#oof this wouldn't be an easy relationship at all

[kirain]

Wall of the faithless isn't canon in bg3. They changed alot of things actually. So no Gale isn't "scared" he's just an obsessed asshole who doesn't learn from his mistakes.

Oof...

There's really nothing I can say except: you're wrong. The City of Judgement and the Wall of the Faithless are canon to BG3. If you don't like Gale, that's fine, but you don't have to make things up or completely disregard the lore to do it. Larian Studios literally hired people from Wizards of the Coast—the company responsible for all the canon lore, characters, and campaigns in D&D—to help them with the story. It took them five years, I believe, to fully study and understand the lore. They constantly conferred with the team to double, triple, and quadruple check every slice of content they added to the game, and parts of the game are now considered canon to D&D 5E.

As for Gale "not learning" from his mistakes ... when you first meet him, he literally admits he made a mistake with Mystra. Though personally I don't see it as the "power-hungry" move people seem to think it is. Gale simply wanted to be considered an equal to his partner (really his groomer), which is a perfectly healthy and normal desire for anyone in a relationship. Your partner should treat you like an equal, but Mystra very clearly saw Gale as a pet. A trophy. A worshipper. Subservient. Beneath her. A silly mortal with delusions of grandeur (which she cultivated), which is really rich when you learn she was once mortal herself. Mystra is a hypocrite.

Gale tried to prove himself worthy of equality by trying to bring Mystra what he thought was a piece of her missing Weave. For anyone who doesn't know, the current Mystra was torn to pieces by Cyric and Shar, then put back together by her Chosen. Though back to full power by the events of BG3, she's still technically missing pieces of herself, and Gale mistook the Karsite Weave for one of those pieces. Instead of simply telling Gale it was corrupted Weave, she let him go on believing it was hers. Personally I think that's because she was tired of him (maybe he got too old for her 😒) and was hoping he would do something that, in her mind, would justify abandoning him—but I admit that's full conjecture on my part. What is true is that she knew the orb wasn't hers, but for some reason she let Gale think it was. Even after she abandoned him and left him to die, she never told him. Not until she realised she could use him.

In Act 3, while the argument can certainty be made that he's thirsty for power, Gale ultimately becomes fed up with the gods because, as he knows better than anyone, they treat people like commodities. While I have no intention of ever ascending him myself, it looks like he actually makes good on his word. He doesn't threaten or toy with his followers, he inspires people to walk their own path, he only asks for prayers as payment (as without some form of devotion, gods in D&D cease to be), and if you romance him ... he ascends you into godhood as his equal. Mystra could have done this for him, she just didn't want to. And if you don't want him to ascend, it's genuinely so easy. I don't understand what people are complaining about. It takes one conversation with zero checks to convince him to completely abandon his ambitions. One. If he was truly "power hungry", it wouldn't be that easy.

Again, I would argue that Gale's true goal isn't really power, it's freedom, and divinity gives him that freedom. He has many conversations where he makes it clear he doesn't want to live under the gods' thumbs anymore; which, in a world like Faerûn, is extremely understandable. As I said in my Wall of the Faithless post, he's scared. Eternal torment for a simple mistake, one of which could've been avoided if Mystra told him the truth or treated him like an equal? When your partner is a goddess, how can you not feel inadequate? And if you convince him to give up the crown, he's perfectly content with Mystra's forgiveness. Even in the Early Access, that's all he really wanted.

Gale's far from perfect. He's arrogant and overconfident and insecure and he can be prone to emotional outbursts (most of which he apologises for, however), but he's nowhere near the heartless, power-hungry monster the haters seem to think he is. He is, in fact, one of the most compassionate companions in the entire camp, to the point that he accepts everyone, including Minthara. He votes for Astarion to stay when you find out he's a vampire. He gets mad at you if you surrender him to the Gur. He's one of the only companions who will openly marry/stay with you if you become a mindflayer. He's willing to sacrifice himself to save the world, and willing to damn himself to be with you. He loves every act of kindness, while hating every act of cruelty. I understand that the bugs from launch ruined a lot of people's perception of him ... and unfortunately some of those glitches are still present even now, but he is a good man.

[wannaeatramyeon]

You/reader and any PTJ characters rented a love hotel room due being so late to book a normal hotel also all transportation are closed. That why both of you can't go home.

hehehehehe. Nasty filthy thoughts abound. Ahem, keeping it clean tho and assuming it didn't start off as character x reader...

Lookism x Reader: Sharing a Love Hotel Room hc

Samuel + Gun

Let's be honest, you're either gonna fuck no hesitation or there's sexual tension ALL night

Gun: [raises eyebrow] is there something you want to tell me?

You: W-what? This is the only hotel with a vacancy!

Gun: [smirks] if that's your excuse. Although I have to admit I've been curious.

You: ...

Gun: I need some foreplay first [rips off shirt]

Gun: Let's fight

You: AHH Samuel! Why are you naked?!

Samuel: I always sleep naked

[You blushing and not sure where to look]

Samuel: I've seen you've staring at my chest all the time...

You: NO I HAVEN'T

Samuel: Y/N. Here's your chance for a closer look

Jake + Goo

Oof. So much teasing.

Jake: Y/N! I didn't know you're this kind of person

You: I'm not!

Jake: You take me to a love hotel? No date? No dinner-

You: I TOLD YOU-

Jake: No handholding! No gifts! No wooing-

You: JAKE!

Goo: Is this how you always act on your first date?

You: This isn't a date!

Goo: You know I usually have much higher standards, Princess

Goo: You're lucky you're cute and I'm easy

You: HEY!!! Wait. What???

Johan, Daniel, Vasco, Zack

oh my god these poor sweet boys.

I'm sorry if you think that anything would happen for the first time but it WOULDN'T

MAYBE once you were a little bit more established in your relationship

Johan would play it cool- "yeah just go to sleep, what's the big deal? It's just a bed."

But these 4 are the same. NO-ONE is getting a wink of sleep

Internal monologue of 'omgomgomgomg' the whole night

You accidentally brush against them? WHOLE body flushes

New internal monologue: "OMG Y/N TOUCHED ME IN BED!!"

DG

There is NO way this man is even stepping foot into this love hotel

What happens if the paparazzi or media finds out?

He's got enough resources to call someone up to pick him up no matter how far away he is

Either way. He'll walk back if he has to

If you're tired and you ask nicely, he'll at least give you a piggyback

[project-sonadow]

happy hour drabble #4

"This is ridiculous," Shadow huffs, crossing his arms as he leans against back of the—their—couch. Sonic grins back at him all too easily, something that only irritates Shadow further; not only because of Sonic's smug attitude or clear enjoyment in Shadow's annoyance, but the fact that his disguise can't do anything about that stupidly lopsided grin of his. It only makes Shadow's grimace deepen as Sonic throws himself on the couch beside him, a little closer than usual.

"C'mon, Shadow, it's perfect!" Shadow just continues to stare disbelievingly, pointedly ignoring the arm Sonic has around the back of the sofa, body faced towards Shadow. "Nobody'd question a thing if we just say we're together!"

"Nobody would question anything if you'd stop bothering me during your breaks," Shadow hisses, still frowning as he glances away. He hates to admit it, but it is a decent excuse—one that makes it easy to want to keep discussions frequent yet private. But he doesn't want to admit that for multiple reasons, so all he can do is scowl back at Sonic's stupid, knowing face.

Their staring contest lasts for maybe a minute in silence, and Shadow's grip on his own arm tightens when he finally closes his eyes and lets out a long, long sigh.

"Fine. We'll use a ... 'relationship' as our excuse for meeting so often." It saves him from the constant questions he gets whenever he picks up and drops off Sonic from Speedy's, anyways. Sonic looks rather pleased with himself after getting Shadow to give in so easily, which means Shadow has to grit his teeth to hold back from Chaos blasting him point blank.

"Great! Soooo, that just means we gotta work on ... uh, y'know," Sonic shrugs. "Selling it."

"... What."

"Like," Sonic hums, giving Shadow a once over that absolutely does not make him feel a tiny bit overly conscious. Sonic makes some vague hand gesture at Shadow's face, then the space between them, then waves his hand around some more like it means something. "Y'know. Acting like you actually wanna see me—"

"I never want to see you."

Sonic rolls his eyes, scoffing himself now. "See, that's what I mean! We gotta fix that if we want this to work."

Does Shadow want this to work? No. And he would say as much if it weren't for that obnoxious look on Sonic's face, one that just seems to scream that he totally doesn't think Shadow can do it—that Shadow wouldn't be up to the challenge. So Shadow glares for a moment longer, feeling his ears flatten against the top of his skull with how badly he doesn't want to do this, before he turns away again with a tch.

"Fine," he grouses, again, half-growling the word before forcing himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath. When he lets it go, his eyes open to see Sonic still—staring at him, with those impossibly green eyes, and it takes everything in Shadow to not be on edge once more immediately.

"That's the spirit!" Sonic says cheerfully but calmly, still grinning but—and maybe these time loops are just finally getting to Shadow's head, a little, but he thinks this smile is just a bit softer than it was before. Sonic visibly moves a little closer, arm now almost around Shadow's shoulder more than the couch, and Shadow feels a little too warm and aware of the way Sonic's facing him. "Just don't look so constipated whenever I get close to ya', alright?"

Shadow swallows down some biting remark that he doesn't even know, eyes flickering from Sonic's arm around his yet again tensed shoulders to Sonic's face to the lack of space between the two of them. After another eternal second of Sonic just—just smiling at him, Shadow finally elbows him in the gut, feeling a little better at the quiet oof that escapes him.

[exo-raskreia]

hey.... i wanna know your honest Thoughts on the jjk ending? Give a rating out 10. Honestly i'm ranting. I mean the good things in the chapter were sukuna's conclusion, the flashback with gojo , queen utahime being alive yay and the nice art with everyone at the end. Usually i would wait for a story to finish before ranting/judging but my god this kinda sucked. I don't want to be too critical but god I am just disappointed and kinda mad. Overall it is an okay/mid manga ;). Gege is not worst writer but ughh. Aot or mha sure they have their flaws but my god..These should never be compared to THIS. so now we could really say that gojo stayed south. With the full chapter, this does not change my opinion cause it still kinda sucks overall even with the whole north vs south meaning. Nothing really changed in the society or lessons maybe except for yuji and sukuna. The kiddos all really went back to missions huh after everything. I have alot to say with relationships and bonds, wasted potential on many aspects but that is a whole other discussion. i totally understand we can't write a backstory for every single character but that is not what i am insinuating here and yes there should be room for a little literary interpretation . That a whole different topic... Anyways I agree with alot your rants. i would like to hear your opinions. In the end we never got to see a gjhm flashback unfortunately. Ok so let say gojo is dead dead I find it hard to believe no was like remembering or acknowledging not even his comrades ( examples shoko, utahime etc_ or the students (i mean i am pretty sure these characters would but i would like to SEE it you know) and so many hints were gearing for gojo's revival but it is meaningless... and was used for pr ngl that's sad. Maybe the anime would do better at some aspects but i will be salty anyways. i will see uta's dance ;) animated so that i looking forward to and ig the maki's massacre. it looks like it's open ending but really!? They are some loop holes but HEY FEAR not we will probably see answers to our questions in the q&a segment! sigh. I lowkey do not want a "jjk part 2" it is draining. Gege when i catch you. I think gege intended this story to be short oh well. I have alot to say but this gonna be a novel lol. Sorry for errors i was in a moment and i hoped you understood what i wanted to say. Hope the gojohime fandom would not die and looking forward to see some nice content.

Thankyou

I already went on a mini rant here. If I have to rate the ending, I'd say maybe 2-4 out of 10?

JJK really did turn out kinda mid. It has an easy anime to get into (the anime carries it mostly 🫣), to recommend for newbies, but that ending will make one hesitate to recommend it now. Maybe wouldn't even bother to.

I'm also disappointed & mad. I don't even wanna consider that Gojo is fully dead (cuz Gege went about it so terribly). Gege skipped Gojo's whole month after his unsealing then killed him off-panel a few chapters later. The north & south thing was pointless. We didn't even get to see Gojo make a choice. There were so many hints about his potential revival but they amounted to nothing.

Summed up in this image:

This Tweet sums up the terrible mishandling of Gojo's character too 😡. This other short thread pretty much says that his "death" didn't make sense for Gojo either; accepting to stay at the airport is him regressing to his teen self. It doesn't properly conclude Gojo's character arc at all. He was meant to MOVE ON from the loss of his "springtime of youth" & continue to strive for a better future with his comrades & students; the future that HE DREAMED OF 😤 (oof, don't wanna rant further on Gojo; don't wanna make this longer 😅).

Honestly, the fan theories made the story seem much better than it actually was. At least with this ending, people can finally start seeing & admitting that Gege isn't a great writer. I've certainly never thought he was 😒; I once went on a rant here about most issues with this manga, one of them being how terribly fast-paced it is. This story is the definition of wasted potential. So many missed opportunities.

Whatever Gege comes up with for the databook, it'll be infuriating. He'll try to fill in the plot holes but man, I don't think it'll be satisfying. He might not even answer the burning questions everyone has (just like Kub0 never answered everyone's burning questions about the Bl3ach ED, or more like, no one dared to ask. Maybe he himself didn't allow those questions for his interviews 😒). Hope ppl don't give him any more money, especially cuz he's still milking Gojo, such as with that Hidden Inventory movie no one asked for.

I kinda wanted a Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ending (lol) & then on to the supposed JJK part 2, esp cuz of this sketch here but Gege fumbled hard.

Wonder if Mappa could deliver but we'll see. I only care about GojoHime's 200% Hollow Purple now. Gege made me lose most interest I had for other things getting animated. Just thinking about that ending will mostly ruin my experience... 😞

I also hope the GojoHime fandom continues to thrive. We've always lived off of crumbs... Hope ppl continue to make headcanons, fanfics, fanart, etc... I wouldn't want ppl to leave such a beautiful ship with so much potential 🥺 (I've been thru this type of thing before with Bl3ach, so despite the disappointment, I've stuck around in my ship fandoms only. I don't engage with anything else in that series. Another beloved series of mine also ended terribly but unfortunately, the fandom kinda faded or became inactive cuz it's a manhwa 🥺; if it at least had a proper anime adaptation, then...).

Let's stay strong, GojoHime fam! 🥹❤️‍🩹

[wosoluver]

To undo a mistake

Part 4/17 - previous - next

Lena x Bayern player!reader, Ana Guzmán x Bayern player!reader

Lena Oberdorf Masterlist

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

That therapy session was... something. To say the least. Your eyes puffy once again.

We didn't talk much. I practically just dumped all my problems to her. But it felt good to get everything out, to someone who wouldn't judge you but also wasn't allowed to give too much of her opinion.

When you walked out, Ana wasn't there yet. So you just decided to sit and wait.

It took her around 10 minutes to show up.

"Hey. Have I made you wait for too long?"

"No, not at all. So do you want to go get some coffee? I'm out of practice today and you probably don't have many friends here yet."

"Your the one that looks like you could use a friend. Let's go. You drive, I don't have my license yet."

"First of all, ouch. Second of all, let's go. You'll be my passenger princess." - You said it excited.

Lena never really let you drive, you were always the passenger princess.

And you quickly tried to wisk the memory away.

You were both in comfortable silence in the car. Only the sound of Ana's music playing in the back. And yes you were forced to give her the rights to dj. Passenger princess' rule number 1.

You stop at your favorite place. It was never too crowded, which you were thankful for.

"I'll go order, what do you want?"

"Whatever your having, is fine."

After ordering and getting your coffees you go sit on a quiet corner.

"So, how are you adapting to Germany?"

"Oof- it's so fucking cold here. Not even in the coldest winters we get this temperature in Colombia."

"You'll get used to it after some time. A few jackets and coats and you're good."

"And you? Had a nice time in therapy?"

"Oh yeah. So much fun!" - you answered equally as ironic.

"I can tell by your puffy eyes.

I think today was my first time not crying in there."

"Must be hard. I've never had a bad injury. But it seems like the worse. Lena went through-" - you cut yourself off before you could say anything else. Your face dropped. Here you were again. Everything you think of, brought up Lena, one way or another.

"And Lena is-"

"My ex. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"It's fine. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." - but then you proceeded to dump everything that had happened into the conversation. - "It's just, my head is still trying to wrap around everything. She already has a new girlfriend. And I'm still dealing with my feelings.

She broke up with me, over the phone can you believe that? I never felt so meaningless, so betrayed. Our five month relationship thrown into the trash. All of that, because Munich is too far from Wolfsburg for her taste."

"Wow, you had a lot to say for someone that didn't want to talk about it." - she said that hoping it would easy the anxious face you had going on. - "It's okay. Time works differently for different people. You have the right to mourn your relationship.

Is that what has been driving you down?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't ready to see her. I'm still in love with her. I mean was. After what happened Saturday, I think it might be time to except it's over."

"You still had feelings for her? Even after what she did?"

"Yeah. I guess I was just hopeful. I felt like in some way things weren't over yet. I just- It just didn't make sense. Lena is not that type of person. She would never do that."

"But she did. Look, if she meant to hurt you or not, you'll probably never know. Unless you talk to her."

"I am not going to talk to her."

"Then you'll have to settle for the unknown."

"I think I will. Can we talk about your feelings now? I've humiliated my self enough."

"Fine. You were right when you said I needed friends." - she let out a deep breath. - "When I first got injured. I was very hard on myself. Specially after hearing the diagnosis and that I'd have to go under surgery. I stressed my self over when I shouldn't have.

I pushed everyone away.

The hardest thing, when we are hurting, is to remember others are most likely going through something too."

"But that's kind of natural I guess. To be so into your own head you forget about others. It's just- there is such a thin line between being compassionate towards people and putting their needs and feelings before yours. To be honest I've never been good at navigating though it either."

"Yeah, I've been getting better about it I think. Therapy has helped me understand a lot of things. The most important of them, I think it was acceptance.

I feel so much better since I accepted that I have no control over this type of things. I couldn't change it even if I wanted to. I just have to go through it. And soon enough I'll be back playing once again."

"It's good to know your coming out better from this one. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and sometimes it's for the better"

"It's getting late, we should get going."

"Yeah. I'll give you a ride home."

For the rest of the day all you could think about was what you two had talked about.

Maybe you could use some acceptance yourself. Of how things were, and not what you think they should be.

And stop worrying so much about what you had no control over.

That's how it works when you live right? Life happens.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Have you guys been wondering what's been like for Lena? Well next chapter is Lena's pov!

It's still an Obi fic I swear.

I think from this chapter on, it's finally going to be good writing. I wasn't liking how things the previous parts came out.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Phantom Grin

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Bruce Wayne visits his son's grave on the night of his resurrection. Will it change Jason's fate, or is it all simply inevitable?

Chapters: 5/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd is Disabled, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Resurrected Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

Chapter Five: Corrupted

Jason got to go home after his first month of rehab, and Bruce held his arm on the way up the steps. "Easy, the steps are slippery," Bruce warned. Jason looked around and waited for Bruce to open the door.

"Dad?" Jason whispered. Dad was much easier to say than Bruce, but Bruce was proud of how hard Jason worked in rehab. He wanted to celebrate how well Jason was doing, and he wanted Jason to eventually meet Tim and Cassandra. "Dad?" Jason asked again.

Bruce stopped and looked at him. "Yeah?" Bruce replied gently.

"Safe?" Jason asked. Bruce nodded.

"It's safe here. Jason," Bruce whispered. Jason let his hair loose, and he pulled at a few curls. Bruce smiled. He was so happy to have Jason home, he never even noticed the tight look of Jason's jaw or the bags under his eyes. Jason wanted things to go well. He wanted to come home, and he worried that he wouldn't be allowed to come back if he did anything wrong. He hadn't slept for most of the week in anticipation of his visit.

Bruce opened the door and led Jason upstairs to his bedroom. "This is where you used to sleep. I kept it pretty much the–." Jason pushed down on his mattress, and he looked in his closet. "Jason?"

"Mine?" Jason asked as he pulled a box from under his bed. Bruce furrowed his brows. "No?"

"I'm sure it is yours, but I've never seen that box before," Bruce replied. Jason opened the box, and he took each item out of the box and set it carefully on his bed.

Cassandra knocked on the door frame. "Are you Jason?" she asked. Jason nodded. "You found your gift?"

Jason smiled at her before reaching out to shake her hand. "Jason, this is Cassandra," Bruce introduced.

Bruce excused himself to let the two get acquainted. Jason held up the bag of candy, and Cassandra nodded. They sat on the floor together, eating candy. Jason immediately liked Cassandra. "I struggled before, too," Cassandra whispered. Jason cocked his head. "With talking..."

"Yeah?" Jason asked. That made him feel better. Cassandra nodded.

After they ate, Cassandra took Jason on a tour of the manor. She took him down the hall, and he stopped at the grandfather clock in the hallway. Cassandra whipped around and grabbed his hand. "It's old," Cassandra whispered as she dragged him along. Jason squeezed her hand. Cassandra let him hold onto her hand as she led him through the rest of the house. She wasn't supposed to let him in the cave.

Dick ran up the stairs to catch them. "Hi, Jason. Hi, Cassie," Dick whispered. Jason lit up. He hadn't seen Dick in weeks. Jason embraced Dick, nearly knocking him off of his feet. "Oof, I'm glad to see you too."

Jason laughed and smiled. "Dick," he said out loud. He wanted Dick to commend him and be as excited as he was. Dick messed up his hair.

"Time to go eat," Dick smiled. Jason looked at Cassandra. "Cassie's coming too. Come on."

They went to the dining room, where Bruce and Alfred stood, talking about something. Alfred excused himself to put lunch together. Jason sat near Bruce. Jason realized no one wanted to speak, and he swallowed hard. "Dad? 'S cold," Jason whispered. He didn't know what else to say.

"You want another sweater?" Bruce asked.

"No," Jason replied awkwardly.

Dick took a sip of water before saying, "He's talking about the weather... I remember you never really liked the cold," Dick whispered. Jason nodded.

"Not even when it snows?" Cassandra asked. Jason shook his head.

They talked about the weather for a few minutes, and Jason relaxed. Alfred served lunch, and they all talked comfortably and ate together. Jason finished eating, and he sat at the table until he couldn't keep his eyes open. "Jason... You okay?" Dick asked. Jason nodded and raised his shoulders in an attempt to wake himself up. "It's alright if you're tired, you know?" Dick reassured him.

Jason nodded. "I can take you back up to your room," Bruce offered, and Jason shook his head and hugged Bruce. He showered and changed into his pajamas before climbing into his bed. He drifted off and fell into a deep sleep.

Bruce came into the room and pulled Jason's blankets up. Jason made a soft noise and mumbled something in his sleep, turning over onto his other side. Dick stood in the doorway and frowned. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to snap at you when all that stuff happened last month. I was hurt because he was hurting, and my first instinct was to blame you," Dick apologized. Bruce stepped away from Jason and frowned.

"No, you were right. It was my fault. A lot of it was my fault. Jason needed a father. He desperately needed a father, and I should've put all my focus on being that. Instead, I made him into a weapon. I took all his pain and suffering, and I weaponized it when I really should've helped him work through it," Bruce whispered. Jason woke up, but he was careful not to make any noise. He just wanted to hear what they were talking about.

"You loved him. I know you did because his death broke you, and it still hurts you every time you look at him... It's not your fault. It's not his fault either," Dick took a deep breath and paused, "What are you gonna do?"

"I want him to live a normal life. I don't think I want him to remember being Robin," Bruce whispered.

Jason held his breath. Robin. That was one of his names. One of his lives. He tried to hold onto one of the many resurfacing memories that sped around in his head. He managed to remember begging his father not to hit him. From there, he pieced together that Bruce had to be the one that killed him. Panic set in, and he chewed his lip.

Jason knew then what he needed to do. He had to escape. He had to disappear.

[libraryofneith]

Out of Mind Chapter 1 (Joel Miller x Reader)

Chapter 2

This is my first The Last of Us fanfic : D This is based on the HBO show, not the video game - i don’t know how to video game. I’m also still getting to grips with how Tumblr works so if my fanfics don’t look as swish as some other fics do, bear that in mind. If you have any tips let me know! I’m also on AO3 under the same username and I tend to update that first. You can check out this fic and my others here.  

Summary:  You're a pickpocket trying to make a living in the Boston QZ, what happens when you cross two of the most dangerous smugglers in the city? 

Well if you've read any TLOU self-inserts, or any self inserts at all for that matter, you can probably guess : )This is probably gonna be a long one, we're talking some serious slow cooking here. But I promise you it will be worth it. There is gonna be some serious lemony goodness when it comes, like really really lemony, so look away ye minors or people of delicate sensibilities (no seriously i mean it).Until that comes we're gonna have it all - morally ambiguous characters, angst, more trauma than you can shake an hbo show at, hurt and comfort, maybe a little fluff if you ask nicely and so. much. pining!!!!!

Preview:  You were almost disappointed at how easy it had been. One cheeky smile, a suggestive lilt in the voice and that guy could barely tell his ass from his ear. So much for the Clint Eastwood of the Boston QZ.

Warnings/Tags: [18+ minors DNI], Boston QZ era Joel, Pre-Ellie, not Tess slander, reader and Tess are friends, slow burn, like really slow burn, slow roast cooker here, mutual pining, age gap - reader is 27 and Joel is 50, he’s my depiction of a fictional character and I’ll thirst if I want to, angst, hurt/comfort, trauma, attempts at healing, not everything about these characters and their relationships is healthy but it’s an apocalypse so sue me. 

Joel

Today was not a good day.

The sun was beating down unrelenting on Joel as he stalked through the streets of Boston trying to get as far away from the unconscious FEDRA soldier as humanly possible. Apparently that little shit thought that five ration cards for a bag of anti-depressants actually meant three ration cards and a gun in his face. The only thing Joel had taken away from that trade was the look on the guard's face when his fist connected with his jaw. At least he'd gotten the drugs back. If he'd come back to the apartment with ration cards and the stash gone Tess would've been pissed - or more pissed than she was already going to be. Maybe if he stopped by the courtyard he could trade with...

Oof!!!

Joel cursed as he crashed headlong into some stupid girl.

"Oh shit sorry."

He gave no response to her apology except a grunt.

"Oh... shit, sorry," she repeated, the words now laced with innuendo. "Wouldn't want to harm a hair on your lil' head." Who's that short-ass calling little'?

"Don't sweat it. Takes more than a bump to bring me down."

"Oo I bet it does." She was standing toe-to-toe with him now, eyes glinting, her hand stroking up and down his arm. "I wonder what it takes to bring you down." Her hand lingered and her smile threatened to draw him in and for a moment, he almost found himself leaning towards her. Then he snapped back to reality and brushed her off.

"Sorry. Not interested." Last thing he needed today was Tess giving him the cold shoulder all night. Still, he let his eyes follow her a little. She was too young for him by half but no harm in looking. Just looking. She wasn't unattractive, not unattractive at all. Like almost everyone in the QZ she looked like she'd seen better days but there was something in the way she walked, bounced almost, like she was ready to take on every fucker who tried her. And her eyes... shit. Her eyes had caught him staring. She flashed him another smile but he tore himself away, already burning her image out of his mind. A cold shower, a few pills, and a glass of whisky and it'd be gone.

"Took you long enough." Tess was already nursing a bottle when he got home.

"Hello to you too."

"What happened?" Joel sighed. He could never keep anything from her.

"Stupid fuckin' kid wouldn't pay up. Things turned ugly."

"You ok?"

"Yeah, but if that FEDRA bastard wakes up he's gonna have one hell of a headache." Tess grinned.

"So you got the stash back?"

"Yup. Gottit right he-" Tess's face fell and Joel's stomach sank as he pulled out a clear plastic bag filled with marbles, not pills.

"Joel what the fuck?!"

"Someone must've switched the bags."

"Without you noticing, how?"

"I don't know." His entire body was quivering with rage.

"Maybe it was that stupid FEDRA kid..."

"No. He's not that smart." The apartment was filled with a stony silence as he tracked back everything that had happened after the deal had gone south. He knew he had the bag after. Then he'd gone straight home, he hadn't seen or spoken to anyone after. Well, except...

"Oh." Then it dawned on him.

"What?"

"That fucker."

"What Joel. Who was it??"

He could picture her now. The glint in her eyes, that confident stride as she walked away from him, that smile, that damn smile.

"I'm gonna kill her."

---

You

You grinned as you examined the bag. One week's worth of happy pills. And after you met with Robert that bag would be seven ration cards.

You were almost disappointed at how easy it had been. One cheeky smile, a suggestive lilt in the voice and that guy could barely tell his ass from his ear. So much for the Clint Eastwood of the Boston QZ. You'd still have to lay low for the next few weeks until Tess and Joel gave up on finding you. From what you'd heard these people were not to be fucked with. Of course you had anyway but after tomorrow you'd be able to kick back and relax until your supplies ran out. Tiny Dancer blasted through your walkman as you laid back on your mattress surrounded by books, sweets, cigarettes and everything else that almost no one but you had.

Things were finally looking up.

Hope you enjoy, more to come. Like and reblog if you enjoyed, if you didn’t send it to your enemies.

[shortpplfedup]

Chapter 5: Wrong You in the Right Time

I feel like I say this every time, but what an episode. Revelatory in more ways than one, as we learn the story of Wen and Alan, Wen discovers that Li Ming is basically dating, and Heart's parents find out that Heart being deaf doesn't rule out teenage rebellion as a normal part of life. I ended up feeling really sorry for a lot of characters I haven't felt positively about up until now, the power of a good story!

Six years. Wen and Alan spent six years together, slowly souring. And when Wen at least got up to the point when he knew it was over, he still couldn't really end it. Man, staying in a post-breakup quasi-relationship because you still have a glimmer of hope is SO RELATABLE. When you feel like you've failed, the chance of redemption is awfully enticing. Plus, It's not so easy to untangle from somebody after six years together, even when you know the love has gone. Wen dithering for more than a year after the breakup, latching onto Alan's insistence that they can be friends, can still live together, out of guilt or grief or lack of momentum or whatever has been animating him, OOF. It's one thing to fall out of love, but that's why a clean break is always recommended. It's not fair to either party to enter this liminal space. A breakup of a long-term relationship is like a death; you need to mourn, you need to grieve. And you can't do that if you haven't laid things to rest. Maybe Wen wasn't technically cheating with Jim, but he was keeping one foot in both worlds, and that wasn't fair to either Jim or Alan. Him finally ending things properly with Alan, and leaving that condo felt like Wen growing up. Landing on Jim's doorstep though, and Jim taking him in...well we'll see.

I think the fact that there was no specific inciting incident for Wen and Alan and that things just went south over time is so instructive regarding how Wen views love vs. Jim. For Wen, you grab love where you find it and worry about the rest later. For Jim, it has to be right and things have to be clear, it can't be messy. When Jim said heartbreak in your twenties is different from heartbreak nearing forty, I'm here from the other side of 40 to tell you he is absolutely correct. Wen's 'If it doesn't hurt, it's not love' is such a young person's take, let me tell you. Not that every young person feels like that, simply that when you're young, your ability to bounce back from the hurt is so much stronger. When you get your heart broken in your thirties, you feel exhausted, like you just don't have it in you to try again. Easier to just enjoy the life you've built and close up shop, so to speak. Sex is still on the menu but it would take an extraordinary person coming into your life to make you want to get into a relationship again. Love is harder as you get older, that rings true to me at least, and you're warier of people who want to come into your life in that way.

From the time Heart and Li Ming started sneaking out, it was clear that something was going to go wrong eventually, that his parents would find out, and that everything was going to blow up. But this is actually good, this was necessary. Heart has been rotting in that house, turning everything inward, because his parents couldn't understand him even if he bothered to speak, and if they could they wouldn't listen. Watching Jintana helplessly turn to Li Ming pleading for him to tell her what Heart was saying HURT. I think in that moment she finally realises what she's done, how she and Supoch failed Heart. The timing of Heart losing his hearing is so interesting, because it lines up with those years when kids are becoming independent young adults and parents are supposed to be learning how to balance that burgeoning independence with their kids' safety and well-being. That all got stunted with Heart, it's like to his parents he didn't just go deaf he also stopped growing up. They infantilised him, they thought, to protect him, but all it caused was resentment and rebellion. And then on top of that, to not even learn his primary method of communication; you could see how it hit Jintana that Li Ming could talk to Heart and understand him when she just...couldn't. Jintana and Supoch suddenly realised what their family looked like from the outside. When Li Ming went after Heart, nobody tried to stop him, and that spoke volumes to me.

God this SHOW!

Side Dishes

Next episode looks like Jim realises the nature of Heart and Li Ming's relationship and I'm so ready to get into this! Whether Jim knows Li Ming is gay and how he feels about it has been probably the number one simmering pot of this story for me.

Li Ming basically intimating to Jim that he's cool with Wen if Jim wants to pursue that was really cute. The independent big-brother relationship he's built with Wen has been really lovely.

Similarly, Wen instantly recognising that Heart is more than just a friend to Li Ming, and just smiling watching them being cute kids in love was fun.

Li Ming getting Heart a job 🤣😭 my feels!

That moment in the middle of the argument at Heart's house when Heart turns to Li Ming to ask him what's going on because everybody is talking around him and nobody is talking to him was just...ugh.

This past year I've watched First play slutty, and I've watched First play repressed, and now I've now watched First play bitchy, and he's nailed every single one.

[thousand-winters]

Darius for the ask thing.

Hey there!!! 💖

How I feel about this character

I LOVE HIM SO DAMN MUCH. HE'S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND THE LIGHT OF MY DAYS. HE SINGLE HANDEDLY HEALED MY DEPRESSION AND-

Okay, that's not it but I truly get such fuzzy feelings whenever I see art of him, I adore him.

He's SUCH a good character with SO much potential and I think it's a huge shame that most of that was left implied and couldn't be explored in the show itself. On the other hand, the fact they actually implied it and we're left with a lot of implications about who he is and his past makes him particularly interesting and fun to delve into because while part of it has to be speculation, there IS basis for it! Which is my favorite way to speculate, when I have basis for it, and as such, Darius is a gold mine.

His design is 10/10, he was catching eyes as soon as he appeared and I love that for him. His voice? Excellent, I love how he's lowkey bitchy half the time, he's everything in this world. And gods, he truly is such a "wants to pretend he doesn't give a damn but unfortunately for him, he gives so many damns" kind of character, they made him in a lab for people with good taste to obsess over /lh

I feel like I could talk hours about him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I don't really ship him with anybody, honestly. I tend to find some posts with him and Alador sort of funny but I think the situation there with their strained and broken friendship is far more complicated than people give it credit for, plus a lot of people just treat Darius in that ship as the arm candy Alador gains by realizing his mistakes which is... oof.

I don't actively ship it but I think Dariraine and Dariraeda is quite sweet. I find too that people who ship those tend to care more about Darius as a character and not as just a trophy so I like those far more. Darimila is similarly cute, though since that one is a lot of the time motivated by the idea of making Luz and Hunter siblings, I'm more meh about it.

One thing about me is I'm not immune to cute fanart but I don't necessarily ship the stuff in question akshfjkdsg

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Oh, this one is hard because I like his dynamic with SO many characters. The familiar relationship with Hunter is great and at this point it's probably too obvious what my stance is on that. Now... HE'S SO FUN WITH RAINE. And there's SO much in his dynamic with Eberwolf as well.

But then we can start tapping into other potential dynamics and... Eda? They're both cut from the same cloth, they're so interesting together. Lilith! Now that one is more complicated since they evidently weren't close at all through all of those coven years but I like to think about them. Favorite bias.

I think to give a non too vague answer, I would go with the Rebel Trio because they're so good. Post HM fics were peak with the three of them + Hunter, SO much fun.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Technically not unpopular around the circles that actually care about him as a character instead of talking shit about him because it's easy, but since the hate for him hasn't stopped even now...

I think one of his main character traits is that he's caring. You can see how driven by emotions he is; I'll never tire of pointing out how he loses it when he thinks Eberwolf and Hunter are in danger, and those are two separate scenes despite how little screentime he gets. He cares SO much and it can momentarily put his logic out of commission. He's not cold or abusive or mean for no reason. He picks up Luz nonchalantly and makes a little snippy comment but he doesn't throw her around or anything, he sets her down gently. He rescues the Emerald Entrails when he doesn't even know them and could perfectly turn a blind eye to that. He's a rebel, for gods' sake. He wouldn't be if he didn't care about others, and it's not only his loved ones.

This is a terribly kind man. That he's not super open and claiming out loud how much he cares doesn't mean he isn't, it just means people have failed at media literacy.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Oh, my gods. So. Much.

I wish he had more screentime, for one. I wish we'd had his relationship with Hunter develop onscreen rather than through little hints, because while that work, so many people like to pretend that didn't happen. I WISH we'd had more Rebel Trio screentime because that would have been so fun. I wish we had seen more about his grief about his mentor, because Any Sport in a Storm alone shows you just how much he hasn't gotten over that and it's been more than 10 years since his death??? My man is Not Looking at his grief. He's not acknowledging it. Darius, please...

In general, more screentime would have been so good for people to stop misunderstanding him so badly, or at the very least it would make easier to say to prove them wrong without them being "well, the characters didn't look at the screen and spelled it out for me, so it didn't happen 🙄"

From this ask game

[incomingalbatross]

Finished my first week (I don't go in on Fridays) of Commute Listening! (Plus a day technically because I did have to go in last Saturday.)

Here's the summary of the undertaking so far...and of just how much car/public transit time I've logged:

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 My beloveds--the only classical music that IS for sure on my faves list, because in the period when I had a CD player in my bedroom and about three CDs, these were two of them. Still not sure how well I could identify them, but I recognized them once they started playing and greatly enjoyed them.

Artifexian podcast ep 1. Interesting! All about worldbuilding. Just far enough removed from my own interests (yes I love fantasy, no I don't enjoy worldbuilding, it took me years to process that) that I can listen as, like, a spectator, but also listening to two people who do love worldbuilding makes me feel more positive about it. Like the energy.

Several Masses by Haydn (St. Cecilia, Mass in B flat, Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin). Beautiful, obviously, but... did not grab me. Might just be that Masses and commuting are not the right combination. Might be my chant-inclined mind going "you're drawing out the words too much." Idk.

Art of Manliness ep 1, about Easy Company. INteresting and informative—a window into a subject I wouldn't have sought out on my own.

Out Alive ep 1. About a skier buried in an avalanche! Again, not something I would have sought out myself, but hearing the skier and the other people involved talk about the impact of a crisis situation and near-death experience, without any polish or dramatization... oof. Really interesting.

Reply All Billed as a "podcast about the internet," the first ep was about a social situation enabled by the internet. Also interesting as a window into someone else's personal experience that I don't think you'd quite get in any other medium than this unpolished interview format. This time about relationships instead of death, though.

In the Wind (album) by Peter, Paul and Mary. Branching aside from classical for some folk, since I was in the headspace for something between podcasts and instrumentals. Good! I recognized several of the songs but definitely not all. They also reminded me of several other country and folk artists I could listen to if I want to keep going down that road, in addition to listening to more of their work.

Vivaldi Concertos for Diverse Instruments GOOD. I loved these! They got stuck in my head afterward! Definitely want to try more Vivaldi. Also reinforcing my theory that any kind of music is good music if it involves violins going wild.

Mozart Violin Concertos 3-5 ALSO very very good. And I think I could hear the cleaner/plainer sound of Mozart as opposed to the baroque I'd just been listening to.

My Writing Sucks podcast ep 1, in which an author lovingly roasts her 14-year-old self's writing. Very fun. Endearing. Kinda makes me want to pull out my oldest, worst writing and approach it from an outside perspective, which I think would be Growth if my fragile ego could actually follow through on that. :P Maybe after a few more episodes of this.

Pints With Aquinas episode 1. This is an introductory episode giving background on Aquinas, as opposed to later episodes which will have more actual theology. Already good, though. Little harder for me to stay focused than some of the more fun ones, but I'll be coming back.

Classics for Kids Short and educational segment about classical music. Definitely told me things I don't know! A little short and a little flat in delivery for my needs, but good stuff.

Stuff You Missed in History Class ep 1. Interesting, but same issue as the above—it was just short. I need to check if episode length varies, and if they're all short I might load up six or so at once to give it a better trial. It was interesting but I couldn't get much flavor from one segment.

In conclusion, this project is definitely a success so far. I've been enjoying my commutes even when there's traffic, and I feel like I'm taking in things that I enjoy and are constructive in some way! It's fun for me. And I have a bunch of podcasts in store for next week that I haven't even touched yet.

[notenderhands]

would Medraut be able to kill Morgause if Lleu's life depended on it?

oof yes. I think if he had to do it to save Lleu he could. I do think however, that it would break him. Not in the same way and not to the same degree that Lleu's death would. I do not think it would cause a complete psychological breakdown that Lleu's death most definitely would. But, I don't think he would handle it well. He might begrudge Lleu because of it. Morgause, for all her evil and cruelty, is still his mother and his lover. She hurt him, groomed him, and so created an attachment and devotion that Medraut still struggled with even at the end of TWP. I think Medraut will still be that child who wonders why this woman hurts him like this and how can he win her love and approval. You don't just shake off such a relationship as Medraut and Morgause's so easily. I think killing Morgause would hurt him and it wouldn't be easy for him to handle, but I do think he would pick Lleu over her.

[echantedtoon]

What's everyone's love language in Db?

Oh boy I was waiting for this one! These are both a mix of their love languages and what love languages they would prefer from Y/n.

Akaza: Words of affirmation and Quality time with a bit of acts of service

This man here! He will treat you like the most precious thing in his life. He's always praising your accomplishments and telling you how much you mean to him and how much you bring joy to his life. He's always pretty busy with his Kizuki work so whenever you do get time together he's always making sure to tell you how much he loves you. If not that he always values what little time you both spend together whether it's him helping to train you or just sharing a lunch. From time to time he'll even do things for you he might think you'll appreciate such as offering to help clean.

Douma: Physical touch mostly

Oof. Douma has always been one to just 'show affection' by just hugging or wrapping an arm around someone's shoulders(*cough cough* Akaza*cough*), so once he experiences true emotions with you be prepared for hour long cuddly sessions and him having at least some kind of contact at all times. A hand on the shoulder, holding hands, hugs, kisses, or just cuddling. He wants the warmth you give to his cold body.

Kokushibo: Quality time mostly

Let me start by saying that he is not an easy person to get to open up. The more time you spend with him having patience and waiting for him to open up in his own time, the more he'll come to love and appreciate that part of your relationship. He's not a man of many words or touch but the time you spend just talking or spending time willingly with him with no judgement speaks volumes to him.

Gyutaro: Words of affirmation and Quality time with physical touch but not until much later in the relationship

This man hasn't had much love in his life before you with the exception of Daki and partially Douma. He's only really comfortable with physical affection with her and he'll tolerate Douma's habits out of respect for him but that's about it. So when you come around him (and once he's comfortable and sure with himself you're serious about liking him) he prefers to hear how nice you find things about him: I.E. how strong he is, how well he cares for Daki, etc. Or he'll prefer to just spend time with someone who won't run away from him or look at him in disgust. It'll take time but once he's ready he'll love it if you kiss his face and hands and hold his face in your hands. He won't admit it but he loves when you hold him in your arms.

Sekido: Gift giving

Look at this man and tell me he wouldn't do this. Sekido does love you. He really does but is too...Sekido to say or do much about it. He's actually very self conscious deep down knowing he can't just easily say 'i love you' or just bring himself to hug you outside of privacy and even then he struggles to say anything. So the one way he knows how to express himself clearly is by giving you gifts he feels are personally for you or himself. A candy you mentioned wanting to try, he remembered and gets you it the next day. Your favorite flowers? He gets them for you every Sunday. He keeps any and all gifts you give him locked in a safe place away from his brothers and cherishes them.

Aizetsu: Words of affirmation with a mix of quality time and physical touch

He's the most self conscious of the quadruplets and isn't used to being praised so he's always working for your approval. Any compliments or praises help boost his love for you and assure him that you love him. He knows he's not as outgoing as Karaku/Urogi or as outspoken as Sekido so you choosing to spend time with him, hug him, or literally do ANYTHING with him will make him over the moon happy. He'll happily hold your hand and cuddle with you for as long as you'll have him.

Karaku: Physical touch and words of affirmation

You can't tell me this man wouldn't praise you to the moon and back. He's always telling everyone about how beautiful he thinks you are, always having an arm slung around you, PDA of some kind, and complimenting you on anything you do. He can sometimes cross the line if he says some innuendos or jokes in bad taste but he'll back peddle and apologize if you ask. Loves to pick you up and spin you around when hugging you

Urogi: Physical touch and words of affirmation

Much like Karaku he'll praise you to the heavens and back. He'll tell you how pretty you are and make flustered bird noises the more you praise him. He's a bit self conscious about his talons and is always careful when interacting with you because of that so he loves it when you kiss his hands and tell him that it's ok. Legit cried at one point because of that. He also enjoys when you help preen his wings and dislodged uncomfortable loose feathers he can't grip or reach.

Enmu: Physical touch mostly

Not a big surprise this guy would be all over you. He loves any and all physical contact you give him. Give him a pat on the head and he'll giggle. Let him cuddle with you and he's purring. Kiss him and coo about how pretty he is and he'll beg you to hug him tightly. He ADORES it when you're able to lift him up and hold him. It makes him feel safe and secure. This man will swoon over anything you do. He's weak for you.

Kaigaku: Gift giving and acts of service

Much like Sekido Kaigaku isn't really good with words or PDA in public. The most he'll do is let you hold his arm as you walk together. He does care about you but growing up without anyone showing him love so it's a foreign feeling to him. The best way he knows how to express himself without sounding 'weak' is to gift you things. A kimono he thought you'd look nice in, a book you mentioned that you liked, a matching magatama charm, etc. Lots of men give their wives gifts so he takes it up on himself to not be out beaten by them. He'll also do things for you(not that he'd admit it). He likes it when you thank him for getting something off the shelf out of when he'll do things for you when you weren't expecting. Please praise him. That's all he wants.

Kyogai: Quality time and words of affirmation with a bit of gift giving.

He's not used to being praised with his family always telling him his talents weren't very good. He would love nothing more than to hear you say you like his writing. He'll cry in happiness if you ask him to read to you or if you want to read to him. He loves just spending time with you either talking about literature or maybe he'll even play one of his drums for you. This man's a writer! He can and WILL write you love poems and recite them for you albeit nervously. He'll gift you copies of your favorite stories or books. Or completely new ones he wrote just for you. He just loves how you're patient enough to read and offer constructive criticism on his books. It means the world to him.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Hello again! It's dragonfly anon here! And after reading more about Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's relationship, I ccouldn't help but notice that their relationship is pretty much what me and a friend of mine had going on for 3 years until I eventually decided to cut ties with her.

I was Wei Wuxian in this scenario, and, by the heavens do I understand his feelings more than ever. Where you are the only person who gives and gives more of yourself just to please others until eventually you are nothing more than an emotional slave, being tied to whatever genuine feelings you once had for the person that now tries to keep you in a leash, living in a perfect fantasy to suit their needs.

Much like Jiang Cheng, this friend of mine was only ever satisfied when i did things her way, and if i was better than her, or didn't reach her expectations, I was suddendly the one in the wrong. I couldn't have more friends, otherwise i was picking others over her, I couldn't do better in classes, because then I was shaming her, and oh boy dare I like someone romantically.

This is kind of a vent but also just me understanding Wei Wuxian more than ever and just being happy that he also got to be free. Specially with someone who loves and is the to support him like Lan Wangji!

I still haven't found my own Lan Zhan, but I have time and I have new friends and my family to support me, but I still wanted to share this little piece here because as someone who was in a similiar situation to Wei wuxian, it pains me to see people belittle his feelings over Jiang Cheng. I don't really mind if people create AU's and such, these are fictional characters after all, but when talking about canon JC as if WWX was in the wrong? People gotta be ready to catch my fucking fists because I'm coming for them, no one hurts my son in my presence.

But yeah your post yesterday was also a very enlightening and I truly had to lay down and have my onw "Oh" moment because, oof it hit right in the feels. Anyways love you and your posts and they always bring me so much joy! (Tho I have to read SVSSS now to help fend off your blog against nasty haters, gonna start my research soon!)

Dragonfly out! - 🐉🦋

I am very happy about this, Dragonfly!

I do think what keeps Mo Dao Zu Shi so great as a reread over and over is because it has such a great underlying social commentary through it's characters on very human relationships and how none of those can really be neatly tied up for endings. I do see how those ends can be lackluster, since the end of a fall out of an extremely bad relationship is not supposed to always be cathartic. Sometimes you just have to move on yourself and live even if they're stuck in the past.

I do think Wei Wuxian is an amazingly written literary character, he wouldn't be as magnetic in fandom if it wasn't for how well written he is as a protagonist. The work meticulously works it's way through to show, that whatever mistakes that yes, Wei Wuxian may have made, he learned and grew from that and became more world aware without letting that jade his optimism for people. It takes a lot of strength to go through hell and still say you want others, and yourself, to remember the happy times over the hard. His mistakes and regrets are there, but he doesn't let them keep him from being levelheaded or realistic about the world he is in.

Vindication is very easy to feel, but he is just not that type of character to try to attempt that through by the end.

I'm glad my posts keep you entertained! For as moody and sarcastic as I can be, I try to let that be the crux of what I post here without the filters of fandom lenses. Fandom is fun to explore the what if's for! But maybe I'm a little bit old school and like to separate it from the canon of the texts and what we are given to actually decipher from that. As writers say plenty of times, sometimes don't think too much about a certain part since it's not the part meant to be focused on for the themes.

[dragonologist-phd]

DA Ask with your lovely lady Aeducan: Essentials 7, Life 6, Party 4, Codex 4, DAO specific 12

thank you!! Putting a cut here because when I talk about Marja it gets long lol:

7. How do they dress in their downtime, while fighting, in formal settings, etc.?

For battle, Marja wears heavy armor- it's dwarven-crafted Aeducan armor, but of course she switches it out for Grey Warden Armor after her exile. That one's easy, as she doesn't switch it up much

For formalwear, Marja had her share of elaborate dresses back in Orzammar, her favorites of which were in gold and dark red. She took pride in her appearance, and liked to braid her hair up in elaborate styles to with it. These days, she doesn't have to get dressed up as much...which is actually kind of a relief, in a way. She ends up cutting her hair and keeping it short, and she doesn't really miss having to spend hours perfecting her appearance in order to garner respect

Related to that, her casual wear once she's a Warden is pretty simple. She's not used to dressing casual, and it's kind of novel just to wear plain shirts and trousers!

6. Which aspects of the culture they were born into holds the most significance for them?

Answered here!

4. Are there any companions (or advisors) they don’t get along with? Have any of them ever left the party?

None have ever left the party, but she does hit some obstacles with Zevran. She just really doesn't like assassins, and has a hard time trusting. She wouldn't have recruited him at all if Darvis (and Alistair, in a way) hadn't pushed for it.

Their relationship gets a bit better over time, and they earn each others' trust, but even so they're not exactly great friends

4. How do they feel about the Fade, spirits, and demons?

Hates them. The Fade was really bad for her, and it annoys her that a lot of magic lore that's common knowledge on the surface is stuff that she's never learned about, so she just wants nothing to do with it!

12. How did they react to seeing a loved one at the Temple of Sacred Ashes?

Oof, yeah that messed her up a bit...but not really in the way it messed up my other Wardens. Because Marja saw Trian, and...Trian's not really a loved one for her. She and Trian hated each other. She was way more angry about Bhelen did to her than what he did to Trian.

And that realization hits her kind of hard in that moment. She knows it's not really him, as she doesn't believe any of the Andraste stuff and believes the magic is just pulling stuff out of her head. But it does unearth this huge sense of guilt, because how can she call herself a good person if she doesn't even care that her own brother was murdered? She tries to repress it, but it does contribute to her started to question a lot of her own motives when she goes back to Orzammar

[soft4gguk]

I don’t think JK has thought this beach house weekend all the way through. Like what is his plan? Treat her like the nanny the entire time then crawl into her bed at night? I’m a little angry at him for even putting her in this situation. I think his thoughts are mostly marred with Soori’s happiness. It makes me wonder if he’s in love with the idea of Soori finding comfort in OC but can’t think of his growing affection of OC outside of Soori’s connection with OC.

I also caught on Lucy’s “he’s bringing the kid” comment. He hasn’t taken her out on an actual date if my memory serves me well. I believe he cooked for her in his home, but I don’t recall if they’ve ever been out out on a public date. I think he lost what it means to take it slow. He wants all the things associated with a relationship ASAP but is going at a snail’s pace at facing his demons head on.

With JK’s oblivious nature when it comes to flirtatious women , I guarantee you that a woman as beautiful as Ira must’ve felt so insecure. All a woman wants is what Rihanna sings about “make me feel like the only girl in the world”… I’m afraid JK may have lost in that department and he’s going down that same path again. I wonder if Ira decided to leave as a test to see if he would chase after her — perhaps even call her a million times. I don’t blame him for the “no contact” but I wonder if a part of her was expecting him to beg so she can come back home.

bestie is it u???????????? I feel like its u!!!! if its not u ilu sorry for mistaking u for someone else <3

oof. so much to unpack. let me start from the beginning!

yeah, you're right. I don't think he thought things through and it's probably because he's not seeing it... he's not getting it. I mean, to him, everything's fine. they're on their regular schedule - maybe a little busier than usual bc of this deal thing but nonetheless, in his mind everything is fine. so yeah, he probably does think that lol. also what you said about his thoughts being marred to Soori's happiness is so smart, I can't. (that's what made me think it was u lol) and honestly, I don't know what to respond to that... are they? not even out of not giving spoilers, I think I genuinely have to explore this before I can bring it into the story. thank you for that, tbh. that's such an interesting point to elaborate on.

omg!!! yeah, you're right! he has not taken her on a date yet, that's insane. I mean... that's not even justifiable over the fact they haven't been together for that long. OMG HE'S DOING EVERYTHING WRONG! and yes, I get so much is complicated but a date???? shouldn't that be easy???? idk. and yeah, I mean, his last relationship bared an actual child, so I get if he's a bit out of the loop on how the pace of things should be but still... :/

okay so, I loved your insight on ira and any insecurities they might've faced, and I can't believe I'm saying this but this is wrong! and that's why I wanted to include that bit of oc googling her during the last chapter, because their relationship was genuinely picture perfect. that's why in a way, jungkook was so incredulous and confused when she left. even if things hadn't been doing so well with her becoming a mom and all of that. he genuinely believed they were gonna work through it. they loved each other a lot 😭 also!!! I know I am depicting him in an awful light but he is a good man. he's not a fuckboy!!! like yeah he's been with his fair share of girls when he was younger but he's a nice, respectful boy I promise 😭 just a little dumb LMAO. also!!! I feel like I wouldn't say he has a flirtatious nature because he's a flirt, more so because he's charming. hehe.

omg, you never miss. I love answering these. ilu <3

[zuckarr]

I'm not sorry, but I just love asking you shit. Please answer everything from this post bye-: https://www.tumblr.com/zuckarr/717336721774231552?source=share

Asks that make you think

(thank you so much for wanting to ask me this many things, ily)

What would you do with $3 million?

I guess it's easy to go with the quickest answer, which is probably something like buying my own place, all of the knick knacks I've always wanted, lots of new clothes, expensive gifts for friends and family, etc... but I was never wealthy, so I doubt I'd go on a spending spree so easily. I feel guilty if I spend more than £20 on grocery shopping, so how could I even fathom having that absurd amount of money in my hands? I suppose I would try my best to see it as an investment and I would likely overthink what to do with it. I would also gradually get terrified of being robbed, which wouldn't be nice at all, and maybe would also tamper with my actions. Honestly, the more I think about it, the worse it feels. At the end of the day, I really can't say for sure what I'd do with $3 million.

What superpower would you want? Why?

Oof, I answered this already somewhere, but I can't bother going through all of my asks to find it. The superpower I would want is either the power of flight or the power to pause time. I love the idea of flying, and I feel like pausing time would help me regain control of myself in a lot of situations.

Where would you go if you could time travel?

I'm sure I answered this in the past, as well. Uh... maybe I would go back to my childhood and observe myself and all that happened to me. It would surely give me way more insight than I could ever imagine.

Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

A part of me believes in everything supernatural. I can't deny that I wish for many fantasy creatures to be real. Another part of me is realistic and rational instead, and is constantly in conflict with the first. Maybe, in a way, I need to believe in fantasy because fantasizing has kept me going for years. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have my imagination, my stories, my favourite creatures. Even if none of it is real, I owe fantasy that much. Short answer is yes, I believe in ghosts because they're part of a world that means a lot to me.

What color represents you and why?

I loved yellow as a child. I remember teachers telling me not to use yellow because it was hard to see on white paper, so I always used it to spite them lol. My appreciation for yellow evolved into my current love for all pastel colors. I love sunrise colors more than any other, because they calm me and bring me joy.

Three wishes, go!

... Nah, that's too fast and I would fuck it up haha!

You are a baby again but contain all your current knowledge. What do you do?

Oh my lord, what I wouldn't do. I'd definitely take so much more care of my body and what I eat. I wouldn't leave school and study properly. I wouldn't let anyone bully me. I would build my relationships in different ways and maybe also with different people. I'd probably choose different paths in my life. I would spend a lot of time away from my family. I would save money and not spend it on ex friends who never deserved it. I would celebrate my own birthdays in much better ways. I would cherish my dog and all of my other pets even more, and spend so much more time with them. Etc.

Trolley problem: how do you answer it?

I had to google what that is haha! I quote wikipedia: "The trolley problem is an ethical dilemma that presents the choice of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number. It usually begins with a scenario in which a runaway tram or trolley is on course to collide with and kill a number of people (traditionally five) down the track, but a driver or bystander can intervene and divert the vehicle to kill just one person on a different track."

I think there is no way to answer this. The only way I'd know what I would do is if I was in that situation for real. I can only say that I've always thought that society is made of individuals, and that it's important to take care of the individuals in order to take care of society. Sacrificing one person, or five people doesn't change anything - you are still sacrificing individual lives, therefore you are hurting society. However, humans are biased and I would definitely choose someone who's dear to me over a stranger.

What’s your dream house?

A cottage or bungalow with a thatch roof in a rural area, surrounded by woods and meadows.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Working on a contract, I hope? And maybe in a better place mentally and financially.

What makes a word a good or nice word?

The way it's pronounced, the facial expression that accompanies it, the right timing, and of course the choice of words according to what the person needs to hear.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Vegan cheese?? It's incredibly good my god, we have flawless plant based alternatives nowadays! I think everybody should try the Violife brand at least once, if possible!

What’s something you have that makes you nostalgic?

My horsie plush. His name is Nido and I've had him since I was 15. I used to carry it around and people gave me such weird looks because they didn't understand how could a teenager hold a plushie so lovingly like a child. I stopped carrying it around, but I still love him the same. He's my comfort plush, my wonderful, cuddly baby horsie. ❤️

If you were invisible what would you do?

I kinda like the idea of observing people when they're alone. It would be fun. I do lots of weird and funny shit when I'm alone.

What would you do in a zombie apocalypse?

I would essentially just die haha, I really can't see myself being cautious enough, or smart enough to survive.