#ofc he can defend himself but he dislikes it

[bunnwich]

A bit of controversial post maybe??? (feel free to skip)

Not to be controversial but I keep seeing how ppl are reading the “Leona is kind to Sally” situation and just thinking how my perspective is bit…different.  (if you don't care about my opinion ofc you can always skip)

SPOILERS FOR EVENT

When I saw it, these were my thoughts:

"Oh I love this so much!! It's adorable for one, and I’ve been saying for years that Leona is only mean to ppl he doesn't like/finds annoying or doesn’t care about. Like he HAS the ability, like everyone else to be polite and nice but we only see him interact with ppl who annoy him etc. Which is...um most of the cast. AND we rarely get a peak at how he would be with someone he likes.

I hope that this helps ppl see that he can be gentler to act toward someone he's SUPPOSED to like as a friend or even like romantically. 

Banter is one thing but I don’t believe he'd ever act straight-up rude to someone he was true friends with, dating or had a crush on?" 

So, a lot of ppl loved this scene I DO TOO! However…

This whole “Leona said men ain’t shit” joke is worrisome. Like…do you guys think that Leona would in fact be ruder or less gentle to a masc or nonbinary S/O vs a femme one? Some of these remarks…feel uh not really nice to those who have nonbinary/masc pairing with him.

He grew up in a matriarchal society, he respects women NO DOUBT.

I just think it would be nice to for us to be kinder in how we phrase things like this. I know they are jokes but still Yumes and ships mean a lot to ppl and I think it's just another catalyst for masc and masc-leaning fans to feel further alienated in the fandom space, yk?

Do I believe he respects women OFC, but much like those who had the “consent king” take about the voiceline of him being offended at Scully kissing the MC's hand I ONLY agree to an extent. WHY? Bc Leona is a big-ass hypocrite! Leona, for all I defend him, is not always keen on physical boundaries himself and can be quite rude. I think that line is more him being annoyed at Scully than genuinely worried for anyone's virtue, yk?

And to bring it back to the Sally/Leona thing I think it's not just bc Sally is a woman he is nice to her, bc she is SMART and cunning and was quickly underestimated by the rest of the cast. She was able take care of herself. He liked that about her. I really don't think it was just cause she was girl by itself.

Idk thats all I have to say, this is just my opinion as usual but it just didn’t sit right with me from a fandom perspective and I genuinely feel the “Leona is the feminist king of all time” is not a full reading of the character when we’ve seen him be nice to others and neutral to other women. Plus, he’s IS a hypocrite about the manners thing! The cast even call him out on it.

Leona is still flawed just like any other character in twst and I don't think him “bowing down at every women's feet” is something I subscribe to. Not in the way some ppl are acting anyways.

And frankly how some ppl are wording themselves in their tags and reblogs of these posts about Leona “drinking respect women’s juice bc he dislikes men” feels alienating toward those who have nonbinary/masc ships with him.

This is meant as no offense to anyone's fun I just thought I’d give my perspective on it. 

TLDR: I do think that it is genuinely funny and endearing to see the juxtaposition of how Leona treats everyone else VS Sally HOWEVER I don't think it is purely a gender thing and making that just doesn't sit right with me.

[olenvasynyt]

Similarities and Differences between Lucien and Azriel

Alright...Elriel vs Elucien.  And I am aware that this is a topic: this fanbase has very strong opinions!  I have strong opinions myself ofc.  But I am going to suppress my own personal biases and look at these characters from a logical, unbiased perspective.  And I’m not really going to talk about evidence that proves one ship is canon or anything like that, I actually will barely talk about Elain at all.  

I want to point out the similarities and differences between Az and Lucien because I think these will definitely come into play in the next ACOTAR book since it will most likely be Elain’s book and this ship war is probably going to be addressed (at least I hope)

Similarities:

Prominent Scars

Both have scars which is rare for High Fae, and the way they got these scars is very prevalent to their backstory.

2. Knowledgeable spies

They are both intelligent and sly and know a lot about Prythian because they’re both spies, Lucien was considered Tamlin’s spy / emissary.  They both seem to keep a lot of secrets even from the people they’re close to.

3. Childhood

Their history are similar.  Both were tortured by their fathers and brothers.  Their mothers might have been used against them in their youth to control them (Mommy issues for sure)

4. Found Family

They were taken in by their friends after a really traumatic experience—Rhys and Rhys’ mother took Az in, Tamlin took Lucien in.  And they developed a very strong loyalty to Rhys and Tamlin perspectively as their high lords but also their best friends.

5. Loyal but still speak out often against their HL

And both of them still say the issues they have with their High Lords.  Az is more confident with Rhys while Lucien is a lot more cautious with Tamlin especially after UTM and for good reason. 

6. Defending their loved ones

And they both have their moments of rash defensiveness, like Az choking Eris at the High Lord’s meeting when he insults Mor, and Lucien telling Amarantha to “go back to the shithole she crawled out of” in the first book.

7. Insecurity

And it’s hard to understand them because we barely got POVs from either but they both seem really insecure with themselves.  Az seems to think of himself as a monster he avoids looking at his scarred hands.  And Lucien blames himself for a lot of stuff, one of the most important things imo, Jesminda’s death.  It seems like they avoid a lot of parts of themselves.

8. Elain

And one of tne of the most important in this shipwar situation that makes them similar imo—that I never see anyone talking about—are the conversations they have with Feyre and Rhys perspectively.  In the Autumn Court Feyre and Lucien have a fight about Elain and the Night Court, and Feyre says that he is only tagging along “just so he can get what he thinks he’s owed,” referring to Elain his mate.  This is very reminiscent of what Rhys asks Az in the bonus chapter, “you believe you deserve to be her mate?”

And both of them don’t directly answer and say they think they’re deserving in fact they both address their mistrust/dislike: Lucien answers, “my mate is in my enemy’s hands” and Az says “I think Lucien will never be good enough for her.”

They are both very conflicted when it comes to Elain. Az is attracted to her to the point of infatuation, and he’s stuck on this idea of having love because both of his brothers found love and a mate but he hasn’t.  But being with Elain is forbidden and he kind of realizes he doesn’t have a plan laid out.  He knows all of this is wrong and kind of seems to think he knows he’s being irrational.

And Lucien has the mating bond and all of the emotions and attractions that come with that but he is sick of getting hurt.

He’s still thinking about Jesminda it seems like and he thought she was his mate so he’s already comparing the two females.  

And he also sees that Elain is not into it plus he feels like he’s being forced into it himself.

And I really think the differences between the two will come into play as well, and are probably more important when it comes to Elain and how both of these two males interact with Elain at this current moment in time.

Differences:

`1. Light / dark powers

The most obvious difference is their powers; Lucien has the power of the Day court and Autumn, so light and fire which is the exact opposite of Az’s cold shadow powers. A lot of people use that difference as evidence towards Elucien or Elriel being the next relationship.  But as I said before I just want to point out some other differences that aren’t about each of the two males’ potential with Elain but rather just a character analysis. 

2. Honor, heroism, and helplessness

Az is very much a white knight. He is a savior, a rescuer.  He has a reputation for saving females, including Mor, Gwyn, and Elain.  He kind of has a hero complex in a way at least from how I view it, mainly bc the reason for a lot of these complexes is the desire for affirmation, validation and a sense of purpose, which I think has Az written all over it.

Also, a hero complex isn’t all about rescue and “damsels in distress”.  It is all of these other things:

good at saving people, very perceptive and sympathetic

A need for validation

dismissing their own needs and neglecting self-care

difficulty accepting help

feeling overwhelmed and drained

emotional and psychological burnout

low self-esteem

resentment

fear of abandonment and rejection

guilt over perceived mistakes

issues with overstepping boundaries

I'll make another post about it but I think it's an important.

You can try to analyze this from a psychological viewpoint, like Az was abused and suppressed when he was young, he was locked away and could not help his mother until he was empowered by his Illyrian heritage and shadowsinger abilities and got out of his father’s imprisonment.  A lot of these rescues are because of this job but Az seems like the person who is honorable and would help these females anyway, even if his high lord didn’t blatantly order him.

Lucien has a similar history: he also didn’t have power over his father or brothers, he was helpless when it came to helping his mother. But he reacts differently to this trauma.  He is a lot more helpless. 

Lucien is a gentlemen and very good hearted, and again, he can be rash and he does defend his loved ones, (helping Feyre UTM, going to find Vassa and get help from the other fae territories) but most of the time he is very careful with the moves he makes.  And I don’t want to say he’s selfish because he has done plenty of very selfless things, but sometimes his trauma really drives his decision making.  You can see this with Tamlin in ACOMAF: he tried to help he tries to stand up to Tamlin a few times, but imo his trauma from Beron and seeing his mother being abused really influenced his actions and made him cautious.

3. Trauma from losing loved ones

There is a key quote from Lucien and Feyre’s conversation in the Autumn Court which really just defines how Lucien interacts with people especially Elain.   Lucien was saying he wants to see Elain “just once.  Just—to know.” And Feyre asks him “to know what” and he says “if she’s worth fighting for.” (Chapter 12 Page 114 ACOWAR)

I remember reading that for the first time as someone who fell in love with Lucien from the moment I met him and being like… “ooh 😐 damn.  That’s a little selfish lulu why aren’t you trying harder.” 

And in the bonus chapter, Az says to Rhys that he doesn’t think that Lucian deserves Elain as a mate because he probably just sees Lucien as a coward, he sees how Lucien interacts cautiously around Elain and he’s probably sees him as a coward. He’s frustrated and he doesn’t understand why Lucien is so cautious with his mate because he doesn’t know his history and trauma. 

Lucien is sick of losing people.  He has lost so many of his loved ones.  He has lost Jesminda, he technically lost his mother because most likely hasn’t been allowed to speak to her in centuries.  He’s lost Andras, and he just recently lost Tamlin.  He lost his eye which isn’t a person but it’s a loss still.

Jesminda seems to influence a lot of his decisions when it comes to Elain.  He does not talk about her a lot but in a way he does, you can tell he thinks about her constantly, even if it may have been hundreds of years.

Lucien was expecting a mating bond to snap with her.  He thought that his mate was murdered. 

And he seems very selfish in this conversation with Feyre but it totally makes sense why he said he wants to see if Elain is worth it.  He is sick of losing people.  He’s just like… “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

4. A supportive network

Azriel has had his own losses but he has a lot of people around him.  He’s got all of the inner circle who have supported him and loved him for centuries.  His mother is also alive and there are hints that he goes and visits her.

I think Lucien has a supportive network now with the Band of Exiles, but he lost so many friends and loved ones and allies along the way. He is constantly moving around, loving his spot and finding another one, while Az got a very stable home.

5. Revenge and serving justice

And another thing is, revenge.  Az has a lot more of a need for revenge it seems like.  He wants justice to be served.

When he got out from his step-brother and father’s imprisonment, Rhys isays that what he did to them was so horrible that he struggled looking at him for a while after.  And Az really wants to kill Eris for what he did to Mor, and the only reasons why he holds back are because he believes Mor is more deserving of that revenge and because of his High Lord and High Lady since Eris is a very important ally to the night court right now.

Lucien doesn’t seem to think about justice being served.  Justice has never been served in his life and he thinks it never will.  

He doesn’t seem to have a need for revenge.  He was rude to Feyre in ACOTAR in the beginning which was totally reasonable btw. She murdered and skinned his best friend of course his reaction is bitter hate.  Plus he was losing a lot of hope with the curse.  But he kind of got over it pretty well and Feyre became friends.

And in ACOWAR he encounters his brothers—who tortured him in his youth and held him down and forced him to watch his lover butchered, and also rooted for his torture UTM.  And we don’t really see any need to get his revenge for any of that.  Power came into play in the ACOWAR winter court situation bc him and Feyre were overpowered so they ran instead and that makes sense.

6. Running 

Lucien has a habit of avoiding problems.  He and Feyre ran in Winter (I know their powers were low but still), he ran from Autumn to Spring after Jesminda, he ran from Elain in a way to go help find Vassa.  In ACOFAS when he and Feyre fight on the winter solstice, he left instead of staying.  He just doesn’t want to invest because again, he’s sick of getting hurt.

And maybe not all the time but sometimes Az seems like he runs ahead with his eyes closed.  He bottles up his feelings but he explodes sometimes when he gets too invested, like with Mor and Eris and with Elain in the bonus chapter.

Comparing these two characters is pretty important in the future books, since we will get POVs from both, discover more of their story, and see how this whole shipwar thing ends up.

[tagthescullion]

Do you have any headcanons about Octavian (still can't believe we got Luke's entire tragic multifaceted backstory but we never even got Octavian's last name)?

I'll admit my idea of octavian comes from those politicians who want greatness by staying traditional so:

(yes this is long)

his family is one of the oldest in CJ/NR, he's a descendant of apollo but also of a bunch of other gods

as with any other community, secret, mythological, or plain common, the second half of the 20th century brought the need to become strong and powerful which means octavian's parents, grandparents, etc did everything in their power to solidify their family's hold on NR's power

then the 21st century brought the idea of opening society to the different (speaking ideally and etc etc), of being less strict, less controlled, less severe with rules

octavian's family hated this, I mean, they were powerful bc their roots were tied to the legion from long before the gods were even in the US! who tf were these upstarts like jason grace or reyna r. arellano who had no demigod ancestors?? no parents living in the city to show them how everything was done!!

octavian himself was probably less worried about how demigodish or not these kids were but he was fond of their heritage and he was used to his name meaning something, jason's liberal and radical ideas about un-roman-ising discipline and traditions.. well, I don't think the english for "le vino por las pelotas" exists, but go translate that

and, don't get me wrong, ofc excessive nationalism (or whatever that for smaller communities is) leads to bad places, but at first, nobody thought it was so strange. the guy was proud of who he was, of his family, he was secluded from mortals from a young age, what was wrong with him defending his culture from demigods who popped up and imposed their own ways to camp's?? (we all know how hard defending one's culture can be in the US)

in canon it's implied octavian blackmails and bribes his way into power, but with figures like jason and reyna having the 'official' power, that's not quite likely, he'd have been exiled long before, so it's more likely he played a sort-of-luke but instead of offering comfort and emotional affection, he offered a symbolic place in NR's society

"my family extends an offering for lunch this weekend" from octavian means a shitload to people who want power but have no connections of their own

and octavian wasn't probably too bad as a person if one wasn't conflictive (as long as one doesn't openly speak of politics, football, and religion, conversations can remain civil)

his dislike towards jason comes in part from jason being way too chill for a traditional roman despite being the son of the king of the gods, and from jealousy. jason seems to be a nice, popular, powerful kid who was given respect for the sake of existing, not so much for his merits at first

but that dislike was his own doom bc jason had his own friends, so there was probably a sort of division between "I like this one/I like the other"

at first it was probably just a jokey thing, like "ooh losers, we won the war games this time!" but shit like that can hit the fan fast if the times get conflictive

and conflictive is an understatement, two wars in two years?? (officially, the first one lasted two years most likely, but y'know) that's putting everybody in a bad and wary mood, everybody's paranoid, everyone's tense, that can only end in massive disaster

specially bc octavian's clever and he'd have badmouthed jason to make him less powerful. with his future seeing superpower, he probably saw jason enjoying "the enemy's" company and assumed it was kronos' side rather than the greeks (tho ofc to him the greeks would also have been the enemy)

anyway, jason becoming praetor was a punch in the gut for a guy who wanted traditions to prevail, and who failed to convince people even through a whole war!

[amethystina]

I was reading your answer to an ask about your idea on Ga On not knowing Yohan was dead, and how that would impact his relationship with an alive Soo Hyun. It really stuck with me because I had actually been wondering about something similar, but with more of a twist. You mentioned not really liking it due to that meaning Yo Han was choosing to actually harm Ga On by not telling him, which sucks a lot. I guess I subconsciously had a similar feeling lol because I was wondering about if for whatever reason Yo Han was forced not to reveal he was alive (for example something went wrong with the escape plan or maybe someone dangerous is out to get him so he can't expose Elijah to danger, etc).

This would mean Elijah also wouldn't know, so Ga On would be stuck with the mystery of whether he's dead or alive since he saw the escape plans and maybe later finds out about the Swiss hospital donations, but clearly Yo Han isn't here. It could also be interesting because ofc he's guilty and doesn't know what to do with himself in the aftermath, but he needs to take care of Elijah.

This could also introduce an interesting dynamic where even though Elijah loves Ga On a lot, she also is angry at him for being apart of Yo Han's supposed death, even tho she's super angry at Yo Han too. And of course she's lonely and scared and still needs and loves Ga On, so that might make things more complicated.

Furthermore, we can see Soo hyun's dynamic with Ga On and see their relationship have to change due to their different values and experiences. I think that Soo hyun would of course be upset about all the corruption but she wouldn't fully understand the extent and the inherent corruption in the system. Meanwhile, Ga On, especially grappling with Yo Han maybe being dead "because of him" might have less patience for this and even become reckless or consider actions he wouldn't before due to his frustration with the new corruption in the system and his by-the-book efforts not being able to change things, too tunnel-visioned to consider a different approach like in your WHTD.

I think it would be really interesting to see Soo Hyun's dynamic with Ga On in a way that is two-sided and allows her and Ga On to be more honest with each other and expose, for lack of another word, their true selves or feelings that they were hiding for each other for one reason or another. I think it would also be nice to see Soo Hyun have the chance to fall out of love with him or move on in a sense, even if that'll be probably very tough. I would love to see her growth.

Of course I guess that the main mystery would probably be around Yo Han's "death", Soo Hyun investigating stuff as a police officer and maybe having to directly reckon with corruption in her job and how it is everywhere, and also the new powers trying to take hold after Yo Han basically cleared the stage?

I'm very sorry I overstepped with this ask, I just love your work and you really inspired me, so I wanted to share my thoughts and see if they might interest you.

P.S. This is just me spitballing now, but I think it would be interesting to see Soo Hyun's dynamic with Elijah, as maybe she can be a comfort for her, especially since she's conflicted about Ga On now even tho she loves him. Of course she's not immediately sold on her, and she knows she really dislikes Yo Han, but she tended to agree with those sentiments before and may even think they're fair game or kinda deserved, tho of course she may get upset about it if Soo hyun goes too far or really insists. It might even be a breath of fresh air if Ga On in his grief sometimes struggles to address Yo Han's flaws or focuses on defending him, even tho this is unfair towards Elijah and he regrets it everytime it happens. Maybe Soo Hyun even stays at the house a bit for Elijah and to watch over Ga On, which would be complicated for everyone, like Ga On might struggle with her being in a place he only associated with Yo Han with him not there. And Elijah may feel conflicted about Ga On and Soo hyun maybe ending up together out of her own abandonment etc fears (she doesn't know about Ga On feelings for Yo Han, tho maybe it gets obvious), so she might meddle or lash out, or sometimes even try to bring them together sometimes if she "just wants to get it over with" or smth. I would also like to see her explore not only the grief of losing family like her dad and even Yo Han, but also more specifics on how she feels about her mom.

Ooooooh, that's a really fascinating concept! And would also be terribly painful, in more ways than one x'D

But it would definitely put a rather interesting spin on Ga On and Soo Hyun's relationship. Because Soo Hyun would be alive to be told the truth about the fire and, as you say, have to face the corruption and such, but also deal with a Ga On who, for lack of a better word, would probably get a little bit obsessed with finding Yo Han. He'd probably tell Soo Hyun about his doubts about Yo Han's death and his need to confirm it, but it's more like trying to find a man he hopes is alive but also can't prove is alive.

And how would Soo Hyun deal with that? Would she write it off as a grief response? And try to gently tell him that no, Yo Han is most definitely dead and Ga On needs to move on even if he feels guilty. Or would she agree with him and help him search for answers?

To be honest, I think she'd lean towards the first — out of purely selfish reasons because while she's not proud of it, she kind of wishes Yo Han was dead? Because that means Ga On is finally free. Except she'd realise pretty soon that, nope, Ga On is in no way free. In fact, he's worse than ever and seems even more determined not to let Yo Han go.

Which would probably make her even more determined to "help" Ga On move on.

And I don't mean this as an insult towards Soo Hyun. I'd argue this is the logical conclusion someone would draw if put in her position. Like, sure, Ga On can claim that the blueprints and donations to the Swiss hospital suggest that Yo Han is alive, but the whole "he wouldn't leave Elijah on her own" is a very good counterargument. Also, claiming that Yo Han would fake his own death twice in as many days is kind of ludicrous, you know? (that fucking drama queen, I swear x'D ) So it's more reasonable to assume that, maybe, Ga On is just not handling the grief all that well and is coming up with wild theories to ease his own conscience.

Also, while Soo Hyun would accept that Yo Han didn't cause the fire, I'm worried she might still double down on the rest of the illegal stuff. Like, sure, Yo Han didn't murder his own brother, but he faked the trials and then murdered a bunch of people on live television instead. I think that would be difficult for Soo Hyun to swallow even if she did admit to herself that, yeah, the corruption is bad and those people would probably never have been punished if it hadn't been for Yo Han. But that doesn't mean she has to accept what Yo Han did. Only made worse by Ga On's insistence that Yo Han might be alive and his obsession to find him.

Basically, I think Soo Hyun might stay stubborn because she can still tell that she's about to lose Ga On to Yo Han.

And I think she and Ga On would end up arguing about Yo Han a lot. In a way where both of them are right but also wrong, and they're both too stubborn to reach a compromise because, for once, Ga On isn't going to bend to Soo Hyun's will because it's not just his own well-being that's on the line. He wants Yo Han to be alive not just for his sake and to soothe his own guilt, but because Elijah is grieving, too. And he'd probably get frustrated with Soo Hyun's insistence that no, Yo Han is dead, let it go. Because Yo Han secretly being alive would be good scenario, you know?

Except Soo Hyun doesn't agree because then she'd have to arrest him. And hearing that would make Ga On defensive because, sure, what Yo Han did was illegal but how can Soo Hyun say that she'll take Yo Han away from Elijah again? Can't she look the other way for once? And Soo Hyun would get upset because why is Ga On defending Yo Han all the time? And Ga On would get upset because no, he isn't, he just wants Elijah to be happy. And on and on and on it goes.

The fights they would have, my friends.

And it would kind of turn into an opposite version of chapter 38 of Who Holds the Devil, I guess? Where Ga On is trying to be what Soo Hyun wants him to be, but he keeps taking Yo Han's side because his guilt and grief won't let him do anything else. And Soo Hyun has never experienced that before. She's used to Ga On always taking her side in the important issues and now, all of a sudden, he doesn't. And I do think that would result in her falling out of love with him eventually. If nothing else because, sooner or later — after one too many times when Soo Hyun tries to tell Ga On that Yo Han has been a bad influence on him, corrupting his thoughts — Ga On will have to tell her that no, this is who he is. And who he's always been. And he can't keep pretending that he's all good and righteous.

He's not as bad as Yo Han wanted him to be, but also not as good as Soo Hyun tried to make him.

And, once they reach that point, a lot of things would unravel.

As for Elijah, I think she would flip into becoming Yo Han's biggest defender. Because, sure, even if she often talked shit about him, it still showed that he was her entire world in many ways. And I think her reaction when she finds out that Ga On told Soo Hyun about the document on Yo Han's computer is pretty telling. She didn't look happy at all. And I think that's partly because she felt betrayed — that Ga On would tell someone else something Elijah told him in confidence — but also because suddenly someone else is criticising Yo Han. Someone who might try to have Yo Han arrested. Someone Elijah doesn't know or trust yet. Her relationship with Yo Han is incredibly complex and full of anger and trauma, but she's undeniably protective of him.

So if she genuinely thought Yo Han was dead? Elijah would bite the head off of anyone who offended Yo Han. Especially since she's now gotten Ga On's explanation of what happened during the fire and, provided that she still believes it (which I think she will), it turns out that Yo Han was innocent.

And she just lost him.

And while she's probably also very angry at Yo Han for leaving her — and isn't afraid to express that — I think her sense of loyalty would still kick in every time someone else tries to criticise him. Only she is allowed to do that.

So, to be honest, I think Elijah would be pretty vicious against both Ga On and Soo Hyun. In an eerily similar way to how she felt about Yo Han while she still thought he was responsible for the fire. The difference of course being that Ga On and Soo Hyun would be better at helping her work through that anger, but it would be far from easy. Even more so if Elijah feels that they're in some part responsible for Yo Han's death. But, sadly, she'd still have very little choice in some regards since, well, who else does she have at that point?

So that's a terribly tragic aspect of this scenario: Elijah has to start another cycle of mourning someone she loves while relying on people she thinks are responsible for that loved one's death.

And, to be honest, I'm not sure I have the heart to do that to her >__>

But I find the concept of Soo Hyun staying at the house for a while absolutely fascinating. Because, to no one's surprise, I'm very fond of the concept of the house and what it symbolises in terms of family and belonging. And I agree that Ga On would probably struggle because Soo Hyun shouldn't be there. He loves her, of course, but she doesn't fit in. And, sometimes, he'd probably turn around and almost startle at the sight of her because it's just wrong to see her there.

It should be Yo Han, not Soo Hyun. Those two parts of Ga On's world shouldn't cross like this.

(Complete side note: Imagine Ga On going to Yo Han's bedroom on the nights he can't sleep — which is probably often. It's obviously been left untouched since Yo Han's "death" and Ga On while wouldn't dream of sleeping in Yo Han's bed or anything like that — that would feel both impolite and improper — he'd probably fall asleep in one of the armchairs more than once. Because that's where he feels closest to Yo Han and, most likely, one of the few rooms where Soo Hyun hasn't gone. Or at least not often enough that Ga On will have conflicting impressions. Everywhere else — like the study, the kitchen, Ga On's own bedroom — will have memories of Soo Hyun overlapping those of Yo Han, causing cracks and confusion. But not in Yo Han's bedroom. That room remains Yo Han's and Ga On would protect it like a sanctuary — like something sacred.

Because it is)

But yeah! It would be a spectacular and very fascinating little mess, wouldn't it? And while Soo Hyun and Ga On's relationship would unravel — much faster than if Yo Han had been present — it would also teach them to be more honest with each other. They would have to work through some of the issues they have in their relationship, and while I think they would both try to hold on for a while, saying that no, we still love each other, they'd eventually realise that their romantic relationship isn't going to last. Too much has changed. Ga On is too stuck on Yo Han and Soo Hyun's worldview is slowly crumbling, both when it comes to Ga On and their society as a whole.

They're suddenly moving at different paces.

And, while it might sound harsh, I think Elijah would prefer them breaking up. Even if she'd be angry at both Ga On and Soo Hyun, out of the two of them she'd no doubt choose Ga On. And as you point out, she has some pretty serious abandonment issues. So she'd probably be jealous of Soo Hyun and be afraid that she'd steal Ga On from her now that he is one of the few people she has left. Especially once Elijah realises that Soo Hyun already has tried to take Ga On from her by tryinf to find proof that Yo Han caused the fire. Because that was essentially to prove to Ga On that Yo Han was a bad man he should distance himself from. And, most likely, that would mean distancing himself from Elijah too.

So, uh, Elijah would probably not be sad at all if she was told that Soo Hyun and Ga On are no longer a couple.

But that's just my guess! Or how I would approach it, I guess I should say? My takes are always subject to change, though, as seen with my initial idea where I did a complete 180 and changed my mind about a key part of the concept x'D

Thank you for sharing! It's a very fascinating thought! Though, again, very painful.

Then again, what isn't when it comes to these idiots?

[confessions-sm]

I kinda dislike it when people infantilize Kevin. Like I don't mean when they call him a boyfailure or anything since that's just a joke lmao. I just mean like when some people treat him like hes not capable of defending himself, being in the wrong, or just like he isn't a grown man who can stand his ground—kinda like how the tiktok fandom was with Kevin back in 2022 anytime someone dared to ship him with characters like Frank or Lila just because they thought Kevin x Streber was canon.

And the same kinda goes for characters like Roy and Susie (the grown adult part doesn't apply to them ofc/lh)—I don't dislike them either, they're just very much capable of defending themselves or being in the wrong as any other character (besides Skid and Pump of course when it comes to the defending themselves part?? But that's cuz they're like 7-8 years old lmao). And I can also say the same for one's like Gregor or hell even Skiddad sometimes. Skiddad only sorta counts here though just cuz I don't exactly believe he was a perfect father and husband—I wouldn't say people infantillize him it's just that people really want him to be a good dad (that's understandable too—but it's kind of impossible for a child sacrificing cult leader to be a perfect family man 😭), which is inevitable since that tends to happen a lot in fandom when there's a mysterious character and people think of said character as possibly being a good person./lh

Regardless I just don't like it when people baby characters or treat them like they can't defend themselves or like they're a perfect angel who can do no wrong.

.

[pumpkinsy0]

Curly & johnny duo (fighting or getting along..maybe both) hc

they go together like oil and vinegar, they dont mix easily, but u COULD do it!!

•honestly, for them i think DISLIKE is actually a strong word, they sure as hell arent buddy buddy, they keep their distance

•only right time using dislike is actually right is when the other does something they dont like (ie curly calling johnny “kid/squirt”, johnny somehow interrupting curlys time w pony, those kinda things) but even then thats just annoyance and small dislike, they dont have strong feelings towards each other at all

•”im not fond of u but ur not outright bad and u know the person i rlly love so ig ur here too” is them!!!

•they have actually defended each other like ONCE, curly stopped johnny from getting jumped and johnnys done the same for curly by whipping out his switchblade (curly had a broken bottle too so the socs just left)

•pretty sure its canon that during rumbles pony and johnny would jump one guy together, but i wanna add on that just for the hell of it, sometimes curly would join em and go back to fighting by himself, so there was this one time pony COULDNT go to this rumble, so curly helped johnny out and fulled in for pony there

•curly brings it up here n there as like a starting convo between him and johhny, and ponys heard the story but not all of it, he asks and curly jokes that its just for him and johnny to know

•johnny will call curly some stupid name when hes not around and he only says it to pony, but he then quickly says “i was joking, dont tell him i said that”

•if we can all agree on pony having some of curlys clothes and that the gang is always wearing someones hand me down, then it is completely possible for pony to have gave johnny a shirt he forgot was curlys and one day curly saw johnny w it on and he straight up asked “isnt that my shirt”

•ikkkkk we all like to say that they fight, but cmon guys,,,,johnny is described as a puppy thats been kicked too many times, i dont think he WANTS to get into it w curly, curly intimidates him bc hes a shepard!!! ofc if he HAS to, he’ll speak up to him but on the average day???0 fighting johnny wants to keep the small sanity he has

•i feel like w all i said, this technically means they get along way more than they do fight,,

[ac-liveblogs]

I LOVE ur au/rewrite stuff. With how much potential Genshin has that it's refusing to touch, It's great to see ppl utilizing it.

I'm very curious about the team dynamic between everyone, especially the characters who don't know each other in canon. What are the relationships between the party like?

THANK U... SO MUCH..... IT MEANS A LOT....! I LOVE YOU TOO ANON

I guess, putting it simply, the team's dynamic is... (just doing up to Sumeru for now)

....was joking! Except in a way, kind of not...

Because my explanations were getting very long, I've made a handy-dandy diagram that is hopefully easier (and faster) to read.

BUT bonus notes ofc:

Lumine had NO INTEREST in sticking around in Teyvat any longer than she had to - find Aether, get out. Unfortunately, things are way more complicated. She's always berated Aether as a bleeding heart, but she's never allowed herself to get involved in a world's affairs since she left her own (a disconnected tourist up until now). She genuinely comes to love Teyvat and it's people, where before she couldn't wait to be shot of it. I have no idea if she'll stay or not.

Venti is the driving force behind the party, and the reason they're even traveling together in the first place. For a while, he's kind of the group's glue. His ideals of freedom and belief in humanity's potential are an inspiration and positive impact on the party, leading to their eventual conflicts with the Abyss and Celestia... though he may not get to see the results, just like the Nameless Bard that led the rebellion against Decarabian so long ago. Unclear if the Travelers are Venti's followers or not. Venti doesn't seem the sort to care.

Xiao truly struggles to interact with the party more than anyone else - he's super antisocial and somewhat arrogant, and half of them are humans besides. Truthfully, he's unsure that humans can defend themselves against the caliber of enemy they often fight. Working with the humans in the party helps build his confidence that Liyue can defend itself, and he becomes accustomed to working alongside humanity instead of shouldering the burden of protecting them himself. (he's fine with diluc by the time he joins the party. kazuha and collei roll their eyes.)

Kazuha is a free spirit that moves to the beat of his own drum a LOT - that doesn't necessarily make him a great team player, or one that sticks around very long (which rears its ugly head in Inazuma). His relationship with his friend was one that didn't require words or explanation, and they often separated and met back up without much fanfare, and he was fairly frustrating to Beidou's crew. As such, traveling with the party is a very new experience - one that makes him a more considerate and communicative person. (the goal is that by the endgame, rewrite!Kazuha has become canon!Kazuha.)

Collei is a traumatised 16 year old that recently recovered from a chronic illness and is now trying to figure out how to control her God Residue powers (from human experimentation) while ALSO hunting down the guy that screwed over her and Nahida... with a group of very cool, strong older people that have trouble not looking at her like she's made of glass. Collei struggles with self-confidence, self-discipline and has a temper (she haaates feeling coddled), and the party struggles with that right back (except Kazuha, who was always chill about it, leading to a strong early friendship.) Like Kazuha, the goal is to get rewrite!Collei to BEYOND canon!Collei by the endgame... a confident young lady in control of herself, willing to rely on others and grabbing the future with her hands.

Paimon is a double agent that works for Celestia who is preparing Lumine to be carved up as a new set of Gnoses. THIS IS REALLY HARD WHEN SHE STARTS TO LIKES EVERYONE (except Venti, who she dislikes because of his irreverence for the Heavens). What was Paimon pretending at first became Paimon really caring... and though she'll betray the party by the end, I'm conflicted on what her character's final decision will be.

Lumine and Venti's relationship started transactional - you help me with Dvalin, I'll use my Archon powers to find your brother. Then Venti lost his Gnosis. So then it's "okay, I'll take you to Morax, he owes me..." and then Morax 'died' and lost his Gnosis too. They got along but hadn't officially decided to stick together until Aether's status as Abyss Prince was revealed, and after that they never split up. They get along very well, and where Venti is a good influence on Lumine, Lumine goes out of her way to make sure Venti's safe. ("it'd be a shame if he stopped smiling", that kind of thing.)

Lumine's 'senpai-kohai' relationship with Kazuha stems from a) being the two sword users, the two spar quite often and b) Lumine kind of... taking him under her wing? (She's been a little sister all her life, let her have this). After Inazuma, she is very bad at staying mad at him. But she does make him work as the group's blacksmith - he'd agree she was right to push him to hold onto some part of his heritage.

Xiao's awkwardness around Venti stems from a) his respect for Barbatos as an Archon and b) his desire to repay his life-debt… both of which are things he knows Venti doesn't want him to do. But, he feels he isn't worthy of speaking to Venti as an equal! That'd be too disrespectful! But Venti would consider THAT disrespectful….. ghhhhh. and venti is SO BAD at understanding xiao's boundaries. it's awful. (lumine has to be a buffer sometimes)

But, Xiao gets on best with Lumine because she reminds him of the Yaksha. It's quiet, but they trust and respect each other a lot - him giving her the Serenitea Pot, and her actually calling his name for help before he joined the party were very significant indicators of trust early on.

Venti worries about Collei a lot, but rather than actually saying so he does the annoying big brother thing of... being really annoying when she seems upset to snap her out of it. It generally works. They have a bit of a boke and tsukkomi going.

Xiao spends a bit of time mildly shocked or horrified at Kazuha's… idk, gall??? Fighting gods, robbing Adepti, letting his clan fall to ruin because he just didn't want to deal with it?? And Kazuha stares at Xiao's 1000+ years of servitude like "……..are you out of your mind…?" Kazuha wants to spar, Xiao won't play ball! There's minor conflicts because Xiao finds Kazuha INSANELY disrespectful at times, and Kazuha is very aware that Xiao kind of looks down on him (in the general way that Xiao does look down on humans) - which he doesn't usually care about, but it can get irritating. They don't dislike each other, but struggle to get along.

In the Inazuma stage, Venti and Kazuha couldn't stand each other at all and argued a lot. After Inazuma, they're thick as thieves and the greatest conflict they have is that Kazuha adopted a cat and lets it shed fur all over the place. They go looking for 'hole in the wall' bars in new cities together and share a lot of interests besides. Genuinely, I don't think Kazuha gives a shit Venti is Barbatos. (Kazuha was also the most relaxed about Collei's God Residue affliction. He's the most chill about her in general, which is nice.)

Collei studies medicine via mail correspondence and is a part-time student of the Amurta Darshan. Lumine helps with her studies the most often; not that Lumine understands most of it, but she helps Collei with reading and writing assignments (and such). Collei gets pretty cross if anyone else tries to disturb her (Venti, usually - this is the time she cares least he's an Archon, she WILL throw something).

Collei makes a herb garden for salves/medicines in the Serenitea Pot; she's the closest thing the group has to a doctor and is very frustrated about how reckless they are (she is no better, but she is a hypocrite). She wants to get to a point where she can make Xiao's prescribed medicine... and actually convince him to take it.

Xiao and Collei have one of those... "young-older coworkers who get on but have no shared interests and have very little to talk about" type relationships. They had one (1) serious conversation where he promised to keep her powers in check if she loses it, and then never again. please imagine her teaching this old man to play card games.

BONUS:

Venti falls into a bad habit of just... not telling anyone who Zhongli is (for funny reasons), leading to routine comedic shock whenever someone puts two and two together. Except for Kazuha, which ZHONGLI was somewhat shocked about. (furina almost cried)

I think Diluc is actually the party member that gets the most respect from the other party members overall. Despite everything. That's the responsible adult, it's him. (LMAO)

Venti is also best friends with Hu Tao. Please save Xiao from his suffering

Lumine and Ayaka are also really good friends that love ribbing Kazuha. Do not save Kazuha from his suffering, he earned this.

Cyno and Tighnari threatened the party with extreme bodily harm if anything bad happens to Collei. She is totally unaware of this. There are a lot of things they do not tell Cyno and Tighnari.

The group has a shared interest in music/performance, though Collei is still learning and Xiao's pretty shy about it. They could probably pass as a traveling band if they wanted.

I wonder if Collei gets a crush on anyone later? I've been debating if I want to do something with Lyney or Freminet. Either way, god help them when Cyno finds out.

Kazuha kind of arbitrarily decides he's on good terms with Scaramouche, and failure to explain anything about Scaramouche to later party members also just results in them being friendly to him as well. Scara is really confused by it. Aren't they rivals to the death or something (collei hates him and would spit on his corpse)

[bibluebutterfly]

Just wanna talk about Stella,this is gonna be long:

I'm not defending her or Stolas or anyone mentioned in this

That quote she said when she argued with Stolas: "I like tormenting you, I like to remind you of what you did" or "Well stop, it's annoying to hear you screeching your silly woes all the time"

On a surface level, she sounds annoyed, complaining about how Stolas is a coward and how weak he is

I can't help but feel it that way somehow that what she said is right in some aspects. Please remember I'm not defending her, I'm just analysing what she maybe feeling or thinking about

I mean Stella could've huge expectations of Stolas,an idealized version of him,she could've wanted Stolas to be someone fearsome and cruel,but we know Stolas is a softy,he dislikes brutality and barely goes physical,in that he's not active in the physical strength aspect. I'm not saying being weak is bad or not pretty, it's not the good thing in Stella's view

I can see one factor which makes their marriage unhappy is that Stolas wasn't what Stella truly wanted: Stolas goes against what the Goetia royalty always abide by like "keep your head high or the crown falls down"

Stolas himself doesn't always keep his head high,he loves an imp for godsake and he doesn't care that much about social classes,he went to a ripped off amusement park where only imps go bcuz it was his fave childhood place,no self-respecting,noble royalty would go there

For a Goetia royalty like Stella,she cannot accept her husband doesn't follow what their families have been doing for centuries or simply how she wants him to be

Perhaps exactly bcuz she was just a bride married into the pureblood Goetia family is why she is angry at Stolas,she may have been trained to act like a Goetia since she was a kid bcuz she's gonna be one of them after marriage. The Goetia seems fairly traditional to me and I don't think it's impossible they have certain traditions and hierarchical codes,so if Stella was grounded into being a Goetia despite not actually being one or a lesser one,her bro is at a lower rank than her father in law,naturally she's upset her husband who was probably higher than her in rank but he doesn't act his position

Opposite to Stolas who's not hierarchical/social classes based,the hierarchy is everything to Stella,like you said about Stella having been told to keep up appearances,she would rather be caught dead than looking like a "ugly swan"

The second factor belongs to "I like tormenting you, I like to remind you of what you did" she could've been talking about the cheating with an imp,she sounds like a sadist who just wants to torture the husband she hates,but what if it's deeper than that? For some reason her tone when she said that sentence sounds like she was somehow betrayed by him which is possible how she feels

Relating to my previous point,Stolas was wrong of being and doing many things in Stella's eyes,he's a pathetic coward,he went against the norms of their Goetia society,etc. Stella could've been the only one in the family of her, Octavia and Stolas,who has been trying to keep up the facade of proud royalties since it's definitely mandatory for every Goetia,whether they're a pureblood or not

So ofc it's worse than cheating with an imp, technically in a way, Stolas was playing around and enjoying himself with pleasure while Stella is working her ass off to make their family look good. It's unfair for Stella,her husband didn't actively partake in the "keeping the family's name grand and powerful" duty,which I think it's important to a royalty, Stolas totally doesn't act like a proud Goetia unlike Stella is,sure she's the childishly frustrated wife here,but in another way, she's pretty right to be angry and Stolas had to ruin it for her

I mean she was fine with cheating cuz it's the norm in their society and status wise but she can't accept the class difference,showing how strong she has the high class superiority and how deep rooted that mentality is

Again, I'm not defending anyone mentioned in this analysis at all, I'm trying to look at both sides of the story, I found Stolas and Stella to be parallel forces and I'm interested in that,a lot of people keep trying to victimise Stolas in that "he did nothing wrong" but we should consider that this is Hell and it's not wrong to have faults, it's not wrong to personally I don't think Stolas was wrong but he's not actually completely right

Come on now this is Hell,you can be right and wrong

I think when she said about how Stolas was uninterested in her during their marriage and she had to do all the work, including making an heir and keeping up the grand facade. It sounds like Stolas was neglecting Stella,his own wife,she could've expected a loveless marriage but she may have wanted him to at least act like a husband, I mean she could have been fine with him just giving her expensive gifts to create an image of a doting husband to their peers and Stella can have stuff to brag about with her rich friends

Now I know Stolas said he didn't hurt her,but in some screwed way,he indirectly hurt her by not being that into the marriage. Sure it's an arranged marriage but he technically was irresponsible in this marriage bcuz even if it's forced,he still has the responsibility of a husband. Yes I know this sounds mean and awful, I'm heavily aware Stolas didn't want this marriage and he was put into some bullshit he doesn't want,but the exact same can be said to Stella

It's like Stella is an avid player of the power game and she's angry her husband didn't partake when he must have

-🌹

This is a very plausible analysis. Though the one thing I would argue with is how she hates Stolas because he doesn't participate in what she does to keep up their reputation other than just show up. This is because I think this would actually make her look better, being the one to host these events with her husband off to the side.

Think Lady Danbury from Bridgerton. Excluding the fact that personality wise she and Stella are COMPLETE opposites, Danbury also built a reputation for herself by hosting the most glamorous parties. Plus since Stella loves to insult and talk down on Stolas at her parties, I'd say that once again it makes her look good. To the public eye, she's the one who puts in all the work in both their relationship and their reputation.

It only STOPS making her look good when Stolas cheats, because by doing so, he's basically telling the public that he finds a lowly imp more desirable than his wife. Which is why it's so humiliating to her.

But besides that little tidbit, I can easily agree with the rest of this. Good insight!!

[twoolips]

☆— random miles headcanons!

a/n: i haven’t seen atsv yet…wild ik. therefore i’m going off of what headcanons itsv miles would match!! i’m a new writer so if this sucks i’m sorry 😣.

warnings/tags: no warnings, headcanon list

favorite animal is a cat. specifically black cats. he doesn’t understand the stigma against black cats and why people dislike them so much, even after his mother explained the superstition around them and their “bad luck”. he calls them “misunderstood”. feeds stray black cats around his neighborhood…tried to take one home with him when he was younger but couldn’t even make it through the front door without being told to put it down because “it could have diseases” (rio’s words). vows to adopt one when he’s old enough.

i think this has already been established, but he’s the worlds BIGGEST mama’s boy. since he’s been alive he’s never passed by a mother’s day without getting his mom something, whether it was breakfast in bed or just flowers snatched from a random park. when he was a baby, he refused to sleep unless his mom was by his side (it drove jeff crazy).

can double dutch extremely well. he’s really good at jump roping in general tbh.

doesn’t understand chess for the life of him.

reality tv enthusiasts. ESPECIALLY solder reality tv shows. can tell you what happens in every single Bad Girls Club episode (rio put him on). dabbles in some ANTM but can’t stand Tyra Banks.

mint chocolate chip ice cream defender. he doesn’t even eat it but he comes to the defense of everyone who does ‼️

^^ he prefers regular vanilla ice cream.

animal crossing player ofc.

adventure time enthusiasts!!! jake is his favorite character.

he physically can’t bring himself to be petty or genuinely hateful (for no reason) to anybody. he’s the embodiment of “bro has no enemies”.

voice message enthusiast, will send a 10 minute voice message of him talking about anything and nothing at the same time.

neo soul lover.

kinda bad at taking compliments 😭. he’s a little awkward so he’s giggling and kicking his feet in his mind but verbally all he can’t muster up is a “uh…thanks!”

has whatsapp but only because his mom refuses to text on any other app.

grew up being the type of kid who was friends with EVERYONE.

a/n: that’s all!! thanks for reading :p

[yesloulou]

I think the whole ‘I don’t watch the news’ thing was an answer given because he obviously hadn’t been expecting to be asked about it and give an answer on it. It was a stupid answer and he absolutely should’ve given a better one but. Yes it very disappointing but be realistic if many people (including some of the drivers) were asked, you wouldn’t know how to respond.

People also have to be aware that you can’t keep up to date with everything happening all over the world, it tough but it’s true. I used to watch the news most days at some point last year and now I don’t because I have a job.

I do think as people with platforms should use their platforms but even at that I don’t think it’s as easy as that. Seb and Lewis were/are able to do what they do because they are multiple wdc and had/have job security in their teams. Other drivers do not have this and that needs to be acknowledged.

In saying that, we all saw Daniel in 2020, we’ve heard the way Lewis talked about Daniel talking to him, asking what he could do etc so I do think it’s in him. Has to be noted that he has been the gutter for the past few years and is getting himself out now. I don’t want it to seem like I’m defending and absolving him just want to point out not everything is clear cut and black and white

context. also this was about these tags im pretty sure

i totally agree with the question being very unexpected and challenging ("how important is it that drivers use their platforms to discuss human right issues in this country?"), but i think that's exactly why he wasn't able to come up with a PR answer and ended up giving a truthful one ["i think if (you're gonna use your platform), it's important to know what you're talking about, but i don't really watch the news"]. you can just tell he was telling the truth and was embarrassed by it. and like if he had anything else to say there's no way he would have resorted to 'i don't really watch the news'.

honestly, i understand what he meant by 'not watching news makes me feel better about my day'. learning about conflicts adds stress and he's free to choose to not want that in his life. and like, for someone who cares the way he cares, i do see the point of limiting the information he takes in. my issue is not really with that.

also i appreciate your reasoning (daniel didn't have the capacity to advocate bc of lack of job security) bc it's nice to see how much we all love him and want to think the best of him (i mean it). But let's be honest, if he has the time to run his merch brand, he has the time to advocate for causes he believes in. that being said, i don't think someone is obligated to advocate for anything just because they have the platform. it would ofc be nice if they do, but they are (everybody is) free to live their lives however they want to. imo they don't owe the society anything just bc they're famous. so like, my issue is not with that either.

I do dislike that he acknowledged that by choosing not to watch the news he might be a little ignorant, and he was fine with that bc at the end of the day he brought at least some joy and positivity to the place and no harm done. essentially, what he was saying was that, he chose not to watch the news so there was no causes he felt strongly enough to discuss using his platform. to me that's a little disappointing. but i don't think of it as a matter of principle bc even though daniel seems to be practicing this ignorance is a bliss thing, he's not oblivious (ie willfully ignorant, where one'd actively ignore what they're aware of). and that's a big difference. for example, he straightforwardly said 'racist people are no friends of mine' to nelson piquet making racist comments about lewis last year. and among all the PR statements lots of drivers and teams put out, daniel's stood out bc it was clear-cut and personal. imo it's obvious daniel isn't how he, by saying what he said about news, came off to be. and as long as it's not a matter of principle i'm not really concerned.

anyways. ik im explaining a lot of things here but it's really bc i want to do it well to not reopen discourse. ty for sending this ask! 🖤

[softguarnere]

A Christmas Inheritance

Shifty Powers x OFC

Chapter Three: Just A Friend

Summary: Shifty doesn't seem to like bullies - he doesn't care where they're from

Taglist: @liebgotts-lovergirl @lieutenant-speirs @latibvles

Warnings: Brief mention of death, family drama

A/N: Tumblr has decided that it hates letting me upload things with moodboards, so I could only do our regularly scheduled LAGLAM update yesterday :) Back to the holiday nonsense

That night’s dinner with her family is a disaster. A complete and utter Category 5 storm that brings a flood to her eyes and a power outage of love and hope and holiday cheer in her heart. It’s her fault, somehow, despite the fact that it all started thirty minutes in with a comment from her dad about how it’s inappropriate for a young lady to share an apartment with two men, and then that set the rest of his family up for questions and digs about her lack of a relationship and her useless degree – a degree that she’s almost finished with, thank you very much.

Mama tries to defend her. No one seems to hear her. Marilyn is quiet. That speaks volumes. If Matthew was here, he would have had all the McGlamery side of the family packing and back to the airport by now. Would have loaded them up in his plane and flown them back to whatever hole they crawled out of himself. There’s a reason he hasn’t come home for Christmas in years.

Then there’s the fact that her dad’s family is Irish and Bill is an Italian. She doesn’t understand her dad’s dislike of the other group, and it’s a true testament to her friend’s character that he put up with the man longer than Zenie’s meager half hour. By the time that she had excused herself to go to the bathroom and snuck out the back door, Bill’s spine had stiffened and he was asking questions through gritted teeth about the suspicious lack of seasoning in the food.

She would rather forget the whole thing. Which is what she’s been trying to do ever since she jumped in her car and started to drive back to Philly, only to feel bad, stop at the grocery store, and wander inside. The boxes of cereal that she’s been standing in the middle of the aisle staring at for far too long have been keeping her excellent company, though. Better company than her extended family.

In the few years that she’s been gone, the town has changed. Time did not stand still just because she left. She’s pondering this, studying the fact that there’s something poetic about the fact that she’s wondered into this grocery store and ended up in the cereal aisle when she was originally looking for the tissues, when she suddenly realizes that someone is beside her.

“Do you need help reachin’ those?” A soft and familiar voice asks.

It’s a small town, Bill had said. You’re bound to run into him somewhere.

Small town indeed. Because the handsome mechanic from that morning – Shifty Powers himself – is standing next to her in the cereal aisle, his handsome brow furrowed in concern as he glances between her and the box of Wheaties on the top shelf that she’s been staring up at for God knows how long as she tries to hold back the water that stings her eyes, threatening to spill over at any second.

It's a sweet offer. Maybe he’s just being nice, though. Back in the mechanic shop, he had been standing apart from her, but now, beside her, he stands tall over her with a frame that’s at least six feet. Up close, she can also catch the slightest whiff of motor oil mingled with a pine scented cologne, which shouldn’t be a nice combination, and yet . . . He’s even more handsome up close, too.

It takes a few tries for Zenie to find her words. “Oh, uh, no thanks. Just browsin’.”

Shifty nods, then grabs a box of Lucky Charms from the shelf. “Well, if you need any recommendations, you can never go wrong with these bad boys.”

“I think my niece and nephew would probably agree with you on that one.”

“Well, it’s hard to go wrong with a bowl of Lucky Charms,” he says. Instead of walking off with the box, he puts it back on the shelf. “But ya know, they’ve opened a little café next door, and they make a hell of a hot chocolate. Was just about to head that way, you know, get a little something to warm up, if you would like to join me.”

Is he . . . asking her out?

No one has ever actually asked Zenie on a date. She’s never been on a proper one. Babe flirted with her once when they first met, but she didn’t realize it until later when he told her that he had once had a little crush on her. They did kiss once. It led to nothing and it doesn’t qualify as a date by any means. Still, she’s seen him and Bill flirt with girls, effortlessly extend invitations to parties or for drinks, and she’s pretty sure that that’s what Shifty is doing now.

The thought makes her heart jolt like she’s just touched the electric fence around her parent’s pasture. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

Shifty is a firm believer that hot chocolate can fix almost any sort of wintertime blues, and when Zenie takes a sip from the cup that the café brings her, she has to agree. The sweet taste goes down smooth and warms her insides, chasing away any worries or cares about what happened back at dinner and what faces her the next time that she sees her family.

“Thought you needed some cheerin’ up,” Shifty explains between sips of his own drink. “And I swear that this stuff is some sorta magic.”

Not a date then, Zenie decides, trying to ignore the way she feels disappointed by the realization. He’s just being nice because he was worried that you looked like you were going to burst into tears in the middle of the grocery store.

“It’s good.” She can’t remember the last time that she had hot chocolate this good. Probably never. There used to be a little stand that they would set up on Town Square in the middle of winter that served that awful package mix hot cocoa, and she has to wonder if it’s still there. This place, with hot chocolate that actually tastes like what you would want hot chocolate to taste like, has probably run it out of business. “When did they open this place, anyway?”

A little crease appears between Shifty’s eyebrows as they knit together while he thinks. “It was here when I moved into town, but it was still fairly new . . . Maybe two, two and a half years.”

“Where’d you move from?” Her actual question is more along the lines of Who the hell would willingly move to this town?! She figures that wording isn’t polite enough for someone she’s only just met.

“Virginia. Little town called Clinchco, ‘bout three or four hours away. Lot like this one, only laid out different. Figure that’s how most Appalachian towns are though.”

“You got family here?”

“Sorta. See, I was originally goin’ to school over in Norfolk. Then my friend Popeye – you talked to him over at the shop this mornin’ – and I heard about the technical program at the university near here. I figured, why not? Both of us won scholarships and decided to transfer.

“I have an aunt over on the Qualla Boundary. Stayed with her originally until Popeye and I found jobs over here and started splittin’ the cost of an apartment together. Little bit closer to the school that way.” He takes a sip of his hot chocolate. “Your Granny said that you got a scholarship to a big school in Pennsylvania, yeah?”

Leave it to Granny to brag about Zenie’s scholarship. She probably told him about that stupid short story she wrote to win it, too. True, Zenie had been proud of that story when she first wrote it, but now it feels embarrassing, reading over the way she based a fictional town on her own, using awkward grammar and word choice that wasn’t her own to describe it.

"Temple University. Double major in history and linguistics.”

Shifty lets out a low whistle. “Impressive. What do you want to do after graduation? That combo probably opens up a lot of doors.”

His words catch her off guard and cause her to choke on her hot chocolate, coughing awkwardly as she tries to catch her breath. People usually tell her that her only option is to become a teacher of some sort. People usually tell her that going to school for those are useless, and that she should have become a doctor like Marilyn, or sucked it up and gone into the military, like Matthew. This man has known her all of five minutes and somehow it feels like he believes in her more than her own family.

“That is the question, I suppose,” she replies once she can breathe again. “I’m not sure yet.”

“You’ll figure it out. Your Granny always talked about how many great ideas you had. She was real proud of you for gettin’ into a big school and all, you know.”

Granny always told her that, every time they spoke on the phone. Zenie from the Bird Clan – the little girl who flew far away to find herself. Mama loves Zenie and supports her, sure, but sometimes she can’t help but feel like the only person who wholeheartedly believed in her without any doubts or reservations whatsoever is gone.

“Well, Granny liked to talk.”

Shifty laughs. “That she did. I first met her over on the Boundary. She was playin’ bingo with my aunt, and after that, any time that she saw me, she always made a point of talkin’ to me. It was nice. Bein’ in a new place can make anyone feel lonely, even when they’ve moved somewhere with one of their best friends. But your Granny seemed to know exactly what to say to make a fella feel like he had a friend and a place to go.”

“God rest her soul,” Zenie says, copying a sentiment that she’s heard Bill use a hundred times.

“Rest her soul,” Shifty agrees. He sets down his cup and starts to say something, but for the second time that day, he’s cut off.

“My goodness! Do my eyes deceive me, or is that really you Zena B?” A saccharine voice doing a horrible mock southern accent calls out from across the café, making the few other people occupying the joint look between Zenie and the person who yelled out.

“Jesus H Roosevelt Christ,” Zenie mutters under her breath – that one she got from her friend Joe Toye.

Long legs using quick strides to cross the café leave Zenie no time and no hope for escape. In an instant, an all too familiar figure looms over the table, bright smile blinding them. At least she has the decency to drop the fake accent – the one she always used to mock anyone she didn’t like, and towards the end, on Zenie as well – before speaking again.

“Oh Zena, I wish you had called! I didn’t know that you were going to be in town!”

I couldn’t have called, Zenie bites back, because you got a new number and never bothered to give it to me.

Beckie – er, Rebecca, as she insists on being called these days – leans down and wraps Zenie up in a hug that has no warmth to it. That bright smile is still plastered on her face, as if she’s actually happy to see her childhood friend. If anyone had to come back to their hometown for Christmas, why couldn’t it have been Bobby? At least he still manages to talk to Zenie, even though they’re in different states and his college experience has been hell.

There’s nothing that she can say that won’t sound fake or angry or forced. There’s a reason that Beckie became an actress and not her. “I’m surprised that you came back.”

“Why wouldn’t I have? I’m still just a small-town girl at heart.” A small-town girl who wanted to get out of the said small town just as badly as Zenie. “Besides, I think it’s important to keep close with the roots, don’t you? A flower can’t blossom without strong roots.”

She puts a hand on Zenie’s shoulder, trapping her there. “I wish I had known you would be here. I would have extended an invitation to the Sugarplum Ball.” She tisks, like it’s the greatest disappointment of her life. “But it’s couples only, I’m afraid, and you would need a few days to find a date – “

“She has a date,” Shifty interrupts. His expression, so warm the entire time that Zenie has known him, has grown as cold as Beckie’s hug. It’s like watching a cloud float in front of the sun.

For an actress, Beckie fumbles to find her next line. “Oh . . . Oh. I didn’t want to just assume – “

“What’s it been?” Shifty raises his eyebrows as he glances at Zenie. “About . . . five, six months?” He flashes Beckie a winning smile. “We’re very happy, thank you very much.”

Her mouth goes dry. What is he doing?

“Something like that,” she squeaks.

“Well, in that case . . .” Beckie begins.

“No thanks,” Zenie says coolly. “Doesn’t really seem like our scene.”

The remnants of Beckie’s smile melts. Now she’s an actress in a tragedy. “Zena, no! You simply have to come! It’ll be so much fun.” She grabs a chair from a nearby table and pulls it up to theirs, taking a seat.

Screaming in frustration and throwing her hot chocolate at the wall before storming out seems more appealing by the second. It might scare Shifty off though, and she’s not too keen on that. On the other hand, maybe he wouldn’t blame her, after having to deal with Beckie.

“So you see, the past few years I’ve arranged a charity ball on Town Square on Christmas Eve. The Sugarplum Ball, it’s called, and the crème de la crème from the nearby towns pay for tickets to come. There’s music and food and dancing and lights – “

“Seems like an awful cold time to have an outdoor dance,” Shifty notes.

It must take everything within Beckie for her to not glare at him. “It’s enclosed in an event tent.”

“Ah.”

“Tickets start at one fifty. But for my oldest friend and her beau – consider it a Christmas gift.” She grabs Zenie’s arm, just like she always did when they were kids and she was trying to wheedle her into going along with something. “Oh, Zena, you have to! It’ll be so much fun!”

Beckie may have changed a lot of things about herself when she moved to New York and started acting, but deep down, she’s just as terrible as ever. Too bad that she doesn’t seem to realize how much Zenie has changed – actually changed.

“What do you think?” She defers to Shifty. Maybe that’s a mistake; they don’t know each other well enough for him to see the pleading in her eyes, how much she wants him to say no.

The mechanic takes a sip of his hot chocolate and ponders the invitation. Finally, he nods. “We’ll be there.”

It feels like someone has just dumped cold water on her head. She’s going to have to go to Beckie’s stupid party and look out of place compared to everyone else. But at the same time, Shifty will be there as her date . . .

As her date. Holy shit! What has she just gotten herself into?

“I’ll send you the tickets,” Beckie promises. She presses a huge kiss to Zenie’s cheek, gives Shifty a flirty little wave, and leaves before she can’t get her way.

Only when the door of the café closes behind her does Zenie let out a breath. “What just happened?”

“I’m sorry. She made that rude comment and I thought that I was helpin’ and –“

“It’s okay. Don’t apologize, Shifty, it’s not your fault. She’s always been like that.”

Shifty glances towards the door, then down at his cup with a frown. “Why does she look so familiar?”

“Rebecca Sadowski,” Zenie explains. “My childhood ex-best friend. Got started modeling in ads for just about everything, and now she’s some hot shot movie star.”

“Oh.” There’s a pause. Shifty shakes his head. “No, I really am sorry. I just hate people bein’ rude. Thought I would put her in her place. I didn’t mean to cause all this, or step on Bill’s toes.”

She almost laughs. “Don’t worry. Bill is just a friend.”

“Thought so. Weird thing for a fella to say when first meetin’ someone, but ya never know.”

Bill would probably go to the Sugarplum Ball with her, no questions asked. Although they would have to explain why her supposed boyfriend suddenly looks so different.

“You don’t have to do this,” Zenie assures him. “Beckie wouldn’t actually notice if I was there or not. I don’t want to hijack your Christmas Eve.”

“Would she give you hell for it?”

“Sorry?”

“Would she give you hell for it?” Shifty repeats. “If you didn’t show up at her party and she did notice.”

Their whole childhood was Beckie giving Zenie hell for things – although she didn’t realize that until about two years ago, when she found herself cut off and wondering what she had done to deserve the cold shoulder from her best friend.

“Yeah, probably.”

Shifty nods, expression grave. “Well then, it you want to go to the party and you want a date, it would be my pleasure.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I hate when people get away with actin’ all high and mighty like that.” Zenie does, too.

It’s settled then. She has a date with the cute mechanic. A fake date.

But still.

[marcusrobertobaq]

There are main 3 reasons why Hank sympathize with the Tracis but not the JB:

I dislikes Graham for having a wife and kid but choosing androids

He didn't like the place, how androids are just tossed around after humans use 'em, choosing androids instead of other human beings

He witnessed 2 Tracis showing something he was looking for seeing more in humans: love

If it's justified enough, the "everybody do what they need to get by, if isn't hurting anyone I don't bother 'em" is applied or he likes the person enough he'll let it slip to some degree.

The main issue: it ain't conditional. U can totally miss this chapter and Hank will act the same way in Public Enemy, but I think the logic still the same. I think the fact he didn't have a contact with the deviant JB also helps him in not really caring about this android, not to mention the JB becomes a threat not only for him but a lotta "innocent" people (in his opinion) in that place, even if the android was just "defending himself" like all the other deviants. But Hank decides who he thinks is innocent depending on the situation, ofc.

Now, what I can understand from The Bridge:

Hank is always pissed at Connor for "not feeling anything" like the deviants (u can notice he starts projecting on Connor, wishing he have feelings like a person do, like the deviants seem to do). It's the reason he threatens him with a gun and asks if he's afraid of death. But curiously u can show being afraid of death and have Hank to shoot u, ain't conditional. I think he noticed Connor always get defensive about the possibility of becoming a deviant (having emotions).

He's always pissed at Connor for being "just a fucking machine" he was made to be, doing whatever he seems fit for the mission only instead of caring about things around him.

He's always pissed at Connor being too high-nosed about specific things, a supposedly infallible computer while being a copy of a human being physically but "perfect" (a common thing to say in dbh as this is the propaganda CL make and Connor is basically repeating it). He's testing Connor's ability of not losing control over things, not falling for his shit (impulsiveness) - and let's remember Hank is kinda drunk besides being a short tempered guy.

If Hank sees u as a machine enough a.k.a. hostile (in this chapter) he'll shoot u cuz it doesn't matter if he shoots a "machine" or not, nothing would happen at all. CyberLife wouldn't care, Connor himself wouldn't care (he's a machine after all) and he's already tired of Connor's presence constantly challenging his shit - but again it's conditional only to having his rep negative, not exactly specific choices. And the negative rep is often tied to Connor's behavior towards Hank directly or at least towards something Hank is also involved himself. It's a loop.

Well, that's what I think doesn't change at all, no matter what routes.

[magmacannon]

🚬, 🌫️, 🦪, 🛡️ & 🪓 for Grey and Yarrow!

ohooeheehee here we go, time to finish these up. G for Grey and Y for Yarrow ofc

🚬 smoking/drinking habits? signature brand or drink?

G - Occasional smoker, probably a one drink a day-type guy! Very stereotypically I think he likes liquor on the rocks (though I think he'd be a little crazy abt coffee liquors and mixed drinks including them). I think Grey would only smoke if he had an opera cigarette holder at hand though, both for the aesthetics and for not getting the smell on his suits.

Y - I think Yarrow probably smokes less than most people at this point in his life, though he was regularly rolling joints when he was younger. His drink of choice is wine that he dramatically swirls while lounging (or fruity mixed drinks) and he definitely drinks pretty often.

I rolled a dice for this and only Grey knows how to use a bong though! yay <3

🌫️ how does this character feel about lying?

G - Grey lies a lot!! He figures that the truth is only necessary for business transactions and personal conversations, and can have fun with adjusting the truth sometimes. He has an incredible poker face, too. That being said, most of his lies are those of omission and in the name of good customer service.

Y - Yarrow is totally comfortable with inconsequential lies and/or lying about literally anything to people he dislikes, but generally tries to be very truthful and straightforward with everyone else. The most he'll do is fib something to fuck with someone he likes and will usually explain it as a joke immediately afterward. He also gets mad if you accuse him of lying when he hasn't (and will fake this anger if he actually did lie) - he does keep the phrase "I'm being entirely truthful" for situations where he is in fact being truthful, though.

🦪 how would this character describe their gender, if asked?

G - Again with the grain of salt that is "gender presentation/masculinity and femininity are different in Dorna", I think Grey hadn't put all that much thought into gender, met his ex and started wondering about it via their own approach to gender presentation as a 'fun game,' and then settled on "I'm alright as-is" and not really worrying himself about it.

Y - He's got the type of gender you unlock after transitioning in both directions multiple times. He's dressing dramatically enough for it to be drag most days more than anything else!

🛡️how does this character protect themself and others?

G - Grey tends to protect himself and others by being very private! He has a very small number of people he cares about and is willing to protect, and keeps it that way very purposefully to maintain a low level of risk. He's pretty keen on using enchantments and things that can defend him/his family/his shop even when he's not around, though. He has redundancies in security.

Y - Yarrow's first line of defense is to only get involved momentarily in the lives of others, which helps him protect himself emotionally and means that he doesn't feel trapped in responsibility for anyone else (so he hopes). Second line of defense for himself and people he cares about is One Million Powerful Spells (and/or money or connections) - when push comes to shove Yarrow uses every option he has to protect himself and those he cares about.

🪓 would they make it to the end in a horror movie?

G - I really don't know... if he was one of the main cast then absolutely not, he'd likely die shortly after discovering a macguffin or some Secret. If he was a mysterious vendor then he'd be alright, but that would only happen if he was there for like one scene total.

Y - I feel like he's too slay and would be doomed. 90% chance he dies bc he's having sex and fails the horror movie cliche test, 10% chance he can go final girl or just BE The Killer. Regardless he's giving a stellar performance!

[popponn]

more sae yapping, u20 + rin's ln + up to chap 250 spoiler. excuse me if u read this and find some repeating points. not a new thing, unfortunately.

sae seems to be "correct" in many things, especially when he is stating his opinion in the manga. like he was correct about u-20 team (his exchange with aiku seems to potray this) and about shidou (can't deny he makes a good choice)

which makes it honestly pretty "????" about his opinion @ rin. i personally don't think he really think of rin's skill as low as he said—the locker room exchange, when he thinks of blue lock and rin get a highlight there. and even he says a few times already—to rin himself—that rin's biggest hindrance is being too focused on being his lil brother. which is not wrong. but i do wonder if he will be "proven wrong" someday.

my heart says yes please because sae good lord my boy you probably need it, but seeing how his "correct opinion" seems to be used a lot in similar way as ego's "views" i doubt it...

but this makes me wonder if in sae's head—rin's potential & capabilities without "the statuses" hindering him is actually higher than his. because if it is it will be kinda sad in its own way.

sae in rin's spinoff ln is mentioned to be "someone who hates to lose" and go as far as saying "keeping your luck for soccer, not to win ice cream" when rin wins while he loses. and he canonly states in that one chara info that he dislikes the pressure of expectations put on him. i don't think he hates soccer but yeah—the burnout golden child syndrome smells sharp. again tho, a hc.

back to the point, rin's physique is also mentioned by the narration to be better than sae's. and i just wonder if to sae there are other realization that hit him other than "he can't be the #1 striker"

he came home to japan with pretty much his dream beaten to dust—which was why he switched to being a midfielder, which is also a testament to how passionate he is in soccer to not let it go still imo. and then there is rin, who—let's say if this case is true—he sees has higher potential than him "rotting" and going nowhere.

still hc—because still no sae pov as of early feb 2024 sigh—but i think that night sae also acts as a big brother who doesn't want rin to get hurt more than necessary by the "harsh realization" like him. rin who is not improving in sae's eyes probably can't survive "the world stage" and so sae chose to do """ that speech"""" either to 1) "hurt" him and refrain from getting rin hurt—esp since in u20 sae pretty much told rin it would be better for rin to just stay at home and not know his own limit—which probably is a better outcome in sae's head. OR 2) cut rin's ties with him so rin could lose the biggest "limiting status" esp since rin said right before the speech that he tried to fill's sae's shoes. OR 3) both. whichever outcome, for rin's own good at the cost of their brotherhood.

ofc i could be yapping and totally wrong. because sae is clearly hurt in his own way that night—the wrong timings and both having their own faults and reasons. like, there should be a reason why sae whose eyes pretty much got focused on for quite some panels suddenly doesn't have his face shown. i wonder what sort of expression he made.

but sae-rin relationship aside for a bit, it's kind of funny: sae-aiku pararel. both realizes it's impossible to be the best striker, so one decided to pretty much restart and focus on becoming the best defender while other the best midfielder. makes me wonder if you can learn more about sae by observing aiku like how when you observe rin.

also another yap and hc—as if the whole post isn't one giant glob of it—but sae's color and rin's color are complementary color in color wheel it seems. which is funny. but shidou's and sae's color are pretty much pretty close, with shidou having higher saturation and brightness compared to sae's more muted one.

maybe that's why sae could "understand" shidou who pretty much is very "live for soccer to leave his mark". at the very least, considering sae's speech in his intro to u20, sae definitely understands "live for soccer" part tho yeah—doubt he is having a good time as much as shidou. one smiles a lot while one is so constipated his eyes are eternally half circle manga eyes.

but back to sae and his opinion again—does kaiser getting 320mil from royal m have them involved in it? if it is, while personally i love the hc that sae couldn't stand kaiser's ass (or that new 11 can't stand each other in general), i wonder what that means. if the hc is true, than sae is REALLY objective. if sae is actually more neutral or like how he is to shidou, then sae really only sees someone based on their soccer skill—which wouldn't be surprising coming from someone who find numbers more comforting than people.

his comment about ass is honestly very soccer headed. i will pay for his interaction with isagi—two soccer heads + the whole foreshadowing. but i want itoshi brother combo too;;;; okay yeah lets stop here

things about sae.

it's sae's turn in my brain microwave. i want to understand you, underlashes senior. headcanons +observation+ rambling. spoilers, will be updated as time goes on.

scathing, mean af vocabs. pretty rude even as a child. but compared to rin, his cursing seems to be much tamer.

is REALLY focused on soccer. but also said in the character interview to not "only be able to/focus on soccer like him".

but in his introduction to u20 shows that he seems to value someone who goes all in to soccer. and it's kind of in line with the things he "admits" and chided. example a: shidou and isagi being individuals who are undeniably soccer obsessed (though on isagi's case as they haven't even talk, if i remember correctly, this might be more because of isagi's way of winning through "making use of luck"). example b: things he said in the u20 introduction in response to sendou.

headcanonish but this guy is giving me "burnout gifted child" vibe with all the prodigal status, expectations, and being hit in the face by the world. like what are you. are you satisfied by marina??????

there are few moments where he displays something that is pretty close to 'praise', but say it not to the related person/group himself. (i.e. his thoughts of blue lock in locker room, his comment about "dont switch out any of the u20 member".)

like is he being not nice on purpose????? honestly probably. headcanonish, but if seeing his way of giving comments to rin pre-spain, it's been like that since he was little. (i will check rin's ln again later)

in contrast to rin having "natural luck", this guy seems to more " making/seeking luck". but idk yet, with only ice cream sticks as clues. sae backstory and ln spin off when.

his eyes during the confrontation with rin in that snowy night are pretty expressive. but since visual cues leave a really wide room for interpretation + bllk tendency to subvert things, i will not comment. but honestly i really agree with the sentiment that sae was hurt by rin's words, but in the end the discouragement seems to come more from a place of "i don't want you to get hurt so just go home and don't play soccer anymore" (very very hc and more of an interpretation, as sae's pov is still non existent)

aka yeah, this guy is shit at displaying concern and any sort of care. headcanon but. do you see the vibe??? with rin???? like it's similar. what is this genetic.

simple fashion, but pretty trendy and chic(?).

this guy seems like a family guy who misses his family a lot. (please make up soon with your lil bro)

watches chibi maruko chan. has habits that genuinely reminds me of old people (drinking tea, looking at sea, thinking of family).

people at blue lock think of him as someone who seems to be good at study, but looking at the pattern of hyperfocused people in blue lock it either goes two way: a) his skill at everything else is questionable at best, abysmall at worst ; b) he is an all-rounder indeed.

but then again there is also the third type aka "good at football, still functional at everything except communication and emotional management skill".

his way of talking in jp is, to put it simply, pretty casual like guys his age. the thing that are the rudest part of it was his choice of words and the fact that he seems to talk like this to everyone. even his elder. and also the way he is very blunt in expressing his opinion.

but somehow that bluntness is gone when it came to showing vulnerable emotions. talk about emotional constipation.

if his character interview is reliable and unbiased, as it is from sae's own pov, his relationship with his parents seems okay.

genuinely wondering about his parents' canon response to his and rin's cold war.

does he even have friends. no like seriously.

his brother and him are really similar in many ways. rin is probably copying him in some ways tho—that, or rin's own issues. or sae's own issues.

please just make up with your brother. (2)

after spain his bang is gone. as in he just pushed them up. in u20 it still went down sometimes in a few panels.

he likes numbers. maybe he really is smart.

genuinely looking at him like "please get a hobby" not even as an insult but out of genuine concern. this dude has so many issues and the burnout child prodigy vibe is real strong with this one.

but not fully his fault. pretty much live alone overseas, probably with no friends his age and just a manager as his support system, went through a crisis, is a (probable) family loving guy with his family far away from him, then came home to his beloved lil bro he spoiled and dotted on and shared a dream with saying hurtful things to him on his lowest point. and not supporting his new decision and dream. from sae's pov, it's brutal.

i can defend rin on this too tho. honestly please talk to each other, itoshi bros. or acknowledge that maybe neither of you were in not in the best state of mind during that confrontation.

seems logical and he does likes numbers. but honestly, he just acts as he wants—look at how he talks to journalist, how he has 0 hesitation to leave an ongoing match.

went to spain at 13 according to rin's spin off novel. also mentioned to "hate to lose" and seems to be a strict perfectionist.

must be noted however that how rin sees him seems to be very biased. a bit of rin analysis/hc, but there seems to be "putting nii chan on a pedestal" going on there. how their childhood truly is from sae's perspective is still unknown. on rin's part tho, seems to be a very nice period.

is rich. so the snobby rich condescending guy aura is probably not that far from the truth. his sense of money seems to be a mess, as a few hundred millions is a small amount for him.

this guy seems to be picky with who he respects and he really doesn't hold back in disrespecting someone he doesn't. even higher ups and older people.

does skincare canonly.

doesn't seem to have friends so far...? (nel arc, before pxg match) but if we look at how rin is now, unsurprising.

in rin's novel, rin's physique is mentioned to be "better" than sae's actually. with how "rin wins in luck" while sae "loses" motive exist through the ice cream sticks, probably this motive will come up again when sae appears again.

[pirunika]

thinking abt Dinuin, son of Torian and Nino, he has powerful force powers but in the end, growing up during a war gave him so much anxiety and he'd rather be picking flowers rather than do any soldiering which would've been a nuisance to Torian if he hadn't lived through the horrors of war himself but now he's just happy

[petitprincess1]

A Different Look at Belos

Disclaimer: I am NOT defending Belos in any way possible. What he has done is completely inexcusable and downright monstrous. However....he is not evil. You can disagree, but please read everything I say before leaving a nasty comment. Thank you.

~~~~

So, Hollow Mind was a damn trip for all of us. It, unfortunately, made many theories true and it brought some revelation into Belos' backstory. Granted, it was mainly portraits and we had to sort of fill-in the gaps, but there's still quite a lot there. A lot to make me think that there's some lingering guilt that Belos still has.

We know that he killed his brother for falling in love with a witch, possibly a Clawthorne. Ofc, we know that he AND his brother are/were witch hunters, considering there's a portrait of the two playing around, while there are actual hunters in the background. I imagine seeing someone, who seemed to share exact same ideals/beliefs as him, run away with those that the masses deemed "evil" is pretty damn heart-wrenching. It also makes you wonder "what if I'm wrong" and that just wasn't acceptable during that time period.

You're just clearly bewitched, in a trance. That witch is doing something to you to keep you in her grasp. This is a theory, but I'm guessing he was not meaning to kill his brother, instead kill that witch. His brother just happened to step in the way. I can't say what led to him ultimately killing the brother, but I know that we don't see what happens afterwards. All we know is that Belos digged up his brother's grave, stole his corpse, and tried to bring him back.

16 or 17 times he tried to bring his brother back. Each one "betraying" him. Each one he has to kill and reanimate over and over again, until he finds the one, the "better version", that agrees with him. That tells him that everything he is doing, all the horrific acts that he did for 400 YEARS, is perfectly for the greater good. If he truly hated his brother, I don't think Belos would go through all of that. All of that insanity. He may dislike Hunter, to a degree, but after killing so many, he might have become numb to a lot of atrocities.

Another thing to consider is that, this man is harming himself. It's canon that he cut off his ears to appear like a witch, but he also carved glyphs into his skin. He's rotting away with this curse that he, basically, gave himself. He's living until he "sees this through". The Day of Unity. Where everything and everyone is going to die...including, theoretically, himself. And if he doesn't die, then maybe this is just another way to silence everything even those palismens' souls that he has to hunt down to keep them quiet.

Again, none of this is a defense. Absolutely none of it. Just with how nuanced Owl House is...I refuse to believe that Belos is just a cookie-cutter villain, who is pure evil. He is not evil. Evil people know and relish that what they're doing is harming others. Belos truly believes that what he is doing well help and be for the greater good. Is he insane, abusive, and a murderer? Absolutely, but he is not evil.

He is stuck in this 17th century mindset because, if not, then everything he did for hundreds of years was for nothing. No one wants to believe that they wasted their life. Imagine not only doing that, but taking away so many lives, as well.

Ofc, a lot of this is a theory. Maybe I'm wrong. I just dont think they would just make such a simple villain for such a complex world/show that they have created.