#personal headcanon that his articulation doesn’t allow for such expressive faces

[pyrobuyo]

Group pic !! (Bowser's taking the photo)

Geno's not rlly photogenic like Mario n friends

inspo:

[outofangband]

Maedhros at the Palace at Alqualondë, Part Two

Previous Part

Next AU masterlist + explanation Other masterlists

CW: abuse of power, gaslighting

Fun fact! This AU was originally going to be about Thingol! It’s different enough that I might still write it actually, I’ll make a longer post about it soon

I used formal but modern grammar here for the most part (exceptions are intentional) to indicate the difference between elven and Valarin dialects when translated into English. I’ll go into more about this later, it’s kind of hard to explain but I hope this is ok and that the language is in character enough.

Random clarification: The exact age difference between different members of the house of Finwë actually differs throughout Tolkien’s notes and there aren’t really a lot of clear answers. I do personally headcanon that Maedhros is younger than all of Finwë’s children although he is not much younger than Írimë and Arafinwë who were still children when he was born.  

I’m slowly writing something in chronological order but I’m taking requests for short pieces from anywhere in the timeline

One night’s lost sleep should not cause noticeable distress among the highborn elves but Nelyafinwë (the name still brought a twinge of distaste to his lips, even now) looked to be in poor condition at the early hour Arafinwë entered the room he had left him in. Eyes were widened, hair askew as he twisted around to look at his visitor.

“I hope you did not spent the night struggling against these, Russandol,” Arafinwë says calmly, moving forward to examine the restraints, debating whether or not to remove the leather from his nephew’s mouth. The younger elf tensed visibly as his fingers moved towards the straps on his face.

“I mean this for your own sake, of course. No harm will come to you here. There was no need to remain in such a state of agitation.” Despite his calm and even tone there is no denying that his words are almost mockingly empty; Nelyafinwë is naked, strapped down, completely vulnerable and Arafinwë knows perfectly well how much the younger elf detests this so vividly and why.

“I will remove these now, provided you remain calm.” Nelyafinwë doesn’t look anything resembling calm but Arafinwë moves to undo the straps around his head, carefully pulling the leather piece from his mouth.

He pants softly for several minutes as the other straps were removed. When his limbs were freed, he sat up, knees pulled to his chest in an attempt to cover himself. The look he gave Arafinwë was a deeply uncertain one. There was no avert animosity to it but the elf king was nevertheless cautious as he moved around the bed as though he might be sprang upon at any moment. Nelyafinwë’s eyes did not leave him as he walked to the cabinets and removed a sheet. His pace was slow, deliberate as he stepped back into plain view and offered it out to his guest.

“I will retrieve your clothes from the guards later today, Russandol. In the meantime you may use this.”

A small gesture of acknowledgment as he pulled the sheet around himself. Arafinwë wondered if Nelyafinwë was aware of how poorly he hid his apprehension. He wondered too if his half nephew would trust in it or simply dismiss it as paranoia caused by the traumas of the past.

“Thank you, Lord Arafinwë,” Nelyo says curtly once he has settled his arms in front of him again.

The king nods in response before walking over to the small table by the door and returning with a glass of a breakfast juice, something like a thin smile playing on his lips as Russandol eyes it.

…

It should have taken a bit longer for the effects to take hold, perhaps he had been too heavy handed with the mixture.

Arafinwë takes the glass before the younger elf’s grip becomes too unsteady. Nelyafinwë’s eyes appear rather blurry and unfocused but he’s still lucid enough to be angry.

“You had no right to..” he stumbles on a word and Arafinwë coolly cuts him off.

“No right to ensure the safety of my subjects when I am housing a kinslayer, however temporarily?” The look Nelyafinwë gives him might be described as dour but he does not, or perhaps cannot retort.

“Besides,” Arafinwë continues smoothly, “I was under the impression that being held in restraints brought back unpleasant memories. Is this not a reasonable alternative?” He searches his half nephew’s face; a blink that might have been a prelude to an argument had he been more able to articulate,

“I have read the reports of the healers who initially treated thee following thy rescue from the Iron Prisons. I know of thy tendency to lash out should you receive enough provocation.” He was given another blink, the expression clearly impudent but there was nothing Nelyafinwë could do to argue so Arafinwë went on, his face closer to the other’s now, his voice softer, “You are not the only one to return from the clutches of the Dark Foe with the disposition of a wounded animal but I would not be remiss in saying that you are one of the most dangerous cases. Both because of thy previous actions and because of the rather…unique connection that you shared with Him.”

This brought a reaction. Nelyafinwë actually made an almost convulsive gesture with both arms as though attempting to throw himself up and off the bed.

“None of that, now,” Arafinwë chides softly, pushing him back with minimal force, “But really, Russandol. This was precisely what I spoke of.” Arafinwë eases him down again on the bed, allowing him to keep his sheet to cover himself. Nudity was not typically a source of shame among the Eldar but the Fëanorian became so agitated with his clothes taken. And he could not afford for Nelyafinwë to become so agitated. Yet.

Nelyafinwë can’t see it, he can barely keep his eyes open but there is the slightest hint of satisfaction on the king’s face as he stood and turned to leave.

Author’s note: I should add here that Arafinwë actually knows a decent amount about Maedhros’s trauma in Angband. He’s seen the healer’s reports including Nolofinwë’s wife’s private journals. I headcanon that Anairë is a healer and after the events of Silm she becomes very good at treating survivors of torture and long term injuries from their experiences on Arda. Arafinwë asks her to borrow her notes on a different case and she agrees, trusting him to not look through the private parts of her journal. But he does read them. They contain not only her own observations but very personal details of Maedhros’s torture that he had confided in Nolofinwë. Ara also has information from what his own son has confided in him.

Tag list: @elarinya-nailo @iwenttomordor @mozart-the-meerkitten @tears-and-lilies @oswaldinator3000 @much-ado-about-whumping

[hangekitty]

hey!!💞 could we get some dating nile hcs? thank you!💞💞

Nile headcanons? Absolutely!

Dating Nile Headcanons

Genre: fluff, a little bit of smut, 18+

Warnings: sex, groping, oral, age gap

Universe: canonverse

A/N: I spoke to hanni-sugar and she specified that this is a f!reader and wanted mostly fluff! I hope you like it 🌸 Listened to ‘On a Clear Day’ by Joe Hisaishi (the Kiki’s Delivery Service) on loop whilst writing this, I know its random but it just kinda feels right haha. I have a lot of love for Nile so don’t mind me. Credit to @sweetfaun for her input 😌

SFW

Just to add a little bit of back story because (why not): It’s been a couple of years since Nile’s divorce with Marie, they split on mutual terms and often find themselves enjoying each other’s company more so as friends. This fortunately means that Nile has no problems in being able to see his daughters whenever work lets him.

This also means that Nile is single and ready to start anew, no more dating and only focusing on his career; that was until you were in the picture

You are the daughter of a black smith, the very one which works with the blades that the Military use for the ODM gear. Due to this partnership, its the commander’s obligation to visit and inspect the storehouse; to see the quality of the blades, any developments and to keep a good relationship with the military’s suppliers.

Commander Nile paid a visit to your storehouse and when he laid eyes on you, he had felt a familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach. Your father was in the back, working on some blades and you were in the front of the house, where you met the handsome (and nervous) Nile Dok.

To cut to the chase, it was you who propositioned him first, you can imagine how shocked he was at your confidence. You had dated for a couple of months until the both of you had your first kiss; and there we are with those butterflies again!

He is a little traditional, and asks for your fathers blessing to be able to court you; your father was hesitant at first but eventually gave his consent - not that it mattered, you are headstrong and would have done it with or without your fathers permission.

Not going to lie, your father was secretly happy though because Nile is an honourable commander of the military police, basically securing your future; he especially loves to see you happy so its a win win.

Back on track to the dating!!!

This man loves to be touched and to touch! His love language is being able to have his hand(s) on you at any point you’re in the room

Whether this is hand holding, keeping his hand on your back or waist, head pats, hand on your thigh (my guy LOVES your thighs) and just touching or holding anything and anywhere; he loves it.

You are the only person who is allowed to sit or lean on his desk, weirdly enough he treasures his desk and wouldn’t let just anyone use it as a leaning pole or seat.

Nile both loves and worries over how young you are; you are of course old enough to date him but being super hyper aware of your youthful looks, he didn’t want to think that he would just ‘replace his wife with a younger model’. He loves you for you, whether you’re young or not, and you certainly didn’t mind the age gap. Despite his nerves, he finds you extremely attractive and dating you is selfishly a little bit of an ego boost.

Likes to show you off at social events, he loves to spoil you and show everyone how much he loves you. (Think of that one Will Smith picture of him and his wife on the red carpet) that’s Nile with you.

He is usually a grumpy old man, but he has his goofy side that he only likes to share with you. Very mischievous!! Will play harmless pranks on you, just to make you laugh. He is certainly unafraid of being a little weird with you!

Nile very much enjoys music and will often take you to places where live bands perform; whether this is in a tavern or a full on orchestra. If he wasn’t in the military, he would have definitely wanted to become a musician (I don’t know why but I just see it).

Oh boy, if you compliment him, especially on his looks this man will melt like butter. He will certainly stutter and fluster to think up anything other than “you too” or “I-I-I um uhhh thanks I uh love you”.

That being said, he always compliments you. Wearing a new outfit? You did your hair a little differently today? IMMEDIATE compliments and he wouldn’t stop either.

Nile is a little more reserved in public, he has to keep his commander persona but he isn’t shy to be subtle with his affections; as mentioned before he likes to touch you, so in public he would keep his hand on the small of your back or have you hook your hand in his arm.

Don’t ask him about marriage, because there has been many times where he’s considered just proposing to you. Being older, in his mind he would definitely think ‘I NEED TO ASK NOW I’M OLD AND RUNNING OUT OF TIME’ but also being insecure and thinking ‘my first marriage didn’t work out, Y/N will probably leave’. - you wouldn’t but he is a worrier.

Imagine this though, when the two of you dated long enough NILE INTRODUCES YOU TO HIS DAUGHTERS. Like this would be a pretty big step for him, showing you how much he trusts and loves you; also a big gesture to how serious he is about your relationship.

His daughters instantly loving you, asking you to play dress up with them and painting. - just imagine their faces when you paint something beautiful like I can’t even, writing this makes my heart just 😩😭🌸✨

Nile booking time off work to do a family trip to the park or the city with you; his heartbeats are erratic when he sees you spoiling and being good to his daughters.

Nile’s face when someone asks him if he would have a child with you; a mixture between 😨 and 😏

He already has 3 kids, would he want to go through the worry and stress of more? In short, probably, but only if you wanted them.

His favourite time of day is dinner time; especially after having a long day at work. It’s fortunate that you live so close to the Military HQ (Stohess) that he gets to see you quite often. But if you cook him a meal, doesn’t matter that its not the fancy stuff he usually eats, if its from you then it’ll be his favourite meal.

That being said he loves sleeping next to you when you finally get to share a bed with him; morning cuddles are probably his favourite!

Nile isn’t always the most articulate with his feelings, but he is a hopeless romantic and would do and give you anything to show how much he cares. Dates (when he has time), a fancy dinner (which he said he cooked but it being way too gourmet for his abilities), random gifts of love and his personal favourite; writing letters!

It’s his job to write a lot, so he has really nice handwriting. As he isn’t good at expressing his feelings in speech, he can certainly write them down for you. He may even sprinkle in a little bit of poetry in his love letters.

He would learn how to massage you properly, despite you not being the head black smith, you still do work and after a hard day, Nile would give you the best massages. (The fact that he paid a professional masseuse to teach him how to do it just for you, speaks a thousand words)

Use pet names like “angel, sweetheart and love”. Might get a little spicy and call you a minx when you are flirting - behind closed doors that is

NSFW

Okay so in my opinion Nile in the canonverse is probably a little Vanilla, but with a twist. So he won’t have the whips and chains, but he could certainly get rough with you.

At first he would be very nervous, again mentioning the age gap he probably feels a little rusty/insecure with you. But once you’ve done it once, he gains full confidence.

Because he spends most of the day ordering people around and stressing over work, he will probably prefer to sit back a little and let you take the reins. Not to say he’s a selfish lover, he isn’t, but when he’s had a particularly bad day he’d be just happy to receive a blowjob or have some lazy sex.

Speaking of blowjobs, he loves it if he’s sat up in bed and having you lay between his legs and receiving head; it doesn’t have to be anything passionate or energetic, just feeling you around his cock so gently, is *chefs kiss*

If I am being honest, he would either go from forceful and rough to soft and romantic, there is no in between; but when he’s with you, he sees it as making love.

Is not shy to spanking, he likes to see your ass move under each slap.

Although he likes your ass, he probably is a boob guy. Don’t ask why I just get the vibe. So if you are wearing a pretty dress, or even changing clothes he would be like AWOOGA (but respectful ofc)

SOFT MORNING SEX.

He isn’t one to call you names in bed, but if he does it’ll usually be something like “Dove, Kitten or whore” so when you hear him say any of those, you know you are doing a good job

If Nile has had a particularly bad day, he will eat you out as if he’s a starving man. His favourite position is when you are sat on his desk and him sitting in his chair, eye level and lavishing you.

Desk sex is rare (in case of getting caught) but the ego boost that this man would feel would be...lets just say he gets more confident and rougher so expect a few marks after.

A/N: That’s it for now! I may have to elaborate more on Nile NSFW headcanons on another posts 🤔 OR may even write ABC’s for him! So if you want to see more of Nile, or any other character just let me know! I hope you enjoyed!

[deactivatedpermanently]

Free! Headcanon - How They React When You Blurt Out Your Insecurities

(A/N: I will likely, at some point in the future, write one for characters such as Kisumi, Momo, Nitori, Sousuke and any other character requested. For now, enjoy this one for the Iwatobi boys and the Matsuoka siblings.)

Makoto Tachibana

He hadn’t expected you to blurt out your feelings of insecurity about yourself.

You were one of the most confident people he knew, even if he did know about your frequent anxieties over what he viewed as quite minor things (he knew and understood that they felt massive to you).

But, never in a million years did he imagine you’d be insecure about yourself, more specifically your body.

After all, you were his girlfriend. Even if his opinion may have been biased, he believed that you were the prettiest girl in the world, and there was no changing that for him.

Due to not expecting this outburst from you, he has no idea what to say.

He sits silently in place beside you, just watching your tears cascade down your puffy face.

That broke his heart.

Acting on impulse, he lifts your face and brushes your tears away with the backs of his fingers, before pulling you onto his lap (even if you protest).

He wraps his arms around you securely, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“(N/N), I know it doesn’t matter that I think you’re the prettiest girl in the world, and I know that I can’t change how you feel about yourself, but I at least want to help. I’ll do anything if it helps you, okay?”

You nod, and he kisses your temple again, smiling faintly.

Gou Matsuoka

Gou freaks out a little.

Did she make you feel this way about yourself?

Did she do or say something to make you feel less than the perfect person she saw before her?

Regardless, she still feels like she has some responsibility as your girlfriend to make you feel like you are gorgeous. She feels bad for not being attentive enough to see that you were insecure.

“I think you’re beautiful, (N/N). How could you think so low of yourself?”

She wraps her arms around you, almost suffocating you in a warm, tight hug.

Like Makoto, she feels like she needs to help you feel better about yourself in some way.

“How can I make you feel better about yourself? What do you need me to do?”

“I-I don’t know.” you mutter in response. 

“Do you want me to tell you how pretty you are?”

“...I guess so.” you say sheepishly, cheeks heating up as you wipe away your tears. “Th-thanks, Gou.”

Rei Ryugazaki

As one could guess, Rei isn’t amazing at comforting people.

Not to say he didn’t want to help you, or that he didn’t have the ability to make you feel better.

He so desperately wants to articulate how beautiful and wonderful you are, at least through the lenses of his red-rimmed glasses, but he just can’t.

However, he is caught so off guard, that he can’t help but blurt out: “Why would you think that about yourself, (Y/N)?”

“Because, I’m just not as pretty as other girls. It doesn’t matter if you think I am...Doesn’t change how I see myself...”

Rei just isn’t having this. In a moment of improvisation, he allows his thoughts to escape his mouth without thought.

“...You are beautiful, (Y/N). But, you’re human too, just like everyone else. All humans are imperfect to some degree, even if we all try to be as perfect as possible. But...your physical imperfections don’t denote your value as a person. They don’t make you any less beautiful, and anyone who treats you otherwise is no where near as perfect as you are.”

This brings a smile to your face, which had initially held an intrigued yet shocked expression. Sure, it couldn’t completely solve your problem forever, but it makes you feel a lot less insecure in that moment, and a little less insecure in the long run.

Though Rei had insisted no one was perfect, you can’t help but think that Rei is a perfect boyfriend.

Haruka Nanase

Haru knows that you’re insecure long before you tell him.

As the most attentive and perceptive boyfriend you could’ve ever dreamed of having, he noticed every little thing you did, be it as subtle as a whisper caught in the wind.

This meant he’d observed, on numerous occasions, you pinching at your chub when you thought you were alone, or at least when you thought he wasn’t looking. He noticed how you always made sure to wear clothes that concealed as much of your body as humanly possible, even when you’d end up wearing what seemed to be winter clothes during the summer.

He simply listens as you lament about your self-hatred. His heart sinks a little with every word, but he’s glad you are comfortable enough to tell him about how insecure you are.

Haru’s always been a guy of few words, which is why he expresses his love for and adoration of you by wrapping his arms around your shoulders. He knows you’re smart enough to understand what he was saying. Whether you’ll listen to what he was saying through his actions is something he can’t predict.

He quickly realises that you listened when you bury your face in his chest, which soon became drenched by your warm tears.

Using his thumb, he caresses the back of your hand, and you feel a little more okay.

Nagisa Hazuki

When you express your feelings of low self-esteem, Nagisa seems a lot more upset than you are.

You watch the tears prick in the corners of his eyes, thoroughly confusing you. 

“Why are you crying?” you question. Sure, you were upset, but not to the point of tears. Is he really that upset about what you’ve said?

“Because, (N/N), you’re so amazing. How could you not like yourself?!” he said between sobs.

“Look...you thinking I’m amazing doesn’t really change how I feel about myself.” you explain, holding back tears of your own; Nagisa being so upset about it breaks your heart just a little. “Raising my self-esteem’s something I have to do for myself, but you can still help me feel better when I’m upset about it, okay?”

Nagisa wipes away his tears and nodded.

Before you can do or say anything else, Nagisa pulls you into the tightest hug of your life. A few moments later, he holds you at arms-length. 

“I love you so much, (N/N).” he tells you, causing your heart to skip a beat.

“I love you too, Nagi.” you respond.

He grins at you and presses a kiss to your nose, causing you to giggle.

Your insecurities melt away for that night.

Rin Matsuoka

Rin is overwhelmed when you blurt out your insecurities.

He’s always known you to be insecure, but he never knew how badly your insecurities affected you, especially because you often acted arrogant and confident.

Like Makoto, he doesn’t quite know what to say at first. Like Gou, he’s consumed by guilt, thinking he could’ve, somehow, prevented you from feeling this way. Like Haru, his heart sank. Like Nagisa, tears prick in the corners of his eyes. Like Rei, he’s not that excellent  at comforting people.

He just watches as you bury your reddened face into his pillow, as the both of you are sat on his dorm’s bed; you are completely embarrassed that you’d just cracked so badly in front of your boyfriend to the point of not wanting to look at him.

He really wants to stop you from crying and feeling so bad about yourself, but he just doesn’t know what to do nor say. This just amplifies his guilt.

How come he, the guy who was supposed to make you feel like the greatest girl in the world, couldn’t make you hate yourself any less?

You tense up when you hear a quiet whimper. You look up and see Rin watching you with tears rolling down his cheeks.

You look back at him.

“What’s wrong?” you ask shyly.

“I...I just wish there was something I could do to show you how I see you...” Rin says in a low voice, which wavers a little.

“There’s not much you can do or say to change how I feel, Rin.” you sigh, eyes locking to the pillow. You slowly look up at him. “But...I could kinda do with a hug...”

Within moments, Rin as his arms locked around you. He kisses your cheek and gently rubs your arm with his thumb. The hug’s enough to make you feel a little better.

[whistlesanbells]

Community Headcanons

Just a random list of headcanons I have, organized by character (feat. A lot of Britta x Annie)

Jeff

I saw someone mention that Jeff might have an ED, and given what we see with his relationship with food, and how he is willing to go as far as to hurt himself to be the best at something (in this case be the best looking) it makes a lot of sense.

A lot of people headcanon Jeff as bi but honestly I just take him as cishet. He has many many issues but I don’t think sexuality is one of them, because half his personality is his attraction to every woman that breathes lmao

Exudes top energy but really the minute someone else tops him, he gets insecure for a bit but ends up really liking it.

Britta

Raging bisexual. I feel like she’s known for a long time, but never told the group because it would just be another thing for them to poke fun of about her.

In the same vein, I believe Britta’s parents were very homophobic, and that’s why she cut ties. I think she came out to them at a younger age and it was messy. It would make sense that she would refuse to tell the group why she didn’t get along with her parents: because she wasn’t ready to come out to the group yet. Instead it gets framed as her just rebelling for no reason.

We hear almost nothing about Britta’s past, except for a few offhand comments about a dinosaur-related trauma. Britta is incredibly quick to deny talking about her past, which led me to believe that she has some kind of trauma. Personally, I believe she was r*ped in her childhood, which would explain her extra effort to comfort troy when he lied about it. It would also explain why she is so fervently for women’s rights, especially when it has to do with bodily autonomy.

Dyslexic!Britta makes so much sense to me, because her parents were likely unsupportive, so she didn’t get much help or accommodations in school at a young age. This probably led to her habit of going out of her way to do poorly in a class so it looks like she’s just not trying, so she doesn’t have to face the reality that she never developed good study habits and she would have a lot of trouble in school even if she tried. Even though she doesn’t do well in school, she’s really smart, she’s just not great at articulating her points :))

She was a tomboy in elementary school before it was considered socially acceptable, and she was bullied ruthlessly for it. In her true, “stick it to the man” fashion, she never grew out of it.

Britta is terrified of Annie finding out that she won’t do well in school even if she DOES try, because she’s afraid Annie will lose respect for her.

Annie was the only one in the group she came out to, because she trusted her to keep a secret and not to judge. Annie asks her a LOT of questions, but Britta puts up with it.

Acts like a top, is really a bottom.

She has a crush on Annie from 21st century romanticism on, but never expresses it because she doesn’t want to make Annie uncomfortable.

Troy

Gay lmao

I definitely feel like he had a crush on abed around end of season 3/ beginning of season 4, but it was unreciprocated.

Troy has an inherent sensitivity that makes him the heart of the show, but it took a while for him to feel comfortable with that. I feel like he had a lot of parental pressure to be perfectly straight and masculine, since he was raised under a strict religion.

Troy never wanted to be an athlete. I believe he wasn’t allowed to explore his interests because he demonstrated talent for sports at a young age, and that’s what he was pressured to do for the rest of his life.

Troy doesn’t always understand how Abed functions, but he is always accepting, supportive and understanding. Instead of trying to understand how his brain works, he memorized the patterns of what bothers him and what doesn’t, and uses that to help his friend in the best way he can. It’s super sweet :))

Abed

Aro/ace Abed rights!! I haven’t seen this one as much, but I really like it. I genuinely don’t think abed has much interest in relationships, which has absolutely nothing to do with being neurodivergent. I think he feels pressure from the group to date, because that’s what they think is “normal.”

I LOVE Annie and Abed’s friendship but I definitely don’t ship them. Sure, they kissed once, but she was attracted to Han Solo, not abed. Annie was attracted to dean when he was actually like Jeff too, but she DEFINITELY wasn’t attracted to dean lmao. Instead, I think they’re both really close because they’re both neurodivergent, and Annie understands him more than anyone else in the group, albeit not entirely. They also have a special handshake you can see at the end of season one :)

This isn’t a headcanon but it’s *technically* never stated in the show but Abed definitely has autism. l DO headcanon that Annie has his safe foods written down in a list because she’s the only one who knows how to cook in the apartment, and she knows it’s important to him.

Abed has all of his friends’ likes and dislikes memorized and written down, as well as their birthdays, as a result of psychoanalyzing them. He gives the best birthday gifts and never forgets.

Definitely was the ACB (creds to film theory on that one)

Shirley

I don’t have a lot of theories for Shirley, because we see a lot of her personal story in canon. However, I do believe that she wasn’t always such a devout Christian. I think she was raised with Christian ideals, but it wasn’t central to her personality until Andre cheated on her. After she went though a dark period of (likely) alcoholism, I like to think that’s when she turned to Christianity, and it gave her hope. She loves it so much because it genuinely did save her from a bad time in her life.

I think she is a big part of the reason why Troy, Abed, Britta, and Annie are afraid to come out to the group. They assume she would never see them in the same light, when truth be told, she would love them all the same. I think she would be uncomfortable at first, but either she would come to the realization or britta would convince her that it is inherently Christian to love everyone, no matter what. Her motherly instincts take precedence over her Christian ideals.

Shirley views Annie as the daughter she never had, but is very careful not to tell her for fear of hurting her feelings. She very much enjoys helping her navigate college and seeing her mature. She also loves all their girl talk since this is the aspect of parenting that she doesn’t get with three boys. In the same vein, she loved teaching Britta how to have friends who are girls, and she likes to think she played a part in raising her.

Pierce

I don’t like pierce enough to psychoanalyze him lmao

Annie (saddle up, this is gonna be long)

Lesbiannie, obviously. Annie’s romantic tendancies SCREAM compulsive heterosexuality. Annie’s relationships with men are always schoolgirl crushes, and she even admits to abed that she never really liked Jeff, she just liked the idea that he was available and willing to love her. It also makes sense that she can’t stand the idea of not being perfect in every way, including heterosexual (because she confirms that her parents are bigoted and that’s likely what she was taught). I think she would have a lot of internalized homophobia, and she would be very insecure about her sexuality, seeing how she acted during the STD fair.

I would love to think Annie also had her first ever real, I like this person for themselves and not just because they’re attainable crush on Britta. She always looked up to her because she was so cool and far less uptight than she was, but as they grew closer, she saw her in a different light. I ship them hardcore lmao.

Annie has ADHD!! I could talk for hours about this, mostly because I have very similar struggles to Annie’s canon character arc (minus the drugs lmao) and it’s mostly due to my adhd. Long story short, she was likely raised undiagnosed until she discovered it herself, which led to trying adderall and overdoing it because she was unsupervised. She was likely very insecure about her ADHD, which led her to overcompensating academically. Because she masked so much in academic settings, it’s likely she didn’t have much of a social life because that’s where her symptoms presented themselves more.

In addition being friends with abed has made her far more comfortable unmasking. If you watch her in studies in modern movement you can see her stimming (flapping her hands, rocking back and forth and swinging her arms) way more than usual. She normally fidgets by fiddling with her fingers by her waist and pulling her elbows tight to her sides in a position suspiciously similar to raptor arms. Not only is this a common and discreet way to fidget, it is easily passed off as good posture. This makes sense, as it is Annie’s trademark resting position.

Annie reads YA books and a LOT of fanfiction for fun. The group expects her to be more well versed in classic literature, but the girl just loves her some vampires. It’s where she learned a LOT of her....dnd tricks ;).

Top energy that Jeff never let her use DEFINITELY comes out with Britta.

She helps Britta study and teaches her all the study habits she had to learn, and Britta’s grades improve a little bit!!

Switched to pantsuits because of britta, I like to think she had some influence on that.

Lost interest in Jeff after Basic Sandwich

Knew that Abed was the ACB the whole time, she definitely had it figured out in that binder lmao

Anyways enjoy, just figured I’d write this down somewhere haha

[saikagerights]

Newlyweds- A Saiino Fanfiction

Gee has this idea transformed into its own monster. Last week I had the idea of writing out a few headcanons about Sai that were meant to be separated from the journal, which is also the reason why I haven’t updated.

It is still coming btw, I just wanted it to write this out first. This fic had started out as a few ramblings, so I personally had problems with structure. Luckily, I found my way through and made a cohesive story.

Anyway, I had to restructure this so many times, but I was hoping to use this as a way to cheer up @bauschblog. I hope it doesn’t look rushed.

Hope you enjoy!

*edit. I wrote and posted this days ago, but it never appeared in the tags, so I am posting a second time and deleting the first post. Thank you for your patience

Also available on AO3

If you ever asked Ino if she got what she wanted in life, then you would receive a yes and a no.

She was now as happy as she could be, newly married to who she would’ve called a literal dream years ago. A gorgeous man willing to walk to the ends of the Earth for her.

But that happiness was derived from pain and loss. She would never be able to share that happiness with her father, and she now shared the burdens of her husband, who had lost more than anyone else she knew.

But that didn’t make her love him any less.

Sai was a far cry from the young man she met. Over the years he had learned more and more about the bonds and emotions he had lost, many things she taught him first hand, and she couldn’t be more proud of his progress.

He was once empty, but now it was her job to fill him with as much love and care she could muster. And that’s what she found herself doing, seated beside him and resting her head against his left shoulder as he was immersed in a new sketch. This time it was a pot of primroses he had gathered from the shop below him. She secretly hoped it was a gift for her, as he would occasionally drop his pencil to awkwardly stroke at her head.

Observing his quiet focus made her reflect on her marriage so far. It had only been a month since their wedding, so she had yet to come down completely from cloud nine and she was sure that Sai was feeling something similar. Although it might be starkly different from hers. It didn’t take that long for them to marry either. They still had a lot of time ahead of them, and Ino was delighted to discover more about her enigmatic love.

Part of her joy came from observing common quirks that only a wife could. Like how he was so meticulously organized with his supplies but still fumbled with arrangements in the shop. Or how he’d gently stroke her face when he had to work early, not attentive enough to realize that she was only feigning sleep.

The amount of love she had for her new husband was immeasurable , but with the discovery of these cute habits only came the realization of darker secrets.

Sai was unresponsive at times.

When she would call out to him and would receive nothing but silence in return. It wasn’t as if he was ignoring her, he was simply far into the depths of his own mind.

She then tried to gently repeat her call. And if that didn’t work, her volume would increase, tone sharp and direct. That would usually do the trick and her husband’s head would snap towards her, indicating that she now had his full attention. He’d give a soft hum of inquiry, then his eyes would shamefully cast downward as it dawned upon him that he had done it again.

Ino knew that this was a common occurrence of those in her field of work, especially those who have seen war. There were times when she felt as if father’s guidance was needed more than ever, like on days when the responsibility of leading her clan had weighed most on her. But Sai wasn’t like most shinobi, something that she was reminded of every day. He had made leaps and bounds with his ability to express himself, but there were some things that couldn’t be improved with just awareness and lessons on sociality.

Just like how his fingers would flex and he would grasp at air in moments of silence as if they yearned for something to feel secure. Her left hand would gladly supplement the presence of his brush when he needed it most. In private she would allow him to let his itching fingers run through her long bright blond hair, rubbing the ends of strands between the pads of his thumb and index finger until he was content. His hands would then begin to wander to other parts of her body, desire beginning to cloud his mind and slowly overtake him until he wrapped her up into it.

Ino could hardly articulate how wonderful it felt for him to be able to physically love her. It seemed so long ago when he’d freeze up any time she touched him, but now he was capable of proving to her that his natural instincts were that of any man. She adored nights of tangled limbs and resting on his still heaving chest that took it’s time to settle into a steady rhythm as he drifted into a blissful and dreamless slumber.

Without the exhaustion and comfort that came from sex, Sai was probably the most restless sleeper imaginable. The smallest rustle or bump in the night would force him awake, as if alerted to a nearby enemy. It was a stark contrast from how she slept on missions as a genin, among two of the heaviest sleepers in the entire world. But even then, she felt that neither her or her boys could sleep as soundly as they used to. Unrest and insomnia were another common trait for experienced shinobi, which tended to be spurred on by night terrors.

The first one she experienced with him was shortly after he moved in with her, frightened awake at the feeling of arms constricting her body and hands grasping brutishly at the fabric of her night shirt. The loud air-starved noise her throat produced was enough to yank him from his subconscious, jerking away from her. Ino couldn’t see Sai’s hunched form sitting on the edge of the bed that clearly in the dark, but she could very well hear his slightly ragged breathing tear through the silence. He was too far from her to reach with a soft call, frozen in place with his head in his hands. As desperate as she was to reach out to him, she knew that she had to be cautious when dealing with him in this state. Testing the waters, she placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt a shiver coarse through his body upon the contact, so she gave him time to get used to the touch. She gradually added to that, scooting her body over to him so that she sat behind him, legs dangling off the bed encompassing his. She waited once more until his breathing settled before she fully took the plunge, resting her chest on his sweat soaked back and wrapping her arms around his torso.

After that incident, Sai had admitted to her that these dreams had become common shortly after their mission in the Land of Silence, serving as another hangoff from Gengo. Ino could never forgive that man for taking advantage of her Sai like that and even a year later he is still experiencing effects from his influence. The same could be said about Danzo, who’s authority still had her husband within its grasp even in death. She believed that the more in touch with his emotion Sai became, the more likely his sense of duty were to weigh on him like this, only to lead to more nightmares.

Ino wasn’t sure how often Sai experienced them, but she knew that it was difficult for him to return to sleep, as she often awoke to him intently staring at her or even missing from bed completely. The panic that settled into her chest would quickly be dispersed when she felt his presence still within their walls. It had become a routine of hers to search for him and use all of her power of suggestion to get him back into bed.

The worst kind of nights were when soft words and kisses were simply not enough and he pleaded for her to return to bed alone that night.

As much as she worried for his well being, there were selfish reasons behind her insistence. She realized early on that she couldn’t sleep soundly without him beside her and it had only comforted her further when he had assured her in his own way that she was “imperative in improving his sleep practices since they began their courtship.”

Crowds were also a struggle for him. This was something she learned after attending weddings attached by the hand. Upon arrival, his body tensed beside her and his eyes darted around as if surveying the area for possible threats. It couldn’t be helped when they suddenly became the center of attention. A quick squeeze of the hand would direct his eyes down to her and the glance she cast that was meant to keep him cemented in the atmosphere. With that, he would relax into a comfortable vigilance for the rest of the event as he partook in festivities. They would later find a secluded place to exist frozen in time while the rest of the world persisted. It seemed as if his introverted nature had only complemented her extroverted status in times like that.

Not everyone could understand this, though. The prospect of marrying Sai came at the cost of angering her clan’s elders. After the mysterious fate of Fuu had been revealed to her clan, they immediately dismissed the idea of their next patriarch being another member of Danzo’s ranks. But for all she was concerned, she was marrying Sai whether they liked it or not. Luckily for her, the entire Ino-Shika-Cho trio had all decided their betrothed to be from beyond the realm of tradition, In a political sense, the Yamanaka clan elders couldn’t complain about foriegn affairs like the Nara and Akimichi clan, making Sai the lesser of three evils in this case. They accepted the union only on the condition that they regulate his responsibilities as the newly dubbed patriarch. He accepted this condition with no question, and Ino was concerned to find him reading through every little stipulation with a critical eye.

“It is not that I am finding a reason to oppose marriage. I simply want to satisfy them so I can make you happy.”

She wanted to argue that it didn’t matter what the elders thought of them, but she was too moved by his determination to appease her that she didn’t dare complain.

But alas this couldn’t ease her worries over what came next.

The baby.

There wasn’t a physical baby in question, but there would be soon enough.

She was the clan’s matriarch just as she was its leader, which meant her responsibility was the same as it had always been. She had to produce an heir to continue her bloodline along with all of the values and traditions that she had been granted by her father. It would seem strange to any woman to just accept the decision of becoming a mother made well in advance, but it wasn’t just for the sake of her family. She wanted this as well, and the idea of raising a child with Sai made her heart race.

But she still wasn’t sure how Sai really felt about it all. She had been abundantly clear about this back when they had started dating, as she was already sure that the man would be the father of her children. But Sai was an objective man who was raised on the value of having a purpose to serve, and she was afraid that he took this as another objective, which was confirmed by his statement.

“I vow to uphold this responsibility.”

She still hadn’t gathered the courage to have that conversation yet. To properly tell him that raising a child was more than just another task to complete. There was emotional value that came alongside the immense responsibility and hardships, and Sai had to be ready to adapt to that, especially when it was barreling toward them with every passing day. She could allow him to look through books when the time came like he always did, but a good wife would at least try to give some perspective for him in a way he could understand.

It seemed like now was as good a time as any, when they were both sitting around in a blissful silence like this. Oh how she hated to break up a moment to bring up something awkward, but it had to be mentioned or she would never get her peace.

“Darling.”

The word seemed almost accidental, as it came out only a little bit above a whisper

She was dreadfully wrong to expect a non committed response from him, as he directed his head away from his sketchpad to look down at her, the lightest flicker of worry lining his features.

“Is everything alright? A soft voice from you usually means there is something wrong.”

She hated when he figured her out so easily. What happened to that clueless man she married?

“Is it so out of the ordinary for me to be nice to you?” She shifted her gaze to the wall. Her eyes narrowed, but she was unable to focus on anything in particular. “You must think I’m a monster or something.”

She waited for his hastened apology for misunderstanding, but was surprised to find him still staring at her when she pulled her eyes back up to him.

She clicked her tongue when he didn’t respond in the way she wanted. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid this any longer. She huffed out a sigh.

“It’s about the baby.”

“You want to conceive now?” His response was so immediate it was almost as if he had it on standby. The bubble of laughter that escaped her lips caught her off-guard.

There it was. The quickfire statement that was capable of ruining any conversation. It was almost as if that answer actually comforted her.

She swatted his shoulder, laughter dying down. “Of course not, you lech!” She returned to her previous position leaned against his shoulder. “You know it’s still too soon for that. We all have to meet about that, remember?”

His attention was then brought back to his drawing with a hum of agreement. That wasn’t able to conceal the blush that found its way to his cheeks, she noticed. Changing the topic to sex would be a good way to end the conversation, but no. She had to ask him.

“How do you feel about all of this?”

He pondered for a moment, looking down at his drawing as if there was something wrong with it. A crooked line or a misplaced shadow.

“I promised you I would uphold your obligation.”

“Sai, that’s no-”

“But I am still unsure if I have what it takes to be a father.” He interrupted her, unaware that he had just bewildered her.

“From the knowledge I’ve attained. Successfully raising a child means meeting their emotional needs along with their physical needs. It isn’t just about helping them survive, it’s also about giving them support and guidance as they develop into a person. It seems so complicated, but it’s supposed to be natural.”

Ino stared in awe at his ramblings. He really did understand.

His obsidian eyes suddenly targeted her, startling her from her stupor.

“I don’t know how I can do that for a child the way that I am. I hardly have the instincts of a normal person, let alone a father. I don’t have many positive childhood experiences to pass onto a child. But I will try my hardest.”

“Sai…” Ino was left speechless and sputtering. Sai understood everything. In fact, he held the same issues that she held. The worry drained from her mind, leaving her with pangs of guilt for underestimating him. She wondered where he found his conclusion. Surely no single book would be able to articulate that point to him.

“Naruto has confided me a lot these past few months about Hinata’s pregnancy. He is afraid that he won’t meet the standards of a good father because of his lack of fatherly figures growing up. I-”

He paused, finally noticing clear eyes focused intently on him, hanging onto every word. Sai centered his head forward to divert himself away from her immense pressure before continuing.

“I also am afraid that I don’t have a good reference for fatherly behavior. I’d hate for my child to withstand the same experiences as me, so I did more research and found-”

Her husband halted once more when he heard her sniffle. His head snapped in her direction to find tears clouding her eyes.

“It’s okay if that’s how you feel.” Ino choked on her words, trying to hold her husband in place with her hands on his cheeks. “That’s why we have to figure it out together.” She struggled to hold back a sob that was only freed when Sai brought a hand up to swipe away her tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?!” Her shout was uncontrollable, as now she was wailing into her husband’s chest. Ino knew he was probably confused that the conversation took this turn, but she did appreciate that he still tried to sooth her with warm hands running along her back. He patiently waited until her sobs quieted before answering.

“I already promised you and I will try my hardest to fulfill that promise. I didn’t think I needed to doubt that.”

“What?!” Ino cried incredulously. She jerked away from him to stare him down, making zero attempt to conceal her dripping face. “I’m your WIFE! I’m supposed to know these things so I can help you!” She gripped both of his hands, bringing her knuckles together, voice softening once more.

“I was afraid you didn’t fully understand what we are up against.” Her eyes  dropped down to their conjoined hands.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I just want to be ready so I can support you when the time comes. The last thing I wish for is to make you worry about me.”

Her face scrunched up into a pout as she unhanded him to wipe at her face. “You idiot, I will always worry about you. And besides, no one can ever be ready for children. The only way this will work is if we are open and honest about this. I’m scared about this too, you know?”

His hands rose in front of his chest in surrender to her will. It was relieving to know that he still knew his place.

“From now on, we will tell each other all of our insecurities about this matter.”

Sai blinked, slowly realizing what that entailed.

“E-Everything?”

“Yup, everything. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t grow up with a father. Not every parent is the same. I think you’ll be great.” She closed her eyes as she continued. “ And if you are really struggling, then I can tell you all about what dad used to do with me.”

Ino’s chest swelled with pride at that, impressing herself with how well she handled that.

“I would love that!”

Her eyes slipped open to reveal a rather enthusiastic smile blooming on his face. It made her melt to see how far that smile had come. It seemed her influence also affected his charms as well.

He suddenly raised from the sofa before scooping her up into his arms. Ino panicked at the look on his face transformed before her. His eyes lidded into a trademark squint and his one sweet smile became a teeth bearing grin.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!” She sputtered. Her panic increased as he had now abandoned the room . He hummed at that as they turned the corner towards their bedroom. Never a good sign.

“I know you said we had to wait, but I figured that we could perhaps get a head start.”

“Sai, wait-!”

They would be just fine. She just knew it.

[dabistits]

while reading your posts, i always feel that you’re really well rounded and good at character analysis and just articulating your feelings and opinions towards stories in general. it’s something that i’m trying to get better at, and something that i admire you for, so i was wondering if you had any pointers or tips regarding developing analysis skills? thank you!

first of all, thank you so much!!😭😭 i’m so glad you enjoy my stuff and it gives me a lot of joy to know that this, like, inspires people or w/e fkdkgkf

i’m putting everything below a cut bcs it’s long as fuck and kind of disorganized. i wrote some parts half-asleep, so they might be rambly or stating the obvious or whatever, but you know, pick and choose what’s helpful to you! this probably isn’t exhaustive (and i kinda focused in on the ‘character analysis’ part, bcs otherwise there’s… so much), and if anything’s unclear or if you want more elaboration on sth just let me know!

the basics:

write!! it doesn’t matter what you write, it can meta, fanfic, rp, whatever, but as long as you write about this character you’ll be forced to articulate your thoughts; by extension that means you’ll have to gather evidence and make a convincing case for your portrayal. even if you’re writing fic or rp i think you should have a strong reference of where your characterization is coming from - i used to rp at places that required applications, so that would force me to think about my character’s personality and put it into words. i think most people are helped by the actual process of writing itself also, so don’t let lack of confidence stop you if you’re someone who tends to do that: you might wind up happier with your ideas after having written something than before (and you can aaalways edit).

read!! read other people’s analyses, not necessarily just about the character you have in mind, but about other characters, other stories, other genres, etc. what kinds of things do they point out to support their argument? what patterns are they picking up on? do you agree/disagree? what’s a new thought they’ve introduced to you? what are things they do that you particularly like? can you replicate that idea/technique in your own reading? there are so many times when i’ve read another person’s analysis and made a note to be more aware of [a certain thing] in the future, so that’s what helps me change and build and incorporate new stuff into the way i think about stories.

try to keep an ongoing chronicle of your thoughts. this could 100% be a personal thing, but i actually started to think and absorb a lot more (especially about small things) after i started this blog. being here meant that not only was i keeping up with chapter releases bcs of other fans, but i was also regularly writing about my impressions. reading and discussing chapter by chapter forced me to read & process everything in smaller increments, which let me take in more details, and gave more time for my thoughts and feelings to develop. in contrast, when i binge-read, i actually miss a lot of details and a lot of finer points of the storyline because i’m just trying to get from one plot point to the next.

stick close to canon. this is definitely subjective, but since this is also partially about how i approach character interpretation, i’ll toss this in. i personally don’t stray too far from what’s shown to me in-text, and i revisit canon a lot to establish a “baseline” characterization rather than building off of my own headcanons. this has pros and cons: for example, i feel like i don’t overstate things compared to their canon importance, and i feel like i don’t get too carried away with embellishing character traits; however, it also holds me back from theorizing unless there’s a ton of evidence in front of me, and i can be overcautious when it comes to approaching narrative hints. sometimes i do talk about my headcanons, but even then i usually point out whether or not it’s substantiated, because i do think the line between headcanon and canon gets muddled a lot in fandom discussion.

think about a character’s role in the story. so, we know stories have plots, a start and an end, and messages and themes. all characters function within that framework, they advance us from point a to point b, the carry the moral of the story. i think these are aspects that are important to include in your character analysis; while sure, there’s already plenty to analyse about the LOV as self-contained characters, but they also seem more important, more interesting, and more complex when you take them into the context of the larger story (how and why their relationships are built, what they mean as a part of man vs society conflict, etc.). not only does it inform you about the character (what the author is trying to say through them, what direction the author might push them in), it can also tell you a lot about the overall structure and themes of the story itself.

authors include everything for a reason. when you’re creating something from scratch, you have to actively decide what you include. the way someone’s room looks doesn’t necessarily mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but the author decided to design their room that way based off something—most likely a character’s interests, tastes, and preferences. while mina’s dorm room looking a certain way might not mean she has an old-fashioned personality, it can maybe tell you that she has a more retro taste and aesthetic. this can apply to “big” things too, like one of tomura’s severed hands still surviving the chaos. hori chose to have it survive rather than be decayed like everything else, so of course the question is why?

… but they are imperfect. creators also do make choices out of plot convenience, because of their own biases, or sometimes they just forget (as hori has done before, such as twice duplicating himiko in the overhaul arc and then saying he doesn’t know her measurements for the mla arc). so it can sometimes also be assumed that a detail was included/excluded because of something on the creator’s end, rather than because of it necessarily being symbolic or important to the characters (e.g. a character not being able to make it to a fight might be because their skills are too useful and could resolve the plot too easily, not because them getting sidetracked is important in itself; a female character losing a fight she should have won could be an issue of the creator’s misogyny). so these are aspects you can keep in mind as well when you’re evaluating characterization!

tendencies i see people fall into:

don’t take everything characters say at face value. characters can and do lie. they can be sarcastic. they can be manipulative. they can be deluding themselves. they can even be mistaken! there’s a reason why they’re expressing themselves that way, and sometimes you can gain more by actually investigating that contradiction rather than just assuming they mean what they say.

allow characters to change! they will change in canon, so don’t be too beholden to their early characterization if you’re trying to analyze or write them from a later point in the timeline. again, this seems intuitive, but i see a lot of people who still appear to draw on tomura’s early character portrayal by making him irritable towards the LOV, but he’s much more recently allowed himself to be physically pushed around by some of them without really reacting in any way.

embrace subtlety. a lot of people in their fanfic just see one aspect of a character and blow it up to make it their only characterization. like, tomura is irritable, himiko is obsessed with blood, any villain can be written as a sadistic killer hellbent on annihilation, etc. while having a couple personality traits come through strongly can help the character have a unique personality and voice, too much will make them appear one-note. it’s just as important to recognize moments when characters are being calm and focused and articulate, as much as their most dramatic moments. for example, a lot of writers don’t seem to notice that tomura doesn’t snap at his allies, tends to answer their questions evenly, and never lashes out at them; that’s because these moments are very understated in the manga. hori doesn’t point a huge arrow at them, and he shouldn’t have to! it’s one of those very subtle ways to show a character’s growth. so, pay attention to those moments, and pay attention to what’s not being done as much as what is.