whats going on the blog right now, and thats all ill say about that...FOR NOW !!....but i have so many thoughts and rambles on azul you guys have NOOO idea i cant wait to get to all of that !!!

i will 110% do a deep dive on the thread whenever i finish azul's stuff, as theres ALOOOOT of intentional foreshadowing in there, and i dont wanna spoil anything of that, ill let it be a fun secret for noww !! >:3c

anyways with that my ramble is over o7 if anyone read all this thank you for coming to my yappathon !!

[lavaablast]

My headcanons pt1 (because i self project on everything)

(my opinion remember this is all silly fun) (also i change my mind contantly so expect me to edit this post constantly)

Kai Smith:

the band aid on his eyebrow is there because he has an eyebrow piercing, and he wants to protect it from getting ripped in battle (also doesnt want a scolding from Wu hehe)

self harms but instead of c///ing he burns because well, obvious reasons (less likely to be found out too)

orthorexic, is obsessed with being in peak physical form

hear me out on this one, i know he eats junkfood (so do orthorexics okay every 3d is diferent) anyway he never does it alone. he eats junkood only with other people, and he's always thinking he'll "make up for it" later. so yes he eats junkfood and yes he is orthorexic (felt like i had to defend my point there dsfsd)

body dysmorphia. knows he looks good but doesnt know what he looks like

"if i gave up on being pretty, i wouldn't know how to be alive" or wtv mitski said

has an extensive skincare routine but if anyone asks him he'll just say he "washes his face with cold water"

anger issues, but like he can explode on the ninja too and then he immediately regrets it but its too late which leaves him with... ->

guilt. ALL THE TIME. its in the back of his head wherever he goes

sun aries, moon sagittarius. i wont back down on this (im a sun aries and moon sag)

claims he "doesnt care" but actually cares so much it hurts (especially about Nya/Lloyd he'd do anything for them you hear me ANYTHING)

has strong morals and ideals but will give them up in a second when needed for survival of himself or the ninja (people often see this as a bad thing but he just wants everyone to live no matter the cost)

ironically, can't handle spicy food and is ALWAYS made fun of it by the others

is reckless and takes stupid risks because he does not care for his body whatsoever (the others think he doesnt know whats at stake, he does, but doesnt care when it's just his own saftey he's risking)

lowkey a perfectionist, but has a different idea of perfect than others so they wouldnt know (aka he needs things/himself/stuff he makes to be perfect, but not perfect objectively, perfect to what he thinks is right)

loves his parents because they tried their best, but still resents them. he hates that he does, but he does

cried all of his tears out ONCE after Nyas "death" and didnt cry at all after that, instead taking so much on his plate that he didnt get a single chance to think about it again (it'd be too painul, this was easier) which lead to....->

his grief being put on hold; and only when Nya already was back did it come out and he had no idea why he was feeling this way so he didnt tell anyone (what would he have said, im in agony for no reason at all?) and it was HELL to do it alone

tied to the above; he couldn't ask for help if his life depended on it (literally)

loves too hard

hates too hard

BPD coded (i dont wanna diagnose him but,,, im justsayinnn *whistles while walking away suspiciously*)

trust issues, but lowk all the ninja have them because like,,, just look at what they have to deal w bro

commitment issues because freedom is the most important thing in the world (after Nya/Lloyd) so settling down or commiting to one thing too long feels like threatining his freedom

actually smart (both emotinally and intelligently) but doesnt use his brains capabilities that much

great memory but also shit memory (remembers a whole row of numbers for no reason but forgets he has to pick up lloyd from the arcade..)

hot. thats all i rest my case

loves himself but hates himself

everything and nothing at the same time, everything about him contradicts himself, but also doesnt, but also does

hes a really simple person, really. but also the most complex one youll ever meet.

hates labels, especially being labeled by others (for the reasons above)

likes men but hates labels so,, no labels (not even the label "unlabeled")

infact he has a deep hatred for the label 'unlabeled' because if something is unlabeled, then why are you LABELING IT

red. everything is red redredred RED he loves red

has sibling bracelets with nya and lloyd (kai has green & dark blue, lloyd red & dark blue, nya red and green)

everything has to be red except the things that are black and orange. i rest my case once again

drinks just a bit too much for it to be considered concerning (started at 14)

will yell and scream at anyone who tries to help him (why do they think he needs help? why are they babying him? why cant the see he is capable?)

wouldnt let nya touch a bottle until she was 18 (be thankful nya its for the best)

paints his nails black or red.

has a strand of hair dyed red all the time

perfect teeth even tho he often forgets to brush them (how? fuck do i know)

would be a hyena i he was an animal

hates smartphones so he has a.. push-button phone?? whatever they're called. and he also only has the nokia brand. wont change it for a thing

"hates technology" but couldnt live without video games

loves to try new things but will have a breakdown if he HAS to try new things

stubborn asf, wont ever do anything he doesnt want to, which...->

makes people think he's selfish, but actually he's quite the opposite

selfless in an unconventional way, i'll make a drawing explaining it

please understand what i mean with that chart because it explains it so well in my brain

thats it for now cfdsfdr

[akaeyamain]

Kaeya Alberich: The Man Who Plays Both Sides (And Might Just Win)

"He believes he has made a clean break with his past, but one day fate will catch up with him. When it does, he will have a major decision to make."

Mona’s voiceline wasn’t just a throwaway prophecy—it was a warning. From day one, Hoyo’s been teasing a brutal showdown between Mondstadt and Khaenri’ah, and Kaeya? He’s the ticking time bomb at the center of it all.

Yet, somehow, the fandom keeps reducing him to "sneaky drunkard with daddy issues who’ll pick Mondstadt because ~found family~." Let’s set the record straight: Kaeya is far more complex, far more dangerous, and far more torn than people give him credit for.

Beneath that silver tongue and calculated smirks lies a man who genuinely cares—not just about Mondstadt, but about its people. And he proves it without needing recognition.

● "A Commission for That Guy": Kaeya works in the shadows, using Vile as his informant to protect Jilliana from treasure hoarders—without blowing her cover. No grand speeches, no pats on the back. Just results.

● Jean’s Party Planning: He straight-up tells the Traveler how to organize things, never taking credit. Meanwhile, when asked about other characters? He refuses to badmouth them (cough unlike Amber, Diluc, or Diona). Even when pressed about Rosaria’s secrets in his voiceline 'about Rosaria', he shuts it down: "That I cannot say."

● His Story Quests: Every. Single. One. shows him outsmarting the bad guys while helping others. Scamming a scammer in Liyue? Check. Saving a play in Sumeru? Check (and he specifically asked if the troupe would lose money before altering the script—because of course he did).

Kaeya isn’t just reliable—he’s *the most* reliable person in Mondstadt.

Diluc? Acts first, thinks later.

Jean? Burns herself out policing others’ limits (looking at you, Noelle’s knight rejection trauma—seriously, how do visionless randos like Wood get in but Noelle doesn’t?).

Kaeya? Gets. Shit. Done. Because he doesn’t care about looking righteous—just about results.

And let’s talk about how he’s basically Mondstadt’s de facto dad:

○ Wrote survival rules for Klee instead of locking her up in solitary confinement like Jean does, because he understands that its best to teach her to pursue her passions safely than banning them outright.

○ Taught Bennett sword skills.

○ Is name-dropped by Klee in every event because he’s that present in her life (he taught Klee and the other knights to play tcg. He even uses it as leverage to get Jean to take more breaks).

So yeah, in definitive, Kaeya definitely cares a lot about mond and its people. But unfortunately thats where most people stop in their reasoning. If Kaeya only cared about Mondstadt, he wouldnt be so conflicted. His loyalty is split because his heart is split. Imagine one day, your dad dumps a shitty mission on you for the sake of something (a country, a person, anything) you dont give two shits about. You wouldn't be nearly as concerned and torn as Kaeya apparently is. Lets gather some evidence here;

• "Mi Muhe Ye, meaning i love you, in the language of hilluchurls. ": In Venti’s poetry class, Kaeya wrote "I triumph over you" in Khaenri’ahn . A middle finger to the gods? Absolutely.

• Sumeru hangout: He rewrote a play’s script without changing its outcome—mirroring and foreshadowing Nahida’s "change only what can be changed" and the Hexenzirkel’s "fate can’t be rewritten, but you can work where the gods don’t look" in the Fontain archon quest where they discussed how to save it from the flood. The outcome of the prophecy couldnt be changed : Fontaine would be flooded. But there were still things they could change which ended up positively impacting what happened after the end of the prophecy.

• His Final Monologue in the sumeru hangout: "Perhaps there’s an inept god out there deciding everyone’s fate, like an author writing a book. But actors need to realise that they don’t need to follow the script—they have the freedom to improvise."

And when you think about the irminsul and ley lines having been described as Celestia's way to control teyvat's fate, his description of inept god from whose's script actors must break free is the same as what the abyss order, Kaenriah, sovereigns and the fatui think. A rebellion against Celestia's illegitimate rule.

So overall, kaeya has displayed a subtle but still clear disdain for divinity and their rule over teyvat, even while still holding affection for the elemental nations.

But then, what does that say about his endgame?

Well, obviously kaeya will be confronted to a situation where he would need to make a choice. But truthfully i dont think he's going to take one at all.

The theme of fate in genshin has always been recurrent and most often than not, with kaeya. And I think, with the sumeru hangout' play and dagger bandit play, hoyo has been hinting at Kaeya being an actor seeking to break free from the script/fate=Celestia's influence, and live freely.

He might be a character similar to Dainslief. Who seeks revenge on the sinners and holds grudges at Celestia for destroying Kaenriah, but still being against the abyss order and coming to term with the fact that his homeland is now a relic of the past and shouldn't be rebuild. He allies honoring the memory of his home and people, while also protecting Teyvat in a sense. His beef is with his sexy cube brother and his edge lord friends, and the Marijuana lady high up in the clouds with her rubix cubes (i m looking at you, sustainer of dry hair).

So in a similar fashion, kaeya may seek to help bring Celestia down while keeping his precious wine- ermm, Mondstadt, safe.

Anyways, to make further theories, we shall have to wait for some Kaenriah crumbs over the Alberich clan maybe, to try and figure out just how important that nation and people is to him or just what plot he could potentially be a part of.

P.S. Pray for my primos—I’m pulling Ayaka’s weapon for him. Cryo DPS Kaeya supremacy. 💸

[l4brvtality]

Telekinesis | Rhea Ripley

Pairings - Rhea Ripley x Ex-Bsf! + Wrestler!OC

Warnings - Against, Mentions of bruises, Rhea is violent, Sad Rhea , Sad OC, Just angsty Tbhhh :((

Word Count - 0.5k

NOT PROOFREAD ‼���

"What are you too insecure-" You were cut off when she slammed you against the ring post. You felt a sharp pain in your shoulder as you tried getting up.

" Stop talking to me like you know me" At this pint she was screaming in your face. Taunting and punching you.

Although this may have seemed somehow planned. Everyone backstage as well as the commentators were confused. You felt just as shocked by her random outburst. You felt your head pounding as she continued her attacks on you , it seemed as if she was trying to get something out of you.  But you had nothing to give. She was the problem. She caused the chaos between you two.

Soon she began talking again. "You know nothing about me and the struggle I went through to get here , so don't try to act like you do,"

The pain was unbearable and getting up was almost impossible. 

You felt like you could already feel the bruise forming on your shoulder as you tried standing up. But without warning , Rhea Swung the kendo stick in your direction, where did she get that from? The swing of the kendo stick caused a huge impact to your head, you pass out.

When you woke up , you were in the hospital. Wires around your arms. Your eyes felt droopy and blurry as you tried to open them wider. You suddenly heard the door open as you saw a black haired woman stand in front of you. As your vision slowly started unblurring , you relised it was her. The women who had put you in this situation in the first place. Rhea Bloody Ripley.

You heard her whisper something , that your ears couldn't quite reach.

"Im sorry , im so sorry Lara," you took a second to figure out what she was saying before she kept talking. Why was she using your government name? She hadn't called you that since you two were close. Before she ruined the friendship you two had.

"I know I hurt you bad, but I didn't want it to get this bad," She spoke again. It sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she ran her tattooed hand through her hair.

Looking down and seeing the state you were in , your stomach turned. You had cuts and bruises in places that wouldn't even be reachable while in your gear. You felt tears well in your eyes as you looked back up at Rhea, who was too stuck in her rambling to even notice the tear that rolled down your cheek. But when she did , she felt like the world had piled up on top of her.

"Listen Rhea I know you're sorry , but I think I need time to myself for right now. You've done enough damage,"You spoke. Your voice was sweet. Salutary. Almost like Rhea hadn't completely ruined your life in one day.

"Alright... if thats what you want, ill leave," those were the last words she spoke to you since , you had found out you couldn't be cleared to wrestle. You felt as if your world was crumbling when you found out. It felt like you didnt know who Rhea was anymore. She switch on not on the most important people in her life, but the person who cared most about her both mentally and emotionally .Which was you. And the fact that you wouldnt be cleared to wrestle in atleast a month , was the cherry on top. And it was all because of her. Rhea Ripley.

A/N 💬 - Im still working on request dont worry!! Ps im sorry to the annon that requested something like days ago 😭 im still writing it I just have a bit of writters block.

[slowd1ving]

I just finished reading the new fic, and it was amazing !!! I dont know why, but i got hung up the most on Jiaoqiu. Like, he sounds so mellow and like he's in genuine love, but I dont know if it's just the effects the incubi has on him. (When he says the smell of burnt caramel got stronger, it's because of the transformation the protag had, right?)

So funny to see the cryptologist and the kafka mention. I love how you portray Kafka in your fics. she's always stirring up jealousy in the love interests.

I truly do wonder if Sunday will be forgiven for laying with a demon. I mean, if he can say he was doing 'salvation' he could get away with it. In the game, his npc model has what appears to be dark indigo wings, which implies he is not as pure as he appears to be, so I imagined his wings that colour. Im guessing his mission was subduing the protag, which he literally did haha.

And moze was such a sweetheart!! When he said he wouldn't care about being sent to hell as long as his fate is forever intertwined with yours, it is so cute. Im thinking he was also lying to himself about how he was following the protag due to his suspicions but was actually just obsessed. Him staying up late to see the protag come back home, was it similar to the cryptologist au? Where he was jealous they wouldnt approach him, or was it part of his stalking?. Also, when he felt fear but it was overridden by lust that made him get closer without thinking it could end his life ❤️.

Also cant imagine how their life will be after this encounter (im glad for Mr. Hopkins that they were able to film a good mockumentary and didn't just submit that !!). Im a Moze fan, so him being the roommate makes me think his life just got better (and that his photo taking hobby just got started).

I loved it, amazing halloween fic.

-swan anon 🦢

first let me just say DAMN I appreciate your dedication to delivering thorough analyses and eating them up every darn time

second I am locked in with a very tall cup of coffee I am ready

no same I was secretly rooting for jiaoqiu too; like originally he wasn't going to be part of it because then I'd have to plan more with an established character. reader was just gonna be someone who sleeps around 😭he was supposed to have one scene too but ended up with four.. honestly I was also going to write him as like a yokai in my initial plans so he's somewhat immune to whatever reader has got going on (which honestly isn't much it's just enhanced allure or whatever)?? I thought it'd be pretty funny to have a character who officially knows about reader and just like... helps them out like an emergency snack or whatever. but yeah he's definitely infatuated - jiaoqiu for LIFEEE

(and yes you are correct the stronger scent did indeed indicate the successful transformation)

you know, I lowkey forgot about the cryptology-moze series and the reference was just my subconscious picking it out☠️also I don't know if I officially stated reader's major (I don't really know myself) but it's hilarious to me to picture some demon just figuring out maths and working in it

did not register the kafka mention until I got to the end whoops

she wasn't even meant to be in this 😭like it was just supposed to be some faceless avatar of lust but then i was like hmm... we've got someone who literally puppets others as part of her mechanics like ??

kafka>>

she's so fun to use as a plot device cuz she just catalyses everything

Sunday will NOT be forgiven 🗣️🗣️that particular line I wrote where angels can lie to themselves is alluding to him convincing himself he isn't doing anything wrong; I was actually going to originally expand on him 'falling' from Harmony or whatever because of his allegiance to the Order - so he was doomed either way to be corrupted. his mission did include subduing the protag but was more a general order to keep order within the human realm which did include finding out demons - so not necessarily reader but he did sus them out pretty much from the start. however he was not supposed to sleep with a demon at all 😭like that line about keeping reader by him to prevent him from getting with other humans is just his bs justification to convince himself that he's still on the right path - but alas, his tenets have been fundamentally crumbling anyway due to his subversion to the harmony. I thought it was funny as fuck having a doomed angel for halloween

there's just something about fallen angel sunday, fits in with his lore too

but yeah themes of denial are heavy in this man, like he's convinced himself that he's on the right path but he's really not he's just entranced by the protag 😭

hmm

yup i had so much fun writing moze he's so cute. he is the prime human Sunday should be worried about but instead he's just competing with him

oh yes 100% lying I love writing unreliable narrators

YES similar to the cryptologist au it was his way of gaining information on you but also sorta looking out for the protag (and jealousy); also lowkey the bit about fear getting overridden was so funny to write about because he's just walked in on a literal angel and demon and just keeps marching forward like 😭😭

that triangle formation remains 100%

like mr hopkins just thinks "oh wow my students are completely dedicated to warding off demon energy thus are in perfect formation for doing so" or whatever ☠️

but reader now essentially has three emergency snacks and sunday's path to salvation is not looking very good tbh

also yeah that mockumentary saved their asses because I physically could not write them only having one film on that camera

that camera will have to get SCOURED before they return it, but Moze's already got it safely transferred to his heavily fortified laptop and Sunday's just keeping the really old one 😭

there's just something about the moze roommate brainrot... he's definitely gloating over it and sunday's just feeling his blood pressure rise for the first time since gaining a corporeal body (and moze's DEFINITELY getting several high-quality cameras because wdym he's just been rewatching the tapes instead of sleeping..)

anyways I got home with around five hours left before midnight and I started finishing off the final scenes at like 10 I was so stressed bro trying to make it and upload it halloween ended

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LONG ANALYSIS SWAN ANON IT WAS VERILY APPRECIATED

[coquettejohnny]

cherry valance haters are not welcome in my vicinity

but seriously why do you guys hate her so much?? it's all the same reasons but they're not even good

"she didnt visit johnny in the hospital" HE KILLED HER BOYFRIEND??? shit i wouldn't visit my partner's killer either dude 😭

"she was mean to ponyboy" socs couldn't be seen with greasers, it'll ruin their rep, and their rep is really important to them. sure yeah its a bit selfish but i don't think you understand how badly treated she'd be if she were to openly hang out with ponyboy or the other greasers. she still cares deeply for him, just can't express that openly

and when people say she disregarded ponyboy's issue by saying "things are rough all over" makes me wanna explode. THINGS WERE IN FACT ROUGH ALL OVER??? DID RANDY'S CONVERSATION WITH PONYBOY IN CHAPTER 7 FLY OVER YOUR HEAD????? DID THE ENTIRETY OF CH 11-12 JUST NOT EXIST TO YOU?

hell i wouldnt care so much about people hating her if it weren't for these bullshit reasons, and most of her haters like DALLAS??? how hypocritical could you get holy shit. dally literally HARASSED her for like 5-10 minutes straight and no one says anything about that, but suddenly if cherry is a lil selfish the whole world stops spinning

i feel like you guys just forget everyone in the outsiders is just a teenager with mostly absent parents. in this case the socs had no limits set for them, nobody ever told them no, so how would they know?? she's just a girl like everyone else, she's bound to have flaws

i cant make people love her but at least try to have a good reason as to why you hate her

thank you for coming to my ted talk have a good day (unless you hate cherry)

[soulofatorturedpoet]

my opinions on the 2002 the count of monte cristo film

Idek why i even do this to myself anymore, why do i even try to watch any movie adaptations of books with complex female characters. I finished the 2002 the count of monte cristo film and in short it was absolutely horrible. I hated how much the story changed/removed so many detrimental things to the plot. Aswell as the characters, the thing i hated most was how horrible they portrayed mercedes. Ofc I didnt like how they portrayed any of the characters truly, but what made me the most upset was how mercedes was done. Im beginning to see a pattern among female "love interests" in these types of adaptations. They are always watered down to being helplessly reliant on men around them. rather than being able to be their own person all they become is the shadow of the men around them. A big thing about all of this is the fact that its a movie. A story this complex and this long should in no way be turned into just a movie. Anyways, mercedes never loved fernand and was taken advantage of by him when she was at her lowest, and moved on from edmond a long time ago. By the end the only person that was on her mind was her son. She was at peace with edmond after she got everything off her chest and was ready to let him go. So in no way should she be reliant only on one man when she is fully capable of having her own articulate thoughts and is completely fine on her own. And about fernands character, which i do not support what he did, just from picking up the book i know that he would never say anything along the lines of "whore" about her. They made his whole character revolve around his love for mercedes rather than showing the true evil side of him, such as his past with haydee (who wasnt even in the movie) and how he was overly obbsesed with his honor. He even shot himself in the end over losing it. The way he was characterized in this movie just sucked really. Another thing i absolutely hated the was the watered down revenge plan. In the original novel edmonds plans for revenge were complex and lasted years to complete, but in this movie, which again should not have been a movie in the first place, took his revenge plan and threw it out the window. As said in the movie itself "death is too good for them" but then he turns his back on that and just kills his enemies rather than giving them the long agonizing suffering just as he had to go through. He becomes too lively, rather than the revenge filled spirit of a man he is supposed to be. Also, by the end of it, edmond wanted to let go of his past life, along with mercedes. He no longer had any desire to live a life with her after feeling so betrayed, even after he figured out her side of the story. He just wanted to let it all go and this adaptation took that away from him. The lack of such important characters in the story such as the entire morrell family plus a few of the villeforts really put the nail in the coffin of his final grasps of humanity. Without these people edmond would be as good as a walking corpse. He wouldnt have any belief in love if it wasn't for julie and emmanuel. He wouldn't have any desire to protect anyone if it wasnt for Maximilian and valentine. He wouldn't have felt any remorse or have fallen from his trance of revenge if it wasn't for edwards death. He would have lost all hope in humanity if it wasnt for morrell being the only one who hadn't betrayed him after so long. These people are all detrimental to edmonds character development and they were either removed completely or given a different role in the story. All of this shows the person who made this adaptation didn't care to even open the book and read a few sentences, all they thought was "ooo cool revenge guy who had his girl stolen....this will make for a good movie!" This is the worst thing someone could do to such a masterpiece and i think if we cant learn to interpret books how they are meant to be interpreted then we have no business trying to turn them into any type of movie/film adaptation

Sorry for the rant i just had to get this out

[only-practical-espionage]

tis i, the awesome sauce anon

most of these are spy. I love spy. Okay. okay.

spy is such a pussy. like. oh my god. He acts all distinguished and held together and cool but he is the most sopping wet, pathetic, scaredy-cat of a man. Pain tolerance? None. Bravery? None. he fakes it. all the time.

Spy's death screams are so funny to me. they sound so much more in pain than everyone else and idk how to describe it. He genuinely sounds more agonized than everybody else. if u were to torture him i think he'd either ask u to kill him instead or he'll die from the pain. cyanide over culling 👅. His pain tolerance is literally zero. The reason why he has emergency-cyanide in his molars is because he literally would rather die than withstand torture. At All.

if spy's tired enough bro will just. Let you do anything. even if he could he wouldnt. turn that mofo into a spy sandwich he'll just look at u judgingly like 'wtf just happened' [the spy sandwich bit is a Reference to a Post I Saw. love that post. good post.]

Spy's personal phone [if he were to have one. This is a hypothetical. We're in like the 70's.] is one of those old pink flip phones, a joke-gift from Scout's mom. At the time, he was too enamored to react any kind of negatively about it, and over time he began to unironically like it. He will not admit his fondness of the thing, that is if anybody even sees it. He is already secretive enough of it. Plus, why would his coworkers need to know about his personal phone? They're there for business, not mindless chatter.

For style points, it would even have like a little pink puff ball attached to it via a small chain.

Spy is very protective of his valuable personal items, but otherwise he isn't actually very stingy.

Spy grew up in a poorer family, and all his life strived to live a luxurious, comfy life. Contrasting to the Engineer, who obviously lived pretty comfortable because of his family's professions. Despite that, though, he didn't care for such over-the-top luxuries.

Less of a HC and more of an observation of his character, but spy is so fucking cringefail. He is a spiteful, and lowkey childish, man. I think this should've been shown more in the comics. He failed sometimes but never cringefail

For blue spy: Hates the cold. Because he's skinnier he's more susceptible to it too. Not fun. [the fridge really messed him up in this department]

Engineer isn't the greatest at mental health advice. Unless you're physically sick, he probably will suggest some weird extreme-yet-efficient solution. Always because it's what he'd do, and he doesn't always understand why one wouldn't want the most efficient solution. Having a bad fever? He'll prolly be like the worlds best caregiver. Getting bullied? More Gun intensifies.

He is so father material. His buildings, especially sentries, are like his little mini children and regards them very dearly. Scout, the 'fatherless bastard' he is, probably imprinted on Engie because of this. Local illiterate bastard can't resist also local madman's fatherly charm. More on the new happy found-family at 7.

Engineer is probably the only one to know what was under Pyros firesuit at some point in time. I like to imagine pyro is also yet again a victim of his fatherly charm.

I say was because of my own perspective of pyro being that they were definitely a person at some point, but over time, not even god himself knows. Schrodingers cat type shit. Once they're in the suit, whose to say they're the same as before?

in general. my 'hc' (?) of pyro is that they're everything and nothing at all, all at once, under that suit. They could be a person, they could be an alien, they could be like that one fuckin godzilla suit analog horror where their body has become the suit. Who knows, I sure dont. But somehow?? Engie did. At some point.

-the awesome sauce anon

There is a reason you are the awesome sauce anon theses are fucking amazing

Also thank you for not saying Engie is bad with sickness and stuff he absolutely knows how to deal with physical sickness, too many others get that wrong.

The BLU spy thing is super interesting, because most people don’t really think about the fridge, and if they do, they think it was just annoying to him. But if you think about it being in there was probably traumatizing.

He probably wakes up and checks if his body is still connected to his head just because he dreams about what Medic did to him.

I also really like your take on Pyro, I feel like we need to humanize them more sometimes. I love how you say they were a person but now they don’t even know what they are.

Thank you for the phone thing too that’s canon too me now

[aidlyncanon]

this is my first actual tumblr post since idk what to do but ive had this idea in my head for a while and I wanted to share 🤗

so heres what I think each sbg characters love languages are. I wanted to include both the love language they express towards other and the type that resonates? with them when expressed by others. i dont know how to word that but I hope itll make sense 🙏

if it's inaccurate im sorry im not great at wording but i did try and make it at least a bit accurate which is hard when im unsure to most of these

𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐋𝐘𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐑: 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄/𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄?

— I feel like this may be the only one that properly fits Ashlyn. I could see her maybe also liking acts of service but i cant exactly explain why.

Maybe its because I think its also what she would do for others that I think it would fit. Like I said maybe acts of service like people doing little things to make her life easier.

I have a headcanon that Taylor or Ben has things in their bags for the others (total mom friends) so imagine her shock when she found out someone had ear plugs in their bag incase she needed them?

you get where im going with this?

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

— I take little to no criticism on this. I can't imagine Ashlyn's being anything else. If she tried getting a gift she'd probably take too long wondering if theyd actually use it. Physical touch is a meh, she doesnt hate it but it wouldnt be her favourite. She said herself she isnt the best with words.

Her gift to people is just her presence. She'd be the type to occasionally need quiet but wouldn't mind being in comfortable silence with someone she likes. I feel like quality time would be her way of showing she cares for someone.

𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐌: ???

— This is an idk because im basing these off of what we know about their background and character but we know like nothing so everything about this is based off of pure theory.

The only canon part i can mention is that during his conversation with Ashlyn at the school he mentioned how since he moved around a lot he never really had a true bond with anyone.

"You seemed like the type to only get close with people who mean something to you."

So Aiden didnt just want someone he could feel attached to, he also wanted to feel cared for. Its a two way street with him.

While I could see him loving physical touch as I doubt he got enough of that as a child and he clearly loves being touchy with people I feel like with what we know I could argue really any love language. He'd probably take anything if it makes him feel cared for.

I found a picture of a chart saying "your love language may show what you lacked as a child" and he checked every box so he's fucked.

I ultimately want to settle with physical touch as he seemed shocked when Ashlyn initiated the hug likely due to being the one to always initiate them. Like above he probably just wants his efforts reciprocated.

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇

— Self explanatory we see him being touchy with Ashlyn. He also put his hand on Tyler (idk if this is still fast pass if it is my apologies).

"he did that as a stay away from my girl" stfu. 🤗

𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐌: 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

— I take ZERO criticism on this.

Were all aware how bad his bullying was so I doubt he heard anything nice about him.

The main thing that makes me believe this is that every time he gets complimented or something nice said about him he gets sort of flustered and blushes.

This ^ was ben after Ashlyn complimented his bandaging job. A small compliment I know but even after what taylor said about him opening up he blushed there too.

You can't deny it means a lot to him he probably thought about those for a while.

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆

— I talked about this in a discord server briefly but I want to share it here. You know the quote "the quieter you are the more you hear"? Well thinking of that ive come up w the idea that Ben likely is more observant compared to most people.

Hed be the one to notice if someone was looking at something for a while in a store or hear it pass in conversation. Make a mental or physical note of it and get it for them.

I just imagine him being the type to be like "i know you like this" or "this reminded me of you". I feel like he wouldnt be the greatest at expressing it in many other ways so he resorts to getting people things.

Hes also pretty artsy so I can also just imagine him making people little things for them.

Like, tyler taught him guitar? gets tyler a new pick. Logan looking at something in the store? need to remember that. and so on

𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐒

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐌: 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

— Similar to Ben's. I could maybe see quality time being important to him as he hasnt had many people want to stick around him.

I mean his parents didnt want him and barrons group are just assholes so spending time with someone who genuinely cares for him? Doing an activity he enjoys? Hes over the moon.

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄

— I can see him wanting to help people, i mean he helped Noah (the guy who barron replaced him with). I can imagine him doing little things for the group and people he loves.

He might get a bit embarrassed if confronted about it but ultimately hed do it again.

𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐙

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐑: 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄???

— This is up in the air but I feel like it fit her the best? I imagine after her dad dying at a young age she grew up knowing that time with people is limited and can end at any moment.

So i can imagine her really appreciating someone spending one-on-one of just personal time with her. But i can also just see her appreciating any type.

My thing is I can imagine her being happy with receiving anything as long as someone had her best interest at heart then she'd become the happiest girl ever.

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

— Another give in, she does it ALL THE TIME. Its literally her defining feature. Shes very good with words and likes making others feel better about themselves. Seeing people perk up from her words would be enough to make her own day better.

I imagine she too, like tyler, had to be there for her mom a lot. So she probably learnt it from that experience. I also imagine her want to make people happier stemmed from seeing Tyler slowly lose interest in everything around him and wanting to be able to be the person who could make his day just a bit better.

Though like above I could see taylor doing things she knows mean the most of others. Like the moment she realized Ben likes words of affirmations she made sure to compliment him a bit more. After realizing Ashlyn likes quality time she would find a way to do that while also not overwhelming Ashlyn, say a movie or just going on a walk. Shed make an effort to make people happy based off of what they love the most.

𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐙

𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐌: 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄

— Tyler spent his entire childhood taking care of people so imagine how he would react to being taken care of for once.

I figure like at first hed be a bit reluctant however I think ultimately it would mean a lot to him to not have to always be rhe one taking care of others but being able to rest for once.

Like idk how to word it but I think it fits him, I could also see MAYBE words of affirmation? since he did want that when Logan Ashlyn and Ben found him but then again I dont blame him he was literally sitting bleeding.

𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄?

— This one has a question mark since im not sure. Taking care of others has just became nature to him, its his factory settings. Its not something he like goes and does to get people interested its just natural to him.

I dont think its something he'd do specifically to express care, he'd likely be unaware how much it could mean to someone since its just life to him.

Im not too sure what his would actually be MAYBE quality time again similar to Taylors in the sense that he knows just how fast someone can lose their lives so he likely would appreciate someone wanting to actually spend time with him.

Even if he wouldnt admit it.

If these are inaccurate then I apologize I did try to make them as accurate as I could but wording my thoughts isnt something i'm great at.

Most of these im unsure of but I wanted to talk about anyway so idk gimme ur opinions on them id love to hear them esp since im unsure for half of these :)

[mugentakeda]

WELL. I had an anon that was kindly asking me background info on my oc jiro and whatever he had going on with lu ten. I had the Fawking response all done and had it saved as a draft right. and i just needed to switch it to post but tumblr Wouldnt Let Me (it was saying something "went wrong" idfk) so I deleted the draft and was gonna try posting it again thinking the ask would reappear in my inbox but it DIDNT it just deleted the whole ask along with the draft :((( so i'm just gonna post it all here anyway and hope that the anon sees it fhkdndncmxbc,dndkzhnx

-basic stuff: 27 (<-when he meets lu ten), nonbender (<-doesnt need bending lol)

-finest jewelry maker in the fire nation. he also does metal art like embossing and figures and shit. he collaborates closely with famous potters and tailors in the FN to make stuff for the royal family and their special occasions (like holiday and celebration banquet jewelry and bedazzled outfits and shit). he also works with fire nation theaters, to help with their costumes for their more pricey productions. he's made MANY crowns for the royal family as well.

-oldest of 3 brothers. the business he owns was passed down in the family thru generations. jiro inherited (usurped?) it when he was 23, after he beat his father to death for smacking their mother around. their mother lives with the middle brother and his family on one of the outer FN islands. the youngest is estranged and started his own (less successful) business out of jealousy towards jiro.

-neutral on the war in the same way june the bounty hunter is- money is money to him. and when I say neutral I mean neutral. he obviously doesn't get clients or customers from other nations due to the war but if he did then he'd be more than happy to serve them. but his business still wouldn't be affected no matter the outcome of the war because even without international clients his wallet is thick, so he doesn't really care what the outcome ends up being. he believes a true businessman goes wherever the wind takes him and is good at adapting. not a "stuck in his ways" type of guy. the royal family is his top priority client obviously, but it's simply because they pay the most for the finest pieces. it's not out of any kind of loyalty or patriotism.

-jiro likes material things and having money, but he's genuinely super passionate about his craft and the arts in general. he does a lot of other crimes (<- lol) but counterfeiting isn't one of them. all his products and art are genuine, handcrafted, made to detail. he's probably kinda disgusted by the idea of counterfeit and scamming because he genuinely looks forward to the reaction of his clients when they receive what they paid for. he does the act of service, he gets the praise and the money, he's a happy camper.

-despite all of the above, his demeanor is the definition of greasy and sleazy- but he also can be genuinely suave when he wants. he'll charm the pants off your granny. but not sleazy in the same way zhao is, though (cus zhao is no real charmer lol). cus zhao is high in the navy so he's Very stuck up, and he's also an otl (<-???) ass-kisser. he's a slimy douchebag, but still one that adamantly adheres to and enforces fire nation law. he's a guy that has goals and will do anything to get there. meanwhile jiro, you look at him and you know he does criminal shit. he just gives the danger vibe, and he flaunts it with confidence. and you must reach at least level 4 friend to unlock the gentlemanly, white-knight-syndrome side of jiro.

-what jiro DOES do for criminal activity is that as he has most of all the fire nation nobility and high court (along with the Literal royal family) in his pocket. he has eyes and ears in a LOTTTT of people's business. sensitive business. criminal business. blackmail on top of blackmail. he's only loyal to people he personally gives a shit about, and whatever the people he cares about gives a shit about. he's got the love in his heart to make those extensions because he really is thoughtful in nature. but anything outside of that is not his problem so yes he WILL sell your ass out. the most dependable man in the world if he loves you, but the most venomous, backstabbing scorpion-viper if he doesn't care about you.

-and he doesn't hire goons- the business and its dealings are done all by him, and him alone. so if you air out his business or try to fuck with him, he will show up in your house alone and kill you in the next 24 hours i PROMISE you. preferred form of doing so is beating to death. and them is workers arms baby so you aren't getting out of it alive!!! jiro isn't very tall but he is strong as FUCK. and because of the fact that he knows everybody's dirty laundry he gets away with all of it lol. jiro is not afraid of jackkkkk SHIT (<- which is why he's very dependable if he loves you. he's unflinching and dedicated)

-as for him and lu ten: he and lu ten met by chance (they quite literally ran into each other in the palace and toppled over each other), and ended up being twin flames. lu ten's like the orange cat to jiro's black cat. they balanced each other out and jiro was exactly what lu ten needed at the perfect time. their first date or whatever (Doing An Activity Together) was having lunch and tea together in the palace gardens, and it kinda spurred from there. they spent time together like an old retired couple basically lol??? lunches, dinners, long walks from evening to night, doing their tasks in silence but they're next to each other so it's fun (<-parallel play for adults), sitting on benches for hours and just talking and bird watching. two people with tough jobs, so they sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses, but they reserve time for each other so they can stop and smell the roses together.

-it isn't ALWAYS them acting like a retired old couple though cus like I said jiro is a sleaze bag and a flirt. azula was the only one that really noticed and she was very disgusted by them and would constantly swear lu ten has a thing for losers. but then again she'd claim any person lu ten messes with to be a gross loser so there's that

-as soon as they got close to tension hitting a boiling point the siege situation rolled around (<-AVERAGE COCKBLOCKER IROH MOMENT) and lu ten obviously didn't come back. and jiro never let go of it because of all the "what ifs" and how there was something there that was mutual but it never became official or was put into words. so there's more regret rather than bitterness about lu ten's absence in jiro's life. like "right person, wrong time" trope??? but this is the dai li au so they'll be fine eventually lol

-after lu ten died and ozai took over, jiro was silently cut off from the royal family. ozai didn't directly order that or anything but he didn't commission or hire jiro for anything the way azulon always did. jiro also quietly removed himself from the whole political ring and just focused on his work. didn't have a reason to stop and smell the roses anymore, but the work never quits and the world didn't stop turning

-once azula got old enough to be let loose into the playing field, she hired jiro under the table due to her knowing how close he'd been with lu ten (which makes him someone she felt that she could trust), and he got put back into the political game (<- to everyone elses dismay). since her first rodeo was outside of the fire nation, he became her eyes and ears back home.

-and he wasn't forced by her or intimidated by her- he was brought back to life by finally having a real reason to get back in action again. at first, azula being the kid lu ten personally took care of for the first little portion of her life (<-which is a secret jiro knows from lu ten. azula doesn't know about that, and it's gonna stay that way. it's more to be a driving force for jiro. cus jiro has a "whats yours is mine" mindset when he loves someone. so what lu ten loved, jiro also loves. so whatever azula wants from jiro, jiro will provide it to her.) was what made being her guy so easy, but he ends up taking a genuinely liking to the crazy kid. he feels like they get along pretty well cus they're like-minded when it comes to their methods