#ok maybe not the biggest fumble

[secretagentsagainstwhatever]

do you know what was the biggest fumble in sitcom history….

not establishing this fucking chaos duo as a pairing

[madockisser]

cardan/nicasia: why they’ll never happen again analysis/speculation

a while back i saw someone (or rather, a thread of ppl saying that they hope cardan and nicasia don’t get it on in the next book which is supposed to be nicasias book (supposedly) and i even saw someone say they WISH THEY DO ?!

so here’s your fun reminder of what nicasia put cardan through!

I’ve gathered together all the shit nicasia did to cardan: being the first girl he loved then breaking his heart w his friend, allowing cardan to catch them ON HIS BEDROOM FLOOR. (not entirely her fault but she totally had shits and giggles abt it when cardan confronted her) then when Locke screwed her over, she got CARDAN and his power as prince, to harass the girl(s) locke chose over her, one of which cardan liked, then later on was trying to manipulate him to marry her (which i think is when cardan realized they weren’t rly even friends anymore), THEN kidnapping and torturing the girl she knew cardan loved, AND befriending his abusive neglectful mother!

like damn. how u even fumble that bad, not just romantically but as a friend.

also I’d like to add her consistent entitlement, not just the whole “i bully girls bc I’m a princess and i can!” but the “cardan take me back even after i emotionally ruined you multiple times!” 😐

poor cardan

anyway, I’ve read lots of holly black books, and she is VERY mindful w abusive sort of relationships. and cheating relationships. she writes about them a LOT and each time they are pretty irredeemable.

note(the only exceptions):Taryn and hazel (darkest part of the forest) who sorta cheated on accident/ it wasn’t their fault-> but didn’t end well

add on note sorry: “but nicasia cheated on cardan on accident bc Locke was a gancanagh!” false! nicasia admitted that what her and Locke were doing was prolonged, the scene that cardan finds them is not their first time screwing around. nicasia KNOWINGLY cheated on cardan. then she was like “ok but i still care abt u! take me back” ?

now you can say that it could sorta be classified as an accident due to lockes natures (which are actually really disturbing if u think abt it) and that’s true, i never blamed nicasia for that relationship, but i do blame her for all the utter dogshit she not only put cardan thru, but Jude.

and this is cardan we are talking about. he who killed half an army for Jude when madoc tried taking his daughter back (sounds funny out of context).

we must remember that cardan does not want Jude hurt and humiliated and that’s exactly what nicasia went and did to Jude. through all the books bro. nicasia literally kidnapped and tortured Jude in the undersea so there’s 0 chance of cardan touching nicasia unless maybe to turn her into a tree again (but he can always just do that at a distance 😛)

anyway back to the cheating:

which is why i know that holly would never pull any sort of bull w cardan and nicasia, and you may be thinking (well that’s bullshit what do u know?) 3 separate books w cheating tropes, and 5+ diff relationships that involve cheating w no redemption. LOL

anyway black and i certainly agree on that front, and the way she uses the trope so consistently, and makes it so the cheaters are never endgame, or have a horrible death (Locke AND his mom, also Eva Duarte 😭the dude Ben dated from dpotf, and Kaye and that guy Janet was dating, Val and Tom and dave and lolli (modern faerie tales)) is pretty telling!

holly is great at writing healthy relationships, and she knows that tcp is her biggest hit w the media, so she won’t go and fuck that, not just bc she would never and it’s out of her writing style and character and literally moral compass when it comes to writing relationships, but also bc her publishers/editors would NEVER let that slide.

but i can’t wait for her book! i love knowing that nicasia will never have a chance w cardan again, it’s no less than what she deserves 😋

anyway sorry for ranting! I just feel so strongly abt this topic, cardan would never cheat on Jude, since he’s been cheated on before, and it was heart wrenching, and bc of his upbringing, he would never. if you haven’t, go thru my masterlist in my pinned and find the cardan /nicasia thing where i explain why he wouldn’t cheat far better there!

But feel free to add on, i probably missed a few things so lmk!! 🫶

[wordsbyrian]

Short: The Call - USWNT x Reader

Summary: Y/N gets the WWC call up facetime from Vlatko while being weird and it devolves from there.

A/n: One of my silly ideas finally completed. That's 3.75 of 7 fics from this poll completed/posted.

One of the biggest moments of your life and you go and fuck it up by being, well yourself.

It's not like you didn't know to be expecting the call. It's just that you weren't expecting it to be a facetime in the middle of the day on your day off.

Which explains your state of… disarray, so to speak, when you fumble to answer the phone, not looking at the caller ID.

“Hello,” you grunt, placing your phone back on your desk at an angle so you can continue your process.

“Hey, Y/N,” the familiar voice of Andonovski rings out in the room. You can hear him pause and take a deep breath before he speaks again, “What in the world is on your head?”

You all but freeze when you hear him and his question makes you slowly raise your hands and remove the over large mask you're wearing.

When you do, you’re unsurprised to see Vlatko staring at you waiting for an answer.

“It’s a Sontaran head, sir,” you say nervously.

“A Sontaran head?”

“It’s a character from one of my favorite shows,” you explain, “there’s a convention coming up and… that’s not important. Is there a reason you're Facetiming me?”

“Well, I wanted to see the look on your face,” he says.

You’re still holding on to the Sontaran head, clutching it to your chest as you begin to realize what this call could possibly be about.

“I just needed to let you know that you’ve been selected for the World Cup roster.”

You’re sure the look on your face resembles that of a fish, mouth wide and gaping while your eyes stare unblinkingly as you try to process the information you’ve just been given.

You’re going to the World Cup.

You.

The World Cup.

You’re so shocked that you have to double check that he really meant to call you.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Vlatko says, “Unless you would rather not come along.”

You answer very quickly, a sharp no shooting it’s way out of your mouth.

“No,” you repeat, “I definitely want to come, thank you.”

“Alright then we’ll see you at camp in a few weeks.”

“I’ll be there.”

Vlatko congratulates you once again before saying goodbye and ending the call, leaving you sitting there holding your Sontaran head with only 2 thoughts on your mind.

The first being that you need to call your older sister and tell her.

And the second is that you really hope the facetime wasn’t being recorded by the social media team for one of their weird projects. It seems like the type of thing they would do and if your teammates saw this you would never hear the end of this.

You weren’t so lucky.

Because just over a week later, you’ve been forced into a meeting room with the rest of the girls to watch videos that you now know are of everyone getting called up.

Kristie, Lindsey and surprisingly Kelley cry and Trin looked like she had been in the middle of a run. But there’s nothing as odd as you answering the phone with a glorified potato head on.

And well the teasing has already started.

“So, Y/N,” Kelley sys, sliding up next to you, “When do you plan on having us take you to our leader?”

Before you even really get a chance to respond, Sonnet appears on your other side pulling you into a headlock.

“Before you answer that we need to know the secret to defeating you,” Emily asks.

Rolling your eyes, you pull the older woman’s hands off you while answering, “I could tell you but you would just use that information to bully me.”

“What?! I have never bullied you a day in either of our lives.”

“Well there was that time you convinced her that the bus had left her behind and let her run all the way to the training field,” Kelley says.

“Or the time that you let me believe that,” Sonny cuts you off.

“Ok so maybe I have in the past been a little mean to you,” Emily groans. “But! But, I do actually want to know more about it. You said it’s from your favorite show, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t know about your favorite show?” “Friends don’t need to know everything about each other,” you tell her walking away.

2 weeks later, the day before you’re set to fly out to New Zealand for the World Cup, your nap is interrupted by someone pounding on your room door.

Opening it up, you’re surprised to see Emily and Kelley standing there, a laptop in hand looking distraught.

Before you even have a chance to ask them what's up, Kelley all but shouts in your face.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Uh, what?”

“Why didn’t you tell us that your nerd show makes you fall in love with the characters only to make them leave in the most heartbreaking ways,” Sonny asks, shoving the laptop into your chest. “Everytime you start to like a character, they get rid of them!”

Still shocked, you can barely stutter out a response.

“I genuinely have no clue what you guys are talking about.”

“It’s not right,” Kelley is shouting again,. “Rose, lost in another universe. Martha, just up and left because she couldn’t take almost dying every day. And the Doctor had to wipe Donna’s mind to save her life! It’s not right and it's not fair.”

It finally clicks.

“Oh man, you guys are in deep huh?”

“And we have so many questions.”

“Come on in, nerds.”

[brotherwtf]

Just thinking thoughts… following up on the last breeding kink ask… setting the scene 👀

Gale in the kitchen about a month after the pickle incident eating something weird for him but not that strange, an olive. John IMMEDIATELY clocks it and is down on his knees in front of him kissing and cooing at his stomach. Gale is obviously confused but game, until Bucky digs his little chin into Gale’s stomach looks up and says “it’s the size of a blueberry!” And Gale just heaves a big sigh, “there is no way I’m pregnant!”, “not even a little??”, “there is no such thing as ‘a little pregnant’” - cue devilish look from John as he proceeds to absolutely wreck Gale against the kitchen cabinets, dishes falling, draws rattling, olives smashed on the floor - Gale, “ok maybe I’m a little pregnant”

John being delusional is everything I need in my life rn

again, Gale just wanted something a little salty, knew he had olives in their fridge bcs John likes to put them on his fingers and eat them one by one like the fool he is and Gale just kind of wants to try it to see if they're really all that good

they're not, Gale deduces, and he's putting the jar back in the fridge when John comes in and is like ‼️‼️ this time it must have worked!! because this is the second time Gales eaten something he usually doesn't in the past month!!

so he deduces, because he's a little dumb, that the baby is indeed growing in Gales stomach and he falls to his knees again, starts crooning that Gales gonna look so pretty with a baby in his arms, is so excited for their child together and Gale has to slowly explain to John AGAIN that he can't get pregnant, to which John's face just falls, looks back down at Gale's stomach and looks back up at him with the biggest puppy eyes ever and is just like "not even a little bit?"

and Gale shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders, says nope not even a little bit and now there's a look in John's eyes, one that Gale knows means that John is planning something

and by something, he means lifting Gale up by his thighs and putting him on the counter, pressing his head against the cabinets and kissing him senseless, kisses him until Gale's lips are red and swollen

Gale goes easily, because why wouldn't he? and gasps when John kisses him again with a deep sated hunger, he's grasping his hair with a vice grip and Gale groans at the pressure, moans into John's lips and whimpers his name when John fucks his tongue into his mouth

eventually John lifts Gale again and brings his feet back down to the floor, turns him around and presses his nose into the give of Gale's cheek, breathing hot and heavy as he unbuttons Gales shirt, trails his hands down every inch of exposed skin, teasing his fingers until Gale's shivering beneath his touch

Gale rolls his head back against John's shoulder, reaches a hand back to press John's head further into his neck, moaning when John bites him, knows it will leave the prettiest mark

John takes his time massaging Gale's ass, opening him with his fingers until Gale's shaking, dropping his head and grinding his ass back against John's wrist, keening when they hit the perfect spot inside of him

When John fucks into him, they both moan LOUD, so loud that it echoes throughout the kitchen. Gale fumbles for a grasp on the kitchen counter when John starts to move, starting at a brutal pace that makes them both see stars

John sneaks his arm around Gale's shoulder, pressing his forearm into Gales neck and groaning at the slight choked sound he makes into it, groans even louder when Gales clutches at it like a lifeline

John's fucking into him so hard his thighs hit the cabinets and make them shake, Gale knows he'll have bruises there but it doesn't matter, not when John's this deep inside of him

he almost screams when he comes, thighs shaking and hips jumping forward onto the counter top, resting his head back against John's shoulder, shaking with how hard John was fucking into him

"fuck...maybe I am a little bit pregnant, God,"

[iceclew]

Did I accidently write more than just a few lines of dialogue for this scene?... *shyly fumbling with fingers* 🥹👉👈 maybe...

Sorry, I suck at words and this isn't betaread nor properly proofread and I am not native english, I'm very sorry in advance...

full story down below

(Chappel Roan - Love me Anyway)

(Benson Boone - Slow it Down)

"VICE-CAPTAIN!!!!"

The tiny moving plush-like thing in his hand apparently started screaming as well now.

"WHY ALWAYS MEEE!?!?"

What looked like the chibi mini-version of the Defence Force's biggest trump card, struggled to hold on his thumb, kicking around those little feet of his.

"Well, now I'm quite curious abut THAT story..."

"I CAN'T TURN BACK AND I AM T I N Y !!! (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )"

"I see that... How'd you even get in here?"

Tiny #8 stopped fidgeting a bit. Instead two unproportionally big round dark eyes goggled at him. It was undeniably adorable to look at. "Well after THIS happened, I couldn't grab my phone on the table anymore, so I ran around to find someone, but I figured Narumi and Kikoru would very likely take advantage of my situation and do something stupid with me."

"Oh yeah, they definitely would and I get why, honestly."

"So I ran around to find you, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BIG THE 1st DIVISION IS, WHEN YOU'RE LIKE THIS, OK?! And then I saw the slightly opened window and just crawled in... ༼☯﹏���༽"

"Wait... you know where my temporary place in the 1st Division is located? Why?"

"....Coincidence? (*ﾟｰﾟ) "

He sighed. "Well just when you think you saw everything...Kafka Hibino enters the stage..."

"SIR, WHAT SHOULD I DO?? WHY ARE THESE THINGS ALWAYS HAPPENING TO ME??"

"you really want me to answer that, bud?", he barely tried to hide the undertone of his voice, which left the small creature on the palm of his hand baffled for a second.

"Wha-? HEY, MEAN!! What are you on about!?"（＞д＜）

"Yeah, maybe, I don't know STOP CHANGING in general, like I told you f.ex.. or maybe stick to your training routine without going OVERBOARD on a regular basis? How 'bout that?"

The big dark round eyes got even bigger with every word spoken.

"Yeah, don't look at me like that, I might coincidently got wind of stuff, you know?"

His unexpectedly open and emotional response threw Kafka off. For a second he forgot about his *tiny* main problem, his mind jumped between confused and worried and he couldn't comprehend with his reaction for now. After some awkward seconds in silence, Hoshina's tone grew significantly calmer, but still sort of off to his usual self-assured expression. "Well at least this time you're actually telling me about stuff that bothers you, huh?"

Silence again. While hanging from the palm of his Vice-Captain's hand Kafka realized something (besides his size) was different. His senses grew more aware of his surroundings to find answers.

"Are... are you drunk, sir?"

Besides the slight scent of alcohol in the air, and the - well quite obvious - bottle of sake on the table, the startled twitch on his face confirmed Kafka's guess was right. Other than the sake the only other thing on the table were some snacks. Another odd thing to Kafka, who was used to see Hoshina's surroundings stuffed with documents, loose papers, books and other work related things.

The silence lingered around them uncomfortably. To Kafka's suprise Hoshina was seemingly struggling with words. A look on his face Kafka couldn't remember seeing before. Now his mind definitely jumped to 'worried'.

Hoshina tried to mimic an insulted face and looked away. "A little tippsy at most... I'm off-duty for tonight.." Besides the slightly blushed nose and cheeks, Kafka now noticed some dark circles under red eyes. "..and despite my gut telling me better, I assumed I probably won't be needed anymore today, and that I could hang loose a little. It's not my Division after all, there's another Captain and Vice-Captain in charge here. So I might as well make use of that chance... Should have known, it would end up that way or another.. " He smiled a bit and Kafkas felt like his heart clenching from the sight. "Although I definitely should have placed my bet on YOU to be the reason for that." He chuckled lightly, while his expressions grew somewhat softer.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"Nah, it's fine. As if I didn't get used to your-"

"I never put much thought to it, but ever since the Defence Force started preparing for the big counter attack on #9 your workload must've at least doubled in the 3rd and 1st Division.. and here I am still taking over the rest of your time as well..."

"Don't like where this is going, officer... You're not starting pitying me, are ya?"

"No I-...I just feel like.. I didn't realize, and there for not appreciated your work enough.." Silence. "And also.." The tiny kaiju had his look glued to the floor in front of him for a while now. "I know you told me to brush it off earlier but,... I truly regret ... not telling you about... #8 n'stuff.. I'm sorry... I'd change that if I could.."

A small plushy-sized Kaiju was gently put back on the ground again. Hoshina scratched his nose for a second, before bending far back to the other side of the room. He grabbed for his smartphone that was burried in piles of carelessly pushed aside documents.

"As I said. You're here now, aren't ya?" When he got his phone he chose to stay laid down on the floor and started typing something on the lightened screen.

A tiny transformed Kafka carefully made his way around and walked up on eye-level with Hoshina's face again. Once again overwhelmed by his current state of being, he let himself fall back on the floor and sat on the ground. "So... what should I do?"

"The first thing WE do is trying to make some calls. But since you seem to be in no life-threatening condition, we might have to wait 'till tomorrow for a first medical examination. If that's the case you'll stay, and I get you down to the lab first thing in the morning."

"Wait!" The tiny Kaiju made a suprisingly far jump right up to Hoshina's chest and pressed the (for him very big) red hang-up button on the screen with both paws. "You're right about that, I won't die this second from being tiny, so we might as well wait for tomorrow."

The questioning look on the opposite's face made a tiny Kafka look away and scratch his neck shyly. "Well, since you're ... I dunno,... I feel like, I can't have you be seen d-dru- .. like this by other officials of the 1st Division, b-because of me..."

A finger poked his forehead, which caused a tiny being like him to fall right back landing on warm soft fabric of Hoshina's shirt.

"Idiot. But you might be right about that."

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 34 SPOILERS‼️

masterlist | all lessons | season 2 | lesson 33 | lesson 35

i might be getting ahead of myself here, but are we lilith ?? like is that what's happening rn ??? he's not saying mc's name, and raphael doesn't day their name in the next scene...if so then that's actually really fucking sad 💀

it makes sense though, belphie not wanting mc to go into his head bc he's still clinging to the past and doesn't want to lose them forever like he lost his little sister forever, especially since human life is so finite compared to that of a demon or an angel or a reaper

also it's obvious by his choice of words that despite him looking older, belphie is very, very young in his mindscape, just like mammon was. i feel like this also shows how close mams and belphie are even if it's not shown much on screen in the game, or at least how much belphie takes after mammon's, if not all of his older brothers traits, for better or worse

well nvm...i still think my theory is valid though. belphie wants to go back to his old life and end up not losing lilith, but still have mc with him

i wonder how similar mammon and belphie's bond in the celestial realm is to their bond in the devildom. is belphie still as reluctant to ask for help and advice openly? is the banter still the same? are there less insults? how does the age gap here cause them to treat each other differently if at all? or the lack of angelic status?

oh i'm gonna cry

big brother mammon will always have my heart and i need more of him

we know belphie's love of stars and constellations and the night sky in general started when he was in the celestial realm, and seeing it manifest in mammon in his mindscape makes my heart happy, even if mammon isn't the reason he became interested in astronomy (was it michael? lucifer? idk i don't remember)

i also think it's very interesting how belphie's brain is actively working against him "wanting to hide from mc". he literally said "i don't want you to see the inside of my mind" and is hiding away from them. i think, in reality and in his mindscape, he's running from the fact that he has to face his feelings about the idea of mc leaving to go to the "human realm" and the possibility of losing them forever like he lost lilith

this was (obviously) not beel speaking, but his inner thoughts in the shape and voice of beel. circling back to belphie having the best and worst traits of his brothers, his insecurity and need for reassurance rivals levi's, and we don't get to see it as blatantly because he masks it way better than levi does

ok so we're here in the timeline...interesting. how much time passed between luci and dia's first meeting and the celestial war? how much time had passed between the celestial war and mc's initial arrival to the devildom? how much had belphie aged?

angels and demons age different than humans do, and belphie doesn't feel any older than like...10 or 11 at the most, but beel seems older than that. maybe its his mind warping things to make himself seem and feel younger, but maybe he really was that young. was lilith even born at this point? how old was belphie during the time of the war ?????

also i'm mad we didn't get to see michael bc i wanna know what he looks like but oh well 🧍🏾

oh baby :((((

i'm not the biggest belphie fan AT ALL, at least canon belphie, but i think it's necessary to acknowledge how his trauma severely affects the way he acts. he went from blaming himself, to blaming an entire race of people for his sister's death. he feels like he should've been the one to die, even if it meant leaving his twin without him

now, if he got a proper redemption arc after lesson 16, THEN we could talk. i think the devs fumbled his character in that regard, but my hcs about his redemption will have to suffice for now

he didn't want mc to see this dark part of himself because he hates that he still has this mindset, that he's trapped in a cycle of "what ifs" and wishing it were him instead of her, constantly ruminating and letting his anger and grief fester without ever dealing with it properly and letting himself heal. he not only thinks he doesn't deserve to heal, but that he doesn't deserve to live long enough to see himself heal, that he doesnt deserve to live at all

WHY ARE YOU BEING DIFFICULT????

i mean i knew this would happen since its only lesson 34 and there's still 6 more to go...but damn

i love and hate the fact that he's so smart. like, they could easily just ask barbatos to send them back to the human realm if it was that serious. he's clearly taken a liking to them. lucifer knows something's up, and he won't forge a pact with them until he gets to the bottom of whatever's going on

initially, i thought it was a spell to bring them back since he'd been the one facilitating the trips into the brothers' mindscapes this whole time, but this is wayyy more interesting

i feel like the barbatoses communicate across timelines, or that their lives intermingle with each others' somehow, so whatever they feel for one person in a specific timeline is felt for ever version of them in every timeline. we know barbatos, at the very least, knows that kayden is an important person in the grand scheme of things, whether it be because of the way diavolo feels about them or because they play a large part in the obey me version of a canon event

if it's more than base level importance, we can assume that there's a level of trust and love that barbatos feels for mc that stretches across time (callback to the login screen's dialogue)

maybe he gave us the piece of the grimoire for a reason outside of belphie's mindscape escapades. what if this is how we gain lucifer's trust? if a demon as powerful as barbatos can give mc a piece of his grimoire, then he should be able to make a pact with them, seeing as they're trustworthy enough to be in cahoots with THE time demon

anyways barbatos is nightbringer and you can't tell me otherwise. unless you think it's michael. then i might hear you out...i'm stuck between thinking either of them is the titular character simply because of the simultaneous lack and abundabce of emphasis on michael's importance

[gotskamstuff]

Season 4 pt.1 debuting with over 15.5 million views in the first 3 days and pt. 2 debuting with close to HALF the views in the same amount of days is bringing me too much satisfaction, sorry not sorry.

I truly feel sorry for the rest of the cast and people who work on the show, but I’m glad to see the fandom response reflecting into the views ‘cause I feel like sometimes shows, especially with this amount of success and popularity, take for granted the viewers affection and think they can feed us any crap without consequences and we’re gonna eat it up with no problem, like we’re gonna stay here no matter what ‘cause we’re addicted to it…doesn’t work like that, you gotta keep your audience by giving them something good.

Each show loses viewers from pt.1 to pt.2 in the debut and it’s known, but basically half of it is a lot (also considering how pt. 1 stayed at n.1 in the top 10 for over 2 weeks, but only 1 week later pt. 2 has already dropped at n.3 with lowering compared to pt.1 who stayed consistent)

Considering that Outer Banks had always counted on a young and loyal fanbase GLOBALLY that’s ready to hit play the instant the season drops, 8.5 million views globally in 3 days is really a strong message to them.

Whether you’re personally ok or not with the way S4 ended, it’s a fact that they screwed up with a huge chunk of their own audience that kept the popularity of the show alive and if they managed to lose this amount of engagement and excitement towards the series in 3 days then good luck to them to keep the interest alive UNTIL 2026.

I think they downplayed and probably still downplay the role of JJ in terms of engagement, S4 already lost numbers compared to S3 (after they probably lost occasional viewers over the bore s3 was) and I can’t even imagine the drop that S5 will be.

They screwed up big time and no matter how much they try to do damage control now, no matter how much they wait for the audience to calm down, no matter how much they try to ignore it…they lost a good part of their own fanbase and probably occasional audience as well.

IF the waters are ever gonna calm down it surely won’t be ‘cause the problem is solved and people got over it, but simply because people won’t be there at all and will have lost their involvement with the show altogether.

Maybe the Pates will learn for their next project to treat the set like an actual workplace and not a college dorm. Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.

I mean it with my whole chest when I say that without JJ I’m never gonna watch S5, and I have been close to an addicted fan of this show for almost 5 years, but the story died with him. They took away the character that was the symbol of this show and who’s story we were rooting for the most, and although yes, there is also other things to the story…the interests in all the rest doesn’t quite measure up with the loss. I know that many people feel the same way (and if you reading this personally don’t, good for you but I think the general response speaks for itself).

They doomed the show by killing the fan favorite, killing the largest ship fandom of the show and by ruining the storyline that created the most engagement and curiosity that had us rooting for it.

They took for granted the fanbase that made the show what it is today and blindly spitted on us thinking we’d be passive about it. The fans make or break a show.

Bring back JJ and you have the opportunity to make the GAG of the century and get the biggest positive response from your own audience to end the show…don’t and see the show collapse and lose it’s reputation and legacy for good. Simple as that🤷🏻‍♀️

I will never shut up about it ‘cause this is the biggest fumble of a Netflix series I have ever witnessed and the biggest let down I have ever experienced with a show (yeah worse than Game of thrones final season).

[wistfulrat]

・❥・lesbian wangxian reccs ・❥・

ao3topships poll gate made me realize there are hundreds nay thousands of u who dont know abt lesbian wangxian ?? that’s so sad can i proselytize u real quick

mimilamp cinematic universe (the ppl’s mcu) sorry for starting this list with a whole author catalog. as if it's my fault!! these gave me covid. no listen mimilamp fics have feverish lesbian angst levels of hot horny despair that could paralyze a large forest animal. and on a sentence level it's just stunning. messy dykes fumbling toward love confessions while making emotionally insane choices and the sex scenes fuckn bang ??? god is real

good, good - 13.5k E Wei Ying has two broken wrists and now she needs Lan Zhan to help her do stuff (jerk off)

here’s a story - 46k E Wei Ying reluctantly joins her recently-dumped best friend, Lan Zhan, on a couples' holiday retreat. Snow! Drinks! Truth or dare! There's a s-s-s-single bed! You'll never guess what happens next.

out of your system - 20k E “Maybe you should get me out of your system,” Wei Ying blurts. “Maybe that’ll help.” // Wei Ying finds out her best friend Lan Zhan is in love with her and offers a really super solution.

exposure therapy - 14k E Wei Ying clambered up from the floor, put the joint on the corner of the night stand, announced, “Exposure therapy,” and got into Lan Zhan’s bed. // Lan Zhan doesn't like to be touched, Wei Ying likes to touch.

know no one else - 20k E Lan Zhan moves out, Wei Ying's boyfriend moves in. Six months later, Lan Zhan visits, they go to a party, and Wei Ying has something to tell her.

74243 this author should be studied in a lab bc these 2 fics ruined my life. a pulitzer prize short fic with immaculate tone followed by the fuck nastiest shit you will ever read. "wei ying swipes right" still a top 3 bar of all time re: fic summaries. like people died.

chef’s kiss - 6.5k E Wei Ying said, “You know, in some ways I’m kind of depressed. I took your biggest dick on my first try. Now I don’t have anything to build up to.” “There are bigger ones available,” Lan Zhan said lazily. “I can pay for express shipping.” // (Lan Zhan works the late shift.)

pull out game weak - 22.7k E Wei Ying swipes right.

plonk this is the only fic in many ways. dyke nmj's mustache academy award winning breakout role. possessive hot dyke lwj. the sentence "don't knot her you freak." have u ever seen a group chat get rabies in real time. the slut rot breached containment. it was a public health crisis. it brought back horny cinema. cultural reset.

good friends - 11.5k E “I could invite her over for when the game’s done,” Nie Mingjue offers. Lan Zhan hums, considering it. They do that sometimes. Take omegas down together.

occultings will i ever get tired of -wwx thinks she's straight and wants to practice being gay with sadsack lwj who is like sure im in love with u and this will cause me psychic damage but mayhaps that's the cost of being homiesexual--? no i dont get tired of the classics it's called taste

give me one good honest kiss - 25k E The text keeps flashing over and over in Lan Zhan's head like the bulb lights on a marquee. They’d been talking about homework directly before that, swapping notes on music theory in the baroque period. Then, like a fork of lightning out of a clear blue sky: wanna practice kissing? 😚 // Wei Ying suggests an arrangement. Lan Zhan, in love, deals.

saltyfeathers ok so like sure it's ill advised to get your cartilage pierced at claire's but if you wanted the experience of participating in deranged hysteric behavior that kinda bangs in a badgood way? well then.

the mall that has it all - 8k E She introduced herself in the food court, breathless after sprinting across it in Lan Zhan’s direction and vaulting over a table only to crash into the seat across from her, ask, “Can I have a sip?”, spring forward with both elbows on the table to wrap her burgundy lips around Lan Zhan’s smoothie straw, wrinkle her nose, and say, “What is that, kale? Not really my thing, as like, a mall goth. Oh!” A pleased, chaotic exhale. “My name’s Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan said, after taking a moment to fully process the last forty-five seconds, “What?” or; mall goth au

[anyasathenaeum]

if requests are still open, maybe something for wolfwood where the reader gets injured pretty badly and he accidentally confesses? there’s been a lot of this kind of request lately LOL sorry- I’m rewatching badlands rumble and his little widow phase of destroying his hotel room then swapping his shades for vash’s is doing something to my brain… that and how brutally he internalized livio’s “death” in stampede.. like, maybe reader tried to hide the injury at first not wanting to hold whatever they were doing up, and he doesn’t really get any time to process so he doesn’t really realize what he’s saying until reader comes to in the hospital and gets to coyly tease their grumpy unhappy-but-very-happy but still somewhat stressed and upset over the “ok but what if you *had* died” wolfwood over how sappy and soggy he’d been lol (very “subtly” adding in the trope of sharing a hospital bed but if someone asked? totally wasn’t my idea)

A/N: HEY ANON, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS. WHAT A GOOD IDEA. Also not the widow phase omfg poor Wolfwood. Let's be real, Wolfwood really internalizes all his pain and grief and he needs a hug. Anyways, have this! Hope you like it, and sorry it took so long. Warnings: Mentions of violence, injuries, blood, death (almost), Wolfwood being bad at feelings (he's trying, okay?).

You weren't really sure how this had happened.

One of the downsides of travelling alongside Wolfwood was that he somehow managed to find himself trouble wherever he possibly could. This only worsened when he met Vash.

So, here you were, hiding behind an abandoned building in the middle of some crazy shootout between law enforcement, an undertaker, and a wanted fugitive with the biggest bounty on his head that No Man's Land had ever seen. Although, it seemed like law enforcement and the undertaker you called your best friend were the ones doing all the shooting.

At some point, a stray bullet ricocheted and lodged itself in your side, causing you to cry out in pain. Thankfully, neither Vash nor Wolfwood had been near you at the time, so they hadn't been there to witness you getting shot. Gritting your teeth and biting down on the collar of your coat, you quickly dug out the bullet, silencing your screams as white-hot pain coursed through your veins. Thankfully, the bullet came out cleanly with minimal digging, the small "plink!" as the metal casing hit the ground announcing your success in getting it out.

Sweat coursed down the side of your face and beaded your forehead, your chest heaving from the pain of your wound. With shaking hands, you fumbled through your coat pockets, digging out the piece of cloth you used as a handkerchief. It was clean enough, so biting down once again, letting out a groan of pain, you clumsily packed your bullet wound using your handkerchief. Once you were satisfied, you wriggled your coat off and tied it tightly around your waist, directly over your wound to apply pressure and stop the bleeding as best as you could.

"Move, (Y/N). You have to move," you gritted out, trying to get your body to listen to you.

You could still hear gunfire, and you heard Wolfwood's voice yelling various things at Vash between blasts and shots, so you knew both of them were still alive. In a moment of calm, you got to your feet, scrambling over to where the two of them had taken cover as best as you could, trying to ignore the pain radiating through your body with every step.

"(Y/N)! There you are!" Vash exclaimed, clearly glad to see you. Wolfwood, however, was otherwise occupied, using The Punisher to keep the law enforcement at bay and said nothing, merely glancing at you and nodding in acknowledgement of your arrival.

"Y-Yeah! Sorry, guess I got separated from you guys!" You shouted back over the sound of gunfire, glancing around and trying to figure out how to escape.

After a couple moments, Vash and Wolfwood managed to orchestrate an escape, and you followed as best as you could. However, the more you ran, the more you felt bile rising in your throat, the pain from your wound overwhelming you. Your vision began to fade in and out as you struggled to keep up with the two men, and just as you believed you would pass out, they stopped, giving you time to catch up.

Your chest heaved as you stumbled to a stop, your entire body in pure agony, sweat pouring down your face.

"Well, good job keeping up, sweetheart!"

You heard Wolfwood's teasing voice addressing you, and as you looked up at him, you could see him smiling at you with a crooked cigarette hanging from between his lips. His face was covered in ash and dust, but thankfully, he seemed unharmed. You felt a weight lift off your shoulders as you processed this, your heart all but singing in relief in your chest.

While you refused to acknowledge it openly, you knew, deep down, that your feelings for Nicholas D. Wolfwood had long since changed from simply friendship. Somewhere along the way, your heart had become his, and your feelings deepened. Somewhere along the way, you had fallen in love with the man who was your closest and best friend.

However, now, as you gazed at the man you loved, your vision began to blur. Your entire body suddenly felt light, and you felt dizzier than ever before. You could make out Wolfwood's face, his expression changing almost in slow motion, his teasing smirk falling away as he looked at you, his eyes widening in fear as he realized that something was desperately wrong.

"N-Nick..."

'I must've lost more blood than I thought.'

The thought vaguely crossed your mind, but you didn't pay it much attention as you felt yourself stumble and fall forward. Before you could land face-first into the sand, though, you felt strong yet gentle arms wrapping around you, supporting you and catching you before you could fully collapse.

"(Y/N)!"

You could make out a voice calling your name, their tone frantic and clearly frightened, and as you looked up, you could just barely recognize that it was Nicholas who was holding you. You could no longer make out his entire face, parts of vision fading in and out, but you caught glimpses of his expression, and you could see that his lips were moving.

"-tay awake! Ya hear me?! Stay awake! Goddamnit!"

His voice sounded far away, muffled as though submerged beneath water, but the panic in his words was evident. You could feel the pressure of his body against yours as he clutched you to him, but you could no longer feel the warmth that should've been radiating from him. The pain had disappeared, but so had just about everything else, too.

"(Y/N)! Look at me, just look at me, doll! That's it, just-"

You could no longer hear him, the only remainder of your consciousness the fragments of your vision and some ability to feel. You could see blood on Nicholas's hand, but somehow, you knew that it wasn't his - it was yours.

'Nicholas, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'

You watched as Nicholas reached into his suit frantically, clearly searching for something. You could just barely make out what looked like one of his vials in his hands as he broke it open - would that stuff even work on you?

You felt your head being tilted back, strong but surprisingly gentle fingers on your jaw and your cheeks trying to open your mouth so he could tip the regenerative drug down your throat. It must've proven difficult because you could see a frustrated expression on Nicholas's face, sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled, unable to get the vial's contents in your mouth.

Before you could process what you were seeing, you suddenly felt something pressing firmly against your mouth - something soft and supple, and you could taste something strangely cold dripping down the back of your throat.

When your vision cleared slightly, you realized what you were feeling - Nicholas's lips were pressed against yours in a desperate kiss, a frantic attempt to get the drug that could potentially save your life into your system. While you had been guilty of imagining what your first kiss with Nicholas might've looked like, this certainly wasn't it.

'A kiss?... Nicholas...'

And then the darkness swallowed you, taking Nicholas and the world with it.

---

Darkness.

That's all you knew and all you could make out - the darkness that surrounded you completely. Somehow, though, you knew you weren't dead. Not yet.

Slowly, over time, you felt yourself beginning to regain bits of your consciousness - you hadn't yet opened your eyes, but you had become aware of the sounds and goings-on around you, wherever you were presently.

You could hear a steady beeping from whatever machine was beside you. You could hear the footsteps and voices of whichever healers had come in to check on you. You could feel the ache from your wound, no longer the sharp, agonizing pain from before but still painful and uncomfortable. You could feel pressure of something warm laying in your lap, and something rough yet soft and warm enveloping your hand.

The darkness seemed to ease bit by bit, slowly giving way to more and more of your senses and allowing you to piece together information about what happened and where you were - you were in a medical center a couple towns over from where you, Vash and Wolfwood had gotten caught up in the shootout with law enforcement.

By the bits of conversations you had caught from healers, you'd lost quite a lot of blood by the time you were brought in, and you were on the brink of death for a time before stabilizing. You had also caught snippets of conversations referring to "your visitor", a person who had apparently not once left your side and whose identity you weren't entirely certain of until you'd heard them speak.

"You idiot."

'Nicholas.'

His voice was low and gravelly, and to your surprise, his words were slightly shaky. You had only heard his voice do that when he was afraid or overwhelmed.

"Y-You... you got shot, and you didn't think to tell me? You idiot, we're supposed to trust each other. You're supposed to trust me! We always have each other's backs, don't we? Just like we always have. So why didn't you tell me, (Y/N)? Why didn't you say something? Instead... I watched you die."

'But I'm not dead! I'm right here, Nick!'

You wished you could speak and reassure him, explain why things happened the way they did, but you were still just waking up, not yet fully conscious.

"Do you have any idea just how afraid I felt, (Y/N)? Seeing you like that, bleeding in my arms, unable to get you to wake up or to stabilize you? I thought you HAD died, I was convinced that that was it - I'd lost the one person in the world who meant absolutely everything to me, the one person I loved."

Your heart all but stopped when you heard those words - he loved you? Nicholas D. Wolfwood loved you? Was this reality, or were you simply dreaming?

Before you could begin to process his confession, you heard Nicholas continuing to speak, his voice still low and even shakier than before.

"This world is crazy, a-and terrible, and you were the only person who ever made it make sense, (Y/N). W-When I thought you were dead... God, I wished I were dead, too. So you don't ever get to do that again, do you hear me?! You don't ever get to do this to me again. I'm not losing you again."

Nicholas's voice was so filled with a mix of emotions - anger, fear, sadness, grief, frustration, and so much pain. Had you been able to cry, you would've, guilt flooding through you as you realized just how much you had affected him.

You hadn't intended for this to happen. You just hadn't wanted to worry him in the middle of a gunfight, but afterwards, things had just moved so quickly that you hadn't had a chance to alert him or Vash to your injury.

'Wake up, (Y/N). Wake up now, you have to.'

You let out a soft groan as you struggled to open your eyes, wincing as the light stung after however long you had spent in darkness. As your eyes adjusted, you looked over to see a very unshaven, rugged-looking Nicholas sitting by your bedside, his eyes wide in surprise as he looked at you.

As soon as you made eye contact with him, you gave him a soft smile. Your throat and mouth were dry, and your voice was extremely hoarse and ragged.

"H-Hi."

Nicholas just stared at you, not saying anything as you slowly sat up in your bed with a groan, your wound aching as you shifted. You struggled to sit up, your muscles weak as you tried to move for the first time in a while, and you suddenly felt an arm around you, helping you sit up. When you glanced over, you saw that Nicholas was the one helping you up.

"Thank you," you whispered hoarsely, your face darkening slightly from embarrassment as you processed everything that you'd heard. You reached over to your bedside table for the glass of water, finally taking a sip to parch your throat.

"How are you feeling? Any pain?"

Wolfwood's voice was quiet, no longer shaky as it had been before. Instead, now it was concerned, his gaze looking you over from top to bottom. He was surprisingly good at keeping his emotions hidden when he needed to.

"I'm achy, but otherwise, I think I'm okay," you replied, smiling at him a bit, "H-How long have I been out?"

"A few days. Almost a week, now."

"That explains a lot," you sighed. "I'm sorry, Nick. For everything. I..." You looked down at your hands in your lap. "I got shot in the middle of the gunfight, and both you and Vash were busy. I just... I didn't want to distract either of you or worry you in the middle of it all. I figured I could tell you afterwards, but then... things went so fast. I'm so sorry..."

Wolfwood just sighed heavily, shaking his head as he spoke, "You scared the crap outta me, (Y/N). You know that?"

"I know..." You felt ashamed as you continued to look at your hands, unable to make eye contact with Nicholas just yet. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I hope that you forgive me, eventually."

Wolfwood just sighed again, standing up from his seat and walking over to your bedside once more. He gazed at you for a long moment before asking, "Well? Aren't ya gonna move over?"

You blinked.

"W-What?"

"Move over, idiot," Wolfwood scoffed, rolling his eyes at your lack of understanding.

You blinked again before feeling heat rising to your face and shifting over in the medical bed, making enough room for Wolfwood to climb in next to you. The undertaker got comfortable in the bed next to you, his arm wrapping around you and pulling you close to him, hugging you close to him. You immediately wrapped your arms around him in return, burying your face into his chest and taking comfort from his presence. Despite his rough exterior, the man was a huge softie who needed this just as much as you did.

"I missed you, Nick," you mumbled softly, letting your eyes fall closed and allowing a small smile to appear on your face as you continued, "And I love you too, by the way."

Now it was Nicholas's turn to blink, clearly stunned.

"What?"

You couldn't help but giggle softly, "I heard your words, Nick. Including your confession of love."

"What confession of love?"

Now you were properly laughing at the expression of confusion on Nicholas's face and the fact that his face had turned a shade of deep crimson.

"You didn't even realize that you'd said it, eh, Punisher?"

You couldn't help but tease the man who was your best friend, stifling your laughter as best you could as you watched Nicholas trying to figure out exactly what he had said to you and the colour of his face only darkening.

"You said "I'd lost the one person in the world who meant absolutely everything to me, the one person I loved" when you were talking to me. You thought I was still unconscious, but I could hear you, Nick - I just couldn't answer you then," you explained softly, reaching up and tilting Nicholas's face so he was looking at you as you spoke, "I love you, too, Nicholas D. Wolfwood."

"Seriously?" Nicholas replied cautiously, studying your face as if to ensure you were telling the truth.

"Yes, you moron, seriously!" You laughed, tapping his cheek playfully. "I've loved you for a long time, I just never told you. And now, I'm glad I never told you. Otherwise, I never would've heard your dramatic love confession. I never knew you were such a hopeless romantic, Nick! Didn't think you had it in you."

"Oh, shut up," Nicholas muttered under his breath, his blush darkening as he looked away from you in embarrassment. "You're lucky I love you."

You couldn't help but grin teasingly, "Oh, I'm sure. By the way, I really wasn't expecting my first kiss with you to be when I was borderline unconscious and with you pouring whatever is in those vials into my mouth."

"I-wha-you-!"

Nicholas was spluttering, his face crimson as he tried to argue or contradict your statement, and it only made you laugh harder than you had been previously. You burrowed into his embrace, holding him as tightly as you could without worsening your injury.

"Splutter all you want, Undertaker, you're not escaping this. Although..." You trailed off with a mischievous grin before saying simply, "I'd be happy to do a retake of our first kiss."

After a moment of recovery from his embarrassment, Nicholas ran a hand through his hair before chuckling slightly, "Yeah? That so, doll? I think I could be persuaded to do that... for the right price."

"The right price? What price is that?" You asked, looking at him curiously.

"I dunno yet. I'll think of something later."

Without another moment of hesitation, Nicholas leaned down, his hand coming up to cup the back of your neck as he pressed his lips to yours in a surprisingly gentle kiss.

Unlike before, this kiss wasn't desperate and filled with fear of you dying. This kiss was tender and gentle and loving, chaste and almost unsure. You felt your heart fluttering in your chest as you happily returned the kiss, the rest of the world falling away for the moment.

When the two of you pulled away, you snuggled into Wolfwood's embrace, at last feeling content and safe.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah, (Y/N)?"

"Where did Vash disappear to?"

Nicholas just chuckled.

"Blondie's been chillin' in the inn in town. I haven't seen him much since you ended up here."

"Well... maybe you outta go shower and take a nap and shave or something. Because as much as I love you, you look rough."

"Hey! That's a rude thing to say to your hero, sweetheart!"

You couldn't help but smile.

"My hero, indeed."

[hockeymarriage]

(hi its keller-clayton) ok for the AU ask game:

AU where sid went to play in the KHL as a teenager instead of rimouski

oh wow! back when they were such babies... their round baby faces!!!!!!

1) I think Sid goes to the KHL for one year before his draft bc he's a big fan of Russian skating and wants to experience a different style of play and an adults league before the NHL draft. also maybe some personal reasons that make him want to escape North America for a bit. he's 17 and Zhenya is 18 and was just drafted by the Penguins :)

2) Sid takes a few months intensive of Russian and also billets with Magnitogorsk's Canadian coach, so he's not entirely helpless when he gets there. but there's still a huge language and cultural barrier. Sid is NOT prepared for the realities of living in Magnitogorsk and how the team basically does everything together. Russians are different in a way he can't articulate but he's just here to focus on hockey, not make friends.

3) HOWEVER Sid and Zhenya are drawn together immediately even though they don't share much language, just like in canon. I think their personalities just click together. they meet and shake hands and Sid says something in halting Russian about Evgeni's skating and then they're just beaming at each other and everyone is like ???? what is going on??? instant chemistry.

4) they become fast friends. they learn each other's language together. Sid becomes "Sidnya" and Sidnyushka". Malkin becomes Evgeni becomes Zhenya becomes Zhenyushka. they tear it up on the ice. Zhenya is fiercely protective of Sid when others on the team are jealous and other players are rough and rude (though it's a less physical game in Russia). Zhenya invites Sid to his house to hang out and eat dinner with his family.

5) they're so absorbed in this exciting best friendship that they don't quite realize that they are also horny for each other. but maybe there's a shared bottle of vodka in a shared room on the road and they share fumbling first-times 🥺

6) best part about this is that Sid leaves for the NHL draft and knows they might never play again. he gets drafted by the Penguins but Zhenya is stuck in Russia Sid's rookie year and Sid misses him so much!!!! it's a hard year and he's not even sure when Zhenya will be able to leave his home club ((((( very first-love teenage tragedy with the biggest emotions.

[charrfie]

Ok, still salty over Two Realms (it SUCKED) so gotta ask you, how would YOU have done a third drawn to life game (I've kinda wanted one with wilfre seemingly being the antagonist at first before him either being dethroned or he was actually trying to help and fumbling it BADLY)

Ohhh I'm just so excited that people are so interested in my thoughts to the point I keep getting asks related to the topic!!!!! ^_^ Thank you it's very exciting to be able to talk to everyone like this. I don't often publicly interact with the fandom because of some bad experiences I've had in it some years ago but it seems like the environment of it has changed a lot... maybe I should be more vocal about my interest in the series? Everyone who's being so nice about it has been such a big help. That's unrelated to your question, I just wanted to express appreciation!

Now, to actually answer you lol.. I put this under a read more again since it's a little lengthy, but not NEARLY as long as my previous ask

-

Fellow two realms hater 🤝 It was just such a letdown idk where I would even start. The glaringly obvious answer is the actual gameplay itself what with the level design/lack of stylus being how it was but I think my personal biggest problem was the story itself. It seemed to retcon or at least gloss over a lot of the plot from previous games which not only felt clunky but overall lowered the stakes to such a degree... it made me not care about the character drama nearly as much. Which is such a shame! Drawn to life and drawn to life: the next chapter are genuinely my #1 most favorite video games to ever exist. I mean this with no exaggeration. Even if they're kind of bad. Lol. But!!! The potential that the story and characters have in the original two games completely reels me back in!!! There's SO much there, even if it's not put together with the most grace. The subject matter is so serious and something so rarely talked about, ESPECIALLY for the age demographic it was aimed towards. These characters feel so real!!! So fleshed out!!!! It's endlessly compelling!!!!!!!!

All this being said, I think what I would do is make dtl:tr a lot more character/story driven since thats such a major appeal for me in previous entries. While it's even more evident in two realms, both dtl and dtl:tnc do have levels that tend to be a big of a slog to get through in comparison to the 10 seconds of story the player might get as a reward; there would need to be more balance.

As for what this story would actually contain.... I'm a little conflicted. While I'm not the biggest fan of aldark as a villain (he kind of came out of nowhere just to fill a necessary role of "evil"), I *do* like the idea of wilfre being replaced rather than coming back again, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the concept of the shadow that controlled wilfre garnering the strength to present itself as a physical manifestation rather than a conduit. I don't even mind if it functions as a solely evil entity! There's something to be said for that just as there's something to be said for wilfre being more morally gray anti-hero than pointlessly evil villain. I'd love to do something in this vein, though probably leave the human world out of it? Or at least keep it very vague. The raposa world gives us as the viewers enough plausible deniability to accept ridiculous/strange events without question.... it's only because the human world is so painfully realistic that the ending of dtl:tnc has the effect it does. So needless to say that's a no on keeping it as the main storyline.

I really like your idea of wilfre trying to help and then fumbling. That's similar to what I wished for when two realms was first announced actually! I sooooo badly wanted to see him trying and failing to adjust to normalcy again post him being freed of the shadow's influence, which I talked about VERY briefly here following the games announcement. I'd love to see him trying to make amends with those he had hurt (a la "ice king apology tour" from the marcy & simon comics), rediscovering who he even is as an individual again, or parsing through what his relationship with the creator has become. It opens up for some pretty interesting conversations. Especially considering how much shit other raposa might give him when he fails to help in the way they expect him to. At the same time, I'd love to get some more dialogue on where jowee and mari are at in their lives. How mari handles leadership (as she actively struggled with it in dtl and dtl:tnc), if jowee has allowed himself to exist outside of the scope of others and their judgement/expectations, etc. The fact that those two get married at the end of two realms threw me for such a loop.... because even when nothing was actively threatening them in dtl:tr they still bickered so much? I'd really like to delve into how people can naturally grow apart as they age and come to understand they may not be right for those they grew up with, as painful as that realization may be. A remake of two realms could also be a cool way of having circi introduced into official canon since she's way too interesting of a character to be constainte to the non-canon wii game.

These are all the story changes I know for a fact I'd like. But it's hard to say definitively what the plot would be other than designating an antagonist concept and the general themes which would be at play. I'm not quite sure what or how a manifested shadow antagonist would again threaten the safety of the raposa world! I figure any retconning necessary for the raposa world to even exist in the first place could be as simple as "oh I knew we could trust the creator to establish a new world for us," which would also heavily contribute to wilfre's character struggles in a very interesting way. So that's not too big of a problem. Drawn to life has bullshitted more complicated things away than just that. I'll have to keep thinking! Maybe I can work up a proper dtl:tr rewritten au alongside the other two aus I have.

I'd love to hear other thoughts about a potential remake of two realms if anyone has them!

[arendaes]

I FINISHED IT

Thoughts below cut because of spoilers. I'll get this over with first though - I didn't hate it, in fact right now it's sitting at a solid 7/10. Warning that this got long because as I said...I got a lot to say.

Biggest takeaway is it gets MUCH better in the last act of game. The writing in the beginning was rough but I definitely thought it was worth sticking it out for.

The main plot is...not great. It suffers from the same thing Inquisition did, which is that two out of our three main villains are just mid. Mid writing, mid combat, mid designs (ok Ghilan'nain was decent but Elgar'nan? Bleh.) It made the stakes easy to forget and not care about. I do like how one plotline was handled, though, which I'll get to in a minute (you know who it is.)

The companions took a moment to grow on me, but they did grow on me. By the end I did really care about all of them. Davrin, Emmrich, and Neve are probably my top three, but due to certain choices I made in the endgame, both Harding and Bellara are up there too.

Like I said the last act was the best - the conclusion of all the companions' personal quests were satisfying (to varying degrees), and certain choices in the endgame gutted me in the best possible way.

Which brings me to Solas - maybe hot take, but I thoroughly enjoyed him as a villain. Scenes with him were definitely some of the high points of the game, and that ending.

"I am a fool...who has finally met his match" I am rattling at the bars of my cage. This is absolutely what I was hoping for.

Leading us to Rook. I loved Chiara, she felt alive in a way my Inquisitors never really have. Are there a few things I'm headcanoning differently? Yes. But overall she's only beaten by my Warden for favorite Dragon Age PC.

The factions were a mixed bag. I loved the Mourn Watch, especially as a Mourn Watch Rook. The Grey Wardens were also amazing - I loved all the content with them. The Shadow Dragons were also cool; I'm always down for freedom fighters, and I loved seeing Dorian and Maevaris. Veil Jumpers and Lords of Fortune didn't leave much of an impression on me, and I share a lot of other people's grievances about the Crows.

Now, what they did to Dragon Age's lore is where my opinion sours a bit. To me, it definitely feels like a soft reset for the setting - they've wrapped up all these loose ends in the worst possible way they could have. Having everything relate back to the Evanuris was a mistake, imo, and things like the Blight and the Titans, as well Andrastism (which took a MAJOR backseat in this game omg) should've remained their own thing. To say nothing of them deciding to have southern Thedas decimated by the Blight off-screen. Right now I'm wondering what else there is for these games to even be about now, and that post-credits scene did not exactly spark hope.

One thing that deserves its own bullet point - Bioware continues to absolutely fumble the Qunari. At this point I don't know if they even know how to write them without being cartoonishly problematic about it. Whoever thought the Antaam were a good idea - especially those designs - need to be hit over the head. Proverbially, of course.

OH! I don't think the Inquisitor was necessary either. We don't need to see our previous character each game. If there's another Dragon Age game, please let Rook stay home. They deserve to retire after this.

When it comes to things like combat and puzzles, I'm definitely not the person to look to for complex critique. I enjoyed them, but I also acknowledge that those mechanics did seem simple and repetitive. I'll definitely take turn-based, tactical combat any day of the week, but I had fun with what it was.

Speaking of mechanics, I do want to call out a couple smaller things I think the game did well. I liked the wardrobe and transmog system - though, as always, the clothes and armors could've used improvement. I also loved that it was so easy to respec and try out new builds. And the inventory system! Absolutely loved that I don't have to shift through a bunch of junk to find things my OC and companions could use - having items set to Rook or a particular companion and finding upgrades to them is definitely a great way to handle it.

The levels were big and beautiful, but I kept getting turned around, and the map markers ranged from "generally helpful" to "how the hell do I get over there?"

I enjoyed the art style, personally, I don't have any real gripes with it.

Anyways, like I said, overall I give it a 7 out of 10. Sure, once the "just finished the game" high wears off I might lower it to a 6/10, but I don't see it going lower. There was ultimately more I enjoyed then didn't. And now I'll be daydreaming about Chiara and Davrin living happily ever after, going on adventures with their griffon son.

[emmetverse]

Em took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily. He felt the light breeze on his skin. He let his heart settle. He let out the air.

He knew buildings could be intimidating, but somehow this little ramshackle workshop was worse than Octan Tower. A loud bang came from inside. A part of him wanted to turn and leave. But he couldn't. He was brave, and good, and far too curious for his own good.

He knocked gently. "Uh, hey?"

"What?"

The door handle clicked as Em turned it. He hardly got a peek inside before he was snatched by the wrist and dragged in. It slammed behind him.

Roach stood, scrap of cloth in hand, their narrowed eyes scanning the small room, looking for something. Whatever it was, they clearly didn't want it getting out.

"Uh-"

"Shh!" They shot a glare. "I can't hear the buzzing over your fucking yapping."

Em blinked. "I haven't even-"

He was cut off by a roar as Roach launched forwards, using the cloth like a whip to slam it against one of the worktops. Loose wood and sawdust went flying. He span around, looking through the cloud of dust at every surface.

"FUCK."

"Um..." He peered out from the plank he'd cowered behind. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"The bugs, fatboy! Fucking mosquitos!"

Em didn't have a chance to answer. Roach had already jolted off, slapping at another part of the worktop so hard that the cloth left a mark. He snarled, his eyes following.. Something. They went a little crossed as 'it' passed in front of his face.

With yet another deep, calming breath, he tried to start again. "Roach, I came to-"

"I hate that name," they sneered, "Makes me sound like a disease."

"Um... Oh... You never said. Sorry."

"Eh, I don't care. 'Trees and magnets', y'know?"

"But you just said..." He huffed, shaking his head to himself. They weren't going to argue about this again. And they definitely weren't going to try and understand him. "I came to-"

"Help?"

"No!"

"Then get out." But then Roach paused, and turned to look back at him, an eyebrow raised. "Is this about Bad Cop?"

Em reeled in surprise. "Oh. Yeah, it is."

"I'm not apologising."

A long silence spread between them.

"... What... Would you apologise for?"

"Exactly!"

Em could only stammer. He was suddenly remembering why they didn't talk much. It took him a moment to regain composure.

"No. I came to ask about something."

"OK, what?"

... That's a good question, actually. What was he going to ask about? It was something online. Well, clearly, seeing as they were just talking about someone online. "Hang on," he murmured, and reached into his pocket for his communicator. Where was it? Which app was it on? YouTube? No, they didn't talk to people on there - the entire feed was just animal videos. Uh, Tumblr-?

He jolted as Roach grabbed him by the shoulders, and he was suddenly very aware that for the first time in a long time, he had the other's full attention.

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Um- I'm just checking. Jogging my memory. Your, uh, your bugs distracted me." He swallowed, but his throat was painfully dry. He turned back to the communicator, scrolling rapidly. "It's something Bad Cop said... Um... Maybe they deleted it?"

"No. No they didn't." His hands moved from Em's shoulders to his cheeks, grabbing them, squishing them a little too hard. "I've been trying to tell you! It's থe ב※íㄷ!"

"... Whar?"

Roach stared at him, flitting between each eye, as if trying to look inside his brain. And for just a moment, it almost felt like he was. And then he let go. And he frowned.

"Do you smell that?"

Em rubbed his cheek, blinking rapidly. "I- Wh-what?"

"Someone's bleeding."

"What?!"

"Meeehh, 'what', 'what'," Roach mocked, shoving past him. "You sound like a broken toy."

Em fumbled over his words and his feet as he followed, hurrying out of the door in time to see two figures approaching. He frowned. One of the biggest issues with this place was that it was hard to tell who was who from any considerable distance. But it didn't take long.

Spark, only just held up by Threes, who was half dragging them through the dark sand. And red. Drip, dripping.

He kicked off, sprinting towards the main building. The two were much closer when he returned, alcohol and cloth in hand.

Threes dropped their friend into the sand before stumbling himself, falling to his knees, hissing in annoyance.

"Shit-" He coughed. "Spark? Still with me?"

"Yeah," The other whispered, turning to look at the two running up to them. They forced a smile. Blood was trickling down from a gash in their forehead, but it seemed like the most of it was pouring out of their shoulder.

Em skidded to a stop next to them, cloth already pressing against the wound.

"You ok?"

"Mhm."

"Is- is it just this one?"

"Yeah."

Slowly, carefully, he unscrewed the cap and poured some of the alcohol over the wound. It soaked in, mixing with the blood to make a foul smell. He tried his hardest to ignore the whine that escaped his friend. He hoped that it not being medical alcohol wouldn't cause infection. But it was the best they had.

Roach caught the corner of his eye. Their arms were folded, staring down at Threes. "You're hurt too," They huffed.

It shook its head. "Just a graze."

"Who was it?"

"Same person as before." Threes shifted his position so he was sitting in the sand. He rubbed his shoulder. "Yelling something about prison, freedom, started stabbing Spark..."

"Same old, same old.." Roach rolled his eyes.

"Yep."

Em stammered as Spark grabbed at the bottle and downed it. He pulled a face as he swallowed.

"... That's meant to be for medicinal purposes..."

"What, the vodka?" Roach muttered.

For a moment, Spark just frowned, trying to translate the words in their head. "Eh... Removing the pains?"

Em just sighed, putting it out of reach. "You'll be fine. It's not that deep."

"Where is Rex?"

"Asleep." He folded the fabric to press a cleaner part against the wound. "I probably woke him up just now."

Threes took a breath to steady himself, then pushed himself to his feet. "Good. We had to leave everything to get here faster. I'm going to go grab a bag."

"Salt," Spark murmured. They were beginning to sway. Em gently took them by the shoulders.

"You should both rest. I can head off with Rex once you're settled."

Threes rolled his eyes. "You're leaving us with the bug?"

Roach put his hand on his chest, acting offended. "Wow. Actually, why can't I go? This asshole can stay and look after you two. I'll go get the milk."

It was dead silent. They each just slowly turned to look at him, each with varying degrees of glare.

He snorted, fighting back a grin. "Damn, y'all. Alright, I'm going back to work."

Threes gave a small hum and looked back to Em. "Actually, why were you in the workshop?"

"Oh." He grunted as he lifted Spark to their feet. "We were just talking."

"What were you talking about for her to let you in there?"

"Uh..." He fell quiet. With a frown, he looked back to Roach. "What were we talking about?"

They turned to look back at him. And they were silent. Just watching. Just for a little too long, their eyes scanning, studying Em's face. They were looking for something. Eventually, they sighed, and turned away.

"Nothing important."

Em frowned. But he didn't question them.

He'd have to take their word for it.

[jreads]

ok yes i am working on the last part of UC, but this came to me in a half-asleep haze. maybe a mini series? what are everyone's thoughts?

You work a tiring corporate job. It pays well, but it’s draining. You put a façade on in the office, one of polite, unruffled professionalism, but it slips quite quickly as soon as you push your way through the polished revolving glass doors of the modern high-rise.

He knows all of this because he watches you.

It’s not creepy, he attempts to convince himself, because he goes to that coffee shop too. The cozy, dim-lit one that overlooks your place of work. Granted he used to only go once every blue moon. He’s there far more often now, in a darkened back booth, at the same time in the day. 

A total coincidence.

Simon Riley never used to spend a lot of time in London. He has a permanent address there, under a fake name, just to smooth over certain legalities. He never bothered too much with the details. In between assignments, he comes back to ensure everything is as it should be, and to water the small cactus on the windowsill, a gift from MacTavish. It’s one of those low-maintenance ones; you should soak the soil once every two months just to ensure it doesn’t turn a duller shade of green. Simon is half certain he could feed the thing gasoline and it would still flourish.

But that was all before the injury.

The team had been deployed somewhere in the South American jungle, attempting to uncover an arms trafficking operation. While the job had been successful, Ghost had been rewarded with one in the gut. They had patched him up real well, but the Captain had insisted he take some time. He hadn’t wanted to. It gets all too quiet when he is left to his own devices. 

But in this café, under warm fairy lights and surrounded by chatter, it isn’t as lonely. Especially for the five minutes just after 17:00 hours when you come in to place your order.

He isn’t sure what had drawn him to you in the first place. I could have been any number of things. The gait of your walk, the way you struggle with the heavy door, your sweet voice, or the way you treat the serving staff. They all like you. Especially the ginger kid with the glasses… he likes you a bit too much. It could have been the way you shrug off your blazer in the late summer heat, folding it into the crook of your elbow and rolling your neck, eyes fluttering shut. It could have been the way you usually fumble to hold everything in one hand, one cup, one paper bag, always, along with your purse, jacket, blue light glasses. Peppermint tea… and a biscuit, he had found out when he had walked too closely past you one day. You were delicately trying to pry the lid from your cup to let the drink cool and he had smelled the fresh aroma of it. 

Whatever the reason, he has formed some strange one-sided connection with you. You haven’t noticed him, maybe you never will, because he sits in the darkest corner of the shop, hood pulled over his head and medical mask in place whenever he isn’t eating or drinking. He is reading a lot recently, James Patterson, John le Carré, but George R. R. Martin is his current. It is a welcome change of pace. And a good excuse to spend the bulk of the afternoon here, nursing a black coffee and croissant BLT. 

But today is different. It’s different because you have dark circles under your eyes and you’re staring at nothing in particular and when the barista hands you your drink you say thank you, but you don’t smile. You always smile. And he’s trying to tell himself that it’s none of his business, that it’s not his problem but it is. Suddenly, it’s his biggest problem.

[kringletheelf04]

The spirit of Christmas?! (chapter 4)

The hallways seem to twist and turn in random directions but Bernard seems to know how to navigate it like the back of his hand. He looks back to make sure I'm still following every once in a while. I'm practically tearing off my skin at this point. My tattoo is hot to the touch and I can feel it through my sleeve. Bernard rubs his wrist every now and then, looking to me with furrowed brows. It seems like an eternity following him when we finally are met with a door. It's rounded with light blue paint on it. Strings of pine decorate it with painted on snowflakes speckled onto the varnish. Bernard reaches into his impossibly large bag and fishes out a key, it's handle matching the doors design. Turning the key and pushing on the door it gives a large creak, almost like it hadn't been used in decades.

"Well this is it." Bernard says, fully turning to me. "Welcome home (y/n)!"

"Your home maybe! Not mine!" I joke.

"Well, your home too now. At least it will be after the next eleven months." Bernard says sternly.

He motions into the room and I enter. The entire room is ice blue, except the few red and green accents. The biggest bed I've ever seen sits on the back wall. It may look like winter in here but I feel like I'm being boiled alive. Bernard follows in behind me.

"No offense, but this is bullshit!" I growl out at him.

He looks slightly taken aback but replies with "well I'm sorry you feel that way"

"Look, I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago. This has got to be some demented nightmare my mind has conjured up. One moment a guys falling off our roof and I'm putting on an old trapper hat I found the next I'm here and your spewing nonsense about me being the spirit of Christmas!" I say sitting onto the bed.

"Well, whether you believe it or not, you are now Christmas spirit." He says standing in front of me.

I take off the blasted hat that began this all and set it beside me. I begin to roll up my sleeves when I hear Bernard let out a soft gasp.

"Umm, what's your last name again?" Bernard stutters out.

"Calvin, why?" I blink in confusion.

I go to itch my arm and Bernard seizes my wrist.

"Ah! Fuck that hurt! What the hell is wrong with you dude! You're being really weird!" I yank my arm away, gently rubbing my wrist where he grabbed it.

"Language! But uh, I don't know how to say this," Bernard starts.

"Say what? That I've finally lost my marbles and need a mental evaluation?" I spit.

"We're soulmates," he breathes, calmly grabbing his sleeve and pulling upward.

Lo and behold there in the same handwriting reads the words (Y/N) CALVIN.

"What's a soulmate?" I hear a quiet voice ask from the doorway.

We both whip our heads around to find Charlie standing a few steps in the doorway.

I rush to him, sweeping him into a protective embrace.

"It's like a best friend, but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's who you're destined to spend eternity with." Bernard tries to explain without fumbling over words.

"Well, sissy (y/n) hates Christmas, so I don't think she's your soulmate" Charlie says and then waddles over to the bed.

"Well, they'll learn to love it because they are now the spirit of Christmas, sport!" Bernard shakes his head, curls bouncing in every direction.

"Yeah, not gonna happen dude." I raise my eyebrows and lift Charlie onto the giant bed.

"Well it's got to happen or you and I both die. So..." Bernard trails off.

"How about I get is some hot coco and we talk about this?" Bernard tries persuading me.

"Ok I guess, but don't think that this will change anything!" I call after him as he leaves.

"He's nice." Charlie smiles at me.

"Yeah he is, but I think we will be talking about adult business, so... scram" I shoo him out of the room.

I flop on the bed and close my eyes, hoping once I open them I'll be back home in my bed.

"This can't be real!" I tell myself.

"It's 'bout as real as it gets." A voice cuts through my thoughts.

I open my eyes to see Bernard approaching with a mug in each hand. He hands me one and I cautiously take a sip. It's the best thing I've ever tasted. I set the mug onto a nearby coaster to cool off.

"So... what's the nonsense about soulmates?" I ask him.

"Every elf has a soulmate. It just makes things easier here. But never in my two thousand years of living would I have guessed that mine would be a human. Let along the child of Santa and the spirit of Christmas. I didn't know it was even possible." Bernard explains.

"This is crazy! I feel like I'm loosening it. First soulmates, Santa, Christmas spirits, This has got to be the weirdest experience ever!" I rant.

"Well you're stuck with the pole now." Bernard pats my back and I feel warmth radiating from my tattoo.

"Yeah, fat chance this is even real. When I wake up I'll be back in my bed." I retort.

"Well, yeah. You have to get ready to move here. Can't just yank you from your home you know." Bernard sasses.

"What's this b.s. about Christmas spirit now?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"I'll have to train you. I'll stop by whenever I can and teach you how to use your magic." Bernard illustrates.

"This is crazy. I have a job! I can't just wait around for an imaginary soulmate to show up and teach me magic! I have to support my dad!" I clamor while jumping up.

"I can see that this is getting us nowhere. It's fine you're in denial right now but here. Take this." Bernard fishes around in his satchel and pulls out a locket.

"Rub this whenever you need to see me and I'll be there. No matter the time." Bernard clasps it around my neck.

"If I'm your soulmate, wouldn't you want me here now?" I ask lifting a brow.

"I've waited over two thousand years for you, what's one more?" Bernard smiles a sad smile.

I rush forward without thinking, my arms wrapping around Bernard's neck and causing him to wobble.

"I'm sorry. If you were real I'd gladly stay here with you!" I cry.

My eyes water and he hugs me like I might slip away at any moment.

"Well, I think you'll be seeing a lot more of me around." Bernard smiles.

"You better get to sleep though. I'll always be with you, right here." He pats my chest and makes his way to the door.

"Goodnight Bernard!" I call to him.

"Goodnight snowflake!" He calls back, closing the door behind him.

I reach for the folded pajamas Bernard left. I unfold them to see that they are embroidered with my initials. I change into them and pull the covers back. This has to be the softest pajamas I've ever felt. I nearly melt into the soft sheets. My tattoo no longer burns. I hope I have this dream every night!

[m34gs]

Saw AU ask time: It has to have happened at least once, right? Someone Yuu sort of knows was a Real Jerk was thrown into a trap dies in said trap. Even though this person 100% deserved it, Yuu is upset once they learn of death via news. Without giving anything away how does each dorm comfort Yuu WITHOUT giving themselves away?

Oooooooh yes yes yes! I am so excited for this ask. Thank you so much for sending this to me! This is what I *live* for. Angst but also the irony! Potential for comedy! With murder as the backdrop :D Perfect! Ok, let's get into it!

I don't really have any warnings for this one; it's just under a cut for length! :)

Heartslaybul:

Trey takes the lead on this one, being the only one who doesn't have a hand in the murders at this point. He still feels a little guilty, because he didn't do anything to stop the others, but he can at least pull it together to organize Operation Comfort Yuu. He starts with what he knows best: baked goods. Yuu gets invited over to Trey's bakery, under the guise of taste-testing new pastries. Ace, Deuce, Cater, and even Riddle helped to make them.

While Yuu is there, the Heartslaybul team distracts them with warm pastries and delicious tea. Even if the event does come up in conversation, Trey guides them all through by just sliding Yuu a new pastry, and sitting and listening to their feelings. Cater has a tissue at the ready. Sometimes what a person needs really is just a warm treat and a group of friends who listen to their feelings without judgement. Cater and Trey have the "tell us all about it" demeanor down-pat (let's be real, both are pretty good at concealing their emotions and inner thoughts). Ace and Deuce struggle with pretending that they don't know the person who was put in the trap, so Trey has them on cleaning duty and doing whatever little tasks he can think of on the fly if they start to fumble too much. Riddle struggles a little too, so he stays pretty quiet but Yuu can chalk that up to his social awkwardness and lack of childhood. He does offer a supportive arm-pat, and Yuu truly appreciates it.

Savanaclaw:

Jack is worried but not good at lying on the fly, nor is he really good at offering comfort to a sad Yuu. On top of that, he is part of the Direct Cause of their sadness. He awkwardly pats their shoulder (insert "sorrows, sorrows, prayers" meme) and sends Ruggie and Leona the biggest "Help Me" eyes ever.

Leona takes a bit of an...unorthodox approach. "Well, no one likes dying, and most people don't like it when people die, but it's part of life, Herbivore," he says. It's not the most comforting line, but it's true enough that it at least stops Yuu's tears.

It's Ruggie who has to save the day. Growing up with so many kids back home, he knows a thing or two about comforting people; especially when it's to do with complex emotions the person might not fully understand. He's also good at feeling out emotions, reading the room, and lying to cover for himself. His skills are all gonna come in handy here. He ushers Yuu to a more private space and lets them just tell him all their thoughts and talk out their own emotions. When they're done, Ruggie ruffles their hair and tells them they did a good job and that it's not easy to feel that way. Maybe he even gives a side-arm hug. It feels good just for Yuu to get things off their chest. Ruggie slowly steers the conversation away from the heavy topic and eventually he has Yuu smiling and giggling a little. He also treats them to ice cream with his own money, a rare occurrence for anyone to experience.

Leona goes to Farena with the guise of "these murders are highly disturbing and unsettling to the public. Make a statement that we will have our people looking into it". Of course, Farena, proud af that Leona is taking such an interest in their citizens and their wellbeing, does exactly that and suggests Leona oversee the task force since it was his idea. He has no idea he just handed Leona the reigns to be able to control exactly who knows what about the murders; at least for the ones that occur in their territory... (listen, I totally think Leona could pull off a Deathnote situation successfully, lol)

Octavinelle:

Jade immediately takes stock of the situation. He's studied his fellow students and any humans he can come across. He knows all the words and phrases to say to offer comfort. He knows all the "right" actions for the scenario, or so he thinks. He scoops Yuu into a hug whispering soft reassurances. When Floyd figures out what Yuu's upset about, the first words out of his mouth are "well maybe the person deserved it", which unfortunately only makes Yuu more upset. Azul, having a better understanding of how to act, smacks Floyd immediately, making him yelp. It surprises Yuu and the action is so in-character for both of them that Yuu can't help but laugh a little. The laugh surprises all of them and there's a moment of pause...and then Jade smacks Floyd also. Yuu laughs harder. Of course, this devolves into a small scuffle as Floyd tries to fight back and the other two try to keep smacking him (not too hard) because it makes Yuu laugh.

By the end of the fiasco, Yuu hasn't forgotten what upset them but their heart feels lighter. Floyd then suggests they go get some ice cream, and he and Jade drag Yuu away. Meanwhile, Azul discreetly reaches out through his advertising connections and gets articles and any possible reminders of the incident buried even more in the news so that Yuu will be less likely to see them.

Scarabia:

Kalim has Yuu in his arms barely half a second after they've explained why they're upset. He gives hugs and reassurances and rubs their back. He has them sit down and asks Jamil to make Yuu's favourite foods. Kalim is highly conflicted and not good at lying at all, but he can definitely provide a good listening ear. And he's been practicing. Jamil definitely thought something like this could happen, so he's been having Kalim work on providing condolences without giving things away.

Still, Kalim is very vulnerable to sadness and his friends being upset. He could very well start to crack if Yuu expresses enough sadness. For that situation, Jamil has also thought ahead. They have a phrase: "Jamil, bring more tissues" or something like that, and that lets Jamil know Kalim needs help navigating the conversation, AND gives him a reason to come into the room. For his part, Kalim has had to work a little on some sleight of hand to hide the tissue box so that no one questions him asking for more. (he took lessons from Ace)

A comforting meal, with warm drinks, and a sleepover party, and Yuu is suddenly feeling a lot less sad and is able to relax a little.

Pomefiore:

Vil knows how hard it can be to talk when you're upset, so he helps Yuu talk it out by occupying them with an activity, a low-energy activity. I like to think he'd choose painting nails. It can become so much easier to spill their thoughts when Yuu is getting their nails painted, when they're watching him manipulate the brush instead of trying to look him in the eye. It also provides a distraction; human eyes are naturally drawn to movement and so Yuu is watching the nail painting instead of watching Vil's face and reactions. It takes the pressure of lying on the spot off of him, and also lets Vil "talk" to Rook with his eyes and mouthing words silently if he needs Rook to step in or to go get anything.

Epel has to be "busy" at this time, since we've established in this AU that he's not great at lying and has a hard time with coming up with lies. He's the kind of person who hates subterfuge and subtlety. Once Yuu is calmer, he can suddenly have finished all his "tasks" and be available to hang out and help distract. Vil will definitely take a moment to himself, leaving Yuu with Rook and Epel, while he calls his connections in advertising and publicity and "persuades" (nicely or with veiled threats, he's capable of either) major news companies to run happier stories for the next several weeks.

Ignihyde:

As expected, Idia and Ortho are both a bit awkward when it comes to the comforting. Ortho does come at it from a more clinical, objective view of "well, he was a bad person, and it's better him than some innocent person". It doesn't upset Yuu as much because they know Ortho's still not exactly human and that he's trying, but they do explain that hearing that doesn't make them feel better.

Idia is actually the one who ends up taking over the comforting. He has his experiences with grief, loss, death, and all the horrible feelings that can go with that, so he does get it to an extent. Instead of talking, though, he just lets Yuu sit with him in silence. They lean against each other as Idia plays a videogame, one that he knows well so he doesn't have to focus and can listen to Yuu if they start talking. Ortho takes it as a learning experience and just watches.

Afterward, when Yuu has finally fallen asleep, they cover Yuu with a blanket. That is when Idia and Ortho hack into all Yuu's social media and anywhere they could possibly see online ads and news. Idia is definitely not above hitting all the buttons and searching all the things he knows will affect how the algorithm shows things on Yuu's feed, to make sure they see only happy things for the next little while. He may even launch a short-term internet attack on some of the more prominent news sites...

Diasomnia:

Ok, let's be honest. None of the Diasomnia boys are ready for this. A sad Yuu? It's panic time. Lilia thinks he should cook them something. Silver insists he should NOT. Sebek cannot lie to save his life. He's all stiffness and stammers. Malleus may or may not be on the verge of destroying the planet.

Eventually, they get it together. It's when Yuu says "Hornton, can I have a hug" that they single-handedly save the entire universe from Malleus's wrath. Malleus gives them a hug and just holds them. And holds them. And holds them. When is he supposed to let go? Is he supposed to let go? He doesn't know, and honestly he doesn't want to ask.

Finally dissuaded from trying to provide comfort through home-cooked food, Lilia suggests they order in some food and have a sleepover. Silver suggests Lilia tell Yuu some of his stories of his past, since he's experienced so much he may be able to have a story Yuu can relate to. He does, telling several stories, and Yuu feels better as they listen to how someone else has felt similar to how they feel. It's a weird comfort, but it helps. Sebek helps by making tea and helping Silver order the food (Malleus can't figure out the tech, and Lilia *will* add really weird requests in the comment section if he's left to do it). A cozy night in with movies and food and Malleus still holding them, and Yuu feels a lot better the next day. Malleus is of the proposal that their next trap involves getting rid of the victim's face if they fail...Lilia is not opposed.

There you go! Hope you enjoyed these answers, these are my thoughts!! I had so much fun coming up with this response and writing it all out. Please let me know what you think too!